#years active 1997-present

[autisticlancemcclain]

Keith presses the heels of his palms to his eyes and exhales deeply. He lets all the air trickle out of his lungs until his chest feels concave, until spots dance behind his closed eyelids, until his lips start to go numb. Then he lets go and lets the air get sucked back into him like a vacuum.

“One more try,” he whispers to himself, conscious of Lance sleeping — finally — beside him. “One, and then we move on.”

He swipes the touchpad on his computer to wake it back up, dragging the blinking curser over the rarely-used blue ‘10’ under the Google logo. The page loads, and loads, and loads, and finally spits out the next few results.

Most of them he’s already seen before. Dozens of times. BARGAIN BALLET TICKET SUBSCRIPTION, reads one link, CLICK HERE FOR 20% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH. Another reads, Rush Ticket Prices — Buy Now!

He’s been there. Clicked that. Priced it out. Looked at the worst possible, next-to-the-washrooms, garbage seats. Nothing. Not a single ticket within their limited budget — or even close to it.

Completely out of the realm of possibility even if they hadn’t agreed on a price limit for their Christmas gifts.

He keeps scrolling down a few pages that all advertise the same thing — a disgustingly costly subscription here, bargain-but-not-really tickets there, more scammy resell ads than one would believe possible. Even, notably, a still-active link from 1997 that Keith peruses for clicks and does not actually count towards his one-more-try limit. (It even tries to accept his Paypal, which is crazy and means that someone updated the site to accept modern payment for a show that is no longer running. Keith is so amused by the pure audacity that he has to fight the urge to buy one. Wild thing, ADHD.)

Just as he’s about to give up and buy his boyfriend yet another plant this year, a link catches his attention. It’s the very last result on page 13, with no description, no punctuation, hell, hardly even a sentence of text. Nutcracker ticket sales, it reads, for a website called ‘FeuillesBrillantAcademie.org’.

Keith shrugs. Might as well. Not like anything else has been promising.

He clicks the link and immediately wishes he hadn’t. The ugliest website he’s ever seen literally assaults his eyes — a bright blue and a neon purple, clashing in the worst possible way. It takes at least four solid seconds for his eyes to unblur enough to recognise the screen in front of him as having words rather than a solid wall of Bright And Bad. Even then, he has to squint, glasses practically touching his eyeballs.

Feuilles Brillant Academy is pleased to present the final performance of the hard-working dancers this season, is what he can finally make out. The show begins at 7 p.m. on December 23rd, tickets for $20 per person. In-person payment not accepted. Please pay via e-transfer using the link below. Call out administrative office if there are any difficulties.

Keith stares at the page for as long as his eyes can handle, then he looks up at the ceiling. (Where, he may add, he can still see the screen perfectly, because the damn thing has been burnt onto his retinae. He will never mock Matt for his web design degree again. Well, probably.)

This seems…too good to be true.

It’s outrageously cheap, for one. Keith has been looking for literal days and the cheapest he’s managed to find is $50 per person, for bad rush tickets. $20 is bonkers. For two, this is a perfect time, and nearby, as well. And there are still tickets left. Somehow.

Something is amiss.

Keith’s first thought is that it’s a prank page. But the page is buried so deeply — page thirteen of Google. The hidden archives, basically. If this is someone’s prank, it’s garbage. His second thought is that the link is a virus, which, while possible, is still kind of unlikely for the same reasons. Why on Earth would someone post something nefarious so obscurely? It doesn’t make sense. This might be one of those rare times when something isn’t too good to be true, it’s just good.

Then again. Keith just got his laptop back from the last time he fucked around and well and truly Found Out.

Time to get a second opinion.

Despite the disgustingly late hour, the phone picks up on the second ring.

“Hey, stinky,” says Pidge. Keith can hear the smile in her voice as clearly as the explosions and gunfire of Call of Duty in the background.

“Asshole.”

“Turd for brains.”

“Skidmark.”

“Rotting splatter of parking lot vomit at three in the afternoon in Arizona during high summer.”

“…Pidge, that’s disgusting.”

She snickers. “I win.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Keith freezes as Lance stirs next to him, curling his arm around Keith’s bent leg and muttering something in Spanish too fast for him to understand. Keith smiles, tucking a stray curl back under his fluffy frog-eye hairband, lingering over the scar on his temple from a skateboarding accident when they were fifteen. “I need your help.”

“Well, obviously. You’re calling me at three thirty four in the morning. Usually you’re in bed by nine because secretly you look up to Adam and emulate his habits.”

Keith flushes. “I don’t remember ordering a psych analysis, fucker.”

“Consider it a bonus! Tell Auntie Pidge about your troubles.” He can practically see the face she makes immediately after, and snorts. “Ignore that. My mouth is not attached to my brain. Carry on.”

“I need you to check out a link,” Keith says, choosing to be merciful. “It’s pretty buried and obscure, but honestly I think it’s fine —”

“Yeah, last time you thought a link was fine you fucked your shit up so bad I had to download another virus to cancel it out. I’ve never had to do that before. You fucked your laptop up so bad I’d actually never seen that kind of damage before, Kogane. And I do this for a living.”

Keith pouts. “No, you commit cyber crimes for a living.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m an angel and have never gotten so much as a speeding ticket. I am a law abiding citizen. Send over the link.”

Switching his phone to rest between his ear and shoulder, Keith does. “I need to know if the link does what it says it does.”

Pidge hums. He can hear the ding of her laptop as his e-mail goes through, and then the sounds of her clicking as she inspects the website, running it through her various programs that Keith cannot fathom for the life of him.

“What did you say you were looking for, again?”

Keith closes his eyes and tips his head back, letting it thunk gently on the thin wall under the big window, in the corner of the apartment where they’ve shoved their bed. He lets his eyes go blurry, lets the stars they stuck on the ceiling before they did anything else turn into bright green dots. They’re real constellations. The two of them spent hours on them; Lance on Keith’s shoulders, tripping and shouting and laughing.

“I need tickets,” Keith says quietly. He turns his gaze slowly to Lance, who is sleeping soundly again, who has bags under his eyes, whose hands twitch every few seconds, who frowns deeply. “And we can’t — these are the only ones I could find. That I can even pretend to afford. I need it to be —” He swallows. “I need you to tell me they’re real.”

Pidge is quiet for a moment. The only sound is her breathing, her nail tapping slowly on the edge of her screen.

“The link is exactly what it says it is.”

Keith sits up. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, man.”

Keith bites back a cheer so he doesn’t wake Lance up. Hell yeah! This is perfect! Exactly what they needed! Just — a little bit of luck. A little bit.

“Thank you, Pidge,” he gushes, hurrying to punch in his information. “Seriously.”

Pidge huffs fondly. “Okay, dweebus. Gross. Go be all affectionate somewhere else.” She pauses. “Take a picture when you tell him.”

Keith smiles. “I will.”

———

It takes every inch of Keith’s willpower to keep his mouth shut for a whole three weeks.

“I Know you are hiding something, Kogane,” Lance says while walking home from classes, while curling up into him as they watch TV, while cooking, while showering. “I see it in your face.”

“It’s nearly Christmas, you dweebus,” Keith says every time, and every time he softens it with an exaggerated kiss to Lance’s cheek, one to make him laugh despite himself and shove Keith’s face away. “Of course I’m hiding something.”

But it’s eating at them both. Lance’s blatant curiously makes it that much harder for Keith to keep things hidden, to stash the tickets between the pages of his corniest romance novel that Lance won’t touch with a ten foot pole. To wait, and wait, and wait, as they set up the three-foot high discounted Christmas tree and Lance changes their sheets to the flannel ones his mother gave them.

But the days pass. Finals come and go and so does the time. And finally, finally, it comes time to crawl onto the creaky mattress, knees on either side of Lance, nose kisses down his neck, and murmur, “We’ve got plans today.”

Lance groans. “No we do not.”

Keith smiles widely. He knows Lance can feel it, because he scowls harder, trying to hide his own fondness even as he melts into Keith’s affections.

“Yes, we do. I know. I planned them.”

“Well, then, un-plan them,” Lance grouches. He turns over so he’s facing Keith, now, trying hard to glare up at him, but late afternoon sunlight bleeds into his dark brown eyes and makes them shine golden, and they are as warm and bright as the rest of him, and his hands slide up Keith’s chest, over his shoulders, brushing through his hair, to rest on his cheeks. “Come nap with me.”

Keith turns his head to press a kiss to Lance’s palm, keeping his mouth there. Lance rolls his eyes, and can no longer hide his smile. “Later. I made plans. Dress up, I’m gonna pick us up some food for the way. We’ll leave in forty minutes.”

“Ugh.”

“I don’t know who you think you’re fooling, baby. I can see you eyeing the closet.”

“Shut up and get me a burrito.” He soothes the bite of his words by pulling Keith’s face closer to his, pressing their lips together softly. “Please.”

“Whatever you want.”

God, he’s whipped, and Lance knows it, because he grins, pleased, and pulls Keith even closer, kisses him stronger. It takes Keith a good five minutes to muster up the willpower to pull away, and Lance knows it, smirking.

He finally manages to yank himself away, stumbling backwards towards the kitchenette of their studio. Lance pouts at him.

“Menace,” Keith says sternly, deliberately turning away as he pulls on his boots and coat. He ignores his boyfriend’s grumbling and finally makes it out the door, hustling to their favourite bodega and hoping it isn’t too crowded.

Thirty-seven minutes later, burritos secured, Keith is shoving his frozen fingers around the door handle to jimmy it open. The bodega was indeed crowded and they are indeed late. The show starts in an hour. From what Keith remembers from Lance’s recitals — and he has been to many — people who are late are people who miss the show. The ballet does not fuck around with tardiness and disruptions; if you’re late, that’s tough shit for you. Plan better.

“You’re going to eat shit,” Lance says, amused, the fourth time Keith power walks right over black ice and nearly actually dies. “Slow down, babe.”

Keith does not.

“Can’t,” he huffs, keeping a half-eye on the pavement. A tourist walks into him, shoving him into Lance, who takes the opportunity to slide his hand into Keith’s back pocket and wink at him when his cheeks colour.

“Why can’t we slow down? Where are we going?”

“It’s like you don’t know what surprise means.”

“I do know. I also know that if I annoy anyone long enough they’ll snap so I’ll shut up.”

“Nah. I like it when you talk.”

He’d meant it as somewhat of a comeback, as a jab back to Lance’s teasing. But suddenly Lance stops, spine going rigid, something like shock flirting across his face for half a millisecond before he blinks it away and moves again. It happens so fast that Keith would almost be convinced he’d imagined it, except Lance’s cheeks are crimson.

Keith smiles. “Lance.”

“Shut up.”

“Babydoll.”

“Shut up.”

“I’m barely sayin’ anything, baby.”

“You are so fuckin — gay, you know that? God. Who fuckin — who says shit like that? Who on this Earth?”

Keith laughs, bending down to kiss right below Lance’s ear, to feel his flushed skin warm to frozen tip of his nose.

“You are so easily flattered.”

“Easily flatter this dick. How about that. Fuckin. Jerk.”

He lets Lance grouch at him, pleased and embarrassed about it, as he pulls them along the overcrowded streets. He checks his watch. Fifteen minutes ‘til the show starts, thirteen minutes ‘til they get there. Hopefully.

“Are we almost there? It’s cold and these shoes are pinchy.”

“I told you to wear comfortable shoes!”

“You told me to dress up! I can do one of those things, Akira!”

At the seven minute mark Keith starts running. Lance, surprisingly, doesn’t complain — a grin pulls at his sharp features, actually, and he wraps their hands together and runs faster, despite not knowing where they’re going. Every time they bump into someone in a suit he laughs. He laughs harder when they curse at him. Keith has to fight to keep his head in the game, to keep running, to not stop where he’s standing and watch Lance laugh for hours and hours and hours. It’s been too long.

He nearly pulls Lance’s arm out of his socket when he stops then abruptly, shouting “Here! Here! We’re here!” and pulling him inside a well-kept brownstone.

“Where’s…here?” Lance wonders, taking in the well-salted walkway and pretty red-and-green decorations all over the aged brick.

Keith doesn’t answer. “Close your eyes.”

Lance narrows his eyes. Keith makes his expression as wide and pleading as possible, and in seconds Lance caves, much to Keith’s satisfaction.

“You’re a pain in my neck.”

Keith kisses him quickly and chastely. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t let me walk into anything.”

Satisfied that Lance won’t peek, Keith shuffles them over to the box office, holding out their tickets. The stewardess smiles at him, scanning them, eyes twinkling at Keith wordless plea for her to keep the secret, and gestures towards a grand set of doors.

“Up the stairs, to your left, seat and row on your ticket,” she murmurs. “Enjoy the show.”

Keith nods his thanks and rushes them off.

“This sounds very fancy,” Lance observes as their shoes click on the — literally marble, how the hell were these tickets $20 — floors. “Dangerously so.”

Keith shrugs. “Perhaps.”

“…Not to be. A bummer. But please tell me you remembered our budget, Keith.”

“I did, Lance. I swear.”

Lance relaxes into him, and Keith realises for the first time how tense he was. He winces to himself. He probably could have made things a tad less stressful and still kept the surprise. He’ll remember that for next year.

“Okay, good. I trust you.”

They barely make it to their seats in time. Keith’s butt barely makes contact with the cushioned chair before the lights dim and the orchestra starts tuning, the rest of the audience lapsing into almost immediate silence.

Lance inhales sharply. “Keith…?”

“Open your eyes, sweetheart.”

Lance does, and they’re wide, and his mouth drops open, slightly, and for a moment he just stares, frozen, at the stage and the lights and the set, the familiar set, as the dim light casts shadows onto his face. The orchestra’s tuning note reaches its satisfying peak, harmonizing as one sound, and Keith’s full attention is on the lines of Lance’s face, the set of his jaw, the curves of his cheekbones.

“Merry Christmas,” he says quietly.

Before he can say anything else, before Lance can say anything else, the familiar sound of pointe shoes tapping delicately across the stage steals Keith’s attention. He turns his eyes to the stage, watching the dancers strut on the stage, and — stops.

He leans forward, squinting.

What?

Keith is…very familiar with the Nutcracker. He’s grown up alongside Lance’s family since he was eight years old. He’s been to more recitals than he can count. He’s been dragged to more performances than he can ever remember. Lance has lived and breathed and loved ballet his whole damn life, for the entire time Keith has known him, and that love bled well outside of the studio, has lasted even after he aged out of the program last year. Keith knows how the Nutcracker begins, and nothing about the program said this one was supposed to be any different.

Half of the dancers walking onstage are significantly shorter than they should be.

Now he knows damn well that there are kids in the Nutcracker. The main character is a kid. That’s the whole deal.

But there is not one adult on that stage right now. Hell, not even a teenager.

Keith looks down at the ticket — Feuilles Brillant Academy. He looks back at the stage. He looks at the other audience members — lots and lots of people with camcorders. And other small children.

Keith sinks into his chair, head in his hands.

His dumb ass bough a ticket to a children’s ballet recital.

Lord above.

“Lance, I am so sorry,” he whispers, “I was so caught up in the ticket being in budget I didn’t bother actually, like, looking deeper into things, this is totally — Lance?”

Keith leans forward in alarm, hands immediately falling on Lance’s knee, on his back. His shoulders shake and his hands are pressed to his eyes.

“Shit, babe, I’m sorry,” Keith says desperately, embarrassment replaced with panic. Everything feels like it’s crashing down around him, as dramatic as that is. He’d been so excited for this. Now it’s a whole mess. “I didn’t mean to — fuck things up, shit, we can leave.”

Lance shakes his head. Blindly, he reaches over the grasps Keith’s hand, holding tightly. His own hand is damp from his tears.

“No, no, it’s — perfect,” he whispers, voice hoarse. “I —”

His chin trembles, and more tears spill over his cheeks. As the music swells along to the climax of the first dance, Lance lifts the armrest separating their seats, half crawling over Keith until his head is tucked in the crook of Keith’s neck, arms folded between their chests, hands clutching at the fabric of his sweater. His voice is wet with tears and soaked in an emotion Keith can’t quite name, an almost — relief.

“It’s been so long. I didn’t want to — I thought I wouldn’t be able to do this again. I wouldn’t let myself think about it.”

Keith lets a huge, relieved exhale, sagging forward. He wraps himself more comfortably around Lance’s frame, squeezing him back, pressing a lingering kiss to his temple.

Growing up has been…hard. For the both of them.

They’d been told by everyone who knew them that they were being stupid and reckless. Keith has been promised that they won’t last more than two years by almost every grownup he’s ever known. Even his own brother had sighed his trepidation when Keith told him, stubborn and bold-faced, that he was moving in with Lance, that they were going to start their lives together the second they pulled off their caps and gowns, that they were ready for the next step. That they were eighteen and ready to face the world.

“Sacrifices,” Shiro had warned, “are going to be half your life now. It’s not that I think you can’t, Keith. I just. There’s a reason people don’t move in with their highschool sweetheart they summer after they graduate. Katy Perry wrote a whole song about it. It’s a banger.”

Keith hates it when his brother is right, and this time he was right about so many things in consecutive order. Living on your own is hard. Learning to live with someone else is harder. Doing it in a city far away from home, while balancing school and work and rent and groceries, is the hardest.

“I miss dance,” Lance croaks, and Keith closes his eyes and breathes deeply and holds Lance tighter.

He knows Lance misses dance. He knows that he hasn’t so much as listened to a ballet since they moved to New York, unless it’s in the dead of night, and he thinks Keith is asleep, and he puts in his headphones and moves their furniture as silently as he can to the edges of their tiny ass studio apartment and laces up his falling-to-pieces pointe shoes and dances like the very act of it is tearing him apart, and cries the whole time. And then stashes his shoes in the bottom of his gym bag and crawls back into bed and pretends again in the morning that he left his pointes back in Arizona. And Keith looks away and lets him because school is already twenty thousand a year and in no shape or form can they afford that and money to rent a studio.

But Keith can give him this. For a little bit, maybe, even if it’s little kids with handmade costumes pirouetting across a stage.

“I know, bluebell.”

Lance exhales, shaky, breath ghosting across Keith’s collarbones, and finally turns back towards the stage, keeping tucked under Keith’s chin. The kids dancing as the Snow Queen’s ladies-in-waiting are — three years old, maybe. At most four. They keep twirling right into each other like clumsy little bumblebees. It’s maybe the cutest thing Keith has ever seen in his entire life, and what’s better is the tiny smile that graces Lance’s face, despite the tears, growing bigger every time one of them wobbles back up to their feet and prances on, oblivious.

They watch the rest of the play in silence, Lance hands entwining with his sometime around the Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy and holding fast. They stand and clap as loudly as the gathered parents, louder even, at curtain call, as each kid jumps and twirls across the stage to thrown roses and cheering. It’s adorable.

They’re among the first to walk out, because the majority of the crowd surges towards backstage to collect their kid, so the walk is blessedly unrushed. They take their time, observing the pictures of grinning ballerinas that line the walls and numerous awards on endless shelves. Keith is filled with a deep and strong longing, a strange feeling of coming home — years of waiting on plastic chairs for Lance to finish solo practice when they were thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. Of taking his boots off at the door and quietly sneaking in the back of the studio, ducking away from other dancers’ boring stares, to watch Lance shine under the studio lights, reflected a thousand times by mirrored walls. Of the smell of lemon cleaner and polished hardwood floors and satin.

He notices a poster on the wall, among dozens of drawings and pictures of intricate sets, and freezes.

“Lance,” he says, tilting his head, “look.”

At the end of a hallway, right next to a door, is a hand-painted banner, reading: WE’LL MISS YOU, MISS RAULA! HAPPY RETIREMENT!

He squeezes Lance’s hand. “I bet they’re looking for a replacement.”

Lance stares at the poster for a long time. “You think?”

“I think it wouldn’t hurt to shoot them an e-mail.”

Smiling, Lance stops them in the hallway, puts his hands on Keith’s shoulders, stands on his tiptoes, and kisses him, long and sweet and loving.

“I’m already in a pretty tight spot now,” he murmurs, still standing so close to Keith and smelling so sweet that he has trouble focusing on his words, “‘cause this is already kind of the best Christmas gift ever. If that ends up being true I’m never topping you again.”

Keith laughs, suddenly, not expecting the turn, and Lance grins, pulling Keith down to him and kissing him again. It’s less of a kiss and more of a press of smiles, a clack of teeth, a shared laugh.

“I love you, Lance. Merry Christmas. I will be the Gift Giving King forever.”

“Shut up, goober.” He lifts Keith’s arm, tucking himself under it as they walk back out into the snowy December night. “I love you too.”

———

based on this post (third slide)

[probablyasocialecologist]

Among all government institutions worldwide, the US and UK militaries bear some of the greatest responsibility for climate crisis. Despite this, emissions from military sources are not addressed in international climate agreements: as a result of US lobbying, overseas military emissions were made exempt from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and military emissions reporting remained optional in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Even if using opaque official data, the UK and US militaries have jointly emitted at least 430 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent since the year of the Paris Climate Agreement — more than the total greenhouse gas emissions produced in the UK in 2022. While several other militaries are also leading institutional emitters, this report focuses on the joint climate impact of the US and UK militaries for three reasons: first, their historic role in the development of the global fossil fuel economy; second, their current consumption of fossil fuels, associated greenhouse gas emissions and the environmental damage produced by their military infrastructure; third, the US and UK governments’ allocation of public investment towards carbon-intensive industrial sectors to supply their militaries when they could better prioritise green industrial policy. The US and UK governments and their militaries are important architects of the modern fossil fuel economy. Throughout the twentieth century, the strategies of both militaries were intimately tied to the supply of oil. In the wake of the First World War, for instance, the British empire’s division of former Ottoman regions was explicitly designed around plans for hydrocarbon pipelines. As data presented in this briefing demonstrates, the legacy of the US and UK militaries as architects of the fossil economy lives on through their present consumption of fossil fuels — in 2017, the Pentagon produced more emissions than the country of Portugal. Accounting for the social consequences of US and UK military emissions since 2015 — using even a conservative social cost of carbon calculation as detailed below — would entail an international climate finance package of approximately $111 billion to be paid to the nations most threatened by climate crisis, far above the US and UK’s current contributions through established climate finance channels. Beyond carbon emissions, the US and UK’s overseas presence shows the various modes through which military bases, activity and infrastructure produce environmental damage and toxic waste. 

[ketuvamoon]

𝐈𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐊𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐖𝐄 ☋

First, what is Ketu and what are Ketuvians?

In Vedic astrology, there are 9 recognized planets: Surya (Sun), Chandra (Moon), Kuja (Mars), Budha (Mercury), Guru (Jupiter), Shukra (Venus), Shani (Saturn), Rahu (North Node), and Ketu (South Node).

Each of which rules over 3 lunar mansions called nakshatras, bringing the total to 27.

The three nakshatras ruled by Ketu are Ashwini, Magha, and Mula. Ketuvian means having these nakshatras in your big 3 (Sun, Moon, Rising) or having Ketu conjunct one of your big 3. The signs your big 3 are in take precedence before the nakshatras, though.

The WWE is an untapped gold mine when it comes to seeing how certain nakshatras play out in TV and entertainment. The WWE is unique in the way that the roles they play can affect their lives, the lines becoming blurred in a way, who is the character and who is the real person? I think it's very Ketu-like how many wrestlers lose themselves in a persona or in trying to live up to one.

So I’m focusing on Ketu today, Ketu rules extremes, headlessness, and disillusion. In this list, you’re going to see themes such as dark/edginess, first of many/trailblazers, recklessness/carelessness, and/or behaving in a deranged or unhinged fashion. Honestly, what WWE is all about.

Foremost, is the former CEO and head of creative of WWE, Vince McMahon (Magha ♌︎ Sun + Mercury) who in the Attitude Era and onward (1997-), was known for being pretty controversial, to say the least. Starting his evil and mischievous character with the Montreal Screwjob, screwing Bret Hart in the process. Despite that, he was responsible for the company's huge success, after experiencing a rough patch in the early 90s. Bringing us the iconic Ruthless Aggression era, and playing up excessive violence, profanity, and sexual content. The chart for the WWE has (Magha ♌︎ Jupiter + Rahu), giving Vince perfect synastry with it to be the one to bring it to the next level.

Next, The Undertaker (Mula ♐︎ Moon), who is known for his “Deadman” persona. The usual attire is a long, black, trench coat, and a black top hat. He spent all of his career in this persona, though having a short stint as the “American Badass” biker. If I’m not mistaken he’s also the wrestler that took the longest to break kayfabe [the fact or convention of presenting staged performances as genuine or authentic]. He didn’t do interviews until fairly recently, and he now has a podcast, telling stories from his long career.

Now, The Rock (Mula ♐︎ Moon), and Stone Cold Steve Austin (Mula ♐︎ Sun + Mercury). They were each other's most iconic rivalry, defining the Attitude Era. The Rock is the charismatic babyface while Stone Cold is the rebellious heel, both are pretty unfiltered and disrespectful towards others, especially each other.

Next, Team Xtreme (lol), which consisted of the Hardy Boyz: Jeff Hardy (Revati Moon + Ketu), Matt Hardy (Mula ♐︎ Moon), and Lita (Ashwini ♈︎ Sun | Krittika Moon + Ketu). They were known for their extreme, high-flying stunts and innovative moves. Lita joined as their valet and quickly became an active participant in matches, marking the true formation of Team Xtreme. During this period, Lita and Matt were dating. They all had considerable solo success as well, with Jeff becoming WWE Champion in 2008.

The duo found fame in tandem with Edge (Mula ♐︎ Moon + Rahu | Ashwini ♈︎ Mars) & Christian (Ashwini ♈︎ Mars | Mula ♐︎ Rahu), their very risky tables, ladders, and chairs matches definitely set a new standard for any matches of its kind to follow.

With Lita only being part of the trio for 2 years, she found her success as a solo act with the help of two individuals, Trish Stratus (Mula ♐︎ Sun) and Edge. Her feud with Trish Stratus is each other’s biggest, and her real-life affair with Edge became a major storyline used in the show. She caught most of the heat for this affair, the hate from fans running her out of the company in 2006.

The affair with Lita, along with becoming ruthless in his pursuit to become champion, catapulted Edge into stardom, starting the best heel run of all time, IMO. Edge started with a dark and edgy (lol) persona, a “tortured” soul who didn’t speak much. He then moved into a duo with Christian and momentarily became the Brood, a trio of vampires with Gangrel. All before fully leaning into being loud, reckless, and careless, he became the legend he is today, the “Rated R” Superstar. He also had a noteworthy feud with John Cena (Ashwini ♈︎ Sun). He was my first "favorite" wrestler ever, as a Mula Moon myself. 🤭

Trish’s feud with Victoria (Magha ♌︎ Moon + Ketu | Mula ♐︎ Venus) was notable, with them having a Hardcore match at Survivor Series. This was during a time when it was extremely taboo for women to do anything even close to what they did, hitting each other with various objects.

Victoria’s persona was unhinged and edgy, nicknamed the “Black Widow”. I absolutely adored her aesthetic, I notice a lot of Ketu natives gravitate towards black, red, and purple.

Chyna (Mula ♐︎ Sun + Venus) was the one who encouraged Victoria to begin wrestling. Chyna got her start in the WWE acting as a bodyguard for Triple H and Shawn Michaels, forming D-Generation X. Chyna, more than any other woman in wrestling, showed that women can do what men can. She was very important for the women’s division, being the only woman to have held the Intercontinental Championship. She was a trailblazer and nicknamed the “Ninth Wonder of the World”. After being let go from the WWE at the end of 2001, she struggled with drug, alcohol addictions, and depressive tendencies. She unfortunately passed from a drug overdose in 2015. The way things turned out for her truly bothered me, she deserved better. Rest in Peace. 🕊️

Lastly, Sunny (Mula ♐︎ Moon) is known to most as the first major WWE Diva, becoming the most downloaded personality on AOL in 1996. She had a controversial tenure in WWE, having an affair with Shawn Michaels while being publicly involved with Chris Candido. She also struggled with addiction, eventually being let go by WWE in 1998 after too many no-shows. Sunny has since made appearances on independent circuits. Most recently, she has been arrested several times and is now serving a 17.5-year sentence for vehicular manslaughter.

All in all, Ketu has an almost insatiable need to be headless, expressing a sense of carelessness or detachment. It can be their success just as much as it can be their downfall. In the world of wrestling, men often channel this behavior into their work, which reduces the need to act out in their personal lives, though some still do, often through infidelity or drug use. However, Ketu-ruled women in wrestling, lacking similar outlets in their professional roles, tend to seek this detachment in their personal lives, frequently turning to substances as their medium of expression.

Found on Barbara Pijan's site:

"Ketu can have a strong influence on things in this way: 

It sometimes renders the mind unbalanced, disturbing social relationships and makes personal life difficult. 

Ketu makes itself felt in the psychology of an individual rather than on the material conditions of life."

[bluehardtops]

"Vice-Chancellor,

Formula 1 Grand Prix racing is regarded as the pinnacle of motorsport and, even if we are not die-hard aficionados, most of us are familiar with the names of recent world champions. Less familiar, however, are the names of the men and women who provide the expertise and infrastructure essential to the performance of those champions and their cars. Today we celebrate one of the most successful and distinguished of that supporting cast: Andrew Shovlin, the Chief Race Engineer for the highly successful Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team.

Andrew arrived in Leeds to start his undergraduate course in Mechanical Engineering in 1992. His final-year project on the mathematical modelling of car suspension systems directly led to a PhD project, under the supervision of the late Professor Dave Crolla, on the dynamics of military logistics vehicles.  As a member of Dave’s renowned Vehicle Dynamics research group, Andrew presented his work at several international conferences, at one of which he was awarded the prestigious Institution of Mechanical Engineers Viscount Weir prize.

As well as chasing Challenger Tanks around the North York moors as part of his PhD project, Andrew also found time to become involved with our early Formula Student race car activities:  he travelled with the team to the US when, in 1997, we became the first UK university to enter the Formula SAE event.

After receiving his PhD in 1998, Andrew joined British American Racing, the start of his highly successful career in Formula 1. He went on to became Jenson Button’s race engineer – the person responsible for crucial decisions about car setup and race strategy before and during a race – and was much acclaimed when Jenson won the world championship with Brawn in 2009. Andrew became Michael Schumacher’s race engineer the following year, when Mercedes took over Brawn; and was then promoted in 2011 to be chief race engineer for Mercedes.  In that role, he has helped secure three successive world titles, for Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, as the team has come to dominate the sport. 

Despite his busy and demanding career in motorsport, Andrew has not forgotten his alma mater, and has returned frequently to give talks to our students and to offer advice to our current Formula Student team. And it is perhaps no coincidence that in recent years we have had at least one of our students undertaking a much sought after year-long work placement at Mercedes F1. 

Through his outstanding success in the demanding world of Formula 1 racing, Andrew is a great ambassador for automotive engineering at Leeds, and a true inspiration to our students.

Vice-Chancellor, I present to you for the degree of Doctor of Science (Engineering) honoris causa, Andrew Francis Shovlin." [x]

[greyias]

I really don’t want swtor to shut down it’s the only eu thing that’s active we have left

I knew these asks were going to start coming in.

So for those who haven't heard, it was reported, and then later confirmed by Keith Kanneg on the forums, that EA is "selling" SWTOR to another developer, Broadsword. For those who want to read the article discussing it, you can read here: https://www.ign.com/articles/star-wars-the-old-republic-development-third-party-bioware

TL;DR -- It's not shutting down. The servers are going to stay active for a while

There's a few points to note here:

If I understand things correctly, EA actually owns Broadsword. So EA is in fact not actually offloading a property, I think what's actually happening is BioWare Austin itself is being divvied out and would not be surprised to see if that branch is shut down

At least half of the SWTOR dev team is part of this move, so the key things to keep an eye on is which members of the dev team are moving. If the narrative staff is kept intact, then we have more story ahead of us beyond what's been written, and they've confirmed we're getting 7.3, 7.3.1, and 7.4. It's important to note that their production timeline is generally a year out from things being written, so story-wise, if they have narrative staff, we'll likely still have some story drops ahead of us

SWTOR is profitable (it hit over $1 billion in profit several years ago), and I will admit I don't have the best understanding of video game finances, but my impresion it was far into the black and maybe not an enromous cash cow, but a decent consistent revenue stream. EA is a publisher that is about profits, so as long as the game is profitable, even if there's not new story drops, the game will stay online

Disney has seemingly taken a recent interest in SWTOR after mostly ignoring it after its acquisition of Star Wars, even going so far as to finally acknowledge the general KOTOR/SWTOR era in their presentations last year at Celebration. Does this ultimately mean anything? I don't know, but SWTOR is one of the longest running current properties with a stable player base. They're just as interested in profit as EA. Probably another indicator that the game will keep running for a while.

Other properties that Broadsword operates, such as Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online, are old games. Ultima Online was released in 1997, and the servers are still active. So like, I think regardless of what happens in regards of the story, we're not losing the ability to log in and play the game

Long term subscriptions - I remember reading, and forgive me, because I've long forgotten the source, that a key indicator if the servers are going offline is to also keep an eye on the six-month subscription option. Basically, if suddenly the only option for subs goes down to one month, that's when to worry about being able to actually play the game.

This is probably not about SWTOR, but BioWare as a whole. It seems there's a leadership issue at the main Alberta office that's causing issues. This is likely an Anthem issue all over again, but Anthem this time happens to be the Mass Effect and Dragon Age properties. Unfortunately, BioWare Austin looks like it's going to suffer the consequences of that, even though they've been running a tight ship overall compared to the rest of the branches. I feel for them. This sucks.

Now I'm not an oracle, I have no idea if this is ultimately a good or bad thing for the game itself. There's a lot of evidence for both sides of the coin, so right now the best thing is to wait and see. We at least have the promise of the next two patches. Let's focus on enjoying that, and celebrating what we love about our silly space game.

If you love the game, keep playing it. Spend money on it, and keep it profitable and it will stay around. Be kind and supportive of the devs, who regardless of how this shakes out, are going through a major transition. But immediately decrying an active game's death and going into doom and gloom is not going to help things.

Will we get more story beyond 7.4? I do not know one way or the other. I hope we do, but it's hard to say for certain on that front. But I do believe we'll still have our toons and be able to replay all of the released content for quite a while to come. Again, for now I'm just going to enjoy my favorite game, and support it as long as I have it. Even if this inevitably means it's going to change.

[cherrylng]

Great Guitarists 100 - Graham Coxon, Jonny Greenwood, Stuart Braithwaite, and Wes Borland [CROSSBEAT (November 2009)]

Graham Coxon The reason why Blur, who have never announced their break-up, have been said to have 'reunited' is that his presence in Blur and in the UK in the 1990s was too great. He was a maniacal noise-obsessive himself, even using an electric drill when recording "Modern Life Is Rubbish", but the resulting riffs were terrifyingly poppy. The revolution of the 90s was that guitar heroes were no longer required to have technique, and Graham Coxon's ability to turn everything upside down with his unique sense of time and phrasing was one of the centrepieces of the Britpop era. As a visibly literate and nerdy guitar hero, he may well be one of the first. This year, he continues to be active with his latest solo album and touring with the original members of Blur. -Hitoshi Sugiyama

Selected Albums "Modern Life Is Rubbish" (1993, photo) Blur "Parklife" (1994)

Jonny Greenwood A child prodigy who learned to play the cello and viola from an early age and was once awarded a prize for 'contribution to the development of music at our school' when he was at the prestigious Abingdon School. He has been a key member of Radiohead's predecessor band On A Friday from the time of the band to the present day, playing a central role in the band's sound. In his early work, his guitar playing was rather straightforward, with a strong influence from grunge/alternate rock bands such as Sonic Youth, Pixies, and Dinosaur Jr, but from "OK Computer" onwards, he actively introduced all styles of music, including classical, avant-garde and dance music. He began to play experimental sounds using various effectors, such as whammy, which makes the pitch of the guitar rise and fall to extreme levels. He has always regarded the guitar as a means of expression, which is why he is able to create unique and original sounds. -Takanori Kuroda

Representative albums "The Bends" (1995) Radiohead "OK Computer" (1997, photo)

Stuart Braithwaite From flowing arpeggios to raging feedback. Mogwai's dynamic soundscapes, which move back and forth between "stillness" and "movement", are the product of a flawless ensemble. The band is built on a perfect balance that cannot be created by any one person being left out, but what really stands out (including their looks) is the guitar playing of Stuart Braithwaite, who is also the leader of the band. His sound, influenced by My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, hardcore, and heavy metal, is the cornerstone of the band. He mainly uses a Fender Telecaster and a Gibson SG, with a very conventional amp. However, there are more than a dozen different types of effectors, from distortion to spatial systems, and he switches between them (and sometimes steps on them all!), creating that high-density guitar noise. -Takanori Kuroda

Representative albums "Mogwai Young Team" (1997, photo) Mogwai "Come On Die Young" (1999)

Wes Borland The 90s saw the crossover between rock and hip-hop go from strength to strength. Guitarists had their work cut out for them. How on earth do you bridge the gap between the two? Wes Borland's answer to that question was to stick to riffs. The riff, a traditional rock technique, is treated like a sampling loop in hip-hop. In doing so, he arrived at a method that blends the two well. But for this to happen, every riff had to be catchy. He used every means possible to achieve this. The techniques are diverse, including heavy riffs with drop tuning, arpeggio riffs utilising delays, and simple riffs with only two notes. Although his eccentric looks tend to attract attention, he is in fact one of the leading riff masters of our time. -Junya Shimofusa

Representative albums "Significant Other" (1999, photo), Limp Bizkit "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water" (2000)

[maigeiko]

Shinbashi Geisha - from the 1997 Koryo-kai 紅緑会 program. Koryo-kai was a joint venture of various Hanamachi all around Japan, running from 1984 to 2000. Here, you can see: Aya あや, Wakaryo 若竜 Yume ゆめ, Sawako 佐和子, Hiroko 博子, Koume 小梅, Koyae 小八重 Kosen 小扇, Eriko えり子, Komatsu 小松, Komasa 小ま Aya and Yume are still active as of 2024. Hiroko retired in 2021. Koume and Komatsu retired around 2007 (present on Shinbashi Kumiai website in 2007, but not in the Azuma Odori that year) The others retired before 2007.

[betterthanapokeintheeye]

The End is just the start of a new adventure

Jason Anthony (as he was back then) started Discworld Monthly back in 1997, the first issue was created on Terry Pratchett's birthday that year.

Terry gave his permission for Jason to create and write Discworld Monthly on the basis it sounded like perfectly normal fan activity to him.

We got invites to launch parties, birthday parties, book proofs used to drop in the door, and the phone would occasionally ring and it would be Terry wanting to know something. In emails Terry used to inform us and berate us in equal measure BUT he always appreciated that we didn't expect anything of him and thus Discworld Monthly was always treated kindly by him.

When Terry died, we managed the outpouring of grief from the fandom, spoke his name and gave our time to the mass of journalists who wanted someone to talk about Terry. We did this to keep those same journalists from Rob Wilkin's and Rhianna Pratchett's doors. Circling the wagons as one might say to allow them time to grieve. Protect them we did and protect them we still do.

However, we always wondered how much longer we could keep producing a monthly newsletter. Would there be enough news for us to carry on?

We managed to continue for 7+1 years. It hasn't been easy.

As it turned out, whilst there is news, sharing the news has become problematic. The internet, whilst wonderful, is also a myriad of trip hazards. We've had our wrists slapped more than once because we posted information that was under embargo, which we wouldn't have published if we had known it was! Our sources have always been from the publishing industry websites - if they don't state information is under embargo, how does anyone know?

We also came under fire from the fandom itself because someone decided they didn't like us. In our opinion Trolls should not stay under bridges, but they should at least be fought when they try to take your head off.

We've had good times though. The memories of the good stuff will always outweigh the bad. The friendships created in 26 years will endure.

Terry Pratchett once said "Discworld Monthly, Better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick"

Which is true although sometimes we think being poked in the eye with a blunt stick would have hurt us less.

It is time for a change. A big change.

Discworld Monthly is no more. 26 years of newsletters is a huge achievement and as a fan run entity, self funded and self written, we can hold our heads high and proud.

THANK YOU for all your support over the last 26 years.  To all those who wrote articles, readers letters, every email, every comment meant the world to us.  We hope you continue to support us. 

So what is next ?

We decided to broaden our horizons, and do what we did for Terry, but for more authors. We will remain a fan-run entity, but we will use our 26 years of experience to get news out about our other favourite authors alongside the news about Terry's works.

It will always be about fantasy books and it will be a little more ... wild shall we say?

We are sure you have already guessed the name of our new news site.

But just in case..

Drum roll please....

May we present..

Better than a Poke in the Eye, a fan-run news site about your favourite bunch of comic fantasy authors.

What does this mean? It means we will continue to produce the news about our favourite authors' works but we are not constrained to JUST Terry Pratchett. We can share our love and passion for Jasper Fforde, Ben Aaronovitch, Robert Rankin and more.. We can shout out how much we love TANK GIRL and other comic fantasy literature.

It means we can do MORE...

The rebranding will take a few weeks. We will archive the Discworld Monthly issues but it means you will still be able to read back issues. Our social channels will all be converted to our new name and we will still be at events shouting not just Terry's name but others too.

Excited? You bet we are!

[angel-of-hunky-doryness]

The Conflicts of Disney's Hercules (Part 2): Hercules vs Hades

Or as I like to call it: why Hercules and Hades are the best example of a literary foil muddled and lost in its own movie.

LONG POST, sorry not sorry.

The hero vs villain dynamic is a Disney staple inspired by the many fairy tales and folklore from which Disney has long based their movies on. However, this dynamic went through a glow-up when Disney started their Renaissance period kicking off with The Little Mermaid (1989).

This era of Disney brought in much more personality and character to their protagonists, but also bringing in a new type of villain. Now this was a sharp departure from your atypical evil stepmothers and wicked villainesses that Disney was known from in their early days.

That's why when Disney decided to adapt Hercules (1997) the writers needed a formidable foe for Hercules to throws hands with to fit in to this new era where you had the likes of Ariel vs Ursula, Aladdin vs Jafar, Simba vs Scar, etc.

And in the Renaissance, Disney started leaning more into their Shakespearean influences. Nowhere is this more evident then Lion King (1994) and to a lesser extent- based on deleted scenes, the broadway version, and live action remake- Little Mermaid.

The reason I'm bringing this up is b/c, my dear reader, now we're getting to the Evil Uncle Trope.

Or at least a failed execution of it, b/c Disney did not utilize it well in Hercules. It's just barely touched upon.

Yes, yes, I know who the real villain is in the original myth of Herakles and that could be a reason it doesn't work. But Herakles vs Hera doesn't work well on paper when you remember that Herk was the affair baby and Hera is actively trying to smite him and this is a film meant for children. And something, something, she doesn't carry the kind of raw emo goth energy a walking-talking Bunsen burner can provide.

Jokes aside and the accuracy of the Greek Mythology presented, I think Disney Hercules was adapted well to a modern audience.

HOWEVER!

Now I've made it no secret in the past that I don't really view this hero/villain pair as the central conflict of Disney's Hercules.

That is mostly because whatever antagonism Hades and Hercules had going on it's very one-sided, and almost surface-level. Hades is over here having the biggest blow to his ego with a little bit of existential crisis thrown in for good measure.

While Hercules is absolutely vibing to the Muses singing the greatest mind-melting musical number of the film.

Not once do we get a character moment where this corn-fed farm boy ever stops to think, "Hey, Phil, I know Thebes is a bad place and all, but where do these mildly inconveniencing monsters keep coming from?"

In all two of his interactions with Hades(I'm not counting the opening scene, Hercules is a baby, fight me), Hercules never realizes in the entire movie how he was wronged by this tall glass of daddy issues.

Which are:

Flambe man kidnapped Baby

Lil sun spot is mortal now for plot relevance or smth

Attempted murder via the goon squad

Monsters keep coming out of nowhere after Herc saves the sassy lady from the Centaur(TM).

And Hades, to his credit, really doesn't care enough to tell him.

Why?

Because it literally never bothered Hercules. Hades is the obligatory monster of the week to Wonder breath. That kind of revelation wouldn't bother him, Hercules doesn't even know there's a prophecy about him. Hecc, home boy barely struggles with the Titans at the climax.

This is basically the Wanda-Thanos meme but the roles are reversed.

And I would like to emphasize, Hercules isn't bothered by the monsters Hades sends at all. He gets over it fairly quickly once he gets over his first battle jitters. If anything, the biggest issue Hercules is facing post-Hydra is that even though society has finally embraced him for his strength, he's still extremely lonely.

Which leads to this pivotal moment in the film:

What is the point?

He's still a freak, but this time after years of training he's finally useful. My pal Rudolph the Red-nose reindeer understands this predicament rather well. And the loneliness that Hercules feels b/c of his superhuman abilities is such a fascinating angle the writers of Disney Hercules go with that isn't emphasized enough.

And I can't stress this enough: The internal war Hercules grapples with, of being caught between two worlds, struggling with something he was born with and of doing everything in his power to fit into both of these worlds? Now that makes for a compelling demigod.

What's more, the strange shift in how society view his strength is such a interesting element that could have made a better antagonist than Hades was and I bet if this movie was made in this new era of Disney films (2015-Present) it would've executed it with this premise in mind. Since Disney has moved away from mustache-twirling villains and focusing on things like generational trauma and internal issues.

The fear and scorn Hercules once felt is now being turned to adoration, but wait, that's not what he wanted!

He just wanted to be treated like a person.

Take the discus scene, Hercules tries to play frisbee with the other teens in his neighborhood, but he immediately gets told to buzz off.

His goal of reaching Olympus isn't to reunite with his real family it's to finally be around others who are just as powerful as him, somewhere he wouldn't be out of place.

And the funny part about all of this is how well it ties in to Hades. Because Hercules upholding his duty as a hero is essentially what Hades did in his respective career until the moment he had his very own What's the point? moment.

Now first and foremost, I'm here to say Hades did his job. Regardless of how respectfully he did that in his later years....

No zombie apocalypses as far as I can tell, so kudos to you babe.

And that kind of job isolated him pretty badly when you consider Hades is with the dead instead of the other gods, almost making Hercules' dream the same as Hades'. However that dream has long since distorted and twisted from centuries of bitterness and anger.

Which adds another layer to their similarities. The dedication they had for their jobs isolated them even further.

And funnily enough, Hades and Herc were both assigned to this task by Zeus.

Now that we've established how similar H&H are let's see if we can glean how it played out for Hades by looking at Hercules' beginning. Hercules started out with so much determination and hope as can be seen in I Can Go the Distance (reprise). And as we follow Hercules to seek a teacher, to undergo years of training, and to follow through with all that he had been taught, Hercules never lost hope that he would finally be with people like him.

Well that is until Hercules' talk with Zeus.

And we learn Hercules has been putting himself through tons of risks and labors for nothing...?

He could've accomplished being a true hero back in his old farm town, and before you argue Zeus never explicitly told him to walk the path of a hero- then why did he send him to Danny DeVito???

And I'd like to make it clear I adore that Herc is being told off by his dad. Being Superman in Metropolis can go to one's head at his age especially now that he has proven time and time again how useful his strength is. Hubris is a major character flaw associated with greek mythology even if it isn't the flaw Herakles has in myth, keep this in mind for later as I explain what his flaw really is and how we see instances of it in the Disney film.

With that kind of journey mapped out, I bet about two drachmas and my 4 pound sponsor that Hades did the same as Herc. And as a result invested too much in his job for him to realize that he became disconnected to Olympus as a result.

Yeah, okay this is more conjecture and veering into fanfiction territory here and since I've been writing a fanfic on this guy for the past 6 years I tend to do that w/o meaning to. So if I ever start being a little too sympathetic on Mr. Brimstone Breath over there, take it with a grain of salt.

However, it is my personal headcanon since Hades did help Zeus in the original Titanomachy that my mans became extremely distant in his attempt to become a feared and respected god of the underworld.

And that came with its own reputation as mentioned in Gospel Truth Part II. Hades can get one-track minded and that applies very well to Hercules too.

So in the end, everything Herc and Hades were doing wasn't getting them any closer to what they really wanted: social acceptance.

And this was a big thing in Ancient Greece. The worst punishment a person could receive in those times was being exiled. Outcast. Permanent hermitage.

Let that sink in.

It can be argued that Hades always vied for Zeus' position, but I personally believe he did so because every other attempt he's made to change his circumstances after his What's the Point moment he kept hitting a road block either from Zeus or his arrogance to continue ruling a kingdom even if it isn't the underworld. Until he basically reasons, yup gotta take down the resident thunder dunder head.

And I think it's this factor of loneliness that both these guys share that really exemplifies or differentiates why each one is a great foil to each other. Hades is the dark reflection of what Hercules could be if he continued to toil after godhood/accepted into Mount Olympus to no avail for years and years and years.

It's a very similar trope we see in Kung Fu Panda with Tai Lung vs Po. And where Zeus fits into the role of Shifu.

Remember, both these two were serving their people, but Hades has been around far longer. After centuries, Hades grew sick and tired of serving ppl for basically nothing so he decided to put all his anger and frustration to force the world to bend to him instead.

But this is all hidden in between the lines so it doesn't hit home to the audience unless you take a deeper look into these two characters.

And all that I've talked about above is not even what we see in the film.

So, let's talk about what we do see.

Exhibit Alpha: All Hades Breaks Loose

As always, Hades is a showstopper. Don't tell him that btw he doesn't deserve it.

After executing a perfect 9.8/10 gymnastic spectacle, Hades shows up ready to pounce and do what he does best: Wheel and Deal with a trick ace up his sleeve.

It's so funny seeing Hercules talk to this guy, b/c he just had a falling out with his mentor and he's absolutely not in the mood to talk to this fast-talking flame head.

And Hades was ready to mop the floor with the guy, but b/c he can't get Wonder Bread's attention he has to whip out Meg a lot faster then he wanted to. He couldn't even savor the moment- it's like wasting a fine cigar.

But Hades doesn't skip a beat and like any mob boss, snaps his fingers, does a bit of blackmailing, and my beautiful boy catches on that if he loses his powers for 24 hours- talk about the confidence on Hades' part here- ppl will get hurt.

Hades, naturally, assures him things will be fine. I mean it's not like they're living in Greek mythology or anything. And after all, Hades assures him, Meg will be safe from harm.

They even shake on it. With left hands.....

And as soon as the two break apart, Hades doesn't hold back on telling his nephew how badly he screwed up.

Leave it to your estranged uncle to sucker you into a terrible deal and then outline why that was the worst mistake of your lifetime. Grade A uncle-ing I say. Wonder if he learned that from centuries of putting up with Zeus' offspring.

And while I have discussed this scene before in Meg vs Hades, we see here the same betrayal Meg had gone through with her ex, but now Meg is taking on the role of her ex. So let's look at it from Herc's perspective.

Anyone else feel their heart breaking when Hercules accuses Hades of lying????

But this is what makes the scene for me:

Despite everything, Hercules still chooses to fight.

You can really see the strength of Hercules' character here. Cuz despite his stupid decision, he still bares the weight of his responsibility even without his god-like strength.

Hercules faces the Cyclops as a normie. Hades would never.

This is the moment where Hercules rises above Hades in humility and upholds his duty despite the odds against him. This moment cements Hercules as a hero.

Finally the cycle of similarities is broken by Hercules' unselfish act. And it should've been in my opinion the moment he gained godhood and not the one below:

Yes, I know how important it is for Meg's redemption and to show how pure and true their relationship is. They're my emotional support OTP, okay, but what's more compelling?

Hercules being saved by the woman who just betrayed him, or Hercules risking his life to save the city of Thebes now that he's just like everybody else? He doesn't have his plot armor anymore, he's facing a giant that's already going ham destroying the populace while everyone is trying to escape. Isn't that true hero material? To stand and face the threat and buy the people time to escape?

But I digress.

And oh man, when Meg gets crushed we see a side of Hercules that was hinted at after Phil called out Meg for being a fraud:

We see Hercules' flaw.

In fact, the same flaw that Hades has as well:

Wrath.

Exhibit Beta: A Swell Consolation Prize

Hades loses. Big surprise there. I'm not covering the Titan scene since Hades and Herc just trade frowns and smirks, so imma leave that one be for this post.

But Hades really does sign his death certificate when he starts running away and reminds Johnny Beefcakes that he still managed to get him where it hurts:

And boy oh boy, when Meg died in his arms, Hercules has murder on his mind.

This is the first time Hercules has a vendetta against Hades (with 10 minutes left). A true, true vendetta. He was willing to let go tricking him by using Meg, but now b/c Hades knocked over the domino that led to Meg's death and the job title he holds, he's ready to go kick ass.

And Lord, the writers knock a home run to the impulsiveness that sits at this central character flaw of Herakles.

Hercules, our Disney version, is ready to cheat death, beat Hades to a pulp and do anything to get Meg back. Alcestis and Admetus style, baby.

So Herc grabs Cerberus and forces the bloodthirsty puppy to take him to his master.

And now realizing that he still has a chance of pulling one over on Zeus, Hades is willing to look over the abuse upon his pet and gets ready to use the wheeling and dealing technique.

And while Hercules does *convince*, and I use that word very loosely, to trade places with Meg, Hades agrees. While some have pointed out to me how clever Hercules can be this was not one of those moments.

Wow the son of my greatest rival??? Hercules made a really easy bargain that Hades was gonna propose anyway. Meg is insignificant in the grand scheme of things so who cares if she got a 'Get out of Jail' free card.

But, Hades messed up. Dude should've had his cake and eaten it too and just fished Meg out so Herc could take that dip and avoid what was coming to him.

Y'see Hades wasn't aware of the true hero clause Zeus randomly made up just like how Hades randomly made up a god-to-mortal potion.

So we get this ending with Herc's debt remaining unpaid.

I joked to myself as I was writing this post to include a post in my Hercules Conflicts series where it's Hades vs Hades b/c let's be real, Hades caused all of Hades' problems.

Self-fulfilling prophecies babyyyyy

Oy... Can you believe that now that Herc and Meg are alive and kicking as mortals they still owe a debt to Hades? Not the best ending, mind you. Sure, Hades isn't getting out anytime soon, so does it matter in the grand scheme of things?

But it is a sweet and well-deserved ending for our boy Hercules. Bc despite everything, Hercules realizes that the ppl who love him and know him for who he is: his adopted parents, his coach, and his girl that he would rather live out a mortal life with them instead of one with his bio parents. He knows now that the acceptance he has always been longing for has been realized and he'd rather have the life he knows than risk it all for a life that might make him all the more miserable.

And just like Hercules, Hades is now permanently stuck in the world he was forced into. Funny how they both ended up in the place they were actively trying to leave. It's a well-deserved punishment even if the dead are screwed without someone to keep the underworld in tip-top shape.

It's a shame Hades didn't meet Hercules sooner in the film because there is tons of material here that could've really had them be a formidable villain/hero pair up there with the likes of Aladdin vs Jafar. To have them actively oppose each other and force Hercules to grapple with the knowledge that this god is doing everything in his power to keep him off balance. imagine if Hades showed up early on just to gloat and mock the kid and confirm everything Zeus had told him?

Hercules could've grown up with that chip on his shoulder, wanting to be a fighter and a warrior just so he could take Hades on for realzies and take on the hoard of monsters he's sending to doom humanity. Just so it culminates in the classic: We're not so different conversation to mentally mess with the hero about his morals and life choices.

Could've been great.

Regardless, thanks for making it to the end, dear reader.

Till next time.

[nhozemphtekh]

Meet the Creator / au

My name is Solovyova, I go by Dietrich. I’m 18 years old and I’ve been a huge fan of WOY since 2013, growing up on the RUS 🇷🇺 dub.

I decided to come onto Tumblr after finding an active fan base for Wander Over Yonder, as well as finally sharing the AU I’ve had for it since 2017.

I warn that my content (art & literature) contains mature themes such as; swearing, violence, and topics of religion, brief mention of politics.

About my WOY Au..

“Eyes Up!” is a story that is set on the planet of the watchdogs & the empire surrounding them, which is depicted as a 18th to 21st/ retro futuristic world.

It primarily focuses the idea of an alternative universe where Commander Peepers discovers time travel, as well as him falling onto the darker side of villainy into complete tyranny and destruction.

In the original show’s timeline:

the watchdogs were once a powerful monarchical empire themselves followed by a grand war against the skeletal empire which resulted in the downfall of the Queen whom was imprisoned in stone. Which angered the deities and punished the watchdogs through 6 plagues.

In the present, Peepers’ had slowly become obsessed with the power that is meant to be his after reported discoveries from archeologists at homeworld, consisting larger skeletons of watchdogs from earlier times in history and ancient relics.

Parallel Universe/Time travel AU:

In the alternate universe Peepers falls into, he is met with the outcome of the watchdogs defeating the skeletal where Bellum (my OC) continues to be Queen of the watchdog empire.

Based on the season 5 episode of MLP.

The theme song I’ve had for this AU was:

The AU has a veil of mature subjects consisting; violence, swearing, graphic imagery of murder & politics. It also briefly mentions sensuality.

My AU was genuinely inspired by the GTA games, movies; Eyes Wide Shut (1997), Marie Antoinette (2006), and MLP: Friendship is Magic.

[idiishowl]

( layout ib : @/s3aborn3 )

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⋆ ࣪ 𖠗 Ꮺ ָ࣪ ۰ ִ     . . .   LOOK AT ME GOOD, YEAH, I AM THE LIT ! 

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⋆ ࣪ 𖠗 Ꮺ ָ࣪ ۰ ִ     . . .   BASICS ! 

BIRTH NAME  — Luo Kaixin 

ENGLISH NAME  —  Joshua Luo 

BIRTHDAY  —  March 28th, 1997

BIRTHPLACE  —  Jianyang, Sichuan, China 

HOMETOWN  —  Toronto, Canada

ETHNICITY  —  Chinese 

NATIONALITY  —  Chinese-Canadian 

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⋆ ࣪ 𖠗 Ꮺ ָ࣪ ۰ ִ     . . .   FAMILY ! 

FATHER  —  Steven Luo 

MOTHER  —  Marlene Wang 

SIBLING(S)  —  N/A 

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⋆ ࣪ 𖠗 Ꮺ ָ࣪ ۰ ִ     . . .   PHYSICAL ! 

GENDER  —  Male 

PRONOUNS  —  He / him 

TATTOO(S)  —  3

PIERCING(S)  —  2

FACE CLAIM  —  Dylan Wang (actor) 

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⋆ ࣪ 𖠗 Ꮺ ָ࣪ ۰ ִ     . . .   CAREER ! 

STAGE NAME  —  HOWL

PROFESSION  —  Idol, actor, model 

LABEL  —  STARBORN CREATIVE, Glasshouse Inc., formerly under Cre.ker Entertainment 

TRAINING PERIOD  —  3 years 

YEARS ACTIVE  —  2017 – Present 

FORMER GROUP  —  The Boyz 

FORMER POSITION  —  Lead Vocalist, Rapper, Visual 

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⋆ ࣪ 𖠗 Ꮺ ָ࣪ ۰ ִ     . . .   BACKGROUND ! 

Luo Kaixin was born as an only child to an actor father and an opera singer mother, who had him only a few months before moving to Canada. From his childhood, he was always put into the spotlight, even after his mother retired from the spotlight and his father took on a smaller career as an author and film director before disappearing from their lives. Kaixin easily took up acting and singing, gaining his own following for appearing in commercials and landing small roles in movie that were directed by his father's friends. He also started busking for fun, eventually being scouted by Cre.ker Entertainment in 2015 when he was in South Korea one day to film for one of his father's friend's movies. 

In 2016, Kaixin auditioned for Cre.ker Entertainment and got in, training for one year before debuting in the boy group The Boyz as the lead vocalist and visual KJ. However, in 2019, he left both the group and company for unknown reasons, though it is speculated that Kaixin may have been mistreated during his time in Cre.ker. He disappeared from the public eye for a few months before suddenly resurfacing as a new artist under both STARBORN CREATIVE and Glasshouse Inc. He debuted as a soloist in 2021 under the stage name HOWL. 

[maddieautobot273]

Silk & Cologne (56)

A Miguel O'Hara x OC Fanfic - link to AO3 (X)

Chapter 56: Support - previous chapter (X)

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x Female !Spidersona OC

Words: 3K+ words

Warning: PG for brief flashbacks

Summary: Miguel and Lisa both struggle figuring out what to do next.

////////

Miguel’s P.O.V. 

“Anything yet, Lyla?” 

Miguel was scouring every inch and corner of the Web of Destiny, the map that outlined every link and dimension of the multiverse. After multiple attempts of waiting for her to contact Lisa again and interviewing multiple other Spiders he knew of who had interacted with her in the past, Miguel still couldn’t find any trace of Madame Web’s whereabouts. Before he was getting frustrated, now he is becoming increasingly irritated. 

“Nothing,” Lyla shook her head in dismay before falling flat on her back, hovering in the air, appearing exhausted. “It’s like she’s a ghost!”

Miguel scowled, a frown on his face as he scratched off another sector of the multiverse, or as he calls it the arachno-humanoid poly-multiverse, or the spiderverse as Lisa once called it not too long ago. The corner of his lips curled upward at the memory, but it was short lived as he deactivated the projection of the webs. 

He watches as the webs retract and turn back into branches, shriveling back as the beautiful white tree that sprouted shrinks down to the floor and the spot flickers like a drop rippling in a pond. As it’s happening, one of Lisa’s questions echoes in Miguel’s mind and it only seems to fuel is irritation. ‘Why hasn’t she been helping you with all this anomaly stuff?’ 

He hated that he didn’t know, and he hated that he felt like he couldn’t tell her. 

He hated that he couldn’t communicate with Madame Web like some of the other spiders could, because it reminded him how different he was from the others. 

He hated how she hadn’t reached out to him, wondering if she couldn’t connect with him because he wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider or simply because she didn’t want to see him. 

Especially after their first and last fateful encounter just over a year ago. 

He still recalled doing one of his gizmo test jumps. Stumbling into her hub, her throne room. He still got shivers crawling up his spine thinking about it, and that slick, thin, smile. 

“Miguel?” Lyla’s voice plucks Miguel’s thoughts back to the present and only then does he realize that he had been squeezing his fists a little too white before he relaxed them.

“I need a break.” Miguel sighed deeply, turning to leave. “I’m gonna go work out, blow off some steam.”

/////////

Lisa’s P.O.V. 

“Your muffins don’t have the little sugar cubes on top?” Spider-Woman Canada gasped, the eyelets of her mask widening as she slipped off her fur-hood in surprise. 

“Did your Ice Caps at any point taste like peanut butter?” I asked her in turn. 

“Um, no?!” She recoiled, hand over her chest. “Lord have mercy, what happened?”

“An American company bought the company and changed the recipes.” I shrugged in defeat before stuffing a Tim-Bit in my mouth. 

“I think that sounds pretty tasty.” Hobie grinned over at me. 

“Not when your nation is having a peanut allergy problem.” I retorted. 

I was hanging out in one of the secluded gymnasiums of the training center with the usual gang. Gwen, and Hobie chilled while Spider-Woman Canada came by to say hi and brought me a little get well gift. A bag full of goodies and signature ice cappuccinos from her dimension’s Tim Horton's. 

After Spider-Doc cleared me to walk again, I’ve been visiting HQ a lot more now. Although I have yet to be cleared by Miguel for active duty. There hasn’t been any activity from Earth-1997, by either Harry Osborne, Dr. Octavious, or any of their goons, but Miguel had been playing it safe these last few days. Incredibly safe. 

As much as I was happy to be able to see all my spider friends on the regular again, I missed helping them out. I wanted to start going on missions again. I wanted to contribute to protecting the multiverse, Miguel’s glorious purpose. 

One day, when Miguel lightens up a bit. 

All of us were watching Pavitr as he rehearsed some dance steps as the music played softly from a boombox. I made conversation with Spider-Woman as I watched him, until he fumbled a step and huffed in frustration, stomping his foot. “I mess up on the same step every time!”

“Whoa, whoa, it’s okay, Pav,” I reached a hand out, gently reassuring him as I stood up from my spot on the floor and approached him. “Run it by me one more time.”

Earlier today Pav texted me via gizmo that he wanted my help practicing a dance. It had come off as a surprise to me because as much as he enjoys music, I didn’t peg Pav for a dancer. Until he explained why he needed my help. 

“I keep coming in too fast on the spin and messing up,” Pav groaned, anxiously running his fingers through his luscious hair. “I’m never going to get this dance right for Gayatri!”

Gayatri was Pavitr’s MJ back in his dimension of Mumbatthan. She was an honors student at their high school, Visions Academy, and was a well known teen model. A ‘classy teenager’ according to Pav’s description of her. 

“Easy, Pav, try not to stress too much,” I gently soothed him. “Other than figure out that step, you’re still doing great, fantastic, even!”

“Can’t you just enchant me with your power and make me do the dance perfectly so I don’t embarrass myself?” Pavitr asked, pointing his fingers together like an innocent kid. 

I crossed my arms over my chest, giving him a disappointing glare. “Pavitr!”

“I don’t know what else to do!” Pav slouched, appearing defeated. “The dance is tomorrow after school!”

“Why don’t I try dancing it with you so we can figure it out together?” I suggested. 

“Please! I will literally get on my knees and beg if you don’t!” Pav clapped his hands together, pleading desperately. 

“Alright, alright, let's take it from the top.” I gently patted his shoulder, ushering him back into starting position. “Gwen?”

“I got’cha.” Gwen reached for the remote of the boombox, restarting the song from the beginning. 

“My man, you got this!” Hobie exclaimed, raising an encouraging fist to his young friend. 

“Deep breathes,” I nodded in agreement as I glanced over at him. 

Pavirtr smiled softly at me as he took a breath and then the music started to play. 

[Lyrics: English translation of FLOWER by Jisoo of BLACKPINK]

Fingers snapping along with strong cords of a bass vibrated our bones as we moved. 

“Eh-eh-eh-ehEh-eh-eh-eh~”

I moved with the beat, changing poses, and then Pav followed and copied me. I shot him an encouraging grin and then the two of us started to move in sync. 

“A-B-C, Do-Re-Mi

I was as nice as that.” 

Pav’s movements were so fluid and smooth. Whenever I’d be practicing my powers and sparring with him, I’d learn about his fighting style, a technique that is inspired by Kalaripayattu, an Indian martial art. He had great balance and synergy, all he had to do was practice and apply that same technique to dance. 

“That’s it, Pav!” I smiled with strong words of affirmation. “You’re doing great!”

“That view has changed completely perhaps

This is also a side of me~” 

Pav showed me some photos of the costumes that they’d be wearing for their stage performance prior to starting our dance practice. I noticed ribbons and cute flower ornaments on their hands and wrists, so I tried suggesting moves that made his body move more gracefully and to move basically with the same flow as the ribbon. Like a flower blowing in the wind. 

Our friends cheered and offered their own words of encouragement, Hobie even snapping his fingers to the beat to help Pav stay on tempo. 

“I fly away like a blue butterfly

It's all on you, you didn't hold on

Even the times that we were in full bloom

To me were a lie, lie, lie!” 

As that last verse ended, our hands descended down with the rhythm of the words. Then when the chorus started to kick in, my footsteps were light as I stepped out of the way, allowing Pav to take center stage. Briefly, we were like ballerinas as we took our places. 

“You and I, crimsonly burned down

I'm okay, would you be as well?

On a beautiful day without a single cloud–” 

This was where the dance would really kick into high gear. It was also coming up to the part where Pavitr kept fumbling. I glanced over at him, seeing his chest beginning to rise and fall heavily as he took deep breaths to keep himself focused. Then he bowed his head. 

“There was nothing left but the scent of a flower~” 

We both shot our hands out, our fingers stroking the air left and right as if they were flower petals as our hips swayed to the beat. Then we sidestepped and twirled before reaching out and guided our hands in a delicate pattern as if we were holding and twirling a ribbon. When we made it to twirl again into the next step, I instead twirled out of Pav’s line of sight and knelt to the floor and watched him as he continued the dance by himself. 

The young teen looked like he was glowing. He took the steps in stride, and when he did the last spin, he planted his feet on the ground, nailing it as he shot his hands up. There was a bright smile on his face as he registered hitting the move perfectly as Hobie and Gwen cheered him on, Spider-Woman Canada applauding while holding a donut. 

Pav struck a pose as the chorus ended and the music faded. 

“There was nothing left but the scent of a flower~” 

We all cheered him on as the song ended. Pav had a bashful flush on his cheeks as he looked at his friends, and when his gaze fell upon me and realized I wasn’t dancing with him, the flush of his cheeks turned darker. “What are you doing over there?!”

“I was letting you have the spotlight.” I grinned.

For a brief moment, my vision flickered and I felt like I was back in the dance studio back in my dimension. I missed seeing Kasey, Hannah, and the twins, Toya and Touga. I missed dancing with my friends. I hated that I had to fake my injury for another two weeks to appear as a normal person without spider powers and an intense healing factor. 

My vision blurred again and suddenly I found myself in the past. I sat in my practice uniform, in one of the practice studios of the idol company I stayed with in Korea. I looked out at the faces of the other aspiring idols and trainees. Some were smiling, others were sizing each other up. 

“How would you feel about flying down to Korea for a few days? To see him?” 

My mother’s question rattled my mind as I shook my head and I found myself back in the present. 

Pavitr laughed softly as he rubbed the back of his neck, that bashful flush still evident on his cheeks. Hobie and Gwen got up from the floor and approached Pav, congratulating him on his practice. I watched them all with a proud smile, and then I suddenly got the urge that we were being watched as I looked over to the archway of the gym. 

Miguel stood against the entryway, arms crossed over his chest as he looked on with a ghost of a smile. When his gaze landed on me, the smile brightened ever so slightly. He offered me a wink before pulling away from the arch and disappearing into the hall, most likely heading for his afternoon workout.  

I hadn’t really seen him all day, and suddenly had the urge to follow after him as I felt an ache in my chest seeing him leave. 

He looked stressed, the wrinkles on his face and along his forehead being more apparent than usual and his eyes looked a little tired. Had he been working more again? I should go check on him. 

“Miss Lisa?” Pavitr’s voice snapped me back into reality as he stood before me, offering a hand to help me up. “Would it be alright if we did the dance again but can I record it on my phone? So I can look at it later for practice back home?”

I offered Pav a sweet smile as I took his hand, allowing him to help me up. “Sure thing.”

////////

Miguel’s P.O.V. 

After running laps and lifting weights, Miguel was still  feeling tense from his failed attempt at tracking Madame Web. He needed to do something more. So he started doing pull ups on a bar that was connected to a dangling ceiling platform a couple feet from the floor, and when he thought it was too easy, Petra, Cyborg-Spider, helped him tie a chain around his waist and wrapped a tire at the bottom of it. 

“No pain, no gain!” Petra cheered with a deep booming voice. 

Miguel could feel his body struggle a little as he continued the routine, feeling how the muscles of his arms pulsed, the veins popping. This was exactly what he needed. He got himself into a rhythm, taking it steady to not overwork himself but his eyes flickered from the spot he was focusing on the wall when he detected movement below him. 

Before it was Cyborg-Spider and Jess watching him and his heart hammered when he took in Lisa’s figure as she approached them. 

“Hey,” She offered the duo a friendly wave. “Busy today are we?”

“Boss man is really ‘pumping the metal’ as they say.” Petra beamed proudly, even going so far as to saluting Miguel. “It is inspirational!”

“Inspirational is certainly a word to describe it.” Jessica grinned as she crossed her arms over her chest. 

“How long has he been at this for?” Lisa asked her. 

“Up there? Just about 10 minutes.” Jess nodded. “He refuses to come down unless he’s drenched in sweat.”

“I’ll come down eventually!” Miguel groaned in a partial teasing and annoyed manner as he did another pull up. 

“Old habits die hard it seems.” Jess shot a glance over to Lisa, rolling her eyes as she stepped away. 

“Do you want to take a break?” Lisa called out to Miguel as she turned to look up and face him. 

Take a break? 

Take a break from the work out, or take a break from finding Madame Web?

“In a minute,” Miguel huffed, taking in a breath as he spared a quick glance down at her. “I’m barely breaking a sweat yet.”

“What did I say about you taking care of yourself?” Lisa gently reminded him. 

Shock, I’m in for it now. 

Lisa uses her web sling to yank herself up to the bar, grabbing hold of it facing Miguel whose face reeled back in surprise. “Dios mio, Lisa, what the shock are you doing?!” - My god 

“You said this wasn’t challenging enough. So I’ll help you make it challenging for you.” Lisa grinned, her mind reeling as Miguel could see the gears turning in her head as she thought of a plan. 

“What are you— Oy!” Miguel looked upon Lisa, stunned as she wrapped her legs around his waist tightly, securing her grip on him by wrapping her arms around his shoulders for support. 

His face blushed a light shade of pink at the sudden contact. Feeling her warmth clash of the heat that radiated from his body, feeling the way she clung to him. The icing on the cake was her faint smile and the tightness of her legs around his waist. 

There’s a pulse of warmth in his lower body as Miguel quickly blocks out the ungentlemanly thought that was creeping into his mind. 

“Go on, do a pull up.” She encouraged with a side tilt of her head. 

Miguel narrowed his eyes curiously at Lisa before his muscles bulged as he did a pull up. With Lisa’s combined body weight along with the tire and metal chain, it did add more weight for Miguel to work with, but he was still able to relatively do a pull up with ease. His head pulled up above the bar and Lisa’s head followed suit on the opposite end. “Satisfied?” 

Without saying another word, Lisa leaned forward and pecked Miguel’s lips with a soft and sweet kiss. His cheeks flushed and for a second his grip on the bar wobbled. Lisa’s lips curled into a smile. “Every time you do a pull up, I’ll reward you with a little treat.” 

Oh shock, karma, the universe, whatever deity is listening to me, what did I do to deserve her? 

Miguel’s face morphed into an eager and playful expression as his gaze sparkled, a cocky grin on his lips. “Game on.” 

They were up there for over half an hour before Miguel finally came down. He kept Lisa secured with one hand, while he freed himself from the chain with the other. His lips tingle and more puffed than usual with a playful smile as he looked down at Lisa. 

“You cheeky little minx.” Miguel pecked her lips again.

“Feeling better now?” Lisa asked him as she adjusted herself slightly, straightening her back. “You seemed a little stressed?”

“Much better, in fact,” Miguel’s smile turned as his other arm wrapped around her to hold her closer to him. “I’m gonna keep you right here with me while I finish the rest of my work.”

Lisa’s eyes widened, gasping a little. “Miguel, you’re not seriously–”

“Yep!” Miguel is already on the move as Lisa squeals in surprise, her grip tightening around her. 

“Miguel O’Hara, put me down!” She laughs softly. 

“In due time, mi Mona Lisa.” Miguel smirks as he carries Lisa out of the training center, not even bothered by the looks of the other spiders watching the spectacle as Lisa hides her flushed, embarrassed face into his neck. 

A welcomed distraction. 

////////

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[samasmith23]

Oh wow! I just finished 4-issue The Shade miniseries from 1997 which is collected in the Starman by James Robinson Compemdium One and holy crap was this limited series overall FREAKING phenomenal!

Narrated through the Shade’s personal journals, this miniseries covers an ongoing feud between the enigmatic and immortal Shade and a vengeful family of corrupt aristocrats known as the Ludlows which spans from 1838 when the family first found an amnesiac Shade after he first gained his powers, all the way up to the present-day in-universe (which was 1998 at the time…). What I love is how this series heavily fleshes out the Shade’s struggles with coming to terms with his immortality and gradual acceptance of his role as a villain due to the dark deeds he’s been forced to commit in order to survive ever since his first fateful encounter with the Ludlows, as well as a unique exploration about the legacy of generational trauma and inherited values with how this family actively indoctrinated each of its successors to hate the Shade due to a conflict dating back 150-years ago. Plus, seeing the Shade’s exploits across various historical time periods and regions, as well as his Golden Age rivalry with the Jay Garrick Flash (reinterpreting Shade’s generic supervillain exploits of robbing banks as actually being a deliberate game by the Shade designed to provide him a sense of purpose to his immortal and up-until-then meaningless existence by pitting himself others with powers who weren’t cursed to play the role of the villain like he has been).

Overall, The Shade was a brilliantly written miniseries which helps further cement the titular Richard Swift as one of my new favorite supervillains/anti-heroes in comics! I’ve been thoroughly enjoying James Robinson’s classic run on Starman so far this year, and the Shade’s character has been a major contributor to said-investment due to how multifaceted and enigmatic he is as both an overarching antagonist and secondary-protagonist to the series’ lead Jack Knight, aka the titular Starman!

[ufonaut]

Do you happen to have a compilation of queercoded Alan Scott panels from before Flashpoint by any chance? It's really interesting to know how even as far back as the Golden Age the seeds for his sexuality were there and nobody really noticed

i do! kind of! i have a bunch spread across various post so i'm just gonna put together a compilation of gaycoded alan scott moments from the golden age (and beyond) for you right now :)

in his 1940s stories alan not only shows a complete disinterest in women but he actively rejects their advances at every turn

(in green lantern 1941 #34 he refuses to go on a date by pretending his dog dislikes girls)

(in green lantern #33 he reacts with disgust to the idea of marrying a woman)

(in all-american comics 1939 #71, alan's completely immune to a mad scientist's daughter that's been specifically created to be irresistible to men)

(in green lantern #13 doiby falls for a debutante that only has eyes for alan, and alan can't stand her or any affection from her)

much of his gaycoding also revolves around the close and intimate relationship he has with his best friend doiby dickles, whom he shares a bedroom & a bathroom with

(an especially flagrant example from all american comics #60 but keep in mind this is the status quo for all their golden age appearances after doiby finds out alan's identity in aac #35)

(a couple other examples of such intimacy from gl #28, aac #54, the big all-american comic book 1944 #1, and gl #34)

there's also a story in comic cavalcade 1942 that implies a great deal about alan's relationship with a nightclub owner named jonah dayton, which stands out in stark contrast to alan's distinct lack of romantic & social life

(comic cavalcade #23, note doiby's strange insistence that alan is 'ruining his life')

these are all just examples because it'd be impossible to show you panels from all his 130+ golden age appearances but if you were to read them in full you'd discover that over the course of his 1940s stories alan has no romantic relationships whatsoever and he and doiby live together, go on vacations together, adopt a dog together, babysit doiby's nephew together, and generally share a closeness that is 'inexplicable' even for the comics of back then. notably, alan's first silver age appearance in green lantern 1960 #40 has alan & doiby still living together and alan's employees at gbc calling him alan's 'man friday'

the 1976 run of all-star comics (which picks up the golden age series' numbering) goes so explicit with the confirmed bachelor aspect that it's undoubtedly what led to roy thomas' subsequent retcons in infinity inc (and specifically infinity inc annual #1)

(missing doiby in all-star comics #60, after doiby's subsequent marriage in the silver age gl series)

(writer paul levitz' retrospective on asc 1976 in the amazing world of dc comics #16, note how alan's the one jsaer to have never married and who has no family besides his close friend doiby)

it's within this context of alan's history that roy thomas' attempts to make him seem straight in infinity inc must be approached and how the confirmation of alan's sexuality in the present day is just that -- a confirmation, a return to form -- and not a retcon, after all for forty-one years of his existence there had been no women in alan's life.

this isn't to say though that with molly in the picture the gaycoding ever actually stopped, it just became rarer as any focus on alan himself or his personal life became rarer and the jsa-as-people (rather than heroes) sort of faded into the background. we still got the occasional gems like everything during the sentinel era (special shout out to the book of fate 1997 and the weird psychosexual things contained within) and how showcase '95 #1 has alan fighting the maybe-ghosts of his teammates while saying they have no right to judge him after they accuse him of not being 'a real man'

or green lantern: in brightest day, blackest night 2002 stating he'll never be able to settle down into a normal life because he's not a 'normal man'

and there's a lot to be read into molly's effective disappearance over the years, too. she's been pretty much erased post-early 2000s to the point that you could easily pinpoint their separation/divorce somewhere around 2007 or so.

there's certainly much more out there and having read all his appearances i've found next to none that didn't feature some hint of gaycoding but i hope you've enjoyed these examples! lmk your thoughts if you'd like :)

[shiftingtomydrs]

Fame Dr

still bored and on 11% battery without a charger lmao

Name: Anastasia Joanna Tolstoi

Birthdate: 11.11.1991

S/O: Orlando Bloom (born 1985 bcs I put lotr into 2009 instead of 2001)

Nationality: Russian-British (born in russia but since i live in the UK i got the dual british nationality in 2019 btw i have no idea if thats possible i havent researched that yet haha so if its not pls tell me)

Job: Actress, Singer, Songwriter, Businesswoman

Years Active (actress): 1992-present

Years Active (singer-songwriter): 1997- present (songwriter), 2005 - present (singer)

My Filmography (not finished yet): Here

My Discography: Just taylor swift mostly like really I just copied all except like 1 or 2 songs and then 2 original albums im gonna make a seperate post about

My hobbies: horse riding, singing (kinda also my job but anyway), fencing, ballet, figure skating, song writing (again, also my job but also hobby)

Languages I speak: Russian, English, Spanish, French, German, Finnish, a bit of Japanese, a bit of Polish, tiny bit of Greek

Fantasy languages I speak: High Valyrian, Elvish, Orcish, Khuzdul, Dothraki, Klingon, Adûnaic

Awards: I haven't exactly worked it out yet but definitely a few oscars, grammys, golden globes and more haha I'll add a link once I'm done with planning it :)

Parents: Haven't worked out names yet but my dad is a doctor and my mum owns a ballet studio

Sibling: 1 older brother (2 years older) named Adrian

Idrk what else to add but it'd be great if you guys could ask me some questions haha if you have any <3

[naomiroe1]

Blog Post 9/19

What factors contributed to 1995 being considered a pivotal year for the transformation of the Internet into a more inclusive public sphere for the African diaspora? 1995 is considered a pivotal year because it marked a shift in the Internet from being a predominantly white, male-dominated space to a more egalitarian public sphere. A key development was the introduction of a separate category for Afrocentric content on the Yahoo search engine, reflecting a growing critical mass of African diasporic users. This moment coincided with the overall massification of the World Wide Web, with rapid growth in the number of users and websites, allowing for greater representation and connectivity for marginalized communities, including African Americans.

How does the concept of "hyperephemerality" affect the study of African diasporic content on the Internet, and what challenges does it present for researchers? "Hyperephemerality" refers to the fleeting and temporary nature of much of the content on the Internet, especially grassroots and nonprofit websites. For researchers studying African diasporic content, this creates significant challenges. Websites can disappear, be altered, or upgraded beyond recognition, making it difficult to return to or analyze the same content over time. This ephemeral nature forces researchers to download and archive content immediately to preserve it, making longitudinal studies or revisits to digital content particularly problematic.

In what ways did the Internet contribute to the success of the Million Woman March in 1997, and how does this event reflect the potential of the digital public sphere for African Americans? The Internet played a crucial role in organizing and spreading the word about the Million Woman March in 1997. The official website received over a million hits leading up to the event, demonstrating the Internet's power to mobilize grassroots activists on a large scale. This reflects the potential of the digital public sphere to empower marginalized groups, including African Americans, by providing a platform for communication, organization, and the promotion of causes that may not receive mainstream media attention.

What historical concerns regarding media coverage of civil rights movements led to ambivalence about the news portrayal of the Million Woman March, and how might these concerns shape future representations of Black activism? Concerns about media coverage of the Million Woman March stem from historical experiences during the Civil Rights movement, where televised coverage initially raised awareness but later contributed to a backlash against African American progress. Events such as California's anti-affirmative action and anti-immigration measures in the 1990s are seen as legacies of this backlash. This history has created a fear that media portrayal of Black activism could again spark negative reactions.

Everett, A. (2002). The revolution will be digitized: Afrocentricity and the digital public sphere. Social Text, 20(2), 125-146. https://doi.org/10.1215/01642472-20-2_71-125