Godstaff's Oasis

Without a profound analysis, anyone can see Americans are in love with their billionaires, their idiots and their weirdos. They made movies about them, write entire libraries about them, talk about them on TV. They analyse the phenomenon, legislate about it, dedicate countless hours thinking about them. It's their passion. They also love money, but if they know someone who can put a rein on the beast, they turn that person into a god. Billionaires are heroes, even more than the founding fathers. I.e.: the creation of the assembly line is a more epic event than the crossing of the Delaware.

More profitable too.

In that spirit, anything a rich person does and says becomes tendency, example and gospel.

As for idiots and weirdos, there's an entire culture created upon them. Tons of movies and TV shows. Very successful ones. There's almost no comedy without an idiot or a weirdo.

It's only natural, a simple matter of time, to elect one for office.

There you have him: Donald, First of His Name and Last of what remains of this Civilization. Perfect amalgamation between billionaire and idiot.

Thank you. I must say I have a little help with my vision of the couple. My life partner is a very strong woman whose shield sometimes cracks to reveal a soft, empathetic and vulnerable interior. That doesn't diminish her stregth, it only shows how wrong it is to portrait only one side of a person. She's my rock, but allows me to be hers. "We contain multitudes" one wise person once stated. My characters contain multiverses. The true person reveals itself along many different circumstances. You only need to be patient and observant. And willing to do so.

Have you ever wonder why some people's greatness is recognized after a monumental body of work some others achieve the same status with just one master piece?

Two examples come to my mind and either and each person is regarded as a genius, no doubt about it. Because they are.

And in both couples, the protagonists are contemporary of one another.

My first example are Michelangelo and Leonardo. Buonarroti made many titanic works, feats of strength and mastery, like the 5 mts. David or the Sistine Chapel. Beauty and skill. Impossible feats. Will and power. A true Master. His works are so vast and there are so many of them, one can't encompass any of them at a glance. You can only appreciate them from a certain distance. Things only a giant woud achieve.

Da Vinci, on the contrary, is famous for a few masterpieces, like Mona Lisa or the Last Supper, and was deemed in his time as untrustworthy because he didn't finished some of them. Did that prevent him to be regarded at the same level as Michelangelo? Nope. You may like one more than the other, but their status as Geniuses is practicaly the same. No doubt about it.

My other example are The Bard and the One Handed Man from Lepanto. It is impossible to name all the works from Shakespeare from the top of your head. There are so many. Some believe it's not possible they all came from just one man. Immortal scenes and phrases, cultural icons. The greatest English writer. One of the greatest of all time.

To refer to Cervantes, you just have to name the Quixote, l & ll. The top of Spanish Literature, the greatest Spanish Author. Phrases and cites impervious to the passing of time. A story for the ages. How did one opus achieved the same status of Shakespeare's vast body of work? A mystery.

I don't know how to define or even name this phenomenon, it just came to my attention. Why a few compare to so many? It puzzles me.

Same as Spain is regarded as discovering a new part of the Word for one journey, and England has to plant their seed in countless countries to be considered both Nations as conquerors.

I live for the split second a band member, in the middle of the performance, says "Whoa!", surprised by something another band member or even himself or the audience did.

Whoa! These guys had seen pretty much everything on the road. Every excess, past every limit. "Whoa!" takes another meaning in that context.

That whoa! is unexpected, it's revelation. It's ecstasy, almost orgasmic. It's hitting a home-run blindfolded.

There aren't many images of Kal and Diana dancing together. These are the first drafts of a (kind of) bigger project (much bigger, like six or seven more images) but I was so happy with my first results I wanted to share. Anxious guy.

I think religions are no different from other focus of power, just like politics and money, or even military forces. they difer in methods.

The metaphore of the four horsemen in the book of revelations of the Christian Bible describe them quite well: conquest, hunger, war and death. Conquest (not pestilence) is politics, always looking for the next victory, hunger is the economics, because they decide who eats and who doesn't, war is the military, the brute force, the fear and death is religion, because it deals with the mystery of our procedence, in which we weren't alive, and the final destination after death, religions never refer about life, only in a circular manner, never specific. Life is not the center, this miraculous existence we have, but just the means to decide what will happen to us after it ends and what happened to us before it began. That's why there are so many: none of them want to relinquish power, joining another. And every day a new one is created.

Like the other three powers, the central foundation is "we are right, the others are wrong", with all the variants in between. The stability of a nation lies on the success of the negotiations between the four powers. They depend on each other.

Religions don't do evil per se. Not more than politics, economy and military. they are the four legs of a chair: the stability of the whole, depends on the stabiltity of each, that's why they always take good care of each other.

Diana: Kal? Do you read me? Sorry, no: Clark! Diana here. ETA 5 min.

Tell your parents I'm bringing Themysciran wine. I'm almost there. Oh! I've seen a brown cow with the Kent brand 6 clicks East from the farm, by the creek.

Chuck: I'll be back.

I don't like human-metahuman pairings. In fact, I firmly oppose to them. They were born of our need of being worthy of standing at the same level of gods and demigods. For that there's a trick (there's always a trick) which is bestow the human with more than human atributes: being more clever, intelligent, strong willed, better at fighting, more beautiful, etc.

Truth is we humans are too prone to unnecessary conflict. Just for the sake of it.

Yeah, you've guessed it: authors and editors are going the extra mile to make the humans special. All that for making the human worthy of being at the same level (sometimes above, like Batso) of the superpowerful meta. At times, the human just see someting vital the meta hero didn't notice. Silly them.

In many cases this makes the presence of the meta irrelevant, like: "What took you so long?", "I had everything under control", "since you are already here, be a doll and clean up the mess.", "I had these idiots right where I wanted them."."I didn't need you at all" and such. They are presented as jokes, but they are really signs of contempt. Yes, from the character and the author.

If, on the other hand, they pair metas with other metas, there's no need for the extra mile. They already are on the same level and jokes are just that: friendly banter among equals with nothing to demonstrate, no chip on the shoulder to brag about.

One of the most distinctive characteristics of the human among metas is they permanently treat everybody like crap, because they are too superior and can't waste any time being polite. Manners are an alien concept: they have a job to do and most people are unnecessarily in their way. "Move or I'll run you over." So empathy becomes a nuisance. Same way other people are assets for them to use as they see fit. "I talk to gods, I don't need to exchage words with you, you useless piece of crap."

Humans in those situations usually have none or very little friends. Too busy.

Contrary to what editors and writers think, this doesn't paint these humans as special: it portrays tem, like many other human at the top of their food chain as needy and insecure, as paranoid and untrusty, as selfish and self-centered. Narcissistic assholes, if you ask me. Unable to recognize they'd be dead long ago without the help of the metahuman. Oh, no. They never die, as they should, to show how special humans are. Ne ver because they are special, but because the deck is stuck in their favor, because writers and the whole editorial company wants them alive. "The metahuman need a human companion to remind them of their own humanity." No, they don't. The human usually is one more stone in the way for them to achieve success, or a duvious reward after.

In ancient times, a human love interest (mainly female) was the sole reason for the hero heroics. I'd like to think literature moved beyond that premise. It didn't. Silly me. Not even in these "woke" times. And no one bats an eyelid.

You better believe the 2nd. Doctor

Funny how real life imitates art, isn't it?

Somehow I feel robbed. Armageddon sounded more dignifying with a less stupid, more articulated Antichrist. At least, having the voice of Sam Neil. Shame.

Writers of Real Life suck. Not to mention cast directors.

Anyway: Happy Apocalypse, Fellows! Here's hoping the Rapture is fun.

Superman and Wonder Woman in front of the "Supercomputer"

Kal-El: Bruce, we need to refer to your main problem. It’s causing some concern in the League: Joker.

Diana: Bruce: we don’t know what’s the key of your relationship with the Clown, but this roller coaster has to stop. You put him in jail or Arkham and he always manages to escape, every time making a bigger deadly statement to call to your attention. You have to admit you are over your capacities. His death toll, so far is….

Kal: ...169 innocent lives, 5 known criminals and 2 aliens. Completely unacceptable. I’m sorry, but this is all on you and your inability to do something…

Bruce: But I always capture him back…

Diana: For how long? And after how many atrocities? The Joker situation needs a permanent solution. 169 innocent lives demand it.

Kal: You don’t want us to intervene in your city, but the status quo can’t go on as it is. You are forcing our hand: Joker belongs in Belle Reve, solitary confinement, so he can’t manipulate or influence other inmates or the staff. Only medium of communication via electronic media, only for esentials, in writing. You thinking you can control him is something absurd and crazy…

Bruce: I’m not crazy! Alfred had me tested!

Diana: Sweetie: we still need to see the results of those tests…

Kal: Look, B, you are famous for your rigid standards judging your fellow Leaguers. We advocate for you to apply the same to yourself. Never trust the results requested by somebody at your service paying with your money for them.

Diana: Not reliable. Alfred cares about you, Bruce. Too much. He’s known to let a few snafus of yours go away for your sake. Parents rarely are trustworthy in judging their progeny with the required severity.

Bruce: Noted. Still…

Kal: No buts. You know we’ve tolerated your numerous peculiarities because we consider you an asset. But this had gone for too long.

Diana: After serious deliveration, the League has concluded we will give you one week to solve the Joker problem permanently, before it becomes a Global problem…

Bruce: I don’t kill…

Kal: Yeah, yeah, the famous Batman code...Nothing like that. If you can’t give a permanent solution, we will personally take your friend to Belle Reve, with absolute and permanent prohibition to Waller to use him for her Suicide Squad. Believe me: we can find him wherever he is. She can’t.

Diana: She can’t even control Harley Quinn. She won’t be able to even talk some sense into Joker. This time, we’ll make sure she doesn’t get close to him. Personally.

Kal: Solitary confinement, no human contact at all. May seem unhuman, but we must stop him before he levels an entire city just to say Hello to you. No more indulging him.

Bruce: I need to consider it…

Diana: Stop it right there. 169 innocent lives is our limit. He was enabled long enough. No more considerations. We say this with respect and caring. This needs to stop.

Kal: Next: Lex Luthor. A stone in my shoe for too long. Enough is enough.

Diana: We also hope there’s a posibility for redemption, but facts demonstrated the oposite. It’s like religion: for redemption, the individual must acknowledge its wrong doings and show true signs of wanting to reverse the course. Some are unable or unwilling.

Kal: For those we need to up the ante. No more chances, no more time up. No more lives at stake. I could build a prision on the Moon for them, but it’s not fair to condemn a full staff of good people to guard them and be separated from their home and loved ones. So, Earth it is then. Our best option is Belle Reve. These guys are resourceful and deceitful, so I’ve developed Nanobots to put into their blood stream so we can locate them in case they escape. No metallic parts.

Diana: I could put a party of Cerberus dogs and their relatives to keep an eye on them...on second thought, may be I will. With a temporary detail of Amazons to train them. I’ll talk to Hippolyta and the U.N.

Kal: Bruce: Time is ticking.

Erinyomachia.

Kal-El: Ugh! Honey, this looks pretty brutal. What happened???

Diana: What we did last night was brutal. This is just training. Nothing much: Erinyes. Had to teach them who not to mess with.

Kal: Yeah. My body still aches all over. Totally worth it. But...all this blood…

Diana: You tell me: I came to battle with shaking legs. They’ll be fine. They’re goddesses, immortal and have divine blood.

Kal. Are you okay?

Diana: I’m good. Little worse to wear, that’s all.

Kal: You’re wounded and bruised all over…

Diana: Again: divine blood and yet again: I’m also immortal. Just a misunderstanding.

Kal: Explain.

Diana: They were bent on collecting on some debt I’ve supposedly acquired for the death of Maxwell Lord…

Kal: Oh, that…

Diana: Don’t get me started or I’ll have to knock you out too.

Kal: You’ve already had your share of knocking out. Let’s call it a day.

Diana: Fine!

Kal: Let’s go home so I can take care of you.

Diana (with a childish voice): I need Ice Cream…

Kal: Dulce de leche with chocolate chips?

Diana: And Zabaione! Oh, oh! And a bar of dark chocolate. English.

Kal: Right. Whatever the victor wants! Coming up!.