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ghosthan · 3 years

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what would you say are the differences between 616 Tony and MCU Tony? 🤔

Hi anon! Many people have talked about this and I'm certainly not the authority on the topic, but I’ll try my best to explain some of the major differences that I have noticed! Thank you for asking and I’m sorry it took me so long to answer you.

Important to note: neither version of Tony has had a totally consistent characterization. Depending on who you ask and which comics/movies they've consumed, they might give you a different answer here and not be wrong.

616 Tony is even harder to put into one box because his character has been around since Tales of Suspense in the 1950s. That’s a long time. Things have changed over time, under different writers, changing political atmospheres, and outside pop culture influence (including influence from the MCU, unfortunately, in recent years.) You get the picture. So I’ll be making some generalizations and try to be clear about which eras I’m speaking when I make these comparisons, but ultimately, if someone wanted to be contrarian, you could probably refute a lot of what I say here if you cherry pick canon. Which is fair enough! That’s sort of the fun of comics, there’s so much to choose from and something for everyone.

So here are some observations from me, under the ‘read more’.

1. Physical Appearance

This is sort of an easy one, but worth mentioning!

MCU Tony does not look like 616 Tony. RDJ is great, but he would not be most 616 fans’ casting choice on looks alone. MCU Tony is tan, a Malibu man, with brown hair and brown eyes, and RDJ has sort of round facial features (a funny sloped nose, big, round eyes, round forehead, not a particularly sharp or classically “superhero masculine” face.) As you may know, this lends well to certain fanworks and tropes, such as Tony having Bambi eyes.

Or Tiny Tony. He is not actually canonically small, but he's smaller in the MCU than in 616 and from what I can tell, a portion of fandom has latched onto that. He’s a grown man, but RDJ is pretty short, and of slighter build than 616 Tony. RDJ is 5′9, but they make him act in heels, and I believe his canon MCU height is 5′11. Another popular trope I’ve seen is shrinking Tony in fanfic/fanart for a dramatized height difference with Steve, making him weak or fragile; this is fine because everyone has their own taste, but for the official record, he’s a capable, strong guy! Especially in earlier stages of the MCU, in which he’s a bit younger. Tony isn’t just a brain; he carries out his plans with his own two hands! He builds his armor, he remodels his lab, he survives hand to hand combat when he doesn’t have the armor. Muscles!

616 Tony is 6′1 without armor and 6′6 in armor (making him taller than his 616 Steve counterpart in armor and very close to the same height out of armor!) 616 Tony is generally paler with black hair (sometimes the classic blue-black I love so much) and blue eyes, and it obviously depends on the artist, but he has a pretty typically ‘masculine’ face and build. Generally he is drawn with a squared jaw and a high bridged nose (such as in the Extremis storyline, or drawn by Marquez), but again, this varies from artist to artist! Here's some examples of 616 Tonys.

Wait, you might be saying, but I have seen comic panels where Tony has brown hair/brown eyes!

Yep. Due to a combination of forgetfulness, inconsistency, and the MCU bleeding into the general consciousness of the comics, sometimes Tony is randomly depicted in the image of RDJ, or if not in his image, at least visually inspired by the MCU-- hair color and style, eye color, dialogue, etc.

616 fans don’t typically love this; he’s very handsome when drawn this way, of course, (look at him!) But it isn’t really the same character.

Also, MCU Tony has (at least for some of his movies) a reactor built into his chest. While 616 Tony has, at times, been more or less physically connected/dependent to his tech, he doesn’t have the built in reactor (most generally speaking, there are times in comics when he temporarily has the tech built in, but this isn’t really the status quo.)

2. Relationship with parents/ family history

While it is definitely implied in the MCU that Howard was not a good father to Tony, (such as in Iron Man 2 when Tony says “You're talking about a man whose happiest day of his life was shipping me off to boarding school” and “He was cold, calculating, never told me he loved me, never even told me he liked me”), Tony has a different sort of attitude toward Howard in MCU than in 616. It’s kind of weird, and hard to discuss. To me, it seems implied that MCU Howard was emotionally abusive to Tony based on what Tony does say about his childhood, and yet, the films kind of randomly give Howard weird moments of “Well, he tried his best and deep down he loved me the whole time!” forgiveness. MCU has a Howard kink and I'm very cringe-face emoji about it.

For example, Iron Man 2 shows that old film reel of Howard talking about how Tony is the greatest thing he ever created, and in Endgame, when Tony goes back in time, he meets Howard and has a very weird interaction with him in which Howard declares he would do anything for his son, (to his deeply damaged son who is a new father himself.) Yet, for all his talk, it's his actions that speak, and his actions left Tony damaged, traumatized, and emotionally inept at forming healthy relationships. So.

Sorry. I’m a little bitter. I'm just uncomfortable with how they sort of set up an abuse history but then treated it kind of lightly and Howard gets off the hook as "well, he tried his best" without really acknowledging the hurt he caused.

Avengers: Endgame 2019

I won't go super in depth into the abuse stuff because it's a little touchy and could take up a lot of this post. But.

I’m not against any reconciliation and I do appreciate the fact that a lot of times, victims of abuse feel a desire to forgive and reconnect with their abuser-- my issue with the MCU depiction of Tony and Howard is that Tony never really gets the vindication of his abuse being recognized for what it was before he forgives Howard. To me, that’s not forgiveness as kind of... gaslighting himself that it wasn't as bad as he remembered his own experience being, because of a sense of nostalgia and grief. It’s not the same, and I have issues with it.

However, a lot of my opinion is based on subtext and it is just my opinion; with depictions of abuse, different people are going to react differently, and other people may have found these scenes touching and gotten something positive out of them, and that's totally fine too!

It’s also a bit difficult to talk about Tony’s relationship with Howard in 616, for a few reasons: shifting timelines, lots of canon that I have not read all of, and the fact that it really is difficult to sum up such a complicated relationship.

Right off the bat, I’ll address the basics. I used the same scene in another ask, and I think it's frequently cited in any meta regarding Howard, but in Iron Man Vol. 1, we see more into Tony’s childhood and see Howard verbally abusing his family, drunk, at the dinner table.

Iron Man Vol. 1 #285

We get this scene with adult Tony’s retrospective commentary on how his own issues that he blamed himself for were actually a cycle starting with his father, the insecurity and abuse and alcohol, and that he realizes how much this has influenced him. Both MCU Tony and 616 Tony have some form of “stop the cycle of shame” arcs, but I don’t really see how this works narratively in the MCU because Tony makes excuses for Howard and continues to blame himself for a lot of his own personal struggles, whereas I think there’s just a bit more nuance in 616.

But uh. This isn’t totally true, and in recent years, things got real weird. I choose to ignore this chapter of canon, but in the Dan Slott run, Tony Stark: Iron Man, Tony’s whole backstory gets imploded. For one thing, the little of Tony’s childhood it shows in a flashback is uh. Uh. Well, it’s certainly out of character compared with previous 616 material, depicting Tony as an overly confident poor sport.

Basically, Tony is adopted. Tony has an evil brother. Tony’s biological parents make an appearance, as do his ‘classic’ parents, Howard and Maria. It’s just weird. It’s kind of out there. I’m honestly not a huge fan of this and ignore a lot of it, but it is certainly a difference between MCU and 616.

3. Personality

I’m going to be very general. Both Tony’s have an outer self which they present to the public and an inner self, but they’re a bit different. Both Tony’s have struggled with self loathing, but I think MCU Tony’s actual self worth is a bit higher, even just at some points in time. Even if his ego is part of his facade, I think he does believe some amount of the “I’m awesome”, even if just when it applies to his own work/inventions/saving people. Not to say that these moments of fluctuating self esteem make him egotistical, but this combined with his egotistical act and snarky, non-stop sassy dialogue, he’s quite different in general personality from 616 Tony, who is much more reserved.

Some more recent iterations of 616 Tony have been adapted to reflect the snark of the MCU, but he’s not so snarky and he tends to approach things more seriously. This is not a dis on MCU Tony; I think MCU Tony uses false ego and excessive sassy jokes as a means to deflect and control, which I think is very interesting and it’s nice to see this explored more in depth in fic where you get to see the thought process behind the bravado. MCU Tony is a partier, a good times guy, especially during Iron Man 2, in which he really does disregard consequences to have fun (driving his race car, partying drunk in his suit, letting pretty girls play with the armor, shooting off repulsor blasts for fun in a crowded room); I’m not bashing MCU Tony-- I think he had psychologically understandable reasons for behaving this way, the man was dying-- but 616 Tony really doesn’t act this way generally, and I think it’s a personality difference more than a difference of one being “better.”

616 Tony handles his stress differently, and they just have different psychological patterns, I think. I’m coming up kind of blank trying to think of a good comparable 616 arc, (sorry, I’m brain dead) but a less-than-perfect example might be Tony’s brain delete arc; he’s “dying”, like in Iron Man 2 he knows his expiration date, (circumstances are quite a bit different), but he throws himself more into work, into a cause, and as he really fall apart, we see him spiral into self doubt, remorse, fear, and insecurity, sort of falling into himself with lots of manly tears and calling himself pathetic.

(Some things happen in this arc that a lot of people find Gross. I also find these events gross. But. I don’t count the sex in “World’s Most Wanted” as partying to cope with personal mortality, because I think both character involved are in “end of the world” mode, and it’s more seeking intimacy for comfort than partying to numb the hurt. Does this distinction make sense? No? Perfect, moving on.) 616 Tony is generally much more humble.

Whereas MCU Tony, I think, tries to outrun those feelings via parties or making dozens of new suits, or seeking comfort by comforting others! Gifting things to people, building things for people, highly personalized individual living quarters, teaching Nebula games and trying to show her a fun time when they were in peril together.

They have some traits in common, for sure! But canon being inconsistent both in the MCU and in 616, my observations aren’t the rule, because I’m kind of cherry picking and going based on limited memory. But off the top of my head, they’re both extravagant gift givers! Recall Tony gifting Pepper the giant bunny in Iron Man 3, and compare this with Tony carrying a mile high pile of Christmas gifts after shopping with Rumiko in Iron Man Vol. #3.

I would say that while both Tony Starks are considered humanitarians, this is much more fleshed out and supported by canon in 616. Some examples of his philanthropy in the MCU: Tony makes charitable donations of art and money, Tony has an organization which provides disaster relief/cleanup which is referenced in Spider-Man Homecoming, Tony has an MIT grant for students and staff members. But to be honest, a lot of his MCU philanthropy is only mentioned in passing, or is largely handled by other people on his behalf and on his dollar.

In 616, we see Tony using charity almost as a means of therapy: it’s something he does very privately, not in the public eye (at least, not always), and it’s something deeply personal to him. One example that immediately comes to mind is Tony’s home for disadvantaged girls in Iron Man Vol. 3, and we see scenes of Tony basically driving the streets at night, picking up underage prostitutes, feeding them and listening to their stories before bringing them to a home he’s established where he knows all the residents, and provides educational opportunities and protection.

Another more recent example in canon that the Tony fandom loves is that Tony canonically holds babies at an orphanage. Sorry I don’t have panels for all of this, this section got long and I have been working on answering this ask in a very scattered way for a very long time.

Both Tony’s are romantics, I literally could write a whole other post about their canon love life similarities and differences, but I will briefly say that while MCU Tony does the long on and off, and eventual ultimate commitment, to Pepper Potts, 616 Tony is a serial monogamist; he is always falling in love, and he’s definitely not a playboy, but the hero-ing, self loathing, and lifestyle make it very hard for him to keep anyone in his life, and most of his partners fuck his life up and betray him. Needless to say, 616 Tony is not married, and certainly not to Pepper Potts.

Oh, and I guess this is so obvious I almost forgot to include it, but a huge similarity between both iterations of Tony is that they both constantly use their own life as a bargaining chip, and will pretty much die for anything. Or be the bad guy for a good reason (at least, in his own mind... see Civil War, or Hickmanvengers; 616 Tony, especially, does not shy away from making the hard decisions, and this leads to a lot of guilt and tension in his relationships-- often with Steve because 616 Steve/Tony angst fans are well fed, I guess)

Remember that time Tony had Steve’s mind wiped because Tony felt that Steve’s inflexible morality might hinder the Illuminati’s ability to save the world? And it eats Tony up inside and erupts into a homicidal fight when Steve finally gets his memory back? Me too.

Tony Stark as a character is defined by sacrifice, both of his own life but also of his own happiness and reputation and conscience, I think, in a lot of ways, and we see this in many universes. I could go on about Tony’s propensity for sacrifice in the less obvious ways, because I think in terms of heroic sacrifice, Tony has done a lot that other heroes wouldn’t be able to do because of moral inflexibility and conflicting philosophical schools of thought; Tony really is the “whatever it takes” type, and often believes the ends justify the means if he deems a threat worse than the potential wrong that could be done in preventing the threat. We see this a little bit in the MCU in the creation of Ultron, and in Civil War with the Accords. But there’s a whole lot more going on there I don’t want to get into.

4. Alcohol

MCU Tony’s alcoholism is never really explicitly explored. He is shown drinking in Iron Man 1, and in Iron Man 2 he drinks a lot and makes a fool of himself publicly, but MCU Tony doesn’t get any specific narrative arc focused on his drinking, and if I recall correctly, I don’t think he ever refers to his drinking as alcoholism in the movies? Also, while his binge drinking and embarrassing behaviors ostensibly stop after the events of Iron Man 2, he is shown drinking on screen at least one other time after that which I can remember, and it wasn’t a “falling off the wagon” moment, and an alcoholic in recovery such as 616 Tony would not take a drink casually. This article sheds a little light on some decisions made about Tony and alcohol in the MCU.

Alcoholism is a huge part of 616 Tony’s personality, which I went a bit more into depth about in this post, so I won’t repeat myself too much.

5. Their relationships with the Iron Man armor

A few points here: MCU Tony is famous for the “I am Iron Man” line being repeated throughout the franchise after he blows his own secret in the end of the first movie. MCU Tony sees himself as one with Iron Man, and the suit is the tech that enables him to be this version of himself. He sees Tony Stark and Iron Man as inextricable: you cannot separate them, and his identity is public. He, as Tony Stark, is an Avenger.

You may remember MCU Tony’s induction into the Avengers; in Iron Man 2, Nick Fury is forming the Avengers and tasks the Black Widow with going undercover to assess Tony to be a part of a hypothetical initiative. “Iron Man yes, Tony Stark no” and the comments about Tony as a narcissist may be funny, but the fact is, the snark and erratic personality of MCU Tony at the time of the formation of the Avengers in the movies is not at all like the Tony of the comics, at the time of the Avengers being formed.

In 616, things are quite a bit different! Tony invents the Iron man armor to save himself (like in the MCU) and uses it for hero-ing, but in secret. He works very hard to protect his identity as Iron Man, and for a long time, as far as the world is concerned, Iron man is a mystery man piloting armor built by Tony, hired as Tony’s personal body guard, (hence the 616 Steve/Tony fandom’s proclivity for identity porn as a trope!) When the Avengers form, Iron Man is the Avenger, close friends with the Avengers, (particularly Steve!) and Tony Stark is just the benefactor of the Avengers, providing them with a place to live and finances with which to operate.

In the very early days, Tony did not have the “reactor” like in the MCU, but his chest plate did keep him alive, leading to some very dramatic shots of Tony charging up using a wall socket, lamenting the plight of a secret hero.

616 Tony, generally, and especially in some of these earlier comics, was quite reserved, rather serious, and very angsty, (in private of course.) He may be wealthy, but speaking generally, he’s much less ostentatious than MCU Tony, less of a show off, less into flashy things and grand gestures. Of course, this isn’t always true in the comics, and some iterations of Tony are more like this than others, but MCU Tony is showier, sillier, and more of a fun-times guy. Any MCU fan would find those panels quite contrary to the Tony Stark you know:

Iron Man 1

Iron Man 2

I think I would say that while MCU Tony sees himself and the Iron Man identity and the armor as all being inextricably connected, we see a bit more compartmentalization with 616 Tony, who pretends that the armor is a whole separate person for years when his identity was private, and we see instances in older and newer comics, in which Tony is uncomfortable with some aspect of himself as Iron Man (for instance, during the second drinking arc, Tony temporarily swears off being Iron Man entirely, or for another example, when Tony is in a comma and Tony AI exists during Secret Empire, Tony “lives” in the Iron Man suit, and I think this could be interpreted as a meta parallel to Steve during this arc; Steve has had some core aspect of his character inverted, Captain America becoming Captain Hydra, so Tony experiences a similar inversion-- Tony Stark and Iron Man are forcibly merged, in a way that Tony seems deeply uncomfortable with, if his digital drinking relapse is any indication. But I digress; sorry for the tangent.)

Okay this post is inexcusable long, and very, very tangential, and I don’t feel like I’ve really covered everything I wanted to. But it has been sitting in my inbox for too long and if I don’t post it now I never will, so I hope this long, rambling thing has been a little bit helpful to you! Thank you so much for asking, I had a lot of fun rambling about this.

If you want to read a similar post, but well written and organized, with other insights, this post by Sineala answers a similar question!

#Anonymous #han reads comics #han meta #meta #iron man #tony stark #616 tony stark #616 #mcu #long post #han speaks #ask #sorry this definitely gets more incomprehensible as it goes on but i have been writing and rewriting and editing and fretting about this #for so long that if i dont just post it i probably never will and i sunk too many hours into it #to throw it away now 😅#abuse tw #abuse #alcoholism tw #alcoholism

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popcorn-hero · 3 years

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The Tales of the Todorokis

Acknowledging character development and writing character development is not and making excuses for ones crimes.

Disclaimer: I read, I interpret, I express. This is a long post filled with images. Also probably some horrible grammar

Apologizing: Apologizing is acknowledging ones faults and vowing to never commit the same mistakes. What has happened has happened. Nothing can change the past or the effect it had. What you do now, does not change or erase the past, but it helps guide a path of healing for the future. It can be the start of change and morphing into a better person. BUT, only if that person truly means it.

Apologies is not making an excuse for yourself.

Forgiveness: Forgiveness can be rightfully given, or not. It can be a tricky thing to understand at times. Forgiveness doesn’t remove the pain. Forgiveness doesn’t erase the memories. But for some people, forgiveness is a key to freedom, for inner peace. For other people, forgiveness doesn’t offer them that, and that's fine too.

We are not monoliths, we are individual people, with individual brains, with individual emotions, with experiences that affects us as individuals. Our stories might overlap - they might even be identical, but how we process it may not be.

I don’t like this narrative I’ve been seeing recently in the fandom of Horikoshi being an abuse apologist. I think Horikoshi is challenging us and its working.

The Tales of the Todoroki’s: Enji, Rei, Touya, Fuyumi, Natsuo, Shoto

6 people

6 perspectives

6 stories

1 truth

Each viewpoint and each experience from everyone is very important in putting the pieces together (yes, even Enji). In fact, I think it was important to have Enjis viewpoint to the situation because it was such a contrast to what we’ve heard and seen from everyone else. In Enjis mind, he truly thought everyone was complaisant. He saw nothing wrong with attempting to live vicariously through his kids. In the same breath he expresses contempt for this children, its also laced with disappointment

He speaks of Rei as though she was consensual, but we know he essentially used her a valuable Mare and hurt her as well.

His treatment of Rei cannot be erased, justified, or forgotten. It happened. We as the audience are suppose to carry that in our minds because we are reading a story about Heroes. This challenges us to understand that heroic actions is not what a hero makes.

There are cops who (most of them tbh) that become cops simply for the power dynamic, not because they desire to protect. A lot of cops abuse their spouse.

Rei: We are only introduced to her through the lowest point of her life and we have no insight on how Enji acquired her (yeah that sound harsh, but isn’t that what happened) nor her domestic life with him. What we know of her are scenes of her pain, and I think thats relevant enough. She may have had some “good” moments out of her situation, but she was still a mouse trapped in a lions den. Good days do not erase her state. Thats why this panel, was so odd to me

Because it implies that Rei was complicit in having kids even though we as the audience understand that he basically brought her for that single purpose. Now note, this is coming from Enjs mouth, not hers so I can’t sit her be like “oh yeah she was fine with everything”

To me, this is simply Enjis projection because what was Rei honestly going to do? Say no? But who’s to say that she didn’t want Touya to be lonely? Idk, that panel was too wishy washy for me.

Moving on

She replies to Natsuo by saying that's not true

Its not in his defense like how Natsuo claimed. Rei never states that she forgives him, and we can see she is still on her journey of healing when she mentions shes still a bit scared of him. However, she acknowledges his acts as stepping stone for his own path of atonement.

If she does come to forgive him later in the story, thats her decision (Horikoshi actually lol). If she doesn’t, that her decision.

Natsuo:

The only insight from Natsuo is his resentment towards his father with what happened to Touya and the hurt of their mother. It is revealed later that Natsuo was Touya confidant in the house (I’ll get into that when I talk about Touya).

But He doesn’t forgive him....or hes not at that stage yet

When endeavor saves him from the villain, we are able to see Natsuos raw thoughts:

He’s conflicted: He wants to maintain the peace, but he can’t deny how he feels.

Natsuo felt like he had to compromise his feelings, and that shouldn’t be fair. Even thought he is the middle child, I feel like he took on the presence of the big brother and wanted to protect his siblings. But when you have a man like Enji as your father and you know how he is.....standing up to him as a child is terrifying

So when Enji says this

I’m like: DUH! Of course he would feel like that

But I’m taking this scene has Enji recognizing how he made Natsuo feel as a child which showcases. he owns up to the fact that he pushed Touya to the edge.

Yet with all that said, hes not suppose to forget. Hes not suppose to suppress how he feels. And even at his age, that child inside him still hurt and was never offered a chance to properly heal. I know what that feels like.

Natsuo must figure out what he needs to do to find peace - however that may be.

Fuyumi :

We don’t have much insight to Fuyumi and I’m sure her experience is completely different from her brothers. One, because she was a girl and Enji is misogynistic, I doubt he gave her any type of attention as a father figure especially since she only inherited her moms quirk. I don’t recall signs of physically abuse on Fuyumi and (Natsuo), but there probably was demeaning behavior at some point. Just being in that environment and seeing their sibling subjected to that, negatively impact her however

But with Fuyumi, she is trying to move on

I think Fuyumi is on her path of forgiving her father - thats her choice to make to find peace for her experience. After expressing her desire to move on as a family, she ask Shoto how he feels....

Oh my sweet prince Shoto:

Shoto has a lot of baggage and being one of the main protagonist, we get a more in depth experience on his relationship with is father. I’m not going to go into too much detail because we all know he detested his father. I’m mainly going to focus on this middle ground that I find him at.

In the panels above he mentions having grudges and how it clouds the mind. Thats a toxic feeling to carry with you, especially when you’re trying to be a hero. He recognized that, and he’s been working on fixing that. Even his mother had to forgive herself towards what she did to him.

Shoto is not here to forgive Enji, hes here to forgive himself

What I mean by that is the fact that Shoto experienced self-hate. He hated a part of who was, how he looked, where he came from. He had no control of his childhood, but he now has control of his future. At the sports festival, that was Shotos first step towards finding his healing. It wasn’t about Enji apologizing to him. It was about him.

And now look at him, he’s more social, more expressive, more powerful once he began to love himself. He got there on his own and with the support of his friends.

It doesn’t change what happened to him, and it doesn’t erase his feelings However, it gave him control over himself.

This is almost the same position Natsuo is in. He hasn’t seen anything (yet) for himself that warrants him to forgive his father. Maybe we will see it in these later chapters... maybe we wont.

Thats his decision

And last: Touya

Touya, touya, touya touya......

I honestly don’t know how to tackle his situation, but shoot me

From this memory (by Enji), Touya appears...enthusiastic. He appeared that he wanted to train with his father.

And I think this is where things went wrong in his rearing. He was GROOMED .

Enji, being who he was, probably placed the ideas in Touya head of great success, importance, power, fame, ect. These things sound good to a child, and being the only child at the time, he had all his fathers attention. But as he got older and his quirk became incompatible, things started change.

Even before his quirk no longer became compatible for him, Enji still didn't see Touya as his ideal child, but he accepted it. Touya looks to be about 6 here meaning Shoto wasnt born yet or an infant.

Going by the ages given for Shoto, Fuyumi, and Natsuo I’m going to state that

Touya was 13 when he staged his death

Fuyumi was 11, Natsuo was 8, and Shoto was 5 and thats when we are introduced into in abuse.

So there is a 8 year window between Touya shift in his relationship with his father and the start of Shoto gaining his quirk.

That is a missing puzzle piece, and I can only speculate what happened in that time period to drive Touya to his mental breaking point and what his father did or, didn’t do for him.

Here, there is more white in his hair and he looks to be maybe 10? And this is when he starts to question his existence.

I can’t say all that Touya went through from the time Shoto was born to his faked death.

I think Touya suffered from feeling abandoned by his father father, the feelings of being a failure because of these ideals of greatness only to be sideline. That he was just a placeholder like the rest of his sibling and not worthy to work along his fathers side.

I don’t think he faced the same treatment from his father as Shoto did. I think he became blinded by approval and pushed himself to his limits to compete for Enji attention, He probably developed depression, anxiety, and a lot stressors as he became more and more incompatible with his quirk

And I think thats why there is the hate for Shoto because he feels like he took away his purpose ( which has nothing to do with Shoto but everything to do with Enjis grooming)

We know Touya is absolutely not on the scale of ever forgiving his father for what he did. For him to sit there and watch his father on TV and proclaim to be a hero when he knew what went on behind closed doors, it can drive him towards wanting to retaliate.

His story showcases damages of a broken child. Where Shouto found liberation, Touya remained bound to the ambers Enji left on his worth and lies on being a hero.

Not everything can be fixed, and once a crack forms, it will continue to spread until it shatters.

In conclusion

The Tale of The Todorokis is not to serve as excusing abuse. Its a showcase of how 1 man can affect the lives of many people in different ways. It is a tale of moving forward, finding peace, and gaining control over your own person.

Enji knows he can’t snap his figures and all will be well. Though I think some actions he could have done was to take it upon himself to address the country, come clean, and maybe retire as a hero, but he’s not a perfect character.

But I’ll take what I can get. Enji knows his place, he knows what he has done.

Happiness to his family is absence

Its there space

And there nothing more better he can do than that.

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fullmoonfireball · 5 years

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alright! I foresee this getting long, so I’m gonna slap a readmore on this.

let’s go from the mission after the first one I focused on (is that wording confusing? it feels confusing. whatever, this is from mission 7 onward.)

so this one isn’t all that eventful, but Herbert’s broken the clock tower! which is bad, since all other clocks are directly linked to it and they’re now going haywire.

(fun fact! Gary built the Clock Tower because he was bored)

more specifically, Herbert’s stolen the prime gear, the removal of which sent one of the springs flying, and Klutzy decided to make off with its snowball target. most of the mission is just retrieving the missing parts... except the prime gear. you have to make a replacement for that one. but hey, at least it’s fixed and things are back to normal!

uuuntil tremors start happening around the island. turns out Herbert took that gear for a reason, and that reason was making the Earthquake Driller! he drilled around a bunch, making a maze for the player, and drilling through the Gift Shop’s foundation enough to make it fall underground, just to block your way. gotta love that villainous need to just,, inconvenience people. so once you (presumably) get back his map (I think you can do it without actually doing that? but don’t quote me there, I’ve never tried it) and find a way to lift the gift shop and keep it there, you can actually get to the polar bear meat of this mission! Herbert’s trying to steal from the boiler from well,, the boiler room. walking in on him distracts and upsets him, though, and he hits his wrench on one of the pipes... causing the boiler to shake violently. violence isn’t the answer, Herbert. apparently it’s overheating and gonna blow up! so, of course, Herbert hightails it out of there and you’re left to fix his mess.

mission 9 is just trying to track down Herbert, so he’s not really.. in? most of it? the parts he is in though... honestly, I’d just recommend watching it yourself. Herbert dancing is much better with visuals.

(fun fact!

this makes absolutely no sense out of context and doesn’t really make much more sense in context!)

mission 10! I really love this one bc it’s a fun story. we open with mission briefing from Gary (we’re supposed to keep a golden puffle statue safe at the Night Club), but then Herbert hacks into the PSA’s computers! pretty much just to gloat about how he used the camera from the last mission to hack in and that he’s also got a plan! but uh...

.... yeah, i think this speaks for itself.

THANKFULLY, though, this was all planned! Gary (and The Director) wanted this kind of slip-up, because this is all one big plot to capture Herbert! after you help JPG and Rookie with their preparations (and then get distracted by Klutzy), Herbert shows up at the Club to steal the Golden Puffle. dropping the cage on him seems to work until he just.. lifts it off. despite everything, he is a polar bear, and thus, is pretty strong. but joke’s on Herbert, because we have backup! and you can rely on either of your teammates to trap him again, either by shining the spotlights on the Electromagnet 3000′s solar panel to strengthen it, or by taking JPG’s jet pack and strapping it to the cage. either way, the cage gets slammed back onto Herbert. Gary comes in and goes through some options as to what to do with Herbert (ban him from the island, detain him in a holding cell, make him do community service, let him go because they’re nice (that one was a joke)), and the mission is over...

(fun? fact! the “first” time I played this mission I just kinda.. stole Guy’s jet pack and did Rookie’s solution anyways bc I 1: just meant to talk to him and 2: I didn’t realize that was a solution! sorry Guy, but you’re not getting it back.)

except it’s not over! Herbert demands one phone call and... well... Rookie gives him his Spy Phone. and he teleports out of there. cue mission 11! though since we’ve already gone through that, I’m not gonna re-explain The Veggie Villain. that’d just be redundant.

what we will get into real quick is the Battle of Doom! after a Medieval Party where Gary built a mechanical hydra to fight, Herbert took that robot for his own purposes and tried to attack the Everyday Phoning Facility with it. some damage was done to the exterior, but the robot was still pretty easy (and fun! I can attest!) to beat, and no damage was done to the EPF HQ.

(fun fact! the music for this fight slaps.)

next comes Operation: Hibernation! the name is,, pretty self-explanatory, I’d say? gotta make the bear go to sleep. despite the fact that polar bears... uhhhhh... only do that sort of thing when pregnant? but that’s a can of worms I am going to throw RIGHT out the window.

the writers later lampshaded that fact anyways. whatever. just add it to Herbert’s Un-Polar Bear-iness List. don’t look too far into this- it doesn’t make any sense either way. also I’ve spent way more time on this than it deserves.

and now let’s get into the final part here! which is going to be Very Fun to talk about! Operation: Blackout!

a while before the event, a certain “Hubert P. Enguin” (no relation, I’m sure) wrote in to Ask Gary, asking how to build a “high frequency infrared reversion laser”. after that, Gary went missing, with evidence to suggest a kidnapping. Field-Ops went offline. the EPF went on Red Alert.

exactly one week after that, the Blackout started. the laser was built and used. not only did it block out the sky over the island, but it was also used to blast the Everyday Phoning Facility, successfully destroying it this time. Herbert’s in control of the island now, babey! he’s revealing agents’ identities while hogging the sun’s warmth! well... the two that already had their real names in their most-known names, at least. (Dot and Guy) but I think that was just coincidence.

so slowly and surely, as the island grows colder and more EPF agents go missing, the player has to make their way into Herbert’s base. first, Herbert captured Dot. then Rookie. JPG was ambushed by crabs, and met the same fate as the others. and finally, The Director was captured while giving the player instructions...

and it was strongly implied you were next.

Operation: Blackout was,, really dark. ba-dum-tsh! and I’m kind of upset at myself for having fallen off of Club Penguin too early to experience it, but at the same time... I’m not entirely sure 11-year-old me would’ve taken it so well.

but yeah, you self destruct the solar laser and get to see this video! I really like this one, so I’m just poppin’ it in here.

youtube

and yeah! that’s about where my knowledge ends vis a vis Herbert! thanks for like,, actually reading this if you did, bc this post is a mile long

#yes i AM just peppering various nuggets of info in here bc i don't know where else to do so even if they're not herbert-related #gotta let these things be known #especially the rubber duck thing???? gdjkgjfkdl #i only learned that now while checking if i was being Accurate and.... that's SUCH a specific gag #who even noticed that #queenofglitch #replies #LONG POST #video #(at the end if you get through it all!)

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go-redgirl · 4 years

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Dems Have Squandered Last Opportunity to Beat Trump

President Trump has met and passed his supreme test.

This has left his Democratic opponents desperately espousing gloom and demanding that the economic shut-down continue, according to frequent semi-high-brow Democratic ideologue and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, for up to seven months.

Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers took to The Washington Post to preach epidemiological defeatism.

While the choristers of fear and despair are clinging to a prolonged economic meltdown like drowning men clutching a raft, their presumptive presidential candidate is disintegrating in the midst of friendly interviews and struggling to get a little attention while the man he wishes to unseat takes one to two hours of prime-time television every day announcing the success of his plan of action to deal with the country’s greatest public health crisis in a century.

When Trump realized that his breezy assurances that everything was under control and that the spring weather would vanquish the problem weren’t cutting it, and that he was wide open to blistering criticism from his opponents, he imperturbably executed a 180-degree turn and became, in FDR’s phrase, apt for a public health crisis, "Dr. Win-the-War."

The Democratic Party spokespeople for a few days were feeling very sufficient, settling into a long siege with the entire economy of the country descending into desperate straits, and then carrying their recently resurrected nominee, the ill-assured and quavering Joe Biden across the finish-line against the new Herbert Hoover.

Democrats had been incredulous at Trump’s appearance as a candidate, judged him unelectable, were so astonished by his victory they convinced themselves and corrupted the Justice Department and the intelligence agencies with the monstrous falsehood that he had won by enlisting the support of the Kremlin. And when that enormous canard came down in flames — like the Hindenburg at Lakehurst, New Jersey in May, 1937— out of terror-induced distraction, they impeached him for unimpeachable offenses and with no believable evidence that he had committed them anyway.

The unelectable Trump had given way to the impeachable Trump, who was replaced by the distinctly beatable Trump, a vision it was increasingly hard to believe in as the economy disobediently boomed and the president’s poll numbers rose. Then, like the Seventh Cavalry guided by a beatific apparition, the coronavirus pandemic descended. It wasn’t quite the Trump exit his enemies had wished, but it would do and it was providential.

Trump would shut everything down after being pilloried for overconfidence and ineffectiveness, the economy would wither, the pandemic would do to him politically what the Iran hostages did to Jimmy Carter, and the Democrats could claim in the autumn that if he had just acted more quickly, all would be well, and the disease-driven poverty of America was Trump’s doing.

The president had the grace of conversion. He shut down all the bunk about his philistine animosity to science by recruiting a blue-ribbon scientific and public health administrative team. He stopped most of the Democratic officeholders by cooperating closely with all the governors, including some he had quarreled with publicly and acidulously.

People in the front lines, like New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and California Governor Gavin Newsom, were fighting for the lives of the people in their states, as well as for their own political futures, and all those who were trying to cope with the pandemic, rather than exploiting its political consequences, had the same interest.

The eminent scientists and other specialists on the president’s task force appeared with him at his press briefings and spoke in solidarity with him. Trump more or less shouldered the vice president aside and took the podium every day with the whole country watching.

He brought in the private-sector leaders and a collaboration somewhat reminiscent of the brilliant cooperation between government and industry in World War II instantly came into being as many corporations threw their energies into producing and distributing vital equipment for combating the scourge.

Medical supplies were moved quickly and with almost no red tape. The astounding incapacity to test in serious numbers and promptly was replaced in two weeks with mass testing that almost anyone could perform with results coming in 40 minutes.

This week there have been 65,000 tests a day and by next week there will be 150,000 tests a day.

Trump was solid, not rattled, by the questions and entirely believable as he handled the press every day, and fully corroborated by his experts. The anticipated fatality rate between 5 and 10 percent of those afflicted, and a majority of those apparently with coronavirus symptoms, narrowed out after about 10 days and it emerged that only about 15% of those who seemed to have the symptoms tested positive, and of those, fatalities were about 1.5% of infected people.

If the immuno-compromised portion of the population could be segregated and protected, the fatality rate came down to about half of 1% of the 15% of the tested and symptomatic people who actually had contracted the coronavirus.

And there are large regions of the country where the penetration of the virus has been minimal, and this condition was generally conserved by drastically reduced travel.

The independent medical and epidemiological experts confirmed that the president’s actions in closing down flights from China in January and from Western Europe on March 11 had undoubtedly saved many American lives and that without these measures, the United States could have had fatality rates like Italy’s distressing 10.5% of infected cases — scores or even hundreds of thousands of dead if replicated in the United States.

At the time of the move on flights from China, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer fired the usual Democratic charges of "racism" and "xenophobia" at the president—the charges didn’t wear well.

The president championed the malarial remedy Hydroxychloroquine, and when one unfortunate tried to self-medicate but with the phosphate version (an aquarium tank-cleaner) he died so CNN billed it a virtual manslaughter by the president. Laughable.

And the actual remedy does appear to be promising. As this new and less terrifying picture emerged, a rising focus among commentators was on the economic damage of a prolonged shut-down of the country.

Although this was essentially what the Democrats were counting on, they had to concur in the president’s relief package, an awe-inspiring two trillion dollar direct relief bill supplemented by a four trillion dollar liquidity facility.

The Democrats squandered their ability to take much credit for it by trying to pack in nonsense about solar panels, windmills, abortions, carbon emissions of grounded airliners, and back-handers for trade unions.

Too late.

They realized that Trump and the treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin, had layered in tax benefits that would outlast the public health crisis and its consequences and would be of tangible pleasure to the voters as they went to their election places.

And so the Democrats arrive at their last line of defense: Bill de Blasio, the failed, lame-duck mayor of New York, pathetically wailing for the deployment of the armed forces (for no evident purpose and as if they were immune to the virus) and predicting that the pandemic would rage everywhere in the country at the highest New York City rate, for six months.

Reich and Summers and the others charged out of the firehall one more time demanding a long shutdown, but it won’t fly. They’ve run out of dirty tricks they’re finished.

The Democrats have a presumptive candidate who can hardly utter a coherent sentence in response to a friendly questioner, live-streaming from a little podium in his living room, an absurd, and objectively sad spectacle.

The Democratic bosses are sending an infirm and elderly mouse to bell a big, tawny, roaring cat.

Anyone can see how it will end.

This article was originally published in American Greatness.

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bat-lings · 5 years

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Considering how the Al Ghul's seem to pride themselves on a refined and "dignified" demeanour, how come Damian is so blatantly rude, graceless, lacking in social etiquette, and often throwing petty tantrums? I strongly doubt the Al Ghuls would have tolerated this or raised him to act this way. Wouldn't they have raised and expected him to act similarly to them—in a more genteel, cultured, poised and civilised manner? At least in a snobbish way, perhaps? Idk. Thoughts?

I mean. You make a very good point.

Not sure any of those considerations were taken into account when Damian was created tbh. He was raised as an assassin because it was more dramatic that way, the details of what that entailed in terms of education weren’t relevant outside of his training.

We know very little about how Damian behaved while in the league. Was he more mannered? Was his attitude exacerbated when he met the batfam? Or has he always been that bratty? Coming back to that in a minute.

As often with Damian, I’ll reason mostly through headcanons and educated guesses. Yes I think Damian would’ve been raised with the intent to achieve a more refined & civilized demeanor. That’s not to say Damian turning into a brat is totally nonsensical.

Firstly, he’s the male heir Ra’s always wanted. Think about a kid born in a royal family: specific manners would be expected of the child, sure, but how many blue bloods turned into complete self-entitled brat? Abuse is sometimes put in the center of Damian’s childhood because dramangst, but (and not even taking Talia’s treatment into account) maybe he’d be indulged or even spoiled rotten as long as he conformed to Ra’s’ agendas. Ra’s is a manipulator, knows the benefits of a carrot, and doesn’t take out the stick unless you’re slipping out of his control.

There’s also the fact that no member of the league would dare to lay a hand on their master’s heir for fear of retribution. I imagine they wouldn’t dare put him in his place either. Hence Damian’s petty tantrums, or his blatantly rude attitude with everyone he meets. He makes me think of a kid who isn’t used to be put in his place. Then there’s some of the stuff he says about Alfred despite the fact that Damian rather likes him.

[Batgirl (2009) #17]

Someone has high expectations of ““servants””, ahem, I wonder where that comes from.

Plus I think Damian is plenty capable of acting more poised. He was surely taught etiquette. He just won’t act by it unless he thinks his interlocutor is worthy of that respect (although even then he’s more likely to demonstrate his respect differently). But he’s every bit as snobbish as Ra’s, just in a different way. Ra’s will make grand monologues and elegant gestures to signify he’s better than you are; Damian will demean you and demonstrate how you’re not worth his time until you prove him different.

A good clue of that is Damian’s above-than-average vocabulary (at least for a ten-year-old). something that admittedly wasn’t systematic in his post-crisis appearances, but that fanon (and the reboot I think) completely adopted– with reason. If Damian was taught to speak well, he was probably taught to act well.

Yet while it’s safe to assume it’d have been expected for Damian to be more mannered, I don’t think it’s nonsensical that his status as Ra’s’ heir gave him a pass. Especially since he was taught self-entitlement: he is both the Demon Head’s and Batman’s heir.

So while both Talia and Ra’s would look at the camera like in The Office at Damian’s attitude, and wish he acted differently… It’s not ludicrous that he ignored some of their teachings. He easily gets how physical training or lessons of war strategy can make him a worthy heir, but manners? Pffft, don’t waste his time.

Putting his league days aside and focusing on his arrival into the batfam. A lot of Damian’s attitude is rooted in feelings of inadequacy. I wondered earlier if Damian acted differently during his days in the league than with the fam, and to me, the answer’s yes, probably. I don’t doubt he was self-entitled and rotten with the league already, but I assume his attitude was dialed up to 11 with the bats. He had to adapt to an entire new set of values, most of which completely contradict what he grew up with. He constantly feels like he has to prove himself, to prove he belongs, and it shows. I kinda spoke about that towards the end of that post:

bat-lings.tumblr .com/post/181934419115/thoughts-on-the-tim-and-damian-rivalry

The thing with manners, is that it has more to do with self-respect than with respecting others. You can teach etiquette all you want, it won’t matter much if your kid feels like he has to roll his shoulders to make himself heard. In a verbal confrontation, whether you’ll react calmly, or whether you resort to raising your voice and insults, it says a lot more about you than your interlocutor. Even if you know, consciously, what is the “proper” attitude, you may not want or be able to stand by it.

Part of Damian’s growth should be about letting go of his demeaning attitude when he realizes he doesn’t need it. Maybe he’ll seek to emulate Talia or Alfred in that regard, one day. He’ll probably stay kinda snobbish, tho, we can’t have it all ¯\_(��)_/¯

Oh by the way this is 100% me trying to conciliate Damian’s canon portrayal with what could be expected of his background. It’s totally legit to consider the al Ghuls wouldn’t have tolerated this attitude in any shape and form and that canon just overlooked that when making Damian a brat.

……There’s legit 0 reason why I took so long answering, there wasn’t even extensive panel hunting involved, I guess it got lost in my inbox? My bad.

Thanks for the ask!

#damian wayne #ra's al ghul #dc comics #meta #asks #zae chatters #my stuff #league of assassins

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theramblingonesie · 5 years

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Facing Our Making, Part 3: Makeup and Gender

Welcome to Part 3 of my makeup blog series! This week we’re going to poke at gender and makeup. But before I begin, let’s review parts 1 & 2, and check in about where we’re at:

1. Beauty standards are impossibly harsh and cause a lot of unnecessary pain.

2. Let womxn decide what they want to do with their own damn bodies and stay out of it. Unless they hire you for a consultation.

3. Wearing makeup is awesome

4. Not wearing makeup is awesome

5. Your gender presentation and basically any presentation of your body and behavior do not determine who you are and aren’t attracted to sexually. And no one is the (*^*^%^$#%$#&*&^&%% authority to determine that for you. If they try, remember that they’re judging and labeling you in relation to their own internal gender/sexuality struggles. More on this in today’s blog below.

6. How toxic masculinity ruins the day in relationship to makeup or not makeup needs to die, and YES womxn also support and host this behavior (internalized misogyny). Just because a person has a vagina or presents as femme does not mean they are exempt.

7. Womxn who wear makeup are not whores unless they are, in fact, professional whores. Professional whores keep the world turning, and bless em for it. The problem isn’t sex work. It’s violence against sex workers. Consider your complicity.

8. Womxn are reclaiming the hell out of the word “Slut”, so don’t get caught being a dumb idiot who uses the outdated, violent, misogynist definition. 1000 years vagina dentata upon your entire household.

9. If you want sexual attention because you enjoy sex, then FUCK YEAH GIT IT!!!

10. “Pretty girls are dumb” is a myth that our society desperately seeks to nurture and maintain. This is rooted in dominance, power, control, and whorephobia. Stop it.

11. “Ugly girls are smart” makes no damn sense. Okay, yes I can see the backwards logic, but also if you listen to flat-earthers long enough you could even be like, “ok, I see where you’re coming from with that”.

It is not lost on me that certain beauty trends and habits can trigger and enable body image problems, ranging in severity. After attending a panel discussion that featured a speaker from Media Girls Boston, I learned that girls as young as 9 are learning that they essentially need to brand themselves through social media so that they can merely exist. Saying this is a problem is an understatement.

I support makeup and rituals of adornment. I support a lot of things that, if used improperly with dangerous motivations, can result in severe consequences.

Understand that there’s a lot of nuance in subjects like this, and utilize your critical thinking brain when exploring such topics. Continue your personal research if you’re curious about any subcategory in this series that I have not addressed.

If issues of beauty standards and pressure are uncomfortable or triggering for you, or if you or a loved one believe they may be suffering from a body-image related disorder, please know you are not alone, and there are people out there who are ready and available to support you through this. Links and hotline numbers are available in the resource section at the end of this blog. -------------------------------------------------------------

“If we are all members of one body, then in that one body there is neither male nor female; or rather there is both: it is an androgynous or hermaphroditic body, containing both sexes [...] The division of the one man into two sexes is part of [our] fall.” --Norman O. Brown, in Love’s Body, 1966

Okay! Let’s talk about this super important element of the art and ritual of beauty:

Gender!

To Marie Kondo this: This subject does not bring me joy, and I do not want to write about it, but I feel that I have a responsibility to not play floor-is-lava about it. It does not even bring me the type of righteous rage that fuels me to furiously complete a post. It fills me with doubt, insecurity, self loathing, trust issues, and a desire to disappear.

I need to say this because I know I am not alone in my feelings and experience. But I will keep it very brief because I’d like to move on.

I have experienced a lifetime of pain from the bullshit pressure the heteropatriarchy puts on female bodies. I never anticipated the heartache I would experience as a result of being judged and denied by fellow queers.

I am too butch, too unfeminine to be accepted as the right kind of woman in heteropatriarchal society. I make men question their sexuality, and I am the one made to suffer for it. I am too feminine for queers to believe and accept me when I tell them I’m genderfluid (which I have been, quietly and privately, my entire life). I am not feminine enough to be femme.

Too much woman. Not enough woman. Not woman. Not human. Once again, my body and my soul are everyone else’s to judge, determine, and own. Not mine.

And no one wants to listen when we say the world hates women.

I highly suggest looking up the toxic concept of femme invisibility in queer communities. You can start by reading this great article by Bust:

https://www.bustle.com/articles/166081-what-does-femme-mean-the-difference-between-being-femme-being-feminine.

For the record, I still use she/her pronouns. I stand by my allegiance to the fullness and diversity of womxnhood in a deeply ferocious way. My reasoning for that is both very simple and very complicated. So I guess that just makes it very complicated. Ask me how.

Mood.

Anyway, makeup.

About a month ago, I had wrapped a film shoot with some friends who flew up from Mexico. It was an incredible weekend that filled me up with so much bliss. On the drive back to Boston, I was chatting with my beloved friends and fellow Scarlet Tongue artists, Creature and Cass, about how much I enjoy the company of Mexican men. A large part of that is because it is refreshing to be around men who so easily embrace and express feminine qualities of articulating their emotions, accessing their emotions, gentleness and nurturing. Creature presented the important argument that such qualities don’t need to be classified as feminine or masculine; they’re simply personality and behavioral traits that anybody can have.

Such a point is absolutely crucial in untangling the oppressive nature of the gender binary.

Exercise:

The following traits have been classically designated as “masculine” or “feminine” behavior, but I’ve jumbled them together in the list below. Which traits do you believe belong to whom?

Reserved Warm Sensitive Utilitarian Deferential Apprehensive Reactive Emotionally Stable Serious Lively Socially bold Shy Rule-conscious Expedient Private Perfectionism Anxiety Group-oriented Self-reliant Tolerates disorder Vigilance Extraversion Traditional Grounded Agreeableness Neuroticism Excitement-seeking Attraction to aesthetics

Answer:

Hahahahah, I’m not going to give you the answer. It doesn’t matter.

Yes, hormones do impact some behavior. And YES, how we’re socially conditioned impacts which traits are more dominant. But the point is, there is an imaginary line between the two categories. The saddest reality is that, even though any human is capable of any of these traits on the list, society has determined that consequence and punishment must befall anyone who strays from their category. An enforced gender binary is dangerous.

Enter makeup.

Makeup has served infinite purposes throughout the course of history. It’s an incredible vehicle for expression, as well as radical social and political rebellion. Makeup has shaped entire movements of art, social justice, philosophy, and construction/deconstruction of body politics.

Your lipstick is more than patriarchal pigment in a tube. It is a tool for revolution.

Most people assume that makeup is only for clowns and cisgender women, and anyone else who uses it is simply a deviant who has “stolen” it.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nononononononono

This probably won’t come as a shock to most of you, but yes-- Christianity also temporarily ruined makeup. Once upon a time, it was quite normal for men to wear makeup. Then the Jesus toe-suckers made up a whole bunch of arbitrary rules about what we currently observe masculinity and femininity to be, and here we are in this stinky pile of crap rules.

I highly recommend reading this article to learn a tiny bit more of the history of men and makeup:

https://www.byrdie.com/history-makeup-gender

Who wears makeup and how people wear makeup has shifted so much throughout history, and the struggles we experience around this today have only been relevant for a hundred years or so. One of the most common forms of rebellion we hear of is when women reject traditional femininity. Whether “burning our bras”, shaving our heads, or growing out our armpit hair, this is not an uncommon experience for a lot of women. The scandal!! The pet has escaped her cage!! So many women I know have experienced an anti-femininity phase at least once in their lives. Sometimes this “phase” transitions into a permanent rejection of gender norms, but it really varies from person to person. Often it’s set off by an overwhelming awareness of how much women are defined by superficial characteristics, traditionally determined and enforced by men. So we attempt to take ourselves out of the system by wearing neutral and aggressive clothing, switching up which parts of our bodies are hairy and which aren’t, and avoiding anything “girlie”. Revisiting my conversation with Aepril, my high-glam friend who inspired this blog and was mentioned in Part 1, she made a good point about honoring such an experience: “I went through a miserable phase in my feminist youth where I thought I was being uber feminist by not shaving or wearing makeup or wearing heels, etc, because to do so was giving into the patriarchy. I was miserable of course. It took my drag queen friends to wake me up to that, as I realized that they were willing to give up family, social status...their safety and even their lives for the privilege of expressing themselves in a glamorous, feminine way. While I had that privilege because I was born in a female body. I might be criticised by both men and women, but I wouldn’t be beaten in the street for transgressing gender roles. I realized how much it meant to me through seeing how much it meant to them. Why should I give that up either? Why should anyone have to?” In Aepril’s situation, she found that her place of authenticity was through femininity. In a world that is so divided between the shoulds and should-nots of who we’re supposed to be, I find it important to squeeze ourselves through and experience all sides so we can settle on what’s true for us. Then it’s no longer conformity; it’s an outlet.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, the use of makeup norms has been subverted to amplify voices that demand human rights and fair treatment. Its application has been largely linked to LGBTQ+ visibility and gay rights movements. The anti-Vietnam movement in the late 60s and 70s utilized makeup to display over-feminization and homosexuality as a way to avoid being drafted. The glam rock movement gave us icons like David Bowie, exposing and exploding restrictive gender norms through outrageous clothing and makeup, utilizing pop culture to spread ideas and acceptance of androgyny. “Female impersonation” has origins dating back to the 19th century in Europe, and the art of Drag Queens & Kings is alive and well today, celebrating, mocking, questioning, and expanding gender in clubs and theaters, in film, and right in our homes through TV favorites like Ru Paul’s Drag Race.

For our trans-sisters, the decision to wear makeup could have life or death consequences. As a transwoman friend of mine disclosed a few months back, when she’s walking down the street and hears a man call after her, her immediate thoughts turn to, “will I experience violence because I’m a woman? Or will I experience violence because he thinks I’m a faggot?” There is a lot of discussion in the trans community about the privilege of “passing”, and I believe these conversations have further supported the struggles womxn generally face-- does wearing makeup make you more or less of a woman? As writer Lux Alptraum points out, “the idea that external appearance is what makes someone a “real” woman is the very thing that many trans women have committed themselves to fighting. To the extent that makeup is an essential part of any trans woman’s gender identity or notion of her womanhood, it’s largely because that’s the message the rest of the world aggressively forces upon her.” Read the rest of this article at https://www.racked.com/2017/3/23/14937266/trans-women-makeup

Makeup is incredibly powerful. It can be used for protest, and it can be used for comfort. It’s daily wear, and it’s political. It’s an expression of freedom, and a bold face confronting restriction. It’s transformative, giving people the opportunity to live in the bodies and images that feel right and true for them. Makeup is art, an embracing of life and physicality, a way to show up, be counted, and be present. It’s an act of defiance, and an act of love.

I recently read that Facebook now has 56 gender identities one can choose from. Facebook blows, but wow that’s actually really awesome! Within that list, some of the more frequently used terms include:

Agender/Neutrois Androgyne/Androgynous Bigender Cis/Cisgender Female to Male/FTM Gender Fluid Gender Nonconforming/Variant Gender Questioning Genderqueer Intersex Male to Female/MTF Neither Non-binary Other Pangender Trans/Transgender Transsexual Two-spirit (Important: this is Native American. Don’t pull a Jason Mraz. Don’t appropriate)

Out of this list, the following folks are allowed to wear makeup:

All of them Everyone Anyone Everybody The General Public The Whole World Human Beings Aliens Animals but only if they’re actually humans in animal costumes

If you’re interested in following makeup artists on IG who are trans or gender non-conforming, here is a great starter list (partially sourced from wearyourvoicemag.com):

@ brownbeautystandards @ vlad_theunicorn @ jade_poncee @ makeupby_bran @ rosalynnemontoya @ miles_jai @ completedestruction

Again, there are infinite reasons why people of any gender do and don’t wear makeup, and I’m not going to be an authority on the matter. But I hope some of this information helps you on your journey to understand yourself better, and hold space of greater allyship and tolerance for others.

Below are some links and phone numbers if you feel you need greater support for the topics being discussed in this blog series. Being beautiful is cool, and so is being safe. You deserve to be here, and you matter.

Enjoy your week, and we’ll see you back here next week for Part 4: Performance Artists and Makeup!

National Eating Disorders 24 hr Hotline: 1-800-931-2237

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/body-image-0

TransLifeline Hotline: 877-565-8860

https://www.translifeline.org/

LGBT National Hotline: 1-888-843-4564

https://www.glbthotline.org/

National Suicide Prevention 24hr Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

http://sexworkersproject.org/resources/

#makeup #nomakeup #gender #intersectional feminism #revolution #queer #drag #androgony #expressyourself

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theliberaltony · 6 years

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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Democrats had a really good night on Tuesday, easily claiming the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races, flipping control of the Washington state Senate and possibly also the Virginia House of Delegates, passing a ballot measure in Maine that will expand Medicaid in the state, winning a variety of mayoral elections around the country, and gaining control of key county executive seats in suburban New York.

They also got pretty much exactly the results you’d expect when opposing a Republican president with a 38 percent approval rating.

That’s not to downplay Democrats’ accomplishments. Democrats’ results were consistent enough, and their margins were large enough, that Tuesday’s elections had a wave-like feel. That includes how they performed in Virginia, where Ralph Northam won by considerably more than polls projected. When almost all the tossup races go a certain way, and when the party winning those tossup races also accomplishes certain things that were thought to be extreme long shots (such as possibly winning the Virginia House of Delegates), it’s almost certainly a reflection of the national environment.

But we didn’t need Tuesday night to prove that the national environment was good for Democrats; there was plenty of evidence for it already. In no particular order of importance:

President Trump’s approval rating is only 37.6 percent.

Democrats lead by approximately 10 points on the generic Congressional ballot.

Republican incumbents are retiring at a rapid pace; there were two retirements (from New Jersey Rep. Frank LoBiondo and Texas Rep. Ted Poe) on Tuesday alone.

Democrats are recruiting astonishing numbers of candidates for Congress.

Democrats have performed well overall in special elections to the U.S. Congress, relative to the partisanship of those districts; they’ve also performed well in special elections to state legislatures.

The opposition party almost always gains ground at midterm elections. This is one of the most durable empirical rules of American politics.

So while Northam’s 9-point margin of victory was a surprise based on the polls, which had projected him to win by roughly 3 points instead1, it was right in line with what you might expect based on these “fundamental” factors. For instance, a simple model we developed based on the generic ballot and state partisanship forecasted a 9-point win for Democrats in Virginia and a 13-point win in New Jersey, pretty much matching their actual results in each state.

To put it another way, Tuesday’s results shouldn’t have exceeded your expectations for Democrats by all that much because you should have had high expectations already. Midterm elections — and usually also off-year and special elections — almost always go well for the opposition party, and they’re going to go especially well when the president has a sub-40 approval rating.

So, does that mean that Democrats are clear favorites to pick up the House next year? No, not necessarily. I’d say they’re favorites, but not particularly heavy ones. Democrats face one major disadvantage, and have one major source of uncertainty.

The uncertainty is time: there’s still a year to go until the midterms. This could cut either way, of course. The political environment often deteriorates for the president’s party during his second year in office, and one can imagine a variety of factors (from attempting to pass an unpopular tax plan to ongoing bombshells in the Russia investigation) that could further worsen conditions for Republicans. One can also imagine a variety of factors that would help the GOP: Democrats overplaying their hand on impeachment; a rally-around-the-flag effect after a war or terror attack; Trump quitting Twitter. (Okay, probably not that last one.) That Trump is so unpopular so soon in his term makes all of this harder to predict because there aren’t any good precedents for a president with such a poor approval rating so early on.

Democrats also face a big disadvantage in the way their voters are distributed across Congressional districts, as a result of both gerrymandering and geographic self-sorting. Although these calculations can vary based on the incumbency advantage and other factors, my back-of-the-envelope math suggests that Democrats would only be about even-money to claim the House even if they won the popular vote for the House by 7 percentage points next year. The Republican ship is built to take on a lot of water, although it would almost certainly capsize if the Democratic advantage in the House popular vote stretched into the double digits, as it stands now in some Congressional preference polls.

Nonetheless, my sense is that the conventional wisdom has, to this point, somewhat underrated the Democrats’ chances of having a wave election next year. And it’s for some fairly stupid (although understandable) reasons.

One is in the tendency to fight the last war. Journalists and pundits are always chastened by the “lessons” of the most recent election, especially if the outcome was surprising to them. And they usually like to argue that the results represented a realignment or a paradigm shift, rather than — as is more often the case — a fluctuation that came about from a combination of cyclical and circumstantial factors that may not replicate themselves again. So they’re often slow to recognize signs that the political climate is shifting in the opposite direction from the supposed realignment, even when they’re really obvious. (Like, say, a Republican winning a Senate seat in Massachusetts only a year after the Democratic president took office.)

Second, the pundit class has a poor understanding of polling, and how it performed in 2016 — and it’s making 2018 punditry worse. As I wrote in our live blog on Tuesday night:

[It’s] been interesting to see how television pundits adapt to the post-2016 environment. Pretty much everyone on Monday morning’s “Morning Joe” panel predicted that Gillespie would win in Virginia despite Northam’s modest lead in the polls, for instance…

[The] segment was a bit worrisome in that it suggests that political pundits and reporters learned the wrong lessons from 2016. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, the polls weren’t that far off last year — they were about as accurate as they’d been in past elections. But they were filtered thru a lens of groupthink that was convinced Trump couldn’t possibly win — and so pundits routinely misinterpreted polls and ignored data showing a competitive race.

It’s healthy to take away the lesson from 2016 that polls are not always right… But that polls aren’t always right doesn’t mean that one’s gut instinct is a better way to forecast elections. On the contrary, the conventional wisdom has usually been much wronger than the polls, so much so that it’s given rise to what I’ve called the First Rule of Polling Errors, which is that polls almost always miss in the opposite direction of what pundits expect. That the “Morning Joe” panel thinks Gillespie will win might be a bullish indicator for Northam, in other words.

If you think numbers like Trump’s 37.6 percent approval rating are “fake news” because polls perpetually underrated Trump before, then the political climate doesn’t look quite as scary for the GOP. However, one needs to be careful about assuming the polling error always runs in the same direction; historically, it’s been just as likely to reverse itself from one election to the next. (For instance, polls lowballed Democrats in 2012 but then did the same to Republicans in 2014.)

Finally, there’s perhaps an unhealthy obsession with the white working-class vote, and its potential to sway the 2018 midterms in favor of Republicans. This could be more of a concern for Democrats in 2020. But the midterm electorate is typically more educated and better off financially than the presidential-year one. Also, most of the pickup opportunities that analysts envision for Democrats are in wealthy or at least middle-class areas. On average, the 61 Republican-held Congressional districts that the Cook Political Report rates as competitive rank in the 65th percentile in educational attainment (as measured by the share of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree) and also the 65th percentile in median household income. Some of them are fairly white, and some aren’t — but almost none are both white and working-class.

Competitive districts are mostly well-off and well-educated

Demographic ranking for the 61 Republican-held Congressional districts that the Cook Political Report rates as competitive

PERCENTILE RANK AMONG ALL 435 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS SEAT▲▼ COOK RATING▲▼ EDUCATION▲▼ INCOME▲▼ NONWHITE▲▼ Georgia 6 Leans Republican 99 92 62 California 45 Leans Republican 97 96 71 New Jersey 11 Leans Republican 96 99 36 Virginia 10 Toss-up 96 100 58 Illinois 6 Leans Republican 95 96 29 New Jersey 7 Leans Republican 95 99 43 Minnesota 3 Leans Republican 94 91 28 Texas 7 Leans Republican 94 80 77 Kansas 3 Leans Republican 93 81 39 Michigan 11 Toss-up 92 88 25 California 48 Toss-up 90 93 66 California 49 Toss-up 88 89 60 Pennsylvania 7 Leans Republican 88 92 18 Texas 32 Leans Republican 88 78 73 Pennsylvania 6 Leans Republican 87 90 19 Illinois 14 Likely Republican 86 94 28 California 39 Leans Republican 85 91 88 Colorado 6 Toss-up 85 85 57 Michigan 8 Leans Republican 82 71 22 Georgia 7 Likely Republican 81 82 76 Nebraska 2 Toss-up 81 66 37 Pennsylvania 8 Leans Republican 81 89 17 Virginia 7 Likely Republican 80 83 50 Minnesota 2 Toss-up 79 88 22 Florida 27 Leans Democratic 78 39 93 Pennsylvania 18 Likely Republican 74 67 2 North Carolina 2 Likely Republican 73 70 51 New York 11 Likely Republican 70 80 61 Virginia 2 Likely Republican 70 72 57 Arizona 2 Toss-up 68 25 58 New York 1 Likely Republican 68 94 33 New Jersey 3 Likely Republican 67 84 33 North Carolina 9 Likely Republican 66 50 60 Ohio 1 Likely Republican 66 49 45 Iowa 3 Leans Republican 64 65 18 Ohio 16 Likely Republican 64 68 3 Kentucky 6 Likely Republican 61 32 21 Montana Likely Republican 59 29 13 Florida 18 Likely Republican 57 47 48 New York 24 Likely Republican 56 51 21 Illinois 13 Likely Republican 55 27 26 Kansas 2 Leans Republican 50 38 19 New York 19 Toss-up 50 57 18 Washington 8 Toss-up 49 65 49 California 50 Likely Republican 47 81 68 Utah 4 Likely Republican 47 76 34 Virginia 5 Likely Republican 46 40 38 California 25 Toss-up 44 84 78 Florida 26 Leans Republican 42 45 95 Iowa 1 Toss-up 42 54 10 North Carolina 13 Likely Republican 41 21 53 New York 22 Leans Republican 37 42 12 New Jersey 2 Toss-up 36 60 52 Pennsylvania 16 Likely Republican 33 52 39 Michigan 7 Likely Republican 31 51 11 Illinois 12 Leans Republican 29 20 31 Maine 2 Leans Republican 24 18 <1 Texas 23 Leans Republican 18 35 91 New Mexico 2 Likely Republican 16 8 83 California 10 Leans Republican 5 58 77 California 21 Likely Republican <1 7 95

Sources: COOK POLITICAL REPORT, AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY

Of course, this logic is somewhat circular: if Democrats aren’t trying to compete for the white working-class vote, outlets like Cook won’t list white working-class districts as being competitive. It’s possible there are some overlooked opportunities, such as in South Carolina’s 5th Congressional district, which Democrats came surprisingly close to winning in a special election earlier this year.

Nonetheless, Democrats have quite a few pathways toward winning the House that rely primarily on middle-class and upper-middle-class suburban districts, plus a few districts with growing nonwhite populations. Many of these are in coastal states or in blue states, including four of them in Virginia, four in New Jersey, four in Illinois, five in New York and eight in California, according to Cook’s list. It might not be advisable for Democrats to only target these sorts of districts; history suggests that parties usually benefit from competing ambitiously in all sorts of districts and seeing where the chips fall. But it’s plausible for them to do so and reclaim the House. Come 2020, though, it will be harder for Democrats to win back the Electoral College without rebounding among the white working-class.

Last thing: while Tuesday’s results may not change the reality of the 2018 outlook all that much, it could change perceptions about it, and that could have some knock-on effects. (Politicians are often like “Morning Joe” panelists in how they think about elections.) Republicans’ retirement issues may get even worse; Democrats’ recruiting may get even better. Republicans might think twice about how they’re proceeding on tax reform — especially given that their current plans could have negative effects on just the sorts of wealthy coastal suburbs where Republicans performed poorly on Tuesday.

And there will be lots of recriminations about the race that Ed Gillespie ran in Virginia, which could change Republicans’ thinking on how they should relate to Trump. Some of this is going to be silly: Gillespie did no worse (and no better) than you’d expect given Trump’s approval rating and Virginia’s blue lean. But if those politicians think Tuesday was a huge game-changing deal, they may begin to act like it and create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

#IFTTT #Politics – FiveThirtyEight #politics #538 #Nate Silver

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theinclusionmasala · 4 years

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22/11 Day of the entrepreneur - Day of the female entrepreneur. #SheDIDIT

Today 22/11 is day of the entrepreneur in Belgium. Perfect day to run a female entrepreneurship event. I am so happy and honoured that I was invited as a panel member/ guest speaker at the event of #SheDIDit. They promised not an ordinary Friday but a day full of entrepreneurship, diversity and youth... I can officially say that SheDIDIT!

#SheDIDIT is a unique platform full of female talent across cultural backgrounds. It is for the entrepreneurial female with foreign roots. The SheDIDIt woman is willing to do develop all her skills and use her talent to chase her dreams!

I sat in a room full of talented, inspiring and ambitious women from various countries in the world. The event took place on the 10th floor of the Arteveldehogeschool in Ghent, Belgium, which has an amazing panoramic view by the way. We were all connected by the fact we are all women and our common Belgian background either by education, culture, family or just by location. It was amazing to see the diversity and female talent in this country.

In the panel I sat next to Soraya Hayani from the organization FLEKS; an organization that aims to inspire youth to become entrepreneurs. Hearing her talk, I am sure she has inspired many young kids! Bravo Soraya! Keep doing your thing 💜

Another panel member was Katrin Van Den Troost; a very well informed young woman that knows entrepreneurship very well. She is part of Haven Incubator, a cooperation that stimulates kids to turn their hobbies into a business.

http://www.havencoop.com

I also like to mention Emmanuel Iyamu, not a woman but a very interesting young man. He co-founded AYO Belgium, a student union that assists in increasing the success rate of Afro Belgian youth in academics. Emmanuel is full of energy and know - how. I was delighted to discover that such organization finally exist in Belgium. When I was studying, no such organizations existed nor were their any thoughts of creating such. Way to go Emmanuel; you are doing great things! He put the “He’ in ‘She’.

http://www.afroyouth.org

Yasmina Kichauat from Waka Waka Gen also presented strongly.

After the debate, Karijn Bonne, Head of Research and Development Center Business & Management at the Arteveldehogeschool presented the results of her research about the drivers and obstacles of female entrepreneurship amongst newcomers (people who recently arrived in Belgium) and migrants. The results of the study were surprising and at the same time interesting to me. I was mostly surprised to find out that migrant parents were less entrepreunial. Having worked in microfinance in Belgium in the past, and being overwhelmed with loan applications from migrant communities; I had the idea that most migrant parents were self employed. However, the study only covered a small sample of 60 girls with a variety of backgrounds from Liberia to Japan. So it is rather indicative then representive. It is interesting to learn that the majority of the girls would choose to become entrepreneurs for non economic reasons. Reasons are 1) To become a role model. 2)To become financially independent. 3) To have a social impact. 4) Market opportunities. 5) To fight discrimination on the labour market and offering jobs to others. 6) Children: becoming an entrepreneur for kids. The young girls felt that if a Muslim girl with a hijab 🧕 makes it... that’s some serious ish... streetcred all the way. The girls apparently found it hard to come up with a role model. Eventually, they did identify Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Kylie Jenner and I noticed Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. I assume she was identified by the Liberian girl in the study group. It was clear that more female role models are needed. Either way, it is already a good start away from the classical, old grey haired, blue suited, caucasian man, that was described multiple times during the event, as the old skool representation of the entrepreneur/ businessman. The obstacles of entrepreneurship are similar for boys as for girls. However, a big concern for these young girls is pregnancy and children. How to combine both? What about paid, versus self employed non - paid pregnancy leave? Another obstacle is access to finance and not having the right network (as with most entrepreneurs). A key finding though, is that fathers can be the backbone and support of these young girls, wanting to start their entrepreneurial dreams. Seems to me that we have to start investing in Daddy Groups, if we want our girls to have more chances to succeed! This is just a quick summary of the results but more can be downloaded on the website of SheDIDIT.

SheDIDIT is a wonderful organization lead by very professional women such as Lien Warmenbol and Katia Kribotuchko who led this event successfully. They invited icons for more discussion and provided a delicious lunch by the catering company “From Syria with love” managed by Yara Al-Adib. The food was amazing! It is the first time that I had Syrian food and I want more more more!!!! and I want to eat it cooked by them :) Meeting Yara was also as her food such a delight. She is such a positive woman full of great potential that sparks your energy. You can book FSYRIAWLOVECATERING for all your events, business dinners or parties. I am sure I will!

Another icon is Roningirl - A samoerai without a sword - she is Cheryl Miller - Van Dijck and she gave us a serious reality check. This Ronin hit us with facts on the discrepancy between men and women. Trust me, we women do not want this; we want equality on all levels. Yet we still do not receive the same opportunities as our fellow male gender brothers. Real Talk: Only 14 percent members of the board in Europe are women, 1 in 5 employees are women in ICT Europe, technology drive entrepreneurship by women in Belgium is at the bottom of Europe, Belgium ranks at the bottom in terms of girls in STEM education. Sad sad sad 😢 we must do better. As a matter of fact, 80% of women are marginalized in their career. Yet with all the obstacles in place, women still find their way to entrepreneurship and at increasing rates. Today we are at 35% in Belgium. A quote that stuck with me today was “The only thing that seperates women of color from anyone else is opportunity- Viola Davis” let that resonate for a bit... It is key according Mrs. Miller that women do not longer give their time to the patriarchy and start their own business. I find this essential in creating equality. We must teach our girls to stand their own ground even better than men! Another icon was Claudia Pahola from Guatemala, a lecturer a St Lucas, a designer at Samsonite and so much more. She brought us nothing but good tips on how to say No as a woman in business, how to deal with failure and how to stay positive! Blogger, influencer Sarah Dimani was also present and gave us a brief insight of what it meant to be a blogger. Most people do not see her as an entrepreneur, they think she is unboxing all day. Well, they are damn wrong, because what I saw was a serious business woman and an equality activist. She explained to us: how to take control of the narrative when the media covers you in trash without ever even asking for an interview. She talked about how it is difficult to keep the balance between personal and business life as an Instagram celebrity with a massive following. Influencer is the correct term but she finds it denigrating; at the end of the day she also needs to make sure her bookkeeping is done and the bills are paid. In order to do so, she is required to run her account as a business and create the necessary content. Unboxing is the easy the part. She is part of the first generation that grew up with social media and in the future being an influencer will be considered a proper job. I agree with her, in my opinion being an influencer is already a serious job/ business. It’s not easy to get Likes ;) Maybe Sarah will even construct an empire such as the Italian Chiara Ferragni; she definitely has the allures for it.

In general, I must conclude it was a fantastic day. Schools were awarded that participated in the business game and Sakina closed down the event with some nice slam poetry. I left on the beats of DJLizaay after networking with Wouter Van Bellingen, the backbone of this project through Integratiepact, Elvira from TedXGhent, IIana Brandwain from Noble Fine Jewelry 💎, Gudrun Verschuere Managing Director at Markant, Alenka Le Compte from the King Boudewijn Foundation and so many more leading ladies! A day full of love and support on what I now call female entrepreneurship day 22/11.

P.S.: this post is written on my iPhone X so sorry for the mistakes.

Professional pics will be uploaded soon taken by Mackengo Creations

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justanothercinemaniac · 7 years

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Epic Movie (Re)Watch #180 - Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

Spoilers below.

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: Yes.

Was it a movie I saw since August 22nd, 2009: No.

Format: DVD

1) So with the first film writer James Gunn had written a darker script meant to poke fun at the original series and gain a PG-13 rating, but after the cast signed on this was changed into a family friendly film. With the sequel, writer Gunn returns and this time everyone knew what kind of movie they were going to make from the beginning (which relates to some more solid structure in this film than the last).

2) Scooby-Doo Theory holds that whoever the protagonists talks to first is the person who did it. The first person they talk to in this film is Alicia Silverstone’s Heather Jasper Howe who ends up being the bad guy.

3) Okay, Coolsville opens up a museum exhibit about Mystery Inc. and their past foes. It is said that the gang, “donated,” the costumes. But…why are the costumes their’s to donate? Aren’t they police evidence? Do they steal the costumes from every crime as some sort of weird trophy and stash them all in a storage locker somewhere? Am I overthinking this? Let’s move on.

4) What the heck!? Seth Green is in this movie!?

5) Linda Cardellini continues to be absolutely excellent as Velma Dinkley, but one side we get to see in this film that we didn’t in the first is lovesick puppy Velma. Her crush on Seth Green’s Patrick is portrayed as cute, sweet, honest, and is just enjoyable to watch. I think Cardellini is great in both of these films and gets an even greater chance to shine in this one.

6) I always liked The Evil Masked Figure in this film.

I think it’s purely a taste of aesthetics. I like the metallic head, the hair, the cloak. He’s not really a character so much as a plot device and he does pale in comparison to the classic monsters which populate the film, but I just dig the design.

7) I think the early action set piece of Shaggy and Scooby getting pulled around the museum by the Pterodactyl Ghost is a little stagey. It FEELS like they’re on a film set as opposed to even the fun of the cartoon chases. But that just may be me.

8) What the fanboy in me loves about this film is the way it brings in all the classic monsters from the old cartoons. James Gunn is a fan himself and it shows because - much like he is able to fill up Guardians of the Galaxy with notable characters, references, and alien species - he brings in a lot of A-list villains from the show. The Black Knight Ghost and the 10,000 Volt Ghost in particular were always favorites of mine and it is REMARKABLY fun to see them, the Tar Monster, the Zombie, Captain Cutler’s Ghost, and The Miner 49-er brought to live action (among others).

9) Okay, so Heather Jasper Howe’s reporting is 100% slander and illegal. She is taking everything Mystery Inc. says out of context to make them appear bad in the public light. Yes, she’s the villain, this is part of the plan. But unless you’re working for an obviously biased news source like Fox News you would not be allowed to get away with this. Still, when I start to question the realism of a Scooby-Doo movies the whole thing falls apart.

10) The primary conflict for Scooby and Shaggy in this film is them questioning their worth/value to the team. This makes for surprisingly interesting character conflict and an equally surprising emotional arc for the film. I like it!

11) According to IMDb:

The original Scooby-Doo episode dealing with the pterodactyl ghost featured a villain and motive that were quite different. The pterodactyl/hang glider costume was used to smuggle pirated music, with the small-town mayor behind the whole scheme.

12) I cannot begin to express how funny my tiny eight year old self found this joke.

Shaggy [after the gang goes through all their notes, which Scooby has been jotting down]: “Scooby-Doo, what’s your conclusion?”

Scooby: “Bunny!”

13) I have a feeling this film had a product placement agreement with Burger King. Scooby was drinking from a Burger King cup earlier and then this:

14) I may have watched The Mummy too many times.

Fred: “What could possibly happen by ringing a doorbell?”

15) So Shaggy messes with a record player and “Baby Got Back” starts playing. Which begs the question: WHO ON EARTH HAS A VINYL OF “Baby Got Back”!?

16) According to IMDb:

At one point in the film, Scooby and Shaggy are pretending to sing into a toilet brush "microphone". The song they are actually singing is Strangers in the Night - Frank Sinatra's version featured the improvised scat lyrics, "Scoo-bee-doo-bee-doo", lyrics which then-CBS executive Fred Silverman chose as the name of the new cartoon series. The original name for the dog was "Too Much", a popular catchphrase of the era.

17) The entire Black Knight Ghost chase through the mansion is very cartoonish, which I mean as a compliment. It feels like it is ripped straight out of an old episode of the cartoon, speaking again to the great way James Gunn handles the source material.

18) Why is Daphne wearing a shirt with her own face on it?

19) Again: this made me laugh so hard as an eight year old.

Black Knight [after Velma kicks him in the nuts]: “Right in the round tables!”

20) This film was released in 2004, can you tell?

Fred: “…this mystery goes down like a dot com and Coolsville digs us again!”

21) I ship Velma and Daphne. I have a feeling so does James Gunn.

(Screenshot taken of a GIF originally posted by @ezekiels)

22) Linda Cardellini gets to be exceptionally funny in this film for one BIG reason:

Patrick: “Do you have to go to the bathroom?”

Velma: “No, I can’t in this outfit.”

23) The Faux Ghost.

This is a wonderful concept featured in the film which once again shows off just how deeply familiar writer James Gunn is with the source material. Just the idea that a bar for all the people Mystery Inc caught exists is wonderfully fun. The art design and characters all stand out in a wonderfully fun scene.

24) Whoa, this is pretty deep for Scooby-Doo 2.

Old Man Wickles [about being a masked villain]: “We needed people to believe we were different than we were. Maybe because we believed there was something wrong with who were in the first place.”

This also means the song which plays in the club - “Thank You For Letting Me By Myself” - has much more meaning than one might initially expect.

25) This line was improvised.

Velma [after she lets out a squeak]: “That was my outfit, I swear.”

26) It’s kinda fun seeing Seth Green go into psychotic badass mode on this goon. My primary experience with him is through “Buffy” where he mostly plays his character as emotionally controlled. This is a fun change from that. Also, Shaggy gets in a sick burn because of it.

Shaggy [after seeing Patrick act a little crazy]: “But we gotta make like your personality and split!”

27) What even is this movie!?

Old Man Wickles [after Scooby gives away his position hiding in a bush]: “Darn bushes toweling at me again.”

AGAIN!?

28) Ah, the potion gag.

youtube

So there was a lot of work trying to figure out exactly what gags to use. At one point, Scooby was going to turn into his hand drawn counterpart as a replacement to a much less favored gag of Scooby turning into George W. Bush. The filmmakers didn’t want to compare 3D Scooby with 2D Scooby so they had him turn into the Tasmanian Devil instead. It’s kinda random and pointless, but not unenjoyable. It’s kinda fun to watch, it just has nothing to do with the rest of the plot.

29) In this moment, I am Shaggy.

Shaggy: “We’re gonna die!”

Daphne: “Think positive!”

Shaggy: “We’re gonna die quickly!”

30) Okay hold on a second: the monsters share the same hatred of Mystery Inc. that their portrayers had? But why? They’re not the same people are they? Do they have the memories of their human counterparts? Are they the vision of the criminals who portrayed them fully realized?

31) The old high school clubhouse scene is a surprisingly poignant moment of vulnerability and character interaction for Mystery Inc. The flashback - even though it’s a little cringe worthy seeing the young Mystery Inc (with their awkward imitations of the main cast and weirdly dubbed over voices from the main actors) - allows for us to understand the core of their relationship. In a lot of ways, this is the beating heart of the film. Mystery Inc and the friendship they have with each other.

32) Again: I am Shaggy.

Shaggy [while being chased]: “This is tied for the most terrifying day of my life!”

Velma: “Tied with what?”

Shaggy: “EVERY OTHER FREAKING DAY OF MY LIFE!”

33) HOW DID THE BLACK KNIGHT GET A GHOST HORSE!? Wouldn’t they need a horse costume to do that?

34) Ah, Buffy speak used by a “Buffy” actor.

Daphne: “Taste the pain Mr. Glowy Ugly Thing!”

35) I love this.

Velma [after Shaggy and Scooby say they’re trying to be more like the gang]: “That’s funny. I always wanted to be like you guys.”

This speaks greatly to just how freaking important Shaggy and Scooby are to the group. They’re the beating heart, it’s called Scooby-Doo for a reason. And the fact that Velma is able to so honestly and believably say she wants to be like Shaggy and Scooby is a surprisingly touching moment in the film.

36) It only took Velma 45 years to admit this.

Velma [after her glasses fall off]: “I’ve got to consider contact lenses.”

37) According to IMDb:

The Cotton Candy Glob is a tribute to the Cotton Candy Monsters who appeared in the story "Goop on the Loose" in the Scooby-Doo comics published by DC Comics, where the culprits were a child and two henchmen trying to get revenge from being fired from a carnival. The Cotton Candy Monsters were mentioned in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo: Terror, Thy Name Is Zombo (1989).

38) I JUST got that the game of keep away they play with the monster making control panel reflects the game of frisbee we saw them playing in the flashback.

(GIF originally posted by @leaveatraill)

39) Tar Monster seems like he has a ridiculous amount of power. Like he can single handedly nearly kill ALL of Mystery Inc. Why not just release the Tar Monster on the world? I feel like THAT’D be a better plan!

40) The Evil Masked Figure is unmasked and revealed to be Heather Jasper Howe. But her hair and makeup are perfect. Shouldn’t she have - like - helmet hair or something?

41) Scooby running to Shaggy like they haven’t seen each other in ages is totally unearned. Shaggy just put on a mask and took it off and Scooby acts all excited! But, it’s still kinda nice.

42) What the heck? This film has a secret mini movie!?

youtube

A commercial!?

Much like the first Scooby Doo film, Monsters Unleashed is hardly a cinematic masterpiece but the kid in my absolutely loves it. The characterization is continually strong (as is the acting), it’s a lot of fun to see the old monsters in a live action format, and it’s just an enjoyable 90ish minutes. There are movies which have aged worse so if you have fond memories of this or are a fan of the Scooby-Doo franchise, give it a watch.

#Scooby Doo #James Gunn #Sarah Michelle Gellar #Scooby Doo 2 #Linda Cardellini #Freddie Prinze Jr #Matthew Lillard #Epic Movie (Re)Watch #Movie #Film #GIF

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onwardintolight · 4 years

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Han x Leia, ESB, Trip to Bespin, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff

Summary: ESB from Leia's POV. A journey from despair to hope, a blossoming, an opening to vulnerability and love.

Warnings: Deals with some heavy themes, incl. working through trauma, depression, self-harm, attempted sexual assault. Each chapter will be individually warned.

Note: I’m currently in the process of reposting the first nine chapters here in full, since when I first wrote this fic, I only shared links to the chapters on AO3 and FFN. I will try to post at least weekly. In the meantime, if you’d prefer to binge-read it, the entire fic is posted in full on AO3 and FFN.

Part: Masterlist | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Epilogue

~~~

They fell asleep in each others’ arms again that night, Han’s fingers still twisted in her hair, a rare peace settling on her heart.

In unspoken agreement, they had taken to sharing a bunk after the last nightmare incident—at first it had been hesitant, but already it felt like a comfortable routine. She had been drifting off to sleep much faster, and waking up far less. The nightmares had been fewer, too; her dreams tending to be of a more banal—and occasionally erotic—nature.

Which is why she didn’t expect the profound vividness of the surroundings that overtook her this night, untold hours after her eyes had closed.

She was in a garden, like the one at the palace in Aldera… only more so. Bigger, more lush, more beautiful; every color so gloriously vibrant that she wondered if she were seeing it for the first time.

A pleasant breeze drifted by, carrying the scent of starflowers and the sound of familiar laughter. Heart catching in her throat, she turned to find the source. No one stood there; there was only a trellis of flowering vines and a stand of fruit trees, leaves dancing in the wind.

From above came a flap of wings, and she looked up, startled by this other sound she knew by heart. Soaring above her were two large, graceful thrantas.

“Leia.” A voice whispered on the breeze. “We love you.”

The thrantas twisted and somersaulted in the air, as if to salute her, and then they soared away. She watched them for a long time, until they turned to tiny specks and finally winked out, leaving only the great blue expanse of the sky.

The blue darkened, and her sense of peace shattered like glass. She was in a strange room, clouds of steam boiling up ominously from grates that glowed orange beneath her feet.

“Leia!” That was Han’s voice, desperate and pained. She looked around, frantic, but all around her the billowing steam gathered into a fog her eyes could not pierce. From their depths came a ragged scream—Han’s scream. “No!” Leia cried, stumbling forward. He screamed again. Desperate, she plunged into the mists. One foot caught and the other met with air, and suddenly she was tumbling—down, down into darkness and bone-numbing cold.

She woke up with a jolt, sitting straight up in the bunk.

“Mmmph,” Han grunted from beside her, reaching out sleepily for the warmth that had left his side. She caught his hand and let out a slow breath. Not real, she told herself. She fell back on the bunk, snuggling into him.

“Y’okay?” Han mumbled.

“Sshh,” she whispered. “I’m fine. Just another bad dream.”

He rolled to face her, seeming to shed layers of sleep as he did so. “You sure? It’s okay if you wanna talk about it. I’m awake.”

“No, really, it’s fine.” She wasn’t even sure what she’d seen, or if she could describe it. It was like none of her dreams before. All she could be certain of was the deep unease that had settled on her, and a far-off echo of pain and loss.

Han looked at her with concern.

“Just… hold me.” She nestled into him, taking comfort in his warmth, and he snuggled her close. That strange, misty room still haunted her, lurking at the back of her thoughts, but she focused on Han as he kissed her forehead, stroked her hair. Soon she relaxed, her breathing deepened, and she knew no more.

____

The dream with the strange room came back again the next night, and the next. Leia felt troubled, an anxious feeling growing steadily inside her with each passing day.

She didn’t tell Han. It felt almost silly. She had never seen that room in her life; it was like none of her nightmares before. What was she supposed to tell him? That she was afraid of a place she’d never known? That she had a strange sense she couldn’t shake off that it was real? That somehow, against all reason and logic, she feared she was seeing visions of the future? That’s ridiculous, she told herself.

But even so, she felt a deep dread that rose with every parsec they traveled closer to Bespin.

They would be there by the end of the week.

In some ways, that was a relief. While it had been unexpectedly nice to get away for awhile (and more than nice to be sharing that time with Han), the ship’s confines seemed to be steadily shrinking; the grubby if beloved bulkheads were feeling more and more like a cage. She could hardly wait for a breath of fresh air, for the feel of wind on her face, for space to… she wasn’t sure what. Run? Jump? Do a whirling kavadango dance? The thought made her smile.

On the other hand, she could almost stay on this cramped ship forever if it meant no more change, no more loss.

She was in the ‘fresher, meticulously brushing out her hair. It turned out that there were consequences to sleeping without it tucked into its usual long braid, particularly when someone’s hands had been tangled up in it all night—consequences that took some steady, persistent work to set right. She and Han had both laughed at the state of things that first morning after he’d unpinned it, but she suspected he rather liked it that way. Moreover, she was enjoying this new level of intimacy too much to object. Even the act of having to brush it all out made her feel a little bit giddy, despite the worry that still gnawed at her gut.

Finishing up, she slipped into her leggings and long-sleeved shirt, and, with her hair still cascading loose down her back—she’d leave it that way, at least for the morning—she headed out to find breakfast, leaving her dark dreams behind.

____

Leia tiptoed around the bend of the corridor, back against the inner wall, heartbeat pounding. She tried to quiet the sound of her breathing. Was that the creak of a floor panel she heard from up ahead? Silently she crept forward, inch by inch. Slowly, the door to the crew quarters came into view. It was open. She froze, considering what might be lurking in the dark.

Nothing emerged, so she released the breath she was holding and continued edging along the corridor, scouring her memory for any clues as to which floor panels were the creaky ones. For a moment she considered taking refuge in the crew quarters, but she dismissed the thought just as quickly. She might have hidden in the ‘fresher or even tucked herself into a cupboard, but then she’d be stuck—there was only one way in or out of the room. The primary circuitry bay that opened up opposite it, however… it wasn’t large, but it did have some potential hiding spots, if she could get settled in quickly….

A massive blur shot at her from around the bend. “GOTCHA!” it yelled.

Crew quarters it was. With a stifled shriek, she darted across the hall and into the room, pounding the controls to shut the door behind her. Squinting, she willed her eyes to adjust to the darkness as she cast about the room for further refuge.

Too late. The door swished open, the lights blazed on, and in an instant Han was on top of her, tackling her to the bunk. She burst out laughing at the sudden jolt of adrenaline, and he laughed too, planting a kiss on her forehead. “Like I told you,” he said, grinning.

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, hot shot. We both know I’ll win the next one.” Reaching up, she grabbed his head and pulled it down so his lips met hers, and they spent a moment reveling in Han’s success.

She’d had her own successes, too, at this game of hide, chase, and seek. Not half an hour before, she had been the one to discover Han as he tried to slip into one of his smuggling compartments. She’d gotten a good kiss for her efforts then, too.

Chewie had long ago thrown up his hands in annoyance at their antics before retreating to the number three hold, but Leia didn’t feel the slightest sliver of guilt. This was exhilarating, especially after being cooped up on the the ship for so long. Maybe two and a half weeks trapped in space had driven them a little insane, but she couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed this hard; the last time she had given herself permission to act this silly and carefree. She felt like a young teenager all over again.

The most mystifying part was that despite the adrenaline, the creeping around, and the surprises from dark corners, she actually felt safe. The instinctual fear and panic had faded, replaced by delight, excitement, assuredness, love. It was as if this trip had been slowly drawing her out of herself—or rather, drawing her out of the part of herself that was besieged by all that she’d been through, and into whatever part of herself still held the echo of being whole. She wasn’t entirely there yet, but it was extraordinary nonetheless.

What was also extraordinary was how in the span of a couple weeks, Han had dispensed with the illusions and indecision and put all his cards on the table. She knew now that he had set aside his own past of betrayal and heartache to love her wholeheartedly, and she did not take for granted the courage it took him to do so. It only made her love him more.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she deepened the kiss, and Han pressed into it hungrily. His hands ran down her side and over her hair, and she followed suit, greedy for more of him.

Han’s scream. Orange mist. Cold.

She froze.

Han pulled back, looking at her with concern. “You all right, Leia? This too much?”

“I—” she stuttered, not sure what to say. “I’m fine. This is fine. Just an intrusive thought, that’s all.” She smiled at him, willing the images away, and raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t tell you to stop.”

The worry didn’t fully leave his eyes, but after a moment he shrugged, smiling back at her. Soon she was once again lost in the sensation of his lips. For awhile, she was almost able to forget.

He broke it off without warning, jumping out of the bunk. She started to get up after him, intending to pull him back down, but he raised a finger to stop her. “Better start counting, Your Worshipfulness,” he declared, and then with one last cheeky grin, he made a bolt for the door.

Leia found herself laughing freely once more as she fell back onto the bunk, ready to begin the hunt all over again.

____

“You know, I saw you in a holovid, once.”

They lay on the bunk together, worn out from the afternoon’s chase. Han was sprawled out on his back, arms tucked behind his head; Leia was on her side, propped up on an arm so she could get a good look at him. Right now, she was particularly enamored with the way his hair stuck up in various places and how his eyes creased when he let out one of his rare, genuine, full-throated laughs.

“Really?” she replied, intrigued.

“Yeah. You were giving a speech in the Senate. I don’t know what the hell it was about—never payed any attention to politics anyway—but I remember it said you were ‘Alderaan’s princess and newly elected senator’ or somethin’ like that.”

Leia chuckled. That could have been any number of occasions—she’d given many speeches over the course of her short time as senator. And the HoloNet had always emphasized her royal title above and beyond anything else, to her annoyance. “Any particular reason you remembered me?”

“You were pretty.”

“Of course you’d say that,” she said, shaking her head in amusement.

“Hey, don’t blame me. Couldn’t help but notice.” He grinned. “But the thing that really made me sit back and watch for a minute was this: You were all dressed in white but you were a kriffin’ fireball. Whatever you were saying, you really believed it. Didn’t often see that from all those high ’n mighty politicians up there on Coruscant. Made me believe for a second that someone up there was actually gettin’ something done, tryin’ to make things better.”

Leia felt unexpectedly moved. “Thanks, Han. It means a lot to hear that.” She studied his chin, marked by that interesting little scar. “I… well, at least I tried. For awhile I believed maybe I could get something done there, but—” she shook her head, the memories flooding back. “The Empire’s grip on the Senate was so tight, and getting tighter every day. I thought being a senator would be one of the best ways to make a difference in the galaxy, but it turns out that by the time I got there, it was all a sham. What really mattered was my work for the Alliance, and my mercy missions.”

“Mercy missions?”

“I did a lot of charity work, disaster relief, that sort of thing, on many different worlds. Sometimes we used it as a cover for the Rebellion, but a lot of times it was legitimate. The Empire was doing so much damage, everywhere. I may have been a thorn in their side, but I was liked well enough that they couldn’t afford to stop me, not for a long time.”

She grew silent as she remembered some of the horrors she had seen back then. The faces of young and old alike, beings of countless species and genders, desperate and hungry and suffering in so many ways. The weariness that lined every inch of their forms. The spark of hope, however small, in their eyes when she brought help. She had made it her personal goal to fan that hope into flame, but as long as the Empire stood, even that seemed in vain. She wondered where some of those beings were now, and if they were any better off than before.

Han was staring at her, brows furrowed. “You made a difference, you know,” he said, seemingly reading her thoughts. “Yeah, the Empire might have come in and undone a whole lot of it, but it meant something. To those people.” He blew out a breath. “There weren’t a whole lot of beings who gave a damn about me growing up, but occasionally someone would care for a bit. Do some act of kindness, give me a piece of bread or somethin’. When you’re in a place like I was… that’s something you don’t forget.”

Leia nodded, thoughtful. That’s something you don’t forget. She filed that away to bring out the next time she felt the nearness of despair.

Swallowing down the sudden lump in her throat, she abruptly remembered something she had meant to ask him earlier, after his mention of the holovid, and she smiled. “Say, did I ever tell you I saw an old, decrepit YT-1300 a lot like the Falcon once, back in my younger days? Ever since I met you, I’ve always wondered if it were you.”

“There ain’t nothin’ like this ship, sister,” Han said, grinning back at her. “Not gonna bet any credits on it, but I wouldn’t be surprised, either. When and where was it?”

“On Coruscant, six years ago. I was desperate for secret transport off-planet. I was going to try that ship, but it took off before I could reach it or see anyone on board.”

Han frowned. “Only been to Coruscant a couple a’ times, and I can’t remember when.” He shrugged. “Still, it very well coulda been Chewie n’ me. Who knows, you mighta fallen for me a lot earlier!” He waggled his eyebrows.

Leia chuckled. “I was sixteen, Han! If I had, I would have been too young for you.”

He whistled. “Damn, you’re right. Thing is, you act so much bigger than everyone else, command the hell outta everyone, I forget you’re that much younger than me.”

She laughed, letting her head sink down on the bed. Han rolled over on his side to face her, and he reached out a hand to tuck aside a strand of hair that had fallen in her face. Most of it was up in a braid now—as nice as it felt to wear it down for a change, it was not in any way practical for running around and concealing oneself on a ship.

Darkness. Cold. Steam billowing up through floor vents.

No.

Leia tried to force the images away, angry at the intrusion. She just wanted to be here, now, happy and enjoying this moment with Han. Why couldn’t they just let her be?

“Leia?”

“Hmm?”

“What’s wrong?”

She let out a small sigh. The thoughts kept invading no matter what, so she supposed she might as well stop pretending. A small wave of relief swept over her at the thought.

“Han…” she began, searching out the right words. “Do you ever get the sense that something’s about to go very wrong, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it?”

They were lying face to face, now, his hand still running through her hair, and she could clearly see the concern and confusion in his eyes.

“Uh… not really. Usually I just try to trust my luck and, uh, hope for the best.”

“I don’t mean it like that. It’s… it’s not a matter of optimism or pessimism, or intuition, even. I’m talking about a premonition; a certainty deep down that something is going to happen.”

Han looked slightly alarmed. “I get a lot of bad feelings about stuff, but I’m not sure I’ve ever felt… certain like that. What, you worried we’re in danger?”

“I… I don’t know. I’ve been having these dreams.” She paused, collecting her thoughts. “For the past few nights now. It’s always the same. And it’s so vivid, Han. I can’t shake the foreboding that somehow it’s real, and that it’s lying in wait for us.”

Han shook his head. “Sweetheart, you’ve had enough horrible stuff happen to you. You gotta admit it makes a lot of sense for your brain to start expecting more horrible stuff just around the corner.”

That was the conclusion she had come to as well, the explanation that made the most sense. But it didn’t change the way she felt. “I guess so. I just wish I could convince my brain that’s all it is.” She sighed, suddenly fighting back tears. “I’m just so tired of this, Han. I’m tired of feeling trapped in all this fear and grief. Always waiting for the next disaster to strike. Always remembering what happened and being afraid of what will.” He moved in a little closer and continued to stroke her hair. “I’m so tired,” she repeated in a whisper, closing her eyes against it all.

“Leia.” Han’s voice was thick, and she blinked to find his eyes gazing back at her own, grave and passionate and determined. “Someday, whenever you’re ready… I’d like to help you escape that world for awhile.”

Leia’s breath caught in her throat and her stomach fluttered as the full sense of his words hit her. Yes, she thought, I’d like that, too. All at once she was filled with overwhelming longing, and a part of her was tempted to act; act to make “someday” now.

But… no, she couldn’t afford that. Not yet.

Still, she managed a slow smile against the ache in her chest, the lightness in her head, the warmth growing in her body. “Someday,” she repeated, drawing a hand up to caress his face.

Han nodded, and then she was once again almost lost in his long, gentle kiss, wondering if that day of escape would ever come.

#Han x Leia #HanLeia #HanLeia fic #Han x Leia fic #Star Wars fic #Trip to Bespin #ESB #THE PLOT THICKENS #lol #The Opening #my fic #my writing #thoughts

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thedesignair · 5 years

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Flight: LA8084 Aircraft Type: 777-300ER Class: Business Class Route: GRU-LHR Date: January 2019

www.latam.com

LATAM‘s 777 has long been on our radar to experience. While we had experienced the 787-8 operated by LAN back in 2015, the 777 offered a very different experience, with a traditional 2 x 3 x 2 configuration in business class with the ‘dreaded’ middle seat. While the airline has announced a new cabin product, which is in the process of being rolled out, we wanted to see what LATAM offered in terms of ground product and service.

On the ground

Departing on New Year’s Day should have meant a quiet Sao Paulo GRU airport, however, at 9.30pm the airport was very busy. LATAM uses Terminal 3 for its long haul routes, and there is a dedicated check in area for the airline’s premium frequent fliers and business class passengers.

Situated in Zone F, the check in zone almost feels temporary, being tacked on to the end of the normal check-in counters, with luggage being manually taken from the check in desks to the conveyor belts of the main check in zones.

Sadly the check in zone even for premium was incredibly busy, it took almost 30 minutes to check in our bags and receive the boarding passes. While the check-in agents were very apologetic, we felt this set up meant too little desks for what are quite densely configured long-haul aircraft (meaning a large business class churn every day, especially when most flights leave at the same time of day)

Check in complete however, we headed to the VIP lounge, after clearing security. Sadly GRU doesn’t offer a fast track through security, something that would make a difference to the passenger experience and should potentially be invested in. The LATAM lounge is situated on the top floor of Terminal 3’s departure area, alongside other lounges including American Express, the South African Airlines Star Alliance lounge and a handful of others.

LATAM’s second flagship lounge is impressive, and to be truthful… huge. It’s not however, daunting or vacuous. It’s clever zoning makes the whole space seem like a never ending residence, with cubby holes, and nooks to make yourself comfortable.

The design is a myriad of wooden paneling, rich stone monuments and leather, all centralised around a buffet-bar dining area rich with white marble finishes. The designers, Putman, a Parisian based studio have thought of a real business passengers needs. From chilled water on hand by the entrance for those wanting to grab and go, to lockers at the reception for unwanted luggage.

The lounge features a self service bar at one end, which is perhaps one of the best spots with large comfortable sofas and less passing footfall.

Then there is the main buffet area, which weirdly is one of the busiest areas although it doesn’t offer the most comfortable seats. There is a wide selection of food on offer, from the Brazilian classic Pão de Queijo to freshly prepared salads and sandwiches. There is also a substantial and high quality wine offering, and while not Champagne, the bubbles are excellent too.

As you dive deeper, the lounge offers showers, a sleeping room, large TV area a massive work desk and other areas including child friendly zones, and the large expansive balcony featuring relaxing chairs and power points throughout.

The boarding of the flight was announced approximately 60 minutes before departure, and the lounge is situated at least a 5-minute walk from any gate, let alone ours which was at the far end of the terminal.

Interestingly the queue for business passengers was already lengthy when we got there, but Brazil allows passengers over 60 priority anywhere, from the post office to the boarding gate, so if you are over 60, you should be able to access the priority line, meaning you board even before Business Class passengers.

The cabin

LATAM’s 777 Business Class cabin offers a very spacious cabin environment, due to the older style seats. It’s a similar layout to the Turkish Airlines cabin, however the seats in the LATAM cabin certainly do feel older.

The seats are operated in a 2 x 3 x 2 configuration, with 4 rows in the forward cabin and 4 rows behind door 2, situated just in front of the economy cabin.

The cabin is fairly traditional in approach, but there are small tweaks which make the cabin feel more residential and actually reference the lounge experience like the wooden veneer on the bulkheads, or the black and white tiled walkways in Sao Paulo and Rio which adorn the floor of the restrooms.

While the best seats could be seen as the front rows, the positioning of the TV’s being above the eyeliner of the seats means that every passenger can watch what you are watching, so if you have obscure or embarrassing viewing habits, its best to avoid this row. We’d also suggest opting for the forward cabin, as during boarding, you avoid what seems like 10,000 passengers waking past, making settling in to your seat a little harder.

The Seat

Yup. We braved it. The dreaded middle seat. First impressions, and something that doesn’t translate in the photos, is that the seat seems large and comfortable if a little dated. However, this is something the new 777 cabins will go very far to fix.

Each seat offers a large ottoman, an upgrade on the previous incarnation of the cabin, which makes a huge difference to the seat comfort. The seat doesn’t turn in to a fully flat bed, however, the slight slant to the seat actually makes the seat quite comfortable to sleep in.

However, one thing that does become apparent when fully reclined, the seat is quite narrow, and first appearances quickly dissipate. The feeling of the narrow seat increases for those in the middle seat. Luckily I had two passengers I knew either side, however, for a stranger, this would feel a little awkward.

There is a hidden secret to increase the seat width, with a single button to lower the armrest, giving an extra couple of inches of wiggle room.

While the seat is incredibly comfortable, and well-padded, storage is limited. There are just a few surfaces to keep personal belongings on, and space under the ottoman to keep small bags and personal items.

The Food & Drink

LATAM offers a fairly decent food and beverage offering. On boarding we were offered welcome drinks including Nicolas Feuillatte champagne.

The menu can be seen below, but what was interesting to see was that the airline had adopted a fast service, rather than a restaurant service concept to its dining. While the flight was departing at midnight, the cabin crew decided to offer all the courses at the same time on the same tray.

Ordinarily this wouldn’t phase us, in fact we would welcome the opportunity to sleep well, by having all courses delivered at the same time – and saving the lengthy approach to service, eating in to valuable sleeping time. However, for us, that only makes sense on 6-8 hour flights, but on a near 11 hour flight, this felt a little rushed, compounded by the fact there was no space for all courses on the tray, meaning juggling the multiple dishes became a little challenging.

So we opted for the roasted tomato soup, beef bourguignon with gratin potatoes and then a Haagen Dazs ice cream.

The soup was incredibly tasty, and served piping hot. It came with a selection of breads and the portion is fairly large. Seconds were even offered on the crew’s second run through the cabin. During the food service the lights were dimmed in the cabin, allowing those who wanted to sleep, to do so in comfort. A nice touch.

The beef wasn’t too bad, and the sauce was rich. While the presentation certainly wasn’t anything to write about, the taste was perfect and the beef fairly tender.

In comparison, the shrimp in cassava cream was tasty, rich in flavour and certainly the winning dish on the menu.

After dinner, trays were removed and chocolates handed out before getting some shut eye. While we mentioned earlier that the seats were narrow, they were also comfortable, meaning we got a very good nights sleep.

The menu included a breakfast card, which allowed passengers to preselect their breakfast. This meant for maximum sleep, which started with a hot towel to refresh as we woke up.

This followed by another tray service, which included scrambled eggs, hash brown and tomatoes, ‘pound cake’ which turned out to be two massive slices of chocolate cake, another traditional breakfast option in Brazil, and very tasty (so much so, we ended up having four slices) as well as a pastry and bread basket.

This included the option for an espresso, compared to the usual black filter coffee, which was a welcome addition.

The Entertainment

LATAM offers an extensive entertainment option. The screen is fairly large (we didn’t have a tape measure this time, but it’s certainly competitive. However, the user experience is a little backward, having to use the remote control to select options, which sits in the seat armrest.

The airline also offers a wide range of magazines, newspapers and their in-flight magazine Vamos.

However, one thing we are looking forward to is the new business class cabin, with new seats and technology. Sadly the IFE system for my fellow passengers wasn’t the most reliable, pausing, freezing and automatically resetting every 15 minutes.

The Extras

An amazing benefit to LATAM’s business class cabin is the huge comfortable pillow and massive duvet, both of which are comfortable, crisp and hotel-quality white.

Also waiting at the seat were water bottles and LATAM’s standard headphones, which haven’t changed since our flight 4 years prior.

The airline also offered a cool black and white amenity kit. which featured L’Occitane amenities as well as the traditional additions including toothbrush, eye mask, and pen.

In Conclusion

It was very enlightening to see LATAM’s 777 product. While the hard product differs in comparison to the 787-8, and isn’t as modern, it is clear to see that the new hard product will certainly make a huge elevation to the carrier, and push it far above its core competition on similar markets. While the food service in our opinion could do with some embellishment, the overall product is certainly sound. The lounge in Sao Paulo is fantastic, the service is authentic and caring and with the addition of the new hard product which is coming on line this year, LATAM (with a few small tweaks) could be a serious international player.

The Big Picture

Trip report: LATAM B777-300ER Business Class January 2019 Flight: LA8084 Aircraft Type: 777-300ER Class: Business Class Route: GRU-LHR Date: January 2019 www.latam.com LATAM's 777 has long been on our radar to experience.

#777 #Airline #airline review #boeing #brasil #brazil #Business class #flight review #j class #LATAM #Tam #trip review

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