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ellielatinagf · 1 month

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Lacrosse Ellie!!!

Summary: your best friend Dina invited you to a lacrosse game her boyfriend was in. Then you see someone who catches your eye.

Warnings: some mild profanity, I think that’s all

Part 2 | Part 3 | part 4

“Cmon Loser!!” Your best friend, Dina, giggled.

“I told Avery we’d both be there!” Dina said “And besides what else do you have to do other than watch tik tok?” You couldn’t bails on Avery. She’s been your friend since middle school. You loved Dina to death of course, but sometimes Dina was such a good friend she pushed you out of your comfort zone. She meant well.

“Fine…I don’t even know anything about rugby or whatever it is..” you hugged as Dina was picking out a cute outfit from your closet

“Lacrosse” Dina corrected “ and don’t worry about it, just cheer when everyone else does. That’s what I do” she joked causing you two to giggle. After getting ready you and dina walked to your high school football field. There was a huge amount of people which surprised you at how many people actually like the sport.

You and Dina sat in the bottom of the bleachers towards the middle for the best view of the game. Finally, someone on the PA system started to announce the players as players started to flood into the field.

“Ladies and gentleman please welcome the Santa Monica Wolves and the home of the Jackson Mustangs!” The man boomed. Everyone was cheering including yourself.

“GO AVERY!” Dina yelled and you laughed. Avery looked over and waved at you both in the stands and smiled. The whistle blew and in a flash the players started running and all you saw was the flash of the ball

“Wait Dina, what side is ours?!” You yelled over the loud roar of the crowd. Dina laughed at your confusion of the game.

“The right side. Our team is wearing blue and yellow” Dina said. You made an interesting face at the fact. Blue and yellow? Interesting choice. You watched the game, now starting to understand the rules. It seemed simple enough but you knew it must be more difficult to physically do. You watched players throw the ball with precision and speed. You started to think about how you would do on that field. Horrible? Probably. But worth a shot. Then your thoughts got interrupted.

*crash*

You looked in front of you last the railing used the seal off the crowd and field. In front of you was a player from your school under a player in grey uniform. The girl in grey got up and spat on the girl in your school uniform

“Watch it..pal” the girl shouted. She sneered and walked away

Damn she’s buff you thought. You saw her grip her lacrosse stick and wipe the small trail of blood off her nose.

You looked back at the other girl. The first thing you noticed was her auburn hair. It was short, maybe shoulder length. It was in a half up half down style. Then your eyes averted to her build. She wasn’t super buff like the other girl, But she had some muscle. You saw her get up. She was taller than you. You look at her face. Finally. Her face was sprinkled with freckles. Her pink lips were the shade of a cherry blossom. Those eyes. God…those green eyes. They looked like two shining emeralds. Her expression was angry, no, more than angry. She wiped her face. The sweat that made her baby hairs stick to her face were scattered around her hairline.

“Ellie?! Are you okay?!” Dina yelled at the girl. Ellie. A name for that gorgeous face. On second thought, the face was a bit damaged. Blood was gushing out her nose and trickling down her mouth. You looked at the back of her jersey. Williams. Ellie Williams. Hm..what about Y/n Williams? You shook your head at the thought.

“M’good” the green eyed beauty shouted back. She looked back at you. The eye contact was enough to make you faint. You felt your cheeks get warm. She gave you a smirk. A goofy, bloody smirk.

She ran back to the field. Unfortunately she got substituted for another player, but that didn’t stop your eyes from being glued to her.

“Dina…how do you know that girl?” You asked

“Els? She’s in my art class” Dina replied. Art? You love Dina but art isn’t really her style. She attempted to draw you in 8th grade and you wounded up looking like if peppa pig had a long lost sister who was secretly a crocodile.

“You take art?” You asked in a teasing manner

“Shut up I need the credits” Dina said playfully shoving your arm. “That’s where Ellie comes in”

“Okay Picasso” you chuckled and Dina gives you a sly smirk. The rest of the game your eyes are fixated on Ellie. Thinking about her. Her voice. How her lips feel. Her touch. You caught yourself and shook yourself back to reality. Just in time too as you saw the people in the bleachers start to walk off.

You and Dina wait outside the locker room for Avery. You and Dina talking about how to correctly spell gray. The door opens and it wasn’t Avery who walked out.

It was Ellie

“Hey Els!” Dina smiles and inspects Ellie’s nose and bruise

“Hey Din” Ellie replied. Her voice. God it was so raspy. The way she talks so non-chalantly almost made you obsess with her even more. You smiled at Ellie.

“Hey You” she smiled. Your heart did a backflip and summersault at the same time.

“Hey…bud” You cringed. Even Dina have you a sideways look.

Wtf? What did I just say…? WHY?!

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry. Um hi. I’m so dumb I’m sorry” you said starting to laugh out of nervousness.

Ellie chuckled and looked into your eyes again. Your breath hitched as she gave you a warm smile. You felt so…enamored by her you forgot everything. You forgot where you were. Hell you even forgot Dina was there. Who in fact was enjoying the show of watching you stutter over your words.

“You enjoy the show?” Ellie asked you softly.

“Me? Oh yeah it was cool. I mean until you got hurt but it was a good game” you said.

Nice one. Look at me, the rizz master.

“We lost princess” ellie chuckled

“I-I mean…we put up a good fight!” You stuttered. Ellie laughed and Dina was trying to hide her smile.

“I’ll catch you later babe” Ellie said walking away smiling and laughing. BABE?! That did it for you. Your face was so red you were gonna faint and have a stroke.

“Ooooh…Ellie Williams huh?” Dina asked smirking after Ellie left.

“Huh? What do you mean?” You asked knowing exactly what the brunette was talking about

“As your best friend, I approve of Williams” she giggled. Your face somehow got even more red.

“Dina…do you have Ellie’s insta…by chance?” You asked. For some reason, you needed that gorgeous woman

Okay it’s off to a rough start but bear with me😭 I might make a part two where reader makes an excuse to study with Ellie and learns more about her. Thanks for reading! Free Palestine 🇵🇸

Credits for artwork: Izabesos TwT on Pinterest

#ellie x reader #ellie the last of us #ellie tlou #tlou2 #dina tlou #ellie williams #tlou fanfiction #tlou #ellie x y/n

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phantoms-world-and-more · 6 months

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An idea came to me reading a fic where Danny was a kryptonian. What if Amity Park instead of being a city in the USA on Earth was once a city on Krypton (in what would be a kryptonian version of early 21st century or at least about 100 years before the planet blew up). Basically almost everything that happened in cannon DP happened and everything is mostly the same but with a more alien then earth tone to it.

After Phantom Planet Danny's parents except him being part ghost, the government overturn the Ecto Acts, and he able to finish high school and goes on to college after which he is happily welcomed to for work for KASA (Krypton Aeronautics and Space Administration). He becomes an Astronautical engineer. Danny is in his early thirties when he is testing out a new experimental space ship engine for KASA. While doing a flight test Danny's ship losses signal and no one can find it (kind of what happened in the show Farscape).

100s of years go by Krypton explodes baby Kal-El is sent to Earth where he grows up to be Superman. The JL suddenly get a signal/warning about some alien tech on the edge of the solar system. They send one of the Green Lanterns to take a look, where they report a spaceship dead in space. They don't expect any life forms but surprise because of his ghost half Danny was in a sort of suspended animation. He is brought back and wakes up in the Watch Tower.

Just Random ideas...

Kryptonite is the crystalized form of ectoplasm because of this Danny is not effected by it.

Danny's kryptonian name is Daniel Fen-Ton

The phantom zone projector was originally called the Fen-Ton zone projector or is was based off a Fen-Ton gadget.

Years after Danny disappears Krypton starts turning on ghost again, so the town of Amity, which now has a symbiotic relationship with ghost, vote to pull the whole town into the Ghost Zone. So it is not blown up like the rest of the planet though Danny does not know this in the beginning.

Danny has an easier time learning to use Earth technology then he does the Kryptonian technology in Superman's Fortress.

Danny also has slightly easier time when getting the regular Kryptonian power set due to the yellow sun because he went through something similar when getting his ghost powers.

Danny adopts Connor almost immediately. Maybe during Danny's time there was laws about cloning and clone rights on Krypton. Also while Connor is not a replacement he sort of fills in the void of losing Ellie.

While Superman has no idea who Danny is, Kara/Supergirl has a faint idea because he was briefly mentioned in her Krytonian History class. Also she is happy to have someone who can natively speak the kyrptonian language even if it has older vocabulary. Don't get her wrong its great to speak it with Kal-El but he learned it later in life.

Holly char this is amazing!

How many people will have a stroke when they see Danny casually pick up a piece of kryptonite? Batman? His normal Kryptonian contingency plan won't work. Luthor? There's a version of superman IMMUNE to Kryptonite. Clark? What the hell do you mean you can touch kryptonite

I think after Danny explains everything about his past and species so many people are going to just...give up. Hahaha a stronger version of superman who isn't effected by kryptonite, goodbye world

Connor will be ecstatic, Danny will do ALL the dad stuff, teaching him their language, proper training, engineering lessons and you bet he's going to use jazz's psychiatrist stuff on this kid

Danny's probably going to get mega-depressed, all his hard work breaking the racism against ghosts only for that to come back a few years after he left? And he can't even fix it again because their world went bye-bye

Also- here me out

Co-pilot Valerie

#fic prompt #daily prompt #dc x dp #dp x dc #funny #ectoplasm is kryptonite in the dc universe #Just in liquid form #Danny is from krypron #Danny adopts connor

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halfagone · 4 months

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Kryptonians and Ectoplasm

I have... SuperPham thoughts. I mentioned this on Discord the other day, and it went somewhere along the lines of this:

In an AU where Danny is biologically Lois and Clark's son, that means the radiation of the portal turning on, killing him, and bringing him back to life is likely a concentrated version of how Clark came back to life due to exposure to enough ultraviolet rays or ion radiation. He essentially has the ability to photosynthesize like a flower, and in this essay I will-

And well, that's all I had at the time. So here's the essay:

The Ghost Zone could very easily be translated to the Phantom Zone in the crossover. However, in many main forms of DC media, Kryptonians such as Dru-Zod and his allies were sent to the Phantom Zone as a punishment for their crimes, effectively cutting them off from their powers. Which means it's likely not ectoplasm that's substituting for the ultraviolet rays of a yellow star, but the process of opening the portal.

Even if looking beyond a half-Kryptonian Danny AU, there can be a lot of applications to this. And taking a look at Superman lore gives some clues to how we can further integrate this into DPxDC.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not a scientist, be it physicist or biologist. This brain child was born from pure imagination and unlimited access to scientific articles.

For those that might be less familiar with this timeline, the period in which Superman dies and is seen replaced by four other Superman (one of which is Superboy, or Kon-El, the clone to Kal-El and Lex Luthor) is known as "Reign of the Supermen" and consists of a number of comics.

I won't get into the specifics of all these Supermen, but Clark comes back to life after roughly six months. [Taken from the DCAMU movie "Reign of the Supermen", in which the prologue reveals that the battle to the death between Superman and Doomsday was 6 months ago.]

So it took roughly 6 months for Clark to fully recover. Yet for Danny it took, probably, 5 seconds for the whole thing to be said and done. Which could possibly explain why he's so powerful, beyond the mixture of ectoplasm in his system for this AU.

On the other, other hand, there are many headcanons surrounding how ectoplasm functions on a more scientific standpoint. One of my personal headcanons is that ectoplasm feeds on the electromagnetic waves that humans emit through emotions. The stronger the emotion, the more ectoplasm pools together. Hence, when a person dies, all that ectoplasm pooling together and imprinting on said ectoplasm creates a ghost. [This headcanon is first discussed in chapter 28 of LL's Ascent.]

But we've already established that Kryptonians can be revived through ion radiation. So what is ion radiation? In simple terms, ion radiation is "a type of energy released by atoms that travels in the form of electromagnetic waves (gamma or X-rays) or particles (neutrons, beta or alpha)." But... didn't we just say that ectoplasm likely isn't the reason Superman came back to life? Especially since the Phantom Zone hampers Kryptonians' powers?

That is very true, and if you think about it, this would mean ectoplasm and Kryptonian biology exhibit a lot of the same characteristics. What would be the difference then? Ectoplasm retains the electromagnetic waves, hence how it maintains ghosts' personalities and memories.

However, hampering with these electromagnetic waves could explain why ghosts lose themselves over time, and might give headway to how anti-ecto weapons harm ghosts. But that is a topic that requires more research, and will have to be left for another day.

So ectoplasm retains electromagnetic waves, what about Kryptonians? They can't do the same. Once they are cut off from sunlight, or any form of ultraviolet rays, their powers go with it. Common headcanons for ghosts determine that they can go for some time without continually feeding on ectoplasm, although they gradually grow weaker the longer they go without a source.

But ectoplasm does not emit electromagnetic waves of their own. Perhaps ghosts could filter their ectoplasm and make this possible, maybe that's how they give people the creeps when they intrude on their territory. But otherwise, plain old ectoplasm won't do this. But do you know who does emit electromagnetic waves, according to this logic?

Kryptonians do.

Their emotions emit these waves, and when traveling to the Phantom/Ghost Zone, that would mean all the ectoplasm around them would feed on their emotions. Unfortunately, there is no source of sunlight in the Ghost Zone, which means not only are they cut off from a main source of nutrition, they are constantly being leeched off on from ectoplasm.

This could mean that going to the Ghost Zone, for a Kryptonian, might just be a death sentence. Which makes Dru-Zod's exile to the Phantom/Ghost Zone that much more grim and cruel. We know from the Flashpoint Paradox timeline that Kryptonians will slowly wither away and quite possibly die without any source of ultraviolet rays.

So what would this mean for a half-Kryptonian Danny AU? Well for one, it would explain why Danny is so powerful. His dual nature as half-Kryptonian and a halfa means that all the weaknesses he has from his Kryptonian biology is canceled out by his nature as a halfa, and vice versa.

This wouldn't entirely strip Danny of weaknesses. In some ways it could even compound his weaknesses depending on what's used against him.

Yet it's still something very interesting and tasty to think about. And provides a lot of possibilities for future plot points or alternate universes.

#dpxdc #dpxdc headcanon #dpxdc au #superpham #halfagone rambles #lore analysis #with yours truly :D #long post

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bethanythebogwitch · 9 months

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I haven't talked reptiles in Wet Beast Wednesday in a while (and the first time I did it got like 9 notes) so I'll do it again with marine iguanas. Admittedly they're more amphibious than aquatic, but there's no Moist Beast Monday and I think they're cool so it'll have to do.

(Image: Doug Jones in The Shape of Water a marine iguana basking on a rock)

Marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) are large lizards native to the Galapagos Islands. They are unique for being the only extant lizards that spend time in the ocean. As of 2017, there are 11 distinct subspecies that are isolated from each other by the islands they live on. Occasionally a member of one subspecies will end up on the wrong island and produce hybrid offspring. Marine iguanas also can but very rarely do hybridize with the land iguanas of the Galapagos, with whom they are believed to share a common ancestor.

(Image: an iguana perched on a rock

Marine iguanas vary in size based on subspecies, with those from smaller islands reaching a smaller adult size. In general, they race from 12 to 56 cm (4.7 - 22 in) from snout to rear, with a tail ranging from 17 to 84 cm (6.7 - 33.1 in). Males are significantly larger than females, up to twice the weight and noticeably longer. Marine iguanas are robust, with relatively short limbs. Their leg bones are heavy, to provide ballast while swimming. Their tails are laterally flattened and provide propulsion for swimming. They have a row of spines down their backs that provide stability while swimming, similar to a fish's dorsal fin. Their feet have powerful claws and can be used to cling onto and push off of undersea rocks. Marine iguanas were noted by many explorers for their dark color, including Charles Darwin (who referred to them as "clumsy" and "disgusting"). This dark color helps them warm up quickly after diving in the sea.

(image: an iguana going for a swim)

A major feature of the marine iguana is its diet, which is a huge factor in their semiaquatic lifestyle. They feed almost exclusively on green and red algae that grown underwater. To reach the algae, females and smaller males browse the intertidal zone during low tide, while larger males and abnormally large females can swim out to the deeper subtidal zone to forage. They can spend an hour underwater one one breath and dive to 30 m (98 ft), but most dives are much shallower and shorter. Only the largest males swim offshore and dive to significant depths for their food. Because they are positively buoyant, divers must actively swim or cling onto rocks to stay underwater. Most individuals will return to the same spot for feeding and competition over feeding spots have been known to happen. Larger males that swim out for their food have the advantage of less competition for their feeding spots. The species has adapted to be able to fast or subsist on reduced for long periods. During El Nińo, where food supplies can be reduced for years, they will actually shrink, with even their bones getting shorter, then return to full size once the food supply is restored. Because they consume excess salt with their food, marine iguanas have developed the ability to filter the salt out of their blood and expel it through glands in their nostrils. The secreted salt can then be sneezed away. Juveliles spend the first few months of their life feeding on (WARNING: GROSS) the feces of older iguanas. This helps them develop the culture of symbiotic gut bacteria that helps them digest algae. In fact, their digestive systems are so specialized to algae that they can't switch diets.

(image: a marine iguana grazing on algae underwater)

As ectotherms (cold-blooded animals), marine iguanas need to keep themselves warm to survive. The water around the Galapagos is typically around 11-23 degrees C (52-75 F) while their preferred body temp is 35-39 C (95-102 F). This high preferred temperature helps with their digestion. To keep themselves warm, the iguanas spend a lot of their time basking in the sun, especially after swimming. They can also reduce their heart beats while cold to help prevent heat loss. Basking iguanas can cover large beaches. They live in colonies that usually range between 20 and 500 individuals but can sometimes get up to 1000 members. Their biomass to area ratio can be the highest of any reptile. While they are considered gregarious, they display no social behavior such a grooming. The closest they get to a group activity is sleeping next to each other to conserve heat at night. They also get along with other species, such as Darwin's finches, mockingbirds, and crabs who will pick parasites off their skin. Divers may allow cleaner fish to pick off bits of dead skin. Another lizard, the lava lizard, likes to visit colonies to hunt flies attracted to the iguanas. The iguanas allow the much smaller lizards to climb all over them. Marine iguanas often share beaches with Galapagos sea lions, who will occasionally allow the iguanas to climb over them.

(image: a group of iguanas basking together)

(image: a male marine iguana, identifiable by the rough scales on his head, with a lava lizard climbing on him)

During mating season, male iguanas stop being as chill with their neighbors, attempting to establish a territory and push other males out. They also change from their normal dark appearance to a much brighter coloration. Territories are usually bordered by rocks or crevasses and can be found next to each other in groups. Males will attempt to attract females to their territories while fighting other males to get access to their females. This behavior is called lekking. Females show a distinct preference for larger males and it is the largest males that are most successful at maintaining territories. Medium males are forced to patrol the edges of territories to try to pick up mates while small males often pretend to be female to sneak into another's territory and attempt to mate. Males with territories defend them with special displays where they will raise their dorsal spines and open their mouths while bobbing their heads around. If another male challenges the dominant, they will display at each other. If neither submits, a fight will start. Males fight by headbutting and trying to push each other around. These fights can last for hours and the participants will occasionally take breaks. In most cases, one will eventually display a submissive posture and retreat, though in a few cases the fight has escalated to biting and scratching. When courting a female, a male will nod at her and approach in a sideways walk. Smaller males without territories may also try mating forcibly. Females only mate once per year and will signal rejection to additional suitors by nodding at them.

(image: a male performing a territorial display)

(image: two males headbutting each other in a territorial battle)

Mating season usually lasts between December and March. Females will lay eggs about a month after mating. The eggs (usually 2 to 3 but sometimes up to 6) can collectively weigh up to a quarter of the mother's weight, which is very large for an iguana. They are laid well above the tide line and buried in sand or soil. In places with few good nesting sites, mothers will guard their eggs after hatching to make sure other females don't dig therm up to steal the spot. When females fight over nesting spots they are less disciplined than males and will quickly resort to biting. The eggs hatch after 3-4 months. Females reach sexual maturity after 3-5 years while males do so after 6-8 years. They live an average lifespan of 12 years, but can live up to 60.

(image: a female iguana digging her nest)

(image: a group of juveniles climbing on each other)

Marine iguanas are classified as vulnerable by the IUCN, while a few populations are instead considered endangered. A major threat to them is warming seas, which can reduce the red and green algae populations and replace them with inedible brown algae, leading to starvation. Marine iguanas only have a few predators and most of them target juveniles or small adults. As a result, the adults demonstrate island tameness, a lack of wariness to potential predators. This has left them vulnerable to predators introduced by humans, such as dogs, cats, rats, and pigs. Despite these invasive predators being present for ver 100 years, they have not developed any anti-predator defenses against them, a phenomenon called ecological naïveté. They also do not fear humans and will allow tourists to approach them, which has led to injuries and the spread of human-introduced diseases. They are protected by laws of Ecuador and most of their range is in protected areas. Efforts to remove invasive predators have seen some benefit. They are difficult to keep in captivity due to their specialized diets, and they have never been bred in captivity.

(image: a male with his bright mating season coloration)

#wet beast wednesday #marine iguana #biology #zoology #ecology #marine biology #galapagos #animal facts #iguana #lizard #reptile #long post

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fastestmanalive333 · 4 days

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I'm suprised this actually came out pretty good.. but yeah... some father and son bonding time we were robbed of.. think of this as a War of the Supermen Alternate Ending.. the Good Ending where Chris & Thara survive

The battle ended with Chris and Clark single handedly flying Zod into the source wall.. not the phantom zone as they did before.. the other kryptonian criminals are taken captive by OA and are held in a solar system with a Red Sun.. the kryptonians left on New Krypton who did not side with Zod were given a home on the planet Rokyn.. Chris' Nightwing powers are new.. and he is learning new things about them and himself everyday.. after a long day of war, turmoil... Chris and Clark catch up on lost time.. he has matured so much from this.. and Clark sees in him the potential to be a great hero.. and although zod, ursa and non are gone.. many of his followers are still on Earth Clark offers Chris to join the Supermen of America where he gladly accepts, Lucy is ridden of her powers with Sam Lane dead Lois comes to give her comfort, Mon-El.. after years of suffering from lead poisoning and being bound to the phantom zone.. is free.. free to go and do as he pleases.. Chris meets Conner... Thara and Kara reconnect and they quickly bond... in the shadows.. a new mysterious threat is lurking in the shadows.. ready to strike.. who it is we dont know.. that is for you to decide...

Continued in

Supermen of America #1 (2011) (which in my mind for this alternate universe is very much be like the Batman Incorporated of Superman..) Written by Geoff Johns and Kurt Busiek

Nightwing/Flamebird #1 (2011) written by Greg Rucka

Kon-El: Sentinel #12 written by Jeff Lemire (Kons series numbering continued off Superboy Vol 5)

Supergirl Vol 5. #67 written by Kelly Sue DeConnick

Steel (2011) #1 written by Louise Simonson

Superman (1939) #709 written by J. Michael Straczynski

Action Comics (1938) #900 written by Geoff Johns

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guspartenza · 9 months

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THE SUPERWOMAN FROM KRYPTON 1948

TWO IDENTITIES, ONE WOMAN, ART BY DaggerPoint - Professional, Digital Artist | DeviantArt

What would you think about a gender bent Clark Kent in the 1940s?

Krypton was a decadent civilization located on a moon near a large gaseous planet in the orion belt. In the past they had visited earth and other planets expanding civilization, but their penchant for slavery, war, resource extraction and violence caused many of these projects to fail. Even in 10,500 BC the Kryptonians almost caused the terraforming of the earth, melting the poles and destroying Atlantis and other civilizations, causing among other things the end of the ice age.

THE JOURNEY OF CLARA KENT, FAN CREATION lordmallory User Profile | DeviantArt

Over the centuries the Kryptonians lost the fuel necessary to travel and ended up confined to their planet, dedicated to warfare, genetic engineering-creating clones whose organs they needed to extend their lives-to pleasure and to exploiting the subsoil of their planet.

Jor-El and Lara were a couple of scientists critical of the system and supporters of a kind of democracy and pacifism. They had a daughter, Kala-El in a natural way against all the rules of Krypton. Lara managed to manufacture a small ship capable of making a space jump to save her daughter from the end of Krypton. General Zod stole her design and managed to build a larger fleet of ships but Jor-El managed to sabotage them and send them to the phantom zone. Lara decided to send Kala to Earth, trusting that the culture of this planet was much more hopeful and kind, and less close to the errors of Krypton than that of other distant inhabited planets, Jor-El preferred to send her to New Genesis, another distant inhabited planet, because there Kala would receive less radiation and develop less extraordinary abilities, but finally Lara convinced him.

THE WOMAN OF STEEL, ART BY Psketchs - Professional, Digital Artist | DeviantArt

Joe and Martha Kent were a Quaker farming couple whose farm was struck by the pod carrying Kala-El in 1918. Although owners of substantial property they were a very humble, cooperative, austere, devout and civil rights-minded people. Martha Kent was a descendant of Kansas abolitionist guerrilla fighter John Brown. They both raised Clara very lovingly and unwilling to ask too many questions about the baby's origin. Clara was a very sickly child as her body did not adapt to the earth, she was affectionate and obedient and devoured books. The Kent family were avowed supporters of the New Deal and Joe Kent was one of the leaders of the local farmers union

CLARA KENT, ACE REPORTER. ART BY LuisF47 - Hobbyist, Digital Artist | DeviantArt

With puberty she developed very fast and her superpowers began to appear. Clara soon began to excel in swimming and ballet, but Joe forbade her to pursue a professional career to prevent her from taking advantage of her powers, and also forbade her to use her superpowers to help others, fearful of humanity's reaction and wary of savior messiahs in the era of interwar dictators. Clara rebelled against her father but eventually gave in. In 1936 Joe Kent died of a heart attack. Clara was unable to go to college after her father's death and worked as a teacher and nurse's aide in Smalville. Her engagement to Pete Ross, her teenage sweetheart failed in 1939 when she revealed her powers to Pete and he panicked, although he later promised to keep the secret.

THE DOUBLE LIFE OF CLARA KENT AND SUPERWOMAN, ART BY MidnightOwl07 - Student, Artist | DeviantArt

Between 1939 and 1941 Clara lived in Canada and Alaska searching for the Fortress of Solitude, a place a strange device in her pod was pointing, but with the outbreak of World War II she decided to enlist as a nurse in the Pacific, refusing to use her powers except to help the wounded, fearing to cause more harm than good. After a leave of absence in 1944 she returned to Alaska where she found the Fortress of Solitude and its true origin.

After learning about the Holocaust first and the atomic bombs later, Clara decided to become Superwoman with the support of her mother Martha and emigrated to Metropolis, where in October 1945 she was hired by Major Louis Lane, who had just returned from Europe, to work as assistant reporter and typist for the Daily Planet

GOODBYE TO CLARA KENT, LOOKS LIKE A JOB FOR SUPERWOMAN, ART BY LetoArt - Hobbyist, Digital Artist | DeviantArt

KALA-EL/CLARA JOSEPHINE KENT/SUPERWOMAN

CLARA KENT / SUPERWOMAN

BORN: Krypton, a moon in a distant galaxy// 28/02/1918, SMALLVILLE, KANSAS

PROFESSION: ASSISTANT REPORTER

YEAR: 1948

PLACE: METROPOLIS (NYC)

-Farmgirl, born Kansas 1918. No sisters no brothers.

-Nicest girl in the office but very unffuny

-Disappears without reason very often.

-Lives alone in a little flat, has a dog called Krypto

-Daddy issues, his father didn’t let her pursue a career as ballet dancer or swimmer (he didn’t want her to take advantage of her powers), died when she was 18

-Former nurse during the war

-Loves children and dogs

-Tomboyish trails. Not quite elegant.

-Music-Hall fan, Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart fan

-Favourite books: Scarlet Pimpernel adventures, Jane Austen, Upton Sinclair and Virginia Wolf, somewhat eclectic

-She does a lot of sucking up to his boss (not literally), a 1940s very liberal Republican style journalist Perry Weiss, chief editor of the Daily Planet. She hates her boss Cat Grant

LOUIS LANE AND CLARA KENT

-Ambiguous relationship with her other boss Louis Lane. She is deeply in love with him but he is married.

-Strange friendship with young millionaire Bruce Wayne

-Always good scoops but never appears in the front line and too stubborn and independent to grow fast in the newspaper

-Progressive quaker like her fathers

-Civil rights supporter

-Hates General McArthur, hates even more Lex Luthor

-Loves Eleanor Roosevelt but also Governor Dewey.

-Hates guns

-Supports unions, splits ticket between Metropolis Liberal Party and the two main parties. Politicians must be kind.

SUPERHEROINE LIFE

THE WOMAN OF STEEL

-Superpowers like invulnerability, flight, super-speed, super-stamina, super-strength, X-ray vision, etc

-Can flight to a Mach100 speed

-Acts as Superwoman since 1945

-Defeated Zod invasion in 1946

-Initial bad relationship with Batman but now close friends and allies

-Didn’t act as Superwoman during the World War II because she was afraid of her powers, after the discovery of the holocaust and the atomic bombs she decided to step in and showed herself to the world on autumn 1945.

-Worst enemy: Lex Luthor, heir of Nikola Tesla, rocket engineer & CEO of TELCORP (Tesla-Luthor Co.)

-Deeply in love with Louis Lane, who strongly rejects the Superheroine.

-She hides her supersuit and cape under her normal clothes. The material is extraordinarily thin, flexible and resistant, and very easy to wear under normal clothing. Whenever someone needs Superwoman, she just needs to find an inconspicuous place, rip her shirt, unfold her cape and fly away at full speed.

-Widely admired

SUPERWOMAN/ CLARA KENT 1948 CHARACTERS

Read the first five chapters of the fanfic here!

THE SUPERWOMAN FROM KRYPTON: AGAINST THE ETERNAL COURSE - Chapter 1 - LordMallory - Multifandom [Archive of Our Own]

or here!

THE SUPERWOMAN FROM KRYPTON - lordmallory94 - Wattpad

More fan creations here!

lordmallory User Profile | DeviantArt

Youtube fanfilm here!

SUPERWOMAN 1948 - YouTube

#1940s women #dc artwork #dc comics #dc fanart #heroine #gender bent #fanart #dc universe #fanfic #supergirl #superman #dc elseworlds #golden age comics #alternate universe #krypton #superheroine #superhero #secret identity #superwoman

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girlswhowantboystobegirls · 1 month

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Songs I like to think Luke Castellan listens to

warnings: tlt spoilers (and maybe a little of som), songs in spanish (i kind of explain them tho)

full playlist at the end<3

1. Flaca - Andrés Calamaro

Hear me out.

"Darling, don't stick your daggers out to me by my back. Not so deep. No, it hurts. No, it hurts me"

Calamaro made this song after being cheated on but not wanting to fully let her go.

BUT... I like to believe Luke's betrayal is pretty much that. THE DAGGERS??? BY HIS BACK??? HELLO???? UGGHHHHHH ANNABETH??!?!?!!?

"And even if I almost make a mistake and say tell you bit by bit 'don't lie to me. Don't tell me the truth. Don't stay silent. Don't raise your voice. Don't apologize to me'."

Betrayal!Luke x reader ffs are very much like that.

Give Luke a Calamaro cd and bro will go through a damn phase (I did go through that phase. Trust me. I know what it's like to listening to Mil Horas for hours.)

2. Autotheist - Baby Bugs

I like the idea of Luke liking rock songs.

Autotheist conveys how the protagonist doesn't believe in a god, because they made them suffer throughout their whole life.

"Dear god up in heaven, are you glad I learned my lesson? I'm not making any promises that it'll end anytime soon. And dear god up in heaven, how do I fucking get in? You tried to make me scared of hell, but I'm living there"

Someone up there is telling them to behave, let it be portrayed as god or not.

Final chorus:

"And if I was god I'd kill the people who believe in me. And if I was god I'd make everyone bow to me. And who says I'm not a god? I'm a god to me. And if I was god, I'll make you all believe in me. You are not my god, you kept me from feeling anything. And who says you are god at all? God is only me. And when I become god, I'll promise you'll believe in me."

Luke had this whole desire to be claimed, to be recognized, to be a hero, to be believed. To the point he started despising Olympus for using demigods, all of them, for their prophecies. Luke hates the Olympus system, and became hungry for power, for freedom. He doesn't want to be a god like the song says: he wants to stop the gods from being absolute pricks; not only his father, all of the gods seem wicked to him.

Let this dude have an Autotheist phase.

3. Escape - Destroy Boys

Never able to avoid the gay allegations when Destroy Boys starts to play.

I feel like this is pretty much Luke in a band AU. Though if you take some elements you can think just as him wanting to escape from the whole demigod thing. Just not be related to it at all.

"I want to escape. I want to play a show. I don't wanna be here in this house no more. I want another hit but it made me feel sick. Now I'm lying in my bed, fucking nauseous"

Hi, BandAU!Luke. We see you. It's alright. Come out of the closet.

Kinda sappy but I feel like this song is so perfect to put on when you just want to be away from everything, the noises, the screams, the people.

Luke likes doing that. Just... zoning out, sometimes. (Not projecting. At all ^_^)

He has a lot of duties before being chased for stealing Zeus' Lightning. He has to be a big brother to all the people who stay at Hermes' — but they eventually have to move, they eventually get claimed. Luke wants to be claimed... so bad. He doesn't want Hermes to be his father, hell- he HATES him. But he can't go and tell him 'hey you stupid fuck can you tell your god friends to stop fucking around and claim me? Because you are NOT my father', he can't, so he just tries to fix everyone else while he's falling and slowly giving himself in to ambition.

"I can't seem to stop picking at scars, wherever you go, there you...- I've made some mistakes, oh I can't deny. So they say 'I'm living life'. I want to escape. I want to play a show. I don't wanna be in this house no more"

He wishes he was less broken.

4. Ya te vas a mejorar - Cuarteto de Nos

"And there in the tambo* everyone told me; 'you'll get better soon!'. And in the family everyone told me; 'you'll get better soon!'. I lost the patience in the lobotomy; 'you'll get better soon!'. I lost my left hand and it still hurts me!; 'you'll get better soon!'"

*tambo is the place where they take out cows' milk, like- the actual place where people work at. No need to know why I had to clarify that, just felt like it.

This song shows SO MUCH DESESPERATION. And I know the lyrics aren't things the English-speaking style can fully understand. But, the song conveys how they are going down and down both mentally and physically and everyone is positive about it, almost like fake fantasy; "You'll get better soon!"

Four words: Luke after his quest.

Everyone looked at him with worry, guilt even. When Luke got the quest he wanted to be seen as a hero. But he came back harmed. And everyone hoped that he would get better, but he still had his scar chasing him everywhere he went.

"And now I'm tired of being the dumb one, so I bought the chainsaw. Now I go running around, mutilating everything that gets close to me. For now, no one treats me as subnormal without hesitating in three seconds. Because I want everyone equally; in juices of 40x40*"

*he basically wants them dead.

Uh yeah, go crazy white boy, i understand you??? He went beyond mad, beyond frustrated and full of hatred. He went nuts. Totally hungry for everything. He betrayed everyone he knew just for the sake to not feel the pressure of being a demigod with responsibilities again.

You may be confused by the lyrics. Some of you aren't prepared for the Cuarteto de Nos experience (yes im so obsessed im getting to see them in august) (btw i don't hate you guys im joking please please please ily)

If you, by any chance, liked CDN... thanks. I think El hijo de Hernández is kinda Luke-coded too ("You confuse me and I don't know what you pretend. I already explained but you don't understand. And that mistake is a big one; I am not Hermes Hernandez's son"). I just can't put so many songs in Spanish.

5. Fill The Crown - Poppy

"You can be anyone you want to be. You can be free, you can be free. I believe you're the one who's meant for me. We can be free. Just come with me."

Either Kronos trying to make him go with him, or Luke trying to get people to join him.

This song kind of feels like a cult. Perfect. It's the perfect one to represent Luke's inner voices.

"Poison the children. No peace of mind. Poison the family. Make the children cry. Poison the fountain. Empty your mind. Follow the leader; the leader is blind."

AAAAALRIGHTTTTT POPPY YOU COOKED!!!!! THIS is Luke Castellan. He's blinded. He thinks he's a leader; and he's just a mere puppet!!!! You funny boy!!!

Oh, and the poison thing kinda reminds me of a certain pinecone.

No more elaborating. I love Poppy. This song is so Luke 'I'm just a girl' Castellan coded.

playlist ☆ it has like 20 songs more. im working on it (warning: LOTS OF SONGS IN SPANISH 🤣 IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY!!! I CAN'T ESCAPE MY ROOTS I CAN'T TURN INTO A WHITE WOMAN!!!)

Hope you liked my yapping

¡Besitos!!!!

- ur fav argentinian on tumblr

#luke castellan x reader #luke castellan #luke castellan pjo #pjo hoo toa #pjo tv show #pjo #pjo series #pjo spoilers #pjo season 1 #pjo fandom #riordanverse #charlie bushnell #luke castellan fic #Spotify

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hometoursandotherstuff · 1 year

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Welcome to the World Famous Tile House in Twentynine Palms, California. Built in 1960, it has 2bd. 1ba. and is listed for $857K. I love her!

This artisan gem is a Mojave Desert cultural icon, located in the artsy community of Wonder Valley.

It was nominated as one of the top 3 most creative homes in the world by Airbnb. This home has been used in fashion magazine photo shoots and music videos.

Covered in artistic tile inside and out, this one-of-a-kind home takes assemblage to a new level as it whimsically blends pop-art, fine art, and spiritual references and artisan tile work into a very unique style, all its own.

The Tile House has been a successful vacation rental and a full-time residence.

I love it so much, I’d buy it w/o hesitation.

Look at this tile work in the 2nd bd.

Cozy fireplace in the main bd.

Love the bath- look at the sink!

This kitchen is amazing.

It’s a fully-equipped kitchen

This home is served by a private water well and an owned-solar electric system.

Enjoy the starry nights from the private hot tub and patios.

This fully functional 2-bedroom, 1 bathroom home is situated on a very private 20-acre site, with unobstructed, panoramic views of Joshua Tree National Park, and the desert mountains, in every direction.

Zoning allows for additional structures and the 2-parcel configuration of the site allows for an additional residence, with accessory buildings.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/79188-El-Paseo-Rd-Twentynine-Palms-CA-92277/17506242_zpid/

#tile house #colorful homes #unique houses #unusual homes #houses #house tours #other stuff

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script-a-world · 1 month

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Submitted via Google Form:

Trying to create a planet with plenty of trees growing out of the water, like deep water and all that. Trees in the middle of the lakes of up to 200m depth. What would I need for that?

Tex: So trees are trees (in an exceptionally reductive sense) because they photosynthesize with sunlight, grow very tall in order to out-compete the other plants that also do this, and have a woody bark known as xylem that manages their vascular system (Wikipedia). I’m not actually certain if trees can withstand being underwater their entire lifespans, because I’m assuming xylem requires water primarily on the inside and not the outside in order to properly function.

The only trees I know of that come close to what you’re suggesting are mangroves, but those inhabit an intertidal zone (Wikipedia).

What aspect of trees are you wanting to emulate? The height, the comparative size to other flora of similar scope in their microenvironment, something else? Species tend to hyperspecialize to their niche environment, so broaching aquatic versus terrestrial boundaries is much more difficult than even saline versus non-saline aquatic environments. Aquatic environments are very… mobile, in comparison to terrestrial counterparts. Trees take a long time to grow, and have the ecological room to do so because their long lifespans have numerous benefits for other species in their environment. The marine food chain is heavy on the predatory trophic levels rather than the photosynthetic trophic level, so trees as a concept don’t have a reasonable, contextually-adequate space to evolve and thrive (Wikipedia).

I asked you the question about trees growing out of the water. Mangroves are exactly what I got the idea from, but I wanted to make my world look fancier and I'm envisioning tall and deep root systems that are a massive haven for fish. Even divers could swim between the roots. On top of the water would be a cool scenic spectacle by having a lake with trees growing right out the middle of it instead of around the edges. Maybe a weird thing where a long ago, it was a normal mangrove but the water level rose greatly so the coast had become a lake and somehow the mangroves are sitting deep in the water? Like the opposite of the mangroves in the El Cacahuate lagoon that are way too far from the modern coast because of changing water levels in the past.

Synth: Some other real-life things to check out for some inspiration are várzea and igapó forests, regions in the Amazon river basin that can spend over two months flooded with up to fifteen metres of water (they are the same basic thing, but with different types of water doing the flooding). Also have a look at cypress trees for another Earth species that evolved to tolerate growing partially submerged.

The fun thing about worldbuilding is that you can decide “I want my world to have _____,” and then go right ahead and just do that. This is a whole other planet; it doesn’t have to play by Earth rules if what you want isn’t doable that way. Could one of Earth’s giant redwoods thrive half-submerged in a lake? Probably not. Could one of the huge trees from your planet do it? Yeah, sure, why not? It seems like you already have a pretty solid idea for how you want everything to look, so go ahead and start building it.

#google submitted #trees #environment

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girlactionfigure · 5 months

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ISRAEL REALTIME - "Connecting the World to Israel in Realtime"

🔸HOSTAGES ILL… 8 of the hostages who were traded for and released yesterday are in "complex but stable" medical condition. Meaning they are seriously ill but not at immediate life risk.

🔸CEASEFIRE VIOLATION… Midnight, gunfire n the Zeyton area in Gaza, IDF forces returned fire and hit 3 terrorists. Gazans reported jets or drones over the skies of Gaza, over Khan Yunis eastern side.

🔸EXTENSION? Gazans are making noises of fear about the end of the truce, in the midst, Hamas announced that it managed to find a few more hostages to release.

🔸DEMANDS? Head of Mossad in Qatar: We will not discuss further kidnapping deals before the release of all the women and children. In Israel they will reject a proposal that will be presented soon - all security prisoners and the end of the war in exchange for all hostages.

◾️MAJOR CYBER ATTACKS… Israeli hacking team produces evidence that emergency number outage at Bezeq night before last was an enemy cyber attack. The hacking team recommends Bezeq spend more resources for cyber security and less for advertising. Overnight Ziv Hospital (Safed) suffered a cyber attack with information leaked and damaged software systems.

◾️MAJOR SECURITY ACTIVITY THROUGHOUT JUDEA-SAMARIA OVERNIGHT…. Jenin, (enemy reports) very large forces entered city. City declared a closed military zone. Multiple wanted terrorists captured. Buildings surrounded, major firefight, shoulder based rockets fired. 10 terrorists hit. Hospitals, the traditional terrorist safe space, surrounded and arriving wounded checked. Due to this, locations of private clinics were distributed among the terrorists. D9 bulldozers active to check roads for IED’s. This morning - drone attacked an armed terrorist squad.

Activity and exchanges of fire in Yamon, Askar camp, Burqa, Jilzon camp, Abate Jaber camp and Ain al-Sultan, Hebron, Al-Kum and Morek.

Enemy shooting towards Israeli town of Beit El, Benjamin - no casualties.

◾️HUH? ISRAELI ARABS REFUSE HAMAS… Lawyers of the Israeli Arab detainees informed the State Attorney's Office that the detainees refuse to be included in the release deal with Hamas. Related, one Gaza detainee REFUSED to leave prison back into Gaza - he was taken forcefully.

◾️EAST JERUSALEM… clashes and riots with police dispersal and tear gas in Issaviya, east Jerusalem.

◾️MDA TO RED CROSS - GO AWAY: The director general of MDA instructed the heads of the organization to stop cooperating with the Red Cross, after they refused to help (or even visit) the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

◾️UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY SAYS ‘DISAPPEAR ISRAEL’: United Nations General Assembly adopts a resolution VIA the majority of member states demanding that Israel withdraw completely from the occupied Syrian Golan to the June 4, 1967 line (that’s the border of the Kineret).

◾️WHAT’S NEXT… A “source” spoke with the "Washington Post" said that there is a desire on both sides to reach a deal - but the "prices" have not been agreed upon. According to him, the parties have reached an agreement (to create) 5 groups of Israelis who will be released in the following phases: adult men (over reserve age), female soldiers, men in the reserves, soldiers in regular service and bodies of Israelis who died on Oct. 7 or in captivity.

#Israel #October 7 #Hamas Massacre #Iron Sword #Realtime Updates

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karingottschalk · 2 years

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DPReview TV: Fujifilm X-H2S vs Panasonic GH6 for video shooters – Commentary

View On WordPress

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paper-gold-theories · 7 months

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Villainous Observation/Theory: InstaFeed and Instagrim

(Note: This theory is an add on and inspired by the theory created by gabygirl1234)

There are two versions of Instagram in Villainous - InstaFeed and Instagrim

The general public and heroes use InstaFeed, while the Villains use Instagrim.

____

In Episode 6 Miss Heed is shown to have an InstaFeed account instead of an Instagram account.

And her @ name is also @MISS_HEED_ OFFICIAL instead of @MISS_HEED, as shown in her real life actual Instagram link (https://www.instagram.com/miss_heed/)

However, MISS_HEED_OFFICAL is her Instagram Display Name

So the Instagram account we see in real life is a little bit different than what we see in the Villainous show.

————

In Villainous, Penumbra, other Villains, and The Men Without Hats, etc. are shown to be using Instagrim.

However unlike InstaFeed, Instagrim is a Black Web, the Villainous version of Dark Web/Deep Web, website which is not available to the general public and can only be accessed by Villains and in special cases like the Men Without Hats who can hack and have installed programs and software to avoid tracking and being doxxed. (see below)

This is supported by the post in CreepyCharly when a user said you can see that SunBlast is alive on Penumbra’s Instagrim account, but CreepyCharly replies that she could not access it and jokingly added that she doesn’t believe that Villains have social media.

(Also, in the comment section in the image above, a verified account with the name @MISS_HEED_OFFICIAL is seen commenting a bot like comment: “FOLLOW ME”, Miss Heed being a former Villain and student in Black Hat Institution, she probably was able to have knowledge on how to access the Black Web, and perhaps link it to her current InstaFeed account)

As regular citizens like CreepyCharly can’t access it I agree with gabygirl123 ‘s post that Instagrim is also a part of the Black Web as it follows the. Same principal as the BHO website, as mentioned below, “it is hidden in what villains call the "Black Web", a hidden network for villains, bounty hunters, and other unsavory beings.”

(source)

-01.06.19 - from: Magician

To all remaining agents: We did it. Our patience has produced fruits. Cooper and I have managed to establish a link to the Black Hat Organization's mainframe. The link will be open for the longest period possible, however, we must be careful and keep this link secret; We can't let what happened last time happen. Black Hat cannot know that we have this connection to their system. This link can normally only be accessed by villains and members of their organization, as it is hidden in what villains call the "Black Web", a hidden network for villains, bounty hunters, and other unsavory beings. For this reason, access is very dangerous and it is recommended that it not be for prolonged periods or there would be a risk that a villain, or worse, someone from the Black Hat Organization, could find and track our whereabouts more easily. Here is the link to the computer:

Once inside you can share it, but to access you will need the 14-digit password that we hide in the guide videos. Maybe Black Hat found the latest version of the page, but that gave us what we needed to find yours. We'll leave this channel open, good luck. And remember that we can still dance.

Eventually however, Charly was able to access the black web to buy a mystery box, however as mentioned below, the Black Web is a dangerous place with dangerous people, so she had to install the necessary programmes to avoid being tracked and doxxed.

(Did she buy it from Evil Zone, the Villainous version of Amazon though? 😂)

#villainous #villanos #villainous theory #villainous theories #villainous headcanon #villainous creepy charly #villainous headcanons #villainous missheed #villainous miss heed #cecilia amanda kelly #villainous penumbra #penelope numan braxton #villainous sunblast #podemos bailar #men without hats

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fatehbaz · 1 year

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In this coastal ecology, no fixed separation between land and water. The “polymorphous personality” of the mangrove ecosystem defies stable boundaries. The mangrove’s name is a combination of Malay and Arabic, of Portuguese and English. At the Sundarbans of Bengal, the largest mangrove region, the “sea forest” is marked by unfixity and a porous quality that undermines formal political boundaries, demonstrating “the trembling instability of borders”. While Euro-American legal institutions rely on clear delineation of land to recognize tenure, Yolgnu Aboriginal communities and Dholupuyngu cosmology cannot be contained. The landscape respires, is in flux, among the tidal seas of mangrove forests, “antithetical to the manicured” lawn.

---

[T]his tropical coastal ecology is a site of continual refiguration: neither sea nor land, neither river nor sea, bearing neither salty nor fresh water [...]. The mangrove has been prone to confused definitions, since it is a grouping of over eighty specialized plant species that survive as “botanical amphibians,” but is also a complex coastal ecosystem in itself. With these hybrid conditions of “belonging,” the mangrove lends itself to helping us think through the present-day schematic of Euro-American crises amid larger constellations of political insurrections and migratory movements. Its polymorphous personality as a sediment-carrier, land-builder, defender of numerous life forms, and also an inadvertent protector of pirates renders the mangrove a fascinating study in the biopolitics of selfhood. [...]

---

The mangrove also traces a language cartography, setting sail through the routes of travel and the histories of encounter to which mangrove-naming bears witness. The hybrid terms that define mangroves in different linguistic cultures become conveyors of sociopolitical contact between civilizations and coastal ecologies. For instance, the combination of the old Malay word “mangi mangi” and the Arabic word “el grum” refers to the Avicennia genus of mangrove tree, which is a favorite attraction for fireflies. Or consider the juxtaposition of the Portuguese “mangle” with the English word “grove” [...].

However, the mangrove’s intense bed of foliage, punctuated with prop and stilt roots, remains antithetical to the manicured and decisively cultivated grove. It may therefore be more productive to reflect on the mangrove’s word origins not merely through land, but as linkages with a specific kind of tree and tide.

The Sundarbans covers an area of 10,000 square kilometers of intertidal zones between parts of southwestern Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India. The largest mangrove forest in the world, its name bears the combined genesis of a beautiful “sea forest” and of the Sundari tree, the Heritiera fomes species of mangrove, which grows across these wetlands in abundance. [...]

---

As a landscape, the Sundarbans is marked by unfixity, since its intertidal nature places it between appearance and disappearance -- with islands being submerged overnight. It is ironic that while the aerial root systems of mangroves are highly valued as fortifications against the onslaught of angry tidal waves (as experienced during the tsunami of 2004) their porous quality does not allow for clear border-making. In reading this satellite image of the Sundarbans, produced by what is said to be “the most stable, best characterized Earth observation instrument ever placed in orbit,” we are met with the trembling instability of borders. The water channels eat into the land as gnarled roots of mangrove, uncontainable on ground and from an aerial view -- here the coastline becomes indiscernible as a single entity.

---

The legal vexations of such amphibious and obtuse terrain become pronounced in sea-rights cases, wherein border-making becomes the necessity of tenure. Forming rulings over such zones lays legality prone to paradox. In the Blue Mud Bay case, heard by the High Court of Australia in 2008, a legal body was called upon to make a determination regarding the shifting geography of a mangrove coastal region. In the final ruling the aboriginal Yolgnu claimants were successful, with the court ruling that the column of tidal water lying above land should be regarded no differently from the land itself. Thus the court’s attempt to encompass Dholupuyngu cosmology and “aqueography” occasioned a legal magic transforming water flow into the fixity of “land.” [...]

In the intertidal and interpenetrating zone of the mangrove, the border between land and sea becomes a choreography of re-crossings. The mangrove line is, hence, one of sedimentary reclamation rather than clear political divisions of terra firma. In mangrove zones, human determinations become ghosts.

---

Text by: Natasha Ginwala and Vivian Ziherl. “Sensing Grounds: Mangroves, Unauthentic Belonging, Extra-Territoriality.” e-flux Journal Issue #45. May 2013. [Bold emphasis and italicized first paragraph in this post added by me.]

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mariacallous · 22 days

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The world has failed to halt a downward spiral in humanitarian conditions for civilians in the Gaza Strip since the Israel-Hamas war began last October. The airdropping of humanitarian aid and the U.S. plan to construct a temporary port off the coast of northern Gaza to deliver assistance, both in coordination with Israel, will not adequately relieve the crisis or eliminate its root cause. In addition to being financially unfeasible, neither approach can be sustained amid continued armed conflict and Israel’s blocking of aid entering the strip via land borders.

The only feasible and sustainable way to relieve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is through an emergency mechanism that removes Israel’s total control over the security inspection and entry of aid via land borders into the besieged territory. This proposed plan, limited to the duration of the war and the resulting humanitarian crisis, should include an international security task force with the limited mandate of overseeing and implementing an independent inspection and transport process for aid through Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

This emergency mechanism is not far-fetched and could be immediately applied if world powers were willing to utilize all means necessary to rescue Palestinians in Gaza from famine, a devastated health system, and harrowing levels of deprivation. Such an intervention would boost efforts to stop the mounting threat of a regional conflict as well as bring progress toward negotiations to reach a cease-fire. Now is the time to do so.

In the Sinai Peninsula, just across the border from Gaza, tens of thousands of tons of humanitarian aid are waiting for Israel’s permission to enter the strip. Images show hundreds of flatbed trucks loaded with aid and blocked by Israel’s security inspection system at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, including some parked for weeks. In wartime, it is imperative that aid shipments undergo strict security checks, but such a system must not be manipulated by any warring parties for military gain—in this case, either Israel or Hamas.

Instead, a joint task force, comprising security personnel from different governments and an international security body, could oversee the system. Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and France, in partnership with the United Nations, are the top parties—but not the only ones—capable of operating this limited-mandate force. All have consistently engaged both Hamas and Israel, along with local authorities and humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza, on hostages, aid and rescue, policies to protect civilians, and negotiations toward a cease-fire.

Egypt is a fitting and capable host: It not only maintains the sole land border and entry point into Gaza that is not under Israeli military control, the Rafah border crossing, but it also has become the destination of most humanitarian aid dispatched for Gaza. Since the beginning of the war, shipments have continuously landed in El-Arish Airport in North Sinai, some 31 miles from the Rafah crossing—which is just south of the town of Rafah in Gaza, where an estimated 1.5 million people are sheltered.

In the last decade, the Egyptian military and security forces have turned this part of North Sinai into the country’s most militarized zone. It is so secure that it has received heads of government, top U.N. officials, members of parliament, and other officials since the war in Gaza began. At El-Arish, French and Italian navy hospital ships have docked for weeks to provide medical aid to Palestinians, while other vessels have unloaded aid shipments.

Egypt could immediately designate a site to host a security inspection effort and the joint task force needed to implement it. In fact, Cairo has already said it is building a logistics hub to host aid efforts near the Rafah crossing terminal.

Since the war began, senior U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Director Bill Burns have conducted multiple visits and engaged in talks with regional governments involved with efforts to contain the conflict. After the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden appointed David Satterfield as special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues. Satterfield is no stranger to the region’s volatile security; he served as director-general of the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai Peninsula from 2009 to 2017.

Qatar and France are as active as Egypt and the United States in all levels of engagement with the warring parties. Qatar’s capital, Doha, hosts the Hamas leadership outside of Gaza. Qatari efforts have led to the release of Israeli civilians held hostage by Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack. Qatar and France also secured a deal to allow delivery of lifesaving medicines to Gaza’s hospitals as well as to Hamas-held hostages. Qatar also constructed and operates a field hospital inside the strip and has dispatched aid to North Sinai since the start of the war.

Finally, the United Nations has powerful reach and ability, especially through on-the-ground humanitarian operations in Gaza. Its various bodies, including the Secretariat, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees, and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, are in constant communication and coordination with all parties involved. Despite the level of destruction in Gaza, they operate a broad network of employees and facilities dedicated to humanitarian aid.

With a force as small as 100 well-equipped security personnel and a site secured and serviced by Egypt’s military and local authorities at the Sinai-Gaza border, the joint security task force could theoretically inspect up to 50 trucks per hour, delivering the required minimum of 500 trucks per day within 10 hours. Cargo planes could not airdrop a fraction of that aid over Gaza every day for an extended period. And according to the United States, its port plan will take around two months, as many as 1,000 troops, and millions of dollars to provide just 2 million meals per day.

The emergency mechanism’s mandate would stop at the delivery of aid across Egypt’s Rafah terminal into Gaza. It would not encroach on the jurisdiction of local authorities and organizations or replace them. Within this strictly limited mandate, the aid mechanism and its task force wouldn’t pose a threat to any warring parties or provide political or military gain. It would operate impartially for the protection and rescue of civilians, most of whom are women and children.

An alternative mechanism to deliver humanitarian aid would not only save civilian lives, but it would also create a path toward a lasting solution that averts further crisis. Delivering the minimum required aid to Gaza could satisfy the basic needs of the 1.5 million people sheltering in Rafah within days. It would help reinforce Gaza’s devastated health care system and mitigate the risk of infectious diseases and chronic illnesses caused by malnutrition and medical shortages.

With an emergency mechanism in place that guarantees delivery without manipulation, donor countries and organizations would increase their efforts to send humanitarian aid to Gaza to satisfy the unprecedented level of need. Such guarantees could also contain panic across Gaza, creating a safer environment for organizations to transport and distribute aid throughout the strip. A continued flow of aid would gradually end the overwhelming of convoys by desperate civilians and undercut war profiteers and organized gangs seeking to commandeer shipments.

By hosting such an effort, Egypt would avoid its looming nightmare: a sudden influx of refugees crossing its borders in pursuit of safety and sustenance that would possibly deal a blow to the Camp David Accords, which maintains peace between Egypt and Israel. On a domestic level, the joint aid effort would address popular anger with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for failing to open the Rafah border crossing and unilaterally deliver aid to Gaza—with practical measures rather than ineffective statements and oppression of Egypt’s political opposition.

An alternative aid mechanism would also have far-reaching effects on growing regional conflict in the Middle East. While international powers and mediators are scrambling to contain hostilities between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel and the Houthi threat in the Red Sea, a practical approach to enforce a solution to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza could advance potential negotiations. Both Hezbollah and the Houthis have repeatedly pointed to the siege on Gaza’s people in official statements; although both have other calculations behind their attacks against Israel and its interests, containing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza would serve as a step toward reaching a settlement on both fronts.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government will most certainly oppose any such efforts. But it is in the immediate power of the international community, and especially the Biden administration, to confront Israel and enforce solutions that will save lives. In this case, any Israeli opposition to the mechanism, whether by attempting to block its inception or by targeting aid after it enters Gaza, would be directed at a consortium of international and regional powers.

It would also contravene the provisional measures laid out by the International Court of Justice: that Israel “take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”

As Israel’s top provider of arms and aid, and in light of the potential threat that Biden’s policies toward the war in Gaza pose to his electoral prospects in November, it is in the administration’s interest to use its leverage to compel Israel not to block such an extraordinary measure. Failing to endorse and partner in such an effort would deepen the growing gap between the United States and the Middle East, leaving a vacuum that will inevitably be filled by other world powers.

Six months into the Israel-Hamas war, it would be naive to assume that any progress could be accomplished without an immediate and collaborative intervention by regional and international powers to remedy the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Only then will hindered talks toward a cease-fire agreement and a settlement of the war stand a chance.

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useless-catalanfacts · 11 months

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Im not sure if you're a hiking person, but How is hiking/nature in Catalonia? I've been learning the language for the past few months and i am interested in visiting and I really love being out in nature and hiking

Hi! First of all, sorry for the delay in answering, I've been very busy this week and I've left the blog on queue, I'm catching up today.

There's lots of cool places to hike!

Historically, hiking has been very important for keeping alive the culture and language, ever since the 19th century (as a way to getting to know the country and its history, since the population had been denied its own history) and especially until the Franco dictatorship (we have mentioned before how people used going hiking as a way to get away from the police and being able to speak Catalan during the times of illegalization).

There are many hiking associations in Catalonia, you can find them with names like "centre excursionista" or "grup excursionista". I don't know how long you're staying, but if you were to stay for a relatively long time I'm sure you could probably find some hiking association near wherever you stay.

Otherwise, you might also be interested in Wikiloc. It's a website (created by a Catalan) where everyone can upload the routes they like. It's very popular and there's lots of hikes in all areas, and it shows you the route and all the information and what you can see in the way.

There's many places to hike in all around the country. There are many natural parks, with 16 being recognised above the other in (Southern) Catalonia + 1 in Northern Catalonia.

From North to South, by type of landscape:

IN THE PYRENEE MOUNTAINS:

1. Regional Natural Park of the Catalan Pyrenees (Northern Catalonia).

Includes the Canigó mountain, legendary and symbolic mountain for Catalans. If you go there for Sant Joan festivity (June 23rd), you can join the hike to go get the fire on top of the mountain (we explained it in this post).

There's many hikes in the websites Tourisme Canigou and Sud Canigó.

2. Parc Nacional d'Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici

This is another beautiful park in the Pyrenees and the Sant Maurici lake. It's the only natural park in Catalonia that is considered a National Park in the Spanish system.

3. Parc Natural de l'Alt Pirineu (High Pyrenees Natural Park)

Beautiful mountains and, just like for all the other parks in the Pyrenees, near valleys with beautiful villages of Medieval origin with a heritage of Romanesque churches (the ones in Vall de Boí are recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

4. Parc Natural de les Capçaleres del Ter i del Freser

Where the Ter and Freser rivers are born. It includes the Núria Valley (Vall de Núria).

5. Parc Natural del Cadí-Moixeró

Includes the iconic Pedraforca mountain.

ASLEEP VOLCANOES:

6. Parc Natural de la Zona Volcànica de la Garrotxa (Natural Park of the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone)

Includes the Fageda d'en Jordà (Jordà birch tree forest) and cool Medieval towns like Santa Pau, Besalú, Castellfollit de la Roca, els Hostalets d'en Bas, and more.

COASTAL PARKS:

7. Parc Natural del Cap de Creus (Creus Cape Natural Park)

Beautiful coastal area in the Costa Brava, also includes the Medieval monastery Sant Pere de Rodes. In the area there's lots of typically Mediterranean-style towns with white walls, some of them very touristic and some of them less so.

8. Parc Natural del Montgrí, les Illes Medes i el Baix Ter

In the coast of the Costa Brava, it's very beautiful. Also near lots of cute towns of Medieval origin.

9. Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà (the Empordà Wetlands Natural Park)

And on the opposite end of Catalonia:

10. Parc Natural del Delta de l'Ebre (Ebro Delta Natural Park)

Where the Ebro river reaches the Mediterranean sea. Famous for its rice fields and birdwatching. It's very flat, so it's a good idea to hire a bike and bike through the paths among the rice fields to the sea.

OTHER MOUNTAINS:

11. Parc Natural del Montseny

12. Parc Natural de Sant Llorenç del Munt i l'Obac

13. Parc Natural de la Muntanya de Montserrat

Montserrat is one of the most famous and sacred mountains in Catalonia. It has a very characteristic shape and landscape and is home to a monastery over 1000 years old that guards the Moreneta (black Madonna, patron saint of Catalonia).

14. Parc Natural de Collserola

Collserola is the mountain range that overlooks Barcelona city.

15. Parc Natural de la Serra de Montsant

Located in the Priorat wine area (to take into account if you are wine lovers), the Monstant mountain range is located in a very rural area with lots of vineyards cultivated on the mountain slopes and also lots of historical tiny rural chapels, as well as the ruins of the Escaladei Carthusian monastery.

16. Parc Natural dels Ports

Mountains and lots of natural swimming pools you can bathe in.

You'll be able to find hikes in the websites of all of them.

I hope this was useful and that you enjoy your holidays!

#natura #catalunya #natural park #natural parks #hiking #nature #hike #travel #europe #landscape #traveling #explore #wanderlust #adventure #travel photography

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