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goldlightsaber · 3 years

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No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men doesn't really need my praise, given that it won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor and several other awards. But I'm here to give it anyway! It is truly a work of art. Over a decade old and it has stood the test of time as a gripping thriller. Warning: this review is a bit all over the place, but I covered the bits I liked best!

The Big Bad

Javier Bardem. Where do I begin with him? I could watch this man clean up gunshot wounds in a cheap motel room for hours. It was so fascinating to see him work -- even if a lot of that work was brutal, cold-blooded, psychopathic murder. Watching him was like watching a true crime documentary. He felt real and chilled me to the core.

I commend the script for all its cleverness, but especially the intentionality behind Anton Chigurh's dialogue. I have never seen more unusual, rhythmic dialogue. What stuck in my head was his relentless way of asking questions. "Where does he work?" he asks the trailer park management lady. She tells him she can't tell him. Again, he asks, "Where does he work?" She tells him again, more firmly, that she can't reveal the information. In the same monotone, he asks for a third time, "Where does he work?" He puts on no charm. He does not bribe or threaten. He asks questions straight. He disguises himself as --but does not claim to be-- something he's not. He pretends to be a cop; a man stranded on the road; a hotel guess. People believe what he only appears to be. They make something of him, something recognizable, so that they know how to interact with him. Except slowly, through dialogue, he reveals to them his true, sadistic nature. And no one wants to believe it. Often the people he speaks with are dumbfounded, stammering out "Sir?" and "I don't understand." It doesn't dawn on them until its too late that he is someone they should run from. It's ironic, really. The goodwill and trust of other people is his bread and butter -- it's what allows him to extract information without force (at least at first) and to obtain all the resources he needs. There's a Southern hospitality theme that runs throughout. Many of the Texans he runs into offer him help -- little do they know that, with Anton Chigurh, it will likely cost them their lives. Everyone is a means to an end unless they are the end -- the person he means to kill.

Don't even get me started on his weapon of choice. It looks like he's carrying around an oxygen tank. It even gives him a misleading look of frailty -- like he might be using it to survive despite it not being attached to his person. If he was carrying around a gun, people might run in the other direction. But, seeing a captive bolt stunner, people are often just confused (I had to look up what it was called) -- and that's part of his genius too.

Yet he's tone deaf. He is easily irritated by small talk, seeming not to understand its point (award for most extreme introvert like, ever?). He nearly killed a gas station worker seemingly because of the small talk. A hint at his disturbed, unusual mind. As I mentioned earlier, he always cuts to the chase -- no fluff. He will get what he needs now, or else. Unless you're lucky and the coin toss flips in your favor. Or there are too many witnesses nearby. But rest assured -- there is no escaping this man. As Woody Harrelson's character, Wills, asks Llewelyn: "You've seen him, and you're not dead?"

Subverting Expectations

With a crime movie, you hope the good guy lives and the cops catch the killers, or that at least one of the two things happen. Nope! Not that simple with a Coen brothers film. Llewelyn is a law-breaking and a "street smart" guy but has a golden heart. He's empathetic (like when the "agua" man hung over his conscience) and only shoots people when he needs to -- Anton Chigurh is his foil, in that sense. Even though his resourcefulness and quick thinking gets him out of trouble for the majority of the film, he is suddenly killed by the Mexican cartel. We don't see it happen, we only see the drug dealers fleeing the scene and the aftermath. It comes minutes after a flirty motel patron tells Llewelyn that, whatever is coming, Llewelyn will never see it coming. And he doesn't. And neither does the audience, for that matter. With Llewelyn seemingly gearing up to fight Chigurh, I expected the two of them to have a showdown over the money. Llewelyn's death was sudden and abrupt. He didn't go out with guns blazing. He didn't get to showcase his strength. For all the times he has healed from injuries, Llewelyn--likable, honorable--still dies.

The sheriff retires -- he doesn't manage to track down Chigurh or anyone else for that matter. To him, Chigurh is a "ghost." The sheriff, at the end of the movie, describes himself as "ummatched," and that is underwhelming too. You fully expect -- or I did, based on previous crime thriller movies-- for some sort of justice to be served, for someone to be caught and locked away, but Chigurh is alive and free at the end of the movie and so are all the anonymous players of the drug cartels working these deals. There was no justice. Not for Llewelyn, not for his wife, not for all the collateral damage.

A Brilliant Script

Speaking of Llewelyn's wife! I loved her last show of defiance in the face of Chigurh. She was shocked but not surprised. Surely, his appearance scared her, but she knew death was coming for her -- and she didn't give Chigurh the liberty of making her death her responsibility. He was fully accountable -- and she made that clear. Was it a foolish choice? I don't know. It did leave me thinking for a while -- what would I do in the situation? The coin toss is the greatest mercy Chigurh is capable of bestowing on anyone. He is a Harvey Dent without a grudge. She chooses not to participate in the game and he kills her. I asked myself: were I in that situation, would I have chosen not to play? There were two options: she plays and has a 50% chance of living. She doesn't play, and she will, for certain, die. She chooses the latter. Is that bravery? I think so. It's certainly strength of character. She is principled in a wholly other way than Chigurh. I feel that I would have wanted to "call it" -- give myself a chance at living. But even that phrasing is misleading. No matter the "choice," Chigurh is the real judge, jury and executioner. And he chooses to kill. Always.

When he exits Carla Jean's house, I found myself wondering what had happened. In the first few seconds of the scene, it isn't yet clear whether he killed her. What follows is one of the more brilliant, subtle moments of the film: Chigurh checks the bottoms of his shoes. We know from an earlier scene that he takes care to keep them clean from the carnage of his crimes, and so, we also know he was checking to see if Carla Jean's blood had spilt on them. He murdered her.

The Ending

I have not yet uncovered the symbolic significance of the car crash, but I can try to take a guess. The car crash brutally injures Chigurh, breaking his arm and God knows what else. It is a random accident, not someone intentionally trying to kill him. Two boys who were riding their bikes behind him approaching Chigurh, who is sitting on the sidewalk, seriously injured. The boys offer him help only out of goodwill. But then he offers them money for one of their shirts, which they initially reject until he insists they take it. Is the symbolism in that? Of yet-uncorrupted youth starkly contrasted with his total evil? In offering them a large sum of money, is he corrupting them to think of life transactionally? As he walks away, the boys argue about splitting the money and he is no longer their concern -- greed is on their mind but only because he brought up money in the first place. (I feel like I cheated on this one because I read somewhere how the movie is about the rising forces of evil in the world that are hard to defeat -- hence the sheriff is unable to defeat them). Will this start them down the path of chasing money and power? Who knows. Maybe.

Overall: a movie I couldn't look away from except to run to the bathroom. I could watch hours of Javier Bardem in this role just sitting. Or eating. But preferably treating his own wounds.

Watch if: you're a fan of Ozark (TV show); or Fargo (movie or TV show).

#no country for old men #the coen brothers #javier bardem #my love <3 #josh brolin #tommy lee jones #kelly macdonald #film #text #i decided to cheer myself up by writing a movie review so HERE #i guess i only do these for movies i like lol #need to watch some shitty films #I ALMOST FORGOT THE PICTURES

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emilyplaysotome · 7 years

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Part 36 - Dirty Pop

Down the Voltage Rabbit Hole is an ongoing story about our MC, who could easily be anyone in voltage fandom. She woke up in hospital bed only to discover that she’d somehow been transported Voltage universe.

This story is ongoing, so if you missed a part, or are new to the story, please use the link to the masterpost below to catch yourself up:

https://tinyurl.com/k4rrxna

Part 36 - Dirty Pop

As promised, we were taken backstage once the concert concluded and I watched as the band maintained their designated personality types in the presence of their fans.

Sakiko was over the moon to walk away from the night with both a photo of all us, and one of her and Kyohei. She stayed with me backstage for approximately an hour or so, and upon realizing how late the night had gotten, decided to leave me behind.

She was extremely apologetic about leaving me alone with the band and a handful of groupies, but had promised Eiki that she would swing by his place later and didn’t want to accidentally neglect her new relationship (even if that meant skipping out Revance).

I assured her that it was no problem, seeing as how the band wanted to speak with me about additional lyrics anyway, and with that Sakiko wished me luck and was on her way.

As it was to be expected, Revance’s “new” song had blown up Tweeter, with people sharing out snippets of the night’s performance, under the hashtag #RevancePopUp. Soon after their new song hit the internet, the tag was one of the top trending Tweeter hashtags for the entirety of Tweeter Japan, and their fan forums apparently blew up as a result, crashing their “RevanceNet” server as fans clamored for more information surrounding their upcoming LP and new song.

It was clear that the song’s positive reception had only added to the urgency in which Ryo, Iori, and Kyohei wanted me to sign on to the group, but I knew that wouldn’t be happening.

For now, I waited patiently to discuss things further, awkwardly biding my time until the band was ready to leave. After must discussion and flirtation, the groupies that would be joining us were selected, and I followed the group as we all headed to the “after party” at Revance’s home.

From the games, I knew that the band liked to celebrate after a successful performance, but found myself surprised at how real the situation felt considering the fact that the band brought along a smattering of attractive young women to keep them company. In that moment, they did not feel like romanticized otome men whose routes I’d played, but real pop stars, who were escorting home a collection of women they deemed attractive enough to spend the night with.

It was the first time I’d ever experienced anything like this and to be honest, it made my skin crawl a little at how dirty these pop stars were.

Considering how smoothly they’d transitioned from signing autographs to whittling the group down to the select few present in their limo, it was clear that this was a regular occurrence for them and I quietly tabulated the estimated number of women that each of these men had probably slept with.

With the exception of Iori and Ryo (both of whom stayed by my side the entire night), the rest of the band was getting cozy with a woman of their choosing (two in Kyohei’s case).

It was behavior I expected from Kyohei and Nagito, but in truth I was surprised to see the real life iterations of Kota and Takashi engaging in such obvious flirtation. The trip to their house felt like a scene straight out of a reality show, where a group of horny 20-somethings are forced to live in a house together and end up going at it, completely unconcerned by the lack of privacy surrounding their torrid hookups.

My general rule of thumb is that I do not oppose sexual behavior that occurs between two (or more) consenting adults. Everyone is different, and varies in comfort, kinks, likes, and dislikes, and in my opinion as long as all parties are on board, and nothing illegal is happening, I say go for it.

However, I myself, never consented to an awkward limo ride in which I was subjugated to what the games would most certainly describe as “lewd” behavior. Furthermore when it became obvious to me that each member of Revance must have slept with hundreds of women (50 cities, 3 nights, estimated 1 woman per city, with this being their 4th tour), I felt myself inadvertently scrunching my nose with worry, wondering if they at least had the good sense to practice safe sex and get tested regularly.

Iori and Ryo were so clearly desensitized to it all that they kept up a normal conversation with me the entire ride, initially inquiring as far as why I’d run off the previous day, until finally steering the conversation back to the additional lyrics they were hoping I’d write for them.

I told them that I had just accepted a full time job at the advertising agency Addison & Rhodes, and based on conversations with my coworkers it was unlikely that I’d be able to help them further. I made it clear that signing on to be a full-time ghostwriter with the band was out of the question, and upon providing this clarity I watched as Ryo glanced at Iori, with a frantic look in his eyes.

His expression only confirmed my suspicions that he was in a slump of sorts and needed my help.

I felt bad, and racked my brain in an attempt to think of the right thing to say but, I found myself unable to concentrate, thanks to the consistent background soundtrack of light moans and lips smacking, which made me feel as if I’d walked onto the set of a softcore porn flick.

As I wrestled with how to best move forward, the limo pulled up to their house.

I watched the scene unfold before me as Kyohei draped an arm around the two girls he was sitting with in the back of the limo.

Whereas Nagito, Takashi, and Kota had spent the ride preoccupied with a single lady of their choosing, Kyohei had been on overachiever of sorts, oscillating his kisses and attention between the two women. I looked on as he confidently whispered something in each of their ears, before exiting the limo with one woman on each arm, and a triumphant expression on his face.

Even though it had been obvious from the onset of the car ride that Kyohei would most likely end his night in a threesome, it was still sort of crazy to have watched the scene play out as it did.

Having never engaged in a threeway myself (considering that my one-on-one sexual encounters are always awkward that first night), it was bananas to me that adding another person would somehow make the experience less uncomfortable.

I silently said a wish to Leon that the ladies on each of Kyohei’s arm would derive as much pleasure from the experience as the man between them and watched as the rest followed suit and exited the limo, shooting Iori and Ryo a knowing look before heading to their designated rooms.

With the majority of the hookups now happening in private, I followed Iori and Ryo to the living room to finish the conversation surrounding Ryo’s slump and need for lyrics in order to move on with my life.

I felt indebted to both of them (Ryo for his kindness a couple of days ago and Iori for caring for me when I’d arrived), and despite not knowing exactly what to say, I knew that I didn’t feel right leaving them empty handed when they were clearly so desperate. I’d gleaned from the concert that Revance was reaching the end of their tour with this LP and needed to release some new songs or run the risk of being forgotten about.

Considering how eager they’d been to perform “Cry Me a River” it was clear that they needed additional material, and quick, to keep themselves on the top spot in the charts. I’d overheard Kyohei and Ryo in the greenroom, talking quietly about a rival boy band Grenade who was hot on their heels, and was certain that Kyohei was putting a massive amount of pressure on Ryo in order to deliver what they needed to ensure that they stayed the number one boy band in Japan.

Now that their performance of "Cry Me a River” had blown up on Tweeter, I could tell that they knew they needed to keep their momentum up. Iori and Ryo both bowed low before me, imploring me to help, saying that I could have or do whatever I wanted.

I sighed, slightly conflicted that my assistance might accidentally trigger another trap to keep me pinned to this world, but with an offer too good to pass up I found myself smirking.

“Whatever I want, eh?”

They needed 12 songs and I had provided 1, which meant that Revance needed 11 more.

Initially, they’d wanted me to write onsite at their apartment, but there was no way I was going to do that for fear of triggering one of their routes which I didn’t seem to be a part of.

Clearly Kyohei, Nagito, Takashi, and Kota were unconcerned with my presence in this world (made all the more obvious by the occasional moan coming from the upstairs bedrooms), and both Iori and Ryo seemed more concerned with the future of Revance than women or potential love interests.

I found it a bit surprising that Kyohei wasn’t more invested in my lyrics, but upon thinking back to Ryo and Iori’s dynamic realized that I possessed a vague memory in which Iori had felt slightly responsible for Ryo’s departure. I surmised that in this world, perhaps my existence was helping to curb the rift that might eventually happen between them, and I hoped that my actions might help me make it out of Scandal in the Spotlight without any scandal.

After Iori and Ryo had agreed to my terms, I let them know that they’d have everything they needed in their inbox by the end of the weekend.

They both eyed me skeptically, and I assured them that I’d amassed a rather large collection of unused lyrics in my years of writing as hobby. I said that if they were unsatisfied with what they received at the end of the weekend we could renegotiate the terms of our agreement. I also let Ryo know I planned to assemble everything in the cafe where he worked part time, and he eagerly let me know that he’d be far more comfortable having some proximity to me while I did so in case questions were to arise.

Even though he was working this weekend and we’d no doubt see each other, the pop stars still looked dubious as they walked me to a cab which was waiting to escort me back to the Gods’ mansion, and before leaving I felt compelled to assure them once more that they’d be satisfied with what I’d be able to provide.

After all, I had an entire decade of another world’s proven top pop songs at my fingertips. If it was good enough for Justin Timberlake or Bruno Mars it’d be good enough for Revance.

It was around 2 in the morning when I opened the door to Zyglavis’ bedroom, and made my way over to the fridge to grab a late night snack.

A part of me had wished he’d be present upon my return, and I felt myself hoping that I’d find him on the bed waiting for me. When it was clear that he was nowhere to be found, I felt a bit of lonliness bubble up. The bulk of today had been spent reclaiming my independent spirit, and while I knew it was for the best that we be apart, I couldn’t help myself from gravitating towards the chocolate gateau cake he’d left behind.

Perhaps it was a result of my period, but I suspected my craving for chocolate had more to do with missing Zyglavis, and I cut myself a slick of cake all the while wondering what he was up to in the heavens. As I brought the slice over to my Operation GTFO HQ desk, I licked my fingers, dropping the plate with the cake next to my laptop.

Even though I wanted to devour the cake in a rather unladylike fashion, I decided it best to change out of my sweaty concert clothes before digging in.

I went to grab the fluffy pajamas Aigo had gifted me, and got an unfortunate whiff of post-concert Naomi. Despite being lazy, I realized that it was probably best I take a quick bath before I changed seeing as how I didn’t want the pajamas to get ruined, forcing me to do a load of laundry which I’d been putting off (as I worried it wouldn’t be as simple as Zyglavis simply snapping his fingers).

With that in mind, I wrapped a towel around me and headed to the bath in order to take a quick dip.

I was surprised upon opening the large doors to the bath to see it occupied so late.

Thankfully, the person enjoying her soak wasn’t one of the Gods, but the MC I’d met back at the planetarium. She was resting her eyes, clearly luxuriating in the bath and wore a towel, no doubt for fear she’d accidentally get walked in on by someone other than her beloved Huedhaut.

I announced my arrival as to not startle her, and in hearing my voice she offered me a warm smile and invited me to join her.

With no reason not to, I slowly lowered myself next to her, as I rinsed away the sweat and body glitter that still lingered from the concert. I felt slightly uncomfortable seeing as how our last encounter consisted of some awkward bathroom eye contact and an overly emotional exit, but I tried my best to be friendly and make pleasant conversation with her.

“You’re up late...can’t sleep?” I asked.

She shook her head no and added, “There’s an upcoming event at the planetarium that I’m in charge of. All the Gods have been helping me prepare but it’s proven to be quite an undertaking and the stress has been keeping me up.”

She sighed deeply and then force a small smile as she continued to address me.

“I was hoping a soak would help me relax so I could finally get some sleep. How about yourself?”

“Oh, I just got back from the Revance concert.”

“Revance? The boy band?”

I nodded, pleased at her reaction which seemed appropriate for a grown woman. She did not exclaim excitedly, or swoon over any of the members, but instead seemed puzzled as to why a grown woman like myself would want to attend such an event.

“It’s a long story, but I ended up writing them a song that they performed tonight so…”

“Oh wow! Are you a writer?”

“Something like that…”

We made small talk for a bit, and when the conversation led us down a road which allowed for it, I capitalized on my opportunity to apologize for my juvenile behavior. Of all the MCs I’d met in this world, I realized that I liked her the best, and was worried that she wouldn’t want to be my friend after having witnessed such a ridiculous display. I could feel my anxiety building, but forced myself to spit out the words I’d been holding on to since I’d stepped foot in the bath.

“By the way, I’m sorry about the other day,” I said timidly, “I hope you didn’t take any offense - I assure you it had nothing to do with you.”

“Oh? And who did it have to do with?”

I could tell that this MC was clever, yet kind as she asked, keenly aware of my reasons for acting so erratically.

Seeing as how it was no secret at this point, I came clean, figuring that if anything she would understand the plight of a human woman who had a sizable crush on a man that was a God.

“Zyglavis...”

“Mmmm,” she said with a knowing smile, “I see.”

She let out a quiet chuckle and I was struck by how elegant she was in her mannerisms. It was evident that she had lived her past life in the heavens, and I found myself feeling a bit insecure as I thought about Zyglavis potentially being surrounded by women like her in the heavens.

“Of all the Gods you had to go and fall for the one who loves law and order...”

“Tell me about it,” I said disparagingly.

“He is one of the most loyal men you could ask for, and in truth, I think he cares for you more than he realizes.”

The former Goddess of Fate’s eyes twinkled as she quickly surveyed the area around us to ensure that there was no one present who could overhear. She leaned in, still wary of being too loud and whispered in such a way that her breath tickled my ear as she spoke.

“After you ran out, he was so panicked and emotional...when he returned unable to find you, certain the worst had happened, I asked him if he loved you…”

“And?”

“Well, you should really ask him yourself but…”

She giggled girlishly and nodded, indicating the answer had been yes, quickly adding, “He wouldn’t say it because it’s forbidden but...a woman knows these things.”

Upon hearing her words, I placed my hands on my heart with the hope of calming it. The thought that Zyglavis loved me back was making my heart accelerate, and I found myself hoping her read was correct.

She didn’t seem to realize how flustered the conversation was making me, and continued on casually sharing her two cents as to the matter, “I’ve known him for some time now, and I’m sure he’s somewhere in the heavens trying to pull himself together and ignore everything you’ve ignited. If you love him back, if you really love him, you will not let him hide behind his logic or the rules. You will have to fight, but I really believe that if you’re willing to do that, he’ll be yours forever.”

“But what if I’m not sure,” I blurted, “I...he’s not the only person I have feelings for and…”

“I know you’re not sure Naomi but this is your chance to be happy...be it with Zyglavis, or Jin, or who was the other one?”

“Shun.”

The name tumbled from my lips at a volume which was barely audible. Not only had this MC just called me by my real name, but she seemed to be omnipotent when it came to my goings on, and I found myself backing away from her, suddenly wary.

“Are you going to take it or not?”

I nodded, “Yes. I’ll figure it out before I leave.”

“Good,” she said, before turning around to pull herself out of the bath, “You have only a week’s time so I suggest you figure it out quickly.”

I nodded, and looked away from her, completely caught off guard by everything that had happened.

When I turned back once more in an attempt to shed some light on the situation, I realized that I had been fooled. I felt my eyes widen as it sunk in who I’d really been speaking with, as it was not clear to me that the person I had been sharing a bath with had not been Huedhaut’s MC.

No, her form had been used as an illusion to disarm me, and instead I found myself standing before the King of the Heavens who was smirking, clearly amused by the Goldfish from another world.

To be continued…in Part 37!

If you’ve enjoyed the story, please show your support by sharing it with a friend or buying me a coffee! My goal is to create an original web series so if you like my characters please consider donating something to help me get it made.

Thanks for reading :)

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Sorry if I missed anyone and let me know if you want to be added/removed!

#voltage fandom #voltage fanfic #voltage fan fiction #star crossed myth fan fiction #star crossed myth fanfic #scandal in the spotlight fanfic #scandal in the spotlight fan fiction #star crossed myth #starcrossedmyth #scandal in the spotlight #ryo chibana #iori enjo #kota igarashi #nagito aoshima #takashi ninagawa #zyglavis

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isobelatntu · 5 years

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How Sneaker Brands Finally Catered To Women In 2018

Via - Fashionista

At the beginning of the year, Nike released one of its biggest launches for women. The global sportswear brand gave 14 of its female employees the task of creating brand-new takes on some of its most iconic silhouettes, the Air Force 1 and Air Jordan 1. The collection, called Nike 1 Reimagined, boasted a total of 10 styles and upon its release, the first drop sold out. This winter, Nike released a mid-calf boot version of its Air Force 1 Sage, and has plans to expand on Reimagined with more silhouettes in 2019.

During Paris Fashion Week in February, the company also premiered Unlaced, an online destination and physical store concept specifically for women that offers expanded or unisex sizes, exclusive styles and fashion-forward collaborations, with designers and curators like Ambush's Yoon Ahn, Martine Rose, Sarah Andelman and i-D's Julia Sarr-Jamois.

Reimagined and Unlaced were among Nike's many recent efforts in response to female fans voicing what's wrong with the sneaker industry for years.

Nike's subsidiaries are also ramping up their women's offerings this year: Converse used its classic Chuck and One Star sneakers as a blank canvas for special collaborations that tap into music (Miley Cyrus), fashion (Chiara Ferragni) and subculture (New York-based design label MadeMe). Though the Jordan brand has offered sneakers exclusively for women in the past — Vashtie Kola in 2010 and Aleali May in 2017 — this year marks the official launch of its women's category.

Indeed, the Fall 2018 runways of Paris Fashion Week were proof that high-end labels collectively jumped on the sneaker-trend bandwagon. "Now it's the norm for designers to have a sneaker, whether that will stick, we'll see," says Footwear News Fashion Editor Shannon Adducci, who's already seeing a dip in the trend for 2019. "But the point is, women are wearing sneakers. They're not going to stop wearing sneakers."

As far as marketing for these women's-focused initiatives, brands like Adidas, Puma and Reebok have heavily relied on a roster of influencer and celebrity ambassadors. Selena Gomez and Cara Delevingne are spokesmodels for various Puma campaigns during 2018, while Adidas has tapped into its Kardashian-Jenner network — Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Hailey Baldwin — to promote the Arkyn and Falcon sneakers, as well as its fashion collaborations with up-and-coming designers Daniëlle Cathari and Olivia Oblanc.

Longtime partner, Gigi Hadid, will release her co-designed capsule collection with Reebok, including the model's own take on the Freestyle Hi sneaker and the newly-relaunched Aztrek. In November, the company also took on Cardi B as an ambassador, along with her personal cosign on its Aztrek.

Reebok also expanded its focus on women through content. In June, the brand released its first-ever podcast miniseries, "Flipping the Game," which featured three episodes covering how female sneakerheads are demanding more and breaking barriers within sneaker culture.

Other media platforms have also popped up throughout the year to highlight female sneaker enthusiasts. Since its launch in May, Teen Vogue's Instagram account Her Platform (@platform) has acquired around 33.3K followers who keep up with its prolific feed of of stylish, sneaker-wearing individuals and original photo shoots. Zappos supplements its women's shop-in-shop of classic sneakers The Ones, which launched at the beginning of 2018, with an Instagram account @The_ONES and a blog called The Stories.

Of course, it's great to see such a huge push at one time towards women's sneaker needs, but why now? "2018 has clearly been a year for women across all industries and aspects, so it's naturally trickled down into the footwear industry," says Ashley Haines, a former Hypebae editor who now works on Foot Locker's global corporate communications and PR team.

Was it enough? While Haines says she's optimistic for the future for the first time ever, there's a still a long way to go within the industry.

"Brands have just started to actually move the needle to cater to the female consumer within the last few years. Just thinking in terms of major collaborations, Vashtie was the first woman to design her own Jordan in 2010 and Aleali was the second in 2017. Seven entire years later," says Haines. "And it's not like the demand or interest from women was not there for nearly a decade. I can assure you as both a sneaker lover and an editor that there was. In part, Hypebae was created as a platform to prove that there was, and to celebrate the female sneakerhead after being overlooked for so long."

Nike's M2K Tekno sneaker, a largely successful release that debuted during John Elliott's Fall 2018 runway show, was initially released for women that later expanded into men's due to high demand. Another example is Nike's Lebron 16 for women in collaboration with Harlem Fashion Row and designed by four Black women. "That was a great example of a men's sneaker as a performance shoe with added feminine elements, as opposed to shrinking it and pinking it," says Brittany Edwards, co-founder of Incorpherated, a network that aims for inclusion throughout male-dominated industries.

"It also comes back down to who [these sneaker brands] are hiring. The amount of women working at these corporations in a producing role is really slim — and on top of that, the minorities that they employ, even men included," adds Edwards. "But if you look at the culture that helped propagate the fashion, styles and trends that these companies are influenced by and directly influencing, there's a major gap between those communities. That's a bigger issue. It does come down to an access and employment issue and the gap that exists."

In order to empower young girls and professionals to aspire to work for the sneaker industry, both Edwards and co-founder Khiana Lowe host a series of "Straight to Feet" events and panels that bring together women who work across fashion, media and more. In November, Incorpherated partnered with Adidas to host students from New York City to workshop with female sneaker designers and recreate their own Stan Smiths, and on Dec. 8, they'll be holding speaker sessions on sustainability in fashion and digital marketing.

"We wanted to bring together a community of women to showcase their work, as well as create an experience for students to be engaged by these women doing these awesome things and opportunities that are available to them," says Edwards.

The two also make sure that their events are inclusive towards men, since they want them to be a part of the conversation, too. "A lot of times, we just don't want a women's only release," says Lowe. "Similarly to having these conversations, it can't just be women in the sneaker industry just among women. We want to be included in the full world."

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tabbathajean-blog · 7 years

Text

Supervillain Consultant: Client #461-1

When your client base consist of entirely supervillains, how do you gain more work?

You follow the heroes. Find a hero, and a flood of villains will appear seemingly mystified that the local hero foiled their latest plan.

That is when they turn to me, but there are those villains who are insistent that the next plan will definately be a success. They do the same thing every time. They make the same mistakes every time. Insanity is such an interesting thing, isn’t it?

That brings us to my current location, outside of the lair of Dr. Drakken who has been defeated by Middleton’s local hero so many times that it is more embarrassing than admirable that he is even still trying. However, that embarrassment does not even compare to the one I am currently witnessing. A businessman of no impressive stature walking straight through the front doors of Drakken’s lair as several of the villain’s assumed henchmen walk out, completely ignoring the man walking in. A displeased sigh is all I can muster for the sight. This project was going to be more of an undertaking than I had anticipated.

Walking into the building did little to change my opinion as I heard the conversation between the businessman, the villain, and his green sidekick.

“Perkins ... Oh, you're the temp who filled in here once. Shego, you called in a temp? One temp does not a legion of terror make!”

“Oh, I'm out of the temp game, Dr. Drakken. Working here, I stumbled upon a whole untapped market.”

“'Villainy Consultant'?” The green woman read from the tiny business card.

Oh? Another consultant? Not exactly what one would expect, but the number of villains in the area certainly warranted the unexpected competition.

“Bingo! Innovative ideas to create synergy and maximize evil output. Brand management, action plans, incentivizing --”

“Stop! Stop! Stop! I don't need your fancy ideas, college boy.”

“You are correct, Dr. Drakken.” The frustration on the doctor’s face was apparent as I, the second intruder of the day, began to speak. “You don’t need his fancy ideas. Brand management? Incentivizing? My apologizes, Mr. Perkins, but I believe you have confused evil with business.”

“I can assure you, Miss…?” The businessman began to retort.

“Hart.” I quickly replied.

“Miss Hart, I can assure you that by incentivizing his henchman and creating a recognizable, consistent brand Dr. Drakken will find that his evil will improve significantly.”

“Do I not get a say in this?” The blue, mullet-haired man grumbled.

“Of course! If Miss Hart will just see herself out, you and I can talk about an action plan.” Mr. Perkins moved a bit closer to the doctorate-less doctor as though he was about to share a secret. “I'll tell you what, just to get my foot in the door, if you don't see improved evil in six weeks, my services are free.”

“Hmm, I do like the sound of 'free.'”

“Though it's never about the money.”

“Which is exactly why I am here,” I threw in quickly, “to point out the flaws in Mr. Perkins’ ideas because as the lady said, it’s not about the money.”

“What?” Both men in the room questioned.

“Dr. Drakken, I must ask. What exactly does your latest scheme entail? I promise complete confidentiality on the matter, so you don’t need to worry about any heroes saving the day just yet.”

A moment of consideration passed before Dr. Drakken began to speak with some enthusiasm. “Steal the machine called the atmosfreezer and use it to bring about the new ice age!”

“Would it be safe to assume that the end objective of this operation is world domination?” A nod signaled my correctness. “Then, please take a moment to consider the following. How much energy would be required to drop the earth’s temperature to ice age levels? In addition, please consider how exactly you would go about hiding those levels of energy use from, say, a teenage crime fighter?”

Drakken visibly tensed. Apparently, this had not even been considered during the construction of his plan. Perkins took the silence as his cue to speak. “Well, that moment of power would need to hidden, and that would be a great way to build capital! If we purchase a business large enough to hold the machine, we could kill two birds with one stone!”

“Alright, that is a fair idea. However, let me ask, Dr. Drakken, have you ever owned a business?”

The woman perked up at this. “Has he owned a business!? How about the time he tried to take over the world with sham --”

“Shego!”

“Given that the world is not currently run by you, Dr. Drakken, I must assume that this plan did not succeed. Thus, I must ask, why would another scheme hidden behind the ruse of a business be anymore successful? Excuse me for saying this, but business is not your problem.”

Perkins jumped in here, seeing his chances dwindling the more I spoke. “I see your point, but I must insist that an incentive system for employees would create a more teamwork oriented environment that more increase output.”

“Mr. Perkins, while you have wonderful ideas for a business, I must point out that Dr. Drakken is not running a business, but instead looking to take over the world. Evil henchmen who are there just for the incentive package will leave as soon as the danger of the job outweighs their incentive for staying. I suggest a different solution.”

“And what exactly did you have in mind?” Drakken said, seemingly more intrigued.

“Given the situation, I will offer a deal similar to the one Mr. Perkins offered. I will work with you for six weeks, and we will see about payment after that time. During the six weeks, I want to work on the basics of villainy. Taking over the world is not an easy task, Dr. Drakken, but it is one that I specialize in as a supervillain consultant.”

Based off the Kim Possible episode “Odds Man In” because of this I used a few lines from the episode transcript. I don’t know if I have to say this, but I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show’s characters that I borrowed for this story.

Also based off of this prompt from @writing-prompt-s. (Happy Birthday, Prompt Guy!)

If you want to read some of my note about this story, I tucked them under the “keep reading.”

Thank you for taking the time to read this work and have a wonderful day!

Previous - Next (Coming Soon)

Notes:

I just spent an additional 20 minutes redoing this post because my computer decided to freeze up on me. I wouldn’t normally complain, but I had spent (what felt like) forever trying to find all the lines in the transcript that I borrowed and number them only to have that happen. I honestly couldn’t bring myself to redo all that work. I guess I’ll keep that in mind for the future, and write everything down beforehand.

Also! I had completely forgot that Kim Possible already had an episode with a “villainly consultant!” When I found that out I was super excited because I got to work out how my character would interact with someone in the same profession. However, it did kind of frustrate me because it meant I would have to work within that episode because Shego didn’t seem to know of “villainly consultants” before Perkins showed up, and I doubt Drakken would hire a second one if the first didn’t work out. Nevertheless, I’m glad I stuck to this one because I loved Kim Possible when I was a kid! Getting the chance to look at a few episode in a more critical manner was a super fun exercise that I hope I get the chance to do with other things in the future.

Lastly, I’m breaking up this story into smaller parts because I’m not really a fan of the “time skip” manner of breaking up scenes. I also noticed that I have a lot of trouble writing super short stories, which is what I had planned to do for this series. If anyone has tips on this I would really appreciate the help.

#writing #based on a prompt #kind of fanfiction?#Supervillain Consultant #Kim Possible #Dr. Drakken

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