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decolonize-the-left · 6 months

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser indicated that Israel could accept a U.S. plan for a revamped Palestinian Authority to govern the Gaza Strip after the war, a sign that the Israeli leader is easing his opposition to the idea.

Israel is aware of the desire of the international community and the countries of the region to integrate the Palestinian Authority the day after Hamas, and we make it clear that the matter will require a fundamental reform of the Palestinian Authority,” Tzachi Hanegbi, who heads Israel’s National Security Council, wrote in an opinion piece published Thursday on the Arabic-language news site Elaph.

"I'll agree to stop commiting genocide but only if you guys agree to my very specific conditions for the next leadership" is practically in the CIA handbook.

'destabilize a region then exploit the power vaccum and desperation it creates' is a play we've seen over and over again.

The question is why is Israel doing it?

Because it is a puppet state. It's serves the purpose of providing the USA someone to hide behind while they destabilize the region.

A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a state that is de jure independent but de facto completely dependent upon an outside power and subject to its orders.

Puppet states have nominal sovereignty, except that a foreign power effectively exercises control through economic or military support.

By leaving a local government in existence the outside power evades all responsibility, while at the same time successfully paralyzing the local government they tolerate.

"Why would the usa be using Israel to destabilize the middle east tho?"

An excellent question!

Short answer: using their own armies to carry out the plans is a surefire way to land themselves in a world war and so using Israel is an easy cop out.

The longer answer is very long.

So what "plans" are they trying to carry out, exactly, right?

Saving the Suez from "Islamist threats" "to secure freedom of navigation." You know, just like our Secretary of Defense said.

You know who else said that though? The plans outlined in Project 2025 by the Heritage Foundation. "The one that's gonna put queer people in detention centers?" Yeah that one. In fact our official are using a lot of the Same Exact Language and working found in Project2025.

Isn't that interesting?

Let's look at page 285, together.

Well, we've certainly seen headlines of this right? "Israel has a right to defend itself" and to take what it deems appropriate measures is how the USA has been avoiding calling Netanyahu a war criminal isn't it? A Google search will show Biden also has tried to block/stop Iran's nuclear development.

Very reassuring that they see the need for that for precaution, isn't it?

And sure maybe you could say this is a conspiracy theory, except US representatives are using the same EXACT language and Islamophobia to justify what's happening. Exhibit #1 the link to secretary of state, but don't worry. We're just warming up and he's not the only one.

Let's continue, we're almost to the part where it all comes together.

Translation: the Suez Canal brings Egypt billions of dollars a year and several parties (the countries listed) would prefer that money be funneled to them instead. The problem is that the aforementioned parties have been destabilizing the region for so long that establishing an alternate trade route through those territories would be seen as an act of aggression if not war.

The heritage foundation has always intended to call anyone who resists that plan a terrorist. Its their way of manufacturing consent to kill people.

And we can see Netanyahu and Biden both following that lead. "The terrorists are just such a giant threat, how could I possibly stop supporting Israel's fight against them?"

From Dec 10, 2023

So isn't it just so crazy that the countries and regions outlined there (US, Israel, India, Egypt, and Gulf States) are ALSO the countries who presented the IMEC at the G20 summit in September, just a month before Israel started it's genocide?

Oh, you don't know what the IMEC is or why it matters?

Well remember the Suez and how much income it brings in? Yeah well it's also regulated by the state, which means it can't be bought or bribed the same way that a canal owned privately could.

Which means that Egypt is the sole benefactor and controls who else gets to benefit. This often does not include the USA.

The USA does not like that.

Enter: the IMEC.

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a rail and shipping corridor that aims to boost regional development and economic interconnectivity between India, the USA, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and the European Union. The project consists of two corridors: the eastern corridor will connect India to the Arabian Gulf, and the northern corridor will connect the Gulf to Europe.

[..]Hence, there are technical limitations that the IMEC may face, not least in the Middle East due to its vast desert regions. The construction of railway lines and subsequent transportation of goods would be a difficult task requiring everything from the standardisation of the railway track gauges to the engine configurations. What’s more, one of the main link ports of the IMEC, Haifa, is in Israel, a country which is unstable at the moment due to the Palestinian freedom struggle.

It's how they intend to circumvent the Suez Canal entirely.

Unfortunately for them, Palestine exists. And as such, this creates a huge problem for them in building the IMEC through Palestine to Haifa. Especially since the resistance fighters through the entire middle east violently oppose the west's imperialism.

So something must be done. Again, we refer back to calling Anyone who questions Israel as an antisemitic terrorist as justification for killing Palestinians en masse. And for the ones they can't justify killing? Moving them.

Meaning that yeah. They planned for that, too.

And not even in secret.

Dated October 13, 2023

From November 7, 2023

What this suggests, as more of Project2025 comes true is that not only is the USA aiding and abetting this war to happen.

But that they are intentionally instigating and provoking action in the middle east.

They WANT headlines like this ⬇️ Because it sets up further justification and manufactured consent to continue their genocide in the name of money.

project2025 ALSO outlines every single group the USA sees as terrorists in the USA and also outlines how each country who provides them shelter should be stripped of aid.

They have already found and written excuses for the USA to get away with collective punishment across the whole middle east.

And finally.

The condition that I fully expect to be announced

For it to be defunded. And for more of an idea we can look to this Netanyahu quote from TheGuardian

Netanyahu also made clear he wanted Israel to retain overall security control after any conflict “with the ability to go in whenever we want in order to kill terrorists”. “There will be no Hamas. There will be no civilian authority that educates their children to hate Israel, to kill Israelis, to destroy the state of Israel. There can’t be an authority there that pays the families of murderers. There needs to be something else there,” he said.

Another puppet government that'll agree to do whatever Israel (and the USA) says, perhaps?

#how much have you been paying attention #palestine #gaza #free Gaza #free Palestine #Israel #india #project 2025 #reblog #boost

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afeelgoodblog · 1 year

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The Best News of Last Week

⚡ - Charging Towards a More Electrifying Future

1. The Kissimmee River has been brought back to life—and wildlife is thriving

The Kissimmee River in Florida was straightened in the 1960s, causing a sharp decline in wildlife and ecological problems. But in the 1990s, a $1 billion restoration project was initiated to restore the river's natural state.

Today, nearly half of the river has been restored, wetlands have been reestablished and rehydrated, and wildlife has returned, including rare and threatened species. Already the biological impact of the project has become clear. As the wetlands have come back, so have the birds.

2. Plastic wrap made from seaweed withstands heat and is compostable

A cling film made from an invasive seaweed can withstand high temperatures yet is still easily compostable. The material could eventually become a sustainable choice for food packaging.

Scientists started with a brown seaweed called sargassum. Sargassum contains long, chain-like molecules similar to those that make up conventional plastic, which made it a good raw material. The researchers mixed it with some acids and salts to get a solution full of these molecules, then blended in chemicals that thickened it and made it more flexible and pliable.

3. An Eagle Who Adopted a Rock Becomes a Real Dad to Orphaned Eaglet

Murphy, a bald eagle that had been showing fatherly instincts, has been sharing an enclosure with an eaglet that survived a fall from a tree during a storm in Ste. Genevieve. Murphy, his rock gone by then, took his role as foster parent seriously. He soon began responding to the chick’s peeps, and protecting it.

And when, as a test, the keepers placed two plates of food in front of the birds — one containing food cut into pieces that the chick could eat by itself, and another with a whole fish that only Murphy could handle — the older bird tore up the fish and fed it to the eaglet.

4. World's largest battery maker announces major breakthrough in energy density

In one of the most significant battery breakthroughs in recent years, the world’s largest battery manufacturer CATL has announced a new “condensed” battery with 500 Wh/kg which it says will go into mass production this year.

“The launch of condensed batteries will usher in an era of universal electrification of sea, land and air transportation, open up more possibilities of the development of the industry, and promote the achieving of the global carbon neutrality goals at an earlier date,” the company said in a presentation at Auto Shanghai on Thursday.

This could be huge. Electric jets and cargo ships become very possible at this point.

5. Cat with '100% fatal' feline coronavirus saved by human Covid-19 medicine

A beloved household cat has made an “astonishing” recovery from a usually fatal illness, thanks to a drug made to treat Covid-19 in humans – and a quick-thinking vet.

Anya, the 7-year-old birman cat, was suffering from feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a “100% fatal” viral infection caused by feline coronavirus. That was, until Auckland vet Dr Habin Choi intervened, giving Anya an antiviral used to treat Covid-19 called molnupiravir.

6. Kelp forests capture nearly 5 million tonnes of CO2 annually

Kelp forests provide an estimated value of $500 billion to the world and capture 4.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from seawater each year. Most of kelp’s economic benefits come from creating habitat for fish and by sequestering nitrogen and phosphorus.

7. Medical Marijuana Improved Parkinson’s Disease Symptoms in 87% of Patients

Medical cannabis (MC) has recently garnered interest as a potential treatment for neurologic diseases, including Parkinson's disease (PD). 87% of patients were noted to exhibit an improvement in any PD symptom after starting medical cannabis. Symptoms with the highest incidence of improvement included cramping/dystonia, pain, spasticity, lack of appetite, dyskinesia, and tremor.

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That's it for this week :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Also don’t forget to reblog

#best news of last week

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grey-spark · 2 years

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What exactly is Headspace?

Is it a dream? An alternate universe? (TW: mental illness, spoilers)

In this post, I will be discussing a fictional phenomenon resulting from dissociative disorder that exists only in the OMORI universe. I want to impress two seemingly contradictory points:

1) Headspace is simply NOT possible in the real-life. 2) Headspace is still not a alternate universe, its just a dream.

Rather I would like to put forward a soft science fiction explanation using all the information we’ve been given about the topic.

Part 1: Headspace is NOT possible in the real life.

The true nature of Headspace is much close to that of a coma than secret universe. If a coma is sleeping, but longer. Then Headspace is dreaming, but longer. Headspace is not its own universe, just an extended dream that continues in the back of the patient’s mind during waking hours. We know this because whenever Sunny returns to the dream he find things have changed while he is awake. For example, when the Playground Kids enter Jawsum’s employment, and when Omori detains the Deep Well Creatures while Sunny is absent. Furthermore, Headspace creatures do not have sentience anymore than characters in our real-life dreams. Rather they are characters manufactured by the unconscious recesses of our minds. They only appear to have sentience, when in reality they are only puppets being manipulated by the sleeper’s mind. Headspace being only a dream would also explain why every world is tailor made to the individuals symbolic ideas. Much like real-life dreams, every part of Headspace has a symbolic meaning. And if it was just a fantasy world, locations and characters would be more generalized. However, all that being said, I have reason to believe Headspace Disorder has fictional traits that do not exist in real life. Those being:

Dream Stability

Dreams in real-life are very limited in scope and spatial awareness, and more importantly, remembrance is extremely limited. Dreams are not really like real places with clearly defined parameters and object permanence. In fact, most sleepers forget their dreams immediately. Headspace is nothing like this at all. Sunny is capable of maintaining an entire island, and remembering every chest he’s opened. Mr Outback even mentions this. Noting that Sunny has an unusually large world and a big imagination.

However, Sunny’s cognitive skill alone is not enough to change the nature of dreaming itself. Even if it was only a few areas, the level of stability and permanence of the Headspace dream is atypical of real-life dreams and therefore must have some fictional feature. Though it is important to note OMOCAT stated in an interview that only people with “big imaginations” are capable of having White Spaces. (We will be returning to that interview later) So having those skills make having the disease possible in for the “dreamer” but are not enough to make it possible in real-life.

Inter-Dream Communication

On the topic of Mr. Outback, he does indicate that Headspace is a shared phenomenon, and more importantly exhibits a self-awareness of his own place in these shared dreams. This is the main evidence people give for the alternate universe theory. After all, if Outback has a life outside of Sunny’s Headspace he must be an autonomous individual separate from him to some capacity. Outback goes further to even say that Headspace has existed since the beginning of time and even says he’s 33000 years old. An age that feels so oddly specific. Why not say he’s 1,000,000 years? or a billion? Why that age specifically? Outback’s age is roughly the same age as the Venuses of Willendorf, the oldest surviving pieces of human representational art. The oldest of which being only 4000 years off Outback’s stated age.

This means Headspace has been around for as long as Humans have been capable of creating representational art pieces/ stories.

Headspace has existed for a long time. And its a place people “visit”. But the question is, if multiple people can visit this place, does this imply that there can be cross communication between dreamers?

Yes. I think there is some evidence for this in Black Space, from the Stranger’s dialogue.

The Stranger in this conversation speaks with knowledge that only Basil himself would be privy to even saying “let my words reach you one last time” Implying this isn’t just some Headspace creature like the rest. It’s Basil. It’s the real basil speaking to Sunny through dreams.

Seriously just read these statements:

How does Sunny’s mind know Basil waited for him at all? How does it know Basil has things he wants to say to him?

Add the weird Mr. Outback stuff. Add the strange properties that are impossible in real-life dreams. Add OMOCATs comments, its all paints the picture that Headspace is not some run of the mill dream.

But is it really another world? Is it a dream or not?

Part 2: Headspace is likely not a alternate universe.

All of this seems incredibly magical. And by real-life standards it would be, but REAL WORLD is not the real world.

We already know the movie and videogame characters of real life don’t exist in Faraway Town or vice versa. Their world is like our world but slightly different. The biggest difference of all being Headspace. But what do we know about it for sure? Without further ado, lets see what OMOCAT has to say. Look at how they respond when asked about Basil’s White Space.

Notice how OMOCAT in this interview uses psychologically driven language like “mind” and “memory”

u/xDal-Lio - OMOCAT interview from Cydonia streaming translated in english

They even talk about it from “personal experience”, if that doesn’t ground it in reality, what will?

At this point I’d like to add that I use the term “Headspace” rather liberally, White Space is the foundation of Headspace, the latter cannot exist within an individual without the former. Think of White Space as the canvas and Headspace as the drawing. The OMOCAT states outright that “White Space is based on the ability of some people to completely isolate their minds when something traumatic happens”. This has lead many people to suspect that Headspace/White Space are not an alternate world but rather a symptom of Dissociation. Darly Talks has already done a full video on the topic and I would encourage everyone to watch it.

This theory of White Space being connected to Dissociation is almost confirmed. Based on OMOCAT’s interview above and some hints in the game (like Humphrey soundtrack H2O HLC being a nod to Dissociation) I think this should just be accepted as the foundational truth. However, Dissociation doesn’t explain everything; people in real-life experiencing dissociation don’t get to visit Headspace headspace overnight. The closest real life equivalent to Headspace would probably be “Lucid Dreaming” a phenomenon where a sleeper is able to control their own dream.

But Lucid Dreaming has no attachment to dissociation, but like Headspace is more adaptable to certain individuals rather than others. As stated in the interview above, some people can’t make a White Space. Perhaps at this point it would be premiant to build a profile of who is more likely to be “able to do it” in OMOCAT’s words. Based on what we can guess its probably:

Sunny, Basil and Hero

OMOCAT doesn’t outright state whether Basil has a White Space, but as stated before, Basil communicates to Sunny in his dream through Black Space, so I would conclude it more likely than not that he has one since his mind is stated to be the very source of Something’s existence. Hero on the other hand is a more dicey proposition, we know he was locked away in his room for almost a year based on Kel’s account. Something also of note is how Hero is the only Headspace party member to have a Black and White afraid emotion. He used to have it be purple in the 2018 demo, but they went out of their way to make sure it was black and white for the final release of the game.

The implication here, at the very least, is that Sunny understands that Hero has been effected by Mari’s death in a way close to his own. It also explains why he’s also the only character to get his own room in “The Docks” the deepest area of Black Space. (read my post explaining all the areas of Black Space for more info) But overall, the information we’ve been given is not enough to confirm where Hero had his own White Space. Its a coin flip. 50/50 whether he had one. But lets assume he’s more likely to have it than the others, this creates a profile of intelligence and creative individuals being the deciding factors of who gets a Headspace or not.

Part 3: Sunny’s Choices vs Default Headspace

So what does this all mean? What is Headspace? A Lovecraftian entity? Based on everything addressed thus far, I have reason to believe that Headspace is a medically explainable phenomenon within the OMORI universe, and within said universe the collective unconscious is a very real thing. Meaning Headspace is a shared dream that’s been ongoing since Humanity became sentient. This would explain Outback’s comments about his age and why so many people have access to it. Headspace is not another world, its a shared endless dream. One that will go on until humans die out, or maybe even after. Traumatic events and dissociation allow an individual to escape reality and set up a new Headspace on this collective foundation by hiding away “truths”. Keys appear in these locking them away. Outback talks about it in a way that implies Black Space and the keys are a baked in part of the White Space experience, one a repression of the other.

Lets consider what Daddy LongLegs has to say. He says, after White Space, sleepers will then have multiple dreams. Each dream being redefined as a “world” in this context. Like real-life dreams, Sunny did not make these worlds, his mind did, and LongLegs said he “stumbled through them”. All Sunny’s worlds used to be separated but then later where combined, probably by Sunny himself or even Omori. On the topic of Omori, another interesting take away is how LongLegs implies that there was a period of time Sunny was in control of the dream but then allowed Omori to take over later on.

This means that Omori himself, ironically, is the only part of the Headspace phenomenon that is actually unique to Sunny. Meaning that repressing one’s self is only optional, and entirely of Sunny’s own choosing.

It is unknown whether the inclusion of the “three great creatures” of Headspace was also Sunny’s doing, or if they are a defined part of everyone’s Headspace. The fact that they have defined roles, “Oldest, Wisest, Favorite” implies that it might be a set of characters different to everyone's Headspace, vaguely based on the Freudian Id, Ego and Super Ego. However its also mentioned they existed before Headspace, implying that they are imaginary friends that predated the creation of White Space and thus, might just be unique to Sunny, calling upon them to help him set up Headspace, giving them titles he just made up. But again, its uncertain. Since there is no evidence to Sunny having these imaginary friends refenced in Real World, not even mentioned in passing. So all of it is unclear. I could discuss the roles each member actually played in Sunny’s Headspace, but that is not relevant to the broader discussion here.

CONCLUSION

Headspace is a shared dream of humanity only accessible by imaginative individuals through dissociated dreaming. Every “Dreamer” starts with a White Space and Black Space and from there can explore other dreams all built on the bedrock of the shared dream, but the actual nature of the dream itself is built unconsciously by the mind and is different for every person. Older “Headspace creatures” or dream characters can move between individuals Headspaces at will, and even dreamers may do so to a certain extent. Optionally, Dreamers may choose to repress themselves and forget themselves entirely.

#omori #omori lore #omori analysis #omori character #omori hero #omori sunny #omori basil #omori abbi #omori humphrey #omori spoilers #omori headspace #omori mr outback #omori meta #big yellow cat

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breakodawnclub · 8 months

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1 Billion4Thriller and The Thriller 40 Challenge 2!

1Billion4Thriller

If you have been on Twitter or Instagram during Sept and October, y'all know it's that time of year again! It's time to celebrate Michael Jackson's epic accomplishments with the best-selling album of all time—Thriller! And I don't care what anyone says, Thriller is the official Halloween song!

Okay, so as you all know by now, and if ya don't, you will soon, lol! The MJ Fam is attempting to get Michael Jackson's amazing short film, Thriller, to 1 Billion views! So, Please stream the short film on YouTube as much as you can, but please watch other videos in between so you're not exhibiting bot behavior and for your views to count. However, to make things easier, you can also watch the following playlist on the flyer below! Just scan the QR code, and you are taken to the pre-made playlist!

The Thriller Challenge 2 (Starts this Friday, October 20th, 2023)

With the monumental success of Michael Jackson’s Album, “Thriller,” being the best-selling album of all time, the actual single, Thriller, has never reached #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart—and it’s by far that has changed! With the “Thriller Challenge 2,” MJ Fans the world over plan to get Michael Jackson’s single, Thriller, to #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart! We attempted this last year (albeit Thriller placed decently), but it didn't make it to #1, which is why we need more fans to participate! We can do this! So, please Stream and buy the single Thriller (only the song and not the album) as much as you can. Please only buy and stream the official album version of the song, which is on the original 1982 release of Thriller, Thriller 40, and Thriller 25—this is very important as all other versions do not count towards the Billboard for our goal!

While streaming Thriller, please do not loop the song—play 2 to 3 different songs by the J5, The Jackson’s, 3T, or other artists of your liking so that the streams are counted properly. And make sure the volume on your app is turned up. We understand listening to Thriller (though we love the song) a million times might be challenging; you can, therefore, turn your device volume down or mute it—but not on your app. Please keep the volume on the app itself turned up! This goes for when streaming on YouTube as well. For more tips on how to properly stream, please check out the following video:

youtube

P.S. Here is a pre-made #ThrillerChallenge playlist of mine that you can stream to make things easier! This is one of the playlists I created and used when I hosted one of last year's many streaming parties hosted by myself and many other wonderful DJs. (P.S. I still like—and am a Mystery DJ, but I like sharing with y'all here! Lol!) https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2HNr81pCxDGEcD4mUi7yeO?si=a81f5cd5ab184df5

Lastly, please participate in some of the Thriller Streaming Parties on the StationHead App if you can (there'll be many)! It's a great way to jam out to MJ, Janet, and the Jackson Families' music while chatting with fellow MJ Fam if you would like! However, You do not have to chat! Just come in and listen to the music. The reason why these streaming parties are so important is because for every listener a DJ has for the party, it counts as a stream for Thriller! So, say if a DJ has 100 listeners, then that's 100 streams for Thriller! It's that easy—and the guesswork has been taken out of creating a playlist. All ya gotta do is sit back and listen to the music. In order to hear the music and the DJs on StationHead, you must have a premium Spotify or Apple Music account! If you don't have one, please search the internet. There are always free trials floating around (just make sure they are legit). When the challenge is over, you can always cancel your membership if you no longer want the service.

For a complete listing of all the Thriller Streaming parties, please follow @AndJustice4Some on the X app (formerly known as Twitter.)

On Saturday, October 21st, from 7:00 p.m. to 11:55 p.m., I'll be hosting a Thriller Streaming party on the StationHead App! Please attend if you can! It's such an honor to get the chance to host a streaming party for the Thriller Challenge.

Please note: The #1Billion4Thriller and #TheThrillerChallenge2 events are not created by me. I'm just doing my due diligence as an MJ Fam and as one of the DJs for the Thriller Challenge, helping to get the information out!

In closing, today, the artist Drake has officially tied Michael Jackson as the male solo artist with the most No. 1 songs in Billboard Hot 100 History. Now, I'm not here to diss Drake, but let us be for real: the music that's being made today is not classic like many of MJ's and other legendary artists hit records. When Michael was selling millions of albums, there was no streaming; people had to actually go to the store (and sometimes stand in long lines) to support their fave! And if you ask me, there should be some distinction between physical sales and today's streaming—these are two different eras—it's unfair to compare the two. Today, with streaming being a click away, social media influence, and such—it's easier for artists to break records. I could make this post longer, but I'll chill as I do have a lot to say about this—but I'll save that for another post. At this point, it's all laughable. It's a skewed numbers game, and artistry is no longer at the forefront. At the end of the day, Michael's music will continue to be played millions and millions of years from now because Michael poured his heart and soul into his art while battling so many things. That being said, I hope this provides some extra motivation for to stream Michael Jackson's Thriller. Let's make Michael #1!

Blessings,

Midnight💜🌛

#MichaelJackson #ThrillerChallenge2 #Thriller #MJFam #Moonwalkers #KingofPop #Mj #StreamingParty #YouTube #StationHead #StreamThriller #Youtube

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360degreesasthecrowflies · 6 months

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London is a city that has always been deeply uneven, with plenty of cultural treasures to hide the poverty in the Tower Blocks and the underpasses. London is effectively the main of the UK economy, and everything is geared towards it. Hence it retains a degree of economic dynamism that allows a degree of optimism, after all there's always a new restaurant, new exhibition, new flagship store, new play. Sure most workers are dirt poor, living on mashed avocado, and hoping the landlord gets visited by 3 Ghosts at Christmas, but there's the dream of making it in the big city.

Outside the London bubble, large parts of the country are either in despair, or have totally given up. Roads, bridges, hospitals, and schools are crumbling. Police have almost disappeared outside traffic stops. Courts are backlogged, prisons overfilled & well past their designed lifespan. Companies face significant trade barriers with the EU. The water industry is essentially operating on leveraged debt and mostly owned by oversea's pension funds, whilst the infrastructure collapses and raw sewage is being pumped into the rivers/seas. Everyone is underpaid compared to the cost of living, but also compared to many comparable roles in other countries.

In the shires, the more well paid commuter class can still have a nice life, but they are feeling a sharp pinch. Holidays cut. Cars held on to much, much longer than before. Meals out being reduced. Optional extras like music or sports for the kids cancelled. Impulse purchases stopped. All of which sounds like "oh poor Emma can't get her daughter Lucinda piano lessons boo hoo" but think about the economic impact. That is money that would have gone to a piano teacher (usually self employed), to the coffee shop whilst Emma waits, to a music shop for music, perhaps a CD or concert tickets to something Lucinda played at a lesson. Then when Lucinda grows up instead of having a career in arts or entertainment, even at her local bar or church, she doesn't know how to play piano. So society as a whole has lost a musician, and Lucinda as a person flourishes slightly less. The UK arts sector is one of our biggest economic powerhouses, yet it is routinely ignored and hammered by the govt. Art & music are regarded as luxury items, despite contributing £1.6 billion to the annual economy (2021 at 5.6%). That's huge, bigger than the fishing industry which contributes £1.4 billion (2021 at 4%). Yet with rents sky rocketing, and school budgets in utter crisis, arts/music get dropped and creative talent has to switch to more routine jobs to survive. UK Musicians are dropped from EU events following the botched visa system, and international work is increasingly harder for them to get.

Outside the diminishing middle class, the real difficulty and poverty of the UK hits home. People are not sure whether the next rent payment or electricity will quite literally bankrupt them and leave them homeless. Wages are mostly static, with few rises outside a number of key sectors. Some areas have seen wage growth, but that has been concentrated in a small number of jobs (especially finance/management). The population is aging, and the care system is left almost entirely to private companies in a very disjointed, expensive manner. For most people the only credible hope of a financially better life is to inherit or to win the lottery or to commit crime. This is strikingly similar to the pattern seen in many developing world economies.

For example, I have worked in the public sector for 20 years. In that time I have trained, gained professional qualifications, led larger teams, upskilled on IT/project management and become more productive. Since my pay has been capped at a 0.5% rise, it is a real terms wage cut. So I've become more productive yet I'm paid less. Why should I 1) carry on trying to be more productive, & 2) stay in the job? Productivity increases from workers have to be linked to a personal reward, as well as a benefit to an employer or there's no point for the employee. Hence "quiet quitting".

So the UK is in the dire position of poor infrastructure, rampant poverty, and a population that no longer believes hard work or being productive will improve their own lives, only maintain their survival. This is not a recipe for a flourishing economy or nation. The worst thing is that the UK has started to lose hope that things can get better without a magical solution. Without at least some hope, we are doomed.

Saved via reddit from user 'AgeOfVictoriaPodcast' - as an excellent (if depressing!) summary of the UK's economy and society in 2023 / the 2020s / post Brexit

#uk politics #united kingdom #british politics #2020s #2023 #quotes #age of victoria podcast #uk society #quiet quitting #tory failures #failed state #uk #poverty #society #cost of living crisis

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sarahsmi13s · 1 year

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Lieutenant Rogers - pt 1

Call Sign ‘Star’

pairings: romantic!neil ‘omaha’ vikander x rogers!reader, platonic!dagger squad x rogers!reader, plantonic!sam wilson x rogers!reader, platonic!bucky barnes x rogers!reader

characters: y/n rogers, neil vikander, the entire dagger squad (admirals and captain included), penny benjamin, sam wilson, bucky barnes, james rhodes (this chapter only), john walker, lemar hoskins, misc. characters from both universes

warnings: language, blood, fighting, sexual inuendoes, john walker, cannon dangers, cannon deaths, suggestive themes, if i miss any please let me know

word count: ~3.2k

a/n: if you couldn’t already tell, i’m OBSESSED with crossovers. reader is the daughter of steve rogers, and has the super soldier serum as well

sources: Top Gun: Maverick (2022) , The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)

summary: 13 pilots were called back to Top Gun in 2023. at the same time, Lieutenant Rogers learns that her father’s shield was passed down to John Walker.

reader’s call sign: ‘star’

pt 2 pt 3 pt 4 pt 5 pt 6

**************

You stared at Sam from your spot leaning on your bar. “Say something.” “Why? Why do you want to give me the shield?” “Because you're his child, Y/N. It should belong to you.” You shook your head, “No, Sam, he gave it to you. It’s yours.” “Yes, which is why I am now giving it to you. If it’s mine I can do what I want with it.”

You rubbed your face, “Sam, I can’t take up the mantle. Dad wanted you to take it over, and I agree with him.” “Why can’t you take it?” “Because I'm on active duty, and the Navy is where I belong.” Sam hung his head.

“I can’t fill his shoes. This shield- it means something to so many people. Me included. But Steve gave it that meaning. I’m gonna let him down.” You sighed and pulled Sam out of his chair. “Sam, I won’t begin to understand why you feel that way. You could never let him down.” You hugged him, “He trusted you with it. And I do too. I know you’ll only do what you think is best.”

He hugged you back, sighing as he looked at the photo on your mantle in your house and the folded flag in its protective box. Sam wrapped his arms a little tighter around you before letting go.

“I’ll let you get back to getting ready. Have a good night Y/N.” He walked past you to the door. “Sam, wait!”

He stopped with his hand on the handle, “You sure you don’t want to stay? I’m sure Neil wouldn’t mind you staying for dinner.” He shook his head, “I’ve got plans tonight, but maybe some other time.” You nodded, “Okay. Call me if you need anything. Love ya Sam!” “Love you too kid!”

*************

When Sam told you that his plan was to turn the shield over to the museum for the Captain America exhibit, you weren’t happy. But you realized that this was what Sam thought was best, what he thought was right. You trusted Sam, so you supported him.

He asked you to be there at the ceremony, for support and reassurance. So, that’s what you did, with permission from your superiors of course.

Wearing your dress blues, you stood right next to Rhodey. “Lieutenant Rogers.” “Colonel Rhodes.” He sighed, “I’m not gonna lie, I’m surprised to see you here.” “Is that because I’m on active duty, or because of a more personal thing, sir?” He chuckled, “Bit of both.” You sighed, “I’m here to support Sam. I know he needs it from me. He sure as hell isn’t getting it from Bucky.”

“Has he even talked to Bucky since the funeral?” You shook your head, “I don’t think so.” “Have you?” “I’ve tried. I’m not sure he wants to talk to me.” Rhodey just nodded.

Sam stepped up to the podium, “Steve represented the best in all of us. Courageous, righteous, hopeful. And he mastered posing stoically.” The crowd chuckled. “The world has been forever changed. A few months ago, billions of people reappeared after five years away, sending the world into turmoil.”

Sam paused and tears burned the backs of your eyes. “We need new heroes. Ones suited for the times we’re in.” He looked at you and you gave him a reassuring smile.

“Symbols… are nothing without the men and women that give them meaning,” he nodded down to the shield. “And this thing,” he chuckled fondly and picked it up. “I don’t know if there’s ever been a greater symbol. But it’s more about the man who propped it up, and he’s gone.”

You exhaled shakily and looked down, your standard bun not allowing your hair to cover your face.

Sam looked at you before continuing, “So, today we honor Steve’s legacy. But also, we look to the future.” You looked up and made eye contact with Sam, him giving you a small smile; almost as if to say, You’re his legacy and you are the future.

He looked at the banner behind him. “So, thank you, Captain America. But this belongs to you…” You walked up to be beside Sam as they placed the shield in its display case. Cameras flashing everywhere. You both clinched your jaws.

To him, this was to honor Steve. But to you, this was like you were truly putting him to rest, and you really didn’t know how to feel.

Afterwards you, Rhodey, and Sam were talking with some government official (that’s literally what the IMDb says). “Thanks again for comin’ forward with the shield, Sam. It was the right decision.” They shook hands and he walked away, nodding to you as he left.

Your phone rang, “I’m sorry, I need to take this.” Both nodded and watched you walk away. “This is Lieutenant Rogers.” Out of the corner of your eye you saw Rhodey and Sam walk away.

“Star, I know you’re taking care of something personal, but I need you back on base as soon as possible.” You nodded, “Yes, sir. It should take me about four hours to get back.” “That’s alright, just get here.” “Yes sir.” You hung up and went to find Sam and Rhodey.

You walked into the exhibit, running into Rhodey making his way out. He noticed the rush you were in. “You get orders?” “Yeah. I need to be back on base as soon as possible.” He nodded, “He’s back there.” You followed his hand, seeing Sam by the shield display. “Thank you.”

You moved past Rhodey. “Hey, Star?” You straightened and turned around. “Whatever it is, give ‘em hell alright?” You nodded, “Of course, sir.” You saluted each other before you moved to Sam.

When you came up beside him, he spoke first.

“Thank you for being here, Y/N. I know this wasn’t what you were expecting me to do,” Sam said with his head hung between his shoulders. “I don’t think anyone was expecting it honestly.” He looked back up, looking at you before moving his eyes to the exhibit.

You sighed, swallowing the lump in your throat, “I’m needed back on base. I’ve gotta go.” Sam nodded and looked down at you, “You better get going, it’s a four hour drive.” You nodded as well and hugged Sam.

“Call me if you need anything,” he said once he pulled away, patting your shoulder. “Always do. Tell Sarah and the kids ‘hi’ for me okay?” “Of course.”

When you got back to base, you changed before meeting with your commanding officer, seeing Omaha and his WSO, Halo, there as well.

Once you were allowed in you stood at attention in front of his desk. “Sir, may I ask why you needed me back so urgently?” “You’ve all been called back to TOPGUN.” You looked down at him in surprise before looking at the two next to you. “Sir?” “I wasn’t informed of why, but you along with 10 others were called back. You’re due to report in two weeks to North Island.” You nodded, “Yes sir.”

Since you had moved to North Island after graduating TOPGUN five years ago, you and your boyfriend were allowed to move in early, to get a feel for the island again.

*******

A few days into your stay at the North Island you were watching TV while Omaha had gone to get groceries.

You had finished your beer and were getting up to get a new one, when a news broadcast took over the rerun you were watching.

“Unrest, in the wake of recent events, has left us vulnerable. Everyday Americans feel it. While we love heroes who put their lives on the line to defend Earth, we also need a hero to defend this country. We need a real person who embodies America’s greatest values. We need someone to inspire us again, someone who can be a symbol for all of us.” The man said.

You recognized him as the guy who was talking to Sam after his speech.

“So, on behalf of the Department of Defense and our Commander-in-Chief, it is with great honor that we announce here today that the United States of America has a new hero. Join me in welcoming your new Captain America!”

Your throat dried up as some guy walked out, carrying your father’s shield like it was a damn trophy. Your heart ripped in half. You could already tell this guy was bad news and when he winked at the camera, you nearly threw up.

Tears filled your eyes as you stared at the screen, even though it no longer portrayed the imposter.

You gasped when the bottle shattered in your hand, not even registering how hard you were holding it.

Robotically, you moved to the bathroom, cradling your hand to keep blood off the floor. Then moved routinely as you grabbed what you needed from the drawers and cabinets.

*********

When Neil came home he didn’t expect to see a shattered bottle followed by little droplets of blood on the living room floor and your phone ringing.

But he didn’t panic, instead he set the grocery bags down and went to your phone, seeing “Bird Boy” displayed as the caller ID. He just let it ring as he followed the little droplets to the closed bathroom door.

He looked down at your phone before knocking and saw Sam had called you a lot.

“Baby?” He knocked softly. “Y/N, are you okay? What happened?” When he was met with silence he tried the handle, finding it unlocked. “I’m coming in.” Omaha pushed the door open slowly.

You were sitting on the closed toilet seat with a cut up hand and your other hand slightly shaking with tweezers in it as a small pool of blood was gathering at your feet.

He squatted in front of you, “Doll? You with me?” He wasn’t sure what was going on, maybe you got hit with a bad flashback. But your nod told him it was something else.

He slowly took the tweezers from you, “Wanna tell me what happened?” You inhaled and clenched your jaw as he wiggled a bigger piece of glass out of your hand. “You don’t have to hide it from me…”

As you exhaled, a small sob escaped your throat, “They gave it to someone, Neil. They fucking replaced him, with some Wal-Mart looking asshole.” Omaha clenched his own jaw and exhaled, “I guess that’s why Sam has been trying to get ahold of you.” You nodded, wincing a little as he pulled out some more shards before disinfecting the cuts.

Your phone rang again, but he moved it out of your reach, “After we patch you up. Talk to me about how you feel.” You swallowed, “I want to go UA just to kick this guy’s ass, but I have to focus on this mission, whatever it is. I need to carry on the legacy of Captain America, shield or no shield.”

Omaha smiled and pressed a kiss to your now bandaged hand. “Plus, it’s not like the government cares what I have to say on the matter anyway,” you dryly chuckled, flexing your hand.

He pulled you off the toilet and into a hug, “That’s my girl.” You hummed and kissed his chest, where his dog tags were. “No, but seriously the guy looked like Carl from Up, I swear.” Omaha threw his head back and laughed, “Okay, come on now. How does steak sound?” “With your mom’s corn?” He kissed your nose, “Whatever you want, Star-light.” You giggled and kissed his lips.

Your phone ringing again made you pull away. “I should probably answer him before he flies up here.” Neil nodded, “I’ll get started.” He left to the kitchen and you took your phone to the back porch.

You answered the phone, “Sa-” “Did you see the news?” You sighed, “Yeah, I sure did Sam.” “God, I swear had I known they were gonna do that I would have never-” “Sam, Sam, I know. I know,” you cut him off. “Had I known they were gonna give it to someone I wouldn’t have let you. But Sam, I need you to be honest with me...” “Of course.” “I can’t be involved with this, not until this mission is over. Will you make sure this asshole doesn’t ruin my father’s image? Ruin his legacy?” “You have my word.” You nodded, “Good, good. I’ve gotta go, talk to you later.”

********** *1 Week Later*

Checking to make sure you had everything, you threw on your dad’s aviators and threw your hair into a ponytail. Getting the keys, you got on your bike and sped to the Hard Deck to meet your fellow pilots and boyfriend.

Walking in while sliding your sunglasses on your head, everyone right by the door turned and smiled at you, greeting you as you walked by. And of course you said ‘hello’ back but made minimal conversation as you went to the bar. You didn’t make a big deal out of your presence just yet and just looked around.

“Y/N Rogers, to what do I owe the pleasure?” You turned and smiled at Penny, “Hi Penny.” “Are you here for the same reason they’re here?” You nodded, “Yes ma’am.” She nodded, gesturing over her shoulder with her thumb, “Want the usual?” “Yes, please.” She nodded and went to get you an Angry Orchard.

Sure, the serum allowed you to hold your alcohol, you just preferred the cider.

When she came back she smiled, “Hey, don’t worry about this one. It’s on him. I’ll start yours on the next one.” You followed the direction she had nodded her head in, seeing a dark headed guy in a green jacket. You tilted your bottle in thanks and he gave a nod and small smile back.

You turned to the group of pilots at the pool table and decided to make your way over.

You walk over to see Hangman walk away and hear the conversation between Phoenix and Rooster. “Well, he hasn’t changed.” “Nope.” You just smirked and took a seat on the barstool by the pool table, nobody noticing you.

“Check it out,” Fanboy said as he walked over to Phoenix. “More patches.” You glanced around the pillar, seeing the group of 5 khaki clad aviators. Payback did a roll call, “That’s Harvard, Yale, Omaha… Shit, that’s Fritz.” You looked back over at the group in front of you. “What the hell kinda mission is this?” Fanboy asked.

You stood up, boots hitting the hardwood floor, “That’s not the question we should be asking.”

Everyone turned at the sound of your voice. You smirked a little and gestured to the group with the butt end of your bottle, “Everyone here is the best there is. Who the hell are they gonna get to teach us?”

“Star, that you?” You turned your head, seeing Bob, your best friend. “Robert Floyd, damn it’s good to see you.” You hugged him. “How’s Lemoore?” He shrugged giving you a small smile, “It was good when I left it. How are you holdin’ up?” Bob lowered his voice when he said that last part. You returned his previous smile, “Better than I thought I would be..”

“Well would you look at that? Thought the room looked a little brighter,” Hangman rested his arms on your shoulders and his chin on your head.

“Who’s ass you kiss to be here?” You gave Bob a smile before elbowing the Texan in the ribs. “No, Bagman it’s kick, not kiss, and I do believe you’re on the list.” He painfully chuckled, groaning as he stood up, “Still as pointy as every, Star.” You nodded, “Best believe it.” You winked before waving to Bob and going over to your boyfriend.

“Hey, Doll,” Omaha said when you walked up to him. “Hey, Baby.” He kissed the top of your head and threw his arm around you.

As you talked with Halo and Omaha, the music cut out and everyone groaned. But soon, piano notes floated into the air, their distinct sound floating over everyone’s voices.

Phoenix was the first to notice that it was Rooster at the piano and got everyone’s attention. “Hey, guys, come on.” You smiled and grabbed Neil’s hand to pull him with you.

Rooster was warming up his fingers when the bell rang. You turned and caught the same dark haired guy from before hanging his head, then everyone began chanting ‘overboard’.

Omaha winced, “Poor guy.” You chuckled and saw that Hangman, Payback, and Coyote were going over to throw him overboard.

Once he was thrown out, Rooster finally started the song.

You sang along, Neil spinning you around and laughing. “Imma tell the world that you’re mine, mine, mine!” You practically yelled in each other’s faces, but laughed before pulling each other into a kiss. You looked down and noticed that he didn’t have a drink. “Here, watch my drink, I’ll go get you one.” “You don’t have to,” he pulled you closer. “Yeah, but the bar isn’t occupied right now, it’ll only be a second.” He nodded, “Alright.”

You walked up and found Penny looking out the window. “You alright, Pen?” She blinked and nodded as she looked away from the door to you. “Uh, yeah, yeah I’m fine.”

You looked to where she was looking and saw once again the dark haired man, this time instead of smiling he looked like he wanted to puke. “Who’s that?” “Captain Pete Mitchell, or Maverick.”

Your eyes widened, “Wait, really?” Penny nodded. You looked at Pete and followed his eyes to Bradley at the piano, and you could put the pieces together. You saw your father with the same look every time he heard a song from his childhood and was reminded of Bucky.

You glanced back to see Omaha dancing with Fritz and you moved to go talk to Mav but he left before you could make it to the door. You sighed and turned back to Penny, who already had the bottle held out to you. “Thanks Pen.”

By the time you made it back over to your boyfriend, Rooster had finished the song and everyone was chanting his name.

**********

After it cooled down, you all regrouped at the pool table. “Star, I didn’t even see you come in! Holy shit, how have you been?” Rooster hugged you, rubbing your back. “Could be worse, all things considered. But how about you?” “Not too bad, not too bad at all.” You smiled and rubbed his shoulder.

He took a sip of his own drink before his brows shot up and he quickly swallowed it. “How are you and Omaha?” You smiled, a blush spreading across your face, “We’re good. We’re really good.” Bradley smiled and patted you on the back before going over to play Phoenix and Bob in a game of pool.

“Hey, Star-light,” Omaha said, and you could just hear the smile in his voice. “Hi, Baby.” “You wanna play a round of pool? Loser has to do whatever the winner says?” You hummed and raised an eyebrow, “You sure you wanna make that bet, Honey?” He hummed back, leaning down into your ear, “Win or lose, I feel it’ll be worth it.” Neil playfully nipped under your ear. “You’re on.”

*************

NEW SERIES ALERT!!!!

I hope you all enjoy this first part in my new cross over series

We’re in for a ride

How do you think the first day at training will go?

tags <3: @milesdickpic @luckyladycreator2 @hotch-meeeeeuppppp

<3 love ya babes

#omaha x reader #neil omaha vikander #rogers!reader #neil vikander x rogers!reader #lieutenant rogers #top gun maverick #marvel #marvel/top gun maverick #crossovers #dagger squad x reader #call sign: star #falcon and winter solider series #tfatws #john walker #captain america #steve rogers

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yvetteheiser · 2 months

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Yvette Heiser -How to go viral with your photography?

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#photography #yvette heiser #pictures #childphotography #camera #wedding

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thesunwillshineonusagain757 · 1 year

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𝗔𝗧𝗣 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣𝗦 𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗜𝗔𝗙 𝗔𝗨

𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗞𝗘𝗘𝗣 :

The Red Keep Championships, commonly known simply as Red Keep, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All Crownland Club in Red Keep, King's Landing, since 1877 and is played on outdoor grass courts, with retractable roofs over the two main courts since 2019. Red keep is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the others being the Braavos Open, Dornish Open, and Lys Open.

Red Keep is the only major still played on grass, the traditional tennis playing surface. Also, it is the only Grand Slam that retains a night-time curfew, though matches can now continue until 11.00 pm under the lights.

The tournament traditionally takes place over two weeks in late June and early July, starting on the last Monday in June and culminating with the Mixed Singles Finals, scheduled for the Saturday and Sunday at the end of the second week.

Five major events are held each year, with additional junior and invitational competitions also taking place. In 2009, Red Keep's Centre Court was fitted with a retractable roof to lessen the loss of playing time due to rain. A roof was operational over No. 1 Court from 2019, when a number of other improvements were made, including adding cushioned seating, a table and 10 independently operable cameras per court to capture the games.

Red Keep traditions include a strict all-white dress code for competitors, and royal patronage. Strawberries and cream are traditionally consumed at the tournament. Unlike other tournaments, advertising is minimal and low key from official suppliers such as Slazenger and Rolex. The relationship with Slazenger is the world's longest-running sporting sponsorship, providing balls for the tournament since 1902.

Inspired by : Wimbledon

𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗦 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 :

The Braavos Open is a tennis tournament held annually at House of Black and White Park in Braavos, Essos. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the Dornish Open, Red Keep, and the Lys Open.

The Braavos Open starts in the middle of January and continues for two weeks coinciding with the Braavosi Day holiday. It features mixed singles; men's, women's, and mixed doubles; junior's championships; and wheelchair, legends, and exhibition events. Before 1988, it was played on grass courts, but since then two types of hardcourt surfaces have been used: green-coloured Rebound Ace up to 2007 and blue Plexicushion since 2008.

First held in 1905 as the Bravosi championships, the Braavos Open has grown to become one of the biggest sporting events in the Essosi part of the globe. Nicknamed "the happy slam", the Braavos Open is the highest attended Grand Slam event, with more than 902,000 people attending the 2023 tournament.

It was also the first Grand Slam tournament to feature indoor play during wet weather or extreme heat with its three primary courts, Jaqen H'ghar Arena, Yorko Terys Arena and the refurbished Valar Morghulis Arena equipped with retractable roofs.

The Braavos Open is a major contributor to the Braavosi economy; the 2020 Braavos Open injected $387.7 million into the state's economy, while over the preceding decade the Braavos Open had contributed more than $2.71 billion in economic benefits to the Braavosi economy.

Inspired by : Australian open

𝗟𝗬𝗦 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 :

The Lys Open Tennis Championships is a hardcourt tennis tournament held annually in the Free City of Essos. Since 1987, the Lys Open has been chronologically the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the year. The other three, in chronological order, are the Braavos Open, Dornish Open and Red Keep.

The Lys Open starts on the last Monday of August and continues for two weeks, with the middle weekend coinciding with the Lys Labor Day holiday. The tournament is one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, originally known as the Lyseni National Championship, for which mixed singles and mixed doubles were first played in August 1881.

The tournament consists of five primary championships: mixed singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles. The tournament also includes events for senior, junior, and wheelchair players. Since 1978, the tournament has been played on acrylic hardcourts at the Lys Salladhor Saan National Tennis Center in Shayala's Dance, Bazanne Town, Doreah Queens, Myrmadora Haen City.

The Lys Open is owned and organised by the Lyseni Tennis Association , a non-profit organisation, and the chairperson of the Lys Open is Moreo Dagareon. Revenue from ticket sales, sponsorships, and television contracts is used to develop tennis in the Lys.

This tournament, from 1971 to 2021, employed standard tiebreakers (first to 7 points, win by 2) in every set of a singles match. Since the year of 2022, new tiebreak rules were initiated and standardised in the final set for all four Grand Slams. Thus, when a match reaches 6–all in the last possible set (the third for women and fifth for men), an extended tiebreaker (first to 10 points, win by 2) is played.

Inspired by : US Open

𝗗𝗢𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡:

The Dornish Open, also known as Nymeria of Ny Sar, is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Nymeria Martell in Sunspear, Dorne, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and venue are named after the Dornish aviator Nymeria of Ny Sar.

The Dornish Open is the premier clay court championship in the world and the only Grand Slam tournament currently held on this surface. It is chronologically the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments, occurring after the Braavos Open and before Red Keep and the Lys Open.

Until 1975, the Dornish Open was the only major tournament not played on grass. Between the seven rounds needed for a championship, the clay surface characteristics (slower pace, higher bounce), and the best-of-five-set mixed singles matches, the Dornish Open is widely regarded as the most physically demanding tennis tournament in the world.

The Dornish Open has been the only major played on clay courts since 1978, when the Lys Open changed to hard courts. Clay courts slow down the ball and produce a high bounce when compared with grass courts or hard courts. For this reason, clay courts take away some of the advantages of big servers and serve-and-volleyers, which makes it hard for these types of players to dominate on the surface.

On the other hand, players whose games are more suited to jumpier surfaces. In the Open Era, almost only male players who have won both the Dornish Open and Red Keep. Composition of the courts : 1. Red brick dust, 2. Crushed white limestone, 3. Clinker (coal residue), 4. Crushed gravel, 5. Drain rock.

Inspired by : French Open

𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡:

The Winterfell Open (also known as the Winterfell Masters, and currently branded as the Winterfell Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is a tennis tournament held at Hard Rock Stadium in Winterfell Gardens, Winterfell. It is part of the mixed ATP Tour Masters 1000 circuit, and part of the women's WTA 1000 circuit. The Winterfell Open is usually held between March and April.

The tournament had historically been held at the Tennis Center at Cregan Park in Winterfell town, Winterfell from 1987 through 2018, before moving to northern Gardens for 2019. Behind the Karhold Masters, it is the second event of the "Blizzard Double", a series of two consecutive hard court tournaments in the North at the beginning of the season. They are the only tournaments besides majors where main draw play extends beyond eight days.

Beside the four Major championships, the Winterfell Open is one of a small number of events on the ATP tour where the main singles draw (for the mixed, the men and the women) involves more than 64 players, and where main draw play extends beyond one week. 96 men and 96 women compete in the singles competition, and 32 teams compete in each of the doubles competitions with the event lasting 12 days.

In 2006, the tournament became the first event in the North to use Hawk-Eye to allow players to challenge close line calls. Players were allowed three challenges per set, with an additional challenge allowed for tiebreaks. The first challenge was made by Jon Connignton against Dacey Mormont in the first round.

Inspired by : Miami Open

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 :

The Vale Masters, also known as the The Arryn Open and The Sky-blue falcon Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Arryn Falcon Tennis Garden in Flanco Peak, in the Vale, in Westeros. The owner is Jon Arryn, executive chairman and co-founder of Oracle. The tournament director is former world No. 2 player Robin Arryn. The tournament is a Masters 1000 event on the mixed tour, men's tour and is a WTA 1000 event on the women's tour.

Between 1974 and 1976 it was a non-tour event and between 1977 and 1989 it was held as part of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour. The event is one of two tour events , other than the Majors, in which main draw play extends beyond eight days. The women's main draw and men's main draw usually starts on Wednesday and the mixed starts on Thursday. Both finals are held on Sunday of the following week. Both singles main draws include 96 players in a 128-player grid, with the 32 seeded players getting a bye (a free pass) to the second round.

The tournament is played on hardcourt and is the best-attended tennis tournament outside the four Grand Slam tournaments, it is often called the "fifth Grand Slam". It has the second-largest permanent tennis stadium in the world, behind Dragonstone's Aegon Targaryen Stadium.

Inspired by : Indian Wells Masters

𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦:

The High Garden Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Loras-Cap-Tyrell, High Garden, France, a commune that borders on Dorne. The event is part of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour. The tournament is played on clay courts and is held every year in the April–May period.

The High Garden tennis championship was first held in 1897. It became an "Open" event in 1969. From 1970 through 1973 and from 1976 through 1989 it was a major tournament of the Grand Prix Tour. In 1973 the tournament was part of the Rothmans Spring Mediterranean Circuit. From 1974 through 1977 the tournament was part of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) circuit. In 1990 it became an ATP Championship Series Single Week tennis event.

Beginning in 2009, High garden became the only Masters 1000 tournament not to have a mandatory player commitment. Most of the top players still elect to play the event despite this status.Lyanna won the title eight consecutive times between 2005 and 2012, making him the only player to win eight consecutive titles at the same tournament. In 2017, contesting his 11th final against Oberyn Martell, she won the title for an Open Era record 10th time. The following year, Lyanna improved this record to 11 wins in a final against .

Inspired by : Monte-Carlo Masters

𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗙𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡:

The Starfall Open, currently sponsored by Torentine Starfall and known as the Torentine Starfall Open, is a joint mixed, men's and women's professional tennis tournament, held in Starfall, during early May.

The clay-court event is classified as an ATP Tour Masters 1000 on the ATP Tour and a WTA 1000 event on the WTA Tour. In the past, it has also been known as the Starfall Masters. The tournament is traditionally played on a red clay surface. The event was played on blue courts in the 2012 tournament edition, with the ATP deciding against blue thereafter.

It was proposed and implemented in 2012 a new colour of blue clay for all the courts' surfaces, motivating that it would supposedly be better visually, especially for viewers on television (analogous to some hard court surface events migrating to blue from various previous colour schemes).

Some speculated that the adaptation of blue colour was a nod to the titular sponsor of the tournament, the Dornish insurance giant Torentine Starfall. This controversial change was subsequently granted and began to be used in the 2012 edition of the tournament. In 2009 one of the outer tennis courts had already been made of the new surface for the players to test it. The Open's director had assured that aside from the colour, the surface kept the same properties as the traditional red clay.

Inspired by : Madrid Open

𝗞𝗔𝗥𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 :

The Karhold Open is a mixed tennis tournament held in Karhold, located along a forested river in the eastern half of the north, south of the Bay of Seals, in the North. Held since 1993, the event is played on four outdoor grass courts and is a part of the ATP Tour 500 series on the ATP Tour schedule.

Between 1993 and 2018 it was sponsored by Karlon Stark. It was sponsored by Karstark & Co from 2019 to 2021. In December 2021, a change of primary sponsor and name was announced. For the years 2022 and 2023, the tournament will be known as the Karhold Open.

The Karhold Open is held at the same time as the Kings of North Club Championships, and the two are seen as the primary warm-up tournaments for the Winterfell Grand Slam tournament, also on grass courts, which begins towards the end of June. The event was upgraded in 2015 from a 250 series to a 500 series tournament.

The Centre Court (the Karlon Stark, Stadion) has 12,300 seats and a retractable roof which can be closed in 88 seconds so that tennis matches can continue with a closed roof when it begins to rain. The stadium is heated and also used for other sport events (handball, basketball, volleyball and boxing) and concerts.

Inspired by : Halle Open

𝗠𝗘𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦:

The Meereen Masters, originally called the Essosi International Championships, is a tennis tournament held in the Free City, Essos. It is one of the most important clay tennis tournaments in the world with the mixed competition being an ATP Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour, and the women's competition being a WTA 1000 event on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour.

The two events were combined in 2011. The tournament is played on clay courts, currently during the second week of May. The event is also known as the "Meereen Masters" for male edition, as well as the sponsored name "Koshlōgor hen Mīrīn". Lyanna Stark has won the mixed singles title a record ten times.

The Meereenese tennis championship was first held in 1930 in centre Meereen at the Tennis Club and was initiated by Queen Daenerys Jelmāzmo. The singles events at the tournament were won by Belaquo Bonebreaker and Barsena Blackhair. The championships were held in centre Meereen until 1934.

The Meereen Open became "open" to professional players in 1969. Between 1972 and 1989 it was a premier tournament of the Grand Prix Tennis Tour and was part of the Grand Prix Super Series top tier events. In 1990 it became an ATP Championship Series Single Week tournament, which included the nine most prestigious tournaments of the preceding Grand Prix tennis circuit. It has remained part of this category of events until today, that has changed names several times since, to be now known as the ATP Tour Masters 1000 events.

Inspired by : Rome Masters

𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡:

The Casterly Open, also known as the Casterly Open presented by Lannister for sponsorship reasons, is a tennis event on the ATP Tour and former WTA International Tournaments event. The tournament is played on outdoor clay courts at the Jockey Club Casterly in Casterly, Westernlands. It is the only ATP Tour 500 event in Westernland and the only ATP Tour event in Westeros.

The tournament takes place at the end of February and organises a mixed, men's and women's event. The tournament takes place under the patronage of the Casterly Rock foundation In 2001 the ATP upgraded the tournament from an ATP 250 level to a more prestigious ATP 500 level tournament.

On the WTA Tour, it alternates yearly between a WTA 1000 level tournament and a WTA 500 level tournament. Prior to the 1990s there was an annual Casterly Tennis Championship played at the Top of the Rock, in the Casterly Rock Palace Club.

The Casterly Tennis Championships was the third tournament in pro tennis history to award equal prize money for both men and women, before the mixed era.

Inspired by : Dubai Open and Rio Open

𝗔𝗧𝗣 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗦:

The ATP Finals (until 2008 Tennis Masters Cup and until 2017 ATP World Tour Finals) is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season involving the eight highest ranked players in the ATP world tennis rankings. A doubles version is also played, involving the top 8 doubles players of the season.

Unlike the other events of the mixed and men's season, the ATP Finals is not a direct elimination tournament. The eight tennis players/doubles are split into two groups of four, and each tennis player/doubles player plays against the other three in their group. Then, the two players/doubles with the best results from each group move on to the semi-finals, and the winners of the semi-finals meet in the final to determine the champion.

The ATP Finals is considered the fifth most prestigious event on the mixed, men's and women's circuit, after the four Grand Slam tournaments. It is usually held in Riverrun but it has been also known to be held in Harrenhal.

In the 2009 season the name of the tournament changed from Tennis Masters Cup to ATP World Tour Finals and in 2018, such name changed to just ATP Finals. Tennis players Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark are the tournament's biggest singles champions, both with 6 wins.

Inspired by : ATP Finals

𝗬𝗜𝗧𝗜 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 :

The Yiti Masters ( also known as Yiti Rolex Masters for sponsorship reasons) is a professional mixed tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, and held annually in early October at the Amethyst Empress Forest Sports City Arena in the Han District of YIti. The tournament is chronologically the eighth out of nine ATP Tour Masters 1000 events on the ATP Tour, it was the first to be played in eastern Essos.

Inspired by : Shanghai Masters

𝗬𝗨𝗡𝗞𝗔𝗜 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 :

The mixed Yunkai Open (sponsored by Skistar) is an ATP Tour 250 tennis tournament on the ATP Tour held in Center Yunkai, Yunkai in July, it's a challenger-level tournament. It is played on outdoor clay courts, something to note is that the winners of the Yunkai open will be crowned king or queen of the city and will be taken to the top of the biggest pyramid in the city and enjoy a day of being " royalty", after their win.

Inspired by : Swedish Open

𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 :

The Lannisport Open (sponsored since 2022 by Hugo Boss and called BOSS Open) is an ATP Tour 250 series professional tennis tournament on the ATP Tour. Between 1970 and 1989, the Lannisport Open was a Grand Prix tennis circuit event. From 1990 to 1999, the Lannisport Open was an ATP Championship Series tournament. The Championship Series name was changed to ATP International Series Gold in 2000, and the Lannisport Open was a part of this series from 2000–2001 and 2003–2008. In 2002, the Lannisport Open was briefly demoted for one year to ATP International Series status, which was renamed to the ATP Tour 250 in 2009, and it has retained the classification ever since.

Inspired by : Stuttgart Open

𝗡𝗔𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗜 𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗦 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡:

The Naath Essos Open (formerly Naath Open Tennis Championships) is an annual tennis tournament for professional players held in Naath, Isle of Butterflies and part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour. Before 2021, it is a mixed event. The tournament is played on outdoor clay courts at the tennis centre Missandei Starheart in the Naarthi quarter. For much of its history, the tournament was contested in May, as a precursor to the Dornish Open on the professional tennis calendar. Starting with the 2009 tournament, it has been held in July instead.

Inspired by : Hamburg European Open

𝗣𝗬𝗞𝗘 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 :

The Pyke Open (currently sponsored by Erste Bank and called the Erste Bank Open) is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. Originally an event of the Grand Prix tennis circuit (1974–1989), it is currently part of the ATP World Tour 500 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour. It has been held annually at the Balon Greyjoy Club, in Pyke, Iron Islands, since 1974.

Iron Island's most successful tennis player, Victarion Greyjoy, never won the Pyke Open, but was a runner-up on three occasions (1988, 1993, 1995), and a semi-finalist on another four occasions (1987, 1989, 1990, 1994). Four Iron Island players have won the singles title at the Pyke Open: Vickon Greyjoy in 1988, Goren Greyjoy in 2009, Dagon Codd in 2010, and Caoimhe Stonetree in 2019.

Inspired by : Vienna Open

𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡:

The DragonStone Championships is a professional tennis tournament on the ATP Tour. Classified as an ATP 250 tournament, the event is annually held at the outdoor grass courts of Dragonstone Country Club in Sant Aegon, Dragonstone, Crowlands in June, a week prior to the Red Keep Championships.

Inspired by : Mallorca Open

𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗛𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖:

The Harrenhal Classic: (currently sponsored by Rothesay Pensions) is a 250-level previously women only but now mixed tennis tournament on the mixed Tour held at the Harrenhal Priory Club in Harrenhal, Crownlads, Westeros. Held at this location since 1982, the tournament is played on outdoor grass courts. It is seen as a warm up tournament for the Red Keep.

Inspired by : Birmingham Classic

𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡:

The Dreadfort Open was originally known as the Dreadfort Championships or Dreadfort Lawn Tennis Tournament (1887–1967), is a tennis tournament for mixed, men's and women's held in Dreadfort, North, played on outdoor grass courts at the Dreadfort Tennis Centre. After being discontinued in 2008, it was downgraded in 2011 to ATP Mixed Challenger Tour and ITF Women's Circuit. briefly re-established as an ATP World Tour 250 event on the men's tour in 2015 and 2016, before returning to a Challenger event in 2017, and since 2015 it has been an international event on the women's tour. The tournament is held in June as a "warm-up" for the Red Keep.

Inspired by : Nottingham Open

@aemontargaryen-bloodraven

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the-badger-mole · 1 year

Text

Black Friday Bonus! Black History Month 2: Electric Boogaloo!

I know, I know, it's March, and Black History Month is over. HOWEVER a lot of people might not realize that today is also an important day in Black history. Today, March 1, is the day that I was born! So, since it's my birthday, I am declaring it part of Black History Month.

Anyway, look at this guy.

This guy right here ^^^

If you had a great childhood, and one of your favorite parts of the summer was having a water war with your friends, then you owe this guy, Dr. Lonnie Johnson, a huge debt of gratitude.

Born in 1949 in Mobile, AL, Lonnie Johnson was the son of a nurse's assistant and a WWII veteran. At a young age, his scientific interest was sparked when his father taught him the basics of electricity. He quickly gained a reputation in his family and among his neighbors for his curiosity and penchant for "tinkering". As a teenager, he attended Williamson High School, an all-black high school in Mobile. In 1968, Lonnie would go on to represent his school in a science fair, where he was the only black student exhibiting. He would ultimately take first place for his entry, a robot powered by compressed air.

That's not why you owe him for your childhood, although, come on! That is really cool!

After graduating high school, he went on to earn his BS in mechanical engineering, a Master's in nuclear engineering,and later an honorary PhD from Tuskegee University (an HBCU). He then went on to the Air Force, where he worked as part of the stealth bomber program, and from there he hired into NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. ...No, this isn't another astronaut (although, he did help get the Galileo mission to Jupiter off the ground...lol!) and was an engineer on the Mariner Mark ll Spacecraft series for the Comet Rendezvous and Saturn Orbiter Probe missions.

All of that is really cool, and would be an insane career for just about anyone else. Still, everything he did before or since pales in comparison to his greatest invention. In 1989, Dr. Lonnie Johnson blessed the world with the Super Soaker.

The Super Soaker (originally the Power Drencher), like most great inventions, was born by accident. Dr. Johnson was working on an environmentally friendly heat pump when, I can only assume, his hand slipped and he drenched some hapless co-worker in an insane amount of water, starting what I hope was an epic water fight in a NASA lab. I don't know for sure that's how it happened, but it seems plausible. What truly did happen is that the Super Soaker became popular almost immediately, and from it's first appearance on toy shelves in 1990, it has a remained a summertime staple for kids of all ages. Then Dr. Johnson when and did it again when he modified his Super Soaker design and gave us what would go on to become the grandfather of the Nerf-n-Strike line.

In 2013, Hasbro- the distributor of the Super Soaker- had to get regulated when Dr. Johnson discovered that they had underpaid him his royalties for the Super Soaker and a few of the Nerf toys. They settled with him in November of that year for $73 million dollars, which sounds like (and honestly is) a stupid amount of money. But considering that Dr. Johnson's inventions has earned Hasbro over $1 billion, they got off very cheaply.

I really hope you've enjoyed these post over the last month. It's been a pleasure for me to introduce you to some figures from Black history that you might not have heard of before. That's all I have for now, but if you learned something new this month, please let me know!

#dr. lonnie johnson #possibly the greatest inventor of our time #summertime hero #black history month #happy black history month!#black history month spotlight friday #black friday #THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!

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yama-bato · 2 years

Photo

Sean McFarland

1. https://www.all-about-photo.com/photo-events/photo-exhibition/1547/4-5-billion-years-a-lifetime-sean-mcfarland

2. https://ro.pinterest.com/pin/743656957208348619/

Untitled (4.5 billion years a lifetime, clouds #1), 2019

#Sean McFarland

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olderthannetfic · 2 years

Note

post/692135292953624576: what OTNF is talking about isn’t an *essential* part of gender or biology. What she is talking about is basically how a child is trained/encouraged to behave generally. And society does differentiate between how AMAB and AFAB children are expected to behave. Undoing all that baggage and differentiating between “I want to be this kind of person” and “I do this because I was taught to” is a lifetime effort. It doesn’t make someone less a man or woman to not have the 1/2.

post/692135292953624576: training as other men or women. (And NB folx also have complicated relationships with it). And there are cis men and cis women who don’t exhibit the expected behaviours (frequently they are subjected to mocking by society). TL:DR OTNF is talking about nonessential, socially imposed differences in how we raise children based on how we perceive their gender and how that influences their adult life. NOT “men are this by definition” vs “women are this by definition.” 2/2

Well said.

And I specifically would not use 'masculine' or 'feminine' or any terminology like that because the traits I'm thinking of most are some fairly invisible ones that aren't the stereotypical masculine/feminine ones.

Let's talk about a specific practical example to illustrate:

You might stereotype women as "nurturing", but you probably don't stereotype them as "better planners".

One area I've noticed a lot of trans women struggling in is the kind of gendered expectations and behavior outlined in that feminist comic You Should've Asked.

Part of being socialized female is being asked to take on an unfair burden. An adult is rarely interested in taking on this burden consciously and all at once. Even if they were willing, their ability to quickly absorb all that teaching is not great. A lot of the trans women I've known are understandably annoyed when a bunch of expectations slap them out of nowhere and those expectations seem shitty, boring, and hard. They often push back because it's "unfair", not realizing that the cis woman they're talking to has already been doing all this work.

What they don't realize is that this burden is part of passing. Not jumping in to shoulder the mental load pre-emptively and unconsciously makes you read as other in a lot of cis woman-centric social spaces. It makes you less comfortable to be around. Specifically, being socialized female means having an unconscious impulse to jump in and do certain things that is hard to stop yourself from acting on. When a group is only people who are like this, no one is taken advantage of. When anybody who does not participate enters the space, they start taking an unfair chunk of the attention/time/free labor from other members. The immediate unconscious instinct for self preservation says to get rid of the person hogging the resources. That person may have no idea or actively not want this to be the case, but since it involves everybody's bad unconscious behaviors, it is very, very difficult to put a stop to even if everyone knows what's going on and is working on the problem.

So on top of whatever transphobia and other issues a trans woman faces going into a space full of cis women, she may also come across as a boor simply because she hasn't been socialized the same way through no fault of her own. Trans men and other AFAB trans people, meanwhile, usually give off the same unconscious cues and fit in more smoothly.

Sure, not every individual, but I've seen this pattern constantly in nerd spaces among people I personally know, and I'm not talking just one or two examples either. I think it's particularly stark for rich, white trans women who previously appeared to be cishet white men at the top of the heap with few of these kinds of social expectations thrust upon them. Times a billion if they were socially awkward in the first place and society let them get away with not painfully learning things they're bad at because they passed as a man. They may have been personally kicked around by life and treated like shit for not being masculine enough or been secretly internally tortured by the ill-fitting role they were trying to play, but institutional problems haven't really hit them until now. The struggles of female socialization have often been fairly invisible to them.

I very, very persistently see this pattern where trans women are now rejected by their former supposed peers, but whatever group they'd theoretically join that's more woman-heavy also rejects them for giving off unfamiliar social cues. (And yes, sometimes transphobia, but it's not always and only that.) It's sad and it sucks, but it's not entirely on this new group for failing to recognize them as women.

I'm sure similar things happen in the other direction to trans men, but I don't tend to personally observe them.

Anyway, the point is that Contrapoints and other such women can come off as abrasive or odd to a community that runs on socialized-female social norms. Our desire to be inclusive and respect people's actual genders is a good thing, but it can make us nervous about discussing how often this kind of rejection happens and why because the minute you do, people start wondering if you too are a shitty TERF. I don't mind people sending me asks asking for clarification. Being nervous makes sense because the world is absolutely full of transphobic messages. I'm just saying it's tricky to discuss because of this.

I've seen some criticism of Contrapoints that was actually relevant to her, but a hell of a lot of it is basically "She reads wrong, and it makes me uncomfortable".

IDK if I'd like Contrapoints as a friend in person. I love her as a youtuber, but I think that, in person, her social patterns and the milieu that she clearly comes out of would not mesh well with my social circles and the experience of growing up AMAB vs. AFAB is why.

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fantaseawriting · 2 years

Text

The Ghost Part 1

Lloyd Hansen x reader

The first part is in third person as it’s Lloyd’s point of view, the rest won’t be. This will be dark.

Triggers: this part has none. The next will include: kidnapping. Dub con non con. Choking. Slapping. Spanking. Degradation. Bondage. Unprotected sex. PIV sex. Anal sex. Oral sex (both male and female receiving). Forced orgasm. Forced submission. More trigger will be added as I write.

IF YOU DONT LIKE ANY OF THOSE PLEASE DONT READ.

18+. MINORS DNI.

Llyod stared at the screens in front of him, analyzing every piece of data he could find. He had been tasked with finding the ‘Ghost’. At least that is the code name the government had given the thief that had stolen more than a quarter billion in jewels world wide. The name wasn’t anything very clever. It was given to the thief due to the fact no one knew anything about them. How they stole the gems, when it happened or what the thief looked like. The Ghost had stumped agencies worldwide. Every crime happened in broad daylight, in crowded rooms with tons of security and cameras. Yet not once was anyone able to pinpoint who took the jewels. Each incident had a small commotion that distracted the guards, and then poof. The jewelers in question were gone. It wasn’t only jewels the thief stole though. No, the Ghost had started dipping their sticky little fingers where they didn’t belong. Llyod had no interest in helping the government find a little thief. Not until said little thief got in his way not just once, but three times now.

The first was during a jewelers sale his company had been paid to provide security for. The jewelers disappeared right under their noses and no one could explain what happened to him. The second was an art piece being sold at a private auction that one of his clients had hired his company to steal. Only the ghost stole it first. The last time was the icing on the cake that sealed the deal for him agreeing to hunt down the ‘Ghost’. An antique ring, with some long lost rumors of it being connected to some ancient buried treasure. Llyod had bought it as a joke at an auction years ago. His own private joke and graduation gift to himself. It sat in a box in a drawer in his closet, along with the other random pieces of jewelers he owned. He had gone into that drawer to grab some cufflinks, and only happened to notice the box’s position was slightly off from how he left it. When he opened the box, the ring was gone, in its place a small ghost charm, something the ‘Ghost’ had started leaving as a signature to mock those hunting them.

Llyod lost his mind at that. Nearly destroying everything in his room from the rage he felt. He immediately called and told them he would take the job. Open checkbook, no limit to find the ghost that was haunting them all. That was three weeks ago. Three weeks of digging up everything he could on the thief, with nothing to show for it. He was no closer to catching the thief that broke into his home now than he had been a month ago. He was going mad with rage. He had started killing anyone that came to report to him that once again they had nothing. He had been watching the security footage from every single robbery for hours. Nothing popped. None of the facial recognition software identified the same person being at two of the robberies, let alone all of them. No one pinged for height and gate matches either. He was quickly coming to the conclusion he wasn’t going to get anything off the footage. If he couldn’t get answers from the past, he would get them from the future. Set something as bait and wait for the ghost to strike.

——————————————————————————

The museum was crowded, full of rich people dressed to the nines, walking around looking at old jewelry while classical music played. One, tucked away towards the back of the exhibit, was the bait. A necklace that once belonged to a queen, made of diamonds and rubies. Worth nearly ten million dollars. Llyod picked the necklace himself from a line up of other jewelry pieces. From what he had learned, it was the perfect bait for the ghost, matching perfectly with previously stolen items. Shiny and expensive. It was one of many pieces of jewelry in the exhibit, all necklaces from some long dead royal or another. The exhibit had been up for a week, Llyod and his staff monitoring it constantly. He was getting antsy. The ghost needed to strike already.

He stood leaning against one of the railings of the overlook from the second floor to the first, where the necklace was. He preferred a high ground vantage point, hoping to be able to pick out the ghost from the crowd. A week of people watching had him on edge and furious. He believed his plan would work, but if the ghost didn’t show up soon he would be made a fool off.

“You look awful tense for someone at a jewelry exhibit.” A voice came from behind him. He turned to see the woman, her hair neatly styled to frame her face, her eyes twinkling in the light as she approached him, a flute of champagne in her hands. He turned back to watching the people below.

“I'm working.” Was all he said, hoping to dismiss the woman.

“And your work requires you to stand there scowling at everyone below?” She asked, a hint of amusement in her voice as she came to stand beside him, looking at the exhibit below. Llyod turned to look at her again, taking her in from head to toe. His gaze lingered on her breast, and the cleavage the gown she wore revealed. Right above she wore a necklace of sparkling diamonds and aquamarines. Expensive, but not overly so. Her gown complimented her skin and body, the perfect color and shade for her. She clearly had some money, but nothing screamed designer, so he doubted she was one of the many heiresses fluttering about the room. The fact that she approached him, yet her gaze remained on the exhibits below both intrigued and infuriated him.

“No, it doesn’t. That’s just a perk.” He answered her, turning towards her as he stepped closer. “What brings you here? You don’t scream entitled heiress.” The laugh that followed his words was almost magical, sending a rush straight to his groin as her twinkling eyes met his. Maybe the ghost not showing for another day wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Not if he had something else to take his frustrations out on.

“No. Not an heiress. I'm also here for work. Though something tells me its different from yours.” Her words were followed with a dazzling smile as she turned towards him. He took the opportunity to step even closer to her, only stopping when her hand that wasn’t holding champagne came to rest on his chest, right above the pocket of his suit.

“And what makes you say that?” He asked, a hand going to her hip.

“You don’t exactly strike me as a historian.” She responded, which caused him to smirk. He leaned down, the hair of his mustache tickling her face as he whispered in her ear.

“No, not a historian. But I could teach you a thing or two.” The hand he had on her hip slid to grab her ass as he spoke. She let out a scoff, using her hand on his chest as leverage to push back from him, which she allowed.

“I doubt that.” She said with an eye roll, sipping her champagne as she returned her gaze to the exhibits below.

“Playing hard to get doesn’t work when you approached me.” Llyod said, coming to stand behind her, pushing her forward into the rail as he caged her there with his arms on either side.

“I approached you because you were standing in the spot with one of the best views of the exhibits below. You can see nearly every exhibit, and its wasted on someone who is merely using it to scowl at everyone else in the building.” She stated.

“Not one of. The best view. It’s why I chose it, sunshine.” She scoffed at the pet name he gave her. Damn he loved when they played hard to get.

“We can agree to disagree then.” She said, attempting to wiggle out of his grasp, which only caused him to chuckle as he stepped flush against her, his tall frame dwarfing hers as she felt something hard pressing into her lower back. He gazed down at her, his view from over her shoulder allowing him to see down her dress and get a better eye full of her breasts.

“You’re right, sunshine, I think I found a better view.” He said, his voice low as his hands left the rail on either side of her to caress her sides. She used the opportunity to sidestep him in an attempt to flee. It mostly worked, only a hand on her elbow stopping her escape.

“I meant a view that would allow me to see the three exhibits that are below us.” She said indignantly. “They may be considered lower value but they still have a rich history and deserve to be admired.” She attempted to pull her arm from his grasp, but it was futile, his grip held firm to the point she was almost certain her arm would bruise.

“Why stare at those when you have such an array of beautiful specimens right here?” His tone told her his words had a double meaning.

“Clearly, we won't agree on this. Now if you would please-“ Her words were caught off by a commotion below them. His eyes flickered to the floor below as he saw his men rushing to the area below where he stood. He pulled her close, grabbing her chin to force her to look at him.

“Stay put, sunshine. I'll see you shortly.” He said, before letting her go and rushing downstairs. As he went, he heard the words,

“Very doubtful, Llyod.” But was more focused on the commotion below to process them. Once he reached the area of the commotion, he saw his men escorting out two gentlemen. He was informed they got into an argument that escalated, but it had nothing to do with the ghost. It was then the mystery woman’s words processed in his head. Very doubtful, Llyod. He had never told her his name. Fury rushed through his veins as he made his way back towards the stairs, stopping when his eyes hit the three exhibits he couldn’t see above, one necklace in particular. Diamonds and aquamarines. A dead ringer for what the woman was wearing.

“Lock everything down. No one leaves.” Llyod ordered furiously through his comms, and his team immediately went to work locking down the building as he headed up the stairs, his eyes scanning the crowd for the woman, who was nowhere to be found.

“Llyod what is the meaning of this? We can’t just lock all these people in here.” Brewer said, approaching him with a pissed off look on her face.

“The ghost was here. She was fucking right here!” He all but screamed, causing quite a few people to stare. He ignored it as he made his way back down to the exhibits alone. “Get the curator and have him check that necklace. Confirm its real.” His men rushed to complete his orders, pulling the necklace and a shaken curator into the side room.

“Llyod start explaining yourself or so help me-“ As Suzanne looked at Llyod an object in his suit pocket, nestled on the pocket square that rested there, caught her attention. “What is that?” Llyod looked down, grabbing the object once he saw it. He held up the little charm. A ghost made of what appeared to be diamond and gold, the only difference from the rest being this one had a winking face and its tongue sticking out, as if mocking him. And it was mocking him.

“Son of a BITCH.” Llyod yelled, smashing the exhibit nearest to him. Just then one of his men came out of the side room, confirming the necklace in the exhibit was a fake.

“Fuck.” Suzanne whispered, realization dawning. “Check them all.” She ordered.

“No one, and I mean no one leaves this building until I’ve found her.” Llyod ordered, making his way through the crowd. Only he didn’t find her, she was already gone. And every single necklace in the exhibit turned out to be a fake. The crowning jewel was each and every fake had a microscopic ghost etched into the fake jewels, another taunt.

Llyod once again stood in front of the screens in his base office, watching the footage of the event. When he went downstairs, she casually left the event as if she didn’t have a care in the world. He had a dozen stills of her pulled up and zoomed in. She may have fooled them all, humiliating both him and the CIA that night. But now he had her. He new what she looked like. And soon enough, he would know everything about her. And then the minx would have hell to pay.

#lloyd hansen #reader #lloyd hansen x reader #dark romance #no minors #part 1 #kidnapping #the grey man #chris evans #dark

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