#members of the expert panel
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Top 3 companions for advice in Inquisition go Cole (almost always very good advice when he has it, but not very big-picture encompassing & sadly at least semi-frequently a triple threat). Solas (almost always good opinions except about the Qunari [makes sense considering his history at least tho], and the Wardens [literally no clue here like did they steal your girl???]), Blackwall (usually good opinions but often held less strongly than the other two, & less likely to weigh in).
#Tryggr making this exact list when considering who to go to for advice#he used to consider Solas like an expert in everything but then he heard him open his mouth about the Qunari sadly & also once knew more#about fade spirits and possession personally (thx Tiva Hawke) so now he’s had to add to his panel of council members#r’s DAI run#dragon age inquisition#seriously what’s up w Solas and wardens. all I can fathom is he’s either personally had a very bad experience. OR he’s afraid they’re know#more than they think re: god killing secret warden techniques & it ain’t personal they’re just a threat (sensible I guess??)#Tryggr Adaar
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#Restrictions imposed quickly to combat the COVID pandemic have a measurable effect#according to an expert commission. The assessment comes at a time when infection numbers again threaten to spiral out of control.The expert#aimed at stopping the spread of the disease at an early stage. The panel was commissioned by the federal government and its members include#law#ethics#economy#and public administration.
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An illegal toxic dump site in Croatia, the theft of water from a major aquifer in southern Spain, illegal trading of ozone-depleting refrigerants in France: This is just a sampling of the environmental crimes that European countries are struggling to stop. The lack of accountability for these acts stems in part from the European Union’s legal code, which experts say is riddled with vague definitions and gaps in enforcement. That’s about to change.
Last week, EU lawmakers voted in a new directive that criminalizes cases of environmental damage “comparable to ecocide,” a term broadly defined as the severe, widespread, and long-term destruction of the natural world. Advocates called the move “revolutionary,” both because it sets strict penalties for violators, including up to a decade in jail, and because it marks the first time that an international body has created a legal pathway for the prosecution of ecocide.
“This decision marks the end of impunity for environmental criminals and could usher in a new age of environmental litigation in Europe,” wrote Marie Toussaint, a French lawyer and EU parliamentarian for the Greens/European Free Alliance group, on X...
The new directive uses the term “ecocide” in its preamble, but does not criminalize the act by laying out a legal definition (the most widely accepted definition of ecocide was developed by an international panel of experts in 2021). Instead, it works by providing a list of “qualified offenses,” or crimes that fall within its purview. These include pollution from ships, the introduction of invasive species, and ozone depletion...
The new law holds people liable for environmental destruction if they acted with knowledge of the damage their actions would cause. This aspect of the law is important, experts said, because it means that a permit is no longer enough for a company to avoid culpability.
“If new information shows that behavior is causing irreversible damage to health and nature – you will have to stop,” a member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands, Antonius Manders, told Euronews.
Advocates like Mehta hope that the EU’s move will have influence beyond Europe’s borders. The principal goal of the Stop Ecocide campaign is for the International Criminal Court to designate ecocide as the fifth international crime that it prosecutes, after crimes against humanity, war crimes, crimes of aggression, and genocide. At the moment, environmental destruction can only be prosecuted as a war crime at the ICC, and limitations in the law make this extremely difficult to do...
Kate Mackintosh, the executive director of the Netherlands-based UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe, told Grist that the ICC is unlikely to adopt an ecocide law if other countries do not do so first.
“It’s not something you can just pull out of thin air,” she said, adding that any international legal doctrine has to have a precedent on the national level. “That’s the way states are going to accept it.”
The EU’s 27 member states will have two years to adapt the new legislation into their penal codes. Afterwards, their implementation must be reviewed and updated at least once every five years using a “risk-analysis based approach,” to account for advancements in experts’ understanding of what might constitute an environmental crime. Mehta said that despite its omission of some important offenses, the law sets an important example for other countries. Several days before the EU vote, Belgium adapted its criminal code to include the directive, making it the first country in Europe to recognize ecocide as a crime.
The ruling “shows leadership and compassion,” Mehta said. “It will establish a clear moral as well as legal ‘red line’, creating an essential steer for European industry leaders and policy-makers going forward.”
-via Grist, March 6, 2024
#climate change#climate crisis#climate catastrophe#climate action#eu#european union#icc#international criminal court#belgium#europe#environment#environmental law#environmental news#ecocide#good news#hope#hope posting
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Updated vaccines against Covid-19 are coming, just as hospitalizations and deaths due to the virus are steadily ticking up again.
Today, the US Food and Drug Administration authorized new mRNA booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer, and a panel of outside experts that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted to recommend the shots to everyone in the United States ages 6 months and older. Once Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Mandy Cohen signs off on the recommendations and the vaccines are shipped, people can start getting the boosters.
The recommendation is projected to prevent about 400,000 hospitalizations and 40,000 deaths over the next two years, according to data presented at the meeting by CDC epidemiologist Megan Wallace.
This year’s mRNA vaccines are different from the 2022 booster in a key way. Last year’s shot was a bivalent vaccine, meaning it covered two variants: the original one that emerged in China in 2019, plus the Omicron subvariant BA.5, which was circulating during much of 2022. This fall’s booster drops the original variant, which is no longer circulating and is unlikely to return. It targets just the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, which was dominant throughout much of 2023.
Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines work by introducing a tiny piece of genetic material called messenger RNA, or mRNA, that carries instructions for making SARS-CoV-2’s characteristic spike protein. Once it is injected, cells in the body use those instructions to temporarily make the spike protein. The immune system recognizes the protein as foreign and generates antibodies against it. Those antibodies stick around so that if they encounter that foreign invader again, they will mount a response against it.
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the virus has acquired new mutations in its spike protein and elsewhere. These mutations result in new variants and subvariants that diverge from the original virus. When enough mutations accumulate, these new versions can more easily evade the antibodies created by previous vaccine doses or infections.
The constantly evolving nature of the virus is the reason health regulators decided last year to update the original mRNA vaccines, which were designed against the version of the virus that first appeared in 2019. This year, once again, the virus has changed enough to warrant an updated booster.
In June, an advisory committee to the FDA recommended that this fall’s booster be a monovalent vaccine—targeting only the then-dominant XBB.1.5 subvariant.
At that meeting, committee members reviewed evidence suggesting that the inclusion of the original variant may hamper the booster’s effectiveness against newer offshoots. “The previous bivalent vaccine contained the ancestral spike and thus skewed immune responses to the old spike,” says David Ho, a professor of microbiology at Columbia University whose research, which is not yet peer-reviewed, was among the evidence the FDA panel reviewed. “This is what we call immunological imprinting, and it results in lack of immune responses to the new spike.” He thinks taking out the old variant should optimize the immune response.
But over the past few months, even newer Omicron offshoots have arrived. Currently, EG.5.1, or Eris, is the dominant one in the United States, United Kingdom, and China. Meanwhile, a variant called BA.2.86, or Pirola, has been detected in several countries. Pirola has raised alarm bells because it has more than 30 new mutations compared to XBB.1.5.
Even though the new boosters were formulated against XBB.1.5, they’re still expected to provide protection against these new variants. “The reason is, while antibodies are important in protection against mild disease, the critical part of the immune response that’s important for protecting against severe disease is T cells,” says Paul Offit, a professor of vaccinology at the University of Pennsylvania and member of the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee.
These cells are a different part of the immune response. Unlike antibodies, which neutralize a pathogen by preventing it from infecting cells, T cells work by eliminating the cells that have already been invaded and boosting creation of more antibodies. Both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccines produce long-lasting T cells in addition to antibodies.
It’s why, Offit says, when the Omicron wave hit in late 2021 and peaked in January 2022, the US didn’t see a dramatic increase in hospitalizations and deaths even as cases rose significantly: People’s T cells kicked into gear, even when their antibodies didn’t recognize the Omicron variant.
“In some ways,” says Offit, when it comes to vaccine booster development, “it almost doesn’t matter what we pick to target” because the coronavirus has yet to evolve away from T cell recognition. “Everything works.”
Scientists think T cells are able to protect against severe Covid because they’re recognizing parts of the virus that have remained unchanged throughout the pandemic. “I suspect that as we continue to vaccinate, there are some conserved regions [of the virus],” says Jacqueline Miller, Moderna’s head of infectious diseases. “So even with the accumulation of mutations, we’re still building on previous immunity.”
People who have hybrid immunity—that is, have had a Covid infection and have also been vaccinated—seem to have the best immune responses to new variants, she says, which suggests that previous exposure shapes and improves immune responses to new variants. Preliminary studies show that antibodies generated by previous infections and vaccinations should be capable of neutralizing Pirola.
Earlier this month, Moderna issued a press release saying that clinical trial data showed that its updated booster generated a strong immune response against Pirola, as well as the more prevalent Eris variant.
In a statement to WIRED, Pfizer spokesperson Jerica Pitts said the company continues to closely monitor emerging variants and conduct tests of its updated monovalent booster against them. Data presented at Tuesday’s CDC meeting showed that Pfizer-BioNTech’s updated booster elicited a strong neutralizing antibody response against both Eris and Pirola.
The FDA expects that Covid-19 vaccines will continue to be updated on an annual basis, unless a completely new variant emerges that requires a different approach. “We will always be a little behind the virus,” says Ho. “In this instance, we won’t suffer too much, but that might not be the case going forward. Surveillance is imperative.”
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One of the most frusturating thing being a Damian Wayne fan is watching people mischaracterize him so bad that people think he is a boring and bad character, without opening a single comic issue their entire lives.
Look, whether people choose to read comics or not is none of my business. But hating on a character without interacting with the original content is just unjust.
Going back to the topic, Damian has a certain trait in canon which is very much disregarded in the fanon. And this lack of trait literally changes everything in his personality and behaviour.
The thing is... Damian is fucking hilarious.
And I don't mean that he is a clown character that makes jokes all the time.
He has a very sarcastic and dark humor. And he isn't afraid to use it against anyone. Be it Alfred, Bruce, Slade, Talia or anyone you can think of.
And most of the time, he doesn't even mean to be funny. It's just natural with him.
Now of course, I didn't pull these out of my ass. I'll show you some panels as an example:
I've put panels from different comics with their own unique plot. And Damian's age varies from each to the other.
If you still think that this is lacking, literally open a single comic that he's in, and just read his dialogues.
And for me, that's why it's so fun to read about Damian. Unlike some other members of the Batfamily, he doesn't hesitate to say the things in his mind. He doesn't care whether he fucks things up and he's expert at getting out of bad situations.
He isn't glued to Batman's side, and most of the time goes out on his own. He is very independant and does not take shit from Bruce or anyone. Hell, I can think of two seperate occasions where he punched Bruce on the face.
I just love how he plainly mocks even the most dangerous people. I like his attitude, in which he thinks that he's the best. It's so refreshing to read about. Because it deviates from the stereotypical "Hero" behaviour.
And in most fics, this trait of his is entirely erased. And not just the ones where he's the "evil" side character, also the ones where he's the main character.
He's written as being a copy of Bruce which frusturates me to no end.
And if you're reading this as someone who just found this out, please take this post into consideration when characterizing him.
He's such an interesting character, so please don't write him off as a mini-Bruce.
#dc comics#batfamily#batfam#damian wayne#dc#bruce wayne#batman#damian wayne headcanons#damian wayne headcanon
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“More than four months ago, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court asked me to assist him with evaluating evidence of suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity in Israel and Gaza. I agreed and joined a panel of international legal experts to undertake this task. Together we have engaged in an extensive process of evidence review and legal analysis including at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The Panel and its academic advisers are experts in international law, including international humanitarian law and international criminal law. Two Panel members are appointed as expert ‘Special Advisers’ by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Two Panel members are former judges at criminal tribunals in The Hague.
Despite our diverse personal backgrounds, our legal findings are unanimous. We have unanimously determined that the Court has jurisdiction over crimes committed in Palestine and by Palestinian nationals. We unanimously conclude that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including hostage-taking, murder and crimes of sexual violence. We unanimously conclude that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity including starvation as a method of warfare, murder, persecution and extermination.
I served on this Panel because I believe in the rule of law and the need to protect civilian lives. The law that protects civilians in war was developed more than 100 years ago and it applies in every country in the world regardless of the reasons for a conflict. As a human rights lawyer, I will never accept that one child’s life has less value than another’s. I do not accept that any conflict should be beyond the reach of the law, nor that any perpetrator should be above the law. So I support the historic step that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has taken to bring justice to victims of atrocities in Israel and Palestine.
Today, my colleagues and I have published an oped and a detailed legal report of the Panel’s findings. My approach is not to provide a running commentary of my work but to let the work speak for itself. I hope that witnesses will cooperate with the ongoing investigation. And I hope that justice will prevail in a region that has already suffered too much.”
—AMAL CLOONEY, Barrister and Co-Founder of the Clooney Foundation for Justice
#politics#amal clooney#palestine#israel#war crimes#benjamin netanyahu#benjamin netanyahu is a war criminal#israel is a terrorist state#settler violence#settler colonialism#crimes against humanity
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How To Make Full Use of Networking Events
Networking events and conferences are great because you get to meet and learn from experts but also connect with peers. I recently attended one and I wanted to share things I wish I had done before and what I learned.
1. Define an Objective
You have to determine why exactly you want to go to the event. Are you looking for a career change? A job? Advice on how to be better at your current job? How to tackle some issues in your start up? Networking? Make a list of the reasons.
2. Research
You need to research the speakers extensively. Go over their Wikipedias, LinkedIns and other social medias. Read their company websites from top to bottom. If they’ve released a book, take a look at the summary and read the reviews. Read some of their published articles.
Take this time to prepare at least 3 questions per speaker. Try to make at unique and interesting as possible, don’t ask the usual generic ones.
3. Business Cards
Definitely carry business cards. Make sure that your email, LinkedIn is mentioned clearly. Even if you work at a different company, that doesn’t matter- show your job title on the business card. Better yet, ask your HR if they can give you business cards as you would be promoting their company through your event. If you’re a student, I’d recommend you make a portfolio website of your internships/ project/ past work/ volunteer work/ hobbies/ interests.
4. Actually Talking
During the event, don’t be shy to ask questions. It doesn’t matter whether the rest of the audience thinks they’re stupid. You have spent your money to come there for your gain. Make full use of it. Ask questions. Meet the speaker after the event. Thank them for the insight, introduce yourself, ask them questions related to your objective of coming to the conference. Exchange business cards.
5. Utilising Coffee Breaks
Coffee and lunch breaks are a great way to talk to people. You may feel shy or awkward to talk to new people, but there’s very high chances that they feel the same way. You can start off by asking someone how they heard about the event, what they thought of the speaker, or pass a remark on the question they asked the speaker. Keep in mind that if the event has multiple speakers, there could be a chance that you’re talking to a speaker, even if you don’t recognise them… so be on your best behaviour.
6. Questions
Ask questions that are beneficial to you. During my conference, we had a women-leaders panel. An audience member asked the speakers how they divided their work between family and work. The speakers looked visibly annoyed at the question - because how generic is that?
Ask questions that could help you grow. If you’re in marketing, ask about their tried and tested marketing strategies. If you’re an early stage founder, ask them how they sourced their VC. If you’re struggling with time management, ask the speakers how they manage. Ask the questions for YOUR own benefit.
You can ask difficult questions but make sure you do it respectfully and tactfully. Best to start with a compliment and then ease into the question.
7. Dressing
Business casual, unless mentioned otherwise. What this means: blazer/ jackets/ trousers/ pencil skirts/ shirt/ co-ord sets/ no sneakers.
It doesn’t matter what other people wear. The way you present yourself is your brand. It also shows the respect you have for the other person - you respect them enough to not come shabbily dressed.
#c suite#powerful woman#ceo aesthetic#personal growth#that girl#productivity#strong women#getting your life together#feminine energy#balance#networking#conferences#how to network#connect#how to connect#speakers#business#entrepreneurship#experts#connections#LinkedIn#questions#socialise#socialising#public events#boost your cv#resume#skills#adulting
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What a Kirk/Spock shipper sees in a Kirk/Female-Love-Interest story [PART 2/2]
Part 1 <- Please read Part 1 first. Part 2 won't make sense otherwise!
This panel is absolutely AMAZING and you all deserved to see it :D
So, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah, Laura just proposed.
As you can see, Jim is panicking not sure what to answer, so the first thing he does is calling his two best friends. There are so many things going on here; I'll try to mention everything I care about!
"Starfleet is getting a lot better at partners of equal rank working together."
This is an important part of this comic: apparently, in this story Starfleet isn't encouraging relationships between officers with a different rank. I know it's sort of implied in canon too, but it's not always clear if it's actually against regulations or if it's fine when the ranks are close.
As a K/S shipper, this detail just gives me an in-universe reason why Jim and Spock aren't considering dating each other in this story: a commander can't probably have a relationship with a captain. I mean, we already know from canon TOS that Jim avoids relationships with the members of his crew, so this just adds a layer to a potential forbidden love story between them. Yeah, I know this isn't what this comic is trying to do, but what can I say? Fans don't stop shipping something just because they learn it's not allowed in-universe… if anything, they can find it more exciting! :D
"We could teach at the Academy. Mind you, she laughed at that idea."
Oh, wait. Jim actually talked to Laura about their possible future together! It looks like he's thinking about them as teachers at Starfleet Academy. Hmm… this sounds familiar:
2277 — Accepts appointment to Academy faculty, moves into San Francisco apartment
This is from Kirk's biography in Star Trek official website. Between The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan, Jim accepts a job at the Academy. We see it at the start of the second movie, after Saavik takes the Kobayashi Maru test.
Wait, who's the other teacher here? :D
Okay, okay, in that era Jim is an admiral and Spock is a captain, so their ranks are still different, but except for that… They both teach at the Academy. And it's literally what Jim proposed to his love interest Laura in the comic! With my Kirk/Spock goggles on, what I read in that panel is "If Laura and I got married, we could both do this thing that I'm totally going to do with Spock in the future." LOL
Did the comic creators notice the parallel? Probably not. However, we K/S shippers have special skills for finding accidental implications about our ship everywhere, so here it is :)
"Your thoughts, please, Mr. Spock."
I said I had a lot to say about that single panel, so of course I can't skip the last line! A human woman has just proposed to Jim, and what does Jim do? He asks for Spock's opinion. This says a lot about Jim and Spock's friendship, and it's very sweet on Jim's part, but it also makes me think about Jim's love life. What about Jim and Laura's romantic feelings for each other? Does Jim want to spend the rest of his life with her? Perhaps the reason they don't talk about it (not even with Bones!) is that it's implied that Jim loves her and she loves him, even if they never say it. However, I still think it's interesting that Jim's discussion on the matter is mostly "logical".
Anyway, I swear I won't post every single panel of this comic, but Spock's reply is an absolute gem you all must see:
"I AM SOMETHING OF AN EXPERT ON THE SUBJECT OF JAMES T. KIRK."
(dkjflsdjlkdjglk brb losing my mind again)
Ahem. Okay, Spock. Noted. Also, wow, nice make up. Did I say that the art in this comic is great? Good.
"I believe someone of equal status would offer you the best possible chance of happiness."
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I find interesting his use of "equal status" instead of the more specific "equal rank". Status makes me think less of their official position in Starfleet, and more of how two people actually see each other. It's not just about Laura and Jim being both captains; it's about them seeing each other as equals.
Anyway, Jim jokes about Bones and Spock finally agreeing about something, and the conversation continues.
Jim's best friends are both encouraging him to marry Laura. In this panel, I zoomed in on Bones because his words are especially interesting. Based on everything we've seen so far, it looks like having a romantic partner when you're in Starfleet is a pain in the ass in general in this comic; however, Bones is pointing out that for the first time, Jim has someone who really understands. Of course, that's because she's a Starfleet captain too.
About Spock, I won't share the entire conversation, but I just want to say that as a K/S shipper who likes to think Spock is secretly in love with Jim in this era, I find his dialogue where he's supporting Jim's relationship with Laura totally reasonable. It's important to remember that this comic takes place close to the end of the five-year mission. We know that Spock is going to run away after that, trying to erase all his emotions in Gol. So, in this specific part of his story, I find pretty in character that he'd tell Jim to find happiness with someone else. That's what he'd do, regardless of his own feelings.
So, Jim knows his two best friends think he should say "yes" to Laura. What happens next?
During a mission, Jim meets his ex Carol Marcus. She is surprised to find out that Jim is considering settling down. This is not completely related to this analysis, so I won't post it, but I found interesting that Carol knows about every single woman Jim dated before he became captain (the only one she doesn't name is Ruth), and she even says "And that woman in 1930, what was her name?" Just… how the hell does she know? LMAO
At least Jim hasn't told her about Miramanee and Rayna (well, technically he doesn't even remember the latter), but seriously, Carol does know a lot about Jim's private life, even if it's clear she doesn't want her or their son to be part of it. (Not really related to this plot, but in case you're confused about the timeline: David is a child in this era; however, he doesn't appear in this story.)
Anyway, this is what she eventually tells him:
So, I like to think that Carol is genuinely trying to help Jim here, because the spiteful ex girlfriend is another thing I don't really want to see in 2020. I want to think that the creators meant well; however, what happens in the story is that, despite Jim not seeing himself outside the captain's chair, and despite his best friends telling him to marry the captain that is just like him… Jim keeps thinking about Carol's words.
He knows from Starfleet that he's going to be promoted to admiral the moment he reaches Earth. What is interesting here is that Jim could refuse the promotion and be a captain with Laura. This is definitely a different situation from everything else I've seen before. It's obvious to anyone who has watched TOS movies that Jim is not happy as an admiral. He didn't really want to be one. He doesn't want to be one in this comic series either (you can see it explored in Star Trek: Year Five main story). However, thanks to The Motion Picture, we also know that he will accept promotion at the end of his five-year mission. This isn't a canon divergence story: the writers can't really change any major event, so they have to work with what canon offers.
What I find interesting is that in this 2020 comic, Jim finds himself in the opposite situation he is in Gene Roddenberry's The Motion Picture novelization from 1979. In Roddenberry's novel, it's mentioned briefly that Jim starts a relationship on Earth with a vice-admiral, a woman that was basically asked to use her charm to keep Jim grounded. Jim could refuse promotion, but he finds himself lost, without his ship, without Spock, and eventually without Bones. So he tries to convince himself that a life as an admiral with a perfect woman by his side will be good for him (it will not; Jim himself will realize a year later that his lover was an "Enterprise-surrogate").
Now, I understand trying to write something fresher and more modern in this Valentine's Day special, but I confess that I find a little hard to believe that Jim would accept a promotion as admiral if the alternative was keeping both a starship AND a wife. Also, let's not forget that Spock and Bones are both telling him to choose the married captain life. So, while I totally get from a writer's point of view that if you can't change canon, you have to work with what you have, I'm also not sure that Carol reminding Jim that he's always wanted to challenge himself is enough to make him doubt everything.
I guess I can sort of see that as part of a bigger problem: Jim knows he can't be a captain for life; during his first date with Laura, as we saw in Part 1 of my analysis, he talks about it.
"I've been thinking lately about whether I could ever stop being a Starfleet captain. Whether I could ever want to. A friend of mine talks about 'infinite diversity'. That applies to the Federation, too. But here I am, only built for one thing."
So, Jim knows he has probably avoided the subject for too long. Carol is forcing him to think about it. And, more implicitly, we could say Spock and his IDIC philosophy are also making him think, even if it's not what Spock would have expected. After all, Spock told Jim to marry Laura (in the comic), and he'll tell him that being a starship captain is his "first, best destiny" (in The Wrath of Khan).
Anyway, Jim eventually decides to meet Laura and talk to her about his personal concerns. First of all, we find out that the two of them haven't called each other for six weeks. Laura is still waiting for Jim's answer, and she didn't want to call him. If you ask me, their lack of communication is yet another a big clue that perhaps getting married is not a great idea.
Well, now Jim is at least trying to talk to her.
Aaand that's how she breaks up with him.
I'm not sure how to feel about this. I mean, in a sense, Jim doesn't say "I decided to be an admiral instead of marrying you", but Laura definitely sees it that way. I think he was genuinely looking for help, but that just proves that Laura isn't the right person for him. Why marrying someone you can't communicate with? They are such a great team as captains, but it looks like that doesn't apply to their relationship. I pointed out other clues in the previous parts, and now we got this. It's interesting to see that Jim in this comic can have a normal conversation about his future with Spock, Bones, and even Carol Marcus, but not with the person he's supposed to build a future with. Unless something changes between them, it can't work out.
Anyway, this isn't the end.
A year later, when Jim is an admiral on Earth, there's a sudden emergency. A miniature black hole appears out of the deep structure of the universe (don't blame me for the science, I'm literally quoting the comic LOL) and it's attracted to Earth gravity. Short story: they're all going to die, but fortunately the Drake (Laura's ship) can cause an anti-matter implosion that will shunt the black hole outside their reality. Unfortunately, that also means the Drake will have to go inside the black hole. Laura evacuates her crew and asks Admiral Kirk to give her the order to proceed. Reluctantly, Jim tells her that he knows she'll do it, and he gives the order.
Now, please appreciate The Motion Picture aesthetic:
Okay, I know I could have chosen a panel with Jim and Laura, since this is literally their love story, but I did say this analysis was going to be biased, so here is Laura with her two closest friends instead; they would never let her risk her life alone! <3 They are very obviously meant to be a parallel to what Spock and Bones are to Jim, which is very cute to see. Now, Laura, listen to me: I know the three of you have different ranks, but you may die in a few seconds… And I just think that the few times your friends appear in this comic, you have a lot of chemistry with them, sooo maybe you should forget about Jim and just smooch one of them, or both… just saying :)
Ahem. Anyway, after Laura and her girlfriends disappear into the void, there's another timeskip. This time it's 15 years.
Oh, damn.
I said in the premise of this analysis that one of the reasons I decided to read this comic despite shipping Kirk/Spock is that, in my headcanon, Kirk and Spock get together after The Motion Picture. Until this point, this comic hasn't really gone against my headcanon. I can genuinely believe that Jim had another girlfriend during his five-year mission; it's not a big deal. Unfortunately for me, this comic has its last part taking place around The Final Frontier era. Dammit.
Well, it's just one comic. I read until this point; it'd be illogical not to read until the end, right? Nah, it's not logic. It's human curiosity. I know I won't like it, but I still want to see it.
Also, if there's something that I really don't want to see in modern media anymore, is female characters dying just to make male characters suffer. I can accept that in TOS show because it was made in the 1960s, but even TOS movies got better about it! Characters like Saavik and Gillian can have their own lives without having to die for a man's pain. It's not a coincidence that the writers had to kill Spock to make Jim suffer. Without digressing too much, I just wanted to say that K/S bias aside, I went into this comic hoping to read something different from another dead woman for Jim. I'm very glad that, at least about this, the comic creators didn't disappoint me!
So, in this story, it's been 15 years since Laura's disappearance (actually, it should be more, but I'll try not to nitpick, despite being the trekkies' favorite hobby :D). Anyway, the one with the whales The Voyage Home happened, and Jim is not an admiral anymore. He's happy to have a starship again, but he hasn't stopped questioning his life decisions.
We can also see that, 15 years later, he's reading the book Laura liked.
HOLD IT! WAIT WAIT WAIT! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME??? WHAT THE--
*inhales deeply*
(Friendly reminder to myself that what is obvious to me may not be obvious to everyone else, so I need to explain. Fine. I'll try.)
The screenshots I posted are from The Wrath of Khan, right after Spock's funeral. What Jim is doing there is reading the end of the book that Spock gave him for his birthday. He's mourning Spock.
In the comic panel, Jim has a new pair of glasses, because it takes place a little later in the timeline. But, except for that…
It's the same scene.
The same fucking scene.
I mean, come on! I can't even post the "they're the same picture" meme, because it's not funny if they're literally the same picture! Even the bookmark is the same!
The comic creators literally took a canon scene about Jim reading Spock's book after Spock is gone, and they redrew it with Jim reading Laura's book after Laura is gone. In a Valentine's Day special. Where Laura is Jim's love interest. They made a romantic scene with Jim and a woman that was originally about Jim and Spock.
(Brb, I'm going to chew a pillow until I calm down.)
So. Well. If you wondered why I thought there was something about Kirk/Spock in this comic… you have your answer. Perhaps the artist didn't think anything about it. I certainly do.
And I guess someone could say, "But Jim is still reading Laura's book 15 years later! That's true love!" Why yes, he's not reading Spock's book 15 years later, because he didn't stay without Spock for 15 years; he risked everything and lost all the most important things in his life to save Spock's soul.
Anyway, back to the comic. Starfleet receives a signal from the edge of Federation space. It's the Drake. Laura and her friends are alive.
Jim and Laura have a reunion after a long separation. Since they're both captains now, Jim thinks they are given a second chance.
Oh, whoops.
It's her turn now. It looks like being away for 15 years has changed her (as you can expect, honestly), and she's now glad to become an admiral. In this comic, that means Jim can't marry her. So, this is how the story ends:
So. Um.
This isn't a bad ending, but I also wouldn't exactly call it a happy ending. It's certainly not a happily ever after story. I'd call it open, maybe hopeful? Honestly, pretty much what I'd expect from a love story between an original character and Jim, so I can't say the writing is disappointing about that.
On the other hand, I can't personally imagine middle-aged Jim being so eager to start a romance again with someone he hasn't seen in 15 years who broke up with him 16 years ago. Perhaps he felt guilty about Laura's disappearance because if he had married her, they would have been part of a colonization fleet somewhere else and the incident wouldn't have happened the same way? Maybe. Personally, I would have found more believable an ending where Jim asks her to have dinner together or go for a walk, and then something romantic happening as they get to know each other again. But I can see why the creators wanted to bring up the marriage proposal again, just to close the circle. The comic is just 32 pages, so they did what they could.
"Unless there's someone else."
"Not so much. I've been really busy."
Busy with what? Oh, right: Spock's death, Spock's body on Genesis, Spock's rebirth on Vulcan, the time travel (okay, that one wasn't 100% Spock-related), Spock's brother… Honestly, just say there's been a lot of Spock in your life, Jim, because that's the truth :)
On a more serious note, I guess that dialogue could mean that Jim has someone, but "he's been too busy" to do anything serious with them. However, as a K/S monoshipper I don't really like the idea of Jim being in an open relationship with Spock, so Jim's character in the entire scene in the end is just a big NOPE for me. Sorry.
That said, I found very interesting that in a few panels they show very clearly the "captain" rank on Jim and Laura's shoulders, to point out that it's the same. They can't be together forever, but they can have fun for a few days as captains. Because of that, I went back to the start of the last timeskip, just to check out something:
Fascinating.
This is a pretty detailed panel, where you can see the ranks on the shoulders of Jim's friends; the colors of their pins are also pretty good, close to the ones in the movies… except for Spock's.
Oh, please. Did you really expect me not to pay attention to this? :)
Captain Kirk and Captain Spock.
And unlike Laura, this is what they are until the end! The end of a very long life! Generations? What's Generations? Spock will eventually become an ambassador, but that's just a different job. How did Spock himself put it earlier in this comic?
"I am something of an expert on the subject of James T. Kirk. And I believe someone of equal status would offer you the best possible chance of happiness."
Did the comic creators just play themselves? I don't know, I'm quoting their own story here! LOL
And what about Jim's words from the same scene? :D
"Starfleet is getting a lot better at partners of equal rank working together."
Partners. Of equal rank. Working together.
That's literally what Kirk and Spock are since the end of The Voyage Home! Without an expiration date!
The comic creators made a big deal in their universe about relationships being better between two captains, and how good Jim and Laura may have been for each other if they had married as captains; and now they can't have their happily ever after because Laura is going to be an admiral… But even if the comic tries to hide it, we know there is a captain in Jim's life. And to make things better, Jim lost his admiral rank to bring him back. Listen, I'm a huge Old Married Kirk/Spock fan, so there's no way anything can make me forget that in the last TOS movies they're both captains. And there's no way I can forget that Jim risked his entire career (and everything else!) for Spock, and that's literally why he's not an admiral anymore.
This is almost ironic in this Valentine's Day comic. If it hadn't been for Spock, Jim would have still been an admiral, and he could have married Laura. Whoops. Too bad.
Speaking of admirals, I didn't notice it at first, but there's also something about this line Laura says in the last panel I posted…
"And don't you dare 'Admiral' me."
Ah, yes, a typical thing you tell someone you're planning to have sex with. Right, Laura? Agreed :)
Honestly, at this point I should just stop checking this comic, because I wonder if I'd just end up finding a Kirk/Spock version of every Kirk/Laura Rhone line LOL
By the way, I have other thoughts to share now that the story is over, but there's one more thing first. Do you remember the last panels of the comic? Middle-aged Jim and Laura kiss; END.
Okay. After that, the comic has a picture of the cover, with Jim and Laura kissing when they're younger.
And then it has this:
dklsfjlskjflskjlksjlkdlkgjdlfgsnfjekniuwanf LISTEN, HOW--
Just how am I even supposed to say anything that makes sense about this…??? I'm just… I can't…
Okay. So. We're talking about a Valentine's Day comic. It makes sense for it to include a cute Valentine card. I also get that Spock's iconic line has become so mainstream that it can be quoted out of context. And you can make parodies.
But… But… A Star Trek TOS fan can't really forget the original context of "I have been and always shall be your friend"? Someone could just not think about it, I guess… But, well, I know that at least I can't forget that this is literally Spock's line to Jim rewritten in a romantic Valentine's Day version. I can't possibly NOT think about it!
And I know it's very possible that the people who worked on the comic story weren't even aware of this extra, but the fact that I'm seeing this after reading about Jim Kirk's romance without happily ever after… Jim kisses a woman he can't stay with forever, and then there's Spock's "I have been and always shall be your Valentine". It's just so fucking funny. I can't. If I was feeling a little down after seeing middle-aged Jim wanting to marry Laura, now I'm laughing again. Thanks, Spock's silly Valentine card. I needed it! :D
Anyway, what did I say about this comic taking things originally created for Kirk and Spock's relationship and making them romantic when they're not about them? I can believe that sometimes it's a coincidence, but this card? Please… In a sense, this is the perfect ending.
---
Conclusions.
I started this comic with a question: in 2020, how do you write a story about TOS Kirk falling in love? I wanted to see this attempt. Overall, I think the creators did what they could. Laura is different from every other woman in Jim's life; they didn't kill her off, and they also didn't force a happy ending. I think they did a good job with the canon limitations they had, especially in 32 pages.
Do I believe that Laura could have been a good match for Jim in different circumstances?
As a temporary girlfriend? Yes.
As a lifelong partner? No.
Of course, I'm aware my answer is biased, but I can try to be a little more "logical" about it.
First of all, I think that the comic itself supports my interpretation: of course, like in every story, different people are going to see different things; however, as I already pointed out, Jim and Laura never say that they love each other, and before the marriage proposal their relationship is pretty casual.
In The Original Series, Jim isn't lucky when it comes to romance because the women he falls in love with can't really understand his nature as a space explorer. Sometimes they can, like in Carol's case, and that's why they break up with him. Laura is the opposite, because she's just like Jim. But here is the thing: I think Laura is too much like him.
What would have happened if Jim had accepted to marry her at the end of the five-year mission? They would have been both captains. On different ships, though. Sure, they could have been part of the same colonization fleet, as Jim says in the comic, and maybe it would have worked for a while. However, would they really have seen each other as much as Jim needs?
I don't know about Laura, but we see multiple times in canon that behind his mask as a starship captain, Jim is definitely more lonely than what someone may think.
First of all, don't get me wrong: in these screenshots from The Naked Time, Jim is single, so of course his attraction to Janice Rand is related to that. It's not the same situation he'd be in if he were married to Laura. Early in the series, he has thoughts about his yeoman exactly because he doesn't have anyone else. Contrary to his fame as a womanizer, TOS Jim in canon always has one woman at a time in his mind, never more.
So, why am I sharing those lines? To show that when Jim is always inside the Enterprise, he does feel lonely. He needs a romantic partner's physical touch. However, we also know that Jim does not want a relationship with one of his subordinates, so Janice Rand and the rest of his crew are off limits.
Laura is good for him because she's part of Starfleet, and not a subordinate. But is that really enough? From what I've seen in the comic, no. At the end of the day, it looks to me that Jim and Laura don't really know how to plan a future together. Perhaps it's because they're so similar, but they don't really think of themselves as a couple, especially Laura. There's Captain James T. Kirk and Captain Laura Rhone; they both love their ships, so they should get married? That's not how it works.
Their relationship is casual. Jim doesn't want to define it. Are they friends with benefits? Are they in an open relationship? Either way, when Laura decides to marry him, she asks around if Jim has someone else, and only after that she asks him. Jim, on the other hand, doesn't talk to her for six weeks after her proposal. He talks to Spock and Bones immediately, but not to her. He even talks to Carol first.
Then, when Jim finally tries to talk to her about his problems, she doesn't listen. Their lack of communication is the cause of their break up.
16 years later, what we see is even worse. It's obvious that Laura has just different priorities. Maybe it's because of what happened to her lost in space, but I'm not sure. If they had married at the end of the five-year mission, would have Laura always refused a promotion to admiral? Would she have tried to get a promotion with Jim? Based on what we see in this comic, it doesn't look likely to me.
Now, as I said, different people are going to see different things, so I'm sure that someone really invested in this romance can imagine that Jim and Laura are really meant to be, and they can get their happy ending after their retirement, or in other ways. However, I admit that Jim and Laura's huge communication issues make hard to me to picture a long happy relationship between them. They should both try to get better, but in those 32 pages there was no hint towards that direction.
There's another thing that makes really hard to find any love interest for Jim as a plausible "happily ever after" option: the stakes. I know that it's just a single comic, so the creators had to focus on a few things; however, I couldn't help but notice that Jim and Laura never really save each other from dangerous situations. They work together as a team, and Jim watches Laura disappearing into the void, but does he do anything about it? Does he try to reach her inside her ship before she disappears into the black hole? Does he try to bring her back from the void? No, he doesn't.
In TOS show and movies, Jim Kirk risks so much for his crew and his ship that a Star Trek fan can't believe that a new woman is the love of his life, unless Jim is willing to do for her everything he does for his friends. And honestly, after The Search for Spock… how can he even come close to do that?
And it's not just about Jim's actions. There's his language too. At the start of the third movie, Jim refers to Spock as "the noblest part of myself". What could he say about a love interest that is as deep as this?
Let's be honest here: the reason it's so hard to write a story about Jim Kirk's true love is that the real love story for him has already been written. You may not see it romantically, but Kirk and Spock's story is absolutely a love story. And when a character has someone he loves so deeply, it's not easy to convince the audience that he could have someone new to love as deeply. In Jim's case, the combination of his personality and his canon life makes it almost impossible.
Anyway, before I end up not so accidentally turning this analysis into a complete Kirk/Spock ship manifesto, I'm just going to mention one silly thing about the Valentine's Day comic. Please, don't take it too seriously, I'm half-joking :)
So, there are two kiss scenes in the story: one when Jim and Laura start to spend a lot of free time together, and one in the last panel. Well, I can't believe Jim isn't holding Laura's shoulders when he kisses her! That's just the basis of the way Jim kisses women! D:
Different Star Trek characters kiss in different ways; it fits their personalities. And because the rest of my TOS posts are probably too gay for these gifs, I'm dropping them as references here:
Sorry, but if Jim Kirk doesn't grab someone's shoulders before a kiss, it just kills my immersion! :P
Okay, a little more seriously: Jim doesn't always kiss women the same way; however, his "shoulder grab" is common enough that you definitely notice it if you pay attention. Because of that, I think it would have been nice to include it in the Valentine's Day comic.
After reading this comic, what kind of person would I consider perfect for Jim?
Well, my answer is obvious. However, I'll try to elaborate.
First of all, this story definitely convinced me even more that Jim can only be really happy with another Starfleet officer (or at least someone who's been deeply involved with Starfleet). He also needs someone who understands him as a space explorer, without trying to keep him grounded. And someone very smart, of course. These are all traits Laura has. But they're just the basis.
I don't think Jim needs someone in command of their own ship as a lifelong partner. As I said before, I can't really imagine it working out. Another starship captain would have their own goals and their own ambitions; that doesn't mean Jim shouldn't marry someone with specific plans for their own career, but I think these plans should keep the two of them close, not on different ships. Jim needs his partner physically at his side; if he could be happy in a long-distance relationship, I believe we would have seen at least one working out in canon. But it's never the case. Working on different starships from the same fleet would be a little better, but in my opinion not enough, unless it's for a short period of time.
And there's also the matter of his partner's personality. Jim is a natural leader; that's why he's so good at his job. I don't think he needs a similar kind of leader as romantic partner. This is just my personal opinion, but I believe they would just fight about everything they disagree about. I think he needs someone calmer in his life, not someone who'd encourage emotional outbursts.
More importantly, he absolutely needs someone he can communicate with. If he can't talk to his partner about everything important, they're not the right person for him. That doesn't mean they can't have disagreements or miscommunication issues, of course, but they shouldn't happen all the time, and Jim and his partner should be able to talk about them and make up.
In conclusion: someone at his side on his ship, smart, calm, trustworthy :)
Now, I know what some of you are thinking about: what about the "no relationships with subordinates" personal rule Jim has? How can Jim be in a relationship with Spock (or anyone else on the Enterprise) if he's everyone's superior officer? Well, first of all, I already said that after The Voyage Home, Jim and Spock are both captains. And before that… I think that Spock in the comic phrased it the right way. Jim can find his happiness with someone of "equal status". I think it's pretty clear, in my opinion, that Janice Rand and Spock aren't the same kind of subordinates to Jim. Just think about it: which members of the Enterprise call their captain "Jim"? Bones, Spock and (occasionally) Scotty. These are the three people I believe are "equals" in private to Jim, no matter their ranks when they're on duty. Because of that, a relationship between Jim and Spock could work pretty well.
By the way, another thing the Valentine's Day comic made me think about is that in TOS movies, Jim sort of does with Spock pretty much everything he does with Laura in this story. Not the same way, of course, but does it matter? Spock is his own person, he's not Jim's copy. That doesn't mean he can't indulge Jim, have fun himself… and try to stop Jim from doing dangerous things "for fun", as an old spouse would :)
Okay, perhaps throwing each other into the water doesn't count as dancing, but it's so much better :D
In conclusion, this is the way I can read the Valentine's Day comic as a Kirk/Spock shipper:
Jim mentions Spock on his first date with a woman.
Jim questions his life choices as he thinks about Spock and IDIC philosophy.
Jim does with Laura everything we see him doing in TOS show, except for playing chess (just the thing he does with Spock).
Jim says Laura and him are a good team in Starfleet because they had a lot of sex (is that true about other people he works well with??)
There haven't been many ladies or gentlemen in Jim's life because he's busy (not because he's not into men, apparently).
"Starfleet is getting a lot better at partners of equal rank working together." Good for your future with Spock, Jim!
If Jim and Laura got married, they could both teach at Starfleet Academy, something Jim is totally going to do with Spock someday.
Mister "I am something of an expert on the subject of James T. Kirk" Spock.
Also, Mister "I believe someone of equal status would offer you the best possible chance of happiness" Spock, which is actual foreshadowing of his own future status with Jim.
Hey, look at Jim reading a book that reminds him of his lost love! I wonder where I've seen LITERALLY THE SAME PICTURE???
"Don't 'Admiral' me". This is totally not similar to what Jim tells Spock in The Voyage Home, of course.
Hey, we're both captains now! Just for a few days, but isn't that great? I wonder if anyone else is a captain now, and forever? :D
"I have been and always shall be your Valentine". Totally not a Kirk/Spock line, I don't know what you're talking about! :)
Okay, okay, that's all.
As a Kirk/Spock shipper, I won't deny that I'm a little jealous of this Valentine's Day special comic, because I wish we could get something with amazing art like this where Jim is in love with Spock. On the other hand, Star Trek: Year Five comic series has a few scenes about Jim & Spock's friendship that I really liked. Platonic, sure, but good enough for my K/S goggles!
Thank you so much for reading this post until the end! I hope you enjoyed my analysis! Live long and prosper!
#star trek analysis#star trek: year five#star trek: year five valentine's day special#star trek comics#james t. kirk#laura rhone#spirk#star trek tos#star trek the original series#k/s#kirk x spock#space husbands#my gifs
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Hey! Congratulations on the followers! I love your fics! I've just refound tumblr and have been obsessed with TBB and TCW .
May I please have a pansy and a purple lilac with TBB Tech and a F!reader?
Tiny Dancer
Summary: You own a dance studio on a small mid-rim world, which has started to have some severe electrical problems. Luckily, Tech is your neighbor and he's happy to help.
Pairing: TBB Tech x F!Reader
Word Count: 1120
Prompts: Pansy - You occupy my thoughts; Purple Lilac - first love
Warnings: None
Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni
A/N: So, this is my first time writing Tech, so I hope I did him justice. And if I didn't, please let me know so I can do better next time. But! Welcome back to Tumblr and our little corner filled with Clones!
Once upon a time, before the war, you would travel from planet to planet, learning different dances from different people across the galaxy.
And, though you don’t like to brag, you like to think that you’re something of an expert in most forms of dancing.
But when the War started, you were forced to find a safe planet to live on. Which is how you ended up here. On some mid-rim planet, running a dance studio for anyone who wants to learn.
Sure, the war is over, but with the Empire…
Well, it’s just not safe to travel anymore.
Still, you like to think that you’re making the best of it. Or, well, you hope you are, in any event.
“You have no idea how grateful I am for this, Tech.” You say brightly to the tall man who’s standing on a ladder with his head half in your ceiling, “I would hate for someone to get hurt because of poor wiring. And the electrician I spoke to was so dismissive-”
“I am happy to help,” Tech says as he pulls his head out of the ceiling to look at you, “So far, however, I am not seeing any problems.”
Concern crosses your face, “Oh, but I saw-”
“I believe you.” He sits on the top of the ladder, “Is there another electrical panel somewhere?”
“Um…” You think back to what the previous owner said to you when you purchased the building, “The basement, I think.”
“Then we can look there next.” He climbs down the ladder, and snaps it closed before he leans it against one of the padded walls, “After you.”
You lead Tech through the studio, until you get to the basement door. You quickly unlock it, and then have to use your whole body weight to pull it open, “Sorry.” You say as you stumble back into him, “The door has always done that.”
Tech steadies you with a hand on your shoulder, “I can fix that.” He offers.
You beam at him, “Oh! Can you really? That would be wonderful!”
He stares at you for a moment, and then averts his gaze with a cough, “Yes, well. We should deal with the electrical problem first.”
“When you’re right, you’re right.” You reply with a bubbly laugh, before you turn and flip the lightswitch, and lead him down the concrete steps, “Sorry for the mess. I mostly use this as storage. And the previous owner left a bunch of junk behind when he moved out. I kind of hoped that a member of his family would come to claim it, but no dice.”
You step off the stairs, and push a stack of boxes out of the way, to make room for Tech.
“How much of this belongs to you?” Tech asks, as he pushes several boxes out of the way as well.
“Less than a quarter.” You admit with a sigh, “But I don’t want to just throw it all away, it’s not mine. Oh, the electrical box is on the back wall, I think.”
Tech sighs softly when he sees the stacks of boxes blocking his path to the electrical box, and you duck your head with a mumbled apology. “If I had known that physical labor was involved, I would have brought Wrecker.”
You giggle, “Sorry. But I do appreciate you doing this for me. I kind of expected you to tell me to kriff off.”
He shoots you an odd look, “You really think that?”
You shrug, “You’re a nice guy, Tech, but most people don’t exactly like having their freetime claimed by other people.” You grin at him, “I wouldn’t have minded if you said no, but I’m so glad you said yes.”
Tech releases a quiet laugh, “I do not think anyone can say no to you, least of all me.”
“Least of all?”
“Sorry?”
“You said ‘least of all’,” You clarify, “Why least of all?”
“Oh.” He glances at you out of the corner of his eyes, even as he slides boxes and old mats out of the way, “Because I think about you all the time. And I am pretty sure that I am in love with you. Though I am still trying to figure that out.”
You fumble with the small box you’re carrying, and only manage to not drop it because you set it on another box, “What?”
“Did you not think it was strange that I am always eager to help you?”
You stare at him, “No! I thought you just liked helping people!”
“I like helping you, specifically. You have never been bothered by my rambling.” Tech replies, “Even my own brothers tell me to shut up from time to time, but you never have.”
“Honestly, Tech, I didn’t think I was your type.” You admit sheepishly, “So I kind of slotted you in the ‘look but don’t touch’ column.”
“Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know if you noticed,” You say dryly, “But I’m a bit…flighty.”
“I noticed that, yes.”
“And, like, super scatterbrained. And not all that smart-”
“Do you want to know the first good memory I have of this planet?” Tech interrupts you.
“-uh…sure?”
“The summer dance festival.” Tech says, turning to watch you, “You were wearing this sheer material that reminded me of the ocean, and you were dancing to some type of music that I have never heard before-”
“I remember that. I was the opening act for the little ones.” You say with a small smile.
“It was the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen in my life,”
“I…really?”
“I think about that more than I should.” Tech admits, not the least bit ashamed.
You press your hands against your burning cheeks, “Oh.”
“If I have made you uncomfortable-”
“No! No! Not at all!” You blurt, and then you giggle, “I’m actually really, really happy.”
Tech pauses, “Happy enough to go on a date with me?”
You beam at him, “I’d really like that!”
A small smile crosses his face, “Then we can work out the details when we are finished here.” His smile grows when he hears you giggling even more.
“Alright! Then we should probably get to work moving the boxes.” You add as you force yourself to get your giggles under control. And then you grin, and quickly dart to his side and press a quick kiss to his cheek, before you pull away, “I have a box cart thing upstairs, let me go grab it!”And as you dart up the stairs, you see Tech press his hand against his cheek, where you just kissed him, and a bubbly giggle slips from your lips. This is the best day ever.
#star wars#tbb#vodika-vibes follower celebration#tbb tech x reader#tech x reader#star wars fanfiction#x reader fanfiction#f!reader fanfic#answered asks
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Julian Borger in WashingtonThu 22 Feb 2024 14.12 EST
UN experts say they have seen “credible allegations” that Palestinian women and girls have been subjected to sexual assaults, including rape, while in Israeli detention, and are calling for a full investigation.
The panel of experts said there was evidence of a least two cases of rape, alongside other cases of sexual humiliation and threats of rape. Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, said the true extent of sexual violence could be significantly higher.
“We might not know for a long time what the actual number of victims are,” said Alsalem, who was appointed special rapporteur by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in 2021.
She noted that reticence in reporting sexual assault was common because of the fear of reprisals against victims. She said that in a wave of detentions of Palestinian women and girls after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 October, there was an increasingly permissive attitude towards sexual assault in Israeli detention centres.
“I would say that, on the whole, violence and dehumanisation of Palestinian women and children and civilians has been normalised throughout this war,” Alsalem said.
There was evidence of widespread sexual violence by Hamas against Israeli women and girls during the 7 October raid in southern Israel. The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel has reported that the use of rape and other abuse by the Hamas attackers was “systematic and intentional”. Those assaults, which were also condemned by Alsalem and the other UN experts, are to be the subject of a report by the UN secretary general’s special envoy on sexual violence, Pramila Patten.
Alsalem said she did not know whether Patten’s report would cover the allegations of rape and sexual assault of Palestinians women and girls, but that she was hoping to discuss the issue with her.
The Israeli government has rejected the allegations of sexual violence against Palestinians as “despicable and unfounded claims”.
The US state department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said the administration was aware of the allegations and had asked the Israeli authorities to investigate.
“I cannot independently confirm the reports,” Miller said. “I will say that we have been clear that civilians and detained individuals must be treated humanely and in accordance with international humanitarian law. We strongly urge Israel to thoroughly and transparently investigate credible allegations and ensure any accountability for abuses and violations, and that will continue to be our position.”
In their report, delivered on Monday, the UN experts said: “We are particularly distressed by reports that Palestinian women and girls in detention have also been subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers. At least two female Palestinian detainees were reportedly raped while others were reportedly threatened with rape and sexual violence.”
The independent experts, who have been appointed by the UNHRC but do not represent the UN, reported that degrading photos of female Palestinian detainees, reportedly taken by Israeli soldiers, had been uploaded to the internet.
The experts said women and girls had not been spared in the widespread killing of Palestinian civilians. With the estimated death toll in Gaza now close to 30,000, the experts pointed to reports of women and girls being arbitrarily killed in Gaza, often with family members.
“We are shocked by reports of the deliberate targeting and extrajudicial killing of Palestinian women and children in places where they sought refuge, or while fleeing,” the experts said in a joint statement. “Some of them were reportedly holding white pieces of cloth when they were killed by the Israeli army or affiliated forces.”
#UN#palestine#Rape in War#War Crimes against women and girls#UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)#Pray for Palestine
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A Panel of Experts in International Law convened by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan KC, today announced its conclusions. The Panel was established at the Prosecutor’s request in support of his investigation into the ‘Situation in the State of Palestine’, which covers international crimes committed either on the territory of Palestine or by a Palestinian national. The Panel’s mandate was to advise the Prosecutor on whether his applications for arrest warrants met the standard provided in Article 58 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The Panel members unanimously endorsed the Prosecutor’s assessment that the Court had jurisdiction over the case and that there were ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ that individuals named in the arrest warrants — including senior leaders of Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — have committed war crimes or crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the Court.
-Amal Clooney and Marko Milanovic
#ICC#current events#Gaza genocide#arrest warrants#israel crimes against humanity#ethnic cleansing#ongoing genocide
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Was just rereading part of the manga to confirm something for my fic and noticed, for the first time, how many panels Juvia got throughout the big "Dragon Reunion" chapters:
i really love how Mashima often panned to her throughout the series when the viewpoint of a character with a comprehensive, intuitive mastery of magic was beneficial to the narrative.
we saw it also during the Grand Magic Games; silly "obsessed with Gray" moments aside, her observations and judgment calls on the matches she observed were astute. Mavis even picked her as a member of the final team and assigned her only the task of "support," implying that she trusted Juvia to make her own judgment calls on the fly.
it was why her perspective was the right choice here. her quick understanding of the situation oriented the readers/viewers and her ensuing disbelief at the situation drove home just how completely unprecedented and shocking this was because over time, she'd earned our trust as an adaptable expert in her field.
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ands snippet: fast and furious
Summary: Vivienne delivers on a promise and expected only the self-satisfaction of a “job well done.” His Dark Grace decides otherwise.
or tldr: the batmobile's first, official iteration gets its christening 😏 (making out + some d/s vibes)
this is a write up of this post on how bruce (the batman, really) and vivienne "get together," originally written to entertain @rozaceous (and here's the link to the og concept)
the gist is that it's pre-NYE party debacle, ros and vi are practically u-haul lesbians but it's no one's business (not even their authors') how involved they are with each other, and ros and bruce have not resolved their UST yet.
“—and there might be tolerance issues with the panels, but they should be resolved by next month.” Neel Singh, the Experimental Manufacturing lead, concludes his briefing and falls half a pace back.
“We’re not racing the clock, Neel.” Vivienne jots down her thoughts in her notepad, and adds, “The winter holidays are coming up. I don’t expect anything more until February, the earliest.”
“Y-Yes, of course.” After pressing him for continuous updates for the past few months, of course he’d feel discombobulated by the sudden release of the gas pedal, so to speak. Neel pulls out his phone to type a message. “Should I call anyone else to show you around, Vivienne? Someone from Facilities for the test track?”
Vivienne looks up and out past the glass, into the indoor test track where the subject of their discussion sits parked. All aerodynamic sleekness and curves, the diffused polish of a practical matte black coating, and the intuitive physical sense of power and nimbleness in its form…
Now that—that is her son, midwifed by the hardworking and circumspect members of her handpicked team.
A thought comes to mind. “We’re dealing with carbon fiber, yes? RTM process?”
Neel nods warily. “The team assessed it to be the best fit for purpose…”
“Let me see the molds. And I may have some thoughts on the trickier shapes.” At this point, it’s better to do things right than to play coy with knowledge. There aren’t any patents on the line, or papers to publish.
Bless Neel—he’s not the most inspirational team lead out there, but the man can get things done, keeps track of his flock, and does not put them in the line of fire if he can help it. It takes the entire hallway’s length to convince him that no, Vivienne isn’t here to take heads and draw blood. And yes, she does have some experience with composites. Thankfully, what she knows and has retained is relevant enough for their use case.
The setup tour and the technicians present are all of acceptable quality. There’s nothing wrong with their process, per se…
“I appreciate the team’s rationale in using vinyl ester. However, in application, the easier forming and mechanical properties with using epoxy should make it an appropriate trade-off,” she declares her verdict. No one is impolite enough to interrupt her (or they’re not green enough to), but the manufacturing team does exchange serious side eye among each other.
When dealing with technical experts, care must be taken to speak their language. Always acknowledge someone’s hard work, and give good faith that they’ve made their decision with good judgment behind it.
And, of course, one should give explicit reasoning when suggesting an alternative. “We won’t be seeing the same type of corrosion nor UV exposure on average, or most of the expected causes of catastrophic failure”—here, Vivienne meets their gazes directly, pausing deliberately so they get her gist— “will render long-term considerations, hm, superfluous.”
Various noises of scoffing and muffled chortles come from the team before her. “It’s likely to explode, GTA-style, before we care about actual sunlight in Gotham,” someone mutters. “Got it.”
Bonus: appeal to their good humor, show that you’re on their side. Show that if they work with you instead of against you, everyone benefits.
“Then, we’ll put the order in for epoxy instead?” Neel announces to the group.
“Let me liaison with the Testing guys, see which specific one they recommend,” one of the technicians answers while the others debate quietly between themselves. “And we need to check the MSDS for any changes needed.”
“Shouldn’t be much—I think we can relax some of the workflow, too,” another one calls out. “It’ll go a lot faster this round.”
Neel turns towards Vivienne, implicitly waiting for her approval.
“Go ahead,” she confirms. “No rush. You should have enough budget; if not, CC me on any requests.” She waits for Neel to nod before turning back to finish her notes.
One of the technicians whistles low and, undeterred by his coworker’s elbow to the gut, asks out loud, “How the hell are we getting the funding for this? It can’t be government.”
Vivienne pauses, looks up to raise an eyebrow at him. She gives it two seconds—enough to make it awkward but not enough to be aggressive—before answering nonchalantly, “Does it matter? As long as we can all go about our day without the mob brazenly shaking people down in public, or an attention-seeking wack job gassing the streets and locking down the expressway, I do not care.”
The emphasis nets her a “fair enough” gesture and no further questions, with the general atmosphere being one of jocular compliance and satisfaction.
Very good.
She turns to Neel, while announcing to the group at large, “That will be all. Everyone should make sure to confirm with my PA on their way out, so you all can receive your bonuses in a timely manner. Have a happy Thanksgiving.” Then, more directly at Neel: “I’ll meet with Facilities before closing the site for the holiday. Official half-day.”
He gets her unspoken “clear everyone out” order and turns to usher the technicians along, all while starting a phone call with other leads in the testing facility.
---
Vivienne takes the scenic route towards the direction of the Facilities Management suite, walking leisurely to keep her baby in her sights the entire time. She returns absent hums of acknowledgment to the people that greet her along her way, dismissing them when they try to ask if she needs anything, and eventually, the facility is empty.
Instead of turning into the Facilities suite, she goes to the nearby elevator to scan her card and wait.
The building lights dim to their low-occupancy standby state. Then, one of the shadows in the empty hallway distends into a vaguely humanoid form, stalking forward until there’s a glint of whited-out eyes.
Ever the dramatic. His Dark Grace’s penchant for positioning is comically perfect.
“I assume you’ve looped the cameras?” Vivienne tilts her head towards the Facilities suite.
The Batman gives a little, “Hm,” and continues towards her and the elevator.
Yes, duh. Vivienne doesn’t roll her eyes. It’d be wasted on this bat-shaped mime.
She instead flips her notepad to a later page, where she’s noted down the information received from Facilities via email a week ago. Meeting with them was entirely unnecessary. Her mind runs through what would be the most efficient loop of comprehensive testing—and if they waited until sunset, she could set up and open the outdoor portion of the track for “realistic conditions.”
It’s rather easy to ignore the looming shadow next to her—she’s had practice and more important things to think about. Normally, anyone impolite enough to look over her shoulder at her notes would be told to back off, but here she can hope that he’d absorb some proper methodology for fucking once. To be fair, any thought of “proper” leaves her head upon reaching the ground floor of the track.
The so-called “Batmobile” is gorgeous. If not in her heels, Vivienne would have sprinted over to him.
Her beautiful baby boy.
She tucks her notepad and pen away into her handbag, and loops the shoulder strap across her torso. All hands are needed for properly admiring this work of art.
“Ah—the slight ripples Neel mentioned,” she talks His Dark Grace through the visual inspection. “Project Lead Neel Singh,” she adds for clarification, letting him know who and what to satisfy his paranoia. “Yes, the matrix voids will be easier to mitigate with the modifications to their vacuum assistance setup, the tooling support, and of course, not using vinyl ester. More workable.”
She walks around the car, eyeing the front and back tires, noting the height of the chassis, and internally debates the optimum between aesthetics, performance, and practicality.
“Hm. This tire size is special order, but still commercial-off-the-shelf. The concern is that typical road conditions won’t allow for anything lower, but we need to balance the handling with the overall weight…especially since the chassis will be so lightweight.” She backs up and takes in the whole of the car’s form. “I…I’m actually a bit worried—we might not have the right balance between the aero and weight for the CG, being not for track purposes, so we can’t go as low as actual motorsport designs—”
“—then let’s test it,” Batman cuts through her fretting. He’s been following along with her inspection, practically hovering over her the entire time. The fingers of his gauntleted hand carefully trace where she was pointing out, trailing behind her hand’s path. “That’s why we’re here.”
Credit where credit is due—that’s true. At least he didn’t immediately demand to do so; his interjection is a polite ask, the bat and all things considered. And Vivienne wouldn’t have let him within a zip code of her new son if he wasn’t ready to handle. She can allow His Dark Grace some fun, for once.
She takes out the prototype key fob—slow enough to rile up the menacing furry next to her—and clicks. The doors unlock and pop slightly ajar before she dangles the fob in front of Batman.
He’s finally trained enough to be polite during their handovers; he takes the fob from her possession without force, and waits for her to situate herself in the passenger side before getting in himself.
“No helmets. Well, you better not get me killed,” Vivienne says blandly when Batman starts up the car. He purrs, lovely and smooth like a spoiled cat. “Or I won’t offer custom hubcaps. Ones with little bat decals.”
There’s a faint smirk on His Dark Grace’s face. “I’m better than that.” He teases with a brief revving of the engine.
The test track comes into hyperfocus in front of Vivienne; on a whim, she clicks an additional control up top near the rearview HUD of the car that opens up the gate to the outdoor track. She can recognize the adrenaline building up—it’s what follows a good challenge, either mental or physical, and she welcomes it with relish.
“Let’s see it, then,” she nods towards the gate, unable to help her toothy grin in return.
---
Her baby boy “handles,” is what Vivienne can say for now. She didn’t expect the response to be buttery smooth on first iteration, and for something experimental. The seeds of something are present—His Dark Grace pulled them into two hairpin turns in sequence—and coupled with the snappiness, she thinks they have an unpolished gem in their hands. The car is like having a barely tamed big cat, leashed up and ready to let loose on one’s orders.
It’s fucking exhilarating.
The stupid showoff figures out how to manage the car quickly enough. He pulls another turn that lets them slide perfectly against the side of the track into the bay that’s meant to be a small pit area. The uncovered half of his face is not as expressive as he pretends to be, day-to-day, but the expression present is full-on cocky as hell.
(Honestly, Vivienne can admit to liking it—or at least, this is much more tolerable than the public-facing himbo she needs to politely shake hands with whenever he deigns to muck around at the office.)
“Proven enough?” His typical growl is less forced, and more of a pleasant rumble that harmonizes nicely with the idling engine. In the full furry get-up, subtle side glances and all that aren't really possible. His Dark Grace turns to stare at her, goading for a response.
The cowl and the whited-out effect of the lenses are eerie up close, but dealing with the devil is much less intimidating when one has leverage. In Vivienne’s case—he knows she’s capable and motivated enough to possibly add something like a kill-switch to the car, just to fuck with him if he pisses her off. His Dark Grace wants her baby real bad, and with proof of concept she can probably get him to do anyt—
Hold up, Vi, say that again? Her inner Ros stops that train of thought.
“Differential adjustment shou—well. Acceptable,” she gives him the compliment, leaning back into the seat with a more relaxed posture. They never make the ergonomics of them fit for anyone of average height; her hairpin has slightly loosened from how the back of the seat rubbed against her updo, and she pulls the pin free to restyle her hair. She feels the Batman’s stare as he waits, and she keeps him waiting. “You’re competent and quick on the uptake. Adaptive.”
Wrangling the Batman was the equivalent of wrangling a division of egotistical engineers working at the cutting edge of everything—all very competent people that will step on each other’s toes, get in each other’s way, and are too used to being correct that they forget their purpose. The balance was slightly off here, becoming the classical joke of “one horse-sized duck or a hundred duck-sized horses.”
But everyone has their leverage points, and all are susceptible to The Carrot versus The Stick in personalized ratios and applied judiciously. Vivienne didn’t aim to do anything as Machiavellian as put the Dark Knight of Gotham under her thumb, but that’s where he somehow ended up. She, by sheer grit, found the winning combo of getting him to listen to her—at least when it came to nonsensical designs—and actively soliciting her opinion. She’s not dumb enough to lose that leverage when she sees it in her hands. Maintaining it requires work: showing agreeableness to an extent, with the occasional reminder that he’s in her territory and he would do well to remember it. A little flick to the ego, occasionally.
It helps to put into perspective that, at the end of the day, Bruce Wayne the Batman is nearly five years younger than her. Engineers and technicians under her, the ones ranging from two to ten years younger, with a plethora of tertiary degrees between them—her mind can’t help flagging them as “children” until they temper themselves with a real project, from bid to deliverable.
So, of course her brain demoted the fucking CEO of her company and its parent conglomerate to being a “boy” as soon as he called her Lucius’s PA. She has found no evidence contrary to that ever since. With him neatly categorized, accounting for unique attributes and handling, Vivienne knows very well how to deal with “boys,” because she wouldn’t have gotten this far otherwise.
“Hah. If you had wrecked my shit, as with your typical M.O., maybe I could’ve gotten a nice dinner out of you tonight.” Her tone is intentionally sharper, diction and accent more crass with the habitual New Jersey attitude rather than her usual featureless cosmopolitan speech pattern. Dusk was here, steadily eating away the evening hours as autumn progressed. They’ve stayed later than she anticipated, but…
…for once, in a very long time, she was having fun. The evidence is on her teeth—she was grinning wide enough to catch some of her lipstick on her canines, which her tongue can clearly feel the slick of it.
“Well. We’re done here. Keep up with”—she gestures at the whole of him with a dismissive hand— “that well enough, don’t piss me off, and maybe you’ll earn your new toy by the end of next quarter.”
That whole posturing—after prolonged proximity and the hot-and-cold of seemingly hard-won praise versus snide dismissiveness—is supposed to make His Dark Grace harrumph and skulk away.
Today, he grabs her hand. It’s not violent or anything, but he doesn’t touch her. She’s lost her temper enough to jab her finger in his cowled face, and he’s been taken aback enough and in the position to let her. He’s never touched her.
That—that’s not in the script.
His Dark Grace continues to stare at her, his exposed jaw not quite clenched enough to denote a possible temper tantrum incoming. So, she minutely cocks her chin up, adding a slight challenging tilt to her expression with a raised eyebrow and the slight baring of her teeth in a sneering smile. What are you doing? Are you really—really?
He has her wrist with his left hand, and his full attention and facing is towards her. The right hand comes closer. And because he doesn’t pull her that she lets him, it’s so much closer until—of all fucking things—she feels the gauntlet leather past the corner of her mouth and pressure on her teeth.
The thumbpad has her lipstick stain on it from him wiping it away.
She scoffs, half-between a laugh and an incredulous squawk, and tries to tug her hand away. It doesn’t budge. “How badly do you want this car?” The tone isn’t right—wrong mix of scathing versus levity. And yet, it seems to draw him in closer, the tireless masochist that he is. “Didn’t I say ‘don’t piss me off’?”
“I’m hoping to do the opposite.” This close, he doesn’t bother with the growl at all. He’s almost inaudible over the engine. The lipstick-stained gauntlet cups her jaw, the thumb carefully avoiding her skin, and he leans in when she doesn’t resist.
What the fuck. What is happening. Did he bug the apartment, overhear the sleepover-bullshit talks with Ros?
It’s fascinating, clinically speaking. From what Vivienne’s heard of local gossip, especially among the secretary pool and their particular brand of romantic fantasizing, the Batman is expected to be rough. Wild. He’s supposed to fulfill all sorts of “tall, dark, and handsome” daydreams and lonely imaginings at night, along with fighting crime—what a busy guy.
So, to have him soft and insistent at her mouth, but more like asking for permission than forceful, is a fascinating gap between expectation and reality. He’s not a shabby kisser at all; the playboy types usually have something else going on that makes everyone else do the work for them, and they get to reap all the pleasure. That is apparently not the case here.
Eventually, he pulls back so they can breathe and reassess.
Vivienne looks. She really looks—his face may be mostly covered, he’s still staring, but he’s flushed, visibly steadying his breathing, and her lipstick stains his mouth in a viscerally appealing way that makes her want to lick her teeth. He’s paradoxically much more exposed than she is.
And with that, His Dark Grace is really such a pretty boy—something Vivienne has constantly lamented with Ros over for his pissy attitude. He’s perfectly amenable now, though.
“You really want this,” she says this again, her free hand coming down to pat the console between them and leaning closer.
He’s still a cheeky shit, though. “I want it,” and tilts his head again, ready to close the distance at her say-so.
She means the damn car, but— “Then you’ll have to work for it,” and she closes the distance herself.
#phd-verse#on ands#verm bits#so uh. what am i up to rn? (besides this)#still finishing my document (380+ pgs now)#i ended up running some additional experiments bc i'm insane#and i'm still waiting for the various admins in my life to fucking give me my paperwork and aehrohewohrowehofsd#and and trying to not commit homicide before i graduate :)#but back to the snippet---i hope this is some interesting insight into the whole thing
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Just a few years ago, maternal mortality was the rare reproductive justice issue that seemed to transcend partisan politics. In late 2018, Republicans and Democrats in Congress even came together to approve $60 million for state maternal mortality review committees (MMRCs) to study why so many American women die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Donald Trump—not exactly famous for his respect toward pregnant women and new mothers in his personal life—signed the bill.
But some Republicans’ enthusiasm for these committees began to wane at around the same time abortion rights advocates began warning that draconian restrictions on reproductive care would only push the shamefully high US maternal mortality rate—the worst among affluent countries—even higher. Nor did conservatives, like Idaho lawmakers, appreciate the policy recommendations that came out of many MMRCs.
Texas, whose record on maternal mortality (and maternal health more broadly) has been an embarrassment since long before Dobbs, has a history of controversial attempts to play down potentially unwelcome findings from its MMRC. After the Dobbs decision, when the state committee was working on its report examining maternal deaths in 2019, Texas officials decided to slow-roll its release until mid-2023—too late for lawmakers to act on its recommendations. “When we bury data, we are dishonorably burying each and every woman that we lost,” one furious committee member told the Texas Tribune. Ultimately, officials released the report three months late, in December 2022. Soon afterward, the Legislature reconfigured the MMRC, increasing its size—but also ejected one of its most outspoken members.
Now Texas officials have stirred up the biggest furor yet, appointing a leading anti-abortion activist to the panel. Dr. Ingrid Skop, an OB-GYN who practiced in San Antonio for 25 years, will join the MMRC as a community member representing rural areas (even though she is from the seventh-largest city in the US). But she also represents a largely overlooked segment of the anti-abortion movement: researchers who seek to discredit the idea that abortion restrictions are putting women’s lives in danger. To the contrary, Skop and her allies argue that abortions are the real, hidden cause of many maternal deaths—and that abortion restrictions actually save mothers’ lives.
One of several doctors suing to revoke the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, the medication abortion drug at the center of one of this term’s blockbuster Supreme Court cases, Skop has been a familiar face on the anti-abortion expert-witness circuit for more than a decade. She has frequently testified in favor of strict abortion bans in court cases, state legislatures, and before Congress. In a high-profile case this winter, she submitted an affidavit stating that a Dallas woman named Kate Cox— who was seeking a judge’s permission to terminate a nonviable pregnancy—did not qualify for an abortion under Texas’s medical exception. The Texas Supreme Court rejected Cox’s petition, and to get medical care, the 31-year-old mother of two had to flee the state. Apparently, Skop’s hard-line stance against abortion-ban exemptions extends to children. At a 2021 congressional hearing, she testified that rape or incest victims as young as 9 or 10 could potentially carry pregnancies to term. “If she is developed enough to be menstruating and become pregnant, and reached sexual maturity,” Skop said, “she can safely give birth to a baby.”
Skop’s relatively new role as vice president and director of medical affairs for the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, has solidified her standing in the anti-abortion firmament. Lozier, which has positioned itself as the anti-abortion alternative to the Guttmacher Institute, described Skop’s role as “coordinat[ing] the work of Lozier’s network of physicians and medical researchers who counter the abortion industry’s blizzard of misinformation with science and statistics for life.” Elsewhere on its website, Lozier notes that Skop’s “research on maternal mortality, abortion, and women’s health has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals.”
What her Lozier bio doesn’t mention is that three of the studies Skop co-authored about the purported risks of abortion were retracted by their publisher this February. Attorneys representing Skop and her fellow anti-abortion doctors had cited the studies in the FDA-mifepristone case. As my colleague Madison Pauly reported, an independent review of the papers found “fundamental problems,” “incorrect factual assumptions,” “material errors,” “misleading presentations,” and undisclosed conflicts of interest between the studies’ authors (including Skop) and anti-abortion advocacy groups (including Lozier). In a rebuttal on its website, Lozier called the publisher’s move “meritless,” adding, “There is no legitimate reason for [the] retractions.”
Skop’s work on maternal mortality hasn’t received the same attention as those papers—yet. But her reflections on maternal deaths in the US have raised plenty of eyebrows.
Skop has argued repeatedly that abortions are directly and indirectly behind the rise in maternal mortality in the US. In a 53-page “Handbook of Maternal Mortality” she wrote for Lozier last year, she says that CDC maternal mortality data can’t be trusted in part because “there is much unreported maternal mortality and morbidity associated with legal, induced abortion, often obscured due to the political nature of the issue.” She claims that a history of abortions puts women at risk in pregnancy, childbirth, or during the postpartum period—whether from maternal complications she contends are linked to prior abortions, or from mental health problems, such as drug addiction and suicide, purportedly caused by abortion regret.
In another paper co-written with some of the same co-authors as in her retracted studies, Skop and her colleagues call for an overhaul of how states and the CDC collect maternal mortality data, urging the inclusion of “mandatory certification of all fetal losses,” including abortions.
And whereas the vast majority of public health experts predict that maternal deaths and near-deaths will increase in states with abortion bans, Skop takes the opposite view. In yet another Lozier paper, she lists 12 reasons why states with abortion bans will have fewer maternal deaths. For instance, she argues, because of abortion restrictions, women will have fewer later-term abortions, which tend to be more dangerous to women than first-trimester procedures. (In fact, researchers report, that state bans have led to an increase in second-trimester abortions.) She claims that since women who don’t have abortions won’t have mental health problems supposedly associated with pregnancy loss, their alleged risk of postpartum suicide would be reduced. (In fact, the idea that abortion regret is widespread and dangerous has been thoroughly debunked.) Skop makes a similar argument about abortion’s purported (and disproven) link to breast cancer, arguing that fewer abortions will mean fewer women dying of malignant tumors.
Much of Skop’s advocacy work has been done in collaboration with colleagues who share her strong ideological views. MMRCs, by contrast, have a public health role that is supposed to transcend politics—their focus is on analyzing the deaths of expectant and new mothers that occur within a year of the end of the pregnancy. Typically, committee members come from a wide range of professional backgrounds: In Texas, these include OB-GYNs, high-risk pregnancy specialists, nurses, mental health providers, public health researchers, and community advocates. Panels also aim to be racially and geographically diverse, the better to understand the communities—Black, Indigenous, rural, poor—where mothers are at disproportionate risk of dying. In a country that hasn’t prioritized maternal health, MMRCs are uniquely positioned to identify system failures and guide policy changes that can save lives.
Texas’s most recent maternal mortality report found that 90% of maternal deaths were preventable, racial disparities in maternal outcomes weren’t improving, and severe childbirth complications were up 23%—all before the state’s abortion bans took effect.
It remains to be seen how someone with Skop’s background and agenda will fit in with her new colleagues, especially at this dire moment for women in the state. Maternal health advocates aren’t optimistic: “This appointment speaks volumes about how seriously certain state leaders are taking the issue of maternal mortality,” Kamyon Conner, executive director of the Texas Equal Access Fund, told The Guardian. “It is another sign that the state is more interested in furthering their anti-abortion agenda than protecting the lives of pregnant Texans.”
Skop, contacted through Lozier, didn’t respond to a request for comment. In a statement to the Texas Tribune, Skop said she was joining the Texas MMRC because questions about maternal mortality data deserve “rigorous discourse.” “There are complex reasons for these statistics, including chronic illnesses, poverty, and difficulty obtaining prenatal care, and I have long been motivated to identify ways women’s care can be improved,” she said. “For over 30 years, I have advocated for both of my patients, a pregnant woman and her unborn child, and excellent medicine shouldn’t require I pit one against the other.”
Meanwhile, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists criticized Skop’s appointment, asserting that members of any maternal mortality review committee should be “unbiased, free of conflicts of interest and focused on the appropriate standards of care.”
“The importance of the work done by MMRCs to inform how we respond to the maternal mortality crisis cannot be overstated,” the group said in a statement. “It is crucial that MMRC members be clinical experts whose work is informed by data, not ideology and bias.”
#us politics#news#republicans#conservatives#gop#mother jones#texas#maternal mortality review committees#dobbs v. jackson women's health organization#the texas tribune#Dr. Ingrid Skop#2024#mifepristone#Kate Cox#child pregnancy#abortions#abortion bans#reproductive justice#reproductive health#reproductive rights#Charlotte Lozier Institute#Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America#Handbook of Maternal Mortality#maternal mortality#Texas Equal Access Fund#Kamyon Conner#The Guardian#American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
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Shidou & Zlatan Ibrahimovic Similarities
I was looking into Shidou's Big Bang Drive and fell down the Zlatan Ibrahimovic rabbit hole. Turns out, Shidou and his favorite player share a number of similarities, including incredible bicycle kicks, play styles, backgrounds in Taekwondo, and ...abrasive personalities.
First, the Big Bang Drive.
Ibrahimovic is the first video result when you search "bicycle kick" for a reason. In a 2012 Sweden vs England friendly, Ibrahimovic pulled off what is widely considered a legendary bicycle kick goal—some have argued one of the best goals of all time—30 yards out. With the vid / gif and the manga panels below, I think you’ll see some similarities between Shidou’s Big Bang Drive here in Chapter 130 and Ibrahimovic's goal.
Below is a play-by-play, followed by background on Ibrahimovic and similarities he and Shidou share:
(I am not claiming the Big Bang Drive was based on Ibrahimovic's goal. I just think it's interesting. Also, you can find the "Egoist Bible" player interview in which Shidou states Ibrahimovic is his favorite player here, courtesy of 705point8 on Twitter.)
The goal starts with Sweden (Ibrahimovic's team) stealing the ball from England and passing long—like Sae did—to where only Ibrahimovic and two members of the opposing team are. Like how Shidou is going up against Reo and Aryu after moving on "reflex" toward the goal, knowing Sae would work his magic and get him the ball.
The goalie had come out from the goal, and heads the bounced pass away (like Gagamaru), but it isn't enough to get past Ibrahimovic. Or Shidou.
Shidou pulls off an overhead bicycle kick goal bonkers enough to have even Sae show some surprise on his face. Look how far away Shidou is! Is it 30 yards like Ibrahimovic's? Can't say for sure, but it looks damn close. Man, I can't wait to see this match animated!
Sae's face 😂
I'm no football expert—I’m running on Ted Lasso, Blue Lock, and a dream here—but is it possible that Shidou's Big Bang Drive might be an homage to Shidou's favorite player and his famous thirty-yarder? I think so. Or it's entirely coincidental, you decide.
...
Background + Similarities
Here's the man in question, recently and younger.
(Content warning: Ibrahimovic, like Shidou, is sometimes crude and violent, and has sexualized aspects of the game. The explanation below is far milder than what you’ve already read in the manga, just want to mention it.)
(Unless otherwise noted, everything below came from Ibrahimovic's Wikipedia page.)
If you read Ibrahimovic's Wikipedia page, you can see why Shidou is a fan:
One of the best strikers of all time? Three whole decades of playing football, a twenty year international career, still playing into his forties (though not always as striker now)? (We know how football is life for Shidou!) Brash and outspoken? Known for acrobatic goals? Making yellow and red cards fly like paper planes? Makes sense to me.
Notably, Ibrahimovic's been carded for the following:
Cursing—meh, pretty tame.
Literally slapping, elbowing, kicking, punching, and headbutting people—sometimes even his own teammates! Okay, now we’re on to something.
Grabbing his junk to taunt jeerers. Sexualizing things for no damn reason, just like Shidou! 😅 Ibrahimovic’s done this at least twice, I believe. And fairly recently, 2016 and 2019.
...
Perhaps the most interesting connection is Taekwondo. I had assumed Shidou had some degree of experience in Taekwondo after seeing his crazy form / flexibility in Chapter 88 and googling “axe kick." But what do you know? Ibrahimovic attended Taekwondo classes as a child and received an honorary black belt. Several articles either imply (The Athletic) or state (The Sun; Goal) that Ibrahimovic's black belt is not just an honor bestowed for highlighting Taewkondo, but also a real distinction he earned at only 17.
I'm saying: both Ibrahimovic and Shidou have some Taekwondo experience, starting in their youth.
(Ch. 102)
Ibrahimovic says: #Taekboll
See him in action on his Insta:
...
Reading further on his Wikipedia, Ibrahimovic definitely has the Blue Lock ego down. Here are some fun lil quotes:
“‘You bought a Ferrari, but you drive it like a Fiat.’ — Ibrahimović disparages Guardiola on how he was used at Barcelona.”
“He announced his arrival in idiosyncratic style by taking out a signed full-page advertisement in the Los Angeles Times that simply said, ‘Dear Los Angeles, you're welcome.’” (A WHOLE DAMN PAGE IN THE LAT—I can’t 😂)
“Post match, Ibrahimović stated he was ‘happy for Toronto because they'll be remembered as my 500th victim.’” (Such a dick, I love it.)
“‘Swedish style? No. Yugoslavian style? Of course not. It has to be Zlatan-style.’ — Downplaying the influence of his background, Ibrahimović describes his unique playing style.” (Okay, King JJ.)
“One thing is for sure, a World Cup without me is nothing to watch." (I dunno, bro, I enjoyed the last one.... 😂)
Here’s one that highlights another connection to Shidou / freedom in football: “I was sacrificed and no longer had the freedom on the pitch I need to succeed.” He literally said this about playing with LIONEL MESSI. But, ya know, fair point. Shidou and Rin had so much fun sharing the spotlight (and the ball). (Important to note that Ibra has also expressed admiration and respect for Messi.)
“…Ibrahimović announced he was to leave the LA Galaxy through his Twitter account, telling Galaxy fans ‘[Y]ou wanted Zlatan, I gave you Zlatan. You are welcome. The story continues...Now go back to watch baseball.’” (Baseball! The shade! 😂)
The actual tweet with what, I'm assuming, is a fan-edit he 'borrowed':
Not from Wiki: As recently as a 2021 interview, Ibrahimovic stated, "Deep down, I think I'm the best player in the world."
...
Alright, this got more involved than I intended. Going to wrap it up with some brief notes on play style and some fun facts.
Straight from Ibrahimovic's Wikipedia page: “Known for his strong mentality and leadership, as well as his extroverted and highly competitive personality, despite his success, he has been criticised in the media for his arrogance, aggression and rebellious character, as well as his lack of discipline on the pitch, in particular in his early career, which has led him to involved in confrontations with other players, some of his managers and even reporters.” Can definitely see why Shidou might feel some kinship with Ibrahimovic!
Wiki also notes ESPN described Ibrahimovic as "good in the air, quick, tall, strong and agile, he plays well with his back to goal and boasts some of the best finishing, vision, passing and ball control around.” Mr. Demon Wings / "Flying Killing Machine" Shidou is definitely good in the air (Ch 131). Ibrahimovic has Shidou by five inches in height, but Shidou is over six feet and is shown to be acrobatic. Shidou also has incredible game vision. Look at Mr. "My Weapon is 'Extreme Spatial Awareness!!" go (Ch 130)! And he plays well with his back to goal. "As long as I'm inside the penalty area, even with my back to it... I can find the goalmouth without even seeing it!!"
...
Lastly, Ibrahimovic is active and popular on social media—apparently the most followed Swede on Insta with over 55 million followers. He often signs posts with a 🦁. He doesn’t drink alcohol. He had a rough childhood. He's married and has two kids. Ibrahimovic also has a habit of referring to himself in the third person.
Phew. Okay. I got shit to do. You can tell where I got tired. I might revisit this later, especially if I come across anything else relevant to Shidou / Blue Lock. But since you made it this far, I'm begging you to read this article in The Athletic. It is so damn funny and interesting and weird, complete with talkshow appearances and everything—and it really highlights things like his sense of humor and ability to laugh at himself (on his own terms, at least). And makes you wonder just how much of his ego is a facade.
There’s obviously a lot more about Ibrahimovic and his decades long career. Like how he played in Sweden’s U-18 Team, multiple leagues, and World Cups; has scored a “perfect hat-trick,” etc., etc.. But I tried to give a brief overview of what seemed most relevant to Blue Lock and my favorite character.
Hope you found it interesting / helpful, too! Might get around to posting some of the notes I've taken on Shidou and Sae for a fic now that I'm finally free from Tumblr purgatory and can actually be seen in the tags.
Update: As of June 4, 2023, Ibra has officially retired. At age 41, after over 30 years in the sport. AC Milan sent him off in style, and he trended at #1 worldwide on Twitter for hours after the announcement. He's still very active on his socials and seems to be enjoying retirement, playing pickle ball and attending Coldplay concerts!
#blue lock#shidou ryusei#zlatan ibrahimovic#itoshi sae#bllk#blue lock meta#blue lock manga#ryusae#ryusei shidou#sae itoshi#blue lock u20 arc#u20 arc#shidou meta#shidou ryusei meta#zlatan#aryu jyubei#mikage reo#gagamaru gin#TFEC#xoxobluelocknotes#ibrahimovic#shidou#bllk ch 130#bllk ch 102#bllk ch 131#BlueLockMangaSpoilers#sae x shidou#blue lock manga spoilers
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Interplanetary Federation of Education (IFEd)
(WIP)
Mission Statement: IFEd is dedicated to fostering excellence in education, promoting collaboration among planets, and ensuring educational equity and community engagement.
Structure:
The IFEd is structured consists of a panel led by an experienced Chairperson and comprising representatives from participating planets, education experts, community leaders, and youth representatives. Policy advisors ensure alignment with interplanetary governance, while a dedicated Diversity and Inclusion Officer fosters equitable representation. The Secretary-General manages administrative tasks, committee chairs lead focused sub-committees on key aspects like charity assessment and resource allocation, and an advisory council, including seasoned educators, former members, and individuals with historical knowledge, provides valuable guidance.
Resource Allocation Committee
The Resource Allocation Committee (RAC) is tasked with overseeing the distribution of resources to schools based on their charitable contributions. This committee is responsible for evaluating and quantifying schools' public service, research contributions, and donations. It utilizes a weighted system, considering factors such as the size, quality, history, and prestige of each school to determine tiered contribution levels. The committee establishes a fair and dynamic framework, ensuring that schools with varying resources and capacities can actively engage in meaningful philanthropy. The RAC plays a crucial role in fostering equity, accountability, and continuous improvement within the interplanetary education system.
Quantifiable Metrics for Charitable Contributions:
Public Service
Volunteer Hours: The number of volunteer hours contributed by students and staff from elite schools to community service projects. This metric reflects the direct involvement of the school community in public service.
Community Impact Index: A standardized index that quantifies the tangible impact of community service projects initiated by schools.
Public Research
Research Publications: Research publications produced by schools that directly contribute to public knowledge, address societal challenges, or provide solutions to community issues.
Innovation Index: An innovation index that assesses the level of creativity and novelty in research projects undertaken by schools.
Public Charity
Monetary Donations: The total amount of monetary donations made by schools to charitable organizations, community projects, or public welfare initiatives. This provides a direct measure of financial support to the community.
Scholarship Funds: The establishment and contributions to scholarship funds that support underprivileged students or those with exceptional talent. This metric reflects a commitment to fostering educational opportunities within the broader community.
Material Contributions: The value and quantity of non-monetary donations made by schools. This includes items such as food, potions, elixirs, medicine, technology, and other tangible contributions that directly benefit the community.
Resource Impact Assessment: Evaluates the impact of non-monetary donations on the community. This assessment could consider the essential needs addressed, technological advancements shared, or improvements in the quality of life resulting from these donations.
Tiered Contribution Levels:
Tier 1 Contributors
Characteristics:
Size: Large student body and extensive facilities.
Quality: Renowned staff, state-of-the-art facilities, and high-achieving students.
History/Prestige: Long-standing history and high prestige within the interplanetary education system.
Contribution Requirement:
High contribution requirement due to the school's extensive resources and capacity for significant impact.
Tier 2 Contributors
Characteristics:
Size: Moderate to large student body with well-maintained facilities.
Quality: Competent staff, good facilities, and academically proficient students.
History/Prestige: Established history and a positive reputation.
Contribution Requirement:
Moderate contribution requirement, reflecting the school's capacity to make a substantial impact.
Tier 3 Contributors
Characteristics:
Size: Varied student body size with adequate facilities.
Quality: Capable staff, functional facilities, and engaged students.
History/Prestige: A decent history and a respectable reputation.
Contribution Requirement:
Moderate to low contribution requirement, considering the school's balanced resources and potential impact.
Tier 4 Contributors
Characteristics:
Size: Smaller student body with basic facilities.
Quality: Developing staff, basic facilities, and a growing student body.
History/Prestige: Limited history and reputation.
Contribution Requirement:
Low contribution requirement, recognizing the school's developing status and potential for growth.
Tier 5 Contributors
Characteristics:
Size: Small student body and limited facilities.
Quality: Novice staff, basic facilities, and entry-level students.
History/Prestige: Recently established with minimal reputation.
Contribution Requirement:
Minimal contribution requirement, acknowledging the school's entry-level status and the need for gradual growth.
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