#2009 greed

[mrshobbit]

This girl must be severely traumatised after all the shit she saw scar do

(im calling bullshit if she aint)

[secretsofthemourning]

All I can do is think about Saw VI over the last day and a half. A lot of people say horror isn’t relevant and doesn’t have anything to say, but I think people forget that horror, as a genre and regardless of medium, has always been very prescient. Horror has always, always been political.

SAW VI (2009)

[crazydiscostu]

Avatar (2009)

The Last Airbender????

Avatar has been hailed as a visually stunning and emotionally powerful film. Directed by James Cameron, the film is set in a distant future where humans have depleted Earth’s resources and are now seeking new resources on other planets. The film’s portrayal of the conflict between the humans and the Na’vi is also thought-provoking. The humans, driven by greed and a desire for resources, are…

[simply-ivanka]

How the Biden-Harris Economy Left Most Americans Behind

A government spending boom fueled inflation that has crushed real average incomes.

By The Editorial Board -- Wall Street Journal

Kamala Harris plans to roll out her economic priorities in a speech on Friday, though leaks to the press say not to expect much different than the last four years. That’s bad news because the Biden-Harris economic record has left most Americans worse off than they were four years ago. The evidence is indisputable.

President Biden claims that he inherited the worst economy since the Great Depression, but this isn’t close to true. The economy in January 2021 was fast recovering from the pandemic as vaccines rolled out and state lockdowns eased. GDP grew 34.8% in the third quarter of 2020, 4.2% in the fourth, and 5.2% in the first quarter of 2021. By the end of that first quarter, real GDP had returned to its pre-pandemic high. All Mr. Biden had to do was let the recovery unfold.

Instead, Democrats in March 2021 used Covid relief as a pretext to pass $1.9 trillion in new spending. This was more than double Barack Obama’s 2009 spending bonanza. State and local governments were the biggest beneficiaries, receiving $350 billion in direct aid, $122 billion for K-12 schools and $30 billion for mass transit. Insolvent union pension funds received a $86 billion rescue.

The rest was mostly transfer payments to individuals, including a five-month extension of enhanced unemployment benefits, a $3,600 fully refundable child tax credit, $1,400 stimulus payments per person, sweetened Affordable Care Act subsidies, an increased earned income tax credit including for folks who didn’t work, housing subsidies and so much more.

The handouts discouraged the unemployed from returning to work and fueled consumer spending, which was already primed to surge owing to pent-up savings from the Covid lockdowns and spending under Donald Trump. By mid-2021, Americans had $2.3 trillion in “excess savings” relative to pre-pandemic levels—equivalent to roughly 12.5% of disposable income.

So much money chasing too few goods fueled inflation, which was supercharged by the Federal Reserve’s accommodative policy. Historically low mortgage rates drove up housing prices. The White House blamed “corporate greed” for inflation that peaked at 9.1% in June 2022, even as the spending party in Washington continued.

In November 2021, Congress passed a $1 trillion bill full of green pork and more money for states. Then came the $280 billion Chips Act and Mr. Biden’s Green New Deal—aka the Inflation Reduction Act—which Goldman Sachs estimates will cost $1.2 trillion over a decade. Such heaps of government spending have distorted private investment.

While investment in new factories has grown, spending on research and development and new equipment has slowed. Overall private fixed investment has grown at roughly half the rate under Mr. Biden as it did under Mr. Trump. Manufacturing output remains lower than before the pandemic.

Magnifying market misallocations, the Administration conditioned subsidies on businesses advancing its priorities such as paying union-level wages and providing child care to workers. It also boosted food stamps, expanded eligibility for ObamaCare subsidies and waved away hundreds of billions of dollars in student debt. The result: $5.8 trillion in deficits during Mr. Biden’s first three years—about twice as much as during Donald Trump’s—and the highest inflation in four decades.

Prices have increased by nearly 20% since January 2021, compared to 7.8% during the Trump Presidency. Inflation-adjusted average weekly earnings are down 3.9% since Mr. Biden entered office, compared to an increase of 2.6% during Mr. Trump’s first three years. (Real wages increased much more in 2020, but partly owing to statistical artifacts.)

Higher interest rates are finally bringing inflation under control, which is allowing real wages to rise again. But the Federal Reserve had to raise rates higher than it otherwise would have to offset the monetary and fiscal gusher. The higher rates have pushed up mortgage costs for new home buyers.

Three years of inflation and higher interest rates are stretching American pocketbooks, especially for lower income workers. Seriously delinquent auto loans and credit cards are higher than any time since the immediate aftermath of the 2008-09 recession.

Ms. Harris boasts that the economy has added nearly 16 million jobs during the Biden Presidency—compared to about 6.4 million during Mr. Trump’s first three years. But most of these “new” jobs are backfilling losses from the pandemic lockdowns. The U.S. has fewer jobs than it was on track to add before the pandemic.

What’s more, all the Biden-Harris spending has yielded little economic bang for the taxpayer buck. Washington has borrowed more than $400,000 for every additional job added under Mr. Biden compared to Mr. Trump’s first three years. Most new jobs are concentrated in government, healthcare and social assistance—60% of new jobs in the last year.

Administrative agencies are also creating uncertainty by blitzing businesses with costly regulations—for instance, expanding overtime pay, restricting independent contractors, setting stricter emissions limits on power plants and factories, micro-managing broadband buildout and requiring CO2 emissions calculations in environmental reviews.

The economy is still expanding, but business investment has slowed. And although the affluent are doing relatively well because of buoyant asset prices, surveys show that most Americans feel financially insecure. Thus another political paradox of the Biden-Harris years: Socioeconomic disparities have increased.

Ms. Harris is promising the same economic policies with a shinier countenance. Don’t expect better results.

[uwmspeccoll]

World Kindness Day!

Today is World Kindness Day, so to celebrate, we present An Act or Two of Kindness by William Saroyan with wood engravings by Helen Siegl. Published by Penmaen Press in 1977 in Lincoln, MA, this first edition was designed and set by Michael McCurdy. This book features two tales that highlight acts of kindness amidst a world consumed by greed. The stories are titled The Ashtree Talker and The Crying Drunk. 

William Saroyan (1908-1981) was an Armenian American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He extensively wrote about the experiences of Armenian immigrants living in America. In 1940, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and, in 1943, an Academy Award for Best Story. 

Helen Siegl (1924-2009) was a printmaker born in Austria who spent most of her life in the United States. However, her experiences in her home city of Vienna during the tumultuous period of Nazi annexation, World War II, and the subsequent Soviet occupation shaped her artistic beliefs. 

View other posts on the Penmaen Press.

View other posts with work by Helen Siegl.

-Melissa, Special Collections Graduate Intern

[boyrobott]

the jesus christ allegory for 2009 astro is so insane for real. he's the only living son of a man who can create life from nothing (tenma), he's blessed with incredible powers beyond any ordinary understanding, he offers kindness and forgiveness to everyone he meets (cora, zane, hamegg), he revives the dead and heals the sick (zog), he descends from "heaven" (metro city) to "earth" (the surface) to live as a mortal man (pretending to be a human kid), he is shunned and persecuted for his powers despite living peacefully and helping others, he is sentenced to death by the authorities, he sacrifices his own life to protect others from their "sins" (president stone, who symbolizes the citizens' greed and moral decay), and he is resurrected later by his own power (the blue core from zog). literally why are we sleeping on this it's so fucking cool

[jellypawss]

Why the sims 4 sucks;

The sims 3: 2009-2014 (Not the best in the franchise but jam packed full of content and not over produced like the sims 4.)

The sims 4: 2014-current (It's been ten years, the game is shallow, there are ZERO fun quirks like the past titles, this is the sims but for literally children when their playerbase is 18+. At least four packs have the same theme and are just recycled content. They are capitalizing as much as they are coping with this dying game. It sucks.)

There is no life or love in the sims 4 and so far the details about Project Renee really highlight the greed of EA. Project Renee is set to be almost like a mobile game, multiplayer with actions that earn you money and a "battlepass."

EA doesn't care what you want, no matter how long you've supported this game. They want your money. Stop defending them.

[chcrryade]

⠀EVERY  TIME,⠀I  MAKE  IT  SO  OUTRAGEOUS!  ˚ ◯ ⁺⠀⠀⸻⠀⠀Born out of just the right mix of spite,  desperation,  and greed,  CHERRYADE  ( 체리 에이드 )  are a last-ditch attempt—a withered hand clawing its way out of the grave—at boy group fame for their managing company JAGUAR.  Following their previous list of tragedies,  the seven-piece ensemble  (cobbled together with more members that weren’t even signed to them to begin with that those that were)  seemed to be yet another set-up,  another failed venture that would last a year or two at the very most before a scandal ripped them apart from the inside out and they were shoved aside to make room for the next five minutes of fame JAGUAR were chasing.

However,  they seemed to be the ones that broke the mould of those that had come before them.  Wrapped in an almost artificially sugary-sweet concept with the uneasy-on-the-eyes colour scheme to match  (although the contrasting tang of their sharp personalities cut through the façade more often than not),  CHERRYADE saw success after their debut release ‘DOUBLE DIP,’  a five-track mini album that made everything seem a little bit more real,  proving all those that had been calling bullshit wrong.  They were here,  and they were hopefully here to stay—for better or for worse,  completely uncaring of whether people liked them or not;  as was per with all of JAGUAR’s attempts before them.

They were  (predictably)  not without scandal,  and allegations were thrown at them not long after debut for both their less-than-stellar treatment of their fellow idols in the industry and having loose lips when it came to secrets that weren’t always their own,  but surprisingly there was nothing to be heard about infighting this time around.  Some said they were just the ones that managed to get along,  or they had turned over new leaves, but others theorised that they were all still horrible,  and this time had simply united to wreak their havoc on their mutual enemies instead.

Still,  despite the articles and the fan videos and the general confusion of the crowds at all of their shows while they wondered if they should be throwing rocks or waving their lightsticks in time,  CHERRYADE persevered.  Next was the full album ‘TASTE TEST’ in March 2022,  one that,  despite the more suggestive nature of the songs within,  was another that was met with widespread success.  Everything seemed to be going swimmingly—until the November 2022 one-time-only reunion of JAGUAR’s first and only co-ed duo JUST4U,  who ran from 2009 until 2016.  Another explosive scene of theirs erupted right in plain view,  for everyone to see,  more insults thrown and glass smashed.  An apology  (that,  although was signed by Seungdae,  no-one believes he actually wrote a word of—witnesses said he was egging them on,  if anything)  was released after the media got ahold of the story,  and after that all things JAGUAR  (and by proxy,  all things CHERRYADE)  seemed to fall quiet for a while.  No comeback was announced,  nor rumoured,  nor..  Anything.  It took the leader of the seven himself making a stand and asking for something to be done for any more moves to be made,  and not terribly long after—May 2023,  to be exact—the mini album ‘SWEET (SOUR)’ was dropped.

It seemed the hype hadn’t died down at all,  as fans were just as excited as they’d been for the previous two releases,  and the attention was back in full swing.  Next came the second full album ‘CLUB SODA’ in November 2023,  and most recently the mini album ‘LEMON ON ICE’ in April 2024.  Allegations and accusations have followed them all throughout their careers,  ranging from bullying to drug use to renting rooms in love hotels to the countless rumours of infighting that seem to crop up every two weeks.  But CHERRYADE just keeps on pushing,  not paying any mind to any article that drags their name through the mud for the nth time. 

They have yet to take the title of JAGUAR’s longest running group  (as that crown still belongs to the aforementioned duo JUST4U),  but fans are hopeful and non-fans are more..  Curious.  One journalist described them as a group that was a little like an incoming car crash—you don’t know how things are going to end up,  but you still don’t want to look away.

So,  whether you’re dancing along to their  (admittedly catchy)  discography,  or praying on their imminent disbandment,  CHERRYADE will be here to welcome you all the same.  Grab a gumdrop and make yourself comfortable,  because it’s almost certain that you’re going to be here for a while.

⁺⠀ෆ  ⠀›  ⠀ ᶻ .ᐟ  BACK2BASICS…

GROUP NAME⠀☆⠀CHERRYADE  ( 체리 에이드 )

LABEL⠀☆⠀JAGUAR

DEBUT DATE⠀☆⠀AUG 1,  2021

DEBUT RELEASE⠀☆⠀DOUBLE DIP  ( MINI-ALBUM )

CONCEPT⠀☆⠀COLOURFUL,  SUGARY GOODNESS!

GREETING⠀☆⠀CRACK,  FIZZLE,  POP!  WE’RE CHERRYADE!

FANDOM NAME⠀☆⠀SODA BOMBS

⁺⠀ෆ  ⠀›  ⠀ ᶻ .ᐟ  LINEUP…

KIL DOYEON⠀✶⠀‘98  LEADER MAIN DANCER

DUAN ‘JALEN’ JIEYANG⠀✶⠀‘97  MAIN VOCALIST DANCER

JEON HAEIL⠀✶⠀‘99  LEAD VOCALIST LEAD RAPPER

QIAO YIJUN⠀✶⠀‘01  MAIN RAPPER CENTRE

HWAN ‘GOGO’ MINHUI⠀✶⠀‘02  MAIN DANCER VOCALIST

AHN JAEHEE⠀✶⠀‘02  MAIN RAPPER VISUAL

LEE HASUN⠀✶⠀‘03  MAIN VOCALIST MAKNAE

⁺⠀ෆ  ⠀›  ⠀ ᶻ .ᐟ  DISCOGRAPHY…

AUGUST 2021⠀‘DOUBLE DIP’⠀MINI ALBUM

MARCH 2022⠀‘TASTE TEST’⠀FULL ALBUM

MAY 2023⠀‘SWEET (SOUR)’⠀MINI ALBUM

NOVEMBER 2023⠀‘CLUB SODA’⠀FULL ALBUM

APRIL 2024⠀‘LEMON ON ICE’⠀MINI ALBUM

[imabeautifulbutterfly]

Hi Mimi 🥰

Congrats on your follower milestone!!!

For your event, may I request "Here Comes The Sun" by the Beetles with Tup x Fem!Reader? (I decided against the bass 😂)

Please and thank you 💚💚💚

@the-bad-batch-baroness

Thank you so much love @the-bad-batch-baroness!

This was such a good request, not only do I love the Beetles, but I love Tup, and we were robbed of his screen time.

I hope you love my take on this song.

Also 'euk cyar'ika' means little darling/sweetheart. Close enough. ;)

Love oo.

Here Comes The Sun

Warnings: Mentions of tattoo meanings, discussions of slavery, murder, prison, killing, saving, surviving, tenderness, kissing. If I miss anything, please let me know.

Main Master List   | Star Wars Jukebox Roulette |   AO3 Link

You had a crush on Tup from the first moment you met him.

It didn’t surprise you when you both quickly became friends, after all he had a calming and friendly personality, which made it easy for him to become friends with just about anyone. You smiled as you tilted your head while you had lunch with him.

“What is it, mesh’la?”

“Why a teardrop tattoo? I don’t get it. I mean it looks good, but usually a teardrop tattoo signifies a prison term or the fact you’re a murderer. Which you aren’t.”

“Aren’t I?” Tup lowered his utensils and looked at you, a soft smile on his face, “I may not be in prison, but I am an indentured servant to the Republic. I may not have killed out of necessity, greed, or even passion, but am I not killing when I’m in battle?”

“But you’re a soldier.”

“Does that make it more acceptable to take a life?” He shook his head, “I’m sorry mesh’la, maybe this is a bit too heavy-handed a topic for lunch.”

You reached your hand forward and took his, “Is that what you think of yourself, a prisoner who commits murder?”

“Am I wrong?”

You let out a sigh, as you tugged him to his feet to follow you. You guided him to your quarters, and pulled out a holopic display that hung on one of the shelving units. He watched as you swiped through several pictures, until you found the one of your village. 

“This was my village.”

“Was?”

You nodded, “Separatist droids came in and wiped most of them out. There’s only a handful of us left. What they did,” you pointed to the picture, “was murder. You aren’t killing people, Tup. You’re saving them. It’s because of soldiers like you, that my village … whatever is left of it is able to keep surviving. Plus you’re not killing your dismantling droids.”

Despite the turmoil within him, he couldn’t help but feel a weight had lifted off his shoulder. As his eyes drifted to your face, he could feel his soul healing, as though the long, cold, lonely winter that had been his existence since he emerged from his growth chamber had finally started to melt.

He felt his first genuine smile return to his face as he looked at you, he let out a slight chuckle, “You surprise me mesh’la.”

“Me?”

“Mmhmm,” he nodded as he put back your holopic display back to its original spot. “No one has ever … no, no one was ever concerned about my thoughts or even asked me about the teardrop tattoo.” He turned to look at you, “No one bothered to ask, about what I felt inside. What had been tormenting me since the very beginning, but you…”

He closed the distance between the two of you, his gaze was full of his own heart’s desire. He wanted to tell you so many times, countless times of what you meant to him. He gently reached up and gently cupped your cheek, his thumb stroking the soft skin under his finger. 

“You’re the only one that sees me. It’s as though you’re my sun, you make everything alright, just with your smile alone.” His other hand reached up to cup your cheeks, almost keeping your head there, looking up into his eyes.

“Because of you, euk cyar’ika, the ice that has surrounded my heart since the day I was born has finally started to melt. Because of you …” he leaned closer, his breath brushing against your face. 

Your hands moved, holding his forearms, you weren’t sure if it was to steady yourself or to keep him close.

“Because of you, there’s sun in my life, ner euk cyar’ika” he closed the distance, pressing his lips against yours, wanting, needing to pour out everything he had felt for you since the moment you came into his life. 

Main Master List   | Star Wars Jukebox Roulette |   AO3 Link

Tag list:

@liadamerondjarin @badbatch-simp24@spicymcnuggies@lady-ren @firstofficerwiggles @darkangel4121 @discofern @kavecika @monako-jinn-stories @ladykatakuri @avathebestx @theroguesully @furyhellfire66 @carodealmeida @ciramaris @sprout-fics @twinkofthedink @dindjarin-mandalorian @ulchabhangorm @littlemisspascal @tortor-mcgee @vodika-vibes @clonethirstingisreal @crosshair-is-the-superior-clone @totallyunidentified @griffedeloup @leotatombs @leotawrites

[thegikitiki]

Cracked Democracy...

Support a Starving Artist, Available on Redbubble, and Please Read Below:

Aside from the major narratives from the last election cycle—such as immigration, abortion rights, trans rights, and the Israel-Gaza conflict—one significant distraction that captured public attention was the price of eggs. So, let’s crack a few and delve into this issue.

Over a 20-year period, from 2005 to 2024, the average cost of a dozen eggs in the U.S. was:

2005 - $1.22                     2006 - $1.31                     2007 - $1.68

2008 - $1.99                    2009 - $1.66                     2010 - $1.66

2011 - $1.77                      2012 - $1.84                      2013 - $1.91

2014 - $2.02                     2015 - $2.47                     2016 - $1.68

2017 - $1.47                      2018 - $1.74                      2019 - $1.40

2020 - $1.51                     2021 - $1.67                      2022 - $2.86

2023 - $2.80                    2024 - $3.37

Have eggs increased in price? Without a doubt. But how much have they really increased? If you compare 2005 to 2024, the price has risen by $2.15, or 176.2%. Inflation! Well, yes and no. A detailed examination of current versus cumulative inflation rates, wage stagnation, and other related topics is beyond the scope of this dissertation.

So, let’s look at what you’re paying now in 2024 compared to 2005. Adjusted for inflation, $1.22 per dozen in 2005 is equivalent to $2.64 in 2024. At $3.37 per dozen now, that breaks down to $0.06 more per egg now compared to then. That morning breakfast of two eggs (though one is enough) is costing you $0.12 more over 2005 prices, or a total of $0.56, which still seems like a bargain. But while these figures don’t follow a straight path of inflation as many other factors calculate into this (e.g., production numbers, labor costs, weather, etc.), the overwhelming reason you’re paying more is greed. I wish I could say “plain-and-simple” greed, but that term does not give it justice. As for this particular and far-reaching subject, we’ll save that for another day.

Inflation will always play a part in what we pay for everything, but to blame it all on “Bidenomics Inflation” (inflation rate 2017 of 2.1% vs. 2.6% currently) falls short of the true story. The populace, easily distracted and believing facts to be "fake news," accepted the entire false narrative of rampant inflation, selling out our democracy. For the price of an egg.

[goodfellowmusings]

I recently fell back into love with Star Trek.

It must’ve been years ago when I was 7 years old that I began watching strictly once a week Star Trek: The Next Generation, early on I was overwhelmed by the technobabble constantly asking my stepdad what all of it meant and who the characters were. I instantly felt an attachment to Data and Lieutenant Worf (I put this down now to my then undiagnosed autism and my being a “difficult” child at school (which actually means I bit an older kid Max on the hand after he pushed me into some bushes)) we would have pasta with green pesto on the floor of the living room and watch 1, or if we were lucky 2, episodes of Star Trek. It taught me many things in life over the years I watched all of The Next Generation, looking back now and seeing the contrast in me not understanding Encounter At Farpoint and recognising Hugh in Descent.

After the final episode, which I refused to watch for a month so Star Trek wouldn’t end, we tried like every time I finish a great tv show to fill the void. First Contact brought me back and I was too young to see flaws in Generations, Insurrection and Nemesis… but I couldn’t attach to Deep Space 9, Voyager or Enterprise. It was then that I thoroughly enjoyed the 2009 reboot movie Star Trek, somehow it was perfect for someone who could only love The Next Generation and had seen nearly nothing of Kirk or Spock. But after all that Star Trek left my life, I forgot all about it for years…

I’m now in my final year of secondary school, come September I will be leaving home and going to University. Since I started Star Trek I thought I was gay, thought I was bisexual, thought I was straight, thought I was cis, thought I was genderfluid, was suicidal just before, during and after Covid, came out as trans, saved a friends life, realised I was a lesbian, saved a different friends life, did 10 different exams, reconnected with my dad, disconnected with my dad, went to 2 schools, did 6 musical productions, made many friends lost like 80% and looked damn good doing it. Then the other day I rewatched Star Trek (2009). Remembering all my memories of Star Trek in a 2 hour and 6 minute window was an experience, looking back a formative science fiction show where we solve all of the worlds problems, there is no discrimination, no environmental crisis and no greed really led to me to the left wing anarchistic beliefs I hold now, along with the empathy I hold in my heart that I learnt from these characters, the strive to better oneself and help others. We’ve not reached Star Trek yet but a small part of me hopes we will…

And now I get to watch a bunch of great telly again.

[the-monkey-ruler]

Monkey King 2009 美猴王 Episode 40 (subs)

40th Episode of the 2009 Monkey King series with Subtitles. Wukong refuses to listen to any of heaven's rule and leads him and King Li to butt heads. Is there any way to solve this? Luier meanwhile takes advantage of a foolish immortal's greed to finally release the full power of the NIned Headed Lion Saint.

[fullmetal-scar-simping]

Any thoughts on them changing Scar’s face in 03? It’s so much smoother compared to Mangahood. Like do you prefer one face over the other? Thoughts on the fact that they changed Scar’s face but nobody else’s, why do you think it happened at all?

Hm. I do have thoughts on the matter, but so much of it is more about how fans perceive 03 Scar vs the mangahood Scars (because manga and Broho Scar do differ in their appearance as well, though perhaps not as immediately as 03 does) than anything to do with the contrasts in the anime vs the manga itself.

The way fans talk about 03 Scar's appearance just. Man. Bums me out. Pre-Brotherhood you had your bog standard cishet white dudes harping about Scar looking "like he should be in a boy band," and listen. If you were a teen or young adult in the oughts, you knew exactly what the subtext for the statement was: fag.

I'd have thought, all these years later, that I would be seeing better quality opinions on the dude. Unfortunately, rejoining the fandom after over a decade post-Brotherhood I seem to find similar, disparaging sentiments. Except now it's painted more as a critique of 03 being a separate beast from the manga's canon. Yet the unmistakable undercurrent of disdain towards a man being rendered more pretty, young, vulnerable, and with a somewhat greater range of emotionality remains intact, only now Western fans have the more overtly masculine, older, emotionally restrained depiction of Scar everyone prefers in Brotherhood to use as an additional way to shit on 03 Scar's looks.

People seem forever confounded by a version of Scar who isn't Peak Masc™®© and 'scary'/intimidating, so they gawk at 03's version like its a rift in reality. But when I first saw what Scar looks like in the manga a ways back (please note, I started with 03 back before 2009 and Brotherhood) I just shrugged. And finally watching Brotherhood earlier this year I was no less unbothered over the shift in Scar's appearance.

To me the change in artstyles alone across both anime and the manga makes everyone look rather different; 03 Envy and Broho Envy have completely different faces, hair density, and even demeanours but I don't see non-stop posts about them. Hell, 03 Greed vs Mangahood Greed looks VERY different to me. Mangahood looks so young and, as you put it, smooth. 03 looks older, more like he actually lives in the seedy underbelly of society. But again, no one bats an eye at this. Folks have at least noted Ed and (human body) Al's design differences, but that's accepted without much hullabaloo. 03 Lust also has (albeit more subtle) design changes over the manga, and the later Broho version looks unlike both 03 and manga Lusts. Hohenheim of Light and Von Hohenheim? Look quite different! Their face shapes aren't even identical. So no, I don't actually feel that only Scar ended up looking unlike his manga counterpart. It's a more overt change compared to most of the rest of the cast, but he's not the only one who looks younger/more beautiful. (And come on, damn near everyone has a retroactive glow-up in 03 versus Brotherhood, given the difference in styles.)

I just don't get why Scar's changes should be such a big deal.

Maybe I'm used to media that has scores of iterations of the same core characters, where even artstyles change on the regular. So 03 Scar vs manga Scar vs Broho Scar designs never registered as anything controversial. Frankly the fact of these differences are banal. Tweaks in appearance happens per iteration. Which isn't to say that there aren't choices being made by the artists. Just that it doesn't impact how I feel or engage with each version of this character.

What I find the most bizarre about this memefication of "2003 Scar is a twinky emo boy who cries and is wimpy, give us back our brick wall Big Man who has two expressions max" is that this comes from a mostly queer contingent on tunglr dot fuck. A queer, "feminist" fandom, who giggles at a character of colour the fandom mostly sees as a 'fearsome villain' having ever been rendered with such proximity to emotional complexity, to the the feminine, and deriding this character design and writing choice. It also flanderizes the version of Scar they supposedly prefer, because the mangahood Scars aren't Mega-Sized American Shooter Space Marines Who Are Gruff and Feel Nothing despite whatever weird cultural-gender hangups these same fans are (perhaps unwittingly) clinging to. The role those Scars are meant to inhabit is the racialized caricature of the dangerous Other, but even they aren't as flattened as the fanon renders them.

We can be honest though. Nobody in this fandom has a problem with other attractive characters. Only 03 Scar fuck's 'em up. And most of the people bothered by 03 Scar's appearance aren't even Scar fans to begin with. They just find it uncanny that a "terrorist villain" could ever look, well. Alluring. It crosses people's wires.

Skill issue.

As for why the 03 character designer(s) chose to change Scar's appearance from the manga, I can only speculate. It's worth noting that a cleaner, more youthful appearance does tend to carry its own signifiers in pop media. Especially for a younger audience, a more relatively youthful design can encourage seeing oneself in a character's shoes. To strip away some of the degree of separation that teen and young adult viewers may otherwise feel towards a displaced, religious, soldier-murdering character, in the hopes that they instead connect with Scar. Not as a figure meant to terrify them but rather a fleshed out character grappling with his own journey.

Maybe, more cynically, the character designers just thought a younger, more conventionally attractive Scar might better draw in viewers.

Unless anyone has some sources from the team behind the 2003 anime, we can't know the reasons with any certainty.

To answer your question: looks wise, I don't have a strong preference. Older, younger, more (relatively) bulky or more (relatively) trim (but for real tho, we know 03 Scar isn't a twig, yeah?), a prettier face or a more grizzled one, doesn't matter to me. It just adds variety to the meal, ya know? All Scars are gorgeous to me. If I could lovingly cradle all three huge men in my arms at the same time, I would.

But character wise? 03 is my fave, hands down. I prefer his staunch principles, his struggles, his characterization, his arc, his radicalism, his emotional range, just! Everything about him is pitch perfect to me. There's a reason why he's the one in my pfp, the one I drew for my blog header, hell the one I draw the most obsessively overall.

Sucks ass that sifting through ages of fan content yields so much constant trash slung at my fave amongst faves. 🥲 But my expectations for this fandom have never left rock bottom anyhow.

[i-am-minty-fresh]

God (?) Headcanons for One Piece:

Luffy is the god of the hearth. Looks like gear five.

Zoro is the demon king of the wrath ring. His real form looks like his Asura form.

Sanji is the fallen angel of creation. His true form looks like the bliblically accurate eye of rings kinda.

Nami is the demon queen of the greed ring. A imagining a naga kinda deal (totally blinged out with gold and shit tho).

Usopp is a fae nymph. He looks the same but he’s got sharp canines and gold spiraling eyes (and also somehow always has got leaves in his hair).

Chopper is an earth deity for good health that takes the form of a small boy with deer-like features (who’s true form kinda looks like the Jötunn from the movie The Ritual).

Robin is an ancient god of knowledge. In my mind she kinda looks like Life from The Loving Reaper Comics by Jenny Jinya with long hair that shows the stars and long black gowns that look like molten rock.

Franky is a sentinel who’s real form is his post-timeskip form. His kinda like Zog from the 2009 Astroboy movie, but instead of hard metal he’s rock like the Terra-cotta sculptures in China (the Terra-cotta Army in the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, I mean).

Brook is the king of death. His normal form has him looking like he did when he was alive with plaster white tattoos of his skeleton all over his body. He’s got like a hades thing going on.

Jimbei is the god of the sea. It’s got a human form that looks incredibly similar to his god form (never changing the dad build). When he’s in his real form he glows like a lava lamp to show the sea (it changes with his mood).

I like to imagine that none of the strawhats know that Luffy is also a god so they all have to hide their mystical forms when he’s around (they’ve all got jewelry to keep their human forms: Zoro’s earrings, Sanji’s tongue piercing, Usopp’s got a lip ring, Nami’s got her bracelets, Chopper’s got his hat to hide his horns, Robin uses an old spell, Franky can just change on command, Brook’s got a shell necklace, and Jimbei’s got rings. (Luffy has a helix piercing that he only half understands what it does)).

[gatekeeper-watchman]

Our Wonderful Prosperous Economy

Our glorious and supreme leader tells us we have a wonderful and prosperous economy. Hogwash! We have and live in a false economy. Anyone who thinks we have a prosperous and growing economy is grossly misinformed and/or out of touch with our present reality. The fact is, our economy and our people have been raped and pillaged by the Corporatocracy and Power Elite, who govern our nation, for many years, and their efforts are ongoing as we speak. The downright truth is that the standard of living of the average person in this nation has been on a downhill course since the beginning of the eighties (ever since the Republicans came to office) and is continuing downward to this day. Our economy, as I said, is a false economy.

We are also told our GDP is up; Unemployment is the lowest in years—especially the unemployment of the black population. You think? Why wouldn’t it be? We’re living on borrowed money. We—almost all of us—are up to our necks in debt. Our credit cards are maxed out; our homes are mortgaged to the hilt; our people, on average don’t have enough savings in reserve to even meet minor emergencies; our national deficit and debt is the highest in history (some even say our nation is bankrupt); and our annual deficits and debt are increasing every year—almost to a point of “no return”. Again, our economy is a false economy. We are living on borrowed money.

Are you aware as to how many people are working two and three jobs just to survive? Do you really think this can continue? I tell you, this prosperous economy of which our leaders speak is an illusion—a “pie in the sky”. They are lying through their teeth. They are looking at their standard of living—how they live. They are the “Haves”. They have no ideas as to how the “Have Nots” live. So you keep on spending; have a ball; but remember what I am telling you. Just because we have been doing this, living beyond our means, and getting away with it for so many years doesn’t mean it can continue. We have been living a lie; and, even worse, the outsourcing of jobs through globalization notwithstanding, the rapid increase in technology and automation has left us with a workforce unqualified to do the many high paying jobs that are open to them and going unfilled every day. That’s a fact. These are facts. I’m telling you the truth.

In the subject of accounting, we are taught, “Debits on the left, Credits on the right. I submit this to you for your thinking: The Credits on the right of our nation’s balance sheet, i.e. Our National Debt, are offset by the Debits on the left, the Bank Accounts of our Corporatocracy and Power Elite, taken from “We the People” in their greed and avarice to which there appears to be no end. You may be assured that when the crash comes, they will have cash when we don’t.

The subject of basic economics, Econ 101 if you will, tells us that in bad times one borrows and, in good times, one pays back what he borrowed. Why, in these so-called “good, wonderful, and prosperous times” are we borrowing, i.e. the deficit, like there is no tomorrow? Do we not realize this money must be repaid? When President Obama entered office, January, 2009 he inherited an annual deficit of $1.3 Trillion, a national debt of $10 Trillion, and a crashed economy. When he left office, he had reduced the deficit to approximately $500 Billion and an improving economy. Now our deficit is headed north once again to a Trillion Dollars, our debt is $21 Trillion, and our glorious Speaker of the House is primed on the one hand to take away our Social Security and Healthcare and, on the other to increase our Defense budget when they don’t even have an auditable set of books. Go figure.

It’s past time when we should wake up and start thinking. Republicans vs. Democrats isn’t our real enemy. That’s a distraction to keep us battling one another. Our real enemy is the Corporatocracy and Power Elite who govern us through their lobbyists and other satchel carriers—our Shadow Government, if you will. We need to take back our government, to get private money out of politics, to elect competent moral people to office, reverse Citizens United, and be an informed and responsible people—our obligation as a responsible citizen in a democratic republic; and we should vote in every election. It’s our job—not the other guy’s. You know he, the other guy, isn’t going to do anything.

That’s my view. From: Steven P. Miller, @ParkermillerQ,gatekeeperwatchman.org , TM, ‎Founder and Administrator of Gatekeeper-Watchman International Groups. #GWIG, #GWIN, #GWINGO, #SPARKERMILLER Wednesday, December 18, 2024, Jacksonville, Florida USA 3:10:57 PM www.facebook.com/gatekeeperwatchnan www.facebook.com/ Instagram: steven_parker_miller_1956

[docgold13]

Profiles in Villainy

Envy

Thousands of years ago, the brilliant alchemist Van Hohenheim created a powerful homunculus bestowed with sentience and its own free will.  This Homunculus would go on to be known as 'Father.'  This Father would go on to become the official alchemist to the emperor of the ancient nation of Xerxes.  The Emperor wanted Father to make him an immortal, yet Father tricked him and cast an alchemic spell that killed the emperor as well as the entire population of Xerxes.  

The countless souls of the populace were then sealed within seven Philosopher Stones which Father mixed with the blood of Hohenheim so to create seven new Homunculi.  Father named each his creations after the Seven Deadly Sins of the Old Testament: Wrath, Greed, Gluttony, Pride, Sloth, Lust and Envy.  Father and his Seven Sins would go on to wage terror for years, secretly manipulating the course of mankind whilst further garnering power and influence.  

Envy is one of these dangerous Homunculi.  Along with being a tremendously skilled combatant, he has the ability to alter his form thus making him the ultimate master of disguise.  Although Envy prefers the pronouns he/him, his appearance is entirely androgynous.  

Similar to his namesake, Envy feels a great contempt and jealousy. He has a seething hatred toward humankind, envious of the authenticity of their beings, their inner strength and capacity to foster true interpersonal connections with one another.  The unmet desire to feel this himself has caused Envy to hate humanity with a great passion and he relishes any opportunity for manipulation, murder and mayhem.

Actresses Minami Takayama provided the voice for Envy in the anime (with actress Wendy Powell voicing the character in the English dub). The villain first appeared in the first episode of the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime, airing on April 5th, 2009.