#rio de Janeiro human rights

[fangod9624]

Ladies and gentlemen... I have an imagination...

Since my world accepts fictional characters from cartoons to video games and more, I don't really accept mascots to be real in my world because mascots are mascots and they must protect their rights.

If I'm able to do so, here are some scenarios from mascots I like if they were in my world. Some are fake, some are for fun, some are basically true...

[isawken]

fun fact. david arquette bought the rights to bozo the clown in 2021.

fun fact 2. he intends to use this power to create some kind of "bozo-verse". a multiverse of clowns

fun fact 3. this actually fits perfectly within the Bozo Mythos and makes as much (if not more) sense as the proliferation of the multiverse in the MCU

(im just including this image because it think the tonal dissonance between the two chosen pictures in that header is fucking hilarious)

so i'm sure most of the people reading this post are zoomers or millenies. and idk about y'all but by the time i came around to human consciousness around 1998 or so, Bozo was part of a long-gone television era, one that belonged to the boomers and Xers before me. i was vaguely aware of him as a residual pop culture entity but never really encountered him myself.

well, as it turns out, there is no true one Bozo.

Bozo the clown was originally created as a character in a children's book in 1946. a voice actor portrayed him in a read-along record to said book and became so popular, Bozo was promoted to Occasional Television Star in 1949. he maintained his popularity and in 1957, the rights to Bozo were sold to a new owner, who decided to syndicate the clown. and this is where the Bozo-verse came in.

because the new owner made Bozo available to lease by smaller local television networks, that meant that dozens of studios across the American continent had their very own Bozo. dozens of Bozos!! from Detroit to Rio de Janeiro to Ontario to Mexico City and several other locations in between, an insane amount of Bozos existed at the same time from the late 1950s to the mid 1970s. and within those dozens of Bozos, some would be portrayed by half a dozen actors during their runs. each were unique, distinguished by their varied performances and variation in costuming. some Bozos lasted longer than the rest- the Brazilian Bozo notably lasted until the early 2010s. but of course, along with the death of the clown as a cultural that started around the 80s, Bozos started falling off the air left and right.

i, Known Clown Appreciator, am genuinely happy that david is wanting to help rehabilitate the clown to a new generation of potential New Clown Appreciators. and i'm not saying he has to, but i am saying i think the world could really use a Spider-Verse style Bozostravaganza of a movie. i think the people are ready and willing to get sillay

[cognitivejustice]

How local heroes reforested Rio’s green heart

Photographs taken years apart show how reforestation has transformed Morro Do Urubu, an area in the north of Rio de Janeiro: left, virtually treeless in 1990; right, abundant tree cover in 2019. Composite: Angela Meurer & Plinio Senna

A restoration project to revitalise the Atlantic forest is making the city a much more liveable place in the face of increasingly frequent heatwaves

Rio de Janeiro’s striking blend of urban infrastructure and tropical jungle, cradled between granite peaks and the sea, earned the city Unesco world heritage status in 2012. Yet few people realise that the verdant forests cloaking Rio’s dramatic hills are largely the result of human intervention.

“None of this was here before. Nothing, zero trees,” says Santos, motioning towards the woods surrounding Tavares Bastos, a small favela clinging to a hill that overlooks Guanabara Bay. The 40-year-old, who uses the name Leleco, planted some of those trees himself as part of a pioneering reforestation project run by the municipal government.

Leleco initially got involved with the project because he needed a job. Twenty years on, he leads three small teams to maintain and enrich restored forests at Tavares Bastos and two other sites. It’s challenging work that involves toiling away in the heat, scrambling up steep slopes with delicate seedlings and constantly weeding invasive non-native species such as bamboo. Still, Leleco couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

“I feel responsible when I look at all this, how it was before and how it is now. I see birds that weren’t here before, animals that have come back into the forest, and I think, boy, I’m a part of all this,” he says, with a hint of pride.

[freedomfireflies]

July Fic Recs 🤍

Rabbit Rabbit!! I hope June was a beautiful month for you all! Filled with love, relaxation, and really good stories!!

I feel like this is one of the best places to be on the internet because I always meet so many kind, talented, and insanely creative people! The stories I've gotten to disappear into this month are some of my favs so, without further ado...

~ Not Another Time by @be-with-me-so-happily

Summary: Harry is used to things getting crazy on tour. What he wasn't ready for is how much he misses YN during the Latin American leg of his tour. But at the Rio de Janeiro show, he needs to expect the unexpected.

The sequel to Could We Not, and a beautiful depiction of Harry's love and fear for somebody he loves! It felt so realistic, and I could actually feel Harry's stress while I read 😭💞

~ One More by @harry-on-broadway

"It never failed to surprise you just how well you fit in his arms."

This was so cute, I'm actually still crying??? A sweet blurb about the show before the last show. I wished on every star to be able to crawl into this story and live in it. Sadly, it hasn't worked yet.

~ Been There All Along by @lonelycowgirls

Summary: Where Stella goes to Harry’s last night at Madison Square Garden and gets a call that could change everything.

If really Harry isn't somewhat like this...I'm suing. Honestly

~ Zipper by @1d1195

"Harry was a smart guy, but he truly hadn’t a clue as to why he was so mad at the prospect of liking her."

The cutest, the most beautifully written, the sweetest story IN. THE. WORLD. The title alone deserves every award ever, but the connection to the plot??????? I'm still thinking about it

~ Love Don't Cost A Thing by @justmystyles

Such a beautiful concept!! I like conversations and stories like this because they really do feel so real! It helps really immerse you in the every day life of a relationship with him. And the line, "It's an us thing," LIVES IN MY HEAD RENT FREE!!!

~ Mutually Beneficial by @cherryjuiceblues

Summary: Y/N finds life difficult and Harry just wants to make her feel good.

I mean...we all just want a man that wants to make us feel good as much as this one does...AM I WRONG???

~ Guilty by @jarofstyles

Best Friend's Dad!

Everything they write is perfection and this sexy ass age gap story is no different, I am actually still sweating and convulsing I AM A SIMP

~ I Want Forever by @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite

Summary- Harry and Y/N broke up early into Love On Tour. Harry struggled to truly move on, as did Y/N. With tour over, a lost soul shows up at Y/N’s door one night, ready for forever.

Straight perfection, let's be real! A ring, the final show, AND AN ANGSTY, FLUFFY HARRY?? *chefs kiss*

~ Eros (Cupid) Harry by @0nlythrowharrybeaux

Harry is Eros and he is absolutely smitten with a human.

Listen, he absolutely would be this cute and you BEST BELIEVE I'm so down bad for this man...I literally foam at the mouth when I think about it, AND HE'S FUNNY?? Dead on sight

~ Personal by @shawnxstyles

summary: you and harry are best friends who tell each other everything. or so you thought. when harry finds out you’ve barely done anything sexual, he offers to change that. and then things get a little… personal.

Best friend Harry helping you out. Need I say more?? I NEEDN'T

~ Scared by @adorebeaa

You and Harry have your first argument right before his final show in Italy, about his final show in Italy.

THE CUTEST MOST DEVASTATING ADDITION TO THE FINAL SHOW!!! CRIED FOR HOURS

~ Y/N and Harry are expecting a baby, and they’re both very impatient by @tobesolonely

I mean...delicious honestly 😭 Just...wow

~ Sex Therapist by @tsumtsumrry

in which Harry helps you out a bit, and he’s not actually a sex therapist. (but he might as well be)

I am...scarily attracted to this man. And I am okay with that 😭💞

~ Brother's Best Friend by @helladirections

Summary: Harry is YN’s brother’s best friend and YN isn’t a little kid anymore. Featuring Italrry, teasing, and a sea view. 

He is....so hot. I genuinely have no other words to describe it honestly. It's...it's bad over here for me

~ Complicated Freak by @lukesaprince

Summary: Where you’ve been hooking up with your best friend’s dad and decide to tease him with a tiny bikini.

I think about this man once a week at least...okay fine, once a day. oKAY FINE I THINK ABOUT HIM ALL THE TIME and I'm okay with that

And a shout-out to @londonharry for providing us with all the gifs we've been needing to help us through our depression 🫶 You do the Lord's work, thank you!!

I hope you all find some amazing things to discover!! Cannot wait to see you again next month!! 💞

Previous Recs:

~ Fic Rec Number 1

~ Fic Rec Number 2

~ Fic Rec Number 3

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil human rights minister faces sexual harassment accusations

Brazil's government summoned Human Rights Minister Silvio Almeida on Friday to clarify accusations that he sexually harassed several women, including another cabinet minister.

In a video released on his social media, Almeida, an activist for the legal defense of minority rights, denied all the accusations, saying they are "absurd lies" and baseless.

One of the women who was allegedly harassed is the prominent Racial Equality Minister Anielle Franco, local news outlet Metropoles reported, citing 14 people, including government officials and friends of hers.

Franco, also a human rights activist, declined to comment when asked about the report. Her sister, former Rio de Janeiro city council member Marielle Franco, was murdered in 2018 together with her driver in a case that was reported internationally.

Continue reading.

[rjzimmerman]

An Indigenous Author Offers Ancestral Answers to Today’s Environmental Crises. (New York Times)

Extract from a review of this book from the New York Times:

When Ailton Krenak walked, barefoot, onto the stage of a packed auditorium during a book festival in Rio de Janeiro, the crowd hushed. He lifted the microphone, sending earsplitting feedback across the room.

He took the screech as his cue. People nowadays are too reliant on technology, he said; it is good to be reminded that “we are the ones who speak, not the little gadget.”

Krenak, an Indigenous author from Brazil, used the microphone malfunction to launch into one of the main messages of “Ancestral Future,” his new book: Technology often gives people the illusion they’re tackling the crises humanity has unleashed on the planet, he said. Societies should, instead, try to chart the path ahead by looking at what was here before: nature, and ways of living that had all of nature, and not just human beings, at their center.

At 70, Krenak, a member of the Krenak Indigenous group of Brazil, has been in public life for decades, as an activist for Indigenous rights, a conservationist and a philosopher. But as the ravages of climate change and the biodiversity crises become more visible in the lives of billions, Krenak has never been more popular.

“Ancestral Future,” which was published in English last month, was a best seller in Brazil. A previous book, “Ideas to Postpone the End of the World,” also a best seller there, has been translated into English, German, Japanese and other languages.

What he provides in his latest book, Krenak said, is less a solution than a challenge. He delivers a sharp criticism of capitalism and of a development paradigm he blames for making the planet increasingly uninhabitable. But what he proposes, he said, is not “to end capitalism and go live in the wild,” but to strengthen society’s relationship with living things, and to develop a worldview that has the fullness of nature at its center.

[s10127470]

My Wolverine and the X-Men Rewrite (Part 3) and some Bonus Content.

Hey guys!

I’m back with another part of X-Men Destiny, my rewrite of Wolverine and the X-Men that I haven’t posted in the last four months.

Well, I’m back now to fix that issue!

So without further ado, let’s get right into this!

Burning Fury (February 27th, 2009):

Already a month into the series and we’re already at the show’s second TV movie!

This would see The X-Men heading to the most feared land of them all....

The X-Men get two major reports, both of which coming from Brazil.

The first being a series of mysterious fires appearing all over Rio de Janeiro.

And the second being a series of seismic activity occuring in The Amazon Rainforest.

And thanks to Emma via the use of Cerebro, the group discover the cause of these incidents were recent mutant awakenings.

And so, the team, accompanied by Jubilee and Illyana this time, travel to Brazil in order to find the mutants responsible for the incidents and help them.

Plus also to keep them out of the hands of The Brotherhood.

Our team decides to stop in Rio first.

I think this would definitely be one of the most visually pleasing episodes of the series.

Like, have you ever been to Rio?

This movie event would really allow you to soak in the scale and beauty of this city.

Plus, it's always cool to see characters in tropical environments.

And because I can, this movie would have The X-Men wearing special tropical attire in order to blend in with the locals.

Cyclops would wear a blue T-shirt, tan shorts, red and white sneakers, and his usual sunglasses.

Storm would wear a black sundress with a grey thundercloud with lightning bolt pattern scheme and gold sandals.

Wolverine would be wearing his usual casual attire, but with black sandals.

Emma would be wearing a white strapless, navel-bearing sweetheart top, a light blue sarong, and white sandal heels.

Beast would be wearing a yellow tank-top, black shorts, and yellow sandals.

Nightcrawler would be wearing a red polo shirt (the Brazilian ones with the logo on the right side of the chest), black shorts, and black sandals with white socks.

Angel would be wearing a sky blue short-sleeved collared shirt, white shorts and tan boat shoes.

Colossus would be wearing a red tank-top with yellow rings, black shorts, and red, yellow and white sneakers.

Iceman would be wearing his usual casual attire.

Shadowcat would be wearing her usual casual attire, but with black jeans shorts.

Forge would be wearing a yellow T-shirt with a blue collar ring, baggy blue pants, and his usual shoes.

Jubilee would be her usual attire.

And Illyana would be wearing a black tank-top, blue jean shorts, and black sandals.

Also since I know some of you are gonna ask this, Beast and Nightcrawler would be using image inducers to make themselves look like normal humans in order to better blend it.

The team arrive in Rio the evening of the next day and check into The Copacabana Palace, which they made reservations for.

The X-Men manage to reserve a pretty massive suite with about six bedrooms.

As for who's gonna be sharing a room with who....

-Cyclops and Emma

-Storm and Angel

-Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Jubilee

-Beast and Forge

-Colossus and Iceman

-Shadowcat and Illyana

However, there is a catch.....

All of the rooms only have one bed.

This would led to some pretty interesting set-ups and interactions between the room sharers.

-Cyclops and Emma would be somewhat awkward, specifically with the fact that this would be the first time we would see the latter's lingering feelings for the former. Which is not helped with the fact that Cyclops is still being faithful to Jean. However, we would get a pretty tender moment of Cyclops reminiscing about the nights he shared with Jean and the talks they would always have together. And Emma, despite her feelings for him, finds herself rather touched by Cyclops' story.

-Storm and Angel would be having tons of sweet moments with each other. Like I mentioned in part 2, I really want to showcase their relationship, so that the latter's eventually tragedy would actually hit pretty hard.

-Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Jubilee are not having a good time. They're already not too big on sharing a room with each other, but sharing a bed is just the cherry on top of all this. Though Nightcrawler and Jubilee would have it the worst as this movie would reveal that Wolverine snores (and stabs) in his sleep.

-Beast and Forge are a little better, but not by much. Beast has a habit of curling up to things in his sleep. And unfortunately, Forge would find that out the hard way and finds himself spending the night in Beast's grasp.

-And finally, there's the Rasputin siblings, Iceman and Shadowcat. Given that the pairs have a crush on each other, you can already tell that this would be incredibly awkward for them. However, we would get a pretty sweet scene where Iceman and Illyana fell asleep first.....laying right on Colossus and Shadowcat. And although they would be panicking at first, after a while, they would eventually become comfortable, and soon enough, they start cuddling.

As for their sleepwear.

The only ones we saw in sleepwear in the original series Wolverine, Emma, Beast and Shadowcat.

So they would still be wearing what they had on here.

As for everyone else.

Cyclops would be wearing a blue T-shirt and pajama pants.

Storm would be wearing a black bra and panties.

Nightcrawler would be wearing red pajamas with a night cap.

Angel would be wearing sky blue briefs.

Colossus would be wearing red boxers.

Iceman would be wearing an ice blue T-shirt and blue boxers.

Forge would be wearing a white tank-top and blue pajamas pants.

Jubilee would be wearing a pink T-shirt and yellow boxers.

And Illyana would be wearing a black T-shirt that goes down to her knees.

The next day, The X-Men head out into the city to look for the first of the two mutants, but to no avail.

Later that night, they decided to go out to dinner at an authentic Brazilian steakhouse.

While there, they discuss their predicament and wonder how they'll find this mutant.

But they would soon get their answer upon Wolverine suddenly smells something burning.

Soon enough, the team leave the restaurant and follow Wolverine to wherever the burning is coming from.

Eventually, they find the source at a burning apartment complex, with people either still being inside or holding onto dear life on the ledges.

Upon seeing this, The X-Men immediately spring into action.

Cyclops, Wolverine, Emma, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Shadowcat and Illyana all rush into the building to save those still trapped inside.

While everyone else stays outside to either save the civilians hanging on the side of the building or protect them from falling debris.

Luckily, The X-Men manage to save everyone and the civilians are ever grateful for their rescue.

This scene would definitely be a highlight for two reasons.

It showcases that The X-Men are still true heroes.

It's another example of humans showing appreciation to The X-Men.

After being praised, The X-Men ask the civilians what started the fire in the first place.

But they all respond that they don't really know.

They would soon get their answer upon seeing a strange black humanoid with a glowing fiery aura.

Upon seeing it, The X-Men immediately go after the humanoid.

As you would expect, this would leave to a chase scene, as The X-Men pursue the humanoid throughout the city.

Eventually, the chase ends when Storm casts a thunderstorm over the entire area, dousing the humanoid's flames.

But as their flames start to go out, The X-Men would soon find out that the humanoid was actually a teenage boy......

A naked teenage boy.

If you haven't guessed it already, this is none other than Roberto Da Costa.

He would have an athletic build, tanned skin, dark lips, curly black hair, and brown eyes.

He would be about 16-years old and stand at a height of 5'6.

As for his voice, Roberto would be voiced by Eric Lopez, who would've also voiced another fiery Marvel character that same year.

After dousing his flames, Roberto would suddenly break into tears.

As you would expect, The X-Men would comfort him.

Once he finally calms down, Roberto shares his story.

It all started a week ago.

He was in the playing a football game that day.

He even managed to score the winning goal for his team!

But shortly after the game, Roberto would find himself confronted by the opposing team.

And by confronted, I mean they decided to jump his ass while he was on his way home.

As they were wailing on him, Roberto's powers would awakened.

Horribly injuring the team in the process and starting a massive fire.

And for the last week, Roberto has living on the streets of Rio, naked and alone.

Plus, the series of fires were accidents caused by powers going off whenever he got scared.

Roberto apologizes for the fires and begs The X-Men not to send him to jail or turn him in to The MRD.

Luckily, Cyclops ensures him that they aren't gonna do any of that and that they're here to help, much to Roberto's comfort.

But while this tender scene is going on, The Brotherhood look down at The X-Men (unbeknownst to them) from a nearby rooftop, not looking too happy for obvious reasons.

All while being accompanied by a mysterious shadowy figure.

The next day, The X-Men (now in their usual team uniform) take off in The Blackbird, over The Amazon, right around range of The Imeri Mountains.

As for Roberto, the team gave him a First Class uniform made with special Unstable Molecules for him to wear.

After some time, they land The Blackbird is decent clearing, which just so happens to be in the same area range as the reports of the seismic activity.

Upon landing, the team sees the aftermath of the seismic activity.

Trees knocked down, cracks and fissures in the ground, and jagged rocks all over the place.

Soon enough, The X-Men immediately get to searching.

After a while, their searching comes to a halt when they encounter something rather shocking.....

A river of lava.

This is a shock to them since The Imeri Mountains are not volcanic whatsoever.

However, they deduce that the lava must be connected to the seismic activity going on.

So they decide to follow the river, hoping that it may lead them to the score of all this.

After about an hour and a half of tracking through the rainforest, The X-Men arrive at the slope of the mountains

There, they find the river continuing into an cave.

With some help from Iceman via his ice slide, The X-Men are able to safely traverse into the cave.

While in the cave, they see a bright light up ahead.

And upon reaching it, the team greeted by a shocking sight.

An Roman city situated on a high plateau, surrounded by miles upon miles of somewhat smaller mountains and jungle.

As you would expect, The X-Men are utterly confused by how an ancient Roman city can exist in all the way in Brazil.

Once they land in the city, the team immediately find themselves attacked by warriors wearing attire that's a perfectly blend between Roman legionary and Amazonian tribesman attire.

After a few good minutes of fighting, both factions are stopped by a the presence of a black-haired man with black eyes, who was wearing Roman attire.

The main introduces himself as Lucius Aquilla, and the city they're in as Nova Roma.

Lucius reveal that he's a senator, hence why the warriors stopped.

So with the factions now at peace, The X-Men use this opportunity to ask two questions.

The backstory of Nova Roma.

The reason for the river of lava.

And luckily, Lucius has the answers to both.

The story of Nova Roma goes back to 44 B.C., shortly after the assassination of Julius Caesar.

A group of Roman merchants, their families and their friends all embarked on a journey to find some new potential trading routes to Asia.

But during their journey, they were caught in a massive storm and eventually washed up on the shoes of what would be known as Brazil.

With their ship completely destroyed, the Romans figured they might as well get used to their new environments.

After several months of relying on simple hunting and gathering to survive, the group stumbled upon the hidden valley.

And they decided that this would be the perfect spot to create another territory for The Roman Empire.

And thus, Nova Roma was born!

Also, over the centuries, the Romans would integrate the culture of the local tribes (along with members of the tribe) into their culture.

Hench why their attire is a blend of both cultures.

As for the river of lava.....

Lucius reveal the cause of it was actually his daughter Amara, who is a mutant.

Or a "godborn" as he and the other people of Nova Roma call them.

Apparently, Amara's newly awakened powers have been going on and off for the past week, resulting in the seismic activity going throughout The Amazon, and yes, the river of lava.

Lucius reveals that he's legitimately worried for both the safety of Nova Roma and Amara herself.

The X-Men tell Lucius that's why they're here: to help Amara.

However, Lucius assured them that they have nothing to worry about since another group of "godborn" had come just yesterday and took Amara with them, saying that they were doing so to help her control her powers.

The X-Men are immediately left confused, but also worried, having a speaking suspicion that they know who he's referring to.

When Beast asks what these "godborn" were like, Lucius explains that the group consisted five men, three women, and a strange half-man/half-frog creature.

And upon hearing this, The X-Men immediately take off into the wilderness to find Amara and this group she's with.

A few hours later, the group eventually find Amara (largely thanks to following the patterns of seismic activity going on), who's with, who else? But The Brotherhood.

As for Amara herself.

She would look largely the same as she did in the original series, but with slightly tanned skin.

She would be about 16-years old and stand at 5'4.

As for her voice, she would be Nika Futterman.

The X-Men sneak into The Brotherhood's campsite in order to retrieve Amara.

However, it's not that easy to do with the constant quakes caused by Amara, who's a little on edge right now.

This would lead to a pretty tender moment of Gambit actually comforting Amara and teaches her the key to controlling her power is to stay calm.

This would led to an even more tender moment of Rogue and Gambit bonding with each other, with the former being impressed by the latter's advice and how good he is with kids.

Gambit would reveal that he sees a little bit of himself in Amara, revealing that when his powers first awakened, he was also always on edge, since.....ya know....he could literally explode anything he touched.

However, this tender scene would interrupted by The X-Men being caught by Toad.

As you would expect, The Brotherhood are.......

While they're being confronted, The X-Men demand to know how they even manage to find Amara before they did since they don't have access to a device like Cerebro.

Which was something they were wondering as they were rushing off to find them.

Also, Iceman points out how Lucius mentioned there being three woman, but the only women on The Brotherhood are Rogue and Domino.

In response to this, Quicksilver introduces The X-Men to the newest member of The Brotherhood: Psylocke.

Psylocke would look the same as she did in the original show (though like the other female characters, she has a little more meat on her), except that her eyes would be purple and she would be wearing her iconic ninja outfit (the one with the red sash).

She would also still be voiced by Grey Griffin.

The Brotherhood knew that The X-Men had a major advantage over them with Emma on their team.

So they figured that it was time to start fighting fire-with-fire by getting their own telepath.

And luckily for them, Psylocke was already living on Genosha.

And thanks to her, they were able to retrieve the information of the seismic activity.

As you would expect, a fight breaks out between the two teams. In contrast to the original show, Psylocke would actually be portrayed as an actual legitimate threat.

Thanks to her telepathic abilities and her ninjutsu skills.

The highlight of this fight scene would definitely be a 1-on-1 sword duel between her and Nightcrawler.

Katana vs. cutlasses!

Ninjutsu vs. swashbuckling!

As the fight rages on, Amara finds herself becoming more and more stressed out.

And eventually, she screams as loud as she could “STOP IT!”.

This results in an earthquake starting and Amara going into some kind of lava form, similar to Sunspot’s solar form.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the earthquake results in one of the mountains being turned into a volcano!

It’s utter chaos!

Rivers of lava flowing everywhere.

Balls of flaming rock hurdling across the sky.

The rainforest was set ablaze.

And creatures of all shapes and sizes were fleeing for their lives.

But they aren’t the only ones.

The Brotherhood, being absolutely horrified by what’s going on, realize that bringing back Amara is not worth going through any of this.

So like the cowards they are, they piss off into the rainforest as fast as they could.

As for The X-Men, they try their damndest to stop the volcano.

More specifically, Storm and Iceman.

With the former casting a rainstorm and the latter using his ice.

But with that, it’s still not enough.

The rest of the team start coming up with ideas, but none of them seem like they would help much at all.

But while that’s going on, Amara finally snaps out of her mini panic attack and realizes the chaos going on around her.

She realizes that she needs to stop this right now before everything gets destroyed.

Amara worries what could she even do.

But then she remembers what Gambit says.

And so, she starts taking deep breaths and calms down.

While doing so, the volcano stops erupting and the lava stops flowing and hardens.

The X-Men are left stunned by what just happened.

Amara literally triggered a volcanic eruption…..and stopped it!

Once Amara stops taking the deep breaths, she reverts back to her normal form.

Which is unfortunately naked right now.

Luckily, Jubilee gives Amara her coat.

After putting the coat on, Amara asks The X-Men if she’s in trouble.

The X-Men assure her that she’s not in trouble, but she does need to get control over her powers.

Which is why they’re here.

Much to Amara’s delight.

Future X (March 6th, 2009):

Not much to say for this episode. It’s largely the same.

But there would be one notable difference.

And that would be in the case of Bishop.

Unlike in the original version of this series, this version has Bishop still being a time cop, who was sent to this future timeline to aid Xavier.

As for his appearance, he would look largely the same, but he would be sporting his iconic dreadlocks.

Honestly, I can't be the only one who thinks that Bishop low-key looks cursed when bald.

He would also have a different voice.

He would be voiced by Khary Payton (reprising his role as the character from X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse) rather than Kevin Michael Richardson.

Greetings from Genosha (March 13th, 2009):

Once again, not much to say for this episode except for a few things.

The sub-plot with Mystique and The X-Men would be cut out and instead she would be on Genosha, showing Nightcrawler around alongside The Scarlet Witch. This would led to a lot of interesting interactions since remember, these two are mother and son. Mystique would trying to appeal to Nightcrawler's good side, while Nightcrawler, knowing his mother, isn't having anything of it.

As for Mystique herself, she would look largely the same as in the original show, except a little more muscular.

As for her voice, she would be voiced by Sumalee Montano (who would go on to become a recurring voice for the character) instead of Tamara Bernier.

Also she wouldn't be having any romantic history with Wolverine.

Instead, she would allude to her past romance with one Irene.

As for Scarlet Witch, she would also look largely the same, except with slightly tanned skin.

She would also still be voiced by Kate Higgins, but with an Eastern European accent.

There would also be a sub-plot of Jubilee, Illyana, Roberto and Amara (all wearing First Class uniform) training in The Danger Room for the first time.

Well that's all the episode ideas I have for now.

Sorry I haven't made a new part of this series in a while.

I was busy with other projects.

But anyway, I wanna use the rest of this time for the bonus content.

As for what it's gonna be about, well....

During it's short-lived run, Wolverine and the X-Men got a decent amount of merchandising.

And so will X-Men Destiny.

There will be usual stuff like clothing, backpacks, stickers, school supplies, etc.

But the merchandising I want to focus on would be toys.

During its run, Wolverine and the X-Men got a line of action figures produced by Hasbro.

X-Men Destiny will also have a toy-line as well.

Also produced by Hasbro.

For this part, we'll be talking about the first wave of toys: which will consist of action figures of The X-Men team.

I'll also be giving the figures their own special descriptions, just like the ones you would see on the back of their casing.

So without further ado....

Cyclops:

(Movable figure with visor-blasting action and optic blast.)

"Being the first member of The X-Men, Cyclops spent most of his life training to save lives and protect mutants and humans alike. And over time, he would eventually become the leader of the team. But after the explosion that destroyed the Xavier Institute and resulted in the disappearance of his mentor Charles Xavier and lover Jean Grey, Cyclops left The X-Men and fell into a deep depression. But after receiving a message from Xavier from the future about the fate of man and mutant-kind hanging in the balance, Cyclops decided to return to The X-Men and keep fighting the good fight. In addition to his tactical prowess and being skilled in hand-to-hand combat, Cyclops possesses the ability to fire powerful beams of concussive force from his eyes, which he channels through his visor. With his skills on their side, The X-Men are an unstoppable team!"

Storm:

(Movable figure with wind-spinning and lightning shooting action, wind-modeled spinner, and lightning bolts.)

"Thanks to her upbringing being worshipped as a goddess by her ancestral tribe in Kenya, Storm was able to become the second-in-command of The X-Men. And when The X-Men were being brought back together, she immediately jumped at the chance to return to that position. Storm possesses the ability to control the weather and the forces of nature such as wind and electricity. This, along with her ability of flight and thieving skills (thanks to her past on the streets of Egypt), has made her one of the most powerful members of the team. With her at their side, no force can withstand The X-Men!"

Wolverine:

(Moveable figure with claw-slashing action.)

"For as long as he can remember, Wolverine was always on his own, looking out for himself. But that all changed when he joined The X-Men. And overtime, Wolverine grew to love and care for them. So much so that when The X-Men disbanded, he was actually heartbroken over it. But when he receives a message from Charles Xavier about a bleak future that The X-Men need to stop, he immediately jumps at the chance to bring the team back together. With his accelerated healing factor, animalistic senses, and razor sharp claws coated in the metal Adamantium, no villain stand a chance against The X-Men!"

Emma Frost:

(Movable figure with psionic blast and diamond-skin changing action, and psionic blast.)

"Emma Frost was once the headmistress of The Massachusetts Academy, a school for young mutants. But with the rampant increase in mutant prejudice thanks to The Mutants Response Division, her school would be quickly abandoned. As a result of this, Emma decides to join The X-Men to serve as their new resident telepath, filling in the absence of both Charles Xavier and Jean Grey. Emma possesses various telepathic abilities, from controlling the minds of others to projecting powerful blasts of psionic energy. She can also change her skin into a diamond-like substance, granting her incredible strength and resilience. With her by their side, the bad guys will know better when The X-Men are around!"

Beast:

(Movable figure with leaping action, fist and feet-moving action, and magnetic device and matter transmutation ray gun.)

"As a scientist and doctor, Beast took the disappearance of Charles Xavier and Jean Grey as a personal challenge, especially since he was one of the original five founding members of the team. He worked in a hidden lab under the ruins of the Xavier Institute alongside Forge to figure out what caused the explosion in the first place. But with the X-Men back together again, Beast has gone back to help repair the mansion's technology such as The Danger Room and Cerebro. But when the team calls, Beast is more than happy to use his superhuman strength, acrobatic skills, and technological weapons like his magnetic device (a hand-held mechanism that can pin his enemies against any surface) and and matter transmutation matter ray (what can alter the organic structure of any organism), to get back in action."

Nightcrawler:

(Moveable figure with leaping and swashbuckling action, and two cutlasses.)

"After The X-Men split up, Nightcrawler decided to head for the mutant sanctuary of Genosha. Now, he protects mutants on the seas from both pirates and the manipulation of Magneto. With his teleportation, extraordinary agility, shadow-based invisibility, swashbuckling skills and pair of dual cutlasses, Nightcrawler is a tough opponent for any fierce foe who dare cross his path. But when The X-Men call, he's just one teleport away!"

Angel:

(Moveable figure with wing-flapping and gliding action.)

"After The X-Men split up, Angel went to work for his father at their family company: Worthington Industries. Which he was not exactly thrilled with. Especially with the fact that the company was funding The Mutant Response Division. But with The X-Men being reformed, Angel now serves a double agent. Using the initial from his job and sharing it with his team. With his ability of flight thanks to his bird-like wings, Angel is one of the trickiest fighters of The X-Men. Helps that he was also one of the five founding members as well."

Colossus:

(Moveable figure with arm-swinging action and I-beam weapon.)

"After The X-Men split up, Colossus returned to his family's farm back in Russia. But after the awakening of his little sister Illyana's mutant powers, he decided to come back to The X-Men (who were reforming at the time) so that they could help her hone her new abilities. With his ability to turn his skin into organic steel, granting him incredible strength and resilience, Colossus serve as the team’s resident powerhouse. He’s also a skilled fighter, utilizing hand-to-hand combat and even his environment in battle. Ranging from trees, to boulders, to I-beams.”

Iceman:

(Moveable figure with ice-shooting action, rev-up ice board and ice beam.)

“After The X-Men disbanded, Iceman was forced to move back in with his parents. Which was not the most pleasant experience, given how openly anti-mutant they were. But when The X-Men start reforming, he immediately left home to rejoin them. Despite being two of the youngest members of The X-Men, Iceman is an incredibly skilled fighter, thanks to being one of the five founding members. He possesses the ability to turn the moisture in the air into ice and snow, and he can utilize it in a variety of ways. From simple ice blasts, to creating constructs like shards and shields, to maneuvering on a continuous ice slide."

Shadowcat:

(Moveable figure with arm-swinging and kicking action and a dancing ribbon.)

“After The X-Men disbanded, Shadowcat had no choice but to return home to her parents. But over the next few months, she and her family would find themselves facing tons of prejudice. And right on her 18th birthday, Shadowcat decided that she would be leaving home to go live on Genosha. But luckily, she was found by The X-Men on her way to the island nation. Despite being two of the youngest members of The X-Men, Shadowcat is an incredibly skilled fighter, thanks to being one of the five founding members. She possesses the ability to turn her entire body intangible, allowing her to phase through solid objects. She's also skilled in martial arts, particularly dance fighting. She'll even use a dancing ribbon in battle."

Forge:

(Moveable action figure with neutralizer gun and cannon.)

"When The X-Men need something built, Forge is the mutant they turn to. With his mutant ability of being able to create piece of technology he can think of, there is no machine he can’t build or repair. The X-Men owe the continuing operation of all of their technology to his talents. But even though he's more of a support member to the team, Forge isn't afraid to get dirty. He wields all kinds of high-tech weapons in battle, most notably his neutralizer gun and neutralizer hand cannon."

And to wrap this all up, I wanted to talk about the opening of the series.

It would still use the same music and have a similar formatting to the original.

Plus it would be largely the same, but with some key differences.

-In the first part, Cyclops would take Wolverine's place, with him unleashing an optic blast towards the MRD squadron.

-Cyclops' scene would be taken by Wolverine, which would show him rushing up a Sentinel and slicing it's head off.

-Nightcrawler's scene would have him teleporting all over the place, slicing guns with his cutlasses and kicking down MRD soldiers.

-Forge would be accompanying Iceman in his scene, shooting at the MRD from above with his neutralizer gun.

-The scene before the final group shoot would show Colossus picking up an entire Sentinel and slamming it into the ground.

-The ending group shot would have Cyclops at the center. On his left: Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Angel. On his right: Emma Frost, Iceman, Beast, Shadowcat, and Forge.

We'll I'm off to go to bed.

Peace out, homes......

[palestinegenocide]

Key Developments

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveils “postwar plan” for Gaza, where Israel would control security and play a role in civilian affairs 

Palestinian presidency rejects Netanyahu’s plan, calling for an independent Palestinian state.

 Israeli Finance Minister Ben Smotrich set to approve more than 3,000 housing units in West Bank as “Zionist revenge” for shooting operation outside Maale Adumim.

Israeli forces launch series of attacks on Central Gaza, killing 40 Palestinians and injuring at least 100 others.

Israeli forces re-enter besieged Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, as aid agencies strategize how to evacuate 140 stranded patients.

Several Israeli human rights organizations call upon countries to restore UNRWA funding. 

West Bank: Israeli forces detain two ten-year-old children from Sinjil, north of Ramallah.

UN Experts: Arms exports to Israel must stop immediately.

Foreign ministers gathered for the G20 summit in Rio De Janeiro to discuss the importance of a two-state solution with an independent Palestinian state.

Israeli Army Radio reports that it is “preparing for war” in Lebanon.

Israeli airstrike kills two paramedics in the town of Bint Jbeil, Lebanon.

[swiftieinbrazil]

We need to talk about Brazil situation!

Guys, I've seeing a lot of people talking about things they really don't know or even worse, being xenophobic. I would like to explain to swifties around the world the whole situation.

Brazilian swifties love Taylor. We have a lot of passion for her. She visited Brazil only one time, in 2012. She performed 7 songs for a small group of fans. After 11 years she came back. Everybody was so excited. There were fans that couldn't buy the tickets because they were over. There are many other swifties like me that won't go to any of the 6 concerts. Because she has a lot of fans here.

Do you wanna a proof of our love for her? Christ The Reedemer is one of the 7 Wonders of the World. No other international artist was honored with projection on the statue before. Brazilian swifties put a LOT of effort to make it happen. Becauae we really like Taylor. Also, a lot of swifties participated in a fund rising connect with the Catholic church of Rio de Janeiro that is responsable for the Christ statue. And we raised a lot of money that will help many families.

Everything was right. Everybody was happy. Until what happened at the first concert. Brazil is going through atypical weather. Brazil is known for being a hot country but it have never been this hot like now. Brazil is being affected by a heat wave. Such hot temperatures weren't predictable, BUT there were human actions that made things get worse. People weren't allowed to bring a bottle of water to the stadium. If the fans wanted to drink water, they would have to buy it (and for expensive prices). Also, the stadium has vents and areas to have air circulating and they were closed, which made the stadium hotter inside. Absurd! A thousand fans fainted out at the first night due to the hot weather. And the worst thing happened, a beautiful and young girl died.

On the next day (Saturday), the fans could take water into the stadium and the vents were open, but the heat was worse. But the fans were still strong, waiting in the line (some of them since morning) under the sun and hot temperatures. The gates were open, people entered into the stadium. At the end of day, people received the news that the show was postponed to Monday. And some of them got mad at the moment. And I understand them. Because there are fans who travelled from far away, spent money at transporting, hotel and food, and some of them won't be able to go to Monday's concert because of their work, study and other reasons.

Let's make one thing very clear: we love Taylor and we know it's not her fault. She did the right thing when decided to postpone the concert. But a lot of fans were so tired of everything they were going through and showed their frustation with the whole situation. They said the postpone should have been made earlier. Also, there are rumors that Taylor wanted to do it earlier but the company didn't let her to.

An amount of bad situations led to all of this. So it's so unfair and insensitive of some people say that Brazilian swifties don't like Taylor, or that she should cancell all the Brazilian shows and leave the country (when people have bought their tickets, paid for transporting and hotel and planned every little thing months ago), or start being xenophobic with Brazilian fans. We're sad with all of this. We just wanted to spend a wonderful time with Taylor. It's not our fault. It's not Taylor's fault. We're all victims of this whole situation. So please, put yourself in other's people shoes.

[badbatchposts]

🎱 🍓 🌵🔪🪲. I reblogged the ask game from you, so I wanted to be courteous and send you an ask! I'm honestly curious about these.

Thanks for the ask, friend! It's really nice to be able to reflect on some of these things!! Sorry in advance for the super long responses lol.

🎱 ⇢ post your AO3 total stats:

Works: 2

User Subscriptions: 6

Kudos: 204

Comment Threads: 84

Bookmarks: 67

Subscriptions: 51

Word Count: 67,351

Hits: 4,652

I honestly have no sense of how these stats compare for the usual fanfic writer, but it makes me happy to see how many people have subscribed to my longfic, especially since I don't always get a ton of comments on new chapters. But it seems people are reading! And definitely more people than read my dissertation, lol.

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

I used to write a lot of original work in high school and early college, but then as things got busy--and as I convinced myself my writing wasn't good enough to be worth it--I largely stopped. I always felt guilty about it. I really enjoyed writing, but didn't think I was creative enough or had the right amount of stamina that it took to complete a long work, and I had this perfectionist idea where it felt like it wasn't worth doing if I couldn't be the best at it.

Then right as the new Bad Batch season came out this year I was struggling a lot with burnout and found that I was spending a lot of time thinking about the show, and decided that I might as well start reading some fanfiction--for the first time ever--and felt like writing it would be a nice creative outlet that might help me recover from my burnout. It really has been great, and some of what's made it so good is actually exactly the sort of things that used to make me think writing fanfiction wasn't worth it. Namely: it's not professionally publishable.

That is, legally, I will never be able to professionally publish and profit from any of what I write--it can only be posted and enjoyed. This actually just took so much of the pressure off. It doesn't have to be perfect--it doesn't even have to be very good, because that's not what it's for.

I started thinking of it more as an exercise for working on my writing skills (things like, okay, in this chapter I'm going to practice writing dialogue, or in this next one I'm going to work more on establishing an interesting setting). As a result, I'm now thinking more about the writing process and improving my storytelling, rather than worrying about trying to make it perfect or good enough to publish or feeling competitive or down on myself when I encounter writing that I feel is much better than my own. It's been really freeing.

All of this happened over ten years since I stopped writing in college, and the other great thing has been seeing that my writing skills didn't disappear. In fact, they've gotten better and grown as a result of the learning I did in the meantime. I'm now much better at envisioning narrative arcs, outlining, getting myself to write consistently instead of just waiting for inspiration to strike me, and a whole load of other skills. It's really helped soothe a part of me that worried that I had abandoned writing, that it was too late for me to "do" anything with it, or that I only would have gotten worse.

🌵 ⇢ share the link to a playlist you love

Parasailing in Rio de Janeiro with a Caipirinha in Your Hand

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

I've been spending a lot of time researching historical kitchens on sailing ships and historical brothels for the Pirate AU that I'm working on. Once for an academic paper I was working on a novel that depicts a (non-sexual) human-animal relationship but through very intimate and erotic terms, and I accidentally googled a combination of terms that came back with information on bestiality while on my university's wi-fi.

🪲 ⇢ add 50 words to your current wip and share the paragraph here

The most recent thing I wrote for my Pirate AU (I'm skipping ahead SEVERAL chapters to inspire myself with the steamy bits haha)

“I hardly think I can get into much trouble here. Your crew have been perfect gentlemen.”

Hunter’s eyes glinted in the half-light of the lamps. Though he didn’t move, all of a sudden she was all-too-aware of how close he was, how easy it would be for him to reach out and touch her. “And what about me?” he murmured. “Haven’t you heard from the ladies in port? I’m a scoundrel. A very dangerous man. Maybe you ought to be afraid of me.”

Thanks again, this was a lot of fun!!

[pillarofawesome]

"Does it hurt to get shot?"

Shepard must not have been asleep if that question was heard so easily. Eyes snapped open, head turned to the source of the query, and standing right next to the sun lounger was a small asari girl.

Couldn't have been older than... well, hard to tell with asari. Kid could be thirty Earth-years old for all Shepard knew. Still definitely a kid, though. A pair of eyes, one blue and one green, stared intently over a datapad clutched to her chest, a mixture of nervous regret for intruding and anticipation of an answer to her question in her gaze. Her dress had a floral pattern with African colors, a common fashion here in Rio de Janeiro. A few decades ago, it would have looked out of place on an asari. But with the relays down, the Milky Way was now a constellation of suspended melting pots. This girl was undoubtedly born and raised here. These were not "tourist clothes" for an "alien" girl making a novel visit to an alliance planet. These were just clothes, and she was home. Not a human, but undeniably an earthling now. Hell, she was even speaking English, although many asari were known to study multiple languages. They certainly had the time.

"What?" No sooner did Shepard ask that than immediately register the question. Now it had to be asked again. Shepard hated when that happened.

"Does it hurt to get shot?" The asari maiden repeated, quieter this time, face lowering to hide behind the datapad. She feared she was really being a bother, now.

Shepard was surprised to not mind the question. It would be a ridiculous question in days long past, but this was a new time with a new generation. This little girl didn't know and was genuinely curious. Shepard could recall having nothing but dumb questions to look forward to for a long time after being found and resuscitated ages ago. The most famous human in the galaxy- maybe the most famous person- was still alive. Shepard feared never hearing the end of it. What's that old saying? 'No rest for the wicked'? That was the second best adage describing Shepard's life following the Reapers behind 'it was the best of times, it was the worst of times'.

The war was actually over. No more action; just talking now. So much talking there was barely time to breathe or think. Options of what to answer or reply metaphorically floating in front of Shepard's face on a wheel, with every stupid answer to every stupid question feeling wrong. Statement this, report that, interview over there- with another Arabic-named journalist, ironically enough. There had been acceptance speeches, and many promotions offered (though Shepard only accepted one), followed by speaking tours. Then there were regular meetings with a biographer at some point. All of this was given only a brief reprieve by a stressful tenure as the commandant of the N-school at Vila Militar. After all of that, Shepard was now truly retired; finally too old and broken to even fly a desk these days.

"I-it's just that I thought I saw your face before," the girl continued. Shepard would kick Shepard's own head right now if it were possible. Shepard was lost in thought for so long that the unanswered kid was now feeling awkward. "So I looked you up," she said holding out and pointing at the datapad. "The internet said you fought in the war? I'm sorry!" She started to back up and turn away now. Come on, Shep, say something! You're embarrassing the poor little sweetheart.

"No no! It's okay," Shepard consoled with a raised palm. Straining a humbling amount, the old body augments feeling like dead weight these days, Shepard pulled up to a reclined posture, turned sideways, and set both feet on the ground to face the youngling properly. "I did fight in the war." For that to not be rhetorical, the girl must truly not be talking to the Captain Shepard, but merely an elder; an old veteran who witnessed the mythical conflict before her time that rescued her parents, making her very life possible. The near-anonymity Shepard had to this innocent child was a breath of fresh air.

She gestured with the datapad again. "It says here you were injured in combat?" Shepard cracked a grin at that, barely managing to catch an all out guffaw. 'Injured?' Is that all it said? The internet- the extranet lost its connection to all servers on other planets- was understating it just a little bit. "Yeah," Shepard replied, "you could say that."

The girl's lips pouted and her cheeks darkened a deeper shade of blue at that answer. She was sick of older people giving vague answers with knowing smirks. Everyone seemed to know something big abut the past that was flying over her head, and they weren't cluing her in. They were grinning at a naive little girl who didn't know any better, and here she was trying to learn; trying to understand. She wanted to show some attitude, but she bit her tongue, afraid she was already being rude to a stranger.

"And yes, it hurts to get shot." The girl's eyes snapped back to Shepard's at that. "The bullets themselves were atomically small, but they were projected with mass effect fields that carried a whirlwind of energy. Sometimes some other effects, too. When they pierced the skin, the bullet didn't do anything. The bolt of energy following it would go through and spread out." Shepard gestured with points of fingers and waves of hands between sentences. The asari was listening intently, and visibly trying to understand. Shepard remembered she was young, and opted to illustrate with an analogy. "It's like if a strike from a sledgehammer was contained in a needle, and injected straight into your body." After saying all of that, Shepard wondered if that imagery worked, or just sounded stupid. The "woah" from the wide-eyed youngster seemed to imply the former. Guns were actually the least terrifying weapon Shepard faced, but enough gory detail was being shared for now.

"You're lucky to be alive," she said after digesting everything. Shepard had to pause at that. It was hard to see it that way sometimes, but she was right. Shepard had suffered through so much, seen so much, lost so much, wondered so much. Why did so many have to die? Did so many have to die? What if I made different decisions? Would the ending have been the same no matter what I did, or did my choices matter? Where did the Normandy go? Did my crew survive? Where is the love of my two lives?

All the hustle and bustle following the war kept Shepard busy, putting off dwelling on it. Retirement had brought it all up at once, leaving Shepard in a dissociative state most days. But right here, right now, she was right.

"I'm glad you fought for us," she continued with a smile. "I'm glad you're not dead."

And with that, Shepard's dwellings could take a break for now. The earnest, raw, simple fact stated by this girl broke through all the what-ifs. Her mere existence was proof that despite the great cost, the war was won. Annihilation and extinction were at stake, but here we all were; battered, bruised, scarred, and scattered, but still alive. This beautiful, intuitive, emotionally-intelligent child was telling her elder it was all worth it, and she was right. It hurt to get shot, yes. And it hurt more to face all the other wounds from the war; physical and otherwise. But here sat Shepard victorious, having survived it all. And looking into Shepard's face was a generation who would never have to face such pain, living in a world that was healing from it.

"Thank you," Shepard finally responded, unable to catch the slight voice-crack. The asari girl smiled even brighter at that. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by a call from afar.

"Atalanta! Sweetie, time to go!" The parent was a silhouette standing in front of the setting sun. The shape looked human. They must be the father.

"Bye-bye!" said the earthling, using Earth lingo that again betrayed how local she was. Shepard echoed the farewell and waved as she ran off. Lying back down, Shepard allowed the broken warrior a rest, and finally caught a carefree nap. Shepard would go back to mourning later.

[whileiamdying]

‘I’m Still Here’ Review: Walter Salles Returns Home With the Powerful Story of a Broken Family’s Resistance

Premiering at Venice, the film stars Fernanda Torres as a mother of five children who reinvents herself as a lawyer and activist after suffering a devastating loss at the height of Brazil’s military dictatorship.

BY DAVID ROONEY SEPTEMBER 1, 2024 @ 11:48AM

Fernanda Torres in 'I'm Still Here.' COURTESY OF VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

Walter Salles’ 1998 international breakthrough, Central Station, earned an Oscar nomination for the magnificent Fernanda Montenegro. Now in her 90s, the actress turns up toward the end of the director’s first feature in his native Brazil in 16 years, the shattering I’m Still Here(Ainda Estou Aqui), in a role that requires her to speak only through her expressive eyes. What makes the connection even more poignant is that she appears as the elderly, infirm version of the protagonist — a woman of quiet strength and resistance played by Montenegro’s daughter, Fernanda Torres, with extraordinary grace and dignity in the face of emotional suffering.

Many powerful films have been made about the 21 years of military dictatorship in Brazil, from 1964 through 1985, just as they have about similar oppressive regimes in neighboring South American countries like Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. The human rights abuses of systematic torture, murder and forced disappearances represent an open wound on the psyches of those nations, for which cinema has often served as a vessel for collective memory.

It’s not often, however, that the spirit of protest against the horrors of junta rule is viewed through such an intimate lens as I’m Still Here. That aspect is deepened by evidence throughout the film of Salles’ personal investment in the true story of the Paiva family after patriarch Rubens (Selton Mello), a former congressman, was taken from his Rio de Janeiro house in 1971, ostensibly to give a deposition, and never seen or heard from again.

Salles met the family in the late 1960s and spent a significant part of his youth in their home, which he credits as foundational to his cultural and political development. That accounts for the coursing vitality of the early scenes, as the five Paiva siblings dash back and forth between the house and the beach, and an extended family of friends of all ages seems to be constantly dropping by for drinks and meals and music and lively conversation.

There are sweet throwaway moments like two of the sisters dancing and singing along to the Serge Gainsbourg-Jane Birkin wispy make-out classic “Je t’aime … moi non plus,” without understanding the words. Just watching how one of the youngest kids, Marcelo (Guilherme Silveira), sweet-talks his way into keeping a stray dog they found on the beach conveys the warmth, spontaneity and affectionate scrappiness of the Paiva household dynamic. The young actors playing the kids are all disarmingly natural and appealing.

The first blunt intrusion into the family’s bubble of closeness and comfort comes when eldest daughter Vera (Valentina Herszage) is out with a group of friends and their car is pulled over at a tunnel roadblock. It’s a disturbing scene in which we see teenagers — just minutes earlier cruising along, sharing a joint and laughing — ordered at gunpoint to stand against a wall while military officers question them, searching their faces for any resemblance to the “terrorist killers” they’re looking to apprehend.

An occasional hushed phone conversation or private exchange with a friend suggests Rubens’ involvement in something that needs to be kept quiet. But the script by Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega, based on the book by Marcelo Rubens Paiva, saves those details until long after Rubens is taken into custody. That puts us in the same position as his wife and children, wondering what their father could possibly have done to place him in the regime’s crosshairs.

The chill of uncertainty is hardest on Rubens’ wife Eunice (Torres), who does what she can to hide what’s going on from the youngest kids. But having armed strangers in their house and a car parked across the street to keep a constant eye on them is tough to explain, and the older siblings are aware something is very wrong.

The situation escalates when Eunice is hauled off for interrogation. With Vera away in London with family friends, the next oldest, 15-year-old Eliana (Luiza Kozovski), is forced to accompany her mother, with bags put over their heads to keep them from knowing where they are being taken.

The interrogation scenes, set in a grim building with confinement cells, are harrowing. Eunice is sequestered for 12 days. Denied contact with the family lawyer, she’s kept completely in the dark about what’s happening to her daughter and is unable to learn where her husband is being held. She’s coerced over and over to identify people in photo files as possible insurgents, but aside from her husband, she recognizes only one woman who teaches at her daughter’s school. Her isolation and fear are made worse by the constant screams of people being tortured coming through the walls.

There are many moments of raw tenderness after Eunice is released — notably when one of her daughters watches from the bathroom doorway, her face a mix of sorrow and terror, as her mother showers away 12 days of grime.

With the government refusing to acknowledge even that her husband was arrested, Eunice continues fishing for information, talking to Rubens’ friends who tell her the military is “shooting blind,” going after random people based on almost nothing concrete. Unable to make bank withdrawals without her husband’s signature, she struggles to keep up with expenses. At the same time, she begins studying the family lawyer’s case file, foreshadowing her eventual decision to relocate with the five children to São Paulo and return to college.

The chief focus of Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s book is essentially his mother’s quiet heroism — first as she single-handedly shoulders the responsibility of keeping the family together and protected, concealing her grief when the inevitable is confirmed, and subsequently when she earns a law degree at 48 and becomes active in a number of causes. That includes pushing for full acknowledgment from authorities of disappeared people like Rubens after democracy is returned to the country.

Salles’ heartfelt film jumps forward 25 years and then by almost 20 more, allowing us to absorb Eunice’s self-reinvention not in big crusading speeches but simply in her dedication to the work of keeping memories alive and not letting the abuses of the past be swept away.

Perhaps the most beautifully observed arc of the film is the gradual rebuilding of the family. As the children grow up and marry and grandchildren come along, they transition back into a noisy, joyful clan much like the one depicted in carefree scenes at the start. Even the simple process of sorting through boxes of family photos is viewed as a loving act of reclamation in a final stretch that will have many audiences in tears.

Torres (one of the stars of Salles’ terrific early film, Foreign Land, co-directed with Daniela Thomas) is a model of eloquent restraint, showing Eunice’s private pain and her necessary fortitude by the subtlest of means. Only once during the film does she raise her voice in anger after a sad occurrence, beating on the windows of the parked car watching the house in Rio and screaming at the two stone-faced men inside.

The final scenes in which Montenegro steps into the role are bittersweet, as Eunice has become nonverbal and uses a wheelchair, in steep decline with Alzheimer’s. The poignancy is almost overwhelming as we watch her gently lean in, her eyes lighting up and a hint of a smile forming, when Rubens’ photograph appears in a television program on the heroes of the resistance.

The movie looks gorgeous. Adrian Teijido’s agile cinematography uses 35mm to great grainy effect to evoke the ‘70s and Super 8mm home movies shot during that decade provide lovely punctuation. The other key asset to the film is Warren Ellis’ score, which starts out pensive and quietly troubling before shifting almost imperceptibly into a much more emotional vein with the surge of feeling that accompanies the forward time jumps.

While it could use a less generic international title that’s not also a well-known Stephen Sondheim song, I’m Still Here is a gripping, profoundly touching film with a deep well of pathos. It’s one of Salles’ best.

[zvaigzdelasas]

Brazil’s new President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has so far shown little concern about defying consensus in the West on foreign policy -- even when it comes to dealing with authoritarian governments.

In recent weeks, Lula’s Brazil sent a delegation to Venezuela, refused to sign a UN resolution condemning Nicaragua’s human rights abuses, allowed Iranian warships to dock in Rio de Janeiro and flatly refused to send weapons to Ukraine, at war with Russia.

These decisions have raised eyebrows in the U.S. and Europe, but experts said Lula is reactivating Brazil’s decades-old principle of non-alignment to carve out a policy that best safeguards its interests in an increasingly multi-polar world.

Brazil’s foreign policy is based on its 1988 constitution, which establishes non-intervention, self-determination, international cooperation and the peaceful settlement of conflicts as guiding principles.

That involves “talking to all states at all times without making moral judgements, while respecting certain red lines,” said Feliciano Guimarães, a political scientist at the think tank Brazilian Center for International Relations. Lula’s red lines are not yet clear, he added.

16 Mar 23

[dangakkisland]

Chapter 3 (trial) + Chapter 4 most of the daily life

Brazilian economy is in shambles..One battery for my mouse was 40$..With a discount This time I have video! from Bandicam + Bandicut you all will finally see the UI, I think that's what is called! Right when I finally get the pictures (My game stopped when I finished recording..I had to start over), it has more content than it would normally have

As I said after that if it glitched I didn't save it because I was confident of my abilities and didn't expect the game to crash so early without warning, as you can notice I put the audio in Japanese because my mind would get into a knot because of the English audio and sometimes it doesn't match The trial was pretty much the same I couldn't exactly open the bandicam for screenshots so I went without it for the entire trial, the noticeable thing about it was ''Hi-fuck'' and ''Tak-unt'' both nicknames from Shou (It would be Taka who gave birth but being honest YOU want to call him that? in English? I don't think so)

Union <3

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this one, no references but the chapter opens up to Hiro saying ''gado'' (Cow or person who lets themselves be stepped on for someone they love) there being nothing coming out of this title is just balanced

And Kirigiri saying that one Naruto meme (it is not the only one with super however that's the one that is the first on the search bar and one that I remember vividly, plus is from voice makers the one who invented the naruto meme of ''Flexiable Heterosexual'') ''You're a man, let it go'' ''What do you think men are made of?''

''I'm the boss, I do what I want...PAIN DIED LET IT GO!'' ''I don't care'' ''LET IT GO!''

The teachers' room also gave me abnormal amounts of money because of Tim Burton...I hope he has the right reason to give me +20 coins

Ah yes the blackboards that changed the whole trajectory of veiled hope I remember well...Nice to see them translated, I couldn't have the whole blackboard for some reason, I was very close to it for whatever circumstance

The screenshot speaks for itself: Monokuma is that one Keanu Reaves emote (Admitted, real not fake, not a bit, Top 10 characters who despair for ass, I don't know how to spell the actor's name)

''I was at the bathhouse, what more you would want to know? My zodiac star signs?'' - Zodiacs are very popular, or it may be Saint Seiya fever that never died in the 90s and keeps being Brazilians favorite Shounen besides Dragon Ball, in the 2010s I met it via Rebosteio, a channel not for kids who did mostly edgy humor that I was fond off at the time most of the episodes are blocked out of the earth...

And there is finally a thing I can explain, Woodpecker reference! (I'm not sorry for bringing the Woodpecker movie curse) ''Minha nossa nossa nossa'' Video posted on youtube on 1st of April 2014 by TVMAROTO

Is that I would say if I didn't look closer now and see that the ''Nossas'' are not together, its fine we can dream... and she tries to do the static of every robber in brazil too, if I saw her on Rio de Janeiros streets (I don't live there) I would run or give up my life on sight

''Bow, it is your chance to get this over big guy Makoto! Bow and beg like you never did in your life''-Hiro

Ending this big post by saying ladies and gentlemen plus yer majesties oh that's the name of it:

''The most despairful, the most evil, monstrous tragedy of humanity'

[katanadepapel]

ROTTMNT OC-Naomi Mendes (Redesign)

You read that right, it's a redesign by Naomi Mendes, I even decided to change where her prosthesis would be, but it's brand new not only in design but in story, but this is just her appearance in Rottmnt, I will make an appearance for her in all versions of TMNT, 1987, 2003, 2012, the movies the actresses who could play her if she was real from the serie (but the prosthesis will be in the same place)

❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗

I HAVE NEWS! I will be writing stories and fanfictions on Wattpad, not only Rottmnt but also Tmnt 2012 and Sonic(related to my character Summer Samy, my old page in the DeviantArt will have your link in the comments)

•But that's all I have to say, here's the biography ⬇️

________________________________

~Her bio:~

•F̳u̳l̳l̳ ̳n̳a̳m̳e̳: Naomi Caroline Mendes

•N̳i̳c̳k̳n̳a̳m̳e̳s̳:̳

Nami - Donnie, Raph, Casey Jr

Mimi - Mikey and Tommy

Nay Nay - April, Sunita and Casandra

Sirena - Leo

Noemi- Splinter, Draxum, Big mama and etc...

•A̳g̳e̳: 16 y-o on the serie/ 18 y-o on

the ROTTMNT Movie.

•D̳a̳t̳e̳ ̳o̳f̳ ̳b̳i̳r̳t̳h̳:̳(21/01/2003)

•S̳i̳g̳n̳:̳ Aquarium

•S̳p̳e̳c̳i̳e̳s̳:̳ Human

•G̳e̳n̳d̳e̳r̳:̳ Female

•N̳a̳c̳i̳o̳n̳a̳l̳i̳t̳y̳:̳ Brazil 🇧🇷

•F̳a̳m̳i̳l̳y̳:̳

-Miguel Mendes (Father)

-Debore Caroline Lima (deceased mother)

-Aghata Marble (Stepmother)

-Tommy(Half little brother)

-Carol 'O Neil (Aunt)

-Kirby O 'Neil(Uncle)

-April O'Neil (Step cousin)

•P̳e̳r̳s̳o̳n̳a̳l̳i̳t̳y̳:̳

^Quality- Wise, intelligent, sincere, courageous, creative and eccentric.

^Defects- Stubborn, unpredictable, distracted, headstrong, sincere.

L̳o̳v̳e̳s̳ ̳i̳n̳t̳e̳r̳e̳s̳t̳:̳ Leo

•F̳r̳i̳e̳n̳d̳s̳ ̳: Mikey, Donnie, Raph, April, Sunita, Splinter, Draxum, Todd, Frank, Casey Jr, Cassandra, Senõr Hueso, Capitan Piel, BullHop, Piebald, Dale, DIGG, Hamato Karai, S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.

•E̳n̳e̳m̳i̳e̳s̳: Draxum(antes), Foot Clan, Kendra, Purple Dragons, Hypno, Repo Mantis, Warren Stone, Kraangs, Meat Sweat, Cassandra(antes), Destruidor, Foot Brute, Foot Lieutenant, Big Mama, Alberto, Ghostbear, Kristoffer Van Bradford, Gus.

•L̳i̳k̳e̳s̳: Football, Swimming, math, drawing comics, comics, superheroes, aliens, advice, listening to music, learning new things, video games, online games, practice sports and martial arts, authentic clothing.

•D̳i̳s̳l̳i̳k̳e̳s̳ ̳: Mosquitoes, too little milk in cereal, wash the dishes, xenophobia, the messy state of her hair when she wakes up, bad movies, pink, tight clothes, and lack of freedom.

•W̳e̳a̳p̳o̳n̳s̳/̳S̳k̳i̳l̳l̳s̳:

-Karate

-Ninjutsu

-Boomerang (weapon of choice)

-Hamato ninpō

-Parkour

-Flexibility

•F̳e̳a̳r̳s̳: Aichmophobia (fear of needles or injections), Hematophobia (fear of blood) and

•P̳r̳e̳f̳e̳r̳r̳e̳d̳ ̳m̳u̳s̳i̳c̳ ̳s̳t̳y̳l̳e̳:̳ Punk Rock e Reggaeton

•P̳r̳e̳f̳e̳r̳r̳e̳d̳ ̳m̳y̳s̳t̳i̳c̳a̳l̳ ̳s̳p̳e̳c̳i̳e̳s̳:̳ mermaid

•F̳a̳v̳o̳r̳i̳t̳e̳ ̳c̳o̳l̳o̳r̳: blue, purple, emerald green and black.

•F̳a̳v̳o̳r̳i̳t̳e̳ ̳f̳o̳o̳d̳: Spicy food, chocolate cake and Coca cola.

V̳o̳i̳c̳e̳ ̳a̳c̳t̳o̳r̳:̳

Rottmnt '

🇺🇲 Tara Strong

🇧🇷 Aline Guioli

F̳i̳r̳s̳t̳ ̳a̳p̳p̳e̳a̳r̳a̳n̳c̳e̳:̳ Mystic Mayhem

•C̳u̳r̳i̳o̳s̳i̳t̳i̳e̳s̳:

* Naomi when she's furious turns red and fluffy (at least that's what Leo and Mikey say)

*Naomi loves soccer, but has literally taken a lot of balls in the face.

*Nami runs pretty fast, even though she has one leg less and a prosthesis in place.

*Naomi draws a lot with Mikey, or models for him.

*She is from Rio de Janeiro, born and raised in Rio de Janeiro until she was 14 years old.

*Naomi is a very good swimmer.

*Mikey likes to touch Naomi's hair, Raph likes to train with Naomi, Donnie enjoys his science attention from Naomi and Leo is very jealous of this.

*Naomi sings karaoke with Sunita.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

On 6th anniversary of Rio de Janeiro Councilwoman Marielle Franco’s murder, motive and mastermind remain unknown

On the sixth anniversary of the murder of Rio de Janeiro City Councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, supporters held an event on Thursday in front of the city’s government offices to honor the fallen politician and activist.

The demonstration was led by Marielle’s widow, Mônica Benício, and was attended by government officials including Minister of Racial Equality Anielle Franco, who is Marielle’s sister, as well as deputies from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s political base.

Marielle Franco was a prominent politician, feminist, and human rights activist. Franco championed the rights of minorities in Brazil including the Black and LGBTQ communities. She was also a staunch women’s rights defender and an outspoken critic of militarized police brutality across the country.

Franco and Gomes were shot dead on the night of March 14, 2018, in central Rio de Janeiro. The vehicle they were driving in was attacked by another car which fired dozens of bullets into their vehicle. The left-wing politician was hit by four bullets in the head and her driver suffered three shots in the back, fatally wounding them.

Continue reading.