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ESG: A Woke Ideology Wreaking Havoc As Anti-ESG Rhetoric Heightens
ESG: A Woke Ideology Wreaking Havoc As Anti-ESG Rhetoric Heightens
With all the craziness happening in the world right now, you probably won’t be surprised to know that laws are being proposed that would limit food production due to ESG mandates. The EU's controversial ESG regulations came into force in January 2023, and their advocates have described them as the most ambitious yet.
These laws would severely restrict companies' ability to choose suppliers and buyers without first studying their ESG credentials, made possible through the EU’s ‘Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.’ The provisions in the regulations don't just apply to companies in the EU. They apply to non-EU companies, which work with EU companies, and possibly even to consumers as well.
While most EU lawmakers think these regulations will help increase the quality of life, the exact opposite is likely to occur. Not only will they crush competitiveness, but they could throw the EU into another energy and cost of living crisis that will have a knock-on effect globally. This article discusses the EU’s ESG directive, which provisions are the most disturbing, and reveals why the elites are so obsessed with ESG.
Image source: Early metrics
ESG Explained
To recap from previous articles, ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, defining an investment trend driven by financial elites since the pandemic's start. In short, ESG expresses that environmental, social, and governance issues are more important than production output or profits.
Logically, this imperative is incompatible with basic economics. Purposely pursuing more expensive energy sources, hiring people based on their personal identity rather than their abilities, and letting governmental and non-governmental organizations make business decisions is a recipe for disaster.
ESG’s incompatibility with basic economics is why it's more accurate to refer to ESG as an ideology rather than an investment methodology. Any company that complied with ESG criteria would quickly find itself out of business. This is why the ESG ideology was mostly ignored during the first 15 years of its existence.
The term ESG was coined in a 2005 report by the United Nations, the World Bank, and the Swiss government. However, the ESG criteria needed to be more consistent and clear, contributing to their lack of adoption among businesses. But in mid-January 2020, it all changed when BlackRock CEO, Larry Fink, wrote an open letter to all the shareholders of the companies the asset manager is invested in, ordering them to comply with ESG.
The Standardization Of ESG Criteria
In late January 2020, the world's elite gathered in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual conference. There, the big four accounting firms standardized ESG criteria. The ESG criteria have since become synonymous with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For reference, the SDGs are a set of 17 goals that are supposed to be met by all 193 UN countries by 2030.
Image source: Weforum.org
The convergence between ESG and the SDGs comes from the strategic partnership the WEF signed with the UN in mid-2019. The announcement states that the WEF will help "accelerate the development of the SDGs.” In other words, they will provide private-sector funding and compliance. Besides developing the digital ID, SDGs mandate the development of smart cities, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and carbon credit scores to track and reduce an individual’s consumption.
All these technologies are being developed by companies closely affiliated with the WEF, but as mentioned above, ESG is not compatible with basic economics. This begs the question of why the private sector is on board. Well, the short answer is ‘artificial profits.’
Companies that comply with ESG get lots of investment from asset managers and better loan terms from mega banks. Companies, which refuse to comply with the ESG, see investments pulled and risk losing access to financial services altogether. Meanwhile, on the public sector side, they risk excessive regulations and bad press from governmental and non-governmental institutions working with these asset managers and mega banks.
This terrifying situation comes from the unnatural accumulation of wealth caused by a financial system where limitless amounts of money can be created. The short story is that asset managers and mega banks borrow lots of money at low-interest rates and then use it to buy assets, influence, and further push their ideologies. Understand, the ESG ideology would not exist in a sound money system; it would not be possible.
The ESG Push
Now although the ESG push has come primarily from private sector entities affiliated with the WEF, there are a few public sector exceptions. The biggest one is the European Union (EU), whose ESG initiatives are rooted in the Next Generation EU pandemic recovery plan.
Not surprisingly, the implicit and explicit purpose of Next Generation EU is to help all European countries meet the UN's SDGs by 2030. The recovery plan is expected to cost over €1.8 trillion. In other words, it provides public sector funding and compliance, complementary to the WEF’s initiatives.
Image source: commission.europa.eu
One-third of all this printed money will fund the EU's green deal, which was announced at the pandemic's start. Now, to give you an idea of just how ideological the green deal is, one of the three goals noted on its website is to ensure that “economic growth is decoupled from resource use.” This impossible goal is why it's appropriate that the EU’s ESG regulation is part of the green deal.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
The ESG regulation in question is called the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). It was first introduced in April 2021, was passed in November 2022, and went into force this January.
However, there are two caveats here. The first is that the CSRD is technically a directive, not a regulation. Whereas an EU regulation requires all EU countries to comply with the EU law as it's written, an EU directive allows EU countries to adjust the EU law and can take their time rolling it out.
Image source: Kvalito.ch
This ties into the second caveat: going into force and being enforced are two different things. While the CSRD went into force this January, it won't be enforced until 2025. To clarify, ESG reporting standards will be published in June. In 2024, EU companies will start collecting data using these standards. In 2025, this data will be reported.
Image Source: DFGE.de
A spokesperson for the agency tasked with setting these standards specified that over 1,000 ESG data points must be reported. In a December 2021 interview, one of the architects of the CSRD revealed that the directive's purpose is to “bring sustainability reporting to the same level as financial reporting.” He also indicated that all the reported data would have to be digitized and that this won't be easy or cheap.
Failure to comply with the EU ESG disclosures will result in sanctions that should be “effective, proportionate, and dissuasive.” The CSRD will require governments to publicly shame the companies that didn't comply, order them to stop violating ESG criteria, and fine them. The CSRD is expected to apply to around 50,000 companies operating in the EU, but because of the absurdly low bar for what counts as a large company, the actual figure will probably be much higher.
An EU company is considered a large company if it meets two of the following three criteria; it has a revenue of more than €40 million per year, has more than €20 million in assets, or has more than 250 employees. Publicly listed EU companies will also be required to comply with the CSRD regardless of their size.
Moreover, the CSRD will also apply to non-EU companies which meet the following criteria; it returns more than €150 million each year for two consecutive years and has a subsidiary in the EU or a branch that takes in more than €40 million each year.
Another big reason the CSRD will apply to more than 50,000 companies is because of highly concerning provisions in the CSRD, which, as mentioned above, could apply to small and medium-sized businesses inside and outside of the EU and possibly even to consumers.
Image source: WSJ/Deloitte
The Double Materiality Provision
The most problematic provision is called Double Materiality. As stated by KPMG, the third largest accounting firm and one of the big four auditors, "double materiality requires companies to identify both their impacts on people and environment – Impact Materiality, as well as the sustainability matters that financially impact the undertaking – Financial Materiality.”
Double materiality sounds like yet another bureaucratic buzzword. However, these two insignificant words open the door to forcing small and medium-sized companies and possibly even consumers to comply with the CSRD’s ESG reporting requirements.
This is simply because double materiality requires companies directly affected by the CSRD to collect ESG-related data from individuals and institutions which lie upstream and downstream from their actual business operations.
In other words, in addition to the company’s own data, it would have to collect and report extensive ESG-related data from all suppliers they buy raw materials from – Upstream part of the provision. Then the company would need to chase up its largest consumers who have purchased its product and ask them to provide their ESG data for its reporting purposes. This is the downstream part of the provision.
In a real-world scenario, the company may have trouble collecting the data due to non-compliance, or the supplier may fall short in their ESG ratings. In this case, they would have to switch to ESG-aligned suppliers to meet the CSRD criteria to avoid a low ESG score and being fined. In such circumstances, the company could quickly end up in bankruptcy.
However, BlackRock comes to the rescue with investment, and the bank gives the company a loan. It stays afloat and finally gets all its most significant suppliers and consumers to provide detailed ESG data. There's just one problem: they all scored poorly on ESG, they need to use more renewable energy, their workforces need to be more diverse, and they are not members of the WEF. (Remember, ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance.)
BlackRock and the bank see the company’s annual ESG report and inform them that they won't be able to provide any more financial support unless they force its suppliers and consumers to improve their ESG scores. The company tries to jump a few more hurdles, but after trying so hard to comply, the company ultimately goes bankrupt.
Image source: contextsustainability.com
The Harsh Reality
The reality is the CSRD has the potential to impact individuals and institutions worldwide. Large companies in the EU will bear the brunt of the burden. The time and money they will take to report ESG criteria will be a massive expense.
Any small or medium-sized businesses, which lie upstream or downstream from these large companies, will likewise be required to report, and their expenses will be even greater in percentage terms. Never mind the costs and the surveillance that will come with digitizing all this sensitive ESG data.
In the 2022 conference held by the WEF in Davos, the ESG panelists agreed that small and medium-sized businesses would eventually have to comply with ESG to get investments and loans from financial institutions. One of the panelists gave an example of compliance with the ‘social’ criteria of ESG, stating that small and medium-sized businesses must pay their employees a “fair wage.”
Some argue this is code for paying their employees as much as a big enterprise can, which small and medium-sized companies often cannot do. With the CSRD applying pressure from the public sector and ESG investing applying pressure from the private sector, it's more than likely that many small and medium-sized businesses affected will go bankrupt.
As far as the elites are concerned big business taking over everything was always inevitable. The only things that will protect small and medium-sized businesses from going under will be investments from asset managers, loans from megabanks, and grants from governmental authorities.
This will give them the power to pick winners and losers based on their compliance with the ESG ideology, not on output. Assuming this ESG ideology continues to grow, we could see a scenario where businesses are occasionally prevented from providing goods and services to consumers on ESG grounds.
Excuses could include climate change, social inequality, and the inability to track what's been purchased. Again, basic economics says this would not be sustainable, but printed and borrowed money would make it so.
The EU could achieve its goal of having an economic output with zero input. It would just be rising numbers on a screen, with inflation kept in check by capital controls on digital currencies. Quality of life would quickly diminish as no actual inputs means no tangible outputs. There would be frequent and chronic shortages of critical goods and services, which the elites will blame on the same crises that ESG claims to solve. If it's allowed to be discussed at all, ‘real’ inflation will be off the charts.
Image source: cryptonews.com
The Elite’s ESG Obsession
So why are the elites so obsessed with ESG? The answer is ‘inflation.’ The byproduct of ESG policies creates inflation. The fact is, the wealthiest individuals and institutions have trillions of dollars of debt that they can't ever hope to pay back. And as mentioned above, most of this debt was used to buy assets and influence, all to push dystopian ideologies which go against the natural laws of economics.
In theory, most of the issues ESG seeks to fix could be more easily fixed with a sound monetary system. Saving is incentivized, wealth accumulation is arduous, and harmful ideologies are more difficult to finance. In practice, the elites default on their debts and lose all their assets and influence.
That's why there's only one solution in their eyes: to centralize control so intensely that it becomes impossible for them to default. This requires controlling where you go, what you say, and how you spend. If you look at the bigger picture, you'll realize that this is the true purpose of the SDGs and ESG.
Image source: US Debt Clock
The Silver Lining
The silver lining is that the elites will likely fail in implementing ESG policies. Evidence of this was in mid-2022 when energy prices soared, and we saw a rise in anti-ESG rhetoric because people knew ESG was the ultimate cause.
Although ESG saw a comeback after energy prices fell, this won’t last long. That's because the energy market fundamentals still need to be addressed. There needs to be more supply relative to demand, and energy companies are reluctant to expand in the face of ESG opposition.
When energy-driven inflation comes back, and it will, ESG will become Public Enemy #1 again, and rightfully so. When energy prices spike, you'll see governments declare oil, natural gas, and nuclear energy as green and spend $500 billion to burn so-called ‘dirty’ coal to keep the lights on as Europe and the UK have already done, and that's just what will happen in the developed world.
In the developing world, entire countries will go under; revolutions will arise, along with mass migrations, and all those angry people will know that ESG is ultimately to blame. This will lead to global instability, which will thwart the UN and the WEF’s plans.
Recently, Vanguard, the world’s second-largest asset manager, resigned from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, stating they were “not in the game of politics.” Moreover, Vanguard doesn’t believe it should dictate company strategy, saying it would be arrogant to presume that the firm knows the right strategy for the thousands of companies that Vanguard invests with.
Vanguard’s decision to withdraw, citing a need for independence, has perpetuated the anger of climate extremists since the Pennsylvania-based asset manager refused to rule out new investments in fossil fuels in May 2022.
Now, the elites are hyper-aware of this, so they're trying to move quickly to take control of everything before the purchasing power of their fiat currencies goes entirely to zero. They will fail because people will opt out of the current system when they see it closing in on them.
They’ll opt out by participating and supporting parallel ecosystems and adopting alternative technologies like cryptocurrency, which have been in development for years in preparation for this exact transition. As fiat currencies implode, the current system will collapse, and an alternative system will emerge.
Editor and Chief Markethive: Deb Williams. (Australia) I thrive on progress and champion freedom of speech. I embrace "Change" with a passion, and my purpose in life is to enlighten people to accept and move forward with enthusiasm. Find me at my Markethive Profile Page | My Twitter Account | and my LinkedIn Profile.
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Future Implications Of The Overturning Of Roe V. Wade
By Alex Vega, New York University Class of 2022
June 29, 2022
As of Friday, June 24th, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court has officially reversed Roe v. Wade. As a result of this overturning of this case, abortion rights for women nationwide will be stripped in “nearly half of the states immediately”, and more restrictions in other states are likely to follow [1]. To be more specific, women are for the most part, no longer legally able to abort their unborn children, regardless of the circumstances (for example, women who have been raped and impregnated against their will). It seems that those who stand with the idea of being pro-life are having a difficult time assessing the potential quality of life issues that could arise for the mothers who are forced to birth children they do not want. An acknowledgement of the devastating side effects that could occur due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade should be made by said pro-life advocates. Desperation may arise within the women suffering unfortunate circumstances. Furthermore, devastation and conflict may become more prevalent than ever regarding this certain issue, despite the “good intent” of those against abortion [2].
In reality, this ruling is not preventing abortion. This ruling is only preventing safe abortion. To clear up any confusion that may be had over this concept, let me put it this way: Attempting to perform your own abortion or having a friend/family member attempt to do it for you with little to no medical experience is a recipe for disaster, thus meaning it is incredibly unsafe. In this attempt, the surgery can be done so poorly that the mother may pass away during the process. Unsafe, at home abortions can lead to “[p]elvic-organ injuries, hemorrhage, dangerous clostridial infections, and sepsis resulted, leading to emergency hysterectomies and sometimes death” [3].
Despite the highly likely outcome of this overruling being that many women would be forced to perform unsafe, extremely harmful self-inflicted abortions, putting themselves in grave danger, there may be another outcome that could be far more devastating. As mentioned previously, one of the horrific, but very possible outcomes of at home abortions is death of both the fetus (obviously) and the mother. As opposed to being offered safe abortions through the United States medical systems, mothers will be forced to put their own lives at extreme risk in order to take control and make a decision regarding their own body. Along with the millions of hospitalizations ironically caused by surgeries that should be legally permitted within hospitals in the first place, each year, around fifty thousand “women die due to complication of unsafe abortion”. As I stated previously, pro-life advocates are not taking into account the lives lost due to abortion being an illegal option [4].
Aside from issues regarding abortion, the recent reversal of Roe v. Wade has caused talks of reversal regarding other concepts such as gay marriage. With the loss of abortion for women, as well as talks of making gay marriage illegal once again, it truly seems as if the United States is regressing. This is not meant to be an opinionated piece. This article is intended to highlight issues at hand. With this being said, it is certainly factual that the reversal of Roe v. Wade will cause far more harm and damage than pro-life advocated believe keeping abortion legal would cause.
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Alex Vega has studied Psychology and Politics for 2 years thus far at New York University. He plans to attend law school directly after, or within a few years after graduation, intending to become a corporate lawyer.
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[1] Totenberg, Nina, and Sarah McCammon. “Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade, Ending Right to Abortion Upheld for Decades.” NPR, NPR, 24 June 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn.
[2] Katherine Rodriguez | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. “Here's What 'Overturn Roe v. Wade' Means.” Nj, 24 June 2022, https://www.nj.com/news/2022/06/what-does-overturn-roe-v-wade-mean.html.
[3] Harris, Lisa H., et al. “Complications of Unsafe and Self-Managed Abortion: Nejm.” New England Journal of Medicine, 2 June 2022, https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1908412.
[4] Unsafe Abortion - Who. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/44529/9789241501118_eng.pdf?sequence=1.
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Thoughts on tuon and mat?
Hi there!
Oh, many thoughts.... Mostly I think that Mat deserved better.
I'm very biased in that regard to be honest and I try to explain, why I think they are a bad pairing at least as things are now.
When I first worked out that the "daughter of the nine moons" probably was the Seanchan empress I was actually excited and I wondered how Mat could fit to her. The only Seanchan I knew close up by then was Eaganin and I was probably too optimistic about how easy it would be for Seanchan to realize that their understanding of the world is deeply flawed. What I expected was an Egeanin 2.0 and what I got was so much worse.....
a) I don't particularly like Tuon, and I was prepared to like her, because I wanted a person for Mat who would be his equal. In a way Tuon is that, but she lost all my sympathy, when she learned about sul'dam being able to channel and decided that she didn't care that she would just carry on being a slaver, even though she herself could learn to channel. That is just a level of hypocrisy that made me wanting to throttle her. It is also a matter of self-deceit which goes far beyond anything Mat has ever done (and he is quite good at deceiving himself). I cannot really like a couple if I don't like one half of the couple. I know RJ planned another book for Mat and Tuon, but as things stand after AMOL, Tuon is just yikes and I hate that the Seanchan got away comparatively lightly by the end of the book. If I had my way, all the a'dam would have been burned in a great bonfire.
b) Mat always wanted his freedom, to be rid of a duties, travel the world, and now he is fettered to the Seanchan court and the Seanchan society that must surely be the most rigid hierarchy in all of Randland. He will chafe himself raw at all the restrictions. The Seanchan might learn something from him, but he doesn't get anything from the bargain.
c) Mat is deeply suspicious of women who can channel (although he gets a bit better by the end of the books). Tuon can channel, I mean she is able to see weaves, which means that she probably could channel any moment. She just decides not to. As if that is possible! Will that decision really hold when we know that the One Power is irresistible? What will that do to Mat, when she channels? What will that do to herself? With all her internalized hate against channelers, how will she even cope? It's a recipe for disaster.
d) I hate that RJ sort of "prepared" Mat for Tuon with the whole Tylin story. Tylin sexually assaults him and he sort of grows accustomed to it, and I cannot help but wonder if this unequal relationship was meant by RJ to soften the blow of Tuon having the upper hand over Mat, mostly because her society says so, but it really leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. It feels like Mat's path was always meant to lead him towards a relationship where he has to fight every inch of the way to be accepted as equal, where he has to act from a position of lesser power, where he has to give up the freedom he so loves. Mat as ta'veren being turned and twisted around by Rand was never as bad as that. He really got it worst from the three ta'veren. He might be rich and mighty, but he'll be deeply unhappy.
e) I really don't like most of the canon ships in Wheel of Time. Sigh.
#Wheel of time#Wot book spoilers#Matrim Cauthon#Tuon#Anti Mat x Tuon#I really don't like this ship#Anti Seanchan
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“The 1970s was a decade of serious anxiety about food supplies. Norman Tebbit, of all people, urged the government to consider rationing basic foodstuffs. That played a significant role in the decision to join the EEC, and raises some important questions today.
The UK has not been able to feed itself since the early C19th. Even for an industrial economy, it is unusually dependent on imported food. And by the 1970s, a mixture of bad harvests, population growth, inflation & the collapse of Commonwealth agreements was starting to bite.
In 1974, for example, Caribbean sugar imports dropped by a third, as producers abandoned Commonwealth trade agreements and sold to more lucrative markets elsewhere. Supermarkets introduced informal rationing, and consumer organisations urged the public to stop buying sugar.
Later that year, the Ministry of Agriculture warned that Canada might suspend grain exports if the currency continued to decline. In November, Margaret Thatcher had to open her cupboards to journalists to prove that she wasn't hoarding food.
1974 also saw a bakers' strike, in response to rising costs and falling real wages. Some suppliers restricted shoppers to a single loaf each, prompting queues outside bakeries at dawn. Conservative MPs again raised the prospect of rationing.
The UK had joined the EEC in 1973, but was still operating under transitional arrangements on food and farming. So the 1975 EEC referendum saw a serious debate, of the kind we don't seem to be capable of anymore, about what leaving might mean for the supply and price of food.
Leave campaigners argued that prices would be higher in Europe, because production costs were greater and the Common Agricultural Policy was designed to ensure farmers a decent wage. Barbara Castle compared shopping bags in London and Brussels, as a warning against EEC prices.
Pro-Europeans responded by pointing to rising prices across the world. The days of cheap food from compliant colonial markets, they warned, were over. European prices might, in some years, be higher, but Britain would at least have a guaranteed source of supply.
As Margaret Thatcher warned: "In Britain we have to import every second meal. Sometimes we shall pay less in the Community, & sometimes we shall pay more. But we shall have a stable source of supply, & most housewives would rather pay a little more than risk a bare cupboard".
The leader of the National Farmers' Union warned of "a clear threat to continued regular food supplies if Britain left the Market". Voters were urged to think of the EEC as "the Common Super-Market. Well-stocked shelves; plenty of choice and just around the corner".
The food economy has changed radically since the 1970s. Production has boomed, transportation has improved & prices have fallen. At the same time, Britons have become less suspicious of "Continental" food, & used to abundant supplies reliant on "just-in-time" delivery chains.
Yet food poverty remains a desperate social problem. In the year *before* the pandemic, foodbanks gave out 1.9 million food parcels. The poorest 10% of households spend more than double the share of income on food of the richest. If prices rise, we know who will suffer most.
47 years after joining the EEC, it's legitimate to ask whether the old arguments for membership still hold. What's less forgivable is the stunning incuriosity of those tasked with delivering Brexit about why Britain joined, what changed with membership, & what's now at stake.
Perhaps Brexiters can find better solutions to the challenges that drove the UK to join. But pretending those challenges did not exist - as if Conservatives like Thatcher, Heath & Macmillan embraced membership in some bizarre spasm of irrationality - is a recipe for disaster.
Brexit requires us to rethink nearly every major policy choice since 1973. If we don't understand why those choices were made, we won't be ready for the decisions that lie ahead. If tweeting for lolz is the best we can do, the joke will deservedly be on us in 2021.”Robert Saunders
#life#real life#uk#politics#uk politics#worldpolitics#uk government#conservative#labour party#conservative politics#conservative party#human rights#equalopportunity#equal rights#equal justice#equality#food industry#food prices#boris johnson#prime minister#member of parliament#brexit deal#brexit#brexshit#foodbank#women in history#historical people#historical figures#history#important
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Title: Division of Labor (4/?)
Summary:
“The past years, we have noticed a lot of our fresh high school graduates knew nothing about responsibilities the that awaited them outside high school and even college. Many students do not master budgeting, taxes, household planning, loans and we hope to raise a generation who can navigate the adult world without the consequences of bad decisions they are bound to make going in blindly…”
Paradis High school starts a program incorporating adulting into their curriculum and Hange and Levi are paired together.
Note: From request of @a-golden-hearted-snk-fan. See this link for the request
So here is the next chapter of division of labor. I had intended to drop it today for a long time. I didn't expect it to coincide with leaks so sorry for the slight mood whiplash.
Anyway, thank you to the anons on tumblr for asking about this fic. I still find it pretty surreal that people actually think about my work, let alone send asks about it.
Other Chapters: 1 2 3
Link to cross-postings: AO3
Having lived alone for all of his high school life and some of his middle school life, Levi was sure of one thing.
Cooking is fun. Except when it is graded.
In fact, nothing can be fun when someone is behind them watching their every move telling them their performance in that one activity can determine a grade and that grade can determine their future. As Levi and Hange surveyed the ingredients in front of them, Erwin was behind them. Of all the workstations he had chosen to hang out in, it happened to be theirs.
As Levi looked at the other workstations, he could see Nanaba to his left already cracking two eggs into a bowl next to Mike. Bertholdt who was working in front of them with his pair Reiner was already cutting up what looked like cheese cubes. To his right was his own pair Hange who was shaking the eggs to her ear.
“Just to check if they’re boiled,” she explained. Levi did not even notice he had given her a judgemental look until she avoided his gaze looking a little self conscious.
Of course they wouldn’t be boiled. They were supposed to be doing everything from scratch. Why did he and Hange in particular look the most clueless? Why weren’t they doing anything? Levi looked behind him again to see Erwin still staring at both of them. I’m not clueless. Levi had to remind himself. He preplanned and prepared meals multiple times a week. He could make anything from the ingredients laid out in front of him. Eggs. Cheese. Celery. Instant noodles.
Why the hell is there instant noodles. What am I supposed to be making?
That ordeal only fueled his hatred for surprise tasks. He hated pop quizzes. Particularly because he had the cursed history of not knowing exactly what would be asked during the actual quizzes but having comprehensive knowledge in another facet of whatever topic they discussed in class. At that moment, he could have gladly given an oral exam about why exactly putting a washing machine in the bathroom was a good idea. Hange probably would have been able to do a practical exam or presentation explaining why a rent-to-own scheme was the best option for homeowners.
Both he and Hange though, probably spent at the most ten minutes running through that meal plan which was biting them so painfully in the ass at that moment. On top of that, the restrictions were ridiculous and unnecessary.
“No checking the recipe?” It was Connie that time towards the front of the room who was protesting the ridiculous restriction put on them. “I thought you’re supposed to be simulating adulthood. In real life everyone could just research the recipes? ”
“What if you don’t have wifi but you have eggs and vegetables in front of you and you need to cook breakfast?” Erwin challenged.
“We’ll have recipe books.” Sasha answered.
Erwin raised his eyebrows, looking pointedly at the Connie and Sasha pair. “Will your current financial situation allow that?”
Levi found some solace in Erwin’s comment. Maybe, just maybe that meant that they weren’t the only pair currently burning in hell financially in this little game of adulting. He looked to Hange and the face she made as Erwin had said the words `current financial situation’ and “allow” in the same sentence, Levi guessed that Erwin’s comment probably applied to them as a pair too.
“It is important at least for all of you to know the basics of cooking a nice meal even without the recipe.
Levi sighed. He lived alone and he knew they didn’t need it. Levi had a recipe book for easy recipes at home and almost always had wifi anyway. Nobody actually needed to memorize recipes. He was aware though of the culture of schools to know that schools always made things harder than they were supposed to be.
At least when you’re in the real world, things will be so much easier because you’ve had it hard already. Some teachers would defend. Making things unnecessarily hard though wasn’t at all an effective way to get people good at things. Sometimes, making things unnecessarily hard only left students with chronic unresolved tensions with certain formulas, academic concepts and sometimes even mundane objects they had encountered too many times in an academic setting. In fact, he started to feel the beginnings of it when he encountered washing machines and Japanese style house designs while he went grocery shopping that weekend. A few times he also could have sworn he’d seen Hange recoil at hearing the words ‘debit’ and ‘credit.’
“Maybe we should boil the eggs?” Hange lined up the ingredients on the counter.
“What the hell are you doing?” Levi asked, or more specifically panicked. Around him he could see the others already turning on the stove. Watching Hange observe the ingredients was only a grave reminder of their own incompetence.
“I’m just trying to arrange the ingredients in different ways. Maybe a good idea will come to mind.” She paused for a second. “Scrambled eggs?”
"Hear me out Hange, what if it isn't scrambled eggs." The ingredients all pointed to scrambled eggs or an omelette. In front of them there was a pan, a skillet, eggs, butter and vegetables. That seemed like the most reasonable option. Having taken tests and quizzes for most of his life though, Levi was a master of the art of ‘doubting one’s self’ in high pressure situations where every decision equated to a deduction. “Why is there a pack of instant noodles?” Whether he had intended to or not, Levi had ended up saying his thoughts out loud.
Hange paused for a second, pressing her thumb to her lips in thought, her eyes completely fixed on the pack of instant noodles in front of her. She looked like she was starting to doubt herself too. “You’re right. Levi, why are there instant noodles? Didn’t you make the meal plan?”
“Didn’t you check it?”
“I did check it. If i remember correctly, there was a recipe for scrambled eggs. But there should have been vegetables.” Hange brought the instant noodles pack closer to her and closely read through it. “Wait a minute. This is chow mein? I thought chow mein was a type of vegetable. Why the hell would you put instant noodles in scrambled eggs?”
Instant noodles and scrambled eggs. For some reason, it hadn’t clicked when all he saw were the ingredients in front of him. With Hange bringing up the two key ingredients of eggs and instant noodles, he started to remember what revisions he had made to that particular recipe. “It’s cheaper to make omelette rice with instant noodles than with actual rice.” He admitted lightly.
“Levi! We’re graded for nutritional value. Did you not read the rubrics?”
Levi looked away. In fact he had failed to read the rubrics. “Weren’t you supposed to be checking my work?
“I did check it.”
“Then why did you think chowmein is a type of vegetable? Aren’t you a fan of botany?”
“Levi there are at least one thousand vegetables to think of. You can’t expect me to keep track of all of them.”
Levi then realized that maybe having too much information in one’s brain was a little disadvantageous. Hange may be right that there are thousands of types of vegetables in the world. Levi was sure though that only at least fifty of those types would have been available in an average supermarket. You don’t really go grocery shopping much do you? A part of him had wanted to criticize her and maybe start a little argument.
The clatter of pots and pans around him and the urgent sounding voices was only telling him one thing, time was running. They had to churn something up or risk failing that quiz. He wished at least he could have double checked the rubrics. Alas, their phones were in their bags, all gathered towards the front of the rooms. All they had armed with them then was their procedural memory and the many ingredients in front of them.
Maybe, just maybe though we could do a little improvisation. Levi made eye contact with Hange as he said it. It looked like she had read his mind, Hange reached out for the instant noodles in front of him, ready to slip the pack silently into her pocket.
“If I find out any of you revised any of your recipes or you miss out on one ingredient, expect a 50% deduction for this test,” Erwin announced from behind them.
Within a second, the pack of instant noodles was back on the table and that flash of understanding between Levi and Hange had changed to one of horror and panic. Did he notice?
“Marco, I really cannot remember why the hell I needed so many of these spices in the first place.” Jean said apologetically from his station to their right.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have asked your mom to make the meal plan in the first place then.” Marco sounded surprisingly pissed.
At least they weren’t the only one in hell’s kitchen.
Division of Labor
By some silent agreement, all meetings with his actual friends were cancelled. It was as if everyone in the room had unanimously decided to make up for that disaster of a kitchen quiz by working on the next deliverable days before it was due. It was as if everyone was sure they had failed Erwin’s little pop quiz
Or long test. Erwin though never gave the breakdown of how much of their grade that disaster in the kitchen was. Levi found some assurance at least in the fact that everyone did look as unsure as they were about it. They can’t fail the whole class right?
Either way, a failing grade is still a failing grade. Levi and Hange had gone for the plan of omelette rice having kept the instant noodles revision. And with nutritional value a 60% of their grade for the actual meal plan, their expectations for their grades were low. On the bright side at least, Erwin said that there would be more pop quizzes in the kitchen, so they just had to memorize the recipe of whatever they put in the meal plan the next time around.
It would be painstaking, Levi was sure. But as students he and Hange had been forced to memorize formulas, kingdoms and phyla, vocabulary words, thesis statements, poems and dialogues. That should be nothing. Levi though had a building resentment for the subject, particularly the fact that no one had prepared them for that type of stress at all. None of the seniors ever had to do this type of program and thus, Levi was completely unprepared mentally for ‘adulting.’
Welcome to adulthood. That was what was written on the top of the questionnaire he and Hange were supposed to be submitting by Friday midnight. It was Wednesday afternoon of that week and he was grateful Hange had even suggested they start earlier. Only that morning, Erwin had submitted a new list of deliverables which seemed more comprehensive than the last.
September*
Week 1
Meal Plan
Investment Plan Part I: Disposable Income
Pop quiz
Week 2
Education Plan for Kids
Module 2 (See attached fail)
Pop quiz
Week 3 - 4
TBA
While Hange answered some of the questions on the questionnaire, Levi could only stare at the module in his email. He had promised Hange he would look into it while she filled out her part of the questionnaire. His eyes though were stuck on the little typo
Fail. He was sure Erwin meant file. In that type of module though, he would consider that typo almost fatal since the whole program was already screaming the words ‘failure’ at him.
He had to note at least that Erwin put the words pop quiz there for every week. He couldn’t help but think it was due to the fact that everyone had failed that last cooking exam and that was a sign of some mercy on the teacher’s side.
He clicked the module below the email to find that the file was too large at least for google to open. Oh, I guess it’s too large to open on my phone. It might slow it down after all. A petty excuse but he was just tired and instead decided to entrust the responsibility of opening said document to the Levi of a few hours later who would be in front of an actual computer.
“The file is too big to open on my phone. Sorry, I didn’t think about bringing my laptop today.” Levi’s words weren’t too sincere. A part of him was telling him never to bring his laptop on campus in the first place and was thankful for that bout of irresponsibility. Delaying the inevitable at present is always such a sweet feeling after all.
“It’s fine, it wasn’t too hard to fill out what’s needed. We just needed to assign rooms for Flora and Fauna…” Hange started looking pointedly at the flour babies who were leaning by the window of the diner they started to frequent. “Then break down our budget for other things like furniture, groceries, household necessities…”
She slid the paper over to Levi. As if by magic, his brain just shut down at seeing the numbers out there. A part of him though, a more tenacious part was nagging at him to comment at the computations in front of him.
He focused on the words not the numbers. There were calculations for household necessities like detergent and cleaning wax, groceries, baby stuff, utility bills. Somehow it was only making Levi feel more useless for not even understanding what she was writing.
So you have to comment. Levi willed himself to open his mouth and rack his brain for something reasonable and useful to say. Those thoughts on his end all culminated to two words. “Washing machine... “
“What? You’re still not over that?”
“You really don’t want the washing machine in the bathroom?”
“Levi, we’ve been over this!” Hange said, looking exasperated. Within a split second, her look softened into something else then within a second twisted into what looked like shame or embarrassment. “Yeah, I don’t think we even have the money to pay for that in installments now. But hey, a washing machine isn’t a necessity right? Like handwashing is still a thing.”
Levi didn’t agree. He knew in the back of his mind that anything that made cleaning easier was a necessity. Hange though had made the calculations and as a form of respect for her hardwork and a punishment for himself and his inability to have been of any use with that questionnaire, he kept quiet.
He just had to trust her. Group works were all about trust after all.
Division of Labor
“Your answers were all a fucking mess. If adulting was a war, none of you would make it back alive. All of you will starve with your shitty planning and resource conserving skills.” Shadis waved a wad of papers so magnificently over his head as he slammed them on the table. “I want to hear your justifications for making such idiotic decisions. Maybe that can bring up your grade to a D at least.”
“Blouse Springer!”
“Yes sir!” Sasha stood up instinctively.
“Connie join your partner!”
“We have to sta---?” Connie’s eyes widened as if he realized a second later the disrespect in what he had just said. He stood up a split second after. “Yes sir!”
“Tell me again. What are your jobs?”
Connie looked at the documents and back at him. “Is what we put in the document… wrong… sir?”
“What. Are. Your. Jobs?”
Sasha and Connie exchanged glances and looked back up at him. “I’m a marketing specialist…” Connie started. “And Sasha---”
“Journalist sir.”
“So you have eight to five jobs right?”
“Yes we do,” Connie answered.
“And three kids?”
The two nodded in sync. “Yes sir,” Sasha said. “Or that’s what I remember…” In fact, she shouldn’t have had to recall that. The three flour sacks were on their desk after all. “Did we miss one?”
Shadis ignored them. “Then why did you tick ‘no babysitter’ here?”
“Are we supposed to tick it sir?” Connie asked. A brave question that had everyone in the classroom more silent than they had been a second ago.
“You have eight to five jobs and three children. So are you telling me you will take the kids to work?
“Are we allowed? The fee for a babysitter everyday just seems… extravagant.”
That wasn’t the right word. The right word was exorbitant. As some of the people in the class would have agreed. Many could see though that Connie was shaking at the incessant questions and that should have been the last of his concerns.
Shadis though seemed unpreturbed at the wrong word choice. “Well what if your boss doesn’t allow you to bring three kids to work?”
“Then we leave them at home?”
“And you know that’s illegal?”
The silence in the room had become deafening.
“You can be sued for child neglect,” Shadis expounded
“But how would they know?” It was a bold question from Connie
The room exploded in hesitant mutters only silenced a second later by Shadis’ eerily cold reply. “Social workers are very perceptive people, Connie. I’m surprised you’re even underestimating them. Be ready to pay attorney dues for this.” He wrote something on the paper on his desk which was probably Connie and Sasha’s submission before pushing it to the bottom of the pile.
“Next pair…Ackerman Zoe. Stand up.”
By lunchtime, Levi was in a trance, a very strong strance. He did not even notice the students who had filed out of the classroom for lunch, his eyes completely fixed on the beautiful view of the school courtyard as the leaves started to change color.
That was not what he was admiring though. He wasn’t actually admiring anything. Although his eyes were fixed at such a beautiful view, his brain had done nothing to process it.
“So… You wanna talk about the next output?” That familiar voice sounded like a screech to Levi and it was more than enough to pull him out.
“We are so fucked.” Levi’s words were almost instinctive. It was as if just hearing Hange’s voice sent his whole body into panic mode. Of course he would, having just been grilled by Shadis and having one’s incompetence exposed could do that to anyone.
“There’s an output every week. We’ll be fine,” Hange assured.
Levi could only stare at Hange. He had know idea what kind of face he was making. All he could think then though was the fact that she out of the two of them should have been in a worse state of panic than he was.
And her calm ironically only stressed him out further. Having been reeling from the stress of it for almost four hours, Levi still remembered their exchange perfectly.
"Okay Ackerman… Just a homemaker. And Zoe. You’re working freelance?
"So Levi and I decided that I'll be a scientist and he'll take care of the house," Hange had said so confidently.
"What about taxes?"
“Taxes?”
“I looked at the breakdown of your budget Zoe. You didn’t mention anything about taxes.”
“I’m freelance sir.”
“Zoe, has it ever occured to you that freelancers pay taxes too?”
And their lesson of the day came soon after that exchange. The tasks were detailed and demanded a lot of thought. Through all they had learned over that one painful exchange and maybe through the glimpses of the next few exchanges he had so half heartedly watched, he had learned a lot.
He could have easily summarized it all into one sentence though. Do not take Erwin's tasks with a grain of salt.
Erwin had thought everything through. It could have been by coincidence or it could have also been just a lack of thought on the side of the students but somehow the set up Erwin had was exposing the weaknesses of the students when it came to learning, and possibly their potential weaknesses when it comes to actual adulting.
"I’m deducting the taxes already."
"You heard Shadis, It's too late the hypothetical government is out to get us.” Levi added the word hypothetical to at least help himself bask in the fact that it was still a simulation. “We’re getting penalized.”
Hange smiled wryly. “Fine, we’re kinda financially… going through a rough patch,” She admitted. “But we’re not the only ones going through this type of financial bump. Eren and Mikasa, Sasha and Connie, Reiner and Bertholdt, Petra and Oluo…” Hange trailed off. “I mean okay Armin and Annie looked like they were doing fine but back in the supermarket, they looked kinda confused too.”
“A failing grade is a failing grade.”
“But Levi, they can’t fail the whole class.” Hearing that Hange was somehow very reassuring.
Hange was right. Teachers can’t fail a whole class and Levi was aware of two methods teachers tend to employ when dealing with an underperforming class: employ a curve or give extra credit.
Levi should have known though from his short yet very tumultuous few weeks with that adulting program that a curve would have seemed a little too merciful for their teachers.
With the uncomfortable look Erwin gave the class, Levi was sure at least a majority of the class had fucked up financially. How exactly, he was unsure.
Right after they had finished their own mini oral exam, Levi had fallen into a trance. A trance, trying to think up a back up life just in case he never manages to graduate high school or make it to college.
Misery though loves company. Especially when it’s a whole class failing. Levi was not the type to want to wish misfortune on anyone else. Being as completely idiotic and dense as he and Hange were though, Levi found himself grateful for the unfortunate situation the class found themselves in,
“It looks like a lot of you are struggling financially. Zeke and I had a quick talk about this actually…”
Levi’s blood ran cold at the name, Zeke. At that point, he didn’t know if he hated Zeke or he hated Math. Looking back at Zeke’s unfavorable personality, he was guessing probably both.
“And we realized it would be beneficial if we introduce the possibility of finding other sources of income which would be a good lesson in financial management.”
There were some sighs of disappointment among the class. Levi empathized. In fact, he probably would have joined them as well if he weren’t so jaded by the course of events already. Still, a small part of him had hoped as well that they would just raise their salaries.
That was the equivalent of a curve though and Levi somehow knew, grading on the curve was just not Erwin’s style.
“So I am introducing two options to increase your income. One is through investments which will be taught by Zeke another day and another one is through this ‘new system’ I thought out.” Erwin looked a little too proud of that ‘new system.’
“We will be offering extra tasks you may choose to take around the school, these include cleaning, admin tasks, lab work and anything else the teachers may need help done. Each task will have a corresponding pay which can be added to your income for that month.”
So it’s exploitable free labor. Levi thought to himself. He was sure he wasn’t the only one thinking of that. Everyone in the room was desperate though. In the end, despite the questionable set up, it had come out looking like a gesture of generosity from their teacher. Levi saw that in the way a lot of the students around him looked relieved to hear that announcement.
“Or we can just choose to budget within our means?” Annie spoke up from her place on the front next to Armin. She was notably calmer than a lot of people in the room. Levi had suspected for a while though that Armin and Annie weren’t in as much trouble financially.
“I’m sure though a lot of you would want to earn more money,” Erwin said, a knowing smile on his face. “You can exchange these for this thing I will be introducing called ‘disposable income tokens’ and if you collect enough, you can get a free ticket out of doing one of the modules or the pop quizzes of the week of your choice.”
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HAN SOOHYUN is the MAIN DANCER, VOCAL, AND RAPPER of MARIGOLD under GOLD STAR MEDIA. She was born on JULY 26, 1996. She looks a little like JUNG HAERIM (ELLY) OF WEKI MEKI.
CHARACTER INFORMATION
faceclaim: jung haerim (elly), weki meki
legal name: han soohyun
stage name: n/a
pronouns: she/her
birth date: july 26,1996
hometown: busan, sk
position: main dancer, vocal, rapper
claims: female lead in origin’s “boy in luv” music video
BIOGRAPHY
trigger warning: eating disorders, traumatic head injury, hospitalization, depression, anxiety
as a child, soohyun had been extremely energetic, in a way that her parents didn’t know how to deal with her. much like parents often don’t. so, there was an attempt to figure out what to do with the young girl. they’d thought about several options, and eventually settled on gymnastics. soohyun excelled, she loved it – but what had started as a way to get rid of the boundless energy soohyun had became what soohyun seemed to eat, drink, and breathe. while in her younger years it was nothing of the sort, she slowly grew more competitive with the sport – as did the other girls. soohyun was involved in competitions as she excelled in the field. the beam was especially her friend, she had impeccable balance and control over her body, so it was where she shined most. while her mother was no helicopter parent, she cared very much about soohyun doing well and took care that the young girl would always be at the top of her gain.
unfortunately, this lead to monitoring soohyun’s food intake to ensure she wasn’t gaining too much weight. she did what she could to keep soohyun ‘healthy,’ but tried to ensure she wouldn’t develop and lose her girlish figure while she went through puberty. but soohyun’s goal became the olympics, so she didn’t mind. she followed what guidelines she was given, and life seemed decent.
the chance never came, however. when she was fourteen, soohyun was a tthe top of the world. then, one day, she woke up in the hospital with her head swimming after she slipped and lost herself in the air when doing a flip, and smacked her head off the beam. most of the time she spent in the hospital was completely lost on her, and suffers mild amnesia from the time surrounding the fall. some nice stitches in the back of her head were kept as the only proof it even happened in her mind (and a video that soohyun will never watch from her mother’s need to record soohyun’s every performance.)
once she was released from the hospital, part of soohyun’s rehabilitation included dancing. once cleared for exercise, albeit not intense, soohyun wanted to be active again. while she wasn’t allowed to go back to gymnastics yet, soohyun figure out something, that something being dancing. every once in a while she would suffer from dizzy spells, but was told she was probably just over-exerting herself. it would take some time before she would be used to activity again, so she was probably fine. usually, it wouldn’t last long before soohyun could get back on her feet.
returning to gymnastics proved her wrong.
a diagnosis of vertigo and advisement not to return to gymnastics meant that everything she’d worked for was gone. no matter how hard she tried to return, her head would swim and she’d be left laying on the ground for hours after an attempt at a flip. doctors told her there was no real telling if it would be chronic, or if it would eventually go away – there was of course a chance, but the brain was a fickle organ. soohyun knew she couldn’t continue in gymnastics the way she wanted to if she couldn’t continue performing to the skill she had before. her dreams of being a gymnast were dashed.
dance was soohyun’s second choice.
dance change soohyun. she was less on edge, healthier – and she was no longer bothered by her overbearing mother about living out some fantasy of greatness anymore. it made life a lot easier for her; dance was more recreational than her entire life. she was allowed time to continue healing, with far less intense movements so soohyun didn’t suffer from near as many vertigo spells. life was easier.
being casted by a music company was the last thing she was expecting out of everything that had happened. soohyun and her friends had been wandering around the mall after finally escaping from hangwon. they were preparing for upcoming entrance exams when a gold star scout had handed soohyun a card and asked her to audition for the company. at a loss for words, soohyun took the card she was handed and went home.
the decision for her to go to seoul had been a family decision. neither of her parents wanted her to get injured again, not the way she had. they worried the intensity of a trainee’s life, and potentially idol’s life, would be too much for soohyun. while her spells had lessened considerably over the two years of rehab, there was always the chance they could get worse with more activity. but soohyun saw it as another chance. perhaps not in the same field, but another chance to do something she loved in a way that made it a career for her. she was a fantastic dancer, and she’d learn the rest. she was fine with that, she would work hard – but she just wanted the chance to do something she was passionate about instead of live a boring life.
it took some convincing, but her parents allowed her to go on the condition the family moved to be closer to her. thus began her trainee journey.
training under gold star hadn’t been easy. with long hours of training, sleepless nights, and the clear encouragement of competition between trainees, it didn’t take long for soohyun to fall back into bad habits. she was praised for her dance prowess and flexibility – something that was more of a focus than her vocals or rap skills, which took a clear backseat. her weight loss from the time she signed was clear and praised by coaches who stressed visuals on the women in the company. soohyun wasn’t sure how many nights she spent lying on the practice room floor with her head spinning, whether from the vertigo or her poor eating habits.
but she worked hard, she waited – and eventually, she was put into a debut group. to soohyun, it looked like a recipe for disaster – and as it happened, it turned out to be just that. element had pre-debut hype, excitement around a take on the co-ed groups that failed miserably before them. but surely that wouldn’t happen for a gold star group, right?
soohyun knew their group had been doomed from the beginning. personally, she’d been plagued by rumors and criticism since pre-debut. according to many, she was 'useless’ and 'less talented’ than the other members of the group, and her pre-debut appearance in one of origin’s music videos only seemed to make things worse. an image of being 'easy’ as rumors of in-group dating seemed to plague the group altogether made criticism heavy on soohyun’s shoulders. while it was nothing more than whispers, soohyun struggled with them nonetheless. disbandment was inevitable, but still painful and bittersweet. soohyun thought heavily about leaving the company altogether after things fell apart – she’d be free of the rumors and a lifestyle that was making her ill. not to mention, how many people successfully re-debuted after their first attempt ended so quickly? soohyun wasn’t sure.
convinced by coaches, staff, and her former members, soohyun decided to stay with gold star – but she hadn’t been enthused about it. training lost its luster and it wasn’t long before she found herself sitting across from a therapist she was referred to by gold star. she worried too much about what she could’ve done better, how she should’ve worked harder, how if she were somehow more then this wouldn’t have happened. this time, it wasn’t physical injury that seemingly ended her career, but something that seemed like it was her fault. where her life felt out of control, she took control where she could – once again, she began restricting and monitoring food intake, her anxiety heightened dramatically, and soohyun couldn’t find much to care for. she doesn’t even know how to handle her therapist, who soohyun wonders is there to just 'fix her’ to ensure she’ll continue to debut under gold star yet again.
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AHIT Continuation Thoughts
I’ve seen some posts around talking about wanting a sequel to A Hat In Time, but after thinking about it for a while, I’ve realized no one is actually talking about what they want to SEE in a sequel game.
Sequels are hard to get right. It’s hard for a gaming team/company to recapture the charm of the original games and they often end up falling flat when they come out. Not to mention writing a compelling/interesting narrative that wouldn’t clash with what fans already know about the game tends to be a lot harder than people would think.
If (IF!) Gears for Breakfast DID make a second AHIT game, I’m not sure how well it would do.
BUT!
A Hat In Time DOES have some advantages over other games that are loved enough for people to want sequels. Those advantages being:
The story itself is very loose, meaning there are no die-hard rules about how it needs to/can go.
The overarching story/goal was simple and straight forward, and not restrictive to the player. (Find the lost timepieces to power your ship so you can get home. Very simple!)
Each level/area of the game is small, but it’s obvious that there’s a much larger world that can be connected to them.
There are even some places where you can SEE areas that could be used to expand the level/area while either keeping the original location or even adding a whole new one!
The game isn’t over-saturated with characters that you’d need to account for and keep track of.
Every chapter has 1-2 characters who are central to the chapter, but that also means that there aren’t so many of them that you’d lose track of them all.
The problem (in my eyes) is that the main story for A Hat In Time is already perfectly wrapped up. It doesn’t really have lingering questions we need to be answered, or any goals that Hat Kid didn’t already see to the end.
Hat Kid has reclaimed her Time Pieces, she’s helped the people of the world she has ended up on and left to finally go home.
That’s the end of it.
(Not counting the DLC, since that’s not part of the main story and it can be played BEFORE the actual end of the game.)
[I’m putting the rest under a ‘Read More’ because this got kinda long. Also, there’s a reference to the very end of the game, but considering you’re reading a thing about sequels, you probably already know about it.]
And the reason I’m not too crazy about the idea of a DIRECT sequel is because of the choice we (the player) made at the end of the game. And that was whether or not to drop a single Time Piece to help Mustache Girl.
The game devs would have to make an assumption/decision that would change which action would be “canon” to the series and also open up the idea of “multiple timelines” that could get messy to keep track of. (But also make it possible to have more than one sequel game that could be Canon.)
I can see a couple of possible follow up games, depending on who you follow and what game details you factor in.
The Sequel Focused Games
Two of my ideas could follow Hat kid after leaving ‘Earth’ to return home. (Which means we probably won’t be seeing the characters from the original game.)
One could be based on the timeline where HK dropped the timepiece for Mustache Girl and her ship runs out of fuel, standing her on another world while she searches for an alternative power source to get the rest of the way home. And her possibly discovering a hidden cache of Timepieces and building a story around that.
That would be interesting since it would allow for a whole new world to explore and new characters for us to meet while also letting us keep the gameplay we’re already familiar with. It would also let us have a similar story/goal without things being changes up too much. (And each new chapter would have their own new stories, of course.)
The drawbacks to this version are that some people might not enjoy the new areas and feel like it’s just AHIT with new levels as opposed to a new game.
The second idea could either follow the timeline where HK DIDN’T drop the timepiece for MG or it could be the THIRD game in the series. (I’d say it would be best to leave it ambiguous, so anyone could pick it up and play without someone going “You have to play [blank] first before you can REALLY enjoy it!”)
It would be the one where HK would finally get home and mark herself down as finishing whatever mission she had left her world to complete.
Just like the other game, it would let the devs make a new world and characters for us to explore and it would give us the chance to explore the kind of world Hat Kid came from. BUT! It could also let them revive some of the cut content that they hadn’t been able to use before. (Like Tim the CEO of Time!)
But, as I’ve already said, for both of these story/game ideas we wouldn’t be seeing the characters we know from the original game. I know some people won’t be happy about that, but it’s something that would/could happen.
A completely different route would be making a game that focuses on the residents left on ‘Earth’!
Personally, I can see them doing it like the Sonic Adventure games or Sonic Heros. Instead of making a new character to play the ‘hero’, they have a selection of characters we already know that we can choose from. And each of the characters have different stories/levels to play through, all geared towards their various skills/powers.
I love the idea of being able to play through a story/game that focused on Snatcher and using his various powers to complete levels. Or playing as the Conductor and making use of his train or engine skills. Or as Mustache Girl and fighting epic bosses and bad guys. Something like that would be awesome! And a great way to explore their stories/characters from a different view than we would normally have.
Admittedly, Co-op play might be a bit harder to put into a game like that. Unless you found a reasonable way to group everyone into pairs and put in a tag out feature. Although it would be interesting to see how something like that could be incorporated into the story.
(For the pairs, I can see;
Conductor and Grooves being teamed together [maybe learning to get along could be part of their story?]
Mustache Girl and either Cooking Cat or Mafia Boss. [I’m leaning towards CC, just because I’d love to see her character be expanded on.]
I’m vetoing Snatcher and Vanessa being teamed up though! That’s would be a recipe for disaster. [Maybe pair him with a cut character? Like Moonjumper? Just a thought.] )
Prequel Game Ideas
Another approach could be making a PREQUEL game instead.
Again, it would be divided based on who you wanted to follow for the game. Either Hat Kid, or the residents of ‘Earth’.
I think these prequels wouldn’t have as many levels as the original game but might be fun to use to explore how everyone got to where they were when HK arrived.
If we followed Hat Kid, maybe it would be about how she got her ship and why she was off in space in the first place. What tests she had to pass, the challenges, and maybe even if she was actually SUPPOSED to be in space or if she took off to explore without telling anyone.
I’m not so sure about everyone on ‘Earth’ but maybe have someone who’s exploring the world be the main character?
For this one, I can see them bringing back a cut character to act as the one wander through the world. Maybe the Shapeshifter could be the player character? That would be interesting, playing as a character who’s power was shapeshifting!
(They could even their form change depending on where they actually were in the game!
Like an Owl when on the Express, or a Penguin when around Grooves, or a Person when on Mafia Island. [Maybe even before it was Mafia Island?]
The only place I can think of where they wouldn’t change would be Subcon, but that’s more because I think Snatcher has an exact count of the number of minions there and would IMMEDIATELY know when there was one more than there should be.)
Anyways, those are my ideas of what Gears for Breakfast could do if they wanted to make some new AHIT games.
But what do you guys think?
Do you have any ideas for how a new game could be done? Or what the story could be for one of the ideas I presented? Feel free to mention them!
#a hat in time#ahit#hat kid#ahit continuation ideas#sequel ideas#prequel ideas#rosies thoughts#please comment on this#i want to hear people's ideas#tell me what you think of mine#would you want to try games like these?#do you think they could be done well?#please talk to me
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— && guests may mistake me as ( elizabeth olsen ), but really i am ( jolie madison + cis female + she/her ) and my DOB is ( 7/29/1992 ). i am a ( musician ) and would like to stay in suite ( 314 ). i won’t be much of a bother because i am ( driven, audacious, & charismatic ), but i can also be ( perfectionistic, reticent & self-sabotaging ) at times. personally, i like to ( paint, hike, try new recipes & sing karaoke ) when i have the time to relax, and my favorite snack is ( chai sugar cookies ) to have in my suite.
hi everyone! i’m red, and the only excuse i have for this dropping so late is that Work Sucks and has held me up, but i am here and ready to love u all! rlly, what better to do with the remaining bits of summer ( and being awake, tbh ) than join this super cute group and put my intro post together? so yes, here is the 411 on jolie, with a more *~cohesive~* bio and stats page on their way — i am so excited to get to know all of your muses and begin interacting! i promise i do not bite so if you’re feeling brave, pop over in the ims, or, just wait me out, because i’m sure i’ll be appearing in them soon enough :~)
general info
full name: jolie drew madison
nicknames: j, jo, jojo (calling her this is a bit of a death sentence unless you have explicit permission), mads
date of birth: july twenty-ninth, 1992 (27)
zodiac: leo
sexual orientation: bisexual
birthplace: chicago, illinois
occupation: musician
hogwarts house: slytherin
mbti: enfj
suite #: 314
tw: drug use
past
born on a wednesday in chicago, illinois to a set of parents who had a very “informal” relationship to say the least — to make a complicated situation as cut and dry as possible, jolie’s parents were best friends with benefits. her mom wound up pregnant and decided to keep the baby. instead of jumping to some rash decision like getting married solely for the sake of their child, they decided to simply remain friends and split custody in the best way they knew how that didn’t require a mediator in the form of a family court judge. her parents remained close friends (and still are) once jolie was born; custody was weirdly split with jolie spending the majority of her time with her mom. they were an unconventional sort of family but a family nonetheless. dad does something with numbers (yes, think chandler bing), and mom is a local business owner.
as a kid, jolie never knew a stranger, and therefore had no trouble making friends once she hit school age. she was the kid who never found her niche group or “clique” because her feet were wet in several of them. school was not a miserable time for her. she had her friends, was a solid a/b student. jolie was a big perfectionist though, it not uncommon for her to beat herself up over something incredibly minute and self-sabotaging herself as punishment or because she didn’t know how to adequately process her feelings of anxiousness — she’d procrastinate, cut people off or drive them away, things of that nature.
music was always in her life, but it was a very casual thing in her world, situated on a backburner. it was something that she was able to bond over with her dad more so than her mom; her dad was a massive music junkie, loved sharing his favorite songs with her, bought her her first vinyl player when she was twelve and supplied her with every album under the sun, whether it was one she wanted or one of his favorites or just one he thought she might enjoy. she was in dance classes as a preschooler (this was an epic fail, because not even her rhythm could save her from the generally awkward disaster she is whenever she dances) and took piano lessons in elementary school, but she didn’t love either? she felt very restricted when it came to formal lessons, and almost needed the freedom to explore and learn it on her own terms — she ended up teaching herself guitar on her dad’s guitar on the weekends she spent at his place. there was also the 6 month stint her junior year of high school when she and some friends started a garage band (which jolie represses to a certain degree because the embarrassment it invokes is on another level) but it was mostly just an idea formulated from boredom and was something to pass the time, nothing really serious.
jolie found herself at a bit of a crossroads after her graduation. most of her friends were off to college but college did not seem like the kind of environment for her. she didn’t know what she wanted to do with herself or her life, but she knew she had to do something. so she pretty much copied and pasted what one of her close friends was doing at the time, decided to go to northwestern and share an apartment with her and pray that something would speak to her along the way. spoiler alert: nothing did. her first year quickly fizzled and faded for her and most of her time was spent going to parties, embracing the social scene, the like. nothing of real educational value.
she was still fucking around when it came to music; she’d met some people in one of her creative writing classes (the only class that she legitimately finished and enjoyed) and would go to open mic nights or other gigs around town. never meeting a stranger meant jolie was good at networking, making friends with other musicians — the more she spent time immersed in the world, the more she felt compelled towards music. she began writing songs that weren’t just the product of teenage angst (see: that awful high school band), even took a few music classes at northwestern.
by the time she hit her junior year, she was over classes and was pretty much only taking filler classes still, wasting her money while she bar tended at one of the bars close by. but she’d never felt more creatively charged; she was putting her nose to the grindstone in writing songs, recording songs in her bedroom so she wouldn’t wake up her roommates, playing gigs on her nights off work literally anywhere that would take her, and using those new-er friendships to her advantage. she had gained some local traction but things really didn’t explode until she started posting original songs online and got contacted by a few record labels. jolie was hesitant to sign with anyone but she got one of her friends in pre-law to help her look over contracts and pretend to be her manager and eventually signed. subsequently, she dropped out of college and went to work on the music thing full time.
from 21-23, jolie was pretty much doing nothing but playing festivals and clocking in hours at studios. most of her time was spent on the road and she absolutely loved it — she loved the music festival atmosphere, loved the crowds, loved meeting other bands and fans. she was pretty much touring on the few songs she had released, covers, and unreleased tracks from a wip, but it worked for her and it worked for the fans. she released her first album, ultraviolet on her 23rd birthday, and hit the road again.
jolie missed her “college” life with the parties and socialization at her fingertips, so she started elbowing her way into that scene while she was on tour — at first, it wasn’t anything to bat an eye at, but jolie’s limits were very fluid. being on tour was draining and the perfectionist in her would always find something to berate herself about, and getting out of her head was the only way that she felt she could truly enjoy the whirlwind success that was happening to her. the drugs started as a one-time thing, just to try it, and then she was using regularly, and then it got to a point where she couldn’t go more than an hour without a line of coke. the drugs stripped away a lot of what made her jolie and left her with a more miserable, grouchier version of herself where her highs were almost normal and likable and the lows were hell to be around.
she came off of ultraviolet’s tour and essentially jumped right back into the studio (she was beginning to break through in mainstream music, with her last promotional single off ultraviolet hitting mainstream radio and doing fairly well) for album #2. it was finished and ready to go, but by that point, the drug use had gotten to an all-time high and the constant turning a blind eye to it from her team was no longer possible. she ended up od’ing and that was it — there was an intervention in the hospital room, and it was off to rehab for jolie. album got postponed and she basically fell off the radar.
she didn’t really make a “comeback” until she was knocking on 26′s doorstep, and by that point she’d been in rehab, getting sober, and then laying low for nearly two years. by the time she was releasing her first single for the new album cycle, she’d all but scrapped the record she’d made before rehab and had something else put together entirely. she released wonderland, which did very, very well. she toured for it and it was wildly different than anything she’d done prior — venues were bigger, more fans, just a whole different circus all around.
probably the one thing she was more proud of than the music was her sobriety, and going on two years of being sober, not much else was important to her. she knew had a pretty black and white view of was good for her and what wasn’t, so after the tour wrapped, she decided to come home. she never pegged herself for the type to get “homesick” because her spirit was very much the wandering type, but she knew she needed to get out of la and nyc. back to chicago it was — which is how we get to the malnati.
present
she’s in what she’d aptly describe as “professional limbo” — she’s not actively working on any one project, she’s just kind of floating until she can find something to tether herself to, whether it’s a single song or an album or something else that appears on her radar. she’s just taking things easy for the time being.
career wise, think marina, l*na — more of a cult favorite than a mainstream artist. not going to get mobbed when she goes out and about, able to fly under the radar for the most part. as far as her music goes, i don’t necessarily know if i’ll claim any one artist’s discography and adopt as her own; in my head, jolie’s alt pop. think somewhere along the lines of hayley williams, st. vincent, tove lo, splash of the 1975.
personality wise at this point in her life: will charm the pants off of just about anyone she comes into contact with. flirty. a little goofy, hella sarcastic. there’s method to her madness even if no one else gets it. is still a little guarded when it comes to talking about herself. doesn’t mind talking about what’s happened to her but when it comes to the feelings and emotions as to why those things happened, she shuts down. it’s why she’s a musician: why talk about your feelings when you could just write them into a song and pretend they don’t exist beyond that, lmao. is the passive aggressive type, bottles things up and simmers.
being in the kitchen and cooking has been a tactile sort of therapy for her, especially in her hiatus years. she loves trying new recipes, baking at random (all) hours, sometimes likes to pretend she’s on an episode of master chef. she’s a dork, your honor.
has a thing for polaroids. she has a blank moleskine notebook that she has put through a total ringer, gluing polaroids and other little mementos onto pages as a journal of sorts.
has a stick and poke tattoo (among other professional ones) on her ribcage that she gave herself when she was sixteen. it’s a tiny smiley face.
her middle name came from her dad’s middle name (andrew).
if you want someone to go out with you at night (or during the day, she’s not picky) and just aimlessly wander around the city, letting things find you, she’s your girl. she loves a good adventure.
i headcanon jolie as predominantly dirty blonde/brunette lizzie? but she is also the type who has ruined her hair over the years over all the impromptu dying so... welcome to close your eyes and pretend hour.
plot ideas
this is by no means a comprehensive list of plots, just stuff off the top of my head that i’d like to see? again, i promise i don’t bite, so pls hmu if one of these appeals to you or if you just wanna brainstorm, i live for that shit!!
jolie’s a chicago native, went to college here, so 👀
meredith to her cristina — basically her best friend (not gender specific, either) who tells it to jolie like it is, doesn’t mind if she laments about how the world sucks every now and again, the person she’s calling if she needs help with a body
physically and/or emotionally, somebody who checks in on jolie and that she checks in on as well. we love a solid support system
exes — jolie’s a little bit (a lot of bit) of a player?? so i’d love to see exes that maybe didn’t end too hot, ex fwb or ex flings that never made it official, people she ghosted, exes that don’t want to get back together but don’t like seeing each other with anyone else, anything under that sun
jolie also is a Lowkey (read: highkey) commitment-phobe, but i’d rlly love for her to maybe have an ex that she was so In Love with that she was willing to push through it bc she saw herself with them forever..... and then, for reasons tbd, it ended, and it absolutely crushed jolie
someone who, on the occasion of needing to scratch an itch, is very good about getting the job done. it’s casual sex. there are zero romantic feelings involved, there is no getting jealous when the other person finds a relationship, the two are just good friends who have seen (and will probably continue to see) each other naked #yeehaw
maybe someone who was at one of jolie’s gigs when she was still playing bars that she bought a drink and kept in touch with or smth? or someone she met when she was still predominately playing small sets at festivals? idk i’m rambling someone stop me
a “muse”??? like, someone jolie is fascinated with / inspired by and she finds herself writing songs about / for
gimme someone who’s like an acquaintance at best, they’ve maybe got mutual friends and therefore they hang out a bit but they’re always arguing with one another for whatever reason (they both probably annoy each other) but they’ve got mad sexual tension going on? maybe they act on it, maybe they don’t, but either way, they lowkey enjoy the bantering and being at one another’s throats even if they act otherwise
jolie is a night owl, so... gimme someone who she can turn up at their room at some unholy hour (or that turns up at her room at said unholy hour) and watch a movie with or make a mess of the kitchen from fixing a premature breakfast
maybe someone who knew jolie when she was not in a good place?? and things are still v much tense / unresolved between them for whatever reason
and stuff for the event omg PLS *makes grabby hands*
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Detection
Detective Agency
Detection now plays an increasingly important role in our lives. The capacity to move, circulate, restore familiar patterns of work and sociality depend on the capacities to detect the presence of viruses, to detect trajectories of transmission, and surges and flattening of curves. The substantial elaboration of surveillance apparatuses is now well underway.
But there are also other more minor or subtle matters of concern when it comes to detection. These are about not only how present conditions are read in terms of detecting trends and patterns, but also the ways in which people detect themselves in a cascade of reports, stories, and analyses. How they see themselves a part of or apart from particular renditions of reality. There are those who detect that this crisis is a definitive crisis, that from which the once normal can never be restored, that is the harbinger of a new world and economic system. There are those who experience this time more cyclically, who detect the return of conditions that they already experienced some time ago, that reset the game, that wipe out all of the activisms and efforts of decades or a generation.
For example, many progressive activists who have worked with poor communities and social justice issues detect the present conditions as a return to 1998 and the end of the New Order regime of Suharto. All the work that had been done to strengthen the capacities and livelihoods of low-income settlements, to build new civil institutions is detected to have now largely been undone in a matter of weeks. On the other hand, decades of activism in India aimed at making the state assume more responsibility for ensuring the social welfare of the majority suddenly materializes in a substantial program of food and income support but in a context where many of the intended beneficiaries have at least momentarily disappeared from view. The practices of opacity that enabled many to secure livelihoods under the radar now complicate the ability of the state to reach them. Here, detection becomes an intricate game: the need to be fed but the need to avoid capture.
These conundrums are set within a larger game of contestation about ultimate values—the exigency to live versus the exigency to be free, reducing detection to all kinds of exhausted binaries, or at least arguments about proportionality. What proportionality is proper for what kinds of populations? Should those whose livelihoods are dependent upon day labor, hawking, waste recycling, artisanal factories, and marketing be forced into more extremes of impoverishment in the interest of reducing infection and morbidity rates? What degree of enforcement of spatial restrictions constitutes heavy-handedness?
A little bit of this, a little bit of that
Recipes for disaster would suggest a proportionality of ingredients, as would the rectification of disasters. But what if proportionality was not evident nor possible? What if it was unclear the extent to which existent realities on the ground were at one and same time self-destructive, virtuous, frivolous, necessary, generous, and manipulative? What if it were impossible to tell exactly what is virtuous or debilitating? In such instances everything become experimental, heuristic, a wager on a particular disposition. Detection stretches to enfold nearly impossible calculations as to the likelihood of viral transmissions in urban settlements difficult to lockdown, where interactions between exposures to various outsides, circuits of mobility, probability of contacts with those engaged in foreign travel, access to the tools of prevention, such as soap and water, are estimated as probabilities according to differing proportionality of contributing variables.
While it is clear that the survival should be extended wherever possible, that a right to survive should be embedded in every context of governance, just what constitutes that right, what secures it, what makes it possible in a given context may not entail either the possibility of working out proportions or that it even should. In other words, if initial responses to a pandemic require everyone to stay at home almost all of the time, what is the definition of home in which one must stay. If the outside is set off against the inside, to what extent are the dangers reversible, where certain dimensions of the outside are more than safe than anywhere else. If small factories in dense neighborhoods are being shut down because their production is considered inessential work, under what conditions and product lines could it be deemed essential, especially where these factories have always specialized in repurposing their tools and skills for other things. For all those petty traders who are taking whatever wares they have to sell to the rooftops, servicing the demand for goods issued from below, what happens to a refiguring of the street if these traders prefer not to return to the “ground. If youth still running in the thick lanes of popular neighborhoods force the elder authorities indoors, how might youth not so much take their place but rehearse their capacity, make something new in the here and now. The point here is that proportions depend upon the stability of their ingredients or variables, and that this may not be the time to insist upon such integrity.
We may face a situation where preferences as to who can move where will be issued on the basis of detailed profiling of an increased range of data, just as surveillance has been structured on the basis of probabilities that certain correlations of variables pose specific kinds of risk. Whichever way such expansions of data analysis may go, there is an expansion of a grid on which individuals are positioned. Critical decisions may be increasingly made, not on the basis of the basic grids of race, class, national origin, or age but on one’s positionality on a proliferating series of grids that represent a constant reworking of multiple variables that produces a score calibrated to particular tasks, settings, futures expectations, and needed functions.
When figuring doesn’t seem to matter
It is not so much that systems of racialization are upended, extended, or reinvented, but that a more intricate gridding system provides an illusory “real” that such racial or class distinctions no longer are the primary things that matter. We all know that black people are more vulnerable to bad outcomes in the current situation because blackness ramifies across all kinds of relative deprivations and over-exertions. But this “clarity” ends up always being denied, excised from the reigning proportionalities or registered only as an epidemiological fact.
Rather, such extensions of the grid are constituted to provide an assurance of equality, but an equality that loses the conventional terms of comparison, and importantly the public negotiations about what social (biological, historical) differences mean. Instead of society democratically working out what equality means, it becomes increasingly a matter of a “mathematics of singularities”. As a result, I may have certain privileges, access, and rights based on an algorithmically deliberated correlation of thousands of date points that generate a reality of my existence beyond any common vernacular. What makes me equal to others then is not evaluable in terms of what I have access to but that the terms of any decision are largely inaccessible to everyone.
Additionally, the very need for equality is obviated in the emphasis that for every moment in every place and for every function or activity there is a “right” person to occupy that moment. When algorithmic deliberations generate composite scores for specific requirements, they constantly run different correlations among different constellations of variables so that each variable does not possess a static or definitive weight, but is always recalibrated in terms of what at that moment is being compared. Thus the fact that I have a university education, or am a 68 year old white man, or that I have worked in 57 different countries in the world or have two daughters, etc. are variables without definitive weight, so that wherever I am positioned on an expanding grid, I do not know for sure exactly how much any single factor “counted” in terms of my positioning. There is a thus an equality of uncertainty that inhabits this system of expanding grids.
If there are any prospects then for equanimity, for a sense of collective action based on a fundamental negotiability of meaning of the very language we use in order to approach and represent each other, it may seem necessary to get off the grid, off the imposition of more intricate segmentations, cadastration, mapping, remote sensing, and enclosing. While the grid may have indicated a public realm, of a public connected to the grid of provisioning, manifesting an infrastructure of commonality, not only has many aspects of such a grid been overwhelmed, through disinvestment, surges of demand, privatization ,and its conversion into a speculative asset, but the logic of the grid itself stretches the “public” beyond forms of recognition that can be actively deliberated by residents at different scales. It is not just that public utilities and transport systems have been taken apart, but rather that infrastructures are sutured and articulated across territories in such variegated and consolidated ways as to render the terms and financial underpinnings inaccessible to the various forms of the public they are intended to serve.
Yet, at the same time are grids not even more necessary at this moment. As the state is mobilized or pressured into doing things it never considered doing—mass provisioning and income support, will grids not be needed in order to make more visible the populations that need this support? If the exigencies of everyday survival in desperate condition may propel vulnerable populations in greater levels of opacity, of operating under the radar, then do they not need to be coaxed back into view as the conditions to which they might be adequately serviced?
Again, here is the question of proportionality between visibility and invisibility, between knowing precisely what kinds of variables are contributing to particular situations and the need to keep things out of precise detection. And so perhaps we need new practices of detection, those that are able to bring things sufficiently into view in order to engage them but at the same time accede to letting them go, assuming other shapes and operations.
Gumshoes in invisible coats
Standard forms of detection always assume a truth that is to be uncovered, even if what is detected exceeds the existent terms of understanding. Something needs to be known. So it is not so much a matter of whether the truth uncovered is the truth, but rather the self-confidence of detection to generate a sufficient reason, to reiterate itself the definitive method for establishing the basis for decision.
But as Rob Coley illustrates in drawing upon the classic film noir, the detective is less interested in the “real story” than in trying to work out the unanticipated complications that the pursuit of the mystery has unwittingly thrown up. Detection seeks less to uncover complicity and conspiracies than to detach itself from the accruing story. It is more interested in the tactics of ensuring that things do not come to light, for to understand the crime to be solved means seeing how the crime has permeated into all aspects of living, and how the transparency of detection might leave nothing in its wake.
Of course this is familiar to us through Jean-François Laruelle’s notions of generic detection, where the objective is not to find the relations among things, not to put together all of the clues and various into a sufficient explanation, but to stay with insufficiency. Where the proportions cannot be worked out.
Why is this important? Because across urban districts around the world, thousands of stories of adaptations, risks, ventures, retreats, and retooling are emerging that are need to be told and heard in their own emerging terms. That need not be reduced to levels of compliance and suffering. That need not be reduced to the proportion of populations obeying orders. This is not a critique of pandemic policies or a valorization of the disobedient. But in the inevitable work arounds of spatial segmentations and categorization of whose work counts there are experiences that don’t fit into any yet common language, that need to be detected as blips, glimmers, and glitches, possibly emerging into some more elaborated vernacular, but also perhaps just disappearing without trace.
Detection here then is not the method through which individual and populations are subsumed into a system of proportionality—more or less healthy, more or less immune, more or less eligible, more or less valuable. Instead, it points to a space or composition capable of holding within it things and processes that may be related to each other, or not; where what something is may be multiple, but that it does not owe its existence to how it is positioned within a network of multiplicities, through which it accorded particular statuses and potentialities. This is not dissimilar to Fanon’s point that the wretched are an infection at the heart of colonialism, but an infection, that while being localized, is also immune to definitive detection.
Here, rather, is a detective that discovers within his or her “beat” a “real” that is “this one, right now, right here” and which has no definitive connection to anything else. But by doing so, such detection levels the playing field, renders something no more or less important than anything else, and thus avails it to unthought of (so far) courses of action. One could see detective work as a form of rendering, of making things (up), of making something available to a particular (wider) use, of putting things in people’s hands that they didn’t have before or couldn’t imagine using. Less uncovering than rendering, detection then is a way of keeping things moving along, of telling stories that extend a person’s relationship with the world, rather than detection being the grounds to legitimate the removal of persons from worlds.
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Fic: Lonely, Dark and Deep - ao3 link - Chapter 4
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Madara/Tobirama, background others
Summary:
Hashirama was always going to have to leave Konoha behind one day, but no one was expecting for it to happen so soon.
Tobirama falls apart without his brother.
Madara, mad and bitter and preparing to leave himself, finds that he’s now without his best friend and responsible for a village he’d just about given up on.
And now it seems like there’s something not quite right with the forest…
———————————————————————————–
Tobirama is an amazing Nidaime.
Madara is increasingly convinced, watching him, that it was a role he was always meant to play, no matter how everything else might have panned out. Oh, he's still not charismatic in the way Hashirama was or Madara is, still grumpy and off-putting and inclined to tread all over people, but he's devoted to the well-being of their village with a ruthless single-minded intensity that wins him respect and loyalty from every shinobi and kunoichi and civilian in the village.
They don't love him the way they loved Hashirama, but they need him. He knows the institutions of the village better than anyone else, having thousands of facts at a moment's recall; he remembers everybody’s names and their problems and actually follows up on them; he turns their village from a good idea with promise into something so concrete, so obviously lasting, that the children growing up have started forgetting there was ever anything else.
(Madara's heard some genin talking of what people have started calling, rather dismissively, the warring clans era; they sound almost envious, complaining about the rules that restrict them to D-rank missions rather than fighting in the wars. Of all ridiculous things to resent, the rules that keep them alive..! How quickly people forget the pain of the past.)
Tobirama started working furiously the second they returned to the village, setting a pace that made his previous efforts seem sedate, and no matter how much got done he never seemed to be finished or have time to stop.
Of course, when asked, there was always a good reason for it.
First, the election - Madara, who'd been certain that Hashirama's election had been little more than a ploy designed to exclude him from the position of Hokage, is surprised when Tobirama insists on another one, and on putting Madara's name on the ballot beside his own. Apparently Tobirama actually believes in the principles of democracy, explaining when Madara asks that leadership by appointment or inheritance alone is a recipe for disaster when the inevitable day comes when the wrong person takes up a position to which they are not suited - a disaster that, inevitably, someone would have no choice but to take it upon themselves to fix.
(There's an old pain in Tobirama's eyes when he says it that he never explains, and Madara wonders again how it happened that Hashirama inherited his position so quickly after Madara took his, when to all appearances Butsuma had appeared to be still going strong. The official story was that he'd died an illness from some hidden injury in battle, and certainly Madara knows that such things are eminently probable, but the timing has always been deeply suspicious.)
They hold the vote and Madara can see, this time, that there is no trickery the way he had been so certain there was the last time. Hashirama's sway over the village is as strong as it ever was, and though a few other clan leaders put their names on the ballot as well - mostly led by the Hyuuga, arrogant little snots that they are - Tobirama wins easily.
And then the work really begins.
Tobirama has students that he refuses to neglect, three assigned to him by the Academy system he himself set up and three more that he inherited when their own teacher died too early. He trains with them every morning and evening, with occasional training trips, and the rest of the time he handles the work of the village.
Managing to achieve peace and get decisions made while having to pass his ideas through a council composed of all the clan heads would by itself be a full time job, but Tobirama does that and far more – and not, as Madara had always feared, at the expense of his clan.
The Uchiha are given the power of police, tasked both with internal order - unpopular but necessary, particularly in a village where most peoples' primary trade is in blood - and external security, which wins them accolades as heroes. The Hyuuga and Senju are by necessity given a share in the latter, along with the other smaller clans, but the role is clearly subordinate. The face-saving reason given is benefits of coordinating of their security forces under one clear line of authority, but Madara sees his clan toasted as the village's hands, the highest honor a shinobi can give, and knows that it is Tobirama's way of trying to do his best by them.
(External security is easier than it might be - Tobirama is not wrong when he says the forest protects them, and while their location is only technically secret, no foreign army or assassination squad ever seems to reach them. A few individuals with bad intentions slip through, yes, but only the ones who come through the main roads - those who try to cut through the forest are often just found dead, throats ripped out by animals or drowned in quicksand traps that no one had known were there.)
Security aside, though, there's still everything else to be done, ranging from finances to sanitation to zoning to diplomacy to making sure there's always plenty of food available. And all of that is aside from the brewing strife with Kiri – a would-be war that is only limited to minor skirmishes because of their opponents’ fear of facing shinobi with the combined reputations of Madara and Tobirama together.
(Madara tries not to think of how differently it might have gone if he wasn't here by Tobirama’s side. Having just one shinobi of their caliber available means that the enemy has a target to focus on to the exclusion of all else – having two is much safer, because if they really needed to, they could take shifts in order to keep watch at all times of day and night. They don’t need to, not yet, but they could, and that’s its own form of deterrence.)
Yes, Tobirama is an amazing Hokage.
But he's not a happy one.
He works too much, for one thing.
Part of the reason for his endless work is that what used to be divided between Hashirama and Tobirama is now borne by Tobirama alone, but that’s not the only reason. Madara might not be great at paperwork, but neither was Hashirama, and the administrative system that Tobirama creates – levels of review, committees composed of experts, trained secretaries to assist them – ensures that while there’s a lot more paper than there ever was before, most of the village could continue to function even without constant review by its Hokage.
But Tobirama is not just the Hokage; he’s on every committee, an expert in every subject or forcing himself to learn about it, and where there isn’t enough work to justify staying late, he makes more – village work, his own work creating new jutsus for the village to use, or even personal matters.
Once a week, he meets with Madara to work on their mutual project, as he’s taken to calling Madara’s ‘quest’ for the Rinnegan; twice a week, he devotes a full afternoon to researching new jutsu and seals; three times a week, he visits with Mito and his nephews, who he never abandons the way Hashirama did.
Whether he gets any pleasure from any of it, though...
“Falling apart,” Senju Touka opines, watching him leave the office on the urgent request of one of their infinite committees. She’s helping out in the office while on medical leave between front-line postings – she's easily one of their best scouts, capable of great subtlety but strong as a bear and with the short temper of one, too, and Madara sometimes thinks that Izuna might have liked her a great deal. He can think things like that now, without wanting to kill the entire world and then himself. "I told him not to put his trust in people."
Madara looks sharply at her. He'd been under the impression such things were as little discussed among the Senju as the curse of hatred was among the Uchiha.
She meets his gaze without flinching. "I know you know," she says. "You're his right hand."
"I am not!" Madara exclaims immediately. "We fight all the time!"
She snorts. "Of course you do; doesn’t mean you aren’t. It's a precedent now, don't you realize? Two times at the beginning is enough to make for a tradition. Our village’s system of government now officially consists of a Hokage and his one advisor whose job it is to yell at the Hokage when he makes mistakes - just as Tobirama was for Hashirama. People are already wondering who will fill that role for you."
Madara stares at her, a chill going down his spine. "For me?"
"You must know that you’re the obvious next candidate -"
"I know that. But why are people speculating about me at all? Tobirama is doing a fantastic job. They can’t possibly want to vote him out."
Touka looks at him pityingly. "Surely you know."
“Know what?”
“Do you think he’s working so hard to set up a stable system of government for fun?” she asks. “He’s making sure that the village will continue to function no matter who gets appointed as his successor. The second he thinks he’s fulfilled all of his obligations – the village stable and prospering, his students graduated, whatever that project is that he’s working on with you finished – he’s going to go to join Hashirama.”
Madara flinches.
Yes. He did know that.
He’d just…been trying not to think about it. Part of it was the traditional discomfort with shinobi suicides – common, far too common, though less now that they had a semblance of peace – and part of it is the distinct feeling that he’d be letting Izuna down if he permitted his brother’s best rival to die by his own hand.
(In his rage and madness he’d somehow forgotten that for however much Izuna distrusted the Senju as a whole, he’d always been rather fond of Tobirama personally – my greatest challenge, he used to say, eyes sparkling with life as he thought up new ways to fight him, an excitement that put a smile on his face in a way nothing else could during those terrible winters when they were living off of little more than dreams of the future. My eternal rival, as those awful Maito people like to say.)
“That’s what happens when you put your trust in people,” Touka concludes, looking back down at the work she’s been doing. “Take those people away, and what do you have? Nothing. The only reason he’s not dead already is because Hashirama’s last request was for him to care for the village.”
This is probably true.
“Is there any way to stop it?” Madara finally asks.
Touka looks amused. “Rethinking your position on my little cousin?”
“No! Just…”
“He’s growing on you? Not unlike mold on bread?”
Madara is not going to laugh. He’s not. He’s being serious.
“I have an ongoing project with him,” he says instead. “I don’t want him to disappear before that’s done.”
They’re making ridiculous amounts of progress, actually; Madara’s not a scientist the way Tobirama is and he hadn’t realized the difference it would make. At the beginning, he thought Tobirama took too many notes, but as they continued experimenting (Hashirama’s amazing recuperative abilities had apparently been a subject of significant scientific interest for years, which meant that Tobirama had lots of his brother’s blood hidden away as samples in his labs, enough for dozens and dozens of experiments without even making a significant dent in the pile) they were able to cross-compare that data and let it lead them wherever it could go.
Sure, Tobirama also vetoed any plan that involved Madara testing their results on himself, but given that the first test they’d done on a sample -
(eyeballs are mostly water, Tobirama said dismissively, give me three weeks and I can make a jutsu to create temporary – albeit imperfect – replacements to use in the experiments, and terrifyingly enough he actually had)
- had caused the sample eyes to literally explode, Madara thinks that was probably a good idea.
Tobirama’s also been making noises recently about wanting to see the stone tablet even though he won’t be able to read the text itself (he extracted more of the details from Madara by arguing that there might be hidden clues in the precise text about the Rinnegan, though obviously Madara hasn’t explained the exact nature of the Infinite Tsukuyomi), which Madara is very strongly against due to his sincere belief that Tobirama will find a way to read it even without a Sharingan because the man is just like that, but which he is starting to think might be inevitable.
Unless Tobirama dies first, of course.
“He won’t stick around just for a project,” Touka says disdainfully. She doesn’t ask what they’re working on; she clearly doesn’t give a fig for science except for the edge it gives her in battle, which is a position Madara can respect. “No matter how interesting. Listen, it’s practically the unofficial Senju clan motto: ‘on this point we do not bend but only break.’ He put everything he had to live for in Hashirama, and Hashirama is gone. He’s broken. That’s it. There’s nothing else to it.”
“Even the curse of hatred can be broken,” Madara points out. He doesn’t need to point at himself as a walking, talking example; he feels that’s pretty much implied. “I understand that his principle is his brothers’ happiness, which he can’t achieve anymore, but still! There must be something that can save him from himself.”
“Sure. Find him a new brother.”
“Be serious.”
“I am. I mean, maybe not a brother, but something like it; I’m pretty sure he was smart enough to make his principle something more like ‘loved ones’ rather than ‘brothers’ to avoid having to deal with an unexpected sister or something...shouldn’t this be clear to you? Your own grief about losing your brother persisted until you were hit with the shock of losing another one, right?”
That’s not exactly how Madara would have put it, given how complicated and sometimes not-entirely-fraternal his relationship with Hashirama was, the way there was always an unspoken sense of anticipation that there could be much more between them, but – yes. Basically.
“That’s the problem with people,” Touka says. “People die. Ideas live forever.”
Madara looks at her sidelong. “What’s your ‘idea’, then?”
“None of your fucking business is what it is.”
Right. Not talked about, got it.
A long few moments of silence.
“…where would you even get someone a new brother?”
“That’s it!” Touka exclaims, standing up. “I give up!”
Madara frowns as he watches her storm out. No wonder Izuna was always so annoyed when he did that – she didn’t even answer his question!
(The idea that maybe there isn’t an answer – that maybe Tobirama is going to die sooner rather than later, and it was even odds whether it would be by his own hand or if he’d go the traditional route of volunteering for a mission with low odds of success – isn’t worth thinking about.
Why the death of the man who killed his last brother isn’t worth thinking about…is just going to have to be something else he’s just not going to think about.)
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Full Custody: What it means to you and what it can mean for your child custody case
If you want to related guideline confidentiality Texas Child Law experience, So you can better suggestions in Full Custody: What it means to you and what it can mean for your child custody case
Family Law Attorneys Houston: Many, many potential clients of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC have walked into a free of charge consultation with me and have let me know that their number one goal for their divorce or child custody case is to win “full custody” of their child. To be fair, I do always ask what a person’s goal is by pursuing a lawsuit because I want to know their mindset. I don’t tell them anything about they law before he or she answers.
Full custody, however, is not a legal term but the point the person is trying to communicate is clear- he or she would like more time with their child than the other parent gets.
Intimidation is the source for pursuing full custody much of the time
I will grant you that many people, perhaps you can be included in this group, have legitimate reasons in your own mind as to why you want “full custody” of your child. Maybe your child’s other parent is unreliable and neglectful in his or her parenting. It could be that your child or yourself have suffered abuse at their hands. I’m not diminishing your position if that is indeed the case.
A lot of time, though, one parent will attempt to scare the other by telling him or her they their plan is to file a lawsuit in order to win full custody of the child and to limit the access that the other parent has to their child. At that point the parent who made the full custody threat will list out some demands and the threatened parent will either give in or risk a child custody lawsuit being filed. Many people outright want to have the other parent’s rights terminated, as if he or she never existed before. Other folks merely want to restrict the amount with which their child has to visit the other parent.
Regardless, you should know that it is very, very rare for a parent’s parental rights to be terminated by a Texas court. When we talk about physical possession of your child and the ability to make decisions for him or her that is placing a tremendous amount of responsibility on your shoulders while eliminating a source of income and stability for the child as well. Making threats to potentially take a child away from a parent is usually a recipe for disaster- or at least a long, drawn out lawsuit.
Terminating the rights of a parent in Texas is difficult
If you’ve ever spoken to your child’s other parent out of frustration or anger then you can count yourself among a large group of persons. Even married parents speak to each other in ways that in retrospect probably was not appropriate or warranted. With that said, even though your emotions can get the best of you when it comes to the well being of your child, a termination lawsuit in the Texas family courts is not based on how badly you want to see someone’s rights be terminated.
Rather, the law in Texas holds that a court must find that there is sufficient evidence to terminate the parent’s rights and that doing so is in the best interest of your child. It is somewhat easy by comparison to meet one of those standards but much more difficult to meet both.
Reasons why termination may be allowed
Houston Family Law Lawyers: The Texas Family Code in section 161.001(b) sets forth the situations that warrant the involuntary termination of a parent’s parental rights. The laundry list includes voluntary acts like leaving the child with another person with no intent to return (abandonment), failing to support the child for six months continuously, committing certain crimes such as murder or simply placing the child in a situation where it the well being of the child is in danger.
While these type of offenses should not surprise you, what may be surprising is learning that the offense that the other parent has committed against you or your child is not included in that list. Failing to pick the child up for weekend visitation on time, making snide remarks about you in front of your child and not always paying your child support on time are not included in the Family Code as reasons why parental rights could be terminated.
Be prepared to present evidence in the event you petition a court for parental rights termination
The bottom line is that asking a court to terminate the parental rights of your child’s other parent is a big deal. While you are spending time and energy brooding over a supposed slight or act of disrespect, the better avenue to go would be to consider where your child’s other parent is vulnerable to a lawsuit and to attempt to address that area. You can obviously work with him or her directly in an attempt to remedy the issue- a path that I would highly suggest.
If you are concerned about the well being of your child it is much simpler to bring a modification or enforcement action before a judge where you are asking the judge to modify a prior order based on a substantial change in circumstances or to enforce the terms of an order after they have been violated by the other parent. Legal fees for this sort of case would be much lower in most circumstances and your odds of success are much higher.
Questions about your child custody case? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC today
Family Law Lawyer Houston: If you are considering a termination of parental rights case or any other child custody matter please contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC today. Our licensed family law attorneys are available six days a week to discuss your case with you in a free of charge consultation. We represent clients across southeast Texas and would be honored to sit with you and discuss your questions and concerns ... Continue Reading
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Social media has become a massive part of our culture and our lives. For many, it is a primary source of entertainment, connection, and creativity. It is used by millions every day, and I doubt you could find a single person in America that hasn’t heard of Facebook before. However, if you had asked around just twenty years ago, you would have gotten a very different response.
Social media has exploded in the past two decades. Youtube, MySpace, and Facebook were the bedrock of the new form of media, and they just exploded from there. Due to this rapid growth, we have generations that are split right down the middle. We have some that had nothing even remotely similar to social media, and we have some that have known about it for as long as they can remember. This opens up the door for many debates, and one has taken the spotlight above all.
Social media is targeted as the primary cause of adolescent’s and young adult’s declining mental health.
Recently social media has been singled out as the leading cause of mental health issues in teens and young adults. While there may be some correlation between social media and mental illness, it would be an incorrect assumption to place sole causation on social media.
In the past few years, many studies have been done that focus on the potential correlation between rapidly declining mental health and the use of social media. It has become the target to aim for, and most arguments state the same few theories. These theories most commonly include the big three:
“likes are addictive”
“comparing lives leads to self-hatred”
“social media replaces face-to-face interactions”
I can understand why people are making these accusations and assumptions, but I believe their idea as a whole is flawed. People find it easy to look at the last decade and pin this problem on one of the largest new things added to our lives. Social media is absolutely the easiest thing to blame; it seems to fit every stereotype we’ve ever had about kids getting their feelings hurt, so it makes it very easy to tick those boxes. This has made it extremely uncommon for anyone to try to find any alternatives.
I believe a large reason why we are seeing such a spike in the unquestioned blaming of social media is its sense of being a large, clear divider between generations. Many of the people doing the assuming in the first place are the parents of adolescents, or others in the same generation as those parents. They look down on the younger generations (Millenial and Gen Z) and they see things they don’t understand, things they didn’t have as children. They also see kids struggling with mental illnesses--something that was a somewhat taboo topic up until the last ten years or so.
No one ever wanted to hear about that when they were kids, so why is everyone talking about it all of a sudden?
Now that it has become a topic of discussion, it is more transparent, and faces a new kind of discrimination: such as men are treated as less for stuggling, and young kids are shown as fakes and “desperate for attention”.
As mental illness finds itself in our discussions, so do questions regarding it. We are currently dealing with this awkward divide in assumption and personal experience. Many people that belong to older generations can find this rise in mental illness difficult to grasp. You can’t see it, it can be difficult to diagnose, and even the medication is something that is disputed. This becomes the first part of the problem: a lack of understanding. Assumptions are made and then perpetuated as truth, which continues to mislead uninformed people. When the assumptions are spoken about more than the actual stories of those who have experience, the scales tip in the wrong direction.
But where do these assumptions come from?
As older generations learning the ways of all our current world technology, things can easily be confusing or frightening. Merritt Roe Smith, in an article called “Technological Determinism in American Culture”, discusses this idea of what is happening to America.
Technological determinism is the idea that technology now drives our culture. That we have lost the reins to the buggy and are now forced to just go where it takes us and admire the view on the way.
I believe this idea is also what has led to the blaming of social media. It is the easiest thing to look at and say, ‘Well, we created social media--it’s a part of our world now, and there’s nothing we can do about that. It’s obviously the cause for all these mental health issues, so now I guess we just need to take away the Internet from our kids to keep them safe. It’s the only choice we have.’ Strict parents often restrict the use of the Internet, do not allow their children to have social media accounts, or monitor them with random checks and enforced restriction policies. Parents think social media is driving the change they see in mental health, so the only method of attack they take is restrict, conceal, and refuse.
This is why this accusation is so harmful. In some cases, making false accusations would have no real consequences, so it’s fine to leave them thinking what they want. But in this sense, there are parents that are seeing these studies and taking them as fact. When a parent makes their own decision about why their child is struggling with a mental illness, they close a very important door. A parent needs to be able to hear and accept what their child is saying to them, or else they will never be able to help them in the way they actually need. A parent will often believe others over their child because they believe the child just doesn’t want to lose their “precious social media” and that they “know best for them”. When a parent believes opinions over their child’s, they can risk isolating them even more.
When one is struggling with mental illness, it can be extremely difficult to reach out for help. They may feel unsafe doing so, feel as though others will not believe them, or be embarrassed by it. One of the most important things you can do is be completely willing to listen--and accept--what they have to say. When you choose to believe a study over the child’s own feelings, you are confirming their fears that they are not being heard.
Many studies have followed the same setup: get a thousand people or so in a certain age group and monitor how many times they open social media. Then, watch how long they use it for, and at the end of it all, ask them how sad they are. There are many flaws with these kinds of studies. The main flaw, though, is the lack of interest in any other factors. Using this method, it would be easy to pin mental illnesses on just about anything. When you focus every study on just this one idea, you push away any other evidence you could find that proposes otherwise.
While it is possible that a certain aspect of the rise in social media can be linked with the rise in mental illness, it becomes dangerous when one declares that it is the only link. Social media may be the most “in your face” aspect of the Internet, but it is far from the most important. As Martin Heidegger once stated, “...the essence of technology is by no means anything technological.” When people attempt to pin down causation on the digital world, they are entirely disregarding this fact. The rise in devices, careers, expectations, independence, and connectivity has forced our most recent generations to change and adapt in a way no generation before ours ever has. These generations find themselves having to stress over massive decisions at younger and younger ages. As a brief example, we can look at just how drastically our view on a college education has become.
In America, college is seen as vital to a successful life.
In Frank Newport’s article, he states “Seven in 10 American adults believe that a college education is very important, up significantly since the 1970s and 1980s. In 1978, when Gallup first asked the question as part of a Phi Delta Kappa survey, just 36% of Americans considered a college education to be very important.”. The pressure to know what you plan to do with the rest of your life by age seventeen looms at the back of most adolesent’s minds. It’s hard enough to understand yourself at that age, let alone what you want to do day in and day out for decades of your life. And if this pressure wasn’t bad enough, it comes with a ball and chain: the promise of thousands, maybe even tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of dollars of student debt. This pressure is enough to discourage any abled person, and a young kid struggling in their basics to algebra math class can see this future as a death sentence. And yet still, we trudge on, and continue to attend universities, And we do this for no other reason than we see it to be impossible to survive life without it.
When older generations look down on those younger than them, they can’t help but compare their lives. By this age, they had bought a house, By that age, they’d had three children. You’re having a hard time in school? Suck it up, I did it so you can too.
These generations are being raised with the idea that if they are not everything their parents were, they are a failure. And yet, they have been handed down a world of situations that make that impossible. It is hard enough to afford next week’s meal budget, let alone a house. The pressure of understanding what we want to do with our lives is crushing, but we find ourselves sitting in a college classroom anyways.
These constant beat downs on younger generation’s self esteem is a recipe for disaster. It murders motivation, squashes self-confidence, and roots fear into their lives. And yet, whenever these struggles are mentioned by those fighting them, the responses are the same. Grow up! Be an adult! This is life!
But you know what it all probably is?
Those damn phones.
Citations
Gallup, Inc. “Americans Still See College Education as Very Important.” Gallup.com, Gallup, 10 Oct. 2018, https://news.gallup.com/poll/166490/americans-college-education-important.aspx.
Smith, Merritt Roe. “Technological Determinism in American Culture.” Does Technology Drive History? The Dilema of Technological Determinism, The MIT Press, 1994, pp. 3–34.
Martin Heidegger, The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays, trans. William Lovett (New York, 1977), 4.
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Restriction decision a ‘recipe for disaster’
Australians are sick of lockdowns and eager to return to normal life, but easing restrictions too soon would a disaster, we’ve been warned.
Restriction decision a ‘recipe for disaster’
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Metro Detroit's Finest Meals Vehicles
For occasions with many food vans, they are often either stationed across the perimeter of the event or clustered in an space that makes it straightforward for attendees to see their decisions. Municipal rules might place constraints on meals vans on your occasion. For example, in some areas, food vehicles can’t function within a certain distance of a brick-and-mortar restaurant.
In 2018, they ranked in the top 100 food vans within the nation by MSN.com. Chef/owner Eric Felitto has additionally competed and gained Food Network's Chopped "Breakfast Battle". Even nationwide meals critic and Rachel Ray Food Correspondent Daym Drops reviewed the Tasty Yolk in 2019 and added it to the must-try section in his guide “Eating Across America”! The innovative menu contains house braised brisket, native handmade chorizo and premium thick cut bacon-these are not your mother’s breakfast sandwiches! They additionally supply vegetarian and gluten free options, so everyone can start the day pleased. Book this truck to cater your subsequent event-parties, company occasions, worker appreciation, buyer appreciation, after-wedding brunches, submit proms and late evening parties.
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Tips On How To Select The Best Wedding Food In Your Reception
Don’t assume you will always save money with a buffet or food stations. If your reception is being held at a lodge, buffets could additionally be cheaper because the venue will be in a position to use your leftovers for other meals the next day. In these services, it's cheaper to pre-order particular person plates for each of your guests.
If you want something other than that then be prepared to deliver your personal plates and silverware. A cocktail-style occasion is participating and interactive in your visitors. You can easily move across the reception and chat together with your friends in a method that some other styles do not allow. If there's a dish that may be difficult for guests at a buffet, attended stations are an excellent workaround.
Food trucks are one other smart way to ensure your visitors are full to their hearts’ content material with out coordinating place playing cards and formal tables. As a host, the best and most time-intensive task inevitably revolves round supplying the meals. Whether you go for a full spread or choose snacks, holiday platters and appetizers, having to plan a celebration through the holidays can look like an inconceivable task for a lot of. Caviar and Banana Catering in Houston presents a handy resolution to this drawback by preparing and delivering your holiday meals to any location inside the greater Houston area. All you have to do is tap a number of buttons or make a name to our pleasant catering specialists. HOMEMADE RECIPES Our holiday catering menu options a wide selection of scrumptious do-it-yourself dishes ready at the highest requirements in security using the best quality ingredients.
On Premise Vs Off Premise Catering, St Louis Caterers, The Christy
And let’s not even get into an argument over the proper cheese for a grilled cheese! Guests can have it their own method with a grilled cheese bar. Everyone loves a chocolate mint after a meal but what about this extra pure idea? It makes a nice accompaniment to other desserts, can be added to tea or a sizzling beverage or simply popped in the guest’s mouth.
No one needs to be pigeon holed right into a choice of two preset menus or restricted options. Many times it is these caterers that are ridged and cannot adapt their menu to the occasion – and in the event that they do it is with a rare cost. However, there are also caterers that have a very large menu with ample selection and dietary choices.
Including environmentally-friendly catering menu choices will allow you to appeal to extra shoppers, but accommodating vegans and vegetarians with creative dishes can generally be a battle. The bright sweet potato and refined cauliflower flavors mix right into a dish that is second to none. Planning a corporate event is a giant responsibility. You need it to reflect nicely on you and your company whether or not you’re hosting a gathering, throwing an worker thank you get together, launching a product, or schmoozing shoppers. From early morning meetings to evening cocktails, listed beneath are a few ideas to get you began.
Companies
You’re dreaming of opening your individual meals truck, and you've got got an idea. You probably know what you’d like to serve, or at least you have an idea. Please notice that the Bacardi Ocho Lounge requires membership access, out there on a season-long or individual-event foundation. Access passes may be bought on the HEAT app, or you might contact Miami HEAT Manager of Season Ticket Memberships Brandon Myles for additional data at
That means concession menus additionally have to comply with the brand new security and comfort requirements. When there's a break of a few hours, typically it is nonetheless not enough time to go away the courtroom or area to travel for food. Other times, there's sufficient time but the parking zone insanity simply simply does not make it well worth the commute. The concession stand will have to have sufficient supply of meals for the athletes to recharge. Individual packing containers of cereal present each a breakfast or snack option. They’re additionally straightforward to sell individually, there’s plenty of flavor choices, and so they require minimal condiments and utensils (just a spoon!).
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Professionals And Cons Of Meals Truck Marriage Ceremony Catering
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Of course the details of the invitation are important, however do we need to splurge for one of the best invitation card? Going for the traditional designs at all times does the trick. The friends solely need to know the date, time, venue and when to be there. Recently received engaged, and I already don't see the purpose of having applications or printed invitations when everybody has an e mail address. And truthfully, I’ve been to many weddings where they don’t give out programs and I didn’t notice until the wedding finished. If you assume your guests take no notice or care over the stuff you listed then perhaps you need new pals.
An edible candy deal with that visitors can get pleasure from in the afterglow of the marriage as they share reminiscences of your spectacular soirée – properly, I can’t argue with you there. But engraved champagne flutes, personalized candles, and different novelty gadgets are forgettable for friends and an added expense for the bride and groom. Keri and her workers frequently take extra care in the planning and execution of our occasions, ensuring that every occasion is particular for purchasers and workers, and works within our allotted finances. I even have worked with Keri Laman and Tidewater Catering several occasions over time on some very involved events.
Major Occasion Caterers
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We’ll create tasty reminiscences to last a lifetime, celebrate your family members, and serve your prospects, coworkers, and friends. Donna Erickson, Executive Chef and owner loves being a part of each meal we serve. We have 4 menu categories, Great Beginnings, Main Event, Sweet Finale and Late Night Fare, with completely different menus for weddings, parties, and company occasions. Just a few highlights embrace California Crostinis, Stuffed Beef Tenderloin, and a Mac N’ Cheese bar.
Full Service, Food Only, Event Planner, Take Out. You must create a listing of potential matches for your particular wants or curiosity. The essential thing at this stage is to set your requirements earlier than you analysis.
The event specialist, Dawn, was with us each step of the way. The meals the day-of was distinctive and the staff were all super skilled - I didn't even know they had been there. On the day-of, Dawn was additionally equally as present and accommodating, making sure we had everything we needed with out even having to ask. I can't say enough about this catering firm and would encourage anyone to determine on them. For lighter fare, contemplate our lettuce wrap station. This station nonetheless has protein options (five spice beef, Teriyaki chicken & Old Bay child shrimp), however it's also an excellent interactive station for vegetarians or vegans.
Food Caterer Job Description
NEW Sales & Catering CRM Seamlessly manage and optimize group gross sales performance throughout your whole portfolio. NEW Client Services Get all of the support you need on your occasions as a result of we all know hospitality issues. Free Planning Tools Diagram events, wow attendees, and win purchasers with free planning instruments. Waiters and Waitresses Waiters and waitresses take orders and serve meals and beverages to clients in eating institutions.
Depending on whether the job is part-time or full-time, a typical workweek can last up to 40 hours. Weekends, late nights, early mornings, and vacations are common for catering assistants. Catering assistants assist catering firms in getting ready meal elements, establishing buffet stations, and loading and unloading food and catering supplies into and off catering vans. They collaborate with catering managers to make certain that shoppers and friends are happy with the meals services they obtain. Food service managers will be needed to supervise meals preparation and repair as people proceed to dine out, purchase takeout meals, and have food delivered to their houses or workplaces. However, more dining institutions are anticipated to rely on chefs and head cooks as a substitute of hiring extra food service managers, which ought to limit employment progress on this occupation.
Caterers may be hired to work weddings, engagements, firm retreats, conferences, and far more. For these events, caterers are responsible for providing, transporting, and making ready meals that is requested. Additional responsibilities would come with serving, hiring further workers, and proper teardown of the area used. Caterers can also help in planning menus and offering additional tools to ensure that the occasion is profitable. There aren't any instructional necessities for turning into a caterer, though many choose to attend a culinary academy to learn the fundamentals of sure schools of cooking.
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On abortion
This is not a good day. I guess it’s probably a good day for some. But not for me. Even though I don’t have any plans (or even the option) of getting pregnant. Even though I live in a state where it’s very unlikely that the Supreme Court’s (leaked) decision will have an impact. Even though I’m really conflicted about the morality of abortions.
Let me elaborate! I don’t think the choice between ‘pro life’ and ‘pro choice’ is all that simple. I don’t see why people can’t see that abortion is - by ending a life - essentially murder. I don’t see why people can’t see that by limiting or outlawing abortions, you are limiting what women can do with their own bodies. And I don’t see why people can’t keep these two things in their minds at the same time.
Abortion is horrible. It is really sad that it needs to happen, and if it does happen, things probably went pear-shaped much more early-on. However! Things do go pear-shaped. Things go pear-shaped all the time. Limiting remedies don’t make a shitty situation any less shitty, they make it more shitty. And - again - I don’t see how people can’t see that.
Pregnant women who don’t want to carry their pregnancy will exist. You can’t legislate them out of existence. You can only legislate their safe choices out of existence. This has been documented over and over and over again.
Legislating morality in general is a recipe for disaster, even - and especially - if done on the constitutional level. You don’t have to go any further then the prohibition. It can and will only end it tears.
That being said, I think abortion is murder. I just think it should be legal murder. There are several other cases when murder is legal (during a war, in self defense, execution of a death sentence etc.). It should be one of those cases. No, it doesn’t make it a good option, just like killing someone in self defense isn’t. It’s shitty, should be avoided, it sucks when it happens, but it’s not illegal. Which is the key point: just because you don’t agree with something, just because you won’t do it yourself, just because it’s against your religion or beliefs you hold, that only entitles you to decide not to have an abortion or not kill in self-defense. It doesn’t give you the right to enforce those laws on anybody else. In fact, I don’t think you can’t even know what your choice would be in those situations up-front. You yourself might come to a different conclusion in the moment. Peoples morals can be surprisingly flexible. Saints exist for a reason. You probably won’t want your choices to be restricted either.
Abortion is a question that doesn’t have a globally acceptable answer. When it comes to it, it’s choosing between bad and worse options. Legislation will not help. It’s best to leave the options open, and not criminalize them.
Laws are in general a reflection of the majority attitudes of the people. Or at least should be. Stealing is illegal, not because that’s how physics work. Or because that’s written in our DNA. It’s illegal because society thinks it should be illegal. It’s illegal because - for whatever reason - most people think it should be illegal. I’ve read that most people are for abortion, I’ve heard that even most republicans are for it. If it becomes illegal - and wherever it becomes illegal - it’s a clear case then when the law doesn’t follow the majority opinion.
Which leads me to my last point: Why is that? How is it possible that politicians are not following their own voters? I can only imagine that they follow the voters who - you know - actually vote. So, what can you do? Vote! Be active! Be part of the process that determines who gets to create the laws. So that you get the laws you want.
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Metro Detroit's Greatest Meals Vehicles
Many soccer fans take pride in throwing the greatest soccer events, with the best food, the most important TV, surround sound audio system, and sufficient seating for everybody. But there are some issues to consider when planning your football celebration. Special events may be fun to attend, but extremely annoying to plan. Being in charge of making all the preparations for a party or occasion can be a lot extra work than you could suppose.
Cotton Culinary understands the fast-paced and complicated calls for of catastrophe response within the wake of a hazardous event. Our groups have extensive expertise offering assist for each natural and man-made disasters. Cotton understands that particular precautions have to be taken to guard the life, health, and security of all individuals participating in the recovery efforts. Gather your friends for a fun Halloween night and deal with them to this spooky, delicious meal. Don’t worry -- no worms have been harmed within the making of this recipe.
With 4 vans in operation they'll serve an event from 10 to one thousand or extra folks, and prepare dinner to-order food within a 2-hour service interval. The New York Food Truck Association represents the easiest choice of connoisseur food truck leases in NYC. We provide end-to-end solutions for connecting local food vans with prospects in a variety of ways.
Make your playlists forward of time and choose the songs you're eager on — this is about welcoming guests into your domain in any case — as long as they may make you and your visitors really feel joyful and relaxed. It’s good to have some completely different decisions on supply so visitors can play D.J. This could be very much about who you are and what you need your visitors to experience. “Decorations should mirror your character,” says Angela Missoni, inventive director of the Missoni brand.
Kinds Of Catering
We use your invitation, emblem or motifs as inspiration when designing your custom menu cards. It’s all concerning the particulars, and we satisfaction ourselves on going above and past to hunt out, fine-tune and improve every detail potential. We provide a heat, friendly, and dedicated workers that make sure your friends are taken care of.
Create a basic packing list that includes clear pots, pans, utensils, dish clothes, gloves, and safety products similar to a first help package and gloves. Keep in thoughts that your catering markup ought to be about thrice the cost of the menu elements. Price this out ahead of time earlier than you finalize the menu so there aren't any price range surprises on your consumer later on. Discover catering tips for novices that can help you excellent your craft, keep away from frequent errors, and wow event attendees below. Think about how many visitors will be at your wedding ceremony and the expectations of the reception venue. In lieu of getting the alcohol circulate freely at your expense, you could serve champagne to visitors as they arrive, wine with the meal and beer and specialty drinks afterwards.
Guests may have plates at their seat, to permit them to serve themselves off of the platters. At Thornager’s, we usually do the salad as a separate first course. This may include gluten-free, diabetic, vegetarian and vegan choices. Also, don’t neglect young diners, who are not known for departing from the few foods they like.
Contact us today to learn extra about our catering services, venues and special promotions. The average cost of catering a wedding can vary depending in your wedding’s location and many different elements, like visitor depend. If you’re good about working together with your caterer, it can save you cash without sacrificing quality.
外燴 & Event Catering
It’s no secret that the last 12 months and a half has been powerful on everyone. With gathering restrictions and no event areas out there, we haven’t been able to spend sufficient high quality time with our family members. As things slowly start to return to normal, and whereas we nonetheless have a few months of warm weather, it’s necessary to throw household reunions to get everybody together as soon as once more. Running into problems making an attempt to plan your own wedding? Let Inspired Occasions assist with stress-free wedding ceremony planning and catering that may guarantee your occasion goes in accordance with plan. Next, make certain to brush up in your catering preparation plan.
The major occasion at any party is the meals, and we are able to customize our menu for any kind of event, massive or small. Make positive you might have some delectable hors d’oeuvres and appetizers, depending on the type of meal you propose to serve. Professional catering reduces the stress of last-minute cooking, although it is nonetheless vital to choose the best dishes on your menu. 3) Catering firms can provide a quantity of companies, however you solely have to deal with one firm to ship the companies with out stress.
We take notice of each detail to ensure your friends are completely delighted at each flip. Many cultures have fun rites of passage marking life’s changes and stages. Some that come to mind embody bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs, quinceañera parties, and graduations, whether they’re from kindergarten, high school, or a post-graduate program.
Food Safety Faq Arkansas Division Of Well Being
Fragola is a child meals model based in Innisfil, Ontario. Fragola provides each one-time orders and baby meals subscriptions that offer a new combination of flavors every week. The Dough Bros is a wood-fired pizza restaurant working out of Galway, Ireland. For prospects that can’t make it to the restaurant, tThe Dough Bros presents ready-made pizza kits that come with all of the toppings and sauces to make the brand’s signature slices at residence. Steeltown Garage is a Hamilton, Ontario–based retailer of premium attire and specialty coffee. At the start, Steeltown Garage offered graphic tees built round its freewheeling way of life model.
$59.25 billion by 2028, that means there’s lots of room for new retailers with a singular product. They’re relatively straightforward to adapt to any dietary restrictions. When it involves meal kits, giant manufacturers may have more name recognition, but what they don’t have is a specialty. The Dough Bros’ branding works because it takes the beloved dish of pizza, enhances it with the meal-kit model, and immediately sets itself other than larger brands. Outpacing that of conventional restaurants, and it’s not onerous to see why. Further details on operating a grocery or restaurant.
Peak Hospitality additionally manages the concessions all through The Monument. It is necessary to us to know your targets for the occasion and the demographic to ensure your friends are happy! With the rising developments in the meals business, we've discovered specialty portables to be very popular. A few of our specialty portables include The Carvery, Big Cheesy etc. Our dedication to the very best high quality food and repair is unmatched.
10 Wedding Ceremony Catering Ideas To Charm Your Visitors In 2021
Customized menus, venue placement and occasion design are part of our full range of catering providers. You will meet one on one together with your occasion manager and our culinary staff to help develop your personalized menu. Do you and the one which you love have a favourite place for laid-back meals or romantic dinners? Consider renting a private room in your small-scale wedding ceremony and reception.
With wonderful views of Mount Monadnock, distinctive grounds and gardens, Aldworth Manor provided a one-of-a-kind backdrop for Paige and Josh's wedding. You do not should plan a nontraditional weddingto serve up sudden, unique delicacies. After all, there's so much more to your massive day's hors d'oeuvres than shrimp cocktail and pigs-in-a-blanket.
Depending on the dimensions of the aquarium, you'll find a way to rent a private room for 20 of your closest friends, or the entire aquarium for 500 or more guests. Your alma mater could supply neo-classical or contemporary areas for stunning weddings. These venues may be all-inclusive or require outside distributors; low-cost or expensive. Even if you aren’t a graduate, Toccoa Falls College in the northeast Georgia mountains is an reasonably priced choice—and you can get married at the base of the school’s 186-foot-tall namesake waterfall. Consider a wedding at an amusement park marriage ceremony with roller coaster rides for you and your guests before or after the marriage. These venues sometimes offer packages that include venue space and theme park admission.
Go rogue and serve bite-sized varieties, with dollops of bitter cream, corn, and cilantro, throughout cocktail hour. Let your guests select their donut of choice in individual cubbyholes. Just make certain to make like like VG Donut & Baker and dish out totally different sizes and flavors for endless selection and a great photo-opp. If you're searching for a unique major course, copy this couple and arrange a pizza station.
Catering For Lunch Time Events
Then the team took every little thing down and packed all of it up like they have been by no means even there! I highly recommend A Spice of Life for any event you may be hosting. Inviting A Spice of Life to cater your occasion means having practically three a long time of expertise on your facet. Our business veterans work collectively to make your special day a success. Every operate is meticulously deliberate with your occasion coordinator to capture your vision, delight your senses and impress your friends.
Depending in your preferences, you might have considered trying a extra casual, low-key celebration. Or, you might have thought of trying a multi-course meal with a wonderful centerpiece as the spotlight of your occasion. This is why it could be very important guide an skilled catering company. With the best group on your side, your party shall be executed with fashion and artistic imaginative and prescient. Also plan for F&B through the lulls that occur noon or early afternoon at most conferences. During this time, many attendees will fend for themselves and discover local restaurants.
No matter the scale of your event or price point, a buffet is a superb method in your visitors to determine on the foods they take pleasure in. Beautiful buffet tables are available for breakfast, brunch, lunch, hors d’oeuvres and dinner events. Alon’s Signature-Style Catering & Events is a good option for informal events in venues, private homes and corporate settings with no compromise on meals high quality or fashion. Request a free session with our skilled in-house catering get together planner for ideas, customized menus and data.
Food Service Worker Job Description
Provided the very best degree of service in accordance with Valley Food Service/Coca-Cola requirements. Coordinated banquets, weddings and private events for the lodge. Empty trash and recycle bins.Operate trash compactor and dishwasher.Receive and retailer meals provides. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Caterer resume.
The job description of a catering assistant encompasses quite so much of duties and duties required to fulfill consumer food orders and supply an entire occasion service. Catering Manager obligations embody planning food and beverage menus, scheduling shifts and coordinating meals preparation and serving during events. To achieve success in this position, you should have work experience in catering or hospitality and stable organizational abilities. The main function of a catering cook is to arrange food for events in accordance with shopper wants.
Establishes a tradition of respect, onerous work, consistency and efficient communication within the kitchen. Previous expertise as a Prep Cook in a high volume production kitchen. By clicking 'Sign Up', you consent to allow Social Tables to store and course of the private info submitted above to provide you the content requested.
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