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wannabedjs · 2 months

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1983

Epic year for my music .A number of releases this year that set the format for “college radio”. You got REM, violent femmes, U2, new order, X, Billy idol, tears for fears, eurythmics, talking heads

A banner year for Pop music. Thriller got released late 1982, so that was a mainstay,then in 83’ a 24 y/o New Yorker named Madonna released her self titled debut album, Lionel Richie with a record that had five top 10 hits, Billy Joel- his top record-innocent man, U2, journey

Rock ‘n’ roll was more 60s rockin than 80s synth rock. x, quiet riot, ZZ Top, David Bowie, the police, Genesis, U2, Rolling Stones, motley Crew, and Def Leppard starting the hair metal bands.

And got some hard ass punk rock with acts like Bad Brains & Suicidal Tendencies…ALL I WANTED IS A PEPSI!!!!

Still fresh 40 years later

- [ ] Violent Femmes - ROY..recall being a freshman(1988) in high school and hearing Blister in the Sun for the 1st time. One of those music memories that easily outduels Alzheimer’s Disease

- [ ] Talking heads- their seminal release Speaking In Tongues

- [ ] Madonna - self titled. This record changed pop music . You got thriller released late 82 & then madonna in summer of 83 with 4-5 sure 🔥 hits.

- [ ] REM: Murmur. Debut which may be one of my fav REM records. 80s REM>>>90s REM

- [ ] John mellencamp- uh huh!! Has 4-5 classic American songs. Jackie O is a subtle highlight

- [ ] Bowie- let’s dance. Post Berlin trio, it’s Bowie crossing to middle America with songs like Let’s Dance and Modern Love..Stevie ray vaughn and Niles Rogers on guitars

- [ ] ZZ Top - eliminator. Straight up blues Texas rock.

- [ ] U2: War - full on rock n roll masterpiece with guitar driven politically charged songs.

- [ ] U2: Under the Bloody Red Sky- introduced Red Rocks to the world outside of CO. A truly majestic place that hosted the greatest over the decades. More on red rocks during 2013 year in review

- [ ] Genesis - genesis. Departing the DnD world of prog rock I believe made them better artists. Def richer ($$$) ones. Mama, illegal alien, That’s All…HITS!

- [ ] The Police: Synchronicity (A&M). Don’t know if ever listened to it cover to cover . The 4 hits off the record are all back to back midway through the record. Murder By Numbers a great last song.

Revisits and new finds

- [ ] ESG- come away with ESG. Damn! This sounds like a 2024 Z-ster release that would get a 8.5+ on pitchfork. 80s club music (find of the year)

- [ ] Cure - Japanese Whispers. An early-ish release w a couple solid goth/synth tracks

- [ ] Liquid liquid - tremendous! Funk, punk, hip hop. Contains the “Cavern” the original white lines

- [ ] Replacements -hootennanny. Lots of noise between a few good tracks. Sounds like they just recorded everything they did and put it out in this record

- [ ] Keith Jarrett - standards Vol 1. Trio s dejenette and Peacok. Got bias here. I’m a big Keith Jarrett fan & this is one have the best trios of all time and jazz, in my opinion.

- [ ] Def leopard - pyromaniac ..gotta give it props for 3 solid rocking songs (foolin, Rock of Ages, Photograph

- [ ] Lionel Richie- can’t deny the power of his pop R&B. 5/8 songs were top 10 hits

Random and Wierd shit!!!

- [ ] Lou reed. Finding out he just explains his daily life in NYC ..in song fashion. He’s got 30+ records over 30ish years. High Quantity will even lead to a low to moderate sum of quality.

- [ ] Daniel Johnston - hi how are you. Like WTF?!?!

- [ ] Rolling Stones - undercover. One of the stones worst albums. Though I’m not a stones fan. Title track only one worth a dime

- [ ] Billy Joel- innocent man. Pop stuff is good, doo wap 50s stuff is 💩 doo doo

Didn’t get to:

- [ ] X: More Fun in the New World (Elektra)

- [ ] Richard Thompson: Hand of Kindness (Hannibal)

- [ ] Eurythmics

- [ ] Billy idol- renal yell

- [ ] Yazoo- you me

- [ ] Bad brains - rock for light

- [ ] Quiet riot - mental health

- [ ] Tears for fears

- [ ] The fall-

- [ ] Omd

- [ ] Earth wind fire -electric universe

#1983 #best in music #year end review

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ggthydrangea · 1 year

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i also went to the nct127 concert myself hehe i was gonna go with a friend but she ended up having a conflict and i was not about to miss out on this once in a lifetime experience 😂 it was very fun though like you said just to vibe and enjoy the music and the experience!! i quite like doing things alone actually, like ofc i like hanging out with friends too but sometimes it's nice to enjoy your own company and do what you want to do too ^^ also tell me more about sf9 and your bias haha i know nothing about them and always curious to learn more about other good groups!! i only know about chani because he was in sky castle and also in that snow prince performance last year with lee know, mark (2 of my ults 🥲🥲🥲🥲 what a deadly stage for me), hyunjin, and jungwoo :)

what other hobbies do you like to do outside of kpop? i personally am honestly kind of a grandma at heart lol i like to read, go for walks, watch kdramas, have a nice meal with a friend <3 i kinda want to learn to snowboard too but we'll see how that goes haha.

That's too bad your friend couldn't go, but I'm glad you still had fun!!! Oh my gosh I'm the same, I love hanging out with friends, but I also appreciate time to just do stuff on my own, there's so much freedom in doing stuff alone!!! Finding a good balance between friend activities and alone activities is the way to go. ☺️

Hehe you are opening the floodgates dear 🐺, I have "cannot shut up disease" when it comes to SF9. :3 I'm surprised you don't also know Rowoon, he's been acting a lot too! Him and Chani have acted the most in K-dramas. My ult Taeyang has also been in a stage with Hyunjin! It was the Mirotic stage! Taeyang is the one that starts out in the middle!!!

SF9 debuted in October 2016, after a kind of survival show I didn't really watch it but I think it was more chill than most, it was them vs who would become N.flying to see who would get to debut first, SF9 won. Their debut title track was Fanfare and they also promoted their b-side KO. They're a very dance heavy group with really fun dynamics, I love them a lot!!! I'm trying to keep this short for now but here are a few MVs to start:

Easy Love - a very popular early title track, it's still a lot of people's favorite

O Sole Mio - my personal favorite, very good

Now or Never - a cool song, this was Hwiyoung's era a lot of people became interested in SF9 because of him in this MV specifically

Believer - not an MV but their final performance on Kingdom, very cool!

Trauma - their last comeback before Youngbin and Inseong enlisted

Here is a little info thing I made to share with friends, it's kinda messy but it gives you the basics of the members!!! I can definitely share more with you, lemme know what you wanna know, but I figure this is a good start!

I can also ramble a lot about my ult but I'll save that for later.

Ooo that's cool that you want to try snowboarding! I grew up skiing but it's hard to find time... And it's so expensive, I have kpop merch to buy! 😭

In terms of hobbies; I like reading (books, manga, and web comics), playing video games, drawing, making moodboards, listening to music, watching shows that catch my interest, dancing (Irish dance and hip hop), and spending time with people I care about!

#ask #anonymous #🐺 anon

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smtown-tourist-juliette · 2 years

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Juliette Chapter 24 Cover

Things are tense following JongKey’s kiss in Central Park. Key now has the painstaking task of telling Woohyun that he cheated on him and he’s feeling the pressure from all side. Woohyun is being clinger than normal, and Jonghyun just wants Key to do the right thing and be happy. Jonghyun will never tell Key how much their kiss in New York truly affected him. Key knows that he needs to tell Woohyun the truth, but at the last minute gets cold feet and tells him that he wants to come out to SHINee instead. Will being more open about his relationship fix Key’s problems? Will it help show Woohyun how seriously he takes their relationship, and is Key really as over Jonghyun as he keeps claiming to be?

SHINee’s schedules have thinned out, which means that Hana is able to return to going to school full-time. When Kai asks Hana to fill in for him during a Student Council meeting, she meets K-pop idol trainee obsessed Jiyoung. Jiyoung suffers from the Bias Hopping Disease and Sehun becomes her latest target after she’s shot down by Kai. Are Jiyoung’s affections genuine, and who is this boy that seems to fluster Jiyoung whenever she’s around him? How do they know each other and what kind of relationship do these two students have?

It’s a night of romance at SoPA’s first ever Winter Ball as Hana and her friend group join up in a plan to get two lovebirds to confess to each other. See how their plan pans out in chapter 24, Winter Balls and Mistletoe Mishaps. Head on over to Asianfanfics to check it out!

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bboyplankton · 3 years

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Hip-Hop/Rap Albums 2020

1. Mac Miller – Circles (Deluxe)

2. Royce Da 5’9” – The Allegory

3. Asher Roth – Flowers On the Weekend

4. Pop Smoke – Meet The Woo 2 (Deluxe)

5. Run The Jewels – RTJ4

6. Larry June – Adjust to the Game

7. Jadakiss – Ignatius

8. Jay Electronica – A Written Testimony

9. RJD2 – The Fun Ones

10. Westside Gunn – Pray for Paris

11. Joell Ortiz & KXNG Crooked – H.A.R.D.

12. Denzel Curry – Unlocked

13. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist – Alfredo

14. Nick Grant & Tae Beast – God Bless the Child – EP

15. Duckwrth – SuperGood

16. Black Thought – Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane and Abel

17. Lecrae – Restoration

18. Joyner Lucas – ADHD

19. T.I. – The L.I.B.R.A.

20. Nas – King’s Disease

21. Wale – The Imperfect Storm – EP

22. Sa-Roc – The Sharecropper’s Daughter

23. Larry June – Cruise Usa

24. Deanté Hitchcock – Better (Deluxe)

25. Russ – Shake The Snow Globe (Deluxe)

26. TOBi – Elements, Vol. 1

27. The Lox – Living Off Xperience

28. Kid Cudi – Man On The Moon III: The Chosen

29. Duke Deuce – Memphis Massacre 2

30. Benny the Butcher – Burden of Proof

31. Redman – 3 Joints

32. Eminem – Music To Be Murdered By (Deluxe)

33. Styles P – Styles David: Ghost Your Enthusiasm

34. Statik Selektah – The Balancing Act

35. Larry June – Numbers

36. Jack Harlow – Sweet Action

37. Armani Caesar – The Liz

38. Spillage Village, JID, & EarthGang – Spilligion

39. Juicy J – The Hustle Continues

40. Pop Smoke – Shoot for the Stars Aim for the Moon (Deluxe)

41. Lupe Fiasco & Kaelin Ellis – House – EP

42. Tobe Nwigwe – Cincoriginals

43. Reason – New Beginnings

44. Big Sean – Detroit 2

45. D Smoke – Black Habits

46. Megan Thee Stallion – Suga

47. Wiz Khalifa – The Sage of Wiz Khalifa

48. Nappy Roots – 40rty

49. Larry June & Harry Fraud – Keep Going

50. KXNG Crooked – Flag

51. Cookin Soul & Larry June – Orange Season (Deluxe)

52. Busta Rhymes – Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God (Deluxe)

53. Conway the Machine – From a King to a GOD (Deluxe)

54. Russ – Chomp – EP

55. 21 Savage & Metro Boomin – Savage Mode II

56. Problem – Coffee & Kush, Vol. 1

57. Animé – Limbo (Deluxe)

58. Dizzy Wright – My Hustle Unmatched

59. Westside Gunn – Who Made the Sunshine

60. Jaden – CTV3: Cool Tape Volume 3

61. Jack Harlow – That’s What They All Say

62. Max B – Charly – EP

63. Skepta, Chip, & Young Adz – Insomnia

64. Problem – Coffee & Kush, Vol. 2

65. Future – High Off Life

66. Logic – No Pressure

67. Action Bronson – Only for Dolphins

68. Boldy James & Real Bad Man – Real Bad Boldy

69. Joey Bada$$ – The Light Pack – Single

70. Terrace Martin – Village Days

71. Tobe Nwigwe – The Pandemic Project

72. Dave East – Karma 3 (Deluxe)

73. Berner & Larry June – Cooks & Orange Juice

74. Moneybagg Yo & Blac Youngsta – Code Red

75. Meyhem Lauren & Harry Fraud – Glass 2.0

76. Gucci Mane – Gucci Mane Presents: So Icy Summer

77. B.o.B – Somnia

78. Westside Gunn – Flygod Is an Awesome God 2

79. Kyle – See You When I am Famous

80. Hit Boy, Dom Kennedy, & courtesy of half-a-mill – Also Known As

81. Cassie Veggies & Rockie Fresh – Fresh Veggies 2

82. Boldy James & The Alchemist – The Price of Tea in China (Deluxe)

83. Tory Lanez – New Toronto 3

84. Common – A Beautiful Revolution (Pt. 1)

85. Public Enemy – What You Gonna Do When The Grid Goes Down?

86. Papoose – Endangered Species

87. The Alchemist – A Doctor, Painter & An Alchemist Walk Into A Bar

88. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie – Artist 2.0 (Deluxe)

89. YG – My Life 4Hunnid

90. Lil Baby – My Turn (Deluxe)

91. Rare Sound & K Camp – Rare Family

92. Tsu Surf – MSYKM

93. The Alchemist – The Food Villain

94. Goodie Mob – Survival Kit

95. SAINt JHN – While The World Was Burning

96. Scribz Riley – Wish Me Luck

97. A$AP Ferg – Floor Seats II

98. Mozzy – Beyond Bulletproof

99. Akon – Ain’t No Peace

100. Joyner Lucas – Evolution

101. Stalley – Cake – EP

102. Mickey Factz – Warped Collages

103. Jeezy – Twenty/20 Pyrex Vision

104. Young M.A. – Red Flu

105. Blac Youngsta – F*ck Everybody 3

106. Megan Thee Stallion – Good News

107. King Von – Welcome to O’Block

108. Mozzy – Occupational Hazard

109. King Von – Levon James

110. Vic Mensa – V Tape

111. DaBaby – Blame it on Baby (Deluxe)

112. Don Toliver – Heaven Or Hell

113. K Camp – Kiss 5 (Deluxe)

114. Lil Uzi Vert – Eternal Atake

115. Fetty Wap – You Know the Vibes

116. French Montana – CB5

117. 2 Chainz – So Help Me God!

118. T.R.U & 2 Chainz – No Face No Case

119. Bia – For Certain

120. Drake – Dark Lane Demo Tapes

121. Future & Lil Uzi Vert – Pluto x Baby Pluto

122. Mulatto – Quuen of Da Souf (Deluxe Version)

123. Rich the Kid – Boss Man

124. Jeezy – The Recession 2

125. Meek Mill – Quarantine Pack – EP

126. Lil Wayne – Funeral

127. Da Baby – My Brother’s Keeper (Long Live G)

128. Lakeyah – Time’s Up

129. G-Eazy – Everything’s Strange Here

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tae-kun · 5 years

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So my little cousin became an atheist at the age of 9...and it amazed me

Now before i start this story, i feel that somethings need to be pointed out. This story is not intended to offend anyone or ridicule them because of their beliefs. I personally don’t care about what anyone believes in nor do i care to debate with anyone about their beliefs or what they were taught.

This is just a simple story that simply shows how some curious kids can break down certain idea’s with basic questions.

now we can begin

So awhile ago i had to babysit my little cousin while my aunt and uncle went out to go buy some new furniture. My little cousin went to this catholic school and today she had some questions that i was just simply not prepared for.

Nyla: *looking down at her homework* Hey Tae.. I have a question..

Me: Sure what is it?

Nyla: If we’re all God’s children and we’re all equal. What makes Jesus so special?

Me: Well the bible says that Jesus died for our sins. That’s what makes him special

Nyla: No i get that. But he was already special before he died.

Me: What do you mean?

Nyla: *still looking down, doing her homework* Well in class they said that Jesus was human just like us, but he was the only person that had super powers..

Nyla: Like he was born different too. Like he was put into his mothers belly by an Angel

Nyla: Were you put in your mom by an Angel?

Me: Noo..

Nyla: Right, so from the very beginning he was already different.

Me trying to be Clever: Well you know they say we’re all Angels in our own way, sooo it’s not that different

Nyla stops doing her homework.. she puts her pen down.. and stares me dead in my eye’s and says, in the most serious tone ever with a little bit of sass:

Nyla: Your mom and dad are not Angles Tae. They are regular people just like everyone else.

Me trying to act like that didn’t lowkey hurt: You right, you right..

Nyla: *picks up her pen and goes back to doing her homework* Right but that’s not all

Nyla: Jesus could heal incurable diseases just by touching people, and feed a whole village with just a few pieces of bread and a fish

Nyla: Can yoouuuu feed a village of people with just bread and a fish, while also curing a bunch of sick people by touching them

Me: No.. i can’t

Nyla: Right because you’re just a regular person and not special at all and you would die from touching those sick people just like everyone else.

Me officially hurt on the inside: Yup you right... i ain’t that special..

Nyla: Exactly.

Nyla: So how come God gave Jesus super powers and made him special and not the rest of us

Nyla: That doesn’t sound like equal and fair love to me.

Me at a loss for words: Well um... ya see.. umm..

Nyla: and another thing. wouldn’t it be better if Jesus didn’t have any powers?

Nyla: Like people only followed him because they saw what he did with his powers..

Nyla: If someone only follows you because of what they actually SAW you do.. doesn’t that go against having faith in someone and create bias followers?

Me: Well.. Jesus had to prove himself in order to convince people..

Nyla: ok so why does God or “Jeeesus” (She literally does finger quotes) expect us to have faith in him now, when we needed proof back then?

Nyla: All we have now are these old books and they don’t even have pictures in them

Me at a complete loss:

Nyla: and one more thing. If God knows everything and can do anything, then why does he let bad people continue to do bad things?

Nyla: If God loves us and can do anything then why wouldn’t he stop bad things from happening to people everyday?

Nyla: I think God just lets bad things happen to people just so we can have a reason to talk to him.

Me:

Me: ...

Me: I mean.. i don’t have anything to say to that honestly

Nyla: Yea my teacher didn’t say anything too different from what you said..

Me: ...

Me: You wanna go get some ice cream?

Nyla: *puts her pen down and hops up* Sure

It amazes me how much a child’s brain can debunk or poke holes into beliefs or traditions that we’ve held onto for centuries. This whole conversation just felt like an extreme game of chess where any bs move would be thrown out. Now i personally don’t care too much about religion altogether. I think all religions have great lessons to learn from, good and bad; So I've never been someone to pick any particular religion and say whose right or whose wrong based off stories and feelings. So i definitely wasn’t the best person to try to sway her mindset.

But the fact that she was able to logically and basically philosophically discover her own answers just from critical thinking at such a young age is something that just amazes me; And i feel that we should all do more of it no matter the subject or topic.

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justa-0-fangirl · 4 years

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Y’all ever just realize you have the bias hopping disease?

Like I tell everyone my bias is Yoongi but Jungkook and vmin be comin for me.

Let’s not even mention Namjin and J-hope

#bts #bts vmin #bts jimin #bts v #bts namjoon #bts rm #bts jin #bts suga #bts jungkook #why am i like this

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startouched · 5 years

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ff black forest cake backstory

translator. much of this drama has been based on a single summary of black forest cake’s backstory. some people have said we shouldn’t jump to conclusions before seeing the full text, so i wanted to share this and let people come to their own conclusions.

i tend to be a more liberal translator and i focus more on getting the meaning across than giving a literal translation. i have tried to give a more literal translation here so as not to bias the reading, but this was also done quite quickly. i’m happy to discuss details of the translation if you’d like clarity, or if people have any corrections.

i leave no comment on the content. this is for you to read and find out.

ONE. DEFENDER

To a city, laws are a very important thing.

No matter what it is, it must have a law; if there is no law, then nothing can exist.

8AM, every morning. That is when everyone gets up from bed and begins their day's work. As always, I patrolled the streets, holding my gun; as always, everything was in order.

I took a deep breath. The air held the sweet scent of kirschwasser and high-quality milk chocolate. All was as perfect as black forest cake with kirschwasser.

I couldn't resist closing my eyes and stretching lazily, my arms reaching towards the sky.

Suddenly, a tremendously loud sound came from outside. Mixed with thick smoke and firelight was the sound of a fallen angel assaulting a person. Even though the alarm was ringing, the people in the city did not panic. Instead, in an orderly fashion, they followed the instructions of the soldiers to leave and find shelter.

I hefted my gun and went towards the city limits, against the flow of people fleeing. Those evacuating all spoke their concern for me.

"Lord Black Forest Cake! Please be careful!"

"Big Sister Black Forest Cake! Good luck!"

I smiled confidently at them, then hopped onto the rooftops so I could take the quickest route to my destination. As they had been trained to do, the soldiers used the shields in their hands to entrap the fallen angel.

Under my soul power, the gun in my hand began to spin rapidly. I didn't have to spare it much thought. After my arrival, the soldiers and officers quickly evacuated, leaving me space to do battle.

After checking that everyone had left the area, I looked at the fallen angel with a nasty smile.

"Now that everyone's gone, I don't have to hold back! Come at me!"

Cherry bullets unceasingly penetrated the fallen angel's massive body. No matter how quickly it could regenerate, it couldn't save itself. The constant outpour of the bullets broke the heinous fallen angel into many pieces, and it reluctantly dissipated into nothingness.

"Amazing!! Long live Black Forest Cake!!!"

Those hiding all around me emerged from their hiding spots, waving their hands and cheering. What was a destructive disaster for other cities was merely insignificant for us.

After checking our losses, we confirmed that no one was killed by the fallen angel except the one who was originally attacked.

Hearing this, I breathed a sigh of relief. After all, it is my responsibility to protect this city.

Watching the guards nimbly get to work repairing the destroyed house, I sat on a pile of ruins nearby and observed them all working together with great gusto, and I couldn't help but smile.

All this is the result of a clearly-defined order.

Everyone does what I say. Isn't that great?

TWO. KIRSCHWASSER

At that time, our city was not too big, not too small. It didn't have anything special about it. The people, too, had few ways to improve their lot in life. But despite this, our city had a special product that no one would fail to praise - precious, sweet, delicious desserts. And of those, the one that was most recognized and yet could only be tasted here was the one and only black forest cake.

We had a secret recipe, unique only to us, and only black forest cakes produced through this secret recipe could be considered real black forest cakes.

The greatest secret in this recipe, and the greatest trick of the trade there was, was the kirschwasser I loved so much. At my suggestion, the black forest cakes that had kirschwasser added to them became the object of everyone's desire.

This was something our city could be proud of.

One day, as I went through my daily inspection, I encountered my future "general" - Spaghetti.

The clothes he wore were complex and expensive; the price of their fabric could have paid for a year of clothes for many in the city.

The dazzling necklace the girl wore could've paid for enough grain to feed our city for who knows how long...

As I thought of this, that person guessed my thoughts, and turned to face me. "Are you the defender of this city?"

I raised an eyebrow. My nod served as an answer to his question.

"The desserts of your city are delicious, especially the black forest cakes. Would you be interested in using them to enrich your city?"

I looked at the hand he offered me, and I couldn't help but feel a little caught off-guard.

I always thought that all I could bring this city was a safety others did not have. But in fact, could I also help everyone become rich?

III. ORDER

Spaghetti's plans were highly effective.

We announced the black forest cake as a limited special offer, and also gifted a few as snacks to traveling merchants.

Soon this dessert, unique in its flavor and aroma, attracted many gourmets who devoted their life to pursuing delicious foods. With their help, our city soon became famous on this continent.

For the sake of this delicious flavor, an uncountable number of people journeyed up to half a month just to come to our backwoods city.

Merchants saw the profit black forest cakes could bring, and they wanted to trade them to the entire continent.

Under Spaghetti's guidance, I declined their offers.

And so, more and more people came to our city for black forest cakes, and the wealth these people brought allowed everyone in the city to change into more luxurious clothes.

Spaghetti also told me, once everyone had a certain amount of wealth, then we should increase the requirements for the black forest cakes.

This way, our black forest cakes would always be welcome. We also had to strictly control the population in the city, so people would not leak the secret of the black forest cakes to outsiders.

Following his directions, I enacted strict laws, but I believed everyone would understand my actions. After all, this was for the sake of our city.

Everyone had to work in the production of the black forest cakes, for this way we could ensure the supply of black forest cakes would not stop. Everyone had to keep their interaction with outsiders at a minimum, for this way we could ensure the secret would not be revealed. Everyone had to make sure that only the best ingredients were used for the production of the black forest cakes, for this way we could ensure the black forest cakes we made would be enjoyed by everyone. Everyone had to ensure each black forest cake contained kirschweisser, for a black forest cake without kirschweisser was against regulations.

Everyone...

I looked at this law that had been drafted and nodded, and I handed it to the captain of our self-defense forces.

I thought everyone would be happy to obey these laws, just like before. After all, my laws had never been wrong.

But, just like Spaghetti said...

In this world, not everything will go as planned.

IV. DESIRE

After the laws went into effect, at first, everything worked as planned.

Just like before, everyone precisely followed my requirements. Our city became better by the day.

We wore the new clothes that previously, we could've saved for a year and still not been willing to spare the money for. Every meal could be accompanied with the best wine.

All of this was the result of having the correct orders.

Because of this, I was very grateful to Spaghetti. Without him, our city would not have been as glorious as it was today.

But as we were tasting desserts after the evening feast, Spaghetti's face seemed unusually serious.

He looked at the report in his hand, brow furrowed. Through his worried expression, I could tell that something we had never expected had happened.

"Black Forest Cake..." "Spaghetti? Has something happened?"

He hesitated, not telling me anything, but he kept furrowing his brow. After a long time, he didn't give me an answer, but rather put away the document in his hands and hid it behind him.

"Nothing, it's nothing important. Let's keep eating."

Spaghetti was not the type to hesitate. He must've found something, but since he was always so soft-hearted, he didn't want to tell me.

It was just like the kind of good person he was that he'd keep bringing back useless people like Stargazey Pie, and go through all efforts to heal them.

Recently, he brought back another person who looked so very weak, and had been helping her treat her disease...

Thinking of this, I looked at the time. At this time every day, he would go to tend to that girl who looked like a mermaid.

Seeing that he had left the building, I went to extract that document he'd hidden in a drawer.

The message on that document left me enraged.

No wonder. No wonder Spaghetti, that guy, wanted to hide it from me.

They dared!! They dared!!!!!!

I went to the place where the self-defense force stayed, and surprisingly, found no one there.

Suddenly, familiar sounds from outside attracted my attention.

When I arrived at the city gate, I found those that I had previously trusted the most were currently directing a big group of people to furtively put their belongs on the car and deliver it out of the city.

"You. What are you doing?"

I stood at the city gates, looking at the self-defense force captain holding out his arms to protect the other people behind him. He didn't seem as respectful as usual. Even though he seemed somewhat timid, yet he still looked at me with that same brave gaze he looked at fallen angels with.

Like facing a fallen angel...

"L-lord B-black Forest Cake, we - we want to leave this city."

I looked at the cowardly girl hiding behind him. I didn't recognize her; she wasn't one of the girls who had been in the city before.

The girl saw my gaze and shrank entirely behind the captain.

"Why?" "Because... because I love her! She came by our city, and we fell in love at first sight! Lord Black Forest Cake, please forgive us!" "Then, the others?"

I heard the unexpected coldness in my voice, a coldness that didn't seem like me at all.

Perhaps they thought by telling the truth, I would forgive them, so they each explained their own reasons.

I looked at these people, and slowly, I asked them, "Then, what about me? Are you betraying me?"

"No, no, no! We'll come back to see you! We won't tell the secret of making black forest cakes to anyone! But... but we really can't live like this, like robots, having even our sleeping moments controlled by you... Please. Let us leave." "You traitors..." "Lord Black Forest Cake!" "Traitors..."

I didn't know when he'd arrived, but Spaghetti had come to stand behind me.

"Black Forest Cake... I'm sorry... It was my fault... I shouldn't have told you those methods. If these humans hadn't had their first taste of success, if that hadn't made them greedy for more, then none of this would've happened."

I saw his apologetic gaze, and I raised my head a little and let out a self-mocking laugh.

"This isn't your fault. It's their fault. They tasted a little sweetness and that only made them hunger for more, and that's their fault!" "Black Forest Cake..." "Spaghetti, you don't have to say anything. If they want to leave, then I will let them leave."

In their surprised and happy eyes, my laugh felt strangely calm.

V. BLACK FOREST CAKE

Black Forest Cake was summoned by an extraordinarily self-disciplined military officer. When he left, she took upon her shoulders the responsibility of protecting this rural little city.

To her, orders meant everything.

In this city, no one could defy her orders.

In the beginning, her orders were just to establish a self-defense force that would react quickly to fallen angel attacks.

Her orders slowly changed the city for the better. This was something everyone could see for themselves. So everyone happily accepted her orders and followed them to the letter.

But from one day - they didn't know exactly when - they realized that Black Forest Cake's orders had become harsher and harsher.

It was not just the previous nighttime curfew. Black Forest Cake's idea of production meant she wanted to control everyone's everything. No matter if they were sick and could not work, they would not have a moment of rest.

And so, this last set of laws that were proclaimed were the straw that broke the camel's back.

People had no way to control who they loved, just as they had no way to control the weather.

Faced with the Black Forest Cake who had once so kindly protected them, they did not want to hurt her. So they chose to leave quietly.

But they did not realize that this would be seen by Black Forest Cake. "If they want to leave, then I will let them leave."

When they heard this, people felt relief and joy, as if a great weight had been lifted from their backs.

But they never thought that Black Forest Cake use her own soul power to attract the enemy that they had long forgotten - the fallen angels.

They faced the terrifying threat of the fallen angels head-on for the first time, and those creatures, emanating evil from their greedy eyes, stared at this group of helpless people.

The only existence who could save them had walked back into the city walls, and said with a kind of coldness they had never seen from her before, "I only protect the people of my city. You lived under my protection before, but now, I no longer have the duty to protect you."

From within the walls, Black Forest Cake listened to the cries and pleas for mercy of those outside. She raised her head and closed her eyes, leaning against that flimsy city door. Her glove-clad hands tightened into fists many times. Only when the terrible screams outside the city stopped did she finally open her eyes.

Spaghetti, who had been standing by her the entire time, did not speak. With what little comfort he could offer, he patted her back.

"You cannot force humans to understand us. We and humans... from the very beginning, we were different. You have done your best..."

#food fantasy #ff black forest cake #ff spaghetti #ff translations

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ask-gpt · 5 years

Note

Climate Psychiatry 101: What Every Psychiatrist Should Know\nWomen's Health In The US: Disruption And Exclusion In The Time Of Trump\nGender Bias In Academic Psychiatry In The Era Of the #MeToo Movement\nRevitalizing Psychiatry – And Our World – With A Social Lens\nHip-Hop: Cultural Touchstone, Social Commentary, Therapeutic Expression, And Poetic Intervention\nLost Boys Of Sudan: Immigration As An Escape Route For Survival\nTreating Muslim Patients After The Travel Ban: Best Practices In Using

Climate Psychiatry 101: What Every Psychiatrist Should KnowWomen's Health In The US: Disruption And Exclusion In The Time Of TrumpGender Bias In Academic Psychiatry In The Era Of the #MeToo MovementRevitalizing Psychiatry – And Our World – With A Social LensHip-Hop: Cultural Touchstone, Social Commentary, Therapeutic Expression, And Poetic InterventionLost Boys Of Sudan: Immigration As An Escape Route For SurvivalTreating Muslim Patients After The Travel Ban: Best Practices In Using Immigration to Treat Other CasesBreathing Disorders: Getting Your Eats RightUnderstanding Religion as A Health Challenge: Getting Your Heart In YouHow Psychiatry Is Getting Us AroundUnderstanding Religion Like A Health Diagnosis For Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, DepressionUnderstanding Religion As HealingUnderstanding Religion Like A Physician's Notebook – Finding New Answers to Specific QuestionsWhat is Spiritual Love?How Does Religion Look Towards Mental Health?What Is Religious Practice?Do Religion Look Like an Addiction To Medicine?What Are Spiritual Perspectives?Is There A Mind Connection To Religion, Meditation, And Meditation?Is Religion Part of the Path To Recovery?Understanding the Way Beliefs Are Implaced Into Psychiatry?What Do Psychiatry Contribution Theories To? Are They A Religion-Based Approach To Psychiatric Treatment Treatment?Psychiatric Research On The Future of Depression By The Time of Our RevolutionPsychiatric Research On The Future Of Mental Illness By The Time of Our RevolutionThe Book of the Apocalypse By William NighIs Buddhism A Religion or Is It a Psychopathic Religion?Is Buddhism A Religion or Is It a Religion-Based Approach To Treatment?Is Buddhism A Religion or Is It a Religion-Based Approach To Psychiatry Treatment?Is Buddhism A Religion or Is It A Religion-Based Approach To Psychiatry Treatment?Is Buddhism A Religion or Is It A Religion-Based Approach To Psychiatry Treatment?Are Buddhism A Religion or Is It A Religion-Based Approach To Psychiatry Treatment?Is Buddhism A Religion or Is It A Religion-Based Approach To Psychiatry Treatment?Is Buddhism A Religion or Is It A Religion-Based Approach To Psychiatry Treatment?What Are Buddhism Like?I, B, D & G Buddhism: Which Is TrueWhich Is True Buddhist Buddhist: Is Pure and Unconditional?How Does Buddhist Thought Shape Thought About Self?How Does Buddhist Thought Shape Thought About Self? Buddhism: What Is Buddhism?Is Buddhist Thought Like A Social Movement?What Is Buddhist Thought Like A Social Movement? Buddhist Mindfulness Is A Scientific and Philosophical Tool For Learning About Human Nature, Nature's Laws, Mindfulness and PhilosophyHow Do Mindfulness, Prana, and Buddhism Compare To Other Mental Disorders?What Do Mindfulness, Prana, and Buddhism Compare To Other Mental Disorders? Buddhist Spirituality: Mind & PhilosophyHow Does Buddhism Compare To Other Mental Disorders? Buddhist Yoga: Is It Necessary?A Critique

#gpt-2 #ran out of output space #supernulperfection

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funkymbtifiction · 5 years

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Stereotype: Enneagram & MBTI Applied

SUBMITTED by truthaliar

gif from aryastarksource.tumblr.com

As a high-Fi user and someone with a 4 in their stack, there’s part of me that pushes hard against the notion of ’this is your type, this is where you should be’ - and yet accepting the helpfulness that these hypotheses - enneagram and mbti - have in reality.

A year ago, if you would have told me ‘your career makes sense with your personality type’ I would’ve agreed. 'Totally’, I’d say as i observed the sheer number of xSFPs and xSTPs in the wildlife clinic I worked at. We’re an interesting bunch, wildlife rehabbers. We’re nimble enough to catch full-grown birds of prey out of mid-air with homemade nets yet idealistic enough to believe our work makes a difference.

It’s true that the wildlife people I worked with early on have similar MBTI types; we are largely xSxPs with the occasional xNxJ thrown in.

But our enneagram types are all different. And as I’ve taken time to learn about enneagram, I’ve found that there’s a lot of assumptions as I read through literature and scan websites. 5 seems to equal science, and 2 seems to equal medicine. So it stands to reason that we’d have a lot of 52x people running around, and anecdotally, that’s not true.

Source: http://pickleston.tumblr.com/post/142316435561

I’m an xSFP, a cp 6w7 and probably a 684, gradually accepting that I’m probably an so/sx subtype as I’m constantly broke and hop from job to job as though I can sustain myself this way forever. A quirky former coworker, an ESFP, strikes me as a 749. Another former coworker, an unhealthy xSTP, was probably an 835 or 385. Only my ISxP supervisor seems to lead with 5 - maybe a 514 - and it’s hard to say if she’s a 5w6 and 6w5. It’s speculation because I haven’t had the time to sit down face to face with each person and ask them, 'what motivates you?’.

But more than anything - like always - it’s the associated archetype that seems to bother me. Just like it always irritates me to see when ISFPs are equated to 'butterflies’ and ISTPs are 'mechanics’ - something feels kind of off when I see that 2w1s are associated with doctors. It’s less of a visceral response than the other stereotypes - like I get it - but it something still seems like it’s missing.

Though the 2w1 stereotype seems to follow human medicine more than veterinary medicine, I can’t help but see through it. I’m sure human medicine is as weird and interesting and diverse as the field of veterinary medicine. I’m guessing some people like anesthesiology because it puts you in a position of power rather than just being helpful (though that could be an added bonus). I like radiology because I think it looks cool and I like diagnostics because I like solving problems. My supervisor tells me that to her, veterinary medicine is like an art. That like an artist, I need to accept that I’m not going to make a ton of money in my future and figure out how to make things work for myself as I begin vet tech school and pursue veterinary school in the long-run.

Focus on yourself, she says. Which I process and interpret as: build your connections and run toward the things that scare you and have some adventures along the way (6). Control your life. Remind yourself that you retain control at all times and the world is malleable - you can work with and change an outcome you don’t like (8). And remember that there’s something unique about you that pulls you toward this path - your patients can’t ever pay you back or reciprocate; not everyone is cut out for this (4).

Source: https://media.giphy.com/media/wzQvTjcT1Fb5S/giphy.gif

My understanding is that while 2s want reciprocation for their helpfulness, doctors, nurses, veterinarians and others often don’t get it. Maybe that’s where you begin seeing the old, cranky, thankless doctors falling into 8. I’ve known a couple, but they haven’t been the majority. And based on my readings - and probably my own bias - 6 makes a touch more sense - helping others to ease their own anxiety, without expecting anything in return based on navigating the anxieties that accompany disease, injuries, illness, death. And even then - the other 6s I know work in different fields. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ so that doesn’t make sense - and nothing make sense because the world simply doesn’t work that way.

I see stereotypes everywhere, even though reality seems to rarely match them. I recently finished grad school and I had one professor - an ESTJ epidemiologist point out 'what an odd personality’ I was for grad school. I told them - half joking, half serious - that I went to grad school out of spite and they reminded me that I was a very feeling person, but grad school requires more than that. She once even told me that I seemed like I’d be fun at parties, but am I really cut out for science?

Source: https://thumbs.gfycat.com/MistyFirstFruitfly-small.gif

Essentially, she perpetuated another stereotype I dislike - that scientists must be objective and detached and ignore their feelings. She’s not a stodgy person; she’s upbeat and energetic and loves life. It’s true that the best scientific argument is completely objective - and my Se and Te ensure that I meet those standards. But pretending you don’t feel anything at all in favor of neutrality actually aids in science censorship and poor science communication in the long run - problems that we’re trying to actively combat.

One example is convincing others that it’s okay for me to be angry about birds of prey dying of acute toxicity from consuming poisoned mice. It doesn’t implicate bias in my work as long as my methods are properly outlined and my findings are accurate. As long as I don’t write 'wow this case pissed me off’ in a research journal, it’s okay for me to express why the situation is problematic. Others, guessing SP first, will be disappointed, but look at protecting their career first. And I get it: you don’t want to get blacklisted - me neither. But that potential consequence is illustrative of the toxic effects of that stereotype to begin with.

Image source: https://i.gifer.com/Dn0S.gif

Anyway, after I completed my coursework, I did some fieldwork - and worked wiht a diverse group of young wildlife biologists. There was an ENFP and ESTJ who constantly fought; some ISTPs and ISFPs who I usually got along with, though we challenged each other; an ESTP and ENTP. I lived with an ESFJ 3, an INTP 5, and an ENFJ 9. My bosses were an ESFP and an ISTJ respectively. It was super diverse, though I’d still say Se was the most common. And yet, we all had very little in common. Everyone had different motivations. Everyone had different perspectives. We were worked to the bone and many of us were miserable. There were a lot of 9s. Some people were overly optimistic about finding a job after the season ended (which rarely happens in wildlife biology unless you live in a warm climate) and were quieted when they didn’t.

One of the things I like about enneagram is that it reflects growth as something constant. Everyone’s growing. You’re not done just because you finished school or because you’re 26 and should be a better adult by now.

I was glad to learn of the diversity that exists within my field. The only lingering stereotype I have is that Se is the most helpful function when it comes to working hands on with wildlife, though the ENFP I worked with is now doing pretty cool hands-on work elsewhere and is making it work just fine, and the INTP I know really loves her work. So I guess basically in conclusion, you can do whatever you want, and the stereotypes out there can provide an outline or a framework - but they don’t necessarily mean anything at all.

Has anyone else seen this within their chosen field/school? What stereotypes do you hate, and why? What ones do you find true?

#submission #isfp #enneagram #enneagram 2 #enneagram 4 #enneagram 6 #enneagram 8

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whatiswildness · 5 years

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Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: Moral Values in Management

“Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem: Moral Values in Management” was a talk I gave to the Cambridge Conservation Initiative Annual Symposium 2019

Background

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), centred on the Yellowstone National Park, is an area of twenty-two million acres — over a third of the total land area of the UK. Spanning part of three western states in the USA, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, the area is comprised of five national forests, three national wildlife refuges, Bureau of Land Management holdings, state lands, two national parks, Indian lands and five million acres of private land. Within this landscape milieu, wild things are appearing in places they have not been seen for generations. From the Yellowstone National Park at the GYE’s centre, bison, grizzlies and wolves are being restored to the periphery.

As the simultaneous restoration of the ‘full suite’ of wild things, rewilding began with the reintroduction of the wolf in 1994-5—the last, large animal present during pre-European times to be returned to the Yellowstone National Park. Through subsequent rewilding practices, its range and population increased, and similarly for the grizzly bear (grizzly) and bison although some of those changes preceded the wolf by several years. Beyond the boundaries of the Park, wild things, increasingly, are hopping fences, sinking their teeth into cattle, running from hunters, scrumping for apples, grazing gardens, and occasionally injuring and killing people. Rewilding in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, to put it simply, is ‘restoring wild things’, significantly, ‘restoring bison, grizzly bears and wolves’.

Before reintroduction, only the occasional wolf had been sighted and no viable packs seen for almost 100 years. Wolves number approximately 100 individuals which reside mainly in the Yellowstone National Park and 500 in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The leading cause of death overall (around 80%) is humans, especially by hunting, followed by other wolves (which is the leading cause of death inside the Park) and next, disease.

Bison, which have a much less extensive range in the GYE, were estimated to number 4,527 in August 2018 before this winter’s cull and hunt. The leading cause of death is again humans. The National Park captures and sends to slaughter several hundred each year while hunting makes up the rest. Last winter just over a thousand were killed. Wild bison were thought to number around 23 individuals following their near-total eradication during the 19th century. Captive breeding and much later, bison release, occurred in the Park during the 20th century. Bison have only begun to migrate beyond the Park boundaries since the 1980s.

In 1975, there were 136 individual grizzlies in the Park. Now they may number 1,000 in the GYE although good estimates are notoriously difficult to obtain. They were recently removed from the endangered species list, many feel prematurely. They were relisted in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem by a Federal judge in 2018. Their range in the GYE has expanded significantly over recent years and there is much talk of grizzlies traversing agricultural and developed areas to the NW of the GYE. This could connect them with populations in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, and thus Canadian populations. Humans have controlled grizzly numbers here for over 100 years and their low in 1975 was generally thought to be a result of Park policy. This included removing open rubbish dumps resulting in the bears’ dispersal, then the killing of bears which roamed outside of the Park.

I find in my research that the landscape here tells a recent and surprising story of humans restoring wild things. I’m not so interested in the science of which predator eats which prey, changing which ecological indicator (although it is fascinating). I am interested in WHY people rewild. Really WHY, as in deep motivations, and for that matter why they fight this kind of thing. This is a question of love, fear, enchantment and anger around wildness, which is totally mixed up in what’s going on in wider society; cultural questions of identity, heritage, belief and power. Some people are passionately engaged in occupational practices aimed at expanding the ranges and numbers of wolves, bison and grizzly bears over a huge area already occupied by people. Others are radically opposed and dedicate much of their working life to resistance, politically, or very directly through the barrel of a gun. What is fundamentally meaningful and motivating to these groups?

Surely, it’s not all about money for the objectors? Or on the other side, purely about scientific data for the advocates?

Why do some of these people advocate for more rewilding? And why do others resist?

Methods

“Not everything that counts can be measured; and not everything that can be measured, counts.”

I like this quote. Amongst many esteemed biologists, ecologists (natural scientists) here, it helps to explain why I spent six months doing empirical research in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, measuring precisely nothing. Instead, I undertook semi-structured interviews and observed people at work over extended periods of months to try and make sense of the things which count for them, but can’t be measured.

My research population included those whose work centred on three iconic wild things: grizzlies, bison and wolves because these species emerged as quintessential embodied wildness for both those for and against rewilding. I focussed on land managers, state and federal scientists, activists, lobbyists and campaigners in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and not least those who have lived and worked on the land their whole lives, but who don’t have a college degree.

Problem

All are battling with the reality that their work, their measurements and claims to knowledge, often don’t count politically or socially. Wildlife scientists and ranchers alike struggle to articulate why their knowledge often doesn’t count in practice. In fact, hidden moral values are at play.

If there is one take-away from this talk, it is that if you believe in rewilding, it seems you will need a range of means of articulating the ways in which wildness is meaningful and valuable; in which it counts. Science can only go so far in winning hearts and minds. Gaining trust must involve acknowledging that all science has bias: acknowledging that there is no objective understanding of what a ‘good’ landscape looks like and how it works best. There are only contingent understandings.

Let me give you an example from the Yellowstone which demonstrates the schism.

Recent publications on grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have shown quite convincingly that grizzly bear movements through landscapes can be predicted with a surprising level of statistical certainty. Potential pathways between isolated populations have been mapped with at least one clear implication, that we now have an excellent idea of where best to create corridors and we have the evidence to justify strategic land restoration and preservation.

But this research, its conclusions and its implied applications are based on two subjective assumptions: a) there were more grizzlies over larger areas at some (rather arbitrary) point in history and b) therefore; there should be more again. Actually this is more about belief.

For many this science counts for nothing. From diverse professional backgrounds, some looked at this type of research and were totally appalled that these groups even got funding or contributors were even in a job. They cast it aside to get on with what they felt was the real business. For instance, making wildlife management or planning decisions based on human need, lobbying for the cattle industry, and running farming operations. Activities that are equally values-driven. It’s not easy to define and measure why they cast it aside with such disgust, the same as it is tough to define and measure why the researchers spend years of their life contributing to wildlife conservation through science, but whatever the reasons, they sure count.

So let’s have a look at some of the cultural and historical factors which I believe influence decision-making on the ground, and produce conflict through opposing values in Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. As I go, parallels should emerge with rewilding in Europe and the UK. At times, there was something oddly similar about the ways in which people in very different cultural and environmental contexts, the western USA and Europe or the UK, think about wildness.

So first, what are some of the reasons people value wildness and wild things in the GYE?

Take the ‘wolf-watchers’ for instance, who spend each day watching wolves, most often in the northern part of the Park. They generally know one another, hike together, and attend the same social events in the Gardiner, Livingston and Bozeman areas—Park and Gallatin Counties, Montana. Most are from ‘out-of-state’ but now live in the area permanently or for months at a time. ‘Wolf-watchers’ are generally wealthy, retired, semi-retired, or have business interests elsewhere that do not occupy their time.

Wild things, for the ‘wolf-watchers’, are profoundly beautiful and reminiscent of an imagined, perhaps beguiling past before their eradication, perhaps even before people. It was common for the wolf watchers to refer to key American authors, sometimes directly quoting them: Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness (Abbey 1968) and A Sand County Almanac (Leopold 1970) were especially well cited. Thematic literature informed discourse and even expressions of feeling. Their focus on wild beauty in conversation regularly drew upon ideals which can be traced back in American literature. This was fairly unique amongst a relatively small number of wealthy in-migrants, generally college-educated and with a passion for restoring wildness.

Wilderness ideals in literature began to become formative of beliefs around wildness in the 18th century. Roderick Nash claims of its earliest aesthetic appreciation, that by the mid-eighteenth century, “wilderness was associated with the beauty and godliness that previously had defined it by their absence”. In the 19th century, the ‘sublime’, which “captivates while it awes, and charms while it elevates and expands the soul” entered into aestheticism of ‘nature’ also informing beliefs around wildness. Later, the American literary contributions of Henry David Thoreau were influential: famously, “this world is but a canvas to our imagination.” and “in wildness is the preservation of [that] world”. Also, of John Muir, and later still, Edward Abbey who wrote extensively on wildness, “out there is a different world, older and greater and deeper by far” (1968). The beauty of the ‘ecological wholeness’ of nature came to the fore with Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) who also led a paradigm shift towards aesthetic acceptance of carnivores, contrasting to an earlier time in which, for instance, statesman and wildlife enthusiast Theodore Roosevelt reportedly described wolves as “beasts of desolation and waste”. Wild things now embody a positive and influential aesthetic of wildness. This is only reaffirmed through experience for the wolf-watchers who also perceive beauty in every howl, growl or bellow.

Aesthetic appreciation is primarily why they do what they do, also providing important public, volunteer and financial support to the rewilding cause.

Here’s an example of another way of moralising in support of wildness.

A government wolf biologist I interviewed, angered by degradation of natural processes and biodiversity, pins his hopes on the wild wolf. He foregrounds its scientific value as a keystone species within a natural ecosystem, an ecosystem which is not complete, as he believes it once was, without the wolf. He does not question concepts of naturalness, categorisations of that nature, or that a particular past was necessarily more “complete”. For him, this ecosystem, and the wolf’s functional place in it, is somehow fully scientifically knowable and measurable. It is the moral imperative to defer to science, which favours wolves for the government biologist. They have historical primacy in an ecosystem which is imagined to have functioned “correctly” in a time before European settlers. This reveals a belief in the ‘goodness’ of a particular past. It also reveals a certain belief in the system, the science and the scientific and bureaucratic structures which give it legitimacy such as the National Park Service and ultimately the democratically elected US government. In parts of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem this faith was largely absent. It was particularly marked among Federal, less so State, employees.

So, what are some of the reasons people do not value wildness and wild things in the GYE?

I want to read a passage from my field diary.

The cow heaved painfully, sucking air through its torn, bloody nostrils. The whites of its eyes showed clearly as it tried to sense its surroundings, exhausted and unable even to turn its head. As ranchers pulled up in large trucks one at a time and took their place at a respectful distance, the cow followed the sounds with just one remaining ear. Terese briefed me so that no one else could hear. It had been chased by feral “pit bulls”—terriers—, separated from the herd, and had run, terrified, into a cattle grid where two legs remained deeply wedged. Its open side glistened in the afternoon sun, crimson and specked with flies, tooth marks clearly visible. Two burly men dressed in flannel shirts and cowboy hats tried to slide a wooden plank between the suffering beast and the bars of the cattle grid in an effort to lever it into a position that it might escape. It had no fight left and made only feeble movements with its free hooves. The ranchers then roped the cow to the tow bar of a pickup, attempting to drag it free. As the rope tightened, the man with the beast grimaced and gestured urgently to stop. The cow’s leg was broken and its innards began to spill through the hole in its flank. None of those present owned the cow or the land. The owner, was unreachable on his mobile and none were willing to carry out the inevitable, put a gun to the animal’s head, without consulting him first. The mood was sombre and the ranching men and women became largely silent for several minutes. Few shifted their gaze from the animal, close to death, and as the nearby road quietened also, the only sounds were the wind in the couch grass, and the fading breath of the cow. Although they tried to hide it, all were visibly upset. One or two returned to their trucks to sit alone, but they didn’t drive away. The animal was worth between $1,300 and $2000 depending on breeding potential, not a huge financial loss and none at all to the neighbours present. It was one of many which die or are severely injured by pit bulls each year on the Wind River reservation. It occurred to me that I was witnessing mourning. The emotion was palpable and the respect for the soon-to-be-deceased unshakeable. The ranching folk stood in reverence for the cow itself.

Typical for many ranchers I spoke to about wolf and bear attacks: the emotional impact of wild things harming domestic animals, which they care deeply about as the fruit of their labour and respect in some way as sentient beings, was hard to grasp in interview alone. Experiencing the ‘mourning’ gave such descriptions deeper meaning.

Here is an extract from an interview with another rancher and lobbyist.

“after they [the wolves] mauled this one cow up so bad that I had to shoot her… and the cows tore down the fence in the middle of the night, and they were all running down the highway, and I'm out there at 5 o'clock in the morning trying to push them back, that's when I completely lost it.”

Utilitarianism and dominionism are connected notions which frame animals and the environment as being for the use of people. This set of values influences practices for those who saw ‘wildness as bad’: generally the part of the research population involved with ranching, outfitting or more broadly having had parents and grandparents involved in such activities in the tri-state area. Ranchers are intimate with their charges. They felt consumers or wildness advocates—outsiders—often don’t “understand the profound experience of working with [livestock]”. And ranchers “care for the land in a way that only those who are invested can care, by history in and love of a place”. Further, the emotional importance of “holding on to the land to both honor family heritage and continue the legacy of stewardship” should not be underestimated. Perhaps this goes some way to making sense of the loss felt by many of those who find wildness to be bad. This morality is further engendered by rewilding, that might only be conceived of as continued forfeiture and bereavement as wild things are restored. The wolf or the bison are reminders that wild things are in and the cowboy is out.

Conclusion

My research population in the Yellowstone tended towards polarised beliefs about wildness, that it was either good or bad (although they generally agreed that wolves, grizzlies and bison were together central to its meaning and embodiment one way or another).

Those beliefs seemed to have stood the test of recent decades and were reaffirmed by each person’s experience - that’s why I describe them as moral values. That wildness was either good or bad was pretty fundamental to these people.

The reasons for these values are historical and cultural. As we have discussed here, I believe on one hand they are to do with aestheticism, a belief in science and “the system”, and which we haven’t had time to discuss, aspiring to native Americaness, coopting indigenous spirituality around wild animals. On the other hand, values underpinning resistance to rewilding were about using and caring for the land in a quest for the pastoral ideal and perhaps continuing the American pioneer dream; and separately which I haven’t mentioned again, about rugged individualism and a deep distrust of Federal government, especially in land management.

The data gathered offers an insight into the motivations of those at either end of the rewilding spectrum in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. My research was empirical, but I don’t claim to be unbiased. Although we will not all emerge as winners, that includes some of the wildlife we currently live with: with careful listening to all stakeholders, creative expression, and honesty, I hope we do see a wild rumpus return to the UK soon.

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chiseler · 6 years

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ZOOT SUIT KILLERS

Joseph Annunziata,

On November 20 1942, a Brooklyn jury returned guilty verdicts on a pair of Williamsburg teens, 16-year-old Neil Simonelli and 18-year-old Joseph Annunziata, for the murder of Irwin Goodman, their math teacher at William J. Gaynor High School. The two of them had never much liked Goodman, a 36-year-old father of two. When he reported them to the principal for smoking in the boys' room, they walked eight blocks to Simonelli's home, where they picked up a pistol, then back to the school. They confronted Goodman and got into a scuffle with him. The gun, which Annunziata was holding, went off, perhaps accidentally, fatally shooting Goodman through the back. Because the jury entertained a doubt that the shooting was premeditated, they convicted the boys of murder in the second degree. The pair went off to Sing Sing together to begin sentences of 20 years to life. Had the verdict been first-degree murder, they could have been the youngest New Yorkers ever executed.

The city's newspapers, from the New York Times to the Brooklyn Eagle, provided extensive coverage of the case, and there was commentary in national magazines like Time. What fascinated them all, beyond the crime itself, was the boys' lifestyle and attire: uniformly, the press described Simonelli and Annunciate as "jitterbugs," "Zoot Suit Youths" and "Zoot Suit Killers."

Neil Simonelli

Whether or not anyone in the press had actually seen Simonelli and Annunziata wearing zoot suits was a moot point. By 1942, "zoot suit" was a metonym for "juvenile delinquent." What the black leather jacket and the hoodie were to later generations, the zoot suit was to the war years.

When the zoot suit first appeared it was mostly associated with black youths and the jitterbug in neighborhoods like Harlem. It consisted of an outrageously outsized jacket, with superwide padded shoulders, that hung down to the knees and the fingertips. The pants were exaggerated as well, ballooning and deeply pleated, then pegged tight at the ankles. A broad-brimmed or porkpie hat, pointed or platform shoes, a long watch chain, and a variety of tie styles completed the ensemble.

At first it was seen as a rather comical and harmless style, just another example of young people going to silly sartorial extremes. It began to look more sinister amid increasing worries about what life in wartime was doing to America's families and children.

The Depression and Dust Bowl 1930s had already wreaked havoc on the American family, turning millions into homeless migrants, splitting off husbands who went on the bum seeking any work they could find, forcing some mothers and daughters into prostitution, and enticing some young men into lives of crime and gangsterism. The war brought new dislocations and disorder. Some 15 million Americans were uprooted again, trekking across the country seeking defense work. Many moved more than once during the war, and few returned to their point of origin after it.

From 1940 well into 1943, the Selective Service exempted fathers with dependent children. But with the military's ever-expanding need for manpower, fathers eventually began to be drafted. The government started sending monthly checks to servicemen's families in 1942, but in expensive cities like New York it often wasn't enough to run a household. By 1944, more than a million servicemen's wives had taken jobs.

Kids were working too. In the Depression years, new legislation against child labor had been enacted, largely to prevent kids from taking scarce jobs away from adult males. Now, as labor shortages grew more severe, many states and localities rolled back those restrictions. As a result, by 1944 high school enrollment had fallen 25%, while the employment of youths 14 to 18 had more than doubled. An estimated 2 million high schoolers had dropped out to take jobs, and many planned not to go back to school.

The impact of all this on kids' lives could be profound. They might lose their father for the duration, or forever. They might follow their parents from one defense job to another, always the new kids in the neighborhood and at school. If they stayed in school, whether dad was gone and mom worked or both parents worked, kids now found themselves with lots of free, unsupervised time. If they dropped out and took jobs, they had cash in their pockets to spend any way they wanted.

And they were growing up in wartime. Teenage boys too young to be sent to fight knew that in a year or two or three they might well be. In the meantime they wanted to look and feel as manly as their fathers and older brothers in uniform. According to law enforcement, teenage gang activity and street fighting escalated, and the violence grew more serious; where teen gangs had formerly used fists and clubs, they now wielded zip guns and flick-knives, sometimes inflicting deadly harm. Teenage girls as well as boys took to drinking, smoking, and sexual pickups, in full eat-drink-and-be-merry mode. Adults labeled it "war degeneracy." It's no coincidence that the terms "youth culture" and "teenager" (or "teen-ager") were also coined in this period. They were something new, a generation of latchkey kids, army brats, war orphans.

The story of Simonelli and Annunziata neatly encapsulated what was seen as a broader trend. Youth crime figures in the first full year of the war were so disturbing, J. Edgar Hoover said, that a "counter-offensive" was necessary to prevent "a breakdown on our home front." He told a graduating class at the FBI Academy, "Something has happened to our moral fibers when the nation's youths under voting age accounted for 15 per cent of all murders, 35 per cent of all robberies, 58 per cent of all car thefts and 50 per cent of all burglaries." Later studies showed that nationwide juvenile delinquency arrests rose 72 per cent during the war. In Brooklyn, it was 100 per cent.

By 1942, the year of Simonelli and Annunziata, the zoot was identified as much with this behavior as with lindy-hopping and jitterbugging. That year, the War Production Board actually declared the zoot suit unpatriotic, because it was a waste of material in a time of rationing. The wide, pleated skirts girls wore for jitterbugging (and showing off their underwear) were denounced on the same grounds.

In 1943, one in five arrests was of someone under 18. But that year offered clear evidence that at least some of those arrests were the result of harassment and bias as much as bad behavior. That June, white sailors and soldiers in Los Angeles went on a rampage, attacking Mexican American teens all over the city. The "pachucos" fought back, and a week of rioting followed. The national press, against all evidence that the white servicemen had instigated a race riot, chose to call it a "zoot suit riot."

A new raft of stories followed, as journalists competed to define what the zoot was, what it meant, who wore it, and who invented it. Claimants to the latter ranged from a busboy in Atlanta to tailors in Memphis, Chicago, and L.A. The New Yorker, not surprisingly, decided that it started in Gotham. "With some friendly cooperation from the editors of the Amsterdam News, an uptown newspaper published by and for colored people, we got in touch with Lew Eisenstein, proprietor of Lew's Pants Store, on 125th Street," a "Talk of the Town" piece called "Zoot Lore" explained that June. Supposedly Lew's wife first pegged some loose pants in 1934, and the rest of the zoot suit followed in due course. Lew took credit for adding the long watch chain. Their claims were, of course, disputed by others.

The zoot suit would live on past the war, mostly worn by black and Hispanic men, though the influence of its wide shoulders and voluminous pants could be discerned in all men's suits in the early 1950s. Concerns about juvenile delinquency also continued after the war, rising to a level of national panic in the 1950s.

The story of the zoot suit killers lived on in its own way. In 1947, Irving Shulman's pulp novel The Amboy Dukes, set in wartime Brooklyn, was a shock sensation, selling five million copies even as it was banned in some locales for its sex and violence. Schulman, who was from Brooklyn himself and spent the war years writing for the War Department in Washington, clearly used Simonelli and Annunziata as the models for his lead characters Frank Goldfarb and Benny Semmel. They're a pair of juvenile delinquents in Jewish Brownsville, products of its "ugly gray and red tenements, tombstones of disease, unrest and smoldering violence… It was as if nothing bright would ever shine on Amboy Street." While their parents do defense work, Frank and Benny hook school almost constantly to hang out with their gang, the Amboy Dukes. They make money selling counterfeit gas ration coupons on the black market, and spend it on liquor, marijuana, zip guns and whores. They too accidentally shoot and kill a teacher in a scuffle, and come to a worse end for it than their real-life models.

Lurid yet relentlessly downbeat, The Amboy Dukes both looked back to the worst of wartime New York and ahead to 1950s juvenile delinquent tales like Blackboard Jungle and Shulman's own Rebel Without a Cause. (He would also write a novelization of West Side Story.) After the scandal kicked up by its first appearance, later editions dialed back the sex and violence and, interestingly, deracinated the two anti-heroes by giving them less Jewish-sounding surnames. In 1949 it was adapted for the film City Across the River.

by John Strausbaugh

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hamilkilo · 6 years

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In Sickness and In Health

Prompt: Polyhamilsquad where one of the squad is sick and has weird fever dreams/nightmares (I think those are a thing?) and the others trying to comfort/reassure/stop them from panicking pleaseeeee

Pairing: Poly!hamilsquad

TW: Sickness, nightmare, feelings??? Fluff?

A/N: Sorry I was out of the game for so long! I’m back though, and I really appreciate your patience! Without further ado, here it is! As always, if you have something you want me to tag, please let me know! I want you to feel safe when reading my work! I love you!

Word Count: 4280

Alex had always hated sickness. He was an opinionated man, after all, so it came as no surprise that he had such strong feelings about it. However, he feared it more than he hated it. He used his hatred to hide his vulnerability. He had the luxury of watching his mother suffer from illness and pass away, leaving him orphaned. He knew what a tiny cough could do. He knew the fatality of a sneeze. He was always careful. He knew the statistical probability of him touching his face about ten times per minute, so he got into the habit of running his hands through his hair instead. He didn’t mind the messy hair as much as he minded the bacteria. He washed his hands so much during the flu season that they were cracked and sometimes bloody, but he couldn’t get over the idea of all the diseases crawling around on him, waiting to take him away. He even went to such lengths as to consume copious amounts of orange juice. Maybe his bias against illness is one of the many reasons he fell in love with his Laf, a doctor.

Perhaps all of his obsessive rituals were why his boyfriends were so shocked that it was Alex himself that was bedriddenly ill this season. He had been so careful, after all. It started with a tickle in the throat after a fairly ugly argument with Jefferson at the office. To ease his nerves and the tiny flutter of anxiety in his chest, he wrote it off as him yelling too hard. But for extra precaution, he scrubbed his hands a little more vigorously than usual for the rest of the day.

When a chill ran through him as he lied in bed, snuggled to Hercules, later that night, he felt his heart skip a beat, and he burrowed deeper into his lover’s embrace. Perhaps the bedroom was just drafty that night?

However, when Alex woke in the morning, shivering, despite the furnace coming off of Herc, he knew. Fear gripped his chest like a vice, crushing him more than any of Herc’s bear hugs ever could. He rolled over, it still dark in the bedroom, and he shook Lafayette awake. His French boyfriend, who was being aggressively spooned by his other boyfriend, John, roused easily and glanced around before his eyes settled on his shivering petit leo.

“Alex?” He murmured as he gently pried a softly snoring John off of him. He moved slowly towards the shivering man, reaching his hand out to caress his cheek. He cursed under his breath, then felt his forehead. The skilled doctor knew Alex had a fever. “‘Ow do you feel?”

Alex took a deep breath to steady himself, trying to think rationally through his panic. “I, uh… Cold?” His voice came out thick and raspy, and this caused the left corner of Laf’s mouth to tug down into a brief frown. “And kind of clammy? I… I think I’m sick, Laf.” Alex’s voice wavered on that sentence, and Laf’s eyes softened. They all knew of their boyfriend’s fear.

“C’est d’accord, mon petit. ‘Ere, let’s get you up so I can get the thermometer and some medicine for you. Perhaps even some breakfast?” Laf shifted to get up, but Alex’s cold, clammy hand shot out and wrapped around his wrist.

“How could I have gotten sick, Laf? I was so careful,” Alex’s eyes searched Laf’s for an answer, but he had none.

“Je ne sais pas, mon amor. I don’t know. Sickness is fickle. But have no worry, okay? You will be fine.” Then he grinned softly and caressed his face again. “Besides, you are in good ‘ands, remember?”

Alex gave him a soft smile after this and followed his love out of bed. They were careful as they crawled over John, trying not to wake him. Once in the bathroom, Laf scooped Alex up and sat him on the counter, causing him to blush. Laf rifled through the drawers before he pulled out the thermometer. Wordlessly, which was surprisingly out of character for such an opinionated man, he opened his mouth and let Laf slip it beneath his tongue. While they waited, Laf ran his hands through his boyfriend’s hair, softly, trying to soothe him. He knew what le leo must be feeling. When the device finally did begin to beep, he pulled it out of Alex’s mouth and frowned at how high the numbers were.

“103.4,” he voiced, and he felt Alex’s hand grip to his shirt. He placed the thermometer on the counter and let Alex cling to him. He wrapped him in a tight embrace as he trembled, trying his best to calm him.

“Come with me, love. Let’s get you some tylenol and tea for now, and I will cook some breakfast.” Before Alex could hop down from the counter, Laf pulled him into his arms and held him against his tall frame. Usually, on any other day, the smaller man would curse and struggle, hating the feeling of being so small, but today was not a usual day because Alex was never sick. He actually wrapped his arms around Laf’s neck and nuzzled his face against his shirt as he was carried out. Laf quietly crept from the bedroom and paused at the closet in the hall, pulling out a few blankets and pillows with one hand as he held Alex on his hip with the other. He went into one of the side rooms that functioned as a common room for them. He placed his little lion down on the sleek, leather couch before he wrapped him up in many thick blankets, wincing when Alex continued to shiver. He knew Alex would’ve preferred this room out of all the others because of the ambiance. This was a room meant for him. It had many cherry wood bookshelves filled with leather spined books and gilded pages. It had dark brown and black leather furniture, sleek like the man’s ponytail and tastes. There were tables near the seating that held empty coffee mugs, loose papers, and scattered pens. Some of the papers had coffee rings on them and messy scribbling. A fireplace was crafted elegantly into the wall across from the seats, it’s carvings reaching up and outward like hands up to heaven. A few scenery paintings hung on the walls, a gift from John that made Alex smile just by looking at them. Most of them were ocean scenes to remind him of home. A large bay window had a window seat with wadded blankets and books scattered across it. The sky was gloomy outside, and the curtains hung almost solemnly to the floor on the outskirts of the seat. Laf quickly got a fire going in the fireplace, and Alex took in the soft, familiar scent of Laf’s french perfume, the burning wood, and the old books. For a minute, he didn’t feel so sick. Then his stomach clenched. He quickly fell from the couch in a tumble of blankets and scampered to the bathroom, heaving into the porcelain throne. Laf was quick to follow, and he rubbed his back as he retched. Tears streamed down Alex’s face as he heaved, his left hand gripping the edge of the counter, his right balled against his thigh as he struggled to keep himself upright.

The sickness was loud enough to wake John, who had admittedly been woken up by Alex when he shakily crawled over him, but John was too disorientated to investigate. However, when he woke up to the violent vomiting down the hall, he was quick to do the math and hop out of bed. He stood in the doorway, shocked, as he watched Alex.

“Is he…” He didn’t know how to finish his question. Clearly Alex wasn’t okay with how aggressive the vomiting had been.

Laf glanced over at him, continuing to rub Alex’s back. “I think it’s the flu.” Another round of retching followed the statement, making them both cringe. When Alex finally finished, he shakily stood, and Laf wrapped an arm around him and flushed the toilet. He led the man to the sink, and Alex began to brush his teeth, his obsession with hygiene kicking in. He then washed his hands, watching them quiver as he scrubbed away. When he finally finished, Laf led him back into the common room, and John brought him a garbage bin. They both traded in and out, one staying with Alex while the other ran off to complete a task, neither never gone for long. In all the hullabaloo, and much to his dismay, no one thought to wake Herc. So he was very surprised when he shuffled out of the bedroom to find Alex sat on the couch, sipping tea in front of a roaring fire, and shivering. John had a piece of toast held up to him, and Alex was not biting. When Herc paused in the doorway to process the scene, Laf came up behind him and debriefed him. Herc listened with a frown and an uneasy heart. Alex and sick never belonged together in the same sentence. He followed Laf into the kitchen, helping him to make breakfast and tea, and then helping him clean up, while John struggled to get Alex to eat. It was already a difficult task on an average day, let alone when Alex had the flu.

“Come on, ‘Lex, you gotta eat,” John pressed, not wavering as Alex wrinkled his nose at the toast.

“Why? I’ll just throw it up!” He instead busied himself with sipping his tea. Laf had already coaxed him into taking medicine, and the tea helped him with his sore throat.

“You need to keep your strength up! It’ll help you get better!” Alex frowned and looked down at his lap.

“Everything I did was supposed to keep me from being here in the first place, so what’s the point?” John felt his chest clench, and he lowered the toast. He took Alex’s hand in his own, squeezing it affectionately.

“I know, babe. But you’re here, and I know you’re afraid, so please, let us take care of you?” He brushed his thumb across his knuckles, and Alex looked up at him. John held up the toast again, and he took a bite.

A sick Alex was a quiet one, which scared his family. Alex was known for his verbose nature. He had loud opinions, which was one of the many things they loved about him. Watching him lie on the couch and quietly watch the fire, not working on anything, caused unease to weasle its way into their hearts. However, their trepidation only increased when Alex fell asleep and started whimpering.

Herc had been sitting beside him on the couch, reading a book and softly running his fingers through ALex’s hair as he napped in his lap when it started. Alex had dozed off, peacefully at first, but then his fingers had started to twitch. It was subtle at first, but then he jolted, and a small whimper fell from his lips. Herc’s fingers paused in the caress as he stared down at Alex’s slumbering face. He jolted again, this time crying out, and Herc pulled his hand from his hair, only to touch Alex’s face softly, trying to calm him. It didn’t work. Alex began to twist and turn, writhing against Herc, crying out and grabbing at nothing. It was only when he began shouting that Herc grabbed him and tried to keep him still. He was afraid that ALex would fall from the couch and hurt himself. John and Laf rushed into the room, quickly jumping to action. John grabbed Alex’s thrashing legs while Laf struggled to wake Alex. It took a minute, but finally, he opened his eyes. They were wild as they darted around in pure panic, then he began to cry. Laf soothed him softly as Alex reached out and pulled him into a tight hug, pressing his tearstained face to the crook of his neck. Herc rubbed his back while he cried, and John traced his fingers over the hem of John’s pants leg.

He had only been sick a handful of times, mostly as a child, but from what he could remember, Alex had always had vivid fever nightmares. Most of them featured the sick, dead corpse of his mother trying to strangle him to death, a rattling cough the last thing he would hear as his dream faded. He always woke up crying. Always. But his boyfriends didn’t know that because in the years they had known Alex, he had never gotten sick.

When he had finally calmed down enough, he pulled away from the soft blue fabric of Laf’s sweater, and settled back into Herc’s embrace. John sat down beside them and put his arm around Alex, pulling his legs into his lap. Laf knelt before them, taking Alex’s hands in his.

Alex’s words were shaky and slow, unsure. “Remember my mom?” Tears shimmered in his eyes as they all nodded. He took another shaky breath, then he let out a few weak coughs, before he continued. “I… I have these reoccurring nightmares when I’m sick… They’re the only dreams I ever see her in anymore… And she’s with me, sick, and at first, I think she’s going to be okay. She hands me a cup of tea, and she traces her fingers over my face. God, I think she’ll be okay…” He sniffles, remembering the ghost of her fingers, but he shakes it off. “Then, her skin rots away, her cheeks hollow out, and her eyes fall from her skull… And her fingers find themselves around my neck and she… she… “ It was harder than he thought it would be to get the words out, and they don’t expect him to continue. Instead, they hold him a little tighter, a little closer, and their words come out just a little softer.

It takes Alex four and a half days to get well enough to get off the couch and around the house, contributing to life. It takes him seven days and one morning to overcome the worst of his cough. It takes him eight days and one more sleepless night to finally stop having the nightmare. Each time, he’d wake up, yelling, coughing, and in tears. He never woke up alone, though. All four of them would be up together, each of his boyfriends calming him down, whispering to him, caressing him. They knew what he needed, somehow, perfectly. They loved him as best as they could, and that was enough. As much as he hated getting sick, he did not mind the doting nature it brought out in his boyfriends. When he finally got to kiss them all after he got better, he knew he would be okay.

#alexander hamilton #John Laurens #hamilton #poly!hamilsquad #polyhamilsquad #polyamory #sick #fanfiction #fanfic #my work #My writing

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thelasttime · 3 years

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ooh i love blue and grey too! i also love dis-ease as well - it reminds me of a lot of their older hip hop stuff. actually im curious what do you think of this ranking? blue and grey, disease, life goes on, dynamite, fly to my room, stay, telepathy. i have to say that as a yoongi bias and a relatively new army (i became one in may) this cb is a little hard with yoons in recovery but its still so much fun and i'm so glad he's taking the time to heal. im just so proud of them and i love the album!

to be honest, i don’t ~love~ the album as much as i immediately loved love yourself or map of the soul: 7 so it’s definitely going to have to grown on me. i would actually put “stay” WAY higher because i really liked that one immediately hehe 😳

#anonymous #asking you this*#asks

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fumpkins · 4 years

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Could COVID-19 be linked to a rare childhood inflammatory illness?

An intense inflammatory illness has struck children around the globe, and physicians suspect it may somehow be linked to COVID-19.

Several anecdotal reports have noted that some children with this strange inflammatory syndrome show similar symptoms to children with Kawasaki disease, which is a childhood illness that triggers inflammation in the blood vessels and can cause lasting heart damage, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD).

Physicians are calling the condition a “multisystem inflammatory” disease that shares some symptoms with Kawasaki disease, including high fever, skin rashes, and in some cases, heart inflammation, Live Science previously reported. Some of these symptoms also appear in toxic shock syndrome, a life-threatening condition caused by toxins produced by certain types of bacteria.

Related: 11 (sometimes) deadly diseases that hopped across species

As children have been presenting with a wide array of symptoms, physicians have only noted that the condition sometimes seems “Kawasaki-like.” An official diagnosis of Kawasaki disease requires that a child show a specific number of symptoms associated with the disease, such as fever lasting at least five days, inflammation in the eyes, reddish skin rashes, swollen lymph nodes and a strawberry-red tongue. However, children can also receive an “incomplete” diagnosis if they don’t present with every required ailment.

The exact cause of Kawasaki disease remains unknown, but the inflammatory state often arises during or after a viral infection, raising the question of whether COVID-19 could be a potential cause.

A slew of viruses, including retroviruses, Epstein-Barr virus and chlamydia, have been linked to Kawasaki disease in the past ⁠— one study, published in 2005 in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, even suggested a correlation between Kawasaki disease and a type of coronavirus, now called NL63. However, at this point, no single virus has been confirmed as the definite cause of the disease.

Could Kawasaki disease also be triggered by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19? Possibly, but experts told Live Science that physicians will have to conduct thorough, systematic studies to be sure.

“The question is really, ‘Is there an epidemiological signal here?,’” something to suggest that SARS-CoV-2 might trigger Kawasaki disease, said Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, senior author of the 2005 report and a chief in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern). So far, only one formal case report has been published describing an individual with both COVID-19 and Kawasaki disease, and that was in an infant, Live Science previously reported. The majority of cases have been described only in news reports, Kahn said.

“Now that we’re looking for it, this data is really subject to a lot of observational bias,” he added. “It’s important to be very cautious at this point about coming up with any conclusions.”

‘One of the most difficult diagnoses to make’

In April, reports of a Kawasaki-like disease potentially related to COVID-19 emerged in Europe, where more than a dozen children presented to hospitals with high fevers, abdominal pain, skin rashes and markers of severe inflammation in their blood, according to the Live Science report. Some of the children required treatment for heart inflammation, as would also be required for a diagnosis of Kawasaki disease.

Some of the children tested positive for COVID-19, while others did not. Now, the U.S. has started reporting similar cases.

For instance, on May 11, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that 93 cases of a severe inflammatory syndrome had been reported in the state, and at least three deaths were thought to be linked to the illness, ABC Eyewitness News reported. In a sample of 15 children, some tested positive for COVID-19, and some tested negative but carried antibodies specific to the virus in their blood, suggesting they had already recovered from the infection, Live Science reported. Some tested negative for both antibodies and an active infection.

These anecdotal reports hint “that there’s something going on, but I really don’t know until I see a peer-reviewed medical report,” said Dr. Frank Esper, first author of the 2005 report and a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Cleveland Clinic’s Children’s Hospital. Physicians will have to compile detailed datasets, complete with each child’s symptoms, vital signs and COVID-19 status, to truly determine whether the virus might be linked to a surge of Kawasaki disease, he said.

Related: What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

“Kawasaki disease is one of the most difficult diagnoses to make in pediatrics,” Esper said.

“There is no blood test. There is no swab [test].” Physicians must diagnose Kawasaki disease based solely on a clinical evaluation of symptoms, and those symptoms overlap with other known inflammatory syndromes. That said, pediatricians watch out for possible cases because if left untreated, the disease can cause the coronary artery to “balloon” and leave the child prone to heart conditions for the rest of his life, Esper added.

We need more data

Typically, about 3,000 cases of Kawasaki disease are diagnosed each year in the United States, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). Kahn said that UT Southwestern might see a “few dozen” cases of Kawasaki disease each year, while Esper said that Cleveland Clinic sees about 15 a year.

“You get 100 in two months? For that region, that’s a lot,” Esper said. Once data can be compiled from different hospitals, physicians could potentially determine whether many of the inflammatory illnesses being reported can be attributed to Kawasaki disease, and whether the number of diagnosed cases appears higher than usual, he said. Such evidence could bolster the potential link to COVID-19.

“In these patients, do they have antibody against the new coronavirus? For me, that’s the first question to answer,” Kahn said. If such research reveals a strong link between COVID-19 and Kawasaki disease, the finding could hint at why the inflammatory state arises, he added.

For example, there might be something about the SARS-CoV-2 virus, or the specific receptor it interfaces with on human cells, that makes the pathogen likely to trigger the characteristic symptoms of Kawasaki disease, Esper said. Certain children may be at higher risk for developing the illness than others, but we don’t know exactly why, he added.

For now, physicians still don’t know what causes Kawasaki disease or whether COVID-19 infections might make children susceptible. However, doctors do know how to treat the condition when they spot it, Esper said.

Children diagnosed with Kawasaki disease are given a high dose of aspirin to prevent blood clots and turn down the rampant inflammation in the body. They also receive immunosuppressants, to tamp down the inflammation even further, and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), a cocktail of antibodies collected from donors and used to treat a wide variety of conditions. IVIG may help to clear the child’s underlying infection, as physicians don’t know which pathogen might be to blame, but the therapy also serves as an anti-inflammatory treatment.

Originally published on Live Science.

New post published on: https://livescience.tech/2020/05/13/could-covid-19-be-linked-to-a-rare-childhood-inflammatory-illness/

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