#this may seem like a lot of cases of COVID but in fairness | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

anatifery · 1 year

Text

Writeblr Introduction

Who am I? I'm Anatifery, progenitor of ducks, and I figured I should probably do one of these in an attempt to appear neighborly. I don't expect anyone to really read or even see what I post; I've never been big on social media and have never successfully garnered an audience. Quite simply, I have never had the drive to achieve a following beyond fleeting "what-ifs" and "really-shoulds." I was on tumblr long ago when the Deep Magic was written and then vanished from the world. I arise again because I've been locked in a state of post-covid affliction wherein I have little energy to do much of anything physical. I can type most days and I can think some days though the latter do not always intersect with the former.

The beginning of my internet self pre-dates extant social media platforms. That was the time of monsters never using your real name and that habit stuck with me. To be fair though I have never and wouldn't publish under my real name either unless I have no other choice.

I am generally pretty proud of my writing upon completion if only for the sheer fact that it is completed. I do not, however, think I am all that good of writer. The Clarion workshop seems to agree as I am a rejected applicant. That is perfectly okay.

Oh, and I suppose I should speak to pronouns. I accept any barring "it" and I would prefer not neo-pronouns. I have no judgments against neo-pronouns but they somehow feel less "me" than the classics.

What do I write?

A little of a lot. Ideally I would have something for everyone but I can obviously make no guarantees. I don't normally write smut nor do I often include instances akin to it in wider works but that is not to say that it will never happen. The primary genres and tropes that come up the most I would wager are sci-fi, low-magic fantasy, historical fantasy, and nearly always something close to romance with a queer character if some romance is appropriate at all. Some of what I'm working on the larger picture: Working Name "Therewolf" - historical fantasy set in Al-Andalus in the 17th century, in a world where the Reconquista did not occur (though this isn't really important to the plot). Maryam is a werewolf hunter and makes her living protecting towns from them. There are, unknown to the common people, no real werewolves on the entire Iberian peninsula though; she is a charlatan but actually a decent real wolf hunter which helps sell the scam. She gets drawn into a deep conspiracy when she finds her employer dead, hanged inside his own home in an apparent suicide. Working Name "Neon Apogee" - relatively standard cyberpunk fare (very imaginative, I know), and not to be conflated with my short story of the same name (same world, though). This follows Cahaya, a non-binary 'net investigator intent on solving crimes perpetrated by the elite upon the lower classes; the sorts of crimes that the police would never look into. In fact, it seems like the police themselves are often their primary suspects. Working Name "The Real Monsters" - a post-apocalyptic humanity has pulled themselves more or less together. They have religious prohibitions against robots and many types of automation, and have chosen instead to uplift animals to serve as workers. The problem, however, was never AI; it was how humans treat those they deem beneath them. This summary doesn't sound that inventive and I apologize for that but I do think I actually am bringing a nice spin on the whole thing. What do I post?

If and when I post, it will be short stories that I create to procrastinate from work on real manuscripts which I have a hope of publishing. Excerpts from the above will probably not be posted. At some point I may delve back into fanfic, especially if my condition does not soon improve. Those I would be willing to share parts of. I will be on AO3; I've already signed up just in case we come to it.

Thank you

If you gotten this far then I salute you but I wonder why. Thank you for your interest up to this point, though. Please follow me if you have any inclination. Any interaction here to be honest would put a smile to my face and warmth in my heart.

#writeblr #writeblr intro #writeblr community #writing community #writeblr introduction

24 notes · View notes

allthebrazilianpolitics · 2 years

Text

Lula In Cover Of Time Magazine: Brazil’s Most Popular President Returns From Political Exile With a Promise to Save the Nation

The genre we assign to a life story depends a lot on how it ends. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s life has already completed several dramatic arcs. First, the hero’s journey: a child born into poverty moves to the big city, rises to lead a labor union, and then becomes the most popular President in the history of modern Brazil. Then the tragedy: a celebrated statesman is fingered in a staggering corruption scheme, sent to prison, and forced to watch from the sidelines while rivals dismantle his legacy.

The endings don’t seem to stick, though. In April 2021, Brazil’s Supreme Court annulled the corruption convictions that had excluded Lula—as he’s universally known—from politics in 2018, saying a biased judge on his case had compromised his right to a fair trial. The bombshell decision set Brazil on course for a showdown between the leftist Lula and current far-right President Jair Bolsonaro in the October 2022 elections. Polls now put the challenger at 45% and the incumbent at 31%, with more centrist candidates all but out of the running.

For Lula, who is 76 and had been preparing for a quieter life away from the halls of power, this new twist in his story was a surprise. But he didn’t hesitate to return to frontline politics. “In truth, I never gave up,” he rumbles in his famously gravelly voice, made hoarser by age. “Politics lives in every cell of my body, because I have a cause. And in the 12 years since I left office, I see that all the policies I created to benefit the poor have been destroyed.”

It’s late March, six weeks before Lula launches his campaign, and he’s sitting in a studio in the São Paulo headquarters of his Workers’ Party (PT). Chuckling and griping that no one knows how to design a comfortable chair these days, he comes off as a jovial grandfather. But at his allusion to the current government, his back stiffens and the deeper, gruffer notes of his voice take over. Lula becomes the fiery young union leader he was in the 1970s, and launches into a soapbox-ready tirade.

The dream of Brazil that Lula pursued during his presidency from 2003 to 2010 lies in tatters, he says. Through progressive social programs, paid for by a boom in Brazilian products like steel, soy, and oil, Lula’s government lifted millions out of poverty and transformed life for the country’s Black majority and Indigenous minority. Bolsonaro has taken a hammer to all that, scrapping policies that expanded poor people’s access to education, limited police violence against Black communities, and protected Indigenous lands and the Amazon rain forest. COVID-19 has killed at least 660,000 Brazilians. The toll, the second highest in the world, was likely worsened by Bolsonaro, who called the virus “a little flu,” dubbed people who followed isolation guidance “idiots,” and refused to get a vaccine himself and to buy doses for Brazilians when they first became available. A December 2020 national survey showed more than 55% of Brazilians were living in food insecurity, up from 23% in 2013.

Even Brazil’s young democracy feels less than secure. Bolsonaro, a defender of the nation’s 20th century military dictatorship, has called mass rallies against judges who displease him and attacked critical journalists. He has also spent months warning of electoral fraud in Brazil, in an echo of President Donald Trump’s behavior before the 2020 U.S. election. In April, he suggested elections could be “suspended” if “something abnormal happens.” If he loses, analysts warn, a Brazilian version of a Jan. 6 riot is likely. If he wins, Brazil’s institutions may not withstand another four years of his rule.

Riding out of his political exile like a white knight, Lula claims that he can save Brazil from that nightmare. But it may no longer be the same country he once ruled. Its economy is reeling from the pandemic, with double-digit inflation and no commodities boom on the horizon. A six-year political crisis has bitterly divided society. Geopolitical rifts that Brazil once straddled have widened, and the West is in a new hot-and-cold war with Russia.

Lula, though, believes lightning will strike twice. “In American football, there is a player—as it happens he’s ended up with a Brazilian model,” he says, referring to Tom Brady and his wife Gisele Bündchen. “He’s been the best player in the world for a long time, but in each game, his fans demand that he plays better than he did in the last one. For me, with the presidency, it’s the same thing. I am only running because I can do better than I did before.”

#brazil #brazilian politics #politics #brazilian elections #luiz inacio lula da silva #brazilian elections 2022 #mod nise da silveira #image description in alt

16 notes · View notes

bookshelfmonkey · 2 years

Text

queer spaces: online vs. in person

Recently, especially around pride and whatnot, I've been seeing a lot of people talking about the difference between online and offline queer spaces. The general consensus seems to be that offline queer spaces are infinitely better/more accepting, etc. than online ones.

I'm never going to argue that online queer spaces don't tend to be a bit toxic (god knows I've had my own experiences with them), but I do still have a few problems with this whole discussion, so I once again return to a list.

The split isn't as obvious as people make it out to be. I've found my happy, accepting niches online. I've also had less positive experiences in offline queer spaces (some I will talk about later in this post, some I won't). It might be that, in general, this is the case, but it isn't universally true in the way some people make it out to be.

Queer community isn't always community. As in, some queer people/spaces are just unpleasant, online and offline, and I don't always feel a sense of community in queer spaces. I mentioned earlier that I had had some less positive experiences in offline queer spaces, and some of these were just because I didn't belong. A lot of this was because I was autistic and trying to exist in spaces that were dominated by NTs. A lot of this was also because of the centring of gay/lesbian/bi experiences that left me, as a trans guy, feeling left out. I also think a lot of it was just because I had nothing in common with most of these people, outside of our identities: no common interests and therefore nothing to build a lasting connection on. At least online, I can seek out people who are more like me who also share my interests.

Offline queer spaces aren't always accessible. I live in a small city, there are no queer spaces aside from one gay club and a youth group (I hate loud spaces and the youth group just wasn't for me). I'm not an outgoing person, I have awful social anxiety and barely leave the house unless I have to, which makes it really difficult for me to find queer people and make friends with them. Offline spaces are difficult to navigate because I'm autistic, and I can only imagine that they'd be similarly difficult for people with other disabilities/mental/physical health issues (especially since covid is still alive and thriving).

Building on 3, it really sucks to be in this situation. I feel very lonely a lot of the time. Being online is often my only option, so it sucks to see people talking about how much better it is to be offline, as if it's a simple choice people have to make. It may be true, it just doesn't feel fair sometimes.

Sometimes the whole "well offline queer spaces are so much better" just seems like a basic way of taking accountability and working to improve online spaces. Some people need online spaces, so we should all work on making them friendly and accessible.

Anyhow, the basic message is: watch what you say and be in the communities you want to/can be in.

#lgbtqia #lgbtq community #queer #pride

3 notes · View notes

dustedmagazine · 2 years

Text

Scarcity — Aveilut (The Flenser)

youtube

Scarcity is a collaboration of two significant musical talents. Brendon Randall-Myers is a multi-instrumentalist, a composer and the conductor of the Glenn Branca Ensemble. Doug Moore is also skilled with numerous instruments, but here he exclusively employs his voice, as he does for the proggy metal outfit Pyrrhon. In very different ways, Pyrrhon and the Glenn Branca Ensemble invite the descriptor “avant-garde”: Branca’s music had high modernist ideas that suit the phrase’s import in its strong artistic sense; in the case of Pyrrhon, writers have used the phrase for lack of any other, hoping to capture something of the band’s maniacally shifting structures and general stylistic wackiness (something like a death-metal Mr. Bungle, and way too wacky for this writer). Scarcity is equally invested in the conceptual rigor signalled by avant-garde ambitions, but the project’s metal intensities are considerably more focused. They play black metal, with very effective intensity.

Listeners familiar with Glenn Branca’s music will have some idea of Scarcity’s essential sonic method: lots of guitar tracks, in lots and lots of layers. But rather than the accumulated sheets of grating dissonance Branca frequently built, Scarcity seems primarily interested in movement: the implacable, grinding sway of the opening minutes of “II,” the keening rush of “III,” the subsequent song’s collapse into long, drawn-out exorcisms of agony. Pace stages the record’s shifts in mood, more than melodic gestures or clearly articulated themes. Moore’s contributions are less varied; he confines himself to harsh shrieks and growls, but he gets a fair amount of range within those vocal parameters. His voice grounds the record in black metal’s traditions, moreso than the guitars, which verge into industrial pulses or graceful undulations. None of it is pretty, but the sounds explore the semantic range of the term “moving.” Clearly there is a powerful array of emotions being expressed.

“Aveilut” is the Hebrew word for “mourning,” a staged spiritual and ritual process in Judaism. Jewish folk do mourning with real collective care—see the emphasis on community support during the period of shiva, and also shemira’s insistence that the body of the deceased not be alone. We needn’t linger on the obvious: that there has been too much death, and that during COVID’s awful peaks, too many deaths happened in miserable loneliness. Given the music’s severity, we might assume that Scarcity have engaged the desperations, deprivations and despair that accompany death. Randall-Myers’ playing is suggestive; it’s especially telling that the music seems most open to something akin to uplift in “V,” the closing track, which might track alongside a mode of transcendence. A soul’s escape? A mourner’s acceptance?

All that is a lot to hang on a single word, whatever’s the word’s metaphysical density. Moore’s howling and shrieking renders Aveilut’s lyrical content entirely obscure, a standard practice in black metal that has differing reasons, band by band: grandiose “mystery,” attached to a sense of cultic secrecy; misanthropic refusal to engage in collective meaning-making; general interest in the notion of aesthetic extremity. In Scarcity’s case, the words’ illegibility may be a matter of the sublime facts of mortality and mourning. The right words don’t exist, all speech will ultimately fail to meet the subjects’ terrible immensities. The music seems more successful in its grappling with grief and anger and wonder. The guitar tracks are non-representational, and they sing, after a fashion. Their news is not happy, but it’s quite vivid, and even sort of affirming. That may be the most we can ask of any serious music now.

Jonathan Shaw

#scarcity #aveilut #the flenser #jonathan shaw #albumreview #dusted magazine #Brendon Randall-Myers #Doug Moore #Glenn Branca Ensemble #Pyrrhon #guitar #avant garde #black metal

2 notes · View notes

trylkstopocket · 1 year

Text

There are 2 very different kinds of recessions—and the U.S. is likely headed for something totally different than 2008

Younger generations often associate the word “recession” with catastrophe—and for good reason.

From December 2007 to June 2009, the Great Recession led millions of Americans to lose their homes and livelihoods. It was the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, and it traumatized several cohorts that left college or graduate school with little hope of finding a good job as the labor market took nearly a decade to fully recover.

For a significant percentage of the population, 2008’s collapse is the only true recession they’ve ever experienced—if you don’t count 2020’s short-lived COVID-induced downturn. As a result, when Americans see dire predictions of impending economic doom or a “major” recession from billionaires and investment banks, most tend to freak out.

The reality is, however, that recessions are a normal part of business cycles, and even as expert predictions of an “everything bubble” or a global economic meltdown abound, not every economist foresees a worst-case scenario.

A recession is far from guaranteed, experts including Harvard economist Jason Furman point out; and even if one does come, most economists agree the likelihood of it turning out to be a once-in-a-lifetime all-out collapse like 2008 is slim.

“Recessions, they’re an unavoidable fact of economic life,” Stephen Miran, the cofounder of Amberwave Partners and a former senior adviser at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, told Fortune. “We were fortunate in the previous cycles to have gone a pretty long time without a recession. But actually, you know, recessions happening has been the norm throughout most of economic history.”

Miran argues that it’s more likely the U.S. economy will fall into what he calls a “garden variety recession,” rather than a financial crisis like was seen in 2008.

Not every recession is 2008

It’s important to remember that not every recession is created equal: While they all bring terrible hardship and involve widespread job losses—disproportionately hurting the low end of the income distribution—some are worse than others.

And despite the stock market’s recent turbulence and the rising odds of a recession, there are plenty of reasons to remain upbeat about the prospects of the U.S. economy, even if growth comes to a halt for consecutive quarters.

“We’re a little more optimistic than doom and gloom for sure,” Kelly Bouchillon, a senior partner at Sound View Wealth Advisors in Savannah, Ga., told _Fortune. _“Corporate America has never had more cash on its balance sheets. Bank surveys show that the consumer is not overladen with consumer debt. And there’s a lot of cash in people’s checking accounts. So there seems to be a fair amount of spending power.”

“I think that the doom and gloom side of this may have led the equity markets to possibly overshoot to the downside,” he added.

Miran explained that, while every economic downturn is different, the U.S. economy has experienced two main types of recessions since the end of World War II.

The first is the “garden-variety” recession, where the economy “overheats,” causing inflation to rise. This leads the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates and “crush demand to try to crush inflation,” and a recession ensues.

It’s the most common type of recession that the U.S. has seen in postwar history, Miran says, but there’s another, much more dangerous type of recession called a “balance-sheet recession.”

That’s when a “debt bubble” emerges, leading households and consumers to spend a significant portion of their income paying down debt instead of spurring economic activity. The aftermath of this type of recession is a slow recovery and mass unemployment. Sound familiar?

“It typically takes about 10 months from the low in unemployment to recover to pre-recession employment levels in a typical recession,” Miran said. “For the dot-com [bubble] and the global financial crisis, it took about three times that amount, about 32 months, to recover to pre-recession unemployment levels.”

Miran added that he believes we are more likely headed for the former than the latter.

“It’s the cascading defaults that come out of too much debt that we don’t have right now,” he explained.

Bouchillon agrees that a recession like what was seen in 2008 is unlikely to be the outcome for the U.S. economy, and he’s not even sure we will experience a recession at all.

“The big thing in 2008, remember, what happened was really borderline fraud in the economy because you had all these people that were borrowing money [to buy homes] that really couldn’t afford it,” he said.

The bad debt floating around the financial system in 2008 led to an “implosion,” but since then, there have been a number of changes to the banking system, chief of which was the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.

The legislation introduced a number of measures designed to regulate the financial sector and protect consumers, including the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a whistleblower program, and stress test requirements for banks that helps determine whether these institutions have enough capital to withstand an economic crisis.

While some of the Dodd-Frank act was rolled back under President Donald Trump, protections against debt bubbles today are still more robust than they were in 2008.

In Bouchillon’s view, these measures, and much stronger household balance sheets, will help prevent a 2008-style collapse. The greater threat to the U.S. economy, he argues, is stagflation, where economic growth slows, but inflation remains elevated.

But don’t discount rising risks

While many experts contend that the U.S. economy is unlikely to experience the type of recession that was seen in 2008, there are still a number of mounting risks that investors and consumers should consider.

First, the personal savings rate—or the percentage of consumers’ disposable income that is saved each month—fell to 4.4% in April, its lowest level since September 2008, when Lehman Brothers went bankrupt. For comparison, from 1959 to 2019, the personal savings rate averaged 11.8%, according to research from the St. Louis Federal Reserve.

Second, inflation remains near four-decade highs, and the Federal Reserve is set to continue raising interest rates until, as Fed Chair Jerome Powell puts it, there is “clear and convincing” evidence that inflation is under control.

Bouchillon noted that the central bank has struggled to prevent a recession in the past when raising interest rates.

“The track record of the Federal Reserve trying to get to target inflation by hiking rates, is, I think close to 80% of the time we wind up in what you would call a technical recession. So I think there’s a chance that’ll happen,” he said.

Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told Bankrate in April that even if the Fed doesn’t instigate a recession as it attempts to fight rising consumer prices, “there’s going to be pain that we create.”

“That is a reality, but inflation is too painful. You can’t juice the economy forever and expect that it’s sustainable. You have to rip off the Band-Aid before it gets even worse,” he added.

Finally, investment banks continue to sound the alarm about the increasing risk of a recession and its potential impact on employment and the stock market.

While most aren’t outright calling for a recession, many are warning that the risk of a recession has risen, and some noted bulls have recently changed their tune when it comes to the potential for an economic downturn.

Mark Haefele, UBS Global Wealth Management’s chief investment officer, has for months now brushed off fears of a recession, advising in a May 13 note, for example, that investors should avoid “a hasty exit from markets” as the firm’s “central scenario” is that “a recession will be avoided over the next 12 months.”

In a Friday research note, Haefele took a different stance when discussing the Fed’s attempt to secure a “soft landing” for the U.S. economy—where inflation is reined in without instigating a recession.

“The path to achieving this is narrow. If Fed policymakers underestimate the strength of the US economy, we face an extended period of above-target inflation. If they overestimate it, we face a recession. And we can’t know with great conviction which path we’re on,” he wrote.

0 notes

greysshowcase · 2 years

Text

Vbook college gigs

#Vbook college gigs how to#

#Vbook college gigs crack#

This news outlet is a reliable way to spread information about an artist and is. A study by 3D Issue showed that 72-80 of students read their campus newspaper. School newspapers offer another very effective tool to advertise talent. Make sure you ask lots of questions – for example you might have questions about different courses, about the entry requirements (what GCSE grades you might need) or questions on careers or university. Since most are student-run, it can be an easy avenue for any musician to promote upcoming gigs or releases.If attending on ‘onsite’ college open event, you can bring family members – however please check college websites in case there are COVID restrictions in place.

#Vbook college gigs crack#

There’s not really a college music booking directory that you can crack open, send off some emails, and book some gigs. Use the NACA, APCA, and SGA There are a few organizations that specifically deal with getting acts booked in schools.

#Vbook college gigs how to#

You can attend as many open events as you like – in fact, it is a good idea to attend at least two or three different places so you can make a fair comparison Our simplified booking process means less time spent scheduling, negotiating, and contracting shows. So now the big question: How to book college gigs Let’s go through a few steps to get you on the road.Before you attend an open event, it is a good idea to do some research first – check on the college or sixth form website to see if they offer the courses you are interested in – this can also help explore different options if you are not sure what courses you want to do yet.If your band is unsigned, playing live is a great way to build up a loyal fan base, get some media attention, and. Playing live may be the most important thing a band can do, but booking a gig can seem like an overwhelming process especially when a band is doing all the booking themselves. It is your chance to research different places and courses, and find out what options are best for you.Įven if you are not thinking of this pathway (for example if you want to do an apprenticeship instead) it is still important to consider researching colleges or sixth form as a backup plan so still try and visit a few places! A Musician's Guide to Booking Concerts and Gigs. Open events are really important to attend (either onsite or virtual) if you are thinking of doing further studies after your GCSEs. Information for colleges and sixth form open events Meet Cambridge, official bureau for conference and event venues at the University of Cambridge, Colleges, hotels and other unique properties. Please always check college websites before any event for booking details and for any event changes. The colleges will aim to do these events onsite where possible but you may need to book a place online.

#Vbook college gigs

0 notes

starinvestment · 2 years

Text

Key differences between price and value when considering to buy an investment property

People talk about the purchase of their houses. Many say that it was bought at a fair price and their house is valued at an exact price. However, there is a significant difference between price and value when buying an investment property

While value and price are often used interchangeably when selling or buying a property they still have their own distinctive characteristics which you should consider to make informed decisions regarding your property investment.

Low-priced listings can be tempting, but it might not pay off in the long-term. If a property looks cheap, it could have all the problems that come with cheap realty, including a poor community, low rental income or an infrastructure that is severely lacking. While price is important when you are looking for a property to buy, you must also consider other factors such as the potential return on investment. Some properties are priced above their fair market value.

They may cost you thousands more than what you are willing to pay. They may look attractive, but too expensive properties can require more

maintenance and repairs. When you are considering buying, this is something that you should consider. Although it might seem difficult to value a property relative its cost, the right resources can help you make educated decisions about investing. Calculating how much your property would increase in value is a great way to decide if it's worth the investment. It's also called appreciation in the property industry. It refers to the gradual increase of value over time.

The location and market conditions can have an impact on the value of a home's property. Price of a property is determined by many factors. Consider whether the property is located in an area that renters would love. You should check if the property has good infrastructure. This includes easy access to transportation and medical facilities. Check if there are schools close by. The value of property in Australia is also determined by other factors. While the area you are considering may not have been fully developed yet, you will see lots of activity and a lot more government involvement. Planning is the key to property appreciation. People are now more inclined to move to remote areas, which is an important factor in capital and value growth.

This is especially true after the collapse of covid in Australia. A location with a lakefront and surrounded by hills or beautiful scenery is likely to see significant value and capital growth in the near future and in most cases a secure investment with high returns.

#secure investment #property investment #significant difference between price and value

0 notes

enamouredfae · 3 years

Text

♡ Pick a Card ♡

Advice from your Spirit Guides!

This reading is for entertainment purposes only.

This is a timeless reading for the collective, therefore it is likely that some messages will not resonate with you. Please only take the messages that do! The messages that do not, are meant for somebody else. Remember that the future is never set in stone and that you possess free will! Love you! ♡

Pile 1

Charm: Shell

You may see shells as signs from the universe. You may have Venusian placements. You have a tough exterior, but once you finally open up to people you are a hidden gem! You are a person that values privacy.

Flower: Carnation

The meaning of carnation changes depending on its colour, since this one is a stripped purple carnation, it symbolizes rejection/refusal and capriciousness. It being a dry bud, for me at least, symbolizes that this is a small issue that isn't likely to grow! You might've been refused a caprice recently, or you may have too high expectations that are likely not going to be fulfilled.

Significator: Page of Cups

Self-sufficient is the word I thought of when I saw this card. I think that at the moment you are really starting to work through your emotions, you might be finally doing some introspection, journaling, talking to people, seeing a therapist, etc. You are beginning a journey of emotional growth. You might also be receiving a message soon, be aware of any symbols that matter to you or ask the universe for certain symbols for guidance.

Astro: Virgo and Capricorn

There is a high chance that you have Virgo or Capricorn placements. You may be earth dominant. You may be Mercury/Saturn dominant/ruled. This could also apply to the person you need advice on if that is the case.

I thought of soil when I saw these cards, not a plant, but very well-nourished soil. It seems like you are making a foundation for yourself that is not rooted in anyone else, it simply comes from you. You are the soil, the water, the nutrients, and your future self is the plant. Flower crowns may be significant to you as well, or you may find great healing by connecting with nature and connecting to nature's cycles.

What you need advice on:

VI of Wands and X of Pentacles (reversed)

There are a few possibilities I see here. You may be having a hard time getting your accomplishments noticed by others, you might not receive the praise you desire or feel you deserve. Another possibility is that you may have a hard time feeling successful due to your financial situation. You may have received a large sum of money that should make you happy, but it doesn't. You may be very well off financially, but it is causing some hardships, and others might not understand these hardships because they think that they'd be very happy in your position.

Advice:

King of Pentacles and XVIII. The Moon

I feel like at least one of you should monetize your intuition. Some of you have or will meet a person (very likely an earth placement), that is either a business partner or a lover/friend, that will somehow help you with your financial issue. They might recommend you to someone for example. Perhaps if you confide in the King of Pentacles, they'll help you immensely, they're someone you can rely on, if not financially, emotionally. Others should embody the King of Pentacles, be determined, stick to a routine. For others, someone could be hiding smth from you that would help you immensely with this issue. Listen to your intuition! Do not forget that your anxieties and fears are valid, and it is normal to be feeling like this! Your worth is not defined by your financial success!

38. Willow and 5. Cerato and Honeysuckle

Willow talks about self-responsibility: make a plan, stick to it and, most importantly, try to stop complaining. You have the strength to get through this, complaining just engrains it in your head that you have a problem making it harder to get out of that mindset, instead try working on the solution. Cerato talks about the fact that no matter how many people you ask, no matter how many books you read, your gut knows best! Trust yourself and your intuition. Whatever feels right, is! Just know that domestic happiness is very important right now, cherish whoever that may be (King of Pentacles perhaps), be it your cat or even yourself if you live alone, give and accept affection! This could be a message for a specific person but I feel called to note that as I was shuffling the oracles I started singing "Runaway" by Aurora. Perhaps the lyrics are meaningful to one of you, or it can reassure you that this pile is meant for you if this is your favorite song.

Pile 2

Charm: Cactus

You may see cacti as signs from the universe or have a very strong emotional attachment to them due to a certain memory. I feel like a lot of people are attracted to you, but they feel that you will reject or hurt them if they get too close. Or you consciously or subconsciously hurt people when they get too close. You might think you don't deserve love, which is NOT TRUE. Love isn't something that has to be deserved! But if it were, you most certainly deserve it!

Flower: Freesia

Yellow freesias symbolize joy, renewal, and friendship. It is the go-to flower to convey to someone that you trust them. You are incredibly trustworthy, someone to whom your loved ones come for advice. You are a great listener, are very delicate and tactful in your interactions with others.

Significator: IX. The Hermit

You are doing a lot of self-reflection right now, sometimes the pondering even turns into daydreams. You may also be connecting with and thinking about your spiritual/religious beliefs. You are looking to understand the light that illuminates your path. You may have started meditating, or you should start! Spiritual awakening is happening or coming soon! You could be isolating yourself at the moment as well.

Astro: Jupiter and Libra

There is a high chance that you have Libra or Sagittarius placements. You may be air dominant. You may be Jupiter/Venus dominant/ruled. This could also apply to the person you need advice on if that is the case.

The words that I kept thinking about at this point in the reading were "letting karma do its job" and "visions of the future". You may be clairvoyant! But most of you act a lot like the Justice tarot card, you like balance and fairness, and have a life philosophy based on these ideas. Your higher education might've played a big role in this.

What you need advice on:

II of Cups (reversed) and Queen of Swords

Someone may be rationalizing or overthinking a perceived imbalance in a relationship. Of course, the Queen of Swords, likely an air placement, is intelligent, they may be right in their thinking but because of the advice received, I believe their judgment is clouded by insecurity. They may feel unworthy of what they receive, seeing that you chose the cactus charm and have libra as an astro card, it is very likely that this is you but this may be your person as well, both options are possible.

Advice:

King of Cups and IV of Swords (reversed)

See, the King of Cups is upright, this person, very likely a water placement, is very emotionally mature, compassionate, and understanding. Whereas the swords person is exhausted and stagnant due to the deep contemplation happening. I feel they may also be insecure, causing the overthinking. If this is you, trust me, you deserve the King of Cups! If this is your person, make them realize that they deserve you! They need a lot of reassurance.

1. Agrimony and 7. Chestnut Bud and Morning Glory

Love, whether romantic or platonic, requires hard work, determination, and affection. Agrimony talks about a person that needs balance, both inside and outside. You may find it by showing more of yourself, especially by starting with your loved ones. Because you might not be used to it, start little by little, and observe how accepting those you love can be. Chestnut Bud talks about focus and learning from experience. For me, it's another confirmation that someone is overthinking, see the girl looking very melancholic, whereas their counterpart is goofing around. Don't take life too seriously! Have fun with your loved one!

Pile 3

Charm: Leaf

You might see certain trees or leaves as signs from the universe. When I picked up this charm I immediately thought "Leave!" So if you were thinking about a voyage, there's your sign, just be mindful of covid regulations, please. The idea of falling also popped up, so you might be falling for someone rn or feeling like you're in a perpetual fall emotionally.

Flower: Orchid

I would just like to point out that, although this orchid dried white, it was actually a baby purple orchid when alive. I will therefore explain both colors: purple orchids represent royalty, admiration, and respect, whereas white ones symbolize purity and innocence. But they are, no matter what color, always a symbol of luxury, delicate beauty, and virility.

Significator: 0. The Fool

You may be starting smth new with confidence, smth you haven't done before, making you a bit inexperienced, but still willing to take the leap of faith. OR you may be acting foolishly by looking back or the opposite way of the thing you'd do with confidence. Let me explain, as you can see the Astro cards are both looking in one direction, with determination, and confidence. Whereas The Fool is looking the opposite way. Your significator may be saying that you're being foolish to look the other way, wondering what-ifs.

Astro: Sagittarius and Mars

There is a high chance that you have Sagittarius, Aries, or Scorpio placements. You may be fire dominant. You may be Jupiter/Mars dominant/ruled. This could also apply to the person you need advice on if that is the case.

You have a clear goal that you can easily reach through your actions. Look at Mars' demeanor, he knows Sagittarius is hitting the target. Do not doubt yourself, there's nothing to worry about. Stay focused!

What you need advice on:

XI. Justice (reversed) and Queen of Cups

Clearly, there is a decision to be made here, and you really want to listen to your heart. And you're questioning whether you should? I just want to reassure you, the Queen of Cups is highly in tune with their intuition and their emotions, you should trust yourself.

Advice:

X of Swords (reversed) and II of Pentacles

You are clearly in pain, whether or not it is talking about this decision that is eating you up. Healing and recovery are important right now! It's time to stop resisting an inevitable end, and start recovering. Look, the reversal allows for the swords to just fall out of your back, just look inwards! Don't forget to balance work with fun, you deserve to relax! Another way to see this is that you are restricting yourself by seeing this as a choice, why not do both? Although, if we are talking about people here, there better be a mutual agreement on polygamy! I will not invite you to cheat! If we are talking about activities, you are capable of doing both if it's too hard to choose, you just need to figure out how to balance them. A specific message is that some of you want to go back to doing smth you've dreamt of doing as a child, if that is the case, pls do it, at least as a hobby!

13. Gorse and 32. Vine and Trumpet Gentian

There is a need to heal some inner wounds. I immediately thought of inner child work when I saw the Trumpet Gentian in combination with the Vine. Vine talks about acts of service and leadership skills, try parenting yourself/your inner child, give yourself the love that you may have lacked as a kid. You are worthy of it! Gorse is all about perspective and imagination. Do a brainstorming of possible outcomes depending on the decision you take, you can do this alone, but the input of loved ones that can be honest with you would do wonders. Don't forget your future can go in many different ways, and whichever decision you take is the right one!

Pile 4

Charm: Angel

You may see angels or angel numbers as signs from the universe. You are a person that is divinely guided and divinely protected. It seems to me like you have a very strong intuition or are very aware of your divine gifts.

Flower: Rose

Of course, roses are always symbolic of love. Therefore I believe it is more note-worthy here to talk about the size. This is a tiny rose. Just like the carnation bud, it did not have time to grow and is now immortalized in its youth stage. You may be inexperienced in love, or hold naive beliefs about it. You might be experiencing youthful romance right now.

Significator: XV. The Devil

What I find interesting here is that you got the angel charm with the devil significator. This is very conflicting energy. The sentence that I kept thinking throughout the reading is "wolf in sheep clothing" or "sheep in wolf's clothing", I kept mixing up the words, just very contradictory energy. The way you present yourself to the world is very different from how you truly are. You might also be a person prone to obsessing over people, things, interests, etc. I also would like to note here that this pile was the hardest to get the cards, the amount of shuffling I did here until the cards flew made me sweat hahaha. It's also a very confusing reading. Therefore, I believe you carry a lot of confusion yourself, although your intuition is incredibly powerful, you might suffer from being very paranoid, and sometimes being unable to differentiate your intuition from your delusions. I also think you're very secretive, you do not want people to know or understand you.

Astro: Neptune and Moon

There is a high chance that you have Pisces or Cancer placements. You may be water dominant. You may be Neptune/Moon dominant/ruled. You could have a Neptune/Moon aspect. This could also apply to the person you need advice on if that is the case.

"This is a time of great psychic sensitivity for you. Trust your intuition and follow its guidance." You should try to differentiate emotions from intuition, I know it's hard, but they are different things, and it's very important to tell them apart! Your dreams may hold messages, try having a dream journal and interpreting them if you don't do that already.

What you need advice on:

IX of Wands (reversed) and V of Swords (reversed)

As you can see ALL of the tarot cards I've received in this reading are reversed, implying inner conflicts that require inner change/work. You might've said/done smth you now regret, and you hate yourself for it, you may also be incredibly paranoid that others will find out. You want the paranoia to end. You want to make amends, to reconciliate/atone, but are unsure on whether you should do it. Perhaps you don't feel emotionally prepared to reopen that wound.

Advice:

V. The Hierophant (reversed) and VII of Wands (reversed)

What I noticed here is that The Hierophant mirrors The Devil, not as perfectly as The Lovers, but it is incredibly similar. Once again that energy of opposition, contradiction, and confusion appears, "the wolf in sheep's clothing". For some, my fixation on this phrase could be a warning. For others an invitation to look in the mirror... Try looking at the situation from the other person's point of view! I'm not saying you are a "wolf in sheep's clothing", but that might be how you're being perceived. You are exhausted, remorse is eating up all of your energy. The Hierophant is saying that you should stay true to your personal beliefs, so if you believe apologizing is necessary to move on, do it!

This could be unrelated and for a specific person, but don't be afraid of challenging the status quo! If it hurts none, do as you will, embody your true self! I just want to remind you that going against your loved one's idea of "normalcy" is not hurting them, it's loving yourself. But remember that you also don't owe anyone a "coming out", you are valid whether or not you tell people! Do whatever your heart tells you and please be safe!

!!! : Of course, this doesn't count if what's challenging the status quo doesn't respect others' identity/ sexuality/ ethnicity/ religion/ etc. If challenging the status quo comes from a place of hate please block me. Nobody is using this reading as a sign to do some fucked up shit.

3. Beech and 2. Aspen and Lily

When I saw Beech I immediately thought "talk to someone, or you could spiral." Beech talks about self-acceptance and self-compassion. You must first accept yourself as you are, an imperfect human being, like all humans, before starting to work on embodying your highest self. Stay open-minded! Aspen, on the other hand, invites you to connect with others, not only for advice or consoling but for quality time! I have a feeling that you have very high morals, but having them isn't enough, you must act accordingly!

Thank you for reading! Love you all.♡

You can buy me a coffee if you feel called to do so! This is never necessary, but always appreciated! ♡

#this took SO long #im sorry the messages seem to be all over the place and not necessarily coherent there were just a LOT of possibilities #take what resonates #pick a card #pick a pile #fortune telling #divination #collective reading #collective tarot reading #free tarot #tarot #tarot cards #tarot reading #oracle #oracles #oracle cards #witchcraft #enamouredfae #enamouredfaepickacard

397 notes · View notes

shemarmooresfedora · 3 years

Text

Rebuilding Family

Summary: Y/N and Spencer were college sweethearts at Cal-Tech but once Spencer got accepted to the FBI Academy, he ended things deciding it was not fair to make Y/N wait for him. When they meet again years later, he discovers something unexpected.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

A/N: no fic-related news but i did get my first dose of the covid vaccine today so that’s exciting! GET VAXXED, PEOPLE! SPENCER WOULD WANT YOU TO!!

Masterlist

Chapter 20

“Hey Hotch,” Spencer knocked on his boss’s door.

Spencer got in extra early today to have his meeting with Hotch and hopefully tie up all the loose ends in his paperwork.

“Reid, come in,” Hotch gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and talking with Y/N and I think my time at the BAU is coming to an end,” Spencer said.

“I see,” Hotch leaned back in his chair, “Well, I think it goes without saying that you would certainly be missed. But, I’m not going to try to convince you to stay because I feel like this is a good decision for you...one I probably should have made myself if we’re being completely honest.”

“You made it work though, Jack loves his superhero dad,” Spencer reassured him, “I just can’t keep missing stuff after already missing six years. It’s too much and I certainly can’t focus on cases when I’m desperately wishing I was somewhere else.”

“How about this? We put you on temporary unpaid leave for a year. Then, you can either choose to come back or quit for good. This will give you plenty of family time and then you’ll see if you’re ever ready to return or not. It’s up to you. Also, if I just put you on leave, it can start as early as tomorrow. Instead of you just quitting and then having to put your two weeks in and be called away on more cases.”

“That sounds great, Hotch. Thank you so much for your understanding. If I don’t come back, it was a pleasure working with you. But I’m sure I will see you around at Rossi’s dinner parties,” Spencer grinned.

Hotch and Spencer hugged before pulling away to see the rest of the team filing into the bullpen.

“I guess I have to tell them,” Spencer sighed, knowing they would be a little disappointed at the sudden news.

“Hey guys, I have an announcement,” Spencer walked out of Hotch’s office.

“You have another secret daughter?” Derek joked.

“Y/N is pregnant?” Penelope guessed.

“You’re engaged?” Emily asked.

“Um no to all, I know this is a bit sudden and I apologize for that but effective tomorrow, I will be taking a year long leave from the BAU which may turn permanent,” Spencer spoke softly.

Silence filled the room.

“It’s not that I don’t love this job or you guys. You all know you are my best friends but I just really need to be home with my family right now,” Spencer explained.

Derek was the first to walk up to Spencer, “We’re gonna miss you around here, kid.”

He pulled Spencer in for a hug, ruffling up his hair.

Penelope was next in line to hug Spencer with a tissue already dabbing at her eyes.

“I hate to see you go, Boy Wonder, but I know it’s what’s best for you,” she said.

“I think Jo may be an even stricter boss than Hotch,” Rossi teased.

“She does have a tendency to get grumpy when she isn’t allowed to have ice cream for dinner,” Spencer laughed lightly, wiping the tears that were forming from his eyes.

“Please don’t ever stop talking. I know we tease you but I truly am going to miss your rambles,” Emily whispered.

“I’m just a phone call away,” he promised.

“You deserve this. Do not feel bad,” JJ reminded him.

He nodded in acknowledgement, his voice getting caught in the lump in his throat.

“We need a cake!” Penelope exclaimed, “I will not have the Good Doctor’s last day be cakeless especially with that sweet tooth of his.”

“On it,” Derek said, grabbing his keys.

“Decorations too! See if Party City has a Happy Retirement section!” she shouted after him.

“You’ve got it, baby girl,” Derek replied.

Spencer returned home in the evening with a cardboard box full of his belongings that once resided on his desk. 7 years of his career packed into one box. It seemed sad to him that such a big chapter of his life was closing.

But then, he walked inside. You and Jo had karaoke up on the TV screen. You both were currently in the middle of Wannabe by the Spice Girls. Jo even had her baseball cap on backwards to complete the look.

“If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends. Make it last forever, friendship never ends. If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give. Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is,” Jo sang.

Then you jumped in, “So, here's a story from A to Z. You wanna get with me, you gotta listen carefully. We got Em in the place who likes it in your face. You got G like MC who likes it on a

Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady. And as for me, ha you'll see.”

“Slam your bodies down and wind it all around,” you both sang.

You turned around to see Spencer standing there and you let out a yelp.

“Oh no, please continue. Don’t stop on my account,” he grinned.

“Daddy!” Jo jumped up into his arms.

He moved Jo to his hip as you approached.

“Hi, love,” you greeted him with a kiss.

He was no longer sad. This was the right choice. This is where he belonged.

“Shhh” is the first thing you heard as you awoke followed by the quiet rattling of dishes.

“Jo, no!” you heard Spencer whisper-shout, “I said not until Mommy wakes up.”

“I’m up,” you muttered into your pillow.

You turned to the side of your bed to see Jo standing there with a tray of food and Spencer behind her with a bouquet of flowers.

You smiled softly.

“Happy Mother’s Day!” they both cheered.

“Thank you, my loves,” you gave them both kisses, accepting the tray from Jo as Spencer set the flower vase down on your bedside table.

The food on the tray consisted of a mug of coffee, a cup of orange juice, bacon, a bowl of blueberries, and a big chocolate chip pancake with sliced strawberries for the eyes and nose and a whipped cream smile.

“Very artistic,” you grinned.

Spencer returned next to you in bed, getting under the covers. He was wearing a plain gray fitted t-shirt, flannel PJ pants, and his glasses.

“Jo, you can go get your present for Mommy while she eats,” he suggested.

Once Jo left the room to go retrieve her gift, you planted a much messier kiss on Spencer’s lips.

“Not that I’m complaining but what was that for?” he smirked.

“You know how sexy I told you those glasses make you look,” you stated, taking a bite of a strip of bacon.

“I’ll keep them on all day then as part of your gift,” he smiled.

Jo crawled on to the bed with a wrapped box and an envelope taped to it. The card was clearly homemade by Jo and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Look at this beautiful artwork!” you exclaimed, opening the card.

Inside was a gift card for a spa downtown surrounded by Jo’s doodles.

“JJ said that place was really nice. There’s enough on there for you and a friend to get a full day of pampering,” Spencer said.

“Well, that’s good that she likes it because I will probably bring her along as my fellow mom. Thank you both,” you smiled.

Jo pushed the wrapped box towards you. You opened it to find a multi-colored beaded necklace.

“I made it for you, Mommy,” Jo beamed as you put it on over your head.

“That is so very thoughtful of you,” you kissed her forehead, “It fits me perfectly and you even included my favorite color.”

“I planned a picnic for today but if you would rather stay home and relax all day, I totally get it. Jo and I can go to the park and you can have some peace and quiet,” Spencer offered.

“Are you kidding me? It’s called Mother’s Day, I want to spend some time with the little girl who made me the luckiest one in the entire world,” you smiled.

“Picnic, it is then. I’ll get Jo all dressed and the bag packed. Here, let me take that,” Spencer left the room, balancing Jo on one hip and your tray of dirty dishes on the other.

You were really going to have to bring your all for Father’s Day next month.

#spencer reid fluff #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid #spencer x reader #reid x reader #cm fanfic #criminal minds

291 notes · View notes

clatterbane · 2 years

Text

As mentioned in another post the other day, I've pretty much been down with some weird virusy bullshit for a little while now.

Which, in spite of one negative rapid antigen test so far? Seems pretty likely to have been a(nother) round with the ongoing plague. Most likely picked up whatever crud on the last trip to the university medical center. Though I did start feeling off within a day or two afterward, which seems pretty quick if I did catch it there.

Mr. C also felt under the weather for a couple days after that, with some sudden digestive symptoms mostly one night. Which I thankfully didn't get. But, with the timing he was also figuring that these were likely connected anyway.

Back to this post, from the end of January:

But yeah, BA.2 has very specifically been running through Denmark. Northern Europe in general, but with particularly high rates there. Somehow I doubt that's been been heeding official borders and staying on the other side of the bridge, when we are basically in Greater Copenhagen here.

One decent summary, btw:

Also, from Yale?

Early reports from South Africa indicated that most cases were mild—and that symptoms for this variant seemed to be different. “The reports show that patients in South Africa—many of whom were young—have had severe fatigue, but no loss of taste or smell,” says Lauren Ferrante, MD, a Yale Medicine pulmonologist.

Whatever this shit is, it didn't actually hit my respiratory system to even "normal" cold levels. (Just like that previous suspected-Omicron episode which helped complicate getting moved into this place.) I have mostly been getting a runny nose and a little congestion, and have needed to pull out the rescue inhaler a couple of times--for the first time in ages. Though, it is also prime tree pollen season, which is infamous for fucking with my breathing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Haven't really been seeing any maples locally, at least.

But, that has at least been a big relief, with the truly unpleasant history of frequent bouts of ridiculously unrecognized/misdiagnosed asthma "asthmatic bronchitis" from even the usual run of colds. *knock wood*

No, way more trouble (again) with nasty headaches, sore throat, and feeling feverish. With side orders of gross night sweats, dizziness, and flu-level body aches and muscle spasms which have also been sending some of the nerve pain into overdrive. 😬 All of which does kinda fit the reported BA.2 pattern, yeah.

Most of that has been more on a "meh, whatever, I've seen a lot worse" level, and I do seem to be coming out from under the worst of that garbage.

(Including my blood sugar going screwy and wanting to run high, as is common with any sort of illness. That also seems to be behaving better, and thankfully it never got that OTT with this crap. For that matter, viruses often help trigger autoimmune diabetes, to begin with--and this pandemic is looking particularly bad for that.)

The most concerning part, though? The damned fatigue and weakness/shakiness. 😵 To the point that I can't help but be glad that I am using a wheelchair now, and not trying to walk around between the rubbery whole body effect and lightheadedness. I'm just sitting here vaguely sweaty and shaky, and feeling like that is taking some serious effort right now. Will probably go lie down after I manage to get some food in, and probably fall asleep again whether I want to or not.

I mean, over the years I have dealt with a fair few viruses. And this shit has been dragging me out worse than any but a couple of them that I recall. So far, it's been giving that bout with suspected mononucleosis a run for its money. 😵

Which, again, would be more "meh, this sucks but whatever, guess my body just really needs to sleep this crap off"--if it didn't seem to be dragging on at such a level for longer than expected with something like this. The whole thing has been feeling just plain weird, in a rather worrying way.

I mean, I have been glad at the further illustration of how unusual the sick-fatigue is these days, now that the diabetes is finally being treated properly. It's been so good, not feeling like I've got the damned flu all the time with energy levels/stamina.

But, I really don't want to go back there! If not worse in some ways, which it kinda is right now. The muscle spasm/nerve pain screwiness also seems to want to hang around and keep it company.

It is early days yet, but I still cannot help but get more than a little concerned. NOBODY wants strange post-viral bullshit. But, I was just getting used to feeling much healthier again, in spite of some ongoing medical complications.

We'll just have to see, of course. But, it's honestly hard not to worry.

Not fishing for sympathy here, btw! It is what it is. But, that's why I have barely been around for a while. And I thought I should share the symptom info.

#personal #long post #plague time #covid-19 #covid 666 #omicron #ba.2 variant #ba.2 omicron sub lineage #fatigue #t1 diabetes #type 1 diabetes #illness #deltacron #AY.4/BA.1 recombinant #AY.4/BA.1

11 notes · View notes

junikshanasar · 3 years

Text

bnha chapter 317 thoughts

haha b o i

did I speak too soon?

I spoke too soon. Also, yay! nagant is alive (barely)

mm well Deku has officially turned dark, like for real dark, buuuuuut in a way that is actually a natural progression of his character, because if you remember Horikoshi loves parallels, and what’s more obvious than the fact Deku has been trying to walk down the same path as All Might ever since he was told to ‘show himself’ to the world back during the School Festival arc, and then again with All Might’s famous “You’re next” line.

It was a while ago when I read it, but I believe it was in vigilantes where we understand what All Might means by “You deserve to rest” and that he understands. I won’t go digging for that specific chapter lol, but in basically in the spin-off series bnha Vigilantes, we get glimpses of All Might in his prime.

In particular, we see that he really never stops to rest, constantly flying off to save as many people as he can because it’s a job “only he can do”. We even see Sir Nighteye (who is still All Might’s sidekick at the time) upset at the fact that All Might doesn’t even sleep, and while it’s somewhat played off as a gag aside from Sir Nighteye’s worry, we can see now that Deku is doing the exact same thing.

In any case, Deku’s believed since the War arc that as the wielder of One for All, its burden is his to carry, especially with the added pressure of the fact that he’s been told he may be the last user and must defeat AfO himself (because only a quirkless person may receive OfA without dying early, and quirkless-ness is very rare now)

There was no clear turning point, not really. It’s more that Deku is sinking himself deeper and deeper into his duty, to the point that he can’t see past the next job. He won’t eat like we see him do heartily earlier, he won’t even, in All Might’s words, look back at his mentor anymore.

AfO really managed to get under his skin with that video, and if there’s a way to describe Deku right now, it would be “staring straight ahead blindly”. He’s marching forward without thought for his surroundings, including his own self. In the previously ideal and bright hero world, this made All Might look heroic. But now in this grey, doubtful world:

Deku is, literally and metaphorically, tearing himself apart. His hero costume gets more and more worn, and thus so is his image as a hero. On a side note, he looks super badass, but more importantly he looks like a dark version of All Might - like some sort of skewed or twisted version of the hero who always comes to save the day.

Aside from Deku, we get a little more insight on the status of heroes, namely the mass retirement. I actually sympathized with Death Arms, even though I saw some comments that he wasn’t a real hero. To be fair, what the heck is a ‘real hero’? Sure, a lot of heroes retired when the going got tough, you could say that the ones ‘in it for the money or the fame’ were weeded out, but what was Death Arms real reasoning for leaving? Yes, it got tough, but on top of the fact that it got tough, being a hero suddenly went from something of good status to a cursed position.

This pretty much sums up the state of the hero world right now, which is that ‘heroes are humans’. This mass retirement was bound to happen, but what makes it troubling is what’s going on with Deku amongst all this. I don’t need to explain it, since the pro-heroes explained everything in that meet-up scene about how the media is closing in on Deku and a reveal of OfA would shove Deku into the cycle of negativity. So yeah, the fact that AfO hasn’t revealed OfA himself means he still has plans for Deku, ‘cause he doesn’t care about All Might anymore. All I can really imagine is AfO trying to get Deku on his side, or stealing OfA, I can’t wait for the next chapter so we can get some more insight.

Anywayy on a less serious note:

Mount Lady is lookin super fine with that scar, but more than just aesthetic purposes the addition of scars and messier/dirtier costumes/settings is to keep with the more serious and dark tone. It allows us to take her seriously when before she was portrayed as a flirty/image-conscious hero. I kind of love of small design choices like that can change a character’s entire demeanor. Uhhh the closest example I can name in real life is when Canada’s prime minister Trudeau grew a beard. Lemme tell you, it did wonders in making him appear more serious and reliable during covid, as opposed to his earlier washy playboy looks.

Also, Stain is back! That weirdo. Uhhh he sure seems happy to see Deku still jumping to the rescue. Or maybe he’s just glad to see All Might, we all know he’s lowkey a fanboy. Urk, well in any case it’s definitely foreshadowing that there will be a potential confrontation between him and Deku.

aaaaand finally,

lol how the turn tables, it’s Endeavor ghosting Shouto now. Also it’s lowkey cute how he immediately checks his phone whenever he hears a notification, man’s excited for any sort of communication with his son. Mmm but yea I was excited to get even a mention of Shouto, I hope we get to see what the Class 1-A kiddos are up to soon.

54 notes · View notes

mostlysignssomeportents · 3 years

Text

Real penalties for covid evicters

The CDC's eviction moratorium in an incredibly important piece of public-health law: people facing homelessness may not shelter in place when they're sick, and people who are rendered homeless are at risk of both contracting and spreading covid.

Despite this, many states and cities have treated the moratorium as a suggestion, not a binding law, and, of course, it's hard to get justice when you've just been evicted (the CDC seems to have brought *zero* enforcement actions against violators).

That's why the latest interim rule from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is so important: it affirms the CDC rule and makes many other parties liable for its violation, including, notably, landlords' lawyers and debt collectors.

https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_debt_collection-practices-global-covid-19-pandemic_interim-final-rule_2021-04.pdf

As Adam Levitin writes for Credit Slips, this is a very big deal indeed, because in addition to expanding liability, it also expands who has a right to seek redress.

https://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2021/04/evictions-in-violation-of-cdc-moratorium-may-violate-fair-debt-collection-practices-act.html

Under the CDC rule, only the government could punish evicters, but CFPBs rule come wiht a "private right of action." This means evicted people can seek redress for people who break the law to render them homeless, including lawyers representing lawbreaking landlords.

CFPB rules come under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which also provides for statutory damages, actual damages, attorneys' fees, and class actions.

Levitin: "How many attorneys are going to want to assume this risk to further a foreclosure for a client? I suspect that an informed attorney will be much more inclined to counsel the client to follow the CDC moratorium."

It's a good example of how important a private right of action. It's why private right of action is a major sticking point in proposals for a national privacy law: the commercial surveillance industry does not want you to have recourse to legal self-defense.

Europe's flawed but crucial GDPR includes a private right of action, which is why Digital Rights Ireland is able to bring a mass action lawsuit against Facebook over its 500,000,000-user data-breach.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/16/where-it-hurts/#sue-facebook

Without a private right of action, people who've been harmed, even maimed or killed, by corporations have to petition DAs and Attorney Generals to take up their case, while private rights of action allow everyday people to seek justice on their own.

That's why private right of action scares the shit out of corporate lobbyists and why they've spent decades running a disinformation campaign aimed at ending it ("tort reform"), pushing lies like "The McDonald's Coffee Lawsuit."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9DXSCpcz9E

Private right of action is especially important when it comes to housing. The collapse of the defined-benefits pension system has forced everyday people to gamble in a rigged stock market as a hedge against a starving and homeless retirement.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/30/meme-stocks/#stockstonks

Many everyday, middle-class Americans rely on their homes as a retirement piggy-bank, which sets up an unresolvable contradiction in American finance policy. To keep home-owners solvent, politicians have to take every possible step to make housing as expensive as possible.

When you put it that way, it's obvious why this is such a bad idea: housing is a human right and a necessity for human thriving. Policies that seek to make housing expensive ("increase property values") are as indefensible as policies to make food as expensive as possible.

So: if you own a house, you get a tax subsidy (a direct way of increasing property values). The tenants you rent it to don't get that subsidy (an indirect means to increase tax as it pushes renters into home ownership, bidding up prices).

https://prospect.org/justice/widely-beloved-tax-deduction-really-just-benefits-well-off-exacerbates-inequality/

Converting the human right to shelter into an asset that is its owner's best hope for a dignified old age distorts all kinds of policy, pushing otherwise decent people to block high-density housing because increasing housing supply decreases the value of their assets.

It sets parents to war against their children, who have to compete for the dwindling supply of available housing, or rent under conditions that favor landlords.

But (as with market-based 401k pensions), the property investment game is rigged in favor of the super-rich, who use "mom-and-pop" investors as human shields for policies that benefit private equity ghouls.

In many places in America, your landlord is almost certainly a Wall Street fund, not a nice old couple who bought "income property" for their retirement.

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-housing-invitation/

Wall Street landlords spin rental income into bonds, and secure high ratings for them by turning housing into deadly slums with high payments and low costs, backstopped by evictions, once unheard of in America, now a national (and racist) epidemic.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/08/forced-out

When you hear about the CDC eviction moratorium, you might picture a retiree renting out the family home after downsizing to a condo. But the median American landlord is a faceless, remorseless Wall Street fund engaged the wholesale destruction of cities and their residents.

America needs lots of housing. To get there, America needs a social safety net, a guarantee of a decent retirement for people who work hard all their lives - not a seat at a table in a rigged stock-market casino, nor a chance to destroy their kids' chances at a decent home.

Image: Arthur Rothstein (1915-1985)

"State highway officials moving evicted sharecroppers away from roadside to area between the levee and the Mississippi River, New Madrid County, Missouri"

Library of Congress:

https://www.loc.gov/resource/fsa.8a10435/

#pluralistic

78 notes · View notes

mymedlife · 3 years

Text

Guys, the pandemic has broken me. Every time we seem to be making any progress I feel like we get set back again.

Sorry for the long rant ahead, but I feel like I need to get it out of my head.

Back in the beginning, last March or so, when the state I'm living in shut down, I felt like I could do it. Daycare shut down for almost 3 months to prevent spread.

My husband's job changed his hours to 10a to 8p since everyone was working remotely so they could all be working on the same time zone.

My cofellows were generous enough to switch shifts so I could work all nights and weekends and watch my kiddo during the day. Which kind of sucked, because she doesn't play independently for very long, o was tired, hubby wanted it quiet, and everything was closed so there wasn't anywhere to go to break up the monotony.

Work was filled with frequent changes around what protective equipment we have and what is required to be worn where. I got fitted for 3 different N95s because we kept running out, despite having to check them out and have them sterilized between uses.

I had frequent discussions about how COVID is real with families who refused testing. Parents lied about their symptoms to be allowed into the hospital with their kids, including one who collapsed mid visit due to respiratory failure. Several people ended up having to quarantine because they weren't wearing their N95s during the resuscitation as it was unexpected (at the time we were only wearing N95s during aerosolizing procedures including bagging). This lead to a new rule on not stopping in to help until you have the proper equipment on (which makes sense, but but is so hard).

Early on I spent some time volunteering for the COVID hotline for my state. Most of the questions I got were people upset that things were closing. There were very few health calls.

My aunt died. My sister, a psychologist, argued with her boss she should get a raise for being a frontline worker. My other sister, who is immunocompromised, was mad that all her friends continued to party guilt free and we kept telling her to stay home. My husband began to enjoy his new schedule to the point that he would stay up until 3am playing games after work (the kid was asleep and I was working) and sleep until he had to work at 10 am. My friends talked about their new lock down hobbies, including my co fellow who spent her time creating a new lecture series for the residents. I felt like I was trending water, I started getting behind on fellowship things and I was so tired. My kiddo was happy that I was spending more time with her, and it all was temporary, right?

Eventually things started opening up again. Daycare returned. Two days later my husband was fired. Thankfully he found a job within a few months, but during that time was quick to anger and his staying up all night playing games and sleeping most of the day got worse. He dismissed anything I had to say about it and frequently promised to sleep earlier, later saying he had to stay up because the kid had a nightmare that I slept through.

During this time, many of my pediatrician friends were called to see adults due to high patient volumes and doctor shortages. Luckily I only had to see kids, but there was still a lot of mystery surrounding symptoms and the discovery of the multi system inflammatory syndrome.

My kiddo got sent home a few times from daycare for vague symptoms that necessitated a COVID test, and at one point she was at home with me for 2 weeks due to a COVID positive exposure in class. My husband's job was new so he couldn't take off time to help. At some point things shifted so I was now doing all the daycare pickup and drop-off as well as all the bedtimes (unless I was physically at work).

Following Breonna Taylor and George Floyd there were large scale protests around the downtown area, where my hospital is located. I wholeheartedly support the movement, but someone told my kid it was dangerous to go downtown, and she became fearful of me going to work. This combined with the break in at our home lead to sleep refusal. Something I had to help he with, leading to bedtime taking hours, because my husband would yell at her. Most nights I was too tired after getting her to bed to do much, which lead to more work piling up.

Job hunting was not as fun as I had hoped it would had been. I had one in person interview, everything else was virtual. Thinking about working at a place I've never seen was terrifying.

Many places simply ghosted me. Lots weren't hiring. A few went on a hiring freeze after my interview.

Every interview asked what hobby I developed during lockdown. I admittedly could have answered this question better, and explained that I survived the lockdown with a toddler and that was an accomplishment.

My home institution decided to go with my co fellow over me. When I asked my mentor why she said they felt she had more to contribute to medical education than I do. I'm convinced that in part this has to do with all the lectures she wrote during lockdown.

I was able to get a job, but it's at a smaller community ED where we have a few beds in an adult ED. I mentioned to my associated program director I was a little disappointed, and suddenly everyone is telling me to be thankful for what I have.

I can be thankful and disappointed at the same time.

I think the biggest thing is a fear that if I hate this job I wont ever be able to find another one.

I also kind of resent my kid and husband, if I had more support or time to focus on fellowship things may have been different.

But life goes on. The vaccine was created, things opened up, and now those who aren't vaccinated can stop masking.

The my body my choice people who previously refused to mask are pleased, and now there are barely any masks when I go out (despite a not great vaccination rate in my area).

My kid is 3 and cant get the vaccine, so we still wear them. She loves to whine about how the others don't wear their masks. "It's not fair."

No, it really isn't.

Masks are still required in the hospital, which parents complain about daily. Recently every time I recommend a COVID test it has been refused. The pandemic is over. Kids can't get COVID. And other nonsense.

Kids as young as 12 can get vaccinated. However there is real concern about post vaccine myocarditis. Now everyone who comes in with chest pain wants to complain, even if they are unvaccinated.

Things have been stressful, and my kid is picking up on that. She still has trouble sleeping and has started having tantrums. We recently had a meeting with daycare and they want us to have seen by psych to get her evaluated.

I've found that I've lost interest in most of my hobbies, not that I have a lot of time for them. Fellowship finished and I have the next two weeks off before starting my new job. I was planning on spending it sleeping, cleaning the house, getting out the baby stuff as we are expecting a new little one in a couple of months, and rediscovering my hobbies.

Today I had an awful migraine. I cant take the meds I usually take because of the pregnancy, and my OB wont prescribe anything because he is worried about masking signs of preeclampsia. My husband refused to get up to watch the kid because he was tired, so I pushed through until he was ready to get up.

I lay down to try to get a nap and I get a call that there has been a case of COVID at daycare, and they will be closing for 2 weeks. They will open up the day I start my new job.

And this my friends is what has broken me.

I was so looking forward to finally have time for self care, and now I get to play stay at home mom again with my kid who is in isolation.

After that call I got up and left the house. I'm sitting in my car at the park writing this, and while I know I will go back home eventually, I'm tempted to drive off and let my husband deal with this for a change.

38 notes · View notes

hubz88 · 3 years

Text

So Aaron asking Ben to move in and this plot about his dad seemed to be more about the parallels with Liv’s drinking problem then any real character development for Ben or their relationship. Surprise, surprise.

I had a few people jumping on a twitter response of mine last week, don't really do twitter much and wasn’t hoping to invite a conversation from Ben fans, Ben/Aaron fans, but anyway I was completely baffled, fascinated and mad and had to get my thoughts down.

Firstly my comment was about how weird I find it that on top of having this abusive father his whole life, Ben was so happy to forgive and forget the bullying that Aaron put him through, that made him want to die, within a day and a vague apology wanted to date him and it was brushed under the carpet. I got two different responses from the fans that I want to look into because it has been on my mind all weekend.

1) About 2 or 3 people commented that I have clearly missed some episodes

This is hilarious to me, not only have I never missed an episode, but I have over analysed all Ben and Aaron scenes a thousand times over, without ever watching back I remember a great detail of what was said, weird dialog, acting/directing choices and facial expressions.

But mainly on this I am just hugely confused by what scenes they actually think I missed? There have been very little actually story about this bullying backstory full stop, no real content and no real resolution or explanation as to how come Ben got over it so quickly. Given that I was referring to the first week or so on screen, it literally went like this. Ben having no words in the Hop whilst Liv was acting like Aaron goes their all the time to see Ben at the Hop. Ben orders a jacket potato and chilli whilst Chas awkwardly tries to suggest that Aaron gets back on the dating horse, hint hint hint to this random man who we know nothing about at this point and if he is even gay/into men. Ben with Al and Kayak’s getting introduced to Aaron. Aaron going back on his own to ask about Kayak lesson when Ben flips with the you don’t remember me, now I can hit back and you made me want to die etc. Ben’s car breaks down, Aaron says he can help, gets his number to text about parts or something. They go for a drink as you do with your school bully. Aaron explains vaguely about having a tough up-bringing and struggling with sexuality. Ben has no reason to really trust him at this point or take his word for it but decides to awkwardly start trying to flirt and talks about the bullying he suffered as “reminiscing”, (weirdest line to use in context, I certainly don't reminisce about the kid that used to call me names at school let alone actually kick my head in on the daily). Then Aaron goes to the Hop and asks about a lesson, clear indication of a date. This was all over a few days episodes, but one actual date time-wise. That is is, whole story wrapped up. No Ben talking to other people in the village that tell him to give Aaron a chance, no forced to work together, share friendship group, locked in a room together or whatever contrived plots soaps like to use to get people talking. No longer story of getting to know each other, Aaron proving he had changed. Just one conversation and it was all fine. Like what was the point?

Then from that point on we got a couple of episodes were Ben turned up out of nowhere, no build up, no aftermath, again no discussions with other people in the village, friends, co-workers, so we never saw his motivations or reasons for wanting to be with Aaron he just showed up apologizing for their disaster pint or Aaron apologised. So much so that Ben was only in 11 episodes from September to January and many of those were like one or a couple of scenes, which is so poor when you compare to the other new characters introduction, interactions and multiple mini stories that played out.

The 4.5 months Ben was off screen was also used as a reason some how to explain how the lack of actual relationship discussion makes sense, like they talked again when he came back, (about his sister being an alcoholic), as if that suddenly makes it ok that they haven’t address the bullying or that argument again before Ben became a literal cardboard cut out glued to Aaron’s side.

2) There was one person who replied saying it wasn’t a date at that point with the first lot of pints, which those terrible pint plots arguably were meant to be a date, but in any case they were still planning to meet up just the two of them, Ben kicked off after Ben didn’t turn up after divorce papers and Kayak lesson etc. So it still doesn’t make sense to want to get so pally with your ex bully. Through-out this point Aaron was pretty hot and cold and damn right rude at times. Yet Ben kept following him around and showing up wanting to talk and try again and they suggest a pint several times. One person did not like my response about him following Aaron around as if it was Aaron following Ben around because Aaron was the one that suggested the Kayak lesson to begin with. But this person clearly hadn’t seen the scenes where Ben kept showing up out of nowhere wanting to get in Aaron’s orbit, Aaron largely seemed uninterested and said about them being friends beginning of December, (I think), which was never shown on screen and apparently didn’t happen according to January scenes at Aaron’s birthday when Ben said the friendship thing hadn’t worked out.

3) There were the comments of the conversations on his return in May and the scene in the Hop discussing the bullying over some table football, you know do completely casual. Again ignoring this does not change the facts of how this story started and how poorly it was executed regarding the bullying. Also in my opinion that chat was way little too late, they were official at this point and had only really been seen discussing Liv, her drinking problem, Liv being missing, Ben’s alcoholic dad and oh the mystery guy Ben put in a taxi. Therefore no actual relationship or feelings chat anyway at this point, other than I’m miserable and we apparently have a laugh despite the fact we haven’t seen that onscreen. So why would I expect any in depth relationship story. Even the Aaron Ben fan said they “try” with the Hop chat. And like fair play, if you are happy with such shit a story and effort, then go live your best life hun. But wow really, what are you liking here?

In actual fact Aaron still seemed quite offish on many occasions with Ben and snappy upon Ben’s initial return once again and yeah he was worried about his sister but why would Ben want to be around this permeantly, with someone he barely knows still, and would have possibly been triggering for him but yet he is promising to support him no matter what, you aren’t on your own Aaron, you have me, we and us etc. .

On the point of proving Aaron had changed the show has made a point this last year of many characters talking about how aggressive Aaron is, Liv about how he pushed her instead of Luke that whole time and calling him a control freak and lots of nasty names. Mandy calling him a bully when Paul first died before she found out the truth. Luke calling him a violent thug or something whilst Ben was there and talking about bad boys and stuff moments later, Ethan and Charles talking about him being scary and the same from Vinny at as well. On top of the Pollard nonsense plot with the brooch and Ben was well aware that he was up for a bulgary/assault charge of which Ben had no real reason to believe he was innocent again he didn’t really know. He had only just re-connected with him after months off screen following the toxic argument, which also never got resolved, no sorry I didn’t realise Liv had a drink problem, I get your concern now, sorry for what I said, sorry for how I treated you, which as much as I don’t like Ben I feel he sort of would have deserved after how Aaron spoke to him.

Finally, and I realise no one is going to read this haha. In one of my responses to these people before I gave up and said we are never going to agree, let’s leave it. I said content wise the story has been poor, there has been such little effort with the writing and Ben isn’t really a character right now, still only serving for other Aaron related plot and after 10 months on the show has only one small chat about gay marriage with Charles and the weird gay app conversation with Vic, Ethan and Luke outside of Aaron which is just not a proper character on a soap that it is 6 times a week. Funnily enough, I got no response on that, no comeback or pathetic or disillusioned excuse. So do they all know how bad the story is and choosing to fight on the missing episodes I haven’t seen, whether those pints were dates or the fact they spoke after Ben’s disappearing act, which does nothing but really prove what a nothing of a character he actually is more than anything as there is no way I really believe it was all just down to COVID when other plots didn’t suffer the same way.

I will shut up now!

#emmerdale #emmerdale thoughts #aaron x ben #anti ben #anti ben tucker #anti Aaron x Ben anti Benron #antibearon

21 notes · View notes

snazzyjazzyazzy · 2 years

Text

The Problems of Social Media, a Kinder View

This was originally written on another service, so there may be some issues with the paragraphing. Apologies in advance!

It was around 11 AM, when I usually wake up (I know, folks. I know.) I craved morning stimulation in order to properly feel awake, and trust me, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, Twitter or checking my DMs on Discord wasn't gonna do the trick for me. I needed something intellectual, a topic for this newsletter even.

And then I read this fascinating article on Pocket that was rather long and detailed a lot of things about social media and society. I didn't agree with all the things stated, but I'd recommend reading it all the same, quite a fascinating read. It touched, albeit somewhat briefly, on the topic I actually wanted to dicuss this issue! Such luck! I have linked it here for you all to read if you wish. Right then, onto our topics!

Censorship- Is It Important?

Censorship has been a word that gets bounced around in various areas of our lives. Online and in the real world, it seems to pose a significant threat to freedom of speech. Or does it truly? The issue seems to get far more complicated when you factor in several things, especially online.

What the article I linked proposes is that social media as a whole has undone the fabric of society- that it enforces almost too much of an individuality rather than a sum of a whole. I would argue this to rather be a good thing, especially regarding politics, as things such as siding with political parties on every aspect is becoming a rather senseless idea. But then it brought me to a question. What about censorship? Certain social medias, if not all, have all practiced a degree of it. In some cases it was politics- i.e. Facebook and Twitter with political individuals. Tik Tok, Youtube, Instagram and most other socials often remove media that might be seen as racist, promoting violence or homophobic might be removed entirely from the platform.

Triggers and The Safety of Minors

THIS NEXT PART CAPTURES MOSTLY MY OPINION AND TOUCHES ON PTSD, ANXIETY AND THE RISKS OF BEING A MINOR ONLINE. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ PLEASE SKIP TO THE PARAGRAPH AFTER A MESSAGE THAT STATES IT HAS BEEN CONCLUDED.

Respecting triggers but choosing whether it's individual responsibility or responsibility of a community is a touchy subject. I will admit I have PTSD and anxiety triggers myself, and at times triggers are unavoidable, to which one has to learn to manage their triggers themselves and heal over the trauma. But I will argue in certain respects triggers should be respected by the other individual. An example would be a private conversation. It would be considerate to respect the trigger of the individuals involved in that direct conversation. An example where it is not applicable however, would be a per se a server on Discord, unless the server itself is a mental health space. Of course, this is all my opinion, as many people have their own ways of handling their triggers and discussing the boundaries surrounding them.

For the cases of minors, things get even messier. I myself am not a minor, but being fair I've only been a consenting adult for three years. I remember being a minor on Discord, and the amount of risks involved with certain servers, spaces and even DMs. I even was groomed by an adult who was 10 years older than me, but that is a topic that is rather difficult to discuss. However it happens more often than many would like to admit, and the presence of social media, and it's anonymity has only worsened this factor.

It is important to remember, if you are a minor, that you have to either have a parent or guardian you can trust to communicate potential issues to. I didn't when I joined Discord and it's one of the biggest regrets of my life as it guided me toward a lot of pain, abuse and darkness. Though the freedom in a sense was healthy for me, too. But I do not ever personally recommend being online alone if you're 15 or younger.

You may resume reading if you skipped the previous paragaph.

Don't Forget the Trolls!

Ah yes, the trolls... Oh those "fun" folk who love poking your nerves in just the right places. We've all likely met a few in our lifetimes online, and in a sense in person as well. That one kid in the neighbourhood who just clowns on everyone and deliberately annoys the ever loving fuck out of you for no reason? Yea, you know I'm talking about you, Zach.

There's a lot of reasons one can become a troll, and it would take more than this issue to cover them all. So, I will instead link this article that does way better than I would and carry forward. Plus, trolls get way too much attention already. Best to shorten this, yea?

The Conclusion?

So then, as the article I linked earlier mentions, what of the fabric of society? Does social media really damn society as it suggests? Are these negatives too overwhelming for social media to be a good place at all? I would personally argue, yes and no. It's a fairly complicated issue, one I didn't even begin to really capture in this article at all. Instant messaging, long distance communication, practically unlimited access to information and more has made the internet a free ground, and that in itself provides both freedom, individuality and unleashed creativity, but it also provides ground for much more harmful and horrible things that one can't even begin to fathom.

However, in the words of one of my friends on Discord,

"I would say one benefit is you can make cool friends."

He's not wrong, he's one of my coolest friends ever.

This article might've been a bit of scrambled a mess, but I hope it more inspires you all to research into the issues yourselves! Next issue will be far cleaner, I promise! If you want to give an opinion on the future of this newsletter (yes, another poll, groan, I'm sorry sob) I will link the tweet below where you can give your opinion!

#mental health #internet #article #my writing #possibly triggering #indepth

7 notes · View notes