#world news about coronavirus

[triviallytrue]

Read the ACX post on a debate about COVID origins and it's genuinely insane that a new coronavirus emerged extremely close to one of the biggest coronavirus research institutes in the world by what appears to be complete coincidence

[gumjrop]

You might be forgiven for thinking it’s been a very quiet few months for the Covid-19 pandemic. Besides the rollout of new boosters, the coronavirus has largely slipped out of the headlines. But the virus is on the move. Viral levels in wastewater are similar to what they were during the first two waves of the pandemic. Recent coverage of the so-called Pirola variant, which is acknowledged to have “an alarming number of mutations,” led with the headline “Yes, There’s a New Covid Variant. No, You Shouldn’t Panic.”

Even if you haven’t heard much about the new strain of the coronavirus, being told not to panic might induce déjà vu. In late 2021, as the Omicron variant was making its way to the United States, Anthony Fauci told the public that it was “nothing to panic about” and that “we should not be freaking out.” Ashish Jha, the Biden administration’s former Covid czar, also cautioned against undue alarm over Omicron BA.1, claiming that there was “absolutely no reason to panic.” This is a telling claim, given what was to follow—the six weeks of the Omicron BA.1 wave led to hundreds of thousands of deaths in a matter of weeks, a mortality event unprecedented in the history of the republic.

Indeed, experts have been offering the public advice about how to feel about Covid-19 since January 2020, when New York Times columnist Farhad Manjoo opined, “Panic will hurt us far more than it’ll help.” That same week, Zeke Emanuel—a former health adviser to the Obama administration, latterly an adviser to the Biden administration—said Americans should “stop panicking and being hysterical.… We are having a little too much [sic] histrionics about this.”

This concern about public panic has been a leitmotif of the Covid-19 pandemic, even earning itself a name (“elite panic”) among some scholars. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned, three and a half years into the current crisis, it’s that—contrary to what the movies taught us—pandemics don’t automatically spawn terror-stricken stampedes in the streets. Media and public health coverage have a strong hand in shaping public response and can—under the wrong circumstances—promote indifference, incaution, and even apathy. A very visible example of this was the sharp drop in the number of people masking after the CDC revised its guidelines in 2021, recommending that masking was not necessary for the vaccinated (from 90 percent in May to 53 percent in September).

As that example suggests, emphasizing the message “don’t panic” puts the cart before the horse unless tangible measures are being taken to prevent panic-worthy outcomes. And indeed, these repeated assurances against panic have arguably also preempted a more vigorous and urgent public health response—as well as perversely increasing public acceptance of the risks posed by coronavirus infection and the unchecked transmission of the virus. This “moral calm”—a sort of manufactured consent—impedes risk mitigation by promoting the underestimation of a threat. Soothing public messaging during disasters can often lead to an increased death toll: Tragically, false reassurance contributed to mortality in both the attacks on the World Trade Center and the sinking of the Titanic.

But at a deeper level, this emphasis on public sentiment has contributed to confusion about the meaning of the term “pandemic.” A pandemic is an epidemiological term, and the meaning is quite specific—pandemics are global and unpredictable in their trajectory; endemic diseases are local and predictable. Despite the end of the Public Health Emergency in May, Covid-19 remains a pandemic, by definition. Yet some experts and public figures have uncritically advanced the idea that if the public appears to be tired, bored, or noncompliant with public health measures, then the pandemic must be over.

But pandemics are impervious to ratings; they cannot be canceled or publicly shamed. History is replete with examples of pandemics that blazed for decades, sometimes smoldering for years before flaring up again into catastrophe. The Black Death (1346–1353 AD), the Antonine Plague (165–180 AD), and the Plague of Justinian (541–549 AD), pandemics all, lacked the quick resolution of the 1918 influenza pandemic. A pandemic cannot tell when the news cycle has moved on.

Yet this misperception—that pandemics can be ended by human fiat—has had remarkable staying power during the current crisis. In November 2021, the former Obama administration official Juliette Kayyem claimed that the pandemic response needed to be ended politically, with Americans getting “nudged into the recovery phase” by officials. It is fortunate that Kayyem’s words were not heeded—the Omicron wave arrived in the US just weeks after her article ran—but her basic premise has informed Biden’s pandemic policy ever since.

Perhaps even less responsibly, the physician Steven Phillips has called for “new courageous ‘accept exposure’ policies”—asserting that incautious behavior by Americans would be the true signal of the end of the pandemic. In an essay for Time this January, Phillips wrote: “Here’s my proposed definition: the country will not fully emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic until most people in our diverse nation accept the risk and consequences of exposure to a ubiquitous SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.”

This claim—that more disease risk and contagion means the end of a disease event—runs contrary to the science. Many have claimed that widespread SARS-CoV-2 infections will lead to increasingly mild disease that poses fewer concerns for an increasingly vaccinated (or previously infected) population. In fact, more disease spread means faster evolution for SARS-CoV-2, and greater risks for public health. As we (A.C. and collaborators) and others have pointed out, rapid evolution creates the risk of novel variants with unpredictable severity. It also threatens the means that we have to prevent and treat Covid-19: monoclonal antibody treatments no longer work, Paxlovid is showing signs of viral resistance, and booster strategy is complicated by viral evolution of resistance to vaccines.

But these efforts to manage and direct public feelings are not just more magical thinking; they are specifically intended to promote a return to pre-pandemic patterns of work and consumption. This motive was articulated explicitly in a McKinsey white paper from March 2022, which put forward the invented concept of “economic endemicity”—defined as occurring when “epidemiology substantially decouples from economic activity.” The “Urgency of Normal” movement similarly used an emotional message (that an “urgent return to fully normal life and schooling” is needed to “protect” children) to advocate for the near-total abandonment of disease containment measures. But in the absence of disease control measures, a rebound of economic activity can only lead to a rebound of disease. (This outcome was predicted by a team that was led by one of the authors [A.C.] in the spring of 2021.)

A pandemic is a public health crisis, not a public relations crisis. Conflating the spread of a disease with the way people feel about responding to that spread is deeply illogical—yet a great deal of the Biden administration’s management of Covid-19 has rested on this confusion. Joe Biden amplified this mistaken perspective last September when he noted that the pandemic was “over”—and then backed that claim by stating, “If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape.” The presence or absence of health behaviors reveals little about a threat to health itself, of course—and a decline in mask use has been shaped, in part, by the Biden administration’s waning support for masking.

Separately, long Covid poses an ongoing threat both at an individual and a public health level. If our increasingly relaxed attitude toward public health measures and the relatively unchecked spread of the virus continue, most people will get Covid at least once a year; one in five infections leads to long Covid. Although it’s not talked about a lot, anyone can get long Covid; vaccines reduce this risk, but only modestly. This math gets really ugly.

The situation we are in today was predictable. It was predictable that the virus would rapidly evolve to evade the immune system, that natural immunity would wane quickly and unevenly in the population, that a vaccine-only strategy would not be sufficient to control widespread Covid-19 transmission through herd immunity, and that reopening too quickly would lead to a variant-driven rebound. All of these unfortunate outcomes were predicted in peer-reviewed literature in 2020–21 by a team led by one of the authors (A.C.), even though the soothing public messaging at the time called it very differently.

As should now be very clear, we cannot manifest our way to a good outcome. Concrete interventions are required—including improvements in air quality and other measures aimed at limiting spread in public buildings, more research into vaccine boosting strategy, and investments in next-generation prophylactics and treatments. Rather than damping down panic, public health messaging needs to discuss risks honestly and focus on reducing spread. Despite messages to the contrary, our situation remains unstable, because the virus continues to evolve rapidly, and vaccines alone cannot slow this evolution.

In the early months of the pandemic, many in the media drew parallels between the public’s response to Covid-19 and the well-known “stages of grief”: denial, bargaining, anger, depression, and acceptance. The current situation with Covid-19 calls for solutions, not a grieving process that should be hustled along to the final stage of acceptance.

#op #covid #covid19 #covid 19 #covid-19 #covid isn't over #coronavirus #pandemic #public health #wear a mask

[maxknightley]

Which Dungeon Meshi characters would vote for Biden?

laios is a single-issue voter, and that issue is "more funding for biology research." since both biden and trump handled the novel SARS coronavirus poorly, he would not trust either candidate to do what he wants. therefore he would write in the name of a prominent dragon expert. (if dragons don't exist in this hypothetical, substitute some real-world megafauna, like elephants or moose.)

falin can't vote until she sorts out the fact that she's legally dead.

marcille is definitely the "really into ruth bader ginsburg" brand of turbolib. that being said, at fifty years of age, she's just old enough to remember her parents complaining about his anti-busing efforts, and more than old enough to remember the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. even more importantly, however: she would be really put off by his tendency to make gaffes and ramble about weird shit. she thinks Optics and Being Presidential are very important. she would therefore start a short-lived and ultimately unsuccessful movement to try and get Harris nominated instead.

chilchuck is a union man at heart, so he would call a vote to determine whether the union as a whole endorses biden or condemns both candidates. if they vote to condemn, he just stays home and gets day-drunk instead

senshi doesn't vote.

izutsumi isn't 18 yet.

kabru phone-banks for biden as part of an elaborate plan to run for state senator, then votes third party and lies about it.

toshiro is a foreign national. also, he doesn't watch the news. for all he knows or cares, obama is still president

#ask #anon

[bitchesgetriches]

{ MASTERPOST } Everything You Need to Know about Repairing Our Busted-Ass World

On poverty:

Starting from nothing

How To Start at Rock Bottom: Welfare Programs and the Social Safety Net 

How to Save for Retirement When You Make Less Than $30,000 a Year

Ask the Bitches: “Is It Too Late to Get My Financial Shit Together?“

Understanding why people are poor

It’s More Expensive to Be Poor Than to Be Rich

Why Are Poor People Poor and Rich People Rich?

On Financial Discipline, Generational Poverty, and Marshmallows

Bitchtastic Book Review: Hand to Mouth by Linda Tirado

Is Gentrification Just Artisanal, Small-Batch Displacement of the Poor?

Coronavirus Reveals America’s Pre-existing Conditions, Part 1: Healthcare, Housing, and Labor Rights

Developing compassion for poor people

The Latte Factor, Poor Shaming, and Economic Compassion

Ask the Bitches: “How Do I Stop Myself from Judging Homeless People?“

The Subjectivity of Wealth, Or: Don’t Tell Me What’s Expensive

A Little Princess: Intersectional Feminist Masterpiece?

If You Can’t Afford to Tip 20%, You Can’t Afford to Dine Out

Correcting income inequality

1 Easy Way All Allies Can Help Close the Gender and Racial Pay Gap

One Reason Women Make Less Money? They’re Afraid of Being Raped and Killed.

Raising the Minimum Wage Would Make All Our Lives Better

Are Unions Good or Bad?

On intersectional social issues:

Reproductive rights

On Pulling Weeds and Fighting Back: How (and Why) to Protect Abortion Rights

How To Get an Abortion 

Blood Money: Menstrual Products for Surviving Your Period While Poor

You Don’t Have to Have Kids

Gender equality

1 Easy Way All Allies Can Help Close the Gender and Racial Pay Gap 

The Pink Tax, Or: How I Learned to Love Smelling Like “Bearglove”

Our Single Best Piece of Advice for Women (and Men) on International Women’s Day

Bitchtastic Book Review: The Feminist Financial Handbook by Brynne Conroy

Sexual Harassment: How to Identify and Fight It in the Workplace 

Queer issues

Queer Finance 101: Ten Ways That Sexual and Gender Identity Affect Finances

Leaving Home before 18: A Practical Guide for Cast-Offs, Runaways, and Everybody in Between

Racial justice

The Financial Advantages of Being White

Woke at Work: How to Inject Your Values into Your Boring, Lame-Ass Job

The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander: A Bitchtastic Book Review

Something Is Wrong in Personal Finance. Here’s How To Make It More Inclusive.

The Biggest Threat to Black Wealth Is White Terrorism

Coronavirus Reveals America’s Pre-existing Conditions, Part 2: Racial and Gender Inequality 

10 Rad Black Money Experts to Follow Right the Hell Now 

Youth issues

What We Talk About When We Talk About Student Loans

The Ugly Truth About Unpaid Internships

Ask the Bitches: “I Just Turned 18 and My Parents Are Kicking Me Out. How Do I Brace Myself?”

Identifying and combatting abuse

When Money is the Weapon: Understanding Intimate Partner Financial Abuse

Are You Working on the Next Fyre Festival?: Identifying a Toxic Workplace

Ask the Bitches: “How Do I Say ‘No’ When a Loved One Asks for Money… Again?”

Ask the Bitches: I Was Guilted Into Caring for a Sick, Abusive Parent. Now What?

On mental health:

Understanding mental health issues

How Mental Health Affects Your Finances

Stop Recommending Therapy Like It’s a Magic Bean That’ll Grow Me a Beanstalk to Neurotypicaltown

Bitchtastic Book Review: Kurt Vonnegut’s Galapagos and Your Big Brain

Ask the Bitches: “How Do I Protect My Own Mental Health While Still Helping Others?”

Coping with mental health issues

{ MASTERPOST } Everything You Need to Know about Self-Care

My 25 Secrets to Successfully Working from Home with ADHD 

Our Master List of 100% Free Mental Health Self-Care Tactics 

On saving the planet:

Changing the system

Don’t Boo, Vote: If You Don’t Vote, No One Can Hear You Scream

Ethical Consumption: How to Pollute the Planet and Exploit Labor Slightly Less

The Anti-Consumerist Gift Guide: I Have No Gift to Bring, Pa Rum Pa Pum Pum

Season 1, Episode 4: “Capitalism Is Working for Me. So How Could I Hate It?”

Coronavirus Reveals America’s Pre-existing Conditions, Part 1: Healthcare, Housing, and Labor Rights 

Coronavirus Reveals America’s Pre-existing Conditions, Part 2: Racial and Gender Inequality 

Shopping smarter

You Deserve Cheap Toilet Paper, You Beautiful Fucking Moon Goddess

You Are above Bottled Water, You Elegant Land Mermaid

Fast Fashion: Why It’s Fucking up the World and How To Avoid It

You Deserve Cheap, Fake Jewelry… Just Like Coco Chanel

6 Proven Tactics for Avoiding Emotional Impulse Spending

Join the Bitches on Patreon

#poverty #economics #income inequality #wealth inequality #capitalism #working class #labor rights #workers rights #frugal #personal finance #financial literacy #consumerism #environmentalism

[centers-for-disease-control]

Alright, due to popular request, I bring you the break down of the Taiwan Disease Personifications. Also, just so y’all know, the official explanations for the designs are not easy to find, so a lot of this is just from what I notice and what I know about the diseases

To start off, we have everyone’s favorite disease: COVID-19

So, this is one of the designs where I could actually find the artist explanation, so I will be including that information plus a couple things I noticed and how I think it fits the disease. So let’s start with to crown. The reason for the inclusion of the crown is the reflect the name coronavirus, corona being the Latin word for crown. The face is partially obscured because of COVID’s tendency to hide itself. The bean bag chair that they are sitting on has many protrusions signifying the spike proteins. The different digital devices represent how the world went virtual during the pandemic and the news channels behind them represent the media’s freak out when COVID was at its height. The floor has an outline of the world because everywhere was affected by the pandemic. Also, if you look closely, they are wearing little Covid earrings.

Next up, we got Zika:

I could not find an official artist statement for this design, so take my explanation with a grain of salt. So first off the red waist band reminds me of the red stripe that goes down the abdomen of the mosquito species that spreads Zika after it has fed. Also, the white markings on the black are also a characteristic of this species of mosquito. In fact, the design is the stripes on the chest look like the markings these mosquitoes have on their back. She presents female because it’s the female mosquitoes that bite and spread diseases. Her sleeves look like mosquito wings once again a reference to mosquitoes being the primary vectors of Zika. The area behind her has palm fronds to represent that Zika is a disease typically found in tropical climates.

Next up we have: Hansen’s Disease (aka Leprosy)

This is one where I could find the artist statement due to it being a pretty recent one, however, I will say that at least the translation was a bit lacking in describing the reasoning of every detail. She is a mask maker because leprosy changes how people perceive those who are infected but it is something that can easily be removed with modern antibiotics. She has different accessories like the lion and crocodile headpiece that implicate the divine involvement because leprosy has been historically thought to be a punishment of the gods. The scales on her arm look like an allusion to the scaling pattern scars that those with leprosy would develop.

Next up: Rubella

After a lot of digging I found the official profile for this design but it didn’t really explain the design choices so we are going to do more analysis on my end. So the pomegranate and the red dots represent the red rashes that come with rubella infections. The glasses I assume are to show how Rubella can lead to Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) which can occur in children if their mother had rubella while pregnant. One of the symptoms that comes with CRS is cataracts.

Next up: the plague

I found the explanation on this and it just confirmed my own suspicions for certain design choices. So her design is very focused on death and mysticism because of how the Black Plague led to a lot of cultural focus on these two ideas. Behind her are old coins because of the economic impact the plague had on the civilizations of its time. The references to death are the skeletal pattern on her dress, and the scythe behind her and on her belt. The references to mysticism include the tarot cards she is holding and the crosses on her hat. On the tarot cards are designs referencing the three different forms the plague takes (bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic) as well as a posey which was used to try to ward of the plague in old times. On her hat is also a collection of plague doctor masks which is pretty self explanatory as to how that connects.

Next up: Ebola

I couldn’t find the official explanation for this disease, so this is mostly speculation based on my analysis. Her outfit is red because of the hemorrhaging that comes with the disease. Specifically he lips are red because one of the more unique characteristics of Ebola is hiccuping up blood. The accessories seem to be inspired by central and western african traditional jewelry. There appear to be tribal masks on the necklace, I am not well versed in African art unfortunately, so any deeper meaning of these accessories are unfortunately lost on me. There are bats on the headdress because of bats being the natural host of Ebola. Her design is rather demonic because Ebola was so terrible for the areas affected, that people thought it could be caused be some great evil. The skulls are because of the extremely high death rate that comes with ebola. The leaves and fruits shown come from the African jungles which is typically where Ebola outbreaks start.

Next up: Novel Influenza A Virus Infections

I actually found the artist explanation for this design! As a disease closely associated with birds, there are many elements linked to birds. There are many bird shadows, the hair that looks like feathers, and the beak shaped mask, feathers on his tie and a feather tattoo on right arm, and the “H-N” pin (H and N proteins of the influenza virus).

Next up: Dengue Fever

Another one with an artist statement! Since only female mosquitoes bite, the character is set as a female. Her dark red lips represent mosquito’s instinct to bite, and she is holding a poisonous thornapple flower. She has mosquito wings tattooed on her back and thornapple flower tattooed on her arm. I have spent a long time looking into how the thornapple flower relates to dengue, but I haven’t had a lot of luck. From what I have seen is that the roots, seeds, and leaves are used in some traditional medicines, including treatments for malaria, but I have not had luck finding how it is connected to Dengue specifically.

Next up: Japanese Encephalitis

I found the artist statement for this disease as well. The disease is visualized into three characters that form a pop group, with their names reflecting the 3 main Culex mosquito species that spread Japanese encephalitis in Taiwan, which are Culex tritaeniorhynchus (Three), Culex annulus (Ring), and Culex fuscocephala (Shiro). They wear black and white, like the colors of the Culex mosquitoes. Red accessories represent their love for blood. I don’t have much to add outside of the artist explanation.

Last one for now is: Rabies

I found the explanation for this one, but it is not descriptive at all, so I am going to be going into every detail because this is Rabies. The spikes on the jacket and pant legs represent the protein spikes rabies uses to infect nerves. The blue jacket and gloves are representing water as one of the unique characteristics of rabies is hydrophobia (physical repulsion to water). The claw marks on the shirt show the animalistic tendencies the virus brings out. The violin players in the animal mask show how the virus can hide in these animals. The personification of rabies is holding a conductor’s wand showing how rabies controls those who are infected. The teeth necklace shows how it spreads through bites and they are standing on the brain because that is what rabies infects. He has a chain with mammal skulls once again tying back to rabies being a fatal mammalian disease. The belt buckle has a bone on it as bone are associated with bones and rabies is associated with dogs.

#centers for disease control #covid #Zika #hansen’s disease #leprosy #rubella #plague #ebola #influenza #novel influenza a virus infection #japanese encephalitis #rabies #blood mention #taiwan cdc #personified diseases #long post

[animefeminist]

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and Transgender Cyborgs’ Experience of the Apocalypse

Content Warning: Discussion of transphobia

Around the start of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Chiaki Hirai published an article about Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, comparing the post-apocalyptic manga to the threat posed to humanity by the novel coronavirus. It was a perspective piece—and a rumination—on societal collapse as it was happening around the author, when so little was still known about the nature of the virus, and what the extent of its impact on us was going to be. Now, at the start of 2023, our world has been forever changed. While the virus continues to mutate into new strains, governments have largely chosen to ignore the ongoing effects of the pandemic in exchange for a “return to normal,” moving on with or without us. Post-apocalyptic fiction has felt closer to home, especially for marginalized readers.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (hereafter YKK) focuses on Alpha Hatsuseno, an android girl entrusted with a café by an owner who abandoned it, and her, without clear reason, leaving her to run it in a mostly uninhabited post-apocalyptic world. While most stories that imagine a post-apocalyptic setting depict a world in ashes, strewn with death and danger, YKK’s world is mostly one of peace and solitude for those survivors who remain. Cities lie silent beneath a solemn ocean; wind sifts through the stalks of amaranth sprouting from old, cracked roads. Overlooking land, sea, and sky is Café Alpha, a humble building on a hill and a relic from before “The Age of Evening Calm”—otherwise known as the end of the old world. And, for us, 2020 was our own Age of Evening Calm.

Read it at Anime Feminist!

#yokohama kaidashi kikou #hitoshi ashinano #alpha hatsuseno #articles #transgender

[yume4evere]

Message from Hino

Volume 9

the feeling of wanting to say something

Thank you for reading. This is the 9th volume of Vampire Knight Memories. As someone who loves bookstores, I am truly honored and happy that they continue to publish not only electronic versions but also paper books. What was commonplace in the past is no longer so… These are the days when I am savoring the present. I can only express my gratitude to all the readers who have been with me this far. Because, as I have said many times, the book would not have been published if there were no readers. And I don't think i would have continued the manga in the first place. So, thank you very much. Thank you for your letter as well. There are probably two more volumes of memories left.

From here on, I will explain Hino's real life now.

A worsening of a chronic disease, hospitalization for surgery, abnormalities in eyesight and knuckles, contracting the new coronavirus and its after-effects, aging parents, parting ways with a calico cat who i loved her like a daughter… It has overlapped over the past few years. I try to separate my daily joys, angers, and sorrows so that they don't affect the inner parts of the story, but I don't know if I've been successful. All I can tell is that my boldness, calmness, and sensitivity to excitement have softened. I know this, so I always worry about it. However, the damage to my mind and body that I sustained in my daily life had an impact on the series itself. The editor in charge and the people at the printing shop really made the most of their time, and thanks to that, I managed to get it to the magazine, but it wasn't very complete…it was the best I could do to write this sentence. Now that I'm on vacation, I've been receiving treatment, I've gotten used to taking on the responsibilities of my parents, and I feel like I've recovered from the damage.

Sudden suspension of publication, reduced number of pages, and above all, the completeness of the manuscript screen. There are more things that are better than pencil sketches.

That kind of thing has increased.

Just a little more.

I want to do my best. I hope you will stay with me until the end.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the person in charge and everyone who has been involved in bringing this manga to the world, to O. Mizo-sama and his A. Ichiya-sama who are always my assistants, and to everyone who reads it.

Hino Festival

#Message from Hino #it's Good bye #vampire knight #vampire knight memories #hino matsuri #kaname kuran #yuuki kuran #yume #eternal yume #yume ship #vkm #vk #author

[lolita-lollipop]

I just had an idea! So think about this we still are in zoom for classes and Aizawa is just teaching his class? And then we come in saying like dad or other things trying to get his attention or help how would us react ??  would they go Yandere?

YANDERE CLASS 1A X READER X YANDERE PARENTS ERASERMIC

The coronavirus had changed many things in the average lives of the 1A students, like the new restrictions on going off-school perimeters, the mask-wearing in public classes, and most drastically, the zoom classes from inside their dorm rooms. The only class that was allowed outside their hero class, and even that was done privately one on one. These kids spent alllllll day locked up in their rooms, it was suitable for more introverted students like Yokoyama or Jiro immensely enjoyed it, they didn’t have to speak to many, and the schoolwork was so much faster. But extroverted students, like Kirishima or mina, or maybe even bakugo, loathed it.

The only human interaction they got was with teachers, or with students through a screen. Bakugo spent all day blasting music, screaming at anyone who knocked on his door, mina was exceptionally irritable, and Kirishima pretty much spent all day watching Spanish soap operas. Not to mention the fourteen other students practically dying in their dorms. They all desperately needed something to cheer them up.

Then they all saw you.

It was small, just a peek. It was around the end of the school day, English with present mic. Or in other words, the worst class of the day. They’d all been crammed onto a zoom call with the oh-so-bubbly blonde, half asleep, longing to go outside and save some child from a pile of burning rubble. Or even get attacked by the LOV! anything- literally anything other than listening to this man ramble on about conjugations and verbs. Bakugo was screaming with his mic muted, Deku was legitimately watching the green paint on his wall dry, and Mina was learning a dance from thirty years ago. Everything was so dull.

Then. You came along.

“To conjugate a word in English you have to first take the subject and place it behind the action, then you-“ Mic rambled on, clicking through a PowerPoint to teach these poor kids English. He was cut off not long after, the door behind him creaking open with a looonnnnggg squeak, mic stopped speaking, expecting it to be his other husband getting home from work. The mic was in quarantine at the moment, working from home, bored. After the loud creak, I showed you, dressed in a pink pajama ensemble, hair pulled back into two low pigtails, a tired look on your face even though it was 3:00 in the afternoon. Probably the aftereffect of the “special tea” you’ve been drinking, the second they all saw you. They. Fell. In. Love.

“Papa? I can’t find my cat- have you seen her?” You peeped out, clearly not recognizing the zoom call, mic whipped his head around at your voice, immediately muting his microphone. All of the students could see how mics face brightened up, how he smiled at you as he spoke a few words. Pointing to the small cat in the corner of the room. Immediately the tiny girl picked it up, turning around to say goodbye to Mic. The class was mesmerized by that far-away look in your eyes. Then you saw the screen and realized what you had done, your face went pale, and your eyes widened. Immediately you ran out of the room and closed the door. Mic let out a chuckle and unmuted, just to be bombarded with questions.

“Who was that?”

“Why is there a girl in your room Mr mic?”

“Is that your daughter?”

“Does she go to ua?”

The smile completely wiped off of his face, realizing what his entire class of students just saw. The girl who went missing not long ago. They all now had witnessed her in person. Oh god oh god oh god. It’s fine, not the end of the world, he can play this off, this call isn’t being filmed, this is just a coincidence, you just happened to be there. No one will know.

“Yes yes that’s just my daughter, I told her not To come in here, sorry for the interruption class, now let’s get back to-“

“What’s her name? How old is she? Does she go to u.a?” Izuku quickly mumbled, taking out his notebook. He had to know who this girl was, she was just- just so amazing. Was this a quirk? This has to be a quirk right? He just asked the questions everyone was thinking about, an obsession clouded every single student's brain at that moment.

“A-ah- invested aren’t we? Her name is y/n, and she’s homeschooled so no. Now back to learning the English literature, because we are in English class”

“Wait but-“ Izuku attempted to continue questioning, but Mic clicked the mute button on all his students. That’s one plus of this miserable pandemic, whenever you don’t want to hear someone, you can just turn them off. that’s enough about you, let’s hope that all the students forget about it, forget about you. Goddamn. So much for letting you walk around without quirk canceling cuffs, your quirk is… special. It makes a sense of protection for anyone who lays eyes on you, makes everyone feel the need to keep you safe. It always works against you though, that’s why your “parents” pulled you out of school. They’ll forget about it. They will.

…

Flashback: they didn’t

days passed by and every single class that Aizawa held with his students, along with Mic, was filled with questions about the young girl they saw in the camera a single time. some students were subtle, and some were not, some would just ask if he had any other children and mix the topic of you in, and some would outright ask to see you (aka our spiky-haired friend bakugo). It worried both of your parents, not only did a large group of hormonally influenced teenagers not only know of your existence, but your quirk has taken over their minds. it was like a parasite.

So, the two would hope for the best and shut down the students every time they asked about you, instead assigning homework to anyone who asked. It wasn't long before they started doing research on you, looking to find you on any platform, every social media app. any google searches, nothing.

it was like nobody knew that the two well-known pro heroes had a daughter, which was quite odd, considering the paparazzi follows them everywhere. While a few of the students gave up hope of finding who you were at least, others took to... less legal ways of research, paying off anyone who would be up to searching the deepest darkest crevices of the web.

Until one night, a month or two after catching glimpse of you, Izuku Midoria was sent the results from his barely legal endeavor. he read through the pages with wide eyes, you would be surprised what someone can do from a computer. Pages upon Pages of info on a screenshot he had taken of this mysterious girl. He didn't understand what it was about her that enthralled him as it did, but oh boy was he caught in this trap.

something that caught his eye though was a specific photo of a newspaper article reading:

"MISSING

reported October 7th 2018

11 year old female missing after going on a walk with her dog (golden retriever), dog was found, child was not. Bearing h/c hair, s/c skin, e/c eyes, and around 5'2 in height. wearing a blue striped sweater and jean shorts, hair tied in short ponytail.

Any information found by civilians should be reported to nearest hero agency, or police organizations"

It was you, it had to be, it was your description exactly, and a photo of you, just younger than what you looked like on camera. this little girl in the newspaper, aged four years, yup, it was you. But why was a missing little girl in his homeroom teacher's house? So, he sent it to Ochoco, and asked for her thoughts, who then sent in to mina and tsuyu and momo, and by the end of the day the information was out for the public of class 1-a to see.

Then a groupchat was made, and theories were shared. Of course, they couldn't go to the police about this, because they would be accusing some of the top heroes of a serious felony, and no one would believe them, but they couldn't just do nothing. After all, you just seemed so helpless, so small, like you didn't know how to protect yourself like you needed them to protect you. And they would.

Bakugo proposed just finding where they live and "storming the fuckin house" to find you, but many objected, they would be fighting top heroes, and their teachers at that, teachers that know how each and every one of these students fight. Maybe they could try to talk to you if you just so happen to show up in the background again? but what is the chance of that happening?

Then The person who started all of this conversation, deku, made the best and most effective proposition.

blackmail.

It was a simple plan, one that no one could mess up, that could guarantee results. They wanted to see you, not for a few seconds, not just a glimpse, no, they all wanted to look at you for hours. so that's what they would get. Each student sent the information on you, the missing child posters, the newspaper articles on the mysterious disappearance, everything.

To say the next zoom class with Aizawa was tense was an... understatement. There Aizawa was, sitting in his leather rolly chair like normal, acting like nothing happened, not saying anything, just staring at his students, and they stared right back.

" I understand you all have made a discovery, and I have a reasonable explanation for it" He started, focusing his camera, nobody spoke up after that they just continued to stare, continued waiting for him to explain with his "reasonable explanation".

"You see, my husband and I adopted y/n over the summer when we were visiting the u.s. No one else was going to because of her quirk, so we took it upon ourselves as heroes to save he-'

"Cut the bullshit, I know what I want, and it is not to hear you drone on for an hour. We could anonymously send this to the press, and you'd be knee-deep in accusations." Bakugo interrupted, being specially fed up with the fact that this man that's supposed to be a law-following hero committed such a crime, and doesn't even have the conscious, to tell the truth once found out.

"If anything is released then you will never see her again, I know what she does to people, what she's done to your minds, and I understand it. We could... agree upon something." Nobody wanted that, they NEEDED to see you, and although they didn't know why they knew they did. and they didn't need an explanation.

"I want to see her, every meeting, every class, in person or not. I. Want. To. See. Her." Mina continued Bakugo's sentence for him,

"As her father, I will warn you all, if you so much as think about her in the wrong way, I don't care if you're my student, I will hang you with my scarf." Everybody looked at Mineta's screen after he said this, knowing damn well you weren't ever going to speak to him, nobody would allow it. Not in a million years.

"We would never hurt her. we swear on it"

And with a sigh, Aizawa huffed and scrunched his eyebrows, looking more than upset, looking more than anxious, he looked terrified.

"class dismissed, see you tommorow"

---

"sweetheart? can you come to talk to me and papa for a few moments, you can go back to reading your book in a second, but we need to tell you something" Your daddy's voice piped in from the living room, you'd been lying in bed and reading one of the only books they'd allowed you to have, it was odd that he sounded so serious, they never had that tone with you. so you made your way down the stairs, only to be met with the sight of your parents, sitting on the couch and looking grim.

"Yeah. uh- what's happening? am I in trouble?" you questioned, it was a very rare occurrence that they looked upset around you unless it was getting angry that you were trying to be grown up when you weren't. that was common.

"no baby, weve just been thinking. About how lonely you seem to be when we're working, all you have is the cats and occasionally the birds by the window. So we decided to enroll you into U.A, the school we work at, as a teachers aid" Aizawa lied through his teeth, immediately a smile lit up on your face, you'd been begging them for ages to let you go to school, even if it was just a little low budget school. this was amazing!

"oh my god! really! thank you thank you thank you! I love you so much! when do I start! what classes am I in? will I get to have real friends?" you spluttered out a multitude of questions, the little sparkle in your eye that had been lost for weeks finally had returned, it was cute, and the parents were glad it made you this happy.

Usually, kids would be VERY upset about having to go back to school, like having summer break end, but you were the opposite, the last instance of freedom you had before you stayed home 24/7 was our little middle school, with no parents hovering, no childish teaching methods, just you and school. and then they even took that away. so regaining that freedom was amazing!

" Hold on sweetheart, it's a big step to go from homeschool to high school, so most of your classes will be with us, you'll be in class 1A, and any times where you arent with us, you will be with one of our trusted friends. do you remember ms? midnight?" The minor inconveniences to your newfound freedom didn't dampen your mood.

"that's okay... but can I have friends?"

"Of course sweetheart. as long as we approve, there are so many good boys and girls in my class, you'll love it" Aizawa replied, thinking about the little bastards making him thrust his daughter into the scary new world. fucking bastards. he and Mic caught eyes for a moment, before continuing.

"You start in two days.

be ready" --------------------------------------------------- I swear im not dead, just been working on my drafts so i can clear out my inbox, if you see any grammer flaws, no you didnt.

anyway, this account has 1,700 followers now, and I'm doing a special. someone give me an idea in the comments plz.

have a wonderful day anon! and all those who read! bye bye!

#corona pandemic #platonic obsession #soft yandere #yandere platonic #yandere eraserhead #platonic yandere #yandere my hero academia #yandere katsuki #soft yandere bakugo #yandere katsuki bakugou #yandere soft #yandere mina #yander 1A #yandere parents #protective yandere #overprtoective #zoom meeting #covid #covid19 #quarantine #yandere izuku #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere imagines #yandere x you

[covidsafehotties]

From 2023

Abstract

This is an account that should be heard of an important struggle: the struggle of a large group of experts who came together at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to warn the world about the risk of airborne transmission and the consequences of ignoring it. We alerted the World Health Organization about the potential significance of the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the urgent need to control it, but our concerns were dismissed. Here we describe how this happened and the consequences. We hope that by reporting this story we can raise awareness of the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and the need to be open to new evidence, and to prevent it from happening again. Acknowledgement of an issue, and the emergence of new evidence related to it, is the first necessary step towards finding effective mitigation solutions.

#mask up #covid #covid 19 #covid isn't over #pandemic #covid conscious #covid is airborne #wear a mask #coronavirus

[appleciders]

okay so i did watch all of warrior nun in like 2 days bc i have the no longer novel coronavirus and i just. am going CRAZY about the mary/shannon/lilith/beatrice dynamic. absolutely crazy. like the pink + white scene? where mary and lilith each take one of beatrice’s arms and hold her protectively, giving each other the big sister look of solidarity and understanding over her head? lilith tipping her head into beatrice’s cheek? the photograph of the three of them laughing? shannon’s death scene - telling lilith she’s ready, giving mary her medal, closing her eyes when beatrice kisses her on the forehead? the way beatrice describes shannon having loved pranking them? just. the love between all of them in every iteration.

and i just. god i have so many feelings about serious, intense, guarded beatrice - who is so YOUNG compared to the others - first coming into cat’s cradle. and mary sitting down with her at dinner, because beatrice automatically sits alone, her head bent. and the others joining. about weeks going by and them slowly warming her up - mary feels proud whenever she makes her lips twitch, lilith is delighted when beatrice starts to slowly show her sense of humor - they all love cruella de jesus so much (except for shannon, who never says anything but never uses it) not just for the lame joke, but because it was beatrice who made it, their beatrice with a proud grin - and shannon radiates affection when she manages to catch one of them with a good prank and beatrice laughs.

beatrice becoming someone who they come to trust not only to keep a level head and a brilliant, tactical mind, but also to love them - and they see the twisting jagged inwardness of her pain, and mary and shannon make knowing, grim eye contact, lilith - who was in so much of the same pressure cooker of perfection except instead of desperately throwing herself into being useful and having value she has turned to becoming the best, becoming ready, she has things to live up to instead of live down - squeezes her hand - but with them beatrice does not let that pain stop her from caring, loving. they are the easiest part of her vows to keep.

and mary and shannon, and mary and lilith - to see those you love changed by something of another world entirely, pulling them away from you, making them less human - and they keep giving their lives for others, fucking self sacrificial idiots, except you’re all cut from the same cloth, aren’t you? not technically, because you’re not of the cloth, not like them - but you’re alike in that way, all of you are, and it’s such a fucking glorified tragedy that you want to burn the catholic church down for it.

(side note it drives me crazy that they all know exactly which parts of each other to cut into, to make hurt - lilith telling mary she’s not really one of them, that she doesn’t belong, that she only cares about herself; mary telling lilith that all she cares about is her legacy; mary telling beatrice that she cares more about the church than her sisters; probably more that i can’t remember but it’s because they know and love each other so well that they can have this much incisive fury - “she’s my sister, of course i hate her”)

and then camila coming in, the new youngest - and now it’s beatrice’s turn to be the big sister, to camila who has been through so much and still reacts to gentleness like a flower to the sun. and camila comes in at such a hard time, because shannon is retreating, hardening, and it is putting everyone on edge. but camila is a joy and beatrice loves her too, and the rest of them get to see her growth with pride, so much pride.

anyway. my KINGDOM for a world where toya turner got to be in season 2.

#the fact that beatrice had to mourn all THREE of them jesus christ #anyway if anyone can direct me to a pre-canon exploration fic of this dynamic i would be so grateful #warrior nun #sister beatrice #shotgun mary #sister lilith #shannon masters #if this doesn’t make sense look away i have a fever

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week — September 19, 2022

🎮 — Young people passion for eSports and the environment raised plenty of money for charity

1. Patagonia Founder Gives Away the Company — Profits will now go towards climate action

Rather than selling the company or taking it public, Mr. Chouinard, his wife and two adult children have transferred their ownership of Patagonia, valued at about $3 billion, to a specially designed trust and a nonprofit organization. They were created to preserve the company’s independence and ensure that all of its profits — some $100 million a year — are used to combat climate change and protect undeveloped land around the globe.

“Instead of ‘going public,’ you could say we’re ‘going purpose.’ Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth for investors, we’ll use the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source of all wealth.”

2. World’s Largest Container Line Reroutes Around Endangered Blue Whales

The largest container line in the world has rerouted its ships passing near the coast of Sri Lanka in order to avoid potential collisions with endangered blue whales.

“MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has taken a major step to help protect blue whales and other cetaceans living and feeding in the waters off the coast of Sri Lanka by modifying navigation guidance in line with the advice of scientists and other key actors in the maritime sector,” MSC said in a statement provided to Insider.

3. Two antibodies identified can fight all known COVID strains, study finds

Israeli scientists say they have identified antibodies that are so powerful in neutralizing the coronavirus that they could eliminate the need for more vaccine boosters.

A research team at Tel Aviv University experimented with numerous antibodies and found that two in particular neutralize all known strains of the coronavirus, including Delta and Omicron, in a lab setting. Based on their performance in lab conditions, the antibodies could provide the extra protection that today comes from booster shots, adding that this could potentially make extra shots unnecessary among vaccinated people.

4. French charity stream Z Event raises record-breaking $10.3 million for environmental organizations

Z Event, the biggest charity stream event in Europe, broke a record last night. In fewer than three days, it raised over €10.1 million ($10.3 million) for five environmental nonprofit associations: WWF France, Sea Shepherd France, The SeaCleaners, Time for the planet, and biodiversity association LPO.

Since its creation, the event has been breaking records at every event. Last year, it raised a little less than 2022’s total (corresponding to $11.5M at the time).

5. Palestinian farmer discovers rare ancient treasure in Gaza

The mosaic was uncovered just a kilometer (half mile) from the Israeli border. The floor, boasting 17 iconographies of beasts and birds, is well-preserved and its colors are bright.

“These are the most beautiful mosaic floors discovered in Gaza, both in terms of the quality of the graphic representation and the complexity of the geometry,” said René Elter, an archaeologist from the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem.

6. Nurse saves baby who stopped breathing on Spirit Airlines flight to Florida

A nurse is being hailed for her heroic actions after she saved a 3-month-old baby who had stopped breathing during a flight from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Orlando, Florida.

7. Boston Marathon adds nonbinary runner option for 2023 race

Nonbinary athletes will be able to compete in next year’s Boston Marathon without having to register in either the men’s or the women’s divisions, organisers for the United States’ most popular running event said.

That’s it for this week. This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Have a great week ahead.

#best news of last week

[kookaburra-laugh]

I read that in 2022 - GO Edition

hi friends, i come with a list of fic recommendations on this first day of 2023! for me, 2022 brought new friends and new fandom and im eager to share what i’ve read and loved with you all

not all of these were written in 2022, but that’s when i read them

Accept a Little Spin by nieded @nieded ​

rated E | 100k+ words (ongoing)

It's the 2023 season, and sophomore driver, Ezira Phale, is out to prove he's worthy of his seat at McLaren F1 as the world tests the boundaries of his confidence and his relationship with IndyCar driver, AJ Crowley.

Part 2 of Rainbow Road 🏁🌈

Waking Up Slow by the_moonmoth @themoonmothwrites

rate E | 88k words

After both being exposed to coronavirus, total strangers Crowley and Aziraphale are forced to wait out their isolation together. A tale of soft winter romance by the sea.

close quarters pining, slow and hot and full of feelings

stalwart sun, wily moon by dustnhalos @dustandhalos ​

rated M | 370k words

Anthony J. Crowley is a world-class art thief with a complicated past who, until now, had been pretty content with going through life as part of a prolific black market art trafficking ring.

That is, until a simple logistical hiccup leads him straight into the path of one Aziraphale Fell, former Head Conservator of the British Museum turned antique repair shop owner.

Little do they both know, the strands of friendship, morality, and deception in their shared circles of the London art world are interwoven in even more complex ways than either of them could have expected...

such rebel blood by curtaincall @fremulon​

rated T | 60k words

Anthony Crowley needs a break. Six months after being tried for murder, he’s struggling to find a new publisher for his mystery novels—and to conquer his (apparently unrequited) feelings for Lord Aziraphale Eastgate, the man who saved his life.

Spending a few weeks out in the country working on a murder-mystery game for a rich young American’s twenty-first birthday party seems like an easy choice. But when the simulated death becomes all too real, Crowley finds himself caught up in the investigation—and crossing paths once more with someone he feared he’d never see again...

 Part 2 of A Love Story with Detective Interruptions        

No Room at the Inn by summerofspock @summerofspock

rated T | 735 words

A tipsy makeout scene for the prompt Bed Sharing.

tender and mild on main

Anatomy 101 by Fyre @amuseoffyre

rated E | 102k words

Two humans are enjoying some alone time. A demon has questions. An angel has answers.

an owners manual of sorts that developed feelings along the way

 Mark of the Serpent  by NaroMoreau, summerofspock @naromoreau ​ @summerofspock ​

rated E | 150k words

Prince Aziraphale is about to be crowned King of Angelhaven when he's taken captive by pirates. When he's sold as a pleasure slave to King Crowley, ruler of the nation readying for war with his, he is forced to keep his identity a secret as he tries to find a way home and keep peace. But not everything at King Crowley's court is as it seems and Aziraphale will have to face machinations of a Royal Court that are far more complex than he had thought.

A Captive Prince AU with an omegaverse twist.

Unusual Occurrences at A.Z. Fell and Co.'s  by WritesEveryBlueMoon @gwenstacyismyicon

rated T | 1500 words

When the bizzare and amusing habits of Mr A.Z. Fell, bookseller, begin to trend on the internet, those who dwell on various social media sites share their frustrations, confusion, and extraordinarily unusual stories.

An Oddly Mesmerizing Display by ZehWulf @zehwulf

rated E | 29k words

Crowley's a sex-indifferent/favorable asexual omega fresh off suppressants and in the market for someone to help him through what promises to be a trial of a heat. His friend gets him tickets to the Spring Fling Heat Date Auction, where he can win a date with an eligible alpha (or omega). Naturally, a certain alpha with a regrettably memorable stage magic show and intriguing scent catches his eye...

On The Habits Of Vampires And Retired Goths by munchmulch @munchmulch

rated T | 21k words

The thing is about Crowley's new neighbor, the thing is that Crowley is very, very gay.

the best kind of miscommunication. crowley has vampire traits and aziraphale makes some connections. aziraphale has wolfish traits but crowley is blinded by love and willfully ignores them

 A Guide to Fame for the Enterprising Demon by asideofourown @asideofourown

rated T | 8k words

[Crowley accidentally gets a bit famous, and the internet figures out he may be a bit immortal]

 All The Dreams We Had by ImpishTubist @impishtubist

rated T | 6.5k words

This time will be different, Aziraphale thinks. This time, Crowley will remember.

crowley cant remember falliing in love, no matter how many times he does it

do you know what eternity is? by gazing @choreomanic

rated T | 16k words

I'll pretend to propose, Crowley said.

It'll be fine, Crowley said.

It was, Aziraphale decided, not fine.

tender and mild on main. incredibly soft and silly and cute. so many proposals 

Till death do us part (or not) by fractalgeometry @geometricfractal

rated G | 2.5k words

Awkward Tesco reunions: the real curse of immortality

exactly as it says on the tin. hits all the best feels

All That’s Best of Dark and Bright by hope_in_the_dark @hope-inthedark

rated T | 5.5k words

When Crowley drops a bomb on a church, Aziraphale falls in love with him. This should be a secret, but unfortunately, Aziraphale's never been much good at keeping them.

a heartwrencher to be sure, but so sweet and gentle at the same time

Hanging By a Moment by NaroMoreau @naromoreau ​

rated E | 5.5k words

Sometimes the best thing is to leave. Fresh slate and all that. For Crowley, it seems like the only option, having fallen hopelessly in love with his best friend.

crowley convinces himself that this moment with aziraphale that he's always wanted doesnt mean the same thing to both of them. but he's leaving next week so he's going to make sure this experience will be one to remember

Echo by snae_b

rated E | 52k words

This isn’t your average coffee shop AU.

kinda sorta amnesia/time loop but so much deeper! bamf protective devoted crowley

Amazing by nightbloomingcereus @moondawntreader

rated E | 9k words

Aziraphale thinks he's been hired to perform his magic act at a party. It turns out that there's been a slight misunderstanding and everyone thinks he's there for an entirely different sort of show. Good thing the caterer is there to save the day.

Green Groves by NaroMoreau @naromoreau ​

rated E | 16.5k words

Aziraphale Fell isn't entirely happy living in his father's house. But when a new friend enters into his life, his whole world will change in an unexpected way.

Paper Thin Walls by angelsnuffbox @angelsnuffbox

rated E | 16.5k

Sure being in love with your best friend when he also happens to live in the flat next door, where you can hear every single one of his conquests through that shared wall, sounds challenging. But being in love with your best friend when he lives next door and you two used to shag? Might just be a tad more difficult, but Aziraphale muddles through somehow.

Be Ye Therefore Merciful by AmberDiceless

rated T | 9.5k words

Crowley does something utterly unexpected, and Aziraphale must face an opponent who cannot be thwarted. Hints of pre-A/C.

bookverse - crowley is injured by a blessed bullet in a warzone and aziraphale uses his full will (and rules lawyering) to keep him safe.

Any Way You Want It by Justkeeptrekkin @justkeeptrekkin

Saving the world is exhausting work. With Heaven and Hell off their backs, it seems as good a time as any for Crowley and Aziraphale to take a proper break. Neither one of them predicts the direction their holiday takes.

a scotland vacation, some realizations, and confessions to match. tender and mild on main.

Small Cock Appreciation Society by cheerios_and_wine @cheeriosandwine

rated E | 6.5k words

Crowley is the founding member. Aziraphale's is the member.

incredibly sweet and hot. crowley and aziraphale fit so well together

Lift Me Up, O Lord by CopperBeech @copperplatebeech ​

rated E | 37k words

Aziraphale Fell’s maintained a string of weightlifting victories, a strained relationship with his family, and his grandfather’s waistcoat right into his fifties.

Distance runner Anthony Crowley’s spent the last decade watching his racing career recede in the rearview, but it doesn’t stop him running, literally, away from his feelings.

lifter aziraphale, runner crowley, and a bicycle race

Boyfriend Debut by snae_b

rated E | 20k words

It’s fucking on camera. It’s not that complicated.

sex with feelings between porn stars who really hit it off

Pop the Question by tweedfeather @tweedfeather ​

rated T

Crowley plans to pop the question to Aziraphale at their favourite restaurant. Things don't go as planned.

A short, sweet, and silly fan-comic.

Where We Will Love by TawnyOwl95 @tawnyontumblr​

rated E | 17.5k words

Crowley busks in Piccadilly Circus.

Just down the road in Haymarket, Azra Eastgate performs at Her Majesty’s Theatre.

One duet is going to change both their lives.

Trust Me, I'm A Professional by Lurlur @lurlur ​

rated E | 12k words

After a mishap with a client, Crowley finds himself booking in at his local emergency department. His bitchy angel of a nurse takes good care of him, making Crowley regret that he can't really just leave his number.

Perhaps the universe has other plans for his love life?

Many Ways To Say It by Fledglinger @fledglingdoodles ​

rated G

"Listen well, dear ones, for there are many ways to tell him 'I Love You'..."

an incredibly sweet comic

Steamed by summerofspock @summerofspock ​

When Aziraphale's favorite porn star walks into the coffee shop where he works, it completely derails Aziraphale's day.

What happens when the sexy guy you're used to watching fuck people on your computer screen is actually the most awkward man you've ever met?

Heavenly Hands by ZehWulf @zehwulf ​

rated E | 7.5k words

Even girlbosses need a bit of stress relief between gaslighting and gatekeeping, and Crowley is no exception. Good thing she has a standing appointment with an angel from Higher Calling Relaxation. (A porn trope parody fic.)

A Sharper Sweet  by musegnome @musegnome ​

rated E | 5k words

Nothing smells quite the same any more. He bends over the plates anyway, and breathes in deep. Cinnamon and chocolate, fruit and sugar and butter. The scents would have set his mouth watering, before. He reaches out to touch the raspberry sauce drizzled over the cake, and stares at the drop of deep pink puree mounded on his fingertip.

crowley enjoys some sweets for his vampire partner and they both have a rather enjoyable time. a little angst at the start

Pavlov's Backroom by justheidi @scienceismygirlfriend

rated M | 444 words

"A word with you, angel. In private."

A conversation in the backroom of the bookshop.

Trying it On by snae_b

rated E | 6k words

Anthony Crowley. Stylist to an elite tier of the UK’s hottest stars. And now, apparently, to one dowdy, soft around the middle, recently divorced publishing heir.

Intermezzo by FeralTuxedo @feraltuxedo​

rated E | 47k words

Music critic Aziraphale Fell is trying to break into the world of television, when he is signed to make a documentary about former-rockstar-turned-composer Anthony Crowley. It’s been eleven years since Aziraphale’s disastrous review of Crowley’s debut opera nipped his classical music career in the bud. He can only hope that Crowley will get over his admittedly justified grudge to make the TV show a success.

  A classical music sex comedy. Yes, really.

Coq au Vin by Ginger_Cat @gingiekittycat​

rated E | 13k words

Tonight’s the night. He can feel it in his bones, in his wings, in his demonic soul. It’s going to happen—months of showering the angel with flowers and chocolates and perfect picnic lunches and walks thorough the farmers’ market, romantic row-boat rides on the lake and concerts in the park and dinner at the Ritz and everything in-bloody-between, are all culminating in this one night.

Because Crowley is making Aziraphale dinner, and Crowley is going to kiss him.

When the Sun Goes Down by TawnyOwl95 @tawnyontumblr

rated E | 16k words

Mr Anthony J. Crawleigh, disgraced heir to the Helton Abbey Estate, has been summoned home to attend his sister's engagement party.

It's only four days of shooting, dancing and making nice with nobs. He's survived much, much worse.

If only Mama hadn't arranged for such a handsome young man to undress him every night. Practically asking for trouble, that is.

Everything I've Had by AppleSeeds

rated M | 13k words

After developing a chronic illness that leaves him unable to live alone, Crowley moves back home to London where he reunites with his childhood best friend Aziraphale. Aziraphale helps to take care of Crowley and keeps him company while he's in bed, bringing them closer together and reigniting old feelings.

for the first time by summerofspock @summerofspock​

rated E | 3k words

It’s been six months since they’ve seen each other any way besides over FaceTime and Aziraphale is desperate for the sound of Crowley’s voice without the filter of the tinny speakers of his iPhone, for the smell of the crook of his neck, for the way his body fills the space beside him. He knows Crowley will be here soon and yet his heart hardly believes it is real.

Rivers Of Gold by entanglednow @entanglednow​

rated E | 7k words

Crowley is commissioned to sculpt an angel for a family chapel, but the more he uncovers from the marble the less willing he is to give it up.

amaretto by goosewriting @goosetooths​

rated E | 69k words

Aziraphale, a human, has grown used to being alone.

Everything changes for him when a unique occult relic falls into his hands and loops him into a contract with a mild-mannered (if a bit snarky) demon named Crowley.

#good omens #fic rec #give these authors some love #thanks for helping me through another year #looking forward to the madness that will be season 2 #happy new year

[maxknightley]

Hey I'm very stupid (like genuinely) and I kind of get confused when people describe Biden as all kind of horrible things and then mention Donald Trump offhandedly. Are you saying they are both the same old white men or am I misunderstanding. I've heard people say Trump is better than Biden but I don't understand why people say that especially since he would probably just be doing the same thing as Biden is doing if he won the election. I don't need an explanation of things both have done I'd just like to understand the tone since I just can't understand what you mean via text. Sorry if my question is frustrating.

to be clear I do not actually think Trump would be better than Biden. the best-case scenario of a Trump presidency is that a combination of 1. his incompetence, 2. his ego, and 3. the center-left again being galvanized into some form of action will inhibit his ability to ruin the world further.

the real problem is that both Biden and Trump will almost assuredly continue to support slaughter and religious/ethnic hatred throughout the world in service of imperial interests. this is nothing new, mind you, but I do think their presidencies represent a particularly intense and naked type of brutality, one in which the few lines that the American empire would even consider not crossing are completely ignored. whichever one of them wins, I expect this shit country to continue turning a blind eye to the nation-state of Israel's genocidal ambitions, to aid Ukraine only as long as it's convenient (and to continue pressuring them to submit to the whims of international capital), to continue pointlessly sabre-rattling against the PRC and Iran, etc. etc. etc.

moreover Biden's administration has been remarkably apathetic about the ongoing conservative push to censure any public form of transness or sexuality. the few beneficial things that arguably can be attributed to the Biden administration largely couldn't have happened without organized labor anyway, certainly don't outweigh the massacre of thousands overseas; moreover, the sheer extent to which they fucked up the coronavirus response in favor of saving an economy which is still completely fucked anyway cannot be overstated.

tl;dr they're both shitheads and I expect that this country will continue to get worse until, god willing, it balkanizes entirely and ceases to exist as a superpower. you can still feel free to vote - and in the case of local elections, where your vote can have considerably more impact, I would actually encourage this - but the presidential election in particular is going to be a shitshow from start to finish

#ask #anon

[odinsblog]

A conspiracy-filled rant by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that the Covid-19 virus was engineered to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people has stirred accusations of antisemitism and racism in the Democratic candidate’s long-shot run for president.

“Covid-19. There is an argument that it is ethnically targeted. Covid-19 attacks certain races disproportionately,” Mr. Kennedy said at a private gathering in New York that was captured on videotape by The New York Post. “Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.”

Mr. Kennedy has made his political career on false conspiracy theories about not just Covid-19 and Covid vaccines but disproved links between common childhood vaccines and autism, mass surveillance and 5G cellular phone technology, ill health effects from Wi-Fi and a “stolen” election in 2004 that gave the presidency back to George W. Bush.

But his suggestion that the coronavirus pandemic spared Chinese people and Jews of European descent strayed into new and bigoted territory.

Asian Americans suffered through a brutal spate of assaults at the beginning of the Covid pandemic by people who blamed the Chinese for intentionally releasing the virus on the world. And Mr. Kennedy’s remarks about Ashkenazi Jews hit antisemitic tropes on multiple levels.

Ashkenazi Jews generally descend from those who settled in Eastern Europe after the Roman Empire destroyed the Jewish state around 70 A.D. Sephardic Jews went to the Middle East, North Africa and Spain.

The idea that Ashkenazi Jews are somehow separate from Caucasians has fueled deadly bigotry for centuries, and the conspiracy of Jewish immunity from tragedy has been part of antisemitic attacks as far back as the Black Plague and as recently as the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Abraham Foxman, who worked for decades as the head of the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights organization, condemned “antisemitic stereotypes going back to the Middle Ages that claimed Jews protected themselves from diseases.”

“It cannot be ignorance because he is not ignorant, so he must believe it,” Mr. Foxman said Saturday night.

Mr. Kennedy responded to The New York Post story with a defense that only deepened his conspiratorial theories. He wrote on Twitter that he “accurately pointed out” that the United States is “developing ethnically targeted bioweapons” — a point he made in his remarks captured on video, when he repeated Russian propaganda that the United States is collecting D.N.A. in Ukraine to target Russians with tailored bioweapons.

Mr. Kennedy also linked to a scientific paper that he said showed the structure of the Covid-19 virus made Black and Caucasian people more susceptible, and “ethnic Chinese, Finns and Ashkenazi Jews” were less receptive.

But the study he linked to, published in July 2020, early in the pandemic and before effective treatments had emerged, made no reference to Chinese people as more receptive to the virus, nor did it speak of targeting the virus. It said one particular receptor for the virus appeared not to be present in Amish and Ashkenazi Jews.

His conclusions were roundly dismissed by scientists.

(continue reading)

#politics #rfk jr #robert kennedy jr #antisemitism #antivaxxers #sinophobia #conspiracy theorists #rfkjr #covidiots #qanon

[yuzu-all-the-way]

Aoi Honoo IV - Prologue (the introduction)

Disclaimer: Full translation of AH4's Prologue done via machine translation (ChatGPT, Google Translate, DeepL and several other obscure online dictionaries). This means: nuances may be lost, meanings may be vague/muddled, but the relevant information is present. (@/LiaRyFS)

In 2019-2020, Hanyu Yuzuru thought about various things and hesitated, but ultimately he strongly decided to jump the quad Axel. Looking back on that season, he said as follows.

“2019 was a year of constant battle for me, including the World Championships in Saitama in March. I had been practising the quad Axel for a while, but it didn't go well for a long time… Sometimes I could jump it when I practised with a harness, and I thought, 'If I could do more of this, I might be able to do it.' But I also got injured again while trying things out, and there were many things that happened that season.

It was a year in which I kept challenging myself, but it was also a year in which I felt a sense of defeat as if everything had been broken. It's like there's nothing I can do on my own power, and that's how it felt…

At the Torino Grand Prix Final, of course, I felt that even if I made a lot of effort, I couldn't win without the support of the people around me. I somehow felt at that time that there is a world where no matter how much effort you put in, you can't win without the moment when everyone's power comes together, like at the Olympics.

However, it was a bit different from the statement made at the 2022 Beijing Olympics that 'effort will not be rewarded'. At that time, I think my desire to 'just get better' was still strong, so I was expressing those kinds of thoughts. As the consecutive competitions went on, I lost the strength to say such things when I lost at the All Japan Championships. 2019 was a year in which I struggled, not wanting to just be someone who won two consecutive Olympic titles, or someone from the past.”

When the new year began, he tried to find his way out of that despair.

“Since 2020, I have tested myself and thought a lot about what figure skating really means. So with the desire to regain my confidence, I returned to skating to my programs, ‘Ballade No. 1 in G minor’ (hereinafter referred to as ‘Ballade No. 1’) and ‘SEIMEI’. Since I had not yet won first place in the Four Continents Championships, there was a similar feeling of joy to my first victory in the 2019 GP Skate Canada. (N/T: Winning Skate Canada and 4CC sparked similar feelings of joy) I was really happy to have won! I think it was a big deal that Nathan Chen didn't participate at that time, but still winning the Four Continents for the first time and being able to win all the competitions that I had left behind gave me a sense of achievement and I was enveloped in a great sense of accomplishment.

However, what was bothering me inside was still the quadruple Axel. Even if I skated 'Ballade No.1' more beautifully than before and improved technically, there was a sense of resignation that 'I can't get a score higher than 2015' or something like that. The competition was the one where I felt like I had finally let go of my doubts and decided to focus solely on attempting the quadruple Axel. In a sense, that season was when I was able to establish a clear path towards expressing myself through the program and the 4A.”

However, his feelings were complex towards the World Championships that were coming up next (N/T: WC2020)

“In retrospect, I feel like I wasn't as fully invested in preparing for the World Championships as I thought I was, although at the time I was putting in my best effort. Unfortunately, it was ultimately cancelled due to the impact of the coronavirus. Winning the Four Continents Championship was a very fulfilling achievement, and I don't think it's normal to experience burnout after winning Four Continents, but in a way, there was a sense of resignation and a lifting of the confusion in my heart, combined with the fact that I was going to compete against Nathan, so... to be honest, that World Championships wasn't a competition where I had to jump the quadruple Axel, and the quadruple Axel wasn't a jump I could do even after practising it for about two weeks.

Since the program with the quad Lutz, 'SEIMEI,' had a different composition, I aimed to stabilise that first, and also, I had already peaked a little since the Four Continents, so honestly, during that short period, I couldn't do much except to adjust to get back to my peak. 

However, at that time, the fear of competing against Nathan had already disappeared. It's like, 'I don't mind losing anymore' (laughs). In a way, until the cancellation of the World Championships, I always thought that it would be enough for me to firmly express what I wanted to express and to firmly follow the path of figure skating that I believed in.

However, when the World Championships were actually cancelled, I cried a lot. I couldn't help but wonder, ‘What was I working so hard for?’ And when it was actually cancelled, I realised that I hated going into competitions with the mind-set of 'losing'.”

From there, the spread of the novel coronavirus increased and the situation became such that people were unable to move around freely.

“In the end, that was the end of the 2019-2020 season, and after that, the spread of the coronavirus began, but I didn't have much hope. I was devastated at the 2019 GP Final and All-Japan, and had given up after ‘Ballade No. 1’ at the 2020 Four Continents Championships. From that time on, I didn't have much hope while practising. Rather, the only goal was ‘to jump the quadruple Axel!’

Even if my skating skills and other things improve, it doesn’t mean that the program components score will grow any further. Even if I perfected the expression through music, even if I matched the sound of the jumps to the sound of the music. Even if I did jumps with more variations from difficult steps, the GOE will not improve significantly. Rather, because of that, the speed would be slower and the height of the jumps lower, so some judges give 0 or +1 GOE.

In that sense, I felt like ‘I don't really care about those things anymore’ and decided to be true to myself. Although it may sound like an excuse, rather than trying to do something while decorating myself as 'Yuzuru Hanyu', I think I started practising with the feeling of facing my own core and jumping the quadruple Axel, thinking ‘I'm going to finish this’. So, when I came back to Japan, I started training with that mind-set.

To be honest, there were times when I felt really hopeless, and when the World Championships were cancelled, I cried with relief thinking, ‘I'm glad I don't have to go to a losing match’. In reality, I hadn't been able to push myself to the limit and I wasn't able to perform as well as I wanted to.”

Challenging himself alone in Japan after returning home was even more difficult than he had imagined. Later, Hanyu talked about that time.

“In those days, I felt like I spent a lot of time having a dialogue with myself and facing skating. The desire to successfully perform a quad axel was always at the core of my being. After the Pyeongchang Olympics, I had absolutely no motivation, so if I didn't have the quad Axel, I think I would have definitely quit, and I would have thought about retiring earlier. But thanks to that, I think I now have a reason to live pursuing my dreams, and that is the centre of my current life. I think that hasn't changed from those days to now.

However, at that time, there were challenges in pursuing the quad Axel jump. There were times when the gears didn't quite mesh due to factors such as not having a coach to guide me, changes in practice environment, and issues with body care that I had to decide on my own. At that time, I had a feeling that not only my 4A but also the level of what I was doing was gradually decreasing. I had a feeling like, 'Why am I even doing figure skating?'...It was like a sense of loss. It's like my own abilities were diminishing, or like my skating wasn't my own anymore. I felt a strong sense of sadness, like seeing my ideals getting further and further away from me. When I perform in ice shows or when I have my coach watch me skate, I receive feedback like 'this was good' or 'let's try this a little differently' but when I set such a high goal for myself like attempting the quad Axel alone, I have to spend every day unable to achieve it. I was doing it without any self-affirmation in the midst of that.”

In addition, he completed his graduation thesis for the correspondence course of the Waseda University Faculty of Human Sciences at the end of July, but the burden of collecting data for it was also significant.

“That required a lot of energy. What was published in academic journals was really just a small part, and we actually collected much more data and did various things. It took time to collect that data and required a lot of mental effort as well. At that time, various things coincided. My foot hurt from practising the quadruple Axel, and I had to rest from practice. When I returned to practice, I couldn't jump at all... Everything was already leaning in a negative direction.”

The cancellation of the ice show that used to be held every year, due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, was also a loss for Hanyu, who had always continued to challenge himself with a forward-looking attitude.

“To be honest, there was a time when I didn't understand why I loved skating. If we really, really go back to the origin, it was something like an extraordinary feeling. The sensation on the ice is completely different from the sensation of living on the ground, isn't it? Because it's such a difficult thing, I think there was a sense of joy when I was able to do it. And then, skating alone on that wide rink and everyone watching only me. If my performance was good, I would receive tremendous cheers, but if it was bad, I would only get mediocre feedback. 

I think that sensation of being watched, of being seen, is something that I really liked. But as I continued skating for a long time, that feeling gradually faded away, or became commonplace. In addition to that, there was also a lot of pressure to meet everyone's expectations, and it became not just fun, but also nerve-wracking, worrying about what would happen if I failed, and so on. It was because of the accumulation of those things, and the increasing burden that came with it, that it stopped being enjoyable, or rather, there was no time to think about enjoying it anymore.

I feel a lot of pressure to 'perform well’ even at ice shows, so I practise a lot for that purpose. So, I think that's why, during the off-season when I wasn't in front of everyone, I started to feel even more like 'why did I love skating again?'”

In the midst of feeling cornered, he had to think and make various decisions on his own. And he had to keep challenging himself with the high hurdle of the quadruple Axel.

“There were times when things didn't go well, and that's why at that time, my mind and my head were in a mess and I felt like I couldn't do anything. Normally, if I played a game or something, it would refresh me and I would think ‘Alright, let's do our best next time,’ but at that time, there was nothing I could do.

Experiencing the pain of practising alone to the point of hating it, Hanyu decided to withdraw from the Grand Prix series during that period. The Grand Prix series of this year was held in a modified format due to travel restrictions between countries. Each skater was allowed to participate in only one event, and the conditions for participation included skaters, judges, and officials from the host country, as well as skaters who regularly practised in the host country. In addition, only skaters from other countries who were invited based on their geographical location were able to participate.

Afterwards, the second event Skate Canada and the fourth event in France were cancelled, and only the first event Skate America, the third event in China, the fifth event in Russia, and the sixth event NHK Trophy were held. The Final was also announced to be cancelled. 

In August, Hanyu took into consideration that "many people would have to travel due to my participation".

He announced his withdrawal, saying, "If I refrain from going and make efforts to prevent the spread of infection, I believe it can be one of the activities to prevent the spread of infection." For Hanyu, who has used going to competitions as a way to stimulate his emotions and as a source of energy for his evolution, it was a difficult decision.

#yuzuru hanyu #aoi honoo iv #aoi honoo iv translation #machine translation #aoi hono

[animefeminist]

Designer, DJ, and model Senanan’s latest fashion brand wants to make kawaii for everyone

32-year-old Senanan has already had an incredible career. She moved to Tokyo in 2012 and established her first brand, QissQill, one year later. She became a popular subject of photographers on the fashionable streets of Harajuku, often wearing her own brands, and modeled for several magazines including alt-fashion icon FRUiTS. Her next clothing venture was XRN (aka XRNFORBADGAL), which is described as a sister brand to the rock-inspired KRY.

Senanan took her subversive sensibilities to the world of music; she did solo work as a DJ and also collaborated with the group SUDDENDEATH, who had been planning a comeback prior to the 2020 lockdowns. She joked about the deliberately shocking and “radical” content of her solo music (one of her singles is “$ CUNT DULL,” a wordplay on “scandal”) in one interview in 2019, and talked about the songs she was working on “Rabu hoteru ni iku koto mo sukunakunatta (We’re going to love hotels less and less)” and “Kyougen aidoru to mougen otaku-kun (Dramatic idol and abusive otaku).”

In the wake of the initial wave of Coronavirus and the birth of her child in 2019, Senanan shifted gears and began working on a new project: anonenone, a brand meant to create kawaii items that could be enjoyed by anyone, “regardless of style, age, and gender.” She was invited to Otakon in 2023 as both a guest and a featured presenter for a fashion show alongside her frequent collaborator Colomo, designer of DimMoire. We were able to speak to her briefly that weekend; as is standard for Otakon, all questions were approved in advance.

Read it at Anime Feminist!

#senanan #qissqill #harajuku #alt fashion #kawaii fashion #anonenone #articles #plus size fashion