#12°F is -11°C for my international friends

[maple-seed]

Pray for me, besties. I'm a tropical creature. I'm not built for this.

[shivunin]

Fanfic Writer Questions

Tagged by @greypetrel - thank you so much! 💗

I know this has made the rounds already. If I tag you and you've already done it, please feel free to tag me in the replies or disregard!

Tagging: @nightwardenminthara @vakarians-babe @transprincecaspian @star--nymph @blightbear @inquisimer @dreadfutures @scribbledquillz

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

43

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

688,185

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Published? Just Dragon Age. But I have some unfinished/unpublished Mass Effect and Baldur's Gate stuff as well.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

All of these are Cullavellan fic:

Your Fate for Mine (129,681 Words | E)

More Than Memory (5,214 Words | E)

Search Your Hands (13,581 Words | E)

Unyielding (3,083 Words | M)

The Epaulet Mate (7,303 Words | E)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes, though more slowly than I used to!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ooh. Probably The Scourge of Sundermount, though it wound up less angsty than the original ending (in which Cullen and Lavellan are turned to stone forever)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I'm a sucker for a happy ending, so this is much harder to answer! I am avoiding answering this with the obvious innuendo haha. Maybe In Any Life? I feel like the vibe of that last chapter is so very soft, with a spring breeze blowing through the window in the house Fenris and Maria made together c:

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've gotten some snarky comments, but never outright hate (thankfully!)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes--not sure what is meant by "kind." M/F and F/F--soft and gentle, hard and fast, mildly kinky, plot-relevant and pwp, etc. A variety of smut, haha.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Not really. Crossovers aren't really my jam, but if I wrote one it would probably be Inquisition characters in Mass Effect (like a genre switch thing, not picked up and dropped into our solar system).

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

When I was like 13 on FF.net, yes. It's why I stopped writing fic until I was 28.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Only in a sense! I have a few pieces sharing an OC with a friend that were largely rp first before I set them down as a narrative c:

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

God. Don't ask me this haha. My first DA ship was Fenris/Hawke and it still lives so closed to my heart, but Cullen/Lavellan got me into the fandom and Zevran/Tabris brought me someone very dear to me. I don't think I could ever judge any of them by the merits of the ship alone at this point!

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Hmmm more than I'd like to admit :/ Probably The Red Crossing Arrangement, which is an arranged marriage/Halamshiral still belongs to the elves AU. It took so much more world building that my ability to write it slowly petered out. The odds are high that it will remain at roughly 80k for the foreseeable future (unless I suddenly want to get back to working out trade routes and governance and commerce, which is what did me in; I'm good at world-building culture on account of the degree and all, but the semantics of daily life don't really interest me as much) (tragically, this means the Adalene and Elandrin fix-it portions of this story may never be published :C and this does honestly make me so sad :C)

16. What are your writing strengths?

Voice and characterization/internal dialogue. I've been told that the canon characters I write feel very similar to canon and that's something I'm really proud of c:

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Physical space. I forget to define the setting very, very frequently. It's the next thing I want to focus on in my writing, actually, when I get back into it!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Eh. I think it can add flavor, especially in fantasy settings where the cultures and worlds are built dissimilarly to the real world. I don't think there's anything especially fun about not being able to discern what's happening in conversation---I think it's most effective when it's a handful of phrases that repeat (hello, I'm sorry, I love you, etc.) or when followed by a translation of some sort. As a lover of Latin, I especially find google translations very unreliable and often incorrect. Better to just italicize it and indicate it's another language, imo.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Code Lyoko

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Oof. It depends on when you ask me this haha. For the moment, I think I'm loving As Two Reflected Stars a little extra right now c: I just love wound-tending and idiots in love and this is definitely both!

Blank version below!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

16. What are your writing strengths?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

19. First fandom you wrote for?

20. Favorite fic you've written?

[nnschneider]

I got tagged by @wurzelbertzwerg so her are my replies

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

30

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

296,244 as of today but I'm posting weekly updates on a story nowadays.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Primarily Northanger Abbey and Good Omens although I've written something for all of Austen's published novels and other TV shows (not all posted on AO3)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I'm ordering these from most to least:

An Equitable Arrangement - GO. Sequel to Renovation. A/C go from pretending to be a couple of humans to pretending to be a human couple.

Origin Story - NA. Modern hero/villain AU inspired by Mega Mind.

Opposite of Retirement - GO. Sequel to Equitable Arrangement. A/C do not get a peaceful, boring retirement.

The Renovation - GO. C is unhappy with his flat and decides to renovate it.

The Smallest Angel - GO. A is shrunk.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes but I always feel like I'm doing it wrong. Like, I have posted whole pages of words just above here and I need to write something else like Thank you? But that feels a little skimpy given that so few people comment these days. And also, what's a reasonable time between the comment and the reply that doesn't feel like I'm stalking my inbox?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Lamb - Mansfield Park. In response to a Halloween prompt ("illness").

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Northanger Federated? It very clearly ends happily ever after.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I got a relatively gentle, hate-tangential comment once on Welcome to Austenville. It has multiple couples in it from Austen's novels. I had changed one canonically M/F couple into a F/F couple and someone left a comment that they would not be reading the rest of the story due to that. Note: this was not on AO3 but on another site where I was cross posting.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No. I tend to try to watch my language unless it's character compliant, even swapping out "oh my god!" with "oh my goodness!" I tend to stay away from explicit scenes. I also typically note if there's violence, sexual innuendo, or implicit scenes as a warning. Long ago, I started posting on a site that abided by an ambiguously understood "family friendly" policy and I've internalized that recommendation.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I'm more of a "saw a movie, imma cram my blorbos in it" writer, but if you consider mixing characters from different Austen novels in the same story, then yes, I have done crossovers.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so? No one's told me.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have had a fic translated INTO SONG! For years, I wrote a little parody of something Jane Austen as a Christmas Carol and blackglass actually sang Who Would Say No? (Austen crossover about heroines refusing a marriage proposal to the tune of Up On The Housetop).

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Does a beta reader count? I think I'd love someone to poke me along but also I'd need them not to poke when I am too busy IRL.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

It has to be Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland. Boring but gets the job done.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

My COVID inspired P&P that focuses on Lady Catherine and her friends sending letters back and forth as England succumbs to a mysterious plague,,, of werewolves. I was angry at the time with how people in power (the Lady Catherines of the modern world) were so eager to put front line workers in danger to support their lifestyles. But now that everyone is actively, deliberately coughing on everyone else, it feels like the moment has passed.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'm willing to move from one fandom to another based on my inspiration. I'm willing to kill my darlings which is good for suspense.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action and choreography. I struggle with these, have no idea if I'm using the right vocabulary for the expert who knows those terms nor the novice who just wants to read something entertaining. I feel like I'm never right.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I did a Casablanca inspired Persuasion piece which had some German and French in it. My peer reviewer at the time knew someone fluent in German and I've had enough French that I could sprinkle in a few lines for atmosphere without requiring my readers to know a second language. I did try to get clever and put the translations into a tooltip you could hover over so you didn't need to scroll or click around, and then I realized it doesn't really work on touch screens or sites that strip out HTML as a security precaution.

As far as writing a whole story in another language, I think it would need to be a very short story.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Pride and Prejudice, "Lizzy and the Three Ghosts" which has not been posted on AO3. I had read enough JAFF to be thoroughly comfortable with P&P, before I started to really get behind NA.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Origin Story is my favorite NA on AO3; you should read it.

I have no idea who else to tag but consider this your open invitation.

[hornime]

voyeurant | kenma kozume x f!reader

he tentatively wrapped a palm around the shaft, shuddering at the contact, his eyelids fluttering shut. god, i’m such a pervert, thinking about her like this. she’d hate me if she knew i saw her like that, knew that i was touching myself thinking about her tits...

warnings: 18+, timeskip!kenma, kinda dubcon, kenma’s unintentionally pervy, male masturbation, poorly written video game content (i tried my best), mutual pining but u both are oblivious

w/c: 1.5k

a/n: yes, the title is a shitty pun of valorant. no, i will not be changing it. also this tiktok about timeskip kenma made me giggle so pls enjoy.

voyeurant: part one ↓ | part two | part three:

“fuck, i hate this map,” kenma grumbled into his headset.

your voiced chimed in his ears. “is it ascent?” you turned to see his face on your screen, pinched in annoyance. “ha, it is ascent. sucks for you.”

“which one are you on? haven?”

“you know it,” you chuckled. “your favorite.”

“i hate you.” he weighed his options, did he really want to play this game? the layout of the world made it irritatingly hard to strategize, and today’s losing streak was making him more agitated than usual. with a sign, he closed the application. “fuck this. i’m gonna go piss.”

“yeah, yeah, you’re such a big baby. and...” you released your mouse, throwing your hands up in triumph, “we just won. at this point, i’m gonna outrank you.” you were joking, of course. kenma wasn’t just a gamer, he was kodzuken, one of japan’s best pro-gamers, and you were just someone that played as a hobby. but it was always fun to tease.

“hmm,” he hummed. “i’m sure you will.” he turned his head to look directly at his webcam, smirking, “in your dreams.”

“ooh, catboy’s getting feisty!” he flinched at the nickname. “go pee so i can beat you at your best.”

he obliged, pulling his headphones off and looping them on the top of his chair. he casually raised his middle finger at you while smoothing out strands of his hair, prompting a series of profanities to escape your mouth, none of which he could hear. he chuckled playfully as you responded with two middle fingers of your own, before moving out of the camera to get to the bathroom.

you and kenma had met in an... interesting way, to say the least. after going moderately viral from lashing out at him for refusing to heal you in a game of overwatch—while he was streaming—the two of you reconciled over a twitter thread and exchanged gamer tags. since then, you’d struck up an easygoing friendship, characterized by almost nightly discord calls and occasional flirting. but we’re just friends, you often reminded yourself. and you were fine, well, mostly fine, with that.

tonight was like any other night: both you and him spending hours in a video chat with nothing better to do than mindlessly play games and bash each other. it was more than enough to strengthen your relationship but fell short of giving you the romantic tension you craved.

with kenma off in the bathroom, you, already bored, spun wildly in your chair. forgetting that your earbuds were still plugged in, the white wire caught on an opened can of coke sitting on your desk, spilling the sugary drink all over your keyboard and the front of your shirt. 

“shit!” you quickly scrambled for paper towels, but the still-connected wire yanked you backwards. in your haste for something to wipe the soda with, the fact that your camera remained on in the video call completely slipped your mind. making the split-second decision that the trip for a towel wasn’t worth it at this point, you quickly whipped off your shirt, dabbing the keys with the part that was still dry. since you were home, you’d gone braless, and your current predicament had you flashing your webcam.

now, kenma had seen a lot of things from your side of the call: he’d seen you get chewed out by your residential advisor for being too loud, you with two sticks of pocky poking out of your mouth like walrus tusks, and you doing random cosplay moves you’d seen on tiktok. what he wasn’t expecting to see, not even in his wildest dreams, was a screenful of your tits, slightly damp from the cola that had seeped through the fabric of your long-gone shirt.

he stopped in his tracks, still out of the frame of his camera, eyes wide and heart racing, desperately trying to calm down and prevent the gradual hardening of his cock in his pants. unable to deny his desires, he continued staring at your plump breasts on his computer, you completely unaware that he could see you.

you quickly threw your soaked top in the laundry basket before throwing on a random sweatshirt and trying to calm your frazzled nerves. you tentatively touched your keyboard, groaning internally when you fingers lightly stuck to the buttons. it’s gonna take forever to clean this, you mourned.

“hey,” kenma mumbled, reappearing on screen and shaking you out of your thoughts.

“hey.” you noticed his flushed expression. “are you okay? you look really red.”

“uh, yeah. i actually uh, i feel kinda sick. so i’m gonna, gonna go.”

“oh, okay.” why’s he acting so weird? “feel better!” you disconnected from the call with a huff, disappointment morphing your face into a pout. well, you thought, better get to cleaning.

kenma, on the other hand, was still, swallowing as the bulge in his boxers became agonizingly hard. though the only thing left on his screen was his reflection staring back at him, the luscious view of your bust was etched in his mind. his hands moved to free his cock, the tip an angry red and smearing pre-cum over the waistband of his underwear. 

he tentatively wrapped a palm around the shaft, shuddering at the contact, his eyelids fluttering shut. god, i’m such a pervert, thinking about her like this. she’d hate me if she knew i saw her like that, knew that i was touching myself thinking about her tits...

“fuck,” he whined, slowly stroking up and down. his thighs trembled as he fell back into his chair, mind wandering. he couldn’t stop himself, his thoughts become more and more lewd, fantasizing about how your breasts would bounce as he thrusted into you, how your thighs would wrap warmly around your head as he ate you out, how you’d cry out his name so prettily when he made you squirt around his fingers.

it was all too much, and as the circle he made with his fingers tightened as he reached his tip, he lurched forward, alarmed at how good everything felt just by thinking about you. i can’t cum, i can’t, the small part of his brain that wasn’t completely overtaken with pleasure tried to reason with him. there’s no going back if i—shit—if i cum. she’ll know, somehow, if i—if i cum, i—

the ecstasy kept clouding his judgement and his body worked against his mind as his hand pumped faster and faster while his conscience screamed to stop. his wrist wetly slapped the base of his cock, the sounds of both his hands and his moans getting too loud for comfort, but all he could think about was you. your eyes, your mouth, your chest, your legs, your ass, your pussy. god, he wanted to be in you so badly.

he couldn’t hold back, his insatiable need to cum overriding his senses, and the translucent liquid twitched out of his throbbing cock in spurts, drenching his fist and his balls. “fuck, fuck, fuck. i’m—fuck.”

he collapsed against the back of his chair, chest heaving with the sheer intensity of his orgasm. he combed a hand through his hair, the consequences of his actions now weighing heavily on his shoulders. i’m never gonna be able to look at her in the eyes again, he lamented. how am i ever gonna—damn it. 

the sudden ping of a notification had his eyes raising from the mess on his pants towards his computer screen. 

meanwhile, you were messaging kenma, a little off-put by his sudden radio silence but chalking it all up to his mysterious sickness.

[11:05 PM] you: hey ken! hope u feel better

[11:05 PM] you: if u get the chance u should check out what i added to our minecraft house. its perfect for sick victorian orphans like u

[12:14 PM] you: guess

[12:05 PM] you: guess

[12:05 PM] you: guess

[12:05 PM] you: guess

[12:05 PM] you: why arent u responding

[12:05 PM] you: guess

[12:05 PM] you: ok u got me ill tell u

[12:05 PM] you: its a hot tub

[12:05 PM] you: but with soup

[12:05 PM] you: but the soup is lava

[12:05 PM] you: genius right

[12:06 PM] you: anyway get some sleep and feel better <3

[12:06 PM] you: lmk if u wanna play animal crossing

[12:06 PM] you: actually no u should sleep. rest ur eyes and shit

[12:06 PM] you: no animal crossing for u!

[12:06 PM] you: sleep well so i can destroy ur ass in val tmrw

[12:06 PM] you: >:)

he sighed as he read your one-sided ramblings. he really liked you.

and he really wanted to fuck you. lucky for you, you wanted the exact same thing. 

if only kenma knew what you did on the other side of the screen, hands in your undies and his name on your lips...

>> part two

© property of hornime 2021. do not plagiarize any of my writing and do not repost/copy my writing onto any other sites.

[faintvibes]

NZ Education System Facts

@delastiny come collect your facts!!

Fair warning that this was 7 1/2 pages on Google Docs, and written in a haze of efficiency. Proofreading is not a word in my vocabulary.

Basic Facts

The basic levels of New Zealand’s education system are as follows:

Kindergarten/Daycare- this is essentially an honorary level, considering that it is entirely optional. While it is to a degree dependent on the school, these tend to open their doors to anyone from 6 months to 5 years old. There can often be long waiting lists for entry, as they are often very small schools. 

Primary School- Primary school starts from 5 years of age, until the year the child turns 11. This is where basic learning begins, and covers Year 1 through to Year 6.

Intermediate School- Intermediate school is particularly short, holding students for only two years. (Age 11 to the year they turn 13- Years 7 and 8.) It is more of a transition period, to adjust students from expectations in primary to those in high school.

High School- High school covers the teenage years, from 13 to the year a student turns 18 (Years 9-13). Sometimes the first two years are separated into Junior High School- and taught at a different institution, or a “sub” institution designed to lead them into a specific high school.

Sometimes intermediate, and the high schools are combined into one school- where a student will attend from 11 to 18. These are called colleges (and as such, we do not refer to universities as colleges.)

Tertiary education- The standards here (for University) are about as you’d expect internationally. The only notable exception is that, if you’re from NZ and attending before 21, they expect you to have met certain requirements during your later three high school years. I cannot comment on trade schools/night schools because I do not know much about them. 

New Zealand schools will often differ quite a lot in curriculums, the national law providing a fair bit of leniency. As such, my experience will largely be what dictates what I share here, and might be wildly different to someone’s from another part of the country- or even just another school. 

Important Concepts

Compared to other countries (ergo: what I know about the American education system), New Zealand’s is much more lax. I didn’t even know what a grading system was until Year 7- and I only learnt then because I attend a college, and they focus a lot on building a path for you into later years. But when grading systems do begin to be used, there are two main ones that must be considered: the school’s internal grading system, and the NZ Curriculum Levels.

It is worth noting that from Year 11 onwards, these systems (though the language in the school’s internal grading system is inherited) become essentially obsolete. This is when NCEA is introduced (this will be expanded upon later)- the national standard from which tertiary education institutions will judge you by. These are only really used from Year 7 to Year 10.

Schools don’t use a letter grading system, instead using a four point system. This system, while the general structure is universally applied, differs in name across different schools. For example, my school uses Not Achieved (maths says Developing instead), Achieved, Merit, and Excellence. Think of them as about F/D, C, B, and A respectively. A friend who transferred to my school says her school instead named them Not Achieved, Achieved, More Work Required, and Satisfactory. You may be able to see how attitudes of schools alter these names. 

The NZ Curriculum Levels are a series of numbered levels that discern where a student should be operating at during any given year. An image helpfully explains it here:

A level doesn’t correlate to one year, and they overlap (which is why my teachers would always proudly tell us in Year 9 ‘you guys are working at Year 12 level!’) but it gives some understanding as to where a student should be operating, with teachers having rubrics explaining the criteria for each level.

Often, subjects will combine both grading systems to best explain what level a student is at, or their specific assignment’s grade. These are used to mark a student’s progress throughout their schooling. These grades might look like a 5 Merit, 6 Achieved, etc. Oddly enough, if you complete all the criteria for a, say 4 Excellence, but none of the additional requirements for a 5 Achieved, you might get graded 5 Developing (Not Achieved is never used in this context at my school, as you obviously achieved something).

There are three types of assignments you might receive, and be graded upon, during school. Assessments, Internal Assessments (often referred to as Internals), and External Assessments (referred to as Externals). The latter two categories only apply if the assignment is an NCEA assignment. 

Assessments take a variety of forms- from a term project that you have an extended period of time to work on, in and out of class, to a timed test. This is just the word used to describe anything that receives a grade from Year 7 to 10. 

The other two will be better described when describing NCEA as a whole.

NCEA

NCEA stands for National Certificate of Educational Achievement, and has 5 levels. The first 3 are used for the last 3 high school years- the other two are used in tertiary education, though from what I hear they’re much less of a deal. NCEA is based around procuring credits, which will then prove to anyone looking your skills in certain areas. Essentially, it eliminates the potential usefulness of any grades you achieved earlier.

I will not here that I have strong opinions about NCEA, but will do my best not to go in-depth and try to remain as unbiased as possible.

NCEA credits can be earned in either internal assessments or external assessments, though the buik are earned in internals. NCEA outlines certain ‘standards’ which are either internals or externals, and can earn a certain amount of credits for someone who completes them. To be clear, simply passing a standard will earn you all the credits it can offer. It’s not, like, a 3 credit standard means that achieving earns you one credit, a Merit earns two, and an Excellence earns 3. All credits are awarded to anyone who passes. This is because credits are meant to represent the effort you put into preparing for its assessment. Whether that be studying, in-class learning, essay writing, etc. Each credit is meant to represent 10 hours of work. Therefore, if you pass, you clearly have done all the preparation work and deserve all of the credits. 

Internal assessments are assessments where NCEA lays out the criteria for the standard, and the rubric for success at each level, however allows the specifics of its application to be determined by each school respectively. An example of this is a maths internal I did earlier this year- everyone who attempted the standard had to apply trigonometry to a real life situation, and then answer questions about it (using trigonometry). The school set up what that situation was, and determined the specifics of the questions (the contents they must include line up with the standards of the rubric), as well as the amount of time we had to spend on it. We had an hour to examine and measure aspects of the situation, and an hour to answer questions. Most schools (according to my teacher) had an hour maximum to complete both aspects. These, like assessments, can take the form of project worked on over a long period of time, or a timed test. 

External assessments, therefore, are entirely out of the hands of the school. They are run by NZQA, the government organisation that enforces NCEA, and determine everything about the exams. Externals all take place according to a schedule created by NZQA, and happen at the exact same time all across the country. These begin in November, and end in December. However, a practice period is run earlier in the year (September) to give the students an opportunity to see what the expectations are, and allow the assessments to get a test run to make sure they run smoothly on the actual day. The practice exams are often slightly harder than the real externals. Surrounding both the practice and actual externals, students in the appropriate years are given study leave for the whole period, in the hopes that they use it to be as prepared as possible. (This trust is often, unsurprisingly, abused.)

At each level of NCEA, a student is expected to earn 80 credits. Of these 80 credits, 20 can be carried over to the next year- meaning that after Level 1, a student who has fully completed the year only needs to earn 60 credits per year. Some schools (particularly after COVID) began changing how Level 1 is run in their school- somewhat controversially. In these schools, students are only required to earn 20 credits at Level 1- the max amount that can carry over. This means their first year getting used to NCEA is less stressful, and they still get the benefit of only having to earn 60 credits in their years forward. (In the words of the school official who announced its introduction at my school: “stressing you out for 2 years is okay, but 3 is too much”.)

Different trades have different requirements for students to earn before being able to apply for an apprenticeship, though most are at NCEA Level 2 and 3- which is why students are permitted to drop out from 16 years of age. However, there is a national expectation of what students should earn to be accepted into university before turning 21. 

Credits are divided into 3 types: numeracy, literacy (which has the sub-types of reading and writing), and general credits. Different standards have different types of credits. Literacy credits and general credits are very easy to come across, all subjects offering standards with one or both types. Meanwhile, numeracy credits are almost solely relegated to maths, with some sciences (particularly chemistry and physics) offering numeracy standards. In Level 1 or higher, for university entrance, you are expected to earn 10 numeracy credits. At Level 2 or higher, you are expected to earn 10 literacy credits, 5 of which are reading and 5 of which are writing. Then, at Level 3, you are expected to focus on 3 different subjects, where you must earn 14 credits in each. These subjects must be approved by NCEA as university entrance subjects. There is a list of what counts here. 

**While all these say ‘or higher’, schools strongly dislike students earning these credits at levels above the minimum.

It is worth noting that Auckland University (rated by far as New Zealand’s best university) has slightly different literacy requirements. At Level 2, they expect 14 literacy credits (7 of each type). These are all meant to be earned in English, as opposed to other subjects that offer literacy credits. This is often a clause not mentioned to students until they are already in Level 2, and cannot change their subjects. (No, I am not salty /s)

While Levels 1, 2 and 3 are intended to correlate to Years 11, 12, and 13, it’s not uncommon for students to be in classes of varying levels during these years. Often, a student is identified as excelling in a particular subject during Year 10, and offered the chance to skip a year, going straight to Level 2. This is most common in subjects such as English and Maths, however is not limited to those subjects.

Subjects and Extracurriculars

This is something that differs across schools, but my experience is the following:

Primary- Maths, English, Music, Singing, P.E., Art

In primary school, you have one teacher and stick to one classroom. This teacher teaches you all your subjects, and has a lot of leniency in when to apply them. For example, we might have a day of only Maths and English, or a day of only P.E. The only exception would be the music and singing classes- those happened once a week, where each class/year would have an appointment with the music teacher. Music was taught by class, where singing was taught by year.

My school would also hire a drama teacher to teach classes across year levels for a term. However, they were very much the employee of another organisation. The same happened with learning Māori- which is not compulsory across New Zealand, though my schools often taught it. My year also received skateboarding lessons for a term- we were a test to see if students would work well in those lessons. (To my knowledge, no other year ever received them.)

We would have weekly sports days, where the different houses (Matai, Kauri, Totara, and Rimu- named after native tree species) would compete against each other, earning points for the House Trophy, handed out at the end of the year. I’ve heard that this isn’t a thing in the US, so I wanted to make a note of it!

Other school events I can think of were Cross Country, the yearly gala, and athletics.

The only prominent extracurricular I can think of is Kapa Haka- essenitally, Māori performing arts. If you want to know what this is like, I recommend googling it (though, you’ll mostly find videos from farther on than primary school level).

Secondary-

**I’m grouping intermediate - high school together, as I attend a college and so my experience very much interlinks the years together. Though, my possible subjects did differ each year.

Mandatory from Y7 to Y10: English, Maths, Science, Social Science, P.E., Health

**Māori was mandatory during Y7 and 8

However, there were also optional subjects people could chose to take, which would differ across years. These tend to be called options.

In Y7 these are called tasters, and students are required to take part in certain subjects (which they may choose to pick as an option in a later year or years) for a 5 week period. There aren’t enough weeks for all possibilities to be explored, but many are. The ones I remember from my time in Y7 are Chinese, Food Technology, Drama, Art, Music, Sport. (Yes, Sport is different from P.E.)

In Year 8, options are taken for one term each, meaning you have 4 options over the course of a year. The possibilities are French, Chinese, Māori (this would focus more on the language, while the mandatory class focused more on culture and history), Art, Drama, Dance, Music, Fabrics, Design and Visual Communication, and Digital Technology.

In Year 9, options are taken for a two term long period, however you have two at any given time. So you have your 2 options in terms 1 and 2, as well as a different 2 in terms 3 and 4. So, still 4! The options are French, Chinese, Māori, Art, Drama, Dance, Music, Fabrics, Materials Technology, Design and Visual Communication, and Digital Technology.

In Year 10, the same options length and number are expected as Year 9. The option possibilities are French, Chinese, Māori, Art, Business Studies, Drama, Dance, Music, Fabrics, Materials Technology, Design and Visual Communication, and Digital Technology.

(Y10 and Y11 Business Studies would each have to run a market day at the school as an assessment, which was always a fun school event. Not because I ever went- it was too loud, crowded, and generally overwhelming- but because it got rid of all the lines at the tuck shop (basically the cafeteria, except it’s a window where you line up for food) so I treated myself with a bought lunch instead of bringing something from home on those days.)

Starting with NCEA, some core classes are divided up. Science becomes Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Earth-Space Science. Social Science becomes History, Sociology, and Geography. In Maths, you must either choose the Statistics or Algebra pathway. English breaks into English Literature, and English Communication Studies. Students who particularly struggle with maths, and plan on entering a trade, also have the option of the Practical Maths pathway. All of the possible options in prior years are also possible class choices in all three levels.

In my school, only maths and pe (or dance- you can pick one) are mandatory at Level 1. All other subjects are optional, however you must pick five to be full courses (this means you have four lessons of them a week), maths required to be one of these, and two as half courses (2 lessons a week). Māori Performing Arts and Criminology are introduced as subjects. (Criminology is a Y11 only course, and was introduced a year too late for me to take it 😭)

Due to my school running limited Level 1, there are no requirements to enter Level 2 courses- except in maths. However, very few courses from Level 2 left you into the Level 3 equivalent without receiving certain grades in the prior year. 

Nothing, at my school, is mandatory at Level 2- however an English course is heavily recommended. Some new courses introduced are Media Studies, Sustainability, Photography, Outdoor Education, Gateway, Building and Construction, and Hospitality. The latter three are opportunities for students aiming for particular fields to get work experience and credits specifically wanted by those fields before leaving school. Gateway, in particular, is for a variety of trades. Students are required to pick six courses, all of which are full courses (4 lessons a week).

At Level 3, there are again no mandatory courses. The only course added is Classical Studies. A large quantity of students leave before or during Y13, due to having reached the criteria necessary to begin training in their trade. As such, class sizes are much smaller and things are generally more relaxed- bar exam season. 

My school still has houses, though they are Air, Water, Earth, and Fire (we use the ATLA symbols for each element!!), and house events are not strictly sport related. We have a yearly talent show, athletics, cross country, a beach day (the ocean is a 3 minute walk), and a game we call Chaos. It’s a bit too complicated for me to explain here!

The amount of extracurricular activities on offer are too great for me to list here, but some stand-outs are the EnviroGroup, Kapa Haka, various bands, the Junior Drama Club and Senior Drama Club, and various sporting groups (including Touch and Rugby League, because that’s the minimum requirement for a school in NZ). 

Misc school events, off the top of my head, are the Matariki Festival (began this year, in celebration of Matariki becoming a public holiday), the School Ball (for Y12 and 13s who get at least a 90% attendance rating; basically prom), and camps for Y7s, Y10s, and Y13s. (Y7 camp was introduced when I was a Y8, and Y10 when I was a Y11. You have not seen agony until you see sporty kids learn they just missed out on camp twice.) There’s also stuff like Pink Shirt Day, and various themed mufti days. As we are a uniform school (the standard in NZ), mufti days are when we are allowed to go wild.

Uniform

Uniform is used in a majority of NZ primary and secondary level schools, though the exact number is uncertain. These are typically very gendered (only a couple years back did my school allow girls to wear pants!! And that was only for Y11-13, anyone younger still has to wear skirts!), and tend to be made up of the same base objects. A shirt, a skirt/skort or shorts/pants, shoes, socks, and some cold weather clothing- it might be a raincoat, hoodie, sweater, or a mix. There also tend to be rules on stuff like accessories, hair dye, tattoos, etc. Notably, my school got rid of these rules recently- so there are only rules regarding the clothes they actually sell, and not anything else you might add.

As my school is a college, we have a junior and senior uniform. I mention this to highlight the absurd differences between these two. The junior uniform is for anyone from Y7 to 10, while the senior is for Y11 to 13. Between these two, the shoes, socks, and cold weather garments remain the same. 

The male senior uniform offers two shirt options- long sleeve and short sleeve. The shorts are the same as the junior uniform, and you’re allowed dress pants so long as they’re black and sufficiently formal.

The female senior uniform has two short sleece options- a blouse and a T-Shirt (both short sleeve). The uniform comes with a skirt- they’ve recently began offering the choice between a box pleat skirt and a skirt with a slit up the back, because not everyone was cool with the slit skirt. Here, the dress pant policy also applies. 

The junior male uniform has a short sleeve shirt, and shorts. The dress pants policy does not apply.

The junior female uniform has a short sleeve shirt, and a pleated skirt. The dress pants policy also does not apply.

Until this year, with the repealing of the accessories rules, stuff like stockings weren’t allowed under skirts. Which is. Nice.

(though I've worn black leggings under my skirt since Y8, and never been called out, so I don't think anyone realised it was against the rules...)

[ennui-gt]

Here it is. A Piece Of Borrower Content Written Entirely In Stream Of Consciousness:

AN: so this is incomplete and very…needs revisions to the timeline to incorporate some things I added later! It’s the original universe that Mira’s from! I edited it like Slightly to just change Ross’s name to Ross (if u see Max anywhere that’s his old one I just felt like changing it so that’s just him but different. Anyway) Everything's under the readmore tab, cheers!

The Library Fairy:

-

Basic Plot (Chrono, comic starts from human perspective abt the ‘legend of the library fairy’ ig maybe. Nothing here is permanent cept the characterization)

Part A

1- Mira is borrower currently chillin in a college library

2- She lives off of the cafe on the second floor nd reads lots and lots of stuff about everything when the upper floors close (lower floor open 24/7 but upper floors r vacant p much after 12:00 AM)

3- she starts getting increasingly curious about human stuff cos she’s literate nd books r pry neat

4- it starts one night when she spots an unattended notebook and a half eaten blueberry muffin, nd it’s 12:30 so nobody’s coming back in atm (it’s the 80s so no laptops for the plebians quite yet)

5- so she goes ‘welp’ nd takes part of the muffin, then sees the work on the page and goes ‘hmmmm this is incorrect’ so she helps our and leaves notes here n there to point the kid in the right direction and puts down some book refs for further study bcos at this point she’s been there for 2 years and she knows where most things are

6- she stays behind to see if the human comes back for it, hidden in a hidey hole near the desk

7- human comes in, sees notebook, practically melts w relief nd stuffs it in his bag

8- next day human comes back nd leaves nother notebook and a cookie, along w a hidden camera

9- Mira goes ‘o boy, this a trap, innit’

10- Mira then decides ‘eh whatever I haven’t had contact w anyone in years now so I might as well’

11- she steals the camera film nd leaves a lil scrap of paper saying ‘nice try ;)’ on it

12- student comes back, sees paper, goes ‘dammit’, then leaves note addressed to the ‘library fairy’ and another cookie, as well as more of their work for her to help with

13- bout a decade goes by and now the “Library Fairy” is an urban myth, it’s currently 2003 so she’s also wound up on the school’s unofficial Wikipedia page under ‘local cryptids’

14- most library employees know of her but they don’t go looking out of fear stemming from superstitions bout her, somehow the legend grew from ‘can’t be photographed’ to ‘a student once saw her and died that day’

15- there’s now a small shrine devoted to her where ppl bring offerings hoping to get good grades in return, sometimes they will leave papers for her to proofread nd stuff

16- new prof (named Alexei) finds online article thinks he Knows What’s Up bcos he had a borrower friend as a kid, but they left when borrower’s fam found out about them knowing each other

17- he leaves note wedged in one of her secret entrances behind outlet, asking if she can meet w him at some point

18- Mira, already In it, goes ‘Okay. Alright. This has gone on for long enough. Time to go and never return��� but ofc she’s curious as all hell and like she decides she will at least honor the guy’s request for a convo b4 she goes, but on her terms and w/o speaking face 2 face

19- they Talk in the library after hours, bcos he paid off the janitor to let him stay after hours nd most of the student employees recognize him as a prof nd leave him alone

20- they talk again for every subsequent night

21- she uhhhh finally decides to reveal herself nd prays that her hunch was right nd he won’t try to grab her or anything

22- he doesn’t but she’s nervous so she winds up gettin caught in her own climbing rope like idiot, is now dangling from ceiling in tangled mess

23- he stifles chuckle nd she says smthn sarcastic

24- he moves closer and offers to untangle her

25- she’s like ‘please’

26- so he do, but her grip on the rope slips nd he has to catch her

26- so now she’s in his hand and he just sets her down and now he’s a bumbling embarrassed mess bcos he said he wasn’t going to hold her and he just did and o dear pls forgib him

28- nd she’s like ‘dude u just saved my life it’s fine ur fine chill’

29- internally she’s going HOLY FUCK AAAAAAA but externally, her human’s already worked up enough as it is so she’s gotta b the level headed one

29.5- after a while they both kinda get used to each other more, he gets tenure, they celebrate, some more stuff happens, Aleksei got married (not to Mira, Mira hasn’t actually rly thought about being in a relationship w anyone cos she’s laser focused on gaining as much knowledge as possible)

30- eventually Alexei’s like ‘hey so I’m dean of faculty for the biotech branch now uhhhh would u like actual job teaching students? Cos, uh, you can do it remotely thru online lectures n stuff, no in person interaction, and I uh was just kinda wondering—‘

31- she’s like ‘yes. Yes!!! LET ME HELP PEOPLE OFFICIALLY KINDA’

32- so now she’s a professor, and has revealed her Secret a few times here n there to a number of the faculty, nd she has recorded her own findings in a personal journal

33- ‘humans will treat u like a human if they think ur human first. The kids call it ‘catfishing’’

34- enter Ross, an mall goth who accidentally tripped headfirst into a premed program

35- Mira’s favorite field of study is bio so naturally she’s his prof for a majority of his classes

36- being the good boy that he is, he now knows Mira’s secret. There is an Entire Chapter on him finding out and legit just continuing their conversation as if everything was normal bcos he thought that was how he was supposed to handle the situation

37- then she says ‘u can ask questions, u know’ he’s like OH THANK FUCK CAUSE I HAVE SEVEN HUNDRED OF THOSE

38- and now he kinda knows what to look for in terms of ‘do borrowers live here check yes or no’

39-in his apartment, the answer is yes and he mistakenly kinda stumbles upon the mom one night when he wakes up in the middle of the night for Snack and opts to pretend like its not happening. Unfortunately the thing she was trying 2 borrow (piece of crumb cake for Son Boy’s birthday) is the thing he wants 2 eat so he’s like “uh. ‘Scuse me, ma’am.” and he peels back the saran wrap on the other side of the plate, takes piece, nd then leaves some there for her

40-so now the woman is like ‘welp guess it time 2 Leave’

.1- she and husband Talk

.2-they decide it best 2 go

.3-theyre Packing

.4-lil bab Ellie confused

.5-hawk attacke

.6-cut to Ross

41- Ross also happens to work at a bar and he goes outside for a break

43- he finds smal child—smol smal—on the sidewalk and said child is missing an arm, nd has lost a lot of blood, so he’s uhhhhh Losing It highkey

43.5-parents r nowhere 2 b seen, but the hawk is nearby and circling. Ross gets an idea of what just happened

44- he up and leaves work, thankfully his apartment is above the shop so he jumps up the fire escape w the child and

45- he make tourniquet

46- he calls Mira nd asks her 2 come over to ASAP. he’s A Mess at this point

47- it is Very touch and go, kid needs blood, Mira is the only viable donor so she’s just gotta pray that the blood type is fine and won’t kill him

48- and then eventually they manage 2 stave infection thru antibiotics properly dosed to his size, Mira does Math and Prays basically

49- ‘bout a month in, kid wakes up

50- kid doesn’t rember much since he’s only 3

51- hes v scared of Ross at first but over time he gets used 2 the human

52- kid (elliot) starts 2 call Ross ‘dad’ after a while

53- Ross: *internal screaming but in a good way*

54- the end kinda for now

Part 2

A- New Borrowers In The Building

—three of em. paranoid dad, mom, nd daughter that’s Elliot’s age so he’s pumped

B- Elliot offers them a place 2 stay briefly

C- he knows by now bout like, how borrowers don’t typically interact w humans and Auntie Mira’s a bit of a weird case so he just doesn’t tell em bout his dad being the human

D- the kid finds out first nd doesn’t tell the parents, but they figure it out later kinda and think that it’s a ‘o god he’s being kept as a pet’ sitch so they’re >:| abt it

E- they move out and try to take Elliot w them (by force bcos they think he’s brainwashed) but he escapes and makes it to Ross, who’s like “uhhhhhh”

F- and the mom come out the hole near the counter n starts yelling at Ross, who is…kinda used to it since Mira brings in ppl who need help from time 2 time and they typically don’t react well when they’re lucid enough to understand what’s going on. He’s just not used to being questioned about his own kid

G- so they’re like “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING WITH HIM”

H- and he’s like “r…raising him???”

I- and Ellie steps up and he’s like “this is my dad. I decided he was my dad when I was three. He’s being a good parent”

J- and Ross is like “yeah what he said. I’m a good parent.”

K- Ross is riding that high til the end of fucking time but like back to the story at hand

L- this is when the husband comes out nd is like “lissen. wifey. ily but that is a very big human and he hasn’t grabbed us yet so let’s count our blessings and gtfo”

M- but she’s like “uh no we stay until I’m sure Elliot is Safe and fucking Sound”

N- so they stay for dinner nd stick around a little longer.

O- Val (the kid) gets closer 2 Elliot and also Ross a bit

P- Mira shows once or twice, first time she shows up they’re like “oh god it’s the crazy doctor lady this all makes sense now” (bcos Mira does check up on as many borrower families as possible in her free time so word has got around by now Of her, and the number by which to contact her in case her services r needed)

Q- After a month or so, then they decide to leave bcos they’re like “look we get that ur son is ur son and he only has one arm and in our profession that is kind of a death sentence but we can’t have our kid getting used to dealing w humans who know about our existence” so they go and leave on a kind of sour note bcos Ellie can do anything he wants to do just as well as any other borrower Thank You Very Much and Ross is ready to fite anyone who thinks otherwise

R- Elliot starts trying 2 b more independent, basically from now on he’s like ‘I can do everything my Damn Self Thanks’

S- but uh he does it to a point where he’s going out of the way to endanger himself

T- so they get into a fite about it and ross Yells and Elliot is like ‘kthxbye’

U- and the boi just. Fuckin bolts. Runs Away. Ross is a Mess, he starts smoking again (he quit cold turkey the day he took Elliot in) to curb the depression, he’s jus. Not doin good, worried that his son is dead and the last time they talked it’d ended badly

V- FREEDOM!!!1! Except Ellie doesn’t kno how to take care of himself so it’s a rough month or so and then he runs into some other borrowers livin in their own town in the wild ig, chillin, being hella independent, and he’s like “uh yes ofc I will join u, I was w my dad for a while but.........” he neither confirms nor denies that his dad’s dead but everyone kinda just assumes.

Part 3

W-anyway a year goes by and then the borrower group gets hit hard w some kind of sickness ig. Elliot gets it too he’s basically incapacitated n drifting in and out of lucidity. So. They contact the weird crazy doctor lady who hangs around humans, a.k.a. Mira, and she’s like “oh. fuck. I know this kid.” bcos she does, u kno, and she jus treats em all for their ailment and shows them how to make antibiotic poultice thing in case smthn like it happens again. Mold. Penicillin is basically what it is

X-she and Elliot hav a Chat (Mira basically yells at him a lot) once he’s fixed up and he decides he’s gonna visit his dad but he makes it very clear that he is a Grown Up (he’s not, he’s literally sixteen), and he is living on his own now

Y- he agrees to stay for a week tho since he misses his home a lot tbh and Ross is just. Over the fucking moon to know he’s ALIVE, he’s not gonna fuck up their relationship by insisting that he stay. Or like, by keeping him ofc he would never

Z- unfortunately the borrower community put two and two together and figured out his dad’s human so they have his stuff packed up when he gets back w mira, who’s ready to go the fuck off on them

End 1:

-Ellie is living at Ross’s place atm and hopeful about the future basically. He eventually will go off on his own but he’ll keep in contact w his dad and stuff

Part C.5

55- few yrs later

56- elliot is Adult now he does adult borrower stuff

57- he moves out

58- finds nice borrower gf (her name’s Tess)

59- doesn’t tell her about his dad being human but talks about his dad a LOT

60- so when she asks to meet said father he’s just like “uh. Maybe we don’t do that actually”

61- and she’s like “y tho”

62- and he’s like “bcos”

63- anyway she decides to look into it cos she knows he goes to see his dad nd keep in touch but his dad is allegedly “a recluse who lives in the big scary human’s walls to avoid other ppl”

64- which is. Not true in the slightest tbqh he’s def not an introvert he’s just a workaholic and he Is the big scary human

65- anywho they run into Val and her wife and she’s like “how’s Ross been?” And Elliot is acting Very Suspish so she, being Smart, calls it immediately and is like “oh shit u haven’t told her yet have u”

66- Tess: “told me what”

67- Val: “El’s dad is a human, bro.”

68- Tess: “I’m sorry?”

69- this results in a Big Fight and they separate for like, a month. Elliot blames Val bcos he’s being irrational and doesn’t wanna admit to the fact that lying to his girlfriend for over a year was Real Bad Actually, but over time he’s like ‘yeah it’s my fault sry for snapping at u’ cos he works thru his emotions n stuff

70- Eventually gf comes back cos she’s like “ok so. I understand why you lied to me about your dad. It was a dick move but I do get it and I still care about you a lot. I would like. To meet him.”

80- this is a lie she does not want to meet him she is doing this bcos she does not want to lose Elliot and that outweighs the fear of his dad

81- so they go to meet him but she’s just kinda. Behind the wall at first like “that’s a crazy big human this is crazy ur crazy it’s time to gO”

82- Val is also there bcos she hasn’t seen Ross in a while

83- they eventually coax her out of hiding

84- and by that I mean Val picks her up and drags her out into the open by force bcos she basically freezes up the second she catches sight of Ross and Val’s like “u didn’t come all this way for nothing, bich”

85- they have a Painfully Awkward First Meeting, Tess is trying her best but oh god he’s just too fucking. Larg. Ellie ur dad too big

86- tbh tho the ice kinda breaks after Ellie and Ross get into a fight over smthn stupid (im thinking Elliot grumbles bout Ross’s hair being unruly and he’s worried that mira’s using it like a personal storage system again and Ross is like “I’ve been keeping better track of that actually” and then like a little line of paper clips and a few hand-bound notebooks tied together w some string fall out of his fucking mane and he’s like “I can explain”

87- “dad you can’t keep letting her use your hair like a fucking NEST”

88- Tess is laughing now cos god damn this was not what she was expecting

89- that’s it the end it ends w Tess laughing at them being idiots good times r had by all

Uhhhh that’s it so far. I have More but it’s kinda jumbled rn and I need to fit stuff in places. Anyway.

[just-antithings]

With regards to something pro-survivors said, I wanted to see for myself just how similar anti-shippers are to a cult. Based on my own observations and experiences, I've used the BITE model to evaluate just how much like a cult anti-shippers really are. Obviously I'm not an expert or anything, but ultimately I think I agree with pro-survivors that there are some qualities about anti-shippers that are cult-like, but it's not a cult at the end of the day. Trigger warnings for mentions of rape, torture, kidnapping, murder, and abuse.

Behavior Control:

1. Regulate individual’s physical reality [No]

2. Dictate where, how, and with whom the member lives and associates or isolates [Yes]

3. When, how and with whom the member has sex [Unsure]

4. Control types of clothing and hairstyles [No]

5. Regulate diet – food and drink, hunger and/or fasting [No]

6. Manipulation and deprivation of sleep [No]

7. Financial exploitation, manipulation or dependence [No]

8. Restrict leisure, entertainment, vacation time [Yes, entertainment]

9. Major time spent with group indoctrination and rituals and/or self indoctrination including the Internet [Yes]

10. Permission required for major decisions [Unsure, maybe sometimes]

11. Rewards and punishments used to modify behaviors, both positive and negative [Yes]

12. Discourage individualism, encourage group-think [Yes]

13. Impose rigid rules and regulations [Yes]

14. Punish disobedience by beating, torture, burning, cutting, rape, or tattooing/branding [No]

15. Threaten harm to family and friends [Yes]

16. Force individual to rape or be raped [No]

17. Encourage and engage in corporal punishment [No]

18. Instill dependency and obedience [Yes]

19. Kidnapping [No]

20. Beating [No]

21. Torture [No]

22. Rape [No]

23. Separation of Families [No]

24. Imprisonment [No]

25. Murder [No]

Information Control:

1. Deception: a. Deliberately withhold information [Yes] b. Distort information to make it more acceptable [Yes] c. Systematically lie to the cult member [Sometimes]

2. Minimize or discourage access to non-cult sources of information, including: a. Internet, TV, radio, books, articles, newspapers, magazines, media [Yes] b. Critical information [Yes] c. Former members [Yes] d. Keep members busy so they don’t have time to think and investigate [Unsure, probably not] e. Control through cell phone with texting, calls, internet tracking [Sometimes]

3. Compartmentalize information into Outsider vs. Insider doctrines a. Ensure that information is not freely accessible [Yes] b. Control information at different levels and missions within group [Maybe] c. Allow only leadership to decide who needs to know what and when [Maybe, there's no real leader]

4. Encourage spying on other members a. Impose a buddy system to monitor and control member [Yes] b. Report deviant thoughts, feelings and actions to leadership [Kind of, there is no leader] c. Ensure that individual behavior is monitored by group [Yes]

5. Extensive use of cult-generated information and propaganda, including: a. Newsletters, magazines, journals, audiotapes, videotapes, YouTube, movies and other media [Yes] b. Misquoting statements or using them out of context from non-cult sources [Yes]

6. Unethical use of confession a. Information about sins used to disrupt and/or dissolve identity boundaries [Sometimes] b. Withholding forgiveness or absolution [Yes] c. Manipulation of memory, possible false memories [No]

Thought Control:

1. Require members to internalize the group’s doctrine as truth a. Adopting the group’s ‘map of reality’ as reality [Yes] b. Instill black and white thinking [Yes] c. Decide between good vs. evil [Yes] d. Organize people into us vs. them (insiders vs. outsiders) [Yes]

2. Change person’s name and identity [No]

3. Use of loaded language and clichés which constrict knowledge, stop critical thoughts and reduce complexities into platitudinous buzz words [Yes]

4. Encourage only ‘good and proper’ thoughts [Yes]

5. Hypnotic techniques are used to alter mental states, undermine critical thinking and even to age regress the member [No]

6. Memories are manipulated and false memories are created [No]

7. Teaching thought-stopping techniques which shut down reality testing by stopping negative thoughts and allowing only positive thoughts, including: a. Denial, rationalization, justification, wishful thinking [No] b. Chanting [No] c. Meditating [No] d. Praying [No] e. Speaking in tongues [No] f. Singing or humming [No]

8. Rejection of rational analysis, critical thinking, constructive criticism [Yes]

9. Forbid critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy allowed [Yes]

10. Labeling alternative belief systems as illegitimate, evil, or not useful [Yes]

11. Instill new “map of reality” [Yes]

Emotional Control:

1. Manipulate and narrow the range of feelings – some emotions and/or needs are deemed as evil, wrong or selfish [Yes]

2. Teach emotion-stopping techniques to block feelings of homesickness, anger, doubt [No]

3. Make the person feel that problems are always their own fault, never the leader’s or the group’s fault [Maybe]

4. Promote feelings of guilt or unworthiness, such as: a. Identity guilt [Maybe] b. You are not living up to your potential [No] c. Your family is deficient [Maybe] d. Your past is suspect [Yes] e. Your affiliations are unwise [Yes] f. Your thoughts, feelings, actions are irrelevant or selfish [Yes] g. Social guilt [Yes] f. Historical guilt [No]

5. Instill fear, such as fear of: a. Thinking independently [Yes] b. The outside world [Sometimes] c. Enemies [Yes] d. Losing one’s salvation [Yes] e. Leaving or being shunned by the group [Yes] f. Other’s disapproval [Yes] f. Historical guilt [Not]

6. Extremes of emotional highs and lows – love bombing and praise one moment and then declaring you are horrible sinner [Yes]

7. Ritualistic and sometimes public confession of sins [Sometimes]

8. Phobia indoctrination: inculcating irrational fears about leaving the group or questioning the leader’s authority [Yes] a. No happiness or fulfillment possible outside of the group [Sometimes] b. Terrible consequences if you leave: hell, demon possession, incurable diseases, accidents, suicide, insanity, 10,000 reincarnations, etc. [Yes] c. Shunning of those who leave; fear of being rejected by friends and family [Yes] d. Never a legitimate reason to leave; those who leave are weak, undisciplined, unspiritual, worldly, brainwashed by family or counselor, or seduced by money, sex, or rock and roll [Yes] e. Threats of harm to ex-member and family [Yes]

[academicshelp]

Textbooks PDF (email ericshawd@gmail.com)

1.     International Marketing by Philip Cateora, John Graham, Mary Gilly, Bruce Money, 7th Edition

2.     Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, Alan Eagle

3.     Ethical Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice by Joycelyn M. Pollock, 7th Edition

4.     Marketing: The Core by Roger A. Kerin and Steven W. Hartley, 7th Edition

5.     Organizational Behavior: A Practical, Problem-Solving Approach by Angelo Kinicki and Mel Fugate, 2nd Edition

6.     Corrections Today by Larry Siegel and Clemens Bartollas

7.     Corrections Today by Larry Siegel and Clemens Bartollas, Study Guide, 2nd Edition

8.     Juvenile Justice by Karen M. Hess, 5th Edition

9.     The Age of Unreason (1989), by Charles Handy

10.  Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (1994), by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras

11.  Competing for the Future (1996), by Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad

12.  Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors (1980), by Michael E. Porter

13.  Emotional Intelligence (1995), by Daniel Goleman

14.  The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Don't Work and What to Do about It (1985), by Michael E. Gerber

15.  The Essential Drucker (2001), by Peter Drucker

16.  The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (1990), by Peter Senge

17.  First, Break All the Rules (1999), by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

18.  The Goal (1984), by Eliyahu Goldratt

19.  Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't (2001), by Jim Collins

20.  Guerilla Marketing (1984), by Jay Conrad Levinson

21.  How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936), by Dale Carnegie

22.  The Human Side of Enterprise (1960), by Douglas McGregor

23.  The Innovator's Dilemma (1997), by Clayton Christensen

24.  Leading Change (1996), by John P. Kotter

25.  On Becoming a Leader (1989), by Warren Bennis

26.  Out of the Crisis (1982), by W. Edwards Deming

27.  My Years with General Motors (1964), by Alfred P. Sloan Jr.

28.  The One Minute Manager (1982), by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

29.  Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution (1993), by James Champy and Michael Hammer

30.  The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People (1989), by Stephen R. Covey

31.  The Six Sigma Way: How GE, Motorola and other Top Companies are Honing Their Performance (2000), by Peter S. Pande, Robert P. Neuman and Roland R. Cavanagh

32.  Toyota Production System (1988), by Taiichi Ohno

33.  Who Moved My Cheese? (1998), by Spencer Johnson

34.  Introduction To The Economics Of Financial Markets by James Bradfield

35.  Generalized Convexity And Related Topics by Igor V. Konnov, Dinh The Luc, Alexander M. Rubinov, 1st Edition

36.  Models in Cooperative Game Theory: Crisp, Fuzzy, and Multi-Choice Games by Professor Dr. Rodica Branzei, Dr. Dinko Dimitrov, Professor Dr. Stef Tijs, 1st Edition

37.  Sociology and organization theory : positivism, paradigms and postmodernity by John Hassard

38.  Encyclopedia of sociology by Edgar F. Borgatta, Rhonda J. V. Montgomery volume 1, 2nd Edition

39.  Reconnecting Culture, Technology and Nature: From Society to Heterogeneity by Mike Michael, 1st Edition

40.  The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology by Bryan S. Turner

41.  Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior by Carl Hart, Charles Ksir, Oakley Ray, 13th Edition

42.  Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior by Carl Hart, Charles Ksir, Oakley Ray, 16th Edition

43.  Contemporary Management by Gareth R. Jones and Jennifer M. George, 9th Edition

44.  Project Management by Harvey Maylor, 4th Edition

45.  Human Development: A cultural approach by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett

46.  Project Management Leadership by Rory Burke and Steve Barron, 2nd Edition

47.  Operations Management by William J. Stevenson, 12th Edition

48.  Leisure Business Market Research Handbook by Richard K. Miller and Kelli Washington, 6th.

49.  Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases by Gerry Johnson, Kevan Scholes, Richard Whittington, 8th Edition

50.  The Norton Anthology of American Literature by Nina Baym, 6th Edition

51.   Babbie, Earl R. 1994. What is Society? Reflections on Freedom, Order, and Change. Thousand Oaks, CA, Pine Forge Press.

 52.  Charon, Joel M. 1999. The Meaning of Sociology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. —. 2001. Ten Questions: A Sociological Perspective. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

53.  Collins, R. and M. Makowsky. 1998. The Discovery of Society. New York, McGraw Hill.

54.  Collins, Randall. Sociological Insight: An Introduction to Non-Obvious Sociology. Oxford University Press.

55.  Dandaneau, Steven P. Taking it Big. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

56.  Giddens, Anthony. 1987. Sociology: A Brief but Critical Introduction. Second Edition. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

57.  Hachen, David S., Jr. 2001. Sociology in Action: Cases for Critical and Sociological Thinking. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

58.  Johnson, Allan. The Forest and the Trees. Mayfield. Lemert, Charles. Social Things, Rowman and Littlefield.

59.  Levin, W. C. (1994). Sociological Ideas: Concepts and Applications. Belmont, CA, Wadsworth.

60.  Newman, D. M. (2000). Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life. Thousand Oaks, CA, Pine Forge Press.

61.  O'Brien, Jodi. 1999. Social Prisms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

62.  Schwalbe, Michael. 2001. The Sociologically Examined Life. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

63.  The Naked Face (1970) by Sidney Sheldon

64.  The Other Side of Midnight (1973) by Sidney Sheldon

65.  A Stranger in the Mirror (1976) by Sidney Sheldon

66.  Bloodline (1977) by Sidney Sheldon

67.  Rage of Angels (1980) by Sidney Sheldon

68.  Master of the Game (1982) by Sidney Sheldon

69.  If Tomorrow Comes (1985) by Sidney Sheldon

70.  Windmills of the Gods (1987) by Sidney Sheldon

71.  The Sands of Time (1988) by Sidney Sheldon

72.  Memories of Midnight (1990) by Sidney Sheldon

73.  The Doomsday Conspiracy (1991) by Sidney Sheldon

74.  The Stars Shine Down (1992) by Sidney Sheldon

75.  Nothing Lasts Forever (1994) by Sidney Sheldon

76.  Morning, Noon, and Night (novel) (1995) by Sidney Sheldon

77.  The Best Laid Plans (1997) by Sidney Sheldon

78.  Tell Me Your Dreams (1998) by Sidney Sheldon

79.  The Sky Is Falling (2001) by Sidney Sheldon

80.  Are You Afraid of the Dark? (2004) by Sidney Sheldon

[allmyleftistsliveintexas]

Austin Voter Guide May 2021

Election Day: Saturday, May 1

Early Voting: Monday, April 19 - Tuesday, April 27

Last Day to Register to Vote: Thursday, April 1

Last Day to Apply for Mail In Ballot: Tuesday, April 20

Check Your Voter Info & Register at votetravis.com

Prop A: Yes

Prop B: No

Prop C: Yes

Prop D: Yes

Prop E: Yes

Prop F: No

Prop G: Yes

Prop H: Yes

Prop A: Yes

Firefighter Arbitration

"Shall the City Charter be amended to give the Austin Firefighters Association, Local 975 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, the authority to require the City to participate in binding arbitration of all issues in dispute with the Association if the City and the Association reach impasse in collective bargaining negotiations?"

Should there be an impasse in negotiations between the city and the AFA, Prop A would require an arbitrator (basically a judge) to reach a deal. This prop was requested by the firefighter's union as a way to fairly reach agreements should there be an impasse. This affects firefighter pay & benefits among other things, and voting yes would help ensure our firefighter's get the rights that they deserve.

Prop B: No

Criminalizing Homelessness

"Shall an ordinance be adopted that would create a criminal offense and a penalty for sitting or lying down on a public sidewalk or sleeping outdoors in and near the Downtown area and the area around the University of Texas campus; create a criminal offense and penalty for solicitation, defined as requesting money or another thing of value, at specific hours and locations or for solicitation in a public area that is deemed aggressive in manner; create a criminal offense and penalty for camping in any public area not designated by the Parks and Recreation Department?"

Prop B would make it a criminal offense to sit/lie, panhandle at certain times, and camp in many areas of Austin. Giving people criminal records for being unhoused, especially without providing a space for them to go, keeps people in the cycle of homelessness, does not provide a solution for homelessness, and is completely devoid of morals. The city should commit to housing 1,000 people with full support systems this year and has already begun purchasing properties for this purpose. Vote NO on prop B to protect our unhoused neighbors and to support solutions that actually work to help people experiencing homelessness.

Prop C: Yes

Police Oversight

"Shall the city charter be amended to allow for a Director of Police Oversight to be appointed or removed in a manner established by City Council ordinance, with duties that include the responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability as it relates to policing?"

Prop C would allow the Office of Police Oversight to become more independent than it is now, which would increase it's ability to hold the police accountable. Currently, the Office of Police Oversight reports to the same administration that they're supposed to hold accountable. Voting yes on Prop C would ensure a more independent and more accountable Office of Police Oversight.

Prop D: Yes

Mayoral Elections

"Shall the City Charter be amended to transition the election for mayor from gubernatorial election years to presidential election years, providing that the mayor elected in 2022 will serve a 2-year term and then mayoral elections will occur on the same date as presidential elections starting in 2024?"

Prop D would move city-wide mayor elections to presidential years. Currently, mayoral elections happen on governor-election years. Moving the mayoral elections to presidential election years would increase voter turnout and ensure the votes for mayor are a more accurate representation of Austin voters' wants. More people are at the voting booths on presidential years, so it's important we move mayoral elections to these years to get more voter turnout in these important elections.

Prop E: Yes

Ranked Choice Voting

"Shall the City Charter be amended to provide for the use of ranked choice voting in city elections, if such voting is permitted by state law?"

Prop E would start the process for implementing ranked-choice voting in Austin. Ranked choice voting allows you to rank your candidate choices on your ballot, so if your first choice vote doesn't garner enough votes, your vote will be cast for your second or third choice. This would eliminate runoff elections, which typically have much lower voter turnouts and fail to accurately represent the needs of Austin voters. Ranked choice voting is a powerful tool for more efficient and more effective elections and we should take every step necessary to implement this process. Vote yes Prop E.

Prop F: No

Strong Mayor

"Shall the City Charter be amended to change the form of city government from ‘council-manager’ to ‘strong mayor-council,’ which will eliminate the position of professional city manager and designate an elected mayor as the chief administrative and executive officer of the city with veto power over all legislation which includes the budget; and with sole authority to hire and fire most department heads and direct staff; and with no articulated or stated charter authority to require the mayor to implement Council decisions."

Prop F would allow the mayor to manage most city departments, veto council legislation, and more. Currently, most of these responsibilities are delegated to the city manager, who is not elected by the public. While it is not preferable to have an unelected official like the city manager to manage these important decisions, having the mayor manage them isn't an equitable solution. Allowing the mayor to veto council legislation and hire/fire department heads gives the mayor too much power. While we should continue to reinvent how these responsibilities should be delegated in an equitable manner, we should vote no on prop F to avoid giving the mayor too much power.

Prop G: Yes

Add a City Council District

"Shall the City Charter be amended to provide for an additional geographic council district which will result in 11 council members elected from single member districts?"

Prop G would add an 11th city council district. Because Austin is growing so quickly, it's important that city council grows as well to best represent all of Austin's voices. This would increase voting power for many marginalized Austin voters and allow for more diverse representation on council.

This would also mean there would be an even number of voters (12) on council which could lead to tied-votes in council legislation. Passing prop G would also require passing another proposition in a future election to combat tie-votes in city council. Regardless, it's important to ensure every voter can be represented fairly in Austin so it's important to add a district.

Prop H: Yes

Democracy Dollars

"Shall the City Charter be amended to adopt a public campaign finance program, which requires the city clerk to provide up to two $25 vouchers to every registered voter who may contribute them to candidates for city office who meet the program requirements?"

Prop H would give up to two $25 vouchers to registered Austin voters to donate to city office candidates for local elections. This would allow more voters to financially support their favorite candidates, and would allow grassroots candidates to have a fighting chance against big-money backed candidates. This puts more power in the hands of grassroots candidates and voters, and would be a beneficial addition to the city's electoral politics.

Important Info

Election Day: Saturday, May 1

Early Voting: Monday, April 19 - Tuesday, April 27

Last Day to Register to Vote: Thursday, April 1

Last Day to Apply for Mail In Ballot: Tuesday, April 20

Check Your Voter Info & Register at votetravis.com

Join the fight against Prop B! The GOP-led effort to criminalize homelessness is extremely well funded and aggressive. Follow @NoOnPropB, @HomesNotHandcuffs, and @atxdsa on Instagram & Facebook to stay involved and take action in the fight against Prop B.

Talk to your friends! In 2018, just 4.04% of eligible voters voted in the May election. Each proposition on the 2021 May ballot is very important and most of them will affect Austin voters directly. It's important that we have a high voter turnout this year to ensure the results of the election accurately reflect the wants & needs of Austin voters. Please reach out to your community and help your people make a voting plan for May's election.

Sources

lots of info was taken from greg casars voting guide

you can view ballot language here

election details here

Prop A Sources

https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2021/03/firefighters-push-for-passage-of-arbitration-amendment-with-proposition-a/

Prop B Sources

there’s a lot of housing initiatives for the unhoused starting now. here are some examples:

https://patch.com/texas/downtownaustin/austin-city-council-okays-4th-hotel-purchase-house-homeless

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/03/31/new-north-austin-supportive-housing-project-take-171-people-off-streets/4806106001/?fbclid=IwAR2rLEZmiCjhH9MhtZ-y8GLfDGmyGGAcqYEiRrEhjfs9l-FkneCIolHcM-0

https://www.kxan.com/news/several-new-homeless-housing-projects-to-pop-up-in-austin/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_medium=referral&fbclid=IwAR1zXZ8QLwkuzfn3oyBdssvvvD4xEL1ZfKUUnNEtn16np09slKi-ae9WDSU

here’s a more broad overview for prop b:

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/homeless/austin-homeless-camp-fires-city-leaders-proposition-b/269-1d6bfebd-9b53-479b-a4cc-9f9c58da383a

you can also see my post on prop b for more info

Prop C Sources

https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2021/03/proposition-c-explained/

Prop D Sources

https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2021/04/should-mayoral-election-be-moved-to-presidential-years/

Prop E Sources

https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2021/04/ranked-choice-voting-proposal-faces-legal-legislative-questions-after-may-election/

https://www.fairvote.org/rcvbenefits

Prop F Sources

https://www.kvue.com/article/news/politics/austin-city-council-prop-f-strong-mayor-system/269-11c51b04-3ff1-4202-bbfa-48b5033d15c7

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/council-members-express-dismay-with-prop-f-plan-to-give-mayor-chief-executive-powers

Prop G Sources

https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2021/03/prop-gs-extra-council-seat-could-mean-gridlock-if-strong-mayor-proposal-fails/

Prop H Sources

https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2021/03/democracy-dollars-proposal-looks-to-spread-influence-participation-in-elections/

https://www.seattle.gov/democracyvoucher/about-the-program

[yeoyokepeng3205]

NM3205 blog 7 - WeChat (media consumption)

In Zhang’s WeChat: Social Network and Smart City. International Linguistics Research (2019),  his research revolved around WeChat and its digital activity for its advanced functionalities which build intelligent society in China. China’s ban of external influences of Western social network instigated the revolution of WeChat, from an instant messaging application to a hybrid including application, marketplace, payment method and operating system as an integrated means rather than just a social network. The new usage and the rapid expansion of its integrated functionality and impacts form the new communication consumption framework in China. This work shows how an intelligent society changes and develops through a social network, and detailed analysis of advanced technology and social networks of WeChat. Without a doubt, the boundaries between virtual social networks gradually dissolve, making WeChat a social and economic phenomenon. In this blog, i will also analyse how China had curated WeChat to suit their tastes and preferences in consumption of the internet.

Then, Zhang mentioned that “WeChat is the application of all applications.” and that in the Western world, there is almost no network that can be comparable to WeChat. Indeed, to a certain extent, I do believe this statement is accurate. In Singapore, we are generally influenced by Western factors, hence, our main mode of messaging is usually Telegram or WhatsApp. I realised i communicate mostly through Whatsapp but their functionalities are quite limited compared to WeChat. Evidently, I use GooglePay/PayNow for monetary transactions, WhatsApp for communication and Instagram for social media. There have been attempts by WhatsApp to include the Instastory function, for instance, taking pictures to update your status on WhatsApp but it is not a popular function, because in contrast to Instagram which has tons of amazing filters, WhatsApp status update seems boring and useless. In WeChat, it is a holistic platform whereby you can update people about your life, a recall platform to unsend unintended messages, passport visa application, make payments through Redpackets, “WeChat Purse” in Wechat Pay as an official access to the social insurance payment and other events like checking the balance of the public housing welfare fund. And last but the least, “WeChat Wallet” facilitates payment with the wallet for users to pay for goods and services  which is so convenient compared to using multiple applications for different purposes. The only downside about this app is that it is monitored heavily by the China Government, and the data is readily accessible to them which makes it extremely dangerous, and possible infringement of citizens’ privacy. I asked one of my friends who is currently studying in China about her opinions on WeChat, she mentioned that it is definitely one “super” app that assists in daily activities and making connections since she was a foreigner in China which helped her better assimilate into the country. However, she also gets the paranoia of constantly being watched. Even though her account is private, she was shocked that when she was applying for Visa, the interview questions were very similar to certain personal topics that she shared with her friends via WeChat only (eg. stereotypes of China people). Despite fearing for her privacy rights, she said she is unable to live without “WeChat” because of how integrated the apps are into China social network.

Besides that, from my analysis of WeChat, the curation of the network to suit China’s consumers tastes and preferences are ostensible reiterating the ecology between the app and its citizens. Thereby, increasing its appeal and media consumption. Firstly, WeChat is a personal and professional network. Wechat is used for connection with friends, family and colleagues. This is because the Chinese prefer to approach things holistically and systemically, so they do not mind blurring the demarcation between work and leisure. In contrast, the West prefers to distinguish personal from professional, as clearly seen that Facebook and Instagram fall into the personal category as compared to Linkedin. This is reflective of the way Westerners think and work. They do so in a partial way by analysing systems separately, with rationality and clear boundaries as the basis for working well together.

Secondly, WeChat has no online status or read receipts. When it does come to making new connections, the Chinese are relatively more aloof and self contained. This is because collectivism and group harmony are preferred. With foreign connections, the Chinese prefer not share their personal opinions and feelings, but rather confide in their own trust circle. WeChat supports this social norm of refrain by protecting users’ privacy—not indicating of users’ online status or receipt of having read the messages. Another important cultural trait is the norm of saving one’s face or not losing face. If the read receipt is shown and one does not reply, it is highly embarrassing and one risks ruining the relationship. In contrast, Western culture is largely individualistic and control-oriented. Westerners are much more social from the outset of meeting new people. Social networking and messaging platforms on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp automatically provide the online status and read receipts function to facilitate and optimise conversations. The mentality of Westerners is much more focused on transparency and productivity. Any abrasions or offences in social interactions are seen as minor and quickly brushed away. As such, they do not mind being explicit and direct, with no need to hide, on social network platforms.

Lastly, WeChat is a closed network and does not suggest new connections. WeChat only shows interactions in one’s social network and among mutual connections. WeChat also does not have the function of suggesting new connections. This is because the Chinese often make a greater investment in deepening relationships within their social circles. They highly value intimacy and good relationships, no matter personal and/or professional. As such, the Chinese want to keep their connections private and would not naturally bring connections of different social circles together. They also prefer to expand their social network organically via personal introductions rather than reaching out to strangers. On the other hand, Western social network platforms operate with different logic because Western culture is more about openly interacting and sharing. Greater emphasis is placed on the extensiveness of one’s social network and receiving support and recognition from the relevant social circles. The Western approach to networking involves fewer moral obligations and emotional ties. As such, making new connections can be reduced to the click of a button. On my Linkedin, multiple connections pop up everyday, even international contacts. Hence, you could clearly see how Linkedin’s algorithm promotes interconnectivity regardless of backgrounds, location or race.

In a nutshell, the innovation of the social platform WeChat has helped to improve the information technology and services of the city thanks to the advantages of large data bases, artificial intelligence. It has propelled China towards a smart nation by streamlining all the various processes into a single network which improves the quality of life. Moreover, the curation of the app towards the consumers tastes and preference encourages them to indulge in media consumption. Thus, accentuating the fact that the internet is so deeply interwoven into our lives that we are unable to live without it.

References

Zhang, J., Muñoz, C. F., & Hänninen, L. I. (2019). WeChat: Social Network and Smart City. International Linguistics Research, 2(3), p11-p11.

Consulting, C. (n.d.). WeChat vs western social NETWORK Ecosystems. Retrieved March 12, 2021, from https://www.cebaconsulting.com/index.php/2019/11/19/wechat-vs-western-social-network-ecosystems/

[scribble-bunnie]

soulmark | m.yg (1)

Pairing: Min Yoongi x Reader

Chapters: 9

Summary: in which, a girl and a boy without soulmarks learn what it means to have a soulmark and a soulmate.

01 || There's Always A Little Truth

(Y/n)'s POV

A warm breeze blew at me, making me smile as I stepped into the familiar coffee shop. It wasn't small, but it wasn't big either. The familiar guy behind the counter smiled at my appearance before continuing his work of typing the bill.

It was 8 in the morning and I was at my workplace, the 'Sweet Secret' coffee shop that my friend, Kim Seokjin owned. I rushed to the back, pulling on my everyday waitress/barista outfit, before coming out. I went next to Jin, who was writing something on the counter.

"Jin," I called out to him, giving him my award-winning smile. He looked up, amused. He was a year older than me, but he said that sometimes, it felt as if I am older than him, so he asked me to call him Jin instead of Jin-oppa. "Whatcha writing?"

I leaned over his (extremely broad) shoulder to look at the small notepad. It was a bunch of numbers that I guessed was the coffee shop's budget and all.

"Good morning to you too," he said, turning around and leaning against the counter to face me. I bit my tongue when I remembered I forgot to say it. He just smiled. "Looking good, I see. Smiling as ever. Now get your smiling face and make a mocha and a latte for that couple over there."

I internally groaned but kept the smile. I prepared the drinks and immediately served it to them. By that time, the shop was starting to fill in, especially with university students looking for help after all-nighters.

I was soon joined by my co-worker, Park Jimin, who was also one of the main attractions of girls to our coffee shop. Too bad for them, Jimin-ah was taken by a handsome guy (who girls would kill for), Jeon Jungkook.

The morning rush continued on till 11:30, and I could finally take a breath when Jin nodded at me to take five minutes off.

My eyes were just looking around when it fell on Jimin-ah, who was wiping tables. Specifically, on his left wrist. Where his soulmark was.

In our world, everyone had a soulmark; a sign similar to their soulmate's. Jimin-ah met Jungkook-ah in university, and since he started working part-time here starting his first year, he told me all about it. All the feelings, all the rush, all the happiness.

And I felt happy for him. I felt so happy that he got to meet the one for him. Jungkook-ah was a sweetheart, and the two were made for each other. In more than one way. 

Thinking about him made me look down, at my own wrist. It was bare, just a plain normal wrist without a soulmark. Everyone got their soulmark between 10-12 years old, and at first I thought I was just a late bloomer. But no. I just don't have a soulmate.

Ever since then, I have wondered what it felt like to have a soulmate; somebody who is made for us. Meant to love us and only us. Soulmates dated and married and them doing otherwise was unheard of.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, making me look up. Jin was giving me a sad look. He shook his head. I looked down at my lap with a sad smile.

"I'm okay," I told him. He didn't look convinced. He gave me a mug of (f/c). I took it from his hand. "Really."

"I know," Jin said, giving me a small hug. I hugged him back, basking in the warmth for a second before reality slapped me in the face again. I downed the drink and hopped onto my feet. "Ready to work?"

"As I'll ever be," I said with a grin, to hide my pain on the inside. He gave me a wide smile too, and I got to work again.

At twenty-five, I had given up all hope. Almost 97% of people had soulmates and it was hard to find people without soulmates, because they hid the fact. Also, people who weren't soulmates had a fat chance of actually working out.

I knew I was going to be alone for life, but for some reason, I had a little bit of hope inside me, that one day I might find someone. I sighed to myself as I packed the pastry for the woman.

"Here you go, ma'am," I handed it to her. "Would you like anything else?"

"No, no, I'm good," she said with a smile. "How much will that be?"

I handed her the bill, and she paid before leaving. Around 1:00 the shop was empty and so the three of us sat down for lunch. Jimin-ah had gotten us sandwiches from the shop across.

"Ah, Jimin-ah, (Y/n)-ah," Jin said, pausing from biting his sandwich. "My soulmate is coming tonight and we're gonna go for dinner. Would you two care to join?"

"Jin, no!" I exclaimed. "You both have fun, why do you want Jimin-ah and I to ruin it? I'm sure he's desiring some alone time with you!"

Jin laughed before speaking, "No, he's coming to meet you guys. You all have never met, so he proposed a meet-up dinner. We are going on a date this Saturday, anyway."

"Oh, then sure," Jimin-ah replied for the both of us. 

"He'll come at 8:00, so I'm closing the shop early, and then we can all go," Jin said, before taking a huge bite of his sandwich. "I already messaged Min-ji about today's timing."

Song Min-ji was the university part-time student we had. She worked from afternoon to night. Since Jimin-ah finished university last year, we decided to take a part-timer again. I nodded at the information, before finishing my lunch.

"Alright, I'm gonna open the shop again," I announced.

Min-ji came at around 2:30, after her university. She had long black hair and black doe eyes. She started her last year at university with Jungkook-ah this year. They were both two years younger than Jimin-ah. She was Jungkook-ah's friend and he introduced her to us since she wanted a part-time job.

"(Y/n)-unnie!" she pounced on me, giving me a hug that left me struggling to breath. "I hate university. Just one week in, and they are driving us crazy!"

"There, there," I patted her on the back. "You can do it, and we both know it. One more year, Min-ji, before you are free!"

She nodded, determined. She stepped back and went to the back to change her uniform. She came out, her beautiful soulmark resting on her wrist. It was a design, unlike most people. The Soulmark was something that connected the two people involved, something that meant a lot to them. So mostly, people got different objects from flowers to wine. 

Min-ji still hadn't met her soulmate, and she was anxious to meet them. I tried my best to support my friends, but sometimes, I couldn't help it. I cried to myself, because my bare wrist spoke my future.

It was a truth universally acknowledged, that I was going to be alone forever and ever.

❒❒❒

Part 1 | Part 2

[icreativethoughts]

Top 15 Ping Submission Sites To Ping Your Blog/Website

Top 15 Ping Submission Sites :

Pinging a website is considered as one of the SEO Methods to Ping Your Site at times whenever you update your content in your site. It is recommended to ping your site to some Ping submission Sites frequently depending on the updates you make to your sites.

Google Crawlers obviously will crawl your content through their bots regularly but pinging is considered as a informative call to Search  Engines telling them some new update is made in the specified site. Hence , Generally Pinging sites is suggested at least once a week or two .

Now Many will have doubt of what if pinging is done extensively as your their site may get penalized but at the some time they will in a stage where they need views for their sites so some external force should be applied to brink the necessary indexing and views to their content published.

For More Articles on Earning Online Please Visit My Blog :

I will tell you your site will not be penalized if your do over pinging your site but it will simple make Search Engines Ignore Informative call if Crawlers think unnecessary Pings. Instead of Simple Trying to always ping your site , just concentrating on some other SEO Techniques like :

A) Blog Commenting On Same Niche Sites/Blogs

B) Quality Forum Discussions on your Niche for Backlinks

C) Updating Your Site Content Frequently

D)  Making Keyword Analysis of your Niche and Try to Include those in your Blog posts.

E) Choose a Competitor and Analyzing the methods and Backlinks they Acquired.

F) Find Good Social Marketing Sites and sign up with them to post your site content in those to multiply the content Viewing by making good Friends or Followers in those sites and be updated.

G) Plan some Advertisement if you think your Site has to generate Leads.

This way there are many other things a site owner can plan instead of wasting time on same rework .

Now let Us see some Top 15 Ping Submission Sites One can Regularly Rely on 

:For More Articles on Earning Online Please Visit My Blog :

1) Pingler.com

Pingler.com is one of the Best Ping submission Platforms where any Website/blog can be Submitted to Ping their site .Just simply Give :

A) Blog Title

B) Blog URL

C) Category of your Site

And now after giving all the Above Details just Click on " Ping " your Job is Done. Pingler Will take of Pinging your Site to various sites it listed. Find the Below Image which Illustrates :

Apart from Free Submissions , they Also have Some paid services which you can utilize for better results at very Low costs which you can check on the Home page of the Pingler.com 

Also There is an Affiliate Program in Pingler.com where you can display its Banner and Text ads which you Can place on your site and Pingler pays you for every paid sale your customer makes. Find the Below image for Affiliate Details:

2) Pingomatic.com

Pingomatic is also One of the Good Ping submission sites for your blog/website which you can visit frequently to submit your site for pinging . Just Simply give :

A) Blog Name

B) Blog Home Page

C) RSS URL ( Leave This Optional )

D) Services To Ping ( Tick all Boxes )

Find the Below Image which Shows How to Give All Details :

For More Articles on Earning Online Please Visit My Blog :

3) Twingly.com

Twingly.com is also one of the Best Ping submission Sites that will send pings to your site once submitted to its platform. Just Check with the Option of " blog Ping " in the Below of the Page ( ping.twingly.com ) Just simply Give :

A) Blog URL

and Click Ping.

Besides you also Have Free API's which you can use from Twingly.com to Analyze your Blog/website which Twingly.com giving site owners for free with Easy Sign up in their platform .

4) Mypagerank.net ( mypagerank.net/service_pingservice_index )

Mypagerank.net is also arguably one of the best Ping Submission sites which has high collection of Sites that pings your Site when submitted on its Platform. Simply Give These Details :

A) Blog Title

B) Blog URL

C) Write Captcha given beside

D) Tick Box beside Select all Services

Besides there are also other Free Services which you can utilize for your site :

1) Google Page rank Button

2) Google bot last access

3) Sitemaps Creator

4) Engines Submit

5) Ping Service

6) Spider View

7) Meta Tag Analyses

8) Link Preview

9) Yahoo bot Last visit

10) MSN bot Last Visit

Just simply click on the Options as shown in the Home Page and give your site URL to check with above services .

5) Totalping.com

Totalping is also one of the best Ping Submission sites where you have the regular process of giving the following Details :

A) Blog Name

B) Blog home Page URL

C) RSS URL ( you can leave it optional if you dont know )

D) " Tick Box " Beside English Services to select all Services

E) " Tick Box " Beside International Services to select all Services

D) Tick In Box " To Agree Tos " and your Job is Done your Site will be Pinged to all the Services You have Selected from different Sources.

You can Check TotalPing allows many free site owners from around the globe to submit their sites for pinging through various sources it has connected with.

Besides , if you can also Place a Widget of This Services to Ping you Site Directly from your Home Page just by click " Ping ! " instead of Always Landing on this site and Giving all the Details .

For More Articles on Earning Online Please Visit My Blog :

6) Pingfarm.com

Pingfarm is also one of the Best Ping Submission Websites where one can submit their Blog/Website For Pinging .Just Simply Give :

A) URL of your Blog in the Box Place Given for giving multiple URL's if you have or can give one.

B) Under " Details " Box Give your blog Name/Keyword

C) Under " Services To Ping " Option Select all Services by Ticking all Boxes beside each service.

D) Then Finally Click on " Mass Ping " , Your Job is Ready and Wait until Your Ping submission is Done as it will take Some to Finish submitting to Many Sources you have opted.

Pingfarm allows many site owners from the various places to submit their sites for mass ping submission as it has many reliable static websites that will ping your Site submitted to them.

Pingfarm also have " Rapid Indexer "which Pings your Site to Thousands of other sites by just submitting your URL as shown below.

Pingfarm also have option " Link Checker "  where it will check your Backlinks just enter your Domain name and Click " Scan URL " , your job is done just wait sometime to get your backlinks and export the file.

For More Articles on Earning Online Please Visit My Blog :

7) Autopinger.com

Autopinger is also the good Ping Submission Sites where it has many source sites that can ping your blog/website once submitted to it. Just simply give :

A) URL

B) Under English Services " Tick all " to select all services

C) Under Non English Services " Tick all " to Select all services .

D) Click on " Start Ping " , your job is Done your site will be submitted for pinging from various sources.

8) Indexkings.com

Indexkings is one of the Mass Ping submission websites where it will submit your Site to thousands of Static sites to ping your site .Just simply give :

A) Blog Url

B) Click on " Rapid Index " to Start Pinging your site.

9) Pingoat.net

Pingoat has various sources of indexing your Blog/Website From around the globe when submitted to it for pinging your site.Just simply give :

A) Blog Name

B) Blog URL

C) Click on " Select all " for Selecting total sources listed to ping your site.

D) Now click " Go Pingoat ! " to start pinging your site.

For More Articles on Earning Online Please Visit My Blog :

10) Pingsitemap.com

Pingsitemap will submit your XML Sitemap URL to Major Search Engines for Pinging your site when submitted to it. Just Simply Give :

A) XML Sitemap URL

What is XML Sitemap URL ?

Its Sitemap URL of your Blog/Website which is simply Explained as with below Example :

Example : www.Example.com

( or )

Example  : www.Example.blogspot.com

Then , Sitemap URL will be ,

www.Example.com/sitemap.xml

www.Example.blogspot.com/sitemap.xml

B) Click " Submit " to ping your site.

11) Pingates.com

Pingates is also one of the Best Ping submission sites where you can simply submit your website/blog to get pings from various sources of Pingatess.com. Just simply give :

A) Title

B) URL

C) Click on " Send Pings " and your job is Done your Pinging starts Immediately.

There are Also Free Tools Pingates which you can use which are of use for designing your site , script inputs etc.,

For More Articles on Earning Online Please Visit My Blog :

12) Pingmylinks.com

Pingmylinks is one of the best Ping Submission Websites where you have many Free Tools for a Site to be used like :

A) Pinging

B) Directory Submission

C) Search Engine Submission

D) Social Ping Submission

E) Website Submission

F) Sitemap XML Submission

One has To clearly Concentrate on this Website for much time as it has many Free Tools also for any website to Use and check their websites status , backlinks , bot checker , backlink generator and many things.

Just in the Initial Step Just Simply click on " Blog Ping " option Right Hand side and Give the Following Details :

A) Blog Name

B) Blog URL

C) Updated URL

D) RSS URL ( Optional )

That's all Click " Submit " your site will be Pinged in few minutes.

13) Feedburner.com

Feed Burner is the Google Tool for Knowing Blog Feed URL  which also give Blog custom RSS Feeds to your Site Content. Just Simply Go to :

Feedburner.com and Sign Up with Gmail login details and Give your :

A) Just Give your Blog Name

B) Blog URL

C) Click on " Next " to generate FEED URL and also to Burn your Updated Content.

D) You will also get FEED URL of your Blog Here in the Next Step which you can save For your SEO purpose like giving in Ping Submission sites etc.,

14) Blo.gs

Blo.gs is also one of the good sources of ping submission sites where you can simply get your site pinged by giving the following details :

A) Name ( Blog Name )

B) URL ( Blog URL )

C) Check  URL

D) Feed URL

For More Articles on Earning Online Please Visit My Blog :

15) Ping.in

Ping.in is also one of the best Ping Submission sites where any site can cane be submitted to get pings from various source sites that are used for pinging .Just Simply Give :

A) Blog Name

B) Blog URL

C) Click " Submit " that's all your job is done your site gets pinged in few minutes.

So , these are the Best 15 Ping Submission sites anyone Can Follow to Ping their Sites/Blogs Regularly whenever they Update their Content so that you will get good backlinks and good indexing in Search results of many Search Engines.

For More Articles on Earning Online Please Visit My Blog :

Thank you For your Time Reading This Article !

[parentsnevertoldus]

little-t trauma

CW// health issues, death, suicide, homophobia, racism

When I was little, I thought that “drama” and “trauma” were the same thing. Middle school drama consisted of which popular long-haired sk8er boy was scooping the boobs of which popular pubescent girl; whose secrets were exposed when someone was ousted from their friend group; which 8th graders were dating high school seniors. While, in my experience, these words can often describe each other--drama can be traumatic and vice versa--they mean two different things. However, looking back on my childhood as I got older, I realized the way I had used them interchangeably was, well, correct. 

Whether it’s “Big-T Trauma” or “little-t trauma,” the psychological and physiological responses are the same. Big-T Trauma is an event that happens once but is extremely impactful all at one time, for example, death, assault, and attack, or witnessing an attack. These instances are often more accepted by wider society as stressful. Little-t trauma is by no means less traumatic. However, these recurring events are often invalidated and normalized by society; the burden is often shifted to the victim with the expectation that one should just “get over it.”  Examples of these include chronic bullying, racism, body-shaming, sexism, and other forms of everyday violence and discrimination. What determines whether we call it trauma in the first place is how we feel after the experience. The more frightened or helpless you feel, the more likely that this is trauma. 

Having to let boys playfully “scoop” your boobs every day at school or risk social ostracization? Trauma. Having your deepest darkest secrets exposed at school? Trauma. Being ousted from your friend group? Trauma. Dating someone way too old for you? Trauma. Being the only Black kid at your school? Trauma. Trying to pass for straight? Trauma. Hiding your gender identity from everyone you know? Trauma. No one deserves that.

Minority Stress is a little-t trauma (in contrast to the big-T Trauma of a hate crime).  The term minority stress refers to the excess recurring stress to which individuals from stigmatized social categories are exposed as a result of their position as a social minority. This stress from alienation accumulates over time and results in both physiological and mental health issues.

How Trauma Affects the Body

Increased blood pressure: have you ever heard the expression “higher than a Black man’s blood pressure?” Some epidemiological studies have found that exposure to racial discrimination was positively related to elevated levels of blood pressure in Black people (1). Experiencing discrimination in a broad range of contexts can induce considerable stress. 

Higher rates of chronic disease: Everyday discrimination is positively associated with coronary artery calcification (9),  diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, depression, cancer, and early death (12). Because of this, not only do POC (specifically Black people) experience worse health earlier, but this deterioration accumulates giving rise to higher cortisol levels and inflammation in racial, sexual, and gender minorities alike (13).

Poor sleep:  Black people are less likely than white people to have a decline in blood pressure during sleep, which is associated with increased risk for mortality and traumatic cardiovascular events like heart attacks (11).

Birthing mortality: The weathering hypothesis proposes that the health of Black women may begin to deteriorate in early adulthood as a physical consequence of cumulative socioeconomic disadvantage. This age the body via an increase in allostatic load, the physiological burden imposed by stress: norepinephrine, epinephrine, cortisol, and DHEA-S which gives rise to elevated blood pressure & cholesterol (14). During childbirth, these problems are correlated with higher rates of fetal/neonatal death and death of the birthing person as well as low birth weights and prematurely born babies.

Mental health and physical health are inextricably linked. 

How Trauma Affects Us Socially & Emotionally

Psychological distress: Perceptions of discrimination are related to high levels of psychological distress, low levels of life satisfaction & happiness, depressive symptoms, poorer physical health (2), & cognitive impairment (10). Internalized racism is correlated with higher levels of alcohol use (3) while internalized homophobia correlates to higher levels of illicit drug use.

Fatalism:  Understanding one's position as a victim of oppression, rather than lessening the degree of personal responsibility, diminishes feelings of self-efficacy. This leads to a fatalistic attitude that reduces coping effort in the face of adversity (4,5) and, in gay men, is correlated to increased risk of death by suicide. 

Stereotype threat:  When someone is aware of the negative stereotypes that are applied to them, this creates expectations, anxieties, and reactions that can adversely affect social & psychological functioning (6). When a stigma of inferiority is activated for Black people in experimental conditions, exam performance worsens. Similarly, women who were told that they perform worse than men had lower exam scores than control groups (7). Stereotype threat can increase anxiety, reduce self-regulation, & impair decision-making processes and communication abilities (8).

Trauma makes it hard to trust others; it makes us want to self-isolate from friends and family, snap at loved ones more frequently, makes us more susceptible to disease and chronic flare-ups, and startle more easily. Traumatic experiences, especially ones we face daily and have little control over (microaggressions, anyone?), can lead to hopelessness and chronic mental illness. And while white cisgender heterosexuals have problems too, the problems that oppressed minority groups face have a much larger effect on their cardiovascular systems and overall health.

Discrimination and oppression are literally killing people. In a capitalist society where you are only as valuable as your economic or reproductive output (#tbt to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade), where women and minorities are barred access to equal healthcare, thus decreasing their values as workers, the cycle of poverty continues.

Ever wonder where the Angry Black Woman stereotype came from? Ever think that maybe her anger was justified?

While this article focuses on Black people and cishet white gay men, let's remember the overall message: experiencing oppression (external and internalized) causes mental and physical health problems that are NOT YOUR FAULT. These experiences are compounded at the intersections of our marginalized identities which further aggravates the tangible effects of systemic oppression. And guess what? You deserve fucking better.

Click here for some self-care ideas and techniques!

Sources

1.  Krieger N. & Sidney S. Racial and discrimination: risk factors for high blood pressure? Social Science & Medicine. 1990; 30 (12): 1273-81.

2. Williams & Chung, in press (NSBA)

3. Taylor, R. J., & Chatters, L. M. (1991). Nonorganizational religious participation among elderly black adults. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 46(2), S103-111.

4. Jones, E., & Matsumoto, D. (1982). Psychotherapy with the underserved: Recent developments. In L. Snowden (Ed.), Reaching the underserved: Mental health needs of neglected populations. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications.

5. Neighbors, H. W., Jackson, J. S., Broman, C. L., & Thompson, E. (1996). Racism and the mental health of African Americans: The role of self and system blame. Ethnicity and Disease, 6(1-2), 167-175.

6. Fischer, C. S., Hout, M., Jankowski, M. S., Lucas, S. R., Swidler, A., Voss, K. (1996). Inequality by design: Cracking the bell curve myth Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press

7. Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52(6), 613-629.

8. Inzlicht, M., Kang, S. K. (2010). Stereotype threat spillover: How coping with threats to social identity affects aggression, eating, decision making, and attention. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(3), 467-481.

9. Lewis, T. T., Barnes, L. L., Bienias, J. L., Lackland, D. T., Evans, D. A., Mendes de Leon, C. F.(2009). Perceived discrimination and blood pressure in older African American and White adults. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 64A(9), 1002-1008.

10. Barnes, L. L., Lewis, T. T., Begeny, C. T., Yu, L., Bennett, D. A., Wilson, R. S. (2012). Perceived discrimination and cognition in older African Americans. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 18(5), 856-865.

11. Profant, J., Dimsdale, J. E. (1999). Race and diurnal blood pressure patterns: A review and meta-analysis. Hypertension, 33(5), 1099-1104.

12. National Research Council (US) Panel on Race, Ethnicity, and Health in Later Life; Anderson NB, Bulatao RA, Cohen B, editors. Critical Perspectives on Racial and Ethnic Differences in Health in Late Life. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2004. 14, Significance of Perceived Racism: Toward Understanding Ethnic Group Disparities in Health, the Later Years. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK25531/

13. Gender differences in age-related changes in HPA axis reactivity.

Seeman TE, Singer B, Wilkinson CW, McEwen B

Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2001 Apr; 26(3):225-40.

14. Price of adaptation--allostatic load and its health consequences. MacArthur studies of successful aging.

Seeman TE, Singer BH, Rowe JW, Horwitz RI, McEwen BS

Arch Intern Med. 1997 Oct 27; 157(19):2259-68.

[writingmessynaruto]

Conflict & Characterization Exercise / Challenge (Mostly) for Screenwriting

(Note: This exercise can also be performed on written narrative forms like fiction, but it is probably best utilized for visual forms like film/screenwriting. Still, fiction is welcome!)

The art of introducing conflict indirectly is probably one of the most useful tools to a writer of any story form. Sometimes, conflict can be introduced directly, but other times, this isn’t appropriate, or it’s far too on the nose. If you have a character that is avoiding their conflict, or if you don’t want your story to just dump exposition everywhere, then you may want to work on revealing conflict in a more indirect way. This flatters the reader and makes for very smart, realistic storytelling.

One way to practice this is to write a character with an internal, chronic conflict into a setting that has nothing to do with that conflict.

First, you need a chronic conflict. This is usually something internal, but it doesn’t have to be. Chronic just means ongoing, continuous. This is the conflict that has been present in the character since before the story’s beginning. Going back to my previous post, in the movie clip of Wes Anderson’s Rushmore, Bill Murray’s character’s chronic conflict is his loneliness, mainly due to his failing marriage.

But, instead of setting that scene in a more direct way, such as Murray walking in on his wife, or catching her on the phone with another guy--he’s at a pool party. He’s performing a mundane task. He’s jumping off a diving board. How he does it is so telling of what he’s feeling, of what his inner conflict is. Certainly, Wes Anderson is very stylistic in his portrayal of this idea, but the basics are obvious to us, even through such an indirect means.

So, here’s the formula for this exercise:

Chronic Conflict  +  Unrelated Setting  =  Scene

You can come up with this yourself, but you want the setting to be as random and unrelated as possible. If a character just got dumped, they can’t meet their ex randomly; they can’t be stuck alone on Valentine’s Day.

I’ve also made a list of possible things prompts for this exercise below (keep reading). For funsies, you can use these if you’d like! Also, if you want me (or anyone else) to comment or give critique on your exercise, reblog your response to this!

Directions: Use the first letter of your Tumblr username, and the date (number) of your birthday to choose your prompt. If you want to do this multiple times, you can pick a random letter & number out of a hat or something.

Try to make your scenes as indirect as possible; do your best not to TELL us what the conflict is, and instead use your setting/task to SHOW us what the character is going through. Don’t directly inform us that Bob just went through a divorce as he orders a latte; show us how a divorced man would ask for a latte. How many ways are there to order a latte? See if you can come up with a way that really indicates the conflict as well as possible.

(Note: If you want to do this in a fiction format, you may. If you want to write a screenplay but don’t know how, feel free to write out a simple narrative summary or outline of the scene.)

CONFLICTS:

A - A man feels like a bad father.

B - A person with a very religious family background is losing their faith.

C - The CEO of a large company feels lonely.

D - A woman feels unattractive.

E - A man is unsatisfied with his job.

F - A person just got fired from a job they loved.

G - A person feels unloved by their parents.

H - A woman doesn’t want to be a mother anymore.

I - A person feels guilty for not wanting a relationship with their father.

J - A man is in a loveless marriage.

K - A person has just learned their spouse is cheating on them.

L - A woman going through a divorce.

M - A person feels replaceable and forgotten in their family life.

N - A boy can’t make friends at college.

O - A person wants to have sex with someone other than their current partner.

P - A loved one in this person’s family has died recently.

Q - A girl feels lonely at school.

R - A man feels unattractive.

S - A woman is unsatisfied with her job.

T - A person is deeply attracted to someone that isn’t their partner.

U - A person’s parents think they’re a disappointment.

V - A person is still grief-stricken over the death of a loved one, years later.

W - A guy got dumped by his partner.

X - A person wants to cheat on their spouse.

Y - A person’s best friend moved away.

Z - A man wants to be polyarmorous but they’ve grown up believing it’s wrong.

SETTINGS / TASKS:

1 - Buying a pretzel in the mall.

2 - Walking around an amusement park.

3 - Catching a taxi.

4 - Asking for directions to a location.

5 - Waiting for the bus.

6 - Hanging out at a pool party.

7 - Exercising at the gym.

8 - Picking out a book from a bookstore.

9 - Buying a snack at a movie theater.

10 - Doing laundry at the quarter laundromat.

11 - Buying a coffee.

12 - Copying some documents at the office.

13 - Working as a nurse in a hospital.

14 - Walking through a craft store.

15 - Going to an ice cream shop.

16 - Going clothes shopping.

17 - Ordering at McDonalds.

18 - Getting lunch in a cafeteria.

19 - Walking to school.

20 - Buying balloons for a birthday party.

21 - Walking a dog.

22 - Going to a restaurant with family.

23 - Buying take out Chinese food.

24 - Grocery shopping.

25 - Looking at the shark exhibit in an aquarium.

26 - Ordering a popsicle at the beach.

27 - Buying shoes at Walmart.

28 - Looking for the flight terminal at the airport.

29 - Busing tables at a restaurant.

30 - Getting a haircut.

31 - Playing tennis.

[ahouseoflies]

The Best Films of 2018, Part III

Parts I and II are here and here.

GOOD MOVIES

70. Mid90s (Jonah Hill)- I usually applaud filmmakers for letting visuals tell the story instead of spelling everything out, but Mid90s needs to spell some more stuff out, especially at the truncated end. His brother brought him an orange juice, so all of the abuse is forgotten? I need a bit more there.

I was always going to be in the tank for this though, having been the same age as the protagonist at the time, owning some of the same shirts as him and hanging some of the same posters on my wall. Despite the "My First Screenplay" beef I had up top, each supporting character gets something to do. Hill shows promise as a director (and the fingerprints of his influences) by being able to shift between poles of emotions in a matter of seconds.

69. McQueen (Ian Bonhote)- Although it waits too long to get into McQueen's depression, this documentary does an adequate job of showing the ups and downs of his life. It was great seeing things I've only read about, like the Voss show.

Here's the thing though: I'm not a genius, but if I were, I would hope that my closest friends and advisers would be able to articulate what made me great. A little less "We were working sixteen-hour days." A little more "He changed art forever."

68. Beautiful Boy (Felix Van Groeningen)- For better and worse, this portrait of a parent's worst nightmare is unrelenting. Surprisingly, the toughest moment is when Nic is fierce with pride, clean for fourteen months. Because when you pause and see that there's an hour left in the movie, you shudder at how low he might end up going.

Van Groeningen's sort of french braid of past and present hasn't changed for his English-language debut, but things worked best for me when he locked in on Timothee Chalamet's mannered but touching performance. I wish the movie had a proper ending.

67. The Kindergarten Teacher (Sara Colangelo)- This takes a little while to get sick and twisted, but I liked it once it did. Part of why it works is Gyllenhaal's commitment to the role. As dark as the character gets--and the film does seem hell-bent on establishing her as a failure when I'm not sure that's true--Gyllenhaal never judges her. It's probably her best performance since SherryBaby.

As for Gael Garcia Bernal, who plays a poetry professor who kisses people and then apologizes and says that he misread the moment and acts all bashful, are we sure about him? Are we sure he's good at acting?

66. The Spy Who Dumped Me (Susanna Fogel)- The spywork of the last half-hour is way too convoluted, but the comedy is fast and loose in service of a sweet female friendship. We're at the stage with the genius of Kate McKinnon in which I just assume that she came up with anything funny on the spot. For example, there's an off-hand joke that her character went to camp with Edward Snowden and was surprised that the news didn't mention how "into ska" he was. It's so bizarre that it had to be improv. Later, when Edward Snowden shows up as a character, I had to admit that the movie was tightly written. But I assumed it was McKinnon first. 65. Ready Player One (Steven Spielberg)- Halfway through Ready Player One, there's a sequence that takes place inside The Overlook Hotel of The Shining. The characters are walking through a photorealistic recreation of that setting, down to the smallest details, but it has been repurposed with different angles for this film. Not only have I literally never seen something like this in a movie, but I never imagined the possibility of such a thing existing. And somehow...it's corny and derivative.

So goes Ready Player One. It takes the simple pleasures of a Chosen One narrative with a killer villain, loads every corner of the frame with Ryu or Beetlejuice or a Goldie Wilson campaign poster, and punishes you with maximalism. Each piece reliably contributes to the whole, sometimes in thrilling and amusing fashion, but no matter when you check your watch, forty-five minutes are left.

When imdb came out, Steven Spielberg was one of the first people I looked up. What shocked me was how many projects I attributed to his direction when he had only produced them. In my kid brain, Spielberg had directed Gremlins or Goonies or An American Tail. They had his imprimatur of whimsy and wonder and childhood identification even if they were, you know, a bit more conventional and less purposeful than the movies he directed. Well, not since Tintin has there been a Steven Spielberg-directed film that feels more Spielberg-produced.

My favorite reference was the Battletoads. Or more accurately, imagining the seventy-two-year-old filmmaker going, "Oh, you know I gotta get the 'Toads up in this bih!"

64. Ben Is Back (Peter Hedges)- Despite a little bit of note-card screenwriting--"Get a line about how insurance doesn't care about drug addiction in there!"--The first two-thirds take their time revealing information to the viewer, dropping bread crumbs of the family history quite gracefully. Roberts and Hedges play off each other well, and their charisma powers the first half. She, of course, has an ample bag of Movie Star tricks, but, surprisingly, he already does too. You can see, in the confrontation at the mall, for example, how the mother's dissembling and conniving would pass down to him.

So it's a real bummer when the final third decides to separate the leads and rushes to a baffling conclusion. It falls apart like few movies in recent memory.

63. Avengers: Infinity War (Anthony Russo, Joe Russo)- Whatever. I admire the skill that it must have taken to balance the revolving wheel of characters--even if it does feel like check-ins half the time. The movie is exhausting in a bad way until it's exhausting in a good way. More importantly, here are my power rankings. (Their power in my own heart. Thanos is obviously the most powerful.)

1. Rocket 2. Hawkeye (Renner Season even when it isn't.) 3. The Collector 4. Black Panther 5. Thanos 6. Iron Man 7. Ned 8. Nick Fury 9. Star Lord 10. Thor (His scene with Rocket is the best one in the film.) 11. Gamora 12. Hulk (Your boy is so earnest in this. "They KNEW!") 13. Spider-Man 14. Wong 15. Okoye 16. Doctor Strange (Way cooler in this than his own movie.) 17. Captain America (His hair was beautiful.) 18. Drax 19. Pepper Potts 20. Falcon 21. Groot 22. Black Widow 23. Winter Soldier 24. Loki (Is he alive? Was he alive before this? Can he impersonate people or whatever even if he's dead? What's his deal?) 25. Scarlet Witch (Her first line is, getting out of bed, "Vis, is it the stone again?") 26. Gamora's Sister (No, you look it up.) 27. War Machine (Do you think Cheadle forgets that he's in these? Like, he misses a day of shooting just because he forgot?) 28. Vision 29. Whatever Peter Dinklage Was

62. The Old Man & the Gun (David Lowery)- Sissy Spacek's character explains, on a tour of her house, that she pulled up some wallpaper and found a signature from 1881 underneath, which is so unique that--ugly as it is--she couldn't bear to cover it. The movie is sort of about that. Does a way of life from a long time ago matter now?

Does it matter how you present yourself? How much does intention cancel out action?

The questions play themselves out in a way that is formally interesting--Lowery swish-pans and advances the scenes in a way that he hasn't since Ain't Them Bodies Saints--but informally pretty dull. Redford is engaging as possible, but I feel like I maxed out on my concern for a person who refuses to change.

I've had the Sean Penn "on one" scale for a long time, but I'm introducing the "off one" scale for Casey Affleck, who is so purposefully muted that he seems like he's going to pass out in some scenes. Keep doing you, Case. As far as acting goes.

61. Disobedience (Sebastian Lelio)- I admired how little the film spelled out about the setting and the characters' pasts. The beginning is cautious without being slow, and the women seem drawn to each other with a sort of magnetism that is difficult to pull off. While the triangle of people at the center is realistic and fair, the picture is ultimately a bit staid. I don't want melodrama out of the story either, but I do think it would work better if the characters were more passionate about anything, even the religion that makes them lack passion. 60. Crazy Rich Asians (Jon M. Chu)- This movie is sweet, and it nails the rom-com fulcrum scenes that it has to. Hear me out though: Both of the leads are winning, and Henry Golding's charm keeps us from acknowledging that his character is a psycho. Here is a list of things that, over the course of a year, he does not bother to tell his girlfriend:

a. That his family is the wealthiest in Singapore. Or wealthy at all. But more notably, he tells Rachel no details at all about his family, such as his brothers' and sisters' names. b. That he skipped an important trip home a few months ago, which caused a rift in his family. c. How to pack or dress for their trip to visit his family. d. That his mother did not want them sleeping together at her house, not that he "wants her all to himself." e. That his family wants him to take over their business, which would necessitate a permanent move to Singapore. f. That he went out with one of the women attending the bachelorette party, and that this woman has very good reason to sabotage Rachel and Nick's current relationship. g. That the wedding they're attending is also a super-rich affair that will be covered by international media. h. That the wedding party they're attending the night before is a formal affair with hundreds of guests, not the "family party" that he presents it as. By the way, this is one of the two times that he not only doesn't accompany her to an event, expecting her to meet him there and find him, but he doesn't even send a car. i. That he's thinking about proposing to her. "We haven't even talked about that stuff," Rachel tells her mother.

Communication is key, Nick.

59. Lean on Pete (Andrew Haigh)- I liked the first half and its patient doling out of information. Haigh sews quite a few credible threads to show why the gruff Dell would take a liking to Charley. When the film diverges into a drifter story, I got frustrated with it. To me, drifter characters aren't interesting because they take unpredictable actions, what enliven films, and make them predictable. A dine-and-dash is a dangerous, exciting thing to happen in a movie, but when this scared kid has already done so much similar running, it dulls that edge. This is Haigh's least successful film, but it's still empathetic and sensitive.

58. Hereditary (Ari Aster)- The first third of Hereditary is when it is at its most intimate and compact as a story of grief. And with the bridge of a genuinely shocking event, it becomes less Don’t Look Back and more of a hellish explainer.

Ari Aster is a master craftsman already, investing every element with intention, down to “Why are clocks so present in the frame?” That craft extends to Toni Collette, who is even better than she normally is. But in refusing to be mysterious and small, the film didn't connect with me on a level beyond admiration..

57. Gringo (Nash Edgerton)- The expository information about the company comes too late, the ending is too tidy, and I'm not sure what my girl Mandy Seyfried is doing in this. But it's funny overall, in large part because Theron and Edgerton bounce off each other beautifully, projecting a very specific brand of nouveau riche awful. She says, "Fat people are...hilarious," and he wears too many accessories in his pick-up basketball game, for which there's a running clock.

Many of these crime comedies fail because all of the characters are painted with the same cynical brush, but Oyelowo is so likable here as a frazzled guy in over his head, playing against the type of simmering dignity he inhabited as someone like Martin Luther King. I'm glad that he's getting at-bats with something this different.

56. Bad Times at the El Royale (Drew Goddard)- If you like table-setting (and I do), then this is going to be a fun time. Each room at the motel gets a two-sided mirror, each character is two-faced, many events are presented from two perspectives, and there's even a double in the title. It's hard not to share in Goddard's delight as he patiently lays out all of the Tarantinian pieces.

Once he has to start declaring things though, somewhere halfway in the meandering two and a half hours, the film doesn't end up having much to say. I'm not sure I wanted another Cabin in the Woods ending, but I did want it to add up to more than the modest pleasures that it does. Kudos to Chris Hemsworth and his dialect coach for finally piecing together a serviceable American accent.

55. Thunder Road (Jim Cummings)- As far as calling card movies go, this one is a pretty smart character study. It centers on how the things we find important, the impact of words in this case, can often be the things we struggle with the most, through dyslexia and spoonerisms and messed-up jokes in this case. That being said, no offense, the film would be 25% better with a more capable lead actor. 54. Annihilation (Alex Garland)- Much like Sunshine, another Alex Garland script, this story handles the mystery elegantly, with jolts of real horror, until we get where we're going, which doesn't live up to the promise. I do appreciate that it respects the viewer's intelligence--withholding answers to questions, sometimes never answering questions. I'm grateful that it exists. 53. BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee)- Like Chi-Raq and Red Hook Summer, BlacKKKlansman would make for a hell of a YouTube compilation if you cut together its best moments. It's sharp and vital when it's at its best, which is pretty much any time it's commenting on the present, through "Now more than ever" Nixon campaign posters, mentions of how David Duke's policies might show up in Republican platforms, or the searing epilogue that brings back one of Lee's oldest tricks.

Like a lot of his recent work though, it's a mess tonally, and basic stuff like the timing of the cuts seems amateurish. I also think Lee's relationship with Terence Blanchard is hurting him at this point; the music doesn't match what's going on at all. I wish it hung together better than it does.

52. Widows (Steve McQueen)- This is the messiest film that Steve McQueen has made, which is its biggest strength and its biggest weakness. That loose quality allows for some expressive moves, such as when the alderman candidate takes a real-time two-minute ride from the poor area where he's campaigning to the tony area where he lives, in the same district. This is a film with admirable ambition to go with its cheap thrills.

But that same messiness produces as many bad performances (Farrell, Neeson, and, yes, Duvall) as it does good ones (Debicki, Henry, Kaluuya), and it elides so many moments near the end that I have lingering questions about whether a major plot point was even resolved. This is definitely the type of movie that has a three-hour cut that is better, and I still hope that director's cut doesn't waste five scenes on Debicki's prostitute relationship with Lukas Haas. (Where is his sliver of a face on the poster?)

51. The Death of Stalin (Armando Iannucci)- I feel as if I have to adjust to the astringency of any Iannucci property, and when I do, I laugh a lot. This movie is hilarious, and I'll save you from a list of the jokes that work the best.

Iannucci and his collaborators take one of the most violent, tyrannical periods of history and expose its perpetrators as sniveling, feckless children who might accidentally spit in their own faces as they're trying to spit on someone else's. Destabilizing those in power--in this case de-memorializing them--and portraying them as lost, scared humans is the goal of satire. So even though he does it so well, part of me wonders, "Is that it?" Bureaucracy is dumb? Isn't this an easy target? For what it's worth, I felt the same way about In the Loop, despite everyone else's praise. I'm waiting for Iannucci to find a weapon sharper than the middle finger.

50. Tully (Jason Reitman)- In a way, it's refreshing for a screenwriter to be bad at writing men. The outdated, clueless, manchild dad is the biggest weakness of the script, especially since everything else is pitched with such realism. There's also one scene that I hate but probably shouldn't spoil.

Put aside that character though, and this is a movie with wit, verisimilitude, and even a bit of visual agility. The protagonist--Marlo, a Diablo Cody name if there ever was one--has a special needs son, and I appreciated the honest way that Marlo's frustration with him sometimes outweighed her understanding.

49. Fahrenheit 11/9 (Michael Moore)- Fahrenheit 11/9 is diffuse, but it's effective enough to be in the top half of Moore's work. He stays out of it mostly (besides that familiar narration, as gentle as it is ashamed), but his heart is clearly in the searing Flint section. In fact, I wish he had made a documentary that focused only on that American travesty, not all of them.

He has the same challenge that many of us do--pointing out the crimes and perversions of Trump while keeping the high ground--and he doesn't always avoid the low-hanging fruit. Dubbing Trump's voice over Hitler's is the type of shit that people hate him for. At most turns, however, Moore's choices make sense. A long diversion into the Parkland kids, even though I find them kind of tiring personally, serves as an inspirational peak to the valley of any people of a generation or two earlier than them.

48. Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson)- Many Wes Anderson movies are flippant about death and disease. When the effect works, it's refreshing and disorienting. When it doesn't, like in this movie, it feels cold, as if he's moving dolls around in a playhouse.

But in every other way, the sweet and wry Isle of Dogs benefits as a manicured chamber piece. The details are obvious (the tactile fur on all of the dog puppets), less obvious (a translation provides the legend "very sad funeral" to accompany a news story), and even less obvious (more than one joke about how many syllables should be in a haiku). If the narrative--jaded stray finds redemption through guileless child--doesn't offer much in the way of re-invention for the director, then I'm glad the large canvas does.

47. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsey)- I wanted an artsy crime film, and I got an artsy crime film. I have no idea if I liked it. It's bleak and groady, more of a violence movie than an action movie, concerned with the cycle of abuse and the oily spread of vengeance. It begins twenty minutes after most films of its type might choose to, and it begins in earnest at the hour mark. The atonal Jonny Greenwood score is a perfect approximation of whatever kind of dark clouds are floating in the protagonist's head.

Even when it doesn't work, the film is a reminder that Lynne Ramsey is a real artist. Although this doesn't come close to the catharsis and real-world relevance of We Need to Talk About Kevin, it reveals a focused point of view. Whether it's depicting a sequence through only surveillance footage or cutting to a half-second of flashback, she includes exactly what she wants to.

46. The Commuter (Jaume Collet-Sera)- I gave Non-Stop two-and-a-half stars, and this is a much more elegant version of Non-Stop. Even though it succumbs to gross CGI and outsized conspiracy, the class-conscious table setting is non-pareil, and it lets Neeson act his age.

45. Vice (Adam McKay)- Vice is a difficult film to evaluate because its greatest strength, the resolute, partisan, experimental point of view, is also its greatest weakness, the hand-holding, pedantic, antic point of view. There are moments in this film--the menu scene, the fake-ending--that are more inventive than anything else this year. And credit to McKay for a sui generis structure that covers thirty years in the first hour and two years in the second hour; if nothing else, he has the talent to make unitary executive theory fun.

It's a big, angry, auteurist, '70s swing, so it also takes a lot of chances that don't work and, quite obviously, it wields poetic license in the way that Ron Burgundy swished around a glass of scotch. Sometimes it doesn't know when to trust the viewer, like when it freeze frames and flashes "George H.W. Bush, President, 1989-1993" over a Bush-looking guy talking about "Barbara and I" as his son misbehaves in the background. Through no fault of McKay's, the story feels anti-climactic as well. Although I felt more distance than I expected from events that I consider recent history, the dominoes are still falling in the world that Cheney shaped.

One thing that is less debatable is Christian Bale's transformation into Cheney. That word "transformation" is used any time a famous person wears a wig. This performance, which spans decades and is not directly related to any of Bale's other work, is different. The portrait of Cheney is one of monolithic evil, which Bale suggests, but it's also grounded in reticent, clenched jaw micro-movements. Cheney, who is four inches shorter than Bale, seems like the smallest and biggest man in any room. At this point, if you told me Bale was playing Grendel, I wouldn't bat an eye. In fact, his Grendel might look a lot like Dick Cheney.

[kkatot]

Syllabus, Social Media and Society, 2018

Sharing is caring. I found other people’s syllabi very helpful when designing my two new courses - Social Media and Society and Digital Culture. Both are masters’ level, both will be taught at Tallinn University in the New Media Masters program this fall. I am still working on the details of Digital Culture, but here’s Social Media and Society:

Social Media and Society, 4ETC

taught by: Katrin Tiidenberg, PhD

Short description: ‘Social Media and Society’ considers the role of networked communication technologies, social media, and specific platforms and applications in personal and societal life. It takes a sociological perspective on society (conceptualized via structure, agency, social institutions, inequality, social change and knowledges) and makes sense of social media via the concepts of affordances, platforms, connectivity, (in)visibility and user practices. Relying on relevant academic work that conceptualizes the social dynamics and implications of social media, we will explore the personal, social, economical, political and ideological aspects of living in networked, digitally saturated societies.

Course structure:

Lectures

In-class discussions

3 in-class exit quizzes (about the content of the class)

6 in-class reading quizzes (about the reading assigned for that class).

Participation in and passing the class involves reading a total of 13 texts (journal article or book chapter length) in academic English.

Grading:

Grades are based on the total number of accumulated points (100p = 100%). Points are earned from in-class quizzes (reading or class content related) and from the written exam. Maximum possible points: 45  - quizzes (5 per quiz), 55 – final exam.

A -  100% - 91%

B – 90% - 81%

C – 80% - 71%

D – 70% - 61

E – 60% - 51

F – 50% and less

Sept 6 - Intro & TRUTHS AND KNOWLEDGES

16:15 – 17:45

Introduction to the course, introduction to social media and society.

What is social media? What are its social implications?

How do we make sense of society?

What are the main concepts we use to study networked society and mediated sociality?

18:15 – 19:45

Truth, knowledge and discourse.

Attention, polarization and the public sphere.

News and information. Truth, post-truth, fake news, deep fakes. Flop accounts.

Augmented reality.

Exit quiz

*

Sept 13 - STRUCTURE AND AGENCY

16:15 – 17:45

Structure as Governance  -  governments and corporations, social institutions, platforms

Structure as Infrastructures – networks, databases, datafication, automation

Structure as Maintenance – algorithms, affordances, automation, bots, content moderation.

Failures and Breakdowns.

Read: Gillespie, T. (2017). Governance of and by platforms. In Sage Handbook of Social Media.

Reading quiz

18:15 – 19:45

Agency and self-presentation: Identity and networked communication technology, identification, self- and group categorization, interaction on and with social media, social cues, self-presentation, automated / datafied representations of the self, qualified self.

Read: Humphreys, L. (2018). Qualified Self, the Introduction.

Reading quiz

*

Sept 20 - Visibility, power and social inequalities. Categorization and identification

16:15 – 17:45

Visibility and invisibility on social media: Privacy, anonymity, pseudonymity, privilege, boundary work, shaming, moral panics

Read: Marwick, A., Fontaine, C., & Boyd, D. (2017). “Nobody Sees It, Nobody Gets Mad”: Social Media, Privacy, and Personal Responsibility Among Low-SES Youth. Social Media + Society, 3(2), 1–14.

Reading quiz

18:15 – 19:45

Visibility and invisibility via social media: surveillance, power, algorithms, social sorting

Read: Brayne, S. (2017). Big Data Surveillance: The Case of Policing. American Sociological Review. 1-32.

Reading quiz

*

Sept 27 - Social Institutions and networked capitalism                

16:15 – 17:45

Labor, work and exploitation: immaterial labor, aspirational labor, venture labor, glamor labor, visibility labor. If it seems free, you’re the product.

“Sharing” economies, platformisation and appification of labor.

Read: Duffy, B. E. (2016). The romance of work: Gender and aspirational labour in the digital culture industries. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 19(4), 441–457.

Reading quiz

18:15  - 19:45

Consumer culture and networked capitalism: personalization, advertising, commodification (of data and attention), self-branding

Exit quiz

*

Oct 4

Future Making

16:15 – 17:45

Civic engagement, political participation, activism, social justice.

Publics (networked, affective, ad hoc).

Read: Poell, T., & van Dijck, J. F. T. M. (2018). Social media and new protest movements. In The SAGE Handbook of Social Media.

Reading quiz

18:15 – 19:45

Net Neutrality, Critical Literacy, alternative Social media

Exit quiz

*

Oct 11

Reading week

Read the 6 additional pieces for the exam.

Oct 18

EXAM

**

Readings for exam:

Bucher, T & Helmond, A. (2017). The affordances of social media platforms. The SAGE Handbook of Social Media, edited by Jean Burgess, Alice Marwick, and Thomas Poell. 223-253

Casilli, A. (2015). Four Theses on Digital Mass Surveillance and the Negotiation Of Privacy. 8th Annual Privacy Law Scholar Congress 2015, Jun 2015, Berkeley, United States. 2015.

Gehl, R. W. Alternative Social Media : From Critique to Code, 1–23. The SAGE Handbook of Social Media, edited by Jean Burgess, Alice Marwick, and Thomas Poell.

Humprecht, E. (2018) Where ‘fake news’ flourishes: a comparison across four Western democracies, Information, Communication & Society.

Marwick, A. (2016). “ What Can I Really Do ?” Explaining the Privacy Paradox with Online Apathy, 10, 3737–3757.

Van Dijck, José. 2014. Datafication, dataism and dataveillance: Big Data between scientific paradigm and ideology. Surveillance & Society 12(2): 197-208.

***

Suggested readings for those interested in these topics, or contemplating a related MA thesis:

Books

Tarleton Gillespie, Custodians of the Internet, 2018

Akane Kanai, Gender and Relatability in Digital Culture, Managing Affect, Intimacy and Value, 2018

Siva Vaidhyanathan, Antisocial media, how Facebook disconnects us and undermines democracy, 2018

Safiya Noble, Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, 2018

If you read Estonian:  Katrin Tiidenberg, Ihu ja Hingega internetis: kuidas mõista sotsiaalmeediat, 2017.

Socialbots and their friends, Digital media and the automation of sociality, edited by Roberg W. Gehl and Maria Bakardjieva, 2016.

Digital Sociologies, edited by Jessie Daniels, Tressie McMillan Cottom, Karen  Gregory, 2016

Nancy Baym, Personal Connections, 2015

Jose van Dijck, Culture of Connectivity, 2013

Articles / chapters

Markham, A. N. (forthcoming). Critical pedagogy as a response to datafication: Research methods as data literacy tools. Qualitative Inquiry. (title may change). Final draft here:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/suf2uoesim4slkl/critical_pedagogy_as_data_literacy_final_draft_feb_2018.pdf?dl=0

Gerrard, Y. (2018) Beyond the hashtag: Circumventing content moderation on social media. New Media and Society. ISSN 1461-4448

Stevenson, M. (2018). From hypertext to hype and back again: exploring the roots of social media in the early web. In J. Burgess, A Marwick and T Poell (eds.). The SAGE Handbook of Social Media. Sage Press.

van der Nagel, E. (2018). “Networks that work too well”: intervening in algorithmic connections. Media International Australia, 168(1), 81–92.

Duffy, B. E., Pruchniewska, U., & Scolere, L. (2017). Platform-specific self-branding: Imagined affordances of the social media ecology. 8th International Conference on Social Media & Society, 1–9. http://doi.org/10.1145/3097286.3097291

Marwick, A. and Lewis, R. (2017). Media Manipulation and Disinformation Online. Data and Society. Retrieved from https://datasociety.net/output/media- manipulation-and-disinfo-online/

Papacharissi, Z. (2016). On networked publics and private spheres in social media. In Hunsinger, J. and Senft, T. The Social Media Handbook. New York: Routledge.

Abidin, C. (2016). “Aren’t These Just Young , Rich Women Doing Vain Things Online?”: Influencer Selfies as Subversive Frivolity. Social Media + Society, 1–17. http://doi.org/10.1177/2056305116641342

Marwick, A. E. (2015). Instafame: Luxury Selfies in the Attention Economy. Public Culture, 27(1 75), 137–160. http://doi.org/10.1215/08992363-2798379

Ross, A. (2013). In search of the lost paycheck. In T. Scholz, Digital labor: The Internet as playground and factory. (13-32). New York: Routledge

cf. Annette Markham's Future Making Project - https://futuremaking.space/