#Industrial Training in SAS

[govindbhardwaj]

Asha Academy has highly Qualified Technical Professionals associated with Top MNCs and having vast experience in various technical domains.Our focus is on developing clear concepts, providing in-depth knowledge of the technologies and  imparting practical and project experience to the learners. Being rooted from the IT industry, we have a better understanding of ongoing and upcoming requirements of the latest technologies & their industrial acceptance.

[zvaigzdelasas]

China revealed this week it aims to spend more than a billion dollars to bolster manufacturing and domestic tech in a bid to remain globally competitive, while divulging little new support for the struggling real estate market.

Industrial support clearly ranked first on Beijing’s priority list for the year ahead, according to three major plans released this week as part of China’s annual parliamentary meetings.

One of those reports, from the Ministry of Finance, said the central government would allocate 10.4 billion yuan ($1.45 billion) “to rebuild industrial foundations and promote high-quality development of the manufacturing sector.”

While that’s down from the 13.3 billion yuan earmarked for the same category last year, the sector overall gained greater prominence. In 2023, plans to spend on industrial development came second to support for consumption.

“Unlike other economies that went through a wrenching adjustment in their housing market, China’s investment rate isn’t falling,” HSBC’s chief Asia economist Frederic Neumann and a team said in a report Friday. “Instead, [capital expenditure] is shifting towards infrastructure and, importantly, manufacturing.”[...]

Chinese authorities in 2020 intensified a crackdown on real estate developers’ high reliance on debt for growth. Property sales have since plunged while developers have run out of money to finish many projects, cutting into what was once about 25% of China’s GDP when including related sectors such as construction.[...]

Despite widespread attention on whether Beijing would bail out the property sector, real estate got no mention in the finance ministry’s spending plans, and limited attention in a ministry-level press conference about the economy during the parliamentary meetings. Instead, the housing minister was included in the lineup for a press conference about people’s livelihoods.

“Supporting the modernization of the industrial system” came first in the finance ministry’s report, followed by “supporting the implementation of the strategy of invigorating China through science and education.”

Within that second priority, the finance ministry said it would allocate 31.3 billion yuan for improving vocational education. Amid high youth unemployment, especially for university graduates, electric car company BYD and battery maker CATL are among those working with vocational schools to train staff for their expanding workforce.[...]

The report from the National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planner, reiterated government plans to support some developers’ financing needs — under the eighth item on the priority list that called for preventing financial risks. The government work report presented by Premier Li Qiang gave real estate a similar level of prominence.

8 Mar 24

China will improve home sales in a "forceful" and "orderly" way, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Ni Hong said on Saturday (Mar 9), as weak demand in the country's beleaguered residential property market persists.[...]

Some developers should be allowed to go bankrupt or restructured according to legal and market-based rules, Ni said told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual meeting of parliament in Beijing.

Premier Li Qiang said this week that China will quicken the development of "a new model" for the troubled sector, focussing on building more affordable housing and meeting demand for homes.

But China will insist that "housing is for living in, not for speculation" when formulating a new development model for the sector, Ni said, reiterating an official line against property speculation.

9 Mar 24

[leathfaic]

Simon Riley it turns out, doesn't have a taste in furniture.

It's not that he has objectively bad taste. He just has none at all.

Which he reckons in hindsight he should have anticipated. He never really furnished his own place after all. Always lived in cheap, outfitted places. Never homes, always just places to stay.

And now he's being confronted with a question he can't answer.

"What would ye like?"

Instinctively answered with "Whatever you'd want, don't really 'ave an opinion."

Only apparently that answer doesn't count.

Even as a kid it was second-hand furniture. The few times there was enough money to repaint something Simon as the big brother had to let Tommy pick first. He usually went with blue. No blues then, that's a start right? He doesn't need to give his brain ammunition to pull him back to his childhood. It has more than enough.

And Ghost has all the blue he'll ever need to see in his life in Soap's eyes.

Good thing he didn't say that sappy shit out loud.

Knowing what he doesn't want is a start but nothing prepared him for a vast store full of things. To make choices like "Which couch do you think will give you the least back pain when you can only test-sit them for a few minutes?"

The only thing he knows for sure is that these gigantic stores would make for a mean close-quarter training ground. He's half tempted to ask Price if they can find one that's about to close down and no one would mind getting shot to shit. It would be a fun challenge.

"Simon, ye with me love?"

Shaking his head to clear it and then giving Johnny a quick thumbs up he struggles up from the sofa he'd been sitting on and contemplating.

"Ye like tha' one? Went right to broodin' on there like ye felt all at home."

"Fuck off."

The defense comes instinctively but he has to admit Johnny is right. Giving the couch another cursory look, like it might jump up and bite him, he can't help but be a bit perplexed.

It's very large, definitely bigger than Soap's old couch. It's also very...red. Which isn't blue. But still it looks like someone spilled an intensiley dark wine all over the thing. Did he like red couches?

Apparently.

Simon Riley, it turns out, has a great taste in furniture. It just took him a moment to figure that out.

He picks sturdy things. Solid woods, iron fastenings, robust. Somewhere in the realm between industrial and old hand made styles.

Soap has been trailing him happily, barely saying a word because letting Ghost pick is easy, he almost always found himself agreeing. It wasn't always his first choice or even something that caught his eyes, but slowly and surely the flat was coming together.

It made him giddy, even knowing it would be a while until everything was delivered and assembled.

It would be lots of warm colours, light wood and dark iron in contrast. But most importantly it would be theirs. Something they'd make their home together. And wasn't that novel?

Two trained SAS operatives picking the carpet they found most cosy? Not plotting for tactical advantages but for a home to come back to. A place to share comfort and to share nightmares and panic attacks.

Because no matter how right they got it they would still be themselves, drenched in blood and now on an appropriately coloured sofa.

Johnny knew he should snap out of the line of thought he was barrelling down before it took him to darker places, but he was ensnared already.

Would one of them sit in that flat, drowning in grief when luck finally ran out for them? Would the signs the other left behind before deployment be a comfort or would they feel haunting?

Or would it just be Price and Gaz, lost in a place that had been a home and was just empty? Soulless. Ready to be emptied of all traces that could tell of secrets that better stayed hidden.

Would it just be one of Laswells people, burning the place without a care, just a precaution after a taskforce lost?

"So it's no' tha' one for sure."

Torn from his thoughts Soap looks up at Simon in confusion.

"Starte' broodin immediately. Can't 'ave you in a shit mood every time you hit the sack. 'ave too many plans for tha' place."

Soap finds himself snorting as he gets up from the bed he was testing.

"Fuck off." he throws back softly. Sees a warm smile spread behind the medical mask on Ghost's face.

"Ye're right though and ye need to tell me of these plans."

Part 1 //Part 3

[the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf]

You're waiting for a train...(6)

Conscience Makes Cowards of us All

Robert Fischer x reader

description - Arthur is an unwelcome presence in y/n's subconscious.

warnings - SA, implied explicit content, killing/death (in the case of waking up from a dream), Arthur being a dick because his ego is bruised, explicit language.

word count - 1.9k

a/n - More of y/n's past is revealed! Also Arthur is such a dick in this, i'm sorry if you like him but I needed him to be this for the plot!

Previous Part Series Master list Master list

If you want to be added to the taglist - here

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

*Arthurs pov*

My eyes shot open. I paced around taking in the expanse of the beautiful hotel lobby. It was decorated to be art deco and the murky dimly lit atmosphere with red and gold accents encapsulated her essence. The silence unnerved me. A mind like hers should be bustling like that of any young adult. Instead, it appeared she’d harnessed her subconscious and molded it to her liking.

My gaze was dragged towards an elevator which loomed at the very end of the seemingly never-ending hallway. I doubted my moves. I was walking into her home. No, it was more personal than that. I was invading her soul. She would hate me after this, and I wouldn’t blame her. The years of trust we’d built up would shatter in the face of my curiousity. But the seconds passing showed my body betraying me.

I entered the gold dusted box and the harsh metal rail dragged in front of me. My hand drifted to the marble buttons that climbed up the panel in front of me. “1, 2, 3.” Standard. My breath caught seeing the numbers decrease even further. What has she buried?

1,2,3. 1,2,3. If this was the girl I knew, she’s been logical and organised by memories; early to present. I pressed 3 without a second thought. It rumbled to life and a creaking industrial might rose me up into her mind.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The cage erupted out to reveal me to the third floor of this apparent hotel. The décor was neat and tidy, and the sage green accents gave it a fresh feel. I exited as I felt drawn into the hall.

Each side was home to bright white doors which held different hotel room numbers. How fitting, a hotel full of rooms and a room for each memory. Each room had an imperceptible buzx radiating behind it. As if the pure thoughts were fizzing in their own creation. But there was one.

‘301’ Burned like fire. I could sense the burst of life behind the door, that I found myself drawing closer. Numbing voices chatted behind the wood. And the shadows of two danced through the cracks of light. I placed my hand near the handle and felt the burning sweetness I associate with y/n’s dream state. She was here. I hesitated. She can’t see me here. Any semblance of relationship with her would be gone. But then I heard something else. A new voice. Mingling with her velvety tones. I grasped the brass handle and ripped it open. There I was greeted with my y/n lying in a bed with our mark.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

*your pov*

I jumped away from the projection as the room door was yanked open. I scrambled away amongst the sheets, dragging them up to cover ourselves. Arthur stood stock still in the doorway and the look in his eyes could have brought me to tears right there. His eyes raked over our bedraggled forms, taking in the thin sheets we put a lot of trust in. I sat up on the bed whilst Robert kneeled behind, holding me in his arms. I stroked my fingers over his arms. I felt him tense up. This was my dream, and he was my protector.

Arthur let out a humourless laugh, dripping in spite.

“Why did I expect anything less.” He spat at me, crudely gesturing between the two of us. As the tears welled up in my eyes Robert flicked to the defensive and stalked towards Arthur. In a blind panic, I threw on my red dress, foregoing any shoes.

Arthur moved forward, readying his fists.

“NO!” I shouted, halting the two men.

“Stay out of this!” Arthur snapped. His anger being directed towards me unleashed something in Robert’s projection and he lunged forward.

I slipped in the middle and separated the two brawling men. I shoved Arthur past the door threshold. I then took Roberts face in my hands and stroked my fingers through the hairs at his neck. I cooed at him, calming him down. His fingers curled around my waist, caressing my sides. Arthur looked on at us, betrayed.

When I felt he had been soothed enough and his eyes fell close. I pushed him away and sprinted out the door. When I slammed it shut I felt his body crash into it. Banging repeatedly, begging for me to let him out. I composed myself. My hand still clasped around the handle, my breath the only noise.

Eventually I released and let my body fall back onto the door behind me. I sank into the carpet and my gaze tracked to the ceiling. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Arthur. Couldn’t bear to wallow in his disappointed gaze.

“You have to do that every time?” Arthur finally spoke.

My eyes remained firmly on the door, as if daring it to break. “He can get antsy when I leave.”

“You mean the projection.”

“Of course.” I mumbled sadly.

“I actually can’t believe you!” Arthur laughed out. “You are smarter than this.” I let a few tears drop at his admonishment. “Well, I thought you were.” He said dismissively.

“Woah.” I rose up from the floor. “you wanna say that again, whilst standing here in my own dream, that you are not welcome in.”

“Your lipstick’s smudged.” He brushed my messy lips before I swatted away his teasing hand. He smirked. I slapped him.

“It’s just – he – I don’t know he just – “ I began to lose control of my body and my breaths wouldn’t stop leaving.

“What? WHAT?” Arthur stalked towards me to tower over my face. I could feel the spit leaving his shouts. I burst from my cowering.

“IT WAS SOMETHING NEW.” We remained staring at one another. “I looked at him and it was like everything in here made sense.” I tapped my fingers against my head.

“What made sense? What have you locked in here?” He looked at me so seriously that it was oppressive. I giggled and second guessed my decision as I made it. But I still grabbed his hand and led him back to the elevator. We both entered and I pressed the button.

Gravity fell from beneath us to drag us down into the depths. If Arthur wanted to know then he would.

It clanged as it reached the bottom. I could feel the weight of the air down here. I was suffocating on my own dream. The metal gate opened with a hesitation, willing us not to go further. I stepped out into the murky hallway. My bare feet froze on each step on the concrete floor. Arthur followed hesitantly, unnerved by my own confidence in such an unwelcome place. I hurried my pace until I met the end room. My red dress became the beacon of light for Arthur to follow. My silhouette engulfed by the cracking black paint.

I finally felt Arthur’s presence behind me and so I took out my ring of keys. It held many keys but only one stood out. It was as ornate as it was old, and it’s heaviness weighed down the whole set. I placed it in the door to unlock it for our eyes. The door trudged open with an audible creak. A hotel room was revealed, as was me and another man.

*the memory dream*

“I know who you are,” The man spoke. “And I know why you’re here.”

“I think you must be mistaken.” I tried to sneak past his form but he caught me in his arms.

“No no no. You’re not getting away that easily you little thief.” His dirty hands groped my sides and hiked up my dress. His calloused fingers crunched the skin of my thighs.

As I watched, I felt the movements repeated on my own skin, and all I could do was match the look of terror on my past face.

He got closer to my core and his other hand had found its place tightly holding my boobs. My form panicked and tried to wriggle out of his grip. It was too much; I could feel it too clearly. This was a dream but my pain had never felt so real. I elbowed his stomach and crawled away from him. Before he could consider a new move, I grabbed the gun from my holster and put a bullet through my head.

*back to Arthur and y/n*

Arthur jumped at the sound of the gun whilst I forced my eyes open.

“Killing just wakes you up, but pain is all in the mind.” I stated. “It may have just been a dream but I can still feel it, everyday.” Arthur placed his hand on my shoulder, questioning the move itself.

“That was not your fault.” He announced proudly. I turned in his arms to meet his sympathetic gaze. I giggled.

“That’s not why that memory is here. I shot myself, so I didn’t have to stay and finish the job.” I stalked towards him willing him to hear my words. “I buried my own cowardice.”

Arthur slowly backed away. He’d never seen this look in my eyes before and he couldn’t look at it again.

“Dad needs to know I can do this, more importantly, that I want to do this. My weakness helps neither of us.”

“Y/n, if Cobb had seen that, he would have made you wake up regardless.”

“And never let me come on a mission again, and I would have been alone. Again.” I walked back to the elevator and let my back rest on the cold metal. Arthur still hadn’t moved, his gaze on the dreaded door.

“Everything here is for my own good, and the good of the people I love.” He followed me and closed the gate behind us. “But it’s also mine. So get out.”

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The time on the dream ticked out, rousing us from our sleep. I ripped out the IV and threw together my stuff, ready to scram. I was halted by Arthur’s arms around me. He dragged me around to face him.

“Y/n listen to me. You’re compromised. You now have too much invested in this job and your judgement will be askew.” He stared me down as he spoke.

“You have no right to question my ability.” I argued.

“After what I just saw, you’re lucky I don’t rip you off this team right now.” He jerked his hands away from me, harshly rubbing my skin as he moved.

I pivoted away and let my feet march me away from him.

“Oh yeah,” He shouted, “What are you gonna do after? Go after Fischer and try and get yourself a cushy number.” I stopped in my tracks.

“No, actually.” I slowly turned back towards his smug face. “I thought I’d go home for the first time in 5 years.”

“Just don’t go meddling about in his mind with your own ideas.”

“Fuck you.” I forced out amongst the tears threatening to leave.

We were broken out when Eames, Saito, Ariadne, Yusuf and my dad entered the warehouse.

“Guys, Maurice Fischer just died 1 hour ago. They’re transporting the body from Sydney to LA tomorrow morning.” My dad announced, but he frowned when he sensed the tension.

“Well, I guess it’s time.” Arthur said, walking over to the others, ignoring my teary face.

I collected myself enough to leave with my dad so we could pack. We were packing to go home.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

taglist: @jonsncws @h-l-vlovesvintage @theethy @fashionki11a @felicity1994 @bearchermer @idkyoutellmesmh @mimimarvelingmarvel @butterfly-lies-chase-them-away

[ineffable-opinions]

MAME & Queer Cultures

MAME & BL Literacies Part 3 Other parts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4

In this post I want to discuss the response TharnType generated and reflect on BL genre and MAME as a creator centered on this discussion led by @waitmyturtles focused on plurality of queerness. I try my best to address the following points that @waitmyturtles has raised about TharnType and MAME. As usual, critiques and corrections are welcome.

1. Focus on physical relationship between leads

It is no coincidence that there weren’t many “high heat” live action BL from Thailand. It was by design and sexism played a not so small part. MAME deserves credit for challenging that head on.

It was not obvious to industry leaders when TharnType aired that fans wanted “high heat” content.

This is precisely due to lack of BL literacies. BL has a separate sub-genre of pleasure training/conditioning. There are ero-BL. After yaoi boom, BL is considered as a porn genre too.

2. How survivors of sexual assault receive the show

Sexual assault as a theme in BL, handled in a myriad of ways, has been the case since the inception of the genre. It was during the publication of JUNE magazine that the importance of depiction of sexual assault in BL became clear to the editor through response letters from readers.

But sexual assault as a theme is always controversial. There are those who think that it always gives the wrong message. There are variety in opinions on what is the right way to go about it. BL being an accommodating genre has space for all sorts of treatment of the genre. Even in live action, there is good variety in terms of how the theme is treated. But not everything is everyone’s cup of tea. (If I manage to do a companion post on different treatments of sexual assault as theme, I’ll link it here.)

This being the case it is understandable if someone like how MAME handles sexual assault. Similarly, it is understandable if someone doesn’t like it at all. But what’s not understandable is “natural tendency to criticize and blame MAME for our needing to have conversations about safety towards queer family”. Unfortunately, this type of takes have the implication of infantilization of audience as though they are without faculties of discretion and are incapable of making judgements. It also has the added implication of demonizing all media concerning queer people that deals with sexual assault. If MAME’s approach is deemed “unsafe” for queer population, based on that judgement, where does BL and gei comi that offer erotic treatment of sexual assault fall? What about queer people producing and consuming them?

3. yaoi origins of BL

Some clarification of what the terms mean: “Yaoi” aka 801 refers to self-published (doujinshi) BL - this is what Nekoyashiki produces and sells at the comic convention in Kabe Sa Doujin Sakka no Neko Yashiki-kun wa Shouninyokkyuu wo Kojiraseteiru (2022) which is based on a BL manga by, Minamoto Kazuki, a gay mangaka (artist).

source

There was a yaoi boom right before BL commercialization took place. The term is in popular use among Thai fu-people (BL fans) as they use the Y from yaoi to mark the genre.

Yaoi is borrowed by the English-speaking fu-people to categorize BL with sexual content, as opposed to shonen ai (another loan word with very different meaning in past and present Japan) as a category of BL without sexual content.

4. yaoi origins are themselves problematic, as created by a majority cishet female artist base

Frankly, this is an old argument with sexist and xenophobic roots and is indicative of unfamiliarity with gei comi and gay pinku cinema which are popular in Thailand just as it is in other parts of the world. Thailand’s indie gay movie industry (reddit post by @virtualtadpole) too deals with “problematic” themes and they are inextricably linked with Thai BL. 

5. many in the queer community still consumed this media, as the West was producing next-to-nothing by way of queer love and/or queer perspectives.

Western-centrism aside, Thailand and other BL producing nations have been producing BL in non-live-action forms: novels, comics, animation, etc. as well as translation and subs for these from one language to many others for decades now.

Live action boom didn’t happen in a vacuum. Just because a bunch of westerners discovered BL through live action doesn’t mean that it holds true for everyone. MAME’s own success as a novelist is what motivated and funded her venture into live action production. Danmei author Chai JiDan’s venture into live action production is a comparable track.

6. common stereotypes held by Asian nations

I don’t think there are any common stereotypes among Asian nations. The stereotypes @waitmyturtles encountered while growing up are probably stereotypes NRIs holds, under the influence of the culture in the region they reside in. Also, Indian queerness is very different from western forms of queerness.

For example, it is only the upper-class, westernized queers who adopt LGBTQ+ identification and presentation. There are those who float between westernized forms and indigenous forms, such as a transgender person who is loosely linked to a hijra group without having actually initiated into the community. [Hijra is an intentional kinship system with a hierarchical guru-chela relationship. Identification as hijra indicates membership in a hijra community.] There are wide variety of indigenous queer practices such as masti and there are different stereotypes and worldviews associated with them.

Some of the examples @waitmyturtles gave throws light on some flawed yet popular ideas about Thai queerness:

a) Tharn repeatedly and casually calling Type “his bitch”

No Tharn didn’t. Tharn calls Type his “wife” (เมีย). The use of that term by Thai queer men is well documented.

Narupon Duangwises and Peter A. Jackson in their 2021 paper Effeminacy and Masculinity in Thai Gay Culture: Language, Contextuality and the Enactment of Gender Plurality note insertive partner or fai ruk being called “husband” (phua) and receptive partner or fai rap being called a “wife” or mia in Thai gay culture.

In the book Male Homosexuality in 21st-Century Thailand based on longitudinal ethnographic study of Thai queer men, JWL van Wijngaarden highlights the difference between referring to one’s partner as “wife” and simply as “boyfriend” (faen) and how much more the former is valued.

It is callous to refer to something that is a part of Thai gay culture “an Asian stereotype” just because it doesn’t fit into western perspective. I am surprised that @waitmyturtles went there given one of the Indian/South Asian form of queerness, the Kothi-Panthi queer culture, also use such forms of endearment.

The perception that the term is a pejorative is popular in English-language discourse thanks to some popular ethnocentric takes. Notable exception being this detailed post by @thebroccolination.

Also, the way Aof Noppharnach shamed the use of the term เมีย ‘wife’ in Bad Buddy in spite of its usage by queer people, especially the little people among them, is evidence enough of the contempt and disregard he can bring in through his positionality as an “auteur” which is very unfortunate.

b) Type’s queerphobia and use of slur

I think it is dealt with in the series itself. It is a recurrent source of conflict, inflicting hurt on Tharn and others.

What this MAME show does best is the portrayal of rampant heterosexism and anti-queer sentiments prevalent in the society. I was impressed by the way it was portrayed in the series:

Techno’s friends approach Type, drawn in by his good looks. We get to know that they operate a cute-boys (khio-boi) page on social media.

Quick side note:

[T]he cute-boy culture on social media platforms, notably Facebook, that has developed over the past decade. This culture is characterized by the widespread presence of Facebook pages with names that include the terms ‘cute-boy’ or sometimes ‘sexy-boy’, with or without a hyphen, featuring images of appealing and delightful youths, predominantly high school and undergraduate students.

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have become valuable resources for production studios to discover and cast cute-boys for Y-series, with modelling agencies occasionally acting as intermediaries.

Bunyavejchewin, P., Tungkeunkunt, K., Kamonpetch, P., Sirichuanjun, K., & Sukthungthong, N. (2024). Socio-demographics, lifestyles, and consumption frequency of Thai ‘Boys Love’ series content: Initial evidence from Thailand. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2307697

more on this topic by @virtualtadpole

End of side note.

Type reacts violently to being groped by Techno’s friend. The social media post calling out Type’s behavior attracts sympathy for him from a homophobic classmate. Through this no-perfect-victims set up, MAME address queerphobia and heterosexism internal and external to Type. When Type confronts Tharn during this debacle, he highlights the pitfalls of the situation which I think is a nuanced portrayal of rampant heterosexism.

c) Techno

Through Techno’s interaction Tharn, MAME highlights an important issue: invisibility of androphilic “man”. Techno comments that Tharn is the first masculine presenting androphilic male he has met, even though he has several queer friends.

This is in part due to skewed presence of androphilic male characters in mainstream media.

In mainstream Thai soap operas and movies, androphilic men are presented as effeminate, overreactive, with a passionate but unrequited interest in men.

(source)

Countering this perception is the hegemony of masculine aesthetics in urban Thailand’s queer culture.

The English word “man” has been borrowed into Thai gay-speak to denote acting in a masculine way. Man describes a masculine presentation of either gay-identified or heterosexual males and contrasts with the Thai term phu-chai, which also translates as “man” but is used in the specific sense of denoting the gender role of a heterosexually identified male.

Many Thai gays believe that effeminate gay men, or gay sao, will experience discrimination and prejudice because of their feminine characteristics and behaviours. Thai gays also think that performing gender-normative forms of manhood are useful in establishing sexual and romantic relations with other gays. These expectations are associated with the culture of images, known in Thai as phap-phot, by which many homosexual men feel compelled to act in accord with normative male gender roles.

(Source)

This is in contrast to Techno’s queer friends who blur the lines between the masculine and feminine domains. His use of the word kathoey in the end of episode 1 is case in point.

Moreover, the need for social conformity for Thai gays in terms of their gender performance is an urban phenomenon. Ethnographic study by Wijngaarden traced the rapid adoption of more masculine gender performance by gay men who moved from rural setting to urban for the purpose of education and employment. Ambiguity in gender performance is more accepted in rural setting where there is gender-based understandings of homosexuality. Also, gay dating scene in urban areas seem to assign value to masculine presentation.

d) Promiscuous gay - Countered within the narrative.

e) Lhong

He is a yandere (a rarity in Thai BL) albeit a different one from Kengkla in Love By Chance. Lhong is set up to lean towards the crazy rather than the romantic-obsessive. So, his approach is very different from that of Kengkla as he is the villain in this narrative. His crazy-love Tharn motivates him to deliberately isolate him from everyone else. It is in line with his characterization to employ every weapon in his repertoire against his rivals Tum and Type. Gang rape in this case is a multipronged approach employed to extract max harm. It is brutal and yandere characters are created so that they can deliver all that brutality.

TharnType is an odo BL (one with royal road narrative progression). Such a narrative is not set up where all wrong-doings are punished. Take for example KinnPorsche, another odo BL, where the ending can’t be organized crime gets the main characters in jail. Most of the time in odo BL involving crimes, victims are basically cannon fodders. So, characters are not bothered much by the crime. But here Tum is an important character, someone designed to make audience root for him. Hence the audience can't dismiss the crime.

While Lhong is let go, it is meant as punishment. He is in an earthly badro of his own making and reincarnation is only possible once he has given up on Tharn completely, let go of all that he was previously entangled with. But it is not wrong to want the narrative to punish Lhong in other ways. If TharnType was a sweet BL, it would have gone there.

7. Geography of queerness

The assumption that “gay culture” thrives in cities is most likely correct. But that is not the only form or mode of queerness. What TharnType offers is not a helping of urban gay culture. Instead, it gives an interplay of different queer cultures, centred on characters who are from different socio-economic, racial and geographic backgrounds. Techno’s engagement with masculine urban gay culture, Tharn’s conditional acceptance in Type’s household, Type’s own struggle with queerness and Kom’s story – all of them engage different strands of queer praxis.

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There are two more points @waitmyturtles discussed that I have already wrote about in Part 1:

How could MAME be writing about sexual assault

Queer content from MAME versus queer content from queer creators since MAME harms queer community through perpetuating stereotypes

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This review generated good amount of response and I want to discuss some of those too. That will be the fourth part of this series on MAME & BL Literacy.

-

Finally, a quick note on this recent post by @waitmyturtles where this one line stood out to me:

If MAME wants to take on a healthier stance of equity, and to play around with more realistic depictions of what it means to be queer in Thailand, then go for it, girl.

I don’t think MAME is in anyway doing anything very different with Love Sea or Wedding Plan. The Y novel Wedding Plan: The Groom's Evil (Love) Plan started serialization on the platform dek-d in 2016, years before any of her works was adapted into live action and got popular globally. But it is likely that western/westernized fandom couldn’t relate to or even understand the non-urban modes of queerness in her earlier shows.

As I conclude I want to highlight the hegemony of LGBTQ+ model of queerness. In India, westernized queer people sometimes don’t even know about indigenous forms of queerness. As a result, thousands of year old forms of queerness is relegated to the margins within a marginalized community. Hijras can be found in every metro in India. Yet, hijra community rights (legal recognition for the association between guru-ma and chela) are not even in the periphery of legal battle and political movement spearheaded by the likes of Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju as well as Uday Raj Anand and Parth Mehrotra. (This is not to underplay their valuable contributions.) Hijras can get married legally but most of their other rights and opportunities are tied to their communities which are not legally recognized.

Other parts of MAME & BL Literacies essay series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4

[spritehouse]

⚠️CW: acting industry shit, mentioned child abuse, sa/csa, drug addiction & drinking, body image issues, disordered eating + eating disorders (with a mention of calories)

actors!moralvez au where spencer has been in the industry since he was a child because he could memorize his lines and thus play more complex child roles, but his "problem" was his awkward shyness, though his father quickly shaped his awkwardness to be charming and basically beat all the traits he couldn't "fix" out of him

but then when spencer starts falls away from his spotlight while cuter, more charming, and conventionally attractive kids take his spot, his father abandons him, leaving him to take care of his mother while trying to navigate the industry alone

so he becomes the tragic, young star. he starts taking jobs wherever he can get them, works himself to the bone, and starts gambling when he gets old enough in order to make ends meet. he eventually starts doing drugs; they help him loosen up and give him that charming personality he's lacked, giving him that one final push to fame, and he doesn't let anyone close enough to see how his lifestyle is destroying him.

and then there's derek, scouted by his mentor after his dad died, making him "the man of the house" and thinking it's his responsibility to take care of his family; acting pays well if you put the work in, buford tells him, and derek has always been dedicated.

it's slow at first, but once he hits his growth spurt and starts building muscle, derek rises to fame fast, and with his fame comes his sex appeal, something the industry and his mentor have no problem taking advantage of.

and at some point, spencer and derek end up working together, and despite both of their mile-high walls and knack for keeping people at arms length, they get close.

derek is always around when spencer is too high, or drunk, or both to get home, making sure he gets to set on time, holding his life together, while spencer is there after those late nights or mornings after his "clients," helping him put himself back together again, or sometimes even getting him drunk enough to forget. and they grow to depend on each other.

until one day, spencer overdoses. he doesn't tell anyone if it was on purpose or not, but everyone has a theory; the public is all over him, and now he's a liability—people's jobs are on the line—if his self-destructiveness kills him, too many people are out of a job, and the industry deems he isn't worth the risk.

so derek has to make the decision to stay with spencer and sacrifice his career or leave him behind, and it's a no-brainer for him, of course he'd stay. if it ends his career, so be it, he knows his looks can get him plenty of other work, but when he tells spencer that, spencer refuses to let him do that; he refuses to let his friend turn to the work that's been destroying him since he was a teenager and he shuts derek out to stop him from sacrificing his life.

and while these two rising stars seem to be having their careers be tragically cut short, another one is rising to take their place: luke alvez.

after getting injured in active combat, luke turned to acting; the adrenaline, the fast pace, and the pressure are a great replacement, but he's still so far behind everyone else. derek and spencer started when they were kids, they were groomed for the public's eye, and he's a 21 year old veteran using acting as an escape the hole of self-pity, shame, and neglecting himself he fell into after getting discharged.

he's not as fit as he was in combat, between the army's rigorous training and recovering from his injury, of course he isn't, but he views it as part of the reason he's so behind. he can't help comparing himself to the people who were in his spot weeks ago—the body derek's been carefully building since childhood and spencer's skinny charm—so he pushes himself. i needs to be more attractive, stronger, better to be half as good as everyone else.

at some point, luke runs into derek who's still desperately trying to get through to spencer, but his career is still largely in tact, and they're both drunk, probably too drunk and end up in luke's apartment.

luke wakes up first the next morning and freaks out because he's afraid he took advantage of derek, who was much drunker than him (it's too easy to drink too many calories, luke has to be careful), which leads to him having a full blown, spiraling panic attack/flashbacks that wakes up derek.

once derek finally manages to talk luke down, luke feels like he owes derek an explanation and tells him everything about the army, his injury, how he hasn't been coping, his fixation on his body, and asks how derek has survived the industry for so long.

and derek answers honestly: he doesn't know, he never imagined to make it this far or live this long. he talks about how he was recruited, how his body was groomed for sexual appeal since puberty, the "sex work" buford had him doing on the side, meeting spencer; once the damn breaks, he can't stop.

their relationship is slow. derek never officially came out, but he's been flirting with people of all genders for years. luke, on the other hand, is more conservative with his sexuality and private life; he still has things to hide, but they're still something.

and then spencer shows up at derek's door one day while luke is over, sober, saying he's trying to make amends, and derek hears him out. he was never mad at spencer, not truly, but it still stings, and what hurts the most is losing what they were and what they could've been because derek has luke now and spencer isn't stable enough for a relationship right now.

so time passes, and spencer gets better. he renters derek's life, and luke's by extension, he gets his career back, and everything's good.

except derek still loves spencer, it's obvious, and spencer is out and he doesn't keep derek up all night with night terrors and flashbacks, he doesn't exercise excessively or count calories, he's good for derek, at least in luke's eyes, and he tells derek as much.

and derek hears all of that and he's like "yeah, i love spencer, but i love you too, and i would really love to not choose"

um and then they're gay and poly and stuff yeah

[viviandroidcardigan]

Absolutely massive (4k+) outline of a fic I'll never write! Extra clunky bc it used to be a twtr thread.

YS/HJ/SH omegaverse

tw: sa, pregnancy

YS, HJ and SH established omega trouple who are very much childfree. For HJ it's mostly about prioritizing his career, YS is still trying to establish boundaries with his very proper, very conservative family and figure out what he wants outside of what he was constantly pushed into before he snapped and left and SH carries a lot of trauma from his own miserable upbringing (single teenage mother, thrown out by her parents for getting him out of wedlock became abusive and neglectful and eventually died leaving him with very strict and spiteful grandparents that he went no contact with as soon as he could) and he is determined to break the generational trauma by never becoming a parent.

The three of them have been together for almost a year and have a very stable and loving dynamic. 

Until one day YS goes to visit his family to their rural town, who insisted he must be present on some stupid family function despite him being in the middle of a work deadline and in pre-heat. And it went for longer than expected but he was hopeful about catching the last train back to the city and tried crossing the fields to get to the station on time and just like that some random alpha in a rut caught and assaulted him. 

YS didn't catch the train. He woke up in the field at sunrise, barely remembering the night before bc apparently the rut of his rapist triggered his heat to start on early but now it was all gone and he never had it gone so quickly so it only added to his confusion and dread and he just wanted to get home so that's what he did, suddenly very happy that he kept postponing moving in with HJ and SH bc the work commute was too far from their place. YS got home and finally had his

little breakdown in the shower. He didn't know what to do, he didn't even see the attacker enough to identify him and also he knew well enough that omega in heat had very little success in pressing charges. And his family would make such a mess of everything and would tell him it

was his fault for even going out alone at night. He couldn't fathom how to tell his partners either. 

And he did have a work deadline so for the next week or so he buried himself in work very carefully not thinking about anything until he had a horrible idea and sure enough, his test was positive. YS had a larger breakdown bc he was slowly psyching himself up to telling HJ and SH about everything but now he would have to admit to this as well and to his absolute dismay he realized that he couldn't bring himself to get rid of it. He abhorred the notion that his omega instincts will kick in one day as his parents kept telling him but apparently it was exactly the case.

But now he really couldn't tell HJ and SH. They were very clear on their position but also he hated the idea that if he told them everything they might force themselves for his sake and

he couldn't take their choice from them like it was already taken from him.

YS arranged a dinner, as they were messaging him non-stop, the work deadline cope out going only so far to postpone the inevitable and they could immediately tell that something was wrong. 

So YS just straight up asked them about their thoughts on having children and if those changed at all. HJ shrugged bc not really but also it wasn't a hard no for him. Maybe some time, years down the line, when he is better established in the industry, bc if he ever were to have kids, he'd want to be present and not constantly away in the studio. SH shook his head with a serious expression, hasn't changed: no, never. YS sighed and was like, I think it's a goodbye then. I love you but it's something I'm planing to pursue soon so....

They are hurt and confused and ask if his family got into his head while he was visiting but YS is barely holding on as is, he can't really talk anymore. He hoped that there was a way to keep them and the child both but now he knows how foolish that idea was. They keep asking him questions but he is far far away and eventually they stop and they go to their respective homes and at least he didn't move in.

HJ and SH keep messaging him but YS is self-isolating and grieving the relationship. He doesn't think he can manage to stay friends with them, a constant reminder of what he have lost. He can't really tell his family either, sure that they will either force him to abort or worse. He has a recurring nightmare that he resorts to asking for help and his family marries him off to a local alpha who is his rapist but there is no way for him to know for sure and he is forever trapped wondering and not knowing if he is succumbing to insanity or it's a reality that he cannot escape.

There are also worries about the future as his research makes him realize just how dire the situation is for single omega parents in their conservative society. He either has to pay for everything out of pocket which is A LOT or apply for governmental aid but then lose his job bc he has just decent enough income to make him not eligible. But entering the benefits program he will have "single omega parent" on his file forever that is almost sure to guaranty he never gets hired again for any serious job as a "promiscuous omega". Not to mention all the medical things he had no clue about but now has to go through.

For the first month he barely manages to get out of bed at all, spiraling into a depression visible enough that his boss allows him to start working from home. And YS feels so bad about using that kindness to hide the reality of his situation but what other choice he has. Especially when morning sickness kicks in HARD.

YS goes to all his medical exams and works overtime and compartmentalizes so hard he is barely conscious at all as time both crawls and flies.

And then just past the third month his manager request an old project from him, something he always knew will come in handy so he had it saved on a flash drive he cannot find. Until he remembers HJ using it to transfer some work files to home computer and figures out where it is.

YS comes in the middle of the day, when no one should be home and hopes they didn't change the code (they didn't) but just as he locates the drive, sleep-rumpled HJ comes out of the bedroom. They stare at each other until YS blurts out "why are you here?" "Launch party ran late". 

YS figures out that HJ finished the project he was working so hard on when they broke up and something that he looked SO much forward to, as he loved HJ's music but didn't allow himself to listen to it all this time in hopes to get over him quicker. It really didn't work at all.

HJ looks at him guarded and before he asks, YS explains that he needed the flash drive for work and apologizes for coming without a notice. HJ asks why he stopped answering their messages. "I though, we were at least friends". And YS knows he has to leave bc he always knew he was hurting them but he cannot face it rn when he is barely holding on. 

But HJ waves his mumbling attempts at answer and says they have a box of all his stuff that he left behind. It's a pretty big box, he left his whole life behind here. But as he stands up, HJ looks him over and sees the small but noticeable bump he already has. HJ notes bitterly "you moved on fast, huh. Well, congratulations." And YS doesn't know what to say but something must be on his face bc HJ looks away and apologizes, fiddling with his sleeves, says he is hangover from the party.

YS wants to congratulate him on the release as well but he really can't do this anymore so he goes to grab the box but HJ is like woah-woah, what do you think you are doing, it's very heavy! YS just shrugs and says he will get it to the elevator and call a taxi. But HJ frowns at him and says he will get it down but he knows that YS lives on a third floor of a house without an elevator. HJ is like can your... ugh, partner, pick it up for you. And YS is thrown by this conversation enough to say the truth: no. 

HJ frowns harder, what kind of a shitty alpha lets his pregnant omega lift heavy things, even if he is working or whatever, that's not ok, he should be able to come and help. And as YS cannot find a response to that HJ insists that he will get their car and drive him home and get the box to his place. YS tries to argue but there is no point when HJ already decided everything.

They get in the car and now HJ is worried about him enough to get over his bitterness and unexpected jealousy and starts pestering him with questions and YS just gives up and says there is no partner in the picture at all.

That gets HJ even more worried and riled up. Wtf? He got omega pregnant and dipped?? YS is probably heartbroken! He must have been SO in love to break it of with them so abruptly and change his whole stance on kids just for the guy to leave him?? Any hurt HJ was still harboring

gets totally overflown with indignation. Who DARED to leave YS and in that position too? It also dawns on him that YS was probably going no contact bc of all this mess, bc of the embarrassment.So now HJ is determined to mend their friendship. He still cares and SH does too.

They will do all in their power to support YS on this path. YS makes a weak attempt to refuse the offer but really, he is at the end of his rope as well and it doesn't take too much to cave in and accept it. Especially when SH calls him later to assure that he is very much on the

same page with HJ and he can and should lean on them. That's what friends are for. And it brings YS a lot of relief but also opens all the wounds that really didn't heal at all. He misses them and loves them and needs them but now he must be satisfied with their friendship.

HJ and SH come back into his life with vengence. SH immediately proceeds to deep-clean YS' apartment, something that he really couldn't muster the energy to do for... a while. HJ volunteers to drive him to all the doctor appointments even when YS insists that it's entirely fine.

But it does make a difference not even comfortable transportation wise but just having someone there, waiting for him in the car. Hospitals are weird. No one is straight up mean to him but as he did tell the doctors everything he feels like they are treating him like a child.

He has to keep rejecting suggestions that he should bring his parents along. They don't explain him stuff either because when HJ starts pestering him about this or that factoid he read about online, YS is lost on most of them. His first trimester was him moving on autopilot. It turns out that he really needed someone caring around bc YS can finally feel himself unfreezing a bit. But with that comes the onslaught of feelings.

Yes, SH and HJ are there for him but they don't have the time to visit more than couple days a week and also inevitably leave.

They hug him hello but obviously never kiss and one time SH does peck his cheek lulled by familiarity he apologizes for "overstepping". They have new inside jokes he doesn't understand. YS is thrown from elation of their presence to devastation of their loss even more sharp when

they are right there, close enough to touch.

For the first time he starts doubting his decision. Is it really worth it, some random baby against his entire life? He could have had it. Maybe he still can. If it was just out of the picture. He still cannot contemplate abortion but In his darkest moments, silently sobbing into his pillow in his empty apartment, he thinks... maybe if he miscarried. Would it be so bad? They say that unbonded omega, with no alpha pheromones around, with a traumatic conception, he is in a slightly higher risk group. So maybe…

Until one night he wakes up in a puddle of blood and SCREAMS in horror. His whole ride in the ambulance that HJ called him, bc YS was only able to call him, he keeps saying he didn't mean it. He doesn't want the baby gone! He didn't mean it! Please!

HJ and SH still in their pj's run in just as the doctor finishes explaining to him that everything is fine, things like this can happen and he just should go double on his vitamins and come more often for check ups and avoid stress and they will let him go after getting an IV. YS is relieved but still very shaky so he dives into a hug HJ and SH envelop him in, murmuring comforting things and rubbing his back. 

In retrospect he understands the kind of a picture they make and can hardly blame the nurse who comes in with an IV. She is an older alpha that always fusses over him. And YS is too out of it to participate in a conversation when she asks how long they know him and SH says that's it's been almost two years. The nurse looks surprised and then delighted as she says"I know it's not my business and some ppl are weird about relationships between omegas, but I'm so happy to know he has you! You can't imagine how many partners leave the omega who got pregnant from a rap3, as if it's their fault. You are great for staying and you can come with him for the check ups, we are quite progressive here!"

She leaves and YS is completely rigid not able to breathe, with his face still smushed into SH shoulder. Hj makes a raw wounded sound but SH only hugs YS tighter and says "Not now. We will talk about this later."And YS hopes that later means never but he is off the hook for now so he just clings on. 

HJ and SH take YS to their place after that and he is so grateful that they are not asking more questions so he goes along with them and let's them push him into a shower and into the softest pj's and into their bed where he just drifts off right away.

Next morning YS wakes up and even though he is dreading the conversation, it was also the best sleep he had in months, surrounded by their scents, so if there was ever a time he

was even halfway ready, it was then.

As he emerges from the bathroom, there is a tasty breakfast. SH and HJ look terrible like they haven't slept at all and maybe cried all night so even if YS didn't want to talk he felt like he owed them honesty for all the stress he caused them. 

So after breakfast they move to the couch and he tells them that yeah, it's what happened when he went to the countryside. 

"Did someone in your family..." 

"What? Oh no. It was a random alpha. I was in the fields alone at night and he was in a rut. I haven't even seen his face. It was so sudden and then, I was in pre-heat and it... kicked it off all the way, so I barely remember anything at all." 

The fact that assault made his heat start early is something YS can't really think about, it makes him hyperventilate and make all the sounds and vision go dark and muffled so he doesn't dwell on it. 

Just like he can't think how the existence of the baby instantly put him in the protective mode. It's not as much a decision he made as some nature's great imperative working through him, moving the axis of his entire being, sprouting love and care where there was none while he was still very much aware how alien and rapidly occurring those feelings were.

In many ways his own reactions, no doubt fueled by massive hormonal changes, feel even more violating and YS tries his best not to think about that either. He is intent on not thinking or feeling anything at all but that's so much harder when he has to explain things to them.

HJ keeps fidgeting with his sleeves "Why didn't you tell us, you know we would-"

"Stay with me? Yeah. I know you would. That's why I couldn't do that. The choice was taken away from me and I couldn't do that with you too. I wanted to know your honest opinion and you told me."

HJ is frowning but SH nods at him. "It was your call to make and you did and we can respect that. I understand why but I just wish you didn't cut us off so suddenly. You know that we misunderstood the situation badly and went through a heartbreak. You know we still... l- care."

They talk it out some more. And YS has to clamp down on his feelings hard when SH reiterates that they are friends and won't abandon him. Bc tiny part of him was hoping for more but also there is a relief that they don't just fold their lives around him, even though HJ is still

not saying much until he insists that YS stay with them until he is in the clear with doctors. 

And so it's decided and YS starts living with them. HJ takes it upon himself to research everything pregnancy related when he realizes that YS has no clue about his own condition.

As the one with the most flexible schedule he also takes it upon himself to drive him to all the appointments and start going with as well and not correcting everyone assuming they are partners. 

YS doesn't quite know what to do with all of that so he quietly allows himself to be

taken care off. Also HJ starts BUYING stuff. Some special pillows and clothing when he found out YS never got anything like that and vitamins and more and more. As always buying shit is his way to deal with anxiety and after some initial reluctance, YS just lets him.

It's different with SH. It's almost like there are two different ways he treats YS. If they just watch a drama or talk about work or anything like that, it's almost like it was when they just started dating. SH is smiley and teasy and affectionate. Cooking all his favorite meals.

But as soon as anything pregnancy related comes up, he becomes very distantly polite and reserved. YS knows that he is not comfortable with the whole thing and especially how HJ hyperfixated on his research and how many things start getting delivered and filling up their place.

YS tries to do the right thing and move back to his apartment as a month later he is pronounced to be in great health but the truth is he IS terrible at taking care of himself and more so in a current state. He is still spacy and missing big chunks of his day. 

They know it and HJ insists that he stay with them and so he does, slowly turning their living room into a nest, without even thinking. YS is very aware that SH doesn't ask him to stay but he doesn't object either so YS defaults to once again latch on to what they are willing to give him. Guilt and dread always close to the surface in his heart. 

Until it all blows up. HJ orders a fancy high-tech crib and he is struggling to assemble it, refusing help from YS who could clearly see all the ways he was doing it wrong and so giggling in his hands, when SH comes back from work.

SH looks over them and asks what is that. And HJ mumbles something about scrapped metal and YS explains it's a crib. SH is like... a crib... to be put where? HJ pauses and looks up alarmed by his tone and he is like well, it wasn't decided yet. 

And SH's expression darkens bc

Wasn't it? Wasn't it decided, considering he is assembling it right here. Next to the nest. And that's the first time either of them acknowledge that YS has built one on the couch. YS looks at it in panic bc it is right there, with their hoodies and towels and plushies mixed in.

HJ stands up and asks SH what is his problem and SH says nothing but HJ insists and so he starts quietly saying that maybe he would have appreciated being consulted on decisions like this, maybe they could discuss things about changing their apartment or LIFE for that matter but

Clearly HJ is too busy being happy and playing house with YS and apparently his opinion is not really necessary on it. Not like HJ asked his opinion on anything recently. Not like they even had much of a relationship by this point that didn't revolve around YS and his pregnancy.

And YS starts grabbing some of his things, determined to leave asap. HJ is not even saying anything, he is silently crying. SH looks at YS tired and defeated and says to not be stupid and put things down and it's that moment that YS breaks and starts screaming at him. 

That's exactly what he knew would happen. He KNOWS SH hates the idea of parenthood. He knows it brings up his terrible childhood. That's what he was trying to avoid all along! They brought him back and now he ruined their lives just like he knew he would! SH tells him something but he can't hear and can't even fight a hug SH locks him in. 

Can't fight being tugged to the couch into his nest. SH is there still hugging him and then HJ is there too and it's the first time they lay in his nest and YS can't help crying harder at how right it feels.

They don't really fall asleep but it takes a long time until anyone can speak. HJ is the one to start and he apologizes to SH for not seeing how he was hurting, for hiding away in his research and purchasing frenzy so that he could ignore all the fundamental issues they were dancing around. Like the one where he really loves YS and absolutely wants to be a part of his life forever, especially as a partner if he is allowed to. And YS has to clutch his hand and nod. 

SH then apologizes to YS bc he didn't deserve any of this. It's not even that he hates the idea of parenthood. He is just terrified. He is nowhere near to being ready, he won't do a good job, HJ is so much better than him at this already, they would make for a great family and he doesn't see where he would fit in there. YS and HJ both try to assure him and it's not like he doesn't know that many of his fears are just that but it doesn't make them less real. 

But he does want to be with YS, with both of them, baby and all.

They all agree that they need therapy and do they need it! It takes months of active work for them to even scratch the surface, mostly for YS.

They decide to restart their relationship for the third time. Starting with going on dates, doing silly (but also very serious) proper courting, slowly reintroducing intimacy. They manage to get back to having a s3x life for a while until it's too much work for the heavily pregnant YS and while he is afraid of birth he kind of also can't wait for that to happen so they could go back to it. 

And he is not really 100% ok but he is getting a little better every day and he actually starts believing that he has a life full of love ahead of him to get there. 

End.

[icariebzh]

 "Nous allons tous mourir. Ce n'est qu'une question de patience. Le processus, si l'on peut dire, est déjà engagé. Tout joue contre nous : les statistiques, le temps, et même les places financières. Nous voilà embarqués dans une vraie sale histoire. Alors autant vous la raconter dans ses moindres détails. Elle commence au début des années 1950 avec la germination de l'emblématique génération des baby-boomers. Usée par la friction des conflits, la mort était, à cette époque, tenue pour un sport démodé. Chacun pensait à revivre, replanter, repeupler les nations, passer de la civilisation des cimetières à celle des maternités. C'est ainsi que naquit l'avant-garde de l'après-guerre. Pour ces enfants du regain l'on espérait un mieux. Ils eurent le meilleur. Un futur de fourrure doublé d'un univers en expansion. Le progrès leur offrit un monde de Teppaz et de berlines automatiques pourvues de directions assistées. Cette génération-là, la plus nombreuse de toute l'histoire de l'humanité [...], d'abord joueuse, se révéla très vite avoir une âme de propriétaire et décréta que l'avenir, le monde et ses environs lui appartenaient. Aujourd'hui, la grande armée continue sa marche forcée vers la quête du bonheur éternel. Pourtant, chez les plus informés de la troupe, la cadence a changé. Et c'est du pas de l'explorateur craintif que certains avancent vers l'âge de l'intranquillité. Quinquagénaires recomposés, « viagratisés » et sur la vie assurés, ils sentent que le piège du temps est en train de se refermer sur eux, qu'ils vont bientôt tomber, d'abord par centaines, puis par milliers, par colonnes, par grappes. Bref, en masse. Avec l'extinction prochaine des baby-boomers nous allons entrer dans ce que les économistes spécialisés appellent déjà la « golden era of death ». Cet âge d'or de la mort, Wall Street, les milliardaires, les banquiers, les investisseurs de tous pays l'ont bien sûr anticipé. Aux États-Unis, et dans de nombreux pays occidentaux, les spéculateurs ont racheté les maisons funéraires, les cimetières et toutes les entreprises et services se rattachant à ce secteur d'activité. Une industrie qui, rien qu'aux États-Unis, brasse la somme de 17 milliards de dollars. Les retours sur investissement sont calculés, les statistiques bouclées, les paris ouverts, les dates plus ou moins balisées. La finance a misé contre nous tous. D'énormes paquets. Ce qui n'est jamais bon signe. De cet âge d'or, pour une fois, nous ne verrons pas le bout. Nous n'en serons même pas les figurants ni les acteurs. Seulement les victimes et les vecteurs."   Jean-Paul Dubois extrait de: "L'Amérique m'inquiète et autres récits" 

[techscaler-solutions]

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Why SAS? The Power of Data Analytics

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What sets SAS apart from other data analysis tools is its reliability and robustness in enterprise environments. Whether you’re working with structured or unstructured data, SAS provides an extensive suite of tools that allow users to perform complex statistical analyses and visualizations with ease. Enrolling in SAS coaching in Pune by TechScaler Solutions ensures that you gain hands-on experience and the skills needed to work with this leading software.

The Benefits of SAS Coaching: Why Opt for Professional Training?

You might be wondering, “Why do I need SAS coaching when there are so many online resources available?” The answer lies in structured learning and mentorship. Self-study can be overwhelming, and it’s easy to get lost in the vast sea of information without proper guidance.

When you opt for SAS coaching in Pune by TechScaler Solutions, you receive expert instruction that is tailored to the current industry needs. The course content is designed by professionals who have deep knowledge of SAS and its applications across various sectors. By participating in hands-on projects, case studies, and live sessions, you’ll quickly bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.

What to Expect: A Glimpse into SAS Coaching

So, what exactly does SAS coaching in Pune entail? At TechScaler Solutions, the program is structured into several modules, each targeting specific skills required to master SAS. You’ll start with the basics of the software, such as data manipulation, reading and writing data files, and basic statistics. As the course progresses, you’ll dive deeper into more advanced topics like predictive modeling, data visualization, and SAS macro programming.

What makes this coaching unique is the practical approach. Instead of simply teaching you the theoretical aspects, the instructors provide real-world datasets and examples. You’ll be asked to solve business problems using SAS, which not only boosts your confidence but also prepares you for the challenges of working in the field.

Career Opportunities: Why SAS Certification is a Game-Changer

In an age where businesses rely heavily on data for decision-making, there is a growing demand for professionals skilled in analytics. SAS certification can be a key differentiator in your job search, making you stand out among other candidates. With companies across sectors—such as finance, healthcare, telecommunications, and retail—relying on SAS for their data analytics needs, the job opportunities are vast.

SAS coaching in Pune by TechScaler Solutions helps you earn the globally recognized SAS certification. This credential not only validates your skills but also boosts your credibility in the competitive job market. Employers often prioritize certified professionals for roles like Data Analysts, Business Analysts, and SAS Programmers. Your SAS certification will open doors to lucrative career opportunities, making it a valuable investment for your future.

Hands-On Learning: Practice Makes Perfect

One of the standout features of TechScaler Solutions is its focus on hands-on learning. It’s one thing to know the theory behind SAS, but applying that knowledge to real-world scenarios is where the true learning happens. The coaching program incorporates various practical exercises, from cleaning datasets to creating predictive models.

By working on live projects, you will understand how to use SAS for everything from exploratory data analysis to complex statistical modeling. These projects simulate real business problems, allowing you to develop problem-solving skills that will be critical in your professional life. You’ll leave the program with not just knowledge but a portfolio of projects that can be showcased to potential employers.

Post-Training Support: A Path to Continuous Growth

Learning doesn’t stop once the course ends. At TechScaler Solutions, post-training support is available to ensure you continue growing in your career. Whether you need guidance on an interview, help with a project at work, or advice on further certifications, the team remains available for continued mentorship.

Many students find this extended support invaluable, as it allows them to stay connected with industry professionals, keep up with the latest trends in data analytics, and fine-tune their skills over time. You’re not just enrolling in a course; you’re joining a community of learners and experts committed to your success.

[matchaflavored]

Release the essays about the kpop au

And release I shall... under a cut, because I am shy!

Disclaimer: I'm largely a fan of SM Entertainment groups so most of my interpretation of the setting will be based on how they model their units, the culture within that company, as well as the activities of their talent. To make things simpler, I will not be using real life locations and will continue to use Twisted Wonderland’s own geography. Unless I decide otherwise. We will see.

The Setting

So this is a magic-less au where the cast (although I haven't thought hard about what the other characters do...) works under Night Raven Entertainment, a well established entertainment agency and a leading company within the music industry, producing multiple successful groups. The Heartslabyul boys are formed into a boy group with two sub-units: one with Cater, Trey, and Riddle called Hearts-RTC, and Ace and Deuce's being a portmanteau of their names, Adeuce. They're an experimental pop group, and have music releases that range from hip-hop to R&B to ballads and whatever other music style they decide to pursue at the moment. They didn't have to compete in any talent competitions like Produce 101 or anything, and were handpicked amongst the trainees by the CEO (aka Crowley) based on what he felt was balanced in a five member group. Riddle, Trey, and Cater are more experienced entertainers, having either prior experience in the industry or are longtime trainees, and create a strong vocal line. Ace and Deuce are more of the inexperienced side, the company deciding to street recruit them after deciding they had the potential to develop more flexibly than their seniors.

Riddle

Riddle comes from a well established line of entertainers, so it was expected that he would follow suit and his upbringing reflects this. His mother is a retired solo vocalist and her husband was her producer, and they currently work as idol trainers and as Riddle's managers. His mother wanted him to stand out as an entertainer so she forced him to pursue multiple performance art-forms when he was younger, such as acting, modeling, and piano. This required a strict discipline, and his schedule as you expect was micromanaged to the second. He was home-schooled because of this, and was largely isolated from his age group. There was a brief time where he spent his free-time away from schedules and training to play with Trey and Che'nya, both of whom he attracted to his home after they heard his singing. They were estranged from Riddle the same way they were in canon. Social isolation and his rapid growth in talent made him develop a very strong feeling of arrogance, and both he and his mother opposed him joining a boy group after he signed with NRE. However, Crowley argued that Riddle would be able to shine as an individual more if he's juxtaposed against other members in a boy group, and that solo debuts aren't as good for building reputation in today's popular culture. Riddle's mother agreed under the pretense that Riddle must be the leader regardless of age or seniority as a trainee. The time between his training within the company and his debut was about two months.

Trey

Trey didn't really think he would go far in his music hobby. Career. Whichever. He's not ignorant of his talent, but insists he's not that good. He, Che'nya, and Riddle would sing together in their brief moments of play and Trey found a unique love of music through their time together. Subconsciously (or was it...) he invested a good amount of time into music, and would sing the national anthem when his teacher asked him to or play the guitar for his friends at a birthday party. Eventually, he found himself competing in local youth competitions impulsively, and after impressing a scouter who happened to attend one of these competitions, he was pursued through his social media. His family was of course super supportive even if he himself was very hesitant about it, mainly because of the amount of personal sacrifice that came with becoming an idol. But after realizing he could probably meet Riddle again if he elevated his status a bit, he agreed. I’d say he was about 15-16 when he was scouted. He didn't have many expectations about meeting Riddle actually happening, but he worked pretty hard nonetheless since that's what Riddle would expect and want from him. He was one of the later debutantes because he didn't really fixate on attaining his debut compared to other trainees. When he was put into a group with Riddle, whom he didn't even know was in the same company at the time... he was pretty shocked, to say the least.

Cater

Cater knew he was pretty talented ever since he was young, and his one-track-mind made him relentless in pursuing a musical career no matter what. School wasn't really his priority at all, and he spent most of his time writing music, learning dance, and refining his vocals. He wanted to have an early start and get ahead of competing trainees, so he joined NRE by auditioning in the company's annual casting call when he was around 12-14 years old. This of course, came with the issues that all idols face when they start training young. You can say he became a little depressed. Nevertheless, he focused on trying to debut but had two instances where his planned debuts did not go through. The first time, the group he was going to debut in was scrapped, the second time, he was not able to win in a survival show he was competing in due to his notable lack of sincerity. Although very demoralized by this, he continued to work until he managed to secure a role as the lead vocalist for Heartslabyul. He’s able to use the seniority he has as a longtime trainee to help lead the others, but feels inferiority towards his other group mates who trained for a shorter time period than him.

Deuce

Deuce was previously an idol trainee in a different company, however, he was under poorer management. Although boasting exemplary dance and rap skills, he wasn’t able to utilize them as the group he was performing with did not have the concept that matched with his skillset. Nevertheless, he worked with them for a few years and continued in stagnancy until he decided to spontaneously quit and figure himself out. He and his mom weren’t in a bad situation, but the income he got from his previous agency fell flat and he wanted to be able to support her better. He decided to start busking to build up his confidence again and as a way to vent, and was eventually spotted by a scouter who invited him to audition to NRE as a trainee. He was in the same group as Ace, and trained for around a year when he was 15 before debuting.

Ace

Ace’s journey into idoldom was pretty spontaneous, a very “well I’ll try and if I make it then I make it, if I don’t, then whatever” sort of thing. He didn’t have any big ambitions when it came to entertainment, but he was very adaptable and fit so he decided to let the company do what they wished with his image and his training. Like Deuce, he was also busking, but surprisingly enough he didn’t catch the scouters eye because he was performing musically. Ace was doing a magic show, and impressed the recruiters with his charismatic personality and quick thinking. He was invited to audition, which he did actually put in the work towards, and was accepted as a trainee. He’s pretty laid back, and responds well to the pressure that his company puts him through. This resilience is the reason why Crowley let him debut quickly, since Ace showed signs of consistently developing without succumbing to stress.

[loser-female]

""you're susceptible to propaganda" said the ones that cannot make up a coherent reason on why porn sites like that should exist in the first place, especially considering the constant reporting of true SA (some of which ended up in, you know, actual convictions of rape) and CSA on the site and the refusal from the company side to do anything about it."

The thing is that isn't even fighting against pornhub. They know that the people who want to keep viewing their site will just use vpns. Pornhub needs to be held responsible, but this isn't doing that, nor is it going to fix the issues with the porn industry. Uploading your real government id puts you at risk of identity theft if the servers are hacked, so all this is going to do is fuck over the people who comply and push more people toward more illicit sites if they don't want to risk that. The liquor store doesn't keep a copy of my id after I leave.

I don't even use porn sites, and I absolutely want pornhub and sites that do similar to be held responsible. I want the industry to improve and change. But the more porn is pushed underground, the less chance there is of doing that and the bigger the market for actual sexual assault videos and csam will become because the people running the other sites that host it are better at hiding themselves.

Hi! All of these are actually good questions and considerations. I'll go technical with this on the cybersecurity side.

Under the cut because it's VERY LONG.

They know that the people who want to keep viewing their site will just use vpns.

Yes, but consider that most VPNs do still take your data for their own use - not to mention that a lot of websites don't allow you to register an account when you use a VPN because the risks of spammers. [Don't make me explain how a VPN works please, it's too early in the morning]. There are providers outside the US that might not be forced to hand data if petitioned.

Uploading your real government id puts you at risk of identity theft if the servers are hacked, so all this is going to do is fuck over the people who comply and push more people toward more illicit sites if they don't want to risk that. The liquor store doesn't keep a copy of my id after I leave.

These are three different things, I'll explain to you . First of all, when you take a security measure, any security measure, you weigh the benefits and the risks. And to me, a rando adult that gets their CC or ID stolen is surely a risk. But I think the social damages caused by children accessing porn sites or being exposed to (accidentally or otherwise) is worse than the personal damages caused by poor security on big porn sites getting hacked. And I don't mean morally worse - I mean materally worse. Also a child don't have the meaning (unless someone taught them how to) to access illicit websites. Security is not privacy. There are many many other examples I could make about this. You can have features that dramatically improve your security and the user security but completely invade their privacy And... I hate to break it to you, but darkweb activities are still monitored by governments. I do cyber threat intelligence for a private company and one of my duties is to monitor hacking forums and data leak websites. If I'm able to do that, definitely people who have much more training and resourced than I do will. Not to mention you need skills to access the dark web, skills most people just don't have(or they don't have SecOps, or they mess it up...), and google is messing up algorithms. Putting a barrier on accessing something doesn't necessarily work as physically preventing people from doing something, but actively discouraging them to do so usually is good enough.

Considering that the problem being addressed here is children accessing pornography, yeah, that's a good deterrent. Most GenZ don't use a computer, which would cut them off from the illicit websites.

I'm european and I have to hand my ID a lot when I do things like booking an hotel room or being pulled over, so I'm also used to have it checked. And now in certain cases you can do verifications without storing the data (which seems to be the issue here).

But the more porn is pushed underground, the less chance there is of doing that and the bigger the market for actual sexual assault videos and csam will become because the people running the other sites that host it are better at hiding themselves.

That's something a lot pro-porn activists say, but I actually have no evidence of. As I said before, most people are just not skilled enough to go to search for those, and if they do, the chance that they will make a mistake is quite high. (you can look up for computer literacy, it's quite low) and these activities are still monitored. You also need skills to put on those websites.

What people don't realise is that... the market is very high demand - also because mainstream porn promoted these kind of kinks and fetishes. Porn 40 years ago was the picture of a naked woman posing suggestive. Porn now is extreme BSDM practices passed off as the "regular sex routines". Consider how many teens now engage in anal or chocking (also stats can be found online, and sure parents are negligent and often ignorant, but the rest of the fault completely lies on people promoting porn). 40 years ago, having the picture of a naked woman would brand you a loser and a pervert, now if you say that a man with a rape fetish is a uselss creep and you don't want to date them he feels oppressed and starts crying that he is The Only True Feminist and you're a souless bitch. And sorry, I don't want these people around me as an adult woman.

[japanskalekt]

21 faits que vous ne saviez pas sur le Japon :

1. Le Japon compte plus de 6 800 îles, dont les quatre plus grandes étant Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu et Shikoku.

2. Le mot japonais "karaoké" vient de "kara" signifiant "vide" et "oke" signifiant "orchestre", signifiant essentiellement "orchestre vide. "

3. Le Japon a l'espérance de vie la plus élevée au monde, avec une durée de vie moyenne d'environ 85 ans.

4. Le système ferroviaire japonais est l'un des plus ponctuels au monde, les trains circulant généralement à temps jusqu'au second.

5. Le Japon abrite plus de 1 500 tremblements de terre chaque année en raison de sa position sur l'anneau de feu du Pacifique.

6. L'art japonais de l'arrangement floral, connu sous le nom d'ikebana, se concentre sur l'harmonie, l'équilibre et la

7. Le Japon compte plus de 50 000 personnes âgées de plus de 100 ans, ce qui en fait l'un des leaders mondiaux des centenaires.

8. Les Japonais consomment environ 24 milliards de paquets instantanés de ramen chaque année.

9. La lutte sumo est le sport national japonais et a une histoire de plus de 1 500 ans.

10. Le Japon compte plus de 6 000 îles inhabitées.

11. La ville japonaise de Fukuoka possède le premier réseau de métro au monde à avoir été frappé par un typhon.

12. Au Japon, le pourboire est considéré comme impoli et n'est pas coutumier dans les restaurants ou autres industries de services

13. L'archipel japonais s'étend sur 3000 kilomètres du nord au sud.

14. La plus ancienne entreprise du monde toujours en activité, Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, fonctionne depuis 705 après JC et est située dans la préfecture de Yamanashi, au Japon.

15. Le Japon possède le deuxième marché de la musique au monde, après les États-Unis.

16. Il y a une île japonaise appelée Ōkunoshima, communément appelée « île aux lapins », où des centaines de lapins amicaux errent librement.

17. Le Japon compte plus de 3 000 restaurants McDonald's, le deuxième plus grand nombre de points de vente McDonald's dans le monde après les États-Unis.

18. Le Japon compte plus de 200 volcans, dont 108 sont considérés comme actifs.

19. L'escalator le plus court du monde, situé à Kawasaki, au Japon, n'a que cinq marches.

20. Le Japon compte plus de 6000 îles habitées par les humains.

21. Le Japon a l'un des taux d'obésité les plus bas au monde, en partie à cause de son régime alimentaire traditionnel et de l'importance accordée au contrôle des portions.

[beardedmrbean]

Eleven people were killed when a school gym's roof collapsed in China, authorities have said, with many victims believed to be young female volleyball players.

Nineteen people were in the gym in the northeastern Chinese city of Qiqihar when the collapse happened on Sunday, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It did not say how many were pupils.

Initially, 15 people were trapped underneath the rubble. The last victim was pulled from the wreckage on Monday morning.

Overhead aerial pictures from the scene showed the roof had completely collapsed, with rescuers working in the gym amid the rubble.

Others showed large cranes at the school building amid the rescue efforts.

A female volleyball team was training in the gym at the time, a man told China Youth Daily as he waited anxiously at the local hospital for news of his 16-year-old daughter.

Builders working at the No 34 Middle School had stored materials that absorbed rainwater on the roof, Xinhua said.

The region had heavy rain over the weekend, causing flooding and damage to some areas.

Rare expressions of anger and defiance

Social media and the Baidu news website had footage of angry parents complaining about what they said was a lack of communication from authorities.

One father appeared angry and distressed as he said the government sent police to keep watch on parents but did not send anyone to update them about their children.

"They tell me my daughter is gone but we never got to see the child. All the children had their faces covered with mud and blood when they were sent to the hospital. I pleaded, please let me identify the child. What if, that wasn't my child?" he said.

Such expressions of anger and defiance are typically quickly suppressed by police and government departments concerned about social unrest.

The ruling Communist Party allows no challenges to its authority and seeks to keep total control over the press and social media.

Construction company staff taken into police custody

Construction and industrial accidents occur regularly in China, largely due to companies ignoring safety standards and corruption or a lack of diligence on the part of local government agencies.

Such problems are particularly acute in second and third-tier cities such as Qiqihar, which lies in China's rustbelt province of Heilongjiang, an area bordering Russia that has seen large-scale economic decline and outward migration in recent years.

An investigation is ongoing and the individuals in charge of the construction company have been taken into police custody, Xinhua said.

[flytohurt]

Hi, sorry if this is a weird question or you've answered it before, but what do you think about all the stuff with Darby and Hawlee? I like Darby but people bring it up all the time and I never know what to think.

i’m sorry this took 400 years to answer. i’ve been trying to find a way to answer it that won’t just cause an eruption of hate in my inbox but honestly it’s gonna happen regardless so whatever lmao

the short version is i think it was a bad relationship that she used for extortion. i’ll explain why under the cut if you’re interested. i know myself & some of my mutuals left twitter to get away from this subject, so this is probably the only time i’ll be responding publicly about it.

to put the extortion claim in context, they trained together & he immediately got booked for bigger indie promotions. by the time she first came out with her claims, he was already signed with AEW & had been on PPV. when she named him over a year later, he was coming off his first championship run & starting to get momentum with Sting. she still hasn’t gotten anywhere in her career, & i think it’s pretty reasonable to say it would hurt to see someone you started out with being so successful if you’re not the kind of person to use that as motivation to better yourself.

Darby also has no known pattern of abuse, there’s no corroboration to her story from anyone who was close with them (not even a vague “yeah i remember how horrible he was to you”), & he was cleared in the internal investigation by TK. the industry as a whole has started taking allegations like that far more seriously post-Benoit so i really don’t believe they would have cleared him if there was any doubt. a still-up-&-coming company can’t afford a hit like that.

this is just speculation but if he really was cleared by text messages or DMs like some have reported, then it’s within reason that she was trying to get him to help her get a push somewhere, & if he said no, probably said she’d retaliate, ruin his career, etc.

on to the SA bit. i would like to be very clear that i am not saying she was outright lying - i wasn’t there & didn’t have any connections to him at the time to know 100% for sure.

however, it’s completely valid to not want to be with someone whose sexual desires don’t line up with yours. Darby is very likely demisexual. he’s been open & forthcoming about needing to really be in love before wanting to have sex, & otherwise it’s not on his radar. that doesn’t really check the box of a sexually violent individual.

i also know from personal experience that what may be interpreted as coercion can be incorrect when you’re emotionally fucked up, & disconnected from your partner. your own mind/body can be just as disconnected & one will be trying to tell you what you may not be consciously aware of yet.

of course this is only my experience but my ex & i had nearly an identical relationship to what she described. he would scream & hit/break things, serial cheated on me, & took out his own frustrations on me. we’d have fights that escalated to physicality on occasion, & i became emotionally abusive back to him as a result of all of that. i would disassociate, shut down completely, & not speak to him for fear of instigating a fight. he would threaten to leave me because we weren’t having sex, would even be physically aggressive about it, but it wasn’t actually about sex.

after well over 5 years of reflection & even talking to him about it recently, he was really just desperate for affection & he considered intimacy to be sexual. my body reacted negatively to him & i misinterpreted what was happening, because my definition of intimacy was different. i no longer wanted physical intimacy because there was no real connection in our relationship anymore. we just didn’t know how to not be together & kept digging ourselves deeper into the hole with the on again/off again pattern instead of just accepting it & finding partners who actually aligned with us.

i don’t like PK but i do think she was right in her response. people change & grow from their mistakes. being the person who was married to him at the time all this came out means she’s the one who’d know him best at this current point of his life. & that’s all that matters in my book.

[mariellaolden]

Women of the Present

We live in an era where society continues to hold women to such a different standard and point of view lower than the other gender. Whispers of disbelief echo loudly with stereotypes and continue to give limitations to the power they have. The thought of women in the past whose cries for help were ignored and whose ideas were disregarded lingers. Women have been told, “You are just a woman” countless times, and today, that perspective must be changed.

On the moment a little girl takes their first breath to a woman who was taught to stand tall, women have been confined to narrow boundaries and limited opportunities, unable to showcase their true potential. Yet, time and again, despite the challenges they face simply for being women, their resiliency and strength go beyond, freeing themselves from harsh words and discrimination to preserve future generations' inclusivity.

Moreover, women, without a doubt, persistently excel in different fields usually dominated by men, proving that gender is not a hindrance to success. Throughout the years, the Philippine Military Academy has allowed females to perform combat duties. Building companies inside and outside the country are now hiring female construction workers. As a regular passenger, you will witness women driving jeepneys, tricycles, and even trucks! There are also numerous female topnotchers in every Philippine Licensure Examination. In the Senate, some empowering women, both past and current, have been chosen to lead by example and represent and govern fellow Filipinos. Unlike in the past, women today can have education, vote, run for office, and serve as leaders. Women can now amplify their voices and be recognized for their abilities.

Exceptionally, women proved they could be doctors, too. In sports, women showed the nation that no amount of weight can weigh a woman down. In the arts, they are our country’s legacy for creating art using local materials. In the entertainment industry, women keep making waves by showcasing the unmatched talent of Filipino women. Filipino women have made multiple contributions to the humanities, arts, business, and academics, among other fields, paving the way for groundbreaking discoveries. Indeed, women are the backbone of society. Their determination and indomitable spirit hold the society together. Women are here, there, and everywhere. Despite the obstacles they faced before, women continue to break through stereotypes with every step they take. 

Notably, as the nation celebrates the 2024 National Women's Month with the theme "Lipunang Patas Sa Bagong Pilipinas: Kakayahan ng Kababaihan, Patutunayan!" let us honor and respect every Filipino woman for their contributions to our nation's progress while also reaffirming our commitment to women's empowerment and gender equality. The government must continue to give support by training women for jobs traditionally done by men to enhance their skills further. These women continue to leave an indelible mark on society and have been catalysts for social transformation. Their tenacity continues to serve as a beacon of hope. May every citizen strive for a society where women are valued, respected, and allowed to succeed. As one, let's acknowledge women's boundless abilities, shaping a bright future that embraces all—for the fate of women lies within the hands of every woman in the present.

***

I wrote this essay as my entry in the recent online essay writing contest organized by our municipality's gender and development committee in celebration of International Women's Day, which placed second in the English category.

Thank you to everyone who extended their support, especially to my family & friends. My sincerest thanks to my parents for checking my essay before I submit them, and to Montalban GAD for organizing this writing event. Happy Literature Month and long live to all the women of the present and future!