#WESLEY BEHAV E

[downtherabbitholewithlucy]

Wes "💁🏻" Borland

[lured-into-wonderland]

It isn't the first night Wes has kept vigil outside of Nunnally's place, parked in his car across the street, keeping an eye out for anyone who might be trying to infiltrate her family's house. Shit's been escalated in severity since the recent discoveries in her case, and he isn't about to let the house go unattended; whether he hires Cecilia to keep watch, or whether he does it himself, until things get sorted out, he considers her safety his responsibility.

The night is cold, but Wes likes it, keeps him awake. His heater is on very low, just enough to keep his fingers from freezing off, and he's lowered the window a couple of inches while he smokes so he can tap the ashes outside. He doesn't think Nunnally knows about his stakeouts, but he's been proven a damn fool for underestimating her when she exits the front door in a heavy jacket, boots, and her nightgown, and moves as quickly as possible to his passenger side door, knocking when she realizes the door is locked.

"Jesus fuck," he says as he reaches over to unlock the door to let her in before turning the heater up to keep her warm. "What the hell are you doing out here? You're safer inside, go back to bed." Even as he speaks, he tuckers the jacket closer around her neck to make sure whatever heat is stored in there with her doesn't escape. (from Wes @wakingdrcams !)

The moment she leaves the building her body immediately regrets leaving the warm house. It’s a chilly night, and a heavy jacket gives less protection than she has expected when putting it on. Though Nunnally is not the one to give up and forces herself to walk until she ends up knocking on Wesley’s car window.

It wasn’t the best idea not to dress up properly. Her elegant silk nightgown, richly decorated with lace, might appear to be a summer dress, but it is definitely a bad choice for this night. So, Nunnally welcomes it with relief, when Wes opens the door and lets her inside. Though the temperature inside is hardly satisfying. She shivers.

(“Would you mind putting the heater up?”); is what she’d like to ask, but she isn’t going to. She isn’t going to complain. To give him an excuse to send her away. But even before she is able to actually fully comprehend these thoughts, Mr. Wade - (or maybe she should call him Wesley) - turns the heater up and tucks her into her jacket. What an intimate and caring gesture that is for her!?

Her blue eyes open widely; as if surprised how tender the man is towards her despite all his harsh words that made her wishing to hiss at him.

“I couldn’t sleep…” – she murmurs turning her face away from him; Nunnally doesn’t want Wes to see the faint pink on her cheeks – “I’ve thought you might want some company…”

Probably he doesn’t; he made sure she doesn’t feel t welcomed, but Nunnally is going to pretend she didn’t get that part. She makes herself comfortable on the passenger seat. There is a chance he’s happy to see her, but he's just not sure how to express it better. Their relationship is complicated in her mind. No, she hasn’t had much to do with private investigators, but they don’t behave in a way Wesley does. Nunnally is sure he cares about her m o r e than just being involved in her case. More than she is paying him for. Is is because he’s such a man? Or because…?

She’s not even sure how to ask this question herself. Even less how to ask him about it? Should she invite him in?

Yet, his presence here is a p r o o f to her. Nunnally is sure there is nothing in her case that would justify his vigilance over her. Or is he hiding something?

“Are you so annoyed that I came? Where would I be as safe as here with you?” – she tries flattery, but, somehow, she’s sure it will not work with him. Or perhaps he’s displeased because he was sure she wasn’t aware he was guarding her?          

“I have been supervised all my life…I…I’ve learnt to notice…” – she doesn’t provide any more justification, but Nunnally hopes Wes can understand what she is trying to say. She moves closer to him; almost leaning on his shoulder. She cannot stop wondering how her head, now surrounded by her messy blond hair, would look on his shoulder. But Nunnally doesn’t reach to him; not taking that last step for them to touch.

“So, any developments in our case?” – she asks instead; though she’d rather ask why he is staying there so often. It finally becomes warm and cozy in the car. She unbuttons the coat letting the upper part of her nightdress to be partially seen: --

“I intended to ask if you’d like to get inside, but now the house seems so far away…”

“Wes…”

“Am I really in danger?” – she doesn't feel she is; she is feeling surprisingly safe next to him in that car. Even if she is improperly dressed.

“Or rather…why do you care more…” – than I am paying you for.

@wakingdrcams

[roguelock]

Try explaining life bundled with episodes of this– swallowing mud, swallowing glass, the smell of blood on the first four knuckles.                                –Richard Siken

HOLLA AT YA BOI WES gettin waaaay better at these dai icon things 👀👀 this disaster of a man belongs 2 m lovely @fiendfall

[kidcataldo]

Summary: Severus has a secret created by a lie. Now that lie is dead and the secret is on its way to Hogwarts.

I haven’t read the books since high school, but I just went on a harry potter movie binge and wrote this in my drafts for the fun of it. You can also find it here, or you can click “keep reading” and read it on tumblr.

Dead. He received the letter by owl over breakfast: "I regret"—I regret—"to inform you her state of mind has only gotten worse these past few months and it is expected she will die before nightfall." Malfoy thought he might like to know—how he found out, Severus hadn't a clue—but he had little interest in the matter; he preferred to forget her existence altogether. Beryl Bulstrode, ghastly woman: she joined the Death Eaters right after him—for him, in fact, he was told later. Her intentions were as clear as day to any seeing man, so Severus must have been blind his entire life and not realized it. She was a mad woman in her prime; he could only imagine what the Dementors created while she rotted in Azkaban all those years. Nothing pretty, and she entered looking horrid. Would he tell Dumbledore? Yes, of course he would—but nothing more.

Malfoy must have also told his son, for the entire school looked at him differently that day. He caught a group of third year Ravenclaw girls talking quietly amongst themselves on their way to the dining hall—they fell silent when he caught sight of their gossiping, and then they hurried away when he approached them. Minerva could barely look at him while Pomona kept sneaking glances at him. And his students were unusually quiet too. The misfits and troublemakers kept to themselves, hardly causing any ruckus at all. The Wesley twins in particular behaved uncharacteristically that day—obeying his every instruction, not attempting to blow up their potions for the joke of it, even referring to him as sir instead of professor, or not acknowledging him at all. It was quite nice, actually.

By dinner, everyone must have known. Sybill Trelawney was the only one brave enough to speak to him about it; he sat through a long ramble of hers throughout dinner, pretending not to hear her, as other professors and some students watched on in horror. Minerva tried to shut her up a few times, but the daft woman never caught on; "Oh, Severus, to lose a loved one so dear to one's heart," the loony woman said to him. "I can only imagine what that boy of yours is going through." The boy. It was always about the bloody boy. Albus's eyes briefly searched his own, and then Sybill was back to her babbling.

---

"You must tell the boy, Severus," said Albus. He was sitting in his chair. Phineas Nigellus's portrait hung above him, looking on as he reached for his bowl of sherbet lemons and offered one to Severus.

Severus shook his head and quickly turned away. "No," he said. "No—you've asked plenty from me already..."

"They may suspect something if you don't."

"And if they do?" said Severus. He turned back to the headmaster; his calm demeanor hadn't shifted, but the portrait above him was now empty. "Your plan was ridiculous from the start—it's a wonder how we've gotten this far without anyone realizing..."

Albus sighed. "If Lucius Malfoy, or anyone else, were to discover—" He stopped quickly at the sound of footsteps, and then they heard a quick knock on his door. "Come in," he said, turning his attention to the door.

Minerva entered the room with the confidence of a group of centaurs riding off to battle—or a strict transfiguration professor in need of a word with her superior—but she stopped and hesitated upon seeing Severus standing there. Again, as she had done throughout the day, she avoided looking at him. His past had odd ways of creeping up on the both of them.

"Yes, Minerva?" asked Albus calmly, bringing the attention back onto himself. Severus excused himself quietly just as Minerva announced the restoration of the girls' bathroom to its former glory, and then continued by questioning the whereabouts of that nasty troll. Severus was nearly out the door when Albus politely silenced Minerva and halted his departure. "Tell the boy, Severus," he said, and Severus slammed the door shut. That bloody boy.

---

How long had it been, he wondered, since they had seen each other last? Summer, perhaps. But he never kept track, nor did he care to do so. "Must you always mess with that thing?" The boy sat on his knees at the head of the table with Severus's enchanted red quill in his hands, attempting to tame the magical object; the more he tried to control it, the more it resisted his touch. With the wave of Severus's wand, it was out of the boy's grimy little hands and back in its holder. "It doesn't like you. Leave it alone."

He turned, his brown eyes showing no new change in emotion. "You're here."

"I am." Mrs. Cott let out a gentle snore in the rocking chair near the fire. He thought, or rather hoped, she had died and had been rotting there upon first entering the room—and to be perfectly honest, what a pity it was to learn that was not the case. Large wooden knitting needles moved mechanically in front of her, working tirelessly on a grey and green sweater.

He waved his wand again and the needles fell onto the old woman's lap. The old woman jolted awake with a loud snort. She remained still for a long moment, blinking her eyes and tasting her lips to adjust to her new wakeful state, until she caught sight of Severus and sprung out of her chair, letting the needles and unfinished sweater fall to her feet. "Severus, you're—well, I wasn't expecting you so soon."

"You're paid to watch him while I'm away, Mrs. Cott," he reminded her stiffly, "not lounge around like you're on holiday."

Her eyes searched the room, and then outside where it was dark. "Is it the holiday season already? So soon?"

"Leave us now," he commanded, again facing the boy. "I need a word with the boy alone." Her quiet footsteps hurried off through the kitchen door.

"What's happened?" the boy said. His hair was dark auburn, nearly brown—not like it was a few years ago. "Did Dumbledore die?" And those eyes, ordinary and brown, were far from exceptional. He had a mole below his left eye, just above his cheek. He looked and acted simply ordinary, like no one he had ever seen before.

"What makes you think that?"

He shrugged. "I dunno." His words were also never snarky, never trying to resist Severus's authority. But he was annoying with his questions, and he was hardly ever satisfied with the answers given to him. "You don't usually come back so soon, unless there's an emergency."

"Dumbledore did not die," he said. It seemed he always spoke in riddles with him—never quite finding the nerve to lie, just alter the truth.

"But someone did?" And he always seemed to catch on. "Who was it, then?"

Severus huffed. "The woman you call mother," he said, hoping he would understand.

"Oh," said the boy. He adjusted himself on the chair, sitting properly with his feet under the table. There was parchment in front of him and on it was scribbled a drawing—Severus couldn't make out what it was; it looked something like a figure. In the kitchen, Mrs. Cott could be heard moving pots and pans around, or something of that sort.

"Accio, pen," muttered Severus, summoning a normal, non-magical pen. "Here," he said, tossing it onto the table. "Finish your silly drawing. And don't even think about using my quill again." He turned to leave, apparate the hell out of there—back to Hogsmeade, back to Hogwarts.

"Was she also a Slytherin," he asked suddenly, and he turned back to him. "Beryl Bulstrode?" The woman he called mother.

"Yes."

"Do you think I'll be a Slytherin?"

"I doubt it," Severus said to him, and he apparated away.

A week later, he received a letter from the Ministry, asking about funeral arrangements—as if he owned the damn corpse. "The boy ought to see her be buried," Albus's voice rang in his ears. "It might give him closure." Severus hoped to burn the body; in front of the current Minister and all his minions, even. They all believed the boy was born in Azkaban—that was why he was so small and weak and fragile, they said; the Dementors drained both mother and son's soul for several months before it was discovered she was with child. Dumbledore and Bagnold knew the truth, of course—but they would take that truth to their graves.

Again, upon Albus's request, he visited the boy and prepared him for the woman he called mother's funeral. Severus, the boy, Mrs. Cott, and Dolores Umbridge, who worked close to the Minister were the only people in attendance at her funeral. She had other family—distant cousins, aunts and uncles—but none Severus was close to, and they never wrote asking to attend. When they arrived at the gravesite, the boy ran off to search the graveyard, leaving Severus alone with Mrs. Cott and Umbridge—the two most unpleasant women in the wizarding world. The boy returned before the closed—thankfully—casket made its descent with a handful of wild flowers, all uniquely styled, and placed them on top of the casket. Umbridge did not stay long; she offered her deepest condolences with a phony, sympathetic smile, briefly touched the boy's shoulder, which he shrugged away, and then left. Severus apparated soon after.

---

Winter came and it went. And by the end of the year, everyone seemed to put the Beryl Bulstrode business behind them, for other events surrounding the school distracted them. Students started behaving like themselves around him again, Minerva was no longer hesitant to speak with him, Sybill no longer tried talking to him during dinner; all seemed well, given the circumstance. And then it was summer, and the boy could not keep his mouth shut about Hogwarts, no matter how many times Severus told him to shut up. He wore the green and grey sweater vest Mrs. Cott knitted for him nearly every day; perhaps expecting to be sorted into Slytherin. Severus, of course, knew better. When his letter arrived one expected morning over breakfast, he made Mrs. Cott take him to get his supplies the next afternoon. Severus stayed behind to read a book. He arrived back with new robes, a wand, and a grey furry fat cat he named Gravy—a parting gift from Mrs. Cott, much to Severus's dismay. His books had yet to come in, however, so with great reluctance, before the start of the new school year, Severus took the boy back to Diagon Alley.

It was there he saw him, standing with the Weasleys, looking as filthy as a Weasley, and the Granger girl, along with her muggle parents. Gilderoy Lockhart was there as well, looking more doll than man—Severus felt his blood boil; why Albus chose him of all people, he would never understand. He could feel them all staring, but he refused to acknowledge any of them. "I thought he only came out of his coffin during the school year," he overheard one of the Weasley twins whisper to the other; Severus chose to ignore their snickering, but made a mental note to assign them both detention their first day back.

While he waited for the boy to retrieve his books, Severus found himself tangled in a brief conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Granger as Hermione Granger looked on with a mixture of embarrassment and concern on her face. Potter and Weasley observed the conversation as well, but their eyes were daggers; he decided to assign two more detentions at the start of the school year. Finally, Mr. Weasley guided the muggles elsewhere. Lucius Malfoy and his son arrived shortly after, looking on at the group with as much hate as Severus, but the boy had returned with his books before anything could develop beyond a courteous hello. But Severus noticed Draco give the boy a nod and a gentle smile as they passed him to leave the shop.

He wish he could say the start of the new school year was as smooth as the last, or the one before that, but the famous Harry Potter could not allow that to happen. He was proving to be more and more like his father each year, unfortunately. He was told he and Weasley didn't even board the train at platform nine-and-three-quarters—choosing to arrive by car instead—and at the start of the feast, before the first years were even sorted, he received word from Filch about Potter and Weasley's fashionable entrance, diving into the whomping willow head first in a blue Ford Anglia, a car belonging to Weasley's own father. The Evening Profit arrived soon after, and it was worse than Severus could have imagined. They both should have been expelled for their foolish behavior, and any normal boy would, but the Boy Who Lived always did have special privileges at Hogwarts, and everywhere else too—if Lockhart's story over staff breakfast had any merit. And if Albus was indeed correct about... his return, perhaps it was better Potter remained at Hogwarts, under his watchful eye.

A migraine blossomed while shouting at the pair and, by the time Minerva and Albus arrived, he was fuming. He stormed out with Albus following close behind, leaving Minerva to tend to their needs—they had missed the feast; if it were him, he might just let them starve, but Minerva conjured up some sandwiches the house elves made earlier that evening.

---

"The boy's sorting has surprised us all," said Albus, sounding slightly amused. They were walking the halls now; Severus had calmed some, but his blood still boiled. On their journey, they encountered a group of Slytherin first years being guided to their house's common room—coming at no surprise, the boy was not among them.

"Why? We knew he would be sorted into Gryffindor," said Severus casually as he nodded to the first year students. Albus gave them a gentle wave.

"He wasn't sorted into Gryffindor, Severus," said Albus—and Severus stopped, letting the first years pass.

He waited until they turned the corner before he asked, "Where exactly did the sorting hat put him?"

Severus had just always assumed he would be sorted into Gryffindor—with Potter and... the rest of them. He never really saw the boy as anything else; he never really cared to think of him as anything but a Gryffindor. "Florus Snape, son"—Severus flinched at the word while Albus remained unfazed—"of Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin House, was sorted into Hufflepuff this evening," said Albus. And he chuckled softly to himself. "I wish you were there to witness Pomona's reaction. She nearly flew out of her chair."

Somehow the man's words made him feel better, slightly less angry. Severus said his farewells to Dumbledore, and then quickly turned his heel and headed in the same direction as the Slytherin first years. He wasn't relieved, no. He never lingered on what house the boy might get into; he didn't know him well enough to do so, but he assumed it would be Gryffindor. Why should he care what house the boy was sorted in? Gryffindor, Hufflepuff... he was still—he still wasn't... It made no difference at all.

"You can't stay out here," said Draco Malfoy's voice clearly as he drew close to the Slytherin common room. "You have to go back to your own common room."

Severus turned another corner just as he heard Vincent Crabbe say, "Maybe the sorting hat was wrong."

"Not likely," said Pansy Parkinson.

"Look. It's not like Hufflepuff is a bad house—well, it's not good, but at least you're not in Gryffindor," continued Malfoy, "with Potter... and the Weasleys."

Malfoy and his gang stood outside the portrait of the serpent. "What's going on here? Why are you in the halls passed hour?" he said, and then he saw him, dressed in his Hufflepuff robes, eyes red and puffy from crying—he rarely witnessed the boy cry; he sniffed as Severus approached him. "Ten points from Hufflepuff—get back to your common room. Now."

"He's upset he's not in Slytherin," explained Draco. Severus glared at him, which made his eyes go wide in shock and he quickly added, "Sir."

"I'm sorry, sir," the boy cried out as he rubbed his watery eyes.

Severus felt a slight pain in his gut as he grabbed the boy by his wrist and pulled him away from the group. "That doesn't excuse your behavior." The pain in his gut only grew stronger as he stared into those unfamiliar glossy brown eyes, and he found himself loosening his grip on him. "Would you quit your incessant whining. Your mother wouldn't care which house you were sorted in. Slytherin, Hufflepuff, you could be in Ravenclaw and it still wouldn't matter to her."

The boy stopped crying. Looking up at Severus, he sniffed. "Really?"

And Severus realized his mistake immediately; he let go of the boy's wrist. "Yes, really," he said, reverting back to his sternness. "Now go. Before I take another ten points from Hufflepuff."

[firstumcschenectady]

“Self-Denial and A Plague” based on Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 and Mark 8:31-38

In the book “Debt: The first 5000 Years,” David Graeber says economic history as we know it is a falsehood.  Instead, he says, currency came into being this way:  in order for empires to expand, they needed armies at their ever expanding borders; in order to have armies further from home there needed to be a way to feed them; in order to convince people to feed armies, they gave the coins to the army as pay and REQUIRED all the people have some of those coins to give to the empire.  Thus the creation of taxes, coins, expanded military might, and markets came into being together.  Furthermore, coins made it much easier to calculate and charge interest, which made it much easier to keep some people in poverty and make the rich richer.

Graeber also says that the time when “markets” were created in history was ALSO the time that the world's major religions were formed.  (It was a LONG era.)  He proposes the religions were an oppositional force to the value system of the markets. Instead of valuing coins, interest, and violence, religions emphasized the inherent value of people and our responsibility to care for each other.1

When I read that conception of the history of religion, I was excited and relieved.  First of all, it sounds like God.  God works in contexts, and expansive religions weren't needed until expansive markets needed to be countered.  Smaller, tribal expressions of faith worked just fine.  It also makes sense of our Bible, which if we're honest, bounces back and forth between utterly radical critique of the systems of power and empire and --- well, justifying systems of power and empire, as if there is a tug of war about the empire trying to appropriate religion.  Over all though, I found it a relieve to see the 40,000 foot view of what we're doing.

Both of our passages today are about following God's ways.  In Genesis we God hear claiming Abraham and Sarah and making plans to work with them in the future.  In Mark we hear reflections of the early church, which was undergoing significant persecution, reflecting on the powers of life and death.

So, what does it mean to follow God's ways?

This was an open question in Genesis, and in Mark, and has been one in our lives too.

This is an open question in modern times too, and I hear people offer a variety of answers.  For some following God includes and is expressed by particular clothing or diets.   For some it includes and is embodied in particular prayer types or times.  For some it is reflected in personal choices – everything from what words are said, to abstinence from drugs or alcohol or sex – or just dancing to what is purchased and where and why.  For some this is reflected in choices to join or be present with a faith community for worship – or more.  For some this is related to particular ways of seeing unity with the divine.  For yet others it is related to energy and effort being used to build the kindom of God.  

John Wesley broke things into 4 categories: personal acts of holiness (prayer, Bible Study, healthy living), communal acts of holiness (worship, study, group decision making, sacraments), personal acts of mercy (doing good works), and communal acts of mercy (seeking justice.)  Sometimes I hear people focus on only 1 of those 4, but they work best as a whole.

To break that down into really direct language – I sometimes hear people think that speaking without swearing and abstaining from caffeine are SUFFICIENT ways of being faithful to God.  More power to those who find spiritual power in those choices, but I don't think they're sufficient in following God.  Following God requires connecting with others, as well as caring for others, not just behaving “properly.”  (Whatever that means.)

And all of that gets us to today – to what some of my friends call “Coronatide.” (If you don't get it, don't worry, it isn't funny enough to explain.)  When reading a passage so emphatically about self-denial as a means of following Jesus, how do we hear it TODAY?

It seems to me that two mostly distinct forms of self-sacrifice have been occurring over the past year:

There has been the sacrifice and self-denial of those who have directly cared for others at risk to themselves –which has included people who have gotten sick and people who have died because of taking this risk.

There has also been a quieter sacrifice and self-denial of those who have put life as they know it aside for the well-being of others.  (Masks, distancing, not doing things they love, not being with people they love).  To some degree this sort of sacrifice comes with privilege – many would choose this one and couldn't.  That doesn't meant that this sacrifice has been easy (it hasn't), nor unimportant.  These quiet sacrifices have taken care of the whole, including those in the first group offering care.

At first glance, Mark's passage seems to be about making a choice to follow Jesus, and sticking with it.  Upon close examination, the Mark passage is more radical than it first appears.  One scholar summarizes, “The threat to punish by death is the bottom line of the power of the state; fear of this threat keeps the dominant order intact.  By resisting this fear and pursuing the kingdom's practice even at the cost of death, the disciple contributes to shattering the powers' reign of death in history.  To concede the state's sovereignty in death is to refuse its authority in life.”2

Religion > market/empire indeed!

Mark suggests here that to choose to follow Jesus is to deny and ignore the threats of the state.  It is to pick a full and abundant life, and not fear.

Does that feel strange right now?  I don't know if anyone feels like their life has been full and abundant in the past year.  And there has been LOTS of fear.

Unless...

Unless we change out we think about it.  No, the past year has not been “full and abundant,” but this past year we have picked LIFE for ourselves and for others over and over again.  We have prioritized the full and abundant life of the COMMUNITY over ease and delight in our own lives. We have tried to maximize the number of people who will have long, full, healthy lives – with each and every difficult choice we make.

And sometimes it is a really important thing to remember that the stuff we do – masks, and social distancing, and zoom (eh) and lack of hugs, we do for a reason.

For life.

For each other.

For Jesus.

For the kindom.

We have been following the way of God in new, different, and difficult ways.  We have been denying ourselves the joy of in person worship; we have been carrying the crosses of wearing masks, forfeiting the lives we know for … all for the sake of other people's continued lives.

We have been trying to take care of all of God's beloveds.  We have been reminded that the way to care for one is to care for the whole.  It has been hard, and it has mattered – and it still matters.  While what we've done has largely been quiet and seemingly small, thanks be to God for what we're able to do for each other!

Amen

1David Graeber, Debt: The First 5000 Years (Brooklyn and London: Melville House, 2011).

2Ched Myers, Binding the Strong Man (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1998 and 2008, 274.  He is quoting Taylor, 1963: 247.

Rev. Sara E. Baron First United Methodist Church of Schenectady 603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305 Pronouns: she/her/hers http://fumcschenectady.org/ https://www.facebook.com/FUMCSchenectady

February 28, 2021

[emptymanuscript]

Pirate Pirate Bo Birate

Time to organize (snort) with EPICAL. My pet thought experiement. Events Personalities Ideas Contexts Architectures & Language.

Tool 1A: What do I know? Are any of the Aspects already determined about my story?

What do I know about Pirates? I know it is ABOUT pirates, in the positive sense. This is a Jack Sparrow, Wesley (Dread Pirate Roberts), and Long John Silver style pirate story. The Pirate is primarily protagonistic rather than the protagonists being menaced by pirates.

So we know some of P-personalities. The Protagonist will be a pirate, someone who wants the right thing (from the story’s point of view) but who is extremely comfortable breaking rules to get to that point.

Which tells us some of E - events. If our protagonist is comfortable breaking rules, then they must be challenged in a way where rules can’t be the barrier to success OR success is only possible by sticking to unpleasant rules.

And, you know, I immediately like that. I want that as part of what the Protagonist must overcome, sticking to rules that they would rather not.

What about I - ideas? Well if there’s the challenge of sticking to rules you would rather break, then there’s got to be some aspect of theme related to the idea of order and self control. Which sounds like a maturation plot to me. The protagonist has to learn that sometimes the way you do a thing is as important or maybe even more important than what you do.

This also tells us more about P. Our protagonist’s Achilles heel will need to be a lack of self control and adherence to decorum. So bad that they self sabotage because it’s just easier to just take what they want. And only something truly worth it can get them to even consider behaving properly. The Juvenile delinquent.

Now some C - context is necessarily given. Pirates means the age of sail. Pirates means charming rogues. Pirates mean over the top adventure. Exotic locales and the wide wonder and danger of the sea.

Architectures will be fairly standard because that’s what Pirate stories are. A standard adventure except good and bad cultural values slip. And the end is the proof that we’ve been right all along and the Pirate IS a hero.

Language is pretty open but tends toward more heroic speech. These are larger than life people and unless the character is supposed to be an idiot as a defining trait, they all have a bit of the Actor chewing the scene about them.

So, that’s not much but it is SOMETHING to start with.

Tool1B: What don’t I know?

I don’t know what the Protagonist is trying to do why. I don’t know what they want. But I do have an inkling of what they need: maturity/self control. So the want will be a misaligned version of that.

I don’t know what events precede the launch of the action. I don’t know what event demands the Protagonist to act. I don’t know what events keep them in place. I don’t know what events teach them so they change. I don’t know what events would prove a victory/loss condition.

I don’t know the deeper statement of what the story is about. I don’t even know the surface idea of: It’s a story about an X who wants a Y but when Z happens they must A or B.

I don’t know specifically what contexts from the outside world I want to reflect in the inside world.

I don’t know what subtype of a standard plot and arc I am drawing on.

I don’t know if I should give any real concern to altered language or not.

Ugh, that’s a lot not to know.

Tool1C: Given what I know, how do I figure out what I don’t?

Ok, well, I see that standard Architecture statement. So, nothing fancy, but what exactly is Standard?

Well, I feel like every pirate story I can think of falls into one of four fuzzy boxes. There’s a monster and the pirates have to save the day, Maybe. That’s Pirates of the Caribbean. All of them. There’s Coming of Age, which is Pirates of the Carribean’s subplot with Elizabeth and Will but the masterwork is Treasure Island, where Jim is forced to mature and delve into the trickier problems of  adult morality by his experiences with the Pirates. There’s the wish fulfillment tale. Again, used in most as subplots, but the golden triumph is The Princess Bride, the “villains” of the piece are able to work against the true villains and be powerful through the power of their banditry. On Stranger Tides, the real one, not the Pirates of the Caribean movie with the same title, also falls into there, with piracy and magic enabling the hero to save the day. And finally, Buddy Love, which is almost always a subplot. But you know, while I’m sure they’re there, I can’t think of a buddy love main plot off hand. Which tells me I should cut it. I love Fezzik and Inigo but that helps the story, it’s not the center. So, alright, down to three.

I’ve already talked about it probably needing to be maturation. So, let’s just go with that. Everything else can go in there as subplots and adventures anyway. But let’s make the heart of Pirates a Rite of Passage tale.

Which needs: A problem with the Main Character’s life itself. That child ain’t right. So, ok, She’s a juvenile delinquent. And I guess she’s now a she. All she wants to do is have some fun. And if it hurts someone, that’s fine. Scratch that. If there’s some real danger and she can win and throw it in someone’s face, that’s better. If the choice is treasure or thumbing her nose at the person she is scrapping with, she’ll thumb her nose.

Now, she’s got the wrong way to fix this problem. The Wrong Way is what really makes coming of age stories work. Because she doesn’t see her behavior as a problem. She’s got some false problem. I want Buddy Love elements because I love Fezzik and Inigo, so let’s say she’s lost her Buddy and thinks she’s gotta go find her and rescue her and be a badass. But the deep issue is the above, that she HAS to one up the other guy. She has to get her wild on in the same way an alcoholic has to drink. She can’t help it, and her Buddy is in danger until she figures out that is the problem, not that she isn’t tough / heroic / badass enough.

The happy ending, and fuck it, I don’t do unhappy endings, is that the MC makes peace with the realities of life and who and what they are. They learn to value positive things rather than flee into their destructive behavior. So, with the above, that means - her name is now Ashala until I think of something better. And her buddy is Bogey, for no good reason - Ashala has to come to accept that her behavior is putting Bogey in Danger and to realize that Bogey is more important to her than winning at any cost. More importantly, she gets that her scallywaggery is her way of running from her deeper issues, that she feels powerless and taken advantage of and is over compensating by a mile. So, the subtext is her looking that in the eye.

And that gives us a framework for our architecture:

We need:

Scenes showing why Ashala has decided to become a Scallywag.

Scenes where it gets her into so much trouble she has to double down.

Scenes where someone warns her about her problem and she doesn’t listen.

Scenes where she loses Bogey. - Act Change -

Scenes where everything she does to get Bogey back makes it worse.

Scenes where her enemy provokes her into making it seriously worse.

Scenes where it starts to register, hey maybe I’m the problem, but nah.

Scenes where something happens where she can’t get Bogey back the way things were - 1/2 way point.

Scenes where Ashala takes what she has learned and applies them to the chase, allowing her to start catching up.

Scenes where the antagonist, I’m suddenly going to call her Mallie, shows she is willing to cheat more than Ashala ever would.

Scenes where Ashala uses the expectations of her to skip through Mallie’s defenses and reach the final battle.

It’s a trap! Something terrible happens, I dunno, maybe it looks like Mallie has killed Bogey. 3/4 mark. We’ll think on it.

But, because Ashala has learned her lesson, Bogey is able to send her a last bit of help and the final leg of the chase is on.

Ashala finds Mallie, is totally a hero, and they sail off into the sunset better people.

That is barebones suckage.

But it’s enough to start with.

And I should stop procrastinating. I’m gonna wing it all anyway.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, November 12 - Wednesday, November 13

GILES: All right, everyone! Pay attention! In just a few moments that curtain is going to open on our very first production. Now, everyone that Willow's ever met ... is out in that audience, including all of us. That means we have to be perfect. Stay in character, remember your lines, and energy energy energy, especially in the musical numbers! WILLOW: (whispering) Did anyone see that? GILES: Acting is not about behaving, it's about hiding. The audience wants to find you, strip you naked, and eat you alive, so hide. (to Harmony) Stop that. Now, costumes, sets, um, the things that you, uh, you know, uh, you, um... you hold them, you touch them, uh, use them, um... HARMONY: Props? GILES: No. RILEY: Props? GILES: Yes! (Points at Riley) It's all about subterfuge. (To Harmony) That's very annoying. (To everyone) Now go on out there, lie like dogs, and have a wonderful time. Now, if we can stay in focus, keep our heads, and if Willow can stop stepping on everyone's cues, I know this'll be the best production of "Death of a Salesman" we've ever done. (To Harmony) Stop it. (Loudly) Good luck everyone! Break a leg!

~~Restless (Season 4)~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Learning To Hate (Buffy, Angel/us, T) by badly_knitted

In the Shadows (Xander, Ethan Rayne, T, Yakuza AU) by madimpossibledreamer

'Til Death Do Us Die (Spike, unrated) by kerk-hiraeth

Game (Tara Maclay/Willow Rosenberg, E) by EnInkahootz

Reunion (Spike/Buffy Summers, G) by Serenitey

'high maintenance' means you're a gluttonous queen (Tara/Glory, M) by Ariesgirl666

[Chaptered Fiction]

Grandma Got Run Over by Sleipnir Ch. 1-3/3 (COMPLETE) (Buffy/Spike, E) by Iamblichus

A Different Kind of Legacies Ch. 1 (Willow/Faith, M, Legacies xover) by btvscharmedgirl

When Love Arrives Chapters: 1-3/3 (COMPLETE) (Tara Maclay/Willow Rosenberg, M) by mmmh_hot_sauce

Lotus Chapter 74 (Tara Maclay/Willow Rosenberg, G) by Counterpunch

Ghosts and Vacations Don’t Mix 1-6/6 (COMPLETE) (Buffy/Angel, T) by Cornerofmadness

Full Fathom Five Ch. 1/? (Faith, Fred/Wesley, SPN xover) by Authoressinhiding

Forever Bonds - Ch 6 ( Faith Lehane/Tara Maclay/OFC, E) by rebelrsr

Skipping the Stone, Chapter 46 (Buffy/Spike, M) by sandy_s, Badwolfjedi

Reprise, Chapter 7 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Holly

Among the Echoes, Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Dutchess Did It

The Devil's Gift, Chapter 14 (Buffy/Spike, T) by spikes_heart

Off Course, Chapter 11 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Versheenah

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:Welcome To The Hellmouth Poster () by swallowedshark

Artwork:The Harvest Poster () by swallowedshark

Artwork:Witch Poster () by swallowedshark

Artwork:Designed some BtVS Seaaon 1 Christmas Decorations - for your viewing pleasure! by LeatwerpennCAD

Artwork:Made even more Christmas Decorations - this time for Season 2 by LeatwerpennCAD

Artwork:the vampire and the slayer () by yamiswift

Artwork:Voidpunk Anya icons! () by artsying-ifer

Artwork:Restless AU () by jenny-calendar

[Reviews & Recaps]

A Buffy rewatch 6x22 Grave by ettadunham

PODCAST: #49. Working Vamp (S5.9-10 “Harm’s Way” and “Soul Purpose”) by Still Dead

PODCAST: S5 E14 "Crush" by Buffy Virgin

PODCAST: S5 E 15 "I Was Made to Love You" by Buffy Virgin

PODCAST: 5.05: No Place Like Home by Buffering the Vampire Slayer

PODCAST: Buffy Boys Queering with Slayerfest 98 by Buffy Boys

PODCAST: S07E09 - Bloody Cocoa - Never Leave Me by Pop Culture Role Call

PODCAST: Episode 165 - Time Bomb (Angel S5E19) by Welcome To The Hellmouth

PUBLICATION: Rewatching Buffy – Episode 112 Doublemeat Palace by Confusing Middle

PUBLICATION: Rewatching Angel – Episode 56 Provider by Confusing Middle

PUBLICATION: 5 REASONS TO GET ‘HELLMOUTH’ #2 (BOOM! STUDIOS)! by Villain Media

PUBLICATION: Hellmouth #2 Review by Adventures in Poor Taste

PUBLICATION: HELLMOUTH #2 REVIEW by Comics the Gathering

PUBLICATION: Angel #6: One Big, Happy Family by Comic Watch

[Community Announcements]

Signups for the Which Witch Ficathon are open! by whichwillow

Headline Awards season!!! The time is fast approaching and we need judges. All are welcome! by headlineawards

[Fandom Discussions]

UO: Caleb was an incredibly boring villain by rahirah

UO: Giles's decision to leave in S6 by rahirah

rupert giles and anya jenkins had similarly heartbreaking character arcs. by Multiple Authors

one more follow-up to the post on angel. by impalementation

i have so many ridiculous shippy feelings re: how giles and jenny by jenny-calendar

Have you ever felt like in the buffy fandom if you prefer the early seasons over the last ones you’re immature? by we-pay-for-everything

Question about the episode The Harvest by AlphaFoxtrot

Why, why do I watch The Body? by interestingoutliers

Question about Faith and the Mayor by elliest_5

Worse character assassination? Cordelia Chase on Angel Season 4 or Giles in Buffy Season 7 by jdpm1991

Anyone else hate that Faith was never given a proper home in her first arrival? by jdpm1991

So let me get this straight; Jasmine is allegedly the reason why everything from Sunnydale to Los Angeles happened right according to Skip? by jdpm1991

Why was Dracula the only vampire eager to ‘turn’ a slayer? by SmurfSmeg

Can we all take a moment by TheRealZoeyFae

A stupid move on the Master's Part by Mohammad_Taiseer

Who here missed seasons 6 and 7 because UPN wasn't available in their area? by lnoland

Why is the Wesley and Cordy flirtation wrong? by elliest_5

Question about 'The Wish'... by His-Majesty

Finally convinced my friend to watch Buffy! Now...where to start? by Fly_Sistas

There is so much potential for a Buffy Ultron edit by MaxBorne

Favorite Flashback? by frozenziti

Can someone explain the point of the Beast storyline? by helllsbells

Fic Search: Buffy treasure hunter? by dannibab

Spike becomes a watcher? by peabodyblue

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

PUBLICATION: Welcome to the Hellmouth—and to Buffy the Vampire Slayer by 25YL

[rupert-giles-watcher]

                                        [Chaptered Fiction]

The Whirlwind by summers-maclay-lehane (ofstormsandwolves) (G, Multi, Rupert Giles/Joyce Summers, Faith Lehane/Buffy Summers)

Summary: When Buffy and her friends decide to go see a new band at the Bronze, nothing turns out quite like they thought.

perfect by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (T, F/M, Rupert Giles/Jenny Calendar)

Summary: “I’m not—good—at gentle.”

saw her in the streetlight, making all the world bright by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (T, Gen, Jenny Calendar/Rupert Giles, Rupert Giles & Buffy Summers)

Summary: Sounded like a good beginning, he thought. Ethan kept fucking texting him from different numbers no matter how many of them Ripper blocked, and the only person who had made him feel something that wasn’t a strong desire to go on a bender was some random girl who liked his music enough to want to listen to it.

What Ripper Wants by witchway (M, M/M, Angel/Xander, Rupert Giles/Xander Harris)

Summary: We tend to forget - Rupert "Ripper" Giles is also a magician. One who doesn't...……..always...……..follow the rules.

Carpe Verpa by GylzGirl (E, F/M, Rupert Giles/Buffy Summers)

Original author note: Timeline late season 6 or later. Very Probably AU. Giles moved back to Sunnydale and got his old place back. I can't lose the library and the apartment. It messes up my whole world.

To Have and to Hold by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (T, Multi, Rupert Giles/Jenny Calendar, Faith Lehane/Buffy Summers)

Summary: They’d agreed, beforehand, to walk down the aisle together. Thankfully, he had enough presence of mind to extend his arm to her, and when she tucked her small, elegant hand into the crook of his elbow, it felt right.

Lingering by JackalopingIntoTheVoid (T, F/M, Rupert Giles/Jenny Calendar)

Summary: Jenny was feeling less charitable than she perhaps would be otherwise, since it turned out this crappy apartment that hadn’t been renovated since the 1970′s had a very good reason for being so. It was in fact haunted by a violent, screaming poltergeist. Needless to say, Jenny hadn’t been getting much sleep.

In Search of Mischief by Cyberwulf (E, F/M, Rupert Giles/Buffy Summers)

Summary: Ethan kidnaps Giles. What does he want this time?

Slings and Arrows by TheGoodTwin (ProtoNeoRomantic) (T, F/M, Rupert Giles/Buffy Summers, Daniel "Oz" Osbourne/Willow Rosenberg, Cordelia Chase/Xander Harris, Hank Summers/Joyce Summers)

Summary: Buffy is back in the land of the living... but it doesn't look quite like the world she left behind. For starters, she has apparently had a baby. With Giles. Which is something you'd think she might remember. And yet, there is another baby living in her house, with her parents, who are back together, and whom they insist is Buffy's. Xander is in love with Cordelia, who is in a coma, and also, aparently, not the enemy anymore. Willow is living on her own as a highschool student by day who runs her own, hightech Evilfighting HQ by night. And Angel? He's gone. Forever. Like everything else in her life that once made sense. All of which makes it seem pretty rediculous that she is *still* just a Jr. in Highschool.

days in goodness spent by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (T, F/M, Rupert Giles/Jenny Calendar)

Summary: This feeling—whatever Giles is feeling—this is bone-deep. He’s never felt it before. He’s been in love before, he’s admired someone before, he’s respected someone before, but this feels like all of those three things held together by something else he can’t quite name. He searches, desperately, for the words that will tell Jenny this, but nothing that has been written can describe the way it feels to be held by her right now.

Valentine Buzz by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (G, Multi, Rupert Giles/Jenny Calendar, Faith Lehane/Buffy Summers)

Summary: “See her, Jenny? Learn from Willow’s example. That is how you behave properly and maturely on Valentine’s Day.” “You and your holiday obsessions,” said Jenny, leaning in to kiss Rupert.

faith, hope, and pancakes by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (G, F/M, Rupert Giles/Jenny Calendar)

Summary: The girl grinned, grabbing Faith’s hand like they’d been best friends forever. “You,” she said, “must be Faith. I’m Jenny.”

cookie dough and boy talk (a remix) by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (G, Gen, Rupert Giles & Buffy Summers)

Summary: “Seriously, Dawn, I said stay—” “It’s not safe to stay alone in a car at night!” Dawn objected. “And Mom would be super pissed if she knew you’d just let me—” “Hi, sorry,” said Ripper loudly. “What the fuck?” “Ripper!” said Buffy. “Don’t swear in front of my baby sister!”

extracurricular activities by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (G, F/M, Rupert Giles/Jenny Calendar)

Summary: In which Giles makes some unexpected compromises to his once-rigid worldview, Jenny is probably a lot more smitten than Giles realizes, and the Scoobies provide what they seem to think is helpful commentary.

on the mending of hearts by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (T, F/M, Rupert Giles/Anya Jenkins)

Summary: Giles took his time getting ready, hoping that he’d arrive late enough to miss the vows. He spent a good half hour compiling a convincing list of excuses—so sorry I’m late, traffic was terrible. My apologies, I misplaced my glasses. I hope you’ll forgive me, but I’m madly in love with the bride, and the thought of watching her marry someone else makes me feel vaguely sick. (Giles decides to attend Anya's wedding. This at first seems like a mistake, but ends up not being one at all.)

Unholy Savior by the_huffster (M, F/M, Rupert Giles/Buffy Summers)

Summary: Seven months after YellowBrickRoad, the Scoobies are down the road to recovering from the events on the trail. But when things start to get weird for even the Hellmouth, Giles finds himself in the middle of a strange prophecy.

participation medals of the heart. by sevensevan (T, F/M, Jenny Calendar/Rupert Giles)

Summary: In which Willow's spell in the beginning of season six goes horribly wrong, and instead of Buffy, Jenny Calendar wakes up in her grave, with no memory of her life, her past, or even her name. My fic for Jenny Calendar Day.

Monitors by rippergiles (T, F/M, Rupert Giles/Jenny Calendar)

Summary: Giles and Ms. Calendar on their best behavior.

uncharted by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (T, F/M, Rupert Giles/Jenny Calendar)

Summary: There's no prophecy dream to out Jenny to the group—it's her that tells the Scoobies the truth. But that doesn't stop her from taking on a whole lot of guilt anyway.

Featuring all the hallmarks of Jenny Calendar: bad decisions, late-night research, pushing people away, and a flagrant disregard for personal safety. (Plus a deep and abiding love for a gentle librarian, obviously.)

blindsided by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (G, F/M, Rupert Giles/Anya Jenkins)

Summary: “I think you chose those frames to make yourself look austere and professorial. I like you better with them off.” (Early S4. Anya shows up looking for Xander, and finds Giles instead.)

Conversations by Garnigal (G, Gen, Faith Lehane, Rupert Giles, Chapters: 3/3)

Summary: Three Conversations

Imperfections by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (T, Multi, Jenny Calendar/Rupert Giles, Faith Lehane/Buffy Summers, Chapters: 71/71)

Summary: “Cool,” said Faith. “So you’re a witch?” “Technopagan is the term,” said Ms. Calendar, and shared a smile with Giles, as though they were sharing some kind of joke that Faith wasn’t in on. Judging by the looks on the other faces in the room, though, no one else was either, so that made Faith feel a little better. “I’m mostly good at practical magic.” “Love that movie,” Faith quipped. Ms. Calendar gave her a newly appreciative look.

an open mic enthusiast by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (G, F/M, Rupert Giles/Jenny Calendar)

Summary: Rupert Giles was sitting at one of the tables, playing leisurely and expertly on his guitar, singing in a way that was possibly the most unbearably fucking sexy thing Jenny had ever seen.

A Night at the Museum by Cornerofmadness (G, Gen, Rupert Giles, Dawn Summers, Connor (AtS), Darla (BtVS), Buffy Summers, Angel (BtVS), Chapters: 3/3)

Summary: The Scoobies and Fang Gang have taken to working together when Giles learns of a disturbance at a very unique museum.

bad dreams by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (T, Multi, Rupert Giles/Anya Jenkins/Jenny Calendar)

Summary: In which Anya has new-relationship insecurities, Giles has insecurities in general, and Jenny has gotten a little better at being honest.

Professional Life by ProtoNeoRomantic (E, M/M, Rupert Giles/Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Chapters: 15/?)

Summary: Giles and Wesley try to forget both their differences and their failed attempt at romance so that they can work together to help the Slayers; in other words, to keep things professional. That lasts all of eighteen hours.

[sisanda96-blog]

S.A. Health needs deeper strategies to improve maternal and child health.

Maternal and Child Health is a program that is conveyed through organizations and expands on other network programs. It could be a proactive, protection, and indispensable way to deal with propelling the incredible prosperity and improvement of pregnant woman. The program focuses to arrive at all pregnant women, with long haul support for those families who require additional managements, Pamela J. Surkan,Claudina E. Cayetano,Patrick Rwagatare,Kim E. Dickson (2013). Maternal and child health is very important especially in communities where there is little or no resources.

Study conducted in brazil outlined how Maternal and child health has improved during the years, The wellbeing and nourishment of Brazilian children has moved forward quickly since the 1980s, Cesar G Victora, Estela M L Aquino, Maria do Carmo Leal, Carlos Augusto Monteiro, Fernando C Barros, Celia L Szwarcwald Maternal and child health in Brazil: progress and challenges (2011). This study shows that around the world maternal and child health has been one of the problems that affected mothers and children health. The Maternal and Child health has been put into focus by most of the countries and it has been improving over the years. Even in our communities we are seeing more pregnant women in clinics, mothers are taking their children to clinics for immunization, even though there are still people who does not take maternal and child health serous but there has been a big improvement.

Every day, 1900 children acquire HIV-1 infection from their mother in Africa, Lancet (2002); 359: 2097–104. The Maternal and Child health aims in reducing these numbers, there are ways to prevent mother to child HIV transmission by accessing HIV-1 testing, reduction of unwanted pregnancies by education of HIV-1-infected women, and antiretroviral-based prevention. Mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 can occur during pregnancy, delivery, and post-partum through breastfeeding, Lancet (2002).  My opinion on mother to child HIV transmission is parents negligent, every town has more than enough clinics for HIV testing and pregnancy check-ups, there is no excuse the mother can make to not access the clinic, in some other informal settlements the clinics are far, but government has been providing  social grants to people access their basic needs.

 The proportion of women receiving antenatal care and delivering in a health facility is very high, but the proportion of children receiving all vaccines can be improved upon, as can the timing of immunisation S Af, Med J 1997; 87: 456-459. Government has been working very well and providing resources to people. There are mobile clinics that work once a week in poor communities, this means maternal and child health is improving in S.A, but the question is why there are still children who are not benefiting from all of this. The health talks have been done, the radios have been used for awareness of maternal and child health. Most people are on social media and these things are communicated there, so why do we still have children who are infected by HIV and AIDS from birth?.

 Stigma is a damaging social phenomenon, study of Henna Budhwani and Bulent Turan (2017) stated that, In the case of people living with HIV, stigma has negative effects on health outcomes, including non-optimal medication adherence, lower visit adherence, higher depression, and overall lower quality of life. I totally agree with this, most people who are in townships do not go to clinics to seek medical attention because of the stigma that since they are HIV positive they are going to die, or they are not supposed to be part of community because they might infect others. This is a stigma that mothers are facing, they end up not protecting their babies because of this. This end up affecting not only the mother but the child life.

 Occupational therapy in communities, feedback we have been getting from the community that I am working at now is that people do not know what occupational therapy is. One may ask so who are you working with because they don’t know what you do. This is the most challenging thing that we have been facing with this community. Despite the widespread availability of free antenatal care services, most women in rural South Africa attend their first antenatal clinic late in pregnancy and fail to return for any follow-up care, potentially leading to avoidable perinatal and maternal complications, Landon, Myer Abigail, Harrison (2003). The gap of occupational therapist in this community is very huge but no one is noticing it because they don’t know. Most children there have learning difficulties this is the sign that something is going on in this community and it needs attention, but how can Occupational therapist make a change if they are still not recognized in this country, if people are still unaware of help they have around them. Mothers are suffering with depressions; they end up not taking care of their children. Who is going to intervene in such situations in townships? How are nurses going to deal with an HIV positive mother with depression? These are questions that I want people to ask themselves specially for communities that have poor economic statuses.

 In conclusion maternal and child health goes a long way than just, pregnancy and upbringing of the child. It goes deeper to family, mental health of parents and impact of community environment. Maternal and child health is improving in S.A. but department of health has not go deeper to the root of most problems regarding maternal and child health.

 References

1.     Turan, Bulent; Budhwani, Henna; Fazeli, Pariya L; Browning, Wesley R; Raper, James L; et al.AIDS and Behavior; New York Vol. 21 (Jan 2017): 283-291.

2.     Cesar G Victora, Estela M L Aquino, Maria do Carmo Leal, Carlos Augusto Monteiro, Fernando C Barros, Celia L Szwarcwald Maternal and child health in Brazil: progress and challenges (2011).

3.     Turan, B., Budhwani, H., Fazeli, P.L. et al. How Does Stigma Affect People Living with HIV? The Mediating Roles of Internalized and Anticipated HIV Stigma in the Effects of Perceived Community Stigma on Health and Psychosocial Outcomes. AIDS Behav 21, 283–291 (2017).

4.     Wilkinson, D., Cutts, F., Ntuli, N., & Karim, S. A. (1997). Maternal and child health indicators in a rural South African health district. South African medical journal, 87(4), 456-459.

5.     Myer, L., & Harrison, A. (2003). Why do women seek antenatal care late? Perspectives from rural South Africa. Journal of midwifery & women's health, 48(4), 268-272.

[spockvarietyhour]

TNG’s Headlong flight is a nice fun read, and not necessarily the heavy, slog that the 3-part Prey series was prior to this. And a good way to indulge some TNG nostalgia as Picard’s Enterprise-E (now 7 years after Nemesis in novel continuity) finds a planet skipping dimensions inadvertently and drags forwards an Enterprise-D from an alternate Season 4 where Picard was killed during Best of Both Worlds. It’s a pretty straight foward plot, fix the thing, put things back the way they were, plus 23rd Century alternate Romulans to season action.

Picard and Beverly get an indulgent moment as they beam over to Riker’s Enterprise, reflecting on all the similarities (the bridge is basically the same, down the carpeting he hated) and changes (Tasha’s still alive, Pulaski’s still CMO, Data is First Officer with Worf as Ops Manager, Wesley decided Starfleet wasn’t for him but is now a civilian consultant and much happier for it, Will and Deanna have gotten together since he took command) which was well done and full of heartwarming nostalgia.

 And before everyone goes on their way Riker gives him something for their Ten Forward (actually it’s called The Happy Bottom Riding Club by our Riker before he took command of Titan): A picture of him and his crew, like the promo pics for each season. It’s a nice touch.

The Romulans aren’t exactly one note, but they do behave like you’d expect them to, i.e. making things worse (there’s a quick note that Kirk lost in Balance of Terror hence altverse but that’s just a throwaway really)

Anyhoo, very enjoyable. 

[ltbroccoli-archive]

ST ask meme - ALL OF THEM

Star Trek ask meme

Under a read more, because long.

1. Top 3 favorite female characters? Kathryn Janeway, Seven of Nine, Uhura.

2. Top 3 favorite male characters? Reg Barclay, Rom, Data.

3. Top 3 least favorite characters? Katherine Pulaski, Wesley Crusher, Jadzia Dax. (I said Travis Mayweather on my other post but he’s honestly tied with Jadzia.)

4. Favorite alien species? I really enjoy the Borg. Voyager ruined them just the tiniest bit though, by overusing them.

5. Episode plot you wish they had handled differently? Several are coming to mind, but I think I’m actually gonna go with the Enterprise finale. Which I don’t remember terribly well but I remember that it sucked. Riker and Troi? Seriously? The least that show could have done was end on a reasonably high note. Granted it was never a great show in the first place…

6. Character you feel a show could have done without? Pulaski was so utterly unnecessary, and just horrible. I realize they wanted Gates McFadden gone, which was also a mistake. Just let her stay through the whole thing.

7. Who would make up your crew dream team? Captain Janeway, First Officer Spock, Chief Engineer Reg Barclay, Doctor EMH, Tactical Officer Worf, the rest can just fight for it idk.

8. Which captain would you most want to serve under? It’s a toss up between Picard and Janeway… I think Janeway wins by the tiniest bit. Picard would also be awesome.

9. Which episode plot do you prefer?

     a. Time traveling to the past or dealing with time travelers from the future? The past. I love time travel everything give me all the time travel please.

     b. Going undercover to spy on enemies or going undercover to explore pre-warp planets? Probably the enemies, but it really depends on the episode.

    c. Holodeck malfunction or space anomaly? Depends what the holodeck malfunction is and what the space anomaly is. Holodeck malfunctions are always stupid, but we need to know if it’s the good kind of stupid.

    d. Ship being taken over or being stranded on a planet? Taken over.

    e. Rapid aging or de-aging? De-aging. “Rascals” is a gift.

    f. Diplomatic negotiations or all out battle? Both? Both is good. (Negotiate to stop the battle.)

10. Which alien pet would you most want for your own? The unicorn dog.

11. Top 3 OTPs? Janeway/Chakotay, Doctor/Seven, Rom/Leeta

12. Top 3 NOTPs? Chakotay/Seven (seriously wtf), Dukat/Winn, Garak/Ziyal

13. A ship you wish had been canon and why? Garak and Bashir. They had great chemistry from their very first scene and it’s just such an interesting pair.

14. A ship you wish hadn’t been canon and why? Garak/Ziyal. She’s barely legal. They were only doing it so the Garak/Bashir shippers had no chance. It didn’t make sense. It was forced.

15. Top 3 favorite alien crewmembers? Spock, Worf, Seven of Nine.

16. If you could steal the basic plot of an episode for one show and apply to another which would you choose? Well Enterprise directly stole plots from other shows multiple times… honestly I can’t think of any.

17. What role would you have aboard a starship? Science officer…? Engineer? One of those.

18. If you had to fight a character who would you choose? Pulaski.

19. You can undo one plot point, which do you choose? Dukat joining the Pah-Wraiths. That’s the exact moment his arc went from absolutely incredible to just… a piece of shit.

20. Which piece of technology do you wish existed in reality? Transporter.

21. What kind of stories do you hope the new show does? Explore current issues. Make important points about our current world. Make people uncomfortable. Make people examine themselves and how they behave.

22. Would you rather serve on a starship or a space station? Space station, probably.

23. Favorite tropes? The non-human character trying to figure out what the hell humans are even doing.

24. Which character do you relate to the most? Reg Barclay.

25. Favorite villain(s)? Dukat, the Borg, the Dominion.

26. Which alien hybrid offspring are you most interested in seeing? Uh… this is really not something I thought about before. Maybe a Bolian and a Klingon. See how that one works out. (Yeah I just kinda picked two random races…)

27. What do you wish they had handled differently? A lot of Reg’s later TNG episodes treated him as comic relief. I would have liked to see more of him in a serious light and less comedic. And also directly acknowledging that he has anxiety of some kind, whatever that might be, would be great.

28. Character(s) you want to cosplay as? I really don’t do much cosplay, I’d be happy just to have a StarFleet uniform.

29. Favorite and least favorite episodes? I’ll just go one from each show, this is hard. These might not be the absolutes but they’re what popped into my head first.

Favorites - “The City on the Edge of Forever”, “Realm of Fear”, “Far Beyond the Stars”, “Bride of Chaotica!”, sorry I can’t consider any ENT episode to be a favorite.

Least favorites - “The Mark of Gideon”, “Sub Rosa”, “The Muse”, “Year of Hell”, “These Are the Voyages…”

30. Something you wish you could delete from canon? That ghost trying to bang Crusher? Yeah I completely skipped that episode on my rewatch, no thank you.

31. A crossover with another show/movie/book/ect, that you’d want to see? Doctor Who, Stargate, or Firefly.

32. F/M/K. I dunno. Someone give me three choices and I’ll answer this.

33. Whose twitter feed would you most want to follow? Data’s would be a blast, I think.

34. What do you think *insert character*’s tumblr would be full of? Someone has to send a character. Since I write Reg, I will say that Reg’s Tumblr would be cats, advice for dealing with anxiety, cool space pictures, cats, engineering facts, and cats.

35. A minor character you wish had become a main character? Reg Barclay. I always want more Reg Barclay.

36. A social issue you hope the new show tackles and how? Actual gay people would be nice.

37. Character A and Character B get into a fight, who wins? I need characters.

38. *Insert crew here* is thrown back in time to *insert time period here*, how do they handle it, which fashion trends do they pick up, who threatens the timeline the most, who is saddest when they have to leave, who is most knowledgeable, who stands out the most, ect? Again, I need things. Also this would take forever to answer, so…

39. You have to relocate to a planet other than Earth, which do you choose? …Vulcan? Andoria? Some Earth colony? Yeah probably an Earth colony, if there’s a nice big one.

40. If you got a trek inspired tattoo what would it be? I don’t think I’d get a tattoo… but I mean, if I were forced to get one at gunpoint for some reason, maybe the IDIC medallion on my ankle or something simple like that.

41. Which episode(s) creeped out/scared you the most? “Night Terrors”, the TNG episode where the crew can’t dream. When Crusher’s in the morgue and all the corpses are suddenly sitting up? I lost it the first time I saw that as a kid. Still creeps me the fuck out.

42. Which episode(s) made you cry? “Real Life”, the VOY episode with the Doctor’s holographic family that you never see again. I don’t know why that one got to me but it got to me.

43. Order of shows from most to least favorite? Deep Space 9, Next Generation, Voyager, Original Series, Enterprise, Animated. Honestly DS9, TNG, VOY, and TOS are all at about the same level for me, I love them all but in different ways. ENT is a noticeable step down in quality and TAS is uh… yeah.

44. If *insert crew* ended up in the modern day what would amaze them the most? Gotta give me a crew.

45. Which alien culture would you most want to live in/would feel most comfortable? Denobulans would be super friendly, I feel like.

46. If they rebooted *insert show here* who out of modern day actors would you pick to play the main characters? No more reboots.

47. An unpopular opinion you have? Jadzia Dax is the worst character on DS9. She’s an annoying know-it-all who can apparently do no wrong. She also has no character development to speak of and her episodes were always the most boring, despite the Trill being a fascinating race. Worf deserved better. Also, Terry Farrell never seemed the right choice for the part. I was glad to see her go and I genuinely don’t understand why this fandom worships the ground she walks on.

48. Sort the crew of *insert show here* into Hogwarts houses. Someone want to send a show?

49. A favorite ST fic? I don’t read much fanfic, actually. I did read one where Q was trying to help Reg get over his stage fright. That was pretty funny. I can’t remember where it was or I’d link to it.

50. A random headcanon? At some point after the episode “Hollow Pursuits”, Reg Barclay gave Deanna Troi a damn good (and completely genuine) apology for recreating her on the holodeck for make out sessions.

[thewasteland-rp]

                           A F F L I C T E D                         33 ● CHRIS HEMSWORTH ● he/him

░ THE PARIAH░  Wesley Kelley

             ❝ an outcast since he was ripped out the womb screaming. the only person who should have cared for him only beat him and taught him one thing: he’s wrong, he’s rotten, he’s worth nothing. if a man is told long enough that he is nothing, it is only natural he will become nothing. ❞

▻ THEN

       Wes had the type of childhood that would normally break a person. He never knew his father and his mother was an over the top devout Christian who believed in harsh punishment for petty crimes. Breaking curfew, taking the lord’s name in vain, and displaying any form of the major sins would get Wes punished, most times in a very painful way. He wouldn’t have minded it, may have even behaved to avoid the punishments, but he had trouble obeying his mother’s rules when she claimed to be so devout, but brought a different man home nearly every night. They paid for her services and Wes was almost always in the other room forced to listen and wonder why her sins went unpunished. After a violent encounter with one of his mother’s clients, Wes ran away from home. He was fourteen and on his own in the world. He stayed that way for the rest of his life. Living on his own, Wes’s jobs never seemed to work out. There was always a reason for people to let him go. Eventually, he took to stealing, mugging, robbery and other ways to try and sustain himself. He had odd jobs here and there, because he wasn’t a criminal or delinquent at heart, he just never fit in with society. In and out of jail, he often regarded prison as the most stable environment he’d ever been in, sometimes committing petty crimes just so he had a place to go for a while. Released early for good behaviour, Wes was thrown back into the real world as unready as ever. With no plans, it seemed like a blessing when he received an out of the blue call from an ex-cellmate. He said he had a job and a place for Wes to stay in New York City. All organised, cash in hand once a week and — he stressed this part — with no background checks. The move was another mistake in a life full of them. Just over a week into it, the job fell through. Wes was only told vague details of ‘parole violations’ and ‘unethical business practice’ before he’d broken his old cellmate’s nose. It wasn’t the first time he’s had to spend a few days homeless but the first time it was in such a large city. With a backpack of all his worldly possessions and bits of his one and only pay check: he done what he done best. Survive, barely.

▻ NOW

        Wes had been out of jail for only thirty days before the world ended. He was stranded in New York for thirteen of those. And of those thirteen he’d spent the last half lost. Literally and figuratively. Nothing made Wes so aware of how truly alone he was in the world than to be constantly surrounded by people who wouldn’t and couldn’t give a shit about him even if they tried. Wes was some dumb ex-con who got promised too much and then was actually upset it fell through. He wanted to leave but didn’t have enough cash for a bus ticket out of there or, more importantly, any idea where he’d even go. Wes had spent the last of his change in a dingy diner barely finishing his meal before all hell broke lose. The small diner caved in and while Wes was knocked out, he had enough to time to duck under the sturdy mental counter before he passed out. The second Wes woke up — dazed and confused — he simply ran.

▻ CONNECTIONS

None

[tessatechaitea]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, S1, E4: "The Last Outpost"

"She begrudged her lover nothing and now, finally, it was time to offer him The Last Outpost." For some reason that would be inexplicable if you were living in the actual world of Star Trek: The Next Generation but is entirely understandable when you view it through the lens of a story written by humans about humans, every single Godlike creature in the universe seems to put humans to the test to find out if they're heedless barbarians who care for nothing but their own enrichment. It's one of the reasons I'd rather view Q as tormenting the Enterprise not because he's testing humans but because he loves Jean-Luc (there's additional proof of this in the episode "Hide and Q" when we see Q seems to be acting against the general Q Continuum consensus). I'd rather he be a romantic interest and not just another smart ass alien testing the humans to make sure they're allowed in space. But maybe humans bring it on themselves. It is possible that humans are the most arrogant race (species?) in the entire universe. One species (race?) has to be; why not humans? And every other alien race that has come into contact with other races always discuss how terribly arrogant and ambitious those humans are, with their weird emotions and concept of "love". And since humans write these stories, seemingly with the assumption that humans are somehow unique and special, the "humans must prove themselves" becomes an easy trope to slip into any plot. But before the test begins, this episode starts by introducing audiences to the Ferengi, the boot sale merchants of the universe. They're played as if the sellers at your local dirt mall inexplicably developed the technologies for space travel and teleportation and instantly launched into space to find deals and cheat people. Data explains that their entire cultural belief system is built on the motto, "Caveat Emptor." As a space faring race which interacts with other races, I can see the appeal of introducing this kind of alien characterization. Little House on the Prarie and Grizzly Adams and even Anne with an E relied on the plot of the traveling salesman character. But imagine the Ferengi homeworld before they ever left the atmosphere! Nobody trusting anybody else while everybody trying to profit over everybody else! What a terrible bunch of Boomer pricks! I wonder if there's a whole offshoot of Ferengi flower children and democratic socialists who fucking despise the way the rest of the universe views them? I suppose if there is, I'll see evidence of it in Deep Space Nine when I get around to it. I bet Quark has some family members who are all, "Ugh! Dad is such a capitalist asshat!" Seeing the Ferengi in this episode made me want to dress up as a Ferengi every Halloween for the rest of my life. Not because I love the way they look but I fucking fell in love with how they hopped around like children who just sucked down two pounds of pure cane sugar. I suppose they were supposed to look like monkeys in the zoo, incapable of standing still. But I fucking loved their fidgeting and bouncing around. Why did they drop that aspect of the character?! It's fucking endearing! I wonder what would happen to the Ferengi race if somebody sold them a cargo hold full of fidget spinners? This is yet another episode that culminates in a terrible anti-climax. The Enterprise and the Ferengi ship are locked in a force field around a planet of a long dead space empire. The crew of the Enterprise agree to work with the Ferengi to search the planet while the Ferengi cross their fingers behind their backs and plan on acting as despicable as possible. On the planet (after some minor skirmishes between the two crews), a man named Portal puts them to the test to find out if they're worthy of existing in the universe. Why does he get to decide? I don't know! I guess because he's so fucking powerful. The anti-climax comes because Portal doesn't put them through any trials or rigorous intellectual tests. He just accidentally quotes Sun Tzu and Riker is all, "I know the response to that quote! Boom! I'm interesting, right?!" And Portal is all, "You amuse me. You shall live." Aside: the man who plays Portal also played Mimo on Villa Alegre. While the Ferengi insist that the humans are liars and jerks while taking no responsibility for their own actions, Riker quotes some Sun Tzu because every nerd in the world knows that philosophical thought about strategy and diplomacy has never outdone The Art of War. Portal is suitably impressed like any space nerd would be. He not only decides to spare the humans but becomes best friends with Riker. Only a human mind could be so unique and interesting to a creature of such knowledge and power! We're so awesome! Everybody in space should embrace our quirky ways! Even though the Ferengi behave abominably, Portal lets them live because Riker points out that they'll never learn any other way. Also, I think he just thinks of them as gnats. People might be annoyed by gnats but you don't turn the full force of your intellect and emotional fury on the entirety of their species just because they're bothering you. You swat at a few of them, curse a bit, and then fucking forget all about them. I think every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation has a moral but sometimes I can't be bothered to understand it. Especially when I'm several episodes ahead of the one I'm currently writing about. They all kind of get jumbled together. This one probably has something to do with keeping an open mind and not judging too swiftly. I only say that because I think that was the moral of the Farpoint episode and maybe the moral of all the episodes I've written about so far. And what better way to get that moral across than by making the Ferengi as obviously underhanded and treacherous as possible? Maybe they shouldn't have made them so childlike and lovable as well though. Perhaps that's why they stopped making them all bouncy and fidgety. Because it was too adorable. I would have kept that aspect of them but also made them constantly hold open switchblades. Aside: Armin Shimerman who also plays Buffy's high school principle portrays the Ferengi Letek. Oh, he's also Quark in Deep Space Nine. And he's the face of the wedding gift box in Haven. Also he's the voice of Andrew Ryan from the Bioshock games (get it? "Andrew Ryan"? Ayn Rand? It's such a good game about objectivism!). It's possible part of my problem with this show (at least so far) is the pacing of the plot in regards to the theme. I suppose, taken as a whole and being charitable, what happens in many ST:TNG episodes is that the initial introductory story usually isn't the real story and often either gets ignored or is resolved in a boring or anti-climactic way (because it wasn't the meat of the theme and didn't really matter. Like the virus in "The Naked Now"). In this one, the introductory story is that the Ferengi have stolen something from the Federation. The Enterprise is tasked with getting it back. Which they do at some point but that story doesn't matter by the time they're trapped in the forcefield. It's like that thing that famous guy said which I think I mentioned in a previous review (unless it was in a comic book review) about how life happens when you're planning on some other kind of life. Star Trek: The Next Generation made a career out of it. Some people refer to these things as the "A" and "B" plot. But I don't think ST:TNG gives enough time to the initial plot to even consider it a parallel story line to the main plot. Maybe the writers get better at this as the show progresses. But even if they don't, it's not that big a deal. I get it! You need to have the crew doing something when the major shit hits the fan. And that shit doesn't have to come out of the first thing they were doing at all, although it would be nice if, just sometimes, it did. Like maybe Wesley Crusher is studying for exams and he has the replicator make him a copy of the Necronomicon after which he unleashes Hell aboard the Enterprise. Then at the end, he fails his test because, you know, it was about engineering and not raising the dead.

[thecoroutfitters]

A few years back, reporter and journalism teacher Erika Hayasaki traded a couple of e-mails beside me wondering why there weren’t more visible Asian US long-form article writers within the news industry. After speaking about several of our own experiences, we figured an element of the problem wasn’t just deficiencies in variety in newsrooms, but deficiencies in editors who worry enough about representation to proactively just take some authors of color under their wings.

“There has to be much more editors out there who is able to behave as mentors for Asian United states journalists and provide them the freedom to explore and flourish,” we published. Long-form journalism, we noted, is a craft that is honed in the long run and needs patience and thoughtful modifying from editors who care — perhaps perhaps not no more than exactly exactly what tale will be written, but additionally that is composing those stories.

We additionally listed the names of some Asian US article writers who have been doing a bit of actually great long-form work. Aided by the Asian United states Journalists Association meeting presently underway in Atlanta, Georgia (if you’re around, come express hello!), I desired to share with you a few of my personal favorite long-form pieces compiled by Asian US article writers within the last few years that are few.

1. In A perpetual present (Erika Hayasaki, Wired, April 2016)

Susie McKinnon features a seriously deficient autobiographical memory, this means she can’t keep in mind information about her past—or envision what her future might look like.

McKinnon may be the very first individual ever identified with a disorder called seriously lacking memory that is autobiographical. She understands loads of information about her life, but she does not have the capacity to mentally relive any one of it, the manner in which you or i may meander straight back inside our minds and evoke a particular afternoon. She’s got no episodic memories—none of these impressionistic recollections that feel a little like scenes from a film, constantly filmed from your own viewpoint. To modify metaphors: think about memory as being a favorite guide with pages that you come back to once more and once again. Now imagine access that is having to your index. Or perhaps the Wikipedia entry.

2. Paper Tigers (Wesley Yang, New York mag, might 2011)

Wesley Yang’s study of the stereotypes of this Asian American identity and just just just how Asian faces are identified ignited a number of conversations about how precisely we grapple with this upbringings and learn how to survive our very own terms.

I’ve for ages been of two minds about any of it series of stereotypes. Regarding the one hand, it offends me personally significantly that anyone would want to apply them in my opinion, or even to other people, merely on such basis as facial traits. Having said that, in addition it generally seems to me personally there are a complete great deal of Asian individuals to who they use.

I want to summarize my emotions toward Asian values: Fuck filial piety. Fuck grade-grubbing. Fuck Ivy League mania. Fuck deference to authority. Fuck humility and effort. Fuck harmonious relations. Fuck compromising money for hard times. Fuck earnest, striving middle-class servility.

3. How exactly to compose a Memoir While Grieving (Nicole Chung, Longreads, March 2018)

Nicole Chung contemplates loss, use, and working on a novel her late father won’t get to see.

I’ve never quoted Czeslaw Milosz to my parents — “When a writer exists into a grouped household, the household is finished.” — though I’ve been tempted a few times.

But I wasn’t actually born into my adoptive family members. As well as for all my reasoning and currently talking about use through the years, for many my certainty I had never really considered how my adoption — the way I joined my family, and the obvious reason for our many differences — would tint the edges of my grief when I lost one of them that it is not a single event in my past but rather a lifelong story to be reckoned with.

4. Unfollow (Adrian Chen, The Latest Yorker, November 2015)

Just just How social networking changed the thinking of the devout member of the Westboro Baptist Church, which pickets the funerals of homosexual males and of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Phelps-Roper found myself in a extensive debate with Abitbol on Twitter. “Arguing is enjoyable whenever you think you’ve got most of the answers,” she stated. But he had been harder to obtain a bead on than many other critics she had experienced. He had browse the Old Testament in its Hebrew that is original had been conversant into the New Testament also. She was amazed to see which he signed all their websites on Jewlicious because of the handle “ck”—for “christ killer”—as if it had been a badge of honor. Yet she discovered him engaging and funny. “I knew he had been wicked, but he had been friendly, therefore I ended up being specially wary, as you don’t desire to be seduced out of the truth by way of a crafty deceiver,” Phelps-Roper stated.

5. Just what a Fraternity Hazing Death Revealed About the Painful seek out A asian-american identification (Jay Caspian Kang,the latest York occasions Magazine, August 2017)

Jay Caspian Kang reports from the loss of Michael Deng, an university freshman whom passed away while rushing an Asian United states fraternity, and examines the real history of oppression against paper writing service Asians within the U.S. and just how it offers shaped a marginalized identification.

“Asian-­American” is just a mostly meaningless term. No body develops speaking Asian-­American, nobody sits down seriously to food that is asian-­American their Asian-­American parents and no body continues on pilgrimages back once again to their motherland of Asian-­America. Michael Deng and their fraternity brothers were from Chinese families and spent my youth in Queens, and additionally they have actually absolutely nothing in accordance beside me — an individual who was created in Korea and spent my youth in Boston and new york. We share stereotypes, mostly — tiger mothers, music classes while the unexamined march toward success, but it is defined. My upbringing that is korean discovered, has more in accordance with this associated with the young ones of Jewish and West African immigrants than compared to the Chinese and Japanese into the United States — with who I share just the anxiety that when certainly one of us is set up from the wall surface, one other will likely be standing close to him.

from Patriot Prepper Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. Are you ready for any situation? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Monday, February 5

~~Five by Five~~

LILAH: Great. I hear you came up with a good idea. How to deal with our friendly neighborhood vampire? LEE: No, I came up with a *great* idea. How do you find out these things so fast? LILAH: Part of my job. How did you find out there was a rogue Slayer in town? LEE: Part of *my* job. I've been reading, ah, the police reports. She's been a busy little beaver. LILAH: But you don't know where she is. LEE: I will soon enough. LILAH: I already do. Uh, I'll make the contact. LEE: I don't think so. It?s my deal, I?ll make the contact. LILAH: Let me think about it... - No. LEE: Why not? LILAH: It's your people skills - you don't have any. LEE: You bitch. LILAH: See? If you behave I'll let you ride in the limo.

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Counseling (Spike, Dawn, T) by coraxes

Cupid Wore a Size 3 Sneaker (And Listens to AC/DC On His iPod) (Wesley, T, SPN xover) by Nevcolleil

Sight (Wesley/Angelus, M, SPN xover) by Nevcolleil

Circle (Angelus, M, SPN xover) by Nevcolleil

Goddess Rises (Buffy, G, Revolutionary Girl Utena xover) by malna

Excuses (Buffy/Spike, M) by EllieRose101

the happy-ending bouquet (Jenny/Giles, G) by The_Eclectic_Bookworm

First Meeting (Buffy, T, Numbers xover) by Jess_S

Half a Demon, Half a Date (Cordelia/Doyle, G) by brightephemera

Pretending (Buffy/Angel, T) by Jasmine_Shigeru

We Can Rest In Peace (Buffy, Spike, G) by Debris4spike

Giles, The Watcher (Buffy, Giles, G) by Debris4spike

Spike, The Watcher (Spike, G) by Debris4spike

Who's The Winner (Buffy, Spike, Riley, G) by Debris4spike

The Air Smelled Of Sunrise (Spike, Riley, G) by Debris4spike

Loving All The Way (Buffy, Spike, G) by Debris4spike

Waiting For Tomorrow (Spike, G) by Debris4spike

Normal (Buffy, Spike, G) by Debris4spike

Too Loud (Buffy, Anya, G) by catty-words

Bauble (Buffy/Willow, G) by lesbidar

Too Loud (Buffy/Faith, G) by faithandbuffy

No One Is Watching (Buffy, Anya, G) by lesbidar

Strip Poker (Buffy/Faith, T) by lesbidar

Righteous (Buffy/Faith, T) by lesbidar

Black-out (Buffy/Faith, T) by nixie-deangel

Pie (Buffy/Faith, T) by nixie-deangel

No One Is Watching (Buffy/Willow, M) by lesbidar

What You Do Afterwards (Angel, Cordelia, Doyle, T) by myheadsgonenumb

I've Always Loved You (Buffy/Spike, M) by Zarryspolo

[Chaptered Fiction]

Far From Our Forbidden Sun Ch. 1-7/? (Angel/Wesley, M, SPN xover) by Nevcolleil

Faith the Vampire Slayer 1x08: "Holiday" (COMPLETE) (Faith/Willow, T) by frogfarm

The Genius Curse Ch. 1/35 (Wesley/Fred, M, MCU xover) by DrakePendragon

So It Is (re)Written Ch. 20 (Buffy/Giles, T) by 23Murasaki

127 Days, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, T) by zarryspolo

One Chance, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, M) by AtlantianDream

A Small Boat on the Ocean, Chapter 37 (Buffy/Spike, T) by sandy_s

Tales From a New Body, Chapter 14 (Buffy/Spike, E) by OffYourBird

Her Champion, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Loup Noir

Best Laid Plans, Chapter 38 and Chapter 39 (Buffy/Spike, T) by Lavender Bixby

Smoke in the mirror, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Axell

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: BtVS Icons by blondebitz

Artwork: Spike/Willow wallpapers by blondebitz

Artwork: Giles’ Notes: Lara by whatdoyouthinkmyjobis

Artwork: Buffy in sketch by Stephanie Hans

Artwork: Spike and Angel Sketch by thedylanjacobson

Video: Gwen Raiden Tribute - Freak Like Me by Jamie Naberrie

[Reviews & Recaps]

A New Man by thepassionofthenerd

PODCAST: Chosen Episode 6: Out of Mind, Out of Sight & Prophecy Girl by M & M Podcast Network

PODCAST: In the Buff S5E4 "Out of My Mind"

[Community Announcements]

Challenge 585 is passion at femslash100

Upcoming Events by buffyfemslash

Monday, February 5th, 2018 - Despair by fic-promptly

[Fandom Discussions]

Joyce Summers Meta by Multiple Authors

Fic Rec: by outerspace-iiinnerspace

Willow/Amy Meme by kyliafanfiction

Things that date season 1 by yesitsterriblysimple

Fanged Four Sex & Romance by spikesjojo

Buffy asks, 8 or 9 by babygirl06301

Parallels by Multiple Authors

12, 23, 28 for angel? by scienceofficer-winifredburkle

2, 3, 6, 13, 23 for angel the series by starshollowisonahellmouth

Joyce Summers Meta by starshollowisonahellmouth

Riley Finn Meta by starshollowisonahellmouth

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - 1, 3, 5, 9, 19, 20. by starshollowisonahellmouth

Giles Meta by jenny-calendar

15, 23, 28 for AtS and BtVS by xxromancegirlxx

for buffy: 7, 10, 23, 26. for angel: 2, 5, 9, 11, 19 by maybedeadbutstillpretty

Guys i have an idea by foodsexxual

The Vampyr book by lesbidar

BTVS, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 by starshollowisonahellmouth

Buffy and Spike's Relationship by lilyginnyblackv2

The plot of Go Fish by intrigue-posthaste-please

Hey check out my new fic page !! by lesbidar

Waking up in the middle of the night by willltruman

PODCAST: The Sunnydale Fanfic Club Wolfsbane - A Buffy Fanfiction