#and how little opportunity for class mobility there must be

[innerchorus]

Based on your tags and the point in canon you mentioned, I'm guessing this is referring to Alfarid's reaction on seeing how many gold coins Narsus has? If so, you'll have to forgive me but I'm going to defend her here because her reaction makes total sense!

(From Chapter 29)

I'll include the relevent section from the novels, too (with part of it bolded for emphasis):

'“Huh, guess you’re caught up in some shady business, aren’t ya. Though y’look like such a respectable sort.” “Why do you think so?” “Ain’t no honest folk can get their hands on the likes of gold. If an azat had any gold or anything on them, the officials would come and give ’em the rack, even. They’d just assume you stole it all from somewhere, yeah?” Narses was unable to reply. He had absolutely no inclination to reveal his own pedigree as one of the shahrdaran. Good grief. He really was no respectable sort himself. Considering his very identity as one of the governing class, a noble aristocrat…' (Book Two, Chapter 3, part iv)

Alfarid doesn't know Narsus is a noble. When she speaks of 'respectable people' she's talking of regular honest working folk rather than the upper classes, having assumed that Narsus fell into this category. In that context, her reaction is understandable. It's not a case of some people just having money while others don't, it's her knowledge of the Parsian class system telling her that the only way for regular people to get hold of gold coins is through 'shady business'.

Let's not forget Narsus doesn't just have one or two gold coins; Alfarid is startled by the amount. As she doesn't know he's not only a noble but one of the shahrdaran, what else is she supposed to think?

Honestly, I can't imagine Narsus disagrees with her. I'm sure that, although he hasn't been subjected to this class prejudice himself, he's well aware of it, given that he's an advocate for many of the social reforms that Pars needs. What Alfarid is saying isn't wrong. It's only incorrect in how she applies it to Narsus, and that's only because she doesn't know he's one of the nobility. He doesn't dispute what she says because the only way to do that would be to reveal this to her.

Here's her reaction when she does learn of Narsus's origins when they next run into Hilmes in Chapter 36.

(I also think that Narsus's reluctance to reveal his status and his subsequent minimisation of it above points to him having some personal hangups about being identified that way. He also knows how someone like Alfarid will react and he tries to avert that. This comes across more strongly in the novels where he has a rather bitter line of dialogue here: "Just because one is wispuhran or wuzurgan doesn’t mean they’ll sprout horns and a tail…".

Alfarid's preconceptions of what nobles are like is definitely meant to parallel Narsus's mistaken belief that, as a bandit, Alfarid will steal from the dead, indicating that both of them are exceptions in a way (the Zott are not typical bandits, and Narsus is not a typical noble). But although they are both wrong about each other, while Narsus's comment caused genuine offence to Alfarid, her assumptions about the provenance of his gold coins aren't what bothers him, it's the knowledge that she'll see him differently once she knows he's a noble.)

I hope this made sense, I'm about to go climbing and I'm rushingggg

Oh my god...

I forgot how annoying Alfarid was in the beginning! And how hypocritical. Dear lord above (or below).

I am so happy that she later has such a big character development. She now is one of my favourit characters. (And that is the genius of Arakawas writing! Or rather of Tanaka...)

I am continuing chapter 5 and am now where Narsus and Alfarid are at the village that go attacked by Team Zahhak.

[flycoffee]

Man! You have no idea how much I wanted Loid to have conversations with dads whether it’s from school or parks, preferably school! My brother and I have this conversation about his daughter/my niece being too popular for his liking because sometimes my niece doesn’t like the other kids who keep wanted to be friends with her while she plays in the park, and my brother tells me it him puzzled him that she would always get attention like that, and it worries him a bit for her future, and I jokingly said maybe he should enroll her to some self-defense classes while she is young for future troubles, and he genuinely think it’s a good idea. It’s a funny memory.

Anya after the bus hijack becomes very popular among her peers, it showed in the school dance and winter sheep festival, Twilight as a spy has yet see the problem and he wanted her to make friends and they are just kids so why worries plus Anya seems to enjoy the attention, but what if there will come to an opportunity where Loid would be socialized with other parents and have some dad conversation I don’t knows what dad talks about, but I hope some of the conversation will awaken the deep father instinct in him.

“You most be Anya Forger’s father I am some rich name my son admired your daughter so much after the bus incident said that he wanted to be as brave as her”

“My daughter too! And wanted to know how she can be so carefree even after she got her second Thunderbolt!”

And in true Loid fashion Twilight socializes with them with ease.

They talk, have some other topics Twilight gathering data, and so on then one of the dad said.

“It’s nice that she is popular amongst her peers now it will make the years after easier but you must have some worries too hmm? My daughter tell me she was quite popular among the boys in the school dance and lot of boy want to dance with her, I have an elder daughter and the boy she chooses to go out with” the dad signed and looked sad.

Some other dad said my daughter who is in 10th grade some rich name, who is the Imperial Scholar and they heard of her before with her achievement in Eden.

“The boys that surrounding her sometime and send those gift to my doorstep just make me want to pull out my guns” who look displease and angry, all the dad there agree.

At this moment twilight tries to imagine Anya as a teenager and the boys who asked her to dance at the party are also teens in a similar scenario asking Ayna to dance, and he quickly shakes the thought away “Calm down twilight you won’t be there when she reaches to that age, hopefully. And Yor would probably pull her out of Eden because of the fees I just need to think of the excuses for Yor to let her study in public school before I exit this mission.” But then the image of regular teenage boys wanting to go out with Anya startled him too, “would it be better if Anya chose to be with someone from the higher social circle of Ostania? But she is such a care free girl to think she will get in to a family of strict rules and manners would she be happy in those kind of relationship? wait what am thinking here I have no saying in Anya’s distance future, who ever she chooses will be her choice I just need to trust Yor would guide her through those phases, the worst Anya could chose is properly someone like Franky, a boy who is active from underground world, hopefully not.” all these happened in 0.9 seconds in Twilight’s head. But one of the dad said

“My wife have been reading a book about raising teenagers and want me to spend more time with our daughter apparently little girl will base lover preference on their father, how I treat her and her mother will be the mobile for her future spouse”

One of the dad said “what? then it’s already too late for me!” All the dad laughed at it except for Loid.

“No twilight! The worst isn’t someone like Franky at least Franky is genuinely want to be with someone the worst possible outcome is Anya falling in love with someone like ME!!!” At the point Loid had excused himself from the dads.

“Did we scare him” one of the dad ask.

“Base their future lover on me as Loid Forger might have been okay but I know all too well that Loid is a fake he is too perfect and nice if Anya bases her preference on that she might be fooled by an Espionage someone who is too perfect to be true, what if this mission get discovered in the future and enemy spy trying to find my weaknesses and use Anya as a pawn, what I did to those women will come back biting Anya” it is this moment Twilight couldn't imagine the worst karma that might happen on him/his daughter for the mission.

I have yet to know how Twilight will snap out of it but it's hilarious to imagine him as in parenthood turmoil for the mission!



[rhapsodyyyyyyy]

The Cracks in the Foundation: A Look at Poor Quality Education

Education is where society begins. It shapes the future, fuels innovation, encourages creativity, and empowers individuals. But what happens when the foundation starts to crumble? When quality education collapses, the consequences can ripple through future generations, leaving a legacy of inequality and limited potential. If you know a thing or two about the struggle of Poor Education, critical issue of education, the hidden or ignored problems and you want to be aware about it. If you are looking for a way on how to support poor quality education, then this blog is for you.

THE STATISTICS OF THE CHALLENGES IN ACHIEVING QUALITY EDUCATION

Statistics show that we are falling far behind and we need to take action with utmost urgency. The world cannot afford to let millions of children fall behind, deprived of the education. unable to reach their full potential. We must invest in education, bridge the gaps in access and quality, and build a future where every student has the opportunity to learn and thrive. This serves as a stark reminder that we urgently need to invest in education and ensure that every child has access to quality learning. We must face these challenges and build a future where everyone has the chance to succeed.

CAUSE OF POOR-QUALITY EDUCATION

Lack of funding:

Lack of qualified teachers: Little pay and no or fewer professional development opportunities will discourage better teaching professionals from teaching in less privileged schools.

Poor infrastructural facilities: Poor ventilated classrooms, crumbling buildings, and even the lack of adequate water supply and sanitation facilities.

Inadequate Learning Materials: The absence of books, computers, and other fundamental learning equipments may limit the interaction with the curriculum among the students.

2. Poor Teaching Skills:

Lack of training by the teachers: Teachers may not have the expertise and knowledge in conducting interesting and useful teaching processes.

Large class populations: The teacher is unable to offer every individual attention and care for her/his students due to a huge number of students in a class.

Discrimination and prejudices: The victimisation of the marginalized groups in the society is carried out in the classroom, and they are supposed to be treated with fewer expectations and fewer opportunities.

3. Systematic inequalities:

Gender discrimination: Girls are specifically disadvantaged in the shackles of education, especially in developing regions. It is because of culture in some cases, and in others, lack of economic power and security in school.

Socioeconomic disparities: Many children from low-income backgrounds cannot attend schools due to poverty, poor childcare, and an uncaring parent.

Schooling inequality based on rural-urban divide: There will be fewer resources, fewer qualified teachers in rural areas of development than in their equivalents in urban communities, and students from the former may gain lesser educational achievements.

CONSEQUENCES OF POOR QUALITY EDUCATION

1. Individual Level:

• Scarce and low-paying jobs : Individuals without adequate education are confined to low-remuneration jobs and are unable to undertake stable employment. • Economic mobility: Education prevents subsequent generations from devolving into poverty cycles, although education impacts economic ability to achieve success in the labor market. • Health outcomes: Education fosters healthy behaviors while developing an understanding of health information. Poor education leads to underlining bad health results.

2. Community Level:

• Economic stagnation: It prevents economic growth, development, and leads to a leakage of skills. • Social unrest: High unemployment and poverty lead to social unrest and instability. • Limited civic engagement: Citizens educated are knowledgeable, conscious, and have a voice in the democratic process and are able to get their leaders accountable.

3. National Level:

• Competitiveness reduced: Low-quality education systems make it hard for countries to compete on the global economic scale. • Inadequate innovations: The absence of sufficiently skilled employees and an innovation culture can easily hinder technological advancement. • The excess usage of foreign aid: A country with a poor education system will inevitably use more foreign aid within their society to solve the social and economic issues.

SOLUTIONS

1. Increased funding:

•Infrastructure development: That means the quality school building and maintaining them, computer technology, and enough resources for learning. •Raise the salary of teacher and professional development: Higher salaries and professional benefits will attract current qualified teachers; however, low salaries and the lack of both might discourage qualified teachers from teaching. •Expand access to early childhood education: Early childhood education programs can lay down sound foundations for future learning and development.

2. Better Teaching Skills:

• Evidence-based instructional approaches: Use teaching methods that have been proven to increase involvement and learners' achievement • Class size: Limiting the number of students for each teacher enables them to fully cater to an individual's needs • Equity and excellence: All learners should have equal opportunities for quality education that recognizes cultural heritage and social background

 3. Systemic Inequalities:

• Institutionalizing gender equality in school: Availing girls with equal opportunity in education while putting them on watch for safety in schools. • Eradicating poverty and extending social safety nets: Poverty needs to be eradicated through these net services thereby offering the opportunities that are economic ensuring all children can go to schools. • Rural development: Extending resources towards making rural communities at par with the urban community.

WAYS TO SUPPORT:

Support International Organizations: Volunteer or donate to organizations like UNICEF, Save the Children, or the World Bank and bring attention to education reform in developing countries.

Educate Yourself: Learn more about the issues and opportunities in international education. Learn the problems with the children of other nations and how you can help with that.

Share Your Knowledge: Talk about global education with friends and family, and encourage them to become involved.

Donations: Organizations working for education improvement, helping schools with allocations of resources and funding for training teachers, educational reform.

Advocate : Speak out for quality education. Share information, write to your elected officials, and participate in campaigns that support educational initiatives.

Engage Your Community: Attend school board meetings, offer to volunteer at local libraries, or become active in the events of your community that would promote literacy and learning.

Addressing this challenge requires a concerted effort from governments, educators, communities, and individuals. By investing in education, improving teaching practices, and addressing systemic inequalities, we can create a world where all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Remember: " Every action, big or small, can contribute to creating a world where everyone has access to quality education."

[borathae]

Sibiiiiiiiii! Thank you!!! I 💜 you!!! And yes please write the Greece trip/ Kook’s trip and tell us where else these hot vampires own property! 😩😩😩 As if they weren’t hundreds of years old and hot as fuck, they own villas and castles and houses all over?! 😩😩😩 Please give us as many HCs as you want!

Of course they do 😏😩 I mean djsjs not all of them obviously. Hear me out

Jungkook is the BROKEST vampire ever. Because of his curse, he couldn’t ever get a real job which in return meant that he never aquired enough money to invest it in passive income. So that man is as broke as one could get jsjsjs.

Hobi has decent amount of money. He came from a upper middle class family and saved enough money to invest in a small passive income, which has gathered a good amount these days. But because he is still technically only in his sixties, his wealth is very much in human levels still.

Jimin is the third brokest vamp of the bunch. Example given: how he had to live while he was still persumed dead. I mean, one could argue that he was in hiding and didn’t want to risk getting found out, but there is also a good possibility that he is simply broke in vampire terms. Most property he owns, Tae either bought for him or they bought it together. And then there was also the whole part of where he had to live as Namjoon’s slave for centuries, so he didn’t really have alot of opportunity to, you know, buy property. He does have a very healthy sum on his bank accounts though, mostly because of the shared property with Tae and because Tae is tranferring him money on a monthly basis.

I would place Seokjin next. This man was already wealthy when he was still human and had two properties and some factories/warehouses as well as ships in his human years and he also invested in a lot of start-ups which bring in a lot of money these days. He is actually a huge stock holder in the mobile phone market and has his fingers in other techonological fields as well. For properties he owns the one Sanguis spent their "frat years" in, owns a house in South Korea and bought Emma her own shop in town so she could expand her perfume business. He also owns an apartment complex where he gets constant income. Fun fact? OC actually rented an apartment in the complex when she first moved here, which is why she never got in trouble for randomly stopping to pay rent. She and Seokjin laugh about the coincidence these days. He gets most of his money from his countless shares though.

And now this is where it gets hard to talk about because damn those vampires are RICH jdjdjs they're old, they've seen too much and they got way too much money to spend.

Taehyung I'd place third. He's both share holder in many businesses, owner of multiple art galleries and possesses property which is used commercially, as rentals or as his private escapes. So passive income is very much guaranteed on a constant. He owns a homely cottage in the Austrian Alps, owns a chateau at the coast of France and a small farm in the French countryside, owns a little Greek ocean house and invested in apartments in Paris, New York, Hong Kong as well as London. If he spends money he spends it on new property, promising shares and other investments. If he spends fun money he spends it on trips, whatever expensive item suits his taste, art and fashion. He also regularly wires money to Jimin and ever since recently, he opened two separate accounts for Jungkook and OC where he also makes monthly deposites. Trust that this man does not feel any change in his numbers with those new tranfers. And also that he LOVES spending his money most when he can spend it on his darlings.

And then there is Yoongi. Woof woof. I would say that he and Tae aren’t that far apart actually despite their age difference. One must consider though that eventhough Yoongi’s been alive for ages, it was rather difficult to make money which can still be used in the 21st century. You get me? He does own a lot of castles though from the earlier days. The one they all currently live in he bought around the time of the French Revolution, but he owns another castle in Romania and one in Germany. He also owns a town mansion in Geneva and has a penthouse in New York, which he never uses. He won’t ever mention it, but he owns a private island in the Carribbeans and treated himself to a very secluded cottage somewhere in the deepest Canadian forests. He also forgot about it already, but he owns property in South Korea and a villa in Osaka. It brings in money as they are both used as rentals, but Yoongi hasn’t set foot in either of them in decades. He gets most of his passive income through the various rentals he owns as well as being shareholder in some of the biggest markets these days. He also regularly buys property and sells it again to a higher price. Right now he plans on buying a house with OC close to Meredith's place and he also thinks about surprising OC with her own small plant shop in town. He doesn’t transfer to their accounts, but he never says no. If anyone of the family wants something, he'll get it for them no questions asked. He will also regularly hand over his black card with a nonchalant "don't look at the numbers, princess" and he genuinely gets pouty when she wants to pay for something when he’s with her. This man always pays even if she sometimes complains about it. And no sum is ever too big for him. You remember those 100€ he gave her in Paris for a cab? Yeah that was the equivalent to a few cents for him.

I don’t know where to put Namjoon on the list because being stolen of his powers and then hidden from the world kinda just cut him off from his wealth. You know? I do believe though that in his prime, he was the richest. And also the one who spent his money on the most fucked up shit.

[marylcna]

Open Your Future: Essential Guide to CNA Classes in Hawaii

Unlock Your Future: Essential Guide ⁣to CNA ⁢Classes in Hawaii

Are⁤ you considering a rewarding career in the healthcare field? Becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in Hawaii could be your stepping stone to a fulfilling profession. This complete guide will delve into everything you need to know about CNA classes in Hawaii, including its benefits, requirements, and‍ practical tips for success.

What ⁣is a Certified Nursing​ Assistant (CNA)?

A ⁤Certified ⁤Nursing Assistant plays a crucial role in the healthcare system. CNAs assist ⁣patients with daily activities, provide basic​ care,‍ and ensure ⁣a ​agreeable environment for recovery. they work under the supervision of registered nurses (RNs) or licensed practical nurses (LPNs).

Key Responsibilities of a CNA

Assisting ‌patients with personal hygiene

Monitoring ⁢vital signs

Feeding and helping patients with meals

Providing mobility assistance

Documenting patient care and reporting changes to⁣ nursing staff

Why Choose⁢ CNA classes in Hawaii?

Hawaii offers a unique environment for training and working as a CNA. The picturesque landscapes and friendly communities create a supportive atmosphere for healthcare professionals. Additionally, Hawaii has a growing ⁢demand for healthcare workers, making it a ⁢prime location for job opportunities.

Benefits of Becoming a CNA⁣ in Hawaii

High demand: The aging population in Hawaii creates‌ a consistent need for nursing assistants.

Job Satisfaction: CNAs often‌ report high levels of job satisfaction ⁣due to the meaningful nature of thier work.

Flexible Hours: Many‌ healthcare facilities⁤ offer flexible shift options to accommodate different lifestyles.

Speedy Entry into the Workforce: CNA ‌training ‍can typically be ‍completed in a few ‌months.

Requirements ⁣to Enroll in CNA Classes in Hawaii

Before enrolling in a CNA program, ⁣you must meet certain ⁤requirements. ⁣These include:

Minimum age of 18 years

High school diploma or GED

Pass a background ‌check

Complete a ​physical examination,including ⁤a TB test

CNA Training Programs in Hawaii

CNA ⁢training programs ‌in Hawaii can be found in various settings,including ⁣community colleges,vocational ​schools,and healthcare facilities. Most programs provide a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on training.

Overview of CNA Training Curriculum

Course‍ Module

Topics Covered

Fundamentals⁢ of Nursing

Basic nursing skills, patient rights, infection control

patient Care

Personal care techniques, mobility assistance, vitals monitoring

Communication

Patient interactions, report ⁤writing, teamwork

Clinical Practicum

Hands-on care in real healthcare settings

How to choose the​ Right CNA Program ​in Hawaii

Selecting the right CNA program is crucial to⁢ your success.Here are some factors to consider:

Accreditation: Ensure⁢ the program is accredited by ⁢the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

Curriculum: ‌Review the course curriculum and ensure it covers all necessary topics and skills.

Program Length: Some programs can be completed in as little as 4-8 weeks, ​while others may take longer.

Cost: Consider tuition fees and explore ⁣financial aid options.

Practical Tips for succeeding in Your CNA Classes

Excelling in your CNA classes requires dedication and effective study habits. Here ‌are some practical ​tips:

Attend all classes and participate actively.

Utilize study groups with classmates for collaborative learning.

Practice essential ⁣skills in⁢ practical settings ⁢whenever possible.

Seek⁣ feedback from instructors and be open to constructive criticism.

Real-Life Experience: A CNA’s Journey in Hawaii

To provide insight into the CNA ‌experience,‌ we spoke with Lisa, a recent CNA graduate from Honolulu.

“Completing ⁢my CNA training in Hawaii was one of the best decisions⁣ I’ve made. The instructors were⁤ incredibly supportive, and the hands-on training prepared me for real-life scenarios. I love making a difference in my‍ patients’ lives every day!”

– Lisa, CNA

Job Opportunities for CNAs in Hawaii

The need for CNAs in⁤ Hawaii continues to grow. After completing ⁤your CNA training, you have the ⁤chance to ‍work in various settings:

Hospitals

Nursing homes

Assisted living facilities

Home healthcare agencies

Conclusion

Embarking on ‌a career as a Certified‍ Nursing Assistant in Hawaii‍ can unlock numerous opportunities for personal and professional growth. With the ‌right training from accredited ‌CNA classes, you will‌ be prepared to make a meaningful impact in the healthcare field. Remember to consider your​ options carefully, ‍follow practical tips for⁣ success, ‍and embrace the rewarding journey ahead.Start your CNA classes today and take the first ⁢step towards a fulfilling future!

https://www.cnacertificationschools.net/open-your-future-essential-guide-to-cna-classes-in-hawaii/

[benny-notes]

Neon Genesis Evangelion (part 1) – A Different Performance of Masculinity

My initial thoughts on Neon Genesis Evangelion are positive. It’s the type of show that would have come to my mind before starting this journey into anime that I would have considered classic anime. It’s about a teenage boy named Shinji Ikia who is, among other young teens, tasked with piloting a massive robot to save humanity from other monolithic enemies known as Angles. Evangelion has similarities to Mobile Suit Gundam. Both feature young boys thrust into battle after cataclysmic war has wiped out large fractions of humanity. In both series, the protagonists must figure out how to operate massive machines with little training. Both series are targeted at young teen boy audiences with plenty of action, and in the case of Evangelion, notable emphasis on sexualized depictions of female characters.

Although it’s early in the series for me to fully comment, the way that Shinji in Evangelion is growing into his own masculinity seems to be different from that of Gundam’s Amuro. Amuro faces the challenge of growing up too quickly but still follows a traditional path toward manhood. Shinji, on the other hand, doesn’t fit this mold. His voice is soft and his demeanor is often hesitant and withdrawn. Shortly after being recruited, he nearly quits piloting the EVA, turning back from going home only at the last opportunity. When being playfully taunted by Toji and Kensuke in gym class for gawking at the girls swimming nearby, Shinji reveals that he wasn’t ogling, but was concerned about Rei being an outcast among her peers. Shinji just doesn’t do masculinity the way that culture expects. Reading Robert Heasley’s essay Queer Masculinities of Straight Men provided useful context for naming behavior like Shinji’s. To me Shinji fits the category Heasley calls a “Straight Sissy Boy” – a straight male who cannot or will not perform hegemonic masculinity (p. 315).

In the era of Gundam – the late 1970’s  to early 1980’s – characters like Shinji would have been shamed or more likely not even included in a mainstream TV show. That era upheld a binary gender model that had no place for someone who like Shinji didn’t fit in with the normal expectations. I’ve seen this rigid mindset reflected in my parent’s generation. While they may not be openly hostile, they are still clearly uncomfortable with people who defy traditional gender roles.

However by the time that Evangelion aired in the late 1990’s, attitudes about gender had already begun to shift. By 2005 when Heasley published his essay, queer expression of masculinity, even among straight men, had sufficiently evolved that a framework had emerged and it was clear enough that it could be named and categorized. From my experience, this timeline tracks. When I was in high school in the first decade of the 2000’s, I remember specifically trying to avoid certain things that might make me appear “gay”. Today, that anxiety feels foreign. My friendships span a broad span of masculinity and within our group I don’t’ think that anyone feels threatened or at risk socially if they don’t perform a certain way. I think that this reflects a significant cultural evolution in the perception of gender expectations.  

Characters like Shinji, who were seen resist traditional masculine expectations, both reflected and reinforced changing attitudes about gender performance in the 1990’s. The more nuanced understanding of masculinity that we find today owes a lot to stories like Shinji’s that suggest complexity, softness and uncertainty aren’t signs of weakness but are simply a different way of being. We’ll see how these ideas hold up as I watch more of the Evangelion story. Stay tuned for parts two and three coming later this week!

References:

Heasley, R. (2005). Queer masculinities of straight men: A typology. Men and Masculinities, 7(3), 310-320. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X04272118

Kobayashi, N. & Sugiyama, Y. (Executive Producers). (1995-1996). Neon Genesis Evangelion [TV series]. Gainax.

[mnrpardiman]

AI Generated Essay

Title: Capitalism for the Poor, Socialism for the Rich

Introduction

In contemporary society, there exists a fundamental disparity in how economic systems are applied to different segments of the population. The statement "Capitalism for the poor, socialism for the rich" captures the stark reality that while the lower classes are expected to navigate a capitalist landscape filled with risks and minimal support, the affluent enjoy various forms of social safety nets and governmental assistance. This essay argues that this imbalance fosters economic inequality, perpetuates systemic injustice, and undermines the foundational principles of a fair and equitable society.

The Burden of Capitalism on the Poor

Capitalism, by its nature, emphasizes competition and individualism. For the impoverished, this translates into limited access to resources and opportunities. Many low-income individuals find themselves in unstable jobs that offer little security and no benefits. They must contend with the burdens of healthcare costs, housing instability, and underfunded education systems. The expectation that the poor should rely on their laurels in a purely capitalist system is unrealistic when institutional barriers impede their ability to succeed. Furthermore, accessing capital—whether through loans or entrepreneurial ventures—is often more challenging for the poor, effectively trapping them in a cycle of poverty.

Socialism for the Rich

Conversely, the wealthy enjoy numerous privileges that highlight a socialist-like dependence on the government, often without the corresponding societal obligation. Tax incentives, corporate bailouts, and subsidies are prevalent in many capitalist economies. These measures function as a safety net for the rich, cushioning them from market failures and economic downturns. For instance, during the 2008 financial crisis, governments utilized taxpayer money to bail out major banks and corporations, a stark contrast to the lack of support extended to struggling families facing foreclosure or job loss. This selective application of support reveals a system that favors the wealthy while placing an undue burden on the poor.

The Cycle of Inequality

The disparity in support experienced by different socioeconomic classes perpetuates a cycle of inequality. While the wealthy are shielded by government policies that serve their interests, the poor are marginalized, often left to fend for themselves in an unforgiving capitalist system. This societal structure not only exacerbates economic divides but also diminishes social mobility. When individuals from low-income backgrounds lack access to education, healthcare, and job opportunities, their chances of breaking free from poverty diminish. Instead of fostering a meritocratic system where everyone has an equal chance, we perpetuate a cycle where privilege begets privilege, further entrenching social classes.

An Ethical Dilemma

The ethical implications of "capitalism for the poor, socialism for the rich" cannot be overlooked. This duality creates a society where wealth and resources are inequitably distributed, giving rise to resentment and division. The belief that individuals should succeed solely through their efforts undermines the complex realities of systemic inequality. It places blame on the poor for their circumstances while exonerating the wealthy from accountability for the systems that allow them to prosper. Recognizing this disparity breeds a critical dialogue around the necessity of redistributive policies aimed at creating a more equitable society.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the assertion that we practice "capitalism for the poor, socialism for the rich" highlights a critical injustice within our economic systems. This reality not only places an unfair burden on the impoverished but also undermines the social contract that binds our communities together. To foster a fairer society, we must reevaluate our policies and structures to ensure that support and opportunities are equitably distributed across all socioeconomic classes. Only by addressing these disparities can we hope to create a system that truly reflects the ideals of both capitalism and socialism—where individuals can thrive based on their merit and hard work, rather than their social standing at birth.

[loomsolarblog]

How to Start a Successful Business within Small Investment

Many such new businesses have come up in self-reliant India, which can be started and earn good monthly earnings. Since 2022, many new businesses have been started such as ration shops, medical shops, small-scale manufacturing plants, online classes, etc. At the same time, there are many businesses whose pace has stopped, such as cash-sharing service businesses, tour and travel businesses, real estate businesses, mobile shops, technology companies, etc. People start businesses according to their investment and experience.

There is one such fast-growing industry in India in which people are looking at their future, and that is the solar industry. As soon as the name solar comes, you will understand that the business of solar panels is also known to people in Hindi solar plates and solar energy. It is used to make free electricity and electricity is needed in every house, factory, school, hospital, and office. So you must have guessed about its future growth.

Business opportunities

There are many business ideas in the solar industry, which can start and earn up to 1 lakh rupees a month. For this, small investment and penance are necessary so that you will be able to succeed in the solar business.

1. Dealership business

Those who are looking for a business where they want to earn more profit on less investment, then they can start a dealership business, in this you get a chance to start a business with very little investment and you can start from a home or small shop business.

2. Distributor Business

Those who are already doing a business and want to start something new in their business, then they can start a distributor business, in which they can start a business with any company.

Solar's business is growing at a rate of 3 times every year. Those who started this business as a dealer have become distributors of their district today and those who started as solar influencers are now running their own installation and own business. This would have given you an idea of what the future of the solar business will be like.

[acedumbb]

(I wrote this in 10 minutes, so it must be horribly translated, sorry about that :((( )

(My best attempt at a one shot soft, let it show I'm terrible at shit sfw)

(HELP I NEVER USE TUMBLR FROM MOBILE AAAAAA)

A One Shot of Jotaro pt3 in love with a gentle Male!Reader.

cw;; smoking, slight mention of anxiety problems.

(y/n) had always been kind, charismatic and gentle, that is why he had earned the place as one of the most popular in the class, but he had never had as many people behind him as Jotaro Kujo did, he wanted to know his secret, how did he captivate so many people like that? So when he found out not only that he had a stand but that he was going to Egypt to fight other Stand users, he did not hesitate to volunteer.

At first (y/n) was jealous of JoJo's position, but after a while he realized that he was only curious about him, a mysterious attraction that forced him to keep an eye on the black-haired man all the time, he wanted to know what he was thinking, so it was clear that that was his goal, to read Jotaro Kujo's mind, to know what his way of seeing the world was, to understand his way of thinking, something that many would give as an impossible goal.

Surprisingly, he managed to win the trust and favor of the Crusaders easily, he even started to get along with them, and his impossible goal to read JoJo's mind was past history, he had completely forgotten it, now he was only there for them. Because it would be an injustice for Jotaro's mother to die like that, he wanted to help them.

And over time he joined the group, pranking others with Polnareff, playing video games with Kakyoin, and Joseph and Avdol always had something to discuss as a group, so of course, even though he had forgotten his previous goal, he still had reason to want to. get closer to JoJo.

Of course, when he had the opportunity to spend one night sharing a hotel room with Jotaro I do not doubt it and accept it, until now they had not had many dialogues, although he did not doubt that Jotaro felt something similar to him, since there not ​had been few occasions in which he had noticed the special attention that the black-haired man paid him at all times

— Jotaro, these are not hours to smoke..

— That does not concern you.

He sighed deeply, he was a bit bothered by the frequency with which the boy smoked, not only did he do it, which was bad in itself, but also that he was able to smoke several packs a day, which if he continued like this would seriously ruin his health.

— Why do you do it?

— Uhm? Do what?

— Smoking, people smoke when they feel bad, so I wanted to know if... you feel bad right now...

— ...Not right now.

(y/n) realized that as the opposite face was blushing, putting out the cigarette he had in his mouth, Jotaro lowered his cap a little, trying to hide his blush.

— ...I have an idea, if you feel bad, you can tell me, and I will try to cheer you up, so you won't feel so bad, what do you think?

So they quietly signed a contract, whenever Kujo needs it he would be there, inevitably both were excited about that, although the way they showed it was different.

So the days passed, against more enemies they fought, and at that moment they had thought of eating in a restaurant before going to the hotel, but Jotaro refused the food and went to his room directly, Joseph did not mind that, (y/n) wanted to accompany the boy since they both shared a room.

— JoJo?

Jotaro felt a chill when he heard the other's soft voice, he shrunk a little, he had gone out to smoke on the balcony of the room, he was somewhat ashamed that (y/n) will find him smoking, although of course, he would have been more ashamed tell him I was a little anxious.

— You're smoking? Bad boy, don't you remember what we talked about?

He jumped a bit from surprise when he felt that the minor was holding his hand, specifically the one he used to hold the cigarette, gently (y/n) slid over to the cigarette, grabbing it and then pulling it down, leaving Jotaro paralyzed, no one in his entire life, had ever dared to hold his hand, much less take a cigarette from his hands, it was something so new that he felt stupid respect for the contrary.

— What are you..?!

It seems that that was not the only thing that (y/n) was going to do for him that night, since he helped himself with his own stand to climb the balcony railing, sitting there to be at the imposing height of the black-haired man, (y/n) smiled sweetly with those thin lips that he had, a gesture that seemed terribly sexy to JoJo, as if he wanted to tempt him to do something very inappropriate for him.

— Jotaro, silly, don't ever make me do that again, I thought you'd make Star Platinum beat me up!

— What..?! But then don't do that again!

He became paralyzed again when he heard a slight laugh from the minor, who covered his mouth slightly to avoid laughing more, then did something that the black-haired man did not expect, he opened his arms and legs, inviting on the contrary to give him a good hug.

— I know you are not the type of person who likes to worry others with their problems, so I will spare myself from trying to ask you what it is that torments you, and I will jump to the part where I tell you that a hug cures all ills!

— Yare yare daze, you're crazy..

— Come on JoJo! It's just a hug, silly, I don't bite, at least not you.

Jotaro stayed in place for a few seconds, then he gave a long sigh, and to the incredible surprise of (y/n), JoJo hugged him tightly, burying his head on the opposite neck.

— Don't tell anyone about this, if you do I will kill you.

Jotaro was delighted with another of the boy's beautiful laughs, (y/n) also became more attached, relaxing with the smell of perfume that the younger man gave off, he surrounded him with his legs as best he could, it was a compromising position, of course, but at that moment, both they got so comfortable with each other that they didn't even think about it.

— ...Thanks, (y/n).

(...oh hell now i know what "cw" means!!!1!1!11!!1)

[vkelleyart]

Thoughts on fandom: inclusion and engagement.

(Art credit to the kindhearted @penpanoply​!)

There’s been some stuff floating around on Tumblr about strife in the CO/WS fandom, and though I haven’t been explicitly named-dropped on anything public, my DMs have been... active. lol Rather than rehash what’s been said already, I just want to impart a little wisdom and perspective in the hopes it may soothe frayed feelings and offer a way ahead for cultivating a respectful community. As someone who has been an active participant in online fandoms since the mid-’90s, which was the advent of online fandom content creation (shout out to my fellow X-Philes!), and who has also spent a chunk of her professional life managing social media for the federal government and for activist groups, I can promise you it’s all gonna be okay.

Here’s some context for why strife happens and what we can do to create a more inclusive and communicative fandom environment. 

1) It sounds cliché, but fandoms go through growing pains. 

In the case of the Simon Snow fandom, what was once a small and cozy space untouched by cataclysmic events (such as the release of *gasp* a sequel) has grown exponentially in a relatively short amount of time following the release of Wayward Son. Newcomers are eager to find a home in this space at the same time as folks who’ve been here a while may be consciously or unconsciously wary about widening their circle, and It’s important to remember that this is not necessarily an expression of bad behavior on either side but just human psychology doing its thing. 

The byproduct, however, is that tension and stress builds over time from the lack of meaningful communication across the divide, which subsequently fuels misunderstandings. Ironically, the interfaces we use to communicate don’t help with this because any existing communication about the tension happens in tiny vacuums until a trigger goes off and bad feelings go public. 

Way Ahead: These moments of destabilization are opportunities to see where we can be more self aware about how we engage with fandom and the kind of community we want to be. Can you promote, support, or befriend someone trying to gain a foothold? If yes, please do! Each person must reach their own decision about what they can do within the confines of their available energy, health, and time, but a little self awareness goes a long way as long as you’re honest with yourself and others if applicable about what you can contribute. Anyone who judges you for it isn’t worth the strife.

2) In a fandom comprised of vulnerable/marginalized people, it’s more accurate to say that cliques are “bubbles of trust.”

This one's important. Just by nature of the source material, the CO/WS fandom includes fans with a wide array of backgrounds and experiences, especially when it comes to those who identify with the characters’ queerness, mental illness, and/or trauma. I really believe––based on individual conversations/group chats––that the difficult lived experiences that so many of our fandom peers have endured has produced one of the most open, aware, and accepting fandoms I’ve had the pleasure of participating in. Our vulnerability is, in a real way, our strength.

That said, a community of survivors also has the side effect of cultivating small circles of engagement that I call “bubbles of trust.” When you’re a survivor of abuse, marginalization, mental illness, fill-in-the-blank, it’s often quite hard to risk casting a wide net and expanding your circle to include new faces––which can subsequently be internalized by equally sensitive and vulnerable newcomers as rejection, judgement, or inadequacy.

Way Ahead: First of all, there may indeed be gatekeeping and exclusion going on. But before internalizing someone’s cagey behavior as gatekeeping or purposely exclusionary, ask yourself if you have all the information. Many people are private (I include myself in this assessment) because life has regrettably taught them to be this way, and so they may insulate themselves to a small group of people who have earned their trust. Some people might also triggered by certain content (case in point: smut triggers my anxiety) so they don’t engage with it. Others might have something in their pasts that define how they handle certain subjects (for example, a person of color should not be tone policed for getting angry when confronted with a racialized microagression, however accidental it was). You just don’t know what you don’t know. 

The solution here is to regularly check your privilege and ask questions in a private space if you sense you’re being treated unfairly by someone. If you go public with your grievances in hopes of mobilizing the mob, you may accidentally find yourself stepping into the role of the aggressor instead of the victim.

3) Social Media is not built to help you get engagement. It’s built to help itself make money off of you.

Repeat after me: Hits/likes are not a measurable indicator of talent or worth. There are ridiculously talented folks on Tumblr and elsewhere who, for whatever reason, haven’t had their viral moment, and it’s not their fault. Loads of factors come into play where things like likes, reblogs, and comments are concerned, among them being posting frequency, subject matter, the time of day, the day of the week, the week of the month, the month of the year, the current administration, the stock exchange, the concentration of middle class users, who just won the Superbowl, a madman trying to steal an election and undermine the democratic process, a PANDEMIC, do you get where I’m going with this?? lol

At the end of the day, my humble successes have been helped along by good luck, good timing, high profile signal boosters, and an absurd amount of work. (This is why I try to signal boost new work whenever I get a chance over at @vkelleyshares.) 

So while you cannot control Tumblr’s interface, trends at large, or your fellow users, here’s what you can do to ensure you give your work the best possible chance of exposure.

Have an image ready to go with your post. Tumblr is a visual platform (no matter what it says about being good for text). Not good with images? Set up a Canva.com account and get access to free graphic software with a gazillion templates to create whatever attractive image you want to attach to your post.

Keep the outward facing text brief and easy on the eyes. Too long and eyes will glaze over. Put excess text behind a “read more.”

You may think you’re being cute when you do this, but don’t put yourself down in your posts. (Don’t put yourself down in general, of course.) Doing so acts as engagement repellant. If you don’t believe in your work, no one else will.

Related: Be your best cheerleader. Confidence is a magnet, and if you don’t have it, go ahead and fake it until you start to convince yourself you are worth the buzz. So promote yourself! You have gifts that only you can impart. Use that knowledge to fuel everything you do from your art/fiction writing to your outreach with other content creators, and by golly, if someone’s done it already, acknowledge that contribution and then tell the world that this is YOUR unique take on it.

Treat your fellow fandom creators as human beings, not art/fiction/content boosting machines. I cannot count how many times I’ve had folks slide into my DMs with offers of friendship only to disappear once they realize I’m not available to draw a picture for their fic. It hurts because it’s manipulative and it makes me want to hole up and not signal boost anyone. Creators who truly support each other will not give off a transactional vibe. I want to help you reach more people, but not if that’s all I’m good for in your eyes. 

The long and short of it: Lead with compassion, do your best with the opportunities at  your disposal, and remember that fandom belongs to everyone in it. ❤️

What saves a fandom made of sensitive and vulnerable souls from imploding when it goes through growing pains is radical compassion from those who can offer it. Begin with the assumption that your fellow fandomers are not trying to harm you, and wade into the water knowing that your insight into the lives of your peers is limited by default and you may need to temper your words or actions accordingly. If you’re a content creator, save compassion for yourself as well, as there are indeed challenges to gaining an audience, and lack of engagement does not mean you lack talent or skill. Be your best advocate, and if you have the bandwidth to lift up a fellow creator and make a new friend, please, go ahead do it! 

And finally, fandom belongs to everyone, and no one has a monopoly on characters, tropes, or themes. Create and consume what you love (with respect for your more vulnerable peers), and bask in the variety, my friends!

That’s all I’ve got in my head at the moment, although I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting. Thanks so much to @penpanoply for letting me use her art for this and to everyone else, hang in there and try not to judge each other too harshly. These are unprecedented times, and most of us are doing our best in circumstances that are pushing us to our limits. 

As always, if you have questions or want to sound off on anything, shoot me a message or an ask, or ping me on Discord. It might take me a second to respond (thanks, Covid) but I’ll get to it! Love, love, and more love to all.

[ravennm84]

Lyre Festival Justice

Here is the sequel to Lyre Festival Fraud where you get to see exactly what happened to Lila during her long weekend after she went back to Italy. I thought, at first, that I may have gone to far with the salt... But it’s Lila and I really don’t like her character. So, Warm-Fuzzies and enjoy this salty goodness!!

It was a beautiful day in Rome and Lila was enjoying her shopping spree around the city. She and her mother had spent the first few days after moving back to Italy unpacking and getting settled. It was Sunday, and her mother had to go to the embassy to make sure that all of her paperwork had transferred from Paris, which gave Lila the opportunity to spend the money she’d gotten from the idiots from her old class. Really, she couldn’t believe how stupid they all were to have just handed her over €2,000 for a luxury vacation in Venice. She should have gotten at least €3,000 from the class, but that Mari-brat and stick-in-the-mud Adrien had convinced some of them that she was lying. Oh well, €2,000 was better than nothing.

Best part, none of it could be traced back to her. They travelled to Venice on their own, nothing had been written down, her old mobile phone was disconnected and in a landfill somewhere, and she would just tell her mother that she had gotten all her new clothes at a thrift shop she remembered from the last time they’d been living in Rome. And if the idiots got in trouble and tried to say that she was involved, she’d turn on the tears and her mother would side with her like she always did. Seeing a little cafe, she stopped in to get a good cappuccino, it had been too long since she’d had a deceit cup of coffee.

It was mid afternoon by the time she got home. She had made a stop at the thrift store to grab a couple of their shopping bags to hide the real ones inside. It felt wrong to put a Versace skirt in a bargain bag, but one does what one must to keep her life going smoothly. Opening the door to the apartment, she barely caught sight of her mother sitting on the couch before Lila started gushing about how great it was to be back in Italy and all the things she’d missed. 

She prattled on for a couple minutes before noticing that her mother hadn’t said anything. Turning to look at her, Lila flinched when she saw her. Something was seriously wrong, the last time she had seen her mother so angry was when she’d told her that her dad was cheating on her. That hadn’t been true but they had ended up getting divorced anyway, which was to Lila’s benefit since the man had always called her out on her lies.

“Is everything okay, Mama?” She asked cautiously, doing her best to sound and appear small and innocent.

“Sit down.”

Her tone left no room for argument. Lila set down her bags and sat in the chair across from her mother.

“Mama, wha-”

“Be quiet!” She snapped, and Lila shut her mouth. This actually seemed worse than the fight her parents had before they divorced. “I received a very strange email on Friday night, from a former classmate of yours in Paris. It seemed that the majority of your class was under the impression that we were throwing a party for a lot of important politicians, celebrities, and musicians on a private island and you had invited them. I told myself, ‘not my daughter, she would never do something like that’. But the email went on, with a list of the students that were supposedly going on this trip and gave you money for the expenses. Again, I thought ‘Lila would never be so cruel as to steal money from her friends right before we left Paris’. So I told the person who sent me that detailed information, that I would handle it. I still thought it was a joke.”

The teenage girl didn’t even have to listen to the end of this story, she knew that goody-two-shoes Marinette had ratted her out. Lila was fighting every instinct she had to run and lock herself in her room, but if she moved even a little her mother would stop her. She could only sit there and hope that she could come up with some kind of lie to convince her mother that she was being set up.

“Then when I went into the embassy today, my boss pulled me into his office and started grilling me as to why I allowed seven unaccompanied minors entry into the country. I tried to explain that I had no idea what he was talking about, and then he started reading off the names. Do you want to guess why those names sounded so familiar?”

By this point, Lila was practically curling into herself to make herself appear smaller. She had to say something, any lie that would make her mother believe her and only her. Turning on the tears, she buried her face in her hands and spoke between sobs. Fake crying always gave her a few extra seconds to think before she had to speak. “I swear, Mama. I didn’t want to do it. Marinette forced me to take those papers from your office to give to our classmates so they could get into the country without their parents. I never took any money from them, I swear! Marinette was bullying me the entire time we were in Paris, I was scared of what she’d do to me if I didn’t do what she said. You’ve got to believe me!”

“So you’re saying that you didn’t tell your class about some non-existent party on a private island, had no knowledge of who was coming into Italy, where they were going, or anything like that?” Her mother’s eyes narrowed as she brought out her mobile phone.

Her hands were shaking as she kept her face buried in her hands, something about her mother’s tone  and the way she spoke made this feel like a trap. But she couldn’t backtrack now, Marinette was her way out and she had to stick with it. So she nodded as she continued to sob into her hands.

“Then please explain this to me.” Her mother turned the phone towards her and Lila looked up, her face falling in horror when she heard her own voice. It was a video of her telling her class about who was going to be at the party that she and her mom were organizing, how she was going to need to know for sure who all was coming before the weekend, and Marinette had somehow gotten video of Alya and Nino each handing her €300!

It took longer than she would like to admit for the shock to wear off, but she was smart enough to stick to her original story. “It’s fake! Marinette must have made it to get me in trouble. Max probably helped her, he’s really good with computers. It’s all too convenient to be true. I mean, she sends you all this information about which people are going, how much money they gave me, and a story about a party on a private island in Venice, that anyone would be able to see is clearly fake. Can’t you see that I’m being set up?”

Her mother’s eyes grew harder as she stood from her chair, causing Lila to shrink even further into her own. 

“You say that this is all a set up and you had no idea where your classmates were going in Italy, but you just told me the exact city where they were found. You left them waiting on a dock for you to come ferry them to that non-existent private island, and don’t even bother saying that you know which city because of the video I just showed you, because it never names the city they were in.”

Well, crap. She was about to try another tactic, but her mother cut her off before the first syllable left her mouth.

“Young lady, do you have any idea how much trouble you are in?” she yelled, her face beginning to turn a purplish-red and began pacing the room. “You forged my signature on multiple federal documents, endangered the lives of multiple minors, committed theft, and god knows how many other laws you’ve broken. I can’t protect you from this! You will be facing federal charges for what you’ve done!”

Lila felt her stomach drop to her ankles. “But-but that was all in Paris, and I had diplomatic immunity while I was there!”

“It became an international incident when you forged an ambassador’s signature on federal documents that endangered minors! My boss gave me a choice,” her voice grew even harder and colder than before. “Either you answer for what you’ve done and plead guilty, or I lose my job and we both go to trial for what you’ve done.” 

“You’d let me go to jail for one little lie? It’s not like anyone got hurt!” Lila screamed, standing from her chair in a panic. This was much worse than she’d imagined. 

“And what if they had been?” Her mother screamed back. “What if they had been kidnapped and sold into human trafficking? What if one of them had fallen off the dock and drowned in the channel or hit by a boat? I would be held responsible for that because you forged my signature! Do you not care about the people around you at all? What is wrong with you?”

“But nothing happened to them! It’s their own fault for being stupid enough to believe such an obvious lie. And you’re taking their side over mine? How dare you call yourself my mother and claim to love me!” 

“Don’t you dare try to blame me for your bad behavior!” Her mother yelled back as she advanced on her, making her fall back onto the chair. Mme. Rossi looked back at the shopping bags she had knocked over when she had turned, revealing the Versace bag. Tilting her head back, she took multiple deep breaths before looking at her daughter.

“This is what’s going to happen. You are going to return everything you bought today, and you are going to explain to the managers of each store exactly why you are returning everything.” Lila was about to protest, but one look from her mother had her mouth snapping shut. “We will also be clearing out your savings to pay back your classmates for the money you took, their travel expenses, their parents travel expenses, and any money they lost while being away from their jobs to retrieve their children. After that, you will be standing trial for forgery and fraud. If you know what’s good for you, you will go before the judge and apologize profusely for what you’ve done and listen to everything the judge tells you. If you’re lucky you may receive a lenient sentence; but either way, you can expect your next school to be a reformatory school. And if you try to fight me on any of this, I will let a court appointed attorney with no experience handle your case instead of the family lawyer. Have I made myself clear?”

No longer having to fake her tears, Lila nodded to her mother, resigning herself to the fact that her life had been ruined because her mother didn’t love her and Marinette didn’t know how to keep her nose out of where it didn’t belong.

~oOo~

The rest of the day, Lila was forced to return everything that she bought back to the stores and tell the managers how she had stolen the money from her classmates and then abandoned them in a country and city that they weren’t familiar with. The people that overheard her were horrified by what she had done and the managers banned her from ever shopping in those stores again. After all, if she was willing to steal money from her friends, there was little doubt that she would steal from the stores.

After everything was returned, she was taken to the embassy where they recorded her confession on how she lied to everyone, forged her mother’s signature on the documents she stole, and how she scammed over €2,000 from her former classmates. After the confession was taped, she was taken outside of the embassy and handed over to the police to be kept in a juvenile detention center. She screamed at her mother, not believing that she would just hand her over like that, but the woman looked down her nose at her and said, “It’s time for you to face the consequences of your actions, young lady.” 

When she arrived at the police station, she was relieved to see their family lawyer was waiting for her, although he was less than thrilled by what she had done. He explained that even as a minor, she could be serving 2-6 years just for the forgery of the documents, that wasn’t even factoring in the scam or reckless endangerment of seven minors. If she were to be tried as an adult, she could be serving 6 years for each document, facing serious fines and more time for each classmate she endangered.

After hearing that, Lila had to rush to the trash can to throw up. She couldn’t believe that one little lie could get her into so much trouble. But this wasn’t her fault, none of it was. If there was anyone to blame, it was that goody-two-shoes Marinette Dupain-Cheng. After all the effort she went through to destroy that girl, she just wouldn’t back down. She would make that girl pay for what she’d done. As soon as the charges were all dropped, she would do everything she could, use every dirty trick in the book to force the nosy girl to end her life and stay out of hers.

But that would have to wait for now. For the time being, she would do what her mother said and play her part. Act like the innocent girl that had gotten caught up in her own fibs while trying to make friends in a new country. She didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt or in trouble, she was just so overwhelmed and she is so sorry for everything that happened. She would need to cry a lot, that was a given, but she could do this. Just fake it until she could get her revenge on the girl that ruined her life.

~oOo~Three Months Later~oOo~

Lila hadn’t meant to lose control in front of the judge. She’d spent months locked away with a bunch of low-class delinquents, talking to different lawyers and quack-doctors before going to court. She had been the picture of innocence and childhood regret the second she walked into the courtroom, she was sure to get off all the charges against her. But she and her lawyer had been blindsided. 

The quack-doctors had called her a narcissist and a sociopath, in need of desperate help. To prove that, all of her lies, everything she had said while in Paris had been brought into evidence against her. They’d exposed her truancy and forgery at her old school, found proof of her purposefully getting Marinette expelled, and faking interviews on the Ladyblog which brought her more lawsuits from a bunch of the celebrities she’d lied about. 

Some of her classmates had come to give testimony on what she had done and said during her time in Paris. The goodie-two-shoes brat had even come to Italy to give testimony against her, though Lila hadn’t been allowed in the courtroom while she was there, as Marinette hadn’t felt safe to be in the same room. Lila’s lawyer had actually agreed, probably so she wouldn’t cause a scene. And she probably would have. She would have stabbed her in the face with a pencil, in front of the entire courtroom, if she had the chance.

But the worst had to do with the school security cameras. After M. Damocles and Mme. Bustier had been fired for neglectful and abusive behavior to their students, which had been brought about by the investigation into Marinette’s expulsion, the Board of Governors went farther back through the recordings to see how long the bullying had been going on. What they found was video evidence of Lila grabbing an akuma out of the air and putting it into her earring, and then willingly working with the known terrorist. 

To make matters even worse, Ladybug and Chat Noir had sent a video as testimony of the times Lila had purposefully interfered with their rescues and had led Chat away from Ladybug to make her more vulnerable to the akuma Oni-chan. Her lawyer tried to get the video stricken from evidence as he couldn’t cross-examine the two heroes, but it was denied.

Her parents had been sitting behind her when they showed those videos. When her mother saw them, it was like she completely shut down. She heard her say that she wanted to leave, and Lila watched as her father helped her mother to her feet and lead her out of the courtroom without looking back. 

The judge had been absolutely disgusted with her, going as far as to call her a monster for willingly aiding a terrorist. Since she had already confessed to multiple counts of forgery, fraud, and reckless endangerment of minors, and would now be adding slander and other charges from her time in Paris, the most notable being terrorism; he declared that she would be tried as an adult and was likely to spend the rest of her life in prison.

She’d completely lost it at that point, screaming at the top of her lungs as she jumped over the table to attack the judge. She didn’t remember smashing the water pitcher against one guard's head, scratching another guard across the face, or getting tasered in the back. When she woke up, she was strapped to a bed by her wrists and ankles, her head felt really foggy, and there were a bunch of nurses and orderlies that were keeping keen eyes on her.

Lila Rossi spent the rest of her life heavily medicated in a maximum security mental health hospital. Most every night, the nurses would hear her plotting some kind of scheme to show everyone what a loser Marinette was, but then she would trail off about how she wanted to hear the song Jagged Stone wrote for her or the album she’d help Clara Nightingale write. When she saw people, she would ramble and lie about being a princess or a secret agent, and that she was only here to keep her safe until they came to get her. Over the years, it was all written off as the insane ramblings of a very disturbed girl that would be remaining at the hospital for the rest of her life.

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

HASO, “The Plan.”

Getting excited for tomorrow. I have had this idea for a while and am pleased to be able to execute it. Building up to something good :)

Dr. Krill, Adam, and Dr. Katie stood in the low ceilinged Vrul council chamber at the center of the city. The entire room was as Adam had remembered it, with large glass windows looking out at all 360 degrees of the city. At one point he had assumed it was just the selfish desire of the ruling class to look down on the citizens, but as he looked, he could now see that there was some utility to the tower, almost a watch tower over the city. The canals and structure of the city itself could be sectioned off if there was ever an emergency, cut like a pie into triangular sections that could be excluded from the force shield if it was ever needed. 

As soon as their historian had put forward her hypothesis, the Vrul council had been called to order, and a few other GA members were now sitting in on the meeting remotely. They would have come themselves, but upon hearing about the horrible creatures that were, even now, clawing at their walls, the council had ordered the shield sup for what must have been the first time in millennia.

Luckily for them, they had never let the shields fall into disrepair, and as he looked out the window he could see the shimmering blue purple nexus of power glistening in the sky above them.

It worried him thinking that the ancient Vrul had deemed it necessary to have a force field that went into the sky as well. Dr. Kell had had a ruptured helium sack when they brought him in, but that gave the assumption that, perhaps, he would still have been able to float in his infected state, which was not something that bare thinking about, though it WAS an important item to consider.

“Yes, all the evidence does seem to point to that.” The counselor said, their head turned towards the GA chairwoman as they spoke, “We have contacted the other cities along the central line and they report their cities are built in much the same way. Satellite imaging shows clusters of…. The nesting sights all over the world, though their greatest cluster happens to be around our city. If each circle has approximately seven of the creatures burrowed below it, we estimate about 49,000 of the creatures possibly burrowed below our landscape. The animals in the area seem to know to steer clear of the nesting sites. The larger animals have moved in great migrations towards the poles where there are few of the nesting sites, and the animals who have a lighter step are prone to avoiding the circle when they can. Zoomed in pictures DO show the occasional skeletalized remains of some creature or another, but it is hard to tell what they died from.

The GA chairwoman was nodding, “So you believe that the cities were built for a different reason than originally thought.”

There was a pause and then the council nodded, “Yes, it seems likely that Vrul lived in open cities before the outbreak began and then built the city in defense against the creatures. The Deltas, we have found are the main spreading vector, since they are stronger and faster, they are more mobile, but the disease affects everyone similarly causing acute aggression and infected pustules filled with sores that rupture and spread a cloud into the air.”

Dr. Krill stepped forward just then to cut into the conversation, “Dr. Katie and I have examined the infection under controlled conditions, and it is clearly a disease that originated on this planet. It does not have the structures you would assume from a viral or bacterial infection common on worlds where the creatures are more animal than plant. In this case the subject does seem primarily interested in infecting our species. The disease is transmissible primarily through respiration where the spores enter the body and into the lungs, as it were, where they are dissolved and the toxin spreads directly through to the brain. It will then destroy most of the decision making and memory centers of the cortex, amp up aggression, and then start germinating more spores in those packets that we have seen.”

“So it isn’t contagious to other species.” The Chair woman asked 

Krill shook his head, “I did not say that.  While it is a disease that is meant for plant-like liforms, any creature with lungs similar to ours are also under direct fire of infection. Humans for example send blood directly to their brain from the lungs, and have cortical centers that are generally analogous to our own. Of course, humans have the blood brain barrier that would be much less likely to allow that to happen, so I don’t see a mental breakdown as part of its affect on humans, but I do imagine they could develop sores that could burst and be contagious.”

“I see, than what is your plan?”

Another of the council members took the moment to step forward, “Clearly we restrict movement outside the city. It worked for us for four thousand years and it shall work for the next four thousand years.”

There was a murmur of agreement around them before.

“You’re not fucking serious.”

There was a pause as the entire council chamber turned to look at him, Admiral vir standing just before the window and staring down at the city.

The human looked on in absolute consternation.

“Do you have a problem with that, human.”

Admiral Vir drew himself up, “Damn straight I have a problem with that. You have an opportunity to take your planet back. You have all the weapons and all the allies in the galaxy and you won’t even fight for your own planet. Living in your air tight cities and using it as an excuse to bring down even greater restrictions on a group of people who have never known any sort of freedom before.”

“Watch your ton-” “No, I am not one of your citizens, and I won’t be silenced for my opinion. At the end of the day it IS your decision, but you have to understand. The Vrul home planet is one of the greatest sources we have of natural gas and yet Vrul economic power is at an all time low, and that is because the group of you wont leave your cities to harvest it. Now we learn that there is a reason, a stoppable reason, and you just want to sit here and do nothing about it always watched by the fear of what if something happens, what if one of them gets in somehow, what if the strain changes, what if what if what if.” He looked around the room, “not to mention that if you took control of these things, you would be able to expand your cities, which would mean no more termination orders for those who are deemed, by the government mind you, to be useless.” he gave a very pointed look at Krill, “You would have had the doctor dead if it wasn’t for my intervention, and then as soon as something went wrong you called him back. I think that is a perfect example on how this system just isn’t working.”

The Vrul council stared at him, and it was pretty clear that they weren’t a fan of the words coming out of his mouth. There was one problem though, there were other citizens in the room than weren’t going to keep their mouths shut. There was Krill of course, who they had already discredited, but the Admiral had waited for the perfect opening, the the psychologist was there, the historian and more than a few other assistants, who he could see were Betas.

He knew from what Krill had said that Betas were insufferable gossips. So anything that happened in this tower was likely to get out.

With grudging slowness the council grinded back into movement, “Than what do you suggest, Admiral? We are not well versed in military tactics which is what this would require. You  can hardly blame us for turning back to the one thing that has always worked.”

Good job hiding behind being pathetic he thought to himself.

“It is a good thing that I am Admiral of the GA armada and have some experience with the tactical side of warfare.” He turned to look around at the others, “We will want to continue doing our tests on these creatures. I want to know what their weaknesses are, and I want to know how to kill them. This is to hoping that bullets do the trick, but I also want to know what they are attracted to. Some of you have suggested vibrations in the ground, in which case, I can use that.

Krill and katie agreed with him.

And he walked with them as they stepped from the room.

“You are really toeing a line the way you speak to them, I think.” Katie whispered quietly

He leaned in, “I have a feeling that the Vrul weren’t always like this. The traditions of government they have now are based on martial law that was present during a zombie apocalypse four thousand years ago. They don’t want to give up their power, but my duty isn’t to their government, it is to their citizens.”

Krill hummed his agreement from Kati’s opposite side, “The Admiral is right, I believe. The more I think about it, the more I have come to a conclusion that we are not as….. How shall we say…. Fragile as the council would make us believe. A lot of what they say is based on the idea that we need to be protected, but I think that ideology is something that was passed down from when we actually DID need to be protected. What other truths about the Vrul don’t we know because we haven’t been allowed to look into it further.”

Adam tapped his fingers against his crossed bicep, “The maximum age of a Vrul for one. I read a paper that said that the average age of a Vrul before termination is only around thirty or forty years, but if what they are saying is true about these zombie vrul, than it is likely they are around four thousand years old.” He glanced over at Krill, “how old does this make you past your termination order/”

Krill shrugged, “I was evaluated early, so I am only considered 35 in your human years, a little bit older in the Vrul reckoning of things, but that does pose an interesting hypothesis. I have never actually seen a Vrul die of old age. But it would make sense with the termination order. If we were forced into cities, than it would make sense that they would do these things out of a need for population control, that is assuming that we can live forever, a thought that seems ludicrous to me, but still.”

Adam nodded, “Starting off though, I want to know what kind of music does what to the creature.”

Dr Katie looked at him skeptically, “Music?”

He nodded, “Music.”

“What are you planning, she said suspiciously, looking him over with a critical eye.

He smiled, “Dealing with the hoard all at once, but if we can do that, and use music against them, well then I would want to use all of my inherent advantages now wouldn’t I?”

Katie nodded with some thought and motioned him onward.

They went back to the chamber, while he and some of the marines went back to the wall, where the group of ravening Vrul were still tearing at the base.

“Lower the shields.” he ordered on of the Betas.

The creature looked at him like he was nuts, but the look on his face made clear, in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t going to argue and hurried to do as Adam ordered.

The small section of the field opened, and he leaned out over the drop looking down at the creatures still clambering at the wall.

“Huh, Maverick, come here.”

Maverick trotted over behind him, rifle bouncing in a sling against her chest and she skidded to a halt next to him, “Yes Boss.”

“Think you can shoot one of them in the head from up here?”

She paused, frowned but then shrugged, “I mean…. yeah , probably.”

“Go on, target practice.”

She looked at him a bit confused for a second, before shrugging and leaning out over the drop. He grabbed her by the back of the shirt just to give her that extra bit of security while she got a good angle.

There was a small pause, and then a sharp subsonic crack as the rifle fired. The Vrul flinched at the shockwave and Adam’s ear’s rang. Damn idiot forgot to put in some hearing protection before she did that, but what was done was done. Not even a millisecond later there was a sharp explosion as the Vrul in question shattered into its component parts. It cracked open like an egg and the strange, and deadly pollen ruptured out before falling back onto the ground.”

Maverick drew herself back inside the shield which shut quickly.

“Huh, that worked better than expected.”

“Yeah, but did you see the polen?”

He frowned and nodded, “I did. I don’t think any Vrul should be going on this mission with us, and as for the humans. IT will be full suits and respirators for everyone. I want to see how long these spores can last in the environment by themselves. Hopefully it isn’t long, because if it is then that puts my whole plan out the window. I also want to see how long it can last in the air, because that is going to be super important.

***

When he returned to the lab later on after coordinating his original idea Dr. Katie and krill were waiting for him with their results.

“So, what did we find.”

“A couple of things.” Krill announced, “FIrst of all, the spores last a very short time outside the host, maybe twenty four hours at most, though that is only when provided with the perfect condition. They cannot infect the surrounding plant life or the soil. The spores themselves are rather heavy and so they don’t stick around in the air longer than the wind can keep them up, and they seem to be neutralized by water, or water ruins their infectivity when outside a subject, so that is also good news. His helium sack would still work if it was not for the tear, which means that these creatures can float, and we know that the deltas can burrow to some degree.”

Adam was nodding slowly, “And how about the music?”

“Ah, that we found is interesting. A steady and predictable beat does cause them confusion, so most human songs will get them. Anything without a measured beat isn’t an issue, like classical music for the most part. Songs that have no drumline don’t confuse them as much, and songs where the drum line isn’t as noticeable also don’t affect them as much. A good predictable drumline as seen in many rock songs will get them nice and confused, but your best bet for neutralizing them is a hard rock or metal drumline with additional patterns coming from the guitar and vocal track.”

“Hard rock and metal to save the day then.”

They looked at him with a curious expression as he grinned at them.

“What are you planning.”

“I am planning to kill zombies, and I am planning to do it in style.” 

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #185

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re making the snake/shrine maiden/ninja/widow Assassin of Paraiso! She’s got more jobs than a freakin’ barbie doll...

Check out her build breakdown (expect true name spoilers) below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: In Shimousa you must wait, until the dice read five or eight.

Mochizuki Chiyome is an Arcane Trickster Rogue for the regular kind of ninja trickery, plus a Fathomless Warlock to grab the kind of thing your forefather would normally have to boink a snake god to get. (That’s what happened, right? It’s been a while.)

Race and Background

Shockingly, Mochi is a Human, but Variant so we can get cool stuff. This gives her +1 Dexterity and Intelligence, as well as Religion proficiency to make her cover as a shrine maiden foolproof and the Mobile feat for when the right fool comes along. This adds 10′ to her movement speed, dashing lets her ignore difficult terrain, and you avoid opportunity attacks from creatures you’ve attacked this turn.

Magical assassins seem to be more common in D&D than their mundane counterparts, because they have their own freakin’ background! As a Volstrucker Agent, you get proficiency in Deception and Stealth. You know, for ninjaing.

Ability Scores

Dexterity is number 1. You’re a ninja, it’s not a surprise. Second is Charisma. Your snake blood doesn’t like to cooperate on good days, you’ve got to be convincing enough to make it behave. Also, there’s more ninja stuff in charisma, it’s a good skill to have. Your Intelligence comes next, ninjas don’t really have magic powers, they’re just really clever. That being said none of your spells actually use intelligence that much, so we don’t need it to be that high. Your Wisdom isn’t bad, spy networks don’t work if you can’t tell when someone’s lying, and since we’re only building the one character you’ll have to be your own spy network.

Oh yeah, the real Mochizuki ran a spy network, we’re throwing that in the build too. So we’re making a shrine maiden/snake/ninja/widow/master spy. Real simple.

Anyway. Your Constitution isn’t great, just don’t get hit and you’ll be fine. That means we’re dumping Strength. Don’t worry, you don’t really need it anyway.

Class Levels

Rogue 1: Starting off as a rogue gets you a lot of proficiencies, like Dexterity and Intelligence saves, plus four skills. Grab Acrobatics for ninjaing skills, Performance for better disguises, and Insight and Investigation for spy work. If that wasn’t enough, you get Expertise in two of those skills, doubling your proficiency bonus in Stealth and Insight. You also get a Sneak Attack if you’re attacking with a finesse weapon or a ranged weapon, and you have advantage or a friend near the target. This adds 1d6 damage to the attack once per turn. You also learn Thieves’ Cant. It’s a language.

Rogue 2: Second level rogues have a Cunning Action, which lets you dash, disengage, or hide as a bonus action. Y’know, ninja stuff.

Rogue 3: Boom! 2d6 sneak attack. Also, you’re an Arcane Trickster now. This gives you some Spells, most of which are Illusion or Enchantment, but all of which use your Intelligence to cast. Or they would, if we didn’t go the galaxy brain route and pick spells that don’t use your intelligence. You’re forced to pick up Mage Hand as one of your three cantrips, but you also get Friends to make fooling guards easier, and Prestidigitation for smaller magical tricks. On top of that, Illusory Script makes you an expert codewriter, Disguise Self takes care of your... well, your disguises (Though regular disguises are probably better since this is the one spell that actually uses your intelligence), and Fog Cloud gives you a quick and dirty smoke bomb. Speaking of Mage Hand, you also get a Mage Hand Legerdemain right out of the gate, making your mage hand extra sneaky. It can be invisibile, and you can use it to stow objects in containers carried by other creatures, steal objects from containers held by other creatures, or pick locks and disarm traps at range. Also, you only have to use your bonus action to control the hand.

Warlock 1: Bouncing over to grab your cursed Orochi blood makes you a Fathomless warlock. I know that’s a bit weird, but don’t worry, we’ll fix it in flavoring. Instead of a Tentacle of the Deep, you’re summoning a head of Orochi as a bonus action for up to a minute! Each turn you can attack for a bit of cold damage, and you can summon up to Proficiency heads per day. You also get a Gift of the Sea, giving you a swim speed of 40′ and the ability to breathe underwater. As long as you stay near the surface, you can probably get away with calling it walking on water. You also learn Pact Magic, which you cast with your Charisma. This doesn’t mix with your spell slots from rogue, but you can use warlock slots for rogue spells and vice versa. You get Eldritch Blast so you don’t have to collect your throwing knives like a chump, Minor Illusion for minor illusions, Hex for a weak Orochi’s curse, and Expeditious Retreat so you can go even faster if you wanna.

Warlock 2: Second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations, like Devil’s Sight which lets you see in magical darkness and Armor of Shadows for free mage armor on yourself. Shrine maidens aren’t known for wearing plate mail, so this should help a bit. You also learn how to Cause Fear, frightening a creature for up to a minute if they fail their wisdom save. That means they can’t move closer to you, and they have disadvantage on attacks while they can see you.

Rogue 4: Now that we’re done with warlocking for a bit, bouncing over to rogue gets you your first Ability Score Improvement. Bump up that Charisma for stronger spells and Orochi heads. You also learn the spell Color Spray for some pocket sand at the ready whenever you want. Roll a couple dice, then blind creatures from least to most HP up to the point you rolled.

Rogue 5: Fifth level rogues get 3d6 sneak attack, and they can make an Uncanny Dodge as a reaction, halving incoming damage from an attack.

Rogue 6: At sixth level you get another round of Expertise, so double up on your Deception and Performance so you can sneak into wherever you need to go.

Rogue 7: Seventh level rogues get Evasion. It’s been a while since someone’s gotten evasion, huh? It’s a good feature though, it turns your failed dexterity saves into basically successes as far as damage goes, and successful dex saves now negate damage entirely. (Also, your sneak attack goes up to 4d6.)

Warlock 3: The Orochi isn’t quite done with you yet, so we’re heading back for a few more levels. At level three you undertake the Pact of the Talisman, letting you add 1d4 to a failed ability check Proficiency times per long rest. It’s a shame you don’t have a fancy sword like Grass Cutter, but at least it’s useful. Now that you can see in the dark though, you can cast Darkness to create a more effective smoke bomb that only you and other warlocks can see though.

Warlock 4: Use this ASI to get your Keen Mind. This adds 1 to your intelligence among other neat tricks, but the big reason we’re here is for the ability to recall information for up to a month. This will be more useful later, but it’s always nice to be brainy. You also learn the cantrip Toll the Dead for some ooky spooky necrotic damage, and Silence to perform acts of violence, in silence. Ninjas.

Warlock 5: Fifth level warlocks can cause Fear, frightening multiple creatures who fail their wisdom save. Once per long rest you can also mark a creature with a Sign of Ill Omen, casting Bestow Curse using a warlock spell slot. There’s a couple out of the box options in the PHB, but ultimately you can make up whatever you want, as long as it’s DM approved. The target also has to fail a wisdom save, and it lasts up to a minute.

Rogue 8: Use this ASI on your Dexterity for better damage and a higher AC. Turns out rogues are dexterous, who knew? Speaking of being dexterous, grab Misty Step so you can become so dexterous you literally blink out of existence and back in. Related note, dexterous no longer looks like a word.

Rogue 9: Ninth level rogues can really mess up their enemies with 5d6 damage on a sneak attack, or you can mess up enemies with a Magical Ambush. As long as you’re hidden from whatever creature you’re targeting, they have disadvantage on a spell’s saving throw. This also applies to warlock spells, making it especially useful for curses. (Also, 5d6 sneak attack)

Rogue 10: Tenth level rogues get another ASI, so bump up that Charisma again for a stronger curse. You also can cast Message to relay info over short distances, or Magic Mouth to set up information dead drops for other party members.

Rogue 11: Eleventh level rogues can deal reliable damage thanks to their 6d6 sneak attack. They also have Reliable Talent, so the lowest you can roll on a skill you’re proficient in is a 10. When you’re good at something, you’ll never fail a day in your life. You can also cast Blur to become harder to hit. Maybe it’s like, a little smoke bomb? Not my best work, I’ll admit.

Rogue 12: At twelfth level you get your last ASI, so max out that Dexterity for the best damage and defense you could hope for.

Rogue 13: Thirteenth level arcane tricksters are Versatile Tricksters, letting you spend an action to distract a nearby creature with your mage hand, giving advantage on your next attack that turn. If you don’t have extra ninjas at home, magic bought is fine. Don’t scoff at free advantage though, especially with that 7d6 sneak attack. You also learn to pull a Kotarou and can cast Enemies Abound, which makes it so one creature can’t tell friend from foe and will attack randomly if they fail an intelligence check.

Rogue 14: Your brand new Blindsense means you’ll always be able to sense other ninjas, since invisible and hidden creatures within 10′ of you are always on your radar. You also -finally- get your spy network online thanks to Clairvoyance, letting you create a sensor in any location you’re familiar with, or an obvious one you aren’t, like around a corner. For up to ten minutes, you can see or hear through that sensor as if you were there, and can even swap which sense you use at will.

Rogue 15: Your capstone isn’t particularly flashy, but Slippery Mind will help make sure you don’t get cursed more than you already are, since you now have proficiency with wisdom saves. One last thing: 8d6 sneak attack. It’s pretty good.

Pros:

With multiple kinds of magic backing up your impressive stealth skills, you come packing with plenty of ways to slip into and out of combat at will, or even better, avoid combat entirely.

Thanks to your keen mind and clairvoyance, you can spy on others and keep that information tucked away for safekeeping. Then, you can use spells like Message and Magic Mouth to get that info where you need it to go without arousing suspicion. Who knows, you might legitimately start up a spy network.

Curses are great. For your enemies, I mean, sorry. But yeah, they’re pretty effective, especially if you can start a fight with an enemy already cursed. Like, say, you sneak up to them and use Magical Ambush to make it even harder for them to avoid the spell, and that starts initiative? That’d be nice.

Cons:

Some DMs are not very flexible, and they’ll just force you into combat regardless of how much you try to avoid it. That’s really bad for you, since you’ve only got 100 HP. One stiff wind and you’re in Power Word Kill territory. Fortunately you’ve got a good AC, but still.

The one spell you have that actually uses intelligence is probably one of your most crucial, at least early on. Disguise Self not being that good kind of sucks while you’re getting set up, but eventually you’ll be good enough with a regular disguise kit it probably won’t matter.

You have a lot of utility spells, but only a couple spell slots to use them with. Long missions might be a problem if you don’t pace yourself.

[bring-it-all-down]

Capitalism & Racism in Black Sails

In order to properly understand the individual and collective responses to England’s empire in Black Sails, it is necessary to understand capitalism and its relationship to racism. What follows are my thoughts on the relationship between capitalism and racism (focusing on the late 1600s/the development of capitalist England), and how those things relate to the show. It’s a long post, but by no means is it an exhaustive analysis of either capitalism or Black Sails, so I look forward to what others have to say on the subject!

First, what is meant by “capitalism”?

Capitalism describes an economic system in which private businesses own the means of production––the materials and tools used in the production of goods. This system creates distinct classes within society: the bourgeoisie who own the corporations and the proletariat who must work at these corporations and thereby become subservient to the bourgeoisie. 

Explained in Ellen Meiksins Wood’s The Origin of Capitalism, capitalism emerged most specifically in England as a result of the agrarian feudal creation of the landlord-tenant relationship, in which the landlord rented land to the tennant, who was incentivized to produce as many goods as possible. This system led to the complete privatization of land and the creation of wage-laborers who could not produce enough goods to themselves become part of the bourgeoisie. Over time, as these wage-laborers became more numerous, society shifted from being agrarian-centered to revolving around the creation of cities to facilitate the mass production of goods.

How is capitalism tied to racism?

The spread of early capitalism throughout Europe was facilitated by improvements in technology allowing for the mass production of goods from raw materials. Capitalist countries thus turned outward in search of raw goods to power their economies. As Marx explains in Capital:

The discovery of gold and silver in America, the extirpation, enslavement and entombment in mines of the indigenous population of that continent, the beginnings of the conquest and plunder of India, and the conversion of Africa into a preserve for the commercial hunting of blackskins, are all things which characterise the dawn of the era of capitalist production. These idyllic proceedings are the chief momenta of primitive accumulation. On their heels treads the commercial war of the European nations, with the globe for a theatre (Chapter 31).

Capitalism thus rests on the idea of “primitive accumulation,” that being the initial expropriation of the individual from the land, achieved through feudalism domestically and chattel slavery internationally. Because capitalism demands the constant mass production of goods, it requires increasing volumes of raw goods––sugarcane, cotton, coffee beans, etc.––which are obtained through the extension of colonialist enterprises in order to keep parts of the world in a continuous state of underdevelopment. 

Although pre-capitalist societies had slaves, the advent of capitalism necessitated slavery on a mass scale, produced through the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, in which indigenous populations were wiped out and replaced with slave laborers. This system resulted in complete alienation of labor as white laborers in the “New World” were replaced by the early 1700s with more ‘cost-effective’ enslaved Africans who had no ties to their owners or to the land they worked. As former Trinidadian Prime Minister Eric Williams put it: 

Here, then, is the origin of Negro slavery. The reason was economic, not racial; it had to do not with the color of the laborer, but the cheapness of the labor. [The planter] would have gone to the moon, if necessary, for labor. Africa was nearer than the moon, nearer too than the more populous countries of India and China. But their turn would soon come” (14).

Racism, then, is indistinguishable from the power structures of capitalism. The desire of the bourgeoisie to increase their capital led to the creation of the slave trade in order to accumulate mass volumes of raw goods so their proletariat workers could transform them into goods to then be sold back to the workers for profit. 

This system thus creates two types of exploitation: the exploitation of the enslaved people and colonized lands, as well as the exploitation of the domestic working class. The need to keep this system in place demanded capitalist societies craft the false belief in white supremacy in order to justify the enslavement of Africans, Indians, and various Indigenous peoples in Asia and Latin America.

So, how does piracy come into the picture?

In the mid-late 1600s, England began its industrial revolution, propelling the island to increase its Atlantic trade. This desire to trade created a new merchant class, expanded the number of laborers in American colonies, and launched England into various wars with competing European powers. In Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age, Marcus Rediker describes the social conditions of this era thusly:

By 1716, big planters drove armies of servants and slaves as they expanded their power from their own lands to colonial and finally national legislatures. Atlantic empires mobilized labor power on a new and unprecedented scale, largely through the strategic use of violence––the violence of land seizure, of expropriating agrarian workers, of the Middle Passage, of exploitation through labor discipline, and of punishment (often in the form of death) against those who dared resist the colonial order of things. By all accounts, by 1713, the Atlantic economy had reached a new stage of maturity, stability, and profitability. The growing riches of the few depended on the growing misery of the many.

Piracy emerged from this poverty in England and in its colonies, as poor people who knew how to sail figured they had little to lose and much to gain in turning to piracy. Moreover, piracy offered an alternative to the oppressive nature of living under England’s empire. Pirate ships “limited the authority of the captain, resisted many of the practices of capitalist merchant shipping industry, and maintained a multicultural, multiracial, and multinational social order.” On these ships, pirates learned “the importance of equality…[their] core values were collectivism, anti-authoritarianism, and egalitarianism, all of which were summarized in the sentence frequently uttered by rebellious sailors: “they were one & all resolved to stand by one another.” In Marxist terms, pirates retained control over the means of production and their labor, producing a more egalitarian division of profit in which all received the same share.

The Golden Age of Piracy, then, emerged in response to England’s adoption of capitalism. Despite the threat of death, exploited workers turned to piracy out of desperation and the quest for securing immediate wealth. Although piracy was often violent, it nonetheless embodied a system of labor in stark contrast to that of capitalism, based not on unequal acquisition of goods but on the fundamental equality of human beings.

How does this capitalist context enrich our understanding of Black Sails?

England’s capitalist-driven empire provides the system under which all of our characters struggle and thus informs their every decision. The characters’ backstories we are given all pertain to their desire to either escape from capitalism or assimilate with it. As this post is quite lengthy, I won’t go into detail about every single character, only the ones who most illustrate the manner in which capitalism operates.

First, James Flint’s backstory is not simply that of a man who experienced homophobia and wants revenge for it. We learn of him that his father was a carpenter and he was raised by his grandfather in Padstow, a working-class fishing town in north Cornwall. Because of this, he was barred from receiving a formal education and likely joined the navy because it offered him the opportunity for some sort of upward mobility, though it’s clear in his interactions with his peers that they will never see him as an equal due to his lower-class status. The manner in which James’s peers treat him very likely plays a role in his decision to support Thomas’s plan for Nassau. Despite the plan still being colonialist, it did seek to undermine a key component of capitalism: the dehumanization of the working force. This dehumanization is a fundamental element of capitalism (and this empire) because if laborers believe they have inherent worth, they are more likely to challenge the bourgeoisie. Thus, James’s exile from England was not because he was gay, but because he sought to undercut the foundations of England’s wealth, a choice driven by his love for Thomas and his own relationship to capitalism.

Connected to Flint’s backstory is Billy’s, as it also involves the navy. From the mid-1600s to the early 1800s, Britain relied on the practice of impressment––forcing people to serve in the navy––to advance its colonial aims. Billy’s parents were levellers, people who opposed impressment. As punishment for this, Billy was taken as a child and forced into “press gangs” and served in the Navy for three years as a bonded laborer (the naval equivalent of debtors’ prison) until his ship was captured by Flint and he was given the opportunity to join the crew after killing his captor. Like Flint, then, Billy became a pirate as a direct result of the violence done to him by capitalist-imperialist England.

Likewise, Jack became a pirate as a consequence of English capitalist industrialization. His family had for generations owned a tailoring business, but it was driven out of business by the creation of a massive textile mill. After his father died, Jack was forced to assume responsibility for his father’s debts, which he would work off as an indentured servant at the very textile mill responsible for the debt. Jack, then, turns to piracy to escape capitalism.

To understand the backstories of Flint, Billy, and Jack, you must understand the process by which England assumed a capitalist economy and how that shift from feudalism to capitalism affected both domestic and international practices in the early 1700s. The introduction of distinct classes based on relationships to labor mandated strict inequality and the valuation of mass production at the expense of individual lives.

How does Black Sails depict the relationship between racism and capitalism?

The most obvious answer here is the show’s involvement of Madi and the Maroons, who exist solely as a result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Because this is already a lengthy post, I would like to set Madi aside in order to talk about Max, who I think offers a less overt critique of what Cedric Robinson calls “racial capitalism.”

Max, rather than seeking to run from capitalism, wants to become a member of the bourgeoisie. Her enslavement is, of course, the result of French colonialism in the Caribbean, but rather than recoil from civilization, her enslavement propels her to want to join it. As she tells Anne:

“When I was very small, I would sneak out of the slave quarters at night to the main house. I would stand outside the window to the parlor. I would stand amongst the heat and the bugs and the filth on my toes to see inside. Inside that house was a little girl my age… With the most beautiful skin. I watched her dance while her father played music and her mother sewed. I watched her read and eat and sing and sleep, kept safe and warm and clean by her father. My father. The things it took to make that room possible, they were awful things. But inside that room was peace. That is what home is to me” (3.3).

She reiterates this understanding of society to Marion Guthrie when she states that “progress cannot begin and suffering will not end until someone has the courage to go out into the woods and drown the damned cat” (4.07). While she recognizes the evils of civilization, she also believes that it offers comforts for the select few, and she wants to be one among the few. 

Max, indeed, is successful in assimilating into capitalist society. She works her way out of sex work until she owns most of Nassau, not once but twice. This achievement initially seems like a massive success and proof in the viability of Max’s methods, but in subtle ways, the show demonstrates that assimilation is not liberation.

Because, as Ibram X. Kendi stated, “The life of racism cannot be separated from the life of capitalism,” Max’s attempts to assimilate come with the betrayal of the rest of the enslaved people. Although she herself refuses to use slave labor, her treaty with Mrs. Guthrie, Silver, and the Maroons requires the Maroons to return escaped Black people into slavery. Moreover, she has won herself power in a system that refuses to recognize her presence, forcing her to pretend that Featherstone is the real governor of Nassau. 

Further, her assimilation into the capitalist system alienates her from other Black people. The two characters with whom she is most closely associated with are Anne and Eleanor, white women whose whiteness affords them a certain level of protection not offered to Max. She never interacts with Madi or any of Madi’s people and she therefore cannot comprehend any other path but assimilation. 

For all of Max’s efforts to learn from Eleanor and do better than Eleanor in running Nassau, she ends up in virtually the same place as Eleanor, but even more hidden. The Guthrie family still holds financial control of Nassau, Woodes Rogers still looms in the distance, and though piracy exists, it is even less acceptable. Thus, while Max is often credited as the person who most “sees life as it is,” her alienation under capitalism prevents her from seeing life “as it should be.”

Conclusion

As capitalism emerged as the dominant economic and political system beginning in the early 1700s, it came to define all aspects of global society, down to the very relationships people had with each other. It is impossible, then, to truly understand the motivations of anyone in the show without discussing their relationship to capitalism. This is by no means an exhaustive account of Black Sails’ commentary on capitalism and racism (I didn’t even mention Vane’s conversation with the Spanish soldier), but it hopefully underscores the idea that knowledge of capitalism (and therefore imperialism) is essential for fully comprehending the show.

[marylcna]

Open Your Future: Comprehensive Guide to CNA Classes in Georgia

Unlock‍ Your Future: Comprehensive Guide to CNA⁢ Classes in Georgia

If you’re considering a rewarding career in healthcare, becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in Georgia might be the perfect ⁣choice for you. This comprehensive guide ‌will provide you with ⁣all the ⁤essential information on CNA ⁤classes in Georgia, including curriculum details, costs, benefits, ⁤and practical tips to⁣ help you succeed in this path. Let’s unlock your future together!

What is a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)?

A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) is a vital‌ healthcare worker who provides essential care to patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare settings. CNAs assist with daily living activities, such ⁣as:

Personal hygiene (bathing, grooming)

Feeding and nutrition

Mobility assistance

Monitoring patient ⁣conditions

why Choose CNA Classes in Georgia?

Choosing to enroll in CNA classes in Georgia offers numerous advantages:

High Demand: The need for healthcare professionals continues to grow, ensuring job stability.

Short‌ Training Period: Moast CNA programs‍ can be completed in as⁤ little as 4-12 weeks.

Affordability: CNA training is often less expensive than other healthcare programs.

Flexible Scheduling: Many programs offer evening or weekend classes for working students.

How to​ Choose the Right⁢ CNA ⁣Program in Georgia

With numerous options available, it’s crucial to select a CNA program that best fits your needs. consider the following factors:

Accreditation: Ensure the program is accredited by the Georgia Department of community Health.

Curriculum: Look for programs that offer both classroom and hands-on training.

Cost: Compare tuition fees and additional ⁢costs like textbooks and uniforms.

Class Size: Smaller classes often provide more personalized attention.

Overview of CNA Classes in Georgia

CNA programs in Georgia typically include the following components:

Theoretical coursework covering essential nursing principles.

Hands-on clinical training in real healthcare settings.

Readiness for⁣ the CNA certification exam.

Common Topics Covered

Courses ‍usually cover a variety of topics, including:

Basic nursing ​skills

Infection control

Patient safety

Communication skills

Cost of CNA Classes ⁣in Georgia

The cost of CNA classes in Georgia can vary considerably based on the institution. Below is⁢ a table summarizing average tuition⁢ fees:

Institution Type

average cost

Community College

$900 – $2,500

Vocational Schools

$1,000 – $3,000

Online Programs

$700 – ⁤$1,500

Certification Exam and ⁤Requirements

After completing your CNA training, ‌you’ll need to pass the certification exam to become a licensed CNA in Georgia. The exam generally consists of:

A written ⁢test comprising multiple-choice questions.

A ‍skills evaluation where you demonstrate key nursing skills.

Eligibility ‍Requirements: ​ You must be ⁤at least 18 years old, have a high school diploma⁢ or GED, and complete a state-approved training program to qualify​ for the exam.

Benefits of Becoming a CNA

Becoming a CNA offers numerous benefits, including:

Hands-on experience in the healthcare field.

Opportunities for advancement (e.g., LPN, RN).

Ability to impact patients’ ⁢lives positively.

Job ‍offer incentives and competitive salaries.

Practical Tips⁢ for Success in CNA Classes

Here are some⁣ tips to help you thrive in your CNA training:

Stay Organized: Keep track of⁣ assignments, skills practise, and study materials.

Engage with Instructors: ⁢Don’t hesitate to ask questions to clarify concepts.

Practice Regularly: Hands-on‌ practice ‍is vital for ⁤mastering nursing skills.

form⁢ Study Groups: Collaborative learning can enhance ⁤your understanding.

first-Hand Experience of a CNA Student

Jessica, a recent CNA ​graduate​ from a Georgia community college, shares her ⁤experience:

“The CNA program was intense but incredibly rewarding. I loved⁤ the hands-on training, ​and⁣ my instructors were supportive every step of the way. I was offered a position at a local nursing home even ‍before I graduated!”

Conclusion

Embarking on your journey to become a Certified Nursing Assistant in Georgia can be a fulfilling career choice that opens doors to various healthcare opportunities.With the ‍right training, dedication, and passion​ for helping others, you can make a significant difference in the lives of your patients. Explore your options today and unlock your future in the healthcare industry!

https://www.cnacertificationschools.net/open-your-future-comprehensive-guide-to-cna-classes-in-georgia/

[hoe-doroki]

Illiterate

pairing: Shouto x American fem!Reader (pre-relationship)

wc: 2.1K

genre: comfort, fluff

summary: You did well in the midterms despite missing the first month and a half of school, not to mention all of the previous year at U.A. But being unable to read Japanese makes you feel so stupid. And who comes into the common room after midnight just as you’re about to cry? The boy who hasn’t spoken to you in three weeks. That’ll make you feel better.

edit: I no longer write x reader but here’s my old masterlist - mobile | desktop

Textbook out on your left. Notebook out on your right. Laptop in front. Phone put to the side. You were taking up a whole olive green couch and coffee table in the common room with your materials. But it didn’t much matter, because everyone else had gone to sleep—or if not to sleep, then to their rooms—hours earlier. It was well past midnight on a Monday and, despite the destructive habits that some of the members of class 2-A had, most tried to get a good night’s sleep. It was vital for rebuilding the muscles everyone abused in class every day, not to mention everything else Recovery Girl had mentioned in the mandatory “Health and Wellness” seminar they’d all had to take. You’d missed it, since it had been in the first week of classes, but you had still received the handy dandy pamphlet in your welcome folder a month earlier.

But you were willing to sacrifice a little sleep in order to catch up to your classmates. You might have had an extra two years of high school over them, based on the U.S.’s school system, since you’d just finished junior year when you’d transferred. Technically you hadn’t finished out the year but you’d done all the standardized testing and gotten your final grades. But still, U.A. was much more rigorous than your old school and, in some areas, you had big gaps. You would only be able to fake it in class for so long like that.

You startled when the hallway light went on behind you. There wasn’t a curfew by which you had to be in your room, but you were still half expecting to find Iida behind you, chastising you for being up so late. But it wasn’t Iida—it was Todoroki.

You turned back to your work, hoping that he wouldn’t say anything if you minded your business and didn’t speak to him. Based on your few experiences with the boy so far, it seemed he could be relied on to be quiet. And your strategy seemed to work; you heard him padding in his slippers over to the kitchen and running some water.

Your focus was now broken, though. You looked at the pages you had out in front of you and all the characters started to blur in your head. It felt like the studying you’d just done had left you and that all the hours since dinner had been pointless. The frustration began to bloom again and you felt your face growing hot with it. You were so behind. So not meant to go to school in Japan.

“You should go back to your room.”

Your body stiffened at the quiet voice behind you. If you looked down, you could see Todoroki’s gray slippers. You hadn’t heard him grow so close.

“If I do, I’ll fall asleep.”

“That’s what I mean,” Todoroki said. “You should be in bed.”

“Shouldn’t you be in bed too then?” you shot back.

“I woke up and decided to make some tea. The water’s boiling now.”

It was late enough that Todoroki had already gone to sleep and woken up in the middle of the night. And you had nothing to show for your time but a few haphazard notes and a failing short term memory.

“I just have to stay up a little longer,” you whisper, you throat constricting a little around the simple words.

Todoroki took another step closer and looked at your setup. It was obvious that you were doing work, not messing around or staying up just for the heck of it. Todoroki was one of the brightest kids in the class, in addition to one of the most powerful. Hopefully he would see your efforts and just leave you be.

“Sleep is necessary for processing information by transferring things from one section of the brain to another and strengthening connections,” he said instead. “You’ll learn more if you sleep.”

“I know that, and I will, but just…not yet.”

“Y/N, you placed seventh on the midterm. That’s impressive for a new student.”

You shook your head, wishing he hadn’t said that as hot tears started to wet your lashes. “They let me take the test in English,” you rasped, the words coming out completely pitchless. “I’ve been here over a month and I’m still almost entirely illiterate.”

Everything in front of you was in kanji. You had a stack of grammar books that were meant for toddlers that you wished weren’t in Todoroki’s line of sight. They were only half filled out as it was, since you didn’t even know all the answers for those, much less how to read what everyone else had seen on the midterm.

“Oh,” Todoroki intoned in that simple way of his. “You didn’t know Japanese before you came here?”

You shook your head. “Coming here was pretty sudden, so I only had a couple months to try and learn before I transferred. And so I focused more on spoken language just so that I wouldn’t be a complete idiot. Even though I still sound so American.”

“It’s not so bad,” Todoroki offered.

You give a chuckled weakly. “The first thing you said to me was that my Japanese was bad. Terrible. Actually, you didn’t even say it to me, you said it…around me.”

“Oh, I guess I did,” he said. If you looked at him, you probably could have seen the memory appearing on his face. “Well, I’ve changed my mind. It’s not terrible.”

Even sugarcoating it that much must have been a reach for him, so you could appreciate the effort. You blinked the last of the tears away, grateful that none of them had actually fallen and that Todoroki hadn’t seemed to notice them. “I’m sure your water is boiling by now. You can go. I promise that I’ll go to sleep soon.”

If it had been Shinsou, or Yaoyorozu, who you were beginning to grow close to, or someone like Midoriya, they would have stayed. Maybe even closed your books for you and ushered you up to your room, telling you that you could start again tomorrow. But at your words, Todoroki’s slippers disappeared from view and he went back to the kitchen. It wasn’t especially surprising. He’d barely ever spoken to you, especially since you’d used your quirk on him the first time a few weeks back. And you could understand why. Nobody liked the effects of being hit by your quirk. Or losing a match in less than two minutes. So when just a minute later you were greeted with a cup of steaming tea in front of you, on one of the small spots of table between all your materials, you were forced to look up at him for the first time.

“Would you like to speak in English?” he asked, the words coming out with certainty and only a hint of a Japanese accent over a British one. And they nearly made you fall to pieces.

“Yes,” you breathed.

He sat down on the sofa kitty-corner to yours and you noticed that his mug, like yours, was only half full. You didn’t love tea—you’d never drunk it much in America, but it was ubiquitous here. Yaoyorozu was all but forcing you to acquire a taste for it. Still, the gesture moved you and you lifted up the too-hot cup, blowing on it as you let the light herbal scent waft over to you. Todoroki was holding his mug with his left hand and you wondered if it even felt hot to him.

“I apologize if I’ve been cold to you,” Todoroki said. “The truth is that it surprised me, how you’d used your quirk on me. And that you’d seen it as a weak point after only observing me for a couple weeks. I keep on thinking that my past is behind me, but then it never is. It’s why I’m awake right now.”

“No, I’m sorry,” you said quickly. “I felt really bad using my quirk on you like that. The look on your face—it felt like such an invasion to use sadness against you. I wouldn’t want to do that just to win.”

“Well,” Todoroki said, the ghost of a smile on his face, “you were playing a villain.”

You groaned. “Ugh, I hope I never have to again.”

“Unlikely,” Todoroki said. “All Might creates many exercises like that.”

Your tea was finally cool enough to sip without burning your tongue. The taste of herbal tea was strange, not particularly food or beverage-like to your brain, but you thought you could understand the comfort of it. The hot liquid felt nice on your throat and you realized that you hadn’t had any water for hours. You took another sip.

“You said before that your past is why you’re awake right now,” you started hesitantly. “Can I ask why that is?”

“Just a dream,” he said simply. A bad one if his grimace was anything to go by.

“I’m sorry,” you said, although you weren’t sure if you were sorry about the dream or asking about it. Probably a bit of both.

“No, I actually…” Todoroki looked at you and you were struck by how captivating his gaze was. His blue eye was piercing, one of the brightest you’d ever seen while his gray eye was dark, almost brown, and mysterious. “I wanted to know how you knew. That exercise was meant to show us how we’ve exposed our weak spots to someone new and it would be a missed opportunity for me not to ask you about it.”

“How I knew…that you were sad?” you asked.

He nodded once, eyes still stuck on yours.

“You just…your friends seem like really happy people,” you explained. “Uraraka, Midoriya, even Iida in his way. Or even when they’re not happy, they’re wearing their emotions on their sleeves. But you, even when you’re joining in with them, there’s usually a cloud over you. Like you’re hiding your emotions. And from there I guessed that that came from somewhere. Probably someplace difficult. And when I strategized with Aizawa-sensei and he agreed that it was worth a try.”

“I see.”

“Like now,” you said, looking at his face. “Do you feel anything about what I said? If so, you’re totally hiding it on your face. Blank eyes, relaxed mouth. And, you know, that’s fine, but if you’re doing that on the outside, then, for a teenage boy, I assume you’re doing it on the inside too.”

That brought some expression to his face. Twin creases between his eyebrows, making his relaxed mouth look more like a frown without moving it.

“But I don’t want you to worry about that or what I think about you,” you said quickly. “For my quirk, I have to be really good at intuiting emotions, especially since I so rarely get to practice with people. I have to be super observant and understand something about psychology. Most villains aren’t that sensitive.”

“But some are.”

“Yes, certainly some are,” you said. “But if you want to start working on whatever underlying things you have, you should be doing it because you want to. Not because you want to be a stronger hero but because you want to love yourself more.”

Todoroki gave a little huff that could have been a chuckle. “How American of you.”

“Hey!” Your exclamation is quiet. “You’re the one who offered to speak in English.”

“You seemed homesick,” he said with a shrug.

“I was,” you admitted. “I am.”

“Okay,” Todoroki said, standing up. You saw that his mug was empty while yours was still a quarter full and now tepid at best. He took it along with his own. “You’re going to sleep now and tomorrow you’re going to ask Yaoyorozu for tutoring. She’s excellent and the two of you seem to be getting along. Our class is full of all good, mostly helpful people. You should say something when you need help.”

You shut your laptop, the screen having gone black long ago and began dog-earing and closing your books. Before Todoroki went to the kitchen you grabbed his arm, only to release it a moment later when you remembered people weren’t quite so tactile in Japan as they were in America, Todoroki especially so. Still, you had his attention as he turned back to look at you. “The same to you. You should say something when you need help.”

Todoroki’s lips pursed together, not quite in a smile, not quite a frown, but in acknowledgment. He probably wasn’t fond of you turning your words back on him.

“I’ll…try.”