#and you basically just advocate for them and get them set up with resources and help them make appointments and stuff

[phantmheart]

dev patel, thirty-one, he/him   ⟡   —   is that AMIR KAPADIA i just saw walking around kilmer’s cove? i heard they’re a RESIDENT who’s been here for SIX YEARS. it slipped my mind, since they just tend to hang out at THE PLAYHOUSE. at face value, they’re said to be CREATIVE and PATIENT, but i don’t know… some people have said they can be quite STUBBORN and RESERVED. just don’t get on their bad side, i guess! don’t tell them i told you this, but i’ve heard they DO believe in all the ghost stories around town. who knows what the future holds for them!   

basics

• full name: ashwin amir kapadia

• preferred name: amir

• nicknames: am ; ash (by his family)

• gender: cis male

• pronouns: he/him

• age: 31

• date of birth: 12th january 1993

• zodiac sign: capricorn

• sexuality: heterosexual

• place of birth: edinburgh, scotland

• nationality: british-american (dual citizenship)

• occupation: jeweller & metalsmith ; owner of charmed & co

• residence: a small two bedroom house

• aesthetics: the cool salty sea air, wax jackets, vintage books, piles of warm blankets, sparkling gemstones in the sun, steaming cups of tea, handmade cable-knit jumpers, old cinema tickets

appearance

• faceclaim: dev patel

• height: 6'

• build: average

• eyes: brown

• hair: black

• piercings: none

• tattoos: nautical compass on his inner left forearm ; two maple leaves on his right shoulder ; others tbd

• style:

personality

• positive traits: creative, kind, resourceful, intelligent, compassionate, helpful, hardworking, punctual, considerate

• negative traits: reserved, stubborn, shy

• mbti: infj - the advocate

• likes: art, literature, sweet foods, music, going for walks, reading when its raining outside, tea

• dislikes: extreme temperatures, arrogance, heavy metal music, poor standards, sports

• phobias: arachnophobia ; entomophobia

• hobbies: reading, listening to music, playing the piano, watching films, collecting old books, going to the theatre

• skills: ambidextrous (but favours his right hand), pianist (for 25 years)

• pet peeves: tardiness, sexism, prejudice, being interrupted, cutting corners

family

• mother: amrita kapadia

• father: rishi kapadia

• siblings: samira anjali kapadia (younger sister by three years)

• fiancée: tippi elizabeth saint-james

favourites

• food: anything spicy, usually his mother’s curry recipe

• drink: scotch whisky ; lemonade

• time of the day: evening

• weather: dry and cool

• colours: blue ; red ; silver

• music genres: anything classical ; film scores ; alternative

bio

— amir was born at 3:13pm on 12th january 1993 to rishi kapadia, a lawyer, and his wife amrita, an artist and art teacher. he has one younger sister named samira. they resided in edinburgh until amir was five and then moved to london to be closer to family.

— the kapadias had always been close, going out on the weekends to some place educational or of historical importance, and holidaying across the uk, sometimes venturing abroad to places like germany, italy, the united states, and mexico. the trips themselves served as valuable family time as well as creative inspiration for amrita. later amir would take inspiration, too, and use his wonderful childhood memories to create unique and beautiful things. 

— when amir was 11, the family moved back to edinburgh so his father could pursue a better job offer and his mother could set up her own shop in the city centre. on the weekends, amir spent a lot of time in the shop, helping out with daily tasks and serving customers; he grew to live the social side of it and also learned more from his mother about making jewellery. 

— amir was a daydreamer in school. he enjoyed learning, but would rather stare at a wall and think about the book he was reading or the documentary he’d watched on the weekend. it got him into trouble a couple of times, but the teachers were consistently impressed with his grades. for a long time he wanted to be a filmmaker, but having been inspired by his mother’s art from a young age and his fascination with her jewellery in particular amir decided, at the age of 15, that he wanted to make his own jewellery. his parents were very supportive of his choice and so was his sister, but only after a long period of teasing him for picking a ‘girly’ job.

— he went on to university at the age of 18, studying jewellery & silversmithing at the university of edinburgh, and loved it. amir made plenty new friends who were like-minded and enjoyed living away from home even if he had stayed in the same city. he excelled in his course and almost took a masters degree, but changed his mind at the last minute.

— after graduating, amir decided to spend a couple of months travelling alone in new england. it was something he'd wanted to do his whole life and also used it as a chance to gain inspiration for his work. he stumbled upon kilmer’s cove by accident, but felt strangely drawn to the place. he spent two weeks there and had to leave for connecticut, but he never forgot about it and looked back fondly through photographs he took.

— he returned home and worked with his mother at her shop as well as on his own jewellery making. amir began to sell his products in the shop and proved to be incredibly popular, especially with tourists, and it was this success that made amir realise he’d made the right choice in pursuing his passions and turning them into a career, even when there were times when he wanted to quit.

— at the age of 25, amir said goodbye to scotland and relocated alone to kilmer’s cove. it was daunting at first, but his heart was in that little coastal town and knew he had to give it a shot. with the money he had earned from commissions and with a little help from his parents, he managed to buy a little shop in the heart of town and establish it as a boutique selling handmade bespoke jewellery and metalwork. he named it ‘charmed & co’.

— amir met his now fiancée tippi not long after he made the move. he struck up a conversation with her as they waited in line at a café, with him asking what she would recommend off the menu. a few weeks later, she came into charmed & co and that’s when he asked her out on a date. the rest is history!

— he now lives with tippi and their cat shelby and are planning to get married in the summer of 2025.

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

Archon war anon

Very fair on the roman apartments thing! That was more of a "If I had to make this as we can see it work, how would I do it?" than anything serious. There's enough space around there that I would doubt the people there would have felt the need to cramp into living space like that. I'm also just mentally trying to insert towns everywhere I can for the sake of my many competing god territories story, so that influences how far I'm willing to stretch.

The viewpoint does say scattered, and you're right, that scattered isn't what you'd use for "fled together with the adepti".

On the Geo Diaries/Zhongli's story quest, you are very right on that. But another theory that it made me think of, for the mora-house at least, is maybe that story comes from Zhongli's original people before he joined Guizong? Drawing from the stone tablets book again, he supposedly raised Mt. Tianheng out of the water and had some people there on Shanhui Rock/Fort. Maybe the mora-house story comes from further back than the founding of Liyue Harbour? Given that he apparently had Shanhui while with/before Guizhong, and she set up the ballista to defend it, I think it'd make sense for there to be some sort of earlier settlement that maybe got renamed when Morax took all of his people there after she died. This doesn't work out so well for the many gods thing, but it does play into the "Morax had control of most of Liyue" thing pretty well.

I refuse to believe that people had to relearn how to build stones after getting to the harbor though. That's so useful, and the kind of thing that I think is both basic and widespread enough that I can't really see it getting lost.

The scattered theory, even as a non-canon thing to play with is pretty fun! I was plotting out more of the war in a pre-write brainstorm yesterday and ended up writing it in? Not as far as I think you've been advocating for, but I wrote that Morax kind of dumped his surviving people on his allies and adepti and went off to rampage on his enemies for a bit. And none of his allies or adepti had the resources to take all of his surviving people, even though a bunch died when Guizhong died, so they ended up a little scattered.

:) thank you for the replies, this is so much fun! ily too!

this is fun, yeah! i love rambling about liyue history

i guess it is possible that the account of the mora house comes from a long long time ago? and that it just got for whatever reason repurposed for the founding of the harbor? since the guy explicitly speaks of it in the context of building liyue harbor. it would make sense, i could never really get this idea into my head since i, too, had always been of the opinion that the liyue migration must've happened relatively shortly after the fall of the assembly, so them having to relearn how to make houses would make no damn sense. even if it had been generations between the assembly and the harbor, that's still like- like you said with the stones, i don't think people just forget how to build a damn house. but then zhongli just says that it's true???????????????? idk man. again i know he's a little shit but i don't think he purposefuly spreads/actively perpetuates misinformation of that type. (i've come to the realization that all the misinformation he seems to not care about enough to try and make an effort to correct revolves around himself. like he will correct misinformation on other subjects but seems to care very little about misinformation surrounding morax/rex lapis. i might just be missremembering though)

[masterabating]

@artificeutility

assisted living is a social program that supports people who need help managing life. usually that's because of a mental or physical disability that obstructs you in daily tasks to the degree that you can't complete them or you would be forced to constantly expend your internal or external resources in such a way that your quality of life becomes unacceptably low. those aren't the only reasons you might need support, but there are other programs for people with other problems

the most basic sort of support is just getting stuff that you need to function. medication, assistive devices, regular check-ins from a specialist, therapeutic and medical support, that sort of thing. it's individual. then there's the social level of support, both predictive and symptomatic. like you might have the system take care of stuff that it helps not to have to worry about, shit like having groceries or prepared meals delivered to you, or you might have something set up to do your dishes. you might get a support animal for disability aid or anxiety or ptsd.

and then the assisted living provision is for complex cases that require constant care or nuanced support. one type has you working with medical professionals or subords, and the other pairs you up with someone who lives with you, legally advocates for you, and makes sure your needs are met. they have to be trained to get a license to look after someone. if you have a complex case or there isn't someone who has that specialty available, you might meet with a bunch of students and see if you match up well. and then they'll go for that field of study so they can pair up with you once they're clear.

it's one of a lot of things. i know people with depression sometimes join a transport service that brings you on outings, either alone or in groups. people do wellness checks and if stuff is trending towards a place you don't want to be in, you might get sent books that are predicted to help or get offered invitations to a yoga group or something. i think there's like a subord sector that does nothing but engineer apparent coincidences to reassure people who are having a hard time. i've lived my whole life in a wheelchair, man, and i've been in the ALP system pretty much since i finished school. people get taken care of.

it doesn't have to be like it is where you are.

[300iqprower]

Okay might as well stop putting it off and post this. Was gonna title this “Disability and Dark Souls” but 1. This isn’t actually about Dark Souls itself, 2. That makes it seem like it’ll have way more cohesion than it does. Long-ass rambling to follow.

Remember this vent post that I wasn’t expecting anyone whatsoever to acknowledge? Well things happened and I guess I’m making up a followup. Specifically one that talks about the issues I have with Sekrio Shadows Die Twice as someone with a motor function disability, (specifically minor dyspraxia, a neurodevelopmental condition which affects fine motor skills). The rest of this is basically going to one long ramble very loosely framed as something of a rebuttal to the generic and oft presented idea that Fromsoftware’s approach to difficulty and accessibility is not just flawless, but specifically something that would ruin everything about their games if the formula was in any way changed. So it’s probably going to have redundancies and defensive language and be a clumsy mix of relaying my personal experiences and me trying to prove a point. Ok? Don’t say i didn’t warn you.

…So then, to go back to that original post, it used Elden Ring as an example, which out of Fromsoft’s lineup is pretty much at the opposite end of the spectrum from the aforementioned Sekiro. For that exact reason though, I think there’s merit to describing the experience of one and applying it to the other, both to show how Elden Ring alleviates the issue but also why it’s a discussion that still needs to be had, because if it can happen to one then it can still very much apply to the other; that’s inherent to the design philosophy of a company like Fromstoftware who make changes to the same base mold for all their titles, even when they severely diverge in opposite directions the way Sekiro and Elden Ring do when compared to Dark Souls. And also because the point still applies, even if my issue with present design actually lies with Sekiro. That doesn’t mean that anytime someone brings up easy modes over Elden Ring, they should still be shushed and shamed with this idea that actively rejecting accessibility is somehow a moral high ground. That’s something I wanna highlight before getting into it further. The issue was never that these games should be forced to have an easy mode; the issue is the people who actively seek to prevent these games from having an easy mode. There is no moral high ground that entitles you to think it’s ever a bad thing to be more accessible, and it’s not on you, me, or anyone else to deny the existence of such features. If I advocate for an easy mode, it’s because I have a reason to believe it’s optional inclusion would improve the experience for certain groups. The same by definition cannot apply to someone seeking to prevent the existence of such things. Reasons such as resource drain can be given for why the development wouldn’t allow for it, but to react with vitriol to the idea of an easy mode existing goes well beyond any worthy intention into pure gatekeeping. That’s why my original question was NOT “If it’s so great, why doesn’t it have an easy mode?” despite that being the question people seemed to have responded to. My question was “If it’s such an amazing game, why do people act like an optional easier difficulty would ruin the entire game including the people who clearly just wouldn’t use that option if it did exist?” So to restate, Elden Ring is only tangential, and only originally included because of how other people (such as the 'shithead youtuber' in question) take a scattershot approach of lumping it in with Dark Souls and Sekiro whenever talking about why NONE of them should be allowed to have varying difficulty settings or general accessibility. All clear? Have I alienated enough people yet? Okay. Let’s move on I guess. If this is written defensively (it is), it’s because I’m all too used to being met with hostility over all this.

Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and all the other Fromsoftware games don’t necessarily need an easy mode, but that was not the point being made. The point being made was that lacking an easy mode is not a necessity; accessibility options would be appreciated. There’s a difference between a mode that is completely rebalanced, using up time and resources to put in an entirely different difficulty setting that won't even be the intended experience, and something as simple as a crutch, like Sekiro having slow-mo without explicitly modding the game. This is to say nothing of games that already take the approach of creating one intended difficulty and simply adding easier or harder modes with basic number tweaks rather than anything in depth like rettoled AI or placement, both creating an intended and delicately crafted experience as well as providing accessibility. Personally I will always take the ‘crutch’ though over artificial difficulty, both because it’s much more streamlined and because such solutions are easy to weave into the core gameplay (the Sniper Elite series has a great example, the aim cursor and bullet-time like effects of holding your breath becoming less effective the more you increase the difficulty but also allowing you to fully disable it at any time in the options even on lower difficulties).

All that said, and here’s where people get even touchier about this discussion… there’s absolutely a difference between dedicated accessibility options and just having proper gameplay balance, the same way accessibility is not as simple as having different builds. Look I love Fromsoft as much as anyone else and when it comes to their game design they’re impeccable; the variety of approaches absolutely helps, and it has directly helped me in DS1 especially. It’s also for that exact reason, however, Sekiro is so problematic both for myself and many others to the point it completely reignited this discussion of ‘should there be an easy mode’ unlike ever before upon release. What I’m getting at is, that variety definitely pastes over what would otherwise be inconsiderately hard game design, hard to the point of more empirically warranting various difficulty. Fromsoft ingeniously chose to use its variety of approach and mechanics as a way to eliminate the need for such things, that’s true. They should also absolutely be praised for that! But if they then turn around and make something like Sekiro that removes that aspect entirely with its heavily streamlined design focusing on reflexive parrying above all else, then it calls the whole system into question. And now is the part where people always point to how they beat it, or how many people ‘overcame’ it, or whatever. Some people can even beat these games with a ddr pad. Good for them, it’s an incredible feat and worthy of accolades. But for people to then use such feats as “proof” the game is “already accessible” when some people are physically disabled and unable to properly play a game that requires, say, pinpoint dodges and parries with extremely punishing gameplay, is not just disingenuous, it’s a complete fallacy. There’s a point to be made about external solutions, things like creating controllers that can accommodate such people, but external solutions are not a reason nor an excuse for game designers to not meet them halfway if possible; as I said there’s a difference between rebalancing and at least a cheat toggle, oversimplified a solution that may be. That’s the key word: Toggle. Option. You don’t have to use it. Stop acting like it’s very existence is a detriment when you can choose to not engage with it at all. Dark Souls 2 isn’t ludicrously unfair because the Covenant of Champions exists. Ya know, because you can just NOT use it. Why doesn’t the same apply to the inverse?

I did DS2 with that covenant btw. I also did a 100% run of Bloodborne. I own DS3 too and even Metal Wolf Chaos. I probably have more hours in Fromsoft games than most of the people who’ve told me why easy modes are bad. My point is that just because I adore these games and have a thorough understanding of their design from both a gameplay and narrative standpoint, that doesn’t mean I think the arguments against easy modes somehow have merit. And i’m not too proud to admit a large part of that is related to my own situation. A while back, as a direct result of my time with Sekiro, I learned I have what is known as minor dyspraxia, as mentioned at the start. It explained a lot, like the not being coordinated bit. Not as in “I’m a bit clumsy,” as in even after a life of playing video games since the gamecube era and many years of attempts I just can never break into certain genres like hyperfast fps games or fighting games or basically anything that relies on PC controls because my base hand-eye coordination is terrible and my reaction time doesn’t match the speed at which my hands should be able to react. Starting my soulslike career with Bloodborne ended up being a blessing for me not just because the fastest soulslike was my first hurdle but specifically because of how, despite the speed, it’s got a very passive approach that clicks with me in the simple dodge and swipe approach, with riposting being the kind of the thing I couldn’t pull off but lacking the ability being a non-issue as the game is designed such it’s never truly needed. It allows you to make certain fights cakewalks with single massively damaging counterattacks, but it’s NEVER required for a fight or designed such that it’s the only realistic approach to combat. But then by comparison you have the exact reason I struggle with Sekiro’s fast paced incredibly reactionary combat (parry’s, unblockables telegraphed by symbols more than animations, deflecting freaking LIGHTNING with multiple button inputs in the span of a single second) that beat me down in a way that didn't leave me feeling fulfilled because I was actively struggling against myself as much the game.

In Bloodborne I felt pure catharsis when I beat the Bloodstarved Beast, my first ‘wall’ in one of these games. In Dark Souls 1 I felt fulfilled even after struggling for TWO YEARS against Ornstein and Smough, going so far as to start from scratch with a completely different build, but when I beat Ashina and his stupid lightning throwing technique after a few months of trying almost every day, dying over and over to the same thing in the same way…I was just sick of it. I didn't feel like I had surmounted this incredible challenge like I had when I used consumables and gear to cover my failings in the Bloodstarved fight, or feel proud for sticking with it long enough to completely redo my build in Dark Souls 1. In Sekiro It felt like I’d died like an idiot to the exact same thing hundreds of times and should’ve beaten him weeks ago but didn’t because I clearly am just bad at this with no other explanation, that the only reason I wasn’t winning was because I wasn’t as good as everyone else. I saw exactly what I needed, exactly what button to press to succeed, and DIDN'T because I kept messing up the inputs as my brain and fingers caught up a split second too late. This happened dozens upon dozens of times as I struggled with a playstyle I understood but could not cope with, and did not have the option to opt out of. Even after finally beating it I progressed a bit beyond but soon dropped the game, exhausted by it only becoming harder and more brutal because unlike Soulsborne that reactionary gameplay is the core of Sekiro’s design and the unmoving pillar all of its gameplay scales itself around. I keep telling myself I’ll go back and actually finish Sekiro if only on principle but I don’t look forward to it like I do my [counts…] …7th run of bloodborne, I expect to just hit another painful roadblock that presents a challenge not because it’s difficult and I’ll eventually overcome it, but because I’m just not good enough and trying to bring myself up to “average”. And to top it all off, according to all these people who trumpet what a masterpiece every Fromsoft game is, me not being good enough seems to mean I don’t “deserve” to experience the game in a way I can enjoy.

I agree Fromsoftware are the ones who should decide whether this sort if thing is implemented at all. My issue is not that there isn’t a version of Sekiro that will hold my hand, even if that’s what I very much wish I had so I could enjoy this clearly masterfully crafted game in my own way. My issue is how so many people describing these games as “must-experience masterpieces” react like a shark to blood at the mention of making them more accessible. All discussion of such things has been completely co-opted by this ableist idea that any step towards in-game accessibility that isn't based on very surface level disabilities like color-blindness or deafness is “making things worse for everyone” when it should be self demonstrating that it hurts no one to do such a thing so long as it’s done right. I don’t have a PC that can run Sekrio though for the slow-mo mod, something that could so easily have been added to the game. So according to so very many people, I guess I “don’t deserve” to be able to enjoy the game at all, which hurts every time i'm told it. And that missing out is likely to happen again if Fromsoft ever makes another streamlined game that has the sort of highly crafted intended experience I would otherwise be enthralled by, so long as their each and every release is met with vehement pushback against the very idea of them adding an easy mode to anything ever.

[homiciderat420]

The Homelessness Industrial Complex #FreeTheHomeless

The Homelessness Industrial Complex consists of three pillars: the nonprofits aka "charities," the healthcare businesses, and the police & security businesses. These three sets of institutions govern nearly every aspect of homeless life, and discrimination by employees of these institutions is felt most painfully by homeless people, especially when they DIE by the hand or the decisions of such people. Employees of Portland Downtown Clean & Safe are sometimes armed - making them basically pigs with EVEN LESS training+accountability than actual pigs. There is an epidemic of abuse by shelter staff, who use their advantage and power over homeless people by going on a power trip and for instance often literally (I've seen it many times) kicking sickly old ladies into the cold night on a whim. Daring to stand up for others is a special slight against the fragile egos of the shelter staff, so called RA's "resident advocates." Advocates. I can't even laugh at this bullshit. Shelter residents are instead titled participants, because participants in a program do not have the same rights as "real" residents of a building. No tenants' rights. Only the right to file grievances that get thrown away and retaliated against (illegally). The nonprofits' lists of numbers look so long and helpful; call them all and get no help or not nearly enough help unless you're one of the lucky few. People think there are so many resources, and homeless people are just lazy or want to be homeless. This is virtually never the case.

And in the case of healthcare businesses, healthcare employees AKA medical so-called professionals regularly kill or torture homeless people. Keeping someone off of painkillers because of an addiction or even a past addiction is eighth amendment level cruel and unusual punishment, by people who are worshipped by society for being so benevolent and helpful. People who are supposed to treat medical needs. Killing people by not taking their medical concerns seriously. Yes, THAT KILLS PEOPLE. Yes, I have seen it happen.

In the case of police & security employees, their main purpose according to their behavior is to fuck with and kill homeless people, especially people who are visibly mentally ill and/or of color. It should be noted that there is usually no accountability for crimes by housed & fellow homeless people agaisnt homeless people. It's a free for all of nonstop theft & greater violence against homeless people. Predators thrive among the homeless population because of this. When trauma, discrimination, and drugs are omnipresent, it is impossible to act as a rational, healthy human being. When your humanity is stripped away from you. We make it this way. This is what happens when people from a fucked up, abusive society become homeless.

[autimind]

Ableism is far more toxic than you think.

How's that for a clickbait title? Anyway, let's talk about ableism. I have been reading a lot of autistic activism the last couple of weeks and have reads many references to ableism. It is mostly pointed out in other people's speech. However, much like with racism, ableism is more than the overt extremely clear mean-spirited remarks.

Just as racism is more than 'We don't want you black folk in this here neighborhood', ableism is more than 'People with autism should be cured'. No.. it is far more pernicious than that. In this post I want to talk about systemic ableism.

According to MedicalNewsToday, ableism is this.

Ableism refers to bias, prejudice, and discrimination against people with disabilities. It hinges on the idea that people with disabilities are less valuable than nondisabled people.

As most readers will agree, recent talk about splitting the diagnosis into (mild) autism and severe autism can easily be ableist. It can be meant well of course since society does tend to think about autism in terms of Sheldon Coopers who can self-advocate, are good programmers and are easily able to speech at conferences. Then again, people shouldn't need yet another label to get reasonable accomodations. It is mostly the autism-industrial complex that continues to stress again and again ad nauseam that 'severely autistic' people don't have a voice of their own and need allistic champions to speak for them. I don't think Anantha Krishnamurthy, Tejas Rao Sankar or Trevor Byrd agree!

In the autistic community we tend to follow the social model: A handicap exists against the social background. One of the reasons that the social model is so powerful as well as empowering is that it basically ignores the last part of the above definition, namely the value of disabled people. Why, we could ask, make that a point? Why not instead accomodate as far as necessary, stand back and see the person in question bloom? Of course, not everyone who finds their voice or receives some tool grows into a world-changing luminary but society doesn't consist of luminaries. Those are by definition rare. You don't have to be autistic for that.

My point is that ableism runs deeper, far deeper, than, for example, the barrage of insults that hit Greta Thunberg when she became noticeable to the international press. Ableism runs deeper than punishing autistic school children for meltdowns 'because otherwise it wouldn't be fair to the others'. It runs deeper than the use of functioning labels and the confusion of comorbid disabilities with autism or even describing autistic people as something to be fixed or cured. The basic ground level of all this toxic mess is the cognitively lazy tendency to see others as gains or losses.

It is that callous. It really is that cold-hearted. Ableist thinkers see others as either a net drain on their resources - or society's in general - or a net gain. They also see life as a zero sum game. These are the people who cite 2 Thes 3 verse 10, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” without reading the very next verse. These are the people who claim they built their business all on their own without help from anybody (and certainly not from the guvmint), forgetting that their trucks drive on roads built by the state, by society in fact. They only see their own skills or merits and are blind to what chances and supports they were given.

Allistic disabled people suffer from this, as well as children, old people, anyone more brown than an Italian and basically everyone not the ideal. Most of Western society is conceptualized and set up around white, 30-40 year old allistic heterosexual cisgender non-disabled people (men, mostly) with a job that supports them easily. This is systemic ableism. The rest are simply told to 'keep up'.

This skewed society has formed a large group of people who are ableist as well as able but see themselves mostly as burdened and harrassed. These are the people who think that giving one person something is a loss for others. This is by the way not always entirely untrue because a government has a finite amount of resources. We can't fully support everything. The pernicious part, however, to this way of thinking is that the same people usually think that unlimited wealth shouldn't just be possible but be actively supported.

According to medicalhomeportal.org, simple AAC devices can be bought for less than 1000 USD. I am unaware of any of the other relevant numbers but I am fairly sure that all necessary appliances can easily be financed if we had billionaires pay a tenth of a percent more taxes. People talk a lot about the ethics of negotiating a very very high salary but tend to forget that whether or not you get to keep the money once earned is another ethical question entirely. I am however in danger of going off-topic.

Look at any ableist remark and you'll see poorly disguised loathing of a burden, a net loss.

Why is this? I have called this 'cognitively lazy' earlier and I do believe that is a big part of it. Human brains tend to conserve resources by using heuristics and other short-cuts all. the. time. People naturally shy away from using their intelligence and other energy-intensive skills like compassion unless prompted and/or trained. This is the basic nature of the human animal. Then again, here am I thinking that civilisation exists for the express purpose of training us to live well together. What other purpose does a civilisation have but to ensure that we all live and we all live as best we can?

Ableists deserve our pity. Sure we should be activists and fight for our rights but we should also pity our enemies. They have in a very real sense lost a sizeable chunk of their humanity. Because we are more than our basic natures. We are more than the Hunger Games writ large. We can be more than Tennyson's 'nature red in tooth and claw' - another misunderstood reference by the way - and we are more than just competitive fighters. In fact, our very evolutionary success was partly built on empathy, compassion and our unique ability to see others as like ourselves. Saying otherwise is basically claiming that humanity should behave like bacteria, nothing but naked hunger ever striving for more and more at the cost of absolutely anything.

We are, potentionally, so much more than that. We can be a true society, where the falling angel meets the rising ape. This why we should fight ableism but, far more importantly, should build compassion and empathy in and around ourselves.

Only if we do this, will we have a chance. As autistics. As humans.

[eunoiacarehub]

Understanding NDIS Support Coordination and How It Can Help You

Navigating the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) can feel overwhelming, particularly when trying to manage multiple services and providers. That’s where NDIS support coordination comes in. At EunoiaCareHub, we specialize in helping participants access the right supports to achieve their goals. Our support coordination services are designed to guide you through the complexities of the NDIS, empowering you to make the most of your funding and live an independent, fulfilling life.

What is NDIS Support Coordination?

Support coordination is a service offered to NDIS participants to help them understand, implement, and manage their NDIS plans. The main goal of support coordination is to assist participants in navigating the various supports and services available through the NDIS. A support coordinator works closely with the participant to ensure that they have the tools and resources they need to make informed decisions about their care and achieve their desired outcomes.

There are three levels of support coordination offered through the NDIS:

Support Connection: A more basic form of support coordination aimed at helping participants understand their plan and connect with appropriate service providers.

Support Coordination: A more in-depth service that helps participants implement their plans, coordinate services, and manage their supports effectively over time.

Specialist Support Coordination: For participants with more complex needs, this level of support involves working with specialists to manage high-risk or complicated situations.

At EunoiaCareHub, we provide all levels of support coordination, ensuring that participants receive the guidance and assistance they need, no matter their level of complexity.

The Benefits of Support Coordination

Having a dedicated support coordinator can make a significant difference in how effectively participants use their NDIS funding. Here are some of the key benefits of support coordination:

1. Plan Understanding

NDIS plans can be complex and contain a variety of funding categories and services. A support coordinator helps break down these components, ensuring that participants fully understand how to use their plan to access the right services and supports.

2. Connecting with Service Providers

Finding the right service providers can be a daunting task, especially when there are so many options to choose from. A support coordinator assists participants in identifying and connecting with providers that meet their specific needs, whether it’s therapy, personal care, housing, or education services.

3. Ongoing Management and Monitoring

A support coordinator doesn’t just help set up services; they also provide ongoing management to ensure that everything is running smoothly. They monitor the participant’s progress, make adjustments as necessary, and ensure that the participant is getting the most out of their NDIS plan.

4. Advocacy and Problem Solving

If issues arise with service providers or if a participant feels that their NDIS plan needs adjustments, a support coordinator acts as an advocate. They can help participants resolve disputes, manage challenges, and ensure that their needs are met.

5. Encouraging Independence

While support coordination provides valuable guidance, its ultimate goal is to help participants build the skills and confidence they need to manage their supports independently in the future.

How EunoiaCareHub’s Support Coordination Services Work

At EunoiaCareHub, we understand that every participant’s needs and circumstances are different, which is why our support coordination services are highly personalized. Here’s how we work with NDIS participants:

1. Individualized Support Plans

We begin by conducting a comprehensive assessment of each participant’s goals, needs, and preferences. This allows us to create a customized support plan that aligns with their NDIS funding and personal objectives.

2. Connecting with Trusted Providers

With our extensive knowledge of local providers and services, we help participants find trusted, high-quality service providers that meet their specific needs. This includes connecting participants with healthcare professionals, therapists, personal care providers, and other essential services.

3. Ongoing Guidance and Monitoring

Our support coordinators provide continuous guidance to ensure that participants are on track to meet their goals. We offer regular check-ins and reviews to assess progress and adjust support plans as needed.

4. Advocacy and Conflict Resolution

Should challenges arise, our support coordinators act as advocates, helping participants navigate any obstacles and ensuring that their voice is heard. We work to resolve issues quickly and efficiently, so participants can focus on achieving their goals.

Conclusion

Navigating the NDIS can be challenging, but with the right support, participants can unlock the full potential of their plan. At EunoiaCareHub, our NDIS support coordination services are designed to guide participants through every step of their journey, from understanding their plan to connecting with providers and managing their supports. If you’re an NDIS participant looking for expert guidance, contact EunoiaCareHub today to learn how we can support you in reaching your goals.

[theasteroidlegacy]

Date: October 21 2024

Time: 1:40am - MDT

Entry Number: 1

Current Fronter: Emery

Topic: Fear Responses

------------------------------------

Hello! It's currently the dead of night where we live and I can't get to sleep(how fun/s). So I thought I'd talk about fear responses and how we've experienced a giant leap from one to another due to our current situation.

There are four known fear responses. Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn. I won't delve too deep into them but I'll put basic definitions for all of them here-

Fight Response: Responding to threats or fears through verbal or physical defenses/attacks. This can also include feelings of irritation and annoyance towards others behaviors.

Flight Response: Responding to threats or fears by escaping or "running away" from the danger. This may include maladaptive daydreaming, preoccupying ones self with work/school, becoming apathetic or running away.

Freeze Response: Responding to threats or fears by "freezing in place" while still being hyper vigilant about ones surroundings until your brain can make up its mind to fight or flee, however your brain might instead "Flop" or dissociate if it sees it to be the best option(this often happens if you have a dissociative disorder or experience dissociation in general).

Fawn Response: Responding to threats or fears by "neutralizing the threat" through taking care of or pleasing it. This can often be portrayed by taking care of a parent as a child, making yourself as useful as possible, not forming your own identity. Most of these while seen as "helpful" by the casual bystander, can be more harmful than good for those with a Fawn response.

(Resources:

The Beginners Guide to Trauma Responses )

The reason we are bringing this up is because we've recently(within the past year) gone from being in a constant Fawn and Freeze response, to being in a constant Fight and Flight. Which has hit our system like a brick wall.

It's basically the pendulum swinging from one end to the other.

Lately we've been experiencing anger, and annoyance whenever our brain perceives a new "threat". And while this can be helpful in some instances(such as advocating for proper treatment and setting firm boundaries with our loved ones), it can be a hassle in other areas.

For example we've become more irritated when a friend or loved one comes to us with an emotional problem/disturbance, whether the person just had a break-up or their dog died, we've felt annoyed and irritated at them, even when we want to be there. We want to comfort and help how we can. But those feelings of irritation and annoyance arise.

On the other side with the flight response, we've been apathetic, emotionless, and have been maladaptive daydreaming a lot(which has caused a couple of splits).

These feelings and habits arise when our thoughts get too overwhelming. We've gotten to a point where we feel empty, but it's not a painful empty like it was when we were a teenager. It's more of a comfortable empty. You're not bothered with others thoughts or feelings. You're all you have and that's okay, type of empty.

Honestly we were kind of disturbed by the swing from lack of feelings to the overwhelming emotions of anger, irritation, and annoyance, compared to our people pleasing, co-dependant, not knowing what to do in a strenuous situation, self.

In the past we've experienced these feelings(emptiness, extreme anger, irritability, and annoyance), however we've experienced them differently.

Instead of turning on others with our anger and annoyance, it was turned onto ourselves. The same goes for the feelings of emptiness. It was painful to feel that emptiness and we turned on ourselves to relieve it.

It's like someone switched a circuit, causing this phenomenon.

So we decided to talk to our therapist and got her observation on things. And, after some light digging, we figured out that since I've moved and become more independent, situations have arisen where our brain and body has had to be in flight or flight and not freeze and fawn.

From advocating for proper healthcare to escaping our emotions and avoiding conflict with our pushy relatives, it's all been to protect ourselves from these situations that could turn sour in an instance.

For the past year we truly thought we were doing a lot better with our mental health because we've been free of self mutilation for over a year. Because we're able to set good, firm boundaries without too much trouble. Because we're not always waiting for something good to happen to take us away from the trauma.

But it turns out we're just coping differently. We're coping in a way where no one is worried, and we're comfortable with that. Our brain has told us there's no need for others to worry, because we've got our own back.

But the thing is, we still need help. We still need help with groceries, we still rely on government programs to get us through our current life with the multiple disabilities we have. We're still reliant on several people, but our brain's current fear response doesn't understand that. And it's hard dealing with that.

We've had to set boundaries with friends so WE as a system don't ruin the relationship. Because sometimes, those fear responses don't know when to back down and that can ruin relationships and cause more bad than good.

All in all, it's always good to look at yourself and the changes that have happened in yourself, in order to understand what's happening in the moment, especially as someone with a dissociative disorder.

Thanks for getting this far. Feel free to discuss your own experiences and thoughts in the comments! Love Y'all!

-Emery🦊

------------------------------------

-End Entry-

[dxsturbia]

So what happens is you get your state insurance Medicare Medicaid what have you

And I don’t know if you’ve ever rented anything like property of any kind

But what they’re gonna do is set you up with a business basically you have this many units to your insurance policy and every policy is the same or at least that’s what they’re telling me

And you’re gonna go find a temp agency and they are going to play the role of your human resources department. They’re going to be accounting and payroll.

And what should happen is that if for some reason, my primary provider is unavailable, I am able to contact the agency on a PRN basis to have someone contracted out to fill in the gap for whatever reason my chosen provider isn’t available

What’s happening right now is that I sign up with the agency they do all of my paperwork, my payroll all of that I am only allowed to pay my staff what 11.45 per hour at this point

I am only able to provide them with 21.75 hours per week because that’s all the time I have to rent from the temp agency

I cannot provide them with medical benefits. I cannot provide them with vacation or sickleave. I am responsible for being able to staff in case of an absence, but listen I can’t just hold somebody in emergency position. They are required to work a certain amount of time per week otherwise they will be removed from I don’t Know exactly what it is at this agency but my last one it was 16

So I either hire family or I go live in a home because nobody’s got the gas money to do their jobs without taking on five or six different clients and I am a demanding client and may not seem so because I don’t have the luxury of having every need met

Family doesn’t come because they hate me. They’re not getting paid enough for this either so they’re going to scam the Clock too

And everyone has abandoned Anissa to her own devices again anissa doesn’t have any devices. The state of Missouri does.

Everyone knows it and they’re taking full advantage of it. I need there to be consequences for that real ones.

I need the rights to my life under the American Constitution whether or not I can get off this rat wheel that is the benefit line

Everybody does it and it’s always OK until I do it because I’ve actually got the right to it and it’s a social structure so if you want to keep it, you gotta help

I need advocates ones that are allowed to act as advocates. I need lawyers that work with ADA cases that can take ADA money.

I need people to let the system work

I need to be able to not let people twist up my money so that when they need more of it, I can actually get it

[tanishka123]

The Content Marketing Landscape in 2024: Trends, Strategies, and Why It Matters More Than Ever

The digital landscape is ever-evolving, and staying ahead of the curve is crucial for businesses of all sizes. In this dynamic environment, content marketing remains a powerful tool, but its strategies need to adapt to keep pace. Here at Wranc Marketing Agency, we’re passionate about helping businesses leverage content to thrive. So, buckle up as we delve into the content marketing landscape of 2024 and explore why it’s more important than ever.

Unveiling the Content Marketing Powerhouse: Why It Matters

Content marketing isn’t just a fad; it’s a strategic approach that delivers tangible results. Here’s how it empowers your business:

Building Brand Awareness: High-quality content positions you as an authority in your field. People discover your brand through informative blog posts, insightful articles, or engaging social media content, establishing you as a trusted resource.

Lead Generation Powerhouse: Content that addresses your target audience’s pain points acts as a lead magnet. Valuable ebooks, white papers, or webinars attract potential customers seeking solutions, nurturing them into qualified leads.

Website Traffic on Autopilot: Content optimized for search engines improves your ranking, driving organic traffic to your website. This means more eyes on your brand and your offerings, all thanks to the power of content.

Loyalty Through Value: Consistent, informative content builds trust and loyalty with your audience. By providing valuable resources, you establish yourself as a thought leader, fostering long-term relationships with your customers.

Sales Acceleration: Content plays a vital role in the sales funnel. Educational blog posts nurture leads at the awareness stage, while product comparisons and case studies help them make informed decisions, ultimately leading to conversions.

Content Marketing in 2024: Embracing the Cutting Edge

The content marketing landscape is constantly evolving. Here are some key trends to watch for:

The Rise of AI: Artificial intelligence is making waves in content creation. From generating topic ideas to streamlining content workflows, AI can be a valuable asset, allowing you to focus on strategy and high-level content development.

Personalization Takes Center Stage: Today’s audiences crave personalized experiences. AI will further enhance content personalization, allowing you to tailor content to individual user preferences and interests, leading to higher engagement.

The Short-Form Video Boom: Short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels are exploding. Businesses need to create compelling, bite-sized video content that captures attention in a fast-paced world.

The Employee Advocate Advantage: Employees are a powerful marketing force. Empowering them to share company content on their social media platforms can create a network of brand advocates, fostering authenticity and trust.

A Return to Basics: While exciting new trends emerge, remember the core principles of content marketing: quality, consistency, and value. Focus on creating informative and engaging content that truly resonates with your target audience.

Building a Winning Content Marketing Strategy in 2024: A Step-by-Step Guide

Ready to harness the power of content marketing for your business? Here’s a roadmap to get you started:

Know Your Audience: Define your ideal customer profile. Understanding their demographics, interests, and pain points allows you to create content that speaks directly to them.

Set SMART Goals: Define Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound goals for your content marketing strategy. What do you want to achieve? Increased brand awareness? Lead generation?

Content Audit: Take stock of your existing content. Identify high-performing pieces and areas for improvement. This audit will inform your content creation strategy moving forward.

Content Calendar Creation: Plan your content creation to ensure consistency. Create a calendar that outlines topics, formats, and publishing schedules.

Content Diversification: Experiment with different content formats – blog posts, infographics, videos, podcasts – to cater to diverse learning styles and audience preferences.

SEO Optimization: Optimize your content for search engines by incorporating relevant keywords naturally. This increases your content’s visibility in search results.

Content Promotion Powerhouse: Promote your content across various channels like social media, email marketing, and influencer partnerships. Maximize your reach and engagement.

Embrace Analytics: Track your content’s performance using analytics tools. Analyze key metrics like website traffic, engagement rates, and lead generation to measure success and refine your strategy.

Wranc Marketing Agency: Your Content Marketing Partner

At Wranc Marketing Agency, we understand the complexities of content marketing in today’s dynamic landscape. We offer a comprehensive suite of services to help you create a winning content strategy:

Content Strategy Development: We work

with you to understand your business goals and target audience. We then develop a data-driven content strategy that aligns with your overall marketing objectives.

Content Creation Powerhouse: Our team of skilled writers, editors, and graphic designers can create high-quality content across various formats, ensuring it’s informative, engaging, and resonates with your audience.

SEO Optimization Magic: We optimize your content for search engines, increasing its visibility and driving organic traffic to your website.

Content Promotion Expertise: We leverage various digital marketing channels to promote your content and maximize its reach and engagement. From social media marketing to influencer partnerships, we’ll get your content seen by the right people.

Content Analytics Advantage: We track your content’s performance and provide insightful reports, allowing you to measure success and continuously refine your content marketing strategy.

By partnering with Wranc Marketing Agency, you gain a team of content marketing experts dedicated to helping you achieve your business goals.

Ready to take your content marketing to the next level? Contact Wranc Marketing Agency today for a free consultation!

[reliquiaen]

(from arisenreborn) Pawn #3, Arisen & Pawn #15, World & Story #3

thanks so much for asking !! ♥ took me a bit to get to it because work this week has been UGH you understand?

questions are here.

Pawn #3: If they were infected with the Dragonsplague, are there any specific ways they would act differently? 

oh so when tarbh gets dragonsplague, vashka can basically tell immediately because she’s suddenly so much meaner than usual? like her sass just SHOOTS off the charts and there’s much less of her charming labrador energy. suddenly tarbh is back chatting. “tarbh will you do this” “oh of COURSE arisen it would be my PLEASURE arisen may i clean your boots arisen???” and vashka just. ok. stop that. vashka is normally in a state of Vague Annoyance at how devoted and wholesome tarbh is so when she stops doing that and starts advocating for walking past old ladies in need or homeless people begging for charity because it’s “a waste of time and resources” vashka right away starts plotting how to push her off a ledge to cleanse her of this evil.

“yes of course i'll set up the tent this evening arisen, heaven forbid you should trouble yourself after i did all the heavy lifting in that fight earlier, wouldn’t want you to strain a muscle, perish the thought”

A&P #15: Do they have a favorite place in the world; be it a town or a particular area or view they’re fond of?

vashka's favourite place is pretty much wherever there’s not a lot of people to bother her. she loves the ocean, rivers, lakes, etc, so anywhere she’s got a nice view of some water that’s perfect. if it’s isolated AND near water? she’s definitely there somewhere. if you want specific to dd2, then harve village. when they passed through there for brant hunting saurians she was instantly enamoured with it – reminds her of her hometown, which, admittedly, doesn’t have LOADS of particularly fond memories, but it’s the general vibe and that salty tang to the air that hit her in the nostalgia.

it's extremely cheesy, but tarbh’s favourite place is wherever vashka is. i am not kidding or being hyperbolic when i say that tarbh is just exactly like a loyal puppy dog. she gave up a lot to join vashka and it fills her with such hope that they can make things better. she also finds a certain peace in churches; something about the high, vaulted ceilings and the colourful stained glass windows, and the smell of the incense, the soft rustle of robes… sends her back to her childhood when things were simple and good and evil were easy to delineate and she misses that. even vashka can’t be easily pigeonholed into Good or Evil and that was confusing for tarbh for a long time, and while it makes sense NOW, there’s just… a comfortable familiarity in churches.

W&S #3: Regardless of whether you adhere to the in-game counter or not, how long do you think their journey took? Did they book it with a sense of urgency, or did things get drawn out - and why? 

vashka ALWAYS strives to be efficient in any task she sets her mind to, so while she would like to complete her quest by beelining it to the dragon so she can stab him in the eyeball or whatever, there’s always red tape. always. she knows this. which is why she likes having tarbh around: to down obstacles when they arise, it’s generally faster than talking things out or… you know… politics and stuff. (she hates politics). assuming they take a bit of time to help people when it seems beneficial to do so (does vashka get something out of this? no? then goodbye) and for stopping to smell some metaphorical roses (which is to say: tarbh is too large to be physically moved by vashka and too pure of heart to be bullied when she takes it into her head to help someone), i'd say it takes them between one and three months. vashka is the opposite of savan: she takes a wagon because it’s faster and she shows up WILDLY underlevelled to her boss fight lmao

[thelikesoffinn]

What does a social worker do? At their job I mean. I thought they were mostly volunteers, you know, everyday-helpers without any specific knowledge? Because I can't really underatand how you know so much about trauma and coping and stuff, do you need that at work?

I'm sorry if it's dumb to asks, but we don't have social workers in my country, me thinks, so I'm really confused.

Ugh, straight to the heart, petal! How could you! (Jk ily all good I swear ❤️)

What a social worker does really depends on the country you live in. So I can't 100% narrow it down to a specific explanation because a social worker from the US, one from South Korea and I will all work really differently.

But, in most countries, at least a bachelors degree is needed to become a social worker. In my country specifically, it can be in social work, social paediatrics, social sciences (with limitations), sociology (with limitations), early childhood paediatrics, and paediatrics. Each of these courses essentially teach the same things with different focal points - social pediatrics will pay more attention to upbringing, education and such while social sciences are more focused on social sciences are more concerned about societies influence on the individual and so on. (Personally, I'm a huge advocate for social work as a major, btw. It combines social paediatrics, social sciences, paediatrics, and sociology, which gives you a well-rounded skill set.)

As for what exactly we do...well, that really really depends. On your country, as stated priorly, and then on the area you work in. In my country, social workers are basically everywhere.

We work in hospitals, hospices, retirement homes, and homes for the disabled and sanatoriums. We work in schools, kindergartens, and orphanages. We work in jails, courts, and police stations - both with victims and offenders. We work in offices where we do counselling for refugees, parents, pregnant people, couples, youths, elderly, those with debt, those with ailments, and those who just need help.

We're mediators, we're financial advisors, we're there to explain medical mumbo jumbo in simple layman's terms, we're there to find out why a teen doesn't want to go to school anymore, we're the people who carry abused children away from their abusive families, and we're there to make sure a victim isn't harmed further just because the police and the court can't be bothered to protect their boundaries.

So, as you can tell, it's pretty difficult to narrow down what exactly a social worker does because we pretty much do everything. Especially in my country, because we don't need extra licenses of anything.

Once you've got your bachelors degree, you can work in all those areas I mentioned, which obviously requires a pretty extensive education and knowledge in many different fields.

But the one thing all those areas have in common is the main question social workers run by.

"What does the individual need to live the life they want?"

So, in all those areas, we always listen to the individual - their wants and fears - and then take a good look at them - their history, the people around them as well as where they live and where they grew up. That is always in order to find out what resources the individual already has and which one we can still activate but also to see what is still missing so that the individual gets to live the life they want.

So, as an example, let's say we have... Thomas O'Malley. A dude in his mid-30s, recently released from jail. His charges read drug abuse and causing bodily harm while under the influence.

Now that he's out, he needs to find both a job and a flat, and he wants to get back into playing football. Jail helped him to get clean, but now that he's out, he's scared that he might relapse. And lastly, Thomas really wants to see his daughter Mary again, but his ex-wife Duchesse doesn't want him to.

As a social worker, we'd write that list down and then get to the questions to find out what resources Thomas already has. Maybe his brothers best friend owns an apartment building and is willing to rent one to him? And if he's scared he might relapse, is there anyone that would stay with him for a while so that he's not alone? At least until we can secure a buddy for him?

After that, we start to weave our own things into it. I'm going to make a pretty generic list down there so that you can imagine what it would look like:

1. Flat: Maybe rent from brothers' friend - call friend to find out what would be required.

2. Job: Call Mr. Jones from the Work Bureau so that Thomas is in their system so that potential employers can reach out to him. Also, since the client mentioned he has issues with writing a CV, contact Eric from the Job Bureau to hook him up with a free CV course

3. Football as a hobby - Contact Michael from the football association and ask about a trial session for their hobby league and what documents would be necessary to join

4. Relapse - Talk to Miss O'Malley, Thomas' parents, about staying with them until a buddy is available. Contact Miss Evernever from the BuddyProject to make sure Thomas is on their list and will be assigned a live-in buddy soon.

5. His daughter Mary - Contact either Miss Duchesse or her lawyer/social worker/whatever to find out why she doesn't want Thomas near Mary and what would need to happen before he's allowed to see her again and what middle ground can be found until then.

So as you can see, there's a lot of calling and e-mailing and all that stuff. Since i'm all about you helping yourself, I'd let the client do the calling themself as much as possible.

So if we stick with Thomas, I would let him deal with 1 - 3 himself - bar the CV course, because you mostly need to know someone to get into those easily, so I'd do that one - and I personally would do 4 and 5.

4 because it's often better if a "person of authority" makes such calls because it highlights a certain amount of pressure and serves as reassurance that the client actually wants that help and 5 because firstly, Duchesse herself may be more willing to talk to someone who's neutral, and secondly...well, if I talk to them first, I can make sure to phrase any information that is relayed to Thomas in a way that won't harm him, which mitigates the chance of a desperation-driven relapse.

That rundown is pretty much standard and can be shoved into any available area of social work. But of course, it's really only the very basic core of the job itself, and there's much more to it than just that. What exactly depends on where you're working and who you're working with. But I hoped this helped paint a picture for you!

[josephsafespace]

My outlook on Bradley Rooney

First Impressions

When I first met Bradley Rooney I don’t even know long ago I literally assumed he was gay. He had the ugliest blonde hair I’ve ever seen. He just looked really skinny (his BMI is 18) and just I didn’t like him. He just seemed like the basic gay bitchy white man that wants to be a LGBTIAQ+ advocate.

His whole like personality

He’s like nice he’s not really nice. He’s capable of being a bitch. Oh, just it’s Bradley Rooney. He just seems like the type of person because he’s smart and nerdy that if you get on the bad side of him, he’s gonna write like an 1,000 word essay on Instagram/Facebook about how much he hates you. One time he just admitted he got himself into drama because someone called him “manipulative”. Instantly I go, isn’t that because you’re Bradley Rooney? Even I can go… you’re like smart right? And you also work as a positive behavioural psychologist AND you have a bachelors in psychology I don’t know what you major in… isn’t that what you studied in uni? All people who do psychology in uni like Lockie my support worker or Andrew my support worker all of them have the same personality. Like once you let them open up and get to know them, they’re capable of being a bitch. Lockie Williams had an Instagram perfect account and I just snaked him on a fake account saying that he looked gay and he instantly blocked me. Andrew even he is all “I don’t use Instagram because I don’t want drama.” Bradley Rooney tried being all like “oh I just literally deleted Facebook and Instagram and social media” and I’m just all like “so you don’t use ANY messaging apps? What’s the point of having a mobile phone then?”

How does he do his job?

If you bring up LGBTIAQ+ issues he gets super involved, literally whipping out his IPad Air and going like “here are statistics of LGBTIAQ+ getting bullied in schools.” And I just literally: “I saw the same set of statistics when I was like in year 9… those statistics are outdated now.” Even I use go like: “I went to high school from 2015-2020. All the LGBTIAQ+ material is all old though. There’s 0 coverage of Cyberbullying. Doesn’t even mention Instagram. Does t even mention Snapchat. Doesn’t mention TikTok. Cat fishing, account phishing, account hacking… if you really want to prevent the bullying of LGBTIAQ+ youth schools need to actually update their resources that aren’t from 2010.”

Even for me, Bradley is already 30+ years old. He graduated over 12 years ago. In 2023-12=2011. Instagram doesn’t exist yet. Definitely not Snapchat. Facebook does exist. Facebook is for old people. People don’t even watch TV anymore.

What did Bradley Rooney do when he was in high school?

“Oh just literally me not showing up to PE because it’s not a real class so I can just skip school. I just really thought I was a little shit.”

See?

Why do you think I hate my life. I was fresh out of high school when you first met me.

I did the same thing.

Year 7

“I hate German. It’s useless. Don’t study for it.”

“Miss Rota is very Rota in history.”

“Literally Ms. Shepard never turns up to teach us geography.”

“Literally Ms. sorenson is fat in Maths.”

“Literaly Ms. Fischer just showed us a Netflix movie of she’s the man or whatever because nobody in the class was trying.”

“PE/HPE nobody studies and nobody studies because it’s not a real class.”

“Food Tech isn’t a real class. It’s food tech. All we literally do is bake cookies and I made fried rice.”

“Maths. Ok. That’s a real subject.”

“English. You have to do that in year 12. It’s a real subject.”

“Science. That’s a real subject.”

Even me,

- food tech = cooking? Useless

- VCD = no future

- Art = useless, homeless, working at McDonalds

German = useless

Chinese = I speak it at home and go to Chinese school

Geography/history = humanities which is useless

Music = useless because I don’t play an instrument

Maths/Science/English = real subjects

Weekly sport = double period of doing nothing

Night of notables = everyone did it the night before

Why the rant about year 7?

Even if you’re nerdy like me, you still want to be popular. Nerds don’t try in year 7.

[informationpolitix]

My thoughts on wokeness, the definition of it and the background

You can be woke and still be a capitalist.  I can explain it this way: The concept of the structural flaw which is at the core of the idea of wokeness, is based on the fact that money, and more generally: capital, is an information technology. This information technology (money and capital) is used by society to determine how to distribute resources and assign work to people. However its a very basic information technology, so the integrity of the data is reliant on society following specific processes in its use. Specifically it needs to be distributed based only on merit, but in the past it was distributed based on race, or rather access to it was granted based on race, and other aspects of identity like homosexuality, etc. That created a huge anomaly in the data, which is still present now. Therefore the entire system of capitalism which relies on the integrity of that data to function equitably, only using merit to discriminate between the recipients of capital, is broken. That system is malfunctioning because the data has a huge anomaly, and specific groups are victim to that malfunction, because of the legacy of historical discrimination set up the data that particular way. I'm a software developer, so it's natural for me to use that kind of analogy. Actually I don't consider it an analogy, that is the reality of the situation. I have observed the exact same phenomenon, of anomalies in data causing undesirable outcomes within systems, many times in my career, so I understand how real the phenomenon is. As a capitalist, it would make sense to correct the system. However the system of capitalism cannot self correct this anomaly, at least not for a really long time. Nobody know, because capitalism wasn't designed to handle that situation, it may never self correct, there is no way to know whether it will except through observation. But people can't wait that long... The same as many software systems, it needs interference from the outside to correct the anomaly. That interference could come in many forms. Wokeness doesn't prescribe any particular action to fix the anomaly, other than to advocate for government interference to fix the problem. Part of the philosophy of wokeness is the recognition that capitalism cannot fix this anomaly, as I described above. So there are a lot of competing solutions to the problem. Marxism is one of them. Wokeness is agnostic of any particular solution, but informs the woke person that they need to push for some kind of solution to fix the problem People who regurgitate this rhetoric about wokeness being equivalent to Marxism are just conditioned to say the worst thing possible about any social or political theory that can disrupt the status quo for your shadowy overlords. They don’t want their game to get messed up, so they compare anything disruptive to the worst thing possible to a capitalist, patriotic American, or whatever kind of imbecilic nationalist you happen to be: the worst possible antithesis to your way of life: Marxism You'll make any argument to try to equate the two, but wokeness is unique and generally a novel concept in its own right. Your mental model is that wokeness = Marxism so you will say anything to convince people that's the reality. Its not objective thought, you are regurgitating propaganda

[regular-lord-reckoner]

i don’t want to speak too soon in case none of this works out, but...i think i figured out my job situation possibly ?? 

my mom seems to be pretty confident that it wouldn’t be that hard for me to be hired on as a full time employee at where i’m at with my second job and that they could probably get a few more providers who need their charts done as well so that i’d have enough work to justify a full time position AND that i could potentially get $15 an hour (which......i don’t see why not, pretty much all the other jobs i know how to do there are paying that much apparently and i.....definitely have not been making that) 

this would be great because it’s something i can do from home so like....not only do i no longer have to do public speaking, i don’t even have to interact with people!! 

the more important thing, though, is that right now my dad’s having a lot of issues with his hip. i’m not entirely sure what all is going on, my mom seems to think right now surgery is the best course of action rather than just physical therapy, but it’s giving him a lot of grief and making it hard for him to do a lot of the stuff he normally does

which...he already has a lot of health problems and in general is just getting older so he’s had to slow down a lot, but now he’s using a cane and even with the medications he’s taking he’ll still be in so much pain he can’t walk and it zaps all his energy so i’ve already been having to do things around the house he normally does and run errands for him, but if i were working from home (and at a company that knows me and knows my mom and would be understanding if i needed to take off to help him) it would probably be best. especially because one of the things we’re most worried about is him being here by himself while we’re both at work and he falls somewhere and can’t get to the phone or something. 

as for my insurance situation, i’m going to turn in an enrollment form tomorrow to cobra my current plan at least until the first of the year. i’ve already met my deductible and out of pocket so i’d really like to be able to keep what i’ve got now so i don’t rack up additional medical debt. 

after the first of the year i’ll either go on this company’s insurance plan since i’ll be full time (and i’m hoping by then they’ll have picked a better plan because their insurance last time i worked there SUCKED) or i’ll look into the marketplace and see what’s available and if there isn’t anything better i’ll just stick with theirs, but either way i should be covered 

the only downside to this route is that keeping my insurance right now is probably gonna be like $600 a month, but my mom said she’d help me with it and i’ll just keep track of how much it is (i think all told it’ll be like...$2,400?) and i’ll slowly pay her back the same way i’m slowly paying off my medical bills 

monetarily speaking that means i’ve really got to be careful about my spending and not just....buy shit i don’t need so i’m going to try my best to not do that and the only little treats i’ll give myself will be few and far between, but i’m hoping with making that much more an hour i should be able to more quickly pay all this shit off and be back to a position where i can actually start saving money......i hope!!! 

i think this will be good too because i really more than anything just need to be in a position where i can start focusing on my mental health and doing everything i need to in order to sort all that out. this job could give me the time to do that, plus since i’ll be home there’s also a lot of cleaning and organizing i need to do that should hopefully be easier to do since i’ll be right here. 

i’ll also be saving a lot on gas too since i won’t have to be commuting 30 minutes to work and 30 minutes home every day so all in all i think it’ll be a good plan i just....need everything to come together and be official before i can breathe easier 

but....things might be okay !!! i hope !! 

also there’s apparently going to be a new m83 album out next month so that’s something to look forward to for sure !! 

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

anyway since this shitcourse is all over tweeter today and I like to try educating folks where I can:

it doesn't matter if sex work is empowering. literally irrelevant. some sex workers love it, some wouldn't do it if they didn't need the money, and some have feelings that fall elsewhere on the continuum between those two things.

regardless, they deserve resources that will make them safer when they're working.

to be clear: this isn't about people who are victims of sex trafficking, which is entirely different than sex work. people who have been trafficked, of course, deserve the help and resources they need, but their mistreatment is not shovel to beat people who have opted into sex work over the head with.

this is the point where you might be saying "but Makenzie, if a sex worker doesn't like their job and is only doing it for the money, have they really 'opted in'? isn't that nonconsensual sex?"

first off - no, literally listen to sex workers talk about this. acting like any sex that someone has with a sex worker is inherently nonconsensual is as dangerous as implying that any sex must be consensual, because either way you're deciding that sex workers don't get to be the ones to decide which sex they did or didn't agree to have. sex workers absolutely can experience rape and sexual assault, and that's an issue that needs to be taken seriously, but acting like any sex for money is inherently violating muddies the issue in a way that doesn't help anyone except people looking to criminalize sex workers.

secondly: hey. listen. have you ever in your life had a job that you didn't especially love and wouldn't have done if we didn't live in a capitalist hellscape where money is required to obtain basic necessities like shelter, food, and medicine? yeah, of course you have. sure, without outside forces influencing you, you probably wouldn't have taken that job. that job probably wasn't empowering. but that doesn't mean you were being trafficked, and it definitely doesn't mean you didn't still deserve to advocate for better, safer working conditions at that job.

whether they like their work or not, sex workers deserve to be able to work safely and without being criminalized. shouting at them that they're objectifying themselves, that their work isn't empowering, that they're setting back feminism - none of that helps them in any way. imagine walking up to a group of factory workers striking for better pay and safer working conditions and telling them that they ought to just work on abolishing capitalism instead of doing such demeaning labor. that's an unhinged thing to say, and willfully ignores the reality that capitalist violence won't end over night and workers need money now.

a whole lot of so-called feminists show their entire ass when they actively fight against measures that sex workers support in the name of "protecting women," often working against the very thing those sex working women are begging to have implemented for their own safety and livelihoods. shut up and listen to what sex workers actually need if you want to help them so badly, and if you're desperate for them to quit sex work altogether then pay for their rent, groceries, student loans, etc, yourself.

if you want to learn more about sex work FROM sex workers who write from an explicitly anti-capitalist lens, and how badly sex workers have been burned by measures rolled out in the name of "protecting" them in various countries, I seriously recommend the book Revolting Prostitutes by Molly Smith and Juno Mac - it's one of the most enlightening books I've ever read.