#have it easier while at the same time actively harassing and bullying that same 'type' of enby

[lumalalu]

i know that last post is abt americanization so i didnt wanna ramble in the tags since tags are more visible now and it doesnt feel the same as talking to myself but i was thinking abt how sasha is a gender neutral name but not to the people i would meet. the name i originally picked is gender neutral in that half the world thinks its masculine and the other half thinks its feminine. guess which half i live in. it doesnt matter bc its wrong either way.

people make fun of enbies w object names a lot but likw. if you just browse gender neutral names lists its really easy to see WHY people gravitate towards object names. there is no gendered correlation for "socks". the average person would assume it's a funny nickname, but they won't ask me if it's short for "ariana".

[volleychumps]

hey hey hey i love you & your work 🥺🥺💕 can i request hc or scenario (up to you, love) of akaashi, ushijima, & tsukki being cramped on a busy subway train with the girl they like and having to like be v close & trying to give each other room but there IS NO ROOM and ! there’s a pervert feeling her up and they see she’s Very Uncomfy and save her from it? thanks ily 💓💓 congrats on 3k

Thank you for 3.4k! Have some fwuffy scenarios you guys seem to like protective boyos tehe 

Protecting their Crush on a Subway w/ Akaashi, Ushijima, and Tsukishima

Warning(s): depictions of harassment 

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

Akaashi

He knew you rode this train. 

It was an evident fact that stood out in his mind when he would board after a grueling practice, instantly seeing you in the same spot at the same time of the day after your own club activities, either immersed in a book or your playlist, a light tune in your throat. Akaashi would make sure to always sit on the other side, risking a glance at two at you from the other side of the subway train, always keeping a distance- yet always keeping you in sight. 

And it was evident that the setter had no intentions on acting on any blooming feelings he felt emerging from your small giggles reserved for yourself, or even the tasteful choice of book of the day you flipped through. He was satiated from his distance, hands tucked away in the warmth of his pockets as he watched you hurriedly tuck your novel away and get off at your stop. 

Until the day came where the distance was closed. Harshly. 

He wondered where you were as the sun set and the train conductor was making their final calls, the subway growing unbearably cramped- a fact he noticed as soon as he realized your absence- not being able to handle the small quirk to the corner of his lips when you stumble on out of breath just as the final call was being heard. 

Blue-green eyes watch from a peripheral view as you bite your lip at the sight of your seat being taken, looking around kind of lost before your eyes fell on his school uniform. Akaashi tilts his head, scooting just enough towards the person next to him to make room that had your eyes brightening at the motion. 

 Your grateful smile had both corners of his lips quirking up now, and you sit graciously in the seat next to him while whispering a small thank you, now not having to stand up and hold onto one of the rails. He simply nods, looking down at his own book but not really paying attention to it, noticing a bit too late that your leg was pressed tightly up against his. He feels the blush emerge before he can stop it, but keeps his eyes on the inked words. 

But his leg wasn’t the only one yours was pressed against. 

He feels you stiffen mere minutes after the train began to move, and his blue eyes drifted to his left to break the ice and talk to you-

and he wished they had sooner. 

Akaashi’s eyes narrow at the sight of a dirty hand inching towards your thigh, exposed from the skirt of your school uniform. You were quiet and reserved at school (one of Akaashi’s favorite traits), and was most likely not the type to speak up when an incident like this was happening. And he wasn’t either. 

Until now. 

He casts a glance to your face to see you near tears, face flushed in embarrassment as you internally struggle with the choice of making a scene, prompting Akaashi to shut his book with a sharp clap, feeling your trembling increase as the hand slides up further. You feel his breath tickle your ear as you look at him slightly, watery eyes blinking in confusion. 

“Excuse me, L/N-san.” 

Your eyes widen a little bit when Akaashi’s arm wraps around your waist, reaching behind you to snatch the other side tightly, pulling you into his side snugly so far away from the perv next to you that your leg is almost on top of his. Akaashi ignores the thump in his ears and heat in his cheeks as he rests your head on his shoulder, lifting his head slightly to shoot a venomous glare at your perpetrator over your head. 

The old man laughs nervously, deciding it was a good time to get off as the train came to a stop, nodding once to Akaashi before making a hasty exit. 

Akaashi sighs, narrowing his eyes further when he saw all the extra space, signaling that the old bag had been pressing up to you on purpose. He lets go of your waist immediately, not surprised you scrambled off him as fast as you did. 

“I’m sorry for acting rashly, I-” 

“Thank you!” You bow deeply, now having the room to do so as the volume of the train car had lessened drastically. “A-Akaashi-san, right? I see you around school sometimes so don’t freak out, I know you’re a gentleman! How do I make it-?” 

“L/N-san.” 

You tilt your head, and Akaashi hums, content look on his face as he opens his book back up. 

“You missed your stop.” 

“You...know my...?” 

“Will you allow me to walk you home when my stop comes?” Akaashi rushes out, internally beating up for his mistake before a warm smile crosses your face, the setter relaxing at the sight of it as you nod once. 

“I’d like that.” 

“Very well.” Akaashi clears his throat as you shift a bit closer to him despite the distance you could easily put between the two of you. 

“What are you reading?” 

Akaashi feels his lips curl again, anger fading away as he tilts the book in your direction to explain, legs touching one another voluntarily-

suddenly glad the distance had been closed. 

Ushijima

He always stood two hand rails down from you. 

The train ride home had always been a rather cramped one, but the regulars on this train were the same people who knew that the certain railing you were holding was yours at this time of the day. And Ushijima’s railing was his. 

Two away. 

Ushijima saw the way your face lit up when you talked to Tendou, the kind smile gracing your features enough to make a foreign feeling bump around in his chest as he stood off to the side awkwardly. Tendou had flicked your forehead, and you had pouted in his direction with the most adorable eyes-

“Are you just going to let your friend bully me?” 

And then you had taken his arm, sticking your tongue out at Tendou as you pretended to begin to pull him in another direction. 

“Just for being an ass, I’m stealing your one and only Ushijima~” 

“YOU WOULDN’T DARE-” 

But the funny thing? He found himself wanting to go in the direction you had wanted him to, your small hand wrapped around his bicep as the wing spiker tried to translate just what he was feeling. 

And when you let go, he blinked. And blinked some more as you giggled and waved as you walked off, suddenly wishing Tendou hadn’t interfered as the redhead places a curse on you from afar. 

He glances at you, hand loosely holding onto the holder above your head, eyes cast downward. You probably didn’t know you were on the same train, seeing that you never looked at your surroundings much due to your focus on your phone. 

But he suddenly wished you looked around you before you left yourself vulnerable to the person who wasn’t a regular on the train. 

Ushijima’s glances turn to a full on-stare at what was happening, eyes hardening at the sight of some geezer approaching you from behind, resting his front against you as you freeze. The brunette boy watches as your face contorts to one of fear, the phone screen turning off and stopping it’s illumination on your face. 

And then you glanced around for help, instantly locking eyes with him. 

Ushijima moved hastily, maneuvering around the oblivious passengers before stopping to tilt his head intimidatingly at the man pressed up behind you. 

Two handrails away. 

“Y/N, there you are. I was starting to think you missed the train because I didn’t see you.”

Ushijima smoothly steps between your harasser, taking his place and ignoring the slight stumbling of the pervert, keeping a respectful distance from you before his hands rest on the same handrail. Olive eyes peer down at you, his worry for you winning against the anger in his head. 

He glances behind you, eyes narrowing down into a glare as the old perv whistles and looks in every direction except his, Ushijima’s height and pissed-off expression now very apparent. 

“Something you needed, sir?” The words come out lacking any form of respect, and the geezer only shakes his head no hastily before making an excuse to go to the other side of the train car, leaving as the train comes to it’s next stop. 

Ushijima doesn’t take his eyes off of him until he’s out the doors, huffing through his nose with a shake of his head before glancing down at you, seeing a slight quiver to your shoulders before sighing. He goes to move away, wanting to give you much-needed space-

but your hand grabbed the side of his school jacket before he could take a single step. 

“U-Ushijima-Kun...” 

Olive eyes widen at the tear that slipped your eye as you looked up at him, tremble in your voice. 

“Could you...stay there?” 

And the thump was back in his chest, Ushijima merely nodding once as you relax your grip on the side of his jacket, facing forward again as you hastily wipe at your eyes. 

“Um, sorry to ask, but could we maybe ride the train together going forward-?” 

“Yes.” 

You turn again at his abrupt response, the kind smile filling your face in relief as Ushijima finds himself giving a content one back, tightening his grip on the railing-

now no longer two rails away. 

Tsukishima

He preferred to stand. 

Lesser chance that people would have to be so close to him, easier to mind his own business, his height giving him an innocent view of...

You. 

You who sat with one leg crossed over the other as you absent-mindedly stared at the outside flashing by with the speed of the train, lost in your thoughts as the tall blonde who held the railing a few feet away could watch as you entered your head- void of reality. He would watch as a book lay-half open in your lap, your thumb holding your place as you watch the world from outside the train window flit by.

Tsukishima liked how lost you got. 

Like the day you had bumped into him, the blonde already pissed about getting to school late before now having deal with disheveled you, jacket hanging halfway off your body and still pulling a shoe on. You had looked up at him with a doe-eyed expression, apologizing profusely as Tsukishima remained indifferent, this close to snapping before- 

“Here! Take this, you’re late too so you probably didn’t get to eat anything-” 

And then a pastry was shoved into his hands before you were running off into the entrance, waving backwards before turning around slightly, the blonde boy bewildered as a wide grin passed your face- 

“See you around!” 

Tsukishima found himself wanting to do the same as well, unwrapping the pastry that was much too sweet for the morning-

still chewing on it as he mildly walked up to the entrance you had darted off in, now not annoyed at the fact that he had been late in the first place as sugar coated his tongue. 

Tsukishima kept you in his line of sight, immersed in his phone while knowing if you had caught him it would probably be translated as some creepy action, but you never had looked away from the outside. He wondered what would happen in the case that you did, knowing he surely wouldn’t be trying to get your attention- 

And he suddenly wished you would look away to notice the odd man oh-so-casually gripping the railing that was in front of your seat, stepping in front of you with no good-intentions behind his smirk. 

Tsukishima loses his grip on the railing above as the man begins to talk you up, you flinching at the sound of the voice in surprise before innocently peering up at him with that same doe-eyed expression-

the look on your face a bit too familiar with the blonde as the man nears even closer, a look of uncomfort passing over your face as it looks like you’re kindly telling him that you’re still a high-schooler.

Tsukishima feels his jaw clench when the stranger grabs a few strands of your hair, rubbing it between his fingers as you flinch away, his hand darting out to grab your face-

“Oji-chan, that’s not a very nice way to touch a girl, is it?” 

The smile on Tsukishima’s face was feigned so-obviously, golden-brown eyes spinning in a dangerous glint as he tilts his head, smile straining as he raises his voice. 

“If I didn’t know any better, it would be harrassment if that girl didn’t like it- oh! Is she crying?” Tsukishima clicks his tongue as the onlookers begin to take their phones out, whispering amongst themselves in judgement as the perpetrator stumbles over his words. 

He casts a glare to the blonde as Tsukishima’s grin only widens, scoffing before getting off the train as it comes to it’s next stop. Tsukishima ignores the applause when the perverted man steps off, merely stepping in front of you and gripping the railing above as you look up at him with eyes brimmed with tears. 

The grin fades as Tsukishima sighs, collapsing in the now-open seat next to you before looking straight ahead, voice now it’s signature monotone as he sits his bag next to him. 

“Oi. You can cry. I won’t judge you. Much.” 

And he doesn’t stop you as you lean your head on his shoulder and let your tears of relief slip freely down your cheeks, the blonde shooting glares at anyone sending you pitiful looks until your stop comes. You wipe away your tears hastily, looking behind you in confusion when Tsukishima grabs his bag to get up with you. 

“What-?” 

“Are you dense? I’m walking you home.” Tsukishima glares at you, daring you to comment on it before grabbing your forearm and dragging you off the train, your sniffling filling his ears as he begins to walk out of the station. 

“Hey.” 

“Hm?” You manage out after directing him to where your house is, the blonde still three steps in front of you as his hold on your forearm tightens just a little more. 

“Wait for me after school. You’re riding with me from now on.” 

“But-” 

“Okay? Goodnight.” 

Tsukishima turns on his heel, wishing he could hear your door open to ensure you get in okay before your voice makes him stop mid-step. 

“T-Thank you! I’ll be waiting after school...Tsukishima-Kun.” 

The blonde glances behind him, lips curling up into a smirk at the sight of a pretty smile now filling your face in the moonlight. 

“You won’t get lost when you’re with me, idiot. Let me see you go in before I change my mind.” 

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

General Works: @takemetovalhalla @savemesteeb @kasandrafaye @dreebbles @yams046 @aprettyfruit @therestless101 @dai-tsukki-desu @lifeisntjustblackandwhite @curiouslilbeast @wisepandaslimeland @deadontheinsidebut @lmkjimin @h0ngh0ngh0ng @theworldupthere @itz-tooru @orangegiraffe7

[genderfluidityfornewbies]

How to start a GSA

As a part of the LGBTQ+ community, I often feel like I lack places where I can really be myself, and express the queer part of me. Unfortunately, a lot of the time, we, queer people, are put into circumstances and situations where these ‘safe places’ don’t already exist. We are discriminated against, told that we already have too much media coverage (which we don’t), or even bullied and harassed about our identities. That is why having something like a GSA (gay-straight alliance, also known as a gender-sexuality alliance) is so, so critical. 

If you or someone you know is looking to start one, here are some tips I have from my personal experiences. 

1. Don’t worry about how many people will join. I was really stressed about this, because I was at a middle school with a lot of homophobes/anti-LGBTQ+ people, both students and teachers. My GSA was really tiny in the beginning - just me and three other students. But the important thing isn’t how many people join you, it’s about the kinds of people that join you. People who are closeted. People who are out, and want to meet others like them. People who are just really great allies. Even if it is only you to start with, with time and good advertisement, you WILL get more people to join. It’s easier said than done, but just have patience and try to talk to people in the meantime and recruit them. 

2. Advertise well. It is critical that you spread the word about your GSA, because if you don’t, your impact on your setting (school, university, town, etc.) will be minimal. You can make really simple posters, either drawn from hand or created electronically. For example, I used sketch.io because it’s free, and you can draw and add photos or text. I also recommend that you send emails, because that way a lot more people will see your cause, and you can get a lot more interest/participants that way. You can also create a blog or Instagram page, where you share what your GSA is up to, and post any upcoming events. Social media has saved a lot of queer ass. Believe me. 

3. Get a supervisor. When I say ‘supervisor’, I am being a bit vague. If you go to a middle or high school, you will most likely have to have a teacher’s permission to start a club. In a lot of cases, the teacher/adult has to be in the room, especially for younger students. You should cautiously proceed, as a lot of adults aren’t yet accepting. First of all, mention the LGBTQ+ community to the teacher in mind, and see what their views are. Ask them, even, if they support it. If so, tell them your ideas for the GSA. If not, find another person. Worst comes to worse, you can always make the club an after-school thing, or for the weekend instead, if finding a staff member isn’t possible or convenient. If you get lucky and find a person to be the ‘supervisor’, make sure they are confidential and won’t reveal your participants’ information, as a lot of people will still be closeted for personal or safety reasons. If you don’t want the teacher in the same room, kindly ask them if they can be outside, and explain why it would be best to have a students-only club. 

4. Be explicit about the rules. Especially with simple things such as ‘respect everyone’, and ‘be kind’, or ‘be a listener’, make sure that everyone in your GSA 100% knows the rules by heart. And if they violate them, don’t give too many chances. Rule-breakers, in my opinion, only get one second chance. If they make people uncomfortable, or disobey you/the leader of the GSA, kick them out. Even within the queer community, I have noticed quite a few people out others, meaning they tell other people about a person’s identity, without that person consenting or knowing about it. Most of the time, the people doing the outing don’t realize that it can be harmful. After all, it’s exciting to get to know lots of LGBTQ+ people and tell them all about your friends’ identities, right? Not exactly; it really depends on the situation. ALWAYS be sure to ask every member in your GSA about their in-the-closet status. You can have them fill out a sheet. For example:

What are your pronouns/what is your sexual orientation/what is your gender?

Is it appropriate to refer to you as such in the GSA?

Is it appropriate to refer to you as such outside the GSA?

Can I refer to you as such in emails to the school?

Can I refer to you as such in emails/when speaking to your parents?

Are you comfortable with being a poster child for our Instagram/Blog? 

5. Have lots of activities. You should definitely have an agenda (pun intended) for your GSA. Make sure to start with icebreakers, and have everyone introduce themselves. (E.g. name, pronouns, why they joined, and their favorite hobby/book/movie/animal.) Play a quick game, eat some snacks, talk about the GSA’s rules and the plan for the next meeting. Also, when planning future meetings, include lots of different types of activities. The possibilities are endless. Watch movies/tv shows with queer representation. Read novels and discuss them like you’re in a book club. Pick an issue that effects the community, and talk about it. Have a debate. Raise money for your club with a bake sale or some kind of fundraising run. Write poetry/songs. Play charades or pictionary. Create mood boards/collages with everyone’s ideal looks/outfits. It doesn’t all have to be serious, and while it is important to be activists and try to raise awareness, you should also be having fun, and getting to know the other members. A GSA exists so that LGBTQ+ people can meet other LGBTQ+ people. Basically, have fun. 

6. Speak up, but know when to call it quits. While activism and raising awareness are critical and important for a GSA, it can become too much for some people. It’s okay to take a break, or stop having meetings. Especially if someone’s identity or safety is jeopardized. You can always come back to it, but don’t force it. 

7. Study. Finally, read up on anything you don’t know much about. This can be new pronouns, identities, or movements that you hadn’t heard of prior to joining/founding the GSA. Always do your research, and accept that you will be wrong about some things. In the end, it doesn't matter how much vocabulary you know, or how researched you are in every LGBTQ+ issue. What matters is that you are trying, and making an effort to use everyone’s preferred names/pronouns, and trying to learn more. If you try, you can’t go wrong. 

Hopefully these tips helped! Good luck everyone. You can always message me if you have more questions.

[colorseeingchick]

Ho! Congratulations for your 200 followers! If the event is still open, could I request a matchup with a character from BNHA? I’m Italian (sorry for my english btw) my pronouns are she/her and I’m bisexual. I’m an ESFJ and a Gemini. I have green eyes and dyed cherry red hair. I dress with black clothes and I wear black eyeshadow or eyeliner. I’m the sweet mom friend of the group, always there for everyone and my friends say that I’m really good at comforting people. I’m very optimistic, I always try to see the good in everything and I often put other’s needs before my own, I would do everything for the people I care about and sometimes I’ve been told that I’m too kind for my own good. I have a sarcastic humor and I love making others laugh, people say that I should be more serious and that I shouldn’t joke around so much. I don’t like when people tell me what to do and I’m not afraid to stand up for myself or for someone else. I absolutely love listening to music ( Mother Mother are my favs!), it helps me relax, after a bad day when I get home I put on music and dance. I also love watching horror movies even though it’s impossible to scare me. I really hope I did this right, have a great day :)

Hello! Your English is perfect don’t even worry!

I feel like there are so many people I could match you with, but I think the best fit is…

Kirishima Eijirou!

You and Kiri would be such a cUTE couple. Your vibes would match and your roles in your friend group would be complimentary. You’d be each other’s safe spaces and keep each other grounded. Also he’s a libra (he just VIBES like a libra I was so happy to see I was right when I looked it up HAHA), and libra-gemini couples are my FAVORITE (but I might be a bit biased as a gemini).

Kirishima would meet you at the beginning of the year. You were all first years, but you were an international student coming from Italy - so you were a bit more nervous. I think from the moment you walked into class though, Kirishima found you to be so pretty. He absolutely lost it when he saw your hair, because someone else had red hair like his (he thought it looked so good on you). He’s a really extroverted kind guy as we know, and I’m sure that he would introduce himself and try to befriend you right away.

And that friendship would blossom pretty quickly. You would find your way into the Bakusquad over time. It was a natural progression, really. It would start with you and Jirou becoming best friends right away, both rocking black fits with dark makeup. You would do her makeup for her, and would listen to music together often just hanging out in her room. For fun, Mina would often join you two, spilling tea and listening to your music as well. She’d be the one to dance with you while Jirou ‘DJ’ed. From there, Denki, Sero, and Kiri would crash, occasionally dragging Bakugou along as well. And that’s how the gang formed.

You fit in with them so well, and by spending so much time with them, Kirishima really wasn’t given much of an option but to fall for you. You loved cracking jokes, so Denki and Sero were always making practical jokes with them. You also loved to have sarcastic commentary to piss Bakugou off, which Kirishima found hilarious. However, you filled the mom-friend role in the group, taking care of them and being the person who they could go to if they were feeling down. There were a lot of scary things that happened as UA hero course students, so they found an insane amount of comfort in you, especially Kirishima. He had a hard time opening up to Bakugou about it, so he’d come to you (Sero and Denki didn’t seem like the types who would be good with that type of comfort). You also would do anything for them. This resonated with Kiri heavily. He was the same way. He found that loyalty to be a key part of his personality, and to find that in a girl was insanely attractive to him. But I think the point where he found you to be the one for him was when he saw how you stood up to Monoma when he was harassing your classmates. You weren’t afraid, nor did you back down. And that was insanely ‘manly.’ Kiri was basically in love at that point.

It took a lot of bullying coaxing by Mina, Denki, Sero, and Bakugou to get Kiri to confess, but he did. He was ready to be rejected and he was gonna take it like a real man (IE- be a gentleman about it and still be kind to you, but cry in his room later), but he felt like the world was floating when you said yes and gave him a hug.

As a couple, you both were able to support each other while also keeping each other in place with realism. You were both very optimistic- and being optimistic is a toll! But because you both had each other, you felt less alone in your optimism and it was easier on you both. It was also hard to put other’s needs before your own, because it was draining, but because you both gave unconditionally to each other, it felt like you both weren’t gonna burn out for the first time. You did keep each other in check, though. When you felt like people were using Kirishima, you weren’t afraid to tell them upfront to knock it off, because Kiri wouldn’t do it himself. And Kiri would return that favor. You both knew when the other had to take care of themself more. Kiri would also remind you when to take something a little bit more seriously if you were in a high stakes situation. That being said, he’d never tell you what to do. He’d always be the boyfriend to give you suggestions and advice, but support your decisions unless they were actively hurting you. If he thought you were going to far, he’d step in even if you were mad at him. To him, your wellbeing comes before all.

As a couple you spent your time in a lot of ways. You both loved watching horror movies. While you didn’t get scared, Kiri definitely did, but he’d try and hide it as much as possible. Usually he’d just hug you tight and try not to flinch, but if it was too scary he’d just hide behind you, and you’d usually laugh at him. He’d also listen to music with you (he loved doing what you loved, it made him feel closer to you), and he’d always make you dance with him. Whether it's just jumping around or actually partner dancing (he thinks partner dancing is so manly), he’d love it. Whenever either of you needed to touch up your roots, you’d often just do it for each other. But you both also spent a lot of time with your friend group. You’d go on adventures together and make a lot of jokes, Kiri always laughing and by your side.

Overall your relationship with Kirishima would be super supportive and loving. He’d have your back no matter what, and he slept peacefully every night knowing that you would do the same for him.

~~~ I hope you enjoyed!!! You seem so so fun and like a wonderful human being please stop by my askbox if you want to!

[dodstoldpackage]

Long Post Incoming!!!

To start off, “trauma baiting,” as I would describe it, is: bullying someone to the point they admit their trauma and abuse even though they don’t want to, saying anyone is faking their trauma for any reason, bullying or harassing someone for “not having bad enough” trauma, in anyway making someone relive their trauma, or actively convincing someone they have repressed trauma that they’re unaware of (with the intentions of either proving them to be fake or proving their origins are actually traumagenic as opposed to any other origins).

As said in the last post, all gatekeepers want to do is look like their doing something helpful and productive when they aren’t doing any productive that only harms people. A fair number of Ex System Exclusionists have admitted that being in that community was harmful, draining, and negatively affected their mental health. Even though they fit the criteria that Sysmeds are looking for, it was harmful for them because they felt like they always had to be on their toes and put up a mask for anything another Sysmed might call them out on. Anything that might get them seen as fake or get them “cancelled.” Tldr; it’s a community full of hate and, just like the kin gatekeepers, they open up a perfect path for trolls and other people to sneak their way into the community. Really all a troll or anyone else has to do is put on a mask, watch what they do and say, then copy them. Though, I would say that Sysmeds are just a bit less trusting than kin gatekeepers. Also, while they like to say they’re helping others and what have you, most Sysmeds are pretty racist! They refuse to even hear of cultures that have had or still do have spiritual plurality woven into their daily lives and beliefs. Not to mention all of the religions and other similar beliefs they completely deny as truth. I personally took a course in college where spiritual plurality in other cultures and religions was a pretty big focus in that class! Their belief systems are taken very seriously and most of the cultures we touched on rarely allowed outsiders, even to study their culture to understand them better. However, these aren’t the only religions that hold such views. Possession is the biggest type of Spiritual Plurality in most first and second world countries. Something that even Christians and Catholics often believe in. It’s not usually to the extent of sharing a body with another soul for the rest of or most of your life and tends to be focused around Demon Possession, but it’s there. It’s still a popular belief.

As for not actually reading the DSM-5, well see for yourself.

While Sysmeds like to go around claiming that trauma is needed for DID or OSDD, that isn’t actually in the criteria for either! Both are often found with people who do have trauma, but that isn’t always the case.

"In the DSM-5, the dissociative disorders are placed next to, but are not part of, the trauma- and stressor-related disorders."

“yeah osdd is just amnesia + less differentiated alters (1a) or no amnesia + more differentiated alters (1b).”

Also, I would just like to mention that this is the DSM-5; it’s the Fifth (5th) installment or update to this criterium that Psychologists, Therapists, and Psychiatrists, are supposed to use as a guide to diagnose patients. They are no where near done with research for any of these mental illnesses or disabilities to say that this is the end all be all of criteria and symptoms (even if it did say that trauma was needed for diagnosis). DID, OSDD, Schizophrenia, Depression, Anxiety, etc aren’t colds. They aren’t like cancer or diabetes or anything like that. You can’t just look at someone’s throat who has a cough or their blood or other parts of their physical body and go “yep this is what you have” with one hundred (100) percent certainty. Hell, even physical science, which is normally much easier to research, still has its flaws and misdiagnosis. Added onto that, this is only a guide for professionals when it comes down to it. Even something that seems simpler to diagnose isn’t always going to be easier to diagnose in people. Just like a cold or the flu (or, hell, most other things), not everyone exhibits all of the same symptoms. 

They may one day be able to prove or disprove spiritual plurality, who knows. Only time will actually tell. Having a belief in spiritual plurality doesn’t actually harm anyone. Those that believe their plurality is directly linked to spiritual (or sometimes other) things, usually aren’t searching out any sort of therapy for their plurality. Most wouldn’t even admit to a therapist or any other professional that they are plural without some very deep trust between them. Also, just because somebody believes their plural origins to be linked to neurodivergence, spiritual things, or anything besides trauma doesn’t mean they can’t have trauma. Anyone can have trauma. It also doesn’t mean that they can’t have DID or OSDD. Just let people label themselves how they want. Just because someone labes themselves as “endogenic” (or what have you), doesn’t mean their forcing anyone else to and it doesn’t give anyone the right to attack and hate on them. 

(Sources for the DSM-5: here and here. Along with the actual DSM-5. Greysdawn has a good post on all of this as well).

No matter how you slice it, exclusionists are all the same. It’s just a question of “who are they hurting?” Nixe already went into the similarities of Transmeds and Sysmeds (System Exclusionists) but let us run down the line in simple terms, shall we? 

Sysmeds exclude based on people’s beliefs, a person’s identity, and whether or not they’re accepting of “outsiders.” Transmeds exclude based on people’s beliefs, a person’s identity, and whether or not they’re accepting of “outsiders.” TERFs exclude based on a person’s identity and whether or not they’re accepting of “outsiders.” SWERFs exclude based on a person’s job, their beliefs (to an extent, depending on the SWERF), and whether or not they’re accepting of “outsiders.” Kin Exclusionists or Gatekeepers exclude people based on their beliefs, identity, and whether or not they’re accepting of “outsiders.” Basically the same rings true for just about any other exclusionist group. Sure specific vocabulary changes to fit the community, but it’s all the same in the end. It’s consistently about keeping out the people who “don’t belong,” making sure the ones that do belong follow strict beliefs and guidelines or be cast out. No exceptions. These groups only care about the strict goals they have in mind.

To sign off this time, I leave you all with probably one of my biggest sayings:

Humans are diverse in everything. Looks, emotions, thoughts, beliefs, personalities, and actions. We’re meant to be diverse. That’s why we have so much control over ourselves - our own free wills. We’re not monkeys or any other animal destined to always be looking for food, mating, then dying. We have passions, hobbies, complicated thoughts, complicated feelings, and best of all; complicated relationships. Not only with each other but with society as whole, objects, our own pets, other animals, and with ourselves sometimes. We decide our own morals, our own beliefs, our own ways of living life. It’s probably the best thing about being human. You never know what’s going to happen or how you’ll conquer the hardships. We plan ahead, but all we really know is the destination and not what’ll happen there.

[mixed-verse]

[For Mobile Users] Compiled Info

(everything in the links is re-posted here!)

Season 2 Information

Ｈｅｒｅ　ｗｅ　ｇｏ　ａｇａｉｎ．．．

“Here we go again…”

Welcome back to Mixedverse!

The previous server ended awhile back, but due to prolonged interest in the AU and people wanting to do more for it, we’ve rebooted it! It’s a bit different now, though.

When we began the last server, most people didn’t really understand how things worked or exactly what was happening. Our biggest misunderstanding was assuming that MV (Mirrorverse) characters were being brought into the NV (Normalverse) world, rather then them both being merged into a middle ground.

Although that is still our official lore for this AU, we decided for the RP server we would go along with it! So…

For our AU, it’s the opposite of that.

The characters from the NV world have been sucked into the MV world, while going about their business. All you have to do to get there is blink.

Ｏｔｈｅｒ　Ｃｈａｎｇｅｓ：

The most important changes have been to the application and muse receiving processes.

Applications for the most part have stayed the same, however there’s a new concept called muse lock that we’re using.

There are short periods where muses are unlocked. You may claim characters, trade characters with other people, and whatever else you wish to do with them during this time. However..

When you are muse locked you may not claim any new characters or obtain new characters in anyway. The only thing that you can still do is drop muses, however they may not be replaced with a new one until the next time that muses are unlocked.

Well, what are the times that muses are unlocked? What does that mean for joining?

Sadly, another thing that we’re going to be including is that you can only join while muses are unlocked. However, we will be accepting applications at any time! They’ll just only be approved once new muses can be taken. This also gives us time to look over everything and make sure that everyone has a fair shot at getting the muses that they want.

We are currently accepting applications!

The next time muses will be unlocked: July 1st - 4th 2019 ---------------------------

Mixedverse AU Information

Ｗｅｌｃｏｍｅ ｔｏ Ｍｉｘｅｄｖｅｒｓｅ

Ｔｗｏ ｖｅｒｓｅｓ ｍｅｒｇｅ， ｔｈｅｙ’ｒｅ ｓｉｍｉｌａｒ ｂｕｔ ｔｈｅ ｐｅｏｐｌｅ ｔｈａｔ ｒｅｓｉｄｅ ｉｎ ｔｈｅｍ ａｒｅ．． ｖｅｒｙ ｄｉｆｆｅｒｅｎｔ．Ａｎｄ ｎｏ ｏｎｅ ｋｎｏｗｓ ｗｈｏ’ｓ ｗｈｏ．

“Two verses merge, they’re similar but the people that reside in them are.. very different. And no one knows who’s who.”

Welcome to the Mixedverse AU! It’s a Mirrorverse AU where MV characters and normal characters (Normalverse) have been introduced to a similar, middle-ground verse.

At first, they might not notice anything at first. Maybe they only run into people from the same verse at first- But then, they notice that one of their friends is actually COMPLETELY abnormal. Slowly but surely they’ll eventually realize that something is wrong.

This is a good opportunity to explore different types of relationships! As well as have a slightly over-arching plot over the entire story.

Ｍｉｒｒｏｒｖｅｒｓｅ Ｉｎｆｏ

Mirrorverse is an AU that was inspired by the Spookyfish episode of South Park, where a mirrored version of Stan, Kyle, and Cartman came into the world. It’s most commonly known where it was represented in a Kyman fanfic, as well as artwork from sleepyeule. You do not need to have read this fic.

The basic premise is that the characters are.. well, mirrored. That doesn’t mean they’re complete opposites, but some of their most important traits are removed. The best example of this is with Cartman. Mirrorverse Cartman has his general horrible and selfishness removed- Which leaves him kind, empathetic, but he’s still pretty gullible and manipulative like he is normally.

[Note; if anyone is shying away from taking an MV character because they either don’t know how a character would act or haven’t done it before- I suggest taking a muse you normally wouldn’t do since they’re going to be mirrored. As well as, ask for help if you’re having trouble at all.]

Ｎｏｒｍａｌｖｅｒｓｅ Ｉｎｆｏ

Normalverse is a weird thing to call it, but it’s basically just the canon world! The characters are just as you know them, and there’s nothing too big to note.

(Tumblr is ran by Teal)

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

Rules

Rules for the Discord group!

1. Have common decency. I’d prefer not to have multiple rules just telling you to be a chill person and respect people. No harassment, bullying, shaming people, etc. Just be reasonable, you don’t have to get along with everyone or be completely unconditionally nice, obviously, but be civil!

2. If you’re uncomfortable, tell someone. This goes hand in hand with the first thing, but if you have drama going on with someone, if you’re being harassed, or if you have a problem with someone, tell a mod or the owner. They’re there for a reason: to help you!

3. Stay in character. Keep in character, there will be a bit more lee-way for Mirrorverse characters than for Normalverse characters since they’re up to interpretation. There will still be standards for them, though, and expectations for how they should act in a mirrored sense. Relationships shouldn’t be changed entirely and characters shouldn’t have sporadic personality changes.

4. Whatever’s in the show is okay. South Park uses slurs constantly, is generally inappropriate and gross, and if you’ve watched the show then you should expect this. I’m completely up for helping people feel more comfortable if they do have things that really upset them, but I’d like to make it clear that I want people to be comfortable using what’s been aired on public television.

5. Minors are allowed. We’re more selective when it comes to people that are underage, but we do allow them! There’s no NSFW allowed, and be aware that some of the people you might interact with could be under 18.

6. Roleplay etiquette. Basically, follow the basic, more well-known roleplaying rules. No god-modding, auto-hitting, mary sues, self-inserts, match post length, try to keep from really small posts if you’re doing literate RP.

7. IC =/= OOC. If a character says something mean to a character in a roleplay, that’s from a character to another character. It’s not to you personally, and those things should be entirely independent of each other.

8. Please be active. If you know you have issues with activity, which is perfectly fine, please inform someone and try to take a role that’s not going to require you to be there constantly. IE, someone playing Stan and only being here once a week could be a problem, but someone playing a character like Pip or a kinder would be completely acceptable.

9. No ship drama. Please, don’t force-ship, don’t shame people for certain ships, for liking things, for not liking things. Shipping is really subjective and some people are different. However, on that note, pedophilic and incestuous ships aren’t accepted in this server in any respect.

10. Characters can die. Muses can be seriously injured and even killed! If a muse is killed, they will never be brought back.

11. Joining? To join the Discord server, submit an application to this Tumblr using the application. If you know someone that’s already in the server, it’s generally easier to get in.

We are accepting applications at all times!

We will be approving applications and letting people join the server through July 1st - 4th 2019.

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Masterpost

A list of all characters, available and unavailable.

[There are separate lists for Mirrorverse and Normalverse, scroll past the Normalverse list for the Mirrorverse one.]

Ｎｏｒｍａｌｖｅｒｓｅ

Main boys:

Eric Cartman

Kyle Broflovski

Stan Marsh

Kenny McCormick

Butters Stotch

Craig’s group:

Craig Tucker

Clyde Donovan

Jimmy Valmer

Token Black

Tweek Tweak

Girls:

Annie Knitts

Bebe Stevens

Charlotte

Esther

Ferrari (Raisins Girl)

Heidi Turner

Jenny Simon

Jessica Rodriguez

Leslie Meyers

Lexus Martin (Raisins Girl)

Lisa Berger

Lola

Mercedes (Raisins Girl)

Millie Larsen

Monica Ryland

Nichole

Patty Nelson

Porsche (Raisins Girl)

Rebecca Cotswolds

Red

Sally Darson

Tammy Warner

Wendy Testaburger

Goths:

Firkle

Henrietta Biggle

Michael

Pete Thelman

Vamp Kids:

Allison Mertz

Annie Bartlett

Larry

Katie “Bloodrayne” Gelson

Mike “Vampir” Makowski

Ryan Ellis

Vladimir

Kindergardeners:

Carlos/Billy

Conner Davis

Dave Harrison

Filmore Anderson

Flora

Ike Broflovski

Jenny

Quaid

Sally Bands

Other kids:

Baahir Hassan Abdul Hakeem

Bill Allen

Blanket Jefferson

Bradley (Cartman Sucks)

Bradley Biggle

Bridon Gueermo

Chris Donnely

Christophe Delorne

Corey Lanskin

Damien Thorn

David Rodriguez

Dogpoo Petuski

Douchebag (Stick of Truth)

Dougie (General Disarray)

Douglas

Estella Havisham

Fosse McDonald

Gary Harrison

Gregory of Yardale

Herbert Pocket

Jessica Pinkerton

Josh Myers (TP Kid)

Karen McCormick

Kelly (Rainforest Schmainforest)

Kevin McCormick

Kevin Stoley

Kip Drordy

Kyle Schwartz

Larry Feegan

Loogie

Mark Cotswolds

Nathan

Pip Pirrup

Romper Stomper

Scott Malkinson

Scott Tenorman

Shelly Marsh

Terrance Mephesto

Thad Jarvis

Thomas (Le Petit Tourette)

Timmy Burch

Trent Boyett

Tricia “Ruby” Tucker

Yao

Ｍｉｒｒｏｒｖｅｒｓｅ

Main boys:

Eric Cartman

Kyle Broflovski

Stan Marsh

Kenny McCormick

Butters Stotch

Craig’s group:

Craig Tucker

Clyde Donovan

Jimmy Valmer

Token Black

Tweek Tweak

Girls:

Annie Knitts

Bebe Stevens

Charlotte

Esther

Ferrari (Raisins Girl)

Heidi Turner

Jenny Simon

Jessica Rodriguez

Leslie Meyers

Lexus Martin (Raisins Girl)

Lisa Berger

Lola

Mercedes (Raisins Girl)

Millie Larsen

Monica Ryland

Nichole

Patty Nelson

Porsche (Raisins Girl)

Rebecca Cotswolds

Red

Sally Darson

Tammy Warner

Wendy Testaburger

Goths:

Firkle

Henrietta Biggle

Michael

Pete Thelman

Vamp Kids:

Allison Mertz

Annie Bartlett

Larry

Katie “Bloodrayne” Gelson

Mike “Vampir” Makowski

Ryan Ellis

Vladimir

Kindergarteners:

Carlos/Billy

Conner Davis

Dave Harrison

Filmore Anderson

Flora

Ike Broflovski

Jenny

Quaid

Sally Bands

Other kids:

Baahir Hassan Abdul Hakeem

Bill Allen

Blanket Jefferson

Bradley (Cartman Sucks)

Bradley Biggle

Bridon Gueermo

Chris Donnely

Christophe Delorne

Corey Lanskin

Damien Thorn

David Rodriguez

Dogpoo Petuski

Douchebag (Stick of Truth)

Dougie (General Disarray)

Douglas

Estella Havisham

Fosse McDonald

Gary Harrison

Gregory of Yardale

Herbert Pocket

Jessica Pinkerton

Josh Myers (TP Kid)

Karen McCormick

Kelly (Rainforest Schmainforest)

Kevin McCormick

Kevin Stoley

Kip Drordy

Kyle Schwartz

Larry Feegan

Loogie

Mark Cotswolds

Nathan

Pip Pirrup

Romper Stomper

Scott Malkinson

Scott Tenorman

Shelly Marsh

Terrance Mephesto

Thad Jarvis

Thomas (Le Petit Tourette)

Timmy Burch

Trent Boyett

Tricia “Ruby” Tucker

Yao

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

Application: [OOC Info] Name: Age: Pronouns: Extra: [IC Info] Name: Verse: (Mirror or Normal) Age: [Main four are 17-18] Gender + Sexuality: Height: Appearance info: Extra: Personality: Headcanons: (Around 5 total) Roleplay sample: (Paragraph) [Don’t worry about formatting, formatting will be fixed after submission.]

(Use the submission option to send this!)

[luvsjimmyreed]

Regarding an issue that was addressed in a few recent videos of mine, I should take a few moments to clarify some issues. I do *not* advocate bullying the bullies, harassing the harassers, abusing the abusers... in general, responding to hostility with... hostility. At the same time, I also understand that none of us are... infallible. Heck, even I myself am not always so... above it all. I understand that it's easy to let our... our emotions overcome... reason and rationality. While I myself am still very much of a... a rookie... when it comes to social media... two of my daughters, Sarah and Jenny, have been quite... immersed... in social media for a little over a decade when... when I myself entered the scene. As such, they have a bit more... uh, technical prowess... than I do. So, behind the scenes, they contribute quite a bit to the... the technical portions... of my video. Getting back to the subject of online discourse, there is a thing called 'online disinhibition effect'... which affects how various people might... take to social media. The more positive variant is that some people may be more emotionally open... and social... when they're online. On the flip-side, however, other folks might choose to... use their online presence... to behave aggressively towards others. For these folks, they might become... emotionally and cognitively numb... to the concept that... that there is a person on the other side of the screen. With the whole... Russian internet issue... it seems to have become easier than ever for... some of the aggressive types... to convince themselves that it's... that it's not even a person... that they're opting to unleash their aggression on. In fact, i appear to even have given some a... a new method of verbal assault... outrightly stating 'I don't believe that you are a person'. That would be a... a form of dehumanization on a... a new level. I imagine that it'd be quite hurtful to be... on the receiving end of that statement. I understand that even simply being called a... a 'troll'... can be very painful... as it's a sign that... you aren't being taken seriously. When you see someone else be a victim of online abuse, it's easy for your... sense of justice... to kick in. In this case, I'm simply gonna say the same thing as I do with... online activism. It's better to direct your energy towards... providing comfort to those abused. Focus a bit more on showing compassion towards the victims... then acting in a vigilant way of... wanting to get back at the... the online aggressors. When you yourself are a victim of online abuse, I understand that it's not easy for everyone to... to simply ignore the abuse... particularly for those who struggle with self-esteem. In those cases, you should maybe select a few close friend... and turn to them in such situation. If your friends aren't available at the time, then maybe... keep a list of positive comments directed your way handy... for such occurrences. One other thing, I understand the need of many to... to want to find out the justification... the rationale... behind the online abuse. It can be frustrating for many... to not understand why others might chose to... behave aggressively. The thing is, you generally are *not* receive a... a satisfactory response from the... the aggressors themselves. For them to offer you a satisfactory response... would require for them to open up emotionally... which they typically have no desire of. After all, that is *why* they're the aggressors! So, when people do lash out against aggression aimed towards others or themselves, I understand that it's... human nature. So I don't judge others who might... respond badly. At the same time, I also recognize that responding in such a manner... might not very healthy for them! Also, depending on which online platform the... skirmish... may occur on... the people who operate the platform, ultimately, do not have any responsible to determine who was the... the initial aggressor. Now, due to the function of Jimmy's Haven, we administrators do... take a few additional steps... as we *are* a support forum. However, the vast majority of online platforms... really do *not* provide that feature. So, all things considered, try to stay on the high roads - and don't let the aggressors bring you down!

Jimmy Reed, On Online Disinhibition Effect

[scriptautistic]

I don’t know if y’all have answered this before but what’s your opinion on the show The Good Doctor?

Hi, I want to be clear - we don’t really do reviews on this blog. We help writers write autistic characters more accurately. But! That doesn’t mean there aren’t some useful lessons on writing autistic characters from the show. In the future, a more useful question to ask is, “What mistakes or benefits does this show have in the way they’ve portrayed their autistic character(s)?” The more specific you can make your question, the easier answering it becomes. Let’s get into it.

The Good Doctor and its accuracy in portraying an autistic character:

I have seen all of season 1, and this show is paced well. If you plan on writing any shows, there’s something to be learned about making sure the pacing of the show is enjoyable. It has a nice balance of drama and resolution, and while there’s a couple of medical cases per episode, the characters’ personal plot arcs last much longer than an episode which keeps it from being stressful. This is a TV show though, and as usual story elements are exaggerated to enhance the viewer’s emotional responses… so the show is not without its drama. The Good Doctor has character arcs which last for several episodes at a time, and allow you to get to know a character. Most importantly, it allows us to see Shaun in a variety of contexts.

This show also has a deluge of very subtle messages about autistic people. There are a few intentional scripted explanations about Shaun being autistic yet competent, but the show is good at showing the messages about Shaun rather than clumsily preaching them. The show’s script uses a mix of person-first and identity-first language. People who like Shaun and dislike him have said he’s autistic, and similarly with saying he has autism. It seems like the show is written in a way that using both has a purpose, but I’m not exactly sure what that purpose is - perhaps to try to satisfy anyone who prefers either description?

Many people have problems with an allistic actor portraying an autistic character, and I won’t be getting into that argument or state my personal opinion, but the portrayal of accuracy in autistic characterization is very high. This is one of those rare shows which shows an autistic adult being competent in a job as well as navigating friendships and attraction to people. He is also shown as an autistic adult; he doesn’t think or act like a child.

Shaun’s strengths and struggles: My main contention with the show’s accuracy is the Savant Syndrome super powers Shaun (the main character) has, but I think that was in part a relic from the show being loosely adapted from a Korean drama of the same name. This could have a deleterious effect on the way the audience sees autistics’ skills and smarts - as something separate from autism. A more accurate way to describe Shaun’s skills would be his special interest has been in medical sciences and physiology for years, and he is a visual learner and can extrapolate spacial information from what he has learned about the layout of the body to understand medical problems on a deeper level. This is a set of skills and intelligence very related to autism instead of a separate thing stacked on top of it; he can hyperfocus and not get bored, makes abstract links between disparate pieces of information in order to reach a conclusion, can learn a system well based on visual patterns, etc. For him, these are very autistic traits. For another character, based on their learning style/preferences/personality the autistic traits can vary. Essentially, autism touches every way an autistic person experiences the world. The show makes this a clear message, at least.

While Shaun is excellent surgeon and very intelligent, he struggles with other things. This is very accurate for autistics; there may be some things autistics are very good at and/or have fun doing, but other activities can be difficult and distressing. For example, Shaun cannot drive because there is too much sensory information associated with driving. This is a very common experience, though not necessarily true to all autistics, and it doesn’t correlate with someone’s level of verbal communication. I know a non-verbal person who drives to her work every day, and a very verbal autistic who finds driving absolutely horrendous. At the end of the day, Shaun is very skilled but makes mistakes like anyone else, though his resolutions to problems are often unique, meaning he thinks “outside of the box,” or abstractly the way many autistics tend to. He follows rules yet is creative, something often unappreciated or overlooked in autistics’ portrayals.

Portrayal of sensory experience: Shaun dislikes eye contact and seems to pay attention to people by listening or looking at what they are talking about. His mannerisms and body postures seem to be geared around rhythmic gross motor movements and precise fine motor movements, navigating and interacting with his sensory environment. He also has a myriad of sensory problems, and the degree with which he struggles with them may vary on the situation. For example, he couldn’t deal with certain noises during the day, but he couldn’t sleep when the faucet wasn’t dripping because he wanted to have the familiarity of the dripping faucet. Autistic people have sensory preferences, meaning some people love certain sensory experiences others hate and vice versa. He also is visually very sensory-seeking and bought himself a high resolution flatscreen TV so he could watch it up close. This is something consistent with his character, since he thinks very visually. Shaun has a comfort item - a toy scalpel his younger brother got him and he carries it with him everywhere. This is similar to myself and a lot of other autistics, and it’s related to a loved one and a special interest.

He also struggled with being asked direct questions when he interacted with a character - Claire - up close and couldn’t answer them, but he had prepared for his interview and could respond to questions asked directly by strangers in that context earlier in front of a room full of people. Later, he can respond to Claire’s questions more easily, likely because he got to know her better. While it might seem counter-intuitive or poorly written for Shaun to have an inconsistent ability to answer questions, but the contexts in which he was asked certain questions were different, and he had different levels of preparation to be asked questions. 

Emotions: In one episode he had an ‘atypical’ (at least by allistic standards) reaction to seeing someone get shot in a store - he compartmentalized his distress and feelings of guilt to help the person and go about his job, then later lashed out after he had packed his emotions down. He also didn’t want people to know his emotions. Yet some allistics are like this as well.The show writers leave him room to be similar or dissimilar to allistics, depending on his preferences and personality. 

His facial expressions are so subtle, other characters may not catch them and be able to read his emotions. This contributes to the stereotype he is ‘robotic,’ but Shaun certainly does NOT emote flatly. His facial expression system is merely different from those around him. He is in pain/guilt a lot of the time and has been abused and bullied, so he learned to suppress his emotions rather than trying to deal with them because they can often be too much to handle. This is consistent with his character, yet doesn’t contribute to the idea that he doesn’t feel. Instead, he is portrayed as feeling a LOT: becoming attached to certain people quickly, feeling distressed if they are removed from his life either by dying or moving or cutting off contact. He often gets watery eyes but turns away to prevent people from seeing. It’s a choice of his to keep his emotions to himself; they’re his, as he asserts at one point.

Portrayal of Shaun’s history of abuse and bullying: Unfortunately, this portrayal is very accurate. Without spoiling too much of he plot, I will describe the types of abuse Shaun experiences. He was abused by his father verbally and likely physically, though the latter can be inferred. There is at least one scene showing this. His memories shown are mostly traumatic in nature - being kicked by classmates in the schoolyard, seeing death, and being pressured into take his pants off (though he  didn’t, this is sexual harassment and humiliation) then surrounded by classmates and mocked. Autistic people are often targets for abuse of all kinds, and Shaun’s lack of obvious emotional reaction to his memories of these instances shows how acclimated to his memories of these kinds of violations he has become. Yet when he realized someone pretending to be his “friend” and manipulating him for his money, he was stung.

Portrayal of sexuality and romance: Shaun is shown as straight in this show, and becomes very attached to someone who also is interested in him. He seems intimidated by sexual experiences, but not disinterested in them - a very different portrayal of autistic sexuality than usual, as most autistics are portrayed as asexual. It is made clear he is interested in romantic experiences, and is shown as attractive.

Interactions with another autistic: There is an episode in which Shaun has an autistic patient (portrayed by an up-and-coming autistic actor). There was a little bit of weird ‘autistic whisperer’ feeling shown when Shaun translated the patient’s distress and the reasoning behind it, which may happen if autistic people know each other well or have similar sensory problems, but one autistic person may or may not be able to simply understand and explain another autistic person’s experiences.

Yet there was something interesting about this other autistic character which is not often addressed in media: he had different struggles and strengths than Shaun, different ways of communicating, and different responses to stress. Shaun internalizes his stress until he explodes, but this character seemed very communicative of stress and pain.

Something else interesting was Shaun’s initial almost-dislike of this character. Something gooshy to do on the writers’ parts would be to have them instantly become best friends, but to Shaun, he was just another patient, and Shaun had never met another autistic person. This was another way to show Shaun’s dislike of himself on some level (I would say self-hatred but I’m not too quick to point to evidence of this because the audience sees into his emotions only through memories and seeing him in private moments). Shaun has been taught by those around him there is something wrong with him, and he expected to find this patient difficult based on others’ historical communication to him that he is annoying or difficult to be around. Unfortunately, this kind of internalization of negative self-perceptions is very common for autistic people.

By the end of that episode, Shaun had seemed to get over his ambivalent feelings toward this patient and chided the patients’ parents for giving the patient a kava root supplement, as it was the cause of the patients’ presenting health problems. Allistic parents of autistic kids are often quick to jump to any supposed ‘cure’ or ‘support’ for their kids to change their autistic-ness, and this episode was wonderful at showing how dangerous this is, as the patient was in a severe amount of pain and distress. The parents were also very quick to decide both their child and Shaun were incompetent because of autism, but Shaun’s surgical team members were very quick to advocate for him despite their distrust of his skills in the beginning of the show. This gets at the show’s core message, I think: Autistic people are capable and one should assume competence.

This show is also not inspiration porn, since the narrative focuses on Shaun as the main character and doesn’t objectify him - a big plus in narratives featuring autistics.

Overall message about autism: In one episode, a physically disabled patient considering surgery to try to walk again tells Shaun, “You understand; you’d jump at a cure for autism, wouldn’t you?” And Shaun avoids the question by saying, “There is no cure for autism.” Shaun then prompts the patient to realize his best attributes - patience, willing to help others, etc. were learned because he went through physical therapy, and the patient says the difference between his ‘cure’ to walk again - surgery - and Shaun’s autism is the lessons he learned from being in a wheelchair wouldn’t go away if he can walk again. Also within this conversation, the patient told Shaun his wife married him because she accepted him for who he was, and that someone who accepted Shaun could marry him. Shaun pointed out some of his own personal qualities which are there because he is autistic. I winced at the initial question but the following conversation relieved me. This show, so far, communicates autism is a part of Shaun, not something he carries around which keeps the real him locked up.

Hope this helps with writing autistic characters in the future, especially in the medium of a show, movie, or play wherein there is a visual element for the audience in acting.

 - Mod Siena

FAQ // Like my work? Please support me on Ko-fi

[anthonyscribbles]

Feelings Suck

This one is one I'm actively working on, and finished chapter 1 like 20 minutes ago! I'm really happy with how this came out. However, this was not edited and there may be some mistakes. Just politely point them out and I'll fix 'em! With that said, here we go!!

    I gasp raggedly for breath as I’m pulled from the toilet, my hair and face drenched with the disgusting water. I hear a dark cackle from Logan as he dunks me once more. God, why does it always end up like this?

    Chapter 1: Hunter

    I sigh softly as I unlock my locker, head down like always. My name is Hunter, and I’m a junior at Sunnyside High School. Not a very fitting name, considering it’s a shithole. Excuse my language. But seriously, this place isn’t “sunny” at all. The kids bully each other 24/7, the teachers couldn’t care less whether we passed or flunked, the extracurriculars are practically nonexistent- Need I say more? I’m… kind of a nerd, so I care a lot about school. I want a place to hang out and learn, not be constantly harassed by kids my own age. If I wanted that, I would just live in the internet. But I can’t complain too much, I guess. I meet some pretty nice people, sometimes…

    There’s these two, and I’m kind of torn between them. First there’s Jenny Anderson, the cutest girl in the entire school. She’s sweet- always puts other people before herself- and really smart. She’s like the only kid in our school with straight A’s. She has amazingly soft, caramel brown hair and these wonderful, shining blue eyes that hold childlike innocence. She’s breathtaking. I think I’m in love with her, honestly. And I’m not invisible to her! We’ve actually been friends since my freshman year. She’s the same age as me, but her birthday is one month before mine.

    Then there’s Nathan “Nate” Stevens. He’s… how do I describe this? I guess I could say he’s… unique. He’s not weak by any definition- he’s actually really strong. He works out a lot, since he’s on the basketball team. He’s really tall, too; I think he’s in the six foot range. Way taller than me, at least. He’s really funny, always makes a joke that everyone can laugh it. He’s kind of a people pleaser, by some standards. He’s sweet, too, like Jenny. But he’s a bit more brash than Jenny is-- but not in a bad way! He’s just kind of loud and out there, y’know? He’s just a lot more outgoing. And that’s really what I like about him…

    See, I’m still figuring things out… about me. I don’t know if I like girls or guys or both, because I always find a guy or a girl that’s really attractive to me! It’s just really confusing. I think I like Jenny more than Nate, but then Nate finds something he’s really passionate about and I fall for him all over again. When he talks about something he’s really into, his green eyes sparkle like emeralds and he gets this dorky grin that he can’t wipe off for hours. It’s beyond adorable. Jenny and him are practically complete opposites, yet I find myself falling for both of them equally. Which means I guess I don’t really have a type? I don’t know.

    But high school isn’t just crushes and confusion, sadly. It’d be a lot easier to deal with if that was the case. Unfortunately, it’s not. There’s this one guy who’s a complete asshole- His name is Logan. He’s got this shitty ass black hair that he keeps spiked up with the nastiest smelling hair gel ever. He gets any girl he wants, but he only goes for the slutty ones that he can get a quick fuck with then he tosses them aside. It makes my skin crawl and my organs want to shrivel up just thinking about him. Eugh. Anyway, he’s a complete jackass on top of his crappy personality. He’s constantly pushing me around because he’s four months older than me, and like a foot taller than me. He thinks he can pick on me because I’m small and don’t fight back! Which… maybe isn’t entirely untrue… But still! He likes to keep this screwed up schedule: Mondays are beatings, Tuesdays are swirlies, Wednesdays are lunch money, and Thursdays are sweets. He gives me Fridays off because he’s “so generous.” Gag me.

    Back to the story now, huh? I was on my way to my first class of the day, English II, when I run into Jenny. She grins up at my happily, hugging her thick book to her chest and practically bouncing. “Oh, hi, Hunter! Great morning, isn’t it?”

    “Ah, it’s a morning.” I laugh awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck. “So, what’s got you so perky, huh?” Jenny’s not exactly not a morning person, but she’s usually only this happy when she has good news.

    “Oh, nothing much…” She smiles deviously before shoving her Chemistry test in my face. I’m a bit taken back by it before I grab the paper and read the grade next to it. A+.

    “Oh, wow! Congrats, Jenny!” I grin as well as I hand her the paper back. She squeals excitedly and hugs me tightly. This must have been really important to her.

    “I’m so happy, Hunter!! Thank you, thank you for tutoring me!” She pulls away, her face tinted a light shade of pink as she brushes a strand of brunette hair behind her ear. “Oh, um… sorry.” She smiles up at me bashfully, to which I just chuckle.

    “Hey, don’t worry about it. You’re happy, it’s understandable. Say, uh… how about I treat you to dinner to congratulate you properly, hm? I just got paid a couple days ago, so it wouldn’t be breaking the bank or anything.” I offer, albeit awkwardly. I’ve never been good at talking to people, let alone attractive people. Also, I may have not mentioned this but I work as a cashier at our local gas station. Nothing fancy, but I get paid for it, so can’t complain.

    Jenny’s eyes sparkle like diamonds as she gazes up at me, searching my face for any sign of a joke. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

    “Sure, why not?” I laugh softly, smiling at her. “You’re my friend, I’m more than happy to treat you once in a while. Especially when you get good news, you know?”

    Jenny’s face resembles a child who just got told they could have any sort of candy they want. She hugs me so tight, I thought my ribs were sure to pop. “Thank you so much! You’re so awesome, awesome, awesome!”

    I laugh, ruffling her hair. “Nah, it’s nothing. Hey, have you seen Nate today? He was supposed to help me with some stuff.”

    Jenny tilts her head, “Huh? Uh… no, I haven’t. Weird, eh? He’s usually in the gym or something, practicing his basketball stuff. Check there?”

    I nod, “Yeah, okay. I’ll text you later about dinner, alright?” Jenny nods and smiles, hugging me one more time before bouncing off towards her class.

    I head towards the gym like she suggested and, sure enough, I saw him there, practicing… whatever it was basketball players practiced. I smile, leaning against the doorframe and just silently watching him for a few minutes. God, he’s so cute…

    “Hunter!” He smiles when finally noticing me. I clam up, blushing fiercely at being caught staring.

    “Oh, uh, Nate! I didn’t even.. Y’know, see you there. Clearly. I was just staring at… the wall! You know, such a beautiful pattern and… architectural sturdiness…” Fuck, I suck at this.

    Nate just laughs, nodding, “Yeah, it’s a cool wall, dude. So, do you always come to the gym to stare at walls?” He dribbles-- is that the word? Did I use that right?-- the ball a couple times, patiently waiting for my answer.

    “No! I was, maybe, looking for you?” I sigh, smiling abashedly. “Sorry, I’m really bad at lying… Yeah, I was staring at you… I was wondering where you were, since you weren’t where we agreed to meet up.” Nate stops dribbling, staring at me like I just told him my first born was killed.

    “Oh… shit, dude, I’m really sorry. God, I’m such a scatterbrain… I totally forgot you asked me to meet you by the lockers.” He sighed, tossing the ball into the… ball… thing, and turning to look at me. “You’re… not mad or anything, right?”

    I laugh a bit and smile goofily, “Of course not, man. Honest mistake, don’t beat yourself up over it.” I twiddle my thumbs a bit, sighing. “I really don’t wanna go home…”

    Nate smiles a bit, “Well, you can come home with me? You know my parents love you to death.” I grin, remembering how Nate’s parents treat me. They act like I’m a God or something, hah. It’s really sweet, to be honest.

    “Yeah, sure. I don’t have to tell my parents, they, uh… won’t care…” I sigh softly. I made myself sad, dammit. Nate smiles sympathetically, rubbing my back.

    “Don’t worry, dude. Things will get better, I promise.” God, I love him. I laugh and nod, knowing somehow… he’s right. Things will definitely get better.

This is chapter 1 of I don't know XD But I really like it and hope you guys like it, too!

[myvoicenottheoneyougiveme]

In reality, in which "this” is most definitely detached but isn’t so purely scientific to have left the elements of the sponsor(s) off the table, that “personal” element suggests what is even being measured.

There are things that happen that I am meant to believe are legitimate interest or investment from others. They come decoupled from any kind of genuine indication that this is so, but you add in reactions to my “rejections” and the way the non-speak “messaging” goes on around here I’m supposed to believe that it’s the case. It’s all framed to me to be the case. I’m even guilted to believe that it is the case. The problem is, that aside from the roundabout quite empty and lifeless “hinting” that goes on, there is absolutely zero indication without all of that that there is any real genuine interest in such a thing. No sparks. No emotion. I mean I’ve seen emotion to the “disappointment” or whatever on rare occasion, but I’ve never once read “interest” in any kind of anything.

Why point all of this out? Because I believe that you my sponsors want more than anything to believe sorry, to prove that I never once read anything in regards to Michelle accurately--never, never once in all the years before “this” and especially after it started. So you puppet and prop up god knows who, anyone and everyone that’s willing to go along and give absolutely every indication “directly out of sight” and under the radar and completely contrary to reality, in an effort to prove that I when given any indication at all will absolutely run with that “invitation”.

I mean it’s all but proven right? You just have to prove it. ...All but. As in you can say whatever you want, but you can’t actually rewrite history.

You want me to latch onto something and decouple it from reality myself and create a fantasy and get all up in my head just so you can show that it’s all me and always was just me.

It’s the supposed “love notes” from total fucking strangers that would get left in the cafeteria. Or it’s the coworker reaching in or rather being the face of the reaching in and touching topics she ought not to touch. Let’s write things on cups. Let’s position the fake cockroaches in every sexual position imaginable. It’s the pointed remarks in conversation to this effect, but oddly all of the sexual stuff both breaking that ice and attempting to disgust at the same time. It’s the people around said person at one time attempting to hint hint wink wink like we’re all playing matchmaker. It’s the pointed “deep disclosure” of this week without the depth or emotion behind it. It’s the librarian taking pages out of your book, out of what happens here in the home too, and being a running commentary on “current events” framing them in such a way. It’s the other in-person attempts at dissonance and the “at my expense”ness that follow anything. It’s the other guy who never wears a cap EVER but suddenly this week because of “baseball” and “brother” and the emotional content of the media I did dare to watch this weekend and make use of my personal space rather than be paralyzed in anticipation of god only knows what will reverberate back at me. It’s the one lady who after I found something profound or in the very least interesting to point out to “you” while cleaning her office--you know the stuff people put on their walls and shelves to show others that says something about them--who has now gone so far out of her way to do exactly the same thing with the knickknacks like I’m supposed to read intent rather than simple harassment and more to the organized stalking. The list is endless. The bullshit “meetings” at the start. The one coworker who would lead the charge for the other. The “friend” officer who would do the same thing. The other officer who lied about having had contact with said “homeless” student after I saw him through the window talking with her, who when I pointed that out to “this” he magically disappeared and was replaced by the even more overt and raring-to-go bully-beat-down type who you had to reassign again to save face...There is a shit storm that’s been raging week after week for months, and your angle of attack may change slightly but your every aim is to paint and to prove and to smear me in any way possible and to, most of all, validate your own victimhood.

...at my expense. Live out a fantasy about yourself at my expense. You have to be one thing in the mirror, that means I have to be the other. I have to be whatever completes that for you. A crusade, not enough that you simply know or feel something in yourself or anyone in your life, no you need to control me and impose it on me and rewrite my lived experience. I am in possession of the one reflection you need more than any other it seems. You can’t have it. What you did to me was more than torturous. You should have let go when I was pulled out and given the resources necessary to no longer be at your mercy. But that reflection on you just couldn’t stand. You wouldn’t stand for it. You would not rest until you became 100% good and he 100% in the wrong (or evil more like).

And I forgot one more, it’s every new semester like every new jury after you throw out the previous verdict. Trading bad science for worse science. The veneer of truth seeking has dissolved and given way to what it is now. The fact is, when your “scientific method” was at its purest and I had little to no idea at all what was going on and I was hook line and sinker in your ploys, you still didn’t get the results you were looking for. No you got more of the codependent behaviors, long before you showed me yourself, Dorothy, what narcissism even meant before I even knew these concepts were a thing. You got every false result and failures to produce what you were just so damned sure of between the two of you, and your own jury, your own writers, your YOUR, YOUR handpicked personally, JURY, YOUR OWN JURY said “we’ve got the wrong guy”. You’ve been trading them out left and right ever since.

The thing about science, even false results are supposed to tell the scientist something. Repeated, repeated, repeated, repeated, is supposed to tell you something. There has to be the possibility for a false result or it’s not science anymore. But you bend and twist and frame and change the game eliminating that possibility anyway, but then you still don’t get it, or you get something that you with the greatest feats of mental gymnastics attempt to shoehorn into a narrative.

You need “this” like oxygen to breath. You need the mirroring. You need it revolving around you. You need the validation. You need to control the narrative. You need to be one thing, and that means you’re going to make me the other thing even if it kills me... and rightfully so, since in your reality, he is, he is, he is, HE IS, HE IS, HE IS AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, and NO ONE IS GOING TO TELL ME OTHERWISE. HE IS THE EVIL. I AM THE GOOD. HE IS THE EVIL, IM A VICTIM. IM A VICTIM. temper temper temper temper ragefest.

Most everything in this shit storm that happens around me is a (desperate) attempt to show me to be the kind of person that will read something that isn’t there, get it up in his head, and make life hell for someone who never had anything to do with his psychotic reality in the first place. All the signs will then be pointed to one thing being true, except for all of the signs that actually matter. And I’m supposed to run with the mere possibility because it’s so compelling. That gets you the result you want.

This week I suspend better judgement and say, OK, fine let’s just assume for a moment, and within that framework here is where I, myself, stand. ...”Not interested.” ...And then I get more again from her to the effect of “devastation” at my “rejection” of her. ...And then I say, ok, whatever, it doesn’t make any sense, but even if there were chemistry, here’s some qualitative reasons why I would not be interested in a relationship with this person. ...And then next it’s all actions and words on her part to the effect of being creeped out like I’m actually the one coming on and this person wants desperately to be left alone.

Well, I wouldn’t have called even her bit “coming on” but you’ve wanted me to believe that is the case. And I’ve known that you’ve wanted me to believe that. And so, now we’re right back to, “who is ‘this’ for?” Who is it helping? Whose life is it making easier or less complicated? I don’t want drama with people, and I certainly don’t want to be supposedly picking someone up for the let down (which is really actually all your doing in “this” if ever true in the first place).

I know I haven’t given those signals, and I know this person hasn’t truly given these signals. And I know theoretically and from personal experience that such chemistry is a mutual phenomenon regardless of the potential indecisiveness of one party. It’s even possible to crush one-sidedly; conscious preferences are like prerequisite gate-keepers that can inhibit one but not the other on account of them not being shared preferences (and commonalities). But chemistry, when it happens, is a product of two.

...You’re creating these scenarios without said chemistry, but supposedly “saying” all the right things (directly out of sight mind you) (cause I’m supposed to run with the mere possibility and not the overt expression), is a vain attempt to prove that what happened on Tumblr or what happened on Facebook was an entirely one-sided affair and that I’m a danger to myself and others because I just happen to people. If you can prove that, then you can prove that your overreaches and criminal activity and the abuses committed at your hands and the immeasurable harm and destruction in your wake is somehow justified... because he deserves it. The padded room in the mock asylum--a justified ordeal--a justified and right destiny for one so troubled. The end justifying the means.

And your game gets to keep going. You need “this”. You need any result that affords you the supposed right to do as you please. Everything you ever do, is an attempt to secure that and to gaslight me into believing any of it. Erase my own grip on reality and on my own lived experience, so you can rewrite history and I’ll corroborate it for you.

[maiseyann-cci]

Manifesto Brief

The human race has forgotten compassion,

Deserted empathy.

As a whole, we have become numb to the pain we inflict.

The new generation is lost in toxicity,

From behind a screen, abuse flies from household to household.

Cruel words shouted unnecessarily.

I honestly believe, with each other’s help,

Society can be unified.

With one kind word to each other a day,

Spreading love instead of spite.

Inspiring one another to encourage difference,

Working as one to embrace diversity,

Motivating each other to spread compassion.

There is no need to act destructively,

The words we share leave a lasting impact,

I look forward to seeing the day,

Where individualism is celebrated

And Kindness is undeniable.

BLOG POST;

One of the factors that inspired to to write my manifesto about kindness was because of the amount of hatred we see online nowadays, as well as how unappreciative society has become.

Over the past 10 years, the use of social media and online technology has surged dramatically. Having such easy access to the internet and access to social sites has allowed for a range of activities to occur, one of these being ‘trolling’. ‘Trolling’ is defined as ‘a person who starts quarrels or upsets people on the Internet’. This ‘trend’ as some people may call it has caused massive amounts of damage but has also instigated changes within many industries to cater their ‘manifestos/mission statements’ to become more inclusive and cater to all demographics.

We live in a technological era where anything is possible. People can voice their opinions and be heard by millions, which in many ways benefits the culture within society today. It allows intellectuals to communicate and converse across the globe and get responses instantly. However, this freedom also permits anonymous and spiteful messages to be sent to innocent people. This not only has a detrimental effect of the mental health of the receiver of these messages, but their families as well.

Kindness

‘How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time.’ – Trying to speak this into existence within a society where the social norm has caused people to become numb to the abuse that is distributed is always going to be difficult.

Bullying can happen to anyone, celebrity or not. However, some of the more high-profile celebrity cases have sparked a shift within society and todays ‘acceptive’ culture. It has created a positive movement to finally get rid of online bullying once and for all. The most recent case to start the trend was the tragic suicide of Caroline Flack. After choosing to take her own life at the age of 40, the #BeKind movement was created. This movement took the internet by storm, urging people to become more aware of the impact that their words were having on others, and quite simply to think before they speak.

However, I do believe that many of these social media trends to promote and encourage kindness and to prevent trolling aren’t taken far enough. In order to create a long-lasting impact, guidelines and laws need to be put in place to deter individuals from sending hurtful messages.

The current law states that these forms of bullying can be punishable by law;

-       Violence or Assault

-       Theft

-       Repeated harassment or intimidation

-       Hate crimes

There is no specific law within schools to protect young people from the abuse that they may be subjected too. Currently, the policy is by law that all state schools must have a ‘behaviour policy’ in place to prevent bullying. This is what I believe needs to change. A behaviour policy and a warning from a teacher will not have the same impact as a warning from police or the government.

Why I Chose Kindness

The above is only a small factor into why I decided to write my manifesto about kindness. My manifesto is based on this topic because I honestly believe that it is what connects us with one another. It has reached a point where there is more hatred online that positivity and that is something that I personally, cannot bear to see. I believe that every morning people wake up and they make a choice. They decide whether they are going to be loving or hurtful to themselves and one another. My aim is to make this choice easier for people.

I visit a small Caribbean country called Costa Rica almost every year. My family live there, in a small town called Cahuita. This small town has taught me more about kindness and compassion than anything else. They are a very close community and despite this, they will welcome and embrace any new visitors that pass through. This is very different to London, where people are hostile and dismissive. This difference really motivated me to write on the topic of kindness as I believe that being kind to each other is the first step into building and creating a new and reformed society where all cultures, beliefs are embraced.

In Costa Rica, their motto is ‘Pura Vida’ which translates to ‘Pure Life’. This has always resonated with me as it makes you reflect and appreciate what we have in our lives. They have a minimalistic culture out there, and they are all extremely grateful for everything that they have, and even if they have next to nothing, they are still kind to one another.

In their culture there is no online bullying or harassment, everyone is accepting and welcoming and that is one of the reasons that I am so against it is because it truly is unnecessary.

My manifesto isn’t there to be ignored, it is there to inspire and motivate the readers to appreciate everything that we have in our lives and understand that some other may be less fortunate. Many people don’t realise what people may be experiencing in their personal lives, and that unkind words can hold more of an impact on people if this is the case. People shouldn’t have to be taught how to treat each other with kindness and respect, however I believe that with everybody making more of an effort, and being aware of their words, a difference can be made. 

When researching manifestos similar to my own, the results that I found didn’t do the topic justice. They were created by large corporations with no real purpose other than good publicity. The aim while writing mine was to create something authentic, that people can read and interpret how they want too. A manifesto that had it’s own voice.

Who

I am creating this manifesto, not just for myself, but for the benefit of others. It has been created to let people struggling know that they aren’t alone as well as to show people that they can change their behaviour and embrace the differences and quirks that society has to offer.

The culture within our society today has become accepting of behaviour that it should refuse, and I want to encourage people to change their attitudes and outlooks on life, and to motivate them to appreciate all the little good things that life gives us, similar to the culture in Costa Rica. 

When it came to writing the manifesto itself, this is where I wanted to display all of my believes an personal feelings in a way which made it possible for the reader to internalise and understand the reasons why being kinder is the better choice, for themselves and society.

RESEARCH -

What is a Manifesto?

■     A manifesto is a declaration, stating a person's intentions, policy as well as their aims and adjectives.

Examples?

■     This example of a kindness manifesto was created within a series called Kind Kindred. This series of manifestos is created purely to spread positivity and to help people that are struggling with their day to day lives persevere. This can be one of the main reasons that manifestos are created, in order to unify society around one chosen topic.

■     The context of this manifesto is Kindness. Entirely related to the way human beings treat each other, however this isn’t always what they were based upon. This type of manifesto isn’t written for personal gain, instead written to help and support wider society.

Previous Influential Manifestos?

THE FEMINIST MANIFESTO

■     When researching early examples of manifestos, I came across the ‘Feminist Manifesto’ written by Mina Loy in 1914.

■     The manifesto encourages women to take a stand against the feminist movement that was happening at the time, as well as encouraging a new place for women in the continuously evolving society.

■     What this manifesto shows us that despite having a passion for the topic, overall the manifesto was written for political gain/involvement. This is a popular reason that manifestos are written.

POLITICAL MANIFESTOS

■     One of the key reasons that manifesto are created is to outline a political parties, aims and objectives as well as displaying to their readers and followers what separates them from their rivals.

■     This is a trend that still occurs today. A manifesto, in political terms is used to outline the set of goals that the party would like to achieve. This is what influences the way people vote.

■     If elected, the political party then follows through with all topics and aims that were outlined within their manifesto. However, these promises can often fall through and fail.

■     The ‘Manifesto’ is a key tool used in for political gain and advancement.

THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO

■     Again, the ‘Communist Manifesto’ was created by sociologists Karl Marx and Friedriech Engels. The manifesto highlights the struggles between the Bourgeoise and the proletariat. Marx argued that the Bourgeoise (upper class) exploited the proletariat (lower class) as the work they carried out benefited only the capitalist class.

■     The manifesto outlines the problems within the classes and ended in a call for a communist revolution in order to overthrow the bourgeoise and stop the reign of capitalism within society.

■     This manifesto is a key example and highlights the importance of their creation and existence. It creates a summary of all the ideas theories that the 2 sociologists had produced and made an easily accessible way for people to find and share their ideas.

ART MANIFESTOS

■     An art manifesto has the same basic outlines and structure of a political manifesto, again, outlining the aims, intentions and views, however it is for an artist or an artistic movement, but can still reference political issues/agendas.

■     The purpose of an art manifesto is to create a statement of ‘shock’ which in turn, hopefully triggers a revolutionary or new movement.

■     One of the first art manifestos that was created relating to this topic was the manifesto of ‘Futurism’. This manifesto was written by an Italian poet called Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. His manifesto outlined a society that he wanted to live in in the future, including a ‘celebration’ of the advances of technology and encouraged the modernization of Italy.

■     This allows a different perspective on the reason for manifestos. This manifesto wasn’t created to help advance a political party, but instead to encourage change and the advancement of society.

THE PURPOUSE OF MANIFESTOS

■     Overall, whilst researching the many different types of manifestos I came to one conclusion. Despite all claiming to have a different meaning, all manifestos are the aims or beliefs of an individual and a way of them being able to convey and present these ideas to the public.

■     Despite mainly being used by political parties, activists and organizations, they can be written by an individual who wants their opinion and ideas to be voiced.

■     I believe manifestos are a great tool for a variety for people and businesses to use in order to express themselves and their beliefs. However, sometimes manifestos and the ideologies that they pass on can fall flat and the writers can let their audience can be left disappointed with the overall outcome.

■     Although, Manifestos don’t always have to be taken literally, they can be created in order to inspire and motivate the readers to change their ways or to help join the movement to make a difference.

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It's incredible where video gaming go today. They began with big consoles which took tubes and appeared vaguely like fingers-drawn cartoons. Nowadays, they incorporate High definition video clip, respond to the movements of the body as well as permit you to show up on-display screen. Read on to discover many ways toward being a far better gamer.

Buy a standard rechargeable battery pack for the wifi video gaming controller. You can purchase standard rechargeable power materials for almost any control. You may be ingesting through a little lot of money within the battery packs accustomed to run your controllers if you intend to experience video games regularly. A chargeable battery power can save you a ton of money in the long term.

If you would like provide a child a video activity as being a gift idea, make sure you look at the ESRB status. These rankings help you learn what game titles are ideal for your kid's age levels to enable you to prevent unacceptable articles. Prior to making the investment, this needs to be a definite thing to consider.

Expand the body out every single fifteen roughly minutes or so whilst you're taking part in a video activity. Whenever you rest and do the exact same thing over and over, muscle tissues degrade. You could possibly cramp up, wear body weight and even build a blood vessels clot! This maintains you healthy enough to activity yet another time.

Prior to actively playing a brand new xbox game, read the cheat publication. Most games use a guide you can get separately. And even while you are playing, you really should take into account carrying this out and reading it before you decide to enjoy. This way, you may get the most from your online game enjoy.

Prior to buying a relevant video activity, see the evaluations and view the trailers. Make sure it is one thing you are looking at before getting it. These video games aren't affordable, and also you won't get nearly as much cash when you buy and sell inside a applied online game which you have only employed a few times.

Offer your employed game titles to purchase new or a novice to you games. Online games are certainly not affordable and a number of them you may have no use for after you defeat. Do your homework and find merchants that buy used games. These merchants will either compensate you in cash or in shop credit rating. This lets you get games you want without spending lots of money.

Tend not to allow video games you might be never going to perform once more stack up. Get some thing back again on their behalf towards the next online game. Either industry them it in your nearby computer game retail store or offer them at a applied cd/motion picture retail store. You can even collection them on the web with an public auction or labeled itemizing.

Carry a video online game celebration. Numerous kids enjoy playing video gaming and may extensively love a get together by using a xbox game theme. Select your child's beloved gaming method and also a food intended to display this. Then, setup the video games method so that your little one along with his good friends may play online game jointly.

Bullying is an issue within the on-line gaming world. A lot of children are aware of the men and women they can be having fun with and gaming has turned into a technique for bullies to jeopardize and harass youngsters on the internet. Be sure that you know who your young ones are playing games with online while keeping them secure.

Search for instructional titles. They can be out there, whilst they are certainly not generally prominently exhibited amongst the principal blockbusters in game stores or electronic parts. Talk with other parents or ask representatives for particular tips, as titles can be found which help by helping cover their learning languages, understanding technology and exercising mathematics.

What games to play for free on steam

Request buddies for recommendations. Better still, think about wondering their kids! You need to be able to obtain the gaming fans in your social teams, so utilize them in your favor. Your friends know you together with you trust their viewpoints, so that you will be able to easier pick new online games to experience from the suggestions.

Prior to take into account the system, think about games. Consider what type of online games are offered on every process, before you go out and devote hundreds of dollars on the gaming program. Although game titles use a model for every single process, you can still find some game titles which can be exclusive to an individual process. Select wisely.

Look at swapping some games with good friends. Getting new video gaming in stores now expenses and good deal of cash. Swapping online games that you do much longer have fun with your mates can be quite a excellent technique to get a hold of some diverse video games without having to spend a dime.

No matter if you like to engage in over a gaming console or perhaps your cellphone, video games look like everywhere these days. You no longer will need to go for the arcade to perform the best titles, instead you can just perform they in your own home. You don't even need to check out a shop to purchase them! Exactly what a planet we reside in.

[onespy-whatsapp-spy-blog]

Embrace Facebook Spy App for A Better Future

 Introduction

Facebook spy is an imminent tool introduced by ONESPY- the best android phone monitoring app. It enables any user to discreetly read all the conversations on Facebook that occur on the target android device.

The internet is full of useless degenerates that have nothing better to do than bullying, harassing and trolling other users. The major social media platforms possess a fair share of these individuals. They are mostly easy to spot and can be avoided. But sometimes, these people come in disguises and only reveal their true motives once they’ve gained the trust of a person.

Facebook has been popular for a while now and contains a lot of suspicious users that can potentially hamper the life and future of your kids and loved ones. Spy Facebook chat will not only help people protect their children from any type of harmful people or incidents but also assist them in gaining a better understanding of their loved ones.

Background of Facebook

Launched on February 4, 2004 and founded by Mark Zuckerberg along with his Harvard buddy Eduardo Saverin, Facebook spread like a forest fire in the years that were to come. A social media platform designed to let people connect globally and share snippets of their life, Facebook is one of the all-time leading social media companies.

Since 2006, Facebook allowed anyone who claimed to be of or above 13 years of age to create an account and connect with friends, family and colleagues. It currently has more than 2.2 billion monthly active users.

Social media became a huge thing for people from all countries and Facebook had a major role to play. Every registered account on Facebook could post pictures, status updates and anything that they wanted to share using this platform. Social media started to have a life its own which was rather different than our real lives.

These days social media presence has reached a new height. Most people find a refuge in it and some even use it to seek validation. As if the number of likes you got on a specific post determined its quality. People gain popularity through social media, reputations are destroyed on social media. It is used to spread love, just as it is used to spread hate.

Facebook has as many drawbacks as virtues. Not just Facebook, the entire social media platforms come with pros and cons. Facebook is used by many political parties and allegiances to propagate fake news, glorify their barbaric principles and customs. It is used to create awareness but at the same time it is used by many to mock and ridicule random/popular events, people and other things.

Facebook spy is an effective tool that will help you figure out the type of people your child or a family member interacts it. You will receive regular notification of the messages that have been sent and received on the Facebook messenger of the target device.

Advantages of Facebook Spy

Facebook spy is an elaborate feature of ONESPY which focuses on Facebook messenger data and information monitoring. It is designed primarily for concerned parents with young kids of the age group 13-17 that are addicted to social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. However, the spy Facebook app feature is meant for anyone that needs it.

Facebook spy will help you track Facebook messages being exchanged on the target device. Not just the messages, you can also access the exact timings of the each and every message that has been sent or received on the target device.

Spy Facebook app has several advantages that will make having control over your children or employees easier for you. With Facebook Spy you can easily detect the activities of your children on this widely used social media platform which is full of potential threats. It is important to maintain a safe environment for your children and since you cannot do that online, ONESPY has found a perfect solution for you with its spy Facebook chat feature.

It is mostly the teenagers that become victims of cyber-crime. Spy Facebook can help you monitor your loved one’s activity and prevent them from being victimised by the copious amount of threats that present themselves online.

Incidents of old people being tricked into making fraudulent purchases are quite common these days. If you have an old parent or grandparent, they are prone to fall for these scams. With Spy Facebook you can prevent these incidents from occurring altogether.

Even the people that seem natural and friendly can turn out to be frauds trying to extort money from people you are responsible for. Any naive individual can become prey to such conspiracy. If you have gullible family members which can easily be influenced or tricked, it becomes imminent for you to save them from such deceitful plots and warn them regarding the same. With Facebook tracker feature provided by ONESPY you can resolve and avoid all such cases and many more.

Additional Features of ONESPY

Along with the Facebook spy feature, ONESPY has several other attractive features that provide you with an all-inclusive and efficient cell phone monitoring app to keep all the possible threats at bay.

These features include-

·         Hidden Call Recorder: ONESPY spy app comes with a hidden call recorder that provides you with recordings of every phone call that occurs on the target phone. The conversation recording are double-sided, which means that you can hear both parties clearly. This feature consumes minimal data and is very effective.

 ·         Spy photos: Images, Audio files and other multimedia files are a great way to track the cell phone of any android user. ONESPY gives you access to all of the mentioned bouquet of features with the click of one button.

 ·         GPS Tracker: ONESPY cell phone spy informs you about the live location of the target android smartphone.

 ·         Skype Spy: The process to monitor all Skype conversations including multimedia files transferred over the devices got way simpler with ONESPY cell phone spy app.

 ·         WhatsApp Spy: With WhatsApp spy you can easily access al text messages and multimedia messages like videos, images, voice recordings that have been exchanged through WhatsApp messenger.

 ·         Hike tracking- A popular social media app Hike is available to users globally. This app can be used for sharing texts and photos. ONESPY phone tracker App can be used to spy all Hike chats.

 ·         E-mail spying- Yahoo Mail, Outlook Mail and Gmail are the most popular ways of sharing files globally. People can use these email services to share various kinds of emails including spams. You can keep your family secure with the help of ONESPY mobile spy app to keep yourself away from all threats.

 ·         Call Logs

·         Applications

·         Contacts

·         SMS Messages

·         Surroundings

·         Internet History

·         IMO Chats

·         Instagram Chats

·         Snapchat Chats

·         Tinder Chats

·         Kik Chats

·         Line Chats

·         Viber Chats

·         Screenshots

·         100% Hidden

·         Device Change

·         Chat Support

·         Technical support

How to Get ONESPY?

In order to avail the benefits of ONESPY, all you need to do is visit the site. You can browse through the different topics mentioned on the site to get a rough idea of how the application works.

If your cell phone is listed among the compatible devices, you can go to the ‘buy now’ section and choose a plan that suits your needs. After making the purchase you can simply download and install the ONESPY app on the desired device. The entire process will take around 5 minutes and then you’re all set. Uninterrupted monitoring information can be accessed through a unique username and password that the company will provide to you. You can access this information on a smartphone or a PC/laptop. The information will be made accessible to you and you only.

 We wish you all the best. Happy spying!

[pawprintcooper]

This is The Download, a daily recap of the top technology headlines.

F8 2018 day 1 recap

Facebook held the first day of its F8 developers conference today, here’s what you need to know.

Facebook building Clear History feature to let users stop collected browsing history, app usage from being associated with account

Facebook users will soon be able to opt out of the company being able to collect and use people’s web browsing history, which the company sues to sell targeted ads.

The company collects this data thanks to web and app developers that use Facebook’s software plugins, which send data back to Menlo Park.

The company uses this data for a variety of reasons, most notably to target you with ads. For example, if you’re looking for a pair of shoes at Nordstorm and don’t buy them, Facebook can then show you an ad for those same shoes on Facebook.

As part of the site’s upcoming “clear history” feature, users can delete their browsing data from Facebook’s data or ask the company not to collect it at all. According to a spokesperson for the company, the data could still be retained anonymously in an aggregated set for companies that use Facebook for analytics purposes but it wouldn’t be tied to your profile or used for targeting. If you don’t have a Facebook account, you can’t opt out of this data collection.

If you choose to simply delete the data rather than opting out entirely, it won’t be deleted instantaneously. Facebook will still retain that information for a short time after instructing the company to delete it. However, it will still be much shorter than the two-year time limit that the company currently holds onto that data at 90 days.

Facebook takes on Tinder with new dating features

Facebook is adding a dating layer to its main mobile app. The features are a long time coming, since the platform has allowed users to broadcast whether they’re single or in a relationship since first going live in February 2004.

The move will likely pit Facebook into a competitor of Match Group, which owns and operates sites like OkCupid and Tinder.

“This is going to be for building real, long-term relationships – not just for hookups. We have designed this with privacy and safety in mind from the beginning. Your friends aren’t going to see your profile, and you’re only going to be suggested to people who are not your friends.”

Mark Zuckerburg, Facebook CEO

Facebook product chief Chris Cox shedded some more light on the new dating features and to give the audience a tour of the design. The profiles look similar to mobile-focused dating apps like Tinder or Bumble with full-page profile photos. However, Facebook focuses more on community with its approach with integrations for the events and groups you’re part of on the site.

Cox also mentioned “unlocking,” a feature that will let any user of Facebook’s dating platform make his or her profile visible to other attendees of events or group members. From there, messaging happens in distinct chat threads separate from Facebook Messenger. According to Cox, Facebook will announce more information, including a release date and rollout information, later this year after a testing phase.

Messenger updated with chat translations, AR features, simplified UI

Facebook will begin rolling out chat translation within Messenger through its M Suggestions assistant.

According to Facebook head of Messenger David Marcus, the messaging platform has over 200,000 active developers and 300,000 active bots (up from 100,000 of each a year ago) that facilitate messages between people and businesses each month. That’s up four times since last year.

Translation is starting with just English-Spanish conversions for users in the U.S. who start a conversation through Facebook Marketplace, its peer-to-peer commerce feature. All Messenger users will get access in the coming weeks, with Facebook saying that it will “launch this functionality in additional languages and countries” over time.

Meanwhile, businesses can now build augmented reality experiences into Messenger.

“If you’re a brand and you want people to experience AR at scale, there’s really no way to do that.”

David Marcus, Facebook head of Messenger

When people interact with certain businesses on Messenger, they can be prompted to open the app’s camera and use a pre-populated brand-specific AR effect. They can then return to the conversation or shoot a photo or video of the experience and share it with friends.

Branded AR is launching in closed beta, with launch experiences including a way to drop a virtual Kia car onto your driveway and try out customizations, an ASUS phone unboxing, a Sephora make-up try-on demo, and a change to check out Nike’s newest Kyrie Irving inspired shoes. Users can then make purchases within Messenger with payment info on file with Facebook. That payment feature is also in closed beta, but Marcus said that the company hopes to open up to more partners soon.

WhatsApp Status notches 450M DAUs

WhatsApp Status, itself a clone of Instagram Stories, itself a clone of Snapchat Stories, has now notched 450 million daily active users. That’s compared to 191 million daily users on all of Snapchat.

Rather than rest on its laurels, WhatsApp is adding stickers and group video calling. Users already spend two billion minutes a day on WhatsApp video and audio calls. However, in the coming months, they’ll be able to have at least four people on a split-screen video call. Rather than just chat with text, you’ll be able to send stickers inside WhatsApp soon. Third-party sticker packs will also be available.

Meanwhile, the messaging app is edging towards monetization. Three million companies are on its new WhatsApp for Business app,

Facebook announces new Groups tab along with Groups plugin for websites/emails, to launch later this year

Facebook is doubling down on community with a new Groups tab.

“In a community, you can meet new people who share your values – for some, this might be a support group for new parents. For others, it might be about a disease you have. For others, it might be about finding people to come together and volunteer. People want to be a part of meaningful communities.”

Mark Zuckerburg

The company also provided an update on how large the Groups community has become. Today, 1.4 billion people use Groups every month with 200 million or so of the groups are those that the company calls “meaningful.”

The new tab will help people find all their Facebook groups in a single place. The tab will promote the discovery of new groups, along with helping you enjoy your time in those groups more. This includes “Watch Party,” a new feature that lets group members watch video together.

“This is just the experience of watching the same frame of the same video at the same time with thousands of people all around the world.”

Chris Cox, Facebook chief product officer

Group leaders, video creators, or audience members can also use a new feature called live commentating that lets them put their face on the screen and narrate whatever they want to say about what’s being watched. According to the company, it’ll make co-watching more social.

Along with this, the company is launching a new Groups plugin that admins and developers can add to their websites and newsletters that solicits people to join their Facebook group.

“Every great community has engaged leaders. So a lot of what we need to do is just give more people the tools to be community leaders.”

Mark Zuckerburg

Crisis Response feature updated to let users share reports of what’s happening on the ground, launches new blood donation hub

Facebook has updated its Crisis Response that expands the tool from allowing you to mark yourself as safe to sharing a bit more information about what’s happening on the ground. The company also noted that its Safety Check feature, which launched in 2014 and is part of the Crisis Response tool set, has been activated over 1,000 times.

These new first-person accounts can let users share information about road closures, fires, flooding, electricity outages, and other dangers during a disaster.

After this, Facebook is also launching an update to its existing blood donation program. The company is launching a new hub that will make it easier for clinics, blood banks, and donors to find each other. Using this tool, blood banks can notify potential donors (who can share their blood type) of a blood shortage, for example, and steer them towards their location.

This is an expansion of the “Blood donations on Facebook” service that’s already live in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Over eight million people have signed up for the service.

Instagram updated with redesigned Explore page, video chat

Instagram is rolling out several new features, including video chat and a redesigned Explore page.

The Explore page will now feature a carousel at the top of the page, with buttons that give you the option to swipe through subjects like animals, photography, and architecture to see relevant posts about a topic.

Video chat is also being added for users, though it’s currently in a testing phase and will “soon” roll out globally. To start a chat, tap the new camera icon at the top of a direct message thread with the people you want to call.

You can chat with one person or a small group, and minimize the video screen during a conversation while continuing to browse Instagram.

All users will get access to the features over the coming weeks.

Instagram expands anti-bullying tools, including hiding comments that attack appearances

Instagram is also rolling out a bullying filter in another move towards keeping the comments section clean on the platform, according to Instagram head of analytics and data science Tamar Shapiro.

Shapiro said that the filter will hide language that’s intended to harass or be upsetting.

According to an Instagram blog post, the filter looks out for comments that attack someone’s appearance or character, or makes threats against them.

Facebook/Instagram Stories allow sharing from other apps

Third-party apps like Spotify, SoundCloud, and GoPro can now let their users share to Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories. Rather than screenshotting, users can hit a button to share a photo or video of a playlist, song, or mini-movie from another app into either app’s Stories camera, where they can embellish it with effects and post it to their friends.

According to Cox, launch partners include selfie editor Meitu, lipsyncing social network Musically, and Indian streaming music service Saavn.

While the new wing of the Facebook platform is opening to all developers, only approved partners that go through a review process like those mentioned so far will have attribution watermarks added to the shares.

Apple Q2 2018 earnings: Revenue of $61.1B, 52.3M iPhone sales, 9.1M iPad sales, 4.08M Mac sales

Apple has reported its second quarter 2018 financial results, posting quarterly revenue of $61.1 billion on sales of 52.2 million iPhones, 9.11 million iPads, 4.07 million Macs, and $9.19 billion in services.

This is up 16 percent year over year, compared to 50.76 million iPhones, 8.92 million iPads, and 4.199 million Macs sold in Q2 2017 that generated $52.9 billion in quarterly revenue. Earnings per share was up 30 percent, generating over $15 billion in operating cash flow.

“We’re thrilled to report our best March quarter ever, with strong revenue growth in iPhones, Services, and Wearables. Customers chose iPhone X more than any other iPhone each week in the March quarter, just as they did following its launch in the December quarter. We also grew revenue in all of our geographic segments, with over 20 percent growth in Greater China and Japan.”

Tim Cook, Apple CEO

The biggest growth area in the quarter came from services and “other products,” which saw 31 and 38 percent increases respectively likely fueled by strengthened sales of Apple Music, Apple Pay, and the Apple Watch.

Helped by the iPhone X’s high price tag, the iPhone found a 14 percent revenue gain despite only growing unit sales by three percent. Once again, the Mac fell in sales for the quarter, down three percent in unit sales year over year, though it held steady in revenue.

Geographically, Apple’s strongest revenue growth came from Japan with a 22 percent increase year-over-year. China followed close behind with a 21 percent increase. Meanwhile, the Americas showed a 17 percent increase, while Europe’s nine percent and the rest of the Asia/Pacific’s four percent increase were lower but still on the upswing.

“Our business performed extremely well during the March quarter, as we grew earnings per share by 30 percent and generated over $15 billion in operating cash flow. With the greater flexibility we now have from access to our global cash, we can now efficiently invest in our US operations and work towards a more optimal capital structure. Given our new confidence in Apple’s future, we are very happy to announce that our Board has approved a new $100 billion share repurchase authorization and a 16 percent increase in our quarterly dividend.”

Luca Maestri, Apple CFO

Apple’s board of directors declared a $0.73 per share of common stock cash dividend, payable May 17 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 14.

For Q3 2018, the company is offering revenue guidance ranging between $51.5 billion and $53.5 billion, with a gross margin between 38 and 38.5 percent.

Amazon warns Signal to stop using anti-censoring domain-fronting technique if it wants to keep using AWS

Amazon has reached out to Signal informing the company that it must discontinue any sort of domain fronting practices if it wants to continue using Amazon Web Services.

“With Google Cloud and AWS out of the picture, it seems that domain fronting as a censorship circumvention technique is now largely non-viable in the countries where Signal had enabled this feature. The idea behind domain fronting was that to block a single site, you’d have to block the rest of the internet as well. In the end, the rest of the internet didn’t like that plan.”

Moxie Marlinspike, Signal founder

Domain fronting lets services like Signal hide the endpoint of internet traffic behind a domain that’s allowed by a censor. In this case, Amazon specifically used the example of Signal using Souq.com, a domain owned by Amazon. A country that blocks Signal would see traffic going to Souq.com and allow it. On the other side of Amazon’s SSL certificate, the traffic would be routed to Signal.

In other news

AT&T confirmed that it has no plans to sell LG’s G7 ThinQ, but will offer an exclusive LG device this summer.

Billboard will set new rules into effect on June 29 that will prioritize paid subscription streams in how it calculates the Hot 100 songs and Hot 200 albums charts.

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam announced in an interview with Geekwire that the company plans to launch its fixed 5G service by the end of 2018.

Vine 2.0 has been delayed indefinitely after overwhelming attention made estimated costs for the project too high to bear for cofounder Dom Hofmann.

Chinese home robotics company UBTECH has raised a $820 million Series C funding round led by Tencent and a slew of other investors.

The Download: May 3 This is The Download, a daily recap of the top technology headlines. F8 2018 day 1 recap…

[benfchristie2]

7 New Twitter Features (and 4 Others You May Have Missed)

In an industry fixated on rapid growth, any slowdown in user acquisition or monetization sounds alarms. And Twitter, whether it likes it or not, has been sounding a lot of them lately.

After a few years of stagnant monthly active user growth and disappointing the market, Twitter has been on an upswing thus far in 2017 -- beating investor projections by generating more money and adding more new users than initially anticipated.

In the face of a negative narrative, the company has been quick to take action and focused predominantly on changes geared toward the user -- and it seems to be working.

Over the last year, Twitter has made a number of changes, small and big, to drive user engagement and improve the overall onboarding and experience of the platform. But we know how tough it can be to keep up with these types of updates, which is why we put together a list of the more notable features and changes below. Marketers, take note.

7 New Twitter Features

1) The End of Vine ... and the End of Periscope?

When technology companies are struggling to grow, as was Twitter for much of 2016, they will usually do one of two things -- cut staff to make financial ends meet, or develop new innovations to attract and engage users.

In Twitter's case, it did both -- Twitter sunsetted Vine and launched an in-app live video streaming feature -- thereby eliminating the need to stream from Periscope for many users.

Vine paved the way for the popular short-form and infinitely-looping videos we see on Snapchat and Instagram today (like this one), and in the fall of 2016, it was ultimately shuttered as Twitter shifted its focus to live video content.

Vines are still available to share and watch (and rewatch), but now, six-second looping videos must be recorded and shared directly to Twitter or saved to the creator's camera roll.

Then, in December 2016, Twitter launched its own in-app live video streaming and recording function -- effectively eliminating the need to live-stream from within the Periscope app.

Fed chair Janet Yellen explains decision to raise interest rates. #CheddarLIVE #Periscope #GoLive https://t.co/5WfFBeiWyf

- Cheddar (@cheddar) June 14, 2017

Twitter hasn't discontinued Periscope the way it did so with Vine, so users can still download the app and live-stream videos to their audience there. But these changes in such rapid succession disappointed a lot of avid fans and users -- and reflected Twitter's growing need to keep users within its app.

It's no secret that video is no longer just popular -- it's also a requisite element of any successful social media platform. Twitter is trying to innovate its video creation, broadcasting, and sharing tools to give users the types of content they want -- short-form, looping, and live broadcasts -- to compete with other platforms, attract new users, and keep existing users engaged.

We haven't seen Twitter jump on the bandwagon of creating an ephemeral video stories feature like most of the major social media platforms -- yet. But we should expect more features and announcements -- like Twitter's deals to live-stream professional sports and breaking news -- that signal its continued emphasis on video content in the future.

2) A New Layout

In June 2017, Twitter completely redesigned its desktop site and mobile app to make Twitter feel "lighter, faster, and easier to use" in response to user feedback:

Following in the footsteps of Brian Chesky: what's the most important thing you want to see Twitter improve or create in 2017? #Twitter2017

- jack (@jack) December 29, 2016

Twitter's user base has been slowly growing -- and sometimes dipping -- over the past few years, and these UI and UX innovations could help attract people to Twitter, while also preventing users from leaving it.

Source: The Motley Fool

Here's a rundown of the changes:

Decluttered UI: Twitter now offers a sidebar menu where users can more easily navigate to their profiles, lists, and personal settings -- instead of having to tap through the app more than once.

Real-time reply, retweet, and like counts: Users can now watch the engagement numbers with tweets increase in realtime within the app, instead of refreshing and reloading tweets.

Clearer typography and iconography: Twitter changed the in-app font, made some headlines bolder to attract attention in the busy feed, and changed the "Reply" button to a conversation bubble (so it didn't look like a back arrow anymore).

Round avatars: Profile images are now round instead of square.

And here's what these changes look like in action:

Source: Twitter

Most of the changes were widely panned by users, but this is the internet, after all -- and Twitter will never make everyone happy. Some users pointed out that cosmetic UI changes are not nearly as important as improving users' abilities to report and challenge abusive language on the platform -- and that's next on our list.

3) More Comprehensive Anti-Harassment and Cyberbullying Features

One of the biggest complaints against Twitter is how easily harassment can spread and exacerbate on the network -- and there was no better test of this hypothesis than political rhetoric surrounding recent global elections. Historically, tweets aimed at threatening or scaring individuals on Twitter have gone unfettered and caused a number of users to delete their accounts or even fear for their safety -- as blogger Ariel Waldman has chronicled.

Twitter Rules prohibit the kind of abuse we mean here -- threats, hate speech, bullying, and harassment on the basis of users' race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, ability, disease, or nationality. However, until as recently as March 1, 2017, there haven't been a lot of options for users report and stop abuse they were experiencing in real-time. Twitter has begun to respond to harassment and threats on the network with a series of features and services aimed a keeping people safe. These additions include:

Notification filtering: Users can specify which accounts they don't want to receive notifications from. For example, you can filter out notifications from accounts without profile photos and with unverified email addresses.

Mute option: Users can mute specific keywords and phrases, and they can choose how long they don't want to see that type of content.

Reporting transparency: Users now receive notifications when -- and if -- Twitter intervenes on an abuse report the user files.

Time-out: Users who are reported are sometimes temporarily put in "time-out" while Twitter investigates the report to prevent the further dissemination of abusive content.

Safe search: Machine-learning technology will prevent users from being served potentially abusive content when they search for tweets on the platform.

Hiding abusive tweets: Twitter has started identifying low-quality tweets from potentially abusive accounts so users see high-quality content first. The tweets will still be on Twitter -- they'll just be harder to find.

Preventing new abuse: Twitter has started preventing reported and flagged users from creating new accounts with the same contact information in an effort to prevent repeat offenders on the platform.

These updates are critical to ensuring Twitter stays a welcoming place for all users. In a leaked memo last year, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo underscored the importance of this move, saying:

I'm frankly ashamed of how poorly we've dealt with this issue during my tenure as CEO. It's absurd. There's no excuse for it. I take full responsibility for not being more aggressive on this front. It's nobody else's fault but mine, and it's embarrassing.

We're going to start kicking these people off right and left and making sure that when they issue their ridiculous attacks, nobody hears them. Everybody on the leadership team knows this is vital."

4) Moments for Everyone

Twitter introduced Moments -- curated tweets about a single topic or story, all in one place -- back in 2015. Moments allowed publishers and brands to pull together their tweets and tweets from other users about a topic to tell a story in one story collage -- and in August 2016, Twitter opened up Moments to any user who wanted to create them. Here's what they look like:

Squirrel sneaks into NYC building and things get nutty

[jasonmkemp4]

7 New Twitter Features (and 4 Others You May Have Missed)

In an industry fixated on rapid growth, any slowdown in user acquisition or monetization sounds alarms. And Twitter, whether it likes it or not, has been sounding a lot of them lately.

After a few years of stagnant monthly active user growth and disappointing the market, Twitter has been on an upswing thus far in 2017 -- beating investor projections by generating more money and adding more new users than initially anticipated.

In the face of a negative narrative, the company has been quick to take action and focused predominantly on changes geared toward the user -- and it seems to be working.

Over the last year, Twitter has made a number of changes, small and big, to drive user engagement and improve the overall onboarding and experience of the platform. But we know how tough it can be to keep up with these types of updates, which is why we put together a list of the more notable features and changes below. Marketers, take note.

7 New Twitter Features

1) The End of Vine ... and the End of Periscope?

When technology companies are struggling to grow, as was Twitter for much of 2016, they will usually do one of two things -- cut staff to make financial ends meet, or develop new innovations to attract and engage users.

In Twitter's case, it did both -- Twitter sunsetted Vine and launched an in-app live video streaming feature -- thereby eliminating the need to stream from Periscope for many users.

Vine paved the way for the popular short-form and infinitely-looping videos we see on Snapchat and Instagram today (like this one), and in the fall of 2016, it was ultimately shuttered as Twitter shifted its focus to live video content.

Vines are still available to share and watch (and rewatch), but now, six-second looping videos must be recorded and shared directly to Twitter or saved to the creator's camera roll.

Then, in December 2016, Twitter launched its own in-app live video streaming and recording function -- effectively eliminating the need to live-stream from within the Periscope app.

Fed chair Janet Yellen explains decision to raise interest rates. #CheddarLIVE #Periscope #GoLive https://t.co/5WfFBeiWyf

- Cheddar (@cheddar) June 14, 2017

Twitter hasn't discontinued Periscope the way it did so with Vine, so users can still download the app and live-stream videos to their audience there. But these changes in such rapid succession disappointed a lot of avid fans and users -- and reflected Twitter's growing need to keep users within its app.

It's no secret that video is no longer just popular -- it's also a requisite element of any successful social media platform. Twitter is trying to innovate its video creation, broadcasting, and sharing tools to give users the types of content they want -- short-form, looping, and live broadcasts -- to compete with other platforms, attract new users, and keep existing users engaged.

We haven't seen Twitter jump on the bandwagon of creating an ephemeral video stories feature like most of the major social media platforms -- yet. But we should expect more features and announcements -- like Twitter's deals to live-stream professional sports and breaking news -- that signal its continued emphasis on video content in the future.

2) A New Layout

In June 2017, Twitter completely redesigned its desktop site and mobile app to make Twitter feel "lighter, faster, and easier to use" in response to user feedback:

Following in the footsteps of Brian Chesky: what's the most important thing you want to see Twitter improve or create in 2017? #Twitter2017

- jack (@jack) December 29, 2016

Twitter's user base has been slowly growing -- and sometimes dipping -- over the past few years, and these UI and UX innovations could help attract people to Twitter, while also preventing users from leaving it.

Source: The Motley Fool

Here's a rundown of the changes:

Decluttered UI: Twitter now offers a sidebar menu where users can more easily navigate to their profiles, lists, and personal settings -- instead of having to tap through the app more than once.

Real-time reply, retweet, and like counts: Users can now watch the engagement numbers with tweets increase in realtime within the app, instead of refreshing and reloading tweets.

Clearer typography and iconography: Twitter changed the in-app font, made some headlines bolder to attract attention in the busy feed, and changed the "Reply" button to a conversation bubble (so it didn't look like a back arrow anymore).

Round avatars: Profile images are now round instead of square.

And here's what these changes look like in action:

Source: Twitter

Most of the changes were widely panned by users, but this is the internet, after all -- and Twitter will never make everyone happy. Some users pointed out that cosmetic UI changes are not nearly as important as improving users' abilities to report and challenge abusive language on the platform -- and that's next on our list.

3) More Comprehensive Anti-Harassment and Cyberbullying Features

One of the biggest complaints against Twitter is how easily harassment can spread and exacerbate on the network -- and there was no better test of this hypothesis than political rhetoric surrounding recent global elections. Historically, tweets aimed at threatening or scaring individuals on Twitter have gone unfettered and caused a number of users to delete their accounts or even fear for their safety -- as blogger Ariel Waldman has chronicled.

Twitter Rules prohibit the kind of abuse we mean here -- threats, hate speech, bullying, and harassment on the basis of users' race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, ability, disease, or nationality. However, until as recently as March 1, 2017, there haven't been a lot of options for users report and stop abuse they were experiencing in real-time. Twitter has begun to respond to harassment and threats on the network with a series of features and services aimed a keeping people safe. These additions include:

Notification filtering: Users can specify which accounts they don't want to receive notifications from. For example, you can filter out notifications from accounts without profile photos and with unverified email addresses.

Mute option: Users can mute specific keywords and phrases, and they can choose how long they don't want to see that type of content.

Reporting transparency: Users now receive notifications when -- and if -- Twitter intervenes on an abuse report the user files.

Time-out: Users who are reported are sometimes temporarily put in "time-out" while Twitter investigates the report to prevent the further dissemination of abusive content.

Safe search: Machine-learning technology will prevent users from being served potentially abusive content when they search for tweets on the platform.

Hiding abusive tweets: Twitter has started identifying low-quality tweets from potentially abusive accounts so users see high-quality content first. The tweets will still be on Twitter -- they'll just be harder to find.

Preventing new abuse: Twitter has started preventing reported and flagged users from creating new accounts with the same contact information in an effort to prevent repeat offenders on the platform.

These updates are critical to ensuring Twitter stays a welcoming place for all users. In a leaked memo last year, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo underscored the importance of this move, saying:

I'm frankly ashamed of how poorly we've dealt with this issue during my tenure as CEO. It's absurd. There's no excuse for it. I take full responsibility for not being more aggressive on this front. It's nobody else's fault but mine, and it's embarrassing.

We're going to start kicking these people off right and left and making sure that when they issue their ridiculous attacks, nobody hears them. Everybody on the leadership team knows this is vital."

4) Moments for Everyone

Twitter introduced Moments -- curated tweets about a single topic or story, all in one place -- back in 2015. Moments allowed publishers and brands to pull together their tweets and tweets from other users about a topic to tell a story in one story collage -- and in August 2016, Twitter opened up Moments to any user who wanted to create them. Here's what they look like:

Squirrel sneaks into NYC building and things get nutty