#hopefully this shadow ban problem will be done before i post those

[bloop-im-a-frog-now]

If The Gods Were Kind — village pt.3

We are at the 5th part! Woohoo! And we finally get to meet Grian! And we’re almost done the world-building bit before we actually get to the hurt/comfort. I say almost because I think there is still two more parts (one I haven’t finished writing, but I’m getting there!). 

So, have fun with arsonist Scar, bc he is best Scar, you can’t change my mind <3

Master Post

— —

Content warnings: Internalized ableism. Scar is having a time <3

He heard cries in the distance as Bdubs gloated about stealing one of their stone cutters, whatever that did. A dirty blond man with a shining gold chest plate and huge parrot wings that had their primaries cut and were missing patches of feathers ran towards them. He sensed how the others went on guard, meeting a new person in this little world. Impulse was the first one who greeted the man.

“Hey!”

“I’ve been alone for so long,” the newcomer whined. 

The name tag “Grian” hovered over his head. His eyes were green, like everyone else, he had a long nose, and his hair curled around his cheeks, wet with sweat. He was about Bdubs’ height, stout figure with warm sand skin. Impulse shook his head in sympathy. 

Scar immediately tossed the flint and steel to the avian (while he couldn’t name every flower, his memory unclogged when it came to species and monsters’ names) and yelled towards the village:

“Grian burned down the village, it was him the whole time!”

Said man gave him a bewildered look and Scar snorted. 

“Gree-an,” he muttered.

Scar raised his eyebrow. “Is that not what I said?”

The rest of the group laughed, and Cleo shook their head. “No, you said it like Brian, but with a ‘g’.”

Scar blinked. “Oh,” he turned to Grian, “sorry about that.”

Grian gave him a smile. “It’s fine.”

“You wanna burn a village with us?” Cleo asked him as if she was asking about what kind of tea he wanted. The man stammered, completely thrown off guard by the situation they put him in.

Bdubs laughed at the suggestion. 

“Jeez Grian, you little rapscallion, going down to burn villages like that?” Scar tutted, a big grin betrayed his disappointment.

Impulse turned to the avian. “Grian, you don’t wanna go over there.” Everyone circled the newcomer, nodding to Impulse’s statement. Grian gave him a skeptical look. “They’re not very welcoming. We, on the other hand—”

“We’re the most welcoming people you’ll ever meet,” Cleo interrupted him.

“Bdubs, do the honors,” Impulse said, bowing to give Bdubs some place to put the vibe machine in the center of the circle they created. “It’s time.”

Bdubs nodded and placed the jukebox in front of everyone. Grian gasped as Bdubs inserted the disc. Impulse and Cleo started to sway to the rhythm, and Scar let out a relieved exhale.

“I immediately feel a whole lot better.” 

It wasn’t a complete lie, but it sounded dishonest in his mind, immediately glancing at the others to see if they caught his dishonesty—it didn’t seem like it. While the crutches helped relieve some ache in his lower body, a wave of fatigue drowned him, his arms shaking, and he didn’t understand why. He sat down a few moments ago, he should be fine. Maybe he could sit down on the ground, just as a respite.

Unfortunately, as the others rocked to the crackling music, a long black figure appeared in the corner of his eye. He clutched the handles of his crutches and turned his gaze towards the jukebox. 

“Guys,” his voice quivered, “be careful.”

Impulse and Bdubs stopped dancing. “Uh oh,” Impulse muttered, lowering his gaze as well. Grian and Cleo gave confused looks to Scar.

“There’s an Enderman vibing with us.”

Bdubs continued to dance, making sure to look only at the jukebox. Everyone followed along, and Impulse chuckled nervously.

“That’s okay, he can vibe with us.”

“He’s invited, but he’s also scary,” Scar laughed nervously, unwilling to move or look elsewhere. 

He knew monsters around here were dangerous. He didn’t comprehend the freeze response his body gave when he spotted the creature, but he wouldn’t complain. He tried to eat some fish, his hand trembling and almost dropping the food. He put it back in his inventory, making a mental note to eat later to ease the tension that was now spreading to his lower neck.

“Where,” Grian paused, slowing the movement of his hips, “where were you guys? Do you have a house somewhere?”

“Yeah, we do,” Impulse said absently. Scar dared a peek and saw Impulse crafting a boat. 

“You’re welcome at any given time,” Bdubs assured.

“We’re the refugee camp,” Cleo explained. “A refugee station.”

Bdubs walked in front of Grian, uncertainty in his steps. “G—is it okay if I call you G?—” Bdubs didn’t wait for an answer, “—there’s kind of a natural—” he glanced behind Scar, and groaned in frustration. “Okay, what are you guys doing here?!”

Scar looked behind him to find Etho walking nonchalantly towards the jukebox while Tango skipped around them singing “kumbaya”, his tail waving back and forth. 

“Every time we’re trying to have a conversation, these guys—” Impulse pointed at the overjoyed Tango, “—interrupt us.”

Tango laughed, and Scar took the record out of the jukebox, moment ruined. He saw Bdubs whispering to Etho until Grian cackled. 

“He really wants that horse, huh.”

“I want that horse so freakin’ bad,” Bdubs sighed dejectedly, looking at the horizon. Scar followed his gaze and saw a white horse eating grass. Cleo joined Grian in the laughter. 

Bdubs and Etho bickered about the horse. Their conversation bored Scar, so he occupied himself by putting the disc back and concentrating on the music. Then, an idea struck him. Etho and Tango were here with them. That meant that the dark oak tree was unsupervised.  That meant he could destroy the village even more. 

Scar glanced at Grian. He was idly listening, rocking side to side in tempo with the music. He stepped closer to the avian and whispered to him.

“Do you have the flint and steel?”

Grian paused. “Uh,” he patted himself and then looked in his inventory, “yeah, here.”

Scar grinned as he snatched the flint from Grian’s hand. He placed his finger to his lips. Grian raised his eyebrow, skeptical, and then shrugged as Scar trotted to the tree. He heard footsteps behind as he got closer to it.

Etho stepped in front of him, arms crossed. How did he move so fast?

“Oh, hey Etho!” Scar greeted, his hands getting sweaty.

“Maybe you should go back to the kumbaya party over there,” Etho pointed at the huddle group. Cleo was the only one Scar could see, but he simply walked past the masked man, trying to be casual.

“I just saw something I needed to do over there,” Scar walked closer to the tree, but knew he had to be more vigilant with Etho watching him with hawk eyes.

“Did you now? Is it something to do with this hole over here?” Etho nudged his head to one of the many holes in this village. 

Scar hesitated. “Nah, something to do with the sheep, they just—”

“The sheep look fine to me,” Etho shrugged. He still went into the sheep pen to check on them.

“Yeah, the sheep are fine,” Scar saw Tango walking closer to them in the corner of his eye. His arson plan would have to happen later. “They’re eating grass and they look happy.”

“Careful Tango, he has the flint and steel,” Etho warned.

“Oh, I know,” the blazeborn replied, eyeing Scar who got closer to the tree even with all the eyes on him, “I don’t trust him.”

“I was just inspecting the tree,” Scar pouted, patting the trunk even with the dirt blocking his way. He rested the crutch against the barrier of dirt and reached. Only to immediately retract his arm back, as the soreness restricted his arm movement, wincing. 

Tango playfully shoved him out of the way. “Take your burnie-burnie elsewhere.”

Scar laughed at that. He went to the back of the village, where he first came in, and flicked the flint and steel on the wooden supports of the house. Tango tried to grab him and take him somewhere else, but Cleo and Bdubs came to the rescue, distracting the blazeborn. Scar fled and continue to flick flames over the wooden structures.

“Scar, the villager is in there!” Bdubs exclaimed when he realized which house Scar was burning.

“He’s got speedy-burn!” Tango whined as Cleo laughed, not helping in the slightest. Scar appreciated that, even when he realized there was only one villager in this world.

“Oh, the only villager is in there.”

“Oh indeed,” Cleo mocked.

He helped Tango putting out the flames, feeling a bit bad. It seemed villagers were very important, and he didn’t want to ruin everyone’s fun. Just nudge them a little. 

“Well, you know, their villager is on the outskirt of the village,” Cleo informed, standing taller. Scar shot an eyebrow at her, joining them and Bdubs. “They can’t always protect it.”

“Oh,” Bdubs realized, but looked at the horizon instead. Scar and Cleo followed his gaze and saw a big group of people huddling in the same spot. 

“It seems Grian caught the attention of Etho and Impulse,” Cleo mused.

Scar hummed.

“They won’t be sharing any secrets without me involved,” Bdubs said determinedly, almost running to join the group. Cleo huffed and followed him.

Now, everyone was distracted. Everyone had their backs to the dark oak tree. Scar’s fingers twitched on the handle of his crutches and he passed behind the houses in order to reach the tree. He winced every time the sticks crunched dried leafs and grass, but no one turned back.

When he reached the dark oak tree, he leaned his crutch against the trunk, lit up the flint and steel and approached the flame to it. He took back his crutch, a big grin on his face as he joined the others.

“Nothing’s happening here,” he heard Etho’s voice. As he came around the house blocking his view, he realized Bdubs had some sort of glare on his face, surrounded by Etho, Grian and Impulse. “We were talking about grandmas.”

Grian and Impulse nodded as Bdubs huffed. They were up on a hill and while Scar really didn’t want to strain himself anymore, he did want to see the tree burning at a great view. He started climbing up the hill, switching to his cane to lean on something. He didn’t understand why his hips were attracted to the core of this world, or why his legs couldn’t rise up like he commended them to. 

Thankfully, Tango saw his struggle and helped him after asking if he could. 

“What’s this about grandmas?” Scar asked when he reached the top of the hill. 

But everyone ignored him, very much focused on distracting Bdubs. His gaze looked back at the burning tree, the flames already consuming the leafs. The smell of smoke burned in his lungs, making him cough, but he still snickered when Etho finally saw the flames. 

“Oh, you—” Etho slapped his arm, running to his tree as everyone laughed. “My tree!”

“Oh, it’s burning!” Scar laughed.

“The worst,” Tango chided.

Scar moved closer to where everyone was standing, the house finally out of his view from the show. Etho desperately tried to put out the flames, to no avail as the flames danced on the leafs and roared around the bark. 

“The history lost forever,” Tango lamented. The tree engulfed in flames and Etho grew more desperate. 

“You should’ve let us chopping down,” Cleo chimed in, “that’s all I’m saying.”

Scar turned around, and switched to his crutches as he addressed Tango. “Really, you should’ve,” he said, unapologetic. “‘Cause really, we could’ve had more dark oak saplings, which would've given us more dark oak and everyone would’ve been happy.”

Tango groaned and Grian sighed and joined Etho. “Etho!” he called. “It’s gone.”

“Yeah, well, now, nobody gets it,” Tango said, frustrated. 

And the tree turned slowly into ashes as Etho placed the blame on Bdubs, as everyone lamented they wouldn’t have this rare wood anymore, as everyone just watched it burn while Etho still tried to keep the tree intact. Scar had successfully raided the village and no phantoms came to bother them.

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[cwu21ahsgov]

Media Assessment of Issue

BLOG POST #2: MEDIA ASSESSMENT OF ISSUE

LIBERAL LEANING SOURCE:

Source: BuzzFeed

Article : The Racism of White Women

Link: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/shannonkeating/amy-cooper-white-women-racism-george-floyd-racial-justice 

Subject:

“It's past time for us to ditch the damsel narrative, admit our power, and stand up for racial justice.”

Women need to stop taking advantage of the rights and recognize that their actions have consequences (stop thinking about the now in the interests of themselves and think about how their actions affect someone's life )

Author:

Shannon Keating

Senior Culture Writer and Editor for Buzzfeed

Deputy LGBT editor

Based in New York

Being part of the LGBT community, it is a known fact that this community is largely unjust with stereotypes and implicit bias. Because of this, I feel that those in this community have a better understanding of the racial injustices of POC because they are able to relate on the level of harsh judgments from others. (This does not mean that all people in the LGBT community are not racist)

Context:

Posted May 28, 2020, 3:28 P.M. ET

As COVID-19 hit the fan, there was no denying that some people turned the blame on to POC. Along with being based in New York, where COVID hit the hardest, a sense of racism raced out of the shadows and into the lights. May 25, 2020 was the day George Floyd took his final breathes, and a hard fight for racial justice continued on a stronger note. Posted three days later, it is by no surprise that Keating is talking about racial injustice.

Audience:

Buzzfeed published this source (a fairly liberal site)

Ment to educate other on the racial injustice by the majority (ethnicity)

To call out “haters” with no reasons and hopefully continue to light the fire that will hopefully lead to a better end.

Perspective:

This article is fairly subjective. The author is trying to reinstate the idea that the white Community, specifically white women, need to use their advantage of not being the minority, for the rights of POC. Just as they had done before as they protest for their own rights as women, it is necessary to do the same for POC.

I do have to agree with  Keating's perspective on the matter at hand. I believe that while some people do not take advantage of the rights given to them, some do take advantage and ultimately use their powers to bring others that they deem less down

Significance:

Using real-time current events, Keating displays the harsh treatments of POC. She highlights the damage done to those people and how white people use their power unjustly. She provides evidence of videos as well as photographs to support her claim. 

CONSERVATIVE MEDIA BIAS:

Source: Fox News

Article: De Blasio says Black Lives Matter marches can continue despite ban on mass gatherings

Link: https://video.foxnews.com/v/6170765370001#sp=show-clips

Subject: 

Video claims that Mayor De Blasio is very biased towards his actions in allowing certain things. He desires to win the hearts of everyone but in the end, he gets nothing done.

Author: 

Fox News Reporters (multiple)

Fairly conservative news station -> views may be skewed

Context: 

Released July 10, 2020 in the midst of COVID and the fights for racial justice

Covering the actions of a democrat, Fox News knowing to be quite liberal may be trying to skew the actions of Mayor De Blasio, and hopefully skew any praises that the Mayor did receive.

As the Mayor of New York, and former public advocate, it is De Blasio’s job to make sure the needs of his constituents are met. New York being such a large area, Fox News is trying to entail that he is being biased when it comes to the people's needs.

Audience: 

Caters to the public and anyone who views that there are other important gatherings than just protests.

With the median age of Fox news watcher are 68, this video is to relate to the older generation and their values

Perspective: 

I feel that this article is fairly subjective because it only focuses on what De Blasio is doing wrong rather than the things he is trying to improve. He recognizes that there are multiple problems to be dealt with but in the midst of COVID, a lot of things can’t happen. Fox News in turn views that only allowing protests to gather is wrong and that other gatherings need to be held.

I have mixed feelings about this video. While I see the point Fox News is trying to make, it is also important to understand the difference between a protest for racial justice in a time where many people are being suppressed, and holding a party.

Significance: 

The video uses photo evidence to back up their claim and show the world of Mayor De Blasio

OBJECTIVE/IMPARTIAL SOURCE:

Source: USA Today

Article: 'We do have two systems of justice in America': Kamala Harris says Barr, Trump in 'different reality' on race

Link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/09/06/kamala-harris-disputes-barr-on-race-justice-america/5734810002/

Subject:  

highlights how different parties in America handle/explain the problems the United States face in regards to racial justice.

“Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris said Sunday that when it comes to racial disparities in the criminal justice system, President Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr are "’spending full-time in a different reality.’" 

We are living with two justice systems

Author: 

William Cummings

Political Reporter

Knows his stuff on both sides of the parties to gain the ability to write unbiased

Lives in Suburban Maryland with wife and three children

Context: 

Published 3:42 PM ET on September 6, 2020

As the election continues to move forward, it is important to know both sides of the story/party and how they handle certain situations (as they will handle them for the next 4 years)

Shows how the democratic and republican party are addressing the issues of racial justice and the freedoms of the mass.

Audience: 

Pertains to both parties and the view on how their democratic leader is controlling/managing issues of today

Perspective: 

This article is fair neutral as it allows the audience to see both sides of the point/actions

Harris states that Trump is running on two systems of justice in America

In comparison, Trump denies that there is any systemic racism today

“During his visit to Kenosha last week, Trump disparaged the idea that Blake's shooting or other recent incidents of police killing or injuring Black Americans were rooted in systemic racism.”

Significance: 

The author uses directly cited quotes from interviews and videos to support his claim on each party.

They take quotes from past events and articles to support their issue

“When he came to Kenosha two days later, Biden said, ‘Underlying racism that is institutionalized in the United States still exists, has existed for 400 years.’"

Shows the views of the deomcratic party in debate alongside Trump

What are the similarities and differences between these three accounts of your issue?

With the main difference being the political views of each article and how they interpret events, the main similarity between all three articles is that they use factual evidence from different sources to support their claim. All three articles recognize that there is a problem with racial justice, but they differ in ways on how to improve this problem and bring justice to those who need it.

 Finally, which source do identify with most and why?

I think I identify most with the first article. While this mostly talks about racism towards black people, this kind of problem happens with all POC. This is a never ending problem and until people recognize that their actions have consequences to the receiving party, than the matter will only continue. It sucks because I don’t think people will fully understand until they witness/experience it themselves, but that may never happen, as white people are less susceptible to racism.

[topicprinter]

So - a day ago I saw a ton of posts about Instagram here and on marketing subreddit. I found a lot of them to be 'incorrect' in some manner and a lot of them to be 'brilliant'.I started sharing my knowledge on Instagram - I wrote up a post on it. A couple of people seemed to enjoy it and even sent me requests via PM to make more posts shedding light on Engagement Pods and like injection method to reach Top Post and Explore Page.Lets Get StartedEverything YOU need to know about Engagement PodsDISCLAIMER - I do own and run an engagement pod on Telegram. I am NOT going to give its link unless 10+ people request for it. Don't want to get down voted into oblivion in the name of self promotion EVEN THOUGH I have like 7 messages in my inbox asking for just that.Engagement Pod - In a NutshellA group of people that come together on a chat platform to give each other comments and likes.Imagine you making a WhatsApp group and adding 10 friends to it. You make a rule that whenever any of you guys post on Instagram you'll drop link to that post in the WhatsApp group and everyone in that group (9 other friends) will like and comment on it (or just like / comment)Thats as simple as I can explain engagement pods.How did they come into picture?They came into picture when Instagram launched advertisement on its platform and basically FCKED its own community by making it REALLY difficult for people to get noticed and essentially FORCING them to pay to get noticed. (Facebook did just that) Before any platform opens its gates for advertisement - they run a massive purge (Instagram/FB/YT - they all did - removed millions of bot accounts) - they then make it difficult for people to make it just in the name of good content - hence FORCING people to pay to go big.Where did the first 'pods' get formed?For those that would get paranoid and go like 'its risky' and shit. Guess what? Instagram engagement pods started out on Facebook (as FB groups). I mean OBVIOUSLY right? Haha.FB still has 100s of these pods. You think IG has problem with it? You've got to be kidding me.With massive growth in these pods on FB groups - most moved out to chat apps like Slack and Telegram to make it easier for people to engage.Are they safe?Why not? Unless you are in a pod that requires you to like 1000 photos in an hour then its not safe. But think of it like this. You have 30 friends. You make a post and ask them to like and comment on it. Is that 'wrong'? If you think so - then please don't read further.Where are these engagement pod?They started out on Facebook - then they went into Intsagram DM groups - then they came into WhatsApp and finally they came to Telegram.Right now - engagement pods / groups are on Telegram. (I'm talking about the major ones)Before you say otherwise - here me out.Telegram is easy to use with endless possibilities (like using bots instead of moderators to catch leechers / block spam accounts and so forth)I know this engagement pod industry REALLY WELL. On Telegram there are at the moment 50,000+ Instagrammers actively participating in engagement pods.How do engagement pods work?Engagement pods are of 2 classes. Class 1 - Rounded Cycle Class 2 - Continuous CycleRounded - 500-1500 people participate in a 'round' of engagement. Meaning at set times in a day (3-4 times a day) - all the Instagrammers come and drop their posts and give each other likes at set times. Depending on which group you are in - you may have to like from 500 to 1500 posts in one shot in under 2 hours.PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS. Its good for scammers / CPA / bitcoin / spam accounts. Those promoting a money 'link' in their bio. Not for those of us who want to build a genuine blog on Intagram.Continous Cycle - These are pods that do not have a set time and work on continuous cycle. They work on DX format. Dx = Done x (into) Groups can be DX5 or DX10 or DX20 meaning you would have to do X 5 links before you share yours. I hope that makes sense.So if I'm in a group which is of DX5 cycle - I'd have to like or comment or both (depending on group rules) on 5 recent most posts in that group and THEN share my link. The next 5 people will then do the same for me.Hope that is clear.What groups do you suggest?Again - I cannot. I own the largest pod out there. 15,000+ members. I'd look like I'm self promoting. Just look around on Google , Reddit and within Telegram app itself. I'll give link to my group if I get 10+ (hopefully 20 requests) for it.Other than that - in general - stay away from 'round' groups. They'll get you shadow banned. Look for groups that run on continuous cycle.NEXT - SUPER IMPORTANTONLY ONLY ONLY join groups that are moderated by automated bots. Meaning bots control and keep a check on leechers. 80% of groups of continuous cycle are manually moderated. Meaning, admins sit and check links and try to warn and ban leechers. Leechers = those who drop links without giving engagement first.IF groups are moderated by humans = OBVIOUSLY a lot of leeching. No one wants to give 10 comments and get 3 back. Right? Haha.ONLY join groups that have bot that check engagement IN REAL TIME. Leech = auto warn. Leech again? = auto ban.Thats all that you should keep in mind.What group do I run?Sorry - cannot disclose and promote my shit.Let this article be just to give you guys info on engagement pods.What are benefits of these pods?Pods are of various categories. Depending on network that you're in. Networks = people who run multiple pods. Pods can be of DX5 comments, DX10 likes or D24 (24 hours of likes) and N number of that combination. Pods can further be classified by minimum follower requirement (10K+ only profiles ..... upto 100k+ only profiles) Pods can be of niche nature (beauty, travel, quotes ....)As you can see this can be REALLY helpful.What kind of people are usually in these pods?A HIGH QUALITY POD will have 90%+ actual blogging accounts. Meaning, Instagram profiles that have actual people / stories on them. Unlike an account that just posts photos of quotes and random stuff.Quality pods = quality Instagrammers (real people / real faces) (Not saying that quotes / memes accounts are low quality - its just so much more fun to connect with real Instagrammers)Demographics = To my knowledge mostly USA, Canada, Australia (70%+) and another 20% from Europe and remaining from rest of world. Over 70% females.Most pods require you to have minimum 10-15 posts on your Instagram account so that you don' look fake. (Actually that is a rule in my pod - don't know if others have started doing that yet)Most pods require you give GENUINE and HQ comments (this is a rule in almost all pods that I have seen) You can give copy paste comments. Again - if group is moderated by human - you will get a lot of spammy comments as human mods can't sit and check 1000s of links per hour. If you're in a group that has advanced bots then you'll get HQ / Relevant comments ONLY.Will it help me grow?If you're new to IG it will really help you get noticed. Getting likes and comments from REAL people (instead of bots) and having a chance to communicate with them is AMAZING. Nothing in this involves bots. Its just so pure. (Unless you get into round bots for which you will need FL, MP = shadowban FOR SURE)If you're already established then you can go viral by leveraging these pods. Getting 100s of likes and comments from authority accounts (10k+) *within the first 60 minutes of you posting on Instagram will help you rank higher and hopefully push your post to top post page and explore page = more genuine followers and likes.This is VERY mathematical.I have shared Instagram algo on another post of mine. You can read in there about it. https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/7erlr3/hushhush_secrets_to_instagram_no_one_would_share/So mix and match all that is there and all that I discussed here about engagement pods.Good luck to all!I seriously hope that all those who messaged me and commented asking for info on Engagement Pods have found some use from this post.I'll do my best to stay active on this post for next 24 hours to help anyone having any doubts!Cheers guys!