#how would you like to pay more for a significantly worse service?

[daddyd0nt]

I can be patient with an afab person who doesn’t realize she’s complicit in their own oppression I have no patience or civility for Amab people who want me to accept a less safe world to spare their feelings and validate them. I never said the BIGGEST threat to afab people was trans women but that does not mean they don’t still pose a threat. There is no way to tell for sure who is a “good one” and who is a predator and like I said the safety of even one single woman on the planet earth is not worth risking to spare Amab feelings or be “fair”. Patriarchy isn’t fair. The fact that I can get pregnant from rape and an Amab person couldn’t isn’t fair. The fact that no matter how I present I won’t be safe but an Amab person couldn’t isn’t always take off the dress and cut their hair and regain their full Amab privilege if things get too scary/hard isn’t fair. I’m not obligated to be fair, I’m trying to be SAFE. Sad Amab people even devistated Amab people is a small price to pay for afab physical safety. True biological sex is 100% real, GENDER is fake/made up/a construct.

My anger and fear is not misdirected, all Amab people are privileged and all afab people are oppressed under patriarchy regardless of how you identify. You might not be more privileged than cis AMABs but you still have privilege over afab people. Our movements can even work together on 99% of issues but I will not be spoken over by an oppressor trying to infiltrate afab safe spaces. Birth sex privilege is immutable the fact that you experience oppression for not being cis does not mean you face the same oppression AFABs of any gender face.

Make. Your. Own. Spaces. Afab people had to fight for ours drop the entitlement and do a single step of your own fucking legwork. Also SA statistics across the board show Amab people of any gender commit 96% of sex crimes. Also the statistic for violence against Amab trans people shows when dissected that almost all trans women killed are killed by cis men and most of them are full service sex workers of color, white non-FSSW actually have a significantly lower rate of attack than cis women with the same qualifiers.

Womanhood is not for Amab people who “failed out of” manhood that’s disgusting to say and shows you think of afab people as inferior. Women are not failed men. And what you described is still literally male socialization afab people aren’t privileged to get to cry or do girly things we are allowed to do those things because they are considered degrading/training for subservience and afab people are considered weak by default. Also boo hoo you got called some names I was raped for the first time before I was out of diapers and grew up being called a “fat dyke” for not fitting into patriarchal femininity again the hardship u faced for not being cis is not worse than what afab people face for being afab let alone if you are non-cis on top of it.

Are you delusional about how bottom surgery works? A trans man can’t impregnate me. Putting birth sex markers on ID would be a perfectly easy solution.

Trans women are a risk to AFABs in afab prisons. I don’t care what happens to them in Amab prisons, a single afab person put at risk to protect an Amab one is patriarchal and unacceptable. If you don’t like how ur treated in Amab prisons once again demand for and fight for your own spaces like afab people did. The source on the sex crimes statistic was a 2018 MOJ study showing half of trans Amab prisoners had committed one or more sex crimes. Studies behind The Equality Act of 2010 came to the same conclusion.

Ellen is a narcissistic oligarch with ties to human trafficking so of course no right minded political activist wanted to back her but this literally isn’t about gay women, gay AFABs pose no statistical threat to other AFABs in these spaces? But yeah like I said all these spaces started integrated and had to be made separate because of the high rates at which Amab people sexually abused afab ones. I’m not talking about capitalism or the rich or the PIC I’m talking specifically about patriarchy that is the axis this conversation is about idgaf what other privileges you don’t have and if being told you don’t belong in a space you don’t belong in causes you to manipulatively threaten suicide you need to be in a hospital until you sort that out and can cope with a world that isn’t specifically catered to your validation at any cost to more marginalized people.

IDGAF who is “at bat” for feminism supporting a movement does not mean entitlement you to the resources of that movement that would be like me complaining that the NAACP doesn’t cater to me and should because I’m anti-racist. Once again your problem is entitlement. Idgaf about “outnumbering” you literally should not be extracting a single resource from the feminist movement to serve Amab people. If you actually support feminism you will continue to support it despite this.

Gender oppression does exist as an extension of the intersection of patriarchy and homophobia.

“You are like the white people who harassed Ruby Bridges or the cops at stonewall” could you be any more self important or obsessed with making yourself the victim? You are not Ruby Bridges for telling afab people we should sacrifice our physical safety to indulge your feelings/identity expression. You are a whole-ass entire AMAB oppressor throwing a tantrum about Afab people prioritizing our physical safety over your emotions. You are not the ally you think you are.

"OP is a terf" is a thought-terminating cliche meant to keep you from questioning the status quo and keep you afraid of being labeled a heretic should you come to your own conclusions about anything.

[ritualslaughter]

every time someone here complains about the trains I'm painfully reminded that none of them have tried to travel on via rail

[chickenparm]

doctor's note (Wriothesley/dfab!Reader)

banner by @lemonemlyn my sweet..... :^) you can see the full piece here!

AO3 Link

Wriothesley/Reader (afab genitals, no mentions of breasts) 2,170 Words - NSFW (Mild blood kink, P in V, semi-public in that someone could walk on in, Reader's a bit of a freak)

---

If you liked the Duke any less, this job would be significantly worse than it already is. 

Long hours, untraditional pay, low vitamin D levels… Sure, you're allowed to leave, but then that comes with the caveat of being unable to return unless it's in handcuffs. 

Maybe the Duke's handcuffs…

Sharply, you shake your head. No matter how many times you've done it, stitches still need at least some focus to keep them straight and even. Not to mention the patient has been chatting at you the entire time. You've done six without realizing it. They’re a little uneven, but seem fine to the untrained eye. They’ll do. 

“Don’t move your arm too much, no heavy lifting. Do you need a note for the supervisors? You’ll be out of the coupons for whatever days you take off, but they won’t be able to use the absence against you during duty assignment.” You say, gathering your tools and carefully disposing of the sharps in the special little container that Sigewinne had recently provided. 

Again, the patient says something or other, but even after trying to shake yourself free of your thoughts, somehow they wander back to the other day when you’d seen the Duke walk by and his coat has shifted just enough so you could get a nice eyeful of his-

“Give me a moment and I’ll get the note written up for you.”

You bite down hard enough on your tongue that you’re almost certain you’ll have to give yourself the same half-assed stitch job you just gave this foundry worker. Thankfully, he doesn’t bat an eye as you finish cleaning up and disposing of your gloves, then move to the desk to write out the same familiar, rehearsed lines detailing how long he could use it for. 

The patient thanks you profusely, secretly tucking a few credit coupons into your palm as he takes the note. Healthcare is free down here in the Fortress, but some remnant of the overworld lingers in everyone and they feel some need to compensate you for your service. 

Your pay comes out of the Fortress’ coffers, but that doesn’t stop you from pocketing them with a smile and a wave for him to get a move on. The next shift will be starting, and he’ll be expected to report there if he knows what’s good for him. 

And then it’s quiet once more. 

Or as quiet as Meropide can be. The production zone is always a faint noise in the distance during working hours, a constant clang-clang-clang of forged gears, consistent enough that it lets you fall into a rhythm of cleaning used tools, restocking supplies, looking over paperwork that’s filled with Sigewinne’s little doodles in the corner. Is that supposed to be the Duke…?

“Keeping busy?”

No, that’s the Duke. 

You spin and nearly knock over the lantern on the table, blindly reaching to grab it before it can topple to the floor. At the bottom of the steps is the Duke, one hand wrapped around the railing while the other is pressed to his cheek. For a moment, he looks just as bewildered as you before he swiftly regains his bearings and pulls his hand away from his face. 

Tacky threads of red stretch and snap across the short distance, and you realize that he’s bleeding. Again. For the third time this week. 

Making a sound behind your teeth with your tongue, you cross the room to reach for his elbow and guide him to the bed that hasn’t been used yet today. The sheets are fresh enough to not smell like anything at all - almost the best you can get in Meropide. With any luck, by the time he’s finished here, they’ll be inundated with the smell of spices and black tea. 

And if you’re quick enough, Sigewinne won’t even notice you’ve swapped the bedding out to be ferretted back to your quarters. 

“What was it this time, your grace? Pankration ring? Breaking up a brawl over who got a better meal from the cafeteria?” You ask, pulling his hand away and gently grasping his chin to turn his head so you can see better in the light. With the light hitting its sharp angle, his jaw works back and forth for a moment before he shakes his head minutely. 

And when you don’t say anything to encourage him to be a little more forthcoming, he finally says, “Do you think I should do something about the top shelving in my office? Seems a bit weak…”

“You didn’t.” You murmur in quiet disbelief, letting your hand slip a little from his chin. His clean hand grasps at your wrist as if to keep you there. “A book…?”

“One of the old accounting ledgers. With the metal binding.”

Another sound of disappointment behind your teeth as you take better note of his injury. It’s a clean one, all things considered. Shouldn’t need stitches, just a disinfecting and a bandage, you think. But something feels tense in the air, and your fingers slip from his chin as you try to diffuse it with, “I think I’ll need Sigewinne for this one, it looks bad. She’ll mix up some medicine for you to down-”

“Leave me to die.”

It’s delivered with such a straight tone that you’re caught off guard. A snort of amusement leaves you, and your hand raises to cover your mouth. Wriothesley isn’t quick enough to grab your wrist again before you leave a few oval smears of his blood on your cheek, thoughtless of the hand you were using. 

Wriothesley’s hand is smudged with his blood as well, leaving little streaks on your wrist as he looks up at you from his seated position. Your weight shifts to your other foot, your knee brushes his, somehow you gravitate closer. Tea and spices and dull iron seeps into your senses, and for a moment you forget where you are, what you’re doing, and all that attention is shifted to who you’re with. 

Wriothesley, Duke of Meropide, His Grace. His jaw tweaks again, the light catches the smallest rivulet of blood welling up in the bright red of his injury. The smears on your skin are rapidly cooling, and Wriothesley is so warm. 

His tongue darts out, just for a moment, wetting his lip and catching the smallest bit of blood at the corner of his mouth. How does that flavor stack up against his tea, you wonder? Would he let you try? He’s never been a selfish man before now. 

A low murmur leaves him, just barely forming the syllables of your name. If you were any weaker, you’d have dipped down to take what you have your eyes on - that flash of pink from his tongue, the burnt red, the warmth of his skin, everything and anything you could get your hands on before he banished you away. 

But for all the things you want to take, something should be given in exchange. You don’t even get to make the offer before Wriothesley proves you very wrong. He can be selfish. It’s in the way his bloodied hand wraps around the back of your neck to pull you close, in the way his tongue pushes into your mouth and you’re treated to the taste he’d been savoring only a mere moment before. 

Wriothesley takes everything down to the very sound of surprise that leaves your throat, his neck bobbing as he all but swallows it and exchanges for one of his own. The bead of blood on his jaw is smeared by your thumb as you grasp and push, enticing more as he hisses between each movement of his mouth on yours. 

But then he grips harder against the nape of your neck, tugs at the front of your shirt until your balance is lost and you’re all but perched in his lap. Wriothesley accepts you with open arms, all but suffocating you with his scent, his breath across your cheek, his lips moving along your jaw and smearing your face further with the mess. 

His skin is a pretty canvas for the stark red that turns darker as it cools and hardens and flakes away. Maybe yours is pretty as well, with how he sucks marks into your neck and digs his teeth in hard enough that little crescent shapes will show what you did here today. 

Dirtied fingers weave into his hair and tug, and he groans against your skin before bucking his hips upward, grinding against you in a desperate bid for some kind of friction, some sort of reciprocity for you drawing that sound out of him. You’re a little selfish too, but he keeps sweetening the deal. In return, you press harder down against him, roll your hips until he detaches from your skin with a breathless sound of appreciation. 

“Mmh… -time? What time is it?” Each syllable drags his teeth against your skin, and you have trouble comprehending anything at all until you’re able to piece some semblance of rationality together. 

It’s threaded like beads on a string, loose and spaced out, but you gather enough of yourself to answer, “Thirty to twelve-”

“An hour, perfect.”

And then the bed groans and its springs squeal as you’re tossed down, trapped in by long limbs and a thick coat that cuts off the surrounding world. Wriothesley lavishes attention on your neck, your collarbone, his fingers working at buttons and clasps steadily. There’s more than enough time for you to dispute any of this, to mention that there isn’t really a door on the infirmary and anyone could walk in. 

But you don’t, because nothing quite matters to you as much as this does. You don’t get paid enough to care otherwise. 

Wriothesley pulls back, looks down at you as your gaze travels downward between you. A quiet laugh precedes, “Eyes up here. Don’t you think you’ve ogled me enough lately?”

Despite lying down, you’re not going to just take that accusation that way, so you shoot back, “Maybe if you didn’t make it so easy.”

“Cute. You think I just sit around in my office thinking of ways to be your eye candy?” He asks, hooking a hand beneath your knee and hitching it up to his waist, opening you enough that you can feel him against you. Hot, heavy, a pulse that might be his, might be yours. 

And when you don’t answer, his laughter curls beneath your jaw, up around your ear as he leans in, “You’d be right, you know. Now look me in the eye… there you go.” And as if to emphasize himself further, he rocks forward, sliding into you with one, two, three little thrusts before he can bottom out. Before the sharp buckle of his belt digs into your stomach. Before you’re treated to the pretty sight of his eyes unfocusing, just for a moment. 

And you don’t miss a second of it, even as your legs tighten around his hips and your mind grows fuzzy and thick. The Duke had made a simple request, and you’d be damned if you broke away from his gaze to even blink.

Wriothesley leans closer, drowns you once again in a thousand sensations from sight to scent to the incredibly full feeling of his cock driving into you with startling precision. Hour or no, Wriothesley fucks you like he’s only got moments remaining on his lifespan. Like his own thoughts have been just as consumed by you as yours have been with him. 

Your eyes roll, his fingers curl around your chin, another murmured, “Eyes on me,” and when you comply, his thumb drags along your bottom lip. Instinctively, you open, letting him press the pad into your tastebuds and you’re given the metallic taste once more. 

His thumb - cleaned, slick with your spit - slips out of your line of sight to press against you. The timing of his thrusts match the circling of his thumb, pushing and pushing and pushing at you until your cheek stings with how you bite down to hide your sounds of approval. No door, you remind yourself with dreamy thoughts. It barely holds substance in the wake of his smile almost turning into a grin. 

It grows wobbly, the world growing less interesting to look at in the wake of his relentless pursuit of your release. Despite how much you’d like to drag this out, Wriothesley doesn’t seem interested in wasting any time on keeping you fucked open. Just for the moment, just long enough for you to dig into the sheets and a sound that’s near painful with how you fail to stifle it. Only long enough to leave darkness at the edge of your vision, and a warmth seeping out as he pulls away and presses another bloodied kiss to your lips. 

Another kiss to the corner of your mouth, his tongue dragging along the skin of your cheek, his words heavy against your ear, “You gonna steal these sheets, too?”

[loving-n0t-heyting]

At what point do we say that cassandra was right?

How much evidence is needed to justify a prophecy?

You (well, not you specifically, but left-wingers in general) say that the Krondstadt rebels were all "reactionaries" for fearing that the soviets would ruin the economy... but the soviets DID ruin the economy!

You (again, general "you") say the Rhodesians/Afrikaners were all "racists"for feating that Mugabe/Mandela would cause inflation and infrastructure collapse... but that all actually happened!

If the eventuality you were concerned about comes true, clearly you weren't just being unreasonably paranoid!

When can we say that these people were right?

by virtually all standard measures, stalin-era soviet modernisation initiated a meteoric economic rise in the regions governed by the ussr; its quite easy to find the rocketship-after-29 charts, its why the stalinists love to pull em out. the economic trajectory of revolutionary china is similar. this is all just common knowledge

describing the economic policies of robert mugabe and nelson mandela in the same breath is either dishonest or deeply ignorant; it is hard to imagine post-apartheid economic models more divergent than those of the zimbabwe dictatorship otoh and the anc post-94 oto. you should know this

questions about the mgmt of SA infrastructure services and systems (like, most notoriously, the electric grid) after 1994 are very complicated and fraught and im uncomfortable weighing in on the subtleties. comparing in rudimentary better-or-worse terms their record before and after political emancipation, however, is not a subtlety, which is why it always baffles me when its brought up. eskom (eg) could afford to be more "reliable" to its consumers before the early 90s bc at the time barely a third of the population had access to electricity. the details of the legacy of increased electricity accessibility since the end of apartheid are above my pay grade, but idt anyone disputes that eskom has managed to significantly increase coverage since blacks were recognised as real citizens. complaining about the "collapse" of south african electricity infrastructure after the imposition of political democracy makes sense, again, only if you just dont care about the great majority of south africans. it feels sort of ridiculous to even have to make this point, frankly, but ppl keep trotting it out!!

im done w this topic fn

[runonthewater]

Sometimes, on your fourth day on the road, you get so sick of the way the one pair of shorts you packed fit that when after a full day of driving, you go to the cheapest clothing store in Fort Nelson, buy a pair of patterened rayon jeans on clearance, and hack them off at the knees with the dull kitchen scissors that live in the van. Although these makeshift shorts do not necessarily fit you better than the ones you packed, they at least fit you differently.

Four days on the road. Temporally, this puts me halfway through the eight-day itinerary. At just over 1000 miles from Seattle (as the Google maps, not counting some side trips and the occasional back-tracking for a good view), and a little under 1000 from Tok, Fort Nelson puts me about halfway through the drive geographically, as well.

I started the morning in Dawson Creek, at Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway. (I met a nice Swiss couple at the mile marker who were, like me, getting their photo op in. They'd driven from Halifax and were planning to go all the way up the Dalton Highway! Because I am the kind of nerd that I am, as soon as I got back in the car, I turned on "The Last of Barret's Privateers" and belted about being a broken man on a Halifax pier in their honor.) Immediately outside Dawson Creek there was a lot of truck traffic, and I spent quite a while tailgating and being tailgated as steep grades and a lack of passing lanes kept us all stuck together.

By the time I reached my first rest stop in Wonowon, though, the driving had changed noticeably. In the first three days I spent a decent amount of time keeping an eye on my mirrors for people in smaller cars that would want to pass me. Once I was truly on the highway, the number of passing vehicles dwindled significantly. And the landscape spread out soon enough into rolling evergreen forests, bisected by the road. It's August, so fireweed dusts the cleared firebreaks on either side of the highway in a Barbie pink that looks unreal and is almost impossible to capture on my phone's camera. The deciduous trees flash the pale undersides of their leaves at the northbound traveler, revealing how windy it is.

This is what I think of when I think of the Highway: these long, straight stretches with big sky and no one around. The kind of wildlife I associate with the north is starting to appear, too. I saw a black bear galumph across the road around 4PM, and a little further on I saw a doe nursing a faun beside the road. Both obviously moved too fast for me to get pictures. The blackbirds scavenging on the highway are also clearly ravens, now: they're too fucking big to be crows. The other day I saw a black bird so big that I couldn't not spot it, despite the shade of the trees. Ravens are big.

The halfway point means I've been out here long enough to get a couple routines down. It also means I've been out here long enough to decide on problems -- e.g. the aforementioned shorts, the fit of which I am sick, or the buurned-on bits of fries I reheated in a pan without any oil the other nnight. But overall, as I told a local while I filled up today, the van treats me well.

Halfway also means I start thinking about the end of the trip. To be honest, today I thought about stopping earlier than Fort Nelson, partly because I was much more tired from yesterday's drive than expected, and partly because I don't want to rush. The lack of services between Dawson Creek and Fort Nelson ended up deciding me and I pushed on, but the possibility of extending the time on the road, letting the bubble of travel get just a little bigger, is tempting.

On the other hand, I miss my dog. And paying less than $150 per gas tank refill. Getting to Alaska, and then home, will be nice. When I get there.

A few less highfaluting thoughts (I blame Nabokov for the style): tonight I not only got to use the levelers to even out one side of the van for the night, I'm swatting skeeters like mad. The bugs are most definitely getting worse as I go north. The windshield is a war zone, and when I stopped earlier I found the van SURROUNDED by wasps and flies. Are they feasting on their fallen brethren? will they please leave me alone???

[is-blogging-still-a-thing]

It’s been a tough week, I am overwhelmed by profound depression and I don’t know why. I can’t fight it and I can’t shake it off. This is one of the longest episodes in recent years that I have had to endure.

There really is no reason. Well, there could be many. A client discontinued my services with no notice, which means that I’m going to be short about 200 AUD next month. She then proceeded to gaslight me and said that she “did not know” that my job would become obsolete – and that the only reason she got the automated service was because I “did not want” to take up her offer.

To be clear, she only mention the job once, when she was sick with dengue. Me being Asian, it’s not our “style” to go chasing after an offer. I thought she would ask me again when she was ready – I did say to her that I would be happy to discuss the position once she was better.

Well, it never happened. The next thing I knew she was advertising for a manager, at a salary 5 x my monthly rate. It could be a good thing too, this lady has multiple red flags – cutting my salary and refusing to bring it back up again before going off for a holiday for 3 weeks, and asking me to do more than what was agreed upon for minimum pay. I can’t tell you how many times I cried at my desk because of her.

I guess we all have a choice but for most of us Southeast Asians, I feel that we don’t really, we need to work our asses off for pennies, or else how else would we be able to make ends meet and pay our bills.

Another factor to my depression is probably social media, watching everyone travelling everywhere and me being stuck here in my hole unable to go anywhere. At this moment I really resent my life – and I will resent and cut out anyone who says “If you don’t like your life change it,” like I haven't tried.

Like this world is a fair and just world that does not discriminate against skin color. Come on. I only get paid this much because I am Southeast Asian. I can guarantee you that my pay would go significantly higher if I was white. Even if I had no education and no experience. Sucks to be us.

It’s exhausting being a loner in this world with no parents to ask for financial help and emotional support from. It’s unfair and I don’t care if I am whining. Lots of people are like me and we are behind from the rest of the population from day 1.

Even my own partner cannot imagine not having a group of people (families) to fall back on. Even when I was sick with Chikugunya, I had to force myself to work, to make sure I still get paid so I can make my bills this month.

You’re alone and constantly on fight or flight, mind racing a mile per second, dealing with life as an adult and the residue from a traumatic childhood filled with mental, emotional and verbal abuse. There is never going to be an escape, you’re the only one you can rely on, there is no way to “take a break”.

There is no way to say “Hey, I’m going to reduce clients this month so I can take it easy, my mom/dad will help me out this month with rent, till I find another client to make ends meet next month,”

I don’t want to hear about how lots of people have it worse – I KNOW lots of people have it worse, I donate, I SEE it with my own eyes, I try to help as much as I can both humans and animals but I cannot shake off how much I resent the way my life is going.

I have no one to help me. And I get taunted by rich people saying things like “Well you’re always so busy every day working” to which I reply, “Well if I don’t do all of that work who will give me money???”

I’m so fcking tired and I hate this life. I hate it and I hate how boring everything is. I am not going to ever hurt myself but I am just filled with all these negative emotions and I just can’t bring myself to see the positive side of things.

[lotterygamesites02]

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[emptymanuscript]

I have lived in both the US and the UK.

I have had GOOD medical care here in the US for my entire life. Understand that that is absolutely not the average. Most medical care here in the US has been steadily degrading for decades, while the costs of all care keeps going up.

There is a huge difference between levels of healthcare. Things that are minor inconveniences with top tier medical care can be a death sentence with bottom tier medical care.

I literally had a friend in a trauma neck brace, like what you see as a sight gag in a movie, with a walker told "This is your life now, get used to it, because there's nothing we can do." Until the doctor saw his health insurance (better than mine at the time) and got excited enough it looked like he was going to cum in his pants. My friend was fine within two years, no signs remaining of injury. That's the difference that can be made just by your level of health insurance.

This of course assumes you can see a doctor in a timely manner. Which is a dangerous assumption.

When I was in Cardiff University I was able to get a doctor's appointment, not urgent care, not emergency room, an actual doctor's appointment the same day I tried to go and I didn't have to pay anything to go besides what I had already paid just to be in Wales.

Understand that that doesn't happen here. You do not get to see your doctor the same day you call them. So most people, if it is even slightly urgent, end up in urgent or emergency care. You may then wait a very long time with everyone else.

I saw the doctor I went to see within 5 minutes of my appointment time. Most urgent care here can't even dream of matching that.

As I said above, I have had GOOD medical care my entire life. I'm the child of a doctor. I didn't experience anything less than GOOD care until I was an adult. You can tell quite quickly that there's a difference if you're used to it.

The health care I received in Cardiff was what is considered GOOD here. Again, getting the appointment the same day, waiting less than 5 minutes to see the doctor, and paying nothing at the time of service.

Do not let anyone sell you on the idea that our healthcare model is somehow superior to yours in any way. You will receive, at best, the same level of care you're used to for more money. You are much more likely to get significantly worse healthcare for significantly more money.

Do NOT get our system. Everyone knows our system is broken. The only reason we have our system right now is because of continual propaganda spat at us that everyone else's healthcare is worse. We're terrified of losing what little we have.

From experience, I can tell you that we have one of the worst healthcare systems in the world. It's simply that the people pulling the strings in our healthcare system make a lot more money here than everywhere else so they're extremely invested in making sure we think it is the best and trying to convince everyone else of the same.

I have had some of the best doctors in the USA. I have literally had two operations from someone considered in the top ten of his specialty. AND I've had a couple of nobody specials in Cardiff. I can tell you from experience that your system is better enough that our people would probably riot at how bad we are if they really understood the difference.

[nickgerlich]

Where Credit Is Due

The holidays can be rough on a lot of people. It’s that time of the year when budgets are blown all too easily as we go out on a gift-buying frenzy. Never mind that we often gift ourselves too, because human nature. We have just made it through a rough semester or some other strenuous life event, and we feel like a reward is in order.

So we shop like there’s no tomorrow, often going into debt. Few stores offer layaway these days (believe it or not, Walmart, Best Buy, and Amazon still do). Those programs started to fade in the 1980s when credit became the new norm. But, those layaway programs forced us to budget better, because in order to take possession of a gift item before Christmas, you had to plan ahead and have it set aside a few months earlier, making micropayments along the way.

The last few years have seen a different form of payment option emerge, one that looks sticky sweet but may not be all it is cracked up to be: BNPL, or Buy Now, Pay Later. We see it on virtually every e-commerce site these days, an offering from a third-party provider like Klarna that operates on razor-thin slices of the action.

Oh, and late payment fees. And now the vultures of Christmas 2023 have come home to roost, because those payments have come due.

Typically when you use BNPL, you pay 25% down, take possession of the product, and then make three more payments, some starting as soon as two weeks after the purchase. There’s no interest charge, unlike credit cards. But if you forget to pay, you are slapped with a fee. And it is easy to forget payments when they are on a twice monthly schedule.

While BNPL bills itself as not being credit, it really is, and there is much worry to be had over whether missed payments affect your credit score. I am betting they do. Heck, a missed power bill can affect your score.

This last holiday shopping season saw BNPL spike in popularity, surging 14% and accounting for $16.6 billion in online spending. It’s kind of like getting an advance on your allowance. Except that you eventually—actually, pretty soon—have to pay it back or suffer consequences.

The typical BNPL person is also likely to be strapped with staggering credit card debt, mortgages, and car payments, and delinquency on BNPL payments is highly correlated with delinquencies in the others. In other words, these are high-risk persons.

It would thus not be much of a stretch to say that BNPL could be a form of predatory lending, preying upon those who have a hard time making ends meet, but who nonetheless want or need to keep buying things. It’s hard to go on a spending diet when there are gifts to be bought, as well as self-indulgences to be had.

But retailers are all too happy to offer these services, gladly ceding a small percent of the sale to Klarna or the like in order just to make the sale. Klarna makes a $0.30 flat fee per transaction, plus anywhere from 3.29% to 5.99% of the transaction. While the retailer is necessarily trimming its own margins, it effectively has outsourced its own credit department to Klarna, et al. Bingo. Big savings for retailer, and it adds significantly to sales.

The question now is how will those BNPL shoppers be able to pay for everything. I know. It is easy to be smug if you are able to avoid BNPL and simply pay cash for everything, or have so much available credit that it just doesn’t matter. That doesn’t help those who are now saddled with a lot of holiday debt that is due right now, not spread out over months and years like with credit cards. In the world of the mafia—I’m summoning my native Chicago memories here—this is where the enforcers come looking for you, carrying a baseball bat. Or worse.

I have never used BNPL, and pray I never have to. But I understand the allure and how easy it works. Klarna will grant credit—because that is what it is—to just about anyone. They are betting not on the certainty of the transaction fees from the retailer, but rather your inability to pay for it.

If there is a literal hell, maybe there is a special place for lenders like them, even though they will certainly defend themselves as having provided a bridge for those who need one the most. I get it, but I worry for the sake of our economy and everyone’s well-being if we depend on things like this to keep everything rolling along.

Dr “Pay As You Go” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[blog-digital-trends]

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[olko71]

New Post has been published on All about business online

New Post has been published on http://yaroreviews.info/2023/02/uk-to-see-shorter-recession-says-bank-of-england

UK to see shorter recession, says Bank of England

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By Dearbail Jordan & Daniel Thomas

Business reporters, BBC News

The UK is set to enter recession this year but it will be shorter and less severe than previously thought, according to the Bank of England.

The slump is now expected to last just over a year rather than almost two as energy bills fall and price rises slow.

As a result fewer people are likely to lose their jobs, but the economy remains fragile, said the Bank’s governor Andrew Bailey.

The fresh forecast came as the Bank raised interest rates to 4% from 3.5%.

It is the tenth increase in borrowing costs in a row and will add pressure to many households already struggling with the cost of living.

The impact will be felt by borrowers through higher mortgage and loan costs, although it should also mean better returns for savers.

Homeowners with a typical tracker mortgage will now pay about £49 more a month. Those on standard variable rate mortgages face a £31 increase.

Rates may have peaked, but economy remains fragile

What the rise in interest rates means for you

Why does the Bank of England change interest rates?

The Bank’s predictions come after a separate forecast from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggested the UK would be the only major economy to shrink in 2023, performing worse than even Russia.

The bank’s forecast is slightly more pessimistic than the IMF and it said that the UK economy would be weak for some time.

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, told the BBC that he “very much hopes” the UK is past the worst point in its current economic travails.

But the country is not expected to bounce back to pre-Covid levels until 2026, which Mr Bailey said was “extraordinary”.

He said: “We may have to conclude that Covid has had bigger long-run effects than we thought it would, particularly in terms of things like the labour supply and people choosing to come out of participating in the labour force.”

The UK has a record 1.1 million job vacancies while the number of people classed “economically inactive” – which is people aged between 16 and 64 not looking for work – has risen.

Mr Bailey said that in most countries, the number of economically inactive workers had fallen since the height of the pandemic, but this was not the case in the UK.

“That is what marks the UK out,” said Mr Bailey.

Softer stance on rates

It has been putting up interest rates to tackle inflation, which at 10.5% remains close to its highest level for 40 years – more than five times what it should be.

Higher interest rates are meant to encourage people to save more and spend less, helping to stop prices rising as quickly.

In November, the Bank said it would act “forcefully” to control rising prices, but on Thursday softened its stance saying it only raise rates further if it saw further signs inflation would remain high.

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The Bank previously expected the UK to fall into recession at the end of last year, with the downturn lasting until the middle of next year. It now expects the slump to be shorter – starting in the first three months of this year and lasting until the end of March next year.

A recession is defined as when the economy shrinks for two consecutive three-month periods. Typically companies make less money and cut jobs, leaving the government with less tax revenue to spend on public services.

The Bank is now predicting:

The economy will shrink by 1% versus 3%, largely because “wholesale energy prices have fallen significantly.”

The unemployment rate will peak at 5.3% rather than 6.4%. It is currently 3.7%.

Inflation will fall back to 8% in June before dropping further to 3% by the end of the year.

If workers get big pay rises it could lead to a slower fall in inflation.

‘I’ve docked my wage and reduced opening hours to cut costs’

Jo WIlliams

Business owner Jo Williams is worried about the extra costs of an interest rise for her bed sales company and gift shop in Nuneaton.

The mortgage costs for the bed shop warehouse has gone up by £150 per month and her own home mortgage is also creeping higher.

To make up those losses, Jo has cut opening times from 9.30am to 5pm to 10am – 4pm and for the first time in 8 years, has made one member of staff redundant.

What happens if I can’t afford to pay my mortgage?

Why are prices rising so much?

“We tried everything to secure that job but it’s a case of having to keep a very, very close eye on cash flow right now,” she explained.

Financial markets widely expect interest rates to peak at 4.5% this year to help drive down inflation. The Bank is expected to raise borrowing costs more gradually compared to recent steep increases. Some economists believe the Bank will hold interest rates at 4.5% for some time before contemplating a cut.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the government would act in “lockstep” with the Bank to tackle inflation. This meant resisting the urge “to fund additional spending or tax cuts through borrowing, which will only add fuel to the inflation fire”.

But Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “The reality is that under the Tories growth is on the floor, families are worse off and we are stuck in the global slow lane.”

More on this story

What the rise in interest rates means for you

4 hours ago

Why are prices rising so much?

18 January

Why does the Bank of England change interest rates?

15 December 2022

[maritimedocumentation]

USCG Satisfaction of Mortgage Scenarios You May Find Yourself In

If you own a boat in the United States, you should know the requirements of a USCG satisfaction of mortgage. Because you never know when you can end yourself in a sticky position, it’s always wise to be ready for everything. Getting a mortgage is essential when purchasing a boat. If you buy your ideal boat, the last thing you want is to have it taken away from you if you can’t keep up with the payments. But mortgages may be complicated and hard to grasp, particularly when choosing the best alternative for one’s circumstances.

This article will discuss three mortgage situations that may arise for US boat owners and advise how to make the most of your loan. Do you know that a mortgage is used to fund more than half of all USCG vessels? It’s crucial to know what you’re getting into when it comes time to pay off your mortgage, whether you’ve recently gotten a loan or are getting close to the end of your term. The following are some typical situations that may arise when USCG vessel owners want to pay off their mortgage:

You’ve paid off Your Boat but Still, Have a Balance on Your Mortgage. This is the norm for new boat owners in the USCG. In the first few years following a purchase or refit, the value of many boats drops significantly, meaning that owners frequently spend more money on maintenance and upkeep than they make. You may still owe your mortgage even if you’ve paid off your yacht. First, you’ll need to convince your lender to convert the remaining balance of your loan into an interest-only product.

This ensures that the whole amount is paid off before the due date. Second, once you reach this stage, you need to ensure you never fall behind on your payments; doing so might result in your lender calling in your loan and taking back your boat. If you keep up with your payments, the lender will keep up with theirs, so you don’t have to worry. After all, the time they will get their repayment is also set in stone: the moment the loan is paid in full.

You’ve Moved but Still, Have A Balance On Your USCG Satisfaction Of Mortgage. If you have moved but still owe money on your mortgage, provide the mortgage company with your new mailing address so that they may send you invoices and statements. You simply contact them by phone or email to inform them of the change. You know the mortgage servicer needs to know your new location to update their records and send you future payments and statements when you move from one property to another. Similarly, you would assume that the post office will automatically update its records when you move.

However, many individuals fail to realize this is true when moving to their main house. Like when you move, the mortgage service wants specifics so they can update their files (and more importantly, they know where to send your monthly statement). Even if you’ve sold the property and moved out, you still owe money on it if you haven’t paid off your USCG satisfaction or mortgage.

Another Company has bought Out your Lender. It’s natural to be confused by this, but know that lenders rarely change rates or conditions without first contacting borrowers. The bank that issued your mortgage if you were the owner of a USCG vessel may have been acquired, leaving you in a difficult financial position. This occurs rather often. Even though your circumstances may have changed, you are still responsible for making mortgage payments and have the same choices.

All mortgage firms have similar policies regarding the penalties for falling behind on payments. The bank doesn’t care what method you use to pay them back as long as they are paid, which might mean foreclosure, repossession, or even worse. No matter what the new name of your lender is or how you may reach them, they have no intention of renegotiating the terms of your loan or making any other accommodations for you as a result of the takeover.

You’re Getting Ready to Retire but Still Have a Balance on Your Mortgage After a certain amount of time has passed during which you have been making payments on your mortgage, you are probably moving closer and closer to being debt-free. Even though this is a significant achievement that deserves to be celebrated, it may be a bit unsettling to think about how you will be able to afford the mortgage payments that need to be made each month after you have retired. Excellent news if you have previously considered what your life will be like once you retire and if your finances are stable enough to allow you to continue making those payments. You may be asking how your mortgage will be satisfied now that the USCG vessel is your main dwelling.

The United States Coast Guard provides a set of standards for your vessel’s mortgage called the Satisfaction of Mortgage. This document is often used as proof that the borrower has fulfilled their obligation to the lender. If you have any questions about these documents or want to learn more about getting a mortgage for your vessel, don’t hesitate to contact the Maritime Documentation Center at 1-800-535-8570.

[babyspacebatclone]

A little addition to your lectures about the Elon Musk meme (all fascinating, by the way):

Twitter verification, to the average user, now means nothing. The only service it provides is a blue checkmark next to your name.

It's true that a Starbucks coffee will only last 30 minutes, and the verification is monthly, but the Starbucks coffee provides something in real life. Not just stability like you said, but sustenance, something TANGIBLE that having a blue checkmark next to your name that you pay $8 a month for could never provide.

I’m not a Twitter User myself (hence why I had to grab existing screen shots of the infamous EA meme-fail), and wasn’t sure how the Account Verification was changing beyond the subscription.

Since I started planning my analysis, I have seen a few parody/satire posts highlighting the abuse of the checkmark, however.

Which supports the idea that the newer system is more “You Paid!” than “I verify this identity is relevant to the user.”

Which yes, makes it significantly less useful than the previous system to everyone, including, you know, companies that would otherwise be willing to pay for visibility.

Including SpaceX…

Yeah, that not even stupid.

This is either deliberate self-sabotage which, (given the entire fiasco thus far) I do not rule out…

Or being so impaired by literal brain damage or altering chemicals as to be unsafe to drive, let alone be a CEO.

Congratulations, Elon, for failing even worse than I imagined you would!!!!!

[deusluxuria]

johnny how does spine???

( warning: medical stuff )

( Don't be ableist or go "ew" or "oh no that is so sad that he's disabled" I'll eat you. )

For fanfiction info and whatever.

This info is subjective and not a matter of "you have to perceive Johnny this exact way." It's just a lil guide or starting point that might be helpful if you want to know more about Johnny's most-likely type of paraplegia.

There are a number of factors going on effecting the variables when it comes to gunshot wounds, spinal injury, and paralysis. So I'm gonna simplify it and get into basic stuff that doesn't require having a PhD or knowing firearm ballistics and all that.

(That being said, when it comes to writing about the experience of ableism, you need to be talking to disabled people and reading about their experiences. Remember that disabled people are a marginalized group.)

There's only so much we can figure out canonically. Spine injuries vary a lot, and then there are inconsistencies with Johnny's disability throughout the story. Araki likes to "not sweat the small stuff" (in his own words).

I like to just stick to the information we have in the beginning, since we get the most from there.

These are two excerpts from one of the first few chapters of the manga, showing approximately where in the spine Johnny was injured (just about above elbow level).

And here's a diagram showing the spinal column, and about what "above the elbow" means for Johnny's bodily functions. The T9 vertebrae is the closest to where that might be, so it can be assumed that Johnny's spine is effected from there-downward. Again, this varies depending on the person and multiple factors of the injury.

Digestive:

Johnny has no bowel control (which means it's a given he also has no urinary control). And according to how other characters say he has no sensation below the waist, either that's true or he has very minimal sensation.

Johnny is rich, so he can pay his medical bills. And his main dilemma in the story is that he's got a toxic self-ableist ego, so he probably would have gone for the prosthetic route, with colostomy surgery & catheters. As opposed to a bowel program or using diapers / other receptacles. Prosthetics also make more sense in context, since he's in a horse race and being chased by violent assholes, and so he wouldn't be able to visit a doctor or look after his hygiene just whenever.

A colostomy involves a hole (aka "stoma") being surgically made directly to the colon from the abdomen. A removable colostomy bag (aka "stoma bag") is attached to the hole, and is used as a receptacle for fecal matter to be emptied into automatically.

[ID: simple diagram showing the structure of colostomy surgery, & the location of the stoma & where the colostomy bag hangs. /end ID] [ID: simple stock photo showing a person slightly lifting up their shirt to show their colostomy bag, which is opaque, white flesh-tone color, & about the size of a large adult's winter mitten. /end ID]

This can make bowel movements easier for some paralyzed people as opposed to diapers or bowel programs, because emptying into a colostomy bag requires a lot less muscle function, is easier to change and clean, and needs less prep before bathing, showering, exercise, sex, sleep, etc.

Similarly, a catheter bypasses some of the distance and muscle control needed for urinating. A small, thin tube is inserted into the urethra and guided to the bladder. Urine automatically empties from the bladder, through the tube, and into a drainage bag, which is kept strapped to the person's thigh or calf, or secured to their wheelchair or underneath their bed.

[ID: simple diagram showing the structure of a catheter & thigh drainage bag, as well as what the extension to an overnight drainage bag might look like. /end ID] [ID: simple stock photo of an opaque white drainage bag cover, strapping the bag to the person's thigh. /end ID]

If someone uses a diaper, they'd simply change it whenever it's used, or otherwise whenever they're able to.

Because Johnny rides horses and does various dangerous, strenuous things in SBR, if using prosthetics, he might have his colostomy bag secured to his torso in some way (such as tying a piece of fabric around his torso). He might also have more padding to these prosthetics to protect them from being punctured, or worse, ripped out.

When he was shot, the bullet also may have perforated his intestines (along with his gallbladder and a kidney), which would have made a colostomy procedure necessary anyway. When he's shown in the hospital, he has a cloth wrapped around his pelvis, and acknowledges in distress that he's lost bowel and/or bladder control. So we can guess that his intestines are at least mostly intact.

[ID: Part of a panel from the Steel Ball Run manga, showing Johnny from the waist-down, in a hospital bed with a white cloth folded around his pelvis and bandages around his abdomen. /end ID]

Pain:

Johnny has the right idea about strapping his ankles up next to his saddle. People without paralysis tend not to realize just how heavy the human body is. With no muscle control in his legs, they would be way too heavy, and his back would be injured if he were to just let his legs dangle, especially while riding on horseback at high speeds. That would most definitely break his legs.

One thing about a transition between having muscle control and then being paralyzed is that previously non-paralyzed people might not understand right away that their paralyzed body parts still need to be taken care of. Even if those parts don't feel pain.

Johnny would likely have back, neck, and shoulder pain after being paralyzed, at least for a while. At least until he re-learns how to take care of his body from the waist down. Treating his legs like dead weight would put strain on the rest of his skeleton.

[ID: A panel from one of the first few chapters of Steel Ball Run. Johnny from the side, showing how he has changed the structure of his horse saddle and has his ankles strapped to his sides, so he's seated on his horse in a kneeling position. /end ID]

Sexual:

It's possible to experience orgasm with paralysis. There are types of non-genital orgasms, and then, strong or prolonged, repetitive stimulation to the errogenous zones of sensationless genitals can still cause orgasm that's felt from the waist-up (paralyzed folks may find the use of strong vibrators to be especially beneficial). Prostate stimulation may also be significantly more effective than genital stimulation.

Some people also have increased sensitivity from the waist-up if they're paralyzed from the waist-down (i.e. Johnny would feel notably more pain when injured, say, on his arm, than Gyro would).

A person can also have phantom sensations and experience pleasure & arousal from visual stimuli alone.

Sex with paralysis might need extra lubricant, since natural biological lubrication can be less prevalent with pelvic paralysis.

The way sexual stimulation feels to a paralyzed person is likely impossible for a non-paralyzed person to imagine. And it of course depends on the person and the unique way of how they experience sex in general.

Going by Johnny's personality, mainly with his loss of self-confidence, after his injury, he would likely only have sex with someone whom he trusts very deeply.

Reproductive:

With a uterus and viable ovaries, it's just as possible to get pregnant with pelvic paralysis as it is without. There can also still be pain during childbirth.

Viable testicles are a different story. It's very difficult to get someone pregnant when the person with testicles has pelvic paralysis. There would need to be help from a doctor. In context, Steel Ball Run doesn't stick to historical accuracy. But if it were, there's no way disability services around 1890 were existent enough for people with testicles to have medical help conceiving children when paralyzed at the pelvis.

If George is the biological child of both Johnny and Rina, it would make more logical and historical sense if Johnny had a uterus and was the one who gave birth to George, alongside Rina having testicles and being the one who impregnated Johnny. But that all depends on your headcanons, like what I said at the beginning of the post.

thank you for tuning in to "how johnny spine does" or something, goodnight lol

[sqbr]

My experiences are all from an Australian university 15-20 years ago, but what I saw then as someone majoring in one of the more abstract non-practically-applicable parts of maths was:

A general sense that you could swing such a degree into finance etc. You'd be at a disadvantage compared to someone who started with that as their first priority, but a significant advantage over someone who majored in like, philosophy or biology. But this belief was in the context of an awareness of how incredibly difficult it would be to get a job directly using our actual expertise and interests.

People with high marks in vaguely relevant fields being courted by/pressured into industries like mining even if that wasn't their main focus. This happened to me at every stage: in highschool everyone told me to do engineering instead of science since I had the marks; at uni the engineers in my maths classes were smug about their better job prospects; when I got high marks in physics and geology I was encouraged to become a geophysicist; when I got high marks in my ONE applied maths course my well meaning lecturer pushed me to apply for a mining scholarship since that would be way less precarious than my plan of academia; people in my honours class were poached by mining scholarships into boring but mining-relevant topics; during my Phd the department kept up it's ability to pay for pure maths majors like me with lots of courses teaching basic maths to engineers and business majors which meant I spent a bunch of time tutoring them for enough money to live on top of my small government scholarship; after my Phd, when I said I wasn't going into academia after all, my supervisor strongly pushed me towards retraining as an actuary working in the insurance industry.

People I know who majored in pure maths/physics/computer science often did end up in jobs like actuary, mining simulation coder etc, but in some cases this required getting a whole second degree. A bunch of others, like me (temporarily due to health), ended up working for the public service doing data analysis or policy research (also where some arts major friends ended up when they couldn't find jobs in their actual areas of training/interest), so there are practical-but-not-money-related jobs out there but not as many and they don't pay as well. And in my case this still required networking! I got the job via someone I was friends with from uni (specifically, a former student, who talked up how clever and nice I was despite having basically NO real training in data analysis)

I wasn't involved in funding etc in the maths department, but the vibe I got was that we were less in danger of being completely gutted than arts departments but only if we could keep ourselves useful to the mining industry/business etc, and this skewed research and teaching significantly.

And this was in the 2000s at the most research/theory leaning maths department I could find in my state. From all accounts things have much gotten worse all over since then :(

Hey Steven, maybe you can help me with something I'm trying to articulate, but I'm not even sure is accurate, just seems like something I've observed, but I could be wrong.

So I've often heard about how the STEM fields are becoming more and more prioritized over the humanities in colleges, and that seems broadly true to me (though there's also other stuff that gets promoted over the humanities like business and law, it feels, though they might qualify as humanities, I don't know), and yet, in my opinion, it seems too broad, cause it seems less STEM and more TE, with the S and M put next to the humanities as fields you shouldn't bother with if you want a profitable career.

Technology and Engineering, it seems to me, are boosted over all else. I don't exactly see people saying get a job as an astronomer or a physicist or a biologist or a mathematician unless it's specifically to "contribute towards society in a profitable way (like, I hear geologists can get employed to help find new sources of fossil fuels, for example)," but meanwhile I hear people say, "just learn to code!" or get a degree in some engineering field or something like that. Basically, a focus on fields that contribute directly to someone making a profit instead of enriching society through the arts or through new discoveries. I don't know if what I said made any sense but I wonder your thoughts on all of it.

(Business I grant you, although a lot of that is due to employers subsidizing MBAs for their white collar workers. However, while Law used to be quite profitable for both parties, it's been in a bit of a demographic crisis for a few years now due to the fact that the number of legal jobs that pay well enough to afford law school tuition have declined massively and the number of people applying to law schools started to nosedive as well. Paul Campos, my colleague at Lawyers, Guns, and Money, has been on that beat for years.)

With regards to STEM, I think it is true that these things are pushed only in so far as they can be harnessed to the generation of profit. Technology and Engineering we agree on; these workers are highly prized by existing industries, they lend themselves well to both start-ups and spin-offs, and their work can be patented in ways that generate profit for both corporations and the university.

However, when it comes to Science, you need to remember that the "S" includes both applied and theoretical sides - and applied sciences look a lot like Technology and Engineering when it comes to industry demand for skilled workers, the potential for start-ups and spin-offs, and the profitability of patents. Think bio-medical, think bio-chemical, think Pharma, think materials and nano-tech and on and on. However, you are quite right when it comes to the theoretical sciences; you do that for the love of the game.

It is true that Mathematics is the most abstract, the most academic, and the hardest to monetize in the ways described above. However, as I learned from my union colleague who was in the Math department (who ironically went on to a career as a union organizer rather than attempt a career as a mathematician), there is one avenue for money-making with a Mathematics degree:

Finance.

I don't know whether this is still as true as when I was in grad school, but it used to be that Wall Street would throw very handsome salaries indeed at anyone with quant skills from any branch of STEM. (In fact, I remember complaints from some Engineering professors that industries that actually make stuff couldn't get enough engineers because they could make more money working for a hedge fund than actually engineering things.)

[itsclydebitches]

so ironwood was confirmed to be dead by Miles in a $42 cameo session, where the person who bought it had asked for "comforting words to soothe our anguished souls" bc she was an ironwood fan and wanted a pick-me-up after that devastating finale. miles' response was to essentially mock his fans (it really sounded like that, especially since he ended with "thank you jimmy, may you rest in pieces, crushed beneath the weight of the kingdom you tried so hard to hold up above your head."

apparently the VA, jason rose, confirmed it in DMs w the same fan who sent in the cameo ask. so like, quite apart from how rude and disrespectful it was of miles to make a mockery of james in a cameo where he'd been specifically asked for comforting words regarding the character, ngl but i think that if you have to confirm a MAJOR CHARACTER is dead outside of canon bc you failed to actually show it on screen.....you've failed as a writer. and also that kind of thing shouldn't be confirmed in an expensive and exclusive interview lmao like how hard would it have been to just talk about good aspects to james' character instead of calling him a dickbag and saying 'don't do a genocide, guys!!'

it reeks of unprofessionalism and also it just makes everything surrounding ironwood's character arc even worse since apparently 'his fate was sealed' from the moment he was introduced to the show.

Me, who received the first Moderna shot yesterday (🎉 🎉 🎉 ): Ugh I feel too crappy to answer asks today

Me, upon hearing this news: You know, I have suddenly found an untapped source of energy

Okay, all joking aside, I watched the vid and it’s definitely a lot. I don’t have any information about the request itself except for what Miles mentions in the recording, so I can’t speak to what the fan may have been looking for outside of that, but some highlights include: 

“This is for the filth in my degenerate discord server” - Yeah, that’s how a lot of us (fans) talk about ourselves. It sounds like someone who really enjoys Ironwood and makes joking, self-deprecating comments about their love of a character. That’s familiar to me and speaks to the expectation that they hoped for something other than what they got. At least, if I’d sent in a request like that I wouldn’t be happy with the vid, but that’s obviously my own perspective and not this fan’s. I’d be very curious to know their own thoughts though... 

“Sometimes a character we like doesn’t make it, does something we don’t agree with... or both!” - That is indeed how characters work! The real question is whether their death/actions make sense within the story, which is not addressed here. Many fans who enjoyed Ironwood don’t have a problem with him dying or turning into a villain  — I’ve been honest about my acceptance of either/both, regardless of personal preference, provided it was written well  — and that was always the issue. Not what happened to Ironwood, but how it happened. 

“James Ironwood’s fate was sealed the moment his character was conceived many years ago.” - Personally, I don’t believe this. RT makes a lot of grand, sweeping statements about what’s been planned “for years” or “since the beginning” and too often we’re faced with writing that directly contradicts that. Though it’s unlikely we’ll ever know the truth, neither option paints the writing team in a good light. Either they’re straight up lying about what’s been planned (or twisting tossed out possibilities into assurances after the fact. For example, someone once suggested Ironwood might become a villain somehow at some point and now that’s presented as, ‘We’ve deliberately been working towards this specific ending for years’), or they’re being truthful and just... can’t write what they want to write. It doesn’t sound good when a writer says, ‘I’ve planned this the whole time’ and a good chunk of the fandom responds, ‘Then why couldn’t we see that planning this whole time?’ 

“When James was introduced we intentionally made him look like kind of a big dickbag, but then we realized that dickbag had a heart and was also half metal, and that was pretty cool!” - I don’t even know what to make of this. I’ve deconstructed his introduction before, but to summarize here, he’s presented as no more of a “dickbag” than Ozpin who may not be doing enough to protect the people, Winter who allowed herself to get taunted into a fight on campus, or Qrow who deliberately started that fight while drunk. Glynda is the only one who is arguably innocent here. The implication seems to be that obviously Ironwood became a villain because “we intentionally made him look like kind of a big dickbag” but then... does that mean Qrow will become a villain too someday?? 

The comments about them realizing he had a heart and was half metal just speak to that lack of planning. No, you obviously didn’t plan this downfall from the start if you “realized” something as basic as him caring for others partway through writing him and then allowed that care to drive his character for so long that the decent into villainy read as OOC, rather than inevitable. You obviously weren’t writing him with a backstory that influenced his character  — of which his semblance is a major part  — if you “realized” he was half-metal... whenever that happened. The fact that we never saw that backstory, or the semblance on screen, or returned to his half-metal nature outside of a ‘That’s coding for evilness’ theme again speaks to the fact that either a) none of this was actually planned or b) the execution is seriously lacking here. 

“Let us all take a moment to thank General James Ironwood for his service to the Kingdom of Atlas, but... at the end of the day, don’t do a genocide [laughs]” - I’m having trouble articulating why I dislike this. I’m really too tired to be unpacking this right now (lol), but it has something to do with  — as you say, anon  — that mocking tone. Something else to do with the surge of purity culture in recent years. The tone feels like it’s tied up in an unsaid, ‘You like the character who tried to commit genocide?’ accusation when, you know, he’s a fictional character. People can like characters who do bad things. More significantly, he’s a fictional character Miles wrote. There’s something particularly distasteful about writers who feel like they’re laughing at fans for liking something when they created the thing with the intent that we would like it. And many did. So they gave attention, time, money, passion, etc. to the work and then when that part of the work finished, the creator appears to make light of that investment? Idk, I’m speaking about more than just this one line  — the tone of the vid as a whole, really — but it feels much less like “You enjoy Ironwood! 😄” and more “You enjoy Ironwood...  😬” Like yeah, fans enjoyed the character that you wanted them to enjoy who you wrote to have a heart and then suddenly commit genocide instead. There’s definitely nothing complicated in all that. 

“Thank you, Jimmy. May you rest in pieces crushed beneath the weight of the kingdom you tried so hard to hold above your head. Amen.” - All of the above x2 with the added issue that this was never shown on screen. Miles presents Ironwood’s arc like this seven year long plan when in fact they couldn’t even manage the basic move of telling the audience what happened to the character in his final hour. The fact that a fan had to pay to find out whether Ironwood is dead is not a gold star for the writing. 

Every time the RWBY crew speaks about the story in supplementary material the canon itself gets worse. Hyping Clover/Qrow on social media pushes the canon closer to queerbaiting. We’re way closer to that with them hyping Blake/Yang. Long ago comments about Ozpin’s cane suddenly make Volume 8 a retcon. A Q&A about Ironwood’s semblance makes his arc a thousand times more confusing about how we’re supposed to read his character  — to name just a few. Now this. When a friend first told me this info had dropped I thought, “Thank god. He’s not coming back then. I don’t want them writing Ironwood’s character anymore,” but really... can we believe anything the crew says? “Crushed beneath the weight of his kingdom” doesn’t mean Ironwood won’t show up in Volume 9 if it’s a spirit world type adventure. It doesn’t mean he won’t show up three years from now with even more metal in his body and a, “We said he was crushed, not that he was dead ;)” explanation. Hell, it doesn’t even mean he won’t show up with no explanation at all because, as established, what’s said in supplementary works and what happens on screen are two entirely separate things. Iffy as the vid may come across to those who did like Ironwood, I was initially happy that it at least gave us some closure... but now I’m not even sure about that.