#i might exclude them to make it a more even 64

[deityoftherain]

How to Embed Images and Links on AO3

Note: I have a site skin so the colors might look different. Just follow along with the red arrows! Also, this is a tutorial used on the computer, and I assume mobile posting would be different.

First, open archiveofourown.org and log in if you haven't already. If you don't have an AO3 account, sign up for one as soon as possible because it takes about a week for them to verify you and give you access to your new account.

Next, select "Post" in the top right hand corner like you would typically. Set up everything you desire as you normally would until you reach "Work Text*".

Note: If you need further help, I have an AO3 Tag Guide, a Story Title Guide, a List of Random AO3 Shortcuts, and a How to Post a Work on AO3 with Step-by-Step Explanations Guide for your convenience! I also have a Foundations Writing Lesson post for any beginners or for people who would appreciate a review <333

Once there, click on "Rich Text" in the top right of that section, and then select the image icon or the link icon, depending on which you are intending to make.

Note: Check under the cut for more in-depth instructions slash a continuation of this guide! There is an Image Icon Route and a Link Icon Route.

Image Icon Route

Once you click on the Image Icon, the screen similar to below should pop-up:

*Link Icon Route detour start here

The source is the link to the image you're wanting to add to your work. AO3 doesn't host images itself, but you can use an image hosting site such as postimages.org or even Tumblr itself. If you want to use Tumblr, post a draft with the desired image or locate a post with the desired image. Once you've done that, right click the desired image and Open Image in New Tab (or whatever your computer's equivalent is).

You should have a tab open that starts with "https://64.media.tumblr.com" followed by a bunch of numbers and letters. I want you to copy that link and post it in the source box.

*Link Icon Route detour ends here

Now that the image link is in place, adjust your Width/Height boxes if desired. Feel free to add an image description as well. For best result, I suggest doing 100% in the Width box with nothing in Height, but this is ultimately a personal decision. Feel free to mess around with the proportions using the work drafts and find what's best for you!

If you prefer, you can also use < img src="LINK" alt="IMAGE DESCRIPTION" width="100%" align="center" /> aka < + img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/0e3d1827f755eae4c79e605a8e73a44b/f65ab99ee3c9bf64-a8/s1280x1920/8608529567963545a061989b32a1d4541272ef51.jpg" alt="" width="100%" align="center" /> for this example (*excluding the plus sign at the start) to insert an image using HTML instead of Rich Text. It'll look like this:

It is always a good idea to double-check and confirm that everything is how you want it. Previewing your work also allows you to create a draft.

If you're unhappy with something, edit the work to fix it! If you're happy with how everything looks, go ahead and post it! You're finished here! You've successfully posted a work with an image embedded! Well done; good job :D

Link Icon Route

Once you click on the Link Icon, the screen similar to below should pop-up:

Go copy (Control+C or Command+C) the link to whatever it is you want to insert into the body of the work.

Note: If you're wanting to link specifically to an image and not a post containing that image, scroll up to the link icon route detour colored purple.

Once you got that, paste (Control+V or Command+V) the link into the URL box. If you want something other than the link to display, change the text in the "Text to display" box.

Save your work, check the formatting and everything else like we did in the Image Icon Route section. If everything is how you want it, then congratulations! You have successfully added a link embedded to your work!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to comment and I'll respond! If this guide was helpful to you, please like and reblog! I appreciate it <333

[crusherthedoctor]

More topics I need to think about for Paper Mario: Featuring Eggman From The Devil May Cry Series™ (title pending). There's not much practical reason to wonder all of this out loud in a post, but eh, I like to share my thought process on these things. :)

- Complimentary roles for the mainline characters. Bowser will be the hardest one, as Eggman will cause trouble for him as well (there's only room for one motherfucker in this world, and it's the one that doesn't even come from here, so says Eggy), but I don't want to cheaply shit on Bowser too much in order to artificially elevate my preferred villain, and as I said before, I also want to avoid the predictable route of having him team up with Mario in favor of a more original solution. Peach is another one that'll take some thinking: not that being kidnapped automatically makes her bad or useless, as PM64 and TTYD themselves prove otherwise, but I can't think of a sufficiently juicy reason for why Eggman would bother to kidnap her aside from maybe to piss off Mario and/or Bowser, and even then, I think I could come up with something more unique that achieves that reaction. Plus, Eggman kidnapping a princess would probably invite '06 comparisons, so y'know...

- Paper continuity. It's no secret that all the post-TTYD installments veered off into wildly different directions - and I don't just mean the gameplay - that regardless of whether you like them or not, you could say they're somewhat incompatible with the first two in terms of overall feel. Obviously, the intended feel for this fic is for it to be similar in spirit to PM64 and TTYD, so I'm wondering how to handle potential nods to games that have very little in common outside of the paper aesthetic, and making them coherent and in-line with the 64/TTYD world so to speak. (As a random side-note, not liking Super Paper Mario and its story - to the point where I actually prefer Origami King over it despite its Sticker Star/Colour Splash elements - might be my most controversial Mario opinion.)

- Characters that have inconsistent presence or no presence at all. Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings may be considered mainstays in the main franchise, but they never made an appearance in the Paper games until much later, so in order to preserve the PM64/TTYD feel, I might have to exclude them. It helps that I've never been too crazy over them anyway. The same applies to Kamek, as I'm likely to use Kammy instead for the same reasons. The real question is what to do with characters like Wario and Donkey Kong, who have had no presence in the Paper games whatsoever beyond some indirect nods, but are fun and distinct enough that it might be worth incorporating them in some way, assuming I can think of anything for them to do that can tie into the overarching Mario VS Eggman conflict.

- Partners. Since Vivian will be returning ("Oh look, a purple girl with pyrokinesis, never heard THAT one before"), do I make the rest of the partners brand new? Or do I take some from PM64 and some from TTYD to make it look slightly less biased? :^)

- References to other Mario works. This isn't much of a problem regarding the mainline titles and certain spinoffs like Mario Kart, since they're famously fast and loose with the idea of a consistent and ongoing narrative ("MARIO, HOW DARE YOU CALL IAN FLYNN A BAD WRITER ON MY FAMILY VACATION"), but since this is Paper Mario we're talking about, what I'm wondering is whether it would come off as jarring if there were some small references on occasion to, say, the Mario & Luigi games for example.

- Not going overboard with Sonic references. Eggman could occasionally make brief allusions to characters and other stuff that's happened in the Sonic-verse, but since this is 90% a Mario fic, Mario fans will be the most likely readers should there be any. Not all of them are guaranteed to be as knowledgeable about Sonic, and while I certainly wouldn't want to treat the readers as morons, at the same time, they shouldn't be forced to read up on all the lore of a different franchise that they might not even be into in order to understand what's going on. Plus, keeping the Sonic side of things intentionally mysterious in this fic compliments the Mario-verse's perspective, and lack of familiarity with Eggman.

- And of course, just like with my Sonic works, I want to maintain as much of the official flavor as possible, despite the inherent premise sounding like it came straight out of 2005. Eggman suddenly dropping into the Mario world, and Mario and Co being forced to take care of him without Sonic and Co being there to assist them, would obviously never happen, but if it did, how would it play out in a way that stays reasonably true to the spirit of the source material? How can this premise potentially say something about not just Eggman, but also the Mario cast? And so on.

...You know what else would never happen officially, but I'm still curious at trying my hand with it anyway for this fic? MarioXViv-*BANG*

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review 64 – Poverty, by America by Mathew Desmond

I read Desmond’s Evicted a while back and found it a really excellent bit of sociology/journalism about the specifics and mechanisms of housing inequality and how modern slumlords exploit the poor. So this has been vaguely on my list for a decent while. Sadly, I found it a bit of a disappointment – more listing of facts and statistics that I already basically knew to support a manifesto than anything new or enlightening to me. Not that it’s bad, but if it was 20 pages instead of 200 I’m not sure much of value would really have been lost. Many such cases, I suppose.

The book is about exactly what it says is, a polemic decrying and investigation into why the United State’s poverty rates, and why extremes of material want are so much more common there than in comparable (poorer, even) western democracies. Refreshingly, Desmond has a clear thesis he doesn’t beat around the bush before saying – self-interest, essentially. The affluent benefit from having an underclass to extract resources from, and from excluding its members from the amenities they share, so they do. The book spends most of its wordcount enumerating and describing what Desmond considers the main problems: direct exploitation (underpayment, predatory financiers, slums, etc), an underresourced and misdirected wellfare state (compare the cost of middle/upper-class targeted programs like the mortgage interest deduction or tax-exempt savings accounts to the cost of adequately ending hunger or providing healthcare) and segregation (both spatial/residential and in terms of access to public or semi-public services).

It’s pretty traditional for a book like this to spend 90% of its wordcount diagnosing problems and then end with some publisher-mandated optimism and a chapter of solutions with a fraction of the care put into them as in the diagnosis. Desmond, to his credit, avoids this – each chapter includes both the problems and he considers the most feasible solutions to them to be. He actually makes a point of it, arguing that having practical, winnable goals that will actually improve things when achieved (and then celebrating them when they are) is a key part of any political organizing with a chance of actually working. Now, what I think of those solutions varies quite wildly, but they’re there and exactly what you’d expect for his politics – and speaking as someone whose been renting my entire life I wholly endorse fucking all the tax benefits you get essentially for having the cash on hand to make a down payment. (Relatedly, the book has a great deal of scorn for comfortable, affluent people whose progressive politics amount to lots of critiquing and zero actual positive action.)

Desmond is clearly writing this from the point of view of a(n inspirational) public intellectual; that is, by writing this he’s trying to call an audience and movement based around it into being. He likes the label Poverty Abolitionist and the central project of the book is basically trying to make it happen as an umbrella term people identify with – especially the affluent well-heeled people who read books like this, and might be persuaded to start boycotting companies for underpaying their employees or union-busting, or campaigning against government subsidies that benefit them instead of the poor. I did appreciate the relative hopeful tone, given the usual coverage of American politics – or, well, is ‘Washington was at least this fucked when it passed the Civil Rights Act or the New Deal” optimistic? Whatever the right word is.

Now, I’m summarized all this in ~500 words, obviously actually making the argument needs more space than that. But it really did not need to be as long as it was – a huge fraction of the wordcount is spent either restating arguments or just throwing around numbers and statistics without really contextualization (anyone who spends so much time comparing expenses and budgets across the decade should be legally required to adjust for inflation imo). There’s a good, well-cited (excessively cited, if anything. The footnotoes are like a fifth of the book) persuasive essay in here, but there is so much fat to cut around it.

Anyway yes, disappointing reading experience, given I was hoping for more sociology and less polemic. But as far as American political polemic goes, it’s pretty decent.

[lostsoulaltair]

OnS Theories (19S). Fourth Theory - Resurrection

Hello everyone, I hope you’re doing well! Just 2 weeks left before new chapter arrives and of course, as something I tend to do, let’s talk about something that has been on the mind of the readers, therefore, let’s begin!

P.S: Theories are held within a neutral view and ships are excluded

One of the things the fandom has wondered constantly, what’s the benefit of having Mika within a cursed gear? 

Which is heavily pointed by Shiho Kimizuki:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 99

But then, why is it necessary that Guren aims to take Mika with Yu? Is it because he intends to use Mika for selfish goals alone?

In fact, as I’ve been stating before, Guren’s end goal is to stop the First Progenitor, and this is due to the fact that the First Progenitor does not seek to save anyone in particular, he isn’t focused on protecting someone out of warmness but rather he aims to use Mika for a more twisted objective which was stated by Krul as a hint before she was silenced:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 98

But returning to the topic, why is Mikaela needed to be alongside Yu as Yu’s demon?

Let’s consider first the main factor of Guren’s end goal, such goal is the resurrection of humanity. 

But how can that be possible when the Seraph of the End was itself a forbidden experiment and only few persons were able to be resurrected?

The reason why the plan is different compared to the events with the Catastrophe have a lot to do with Yu. If many might recall, Yu’s seraph form was actually managed to control, Yu was able to use his powers at will without losing control thanks to his cursed gear along the bond that existed before Asuramaru got his memories back.

But the main question is, why is Mika essential for such plan of the resurrection? Is there an answer to that?

Surprisingly there is.

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 64

If many might recall, Rigr Stafford did not only experiment on Yuichiro Hyakuya but he did so as well with Mikaela Hyakuya; he was under his care since he became his “Michaela”.

Rigr found Mika thanks to the ties of his parents; his mother was invested wiht the Hyakuya Sect to the point she reached her demise; she threw Mika out of the window of a moving car because he was special; and of course, after such event, Rigr found him and took notice that Mika was indeed a boy that had something he was searching for so long.

Of course, after the events of the Catastrophe, Mika and the orphanage kids were taken to the vampire capital on which they would reside for few years until they found a way to escape, but instead of touching such events, let’s go between that time, on which Mika and his family were learning the ways to survive within the vampire Capital, what do I mean?

Within the time the kids resided, specially taking aspects of the Story of Vampire Mikaela LN, there was a part of the LN which was focused on Mikaela. Mika started giving his blood to a vampire noble, of course, such noble was Ferid Bathory no less.

But, when it was his first time in order to gather food and supplyes for the other kids, Ferid of course drank blood from him directly, but, what does this have to do with the theory title?

After Ferid bit him, Mika started to release some tears, those tears weren’t of pain but rather frustration and agony, due to having done something shameful, something that wasn’t even thinkable for other humans.

But the question remains, what does this have to do with the sole plan of resurrecting humanity?

After Mikaela’s tear fell down on an orange small bud, said bud started to bloom into a flower.

It is well known that plants take their time to grow and bloom, hence why it is always recommended to water them and give them sunlight so they can display their unique beauty but, with Mika’s case, the bud bloomed into a flower instantly after his tears fell down directly to it, the small bud didn’t require sunlight in order to bloom because they were literally underground, where the sun wouldn’t hit directly at them since it was a place on which vampires resided.

Retaking the current events of the story

It’s true the outcome of them wasn’t the best for many readers, it is sadly to say that if the First Progenitor wasn’t held down for the time being, he would have gone elsewhere to track down Mikaela, and the proof to it was when Rigr stated the next thing:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 79

Rigr’s goal wasn’t to have the First finding Mikaela anytime soon, but of course, Guren, Mahiru, Krul and Ferid were very aware that Rigr’s plan by himself would fail, hence why the direction of the story has taken place to the current time.

Nevertheless, retaking once again the theory, what does this mean after all?

It means that Mika’s special trait is to bring life back. But if he was that special, was there a need to turn him into what he currently is?

The issue comes with the fact that, if Mika had gone with the humans without any interference, the First Progenitor would have sent Tenri to make use of him instead, of course, this is an hypothetical scenario of what could have happened if Ferid, Krul and Guren never interfered.

As for his demon transformation, it was bound to happen either by Guren or the First’s hands.

If Guren never interfered with the First, the First would have decided to attack Mika as soon as he spotted him alone, he’d have made the impossible to make him turn into a demon in a rather least joyful way in order to get his soul for his own purposes.

As for Guren’s goal, it can be concluded that Mika and Yu are the keys to restore the World to how it was before the Catastrophe, restoring the lives of many innocents that suffered the controlling fate of the First.

What do you think dear readers?

Let me know!

[draculas-fem-aro-husbando]

Hello People I’m here to tell you some things:)

1.Remember to take your meds they are important:)

2.Your sexuality is valid and no one take that away from you:)

3.Hydrating is important because the body lives off of hydration to survive:)

4.Your valid and no one can change that:)

5.Its definitely ok to not be super productive all the time:)

6.Take a break whenever you need to:)

7.You have talent and you need to pursue it:)

8.Its ok to cry sometimes there is nothing wrong with that:)

9.When you always take care of people remember to take of yourself along with it:)

10.Dont let anon hate get to you because they are not worth your time:)

11.Your beautiful your more than your scars

12.You never talk to much it justs means your comfortable around people an their is nothing wrong with that:)

13.You have a unique personality and no one can take that away from you:)

14.You breathe so you matter:)

15.You are loved even when you don’t see it:)

16.Its ok to say you hurt and need a break from social media or in general take as much time as you need:)

17.You are you and no one can change that:)

18.Don’t you ever feel guilty for what your family does to you:)

19.You are not a mistake or flaw you are perfect because the you you are is perfect:)

20. Your blog is incredible each of your blogs have their own awesome aesthetic:)

21. You should never feel guilty of your gender or your sexuality:)

22. you should never be ashamed of your talents embrace them.

23.Get the rest your body needs:)

24.Get the rest your body needs however long this needs to be for you personally:)

25. You are awesome and trying to get through life so I’m proud of you:)

26. Whatever you did in the past is in the past and never look back keep looking forward:)

27.Your blog and you are quality 👌

28.When you show up on my dash I get excited 😆:)

29.Im here and ready to talk about anything from exciting to hearing you rant it’s ok I’m here:)

30.Please don’t leave this earth I would be devastated because somebody as awesome as you left the 🌍:)

31.We need you and you are worth it please don’t commit suicide as the answer believe me it is not the answer:)

32.It might not be ok right now but one day it will be ok:)

33.Don’t turn to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain in your life it is not worth it please don’t because your body is to wonderful and awesome for you to hurt it:)

34. It’s valid and definitely OK to change your gender anytime:)

35.Its ok to change your pronouns as many times as you want their is no set number of times to change your pronouns:)

36.Use the pronouns that best fit you because it makes you the you that you are:)

37.Pronouns are valid:)

38.Pronouns are perfect (o⌒．⌒o) ♡＾▽＾♡

39.Your personality is an absolute joy to be around:)（・∀・） （・∀・） (　＾∇＾)

50.Please start loving yourself:)Because you are lovely and loved:)(*＾▽＾)／ (*＾▽＾)／ (*＾▽＾)／

51.You can change your sexuality and gender as much as you want:)

52.To those who are not recognized in the LGBTQIAP+ community you are valid and deserve to be represented more.

53.Avoid exclusionary people:)

54.Are you in the asexual spectrum?Well you are valid and awesome and deserved the world:)

55.Are you and Aro?Well you are valid and just as awesome as any other sexuality:)

56.Not some of the mainstream non-binary spectrum people you are unique and unbelievably beautiful:)

57.Are you a pansexual?Well you are valid and you are perfection:)

58.Are you bisexual?Well you are valid and you are the best:)

59.Are you Trans?Well awesome and incredible to be around:)

60.Are you gay or lesbian?Well you are valid,great,and amazing:)

61. Are you polyamory?Well you are perfection and are pretty if you don’t want to be called pretty then you are handsome or beautiful:)

62.To everyone part of the LGBTQIAP+ community you are valid and are incredible:)

63. ‘I care’

64.To all my artists on tumblr your art is beautiful and deserves more attention:)

65.To all my writers of fanfics,books,poems,etc.Hey your working really hard and your writing is just as valid as art:)

66. Disrespect and hate the orange tan transphobic homophobic sexist racist nazi other religion hater besides being a Christian Donald Trump

67.Help those in need:)

68.Your religion matters and don’t let anyone tell you any different:)

69.You make a mistake that’s ok just get back up and try again:)

70.Your health doesn’t define you as a personality or person:)

71.Struggling for thoughts to keep alive here’s one we will miss you

72.Every part of you is valid:)

73.Black Lives Matter

74.Cops are evil

75.Fight for your rights

76.Dont be afraid to stand up for what you believe in:)

77.Your body is beautiful from the top to the bottom:)

78.Respects people’s weight:)

79.Your not worthless:)

80.Dont be afraid to be proud of who you are:)

81.Still in the closet you are valid:)

82.Out is the closet but don’t like to talk about you are valid

83.Not afraid to say how valid you are:)You are valid:)

84.Don’t let homophobic and transphobic people get to you:)

85.Your a MAP or supporter stay off my blog:)

86.A Nazi or exclusionist stay off my blog:)

87.Pedophile or sugar daddy stay off my blog:)

88.Support Trump stay off my blog:)

89.Racist or evil people in general DNI and stay off my blog:)

90.TERFS stay off my blog:)

91.Neo-nazi stay off my blog

92.Transmeds (people who say you have to have gender dysphoria to be trans)stay off

93.Transphobes,Enbyphobes,or homophobes stay off my blog:)

94.Any disgusting person or exclusionary person stay off.That means people who exclude people in general about their gender or sexuality:)

95.Dont self harm please

96.Love is Love

[shamaliya]

What You Need to Understand About Patents and also Their Value

The number of patents released in the United States rose to 187,000 in 2003, up 22 percent from 1999. For innovators that comprehended the system or that were privileged, the benefits have been enough. Licensing fees from trademarked inventions currently earn $150 billion globally every year, a figure that is expected to climb almost 30 percent over the following some years.

At the same time, patent infringement lawsuits have been filling up headlines daily. The number of patent violation suits submitted each year in the United States. grew 64 percent in the duration 1991-2000.

Throughout 12 months finishing in September 2003, U.S. patent proprietors submitted 2,788 patent infringement lawsuits, a 13 percent increase over the same duration five years earlier, as well as more than double the 1,178 patent fits filed in the calendar year 1991.

However, lots of creators have not applied for their patents despite having legitimate insurance claims of violation. In some cases, they have been bewildered as well as intimidated by the expenses included.

Much of the time, these dissatisfactions can have been avoided if inventors had been armed with the expertise and also understanding of what patents are (as well as what they are not) and exactly how to determine their worth. Such understanding can make the difference between success and also a failure for an ambitious inventor.

Potentially the greatest misunderstanding issues what a patent is and also what civil liberties it offers to its owner. Numerous think a patent provides the inventor the right to produce or market the copyrighted invention. Absolutely nothing can be further from reality. Also check out https://kulturehub.com/inventhelp-support-inventors/

A Patent's Value

By statute, a patent is the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the trademarked invention. To put it simply, a patent is an exclusionary right as well as pays for no favorable legal rights whatsoever. A patent is just a certificate to demand infringement.

A patent is a state-sanctioned monopoly that is limited in 3 means. It is just active for twenty years from the filing day, it is just valid in the nation that gave it, and also it is restricted to what is specified in the patent's insurance claims.

Before applying for a patent, an inventor ought to ask concerns regarding its potential value. Is it much better to protect the technology by patenting it, or by keeping it as a profession secret?

To answer any one of these inquiries wisely, you require to evaluate the worth of the patent. The value of a patent ought to not be puzzled with the worth of the patented product. The two stand out and real-time separate lives.

To put it simply, a product without a patent has worth; so does a patent without a product.

Coca-Cola, for example, is a product without a patent. The product lives on, nonetheless, without the patent security, it when had.

An example of a patent without a product-- a supposed "paper" patent-- is a patent on an intermittent windshield wiper. The inventor, Dr. Kearns, never sold the product himself. He got $10.2 million from Ford, after taking legal action against the automaker, and also successfully imposed his patent versus a lot of other cars and truck manufacturers.

A lot more current instance is a patent on "Java" technology which came to be Kodaks as a result of a merger. Kodak, which had never marketed the modern technology, recently accepted a $92 million settlement of its violation of legal action against Sunlight Microsystems.

The worth of a patent is the difference between the worth of the product with a patent and also without it.

If the patent is certified, after that its value is the web present worth of future nobilities obtained from licensing, plus incremental profits earned from the market monopoly secured by the patent. You can also check https://midhudsonnews.com/2020/05/10/how-does-inventhelp-support-new-inventors/

Certainly, if the patent is not implemented, it is not worth very much at all.

How to Use a Patent

A patent can be utilized in two major ways. If you are making or marketing a patented product, the key use of the patent is to shield market share by keeping rivals at bay. If you are a scientist, you only intend to generate any kind of earnings may be by accrediting the patent.

There are 2 types of licenses: a carrot license and also a stick certificate. The carrot certificate is a volunteer license in which the prospective licensee, often a maker or marketing expert is not utilizing the patented modern technology and also is under no obsession to accredit the patent from you.

Patents safeguarding sophisticated innovations developed in the academic community normally lend themselves to carrot licensing. Stick licensing occurs when the potential licensee is currently generating as well as marketing your invention, consequently devoting patent violation.

The slogan of stick licensing is "License my patent otherwise ..." (Read: I will see you in court!). Most infringers will make the negative, however not unproven, a computation that they will possibly not be taken legal action against-- usually, they are right, as a lot of patent owners fall short to apply for their patents. Hence, stick licensing will work just if the hazard of litigation is legitimate. No hazard shows up to exist when it comes to carrot licensing. Or does it?

Allow's say you offer your most recent invention to a possible licensee and also persuade them of the overwhelming advantages of your innovation. What quits the other party from thanking you for enlightening them on the advantages of your invention and afterward proceeding and also marketing it without a permit from you?

A confidentiality arrangement, which most manufacturers reject to sign in the top place, even if carried out, will barely stop a business from using your technology. That's because the confidentiality agreement can not protect openly readily available details.

A patent is a public record, in which the invention is completely divulged, allowing anybody with sufficient manufacturing and advertising and marketing capabilities to produce and also disperse it. The only thing that stops a possible licensee from benefiting from your invention is the threat of a patent infringement legal action.

Thus, every carrot license is a stick license in disguise. Such words as infringement or litigation are never discussed in carrot license negotiations, they are in the back of everybody's mind. As well as, once more, unless the overlooked hazard of possible future lawsuits is qualified, why would anyone take a license?

You can trust the prospective licensee to ask their patent attorneys just how simple it would certainly be to prevent or "layout around" your patent. Only a well-written patent combined with the capacity and also the resolve to implement it may urge a prospective licensee to think about certifying it. Find out more advice https://www.techtimes.com/articles/249715/20200518/how-inventhelp-gets-new-inventors-onto-the-right-path.htm

Determining Just How to Apply for Your Patent

Every inventor submitting a patent application needs to stop briefly as well as ask a concern: Do we have the wherewithal to apply for the patent if it is infringed?

Several companies, particularly academic and research institutions, are litigation-averse. This undermines the value of their patent portfolios. If the message navigates that a particular organization hesitates to impose its licenses, why would certainly anybody license that company's licenses when the copyrighted invention could be infringed without major danger of legal effect?

Nevertheless, it is inadequate to have a proper perspective toward patent enforcement. This mindset requires to be supported by a healthy savings account. With the typical expense of patent violation litigation in the UNITED STATE exceeding $2 million, patent litigation is the sporting activity of the abundant. Unless you are used by a well-financed company that stands prepared to bankroll the litigation, you may not be in a setting to carry out your threat-- whether explicit or implied.

For tiny businesses and also specific developers, there are alternate approaches to financing patent violation litigation. One is to locate a law office that will represent you on a backup basis.

This means that as opposed to invoicing you by the hour, the law practice will certainly obtain a share in the monetary recuperation, which may be an award of damages to the winner of a suit or licensing charges worked out in a negotiation. A typical backup cost might be between one 3rd and one half of the recuperation.

[toomanysurveys9]

1. When was the last time someone saw you naked? I don’t remember.

2. If you could bring someone back from the dead and spend an hour with them, who would it be and what would you do/say? My grandma. I want to tell her about everything and introduce her to my babies.

3. What is the greatest loss you’ve endured? My grandma.

4. How would you describe your current mood? I’m okay. I’m just really, really tired.

5. When was the last time you did something you were embarrassed by? I don’t remember.

6. What was the last thing you lied about? Being okay.

7. Where is your favorite place to have sex? Prefer the bed. It’s so much easier.

8. What is your earliest memory? One of them is singing at my grandparents house.

9. Do you ever drink or get high alone? Nah.

10. What type of a drunk are you? It depends. I start off happy and okay and then I get depressed and stuff.

11. What song (or a few songs, whatever) means a lot to you and why? I get to be the one by JJ Heller.

12. When was the last time you revealed your feelings for someone? Were they accepted or rejected? It’s been a long time, and we’re married now.

13. What was the reason behind your last visit to the hospital? Miscarriage.

14. How do you tend to deal with a breakup? I’ve never really had to “deal” with a breakup.

15. What is the “worst” drug you’ve done? Are there any you will never try, or any you want to try? Weed. And I never want to do any again.

16. What is something you’ve done that you truly regret? Self-injury.

17. What does it mean to you to be a good person? Do you feel you are a good person? I think in some areas, I am a good person. But I could definitely be better.

18. What is your philosophy on life/how do you generally choose to live or conduct yourself? Always keep fighting.

19. Do you view animals as being just as important as people? Why or why not? My pets are family. As far as other animals, while I’m not a vegetarian or vegan, I still believe they should be treated in a humane way and with compassion. There’s no reason to be cruel, such as abusing them or keeping them in harsh conditions. <<< This.

20. When was the last time you were up all night and why? I’ve been up all night a lot. I haven’t been sleeping too well lately.

21. What is the worst thing you’ve done to yourself? What is the worst thing someone else has done to you? I have engaged in self-injury in the past. And I have been sexually abused.

22. What is the most personal thing you’re willing to reveal? Uh, I guess what I shared above.

23. What made you stop talking to the last person you cut out of your life? We just grew apart I guess.

24. Is there a situation or person you haven’t been able to get over/forgive? Yeah.

25. Who was the last person to yell at you? Did you yell back? I don’t know. Either my mom or Jake. I don’t know that I yelled back.

26. Where did your last injury come from? I banged a chair leg into my shin about a week or two ago. It still hurts.

27. What are some kinks or turn-ons you have, if any? I don’t have any kinks. My turn-ons are pretty basic.

28. What are you like during arguments? These days... I tend to shut down.

29. What is the worst thing you have said to another person? I don’t know.

30. Where do you like to be kissed? Forehead kisses are sweet.

31. What is more difficult for you, looking into someones eyes when you are telling someone how you feel, or looking into someones eyes when they are telling you how they feel? Both. Eye contact is not my strongest quality.

32. Think of the last time you were REALLY angry. WHY were you angry? Do you still feel the same way? Something Jacob said to Wyatt that wasn’t okay at all. And yes.

33. You are on a flight from Honolulu to Chicago non-stop. There is a fire in the back of the plane. You have enough time to make ONE phone call. Who do you call? What do you tell them? Jacob. That I love him and to make sure he always tells our babies that I love him too.

34. You are at the doctor’s office and he has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? What do you do with your remaining days? Would you be afraid? I would definitely tell some people. And I don’t know. But I don’t want to think about this with my upcoming doctor appointment. And very.

35. You can have one of the following two things. Which do you choose? Why? There’s no choices to choose between...

36. You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late even once more, you are fired. Do you take the time to save the dogs life? Why or Why not? Yes I would. Because I can find a new job. The dog won’t have another life.

37. Would you rather be hurt by the one you trust the most or the one you love the most? They’re the same.

38. Your best friend confesses that he/she has feelings for you more than just friendship. He/she is falling in love with you. What do you (or did you) do/say? I’m straight, so there’s that...

39. Think of the last person who you know that died. You have the chance to give them 1 hour of life back, but you have to give up one year of yours. Do you do it? Why or Why not? No. People might think I’m horrible for that... but no.

40. Are you the kind of friend that you would want to have as a friend? I don’t know.

41. Does love = sex? No.

42.Your boss tells your coworker that they have to let them go because of work shortage, and they are the newest employee. You have been there much longer. Your coworker has a family to support and no other means of income. Do you go to your boss and offer to leave the company? Why or Why not? I’m in the same boat, so probably not.

43.When was the last time you told someone HONESTLY how you felt regardless of how difficult it was for you to say? Who was it? What did you have to tell the person? I don’t know.

44. What would be (or what was) harder for you to tell a member of the opposite sex, you love them or that you do not love them back? That I love them.

45. What do you think would be the hardest thing for you to give up? Why would it be hard to lose? Uhhh. Ice cream. It just makes me happy sometimes.

46. Excluding romantic love, when was the last time you told someone you loved them. Who were they to you? My daughter.

47. If there was one moment and one time in the last month what would you change and why? I don’t know.

48.Imagine it is a dark night, you are alone, it is raining outside, you hear someone walking around outside your window. WHO do you wish was there with you? Jacob.

49. Would you give a homeless person CPR if they were dying? Why or Why not? I’m certified, so yes. Compressions are the most important component if you’re uncomfortable doing mouth to mouth until help arrives.

50.You are holding onto your grandmother’s hand and the hand of a newborn that you do not know as they hang over the edge of a cliff. You have to let one go to save the other. Who do you let fall to their death? What was your rationale for making the decision? I don’t like this survey. I”m going to be up all night, anxious as shit. So thanks.

51. Are you old fashioned? I guess in some areas.

52. When was the last time you were nice to someone and did NOT expect anything in return for it? I never expect anything in return for my kindness.

53.Which would you choose, true love with a guarantee of a broken heart, or never loved at all? Why? True love. I would rather have been loved for awhile than to feel as though I don’t matter.

54.If you could do anything or wish anything, what would it be? I’d wish for all illnesses to be cured and to be able to stay this age forever.

55. What was the last thing you ate? Pizza.

56. What kind of guys are you usually attracted to? I don’t know.

57. What’s the stupidest thing that’s happened to you that ended a friendship? I don’t remember.

58. What’s the longest amount of time you’ve had sex for?

I don’t know. I don’t time it.

59. What reality shows do you watch? The Masked Singer. I Can See Your Voice.

60. Post a video of yourself here: No thanks.

61. Where do you work? A local center for kiddos on the autism spectrum.

62. Have you ever gone up to a car thinking it was yours and tried to get in it? Yeah. I’ve gotten in one once even...

63. Where do you buy most of your clothes? Walmart.

64. If you were very intelligent and had the capability to have any profession, what would you like to be? Psychologist.

65. What’s your most irrational fear? I have a lot of them.

66. How many radio stations do you listen to? There’s two I mostly listen to.

67. What kind of music do they have?

One is popular music, and the other is country.

68. Would you rather go to Greece or Hawaii? Greece.

69. Musicals: Yay or Nay? Eh. Not necessarily my favorite generally.

70. What are the next concerts you’ll be going to? I don’t know. I’m going to a musical in a couple weeks though.

71. What was the last conversation you had with your best friend about? Needing sleep.

72. Are you one of those people that LOVE to hug others? Depends on the person, but not generally.

[clownkiwi]

but yea, if you want my opinions on the paper mario games, here they are

i haven’t played paper mario 64 yet, so i cant say anything about that

i can totally understand all the love ttyd gets, it is really kinda that perfect mario rpg thats fun with unique characters and a big story with real weight to it

except i do really love super paper mario more because that game was my childhood and it had a much more grander and personal story than ttyd had, even if that did mean stripping the more traditional rpg elements away from that game to make it alot more palatable to gamers more traditionally accustomated to platformers

sticker star and color splash are fine, obviously, i dont really hate those games. ive never played them (i only played through the beginning of sticker star), and color splash can sometimes get broken, but as far as i know, these games arent as bad as TTYD elitists make them out to be

the origami king not only looks really good, but i have heard both sides on the arguments about the origami king, as you can see in my blogs bio. i havent played it yet, and im planning on getting it sometime soon, but from what i heard, the origami king might be the best paper mario game in this past decade of paper mario games (excluding the paper marios of the 2000s)

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #454

Top Ten Launch Games 

Oooh, it’s finally here!  

By the time you read this, the Xbox Series X/S consoles will be out, and the PlayStation 5 will be imminent if not already with us. At the time of writing I’ve yet to sample either console, although hopefully that will soon change. However, it’s a bit of a weird console launch, especially for Xbox owners, as there’s not much in the way of actual launch titles. PlayStation has the excellent-looking technical showcase (in that it shows off their sexy new controller, if not necessarily the excesses of the console’s visual prowess) Astro’s Playroom. But on the Xbox side, the only genuine first-party exclusive (not including the port of rather smashing PC title Gears Tactics) was to be the troubled Halo Infinite, which has now been pushed to next year to deal with some of its apparent graphical deficiencies. For what it’s worth, as a Halo fan, I thought the actual gameplay presented looked as good as it always has, so I’m still very excited, but it’s a shame not to sample something genuinely new and shiny at launch. For me, then – as someone not getting a PlayStation this year – I’m going to have to contend myself with updated versions of older games, and hopefully something like the really exciting-looking The Falconeer or, eventually, Cyberpunk 2077.  

Of course, it’s not always been like this; in the past, a landmark game has often been the core reason to upgrade to a new console. Certain titles have defined their hardware platforms, offering a taste of the experiences to come, be it through revolutionary control systems, previously-unimaginable graphics, or simply by shattering preconceptions and expectations. As such, this weekend I’m celebrating my favourite launch titles. 

Now, a couple of my usual caveats. I’ve hardly owned any consoles in the grand scheme of things; I was a computer gamer until the launch of the first Xbox, and even then was PC-first until about midway through the 360’s life. As such I came to a lot of these late, or played them on friends’ systems. I’m sure a videogame historian would give you another list, one that was able to put each title into its historical perspective. For my part, I’m mostly basing it on how much I like the game, but I am also trying to weight it in terms of its “importance”. I mean, one of my favourite “launch titles” of all time would be Lego Marvel Super Heroes on the Xbox One/PS4, but that seems a bit of a ridiculous game to call a launch title, especially as it doesn’t really show off the hardware or define the generation in any particular way. I just think it rocks. So I’m trying to judge it also in terms of how effective a given game was at being a launch title, as well as my personal preference; as such, some games, which I think are more emblematic of their time or their hardware, might end up higher in the list than if I was otherwise just ranking my favourites.  

Christ, that was boring. Look, here are ten games that I like that came out when a console came out. Have at it. 

Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox, 2001): it’s not just that it made playing an FPS on a console as comfortable and enjoyable as on PC, but it revolutionised what an FPS could do. Expansive open landscapes, dynamic combat with intelligent enemies, an ingenious shield/health combo, two weapons, drivable vehicles, and frankly outstanding graphics. And for Xbox – a curious underdog, a big black sheep devoid of cool or class and feeling like Microsoft was trying to buy its way into the console space with a hefty dose of brute force – here was something unique, something incredible. I don’t think anyone quite expected Halo, and it’s arguable that it single-handedly changed not only Microsoft and Xbox’s fortunes but the entire game industry too.  

Wii Sports (Wii, 2005): the Wii was this strange outlier, a tiny white box that eschewed the grunt and girth of its rivals, and seemingly built around its unique motion controller. Would it work? Wii Sports proved that yes it would, a delightful bundle of games that perfectly showed what the console and controller could do. Immense fun in and of itself, but the Wii’s ability to lower the barrier of entry to non-gamers meant that your dad could thrash your brother at bowling. And that is a thing to cherish forever. 

Tetris (GameBoy, 1989): depending on where you look, Tetris may just be the best-selling game of all time. It’s on everything now, from the Xbox Series X to your watch. But there was a time when “Tetris” meant “GameBoy”; that four-colour greenscreen box of wonder that everybody had but me. It was beyond ubiquitous, and its short-form nature and simplistic styling made it ideal for the portable console, its chirpy and iconic music sounding perfect coming from those tiny speakers. And above all else, of course, Tetris is fantastic, one of the greatest games of all time. It was a perfect marriage of software and hardware. 

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch, 2017): so here’s the thing: I like Zelda, but I’ve never fallen in love with it. I didn’t grow up with it, so coming to Ocarina of Time, there were too many old-fashioned trappings in the way; it just didn’t feel as enthralling or as fun to play as, say, Half-Life or Deus Ex. BOTW changed that; the limitations were gone, the world was blown wide open. It no longer felt like an 80s game in three dimensions, it felt new. Better than new – it felt like tomorrow. Despite the Switch being graphically weaker than its contemporaries, BOTW was and is simply gorgeous to look at, but it’s how it plays, how it feels like a vast but real world, how it has its own rules and they make sense instantly. It’s the greatest open world game of all time, and emergent physics sandbox, and yet it’s still unquestionably Zelda, emphatically Nintendo. Okay, it technically came out on the Wii U at the same time, but who the hell played that? This was the game that made you want a Switch.  

Super Mario 64 (N64, 1997): this is often the game people cite as being one of the great revolutionary launch titles, but I must confess its charms were lost to me at first. Taking what was great about Mario and converting it expertly into 3D was a heck of a feat; graphically for the time it certainly impressed in the scale of its worlds, and whilst back then I felt it lacked the detail and granularity of some PC titles, in retrospect it was a perfectly-suited art style, offering smooth textures even when right up close. But it was its precise controls and the open, hub-based nature of its worlds that was revolutionary; many games aped its style, but it took a long time before anything really matched it.  

Hexic HD (Xbox 360, 2005): not every game here has to be some genre-busting graphical powerhouse; they can be simple but quietly revolutionary. Hexic HD is a terrific puzzle game with a simple hook, brilliantly executed, and enough intrigue and nuance to keep you coming back for one more go, to beat your high score, to get to the next tricksy level. But the time and manner of its release, and what that signified, marked it out as something more important. It was the first Xbox Live Arcade title; Microsoft’s curated gallery of smaller, more indie-flavoured games. More than that, it was free, coming pre-installed on all Xbox 360 Pros (the ones with the removable hard drive). It was a taste of what was to come, introducing audiences not only to the idea of playing these kinds of smaller, less intense games on a console, but also the idea of purchasing and downloading them digitally. It was great and ground-breaking in equal measure.  

WipEout (PlayStation, 1995): I kinda missed the PlayStation generation. I was still, more or less, in my PC-centric “consoles are toys” mindset (which I wouldn’t fully shake off till the release of the N64). But I came to appreciate its qualities as a cool, exciting, super-fast futuristic racer. I’m pretty sure it’s not the first 3D hover-car racing game, but it was presented in such a groovy package that it ticket all the boxes, and helped show off just what the PlayStation was capable of in terms of its 3D graphics and CD sound. And, of course, it helped define the console as being a bit more edgy and grown-up than the previous Nintendo and Sega stalwarts. 

Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1988): what can be said about one of the most iconic games of all time? Mario Bros defined not only a console, not only a generation, but arguably an entire artform. Creating what we now know as a platform game, it expanded and surpassed the basic template of Donkey Kong into a roaming adventure, part twitch-gaming reaction test, part puzzle game. I played a lot of copycat games on my Amiga, but even then, as a whiny computer brat, I knew that Mario was better. Even when my cousins got a MegaDrive and Sonic, I knew – deep in my heart – that Mario was better. It's a deep game, an endlessly replayable game, a supremely fair game despite its difficulty. I think it’s hard to overstate just how good, or how influential, Mario was. 

Project Gotham Racing (Xbox, 2001): I tried hard to pick a different platform for every game in this list, but I couldn’t exclude PGR. This may be tied up with my biography a little bit, but my other half and I played this game to death. I never think of myself as a big racer fan, but every once in a while a title comes out that I just really, really get into – Jaguar XJ220 on the Amiga, Midtown Madness on PC, the Forza Horizon series nowadays – and PGR did that in spades. A gorgeous arcade racer, it was a great launch title to show off the sheer grunt of the Xbox; then, as now, the most powerful console on the market. It also offered a terrific four-player split-screen. But its Kudos feature – borrowed from semi-prequel Metropolis Street Racer – offered ways to win outside of sheer racing graft, awarding cool driving. I still love the original, and I kinda wish they’d bring back or reimagine its city-based driving for a future release or Forza��spin-off. 

Lumines: Puzzle Fusion (PSP, 2004): okay, so this is a bit of a cheat as I've barely played the original PSP version, but Lumines is just phenomenal; the best moving-blocks-around game since Tetris, and probably the most influential one since then too (for the record, I've played it extensively on multiple other platforms). An excellent spin on a Tetris-a-like, its use of music and colour made it a beautiful, brilliant sensory experience. With Sony entering the handheld market, the PSP needed a USP, something vibrant and cool that suited a portable experience, and Lumines provided it in spades; also its funky visuals and music was a good fit for Sony’s brand.  

Well, that was fun, and a lot harder than I expected. If you’re enjoying a new console this Christmas, then hopefully you’ll have fun with one of the new launch titles too – even if I doubt any (apart from maybe Astro) would trouble a list like this in the future (although I do think The Falconeer looks all kinds of cool). 

[lo-lynx]

The reluctant (masculine) hero in GoT and Harry Potter

(Spoiler warning for episode 8x04 of Game of Thrones)

In the latest episode of Game of Thrones Varys and Tyrion talks about who would be the best ruler of The Seven Kingdoms; the queen who has spent years trying to get the throne, or the potential king who doesn’t want it. (NOTE: I AM NOT TAKING A STAND ON WHO WOULD BE THE BETTER RULER) Varys then says: “Have you considered the best ruler might be someone who doesn’t want to rule?” (Game of Thrones 2019: 57:34 min) This plays right into the classic trope of the reluctant hero, the character who doesn’t want to lead but is forced into the situation and turns out to be the hero. Another example of this is Harry Potter, who never wants to be the chosen one, but ends up leading the fight against evil nonetheless. In the seventh Harry Potter book the issue of power and how it can corrupt is very present, and in their final dreamlike discussion Harry and his mentor Dumbledore discusses just that. Dumbledore says:

It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well. (Rowling 2007: 575)

I couldn’t help but to think of that quote after watching that latest Game of Thrones episode and ruminating on how alike Jon Snow and Harry Potter’s journey of reluctant leadership are. Jon Snow declines leadership several times in both the books and the show, in this latest episode of the show they emphases several time how he doesn’t want the throne. The books obviously haven’t gotten that far, but there as well this trope is evident when Jon initially doesn’t want to be the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch (Martin 2000/2011: 519). This recurring theme in stories of the hero not wanting to lead is interesting and is most likely there to make us more sympathetic towards them. But as @arhythmetric on twitter wrote (and shout out to her for being the inspiration of this text), not everyone has the opportunity to be a leader in the first place:

I understand the appeal of the “reluctant monarch” but I continue to hate it because it almost always cuts against those to whom power doesn’t just fall into their laps. Look at who gets to be the reluctant monarch every time: straight, able-bodied white men.

The myth of the reluctant leader cuts against women, POC, LGBTQ, disabled people, those who DON’T already have power. And when they try to take some of it, they get painted as power hungry for wanting something denied to them. Because we have to fight for it in a way those who just get it don’t.  (arhythmetric 2019)

There are a million ways one could analyse the reluctant hero, why some leaders are seen as legitimate and some not, but one thing that struck me as interesting is the way the importance of them to be masculine.

As many have written before, the traditional hero in Western stories are male, and masculine (Goodwill 2009: 15). But what does masculine mean? RW Connell (2008: 109) writes that there are different types of masculinities in society, that are all a result of the gender relations that exists. She sees gender as a way to organise social praxis, that is, how everyday life is organised based on the reproductive arena (i.e. bodily functions such as attraction and child bearing) (Connell 2008: 138). Moreover, by describing the different kinds of masculinity that exists she makes it clear that there are hierarchical relations between them as well (Connell 2008: 114). She describes different types of masculinity, but here I want to focus on hegemonial masculinity. Hegemonial masculinity is the type of masculinity that is on the top of the gender hierarchy. It is the ideal version of masculinity and the one that best preserves men’s power over women. It’s important to note that this might not be what we often think of as the most masculine, it doesn’t have to be a body builder for instance. In Sweden (where I live) I’d probably describe it as a white middle class man, who works out (but not too much), is a responsible dad, is handy and likes being outdoors, but is also “with the times” and tech-savvy… You get it, the ideal. The point is that hegemonial masculinity is different in different contexts. One important part of it however is that it often excludes certain types of men, for instance LGBTQ men are often seen as “too feminine” (Connell 2008: 116). Another example is that men of colour for instance might represent a marginalised masculinity, something framed as the opposite of the (white) hegemonic masculinity (Connell 2008: 117).

How does this all connect to the reluctant hero? Well, I would consider most heroes to be examples of hegemonic masculinity. In many ways, that is what makes others rally around them as leaders, even if they don’t want to be those leaders. If we use Harry Potter and Jon Snow as examples they very much fit many of the requirements to be ideal masculine heroes. Firstly, they’re both white, straight (as far as we know…), able-bodied and men. Like Varys said in this last Game of Thrones episode “Yes because he’s a man. Cocks are important I’m afraid.” (Game of Thrones 2019: 1:01:08 min) (Note: I obviously don’t think genitals determine one’s gender, but the world does, including in Westeros) But while they’re both fighters they aren’t merciless, both of them try to spare people from death when they can, often to their own detriment. (Martin 2011/2012: 829 & 1064; Rowling 2007: 64) This shows that they aren’t just super-masculine killing machines. The fact that they don’t want to be leaders also show that they are somewhat humble, another good trait. But the fact that they can afford to not be ambitious, and still becomes leaders is in my opinion dependant on the fact that they fit the image of hegemonic masculinity so well.

Wahl, Holgersson, Höök and Linghag (2011) discusses how gender impacts hierarchies in organisations, and what kind of leader someone can be. They write about three aspects that impacts one’s ability to rise in the hierarchy; ability/opportunity, power, and the composition of the group (Wahl et al. 2011: 77). The first aspect is about what kind of ability one perceives themselves to have to advance. Someone with limited resources/opportunities will limit their own ambition, but someone who starts off with many opportunities will have a higher self-esteem and make use of the opportunities they have. When it comes to power, someone with a small amount of power becomes more authoritative and has to use force to get their will through (Wahl et al 2011: 79). But someone with more power can afford to be more relaxed and thus is generally more liked. Finally, the group’s composition matters because if you are in a minority (for instance being a woman in a male-dominated workplace) you become more visible (Wahl et al 2011: 80). This can be negative because you then become a representative of that whole minority and might have to suffer from stereotypes that exists. You might also feel more pressured to perform well, feeling that you are a representative of for instance all women. A final consequence might be that the majority group might feel threatened by you infringing on what has previously solely been their territory.

Does any of this sound familiar? Those last points in particular, in my opinion, very much describe how Daenerys and Jon have been described in this last season of Game of Thrones. Authoritative and disliked, or less bothered by formalities and more liked by the people. Daenerys is a stranger, not only as someone having lived in another country, but also as a woman trying to rule. She becomes hyper visible in this way, and as Varys says, perhaps people would be less forgiving if she was a man. Jon on the other hand doesn’t want to rule, but people keep trying to force it on him. He can keep turning down leadership, but people will still accept him as a leader. If Daenerys didn’t actively try to seek power no one would give it to her. This is in the end why so many reluctant heroes are white straight able-bodied men, they can be reluctant and still be given power. I’m not saying that someone that isn’t a white man is automatically a better ruler. But I am saying that it’s much easier for such a person to gain power. If a woman, POC, LGBTQ+ person, and/or disabled person doesn’t actively seek it no one will give it to us. But a good hero doesn’t seek power.

 References:

arhythmetric (2019). I understand the appeal of the "reluctant monarch"(…) [twitter post], 6th of May. https://twitter.com/arhythmetric/status/1125377350596812801 [2019-05-06]

Connell, R.W. (2008) Maskuliniteter. (2nd edition). Göteborg: Bokförlaget Daidalos AB [this is the Swedish translation of Connell’s book Masculinities]

Game of Thrones (2019). The Last of the Starks. [TV-show] HBO, 5th of May.

Goodwill, J-A. S. (2009) THE ACTION HERO REVISIONED: AN ANALYSIS OF FEMALE “MASCULINITY” IN THE NEW FEMALE HERO IN RECENT FILMIC TEXTS. Master dissertation. University of South Africa.

Martin, G.R.R. (2000/2011). A Storm of Swords 2: Blood and Gold. London: HarperVoyager.

Martin, G. R. R. (2011/2012). A Dance with Dragons. London: HarperVoyager.

Rowling, J.K. (2007). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

Wahl, A., Holgersson, C., Höök, P. & Linghag, S. (2011). Det ordnar sig: teorier om organisation och kön. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

[kapanbenernya]

A Hat in Time -- Cute as Heck

Yeah, I don't know where to start on this one. I mean I did liked Spyro: Year of the Dragon and that similar muppet video game when I was a kid. But I was never really into the 3D collect-a-thon, because the PS1 was the only console I had at the time, and most of those games were on the Nintendo 64. Hell, I didn't even know there was a Nintendo 64.

I told you, I was a dumb fuck when I was a kid

I picked this up because a friend kinda recommended it to me. I asked him about this game, and he said "it's pretty good, but the light-hearted-fun kind of good". Well shit, that's something I haven't heard in a long time to describe a video game, what with everything gotta be "gritty" and "realistic" but they end up edgy and depressing. After all of those things considered, I thought to myself, why not?

Let's have some light-hearted fun!

The first thing I noticed when I googled it is that it was a kickstarter project. I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of pessimistic. What, with your Mighty No. 9 and Yooka-Laylee ending up being one of the most expensive disappointment in the history of kickstarted games. But between the two, Mighty No. 9 was the one that caught my attention the most. I mean Keiji Inafune was in the team behind it. And that guy was the father of Megaman. This is like if BombTag was made by the guys who made Bomberman but also being a lot more shit than the current version of BombTag. So you can clearly see why it was a cruel twist of fate that it turned out to be crap, it had all the pieces and all the money it needed to be the homecoming diva of the year that will receive all the scholarships, and look how it ended up: a 60-pound crack-whore that sucks dick by the nickel. Well I decided then that wallowing and speculating about how this game might be another pile of shit is just wasting my goddamn time, so I moved on to finally playing the game.

The first time I started it, I wasn’t impressed

I’m just gonna be honest and upfront about this, I think the graphics sucked. I understand that you’re angry, but this is my paragraph, so shut the fuck up. Ok, how do I explain this? I mean the graphics are cel-shaded, which actually compliments the theme this game was going for, I’ll give it that much. But it’s fucking bad, even for indie. There are clipping issues everywhere, shading that went crazy and mis-matched, and a few more minor issues. They didn’t disturb the game though, not at all. I just think that if you’re making a game that’s on kickstarter and a few projects like this one has failed miserably, maybe don’t make it look like Wind Waker went a few rounds with a semi truck. But again, as I have said, it does not affect the game in any way, just a minor complaint from me really. The graphics aren’t the strength of this game anyway.

To be fair, graphics wasn’t Wind Waker’s strong suit either

To me, the strength of the game lies in the gameplay

The story is that you are some alien kid in a spaceship fueled by thingies called Time Pieces. On your way home some mafia guy asked you to pay the toll, in a blue suit, in outer space, without rockets. You gotta admire his dedication. Anyway, he fucks up your ship and as a result all your time pieces got scattered across different themed worlds. And thus begins your journey of collecting all 40 macguffins so you can kickstart your magic spaceship-home-base-thingy! Now please relocate your eyes back to it’s original place after rolling it so far backwards from hearing the sub-par theming of the game. Don’t worry, I promise everything gets better, because I will finally talk about the gameplay in the next paragraph

The gameplay at it's core is a simple 3D platformer. You jump, you slide, and you attack enemies. Pretty basic shit on the surface level, if not deceptively so. Thing is, there are moves that you can get from a combination of jumps, slides, and wall hops that can get you further than your little minds can handle. And like it or not, this is a thing that you have to master becuase the platforming will only get more and more challenging as you progress throuh the levels, especially the secret levels that can be hard as balls. Thankfully, they usually teach you how to do things by introducing a mechanic in a story first, and only after then do they allow you to go wild.

The second part of the gameplay is the objective, which is to collect all the scattered time pieces thingy to re-fuel your spaceship. This is achieved through a set goal depending on the levels of the game. And since there are 5 unique worlds in total, each with levels of their own, you can bet your ass that there’s a lot of gameplay variety. This is in one hand, a good thing since a lot of variation can be a guarantee that you will not get bored by doing the same thing again and again. I guess this is a thing that comes from being a kickstarted game. This dev guy wants this, that dev person wants another thing, and the everybody just frankenstein’d all the different concepts into one big ball and hope for the best. Thankfully, it worked in favor of the game, since the interchanging themes and mechanics means that every level feels fresh and novel. Although I must say, this also results in one particular level that’s very different in tone from the rest of the levels. I mean for comparison, In one level I was in a town full of bald Mafia men, pushing them off cliffs and ledges for fun. Meanwhile, in the next level I was being chased by the lordly ghost woman in a haunted mansion. Now, since the other levels are anything BUT scary, I thought that this horror-themed level is just children level of scary. You know, like your talking bones or bed sheet ghosts. What I didn’t expect was a sincerely terrifying level that made me genuinely scared. 

Wow, I never expected that my pants could be so brown.

I gotta tell you though, that level wasn’t some kind of genius design or some avant-garde breakthrough. It’s just your generic scary enemy chasey chasey sequence you’ve seen a million times. It’s just that you can really feel the horror because you didn't expect it to be there. It’s like walking into Disneyland to find everything has been replaced by spiders and mickey had hung himself on the main attraction.

One thing that I felt is that the game is very short. 25 levels in total (excluding the DLC) with bonus missions for extra time pieces that amounts to 40. That may seem to be a huge number, but trust me it isn’t. The reason why is because the game is a bit of a cakewalk. The bosses themselves aren’t hard, except for the purple ghost guy that can spam AoE attacks like it’s going out of style. After playing it fully, I get the feeling that I’m not quite the intended audience for this game. I feel like A Hat in Time is made to be played by children. It’s just a feeling I had though.

In Brief

You know what I felt when I played A Hat in Time? Joy. Pure innocent child-like joy that leaves a grin on your face. The kind of grin you used to get when you played in the yard with your friends or family. It’s a different kind of joy from the triumph when you defeat a hard boss in Dark Souls or when you get the top frag in shooter games. It’s warm and optimistic and leaves you content. If you’re a kid looking for a good kiddie game, this one’s for you. If you’re just looking for some good old fashioned nostalgic platformer game, this one’s also for you.

Hey we don't judge things over here my guy. A game's a game, and what matters is you enjoy what you're playin'.

[lostsoulaltair]

OnS Chapter 99. Yuichiro Hyakuya/Amane - Deep Analysis

Hello everyone, I hope you’re doing alright, one of the things I’ve noticed is one of the most controvertial characters within the series and that character is Yuichiro Hyakuya, the main protagonist of the story.

Therefore, I’d like to make a deep analysis on him due to his psychology and his bevaior. 

P.S: THEORIES AND ANALYSIS ARE HELD WITHIN NEUTRAL VIEW. SHIPS ARE EXCLUDED.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi3D_PnaxT0

Yuichiro Hyakuya is well known for being the main protagonist of Vampire Reign; but of course, like any other character within the story; he has had his hardships within the past along the fact that he was something without form but rather, someone treated as an object or a synthetic human by Sika Madu.

It is well known that Yuichiro had quite the personality before he befriended Mikaela Hyakuya; he didn’t consider the Hyakuya orphanage his family until the events with Ferid Bathory changed his life:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 01

Of course, this only made Yu fear of bonding with other people; the only figure he could rely on was Guren since he was his saviour, a person that found him lost in a destroyed world; but even after Guren picked him up and trained him to defend against others; he couldn’t interact with people; Yu was left unable to make friends nor wanted to follow up orders; which eventually gave him the result of going to a school in order to bond with others; thus leading with the encounter of Shinoa Hiragi:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 02

Shinoa was tasked to keep an eye on Yu but along with this, she was also ordered to make sure Yu was able to make friends; and of course, her being an observant, she detected easily Yu’s fear which was to make friends or find the love of his life, though of course Yu wasn’t having such thoughts, his only thoughts were to avenge Mikaela and slay vampires.

Gradually, his world started to become bigger; he was able to find a new family; despite the ways he made friends; those who became important to him were Shiho Kimizuki, Yoichi Saotome, Mitsuba Sangu and Shinoa Hiragi.

He took his time to follow up orders; and that was due to the fact he aimed to be stronger, he wanted to defeat vampires to fulfill his revenge, that was his sole reason to live. 

But after several chapters which could mean days within the demon army; a fateful event occured.

Correct, he was able to meet Mikaela once again; with the surprise he was alive but as a vampire. Though, the reunion didn’t go as expected since Mikaela was aware the demon army only experimented on humans; by worst Yu saw his new friends being food for vampires which made him lose control and awake his seraph until he ended up returning to normal and thus lead to a comatose state of a week.

But then, was this the factor that made him acknowledge Guren as everything?

No. At this point, Yu was happy Mikaela was alive no matter what, plus he received the support of his new family. He felt blessed; until he discovered that Guren had knowledge of previous events but despite that, he stated the next thing:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 18

Correct. Yu stated he wouldn’t mind being a Guinea Pig if it meant to bring Mika home; of course Guren dismissed such thoughts and stated they were family, and family would bring or save each other.

Despite that, time went peaceful, Yu was still impulsive and mostly when the Nagoya Arc began; he met another squad which was Narumi’s squad; they eventually worked together and supported each other until they heard Guren was caught.

This triggered Yu’s mind to the point he didn’t mind consuming pills in order to unleash his demon; of course, Asuramaru at that time halted him from doing such reckless move towards his body and instead suggested him to allow him to possess him; which only made the squad rush for him and save him; only to see Mikaela attempt to retrieve him without thinking that he was surrounded by the Demon Army.

Afterwards, they were reunited again, but something changed; what do I mean?

If many might recall, Yu went towards Nagoya’s airport with Mikaela in order to meet with his friends, but what he wasn’t expecting was to see the demon army killing humans in order to trigger the experiment of the Seraph of the End with Mirai Kimizuki.

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 40

This was the detonant as to why Yu had the mental set of seeing Guren as a good person and in fact, he’s not wrong; Yu’s aware Guren carries a big weight over his shoulders but like any other rational being, such message isn’t easy to deliver specially when the squad doesn’t know Guren like Yu does; Yu was able to see sides of Guren since he was the one that took care of him after his rescue.

But then, does this mean Yu will always be trusting Guren as if nothing happened?

At first, it seemed he understood why Guren did such thing and that was because he commited the biggest taboo which was to bring back the dead; Yu understood that his actions were out of the pain and grief and thus he didn’t mind his return nor the fact he’d use him again; thus lead to Mika get angry 

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 58

Mika was the first one to tell Yu it wasn’t alright but Yu didn’t respond to that because to Yu’s possible mindset, it was that Guren endured a lot and he needed everything he could to restore the world again; such event followed suit to the preparations to face the 5th progenitor Ky Luc.

Afterwards, Yu’s heart stopped and was treated quickly but this only made Mikaela fear rage and anger towards Guren due to how he was using Yu specially after showing those two that he kept the 6th trumpet within his household:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 64

Nevertheless, Yu still supported Guren’s ideals. After stopping the 6th trumpet, the squads went to Shibuya since Kureto Hiragi called Guren; of course, he called them in order to inform he was possessed by something Godlike for the time being and his demon was fending against such monster; said events would follow suit to the possession of Shinoa Hiragi and the fracture of the squad.

Yu was kidnapped by the Hyakuya Sect along his cursed gear; Mikaela eventually found a way to escape and find Yu; Yu’s friends escaped by their own while Mitsuba tried to find them; and of course, after Guren saved Shinoa from Shikama’s possession; the battle between Yu, Mika against Guren, Mahiru and Noya began.

Such battle was intense, it only made Yu allow Asuramaru take full possession of him in order to give him power but the results of that strength weren’t enough; Yu was halted by Mahiru; Mika did the imposible to rescue him leading to his death and of course, the biggest impact on Yu’s heart came:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 90

Yu stated he wished to die; Yu’s been bearing too much pain for so long and whenever he attempted to rescue someone, he couldn’t go further which made him think he was the problem. And as surprising as it was, Asuramaru conforted him and made him recall what Mikaela told him; the fact he needed to live was what made Yu cry and see his first family, his treasured person die in front of him.

After such events, the demon Mikaela started to manifest on the real world; Krul Tepes was able to meet up with Yu and told him a way to save him but of course, they needed to find a spot where to hide for the meantime. Within this, he pleaded Krul to save Mikaela or to at least get knowledge on how to save him

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 96

This result only ended up making the Queen start asking them if they knew who the enemy of the world was, who they were fighting, what their reasons to live were; but before everything could keep going, the First Progenitor took control of Shinoa’s body which was something Krul quickly detected and luckily, Mahiru managed to supress his cells from Shinoa’s body with quite the strange drug.

After that, we saw Guren and Mahiru entering the building the squad and Krul were in leading to the eventful details of chapter 99, which were the sealing of the demon Mikaela and the most controvertial scene for the fandom:

Image taken from Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign - Chapter 99

Now the real analysis begins.

Why is Yu so trustful? Why is Yu so easygoing with Guren’s actions? Or something that the fandom asks, why is Yu so dumb to not even doubt Guren in the sightlest?

WARNING: Theories and analysis aren’t focused on viewing characters in a bad light nor attacking the faves of the readers; analysis and theories are held within a neutral view and ships are excluded.

Something the fandom hasn’t noticed is Yu’s nature within the story. What do I mean?

Yu himself viewed as the character that deserved to die for bringing harm towards those who were close to him which explain why he didn’t want to make friends before meeting Mika and after Mika’s death as a human.

The fact that he eventually found support made him have a change of heart and the fact that he discovered Mika was alive gave him more reasons to fight the world he lived in; he was tired of always running away from everything that could harm him and so, he decided it’d be best to find answers; such answers would lie with the Vampire Queen.

But among this, Guren kept coming back to his life; was it bad that he did?

In a sense it wasn’t bad, because despite the harsh decisions Guren had to take in order to fight a God like entity, he did care about Yu and the squad as well;he understood the distrust they had and it was fine for him to carry such weight on his shoulder but, does this mean Yu will easily forgive Guren every time his feelings gets hurt?

The answer for this isn’t a yes or a no, but rather a why. Why is Yu forgiving towards Guren?

The answers is scary and the reason is because Yu has an overwhelming fear.

How can I state such thing?

Yu’s mentality hasn’t been stable from the very beginning; ever since the incident with his parents; he saw himself as a monster, and the fact Mahiru met him one day and saw the terrible experiments they did with Yu only made her give him an advice which was to find a reason to live even if it was a simple one. He had the right to live.

After Yu grew up and learnt the Hyakuya Sect performed experiments with kids and learnt that Guren knew such thing, he didn’t care if Guren used him, he was fine with that as long as he could provide help.

But, have you dear readers noticed such thing?

Of course. That’s the most terrifying thing Yu is afraid of. He is afraid of being alone and not being loved. He is afraid of being discarted, he is afraid that those persons around him hate him. He is afraid to be a let down to those who surround him.

Yu can’t simply discard such idea of his mind; that’s why when Mika was a half vampire, he didn’t mind if Mika drank his blood; he didn’t mind fighting and using his seraph powers or having his demon give him power if it meant doing something for the greater good. 

When his most important persons were endangered or were close to dying, he’d lose it; he wouldn’t even know what to do, he begged God or anyone to save them. But whenever he heard there was a chance, he didn’t mind the result, as long as it made it possible to bring back the person he cherished which is something that can be seen with Mika.

Yu’s nature goes to not only from being a kind guy but rather, he seeks to be helpful but along this, it only leads to a self destructive attitude despite him not acknowledging it.

The reason he lacks character development is not because of being badly written but rather, because his heart carries many traumas, he hasn’t been able to move on from them, he hasn’t learnt how to overcome them and have the confidence to state what he really feels aloud; he’s afraid of rejection; his actions alone speak that he wouldn’t dare to betray someone’s wishes because it’d mean losing the trust he might have built with the characters he has interacted with.

But then, there’s something else to notice about Yu’s behavior, what could it be?

Correct. Despite Yu being someone who wishes people could rely on, he unconsciously sets barriers towards the people that know him, such barriers are directed towards the squad that has worked up with him and became an important family to him; but how can make such statement?

That’s simple. It is reflected within the behavior seen in the latest chapter. Shiho and Yoichi for losing their loved ones and seeing Yu crying for losing his loved one as well, understood the pain he went through; and thus, for them being easier to express such thing without the fear of losing anything else, they don’t want to risk to lose more; such behavior is directed towards them unknowingly

It can only be said it is required to wait and see when Yu will stop fearing to have contradictions or rather, when he’ll start being more honest of what he truthfully feels.

What do you think dear readers?

Let me know!

GIF belongs to clair-audients

[wesleynj]

To Danny

...... And to be honest, you are already a horrible person in my impression.

You are uneducated, stupid, rude, having no manners no knowledge like a barbarian. (You are so dumb that once you even let me explain what a thousand is because you only understood the concept of hundred. Dude, seriously, go to f**** school!)

You have no dream, no life objectives, all you do is working for a lousy low-end job, wasting your time in pub, getting drunk, and trying to hook up with ugly people.

What's worse, you have no correct value of what is good thing and what is not. (You told me everyone of your people/community uses drugs and that's normal. That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. You are only humiliating your people.)

Then, you use the name of friendship to ask for free liquors. If people don't do it for you, in your mouth they are not friends any more. This is disgusting and shameful. You are humiliating the name of friendship. Is friendship just a tool for you to take advantage of people? You are shameless and have no dignity.

The longer time I spent with you, the more obvious that you are a disgusting maggot in human form.

You know what, I don't usually make friends with illiteracies like you, the reason I did is I'm polite and sympathetic that I should give you a chance since you tried to reach out. I thought you might have a chance to be a good friend even if excluding those standards above. I know not a few people without education or other stuff can still be honorable and respectable because they have merits inside, in another word, they have noble souls. But I'm wrong this time. There's no merit inside you at all. You are not one of them. You are just another pathetic loser.

Tips for you: grow up, get educated from a college or at least from a decent family member, be useful to the society, get the f*** away from drugs, have some dignity, stop gaining your 300 lbs weight or stop saying you are hitting CrossFit(there's no such CrossFit making someone's BMI increase steeply), before being at least an average person which is not so difficult, don't come out to make friends.

I regret being a friend with you in general. All I learnt from you is, don't be the farmer to a snake, don't waste time trying to change losers since I'm not a saint, and losers don't deserve it either. Oh one more thing, people have standards for a reason. 🙂

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Kolby Ledbetter, 25, began worrying about the new coronavirus a few weeks ago, when it became clear that it was starting to spread in the United States. He works two jobs — a full-time job as an Americorps service member in Chicago and a part-time job at a bar — and at first, his main concern was for his health, since he doesn’t have paid leave at his bar job or health insurance to fall back on.

Then on Sunday afternoon, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that all bars and restaurants would be shut down for dine-in customers through the end of March. The bar where Ledbetter works closed the next day, leaving him with a whole new set of worries. “Even before all of this coronavirus stuff, I had a lot of financial anxiety because I was basically living paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “Now I have a lot of worry about my health, but I’m also terrified about my ability to stay afloat financially even if I don’t get sick.”

As dramatic measures to tamp down the spread of the virus are implemented across the country, workers like Ledbetter will likely be among the first to feel the economic effects. Big retailers like Gap and Columbia Sportswear are cutting their hours or shutting down entirely in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. And bars and restaurants have also been closed or restricted in a number of states beyond Illinois. On Monday, President Trump urged Americans in a press conference to avoid congregating in groups of more than 10 people.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers like Ledbetter could be especially hard hit economically by the coronavirus, as part-time workers, very young or old workers, and workers in the lowest quartile of earnings are disproportionately likely to work in service industry or sales jobs.

Martha Ross, a fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution who studies the labor market, told us that workers like Ledbetter have few economic protections right now. “There are a lot of folks who don’t get paid leave if they get sick. They probably can’t work remotely, so they’re more likely to get sick if they do go to work,” said Ross. “And even if they don’t get the virus, they’re still at higher risk of losing their jobs or having their hours cut. They’re vulnerable no matter what happens.”

Crises have a way of exposing inequalities that linger uncomfortably below the surface when times are good. A few groups of workers are particularly likely to lack both paid leave and the ability to work from home: part-time workers, the youngest and oldest people in the workforce (those under the age of 25 and over the age of 65) and workers who fall below the 25th percentile of earnings.

Who is economically vulnerable to the coronavirus?

Percent of workers with access to paid leave or with the ability to work from home by job status, age and earnings in 2017-18

job Status* Paid Leave Work From Home Part-time 23.3%

–

13.7%

–

Full-time 77.0

–

32.6

–

Age (years) Paid Leave Work From Home 15 to 24 35.4%

–

6.7%

–

25 to 34 70.3

–

31.4

–

35 to 44 71.7

–

36.2

–

45 to 54 74.4

–

32.5

–

55 to 64 74.2

–

32.2

–

≥ 65 51.7

–

25.5

–

Earnings† Paid Leave Work from home ≤ 25th percentile 56.5%

–

9.2%

–

25th to 50th percentiles 80.0

–

20.1

–

50th to 75th percentiles 83.9

–

37.3

–

> 75th percentile 86.0

–

61.5

–

Included all wage and salary workers who were 15 years or older at their main job. Self-employed workers are excluded.

*Full-time includes those who work 35 hours or more a week and hold a single job. Part-time includes those who work 34 hours or less a week and hold a single job.

†Earnings includes only full-time workers.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey

Of course, some of these groups make up a bigger portion of the workforce than others. Workers over the age of 65 — who are also at elevated risk of a life-threatening infection because of their age — only make up about 5 percent of people with jobs, for instance. But part-time workers make up about 22 percent. Some of these groups may overlap — young workers, for example, are disproportionately likely to be part-time workers — but they still represent a sizable chunk of the country’s workforce.

Many of these workers are employed in jobs that will be hard-hit by the recent wave of closures and cancellations, too. Almost one-third of part-time workers are employed in the service industry, which includes people who work in food preparation, and 25 percent work in sales. About 40 percent of workers under the age of 25 are employed in service or sales, too. Other research suggests that contingent workers — independent contractors, freelancers, or other people who work in the “gig economy” — are disproportionately likely to be affected, since they’re more likely to be young and to work part-time. And they typically have no access to paid leave or other benefits because their employment is only temporary. They also tend to make less than workers in traditional, permanent jobs. (The data wasn’t available from the BLS, but low-wage workers are also overrepresented in these sectors that will be hard hit.)

Where do economically vulnerable employees work?

Percent of employed persons who work part-time and are under the age of 25 by occupation in 2019

Occupation Part-time Less than 25 years old Service 31.2%

–

22.0%

–

Sales and related 24.7

–

19.2

–

Office and administrative support 19.7

–

14.4

–

Transportation and material moving 16.8

–

14.0

–

Professional and related 15.0

–

7.5

–

Mgmt., business and financial ops. 8.3

–

3.9

–

Production 7.3

–

11.0

–

Construction and extraction 7.3

–

11.0

–

Installation, maintenance and repair 5.5

–

10.9

–

Part-time includes those who work 34 hours or less a week.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey

Lee Taylor, 31, a musician living in New York City, said she watched all of her work evaporate as bars and music venues across the city shut down, and she stopped being able to give voice lessons in person. “I’m getting three or four texts or emails every day, all saying the same thing — ‘“Unfortunately, we’re postponing.’” Taylor is in a particularly tough position as she can’t work remotely either. She has the money to cover her rent for April, but says she doesn’t know what she’ll do if the entertainment industry remains shuttered. “I have no idea how to get income.”

And Taylor is not alone. “It’s a bad week to be a waiter, or a cashier, or any kind of contractor whose work relies on in-person interaction,” said Jesse Rothstein, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of California, Berkeley. “Those people are going to see dramatic cuts to their income — their hours might be reduced, or they might lose their jobs altogether.”

Taken together, all of these factors create a bleak outlook, no matter what happens next. People who don’t have access to paid leave and the ability to work remotely are disproportionately likely to be low-income, which means if their workplace isn’t shuttered, they’re more likely to keep coming to work out of necessity, even if they’re not feeling well. That can put them at greater risk of being infected, since their coworkers may be doing the same thing. Research has found some workers in the food service industry kept coming to work even though they had symptoms of norovirus because they were afraid of losing their job or leaving their coworkers short-staffed.

And the possibility that many will lose their jobs or have their hours cut because of the coronavirus creates a whole new set of problems. A survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation from March 11 to 15 found that 73 percent of workers with a household income of less than $40,000 a year, 68 percent of part-time workers, and 60 percent of self-employed workers are worried that they will lose income due to a workplace closure or reduced hours because of the coronavirus. According to that survey, part-time and self-employed workers are likelier than full-time or salaried workers to say they’ve already lost income so far.

If the shutdowns persist, some employers may go out of business, leaving workers who weren’t permanently laid off with no job to return to. “We have to start thinking about what’s going to happen when people can’t pay their rent or mortgage,” Rothstein said. “Because these workers are going to start burning through their savings — if they have any at all.”

[h4ppy-kn1ght]

One through One hundred

LOL…ok i’ll do these first then EVERYTHINg else.

7. Do you have any pets?

Yes, I currently have one- it’s a three-legged dog named Baci.

13. What talents do you have?

I wouldn’t really say I do outside of casually drawing and food making

32. How big is your house?

It’s about 2,500 sqft - one floor so it’s ok but not really that big or spacious

Thanks for asking

—————————

1. What is you middle name?

NO NO NO

2. How old are you?

Early 20s

3. When is your birthday?

12/13

4. What is your zodiac sign?

Sagittarius

5. What is your favorite color?

Maroon usually

6. What’s your lucky number?

I can’t say I really have one tbh

7. Do you have any pets?

8. Where are you from?

Brazil (Rio)

9. How tall are you?

two inches above average for what I am

10. What shoe size are you?

7.0-7.5 US at most

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

At least in the double digits, hopefully not more than 25 pairs of shit?

12. What was your last dream about?

I actually don’t remember!

13. What talents do you have?

14. Are you psychic in any way?

No  lol

15. Favorite song?

I have several, mostly weird/niche

16. Favorite movie?

I have several, mostly weird/niche (yes its the same answer as 15)

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

I never thought about it because I don’t really know what I need.

18. Do you want children?

Alot of the time, not really- but I’m also too young/busy with myself to want it now

19. Do you want a church wedding?

Not really,unless my partner really wants it.

20. Are you religious?

Not really :/

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

A good amount of times

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

Nope

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

Not that I know of- at least the mainstream limelight sorta way.

24. Baths or showers?

Showers easily

25. What color socks are you wearing?

I’m not wearing any atm but the last pair i was wearing was like- black and white?

26. Have you ever been famous?

no….? 

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

Depends for what reason but sure, why not

28. What type of music do you like?

Electronic, ambiance, indie, rock, musical-like kind of- really depends

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

no and i dont plan to lol

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

One.

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

Fetal/one my side or on my back usually, stomach too sometimes

32. How big is your house?

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

Usually something with eggs and milk- I have been really inconsistent with what I eat for breakfast atm

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

Yes 

35. Have you ever tried archery?

No 

36. Favorite clean word?

uhhh…? Cocoa? I dont know LOL

37. Favorite swear word?

Faggot

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

21 hours..? I was doing hw overnight.

39. Do you have any scars?

Very tiny amount but nothing noticeable unless you’re trying to find them actively

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? 

yeah.

41. Are you a good liar?

Not really

42. Are you a good judge of character?

Depends, wouldnt say I own the truth

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

Not unless its bad so not really

44. Do you have a strong accent?

Some people have told me I have one but i dont think so

45. What is your favorite accent?

I wouldnt say I have a favorite its not something I care about actively- I know the ones I dont like though.

46. What is your personality type?

I dont really know I feel like people have a different perspective of that and idk who i really am usually

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

I had a jacket from Ferrari but idk what happened to it- not sure 

 48. Can you curl your tongue?

Yes

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

Thankfully innie

50. Left or right handed?

Right

51. Are you scared of spiders?

No

52. Favorite food?

I almost never have a problem with milk-related food

53. Favorite foreign food?

Alot ..? really depends on my mood but sushi usually works for me

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

I’m personally very hygienic and my room imo is well kept- not OCD organized but theres nothing on the floor  and it has a sense of order

55. Most used phrased?

Really can change so idk - just depends on the season really

56. Most used word?

uh/idk/fuck/shit i think is what i abuse

57. How long does it take for you to get ready?

Really depends but assuming im showering and trying to look nice about 45 mins at worst?

58. Do you have much of an ego?

No

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

Suck and then bite when its too small

60. Do you talk to yourself?

Rarely and its usually about shit i need to do- thats it really

61. Do you sing to yourself?

Not USUALLy  but yeah

62. Are you a good singer?

no lol

63. Biggest Fear?

Failing 

64. Are you a gossip?

depends but yeah i can be sometimes

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

idk I thought inception was very dramatic

66. Do you like long or short hair?

Depends, if the long hair isnt well kept/cleaned it might as well be short imo

67. Can you name all 50 states of America?

Probably not because I forget most of them

68. Favorite school subject?

P.E

69. Extrovert or Introvert?

Introverted 

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

Yes, I dont care for it

71. What makes you nervous?

Being shat on I guess and treated poorly or anything that’ll fuck me over

72. Are you scared of the dark?

Depends, if the area has sharp objects/cockroaches, creepy noises yeah

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

Depends but usually no unless it really bothered me or they want to hear me

74. Are you ticklish?

Depends but yeah i dont like being tickled it is not comfy

75. Have you ever started a rumor?

No lol

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

Not really

77. Have you ever drank underage?

Barely 

78. Have you ever done drugs?

No

79. Who was your first real crush?

Some ginger who literally had ODD and hurt me badly after I showed interest back

80. How many piercings do you have?

one pair is closed up , so just one pair.

81. Can you roll your Rs?“

Yeah

82. How fast can you type?

Id say above average , probably enough to type for a job or something

83. How fast can you run?

I have no idea tbh

84. What color is your hair?

Dirty blonde/almost brown

85. What color is your eyes?

Greyish seagreenish blue

86. What are you allergic to?

Nothing as far as I know

87. Do you keep a journal?

No

88. What do your parents do?

They’re both in the medical field

89. Do you like your age?

Idk not really? so far its lame?

90. What makes you angry?

Some shit i aint gonna talk about, but in a more personal sense usually being shat on, lied to upfront, etc

91. Do you like your own name?

It’s ok ..? idk if it deeply reflects me

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

Not really LOL

93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child?

With how shit the world is idk , seems like an L either way and im scared of having an ugly one

94. What are you strengths?

Id say I can tolerate more than normal people and my patience can be really plentiful usually. I dont get easily offended even if i dont agree usually

95. What are your weaknesses?

I think people influence my mood throughout the day, which really sucks, im also sensitive and i feel excluded usually

96. How did you get your name?

My mom thought it was a strong name

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

No

98. Do you have any scars?

39 already asked this, cringe

99. Color of your bedspread?

Grey :)

100. Color of your room?

Very tinge of color but it looks pretty much grey and expresso minus the lil decor everywhere…

thank yuo

[katyahina]

Do you ever think a Kirby movie could work

Oh! Thank you very much for asking for my opinion, I am happy...; However I must admit that I don't know anything about the whole good movies making science, so @everyone feel free to interact with this post!

Well first, I trust that throwing few most recent games together in one screen adaptation might not necessarily work - the movie with more than one 'big villain' might be overloaded, so creators would have to choose which villain to make the center of the story. But, then fandom audience might be not happy that not their favorite got to be the star. It is a tough choice to decide who gets in front and who appears briefly, no sure way to win I think!

Alternatively, adapting one game might not work either - whereas lore heavy games like Robobot or Star Allies clearly have enough base to make a good movie worth story. Or they might use a movie to elaborate on Kirby 64 Crystal Shards - hey, there was a FROZEN EARTH! But, this might have push the fandom audience to want other games to get a movie and just... seriously I don't think it's fair to pick one game to adapt into a movie but I doubt they'd make a movie out of every game either.

Okay so, I personally see two ideas for a hypothetical Kirby movie that might work! First (and pretty biased one, heheh) being a tier between kirby anime and kirby games. It is stated that they are separate universes, but just imagine if they decided to tie them, making anime a prequel to the games? So just explaining on where did some anime characters go, how Meta met the in-game meta knights, opens up some unresolved questions and links how in-game characters were to join the 'isolated' anime universe. It could make a good story, maybe even set some triggers for Dedede's future character development (cause in-games one is such a good guy!).

There are people who used to watch Kirby right back at ya as kids but never digged deep into the games, but also there are people who played most/all of the games but couldn’t care less about kirby anime. It can cause some discomfort to the audience to try and unite them like this, I think? However either games-centric and anime-centric fans can proceed centering on what they prefer, but they would no longer have to exclude some good plot devices from the ‘other side’. The problem here is, how do you make a movie like this interesting for people who are NOT in the fandom and will miss all the references... Might be a hard work to make non-fandom audience to care about so many characters in a time that isn’t longer than 2 hours. That’s the big movie size, right?

The second idea for a movie I think might work out, is doing the original plot! Making an original plot arc and an original villain, not adaptation of the in-game boss! This will avoid the ‘why not MY favorite villain is the star of the show’ thing as EVERYONE will be dismissed (oh this sounds sad), and work well for non-fandom audience. But OF COURSE there gotta be many characters, mainly focusing on modern ones, and pieces of the in-game obscure lore explained better. Say like, as if instead of the new kirby game they decided to make a movie instead - that’s the idea! A movie like this will do many things - like appealing to the fandom audience in many ways, interest non-fandom audience and maybe attract more fans to the franchise!

(I might have just said ‘make a movie that opens all the kirby lore’ but HAL pushed the ‘gameplay first’ and ‘pause-screens lore’ attitude for SUCH a long time that there are just. TOO MANY questions to answer during one movie. But that’s just my opinion on the matter!)