#it tackles and debates on things ive been through | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

alderaani · 3 years ago

Text

more than gold

summary: A lost Jedi Temple, a riddle, some literature, and feelings that Cody isn't ready to speak out loud. | AO3

note: written for @codywanweek and the alt day 5 prompt Sith/Jedi Artefact Shenanigans! sliding in on the last day with one more thing written than expected, so i’m happy with that! i’m pretty ill today so i hope it actually makes some coherent sense 😂 also if the riddle was super obvious, soz, never written one before and turns out it’s really hard.

“You know, I could have sworn I told you not to touch that,” Cody says conversationally, from where he’s splayed out on his back.

“Really? I’m sure I didn’t hear you,” Obi-Wan says, cheerful despite being crumpled in a heap. His elbow is in Cody’s gut. Cody glares at him.

The room they’re lying in is circular, stone, carved out of some Forced-damned mountain and according to Obi-wan, practically thrumming with power. The ceiling is high and vaulted, letting in slivers of light where intricate mirror systems catch the sunlight of double suns and project it deep underground. It takes on a slightly blue cast, reflecting off the huge pool of water they were lucky to not fall into. Four walkways at each cardinal point lead to a central platform, and interspersed between them are four waterfalls.

It should be serene. Except now the waterfalls are travelling backwards, and all the doors, including the one they came in by, are blocked. Cody scrambles up onto his elbows, dislodging Obi-Wan with a grunt.

“What did you do?”

Obi-Wan follows his gaze and gasps, delighted. “Now, will you look at that?”

Cody is looking. Frankly, he doesn’t trust this place enough to not keep his eye on it at all times. Obi-Wan keeps saying that this temple was built long ago, by ancient, peaceful Jedi as a place of learning, and that it won’t hurt them. After they got cut off from the rest of their men at the entrance, however, Cody thinks he could be forgiven for having his doubts.

As Obi-Wan himself proves, peace-keeping hardly rules out danger.

“Amazing,” Obi-Wan breathes, hoisting himself to his feet without a second glance, to walk back up to the plinth and stalk round it, examining the incomprehensible runes engraved there.

Cody is left to peel himself off the floor, and instead goes to prod at the barriers now sealing the exits with the end of his blaster. He tries not to look too much at Obi-Wan, at the soft sweep of his hair and the span of his shoulders. Being on their own like this is something he’s avoided, of late - not because he doesn’t enjoy it, but because he’s starting to enjoy it all too much.

He doesn’t trust the way his heart leaps when Obi-Wan smiles, when he asks him to call him ‘Obi-Wan’, when the cycle draws on and they’re up late again, companionably finishing reports and debating strategy. Or, as they had been doing until Cody got cold feet and started finding excuses, debating novels, which Obi-Wan checked out of the Temple archives and read aloud, one chapter at a time, before they turned in for the night.

He doesn’t trust himself not to ruin this by overstepping. There’s something about his general that makes him lose all control of his tongue, and puts him in danger of voicing thoughts that really he should not be having at all.

It’s agony. It’s bliss. It’s stretching him to breaking point, and this is possibly the worst situation they could have ended up in, really.

“These are made out of water,” he says over his shoulder, grunting as he tries to push his blaster through. He is, of course, unsuccessful.

“Ingenious,” Obi-Wan says. “How did they manage that, I wonder?”

Cody cuts a glance back at him, and grins, despite his exasperation.

“You’re not more worried about how we’re going to get out?��

Obi-Wan waves a hand. “I’m sure the path will reveal itself, in time. Oh, look - Cody, I think this is a puzzle!”

Cody bites back a groan. They do not have time for this. They never really had time for it, but Obi-Wan promised it would be a brief detour on their way to the capital for hyperspace lane access negotiations. He’d looked so excited by recon reports of a lost temple that Cody just hadn’t been able to say no. He’s never able to say no to Obi-Wan, even when he isn’t following orders. It’s probably his fatal flaw.

“I don’t suppose there’s an off switch? A back button?” He asks hopelessly. The Force, at least the Jedi sort, very rarely seems to work that way. Obi-Wan is always talking about moving through problems, about seeking balance and adapting to what’s around you, rather than manipulating it. It’s not Cody’s favoured approach; he was trained to leverage his environment to its maximum advantage, and finds he has little patience for anything else.

Obi-Wan snorts. “This is a defensive mechanism, I’m afraid. Judging by the architecture this was built at the height of the Sith Wars. This artefact is designed to trap us here until we understand the mechanism and progress, or until, back when the temple was occupied, someone would come and deal with the intruder.”

“That doesn’t sound very peaceful,” Cody says.

Obi-Wan shoots him an amused look, the warm, soft kind that makes heat rise from the pit of Cody’s belly right up to his ears.

“Even a pacifist may defend himself,” he says, then leans over the pedestal. “Now, how about you stop grousing and come help me with this?”

Cody rolls his eyes, but goes, slinging his blaster across his back and crossing his arms.

“And stop looming,” Obi-Wan laughs, catching one of Cody’s gloved hands and pulling it down to rest at his side. The simple touch makes Cody’s cheeks burn.

“Don’t see what help I can give you, Sir,” he says, frowning down at the characters surrounding the bright blue artefact. “I was never any good at Ithorian.”

Obi-Wan pauses, then tilts his head up. “Ah. Is that what it is?”

“I - I think so?” Cody was never any good at his language flashtraining; he never had the proper patience for it, but he can usually figure out the basics.

“No, no,” Obi-Wan muses, stroking at his beard with his free hand. “You’re quite right. Goodness me, it's been a long time since I last saw this dialect. Let’s see now…”

Cody steps back and waits, keeping his attention firmly split between their blocked exit points while Obi-Wan ponders. The slow upward movement of the waterfalls is eerie - it still makes noise, but none of it is right. Instead of the gentle patter he expects of water joining a larger pool, there’s a faint gurgling as they move further into each grate, travelling somewhere he cannot see.

Obi-Wan finishes his fifth circle round the platform, and the hand at his chin goes still. Cody stands at attention, expectant.

“It’s a riddle,” Obi-Wan says, and if possible, his delight grows. “Yes - the language is coming back to me now. Do you know, I haven’t looked at Ithorian in maybe 12 years?”

“Sir?” Cody says, tilting his head to look at the characters more closely. He doesn’t have even a passing proficiency at modern Ithorian, and presumably it’s changed a bit over the millennia. His training was focused on the basics, and only the useful bits, at that. He thinks he can make out the words for ‘ water ’, and ‘ enemy’ , both of which are either unhelpfully descriptive or frankly discouraging, but that’s about the extent of it.

“My old master - he loved prophecies. When I was a teenager I could never see the point of it, but it meant I spent a lot of time learning the old Ithorian dialects. They’re known as the most peaceful species, did you know?” Obi-Wan shakes his head. “They’ll exile anyone violent, it’s quite remarkable, really. I suppose in some sort of idealistic emulation, a lot of the early Jedi texts are written in their dialect.”

His blue eyes are keen, his laser sharp focus firmly on the podium. It gives Cody a moment to observe his clever fingers, the long line of his neck, the open delight with which he tackles this new problem. It’s a rare thing, to see him so relaxed, and Cody can’t help the fond smile that creeps up on him despite the circumstances. This almost makes it worth it, and on reflection, he’d rather an ancient temple than the last thing that had made Obi-Wan so happy; a wretched, bioluminescent fungus, which had infected half the battalion and given them hives. Their general had studied it for weeks.

Obi-Wan’s lips quirk up. Cody barely trusts himself to speak.

“I didn’t know, Sir,” Cody croaks, then pauses, fishing for something normal to say. “Didn’t we have to defend the governor’s daughter from an Ithorian bounty hunter on Ganaris-IV?”

“Well,” Obi-Wan grins. “Those exiles have to go somewhere, don’t they?”

Cody huffs a laugh and reaches up to scratch his neck at the seam of his bucket.

“Let’s just hope they didn’t all come here. What’s this riddle, then?”

Obi-Wan shifts to the side, then points at a spot on the podium. “As I said, it’s been a long time, but I think it starts here, and goes something like:

A thing to be forged, where water is thicker,

Worth more than gold, unless it’s pyrite that glitters.

An enemy of my enemy, or in hard times, in need,

Sometimes fair-weather, or in high places indeed.

What are you, traveller? ”

All of Cody’s hopes that it would be something nice and obvious, like “lightsaber” or, given what’s going on around them, “gravity”, escape from him like smoke. Jedi and their metaphors. It’s not just a quirk of Obi-Wan’s, clearly.

“Does that mean anything to you, Sir?” he asks, turning the words over in his head once, twice, then frowning when nothing comes immediately.

Obi-Wan’s brow is also furrowed, but in a leisurely, meditative manner.

“...I have some ideas, I think,” he says. “How about you, my friend?”

What does he think? He thinks that there are other sorts of puzzles he is much better suited to. Word play and idioms...what does a clone have to offer that?

Still, Obi-Wan is watching him, expectant and gentle, and he sifts back through the lines, a little more seriously this time.

“Ice, maybe?”

Obi-Wan nods, slowly. “Perhaps. Walk me through it.”

Cody swallows. “Ice is something that can be made, right? It’s not exactly forged, but…”

He trails off in uncertainty.

“Go on,” Obi-Wan says with another one of those soft, devastating smiles. It fractures all the thoughts in Cody’s head, and he has to stop, clear his throat and gather up all the pieces.

“I suppose...it’s just thicker water, isn’t it? On warm planets it’s a valuable commodity, it’s found in high places, and I suppose if you wanted snow, a freeze would be fair weather.”

Obi-Wan is rubbing his beard again, and he’s still smiling. “Fascinating. I would never have thought of that...only, I don’t think it’s quite there. That mention of pyrite is troublesome, and the ‘enemy of my enemy’, where does that fit in?”

Cody shrugs his shoulders, frustrated, and feels a hot flush creep up his neck. “Don’t know why you’re asking me, to be honest, Sir. Kamino hardly covered poetry.”

There’s a slight pause, then Obi-Wan’s hand is on his again, tugging it slowly down from where he’s crossed his arms.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” he says, soft.

“Do what?” Cody’s voice is gruff.

“Dismiss yourself. You do it sometimes when we’re reading together. There is often no right and wrong answer to these things, no secret. There is only perspective, and you see things I never would, if only you would trust yourself.”

Cody looks down and away, back towards the waterfalls and their slow, glacial climb. He isn’t sure that’s true. He enjoys what Obi-Wan shares with him, what other lives he gets to touch in their books, but more than anything they convince him that, beyond war, he knows very little of anything at all. He would like to, someday.

His eyes land on Obi-Wan’s lips briefly, before he tears them away. Particular experiences he would like to know more than others.

There was one book that Obi-Wan had read early on, back when this infatuation was just setting its first tendrils into him, about a forbidden romance at the heart of the old Mandalorian court. Two heirs of rival clans battling to be together against the good approval of their noble relatives. It had been torrid, ridiculous and entirely unexpected when Obi-Wan had suggested they break up their reports with some literature.

But what it had done was give him the words to express the crawling heat in his stomach, the urge he has to reach out, to touch, to soothe, to care for. He’d known what he wanted before that, of course, in a more rudimentary manner, but it had gifted him the language of yearning.

Suddenly, a particular passage springs into his mind and he straightens.

“You don’t think it could mean ally, do you? In Beneath the Armour, Mata threatens Clan Riza by saying he has ‘allies in high places’.”

Obi-Wan pauses, and then a brilliant smile spreads over his face. “Yes, that’s it! Pyrite - Fool’s Gold; a false friend! Brilliant Cody, whatever made you think of that?”

Cody grins, even though Obi-Wan can’t see it, and doesn’t answer.

“Is that really it?”

“I think you’re very close,” Obi-Wan says. “The characters engraved into the platform...yes! Stand close to me, Commander.”

Cody does, watching curiously as Obi-Wan lifts his hands, shuts his eyes, frowns, and pushes . Six blocks that make up the platform lift, the characters on each glowing bright, lurid blue. Under their feet, something scrapes, shifts and clunks, before the platform lurches upwards, spinning gently.

There’s a thunderous gurgling sound, before all of the pool beneath drains away.

“The answer,” Obi-Wan says, slightly breathless, his hair a little out of place. “Was friend.”

“The doorways are still blocked,” Cody notes drily. The plinth with the blue orb that started this whole mess has also risen, and underneath it are a set of very wet, slimy looking steps. “I don’t suppose it’s as simple as just walking down these and getting in?”

“Likely not,” Obi-Wan agrees, then inexplicably shifts a little closer, so that they are sharing space. Cody’s heart skips a beat. “But it’s like I told you, Cody. You are far greater than what you have been given.”

Cody coughs and looks at his feet, at their boots almost toe to toe, pleasure at the praise singing low through his body.

“Now,” Obi-Wan says, too close and not close enough. “How do you feel about another puzzle?”

Cody groans, laughing, and after a moment, follows his General into the dark.

#codywanweek2021 #codywan #obi wan kenobi #commander cody #alderwrites #i would tag this jedi culture but i literally pulled this out of my ass #there is absolutely no basis in canon here #only vibes #the clone wars #star wars #codywan week 2021

126 notes · View notes

themadauthorshatter · 3 years ago

Text

It's been a while since we last checked on Flippy, so let's see how he's doing!

We start with Cuddles this time, who's sitting upside down on a bench when Petunia and Flaky approach him, asking if he's seen Flippy anywhere.

He has not, because he thought Flippy was with Petunia.

Petunia folds her arms and asks why Flippy would be with her for about a half to a week and a half, and Cuddles shrugs; maybe they got REALLY intimate and just needed all of that time together.

Flaky squeals, because it's dirty, and Petunia tells him to get his mind out of the gutter because this is crazy serious.

Cuddles gets up and relentls and asks if they stopped by his house.

They did, and he wasn't there.

Did they check the woods?

Not there either.

The GYM?

He doesn't even BELIEVE in going to the Gym, most days; why GO to a place to workout when you have the equipment at your house or just outside in general?

Cuddles finally realizes that Flippy's MISSING missing, and gets up, joining the girls with finding their friend.

Flaky hopes that Flippy's okay, but Cuddles assures her that he's smart, he wouldn't do anything stupid like run away.

Funny he say that because Flippy IS doing something stupid, staring at a projector that's showing a bunch of war footage, like pictures that NO AVERAGE PERSON should see.

Splendid cringes as turns a small dial on an IV line and watches Flippy struggle to both handle the medicine that's being pumped into him and not flip out.

Thankfully, all that happens is that he vomits in a bucket.

Splenedid stops the medicine and hands Flippy some water, asking if he's really okay with continuing; they've been at this for a while and they're making very debatable progress.

Flippy washes his mouth out and nods. He can keep going.

Splendid hestitately changes the image to a collage of very familiar faces:

Tiger General, Sneaky, and Mouse Ka-Boom.

Flippy gasps at seeing them and asks how the hell Splendid got these pictures.

Splendid admits it was a simple internet search, because people spread information around like it's a puff puff pass, especially if said information is a tragedy and a victory. He can give Flippy a few minutes, if he needs it.

Flippy only takes a few seconds seeing the faces of his dead partners and nods.

Splendid gets the IV and medicine going again and Flippy takes a few deep breaths as what I call the "Make Me Sick" medicine(MMS for short)(if MMS is a real thing, I deeply and sincerely apologize. I know there's a name for the drug/"medicine" used for aversion therapy, but I forgot it🙏🙏🙏) runs through his system. TV perspective, his eyes dart between Mouse Ka-Boom and Sneaky and he sees old memories of the three in training, i.e. standing still while a drill sergeant yells in their faces and/or tries to make them laugh, having a meal together, goofing around before bed, and even comforting each other after getting tased and pepper sprayed as a part of training.

Flippy's eyes go 'killer instinct-y' and he fights a gag as he remembers how they all promised to meet again once they were out of the army, and how both looked at him with shock, sorrow, and betrayal because of how he accidentally killed them.

The memories change to taking on Tiger General 1v1, how he had to fend for himself, got his hands removed, and was almost strangled to death until he ultimately came out on top amd took down the rest of the enemy base.

When I say he vomits, I mean he VOMITS until there's nothing left to get out of his system and he's dry heaving.

Splendid quickly turns off the projector and gets Flippy off the IV, though the veteran tells him he can take more, he just needs a few minutes.

Splendid, however, tells him to call it a day; they've been at this for hours and he's already making phenomenal progress; of course Splendid is not going to TEST it right now because his friend just threw up all of his digestive system.

Flippy sighs and agrees, relinquishing for the day.

Splendid helps him up and asks if he's okay to walk home and Flippy states he's fine; he just wants to go shower and clean himself up after throwing up so much.

The two bid their farewells and Flippy begins a very uneasy walk home.

A bit of context: it's been a week or so since the last part and they've been doing this all day everyday since then, from dawn to dusk, and today they started around MAYBE 4 am in the morning and it is now 12 or 1 pm in the afternoon, so yeah it's time for the Flipster to go home and rest.

Back on track, Flippy's not exactly the best because he needs to get the vomit taste out of his mouth and just feels like crap, so he takes a shortcut home.

He gets there relatively fast and flops onto the couch and falls asleep, exhausted.

He dreams he's with Sneaky and Mouse Ka-Boom, all three playing a mix of Spades and Poker, Sneaky and Flippy speaking in english before translating for Mouse Ka-Boom to understand them; yes, Mouse Ka-Boom speaks french. He understands English well enough, but isn't the best at speaking it, aside from, 'Sir, yes, sir,' 'Sir, no, sir,' and a few insults he picked up from Flippy on accident; he may or may not have gotten the three in trouble because he repeated one of these insults in front of a commanding officer.

Regardless, the three are having a good time before Sneaky asks Flippy a question: How did it feel to throw that knife at him rather than the General? Did he enjoy it? Did he hate Sneaky that much he had to throw a KNIFE through his chest?

Flippy deflates and clarifies that he did not mean to miss the General; it was a heat of the moment thing and he's, admittedly, not good under stress.

Mouse Ka-Boom lowers his cards and asks if cutting him in half was another 'heat of the moment thing,' along with getting them both blown to smithereens.

They change before Flippy's eyes, both mangles and burnt, and Flippy leaves the table, backing away from them.

That is until a hand claps on his shoulder and his own voice tells him to admit that he actually did enjoy killing his friends; it's what he's been trained to do, so what better way to see the reward of all that effort?

Flippy turns and sees himself, who demands he admit it, admit that he's never going to change, that he won't let himself because not only does he like it, he also wants to go back to fighting and wants out of Splendid's Aversion therapy.

Flippy barely gets a word out because his other self tackles him to the ground and starts to choke him, calling him weak, a liar, and a coward, saying he should've died on that mission, not Sneaky or Mouse Ka-Boom.

Speaking of which, the two appear and grab both of Flippy's arms, holding him while he's practically being strangled again.

It gets worse when his other self turns into Tiger General, who laughs that he wouldn't be surprised by such an admission because it took Flippy how many tries to kill him. Might as well return the favor.

Flippy, breathless and trying to break free screams out and wakes up on the floor, though he gets up and runs to the kitchen sink, where he dry heaves and coughs up spit.

He stops after a while and sits against the cabinets, having regrets about the choice to go along with Splendid's idea.

These regrets linger as he walks outside the next day, catching a toy Cub dropeed while and Pop are on a stroll, though Cub is in a wagon.

They walk off, Pop thanking Flippy, and Flippy gets a surprise attack hug from Flaky, who's close to tears because he's been missing.

Cuddles, Giggles, and Petunia also approach, asking where the hell he disappeared to, because they've been looking all over for him.

Flippy apologizes for worrying them and straight up lies, saying he just left town for a little bit to enjoy some quiet time; and to restock on his medicine as soon as he could because he ran out.

Cuddles still lightly punches Flippy on the arm and tells him not to scare them like that again, or they'll put him on a harness or walk around with him in a wagon.

With Flaky now piggybacking him, Flippy muses that it sounds tempting, because he could see everyone getting some excerise because of it.

The group laugh it off and start toward a diner, because they all skipped breakfast and lunch on accident.

Flippy decides to join them, having NOT skipped breakfast, and they head to the diner.

On his back, Flaky asks Flippy if he's okay, because he looks pale and feels tense.

He nods, claiming he's fine, just a little sore from a workout he did while he was away.

Flaky is suspicious, but drops it. FOR NOW.

Cut to them at the diner, all talking and looking over the menu to see what they want, and a visual gag of Cuddles and Giggles having a contest of who can spin longer in their chairs(they're all sitting at the bar).

Flippy is a little uneasy because ANYTHING can trigger his instincts and he doesn't know how well this aversion procedure is going to qork because neither he nor Splendid went out and actually saw if it was working.

Petunia sees his unease and asks if he needs to step outside for a second.

He shakes his head and admits he's just trying to figure out what to eat.

Good thing he's having a hard time, too, because Petunia is not in the mood for grease.

Flaky fakes a gag or an "Eugh," and jokes, "Ew, flirting."

While Flippy laughs, Petunia DARES Flaky to repeat that, because it was her that helped the two get closer.

His laughter dies when a kitchen fire starts on accident right in front if them.

TV/anime perspective, we see the reflection of the fire in Flippy's eyes as they widen and he gasps/whimpers. We don't see his flashback, but we hear about a bomb going off and people screaming in pain. Flippy clenches a fist on the countertop, silent as the fire is put out and everyone relaxes.

While everyone talks about how crazy that just was, Flippy spontaneouly gets sick to his stomach and gags, excusing himself really quick to go to the bathroom.

The group watch and are now very confused, because usually flame triggers him, but he did not go off on them.

Cuddles, being the only boy, follows Flippy, saying that he'll try not to die in the process.

He does not die, but he does see Flippy vomiting into one of the sinks, very violently, I must say.

Cuddles asks if everything's okay, which scares the crap out of Flippy, but the ex-soldier claims he's fine; the fire just got him scared.

Cuddles doesn't really buy it, and asks another question: Has he been eating, AT ALL? Because he looks like he lost a little bit of weight and sick as hell.

While he waters away his mess, washes out, and wipes off his mouth, Flippy admits he has been, as much as he can, at least.

Cuddles still doesn't buy it, asking WHAT he's eating and when.

Flippy leans over the now clean sink and measures his options.

If he tells the truth, there's a chance his friends are not going to take it well.

If he keeps them in the dark, they will be fine, even though he'll feel even more like garbage.

Flippy turns and holds up his hands in surrender. He's been eating venison to build immunity, and because it, honestly, tastes really good.

Cuddles reels on him, asking why he'd do that when he's almost deathly allergic to the stuff.

Flippy apologizes and admits that, yes, he knows it's stupid, but he's just trying to make himself better, in case they have a cookout and someone accidentally brings venison instead of steak.

Cuddles points out that's BS because NO ONE eats venison(whatever it is)(Flippy corrects him that it's deer), but still drops it because Flippy clearly doesn't want to talk about it; guy code.

Flippy thanks him anyway and they rejoin the group, everyone keeping an eye on Flippy as he eats, Flaky especially, because, having known him the longest, she canntell he's both hiding something and isn't as good as he's pretending to be.

HMMMMMMMM????

#happy tree friends #htf flippy #htf splendid #htf giggles #htf cuddles #htf flaky #htf petunia #ptsd tw #nightmare tw #strangle/choking tw #medicine/drug use tw #aversion therapy tw #vomiting tw #thank you for being patient

18 notes · View notes

i-watch-too-many-movies · 4 years ago

Text

My Sweetest Friend: Which Version of “Hurt” is Better?

(CW: Suicide mention, self-harm mention, drug mention)

Recently, I had been going through the discography of the legendary industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. After listening to their second record multiple times, I decided to tackle an age-old question that music critics, fans, scholars, and religious philosophers have been debating for centuries. What is the better version of “Hurt”, Nine Inch Nails’ original song or Johnny Cash’s cover?

Nine Inch Nails’ original appears at the end of their seminal sophomore album The Downward Spiral, a dark, masterful concept album, exploring themes of drug abuse, self-hatred, and bleakness with only a faint glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel, if there even is one. The song takes place after the penultimate title track, in which the character followed all throughout the album attempts suicide. He survives, and then the song slowly transitions into “Hurt”. The opening lines are iconic, “I hurt myself today / To see if I still feel / I focus on the pain / The only thing that’s real”. To be so broken and empty that all you can do is just feel the poke of the needle or the cut of the razor blade that causes some sort of relief.

The context of Cash’s version is much different. Trent Reznor, the mastermind behind Nine Inch Nails, was a 29-year-old man when “Hurt” was released. Johnny Cash was 69 when his rendition of it appeared on his record American IV: The Man Comes Around, released in his American Recordings series, which show Cash performing mostly covers. Cash was a phenomenal covers artist, and it shows on these records, especially American IV. He does an excellent rendition of The Beatles’ “In My Life”, a lovely duet with Fiona Apple covering Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, and even a country rock rendition of a new wave classic, Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus”. But the most notable cover is track 2, that of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt”. In the context of the album, it’s still great, but it feels strange to go from a powerful, emotional performance of that song to then have the subsequent song on the record be “Give My Love to Rose”, as you’re continuing to process the power and beauty of such a heavy performance of “Hurt”.

The best way to listen to Cash’s version of the song is with the music video. Directed by frequent Nine Inch Nails collaborator Mark Romanek, the video attempted to show the contrast between Johnny’s beginnings as a bright, vibrant young man, and Johnny’s present as a withered old man, surrounded by his legacy. To this day, I can’t listen to that lyric “Everyone I know goes away in the end” paired with that immediate cut to a picture of his widow, June Carter, and not just get chills. To see the archival footage of him performing on television, delivering his signature smile, coupled with the empty halls of the House of Cash museum, a frame containing a gold record shattered on the floor is a beautiful, heartbreaking contrast.

The production of Reznor’s song is distorted and fuzzy, reflecting the ugliness of the record. Some parts feel like you’re listening to the track through a radio, with those crackles on his vocals and the guitars sounding like the audio from said radio is just starting to get out of range, echoing the loss that is in Reznor’s vocals. He sings the verses and the first half of the chorus in a bit of a whisper, as if the shame and regret is too much to bear. The production on Cash’s version is much more spare, just a man and his guitar, alongside some piano during the chorus. Because this cover is stripped of any sort of industrial rock, Cash sings it with much more clarity, like he is in a confession booth, telling all of this to anyone who will listen.

Certain lyrics in each version stand out much more. One of the best lines is “You are someone else / I am still right here”. In Trent’s version, it makes the most sense, as I imagine him singing this about his old friends, maybe former addicts who have gotten clean and seem to have their lives and their health in order, and he is still in the same place as he was. His delivery on that line is just absolutely perfect.

The one line that sticks with me on Cash’s version is “And you can have it all / My empire of dirt”. In the original, Trent sings it with the intention that his life has completely amounted to nothing, as does Cash. What makes this line so haunting and effective is that Johnny Cash is a country legend. Considered to be one of, if not, the greatest performer in the genre. Millions and millions of records sold, and a blossoming late career that showed that he was still the best in the game. A museum dedicated to his legacy and the impact that he had left, nothing more than dirt on the ground in his eyes. Was all the fame and glory worth it if it didn’t kill the demons you had yet to conquer and if it had left people that he had loved hurt?

But then there’s the ending line; “If I could start again / A million miles away / I would keep myself / I would find a way”. In the Cash cover, he sings those final lines so clearly, even as the strumming of his guitar and the clinks of the piano only get louder. As dark and as tragic as this cover is, there’s something so beautiful about the way the instrumentation stops and Cash sings “a way”. After a song of self-hatred, anger, pain, and sadness, there’s a calmness, an acceptance, even a hope to his voice at the end of “Hurt”. In Trent’s case, however, it's the opposite. The outro starts off hopeful, with the drums giving a sound of someone finally having that sense of turning their own life around, but once Trent sings “I would find a way”, there’s an ugly, sludgy guitar chord, drowning out his voice, followed by the sound of static, as the album ends. The protagonist cannot escape, they only get sucked into a further darkness. A haunting ending to a haunting album.

But which version of this classic song is the better one?

The answer is, no version of “Hurt” is best. I know that’s a cop-out answer, but both of these versions showcase two men at different points in their life. Trent Reznor was a drug-addicted twentysomething who needed to perform this song as some sort of catharsis. To attempt to triumph over the demons he was facing. Johnny Cash needed to sing this song as he realized that his own life was about to come to an end. He had also struggled with drug addiction throughout most of his life, and could probably relate to the same things Trent was singing about. Compositionally, each note is perfect, and shows that whether performed on synthesizers or acoustic guitars, Trent Reznor wrote a song that perfectly captures the darkest corners of someone’s mind, at their brink, at their bleakest, one that is the perfect closer to one of the greatest albums ever recorded, and Johnny Cash’s cover transformed the song into one of the most iconic country tracks of the 21st century. One version can be preferred over the other, and it’s the correct answer.

#nine inch nails #personal #johnny cash #hurt #my writing

13 notes · View notes

arc852 · 4 years ago

Text

Finding Home Outline (Ending)

Here it is! The outline to the last parts of Finding Home I had planned but never wrote! It does make me really sad that I never finished it, but I hope this at least gives you guys some closure.

(Please note, this was written way before Janus’ name reveal and even before Remus. Also it is unedited. Very unedited.) Enjoy!

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

Act III: Time skips around, tells about life of Virgil with the others, bonding with them and includes mini arcs.

Virgil getting used to being treated like a person

Birthday Arc (It’s Virgil’s birthday. He’s now thirteen years old. His past Birthdays had either been spent alone or in pain. Virgil is a bit scared to tell the others and doesn’t even plan to until Patton asks why he is acting weird. Virgil reveals the truth and Patton decides right then and there to give him the best birthday ever).

Dad Arc (Virgil accidentally calls Patton dad and freaks out. He runs away before Patton can react. Virgil think back to his actual parents and what they would say. Patton comes in and talks to him and Virgil’s opens up about he’s scared to wonder what his parents would think, to calling someone else dad. Patton tells him that they probably just wants him to be happy and Virgil reveals that calling Patton dad, at least sometimes, makes him happy).

Getting in Trouble Arc (Basically, Virgil does something he knows he shouldn’t have done and Patton has no choice but to ground him (despite how much he doesn’t want to, Logan pushes him to do it) Virgil thinks he’s going to be punished and goes into a panic attack. When Patton comes to check on him, he comforts him and tells him that he would never do that, but that he also can’t just let Virgil get off scot free. Virgil understand but after that, he hardly ever does anything to get in trouble).

Out in the World Arc (Virgil accidentally hitches a ride with Roman on his way to rehearsal. Roman doesn’t find him until he is at the after party sort of thing. Roman debates on whether or not to go home, even though Virgil tells him to stay and that he doesn’t want to ruin his night. Roman reveals that he isn’t a decides to go home).

TBH…?

Act IV: Christmas and Deceit.

Virgil’s first Christmas with his family!

Patton receives a call in the middle of a meal and reveals that it was his brother, who wanted to come over and Patton says he can come over for Christmas eve.

Patton also talks a bit about how he never sees his brother and how excited he is.

Virgil does not want to be revealed and Patton says that’s fine and plans for Virgil to stay in his room.

Despite the dread pulling in his gut, he decides to ignore it and go about the holiday activities.

Including, baking, shopping, watching christmas specials and singing christmas songs.

Christmas eve comes and Virgil is safely in Patton (and his) room when there is a knock on the door. Patton opens it to reveal his twin brother Dee (Deceit).

Dee has a plan. He mingles and little before asking if he may use the restroom. Patton point him to the one downstairs and Dee quickly stuffs the toilet so he can lie and say it was clogged. A bit embarrassed, Patton point to the upstairs bathroom and Dee smirks and goes up but not to use the restroom.

Virgil is minding his own business when the door opens, Virgil admits he’s gotten a bit careless and so doesn’t expect it to be anyone but one of the others. The last human he ever expected to be standing there was Deceit.

Dee talks to Virgil telling him how much he misses him, before grabbing him roughly and telling him he was never going to get away again. Virgil opens his mouth the scream, but Dee covers it with his thumb. Virgil struggles as Dee then gags Virgil. He also explains that he usually wouldn’t go through so much trouble, but that Virgil was going to make him a lot of money.

Dee goes back downstairs with Virgil in his pocket, gagged and tied and acts as normal as possible, waiting to leave at a reasonable time as to not be suspicious.

Virgil is not the weak borrower he used to be, he isn’t going to stand by and let himself be taken by this evil human again. He manages to stretch himself in a way that allows him to get untied so he can untie his gag. He then yells out for the others, who hear him despite Dee’s best efforts to play it off.

He tries to run but Roman tackles him, Patton comes over to pick up Virgil. Virgil explains who Dee is and Patton’s eyes widen in shock but not surprise. His twin has never been the good one.

Patton calls the police and thanks to Dee’s struggles giving Roman a black eye, they are able to claim assault and Dee gets sent to jail for a year. Though Patton threatens that if he goes near Virgil again he will send him right back.

The others finish celebrating Christmas together and Virgil is happy.

End of Finding Home

#giant/tiny #g/t #sanders sides #infinitesimal!sides #au #borrowers #finding home #finding home series #borrower!virgil #human!roman #human!logan #human!patton #human!janus

49 notes · View notes

teachersofeducationhu-blog · 5 years ago

Text

**Social media- **what is and what it does

I have since a very long time been monitoring the use of social media.

To be honest growing up i was quite hesitant to be on social media as i thought it would drown my brain.

But today we're here with you to discuss the good and the bad of social media that are used in todays adolescents.

First of we need to know what social media is:

Social media refers to websites and applications that are designed to allow people to share content quickly, efficiently, and in real-time.

Social media is also seen as a platform for many groups and ethnicities.

For many it is seen as as a show case of talents, entertainment,personalities, characteristics, and especially their voices.

Next we need to know the platforms they used:

the youths that we've primarily come across upon use the social media outlets:

Instagram

Snapchat

Twitter

Facebook

Tik Tok

Youtube

Tumblr

To begin with comprehending our youth we need to understand what they use their outlets for.

You can see many of todays youths on social media. Some using it as their personal platform others using it to conceive trends, observing nearly worshipping their idols, forms of communication, its also a look into the daily lives of each other.

For instance: celebrity crush and idols

they are the people kids look up to and use as their role models or envision themselves in that role one day whether be reality or a dream.

It gives them something to reach out to, sort of like a goal

As for media entertainment

we all know the use of memes and the use of it for our personal comic relief.

We all spend countless hours looking at memes and youtube videos but what if we could use this entertainment to stimulate and help evolve the adolescent brain development.

In the form of generating their own memes or social vids that are informative.

Gaming and YouTube has vastly taken over the social platform stage.

They are also some of the more novice lucrative ways of making money on a social platform.

Take for instance that recently there was a video game tournament for fortnite where a young teen won over a million dollars by becoming its first tournament winner.

And what better way to broadcast that same tournament but on YouTube.

Where millions of viewers logged in and the broadcaster got paid by the sum of viewers he/ she had.

Psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud believed that people could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations, thus gaining insight.

The aim of psychoanalysis therapy is to release repressed emotions and experiences, i.e., make the unconscious conscious. It is only having a cathartic (i.e., healing) experience can the person be helped and "cured."

Click here for a video on the theory of psycho analysis

psycho analysis is crucial to understand because if we do then we know our brain develops even in our sleep. And if teens constantly are on social media or social networks and video games it can affect their sleep and the wake up restless, or even worse more dedicated to the social outlets as not to feel left out.

One way we can help beat this is 3 hours before bed time all phones away and give the brain a stimulating activity so that it can function up to speed and breathe and eat knowledge as it is meant to .

Implement family night with boardgames or trivia or a fun activity outsides that can help build your social recognizance.

Giving your body and brain diversity keeps it sharp and uplifting and gives you those extra tools for life.

For instance some of the social idols for todays teens can be what we call social influencers.

A social influencer is someone who uses their social media status to push products on their young audience to buy said product on their social media page for what said influencer is paid for by the brand.

See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SOFSjlU0fM

on a site called mom junction I found 11 positive and negative influences of teen on social media

https://www.momjunction.com/articles/positive-and-negative-influences-of-media-on-teenagers_00107975/

I will just use 2 of each:

Help Develop Social Skills:

Many teens are socially awkward. Media gives them the chance to groom their social skills. It also gives them the chance to expand their social circle and develop new friendships. Other benefits include social confidence, heightened literacy in the media, and more social support. Social media diversifies your teen’s social skills, which in turn helps him navigate successfully through modern society

Inspire Them:

When your teen watches an action flick, don’t just despair about the violence. With a little guidance, they can use the movie as inspiration! Maybe your teen will decide to take up martial arts training, all thanks to a Bruce Lee movie! Teenagers look up to celebrities, and when a celebrity tells them to stay off drugs, they just might listen.

Negative theories

Risky Sexual Behavior:

Teenagers are just discovering their sexuality. It is very normal for them to be interested in everything sexual. But the amount of sex in media today can make a teenager confused. Sex without responsibility – that seems to be the message being beamed at teenagers. This can lead to irresponsible sexual behavior and unwanted pregnancies.

[ Read:Teenage Social Media Addiction]

Making Everything Commercial:

Happiness comes at a price. At least that’s the message teenagers get through media. Their life would be perfect if only you’d buy them that hot new game, that happening dress. Advertisers target teenagers to ramp up their revenues. But teenagers fall prey to the idea of commercialization of happiness.

According to Erickson’s Developmental theory, an individual faces a developmental crisis at each stage ( a conflict between a positive alternative and a potentially unhealthy alternative). “…The emphasis on ones own identity at a point in time when the way forward was no longer determined by ones parents or by society…resulting in a crisis of identity”. (westenberg 2008:2)

Now that we have that tackled, let us discuss some of the good of social media:

Ive mentioned previously above that social media is a platform:

for instance the parkland shooting in the united states where a group of students took to social media to voice their opinions after surviving yet another tragic massacre and became activist in their own rights to fight against NRA and force a national debate.

https://www.vox.com/2018/2/26/17054408/parkland-shooting-activist-teens-gun-control

if we were to apply Urie Bronfebenner's theory of Ecological Theory of Human Development.

Urie Bronfenbrenner (April 29, 1917 – September 25, 2005) was a Russian-born American psychologist who is most known for his ecological systems theory.[1] His work with the United States government helped in the formation of the Head start program in 1965.[2] Bronfenbrenner's ability research was key in changing the perspective of developmental psychology by calling attention to the large number of environmental and societal influences on child development.

Or young high school or college students or athletes using their popularity on social media to spread the knowledge of social injustice

As you can see young adults have used social media to help lead them along the way to do great things these are the most beautiful forms of social media.

Then of course there is the ugly.

Social media is also an open platform, for some it can allow you to be subsequent to

for instance research has shown that spending to much time on social media can lead lead to depression .

As noted by such research sites such as ivesciences

https://www.livescience.com/51294-cyberbullying-social-media-teen-depression.html

Don't get me with twisted everything in this life there are the good and the bad.

Take for instance social media have given us the means to reach millions if not billions of people across the globe to relay our message but it can also allow you to portray just a an image of yourself but factual and superficial.

CYBERBULLYING

Do you know the dangers of cyber bullying?

Cyber bullying has taken on one of the worst form of emotional en mental damage to it's victims.

There have been an extreme amount of cyber bullying that has led to the victims committing suicide.

I don't know about you but no child should have o go through so much that they rather take their own lives because of such cowardly behavior from another that hides behind a sometimes fake profile.

Here is an article from lie science backing thees findings:

https://www.livescience.com/51294-cyberbullying-social-media-teen-depression.html

For instance in adolescents cat fishing has been major issue.

For those who don't know catfish(ing ) is pretending to be someone your not on he internet/ social media .

The most cat-fishers claim to show interest in you and try to either make you fall in love with them or to manipulate you for their own personal cause.

https://socialnewsdaily.com/11296/catfishing-infographic/

Cat-fishing is often employed for romance scams,on dating websites. Cat-fishing may be used for financial gain, to compromise a victim in some way, or simply as a form of trolling or wish fulfillment.Sadly the study found that cat-fishers will use traumatic experiences such as cancer, accidents and death to avoid meeting their victims in real life.

As we look into the psychological make up of cat-fishing its almost always done by one person making of a fake social media platform. It is because it is so easy to mask our through selves behind the windows of social media. Another bad reference is that it is now easier for bullies and psychopaths to reach our youth online through social media.

Other platforms with social media use

Lets take a look into the platform that our adolescents role into.

For instance youtube, youtube was seen for many years as just a media outlet where we could watch short documentaries and comedy stints and especially watch music videos.

Nowadays youtube has a huge role into social media and social development of todays youth.

Yes i know the argument would come as wow really (sarcastically) and others would say thats always been the way it has been ( true) but never like before.

Just a few insight as to what goes on you tube you can see stuff like live video gaming where you can talk to and relate your skills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft54bgeMBlg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc-vvpFft2c

https://video.fosterwebmarketing.com/fosterwebmarketing.com/httpdocs/evm/1080_fosterwebmarketing_017_gina_youtube_h264_640x360.mp4

Also where the can communicate with anime pages, show their life with life vlogs and star in their own reality clips, put on their own personal showcases with live interaction.

The've built up a platform where they can showcase their many talents.

For instance Justin Bieber himself was discovered on youtube and signed a record deal as a teenager.

But social media can also lead to the a substantial difference to the development of the adolescent brain, if you click on the lick here under you can see a couple of test run on teenagers who are on social media and how their brains develop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QWoP6jJG3k

**Where do i belong **

We have seen an outstanding amount of young people all searching to find their peers and to adhere to whatever social group.

Take for instance such support groups that help them deal with their sexuality, ideology and identity

LBGTQ

Feminism

race

beliefs & religion

sex & sexual experimenting

social experimenting

every teen wants to find his or her social group or spot in society; and social media in its various forms helps to steer them to that source.

We should always pay attention to our students and kids for they are discovering their paths be it good or bad they will find person or social peers who share their interest.

Piaget (1936) was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development.

Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years

Preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7

Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11

Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up

The Sensorimotor Stage

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

The infant knows the world through their movements and sensations

Children learn about the world through basic actions such as sucking, grasping, looking, and listening

Infants learn that things continue to exist even though they cannot be seen (object permanence)

They are separate beings from the people and objects around them

They realize that their actions can cause things to happen in the world around them

During this earliest stage of cognitive development, infants and toddlers acquire knowledge through sensory experiences and manipulating objects. A child's entire experience at the earliest period of this stage occurs through basic reflexes, senses, and motor responses.T

The Preoperational Stage

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

Children begin to think symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to represent objects.

Children at this stage tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from the perspective of others.

While they are getting better with language and thinking, they still tend to think about things in very concrete terms.

The foundations of language development may have been laid during the previous stage, but it is the emergence of language that is one of the major hallmarks of the preoperational stage of development

The Concrete Operational Stage

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes

During this stage, children begin to thinking logically about concrete events

They begin to understand the concept of conservation; that the amount of liquid in a short, wide cup is equal to that in a tall, skinny glass, for example

Their thinking becomes more logical and organized, but still very concrete

Children begin using inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to a general principle

While children are still very concrete and literal in their thinking at this point in development, they become much more adept at using logic.2 The egocentrism of the previous stage begins to disappear as kids become better at thinking about how other people might view a situation.

The Formal Operational Stage

Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

At this stage, the adolescent or young adult begins to think abstractly and reason about hypothetical problems

Abstract thought emerges

Teens begin to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and political issues that require theoretical and abstract reasoning

Begin to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to specific information

The final stage of Piaget's theory involves an increase in logic, the ability to use deductive reasoning, and an understanding of abstract ideas.3 At this point, people become capable of seeing multiple potential solutions to problems and think more scientifically about the world around them.

In theory we as teachers should not fear the use of social media but instead learn to harness its powers.

To use it as our umbrella to educate by implementing it into our lessons we can control it for the mos.

For instance the making of a social media portfolio where they can use social media better in there english class and basically amy skill set you want to embody on todays adolescents.

For some of us with teenage students we can find it off putting but by my observations there are some differential factors in the use of social media and their personal development from said social society.

Some of the factors are :

Culture/ region of upbringing

Race

Morals and values

Religion

and of course age

With all of these factors we should always monitor our children/ students and have them take time for a detox.

We should also try not to hover over them but enlighten them and instead of nag give them a sense of responsibility where then their brain can develop in multiple ways. Think of it as exercise for the brain.

**Live Long and Prosper & Remember to Elevate and Educate **

1 note · View note

anarchistsuggestion · 6 years ago

Text

hey, vaccinate your kids you jerks!!!

thanks for coming to my essay! now that i have your attention, i think we should stop talking about anti-vaxxers like theyre all backwards hyper-religious dumbasses. like, im frustrated too, and i agree that "personal/religious reasons" should not allow someone to keep their kids unvaccinated. furthermore, as an autistic person, i despise the myth that vaccines cause autism. i especially hate that it scares people into avoiding vaccines, because theres nothing wrong with me.

but ridiculing these people will only make the problem worse, and here's why: i think that a lot of anti-vaxxers and their communities are used to feeling like the most important aspects of their cultural identities are universally mocked or demonised (im not qualified to say whether these feelings reflect reality in every case, but either way im just talking about feelings, ie, what people think we believe about their culture). for instance, my only knowledge of amish people comes from jokes ive seen others make about them. yes, none of these jokes were very serious, and its easy for me to laugh at them because im not amish, but despite my low empathy i can understand that it just feels bad to hear a whole bunch of jokes about something important to you. i'll get back to this point in a moment.

anyway, i bring up the amish because in 2014, there were measles outbreaks in some amish communities in Ohio. and i think that a lot of the people who dont vaccinate their kids are used to being ridiculed for their "weird" or "new age" or "hyper-religious" or "unchristian" lifestyles, so they just see our concern as more of that mockery. we all sound the same to them, and cant you see why?

"ughh all these people ignoring science and being stubborn about vaccines because their church said--" you sound like one of those atheists. if you cant say anything productive, please stay out of the discussion. why do you act like ridiculing people will change their minds? we should be reaching out, instead.

we need to make the effort to approach anti-vaxxers in a way that distinguishes us from those who only converse with them to mock them.

i want more people to understand that the best way to change someone's mind when they're defensive is by listening. you need to be willing to accept whatever they might rant about, and respect that, even if their fears seem ridiculous, even if their fears are rooted in ableism, their fears still terrify them. thats why theyre called fears. you can validate someone's feelings of anxiety and confusion without validating their bigotry, and you must be willing to accept that this is work. this is difficult. it's much, much harder than yelling your opinions. it's exhausting, and sometimes it doesn't even pay off. sometimes you just can't convince somebody, and you have to be able to accept that.

if this seems too hard for you, i have good news: you do not have to do it. this kind of thing is not for everyone, and it's okay if you just don't want to. this doesn't have to be your responsibility.

i only ask that you stop making things worse by (performatively, in the case of yall who arent in danger of dying/losing a loved one to a preventable disease) mocking anti-vaxxers, because we are the ones who need something from them. we are asking them to face their fears (which were sometimes instilled in them very early in their childhood) for the good of humanity. i don't know about all of you, but i'd be hesitant at best to face even my third worst fear (spiders) for the sake of strangers who regularly mock my culture and heritage, and i know for a fact that most spiders cannot harm me!

this is natural. this is human. it is easy to dismiss things you dont understand, and it's even easier to dismiss them when all the scientific evidence agrees with you. however, your evidence does not make these people's experiences and fears less real for them. it does not lessen the effect their fear has on their choices. knowing that a tarantula won't hurt me if i follow certain guidelines will not stop me from shaking and having a breakdown if i think too hard about touching one. knowing that nothing bad would happen doesn't motivate me to go over to the science building at my college and ask to hold their fucking tarantula.

there are no shortcuts here. if we want anti-vaxxers to accept vaccines and stop putting so much effort towards keeping their children unvaccinated, we have to convince them that they don't need to be afraid of vaccines. we need to actually address their concerns. telling them their fears are ridiculous is just not convincing no matter how much scientific evidence you have. this discussion has become too performative. people just tell anti-vaxxers to vaccinate their kids, and they dont bother to address the fear that motivates their opponents. they don't care that they're asking people to trust a yelling internet stranger with their child's health.

it is inconsiderate to demand things from people without stopping to think about what you're asking for. please think about it from their point of view. if vaccines were dangerous, and they vaccinated their kids, then anything bad that happened to their kids due to the vaccines would be their responsibility. and remember, these people have not been given a convincing reason to believe vaccines are harmless. okay? they do not want to be at fault for their children getting hurt. yes, they are wrong. yes, they are frustrating. yes, they are endangering immunocompromised people like my dad, but there is a huge difference between being malicious and being misguided. please do not treat them like they set out to hurt you.

also? stop telling them to care about other people when you don't care enough about them to respect that they're doing their best with the resources they have. stop saying "i dont know how to explain to you that you should care about other people" when you really just want them to magically stop being scared. maybe you say it out of genuine frustration and bewilderment, but when everyone is saying it, it comes across like a smug 'gotcha!' phrase that excuses you from spending more energy on the debate. you can just say youre tired and stop.

i am trying to explain to you that you should care that these people have felt scammed/hurt by the medical industry enough times that they feel justified in risking the health of their whole family (assuming they even think vaccines work). you should care that theyve never been given a convincing reason to trust remedies promoted by rich strangers who make claims that sound too good to be true. the government has promoted harmful things to underprivileged people before, like milk (it took me a half hour to sift through unrelated stuff about soy milk to confirm this, so i'll go ahead and link my source). it is logical to mistrust an industry that operates for the profit of people youve never met. not everyone trusts the FDA to keep the pharmaceutical industry in check, and it's actually pretty smart to rely on direct accounts from people you know personally when you aren't sure how well something actually works, and you dont trust the ones selling it to you.

with that in mind, talking to people is probably the best way to tackle this issue, but many of you haven't bothered to compile introductory information about vaccines. you havent bothered to present these resources in a way that doesn't ridicule people who are scared. i am trying to explain to you that you shouldn't debate with people if you won't treat them like humans. i am trying to explain to you that "you dont actually care about others" is a hurtful and manipulative sentiment, and when you say it to people who are trying their best, you become part of the problem. you reinforce their mistrust. i am trying to explain to you that trusting doctors doesnt make you morally superior.

put yourself in their shoes for a moment. imagine that someone comes up to you and makes it clear that they think the choices you've made as a parent are ridiculous. they make claims about your child without offering proof, or the only proof they offer also mocks you and people like you (or they just tell you to "google it"). furthermore, they tell you that unless you give in, something bad will happen to their own children, and it will be your fault.

this is manipulative. even if you are correct, it is manipulative. demanding that someone treat their child in a way that they consider harmful is just ridiculous and i don't know why you expect people to listen to you. do you expect this to be easy? do you honestly believe that if someone isn't converted within minutes, they're just being stubborn? do you think these people know the truth, and only persist out of spite?

these questions are necessary, because many of you talk about anti-vaxxers as though the answer is 'yes.' there is a difference between being correct and treating people right. please be more aware of that line in the future, and do your best not to cross it.

oh, and by the way, if i see any of you using this year's measles outbreaks as an excuse to be hateful towards jewish people, i will block and report you. antivaxxers usually arent malicious, and if you perceive orthodox jewish antivaxxers as being worse than other antivaxxers, you need to rethink your beliefs. they arent rejecting vaccines just to hurt you. maybe theyre tired of being demonised and blamed for everything from climate change to unemployment to dead kids*, and theyre unwilling to trust random people with something as important as the health of their children when a lot of us have never bothered to listen to their struggles. (* ive seen a whole lot of people saying things that border on blood libel without quite involving blood during these discussions, so can we all agree to be careful not to do anything that resembles that shit now that ive provided a handy link about what it is? thanks)

lastly, all of this criticism of anti-anti-vaxxers is very easy for me to say because i have less of a personal stake in the issue. i know it must hurt in a way i can't currently understand to lose someone to a preventable disease. if i have made anyone feel dismissed or invalidated in this essay post, i'm sorry for doing so, and i want to make it clear that it is okay if you hate anti-vaxxers. i know their fear has hurt you, and i wouldn't ask you to pretend otherwise. i dont want to make any of you feel like you shouldn't talk about your experiences and fears. i'm just asking that, before you hit the post button, you read through your post and edit out anything manipulative or guilt-trippy. your contributions to this conversation are valuable, and i want the people youre trying to convince to be able to read them without feeling like they have to defend themselves instead of listening to you. the culture around this debate has become almost hostile, and while we dont all need to work directly with anti-vaxxers to make it better, we do all need to agree to stop making it worse.

#vaccinate your kids #vaccines #anti vax memes #anti vaxxers #measles #this is almost 2000 words long jfhf #im exhausted #how did it come to this

12 notes · View notes

smallerinfinities · 6 years ago

Text

Gin and Juice: Part IV

a/n: In which a meeting takes place, Reader lies (again), and Shawn plays a big game.

The response to this series has been truly, truly incredible. I’ve gotten so much unexpected feedback and I love all of it. Keep liking, reblogging, and commenting! I always want to hear from you!

Previous parts are on my MASTERLIST

warnings: American football content, sorry for the jargon 😬

Shawn was pacing with nervous energy, jangling his keys in his pocket. Checking the time on his phone, he huffed and unlocked it, making sure that he’d sent her the right room number.

Study Room B038. Friday 5 PM.

It was 5:04. She was late. He had chosen this time specifically because he had an easy out if he needed to leave. Every Friday before a game, he had team dinner at Coach’s house at 7 PM, then the whole team left on buses to stay off-campus at a hotel to rest up and stay on curfew before the game. But, this girl, whoever she was, probably didn’t know the schedule, so he was free to make up any time that he had to leave with just a little white lie.

He heard the door knob turn and froze. Her head was bowed, shoulders forward, a posture it looked like she defaulted to, when she walked in. He couldn’t see her face behind the thick waves of soft brown hair hanging in the way. Not two steps into the room, she tripped over the nearest chair, heading straight for the floor.

Shawn took two big strides and caught her by the shoulders mid-fall. Her head popped up, locking wide ocean blue eyes with him. Recognition stirred, flashing images swimming in his vision. A spilled beer. A wet shirt. Looking back at those blue eyes and feeling the blush bloom on his face.

It was her.

He walked out of the living room, swimming with humanity, as fast as possible. Too many people. He could practically see his worth reflected in their eyes. They only saw what he could give them, what he could bring them. None of them knew or cared about him beyond the material or social value he held.

Lost in his thoughts, he rounded a close corner on his way to the kitchen for something harder to drink. It wasn’t until his cup fell out of his hand that he realized someone was there.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” he yelled over the noise of the party. At first, she just stood there, looking him up and down like she wasn’t quite sure if he was real. She swivelled her head up to look at him, and he inwardly gasped at her eyes. They looked like cerulean cut glass, so blue and yet so clear that he felt like he could see straight down to their core. It was as unsettling as it was exhilarating.

She still hadn’t made a move since he spilled his drink all over her. He took a survey of the damage, which allowed him to stare at her petite body for just a second longer than he probably needed to. She was fucking cute as hell. Where did this girl come from? He realized he was looking at her instead of helping.

His head shot up toward the kitchen, seeing his idiot left tackle walking toward him, “HEY GEOFF!?! CAN YOU BRING ME A RAG OR SOMETHING??”

Shawn turned back to her, noticing her shivering. Why won’t she say something? He pleaded with her to talk to him with his eyes, softening his gaze like he would with a baby deer. She felt so cold, but he could see the sweat starting to collect on her brow.

Geoff finally returned with a rag and he started to help her by dabbing it on her chest. Her eyes widened in momentary panic, and she jumped half a foot away from him, out of his reach.

His face bloomed pink in mortification. He handed the cloth to her, stuttering apologies, clearly dropping the ball and wanting to escape as fast as possible. When he had gotten far enough away for her to not notice, he looked back. She was still standing there with those wide blue eyes staring. He really wished he could have heard her voice.

* * * * * * * * * *

He held your shoulders for a beat too long. The look on his face reminded you of that night in the bathroom just before he had thrown up, but this time there was confusion mixed with a strange wonderment.

“Uh, Shawn?” you snapped, waving your fingers in his face, really needing him to stop touching you. His imposing figure and rough fingers on your skin made it difficult to breathe, let alone think. He blinked several times and shook his head, “sorry, sorry. Uhh, you’re late.”

“Thanks for pointing that out,” you said with a little edge in your voice, “I’ve been outside the door debating whether or not I should come in.”

The confusion in his face deepened, “you were going to stand me up?” He shook his head again, as if no one on the planet had ever suggested such insanity in his entire life. It would have been annoying if it weren’t so earnest. You rolled your eyes at him.

“It’s not about you...well not 100% about you,” you really weren’t here to divulge the nature of your social anxiety, “just never mind, why are we here?” You looked at him expectantly. The earnest expression had slowly morphed into something timid and slightly...embarrassed?

You were confused. He had wanted you to come here to talk but now he seemed like he was rethinking it. He was nervous about whatever he came to say. His eyes wandered to his feet, bound in leather Chelsea boots, as he kicked the carpet. His athletic legs were wrapped in the skinniest black jeans you’d ever seen. He ran his hands down the fabric clinging to his thighs and finally spoke.

“Uhm, yeah. So,” he looked off past your head, avoiding your eyes at all cost, “how badly would you be offended if I asked you your name?”

His cheeks flushed bright red as he wrung his hands in front of you. He looked like a small boy who knew he’d done something wrong. A very tall, very muscular, very gorgeous small boy. What had happened to that charm? You held your hand up to your face to hide the smile that threatened.

He didn’t remember your name. Did he remember anything about that night? Did you want him to? It had been six days since that night, so if he was going to remember something, it probably would have happened by now. Maybe you could play this off, just tell him your name and make something up about what happened after he blacked out. You could put this whole thing to bed once and for all. It seemed like that might put him at ease.

You let the laughter bubble up to the surface. It sounded strange to your ears, a little too high-pitched and a little too effervescent, but you hoped he wouldn’t notice. You had to make this casual, had to make it believable. He couldn’t know you were lying. You reached out and touched his bicep.

“Oh, it’s fine, Shawn,” you giggled, telling him your name, voice dripping with nonchalance, “you’re a busy guy, and we were both drunk at that party.”

He looked puzzled for a minute, but then smoothed his brow, nodding, “Yeah, yeah we were.”

“You really don’t remember?” you asked, trying for incredulous, “we hung out in the kitchen for a bit. I grabbed your hand and wrote my number. It was innocent.” By the end, the pitch in your voice had climbed three octaves. Maybe he would think you were crazy and that would solve all of your problems.

“But, why didn’t you want to meet with me? In public?” he asked, sounding hurt. Shit. You grasped for idea strings in the giant ball of twine in your mind. This was starting to get complicated and you weren’t sure how long you could keep it up.

“Uhm, I was embarrassed,” you mumbled, sounding more convincing, “I basically threw myself at you and you didn’t want me that night. I really didn’t want to face that in the light of day. I didn’t want anyone who might see me with you to ask questions later.”

“Oh,” he said, scrubbing the nape of his neck and looking almost remorseful. Maybe this was working. He glanced at you out of the side of his eye and you thought he might attempt to poke holes in your story. But instead, he just shrugged violently, “well, I’m sorry I disappointed you.”

He sounded like he might have meant that in some way other than in reference to your lies. Both of you stood there awkwardly, shifting weight in opposite directions. You were getting dizzy from the boat-rocking sensation. He looked placid, blank.

“Well,” he said, exhaling breath he must have been holding, “I have to go to team dinner.” He turned to open the door wide, but before he stepped through, the composed look in his eyes faded and let a pleading traitor in. It reminded you of the look he gave you that night when he spilled his drink on you—like he just needed you to say something to let him in.

It only lasted for a second, replaced by cool detachment, an essential ingredient in his chainmail of charm. He took a stride through the door and called out behind his shoulder, “it was nice meeting you!”

And then he was gone, leaving you alone in the basement study room with a sneaking suspicion that you had just made a huge mistake.

* * * * * * * * * *

He buckled up his pads over his shoulders and tightened the laces on his cleats. The locker room was noisy, loud rap music playing over the A/V system to pump everyone up. Shawn knew he wasn’t in the right headspace. He knew that he shouldn’t have a pair of blue eyes stuck in his head. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking about her shoulders, so delicate beneath his hands. He knew he shouldn’t be thinking about how she lied to him.

What was she trying to hide?

He couldn’t figure out her angle. She had no idea that he remembered seeing her earlier at the party. The fact that she hadn’t mentioned it was his first red flag. But, she didn’t know that he had a clear memory of her that night. She didn’t know that her behavior in the library betrayed the girl he’d spilled beer on and silently begged to speak to him.

He still felt like he hadn’t heard her real voice.

“OKAY BOYS,” Coach Bradford yelled as the team made its way through the tunnel, getting ready to run out onto the field, “EVERY GAME IS FULL OF INFINITE CHOICES. MAKE SURE YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT ONES.” Always a last minute cheesy pre-game line to make us think about the philosophical reasons to play the game, “LET’S GO PLAY SOME FOOTBALL.”

Every time Shawn burst out of that tunnel and onto the field, the deafening roar of the crowd took his breath away. It was one of the rushes that kept his running out here every fall, every week, every minute. This week was rivalry week and the crowd was even more live than usual.

He looked out into the crowd, something he wasn’t accustomed to doing. He hated seeing the hungry eyes of all the people there expecting him to win the game for them. But, this week, he scanned for a familiar pair of blue eyes. A crazy endeavor because there was no way he would see her in the ocean of people surrounding the field, but he flipped through a thousand pairs of eyes nonetheless.

“MENDES,” Geoff screamed over the crowd, “GET OVER HERE.” He ran over and butted foreheads with his left tackle, their pre-game ritual. He positioned his mouthguard, made the sign of the cross, and dug his cleats into the turf. The whistle blew, flying high above the cheers.

Shawn should have known it wasn’t going to go his way when he thought he saw her during the first quarter. He lined up at the five-yard-line looked out above the line, called the play, and snapped the ball. Behind his receiver, he caught a flash of blue that made him pause. He took an extra breath, changing his tempo, and let the ball fly directly into the hands of his opponent.

It got worse from there. After three fumbles, two more interceptions, and five missed tackles, Shawn felt like he was taking an ass-kicking. He couldn’t get her out of his head. Somehow they were tied, thanks to a couple of great defensive plays and a lucky run after a handoff, and heading into the two-minute warning, he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. A loss could jeopardize everything—the conference championship, a national championship bid, his Heisman chances. The weight of the potential disappointment pressed against his chest.

They moved the ball down the field, killing clock until it was the last twenty seconds from the ten. He had one play left to get the ball in the endzone. He dug the ball of his foot into the turf at the line of scrimmage. Crouching behind his lineman, Shawn called the play, “BLUE-42! BLUE-42! HURRY!” He took one last breath in, “HIKE!”

Everything moved in slow motion. He faked the handoff to his running back, leaning back. He pumped once, twice, closed his eyes against the deep blue threatening his vision, and let the ball fly.

to be continued...

So did he win the game? Tell me your theories!

Taglist: @abigfatmess @lifeofthedarty @coffeebringsmelife @transparentjudgepicklething @super-fire-breathing-girl @infiniteshawn @lietomeat3am @lavieenbananabread @blue-skies-are-alright @song-bird-shawn @disappointingyellowhighlighter @brittanyzelazno @lifeofthedarty @sowhatshawn @stillinskislydia @hiterase

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes fanfiction #shawn peter raul mendes #my writing #gin and juice

565 notes · View notes

jflashandclash · 6 years ago

Text

Traitors of Olympus IV: Fall of the Sun

Thirty-seven: Ajax

I am No Longer A Baby Panda

Later, Pax would say he admired his mother’s stylish entrance.

At the time, he was just horrified. And maybe a little annoyed. He’d been proud of himself for getting back Frank’s stick and not having to sleep with his sister (something, he realized, really ought to cue him in that he had hit an all-time-low) and now the Goddess of Night had to steal the limelight—haha, steal the light—and tackle Apollo out of the sky.

Everything happened at once.

As the sun fell, ghostly silhouettes groaned out of the blackness. The lingering ghosts spilled from the forests, out of the shadows they’d been watching, and cackled with gleeful war cries.

Rotting corpses staggered towards Camp Half-Blood, an army at least four times larger than the one the Romans had been holding back earlier. Melinoe, her half-mummified, half-fireplace fabulous carcass, led the charge.

The piercing notes of a pipe echoed through the fields and a huntress, a Greek, and a Roman[1] standing guard at the border collapsed.

A suction of warm air eased away from the camp, and Pax knew the Mist shield—if it had been recovering—was completely down again.

The ground rumbled. Pax hoped, but doubted, that it was Nico or Axel to the rescue with a secret, giant mole army.

Instead, a massive black serpent exploded from—if Pax had to guess—that hole in the ground that Jack had voice-activated outside Hera’s cabin. You know, the major weakness of their defenses in the center of the camp that really ought to have a Welcome, Python, sign, We Forgot You RSVPed.

By now, the screams were omnipresent.

When Python collapsed onto the Apollo cabin, Pax liked to think there were as many screams afterwards as before Python decided to use the once-golden structure as a back scratcher.

Romans spilled out of the barracks. Greeks scrambled out of their cabins, er, the cabins that were left.

“Turn on the field lights!” Frank shouted from somewhere by the barracks.

The Canadian’s orders came to light and brought the ghastly attackers to high definition. The thump of the field lights echoed around the strawberry field. Pax had to wonder if substitute sunlight could weaken ghosts, and, if so, whether the Romans should seriously consider adding horticultural LED grow-lamps to their infantry.

Michael Kahale and Butch were with half-a-dozen demigods towards their edge of the strawberry field, apparently having been planning defenses for this evening. Well, surprise!

In a breath’s pause, Butch looked towards Python and Kahale blinked at the advancing ghoul army. The debate on whether to help with Python or guard the border lasted all of Michael Kahale ordering the troops to stand strong on the strawberry field. “To arms! Defend our barrier!”

What a mighty battle cry Michael missed out on; Pax would have said, Defend our berries!

Pax felt like he was watching an old family movie as his mother tossed her Molotov cocktail up and down. The flame flickered, making the malicious zeal in her eyes glitter. She wore black tactical pants, a torn up red and black shirt with a circled and slashed A, a black bandana to conceal half her face, and—

When she launched her Molotov cocktail, everything became too real.

Pax wanted to say, Nice throw, since he’d forgotten his mother was a goddess and lobbing a bottle of alcohol was as easy as tossing rice at a wedding, though that probably was what she tossed at weddings. The bottle went clean over half the strawberry field, far beyond where Percy was cursing Eris at his throne of Saturnalia.

The glass shattered.

Michael Kahale went up in flames.

There were more screams.

He dropped to the ground, rolling, tearing at his armor.

Two other soldiers dropped beside him. One went to rip Michael’s armor off, the other frantically shoved dirt onto him.

Watching the fire and screaming centurion, Pax clutched Frank’s stick to his chest. He felt like the stupid thing could burst into flames by sheer peer pressure.

A laugh with the same giggling mania as the Joker’s filled the battlefield along with the flick of a match.

Eris jumped up and down in excitement as she tossed another bottle from hand to hand. “Terror Muffin! Come paint with me! I’ll bet I can make my masterpiece more vibrant than yours!”

Pax, stupidly, went to shout a warning, like Michael Kahale and the others might be confused or capable of defending themselves from the whole “flaming bombs” thing.

As he opened his mouth, something much louder made an inhuman wail about ten feet behind him.

There was a crunch of metal and bone.

At the same time, the Silver-Tongued helm attached to his waist shrieked.

One of our brethren is in danger!

Really, Pax wanted to ask the helm why it didn’t open up more often. He was offended by the lack of weekly coffee chats—Axel’s helm talked to Axel all the time--but now wasn’t the time.

The shriek left him confused, with a lovely punched-by-a-minotaur-in-the-stomach sense of dread.

One horrifying thing at a time.

When he looked up to see the Molotov cocktail’s destruction, a blinding flash of light arched over the demigods.

The bottle hit something, exploded along the arch, and burned out, leaving the split second image of a brilliant, mini rainbow.

As the beams of colors faded, Pax could see Butch, the giant child of Iris, scowling hatefully in their direction. His arms were raised, one with a mister bottle, the other with a flashlight.

Rainbows were some powerful shit.

Pax wanted to slowly back up, put his hands in his pockets, and walk away whistling.

But he had to stop his mother from withdrawing a grenade from her utility belt.

He needed to chastise her: utility belts were definitely something that shouldn’t be used by evil. Only comic book heroes.

“Mom! Stop!” Pax cried. The shock faded enough for Pax to sprint towards her.

Her grenade didn’t even have a pin in it. From what he could see, it was held together by a hair band.

As she slipped the hair band back onto her wrist and cranked her arm for the throw, Pax slapped her hand.

The grenade tumbled out of her grip. While in mid-air, he kicked it as hard as he could towards Farm Road.

In the last few moments, he tackled his mother away—

An explosion popped his ears. Dirt sprayed his back.

Before the dust had settled, his mother was already squirming to shove him off. Pax wished he could hug the homicidal out of her and have them all go on a nice, non-violent family picnic after this, whatever was left of his family. Merry wouldn’t hurt Hiro, but he’d watched Jason kill someone Pax loved before. He hoped Lapis and Axel were okay.

“My Little Terror Muffin, what’s the matter?” she cooed, digging her talon-like nails into his recently-fractured shoulder. “The Greeks and Romans massacred all your friends and hunted you into hiding. This is the perfect opportunity for you to have a little fun. Don’t you want to honor your friends and let Momma have a nice Bring Your Son to Work Day?”

Pax whined in pain. He fumbled to withdraw a dart from his belt with his hand with functional tendons. He feared he didn’t have the dexterity with the other. Pax didn’t know if his darts would knock out a goddess, or if he had any Morpheus dust left to do the trick.

His belt wasn’t there.

Axel had shredded it and Pax left the remains in the Hermes cabin. All he had was Frank’s stick and the Silver-Tongued Snake helm on a rope around his waist, because he feared the Hermes little ones would play with it.

Pax wanted to cheerily brush his mother’s comment off. Instead, his mouth worked on its own. “Stop pretending all the messed up stuff you and Dad do is for me!” he snarled.

Pax meeped when his mother lifted him up like he was a small child. When she stood, they were several feet higher off the ground than they should have been. She was feeding off the chaos around them, growing. He trembled to think she’d be more powerful with each second of this battle.

But, Pax realized, he was her son. It ran in the family.

Although he felt small and baby-panda-like, Pax could discern the delirious sensation coursing through his limbs, like it had during the pandemonium when the Heroes of Olympus collided with the Traitors from Mount Othrys.

The feeling normally made him nauseous. Normally, he wished desperately he could get a high off a party, like Merry, or off two people in love, like Calex, or a song, like Kally.

This time, Pax didn’t try to stop the tugging in his stomach. An uncomfortable acceptance settled over him, putting him at ease with the surrounding screams and mayhem: Greeks and Romans were going to die during this battle, he and his brother were never going to be the same after what Ares and Aphrodite did to them, his family was in tatters and needed major therapy, everyone in this camp would die if he, Kally, Alabaster, and a handful of fighters didn’t level up, and if he kept pretending his family was a pack of misunderstood puppies.

Axel or Jack or someone else always came to the rescue. If Pax could let go, maybe if he stopped acting like a baby panda, he could protect other baby pandas still in Camp Half-Blood.

“Terror Muffin, I only want you to experience life and glee as fully as I do,” Eris cooed. She was about to toss him, he could feel her winding up. But Pax was the Silver-Tongued Snake, the former spymaster from Kronos’ army, and known for weaseling his way out of everything. “What is that silly saying they have? Be the change you want to see in the world? I’m setting a good example for someone I love.”

She nuzzled the top of his head with her chin. Her body tensed for the throw.

In a motion Hunnie, Baller, and Nietz would have been proud of, he latched onto his mother, digging his functional fingers into the skin above her kidney and chomping down hard with his teeth.

Eris lost her grip on Pax.

He thrashed and squirmed his way out, springing off her to land on his feet.

Pax stood a foot taller than the highest field light, his breath was ragged, and a hysterical laugh spilled from his lips. “I am not a baby panda!” he cried triumphantly.

Eris touched her back, her fingers returning with golden ichor smearing them. “Terror Muffin?” she asked, her serial killer grin one of amusement.

“Sorry. Internal monologue. It’s a main character thing,” he said. “Now, for the reprise. You and Dad always say you do this stuff because you love me.” Pax doned the Silver-Tongued Snake helm, feeling the warm enhancement of strength slither through him. He cracked his neck and withdrew Frank’s stick like it was one of his daggers. “If this is love, I don’t want to be loved!”

Pax really hoped this battle would be over soon, else he wasted a kick-ass line.

Eris’ wide, excited gaze turned adoring. “Your tricks won’t work on me, Terror Muffin. There’s no one you can turn into that would make me stop. You can’t puppet me the way you did the little Valdez. We have the same powers. You’re my son.”

“I’m not just your son. And I’m not letting you, or anyone else from our family hurt these baby pandas,” Pax said. He wished he would have pickpocketed her lighter off her, but he hadn’t felt one when he weaseled away. Instead, he focused on Frank’s stick, hoping it was as easily influenced as he thought. He also hoped this thing had a “slow burn” option or an alarm that would flash with, Destruction of Canadian: Imminent.

The tip burst into flames.

Pax bit his tongue, whining at the blood dribbling out—how did Axel do this every time without complaining?--and said the incantation he’d only ever successfully recited during the battle for Mount Othrys, something he’d heard Frasco do before he died. “Xma’su’tal Xib, Liik’il Ch’iich’!”[2]

Pax spit his blood into the flames. The red glow flared a brilliant turquoise. Pain flared as he felt his limbs elongate and his bones alter. What he was excited to say, and had rehearsed a few times in his head, was, “I’ll show you why you don’t mess with a Mayan warrior-prince!” but what came out was more of a, “Aye! Aye! OW! How does Axel do this all the time?!”

Sorry for some of the bravado, I’ll admit, I’ve been watching WAY too much anime recently.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed :D

Footnotes:

[1] As Mel pointed out, excellent start to a joke, “A huntress, a Greek, and a Roman were standing guard…”

[2] “Abandon the man, ascend the eagle/bird.”

#TOO #HOO #PJO #fanfiction #Pax #Eris #Have you ever wanted to see someone from the first Cohort on fire?#You have?!?!#:D

4 notes · View notes

tagathaofwoodsbeyond · 6 years ago

Text

[Prompt] I could.. Give you a massage? If you want?

Modern au bbys

Idk if this is common but at my high school we had this class called sports medicine. Basically you'd learn about being a doctor and specifically, dealing with sports injuries. And during games, they would patch up any injuries (or keep them okayish till professionals arrived).

Tedros is The Football Boy Of 2018™

Aggie signed up for forensic science and got put in sports medicine, where she has to go to every. Single. Game.

------

Aggie pulled her legs up towards her in her chair, freezing as she heard the cheap plastic squeak, before continuing. She had been to countless football games and they still made no sense to her. She'd started recognizing faces, but none of the rules.

Hort sat next to her, listening to Ravan's sixth attempt to try and explain the game over the last two months. She was pretty sure he had understood half way through the second explanation, but neither of them were good at flirting, so this was all they had.

Chaddick, the big burly guy with the weird eyebrows, was chasing one of the other team guys, who maybe had the ball? She usually figured it out with context clues, with how massive a lot of these guys were. Tedros was four inches taller than her and she was one of the tallest girls in their tiny school.

There was some tackling, and now they were lining up again, but closer to where they had tackled other-team guy. Wack.

Tristan, the little redheaded guy who changed in the bathroom instead of the locker room cause of Aric, was the one that threw tje ball, like most times. He threw it to Tedros, and Tedros ran, and ran, and he looked like he was going to get to the goal area. There were guys behind him but he seemed like he was gonna make it-

Shit.

She unwound her legs from her Modern Gargoyle™ position as Ravan and Hort ran to the field. The guys had tackled him, and everything was okay, till someone realize how fucked up his leg had twisted. Ravan lifted his weight and Hort tried to help drag him, mostly just making sure his messed up leg didn't touch the ground.

They got him onto the yellow carrier they used, the one Hort would use as a sled down hills when the games were slow, and carted him inside the school while Coach Castor called a hospital.

Hort checked Tedros for signs of a concusion while everyone else... Just sort of stood around. They couldn't exactly wrap it up. Ravan tried to ice it but Tedros had screamed bloody murder, so after Hort had given a 'maybe' to Tedros having a concussion, Hort and Ravan left. Agatha stayed behind, in case anyone needed anything.

Mr. Pollux looked at Agatha for a moment after a heated whisper debate with Coach Castor. "Can you drive?"

Agatha nodded. "The schools probably going to have to pitch in on his medical bills since SOMEONE decided to put Tedros in despite his recent injury. Ambulances are quite expensive, and he can probably wait a little bit."

Tedros tried to object, but he wasn't quite making sense. Either Hort had given him some crazy heavy painkillers or he was just super out of it. Maybe shock? Who freaking knew. Definitely not Agatha.

They ended up loading him into her prius, agathas bag and folded up lawn chair sitting in her front seat as Pollux sat on top of the 'Carrying-Tedros-Board' and held Tedros' injured leg off the seats. He was kind of bleeding, and her mom had helped her clean the inside of her car like a week ago, so broken football boy or not, she was keeping the seats blood free, Pollux's khakis be damned.

-----

After the initial struggle of shoving Tedros back onto the board, now with less arm stength than a corndog between her and Pollux, sitting in the waiting room was somewhat uneventful. Tedros' legal guardian, Mr. Merlin, didn't pick up his phone, so they couldn't leave the hospital, even as Castor spammed Pollux with texts about driving home by himself. Agatha thought about the odd situation of two of her teachers living together to distract from the... Legitimate worry she felt for her classmate.

He had made fun of her in freshman year, but so had Sophie, and she was her best(and only, at the time) friend. Sophomore year they had been in the same chemistry class, and forced to do three different projects together before they began to actually enjoy eachothers company. They never hung out outside of school, but he was pretty funny, once you dug through the layers of secret self loathing projected as arrogance and a need to Please.

Pollux answered questions about Tedros' medical history for the doctors aa best he could after having his medical records forwarded to him by the school. Agatha texted Hort, looked at weird ten second clips on YouTube, and overall just twiddled her thumbs as they waited for any news. Tedros wouldn't die, but it could still be something serious. What if he could never walk? What if they had to cut off his leg? Agatha considered the options as a nurse walked up to the pair and said they were allowed to see him now.

Pollux had to leave, since Castor had coms to pick him up, and Agatha still questioned everything about that situation once she slipped into the room.

Tedros had a giant cast on his leg, and an IV for fluid, but nothing to spectacular. He turned to her and grinned a sort of hazy smile, like he wasn't quite sure who she was, just glad he had company.

"Hey there buddy. How are you feeling?" Agatha spoke slowly, sure that Tedros' mind was covered in a painkiller fog. She patted his wrist and he looked down at it, almost surprised that he still could feel things.

"I'm doing good... Very good. How're you?" Agatha bit back a laugh. Still trying to be polite.

"I'm doing just fine. Did they tell you what happened?" Agatha leaned a little bit, legitimately curious as to what had happened. She couldn't ask the nurse, seeing as she had left the room after letting Agatha in.

Tedros looked up as if he was questioming life's grestest question. "I think I broke my thigh bone. Like, the super big and strong one." Agatha nodded along to what he was saying even as he trailed off, mumbling.

"Well that's good to hear. Is there anything that still hurts?" Tedros considered the question again.

Tedros shook his head no, the same placid smile as before. He closed his eyes and layed down, seemingly drifting off to sleep. Wait, shit, did he have a concussion? She pressed a nurse call button and asked.

She looked through Tedros' sheet. "No, no concussion. He can sleep as long as he'd like." Agatha looked down at Tedros, glad she hadn't woken him before calling the nurse. It felt weird. Something in her heart felt.. Warm.

Wack.

----------

Agatha visited the hospital every day that week to check up on him. She'd tell him what was going on at school, update him on the rumor mill surrounding what had happened, etc. The only reason he was still at the hospital was because of some internal organ damage, nothing to do with the leg, so he was starting to grow a bit restless. He'd ask her how the guys on the team were doing, even how the sports medicine group was doing. She would show him dumb youtube crap on her phone, play songs she knew he wouldn't like but she enjoyed so she forced him to listen, and pull out countless videos of her cat. Without noticing, in a week Agatha and Tedros had gotten surprisingly close.

So after finally exchanging numbers, and two weeks after Tedros was discharged, they decided to meet up outside of school.

They met at the Arby's™ that Beatrix and Nick worked out, and walked to Tedros' house. He didn't live in the mcmansion she expected, but a rather sweet suburban house. Three bedrooms, worn in furniture, pinterests idea of the dream life. But there were little red flags as she went.

Tedros's room, the kitchen, and the bathroom looked like the only rooms anyone actually lived in. The magazines left on the coffee table were coated in dust and about six years old. She couldn't tell which room was his parents and which was the guest room, since both were equally barren, with a moderately nice bed that looked like it hadn't been used in years, a dusty nightstand, and absolutely nothing else. Ominous as f u c k.

They hung out in Tedros' room, messing around on his computer, seeing what trick shots they could make on his walls with a foam basketball, and just generally shooting breeze. Tedros would be able to play again senior year, but for now he was stuck with crutches and a key to the schools secret elevators.

"How much does it still hurt?" Agatha asked. She was kind of curious how much he could've healed in the three weeks since he'd been injured.

"My leg doesn't ever really hurt, it's just annoying to tie a trash bag around everytime i bathe. I still get weird flashes of pain around my chest, but they said it'll be gone by December. My shoulders been killing me though."

Agatha cocked her head. She hadn't remembered anything about his shoulders. "What happened to them?"

Tedros shrugged, then tried to play off the slight wince. "Apparently lying in bed for a week straight messes up your shoulders. I'll probably be fine? It's just not fun right now."

Agatha nodded, and considered. She couldn't really help with intestinal damage, or broken bones, but she knew how to deal with tense muscles. Would it be weird? Would he be uncomfortable? Would SHE be uncomfortable?

Yes to all of the above. But she really didn't do anything in sports medicine besides wrap sprained wrists and ankles, steal icey hots, and give massages to people.

"I could.. Give you a massage?" As soon as she said it she regretted it. She sounded so fucking weird. Abort mission, abort mission.

"Really? I think that would help a lot." Tedros turned kind of awkwardly until his back faced Agatha.

She took a deep breath and got started.

#tagatha #the school for good and evil #agatha of the woods beyond #sophie of the woods beyond #hort of bloodbrook #ravan of thicketthumble #tedros of camelot #agatha of camelot

73 notes · View notes

themadcapmathematician · 6 years ago

Note

I wasn't trying to bait you. I like your opinion on things and wanted to see how you felt about poly being accepted as a MOGAI. I'm only anonymous because I'm also trying to avoid some aggressive discourse. It's a sad state of the community when we are reticent to talk.

I agree. Thank you for clarifying. And yknow? It means a lot my opinion is valuable to someone

So I’m gonna start this off by saying that honestly? I was pretty surprised when I realized a lot of the tumblr discourse default assumed polyamorous didnt belong under the lgbtq umbrella? I mean when i first id'ed as queer, crossdressers, heteroflexibles, trans* ppl, and other “”“barely counts”“” identities often scorned today were still being considered very much lgbtq in the circles i spent time in and that was only maybe 5-7 years ago max. Moreover it seems to fit all the requirements ppl cite:

-its been part of the community for a while-its an identity based on a marginalized attraction, not just activity (edit: at least this is how ive interpreted it; many have not)-its discriminated against both systematically (i always think its funny when ppl say that there are no laws against being ace so they’re not systematically oppressed when there ARE easily defined laws against polyamory, which most of the same ppl don’t consider lgbtq) and interpersonally -you lose at least some of your access to Straight privilege when you are polyamorous-polyamorous people are not really perceived as either straight (as in attracted to a single gender perceived to be the “opposite” of theirs) or Straight (as a class) when they reveal they are polyam

Its also strange bc a lot of polyam resources and groups have connections to lgbtq ones. They tend to be allowed to show up at pride and plug their info and merch and stuff, and i highly doubt they’re going away anytime soon.

So what do I personally think? Well…I think there’s a strong case to be made for them being considered lgbtq on their own. Frankly I’m a little confused as to how you justify excluding them without fear mongering or using strawmen (like the whole “qweer femme bicurious girl and her straight bearded boyfriend want to go on lgbt dating apps and be called qweeerr so they can find someone to have a threesome with” stereotype which is filled to the brim with obvious exaggerations, biphobia, being anti-questioning, etc.) or seeing theoretical ideas or problems as more important than practical ones, esp since most ppl just seem to…assume?? Instead of making a case for anything. I also think they can greatly benefit from community support.

Whether or not there is full acess to this or that “privilege” or whether or not ppl are privleged for being monogamous/monoamorous(???) or what the fuck ever is a more complicated debate I don’t have all the answers to, tho to some degree, as always, I’m not entirely sure how much that really matters.

But a lot of this isnt up to me anyway, any more than its up to many tumblr gatekeepers and other discoursers; we don’t decide who gets invited to pride or gets resources. Someday many of us might, but a lot of us? Not rn. And theres so much more research that needs to be done. The lgbtq landscape has changed a shitton in just the last 5-10 years and it will only keep om changing.

Now I’m going to end this with saying that this is all assuming the question is whether or not they’re lgbtq. I consider “queer” and “lgbtq” to be slightly different things.

In my interpretation, Queer as a community is less concerned with idpol and can easily be extrapolated to include protecting the interests of sex workers, kinksters, and polyamorous ppl (and by extension anyone else ppl are liable to exclude, whether or not they’d actually be included by lgbt+ idpol anyway) without worries about if they are “really lgbtq.” It also ideally works to tackle intersectional marginalization that would usually take more of a back seat for idpol-centric lgbt+, which tends to focus on your lgbt+ness first and other identities and marginalization second. Looking at polyam through that lens? Hell yeah it’s Queer!

Not everyone is gonna agree with me on the interpretation of ANY of that I just gave tho, nor do they have to (and frankly neither do you!), so be forewarned.

36 notes · View notes

edwad · 7 years ago

Note

If you had to choose 10 marxian econ books for someone who has only read marx, what would you recommend

by “marx” i have to assume you mean capital because that really is the root of “marxian econ”. it won’t suffice to just have read the manifesto or something like that and i don’t want to recommend books that will be saying things that you’re totally unfamiliar with because you’re skipping straight into the secondary literature which already largely assumes a reader which is familiar with capital. anyway, heres a list, which isnt in any particular order and which includes a few things that i’m still working through for myself:

1. essays on marxs theory of value - isaak rubin

hugely important book which essentially all value-form theory derives from. written by an extremely knowledgeable marx scholar who had a much better idea of what marx was doing in capital than most marxists today. last month brill published a book called “responses to marxs capital” which includes some of rubin’s other writings, most of them being published in english for the first time. hes a huge figure in the literature and definitely worth looking in to.

2. marx, capital, and the madness of economic reason - david harvey

i was obviously going to put something of harvey’s in here and i think his last book is a fairly good summary of the best of what hes done up to this point with some welcome additions (the visualization of capital, the stuff on anti-value, etc). not perfect but he definitely provides a good framework for how to understand the geography of capital which doesnt require necessarily agreeing with him on everything. honestly, if you keep up with harvey at all you’ll be able to tell that its mostly just typical harveyisms with the inclusion of some stuff from his recent talks (which have all been almost exactly the same).

3. in the long run we are all dead - geoff mann

maybe this looks more like a book on keynesian rather than marxian econ, but its real argument is that keynesianism as a long historical project (meaning long before and after keynes himself) has been an immanent critique of liberalism and revolution and that keynes is to us what hegel was to marx. a really great book that covers a lot of ground which isnt always explicitly economic, but definitely worth the read if you have the patience. if you want a longer review, i left a pretty lengthy one on amazon a few months ago where you can get a better idea of what i got from this book, what its limitations are, and why i think its so important.

4. monopoly capital - paul baran & paul sweezy

an older book which hasnt exactly aged well, but its thesis has become extremely popular again since the crisis. written by baran and sweezy, the fathers of “the monthly review school” of economics, its played a huge role in the direction of marxian debates from the 1960s up until today. the authors were both tending in the same intellectual direction in their earlier works (sweezy’s theory of capitalist development and baran’s political economy of growth, the former still being considered one of the best introductions to marxs work and its relevance to the 20th century, with much controversy of course) and this was the result of them coming together to talk about what they saw as a monopoly capitalism which was fairly different in character than the “competitive capitalism” of marx’s day and therefore had to be dealt with differently.

5. capitalism - anwar shaikh

probably the most ambitious work the left has seen in a long time which tries to thoroughly critique neoclassical theory and develop an alternative economics which is rooted in what shaikh calls the “classical” school (”classical-marxian” would probably be more appropriate but i think hes trying to downplay his reliance on marx). in it, shaikh takes a good look at many of the competing schools of thought (neoclassical, post-keynesian, sraffian/neo-ricardian, etc) and sees how they stand up analytically and empirically, taking issue with their underlying assumptions and the inevitable problems which arise from building a theory on false foundations.

one of his bigger points is that the neoclassical theory of “perfect competition” is nonsensical but wasnt thoroughly combatted by heterodox economists, who only made it so far as asserting the “imperfect” nature of competition, which, in shaikh’s eyes, is to simply add imperfections after the fact into the theory which necessarily begins with the absurd assumption of perfection. the book’s argument is that the theorists of “imperfect competition” still rely on the theory of “perfect competition” as their starting point and never really manage to escape the latter because they havent actually created an alternative way of thinking about competition, they’ve just inserted a complication into a theory which was a completely unrealistic assumption to begin with. much of his attack is directed at the monthly review school and the idea of a “monopoly capitalism” which is supposedly different in form than the allegedly “perfect competition” of capitalism during marxs life. in this sense, this book serves as a counterbalance to the MR approach and is also probably the most successful attempt at situating marxs TRPF within an empirical study of kondratiev waves.

hes also got a website with a bunch of resources and a lecture series from a course he did on the material in the book which is pretty interesting, but it assumes a good deal of familiarity with economics.

6. a history of marxian economics - michael howard & john king (2 volumes)

this is a pretty thorough history of the internal debates among marxian economists ever since the death of marx all the way up to 1990. it covers a lot of ground and doesnt shy away from controversies where marx didnt come out on top. of course, a good amount of this is subject to the interpretation of the authors and they definitely have a great deal of input, but its a very impressive work which i frequently use as a marxian encyclopedia of sorts.

7. the making of marx’s capital - roman rosdolsky

despite some problems, rosdolsky’s classic book on the development of marx’s critique of political economy is easily one of the most important marxological works ever written and it still holds a lot of sway. taking the grundrisse as its starting point, the author unpacks marx’s project and constantly asserts marx’s method and in particular his explicit reliance on hegel’s logic, pitting marx (as he was in his drafts) against the then contemporary thinkers and critics which were prone to misusing or misunderstanding the arguments in capital. as a disclaimer and partial criticism of rosdolsky’s portrait of marx, i dont believe that we can simply say that marx in the late 50s was identical to the marx of the 60s and 70s that wrote and published capital, but i also dont think that means we necessarily have to discount the grundrisse (or theories of surplus value, etc) simply because they werent written at precisely the right time for marxs thinking.

i only just got my own copy a couple of weeks ago so i cant say too much more but i have skimmed through chunks of the pdf and its totally unavoidable in the secondary literature so im not totally unfamiliar. its one i plan on tackling in full very soon.

8. moneybags must be so lucky - robert paul wolff

another marxological one, this tiny book is a literary analysis of capital and in particular the first part of volume 1. wolff does a great job of deconstructing the arguments in chapter 1 to try and clarify what marx is doing and why with a lot of humor and philosophical tangents. one of his biggest points is that marxs heavy reliance on irony was the only adequate way of capturing the contradictory nature of capitalism and is therefore part of the theory itself, rather than simply being a way to dress up the theory and make it more palatable to readers. i approached this book after id already “read marx” too, but it was extremely useful because it wasnt until i read it that i finally started to actually understand marx. for that reason, i dont feel particularly bad about recommending it to anyone thats already familiar with capital because it does a great job of making the most difficult part of volume 1 infinitely more exciting and comprehensible – especially since its never enough to just read capital once.

9. the production of commodities by means of commodities - piero sraffa

against my better judgement, i’m putting this on the list knowing full-well that i’m going to be harassed by an anon which has been on my ass for about a year now ever since i first recommended sraffa’s book in a reading list despite the fact that ive never finished it (barely even read it to be more precise). i do, however, know that its had a huge influence on the trajectory of marxian thought since 1960 and that many of the thinkers are still trying to recover from the theoretical displacement implicit in sraffa’s thesis.

its a math-heavy book (which is why i havent been able to wade through it) and its status as a work coming from the “marxian” approach is hotly contested, but its certainly had its way with the marxian school (not to mention the neoclassical school, which has an easier time simply ignoring sraffa entirely), generating countless debates among scholars, many of whom simply wish that this book had never been written. for a short summary of the debate and whats apparently at stake, ive got an old post where i worked out some of the initial responses to sraffa and how this has snowballed into the controversy that it is today. ive got it on this list because of how unavoidable it is. you cant go into the secondary literature at anything resembling an intermediate level without knowing sraffa’s name and why everyone feels so strongly about him.

10. an introduction to the three volumes of karl marxs capital - michael heinrich

i dont quite like that im ending this list with a book that presents itself as an “introduction” when we’ve already established that this is a bunch of recommendations for someone thats already acquainted with capital, but sadly this is the only full-length book that heinrich has in the english language and its reading of capital is so unorthodox that it feels totally alien against all the traditional interpretations of marx. honestly, it doesnt feel like an introduction in the first place, reading more like a challenge and an intervention into the secondary debates about what marx is saying in capital which derives from the german debates which constitute the parameters for the “neue marx-lekture”, or “the new reading of marx”, which sits uncomfortably among the more typical marxisms that surround it on all sides, especially among non-german theorists/readers.

as far as the dominant reading of marx goes, nearly everything this book says betrays marx’s project, but heinrich knows marx very well, better than most of us (as even his biggest critics readily admit). this may be considered reflective of a “new reading”, but that doesnt mean the old ones are any better or that this one is necessarily a “revisionist” project as many claim (or at least, i wouldnt consider it to be revising marx even if its guilty of revising “marxism”, which is by no means necessarily a bad thing). on the contrary, i think heinrich has the best understanding of marx out of pretty much everyone else right now and thats why i wanted to end with this one. yes, you should read all of the others, especially since you cant understand the way we read and think about marx without coming across the work of people like sraffa and sweezy, but that doesnt really change the fact that heinrich points to a big problem with the way we read and think about marx, that the debates have been getting it wrong all along and largely misunderstanding marxs actual project, miscontextualizing it and falling into dogmatism for various political or academic reasons.

what heinrich does is to show how the way marx is read and interpreted often misses or downplays the most crucial elements of what marx is actually trying to get across. marxs critique of political economy simply gets converted into a newer, more correct political economy which simply builds on the classical school (shaikh), or it suffers in the hands of those that believe its foundations need to be updated as if it isnt all that relevant anymore (sweezy and baran), or that many of its categories are lacking utility and can simply be done away with (sraffa). rubin’s work plays a big part in establishing the NML reading and harvey draws on heinrich’s scholarship a lot, but nobody really does it as well as heinrich himself and i genuinely think hes lightyears ahead of everyone else. a lot of people are starting to agree and i was one of the most recent converts on the heinrich hype train which has been growing for the last couple of years.

any day now, we should be getting one of his older books, the science of value, in english and i plan on devouring it as fast as i can, but sadly its been in limbo for several years, with its initial release scheduled for 2014 (if i remember correctly). in the mean time though, we’ve only got his introduction to capital and a bunch of shorter pieces/videos.

so i guess thats my list of 10 things to read after marx with some explanations on why i think theyre important, culminating in ideologically correct heinrich-worship. this was sorta fun and if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

#communism

146 notes · View notes

brodaveisbad · 4 years ago

Photo

there’s gonna be obvious spoilers for the series also trigger warning for rape/rape attempts/mention, cisnormativity and all that shit. I’ll say when it’s coming up. — now bad yaoi anatomy aside, let’s review this masterpiece that isn’t really a masterpiece as you can see this is some yaoi anime called LOVE STAGE!! clearly, since it’s right up there in big pink letters. goddamn that’s bright i watched this a few years ago because some person i knew recommended it to me and swore that it was the best thing ever and even though i didnt really care for it i thought hey, why not give it a shot now let’s just start off saying that this anime is total bullshit so the main guy is the blonde twink here in the glasses. (is it just me or does it look like his glasses are fogged up and he needs to clean that shit) izumi, or whatever his name is. I don’t know. anyway he lives with his family which consists of well-known celebrities in their big ass house. his parents are actors and they constantly belittle him and push him away from his dreams because they’re pricks he’s an ‘otaku’ aka huge anime nerd, and his art sucks and he’s sweet and weird but pure so come on man don’t fuckin crush his dreams jfc. parents, man he also has a waifu named lala-lulu (what the hell kind of name is that) and has a body pillow of her the other guy here is a famous actor or something, I forgot his name. who the hell cares though his new name is douchey mcasshole because thats accurate and I’ll get to why later (and goddamn check out that seme yaoi face a++) –S P O I L E R– anyway they met when the twinks parents were doing a wedding commercial a long time ago when they were kids. mini douchey mcasshole was supposed to be the one who caught the flowers with some little girl but something happened and that girl couldn’t be there so they were like hey your kid looks like a girl (ugh) so he can fill her place so he did and he was nervous and kept fuckin up so mini douche who wasn’t much of a douche back then gave him a marble for good luck and they got through it they parted their ways and never saw each other again until the company that made said commercial decided they want them back to make a 10 year anniversary reprise or some shit the thing is though, after that commercial mr douche got a crush on izumi but only because he thought he was really a girl and he still fucking had it after all those years, and because he didn’t know and izumi was dressed up as a girl in the first commercial he had to do it again and he didn’t want to but his goddamn parents decided to force him into it like the pricks they still are also while the douche held onto the memory, izumi wiped it from his memory because the majority of it was a terrible experience for him AND he isn’t great at acting anyway so thats great so blah blah blah they get it over with and all that douchey mcasshole still thinks the twink a girl and is actually really nice until okay first let’s introduce this guy this is the twinks older brother who’s in a boy band or some shit and I don’t like him much because of what he did here but there’s something he’s pretty cool for that’s gonna come up some time after this (also he gave him the lala-lulu body pillow as a reward for getting through that commercial. what a good bro) anyway back to what I was saying –TW FOR CISNORMATIVITY/TRANSPHOBIA TOO MAYBE– (he isnt trans but still im just being safe here because of the dudes reaction is pretty…. yikes) basically after douchey mcasshole gives him a sweet, heartfelt love confession, izumis brother comes out and proves to him that he’s a guy by proving that he’s got a dick (ehhhhhh) and so douchey mcasshole gets pissed and hates him now for “"tricking”“ him and wasting his time or some bs like that (like i said, yikes) luckily it doesn’t bother izumi that much, but hes still disappointed that he isn’t the nice boy he met 10 years ago then some time later the douchebag realizes that he actually still likes him even though now he knows he’s a dude, so he comes over to get rid of those feelings by burning the fact that he’s a guy into his head so heres when things go to shit –TW FOR ATTEMPTED RAPE/RAPE MENT.– this fucker ends up chasing him around and makes him strip and those feelings don’t go away and instead take over, so tries to force himself on him which is not okay and why I fucking hate him so much luckily though izumis brother comes in and saves the day, thank god so hes stopped before he can really do anything and leaves out of sheer terror and izumis big bro hates him now and they both lost whatever trust they had for him Izumi locks himself in his room for a while but eventually leaves for school. there he sees the guy at the front entrance or something, the guy notices him and goes to talk to him. flashback time. twink is fucking terrified and RUNS. douchey mcasshole chases him, and izumi thinks hes gonna try that shit he did again. so he kind of escapes, but then some fucking. weird sumo wrestling dudes with animal heads are blocking the way and he can’t get trough (what the fuck) and yaoi douche catches up to him, then they spin away (I’m done) much to izumis surprise, he isn’t gonna try anything. he bows down on the ground and apologizes, promising not to do it again. so of course all of his trauma is dropped, he is magically not afraid anymore and forgives him. after this douchey is somehow less of an asshole and acts like a happy cutesy gay guy, and they even go on a date he even helps him out later with his entry for a manga contest thing. and Izumi, the twink, happened to promise his familys manager dude(whatever he is) or his parents or whatever that if he lost he would start his career as a star so of course since his art sucks ass he didn’t make it. poor guy. (im not gonna lie though. this shit looks worse than the bad anime art i made when i was 11. no fucking wonder he lost) so since im lazy as hell and I don’t feel like explaining the rest of the 10 episodes as a whole, im not gonna do that. skip skip so now he’s finally following his parents footsteps, everyone’s making a big deal about it and he gains popularity pretty fast. as everything’s going on he debates whether or not he has feelings for guys, douchey mcasshole specifically one day he accepts those feelings on that one day he has to hide from something and ends up in an area with this group of creeps. these creeps saw him on tv before or something, and don’t really believe that he’s a dude so they want to make sure. –TW FOR RAPE ATTEMPT AND CISNORMATIVITY, AGAIN– these guys hold him down, lift up his shirt and see his flat chest and are like aw man, hes really a dude. but then because he still looks cute to them or some shit they try pulling the same shit douchey mcasshole did so just as it’s about to happen again izumi realizes that he only wants douchey mcasshole, so he puts a stop to this and kicks some ass you go, man. (aw, our little twinkie is growing up) so he escapes, later runs into one of his nerd friends. they were supposed to hang out with some other guys but that didn’t go well since he was chased by fans earlier. and they talk about mr seme and it makes him think of his feelings more or something so he runs off to his house there he knocks on the door, tackles him, kisses him and says he wants to fuck so they fuck and that’s it, that’s the end. they fuck. douchey mcasshole finally gets the ass hes been craving and glasses twink gets the dick. the end, y'all. so what do i think is bs about this? the love interest dude is an asshole obviously, even though he acts like a fucking dork a lot of the time. because of his reaction when he found out izumi was a guy, the fact that he tried to rape him (twice, i didnt mention the second time because fuck that tbh) izumi left behind all of his fear and got over his trauma from what happened immediately which isnt even a thing that happens realistically he also ended up loving his almost-rapist and only truly accepting it when he was about to get gangbanged. and its kind of ridiculous how many times that shit almost happened to him. like, fucking hell, leave this guy alone. he ended up letting go of his dreams like his parents wanted just like that (practice makes perfect, my dude. keep drawing) there are some good things though, the art style is fine aside from the yaoi anatomy and the colors are alright. douchey mcasshole isnt really much of a douche a lot of the time and he does really care for izumi and there were some laughable parts, ive got to admit but jfc those sumo wrestling things, what the hell were they doing there? could they really have been more lazy so anyway i still think its bullshit

0 notes

bestnootropicssupplements-blog · 5 years ago

Text

3 Common Reasons Why Your Nootropic Supplements Isn't Working (And How To Fix It)

If there existed an innocuous drug that may transform your cognitive talents and functionality, would you are taking it?

Traditionally, humans have often spoken of a condition of becoming outside of the human opportunity; a handful of examples are immortality, superhuman energy, omnipotence, and psychic power. Currently, shelves on drug retailers abound with tablets, drinks, and tonics that purportedly strengthen IQ, memory, endurance, alertness, and mental emphasis. Amplified prevalence of “cosmetic neurology,” the off-label and non-prescription utilization of medicine to enhance effectiveness as opposed to to take care of an present affliction, has caught the eye from the media as well as the scientific Group (Chatterjee, 2004.) Particularly, “nootropics,” smart drugs made use of to reinforce cognitive general performance and abilities, current a divisive issue for both researchers and the general public sector (Farah et al., 2004; Racine & Forlini, 2008; Greely et al., 2008; Fukuyama, 2002; Cakic, 2009; Turner, 2002; McCabe, 2005.) New experiments show an increased prevalence of nootropics on higher education campuses to improve academic efficiency (McCabe, 2005; Diller, 1996.) Though only four-7% of US higher education pupils are diagnosed with focus deficit hyperactive problem (ADHD) applying DSM IV criteria, as much as 25% of school pupils with a specified campus noted having utilized stimulants designed for ADHD inside the preceding yr (Weyandt, 2006; McCabe, 2005; Teter, 2006.) Staggering figures regarding academic doping has initiated a Nootropic Supplements furious work by scientists, ethicists, professional medical practitioners, and The federal government to debate probable ethical implications of cognitive enhancements and long run directions. For future policymakers to deal with this concern, this paper will lay a preliminary ethical framework for considering foreseeable future nootropic regulation. The concerns talked about In this particular paper are not novel because they utilize in several elements to other pharmacological or non-pharmacological substances that may change general performance and leverage an unfair advantage concerning groups of individuals. Even so, these problems coalesce within a novel way with regard to using nootropics simply because their outcomes could also change the human brain, a consecrated A part of the human existence. Four salient moral concerns elevated by using nootropics that are sometimes tackled with reference to health care allocation are going to be talked about: 1) security, two) distributive justice, 3) coercion, and four) personhood.

As the field stands, the drug most frequently utilized for non-professional medical uses is methylphenidate (Ritalin). Methylphenidate is often a stimulant utilised to deal with ADHD in Grownups and kids and continues to be proven to boost notice, focus, spatial Doing work memory, and executive planning (Solanto, 1998; Pary, 2002; Weber, 2002.) The results of methylphenidates are thought to be modulated through the catecholamine procedure (Solanto, 1998.) Modafinil (Provigil), a drug made for your cure of narcolepsy with an identical clinical profile to methylphenidate, has also been demonstrated to get successful inside the treatment method of ADHD (Taylor & Russo, 2000.) Regardless of particular similarities to methylphenidate, modafinil won't act throughout the catecholamine pathway, although the correct mechanism is unfamiliar (Ferraro, 1996; 1997.) Other experiments have proven that this drug also enhances arousal, improves alertness, and improves sustained interest in rest deprived topics (Lagarde, 1995; Caldwell, 2000; Dodds et al., 2009.) The aforementioned improvements were being noticed in persons with ADHD, a demonstrated neurological ailment, which might benefit from pharmaceutical therapy to revive the brain to typical functioning. In balanced people today, results are inconclusive in regards to the benefits of methylphenidate and modafinil; in general the outcome have demonstrated selective conditional enhancements (Turner, 2002; Agay, 2010.) While these drugs usually do not incontrovertibly enrich cognitive effectiveness, they pose a singular ethical quandary that hasn't been addressed by medical professionals and scientists. Which is, what need to we, like a Modern society, do with regard to cognitive enhancements?

What exactly is the goal of medication?

This question lies at the heart of The difficulty of cognitive enhancements. Arguably, the answer could possibly be to Enhance the quality of life for sufferers or to deal with diseases. 1 see argues that the purpose of drugs is to improve the Standard of living with the patients by curing their ailments and returning them to some condition where they subjectively felt improved, and therein lays the trouble. Chatterjee discusses the dissonance between the perspectives of professional medical practitioners as well as their sufferers on The difficulty of Standard of living (2004.) While the main focus of allopathic medicine has been to deal with and treatment disorders, procedure of ailment signs isn't going to necessary Increase the Standard of living for clients. It may be said that for sufferers with incurable ailments, it would be much more beneficial to enhance their Standard of living in place of concentrating on person indicators from the usage of prescription drugs. One example is, in Parkinson’s disorder, remedy applying dopamine agonists can in fact induce negative Unintended effects for example nausea, vomiting, psychosis, and dyskinesia (Schrag, 2000; Chapuis, 2005.) The advantages obtained from alleviating Parkinson’s signs or symptoms In this instance may very well be overshadowed with the adverse Unwanted side effects from the medication, As a result even further lowering the quality of life with the individual.

Assuming that the goal of drugs is to enhance Standard of living for sufferers, we then achieve yet another ethical quandary. Who is a affected individual? Need to only those people who are ill be permitted use of medicine or really should all individuals be suitable for clinical support. More, should really ailment be described as a psychological, biological, behavioral ailment or some combination of Those people components? If just one were to mention that medical solutions ought to be limited to the ill, then there can be no want for preventive treatment, given that those persons aren't still sick. In mild of the fact that preventive treatment is definitely an integral A part of medicine, 1 must believe that every one folks, in spite of current well being status will have to qualify for professional medical care. Then, if improving the Standard of living for your diseased unique implies alleviating bothersome adverse signs or symptoms, what would that signify for a wholesome unique? Would that suggest that transcending over and above the “normal” human affliction and maximizing baseline efficiency are inherent areas of drugs?

While the use for prescribed drugs for remedy of diseases is undisputedly supported by most people, using prescribed drugs for enhancements is a lot more controversial (Chatterjee, 2004; Racine & Forlini, 2008.) Perhaps a single explanation why the use of cognitive improvements is so contentious is as it alters the status quo with the human condition. Historically, individuals are already quite resistant to modify till a catalyst triggers an indisputable paradigmatic change. Till then, experts, ethicists, practitioners, and the general public will often be divided amongst unique camps of considered, Just about every working on different paradigms. As talked about by Racine and Forlini, the several paradigms include cognitive enhancements as being a effective inevitability of human advancement, cognitive enhancements as abuse of prescription drugs, and cognitive enhancements being a Way of life decision (2008.) Even within the realm of academia, there isn't a greatly acknowledged paradigm. Greely et al. along with other distinguished teachers strongly advocate the dependable usage of cognitive enhancements, defending its prospective benefits under correct regulation whilst practitioners like Additional reading Chatterjee and philosophers like Fukuyama disagree (Greely et al. 2008; Farah et al., 2004; Harris, 2009; Fukuyama, 2002; Chatterjee, 2009.) Fukuyama maintains in his book Our Post Human Foreseeable future that “the initial reason of drugs would be to recover the Unwell, not convert healthy people into gods. (p.208, 2002)” So that you can shift closer into a unified and, far more importantly, informed plan final decision regulating the usage of cognitive improvement, it's important to contemplate the subsequent moral fears: protection, distributive justice, coercion, and personhood.

Are the advantages definitely worth the threat?

The initial moral concern that just one ought to take into account is the security on the client. In shielding the security of the individual, 1 have to evaluate the basic safety profile of your cognitive improvement in issue. Any time a individual is put on a drug, the medical doctor and affected person should carefully Appraise the equilibrium concerning the desired benefits as well as hazards. Clients usually prefer to consider medicine with major pitfalls since the opportunity Gains tend to be larger; an instance could be chemotherapeutic agents. Certainly, the advantages of drugs are heavily impacted through the disorder curing factor. Considering that cognitive enhancements in healthful individuals will not be meant to get rid of any unique ailments, the tolerance for pitfalls is severely lowered (Farah et al., 2004; Cakic, 2009; Butcher, 2003.) As a result, nootropic agents ought to be subjected to the identical, if not more stringent things to consider as other prescription drugs with reference to basic safety (Chatterjee, 2006.) Greely et al. and colleagues suggest accelerating the investigation approach to find out the system of action for many enhancements, to permit individuals and Medical practitioners to generate a totally educated choice that will improve gain and decrease harm (Greely et al., 2008.) Sure clinicians might think that any potential threat into a healthful specific shouldn't be tolerated, Consequently, cognitive enhancements really should not be built accessible (Chatterjee, 2004; 2006.) Nonetheless, these clinicians would be remiss in denying patient autonomy. When entirely informed with the prospective challenges and benefits, a client has each ideal to make a decision for himself/herself the system of therapy (Quill & Brody, 1996.) As a result, the purpose of your clinicians and legislator will be a fantastic stability amongst factors for affected person protection and maintaining patient autonomy. Even though the individual tasks of clinicians and legislators are various, discussions has to be facilitated involving the two teams so as to access an optimal solution towards the regulation of cognitive enhancements. If cognitive enhancements pose undisputed and unavoidable threats to client safety, the clinicians and legislators are within their legal rights, and so are responsibility sure, to protect the patients from these kinds of substances. On the other hand, In the event the Unwanted effects are usually not harmful to Modern society in general along with the improvement wouldn't cause unavoidable damage, then the decision for use must be that on the affected individual’s. What constitutes societal detriments can be determined by a collaboration concerning physicians and legislators, taking into account results on health and individuals. Most significantly, as proposed by Greely et al. and colleagues, it is the part in the researchers to make certain that results of their scientific research are appropriately portrayed and employed to help educated conclusions (2008.)

Would enhancements offer equal Gains to all?

The second ethical worry is distributive justice. If cognitive enhancements were produced readily available, would The supply from the drugs The natural way show useful to some while disadvantaging Other individuals? As with all free-industry items, cognitive enhancements would conceivably advantage the wealthy over the economically disadvantaged. Much morein excess of, if cognitive enhancements augment cognitive means past ordinary capacity, then the rich might have greater indicates and chance to attain these cognitive enhancements, monopolizing the industry on the new cognitive norm (Butcher, 2003.) With regard to employ of nootropics in an instructional location, just one could contend that nootropic use would create an uneven taking part in discipline, allowing people who can afford the enhancements to outperform individuals that can not. This would produce a cyclical impact on education and work disadvantaging individuals who would not have the suggests to reach the new norm in the end. Having said that, to convey the availskill of cognitive enhancements as free of charge-current market goods would produce a novel uneven field can be naïve. Disparities exist already when it comes to Organic and environmental incongruities concerning the socioeconomic courses (Farah, 2002.) Farah et al. argue that schooling is definitely an unequally distributed cognitive enhancer that may be tolerated by society, thus, prohibiting the usage of cognitive enhancements around the grounds of unequal distribution would be superfluous and hypocritical (2002; 2004; Butcher, 2003.) If everything, it might be easier to make sure the equal distribution of cognitive improvement than it really is to be certain equivalent schooling prospects a result of the point that there are several components contributing to education and learning inequalities (eg. location, economic prosperity, and so on…) (Butcher, 2003.)

Would cognitive enhancers indirectly bring about peer force to be used?

The 3rd moral concern is coercion. There are 2 forces of coercion: implicit desire to keep up the status quo, and express calls for to satisfy and exceed pre-identified expectations (Chatterjee, 2004.) Numerous worry that if cognitive enhancements were being manufactured available, then individuals who selected not make use of them could well be implicitly and explicitly coerced by their peers in an effort to continue to be aggressive. The extreme situation would be laws demanding utilization of cognitive enhancements for people do the jobing in the general public sector to satisfy purchaser needs. An instance cited by Chatterjee is predicated on former findings of improved performances of pilots in crisis problem while using donezepil (Chatterjee, 2004; Yesavage, 2001.) Would the customers on the airlines be justified in demanding that all pilots be getting donezepil? Would this be ethical? Would buyers even have to have to make these types of needs since pilots may well then come to feel pressured to choose donezepil to create improve their attractiveness in The task marketplace? As right before, it would be ignorant to are convinced these forces of coercion usually do not exist in nowadays’s society. Experiments have demonstrated which the incidence of non-healthcare prescription stimulant use is bigger amongst US university students with lessen quality issue averages, suggesting that these learners now really feel pressured to make use of stimulants to maintain up with their friends while in the competitive educational natural environment (McCabe, 2005.) Cakic posits that in order for a student to experience implicitly coerced to make use of cognitive enhancements, two standards need to be met: 1) college students who use cognitive enhancements would've a definite edge above those that never, and 2) a appreciably superior portion of the scholar populace need to be utilizing cognitive enhancements (Cakic, 2009.) With out in depth empirical knowledge, It will be challenging to assess the coercive forces at play in today’s society, especially in academia in which cognitive enhancement use can be most commonplace. It would be hard to make a transparent policy conclusion depending on this issue alone.

How will the user’s notion of self change?

The final moral thing to consider is personhood, or one particular’s perception of oneself. Understandably, critics are cautious of psychoactive substances and their probable influence on the notion of self. Further more, there is an argument that an integral Component of humanity, or relatively our notion of personhood, could be in danger if a person have been to employ cognitive enhancements (Butcher, 2003; Chatterjee, 2004; Wolpe, 2002.) By personhood, these critics are referring to your quintessential essence of human suffering; the extremely act of striving towards a purpose defines that personal’s identification as perceived by Other folks and their individual self-identity. Cognitive enhancements would provide shortcuts to people today, bypassing many of existence’s required and formative struggles, Therefore altering someone’s personhood and definition of self (Wolpe, 2002.) Wolpe refers to struggles including the late evening persevering to find out a different issue or ability (2002.) Obviously, the opposing viewpoints could assert that right now’s Modern society, Outfitted with perpetually switching technologies permits people today to redefine, reinforce, or simply rebuild their identities, and the usage of cognitive boostments would simply be built-in into These processes.

Are we Completely ready?

This paper discussed numerous crucial ethical dilemmas associated with The difficulty of cognitive enhancements. Although present-day medication applied While using the intention of enhancing cognitive skills have revealed minor to no significant advancements in healthful persons, it continues to be crucial to commence the BestNootropics.co investigative system by examining the validity of present and novel moral stances. Further, to be able to achieve a completely informed final decision that is in the top desire of Culture, there needs to be collaboration and communication involving scientists, practitioners, ethicists, legislators, and most people. First of all, experts and doctors should figure out the ramification of extended usage of cognitive enhancements on our brains, delineating the morphological, behavioral, and cognitive consequences. From these findings, It might be doable to evaluate the diploma of effects these enhancements can have on an individual And exactly how that affect will translate to society as a whole. Legislators and ethicists have to then interpret these effects and decide vital polices in conditions of producing and distribution. Ideally, this process would come about 1st with the countrywide amount then on a world scale to make certain nations would not capitalize on this opportunity to coin a brand new kind of warfare, “intelligence warfare.”

Whilst we are not yet in a stage exactly where a drug incontrovertibly improves cognitive skills beyond normal potential, it's important that we build the framework to finest accommodate foreseeable future scenarios. With developments not simply in prescribed drugs but technological advancements, it is actually plausible that these factors is going to be utilized faster rather than afterwards.

0 notes

jam2289 · 5 years ago

Text

Making Speeches for the Harry Potter Festival - Part 5 of ?

Potter in the Park is tomorrow. I'm going to go over a number of logistical issues (the boring part), and then the presentations themselves (the exciting part).

The woman that manages the event seems way overwhelmed. She started this thing a number of years ago and I think it's probably surprised her how large it is getting now. She kept telling me that she would answer my questions later because she was busy. That went on for a few months. For about a week now she hasn't responded to, or even looked at, my messages. So, I don't know if I can get into the event early, which is kind of important because early admission is at noon and I give a speech at 12:15, which is before the general admission at 12:30. I don't know if there is an MC or if I will get introduced. I don't know if I will have a handheld microphone or a headset. Basically, I have none of the information that you would like to have if you were giving a presentation at an event. But, I do like to have my presentations half set and half created in the moment, apparently the whole event is like that.

Since Rebecca never found out if the real muzzleloaders could be used at the event, I ordered and am bringing cap guns, but they are ones that look like classic dueling pistols, they look good. Since she never got back to me about if anyone is introducing me, or if I just wander up on stage at my time and take over, I should probably go in with the plan that no one is introducing me. That's probably for the best anyway. I'll obviously have to figure out the microphone situation when I get there. Hopefully the tech people will be on it, hopefully there are tech people.

I did notice that the schedule was released a few days ago. Here are the times for my presentations.

- - - - - - -

12:15 - Muggle Studies: The Great Gnome Conspiracy of the 18th and 19th Centuries

3:30 - Muggle Studies: A Short History of Muggle Dueling

4:45 - Muggle studies: Muggle Encounters with Dragons Through the Ages

6:30 - Muggle Studies: Further Research on the Many Uses of the Rubber Duck

- - - - - - -

I don't know how much prep time I get, and I don't know if there's any way to keep track of my presentation time while on stage. Good things to know beforehand, but since I have a lack of communication coming my way, I'll have to figure these out on the fly. (I wonder if all of the presenters are completely in the dark on all of this stuff, or if there's a list I wasn't put on, or if I was blacklisted.)

The world is full of logistical issues, but I do have a lot of things going well.

I inked my own tattoos and they turned out pretty well. Better than I expected. I have the Dark Mark on the inside of my left forearm (from my impertinent youth as a gullible young wizard). I have the Deathly Hallows on the back of my right hand. (I also have 42 on my left hand. I find it odd that no one has asked why. It's not from Harry Potter, it's the answer the ultimate question of the meaning of life, the universe, and everything from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". I feel like someone will say something tomorrow.)

I carved my own wand, and it looks decent. It is definitely unique. I don't really need it for anything, but hey, I have it.

I have a bag of rubber ducks. They're for the presentation about rubber ducks. And, they're better than I expected. They just arrived today. There are six, and they are different sizes. The big one will be great for people to see from farther away, and they will all be good for throwing.

I picked up the LARP staffs and swords today from The Griffin's Rest in Muskegon. They will be used in the dueling demonstration, along with the pistols. I told Kiel to pick them out for me and just told him that I was doing a dueling demonstration at a Harry Potter festival. I assumed I would end up with normal looking staffs and crazy swords for some reason. I was completely backwards, I have crazy looking staffs and normal looking swords. I've been thinking about how to use that, and I think it'll work great.

I'm hoping that some people will record the presentations and send me the videos. We'll see.

I may try to get a chiropractic adjustment tomorrow after teaching and before heading to Sparta. I'm not sure I can fit it in though. I should get there early because parking is usually an issue in Sparta, and I'll have to store stuff in my car and retrieve it for my presentations.

Since I'm a professor, I can carry a notebook on stage, so I'll probably do that. I don't usually use notes, and in general I really dislike it, but it makes sense in this situation. It will be more difficult if I have to use a handheld mic, so I'll be flexible on that tomorrow.

Since we're assuming I'll be introducing myself I'll probably do something similar at the beginning of each presentation. I don't want to dive right into the main part of my presentation unless someone else introduces me, or a lot of people will miss the first line. That's the main difference between being introduced and introducing yourself.

I'll probably do something like:

- - - - - - -

My name is Jeffrey Alexander Martin. I'm a writer at JeffThinks.com. I am a visiting lecturer here at the Sparta Institute for Muggle Studies, the current Assistant Professor of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the former Professor of Muggle Studies at Ilvernmorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is MUG 207 - Muggles in Real Life, and today we'll be going over...(depends on the speech).

Now, let me ask you this...(start speech).

- - - - - - -

Something like that. It will change in the moment, because that's how I like to do it.

Alright, let's tackle the speeches in order. Gnomes first.

- - - - - - -

Have you ever seen a muggle lawn gnome?

Just a few years ago - doing research door to door - saw a few of these weird little things and asked about them.

The real story - first used in muggle book in 1753.

1794 book "A Complete Edition of the Poets of Great Britain. Volume the Eighth. Containing Pope, Gay, Pattifon, Hammond, Savage, Hill, Tickell, Somervile, Broome, Pitt & Blair."

Canto IV of "The Rape of the Lock" by Alexander Pope

Swift on his footy pinions flits the gnome,

And in a vapour reach'd the difmal dome.

Seen as magical by muggles, who caught them for various reasons. Hotly debated, some saw it as good, others opposed. Political meeting where fight broke out.

Small group launched a conspiracy to get muggles to think that gnomes were fictional creatures and to replace them with different kinds of wooden and stone statues.

Problem still ongoing. Muggle encounter with a gnome that I saw.

The next time that you see a gnome on a muggles lawn, know that there is more to the story.

- - - - - - -

I reserve the right to change any of this at any moment. There is a balance here to being between a professor and a speaker.

Next, dueling.

- - - - - - -

Laura in crowd.

"Have you ever seen muggles fight?"

Story of seeing muggle fight.

Story of starting research, connecting with a history buff that's a reenactor.

Call up Laura - Professor Whitestone, who teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The Griffin's Rest of Muskegon lent us muggle training instruments.

Staff - trade blows in kneeling position, Jeff down. (Only one written record of such a type of duel. Look at notes to seem like I'm reading instructions.)

Sword - classic kid's style, Laura down.

Gun - get the crowd involved. Back to back 10 paces, turn and fire. Split crowd, one half says pow and one half says boom. Jeff down. Laura comes to check.

Ongoing research is important. The next time you see muggles in an argument, ask them if you can watch them duel.

- - - - - - -

And... dragons!

- - - - - - -

Have you ever heard muggles talking about dragons?

First time I saw a dragon, fly over at quidditch tournament as kid.

First time I heard muggles talking about dragons, at least that I noticed, doing research on dueling, of course. Seemed like they thought they were real.

Did door to door research to determine what muggles thought of dragons. (When I found out about muggle lawn gnomes.)

Most thought fake, some thought real as an archetype. Explain archetype psychology.

George and the Dragon, what people know and what's real.

Specific organizations handle these incidents. Plane, boat, and car accidents. Example.

The next time you hear muggles talking about dragons, ask them if they think they're real.

- - - - - - -

Finally, the rubber ducks.

- - - - - - -

My first accidental encounter with a rubber duck as a child.

Reading Arthur Weasley's paper on "The Many Uses of the Rubber Duck" while in school at Ilvermorny.

A teenage adventure to try to observe a rubber duck in action. (factory and/or family)

What the research has revealed: humor, entertainment, child training in animal interaction, water transportation, distraction, possible growth into hunting decoys, relation to the rubber chicken, play as life preparation.

Questions fielded from the class. (Possibly hundreds of people from a large crowd in front of the main stage.)

Homework assignments.

- - - - - - -

Somewhere in there I'm going to throw some rubber ducks into the crowd.

I may or may not do homework assignments and questions in any of the presentations. That will depend on how the situation is going. If I get hecklers I will probably just take points away from their house, which will never be from the best house, which is Ravenclaw.

Well, that's the basic idea anyway. I'll learn a lot about how the event is going to go in that first speech. That should allow me to work out a lot of the logistical details for the later speeches. It's going to be pretty crazy.

________________________________________________

You can find more of what I'm doing at http://www.JeffreyAlexanderMartin.com

0 notes