#our behavioral system mostly involves saying

[goldyke]

Anyone who says that Autistic people who script/tv talk aren’t communicating is a fucking liar or a damn fool

My new favorite example: a kid at school was told “We’re not friends anymore” and she immediately responded “You get 0 ClassDojo[1] points”

Excuse me she is expressing that she is disappointed in this other person’s actions just fine I think.

[1] A classroom app with many available tools including a point-based behavioral system

[freezeris]

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁❄️personal astro observations❄️. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

❗️Just a heads up: I'm not a professional, just an amateur, and these are going to be largely based on my first-hand experiences and people I know. Unfortunately I've had a lot of unfavorable experiences in my earlier life, so there will be a good amount of negative points I make about some placements, but in no way does this mean I think everyone who has these will express them in this way. We all have all 12 signs in our charts, so to hate any one of the archetypes would be detrimental to one's own growth, I think. Also: I mostly use tropical astrology and the placidus house system, so most observations will be based on that.

❄️ Taurus & Libra MC as well as Venus in the 10th seem to be most likely to survive big scandals with little harm done to their reputation & career prospects. They tend to be considered "unproblematic faves" unless there's a lot of Pluto/Scorpio/Mars/Aries energy involved, which can make them more likely to be involved in public conflict.

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❄️ Not me checking famous Taurus MC people on Astrotheme while writing the above ↑ point and Donald Trump showing up first... 💀 Well, he's certainly no "unproblematic fave", but despite how controversial he is, his money and career still seem to be doing just fine, which is my main point. But tbh he is not a "typical" Taurus MC, 'cause he has that Sun conjunct Uranus in his 10th house, which makes him incredibly polarizing and shocking.

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❄️ I don't want to dedicate too much space on this post to that crétin, but it makes sense that his 7th house of open enemies starts in Aquarius and envelops most of Pisces. The people who openly oppose him certainly can be described with Aquarius & Pisces keywords like "progressive, compassionate, modern, etc.".

Meanwhile his 12th house of hidden enemies is in Leo, same sign as his Ascendant. He also has Pluto and Mars sitting there. I think if anyone is going to catch him by surprise and cause serious problems for him it's gonna be his own hubris + people he keeps close to him, most likely a man (or group of men) who has a very aggressive, Mars & Pluto dominant energy. It would be someone who's very similar to him and reflects these energies back to him.

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❄️ Staying on the topic of 12th house: I've had a lot of experience with 12h synastry, and unfortunately more often than not it was painful. It has the potential to be beautiful, but it only works when both people are VERY self-aware. Ideally both people should have 12h, Neptune or Pisces dominance. these people will have the easiest time making this synastry overlay work.

Personally that's why now I'm wary of getting too close to Aries & Libra Risings since most of my personal planets fall in their 12th house. In all these connections it felt like I wasn't really seen, like they only saw one half of me and tried to change & shame the rest of me. None of them had Pisces/12h placements either so that made it harder for them to even want to explore their 12h themes. 🥲

❄️ Shout out to men with Virgo + Sagittarius dominance in the same chart, gotta be one of the most obnoxious combinations..... 😭 I have Virgo & Sagittarius/9h prominence myself and Sagittarius is my favorite sign, but I'm sorry to say that a lot of men with these placements are so hard to like because, when immature, they can be so arrogant and the biggest know-it-alls.

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❄️ The chart shape is such an underrated topic, if you ask me. From what I've observed, people with very huddled together charts (everything in the same hemisphere, because they have a Stellium or two there) tend to have a harder time relating to others earlier in life and seem more closed-minded. More "my way or the high-way" type of behavior. 😮‍💨

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❄️ I also went to class with two Gemini Stellium girls (4 planets) who both had Pisces Moons, and they were...incredibly unhinged and classic mean girls.

Forget Scorpio, I personally think Gemini can be the scariest sign in such high concentration, 'cause usually their main motive for doing something is out of boredom and curiosity, which makes them the most unpredictable sign imo.

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❄️ However, it can also manifest very positively. The singer AURORA is one of my favorite artists and she has ALL her personal planets in Gemini and it shows. 😂 She's so uninhibited and full of wonder and whimsy. One of the healthiest Gemini doms imo. I think the Sagittarius Pluto and Capricorn + Aquarius outer planets help her a lot to balance out and ground the airy and detached nature of the sign.

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❄️ I think those who have some oppositions and trines in their chart tend to be more well-liked by comparison (compared to the cluster chart shape, which often lacks oppositions and sometimes trines). It really helps to balance someone out and open their mind to both sides of a spectrum when they have oppositions in their natal chart. Oppositions carry a similar energy to Saturn, so it may be difficult in your youth, but it's there to help you set a solid foundation.

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❄️ Looping back to Sagittarius for a bit, this time with a more funny/neutral thing: One of the Sagittarius Stellium men I knew has 3 degrees, one of them being law, another philosophy. And a secret third thing. Just thought that was incredibly Sagittarius of him. 😂 And another Sagittarius Stellium man I knew was a high school teacher. Though I don't know if he still does it, since he always complained about wanting to leave eventually. And he was a shit teacher anyway, soooooo yeah. Good for the kids lmao.

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❄️ Born to dilly-dally 🦋✨️🐬🌈🌷, forced to lock in 😭: Pisces 🤝 Taurus 🤝 Gemini 🤝 Sagittarius

❄️ Born to lock in ☄️🔥⚡️💥💪 , forced to dilly-dally 😑: Aries 🤝 Capricorn 🤝 Virgo

❄️ For some reason out of all the Mars signs I used to attract Libra, Scorpio and Cancer Mars the most. And as an Aries Mars... that shit was exhausting. 😭

The Libra Mars usually fall in my 2nd house, and at it's worst that overlay can mean that the Mars person will attack the house person's self-esteem and values. Might even literally smash/destroy some of their belongings in some cases, since the 2nd House can rule over material possessions and finances too.

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❄️ Almost as difficult (FOR ME) to make work is a close relationship with Scorpio Mars because it falls in my 3rd house and hoooo boy... The horror stories I could tell of family members who have this placement verbally abusing me and gossiping about me to the whole neighborhood. Some even triangulated me against my sister (also a 3rd house thing). Someone's Mars in your 3rd house can make them more likely to gossip or even straight up verbally attack you, so this tends to be a tricky one as well.

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❄️ Well, Mars is difficult almost anywhere tbh, especially if the Mars person doesn't like you. I think the easiest one might be the other persons Mars in your 5th house. Mostly this seems to manifest as sexual attraction. When it's platonic it can mean they push you to go out and have fun & try new things with them. I have to say Capricorn Mars are my faves for this reason. Also because they don't square any of my personal planets aside from my own Mars, but it's better than touching a delicate thing like my Moon or Venus.

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❄️ North Node opposite North Node has got to be one of the most uncomfortable synastry aspects, if you ask me. 🥲 I think it can feel comforting if you're someone who hasn't really worked towards embracing your North Node. But if you are on your way there, then getting close to someone with this can feel like they're unintentionally holding you back.

I know I have to keep my distance from them because I notice I usually end up slipping into old patterns I was trying to let go of.

❄️ Everyone I know who is a vegetarian or vegan has strong Earth sign or Aquarius influence, myself included. 🐇🌿 Of course not everyone that has these signs in their personal planets is, but when someone is they usually DO have those placements.

For the Earth signs it makes sense since they are connected to nature & animals. Plus all of them tend to be picky or sensitive with what they put in their system. Aquarius looks out for anyone or anything that's being treated cruelly and are drawn to different and progressive ideas.

I think Pisces can also easily be convinced with emotional arguments and I believe this sign rules over large animals like cows, elephants, whales etc. (while Virgo rules over small animals like cats and birds), so that can be a prominent sign in the chart of a vegan/vegetarian too.

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❄️ One of the most explosive and verbally abusive people I know has her Cancer Mercury square her Aries Mars. She also has Virgo Moon conjunct Venus, so she's incredibly critical of everyone. She doesn't let people finish their sentences, always trying to speak over them and raising her voice. I'm a conflict avoidant Pisces & 7h dom, but this woman makes me SO MAD. 💥👊💥👊💥👊

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❄️ Earth Risings have their Fire energy in their 4/8/12 house which are the most private and hardest to access & express outwardly. This is sad because ideally you would have your Fire signs on the 1/5/9 houses which revolve around self-expression.

In my experience, and based on all the Earth Risings I know, as a child they were usually reprimanded whenever they were too loud or tried to get attention. And even when they didn't get directly told to "shut up", they were surrounded by adults and siblings who were all incredibly domineering and loud themselves, so there was usually no room or acceptance for the Earth Rising childs fiery side.

This is why they come off as being so introverted. It's because they got the message early that they're not supposed to shine, certainly not outshine the people around them. It's extra painful when they have personal planets in Fire signs. 💔

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❄️ I'm a Pisces Mercury and I've had the most difficult time communicating with Virgo Mercuries. I knew a guy with Retrograde Virgo Mercury and he pissed me off so much because I tried really hard to get on the same page, but he didn't and had this attitude of "here's why you're wrong and I'm right." 😑💥💥💥 I eventually got so frustrated that I told him how misunderstood I felt, but he didn't agree that we were misunderstanding each other and kept trying to force his views and values on me...dude was only talking at me, not with me.........

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❄️ Mercury in Gemini is a close second for Mercury placements that I keep having misunderstanding with. Which makes sense since it squares mine.

But surprisingly I can't say the same for Sagittarius Mercury. 🧐 The people I had the easiest time communicating with all had this placement.

I think it may be because both signs are ruled by Jupiter and are in detriment when in Mercury, so both of us struggle a lot to put the higher, spiritual concepts we naturally pick up on into words.

I also have Sagittarius in my 4th house, so maybe that helps them feel more comfortable talking to me. Meanwhile their Mercury is on my Pluto so I'm a bit obsessed with how they think and what they have to say. I'm like "omg your mind." 🤯

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❄️ I don't want to elaborate what kind of relationship I had with this person, but just know it wasn't romantic/sexual: Most confusing, mixed signals kinda energy I ever got from a man was when he had his Lilith exactly on my Sun and his Mars(conj. Uranus) square my Moon + Ascendant.💀

It's like one moment he was treating me nicely and then the next I was being raked over the coals and criticized, even for something small like my posture being slumped... I felt like he was trying to "tame" and mold me. He slammed me for not acting assertive enough, yet when I did assert myself he immediately attacked me for it. It was really emotionally damaging to me because this guy was like a mentor figure of sorts, so of course I had to be open to what he had to say initially...

This is why now I'm adamant about checking my synastry with someone before I get seriously involved. If I had known earlier I wouldn't have felt so gaslit and would've cut him & others out sooner. Gonna ask everyone to slide me their birth charts from now on, idc if it makes me seem judgy. It's better to pick your battles, as they say. 😂

I think that's it for now. I had a lot more in mind, but in typical Pisces Mercury fashion: I forgor. 😅

❄️dividers by dollywons❄️

[alpaca-clouds]

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (or: why the climate movement is failing)

Okay, talking about politics this week, let me talk about this amazing book that you all should read, because it is not that long and it really makes a lot of good points. I found this book through the Philosophy Tube video a couple of years ago.

So, what is this book about?

To put it lightly: It is about how the climate movement is failing over their refusal to use any sort of violence or sabotage. And it is about the ethics of violence.

Which is not only important to the climate movement, but all sorts of progressive movements. Which again brings me back to what I talked about so many times before: Being against a revolution is being against change. And the left in general has a problem with idealizing parcifism to an unhealthy degree.

Let me explain: The left has in general very much drunken the cool-aid to accept that there is no violence happening right now, so using violence against the perceived non-violence is wrong. But that entire idea is bullshit.

Letting people starve, while there is enough food around for everyone, is a form of violence.

Letting people die of preventable deseases, because they cannot afford health care, is a form of violence.

Letting people die in extreme weather, just so that a few people can profit from fossil fuels... Well, that is a form of violence, too.

But left people - especially white, leftists - have very much accepted that non-action can never be violence. So, not giving someone the food they need, cannot be violence in their point of view. So, using violence to act against the system that lets this happen again and again... that is "out of proportion" in their point of view. Because they do not suffer themselves, they do not perceive the violence.

The book talks about how specifically the climate movement refuses to use any form of violence, even just in the form of sabotage, in which no human would ever come to harm. Which is why the title is "how to blow up a pipeline". Because blowing up a pipeline would harm those, who profit from climate change, from the fossil fuels. The book is also about how the climate movement then goes ahead to appropriate civil rights leaders, without really understanding the context they were in. Because they will name Martin Luther King, Ghandi or Nelson Mandela as examples of people who succeeded with non-violence, without acknowledging that all three of those leaders were leaders of a non-violent group that closely associated with a violent movement that aimed for the same changes. And through that contrast - of a violent group and a peaceful group with widespread support - the people in power were forced to make a move to work towards them to some degree.

Now, technically the book involved nothing new to me. Because I thought about this topic - about the ethics and visuals of violence - for a long while now. It also is fitting with the entire French Revolution thing I spoke about on Sunday. Because we see it in the judgement of the French Revolution as well. On how there a) was a peaceful group first, and b) the violence that happened, happened in response to other violence.

And as the book points out: The fossil fuel industry does not care. As a German I know this too well. And I think it is no accident that a lot of the examples of this in the book come from Germany. Our climate movement here is very tame. It is mostly just kids (like people between their teens and early twenties) doing protests in forms of blocking streets and the likes. Yet, the fossil lobby and those in power will call that "terrorism" and will call that one time when folks tore down a fence at the coal mine as "extreme violent behavior". They are doing massive and at times violent police action against those KIDS, who organize the street blockades. Having thrown literal teenagers into prison for at times weeks, before judges intervened clearly saying that "the kids have done nothing illegal".

They do not care that the movement is non-violent. And the movement will not get anywhere, without some group standing in and doing some damage to the most important thing those people can think of: Their base line.

[hellsglows-bells]

Intro/Info Post!

Hello! You can refer to us collectively as Mess, or just Oro, as we’re more commonly known. We’re a traumagenic, polyfragmented/highly complex DID system of 5k+ alters, and this is our selfship blog!

We are bodily 18. We are autistic with selective mutism, BPD, OCD, and various other mental illnesses and physical disorders we’d rather not publicize. Please note that we sometimes struggle to socialize, as well as struggle to process things because of how our brain works.

Also note that our BPD plays a big part in our selfshipping and behavior towards our F/Os. We’re very clingy, affectionate people!

IMPORTANT STUFF!

We are semi-sharing, meaning that half of our F/Os we’re comfortable sharing, and the other half we aren’t! Who we’re comfortable sharing and who we aren’t will be listed in our F/O doc!

We have a lot of F/Os, mostly due to the sheer number of alters in our system. This is partly why we’ve had to make ourselves less strict about sharing, because we just have. A lot. And we love them all dearly!

We are proship/profic/anti-censorship, and some of our F/Os relationships with our S/Is fall under the categories of comshipping and darkshipping. All posts involve darkship or comship themes will be properly tagged, but we will not hold back on posting.

We don’t have a DNI, we think DNIs are pointless. The only thing we ask is that minors stay away, because we will be posting some more mature content.

We are a gay male heavy system, so the majority of our F/Os are men. Saying this now to clear up any confusion if there would be any.

LINKS!

F/O List

Proship-centric blog: @electrocentric

[threebooksoneplot]

Was just catching up on the pod and had to chime in on ep 29. I think it’s a little unfair to say that Bella is being over the top in her depression era. Yes she is sad about Edward leaving but it goes deeper than that: it wasn’t just a boyfriend she was losing.

She is an only child with an immature, selfish mom and a dad that, while nice enough, hardly knows her. The Cullens are a large, cohesive, loving family and she wanted to join them badly. Also, now that she knows that the supernatural exists, she wants to be a part of that world badly and losing Edward also meant losing her chance at immortality. She didn't just lose a boyfriend, she lost the best possible version of her life.

Bella's depression is always going to be a hot topic, trust me bestie. G has talked pretty decently in-show about how Bella lost her entire support system. that's 100% true: she put all her eggs in one vampire-shaped basket, went full tunnel-vision when it came to edward, and only focused on that for 6+ months. but imo it's unfair to point toward charlie and renee (don't worry, I'll get into that) and shuffle responsibility onto them for the way bella spirals after edward/the cullens depart, leaving her with some vague yearning for a loving family (which, tbh, I'm not sure I see supported in canon in any way?)

friend I am so sorry to break it to you but the podcast jokes about stanning renee are not a bit. I (shannon) will always come to the defense of my girl renee dwyer because of how severely she's been mischaracterized by fandom at large. I won't get into it too deeply (me when I lie) because I really could go on all day but bella's parents being distant to the plot they way they both are is 100% by design. it's the whole Disney Mom Effect. when your character is designed to go off on adventures and have a fantastical journey, you sort of end up killing the mom (or at least one parent) so that there's more of that push for the main character to go out and make their own life! woo! enjoy your magical journey! but if you have a mom that is thoughtful, super-involved, ever-present, and/or ahem, alive, that fucks with the plans. renee isn't some neglectful monster who abandoned her daughter to go spend weekends in miami. charlie isn't some dumb sitcom dad who weaponizes incompetence to get free meals. they both love, care about, and worry for bella the way a normal parent would (and we see this in canon). now, smeyer didn't kill either of them, but honestly she pulled off charlie and renee's characters really well imo!

anyways, I agree that losing a vampire boyfriend that could have offered you infinite money or eternal life is a big L, no matter what. but the thing is, bella doesn't care about either of those things. she doesn't care about anything beyond Being With Edward (and Alice, to a lesser extent). the vampirism and cullens are a bonus perk, but she only focuses on edward. that's why we're always going to clown on her "throbbing" holes and her boring nightmares. sure, I feel bad about her complete lack of self-esteem and her self-destructive streak, but it's so hard to feel bad for her when the way she thinks about and acts toward non-cullen characters is like, uh... not great. so I am very sorry to you and the whole of your defense squad, and I wish you the best in your journey, but I don't think we'll ever NOT roll our eyes at Bella's behavior in this book 💔😔—shannon

^ me (G) reading shannon's answer to this

I mostly agree (except for the part about pulling off charlie's and renee's characters well. idk if I'd go THAT far.) the tl;dr for me is that I understand why many people find bella (particularly in her depression era) relatable, and I entered into this reading hoping (and even lowkey expecting) that I too would come away with more appreciation for her character, but I....did not. the opposite happened. that's my truth and if it makes me a hater, I'm a hater ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ —G

[hyog-blog]

Under the Microscope

This is such a neatly made little historical drama, based on an actual case from the Ming dynasty, that you could absolutely binge-watch it in a day or two (just 14 eps). What starts as a simple math problem, a discrepancy in numbers between the actual field measurements and what is written in the registry reports, later blooms into a huge case of corruption on different levels of the government system in 8 different counties along with tax evasion, murders, false witnesses, and whatnot.

Chinese bureaucratic system of that period seems like a real nightmare, even more so, when someone is trying to investigate a case (and, in many ways, things really haven't changed that much in modern times). The story revolves around Shuai Jia Mo, a math genius who lacks social skills and is probably mildly autistic. His parents die in a fire under mysterious circumstances. All he's left with are a few memories and the number 3530, which turns out to be the exact number of taxes his whole county is paying out of thin air. No one knows where the tax came from and why people have to pay it, so he starts the investigation with the help of his friend. Naturally, all the powers involved try to silence them as soon as possible.

I really had no idea a show about ancient Chinese taxes could be so captivating - mostly thanks to a well-written plot and superb acting, as well as interesting, shrewd, and excessively scheming characters. I guess this is a story more about human nature, that's why it's so relatable today, and the quest for justice, because for each bad and greedy person out there in the world, there is one with a pure heart and soul who wants to do good. And sometimes, that person could actually win (well, at least in a cdrama :)

We see quite a few charismatic faces here. Wang Yang (Teng Zijing in JOL) seems to be very compatible with Zhang Ruoyun. Here he starts as an antagonist, Cheng Renqing, a lawyer who defends anyone who pays him more (in this case, the bad guys). For a good half of the show, he's just an increasingly annoying lil' shit with a broad smile and a sharp tongue, but then things change, we get to know his story, and he turns to our boy's side eventually. Wu Gang (Chen PingPing from Joy of Life) is a welcome treat no matter what role he takes. He's so good at playing skin-crawling bad guys, it's just remarkable. I also fell in love with Feng Biyu, a feisty lady-owner of a meat shop, who can beat the hell out of quite a few bullies who go after her little bro and the ML.

Needless to say, Zhang Ruoyun's performance was top-notch. I can't imagine how hard it is to depict such a character - but I totally believed him! Both his math genius side and the slightly autistic side. It actually leads to some pretty funny scenes because of how straightforward he is, not understanding the intricacies of human behavior (and the lies and the games between people).

I was not-really-surprised to hear Liu Yuning's voice at the ending OST of the series (the guy is literally everywhere:) but ah, he's just such a good singer and the song really got me hooked from the first notes. I also want to say that style-wise the show is quite beautifully made, too. It's a true-to-life historical depiction of the Ming period, but the shots, the light, the colors - everything was just very pretty!

The show is a kind of detective case story about tax evasion, but the characters make it very alive and entertaining to watch. There's some drama sprinkled with a bit of comedy, some math, 0,1% romance, but everything comes together so nicely that you really don't have any complaints in the end. The show is exactly what it promises to be, not overlapping with other genres. I, personally, was in the mood for it and it's definitely a 10/10 for me.

P.S. also, there's a cat)))

[girlwithteeth]

I really wanted to like Gundam Witch but I feel like it really drops the ball so hard. Like, there's a lot of cool setup in the first season to talk about how fucked up the adults in this setting are treating children- every single kid in the privileged private school for rich kids is being made to be involved in things like war profiteering and the central conceit of the whole dueling apparatus is straight up military training. The thin veneer of respectable detachment is lifted and we see where that was always going to lead - there's an attack by child soldiers as a completely mercenary operation that leads to several people dying pretty brutally in front of one of our leads. In one episode a kid gets completely fucking disappeared and replaced with a look-alike for not going along with the corporation's plan.

The whole second half of the show's main plot revolves around a plot to use a doomsday weapon. The main character work happening is around a new diplomatic angle (there was always wheeling and dealing, but it was shady back room stuff where you know they are talking about shit that is immoral as hell and the second arc has, like, diplomatic representatives from world governments and tries to paint that as squeaky clean in contrast), a kidnapped heir learning that the mercenary children are real people who have tragic circumstances, the supporting cast dealing with PTSD from the attack, and a double agent for another company in their midst feeling remorse because she had been manipulated into being a double agent. It's a fucking BINGO of tropes and it's all so surface level!!!!

Why did they bother to rip away the curtain and show these kids how closely tied to war their whole lives had been, what that really meant in the cost of human lives? Why did they set themselves up for the drama of that and then ignore their own thing that they did for most of the cast? The whole fucking point of the ending to the first season is that Suletta is a child soldier more in the vein of the mercenaries than the trust fund kids who had been protected from the reality of their world by the system that they lived in, right? It's a nice cliffhanger that sets up a rejection of that reality that could be conceptualized in different ways as the main driving force behind the emotions of our cast!

And I kind of get why they went the way that they did. In the new frame of reality for our cast Suletta is no longer the outsider who doesn't understand things, it's everyone else. And they keep her mostly the same, because she was actually aware of this reality the whole time. It's supposed to be a twist in that it wants us to re-contextualize her behavior. But, the writing doesn't want Suletta to come across as fucked up or traumatized, because she has to be 'good' in opposition to the traumatized child soldiers who are 'bad'. So everyone just says "Wow Suletta I can't believe you are still helping people and acting cheery after the violence. The violence made me sad." and she says, "Well, I want to help people!" and the lesson is that everyone tries to be like Suletta and help people.

It's like the show describes coping mechanisms for the incredible trauma happening and says that one is morally right and the other is morally wrong and believes it. It smooths out a lot of interesting wrinkles to believe it.

It's just... really frustrating.

And!!! It's, like, barely gay at all!!!! Yes, technically Miorine and Suletta are a gay couple, but there is so little affection. They literally run away from it and the show wants to have it's tension so bad that it just kind of skips over the part where they have any drama by not having them talk to each other for a while. And then they are together in the end.

They don't even fucking kiss. Sucks ass.

[01298283]

Your hands are covered in blood

Injustice regarding rape is a reality that unfortunately still persists in our society. Rape is a heinous crime that violates a person's most basic human rights, their dignity and physical and mental integrity. However,rape victims often face a second violation: the injustice of the legal and social system.

Firstly,many rape victims do not report the crime for fear of retaliation,shame or disbelief. This is made worse by the fact that the victim is often blamed for the crime, whether due to their clothing,behavior or being in the "wrong" place at the "wrong" time. This mentality is unfair,as it also perpetuates rape culture,shifting blame from the aggressor to the victim.

Furthermore,even when the crime is reported,the victim often faces a legal system that may be insensitive or ineffective. Many rape cases do not result in conviction, either due to lack of evidence or flaws in the legal process. Not only is this an injustice to the victim,it also sends the message that rape is not taken seriously by society.

We need to educate people about consent, combat rape culture,and ensure rape victims receive the support and justice they deserve. The fight against the injustice of rape is a fight for a fairer and safer society for everyone.

I have been fighting for years in court against an abuser,but I have no hope in relation to the Brazilian judiciary,many people form alliances with abusers here,especially when they have a more favorable financial condition and I have been suffering procedural violence and persecution from them for a long time,I suffer different types of violence and the law remains blind, especially to the people who defend it because they are all gaining some benefit from it.

The most ironic thing about this situation is the fact that the abuser's defense lawyers are women,he was very intelligent in this part in choosing women to defend him because this way he gives more credibility to the judge who follows the process,so he gives the impression of that the victim (me) is lying,he is extremely manipulative and arrogant and hides many dark secrets and tries in every way to harm my life, in fact he is a true psychopath.

All the women who defend the abuser help him to abuse,they are all gaining some benefit from all this and one of them expects to earn a lot more $$$,so she does everything he says. So yes,I am also being abused by women,both of whom say they are Christians and hide behind a Bible and so is my abuser,he is a pastor's son but all of this is to keep up appearances.

The public bodies that monitor these processes here are mostly misogynistic, moralistic,conservative and follow many Christian customs and always discredit the victim. They abuse the victim through the judicial system and pass all of the victim's personal information to the abuser,so the abuser benefits and uses this information to continue psychologically abusing the victim.

Then they will try in every way possible to try to destroy the victim's health and life and purposefully trigger crises in the victim,the more negative reactions the victim has,the better for them (abuser). His lawyers (women) abuse me in various ways,and pretend to be blind to what he really is because they are making a lot of money from it,and I just wish that everything that happened to me happens to all of them one day,they deserve.

In fact,no one really likes him (the abuser) they help him because they are gaining benefits and money from all this,they are self-interested and just as he is false and treacherous they are also,It's like a nest of snakes.

If you are a woman and defend an abuser, don't forget that one day this could happen to you and if it happens I won't feel sorry,you deserve it.

So,there are many women who form alliances with scoundrel men,especially when there is money involved,they also abuse, they also help to abuse,they also say that the victim is lying. Public bodies and society will always try to annihilate and blame the victim and ignore all the facts,especially when they use religion as camouflage.

[chaosdisorganized]

5, 10, 15 !

5. Do you know how many alters are in your system?

No, not really at least. We have an estimate though that, includes fragments, of about 300-500. There's a high possibility of even more but with how many there are sitting down and trying to get a headcount would take too long lol.

10. How do you feel about being in a system?

I love my system, I hate the disorder. My system helped me survive in ways I never could even imagine or think of. My system has always been there for me, for each other, we were all alone in some parts of our life but we always had each other and that brought us some comfort during our darkest times. It's not all pretty, it's tough, it's hard work, some parts fight, hate each other, reenact, say or do awful things to other parts, but mostly it's because of the trauma so I try to give them some grace. The trauma, amnesia, splitting, and other dissociative/trauma symptoms are what we don't like. I even love the more difficult parts, we did what we had to to survive and it was ugly and terrible, we had to do ugly and terrible things, I do not blame these parts and moreso mourn and grieve with them. I should stop rambling so much. I could talk about how much I love and appreciate my system all day.

15. What are your thoughts on how DID is represented in media?

It is often ridiculous, overdramatized, and full of misinformation. Even media sources with good intentions will unknowingly have misinformation somewhere and the dramatic effects is a huge turn off. It's frustrating because DID is largely an internal experience, and more often than not, systems are covert. I've never seen any media about covert systems even though they're statistically a majority. Of course the "total blackout for every switch" thing some media does is grossly annoying too. Blackout switching is terrifying but also not something every system experiences and is certainly not common. When we have blackout switches it's bad news, it means we're so highly distressed past our ability to cope and our brains best way of dealing with whatever it is, is to make us blackout and give complete control to a part who will also be very distressed but try to use protective behaviors/coping mechanisms/other stuff that may put us in danger, involve harming ourselves, or experience a fugue state, etc etc. Blackouts are 100% more scary for the person experiencing it than people around a person in blackout. The fact that some media outlets use blackouts to be like "oh you could murder someone without even remembering it!" Is super gross and disgusting, especially considering we've made attempts on our own life during blackouts and have never harmed anyone but ourselves in that highly distressed state. I could also rant about poor media representation all day but I'll end it here.

[ireceived-p8250000]

January 13-19, 2013

School officially started this week. I’m not classmates with Hollmae, which might be for the best, but we are in PE3 and NSTP2 together. Mansoor and I share most of our major classes and Social Orientation. He already took Anatomy and Physiology, so he’s not in that class with me.

We didn't sit together; I ended up at the back with Abel, Joan, Nicole, Reg, and the other freshmen. During introductions, when asked why I chose Psychology, I shared about my dad who used to be a cop handling sensitive cases involving children and women. He often complained that victims got stuck in an unending cycle of abuse because they didn't get proper mental health support. I explained how mental health is underappreciated in our country, with no comprehensive laws addressing it. I believe mental health is just as important as physical health.

Professor Awing kept asking questions, but I didn’t reveal much more. I mentioned wanting to work for the bigger picture in the future, like advocating for mental health laws, rather than becoming a doctor. They seemed impressed, which made me a bit embarrassed, so I didn’t say anything further.

I also started working at Mount Cloud at night, and it’s fun despite Beth and Lloyd being very serious. I had to learn their system, which was challenging. Getting home is a bit of a problem since I have to spend 30 pesos for the taxi pool.

Balancing everything will be tough. I still take care of my skin when I get home and drink tea before sleeping. When I’m not busy at work, I do my homework there, which they said is okay. For extra readings, I stay up until 1 a.m. Mama isn’t thrilled about it because I sleep late and wake up early. I jog at 7 a.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I asked for money for a lamp, and she bought one for me, so I study quietly at night.

Classes are interesting, especially Anatomy and Physiology. I expected Psych Stats to be difficult, and it is. The mornings are very cold these days, making it harder to get out of bed.

NSTP2 was moved to Sunday mornings, which means no extra sleep. They said we wouldn’t have to meet every Sunday, though, which is a relief.

The week flew by with so much happening. Between classes, work, and maintaining some semblance of a social life, time feels like my biggest enemy. Mansoor and I keep in touch, and he’s been a great support. We often study together, and his company makes the workload feel lighter.

On Wednesday, I ran into Sir Apollo at the library. He asked how my classes were going and seemed genuinely interested. I mentioned my new job, and he looked concerned about me working late. He advised me to take care of my health and not overwork myself. His concern was touching but also confusing, given his previous behavior.

By Friday, I was exhausted. After classes, Mansoor and I decided to grab coffee. We ended up talking for hours about our dreams and aspirations. He’s planning to become a psychologist and open his own practice one day. I shared my goals about mental health advocacy. It was a deep and meaningful conversation that made me feel even closer to him.

Saturday was mostly spent catching up on assignments and preparing for the coming week. I had to buy a few more school supplies, so I went shopping with mom. I also squeezed in a quick chat with Rona and Jess, who were curious about my new job and classes.

I’m trying to stay on top of everything, but it’s a lot to juggle. I’m determined to manage my time better, even though it’s tough. This week has been a whirlwind, and I can only imagine how much busier it’s going to get.

[swissforextrading]

Deciphering a dance of electrons and water molecules

27.03.24 - A research project at EPFL succeeded in decoding the complex dance of electrons in water, a major step in understanding a critical process of many chemical phenomena, and that might be the first step to improving energy conversion technologies. Water, the cradle of life on Earth, is not just a passive backdrop but actively participates in the chemical ballet of life. Central to this dance is the behavior of electrons, particularly during a process known as charge transfer to solvent (CTTS). CTTS is like a microscopic dance where an electron from something dissolved in water, like salt, leaps out and joins the water itself. The process creates a now “hydrated” electron, which is a key element of many aqueous reactions, like the ones underlying life itself. Consequently, CTTS is essential for understanding how electrons move in solutions. In a new EPFL study, researchers Jinggang Lan, Majed Chergui, and Alfredo Pasquarello have studied the intricate interactions between electrons and their solvent environments. The work was conceived and primarily carried out at EPFL, with finalizing contributions from Jinggang Lan upon him taking on a postdoctoral fellowship in the Simons Center for Computational Physical Chemistry at New York University. Looking at the CTTS process, the researchers meticulously visualized the dynamic interplay between the escaping electron and the polarizing water molecules surrounding it, marking a significant leap in our comprehension of such complex interactions. The team used iodide dissolved in water (“aqueous iodide”), because it makes it easier to understand how electrons move to the surrounding water. Iodide, like table salt, doesn't have complex internal movements, which makes it simpler to study. This allowed the scientists to observe how iodide can swiftly release an electron into the surrounding water, a process influenced by the arrangement of water molecules around the iodide. To study the CTTS process, the researchers used ab initio molecular dynamics, a sophisticated technique that simulates the behavior of molecules in a computer by calculating atomic interactions and movements from fundamental physical principles using quantum mechanics. “Ab initio” means “from the beginning” in Latin, indicating that this method starts from fundamental physical principles, allowing scientists to accurately predict how molecules and materials evolve over time without relying on empirical data for the interactions between particles. Combining the ab initio approach with sophisticated machine learning techniques, the scientists were able to visualize and analyze the CTTS process in unprecedented detail, tracking the journey of an electron from being attached to an iodide ion to becoming solvated – being surrounded and stabilized by water molecules. The study revealed that CTTS involves a series of distinct states, each characterized by the distance between the electron and the iodine nucleus: from being closely associated with the iodine atom (contact-pair state), to separating into the solvent (solvent-separated state), and finally becoming fully solvated as a hydrated electron. “The advance mostly rests at the fundamental level,” says Alfredo Pasquarello. “The described mechanism involves a subtle interplay between electronic excitation and ionic polarization effects, which produce a sequence of configurations as revealed by our simulations.” CTTS dynamics illustrating the electron density (blue) and the hole density of aqueous iodine (yellow). Credit: Jinggang Lan/EPFL But shedding light on CTTS could also have implications into a wide range of applications involving charge and energy transfer reactions. Understanding how electrons interact with their environment at such a fundamental level could be key to developing more efficient solar energy conversion systems, improving photocatalysis techniques, and even advancing our knowledge of material science and… http://actu.epfl.ch/news/deciphering-a-dance-of-electrons-and-water-molecul (Source of the original content)

[the-firebird69]

We have other announcements things are coming up quick and changes are occurring now the diamond mining is complete and it's coming for the removal come to find out the morlock and the pseudo empire and the clones and other parties are interested in those diamonds not just the pseudo empire and they're going to be reset too along with these rickety pieces of s*** here. That can somehow survive Kilimanjaro and other things in the worst conditions now we're going ahead with our plan to take care of the issues here but this is important they are in a lot of trouble and we do have more announcements as follows

-this world is going to come apart if we do not add troops to it and we're towing hours they need to sign on I am not retracting any statements that we have made from Olympus and Hera and Zeus are from Olympus if you think we should you need to be interrogated because you are oblivious to what's going on

-we have several people coming forwards saying there are people and they don't get it so we're going to go pick them up and explain it to them they're here on Earth and their idiots and we know their toast but we have to take them out here too

-there's a huge number of people who are stupid and we should just walk them out

-we have to get going on a lot of projects we have updates the evacuation is going well there are tons of people who are willing to leave the population is now down to 17% roughly it did not go up it's just that the numbers are held and yeah it's really 19% but the evacuation goes everyday it's about 1% and it's not huge and they take forever to do anything and they're going to get creamed

-besides that there are rumblings and grumblings about the Max and their ships and some other idiots with chips and people are amassing to attack them on the surface to get the information and they will take them down and tons of them and it's going to happen today

-there's a huge war going on below ground it's very large tons of people are involved there's massive numbers who are dying and people here are just extreme assholes and they're hard to deal with and we must have a stronger presence so I'm ordering it now

-there's a lot going on it is Tuesday people are fighting in town over the permit and they're fighting over a lot of other things it's simply can't afford to continuously let things to grade we're going over what to do the automobile industry is slowing still on the used cars are hurting and they're not helping you simply have to keep doing it yet we have to start other companies or we won't have an industrial base for it for system to start it up with and we're going ahead with a lot of his ideas he recognizes that the problem and society from society it is removing hope and debasing society without industry and production and productive behavior. And we are proceeding now we're going to begin a myriad of programs including salvaging and kits and more tons of them are going to come out in production shall resume and the firebird is pushing it and the e-bikes. There's a few things that are very strong and it is the sound of these morons who want to do nothing and we found out that their entire race is most infected with just wanted to sit around and ride and they can't do it and they don't know how to and they're dying brings us to the next point

-they're invasion has been planned for some time they have about 2.2% of the population mostly Macklemore lock and they're out there sitting around being assholes and they're still around 7.9% of the population off Island so people are sick of it and they know it's a threat and they're fighting each other trumps versus bja to slow fight and they're threatening areas around them and about four out of the five pockets are surrounded and they are going to be eliminated today and laughed at for just sitting there like stupid s**** and they'll be at 5.7% roughly because others would go out there it might be lower and a lot of them are bja now and Trump's just might try running in which is great then we shall eliminate them they're a few more things to announce and yeah they're surrounded mostly by pseudo empire

-the islands are under siege mostly Australia and New Zealand the pseudo empire hits them and the minority morlock go over and start hitting them and it's a cycle and it's going on and it's still going on and they try and raid and then I have to dig in hit again and it's a continuous process there are some other things happening

-our son's roof getting done is sprinting on a massive amount of renovations in Florida and it's true they say if he can get a roof we can and it should be absolutely no reason why we cannot and they are meeting up with their own people and telling them to get the hell out of the way or they get flattened and that's going on they don't care if they're here for another day it's misery

-there are a few other anomalies which are of interest these people drive by or walk by and threaten the mail every time they do so we're going to go after their mail and take everything in it

-there is an advance by us and the two other big groups and into all sorts of territory in Florida we are sick and tired of your horse s*** and your little war and you're going to regret doing what you're saying and all such other dumb things you're doing you're going to regret and we are moving in pretty quick and we're going to force you to evacuate

-the whole world is attacking morlock and we said 0.3% probably today it's up to 0.5% because of the asinine attitude who has have and that is why and it's increasing now it will probably be 1% by the end of the day and you cannot afford it. But you say there's plenty of you

-we're getting ready to launch a major assault lower part of it and we are going to consume you in other areas where you have bases and keep you from forming bases at all and forces you against the pseudo empire your first pick and you fail and it was starting that today and you have around 20,000 small bases in the Western hemisphere and 30,000 in the eastern hemisphere it seems backwards but you're more foreign than you are here it's true too no it is backwards, and out of those bases it was like 1,000 that are large in each hemisphere and they have a lot of weaponry on them you've been taking them there's a few other places you're putting them near cities big vaults and bunkers that were abandoned and you're going about it and organize fashion and a large-scale strike is going to go on shortly because of it you also found harboring fugitives of your own and they're going to be arrested along with the people harboring them

-along with these big attacks on you they're going to come in and start to slander you to preview take your stuff deprave you and take your money and items to get you out of here they're going to keep doing it because you did it to them and that's the pseudo empire do nothing and much they don't want you here

-as we approach March we are thinking about our son and we're thinking about what we need to do to get him up to speed and to help him and we're thinking that you're in the way and we know it tons of people are going to start sending money for his birthday July 10th and huge numbers okay it's only 4 months away but it's spring and some think it'll bounce back and forth until it gets there so far there's been about a trillion dollars for birthday cards big cards too some of them are a foot by a foot some are huge I mean these people wanted to see

-social security is stagnant is still going backwards trying not to issue checks to him at all and we are forcing it and big groups the max foreigners us and miscellaneous all of them are facing you morons of all types and destroying you. It's going to drag on until you're out of there that's what you say what we say is why do you have to post in the first place you're stupid.

-we will find other sources and you're going to beat up on them and Kia is a perfect one that's still John remillard mostly Jason doesn't have any ownership in it actually nobody else does that kind of ideas great. And Johnny remillard will run around saying look what happens and he doesn't anyways it's not really why but it is partly why

-just threading our son and we're going to put a hit on him now

-we have other things to announce and we shall in a moment

Thor Freya

Olympus

Zues Hera

[threew-com]

DID digital identity applications have broad prospects, and 3W.com technology products launch hybrid DID functions to seize the opportunity

Since the birth of the Internet, people have opened a magical door in the real world and entered an online virtual space. This online virtual space has also followed the iterative upgrades of Internet technology, evolving from a single flat to today's multi-dimensional space. , three-dimensional and even increasingly "cyber". Here, every individual opens up a new way of life through a "new identity" packaged by the will of reality.

And when Web3 based on blockchain technology began to stand on the stage of history, there was also a new concept of "identity" for entering this new world.

Generally speaking, a person's "identity" and related information are mostly used to prove "who I am" and "whether I meet the specific requirements for enjoying a certain service". For example, in social life, people encounter problems when looking for a job. Identity information is required in many scenarios such as academic requirements, asset proof when purchasing a house and applying for a bank loan, and whether we meet the conditions to become a specific customer of an entity or virtual service provider.

In the real world, people's identity information is registered in the public service system, and is verified and verified by presenting corresponding documents and certificates in various life scenarios; in the Internet world, our identities are represented by account numbers and passwords, and behaviors based on this The data is recorded by the data storage system of the respective service provider.

In the process of moving from the traditional Web2 world to the cutting-edge Web3 environment, the development of the "identity system" has also gone through several stages. Its evolution process is roughly as follows:

From centralized identities managed and controlled by a single authority, to federated identities that allow user identity data to be portable to a certain degree and can be logged in across platforms (such as cross-platform login with WeChat and Google accounts), to federated identities that require a Initial decentralized identities (such as OpenID) that use authorization and permission to share identity data, and then progress to self-sovereign identities (SSI: Self-Sovernge Identity) that can truly realize data that is completely owned and controlled by individuals.

At this stage, as Web2 and Web3 are gradually integrating, in the field of identity systems, centralization is being partially replaced by decentralization. Decentralization no longer involves central data storage and collection. At this time, DID has become an important A technological direction with great development prospects.

So, what exactly is DID?

DID stands for Decentralized Identifier. It emphasizes decentralization and hopes that users can have complete control over their identity, rather than a large centralized platform controlling the user's identity data in the Web2 world.

The standard concept of DID was proposed and explained in the working draft on DID released by the World Wide Web Consortium W3C in 2019. Later, W3C released the "Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) Version 1.0 Proposal Recommended Standard" in 2021. Details The meaning of DID is explained: an entity is identified by a decentralized identifier and can be authenticated through proof (e.g., digital signature, privacy-preserving biometric protocol, etc.). Simply put, DID is a symbol used to identify an entity.

Prior to this, the data autonomy (SSI) that Web3 called for and believed in was one of its features that attracted users, but it was repeatedly blocked on the road to implementation because users' private data was either stored in the center of the decentralized project. On the server, it is either publicly and completely presented on the blockchain, and its security and privacy are not actually protected; even at a certain level, it can be said that the facilities and applications of Web3 bring more problems to users than Web2. This leads to a greater degree of economic losses, and once suffered, it is almost irreparable. Due to the lack of appropriate regulatory support, the identity of malicious attackers is difficult to locate and hold accountable.

Based on this, the builders of the Web3 circle realize that visualizing the credibility of identity subjects, proposing identity-based contracts, and introducing appropriate regulations are indispensable for the long-term development of Web3. Against the background of the emergence of this basic awareness, the permanent, verifiable, and parsable decentralized identifier DID emerged. The emergence of DID is to change the current status quo of digital identities controlled by centralized institutions, aiming to While the ownership of the identity data is returned to the user, a global digital identity is constructed to include the user's various characteristics (therefore some people prefer to interpret the full name of DID as Decentralized Identity).

From an architectural point of view, the DID system roughly includes decentralized identifiers and DID documents, DID parsers, verifiable credentials (VC), verifiable data registry and other components. In a series of recommended standards by W3C, DID uses verifiable credential (VC) as a verification method. In the relevant technology circle, it is composed of "decentralized identifier (DID) + verifiable credential (VC)" The concept of decentralized identity is gradually becoming clearer, providing a solution for the construction of identity systems in the Web3 society.

Advantages of DID digital identity system

Compared with the traditional identity system based on PKI (Public Key Infrastructure), the DID digital identity system based on blockchain has the characteristics of ensuring the authenticity and credibility of data, protecting user privacy and security, and being highly portable. Its main advantages are:

Decentralization: Based on blockchain technology, it avoids the control of identity data by a single centralized authority. Autonomous and controllable identity: Based on DPKI (Distributed Public Key Infrastructure), each user's identity is not controlled by a trusted third party, but by its owner, and individuals can independently manage their own identity. Trusted data exchange: Identity-related data is anchored on the blockchain, and the authentication process does not need to rely on the application that provides the identity.

As far as the overall advantages of DID are concerned, as mentioned earlier, traditional identity verification requires users to store personal information on centralized servers, which makes personal information vulnerable to hackers and leaks, while ordinary people only need to use the products of Internet companies. It is impossible to prevent the leakage of personal information; DID can solve the threats to users' personal information and privacy on the Internet and give ordinary users the ability to independently control the access and sharing of personal data, thereby better protecting user privacy and data security.

At the same time, DID as an identity can also better support digital assets and cryptocurrency ecosystems, making them easier to use and interact with; in addition, DID can promote social and economic inclusion and provide services for those who are ignored or excluded in the traditional financial system. Provides more opportunities and reliable identity authentication for people.

3W.com launches hybrid DID to build rich and diverse application scenarios

Although the rise of DID digital identity technology is still short-lived, its application prospects are broad. Digital identity verification, decentralized data storage, digital credentials and trust mechanisms are all vertical application scenarios of DID technology.

3W Wallet, a core technology brand incubated by the technology sector of 3W.com Group, has launched a DID-related application product - Hybrid DID (3W.com Digital Identity DID), providing users with a wealth of application scenarios and services.

Our hybrid DID identity system meets the following basic needs of users:

✓ Universal and secure login ✓KYC certification Unique personalized identity authentication (such as exclusive credit card logo, etc.) Payment/Transfer Anti-witch attack Anti-phishing attacks Community governance ✓…

Taken together, through DID, users can control their digital identity, conduct identity verification and management at any time, and at the same time protect personal privacy and data security. The emergence of DID has brought revolutionary changes to digital identity management, making digital identity more decentralized, safe, reliable, flexible and controllable. As DID continues to develop and improve, it will become an important infrastructure for the digital economy, digital society and digital life, providing users with more convenient, efficient and secure digital services.

In the future, 3W.com’s digital identity DID will achieve the following functions:

The use of digital identity DID can achieve anti-counterfeiting authentication, allowing all parties to issue and verify various certificates, such as academic certificates, professional qualification certificates, health certificates, etc., to prevent forgery and fraud. Using digital identity DID can realize employee identity management, allowing all parties to manage and control employees' identity information, permissions, roles, etc., to improve security and efficiency. Cross-border travel can be achieved using digital identity DID, allowing parties to use digital passports, visas, vaccine certificates, etc. for international travel, simplifying processes and reducing risks. Using digital identity DID can realize autonomous data sharing, allowing users to control their own data and content, and choose who to share with and what information to share.

[thedaveandkimmershow]

I'm here right now because we don't know.

Linzy... was here last week or so ago because we don't know.

Kimmer and her cousin have been here the whole time and have seen for themselves the rollercoaster this is, has been, for weeks now.

They've been here every day and they don't know when Kimmer's aunt Jacquie's life is going to come to an end.

We don't know.

Jacquie's in hospice care now. No heroics. Just a place where her body will go through the process of shutting down system by system.

In weeks past this was not a linear process. As the hospice nurse informed them early on, the process is a rollercoaster. And, yes, it's been a rollercoaster. Mental function that wasn't there... suddenly reappearing one day.

Then gone the next.

Then back again, then...

In recent days, it's been a slow decline. Speech that's even more slurred. Less speech, less engagement. Eyes closed most of the time. Breathing that seems normal for a while until it doesn't...

Until it's normal again.

Skin tone that's becoming more saturate and leaning toward the yellows.

Jacquie's body right now is telling a particular story...

But we don't know.

We can't know.

In our minds, I think Linzy and I think of these quick trips down to see Jacquie as our chance to say goodbye. But when you're actually in the room it turns out that's not the overwhelming need.

I was kind of surprised by that.

The actual need turns out to just be present with Jacquie. Regardless.

Regardless of whether she lives another day or another ten days. Regardless of whether I see her again.

Regardless of whether or not this is the last time I see her.

I need to just be present.

My need is simply to hold her hand; keep an eye on her breathing and for those times she opens her eyes; keep an ear out for her laughter and anything she might be trying to say.

Anything about ice cream, by the way, is quite understandable even when I don't see her directly. And we all agree: of course when it's about ice cream.

Brief words are understandable in context. Unrelated sentences out of the blue... mostly we don't understand so we skip ahead.

She navigates her hands and arms intentionally, moving or holding tightly to her stuffed companions: the elephant, the mermaid, the birthday teddy bear among others.

Her hand can hold mine intentionally and so that becomes our connection. That becomes our shared experience.

We're all ending well is my hope. You see we've all been on this journey together for almost ten months, living these final chapters of Jacquie's life with her.

I know for me, I'm grateful for the times we spent with Jacquie this year in the idyllic courtyard of her memory care. Sunny and warm days, all. Chairs under the comfortable shade of large trees, fully adorned with green leaves.

I'm grateful for walks I was fortunate to take with her once upon a time. Experiences where the Jacquie we all know popped through either with a laugh or a chuckle, an observation or an iconic behavior.

Even those times when her brain derailed her behavior have become classic Jacquie stories.

Ask me and I'll tell you one some day.

The last time I saw her at her memory care, she was chatting up another resident in the midst of a squirt gun fight involving residents, staff, visitors, and children. It was really quite the spectacle. And sort of a Jacquie moment in its own right.

I am not sad.

I'm grateful for the last ten months. Grateful for the experiences we indulged together, regardless of her decline.

We all shared these last chapters of her life and we're grateful for them as is. This is her story in which we're participating, after all. We can only share it with her.

In the end, we're not experiencing a loss, although that will happen. We're in the process of ending well even when we don't know when that end will come.

There are occasional words, still, between us. Brief. Mostly unintelligible. But, interestingly, there's still tone, character, if you will. We may not always understand the words but often the tone pops right through.

It's a Jacquie thing we all recognize.

And when her life finally does come to a close there will be grief. There will be loss. There will be tears.

But those emotions are a singular experience of life upon death. They're not the final word. They're outlasted by our memories, our shared experiences. The classic stories, iconic moments, and those things in this life that will remind us, and always remind us, of Jacquie. Stories and moments and behaviors that will trigger, rather re-trigger, the emotions that are tied to them and, because of that...

Will far outlast this final page of her life.

Amen.

[mit]

Advancing social studies at MIT Sloan

Associate Professor Dean Eckles studies how our social networks affect our behavior and shape our lives.

Peter Dizikes | MIT News

Around 2010, Facebook was a relatively small company with about 2,000 employees. So, when a PhD student named Dean Eckles showed up to serve an intership at the firm, he landed in a position with some real duties.

Eckles essentially became the primary data scientist for the product manager who was overseeing the platform’s news feeds. That manager would pepper Eckles with questions. How exactly do people influence each other online? If Facebook tweaked its content-ranking algorithms, what would happen? What occurs when you show people more photos?

As a doctoral candidate already studying social influence, Eckles was well-equipped to think about such questions, and being at Facebook gave him a lot of data to study them. 

“If you show people more photos, they post more photos themselves,” Eckles says. “In turn, that affects the experience of all their friends. Plus they’re getting more likes and more comments. It affects everybody’s experience. But can you account for all of these compounding effects across the network?”

Eckles, now an associate professor in the MIT Sloan School of Management and an affiliate faculty member of the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, has made a career out of thinking carefully about that last question. Studying social networks allows Eckles to tackle significant questions involving, for example, the economic and political effects of social networks, the spread of misinformation, vaccine uptake during the Covid-19 crisis, and other aspects of the formation and shape of social networks. For instance, one study he co-authored this summer shows that people who either move between U.S. states, change high schools, or attend college out of state, wind up with more robust social networks, which are strongly associated with greater economic success.

Eckles maintains another research channel focused on what scholars call “causal inference,” the methods and techniques that allow researchers to identify cause-and-effect connections in the world.

“Learning about cause-and-effect relationships is core to so much science,” Eckles says. “In behavioral, social, economic, or biomedical science, it’s going to be hard. When you start thinking about humans, causality gets difficult. People do things strategically, and they’re electing into situations based on their own goals, so that complicates a lot of cause-and-effect relationships.”

Eckles has now published dozens of papers in each of his different areas of work; for his research and teaching, Eckles received tenure from MIT last year.

Five degrees and a job

Eckles grew up in California, mostly near the Lake Tahoe area. He attended Stanford University as an undergraduate, arriving on campus in fall 2002 — and didn’t really leave for about a decade. Eckles has five degrees from Stanford. As an undergrad, he received a BA in philosophy and a BS in symbolic systems, an interdisciplinary major combining computer science, philosophy, psychology, and more. Eckles was set to attend Oxford University for graduate work in philosophy but changed his mind and stayed at Stanford for an MS in symbolic systems too. 

“[Oxford] might have been a great experience, but I decided to focus more on the tech side of things,” he says.

After receiving his first master’s degree, Eckles did take a year off from school and worked for Nokia, although the firm’s offices were adjacent to the Stanford campus and Eckles would sometimes stop and talk to faculty during the workday. Soon he was enrolled at Stanford again, this time earning his PhD in communication, in 2012, while receiving an MA in statistics the year before. His doctoral dissertation wound up being about peer influence in networks. PhD in hand, Eckles promptly headed back to Facebook, this time for three years as a full-time researcher.

 “They were really supportive of the work I was doing,” Eckles says.

Still, Eckles remained interested in moving into academia, and joined the MIT faculty in 2015 with a position in MIT Sloan’s Marketing Group. The group consists of a set of scholars with far-ranging interests, from cognitive science to advertising to social network dynamics.

“Our group reflects something deeper about the Sloan school and about MIT as well, an openness to doing things differently and not having to fit into narrowly defined tracks,” Eckles says.

For that matter, MIT has many faculty in different domains who work on causal inference, and whose work Eckles quickly cites — including economists Victor Chernozhukov and Alberto Abadie, and Joshua Angrist, whose book “Mostly Harmless Econometrics” Eckles name-checks as an influence.

“I’ve been fortunate in my career that causal inference turned out to be a hot area,” Eckles says. “But I think it’s hot for good reasons. People started to realize that, yes, causal inference is really important. There are economists, computer scientists, statisticians, and epidemiologists who are going to the same conferences and citing each other’s papers. There’s a lot happening.”

How do networks form?

These days, Eckles is interested in expanding the questions he works on. In the past, he has often studied existing social networks and looked at their effects. For instance: One study Eckles co-authored, examining the 2012 U.S. elections, found that get-out-the-vote messages work very well, especially when relayed via friends.

That kind of study takes the existence of the network as a given, though. Another kind of research question is, as Eckles puts it, “How do social networks form and evolve? And what are the consequences of these network structures?” His recent study about social networks expanding as people move around and change schools is one example of research that digs into the core life experiences underlying social networks.

“I’m excited about doing more on how these networks arise and what factors, including everything from personality to public transit, affect their formation,” Eckles says.

Understanding more about how social networks form gets at key questions about social life and civic structure. Suppose research shows how some people develop and maintain beneficial connections in life; it’s possible that those insights could be applied to programs helping people in more disadvantaged situations realize some of the same opportunities.

“We want to act on things,” Eckles says. “Sometimes people say, ‘We care about prediction.’ I would say, ‘We care about prediction under intervention.’ We want to predict what’s going to happen if we try different things.”

Ultimately, Eckles reflects, “Trying to reason about the origins and maintenance of social networks, and the effects of networks, is interesting substantively and methodologically. Networks are super-high-dimensional objects, even just a single person’s network and all its connections. You have to summarize it, so for instance we talk about weak ties or strong ties, but do we have the correct description? There are fascinating questions that require development, and I’m eager to keep working on them.”  

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[maniculum]

I’ve also mostly played in campaigns where the presence of various religions is a constant factor in how societies operate and how both PCs and NPCs behave, BUT — I do think that’s a matter of preference and how you want to do your worldbuilding.

If you do prefer religion not being a meaningful presence in your game despite the gods being real and directly involved in the world, allow me to pitch a way of explaining that societal mindset in your world. (This works best in the polytheistic system that the high-fantasy genre generally assumes, where the gods are seen as powerful-but-not-omnipotent, wise-but-not-omniscient, and generally flawed in many ways.)

The gods are like… political leaders. Not in that they’re literally doing the business of state and running empires and such, but in that people generally hold the same attitude towards them. They exist, they have tremendous influence on the world, and there’s a lot of pressure to do what they tell you. But at the same time, for most people in their day to day life, that’s never really front-of-mind unless it directly affects them. Sure, there are people who are really invested in the whole thing and devote a lot of time to it — in this analogy, clerics are the equivalent of campaign workers or staffers in various political offices — but they’re kind of the exception.

People have opinions on it, sure. Many are nominally members of some temple or other the same way people in our world are members of political parties. It influences who they think of as friends and allies, it shapes their worldview to an extent, but it doesn’t really define it. They have their own beliefs, which may or may not fully line up with what their god wants of them: they probably picked their god based on which was closest to their own beliefs about right & wrong, rather than picking their beliefs based on their god. They may or may not care what their god wants, and likely don’t really engage with their scriptures or what-have-you beyond showing up for an occasional holiday observance — the way many people in our world only engage with politics by showing up on election day to cast their vote, then go back to not really thinking about it.

This isn’t because they don’t think it’s important, necessarily. Sure it’s important. But also, you know… screw those guys. What have they ever done for you? To go back to the analogy, think of, say, Joe Biden. He exists. He has a lot of power. He influences the way millions of people live; if he wanted to, he could probably completely ruin your life; and he does exercise that power on a regular basis. But, unless you’re in a situation where he’s directly involved in some way, you don’t really care what Joe Biden wants you to do. Even if you voted for him, that doesn’t necessarily mean you like or respect him. You’re certainly not going to live your life according to the Principles of Joe Biden, and of someone else criticized your behavior by saying “Biden wouldn’t like that”, you’d probably respond “so what?”

So apply that to gods. Sure, they’re running things and shaping the world and could smite you with thunderbolts from on high if they really wanted to. That’s no reason to worship them — in fact, it’s a reason not to, because you don’t want to give those jerks on Olympus the validation. In this society, sentiments like “don’t pray to gods, it only encourages them” would be commonplace. Maybe activists can regularly be found protesting outside temples after a bad harvest or an unpopular commandment; maybe it’s not unheard of for groups to try and overthrow gods they don’t like.

That all could probably use more fleshing out than I’m able to do off the top of my head right now, but there you go. If you want to make a world where religion doesn’t have the same presence and meaning that it does in ours, that’s a way to do it that I think would be fun.