#reduce dust in my home or workplace

[myductcleanerau]

Top-Quality Duct Cleaning Services in Melbourne by My Duct Cleaner

Keeping your home or workplace clean is essential for a healthy environment, but have you considered the state of your air ducts? At My Duct Cleaner, we specialize in providing top-quality duct cleaning services in Melbourne. Our goal is to ensure your air ducts are free of dust, allergens, and contaminants, helping you breathe fresh and clean air.

In this blog, we’ll explain why duct cleaning is important, how we perform it, and the benefits you can expect when choosing our services.

Why Is Duct Cleaning Important?

Over time, air ducts accumulate dust, dirt, and allergens like pet dander, pollen, and mold spores. If left uncleaned, these contaminants can:

Reduce Air Quality: Dirty ducts circulate allergens, which can aggravate asthma and allergies.

Increase Energy Costs: Blocked ducts make your heating and cooling systems work harder, leading to higher energy bills.

Shorten HVAC System Lifespan: Accumulated dirt strains your HVAC system, increasing wear and tear.

Create Unpleasant Odors: Dust and mold in the ducts can produce musty or foul smells in your home.

Regular duct cleaning ensures your space remains clean and comfortable, improving overall air quality and system efficiency.

How My Duct Cleaner Handles Duct Cleaning Services in Melbourne

At My Duct Cleaner, we follow a professional and thorough process to deliver the best results. Here’s what you can expect from our duct cleaning services:

1. Inspection and Assessment

Our team starts with a detailed inspection of your duct system. We check for dust buildup, blockages, and signs of mold or pest infestations. This step helps us determine the right cleaning approach for your needs.

2. Advanced Cleaning Techniques

We use modern equipment and techniques to clean your ducts effectively. Our powerful vacuums and brushes remove dirt, debris, and contaminants from the duct walls and air filters.

3. Mold and Bacteria Removal

If mold or bacteria is found during inspection, we use eco-friendly solutions to eliminate them. This step ensures a safer and healthier environment for you and your family.

4. Odor Removal

Our team tackles unpleasant odors caused by mold, bacteria, or trapped debris. We use deodorizing treatments to leave your air ducts smelling fresh.

5. Final Inspection

Once the cleaning is complete, we conduct a final inspection to ensure the ducts are thoroughly cleaned and in optimal condition.

Benefits of Choosing My Duct Cleaner

When you hire My Duct Cleaner for duct cleaning services in Melbourne, you’ll enjoy several benefits, including:

1. Improved Indoor Air Quality

Clean ducts mean cleaner air. Our services help reduce allergens and pollutants in your home, creating a healthier living environment.

2. Energy Efficiency

A clean duct system allows your HVAC unit to operate efficiently, saving you money on energy bills.

3. Prolonged HVAC Lifespan

Regular duct cleaning prevents wear and tear on your heating and cooling system, extending its life.

4. Elimination of Odors

Say goodbye to stale and musty smells. Our cleaning process ensures your ducts remain odor-free.

5. Peace of Mind

Our professional services provide you with the assurance that your ducts are in safe hands.

Why Choose Us?

At My Duct Cleaner, we pride ourselves on being a trusted name in duct cleaning services in Melbourne. Here’s why our clients choose us:

Experienced Professionals: Our team has years of experience and expertise in duct cleaning.

Advanced Equipment: We use state-of-the-art tools to deliver outstanding results.

Affordable Pricing: Quality duct cleaning doesn’t have to break the bank.

Eco-Friendly Solutions: We prioritize your safety by using non-toxic cleaning methods.

Customer Satisfaction: Our goal is to ensure every client is happy with our services.

Signs Your Ducts Need Cleaning

Not sure if it’s time to clean your air ducts? Here are some signs to look out for:

Dust buildup around air vents.

Increased allergy symptoms or respiratory issues.

Musty or unpleasant odors from the vents.

Reduced airflow or uneven cooling/heating.

Higher energy bills despite normal usage.

If you notice any of these signs, contact us for a professional duct cleaning service.

Schedule Your Duct Cleaning Today!

Clean air ducts are essential for a comfortable and healthy home. Whether it’s a residential or commercial property, My Duct Cleaner offers reliable and efficient duct cleaning services in Melbourne to meet your needs.

Don’t wait until your air quality deteriorates. Call us 0488 859 937 today to schedule an appointment and enjoy the benefits of clean, fresh air in your space!

[finishinglinepress]

FLP CHAPBOOK OF THE DAY: Rooted and Reduced to Dust by Ivy Raff

On SALE now! Pre-order Price Guarantee: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/rooted-and-reduced-to-dust-by-ivy-raff/

Heaven and earth conspire that everything which has been, be rooted and reduced to dust. — Isaac Bashevis Singer

So begins Ivy Raff‘s debut poetry chapbook, which plumbs the depths of movement, of growth: from one generation to the next, from Eastern Europe across America, from sickness to health. With braided fearlessness and vulnerability, Raff bridges the past with the heartbreaking tenderness of today.

Ivy Raff’s #poetry appears in The American Journal of Poetry, Nimrod International Journal, and West Trade Review, among numerous others, and is anthologized in Spectrum: Poetry Celebrating Identity. Recent honors include placing as a finalist for the Julia Darling Memorial Poetry Award, Tucson Festival of Books Literature Awards, Atlanta Review’s International Poetry Prize, and the 53rd New Millennium Writing Awards. Currently nominated for the Best of the Net Anthology, Ivy’s work has garnered scholarship support from the Colgate Writers’ Conference as well as residencies with Atlantic Center for the Arts and Alaska State Parks. She is a co-founder of Make Your Medicine, a small collective of changemakers who support culture shifts toward diversely equitable workplaces. Mainly nomadic, Ivy hikes and bakes artisan challah all over the world, and calls Queens, New York home.

PRAISE FOR Rooted and Reduced to Dust by Ivy Raff

“Observant, challenging, sensuous, glowing with an undercarriage of mystique, Raff’s poems are torsos that twist to embrace the universe. Every muscled line is taut, knowing its desire and how to hold what it loves in its arms.”

–Jimmy Santiago Baca, American Book Award-winning author of Martin and Meditations on the South Valley

“Ivy Raff writes a poetry of relentless inquiry into the past. She subjects her ‘generational history of displacement’ to a restorative poetic justice and joy. The investigation scrutinizes. It is lacerating, honest, an inquest, finally, into the strength of love as it is conducted through the body into the poem. I find these poems fearless in tracing the map of the journey from Jerusalem to Far Rockaway to Detroit, establishing a new place full of potential. These poems are alive.”

–Bruce Smith, author of The Other Lover, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award

“Ivy Raff‘s powerful collection reveals complex and universal themes of love, loss, family, and yearnings. The pages of her collection conjure life’s experiences with profound intimacy. Raff’s insightfulness is provocative.”

–Sarah Birnbach, author of A Daughter’s Kaddish: My Year of Grief, Devotion, and Healing

Please share/please repost #flpauthor #preorder #AwesomeCoverArt #poetry #chapbook #read #poems

[airrefcondensercleaningnj]

How HVAC Duct Cleaning in Manhattan and Jersey City Helps Maintain the Unit

There is some debate among HVAC specialists, the EPA, and other researchers who have conducted formal studies as to why and how often homeowners and businesses should have their HVAC ducts cleaned. There is, however, one point on which all these factions can agree: air ducts are magnets for filth, debris, and mold. Reduced airflow through the ducts means the HVAC system must work harder to maintain a comfortable temperature.

The easiest way to explain central air conditioning and heating systems is by comparing them to the circulatory system and the arteries that transport blood throughout the body. The buildup of cholesterol and fatty deposits in the artery wall leads to a blockage, which forces the heart to exert more effort and pump blood faster to push the same amount of blood through the obstructed region. Upon failing to take action to address this issue, the artery will eventually become blocked, potentially resulting in a heart attack or stroke. ​ Similarly, the accumulation of dust, filth, and debris inside air ducts can decrease the efficiency of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. Due to the higher frequency of operation, the blower motor, heating and cooling elements, and other HVAC system components experience additional stress. These components are essential for maintaining the optimal performance of the HVAC system. If not getting air conditioning services to clean the ducts in residential and commercial space, the HVAC system will eventually experience breakdown when the engine burns out, or other parts cease to function.

Does HVAC duct cleaning have any health benefits? Individuals who experience breathing difficulties, such as asthma, allergies, or other respiratory illnesses, may find it advantageous to have their HVAC ducts cleaned. If air ducts are not cleaned regularly, they can become a breeding ground for dust, dirt, and mold. Regular HVAC duct cleaning in Manhattan and Jersey City can improve the air quality in the home or workplace. Investing in regular duct cleaning is a wise decision if someone wants to reduce allergy symptoms and prevent asthma attacks.

No evidence suggests a connection between poorly maintained air ducts and any other diseases. Notwithstanding, if the air ducts are dirty, dust will accumulate more rapidly throughout the home or workplace, requiring more frequent and thorough cleaning. When someone activates the central HVAC system, it pulls in fresh air from outside, circulates it throughout the home using air ducts, and recirculates the air back into the system for further use. The air filter is typically located in the air return. Even the most effective air filters cannot eliminate the necessity of regular duct cleaning. Consequently, dirt and dust are transported throughout the building, ultimately settling on furniture, clothing, electronics, and food.

Four Signs of Dirty Air Ducts: l Dust accumulating throughout the building l Mold growing around the register vents l Having difficulty breathing while at home l Clouds of dust coming out of the register vents

How can someone determine if my air ducts require cleaning? The easiest way to determine if the unit needs HVAC duct cleaning in Manhattan and Jersey City is by removing the cover from a floor or ceiling vent and inspecting the inside. If it is found dust and other debris building up on or around the air vent opening, it may be a sign that it needs to be cleaned. All that one needs to do is to gently insert the digital camera or smartphone through the vent and push it in as far as possible. One can determine the amount of dust and debris settling on the duct walls by quickly taking a few images with the device and reviewing them. If only a small amount of dust or debris is building up, one can manually clean the vent ports using a vacuum cleaner. It is advisable to consult a specialist for deposits that are inaccessible or for larger amounts.

[shopionlinebay]

CHECK HRER

radiating wheel configuration makes a more grounded wind stream that tidies room up to 1080sq.ft in 45minutes. Joined with UV light and Ionic generator, you feel the outside air in minutes.  Its 5-in-1 Filtration Framework channels 99.97% of residue, dust, smoke, and pet dander. This air purifier channels particles as little as 0.3 microns and more which will assist with working on your general wellbeing. This is ideally suited for pet people, children, kids, the older, and anybody who needs to further develop the air quality in their home. Know your air quality continuously by really looking at the variety on the showcase. In programmed mode, the fan speed consequently changes as per air quality. Rest Mode and Low Energy Utilization: 60 Watt just at Fast. Its most reduced setting will utilize under 50 pennies a month in power. In rest mode, it is practically quiet. Items with electrical fittings are intended for use in the US. Outlets and voltage contrast universally and this item might require a connector or converter for use in your objective. If it's not too much trouble, really take a look at similarity before purchasing. With numerous cafés, salons, libraries, and different organizations beginning to resume... Adding a purifier in the workplace is fundamental.  Genuine HEPA air purifiers with UV-C Sanitizer and Ionizer frameworks are presently the number 1 decision for mindful purchasers. That is on the grounds that they channel the quality of residue, allergens, pet dander, smoke, form, dust. The Most effective way to restrict openness to airborne allergens and aggravations is to utilize a genuine elite presentation particulate channel (HEPA). These channels are powerful for individuals who dislike airborne allergens and aggravations, like smoke from flames and for the people who need to forestall such medical problems. It's likewise an extraordinary ideal for people experiencing allergies. AZEUS has free help group to respond to clients' inquiries and assist with taking care of clients' concerns. They will likewise characterize and close every one of the protests to Research and development group for items further developing use. If you'd like a duplicate of the maker's guarantee for an item found on Amazon.com, you can contact the producer straightforwardly or visit their site for more data. Maker's guarantees may not matter in all cases, contingent upon factors like the utilization of the item, where the item was bought, or who you bought the item from. Kindly survey the guarantee cautiously, and contact the producer assuming that you have any questions I tracked down this air purifier to work really hard. I know it's functioning admirably, in light of the fact that when I make bread, it will kick into high once it recognizes any flour in the air. Indeed, it is boisterous when it's on high however that tells me it's going about its business. In any case, it's actual calm. The directions show that the channel should be vacuumed week after week and the inside of the purifier ought to be cleared out. I have done this as per directions, and I have generally disliked the gadget having any breakdown. I have seen a colossal decrease in dust in my home. Pondering getting another to utilize explicitly in a guestroom for when visitors with sensitivities visit since I have two felines. I bought this Air Purifier the previous summer when I had as of late migrated to a huge 1 room condo in a Metropolitan region. I was worried about the air nature of the area where I was residing, so I scanned Amazon for a reasonable Air Purifier that could cover north of 1000

[genesissupplies]

How Many of These Cleaning Hacks, Tips, and Tricks From the 1950s Do You Use Today

We read a lot about new cleaning tech, undiscovered cleaning tricks, and homemade DIY recipes of cleaners made from water, vinegar, and baking soda. What you won’t find among these cleaning hacks are the sort of tips our parents and grandparents used to clean their households.

As effective as ever, we thought we’d compile a quick list of 1950s era cleaning hacks, tricks, practices, and more. Browsing the list, we ask, how many of these do you already use? Some hacks have been passed down through the generations, while others have largely been forgotten. By bringing these some attention, we hope to see these cleaning tips help keep cleaning affordable, eco-friendly, and effective for all.

How can I polish leather DIY-style?

If you have leather chairs, shoes, or other materials you want looking their best, applying milk actually works wonders. Give it a new finish simply by applying a little polish of milk. Take it right from the fridge.

How do I keep moths away from my clothesline?

If you’re drying laundry out on the clothesline, a fine way to keep moths away is through a mix of cinnamon oil and cloves oil. Soak cotton balls in this mixture and then place them in bags for placement inside your closet. This is your best preventative.

How do I make a DIY glass cleaner?

A glass cleaner should be effective in its application and not leave streaks. A DIY glass cleaner can be made at home by mixing two ounces of rubbing alcohol, two ounces of ammonia, and 12 ounces of water. Once it’s in the bottle, label your glass cleaner so that you don’t use it accidentally or someone doesn’t accidentally drink it.

How can I polish silver in an eco-friendly way?

If you have silver forks, spoons, knives, and cutlery that needs a clean and polish, take an aluminum pan and place them in it. Sprinkle in approximately three tablespoons of baking soda and then cover it with boiling water. Let it sit for 10-12 minutes and you’re done!

What is the most eco-friendly way to wash my walls?

You definitely have some options in terms of how to wash walls and the ceiling. The most convenient is perhaps to take a paint roller and to soak it in wall washing solutions. This can then be rolled over the wall which requires a lot less time than sponging would. Another eco-friendly way to wash walls is to use a mix of vinegar-and-water although be careful as this gradually diminish and fade paint.

Is a humidifier good for keeping the home clean?

A humidifier adds moisture to the air which can help keep things like wood furniture well-maintained. If you don’t already have a humidifier, fill a coffee can with two thirds of water complete with cinnamon sticks, cloves, and orange peel, and then place it on the stove. You receive a pleasant scent this way as well as extra moisture.

How do I remove hard water buildup in the shower?

If you have buildup in the shower or bathtub, spray it with some vinegar and water. Let it sit. If you’ve got a shower head that’s looking like a mess, you can also take some white vinegar in a sack or bag. Tie it around the showerhead so that it’s fully submerged. Leave it overnight. Morningtime, it will look just like new.

How can I clean ink?

Rubbing alcohol removes ink from clothing, wood, and wallpaper. If you have ink stains for whatever reason, the best thing you can do is address it quickly. Ninety-nine percent of ink stains can easily be handled with a little rubbing alcohol.

How do I clean off stickers?

When we buy something for the home or office, some items come with a sticker that refuses to come off. A lot of us will soak an item like this in hot water. If you want to save a little bit of time though, spray WD-40 on it. It works like a charm!

How do I remove rust stains from concrete?

Whether you have concrete stains on your front door from outdoor furniture or you’re a small business property with rust stains you need to get rid of, it’s not a lost cause. Rust stains can be removed using lemon juice and rubbing it in with a soft linen. With a little bit of effort, you can have the exterior of your property looking its best.

How can I reduce dust in my home or workplace?

Dust is oftentimes spread through rarely-cleaned spots, such as any metal heat and air conditioning vent covers. Every spring or fall, take these off and soak them in hot water. This soaking will save you from having to dust them yourself and will remove all dust in a matter of minutes with no effort.

How do I fix scratches in wood?

If you have scratches in wood furniture, cabinets, or trim, rub them with a pecan nut. You don’t need no chemical fix on this. A pecan nut has oils in it that will re-stain the wood. It’s a natural solution you can easily manipulate. A great office hack!

How do I keep garbage from smelling?

An old trick to keeping waste bins from smelling horrifying terrible is to use mint. If you have a vegetable or herb garden, take a fresh sprig of mint and put it in the garbage can every day. Although time-consuming, it will keep your waste bins smelling fine all day long.

How can I make stainless steel look like new?

Stainless steel loses a little of its sparkle over time. If it’s stainless steel that can be submerged, excellent! Set up a pan of carbonated water, soda water, club soda, or seltzer. It will fizz and afterwards, settle. Pulling your stainless steel out, it’ll look nearly brand new. If it can’t be submerged, consider doing a gentle rub with the same type of dizzy carbonated water.

How do I clean my BBQ grill?

If you want your BBQ grill to stay looking its best, after every use, lay it out on the lawn overnight. Though it may sound dirty, the dew and enzymes in the grass will help loosen any burned-on grease or food materials. This may help save some chemical cleaning from having to happen. Afterwards, just give it a quick rinse and wipe.

Source: https://www.genesissuppliesinc.ca/how-many-of-these-cleaning-hacks-tips-and-tricks-from-the-1950s-do-you-use-today

[leo-gold-hotchner]

Quiet Night

Aaron Hotchner X BAU Reader

You casually strutted into Hotch’s house after he opened the door. You never expected to enter your boss’ house, but you were looking around the house like a curious cat. Hotch told you to wait in the living room before he went to his study to bring a file for cases. From what you have heard, it was unlikely Aaron Hotchner would forget the case files and had to ask one of his agents to come to pick them up. You were kind of worried because it happened a bit quite often now, and you had to visit Hotch to pick up the files. While you were still getting used to being a communication liaison for the BAU, Hotch offered to help you with the job until you got comfortable.

You hummed as you saw a large drum in front of the TV. You examined it closely. It was clean without dust, which meant it was used not so long ago. Could Hotch be playing it? The image of Hotch playing the drum crawled into your mind, and it looked pretty, well, good. 

“It’s my brother’s,” Hotch said as if he disagreed with your thoughts.

“Why is it here?” You brushed your fingers on a large cymbal, withdrawing a low vibrating sound.

“He didn’t take it yet,” Hotch shrugged and handed the file to you.

“Mind if I ask why it’s here in the first place?” You asked slyly, kind of enjoying Hotch’s uncharacteristic uncomfortable look.

The man sighed and put his hands in the pants pockets. “Used to be mine, but he wanted it. So I gave it to him. But he hasn’t moved yet, so it’s still here.”

“You drum?”

“Good for the stress.”

Hotch in his usual suit and drumming didn't quite match the image in your head. As if he saw your doubting face, he sat in front of the drum.

"I can play if you're having a hard time believing it."

"You wouldn't mind?" You smiled.

His lips quirked into a small smile. Hotch took off his jacket and navy tie and threw them on the couch. Your eyes mindlessly followed his hands as he rolled up the sleeves.

Hotch exhaled deeply, and then the house suddenly filled with roars of drumbeats. The drumming started faster, and the speed reduced slowly with occasional cymbals. Then Hotch looked like he was in his own world because his lips began to move. You were just amazed how his husky voice started to sing.

I looked into your eyes

I was trapped

I looked at your tears

I was chocked

I was falling deep

Falling down

Falling down

Falling down

His passionate drumming and singing just entranced you. His voice got louder in the chorus as well as the drumming. Then you could barely hear his whispering lyrics and his hands slowed. Then all of a sudden, everything went quiet. You could only hear your heart drumming and Hotch’s breathing.

Swiftly, you gave him thunderous applause and called his name several times like a fan of a singer. Hotch looked so embarrassed with his crimson face.

“You’re so good, Hotch! I think I’ve become your fan.” 

“Aaron,” he mumbled. You were stunned at his request. “We’re not at the workplace,” he quickly added.

“Aaron, it is,” you smiled. “What song was that?”

Aaron shrugged. “A small piece I composed a couple of years ago. Just a hobby.”

“You even write songs?” You looked at him amazingly, and he seemed really embarrassed. “Just how many talents do you have?” You laughed merrily.

“I don’t. I just had someone inspire me.” 

His gaze steadily looked into your eyes, and your heart started to beat fast again. You realised he was talking about you. You joined the BAU two years ago, and for the first several cases, you couldn’t hide your tears at the cases. Now you knew why Aaron kept calling you to his home.

“You’ve had lots of chances to ask me for dinner.”

“I was scared,” he admitted easily. “Would you?” He held out his hand.

“A date it is,” you smiled and put your hand on his.

“A date,” he smiled genuinely. “I like it.” He brought your hand to his lips and kissed lightly on your fingertips.

[joannalannister]

Anonymous asked:

Hey there, Lauren! I love your blog and metas! I have a question for you, in terms of the book, could you tell me when and where Daenerys shows signs of being a tyrant or a fascist? I see lots of metas say that she is, but from what I've read, I don't see any signs of that? Sure, she kills her enemies, but what powerful monarch doesn't? I just feel like the fandom has a very biased and double standard hatred when it comes to her, and I would like your opinion! Thank you!

Before I answer your question, we need some sort of working definition of fascism. To achieve this, I would like to quote a disabled person who helped lead the fight against fascism for years, and who died in the line of duty:

Over a year and a half ago I said this [...]: "The militarists in Berlin, and Rome and Tokyo started this war, but the massed angered forces of common humanity will finish it."

Today that prophecy is in the process of being fulfilled. The massed, angered forces of common humanity are on the march. They are going forward [...] 

We will have no truck with Fascism in any way, in any shape or manner. We will permit no vestige of Fascism to remain. [...]

In every country conquered by the Nazis and the Fascists, or the Japanese militarists, the people have been reduced to the status of slaves or chattels.

It is our determination to restore these conquered peoples to the dignity of human beings, masters of their own fate, entitled to freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

We have started to make good on that promise. I am sorry if I step on the toes of those Americans who, playing party politics at home, call that kind of foreign policy “crazy altruism” and “starry-eyed dreaming.”

--President Franklin D. Roosevelt, July 28th, 1943 Fireside Chat

What did the fascist Nazi Party stand for in WWII?

Historically, there was no Nazi Party apart from their racial and social agenda. It was a party founded on racial distinctions, with a vision to dramatically transform their society. The Nazis disliked and persecuted anyone who they did not consider Aryan. They persecuted and killed Jewish people, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and communists, and they wanted to eliminate people with mental or physical ailments. The Nazis pushed women out of the workplace and actively promoted patriarchy. [x]

But where does GRRM come into this?

I wasn’t a complete pacifist; I couldn’t claim to be that. I was what they called an objector to a particular war. I would have been glad to fight in World War II. But Vietnam was the only war on the menu. [x]

GRRM’s ethical views are at their clearest and most concise while discussing slavery and dehumanization in his (most excellent and highly recommended) vampire novel, Fevre Dream:

I never held much with slavery […]. You can’t just go… usin’ another kind of people, like they wasn’t people at all. Know what I mean? Got to end, sooner or later. Better if it ends peaceful, but it’s got to end even if it has to be with fire and blood, you see? Maybe that’s what them abolitionists been sayin’ all along. You try to be reasonable, that’s only right, but if it don’t work, you got to be ready. Some things is just wrong. They got to be ended.

Some things are worth fighting for. Fascism requires opposition, some form of opposition, or it will steamroller all over you. 

My regret now is not that I stayed my arm, but that I remained aloof in my window while others protested peacefully outside. It would be naïve to think that those marching in neo-Nazi parades could have a change of heart from such efforts, but I am more concerned with those who are not marching for anything. We must convince the apathetic to care, and stop those who are walking down the path of hatred before it becomes too late.

--David Olin, The View from My Window, Berkeley 2018, written for the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity 

Now, let me apply this to ASOIAF piece by piece. 

In every country conquered [...] the people have been reduced to the status of slaves or chattels.

This is Tywin. This is Tywin enslaving people as part of his militaristic campaign of aggressive force in the Riverlands. This is Tywin sanctioning the capture and torture of innocent people. This is Tywin “using” other kinds of people and disregarding the fact that they are human beings. This is Tywin enslaving Arya Stark. This is Tywin impressing people to work in his gold mines on a whim, as we learn in AGOT. This is Tywin reducing people to the status of slaves or chattels. This is Tywin. 

I don’t know how many different ways I can say it, but as I’ve said before and will say again: Tywin is the character in the ASOIAF books who most prominently espouses fascist ideology. 

There are other characters in the main series -- Roose Bolton and Randyll Tarly, for example -- who also exhibit characteristics of fascist ideology, but I would argue that it is Tywin who is the fascist poster boy of ASOIAF ... and it is also Tywin who is one of the main villains who is drawing humanity’s attention south away from the true threat of the Others, who wish to turn every living thing into their slaves and playthings. (Littlefinger also comes to mind.) Tywin is an unwitting general in the Others’ army. Tywin is fighting the Others’ Campaign of Dehumanization on their behalf. 

The Nazis disliked and persecuted anyone who they did not consider Aryan. 

Substitute “Aryan” for “Lannister” and this is Tywin. “a Lannister, and worth more.” It is Tywin who pushes an agenda of Lannister superiority and it is Tywin to whom non-Lannisters aren’t human, to the point that he had to marry his own cousin. He dislikes non-Lannisters so much he had to marry his own cousin!!!! It’s Tywin who passed down his obsession with blood purity to his children to the point that they literally have to fuck each other. It’s Tywin who puts his House (a proxy for his race) above the individuals in it; it’s Tywin who doesn’t care if Cersei and Jaime and Tyrion are ground to dust under his disgusting ideology as long as House Lannister reigns supreme. 

"Spice soldiers and cheese lords," his lord father called them, with contempt. 

This is Tywin. 

Non-Lannisters aren’t fully human to Tywin. This is fascist ideology!!!!

It was a party founded on racial distinctions

This is Tywin and Kevan, refusing to allow the Westerlings to marry into their family because of “doubtful blood”!!!!! (”Ser Kevan seldom had a thought that Lord Tywin had not had first.”) 

It was a party founded on racial distinctions

This is Tywin and his refusal to allow a betrothal between Jaime and Elia. 

they wanted to eliminate people with mental or physical ailments. 

This is Tywin and his hatred toward disabled Tyrion. This is Tywin and his refusal to allow a betrothal between Jaime and disabled Elia. 

The Nazis pushed women out of the workplace and actively promoted patriarchy.

This is Tywin. This is Randyll hating on Brienne of Tarth. (And you can bet your ass Tywin doesn’t approve of women with swords.) 

I don’t know how many ways I can say it: Tywin and others like him are the fascists. 

Tywin is one of the cold fucks the AGOT prologue warns us about in the very beginning: “the real enemy is the cold.” 

The central conflict of ASOIAF is between the living (the fire) and the dead (the cold), those who would recognize your humanity and those who won’t. 

It is our determination to restore these conquered peoples to the dignity of human beings, masters of their own fate

^^ This is Daenerys Targaryen ^^

Daenerys Targaryen is a freedom fighter who kills slavers in the books. 

Her breakup of the economic system of Essos (meaning SLAVERY) is more akin to a communist revolution than a fascist takeover imo. Daenerys associates herself with people of all races, all classes. She gives Missandei, who canonically has dark skin in the books, a place as one of her closest advisors. Unlike Tywin, Daenerys is not pushing an agenda of Targaryen superiority. 

Daenerys is not perfect. She does not always get it right. Daenerys has got some things wrong. But I don’t think there has been any other option for Daenerys. You ... you can’t just look the other way when evil men are crucifying children, and I truly do not think that non-violent opposition would change anything in Essos. “Better if it ends peaceful, but it’s got to end even if it has to be with fire and blood, you see?” 

Sometimes innocents like Hazzea have died on Daenerys’s journey. 

And I fully believe that more people are going to die in TWOW, and that Daenerys will hold herself responsible, whether she is or not. I know that TWOW will give all the antis of every character a lot of ammunition. TWOW is going to be a dark and depressing book. 

I think that Daenerys is going to reach a very low point in TWOW, just as Tyrion is nose-diving in ADWD, but I think that’s just what GRRM does with his greatest heroes. It’s the moment in a movie when the hero falls off the cliff, and the Evil Villain starts cackling maniacally and you think all is lost, and then you see the hero’s hand reach up over the edge and the music crescendos as the hero pulls himself up. Except the real villains that GRRMs heroes are battling are themselves. The cliff is a metaphor for our darkest impulses. 

Characters tell Dany in AGOT that “she is nothing” but Dany’s story is about proving them wrong. It’s about her finding her own dignity and worth as a human being out on the Dothraki Sea, and becoming the master of her own fate. As her story progresses, she helps others to do the same, helping people to rediscover their dignity, to regain their names (or take new ones), to find the humanity that was stolen from them. 

(This is why it’s so important to me that her story intersect with zombie!Jon, so that she can help a dead man remember what it is to be human and remember why it all matters. Because if none of it matters ... if a man can’t find a fuck to give, well, that’s Tywin Lannister, who was a cold dead man long before Tyrion shot him.) 

I brought up FDR in the beginning of this post. Although FDR died before GRRM was born, he was one of the great American cultural figures of the 20th century and I have no doubt FDR’s legacy was a formative influence on GRRM. And that’s the thing - so many of these, these great American cultural figures of GRRM’s life died before their work was completed: FDR, JFK, MLK, so many others... The promised land is somewhere ahead of us, despite the opposition making accusations of “crazy altruism” and “starry-eyed dreaming.” No one is going to drive us there and drop us off; we have to get there by ourselves, and the journey isn’t an easy one. It’s a place we have to keep striving for, working for. A dream of spring...

It’s not Daenerys’s destiny, I think, to rule humanity in the long term; Dany’s destiny is, I think, to make sure that humanity doesn’t, well, lose their humanity. To make sure that humanity doesn’t fall into eldritch slavery.

The Others would make us automatons in their icy, inhuman regime. The Others would steam-roller all over humanity, and take away humanity’s freedom to choose, as Tywin Lannister tries to do to his children, trying to take all of their choices away and control them completely. The Others would take away our self-determination, our freedom to choose good or evil, our freedom to be the rulers of our own fate. 

I don’t think it’s Daenerys job to be a ruler in the end. I think she’s fighting evil now so that other people can keep fighting that good-and-evil “human heart in conflict with itself” fight long after she’s gone ... I’ve never believed in a “Targaryen restoration” ending although I wouldn’t necessarily be opposed to it. 

Like Moses, Daenerys won’t lead us into the promised land ... we have to get there ourselves. 

And I’ve strayed from your question into a topic that’s more interesting to me because I cannot fucking belieeeeeeve that you are even asking me if the compassionate, caring, teenage-girl, sexual-abuse-survivor, messiah-figure Daenerys Targaryen is a fucking fascist when everything Daenerys “the fire is mine” Targaryen does is in narrative opposition to Certified Fucking Fascist Tywin Racist Lannister oh my god I cannot believe this is where we’ve come to as a fandom, I cannot fucking belieeeeeeve. 

Anon. Honey. Baby. I say this gently, with love: Whyyyyyyyyy are you reading “Daenerys is a fascist” metas? That didn’t even work on the show. 

When I googled “Daenerys Targaryen fascist” to try and figure out what you could possibly be reading to argue against it, the top result is an alt-right thinkpiece website about how dangerous Dany was all along in freeing slaves!!!! And the next results are people who think the iron throne actually matters when GRRM himself has said that the political war is a red herring. 

The endgame rulers don’t even particularly matter because what matters in the end is that humanity wins against the Others and we still have control over ourselves, what matters is for that human heart conflict to continue to exist inside ourselves and that we rule over that conflict inside ourselves. 

"We all must choose," she proclaimed.

Practice some self-care; go read Armageddon Rag, and remember this: TWOW is not going to save us. 

[lildioraddict]

♡ phone organisation ♡

Since I spend a lot of time on my phone (i’m trying to fix this i promise!!) I’ve made some changes to make it optimal for my lifestyle!

Cute wallpapers

I get wallpapers off pinterest! I go for something arty and creative to make me happy, but i’ve also seen girls put their vision boards here! I usually do a cute colour theme and keep the home screen simple

Home screen organisation

I keep most of my apps organised into folders, with my most common apps (bank, notes, my workplace app, safari) without folders for easy access. I also keep messages/phone/spotify on the bottom bar

The new widgets feature for iphone is good to keep track of steps, screen time and have motivational notes/reminders! The pinterest widget is very helpful for displaying your vision board in a subtle way, it rotates the picture every hour to remind you of your goals throughout the day.

Limiting your phone usage

I delete most social media apps I am prone to scroll through, and only reinstall them when i need to post something! Another option is turning off notifications on these apps so the evil masterminds trying to suck you in to being addicted can’t tempt you with “so and so posted to their story!!”

Keeping track of your screen time also helps, I find that putting the time locks on apps doesn’t help very much as I always just bypass it, so i delete the apps instead.

Putting the Do Not Disturb timer helps too, I usually do it from 8pm to 9am to avoid texts/calls and respond to people in my own time.

It’s best to reduce your phone usage so you have more time for you instead of worrying about everyone else’s lives!! freeing up those hours means more time for education, nurturing your wellness, self care and self improvement.

My must-have apps

Photo editing

Picsart - remove distractions/mess from the background of pics, some cute filters such as polaroid effects

Airbrush- for light editing of selfies etc, the acne tool also helps remove distractions/dust

Colourtone, snapseed - cute filters, adjust lighting etc in pics

Google Photos- MUST HAVE for backing up camera roll, keeps all ur photos in a secure place and you can save space on your phone by mass deleting pics after they’ve been backed up

Productivity

Notion - I’m still getting used to using this but it’s an amazing customisable tool to organise lists, calendars, links, uni work, finances etc. Takes a little work to set up but after that it’s a great place to refer back to and use as a planning/productivity tool

Forest - cute way to stop yourself using your phone so much! you set a timer and a tree grows while you are off your phone, it dies if you attempt to use your phone for more than a minute

Pinterest- for vision boards, fashion inspo, art, home decor etc.

Google drive/docs- I do all my school work on docs and store everything I need in my drive including ebooks and scanned documents. Easy to access anywhere eg. in uni libraries, friends computers etc and if you run out of space you can get 100gb for only $2.50 a month which is amazing

Etc

Flo - amazing for tracking periods, gives you some peace of mind for next time you have a pregnancy scare lol and doubles as a fitness/health tracker

Raiz - I think this is australian only (?) but similar apps are out there. It allows you to invest small amounts of money such as $50 or even rounds up your purchases and invests the change (eg 0.60 from your $4.40 morning coffee)

My fitness pal - good for tracking calories and weight loss (but can be somewhat triggering so I avoid counting calories most of the time)

Reddit - can be helpful for finding advice about niche topics and funny shit! my fav subreddits are r/wholesomememes, r/konmari, r/AmItheAsshole, r/getdisciplined, r/nosurf, r/decidingtobebetter, r/lingerieaddiction

Podcasts - I listen to a podcast or two daily on my daily walk and they can be helpful while cleaning etc to help educate yourself. My favourites are She’s On The Money (great for learning about finances), Shameless (pop culture, feminism, news but delivered by two funny and lovable girls), Rise & Conquer (wellness, lifestyle, motivation), The Art of Manliness (ignore the name lol but lots of helpful episodes about fitness, productivity, being charismatic etc) and The Simple Sophisticate (calming podcast about a simple feminine luxurious lifestyle).

Other tips

use your notes app!! I use this for dreams, wish lists, todo lists, reminders, passwords, everything lol i have like 1500 notes

clean out your photos regularly, google photos helps with this a lot! sort them into monthly albums and delete screenshots and dud pictures you don’t need

Aim to avoid using your phone for an hour after you wake up, I get ready and dressed to workout, have my coffee and go for a walk (wearing my cellular apple watch for safety + music) before i open any apps. Same goes for an hour before sleeping! I put my phone away while i do my skincare, pyjamas, journaling and reading before i sleep.

So that’s a run down of important things I do on my phone!! I hope this gave some helpful tips, if anyone has any other tips for reducing screen time pls let me know because i need them lol ♡

[the-bounce-back]

THE CONFIDENCE CHRONICLES PART V - CONFIDENCE IN YOUR CONFIDENCE

This is post 5/5 of my “Confidence Chronicles” series, in which I discuss the mindsets, actions and thought processes I’ve applied to build/rebuild my confidence in different aspects of my life. The goal of these 5 posts is for you readers to be able to apply relevant points to your own insecurities in order to combat them, and hopefully build your own confidence over time.

—————————————————————

So… we’re finally at the last post of the Confidence Chronicles. It’s taken its sweet (long-ass) time, but we finally got there in the end. Furthermore, it’s almost exactly a year ago since the idea for this series popped into my head, so this really has ended up coming full circle… albeit unintentionally. Not going to lie, it’s kind of a bittersweet feeling - it’s going to feel strange to not focus so heavily on confidence anymore, but on the other hand… I don’t have to focus so heavily on confidence anymore. Finally, I can bring my other post ideas that have been collecting dust in my drafts to life!

The funny thing is that although I started this series with a plan for what I was going to write about in each post, I never actually settled on what aspect of my confidence I wanted to end this series with. I figured that when the time came to write this, I would have a clear idea of what would be an appropriate note to wrap up the series on. 

Of course, at that point in time I didn’t know that the latter half of 2019 was going to turn my life upside down. I didn’t know that I was going to find myself in a massive slump due to stress, confusion and anxiety over my career, my direction and purpose in life and my role in the grand scheme of the world. I know it all sounds very melodramatic and like an excuse to not apply myself to complete my projects - which might be partially true - but the truth is that these questions have been weighing on me for a long time. Long before I started working on my mental health, long before I started this blog, long before moving back to the UK. I’ve been able to ignore these feelings for a long time, but lately they’ve been making themselves extremely hard to avoid. I think that the reason lies in that I’m soon going to be on what society likes to call the “wrong” side of 25, and that I still feel like I’m figuring out where my life is going… i.e. running around like a headless chicken.

However, this blog has really forced me to confront my fears in a way that counselling or confiding in someone I trust ever could - simply because it makes me work through my innermost thoughts and feelings alone. Attempting to address deeply buried issues in order to make my peace with them so I can move past it has been a very triggering process, and also extremely reliant on trial and error.

When you make an error in your healing process, it can be devastating and a major setback in your daily life. But when you get it right… the pain and hard work all becomes worth it. Trust me. There is nothing more satisfying than thinking of a past situation that used to make you feel like you had the weight of the world of the shoulders, and realising that although it felt like it at the time, it didn’t kill you. Hell, you’d even be able to go through it again and be confident you can make it through again, if you had to. One day you’ll even be able to laugh at the situations that once tore you down, and with your newfound confidence be able to realise that at the end of the day… it wasn’t that deep (or, at least, not deep enough to kill you).

For this reason, I want to tie the messages from the previous posts of this Confidence Chronicles series together to make this post - confidence in your newfound confidence. Once you build a solid foundation of confidence in all aspects of your life, the next step is learning to adjust to the newfound energy, positivity and motivation that this confidence manifests itself as. I personally learned (and - in certain cases - am still learning) how to harness this “power” in the following ways: 

1. Slowly but surely trusting myself to believe in my own capabilities.

Do you want to know something that’s funny but at the same time not  funny? If not, tough sh*t because here it comes: despite writing so extensively about confidence, my own levels of confidence are somewhat unreliable at best.

As I’ve mentioned countless times before, I never write blog posts when I’m in a bad place mentally. In fact, every single post (except one) on here is written when I’m in a great mood, my mind is clear, my confidence levels are unbeatable and I can write about my bad times in an objective manner that doesn’t end up making me sad. A quick scroll through my past posts prove that it’s so easy to assume that I’m 100% over the hard things that I’ve written about on here, simply because I’ve become so good at realising my own past mistakes and how I should move forward. However, in reality, there’s usually not a day that goes by without the topics crossing my mind.

I’ve been told many a time by friends that while I’m excellent at giving advice and knowing exactly what measures to take to get over a situation, I’m not very good at applying said advice to myself. It’s very true, and very frustrating - reading my own posts back makes me realise that I already have the tools and capabilities required to be able to heal, but so far I only seem to be able to use these tools when I’m in a good place. For this reason, I struggle a fair amount with self-doubt in my authenticity as a mental health blogger, because what’s the point of preaching about self-love, self-care and bettering your mental health if your own mental health is in a complete shambles from time to time?

However, it’s not all bad, because the more I apply myself to think of solutions, apply said solutions to my own life and start seeing the benefits of constantly working on myself, the more confident I become that one day I’ll get to a stage where I can confidently write about my issues without this nagging feeling that I’m a fraud. Additionally, g-checking myself from time to time and making sure that I am actually following my own advice makes me increasingly more secure in the knowledge that I am extremely emotionally intelligent and do have enough experience to change my own life, as well as others’. 

I think the main thing here is to keep on doing whatever it is you’re trying to improve upon, and allow yourself to appreciate how far you’ve come on your journey as opposed to solely focusing how long you have to go. Regardless of if you’re doubting your capabilities in the workplace, your body goals, your ability to adapt to new situations or your creative ventures - or a combination of all four - it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate your progress.

Giving yourself a well-deserved pat on the back and focusing on how far you have come since the beginning gives you the chance to fully appreciate the hard work you’ve put in towards bettering yourself - which leads to you gradually feeling confident in trusting the power in your own capabilities over time.

2. Stopping the negative self-talk.

As it so happens, I have quite a dark and self-deprecating sense of humour - and so do many of my friends and my sister. Calling myself and others every offensive name under the sun as a joke is something that used to occur on a near daily basis, under the guise that it was all harmless banter. I’ve literally been doing this for as long as I can remember, but the past few months or so, I’ve really been trying to stop for a few reasons.

The main reason is that regardless of how harmless belittling your intelligence and capabilities as a joke may seem, doing it on a regular basis can lead to you internalising these notions and gradually starting to believe them. Although I genuinely thought that I was mentally resilient enough to be able to separate jokes from reality, whenever I’d fall into a bit of slump the first things that would come into my head were the things I’d said about myself as a joke. They would sting a lot, because in those moments I would genuinely believe them.

“God, I’m such a dumb b*tch”.

“Ugh, when did I become such a d*ckhead?”

“I swear to God.... I f*cking hate myself”

“Oh, great, so on top of being a dumb b*tch - I’m also a fat b*tch. Excellent”.

The mad thing is that I’m actually laughing while writing this, simply because I’m in a positive state of mind and know that it’s all a joke. I know I’m neither dumb, a d*ckhead, or fat. Nor do I hate myself anymore. But as soon as that Sunday night sadness hits (I know you all know what I’m talking about!), there I am - trying to choke back tears because I’ve managed to delude myself into thinking that the above is, in fact, true. For this reason, I’ve also tried to stop doing it to my friends, because I’d hate to think that they may be internalising something mean that I’ve said to them as a jOkE.

It’s also interesting to think why self-deprecating humour comes so easily to a lot of us. I can only speak for myself and certain friends that are similar to me in this aspect, but I genuinely think it’s because we’ve - very sadly - grown accustomed to being verbally abused and/or having our weaknesses constantly being picked at during our formative years - either in our home environments, school environments, or both. Instead of devising healthier methods of coping with and eliminating these internalisations, we’ve become reliant on using humour as a source of escapism from our nagging insecurities cast upon us by people around us. 

When I started seeing self-deprecating humour in this light, it actually made me quite sad. There I was, thinking that I should get into comedy for being so hilarious, when really it turned out to be just me being too scared to deal with my own insecurities. That’s when I knew things needed to change, and I’ve been working on this ever since.

Personally, the easiest way for me to reduce my negative self-talk has been to try to visualise how I would feel if a stranger (it used to be friends, but then I remembered that most of my friends are as tapped as I am) was saying it to me. I soon realised that if it had come from anyone else but myself or my friends, I’d be ready to throw hands over this literal verbal abuse. I am now trying my best to speak to and treat myself in the same way that a stranger or acquaintance would - with dignity, respect, honesty and with a regard for my own feelings (because, lo and behold, it is possible to be brutally honest and kind at the same time).

Of course, this is so much easier said than done - especially if you, like me, love a cheeky self-drag and dragging others (out of love, of course). However, this doesn’t have to mean that you can stop having fun - I’ve found that an eloquently worded drag meant to act as a wake-up call for me/someone else to improve my/their situation without having to resort to insults and name-calling is infinitely more creative, satisfying and efficient. Furthermore, I’ve found that g-checks that are based on constructive criticism as opposed to cruel insults give you a clearer image of how to improve yourself moving forward - which can only be a good thing.

Basically, just be patient and kind to yourself and others. Take on the constructive criticism received from yourself and your friends/family to work towards bettering yourself, and your confidence will follow.

3. Learning to trust the feelings of positivity and self-love.

This is by far the hardest one for me - and for good reason. When you’ve spent a large part of your teenage years and early adulthood believing that your capabilities and strengths are inadequate, that you’re ugly, that you’re not worthy of love and happiness, that your life has no purpose and that your family and friends would be better off without you, it’s nearly impossible to break free from this toxic downward spiral and to unlearn all of the behaviours and thought processes that have manifested as a result of these feelings. 

The keyword here is nearly.

Obviously, I can only speak for myself, but I would like to think that this could be applied to others as well. When I started this jOuRnEy, I honestly thought I’d never get to a place where I genuinely love every aspect of myself. Despite this, I kept pushing myself through the extremely triggering task of unpacking my toxic feelings - until one day I suddenly didn’t have them anymore. Or, at the very least, they suddenly no longer hurt me. Seemingly out of nowhere... I felt okay.

The sad but still understandable thing about suddenly coming to terms with who you are, what you’ve been through and feeling confident enough to move forward is that you don’t trust the feeling at first. At all. You tell yourself that it’s just one of the little upswings before everything comes crashing down around you again, dragging you back to step one, and you try to mentally prepare yourself for said downfall to happen.

But it doesn’t.

Sure, you might have little dips every now and again. You know that healing isn’t a linear process, so you assume that these little dips will lead to you spiralling again. But, to your surprise, they don’t - and you find yourself picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and moving forward with your life relatively unscathed and with more experience and wisdom than before. You start to get suspicious and a little scared because things are actually going alright for once. You’ve become so used to your life being so riddled with anxiety, insecurity, sadness and chaos and the good times being fleeting, that this new reality is extremely alien to you. 

This is where things can go one out of two ways.

Either your anxiety kicks in and you start self-sabotaging in different ways because you’re afraid that the longer things are going well, the harder the fall is going to be - so you might as well save yourself the pain by not pursuing things that could allow you to be happy. Or, you are able to tentatively start trusting and accepting the waves of love and positivity as your new reality - making you find the strength and confidence to move forward despite the past pain and hurt.

Personally, it took several rounds of self-sabotaging before getting to the point of learning to trust the positive feelings and  my confidence in all aspects of myself. I try not to beat myself up over all the opportunities I’ve turned down simply due to genuinely believing that I’m not good/smart/pretty/talented enough, but I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t make me sad from time to time. However, the more time that passes I get more and more confident that new, even better opportunities will come up for me - and I’ll be confident enough to embrace them without any hesitation when the time comes.

To wrap up this whole Confidence Chronicles series, I want to leave you all with this simple but true statement:

It gets better - if you’re willing to put in the work.

Regardless of which of the posts resonated with you the most, I need you to understand that building confidence takes time. I would even go as far as saying that it’s a never-ending journey, and that the learning to fully love and trust yourself and your capabilities is a never-ending process as life progresses. However, the more you work hard on your own betterment, the easier and smaller the challenges that arise from time to time become.

My ultimate wish is that we all one day can get to a place where we can trust ourselves enough to be happy and confident, regardless of what life throws at us. That whenever things that would usually send us down that spiral again pop up, we can just take a deep breath, count to ten, and be confident in the knowledge that the situation no longer has power over us, and that we will easily be able to work through it.

Until that day comes - never stop fighting.

Love,

Liv

[thesecretisbutter]

A Few bad signs to look out for when interviewing for a job

Finding a job is one of the most important things you can do as a human being in America. In fact, the emphasis on having a job in America is so large, that if you don’t have a job of a means of making consistent income you are often seen as less of a person.

On the other hand, there are also a lot of employers that will likely see you as less of a person if you work for them. These jobs are often associated with the title of “sales,” but that isn’t always the case. There are many types of jobs where you can end up being the business’s means of income rather than their method of making income. These businesses are dangerous and designed to use you through employment and often discard you before you can take away any profits.

Through my long and arduous search to find work, I have come to identify a few key indicators that a company is more interested in using you than actually hiring you. Don’t think I’m just writing this to get back at any company or companies either, the more people that find actual work the better. When people find a job that isn’t going to exploit them other businesses learn that those types of systems make more money than their abusive ones. In short, bad businesses die if you work towards finding a job that isn’t for a bad business.

So, what are the signs? Here are a few that are most obvious and telling when or if you get an interview.

1)      You got the interview

I’m not trying to take you down a peg, because most people don’t need to be treated like that. But something you should be aware of is the eagerness of a company that is trying to hire you. While it can be completely fine to get a quick response from a potential employer, which is likely to happen if you are exceptionally qualified or a good fit, but when a company takes time to linger on you as a candidate, there’s usually an ulterior motive.

Companies that thrive on employee quantity are by and large bad places. Common instances of this are places like call centers, sales/travel sales companies, and mass media marketers. And don’t get me wrong, you can make money doing these types of jobs (and if you can’t get work anywhere else, these are real options), but the majority of the time the business is making money primarily off of your time rather than whatever it is that you’re doing.

So, when you get a quick and easy interview response, you need to be aware of any signs that you are being recruited rather than hired. Things like going to a location and finding a group of other candidates being interviewed on the same day for the same job and rapid follow up interviews are good signs.

If it looks like a lot of candidates are being pushed through the hiring process to work for the company, that’s probably an indication that they don’t necessarily care what skills you have and you’ll be doing the roughest side of the work they do. This happens mostly in sales and telemarketing, though the former is stealthier about this and the latter is more blunt. This is dangerous particularly if you have an educated background and a good work history, it means they don’t value your experience at all and that your only value lies in being a person that will do whatever they say.

Rapid follow up interviews are also bad indicators. An initial interview could be going great, but if you are invited to stick around for a second round of interviews or are told on the spot after your first interview of when the next scheduled round of interviews will be, this means that the first interview did not matter beyond being a quick vetting process. They want to see if you can commit to the time and basic phrasing of the position before they tell you what you’ll be doing (and that will still probably not be clear). They already expect you to make it to the second interview because, again, they don’t want to hire you, they want to recruit you. Lining you up for a second interview is how they invest you in continuing with the recruitment process; if you say yes, you are more likely to ignore some red flags and accept their offer of “employment.”

2)      Bad morale

Company morale is very important, it tells you whether your coworkers are going to be bearable and if you’ll actually be able to survive in that job. However, it’s hard to see from outside of actual employment at a company if the morale is good. But there are a few trick questions you can drop in an interview to pick up on potential tension and bad company culture. These are particularly useful if you are in a second interview, but also work on an initial interview as well.

“That’s not what I heard from *first interviewer*.” In a second interview, this question will tell you a lot. If the interviewer throws the employee that interviewed you initially under the bus, that’s a bad sign. Responses like “well, I don’t know what *interviewer 1* told you…” or “he messes that up sometimes” indicate a willingness to ingratiate you towards the second interviewer over the first, even though both have the same goal and method of profiting from your employment. All you have to do is listen for a detail that the first interviewer told you get repeated by the second and butt in with a “that’s not what I heard.” This doesn’t work so well if the same person interviews you both times, but it can indicate how good that one person’s memory is.

“Have you ever worked in retail?” This is a great question if you want to get a sense of the background of the interviewer and the other employees at the company. Working in retail is unanimously “the worst,” and it is often extremely degrading, but it is a means to an end. People that have never worked retail are less likely to be empathetic towards real world problems, the personal struggles of individuals, and are less likely to be able to handle genuinely difficult social situations. This might even be a good question to ask an interviewee, as it will tell you a lot about a person in general. But when aimed at an interviewer, people who have never worked in retail are generally worse coworkers.

“What is the company culture like?” An easy and common enough question for an interview, but also dangerous. Companies that invest too much in “we’re awesome” culture and activities are less productive overall. If a company has a party culture with frequently provided meals, hang-out periods, and lots of workplace amenities (like a ping-pong table, pool table, and arcade cabinet) that company is likely less interested in you doing work in that workplace and more interested in you going out and doing menial dirty work. Don’t get me wrong, restrictive work culture like you’ll find at most call centers is way worse, but if a company is trying to razzle dazzle you with “fun things” that’s not usually a good sign for one reason or another.

3)      Pop-up Offices (AKA–location, location, location)

This is something I thought everyone noticed, but (apparently) I’m weird and not everyone else sees these things. The layout and elements of a workplace can tell you a lot about it in ways you might not realize. And the most dangerous thing to look out for is a pop-up office.

While location has a big part to play ( i.e., how far away from the interstate the place is, what other businesses are in the immediate area, what level of living does the area look connected to), it is just as important to pay attention to the interior and exterior of the location itself.

So, what is a pop-up office and why am I bringing it up? Well, a pop-up office is a workplace that is designed to look nice and pleasant, but actually hasn’t been there that long and probably won’t stay there too long by design. These types of locations have hastily painted walls (a good tip off is to look at light switch and electrical outlet covers for smudges of paint, bonus points if the cover is old and yellowed plastic), cheap but nice looking furniture sets (usually bought in bulk from a home furniture store or provided by the company at large for these locations), empty or sparse bookshelves, lack of cameras or other security in the office or outside the office (particularly noteworthy if the area isn’t so great), worn locks on the doors, a lack or extreme abundance of company logos, stock art hanging on the walls, and possibly a large TV that is left on at an odd volume (either too quiet for anyone to hear in silence or slightly too loud to facilitate genuine conversation). These are all things that are used to make you think that the office space is something it really isn’t—stable, fashionable, and profitable. In reality, a pop-up office is just that, a façade. They can pop-up and pop back down on a dime and leave their employees in the dust because there is no more money left to be made at that location.

Conversely, good signs would be modest furniture, low-level visible security, no visible electrical outlets, well maintained textured ceiling (no yellow and brown spots or dust), and any evidence of janitorial work (vacuum cleaner tracks on carpet, lack of dust, slightly mismatched patches of paint from cover up work). These are the sort of things you see in a workplace that has been around for a bit and is confident that it will stay around.

4)      Reverse selling

It is never a good sign when an interviewer starts giving you the same lines that you expect to give them, but it happens. This is a big part of recruiting, and it is always a bad sign.

Part of your job as an interviewee is to explain how you can make money for the company. That is where your value as an employee comes from. Can you reduce waste? Do you work hard and keep a good pace? Can you take a bad business interaction and still have a smile on your face? Whatever it takes, you want to convince a company that your employment there would be mutually beneficial.

When a company starts explaining these sorts of thing to you, you should know that something is going wrong. Promises of big weekly payouts (often stated as “*this one guy that works* here usually makes/has made *some number probably close to $2,500* a week”), detailed interviewer introductions, explaining how the company can help you make more money or start your own company through them are common ones. These are attempts to make you more comfortable accepting a recruitment offer, basically seducing you with great potential when your chances of success (particularly long term) are actually quite low. They just want massive numbers of people working for them, so they make the job sound as enticing as possible.

In reality, these companies usually want you to exhaust your family, friends, and business acquaintances for clients. Essentially, they’re hiring you for your potential connections. Those are usually easy sales or clients to get, but only one-off profits for the company. In the end your employment will probably look like this: you get the job, pitch the company product to people that trust you, and then you dry up and get a different job… but now you have less people that trust you and you become more defensive about your work.

 This isn’t an exhaustive list of bad signs. In fact, you probably already know most of the obvious bad signs that you’ll see. You gut is usually a good indicator too. If a company feels bad, look into them. If their interview, the job posting, and the company background don’t add up to the job you think you’re applying for than that company is either terribly unorganized or just a terrible company. Don’t let some garbage business abuse you and take your time away from you to make money. Keep your eyes peeled, but don’t forget to trust people to a degree. Give people the time to talk to you before you jump to conclusions, but don’t let them decide for you.

[macgyvermedical]

Top 10 Public Health Triumphs of the 20th Century (in the USA)

Have you ever gotten stuck in an elevator with me? Because let me tell you, it would be a good time. We would talk about all kinds of fun stuff, like this top 10 list of awesome public health things.

A lot of people think of “Public Health” as a new field, but its been around for a long while, and it actually has a lot of power when it comes to law and people’s behaviors. This list was compiled by UC Berkley based on information from the CDC and Johns Hopkins, and is pretty interesting. I even put pictures in to keep it lively!

Promise.

1. Vaccine (and Vaccine Mandates)

Even if you personally have never been vaccinated, there’s a good chance a vaccine has saved your life. There are currently 17 vaccine-preventable diseases that are targeted by US vaccination policy. Studies say that every year, 42,000 people are born (annual cohort) who won’t die of vaccine-preventable illness. And that’s not even looking at the 20 million cases of illness that straight up won’t occur in that same annual birth cohort because of vaccines. Check out this handy before-and-after chart from the Association for Ohio Health Commissioners:

For those of you more monetarily-minded, the use of vaccines saves each annual cohort $14 billion in direct healthcare costs, and $69 billion in lost work and other societal costs.

2. Motor Vehicle Safety

Cars and other motor vehicles have been a massive technological advancement in the last century. Unfortunately, crashing those motor vehicles into each other also causes a lot of death.

But don’t fret! Even though we travel more than 10 times the number of total miles yearly in motor vehicles that our 1920′s counterparts did, we’ve seen a dramatic decrease in death rate. In 1925, for example, 18 people would die per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT). In 1997, that number was down to 1.7 people per 100 mil VMT.

How did we do this? Those fuddy-duddies over at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figured out they could use epidemiology to track causes of traffic death, and came up with some cool interventions. These included things we take for granted today, including speed limits, road improvements (reflectors, breakaway signs, etc..), DUI laws, and vehicle improvements (seatbelts, airbags, head rests, etc...).

3. Workplace Safety

In 1913, 67 workers out of 100,000 died in workplace accidents. By 1997, that had dropped to only 4 per 100,000. While some of this is simply that people moved to less dangerous work (heart disease from sitting at a desk for 30 years is not counted), some really does have to do with increased safety measures on the job site. Some workplaces are inherently dangerous- Loggers, fisherpeople, and aircraft pilots among the most likely to die today as a result of their work. Even the most dangerous industry today, logging, with about 135.9 worker deaths per 100,000, doesn’t even touch one of the most dangerous jobs of 1911- mining, at 329 deaths per 100,000.

This decrease in workplace deaths comes from a variety of interventions. In the later part of the century, organizations like OSHA, NIOSH, MSHA, and USBM began to study workplace practices, publish standards, and inspect workplaces for compliance. They required the use of safer equipment (better ventilation systems), safer workplace practices (like dust suppression and wearing hard hats and other PPE), safety training for employees (OSHA certification, first aid training), and specialized training for healthcare professionals who might see occupational injuries.

4. Sanitation and Hygiene (and Health Department Police Power)

Do you like food? Water? Do you like not getting sick because you consumed it? Do you like flushing a toilet? Do you like not worrying about whether people with known cases of active TB are running around in public? Me too!

I want to be very clear that these weren’t always things you could count on. In fact, about 33% of deaths (of which, 40% were children under 5) in the US in the early 1900s could be traced to poor sanitation and lack of outbreak investigation and control. Today, that number is down to less than 4.5% (and that’s including HIV as an ongoing pandemic).

You may not be aware of this, but your local health department has a staggering amount of both legislative and judicial “police power.” For one thing, they are a separate entity from local government (under the health commissioner), and can therefore make their own decisions, even if the mayor orders otherwise.

They can...

Decide which restaurants, schools, businesses, and childcare centers are meeting health safety standards and therefore can stay open

Decide what the vaccination requirements for entrance to the schools and certain other public places are (and why you might have to wear a mask at work during flu season if you’re a medical professional who hasn’t gotten a flu shot)

Mandate the construction of public health infrastructure like sewer lines

Enter private property for reasonable suspicion (of a potential threat to public health)

Subpoena medical records

Issue mandatory quarantine, isolation, and vaccination orders

Detain people under police guard in a home or hospital if they have a significant communicable disease like active TB, meningitis, or ebola and are trying to escape (called a Code Brown in my area... thats a terrible name tho).

This is a really good thing. It allows the health department to do things that decrease the number of deaths from spoiled food and poor food handling procedures, as well as chlorinate your drinking water so you don’t get cholera, and make sure other people making poor choices aren’t going to be a threat to you personally.

5. Reduction in Heart Disease and Stroke (recognition of the role of risk factor management in disease)

You might recall from the Vaccine part of this post that Heart Disease and Stroke are leading causes of death today, so the idea that we somehow significantly reduced these deaths may not immediately compute. That’s because of 2 main things. One, just a staggering number of people were dying from infectious disease back then. Like, unless your name is literally Steven Grant Rodgers you have no freaking clue how many people were just... dying. All the time. From stuff you just straight up don’t see today because of vaccines and sanitation. And two, the peak for heart disease and stroke deaths came in the 50′s (307.4 deaths out of 100,000 due to heart disease in 1950), long after those initial measurements were taken, and have since decreased by about 56% (134.6 deaths out of 100,000 in 1996).

This decrease came, mostly, from a recognition of risk factors as a way to manage and prevent disease. The idea that there were certain things that you could do or not do that would make you more or less likely to end up sick or dead was unheard of before this. Studies done by a man named Ancel Keys of populations’ dietary habits throughout the US and the famed Framingham Heart Study determined that high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, and dietary factors played roles in the development of heart disease. This list was later expanded to include socioeconomic status, obesity, and physical inactivity.

The recognition that modifying risk factors (like changing one’s diet, increasing physical activity level, and quitting smoking) could prevent morbidity and mortality, and that screening for blood pressure and cholesterol could allow disease to be managed early before it resulted in a heart attack, is credited with saving those lives.

6. Food Safety and Nutrition

Can you imagine a time before we knew what a vitamin was? Or even, that food was made up of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates? Or a time before we were well aware that poorly handled or packaged foods caused illnesses like typhoid fever, botulism, TB, and scarlet fever?

Well, there was one, and it was only the early part of last century. In 1940, 16% of the population had trichinosis, a disease of the muscles caused by eating under-cooked, infected pork. By 1996, only 38 cases were reported yearly. Similarly, typhoid fever occurred at a rate of about 100 per 100,000 in 1900, only to drop to a mere 1.7 per 100,000 by 1950. There are many, many more of these statistics, but I didn’t want to type them out.

Basically, we made food safer and healthier in many ways, including but not limited to:

Pasteurization of milk and other products

Use of prompt refrigeration

Hand washing before food prep/processing

Application of pesticides and insecticides

Control of application of pesticides and insecticides to prevent harm to humans and the environment

Improved animal husbandry and processing systems

Introduction of preservatives

Better antimicrobial solutions to sanitize food prep areas

Fortifying staple foods with vitamins and minerals to prevent nutritional deficiencies like rickets, beri-beri, and scurvy

Improved surveillance of food-borne disease outbreak

7. Maternal and Infant Mortality

Listen, the US hasn’t totally got this figured out compared to other countries, but we’ve gotten better over the last century.

Overall, in 1900, 100 children out of 1,000 live births died before their first birthday (that’s not a typo, folks, that’s 1 in 10) and the mothers of 8-9 out of 1,000 live births died in childbirth or infection afterward. At the same time in many US cities, up to 30% of infants would die before their first birthday, mostly due to infections. By 1996, that number had been reduced to less than 0.1 death out of 1,000.

Along with the decline of infectious and foodborne disease through improved sanitation, the introduction of vaccination schedules, antibiotics, oral rehydration therapies, and pasteurization greatly decreased both maternal and infant mortality.

A lot of the problems for the mothers had to do with poor hygiene in those attending the birth (resulting in sepsis before the invention of antibiotics), excessive use of medical intervention (including operations and induction of labor) in labor, and bleeding. The invention of cleaner and safer operative deliveries, safer induction medications, and safer blood transfusions improved this considerably.

Its also worth mentioning that the availability of safer, legal abortion starting in the 1960s reduced mortality from sepsis after illegal abortions by 89%.

8. Family Planning

Following right along, family planning- the ability to literally plan how many children you want to have and when you want to have them, is also a major public health triumph.

In 1900, not a lot was known about conception and family planning, and what was known was actively suppressed. By 1912, through the work of Margaret Sanger and others, it became legal for healthcare providers to discuss contraception and family planning methods with married couples, including use of condoms, diaphragms, douches, and withdrawal methods. The rhythm method was introduced in 1928 with the understanding of the menstrual cycle and fertile period, and by 1933, the average family size had decreased from 3.5 to 2.3 children.

The number of children increased in the post-WW2 era to 3.7, but in 1960, two major breakthroughs- hormonal birth control and the IUD- further granted women the freedom to more effectively plan their childrearing. In 1965, it finally became (federally) legal for married couples to use birth control (again, not a typo, it really took that long).

By 1994, a combined effort of hospitals, Planned Parenthood clinics, and health departments were preventing an estimated 534,000 unintended births, 632,000 abortions, and 165,000 miscarriages annually through the use and education of contraception.

9. Fluoridation of Drinking Water, Toothpaste, and Other Products

This is another controversial one (why are interventions that save lives, decrease disability, and improve health so controversial in the US? Nothing is perfect, but we have the research to show this stuff works. Do you at least see how frustrating this is to healthcare and public health peeps by now? Your entire life has been saved and improved by these measures in some way or another. Stop it.)

No one likes going to the dentist. And whether you like it or not, if you drink tap water from many places in the US, you’re passively avoiding doing so! Yes, I’m talking about the fluoride in your water.

How did that fluoride get there? Well, its a much longer story than this, but, turns out, many water sources in the US already had fluoride in them- ranging from less than 1ppm to about 12ppm. A dentist named Frederick McKay noticed that people in Colorado Springs had an odd discoloration to their teeth. McKay found that there were other places in the US that had similar discolorations and hypothesized that there might be a connection to something in their drinking water. He had the water tested, and found that what these areas had in common were high levels of fluoride in their water. Another thing they had in common were lower rates of tooth decay. This sparked the possibility of controlling the amount of fluoride in drinking water to 1ppm- high enough to prevent cavities, but low enough so as not to cause the discoloration.

In communities where fluoride is added to drinking water, there are about 18% fewer cavities. This may not seem like a lot, but it results in a savings of up to $53 dollars per person per year in dental care, which is heavily skewed towards savings in lower-income communities. Compare this with an average cost of between $0.31 and $2.12 per person, per year to fluoridate the water, and you see significant savings. At least partially because of this (as well as increased access to dental care and the addition of fluoride to other things, like toothpaste), baby boomers are the first generation expected to reach their 60s with the majority of their teeth intact!

10. Recognition of Tobacco as a Health Hazard

Okay, folks, almost done! No one is happier than I, who has spent over 8 hours straight researching and writing this tumblr post. But I committed to it despite having (ironically public health) homework to do, and finished it shall be! Onward, Public Health!

I don’t think many people would be surprised when presented with the fact that inhaling smoke is bad for humans. I think the CDC said it best when they typed “Smoking- once a socially accepted behavior- is the leading preventable cause of death and disability in the United States.”

I sh*t you not, in the US in 1963, the average PER CAPITA consumption of cigarettes was 4,345. That’s the equivalent slightly more than of half the total US population being pack-a-day smokers that year. It is now (in 2015 at least) about a quarter of that, at 1,078.

Tobacco use contributes to many cancers, heart disease, COPD, low birth weight, asthma and many other diseases, either because of how damaging it is to lungs and blood vessels when smoked (smoke particles less than 2.5 microns enter the blood stream and damage the vasculature, and therefore all tissues with blood vessels in them), or because of the effects of nicotine and other toxic substances on blood pressure, intrauterine growth retardation, and substance dependency.  Death by lung cancer was 4.9 deaths per 100,000 people in 1930 vs 75.6 per 100,000 in 1990.

By recognizing tobacco as a health hazard, public health and healthcare professionals were able to initiate widespread anti-tobacco education in schools, which has drastically reduced teen and young adult smoking rates. They could also restrict advertising of tobacco products, increase taxes on those products, and introduce counter-advertising campaigns. It also allows physicians and other healthcare workers to be a part of the smoking cessation process (if you smoke, you’ll be offered cessation resources at every doctors appointment and hospital visit). This from only 60 years ago when doctors actively encouraged smoking and were used in advertising.

Fortunately, with these campaigns and reduction in overall tobacco use, we are seeing a decrease in death rates from tobacco-related illnesses listed above. Indoor air quality laws and the prohibition of smoking on many college campuses have reduced public exposure to second-hand smoke, and also helped decrease smoking as a norm.

The jury’s still out on newer nicotine-containing products like vapes and juuls. They’re probably better for you than inhaling smoke, and nicotine by itself is not known to be cancer-causing, but they can contain other substances humans also probably shouldn’t be breathing. Like everything, we’ll know in about 50 years.

[Patreon] [Ko-Fi]

[meditativeyoga]

Problems: stepping stones to a better life

Problems are a sign that there is life. And also you can make them help you so you know that they are not a dead end. Very commonly, when we are confronted with tough circumstances, we assume we can not continue any better. We believe this situation is mosting likely to be an irreversible one. It is mosting likely to be with all of us our life. Issues are tipping stones to a much better life.

I had actually read the tale of a lady that will be married. She was on the top of the globe. On the day of her marriage she used her bridal gown as well as had a glowing smile. She continued to the church where the wedding celebration was to take area. As soon as she got here there, she was told that her boyfriend had actually changed his choice. He no more wished to wed her. When she got this news, she felt completely undesirable and jilted. She returned home and locked herself up in a space. From that day, she continuouslied put on the bridal gown until it was reduced to shreds. She left the wedding celebration cake on the table up until it was reduced to dust. She quit the clock at the time when the wedding event was supposed to occur. For this woman, her problem ended up being a dead end. Her life pertained to a total standstill.

But on the other hand, there is the instance of Mary Pickford. There was a time when she was a popular American starlet and also was referred to as the world's sweetheart. Eventually she was at the party when the inquiry was raised: 'Exactly what do you do when troubles strike?' And Mary Pickford said "I never ever think about troubles, I never ever consider troubles as a stumbling block, I believe of them as turnings in the roadway."

At the event was existing the editor of a magazine. He felt thinking about the solution of Mary Pickford, and also welcomed her to compose the problems, the difficulties, the risks, that she had actually encountered however never ever assumed of as dead ends. As well as out of this was generated that stunning publication which you will certainly do well to examine. The title of this publication is, Why not try God!

Nathaniel Hawthorne, the terrific American novelist as well as storywriter, was the celebrated author of The Scarlet Letters. There was a time when he functioned as a staff at a personalizeds workplace. All of a sudden eventually he was told that he was no more required in the workplace. He might see only darkness in front of him. He came residence in a clinically depressed mood as well as stated to his wife that he felt he had actually gotten to a stumbling block. His spouse was a sensible woman. She stated to him: "God never takes us to a stumbling block. God just takes us to a bend in the road." As well as his wife positioned prior to him a table and blank sheets of paper, a pen and an inkpot. She offered him a hug and said to him: "You have actually wished for extra time so that you could be able to create something. That time has actually currently come. This is your possibility. Begin creating just what you desire." And from this came that terrific book, 'The Scarlet Letters' and also several other publications composed by Hawthorne.

I do not check out the Chinese language but I am informed that it has a fantastic word for crisis. It is accumulated of 2 image characters. One character represents problem. The other personality means possibility. That when you are faced with a problem, you need to look just past it. Problem is just one side of the coin. There is the opposite also. Which is opportunity.

Problems end up being doors where God enters our life. We have confined ourselves in a covering which has actually kept God out of our life. Issues come as well as break that shell as well as open the way for God to enter.

Many years ago a young guy concerned Gurudev Sadhu Vaswani and also said to him: "I am an utter failing. I have lost my task. My buildings and also my belongings are mortgaged. I am incapable to deal with my old mom. I am not able to provide for my wife and also two little children. I hesitate of facing life. Repeatedly, I feel so weak, so inadequate, so diminish, so frustrated with life. What shall I do?" And to him Gurudev Sadhu Vaswani claimed: "My friend! You are not the weakling that you take yourself to be. You are not poor. You are very a lot like that well-off guy's kid, who has actually wandered away from his dad as well as did unknown exactly how considerably rich his papa was." This young guy in sheer amazement looked at Gurudev Sadhu Vaswani and said to him: "Who is this rich father you're discussing? My own father passed away five years earlier, leaving financings which I have not yet been able to repay." And also Gurudev responded: "One is our incredible Daddy. He is the Dad of us all. And also He is the source of all supply. He is the resource of success as well as lots and tranquility. He is the source of health and happiness as well as consistency. He is the resource of success and also power. He is the power of wisdom and strength. He is the source of love and also delight. He is the source of everything that male may need. All we should do is to look to Him."

American recommendations writer Ann Landers said: "If I were asked to provide the most useful solitary little bit of advice for all humanity, it would be this: anticipate troubles, problems, difficulties as an unavoidable part of life." Yet when they come, hold your head high. Look them straight in the eye and claim to them: I will be bigger compared to you, you can not defeat me. You will certainly be able to do this just when there is the spirit of guts in the heart within. And also this spirit of guts comes to you when you know, when you end up being conscious, that you are not the only one. There is a person that is with you, by you, besides you, ready to assist you.

[andrewmoocow]

Fooly Falls 2 Ride on Shooting Star chapter 5: Ex-Partners in Crime (originally posted on May 30, 2019)

AN: And now the end is near. And so we face, the final curtain. My fans, I'll say it clear. I'll finish this tale, of course I am certain. I've wrote this sequel, I improved the source with my own flair. But after all of this, the climax is getting there. WKUHH ERBV, ZLWK GLVFRUG XQZDQWHG WZR ROG IULHQGV, ZLWK SDVWV IRUHYHU KDXQWHG RQH PDQ, DQ DQVZHU PDGH KLP GDXQWHG GHVWLQB OHIW WR EH DQVZHUHG, DQG WKHB'UH JRQQD EH HAKDXVWHG

--

In the style of an old black and white film, an assembly of giant irons stood perfectly single file before the setting sun. Gwen quietly watched before turning away and picked a bottle up off the ground. She then discovered a dejected worker sitting in front of a campfire with his hardhat the only splash of color. Gwen examined the sight before her when she also discovered the outline of a skeleton beneath her feet, where she placed the bottle in the center of its chest. Just then the girl dropped to her side in pain, discovering a small disk stuck in her foot that she gave to the skeleton to serve as an eye. As a nearby engine roared, steam from a structure decorated with irons covered the monochrome land like a sandstorm, sweeping her up along the way. When Gwen opened her eyes, she laid in a colorful body of water with her beanie in hand. Then the world suddenly turned greyscale as she excitedly ran along the shoreline while the Medical Mechanica factory continued to stand upright.

-- Ian whistled a familiar tune while tuning up a large computer monitor nestled within Ford's study. "Ride on shooting star. Yabba dabba doo, somethi-ing." he quietly sang while making a few final touches and dismounted from his maintenance creeper. "Okay, main screen turn on?" "Yeah, main screen turn on." Dipper answered turning to a certain someone tied up and fast asleep in a chair. "Rise and shine old friend." he announced placing a freshly cooked chicken leg under Haruko's nose, and the delicious scent wafting into it finally woke her up. "W-what happened?" she asked slowly beginning to wake up. "Last thing I remember was working on something before there was this napkin that covered me and-hey!" "There's no escaping this Raharu. You will give us the answers on your past that we've been searching for!" Ford declared dramatically stepping out of the shadows. "And perhaps some clues on what you're planning this time. Kanda?" "Will do." Tsukata replied hooking the Vespa Woman up to the machine with a helmet resembling a strainer and the monitor finally activated. "This was originally built to defend minds from the dream demon known as Bill Cipher, but now it's been rebuilt to simply read them and view the memories within." "This could be it everyone, our biggest breakthrough!" Dipper cackled joyously as it began booting up. "You okay there Dipper? You've slowly grown more unhinged." Ian asked nervously placing a hand on the older man's shoulder before he was slapped away. "I'm not going unhinged, I'm just excited to finally see through her lies once and for all!" Dipper continued lighting up a fifth cigarette. "So much so that I've literally cut my smokes in half!" "Yeah, he's officially snapped." Kanda commented taking a puff of his own cigarette and sitting down next to Haruko. "Oy, a bunch of losers the lot of you." Haruhara japed with a grin. "You've all become conspiracy theorists who'd resort to kidnapping an expecting mother just to prove a point. And since when did you take up smoking?" "Since I failed to quit." the agent muttered. "And I've been doing it to help me calm down." Dipper added taking a break from his mini-celebration. "Augh, my back." Haruko groaned struggling to reach for her back. "Must be the ropes getting a bit too tight, or you're just getting old." Kanda commented. "Naw, can't really age." the woman responded. "I've been 19 for what feels like ages now." "How many years exactly?" Ford asked writing in a new journal. "Hell if I know, probably ever since I met you-know-who." Haruko answered. "The summer I turned seventeen, was when I took up smoking for the first time." Kanda explained. "Sort of the same with me, only I took up smoking to deal with becoming a father." Dipper replied just as Project Mentem started acting up. "Oh my God, it's finally time!" "Can't believe it took one conversation for it to get started." Ian remarked pounding at the machine. "Well, let's get cracking." After a few moments of static, a full image revealed itself as a slightly younger looking Haruko dressed in drab work-clothes with a familiar iron in the background. "Wait a minute, is that-" Dipper exclaimed while his eyes widened. "Yep. Haruha Raharu, ex-factory worker." Raharu groaned in resignation over her past. "And it was back when Medical Mechanica had control over my planet too." As the younger Vespa Woman continued trudging about her day, Ford lost interest. "Let's just skip to the interesting stuff." the scientist declared fast-fowarding through the memory until it stopped at Haruha rocking out on some equipment as a makeshift drumkit. "Now that's the little devil we know!" "Hey, keep it down in there Haruha!" a strict, snarly voice cried out to her barging into the room. He was a tall, robust figure with a thick mustache, very long nose and a comically large cigar in his mouth. "Ah, good ol' Heinzenberg. A real J. Jonah he was, really miss when he would scream like crazy at everyone." Haruko reminisced on her former boss. "Either stop those abominable sounds or I'll do it for you!" Heinzenberg screamed pulling out a laser blaster and firing, but his rebellious employee swiftly escaped. "Try and catch me brushface!" "Wow, seems like everyone hated your guts." Dipper remarked as the fight between Haruha & Heinzenberg tore the workplace apart, to the ire of everybody else. When the dust settled, the area was in shambles and Heinzenberg was completely furious. "HAAAAAAA-RUUUUUUU-HAAAAAARAAAAA! YOOOOOOOOOUUUUUU'REEEEEEE FIIIIIIIIIREEEEEEDDDDD!" "Was he really that loud?" Ford asked as the Haruha on the screen was dragged away by security robots. "Yep, to the point where one had to add extra letters to whatever he was screaming." Haruko cackled before her smirk turned into a frown as Kanda fast-fowarded to the biker's home life, where she was being harshly scolded by a man presumed to be her father. "Do you realize what you've done Haruha?!" "Abusive parent, correct?" Ian interviewed their captive. "Oh you better believe it. The old man was a completely irredeemable piece of shit who loved drinking more than his own family." Raharu declared morosely, turning away from that ugly part of her past. "And as for my mom, pretty sure she got killed by him in a drunken rage. But who knows, I barely knew her." "Your slacking off and playing that infernal music nearly got us all in trouble!" Mr. Raharu drunkenly shouted after smacking his daughter across the face. "Either behave like every other girl on this godforsaken planet or never show your face around me again!" Just then, the cruddy former apartment home of Haruha started rumbling and a loud voice bellowed "SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT! I WANT TO SEE WHAT YOU GOT!" The ceiling began falling to pieces little by little, all capped off with a steel girder losing its support and falling right over Haruko's father. "WHAT THE FU-" was all he could scream before the girder reduced him to a puddle of red. "The Cromulons!" Ford exclaimed fast-fowarding to Haruko on stage before the giant planet-sized heads gazing down on her. "PLANET WASPRUS, SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!" the Cromulon boomed. "So what, do they go around screaming at planets?" Kanda asked. "And what do they want to be shown?" "The Cromulons are a race of giant floating heads who force the inhabitants of planets to perform in their own musical contest show." Haruko answered. "My planet frowned upon any form of creativity, but I just loved sticking it to the man." "Aw shitballs you guys, we gotta run!" the belches of a middle aged man sounded as he and his two companions, a stonefaced bird person and a catlike creature, ran for the hills to a hijacked cargo ship. "Hey, the old gang!" Haruko chirped excitedly. "Wait, the what?" Ian asked staring at the screen. "Those my boy, were the Flesh Curtains." Ford stated putting a hand on the eldest Ramirez's shoulder. "A band consisting of Rick Sanchez, an old frenemy of mine; and his two weird comrades Birdperson and Squanchy." "And it's not just them. Look." Birdperson announced pointing upward to a giant red phoenix that warped itself over Wasprus. "IT SEEMS WE HAVE A SPECIAL GUEST DISQUALIFIER!" the Cromulon boomed. "LEGENDARY PIRATE KING ATOMSK, SHOW US WHAT YOU GOT!" While Rick and his posse urged the younger Haruko to not give in, she was utterly mesmerized by Atomsk's might as she slowly stepped towards him. "Don't do it babe, that's Atomsk! His power will seriously screw with your head!" Rick warned, but Haruha didn't listen and reached out to the giant bird while her hair turned into its trademark pink. A large chain wrapped around the Pirate King's neck attached to the girl's wrist and she pulled it with all her might, eventually breaking it in two. Just as Atomsk screeched, Raharu was dragged away by Birdperson and raced to the cargo ship, escaping the doomed Wasprus in the nick of time when it completely exploded. "Welp, there goes that gig." Rick groaned in defeat taking a chug out of a flask. "How's our extra cargo doing?" "Still out squanch from Atomsk." the cat-person stated checking for a pulse just as their passenger came to. "Oh geez, what happened?" Haruha moaned rubbing her head when she took notice of the old man, the bird and the cat surrounding her. "Where am I, and who are all of you?!" "Well I can assure you miss, I am not a man in a suit that will teach you the alphabet." Birdperson answered. "You may call me Birdperson. These two are my bandmates Squanchy and Rick." "Okay, we played the name game. But where's my planet?!" Raharu shouted grabbing the two animal-like creatures by their collarbones. "Well funny story babe, might wanna squanch around and see what happened." Squanchy suggested trying to break free and the future Vespa Woman took his suggestion, gazing out the back window to find what was left of her home planet. "My home's all gone." Haruha muttered shedding a few tears, but those tears were soon replaced with a celebratory manic grin. "I'M FREE!" "Whoa now, aren't you the least bit torn up about everyone you ever loved there now pretty much dead?" Squanchy stated. "I don't care, cause no one felt that about me either!" the Flesh Curtains' passenger whooped. "No more shitty dad, no more boring job, and no more stifling of creativity!" "Hell yeah, now you're speaking my language!" Rick replied merrily. "Hey, didn't get your name lass. What do they call you?" he asked putting a microphone to the girl's mouth. "I'm Haruha Raharu." she introduced herself. "Hm, doesn't roll off the tongue as much." the drunken traveler commented. "You ever tried picking up a name like the ones in the comics like Peter Parker, Reed Richards, Billy Batson or Fred Flintstone?" "I don't believe that last one came from a comic." Birdperson tried to correct his bandmate until he was shushed. "I got a great one! How about Haruko Haruhara?" Sanchez announced pretending to knight the girl with what would become her famous Rickenbacker bass. "I like it, really does sound like those old comics!" the newly renamed Vespa Woman exclaimed. "So where to?" "Wherever the hell we want to!" Squanchy answered pointing onward before the fond memory paused itself. "Ah, the old gang. We were kinda like the Fab Four back then. Rick was Paul, Birdperson was Lennon, Squanchy was Ringo and yours truly was George." Haruko thought back to happier times with a smile. "The four of us were unstoppable! Traveling the multiverse, playing gigs, sticking it to the man, making crossovers and just having fun regardless!" Haruko managed to sneak her foot out of one of her boots to fiddle with Project Mentem and fast-forwarded through many events during her travels with Rick. In particular were running from an angry mob of robots resembling ones & zeros in a city within a computer, holding a concert for tons of excited colorful fans with gemstones on their bodies, playing with a golden snail that had a phone attached to its shell which led to an entire island being destroyed, defacing a money bin and all other sorts of mischief. "But then everything went horribly wrong when we planned what I call 'The Mechanica Mission'." she stated sadly stopping at the four nomads looking over current plans. "-ere's what we're gonna do. Haruko will infiltrate the Brotherhood and rise through their ranks so she can allow us to find Atomsk." Rick explained. "Afterwards, Squanchy will break into the Medical Mechanica factory where our contact has stated he's being held in while Birdperson & I form a distraction." "So even being a first-class space patrol officer was part of your scheme as well?!" Ford exclaimed. "To be honest, I don't know what I expected." "Don't wanna delve too much into it but in a nutshell, everything went to shit." Haruko regaled forwarding faster to a standoff between her and Rick in front of a Medical Mechanica factory with armies of insectoid aliens & Medical Machines on either side, their bandmates hovering nearby on another hijacked ship and Atomsk appearing out of a giant wormhole. "So all this time, we were just being used so that you can have sex with Atomsk?!" Rick screamed as he felt betrayed by his partner. "Pretty sure his pecker is way too big to fit in your hive! And I'm really going to regret those puns!" "But wasn't there ever a time in your life where you sought after ultimate power?!" the Vespa Woman responded sadistically. "Bitch, I've been possessed by those types before! But did I use those to turn on those I legitimately care for!" the alcoholic nihilist shouted preparing to attack with his guitar. "It's no use Rick, get back here before the portal reaches maximum instability!" Birdperson cautioned his bandmate. "I'll be back in a bit you guys, gotta settle the score first." Sanchez snarled mounting what would become Haruko's Vespa scooter and charging at her with battle cry and bass. Raharu would do the same and then, the video faded to snow leaving the four men utterly flabbergasted. "So it all makes sense now." Kanda declared shutting it off. "Or at least, as much sense as a person like Haruko can make it." "Other dimensions? Wait til the others hear about this!" Ian added excitedly. "Maybe I could pitch this to whatever big Hollywood director hasn't had their reputation ruined." "At least we finally got our answers Dipper." Ford said to his greatnephew, but he received no answer. "Dipper?" Dipper on the other hand stared emptily at the blank screen contemplating over everything they just watched. Her home planet, that crazy man, the multiverse, Medical Mechanica, Atomsk. In the time he knew Haruko, her past was a total enigma with the exception of how she was a space cop gone rogue, but even that was all a sham. He began lightly snickering while clutching his head. "Ha." he flatly laughed. "Ha ha ha. Ffnk, ahoo. Ahoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo." Dipper's sanity began tumbling down even faster before his chuckling turned into full-blown insane cackling. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" "Dipper, stop laughing and answer me!" Stanford demanded his now completely insane apprentice. "IT WAS ALL A LIE! IT WAS ALL A LIE!" Dipper screamed merrily continuing his mad chortling and smashing the screen. "YOU ARE TEARING ME APART LISA!" "Uh, has anyone seen Haruko?" Ian asked pointing out the empty stool spinning in a circle. "It seems Dipper's little episode here has given her an opportunity to flee." Ford observed on the verge of coming to a shocking conclusion. "But where could she be off t-Oh no." Just as fast as he made his realization, Ford bolted out of his study and went up the elevator to follow the lying motorist. "Where's he off to?" Kanda asked Ian. "Stan is holding a little wake for Jinyu," the eldest Ramirez son answered. "And I don't want to know what Haruko will be up to."

--

A small drum accompanied a confused rabbi singing for Julia Jinyu in front of the equally unaware attendees who are staring at Stanley and wondering among themselves why they're attending a funeral for someone who was basically unknown to them. "We have no idea who the deceased is, but I can promise she will rest in peace. May He take good care of this woman, and continue to watch over us all." the rabbi chanted before clearing his throat, switching his Jewish dialect for a growling Midwestern accent. "All right Pines, pay up!" he shouted holding out his hand and expecting cash. "Haven't got all day, have a wedding in Alabama to preside over." "Who's the lucky underage victim and their offender?" Stan asked fishing a wad of thousands out of his wheelchair. "Don't want to get anyone here mad, but it's a juicy one!" the rabbi replied with a smug grin. After snatching his bills from the old man's hand, he wordlessly allowed the audience to give their condolences before leaving. First came Senator Gideon Gleeful. Although he and Stanley made amends, there was still a friendly contempt between the two. "So how's that conspiracy against President Kitaki going?" the con-artist asked his old enemy. "Moving along quite nicely Pines. Already got the Fundshausers on my side." Gideon replied turning to Grenda & Marius with a wink and a grin. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm probably going to being voting for you." Stan admitted. "The less we need of that old hag trying to ban the possibility of intergalactic travel, the better!" Next came Masurao. "Hey I know you! You're that guy from Little Asia!" the great-uncle exclaimed. "I am sorry for your loss sir, but I'm on borrowed time." Masurao apologized before scurrying outside. "What's his deal?" "So the damn thing stood up? And it's also getting foggy." Masurao stated spying on the upright iron from below with Eyepatch. "It'll go away when the sun reaches its peak." Eyepatch responded. "Did we really need to make a pitstop at the Shack on our way there?" "Even if it doesn't have a fraction of the power it once had." his partner remarked gazing upon Canti's head while Aiko spied on the two men without their knowledge. "Don't worry, just forget about it." Eyepatch assured him before they departed in a pickup truck carrying the Medical Machine's remains while the funeral continued on as normal. Eventually the two made it to an orbit elevator area in Portland where a doglike man waited for them. "Hey champ, you training hard for tomorrow?!" Eyepatch greeted the worker with a fistbump. "Oh you know, just trying to save my money." the other man replied. "Feel free to just head on in, warehouse should be up ahead." "Good on the money sport. It's important to make plans for the future y'know." Eyepatch complimented, which warranted a grumble from Masurao. When the worker tried to pick up Canti's head, it suddenly turned on for a split second. "Hey, watch how you're handling that thing Mutt!" Masurao ordered. "It's like, vintage!" "Yeah, this is pretty heavy. My bad." Mutt quickly apologized. "That thing's a piece of junk anyways champ. Hakuna matata as they always say!" Eyepatch casually stated which earned him an earful from his younger companion. "Are you insane?! Do you have any idea how much that-" "I totes got it sir." Mutt assured them. "You know, I had a hard time throwing away my first cellphone! Sentimental value is sometimes worth the most." "You don't understand at all!" Masurao continued shouting before the other two men laughed. -- Back at Jinyu's funeral in Gravity Falls, Arnold grimly faced the wall while Juan & Jorge tried to apologize. "Please, you gotta forgive us Arnie!" the twins cried bowing to the floor in shame. "We'll do anything to make it up to you! Would you like to come with us to that new amusement park opening up?" "I'd rather go with someone who won't deliberately leave me to die just because of their manliness obsession." Arnold glowered not ever taking his eyes off the wall. "But if we bring girls with us, we'll get a hefty discount! Like 99% I heard! Aiko asked me to come with her!" Juan tried appealing to their sullen friend, but he still received no answer even as Gwen entered the room. "Fine, be a jerkass for pretty much barely any rhyme or reason for all we care!" Suddenly, Haruko abruptly barged into the living room riding on her scooter and wearing Jinyu's shades, interrupting the funeral and enraging Stan. She slammed her hands on the coffin to speak to the audience. "So listen up everybody, cause I have an important announcement to make! Kay?" Haruko declared. "I am, um, gonna get married!" she announced switching into a wedding dress to everyone's bewildered cheering. "And everyone is invited! Yes I mean everyone!" "I congratulate you on your marriage madame, but this is a place of mourning. Please save your speech til after the wake." one of Gideon's bodyguards with long hair stated. "Do we have visual on crazy pregnant biker that just interrupted a funeral?" "Noted. Prepare for detainment." his black jerry-curled partner replied swapping the burger he was eating for a cattle prod. "Oh wait wait wait, you can't inflict violence on an expecting mother & housewife like that!" Haruko exclaimed turning into a homemaker with a creepy baby doll on her back. "Now let me tell you all the tale of how my husband and I, fell. In. Love." "So my hubby and I met at an amusement park in Portland, and I was there during sunset." the so-called mother narrated through children's crayon drawings. "Clumsy ol' me was about to get hit by a roller coaster when HE swept in to save me like I was a damsel in distress! It was MY HUBBY!" The final drawing depicted Haruko kissing a humanoid red bird which struck a chord in Gwen, as if she had seen him before. "So remember everyone, amusement parks are a paradise!" the Vespa Woman preached. "Forget this sobstory, let's go have so-" "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-RUUUUUUUUU-KOOOOOOOOOOO!" Stan screamed as loud as his nearly eight decade old lungs could cut his former friend off. "Oh hey, didn't see you there Stanley! Thought this was your funeral." Haruko remarked finally realizing who the funeral was for. "Oh, for Jinyu? You guys barely even chatted!" "Don't play coy with me Haruko! You know I'm being serious since I'm not calling you Raharu!" Stan screamed while Soos & Mabel tried to hold him back. "This will be the chapter where I'll get payback for what you've done to my family all those years ago!" "Okay I just started caring, what?" a plaid-shirted man with some grey in his brown hair & goatee asked. "The rest of you get on outta here! This is between me and her!" Stan commanded and the funeral attendees ran outside just as the coffin was opened by Sammy Determined, a tanned, geeky young man with large glasses and a beauty mark on his chin. "I've been stuck in this coffin pretending to be a dead body for like half an hour. Can I go home now?" "You're excused Sam." Stan politely accepted and Sammy raced out the door within half the blink of an eye. "Anyway, I challenge you to a little standoff sweetheart! You and me, Gravity Falls pool, be there or be half of a square!" The grunkle was just about to leave when he made a mechanical arm appear to grab Arnold. "And you're coming with me Arnold, since you're just as much of a victim here." "Help me." Arnold whimpered as he was taken outside just as Ford and Tsukata burst into the living room. "Oh lord, I'm too late!" he shouted racing around the area for any sign of his brother. "I knew this would happen, I just knew." he groaned pinching the bridge of his nose when Gwen spoke up. "What would happen Greatkle Ford?" "I just knew Raharu would purposefully cut off this funeral to get Stanley's goat." Stanford answered. "Though I'm pretty sure she's lying about being pregnant." "Hey, have you seen Dipper anywhere? Haven't seen him since you kidnapped Haruko." Mabel asked for her brother while the Vespa Woman flipped him off behind her. "We just did some digging through her mind and what we found just...broke him." Kanda answered mournfully. "Who do you think is still available right now?" "Mom and Tyrone are. They're having a mother-son day in watching bad movies." Gwen answered. "Well what are you waiting for dudette? Call 'em!" Soos urged the girl. "Hey Gwennie, wouldn't you rather go to the amusement park instead? You're the one that I wanted to go." Haruko tried to make her change her mind. "I'm not going miss." Gwen quietly said picking up her phone. "GWEN-NIE!" -- "Ha ha ha ha, now I look like an even bigger idiot!" Tyrone & Wendy monotonously cackled in unison in response to the horrible costume worn by the leading man of "Invasion of The Bear-Eating Man Family" while Tyrone knitted a new sweater for Stan. "Wow, Joel Nelson clearly had no idea what made good costuming!" he laughed. "Still slightly better than the outfit he made Michelle Hodgson wear." Wendy replied. "Or lack thereof." Just then, the phone rang. "I got it!" Tyrone shouted racing to the phone, but his mother was also focused on answering which resulted in a play-fight that her son quickly won. "Pines cabin, Tyrone speaking!" Tyrone said. "Ty, thank goodness I can reach you." Gwen sighed in relief. "Listen, has Dad come home recently?" "He's holed himself up in our room a couple minutes ago after getting a can of Willy-Nilly's Coffee beans and a knife." Wendy answered. "I'm getting really worried for him. Tyrone honey, can you go up to check on your father?" "Will do Mommy!" Tyrone accepted with a salute and merrily made his way upstairs, but his cheerfulness quickly turned into dread the further he got. When he opened the door to his parents' room, there Dipper was emptily gazing at an old Petra the Pterodactyl video while munching on raw coffee beans and squeezing a Petra plush and his son's beloved stuffed pig Waddles II in his arms. "I'm asking you for a survey Nilly, do you like Willy-Nilly's Coffee?" Dipper asked through Petra to Waddles II. "No, no I don't." Waddles II replied before Petra suddenly held a knife in its tiny three-fingered hand. "Well survey says everyone does. Because anyone who doesn't gets shanked." Petra revealed about to stab the pig before Tyrone performed a diving save on his pig. "NOOOO!" "T-T-Tyrone? What are you doing?!" Dipper shouted even more neurotically than usual. "No, I wanna know what are you doing! You tried to stab Waddles daddy!" Tyrone cried hugging his father worriedly. "I'm so sorry sport, I've just been going through some things lately." the older male responded hugging him back. "Just some...revelations making me go cuckoo for cocoa." "Like what?" his son asked. "Well for example, Raharu actually came from another dimension where she met this scientist who behaved an awful lot like Stan." Mason explained. "They went on adventures across the multiverse together, playing music and causing borderline madness. Eventually they formed a plan to steal the Pirate King Atomsk from Medical Mechanica but that went south and then everything after that was just white noise." "Wow, that sounds even cooler than what you did with her Dad!" Tyrone exclaimed in awe. "Cool, kinda. Healthy, no way in Hell." Dipper concluded putting a hand on his youngest's shoulder. "We gotta find and stop her at once. Where's your sister and cousin?" "Arnold got taken by Greatkle Stan to participate in his little feud with Haruko and I'm not sure what's up with Gwen, but I really hope everything will turn out okay!" Arnold declared with optimism, blissfully unaware of the oncoming chaos while a faint knock on the door was heard. -- "I won't let you involve my family in your schemes anymore!" Stan shouted to Haruko from the other side of the empty swimming pool. "And I don't want to be involved here!" Arnold cried begging to be let go. "Please Stan, Pacifica will kick your ass hard when she hears about this!" "Oh? You think I'm the bad guy for getting your family all tangled up in my schemes, pyon?" Haruko playfully mocked standing on the other side with her red jacket over a blue one-piece. "For a wannabe white knight, you sure are quite the hypocrite." "Arnie, bass." Stanley commanded his great-great nephew as he pushed a button on the armrest of his wheelchair that transformed it into a miniature exoskeleton to help him walk properly. "Wait, since when could you do that?!" Arnold exclaimed in shock while unveiling a certain Jazzmaster for his great-great uncle to use. "There are tons of things about my wheels that you never knew about, and some you'll never know about." Stan stated taking the guitar and slinging it over his shoulder with both hands. "Well what're you waiting for? Come at me!" "Okay. Let's do this." Haruko chummily declared just as her former friend angrily charged, but she quickly blocked the bass with just her feet. "I know you're super old, but you really got no talent nya." she groaned in disappointment. The wasp continued blocking all of Stan's attempts to land a hit and when it seemed like he was finally about to score one, instead came being kicked into the pool shed. "You learned how to fight with your back, right? Cause it seems like time has made you forget!" Stan was just about ready to surrender until he spotted Arnold nervously sitting on a deck chair and got an idea. "Tag me out kid! Tag me out!" he called for the boy while reaching out his hand. "Wait, you're serious? You want me to fight her?" Arnold said curiously. "Well, this could be a chance for me to be manly without a certain duo threatening my life." The pair high-fived and Arnold picked up the Jazzmaster to use. "I'm the boss, I'm the boss, I'm the boss, I'm the boss!" he quietly chanted to himself while charging forward and preparing a mighty swing, but Haruko then swiftly dodged it. "Whatever you wanna do blondie, you gotta do it with strength!" she announced sticking a perfect landing. Arnold however remained resolute and began muttering "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!" "This is where Stan wanted to fight Raharu!" Ford explained to Gwen & Tyrone while the three arrived at the pool but instead of seeing the other grunkle fight her, it was instead Arnold taking off his sweatervest and trying to swing again. "Use your hips, arms relaxed, chin tucked in." Haruha instructed her opponent after yet another nimble avoidance, but Arnold simply didn't listen and escaped from her grasp. "You're no good m'boy, no good at all!" "JUST STAY AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!" Arnold howled rigorously trying one last time to smack her, but was knocked down with a small tap and a declaration of "Oint." "Stan, do you have any idea what in God's name you're doing to Arnold?!" Ford hissed from the other side of the chain fence to his brother. "Don't go accusing me, the kid's just as much a victim as the rest of us!" Stan replied with a holler. "Okay, maybe I am partially to blame." "Go get'er cuz, show her what we've taught you!" Tyrone cheered for his cousin before he suddenly realized that he cheered a bit too late. "Oh right, you're down for the count. Sorry!" "If strength was measured by the hits one took, then you wouldn't be considered such a loser." Haruko said to Arnold while her bracelet began tingling once again. "To be honest, I thought you'd be better given your heritage. That's why you were taught all those things, to increase your manliness I heard. But I guess all those were for nothing because you know just about as much." As Gwen watched, something in her began trembling and her hat glowed faintly. "That's where you're wrong Raharu. You don't know anything either." Arnold argued bravely to her confusion. "The truth is, I'm completely unsatisfied!" This angered Haruko before she decided to remove her jacket right on top of the boy, which finally made Gwen go berserk. The force given off by her beanie blasted the door away and rapidly sucked Arnold inside her head. "Wait, what's going on!?" "He was right. Pacifica's gonna put all of us in the morgue." Stan regarded fearfully realizing his huge mistake when the absorption concluded leaving everyone shocked. All that was left was a bizarre black cutout with Arnold's Northwest ring on the finger. "Uh, my bad! Things will probably get worse than usual this time around." Haruko sheepishly apologized before mounting on her Vespa and preparing to take off. "I'll be waiting. She zoomed off leaving the four Pines and what was left of Arnold at the pool. "Hey, get back here you bitchy bassist! We still haven't settled our score yet!" Stan cursed angrily shaking his fists at the clouds. Gwen in comparison was utterly heartbroken by what she did to her cousin. "Oh I am so sorry about what happened to Arnold little lady." Ford said trying to comfort her. "You know, this reminds me of my Backupsmore days. Our school just won a cross-country event and we decided to celebrate by tearing everything apart. You should've seen the pool! They flipped the bitch!" "Where were you during that time?" Tyrone asked. "My roommate and I didn't want to take any part in the riot for safety reasons, so we went out for Italian." his genius great-grunkle answered. "I only wanted to lighten the mood after what happened just now, but I'm not sure how it'll work." -- Across town, business was booming at the amusement park with dozens of excited visitors of all ages stampeding through the entrance, most of them being couples. The Ramirez children were among these couples most notably Leia & Ezra, leaving Ian to watch over Juan, Jorge and Abby. "Does anyone have an idea on where Imelda is?" Ian asked his younger siblings while taking a bite out of some confectionery treats from the food stands. "She said that she got a part-time job here but hasn't come back." "While I'm just as concerned for Mel, all I want to know is WHERE IS AIKO?!" Juan cried out furiously typing on his phone. Elsewhere in the park, Tonkichi quietly observed two men fighting for the love of a girl and accidentally getting caught in each other before a red force took over their heads. "Excuse me sir, how much longer will this test ride go on?" Imelda asked Tonkichi. "Oh not too much longer." the theme park owner assured the seven-year-old. "All you gotta do is just stay right there my girl." As for Masurao, he was currently examining the park's webpage with Eyepatch. "Wait, hold on. Not that one." his senior citizen superior stated. "What? I thought it was Mr. Dodo." Masurao replied. "Don't you forget that we're dealing with super top secret stuff here, so that means we must activate the hidden communication mode." Eyepatch advised the younger male. "Go to the shopping section and push the little kiwi strap." "Which one?" Masurao exclaimed trying to find that strap. "The fluffy one right down there." On Eyepatch's commands, Masurao clicked on the image of a kiwi that led the two to a dining menu page. "Are you sure? The link went to a menu." he muttered in confusion. "Now just push She's So Chicky Wings." When he clicked on the menu item, it then guided to an article on one of the rides. "The Icarus Fall is the world's third-fastest falling ride?" "Wait wait wait, go back up!" Eyepatch shouted. "That's gotta be it, the falling one!" he added excitedly. "Uh, they're all falling." Masurao responded not knowing what his boss just said. "The one with the little emu!" "But which one?" "The one with the fluffy wings!" "You have to be more specific!" "THERE!" With a smack of his cane, Eyepatch made Masurao tap the emu which made Tonkichi appear on a video screen in his dodo costume. "Hello there, it's Mr. Dodo!" he merrily greeted them. "It's me." Masurao stoically greeted. "Don't be so sorry. Sometimes a kid will come calling me." the receiver grimly replied when another child greeted him. "Hi Mr. Dodo!" "Hey kid!" Tonkichi waved his wing at the passing child before returning to his teammates. "And any updates from Kanda?" "Nothing yet, though he has promised." Masurao answered. "But we did see the recently installed viking ship. We'll also have to deal with Immigration matters, but I don't want to rush you too much." "And what of the flower pot? Is it complete yet?" Tonkichi continued asking. "Uh sure. It can be activated at any time." Masurao muttered nervously. "The plant is online, alright!" Eyepatch declared, but their partner was too busy trying to greet a pair of girls who didn't want to be near him. "Can you please focus on your real job and see the data I sent you?" the younger redhead groaned incredulously. "This is a real job too!" Tonkichi argued. "Don't you know that this park helps fun-" "Do you think we can make do without that pot?" Eyepatch asked his colleague as the latter closed the video on Tonkichi and Aiko overheard their conversation. "I doubt it." Masurao groaned in defeat. "If you can't activate the flower pot, any backup plans we come up with will be useless!" "Shut up, I know that!" Aiko's father exclaimed while his daughter went upstairs to look for money she made off her dating service in a jack-o-lantern situated in her closet. "Aiko." Masurao called for his daughter while she frantically closed the closet door. "What is it?" the girl asked and her dad just looked down for a moment. -- "So which one of us do you think Pacifica will kill first?" Stan asked while Tyrone helped put his wheelchair back together, Gwen examined the balloon that was once her cousin and Ford collected some leftover pool water that he put into a beaker. "Personally, I'm betting on you poindexter since you started all this by bringing Gwen here." "I started this?!" Ford shouted angrily. "You're the one who's fostered this animosity with Raharu for literally twenty years ever since she first left us!" Still fuming, the scientist examined the beaker he had just used along with four others containing radioactive waste, soy sauce, machine oil and a strand of pink hair. "And what are you up to?" Stan asked gazing at the beakers. "Just been experimenting on some substances to make a superhuman formula. Just got some pool water from here, soy sauce from Little Asia, radioactive sludge from Scuttlebutt Island, machine oil and some of Raharu's hair." "How is that going to do anything of substance you nerd?" Stanley hissed. "Well, other than probably give you a killer stomachache." "It's still highly experimental brother, so maybe there is a chance of a killer stomachache." Stanford agreed before the two great-grunkles gazed at Gwen holding the balloon in her arms. "S-so thirsty." a familiar voice croaked through Arnold's ring. "W-water." "Great Caesar's ghost, he's alive!" Tyrone exclaimed while his big sister took the balloon to the pool showers. "Hey, put on a smile sis! Arnold's still out there!" he tried to cheer her up when the showers seemingly activated on command. "I don't want to remember what happened this morning." Gwen monologued reminiscing to earlier that day in manga form. -- "Oh good morning Gwennie!" Wendy greeted her daughter coming down the stairs. "Check it out, Jinyu left us so many clean & unbroken plates." Gwen however wasn't interested. "Something the matter my little pecan pie?" her mother asked. "I'm just back to my normal self, that's all." "No, you seem eerily different." Wendy said concernedly just as her daughter stepped outside and she realized something. "I've...changed?" Gwen stuttered going back inside to find her mom packing some small boxes. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Just...have fun at the Shack little dude. And tell Stan I send my condolences." Wendy said trying to dodge the question. "And also tell Arnold his aunt says hey!" "Seriously mom, why are you packing? Are we going to move?!" Gwen shouted suddenly getting angry. "I thought Dad wanted to stay here to catalogue all the weird crap going on here and hang with Aunt Mabel!" Wendy frowned to herself over her daughter's feelings before turning back to her. "I think it's time we try something different. Y'know, I always wanted to live in Portland." That was when Gwen's beanie beeping began to coincide with her bursting into tears. -- Returning to the present, the shower stopped and the balloon began to inflate in Gwen's arms. "Hey, is this about losing Jinyu, Greatkle Stan getting mad at Haruko, or losing Arnold?" Tyrone tried to console the older girl. "I'm here for you if you wanna shoulder to cry on." The balloon reached its maximum size and drifted to the ceiling above the kids. Taking a poolstick, Gwen grabbed it and took it outside where it was properly able to ascend. And then, as her beanie began blinking once again, she made a miniature crater beneath her feet which horrified her present family. "Find, the others, now." Ford muttered. -- "Hi, I'm Mr. Dodo!" Tonkichi greeted the happy couples in his mascot costume, but none were paying attention. "Looks like everyone's having a great time, am I right? Hey! Boys and girls!" he exclaimed while a group of employees armed with firearms assembled behind him. "You're all just little brats who still don't have all your hair down there! Sorry, but you're all pretty much useless!" The employees then aimed their weapons at the unknowing parkgoers on command. "FIRE!" Tonkichi ordered. "Sorry, wrong voice." he realized clearing his throat and switching to a deeper voice. "FIRE!" The weapons launched a series of red beams that tagged everyone and making the same red force appear in their heads. "THIS IS WHY I DON'T TRUST THEME PARKS!" Ezra screamed in pain as he and Leia became victims as well. "If I don't make it out of here alive, I want you to know Leia that I really do love you, and I'm basically a tsundere!" "Ha, called it!" Leia chuckled before she went back to screaming and gazed terrified at her brother. "Ian, get the kids away and we'll all catch up later! You four are the only single ones here!" she shouted to Ian. "Right! Juan, Jorge, Abby, come with me!" "But where do we find them? Where do we find Mommy and Daddy?!" Abby cried as Jorge took her arm. "Not sure, but they're probably just as lost as all the other couples here are!" Juan exclaimed racing off. The energy collected from the visitors soon filled up all the big rides at the park and caused them to lift themselves out of their supports. "They started already?!" Masurao shouted watching the chaos from afar. "I have to warn the Pines." Tsukata declared gazing through his binoculars. The attractions gathered around the big castle at the center, including the viking ship that Imelda was trapped on, and formed into a giant robot. "Captain, I don't think we'll make it!" one of the employees shouted. "We've got to do it! No matter the cost, we'll show them all!" Tonkichi declared bravely as the castle bot faced the upright Medical Mechanica iron. "They may smooth out our brains, but they'll never smooth out our freedom! START THE ATTAAAAACK!" The castle robot launched everything it got at the giant iron, but nothing worked and the factory in turn blasted a giant laser that instantly burnt the opposing machine to cinders. -- Far above Earth, Arnold's inflated husk drifted out of the atmosphere and towards an Immigration Control Center satellite storing lost items. A mechanical hand snatched the balloon and tossed it down the chute to be scanned & later dumped into the old Gravity Falls junkyard which attracted the attention of a familiar-looking robot dog. "Well I'll be. Aren't you just the cutest little thing?" Older Man McGucket greeted the little mutt. "Hey I know you! You're that spindly johnny who followed the kids around!" The genius hillbilly scooped up some of the trash from the box it was dumped in, including Arnold's remains, and put it in a dog bowl for the canine machine to eat. "Eat up now little feller!" -- Back at the amusement park, Haruko was spectating the whole battle when she felt her stomach return to its normal size. "So they're still doin' it, huh?" she mumbled getting back to her entertainment when she saw a few familiar faces. "For the record, we already knew something was up long before you warned us!" Ford shouted to Kanda when he spotted Haruko. "Raharu! Can't believe I'm saying this, but we got a problem!" Along with the Stans, Tyrone, Dipper, Mabel, Wendy, Ian, Leia, Juan & Jorge, Abby, Ezra, Soos, Melody, a very angry Pacifica preparing to use a broken bottle as a shiv and Kanda was a now cybernetic Gwen glaring furiously at the Vespa Woman. "Lookin' good Gwennie!" Haruko complimented with a wolf whistle and a nosebleed. "You're really killing it!" Gwen didn't reply with her words, but instead with a gold battering ram launching from her robot arm. "Just so we can all reach a compromise, all of you are to blame for this!" Pacifica shouted tranquilly. "Whoa, hold on all y'all!" Haruko exclaimed avoiding the younger girl by jumping on the roller coaster tracks. "Stop it, I didn't do nothing wrong!" "BULL-FUDGING-SHIT RAHARU!" Stan cursed as Gwen followed his former partner preparing to use the other Mustang to help his great-great niece. "All I did was give you all a little nudge, reignited some old passions, helped you with your dreams, s'all!" "Give him back! Give Arnold back!" Gwen screamed continuously attempting to hit her. "Wah-ho! Guess the Pines still have quite a lot of fight in them!" Haruko exclaimed before she found Dipper, Mabel and Pacifica right behind her. "Give me back my son or else." Pacifica hissed arming herself with Jinyu's Jazzmaster. Before anyone of them could fight, Haruhara surfed away further up the coaster rails. "In the end, you're no different from the rest of us!" Gwen snarled leaping away from her family to give pursuit. "It's all because you're in love with that weird bird, right? You're just another girl stupidly in love!" "See, like I kept telling you Raharu! You can't force someone to love you!" Dipper agreed with his daughter. "Oh quit parroting Mason or I'll shove crackers down your throat to shut you up!" Haruko shouted to the Pines father before she noticed her bracelet starting to react to something amiss. "Huh?" "Uh, dudes!" Soos exclaimed gazing up at the reddening sky. "Is the multiverse going all kaput or am I thinking of some other cataclysmic event?" he asked cuing the others to look up as well. "No. Way." Ford & Kanda boomed in shock. Soon everybody important to the story gazed up at the sky and Haruko realized just who it was. "It's Atomsk." -- AT LAST, IT IS DONE! I started kinda late on this chapter, but it was all worth it to finally beat my deadline. What will become of the Pines family and friends? Will Haruko finally control Atomsk? Why does McGucket recognize that oddly familiar dog? Join us next time for the final chapter of Fooly Falls 2: Ride on Shooting Star and be sure to read my other works for more!

[terranceeaton-blog]

How Upholstery Cleaning Can Revitalize Your Family Home.

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[jacksonpiner]

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The Landlord-Tenant Dynamics Have Changed Amid Covid-19. What Does The Future Hold?

Covid-19 had brought the cruise industry to a complete halt last year. As a result, more than 400 cruise liners worldwide have been lying at anchor and the crew has been unemployed since March 2020. Afzal Khan (46) was one of them. “I moved to a rental accommodation in January 2020 and post-lockdown, I have been home without pay or benefits,” he mentions. As a result, he re-negotiated the terms of his lease and license agreement with the home-owner and was able to reduce his monthly rental outgo by almost 30 per cent. “My landlord was empathetic enough to accommodate my request; hence, I have been able to pay my monthly rent on time,” he adds.

Khan’s example is not a case in isolation. Pandemic clauses are not a standard feature in most lease agreements and, with any precedent lacking, landlords and tenants found themselves in unchartered waters as they negotiated voluntary arrangements such as rental abatements and waivers. Hence, how is Covid-19 changing the landlord-tenant relationship? Let’s find out...

Change in priorities The Covid-19 pandemic caused ripples across all industries including the residential rental market. “A large number of organisations opted for work-from-home (WFH) for a stipulated period since health and safety concerns of employees became vital. Therefore, a significant number of working professionals relocated to their hometowns to save on rent. As a result, the demand-supply dynamics changed significantly, resulting in rentals reducing across micro-markets. However, with the dust settling, we expect this trend to reverse,” mentions Shalin Raina, managing director – residential services, Cushman and Wakefield.

Also, with the rise of remote working, tenants are now seeking bigger, more spacious homes to accommodate their new-found requirements. “Tenants are now searching for homes in suburban areas as they are more affordable and spacious. And as people continue to spend more time at home, there has been an increased demand for multifunctional homes that can accommodate study rooms, workstations, recreational zones, etc. More than 50 per cent of the landlords from Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune had either reduced or waived off the rent during the lockdown. As per our research, distance from the workplace has dropped in ranking as a key criterion for tenants and factors such as safety, water supply, open spaces, etc have become important determinants in tenants’ decision-making process,” says Saurabh Garg, co-founder and CBO of a leading tech-based brokerage-free real estate platform.  

Key challenges “With multiple lockdowns and remote working, many people faced salary cuts and job loss, which affected their incomes. As a result, tenants either defaulted on their payments or delayed them. And this led to landlords being unable to meet their financial obligations such as making the mortgage payments for the rental property and paying electricity and water charges, insurance, maintenance, property tax, etc. Also, while the landlord had the option of evicting the tenant, that too brought with it its own set of challenges such as finding the right replacement, preparing a new lease agreement as per new rules and regulations, etc,” elaborates Anshuman Magazine, chairman and CEO, India, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE. 

At the start of the pandemic, most tenants reached out to their landlords with a request to reduce rent or tried to invoke the force majeure clauses in their contracts. Also, many were faced with delayed appraisals, which made paying rent difficult and, in some cases, led to eviction. “Legally, a lease cannot be terminated on account of the pandemic, unless this was specifically provided for. And most landlords were constrained to provide some discounts to ensure that they did not lose their tenant. The landlords also could not rent out the premises to any third parties as the existing leases could not be terminated with the possession being with the tenants. On the other hand, where the tenants had provided security deposits to the landlords, they were unable to terminate the leases without facing a significant loss,” points out Malini Raju, partner, J Sagar Associates, a leading law firm.

Changing requirements Lease terms may be very different going forward, claim experts. Future lease documents won’t leave anything open to interpretation. “We would expect changes in rent, the term of a lease and perhaps the level of security required by a landlord under the lease. Also, landlords will properly stamp and register the documents so that they can enforce the same before a court of law. Likewise, at least in the immediate future, we also expect more scrutiny over legal drafting to specifically deal with rent abatement or rent deferrals – or the specific exclusion of such rights – in case of a similar crisis,” adds Raju. 

“With the pandemic highlighting how unexpected developments can affect home occupancy, tenants and landlords can mutually look at some changes in the rent agreement moving forward. For instance, a clause that defines a partial rent reduction in case the apartment is unoccupied for a long duration will provide both, landlords and tenants, with a much-needed framework to follow in case a similar crisis emerges in the future,” mentions Garg.

Reinventing relations In the post-Covid era, flexibility to understand each other’s concerns will be the key to keep landlord-tenant relationships healthy. “Many landlords supported their tenants in the aftermath of unemployment and pay cuts with an understanding of reinstation of rentals within a stipulated period. With the Indian economy bouncing back, we can already see light at the end of the tunnel with things slowly, but steadily, getting back to normal,” says Raina.

“During the initial phase of the pandemic, landlords and tenants faced multiple challenges, but the Draft Model Tenancy Act 2019 will overhaul the legal framework that currently governs rental housing and allow transparent renting of premises. In addition to this, the Act aims to accommodate the interests of both, landlords and tenants, and formalise rental housing. It will also spur investor and developer interest towards niche real estate segments such as student housing and co-living. This, along with other government incentives related to renting and tenancy agreements, will further aid both, landlords and tenants,” concludes Magazine.