#sociology optional complete notes

[octoberautumnbox]

Orientation Week

tripleS Gong Yubin & Male Reader

Categories/Warnings: smut

Word count: 0.7k

| Main Fic || Epilogue |

a/n: yuri fics cooking too long have this in the meantime

~~~

Your phone vibrates again, same as always. You note the tardiness–five whole minutes. She's never this late under normal circumstances, but getting anything at all this late means getting something special. 

You unlock your phone, open your messages. Yubin's name is in bold letters, and the typing indicator only then disappears, a split second before a new message pops up in your chat. You read them from the notification bar: 

Yubin sent 6 photos. Kaede's out Had fun with these Hope you do too 😘

Delayed gratification is nonexistent when it comes to Gong Yubin; there is never any point to it when she doesn't believe in it either. At this point, it's less a tease and more a nuisance when you don't open her messages by 10:07 pm. She gets cute about it sometimes, but something tells you you're in for a treat tonight. 

You're met with a screen full of Yubin, her phone covering her face as she takes her selcas, but that isn't the main point–tonight she's laying on her bed, in a skirt much too short for anyone to wear outside. She has it fastened around her waist, showing off her puffy cunt. Her fingers spread her moist lips while another grazes her clit, and even though you know it's just a photo, you could almost see how she plays with herself and how sexy her moans sound. 

The next picture is none much better: she sits relaxedly on the floor in front of her mirror, her white blouse unbuttoned all the way, showing off the valley of her breasts still covered with the nearly see-through top. She drapes an arm under her tits as she pushes them up, and her thin striped necktie looks hotter than ever on her. It turns you on so much more that she doesn't hide it–usually these pictures are taken in the bathroom, in the tub or with the mirror over her sink–but with the room all to herself, she takes advantage of everything she can to entice you over.

Next still is the same pose, but with her necktie between her teeth, and she covers only her eyes with the phone this time. A smile graces her lips as she shows the top shrugged off her shoulders to reveal her stiff nipples. She squeezes her breast for you, index and middle fingers pinching her nub. You could almost hear her giggles as if you were right there with her, watching her strip for you again.

The fourth photo, and likely the rest too, is much more daring than anything you get when Kaede is around: still on the floor, Yubin sits with her legs open, again showing her pussy, with the top completely off her. The skirt is unfastened and merely balanced on her waist with nothing holding it there, as if the lightest gust of wind or the wrong change in position will bare her completely naked.

After that is a photo that reminds you of something you sorely miss: Yubin brings two fingers into her wet cunt, all the while she squeezes her tits together with her arms. You recall one night you went over and made love to her just like that–pulling her wrists towards you for leverage while you fucked her cunt–and she said she never felt so good. And you finally realize the play.

The last photo is of her bent over, showing off her perfect ass, legs apart, and spreading her thighs to show you how much she misses you. You can tell by the way her thighs shine and the darker spot on the carpet that she got herself off while taking these, and it's an invitation if there ever was one.

Weigh your options, consider your consequences. Your class tomorrow is 8:30 am, it's the sociology class you'd pass even if you only took the final, it's interesting though, you still have five free absences in it. Pros and cons fail to tip the scale in either direction, so it's up to a mere flip of the proverbial coin. 

As if on cue, your decision is made for you. Yubin sends another set of messages:

Done? 😊 If not, come over Kaede texted me where her lube is 😉

~~~

a/n: oh right lmao @sinswithpleasure here :DD

| Main Fic || Epilogue |

[reigningqueenofwords]

Maryanne

Pairing: Bruce x Reader, Martha x Thomas Word count: 3,192

Read on AO3

Part 14 of Without Me

Your hand gripped Bruce’s tightly as you made your way to the party. Everyone looked at you once you defended the stairs. You held your head high despite being jello on the inside. Part of you wished you’d insisted on wearing sneakers, but knew that probably wouldn’t have been taken well by Martha. 

Bruce smiled at different people. “Hello.” He greeted before stopping on the last step. 

“Everyone.” Martha announced. “Please welcome our son and daughter in law. Your future bosses!” She beamed proudly. 

You gave them a shy wave at that. “So be nice to us.” Bruce half joked, eyeing everyone. “And Merry Christmas!”

Everyone clapped and cheered, people staring at you the most. Whispers spread throughout the crowd. Swallowing, you glanced at Bruce, who gave you a wink. You followed him, shaking hands with many people. 

“Ah, here comes one of those guys I hate.” An older man approached. “Max!” He grinned. “See aging isn’t going well for you.” 

You tried your best not to giggle at that as Max didn’t look too pleased. “Bruce. Immature as ever.” He sighed. “Surprised you have a wife by your side.” 

“Same here, bud.” Bruce shrugged. “At least I have a date.” 

“As do I. My dear daughter just got back from Harvard.” He explained. “I’m sure you remember Maryanne.”

Bruce instantly looked pained. “I happen to, yes.” He sighed as she stood next to him. 

“Hi, daddy.” She looped her arm through his. “Oh, hello Bruce.” She grinned. “Long time no see.” She told him. 

Bruce sighed. “It has been a while. Congrats on getting into Harvard. I know you always wanted that.” 

You could tell he wasn’t being genuine and couldn’t help but stare her down as she looked at you. “Hi, I’m Y/N. Bruce’s wife.” You held out your hand.

“Maryanne.” She shook it. “Bruce and I were serious before we got accepted to different colleges.” She explained. “Congratulations on being Mrs. Wayne.” She smiled. 

It almost bothered you that she was being nice. It gave you a bad gut feeling. “Congrats on Harvard.” You told her.

“Thank you. Daddy here wanted to help me with getting entry but I wanted to prove that I could do it myself.” She explained as if you were long lost friends. “You study, right?” She smiled. 

“Yeah, that’s where we met.” Bruce told her. “She’s the smartest. Best writer, ever.” 

She grinned. “How cool! I like to write too.” She told you. “What was your major?”

You bit your lip. “Communications and journalism.” You told her. “I want to either write for a magazine or help write reviews. I haven’t decided.” 

She nodded, looking interested. “Those would be awesome jobs.” She said encouragingly. “I have access to loads of databases. I can always give you my login so you can see what you like?” She offered. “Getting into journalism can be really tough, especially as a woman. Gotta stick together.”

You were completely surprised at that. “Wow. Yeah, that would be amazing. I can only imagine what your school offers.” You nodded. 

Bruce had honestly expected the worst. He seemed to bring out the worst in old flings. This was the opposite of what was happening. He was still panicking that she was going to outright be rude to you. Even Max looked surprised. 

Maryanne happily wrote her number on a napkin. “Please text me. I really suck at making friends so I’m sorry if I came on too strong.” She smiled and handed it to you. “It’d be nice to have another female writer to talk to.” She said shyly. 

“Yeah, of course.” You smiled. “I’m sorry I didn’t get your major?” 

She sighed. “I keep changing it honestly, which bugs my professors so much.” She shook her head. “Currently I’m doing media and marketing.” She shrugged. "I'm not going to keep a major I hate."

“I get that.” You nodded. “Especially when there’s so many options.” You noted. "I nearly went into criminal justice, bit it wouldn't have allowed me to write much."

“That’s how I was with sociology!” She grinned. “It’s so nice to hear.” She shook her head. “Please Call or text me.” She smiled. “I have to do the rounds with him.” She motioned to Max. “Nice seeing you again, Bruce.” She waved before walking off. 

You looked up at him. “I thought I was the only nice person you slept with?” You teased. "Because I was getting into 'I will slap a bitch' mode." You said playfully.

“I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, I swear.” He let out a breath. “I hate her dad and she was honestly...not like that in high school.” He sounded surprised. "Harvard matured her."

You nodded. “She was super nice!” You actually felt a bit calmer after that. And hopeful you'd have a friend after this.

Bruce chuckled. “I’m glad honestly.” He led you through the crowd. “Oh, there’s Jerry.” He motioned to a man who was clearly flirting with one of the staff members. “Should we save her?” He laughed. “Because he’s a married creep.”

“Yes!” You said immediately. “Poor waitress.” You nodded. 

He smiled as he went with you. “Jerry! Why don’t you ever bring your wife? I miss her!” He said loudly, clearly embarrassing him instantly. The waitress excused herself quickly.

You gave her a sympathetic smile and looked at Jerry. “Lovely to meet you, sir.” You waved as he looked angrily at Bruce. “I’m Y/N.” 

“Hello.” Jerry sighed. “I apologize for you having to marry such a child.” 

You raised your eyebrows. “I’d like to give the same apologizes to your wife as well.” You countered. “Is she here?” You looked around.

Bruce sighed dramatically. “She’s not is she? Poor thing. Such a shame you hide her. She’s beautiful.” He looked at you. “And makes the best scones.” 

“How would you know?” Jerry glared. 

“My mom visited her a couple years back when she missed yet another party. I tagged along.” He shrugged. “Wanted to make sure she was okay since her husband sucks.” 

“Boy, you should have some respect.” Jerry huffed. “You will never get my vote when you become partner.” 

“Seems like you should have some respect for your wife.” You muttered.

Bruce only smirked wider at him. “Come along, dear. Much more important people to see.” He tugged you. He couldn’t wait to tell you how awesome you were for that. 

You waved to Jerry and followed him, smiling as he kissed you. “Who should I meet next?”

He laughed. “Luckily there’s no one worse than him. The rest are mainly annoying.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Promise.” He chuckled.

You smiled. “I’m actually not doing too bad at the moment.” You assured him. “For now.”

He kissed your temple. “Thank you for being by my side.” He kept you close. 

You beamed, letting him introduce you to more people as time went on. You felt a bit of pressure as people asked your ideas for the future of the company. Finally, you glanced at him. “I think I need to charge my phone.”

He nodded. “I think I left my charger in the other room, I’ll go with you.” He excused you both. He was proud of you for making it that long.

Once you were upstairs, you let out a huge breath. “Please tell me we don’t have to do that again for a while.” You said as you sat on the side of the bed. 

He thought and shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.” He shrugged. “Sometimes they have like...charity galas, but we can always skip those if you want.”

You shrugged. “It wasn’t awful. I just felt pressured. I never realized how much your mom does for the company.” You shook your head. “She needs a damn vacation.”

“I agree.” He helped you take off your heels. “How about you rest in here while I do my last goodbyes?” He kissed you softly. “Get in your comfy clothes, and then once everyone leaves, we can head home, too.”

“Okay.” You nodded. “Thank you.” You smiled. “Send our furboys up here?” Last time you saw them, they were lying in the library. “Or rather, bring them up here?” You chuckled.

He laughed. “I will.” He promised. “Be right back with our boys.” He kissed you again before standing up.

You watched him lovingly, knowing he’d do a great job running the company one day. But you could definitely wait for that to happen. Getting up, you realized you needed him to unzip you. “Help.” You pouted. 

Chuckling lightly, he motioned for you to turn so that he could. He kissed the back of your neck as he did. “What’s our fastest quickie time?” He asked, slipping his hands under the fabric of your dress to hold your waist. 

"I don't time it, but I'm sure we can manage." You giggled 

He undid his slacks. “I’ll make it a record.” He promised you. 

When he came back down, it was fairly obvious what had happened. Martha gave him a look but it wasn’t angry. “Just came down to at least do the whole goodbye thing. We’ll be leaving once everyone’s gone.” He told her.

Martha sighed and nodded. “Thank you for at least doing that.” 

“She says you need a vacation, by the way.” He chuckled.

She smiled. “Such a sweet thing.” She patted his arm. “Go say your goodbyes and do the whole thanks for coming thing."

Bruce nodded and walked around to do that. “Oh, Bruce! Please tell your wife goodbye for me. Hopefully if me and her can become friends I can visit for spring break or summer recess.” Maryanne rambled excitedly.  “She seems really nice. I can see why you married her.”

Bruce chuckled. “Thanks, Maryanne. You actually helped ease her nerves a bit so I’m sure she’ll get in touch with you.” He smiled. "Thanks for coming."

She hugged him. “Thanks, too! Though I like your wife a bit more than you now.” She said sweetly. “Bye!” She waved as she ran off. 

You had to take your makeup off, removed all your jewelry, and get into comfy clothes before you could feel relaxed again. You cuddled to Happy and Lucky when you finally laid down. They eagerly got as close as they could. “Love you, babies.” You closed your eyes. 

When Bruce came back up, you'd nodded off with them. He grinned and took a picture, feeling the night was a success. He texted his mom with it. I guess we’ll leave in the morning :) 

She didn’t reply for a few moments. How cute! Sounds great. 

He quickly went to change himself, wondering which dog would let him cuddle up to you. They loved your snuggles and he couldn’t blame them. Finally, he went to lay down and Lucky moved, just to lay on top of both of you when he pulled you close. He laughed softly. “Alright, Lucky.” He shook his head. “Night.” He gave the dog a scratch behind the ears before closing his own eyes.

The winter and rest of the holiday time went by quickly. You found yourself getting ready for midterms all too soon. “Why is it when we’re in school, everything goes by quicker than I can learn?” You whined to Bruce as you ate breakfast. 

“Because you put a lot of pressure on yourself, even though you’re probably the smartest person I know?” He winked at you. 

You pouted. “At least next week we have break. But to get there is going to be hell.” You sighed. “But, I took my last birth control pill yesterday.” You smiled softly at him.

He immediately brightened. “How long does it take to wear off?” He said hopeful. 

“Well, seeing as if you miss one pill you can get pregnant, I’m assuming instantly?” You shrugged. 

“So we’re eating breakfast when we could actually be making a baby?” He stopped what he was doing. "Is that what you're telling me?" He looked excited.

You thought for a moment and nodded. “I mean, yeah.” You laughed as he stood and pulled you out of your seat. “My toast!” You said dramatically. “It was so good. The perfect butter to bread ratio.”

“It’ll be there when we get back.” He kissed your neck as he laid you on your bed. 

“Fine.” You pouted. When he kissed you, you melted into it.

For the next week, Bruce barely let you outside the bedroom, which actually helped you relax for midterms. When it came time to take them, you weren't nearly as stressed.

The same happened for Bruce and he felt he had aced everything he had to turn in.  Which was a first for him. 

"When can you test?" He asked one morning.

“I don’t think until I miss my first period.” You told him. "It might not happen right away."

He logically knew that but pouted. "I hope it does." 

You kissed his cheek. “I know you’re excited.” You smiled. “I can’t wait to tell you that you’re going to be a daddy.”

He hugged you. “You’re going to be the best mom.” He kissed your cheek. “I think this has been helping me with school, too.” He added.

“Yeah? Got you relaxed?” You smiled. “Because I must say, you work better than a hot tub.” You teased.

He laughed. “I have the same compliment for you.” He squeezed your backside. “It does help clear the mind.” He grinned. “Wanna go help each other relax?”

“Always.” You giggled. 

“I’m glad you were able to pull your mom back some for today.” You chuckled as you and Bruce got ready for your graduation party.

“It took days of begging.” He told you. “Days, babe.” He shook his head. “And I promised she could help plan my birthday.” You looked at him with wide eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure I’ll regret that…” He shook his head. 

“Definitely.” You giggled, adjusting your clothes. “Are we ready to rock this party?” You hugged him close. “Tell everyone our secret?”

He beamed. “I’m pretty sure our moms are going to either scream or pass out.” He kissed your nose. “But I’m ready to tell everyone and the world!” He said happily. “Do you know how hard it’s been not telling people for ten weeks?!”

“I’m sure you’re ready to burst.” You teased. “Like my favorite pair of skinny jeans when I tried to wear them yesterday.” You joked.

He laughed. “There’s going to be plenty more of that.” He pecked your lips. “I’ll buy you all the new clothes you want tomorrow.”

“All the stretchy pants?” You smiled. "Because I see myself living in yoga pants."

“Hey, can’t complain when they make your ass look great.” He led you out. "I will buy the whole damn company for that."

You snorted and shook your head, following him outside to the party. You spotted Maryanne and smiled at her, waving. She waved back instantly, happy to see you. She came over to greet you. "It's good to see you again!"

You hugged her, having been texting off and on for the past semester. “It’s good to see you too! I’m so glad you’re here.” You smiled. "How was the last week of school for you?" 

“Horrible. I’m barely alive.” She chuckled. “So glad it’s summer now.” She shook her head. "No more living off coffee!"

You laughed at that. “I know what you mean.” Even though yours had been decaf lately. 

“We need to start hanging out more now that I’m back in Gotham.” She beamed. "Maybe have a girl's day."

“I’d love that.” You agreed instantly. “We’ll work something out soon.” You nodded. 

Once you’d seen both sets of parents, Bruce was more than ready to announce Baby Wayne. You tapped the glass you were holding of bubbly water as you and Bruce stood on a set of steps. “Hello!” You smiled. 

“Thank you for coming!” Bruce began. “We’re here to celebrate us finally graduating!”

Everyone clapped and cheered at that. You giggled that you heard your father over everyone else. “Thanks, Dad.” You said playfully. “That’s not all that we wanted to say though.” You cleared your throat and looked up at Bruce. “Babe?” 

He beamed that you were giving him the honors. “Baby Wayne will be joining us at Christmas time this year!” He exclaimed, clearly over the moon.

Everyone gasped, then cheered, your mothers screaming together. Your smile faltered when you saw your father's face. He was looking everywhere but at the both of you and when your mother asked him something, he shook his head. "I'll be right back." You said softly, heading inside.

Bruce watched you but was soon crowded with congratulations. 

You got yourself a cup of water, sipping it. Your father was upset because you were having a baby. How did you process that? There wasn’t anything you could do to take it back- not that you even would if you could. But you were sure he’d be okay with the timing. You were married and out of school. So, why did he look disappointed? 

“Miss?” Alfred asked. “Are you alright? I put aside some crackers.” He had his suspicions. 

You sighed, shaking your head. “My dad’s upset.”

“Ah. Did you speak to him?” He asked softly. 

“I saw him in the crowd. Wouldn’t even look at us.” You told him. “I know him well enough to know he’s pretty close to ‘pissed’.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry to hear that. I believe you planned it well.” He assured you. “I am very excited to help with the care of another Wayne.” He smiled. 

You smiled back. “You don’t mind little ones?” 

“Not at all.” He nodded. "I am happy for you and Mr. Wayne." 

“Thanks, Alfred. Your support means a lot!” You sighed. "Can I hug you?"

“Of course.” He smiled and hugged you gently. “You will be a great mother, Mrs. Wayne.” He said gently. "You already deal with Mr. Wayne." He joked.

You laughed. “That’s very true. You would know best.” You pulled away and sighed. "I'm glad we have you."

“That is kind of you.” He smiled and nodded when Bruce walked in. "Congrats, Mr. Wayne." He told him before leaving the two of you alone.

Bruce waved to him and pulled you close. “You okay?” He asked, worried.

"My dad is upset." You sighed. “And I can’t figure out why!” 

He winced. “So that’s why he was staring me down.” He sighed. "Was kinda afraid he was gonna deck me for some reason." He sagged.

You pouted and looked super sad. “I’ll have to go find him.” You wrapped your arms around him. "I don't know why he's not happy."

“I married you first. We planned it.” He said sadly. “Maybe he thinks I won’t be a good dad?” He shrugged. 

“He shouldn’t be like that.” You sighed. "I'll go talk to him." 

“Want me to go with?” He asked. 

You shook your head. “I’ll come find you.” You kissed his jaw and left him be. This was not going to be fun.

[analyticsias-blog]

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[plutusiasdelhi]

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[vnkacademy1]

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[joshtalksias]

Prepare for UPSC with Maluka IAS; you will definitely get success

Students work hard to qualify for the UPSC. By leaving no stone unturned, something is always left behind. For this, you can join coaching and make your preparation excellent. We have brought you the best coaching option. If you want to prepare with Maluka IAS coaching, then this can be best for you. here you can also take the help of Josh Talks for admission.

You can take admission to these courses.

You can be admission to different programs in Maluka IAS coaching. For this, you will also find course options here. This course includes both online and offline batches.

GS Foundation + Advanced Batch Features

If you want to prepare for UPSC in a better way, then this option can be best for you. You are going to get many facilities from this. Through this course, your NCERT will be completely covered. Apart from this, question answers are conducted daily for Pre. At the same time, the facility of answer writing has also been provided for the preparation of mains. The best thing is that through this course, you will be able to prepare for the mains and preliminary exams in a much better way. Apart from this, it has 150 hours of smart class.

B. GS Foundation + Advanced Batch

This is an advanced batch in which students get a lot of facilities. This class is 1500 hours. The entire syllabus of Mains, including Pre, is also covered. In this session, students will also get a proper doubt session. There will be a weekly test, and handwritten notes will also be provided. In addition to this, an interview session will also be held with the board members.

CSAT (Live\Online\Offline)

By taking admission to the Maluka IAS class, you can take admission to CSAT. Through this course, you can prepare for your GS in a much better way. This course is 120 hours long. In this, along with the test series, you will be provided with better notes. Apart from this, practice sets will also be available at the institute. With this, you can prepare for your GS very well.

You can also take admission online.

If you want to prepare from home, then Maluka IAS can be a better option for you. Here, you can also enroll in online courses. Live classes will be provided to you in online courses. Apart from this, you will get all the facilities sitting at home that other students get by going to classes.

Take admission in optional subjects also.

If you want to take admission only for the preparation of your optional subject, then here you will get options for optional subjects as well. This includes sociology (English), political science (Hindi and English), anthropology (English), history (Hindi and English), and geography (English).

Enroll in the test series program.

If you want to enroll in the test series program, Maluka IAS is alsothe best option. In this, you only participate in the test series. This series will cover all subjects. Apart from this, it is available in both Hindi and English. Not only this, after giving the test series, you will also be told about your mistakes, and they will also be corrected. This program can also prove to be very good for you.

How to take admission

You can take admission to Maluka IAS through many mediums. For this, you can also enroll yourself online on their website. Apart from this, you can directly go to the coaching center and take admission. Maluka IAS’s Delhi center is in Old Rajendra Nagar.

Must Read: Finding True Purpose Beyond the Exam: IAS Abhijeet Yadav’s UPSC Journey

[alcoholrehabilitationcentre]

What's the difference between pre-nursing and nursing college courses?

Pre nursing classes are the classes you need to take in order to get into the nursing program. You will also need to take placement tests when you first apply to a college so that they know where to place you in subjects such as English and math. You have to pass English and math at a certain level in order to get your degree. But some people need to take classes to advance to the level of skills needed in order to be better prepared to pass the course required for the degree they need. After you get these courses passed, you can start taking courses that you need to take and pass, in order to apply to enter the nursing program offered by that college. These are pre-nursing courses and they usually include subjects such as chemistry, biology, anatomy & physiology, psychology, and sociology. Your pre-nursing and your other courses like your English and math can be taken at same time. But generally all your pre-nursing courses have to be completed and an application to apply for the nursing program has to be completed and accepted and not every application is accepted and some have waiting lists. The better you do in your pre-nursing courses, the better chance you have to be accepted and to be higher up on any waiting list. It’s often the case you must pass your courses with a B grade, while most other degree programs can pass with a C grade.

Also, pre-nursing courses can generally be taken in any order and you can take as many courses at a time that is allowed or one at a time. Most can complete these in two years going full-time. However, you can’t take too long. Once you start in the nursing program, the college I went to everyone accepted into the program took the same classes at same times. No night courses offered. We all were together all day, every school day and clinical days; you rearrange your life to suit them. Not the other way around. This was for an additional 2 years of school. I ended up taking 4 years to complete a two-year degree, which is more than adequate to get you started in nursing and you generally get the same opportunities and pay differences if any was minimal whether you had a Bachelors or Associate degree, though there are a few minor differences. The Associate degree was hard enough to get but I wish I had gone for my Bachelors just so that I possibly may have been a little better prepared for the job ahead of me. But not everyone would need to and do just fine.

Overall, it is so worth everything you had to go through. What got me through was my philosophy on the whole nursing education experience. You lose so many people as you get further along, it can be intimidating. My philosophy was that I was not going to quit. So the only way out was that they would have to kick me out of the program or I’d have to be dead because quitting, was not an option. Well they didn’t kick me out and I’m still alive. I hope maybe that helps somebody else to get through.

One last note to keep in mind, the whole purpose of all that education, classes, clinicals, the main purpose for everything they teach and the way they teach, it’s to prepare you to pass that NCLEX exam to get your license. They need you to pass that to help that schools nursing program to stay in business and move up in ranks of best schools for nursing.

Good luck. Don’t give up. It can totally change your life in ways you can’t begin to imagine. It’s opportunity after opportunity. Don’t let anyone or anything ever take it away from you. It’s the hardest but most rewarding career. It might sound difficult. It is difficult. But worth every bit of blood sweat and tears it took to get you through.

Madhya Pradesh is a state in central India. It is home to a number of excellent nursing colleges, both government and private. The following are some of the best nursing colleges in Madhya Pradesh, based on factors such as their academic reputation, infrastructure, faculty, and placement record. The career prospects for nurses are good in Madhya Pradesh. There is a high demand for nurses in hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare organizations. Nurses can also work in the armed forces, the railways, and the government sector.

[diademy-ias]

Cracking the Code: Navigating UPSC Management Question Papers for Success

Preparing for the UPSC exams is a journey filled with challenges and opportunities. If you've chosen management as your optional subject, understanding the nuances of the UPSC management question papers is crucial for success. In this article, we'll explore the significance of these papers, provide insights into their structure, and offer valuable tips to tackle them effectively.

Why Are UPSC Management Question Papers Important?

UPSC management question papers play a pivotal role in your preparation for the Civil Services Examination. Here's why they are essential:

Pattern Familiarization: By studying previous years' question papers, you become familiar with the pattern and format of the questions asked in the management paper. This helps you anticipate what to expect in the actual exam.

Content Relevance: Analyzing past papers helps you identify the recurring topics and concepts that are frequently tested. This guides your study strategy, ensuring you focus on the most relevant areas.

Time Management: Practicing with question papers enables you to improve your time management skills, which is critical for answering all questions within the allotted time.

Structure of UPSC Management Question Papers

Understanding the structure of the UPSC Management question papers is crucial for effective preparation. The management paper consists of two parts:

Paper I:

Management Concepts and Organizational Behavior

Human Resource Management

Marketing Management

Financial Management

Operations Management

Strategic Management

Paper II:

Management Control Systems

Management of Information Systems

Productivity and Quality Management

Management Science

International Business

Economic Policies and Business Environment

Each paper carries a maximum of 250 marks, and you have three hours to complete each paper.

Insights from Past Question Papers

Analyzing past question papers can provide valuable insights into the exam's nature and trends. Here are some observations:

Balance of Topics: The UPSC strives to maintain a balance among various management topics. Questions are usually spread evenly across different sections of the syllabus.

Application-Oriented: The questions often require candidates to apply management concepts to real-life scenarios. It's essential to have a practical understanding of these concepts.

Interdisciplinary: The management paper can sometimes incorporate concepts from economics, sociology, and other fields, so a holistic approach to studying is beneficial.

Tips for Effective Preparation

Now that we've discussed the importance and structure of UPSC management question papers, here are some tips to help you prepare effectively:

Start Early: Begin your preparation well in advance to ensure you have enough time for comprehensive coverage of the syllabus and practice.

Syllabus Familiarization: Thoroughly understand the UPSC management optional syllabus. This will help you identify which topics to prioritize.

Previous Papers: Start solving previous years' question papers to get a feel for the exam pattern and question types.

Reference Books: Consult standard textbooks and reference materials for each topic in the syllabus. Make notes and highlight important concepts.

Mock Tests: Take mock tests regularly to simulate exam conditions and improve your time management skills.

Current Affairs: Stay updated with current business and management-related news, as this can be relevant in both papers.

Conclusion

UPSC management question papers are valuable resources for aspirants preparing for the Civil Services Examination. They provide insights into the exam's structure, content relevance, and trends. By following the tips mentioned above and dedicating yourself to consistent and focused preparation, you can navigate the management paper with confidence and inch closer to your goal of becoming a civil servant. Good luck with your UPSC exam preparations!

[educationalinstitutesindia]

Top 10 Universities in India

Every individual dreams of getting admission into the top university but we live in a competitive world and there is a dearth of seats! If you have just finished your schooling or you have completed your Bachelor’s degree, you may be looking for the best university to complete your further studies.   The majority of the people send their children to foreign universities but they fail to see that there are top-class universities in India as well! Speaking of the top universities in India, we have created a list of the Top 10 Universities in India. This will help you to narrow down your choice and send an application to the best institutions.   Do note that most of the universities require you to sit for an entrance. There are as many seats in a college and you have to keep your options open! You would realize that there are millions of individuals, who have secured the same percentage as you. What sets you apart? The seat may be given to an individual after clearing the entrance test. However, this comes at a later stage. In case, you do not get admission to one of the top universities listed here, you can always opt for a private university in India.  Let us check out the list! The List of Top 10 Universities in India 1. Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay According to various sources, the Bombay branch of IIT is known for its comprehensive graduate program. It has secured the position because the faculty, infrastructure, hostel life, and even the curriculum are fantastic. There are student hostels, travel desks, a women's cell, a central library, a hospital, a guest house, a staff school, and even KG schools available on the campus. If Engineering is on your mind, you must opt for IIT Bombay. The students have access to a number of facilities which makes campus life enjoyable. There is a study environment and IIT has a brand name as well! 2. Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur The university is known for its liberal atmosphere. There is no attendance issue but the students do not take advantage of this liberty. The university was established in the year 1959 and the campus spreads across 1055 acres. There is a dance club, student gymkhana, dramatics club, music club, debate club, and much more. The students can focus on their studies and also excel in a range of activities. 3. Indian Institute of Technology, Madras Indian Institute of Technology, Madras is ideal for higher education. There are sixteen academic departments in this university with almost 8000 students and 550 faculties. It is the faculty that is the highlight of this institution. The university is situated in a lovely wooded land which will fill up your senses. One can pursue engineering and pure sciences in this fine institution. 4. Delhi University does not require any introduction! There are several colleges under DU. The majority of the students wish to get admission to the North Campus colleges. There are great colleges on South Campus as well which include Lady Shree Ram, Venkateshwara College, Maitreyi College, and Kamla Nehru College. There is a cut-off system here. The cut-off system has at least 5 cut-offs and you can get admission in case you have secured the percentage. There is sports and cultural quota as well. Getting a Delhi University degree is considered prestigious. 5. Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi is next in the line! It is a fine institution for those, who wish to pursue Engineering or do their Ph.D. The good news is that the institution offers Ph.D. in humanities subjects as well. If you wish to pursue Engineering or PhD in Sociology then IIT Delhi is the best!  The majority of the students prepare for years to get admission into this top institution! 6. Jamia Millia Islamia Most people have misconceptions about this university. Yes, it does have reserved seats for Muslims but it is a liberal university where one would find the most competent faculty.  The campus life is excellent and you would enjoy hopping from one café to another. It is the faculty that makes this university one of the finest institutions for Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. One has to sit for an entrance test to secure a seat in the top institution. 7. Calcutta University University of Calcutta is informally known as Calcutta University. It was established in the year 1857. The public state university is on the list of top 10 universities in India because it is considered to be a five-star university. The faculty and alumni include the most influential people like Amartya Sen, C.V. Raman, Ronald Ross, and Rabindranath Tagore. One can study fine arts, home science, law, agriculture, science, journalism, engineering, and much more. There are in total 14 campuses which are spread over the city of Calcutta. 8. Ashoka University is one of the finest institutions and it is recognized by the University Grant Commission. It is a private university in India that offers 17 options to major in. The university offers a Master’s degree in Economics as well. You can choose from a number of subjects such as History, English, Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology, Biology, Physics, Mathematics, and much more. There are 715 furnished and air-conditioned rooms for students. One can enjoy campus life at Ashoka University. 9. UEM Kolkata is the best university for management and engineering. Whether you are living in Kolkata or some other state, you should not miss the opportunity of completing your education at this institution.  It is a fairly new university which was established in the year 2014. The university is near the airport which makes this an institution in a superior location. It has even secured the AAA category in the NPTEL program. The faculty comes from finest institutions like IIM and IIT. 10. Lovely Professional University, Punjab is known for its world-class facilities for students. One would thoroughly enjoy the campus life because this university is a literal 5-star property with endless amenities.  There are innumerable courses on the plate for the students. This university is located in Punjab. In fact, it is rated as the best private university by ASSOCHAM. We hope that the list was helpful for you! Our main motive is to help you find the best university. There are many private and central universities in India. Why should you go to another country? There are superior universities right here in India. Make sure you choose the best! Read the full article

[sleepyclasses1]

Previous Year Papers – Sociology (Paper 1)

Previous Year Papers - Sociology (Topic-wise Segregated)

“History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce.”  – Karl Marx

With the intention of knowing and understanding sociology’s history, we bring to you this small booklet. It contains previous year questions for sociology optional (2013-2021).

The PYQs have been segregated chapter-wise for you to solve and raise the level of your preparation.

Sociology Downloads

Let’s write, revise and analyse.

This is just a small gift from us at Sleepy Classes to the entire student community.

This is to help you make your present ‘sharp’ and future ‘bright’. May you make the most of it. With you in your UPSC journey always!

Team Sleepy Classes

Paper 1 Part 1

Chapter 1

Sociology the Discipline

a)     Modernity and social changes in Europe and the emergence of sociology.

How did the Intellectual forces lead to the emergence of Sociology? Discuss (20/I/1a/10)

Discuss the historical antecedents of the emergence of sociology as a discipline. (19/I/1a/10)

“Sociology is pre-eminently study of modern society.” Discuss (16/I/2c/10)

How had enlightenment contributed to the emergence of Sociology? (15/I/3c/10)

Write short answer of the following in about 150 words: How did the emergence of industrial society change the family life in Western Europe? (14/I/1b/10)

“Sociology emerged in Europe and flourished to begin with on social reformist orientation in the U.S.A.” -Comment. (150 Words) (13/I/1a/10)

Europe was the first and the only place where modernity emerged. Comment

What aspects of Enlightenment do you think paved way for the emergence of sociology? Elaborate. 20 (2a/ 2022)

b)    Scope of the subject and comparison with other social sciences.

In the Context of globalization, has the scope of Sociology been changing in India? Comment (20/I/5a/10)

The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relationship between the two in a society. C.W. Mills. Explain. (18/I/8a/20)

Explain how sociology has emerged as a distinct discipline based on rationality and scientific temper. (17/I/1a/10)

Discuss the changing equations of discipline of Sociology with other social sciences. (17/1/2a/20)

Write Short answer of the following in about 150 words: How is Sociology approach to human actions different from that of psychological approach? (14/I/1c/10)

Compare and contrast Sociology with Anthropology. (150 Words) (13/I/1b/10)

From the viewpoint of growing importance of multidisciplinary, how do you relate sociology to other social sciences? (2021)

Delimit the scope of Sociology in relation to other social sciences. 10 marks (1a/2022)

c)     Sociology and common sense

Discuss the importance and source of hypothesis in social research. (20/I/5b/10)

Explain the probability sampling strategies with examples. (19/I/1e/10).

Illustrate with example the significance of variables in sociological research. (17/I/1c/10)

How can one resolve the issue of reliability and validity in the context of sociological research on inequality? (17/I/4c/10)

“Hypothesis is a statement of the relationship between two or more variables.” Elucidate by giving examples of poverty and illiteracy. (16/I/3c/10)

What are variables? Discuss their role in experimental research. (15/I/1c/10)

Examine the Problems of maintaining objectivity and value neutrality in Social Science research. (15/1/2b/20)

Why is random sampling said to have more reliability and validity in research? (15/I/3a/20)

The difference between information and data in social science is subtle. Comment. (1c/ 2022)

Explain the different types of non-probability sampling techniques. Bring out the conditions of their usage with appropriate examples. 20 (2 b/ 2022)

Suggest measures to minimize the influence of the researcher in the process of collecting data through focus group discussion. (3c/2022)

What is reliability? Explain the different tests available to social science researchers to establish reliability. 10 (4c/ 2022)   

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➡️Sociology Optional for UPSC : https://sleepyclasses.com/sociology-for-upsc/

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[nicnacsnonsense]

whenever I read your Mary&Stede meta, it's so much better than anything else out there, and I think I finally pinpointed why. it's because so many other metas write Mary completely out of character by denying her any sort of agency in her own life when she's married to Stede.

they paint her as helpless and trapped, while Stede has all the power to skip around town and do whatever he wants without consequence. she's long-suffering and subject to Stede's whims while he callously steals her family's land and sells it out from under her nose.

I read one headcanon about what if Mary and the kids went with Stede on the boat, but the entire premise behind it was because Mary was so afraid of Stede hurting her if she said no and I just...

Mary has never shown any sign of even being intimidated by Stede in canon. when she tried to kill him, it was because he was an inconvenience to her new life. if anything, Stede has canonically shown more fear of Mary than she ever has of him.

I don't understand how people can watch the episode that shows that they were both forced into this marriage against their wills, that they were both miserable and unhappy and hurting each other, and come away with the fervent belief that Mary is some kind of victim and that Stede is flaunting his power over her.

write what you want and all that, but when you've misinterpreted the characters so badly that they wouldn't be out of a place in an average Harlequin novel, why even bother with canon in the first place?

Oh wow. I've seen the take that Mary tried to kill Stede because she was afraid that he might attack her or the kids before, and it's... I don't agree with it because as you pointed out her behavior seems more consistent with her being frustrated with how he's an impediment to her new life, not someone who is afraid of the possibility of being violently lashed out at, but I can acknowledge that there is enough there that someone in Mary's position could be worried about that, though she's still a little quick to jump to murder here. But the idea that Mary was afraid of Stede before he even left is absurd. If she were afraid it would be because he's changed since he's come back and so she's now uncertain if aggressive behavior could be a possibility -- he did run away to become a pirate -- not because she's always lived in the shadow of possible violence from the man who likes to pick flowers and couldn't even bear to watch a goose get killed.

There are a handful of things I tend to see from people who do come in very pro-Mary. First they seem to start from the place that Stede is a man and Mary is a woman and therefore Stede holds the power and the privilege in the relationship, turning their relationship into a sociological phenomenon rather than considering it for the individual relationship it is first and using that to make conclusions about what sociological trends it speaks to (and as a side note, it's always about the gender power imbalance, never about the power imbalance between Stede as overtly queer and neurodivergent and Mary as seemingly straight and neurotypical). This then gets compounded by bringing in historically accurate facts about gender dynamics, despite the fact that this show is notorious for not being historically accurate at all in general, and Stede & Mary's relationship in particular not reflecting any sort of historical accuracy beyond being an arranged marriage for economic gain and the lack of divorce as an option.

This lens is also typically paired with the assumption that Mary has a full and accurate understanding of everything going on in their marriage and responds accordingly. Therefore anything Mary implies about Stede's behaviors, intentions, or motivations is always treated as being correct, and if Mary has an emotional reaction, that emotion must be justified. Any failure in communication is down to Stede not listening to Mary and not sharing with Mary; Mary's attempts to communicate with Stede are always as perfect as they can be given his lack of involvement.

Which given what I've seen and what you've seen, we've seemed to have hit both ends of the competence spectrum for sexist depictions of women. There's the agencyless Mary who is the helpless victim in her relationship with Stede, and there's the "women are wiser" Mary who is both perfectly practical and perfectly emotionally intelligence in all ways.

Mary and Stede are both flawed characters who got forced into an unhappy situation that resulted in them bringing out the worst in each other. It is, imo, a subplot about how heteronormativity (and all the other normativities that come as a part of that) makes things awful for everyone, actually. And I love that subplot and I love both Stede and Mary. I love them in part because Stede can be petty and bitchy and he's making his severe conflict avoidant nature everyone else's problem and because Mary can be spiteful and self-righteous and is down for murder to a disturbing degree.

[doubleleoenergy]

ii; BLUE BAYOU SERIES

Oh that boy of mine, by my side. The silver moon and the evening tide.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: TFAWS!Sam Wilson x fem!Reader

Summary: Sam and y/n go on their first date.

Word Count: 2326

Author’s Notes: I’m so excited for this series, please let me know any feedback you have!

Sam has been on many missions in his life, but none COMPARE to the nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach as he’s deciding what to wear. Why was it even this hard? It was just a date, he had been on plenty of dates in his life before his tours in the Air Force. Okay, maybe it WAS his first date since then, but did that mean the Wilson charm and composure was just gone, right?

He had helped at the docks that day, carrying in the new catch and helping take inventory of the stock they had to sell for the weekend, but he still couldn’t quite get y/n out of his mind. Sarah had been busy cooking and dropping off another large order for a family reunion downtown, so he hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to her about y/n or the DATE.

Sam had just dried off from the shower, grabbing a pair of clean Calvin Klein boxers and pulling them over his hips. Fingers fumbled with his phone, hitting the Facetime button next to Sarah’s contact and furrowing his brows as he waited for her to answer.

“Cass! AJ! No running PLEASE, come and set the table for dinner.” Sarah’s voice was yelling out past the phone and out of Sam’s vision, but her face popped up on the screen as she stood in the kitchen. “Hey Sam, got that date tonight huh?” Her face turns back towards the screen, a wide smile spreading across her lips.

“Yes, in an hour actually, which is why I called. It’s weird to wear a dress shirt, RIGHT?” He had a few options laid out on the bed, looking them over and scratching the back of his neck. “Sam, it’s summer in Louisiana, do YOU think it’s a good idea to wear a dress shirt?”

“Right...definitely don’t want to be sweating.” Not that he WASN’T already. “Let me show you what I have on the bed then, you know what women like.” Sarah chuckles. “Of course I do, I am a woman.” Sam flips the video screen so Sarah can look over the choices, catching a glimpse of AJ & Cass moving behind his sister to grab the food off the stove.

Sarah takes a moment, looking at the choices he’s laid out and thinking about the atmosphere at Thompson’s Kitchen. It wasn’t SUPER fancy, but also not just a bar and grill. “If I were you I’d go with the navy t-shirt, dark denim jeans, those black sneakers and...your brown suede jacket.” Sam pulls the pieces together as she’s talking, nodding his head in agreement. That was his favorite jacket, maybe it would bring him good luck.

“Mom, your dinner’s getting cold!” AJ calls out from the kitchen table, piling some green beans onto his plate. “Alright, Sam I gotta go. Just remember to relax, be yourself, and DON’T make this messy, I don’t want to have to stop going to the boxing gym because of you.” Sam chuckles, rolling his eyes at her words. As if he would mess up THAT bad. 

“Alright, I promise. Boys, be good for your mom tonight! Love you, Sis.” He waits for her to say it back before hanging up his phone, dropping it to the bed. He’s got the outfit all picked, now he just has to get himself ready and head OUT.

Y/N just finished curling the last strand of her hair, shaking out the loose curls and spraying them just slightly with hairspray. She is honestly EXCITED for this date, having not been out on a date since she was completing her Master’s. And besides, it didn’t hurt to get out of her apartment and find another spot in town for her to dine at during the week.

The ride the day before with Sarah was fine, both of them laughing at how Sam had TRIED to be smooth by asking her out. Sarah assured her that her brother was not some fuckboy she’d find if she had decided to download Tinder as she had almost done a week prior before Sarah had advised her against it.

She didn’t need time to pick out an outfit, most of her clothes from the move were work appropriate, only having a few outfits she could wear out on the town. She REALLY needed to go shopping if she was going to be spending more time out at night and on the weekends. Her days consisted of work and nights consisted of lying in bed watching reruns of New Girl or reading one of the many books she had bought at the bookstore down the street from her apartment. Y/N LOVED going out, but she hadn’t really gotten close to anyone but Sarah so far.

Her fingers smoothed out the lavender slip dress against her figure, the hem coming just above her knee. She quickly pulled on a pair of white Keds, fumbling through the jewelry on the dresser until you pulled out a pair of simple gold hoops to compliment her skin tone. She didn’t know how long they’d be out, and wearing anything heeled would not feel good after having worn her Steve Madden wedges at work all day.

“Perfect.” She smiles at herself in the mirror, swiping on a bit of chapstick before grabbing her purse and keys to walk out the front door.

Sam arrives at Thompson’s Kitchen and peaks inside, not seeing y/n anywhere at the bar or tables. He decides to grab them a table near the wall, taking off his jacket and setting it on the back of his chair. A waitress comes over to the table, a middle aged woman with the name tag “Elizabeth” on the top right hand of her maroon polo. “Welcome to Thompson’s Kitchen.” Her eyes look up from her notepad, smiling as she recognizes him.

“Well if it isn’t Captain America himself! What can I getcha darlin’?” He chuckles nervously, still not used to hearing himself called that in public. “I’m actually waiting on someone…” His voice trails off when he feels a burst of air from the door open, y/n emerging and scanning the room for her date. She looks PERFECT, the lavender dress draped beautifully against her body, the neckline sweeping low, but not low enough to be too revealing.

“And it looks like she’s just come in. Y/N!” He calls out, his voice making her turn and smile as she moved over to the table he was at. She gestured politely to the waitress, taking the seat across from him and setting her bag next to her feet on the floor.

She looks even more STUNNING up close, and he takes note of the Keds on her feet, glad that she didn’t wear heels. He definitely felt that they looked natural together, not over or underdressed for the occasion.

“Good Evening Miss.” The waitress pulled two menus from under her arm, setting them down on the table. “Could I get ya’ll started with something to drink?”

Y/N’s eyes scan over the list of drinks on the back of the menu, looking back up to the waitress. “I’ll get a bottle of Coors Light.” Sam smiles, he was a beer guy himself. 

“I’ll take a Miller Lite.” Sam watches as the waitress leaves, scanning over the menu again before looking back up to y/n. “I took you as more of a WINE girl.”

Y/N scrunches her nose, shaking her head. “Definitely NOT, wine tastes like nail polish remover to me. I can only really handle beer and some mixed drinks.” Her head tilts to the side, taking in the scent of his cologne. It was nice, a very woodsy smell with a HINT of orange. “What’s your go to liquor?”

Sam has already decided what he wants, having come to the restaurant quite a bit whenever he was in town. “Scotch, you?” He raises an eyebrow up at her. “Jack Daniels, preferably the honey kind, definitely nothing with cinnamon.” A love for whiskey and beer, already TWO things they had in common.

The waitress returns with their drinks, pulling out her notepad once again. “What’ll it be tonight?”

“I’ll have the crawfish étouffée, thank you.” Sam hands her the menu as she finishes jotting down his order, turning to y/n. “I’ll get your shrimp po’boy with a side of sweet potato fries please.” She shuts her menu and hands it to her, sitting up straighter in her seat.

The waitress walks off and the table goes silent briefly, both taking sips of their beer. Sam smiles softly, he doesn’t feel NERVOUS, just wondering what to ask her about first.

“So you said you just moved here, I’m assuming from Colorado?” He’s referring to her license plate that he noticed the day prior.

“Yeah, I used to live in Boulder but I got offered a great position at Northwood University after I graduated.” Her smile is so genuine with excitement, and Sam can’t help but smile wider at her. “Northwood University is great, quite the commute for you though. Are you a professor?” It was at least a forty minute drive from his place.

She takes another swig from her beer, nodding her head. “Definitely, but I didn’t want to live in the city, that would be way too much for me. BESIDES, a former colleague of mine used to live in this area and they highly recommended it to me.” Nails tap against the table as she hears a Fleetwood Mac song drifting out of the speakers overhead. “And yes, I’m a sociology professor, I just graduated with my PhD in sociology last Fall.” She’s very proud of herself and what she’s accomplished, having gone farther in school than anyone in her family.

Sam is taken aback, she was very impressive and clearly EXTREMELY intelligent. Brains and beauty. “Congratulations, I can tell you have a passion for what you do.” She nods, eyes meeting his brown hues. “Enough about me though, Sarah told me you used to be in the Air Force, said you were in two tours in Afghanistan?”

The waitress makes it back to their table, setting the food in front of them and asking if they need anything else. After they decline Sam takes a bite of his food, chewing thoughtfully before answering. “Yes I did.”

“What made you get out?” He stops his motions, taking a deep breath. “Actually, I lost my friend, RILEY, during a mission. Decided it was time to get out and...now I’m here.”

Y/N takes a bite of her po’boy, wiping at her mouth as the sauce spreads against the corner of her lip. “I’m sorry...I can imagine how hard that must’ve been.” She pauses, looking down at her plate, chewing softly on the inside of her cheek. “I actually lost my dad during that war...he was stationed with the military in Afghanistan after 9/11. About six months in him and his crew were headed to back to the BASE when their vehicle hit an IED, none of them survived...he served in the Kosova War before that.” She grabs a fry off her plate, chewing on it before looking back up at him.

Sam’s face grows solemn. “I’m sorry…” He feels connected to her through their shared stories, feeling a sense of relief that someone could UNDERSTAND him on a level that most couldn’t.

“It’s fine, I was only seven so I don’t remember it much…” She lied, she DID remember it. She remembered the call her mom got that day, how her mother fell to the floor, the scream that left her mouth embedded in her brain. Y/N remembered how she held her little sister tight to her chest, distracting her by singing Part of Your World, trying to keep her from crying, though she barely knew what was going on.

The conversation shifts as they finish their meals, talking about less serious topics; music they like, movies they’ve recently seen, places they’ve traveled. Y/N is nursing her second beer when the check arrives, immediately picking it up.

“No, y/n, give that to me.” Sam tries to pull it from her grasp but she moves it out of his way. “I’ll only offer to split it.” She HATED when others paid for anything, her mother always taught her to be independent and take care of HERSELF.

Sam can tell she won’t budge, handing her some cash from his wallet. “Fine...but at least let me also pay the tip. And I WILL pay next time.” He didn’t mean to let it slip, but y/n wasn’t bothered at all by the thought of a next time.

After paying, they excuse themselves from the table. Sam opens the door to the restaurant, letting y/n step under his arm to walk through before him.

“That was FUN.” She announced, tilting her head to look up at him. It’s not that late, but the moon was out, shining over the water as the waves crashed gently against the rocks near the shore.

“It was…” He hesitates, hand coming up to itch at the back of his neck. “I don’t suppose you’re up for some dessert?” He can SMELL her perfume when the wind blows, a sweet fragrance that tickles his nose.

Y/N smiles, she’s not ready to leave him just yet either. This was the most fun she’s EVER had on a date, and the easiest the conversation has ever flowed with someone. He was DIFFERENT. Her stomach did a somersault at that thought, she hadn’t let herself get this close to anyone in awhile. “I’m down for anything.”

Sam steps closer, hesitating before taking his hand in hers. It feels SMALL in his own, but fits perfectly in his grip. And just like that he’s not as nervous, she hadn’t pulled her hand away either, which was a good sign.

“Well then, I’ll lead the way.”

[sarita-daniele]

Hi, angel! Hope you're doing alright 💓 (hola ángel! También hablo español :) ) I was wondering if you could give some advices in starting out in an arts career?

Hola amigx, ¡perdón que nunca vi tu mensajito! I’m not on my Tumblr very often and definitely forget to check my messages. Luckily my favorite causita @luthienne told me you’d messaged me! 

I don’t know what arts discipline you’re in, so feel free to let me know if the advice I have doesn’t apply to you (and ignore it!). There are so many ways to build an arts career, but I’m happy to share some things I’ve learned through trial and error along the way. 

(Outrageously long post below break!)

Educate yourself in arts technique, but also study widely. 

Techniques are important in art, but only as important as the concepts behind them. When I was younger, I wowed people by drawing near-photographic portraits, but that technical talent and skill alone couldn’t make me a professional artist. Memorable artwork has not just a how, but a why. It isn’t just the object but the story behind the object, and the meaning of the object in the world. Art is about what interests you, what makes you think, what you most value and want to change in this world. So as you build an arts career, learn the techniques behind drawing, woodworking, casting, writing, music-making, whatever your discipline is, but take time, if you can, to also study history, sociology, anthropology, ecology, linguistics, politics, or whatever else you’re drawn to conceptually. Study as widely as you can. 

The studio art program I went through (a public university in the US) was very technique-forward; we signed up for classes according to technique, like printmaking or small metals, learned those techniques, completed technique-based assignments. Then I did a one-term exchange at arts university in the UK that was very concept-forward. We had no technical courses, just exhibition deadlines, and what mattered in critique was the concept. Both of these schools had their strengths and flaws, but what I learned was that, to be a practicing artist, I needed both technique and concepts that I genuinely cared about and could stand behind. If I could go back and change anything, I would probably take fewer studio courses (after graduating, I couldn’t afford access to a wood shop, metal shop, or expensive casting materials, and lost many of those skills) and more courses in sociology, Latin American studies, linguistics, ecology, anthropology, etc., because my artwork today centers on social justice, racial justice, Latinx stories and histories, educational access and justice, the politics of language, and community ethics. 

And please know that whenever I talk about seeking an education, I’m not talking solely about institutional spaces. College career tracks in the arts (BFA, MFA, etc., much less high-cost conservatory programs) are not accessible to everyone and aren’t the only way to establish an arts career. You can study technique and learn about the world using any educational space accessible to you: nonprofits that offer programming in your community, online resources, Continuing Education programs. And of course, self-education: read as much as you possibly can!

Know the value of your story. 

I come from a Cuban/Peruvian family and grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. My father’s family fled political violence surrounding the Cuban Revolution and came to the U.S. when he was a teenager. My mother was born in Brooklyn to Peruvian parents on work visas and moved back to Lima in her childhood. I grew up with these two cultures present and deeply embedded in our household, in our language, our food, our sense of humor, our sense of history. And yet, some residual assimilation trauma still affected me. I drifted towards the most American things, the whitest things, English authors and Irish music, in part because I enjoyed them but also because those were the things I saw valued in society. I wanted to fit in, wanted to be unique but not different, wanted to prove that I could navigate all spaces. The reality of marginalized identities in America is that our country tells us our identities are only valuable when they can be seen as exotic, while still kept inferior to the dominant, white American narrative (note that this “us” is a general statement, not meant to make assumptions about how you identify or what country you live in). 

But as an artist, all I have is my story, and who I am. I wasn’t willing to look at it directly. For years, I avoided doing so. It turns out, though, that I couldn’t actually begin my career until I reckoned with myself and learned to value everything about myself. To fully acknowledge my story, my history, my cultural reality, my sense of language, and my privileges. So I encourage young artists to look always inward, to ask questions about themselves, their families, and what made them who they are. 

The reason for doing this is to understand the source from which you make art.  Sometimes, however, for marginalized artists, the world warps this introspection into a trap, pigeonholing us into making art only “about” our identities, because that work is capital-I-Important to white audiences who want to tokenize our traumas. This is the white lens, and if anything, I try to understand myself as deeply as I can so that I can make art consciously for my community, not for that assumed white audience. 

Know that your career doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s, or like anything you’ve envisioned up to this point. 

As a high schooler I imagined that a life in the arts meant me in a studio, drawing and making, selling my work, getting exhibitions near and far, and gaining recognition. It was a solitary vision, one with a long history in the arts, rooted in the idea of individual genius. My career ended up completely different. Today, my arts projects involve teaching, collaborating, collecting interviews and oral histories, and creating public installations, rarely in traditional galleries or museums. 

As you work towards an arts career, figure out what does and doesn’t work for you: the kind of art you like and don’t like, the kinds of spaces that feel comfortable and those that don’t. I always thought I wanted to be part of traditional galleries, so I got a job working in a high-end art gallery in Boston during my grad program. Once in that space, however— even though I found the space calming and the work beautiful— I realized that there was something that I deeply disliked about the commodified art world. I didn’t like that we were selling art for over $10,000, that our exhibitions were geared exclusively towards collectors and wealthy art-buyers. The work was often technically masterful, but didn’t move or connect with me on a deeper level, and I realized that was because it wasn’t creating any change in the world. I liked work that shifted the needle, that made the world more inclusive and equitable, that centered marginalized stories (that gallery represented 90% white artists). I liked artwork that people made together, which drew me to collaborative art. I liked artwork that was accessible to everyone, not just the wealthy, which drew me to public art. I liked art exhibited in non-institutional spaces, which led me to community spaces. Since I was in an MFA for Creative Writing, I liked interdisciplinary art that engaged performance, technology, text, that was participatory and not just a 2D or 3D object. Figuring out all of these things led me to apply to my first major arts job: as a teaching artist in a community nonprofit that made art for social change in collaboration with local youth, in a predominantly Latinx neighborhood. 

My career path didn’t look like anything I expected, but I love it. The bulk of my income comes from teaching creative writing and art classes for nonprofits, working as a core member of a public arts nonprofit, and freelance consulting for book manuscripts. I love being an educator and consider it part of my creative practice. I love that I’m constantly collaborating with and talking to other artists. I love working with books and public art every day. I publish poetry, fiction, and literary translations, and exhibit artwork I’ve created in the studio and through funded opportunities. 

Fellow artists tell me often that I’m lucky, that my “day jobs” are all within the arts. But there are downsides to the way I’ve chosen to structure my career. I’m constantly balancing many projects, and my income is unstable. It’s difficult to save and plan towards the future,. I get by, but financial instability isn’t an option for many artists with families and dependents, with debts, medical expenses, and just isn’t the preferred lifestyle for a lot of people. I know artists who worked office jobs for years to support their practice and gain financial stability. I know artists who had entire careers as lawyers or accountants before becoming artists full time. I know artists who teach in public schools or work as substitute teachers. I know artists who are business owners and artists who work in policy and politics. I know artists who work in framing stores and shipping warehouses while being represented by galleries. These are all arts careers, and I admire every one of them. So as you build your career, don’t feel like it has to look like anyone’s else’s, like there’s anything you “should” be doing. Focus on the kind of artwork you want to make and what kind of work-life balance is best for you, then structure your career around that as best you can. 

Any job you use to support yourself can connect to an arts career!  

I get asked often by young people looking for jobs what kinds of jobs will best propel them towards an arts career. I believe that any kind of job can connect to and support an arts career, and I know that some suggestions out there in the arts world (like “get an unpaid internship at an art gallery!” or “become a studio apprentice to a well-known artist!”) assume a certain amount of privilege. So I want to break down how different kinds of jobs can connect to your art career: 

1) Jobs that allow for the flexibility and mental capacity to create. My friends who work restaurant jobs while going to auditions fall into this category. Who work as bartenders in evening so that they can be in the studio by day. Who dog-walk or babysit or nanny because the timing and flexibility allows for arts opportunities. My friends who are Lyft drivers or work in deliveries. These are often jobs outside of a creative field, but they can be beneficial because they don’t drain your creative batteries, so to speak. You still have your creative brain fully charged, and some jobs (like dog-walking) even allow for good mental processing (you can think through creative problems). As long as the job doesn’t drain you to the point where you have no energy at all, these kinds of jobs can be great because they allow time and space for your creative work. 

2) Jobs that place you in arts spaces, arts adjacent spaces, or spaces where you can learn about material/technique. My sculptor friends who work in hardware stores, quarries, foundries, or in construction. My printmaker friend who interned with graphic designers. My writer friends who work in bookstores and libraries, artists who work in art supply stores. My friend who worked with her dad’s painting company and got to improve her precision as a painter, which she then took back to the canvas. My teen students who get paid to work on murals or get stipend payments for making art at the nonprofit I work for. My filmmaker friends who worked on film crews. Friends who worked as theater ushers, in ticket sales, or as janitorial staff at museums. All of these jobs kept these artists adjacent to their artwork, whether through access to tools, materials, supplies, or books, through networking and conversations with other artists, or through skillsets that could enhance their art. 

3) Jobs that deeply engage another interest of yours, that bring you joy or can influence your work in other ways. If there’s a job that has nothing to do with your art but that you would love, do it! First, because I believe that the things we’re passionate about get integrated into our art, and second, because any job that gives you peace of mind and joy creates a positive base from which you can create. My friend who worked at a stable because she got to be around horses. My friends who worked at gyms or coaching sports because it kept them active. My friend who worked in a bike repair shop because he was obsessed with biking. An artist I knew who worked at the children’s science museum because she loved being around kids and planetariums. An artist who worked at a mineral store because rocks made her happy. If you have the opportunity, work doing things you like without worrying about whether it directly feeds your arts career.

Because believe it or not, all jobs you work can intersect in some way with your art. You’re creative— you find those connections! A Nobel-Prize winning poet helped his dad on the potato farm and wrote his best-known poem about it. Successful novelists have written about their time working in hair salons and convenience stores. A great printmaker I know who worked in a flower shop began weaving botanical forms and plant knowledge into her designs. The key in an arts career is to see all your experiences as valuable, to find ways that they can influence your art, and to be constantly thinking about and observing the world around you. 

As for me, I worked as a tennis instructor, a tennis court site supervisor, an academic advisor, an art gallery intern, and a coffee shop barista before and during my work in the arts!

Let go of objective measures of what it means to be good. 

I was always an academic overachiever. Top of my class, merit scholarships, science fair awards, AP credit overload, the whole thing. On the one hand, I grew up in a house where education was valued and celebrated, and my parents emphasized the importance of doing my best in school— not getting good grades, but working hard, doing my personal best, and reading and learning all I could. I loved school. I loved academics. And I’m not saying this to brag, but to lay the groundwork for something I struggled with in the arts.

It is jarring to be an academic overachiever and enter an arts career. I thrived off of objective value systems: study, work hard, get an A. If I worked hard and learned what I was supposed to learn, I earned recognition, validation, and opportunity. 

And then I entered the arts. The arts are entirely subjective. We hear it over and over— great artists get rejected hundreds of times, certain art forms require cutthroat competition, etc. —but it’s hard to understand the subjectivity of the art world (and the entrenched discrimination and commercial interests that affect who gets opportunities and who doesn’t) until you’re trying to live as an artist. That you can work hard on something, give all of your time and physical effort and mental and emotional energy to it, only to have it rejected. That what you think is good isn’t what another person thinks is good. That there is a magical alchemy in the act of creation that can’t be taught, or learned, but must be felt, and that you can be working to find that light while actively others try to extinguish it. That you can be good and work hard, yet still not get chosen for the awards, the exhibitions, the publications. If you chased being “the best” your whole life, you’re now in a world where there is no “best”, where greatness is subjective, where the idea of competitive greatness is actually detrimental to artists supporting each other, and where work that sells or connects to white, cishetero traditions is still the most valued. 

After struggling with this for a long time, I came to the conclusion that the most important thing to me now is making the art I want to make, the art only I can make, whether or not it fits what arts industries are looking for or what’s going to win awards. If I make art I believe in from a healthy mental and emotional place, doors will open, even if they aren’t the doors I expected. So try to let go of any sense that worth comes from external validation. Learn to accept critical feedback when it is given kindly, thoughtfully, and constructively. Surround yourself with friends and artists who who can talk to about your work, who build up your work and help you think through it rather than cutting you down. Don’t believe anyone in the arts world who thinks they get to be the arbiters of what’s “good” and who has “what it takes”. People have probably said things like that to the artists you most admire, and if they’d listened, you wouldn’t have experienced art that changed your life. 

Work to gain skills in basic business, marketing, and finances for artists. 

Many artists (at least where I am in the U.S.) go through an entire arts education without receiving resources or training in the financial side of the arts world. Your arts career will likely involve some degree of self-promotion and marketing, creating project budgets and grant proposals, artist statements and bios, sorting out taxes, and other economic elements. I can’t speak to other countries, but for artists in the U.S., taxes can be extremely complex. If you’re awarded a stipend, grant, fellowship, or employed for gigs or one-time projects, you’ll likely be taxed as an independent contractor and have to deduct your own taxes. Through residencies and exhibitions, you may pull income in multiple states and countries, which can also affect taxation. If you’re an artist who doesn’t have access to resources about finance and taxation in your arts program or who doesn’t independently have expertise in those fields, I recommend finding ways to educate yourself early: online resources, low cost courses, or even just taking your financially-savvy friends out for a coffee!

ANYWAY SORRY FOR THE LONG POST I HOPE SOMETHING IN THIS DIATRIBE WAS HELPFUL I HOPE THERE WEREN’T TOO MANY TYPOS AND I hope you have the most wonderful, fulfilling arts career! <3 

[xenbiology]

I work with a rescue as a foster caretaker, and we recently got in a bunch of Silkies removed from an unlicensed mill, so I'll be taking in a few soon. This is the first time I've had one that wasn't already socialized (ie. turned over from a wealthy family that didn't know what they were getting into), and in that case, the Silky was old enough that they didn't get up to much mischief, and only wound up staying with me for a few days. Do you have any advice for handling them safely? I've got plenty of experience with general Headcrab care, but, y'know, this is a special case.

Oh boy... the poor guys. Silkies are a pain and a half to care for, especially an unsocialized one.

Below the cut once more, since this got long!

I’m sure you’ve already done some research, but the most important thing to watch for with silkies is injury. Even something as simple as the corner of furniture can cut them pretty bad, because of the thinness of their skin. Because they get injuries so easily, and injuries are usually worse than normal, silkies are very prone to infections (and worse case scenarios, blood loss from even ‘minor’ injuries).

Young, rowdy, or otherwise skittish silkies can easily hurt themselves on simple furniture, or even on themselves. If they’re not already, you must file their claws and put beak caps on them.

Abscesses can become a problem if small injuries aren’t treated, or their environment isn’t clean. Keeping a clean, safe, soft environment is key with silkies- especially the clean part. Not only are they more prone to infections, inbreeding in the population has led to immunodeficiencies (as well as a whole host of other problems), meaning that they can get sick quite easily. Making sure everything is sanitary and their space is nice and clean is very important!

The issue then arises with the fact that, if they’re unsocialized and skittish, it can be very, very hard to properly file, trim, treat, and clean them and their space.

As much as I hate to say it- if they’re not already filed and capped, I would recommend finding a gentle way to capture and restrain them, and do it immediately. With any luck, they will find the process uncomfortable at best, and not downright terrifying. They certainly won’t like it, but it’ll keep them safe enough until you can properly socialize them, and make the process much, much easier.

As far as physically handling a silky- it’s the same as with any other crab, but try to be as gentle as possible, since they bruise very easily. If possible, try to use a blanket or towel instead of your bare hands, as even a very firm or tight grip can bruise them.

Once they are trimmed and capped, I recommend keeping them together in a single room with any dangerous objects removed, lots of soft toys, bedding, and hiding places. They need all the same thing as other breeds, but extra bedding, since they can get cold a bit easier.

Silkies don’t do well with other crabs, as other crabs can easily injure their castmates on accident, even while just playing. Keeping silkies with other silkies is a much better option, and keeping silkies alone with just people is the best. But considering they seem to have been raised together, keeping them together will make them much less stressed.

Another thing to note is the room should have lots of dark places to hide, and if there’s any windows, some curtains will do wonders. Though any crab can get sunburn, it’s especially nasty on these guys.

While they’re in their room, you can work on gaining their trust first and foremost to make the care process much easier. Same process as any other crab- time, treats, and exposure!

Hopefully by the time they’re properly used to you, they’re probably old enough not to get into too much trouble if you let them wander the rest of the house. Start with removing anything particularly sharp just in case, and keep some supervision on them until you’re sure they won’t find a way to hurt themselves, hah. They’re quite good at that.

If you plan on rehoming them, it’s important to get them used to other people. Their socialization is the same as any other skittish crab- start small with just friends and family visitors, and work up to their comfort level. The only difference is, again, a silkie’s aversion to sun and sharp objects. They should never be let outside, even on walks, as just sticks and concrete can hurt their feet and skin. The best way I’ve found to get them used to new sights and smells and sounds is one of those screened-in baby/pet strollers and carriers. It’s soft, provides comfort, shade, and keeps them from getting out. Honestly? I use this method for all of my crabs starting out. The only difference is that silkies don’t ever graduate to ‘walking on their own not in a carrier’... usually.

If they’re comfortable with it, it’s also possible to put little outfits on them to keep them warm, safe from the sun, and greatly reduce their risk of injury- including little boots to keep their feet safe if you think they would benefit from going on a real walk. Just make sure the fabric is soft and comfortable!

Other than the obvious, it’s important to just... keep an eye on them. All purebred crabs have an increased risk of health complications, but unfortunately, silkies have it bad. Bad immune systems, skin problems, infections, heart problems, and even complete blindness are all relatively common due to low genetic diversity. It’s doubly important to get them regularly checked out by a veterinarian to catch things while they’re early and treatable.

Aside from all of that- a silkie’s behavior is almost identical to that of any other crab. They might need slightly more protein and fats in their diet to keep them warm, but if you’re keeping them in a heated environment, it’s not a huge issue. They don’t require any other special foods, enrichment, or sociological treatment. They’re simply crabs who have a bad habit of getting hurt and sick, so you have to keep an extra eye on them!

Best of luck, and if you have any more complications, feel free to ask me (right after you consult your vet, of course).

[whitehotharlots]

Woke liberals and the occult

You may have noticed recently a proliferation of identity-centric liberals who also embrace magic and mysticism. They often, for example, argue (completely ahistorically) that belief in astrology is an inherently feminine practice, and so mocking someone for believing in fairies or wood nymphs or whatever is a sign of toxic masculinity. Where, you might wonder, does this come from? 

I've been wanting to write something about this for a long time, but it would take a lot of work, and attaching my real name to any such piece would make me unemployable. Here's some raw notes:

Legitimizing the occult allows authoritarian feminists to exert power over the people they dislike, and to do so in a way that nominally exempts them from the problematics of engaging in straight-up carceral feminism or other regressive politics. And I don’t mean this in a metaphoric or loose sense. There’s real-life precedence of authoritarian feminists doing exactly this.

Satan's Silence (1995), a book by Debbie Nathan and Michael Snedeker, does an excellent job of detailing many prominent iterations of the 1980's "Satanic" sex panic. Their work displays some concerning parallels between the 80′s panic the current sex panic gripping the mainstream left.

Nathan and Snedeker unflinchingly connect the 80's-era satanic sex panic (SSP) to an alliance between authoritarian feminists and weirdo conservatives who worked in psychology and sociology. Pointedly, these tendencies were not native to earlier generations of feminism, but came about when creeps from other fields made a politically opportune pivot. One of the key architects of early SSP was Dr. Roland Summit, a Freudian psychiatrist who was the head physician at LA County’s child protection services in the 70’s. Early in his career, Summit was renowned for being sympathetic toward incestuous fathers, whom he believed were driven to rape their children due to the inadequacy of their wives.

This sounds unbelievable, I know. But bear in mind, up until pretty recently, sex crimes were conceptually medicalized, understood as mental disorders rather than as pure violence. “Rape is about power, not sex” may be the first principle for all contemporary analysis of sexual assault, but back then, experts were more keen on understanding these acts as stemming from purely sexual perversions. (This might make the outrageousness of that Abducted in Plain Sight documentary a bit more explicable). Dr. Summit didn’t exonerate incestuous fathers, but he did view parent-child attraction as a fixable disorder that stemmed from the breakdown of the traditional family structure. His beliefs were echoed by many prominent child abuse prevention programs, which tended to have “a strong bias toward preserving marriages” (22): the belief being that strong, two-parent families would result in a sort of psychological equanimity that would blot out any inclinations toward sexual abuse.

Of course, this is the opposite of first and second-wave feminist thought, which almost universally regarded traditional families as incubators of violence. However, prominent anti-violence feminists of the early 80’s “were willing to excuse these gaffes for various reasons. For one, they knew they could not get the government to support antidomestic violence efforts if they talked about skewered power, whether it derived from maldistribution of wealth or, even more unmentionably, from patriarchal inequality” (22). The psychology-dominated violence prevention agencies may have been patriarchal, but they had ample funding, and tremendous amounts of social clout. Most importantly, they had raw power: they could take away a family’s kids, and they could put men in jail.

If I was writing a longer piece, I’d include a caveat here that of course we shouldn’t conflate regular feminists with authoritarian feminists and point out the obvious conflicts going on here. But let’s just look at one of the authoritarians real quick: Judith Herman. Herman was one of the loudest and least repentant of the Satanic Panic/Repressed Memory therapy grifters, and she became involved with Summit’s institute in the late 70’s. She was drawn to the pro-family rehab programs because of their ability to retool male behavior and make men regard all of their sexual impulses as sources of shame. She even approvingly compared these men’s therapy sessions with “forced political reeducation programs in revolutionary societies” (23). (If you’re at all familiar with wokeism in the late twenty-teens, you already know how much shaming and reconditioning are considered the means and ends of feminist praxis.)

The authoritarian feminist/pro-family psychology alliance was based on a simple proposition: abusive men could submit to re-education therapy, or they could go to prison for a very long time. The former option was of course the one most chosen, and suddenly a carceral program based on regressive notions of sexuality and domesticity was given a woke gloss. This set the stage for the full-bore panic, and segues neatly to another tenet of our contemporary sex panic: the supposed moral imperative to believe every account proffered by every victim, no matter how implausible or impossible their stories may be. (Unless, it turns out, the accused is a prominent neoliberal Democrat).

Summit believed that, in his own words, “children never fabricate the kinds of explicit sexual manipulations they divulge in complaints or interrogations.” This meant not only that kids should be believed if they, for example, say their mom and dad murdered 20 babies in front of them, but that it was okay to foster a therapeutic environment in which caseworkers asked leading questions to coerce these kinds of stories out of kids. A father could find himself in counseling for something heavy (beating his wife) or minor (drinking too much and yelling), his kid could run into a caseworker who got them to describe profane abuse, and then the dad had a choice: he could admit to every allegation and enter into reeducation, or he could face multiple felony charges. This led, naturally, to an explosion of such cases. And the hucksters who had installed this system had created a feedback loop that validated their practices.

Demonology and other superstitions could easily infiltrate this milieu. Behavior modification programs have always been cult-like. Entering into them requires patients and practitioners to suspend all forms of critical thought that may undermine the group’s practices and presumptions. Once an empowered group loses all recourse to rationality and critical thought, it becomes quickly indecent. Absurd assumptions snowball. What were once understood as misplaced libidinal drives become overtaken by ghosts and devils. Family violence and personal unhappiness are caused not by social structures or simple interpersonal conflict, but by the presence of mystical evil. And it all makes sense to the people who are caught up in it: what good is empiricism, after all, when we are battling demons?

I could say a lot more here, but I encourage you look up the figures I've mentioned in this piece. To this day, Debbie Nathan is a pariah in most feminist spaces, while Judith Herman is a celebrated mental health professional who has received multiple awards from prestigious organizations. The latter's work led to dozens of people going to prison and thousands of children being badly traumatized, while the former did nothing more malignant than document professional abuse. When neurotic but marginalized people formulate a way to glom on the violence of powerful organizations, they are heavily rewarded. Other vicious idiots rush in and seize the opportunity to harm the people they hate. Sometimes their anger is righteous, sometimes it's entirely misplaced, but that's all beside the point. The point is power. Occult bullshit is an easy way for violent people to hurt others.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

* * * *

The COVID crisis has reduced to tatters the idea of American exceptionalism. The American cult of the individual denies not just community but the very idea of society. No one owes anything to anyone. All must be prepared to fight for everything: education, shelter, food, medical care. What every prosperous and successful democracy deems to be fundamental rights — universal health care, equal access to quality public education, a social safety net for the weak, elderly, and infirmed — America dismisses as socialist indulgences, as if so many signs of weakness.

COVID-19 attacks our physical bodies, but also the cultural foundations of our lives, the toolboxes of community and connectivity. COVID-19 killed 100,000 Americans in four months. Pandemics and plagues have a way of shifting the course of history, and not always in a manner immediately evident to the survivors. The COVID pandemic will be remembered as such a moment. COVID has reduced to tatters the illusion of American exceptionalism.

In the wake of the WW2, with Europe and Japan in ashes, the United States with but 6 percent of the world’s population accounted for half of the global economy, including the production of 93 percent of all automobiles. Such economic dominance birthed a vibrant middle class, a trade union movement that allowed a single breadwinner with limited education to own a home and a car, support a family, and send his kids to good schools. It was not by any means a perfect world but affluence allowed for a truce between capital and labor, a reciprocity of opportunity in a time of rapid growth and declining income inequality, marked by high tax rates for the wealthy, who were by no means the only beneficiaries of a golden age of American capitalism.

But freedom and affluence came with a price. The United States, virtually a demilitarized nation on the eve of the Second World War, never stood down in the wake of victory. To this day, American troops are deployed in 150 countries. Since the 1970s, China has not once gone to war; the U.S. has not spent a day at peace. President Jimmy Carter recently noted that in its 242-year history, America has enjoyed only 16 years of peace, making it, as he wrote, “the most warlike nation in the history of the world.” Since 2001, the U.S. has spent over $6 trillion on military operations and war, money that might have been invested in the infrastructure of home. China, meanwhile, built its nation, pouring more cement every three years than America did in the entire 20th century.

More than any other country, the United States in the post-war era lionized the individual at the expense of community and family. It was the sociological equivalent of splitting the atom. What was gained in terms of mobility and personal freedom came at the expense of common purpose. In wide swaths of America, the family as an institution lost its grounding. By the 1960s, 40 percent of marriages were ending in divorce. Only six percent of American homes had grandparents living beneath the same roof as grandchildren; elders were abandoned to retirement homes.

With slogans like “24/7” celebrating complete dedication to the workplace, men and women exhausted themselves in jobs that only reinforced their isolation from their families. The average American father spends less than 20 minutes a day in direct communication with his child.

Only half of Americans report having meaningful, face-to-face social interactions on a daily basis. The nation consumes two-thirds of the world’s production of antidepressant drugs. The collapse of the working-class family has been responsible in part for an opioid crisis that has displaced car accidents as the leading cause of death for Americans under 50.

At the root of this transformation and decline lies an ever-widening chasm between Americans who have and those who have little or nothing. Economic disparities exist in all nations, creating a tension that can be as disruptive as the inequities are unjust. In any number of settings, however, the negative forces tearing apart a society are mitigated or even muted if there are other elements that reinforce social solidarity — religious faith, the strength and comfort of family, the pride of tradition, fidelity to the land, a spirit of place.

But when all the old certainties are shown to be lies, when the promise of a good life for a working family is shattered as factories close and corporate leaders, growing wealthier by the day, ship jobs abroad, the social contract is irrevocably broken. For two generations, America has celebrated globalization with iconic intensity, when, as any working man or woman can see, it’s nothing more than capital on the prowl in search of ever cheaper sources of labor.

For many years, those on the conservative right in the United States have invoked a nostalgia for the 1950s, and an America that never was, but has to be presumed to have existed to rationalize their sense of loss and abandonment, their fear of change, their bitter resentments and lingering contempt for the social movements of the 1960s, a time of new aspirations for women, gays, and people of color. In truth, at least in economic terms, the country of the 1950s resembled Denmark as much as the America of today. Marginal tax rates for the wealthy were 90 percent. The salaries of CEOs were, on average, just 20 times that of their mid-management employees.

Today, the base pay of those at the top is commonly 400 times that of their salaried staff, with many earning orders of magnitude more in stock options and perks. The elite one percent of Americans control $30 trillion of assets, while the bottom half have more debt than assets. The three richest Americans have more money than the poorest 160 million of their countrymen. Fully a fifth of American households have zero or negative net worth, a figure that rises to 37 percent for black families. The median wealth of black households is a tenth that of whites. The vast majority of Americans — white, black, and brown — are two paychecks removed from bankruptcy. Though living in a nation that celebrates itself as the wealthiest in history, most Americans live on a high wire, with no safety net to brace a fall.

With the COVID crisis, 40 million Americans lost their jobs, and 3.3 million businesses shut down, including 41 percent of all black-owned enterprises. Black Americans, who significantly outnumber whites in federal prisons despite being but 13 percent of the population, are suffering shockingly high rates of morbidity and mortality, dying at nearly three times the rate of white Americans. The cardinal rule of American social policy — don’t let any ethnic group get below the blacks, or allow anyone to suffer more indignities — rang true even in a pandemic, as if the virus was taking its cues from American history.

COVID-19 didn’t lay America low; it simply revealed what had long been forsaken. As the crisis unfolded, with another American dying every minute of every day, a country that once turned out fighter planes by the hour could not manage to produce the paper masks or cotton swabs essential for tracking the disease.

As a number of countries moved expeditiously to contain the virus, the United States stumbled along in denial, as if willfully blind. With less than four percent of the global population, the U.S. soon accounted for more than a fifth of COVID deaths. The percentage of American victims of the disease who died was six times the global average.

Americans remain almost bizarrely incapable of seeing what has actually become of their country. The republic that defined the free flow of information as the life blood of democracy, today ranks 45th among nations when it comes to press freedom. In a complete abandonment of the collective good, U.S. laws define freedom as an individual’s inalienable right to own a personal arsenal of weaponry, a natural entitlement that trumps even the safety of children; in the past decade alone 346 American students and teachers have been shot on school grounds.