#the ratings increase 0.2%

[unknought]

In 2007 the US Department of Housing and Urban Development started reporting homelessness rates:

As you can see in this chart (from Statista) there was a fairly steady decrease in the number of homeless people from then until 2016. It flattened out for a couple years in 2017 and 2018, and then rose in 2019 and 2020. No data was collected in 2021 (due to COVID) and the increase from 2020 to 2022 was negligible, so one might hope based on the data from this chart that the upward trend was flipping around, and that by now by now it might be on its way back down, but this does not appear to be the case.

For 2023 the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported a homelessness count of 653,104. This is a dramatic increase which blows previous annual changes out of the water. It's a 12.1% increase relative to 2022, an 18.7% increase relative to the low in 2016, and the highest absolute number of homeless people since data started being collected in 2007.

So this is one way, at least, in which standard economic metrics being up has not translated to people doing well.

An objection one can make here is that even this new high is only about 0.2% of the national population, and while things may have gotten worse for the people in the very worst of economic straits, this doesn't say much about what things are like for the rest of us.

I agree with this up to a point. (Probably not the implied argument about what we should care about but let's not get into that for now.) It's probably true that homelessness rates don't shed a lot of light on how the median American is doing. But I think they are relevant to the well-being of a lot more than 0.2% of the population.

Even though only a small proportion of Americans are homeless at any given time, there a lot more for whom the threat of homelessness looms very large in their financial considerations, not irrationally. More people who are homeless probably means more people who can just barely make rent as long as they skip a few meals, more people who stay with an abuser because they wouldn't have anywhere else to stay, more people who can't quit their job to find a better one because they couldn't afford to miss a month's rent, more people who can't move out of a mold-infested apartment, more people who are just struggling with anxiety about whether they're going to be able to make rent every month. It also almost certainly means more people couch-surfing and more people who were homeless for part of the year that happened not to include late January, neither of which would be counted in the official statistics.

How much of an impact does this end up meaning, on how many people? I'm pretty unsure, but here's a suggestive statistic from the Federal Reserve:

> Challenges paying rent increased in 2023. The median monthly rent payment was $1,100 in 2023, up 10 percent from 2022. In addition, 19 percent of renters reported being behind on their rent at some point in the past year, up 2 percentage points from 2022.

It seems at least very plausible to me that claims about how great the US economy is doing merit a substantial asterisk.

[she-is-ovarit]

Has anyone actually looked into trans suicide rates?

This Amsterdam study, which ranged from 1972–2017 and included 8263 referrals, explored the overall suicide death rate and the stage in transition that suicides were observed.

Out of that big number across 48 years, only 42 transwomen (out of 5107) and 8 transmen (out of 3156) died by suicide.

While the suicide rate didn't increase over time, it still was higher than the general population and occurred at every stage of transitioning (pre-treatment, during hormonal treatment, surgical phase, post-treatment).

Trans rights activists are urgent to usher kids into gender identity clinics, but there was actually less suicide for youth in pre-treatment than for adults:

Four suicide deaths occurred in individuals who were referred to the clinic before the age of 18 (0.2%), which is a lower risk than in adults (0.7%, P = 0.010)

The study mentions that suicide rates for transwomen post treatment decreased slightly but for transmen transitioning made no difference in their suicide rate.

In trans women, suicide death rates decreased slightly over time (per year: HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.93–0.99), while it did not change in trans men (per year: HR 1.10, 95% CI 0.97–1.25). Adjustment for age at the first visit did not change these numbers.

So this population of people was essentially scared mongered that if they didn't transition they would kill themselves and yet trans-identifying youth pre-treatment actually committed less suicide than adults, transwomen adults had high risk of death by suicide which tracks for the male sex as a whole, and transitioning had zero positive impact on transmen's suicide rates.

[truth-has-a-liberal-bias]

...

Two things are driving the divide between how homeowners and renters experience inflation.

First, while most homeowners’ monthly payments have not risen, the cost of renting has surged. Rent jumped 11% in 2022 from the year before. It also climbed higher in 2023, although at a significantly slower pace. Rent prices increased just 0.2% last year, according to Realtor.com.

As of November, the price of rent nationally was up 22% compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to Realtor.com.

Meanwhile, because most homeowners have a fixed-rate loan, their costs have not changed even as mortgage rates have soared during the Fed’s historic effort to rein in inflation. [...]

[ausetkmt]

Where It’s Most Dangerous to Be Black in America

Black Americans made up 13.6% of the US population in 2022 and 54.1% of the victims of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, aka homicide. That works out, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, to a homicide rate of 29.8 per 100,000 Black Americans and four per 100,000 of everybody else.(1)

A homicide rate of four per 100,000 is still quite high by wealthy-nation standards. The most up-to-date statistics available from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show a homicide of rate one per 100,000 in Canada as of 2019, 0.8 in Australia (2021), 0.4 in France (2017) and Germany (2020), 0.3 in the UK (2020) and 0.2 in Japan (2020).

But 29.8 per 100,000 is appalling, similar to or higher than the homicide rates of notoriously dangerous Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. It also represents a sharp increase from the early and mid-2010s, when the Black homicide rate in the US hit new (post-1968) lows and so did the gap between it and the rate for everybody else. When the homicide rate goes up, Black Americans suffer disproportionately. When it falls, as it did last year and appears to be doing again this year, it is mostly Black lives that are saved.

As hinted in the chart, racial definitions have changed a bit lately; the US Census Bureau and other government statistics agencies have become more open to classifying Americans as multiracial. The statistics cited in the first paragraph of this column are for those counted as Black or African American only. An additional 1.4% of the US population was Black and one or more other race in 2022, according to the Census Bureau, but the CDC Wonder (for “Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research”) databases from which most of the statistics in this column are drawn don’t provide population estimates or calculate mortality rates for this group. My estimate is that its homicide rate in 2022 was about six per 100,000.

A more detailed breakdown by race, ethnicity and gender reveals that Asian Americans had by far the lowest homicide rate in 2022, 1.6, which didn’t rise during the pandemic, that Hispanic Americans had similar homicide rates to the nation as a whole and that men were more than four times likelier than women to die by homicide in 2022. The biggest standout remained the homicide rate for Black Americans. 

Black people are also more likely to be victims of other violent crime, although the differential is smaller than with homicides. In the 2021 National Crime Victimization Survey from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (the 2022 edition will be out soon), the rate of violent crime victimization was 18.5 per 1,000 Black Americans, 16.1 for Whites, 15.9 for Hispanics and 9.9 for Asians, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders. Understandably, Black Americans are more concerned about crime than others, with 81% telling Pew Research Center pollsters before the 2022 midterm elections that violent crime was a “very important” issue, compared with 65% of Hispanics and 56% of Whites.

These disparities mainly involve communities caught in cycles of violence, not external predators. Of the killers of Black Americans in 2020 whose race was known, 89.4% were Black, according to the FBI. That doesn’t make those deaths any less of a tragedy or public health emergency. Homicide is seventh on the CDC’s list of the 15 leading causes of death among Black Americans, while for other Americans it’s nowhere near the top 15. For Black men ages 15 to 39, the highest-risk group, it’s usually No. 1, although in 2022 the rise in accidental drug overdoses appears to have pushed accidents just past it. For other young men, it’s a distant third behind accidents and suicides.

To be clear, I do not have a solution for this awful problem, or even much of an explanation. But the CDC statistics make clear that sky-high Black homicide rates are not inevitable. They were much lower just a few years ago, for one thing, and they’re far lower in some parts of the US than in others. Here are the overall 2022 homicide rates for the country’s 30 most populous metropolitan areas.

Metropolitan areas are agglomerations of counties by which economic and demographic data are frequently reported, but seldom crime statistics because the patchwork of different law enforcement agencies in each metro area makes it so hard. Even the CDC, which gets its mortality data from state health departments, doesn’t make it easy, which is why I stopped at 30 metro areas.(2)

Sorting the data this way does obscure one key fact about homicide rates: They tend to be much higher in the main city of a metro area than in the surrounding suburbs.

But looking at homicides by metro area allows for more informative comparisons across regions than city crime statistics do, given that cities vary in how much territory they cover and how well they reflect an area’s demographic makeup. Because the CDC suppresses mortality data for privacy reasons whenever there are fewer than 10 deaths to report, large metro areas are good vehicles for looking at racial disparities. Here are the 30 largest metro areas, ranked by the gap between the homicide rates for Black residents and for everybody else.

The biggest gap by far is in metropolitan St. Louis, which also has the highest overall homicide rate. The smallest gaps are in metropolitan San Diego, New York and Boston, which have the lowest homicide rates. Homicide rates are higher for everybody in metro St. Louis than in metro New York, but for Black residents they’re six times higher while for everyone else they’re just less than twice as high.

There do seem to be some regional patterns to this mayhem. The metro areas with the biggest racial gaps are (with the glaring exception of Portland, Oregon) mostly in the Rust Belt, those with the smallest are mostly (with the glaring exceptions of Boston and New York) in the Sun Belt. Look at a map of Black homicide rates by state, and the highest are clustered along the Mississippi River and its major tributaries. Southern states outside of that zone and Western states occupy roughly the same middle ground, while the Northeast and a few middle-of-the-country states with small Black populations are the safest for their Black inhabitants.(3)

Metropolitan areas in the Rust Belt and parts of the South stand out for the isolation of their Black residents, according to a 2021 study of Census data from Brown University’s Diversity and Disparities Project, with the average Black person living in a neighborhood that is 60% or more Black in the Detroit; Jackson, Mississippi; Memphis; Chicago; Cleveland and Milwaukee metro areas in 2020 (in metro St. Louis the percentage was 57.6%). Then again, metro New York and Boston score near the top on another of the project’s measures of residential segregation, which tracks the percentage of a minority group’s members who live in neighborhoods where they are over-concentrated compared with White residents, so segregation clearly doesn’t explain everything.

Looking at changes over time in homicide rates may explain more. Here’s the long view for Black residents of the three biggest metro areas. Again, racial definitions have changed recently. This time I’ve used the new, narrower definition of Black or African American for 2018 onward, and given estimates in a footnote of how much it biases the rates upward compared with the old definition.

All three metro areas had very high Black homicide rates in the 1970s and 1980s, and all three experienced big declines in the 1990s and 2000s. But metro Chicago’s stayed relatively high in the early 2010s then began a rebound in mid-decade that as of 2021 had brought the homicide rate for its Black residents to a record high, even factoring in the boost to the rate from the definitional change.

What happened in Chicago? One answer may lie in the growing body of research documenting what some have called the “Ferguson effect,” in which incidents of police violence that go viral and beget widespread protests are followed by local increases in violent crime, most likely because police pull back on enforcement. Ferguson is the St. Louis suburb where a 2014 killing by police that local prosecutors and the US Justice Department later deemed to have been in self-defense led to widespread protests that were followed by big increases in St. Louis-area homicide rates. Baltimore had a similar viral death in police custody and homicide-rate increase in 2015. In Chicago, it was the October 2014 shooting death of a teenager, and more specifically the release a year later of a video that contradicted police accounts of the incident, leading eventually to the conviction of a police officer for second-degree murder.

It’s not that police killings themselves are a leading cause of death among Black Americans. The Mapping Police Violence database lists 285 killings of Black victims by police in 2022, and the CDC reports 209 Black victims of “legal intervention,” compared with 13,435 Black homicide victims. And while Black Americans are killed by police at a higher rate relative to population than White Americans, this disparity — 2.9 to 1 since 2013, according to Mapping Police Violence — is much less than the 7.5-to-1 ratio for homicides overall in 2022. It’s the loss of trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve that seems to be disproportionately deadly for Black residents of those communities.

The May 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer was the most viral such incident yet, leading to protests nationwide and even abroad, as well as an abortive local attempt to disband and replace the police department. The Minneapolis area subsequently experienced large increases in homicides and especially homicides of Black residents. But nine other large metro areas experienced even bigger increases in the Black homicide rate from 2019 to 2022.

A lot of other things happened between 2019 and 2022 besides the Floyd protests, of course, and I certainly wouldn’t ascribe all or most of the pandemic homicide-rate increase to the Ferguson effect. It is interesting, though, that the St. Louis area experienced one of the smallest percentage increases in the Black homicide rate during this period, and it decreased in metro Baltimore.

Also interesting is that the metro areas experiencing the biggest percentage increases in Black residents’ homicide rates were all in the West (if your definition of West is expansive enough to include San Antonio). If this were confined to affluent areas such as Portland, Seattle, San Diego and San Francisco, I could probably spin a plausible-sounding story about it being linked to especially stringent pandemic policies and high work-from-home rates, but that doesn’t fit Phoenix, San Antonio or Las Vegas, so I think I should just admit that I’m stumped.

The standout in a bad way has been the Portland area, which had some of the longest-running and most contentious protests over policing, along with many other sources of dysfunction. The area’s homicide rate for Black residents has more than tripled since 2019 and is now second highest among the 30 biggest metro areas after St. Louis. Again, I don’t have any real solutions to offer here, but whatever the Portland area has been doing since 2019 isn’t working.

(1) The CDC data for 2022 are provisional, with a few revisions still being made in the causes assigned to deaths (was it a homicide or an accident, for example), but I’ve been watching for weeks now, and the changes have been minimal. The CDC is still using 2021 population numbers to calculate 2022 mortality rates, and when it updates those, the homicide rates will change again, but again only slightly. The metropolitan-area numbers also don’t reflect a recent update by the White House Office of Management and Budget to its list of metro areas and the counties that belong to them, which when incorporated will bring yet more small mortality-rate changes. To get these statistics from the CDC mortality databases, I clicked on “Injury Intent and Mechanism” and then on “Homicide”; in some past columns I instead chose “ICD-10 Codes” and then “Assault,” which delivered slightly different numbers.

(2) It’s easy to download mortality statistics by metro area for the years 1999 to 2016, but the databases covering earlier and later years do not offer this option, and one instead has to select all the counties in a metro area to get area-wide statistics, which takes a while.

(3) The map covers the years 2018-2022 to maximize the number of states for which CDC Wonder will cough up data, although as you can see it wouldn’t divulge any numbers for Idaho, Maine, Vermont and Wyoming (meaning there were fewer than 10 homicides of Black residents in each state over that period) and given the small numbers involved, I wouldn’t put a whole lot of stock in the rates for the Dakotas, Hawaii, Maine and Montana.

(https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/09/14/where-it-s-most-dangerous-to-be-black-in-america/cdea7922-52f0-11ee-accf-88c266213aac_story.html)

[hongcherry]

needed me || l.c (m)

"You're still thinking of him while on your Valentine's date."

❤️ Pairing: fwb!Chan/Dino x Reader (afab)

❤️ Rating/Genres/AUs: M(18+); PWP, smut, angst; Friends with benefits

❤️ Warnings: unprotected sex (be safe! esp in fwbs <3), fingering, creampie, dirty talk, multiple positions, multiple orgasms, markings/bruises (hickeys), 0.2 seconds of degradation, semi-emotional sex

❤️ Word Count: 2.3k

❤️ Project: For Freya (@angelwoozi) for our Valentine's Drabble Exchange! I apologize if it lacks in angst! I'm still working on "emotional sex," so this was a nice challenge for me. I hope you enjoy it! 🥰

❤️ Author's Note: Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Please stay safe (in multiple ways heh), and I hope you all have a great day. Also, I decided to write in the present tense for once, so please ignore any incorrect tense changes LOL.

seventeen masterlist | main masterlist

The rising heat in your body is due to two reasons.

One being your Valentine’s date went poorly, and two being your body is still buzzing with need.

You had gone to your date’s place, fully expecting to get laid on this so-called love day just so you didn’t have to wallow in endless candy wrappers alone. However, as their hands had roamed your body and their moans filled your ears, you couldn’t help but imagine it was him instead. Him, who has been your friend for three years and fuck buddy for less than one. Him, who can draw out your mewls with the graze of his fingertips. 

Although your date had touched you in places you enjoyed, it didn’t elicit the familiar feelings you have grown accustomed to. That caused you to spring from them, excuses flying out of your mouth as you hurried to grab your belongings.

It’s why you find yourself pressed against Chan’s door, his mouth moving against yours hungrily. One of his hands travels from your waist to grip your leg that’s hooked on his waist. He massages the flesh of your thigh as his tongue explores the cavern of your mouth. Your hands are gliding up and down his bare back—the results of his relentless workouts evident under your touch.

Chan pulls back to catch his breath.

“Should we slow down?” he asks between breaths.

You shake your head, eyes falling upon the faint, dark spot on his neck that wasn’t caused by you.

Chan had told you he didn’t have plans for Valentine’s this year, so you figured it would be no big deal for you to show up unannounced. What you weren’t expecting was for him to answer his door half-dressed, hair messy, lips slightly swollen, and a faint mark on his skin. Your heart had stopped a beat at the sight. You were well aware of the state Chan was in.

It wasn’t long before a woman emerged from his room, wearing just a tee and panties. The heat in your body had increased. You weren’t sure if it was because Chan was faring better than you at getting laid, or because he was fairing better than you without you.

After Chan told his “date” about you coming over to inform him of a family emergency, the lady left with sympathy that you didn’t entertain. Maybe it was best to play along, but you didn’t care if they believed it or not.

Seeing someone else’s marking on Chan brought a mixture of emotions; however, you decided to channel anger out of all of them.

“Why?” you scoff. “We’ve gone fast before.”

Your mouth connects with his again in hopes of returning to where you left off—to simply be in a state where you only felt his body on yours and nothing else.

“I know,” Chan pants when he moves away again, “but aren’t you upset that your date went bad?”

Right.

Telling Chan how rude your date was was a lie. The reason why your date went south wasn’t that your date was rude, it was because you couldn’t stop thinking of the person in front of you.

As if you would ever disclose that though. 

He just…feels good. He knows your body like no one else.

“I’m over it,” you sigh and lean in; however, Chan stops you.

“You can talk to me,” he tries to reassure you, which only results in an exasperated groan from you.

“I don’t need to talk, Chan. I just need you to fuck me,” you argue.

Chan’s eyes roam your face for a moment. 

“Fine,” he says before he crashes his mouth on yours. If you didn’t want to talk to him, he could at least help you feel better in a way he knew how.

You find yourself straddling him in his bed minutes later. You’re both left in your underwear, clothes forgotten somewhere along the way to his room—a trail that’ll be a morning reminder of how you are never asked to stay the next day.

That damn mark on his neck had become darker over time.

You try to ignore it, but it’s so blatantly visible you can’t help but glance at it every time you move away. You hate knowing someone else had touched him in an intimate way.

As you lean down toward his neck, you note that it shouldn’t matter if he was in bed with someone else.

As you lick and suck on the column of his neck, you recall how you’re not his.

As you create your own marks on his skin, you hope he can’t remember which hickey was from his date.

You hope all he will remember tomorrow is your mouth on him. You want him to remember how he’s moaning and gripping you closer as if he can’t get enough of you.

Chan doesn’t seem to care that you’re littering his skin with bruises as he yanks your bra and panties from your body. One of his hands grabs your chest while the other moves between your legs.

Your mouth finally finds his again, moans getting lost in each other's mouth as he glides two fingers in your wet heat. You’re grinding against his hand and shoving down his underwear.

“So damn eager,” he grunts while you pump his hard length.

“Just need to feel you,” you reply.

Chan’s fingers come back glossy with your arousal. He nudges your hand from him to coat his cock with it.

His room is filled with your moans when you sink down, fingernails clawing at his torso while your eyes shut briefly. There’s not a moment of peace as Chan snaps his hips into yours roughly. You have to press your palms on him to keep your balance.

“Shit, Chan,” you gasp. He’s large inside you, stretching you in the most addicting way.

“Always so tight for me,” he comments, eyes focused on where he’s gliding up in you. 

Your sight lands on his face. His eyebrows are furrowed, and his mouth is open. You know he won’t meet your gaze, so your gaze lingers on him. Over time he’s stopped making eye contact whenever you were fucking. You wonder if it comes from guilt. Despite only catching him with someone else once, you’re sure he’s had other “partners” that's been in your position. You aren’t the only one who’s seen and heard Chan in this way.

The thought spurs your hips to move.

You want to be the only one who can satisfy him like this. You want to make him feel so good he will only come to you when he needs a release.

Chan curses under you. His hips slow, and he throws his head back as he lets you bounce on him quickly. A hand stays on your hips while the other runs through his hair.

“That’s it,” he praises.

Your walls clench around him, loving how blissful he looks. You want to keep going–give him everything you have–but your energy is being spent fast. Your hips gradually decrease in speed. 

Instead of Chan moving you himself, he flips you over and pushes a leg up to get deeper. His mind is foggy, but somewhere in that smog is the image of you on your date tonight. You were dressed nicely; your appearance was fixed up in a way he’s never seen before. At least in a way that was never for him. 

Always for someone else.

Always for someone unworthy.

He enters you again swiftly. There’s no gentleness as he slams his hips forward. 

He recalls how many failed dates you’ve been on. How many failed dates he has been on just to spite you. He knows that’s childish. He doesn’t care about his dates in the way he should. He’s told himself that if the right person came along by chance, he will accept them happily. Though, each date never seemed to be the one.

“They never fuck you properly, hm?” Chan taunts as he continues to rock into you. “That’s why you always come here. You know I’m the only one who fucks you this good.” 

Your grip on his arms tightens at his words.

“Tell me,” Chan demands and grabs your face to angle it.

Your eyes are wide in shock as they find his. His hold is gentle compared to his sharp, slow thrusts.

“T-tell you what?” you pant. There’s a whole gamut of emotions racing through you. You’re terrified he’ll make you admit he knows your body best, yet you’re also eager to tell him that it’s true. 

“Tell me I fuck you better than anyone else,” he says.

“Channie–” you try to say, but he doesn’t give you the chance to finish your response.

“Fuck, Yn,” he huffs as he pushes into you once more before pausing. His hair is matted to his forehead, sweat covering his skin in an oddly beautiful glow. He stares at you–really watches you as if any slight movement will tell him what he needs to know. 

“I don’t know if we should do this anymore,” he finally confesses after a few minutes.

Your eyes grow in size. An invisible hand squeezes your heart, and the pain has you holding your breath. 

“Wh-what are you talking about?” you force out, but you’re afraid of his answer.

He leans back on his heels and looks down at you. The movement causes a slight shift, and you involuntarily clench around him so he doesn’t slip out. Chan sucks in a breath at the feeling.

“Don’t go on those dates,” he blurts instead.

Your head tilts in confusion. You’re trying to gather your thoughts, but it’s difficult. Out of all the times he wants to have this conversation, he chooses now.

“I’m tired of seeing you with someone who isn’t me. I can’t do this knowing you’re doing the same thing with other people.”

You swallow harshly.

You can’t believe he’s actually saying it, and for a moment, you think you’re dreaming.

“Chan, I–”

“Let’s just finish, so we can–”

“Hey, hey, stop,” you huff.

“What?” he questions as he averts his eyes.

“I only went on dates, because I didn’t think you wanted more,” you disclose.

Chan peers at you again, shaking his head.

“That’s not true,” he says softly and raises you from the bed. Your legs rest on either side of him, arms wrapped around his neck. You bite back the moan that wants to escape at the new position. “I’ve wanted more for so long, but we had made it clear we shouldn’t get into a relationship together.”

You nod, recalling the first night you slept with him and the agreements you both had set. 

“I’m willing to start one now,” you answer, a little nervous even though you’re sure of his answer.

Chan smiles, lips finding yours for a short kiss. “Me too.”

Your body moves against his again, albeit more slowly this time. Chan holds you close as you roll your hips. The slow pace lasts for a few minutes until Chan adjusts himself, so he can rock into you roughly.

There’s something about his thrusts that feel different. They’re harsh, but not in the way they were before. They’re calculated and less frantic. Regardless, each push has you edging closer to your climax.

Chan knows you’re close by the way your legs are squeezing him and moaning louder. He whispers praises in your ear that have you crying out his name a minute later. 

When he goes to pull out, you hold him tightly.

“Inside me, please,” you beg quietly.

“A-are you sure?” Chan asks. Although this isn’t the first time he hasn’t used a condom with you, he’s always pulled out. 

Nodding your head, “Yes.”

Chan adheres to your request, hips moving with newfound vigor that causes you to mewl as you begin to feel overstimulated. However, it feels so good that you feel the tightness in your stomach builds again.

“Gonna come again, baby?” Chan asks with an air of cockiness. 

“Mhm, fucking me so good, Channie,” you whine.

Chan’s hips begin to lose their force, and it doesn’t take long for him to thrust one last time. You suck in a breath when he fills you.

When Chan pulls out, his eyes are stuck looking between your legs. He gently lays you back and brings a hand to your clit. He rubs it hastily as he watches his cum spill from your spent pussy. He moans when you clench and more escapes from you.

You come for the second time with a plethora of his names. Chan smiles upon hearing them, watching your body shiver with pleasure. When you slowly ease down from your high, Chan pulls away.

“You okay?” he wonders.

“More than okay,” you smile at him.

“Let’s talk more about us tomorrow, okay?” he suggests and begins to climb off the bed. 

“Sounds good,” you mumble, watching as he leaves for the bathroom. After a moment, you hear water running. You’re teetering into dreamland when he comes back. Your eyes flutter open, not knowing they had closed earlier. He takes your hand and guides you to the restroom.

“A quick shower then we can go back to bed. Can you do this without me? I want to change the sheets,” he kindly says.

Although you wish he would stay with you, you nod and step under the warm water. It feels relaxing and immediately you sigh at the sensation.

“Okay,” he replies then presses a chaste kiss to your mouth before he leaves.

As you clean yourself, you feel as though a layer of sadness is scrubbed away. There’s still more to discuss tomorrow, but at least you know you’re one step closer to being a real couple. 

Despite your date not going the way you planned, you’re much happier with how you spent your Valentine’s. 

For my “shy/silent” readers, I’ve created a feedback form where you can share your thoughts on my fics in a more anonymous and private way. ^-^

©️hongcherry // DO NOT REPOST OR MODIFY Please consider reblogging if you liked this work to show your support. Feedback/commentary is always welcomed.

[dazzlinglybitter]

It's Disability Pride Month!! Let's talk about POTS!

Hello beautiful people. Since it's Disability Pride Month, I wanted to talk about my disability. I have a condition called POTS. It stands for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Sydrome, which is a very long name, and you can see why we just say POTS. Essentially, it means that when I change position or stand up, my heart rate gets too high. It is normal for your heart rate to go up when you change positions. But what makes POTS different is it changes too suddenly and much higher than average. The National Institutes of Health defines that a person with POTS has "an increase in heart rate of 30 beats/min or more when moving from a recumbent to a standing position that lasts more than 30 seconds". Which on its own doesn't sound all that bad. I would be a much happier human if that's all it was. However, POTS comes with its own host of symptoms. That swing in heart rate can cause dizziness, lightheadedness, blurred vision, and sometimes fainting. Other symptoms of POTS include:

Exercise intolerance

Headaches

Nausea

Fatigue

Anxiety

Dry mouth

Excess thirst

Leg pain

Blood pooling

Brain Fog

Swollen Extremities

Sleeping problems

Bladder problems

Digestion issues

Tremors

Shortness of breath or chest tightening

Memory issues

Poor temperature regulation

Chronic dehydration

Neuropathic pains

Increased sweating to the extremities

Loss of appetite

Light sensitivity

Dry eyes

Heart palpitations

Chest pain

Cold extremities due to poor blood flow

Heat intolerance

Hypovolemia (low blood volume)

And probably more that I've missed! Doesn't sound all that fun, and trust me, it isn't! POTS is a condition under the larger umbrella of Dysautonomia. There are several different types of dysautonomic conditions, POTS is only one of them. Here are some fun facts about POTS:

POTS effects around 0.2% of the world's population

It is most common in females, 75 to 80% of all patients are female

Though it can be diagnosed at any age, it is most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 25 (I was 19 when I got diagnosed!)

There is no cure for POTS and it's a chronic illness

Some teenagers will outgrow the condition in their 20s

The average time to diagnosis is 5 years and 11 months (took me almost a year, luckily)

According to Dysautonomia International, 25% of POTS patients are so disabled they cannot work or attend school

There is no singular cause for POTS, and many patients will likely not know what caused their condition

Research on POTS is incredibly sparse, making advocacy, treatment, and diagnosis even harder

The usual recommended treatment is increased fluid intake, increasing salt intake, wearing compression stockings, raising the head of the bed to conserve blood volume, reclined exercises like rowing, recumbent bicycle, or swimming, and a healthy diet

While there is no FDA approved medication for POTS, some medications such as beta blockers can be used to aid the condition

Though the heart is directly involved, POTS is not technically a heart condition. It is technically a nervous system disorder stemming from the autonomic nervous system

There's lots to be said about POTS! I don't think I could fit it all in one post if I tried. But if you made it this far into the post, thank you for taking the time to learn about it! Awareness is key, and the more people that know about the condition, the better we are. Happy Disability Pride Month!!

[skylessknights]

GOOD NEWS!

So I just realised that a recent kdrama that was very popular last year was on ENA, the same network that Evilive is currently on. Do you know what that kdrama was called... Extraordinary Attorney Woo.

Just like Evilive, Extraordinary Attorney Woo aired with low ratings at the beginning of their broadcast (0.9%). But by the time it reached it's final episode, the ratings had increased to 17% nationwide, setting the record for the highest rating in ENA's history!

Now Evilive aired with a record low 0.2% nationwide but with it's recent episodes airing on Sunday and Monday guess how much it's increased? Well look for yourself...

(In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.)

I am so happy and proud to see these numbers and can only pray that it continues to go upwards from here. Thank you to everyone whose watching this show in Korea and around the world. It's so good and deserves all the attention it can get. 💖

[scryarchives]

𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤 - 𝐣𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 | 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟕

things go better than expected, and jaime has so much more to learn about drea than he realised

masterlist | previous , next !

– pairings: jaime reyes x oc

– warning: fluff, canon divergent, blue beetle movie spoilers

– author’s note: more filler chapter because well... i decided so :) disclaimer: i’m not of Hispanic descent and i have don’t know casual terms spoken, so do correct me if im wrong!

Despite the rough start to the morning, the atmosphere around the two was pleasant while they walked under the sunshine, the wind conveniently breezing through the neighbourhood as it kept them cool on their stroll.

Unfortunately, the silence between them was still present, Jaime still feeling a little on edge. He wondered as to why Drea still wanted to speak to him even after their rough start, and he wondered if she barely considered him friends. 

As they walked under the shade of the trees that lined the walkway, he peaked to his left, finding Drea walking alongside him calmly, hands clutched around her purse strap.

“What’d you wanna talk about?” Jaime shrugged, Drea, turning left on the street as he followed behind her.

“I mean, I’d like to talk about it more when we get there, but it’s more just to, I dunno… get to know each other better. Especially since we both aren’t, uhm, completely human.”

Oh.

“Wouldn’t texting have been better than?” He questioned, watching as his neighbour walked off of the trail, curiosity piquing in him.

“I guess,” She turned around while walking, seeing him follow behind. “I mean, I just thought maybe it’d be better to talk face to face, avoid complications.”

With that, she turned left once more, disappearing around the corner. Quickly, the Mexican male hurried his footsteps to not lose sight of the woman, but once he turned the corner, he noticed that together they’d walked quite the distance from the neighbourhood he grew up in.

“What the…” He flinched at the sudden brightness of the sun, the view of an all-too-familiar abandoned office building not too far from him.

“Remember, Mijo,” His father’s warm voice flooded into his mind along with a long-lost memory, the elder warning Jaime’s six-year-old self. 

He still felt the way his father gently gripped his upper arm along with the reason his six-year-old form ended up in the building. 

He recalled the kids he saw as friends jeering him, calling him a coward for responding in hesitance to the dare they gave him.

He recalled the fear he felt as he tripped and fell somewhere deep within the building, his bleeding knee stinging with furious pain as he cried for help, the pain worsening with each step he took. 

He recalled the panic that welled in his throat when he lost his way out, the darkness surrounding him as the sun sunk lower and lower into the horizon, the sealed windows preventing any good light from entering the building.

“It’s extremely dangerous in here. Don’t you ever go near there again, especially when Mama and I aren’t with you.”

Well, fate had a funny way of making fun of him. 

“Take in a deep breath, Jaime,” Khaji-Da started. “Your heart rate is increasing by 0.2%.”

With a frown present on his tanned skin, Jaime jogged after his neighbour, Drea already far ahead of him as her hands were placed on the handles of the door’s entrance.

“Hey, uh, Drea,” He called out, staring down at the younger of the two as he held the door open, walking in after her, but stopping once he was two steps in.

“Why exactly are we here?”

Glancing back at him, Jaime continued to hold the front door behind him, letting the sun’s light from behind him into the building, that being their only source of light other than the streaks that crept in through the cracks between the boarded-up windows.

“To talk, don’t worry,” She smiled reassuringly, lifting her hand up to her face, a handful of beads resting on her palm before her face. 

Jaime watched as she took a deep breath, puffing air onto the beads as they started to glow, a light growing within them. 

Within minutes, the dim glow of the orb sparked into a flare so bright that the duo had to briefly shield their eyes, the beads floating higher and higher into the air, through the holes in the ceiling, revealing more of their surroundings.

“Woah,” Jaime muttered in awe, eyes widened as the once-dark structure was filled with so much light, he would’ve thought that electricity continued to flow within the establishment.

“What are those?” He asked with a curious smile. “That was pretty cool.”

“Only pretty cool?” She chuckled. “It’s one of my best tricks. Besides, don’t you have a scarab that told you everything about me?”

“You mean, you know about the scarab?”

“How else would you be ‘the Blue Beetle’?” She shrugged, the two standing face-to-face. “And how else would you deem me a threat?”

“Right…” Jaime winced. ��I’m still really, really sorry about that–”

“No harm, no foul,” She chimed with a calm smile, hopping up the rickety stairs that lead up to the second floor.

Pulling out another bead from her bag, Jaime walked closer to her. And as soon as he was an arm’s length away, she flicked the little orb in his direction.

Quickly, his hands darted to catch the item, palms cupping around the tiny object as he carefully pried his appendages apart, almost as if scared that the orb would burst into light, blinding him.

“It won’t bite,” She joked. “They’re just little beads.”

“But what about–” He juts his thumb out in the direction behind him, Drea catching his drift while he slunk up the stairs behind her.

“Oh, they only react if I ignite my powers on them,” She held her hand out, the male behind her placing the bead back into her palm.

“What are they made of?”

“Just a little element from my Mama’s home planet,” She started, spotting a vine-covered chair.

Instantly, she plucked the plant off the seat, placing it on the ground before pulling another plant-encased chair.

“Speaking of which, I was hoping that maybe you’d want to know more about us. Well, more specifically, my alien mom and I… right?”

Jaime dug his thumb into his palm, seeing the woman across him finally clear the two seats of any dust and dirt, placing them across each other while gesturing for him to sit on one of the chairs as she, herself, sat down in the other.

“I mean, that’s the reason you were prying about me previously, isn’t it?”

Instantly, Jaime felt a small lump of guilt in his throat, recalling his reason and internally blaming Khaji for creating such a messy situation for them both.

“Yeah, totally,” He hummed, sitting in the seat across from his neighbour.

“Great! Then we can start talking,” She grinned. “You might want to take some notes down though, there’s a lot to cover.”

Oh boy.

gif by @rob-pattinson

taglist: @mooncleaver @hoshi4k @mymanjaimereyes @asvterias @tinkerbelle05 @littlekidsteve

< comment/dm me if you’d like to be on the taglist! >

[theterribletenno]

Akbolto Incarnon

The Akbolto Incarnon adapter can be installed on the Akbolto, Telos Akbolto, or the Akbolto Prime for a cost of 20 Pathos Clamps, 70 Ueymag, and 80 Eevani. Land headshots in normal mode to charge the Incarnon meter, press the alt-fire button to activate Incarnon mode. While in Incarnon mode the weapon's fire is changed from a projectile with travel time and arc to hitscan with perfect accuracy and 12 meters of innate punch-through. Regardless of which variant the Incarnon adapter is installed on the Incarnon mode has a base damage of 100 (50 puncture, 30 impact, 20 slash) and a fire rate of 4.0. Critical chance, critical multiplier, and status chance are all based on the normal mode's values. Every time the Incarnon mode's projectile penetrates an enemy with punch-through it gains +10% damage stacking up to 10 times per shot.

EVOLUTION 1: Install the Incarnon adapter Perk: Unlocks incarnon mode. Also increases damage by +20. Added damage is divided into +18 puncture, +2 impact (Akbolto/Telos) / +17 puncture, +2 impact, +1 slash (Prime).

EVOLUTION 2: Fully charge the Incarnon meter and activate Incarnon mode. Perk 1: TENNO IDEALISM: Increases critical chance by +16% (Akbolto/Telos) / +4% (Prime), critical multiplier by +0.2 (Akbolto/Prime) / +0.4 (Telos), and status chance by +16% (Akbolto) / +5% (Telos/Prime). perk 2: BRUTALITY Enemies killed by this weapon explode on death dealing 10 times X (where X is equal to the enemy's level) blast damage in an 8 meter radius with a guaranteed blast status proc.

EVOLUTION 3: Complete a solo mission with only this weapon equipped. Perk 1: GRAY MATTER: Headshots with this weapon will refund the ammo or meter charge spent to fire them directly back into the magazine. Perk 2: THE OLD WAYS: Every hit with this weapon contributes to the melee combo counter. While this weapon is drawn the melee combo counter's duration is increased by +5 seconds. Perk 3: BLOODBATH: Applying an impact or puncture status proc has a 50% chance to also apply a slash status proc.

EVOLUTION 4: Score 100 punch-through multikills with this weapon's Incarnon mode. Perk 1: BOLDNESS: While the player has overshields or overguard this weapon's damage is increased by +21 (Akbolto) / +22.5 (Telos) / +16 (Prime). Perk 2: AGGRESSION: While the player has a channeled ability active damage is increased by +21 (Akbolto) / +22.5 (Telos) / +16 (Prime). Perk 3: PIERCING POWER: This weapon is now able to bypass the stack limits of status effects, increasing their limit by +2 for this weapon only with their effects scaling proportionally.

[imasallstars]

★3【Mixing Everyone’s Colors Together】Haruki Ikuta

availability: 　from 2024/08/21 12:00 JST costume name: 　Paint It Overalls

PRODUCE SKILL

Dancing Nocturne [2 COST] [DANCE] 　BANISH the HIGHEST COST CARD from your HAND. Activates a DANCE appeal based off the ACTIVATION COST x0.1~0.3 Conditional PP Gain [1 COST] ※Awakening 2 　Increase PLAY POINT by 2~6 (skill will only activate when there’s less than 5 SECONDS left) Dancing Overture [5~3 COST] [DANCE] ※Awakening 3 　Activates a DANCE appeal based off your INITIAL DECK SIZE x 0.2~0.4 Rank 1 Appeal Boost [3 COST] ※Awakening 4 　For 10 seconds, increase the APPEAL of RANK 1 cards by 30~70% Dark Night Dissonance [2 COST] ※Awakening 5 　Decrease OPPONENT'S MENTAL based off the number of BANISHED CARDS x 3~7%

LIVE SKILLS

[PERFECT SCORE BONUS] 　When activated, PERFECT notes will grant 110~140% more SCORE for 5 seconds [BONUS ITEM BOOST] 　Increase BONUS ITEM DROP RATE of idol by 30~100%

[zedechemist]

— IN A WORLD WHERE...

'Zed never had his high-school chemistry accident.'

...THE ALTERNATIVE SEPTEMBER 12TH, 1994.

— Zed never attended the chemistry class where the accident that nearly cost him his arm occurred. He never took an interest in chemistry, or acids, nor pharmaceuticals. He does not have a disfigured, or burn scar across his forearm and lower hand. — Instead, he was off sick with a common cold. his Uncle Joseph had come over to talk business with his side of the family. Zed had listened in; learning; questioning his potential position in the family — subsequently following in similar footsteps as the rest of the Movska brood. — But he wasn't quite Fox News material. Instead, he pursued editing; easily accessible for an underachiever with the connections his family does.

— THE RIPPLE EFFECT...

— '94-1995; Zed finished his high school diploma, deciding to take a late interest in the media world his family seemed to thrive in. — 1997; By not attending further education; no college; no pharmaceutical degree; no Ph.D. Zed was not in the same scientific circles. He did not attend physics, or chemistry conventions. Therefore, he did not meet Rahi Kumar who would have been his best friend throughout his life, and career. — Late 1997; He and his cousin Lev's difficult and sometimes unhinged relationship became easier; Zed was not an overachieving intellect. He was another Movska in media chasing some sort of prestige. — 1998; Somehow ends up childminding his five year old cousin Diana Movska more frequently as his family's work progresses. He works out empathy among his family — and briefly considers his own future with a family of his own. — 2000; There is a 0.6% increase in the fatality rate within Affina Biotechnologies in a two year period; totalling 60 more deaths due to an inexperienced chemist taking a position. [ a contract Zed would have taken. ] — 2001; Zed attempts to cover the story everyone else is. — 2002; he interviews for WNBC, dabbling in radio before he lands a position in the New York Post, opting towards print media. He gets his own intern. — The rest of 2002; The intern is the worst. Lev and Zed make continuous jokes about his inevitable departure. — 2003-'06; He balances a life between New York and Russia whilst he scarcely misses out on a promotion due to the mysterious disappearance of his intern. He refuses to hire another. — 2008; Zed [And Lev] purchases a chinatown apartment. — 2009; He moves into an executive chair. — 2010; Zed does not meet what would be his colleagues, and residents at consultant hospitals, or Columbia university. There is no Kamilah Marques or Gus Amado in his professional life. — 2011; There is an underground scuffle between druglords that Zed is never present for. Instead of diffusing the majority of it, there is bloodshed. Four people are fatally wounded, and six injured. He never encounters Oz Saffet. Cops are called to a scene. They attempt to find medical attention that before Zed would have assisted with. Three are arrested and charged. One passes. The rest survive and go into hiding. The New York Times beat the Post to the scoop. — 2014; He stays in New York for the entire year. — Early 2015; he briefly dates the NYP's CFO. It ends pretty amicably. — 2015; Zed becomes COO, and is content with the position. — 2017; There is a decrease in toxicity in American Regent's latest quick-fix for migraine treatment by 0.2%, nearly two dozen benefit from the new chemistry. [Zed never altered it for a '17 hire job. ] — 2020-'23; He remains COO of the NYP.

— THE RESULT

— Anyone who knew Zed through scientific, medical or pharmaceutical means very likely will not know him now. His morbidity was more than skin deep, but he did not have such a vicious means of dispatch at his disposal, instead opting for media reckoning and political damning. — He will be more light-hearted — mostly — and far more approachable as a media mogul. There is almost a 0% risk of him threatening to end one via chemical warfare. He is not nearly as intelligent; he is not a professor, or doctor in the AU. — He will now edit your pieces to death if you hand him any documentation. — More familial orientated — if that were possible, considers himself fairly close with them. — May even make a joke, and laugh.

[justzooks]

Stellar Spirit Research paper

Index of Terms:

Amygdala: part of the brain associated with experiencing different emotions

Frontal Cortex: part of the brain associated with decision-making, in unicorns also closely associated with magic.

Cerebellum: part of the brain associated with motor movement and determining the position of limbs in space.

The thaumometer:

The thaumometer measures magical flow in the area around it. Almost anywhere in Equestria has some natural magic flow, making it critical to get control readings before measuring the power of a particular spell or creature. Base measurements of the testing area show a passive magic flow of 0.3 thaums.

(for those unfamiliar with the unit of measurement, 1 thaum is about as much magic flow as it takes to lift an average weight pony off the ground. Princess Celestia’s upper limit has been measured at approximately 15 Thaums. The effects of Grogar’s bell have been measured at over 30 thaums in the right conditions.)

Squee: indicates emotional energy, which can have an effect on Thaumic rate. 1 squee is approximately equivalent to seeing something so adorable that a high-pitched sound escapes your vocal chords.

Test #1: “control”

Subject was subjected to scans with brain mapping equipment and thaumometer and asked to lift a 10-pound weight.

Results appear normal. Activity is a little higher than average, which may be explained by the subject being intellectually stimulated by the tests. Emotional energy measured at .95 squee.

Maximum magic flow measured at 1.2 thaums.

Subject’s notes: "Well, this is just the normal me! Nothing special, really. I can still do some cool stuff, but it's nothing that incredible or complex, I'd say. This is how you'll see me the vast majority of the time."

Test #2: “Cosmic form”

Subject asked to take on “cosmic” form and cast the same spell.

Brain activity increased in the amygdala, reduced in the frontal cortex. Emotional energy measured at 4.5 squee.

Magic flow measured at 5.5 thaums

Subject’s notes: "The Cosmic State is what I call my Overdrive, and it boosts my magic power by quite a bit. In that State, I can feel my magic rushing through me, giving me power and making me feel... well, alive! It's kinda like a shot of adrenaline in that sense. I also feel more confident when I'm Cosmic, though that's probably just due to having more power."

Researcher's Notes: cosmic form is indeed similar to what many ponies experience during an adrenaline rush: increased activities in the primal, subconscious parts of the brain and energy being diverted from less critical functions like abstract reasoning. The massive increase in thaumic flow can almost entirely be attributed to emotional multiplication.

Test #3: “Abyssal form”

Subject was asked to meditate on the “abyssal” state of mind while being monitored by brain mapping equipment and a thaumometer. Please note that the subject reports this state has been inaccessible to her since she “gifted” it to another, so this test is primarily focused on the state of mind associated with the form.

Initial findings show greatly reduced brain activity in the amygdala. Emotional energy measured at .01 squee.

Magic flow measured at 0.2  thaums. Do we need to retake the control readings? This is 0.1 thaum lower than base levels…

Subject’s Notes: "The Abyssal State... My darkest State, outside of actual dark or corrupted forms. I always felt... empty whenever I used it. Sometimes, all I could feel is rage... Towards the end of the State's existence, I like to think I had more control over it, but I'm not entirely sure that's true. It kinda hurts to use, as if it's altering my body, perhaps my very being, every time I use it. It's not safe... but it did give me incredible power. It was my strongest State until I unlocked the Origin State, strong enough to break things otherwise thought to be unbreakable, even with my bare hooves. I could briefly step into the void as a dodge of sorts. Honestly, there's probably more stuff I could do, like sending things into the void, or neutralizing energy, but I was hesitant to experiment with it..."

Note to self: several nodes in the Brain scanner lost connectivity intermittently during the test. Recalibrate before proceeding further.

Test #4: “Entropic form”

Subject was asked to induce “entropic” state and cast the same spell.

Brain scans show a picture of a pineapple. Emotional energy measured at “Mind your own business” squee

Thaumometer shows erratic behavior, no reading recorded.

Subject Notes: "Ah yes, the Entropic State. This is a weird one, and not just because it's chaos magic. I got it because I was depressed! ... Okay, that's not quite accurate. What I mean is I asked Discord to give me some of his power because of... stuff I don't really want to say. But instead of what I expected, it manifested as a State, and I could finally control it! And I thought those tests were for nothing... Anyway, it's a weird feeling, being Entropic. I can see and feel things I couldn't before, use crazy magics that I never had access to before I acquired this power. It's also a little hard to focus on one thing sometimes... It does put me in a good mood, though. I think I have the potential to do everything Discord can, though maybe to a lesser scale. I just don't have a full understanding of it yet, so it's a bit hard to keep it under control sometimes."Researcher’s notes: I did not know my brain scanner could show me a pineapple, let alone make it dance off the screen. I think it’s safe to say none of the readings taken here can be trusted, scientifically. However, I’m convinced chaos magic still follows many rules of magic, despite the difficulty of getting accurate readings.

Test #5: “Copycat form”

Subject asked to copy the abilities of our volunteer Gad Hippogriffin using “copycat” state.

Brain scans show greatly increased activity in the frontal cortex. Additional scans reveal near identical activity in the cerebellum of the subject and that of our volunteer. Emotional energy measured at 1.5 squee.

Magic flow measured at 0.4 thaums at time of scan

Subject Notes: "Hehe, Copycat's a fun one. I've heard Sol say I act like a generic anime protagonist in this state, confident and willing to push myself to the extreme. I don't have any more power than normal in this state though, not by default. The power I get is from learning the techniques and abilities of others by watching them. I can adapt them for my own use, then use them against whoever I'm fighting! Sadly, I only retain those abilities for as long as I'm a Copycat. If I lose focus, and thus lose that State, I forget those abilities."

Researcher’s Notes: My theory at this time is that the copycat ability allows Stella’s brain to construct a rudimentary consciousness capable of channeling the target’s magic on the self-image level. Magic on this level doesn’t register on the thaumometer.

Test #6: “Origin form”

Subject instructed to enter “origin” state and cast the same spell.

Passive Magic flow briefly measured at 7.3 Thaums shortly before overload. Subject notes: "Geez... The Origin State is a little... insane. It gives me power that I haven't felt in so long... It's exhilarating! Okay, so, I've had a long, complicated history. Using game terms, I've been buffed and nerfed many times. Mostly nerfed. But becoming the Origin lets me overcome that, and reclaim the power I once had. It's like... the origin of my true power. I get super serious in the Origin State, but also want to display this power, so I tend to be a bit flashy, I guess. It all feels natural to me, as if I've always had this power, and yet in my own tests, it doesn't exist until I enter the state. It's weird..."

Note to self: it may be time to stop relying on homemade equipment. Also, look into these “video games” Stella keeps referencing. Final notes and Conclusions: It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Stellar Spirit in these tests. She has been both cooperative and insightful. Each of these states operate under incredibly unique rules and would probably take a lifetime of research to understand completely, so for the purposes of this paper I’m afraid I must woefully under-represent each of them. Another research paper may be forthcoming with more focused parameters.

[lilyblackdrawside]

Inam - 6-Star Lord Guard

Elite 2, Level 90 Stats

2650 HP 701 Atk 380 Def 10 Res 70s Redeploy Time 20 DP Cost 2 Block 1.3s Attack Interval

Trust Boni

+400 Hp +70 Atk

Potential Boni

2 Deployment Cost -1 3 Redeployment Cooldown -4s 4 +200 HP 5 +27 Def 6 Deployment Cost -1

Talent 1 Maximize Available Assets When deployed, increases the SP recovery rate of all Vanguards by +0.2~0.4/second (only the highest effect of this type takes place) and all Vanguard Operators’ Def +10%~20%

Talent 2 Acquire Knowledge Gains +3% HP for each Vanguard, Guard, Defender and Sniper in the squad and +3 Res for each Caster, Medic, Supporter and Specialist in the squad

Rank 7/Mastery 3

Skill 1

Wicked Chop On-Attack Charge, Auto 3 SP, 0 Initial SP

The next melee attack deals 400/460% atk pure damage over 4s to the target.

Skill 2

Great Chief’s Show of Artistry On-Attack Charge, Manual 20/15 SP, 7/10 Initial SP, 16s Duration

Gain +50/80%Atk, Attack interval halved. Attacks leave a stacking mark on the target that inflicts -3/4% movement speed and -3/4 aspd per stack. One second before skill ends, the mark is removed and deals 80/110% atk physical damage per stack to the target.

Skill 3

Power of Money Automatic Charge, Manual

35/30 SP, 0 Initial SP

Consume all currently held DP to gain permanent, stacking buffs to Atk, ASPD and Phys/Arts damage reduction. +7/10% Atk, +7/10 aspd, +1/1.25% Phys/Arts damage reduction per 20 DP. If used at >=99 DP, refunds 50% SP.

Base Skill 1 Great Chief’s Coordination When stationed in a Trading Post, sets order acquisition efficiency of other Sargon operators, Gavial and Gavial the Invincible to 0 and then increases it to +35%.

Base Skill 2 Lead by Example Gains +10% order acquisition efficiency per other Sargon Operator stationed in trading posts, up to +50%.

The theme here is being a Lord Guard who doesn't do any Arts damage that she would have above average basic tankiness just through her stats. She's still not tanky-tanky, but within her subclass she's quite sturdy. She can then leverage her defensive bases by using her very strong S1 or with S3 (I'll go more into S3 in a bit). I also worked her background into the whole thing a bit.

Initially I had S1 modular with it letting her ranged attacks ricochet if she uses it not in melee, but I think this is better. It's more interesting and could incentivize different positioning. I made the dot pure damage because that's funny.

S2 is more for ranged play and designed to take down elites and bosses. It's very straightforward to use, even if it might look a bit complicated. Activate it and she goes nuts on whoever is the closest in her range and when it's about to time out her target is vaporized. I made the stats up with around 20 attacks within 15 seconds in mind. With just the halved attack delay she actually manages just above 24, but the slowing effects shouldn't be too harsh, since by the time they're stacked that high, the skill is about to expire anyway. Would be mildly busted in Integrated Strategies if you get enough aspd and stack -100% move and aspd onto an enemy, but that's okay. Don't worry about it.

Okay, S3. So that's the meme skill. It's the one you make funny videos with. Yes, she can reach 100% Phys and Arts resist. It costs 1600 DP, up to 2000 if you also go for the SP discounts. At that point she also has +800% ATK and +800 ASPD. (7 attacks/s) The earliest you could get this, going just by pure SP is after five and a half minutes. Of course you also need to generate the required 2000 DP + however much you need to deploy your operators within that time. Stages don't tend to last that long, but if you want, you can also give her some form of SP charge and go for it. Something like Ptilopsis, Warfarin, Inam, Myrtle, Elysium, Saileach and the next six best DP generators. Probably a bunch of Pioneers, I don't know. Might be problematic in Annihilation I guess, but nobody's looking.

Anyway, this was fun. I was going to do a full fake operator sheet but Krita krashed and I lost Kritacal progress so this is what I got.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

This political cartoon by Louis Dalrymple appeared in Judge magazine in 1903. It depicts European immigrants as rats. Nativism and anti-immigration have a long and sordid history in the United States

* * * * *

How foreign immigrants support the US economy

During my meetings with readers across the nation, the issue of immigration is frequently raised as a concern. It was a topic of conversation in my meeting on Saturday with readers in San Antonio. (See photo below.) After I made my usual remarks about why foreign immigration is good for the US, a reader suggested that I include the facts in my newsletter. So, here they are:

According to recent reports by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, foreign immigrants have fueled the better-than-expected performance of the US economy over the last decade. See Forbes, How Immigrants Are Boosting U.S. Economic And Job Growth. As summarized in the Forbes article, In 2023, “foreign-born” workers comprised nearly 19% of the U.S. labor force . . . This is an uptick from 15.3% in 2006. Immigrants have contributed largely to consumer spending growth by about 0.2 percentage point last year, with a similar boost expected this year, along with an increase in gross domestic product—a measure of all the goods and services produced—by 0.1 percentage point per year since 2022 . . . . Federal Reserve Bank chair Jerome Powell [said], [I] t's just reporting the facts to say that immigration and labor force participation both contributed to the very strong economic output growth that we had last year.” Immigration is fueling business and job creation in the U.S. According to MIT research, immigrants are 80% more likely to start a business than native-born U.S. citizens. They are also responsible for 42% more job creation than native-born founders. So, larger-than-expected foreign immigration has increased consumer spending, GDP, start-up ventures, and job creation. That’s all good.

And there is a downside to restricting foreign immigration:

The U.S. needs more workers to keep the economy humming. In the absence of foreign-born labor, the U.S. talent pool will continue to decline because of lower birth rates with an accompanying aging workforce of Baby Boomers looking to retire. 

Indeed, according to a US Census Bureau report, the US population would decrease (to 319 million) instead of growing (to 404 million) by 2060 if the US cut-off immigration. Under a “zero immigration” policy, the percentage of the population over 65 would increase from 15% in 2024 to 26% in 2060—not a good trend. In its starkest terms, immigration is necessary to guarantee a robust, growing labor force to drive the largest economy in the world.

But there’s more. Over the last decade, foreign immigration has saved nine US states from an absolute decline in population. The NYTimes reported on the findings of the 2020 Census in an article entitled, Why Your State Is Growing or Stalling or Shrinking.

Even with foreign immigration, four states lost population overall, including West Virginia and Illinois. Moreover, foreign immigration saved nine additional states from a shrinking population base—including Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

The debate about population growth is complicated. But in the short term, unplanned depopulation is devastating to economies and communities. To see the effects of a shrinking population and dwindling labor force, we need only look at many communities across America where young families are moving out, retirees are aging in place, and restrictive immigration policies discourage foreign immigrants from entering the workforce.

Conversely, states on the “front line” of foreign immigration into the US have booming economies—including California, Texas, Arizona, and Florida.

This interactive map will allow you to compare the economic impact of immigration on the respective states. As a point of comparison, California is the fifth largest economy in the world. 26% of its population consists of foreign immigrants, who contribute $137 billion in annual taxes, control $351 billion in spending power, and include 780,000 entrepreneurs. West Virginia’s population is 1.6% foreign immigrants who contribute $324 million in taxes and control $880 million in spending power. There are no recorded immigrant entrepreneurs in West Virginia.

Check out your own state on the interactive map.

Is our immigration system broken? Absolutely! But let’s not conflate the broken immigration system with the fact that America is strong (in part) because of immigration and will remain strong (in part) because of immigration. Foreign immigrants make America a better, more productive, and more innovative nation. Let’s not lose sight of that truth in the debate over how we allow foreign immigrants to enter the US.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Wage bill remains high in Brazil, a good omen for 2024

Brazil’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 7.6 percent in the rolling quarter through January, about 0.2 percentage points below market expectations. 

The increase was expected, as the end of temporary Christmas jobs usually affects the labor market at the start of the new year. This time, the impact was milder than expected, which analysts say is a sign that the labor market is still resilient. The data was released today by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). 

The number of workers with formal contracts rose 3.1 percent from a year earlier to 37.9 million people, another historic record, according to Adriana Beringuy, an IBGE research coordinator. 

Another piece of positive news came with the wage mass, which reached a record of BRL 305.1 billion, 6 percent (or BRL 17.4 billion) above that of January 2023 and once again a record in the IBGE’s historical series. After two years of decline, the average real monthly income of Brazilian workers rose 7.2 percent to BRL 2,979 (USD 603) in 2023.

Continue reading.

[toestalucia]

hiiiii relink endgame notes spoilers<3 + some other mentions within there

Work has begun on the great primal beast Angra Mainyu. Angra is the key to reaching the Holy Seat of Genesis, Estalucia. The Sky Realm-Estalucia bridge has a mere 0.2% chance of success at connecting compared to 64% for the Astral Realm-Estalucia bridge. In theory, the rate can increase to 89% by exceeding Angra's limits. Hence I must hurry back to the Astral Realm as soon as this research is over.

HUH... the bridge stuff is actually sooooo interesting to me.....thinks about dad & repti & aunt & the sky pieces and..... anyway i think they should show us lilith & repti talking

The High Council imposed usage restrictions after Angra was found to consume more primal crystals than anticipated in certain cases. Luckily the inquiry ended without escalation once I classified Angra Mainyu as "a system to returning to the Astral Realm".

this is funny considering baha sensed the astral power n went wtfs going on over there. also whenever they mention high council i go RAUGH. MIKA LORE I AM BEGGING U. THEY NEED TO SHOW ME PRE-GREAT WALL MIKABOSHI NOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

also i rly liked what id said about how lilith had mentioned once that time in estalucia is different? edgelands energy....i didnt take a pic so it mightve been part of the stuff he was unsure about but. i love estalucia. give me a main story trailer tmrw i am begging