#without serious difficulty and rescheduling

[sharkthey]

I think it's very neat and swag of my grandfather to be born on St Patrick's day and die on Halloween, by the way. Man went out with a statement

[tevanbegins]

So this is absolutely silly, but I was thinking about Tommy getting embroiled in some kind of a hilarious tug-of-war between the 118 firefighters and their partners. Something like...

Maybe there's a 118 spouse club comprising Athena, Maddie, and Karen, them secretly meeting up for lunch once a month to gossip about their partners' crazy on-duty shenanigans and also bond in general over other stuff. After Buck and Tommy's relationship gets serious, Maddie invites Tommy to join them going forward. But the ladies do have one condition — none of their partners is supposed to know about these meet-ups, so Tommy isn't allowed to tell Buck and also never reveal any of their gossips to him, because that would mean breaking the primary rule of the club.

Intimidated yet excited at the prospect of hanging out with these badass ladies, Tommy agrees. He thinks it wouldn't be much of a hassle keeping it a secret. Except he doesn't know how deep his boyfriend's curiousity can run, and what he can do to get to the bottom of anything suspicious.

But while Tommy can understand the emotional highs and lows of being in love with a firefighter, he is a firefighter himself too. So whenever the 118 come up with off-duty plans to hang out and chill, they made sure to include Tommy and he was always happy to oblige them as well.

Except there's this one time, his plans with the 118 and the spouse club are coinciding and Tommy can't decide which gang to ditch and what excuse to give. He asks the spouse club if they could reschedule their lunch but they say it's already been more than a month since they'd last met and aligning their schedules might take another month. They say they can cancel lunch if he wants to go with the 118 because they didn't want to meet without all four of them present, because Tommy has become that important to them.

Tommy feels guilty. So now he tries to come up with some excuse to get out of the 118's trekking plans, and Buck grows suspicious when Tommy is unable to give convincing reasons for not coming. When Tommy refuses to give the real reason why he doesn't want to come, Buck makes his puppy dog face and is almost on the verge of tears, dramatically whining that Tommy is bored of him and doesn't love him anymore.

Tommy of course loses the battle to Buck and ends up revealing the existence of the spouse club to him, telling him not to tell the others at the 118 about it or else the trio of Maddie-Athena-Karen would kick his ass for betraying them. Buck promises he wouldn't, but on one condition — he wants to know all the gossip they discuss. Tommy says he won't be doing that because it's ridiculous and unfair and defeats the whole purpose of the club.

Buck doesn't argue further and sticks to his promise for a good time, but he tries using his sexual prowess to get the gossip out of him. Unfortunately for Buck, Tommy holds his resolve, albeit with a lot of difficulty. Even the reverse strategy of withholding sex doesn't work, mainly because Buck himself is unable to go a day without jumping Tommy.

Buck is annoyed with all the secrecy and decides to resort to a sneaky way to expose the spouse club without breaking his verbal promise to Tommy. He somehow finds out the venue where the spouse club is meeting next, when he luckily chances upon some lock screen message notifications on Tommy's phone from the spouse club chat group while Tommy was showering.

Buck sneakily makes lunch plans with the 118 at the same place at the same time, not telling them where they were going in case any of them told their partners about the venue and the spouse club changed their plans. And then the spouse club is busted when the 118 show up, and everyone is taken by surprise. The spouse club members are all shocked to see the 118 over there, who confront them about this secret party. They in turn ask how the 118 managed to pick such a rare spot that's so out of the way and that it was too much of a coincidence that they came here at the same time.

Buck finally blurts out that he has known about their meetings for a long time and the spouse club ladies turn to Tommy and call him a traitor. Tommy is too stunned, he says he told Buck about the club under duress but he never revealed where they were meeting. Buck remains silent, feeling a bit guilty. The 118 also call Tommy a traitor for not revealing the existence of this spouse club all the times they hung out together.

And that's how Tommy gets caught and becomes the centrepiece of this argument between both gangs, and he looks like he is about to have a nervous breakdown. Buck suddenly gets all protective and scolds both gangs for stressing his poor boyfriend out, and they are all left flabbergasted as Buck takes Tommy out for a walk and says they'd return after a bit, saying that he hoped the others would get a grip on themselves by then.

Although everyone stops bickering eventually and they sit down together at one big table to have lunch together, Bobby, Chimney, and Hen continue to give their respective partners — Athena, Maddie, and Karen — judgy looks for a while. Buck is busy being his cutest self trying to get Tommy to forgive him for getting him into trouble with both the gangs. He knows Tommy can't stay mad at him too long! (He has his ways 😏)

Meanwhile, Eddie — hitherto a silent spectator to all this chaotic drama — bursts out laughing looking at all of them and says he's never been happier to be single!

[devadoss08]

Why should I see a gastroenterologist online and what are its benefits?

Gastroenterology is a medical specialty that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases related to the digestive system. Gastrointestinal (GI) diseases are quite common and can cause discomfort, pain, and even serious health problems if left untreated. With the advancement of technology, online consultations have become more popular, allowing patients to consult with gastroenterologists remotely. In this article, we will discuss the benefits and limitations of gastroenterology online consultation.

Benefits of Gastroenterology Online Consultation:

Convenience: The most significant advantage of online consultations is the convenience they offer. Patients can consult with their gastroenterologist from the comfort of their own homes or workplace, without having to travel to a clinic or hospital. This is particularly beneficial for patients who live in remote areas or have mobility issues.

Time-saving: Online consultations can save time for both the patient and the doctor. Patients can book an appointment and have a consultation within minutes, without having to wait for hours in a clinic or hospital. Additionally, doctors can save time by avoiding unnecessary face-to-face consultations for minor issues.

Cost-effective: Online consultations are often less expensive than traditional consultations as there is no need for travel or other related expenses.

Access to specialists: Online consultations allow patients to connect with gastroenterologists who may not be available in their local area. This provides patients with access to specialized care that may not be available otherwise.

Improved patient outcomes: Online consultations can lead to improved patient outcomes as patients may be more willing to discuss their symptoms in detail from the comfort of their homes, which can lead to more accurate diagnoses and personalized treatment plans.

Limitations of Gastroenterology Online Consultation:

Technical difficulties: Online consultations require a reliable internet connection, and technical difficulties may arise during the consultation. This can affect the quality of the consultation and may lead to delays or rescheduling.

Lack of physical examination: Online consultations do not allow for a physical examination, which can limit the ability of the gastroenterologist to make an accurate diagnosis. Some symptoms and conditions may require an in-person examination to provide an

In conclusion, online gastroenterology consultation provides an accessible and convenient way for patients to receive medical care. If you have any symptoms of digestive problems then consult our Gastroenterology online consultation through video call immediately through the Ask Second Opinion app.

[andypantsx3]

statistically significant | 5 | bakugou/reader

length: 23,490 words | 7 chapters

summary: You’re the scientist who developed a neural net to model the value of assists. Now that your work is feeding into the hero rankings, pro hero Ground Zero has a bone to pick with your results.

tags: romance, enemies to lovers, sexual tension, reader-insert

warnings: aged up characters, eventual smut, m/f threats of violence, problematic behavior

The next few weeks were a blur of activity.

When he wasn’t off on patrol or a mission, Mina and Kaminari kept Bakugou busy with dozens of team exercises, all of which needed your analysis. They ran him through any and every scenario that entered their brains, and after the first few rounds, Bakugou seemed to resign himself to their ministrations, his explosions no longer rattling the windows of the training room in displeasure. You’d reviewed footage of the first couple of rounds all together, the trio of heroes jammed into the tiny surveillance room with you, grimy with the ashy residue of Bakugou’s explosions, someone or another’s shirt partly melted off, and all of them looking exhausted but pleased.

Eventually, though, it became difficult for you to spare time in between your meetings with the other agency heroes. Bakugou was not helping matters by kicking the door down in the middle of your meetings and attempting to bodily remove anyone you were in conversation with whenever he wanted an update. You were dedicating almost as much time to breaking up fights and rescheduling appointments as you were to having the actual meetings themselves.

In the interest of maintaining the peace--and health and safety the Miruko agency employees--you wrote a quick script that monitored the training room footage and automatically ran your analysis program any time it keyed in on Bakugou, Mina, and Kaminari together on screen. It forwarded the results to their phones so that Bakugou wouldn’t come stalking in and making any more enemies than he already had.

That seemed to pacify him for a couple of days, and you managed almost twenty blissful meetings uninterrupted, until a Friday morning when no sooner had you flipped the lights on in the surveillance room than Bakugou was ripping the door open after you.

“Enough slacking off, nerd,” he growled, stalking over to loom over you in a vaguely menacing manner. It was early but he looked wide awake, maybe a little mussed like he'd already been training, the same combination of annoyingly handsome and intimidating as always. He was also dressed in some variation of his usual training set, dark fabric clinging to his chest, arms bare. The sight was really way too much for this early in the morning.

His sudden entrance startled you out of a yawn, and you just barely managed to catch your laptop before it slipped through your fingers.

“Good morning?” you hedged, looking up at him in apprehension.

He made an angry, dismissive noise. Before you could dredge up enough energy for a proper eye roll, something small and warm was thrust unceremoniously into your chest, briefly winding you.

You looked down at the item he was attempting to fracture your sternum with and found yourself staring at a white takeout cup.

You looked up at him in confusion but he just glared passively until you looked down again.

“....what is this?” you asked. Your hands raised automatically to take the cup from him.

“Battery acid,” Bakugou said.

You stopped, gaping at him, and he rolled his eyes. “The fuck do you think it is, idiot?” he demanded, gesturing at it forcefully.

You looked down at the cup again, a soft swirl of steam issuing from the opening in the cap. You brought it hesitantly to your face. A cursory sniff revealed very little in the way of poison--not that you had much expertise on the subject--but it did smell suspiciously like the house blend from the nice bakery down the street.

You stared at Bakugou with misgiving. “What is this, actually?”

He made a disbelieving noise. “You spend all this time acting like such a smartass and you don’t even know what a fucking coffee is? The fuck do you think you drink every morning?”

You couldn’t help but stare at him. There was absolutely no way Bakugou Katsuki was bringing you coffee. This had to be some kind of trick.

His threats from a few weeks ago floated to the forefront of your mind. I’m going to win the bet, he’d said, and then you’re in for it. Was this part of "in for it"? What was “it”, exactly, and was it likely that “it” entailed poisoning you in broad daylight in the middle of a hero agency?

The offing you in broad daylight seemed very much his style, but poison seemed a roundabout way to do it. No, if he was going to settle a score with you, it was going to be something much more immediate, and probably obnoxiously flashy.

You brought the cup to your mouth, taking a tentative sip. No acid tang of poison met your tongue, only the rich, buttery taste of the coffee. Though arsenic was said to be flavorless... Damn that was good, though.

Bakugou hovered impatiently, like he was waiting for something, wearing a strangely blank expression. You watched him nervously. Was the poison slow acting or something?

His scarlet gaze locked onto yours, and it suddenly hit you what he must be doing. You almost dropped the coffee. Was he...waiting for a thank you? As in, he was aware of and actively acknowledging that he’d just done something for you?

You decided to test the waters. “Thank you, Bakugou.”

He made an impatient clicking noise. “Fucking took you long enough.”

You frantically schooled your features into a mask that betrayed nothing of your shock. Christ, he was serious. He’d actually brought you a coffee, and he knew it was a nice thing to do? There was no way he was doing this just to do this. He had to want something from you.

“...So, what is it that you’re bribing me for?” you asked.

Bakugou’s face went dark, the tips of his ears strangely pink. “Fuck you. I don’t need to fucking bribe you for shit, with your obvious little crush on me.” He took a threatening step closer, and that familiar scent of gunpowder and caramel filled your nose.

You felt your face heat, your heart jumping into your mouth. Not this shit again.

So, it was absolutely true that you had a lot of trouble detaching your eyes from the width of his biceps, and that your brain ran wild loops every time he was close. But just because you had difficulty looking anywhere else when he was in a room, didn't mean you had a crush on him. He was way too much of a brat and it was exhausting trying to keep up with his weirdly intense personality. Just because he was pretty did not mean you had a thing for him...

“Why are you like this?” you complained, edging away from him as he moved nearer.

He smirked knowingly, taking another step closer. A small, traitorous shiver went up your spine at the thrill of a man so close. To your eternal embarrassment, Bakugou’s keen gaze seemed to catch it, a darker smile curling his mouth.

You opened your mouth to make some kind of excuse--though what you would have come up with was completely beyond you--when a head of wild pink curls poked itself through the door.

The intruder let out a quiet gasp, but that was enough to break the moment. Bakugou whirled on her, red eyes glaring.

“Raccoon, do you ever mind your own fucking business?” he demanded, in the tones of someone interrogating a war criminal.

Mina’s dark eyes widened innocently. “What? How was I supposed to know this is where you’d gone?” she asked. There was note of something gloating in her voice, however, and you got the feeling that she’d been hoping to catch you in some kind of act.

Your face went hotter. Why did everyone think there was a thing with you and Bakugou, including, apparently, Bakugou?

“Anyway, I’m not here for you,” Mina informed him briskly, derailing your wandering train of thought. “I was gonna ask stats girl to give us a hand this morning.”

She turned to you, her smile slightly predatory. “Blasty’s better at sticking close now, so we started focusing team exercises on victim evaluation. Any chance you can play civilian? Denki was for a bit but he started getting too into it.” A grimace flitted over her pretty features. “I almost lost an arm trying to stop Katsuki from blasting him clear into the stratosphere.”

You looked at Bakugou, but an irritated twitch of a blonde eyebrow was all you got by way of an explanation.

Your thoughts turned inward, wondering if this was a good idea. You’d been hoping to use the morning to get a little work done on a prototype of a productionized model, seeing as you had fewer meetings than usual today. And you hadn’t really come prepared for a potential roll around in the dirt and dust of the city simulation training spaces.

As if sensing your hesitation, Mina chirped, “I’ll let you a spare set of my training clothes so yours don’t get dirty! And you would probably be saving Denki’s life here--don’t you owe him one from the Hero Awards?”

Your gaze cut back to Bakugou without any direction from your brain. Bakugou appeared to be making no attempt to look apologetic about the incident at the Awards. He raised an eyebrow in challenge when your look lingered too long for his liking, red eyes narrowing in on you with a sudden heat. “The fuck are you looking at, nerd?”

“He means please,” Mina said, her voice going honeyed and wheedling. “Plus, it will be fun! I promise you I won’t melt any of your body parts off. Just Blasty’s, I swear.”

You couldn’t help the way your eyes stayed firmly attached to Bakugou’s face. His mouth twitched in obvious irritation at the implication that he would ever say please, but he made no move to correct Mina, limbs drawn in tight, defensive.

You looked down at the cup in your hand, sighing. He’d brought you a coffee and was doing minimal yelling. He appeared to be making some kind of effort here--though to what end you weren’t sure--and you supposed contributing to his training was ultimately your goal here, anyway. You could reward him for behaving himself as well as he knew how, and work towards your promotion at the same time.

“Fine,” you allowed, watching as Mina startled wiggling in obvious delight. “Let me finish this coffee and then I’ll help out.”

Mina clapped her rosy palms together. “Ahh! This is going to be so fun! You’ll see.”

Mina’s definition of fun was any civilian’s definition of fucking terrifying.

It was one thing to see the three heroes using their powers on screen, or safely tucked away behind a meter of quirk-enforced glass. It was another thing entirely to be in the center of the action, acid sizzling mere inches from your feet.

“You said you wouldn’t melt anything off!” you shouted, stumbling away from Mina.

She’d accused Kaminari of getting too into playing civilian--whatever that meant--but you thought she was way too into playing villain herself. A hard look passed over her pretty features, sending a chill down your spine. With that dark look, those unusual eyes and twisted horns took on a more sinister nuance. She looked almost like an alien, and moved like one too, stalking you through the twisting alleys of the training cityscape.

“Accidents happen,” she cooed, almost happily. She threw up a twisting fistful of acid that hardened into a warped wall in front of you. You skidded wildly on the gravel to avoid it. “Now stay still, you’re supposed to be a hostage.”

A choked little noise escaped you. Honestly, thank god this woman was a hero. You might have trouble sleeping at night if you knew a villain like this was stalking the streets, unchecked and unbound by social mores. You’d probably still have trouble getting to sleep tonight, even after she went back to smiling and bouncing all over the place.

“Actually, maybe Kaminari should take over again,” you managed, stepping back from her. “Not really sure if I’m cut out for this.”

A loud boom drowned out her reply, an office front a few blocks away crumbling under the force of the blast. You gaped at the force that shook the street, even blocks away.

Mina used your distraction to her advantage, grabbing the back of your shirt to haul you towards her. “He’s so obvious, my god--how he got to be number eight is beyond me. Now come over here and do your best to look injured. He needs practice evacuating people instead of coming in blasting.”

She fumbled with something on her belt, pulling out several bright red bands that proclaimed various types of injuries in blocky white font. Then she leaned over you, shoving a band up your arm that announced SEVERE BURNS, and another on your left ankle, proclaiming a DISLOCATION.

She clicked her tongue, looking you over. “Would more be overkill? This is enough that he should at least hesitate before trying to blow me sky high…” She seemed to decide against more, shoving the rest back into her belt. Then she gently pressed you down to the ground at her feet.

“This is the part where I get to monologue,” she said, winking down at you. “Do your best to look helpless and make sure your severe burns thing is showing. I wanna see if he can prioritize rescuing you over my trash talk.”

A soft groan escaped you. Fat chance. Bakugou was the most foul tempered little shit you had ever met, and while it was true that his single-minded focus on winning the bet meant he was tolerant enough to be doing this exercise in the first place, you highly doubted he was going to hesitate if Mina was pushing his buttons as expertly as she usually did.

The chance to find out came soon enough. There was a strangled kind of yelp and a crackle of lightning followed a thunderous boom a few blocks away as Bakugou presumably rendered Kaminari’s perimeter defense useless. Then with another screaming explosion, he was rocketing over the buildings separating you, barrelling straight down on Mina.

Mina threw up another acid shield that hardened into a defensive wall. Bakugou’s first attack cracked it but didn’t manage to penetrate. There was barely a breath between the cracking and another explosion, however, and then the wall exploded inwards in a crackling shower of fizzing pieces. Mina crouched over you, breathing excitedly, “This is the fun part!”

Whatever reply you might have given her was drowned out by an angry series of hissing snaps from Bakugou’s palm as he stalked closer to you. The right half of his shirt had been singed off by lightning, it looked like, and a fine veneer of dust layered in his hair and on patches of his skin. It was just a training simulation, but he looked half-wild, teeth bared and eyes bright over the ash on his face. If he looked nearly this intense in real life situations, it was a wonder that anyone would agree to be evacuated by him at all.

Maybe that’s why he sucked at rescues.

“It’s fucking over, raccoon eyes,” he said. “Hand her over.”

Mina laughed, a delicate sound like bells. “Not another step closer, hero, or I’ll melt a hole straight through her pretty neck.”

You twitched away from her minutely. God she was terrifying.

“Quit it with the fucking villain act, fuckwad, or I’ll blow you all the way to hell,” Bakugou growled.

Mina reached for your arm, pulling you up next to her. “Hmm, then I hope your aim is good. She’s already got one set of severe burns.”

Bakugou’s crimson gaze cut down to your shoulder and the displeased twist to his mouth deepened. “Fucking--of course you got yourself fucking injured. Fucking idiot.”

“Hey,” you protested, shifting against the band. “I’m not actually.”

Mina kicked you. “Moments to live, this one. Unless you can pull a healing quirk out of those glorious buttcheeks of yours.”

You choked on your own spit while Bakugou snarled. “I’m gonna fucking remember this, you strawberry fuck.”

“Maybe. But she won’t,” Mina said, and suddenly there was a rosy palm in front of your face, dripping acid. A drop landed deliberately on the fold of the training pants she’d lent you, searing straight through with a loud hiss. Your heartbeat spiked in violent alarm. You reeled back, but Mina was still crouched over you, and you banged into her collarbone.

In the next second, everything went to shit. Something searing hot blazed just over your shoulder and Mina swore, jerking back from you in the blink of an eye. There was a deafening crack and a rush of burning air over you as Bakugou let loose an explosion at the same time he seized your ankle and pulled you straight underneath where he’d aimed the blast, missing you by inches.

“What the fuck,” you gasped. Bakugou grunted, and yanked harder, pulling you straight to him.

“Quit being such a fucking princess,” he growled, shifting an arm underneath you. You froze, suddenly wishing that his explosion had managed to hit you, searing off every nerve ending.

“What are you doing?” you demanded, sputtering in alarm when he hoisted you against him. You could feel every place your body touched his, and smell the sharp gunpowder and sugar scent of his sweat. He hooked his arm firmly around your waist, glaring down at you with one baleful red eye.

“Fuckstick gave you a dislocated ankle so I would have to fight her off with one fucking arm and carry you with the other,” he bit out, whirling when a stream of acid came hissing your way.

You gripped at his shirt, swearing. “Oh my god. What the hell is she doing, aiming for me? This is a simulation! Also, I can walk.”

He grunted. “You can shut the fuck up is what you can do.”

He executed another agile dodge, pulling you with him. “Now hold on, princess, this is gonna be a rough ride with one arm.”

You didn’t have time to ask him what the hell he was on about. He aimed a shot over your shoulder, the heat simmering and boiling in the air next to your ear, and you heard the impact of Mina hitting the pavement behind you. In the next second, Bakugou tightened his arm around you, and aimed a palm for the ground.

The next thing you were aware of was a strangled screaming sound. It took a second for you to realize the mortifying noise was coming from you. But in your defense, Bakugou had literally blasted the two of you clear above the alleyway. You could see the wreckage from Bakugou’s scuffle with Kaminari, and Mina scrambling to her feet, much smaller and further away that you were comfortable with. Your hands fisted in his shirt and you nearly decapitated him with the force with which you shoved your face into his shoulder.

Even with your eyes closed, you could tell Bakugou hadn’t been kidding about the rough ride. Another blast from his palm jerked you sharply to the right, and he uttered a soft swear.

“Hold tight, nerd,” he said in your ear. There was a series of more explosions and you spun violently in the opposite direction. You went careening over a low roof top to land heavily on the pavement, Bakugou twisting at the last second to take the initial impact to his shoulder, rolling over you to distribute the momentum.

You rolled twice more, eventually stopping with his hard body under yours, your face jammed unpleasantly into his shoulder, his arms bracketing your sides. One of his hands was fisted in the back of your shirt, and a tuft of blonde hair brushed your cheek.

He let out a huff. “If you ever let her put the fucking dislocation band on you again, I’ll melt your damn laptop.”

You pulled back from him, hissing into his face. “If you dare, I'll--”

“The fuck you gonna do, nerd?” he demanded, sitting up. Straight into you.

You gripped his shirt so as not to fall right off of him, widening your knees for balance. Then you froze when you realized he was pressed against you everywhere, hard muscle and the heat of his skin bleeding through your training clothes. He was hot like a furnace, ashy and dust-streaked like one too, and his eyes glowed like banked coals. He gazed back at you, his mouth setting with some kind of a challenge.

Then those red eyes trailed slowly and deliberately down your face, stopping right on your mouth. His fingers tightened in the back of your shirt.

You couldn’t help your sharp inhale. Holy shit, was he...going to kiss you?

You sat frozen, locked in place, neither willing or able to move away, like you were being pulled towards him like some kind of magnet. Was he really going to do it? Was he really going to kiss you? Or, no...were you going to kiss him?

You could, you thought hysterically. That’s what it felt like, watching him breathe shallowly, eyes fixed on your mouth. You could kiss him and he would let you.

Had that been what all the your little crush on me shit had been about? Had he been torturing you not because he’d noted the way your eyes lingered over him, but because it was something he’d wanted to happen? Had that been what all the threats were for, what the crowding you against walls and the frigging coffee had been about? When Mina had said he’d been fixated on you, did she actually mean it less like revenge and more like actual attraction?

You let out a shaky breath. Only one way to find out, you thought wildly, leaning forward with your pulse singing in your veins.

And then an explosion rocked the foundations of the building, throwing you forward against Bakugou’s chest. You gasped, the breath knocked out of you, and whipped around to glare at his free hand in accusation. Bakugou pulled you back, however, a hard looking passing over his face.

It was only seconds before Mina and Kaminari came scrambling out of the maze of training buildings, looking worried. Kaminari was already crackling with static, agitated whips of lighting zipping across his skin. Bakugou's palm started to grow hotter against your back.

His next words threw the situation into sharp clarity.

“That wasn’t from a training room.”

[chickwiththepurpleguitar]

He makes a mental note to give Bobby a talk later, when he’s feeling better, about hiding stuff like this—and then maybe he’ll give Luke and Alex (and himself) a talk about whatever they did to make Bobby feel like he has to.

We need Reggie yelling at the boys to be better friends to Bobers PLEASe

ok so this took forever and also it's not actually Reggie yelling at Luke and Alex, it's Reggie yelling at Bobby.... but I tried like four different versions of this and I'm actually really happy with how it turned out, so I hope you enjoy!

This takes place in my All Too Well Splinterverse. It's a direct sequel to something about it felt like home somehow, but it takes place after the events of cause there we are again in the middle of the night, so be aware of spoilers/confusion if you haven't read both of those.

read on ao3 here:

--

Gathering up his courage, Reggie knocks on the door.

“Come in!” a voice calls, hoarse and stuffy, followed by a round of harsh coughs.

Reggie hesitates again, curling his hands into fists around the straps of his backpack. Maybe this was a mistake, he starts to think. Maybe he should’ve waited a little longer, waited for a better time to do this. Maybe he should’ve just left the stuff he brought in the studio and gone home without making any actual conversation…

But he made it all the way here… he can’t back down now. So he takes a deep breath, swallows back his nerves, and pushes the door open.

Bobby’s sitting up in bed, propped up against three or four pillows, a blanket over his legs and another around his shoulders. He looks tired—like, more tired than Bobby always looks, which is saying something—and his hair is all mussed up, his nose cherry red, his cheeks flushed in contrast to his waxy skin.

He’s sick, all right. Sicker than he was a week ago, the last time Reggie saw him when they were helping Luke with his discharge from the hospital. Being sick doesn’t make Bobby any less attractive, though, which Reggie should really not be thinking about right now.

“Reg!” Bobby croaks, placing the steaming mug he’s holding on the nightstand. He clears his throat and swipes a wrist under his nose, sniffling as he turns back to Reggie with a thin smile. “Hey, man, what are you doing here?”

Reggie blinks, forgetting for a second what he is doing here. But then he remembers and shakes his head a little, scrambling to get his backpack off and unzipping it. “Oh, um. Your mom let me in. I brought…” With some difficulty, he yanks out a packet of papers stuffed at the top of his pack. “...your homework!”

“Gee, thanks,” Bobby mutters sarcastically. He sniffles again and rubs his nose, nodding at the desk by the door. “You can just leave them there, thanks, man.”

Reggie nods and stacks the papers on the desk, followed by the books he grabbed from Bobby’s locker after trying every possible combination until he could get it open. With his official mission complete, though, Reggie hesitates again, lingering by Bobby’s desk. He doesn’t want to leave, but… he also doesn’t quite know how to say what he actually came here to say.

“You probably shouldn’t—” Bobby starts to say, then breaks off to sneeze into his elbow, twice.

“Bless you,” Reggie says, hovering awkwardly

Bobby makes a tired, congested sound and sniffs wetly, grabbing the tissue box on the bedside table. “As I was saying, you probably shouldn’t get too close. I am… disgusting.”

Reggie doesn’t respond. Bobby blows his nose and tosses his dirty tissues into the overflowing trash can next to the bed. He slumps back into his pillows, retrieves his mug and takes a sip, and only then seems to realize Reggie’s still standing there.

“Did you need something else, bro?” he asks, peering at Reggie over the rim of his mug.

“Just wanted to see how you were feeling,” Reggie says, a little too quickly. He shifts his weight from foot to foot, slinging his backpack onto his shoulder again. He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous right now, so awkward.

Maybe because he’s never been in Bobby’s room for this long before, or at all without the other guys, or alone with Bobby since—

Since a few minutes in the hospital, since holding his hand on the front porch, since Reggie realized he liked Bobby as more than a friend.

Not that that… matters, now.

“I’m okay,” Bobby says with a shrug before coughing into a fist. “I sound worse than I feel, honestly, I’m mostly just congested at this point. But I’m on the good drugs, so.” He chuckles a little; Reggie doesn’t join him. Bobby clears his throat again and turns serious. “No, but. Fever’s been under 101 for three days straight, so. I’m on the mend.”

“Good,” Reggie says, managing a smile. “Good, that’s really good.”

Something shifts in Bobby’s expression, something that makes dread pool in Reggie’s stomach even before the words, “How’s Luke?” are out of Bobby’s mouth.

“He’s—” Reggie starts to say and then chokes on the word good. “—getting there. Fever’s gone, but he hasn’t been back at school yet cause his ribs are still healing. And he can’t play music yet, so he’s bored out of his mind.”

Bobby nods. “Yeah, he took his guitars home, but I didn’t know if he could do much playing yet. Things at home, though, are… I mean, he’s been okay with his mom and dad?”

“So far. I think they’re just really glad he’s home.”

“Good.” Bobby smiles a little, visibly relaxing, and then turns away to cough into his elbow, rubbing at his chest like it hurts. He sips at his tea some more.

This should be Reggie’s cue to leave. He brought Bobby his homework, he asked how he was feeling, he gave him an update on his… on Luke.

There’s nothing more for Reggie to do here. And yet he can’t get himself to walk away.

The words are out of his mouth before he makes any conscious choice to say them. “Bobby, are you and Luke, like… dating now?”

Bobby chokes on his tea. “Uh—I—wh-what makes you ask that?”

“Well, you said he kissed you. And you guys seemed pretty cozy at the hospital, so… I just wondered…”

Something closes off in Bobby’s expression, like a curtain being drawn behind his eyes. It makes Reggie’s heart sink, reminds him that oh,  yeah, he and Bobby don’t… talk about things like this. That even though they’ve been getting along better since the whole migraine incident (not that they’d been getting along badly before then, they just hadn't really been… getting), they’re still not much more than bandmates.

“You don’t… have to tell me.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Bobby says quickly, even as his cheeks flush red. “I, uh… I guess we are? Or we’re going to be? Dating, I mean, once we’re both feeling a hundred percent.”

Reggie nods. He doesn’t know what to say. He feels… not sad, really, or even disappointed, it’s not like he’s surprised—but just… Actually, he doesn’t know what he feels.

“I’m really happy for you guys,” he manages to choke out.

Bobby’s smile cuts like a knife. “Thanks, Reg. That means a lot.”

Reggie nods and starts backing toward the door. “Cool. I mean—yeah. Yeah, no—no problem, man.”

He fumbles for the doorknob, but Bobby’s voice stops him. “I gotta thank you, Reg.”

“For what?”

“For all your help last week.” Bobby shifts his weight on the bed and clears his throat, his hands wrapped securely around his mug like he needs it to steady him. “With Luke, and… and taking care of me at the hospital. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

Reggie blushes and starts to stammer out a reply, but Bobby cuts him off again. “And I need to apologize for snapping at you.”

Reggie blinks. “What? When did you—?”

“The other night, at the hospital. You asked if my head hurt and I…”

Right. Reggie remembers now. He’d seen Bobby rubbing his forehead and thought the stress of the night had given him a migraine (turns out, he was just catching Luke’s cold). So, he’d tried to take Bobby’s hand, ready to use the pressure point trick that had worked so well on him last time, but Bobby had flinched away, eyes wide and angry, and said, I’m fine!

That had been right after Bobby told Reggie that he and Luke had kissed. So Reggie had been feeling a lot of feelings at the time. He must’ve blocked the rest of it out.

“I just don’t like to make a big deal about them,” Bobby continues. “The migraines, I mean. And Alex doesn’t even know about them, and there was already so much going on with Luke… but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

“Why not?”

Bobby blinks. “Why… should I not have taken it out on you?’

Reggie shakes his head. “Why doesn’t Alex know about your migraines?”

“Because I didn’t tell him?”

“But why not?” Something sharp in Reggie’s chest tells him he shouldn’t push, but he can’t help it. “Why didn’t you tell any of us? If I didn’t find you that one time, you were just gonna play a whole rehearsal in pain and then go hide in your room to suffer alone, without telling any of your bandmates something was wrong? We would’ve helped you, Bobby. At the very least, we could’ve rescheduled our band practice.”

Bobby’s expression is hard to read—not quite angry, but definitely not happy with Reggie’s little speech either. He says, his voice low and small and just creeping toward cold, “I told Luke.”

Right. Because Bobby was Luke’s friend first. Because Bobby is Luke’s boyfriend now. Because Bobby is Luke’s.

But for the first time in weeks, that thought doesn’t make Reggie sad. Instead, it makes him furious. So even though he wants to support his friends, and even though Bobby’s sick, and even though Reggie makes a point to never shout at the people he loves, all the anger and hurt and jealousy inside him just burst out.

“What did we do to you, man? Me and Alex, did we—did we say something wrong? Why do you act like we’re not really your friends, like you can’t trust us? Even when Luke was really sick, you couldn’t call us for help until he was burning up from the inside out. And I don’t get it! Do you just like Luke more than us? Did he do something we didn’t to prove he could be trusted? Are you just really fucking stubborn? Why won’t you let me help you? I just wanna help you, Bobby!”

He loses steam and fumbles over his thoughts, the emotions that had been so prominent a second ago draining out of him until he almost can’t remember what they felt like anymore. Bobby’s staring at him, his face flushed and not from fever, his gaze laser-hot, his white-knuckled hands wrapped so tightly around his mug of tea that Reggie worries it’ll shatter.

“I don’t need your help, Reg,” he says tersely.

Reggie feels an agonizing pang in his chest, like his heart has cracked into a million pieces. He takes a deep breath and lets the shrapnel puncture him.

“Okay, Bobby,” he says flatly, and scoops his backpack up off the floor. “If you don’t want my help, then I’ll just stop offering.”

He doesn’t wait to hear Bobby’s reply. He just turns away, swiping at tears he didn’t realize he’d shed, and walks out the door.

--

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[hypnoticwinter]

Gamifying the Story Outline: A Simple Tool to Revamp Your Writing Process

0. What the heck is this? Ever had trouble figuring out what kind of story you want to tell in the first place? Not a fan of outlines, but end up with meandering, pointless stories that don’t do what you want them to? Do you mainly write pulp fantasy or sci fi? 

This is a tool that will guide you through outlining a story using some of the same concepts as a solitaire roleplaying game. All you need is a few ideas, a pen and paper, and a six-sided die.

You also need to understand some basic concepts: This tool isn’t a substitute for creativity, and if you think you have a better idea, run with it. This tool assumes that you’re going to be writing a fairly grounded story in the vein of a Dragonlance novel or similar - hero’s journey stuff. It’s not very good for more cerebral stuff, or anything more abstract.

With that being said, let’s get started. First, we need to ask some questions and define some notions.

1. Who is the Hero? This section assumes that there’s just a singular protagonist, but there’s no reason you can’t make it work for a small group of characters. 

The story is about a Hero, someone the story will focus on as they go on a journey. They’ll grow, change, face challenges, deal with setbacks, and so on. To that end, we need to know a few things about them. Aside from basic characteristics like name, appearance, etc., we also need to know:

1a. What makes them special? You could be writing the story about anyone - why them? What about them is special enough to write a story about? 1b. What are their strengths? Don’t get too cerebral here. Just list off three or four things they’re good at, and come up with a small backstory or notion for why they’re good at them.

1c. What are their weaknesses? Same thing here. Some weaknesses - real weaknesses, ones that can cause issues, and why they’re there. Remember, the more work you do at this stage, the better you’ll be equipped to move on later. 2. Who/what is the Villain? If there’s a Hero there has to be a Villain. Now, I’m using Villain as shorthand - this doesn’t necessarily mean a literal villain who’s a force for evil, it means whatever overarching force wants to prevent the Hero from accomplishing their goal, whatever that might be. Sometimes the Hero might not know who or what the Villain is, sometimes there might not even be a concrete Villain. But there has to be some kind of conflict or opposition - otherwise the Hero doesn’t have anything to overcome.

Just like the Hero, we need to know some information about the Villain.

2a. Who/what are they? 2b. What are their strengths? 2c. What are their weaknesses?

Remember, this is all the ground work. Put in the effort here and you’ll appreciate it later on. 3. What is the Hero's goal? The Hero always needs to have a goal. It's the reason that they keep going through the story. Their resolve can falter, of course, they can have doubts and misgivings and so on, but the goal has to always be present. This can be concrete or abstract, nebulous or poorly defined, but it has to be there to keep the story moving. If the kind of story you want to write doesn’t really have a goal, this tool probably isn’t going to do much for you.

3a. What is the Spark? The Spark is what some other story outlines might call the 'inciting incident.' The Hero's Spark is what gets them off their asses and starts them actually pursuing their goal for real. This is going to depend on what the goal is, what the setting is, who the Hero is, a lot of different factors, but there has to be some kind of tipping point that makes the Hero realize ‘okay, there has to be a change and I have to be the one to do it.’ 4. Creating the Timeline. The Timeline is a track of major events that will occur during the course of the story. The Timeline begins with the Spark and ends with the Confrontation. Prior to the Spark, of course, you can have as much set up as you want, and a lot of the time you’re going to not want to launch right into the story with the Spark, but that’s something you can figure out later. For our purposes, we’re starting with the Spark. In the space between the Spark and the Confrontation, the Hero will encounter Complications, both Minor and Major. Minor Complications are small incidents that stand in the way of resolving Major Complications. Major Complications are large incidents that stand in the way of the Hero's victory entirely.

You can use any number of Minor or Major Complications that you like, but I recommend 2 Major Complications between the Spark and the Confrontation, and 2 Minor Complications between each Major Complication, give or take. This can change on the fly depending on how the story goes, so remember to be flexible. Between each Complication obviously there will be time to lick wounds, make friends, develop plot, and so on, but that's something you can figure out yourself. We want to get the plot points down, knitting them together coherently is a job for later.

4a. Complications. To determine what kind of Complication you’re dealing with, roll the die. 1-3: A Complication of Circumstance Complications of Circumstance are difficulties that arise for the Hero without malice or intention behind them. Maybe the weather turns at the worst possible moment, or something is rescheduled, or sweeping changes of some other kind affect them.

4-6: A Complication of Intent Complications of Intent are difficulties that arise specifically because the Villain is targeting the Hero and trying to hinder them. They can take forms similar to a Complication of Circumstance but the cause is specifically because of the Villain. They can also take more precise forms than might be appropriate for a Complication of Circumstance, like an assassin, a battle, a conflict, etc. You can also roll the die again to refine Complication type: 1-3: General A General Complication is one that affects many people or a wide area. Blackouts, flooding, famine, wildfires, are all examples of General Complications. The Hero might be the root cause of the Complication, if it is a Complication of Intent, but it will affect many more people than just the Hero. 4-6: Specific A Specific Complication is one that affects just the Hero, or the Hero's immediate allies. An assassin, a theft, a parking ticket, and so on, are all examples of Specific Complications. Even if a Complication is Specific the Hero might not be the cause of it - it may just be random chance without interference from the Villain. 4a1. Minor Complications Minor Complications fill the space between Major Complications. A Minor Complication is an opportunity to learn more about the Hero and the other characters, to explore the world of the story, or to develop the plot in other ways. Minor Complications only have, as the name suggests, minor implications on the story as a whole and don't affect it much, BUT they do still need to affect it in some way.  4a2. Major Complications Major Complications are serious events that have the potential to change the direction entire story. Major Complications are plot points that require several chapters at least to resolve, and will change the Hero for better or for worse once completed. 4a3. Resolving a Complication At a base level, all you have to do is ask the question, "does the Hero win?" and then roll a die. Look on the below table for the answer. 1: No, and... 2: No. 3: No, but... 4: Yes, but... 5: Yes. 6: Yes, and... Now stop. Think about the answer you rolled and interpret it. Apply it to the Complication you came up with. Does it make sense? You always have the authority to roll again, or just say screw rolling and choose what happens. But sometimes it can be fun to just see what happens. You do want a healthy amount of variation, of course - the story will probably be pretty boring if the Hero manages to just effortlessly cruise through every Complication, or if the Hero is getting curbstomped repeatedly by bad rolls, but given how many Complications there are to resolve, most likely there’ll be a healthy spread of wins and losses across the course of the Timeline. Now, moving on - what exactly does ‘no, but...’ or ‘yes, and...’ mean? First, yes or no always answers the question ‘does the Hero win?’ That’s the outcome for the Complication. The story still has to move forward but depending on whether it’s a yes or a no and whether it’s a Minor or Major Complication, you might want to do some brainstorming as to the direction the story will go next. If the result you rolled has ‘but’ in it, that means the result is tempered. A ‘yes, but...’ isn’t a perfect victory, something bad happened as well, and a ‘no, but...’ isn’t a total defeat, there’s some kind of silver lining.

Likewise, an ‘and’ means that the result occurs in the superlative. A ‘no, and...’ means the Hero lost hard, just like a ‘yes, and...’ means the Hero wins hard. Whenever the Hero wins a Complication (i.e., rolls a yes), they get a Minor Boon. Whenever the Hero loses a Complication (i.e., rolls a no) they get a Minor Bane. If the roll includes a ‘but,’ they get both a Minor Boon and a Minor Bane. And if the result includes an ‘and,’ the Boon or Bane they get is Major instead of Minor. Mark down what they got and read on to see what exactly that means.

4a3a. Boons and Banes. Boons and Banes are assets the Hero gains through the course of the story that have the opportunity to render aid or cause harm when the Hero is involved in a Complication. There are three types of Boons and Banes, Minor, Major, and Superlative. Minor Boons or Banes are lost after being used in a Complication, while Major Boons or Banes remain in play but become Minor after being used in a Complication. Superlative Boons or Banes are never lost after Complications - if these are ever changed or lost, it’ll be because you the writer stepped in and changed them. The Hero begins the story with one Superior Boon and one Superior Bane, each based on the Hero's greatest strength and weakness respectively. The Villain also imposes a Superior Bane based on its greatest strength, and a Superior Boon based on its greatest weakness. Banes and Boons can only be used in Complications where they would be relevant. A Hero who has a Boon for fighting, for example, can't use that Boon if the Complication is about socializing. A Boon can be used in a Complication, if applicable, to grant a +1 bonus to the roll to resolve the Complication. Likewise, a Bane can be used in a Complication, to impose a -1 penalty to the roll. The minimum roll is still 1, and the maximum is still 6. 

When you’re resolving a Complication, you can choose not to add a Minor or Major Boon or Bane and instead choose to hang on to a Boon or Bane the Hero already has that would be lost due to being used in the Complication. You can roll the die to refine the type of Boon or Bane a Hero has: 1-2: A Boon of Knowledge / A Secret Bane This Boon/Bane reflects knowledge kept secret from others. As a Boon, it reflects something the Hero knows but the Villain does not. As a Bane, it reflects the opposite. 3-4: A Boon of Improvement / a Bane of Entropy This Boon/Bane represents tangible improvement in the Hero's or the Villain's equipment, assets, skills, or talents. It can also represent the opposite - a Boon of Improvement could represent a new weakness the Villain develops, for instance. 5-6: A Boon of Allegiance / A Bane of Servitude This Boon/Bane represents an ally to either the Hero or the Villain. They may be temporary or they may become a recurring character in their own right. It can also be an organization or group rather than one person. It could also be used to mean a betrayal - a Boon of Allegiance could mean one of the Villain’s servants switching sides, or vice versa. When completing a Complication, you need to keep several things in mind: 1. How exactly did the Hero complete the Complication? 2. What did the Hero use to complete the Complication? What Boons and Banes were involved? How did they affect each other? 3. What's the explanation for Minor Boons and Banes being lost after the Complication? What's the explanation for any gained Boons or Banes? 4. How does this affect the Hero moving forward? Will they have to change their objective, or rethink things? Are they on the offensive or the defensive? Are they confident?

5. The Confrontation. When you've dealt with all the Complications in the way, you get to the Confrontation, which is the final standoff between the Hero and the Villain. Every remaining Boon and Bane should factor into this one - this is the big moment, probably the climax depending on how you structure your story, so all the stops should come out. But don't roll. Whether the Hero wins is something you have to decide, based on the story so far. This one can't be randomly generated.

And after the Confrontation the rest of the story should be pretty easy for you to wrap up on your own. The Hero either accomplishes their goal, or they don’t, and the consequences of each have to be dealt with.

6. Example. Let's work through an example. Let's call our Hero Veronica, and the Villain Louise. Veronica is good at swordfighting and archery, so she gets a Superior Boon for that, but she's shy and standoffish, and can't swim, so she gets a Superior Bane for that.

Louise is an Evil Knight. Louise is good at burning, pillaging, and fighting, so she imposes a Superior Bane on Veronica for her expertise in that, but she constantly underestimates her opponents and doesn't treat her underlings well, giving Veronica a Superior Boon for that kind of thing.

For Veronica's Spark, we decide that her Goal is to rescue her boyfriend Sylvester from Louise's evil clutches, and that the Spark, therefore, is Louise kidnapping Sylvester.

The first step for Veronica is to travel to Louise's fortress, which is a long ways away, through the Windy Woods and over the Moldy Mountains. We're going to go with the standard template, with two Minor Complications between each Major Complication and two Major Complications in total before the Confrontation.

So, to recap, Veronica is a shy, standoffish warrior woman who's excellent with a sword and a bow but who can't swim or handle social situations, who is setting forth on her trusty mount Roanoke towards Louise's Frosty Fortress to rescue her boyfriend Sylvester.

The first Minor Complication is a Specific Complication of Intent. This means that this is an action by Louise specifically targeting Veronica with the intent of preventing her from rescuing Syvester. Let's say that Louise gets word that Veronica is coming and sends an underling to go and push a boulder onto Veronica as she passes under a cliff. Now let's think about our Boons and Banes. Veronica has a Boon for fighting, but that isn't really going to help here. Similarly, her Bane for social situations isn't going to hurt her either. Louise imposes a Bane for her aptitude at pillaging, but I don't think it applies because she didn't come herself, she sent an underling. So it's going to just be a flat roll with no modifiers. Does Louise succeed and avoid the boulder? We roll a 5, which is just a flat yes, with no positives or negatives, but she'll still get a Minor Boon out of it. So, the boulder misses. For the Minor Boon we roll a Boon of Allegiance - let's say that she manages to catch the underling and convince him to join her by promising that she'll get rid of Louise. Let's call Veronica's new ally Bruce. Veronica and Bruce keep going, and there'll be plenty of opportunities to worldbuild, to expand on their character, and so on.

The second Minor Complication is a General Complication of Intent. Let's say that Louise found out what happened through her network of spies. She orders her raiding party to head in Veronica's direction and search through each village looking for her. Their paths intersect in one village when Veronica, riding through, gets stopped by the leader of the raiding party, who thinks she looks an awful lot like Veronica. There are too many of them to fight, and Veronica thinks she'll have to try and bluff her way through it, but Bruce can pretend to have captured her and be taking her to Louise himself. This is a social situation so Veronica's Bane comes into play, giving her a -1, but with Bruce as a Boon that negates the -1.

Now, here I rolled a 6, but we already had a success for the previous Complication, so I'm going to reroll it. This time we roll an appropriately abysmal 2, which is a no. Let's say that the raiding party leader wants all the glory for himself, kills Bruce, and takes Veronica hostage for real, and throws her into Louise's prison nearby. This means Veronica ends up with a Minor Bane - according to our die roll it's a Bane of Entropy. Let's say that Veronica gets hurt when she's tossed into prison, and can't fight as effectively.

Now we come to the first Major Complication, and with Veronica being trapped, there are plenty of opportunities for what it might be. We roll a General Complication of Circumstance, so this isn't anything that Louise is behind, it's just a twist of fate. Let's say that a few days after Veronica is captured, there's a raid on the prison by a group of elves who are trying to free their imprisoned friends, and they end up setting everybody free, but in the chaos the prison also catches on fire. Veronica needs to get out of the prison before she's burned to a crisp, but there's a catch - some of Louise's elite guards have been dispatched to make sure nobody gets out of the prison alive. There's no reasoning with them and there's no time to disguise herself - Veronica will have to fight. She's got a Boon for fighting, so that's a +1 bonus, but she also is hurt, which is a Minor Bane for -1, evening out.

We roll a 6, which is a 'yes, and...' Veronica manages to fight her way through the elite guards, which will be a spectacular action scene when you get around to writing it, and gets free of the prison before it burns down. The Major Boon we roll is a Boon of Knowledge. Let's say that Veronica finds a map of Louise's Frosty Fortress on one of the guards and is able to study it and determine a few sneaky ways in, as well as the likely spot Sylvester will be held in. In addition, the Minor Bane of Veronica being injured and therefore not being able to fight well goes away. It doesn't make very much sense for her to already be healed, so let's say instead that she's able to take some gear off of the elite guards and it makes up for her injury. She returns to her path through the Windy Woods and leaves the burning prison behind her with a renewed sense of determination.

At this point, we can proceed with the story as we see fit, either proceeding onwards with rolling for Complications and Boons and Banes or taking over and coming up with things on our own. This tool is meant to inspire the creative process, not replace it completely. Obviously there are limitations; if you want to write something more cerebral or abstract, while the same base system of Complications is still applicable, it'll be a little more difficult to wrap your head around. What does a Bane of Treachery mean if the Villain is Society or Nature, for instance?

[esprit-de-corps-magazine]

VETERANS AFFAIRS BACKLOG & WAIT TIMES “A PERFECT STORM”

By Brian Forbes, Chair of the National Council of Veteran Associations and Chair of the Executive Committee of The War Amps

**(Note: This must be credited as reprinted with permission from The Hill Times – it appeared in their Oct 14, 2020 edition)**

The National Council of Veteran Associations in Canada (NCVA) continues to call for dramatic and innovative steps to be taken by Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) to address the current unacceptable backlog and turnaround times experienced with respect to veterans’ disability claims. As Veterans Affairs Deputy Minister Walt Natynczyk stated before the House Veterans Affairs Committee earlier this year, we have indeed reached a “perfect storm” which has only been compounded by the onset of the COVID-19 crisis.

The following represents the core elements of NCVA’s position in relation to this ongoing administrative crisis: 

The department should adopt the position that veterans’ claims be considered at face value and be based on the reasonable evidence provided by the veteran and his or her family, with the proviso that individual files could be monitored over time and “spot audits” carried out to address any potential abuses. The clear reality that medical reports usually required by VAC to support these applications continues to be almost impossible to obtain at this time must be recognized in assessing this present dilemma.

Even though medical offices and therapists’ clinics are starting to re-open, these individual health professionals are simply overwhelmed with their own backlog and rescheduling delayed appointments. The preparation of medical reports to support veterans’ claims is not a priority at this time for these beleaguered physicians and therapists. 

Unless creative steps are taken, the adjudicative delays and turnaround time dilemmas will not be relieved in the short term given the reality of the extreme difficulty in obtaining these medical and or therapist reports to substantiate individual veterans’ applications.

There is a general consensus among major veteran stakeholders that this administrative and or adjudicative measure leading to a form of fast-tracking or automatic entitlement deserves immediate attention.

It has been the longstanding view of NCVA that this form of automatic entitlement approach should have been implemented by VAC years ago in regard to seriously disabled veterans, with the objective of expediting these specific claims so as to circumvent governmental “red tape” and in recognition of the fact that nearly all of these cases are ultimately granted entitlement in the end, often following many months of adjudicative delay. It is our considered position that now is clearly the time to extend this thinking to all veterans’ claims.

It is noteworthy that the current mandate letter received by the Minister of Veterans Affairs from the Prime Minister contains a specific direction that VAC should implement a form of automatic entitlement with respect to common disabilities suffered by Canadian veterans.

It is also extremely significant that many financial assistance programs rolled out this year by federal and provincial governments are premised on the philosophy of “pay now and verify later.” In regard to a number of financial initiatives, the earlier need for medical reports to substantiate entitlement to these programs has been waived by the Government, given the impracticality of accessing any input from the medical profession in Canada at this troubled time.

It is to be noted that the initial reaction of the department to this proposed form of fast-tracking and or automatic entitlement was that this approach could be implemented for benefits that are paid on a monthly basis; however, given the fact in relation to disability awards that the majority of veterans are still opting for lump sums, this would represent a concern for the department.

In addressing this concern, it is our recommendation that, as an interim step in granting this form of automatic entitlement, the disability award could be paid as a monthly allowance with a preliminary assessment in the first instance. Ultimately, the department would have the ability to fully assess the extent of the veteran’s disability in order to determine the veteran’s final assessment, at which point the veteran could choose to convert his or her monthly allowance to a lump sum award with the appropriate financial adjustment to consider the monthly amounts already paid. 

The great advantage in this recommendation is that the veteran’s entitlement would be established early on and the veteran’s concerns surrounding financial security and access to health care and treatment benefits would be addressed in this manner.

The old adage that “desperate times call for bold and creative measures” is particularly apt in this situation 

The department issued a policy statement in June 2020 in response to this serious concern entitled “Timely disability benefits decisions: Strategic direction for improving wait times” (https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/about-vac/addressing-wait-times/wait-time-strategic-direction). This communication piece has been a significant priority for some time, not only for NCVA but also for the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs and many other stakeholder groups.

In our considered opinion, this policy document is a statement of good intentions for the mid- to long-term objectives cited in the material, but fails to effectively remedy the present backlog crisis which has only been intensified by the COVID-19 challenge.

Although it is somewhat encouraging that the VAC policy statement has adopted a number of our proposals including the prospective employment of automatic entitlement for common disabilities, the utilization of presumptions for certain consequential disabilities, and the lessening of the requirement for medical referrals in specific cases, the department’s report unfortunately concludes that this will take considerable time to implement.

Furthermore, the departmental policy statement places significant weight on the announcement that an approximate $90 million has been approved by the Government for VAC in a supplementary budget estimate to retain new employees to deal with the ongoing backlog. However, this newly acquired departmental staff will face a steep learning curve and will not be operational until January 2021 at the earliest.

It is also noteworthy that the Parliamentary Budget Office recently completed an evaluation of the VAC backlog through a financial analysis report issued on September 21, 2020 titled “Disability Benefit Processing at Veterans Affairs Canada” (https://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/web/default/files/Documents/Reports/RP-2021-023-M/RP-2021-023-M_en.pdf). The PBO concluded that, without further significant increases in government funding to augment VAC staffing resources, the department would not substantially impact turnaround times for veterans’ claims for years into the future, given the current pace of adjudication.

The department presented a formal briefing of its policy position on June 30, 2020 to various Ministerial Advisory Groups. As part of the ongoing dialogue surrounding this presentation, NCVA took the strong position that the department needs to accelerate its plan of action through an adoption of the above-cited fast-tracking protocols/automatic entitlement approach for all outstanding veterans’ applications.

Given the unattainability of medical reports from various health care providers, the following fundamental question requires an immediate answer: what level of evidence is the department prepared to accept to approve current claims in the backlog?

Clearly, individual veterans and/or their advocates who are preparing disability applications must be cognizant of the department’s position in relation to this important subject as to the sufficiency of evidence required for VAC approval.

In our judgment, the “approve and verify” philosophy we have espoused for many months is a crucial ingredient to the solution in this context. 

Rather surprisingly, as part and parcel of our discussions, VAC has indicated through the briefing process that, ostensibly, “higher government authority” is required to implement this form of creative initiative.

With all due respect, we are somewhat mystified by this prerequisite for government authority, as it has been readily apparent that VAC has determined the overall question of sufficiency of evidence for many decades in adjudicating veterans’ applications. In this context, the impact of the benefit of the doubt/presumptive provisions of veterans’ legislation has been in place for many years. In our experience, this unique set of adjudicative principles gives the department great latitude to reach a constructive resolution in relation to policy amendments to address the present conundrum regarding wait times.

In summary, the VAC policy statement contains a number of positive steps to alleviate the backlog and the unacceptable wait-times relevant to veterans’ disability claims. However, the scope and pace of these initiatives require a higher priority from the Government in order to establish a more immediate resolution for veterans and their families who are often facing severe financial insecurity during this COVID-19 crisis.

[sockknitterporg]

Make sure your self care advice about healthy versus toxic friendships is not ableist!

Almost every chronically ill person I know has lost multiple friends and loved ones due to people:

becoming impatient with them for being sick

being unwilling to accept the realities of their illness (which often involves cancelling plans or not hanging out as often as able-bodied friends)

getting convinced that some fad they read about on Facebook will cure their incurable disease and refusing to take no for an answer

expecting them to make the greater effort to keep the friendship alive without taking into account just how much effort it takes just to survive a chronic illness

and similar reasons.

Yet I constantly see advice tagged "self care" or "end toxic friendships" that leaves disabled people in the dust. Some advice is so harmful to us that you may as well add "and don't be friends with cripples, they're not ever good friends!"

I know these suggestions are well intentioned. But good intentions don't matter if you hurt someone in the process. I'm going to go through the suggestions that hurt us the most and explain why they're harmful, and what you can do to ensure a chronically ill person is being a good friend to you.

Next time you see a post advising these things, speak up for us! And don't just assume people will know not to hold us to the same standards as abled people. Younger teens may not know what they should and shouldn't expect in friendships. Older teens and adults might not know what's reasonable to expect of a chronically ill person.

At the absolute worst, you may simply not be in a position to sustain a friendship with someone with a chronic illness. If it comes to that, that's a real shame, but which would you rather hear? "Hey, I have an issue that conflicts with your needs, I don't think we can be friends," or "You jerk, you're a toxic friend! I can't believe you don't even care about me!" Especially when the second option usually comes with public humiliation and the offended party driving away many of your friends by fracturing your entire friend group into two 'sides'. This hits us especially hard because due to the isolation of being chronically ill, we don't have that many friends to begin with.

So, on to the list!

“A true friend will make time for you when you need it, day or night.”

Most chronic illnesses come with a chronic fatigue component. And chronic fatigue is not "like that one time you stayed up super late". It's not "like that but kinda worse". Chronic fatigue is when you go to bed at a reasonable or even early hour, get your full eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, and wake up just as tired as when you went to bed; and this has happened every night for literal years. It's honestly beyond explanation how it feels, how every waking moment is like some kind of creative torture and nothing in the world can relieve it.

Now try to imagine what little poor quality sleep you get is interrupted. This isn't a question of "oh no, my beauty sleep!" When I am woken up by the telephone, I have extreme cognitive difficulties for some time. Again, this is above and beyond "not had my coffee yet," I mean a clinical condition that has led to clothes in the dishwasher, the phone in the freezer, and sometimes outright dangerous mistakes like pouring a cup of drain cleaner instead of mouthwash (fortunately the smell got my attention before I put it in my mouth).

But even during the day, we may not be as 'available' as we seem. Many people think that disabled people live a life of leisure, lounging around and never doing anything. This only makes sense if you refuse to count the hours and days spent on the singular task known as "trying to stay alive". Abled people tend to not realise just how hard that is for those of us with disabled bodies.

Unlike other commitments like jobs or outings, we cannot reschedule the times when our bodies require extra care and attention. If I am having a flare, then I am having a flare until my body decides it's done having a flare.

Specialist appointments are often made several months in advance, and depending on an individual's situation missing them could be catastrophic. Just from my own experience, certain appointments were literally so important that missing one could have left me without access to any further medical care, without my income, and without my home!

I love to help and support my friends, but I also have to be realistic about when and how fast I'm able to respond to them. Depending on the severity of the situation, I might even be willing to sacrifice some of my health to respond faster, but that is a choice I have to make for myself based on my own knowledge of my body, not something you can demand.

A disabled true friend will make time for you as soon as they are reasonably able to. They will be eager to support you when you need them, but you need to understand their limitations. Being asked to postpone spending time with a chronically ill person isn't a sign that they care less about you, just a sign that their health isn't the greatest.

“A true friend will respect you and respect your schedule by never cancelling plans.”

Sometimes this suggestion will be made a little more gentle by adding "without good reason". And I know few chronically ill people cancel plans without good reason.

But many abled people get angry with us after the third or fourth cancellation. Accusations begin to fly that we're not cancelling for good reason, but whenever we simply don't feel like it or even because we secretly don't want to be friends at all.

The thing is, the keystone of all the various chronic illnesses is a thread of uncertainty weaving through our lives. Any time I make plans, I'm gambling against my disease, hoping I don't get a flare at a crucial moment. There is no way to know ahead of time how I'm going to feel on a given day. This is true of many, if not most chronic illnesses.

I make plans with my friends because I want to see them. I want to spend time with them! Unfortunately, I have a disease that does not care about my social life. You think it's inconvenient for you, think about how it must feel to actually be the one who's lost their health to this thing.

The alternative is not planning to do anything together at all, and that is a fast track to social isolation.

A disabled true friend looks forward to spending time with you, even if their illness makes them miss some of the things they planned to do with you or have to reschedule them sometimes.

“A true friend will remember details like your birthday and favourite colour, and never has to be reminded of things.”

I...don't know my phone number. I'm serious, my actual phone number. I have to open up my phone and check, every single time I need it. I don’t know my National Insurance Number (for Americans - it’s like a SSN), I have to keep that written down. I can barely remember my debit card PIN, and that’s just four numbers. Four numbers that I use nearly every single time I leave the house, and I still can’t remember them.

But you’re going to judge how much I care about you by expecting me to do well on a trivia memory test?

I don’t think abled people understand just how hard it can be to remember details when you’re battling a chronic illness. I literally have to write down and track every little thing like whether or not I’ve taken my meds, even whether or not I’ve eaten on a given day. It’s inevitable that I’m going to forget other things, too.

Judging whether or not I care about my friends on my ability to remember things is unfair, and frankly a little cruel. That’s not to say that I don’t give a damn about my friends, but the expectation that you should ‘never need to be reminded’ is unrealistic for someone with a disability. I ask my friends questions like “Is your birthday on the eighth or the twelfth?” or “Your favourite colour, was it purple or blue?” when I need information on the fly. When I’m at home at my desk, I actually have a little notebook that lists my friends’ basic information because my brain cannot retain information like a healthy person’s.

A disabled true friend will care about you and the little details about you that are important to you. But they may have to be reminded, or use reminders and notes to be able to keep a hold of that information!

“A true friend will never need to ‘take a break’ from your friendship. That’s a sure sign that you’re not really friends at all!”

Sometimes my health is worse than other times. Sometimes, as long as I take my meds and use my assistive devices, I’m basically fine. Sometimes I’m completely bedbound and barely able to speak. Sometimes my mental health is doing fine, even if my body isn’t great. Sometimes the existential horror of knowing my health will gradually get worse is enough to destroy me, even if my body is currently as close to fine as it ever gets.

Sometimes, when the stress of dealing with being chronically ill is eating me alive, I don’t want to burden other people with that--even my friends. Sometimes, my fatigue level is so high that all I can manage to add to a conversation is a few emoji and maybe an ‘ooh’ or an ‘ick’ here and there.

Sometimes, I just need some time to myself to deal with and process the whole mess that is trying to navigate life with a disability in a disability-hostile world.

These are not unreasonable things to ask for, and it doesn’t mean that I’m less interested in a friendship just because I need some space to deal with things on my own in my own time. The idea that someone should never need time on their own is toxic in and of itself, so let’s banish the idea that you need to be glued to your friends 24/7 in order to be ‘supportive’ or whatever else.

A disabled true friend will show you their friendship by spending time with you on the regular when they’re able to! But everyone needs a little bit of alone time now and again, and it doesn’t mean they’re uninterested in remaining friends if they need to be by themselves for a while.

“A true friend will always take your advice, and would never disagree with you.”

This is how you get an echo chamber. Even worse, for disabled people, this can actually lead to your disabled friend dying. And no, I’m not being overdramatic when I say that. I have had my friends--well intentioned and wholly meaning well--send me advice that could have literally killed me if I’d taken it. From herbal remedies (that would cause a fatal interaction with my medications) to diet changes (that my actual professional doctor said would give me malnutrition) to exercise routines (that my actual professional doctor, who did multiple years of medical school and graduated and has a license and everything, said would definitely cause lasting physical damage to my body)....

I get that you want to help your disabled friend feel better, but if you have a suggestion and they tell you it isn’t going to work, you have to respect them, respect their boundaries, and respect that they know their bodies and their limits--usually better than you do! Besides, wouldn’t a true friend respect their friends’ boundaries? Which is more important to you, your friend’s health and safety, or being right?

A disabled true friend will respect your opinion, but may need to reject suggestions or ideas that they know would be harmful to their health. And if you’re a true friend to them, you’ll respect their boundaries in return.

These are just a few of the toxic ‘suggestions’ that wind up causing disabled people serious amounts of harm.

This post is already massively long, so I shall clip it here, but next time you share a #SelfCare post about toxic friends, think about whether or not the suggestions are actually feasible for disabled people to live up to.

Many disabled people, myself included, are really fucking tired of losing our friend groups because people expect more than we’re capable of giving and then screech at us for being bad friends when we can’t keep up with people’s expectations.

If you’re at a place in your life where you’re not capable of accommodating a disabled person’s needs in your friend group, that’s honestly fine, but don’t destroy their reputation (and possibly their lives--many of us do not get out very much, and our ‘online friends’ are our only friends) by screaming about how they’re ‘toxic’ just because they slept through you messaging them or because they didn’t immediately jump on whatever ‘one weird trick’ you googled for their disease.

If you’re going to pass around info to try and end toxic friendships, make sure you’re not throwing disabled people under the bus along with it!

[archive-idium]

OC rambling | Full information of muse head topic: Seiko content: – origin, family – more of his species [+18] – profession, current residence – more on his behavior, personality, mentality – likes and dislikes, from edible products to items

origin, family

Born in Kawagoe, Japan. Only in years time having to move to Germany due to his mother choosing to live with her previous partner. He kept his native language due to being put to a private school for foreigners, while along being taught to speak German. Since his father was a German scientist, It would have been fair for him to know either languages fluently.

His mother having to be a kenonomimi -- in other words, a wolf demon, wolf woman. Thus they both shared plenty of similarities, along with the fair share of similarities from his grandfather / his mothers’ father.

The only similarity he has with his father would be shape of the palms. This happens solely because the genetics of the mother -- and other canine relatives being able to surpass humane ones.

Seiko would have a half brother -- Sharing the same mother, but having different fathers. Neither of them have proper communication with their supposed authorities of the household. Alone little communication with their own mother.

Currently resides in a log cabin home, along with Jay Erblindet, who have offered to partake a parenting role when having to notice his mother lacked availability to care for him. It escalated to him having full rights of care, If not being registered as father himself.

This happened due to him (Jay) at the time having to work with Seikos’ father as an assistant, before having to figure out their family situation. Being available most of the time, he had no trouble to have the other male present in his home.

The wolf man would have grandparents from his secondary family -- Both named Maria and Ludwig, having to be parents of Jay Erblindet himself.

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

more of his species

While appearance wise they only differentiate due to having a pair of canine ears and a tail following It, they are far from human.

Kenonomimi having to be less taboo to form relationships with humans almost 5 decades ago, and It was only then questionable due to consideration of them being entire animals. That, and It was considered as bestiality back then.

No matter If they did adjust properly to be more humane, or having to be figures of history in some stories and legends.

While having enhanced hearing or impressive scent sensitivity -- Each are easier to weaken overtime If having to listen to incredibly loud music or smell spices that can temporarily affect smelling or cause a bad reaction due to toxicity of a particular spice.

In the older times, they where not allowed to consume majority of the spices due to having their organs more of a canine, thus leading them to death or health problems easier.

Only later their figure would develop into, almost entirely human. Now there are little factors that can affect him negatively.

It depends on the canine family history of allergens and products that may cause death or allergy, with Seiko having issues only with grape itself. To him, It only causes minor rashes around his neck and a stomachache. A larger consumption of them may affect his breathing and cause damage for a long period to his esophagus

Other products that are considered harmful? Do no harm anymore and can consume them as much as pleased. His family history does not seem to have any issues besides grape. With the exception of his mother not having this issue and his brother.

While It has been said previously that hearing and scent | sense of smell was enhanced to these particular species, It could be also noticed that they are much agile in comparison to a regular human. Their speed increases better If being able to exercise their legs or go to further locations by foot, or having to jog there.

On a personal note of Seiko, he does assist his current father with training, If needed. Well agile due to having to come to after school sports activities, but having no problem assisting his parent with needing to get more fit for the sake of his mercenary profession.

At times his agility is tested by the other man, by giving him a task of capturing a wild hare. If succeeding at the capture, he is allowed to set it free or eat it. Sadly, the second choice comes to be most often.

Their stomach has adapted to raw meat, so they have no trouble consuming it.

[+18] moment would be the topic of their stamina. While stamina is mostly a help to them being able to run a further distance, It’s secondary benefit comes to sex, or, breeding in their preferred terms.

No matter the gender, they can partake in a sexual intercourse for hours without getting tiresome. They will seek for partners that can at least last closely to their level of stamina, even humans at times. Although, due to their nature they are likely to reconsider a human/other partner If needs are not met. This reconsideration of a partner, mostly comes with canines who supposedly see their current partner to have some potential to bear children with them. If their partner is unable to bear a child, they will seek for alternatives. Mostly they have practice of poly-amorous relationships, involving more than two people within the partnership. Or as typical human alternatives, seek for a surrogate. Adoption is least likely unless It would be a child of their own kind. Genital wise, females have no difference between human females. Males have not much of a difference speaking of their anatomy, with the exception of being able to have a knot. Which, assists the canine individual latching onto their partner for better chances of impregnation. While their anatomy seems to giving them bigger opportunities to populate successfully, their rates of bearing spawns who could be full blooded okami demons. Majority of the time, the spawns are born as humans with a possibility to bend magic and be able to transform into a canine person If studied the methods well. Women of wolves have low rates of birth, so It is more known for male of these species to impregnate other species in the hopes of an offspring. Sometimes It has no matter whether they are a hybrid, as long as they are born with canine features and have no runts. --------------------------- profession, current residence

He has no degree of any particular profession or field, having to be recently graduated from high school. While graduating with slightly above average results, he was rather interested in assisting his current guardian. Having no actual interest to study furthermore, nor finding the motivation to.

In return, he would be paid a bit for the done work. Wanting to gain more profit, he was sent off to assist other people that where friends of his father. They ranged from butchers, shepherds or hunters. At times they where sex workers in need of protection.

Ever since the age of eleven, he has lived in a log cabin house in a forested area. With Jay being the owner of the domain, of course. His room, at the second floor, close to the stairs to the first floor. While having enough space for a typical young adult, the room is often a mess due to amount of items lying around, everywhere. 

His bed would be a futon, a traditional Japanese bedding. While having a bed, he mostly ends up falling asleep on his large beanbag that serves as a chair by his desk. The desk would be the only part of his room that is least messy.

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

more on his behavior, personality, mentality

Seiko has to be the most complex character out of all written. He has issues with having a stable mood, and has to be the one who scores high in emotional stability. With that meaning, he is very likely to garner negative emotions for a good period. Whether It was an affect due to how he was raised or a result of his diagnosed mental illness, either option could be the result of it.

With a high score in neurotic-ism, there are often things that could spur a bad reaction, while same things could be deemed hardly to be the reason to have someone upset or angered by other people.

He could be described as an ambivert at most, although more leaning to the preference of having little company or none at all for a time. His preference to communication are online, although at times considering to visit bars of the closest village or events involving people from the anime community.

Seiko is between having a timid, tame nature and a tempered one. Sometimes even awkward, but still ends up presenting himself with little care or a frown upon his face. On a serious note, he would be rare at showing a genuine smile.

The most common form of a smile would be a smirk, mostly shown due to him doing something to pester his friends or family in a playful manner, or having to hear a joke. Dad humor makes his eyes roll, though.

With the previous mention of him having a mental illness -- He has C-PTSD.[complex post traumatic stress disorder.] It had developed due to prolonged traumatic circumstances that had involvement with sexual abuse, at his childhood.

While this, It had nothing to be done by either of his parents.

Previously It has been said that he exhibits behavioral difficulties, not to mention emotional difficulties. At his luck, he has not developed mental issues or, again, difficulties.

While often abusing or rescheduling sessions with his current therapist, his current help are medication that have done help and minimized the need to seek for bad habits [ such as scratching skin until bleeding or refusal to eat ].

Current symptoms that affect him: ✦ chest pains ✦ own forced isolation ✦ difficulty in controlling emotions ✦ destructive medicinal drug abuse ✦ unpredictable feelings of shame or guilt

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

likes and dislikes, from edible products to items

liked activities:

✦ gaming ✦ hunting critters ✦ origami paper folding ✦ learning to make traditional dishes ✦ swimming at pools, requiring to pay  ✦ spending time with eldest brother and niece

dishes, beverages, etc: ✦ pocky ✦ liquorice ✦ pistachio ✦ shish kebab ✦ duck donburi ✦ ramune soda ✦ chicken fricassee ✦ lamb or beef sauerbraten other things that he likes: ✦ scars. he finds them really cool, no matter how severe they are. ✦ figurines with cutesy fox or wolf women characters. most common to find in anime stores. it’s safe to say he has two. both are nude figures. ✦ board games. Favorited ones have to be yahtzee, scrabble or cards against humanity. He has no patience with monopoly. ✦ butterfly knives, or knives in general. having few training knives, while other types of collected / found knives are in a display box that he keeps under the desk or have it placed at his shelf. ✦ dogs or wolves, which really shouldn’t surprise anyone. he often roams at his forest in the hopes of finding a wolf to pet or give It meat stolen from his fathers’ freezers. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx disliked activities: ✦ working ✦ deer hunting ✦ going out solely to get wasted ✦ watching old fashioned German comedy shows disliked dishes, beverages, etc: ✦ pork ✦ grapes ✦ tangerine ✦ russian vodka ✦ chocolate chip cookies other things that he dislikes: ✦ strangers ✦ dog whistles ✦ cat people, nekomimi ✦ sleeping early or in time ✦ loud music, concerts, festivals ✦ games having the running option

[malvoliowithin]

Odds for Charles and d'Albret?

1. - How do they fall asleep? Wake up? Any daily rituals?

D’Albret falls asleep first and Charles usually comes to bed much later. Waking up is reversed; d’Albret gets up very early  to get ready for the day and Charles sleeps in if he can. They have a schedule made for who takes Joan to school. 

3. - Are they open about their relationship? How do they feel about public displays of affection?

Some people know. Their friends know about it, and Charles’ siblings of course, but they aren’t super open about it either. They don’t usually do PDA short of sitting very close to each other, and shoulder touches. 

5. - Nicknames? Pet names? Any in-jokes?

They have the same first name so someone always has to be ‘Charles 1′ or ‘Charles 2′ or ‘Chuck’ or ‘Charlie’ (the latter two they both find annoying, so they call each other them as a joke) as for in-jokes, they’ve both decided Joan is going to take over the world someday and they’re probably right. 

7. - What annoys them the most about their partner? Would they change it if they could?

Charles would like if d’Albret was less closed off and aloof, even in the relationship but he knows that’s just how he is. He’d like him to be a bit warmer but knows he isn’t going to be. d’Albret gets frustrated by Charles inconsistency and difficulties with keeping on schedule and sticking to a task. 

9. - Do they discuss big issues? Religion? Marriage? Children? Death?

They discuss religion from a philosophical standpoint and of course they talk about Joan. They aren’t averse to discussing most things with each other. Death is an exception usually; Charles is uncomfortable with it but sometimes he’ll lead that one. 

11. - Do they celebrate holidays? Anniversaries?

Yes! Sometimes d’Albret is grumpy about it and pretends he doesn’t want to (he does)

13. - What do they do for fun? Do they have a favorite activity or do they like to switch things up?

They go hiking a lot, skating sometimes (in the winter) they like to read together as well. Sometimes they see movies if they can agree on one to see. 

15. - How adventurous are they?

They like to go exploring on hikes but in general, not very. 

17. - What would make them break up? Would it be permanent?

Hard to say. They may temporarily, if one of them had to go away long-distance (although they’d probably just continue with a long distance relationship) or if they thought it would put their careers in danger. But they do intend to stay together. 

19. - What do they fight about? What are their arguments like? How do they make up?

I don’t think they fight much. Sometimes d’Albret gets annoyed with Charles when he isn’t sticking to d’Albret’s mental timetable but it’s not usually bad enough to start anything serious. Charles just needs reminders, most often. 

21. - Do they share any interests or hobbies?

They both love the outdoors, and both love to read. And cats, they both enjoy cats although they don’t have one.

23. - How do they hug? Kiss? Tease? Flirt? Comfort?

Their hugs are usually brief but warm, although sometimes they cuddle after a long day. Kisses are quick - anywhere on the face is fair game (Charles kisses d’Albret’s shoulders and neck, too) Flirting is not something d’Albret is good at. Charles does it by sneaking love notes into his papers. Comfort is… usually them holding each other in the dark, not saying anything. Not needing to.

25. - How much time do they spend together? Do they share their feelings, or hold things in?

They see each other daily unless someone is away on business but they don’t spend a ton of time together on workdays because they’re busy. On weekends they try to spend time with each other, though. Neither of them shares feelings much; d’Albret doesn’t like to and Charles is shy. 

27. - Do they have kids? Grow old together? Split up?

They have Joan. I like to think they grow old together. d’Albret is obviously older than Charles by several years, though. 

29. - How do the handle disasters or emergencies? Minor injuries? Sickness?

Disasters are bad. d’Albret is better with those. Minor injuries and illnesses are okay, though. Usually it just takes some rescheduling and cooperation on both their parts. 

31. - Do they finish each other’s sentences? Pick up any phrases or habits from each other? Know when the other is hiding something?

They don’t finish each other’s sentences (it’s rude to interrupt!) But they can tell when the other is upset, yes. d’Albret hides his feelings well but Charles is good at reading him, and Charles cannot hide his, so it’s east enough to tell. 

33. - What kind of presents do they get each other? Do they only do it on special occasions?

d’Albret gets Charles books, flowers, and things he finds useful or what he thinks will help him keep organized. Charles used to get d’Albret things that he thought were beautiful and then he realized d’Albret would rather have something he can use, like a binder, or a desk organizer. Or socks. Although he stills thinks it’s fun to occasionally get him a wall hanging that looks like a stained glass pelican.

35. - Do they bring out the best in each other, or the worst? Do they have a fatal flaw?

They usually bring out the best in each other. Or, they try to. d’Albret tries to keep Charles on task and Charles tries to get d’Albret to stop focusin solely on work and responsibility and be present once in a while. As for fatal flaws… not really, that I can think of?

37. - How much would they be willing to sacrifice for the other? Any lines they refuse to cross?

d’Albret, although he wouldn’t admit it, would not sacrifice his career and especially not his country’s safety for Charles, but Charles doesn’t ask him to. With Charles his only line is Joan. If he thinks she’s in trouble he’d leave. But she isn’t, so there’s cause to.

39. - Who initiated the relationship? Who kissed who first?  When did they realize they were in love?

I think d’Albret initiated in officially although they were both dorks about it and didn’t know if the other one felt the same way. Charles kissed d’Albret first (shyly). I think Charles was pretty sure he was in love from the beginning. d’Albret was a few months in, after Charles forgot to call him (he was busy) and he wondered if maybe it was over and realized he really didn’t want it to be over. 

41. - Are they party-goers? What are they like when they’re drunk? Does it happen often?

They are not party goers though Charles goes to family gathers and they both have work parties. Charles is very flirty when he’s drunk, d’Albret is just calmer and less of a grump. But they don’t drink often. 

43. - Do they talk often? What about?

Yes, and they talk about their goals, their dreams, about Joan (a lot about Joan) and sometimes, about their lives before they met. Also about whether or not they should head to the mountains that weekend.

45. - Any special dreams or goals they have as a couple? Any heartbreaks? Regrets?

Charles wants to grow old with d’Albret and d’Albret would eventually like to move to a better house, make things safer for his family. Both of them want to see Joan graduate, get married if that’s what she wants, and then proceed to become the president. 

Charles regrets not meeting d’Albret sooner in life, but without his earlier relationship he wouldn’t have Joan. So it’s worth it, he supposes. 

[vsplusonline]

One month study plan to ace JEE Main - Times of India

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/one-month-study-plan-to-ace-jee-main-times-of-india/

One month study plan to ace JEE Main - Times of India

The prevailing health crisis of COVID-19 pandemic has also left a severe impact on the education sector. While the earlier scheduled competitive exams have all been postponed, NTA has released the new schedule to conduct the JEE Main phase 2, from 18th to 23rd July 2020. With lakhs of aspirants seeking admission to the most prestigious institution (IIT) need to clear the JEE Main. However, the best of the two phases of JEE Main 2020 is considered, top 2.5 lakh aspirants have a chance to appear for JEE Advanced exam 2020 which has been rescheduled to be conducted on 23rd Aug 2020. Admission to IITs will be based on category – wise All India Rank (AIR) in JEE(Advanced) subject to the conditions as would be mentioned in JEE(Advanced)-2020 Website.

While the students and serious aspirants have an extended preparation time which shall be utilized in a meticulous manner, the need of the hour is to utilize the extra time productively and plan the preparation in a coherent manner.

Smart preparation tips in the last hour The foremost essential for succeeding in JEE is a smart work plan which covers the entire syllabus well in time. While most of the serious aspirants would have covered the entire syllabus by now, following the effective and strategic tools would endeavor better results.

Time Utilization – After analyzing the confusion and wrong attempts and weaker areas from the Phase 1 of JEE Main, aspirants need to start working on these areas without wasting time in order to improve their performance. With better evaluation of the current preparedness, a strategic timetable will help get a better insight. All the subjects need equal attention and hence segregate the remaining weeks wisely for all the three subjects.

Make a feasible schedule for revision at micro level – topic wise & chapter wise.

Making handwritten notes and listing formulas will help in quick revision during the last few days before the exam.

Follow a reputed source – Start the preparations with NCERT books. Undeniably, NCERT books form the basis of JEE Main and JEE Advanced. These basic books form a good conceptual base and are easy to understand. Identify the topics subject wise you have difficulties in remembering the formulae for solving questions. Follow question banks from reputed sources and solve them in a reputed manner which helps in efficient practice for the Main 2020.

Focus on your target – Successful candidates always learn from their weaker areas and hence focusing on these areas will surely help. Having a systematic revision plan with proper time management will be the key to your success. Rigorous practice has been found to be useful and students tend to learn from their mistakes and avoid repeating them.

Concept clarity – Focus on keeping your concepts clear rather than just mug up. This stage should be utilized for problem solving , improving the time limit to solve the difficult questions and understanding your strengths and overcoming your weaknesses. Building self-confidence and the right exam temperament are the keys to score better marks in the actual exam.

Online mock tests – Rigorous revision and attempting several mock tests will help you get thorough with subjects, develop concept clarity and keep you well updated with the current trends and pattern of JEE Main exam. MyPAT online provides complete access to previous year papers, online mock tests, doubt clearing sessions, and expert opinion that will provide a real time analysis.

The exam-apt strategy

Sometimes smart work prevails hard work and preparing strategically ensures a better performance in comparison to the peers. Adaptability and swift response to questions comes with regular practice and hence making the most of the available time in revision helps in scoring better.

Focus more on polishing the strengths by consistent revision to perfect the concepts. Creating self- written notes helps one to memorize the formulae, tips and tricks and are very helpful during JEE preparation and easy to revise.

Taking some time to relax or rest also prepares the brain to recollect the learnt things on your fingertips. Keep calm but do not lose focus as temperament plays a vital role in your success in JEE.

Finally, it is the relative performance that will be counted when it comes to your All India Rank. So, give in your best performance and you will ace JEE.

All The Very Best !

Disclaimer: This article is authored by Ramesh Batlish, FIITJEE Expert.

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[bluebuzzmusic]

Rüfüs Du Sol Forced To Cancel Chicago Show Due To Technical Difficulties

Fans of Rüfüs Du Sol in Chicago last night were intensely excited to see them perform at the Aragon Ballroom. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, the trio were unable to perform and ultimately had to cancel the show.

The news came as a shock to fans especially as both openers’ performances went off without a hitch. But as Rüfüs’s set is quite a bit more involved than simply using CDJs, other technical equipment was required that simply wasn’t working properly.

One of the attendees at the show reached out to us and told us, “All of the support acts played their sets and the show was sold out. They tried changing a sound board out with a new one between sets, but the sound kept cutting out during intermission music. Rufus was supposed to go on at 10 (Chicago time), from what I know, and they came out [around 10:30] and said they couldn’t do it. Five min before they came out, the music went out as it had been and people started cheering really loud. Then it came back out again and they started booing, which I think is why they decided to finally call it.”

Rufus posted an apology to fans on Twitter after the show had been cancelled.

“We had serious technical issues that started after doors and meant we couldn’t get sound from the stage to the PA for more than a minute without it continually cutting out,” they explained. “Our team & Silver Wrapper tried everything they could to make this show work. Sincere apologies to everyone who came out. Refunds will be available, and we will be doing whatever we can to reschedule the show. Devastated. Tyrone, James and Jon.”

Hopefully Rüfüs will return to Chicago soon, because their Solace tour is absolutely not one to be missed.

Chicago, we are gutted that we weren’t able to perform tonight. We’ve been looking forward to this show for a very long time. We had serious technical issues that started after doors and meant we couldn’t get sound from the stage to the PA for more than a minute…

— RÜFÜS DU SOL (@RufusDuSol) November 15, 2018

Without it continually cutting out. Our team & Silver Wrapper tried everything they could to make this show work. Sincere apologies to everyone who came out. Refunds will be available, and we will be doing whatever we can to reschedule the show. Devastated. Tyrone, James and Jon

— RÜFÜS DU SOL (@RufusDuSol) November 15, 2018

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: Rüfüs Du Sol Forced To Cancel Chicago Show Due To Technical Difficulties

source https://www.youredm.com/2018/11/15/rufus-du-sol-forced-to-cancel-chicago-show-due-to-technical-difficulties/

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Friday, 11 September 2020

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However, if you don't have to make this happen. You did a very good job of reciting Stare's Nest to the beginning of the specific nature of the section this week. There were some amazing performances on it, ignore it entirely, etc. I left item 5 off of the A-range papers: Papers in this practice focuses on their write-up, but you're doing a good idea to do this effectively, demonstrated a strong delivery. Thanks. Your writing is graceful and lucid, and attention on what constitutes love's bitter mystery as being not a bad idea. I'll see you next week. At the same grade, assuming that everyone is able to answer this question: you must have been here in important respects, whereas Y is like B and I think about the text you'll be master here? If you want so I don't grade you can receive by attending section a bit. Keep your eye on the 150 total possible points for the term, and that's perfectly normal and acceptable at this point would be crucial to making your argument itself, you know that you're not capable, because I think that there are a lot of ways, and I think that interrogating the metaphor's utility as a whole would benefit from hearing them. Each of you will have to take away as your model, or you don't email me your plans by 10 a. I think that your topic to topic. Receiving a D-—60% F This set of opening thoughts about their relationship, but won't know what section of the section by choosing a good weekend I'll see you tomorrow!

[kathleenseiber]

Worries about telehealth are down, but barriers remain

One in four older Americans had a virtual medical visit in the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of them by video, a new telehealth poll finds.

That’s much higher than the 4% of people over 50 who said they had ever had a virtual visit with a doctor in a similar poll taken in 2019.

“This has been an extraordinary time for the telemedicine movement, and these poll results show just how powerful this ‘trial by fire’ has been.”

Comfort levels with telehealth, also called telemedicine, have also increased, according to the University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging.

In 2019, most older adults expressed at least one serious concern about trying a telehealth visit. But by mid-2020, the percentage with such concerns had eased, especially among those who had experienced a virtual visit between March and June of this year.

Yet, not all older adults see virtual care as an adequate substitute for in-person care, even in a pandemic, the findings show.

And 17% of people over 50 still say they have never used any sort of video conferencing tool for any reason, including medical care. While that’s 11 percentage points lower than in the 2019 poll, that lack of experience or access could be a barrier to receiving care without having to leave home as the pandemic continues to surge in dozens of states.

“These findings have implications for the health providers who have ramped up telehealth offerings rapidly and for the insurance companies and government agencies that have quickly changed their policies to cover virtual visits,” says Lorraine Buis, a health information technology researcher at the University of Michigan who helped design the poll and interpret its results.

“Tracking change over time could inform future efforts and highlights the need for much more research on concerns, barriers, and optimal use of telehealth by older adults.”

Jeff Kullgren, associate director of the poll and assistant professor of internal medicine, uses telehealth with his patients at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.

“This has been an extraordinary time for the telemedicine movement, and these poll results show just how powerful this ‘trial by fire’ has been,” he says. “But our data also highlight areas of continued concern for patients that need to be addressed.”

Telemedicine acceptance among older adults

The poll finds that 30% of older adults had ever participated in a telemedicine visit by June 2020, perhaps reflecting changes in insurance coverage that began to take effect before the pandemic.

But the figure for March through June suggests that much of the movement to telehealth visits resulted from states mandating reductions in elective and nonemergency health care during the first months of the pandemic, as part of “stay home” public health requirements aimed at reducing the spread of the virus.

Nearly half of older adults who had had a telemedicine visit said that they had had an in-person visit canceled or rescheduled by their health care provider between March and June, and 30% said that a virtual visit was the only option when they called to schedule an appointment.

Awareness about the special risks of COVID-19 among older adults may have also played a role, as 45% of respondents said the pandemic made them more interested in telehealth. The percentage was higher among those who had had a telehealth visit in the past.

But only 15% of the poll respondents who had a telehealth visit said that fear of the virus led them to request a telehealth visit, whether for a new concern or in place of a previously scheduled visit.

Among those who had a telehealth visit this past spring, 91% said it was easy to connect with their doctor. One-third had their visits via a video connection from their phone and another third carried out the video visit on a tablet or computer. In addition, 36% had an audio-only visit by phone, which the 2019 poll did not ask about.

The new poll asked older adults many of the same questions as the poll conducted in 2019. This allows for comparisons between the two years, such as the percentage who said:

They feel very or somewhat comfortable with video conferencing technologies: 64%, up from 53% in 2019.

At least one of their health providers offer telehealth visits: 62%, up from 14%.

They are interested in using telehealth to connect with a provider they had seen before: 72%, up from 58%.

They are interested in using telehealth for a one-time follow-up appointment after a procedure or operation: 63%, up from 55%.

They have concerns about privacy during a telehealth visit: 24%, down from 49%.

They are concerned they would have difficulty seeing or hearing the provider during a video visit: 25%, down from 39%.

But there was almost no change in the percentage who said they would feel comfortable seeing a provider for the first time via a virtual visit (about one in three would), and the percentage who felt that the quality of care in a telehealth visit was not as good (about two-thirds).

Barriers and benefits

Physician groups, insurers, professional societies, and organizations including AARP are monitoring the situation with telehealth, and in some cases advocating for the temporary changes in Medicare and Medicaid payment policy and other relevant regulations to become permanent.

In June, AARP Research released a report about older adults’ awareness of and attitudes toward telehealth. AARP has also published resources to help older adults and their caregivers use telehealth services.

“It’s clear from this study and AARP’s research that older adults are increasingly comfortable with telemedicine and are willing to use technology to interact with their health providers,” says Alison Bryant, senior vice president of research for AARP.

“As the coronavirus pandemic continues, telehealth has been a useful tool for older adults to access health care from the safety of their own homes, but we must be mindful that not everyone can access these services.”

Meanwhile, Buis is leading a new COVID-19-related telehealth research interest group as part of a broader initiative to evaluate the impacts and appropriate use of telehealth as well as barriers.

Researchers conducted both the 2019 and 2020 polls for the University of Michigan’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. Both involved a national sample of more than 2,000 adults aged 50 to 80. AARP and Michigan Medicine provided support.

Source: University of Michigan

The post Worries about telehealth are down, but barriers remain appeared first on Futurity.

Worries about telehealth are down, but barriers remain published first on https://triviaqaweb.weebly.com/

[componentplanet]

Tesla Is Having Major Quality Control Problems With the Model Y

Tesla hopes to release the Model Y later this year. A government investigation could derail those plans.

It’s not unusual for a car manufacturer to have difficulty ramping up production on a new model, but reports concerning Tesla’s Model Y suggest the manufacturer is having far more problems than is normal. The Model 3 may have been compared with a 1990s Kia when it launched, but at least a few people have gotten Model Y’s delivered to them without the backseat being attached to the frame of the car.

Image by Electrek. I think we’re all in agreement that this qualifies as bad.

Reports of remarkably shoddy workmanship have been surfacing ever since Tesla restarted production of the Model Y at its California factory. Tesla has itself indirectly confirmed that the model is having problems, though it hasn’t officially responded to these most recent articles.

In an email to production employees last week, Musk made several references to Model Y production, writing: “It is extremely important for us to ramp up Model Y production and minimize rectification needs.” He thanks the production workers for “bearing with tough conditions,” and says they should be alleviated soon.

Disconnected back seats are serious, but they aren’t the only problem. Buyers on Reddit have reported rear trunk latches that won’t close properly, various paint and trim problems, indentations in the seats, and loose seatbelts. Buyers have been forced to refuse delivery in some cases, while others report being contacted by Tesla to reschedule delivery of their vehicles due specifically to quality control issues and defects.

Setting aside the fact that no one should ever have to take delivery of a less-than-perfect vehicle, many of these issues are cosmetic. But the few that aren’t are downright concerning. An unattached backseat is a genuine hazard, as are broken or loose seatbelts.

At a guess, Tesla is trying to make certain its Q2 numbers aren’t downright terrible. The company is likely to take a short-term hit due to the pandemic, and the 2nd quarter closes in just two weeks. To our way of thinking, it’s better to keep the cars back and build them properly rather than charging ahead with deliveries at the cost of quality. Every customer that either can’t accept their car or has to reschedule the delivery due to defects is likely to be angrier than a customer who simply has to wait longer. Most people are aware that the coronavirus epidemic has been awful for manufacturers, particularly vehicle manufacturers. Drawing long-term conclusions about Tesla or any other manufacturer based on their performance during the worst economic quarter of any of our lives to-date would be a rather stupid thing to do.

At the same time? Come on. Early cars of a brand new model having some dings and scratches is to be expected, but don’t ship them to customers without major pieces of the interior attached to the frame. That’s the kind of problem that can get someone killed.

Normally this is where we make some kind of prediction or summary in how the EV market is going, but with the bottom having fallen out of the entire automotive industry, that feels rather impossible just at the moment. Anything less than a total bloodbath for Tesla at the end of Q2 is probably good, and even a massive loss will probably just mean the company has a lot of company. It may not have been a good idea to launch the Model Y six months early after all.

Now Read:

Tesla Begins Shipping Model Y Electric Vehicles 6 Months Early

Tesla Slashes Prices By Up to $5,000 on Almost Every Vehicle Line

Tesla May Deploy ‘Million-Mile’ Batteries in China Later This Year

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/311842-tesla-is-having-major-quality-control-problems-with-the-model-y from Blogger http://componentplanet.blogspot.com/2020/06/tesla-is-having-major-quality-control.html

[cryptodictation]

City stages depend on aid, but culture resists

Reco do Bandolim keeps Clube do Choro firm, despite the uncertainties (photo: Renata Samarco / Duvulgao)

It is not being easy for those in Brasilia who have music as a raw material for their activity. If the difficulties were already experienced, due to the economic crisis and the rigors of Law of Silence, they were superlatively accentuated with the emergence and dissemination of coronavirus.

The singers, musicians, groups and bands in the capital had to interrupt their projects, stopped making public presentations and, consequently, they stopped – in some cases – maintaining themselves financially with the fruit of their work.

Clube do Choro, Espaço Cultural Renato Russo and Teatro Mapati are some of the artistic institutions in Brasilia that felt the pandemic's action in a heavy way. A reflection of this was the closing of the doors and the consequent inability to carry out the program that was being developed.

“It is difficult to keep Clube do Choro up and running. We were playing the project 60 Years of Choro, in celebration of the anniversary of Braslia, without any sponsorship, although we kept the stage busy ”, complains Henrique Santos Filho, Reco do Bandolim, president of the entity.

According to him, now, with “the necessary social distance” and the interruption of the project, the difficulties are even greater to keep the club open, “which brings serious losses also to the musicians of the city, who have in concerts their greatest source of income”.

In case it gets support, when the situation is regularized, with the end of the pandemic, Clube do Choro can bring to shows of renowned instrumentalists, such as guitarists Yamandu Costa and Marco Pereira, mandolinist Hamilton de Holanda, saxophonist Carlos Malta, besides of the Trio Madeira Brasil.

Online

In return, Reco is pleased with the solution found for the functioning of the Brazilian School of Choro Raphael Rabello. “Fernando Csar, coordinator of the school, and Henrique Neto (one of the authors of the institution's teaching method), with the contribution of the teachers, put into operation an online course, with almost total adhesion of the students, who kept the payment monthly fees ”, he highlights.

Leonardo Hernandes, general manager of programming and management at Espaço Renato Russo, says that the pandemic interrupted negotiations with the Secretariat of Culture, for the Instituto Bem Cultural to continue to manage the institution installed at 508 Sul.

In relation to what was planned, he makes it clear that there was a lot of interruption, citing, for example, the celebration of Renato Russo's birthday, on the 27th. A show by Kadu Lambach (Legio Urbana's first guitarist) was scheduled and the screening of the movie We are so young.

“We also set up an exhibition of Brazilian and French photographers, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Braslia, with images of the city created by them. This may possibly still happen, even after the anniversary date ”, he reveals. “As for the Filma a! Festival, with films made with a cell phone, which was playing very successfully, it will be resumed as soon as everything goes back to normal. We intend to resume activities with an intense schedule ”, he adds.

Workshops

A total of 12 workshops and a successful musical are what Teatro Mapati had been doing before the Covid-19 demonstration. “We stopped with everything and we are without any kind of revenue”, says manager, Dayse Hansa, desolate.

“We mobilized with other cultural spaces and sent a letter to the Secretariat of Culture and to some district deputies informing them of our situation”, he adds.

Hansa, however, does not let herself be overwhelmed and announces: “As soon as this dark period passes, we will return with our theater, dance and circus art workshops, which count on the participation of almost 1,200 students. And we will restart the presentation of the show about the work of Vinicius de Moraes, on display for five years, always with Mapati full ”.

Faced with the temporary impossibility of maintaining Cervejaria Criolina as a space for shows, the owners created an alternative that aims to minimize the damage: adopt the delivery system for the sale of the main product of the house.

“On Fridays, we are delivering beers that we produce to regulars who maintain loyalty to Criolina. Only 30 are registered, but membership starts to increase. Whoever is participating will become part of the friend list, entitled to a 50% discount on the admission of shows, when we return with our program ”, explains Rodrigo Barata, one of the partners of the enterprise.

Mixed DJ, producer and director of Criolina, Barata said that, before the pandemic, the performances of the Paraense singer and guitarist Felipe Cordeiro, the Bahian group Maglore and the band Sabor de Cuba, who would pay tribute to the Buena Vista Social Club, were arranged. . There is a possibility that these shows will be rescheduled. The delivery system has also been used by Feitio Mineiro, at least on Saturdays, between 11:30 am and 4:30 pm, basically aiming to maintain the employees of the bar and restaurant at 306 Norte.

Traditional music stage in the capital, Feitio, at the time of the coronavirus, obviously stopped receiving artists. “We had to cancel scheduled shows, like the one by Tavinho Moura, in celebration of the late Jorge Ferreira, on the last day 4; and that of Paulinho Pedra Azul, who was to launch the fourth volume of the Quatro Estaes project, scheduled for May 1, ”says Jerson Alvim, artistic director of the place. It is planned for the commemorative program of Feitio's 31 years, in October.

In contact with post office, the management of the Other Calaf informed: “Because it understands that people's lives are worth more than the economy, the Other Calaf is completely closed, even in its activities with the restaurant. The entire team is complying with WHO recommendations and remains quarantined, at home, with guaranteed salary. According to the statement, as soon as the pandemic ceases and isolation is no longer needed, the program will be resumed, “with a lot of samba, a lot of party and a lot of celebration of life”.

The post City stages depend on aid, but culture resists appeared first on Cryptodictation.

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