#(I like having a completely zero obligation outlet)

[kirby-the-gorb]

[unpopularly-opinionated]

Someone posted this on Twitter and it while it was fairly well-received, it was also receiving a ton of “but actually” replies from other streamers who say they don’t mind receiving this sort of news from their viewers, but however well-intentioned that might be, I feel like it misses the point.

It’s not just that you’re depressing the streamer and/or the chat, you’re also asking them to comment on something they more than likely have no right to actually comment on. They don’t know you or your personal situation, and there’s not enough bandwidth in a Twitch chat to share your entire personal history with them.

Not to mention, it falls in line with the similar issue I have with people on social media who demand the response of select people, who really have no real need to respond otherwise, and then damn them if they refuse to reply. How often do we see shit like “so and so’s silence on X topic is deafening” or “why haven’t you said anything about Y” when there is no obligation on their part to comment on those topics in the first place.

Now imagine if instead of politics, you replace the subject with someone’s life. You’re forcing dark, depressing, heavy shit onto a streamer who is quite literally livestreaming to the world their reaction, and any response they give might damn them forever. Imagine just how fucked you would feel if the guy who unloaded all that shit onto you, completely unprompted and unwarranted, killed himself the following day because you responded incorrectly or not at all? It’s so fucked up, and the streamer has zero say in whether or not that happens to them.

And god forbid you’re a big streamer too because then that devastation isn’t just localized to you and your small audience, but is instead globalized to hundreds of thousands of viewers and more than likely media outlets will pick up the story, and suddenly you’re headlining with “Fan Of Streamer Commits Suicide After Streamer Ignored Plea For Help”.

TL;DR: Streamers and other internet people (yes, this includes folks on Tumblr, Twitter, Discord, etc.) are not, nor should they be your outlet for heavy topics unless they both know you and are open to receiving that kind of information.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

I love that Ethari is first as Runaan’s likes lol he’s so in love!💕 Can I get you’re thoughts about the beautiful couple???? Like how they compliment each other so well? Like Runaan’s got a hardened heart and Ethari is just this big ol cuddly bear💕💕 I love your TDP blog by the way!

Runaan and Ethari, Ethari and Runaan. A puzzle with two pieces, a balance of imbalances. Neither of them are perfect, but they’re perfect for each other. Deep down, they each understand what Moonshadows would never say out loud--on their own, they’re flawed and they don’t always make good choices, even when they want so desperately to succeed. But with each other’s perspective, advice, and support, they can do so much more than they could by themselves.

That’s why they each pick the other as their favorite thing. They know they’re more together. Moonshadow love is more than just affection and attraction. It’s a giving, practical love as well. 

Runaan helps Ethari be more strategic in defense of their people by offering tactical suggestions for what to make, and for whom. Possibly coordinates meetings, demonstrations, and the like. 

Ethari helps Runaan connect more with the village council and the Silvergrovers. Possibly runs roleplay with Runaan for difficult conversations so he doesn’t come off too hard and reminds him that others have actual feelings so please don’t step on them while zeroing in on the long-term goal.

Runaan reminds Ethari that Rayla needs to have a place in Moonshadow society, she can’t play all the time. Ethari reminds Runaan that she is, in fact, just five and needs more sleep than he does.

And every time, every time, they listen to each other. They trust each other’s perspective. They find resolution for every single issue they face, because they face it together. Until the stakes get so high that they end up digging in their heels, because what they can see from their own perspective is just too important to them. It’s 500 times Runaan listened to Ethari + 1 time he didn’t.

But other than the, y’know, single instance of failure that led to the whole plot happening, these two are Silvergrove’s power couple. Runaan’s the leader of the assassins that live there. Ethari might be the leader of the crafters as well. These two, on the village council, a voting bloc to be reckoned with. How much of the Silvergrove has been changed because they voted it so? Runaan might have implemented more patrols or heavier wards. Ethari might have trained a whole generation of crafters in jewelry making, especially if that were his only outlet for it anymore. I can see him offering to teach a class on it just so he can keep up with his favorite techniques. Runaan’s not gonna say no to that. He knows Ethari will deck him out in pretties when the semester’s over.

Runaan’s got that lovely duality of being stoic or passionate/intense without much in between. He’s several dualities all on his own, separate from the ones he completes with Ethari by his side. But he does have feelings. We’ve seen quite a range of them. He just plays them low key, is all, but they’re there.

oh is it time for more screencaps of Runaan yes it is

Tender and caring

Nothing left to lose

Dad Mode

Broken

Totally cool with PDA

Legit afraid

Instructor Mode

Soft for a pretty dragon egg

Arrogant

So mad he’s actually yelling

Gently focused on showing appropriate care with Ethari’s heart

Okay, whew. This elf’s a roller coaster. Yes, he spends most of his time stoic, like this okay just one more

But he has a whole range of those passionate/intense feels. He’s not heartless, he’s not cold. He’s just... quiet, when he can be. That’s the way he likes to be. Feel the feels, but keep them under control. That’s his comfort zone. (Which means that his mission was like seventeen levels of uncomfortable for him after it went pear-shaped)

I’m going somewhere with this I swear

So when you pair an elf that has these deep feels with one who’s good at reading them, one who enjoys expressing his own, you’re going to get such a deep connection it’ll blow your mind.

Listen, Ethari is three emotional outbursts in a trenchcoat, okay.

Genuine marshmallow of light and softness

Soft for his stabby husband

Quietly alarmed

Deeply focused (also probably his angery face, which, omg I both do and do not want to see)

About to cry

Proud and poised, looks like he’s at his own wedding holding that flower

Knows his manners and his dad jokes all rolled into one, how Moonshadow

Soft Dad Mode

Having the worst day of his life

Overwhelmed

Intent but soft

Kissing his favorite elf

Ethari has the range, and he only tries to hide it that one time when Runaan’s flower sinks. He wears his feels on his face and in his body language and basically with every breath he takes. He’s super expressive. Which is a hilarious and awesome thing when you pair him with a stoic badass and say they’re deeply in love. This relationship is glorious, I’m telling you. There’s very very little these two can’t manage to express or experience, between the two of them.

And then, you make them Moonshadow elves. Life and death and weapons and justice and killing and honor and duty and social obligations. Family and friends and show-don’t-tell and acts of kindness and self-sacrifice and cooking on birthdays to say I-love-you. Painting each other’s markings, quiet love languages, knowing how much each one does behind the scenes for everyone else, falling so deeply in love with each other because their hearts are truly dedicated to good and they support that in one another. Waking up soft, falling asleep together, every day a new gift given and received and spent well.

They don’t do everything perfectly. But they try. They try so hard, every day, to do what’s right. For each other, out of love. For their family. For their village. They are each other’s strongest support system, first thought in the morning, and last thought at night. And from this power base, they can go out and change the world, one little thing at a time, and they know that at the end of the day, they can come home and be understood, supported, listened to, and commiserated with. They’ve each worked very hard to be the best version of themselves that they know how to be, and it’s that determination to be good that connects them deep down and holds them together.

As they move forward in the plot, I think their choices will be heavily tested, because they are not perfect. They can be different, maybe a little better, if they work at that too. But it’s their sheer stubbornness that makes me think they can do it. They’ve gotten this far in life. They’ve done good things, together and separately, and that’s not gonna stop. So if they see a need, an opportunity, to help in ways they know they can contribute to, even if it means changing a little bit about who they are, even if it means shaking up that perfect system a bit, I have faith that the strength of their love will hold them together through that, too.

This is my OTP. They can and will take on the world and make it better. Because they love each other, they trust each other, they want a better world for each other, and they will challenge death itself to make it happen if they have to.

[writerpeach]

Kinktober - Day Ten

Glory Hole

Twice Nayeon/Chaeyoung

2442 words

categories: male reader, smut

18+

Kinktober masterlist

“Nobody’s coming. ” Nayeon whines, growing frustrated. 

“Unnie, be patient. Somebody will show up,” Chaeyoung says, ever the optimist. 

At the same time an ordinary man walks down the rows of overpriced dvds and outrageous looking sex toys, looking for just the right thing in an unspecified dark corner. What he was looking for couldn’t be bought, and was worth more than any merchandise in entire shop. 

He finds exactly what’s he looking for, stepping through a beaded curtain and into a booth, locking it shut tight. The two girls jump at bit as a knock rattles on the wall. 

“See? Told you unnie.” 

“About damn time,” Nayeon says, trying to peek at the man through the hole in the wall as he takes his time in unzipping his pants. 

“Let’s see that cock!” Nayeon impatiently demands. 

The man on the other side does as told, slipping his hard cock through his side of the glory hole. Their eyes light up as the inches keep adding up, eventually stopping at a full nine throbbing inches.

The two girl’s mouths water at the thick welcoming cock ready for them to devour. They spend just a bit too long staring at it for the man to complain.

“Are you gonna suck it or what?” 

Nayeon apologizes for the wait, pressing her tongue alongside the base of his dick and dragging upwards. When her plump red lips meet his tip they pucker around it and push forward, swallowing his first few inches as Nayeon is met by male groans on the other side of the wall.

“That’s it baby, suck that fucking dick,” the man moans. 

Nayeon continues until her lips glide past the mid-point of his shaft, doing her best to not choke on such a juicy thick cock. 

There was something completely arousing about sucking a strangers dick, not knowing who it belongs to, not knowing who else it had been in. 

“Deeper, sweetie.” 

Nayeon does as instructed, trying to relax her jaw as she attempts to deepthroat him, not wanting to disappoint. 

Inch by inch she took the large thick cock until it filled her throat, gagging on it seemingly to the man's delight as he lets out a chorus of loud moans. Tears began to well up in her eyes, but Nayeon refused to stop, as much as she was struggling she was dead set on pleasing him as she continued to suck him off vigorously. 

As her mouth pulls back to take in air Chaeyoung’s tongue introduces itself and drags along his shaft in the opposite direction. 

“Oh fuck, didn’t know you had a friend in there.“ 

The two girls giggle as their tongues work in sync, flicking around his sensitive head as he moans loudly, collecting every drop from his leaky cock. 

“Hey, you don’t get to have all the fun," Chaeyoung says as she takes over, sucking the swollen tip with her pink soft lips before taking it gradually deeper into her mouth. 

"Oh fuck, baby those lips feel just as good as the other girls did, maybe even better. You're both such good cocksuckers, now how about you take all of me now?” the man orders, slipping his full swollen balls through the large hole, the entirety of his cock now being fed through the other side. 

Nayeon and Chaeyoung get the message and immediately get to work, they both slide their plump lips along each side of his hard thick shaft, both tongues providing plenty of saliva.

Chaeyoung takes her turn and continues to do her best to take such a huge cock into her small mouth, while Nayeon sloppily licks and sucks his balls. 

Both women provide deep suction, each girl's wet warm mouth stimulating him intensely as he moans deeply through the wall. 

"Fuck that's good! Such good little cock hungry sluts aren't you?" the man says, pumping his big hard cock through the glory hole in an attempt to drive himself further down Chaeyoung's tight little mouth, gagging her equally as much as Nayeon. 

They both take shifts, both deepthroating the man's big dick while staring at each other as if trying to prove who was the best, both fondling one of his swollen balls that were just dying to be emptied. 

Nayeon led the charge, gradually choking less on his huge throbbing cock as she could feel how close he was, completely ready and needy to have her throat filled with his thick seed. 

"Shit, gonna cum really fucking soon," the man announces as he continues to pound away at the warm mouth belonging to Nayeon, now dripping with drool. 

"Cum down this little sluts throat!" Chaeyoung demands as she grabs the back of Nayeon's head and forces her down all the way against the base of his thick cock, planning to hold her there until she caused his creamy release as she gags loudly at the sudden intrusion. 

"Oh fuck I'm-I'm gonna fucking cum!" the man says loud enough to echo through the entire building, palms flat against the obscenity-filled wall trying to find any sort of outlet against the deep tight lips about he was about to drain himself into. 

He erupts into Nayeon's throat, pumping thick hot streams of seemingly never-ending cum, flooding her warm mouth with the biggest load Nayeon had ever had the pleasure to taste. She gags but doesn’t let it out, pooling the sticky warmth in her cheeks.

As the moans subside Chaeyoung releases Nayeon who does her best to contain the large sticky pool of semen deposited into her mouth. 

Chaeyoung opens her mouth wide, waiting for Nayeon to share but she selfishly swallows it all for herself, taking several gulps to send the delicious creamy cocktail down into her stomach with a cute giggle and a smirk. 

"Unnie! I earned that cum just as much as you did!" Chaeyoung whines, as Nayeon can only elicit a deep satisfied laugh and teasingly sticks her empty tongue out to show the evidence of her thievery. 

"Thank you for the blowjob, ladies. It was a pleasure in every possible way."

As he begins to retract his still stiff cock from the hole, Nayeon grabs his dick and pulls it back through. 

“Hey, not so fast! You can’t just leave without fucking us after all that work we just put in for you!” 

"Guess I can't argue with that."

Nayeon gets on hands and knees, her ass facing the thick inviting shaft as she slowly pushes her tight pussy onto the head of his dick. She was drenched already from her mouth being used and she deeply moans at how big he felt inside her already. 

“Fuck, baby, that’s a tight fit.“ the man says, and Nayeon pushes herself even farther on his dick, stretching her tight pussy out with each inch impaling the silky flesh inside her.

“God, you’re so big, holy shit,” Nayeon groans as she pushes more of herself against the hard cock that wasn’t even half way inside yet. 

Chaeyoung with a sudden idea and a devilish grin on her features grabs both of Nayeon’s bare shoulders and pushes her body all the way against the hilt of his cock, her ass slamming against the metal wall and she squeals. 

“Hey!” Nayeon screams out, trying to adjust to being utterly filled with so much cock inside her.

“That’s for not letting me taste his cum,” Chaeyoung says, with a smirk a mile wide on her face.

“Doing okay?” he politely asks.

“Mhm. Give me a good pounding,” Nayeon says, preparing herself to be taken by one of the biggest cocks she’d taken in quite sometime.

“Don’t go easy on her,” Chaeyoung adds. 

“Oh, I don’t plan on it,” the man says, and straight away begins to slam his cock into Nayeon’s tight pussy with zero build up in his thrusts as he pistons his hard shaft deep as he can. 

“Oh god...shit...oh my god...you’re so fucking big,” Nayeon murmurs, and for a moment she thinks she can’t handle it, but gradually settles into the pleasure.

“Stretch that fucking pussy out!” Chaeyoung yells, provoking the man as she watches Nayeon’s eyes roll in the back of her head as she’s taken from behind without mercy, the satisfying sounds of skin slapping against her own echoing off the walls. 

Nayeon had never been fucked this roughly, never been so utterly dominated by someone who didn’t even know her name that it made her so damn wet, enough for her juices to drip down her thick milky thighs.

Nayeon tried to focus on the rhythm as she was being roughly drilled. It felt so good and so raw for her to be taken like this, to be used like a toy, like she was nothing but a hole to fuck.

“Ah! I’m cumming!” Nayeon cries out, after only a few minutes of being brutally fucked, her tight pussy stretched to the limit, clenching around the huge dick invading her body. 

Nayeon pulsates around his cock, moans becoming loud screams as she cums on his cock, not once but twice but he doesn’t let up. Using her screams as encouragement he fucks her straight through both orgasms as her body becomes a complete ruined mess, her slick dripping onto the the hard floor underneath. 

Nayeon slowly slides off his cock, her body still shaking and trembling as she lies down exhausted. 

The man grows silent while he awaits what new pleasures are in store for him. 

“You think that’s tight, you should try fucking my ass!” Chaeyoung remarks, breaking the silence as she maneuvers to take up Nayeon’s former position. She prepares herself, grabbing a small bottle of the table in the corner, wettening two fingers with lube, spreading it deep into the rim of her ass and slathering it over his full nine inches. 

Chaeyoung gasps as she feels the man's thick cockhead breach the tight seal of her back entrance, and with the combination of spit, Nayeon's leftover slick juices, and lube he has no trouble easing his hard dick into Chaeyoung's snug asshole. 

Her eyes open wide, as does her mouth as she feels such a massive throbbing cock barge into her tight ass, pressing deep into her warm hole. 

"Ooh baby, you weren't kidding, you are tight. That ass feels real good."

"Ram that fucking ass! Make sure she can't walk straight when she gets out of here! " Nayeon commands, wanting to take pleasure of her own in seeing her younger counterpart completely ruined. 

The man happily obliges, opening up Chae's tight puckered hole as she pushes against the cock, moaning deeply as feels every inch of his cock penetrate her ass.

"Oh my god, it's so fucking big!" Chaeyoung says with her mouth wide open, looking directly at Nayeon who already could confirm her words. 

Chaeyoung grits her teeth while she awaits the pounding her ass deserves, palms flat on the ground. The pleasure she expects comes right away as she feels deep hard thrusts filling her ass to the hilt, expending all his energy to really give it to Chaeyoung. 

“Ohh, oh god, shit, that feels good, so deep, so fucking deep!” Chaeyoung says, struggling to form sentences anymore as she is fucked senseless without mercy.

Moans bounce back and forth from both sides of the wall, the man on the other side slamming his body and rocking into the thin wall separating the two wall as he fucks Chaeyoung with such fierceness, doing his best to completely break the small girl. 

The man closes his eyes as his thick cock impales the ass on the other side, taking intense pleasure in fucking an unnamed girl’s asshole as so tight it almost strangled his huge hard cock. 

Every harsh thrust into Chaeyoung’s tight warm asshole ensured not only would she have difficulty walking for the rest of the day, but for the entire week. 

Chaeyoung can’t stop moaning, she loves been taken so roughly like this, and this is definitely the roughest she’s had it. Her tight asshole is stuffed with a full nine inches, burrowing deep inside and hitting every sensitive nerve again and again that she has a sudden unexpected orgasm from anal alone, wrenching his dick even more as she cums loudly and drips her juices to mix with Nayeon’s previous mess. 

She completely gives herself to the stranger as he continues to ream her ass. Chaeyoung doesn’t know how much longer he can last, but his swollen balls smack against her wet slit, and she can feel how much he needs to empty inside her. 

“Oh god, oh my fucking god, it feels so good! Cum in my ass, cum in my fucking ass!” Chaeyoung says, a hint of desperation in her voice. 

“With pleasure, baby,” the man responds, going completely wild, pounding away at Chaeyoung’s tight little asshole, with zero intent of letting up. Chaeyoung needed to be filled so bad. She knew he was so close and while she regretted not being able to taste it she would take having her ass filled with his load instead, taking that away from Nayeon in her own way of revenge. 

The thrusts inside Chaeyoung’s ass are so deep at this point, so hard that she’s dripping so much between her legs, impatiently waiting for those balls to empty deep into her ass. 

Chaeyoung hears a loud grunt, every inch of the huge cock throbs inside her as she immediately begins to feel him empty into her. It’s so thick, and so warm and there’s just so much of it filling up Chaeyoung that she can’t help but release a moan of her own as her ass is completely flooded with his hot semen. 

The tight seal of her ass around his dick prevents any cum from leaking out while he rests there for a while, eventually withdrawing slowly, leaving the warmth of Chaeyoung’s ass as his thick load drips out of her ass, leaving her a creamy mess. 

Chaeyoung can barely move, her body completely wrecked and exhausted from the pounding she just took. She uses her last bit of energy to dip a finger in her stretched, wrecked asshole, finally tasting the thick cream left in her for the first time. 

She cleans his cock entirely as gratitude for spilling his seed in her, tasting her own ass to give him just a final bit of pleasure as she lets it go with a loud pop. The man’s still throbbing length slowly exits the large glory hole.

“You ladies do great work, I’ll definitely be back here again,” he says, and leaves the booth without another word, completely satisfied. 

"Come back soon! Tell your friends!” Nayeon says, as the two exhausted girls smile, and leave to go get cleaned up, preparing for who will come next.

[skippyv20]

OK MIO,  we want to see the letterhead...this was written by a 13 year old....did you write it for her?😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Read the Sussexes' full letter to the tabloids below:

As The Duke and Duchess of Sussex now settle into the next chapter of their lives and no longer receive any publicly funded support, we are writing to set a new media relations policy, specifically as it pertains to your organisation.

Like you, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex believe that a free press is a cornerstone to any democracy — particularly in moments of crisis. At its best, this free press shines a light on dark places, telling stories that would otherwise go untold, standing up for what’s right, challenging power, and holding those who abuse the system to account.

It has been said that journalism’s first obligation is to the truth. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex agree wholeheartedly.

It is gravely concerning that an influential slice of the media, over many years, has sought to insulate themselves from taking accountability for what they say or print — even when they know it will be distorted, false, or invasive beyond reason. When power is enjoyed without responsibility, the trust we all place in this much-needed industry is degraded.

There is a real human cost to this way of doing business and it affects every corner of society.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have watched people they know — as well as complete strangers — have their lives completely pulled apart for no good reason, other than the fact that salacious gossip boosts advertising revenue.

With that said, please note that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be engaging with your outlet. There will be no corroboration and zero engagement. This is also a policy being instated for their communications team, in order to protect that team from the side of the industry that readers never see.

This policy is not about avoiding criticism. It’s not about shutting down public conversation or censoring accurate reporting. Media have every right to report on and indeed have an opinion on The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, good or bad. But it can’t be based on a lie. They also want to be very clear: this is not in any way a blanket policy for all media.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking forward to working with journalists and media organisations all over the world, engaging with grassroots media, regional and local media, and young, up-and-coming journalists, to spotlight issues and causes that so desperately need acknowledging. And they look forward to doing whatever they can to help further opportunities for more diverse and underrepresented voices, who are needed now more than ever.

What they won’t do is offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion.

We are encouraged that this new approach will be heard and respected.

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a32201746/meghan-markle-prince-harry-tabloid-legal-letter/

How is she going to merch?  This is going to be exciting.....

I love this part...“for no good reason”

[simplysolveduae]

Guide to VAT in the UAE

Tax collection is a method by which neighborhood governments raise income to pay for public administrations like medical clinics, transportation, security, and others.

While there are a few sorts of assessment, it generally falls inside two classes — an immediate expense which is gathered by the public authority and a circuitous duty in which a go-between, similar to a retail location, gathers for the benefit of the public authority.

Esteemed Added Tax is a sort of roundabout duty. Additionally, alluded to as an overall utilization charge, it is forced on most administrations or items which are sold or purchased.

In the UAE, VAT Filing is set at a standard pace of 5% and it is the obligation of the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) to direct reviews, execute and guarantee the assortment of the duty. Aside from giving the country another kind of revenue, the execution is additionally intended to lessen the country’s reliance on oil and different hydrocarbons as a wellspring of income.

VAT REGISTRATION FOR BUSINESSES

VAT in the UAE is pertinent to organizations in the UAE given that specific conditions are met. As indicated by the UAE government:

Organizations that have a yearly turnover surpassing AED 375k on available imports and supplies are needed to enlist for VAT UAE

Organizations that have a yearly turnover above AED 187.5k and under AED 375k have the alternative to enlist for VAT UAE

This is how it works; a business pays the public authority with the assessment it gathers from clients. Thusly, it likewise gets a discount from the public authority on the duty that is paid to providers.

HOW Could BUSINESSES REGISTER FOR VAT?

Businesses can utilize the e-administration area on the site of the FTA to enlist for VAT UAE. For this, an online record should be made on the site.

WHICH ARE THE BUSINESSES THAT CAN LEVY VAT?

The Value Added Tax applies to burden enlisted organizations that are overseen on the nation’s terrain and in the free zones. Notwithstanding, if a free zone is assigned as an “assigned zone” by the UAE bureau, it should be considered as outside the UAE for charge purposes. Between assigned zones, the exchange of goods is tax-exempt.

All in all, VAT-enlisted organizations:

Are needed to charge VAT UAE on provided available administrations or products

Have the alternative to recover any VAT paid to administrations or products identified with business

Keep up business records to permit the public authority to check if everything is all together

Recording VAT RETURNS

Assessment enrolled organizations or “available people” are needed to present a VAT UAE get back to the Federal Tax Authority toward the finish of each duty period.

A VAT return shows a person’s VAT risk by summing up the estimation of the buys or supplies he has made during the referenced period.

WHAT IS VAT LIABILITY?

VAT obligation is the distinction between the information charge recoverable or VAT UAE brought about on buys, and the yield charge payable or the VAT that is charged on the stock of administrations and products.

On the off chance that the information charge sum is not exactly the yield charge, the distinction should be paid to the FTA. Assuming in any case, the yield charge is not exactly the info charge, the available substance will be qualified for recuperating the abundance input charge.

To stay away from lawful issues, all duty enlisted organizations in the UAE are relied upon to record monetary exchanges and guarantee that their monetary records are refreshed and exact.

WHEN MUST BUSINESSES FILE TAX RETURNS?

It is a prerequisite for an available business to have the VAT return documented with the FTA within 28 days of the finish of the assessment time frame. This is how the duty time frames are coordinated:

Consistently for organizations that have a yearly income of around AED 150 million or more

On a quarterly reason for organizations that have yearly income beneath AED 150 million

VAT REFUNDS FOR TOURISTS

Visiting sightseers can likewise get a VAT discount on paid buys that they make in the country. This can be done given that they are in any event 18 years old and fulfill all qualification prerequisites.

Recuperation of installments is done by means of a completely incorporated electronic framework that interfaces retailers enlisted with the “Expense Refund for Tourists Scheme” on all marks of section and exit in the country.

Guests hoping to guarantee VAT discounts on buys should initially satisfy certain conditions:

The vacationer should leave the United Arab Emirates within 90 days from the day items are purchased alongside the bought things

Bought items should be from retailers who are important for the UAE “Expense Refund for Tourist Scheme”

The vacationer should trade the bought products out of the country inside a quarter of a year from the date of supply

The fare and introductory acquirement of merchandise should be finished by FTA prerequisites

Products should not be avoided from the FTA discount conspire.

For more understanding of the air terminal duty discount, consider our guide for VAT discount for travelers in the UAE.

HOW AND WHERE CAN TOURISTS CLAIM VAT REFUNDS FOR THEIR SHOPPING?

The Federal Tax Authority has assigned distinctive approval focuses where sightseers can recover Value Added Tax. The recovery interaction is completely electronic gratitude to the FTA’s association with worldwide administrator Planet and is done on uncommon gadgets that are put altogether points of passage — air terminals, seaports, and line ports — in the UAE.

For instance, those flying out of the country’s capital may recover VAT UAE discounts at Abu Dhabi Airport. Archives to be submitted at the hour of the recovery in corporate expense solicitations for the bought things with duplicates of the guest’s charge card and visa.

When the records are presented, a vacationer can have their discount sum in real money as UAE dirhams or have it moved to their Mastercard. Guests are qualified to get 85% of the absolute VAT sum paid while the leftover 15% is charged as organization expense via Planet.

WHICH STORES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE VAT SCHEME AND HOW DO I FIND OUT?

Retail outlets that are important for the Tax Refund Scheme can be related to banners that are shown on customer-facing facades. The individuals who need to check whether a help that has charged them VAT is qualified to do so may confirm the Tax Registration Number on the authority site of the Federal Tax Authority.

ZERO-RATED SECTORS

The FTA has uncovered areas that are appointed zero-evaluated charge. VAT is charged at 0% on the accompanying stockpile classes:

Global transportation and supplies

Supply of certain medical care administrations notwithstanding significant administrations and products

Fare of administrations and merchandise outside the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

Certain instruction administrations with important administrations and merchandise

New private properties inside three years of development

Certain valuable ventures like silver and gold

Supply of specific sorts of land or ocean transportation like boats and airplanes

[vmfx]

WE DON’T DO THAT HERE.

I just disclosed to all of my co-workers that I have a radio show. They all seem very enthusiastic and extremely positive about it. For that I am very lucky because every day I work with them they usually have nothing good to say. They are the 17 to 25 crowd running on alcoholic fumes, weekend bars, Androids, Yankee games, hanging with “the guys”, and typical basic girls. So it comes as no surprise as to what their mentality is.

When I say they’re enthusiastic, I mean that they light up. They light up with an obvious hard-on because at first they think I’m on a big-name radio station and I play the hottest in Top 40 and pop. “It’s not like that. I dee-jay for a college station” I tell them. But that’s OK. They still think it’s awesome that I play music over the air and emanate their rooms, car stereos, and laptops. Then come the same questions I get asked every week because either someone new discovers what I do or they easily forget and we needlessly re-start the same conversation all over again. Or they’re trolling.

“What time do you go on?” “What music do you play?” “Are you on every week?” “Where is the radio station you DJ at?” “Do you go on the mic and talk?” “How long are you on for?” “Do you take requests?” “Do you do shout-outs?” These are valueless questions I normally don’t answer to because I can’t be bothered with them; questions asked in an obvious kindergarten fascination that I rather not waste my time with and would rather move on without having to focus on such intellectual mediocrity. In fact, the answers to all of these questions can be answered by simply listening to my show. There.

One of my co-workers decides he wants to be funny and impress his friends. He asks me if I ever do my “radio” voice on the air, and then proceeds give it his best attempt at it:

“This…is…Dee Jay _______…on 107.5…FM…WQXZ, New York! Playing…the…hottest hits. Ten. In a row. Non-stop!”

Heads up to no one in particular: it’s nice for people and friends to approach me and be interested in what I do, and I appreciate it. I really do. And then there are those who are into it but then proceed to define me by impersonating their best stereotypical zesty action-packed radio voice, complete with man-made astro-blaster laser sound effects from an action-figure maturity.

Please stop. It’s not funny, you’re not funny, and no one is laughing. That’s not what happens on my show. All I do is play music and be myself as usual. That’s all. It’s not WBLI, Z100, or Now FM if that’s what you were thinking. And since it’s not right to try and define who you think I am to satisfy your piss-poor expectations, I’m sure you wouldn’t like it if I defined your life by pointing out your poor choice of clothing, your lack of real understanding, your never-ending stupidity, why your parents still make your bed, or why you have been dateless all your life.

Another pointless obstacle course I had to go through was that another co-worker tried guessing what music I play on my show in the form of a yes-or-no question-and-answer session. My previous answer of “a lot of music you wouldn’t like or tolerate” and “anything that’s not mainstream” wasn’t good enough for him to comprehend to avoid this altogether. So our little elfin pretend game-show host, who is 23 but looks like he is 11, plays this game with me.

“Now, I’m going to tell you an artist or band name and you tell me if you would play it. Ready?”

“Sure.” I say with some hesitation and an exasperated breath, knowing exactly how this is going to go. Lord help me.

“Metallica.”

“No.”

“Bon Jovi.”

“No.”

“Kid Cudi?”

“No.”

“Whitney Houston?”

“No.”

“Justin Beiber?”

“No.”

“Ozzy?”

“No.”

“Taylor Swift?”

“No.”

“Adele?”

“No.”

“Drake?”

“No.”

“David Bowie?”

“Hmmm…”

“Ahhh! There’s a maybe! “Linkin Park?”

“Stop.”

“Chris Brown?”

“Stop?”

“Rick Astley?”

“NO. Stop.”

This was what I went through a couple of days ago. He was fully aware what I play on-air not only because I told him before but also I sent him the link to my show. But when you’re the department comedian, you need to depend on your co-workers for everyone’s amusement. So you blow right through convenience and force uncomfortable interactions for laughs at someone’s expense. He instead ended up giving me a list of artists I wouldn’t dare touch or even infect our studio’s CD drives, turntables, or computers with. And he knows this.

**********

My show states what I play: “punk, hardcore, female, grrl, electronics, hip-hop, hipster, trendy, art, industrial, breakbeats, experimental, techno, spoken word, rare Seventies, drum and bass, reggae, lo-fi, and even noise”. It also says “no Top 40, no Billboard, no pop, no American Idol, no Nielsen Ratings, no Clear Channel.” Why would I waste my time playing artists that are already being played ad nauseum on pop stations, car commercials, malls, restaurants, movies, and soda ads millions of times over? And why would I have to explain myself to people who clearly don’t deserve it?

It’s simple. On my show I play everything other stations and outlets won’t. Being it’s a college radio station, we don’t get money from corporate sponsors but instead grass-roots community members, students, administration, and other people listening in around the world to donate money to us. That means we are not told what to play, rather we play whatever we want, artists who otherwise have almost zero chance of getting airplay. I can actually educate my listeners by playing Merzbow, Einsturzende Neubauten, Sonic Youth, or Aphex Twin instead of brainwashing them. So, why would I waste valuable airtime on artists who already have endless amounts of it?

Another thing: requests. I don’t ask for them and I won’t play them. Why would I jeopardize the show’s good looks if someone asks me to play Nickelback when I play music like Crystal Castles, Cold Cave, The Dead Boys, and Death Grips? Where does some sappy commercial band that millions of people have on their death list have its place on my show? I want my listeners to enjoy my show and support me, not blacklist it and send me death threats.

Even more ridiculous are the dedications. Please. I prevent this from happening. I don’t want my show responsible for some trailer-park love-in somewhere in Alabama which produces five awkward results. Having me to say their subtle Valentine’s messages on-air with “cute” pet names is not cute at all. It makes my show turn into the Ryan Seacrest Hour. When that happens, I’ll fold this show and deny it ever existed.

Yes, I do understand that artists eat and need to keep on going to make a living. Once in a while I get unsolicited messages from bands that have absolutely nothing to do with the music I play. Just pass “GO” and collect your $200. Just because I play “everything” doesn’t mean I will since there are specifics. Even worse, a Dave Matthews’ cover band somewhere in the middle of Long Island, that aspires to be something else they’ll never be and tries to ride (no, suck it like a leach) the wave of popularity by holding actual music instruments while being incapable of writing original material will never make the cut. On another note…

“Check us out! We’re a four-piece homegrown funk-soul-band from somewhere in New Jersey and we’ve been compared to 311 and Smashmouth…”

...and that is where I hit the delete button. I don’t like it when music comes to me, I like it when I come to music unless I ask for it. I don’t like to feel obligated in having to play your music or worse having it forced down my throat Linda Lovelace-style. I don’t want your obsolete already-done jam-funk music and double that if it’s from the late 90’s (because who here thinks the late 90’s was the worst time for new music ever?) I don’t ever want your low-resolution color-copy pixilated artwork with your homemade CD-R with paper decal. In fact, why am I still on MySpace? That was so 2006.

**********

It’s been a month since the start of my on-going show and my co-workers are getting very tiresome. The same questions over and over again and not once has anyone tuned in. Not that I don’t want them to tune in or even care if they listen, but what’s the point in wasting time if people who are interested in something don’t do it? That’s why I decided to no longer talk to them about my show. I’m only wasting my breath, time, and energy. You can’t declare to do something and not do it. That’s how people take points away from you.

And as always, the instant I declare that I will no longer bother in discussing my show anymore, another moron standing right next to me starts asking questions again. “What is your show called?” “What time is it on?” “What number is it?” Perhaps it is best not to have certain people listening in. Even better, it’s best not to converse with them.

[skonnaris]

50 books read in High School Worth Revisiting

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: High school students who go on to college can quite easily nurture a firsthand understanding of the self-serving hedonism found at the center of this beloved classic. And then they’ll either despise it even more or relate all too well.

Beowulf by unknown: Pick up the popular Old English epic after forgetting the seemingly endless lectures and settle in to a thoroughly enjoyable adventure tale.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger: Depending on one’s circumstances when first picking up The Catcher in the Rye, protagonist Holden Caulfield is either a counterculture revelation or a whiny, pretentious brat. Revisiting him later in life will inevitably shift perceptions to some degree, be it major or minor.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston: Some high school students may scoff at the soapier elements found on Zora Neale Hurston’s Harlem Renaissance essential, but older adults are more likely to see and admire the strength, courage and resolve of heroine Janie Crawford.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare: The real tragedy of Romeo and Juliet isn’t their mistaken, needless deaths. It’s their staggering myopia and selfishness.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey: Anyone who has ever personally suffered from a psychiatric disorder — or loves someone who does — might find the marginalization of the mentally ill in this undeniable classic both disturbing and tragically accurate. It may take some time and experience between high school and the next read for such bitter facts to really seize hold.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: Les Miserables is huge. When reading it in English class, deadlines might preclude many students from really picking up on the book’s myriad juicy nuances. Revisiting it later offers far more time to sit and ponder everything Hugo wanted audiences to see.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy: As with Les Miserables, time constraints and other academic obligations make it difficult to really become absorbed in War and Peace. When picking it up and reading on a more personal schedule, visitors are more likely to forge a far more solid grasp of the material.

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko: More sensitive high school students may find protagonist Tayo’s spiritual, emotional and physical healing process too intense for their tastes. But as they age and gain more life experience, Ceremony could very well prove exactly what they need one day.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe: As long as there are nations battling it out over land and squashing indigenous cultures beneath their boots, postcolonial literature will always be relevant. Chances are, anyone reading Things Fall Apartas a high school student will probably be able to apply many of its tenets to current events. When they re-read it as adults, they might find themselves sadly noting how little things have changed.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair: Both at the turn of the 20th Century and on into today, most readers (even teachers) tend to emphasize Upton Sinclair’s visceral descriptions of unsanitary food production — especially since it directly spawned hefty legislation. In reality, though, he wanted it to shed light on the plight of exploited workers. Give his classic another visit later in life and see how the story changes when reading it with this in mind.

Beloved by Toni Morrison: Toni Morrison deliberately left many elements of her celebrated novel ambiguous, so any subsequent readings will inevitably churn up new perspectives, details and interpretations.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: Because family stands as this classic’s core theme, The Joy Luck Club never goes out of style. Whenever issues with parents arise, refer back to it for solace and insight.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker: When life grows too overwhelming, timeless heroine Celie provides inspiration to press on — no matter what sort of adversity and cruelty stonewalls happiness and stability.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: The sociopolitical elements driving this famous narrative are incredibly important to understanding it as a whole, but focusing too much on them — as one would in an English class — glosses over the comparatively more lighthearted adventure elements.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: Understandably, many first-time Frankensteinreaders dive into the novel expecting a green-skinned simpleton with bolts in his neck — and find themselves shocked when encountering something completely different. Give it a re-read and see what may have been missed when consciously or subconsciously making comparisons with the iconic movie.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway: High school students sigh over this leisurely-paced classic, but older adults seeking something more philosophical than frenetic might find it exactly what they want.

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller: Hopefully, picking up the searing Death of a Salesman at just the right time will prevent many students and adults from falling into the same lifestyle traps as tragic Willy Loman.

The Stranger by Albert Camus: Existentialism probably seems intense and somewhat inaccessible to many high schoolers, but one of the philosophy’s cornerstones warrants further consideration once they pack on more life experiences.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: Puncturing through allegory after allegory after allegory grows tiresome after a while, and a fair amount of individuals might enjoy Heart of Darkness far more if they didn’t have to so painstakingly dissect every word.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou: Maya Angelou’s poetic autobiography is at once heartbreaking and inspiring — an ultimately uplifting tale perfect for anyone needing a dash or two of courage.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut: An American treasure, Kurt Vonnegut may not necessarily appeal to harried high schoolers lacking the time to really sit and think about his statements regarding society, religion and politics. Approaching him with the proper time frame and mindset will make Slaughterhouse-Five and his other works burst with life and lessons.

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka: "Monstrous vermin" Gregor Samsa serves as a viable literary outlet for anyone, anywhere feeling as if the world treads all over their stability and happiness. Reading about the horrific abuses his family heaps upon him provides a strange, comforting sense of solidarity.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte-: Though fiction, Wuthering Heights makes for one of the most prominent lessons in how mentally and emotionally abusive relationships operate – something women and men alike absolutely need to know if they hope to keep themselves safe.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: Most of Steinbeck’s oeuvre deserves multiple reads, but his story of a developmentally disabled man and his devoted caretaker remains one of the most heart-wrenching American novels ever printed. And one whose tragic ending merits a wealth of conversations.

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: Because Don Quixotepossesses such a rich history and left an indelible mark on popular culture, bibliophiles of all ages find themselves coming back again and again to enjoy the adventures of the eponymous dreamer.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: This semi-autobiographical novel sheds considerable light on a life wracked with mental illness — a somber, realistic lesson every adult must understand. The Bell Jar also serves as a reminder that anyone emotionally struggling doesn’t always do so alone.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess: Readers who don’t understand Russian or cockney slang (aka most of them) need to read this warped dystopian novel multiple times to understand what in God’s name the characters are even saying.

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen: Written before the feminist movement rose up and fought for women’s equality, one of Henrik Ibsen’s most popular plays toyed with the scandalous notion that some housewives may pine for a life outside their husbands, homes and kids.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin: Another recommended read for the liberated woman and the men who appreciate them, though many fans of this book find themselves divided over whether or not they fully agree with the central figure’s actions.

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift: English classes spend so much time zeroing in on the wealth of social, political and religious commentary found in Gulliver’s Travels, they oftentimes forget to address just how much fun the book actually is.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison: Dense and intense, Ralph Ellison’s brutal analysis of pre-Civil Rights race relations is required reading for any students and adults hoping to end bigotry in all its twisted, ugly guises.

Maus by Art Spiegelman: Maus currently holds the honor of being the only Pulitzer-winning graphic novel, a status that rightfully earned it a place on many a syllabus. Despite its grim content — Art Spiegelman’s very real talks with his father about his Holocaust experiences — the valuable lessons about family and history remain timeless.

Inferno by Dante Alighieri: All three portions of Dante Alighieri’s epic poetry trilogy The Divine Comedy are required reading, but his bizarre, highly detailed depiction of hell holds the most influence over the literary world today — not to mention pop culture as a whole.

1984 by George Orwell: No literary history aficionados will argue that George Orwell’s terrifying totalitarian dystopia birthed the entire genre, but it certainly left the biggest impact. Political pundits enjoy trotting out parallels to 1984 when discussing administrations they hate. Citizens familiarizing themselves with the novel’s tenets and context can tell whether or not they have a real point or are just resorting to paranoid fearmongering.

Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya: Despite the many hardships heaped upon protagonist Rukmani, hers is a story of strength and perseverance that many students and adults may want to consult when seeking comfort in times of trouble.

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton: Though apartheid may have ended, its legacy of intolerance and discord provides future generations with the tools to identify and stop such practices before they even have a chance to start.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: Readers of all ages with a particular affinity for absurdity and political commentary — especially as it relates to wartime — keep coming back to this novel again and again for laughs and truth bombs.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros: Bibliophiles looking for a great bildungsroman to read over and over again have plenty to love about and explore with this compelling story about a young Chicana and her life in an impoverished Chicago neighborhood.

A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O’Connor: Though an obviously subjective statement, many consider Flannery O’Connor one of the best American short story writers of all time. In such a confined space, she thrived with some incredibly provocative, influential narratives well worth reconsideration.

Night by Elie Wiesel: In his autobiography, Elie Wiesel recounts his gruesome experiences in Auschwitz and Buchenwald with the hopes of educating the world about the Holocaust’s horrors. Giving Night more than one look helps drive home its major historical themes, imbuing readers with the knowledge needed to better recognize hate and genocide.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi: This new classic is at once hilarious and heartbreaking. Through deceptively simple art, writer and cartoonist Marjane Satrapi recounts her childhood during the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the different set of prejudices faced as an expatriate in Europe.

Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon: Gravity’s Rainbow necessitates multiple reads because it involves over 400 characters embroiled in increasingly absurdist, surreal situations. Anyone who says they understand everything in one read is probably lying just to seem smart. Punch him or her in the face.

A Separate Peace by John Knowles: The comparatively cushy lives of private school students in New England are juxtaposed with young men forced to the front lines of World War II, with a strange and interesting friendship right in the center.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole: Not only is it a provocative read — especially when one factors in author John Kennedy Toole’s tragic life — this posthumous Pulitzer winner also happens to be one of the most hilarious novels ever published.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: Charles Dickens attracts such a massive audience, most of his oeuvre could’ve easily made this list. A Tale of Two Cities oftentimes bores high school students, but as they grow older they may come to love its history and memorable characters.

Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott: Aside from the fact that this novel exists as one of the greatest satires ever written in English, it also warrants multiple reads for the sheer originality and imagination.

A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf: In her book-length essay A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf opines on feminism, sexuality (most especially lesbianism) and the importance of financial autonomy and personal space for writers.

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri: Short stories of Indians and Indian-Americans intertwine thematically, raising some excellent questions about multiculturalism, family, relationships and plenty of other subjects bibliophiles delight in discussing.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse: Both the spiritually-minded and those adhering to no religious credos at all appreciate this reflective classic and turn to it for meditative advice.

[myflowerfriends]

Blog 1: Preventing the Increase of Entropy in the Biosphere

I am often torn between wanting to cut myself almost completely out of society to live an off-the-grid, nearly zero-emissions lifestyle, or, to continue on in society to make a career out of enabling those whose zero-emissions lifestyles are not by choice but by a matter of situational consequences that lead to the status of poverty or immobility, or even simply to do as the scientists, who “have a moral obligation to clearly warn humanity of any catastrophic threat” (2).

I suppose that because I am in school, it’s obvious that up until this point at least, I have chosen the second path. Still, I find myself very much overwhelmed by the state of the planet. Reading things like “much of this damage is irreversible on a scale of centuries, or permanent” can make one feel hopeless (3).  My heart goes out to the affected plants and animals by humankind’s wrongdoings.

Before getting into the chapter of Miller’s textbook Living in the Environment, I read his “About the Authors” and “From the Authors” excerpts. He found his passion—and while I certainly am interested in environmental studies as a whole, how to discover my passion remains a pressing question of mine, which I’m sure I will come back to in future blog posts.

And at least in this first chapter, he along with Scott E. Spoolman did an excellent job combining the various connections that weave together to form what is environmental studies. The connection between poverty and climate crisis is clear. If taking steps to reduce the impact of the climate crisis would greatly help impoverished countries, while choosing to ignore the crisis will only let the wealthiest get wealthier, then why is the entire world not taking more action?

I recognize that the true answer to that lies in greed, and also, a fear of change. It was in my biology course last semester that I memorized the laws of thermodynamics, with the second one being, put simply: entropy increases. That is, the measure of chaos in a system will increase gradually unless acted upon.

In a personal view: your bedroom will grow messier unless order is actively sought after through deliberate means to keep it tidy, or to clean it after it has gotten out of hand.

To relate to the study of the environment: it is the most comfortable option for humans to remain stagnant in their ways, and the human way for centuries now has been to promote the best interest of oneself, through technological advances produced by economic means. The proper laws have yet to be put in place to attempt at reversing the damages humans have created to planet Earth. It will take lots of energy on behalf of humans to enact these boundaries.

The “World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency” emphasizes the gravity of the situation, and is reiterated also in the article “1992 World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity” which was written by the late Henry Kendall, former chair of the Union of Concerned Scientists board of directors and was issued by thousands of renowned scientists. Because of its brevity, I had lots of questions and concerns in my notes, with the resounding point being: how much of this is just words, and how much will actually be done? The fourth of the five “What we must do” points is: “we must reduce and eventually eliminate poverty.” (2). I want a direct answer to that, a clear-cut list of rules that can be taken to make this possible—this article was first published nearly thirty years ago, so there must be a quick formula, or some kind of vaccine, that can be used to eradicate poverty by now, yes?

Not quite. There is lots of discussion on different paths that can be taken and woven together to structure the elimination of poverty, though. A discussion in grandeur of the macro-level steps that must be taken can be found in Ripple et. al’s “World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency”, and various opinions can be found throughout newsletters published by major journals and news outlets. One look at a country’s ecological footprint analysis (as can be done in Living in the Environment, page 30) shows the range of ecological credits and deficits associated with a country, with correlations made between the economic state of that country.

Routes can also be taken at the micro-level. Individual actions can enact change. The FootprintCalculator.org self-assessment on an individual’s ecological footprint shows how greatly one’s lifestyle can affect the environment. Figure 1 shows my results as of last night (1). I remember having taken the test years ago as well and wish I still had my results, as I’m sure my numbers would vary greatly, as I have made many adjustments to reduce my footprint: I compost now, shop mainly at second-hand stores, eat mainly vegetarian, and I’m moving my skincare products to being more sustainable as well. I am one of those who will encourage anyone and everyone who will listen to me to take similar actions.

As I’m sure I will continue to discover through this course, there is countless opinions on how to aid in the climate crisis. It is a dizzying amount; as stated in Living in the Environment, “one of the reasons why environmental problems persist is that people differ over the nature and seriousness of all the world’s environmental problems, as well as how to solve them” (3). Another side I have not yet touched on is that of the deniers—those who turn up their noses to the thousands of scholarly articles and published bits of research on the effects of the climate crisis and how much harm it is doing, and simply choose not to listen. Nestled with these are the nihilists: those who recognize that irreversible damage is being done but are too comfortable in their positions of privilege to want to do anything.

Over winter break I had the delight of speaking with old friends that fit into the categories of deniers and nihilists. In these discussions I made sure to pull up as many graphs from NASA and articles from news sources that I deemed trustworthy in an attempt to persuade them. I wasn’t sure what question I wanted to set as this first one, but I think if I can answer this then the other questions I have may also fall into place.

So, for today:  how can someone convince others to support scientists in resolving the climate crisis? Is it a matter of instilling this importance into humans when they are young, as my biologist mother did to me? Before even deciding what path to take to decrease the entropy, the disorder in our society that is affecting the planet, how to we get people on board to help work with us?

Word Count: 1124

Works Cited

1. “How Many Planets Does It Take to Sustain Your Lifestyle?” Ecological Footprint Calculator. Accessed January 23, 2020. https://www.footprintcalculator.org/.

2. Kendall, Henry. “1992 World Scientists' Warning to Humanity.” Union of Concerned Scientists, July 16, 1992. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/1992-world-scientists-warning-humanity.

3. Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott E. Spoolman. Living in the Environment. 19th ed. Boston, MA: Engage Learning, 2020.

4. Ripple, William J, Christopher Wolf, Thomas M Newsome, Phoebe Barnard, and William R Moomaw. “World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency.” BioScience, November 5, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz088.

[arcticdementor]

Every striver who ever slipped the rank of their birth to ascend to a higher order has shared the capacity to ingratiate themselves with their betters. What the truly exceptional ones have in common is the ability to connect not only with their superiors but also with their peers and inferiors. And only the rarest talents among them can bond authentically—not just transactionally—with the people who will help them be who they want to be in the world. It’s a preternatural, almost Promethean gift if you have it, and Amy Chua does.

Thus begins the scandal dubbed “dinner-party-gate,” the latest in the annals of Amy Chua, Yale Law’s very own Tiger Mom, whose infamous defense of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh was the “dinner-party-gate” of its day approximately three years ago. Then, as now, Chua’s differences with some denizens of her milieu played out in the press, vituperations, allegations, insinuations, and all.

…

The reporting left open a pair of related questions: What, exactly, had happened? And, perhaps more salient, if what took place really was something on the order of a minor violation of an ad hoc agreement between Chua and the Yale Law School dean, Heather Gerken, why had the news spilled into the nation’s most prominent news outlets rather than fading below the fold of a campus daily?

It appears to me that what transpired amounts to a skirmish between a notorious professor and an administration that seemed so eager to relieve itself of her presence that it lunged at an opportunity to weaken her position at the expense of two students who were left to deal with the consequences of the ultimately aborted campaign. Still, the answer to the latter question is more revealing than any single aspect of the whole affair. It has to do with the culture of elite institutions, where putatively righteous ends justify an array of troubling means, and noble public virtues like fairness and safety cloak more prosaic motives—the kind of vulgar envy and resentment that people with the best manners deny.

Everyone is just trying to get ahead, after all; this is no less true, and perhaps even more true, at a place like Yale Law School. It just comes more naturally to some than others. In that case one must take matters into one’s own hands.

The proximate drama begins with a trio of second-year law students, friends and acquaintances for a time. There was a person I’ll call the Guest—all three students asked not to be named, and, believing young people should have a chance at carrying on after having their reputation destroyed or destroying the reputation of others, I agreed—who was born and raised in California. He’d arrived at Yale Law School optimistic and younger than most, having come directly from UCLA. During his first semester, he’d befriended the Visitor, a young woman from a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, who had arrived on campus from Emory. The two made a happy pair: the Guest dreamier and prone to touches of poetry, occasionally drawn to Byzantine history and Christian theology; the Visitor shrewd, practical, and levelheaded, with a keen focus on the concrete facts of policies, problems, current affairs. After working together on a major project that fall, they became and remained close.

And then there was the Archivist, a young man whom the Guest had also befriended early in his time at Yale. The two young men bonded after meeting in their contracts class, after which they would find one another at bars and parties to chat about history, politics, and other shared interests. They met up in New York City for a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Guest eventually gave the Archivist a key to his apartment, where the latter would often stop by to visit or do his laundry. In the second semester of their second year, things seemed placid.

And they may have remained that way, had it not been for a minor snag in the Guest’s academic year that put him on a path that would eventually lead him to Amy Chua’s doorstep.

…

Not that the Guest had any reason to contemplate any of this when, early in the spring semester of 2021, he decided to step down as an executive editor at the Yale Law Journal. The Guest, who describes himself as half-Korean, had misgivings about the way the journal’s staff had responded to his questions about the lack of racial diversity in its ranks, and his suggestions for addressing it. Still, even after making his decision, the Guest felt uncertain and unsettled. He confided this to the Visitor, who as a Black student at Yale Law had wrestled with similar questions, and she took it upon herself to bring them up with Chua during a Zoom meeting that served in place of the professor’s usual office hours. At that point, the Visitor recalls, Chua casually offered to talk with the two of them about the Journal affair at her home in New Haven, and the Visitor called the Guest to pass the invitation along.

Unfortunately for the Guest, the Archivist happened to be doing his laundry at his friend’s apartment when the call came, and he overheard the conversation, later documenting it as follows:

Feb. 18. I go over to [the Guest’s] to do my laundry. While at his apartment, I hear him call [the Visitor], who explains to him that Chua has just invited them over for dinner tomorrow. They discuss what to wear and what they should bring (ultimately deciding to bring a bottle of wine). [The Guest] makes zero mention of going over because of any personal crisis. After the phone call, he says that he’s been invited to a dinner party at Chua’s. [The Guest] implores me not to tell anybody so that Chua doesn’t get in trouble.

Despite his gumshoe efforts, the Archivist seemed to come away with a vastly different impression of the meeting than Chua, the Guest, or the Visitor.

…

By March, the Journal imbroglio was boiling over into the public sphere. Several of the school’s affinity groups had released statements, and the Journal had released information about the racial makeup of its editors—then the conflict came to the attention of conservative media outlets. Once more, the Guest had a series of questions for someone familiar with bad press.

…

When i was a little girl growing up in suburban North Texas not so very long ago, my grandmother, a housewife of the ’60s, would turn my cousins and me outside to play in the summer so she could sit at her kitchen table and chain-smoke her way through her library of paperback bodice-rippers. And when one of us would inevitably bolt back inside to complain about being annihilated with a Super Soaker at close range or nailed with a Nerf dart to the eye, she would always eject us with the same dismissal: Don’t be a tattletale. As far as childhood admonishments go, it was an interesting one—she wasn’t telling us not to do something, but rather not to be something.

I don’t credit homespun wisdom with any special salience. But the suggestion that it may be useful to morally evaluate oneself before volunteering to monitor everyone else’s conduct isn’t a ridiculous one. It’s wise to be careful that, in one’s zeal for justice or fairness or the more prosaic things that ride beneath those banners, one doesn’t lose sight of one’s own moral obligations or aspirations. And it’s decent, if you have a problem with someone, to take it up with them before running it up the nearest flagpole. But this is something people with the right views and the best degrees, it seems, simply do not do; just as the distinction between tattling and whistleblowing—resting, as it does, on a sober evaluation of one’s own motives and the stakes at hand—is one they often fail to make.

…

Up to that point, the Archivist had managed to gather only the flimsiest written evidence that the Guest and the Visitor had been to Chua’s home. Eventually, he composed a roughly 20-page PDF narrating the timeline of his private campaign to turn proof of his friends’ wrongdoing over to the administration—complete with screenshots of text messages, summaries of conversations, a reference to a secretly recorded phone call, and some offhanded musings on his peers’ moral laxity. The document would achieve campus infamy as “the dossier.”

…

Yale did provide the Guest and the Visitor with information on how to file a complaint against the Archivist and also took additional steps to protect them, including trying to prevent their names from circulating online. But neither the Guest nor the Visitor ever filed any kind of complaint against Chua, who, they still maintain, did nothing worth complaining about. And yet both of them have suffered—not in the jaws of the tigress herself, but in the subtler and more brutal back channels of the Ivy League, where every regal edifice hides a charnel house of human spirits. In the end, they were collateral forfeited in a cold war that began long before they arrived on campus, and that will continue long after it has spit out their bones.

[jukemaid]

i have online friends who hate katsuki and i totally get it. like i ONE HUNDRED PERCENT understand it and i would be lying if i said he didn’t deserve that kind of response, especially from people who are well-acquainted with bullying. it’s that sort of reason which makes me so viciously against the idea of redeeming abusive fathers. personal experience makes me see red and i can’t accept it.

so i sure as shit am not about to push up my glasses and explain why katsuki should be forgiven and all his steps forward be heavily praised. life don’t work that way and damage can’t always be reversed. the effects of hurt on the victim will always be more important a focus than the progress of the abuser to make themselves better. that’s how the world functions and that’s how abuse survivors like me handle what we’ve gone through. we have no obligation to forgive.

but i digress

for me tho this kind of outright smug asshole character who is still incredibly smart and does well in school and has actual boundaries but still plays up his bravado while stopping at them is incredibly refreshing and interesting to me. i look forward to his interactions in the manga because of how that cathartic fight with izuku seemed to really extinguish a great deal of his shit, leading him to be more of a general nuisance than a danger to the student body and their literal bodies.

the difference between a general asshole anti-hero character and bakugou is that bakugou was completely overwhelmed by guilt and despair to the point of a total breakdown and has been convinced it’s his fault for so many things going wrong and having zero outlets and zero support and his own bias making him not seek help caused him to self-destruct in a manner only izuku could understand.

i’m not sure where i was going with this i have a lot of thoughts about things

[bruisedpeachx-blog]

You are a lush and beautiful outpouring of soul

“I am new here. To this self love.

To this whole love.

To this not changing for anyone, 

not apologizing to anyone,

sort of kind and pure love.

And I am never leaving.

// my heart is overflowing”

- Alison Malee 

Writing has become something that I really enjoy doing, but something that no longer feels like an obligation or something I will die without. Initially writing was my only outlet, but I’m doing so much more than surviving and sometimes I just don’t have the time to write anymore. It’s a beautiful thing to be in the moment. 

Two nights ago I went out with my friend Tyler and we had a really lovely time. I told myself that I don’t want to drink or go out until I feel more like myself, and more stable, but we went out and I had such an incredible time. We went to a few places in the city and eventually ended up at the Irish pub that we had gone to a week or two earlier. I really love this pub because of the music, the crowd, and how diverse it is. We made so many friends and had so many hilarious moments, and for the first time I didn’t feel sad at all throughout the night. Not even once. A guy asked me to dance and naturally I declined because I can’t dance at all, but with some prompting everyone ended up dancing and it was such a great moment and I had so much fun. We decided to the leave the pub to get food and we went next door and got pizza. Tyler was definitely the voice of reason and told me to stop talking to strangers, but I couldn’t help but walk up to every single person that I thought was beautiful or well dressed, and let them know. I felt so positive and so happy, and I just wanted everyone to know how lovely they looked. I thought of the effort that I had gone to just to look presentable, let alone do my hair, wear a dress, or hell paint my toe nails. I wanted them to know that their efforts weren’t going unnoticed, and it brightened so many people’s nights - as well as my own! Eventually I ended up sitting at a table with complete strangers and eating on their donuts. I had convinced myself that he had given me the donut, but Tyler let me know in the morning that I had definitely stolen it. I don’t think that I will ever forget that night and how much fun we had together. 

When I saw other couples I used to get sad. I used to feel resentment and self pity, and so many other negative emotions. The night that we went out I felt so happy for all of the happy couples that I saw. The people dancing together who would steal glances when the other person wasn’t looking, or the older married couple in the corner who would steal kisses, smile and people watch. I’m so full of love for all of those people and those relationships. I ended up dancing and laughing and smiling like a drunk fool all night, and that didn’t end when I made it home. When I got home I felt the overwhelming need to go live on Facebook and let all of my female friends know how beautiful they are, how incredible they are, and how thankful I am to have their presence in my life. Needless to say there are some very positive, but very embarrassing videos that have been posted, and I know that when I think back on Brisbane when I’m back home - this night will be one of the ones I talk about. I’ve realized that I’m not insecure about every single attractive female, and that I don’t view them as competition. I love all of the beautiful women who are in my life, or who I see on the street. I don’t feel threatened by these people or feel the need to compare myself. I’m so glad that I came to the realization that I was made to feel this way because of a lack of communication and dishonesty. I’m so grateful to be at peace with the fact that it really was you, not me. 

Today I went to work and I felt positive, enthusiastic and ready for the day. It was pouring rain outside and the Valley streets were close to flooding - but I loved it. There is something so special about Brisbane rain. The entire morning consisted of listening to Ben Howard, Bon Iver, and Vampire Weekend - and I couldn’t have felt more content. 

After work I ended up going to Heya with Cam and Sarah to wait out the rain before going home. We had a couple of beers, played pool (I won!), and had amazing dumplings! Cam has become one of my most consistent friends here in Brisbane, and by extension I’ve met so many great people. Once again beers were free tonight, and we were put on doors for Vallis Alps next Sunday! It’s a surreal feeling to feel so supported, and to have connections, company, and friends here in Brisbane. Tonight we sat and talked about mental health and things that have happened and where we’re all at now, and although that seems like really depressing bar banter, it was really refreshing to talk to such down to earth people. Cam let me know that he would write down all of the comic book related Netflix shows in chronological order so I would have something to keep me occupied on my days off, and invited me out the next time he goes record shopping. It’s so refreshing to have a group of friends that I really care about, all of which are so diverse. I’ve never cherished other people more than I do right now. 

In two days time I go to Byron Bay and I could not be more excited. I can’t wait to see the lighthouse, to walk on the beach, and to see somewhere so beautiful feeling completely content and completely at peace. I felt this complete sense of dependency when I first arrived in Australia, and it took me being completely abandoned in an unfamiliar country to realize how capable and independent I am. I am so thankful to my friends for consistently supporting me, and for helping me get to where I want to be without expecting anything in return. I would give you the world if I could. 

My aunt is officially in a hospice now, and it’s been hard to not be able to speak with her as often as I would like. I message her every single day to let her know that I love her, and I just hope that someone is reading her those messages if she isn’t able. I also messaged my real dad and I let him know that I’m ready for the answers I was owed years ago, and naturally he didn’t respond. I’ve realized that it’s easier to be selfish, than to give people the explanations that they deserve. I’ve also come to the realization that this isn’t a reflection of me, but rather the other people who have yet to come to terms with the why behind their actions. 

I am so thankful for the people in my life. I used to passively say that I hated people and that socializing was a task, and maybe that’s what every angst filled young adult is supposed to say - but I’ve realized that isn’t true for me. The second you literally have no one and you’re forced to come to terms with your own solitude, you learn who you are as a person, but you also learn the impact of a kind gesture, a compliment, or even a smile. I hope that this feeling never leaves me and that I can continue to be kind, soft, accepting, and honest. 

To the person who I thought broke me, thank you. I'm saying this in the most honest way possible, with zero passive aggression or condescension. I would never wish what I felt on another human being and I would never wish this experience on another person, but I would wish this growth on everyone who is struggling. I don’t think that I’ve ever felt at peace with who I am as a person, and I know that dishonesty didn’t help me feel validated or more secure in that sense, but you forced me to be at peace with who I am - because I was all I had. When this initially happened I was praying that one day you would wake up and want me back, or realize that you had made a mistake. I don’t wish that anymore. The only thing I wish for you is that one day you truly understand and come to terms with what you did to another person. I hope you realize that although you can make excuses and pretend that I had a choice, you forced someone into survival mode. You used someone’s body after you broke their mind and their heart, and then you dropped them off at an empty, unfamiliar apartment. I hope you sit and truly think about what you allowed another person to give up for you, when you knew the entire time that you weren’t capable or ready. I hope you know that I don’t miss you anymore, I don’t want an explanation anymore, and I don’t want your company anymore. I do want for you what you wanted for yourself, mental clarity. I hope that one day you’re capable of giving yourself to someone so completely, that they’re able to break you the way that you broke me. But I hope that when you do give all of yourself to another person the way that I did, they make the right decision and they care for you properly. Thank you for showing me that I deserve this fulfilling relationship with myself, and that I deserve to be soft even after I became so hard and guarded. 

I am so excited to think about seeing Touche Amore and Basement, and to think about experiencing Seattle after being away from that city for over a year. I am so excited to be in Calgary for ten days, and I am so eager to start a new adventure in Vancouver. I am also so thrilled to say that I will be traveling to Ireland, Barcelona, and Iceland in 2018 and that flights are finalized. It is so surreal to say that Vancouver will be my home, but that I’ll be able to experience all of these wonderful places in 2018. 

“When a flower doesn’t bloom,

You fix the environment in which it grows

Not the flower”

- Unknown

[arkus-rhapsode]

What is Canon in Fairy Tail?

Hey guys so of recent I’ve had this thought on my mind of the canon of the series of Fairy Tail. Before I dive into discussing fairy tail spefically I want to first establish this idea of what is canon. The definition of canon is “ a collection or list of sacred books accepted as genuine.” The big point of that is “Genuine”. With many series in popculture having expanded into media in different fields it is often debated over what is genuine article.

Now Fairy Tail started as manga written by Hiro Mashima, and if it had just stayed a manga then the way of accepting what is genuine would be simple, what’s written and drawn is canon. Hiro Mashima is the creator of this world and all these characters, he is it’s god. Whatever he’d write would be considered canon no matter the context, he could very well write that Natsu is the Easter bunny and that be canon, even if it would make no sense in context of everything that had happened up to the point but Natsu is Hiro’s creation he can decide what Natsu is or isn’t.

However, Fairy Tail isn’t only a manga, like many manga, it was adapted into an anime. As well as light novels, movies, and spinoff manga. Well I’ll try to tackle each of these and boy this is going to be tough.

Now let’s first start with the anime, the general idea of an anime is to capitalize on the popularity of a series to make money for a studio, while promoting the original manga. An often underlining rule among anime/Manga fans is the manga is canon and the anime’s job is to adapt it on to the small screen while adding things to immerse yourself into the world such as music, actors, and coloring. Now here’s the biggest problem when discussing anime is filler and to discuss filler we need to define what is filler. Filler is again meant to immerse yourself into the world of the manga, however with filler there’s a very cynical approach to it and that this is a studio that needs to fill a contractional obligation. Be it one slot or a whole arc to build up chapters to adapt so there doesn’t need to be more filler. Now, here’s the issue when talking about filler in fairy tail and it goes to a little arc called key to the starry night.

With other filler arcs such as the eclipse celestial spirit arc and the daphne arc it’s easy to scoff off them as “they don’t count” because there is no reference to them in the manga at all. But with Key to the starry night arc there is a reference by Yukino in the manga. Even calling it “the zentopia incident” and just to make this cock tail of confusion complete, we add creator involvement. Now let’s try and break this down, first, thanks to this reference I now need to introduce readers to something I call “the Shaz Domino principle”, which is no matter how small, no matter how uneventful, and how insignificant, this reference was put in directly by the creator there is no denying that zentopia is a thing in this universe. But now we get into the nitty gritty and zentopia is a thing in the manga, but what do we know about it? Know you could clearly say “I watched the anime, I know what zentopia is” well here’s the thing, does every Fairy Tail fan watch the anime? How do we know that Everyone who is the fandom has been exposed to the whole arc of zentopia. But for those who may only read the manga not having access to the anime or possibly believe it not to be faithful to the source material will have read that panel and not know what zentopia is with no build up before hand or mention afterwards. It’s something they have to take at face value. As well as the creator involvement, We don’t know what Hiro Mashima really contributed to this filler. There is no way for me to transport to him and ask him this question of “what did you do for the anime staff?”

Because creator involvement can range from a number of things, like Eiichiro Oda providing the linework for daddy masterson in the lougetown filler of one piece to Tite Kubo providing a little pre story to set up the Bleach hellverse movie. We don’t know what Hiro Mashima did for this, and even if we go searching there is no way to be certain that our great internet super highway is right. There has been the controversy of Lisanna’s return with many siting he did it for the anime staff or those saying no it was his intention from the start, there is no way of knowing unless directly from the man himself. And how easy would that be? It’s been well documented that and Hiro even stating he wanted Erigor in the oracion seis arc but due to deadlines he cut it but the anime staff put in Erigor. But there has never been a case of Hiro Mashima saying “This filler arc is canon.” It wouldn’t be hard either he does many afterwords in his manga volumes so how hard would it be?

Now another problem is “well wait a minute, how does angel have that new magic then? Yukino said Zentopia that must be canon” Again here’s the problem lack of evidence, there may be a reference but where is Midnight’s Darkness Magic? Why Sawyer seemingly forgetful of the lesson Mirajane imparted on him? Where is Satan Soul: Halphas? We don’t even see the reaction to Zentopia being mentioned to Lucy. Cobra appears in the GMG arc acting as if he was never heard from sense to the Oracion Seis arc. “Well Hiro’s very wishy-washy with the canon already who cares about these plotholes then.” I can understand that Hiro has forgotten things that he’s written like Lucy can use a different star dress even though she didn’t even summon the spirit, Gray didn’t eat Ice lock when it was around his neck. Well if Hiro Mashima is able to care about things such as the whole Grandeeney mentioning Wendy and Natsu have met, Natsu in Avatar looking up at the former destroyed bell tower in tuly that was only verbally mentioned in chapter 1 and 2. So the man has some self awareness of his series and something as big as an arc where lucy is almost removed from existence would kinda need some justification and not one scene.

Now, on to spin offs and light novels, this I have a better grasp of due to knowing about the manga industry. When a series can be made into a novel or a spin off it is mandated by the publisher because at the end of the day Kodansha Comics is a business and a business wants to profit off it’s hot sellers. Now obviously Hiro would need to sign off on this as they are using his brand in their work, but at most it’s in the hands of the publisher. Now enough of the business jargon you want to know it’s on the canon or not. Well the spin-offs have been done by a variety of mangaka and to varying success. Well the main idea of the spin off is, like filler, is to enrich the story focus on characters that don’t get the spot light as much, like saber tooth or Gajeel or Laxus, but here’s the thing a lot of these spin offs tend to line up with very gray moments between events in the already established series. Since we never focus on Saber tooth who’s to say that the Abyss Horn fight didn’t happen, we didn’t pay attention to gajeel for a while maybe he was on a mission.

Now Unlike the key to the starry night arc there’s never been a reference to ANY event in the spin offs. We never here from Ichiya about the red princess stuff when he showed up in the alvarez arc, Cobra and Gajeel never think of each other, Sting and Rogue never mention they fought an earth dragon. There is easier ways to dismiss it as actually being relevant. “But what about FT zero? Are you going to say it’s canon because it was drawn and written by HIro?” Well unlike the other spin offs there is more references in the manga series to the events to Zero than there is for the other spin offs. I brought up how a person who only reads the manga would have to take “Zentopia incedent at face value well at face value we do get the flash back chapters about FT’s founding, we do get (prooly) Zeira established before her sudden return. They didn’t have to read the the spin off or watch the anime filler to get that info.

Now on to the light novels which are a little harder to talk about because Hiro contributed all the artwork for them. He even reused the designs of Gajeel and Levy’s kids in the manga series. This is another tough one as we know Hiro Mashima isn’t some monkey who will draw whatever is handed to him by another writer he obviously must have had a dialogue with the writer of “colors residing in the heart”. But here’s something that I question all these spin offs make reference to the manga series but does any other outlet acknowledge they exist? We never get the Anime talking about the return to edolas or onne spin off saying Abyss Horn was part of the Balam alliance. Only reference to fillers like the eclipse zodiac arc appear only in the anime and not the manga. The only one that ever gets to be mentioned in another media is the “trouble twins” with Hiro Mashima using the design of Gajeel and Levy’s kids meaning it’s very likely that the events in that light novel could happen.

Now here’s another problem, Omake. They are all written by the author of the manga and are even adapted into filler episodes so are they canon? Well in Japanese Omake literally means ‘extra’ and what is an extra? Is it a little story that’s told at some unspecific time? Is it a kinda “what if” scenario that the author wants to experement his writing skills in? Does he just want to make you laugh and needs the context to do it?

Well at times it seems to be generally accepted as a “what if” scenario because we know that 1 billion years ago the ancestors of Natsu never molested the ancestor of Lucy, we know there was never and Ichiya epidemic, we know that that Fairy Tail and the Seven Deadly Sins don’t share the same universe. “But hey those are so outlandish what about “Mulan Rouge” or “Natsu vs Mavis” they seem like they could very well happen and they were in both Manga and OVA form.” Well hears another nitty gritty we aren’t really given a point they could’ve occurred in the story.

Well at this point I’m sure everyone is reading this saying “Your just cherry picking everything at this point and your making it sound like anything not written or drawn by Hiro Mashima isn’t canon and all of it is just glorified fanfiction”. Well glorified fanfiction is a good term because I know many writers who actually seem to understand and do more with the universe of Fairy Tail than Mashima himself. And here’s the biggest factor of them all, is the audience.

The audience has a wide variety of what they want to accept as canon for personally reasons. I know many who love the Oracion Sies and want key to the starry night to be canon so all that development they got wasn’t brushed off as “doesn’t count”. I know many who would love to pretend the “stone age” Omake never happened because of the disrespect it shows to favorite characters even though they are Mashima’s. I personally enjoy the Gajeel manga because it focus’s on Gajeel and allows him to  get more shine than either manga or anime have given to him. I know some who for shipping purposes will full heartedly state the christmas omake is canon even though people can find flaws like “Jellal being in magnolia makes no sense”. And here’s another thing the Sabertooth manga I didn’t like but I did something with sabertooth that wasn’t just just Sting or Rogue.

The audience sees the potential in this world and most likely wants to create their own canon. Their own way of accepting the things they want fairy tail to be and brushing off the stuff that hinders their ability to enjoy it. Me personally I find the easiest way to accept is “If it wasn’t in the main manga, it didn’t happen” but someone could say to me “If it didn’t happen in the manga it didn’t happen except for Mulan Rouge that makes sense as canon”. We all make are own acceptance of what we want fairy tail to be. And if that’s the case, then no ones wrong or right because like opinions our views of acceptance are different and like opinions, if you have a different take on canon you’re going to end up butting heads.

Well that’s my take on it. Now if you guys got anything say send me an ask or message. And maybe we can all admire each others canons.

[kadobeclothing]

Trump campaign files lawsuit against NBC station for ad showing him ‘appearing to call coronavirus a HOAX’ – The Sun

DONALD Trump’s reelection campaign has filed a lawsuit against an NBC station for an advertisement showing him “appearing to call coronavirus a hoax.” The defamation lawsuit – filed Monday against WJFW-NBC of Rhinelander, Wisconsin – comes in response to an anti-Trump commercial that “contained intentionally false and defamatory statements.” 7 A Democratic super PAC attack ad shows a timeline of Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus outbreakCredit: Priorities USA7 The video was first shared on March 23 by Priorities USA Action FundCredit: WJFW7 The video displays an edited timeline of Trump’s downplayed response to the coronavirus since the global outbreak began in JanuaryCredit: WJFWSenior Legal Adviser to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc, Jenna Ellis, said in a statement:  “It is disappointing that WJFW-NBC would knowingly continue to broadcast this blatantly false ad and perpetrate falsehoods on the American people, even after the Trump campaign provided proof in good faith of the ad’s falsity. “We fully expected the station would recognize their error and immediately cease under their FCC obligations. “The Trump campaign is now left with no other option than to use the force of law to ensure these false and defamatory ads cease.” The campaign is seeking unspecified monetary damages and legal fees. Created by Priorities USA Action Fund, a Democratic super PAC (political action committee), the video was first uploaded to the internet on March 23. It displays an edited timeline of Trump’s downplayed response to the coronavirus since the global outbreak began in January. 7 The super PAC is spending $6 million to air the ad in Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan and WisconsinCredit: Priorities USA7 Trump’s reelection campaign sent cease and desist letters ordering the local television stations to stop airing the ads, which started on March 24Credit: Priorities USA7 The video was edited with soundbites from Trump speaking at different press conferences and eventsCredit: Priorities USAThe lawsuit reads: “The advertisement… does not just contain false and defamatory statements about President Trump — it is far more insidious and, ultimately, far more dangerous. “The advertisement was produced through the use of digital technology by taking audio clips from Trump Campaign events and piecing those clips together to manufacture a blatantly false statement that was never said by President Trump.” Trump says in the video, which includes his quotes from different dates: “The coronavirus, this is their new hoax. We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China. “One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear,” the president says as the video shows the number of infected people in the U.S. growing. “When you have 15 people, and within a couple of days is going to be down to zero people.” He is heard saying: “We really think we’ve done a great job in keeping [the coronavirus] down to a minimum.” The video concludes with a clip of Trump speaking to the press in the White House Rose Garden, telling reporters: “No I don’t take responsibility at all.” 7The PAC is spending $6 million to run the ad on television and throughout digital outlets, and began running it in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida, per Politico. The Trump campaign sent a cease and desist letter on March 25 to the PAC to television stations airing the ad, according to a press release from the campaign, which described the video as a “false, negative attack.” Priorities USA Chairman Guy Cecil spoke out in response to the lawsuit in a Monday press release. “This is pretty simple. Donald Trump doesn’t want voters to hear the truth and he’s trying to bully TV stations into submission,” he said. “The truth is that Trump ignored warnings from experts and his own team and downplayed the coronavirus even as it spread unchecked across the country and the world. “Americans are now suffering as a result of his inaction. We will never stop airing the facts and holding the president accountable for his actions.” In February, during a campaign rally in South Carolina, Trump said Democrats were trying to use the coronavirus pandemic to undermine his leadership. “They tried the impeachment hoax. … This is their new hoax,” Trump told the crowd. ‘terrified’Woman extremely vulnerable to virus ‘caught bug despite 3-week isolation’CORONA COVER-UP?Husband ‘murdered wife & sent text from her phone claiming she had virus’HOUSE OF HORRORTrio of women ‘took kids to house & let pedophiles rape them for cash’MOSCOW CRUELRussian spies are tracking US virus response in prep for ‘wartime ATTACK’TRAGIC FIND’Nearly-complete skeleton’ found on golf course identified as missing womanSTONER TALKTrump pal Stone thinks ‘Bill Gates is behind virus’ He accused Democrats of “politicizing” the virus’ threat and boasted about preventive steps he ordered to try to keep the virus that originated in China from spreading across the U.S. As of Monday, more than 21,662 people have died in the U.S. and nearly 547,627 people have tested positive for COVID-19. Do you have a story for The US Sun team? Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212 416 4552.

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