#Read by HUNDREDS of thousands of kids worldwide

[bonefall]

post/734733274896809984/do-you-ever-worry-your-own-writing-might-come-off that makes sense. i was asking because i'm afraid of accidentally writing misogyny myself and i kind of admire what you do

Hmm... I wish I had better advice to give you on this front, but honestly, the only thing I can tell you is to consider the perspective of your female characters.

Women are people. They have thoughts and feelings of their own, so like... just let them have their own arcs. A lot of the worst misogyny in WC comes from the way that the writers just don't care about their girls (or, in the case of tall shadow, actually get undermined and forced to rewrite entire chapters), so they're not curious about their lives, or WHY they feel the way they do or what they want, or any direction for their character arcs.

Turtle Tail as an example. She'll often just end up feeling whatever Gray Wing's plot demands. She's gotta leave when Storm dumps him to make him feel lonely. She shows up again to love him in the next book. Lets her best friend Bumble get dragged back to Tom the Wifebeater, but is sad enough about her death to be "unreasonably angry" with Clear Sky, and then calms down and accept Gray Wing is right all along.

And then she dies, so he can have his very own fridge wife.

In this way, Turtle Tail's just being used to tell Gray Wing's story. They're not interested in why she would turn on Bumble, or god forbid any lingering negative feelings for how she didn't help her, or even resentment towards Clear Sky for killing her or Gray Wing for jumping to his defense. She isn't really going through her own character arc.

She does have personality traits of her own, don't misunderstand my criticism, but as a character she revolves around Gray Wing.

So, zoom out every now and then, and just ask yourself; "Whose story is being told by what I wrote? Do my female characters have goals, wants, and agency, or are they just supporting men? How do their choices impact the narrative?"

But that's already kinda assuming that you already have characters like Turtle Tail who DO have personalities and potential of their own. Here's some super simple and practical advice that helped me;

Tally the genders in your cast. How many are boys, how many are girls, how many are others?

And take stock of how many of those characters are just in the supporting cast, and compare that to the amount you have in the main cast.

If you have a significant imbalance, ESPECIALLY in the main cast, fire the Woman Beam.

It's a really simple trick to just write a male character, and then change its gender while keeping it the same. I promise women are really not fundamentally different from men lmao. You can consider how your in-universe gender roles affect them later, if you'd like, but when you're just starting to wean yourself off a "boy bias" this trick works like a charm.

Also you're not allowed to change the body type of any girl you Woman Beam because I said so. PLEASE allow your girls to have muscles, or be fat, or be old, or have lots of scars. Do NOT do what a cowardly Triple A studio does, where the women all have the same cute or sexy face and curvy body while they're standing next to dwarves, robots, and a gorilla.

Or this shit,

If you do this I will GET you. If you're ever possessed by the dark urge, you will see my face appear in the clouds like Mufasa himself to guide you away from the path of evil.

Anyway, you get better at just making characters girls to begin with as time goes on and you practice it. It's really not as big of a deal as your brain might think it is.

Take a legitimate interest in female characters and try not to disproportionately hit them with parental/romance plots as opposed to the male cast, and you'll be fine. Don't think of them as "SPECIAL WOMEN CHARACTERS" just make a character and then let her be a girl, occasionally checking your tally and doing some critical thinking about their use in the story.

(Also remember I'm not a professional or anything, I'm just trying to give advice)

[madaboutmunson]

Ok because the other two little fics were so well liked my brain could stop thinking about it.

So we've got how the song in question was written, the song when Corroded Coffin make it big, so consider this one the last time that song is ever played live by Corroded Coffin.

It starts with a little shocker so I've hidden the story under a read more so people don't accidently read it, in case it upsets anyone, but trust me when I say it's not all doom and gloom 😉 I got you 💚

The day the news of music legend Eddie Munson passing breaks, it plunged the world into deep, dark despair. A shocking departure that stopped newsreaders in their tracks to announce it.

The bombshell news was plastered everywhere for weeks, billboards, posters, newspapers, magazines, murals, tv show opening monologues, and this thing slowly emerging, the internet, had its forums full of theories as to what had happened, as no announcement had come from the Corroded Coffin camp as yet.

There was no sign of illness or injury. No accident or crime details. He seemed to have just...died.

The outpourings of condolences from countless heavy metal icons, hundreds of celebrities, some of which you would never have even guessed, liked Corroded Coffin, millions of fans worldwide held candle-lit vigils and sang their songs sombrely acapella in meeting places all around the world.

A week later, the band finally released a written statement.

"It was during the hellish times of high school that Eddie found us, protected us, guided us and forged this band of brothers that would go on to conquer not just our fears but the entire world. Impossible dreams came true countless times over, but now we sit in a waking nightmare at the loss of our leader, so now our time must come to an end.

A band is a sum of its parts, and with any one of us gone, this is simply not Corroded Coffin anymore. So it is with the deepest sadness but no regrets we have to say goodnight to you one last time.

Thank you for sticking by us all these years.

Remember to look out for one another.

HFC 4 Eva

The Remains of Corroded Coffin"

With the statement is an announcement that there will be a tribute show organised by Corroded Coffin, but they declined to play all but one song, which a special guest on guitar.

A month later, the tribute show goes ahead, but no stadium can hold it due to demand, mainly because the band had to fulfil Eddie's final wishes.

One of which was causing the most problems, Eddie wanted every member of the Corroded Coffin fan club to get the first refusal on a space at the tribute show. So no matter where in the world they were from, they were invited and their travel expenses paid, or something set up so they could join the live feed.

Eddie had jokingly set up the fan club at a merch table in the early days. It got you a Corroded Coffin badge, a hand-painted d20, a poster, access to a monthly newsletter/comic and a hand-drawn membership card signed on the back by the band, all for the price of five dollars. As the band grew, the fan club pack stayed the same, except the merch was better quality, it had to be mass-produced, and the price was lowered to one dollar.

The band also often had membership cards on their person or gave them out for free to fans that wanted them through their music charity for kids living in low-income areas.

So as you can imagine, there were thousands of potential attendees, but if you didn't have the card, you weren't getting in, no matter how much money you had or how famous you were.

The crowd is a sea of Corroded Coffin fans of all ages and all walks of life.

The first people out on stage are Corroded Coffin.

All of them.

The three band members wheel out an enormous coffin encased in rusted metal sheets with haphazardly driven rivets to keep it together, standing up tall, onto a platform at the back of the stage. They do this in absolute silence. The crowd is so hushed that on the recording, you can hear the ting of someone dropping a can.

Then the chants start, "Eddie! Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!" Hauntingly fierce like an army ready for battle, they know they can't win.

It spreads across the ocean of fans like a ripple of deafening voices.

Then the concert begins. Not only is the lineup littered with some of the most famous musical artists in the world, but also many of Eddie's favourite bands, and to introduce each of them is a celebrity pairing.

Nancy Wheeler and Robin Buckley. Prize-winning journalist and film director, respectively.

Tech Whiz Kids Dustin Henderson and Erica Sinclair.

Internet entrepreneur duo Jargyle.

Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers. Heads of a missing children's charity.

Award-winning scientists Mike and Will Byler.

Novelist Lucas Sinclair and Skateboarding legend Mad Max.

Then lastly, a fan favourite, Eddie's Uncle Wayne. He had made a cameo appearance in every video they had ever made, was on every concert video and was always thanked in the album notes.

"It is my greatest honour that the boys chose me to introduce the last performance of the evening. I know this song was his favourite, and many of yours also. So without further ado...Sadly, for the final time, Ladies and Gentleman, I give you Corroded Coffin," he shouts finally over the crowd's roar as flames shoot out of the sides of the coffin on stage, and the three remaining members walk out.

They say nothing and launch into the heaviest song Corroded Coffin ever wrote.

A lead guitar joins in but with no guitarist to be seen.

As the song draws to a close, a man walks out in a denim battle vest a little too snug for him, his hair voluminous but dishevelled. He's holding the prop guitar.

He swings it around, smashing it into the floor behind him, and with an almighty swing back in front of him, the guitar must know this is its last show because the body splits in two. The man rips the neck of the guitar out of the body and holds it above his head. The fake blood spills out of his mouth, and the tears flood down his face as he punches the air in time with the Eddie chants before he blows a kiss at the crowd and then one at the coffin.

There is a curtain call for all involved as pyros and flames fill the air around the stage until the last fan leaves the area. Then the curtain finally drops.

Everyone heads backstage or to the trailers behind it for food and drinks. 

All except one person. Steve Harrington.

He looks around to ensure the coast is clear, approaches the giant coffin structure, and puts his hand on it, still warm from the flames.

"I never did find the right time to tell you this, and it looks like I'm too late." The tears prick his eyes again, and the first one that escapes down his cheek causes the rest to follow in droves. 

His sobs are so loud he covers his mouth to quiet them for fear of anyone overhearing, "I love you, Eddie. I just didn't know how to say it, I-I d-didn't know if you felt the same, so I'd act like I didn't care and hoped you'd make the first move, but you didn't. And then you got famous, and were gone. I saw you a handful of times, and every time I wanted to tell you, something got in the way, or I chickened out, you know, because...well, because maybe you'd reject me and hate me or worse, you'd want what I did, and the press would eat you for breakfast. It would have ruined everything you built, and I couldn't handle that." 

He runs his hands through his hair, bows his head, and presses his forehead against the warm sheet metal. "I couldn't take that chance because I loved you so much, so very very much, Eddie." He plants a kiss on his fingertips and presses it against the name plaque on the coffin. He lets out a final guttural sob. "See you on the other side, Munson", he manages finally and walks away.

He takes a last look back over his shoulder as he wipes the tears from his eyes, and Steve swears he sees the thing move.

He shakes his head and takes a few more steps, he can hear Eddie cursing under his breath in his mind, and it makes him smile.

But then Steve freezes to the spot because there is a loud clang behind him. He doesn't want to turn around and fix Eddie's coffin, but who else is going to do it, right?

"Well, that was suffocating!" Eddies voice rings in Steve's head.

Steve steels himself and prepares to see the worst as he turns back towards the coffin, only to find the front of it completely off its hinges, and standing draped in his guitar, with crumbs in his hair and hat with two beer cans in with straws, is one, very alive Eddie Munson.

Steve cannot move. He mutters, "Oh god, I've finally lost it."

Eddie looks at Steve with a perplexed look on his face, "Ah, yeah, you have" he puts his hands on his hips, "Keeping a secret like that from me for like a decade. First of all, how fucking dare you wait until I end everything to tell me, and secondly, get over here, you big stud, and give me some well overdue sugar."

"What...the...fuck..." Steve fearfully whispers to himself, "I'm actually insane."

"Eddie!!" Dustin's excited voice rings out behind Steve as he charges forward, embracing him.

"Hey, watch my guitar, you little shrimp!" Eddie giggles and Ruffles Dustin's hair.

"Wait a second now," Steve says, finger pointed out in front of him, slowly stepping forward, "You can see him?"

Now it's Dustin's turn to look confused at Steve. He scoffs out a laugh, "Well, of course, I can! Are you feeling ok, Steve?"

"But...but...but he died...again...is he like... immortal, or something. Like a-a vamp.. vampire?" Steve tries gingerly, moving closer, one hand still stretched out in front of him like he's trying to ward off something evil.

Dustin and Eddie look at one another in confusion and start laughing.

"Steve, have you sampled some of the special backstage treats?" Eddie asks and turns back to Dustin, "I mean, that might explain why he also just confessed he's had a massive boner about me for over a decade!"

"Really?" Dustin says curiously, and Eddie nods as he takes off his guitar. "Wow."

Then the others start piling onto the stage, all of Eddie's nearest and dearest, and all of them are smiling and laughing and joking, except for Steve, who is watching this happen around him until he erupts.

"How can you all be so god damn normal about this??!!!!! He's just come back from the dead. Not like last time when he passed out. He's been dead for like a fucking month, and your all just-just fucking OK WITH THAT??!!" Steve is yelling at the top of his lungs, hands gesticulating wildly at them all, still keeping his distance, and the group falls silent.

"Oh, no, honey," Joyce says soothingly, walking towards Steve. "It's ok, it must be really scary to see this kind of thing, but you remember, right? It's all just for show." She turns and whispers to Hopper, "I knew all those bumps to the head needed looking at."

"FOR SHOW?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN FOR SHOW?! IT WAS EVERY-FUCKING-WHERE" Steve starts counting on his fingers, "It-it was on the news, and-and in all the papers, and-and the fans did all those vigils" He points accusingly at the band, "You were at least three of those!!"

Robin's eyes go wide "Steve, it's me, Robin. Hi!" She approaches him slowly, "I'm real. We're all real here. Everything is ok" Once Robin is within arms distance of Steve, he pokes at her and squeezes her arm to make sure she is, in fact, real, "OW!! Jesus!!!"

She bats Steve's hands away, "Ok, enough. Listen, did you open the fan club mail this month?"

"The fan cl-? What the hell are you talking about?? Is this a nightmare? Am I dead??!! Is this Hell??!!!" Steve shouts into the air.

"In this month's fanzine, it explained everything. The band wanted to stop and spend time with their families and start new projects, but the press was getting to a fever pitch with them. Gareth had his bins rifled through. Jeff couldn't even take his kid out for his birthday without getting hounded. So Eddie came up with this plan. That way, no one gets blamed for breaking up the band. It just is no more." Robin explains compassionately to Steve.

"So the whole crowd, all of you and the bands, they all knew it was fake?" Steve asks quietly whilst everyone is still staring at him and Robin.

Robin nods but then adds, "Well, not the other bands. We couldn't risk it, but we and the fans are loyal enough to keep a secret. Plus, if anyone even tries to say they've seen him, they'll be labelled like those Bigfoot-spotting people."

Steve shakes his head, "But I'm not a member of the fan club?!"

"The absolute audacity!!! What, you fucking love me, but you're not a member of my band's fan club? What kind of half-assed groupie are you?" Eddie shouts, astounded and a little insulted at Steve.

Jeff turns to Eddie, "You knew he wasn't, man. You made him that special membership card at the hideout for valentine's day, but you never gave it to him, remember?"

"Shut up!" Eddie says through gritted teeth at Jeff.

Steve stands more confidently, his hands on his hips, "Oh, is that so?"

"Yeah, that's right", Gareth laughs, "And then when we were talking about this, you said you'd call him and tell him yourself, Eddie, remember?"

Eddie bites his bottom lip and tries to look as innocent as he can from under his hair, smirking over at Steve, "Did I say that? Really? Funny thing that... I don't remember"

Steve's eyes go wide, "Why, you little shit!!" Steve runs and lunges for Eddie. Eddie is laughing and yelling as he's being chased around the stage by Steve, who eventually captures him in a bear hug when he runs the wrong way around the drum kit.

"urgh...god...let me..." Eddie struggles angrily and tries to wriggle free as Steve squeezes him.

"Oh-hoh no, you are going nowhere, you little prick!" Steve says, squeezing him tighter, making Eddie's face screw up, "What you did, was so not cool!"

"I...only...did...it...cus..." Eddie tries to talk, but it is difficult. He can hardly breathe.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Excuses. You wanted to make me look like an idiot!" Steve says with an unimpressed tone.

Eddie's face is turning pink as he frantically shakes his head in a no.

"Oh, you didn't? Then why?" Steve says, loosening his grip enough for Eddie to take a breath.

Eddie's body sags a little as he takes a deep breath, "Because... I wanted to see if you'd be sad if I died." Eddie says quickly, "I mean, I didn't expect you to agree to headline and the whole speech, you know?" Eddie says, trying to hold back an adoring smile.

Steve squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head in disbelief, "You made me go through a month of grief to see if I would be sad if you died?"

"Well...it was supposed to be just a day, but then I got genuinely distracted by everything, and then it was two weeks later, and then I thought I could surprise you by jumping out of the coffin, and you'd be overjoyed and I'd say something romantic to maybe win you over, like..." Eddie looks everywhere but at Steve as he details everything.

"Like what? What could you possibly say to make up for that, you complete shithead!" Steve says with an angry squeeze, making Eddie wince and groan.

"That I fought an army of angels and the hordes of hell for one kiss from your sinfully perfect heavenly lips because you're my muse, my love." Eddie manages to get the words out with a struggle.

"What?" Steve says, lessening his grip.

"The songs I write, the ones with my name next to them on the albums, they're all about you," Eddie says as he catches his breath.

"What?" Steve says again, wholly bewildered and fully releases Eddie.

"Our first number one, the one that got a Grammy, and was used in a bunch of movies. That's about you. The um, slow one with the choir on the unplugged album, that's about you. The one we close the shows with, the one with no words, that's about you too. And loads more," Eddie says, adjusting his clothes, looking back up at a dumbfounded Steve, "What? You had no idea? You don't remember? in the garage? You corrected the spelling of sleeve, but it was supposed to be Steve. I just forgot to cross the t" Eddie looks between Steve's eyes for a glimmer of comprehension.

"Ohhh", Steve says finally and points at himself and smiles.

Eddie smiles back at this lovable weirdo and nods.

Steve claps his hands together and looks pleased as punch, turning to the others still pointing at himself with a look of happy surprise. 

Everyone nods at him except for Mike, who throws his hands up, "Are you kidding me? The song we danced to at our wedding was about Steve??? Oh my god!" Mike has to be consoled by Will and Nancy.

Steve eventually turns back to Eddie with a massive smile on his face.

Eddie plays with his hair and looks coyly up at Steve swaying from left to right, "So I dunno, do you maybe wanna come live on a secret island with me for a few years until people forget about me, maybe? I mean, I'll have to get my hair buzzed first, and um, lose the whole rockstar get up" Eddie looks up hopefully and gives a cute little shrug.

Steve folds his arms and taps his lips thoughtfully, "Hmmm."

"OH, MY GOD! Could you grown-ass idiots just kiss already? I could be solving the mysteries of the goddamn world, ok? But instead, I'm stuck here waiting for a long-haired freak and his little ex-sailor boy bride to figure out what everyone else knew years ago!!" Erica shouts, exasperated.

"Apart from Mike", Dustin whispers.

"Yeah, except Mike, who is also on team dumbass!" Erica adds.

"Hey!!" Mike says, annoyed, and is immediately swamped by Will, Joyce and Nancy as Hopper pats Erica on the shoulder with a smile.

"Get offa me, sasquatch!" She says, rolling her eyes.

"Well, you heard the lady," Steve says with a smile walking with an over-the-top swagger towards Eddie.

Eddie grins mischievously, jumps up to grip onto Steve like a koala on a eucalyptus tree, and kisses him, once on the lips, with an audible mwah sound.

Steve looks at him with a laugh, "I hope you've got more where that came from because you've got a lot to make up for, Eddie Munson."

AO3 Link

[weywulf]

so uh tell me about your special interests? : )

OH BOY THE FLOODGATES ARE OPEN WITH THIS ONE. [activates all of my mental illness at once]

so. special interest #1, Funny Schuut Game: Splatoon. I've been obsessed with this franchise since the first installation came out in 2015. I've spent quite literally thousands of hours across both currently released games, and many thousands more hours crafting intricate worlds based on the lore. (My switch profile lists me at nearly 2,000 hours in Splatoon 2). I have over 200 characters for the series (more than 20 of which are regularly active), more than 35 linked storylines, at least 3 separate universes, and I've written hundreds of thousands of words of roleplay with fellow splatoon fans. I Fucking Love This Game. I spent three years fighting to the second highest rank (S) with garbage internet and when spla2n dropped I Became A God. Not to be self obsessed (yes to be self obsessed) but I'm SO good at this game and it's one of my greatest achievements. I have the highest rank possible in the game in all ranked modes (X), i've been in top 2000 worldwide players twice, and my goal is to one day hit top 500! it's my longest standing special interest and a core tenet of my personality. a godpunk without splatoon is no godpunk at all

special interest #2, biology and palaeontology. I have never committed to one phase at a time ever in my life. I was proudly a dinosaurs, dragons, AND dolphins kid. At one point I could recite an entire alphabet of dinosaurs without a pause. Walking with Dinosaurs was effectively my religion from ages 5 to 12. When the news that Spinosaurus had a finned tail came out I Lost My Mind. Equally, though, i LOVE marine biology. I know an insane amount about the zones of the ocean, bioluminescence, deep sea life, and various aquatic ecosystems. did you know that porpoises have memes?

special interest #3, mythology. I LOVE legends and myths and all of that. I literally got my parents to read me the iliad AND the odyssey before I could read it myself. I am obsessed. I know several local myths and I'm fascinated by urban legend and cryptids (I have a cryptid theriotype actually - i'm a not-deer). However my favourite type of mythology is, for obvious reasons, legendary dogs like Laelaps and the Moddey Dhoo.

/end infodump of the century

[crossfoxbuns]

I’m in the midst of reinventing how I deal with social media.

Right now I got 3 social media accounts. (I don’t count chat apps since they aren’t “one-to-public” kind of things) I’ve got this tumblr account, a mastodon/fediverse, and a bluesky. And none of them have been all that satisfying to use, both as a reader and as a poster. (Mostly as a reader. I don’t wanna brag, but my posts have been read by at LEAST seven people worldwide.)

So I’ve been rethinking. And it comes down to posting certain things on certain accounts, and being deliberate about what is on my feed in each place. Here’s what I’ve got so far.

Bluesky

This is the place where the people I actually, personally know are. So I’m going to keep it that way. I’ll pare back who I’m following to just be friends. I’ll interact with them and post stuff that is a bit more personal, but okay for the public to see. Bluesky ain’t private after all.

Mastodon

The server I’m on and contribute to is focused toward furry technical engineers. As such I’ll probably keep it to that - that is to say, mostly work stuff or stuff a technical crowd would find interesting. I’ll trim down my feed to include that sort of thing to match. By trimming that list and by taking more advantage of mastodon’s awesome feed control I can get a feed full of techno-juiciness without the political, doomscroll-y stuff that’s also pretty common there.

In paring down the bluesky and mastodon feeds it means unfollowing a lot of artists and creators that I do actually want to keep up with. There’s an idea for that though - later

Tumblr

Tumblr’s in a weird place. It’s the old kid on the block but also somehow the freshest? The big thing that Tumblr has going for it out of these three is that there’s no real limit on the posts. I can ramble.

I like rambling.

So that’s why you’re seeing this post here. I got the room to express a whole idea, something I can’t do with bluesky’s 200-something characters or mastodon’s 1000-ish characters. (And that’s after using a forked version of mastodon that lets you up the limit from the usual 500)

Long form posts will go here, on Ye Olde Blog Platform. I think there will be more ways of defining what gets posted here, but I don’t know what that is yet, since I just started. I’ll figure this out as I go. As for the feed here I’m kinda ignoring it honestly. The idea eventually is to automate a thing to grab the posts from this blog (and my other socials if I can figure it out) and drop them into a big repository of “things I posted online”. Then I can use that repo when I eventually redo my personal website. Why build myself a CMS when every other platform already has, and with a way I can share my stuff built-in?

Let the corpos do the coding and heavy lifting, I’ll just nab my content as I go and keep it in my little box. :3

RSS - Really Still Something

Yeah, RSS ain’t dead yet. Oddly enough, it’s more alive than ever! Every tumblr blog has a feed. Same with every WordPress blog, every mastodon account, and oh, how about EVERY PODCAST IN EXISTENCE.

RSS is going nowhere. Which is why my main reading feed of choice isn’t any of these socials, it’s my dang RSS reader. Almost a hundred webcomics, and almost a thousand more blogs, artists, news sources, YouTube channels (yup they got RSS too), and more, all sorted into different feed flavors, ready for me to read through, chronologically, without ads or scripts that slow the site down, whenever.

That is where the creators I’m no longer following on socials went. Somewhere where it’s impossible for them to get lost in the feed, because the little badge will nag at me that there’s something to read until I’ve seen everything. No algorithm to satiate, no firehose to get drowned in.

The downside of course is that if you’re an artist who doesn’t post on anywhere with an RSS (looking at you, FA), then I can’t see you. Sorry. There’s feeds for like almost everything out there, and if you’re only on FurAffinity and Twitter and that’s it, then I can’t help you, sorry.

Maybe that’s another post for the future. Some of these service’s RSS feeds are pretty well hidden, but they’re there. A post for a later date, though. This one has dragged on enough.

That’s what my social media use kinda looks like at the moment. I post and interact lightly but deliberately, though most of my reading/following is done over RSS.

Enjoyed the TED talk? There’s plenty more where that came from. Leave a note or a blaze or whatever it is tumblr does nowadays. I don’t mind shouting into the void, it’s pretty therapeutic, but it is nice to be heard now and then, especially with word counts like this. Anyway, until the next one!~

[stellarisium]

Why Marketing Agencies Should Use Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is a form of disruptive technology that did not enter the market quietly — it threw open the doors and made its presence known. But while blockchain has been busy shaking up the financial sector with cryptocurrency, that's not all this new kid on the block has been up to.

Blockchain ledger technology has proven to be incredibly valuable to many industries beyond its more well-known use in cryptocurrencies. From asset management and tracking to regulatory compliance, blockchain technology offers businesses new efficiencies and opportunities with its use.

While many of these blockchain services are still in their infancy stages, implementing this disruptive technology into your marketing suite can provide the following value for your business and clients, including increased transparency and trust; reduced advertising fraud; and increased security and privacy.

As many people still view blockchain as this esoteric and far out technology, it's becoming increasingly clear that Web 3.0 will revolutionize the world and our industry. That's why I want to discuss three primary areas that blockchain will revolutionize your digital agency and provide immense value to our businesses.

Blockchain increases transparency and trust

Blockchain is a decentralized technology that does not rely on a central point of control. Instead, its functionality depends upon the consensus of a vast network of nodes to confirm and approve any transaction on its chain.

With traditional computing systems, data is typically stored on a client-server network and relies on one central database. Every computation and action taken feeds into one place, and all action items are held in a central location. Unfortunately, this model places a lot of control in the hands of internet providers as a "trusted third party." To find out additional information about blockchain marketing, you've to check out blockchain marketing services website.

Blockchain flips this model on its head, hosting transaction blocks on hundreds, if not thousands, of computers worldwide, decentralizing it. Most importantly, this data is entirely available for anyone to find and verify on a public ledger. With blockchain, any change to the chain will be immutable — stamped, recognized, unchanged and viewable for anyone to see going forward. This technology is very similar to how peer-to-peer networks work.

This puts transactions back in the hands of the people, and makes data trusted again- and gives your audience more control over their data.

So how does this principle of transparency and trust apply to marketing?

Simply put, using blockchain for marketing builds trust and increases transparency with our clients. For example, blockchain can show customers how the advertising efforts of big businesses are using their data. Unfortunately, with a centralized client-run database, it's nearly impossible to tell what a company is doing with your data, how they share it and with whom.

Blockchain provides security and protects privacy

Enter blockchain for cybersecurity. Security is an inherent part of the blockchain ledger, as every time a new chain is created, it is encrypted and then linked to the previous transaction. Once these chains are made, they are impossible to alter or hack.

On the marketing side, using blockchain to build smart contracts is a way for businesses to provide additional security measures and assurances to clients. Smart contracts offer increased security by verifying, recording and encrypting all blockchain transactions. These contracts can also automatically generate backups and duplicates, providing additional security, trust, transparency and security. Using smart contracts, digital agencies can establish greater trust with clients and protect their data and privacy.

Blockchain is the future

While blockchain still feels like some futuristic tech we read about in journals, large corporations like Microsoft and Amazon have already made the switch to blockchain to improve everyday processes and online security.

It seems like everyday we read about new cybersecurity leaks and hacks from malicious actors. However, very little seems possible to stop someone from stealing our financial and personal info. Unfortunately, the NFT marketing industry can relate to this as it has long suffered with ad fraud and digital theft.

That's why blockchain is not only a great investment to create trust with our customers, but also to protect our collective online privacy and cut down on fraud and theft. Philosophically and pragmatically, blockchain presents a vision of a more secure and trustworthy digital experience.

Clearly blockchain and cryptocurrencies will have a significant impact on Silicon Valley in the coming decade and as the next layer of the internet gets built out. The question is, how will we impact the direction of the Web 3.0 tsunami that is coming to provide our clients greater value, or will we lose out to those who took the step toward early adoption?

[cristodelaroca]

Why Marketing Agencies Should Use Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is a form of disruptive technology that did not enter the market quietly — it threw open the doors and made its presence known. But while blockchain has been busy shaking up the financial sector with cryptocurrency, that's not all this new kid on the block has been up to.

Blockchain ledger technology has proven to be incredibly valuable to many industries beyond its more well-known use in cryptocurrencies. From asset management and tracking to regulatory compliance, blockchain technology offers businesses new efficiencies and opportunities with its use.

While many of these blockchain services are still in their infancy stages, implementing this disruptive technology into your marketing suite can provide the following value for your business and clients, including increased transparency and trust; reduced advertising fraud; and increased security and privacy.

As many people still view blockchain as this esoteric and far out technology, it's becoming increasingly clear that Web 3.0 will revolutionize the world and our industry. That's why I want to discuss three primary areas that blockchain will revolutionize your digital agency and provide immense value to our businesses.

Blockchain increases transparency and trust

Blockchain is a decentralized technology that does not rely on a central point of control. Instead, its functionality depends upon the consensus of a vast network of nodes to confirm and approve any transaction on its chain.

With traditional computing systems, data is typically stored on a client-server network and relies on one central database. Every computation and action taken feeds into one place, and all action items are held in a central location. Unfortunately, this model places a lot of control in the hands of internet providers as a "trusted third party." To find out additional information about blockchain marketing, you've to check out blockchain marketing services website.

Blockchain flips this model on its head, hosting transaction blocks on hundreds, if not thousands, of computers worldwide, decentralizing it. Most importantly, this data is entirely available for anyone to find and verify on a public ledger. With blockchain, any change to the chain will be immutable — stamped, recognized, unchanged and viewable for anyone to see going forward. This technology is very similar to how peer-to-peer networks work.

This puts transactions back in the hands of the people, and makes data trusted again- and gives your audience more control over their data.

So how does this principle of transparency and trust apply to marketing?

Simply put, using blockchain for marketing builds trust and increases transparency with our clients. For example, blockchain can show customers how the advertising efforts of big businesses are using their data. Unfortunately, with a centralized client-run database, it's nearly impossible to tell what a company is doing with your data, how they share it and with whom.

Blockchain provides security and protects privacy

Enter blockchain for cybersecurity. Security is an inherent part of the blockchain ledger, as every time a new chain is created, it is encrypted and then linked to the previous transaction. Once these chains are made, they are impossible to alter or hack.

On the marketing side, using blockchain to build smart contracts is a way for businesses to provide additional security measures and assurances to clients. Smart contracts offer increased security by verifying, recording and encrypting all blockchain transactions. These contracts can also automatically generate backups and duplicates, providing additional security, trust, transparency and security. Using smart contracts, digital agencies can establish greater trust with clients and protect their data and privacy.

Blockchain is the future

While blockchain still feels like some futuristic tech we read about in journals, large corporations like Microsoft and Amazon have already made the switch to blockchain to improve everyday processes and online security.

It seems like everyday we read about new cybersecurity leaks and hacks from malicious actors. However, very little seems possible to stop someone from stealing our financial and personal info. Unfortunately, the NFT marketing industry can relate to this as it has long suffered with ad fraud and digital theft.

That's why blockchain is not only a great investment to create trust with our customers, but also to protect our collective online privacy and cut down on fraud and theft. Philosophically and pragmatically, blockchain presents a vision of a more secure and trustworthy digital experience.

Clearly blockchain and cryptocurrencies will have a significant impact on Silicon Valley in the coming decade and as the next layer of the internet gets built out. The question is, how will we impact the direction of the Web 3.0 tsunami that is coming to provide our clients greater value, or will we lose out to those who took the step toward early adoption?

[emmanonstop]

Why Marketing Agencies Should Use Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is a form of disruptive technology that did not enter the market quietly — it threw open the doors and made its presence known. But while blockchain has been busy shaking up the financial sector with cryptocurrency, that's not all this new kid on the block has been up to.

Blockchain ledger technology has proven to be incredibly valuable to many industries beyond its more well-known use in cryptocurrencies. From asset management and tracking to regulatory compliance, blockchain technology offers businesses new efficiencies and opportunities with its use.

While many of these blockchain services are still in their infancy stages, implementing this disruptive technology into your marketing suite can provide the following value for your business and clients, including increased transparency and trust; reduced advertising fraud; and increased security and privacy.

As many people still view blockchain as this esoteric and far out technology, it's becoming increasingly clear that Web 3.0 will revolutionize the world and our industry. That's why I want to discuss three primary areas that blockchain will revolutionize your digital agency and provide immense value to our businesses.

Blockchain increases transparency and trust

Blockchain is a decentralized technology that does not rely on a central point of control. Instead, its functionality depends upon the consensus of a vast network of nodes to confirm and approve any transaction on its chain.

With traditional computing systems, data is typically stored on a client-server network and relies on one central database. Every computation and action taken feeds into one place, and all action items are held in a central location. Unfortunately, this model places a lot of control in the hands of internet providers as a "trusted third party." You can get more details on NFT marketing by browsing crypto pr agency site.

Blockchain flips this model on its head, hosting transaction blocks on hundreds, if not thousands, of computers worldwide, decentralizing it. Most importantly, this data is entirely available for anyone to find and verify on a public ledger. With blockchain, any change to the chain will be immutable — stamped, recognized, unchanged and viewable for anyone to see going forward. This technology is very similar to how peer-to-peer networks work.

This puts transactions back in the hands of the people, and makes data trusted again- and gives your audience more control over their data.

So how does this principle of transparency and trust apply to marketing?

Simply put, using blockchain for marketing builds trust and increases transparency with our clients. For example, blockchain can show customers how the advertising efforts of big businesses are using their data. Unfortunately, with a centralized client-run database, it's nearly impossible to tell what a company is doing with your data, how they share it and with whom.

Blockchain provides security and protects privacy

Enter blockchain for cybersecurity. Security is an inherent part of the blockchain ledger, as every time a new chain is created, it is encrypted and then linked to the previous transaction. Once these chains are made, they are impossible to alter or hack.

On the marketing side, using blockchain to build smart contracts is a way for businesses to provide additional security measures and assurances to clients. Smart contracts offer increased security by verifying, recording and encrypting all blockchain transactions. These contracts can also automatically generate backups and duplicates, providing additional security, trust, transparency and security. Using smart contracts, digital agencies can establish greater trust with clients and protect their data and privacy.

Blockchain is the future

While blockchain still feels like some futuristic tech we read about in journals, large corporations like Microsoft and Amazon have already made the switch to blockchain to improve everyday processes and online security.

It seems like everyday we read about new cybersecurity leaks and hacks from malicious actors. However, very little seems possible to stop someone from stealing our financial and personal info. Unfortunately, the NFT marketing industry can relate to this as it has long suffered with ad fraud and digital theft.

That's why blockchain is not only a great investment to create trust with our customers, but also to protect our collective online privacy and cut down on fraud and theft. Philosophically and pragmatically, blockchain presents a vision of a more secure and trustworthy digital experience.

Clearly blockchain and cryptocurrencies will have a significant impact on Silicon Valley in the coming decade and as the next layer of the internet gets built out. The question is, how will we impact the direction of the Web 3.0 tsunami that is coming to provide our clients greater value, or will we lose out to those who took the step toward early adoption?

[angy-feral-cat]

Why Marketing Agencies Should Use Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is a form of disruptive technology that did not enter the market quietly — it threw open the doors and made its presence known. But while blockchain has been busy shaking up the financial sector with cryptocurrency, that's not all this new kid on the block has been up to.

Blockchain ledger technology has proven to be incredibly valuable to many industries beyond its more well-known use in cryptocurrencies. From asset management and tracking to regulatory compliance, blockchain technology offers businesses new efficiencies and opportunities with its use.

While many of these blockchain services are still in their infancy stages, implementing this disruptive technology into your marketing suite can provide the following value for your business and clients, including increased transparency and trust; reduced advertising fraud; and increased security and privacy.

As many people still view blockchain as this esoteric and far out technology, it's becoming increasingly clear that Web 3.0 will revolutionize the world and our industry. That's why I want to discuss three primary areas that blockchain will revolutionize your digital agency and provide immense value to our businesses.

Blockchain increases transparency and trust

Blockchain is a decentralized technology that does not rely on a central point of control. Instead, its functionality depends upon the consensus of a vast network of nodes to confirm and approve any transaction on its chain.

With traditional computing systems, data is typically stored on a client-server network and relies on one central database. Every computation and action taken feeds into one place, and all action items are held in a central location. Unfortunately, this model places a lot of control in the hands of internet providers as a "trusted third party." To discover more details about blockchain marketing, you have to visit Blockchain pr agency website.

Blockchain flips this model on its head, hosting transaction blocks on hundreds, if not thousands, of computers worldwide, decentralizing it. Most importantly, this data is entirely available for anyone to find and verify on a public ledger. With blockchain, any change to the chain will be immutable — stamped, recognized, unchanged and viewable for anyone to see going forward. This technology is very similar to how peer-to-peer networks work.

This puts transactions back in the hands of the people, and makes data trusted again- and gives your audience more control over their data.

So how does this principle of transparency and trust apply to marketing?

Simply put, using blockchain for marketing builds trust and increases transparency with our clients. For example, blockchain can show customers how the advertising efforts of big businesses are using their data. Unfortunately, with a centralized client-run database, it's nearly impossible to tell what a company is doing with your data, how they share it and with whom.

Blockchain provides security and protects privacy

Enter blockchain for cybersecurity. Security is an inherent part of the blockchain ledger, as every time a new chain is created, it is encrypted and then linked to the previous transaction. Once these chains are made, they are impossible to alter or hack.

On the marketing side, using blockchain to build smart contracts is a way for businesses to provide additional security measures and assurances to clients. Smart contracts offer increased security by verifying, recording and encrypting all blockchain transactions. These contracts can also automatically generate backups and duplicates, providing additional security, trust, transparency and security. Using smart contracts, digital agencies can establish greater trust with clients and protect their data and privacy.

Blockchain is the future

While blockchain still feels like some futuristic tech we read about in journals, large corporations like Microsoft and Amazon have already made the switch to blockchain to improve everyday processes and online security.

It seems like everyday we read about new cybersecurity leaks and hacks from malicious actors. However, very little seems possible to stop someone from stealing our financial and personal info. Unfortunately, the crypto marketing industry can relate to this as it has long suffered with ad fraud and digital theft.

That's why blockchain is not only a great investment to create trust with our customers, but also to protect our collective online privacy and cut down on fraud and theft. Philosophically and pragmatically, blockchain presents a vision of a more secure and trustworthy digital experience.

Clearly blockchain and cryptocurrencies will have a significant impact on Silicon Valley in the coming decade and as the next layer of the internet gets built out. The question is, how will we impact the direction of the Web 3.0 tsunami that is coming to provide our clients greater value, or will we lose out to those who took the step toward early adoption?

[longeko]

Rolling sky candy music

ROLLING SKY CANDY MUSIC ARCHIVE

Other bonus levels that introduce a new theme are Monody, Alone Remix and Faded Remix. music, comedy, literature, film, performing arts, food, science, kids and teens and much. This is the second bonus to introduce themes, called Candy Daytime and Candy Midnight.This is one of 3 levels related to food (1st), the others being Delicacy Temptation and Fantastic Sweet House.The is the only bonus level, whose theme appeared in Happy Birthday.Candy Trees and doorway, the same kind from Tetris.Candy wheels, the same kind from Christmas. Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh We couldnt turn around Til we were upside down Ill be the bad guy now But no, I aint too proud I couldnt be there Even when I try You dont believe it We do this every time Seasons change and our love went cold Feed the flame cause we cant let go Run away, but were running in circles Run away, run away I dare you to do something Im waiting on.Jumping Cacti, which is the first thing noticed in E-Labyrinth Adventure.Popper tubes, that pop out gelatinous cubes.You can get zero diamond and crowns in this level when reaching 100%, and they are the most difficult to get among the 3-star levels. This level introduces mystery boxes, which give you either a crown, a ball or a shield.This is a shortened version of Candyland. The soundtrack of this level is remixed from Candyland, which is made by Tobu.Ĭandyland soundtrack Candy soundtrack Starting from 8Bits, bonus level becomes an easier (sometimes harder) version level from its main level for players to earn keys and practice to play the main level.Some players claimed that it is the bonus of Tetris because of the similar themes: Midnight Candy and Coloured Tetris.Although this level is named as Bonus 3, it may not be a bonus level or is known as a special bonus level.The star with the word "Bonus" is removed in Hoop Dream's update. Follow the music, dodge the obstacles, and. In the Level Select Screen, this level had a little star reading "Bonus" to indicate that it is a bonus level just like the other two bonus levels, Illusion and Monody. Stunn scenes with amazing 3D effects one-touch operation, easy to use Swipe left and right to control the ball.And the kids? The biggest smiles you’ve ever seen,” said Mayor Sheline.

ROLLING SKY CANDY MUSIC ARCHIVE

The balloons are colorful, larger than life, and no matter where you stand you have a great view. Free Music Archive has thousands of free-to-download Soundtracks and hundreds of Compilations to choose from - all original music by talented independent artists and musicians worldwide. The psychedelic 60s saw new favorites in the rock-and-roll genre of music, as well as new. This community loves the Great Falls Balloon Festival. The soundtrack of this level is remixed from Candyland, which is made by Tobu. Thursdays Golden Goodies is the Vinyl Lovers Candy Store. “After two years of being grounded, it feels really great to gather as a community in Simard-Payne Park and watch the balloons lift off into the sky. followed by a fireworks display at 9 p.m. Main article: The 4th Anniversary Event There is only one way to unlock this level you must use 120 gems to unlock it permanently ( Gems, however, is a consumable in-app purchase item. The crowds flowed from one side of the Androscoggin River to the other in anticipation for the second balloon launch at 6 p.m. The 4th Anniversary is the 44th level and the 2nd anniversary level in Rolling Sky. But our engineers aren’t your typical corporate lab-coat-wearing technicians. The lists below will give you some ideas for boy-friendly music that you'll like, too. We spend hundreds of hours designing, testing and perfecting every Skullcandy product in our Park City, Utah headquarters. Not many guys dig Mandy Moore, although Candy is a GNO classic. Parents and children swarmed the carnival area where rides twisted and whirled through the air like the smell of cotton candy and popcorn. Skullcandy power accessories are the best way to recharge your headphones, earbuds, phones, and tablets. Hello Everyone Today I'll show you Music/theme swaps between some levels and a mashup of Mechanical Power & Circus.The new Rolling Sky level is coming soon. A lot of people don’t know about All-Star Cheer and what we do, ” added Desiree Jenkins, an assistant coach. It’s important for people to come out and get to know us and what the sport is about. “They are the most positive, hard-working people we’ve ever had in our gym. A lot of people have never seen a balloon festival and they say there’s only a few around the country, and I can’t believe it’s right here in Lewiston, Maine,” said Naomah Russell, the owner and head cheer coach of Showtime Athletics. After not being able to come to the festival for two years, it’s packed I love it. “For the amount of time that we had to put this together and the 50 new athletes that I’ve gained, and only (practicing) once a week, they did an amazing job. She’s wearing a blond-bob wig, similar to the two-tone, visage. A Kora Shrine clown greets paradegoers Saturday in Lewiston during the Great Falls Ballon Festival parade. The clip, however, is simple, really: 11-year-old Maddie Ziegler dances in a spare apartment.

[smart-iptv-activation-hacu0]

15 Best (Really Free) IPTV Apps: Working on 4th Aug

💾 ►►► DOWNLOAD FILE 🔥🔥🔥 It is a cost-effective technology that replaces traditional cable and satellite services for many families worldwide. Using IPTV, you can save hundreds of dollars each year and watch thousands of movies, web series, and shows. This new technology has played a major role in making traditional cable and satellite TV obsolete. IPTV apps grant access to a wide range of content to stream and enjoy. The list contains both open source free and commercial paid software. Legal Disclaimer: This article is purely educational. The page contains some unverified services, and we are not certain whether they hold legal licenses to distribute the content. The end-user shall be solely responsible for the media access. Read more…. You can select from a wide selection of channels in English and other languages. It also has a multi-screen feature that allows you to watch multiple programs on one screen. It provides installation services on streaming devices to watching live TV, enabling you to add or remove your favorite channels. It is one of the best free IPTV apps that provide live channels at an affordable price. It offers packages for major sports channels, news, music, kids, etc. Necro is one of the best IPTV providers that allows you to watch your favorite movies and TV shows on multiple devices without any subscription fees. It also provides specific packages and premium plans for additional features. TV Subscription is an IPTV service provider which offers a range of channels, including sports, news, cartoons, movies, series, etc. You can watch your favorite content smoothly and without any freezes or lags. Visit TV Subscription. Comstar is one of the best IPTV App that helps you search for all your favorite sports channels and movies with ease. It offers a free hour trial, so you can test out the IPTV service and see how great it is! You can record an unlimited amount of live or future shows in your DVR. This free IPTV player allows you to stream three devices simultaneously. This online streaming platform offers quality channels that allow you to stream without facing any buffering issues. Visit RocketStreams. It allows you to watch premium content, including the latest releases. It allows you to watch the content in SD and HD quality. The service also uses H technology that helps you to perform fast streaming with minimum connection issues even if you have a slow Internet connection. It enables you to watch your favourite movies and TV shows with a compatible device. It is one of the best IPTV App that allows you to watch videos on your TV, phone, laptop, and tablet, and it helps you download thousands of titles to watch it offline. It also offers a free trial that allows you to test its IPTV services. It provides features like a parental lock and multi subtitle for VOD. Vudu is one of the best free IPTV apps that offers a library of free content that enables you to watch without any Signup. One good thing about this app is that you only need to pay for watching. Although, this movie streaming service is only accessible in the US. Roku is one of the best streaming platforms for TV. This streaming player is a more convenient and cost-effective way to watch TV. It allows you to watch all channels from around the globe in HD, Full HD, or 4K, and watch your favorite movies TV shows from any location on any device. Step 6 After that, open, www. Step 9 once the upload is complete, you need to restart the application to see the list of items played on the screen. This means that it is not bound by the geographical restrictions that traditional television networks are. OTT over-the-top refers to any type of streaming service delivered over the Internet without requiring users to subscribe to satellite or cable TV subscriptions. IPTV services are usually more expensive than OTT services, but they offer a more comprehensive range of content options. It is the widely popular and mostly used protocol for streaming video over the Internet. It is a standard format that is used by many different streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu. MPEG-2 is a standard format developed in the early s and is still in use today. It is not as popular as H. Yes, it is legal if it is used to watch legit and free-to-air content. However, if it is used to watch any illegal content, it is illegal. Some unverified IPTV boxes do not have the proper licensing, so they would be considered illegal. It depends on the IPTV service provider. This enables you to hide your streaming activities and keep you anonymous and safe online from hackers, site operators, Internet Service providers, spammers, etc. Skip to content. Report a Bug. Previous Prev. Next Continue. Home Testing Expand child menu Expand. SAP Expand child menu Expand. Web Expand child menu Expand. Must Learn Expand child menu Expand. Big Data Expand child menu Expand. Live Project Expand child menu Expand. AI Expand child menu Expand. Toggle Menu Close. Search for: Search. Learn More. TV Subscription.

[humantraffickingorganizations]

5 Essential Elements for Sex Trafficking Awareness

Justice Endurance Roggensack requested if that does not generate a trafficking sufferer's protection more robust than self-protection. If a jury finds another person applied fatal pressure within a straightforward — but unreasonable — perception that her or his lifetime was at risk, it only lowers the first-diploma demand.

Human trafficking could be a delicate make difference to discuss with little ones and adolescents as it might be a terrifying a single.

You've got attained our free-content Restrict. Remember to purchase a membership by clicking the Subscribe button underneath. Thanks for supporting independent Journalism.

” It requires the usage of drive, fraud, or coercion to create an adult interact in business sex functions. Having said that, any commercial sexual activity using a small, even without having pressure, fraud, or coercion, is taken into account as trafficking. Understanding the shared threat and protecting components from violence may also help us prevent trafficking from taking place, to begin with.

Traffickers use force, medication, emotional strategies, and fiscal techniques to Regulate their victims. They may have an especially simple time setting up a powerful bond with younger women. These perpetrators may guarantee relationships and also a Lifestyle the youths normally didn't have in their former familial interactions.

The US Section of Overall health and Human Companies provides a Human Trafficking Hotline that victims can dial to request support. Also, they provide a lot of sources on how to identify a one that is staying held from their will and most of the signs of human trafficking.

   While that is a move in an ideal way, there is still far more performance being completed in combating intercourse trafficking. A single critical way to carry on to propel this situation in the best course is education and learning. Education and learning perform a large purpose in the avoidance of intercourse trafficking.

It’s difficult to wrap the intellect all around the idea that around thirty million individuals are possibly enslaved while you read this - but even more durable to consider which the amount is growing.

Human trafficking is powerful individuals into labor or industrial intercourse who do the job via pressure, fraud, or coercion with the economic obtain with the trafficker.

Human sex trafficking is the most common form of modern-day slavery. Estimates spot the amount of its domestic and Worldwide victims inside the hundreds of thousands, largely women and kids enslaved inside the industrial intercourse market for little or no funds.

Encourage your neighborhood schools or school district to include human trafficking in their curricula and to develop protocols for identifying and reporting a suspected case of human trafficking or responding to a potential sufferer.

“Community and state felony justice officers need to recognize that these instances are certainly not isolated incidents that occur occasionally.”

You could Imagine slavery is an issue of record books, nevertheless, it read more however exists and may be very genuine. Based on the US Point out Office, you will find about 24. nine million human trafficking victims throughout the world these days.

These dramatized eventualities depict indicators of sexual intercourse trafficking — a crime committed whenever a trafficker employs pressure, fraud, or coercion to compel A further person to carry out industrial intercourse functions.

[sage-nebula]

So, the good news: Ghetsis was not redeemed, he isn’t going to have a relationship with N moving forward, and although N was shown to wish things could be different between them, ultimately the whole situation was treated with the seriousness and gravitas that it deserved and N never once forgot the abuse that Ghetsis put him through, nor was he at any point willing to just brush it aside. In that regard, I’m very glad for how Masters handled the situation. 

With that said, though, the writing in Masters made me realize something else about how child abuse stories are handled in Pokémon, and that something else is . . . not good. Namely, I’ve realized there is a significant difference between how child abuse stories in Pokémon are handled depending on whether the abusive parent is blood related to the child or not.

First and foremost, let’s get this out of the way: There is a social stigma in Japan against adoption. This isn’t to say that children never get adopted, but that culturally adoption is looked down upon in comparison to having biological children, and as a result there are only a few hundred adoptions each year in comparison to the thousands of kids living in orphanages. (Although this isn’t purely stigma, since in Japan the biological parents can still retain legal guardianship over their children in the orphanages and can therefore prevent them from being adopted by families as well. They don’t do this maliciously, but instead might think, “I will be able to care for my child later” even if that never comes to pass.) Additionally, I’ve read before that the stigma is why adopted children often don’t refer to their adopted parents as “mother” or “father” but I can’t find that source now, so take that with a grain of salt.

Anyway, the point of me saying all of that is: Japan has a stigma against adoption and Pokémon is a video game series created by Japanese people. Therefore, it stands to reason that Japanese cultural beliefs (such as the importance of blood family over adopted family) can make its way into the series, even if the series itself is a worldwide phenomenon that they know will absolutely stretch beyond Japan’s borders . . . and I think that’s what has happened here, intentionally or otherwise. Basically, whether an abusive parent in Pokémon is redeemed or not seems to have very little to do with the severity of the abuse (including that which is shown to the audience), but instead everything to do with whether their children are biologically related to them or not.

First, let’s take a look at the abusive parent that was redeemed, Lusamine. In Sun & Moon specifically Lusamine is not once shown being anything but abusive to her children. Lillie tells a story of how Lusamine was kind to her a couple times in the past (dancing in the rain, co-sleeping when Lillie was sick), but that falls in line for abusive parents. Abusive parents generally aren’t abusive 24/7; there’s a well-known cycle of abuse which contains a “honeymoon period” stage in which, typically after an apology and a promise to do better, the abuser treats the victim kindly, which usually results in the victim believing that the abuser really does love them and that whatever abuse comes later (and it always does come later) is in fact the victim’s fault on some level, for failing to keep things stable. Regardless, we know that not only did Lusamine abuse both Gladion and Lillie terribly in the past (to the point where Lillie has trauma surrounding even the clothes she wears and has trouble getting new ones), but we also see her verbally and emotionally abuse them on-screen, and then we see her attempt to murder Lillie during the climax. While Lusamine was retooled into being a well-intentioned extremist in Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, we again see her verbally abuse her children on-screen, to the point where when Hau says that Lusamine really isn’t a bad person after all, we see Gladion grimacing in the background. All told, we see Lusamine emotionally, verbally, and (with her attempted murder in SM) physically abuse her children on-screen, and yet she is still forgiven by them pretty much immediately, redeemed, and treated as if they’re a happy family with just a few unfortunate bumps in their history. I’ll note here, for anyone who isn’t already aware, that Lusamine is Gladion and Lillie’s biological mother, and this is obvious by how similar they all look even if you weren’t told repeatedly.

Now let’s look at the abusive parent that is not redeemed, Ghetsis. In the first set of Unova games, Black & White, most of Ghetsis’ abuse of N happens off-screen and isn’t revealed until the climax. Ghetsis had N raised in a castle underground where he was cut off from society. He was brought pokémon that had been abused so that he could be manipulated into thinking that all humans abused pokémon and that pokémon needed to be liberated therefore. Because Ghetsis needed N to act as King of Team Plasma and control the legendary dragon, Ghetsis didn’t directly abuse N during this time. Instead, he neglected him (N was primarily raised by his sisters, Concordia and Anthea), and psychologically abused him via manipulative lies about what the rest of the world was like. It isn’t until the climax when N has decided to disband Team Plasma and listen to what the player has to say that Ghetsis brings out the verbal abuse, calling N “a freak without a human heart” and revealing that he was only ever using N all along. In the sequel games, Ghetsis is similarly openly hostile to N again, showing that he has no intentions whatsoever of being a good father to him. He’s pretty terrible to him, even if we didn’t see very much of it (particularly in comparison to what we saw with the Aether family, whose abuse was also much more realistic than N’s situation), and pretty much no one would want him to be redeemed. But also it’s important to note that N and Ghetsis, despite having the same hair color, are for whatever reason NOT biologically related. 

And this is hammered home time . . . and time . . . and time again, particularly in this Masters event.

Now, I think most of us would agree that it would be hard to find a woman who would want to procreate with Ghetsis. Granted, Ghetsis isn’t the type of person who would care about consent, but I do think it’s reasonable to assume that Game Freak probably wanted to avoid those thoughts, even though it could have been very easily solved by having a female Sage who was also Ghetsis’ baby mama / wife (similar to how Ariana, one of Giovanni’s executives, is very obviously Silver’s mother). So I mean, from a taste standpoint, I can see why they wanted to go the adoption route with Ghetsis, even though they still made him and N have green hair despite not being biologically related for some reason.

But.

I still think it’s noticeable that they have the irredeemable abusive parent be the one who both had the least amount of on-screen abuse (and also the least realistic abuse) and also be the adopted parent, versus the one they bent themselves into pretzel shapes to redeem be the one with the most on-screen abuse (and most realistic abuse) who also happened to be the biological parent. The message that sends, to me, is that it doesn’t matter how badly you abuse your children in this world so long as you are their biological parent. In the end, you will be forgiven and they are beholden to you as family. Versus if you’re an adoptive parent . . . well, you were never as important anyway, so. I mean, why else would Lillie leave her loving adoptive parents of Kukui and Burnet to go back to her abusive mother in Sun & Moon? Clearly the blood ties were just that much more important. (Granted, Kukui and Burnet hadn’t officially adopted her, but they as good as. I’ll never stop being infuriated by that ending.)

 This is, to a lesser extent, even shown with Giovanni and Silver’s situation. Giovanni was, to our knowledge, never actually abusive toward Silver; in the one conversation we see them have in HeartGold & SoulSilver, Silver’s main issue is that he doesn’t understand why Giovanni is disbanding Team Rocket after losing to Red, and also he doesn’t get why Giovanni needs so many underlings to begin with. He thinks Giovanni is weak, and Giovanni just tells him that he’s wrong without really bothering to explain things. At most, Giovanni is aloof and distant with Silver, which makes Silver angry, but Silver’s bigger issue is with Team Rocket as a whole. Giovanni’s definitely not a good father, but he’s not an abusive parent on par with Lusamine or Ghetsis from what we’ve been shown, and the implication is there that they could potentially repair their relationship in the future. Even in this event, the tension between them wasn’t bad, just complicated.

But . . . they’re also biologically related. Silver is Giovanni’s son, we’ve been told this a million times, and it’s very obvious that Ariana is his mother. They’re biologically related. And so, even though Giovanni is routinely touted as one of Pokémon’s most fearsome villains, Silver will never actually cut him off completely / be able to do that because Giovanni is his biological father. The fact that Team Rocket is based on yakuza probably complicates things even further there, but all the same. If Silver had been adopted by Giovanni, I’m pretty positive that Giovanni wouldn’t care / Silver would cut him off entirely. It wouldn’t be seen as a “real” family.

And this all bothers me, because not only was my biological mother abusive, but my stepmother was the only one who treated me as a mother should treat her child. Similarly, my biological sister was complicit and even participated in the abuse I suffered as a child, but my stepbrother whom I’ve known practically my whole life is the sibling I’d ride or die with. To me, biological ties mean jack shit. Family doesn’t begin or end with blood; to treat non-blood relations as lesser is something that will never fail to raise my hackles. So to see it handled this way in one of my favorite franchises of all time . . . yeah, it’s more than a little upsetting. I understand why it’s happening, I’m fully aware of the cultural context that this series is being written in, but that doesn’t mean that I have to like it, because I don’t.

And before anyone gets it twisted:

Both Lusamine and Ghetsis can rot in hell, NEITHER should have been redeemed. This is NOT me complaining about Ghetsis being treated as the piece of shit he is, but rather my anger at the fact that Lusamine got a pass because she birthed the children she abused, and Masters making that abundantly clear by having N and Ghetsis state in every single chapter of this event that they weren’t blood related. 

But anyway, it’s nearly 4am, and I need sleep. I can continue being angry about Pokémon’s handling of abusive parents at a later date.

[ciggylungz]

Rivals

Summary: Y/n and Harry are both CEO’s of their parent’s companies since they inherited the businesses from them, they’ve been rivals since they were kids- now that they’re professional adults how will their rivalry affect them?   2.2k

 -

It’s no secret that growing up with a workaholic parent is hard for a kid, but for Y/n it was amplified due to the fact both her parents owned one of the most famous fashion companies in the world. This meant during most of her childhood she relied on nannies, private drivers, maids and child minders to care for her in absence of her busy working parents.

Of course having absent parents gave her some perks during her teen years, the ability to throw ragers in the absurdly large mansion they’d bought for the three of them –(well, they were hardly in it so mainly just their daughter)- not having to worry about getting caught when she decided to bring people over to get a quick shag in and the plus of having no one to bother her during her angsty middle school years. Those things were nice, yet you really can’t replace the role of your parents with teenage hookups and parties.

If there’s one thing that she absolutely hated about her parents work, it would be their former business partners cunt of a son. Harry Styles. Y/n had been forced to be in the twats life since they were 10 and his father joined stocks in her parents company before investing fully and becoming business partners. For Y/n that meant being forced to be around their son whenever their parents were too busy crushing numbers or out on boozy business trips clogging their noses with high end coke and buying out their competitors.

Harry was always a good-looking boy, and that only made things worse because he was a total prick. He was arrogant, annoying and always got away with being the biggest pain in the ass y/n has ever experienced in her life. He was insanely competitive, cocky and always found a way to weasel into Y/n’s business just to push her buttons. One’s he knew how to push perfectly to make her want to pound his head off a blacktop.

It was almost as if when it came to Y/n he never matured past being a 12-year-old boy, and now he’s a 23 year old powerful business man who still can’t manage to leave her alone.

Y/n had inherited her parents’ company when they decided to retire, two years before the retirement her parents and Harrys father had severed their ties and he’d gone back to his independent company. And just y/n’s luck, the man passed his roll as CEO down to his son, making the two young adults’ owners of two of the most famous fashion and beauty companies to ever exist.

Make no mistake, Y/n was a strong, independent and ruthless business woman so Harry’s subsequent inheritance didn’t threaten her in a business sense it more so made her worried for her blood pressure since the man couldn’t help but come bother her every chance he got. It didn’t help his dad had a single remaining stock left in the shoe portion of their clothing company giving Harry the perfect excuse to come barging into Y/n’s office to get on her nerves. To Y/n Harrys like a cold sore that won’t go away, just keeps coming back every time you think you’ve gotten rid of it.

___

Today was a busy day for Y/n, she had a meeting with her team that worked closely with her managing profit, stock, inventory, sales and all that stuff. Her team was large, with a company with over two thousand distributors worldwide and thirty-five exclusive stores scattered around the globe that’s to be expected. All in all, Y/n was responsible for making sure all one hundred and fifty thousand employees were running a smooth ship and every participating party was doing what they needed to do. It was a stressful job no doubt, but she never backed down from the challenge.

The meetings were always her least favorite part of her job. All the paper work that had to be read, numbers calculated, sales charted and any complaints or incident reports all had to be verbalized and talked about in detail with documentation of all the important things said as well as much more. Today the meeting took a grueling four and a half hours and the day was far from over.

Once she got out of her meeting it was nearing noon, she had to push her lunch off to phone the companies attorneys because one worker was trying to do a fake insurance claim. The man faked a work accident failing to remember every warehouse and factory was littered with security cameras that caught him in the act, so she had to inform them of the situation so they could sort it out. After that she got sucked into looking at new designs her design team had come up with for the next season, explaining that Chanel and Gucci both wanted to work with them to carry a few exclusive items only for that season.

Finally, at half passed two she made it back to her office, sitting down in her desk chair while taking her hair out of the headache inducing ponytail it had been in since she got there at five that morning. She opened her laptop, planning to send off some emails while she put in her order for lunch to her assistant, getting as much done as she could in the little bit of private time she was able to snag.

A knock sounded at the door, she knew it was Morgan coming in with the food she ordered so she didn’t bother to look up from what she was doing very drawn in to the email she was currently formatting. Only her attention was quickly severed when his voice rang out instead of the one she expected.

“I believe you ordered the chop salad, diet coke and fruit for lunch misses Yln.”

That annoying, cocky voice. You can hear his shit eating grin and teasing eyes simply in his tone, you don’t even have to look up at the jerk.

A prolonged sigh blew out of her lips, a grunt of annoyance following as she looked up at him. He looked nice, as always, she added bitterly in her own mind. She hated the fact someone so goddamn irritating was so undeniably attractive. He wore a dark blue suit, white button up with a black tie and yellow accent pocket square. Yet his fashion and handsomeness seemed a bit overshadowed by his personality that had the same affect on the woman as nails on a chalkboard.

“Harry, to what do I owe the displeasure?” Y/n reached her arm across the desk to snatch the paper bag from his ring clad hands, a sarcastic disapproving finger was pointed at her yet she didn’t take his bait opting to give him the death stare instead.

“Sassy today are we?” The man rested himself on the small leather loveseat that was in her office, propping his head on a throw pillow and putting his feet on the armrest. “You act like you’re not happy to see me, I know yeh missed me.” Y/n rolled her eyes, digging her fork into the salad aggressively. “I don’t think anyone’s ever been happy to see you, and I’m certain no one has ever missed your presence either.”

Harry chuckled slightly, loving how easily he could annoy the girl. Over the past thirteen years he’s learned just how to get under her skin, and he enjoyed doing so.

“Bit feisty today aren’t yeh Y/n? playing hard to get I see.” The man folded his hands on top of his chest, completely relaxing into the comfortable furniture, making himself comfortable for the undetermined amount of time he’d be spending there irritating his childhood ‘friend’.

The difference between Harry and Y/n’s perspectives on their rather odd ‘relationship’, if you could really call it that is Harry never hated Y/n. In fact he was always quite fond of her, he enjoys her company even when he’s forcing it on her and using the shared time to annoy the ever loving shit out of her. He and the woman have always been competitive growing up. In sports, card games, classes, and now business and Y/n took things a lot more seriously then he did. she was always wound a bit tight, she gets it from her mother.

Harry and Y/n had an interesting past. They have a love-hate relationship, seeing as even through the perpetual animosity they’ve carried since they were kids they did have their good moments too. And though Y/n would never admit it, there’s a part of her that does actually care about him even if she loathes that part of her deeply. In their teens they were at each other throats a lot, but in between that they would occasionally have their good days where they would refrain from getting into screaming matches and instead would be able to tolerate being together. Y/n chooses to describe it as tolerating him since she’d never admit she sometimes enjoys his company.

Through their formative years whenever Y/n was throwing a party, she wouldn’t protest when her friends would invite Harry as well. Pretending like she didn’t know he was coming and didn’t want him there when she saw him in the crowd, yet he always had a feeling she was anticipating and secretly wanted him to make an appearance. When he’d plan some sort of adventure with their friends he’d do the same, always slightly relieved when she’d show up but he’d put on the irritating act as soon as he got the chance which ruined her mood, every time. and well, it would be a lie to say the two never found themselves hate fucking each other after one of their parties, drunk and pissed at each other only to pretend like it had never happened.

To Harry, the animosity mixed with a hidden sense of fondness and maybe even a hint of attraction.

The woman ignored his comment, chewing her food before taking a swig of the soda looking back at him with a rather unamused expression. “What do you want Harry? And who the hell even let you in here?” she continued eating and wrapping up her email while he formed his reply. “Told Morgan I’d bring it up to yeh, she’s got a bit of a crush on me so she handed it over without much convincing.” Yet another eyeroll from Y/n was delivered. “She’s like 19, don’t manipulate her into worming into my office just because she can’t see that you’re a much bigger prick then the one in your pants will ever be.”

“First of all, 19 is legal so if she wants to eye fuck me I’ll allow it. Second, don’t be rude. This is a professional setting, do you think it’s appropriate to talk about my genitals in the work place? Might have to report you.”

Y/n couldn’t help the small snort she let out at his antics. As much as he annoyed her, sometimes she did find him a bit humorous. “and for the record, I’m very happy with my package and I don’t appreciate that comment.” He pointed a finger at her, a fake angry look on his face. “Just as much as I don’t appreciate you intruding on what was supposed to be my down time to eat, we’re even shrimp dick.”

Harry gasped at the insult, squinting at her slightly. While Harry was skilled in pressing her buttons, she could do it the same. Making comments on his dick size, sex skills, business deals or things of that nature always got him riled up. That 12-year-old boy mentality rearing it’s ugly head any time she makes a comment about his dick being small. Childish he was, absolutely childish.

“Don’t get smart with me, I’ll whip it out right here to prove my point.” His eyebrow raised and she could see him chewing on his cheek in annoyance. She truly found it funny how peeved she could make a grown man by making fun of his penis. He was ridiculous.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t, I didn’t bring my mental scrub brush to work with me today.” When she had finished speaking the woman tossed her now empty salad box into the trash, taking another sip of her drink and finally sending off the painfully long email.

Harry decided it was time for him to head back to his own office, which was right across the street much to Y/n’s displeasure but of course he couldn’t leave without a final childish jab at the woman.

“Just remember, I’ve had you bouncing on my dick more than once. Don’t hold yourself so high and mighty dear, because we both know I’ll have you like that again.”

And with that a Harry with a cheeky smirk on his face left the office, leaving a slightly stunned Y/n in his wake.

 (eek pt.1 lets see how this one goes.)

[wehatejulietsimms]

TW: ab*se, t*rture, su!cide, mental il!ness, ab!eism

So, before I forget, we really need to discuss Scientology (quick note: if you're easily grossed out and/or are already terrified for Andy, I suggest not reading this).

Scientology. Not only is their whole 'religion' a scam to avoid paying taxes and the police coming after them for all the controversies surrounding them because of the religious freedom America grants in the Constitution, but their religion has been dumped on quite a few times because the founder of it, L. Ron Hubbard, is a science-fiction author. Their beliefs are that Xenu, the leader of the 'Galactic Confederacy', brought billions of people to Earth in a spacecraft, stacked them with volcanoes, and then blew them all up with hydrogen bombs. They also believe that humans are 'Thetans', immortal aliens who reincarnate into child's bodies (which is why they treat children like adults, they believe children are just adults in children's bodies) and live in one eternal lifetime. Sounds a little like something straight out of a science-fiction book, right?

But to stray away from the religious part of it, let's focus on the parts that make me sick:

1. Scientologists punish people if they question or talk back to them.

2. They cut people off from their social life, work, family, friends, etc. and engulf them in Scientology only and try to cut off any ties to the outside world.

3. They force women to have abortions while at sea because they believe that no child should be born at sea.

4. There have been many allegations of abuse against staff and members.

5. They enforce child labor and have many allegations of child abuse.

6. The Sea Org, a Scientology organization, makes people sign a billion year contract.

7. They're ableist and don't believe in psychology, doctors, medicine, mental health, etc. and force people to take vitamins in replacement of their prescribed medicines, which caused multiple suicides and murders.

8. They're extremely greedy. In fact, what they claim to be the 'Bridge to Freedom' that puts people 'in the Clear' is given through million-dollar books and classes, and when a person almost reaches the last level before they reveal the 'big secret', they claim that more works have been 'found' and that they must start the process all over again to pay thousands of dollars again.

9. They're homophobic. While they believe that mental illnesses like anxiety, depression, BPD, schizophrenia, etc. and even physical disorders like arthritis and the common cold are caused by a 'reactive mind' that causes 'ailments' and can be healed through saunas and sci-fi lessons, they also believe that homosexuality is also an 'ailment'.

10. The whole religion thing only started because the IRS came for them with billion-dollar debt and they retaliated with 'We're a religion' so the IRS let them off the hook (and they filed lawsuits against every single person working in the IRS and were the very first people to 'beat' the IRS and get away with tax evasion).

11. They have absolutely no scientific evidence to prove any of their theories towards 'healing' their members or their alien beliefs.

12. Every single story of someone who has entered the Church of Scientology ends with them getting hundreds of text messages, emails, phone calls, letters, etc. from the cult asking if they want to join or be 'audited'.

13. Practice indentured servitude.

14. One girl was 'allegedly' held prisoner on a boat that belonged to Scientology for eleven years.

15. They claim that they have over ten million members worldwide, but that's only because they count everyone who enters a building or buys one of the books, not every actual member. The real number is about 25,000 today (down from 50,000 in the 1990's).

16. Read the story Hollis Jane Andrews, a woman who was interviewed to be a nanny for Scientologists' children, and the list of requirements were absolutely bat-shit crazy. It read things like 'If the kids hurt themselves, keep them quiet and apply Dianetics'. 'If the kids start crying take them outside'. 'Take them for a run and throw rocks and run with them', 'Don't stop them running ever', 'Whilst they are asleep you magically transform into a cleaning nazi', 'No phones of your own at all during work hours', 'Tidy up the bathroom, empty out the stinking poo poo bin', 'Clean the bathrooms', 'Do the laundry', 'Clean their bedrooms', 'Look for more to clean when you're finished', etc.

17. Shelly Miscavige, the wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige, hasn't been seen in the public eye since 2007, and whenever anyone asked about her, David would throw a fit of rage (some people suspect she's being held prisoner in 'The Hole', which I'll talk about later).

18. Their 'rehabilitation centers' are literally just prisons.

19. In Bible classes in some Christian schools, they have students do a project where they go to a different church they weren't a part of and do a study on it. One girl went to the Church of Scientology and the teacher explained why the students shouldn't do that and now 'Church of Scientology' is on some lists of churches the students are not allowed to go to for that project.

20. For most- if not all- of the members, they have them read a few books/courses then take them to an underground sauna everyday for weeks straight without a single day off, make them run for thirty minutes, put them in a sauna for four hours, and give them high doses of Niacin (or concentrated Vitamin B) that made them sweat profusely to release all the toxins their body, and then they take you on to the 'Bridge of Freedom' to work on your mind.

21. David Miscavige's father, Ron, left Scientology and wrote a book about him where he stated that David hit and beat people multiple times (Leah Remini confirmed this).

Now let's talk about the Gold Base. The Gold Base is the international headquarters in San Jacinto, California in the San Jacinto mountains. In the Gold Base (which is huge and holds the giant mansion Hubbard used to live in), there is an 'alleged' (hint hint) dungeon prison called 'The Hole'. Scientology members get sent there if they violate the code of ethics (from doubting Scientology to merely pissing off the leader). It can house up to 100 people and there is no furniture. People sleep cramped on the packed floor or on desks, it's infested with bugs, people get tortured there, people are humiliated and abused, a lot of racist, sexist, and homophobic actions take place, some are forced to walk on all fours for hours while confessing to the 'crimes' they've committed (sometimes, crimes they haven't), and there's literally no way out. The Hole is surrounded by razor-wire fences (with razors that point in both directions), motion detectors, cameras, and even snipers. So the question is, why hasn't this been shut down or investigated? 'Religious rights' under the First Amendment.

And that's all I have to say about Scientology for now. If anyone wants to know about exactly what Scientology believes they're doing to people's minds with auditing and Dianetics, just let me know and thanks for coming to my TED Talk ✌🏽

this is why Andy can't "just leave". i know everyone wants him to and i wish it were that easy but some people just are unaware of the power that these people have. i hope he'll get out in time and it's looking good for him but it'll take awhile.

(also i'm not claiming Andy has ever been subjected to anything listed i'm just saying these people have a tight grip on people involved in the church so Andy can't just leave.)

[meliaaizawa]

HITOSHI SHINSO

Sho and Mei first encountering one good boi, Hitoshi Shinso... I made it shorter than I was anticipating. Will obviously write more about Shinso later though.

*Meiya’s POV*

As I got through teaching class 1B, I walked down the halls of U.A. High to get to the teachers lounge. I lay down my papers and notes taken from class and stacked them neatly on my desk. It was now one of my favorite times of the day... lunchtime. I was the only teacher in the lounge right now, until I looked up to see Vlad King walk in. “Nice work today with my students, CC. They are still so far from being heroes, but that’s what the next three years will be for. I already think your talk on different quirks will help them in developing them further,” he said to me as he approached his own desk to set his things down. “Thanks, Vlad. I’ve been reading up on all of their individual quirks. Your class looks like it’ll be a fun one to work with!” I said, continuing the conversation. As the two of us talked, more and more of the teachers started to enter the lounge. It was still only the beginning of the third week of school, so we were all still getting into the groove of our new schedules. After dropping off their stuff, most of the teachers ended up going to the cafeteria. I was now talking to Ectoplasm when I saw my husband walk in and set his stuff at his desk next to mine. “Yeah, that sounds good to me!” I said to Ectoplasm as we made plans for karaoke on Friday night. I then went back over towards where Shota was standing at his desk, looking though his notes.

“Hey there, Sho, you ready for lunch?” I asked him. Still looking at his notes as he put them on his desk, he nodded and said, “mmhmm.” I pulled out our lunch cooler and grabbed his arm. “C’mon then! I’m starved,” I said, pulling him towards the door of the lounge. I let go as we entered the hall of students. It was known by all the teachers that we were married, but we always tried to keep our relationship among the students more private. It wasn’t necessarily a secret marriage or anything, but it was only rational to make sure the knowledge of it didn’t spread to the extent that villains would have any kind of leverage over us. We walked together to the stairs and walked all the way up to the roof. We sat on the ground across from each other and I unpacked our bento boxes from our lunch cooler and we began to eat. “You know, my class seemed to really be interested in your lecture today... you did good,” Shota began. In between bites I replied, “thanks, Sho... though I don’t know why you said I did good when you slept through the whole thing.” He grinned. “I didn’t need to hear it to know you did good. The students' bragging was enough to show it,” he said. “I see why you didn’t actually expel any of them this year, though... there’s a lot of potential in that bunch,” I said. “I’m glad you’re able to see that too,” he said before asking, “do you have any counseling sessions this afternoon?”

Apart from being the quirks teacher, I am also the “quirk counselor,” which pretty much means that I meet with any students that may have questions or need a better understanding of their quirk in a one-on-one setting. I love it because I get to know the kids on a more personal basis that way. “Yeah, I do!! Just one session, though... and it’s with a first year student from General Studies, so it should be interesting,” I answered him. The remainder of our lunch break flew by. It was never long enough, but I always enjoyed getting to hang out with Sho in the same spot we hung out as kids. We both headed back downstairs. Shota had a free period, as All Might was teaching class 1A. I, however, gathered the things that I needed and headed to the room where I was to meet the student. I sat on the couch, reading though his profile when I noticed him standing in the doorway. “Oh! Hey there, you must be Hitoshi Shinso,” I said, getting up and welcoming him in. I taught the general studies students once in a while, so I had seen him before. He came in and went to sit in the seat across from the one I was sitting in. “Sweet hair, dude, we match!!” I said with a bright smile, pointing out my hair of a similar shade of purple. He looked at me, but didn’t seem too amused. "Thanks for meeting with me, Control C-Sensei,” he said. I smiled as I took a seat. “Please just call me CC.”

“So, Shinso... tell me a bit about your quirk,” I said, pulling out my pen to take notes. “Well... it’s called ‘brainwashing,’ and it allows me to control a person’s actions. In order for it to work, it needs to be activated, then a person must reply to my voice. I can then command them to do things and they'll obey it,” he explained. I looked at him wide-eyed. “That’s quite a powerful quirk you have there!! I noticed in your file that you applied to join the hero course... are you wanting to be a hero?” I asked. He nodded. “As you know, the practical portion of the entrance exam isn’t really suited for a quirk like mine... but yes, I want to be a hero,” he said, looking down at his hands. “If I could understand my quirk better, I could figure out how to actually use it heroically,” he said. I nodded. I could tell he wasn’t confident in his abilities and was having a hard time seeing his own potential. *He reminds me of Shota* I thought to myself. “I certainly understand that... I hope I can help you however I can,” I said. I always want my students to feel like they can tell me anything and trust me, so I always try to tell them about my own history in figuring through my own quirk.

“Have you ever heard of the villain called Conniver? It’s been years since he’s done anything, but he could copy people’s quirks and would use it against them... he is my father, and I have a quirk similar to his. I can copy the quirk of someone if they tell me a secret while I touch them. It was difficult growing up with people knowing I had a villain as a father. They assumed that I would use my quirk to become just like him, so I had a hard time figuring out how to use my quirk... heroically, like you said. Anyways, I decided when I was young that I would never use it in an evil way. I would never deceive anyone or trick them into giving me their quirk. I wanted to make sure people could truly trust me before copying their quirk. In short, I did my best to ignore the naysayers and focus on those I could trust... and that’s how I was able to grow,” I explained, realizing that I was ranting a bit. “Oh sorry!! I’m talking a lot, I don’t really know why I’m saying all of this!!” I said.

“I guess I’m trying to say... for a student who is wanting to be a hero but is stuck in General Studies... don’t give up! Focus on becoming a hero, and don’t listen to those trying to tell you otherwise. Even seemingly useless quirks can be used heroically, and I’m going to do my best to help you discover more about your quirk,” I said, looking at him. He was looking at me very attentively, as if he appreciated what I was saying. He didn't speak much, but I could tell his mind was busy at work... Just like Sho. I smiled. “I won’t say it will be easy, but if you trust me and work hard at it, I will do my best to help you,” I said, standing up and bowing. “I apologize that I talked nearly the whole time, but the bell is going to ring soon, so you should head off to your next class,” I said, heading towards the door. “Next week, we can start figuring out the details of your quirk,” I said. “Thank you again, CC,” he said, bowing politely before heading out into the hall towards his next class.

*Shota’s POV*

The Sports Festival... easily the biggest event during each year at U.A. Televised worldwide, and hundreds if not thousands of people in attendance... and somehow I ended up here this year... “Heya Eraser, my brotha!! Crazy couple of rounds so far huh??? I think you should try and pick up the slack on your commentary a bit!!” Mic said to me right after the cavalry battle ended. “I’d rather not. We both know I don’t want to be here. It’s because of my injuries that I can’t do anything else but sit here... I didn’t have a choice,” I said to my overly energetic friend. Mei was assigned to be on standby at the third-years competition this sports fest. I’m almost certain she was probably the one that suggested to the Principal that I sit with Mic today... I’ll have to get her back for it later. “Eraser, here are those files you asked me to pull,” I heard the voice of my colleague Vlad say. “Thanks, Vlad,” I said as he handed me the stack of them.

I studied through them, figuring out what to expect from the upcoming one-on-one battles. I came across the file for the General Studies course. *That’s why he sounded so familiar... it’s the student that Mei started counseling a couple weeks ago... Hitoshi Shinso.* I read through his file, including the notes that Mei took on him and his quirk. “Has been stereotyped by his peers as having a villain-type quirk.” *Reminds me of Mei...* I read through the rest of his file, interested in learning more about this aspiring hero that didn’t make it into the hero course. “Woahhhhh Shota!!!! You didn’t tell me you and Mei had a kid!!!!” Mic exclaimed from over my shoulder, looking at Shinso’s photo in the file. “Don’t be an idiot. The kid is 15, he’s much too old to be our child,” I replied to him, still looking down and not at him. “But look at him!! He has your scowl and Mei’s purple hair!!! You can’t possibly convince me that he’s not secretly your child,” Mic continued. “Just drop it, would you, Mic? It’s about time for the final event to begin,” I told him, not wanting to think too much about Mei and I having a child. It was a pipe dream.

*Meiya’s POV*

It was a long day at the sports fest, with a lot of cleanup afterward. We managed to get it all done though, so we would have the following day completely off. Shota was still suffering from his injuries that he got at the attack on the U.S.J., so when I was finished helping clean the arena of the second-years sports fest, I went to retrieve my sleeping husband from Recovery Girl. We went home, and I helped him put on fresh bandages after he got washed up. It was late, but we were both starving, so I made some food and Shota joined me at the table. “So how did the first-years do?? I am excited to watch the recap of it,” I said, as I didn’t see any of it since I was busy working the other. “It was quite a spectacle. There’s so much raw potential in this year’s hero course... oh... and that boy you have been so fascinated by participated,” he said as I then fed him a bite of food... his hands weren’t exactly operational at the moment. “Oh!! Shinso?? Good.. I told him he should participate in the sports fest! How did he do? What do you think about him? I think I’m so 'fascinated' by him because he reminds me of you back in the day,” I said. “Funny... he reminds me a bit of you. He did well, all things considered. Made it into the final round in fact,” Sho at replied. “He made it in the top sixteen?? Oh! That’s so great!” I said before taking another bite. “That’s probably just the confidence boost he needs,” I added. Shota nodded. “Yeah… In fact, I am interested in talking to him at some point. Perhaps I can show him a few things that’ll help him in his journey to become a hero,” he said to me.

I looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Did he really do THAT good at the Sports Fest? Enough to grab your attention?” I asked, a bit surprised at my husband’s interest in a first year General Studies student. “To tell you the truth… he didn’t do all that great. His first and only match in the finals was against Midoriya. He managed to activate his quirk, but Midoriya somehow broke through it,” he explained. “But yes, he has grabbed my attention. I think partly because I can see myself at that age in him. But also… it was something that Yamada mentioned... He was convinced that Shinso was our child or something,” Shota said, and even though I couldn’t see his face under his bandages, I could tell his eyes were sad. We had wanted our own kids for years, but couldn’t have any. Perhaps if we did actually have a son, he would’ve looked similar to young Shinso. I chuckled slightly. “Honestly, I can kind of see what he means. He has your soft sleepy eyes,” I said, reaching over and moving his long black bangs out of his eyes so I could look into them better. “And he has your hair,” Shota replied, lifting up his hand to stroke my long purple hair, only to remember that his entire arm was bandaged. I chuckled again and took his hand and kissed it, then just held it in my arms. “I think you would be an amazing mentor for him, Sho… You should come meet him. He’s a great kid,” I said, stroking his injured arm. “When’s your next session with him?” he asked. “It’s next Thursday right after lunch… Perhaps we could do that one together,” I said, smiling at him. He nodded and replied, “yeah.”