#What Documents Are Required For An Appeal

[taxideermied]

What is "prey rage"?

Thanks for the question! And sorry that my answer is so long. I like to yap and this has been on my mind for a while. This is coming from anglophone USAmerican observations, for the record, I don’t and can’t speak in absolutes on this issue as it applies to other countries and cultures.

But in therian and non-therian spaces both, there is a general tendency to characterize prey animals as passive (innocent, helpless, harmless) and predators as active (hunters, killers). And this notion is harmful and unhelpful across the board, but especially, in my opinion, when it comes to large ungulate species.

Most of us (USAmericans) are extremely alienated from the beef, dairy and pork industries, and are unlikely to interact closely with cows or pigs. Given the general cost and land requirements of equestrian hobbies, the same goes for horses. Deer are somewhat present in the collective consciousness but usually as pests or a road hazard or a hunting season. The fact that these animals are capable of violent self defense is obscured, almost on purpose, in a land of friendly milk advertisements and Disney cartoons. You don’t want to think about Bambi goring someone, do you? That might make you buy less merch.

And to be fair, I do think it goes deeper than that. Humans anthropomorphize reflexively. Predator species are often more charismatic and their relative rarity and ecological importance makes the study and documentation of individuals much easier. Predators are usually independent, and when they’re not, they often exist in family groups, lifestyles that are not only approachable but downright appealing to the USAmerican mindset. These animals are framed as intelligent (as it relates to a human way of thinking) and active ecological forces that keep prey animals (necessarily passive in comparison) in check.

So the prey species become largely secondary. Since humans are at the top of the food chain, it’s difficult to properly conceptualize life for animals that are predated upon. They eat (mindlessly), they reproduce (mindlessly), and they are killed (mindlessly). If humans have deigned them worthy of conservation, they become not just mindless, but sin-less creatures uniquely devastated by climate change or habitat loss (a characterization that also hurts predatory species). Their passivity is a virtue in need of protection and, if it’s not obvious, the idea that these animals are as equally capable of killing as they are of dying sort of throws a wrench in the whole well-meaning paradigm.

Elk and bison injure people annually at Yellowstone, and still humans wander up to them as if that outcome is a complete impossibility. And yes, the public is largely uneducated on animal behaviors, but I hear a lot less about tourists toddling off towards bears and wolves, don’t you? It’s like that gif of that biker guy holding his arm out to a horse clearly displaying every “fuck off” warning sign in the book, and the guy gets bit. It’s not just that he doesn’t know horse body language, it’s as if he can’t conceptualize the idea that a horse might feel threatened and lash out and hurt him. Because horses don’t do that. They’re literally nice.

Obviously, prey species will defend themselves, violently, explosively and “no holds barred” if necessary, because the other option is usually death. And this defense, by design, will fuck up humans or any other predatory species.

Granted, prey “rage” is an unhelpful anthropomorphization of this behavior as well, but in my defense I was talking about myself.

I’ve talked before on this blog about how I value kindness and compassion, and partly why I value it so highly because it is often against my nature entirely and is something I have to actively work at. If I feel I have been wronged or hurt my first instinct is the kind of kick-your-lights-out, kill-or-be-killed reaction an elk has when a wolf is latched onto its hock. I have to get them back, and it has to hurt.

Now I can recognize that that is a self destructive and unhelpful impulse (there is no wolf latched onto my hock), but I do believe it is informed by my “prey brain” (among other aspects of my nonhumanity). It is unhelpful to characterize me as innocent or incapable of harm on account of my deer-ness, and I will always reject that sentiment. Further, is damaging to discuss deer and other prey species as wholly sweet and innocent even and especially in therian spaces, and that was largely what I was getting at with my original post. Hope that has answered your question lol :>

[yukipri]

Head's up to any creator on Patreon who has their account marked as Adult:

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[odileeclipse]

So…I supposed it’s fair to say you’re an outstanding author and so I’d like to ask for some advice! I wanna get into writing for fun in my free time but whenever I write I just kinda make it up as I go…and I’d like to know how you go about planning how a story goes? And how you lay it out and such. It would really help! Ps THANK YOU FOR TWO CHAPTERS IN A DAY YOU’VE BLESSED US 🫶🫶🫶

HEY! First of all thank you so much for being kind, and I'm thrilled on your behalf for writing for fun! That's how it should be!

So I just want to start of by saying there is no wrong or right way to write, the act of writing is learning, we gain new knowledge as we go, and any form of it is building resilience.

Making it up as you go is a valid and powerful method called discovery writing, I've done it too before, but I find for me I need a lot more structure, well personally I tend to make it up as I go for one-shots since they're short formed and don't require as much structure. In the sense that I can complete Freytag's triangle easily since everything would happen in one small story.

When I start planning a story I begin by asking what I want to accomplish with the story, and what I want the tone to be. I write out the characters I know will be in the story, I try to read up and write everything I know about them and then once I have that in mind and written down on a doc I can begin to outline my story.

I often keep a loose three-act structure in mind, but never let it box me in. The first act sets everything up who they are, what they want, and what’s missing. The second act brings tension, conflict, secrets, or obstacles. The third act is the shift: a choice, a change, a moment of clarity that echoes everything they’ve been through. Even if I deviate, that structure is a comfort. It reminds me what kind of journey I’m walking the reader through.

But above all, character drives everything. Before I even touch plot, I ask What does this character want? What are they afraid of? What do they believe about themselves, rightly or wrongly? A well-built character will naturally create story through their actions, reactions, and contradictions. That’s where real plot comes from people, not just events. (this is just my biased opinion)

From there, I usually write a “zero draft.” Not a first draft just chaos. No pressure to be pretty, coherent, or even readable. It’s where I let myself play and explore, knowing I’ll shape it later. (not always but sometimes) Alongside that, I open up a little ramble document where I talk to myself “Okay, what happens next? What’s her deal? Why would he react like that?”

Being your own co-writer your own curious narrator helps you break through blocks without feeling like you’re failing.

And honestly, the best thing I’ve learned is to be flexible. A plan isn’t a prison. If I fall in love with a different ending halfway through, I let myself follow it. If a character surprises me, I let them. Changing your mind isn’t giving up it’s discovering what the story really wants to be.

But I know what really helps is to learn rhetoric, and rhetorical appeals. It's not required at all but it does help, I'm sure you've already learned it in school before but it doesn't hurt to watch a short video on it.

If it helps, here's a mini template I use sometimes when planning chapters

Chapter X

Purpose: (What is this chapter doing? Revealing something? Deepening a relationship?)

Setting: (Where are we? Where will we go?)

Mood/Theme: (Soft? Tense? Bitter? Bittersweet?)

What changes: (By the end, what’s different?)

Key moments: (Write them out as bullet points.)

Sorry this was super long but my writing process mainly goes like that but of course I'm never confined by it, so I always can just go as I want but I make sure I write down what I changed and how I deviated from my original plan.

[rottenpumpkin13]

For April fools we need Sephiroth pulling pranks

Sephiroth's Prank

• April 1st is a chaotic date at Shinra HQ. Tseng has to call in multiple Turks to his office to discipline them for pranks like supergluing hair on Rude’s head, adding a dirty sock to the VP’s morning coffee, and nearly suffocating the entire board of directors to death with a stink bomb thrown in the confrence room—all three pranks were done by Reno.

• But April 1st is especially anarchic in nature on the 49th floor. 

• Director Lazard is quite literally trembling in fear as he steps off the elevator early in the morning. 

*Zack intercepts him, stepping out from behind the corner with a grin*

*Lazard screams*

Zack: Good morning, director? Care for a peanut?

*Zack extends a can of peanuts his way*

Lazard: …..Really? A can of colorful worms? I expected more from you.

*He opens the can*

Lazard: I’m pleased that you’re not taking advantage of the date to—-

*The can explodes in his hand, shooting smoke and blue powder all over Lazard’s face*

Lazard:

Zack: I am always two steps ahead. 

Lazard: 

*Zack begins to slink back into the shadows*

Zack: Two steps. Ahead. 

Lazard: 

• Meanwhile, Genesis walks into Angeal’s office where he and Sephiroth are. He sets their coffees down on the desk. 

Genesis: Here’s your coffee. 

*Angeal and Sephiroth pick them up and take sips, Angeal promptly spits his out*

Angeal: EW. DID YOU PUT SALT IN THIS?

Genesis: I’m a mastermind. Happy April fools! 

*Sephiroth continues to drink the coffee*

Angeal: Sephiroth how the fuck are you drinking that???

Sephiroth: Oh, I ordered a salted caramel macchiato. I thought they overdid it. 

*Genesis smugly takes out his copy of Loveless. He tries to flip it open but is unsuccessful. It’s superglued shut*

Genesis: What the—?

*Angeal starts laughing*

Genesis: Ha-ha. Real funny. 

*Genesis tries to put the book down on the desk but it sticks to his hand*

*Angeal laughs harder*

Sephiroth: I don’t see the appeal of April Fools'. It’s just a day where the implications of the date allow people to hurt others with childish pranks. 

Genesis: While I adore you as a friend, Sephiroth, I don’t expect you to understand April Fools'. It’s a fun holiday, for fun people to do fun things. Your boring, stick-in-the-mud personality doesn’t quite fit the requirements. 

*Sephiroth puts his coffee down*

Sephiroth: I’m offended. 

Angeal: What Genesis means is that you’re not really the pranking type, and that’s okay. Lots of people don’t have what it takes to pull pranks. 

Sephiroth: You’re insinuating that I’m incapable of pranking people?

Genesis: Darling, we’re saying it to your face.

*Angeal gets an Email from Lazard—“SUBJECT: HELP, EMAIL: GET ZACK OUT OF MY OFFICE HE HAS A FLAMETHROWER” *

Angeal: I gotta go. Gen, don’t you have materia class with the Thirds in ten minutes?

Genesis: I do. See you, Sephiroth. Don’t let the April fool hit you on your way out!

• They leave the office. Sephiroth sits there with his arms crossed, looking more sour than his coffee. And then he veers sly eyes unto Angeal’s laptop and the printer sitting on the desk. 

Sephiroth: Hmm. 

• A few hours later, Genesis finds himself on his merry way to Sephiroth’s office to grab Sephiroth’s tablet for him. On his way there he passes by Zack (dressed as an evil clown) hiding behind a corner as Lazard approaches (breathing with a paper bag).

• Genesis grabs Sephiroth’s tablet off his desk, but then his eyes fall onto a curious document laying there. He, being the nosy bitch he is, picks it up and behigs flipping through it. His eyes widen, eyebrows creeping higher and higher toward his hairline as he reads. And then he runs out, panicking. 

• He passes by Zack again, this time being disciplined by Lazard, who’s sobbing and beating Zack with his own squeaky mallet. 

*Genesis grabs Angeal and pulls him aside*

Genesis: YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE WHAT I FOUND.

*He shoves the document in Angeal’s hands*

Angeal: What’s this?

Genesis, hyperventilating: It’s a classified report from Professor Hojo detailing the extent of Sephiroth’s condition. 

Angeal: His…condition?

Genesis: HE’S PART CAT. 

Angeal:

Genesis:

Angeal: 

Genesis: I’M SERIOUS.

Angeal: Seriously in need of medication. 

Genesis: READ IT. 

*Angeal sighs and begins to flip through the papers*

Angeal: 

Angeal:

Angeal: OH MY GOD. 

Genesis: I KNOW.

Angeal: HE’S HALF CAT? LIKE ACTUALLY HALF CAT. 

Genesis: It makes perfect sense! I don’t know how we didn’t see this sooner! His weird eyes, his fangs, the way he consumes 150 pieces of sushi in 10 minutes. HELL, THAT’S WHY HE LOVES THE BEACH. IT’S A GIANT LITTER BOX. 

Angeal: Gen, calm down. For his sake, we can’t freak out.

Genesis: Why didn’t he tell us!?

Angeal: Probably out of fear we’d have the same reaction you’re having right now. Oh, that poor thing. He must be so embarassed, so lonely with no one to tell him that he’s special as he is. *Angeal begins to tear up* Or to give him head pats. 

Genesis: What do we do now?? How are we supposed to act normally around him knowing he probably PURRS WHEN HE'S HAPPY??

Angeal: I DON’T KNOW! But We have to try! For his sake, we have to be as supportive and accommodating as possible.

Genesis: You’re right.

Angeal: And help him through this without letting him know that we know. 

Genesis: You’re right.

Angeal: And be there for him tonight on the full moon when he fully turns into a cat.

Genesis: You’re righ—WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?

Angeal: DID YOU NOT READ THE FINE PRINT?

Genesis: NO!?

*Genesis snatches the report from him and reads through it again*

Genesis: OH GODDESS HE’S A WEREKITTY

Angeal: THIS IS SICK. HOW COULD HOJO DO THIS TO HIM??

Genesis: NO WONDER HE LIKES CATNIP TEA SO MUCH. THAT BASTARD’S BEEN GETTING HIGH OFF HIS KITTY MIND THIS WHOLE TIME.

*There’s a noise from the cabinet beside them, they turn and see Sephiroth crawling out from under it*

Sephiroth: Hello, gentlemen. 

*Angeal immediately starts sobbing* 

• Later in the day, Genesis is working in his office. Sephiroth sits on the opposite chair playing with a ball of yarn Genesis provided him with.

*Sephiroth sees the glass of water near Genesis. He slowly reaches for it*

Genesis:

*Sephiroth knocks it over*

Genesis:

*sephiroth throws the glass against the wall*

Genesis:

Sephiroth: That was enriching. 

• Even later, Angeal finds Sephiroth kneading a couch cushion in the break room. 

Angeal: 💡

*Angeal takes out a bowl of bread dough from the fridge*

Angeal: For you!

Sephiroth: Thank you, but I prefer the sensation of fabric to that of bread.

*Sephiroth starts chewing the blanket*

Angeal:

Sephiroth: Meow.

• Much later, Genesis enters the materia room and sees Sephiroth perched on a shelf, reading.

Genesis: H-How did you get up there?

*Sephiroth hisses*

Genesis: !?

• And then Angeal enters his office and finds his leather couch completely torn up. Sephiroth sits in a corner, playing with a piece of the foam.

Sephiroth: You’re not mad, are you?

Angeal, tearing up: Of course not! You poor, sweet thing! Would you like me to bring you Genesis’ leather coats for you to play with?

Sephiroth: That would be delightful. 

Angeal: I’m on it!

• Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal walk into the SOLDIER mess hall and see Kunsel and a group of Thirds playing with a laser pointer. 

Kunsel: Hey guys! Check out my new laser pointer! 

*Kunsel aims it at the wall. Sephiroth’s pupils dilate*

Angeal: NO

Genesis: GRAB HIM

*They tackle Sephiroth to the ground*

• Finally evening comes. Angeal and Genesis lay on the couch in the lounge, both of them exhausted after a long day of dealing with Sephiroth. And then an adorable, gray cat walks in.

Cat: Meow.

Angeal: OH MY GOD! SEPHIROTH!

Genesis: HAS IT HAPPENED ALREADY? HAVE YOU TURNED INTO A CAT!?

*They rush to pick up the cat and immediately start coddling it*

Angeal, sobbing: YOU POOR THING. IS THIS WHAT YOU DEAL WITH EVERY FULL MOON?

Genesis: HE’S SO CUTE! ANGEAL! WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF HIM!

Angeal: DON’T WORRY BUDDY! WE’LL PROTECT YOU FROM NOW ON!

*Zack walks in, shirtless, covered in war paint, carrying a shovel*

Zack: The lizard man has banned animals from the 49th floor. 

Angeal: What? Why?

Zack: Because I filled his office with 30 angry chocobos, so now he has guards with tranquilizer guns stationed everywhere. Any animal they see, they shoot and take to the pound.

Genesis: WHAT? Oh no…not good!

Zack: Hey, cute cat! 

Angeal: IT’S SEPHIROTH. 

Zack: Is it? Cool!

Genesis: I know it will be hard to believe, but Sephiroth is half-human, half-cat, and every full moon he turns into a cat! This is him!

Zack: No, no. I believe you.

Angeal: Just like that!?

Zack: Yeah, I mean, I kinda already knew. I’m part of the Sephiroth-is-actually-a-cat conspiracy theory club.

Genesis: the WHAT?

*Zack walks over to a painting on the wall and removes it. Behind it is a white board filled with pictures of Sephiroth, cats and anecdotes*

Angeal: .......

Genesis: .......

Zack: We have an email list and everything. 

Angeal: .......

Genesis: .......

Zack: Back to Sephiroth being a cat. We have to get him out of here before Lazard or the guards see him!

Angeal: I know! Come on, if we’re quiet, we can sneak him up to my place. 

*They walk towards the door, but then Lazard appears with four guards with tranqulizer guns*

Lazard: A-HA! I KNEW IT! I KNEW I HEARD A CAT IN HERE!

Angeal: Director, wait, we can explain! This isn’t just any cat, it’s Sephiroth!

Genesis: He turns into a cat every full moon!

Angeal: He’s innocent! He just wants to knead blankets and nap and scratch up Genesis’s expensive leather coats!

Genesis: Yeah, he—WHAT? 

Angeal, sobbing: You can’t take him away! He may be a cat, but he’s still our best friend! He can’t be taken to the pound! He doesn’t deserve this! 

Genesis: If you want to take cat Sephiroth away, you’ll have to get through me! 

Angeal: And me!

Zack: And me too!

Lazard:

Lazard: What drugs did you three take?

(simultaneously)

Angeal: WE’RE NOT HIGH

Genesis: WE’RE TELLING THE TRUTH

Zack: The doctor said it would help.

*Everyone turns to look at him*

Zack:

Zack: SEPHIROTH IS A CAT. 

Angeal: WE’RE TELLING THE TRUTH!

Genesis: DON’T HURT HIM! 

Lazard: You know what? I’ve heard enough. *He turns to the guards* Take the cat.

*The guards aim at the cat in Angeal’s arms, everyone starts screaming, the guards shoot—And then Zack jumps in front of the cat, taking the tranquilizer dart for it*

Angeal: ZACK!

Genesis: ARE YOU OKAY?

*The cat jumps from Angeal’s arm and runs out the door*

Angeal: WAIT, SEPHIROTH!

Genesis: COME BACK!

• That’s when Sephiroth (the real one) appears in the doorway. He whisks the cat off the floor and starts petting it in his arms. Everyone’s jaw is on the floor—except for Zack, who’s whole body is on the floor. 

Angeal: Sephiroth….you’re not the cat?

Sephiroth: Never was, never have been.

Genesis: You mean you’re not half-cat?? YOU TRICKED US?

Sephiroth: Tell me, what does eating your own words taste like? I wouldn’t know the sensation. 

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

By Betsy Ladyzhets

Since early in the pandemic, people with Long COVID have faced challenges in applying for disability benefits, including from their employers, insurance providers, and the U.S. Social Security Administration. Applications often take a long time and are denied even for people who clearly have debilitating symptoms, leading to years-long, arduous appeals processes. The same has been true decades prior to 2020 for people with other infection-associated chronic diseases.

To learn more about the disability insurance system, Betsy Ladyzhets spoke to Barbara Comerford, a long-time disability lawyer based in New Jersey who specializes in these cases. Comerford has represented people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome or CFS), for more than 30 years, including high-profile cases like that of journalist Brian Vastag.

Comerford discussed how the process works, her advice for putting together applications and appeals, how Long COVID has impacted her practice, and more. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Comerford’s tips for disability benefit applications:

Comerford recommends that people applying for benefits extensively document their symptoms. Medical tests such as neuropsychiatric testing and cardiopulmonary exercise testing are her recommended method for documentation, though she acknowledges that these tests can be expensive. Comerford suggests that applicants should be careful to find lawyers and medical providers who have experience with these cases and won’t dismiss their symptoms. During the appeals process, Comerford recommends requesting a company’s administrative record and combing through it for any evidence that they abused judgement, cherry-picked evidence, or made other errors in assessing the case. Make sure to follow deadlines for filing appeals, as cases are closed if documents are not submitted on time.

Barbara Comerford: Should we focus on disability insurance, or do you want to focus on social security disability, or both?

Betsy Ladyzhets: Both, because people [with Long COVID] are applying for both.

BC: Right. And often, people think they should only apply for one, [but they should apply for both.]

Most of the disability plans that people have are often through their employer. Those plans are known as ERISA plans, that refers to Employee Retirement Income Security Act. It was created in the 1970s… Congress created this regulatory scheme, and then immediately created a zillion loopholes that corporations can drive a truck through. Later, ERISA covered all employee benefits in general.

Insurance companies wound up selling policies to corporations saying, “You can get the best people if you offer incentives.” And what’s a better incentive than, if someone gets sick, they can collect a substantial percentage of their salary until full retirement age? These are the sorts of perks that… People think, “If something happens to me, I’ll be protected.” The promise of these policies is that they will give people, usually, between 50% and 80% of their pre-disability income if they satisfy the requirements. Well, that’s a big if.

I’ve been doing this for 38 years. And I can tell you that 38 years ago, these [disability claims] were not problem cases. I used to do them for free for my litigation clients… But over the years, and really starting after 2001 with September 11, all hell broke loose. They [insurance companies] began to get very aggressive. Every time there is an economic downfall, whatever it is, they get extremely aggressive. So you can imagine, with the onset of the pandemic, they knew what was coming.

I did, for many years, advocacy for ME/CFS cases. I represented thousands of people… A lot of my colleagues say, “Long COVID social security cases are almost impossible,” because they don’t know what to do with them. My office hasn’t found that to be the case. I think the difference is, you have to document these cases with as much objective documentation of symptoms that people have… Get neuropsych testing, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, and other tests.

I started doing webinars and seminars [about disability benefit applications] in 2020, because I knew this was coming. At that point, they weren’t calling it Long COVID, they were just saying, some people with COVID weren’t getting better. But I knew it was going to turn into another ME/CFS disaster.

BL: How have you found the rise of Long COVID has impacted your practice? Do you find you’re more in demand now?

BC: We’ve always had a high volume of cases. Quite a few of them were ME/CFS cases. We did a case, Vastag v. Prudential, in 2018. Brian Vastag, who was a science writer for The Washington Post, was my client, and I could not get over how aggressively Prudential was just dismissing him because it was an ME/CFS case.

And the same is happening with Long COVID. We do cases all over the country on Long COVID and ME/CFS. It’s my livelihood, so it’s important for me, but it also makes me a little crazy that people get treated the way they do and that they have to hire people like me.

One of the things that people get upset about is that they have to spend money to medically document their symptoms. And worse than that… I see these Long COVID clinics, with doctors who are completely ignorant on Long COVID, who surreptitiously write notes in the chart that they think it’s a psychiatric case. I don’t know how familiar you are with this.

BL: Unfortunately, I’m very familiar.

BC: It’s awful. Not only is it really hard on my clients… It triggers them to read things that might not be what they said or might not be pleasant. And the number of times that I have seen that and it has sabotaged cases! I have to reconstruct the cases and have the clients contact the clinic [and get them to make corrections].

Mental/nervous limitations exist in all of these [insurance] policies… They can limit someone’s payments to two years if the case is a psychiatric case or mental/nervous limitation with a DSM diagnosis.

BL: I wanted to ask also — there’s been a lot of research on Long COVID at this point, and there was a report this summer from the National Academies specifically in response to a request from the Social Security Administration about Long COVID as a disability, in which they found that this disease can result in inability to work, poor quality of life, all that stuff. Have you seen that report, or other research, like the growing body of research on these diseases, have an impact?

BC: I was asked to comment on that [report]. Part of the problem with Social Security’s initiatives in this regard is that every social security case goes through what they call “sequential evaluation process.” You have to go through five steps to determine whether or not someone’s disabled. And among those steps is [matching people to a “medical listing of impairments,” but the list doesn’t include major symptoms for ME/CFS and similar diseases].

Years ago, there was a ME/CFS ruling called 99-2p. It offered guidelines [for ME/CFS cases that don’t fit the typical Social Security process]. After that, I was asked to present to the national association of Social Security judges, there were 500 judges in the audience. And I asked, “By show of hands, how many of you are familiar with 99-2p?” Two hands went up.

Despite the guidelines, in practice, [the judges aren’t familiar with these diseases]. Until there is a time when we can come up with a firm diagnostic criteria for Long COVID, and we can say, “This is what you have to document for this illness.” … And it can’t just be a positive COVID test, because many people got sick before testing was prevalent or they got sick after people stopped documenting that they were positive.

The other problem for Long COVID cases is it’s not like cancer or a broken leg or herniated disc or something that people are accustomed to. Those people are not told they’re crazy. Those people are not told they’re imagining it. Those people are not told, “Well, we just don’t buy it.” This is what happens with [Long COVID] and ME/CFS. The psych component that they try to pigeonhole these cases into is really a master stroke by the insurance industry that spends billions of dollars trying to persuade people that anyone who files for these benefits is a crook or fraud.

BL: It’s infuriating, especially when you see how deeply people’s quality of life is impacted by these diseases.

BC: Yes, every part of their life is impacted.

BL: I see what you’re saying about needing diagnostic criteria. In this time where we don’t have that yet, what would you want to see the Social Security Administration or other government agencies do to make it easier for all these people who are applying for benefits with Long COVID and ME/CFS?

BC: They should [reevaluate] the sequential evaluation process, which has been there forever, and look at medically determinable impairment in the context of Long COVID and ME/CFS. These diseases can be documented by things like neuropsych testing.

I’ll quickly go through the five-step sequential evaluation process. The first step is, “Is the person engaged in substantial gainful activity?” That is something you can do predictably, something that will last at least 12 months, and something that leads to gainful work, where you get paid and you can report for a job either part-time or full-time. In Long COVID cases… you have to document that this person is not engaged in substantial gainful activity because they don’t know tomorrow if they’re going to be able to get up and get out of bed and take shower, never mind report for work.

If you satisfy step one, they go to step two. There, they ask, “Do you have the ability, in light of your disability, to perform basic work-related activity?” Sitting, standing, reaching, pushing, pulling, reading, concentrating, things of that nature. And, “Does the disability negatively impact your ability to do these things?” [You need medical evidence, which can come from] a physician’s evaluation from a Long COVID clinic, for example.

If you have that, you go to step three, which is where that horrible “medically determinable impairment” crap comes in. There isn’t {a specific listing} yet for Long COVID, although they’re talking about it. Frankly, we’re still waiting for them to do one for ME/CFS, so I’m not holding my breath. That’s the only step in the process where, if they don’t satisfy it, you can still move on to the next step.

The fourth step is, “Is this person capable of performing the work that they performed for the last five years?” Until June of this year, it was the last 15 years… So we go through each job they had, all their symptoms and limitations and why they can’t do [the job anymore]. If we document successfully that they can’t perform their past relevant work for the last five years as a result of their disability, we can then go to step five.

Step five, the burden shifts to the Social Security Administration. Social Security has to document that, in light of a person’s age, education, and work experience, that there is no work in the national economy that they could perform. [To do this], Social Security has a big graph called the “medical vocational guidelines.” And essentially, the younger you are, the more skills you have, the more education you have, and the more skills that are transferable, generally you are found not disabled. But the graph is not supposed to be used for cases that involve what we call non-exertional and exertional complaints together. Pain, fatigue, things of that nature are all part of the non-exertional limitation.

That is how we lift ME/CFS and Long COVID cases out of that graph. Despite the fact that many of our clients are very young, many of them are highly educated, many of them have developed skills that are not only transferable, but are also in high demand in the national economy — [we say that] because they can’t predictably perform sustained work of any kind, the grid should not be used to find them not disabled. But with all of this, every one of these cases, medical documentation of limitations is crucial. I can’t emphasize that enough.

BL: I know a lot of people in Long COVID community, they’ve already sent in their applications, and then it gets denied, and then they have to appeal. What is that process like, and how would you suggest people go about finding someone like you?

BC: It’s really important to do some research. You want to know if the doctor or attorney you’re dealing with has experience in these cases… I do [webinars and one-on-one education] for lawyers all the time, because I’d rather them hear what has to be done, and understand what happens if they don’t do it.

If I’m giving people advice on appeals… If it’s coming from a United States employer, you’re going to be governed by ERISA. That’s important because people might file a claim without knowing the exact company policy. Despite the fact that federal regulations require employers to give that information to employees, when someone gets sick and files a [short-term] disability claim, they are immediately cut off from the employee benefits portal [that has all the exact policy information]. So then I’ve got to write a letter to the employers, and fight to get that information.

You can’t even get discovery in these cases… Sometimes they will award benefits, and then six months in they’ll say, “We no longer believe you’re disabled.” Under ERISA, [employers and insurance companies] get all the advantages.

BL: It seems like people should know, if you’re filing against an employer, to save that policy information before you lose access to it.

BC: When you get the notice of a denial, you can request a complete copy of the administrative record. You are entitled to see everything that the insurance company had on the case, and under federal regulations, they have 30 days to produce it.

And then you have 180 days to appeal that [denial]. People say that’s a long time. It’s really not. Because you’ve got to go through thousands of pages of documents. You’ve got to document where they abuse their discretion. It’s not enough to have medical evidence… [The standard you have to push back on is that] the insurance company or the employer has a “reason” to deny the claim.

The lawyer’s job or the claimant’s job is to show all the examples they found in the administrative record that show [mistakes or poor judgement on the part of the insurance company or employer]… Sometimes, you will see reports of experts that they’ve retained to review the case, and the expert will say, “I think it’s a payable claim.” And then the next thing you find is them looking for another doctor who’s a little more receptive to their suggestions. If we see they’ve ignored the opinion of one of their experts, that’s an example of abuse of discretion and arbitrary, capricious conduct. Cherry picking the evidence is another thing you often see in these cases.

BL: So it’s not just sending your own medical records, you have to show that the company has messed up.

BC: The insurance company or the employer, whoever is paying, you have to show that they abused their discretion.

BL: Is there anything else, any other advice or resources you would give people?

BC: This is really important. If it’s an ERISA case and they do not get that appeal in within 180 days, they’re foreclosed from pursuing it any further… [It’s a big mistake] if you blow those time deadlines.

All articles by The Sick Times are available for other outlets to republish free of charge. We request that you credit us and link back to our website.

[nesiacha]

Rossignol’s Final Appeals to Fouché

I have the complete letters that Rossignol sent to Fouché. Whether one likes Rossignol or not, it breaks my heart knowing what’s going to happen (a small consolation—though this deportation killed him, he would have died with courage , his last words according to Lefranc was “I am dying overwhelmed by the most horrible pains, but I would die happy, if I could know that the oppressor of my country, the author of all our ills, endured the same sufferings!” ; Rossignol was referring to Bonaparte ).

Letter of 30 Fructidor, Year VIII (September 17, 1800)

To the Minister of General Police

Citizen Minister, Today, the 30th of Fructidor, three individuals came to arrest me; I was told it was for conspiracy. I give you my word of honor: I have not been involved in any conspiracy whatsoever. For the past two consecutive months, I’ve spent my time fishing on the river for leisure, and I swear that I haven’t set foot in anyone’s home. If any report exists against me, it can only be the product of lies and slander. Salutations and respect, Rossignol Rue Dominique-d’Enfer, no. 6, at the home of citizen Rousseau, printer.

(Personal reflection on this letter: I don’t know whether Rossignol is telling the truth or not. On one hand, Bernard Metge—his “co-accused” in the same affair—was a pamphleteer and an early revolutionary opponent of both Sieyès and Bonaparte, but also an ultra-liberal who despised Babouvism, as historian Bernard Gainot has shown. Rossignol, on the other hand, was considered the “general” of the Conspiracy of the Equals. Furthermore, I’ve yet to find any concrete evidence that Rossignol actively participated in a conspiracy against Bonaparte. Still, it’s not impossible that Metge and Rossignol might have decided to join forces against Bonaparte. I need to dig deeper into this.)

Prefect of Police to Citizen Violette – 2 Vendémiaire, Year IX (September 24, 1800)

To Citizen Violette, Police Commissioner of the Cité Division, I hereby charge you, Citizen, to immediately notify General Rossignol of the order requiring him to leave Paris at the very hour of notification, and to move at least forty leagues away. If he is not at his residence when you call, deliver the order to his wife. Be sure to draw up an official report of the notification and forward it to me without delay. Salutation and fraternity, Signed: Dubois Violette, Commissioner.

Letter of 8 Brumaire, Year IX (October 30, 1800)

To the Minister of General Police

Citizen Minister, I have just received the order to leave Paris and to move at least twenty leagues away. I am ready to comply with this order, but as I do not have the means to cover the costs of relocation and travel, I kindly ask you to grant me financial assistance. Salutations and respect, Rossignol Rue de la Juiverie, at the corner of rue des Marmousets, no. 9.

Letter of 14 Brumaire, Year IX (November 5, 1800)

To the Minister of War

Following the order I received from the Prefecture to leave Paris, I request, Citizen Minister, authorization to collect my retirement pay in the department of Seine-et-Marne, in Les Fourneaux, near Melun, at the house of Chaignet, where I have established my residence. Rossignol

Undated Letter (before 23 Nivôse, Year IX) – To Parein

To my former comrade, I am appealing to Citizen Fouché regarding the arbitrary act that the prefect of the department, named Colin, has just carried out against me over the past three days. Solely based on what he read in the newspapers, he sent five gendarmes to arrest me. I asked to know the reasons and under what authority. It turns out I was listed on a document issued by the First Consul on the 14th of Nivôse. I refused to obey the prefect until he showed me an order from the proper authority, to which I am ready to submit. Please, act as my spokesman with the Minister—you can do so, and you need only the will. You know yourself it was under his orders and with his support that I left Paris. Remind him that he promised to defend me as long as he remained in office. I only ask to live in peace, for I have done nothing but what is just. I count on you for this final act of justice. Salutation, Rossignol

Letter of 23 Nivôse, Year IX (January 13, 1801)

To the Minister of General Police

Citizen Minister, Following your orders and with your advice, I went to Melun, hoping to spend at least a peaceful stay there. But fate seems to have decided otherwise, as the departmental prefect has just had me arrested. His decision was based solely on his reading of the newspapers. I refused to obey this arbitrary order and explained that he had no right to arrest me unless he presented an order issued by the government, which I am prepared to obey. He left three gendarmes at my residence until your decision is made. I request to be removed from this deportation list. You will be doing justice to someone you once helped. I recall your promise to defend me before the First Consul as long as you remained in office. I am waiting... Rossignol

Honestly, I don’t get the impression from Rossignol’s letters that he was naïvely convinced Fouché would come to his aid. Rather, they read as a final attempt to avoid deportation—and who could blame him? It wasn’t called the “dry guillotine” for nothing: there was a high likelihood of dying in horrific conditions, and an almost certain risk of suffering lifelong physical aftereffects. On the other hand, it would be worth exploring what kind of relationship Rossignol and Fouché may have had before this wave of repression.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Erin Reed at Erin In The Morning:

In a stunning decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Idaho can ban transgender students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. The ruling prioritizes cisgender students’ “privacy concerns” over the harm faced by transgender students, effectively stripping them of Title IX protections in school facilities. It also contradicts recent precedent from both the 9th Circuit and other federal courts that have affirmed equal protection rights for transgender people. Even under heightened scrutiny, the court determined that transgender students could legally be excluded from bathrooms corresponding to their gender identity due to unspecified harm they may be hypothesized to cause cisgender students. In multiple instances, the decision also treats transgender students as their assigned sex at birth, setting a dangerous legal precedent with implications far beyond Idaho.

The court ruled that a “privacy interest” in excluding transgender students from bathrooms outweighs their equal protection rights. It stated that “not exposing students to the unclothed bodies of students of the opposite sex, and protecting students from having to expose their own unclothed bodies to students of the opposite sex” justifies barring transgender students from locker rooms, changing rooms, and bathrooms. It also stated that a person’s sex is “typically identified at birth” and treats “biological sex” as “sex assigned at birth” without justification. In doing so, the ruling explicitly categorizes transgender youth as the “opposite sex” in legal terms, setting a precedent that could further erode their protections under federal law.

Though the ruling acknowledges that the transgender plaintiff, Rebecca Roe, “alleged that excluding her from those facilities would jeopardize her social transition, imperil her mental and physical health, and “out” her to her peers as transgender when she entered a new school in seventh grade,” the ruling does not find that harm compelling. That is because the ruling determines that despite the harm done to Roe, the state has a “compelling interest” to protect cisgender students from Roe in intimate spaces.

The ruling acknowledges that Idaho’s bathroom ban discriminates on the basis of sex and transgender status, triggering heightened scrutiny as required by 9th Circuit precedent. Yet, despite this recognition, the court still ruled against the transgender plaintiffs. It determined that the state’s interest in “preventing schools from requiring students to share restrooms and changing facilities with members of the opposite biological sex” advances “privacy and safety objectives” and prevents “potential embarrassment, shame, and psychological injury” to cisgender students. This, the court concluded, was sufficient justification to override the documented harms experienced by transgender students. The ruling further denied equal protection claims, asserting that “excluding all students, including transgender students who have not undergone gender-realignment surgery, from locker rooms and shower rooms designated for students of the opposite ‘biological sex’ is substantially related to the same privacy interest.”

To justify this decision, the panel had to address the fact that the state failed to produce any evidence of harm caused by transgender students using bathrooms or changing rooms. Rather than confront this gap, the court sidestepped the issue by creating what effectively amounts to a transgender injury exception. It ruled that “common experience” is enough to assume harm to cisgender students, stating: “SAGA overlooks that this is an unusual situation in which the State’s privacy justification is easily corroborated by common experience… That some students in a state of partial undress may experience ‘embarrassment, shame, and psychological injury’ in the presence of students of a different sex is neither novel nor implausible.” In doing so, the court required no actual evidence of harm to justify the ban under heightened scrutiny. The court sidestepped strong precedent affirming transgender people’s equal protection rights, including a case which states that “the mere presence” of a transgender person does not violate cisgender students’ privacy in shared spaces. To do so, it reframed the issue, claiming that the “mere presence” of transgender students in bathrooms was not at issue in the case. Instead, the ruling asserts that transgender people are not being discriminated against for their presence, but rather are simply being told they must be treated as their assigned sex at birth—a distinction that functionally erases transgender identity in legal protections. [...] This ruling sets a devastating precedent for transgender rights. Issued by a majority Democratic-appointed panel in the 9th Circuit, it marks the first significant decision in which Democratic-appointed judges have ruled against transgender protections. By prioritizing cisgender discomfort over the tangible harm faced by transgender people, the court has effectively sanctioned a legal framework in which transgender individuals can be forced to live as their assigned sex at birth. Even more troubling, this decision comes at a critical moment—just ahead of a looming Supreme Court case that will determine whether transgender people have equal protection under the law at all. That such a ruling emerged from the historically progressive 9th Circuit signals that courts may be increasingly willing to uphold laws restricting transgender people’s rights, potentially paving the way for a wave of anti-trans legislation to be deemed constitutional in the months ahead.

Bad ruling from the 9th, but this is just a 3-judge panel.

[mariacallous]

More than 1,400 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) workers were terminated from their positions on Thursday amid a broader Trump administration shakeup at the independent government agency, sources tell WIRED. There were around 1,700 employees in total at the CFPB.

The mass reduction in force, or RIF, comes nearly a month after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order barring the Trump administration from removing probationary employees at the CFPB and other agencies. On Friday, an appeals court ruled that the CFPB could begin terminations again so long as “individual assessments” were conducted for each terminated employee. Around 200 employees will be left at the CFPB, effectively gutting the agency Elon Musk has previously said should be ‘deleted.’

In an email sent to CFPB staff on Wednesday, CFPB chief legal officer Mark Paoletta announced that the agency would be shifting its focus away from its supervisory roles and towards “tangible harm to consumers.” Medical debt, student loans, consumer data, and digital payments have all been identified as topics the CFPB will “deprioritize,” according to the document.

“As far as I can tell it affects literally every office to at least some extent with at least some of them fully wiped out,” says one terminated CFPB worker. “My guess is by the end there will be just a few leadership positions remaining plus skeleton crew for very obviously legally required functions of the bureau.

The CFPB was established by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, an expansive piece of legislation that imposed consequential regulatory reform in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The agency was created to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive financial practices, and it claims to be responsible for $19.7 billion in consumer relief since its inception, as well as $5 billion in civil penalties

“They didn’t follow the CBA [collective bargaining agreement], aren’t following Dodd-Frank, and did not provide sufficient notice to anyone,” claims a CFPB employee who lost their job on Thursday.

Musk and other conservatives have called for the CFPB to be destroyed for some time. The Project 2025 chapter on financial regulatory agencies describes it as “a highly politicized, damaging, and utterly unaccountable federal agency” and calls to have it abolished. In February, Musk wrote “RIP CFPB” with a gravestone emoji in an X post. In November, he posted, “Delete CFPB.”

In February, WIRED reported that three DOGE operatives, including Gavin Kliger and Nikhil Rajpal, were given access to the CFPB’s HR, procurement, and financial infrastructure. The DOGE workers were later granted access to all of the agency’s systems on Friday, Bloomberg reported, including bank examination and enforcement records. Further requests for DOGE access continued throughout the month.

“Don’t pay attention to what they say about the CFPB, pay attention to what they’re doing,” Emily Peterson-Cassin, the corporate power director at the Demand Progress Education Fund, said in a statement responding to the cuts on Thursday. “And what they’re doing is systematically gutting all efforts to protect service members, and all Americans, from fraud and scams while simultaneously letting Wall Street, Big Banks and Big Tech off the hook.”

[fansplaining]

A thing that appeals to me personally, I’ll say, about RPF, is that I feel like…it can be a little more rigorous in requiring you to acknowledge what you’re doing, right? Instead of sort of idly fantasizing or writing an article that pretends to have journalistic merit, you’re like, ‘I’m just writing fiction. I have to admit that I am fantasizing about this person’s life, and I’m actually gonna write words in a document and then put it up for other people to see.’ 

— on our most recent episode, On the Bleachers co-host @zanopticon discussed the fuzzy boundaries between RPF, celebrity-inspired romance novels, and other ways we talk and write about famous peoples' inner lives. Listen to the whole conversation or read a full transcript!

[cryptidplays]

Hi, I was wondering which engine you were using to make your game? Would you say it was beginner friendly and does it require coding?

I’m just curious. 🙂

Hi!

I am using RPG Maker MV to make my game. I would definitely say it is pretty beginner friendly! You can do a whole lot with the engine, too. People have made some absolutely fascinating games. Heck, you can technically even make visual novels using the engine (although Ren'Py is probably better for that, if that's the sort of game you want to make.)

And you can do in-depth coding, but it's not really necessary if you don't want to/don't know how. Since MV has been around for about a decade, there is not only a lot of documentation for it, but also a lot of plug-ins for if you don't want to make all your scripts or code from scratch when you want to do something with the engine other than the basic stuff. (As someone who finds writing scripts very daunting, it is very nice that people basically make whatever plug-ins you might need instead of having to do it yourself.)

Also, while I have not tried the newer version — MZ — I've heard that it has a few more quality of life things added to it, which probably makes it a slightly easier to use engine while still being very similar to MV

I would, however, recommend watching/reading tutorials if you want to get into making games with RPG Maker. Even the basic commands that are provided in the engine can be a bit confusing if you're just starting out. (Although, be warned, the community on the RPG Maker forums can be a bit snobby and rude to newcomers. It's better to see if they have pre-existing threads pertaining to what you need to know rather than making your own. Unless you absolutely cannot find what you're looking for.)

But, if you find the idea of using RPG Maker appealing, I'd say it's a really fun program to use! Just definitely get it on sale (sometimes it goes on sale for up to 95% off. I got it 75% off, though. Just keep an eye on steam, because sales happen frequently!)

[al-the-remix]

Give me some TRUST 🥵

Okay this one was inspired by 1) Oliver's band tattoos on his upper forearm (which I know people love to argue back and forth about wether in the queer community they actually mean fisting--it's individual, sometime they do sometimes they don't--in this fic it does for Buck 😌) and 2) one of my favourite possessions Bert Herman's TRUST: The Hand Book

This is the updated 1991 version but it's still dated in some respects, so although it might not have all the most up to date medical terminology it's still a) a super important historical document and b) the only book I've personally found that really captures the spiritual element of not just fisting, but queer sex and kink/fetish communities that you get from speaking to one and other but not necessarily documented in writing. I think about that "My heart is yours if you can reach it" quote all the time.

All that to say, I'm a little bit of a "Tommy's a bit of a hippy" truther, it might of taken a while, but once he got out of the army and left the 118 and went to therapy and started having healthy relationships with men and started doing yoga and became a Plant (*cough* leather) Daddy, I can see this approach to not just sex but also the body appealing to him. Something about the intensity of the act but also the required mindfulness of it.

Anyway, as soon as he see's Buck's tattoo for the first time, he's like "I'm taking that man inside me up to the elbow if it's the last thing I do" lol (Buck is of course on board).

Tommy squeezed Evan’s forearm softly, his fingers stretching halfway around the breadth of him. Evan grinned and flexed, corded muscles jumping under Tommy’s hand like piano wires. Tommy liked him like this, a little cocky, a lot pleased with himself, it made a warm syrupy feeling pool in his gut.  "You think you can get that deep in me too?" Tommy mused, he tried to make it sound casual but the hitch in his breath gave it away.  “I don’t know…” Evan said, twisting his arm around clenching his fist so Tommy could watch the tendons in his wrist pluck at his skin. “Do you think you can take it?” Tommy’s mouth went suddenly dry. It had admittedly been a while.  His gaze lifted to Evan’s face and there was a knowing glimmer in his eyes that made the syrupy feeling turn molten. Tommy pulled him in by his grip on Buck’s forearm till he was settled between Tommy’s thighs, till he was close enough that Tommy could see the flecks of green in his eyes. He smoothed his hands up Evan’s arms and over his shoulders, digging his fingers into the muscles there. He was so big everywhere that sometimes it took Tommy’s breath away.  “I want you to make me.” Ten years ago he would have been embarrassed by how fucked up he sounded already, voice ragged like he’d been chewing on glass. There was an Evan shaped hole inside him that had been growing ever since Evan had walked across wet tarmac to shake Tommy’s hand and nothing quite felt like enough.  Evan’s gaze zig-zagged across his face like he was stitching together some truth about Tommy in that big beautiful brain of his, one that hadn’t come together until now.  His hand on Tommy’s jaw was heavy, pulling him into a lingering kiss. Tommy arched against him, moaning into his mouth loud enough to be glad they weren’t at Evan’s place. Thick arms anchored themselves around his waist, Evan’s tongue, always impatient and a little sloppy, pushing inside, right where Tommy needed him.  When they parted Evan’s mouth was pink and slick, voice husky enough to rival Tommy’s own.  “I know what you want,” he said, stroking his hand down the side of Tommy’s neck to his shoulder, pushing him down onto the mattress, broad palm and spindly fingers spread wide across his chest. “I see you.”

[ashesofdeadempires]

These excerpts from Van Richten's Guide to Vampires seem particularly intriguing in the context of Astarion’s “good” ending, as I’ve always been skeptical of the very idea of “fixing” a vampire. Even without considering the early concept of Astarion’s backstory, where he was already pursuing eternal life and acting immorally as a corrupt magistrate long before becoming a vampire.

In D&D lore, vampires are inherently evil creatures by default. Their alignment undergoes a drastic shift upon their transformation: emotions and feelings become distorted, moral principles (if they weren’t already corrupt before the transformation) are warped, and the thirst for power and control grows significantly. However, this aspect is often overlooked when it comes to Astarion’s spawn route, while all "vampiric" traits are attributed exclusively to his Ascended version. This, in reality, is a selective application of the lore.

Stephen Rooney: "It's important to have that… and also… he's a vampire, he's all about blood and he's all about darker sides of humanity. So, it's important that that's represented in the game."

Given these facts, the idea of shifting Astarion's alignment to good or even neutral seems highly unlikely. Considering the nature of vampirism, keeping him away from dark desires would be a significant challenge for Tav. It might even require rolling Charisma checks every few years to prevent him from succumbing to temptation. The only real way to move him toward a stable "redemption" would be to cure him of vampirism, which, as far as I know, is possible within D&D. However, the game itself never addresses this possibility. Instead, the spawn-ending merely offers the chance to seek a way to remain in the sun without sacrifices or deals with dark powers, as Ascended Astarion does.

However, according to Neil Newbon, Astarion is in harmony with his vampirism.

"Astarion’s challenge wasn't directly related to him being a vampire. It was that he was a spawn, and that he wasn't free. He is technically free now. [...] He's okay with being a vampire."

The prospect of being cured of vampirism does not even appeal to Astarion.

The first classification includes those who became vampires because of “deadly desire,” like Strahd Von Zarovich (see Chapter XIII, “The Who’s Doomed of Ravenloft,” in the Ravenloft boxed set).

The second comprises those who became vampires as the result of a curse, whether laid by a mortal or by an evil deity.

The third and final category is the most numerous: those unfortunates who became vampires as a result of the attack of another vampire.

The first two categories have one major factor in common: in almost all cases, these vampires were evil while they were alive. The transition to undeath never affects this, except, in some cases, to intensify their evil.

The final category is a completely different case. Victims of vampires have no commonality with regard to ethos, moral strictures, philosophy of life, care toward others, or any other factor. A victim of a vampire could be a saint or a sinner, a paladin or an assassin, a compassionate healer or a ruthless alley-basher.

The fact is that the vast majority of vampires are chaotic and extremely evil. How does this come about? In most cases, it seems that the transition to undeath itself brings about this grim change in the victim’s mentality; the Fledgling’s previous worldview is largely irrelevant.

There are, however, some fascinating exceptions—documented cases of Fledgling vampires that managed to retain some of the attitudes and beliefs they had while alive, at least for a time. What sets these exceptions apart? Was it, as some sages suggest, a characteristic of the vampire that created them? Or was it something inherent within the victim?

My own theory is this: the victim must possess immense strength of will, and the vampire that killed them must be prevented, in some way, from implementing the innate control such creatures have over “secondary” vampires. (This can happen if the creating vampire leaves the area or is destroyed between the time of the victim’s death and the night the victim first rises as a vampire.)

Some of the most fascinating examples of this sort of "carryover" were recorded by a sage whose name has been tragically lost in a treatise whose title I have borrowed (with thanks) for this chapter: The Mind of the Vampire. Two examples follow:

A young, naive man, raised in a sheltered and privileged family, was slain by a vampire passing through the neighborhood. At first, he was unaware of his true nature (or unwilling to accept it), believing that his "death" had been nothing more than a profound illness and that his "premature" burial was merely a mistake by his overzealous family. However, evidence of his vampiric nature soon became apparent. The poor wretch was unable to fully renounce the life he had left behind and took to "haunting" his old home, watching from the shadows and pretending he was still, at least peripherally, part of mortal life. He might have seemed a wholly pathetic figure were it not for his vicious attacks on anyone who dared to take away the semblance of his former life.

An intrepid vampire hunter was slain by one of the creatures she so tenaciously hunted; the monster that killed her was immediately destroyed by her colleagues. For reasons unknown, these colleagues neglected to take the necessary precautions to prevent the woman from rising as a vampire. The trauma she experienced upon realizing her vampiric condition was almost—but not quite—enough to drive her mad. She had taken up her life's work as a moral duty, committed to ridding the world of the scourge of vampirism, and now she had become the very thing she had always hated! Despite the shock, she resolved to make the best of the hand Fate had dealt her. She dedicated her unlife to continuing her mortal mission, using her newfound powers to track down and destroy others of her kind. Tragically, her sense of duty soon became corrupted by a quest for power, and she was ultimately destroyed by Strahd Von Zarovich.

Van Richten's Guide to Vampires. TSR, 1991, Chapter XII: "The Mind of the Vampire: The Psychology of Immortality."

But this thesis raises a fascinating question: if we set aside the matter of feeding habits, could a vampire exhibit other behavior patterns that might be described as “good”? The answer is “theoretically yes,” and I can even cite one short-lived example.

A man of good alignment was killed by a vampire and subsequently became a vampire himself, initially under the control of his dark master. When the master vampire was destroyed, the “minion” vampire became free-willed. Despite his undead condition, he still held the beliefs and attitudes that had, during his life, categorized him as Good. In secret, he resolved to use his powers to at least partially amend the damage caused by both himself and his master. For several decades, he acted as a secret benefactor to his hometown.

Unfortunately, this situation changed over time. At first, the undead benefactor sought no recognition, keeping his identity and nature completely secret. He lived in a cave on the outskirts of town and had no contact with the living. However, after a decade, it seems he began to resent the lack of gratitude shown by the townsfolk for his generosity. He started leaving behind notes requesting some form of “concrete appreciation,” generally in the form of money, in exchange for his efforts. (Of course, he had no need for money; the coins were purely symbolic of the thanks he felt he deserved.) His demands grew increasingly steep until the townsfolk decided his requests were excessive and stopped paying.

At this point, the vampire’s feelings toward the townsfolk turned to hatred. In his rage, he fell upon them like a scourge, terrorizing them until he was eventually destroyed by a group of intrepid adventurers.

I have a theory that explains this transformation. Eternity is a long time, and as the years passed, the vampire’s feelings began to change. Gradually, he lost his sense of kinship with the living and started prioritizing his own desires—even when those desires were irrational—over theirs. Eventually, he came to view their very lives as insignificant and unworthy of his consideration.

I strongly believe that this shift in attitude happens, inevitably, to all vampires. For some, it occurs almost immediately; for others, it may take decades. Although I lack concrete evidence to support this conjecture, I suspect that no vampire can maintain a nature other than Chaotic Evil beyond the Fledgling age category.

Van Richten's Guide to Vampires. TSR, 1991, Chapter XII: "The Mind of the Vampire: A Question of Alignment."

[tokiro07]

Ichi the Witch ch.8 thoughts

[I'm a Shark! Suck My Magiiik!! I'M A SHAAARK!!!]

(Topics: character analysis - Kumugi/Desscaras/Ichi, narrative utility - Hisame, speculation - Hisame's trial)

...Really? The village that was attacked by a shark is called Jauz Village?

I do love that, actually. I truly hope that this is the kind of humor we can expect to see going forward

In the meantime, Nishi continues to give us brief yet telling glimpses into the cast's characterizations

Kumugi

Picking up where we left off last week, Ichi again praises Kumugi for what she brings to the table: in this case, her ability to absorb and relay information, then form a plan based on it. She says she "just read a report," but Ichi doesn't strike me as someone capable of comprehending official documents, and Desscaras probably lacks the patience to do so

Kumugi's capabilities seem mundane, but "mundane" is just a negative way to frame "essential." The demands of everyday life require certain skills that, in their absence, make things much more difficult than they need to be. Ichi and Desscaras almost certainly could have figured out where Hisame was easily enough, but how long would it have taken? Long enough for the frozen people to die? Kumugi's presence streamlines the process, reducing the amount of effort the team as a whole needs to put just to reach the starting line

This isn't to say that Ichi and Desscaras aren't smart or quick-witted, though, as they both show off their unique capacities for intelligence

Desscaras

Where this chapter demonstrated Kumugi's logical intelligence, it also demonstrated Desscaras' emotional intelligence. As the team arrives at Hisame's base, Desscaras uses a sleep spell to prevent little Chrissy from being subjected to the horrible fate of her village

With how vain and self-absorbed Desscaras presents herself to be, I didn't get the impression that she was particularly kind or compassionate, but her ability to assess the situation and react so quickly and decisively to protect a child from emotional harm really speaks to where her heart lies

Coupled with last week's chapter, I get the impression that Desscaras isn't lonely because she views herself as better than others, but because they view her as better than them. She clearly has some understanding of people and the capacity to empathize with them, so I'm thinking that the cultural impression of "the Strongest Witch" has just made her difficult to approach rather than diminishing her ability to take interest in other people. The way she watched Ichi and Kumugi get along from afar suggests that that's a view she's used to; observing others and how they behave while she sulks in the corner

Ichi, meanwhile, similarly shows how his observation skills have honed his social and battle intelligence

Ichi

Just from the fact that Hisame was using her victims as building blocks, Ichi can tell that she a) enjoys hurting people and b) is confident in her own strength. Not only does this meet the conditions of Death for Death, but it also notifies Ichi of the best approach to the hunt: the straightforward approach

Rather than needing to set an elaborate trap with carefully positioned tripwires or bait, Ichi simply needs to appeal to Hisame's sense of superiority by issuing a direct challenge. By the time she shows up, and probably before he even shouted for her, he's already formulated his plan of attack, utilizing his Inazuri spell in a new and unique way

This does confirm my suspicion that spells aren't limited to one specific use, and the fact that Ichi managed to figure that out without any training illustrates his imaginative power and quick-wittedness

Unfortunately, Ichi's instincts turned out not to be particularly helpful in this situation

Hisame

The main draw of this chapter was definitely Hisame, who not only assuaged my fears that she'd be just a flying shark by having makeup, lacey fins, and a charmingly vain personality, but also showed off the variability and even the necessity of a Magik's trials

The revelation that Magiks are immune to damage outside of the parameters of their trials makes it so that violent tactics, even those that are well thought-out and strategic, won't always be effective. Uroro and Inazuri, whose trials were designed to create direct confrontations, were both easily overcome by Ichi's hunting because they allowed him to bypass the battles entirely and go straight for the kill, but Hisame is the opposite. Hisame herself is the one bypassing the battle simply by virtue of confrontation not being an option

The trials listed in ch.1, such as the "drink a lot of water" trial, the "hold fire for an hour" trial, and the "sleep on an iceberg" trial established the capacity for non-combative trials right off the bat, but Hisame's trial being about fashion is a dramatic turn from the established pattern of great personal risk. Honestly, I feel like Ichi would still pass those other ones pretty easily, like selecting the right pelt to keep warm in the ice trial, but in our first full arc Ichi is being confronted with a trial I simply don't think he's suited for

Naturally, then, I think that this sets up the perfect payoff to Kumugi's introductory character arc

Hidden Talent

As I said last week, there is so much that Ichi doesn't know about the world, and while his hunting outfit was pretty sick, he definitely made it solely with practicality in mind. I promise you, that man doesn't have a fashionable bone in his body; who's he ever needed to impress, the wolves?

So how could he possibly be expected to pass a test on fashion? What kind of trick does Nishi plan to have him pull??

Given the theme established at the very beginning of this arc, I'd say the trick will be...have Kumugi do it

I doubt she considers herself to be a fashionable person, but I'm confident that she'll be able to discern what Hisame considers fashionable and use that information to her advantage. It's the same kind of information gathering that I predicted would be used for Magik hunting just in a context that Ichi isn't suited for, establishing that we aren't going to fall into a repetitive or predictable series of literal hunts that happen to have magic in them

By giving Kumugi the first post-prologue win of the series, she would not only come to understand the theme of personal capability, but she'd also see her own value within the team, helping to solidify her sense of belonging and overcome her fears from last week's chapter. Plus, it would also give her access to what seems to be a particularly strong combat spell, something I'm sure she never expected to get, which would in turn give her a viable offensive option in upcoming battles

Or maybe she'll just say or do something that will inspire Ichi to figure out a solution. I wouldn't be mad about that, since it's definitely too early for Kumugi to overcome her anxieties, but I'd like to see her make a big step for her first impression as a member of the team, so at the very least I hope that she isn't just going to watch and learn this arc and wait until a later one to start contributing

Until next time, let's enjoy life!

[collapsedsquid]

Trump has been complimentary of Miller’s performance during his administration and suggested that, if there is a second term, hemight reprise his role as defense secretary, a powerful Cabinet post with sway over Pentagon policy. And though the former president has not weighed in onthis Heritage strategy document, he did embrace many of the organization’s proposals at the outset of his first term. In an interview, Miller said a national service requirement should be “strongly considered.” He described the concept as a common “rite of passage,” one that would create a sense of “shared sacrifice” among America’s youth. [...] On Tuesday, after publication of this report, Trump wrote on social media that the idea he would call for mandatory military service was “ridiculous” and attacked The Washington Post for what he said was a “failed attempt to damage me with the Voters.”

Trump recognizes that "mandatory college where they also teach you to shoot guns" is not going to be either appealing to his voters or end well for him.

[genderqueerdykes]

I'm going to be getting my ID soon and while the family members i live with aren't accepting at all, my mom is willing to go through the process with me. Is there a way i can have them put my actual name on it rather than my deadname? Or do we have to legally change my name first? If it's the second one can you please explain the process of how you do that because i don't even know where to start

if you're in the United States, unfortunately, the name they will put on your ID is the one that's on your birth certificate and other legal documents. that being said, i'm not sure if you can apply for a legal name change before getting an ID, however. this is not something i'm super versed on: has anyone gotten a name change before receiving an ID, or anything like this?

the process of getting one's named changed in the US highly depends on the area you're in. in most places, you have to file with your local courthouse to appeal to get it changed. i don't really know what all information they make you gather for this, but i know in some places, for whatever reasons, it's required to publish an obituary for the name you're changing out of in order for the process to become complete.

i have not gotten my name changed yet so i don't know anything firsthand! those who have applied for name changes, please let us know more info on the matter so we can try to get more info for anon! also it's going to depend greatly on where you live in the world. i only know a small amount about how it works in the US

[non-conventionnel]

How did the first concept of God originate?

Who was Yahweh and who was Moses? Where did the Ten Commandments originate from?

Who was Jesus Christ, and what do the Gospels which were left out of the New Testament say?

Who was St Paul, and which was the first Church before the Roman Catholic one?

How did the papal pontificate originate, and what were the repercussions of the false document which was supposedly left to the Church by Emperor Constantine the Great in order to cling to power?

Was there a different scenario to how things could have unfolded? This book, backed by the discoveries which have occurred in the last centuries, will tackle these questions unearthing new ones in the process.

"In this book, author Anton Sammut undertakes a challenging task in a race to uncover various aspects affecting the development of religion in relation to culture. This task is considered delicate and for some even dangerous. Delicate because it requires meticulous research and gathering of information; dangerous because it ventures far beyond the borders of religion which we normally restrict ourselves to because they offer security and certainty. In this respect, this book will appeal hugely to those who are not satisfied with what they have been instructed but are interested in exploring how the information arrived to them."

- Rev. Dr René Camilleri

"The laborious and careful exercise carried out by Mr Sammut, both on the Bible as well as on the History of the Church, is intended to assist the reader to view both of them from an angle which we are not accustomed to. This type of mental exercise is always useful, especially when the thoroughly researched and examined subject is not easy, not necessarily understood in one way, and is more complex than the human brain can handle."

- Rev. Prof. Peter Serracino Inglott

Anton Sammut's Fb Page

Goodreads