#but it would still be an astronomically high cost of living

[mumms-the-word]

Shadow Curse Events Pt. 3

The first 40 days

Hello, friends, and welcome to the third and final installment of this little series about the Shadow Curse in BG3. Part 1 talked about Ketheric's descent into Sharran worship and how he built his Dark Justiciar army. Part 2 detailed the events of the war between the Harpers/druids and Ketheric's army, a bloodbath that culminated in Ketheric's supposed death and a high-cost victory for the Harpers and druids.

With Ketheric's dying breath, he utters a curse and the shadow curse takes full effect within hours. That's what this post is about. There are two journals that give us a day-by-day breakdown of the shadows as they roll outward from town, Olam's Journal and Oliver's Diary. Using these (plus other materials, naturally), I wanted to construct a kind of timeline for the first 40 days of the shadow curse as it slowly took over the landscape.

Quick cw: some descriptions of madness and implied sexual trauma from one note left behind by a Reithwin citizen

As always, long post ahead, under the cut!

———

Dear Diary, Day 1: Nothing ever happens in this town. I'm ready to go to the Gate. If Mother won't let me, I'll run away myself. She says my lungs are too weak for the smoke. But how am I living at all, when all I do is milk the rothe? [mumms' note: I imagine this diary entry by Oliver was written before the battle, but during the siege. I can't imagine him writing "nothing ever happens" when a battle is actively taking place.]

Let me set the stage. It is the third day of the battle between the Harper-druid army and Ketheric Thorm. The Harpers have already tried to surrender, only to be denied by Ketheric, who joins the battle himself. The death tolls are astronomical and the citizens of Reithwin are either cowering and trying to survive the battle that rages outside their doors or fighting as part of a volunteer force. The tides have turned in the Harpers' and druids' favor as reinforcements for Dark Justiciars inexplicably stop coming (thanks to the mason's infernal deal). At last, some lucky Harper or druid strikes the blow that finally fells Ketheric Thorm. Ketheric uses his last breath to utter a curse on the land, the actual words lost to time, and dies. Together with other Harpers and druids, Jaheira assists in dragging Ketheric's body from the battlefield and sealing it inside the Grand Mausoleum. But the damage has already been done.

It's day one of the shadow curse.

Day 2 of Darkness I stood calm as Ketheric uttered his final curse and then withered. As my fellow Harpers dragged his putrid corpse from the battlefield, I allowed myself to feel relief, even solace. A wrong had been righted, an evil thwarted. Victory had come - but I had yet to know its true cost. The darkness shrouded the land like a vast cloak. It began as a chill, as if the Claw of Winter had gripped us. Within hours, every breath was a dagger piercing my throat. I hungered for air like a wolf hungers for meat - yet I could still get my fill, thanks to my armour. Would that the men and women of Reithwin had been so well-equipped. One by one they fell, only to rise as shadows of themselves, intent on extinguishing all light, and all life. The shadows hang less heavy in this place. It still takes some effort to fill my lungs, but better to expend effort than to unite with darkness. My traps should keep me safe - or at least, safe enough.

Olam, an aasimar Harper who eventually fell victim to the shadow curse as he was trying to find ways to reverse it, is our best record for the first day. According to him, the first sign of the curse was a chill, as cold as the Claw of Winter, a reference to the winter month of Alturiak.

Months in Faerûn have two names, a sort of "official" name and a common name. The second month of the year, Alturiak, is commonly known as the Claw of Winter, a month of deep cold that sets in after Midwinter (the day right before Alturiak 1). Given that Ketheric's speech to his troops suggests they're preparing to face winter, and the fact that Thisobald's notes tell us that Ketheric was poisoned by the Harpers in Elient, the month that contains the Autumn Equinox, it's safe to suggest that the battle happened in late autumn. A sudden chill as cold as deep winter would be very alarming, especially accompanied by an unnatural darkness.

So, first comes the cold, so piercing and uncomfortable it makes it hard to breathe. Then comes the shadows, a darkness that settles over the town and begins to spread. If you're in armor, if you've trained your body to withstand magical and physical attacks, if you're resistant to any kind of damage, if you're one of the miraculous soldiers who hasn't been horribly wounded and weakened, you have half a chance to survive the initial shadows.

The untrained citizens of Reithwin don't have even that half-chance.

One by one they fall to the shadows. One by one they rise again as twisted, changed, ravenous undead, "intent to extinguish all light, all life." We've seen what the curse does ourselves to Harpers like Yonas, or to other living creatures like the hyena or the goblin near the mountain pass entrance. The Harpers and druids who believe that they can put battle behind them at last are now faced with a new enemy—the undead, shadow-cursed husks of innocent (and perhaps not so innocent) citizens.

Image: An armored arm covered by black and green shadow magic reaching out.

Not just citizens, either. The shadows soon claim Harpers and druids too. The shadows do not discriminate.

Halsin: Even in defeat, though, Ketheric turned to Shar. Not long after we sealed him away in his tomb, the shadow curse took hold. No one had seen the likes of it before. No one knew how to react…Then it started to claim all those within its reach. Those who had survived the battles now fell to the shadows - became part of the shadows. And worst of all…I lost contact with Thaniel. I wanted to try and find him, but we couldn’t stay. We would have all succumbed. When the Archdruid of the Grove - my predecessor - was seized by the curse, I had to lead the survivors to safety. That was my first day as Archdruid. An inauspicious beginning.

The Harpers and druids no doubt scatter, scrambling for light, caught flat-footed in a fight against the undead they must now kill, some of whom might even be their own allies, their own friends, and a darkness they can scarcely understand. As more and more people fall, more and more corpses reanimate. There's no use fighting. Their only real choice is to run.

Halsin, among the survivors, desperately tries to gather together druid survivors and rescue the wounded from the curse, going so far as to carry some on his back, according to unique dialogue with Jaheira. As they attempt to flee, the former Archdruid falls, seized by the shadows. Halsin is forced to leave him behind to ensure the survival of the other druids.

Halsin: It is an honour to see you again, High Harper. Jaheira: No need for titles. You may call me Jaheira, so long as you are content to be known as Halsin. And the honour is mine. Your stewardship of the Emerald Grove has made for something of a story among the circles. The apprentice who survived the shadow curse, and carried his masters home on his back. Who was raised their master in turn, and searches still for a way to save what was lost. [mumm's note: Halsin says he never met Jaheira, but this could be him being polite, or him referencing that he has seen Jaheira before, they've just never spoken or officially met.]

At the same time, he's lost contact with Thaniel. The spirit of the land has been pulled into the Shadowfell somehow by the onset of the curse as it spreads outward and begins to take over the landscape. Perhaps the Shadowfell claims others, as well, the moment the darkness falls over them, rather than transforming them into undead shadow corpses. We know this happens to Art, after all.

But Halsin doesn't have time to think about Thaniel, unfortunately. With the Archdruid dead, it is now his responsibility to look after the wounded and surviving druids and lead them to safety.

[This is an ancient notebook, whose ink is faded and pages are starting to crumble. It's not easy, but some words can still be made out.] Ketheric is finished, but it cost us the land. Darkness has fallen, corruption is everywhere. [...] ...chased by shadows, picking us off, druids and Harpers alike. [...] ...our wounded were safe, I returned, searching for survivors... [...] ...lost, but I found his shade. I put it to rest and took his glaive... [...] ...blade infused with shadow. I have locked it away, to serve as a reminder that even victory can taste bitter.

In the launch version of the game, the glaive Sorrow belonged to the old Archdruid. (In early access, it belonged to Halsin, but that is an entirely separate post.) Halsin's old notebook reveals the lengths he went to save the wounded, becoming the Grove's leader the very hour, the very minute that the old Archdruid succumbs to the curse. He doesn't stop to fight the Archdruid's shade. He must save whoever he can.

In town, others are trying to flee the curse as well. The first couple of days, it's all the citizens can do to stay ahead of the darkness and escape the shadows before they're taken. One person attempts to send word via a raven seeking help. The raven, too, succumbs to the curse.

[This letter is written on a scrap of paper. Blood and age have made it near illegible in parts.] HELP! A darkness has rolled into Reithwin, cutting us off on all sides. We’ve sent people through, but no one can make it more than a few steps before [the words are obscured by drops of blood.] This letter is our last hope. Send help - anyone, from anywhere, I beg of you. I will renounce our Lady Loss and kiss the Moonmaiden’s feet if that’s what it takes. Just don’t let the darkness take us.

It's nearing the end of the first day. Halsin has at last seen the wounded to some kind of safety and turns back, braving the shadows again to try and find the old Archdruid. He finds his shade and kills it, taking his glaive as a reminder, since the shadow-corrupted body must be left behind. With his duty at last done, Halsin departs the shadow-cursed lands to return to the Emerald Grove with the survivors. He does not return again until a century later.

———

Day 2 of the shadow curse.

Olam the Harper manages to secure something of a safe refuge in a hidden room of the House of Healing's morgue where the shadows hang less heavily. He sets up traps to deter shades and shadow-cursed zombies.

Citizens of Reithwin who haven't fled the curse on day one and are resilient enough to survive the first day are slowly succumbing, too. Some citizens seem to willingly give themselves to the shadow curse, or are taken entirely by surprise.

A couple on the roof of the House of Healing lay together, whispering poetry to one another as the darkness falls. Another couple lays curled up in their home, perhaps trying to hide from the shadows as the darkness presses against the doors and windows. Other citizens drag their feet, trying to pack up their lives and follow after more slowly. The result is the same for all of them. Death to the shadow curse, or the shades it creates from the dead. Their skeletal remains lay untouched for decades afterward.

———

Day 5 of the shadow curse.

Olam, sequestered inside the morgue, is simply trying to survive. The curse begins spreading outward, its borders expanding toward the outer reaches of the landscape.

Day 5 of Darkness The shadows ebb and wane. A torch flame is sometimes enough to burn them away, but no light can dispel the deepest of them. I called my familiar Corvin to my side, but he could scarcely take wing. Tomorrow I search, and not just for food and drink. I might find a scroll, or an artefact, or an arcane focus that can ward off this curse. Perhaps I might even find another survivor. 

Olam is hopeful, but he is very likely the sole survivor of the shadow curse within the town itself. There are, however, survivors outside the town, some of whom are still trying to flee. Others, like Oliver and his mother, are forced to stay in their home as the shadows creep closer and closer.

———

Day 7 of the shadow curse.

Before Oliver held half of Thaniel's essence, he was a young boy (possibly a tiefling) on a rothé farm on the outskirts of Reithwin. He seems to have been born with or developed a chronic illness of some kind, as his mother worries about his lungs not being able to handle the smoke of Baldur's Gate (I assume this is a passing reference to some early industrialization of the city). But by day seven of his journal, the shadows have already started to spread outward toward his home.

Day 7: Ha, a strange fog is descending over our own town. Hasn't left in days. Getting hard to breathe. Mother is eating her words, saying we should head out to the city to stay for a while until it lifts. We go at dawn.

(I personally don't think the numbered days in Olam and Oliver's journals align, where Olam's Day 5 of darkness is also Oliver's Day 5 in his diary. I think it's more likely that they're offset by 2 or 3 days, with Oliver beginning his journal 2-3 days before Olam did, so Olam's Day 4/5 would be Oliver's Day 7, and so on. But for simplicity's sake, I'm just going to use both of their dates as if they were perfectly aligned.)

———

Day 8 of the shadow curse.

Oliver and his mother try to brave the shadows to head west to Baldur's Gate, but the shadow-cursed creatures are too dangerous. They turn around and take shelter in their home once more. They spend another several days protected from the curse, somehow.

I suspect it's Thaniel's lingering presence near the house that is saving them. But they couldn't possibly know that.

———

Day 14 of the shadow curse.

Oliver and his mother have given up hope for any kind of escape. The shadows are too dangerous. It's too late to leave.

Day 14: We tried to leave, but there are creatures from beyond the grave, skulking around the outskirts of our land. It's too late.

———

Day 18 of the shadow curse.

Everything is dead or undead. Everything except Olam, Oliver, Oliver's mother, and the animals they care for...for now. The town is still, as if suspended in time, but not quiet. Things stir in the darkness.

Day 18 of Darkness It's a particular loneliness, in these shadows. Corvin shows great affection when I call him, even as he suffers. Those few minutes are at least some comfort, for us both. It is remarkably still in here, and even stiller out there. I have found a few scrolls and books near the House of Healing, as well as some scattered artefacts, but they hold nothing for me. The only answers call out from within the House itself, where I dare not enter. I hear the moans of the anguished, the shouts of the cruel. There are those who make their home in the shadows, but I am no less alone for them.

Olam's hopes are dwindling. The shadows had taken the life of everything they've touched. Many shadow-cursed undead lie dormant, waiting for something to stir them back into action. Others have been reduced to shades and towering living shadows. Still others, like those inside the House of Healing, have been transformed. In particular, it seems as though the nurses, if not Malus himself, have become twisted undead versions of their living selves, something different than the average shadow-cursed corpse.

Because, you see, being transformed into a shadow-cursed being doesn't simply mean death and undeath. Not always. It also means a descent into pure madness as you lose your entire sense of self. Some victims choose to venture more into the darkness rather than fight it.

Shadow creature transformation is like this: I am standing in a tunnel with one way leading into light and the other leading into darkness. The tunnel glistens and stinks like a tube of rancid sausage. Everything slick with slime. I've got to get out of here. I know I do. But which way? Light or dark? Not day and night. The light is coming from the face of my grandfather, who used to squeeze my knee under the dining table with his bony fingers. His wizened, grinning face is the face life wears. It has flayed off his face and is wearing it now, lantern bright, in the light at that end of the tunnel. The dark though. The dark is absolute. No faces there. No old family trouble there. No bad dreams or memories there, well, well that's decided then isn't it! Sauntering now, striding now, running into the velvety black, embraced, bones snapping, body softening, silking, feeling the change, old life left behind, new life new me let's go yippee!

(There's also weird poetry about the shadows, if you're interested.)

The shadow curse is still Shar's darkness, and the allure of the dark's embrace is still there. Victims who lose their minds to the shadow curse as they turn into shadow creatures are drawn to this twisted idea of a new life (an un-life, really). As we see with Yonas, they're eager to bring others down with them.

Harper Yonas: There you are...come...join me...

Reithwin may be dead, and it may be still, but it isn't quiet.

———

Day 21 of the shadow curse.

In the outskirts, the shadows have possessed Oliver's rothé. They too grow mad, attacking one another and dying, only for the shadows to resurrect them again.

Day 21: The rothe are all possessed, knocking down their fence, battling and bashing one another to death... Dying then fighting again. The shadows are everyone... right outside our window. I can't see more than a few strides out.  [mumm's note: I think "everyone" is supposed to be "everywhere" here.]

The darkness is only getting worse.

———

Day 26 of the shadow curse.

Nearly one full month since Ketheric's death. The shadows have grown darker and darker. In Oliver's cabin, he and his mother can only see a few strides beyond their windows. In town, where Olam continues to try and search for ways to end the shadow curse, the air has darkened from grey to black and grown so thick that breathing it in is like swallowing molasses or tar.

Day 26 of Darkness I called on Corvin yet again, but I cannot bear his torment. Nor can I bear my own. Grey has turned almost to black, and the air might as well be molasses or tar, so hard as it is to choke down. 'All beings should walk free of fear', I was taught. Oh, if only were I granted such a fine fate.

This is the last entry in Olam's journal. After days of trying to break the shadow curse, experimenting with various spells to push back the darkness or dispel the magic, after days of him and his bird familiar, Corvin, being the only living things he has encountered since the onset of the curse, Olam finally succumbs to the shadows. Perhaps he chooses to end his own life, or perhaps the shadows have crept into the morgue and at last killed him. Either way, his body, tainted and ruined by necrotic magic, remains sealed in his morgue hideaway for another century.

———

Day 28 of the shadow curse.

There are only two people still living in the midst of the shadows. Oliver and his mother remain unaffected by the curse, so long as they stay within their home. Oliver has no idea why the curse does not push into their house—it certainly has no issue creeping into every other home in and around town.

But I suspect Thaniel is at work. Given that Thaniel's spirit was torn in half by the shadow curse, perhaps the part that lay behind took refuge in Oliver's home. Perhaps that half is already in Oliver himself.

But Oliver grows restless. Though the curse has yet to take them, living with it is not easy. His weak lungs can't handle the shadow-thick air, even if it does not corrupt him immediately. He begins to contemplate death.

Day 28: I'm not dead yet. But I'm going to die here, aren't I? I can hardly breathe. Why does it not get into our house? Why doesn't the curse take us already. Day 35: I can't stand this. I've been trying to write a memoir of myself but it's still no good. I'm too weak to pen fine words. I am going to die unremembered, be what may. It's getting pointless to cower in here. There is nothing we can do about this all-encroaching dark. Tomorrow, I will walk out into the fog, and I will laugh. With love, a farmhand, forever to be unknown.

———

Day 35 of the shadow curse.

Olam is dead. Everyone in town is dead. Most people in the outskirts are dead. Except for Oliver, and perhaps his mother, and even Oliver can no longer handle the loneliness and despair of the shadow curse. Oliver plans to leave the safety of his home and give in to the shadows, rather than die a much slower death as the shadows continue to creep in.

———

Day 36 of the shadow curse.

Oliver opens his door and walks out into the dark fog of the curse. Some flowers still bloom, untouched by the curse or the shadows, just outside his doorstep. The corpses of the rothé lie inert in the darkness, having died twice over days before. Oliver likely doesn't linger on either detail. It only takes a few strides for the darkness to envelop him.

It only takes moments for it to change him.

Oliver as he was in life is gone, taken by the shadow curse. But some vestige of Thaniel keeps him alive, keeps them both alive. But the shadows have already done their damage.

Oliver remains near his home as the years pass, his laughter and his games turning ever deadlier as the curse strengthens and grows.

———

Day 39 of the shadow curse.

Halsin and the other druids have long since returned to the Emerald Grove. The mantel of leadership weighs heavy on his shoulders. He has sealed away the old Archdruid's glaive, tainted as it is with shadow magic, and begins to turn his attention to leading the Grove. A task he never asked for, and doesn't feel he deserves.

Jaheira has moved on to other adventures, working independently or with other Harpers. It will be another several decades before duty calls her back into the shadow-cursed lands, back to the site where she fought to maintain balance and put an end to a corrupted Sharran general.

The town of Reithwin and the surrounding landscape is dead. Dead, but not quiet. The shadows sink into the land itself, twisting the trees, slowly cracking the very earth apart. Shadows continue to stir, corrupting everything they touch. The unlucky undead that are not granted blissful oblivion shamble among the ruins of the town, between the remains of the battle. Their actions are twisted recreations of their living days, as nurses or as patrons of the Waning Moon. Their minds are all but obliterated.

The town settles into a pattern of hungry shadows on the hunt and undead corpses shuffling mindlessly through the motions. This pattern will remain undisturbed for a century or more.

———

Day 40 of the shadow curse.

Inside the Grand Mausoleum, behind the sigil-sealed doors, the crypts of the dead are not as still and silent as they should be. Something, someone moves in the darkness.

Ketheric Thorm, pulled back into the land of the living, stands at the foot of his daughter's sarcophagus. He wants to forget. He wants the darkness to swallow him whole. But it does not.

A bloated, fleshy hand reaches out in the darkness, and Ketheric hears an all too familiar voice, deep and resonant with dark magic.

"Let us refocus our efforts, General. In here, we have everything we need to bring her back. It will only take time."

Ketheric, having lost everything, agrees.

———

Okay, so maybe Day 40 was just me guessing/wanting to get creative. I believe Ketheric probably woke up, since he's still functionally immortal thanks to Aylin, relatively soon after the shadow curse was unleashed. But because he was sealed in the mausoleum by the Harpers and druids, he must have spent the better part of a few years, maybe even a few decades, trying to gather the strength to blow open the doors and leave.

He's been defeated, and Shar has likely withdrawn her blessings on him. His only power now is his immortality (probably). We know he doesn't build an army again until a century later, when he does so under Myrkul's command. So I imagine he probably spends many decades in the mausoleum, trying to forget, or (failing that) trying to resurrect his daughter.

Forgetting evades me in this infinite darkness. Balthazar is my own source of the barest comfort - the thought that, perhaps, she might be brought back to me. If oblivion can fail, what defence have we against death? None except its mastery. Balthazar's words have never felt more promising.

Somehow Balthazar finds him. Perhaps Balthazar was sealed inside the mausoleum too. But Balthazar promises to find a way to restore the one thing Ketheric wants. Ketheric doesn't desire vengeance. Ketheric doesn't want another army. Ketheric wants Isobel. And Balthazar, a powerful necromancer, believes he can deliver.

So the experiments begin. And fail. And fail. Thisobald, Gerringothe, Malus. The Thorm family members rise again, except they're twisted, grotesque, a little mad. Not how Ketheric wants Isobel to be. But they keep trying. Until at last, nearly a century after his defeat, after a century of struggling to forget and fall into oblivion, ignored by Shar, Ketheric turns to Myrkul. He agrees to become Myrkul's Chosen and do his bidding, in exchange for the one thing he wants most.

Isobel.

Melodia would understand, if she knew my aim. She too, I believe, would have turned to Myrkul under such conditions as these. Our darling will live again. What kind of man would I be if I didn't raze the world entire for her sake?

Ketheric at last renounces Shar to pledge himself to Myrkul. And Myrkul, unlike Shar, keeps his promise. The death that began the spiral into Sharran zealotry, that led to the shadow curse itself, is finally reversed.

After more than a century of death, Isobel wakes up.

———

So ends the three-part series about the shadow curse. What a ride. I'm so fascinated by this entire act/history because it feels like diving into war history or something. So thanks for following, if you followed all three parts!! Let me know what other deep dives you want me to do!

Tags for those who wanted an update! @fingons-rad-harp @stuffforthestash @cakenpiewhyohmy

[pyrasterran]

Carcarrion The Astral Awakening did not just affect Earth. It didn't take long for astronomers to discover an impossible event occurring 240 million miles away: the spontaneous natural terraforming of Mars. Beneath a new atmosphere, oxygen and water coated the planet. With a quarter of the world ruined by sky high sea levels and Great Beasts, the elite that remained fled to the stars as soon as they could. These oligarchs, executives and titans of tech and industry had hoped to escape the new woes of Earth and return to the old ways on the new red planet. But as new colonies started spreading across the surface of Mars, news of some encampments suddenly being wiped out brought a new horrific realization: This dead planet made new had a Great Beast of its own. Four colonies, thousands of lives and billions of dollars were lost before the settlers learned the monster's patterns and behavior well enough to know where to build and where to stay away at all costs, forced to adapt to the same conservational methods that Earth inhabitants had in order to coexist with the Great Beasts. For the people of Mars, there was no escaping the troubles of Earth after all.

Carcarrion is an amphibious monster capable of both aquatic and subterranean movement. Scientists have yet to learn how the beast can travel through earth so quickly. Carcarrion eats *anything*, organic and inorganic, a hard lesson the Mars colonizers learned after multiple bombs fed to it and detonated within its belly failed to stop it. However, scientists still don't know what its general diet consists of. It is speculated that unlocking many of the creature's secrets would require traveling through its tunnels to wherever it rested deep within the planet's crust, or in the deep trenches of Mars' new oceans.

[cutrateconjuration]

I love Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire but I 100% get why you would age up Claudia for a live action tv show and I'm honestly glad they did it.

Practical reasons - Claudia is a child that doesn't age but ideally this show would last YEARS. The chances you would find an actor that young who could play a much more mature character is already pretty high. The chances you find a different actor that young EVERY YEAR that looks remarkably similar enough it isn't annoying is ASTRONOMICAL. The cost of CGI ing Claudia and having her voice acted by an older actress would probably break thier budget. (Also CGI still looks pretty uncanny valley. WWDITS seems to be using that to thier humorous advantage but they also aren't wrong that it is ridiculous.) I know the Umbrella Academy fans have collectively agreed to ignore that 5 is clearly aging very rapidly for it only being one month in storyline but come on.

Also 5 is great example of an immortal child character that was aged up so an unusually mature, younger looking late teen could play him over several years and it's not completely ludicrous.

The showrunner also pointed out that child labor laws make it really difficult to use child actors in shows that shoot long night hours where they are in the main cast.

Moral Reasons - The character might be an adult but thier actor isn't.

I am not a huge fan of kids in horror movies/shows in general because of this but particularly in a story where one of the main themes/plots revolves around romantic relationships. It would be uncomfortable to watch and asks too much of the child actor. Yes, Claudia is actually an adult but that actor is still a child who doesn't have the maturity to understand the character or properly consent to mature scenes. Interviews with Kristen Dunst gives me the impression even playing Claudia as an 11 year old meant she did things she didn't feel 100% comfortable with.

So I think if you are making a live action tv show, your only choices are to either cut Claudia entirely, which I don't think is an option, or you CGI Claudia and I think that would be really distracting (see my thoughts above) or you do what they did and you age her up to early teens, hire a young looking older teen and hope you get as lucky as Umbrella Academy did.

[thefuturewewant]

Hunger is something that affects people everywhere : in the developing nations where poverty is rife, in war zones where there are severe food shortages, even in rich countries where there is great inequity. Have you ever considered the true cost of a plate of food? Take a simple bowl of bean stew - how much do you think it costs? It depends where you buy it. According to the World Food Programme, in New York a bowl of bean stew cost $1.20, but in South Sudan an astronomical $320. Discrepancy in food prices worldwide adds to the global hunger crisis, but why is it happening? Climate change has a big part to play. South Sudan is located in Central Africa. With temperatures soaring due to climate change, it's difficult to grow food, and importing food from other countries is not always easy. Inadequate infrastructure makes it difficult to transfer from place to place, so what food does grow becomes excessively expensive. Food is much more affordable in places like New York; still, people there wonder where their next meal would come from because of unemployment, high housing costs, medical bills or countless other living expenses. Millions of people in New York city alone are struggling to feed their families. They rely on food assistance programs or donations, they purchase cheaper and less nutritious food, or they simply go without. Hunger is not only about the cost of availability of food, it's about everyone having equal and reliable access. The UN aims to achieve zero hunger by the year 2030. The signs are good with the number of people going hungry halved over the past 25 years. Agricultural productivity has improved, economic growth has enabled countries to tackle problems like undernourishment, food insecurity and price discrepancy, wasted food is being recycled and used to grow more food, packaging has been made edible and reduced in size and sustainable food systems are being developed. Everyone should have access to affordable healthy food. Together we can make zero hunger a reality.

[bnbc]

Fic Author Self-Recommendations

thanx a lot @fereldanwench for taggng me!

When you get this, reply with your favourite five fics that you’ve written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love.

well, since the only fic except for cyberpunk 2077 ones I have translated is old ass league of legend piece, there will be a small parade of cybergonks related works ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

1) Big in Japan also knows as "The Big Drama", M, please, check tags brfore reading.

summary: Arasaka Corp. always fulfills its promises, and V comes back to life in a new body. Unfortunately, both sides have their obligations under the contract, and the price of V’s rebirth seems too high…

comment: here it is my magnum opus of cp77 writing xD I can spend hours talking about how much it costed me to write this thing out, but if I could go back in time I would certainly do it again.

2) Real Japanese Ramen also known as "The Ramen Fic", G

summary: In several years after game events, V and Goro come back to Night City… to open a small ramen shop and live happily ever after.

comment: my long exhale after finishing the big one; it supposed to be just plotless domestic fluff but it turned out that I can not write something plotless anymore, but I could hide plot well anough even from myself. anyway, bls, enjoy!

3) Gravity also known as Great Astronomical Fuck Up, G

summary: The collar of her hospital shirt slid to the side, exposing the protruding vertebrae. V seems made of bird bones and paper, she’s fragile as сhōchin: one careless touch and the paper will tear and the wind will blow out the candle inside the lantern, forever.

comment: I jusy love good drama and S P A C E

4) Samurai's Daughter also known My Fav Princess is Mulan and it Shows, G

summary: “Get it together,” Hanako says, but instead she gets her kaiken.

comment: a lil thing I wrote as a gift for @cybervesna ; the truth is this idea was haunting me for several months, and I love hanako, and I think she is underrated and deserves much more love and exploration, so I'm really glad I gathered myself to write it

5) Kagawa Date also know as I Love Pain, G

summary: Goro and V have their date in Kagawa.

comment: yeah I suck in writing summaries xD anyway it was one of the first fics I wrote for CP77 and I'm still amazed of how well it works *sounds of evil laughter*

Tagging: @vvizjer @gloryride @chilljustacat @cybervesna @danyaselmar sorry if you were already tagged and no pressure ofc!!

[headlinehustling]

I dont know where the idea comes from that groceries arent worth it. i live in a notoriously high cost of living city and spend $60 a week on average on groceries when my boyfriend and i coordinate eating meals together and probably $80-100 if im making every meal myself ... which feels like a lot of money per week but buying takeout/eating out would be like astronomically more expensive, still. A typical meal for two people would not be under $40. If i need convenience it's so much cheaper to buy ready made just-needs-to-be-heated food from the grocery store than to buy something similar from a restaurant. Maybe if you are legitimately eating just fast food you spend around $100 a week but that sounds sickening and annoying to not have food just available in your house

[fxckaubreycarson]

Welcome to Aurora Bay, [AUBREY CARSON]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [RENEE RAPP]. You must be the [TWENTY FIVE] year old [NANNY/BARTENDER AT OASIS]. Word is you’re [INTUITIVE] but can also be a bit [IMPULSIVE] and your favorite song is [RED WINE SUPERNOVA BY CHAPPELL ROAN]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [OCEAN CREST]. I’m sure you’ll love it!

BIOGRAPHY

tw: homophobia

You know how some students would get comments in their report cards growing up like ‘is a pleasure to have in class’ or ‘follows classroom rules well’ - well that wasn’t Aubrey Carson. That’s okay though because you know the phrase ‘works well with others’ and ‘is a gifted writer’ well … no actually neither of those were Aubrey either. You’d think it would be to look at her, the perfect little blonde southern bell, big blue eyes wide, skipping into school with her hair in pigtails tied with pink ribbons, but the girl was nothing short of a terror. Not in a nasty way, just in an ‘anything that comes into her head will come out of her mouth’ kind of way, and that was something she’d never grown out of. 

Born in Virginia she was the middle child in the Carson family, sandwiched between a girl and boy on either side of her. An older of each, a younger of each, and then Aubry smack bang in the middle like a sitting duck ready to cause chaos at a moment’s notice at any boring family gathering. Never one to conform she was constantly coming home with scraped knees the day before the pageant her mom had spent weeks training her for. Well, training was too strong of a word in her opinion, it was more just the older woman barking orders at a petulant child who wanted to be splashing around in the kiddy pool in the garden with her siblings. Still, it was a continuous source of disappointment to Mrs Carter when not only was her daughter not particularly good in school she also wasn’t anything special on stage. It ended up suiting Aubrey however because eventually her mom gave up on her entirely which made it much easier to slip under the radar. 

With no real sense of direction in her life once she graduated high school (just scraping through) she skittered around from part time job to part time job, never taking any of them very seriously or lasting very long. Either she would quit because she was bored, or the establishment would get bored of her turning up late for shifts and dismiss her as kindly as they knew how. It’s what prompted her to go on a road trip with a couple of girlfriends when she turned twenty three for what was meant to be a fun trip for a couple of months before she came back to actually knuckle down seriously trying to sort out her life. Only she never went back. Not that she went missing or anything, god no nothing like that, she just realised that thousands of miles away from home her parents nagging expectations were a lot less effective. Plus along with the blistering heat there was also a beach, which was never a bad thing. 

Her friends left to go back to Virgina when they reached the west coast as planned but Aubrey stopped in Aurora Bay instead, a stones throw away from LA without having the same astronomical cost of living - even if it still wasn’t cheap, it was … plausible if she kept control of her take out habit. Getting a job in the Oasis nightclub working behind the bar she rented a studio apartment in the Ocean Crest Apartments and settled into her new life quite nicely, enjoying the relaxed nature of it compared to the more stuffy southern atmosphere she’d grown up in. After all Aubrey would much rather do something stupid but make those around her laugh and end up with a good story in the process than conform to every kind of societal standard thrust upon anyone with the audacity to be born into the human race. 

Alongside her job working behind the bar at Oasis part time she was also nanny to four year old Michelle Lucci, who she had come to adore as if she was her own sister.  She was gradually teaching the little girl different ways tear down the patriarchy through a mixed and varied curriculum of Taylor Swift lore, challenging gender norms, deconstructing the sexual division of labor, and combating assumptions about showing emotion being a weakness. You know, just casual things. 

Prioritising joy over seemingly everything else it did leave the woman as someone who appeared pretty frivolous from the outside but truly she was anything but. Just preferring to see the people around her smiling instead of crying, not that she couldn’t have a sharp word or two when the occasion arose. Aubrey just knew that time spent crying was time wasted, and you can trust her on that because she did enough of it growing up as she was wrestled against her will into glittery patent dresses. Ignoring the animosity that followed by being shunned when she come out as gay in her traditional southern all girls high school when she was only fifteen it was seemingly from that moment on she truly learnt how to apply the phrase ‘water off a ducks back’. To stand firm in her beliefs instead of letting other people’s expectations allow her to be swayed to make them feel more comfortable. It was from that moment she followed a quote that had always resonated with her. 

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."

What? Just because she didn’t think Winston Churchill was worth shit in her eyes that didn’t mean the man couldn’t have said something wise in his lifetime - right?  

CONNECTIONS:

Ex girlfriend / Current FWB - @edenxoconnell

Friend/sudo brother - @heyits-asher

Friend / brother of kid she nannies - @sullivanxshaw

Bad influence bestie - @lunarakuzgun

[newpersonblog]

[cis female and she/her] Welcome to Aurora Bay, [AUBREY CARSON]! I couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [RENEE RAPP]. You must be the [TWENTY FIVE] year old [NANNY/BARTENDER AT OASIS]. Word is you’re [INTUITIVE] but can also be a bit [IMPULSIVE] and your favorite song is [RED WINE SUPERNOVA BY CHAPPELL ROAN]. I also heard you’ll be staying in [OCEAN CREST]. I’m sure you’ll love it! [indi, 29, gtm, she/her] 

You know how some students would get comments in their report cards growing up like ‘is a pleasure to have in class’ or ‘follows classroom rules well’ - well that wasn’t Aubrey Carson. That’s okay though because you know the phrase ‘works well with others’ and ‘is a gifted writer’ well … no actually neither of those were Aubrey either. You’d think it would be to look at her, the perfect little blonde southern bell, big blue eyes wide, skipping into school with her hair in pigtails tied with pink ribbons, but the girl was nothing short of a terror. Not in a nasty way, just in an ‘anything that comes into her head will come out of her mouth’ kind of way, and that was something she’d never grown out of. 

Born in Virginia she was the middle child in the Carson family, sandwiched between a girl and boy on either side of her. An older of each, a younger of each, and then Aubry smack bang in the middle like a sitting duck ready to cause chaos at a moment’s notice at any boring family gathering. Never one to conform she was constantly coming home with scraped knees the day before the pageant her mom had spent weeks training her for. Well, training was too strong of a word in her opinion, it was more just the older woman barking orders at a petulant child who wanted to be splashing around in the kiddy pool in the garden with her siblings. Still, it was a continuous source of disappointment to Mrs Carter when not only was her daughter not particularly good in school she also wasn’t anything special on stage. It ended up suiting Aubrey however because eventually her mom gave up on her entirely which made it much easier to slip under the radar. 

With no real sense of direction in her life once she graduated high school (just scraping through) she skittered around from part time job to part time job, never taking any of them very seriously or lasting very long. Either she would quit because she was bored, or the establishment would get bored of her turning up late for shifts and dismiss her as kindly as they knew how. It’s what prompted her to go on a road trip with a couple of girlfriends when she turned twenty three for what was meant to be a fun trip for a couple of months before she came back to actually knuckle down seriously trying to sort out her life. Only she never went back. Not that she went missing or anything, god no nothing like that, she just realised that thousands of miles away from home her parents nagging expectations were a lot less effective. Plus along with the blistering heat there was also a beach, which was never a bad thing. 

Her friends left to go back to Virgina when they reached the west coast as planned but Aubrey stopped in Aurora Bay instead, a stones throw away from LA without having the same astronomical cost of living - even if it still wasn’t cheap, it was … plausible if she kept control of her take out habit. Getting a job in the Oasis nightclub working behind the bar she rented a studio apartment in the Ocean Crest Apartments and settled into her new life quite nicely, enjoying the relaxed nature of it compared to the more stuffy southern atmosphere she’d grown up in. After all Aubrey would much rather do something stupid but make those around her laugh and end up with a good story in the process than conform to every kind of societal standard thrust upon anyone with the audacity to be born into the human race. 

Alongside her job working behind the bar at Oasis part time she was also nanny to four year old Katie Lucci, who she had come to adore as if she was her own sister.  She was gradually teaching the little girl different ways tear down the patriarchy through a mixed and varied curriculum of Taylor Swift lore, challenging gender norms, deconstructing the sexual division of labor, and combating assumptions about showing emotion being a weakness. You know, just casual things. 

Prioritising joy over seemingly everything else it did leave the woman as someone who appeared pretty frivolous from the outside but truly she was anything but. Just preferring to see the people around her smiling instead of crying, not that she couldn’t have a sharp word or two when the occasion arose. Aubrey just knew that time spent crying was time wasted, and you can trust her on that because she did enough of it growing up as she was wrestled against her will into glittery patent dresses. Ignoring the animosity that followed by being shunned when she come out as gay in her traditional southern all girls high school when she was only fifteen it was seemingly from that moment on she truly learnt how to apply the phrase ‘water off a ducks back’. To stand firm in her beliefs instead of letting other people’s expectations allow her to be swayed to make them feel more comfortable. It was from that moment she followed a quote that had always resonated with her. 

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life."

What? Just because she didn’t think Winston Churchill was worth shit in her eyes that didn’t mean the man couldn’t have said something wise in his lifetime - right?  

[femsanzo291]

Lore Time for Junoverse Pokemon

So I've been thinking about this for a while and like lol going to just say somethings here for the Lore and Worldbuilding aspects of my Junoverse Pokemon AU

In the Outer Rim pokeballs, potions, TMs, and anything like that is extremally expensive. Meaning on planets like Brahma and Ranga the price of them are astronomical even decades after the war. Which means most people there do not have pokemon in pokeballs simply that they live with them by their side. It also means during the war that most people didn't have a way to fight the Solar Military with their pokemon that were by their side, and not all of them willingly. All those items are things that Jet would have been smuggling into the Outer Rim during the war.

In the Solar Regions on the other hand all those items are as cheep as they are in the games if not cheaper. Pokeballs only cost like 2 creds or less. Children have their own pokemon in pokeballs that they bought using their pocket money. Children are able to raise their pokemon and they willingly fight by their side. They are able to teach them special moves from TMs because they don't cost an arm and a leg. So their military has the upper hand over not only in conventual weapons like blasters and such but pokemon.

There is also a differences on the types of Pokemon found in both places, in the Outer Rim it is mostly pokemon that could survive on that planet, each one only have the pokemon that can survive due to the lack of ownership of pokemon. In the Solar region though there are many species of pokemon that wouldn't survive on that planet due to the high amount of pokemon ownership and their for breading. For example on a desert planet such as Mars has water and grass type pokemon that would normally rely on high amounts of water to survive still live there in abundance in the cities. Ranga on the other hand only has pokemon that could survive in the swamps. meaning there aren't any fire types in mass to speak of there.

[survivingsusac]

So we moved.

Work is going great. I really like what I’m doing, even when budgets make issues which cause me to have to stop doing what I’m supposed to be doing and tell people “No,” all day long. It wears on my heart to have to tell a person, “No, I can’t help you nor can I send you to the person who can.” I’m called to be a helper. NOT helping is a huge problem for me.

Even when I can’t exactly DO what I was hired to do, I still like the people I work with and around.

I mean, come on, half of them wear uniforms >_<

But so the court and half of the other adults in Abventuregirl’s life have been pressuring me to move into our own place. Specifically, the court wants us in a two bedroom without a roommate.

I’m like, DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THE RENTING CLIMATE IS LIKE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW!?

ARE YOU PLANNING ON HELPING PAY FOR THAT ASTRONOMICAL COST?!

The answer is of course, the typical answer given to all single moms…No. Figure out how to do it all by yourself.

So what did Aurora do?

She figured it the heck out.

I moved Abventuregirl and I into a two-bedroom one bath apartment, washer and dryer in the unit, with wifi, and set up our SMUD account because the only utility I have to pay for is electricity.

A month ago, during the application process, the apartment complex called our roommate. They spoke with her to get my rental history for the past two years. The lady asked the roommate questions to find out things like, had I been a courteous tenant, paid rent on time, and all that jazz.

Unfortunately, our roommate didn’t take this as notice that I was in the process of leaving her house. When roommate found us dismantling the final thing in our room (I had already moved everything else out) she freaked out, cussed me out in front of Abventuregirl, my mom/rock, and our handy man friend, thereby triggering both Abventuregirl’s and my abuse trauma responses. It was a whole thing.

The good news is that she wasn’t left high and dry. I had already paid her rent money for the entire month. I was out and the room 100% thoroughly cleaned by the 15th of the month. So my hope for her is that when she learned I was leaving on the 9th that she posted the room for rent and got a new tenant and more rent money for the room for the 15th to the end of the month. Double rent income would be awesome!

I checked with an attorney through work. I wanted to make sure that if I was legally obligated to do anything regarding moving out that I did it. The attorney told me that due to the rental agreement’s circumstances I was what is called an “At-will tenant.” Also that the apartment’s tenant history call wasn’t truly considered notice, but rather a really blatant way of letting the roommate know that I was leaving soon. What it boiled down to was that if the roommate wants to hold me accountable for 9 days of rent she is completely within her rights to take me to small claims court. Which is something, that as an adult, I have to be willing to accept. Okay. I can do that.

The thing is!

We don’t live there anymore, and it’s resulted in a bit of a glow up.

Now Abventuregirl and I have a whole fridge and freezer to ourselves, not just one shelf for both of our supplies. And a whole kitchen’s worth of storage. We have our own bathtub, not just a shower stall. We have an in-unit washer and dryer that don’t habitually have existential crises where they don’t work. Our magnificent maintenance guy is literally our next-door neighbor, and he has already let the front office staff know that I’m his favorite tenant (he’s my favorite neighbor, and I’ve met quite a lot of them already). My support animal, who legally I was never supposed to be told couldn’t live with me, now lives with me.

GLOW THE EFF UP.

It’s such a better, more beautiful situation for both Abventuregirl and myself.

Now it’s just the fun of getting every single one of my accounts switched over to my new address. *sticks tongue out and blows raspberry noises*

Surviving Susac,

Aurora

[ashcovenews]

'I'm depressed, don't want to lose my house': Homeowners and renters in UK gripped by rising costs

A London housing organization that manages affordable rental homes for lower-income tenants has raised rent yearly and most recently declared a 4% bump to 170 pounds ($223) a week.

LONDON: For Sadie James, the cost-of-living crisis in Britain just never seems to ease.

First, it was skyrocketing energy and food costs stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Now, the 61-year-old worries whether she can keep a roof over her head.

James, who lives in south London, has struggled for years to stay on top of her finances. Just as she was starting to clear her debts, she’s back to square one: Her rent keeps rising, and on top of higher food and energy bills, her welfare payments just can’t keep up.

“I’m actually in a meltdown each time I think about it,” said James, who cannot work because of underlying health problems. “I’m literally depressed, I’m angry, I’m totally overwhelmed about it because I don’t want to lose my home.”

Interest rates have risen rapidly in recent months, which in turn have ratcheted up mortgages and rents across the United Kingdom. Rates have hit 5% after being below 1% for the past decade as the Bank of England has tried to bring down the highest inflation in the Group of Seven major economies.

As is often the case, the poorest households are bearing the brunt. The rate hikes have led to the biggest fall in household wealth in Britain since World War II, according to new research from the Resolution Foundation think tank.

Unlike the United States, where many mortgages are fixed for up to 30 years, U.K. homeowners are more exposed to changes in the cost of borrowing because a large percentage of them have loans that need to be renewed every two or five years.

Around 2.5 million such deals are due to expire by the end of next year, with around a million households facing a 500-pound ($655) monthly increase in their average mortgage repayments by 2026, Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey said.

That has put pressure on both Bailey and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose hold on power is tenuous ahead of a likely general election next year. Making it more expensive to borrow is how higher interest rates help lower inflation — people potentially spend less, reducing demand and pressure on prices.

Though inflation has eased from a double-digit peak last year, it’s still stubbornly high at 8.7%, and the central bank is expected to keep hiking rates — already at a 15-year high. That has led to mounting fears of the economy sinking into recession.

Many landlords facing higher mortgage payments want to pass on those costs to renters. A dearth of rental options doesn’t help either.

James says her landlord, a London housing organization that manages affordable rental homes for lower-income tenants, has raised her rent yearly and most recently declared a 4% bump to 170 pounds ($223) a week. For James, who is barely managing to cover her other bills, the rent increases seem relentless and she is terrified of being evicted.

“It’s a nightmare, thinking they’re going to come one day … lock my door and I can’t get in,” she said.

Despite the sharp increase in mortgage rates, renters have struggled to afford their housing to a greater degree than homeowners, according to Britain’s statistics agency. Renters typically spend a higher proportion of their income on housing costs, it said.

Jon Taylor, a debt manager at the charity Christians Against Poverty who has helped James, said his organization has seen a large increase in the number of people in rental debt in the past two years. Almost half of the charity’s new clients seek help paying their rent.

“Already, the rent increases are astronomical here in London, and people can’t afford that,” he said. “There’s this group of people that would have just about been able to pay their rent, but it’s just not sustainable anymore. And so something’s got to give.”

The rising rates are not just affecting people on the breadline or on social welfare, he added. He’s also worried about workers who could easily be tipped into debt because they can’t cover the simultaneous increases in food, housing and energy bills seen since last year.

“I’m extremely concerned that we’re going to see more people coming to us saying, ‘We can’t pay the mortgage’ — people who you’d never have thought of needing that kind of help are now going to be struggling,” he said.

The interest rate hikes have sent the average two-year fixed mortgage rate to 6.66%, the highest since before the 2008 global financial crisis.

Joanne Barker-Marsh, a single mother who cares for her teenage son with special needs, is trying not to think about February, when her fixed-rate mortgage is up for renewal. She is bracing for her payment to more than double.

“I will fly by the seat of my pants,” Barker-Marsh said. “I can’t even address this right now because I am terrified.”

The 51-year-old from Rochdale, in northern England, lost her job during the pandemic and relies on social services payments. She spends a third of her state benefits on the mortgage.

“I don’t have any spare cash, I don’t know where we’re going next,” she said. “It will swallow up the majority of our social services payment.”

Bailey, the central banker, expressed hope that the country’s biggest banks are resilient enough to offer more help than they could before the global financial crisis. He said banks have more capital and are carrying far less debt than they did then, allowing them to offer struggling households more financial options.

Whatever options are available, the drip-drip of bad news doesn’t help those fretting about where the cost-of-living crisis will go next.

“I don’t have a chance to catch up, to get better, because next minute there’s something else,” James said. “And I don’t understand why.”

[eliesczhae]

From $1 a day to $21 an hour

It seems impossible for this to happen.

But happen, it did. It happened to me.

Actually, it wasn't even a dollar. It was less than that. I was serving food, washing dishes, sweeping the floor, scrubbing toilet bowls, and occasionally getting sexually harassed by drunk customers for twelve fucking hours to get paid a mere $0.75 back when I was 16.

Once I broke a glass, and it cost me two days' wages to pay it off.

How miserable.

But I slaved away because what choice do beggars like me have?

When one asks if I ever had a dream job, I always stutter and fail to answer.

You know why?

Because I do not dream to be a fucking slave, working my ass off for someone else to get fucking rich.

Who does that?

I've had several odd jobs after that. Quit school, went back, and quit school again because there was just not enough money to support my education. And home life isn't great either.

Eventually, days before turning 18, a friend called me up and said, "Yo, you have good comms skills, why not apply where I'm interning at?". She was doing an internship at a local BPO company. A call center, if you may.

I was like, damn, bro. Why not?

A couple of years later, I discovered the world of freelancing and I'm now earning an astronomically higher wage than my younger self ever did.

Thanks to my experience and skills acquired in the BPO industry, the change wasn't very hard.

I'm not saying the journey was easy. I was working for several clients at the same time just to secure that bag because I'd never been presented with these many opportunities before and had never experienced getting paid this much ever in my entire life.

$21 an hour may not be much for some but the conversion to my local currency is eye-bulging.

I was mind-blown.

And then, I almost died.

I was overworked, blood shot up high.

I'm done.

I don't wanna work myself to death. This isn't the life I envisioned for me.

It's been almost 5 years since I started earning this much and I still catch myself sitting in the middle of my room asking myself if any of this is real or if it's just a simulation.

I've given up most of my clients and chosen my health and mental well-being.

I don't want to work myself to death. This isn't the life I envisioned for me. Didn't my younger self hate slaving myself away so much?

I wanna live my life now.

Nowadays, people see my success and say I'm lucky.

Some would say they want to be me.

Oh, honey. I highly doubt it!

As I was saying, the money is there, and I'm grateful for it. I use it to help better my family and friends' lives. Alleviate their sufferings and make them happy. Give to the less fortunate and so on.

We're all gonna die anyway, what use is it to keep it stashed away?

Don't get me wrong, I do have insurance and savings. I'm not financially irresponsible.

Maybe I do splurge quite a bit on games and books and sometimes travel because it heals my inner child.

But nothing has changed.

I still do not have a dream job.

My dream is to quietly create art, make music, read books, enjoy shows, see the world, and help people.

My younger self is proud of the adult me for my achievements.

But the adult me is even more proud of my younger self for not succumbing to the void.

Had it not been for you, I would not be where I am now and enjoying everything that I have, can have, and will have.

Emotional turmoil is labor.

An extremely hard one.

Happy labor day!

[newstfionline]

Thursday, April 13, 2023

California Economy Is on Edge After Tech Layoffs and Studio Cutbacks (NYT) California has often been at the country’s economic forefront. Now, as fears of a national recession continue to nag, the state is hoping not to lead the way there. While the California economy maintains its powerhouse status, outranking even those of most countries, the state’s most-powerful sectors—including tech companies and supply chain logistics—have struggled to keep their footing, pummeled by high interest rates, investor skittishness, labor strife and other turmoil. Even the weather hasn’t cooperated. Severe flooding throughout much of the winter, caused by atmospheric rivers, has left farming communities in the Central Valley devastated, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in crop losses. Thousands of Californians have been laid off in the last few months, the cost of living is increasingly astronomical, and Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed in January that the state faced a $22.5 billion deficit in the 2023-24 fiscal year—a plummet from the $100 billion surplus a year ago.

As seen on social media (NYT) The recently leaked U.S. military documents aren’t just an embarrassment for American officials. They are also likely to have more tangible consequences: Ukraine is changing its battle plans against Russia in response to the leak, CNN reported. Ukraine’s announcement is a sign of what makes this leak distinct from past ones. Many of the leaks are weeks old, rather than months or years old, and describe secrets—involving Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, Israel and other countries—that are relevant to ongoing events. The leak sent U.S. officials scrambling to contain the fallout. They are trying to reassure intelligence officials from other countries that further leaks are unlikely. And the Justice Department and the F.B.I. are investigating the source of the disclosure. It is not clear who leaked the documents or what their intentions were. The leak first appeared on gaming chat rooms and message boards, so it’s conceivable that a low-level official posted the documents online to settle an internet dispute, experts say. But it is also possible that Russia or another adversary acted with more serious, nefarious intentions.

Lock-outs, mass emails, closed offices: Virtual layoffs are normal now (Washington Post) When an employee with Amazon’s gaming unit tried to sign in for work last Tuesday, she found her access to most internal systems had been revoked. Her calendar had been cleared, except for a 15-minute meeting labeled “Organizational Update.” During the meeting, a manager read from a corporate script as he explained her position had been eliminated. The conversation felt impersonal after the years she’d spent with the company. The employee felt hurt. “I’m a human being,” said the employee. “Any employee should get a personal approach here in that situation.” Early in the pandemic, as offices were shuttered across the country and workers logged on from home, remote layoffs were a necessity. But some companies where workers have returned to offices are still opting to break the news virtually. Last week, McDonald’s asked corporate employees to work from home while it delivered layoff decisions that affected hundreds of workers. Twitter made a similar move back in November. Google made headlines in January when it delivered the biggest cuts in its history via mass email. Employees who were cut immediately had their email access revoked and were instructed to sign up for a new email account that would be used to handle severance matters. Some showed up to work only to find their security badges no longer let them into the building. No matter how workers find out about being laid off, “it’s going to be painful,” according to Sima Sajjadiani, assistant professor in the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. But research shows that there’s a benefit to communicating bad news in person. “It’s more humane and it’s more dignified.”

Brazil’s Lula visits China, seeking ties and Ukraine support (AP) Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva flew off to China on Tuesday to strengthen ties with his nation’s biggest trade partner and win support for his long shot push for peace in Ukraine. Lula wants Brazil, China and other nations to help mediate the war as part of his nation’s return to the world stage, but his proposals to end the conflict have irked Ukraine and some in the West. Less controversial is the Brazilian and Chinese mutual interest in trade after a rocky period under Lula’s predecessor. China and Brazil are expected to sign at least 20 bilateral agreements during Lula’s two-day stay, according to the Brazilian government.

Chile lawmakers vote to reduce work week from 45 to 40 hours (AP) Chile’s Congress on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill to reduce the work week from 45 to 40 hours over five years, a decision hailed by the left-wing government as a breakthrough for workers’ rights. It was the second time Chile has reduced its work week. The first was in 2005, when it was cut from 48 to 45 hours. Ana Camayo, a 54-year-old manicurist who works in a department store, said “the law is fantastic for women over 30 who have children,” referring to herself and her colleagues. She said the extra free time will be spent with her family.

Is The Sun Setting On The British Economy? (BBC) The UK is set to be one of the worst performing major economies in the world this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It says the UK economy's performance in 2023 will be the worst among the 20 biggest economies, known as the G20, which includes sanctions-hit Russia. The IMF predicts the UK economy will shrink this year, although this is a small upgrade from its last forecast. It also warned of a "rocky road" for the global financial system. IMF researchers have previously pointed to Britain's exposure to high gas prices, rising interest rates and a sluggish trade performance as reasons for its weak economic performance.

Italy declares state of emergency as migrant numbers surge (AP) Italy’s right-wing government on Tuesday declared a six-month national state of emergency to help it cope with a surge in migrants arriving on the country’s southern shores. The government said the state of emergency was deemed necessary “to carry out with urgency extraordinary measures to reduce congestion” at an overwhelmed migrant shelter on a tiny Italian island in the Mediterranean. During the COVID-19 pandemic Italy’s governing coalitions also imposed a state of emergency, enabling the Cabinet to mandate many coping measures by decree, temporarily bypassing the usually long parliamentary process for funding and regulations. Since the start of this year, some 31,000 migrants, either rescued by Italian military boats or charity ships or reaching Italy without assistance, have disembarked, according to Interior Ministry figures. That’s nearly four times the roughly 8,000 for the same period in each of the two previous years.

As Ukraine war drags on, civilians’ mental health needs rise (AP) Huddled in the back of a café near the train station where a missile killed dozens of people a year ago, Nastya took slow, deliberate breaths to calm herself. Overnight, her neighborhood had been bombed again, and she just couldn’t take any more. Heeding her parents’ advice, the 20-year-old woman had visited the nearby psychiatric hospital that morning, and it was a lifeline. “After today’s shelling, I could no longer cope with anxiety, the feeling of constant danger,” the speech therapy student said, giving only her first name to talk last month about the difficult decision to seek mental health care. There are hundreds of thousands like Nastya in Ukraine, experts say, and the number of people needing psychological help is only expected to rise as the war continues. In December, the World Health Organization said one in five people in countries that have experienced conflict in the past decade will suffer from a mental health condition, and estimated that about 9.6 million people in Ukraine could be affected.

Volcano Erupts in Russia (1440) One of Russia’s most active volcanoes erupted early Tuesday, sending clouds of ash and smoke more than 65,000 feet in the sky and covering about 41,700 square miles of nearby towns in dust—an area larger than the state of Kentucky. The Shiveluch volcano in the country’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula erupted just after midnight local time. Scientists described the eruption as the biggest in 60 years. Officials said the lava flows were unlikely to reach villages and mass evacuations weren’t necessary. The peninsula, home to around 300,000 people, extends into the Pacific Ocean and lies northeast of Japan. It sits on the Ring of Fire—an area defined by multiple tectonic plate boundaries responsible for 75% of the world’s volcanoes and 90% of its earthquakes.

China Is Facing a Moment of Truth About Its Low Retirement Age (Bloomberg) China has one of the lowest retirement ages among major economies, allowing women to retire as early as at age 50 and men at 60. Now, local governments are running out of money just as a wave of retirees—China’s version of “baby boomers”—hits. That is leaving Beijing with little choice but to ask people to work longer, a move economists say is long overdue but one still likely to meet with resistance

China practices attacking Taiwan from the east, a worrying development (Washington Post) China’s newest aircraft carrier has for the first time practiced attacking Taiwan from the island’s east coast, demonstrating Beijing’s growing determination to project power beyond the Taiwan Strait and far into the Pacific Ocean, an area traditionally dominated by the United States and its regional allies. Chinese saber-rattling in the Taiwan Strait, which is just 80 miles wide at its narrowest point, has become commonplace as the Communist Party under Xi Jinping becomes increasingly vehement about its intent to take control of the self-governed democracy. But the three days of military exercises around Taiwan that concluded on Monday focused on dominating the air and sea in the western Pacific by simulating a carrier-based strike from the far side of the island, rather than the usual approach from the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from China. “If the People’s Liberation Army can strategically occupy this region, it will make it difficult for the United States to intervene or support Taiwan,” said Lin Ying-yu, a professor of international relations at Tamkang University in Taiwan. Taipei previously assumed that airfields on its east coast could operate as backup if China attacked west coast installations, but China’s growing ability to control the sea and air on the far side of Taiwan means that plan might need to be revised, Lin said.

Going bananas (NYT) An elephant at a Berlin zoo has taught herself to peel bananas. Pang Pha, an elephant raised in the Berlin zoo, learned how to peel a banana after watching her caretakers do it for her. However, she only peels bananas that are at the right level of ripeness, seeming to prefer the yellow-brown ones.

[anitosoul]

My Favorite Albums of 2020

7. The Strokes, The New Abnormal

Favorite Tracks: Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus | Selfless | Ode to the Mets

In The New Abnormal, The Strokes have put out a body of work that sounds like a return to form. The Strokes helped define the early 2000s, providing a different path from the heavy tones of popular alternative rock coming out of the grunge era. In contrast, The Strokes were light, fun, and catchy while still putting out guitar-centric tunes with memorable riffs. Their sound in large part signaled the death knell of traditional rock, instead evolving and fusing rock into a wave so diffuse that it created an entirely new genre known as “indie” music. As opposed to what I can only describe in Time Crisis terms as “herm yarl” (think Creed, Nickelback, etc.) which evolved straight out of popular 90’s rock bands like Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots, indie music was more like a web of musical inspiration as opposed to a throughline, incorporating multiple genres and eras of music for added flavor. The Strokes are also undeniably a New York band, representing both the fragments of the cool Lower East Side glam punk and the imminent gentrification of the storied immigrant neighborhood. In these ways, The Strokes’ cultural impact serves as both a beginning and an end, a turning point in which the world would change dramatically and rapidly.

As with virtually every album I’ve included in this list, The New Abnormal was released in the midst of a global pandemic, this one with a coincidentally aptly-named title. As pointed out by other blogs, the last time the Strokes released an album during a major crisis was their debut Is This It shortly after the 9/11 attacks.  Both albums were released at the turn of the decade but have vastly different contexts: while Is This It represented a new sound and the world was processing rapid technological developments and globalization at the turn of the millennium, The New Abnormal represents a nostalgic familiarity providing comfort for the uncertainty of the future. As an early 20-something, I became a fan of the Strokes at an odd time; Angles and Comedown Machine were major releases for me as a teenager but it’s undeniable that the 2010s were not a strong point in Strokes lore. However, this did position me to be living in New York City as an early 20-something in 2020, which set the context for this album in my own life.

The New Abnormal is still distinctly New York with its incredible Jean-Michel Basquiat cover art and references to the Brooklyn Bridge and the Mets, but the NYC of The New Abnormal is indeed a much different city than the NYC of their first few records. From speaking with lifelong New Yorker friends I’ve made during my time in the city, the moments of the 9/11 attacks are still very much seared into the memories of New Yorkers and the next two decades signaled a push towards an increased police presence, predatory corporatization, and astronomical costs of living. The New York I live in now is still a bastion of progressivism, diversity, and opportunity, but only for those either privileged enough to afford it or resourceful enough to navigate it. Gentrification is obvious and rampant and serves as a constant topic of conversation for both displaced local or lower-income communities and the socially-conscious well-off transplants alike. The grittiness of neighborhoods like the Lower East Side has been replaced by glamorous luxury high rises and overpriced brunch spots; coolness has shifted from divey DIY arts culture to hype-y curated Instagram culture. This change of the city is mirrored in the growth of the Strokes’ lyrics that comes with age; my favorite track, “Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus,” features pensive reflections on the shifting of adult friendship over Rainbow Road-esque 80’s synths.

And first he would tell me I’m his friend Actually, no thanks, I’m okay Then he would send weird looks my way I want new friends, but they don’t want me They’re making plans while I watch TV Thought it was them, but maybe it’s me I want new friends, but they don’t want me And the eighties song, yeah, how did it go? When they said, “This is the beginning of the best years” Even though, false, break - The Strokes, “Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus”

These lyrics hit particularly hard when interpreted in the context of my own life with the pressures and insecurities of making friends in a new city and the difficulty of having one of the “best years of your life” robbed due to COVID. The theme of age and losing relationships to time is brought up multiple times throughout the album, from songs like “The Adults Are Talking,” “Not the Same Anymore” and “At The Door” to lines like “All my friends left / And they don’t miss me” in “Why are Sundays so Depressing.” In some ways, the worldview expressed throughout The New Abnormal is exacerbated and accelerated due to COVID, with many of the lyrics and themes about adulthood becoming more and more relatable as the streets empty and seeing friends turns into a rarity. The surreal doom of 2020 can be summarized in the last verse of the album on the slow, unfolding and almost Disney World-esque whimsical closer track, “Ode to the Mets”:

Gone now are the old times Forgotten, time to hold on the railing The Rubik’s Cube isn’t solving for us Old friends, long forgotten The old ways at the bottom Of the ocean now has swallowed The only thing that’s left Is us, so pardon The silence that you’re hearing Is turning into A deafening, painful, shameful roar - The Strokes, "Ode to the Mets"

An important thing to note is that this isn’t a quarantine album—the title and lyrics were written pre-pandemic. While the content seems extra prescient in these times, I’m reminded that change is inevitable and what was once intimately familiar can become unrecognizable over time. In an interview, band members noted that producer Rick Rubin had the group simply go in a room and jam together without expectation, something they hadn’t done in 20 years, resulting in an organic, creative camaraderie. Even though things have changed so rapidly, I can’t help but hope that it leads to greater appreciation for old friendships and opportunity for a revitalized cultural outgrowth. Who knows? Maybe in 20 years the Strokes will drop a song called “Orchard Street is Cool Again.”

[friday12econlive]

Price Ceilings in New York City

Before I came to California to attend UCI, I lived in New York. Both my parents were landlords to a co-op building in the Upper West Side in New York City that they sold after price ceilings and stricter tenant protections during the pandemic had them earning losses as the costs of maintaining the building were exceeding the revenue from rent.

The need for rent control in New York City stems from the astronomical housing prices throughout the city and the market continues to rise. One of the large reasons behind this is the lagging supply of housing compared to the rest of the country—supply is consistently failing to meet demand. Stringent zoning laws and high construction costs make up a large portion of this supply issue. Although demand for housing is fairly inelastic, a decrease in supply as a result of the constrictive zoning laws and high construction costs both lowers quantity and increases price as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Zoning Laws & Construction Costs

To combat this market outcome, several municipalities, including New York City, implemented rent stabilization that acts as a price ceiling to make housing affordable for low and middle income tenants and fix the gap between the rental housing cost and wages. During the pandemic, price ceilings and the introduction of eviction moratoriums became important for tenants who were facing financial hardships because of COVID-19’s economic impacts such as losing their jobs or facing higher prices for consumer goods. However, these government policies often fail to acknowledge the trade-offs of policies like rent control and other tenant protections that give tenants leverage over landlords.

In a competitive market without a price ceiling, the market equilibrium is at quantity “Q” and price “P,” which you can notice has a higher quantity, but would have higher price than the price ceiling at P’. Price ceilings always go below than the equilibrium price as the equilibrium price may sometimes be perceived as too high—a market failure. Now with implementation of the price ceiling, New York citizens now start to demand more “quantities” of affordable housing because rent is now lower, but supply no longer meets demand at an equilibrium as it does in a competitive market as seen in Figure 2 at Q’ at the price ceiling P’. This is because landlords start to make less revenue on rent due to the price ceiling; Thus they are disincentivized to continue renting out their properties and can either sell the property, as my parents did, or convert it toward a different use that would not be subjected to rent control effectively shrinking available housing in the market. Landlords who don’t immediately leave the market will often neglect maintenance in their buildings as the cost of doing so outweighs the benefits (monthly rent). The graph also illustrates the price ceiling’s effects on producer and consumer surplus as well a deadweight loss in the market. Due to fewer supply of housing in the market at this lower rental price, total surplus decreases as both tenants (consumer) and landlords (producer) will lose out by not renting. Tenants fail to find affordable housing amidst the shortage and landlords leave the housing market after facing decreasing revenues. This will result in dead-weight loss (DWL) in the graph on the right.

Figure 2: Price Ceiling & Its Effects on Total Surplus

In short, the good intentions of rent control often have the opposite outcome that is intended—a worsening shortage of affordable housing and reduced quality of the “product” for existing renters. Hence, why my parents sold their building in the Upper West Side which is still abandoned and up for sale to this day. After taking Microeconomics with Professor Branch, I’m able to understand the microeconomic context behind my parent’s decisions to sell their building in New York City and what rent ceilings means for New York City’s housing market as a whole.

Julia Glavas ID #29002482

Econ 20A Discussion Friday 12:00-12:50

[footlitter7]

The Basic Principles Of Accountant

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