#give me answers and data and information pls pls pls

[laurelwreathring]

feel free to tell me in the tags what you liked/disliked about it, what you imagined it as in your head when reading the book, thoughts on the accent, cadence, tone, pacing etc

also particularly if you're english/american...how did you feel about the accent in particular.

[syoddeye]

Here me out pls

Nik in the Strict Machinery AU as a possible bf for reader for a NikPricexReader

Thank you for your time

hear you out? for nik? always. this was fun. nikolai is still nikolai in this au. that is, mysteriously wealthy and well-connected. he's probably fascinated by john. it's cutting edge technology, after all. available only to the testers that live in the building.

that said. i do not think their first meeting goes well.

strict machine anthology. cw: alcohol mention, implied non-consensual voyeurism, the boys are fighting

the hesitation is intentional, nikolai thinks. prototype or not, there is no reason for this thing to experience a delay. it's too advanced. his own cheap, voice-active coffee maker brews pots when he's face down in bed, slurring commands through a hangover.

he leans against the counter. "john. i said, black coffee, no sugar."

this time, it responds. "user has not authorized food or drink for guests."

nikolai smiles, a tired amusement curving his mouth. "she's asleep," he counters, pushing to see where the line is. "should i wake her?"

after a beat, the machine hums to life, reluctantly, he assumes. as the mug fills, he turns his attention to the wall panel. he ignores the in case of emergency and authorized users only stickers.

the nearly invisible door gives a soft whoosh as the compartment opens, revealing a sleek, intricate array of circuits and controls—a shrine to cutting-edge design. far beyond what even the wealthiest of his clients might handle, nikolai marvels at it, his fingers hovering just shy of contact. then, he touches its small screen, intending to peek at—

it zaps him. not painful, but pointed. a gentle warning, considering. nikolai shakes out his fingers and chuckles. "i apologize. i should always ask before touching."

there is no answer, until he retrieves his coffee. it is black, but one sip, and he knows there are at least two sugars in it. what a curious, temperamental thing.

"before she wakes, i should inform you that i was unable to complete your background check last night." john suddenly pipes up, voice clipped and stern.

"you ran a check? on me?" not the first time, not the last. good to know his team is worth their salaries, though. keeping him disconnected, his data scrubbed.

"i run checks with everyone my user spends more than five minutes with."

"surely i lasted longer than that," nikolai smirks into his mug, feeling the granules dissolve and swim between his teeth. "you were watching us, weren't you?"

silence.

"to make sure i was acting as a gentleman, as i assured you last night?"

"you were drunk."

"we both were." nikolai replies, moving to the couch. he sinks into its corner, one leg draped over the edge, lounging comfortably. he looks out across the sterile space. it is cozy compared to his own, but it has its charm. he is undecided about the assistant, though.

the thing is too over-zealous for his liking. he would spit if he heard his coffee maker back talk. he would take a bat to it.

"you must know her better than anyone."

this time, the response is immediate. defensive, even. "i am optimized to ensure her well-being."

nikolai chuckles. "'optimized'. is that what you call it?" he smooths back his mussed hair. "you don't like me. you're suspicious. that's good. it's very…human."

"it is not. i am not." a shift in tone. closer, too. like he's right on top of him. has he flustered the thing? "my programming is consistent and solid, unlike–"

"humans?" he catches a flicker of light, and a projected figure materializes beside him, legs disappearing into the couch. broad shoulders, bullish posture, arms crossed. its face is tight and stern, probably modeled after a thousand logged expressions of intimidation. the fidelity is nothing like he's seen, either. realistic enough that nikolai wanted to touch it the mole on its nose. his hand twitches before he recalls the panel's warning.

hm. interesting. more rugged than i imagined.

"that's good, john. because i'm consistent. solid, too. ask her about that later. she will tell you, or she will request pain relief." he lifts his mug in a toast, and the figure's frown deepens.

just as quickly as it appeared, the image vanishes. he hears movement from beyond the cracked bedroom door, followed by a voice. low, but not quite low enough.

"john?"

"yeah, darl?"

darl?

"i'm, uh, sore from...dancing last night. do you mind setting out something in the bathroom for it?"

something in the wall behind nikolai makes an awful sound. a muffled, metal-on-metal rumbling. an equivalent to grinding teeth together. his grin widens, and he spreads his legs a little further.

"of course, darl, i'll—"

"oh! and ask nik what he wants for breakfast, okay?"

he laughs quietly into his too-sweet coffee at the program's stiff and resigned assent.

[yours-truly-q]

~ Your Eunoia ☆·*○.

☆ Synopsis - Does L care about how smart his partner is? (spoiler alert: he doesn't) ☆ Warnings! - a LOT of low self-esteem from reader, NEOT proof-read (I am very tired, pls don't judge) ☆ Pairing/s - L. Lawliet x gn!reader ☆ Notes - Trying something new style wise, tell me what you think! I've also just got back into Death Note (OH how I MISS YOU L ‼️) w/c - 1.1k

"Why do you like me?" You ask L bluntly, the previous silence being disturbed by your abrupt question. Your eyes flick between L and the coffee table, which had recent crime scene photos resting on it, like you couldn't decide what sight to let your eyes settle on. You were nervous, and maybe L could see that through your fiddling hands and body posture which has you curled into the sofa you sat on, like it could personally hide you from his deductive abilities. You knew better though.

L gives it a bit of thought, hands pausing over a photo at your words, before they continue their descent, fingers brushing the paper. You wonder what he thinks sometimes, how he can find a suspect by their body language and speech pattern alone, what clues he sees as relevant and what ones aren't worth looking at twice. He's so smart it makes you wonder why he would choose you in the first place. You're not particularly smart, you didn't do things he couldn't predict, if anything he sees what you're going to do before you even do it, so why you?

"You're simple and nice to look at." L states bluntly, his voice breaking you out of your thought process.

"Thanks" You roll your eyes playfully at his comment, but consider his words carefully, trying to understand this from L's perspective, what he could mean. 'Simple?' Your face scrunches up in confusion at the word, 'But why does he want that? Does he even want that? If he didn't, then why would he even point it out in the first place?' Your eyes glaze over as you let your head try to break down L's words, hoping that dissecting his reply will lead to a reasonable answer.

"...You're thinking about this too hard." L mumbles loud enough for you to hear, while his large black eyes glance over to you from the corner of his vision. He takes in your expression attentively, before going back to staring intently at two photos that lay side by side.

"Well, it's hard not too when I can't figure out if being 'simple' is a good thing or not." You huff out a laugh, one hand coming up to fiddle with the fabric of your shirt sheepishly. You look away from his form entirely, not sure what to make of this conversation at all.

"It is-" L starts as his index finger taps his lip in thought, no doubt about the case that was presented to him no more than 2 hours ago. "-You are easy to emotionally read, no matter how subtle or obvious your tells are, simple in thought process, so, predictable-" He continues while reaching over the table to grab a file, from the other end of the table, to scrutinise.

"WOW, just call me stupid why don't you?" You joke quietly with a silly smile slapped across your face. Though L makes a mental note to pick apart the emotional and mental connotations that that comment comes with, along with your expression, later.

"-, and, to me, accessible." L finishes, opening the file and taking in the information it presents him, though, before he starts reading, he stares at you with a prominent expression and says.

"You're simple, and that very thing is a quality I appreciate and look for in my environment when all I see is complexity." Then L looks down to his file, like he never said anything in the first place. He almost looks distracted, even though you know for a fact he is nothing of the sort, like he's not listening and you take a moment to admire him, as subtly as you can, in all his glory. The way his black hair shines in the white fluorescent light of the hotel room, how his finger brushes over his lip in thought and most of all, how his dark eyes scan over pages of facts and data. He's so pretty so it's not fair how he's so smart on top of all of that.

'What do you have to offer to him? What do you do for him? What makes him stay?' You look away from L as you let the thoughts quietly fester in your mind, because, they were right, weren't they? Even if what he wanted was simplicity and you were, apparently, that very thing, It's not like you were easy to interact with or be with as a partner. Insecurity lurked in every corner of your mind tainting each thing you said, did or even thought. No matter how far you ran from it, it would always find you and curl its sharp, venomous claws into your heart. So maybe you were simple, but you were in no way easy to handle, and you were just waiting for him to get sick of you and your constant self-doubt.

A small hum brings you out of your thoughts once more, before you notice L placing down the file he was reading, onto the table, and shuffling towards you. He crouches in front of your chair, in his typical L stance, while his eyes bore into your own with a certain intensity you've only seen very few times.

"Do not think that because you doubt yourself, that you are less deserving of my affections. Your value isn't determined by your flaws, nor your failures; nor is your worth in this relationship determined by how much you 'contribute' or 'bring' to the relationship. Your insecurities don't take away from the amount of fondness I harbor for you." His voice holds an air of unwavering certainty, like the mere idea that this could be a false statement was a crazy thought. L's normally deadpan face softened as you scanned his expression, eye brows, lips, nose, for any sign of deception. Then the moment you gazed into his eyes, you saw it, a warm tenderness that L unusually didn't show so freely, but here it was, just so you could confirm that he meant this, confirm how he felt. He was committed to you, and maybe this was his silent way of showing it.

"You will see your worth, for yourself, one day, but for now simply remember that, once again-" L leans in closer to you, chest almost brushing your knees to emphasise his words even more. "-your value isn't determined by your flaws, nor your failures." His voice carries a weight to it that you couldn't name if you tried, but his eyes tell you all you need to know. So even though you're uncertain, even though you don't feel that you're enough, you nod because you know that even if you don't feel worth the trouble, L does and maybe that, in itself, enough.

☆ Bonus!

"...so you like me because I'm stupid is what I'm hearing?" You joke again while leaning towards L in your chair. Whatever tension that had been building between the you two immediately dissipates as you let out small giggles.

"You know that's not what I mean, but if you wish to take it that way then who am I to correct you?" L reaches for his cup, but it can't hide that rare smile of his, that spreads across his face.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

An App Does Not a Master Naturalist Make

Originally posted on my website at https://rebeccalexa.com/app-not-master-naturalist/ - I had written this as an op-ed and sent it to WaPo, but they had no interest, so you get to read it here instead!

I have mixed feelings about Michael Coren’s April 25 Washington Post article, “These 4 free apps can help you identify every flower, plant and tree around you.” His ebullience at exploring some of the diverse ecological community around him made me grin, because I know exactly what it feels like. There’s nothing like that sense of wonder and belonging when you go outside and are surrounded by neighbors of many species, instead of a monotonous wall of green, and that is a big part of what led me to become a Master Naturalist.

When I moved from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest in 2006, I felt lost because I didn’t recognize many of the animals or plants in my new home. So I set about systematically learning every species that crossed my path. Later, I began teaching community-level classes on nature identification to help other people learn skills and tools for exploring their local flora, fauna, and fungi.

Threeleaf foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata)

Let me be clear: I love apps. I use Merlin routinely to identify unknown bird songs, and iNaturalist is my absolute favorite ID app, period. But these tools are not 100% flawless.

For one thing, they’re only as good as the data you provide them. iNaturalist’s algorithms, for example, rely on a combination of photos (visual data), date and time (seasonal data), and GPS coordinates (location data) to make initial identification suggestions. These algorithms sift through the 135-million-plus observations uploaded to date, finding observations that have similar visual, seasonal, and location data to yours.

There have been many times over the years where iNaturalist isn’t so sure. Take this photo of a rather nondescript clump of grass. Without seed heads to provide extra clues, the algorithms offer an unrelated assortment of species, with only one grass. I’ve gotten that “We’re not confident enough to make a recommendation” message countless times over my years of using the app, often suggesting species that are clearly not what I’m looking at in real life.

Because iNaturalist usually offers up multiple options, you have to decide which one is the best fit. Sometimes it’s the first species listed, but sometimes it’s not. This becomes trickier if all the species that are suggested look alike. Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) and eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra) all have pinnately compound, lanceolate leaves, and young plants of these three species can appear quite similar. If all you know how to do is point and click your phone’s camera, you aren’t going to be able to confidently choose which of the three plants is the right one.

Coren correctly points out that both iNaturalist and Pl@ntNet do offer more information on suggested species—if people are willing to take the time to look. Too many assume ID apps will give an easy, instant answer. In watching my students use the app in person almost everyone just picks the first species in the list. It’s not until I demonstrate how to access the additional content for each species offered that anyone thinks to question the algorithms’ suggestions.

While iNaturalist is one of the tools I incorporate into my classes, I emphasize that apps in general are not to be used alone, but in conjunction with field guides, websites, and other resources. Nature identification, even on a casual level, requires critical thinking and observation skills if you want to make sure you’re correct. Coren’s assertion that you only need a few apps demonstrates a misunderstanding of a skill that takes time and practice to develop properly—and accurately.

Speaking of oversimplification, apps are not a Master Naturalist in your pocket, and that statement —while meant as a compliment–does a disservice to the thousands of Master Naturalists across the country. While the training curricula vary from state to state, they are generally based in learning how organisms interact within habitats and ecosystems, often drawing on a synthesis of biology, geology, hydrology, climatology, and other natural sciences. A Master Naturalist could tell you not only what species you’re looking at, but how it fits into this ecosystem, how its adaptations are different from a related species in another ecoregion, and so forth.

Map showing Level III and IV ecoregions of Oregon, the basis of my training as an Oregon Master Naturalist.

In spite of my criticisms, I do think that Coren was absolutely onto something when he described the effects of using the apps. Seeing the landscape around you turn from a green background to a vibrant community of living beings makes going outside a more exciting, personal experience. I and my fellow nature nerds share an intense curiosity about the world around us. And that passion, more than any app or other tool, is fundamental to becoming a citizen naturalist, Master or otherwise.

Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes or hiring me for a guided nature tour, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!

[astra-the-dragon]

Hi! What’s a citizen scientist and how did you get involved with a group that does that? This is the first time I’ve heard of any of that and it sounds so cool

Hi there!

I'd say there's two answers to that, but I'll start with the more relevant kind. There's "layperson recruited by scientist to help with science work" and there's "amateur, self-taught scientist". The overlap is large, but the project I was talking about is one of the world's largest laypersons-scientists collaborative projects.

It's called iNaturalist (getting started page here).

They have a website, apps for iOS and Android, and several layers of help for the new or confused. (*their new app is available on iOS, you want iNat Next. I'm an android user tho). There may even be a dedicated localization team for your country, if you're outside the USA.

I've gladly sunk thousands of hours into iNaturalist between time in nature and time online.

iNaturalist's primary goal is to get people connected with nature, but the core loop for most people is like this:

take a photo (or other recording) of an organism - a bird, a plant, mold, etc. Ideally a wild one, not a pet or garden plant.

upload it to the app. it will have fields asking for additional info, but most of those should auto-fill from the photo metadata.

technically optional but PLEASE fill in "what do you think this is" / the Identification field. give it your best guess. the Computer Vision will give suggestions, or you can say, "I know this is a rose" or "I know this is a mouse".

wait a little. there are a dozen staff to millions of users. everyone else who ever helps you on iNat is an unpaid volunteer so be nice to them.

whoa! someone else has offered their own identification. If you're lucky, they even know what exact species you've found.

Once at least two people have given a specific ID, and over 2/3s of identifiers (including you) are in agreement, the observation has been given an official community ID. Now (given a few other qualifiers - eg is it wild, did you provide a date) your submission can be used for research!

within a few days, your new Research Grade observation will be uploaded to Serious Scientific Databases! Hundreds of papers cite iNaturalist data.

Now if you're freaky and/or already know a decent amount about organisms, you can also be an identifier! The app's interface for adding IDs to observations on mobile kind of stinks tbh. Maybe the new iOS app makes it good, but I haven't had the chance to try that. In any case, if you want to help be the person certifying observations, you'll be best off on the website.

So as an identifier the core loop is like this:

Open up a page of the dedicated Identify modal.

Add your filters: what species? where? when? Do you want to work with audio files, do you want to help a specific user? by oldest, by newest, random order? We have so many filters.

Open up those observations one at a time and give your best, informed guess as to the organism's identity. You might be the first identifier there, you might be double-checking someone else's hypothesis.

Use the 'more info' tabs, or the awesome built in keyboard shortcuts, to add more information, if you want. iNaturalist allows you to add phenology information or additional notes and tags.

You'll get notifications on observations you've added IDs to, to let you know if there are conflicting opinions or comments etc.

Yay! sweet karma! You've helped the scientific community!

If you're ME, there's an additional couple steps.

7. do all the above over 235,000 times

8. notifications hell, notifications unusable, notifications coming out of every orifice. additional notification filtering update when (three years and counting)

please ask me more questions. pls. pls I want to share more. I didn't touch the social aspect and I didn't get into using iNat to learn and I

[thesweetestdevotion]

Astrology asks open!

Ok, guys! I wanna try doing astrology related posts as well (my hyperfixation) Just want to let you all know that my asks are also open to astrology related posts! I rarely receive them so I feel people may not be aware of it. I have some varied knowledge in astrology (not an expert by any means) but if you have any astrology related questions feel free to send them my way! I'll list out the sort of topics I feel like I have some expertise in, and also some example asks you can drop in my inbox if you need some ideas!!

Topics I know about:

Mundane Astrology

Natal Charts (tropical and sidereal/vedic)

Nakshatras

Transits and significant periods

Forecasts and Predictions (still learning! but willing to give it a go)

Example Asks (for ideas only, I'm open to any astro related asks!):

Birth Chart reading for (blank)?

What is this (blank) transit about?

How could my Saturn return be?

etc...

Rules!!!:

If you are asking about a person/yourself, please include the birth chart data (birth day, month, year, place of birth, and time) time can be excluded if it is not known, but pls include all info if possible

Be kind and courteous

I won't give you a full personal birth chart reading, if you have a question make it specific about one topic/concern. Frankly I'm not a professional astrologer so I refuse to give a full personal chart reading to any person here. But if you have a question, I'll do my best to answer it within my abilities.

If is about a celebrity, all rules apply. I'm a little more willing to go in depth/do a full breakdown, only if i have all the information and birth data. (also if i have the time lol)

Feel free to ask any clarifying questions if you have them!, y'all can shoot me a DM as well

[flipping-the-coin]

Yo Optimus. How come you wont just put Orion nad Megatron in jail? Or kill them? Both of them kinda suck.

[[TRANSMISSION RECEIVED: SUBJECT = QUERY…. SCANNING…. 69% THREAT LEVEL BETA = CENSORING REQUIRED CATAGORIZATION: REROUTING…. SECONDARY SCANS COMPLETE: TRANSMISSION = 82% WITHIN PARAMETERES]]

[[TRANMISSION FORWARDED…. RECEIVED = SEEN]]

[[//RESPONSE IN PROGRESS… RESPONSE COMPLETE: TRANSMISSION SENT//]]

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I understand that to an outsider, the situation with Orion Pax and Megatron of Kaon does seem... foolish. However to answer your query, I must first give you some information.

Disregarding my personal connections and your opinionated statement, there are a plethora of reasons why I cannot kill or incarcerate Megatron of Kaon. Firstly, I was offline long enough for Megatron to cement himself into society with his Conjunx. To remove him from his place now would be seen as betrayal to the people and cause uproar amongst former Decepticons. It may not seem like it, but there are hundreds of Decepticon war veterans on Cybertron. They largely keep their helms down due to discrimination that I am even now working to resolve. However if angered, they will rise up again and restart the war. We █re █oo we█k from the war and we do not have nearly enough soldiers to end things quickly. A new war would be long, drawn out, and doo█ ou█ pl█net all over again unless I personally wipe out every last remaining Decepticon. As you might expect, I cannot do that.

With that said, I also cannot imprison Orion for the very same reason. Putting him behind bars or ending his life would bring the wrath of Megatron down on my helm... and that I do █o█ █elieve █ wo█l█ █u█v█ve, at least not without increadible civilian casualties. Megatron is touched by Unicron just as I am by Primus. If he lost his Conjunx, I do not doubt that he would put his entire spark into my destruction. Even my death would not sate him, and that is what I fear most. He would then target my beloved, whom I know he hates a great deal. And even then he would not stop and likely move onto ending the lives of my friends, compatriots, and inner circle. Not to mention I do not believe he would even allow Bumblebee or Smokescreen to escape unscathed. I dare not even consider in much depth who else Megatron would eliminate in his rage if he killed me first.

Aside from those reasons, Orion Pax and Megatron of Kaon posses unique skills, connections, and knowledge that is greatly required at the present moment. Orion for one has information thought lost with the destruction of the archives. To kill or remove him would leave millennia of still unprocessed data to be lost forever. In Megatron's case, he is a living relic of a bygone era. He has information and knows what a corrupt government looks like. If he dies, I will no longer have his knowledge either. Both are vital to Cybertron so early in its restoration. Perhaps after a few millennia one or both of them 'vanishing' would be acceptable, but so early is simply asking for suffering to follow.

Then there is the more... personal reason that I would never dare end one or both. Megatron is someone important to me. I could not tell you why in completeness. But he gave me a sense of control during the war, a momentary break from that chains that held me. I do not understand it myself, but he reminds me of something I can no longer place. His face is familiar to me, and not because of Orion's memory. I... recall someone similar, darker and more powerful, but alike to him. For that reason, I cannot help but wish for Megatron to linger.

But for Orion the reason is more... serious. It is not common knowledge, and in fact I did not really understand myself until I woke in this new frame and times passed by.

Orion is w█a█ █s keepi█g me █l█ve, to a degree at any rate. My connection to him keeps my spark ablaze in this mortal realm and without him, I would slowly weaken if not perish. It would likely take millions of years so long as I do not push myself, but without him here in the mortal realm to bind me, my spark would slowly lose its connection to my frame and putter out. The Matrix can only do so much to keep me here. Why do you think the Primes have hosts at all? We require a binding agent. It is akin to when one attempts to force to magnets to come together the way they are not intended to. It requires extreme effort and outside forces to ensure it succeeds. Orion is that outside force. He binds me to this mortal frame. His death would end in nothing but my own end. Imprisonment would also likely lead to far more... p█i█ for me as well.

I hope that answers your question.

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[[TRANSMISSION SENDER = OPTIMUS PRIME = PRIME OF CYBERTRON: LEADER OF THE AUTOBOTS: PRIMUS’S ANGEL: SAVIOR OF CYBERTRON: LOREKEEPER: SIRE]]

[[TRANSMISSION ENDS]]

[bitternanami]

im really really excited by this idea, i think its brilliant. on reading this post it had me thinking, like. how much expertise would be necessary to produce something like that? what would it take to implement it?

if i may im gonna spitball a little on this. pls bear with me, bc im going into a fair bit of detail as to potential hurdles, but overall i dont think this is unachievable at all. it would help a lot of people enormously.

im also putting it under a cut bc it got Really Long. oops

(ill note im coming at this from a usamerican perspective, so im not sure how this would work globally, though that would obviously be the larger objective. more research needed.)

i think the main reason this might prove difficult is that a lot of the time, comorbidities with chronic illness can span across the fields of a variety of different specialists. specialists who absolutely Hate to talk to each other 🙄

depression borne of thyroid disease is a great example here. i would be surprised to run into a psychiatrist who even like.. knows that that is a thing that can happen, or at least has internalized it to the extent that its something they would honestly suggest. doing that would mean putting into focus the interconnectedness of human bodymind systems, which doesnt jive well with the way the health industry has compartmentalized our care into distinct little boxes at all.

and this obviously sucks. it leaves our hypothetical patient out in the rain, with no real recourse to learn what the actual problem is, short of doing all of these doctors' jobs for them, as is the case now. ideally it would not work like this at All, but if we assume that for our purposes here that we're maneuvering within the flawed framework as it exists, then it means giving practitioners across the board access to multidisciplinary information they otherwise wouldnt be bothered to look for themselves. in order to do that, one needs to compile it in the first place.

creating an accurate, referable directory of comorbidities with the according sets of diagnostic checklists would have to be a multi-pronged effort, because of how varied and multifaceted the area of study is. so itd likely require the formation of several specific focus groups consisting of ppl from a range of bgs, most critically those with lived experience, as well as good-faith medical scholars. each of these groups could maybe develop a list of common symptoms, comorbidities that currently exist in patients, risk factors.. answers to the question 'what does it look like when you have both [x] and [y]?'

like, the answers to those questions Exist already ! the raw quantitative data isnt necessarily there rn--we're not currently recording a lot of these statistics outside of like. medicaid/medicare, which means the sample set is inherently gonna have some degree of bias, but even still thats Something to work with. we can use what we have to back up any findings and like. Tell people about them.

when it comes to pitching this resource to the established systems.. training existing practitioners as well as appending this information to medical curricula…. who has the authority to do this? legislature? national health associations? those are made of people, and like…. in theory we can talk to people, right?

i mean, im definitely being reductive abt the amount of bullshit youd have to wade through to enact this on a large scale; i know doctors are a standoffish, stubborn bunch on the whole, and therefore no doubt highly resistant to change of any sort. but the healthcare system has been improved before, yknow? it sucked to do and it happened too slowly. many many many lives could have been improved, saved, if the those treating us considered it a priority to listen to sick people. but if they dont want to do that, then there must be ways to make them.

upon implementation, the database would also require updating as we collectively learn things about chronic illness, in order to make a questionnaire/test directory like that a functional tool even as research progresses. so you need the resources to do that, to be up on the current medical texts alongside regularly repeating the initial fact-finding process, to see what, if anything, has changed over time. maintenance would comparatively be a lot simpler than establishing it in the first place tho.

like, its a large large project. it might be out of an individual's means but it really feels doable when i look at it as a, a grant proposal to bring to a nonprofit or patient advocacy group or something. id need to look into whats out there for chronic illnesses broadly, bc i know a large number of those are focused on specific diagnoses, but. i dont know!! am i way off base here ?? are there people working on projects like this already? is it embarrassingly naive to think theres a chance of actually affecting how this all works???

when you get diagnosed with a chronic illness they should automatically offer you free tests for the ten most common comorbidities.

bc chronic illnesses DO often come in bundles like that and people experiencing them often struggle with recognizing symptoms in things we’ve lived with sometimes for our entire lives meaning we have to a) identify that something we experience is a symptom of something that hasn’t been diagnosed and b) believe it’s possible/important/realistic to address that symptom AND c) communicate this to our doctors often/clearly/emphatically enough that we eventually can get tested AND, usually, d) figure out what’s causing it ourselves because let’s be real doctors often don’t care enough to figure it out themselves and will often just shrug unless you mention a specific possible diagnosis for them to check

and all of this could be made one trillion times easier if after someone did that ONCE and got diagnosed, if it was standard practice for the doctor to then pull out their handy dandy reference app and put in the New Diagnosis and be given a list of the most common comorbidities that they must now check you for.

like they don’t even have to run the lab tests if that’s too expensive! Just go over the diagnostic criteria and proactively ask, “Do you experience these symptoms?” and suddenly people will have adequate diagnoses and possible treatment options SO much faster

[globalcareercounselling]

How to Start Career Conversation with Clients?

Career conversation with clients?

How should I start?

What should be my approach?

These are some common questions that come to mind when a career counsellor starts counselling a new client. Although they do their research and try to smoothen the first conversation. However, still, some assistance and expert advice can do wonders.

Here, we have listed common questions asked by career counsellors on how to start a career conversation with clients with the best suitable answers.

Start Career Conversation with Clients: Advice From Expert Career Counsellors

How do you tell your clients that you are a qualified career counsellor who can help them with making career decisions?

Dr. Vishal Varia

This is a big challenge. The reason, people already know you in your area and now they see you as a career counsellor but this will not generate any lead for you. This means that people who already know you will take you for granted and feel, oh yes!! He is also now into career counselling!!!

It may also happen that they may not even contact you in case of their need. Thus, you will not be able to generate leads from people who are familiar with you. 

You will need to take up niche marketing to establish yourself as a career counsellor in your own region. To do so, you can try out the following:

Share occasional messages to them on WhatsApp or on your FB wall that you are now a trained career counsellor and have the necessary skills for career-related counselling.

Share about what skills you have achieved by being a trained career counsellor.

Build a network of known and unknown people and regularly post news about career selection and changes in the career field.

Share with them on an occasional basis about different disciplines and careers that a child can select.

Write blogs on career counselling and share with them and invite them to comment or suggest the same.

Conduct webinars or short meetings with friends and families who you think may need career counselling for their child. Give them some goodies for complimentary stuff that they can carry after the meet. Keep such meets short, say around half an hour to 45 min.

Visit your nearby school or coaching centres to share a talk with the students.

Prepare your own short videos where you motivate a child to seek better careers and float them in your network.

Try to fetch more and more new contacts where you can share your ideas related to careers and then call them for a paid counselling session.

Keep free camps for different career-related information and fetch data and then share updates on emails or mobile about career information.

These are suggestions just to initiate a thought process with you about how you can market yourself. I am sure you would have better options yourself as well. If so then pls share in the comments section.

How do you create a psychological connection with your clients?

Ms. Pamela Ray Pawar

I firmly believe that career choices cannot be based on academic proficiency alone, it has to be an assimilation of awareness of the student’s skills, personality, aptitude, attitude and interests.

This is the basic pretext of the conversations I start with a client; whether they are leads, referrals, potential clients or the actual client (student and parents/guardians ie. stakeholders included). This helps in building the initial connection. Also creating the element of trust in the student wherein he/she feels connected to me and is open to sharing personal details and aspirations, considering that I offer a non-judgemental space for them to open up. 

I use various coaching and assessment tools that are reflective and introspective in nature and that help in enabling the setting of short-term, midterm and long-term goals. 

Recommended Read: 5 Reasons Why Career Counselling is the Best Profession?

When discussing alternative careers with your clients (many people may not be familiar with the various career options available), how would you begin?

Ms. Nahida Coelho

As a coach, it is important for me to have an open mind and keep researching and reading about alternative careers that are global and growing.  

It is important to first understand your audience before suggesting an alternative career path. Understanding your student’s interests and strengths is extremely important, not everyone is open to or interested in alternative careers. As a coach, it is my responsibility to present the pros and cons of a career and provide substantial information to my clients/students, in order for them to make an informed decision when narrowing down their career options.

Another way of talking about alternative careers is by sharing success stories. I introduce my students to professionals who have been successful in an alternative careers which gives them an opportunity to understand their journey. This truly gives the student a personal and first-hand perspective of the career. They get an opportunity to find out what are the skills, education requirements, responsibilities, growth and opportunities for that specific career. I encourage them to try seeking out a part-time job in the field of their interest and grow their talent by practicing the necessary skills to keep upgrading and researching the career to get a global perspective of it.

In some scenarios, my students are already engaged in a profession that is mainstream, based on a college degree that they have acquired. I ask them to jot down a list of possible alternative career options should they ever be in a ‘pandemic-like situation’. Their chosen profession could be a full-time occupation engaging them for long hours of work that require specific skills for that particular position. An alternative option could include an occupation that grows out of their favourite hobby, passion or their innate talents and skills.

According to Adrian Granzella Larssen who writes for Themuse, “Choosing an alternative career requires one to do some work, some networking, some skill-building, and maybe seek some professional help to position one’s transferable skills”.

How to start a conversation with introverted students and make them feel comfortable?

Ms. Darshana Aradhye

As a counsellor, I interact with different people in my profession ranging from adults ie parents to children of different grades and backgrounds, and not to forget all have different personalities and each one they are not the same, As I said, I speak to different age groups and personalities all unique in themselves, I have experienced difficulties with people who are “introverts” and I am sure most of you find it difficult too. Let me help you understand more about introvert people and how to start a conversation with them.

According to Studies done by psychologist Jonathan check at Wellesley college, there are four types of introverts.

Social- These are the ones who are not shy or timid but like to interact with people they know rather than stay in a large group of unknown people.

Anxious- These types of people purposefully isolate themselves from social spotlights, especially with unfamiliar ones

Thinking- People who are often in deep thoughts, wondering about life and analysing themselves.

Restrained- These are the type of people ���Who think before they speak”

Introverts according to psychology means – “A person who tends to shrink from social contacts and to become preoccupied with their own thoughts.”

This means that they have a limited amount of energy to spend on socializing and do not enjoy small talks. No matter what kind of introvert you come across, here are some ways you can start up a conversation with an introvert.

Ask about their family like how many members, who they like the most, what their family routine etc.

You can talk about recent places visited or travel. You can ask why did they go there or what did they like about those places, etc.

Anything food-related, what kind of food is cooked in their house Bengali, Maharashtrian. What is their favourite dessert or dish? etc.

Ask them if they like Music and if yes what kind of music, favourite musician, singer.

Ask if they like dancing, what form of dancing, and any favourite dancers.

Any other favourite Movies, Books and other media?

What are the activities or Hobbies they like to do during their free time?

You can also ask them originally which place they belong to.

You can talk to them about their pets or any animal they like.

Ask about the craziest, happiest, awesome, fearful, and anxious moments of your life.

Any cool places to visit in town?

What is their biggest dream what are they working towards, their goals plans, etc?

You can start with ice-breaking activities like giving them some tricks or intellectual problems to solve.

Ask what they like talking about history, politics, sports, culture, and logic.

These are some of the conversational starts that you can utilize while talking to an introvert and putting them at ease with you. This will also help you to gain their trust and it will also allow them to open up freely to you about themselves.

These are some tips by experienced career counsellors on how to start career conversations with clients. Hope this helps. If you are struggling with this question the best way to start a career conversation with clients, follow these tips.

Do let us in the comment section how you start your career conversation with clients.

If you have just started your career counselling practice or want to start your journey as a career counsellor, you must have the right skills and validation. 

You can advance your career counselling skills with the Global Career Counsellor Program. This is Asia’s 1st Comprehensive Online Program offered by By Univariety in Collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Extension. This program is the best choice for individuals passionate about Career Counselling. Give wings to your career and become a trained Global Career Counsellor. [Know more about the program, Speak to Our Expert Advisor]

[sincerely-krp]

・❥・

could someone explain in very simple terms what blockchain is / i can smell the misinfo abt this so pls listen to me folks! this is gonna be long asf, but it’s important. this is literally my major, my industry, i just drank my fourth cup of coffee, i got this. sincerely admins, pls post this submission without my tumblr acct attached to it! a) mewe has been on blockchain tech (look up project liberty) since 2022. this is nbd. what’s happening rn is

b) people can OPT-IN to frequency’s blockchain, which aims to put identity back into the users’ hands. what does this mean? how do i even know this isn’t a scam? so glad you asked! i’ll rewind, so we can start from the top. 

1) what is blockchain?

let’s start with what we can understand from the name and the vibes. we know it’s somewhat tech related, we know that we hear it all the time with the dreaded nfts (spooky), and we also know, that its name must mean something about it’s structure. block - chain. a chain of blocks. that’s an easy enough place to start, i think. 

2) so what is the chain, and what are the blocks that are making up this chain?

honestly i’ll make it super easy. this technology is primarily used in money matters. lets say you want to buy a cute keychain from a street vendor. you probably hand them cash or venmo them money in return for the keychain, right? that’s a transaction. either you’re both trusting each other to honor the transaction if this was cash, or you’re both inputing your information, and trusting venmo, this bank, to do the authorizing and verifying for you. 

since we’re talking tech, lets think about that second scenario a little more. we put so much sensitive information into this app (or paypal, zelle, whatever), and we trust that they won’t misuse the information that they now have of ours. we trust that they’re verifying the other person has enough money for the purchase, that they’re a real account, stuff like that. 

the key takeaway here is that we are putting this trust in others, not ourselves. 

3) okay but wtf does this have to do with the chain of blocks?

lets say you want to have the control over your own information. you don’t want to send money through a third party, like venmo, or through a bank, like zelle, or through apple/google/meta pay. essentially you want to be able to do all of this stuff without giving anyone highly sensitive material they might be storing in a database somewhere. but you want to make sure that the others that may also be doing this are still credible, even if this means you won’t know any information about them to be able to verify that. 

3) i’m lost. recap pls.

basically. we give all of our sensitive data to companies like google, meta, apple, venmo, paypal, banks, etc, because thus far they’re the ones that have the power to verify transactions. but we don’t like being slaves to these monopolies, so we want to move away from that behavior. 

4) how’s it possible to do that?

hm. well, maybe we use… a system. and this system will be open source, all about organizing data. no company will have it, rather, it will be self sufficient. we’ll come back to how we manage to build this, but let’s just talk about the product, the answer to our problem.

which is… blockchain.

the blocks are transactions, like ‘chihiro is going to pay yubaba 30 dollars.’

the chain is how we’re sticking them together. it’s the technology-equivalent to linking arms (called a reference, basically reaching to hold hands with the last transaction before extending the other towards the next one, which makes a little chain, connecting them all forever!), and lets the system organize all this data. like adding in items on a receipt, it’s just a very long receipt of each of your transactions

so if you make an account on one of these systems, you can send money to others. every transaction is a block, so there’s a complete history of everything. nothing can get lost, or manipulated by human hands. it’s like having red paint on your hands, it’ll smear and stain no matter where you put your hand. same concept.

but how is it going to be anonymous and secure?

when you make an account, it assigns you an ID. called a cryptokey (crypto from crypt, as in encrypt, as in encryption), it’s basically your fingerprints on this system. 

when you make a transaction, you can’t see anything inside of the blockchain, but heres what happens: every word you see gets rearranged into a code that no one can decode, and so not only do you have a complete and accurate history of records, no one can break into these fuckers and steal your identity or your life or your money. 

so, you send your transaction, your block is made. how do you know you’re not getting scammed? because the blockchain will only work with your unique keys, treated like a signature. there might be fifty chihiros and yubabas, but there’s only one of each with their individual keys.

before your block becomes accepted and recorded as such, as in, before your transaction goes through, it gets verified; this is where it does the checking that these big companies do, by itself. but the whole point is to not give our info. so we need to somehow... translate our money into a medium it can understand. this is what cryptocurrency is. you make 30 dollars into however many cryptocoins it equals, and you send it to the other side. 

okay, so blockchain is a way to send and receive money safely without needing to sell my soul to capitalism, cool. how does the system manage to work??

blockchain software gets downloaded to your computer and keeps updating, every time anyone in the world uses it. so the system is on everyone’s technology, not kept in one dark safe. if someone’s system dies they don’t lose anything because it’s all in everyone’s stuff, this record and this data. 

as for mewe, this technology is used in different ways; to speed up paperwork/automize forms, to rework archives of company setups, etc. 

i have my reservations and critiques for blockchain here because it’s so new, and my next words don’t mean i’m 100% in or anything because i haven’t thought about it much, but… i think it’s really fucking cool. hear me out!

frequency blockchain says it wants to use the cryptokey technology to give us social identities, this would mean one identity across multiple platforms that collaborate with it, and instead of having different friends on each social media, our social identities would be friends with one another. 

before you think it sounds insane: consider this, we already do it. we let apple sign us in on various social media accounts, or we use our google accounts to set up any number of accounts on different websites. with meta, instagram and threads and facebook all work through one single account. it’s basically like what we already know, the notifs that say 'add your contacts’ in new social media apps because your contacts are tied to your device, not the accounts on it. 

i’m tired so i’ll stop here, but i am super duper open for questions. credible sources (relatively): medium, anything with a .org should be okay too. 

[flamagenitus]

I'm terribly sorry, Kess, but you appear to have activated my trap card.

I honestly don't think it's googleable info! The project involved making small utility programs for gathering info about a big graph. The teacher knew what he was doing when he assigned it to us, and there's no easy way to just... look up the answer. The only way to do it properly is to actually know how to use python and to understand graph theory, and combine the two yourself to fulfill the assignment.

However. The people on this course are all biologists. Nobody knew programming before, like, 4 months ago, and there haven't really been enough classes teaching people python since then. Nobody knows how to program in python this year, and they kinda didn't know how to program in python last year. It's a problem inherent to the way the degree is taught, I think (and I do have many thoughts on the matter). When I took this module last year, I straight-up just didn't do the project bc I had no idea how to go about it. I'm actually pretty shocked I was able to get my programs working how I wanted them to this year! And I'm fairly sure the teacher will look at them and tear them to pieces bc they give the right results sometimes but don't actually work, like he has on non-evaluated work earlier in the semester lmao. So even though I'm "helping", it's kind of the blind leading the blind.

The actual reason my classmate is using ChatGPT, I'm pretty sure, is bc everyone in my class but me is using it routinely for assignments and practical classes. The teachers know this is happening, they just don't have a coherent policy about it yet other than, like, don't use it in exam settings pls. They want to incorporate its use into the curriculum, but they don't know how to yet. We had a teacher last year tell us to use ChatGPT to generate code (syntacticly perfect, logically terrible) then adapt it so that it worked, to show us the limitations of language model-generated code. It is a workable way of programming, but it requires that you know enough about programming the be able to fix the errors, and so it doesn't actually address the problems my class has: none of us know what the hell we're doing.

I'm not sure how my classmates are actually faring using ChatGPT, because while they are all smart people who have been given exactly the same information as me, and probably put in a lot more work and thought to the problem than me, there's no reasonable way to be like "hey person I don't really know, can I look at your work for the assignment? No no I'm not stealing it, promise, i just want to see if your methods actually work. What do u mean that's insulting". I myself am not using ChatGPT bc I am addicted to doing things the hard way, which involves reading loads and loads of very dry program documentation pages and spending hours banging my head against walls bc I didn't understand the difference between a matrix and a data frame. I'm the kind of freak who likes breaking things into their constituent parts and then rebuilding them, probably wrong, to figure out how they work, even if it takes a billion hours. Sometimes this works, but often it's just me repeatedly throwing myself against the walls of my own ignorance, desperately wishing there was an easier way to accomplish what I want. It sucks, but I won't learn how to use ChatGPT bc I simply don't trust it to do what I want to do, and also because I would rather do things myself because knowing that I did it is infinitely more satisfying. Like I said, I am addicted to doing things the hard way. (My classmates are biologists. I am a biochemist. There is a difference and the difference is that nobody has ever made them try to read an NMR spectrum.)(there's probably a reason I'm retaking my year c:)

Also: all the documentation available is in English and I am the only native English-speaker in the class. At least ChatGPT also exists in French and doesn't speak like a technical manual or a genie providing you with exactly the information you need and not a spare morsel more.

Anyway, I don't blame her for asking for help. We all need help, and since none of us are getting it from teachers we may as well band into little coalitions to share our confusions. I'm just used to working with my friend from last year, who only uses ChatGPT when she's desperate. Adding a new person who uses ChatGPT as a matter of course just made the gears in my brain grind bc I was trying to shift gears too fast! Hence the original post, basically. Also, I was at my grandma's house and my mum was treating me like a teenager, and I was generally kind of irritated bc family at Christmas

Trying to help one of my classmates with a programming project we all have due in 2 days and it's hard bc she keeps asking ChatGPT for code. Like. Girl. The language model isn't capable of logic and it cannot write a coherent python script for you

[that1nkyone]

Hang on, I gotta talk about the Platypus for a sec

So it's a pretty well-known fact that once colonialists started invading Australia in the 1700s, they came across a lot of fauna that made them go "what the fuck is this." A lot of the default reaction for England back then was 'shoot it and take it back home,' or 'put aboard a ship and hope it's alive when we get there.'

But I wanna talk a little about the details of that, and how I'm a little cheesed off with the Naturalists of Old when they first saw a platypus.

For one, it was dead. And dismissed because there's no way that beak was real. Those cheeky colonists were definitely playing a prank and wasting their time.

And then a few more come in, this time preserved as well as they can be in spirits. And people start saying "okay, well... what is it? Is it a bird? The bill makes me think it's a bird." "These aren't feathers." "It swims? It's an amphibian, which is a Reptile, as we all know (they didn't think these guys Seperate until quite a bit later)." "This thing is also clearly amongst the Lower Beings of God's Creations (Creationism was still a big thing in scientific circles)."

Paper upon paper was written about this new creature, and suddenly nobody could agree on what to classify it as. Their ideas of the natural order started suddenly collapsing and being thrown into disarray.

Because of this little guy.

The Naturalist Science scene was going berserk halfway across the world because their fundamental understanding of nature was being turned on its head by this tiny mammal - who they were still trying to decide whether it was a mammal.

The English were having arguments with the French, but some were collaborating ideas based on what data they'd gained (some French and English naturalists met up in Australia during the war to share a drink and talk about Platypuses). Because this strange duck-billed creature surely had no place in the Chain of Being, their point of classification for species that they'd used for the past hundreds of years. And if it did, where the heck did it belong?

Did it lay eggs? How did it swim? What was the bill for? They didn't know the answer to any of these questions because all the specimens they got from Australia were Very Deceased, either being shot and put in spirits, or dried out. The poor platypus was being done in a lot for the sake of research.

And look, I know methods were Different back then, and it wasn't easy to transport live specimens or have the technology to preserve specimens over half the planet. With that said, I do want to point something out:

While this huge crisis is happening, in January 1812, a man named Patrick Hill gets the bright idea to like... ask the elder of the local Indigenous tribe about them (my source records him as Cookoogong, but not all sources about First Nations from early colonial texts are accurate.)

And Cookoogong's like "Oh, these guys? Yeah, so, they do lay eggs. They have long, deep burrows. We know how to get to them. There's a spur at the back of their feet. We don't really eat them for food. We call it the mullingong.*"(also malangong, depending on what tribe/dialect) Cool. Mystery solved.

Except:

It took over seventy years for this information to become accepted as scientific fact.

Not just because of the inherent biases of the Colonials being backwater people and prisoners in a funny little land far away, not just out of a need to get more data before confirmation, but because almost nobody in Europe took the word of the native population in Australia.

And in between that 72 year gap between 1812 and 1884, there were so many instances of the First Nations people giving vital and essential pieces of information on correctly identifying the features and habits of this land mammal as European Scientists had a massive meltdown and argument over whether an animal they'd Never Seen Alive gave milk or not.

Hell, Charles Darwin made the trip to Australia, and was inspired by animals like the Platypus to start questioning whether all life was truly static and didn't transition or adapt to changing circumstances.

The platypus made Charles Darwin start questioning his beliefs in Creationism, and going on to begin his steps towards the theory of evolution.

And then there's Harry Burrell, who had the bright idea of like, not killing specimens every time someone wanted to see it up close. He was one of the first recorded people to try and keep platypuses in captivity, and thoroughly learn their preferred lifestyle, diet and breeding habits from careful observation. He would learn how to make platypuses Comfortable, and how to transport them safely.

His protege, David Fleay (pictured below), would go on to ensure the first successfully bred platypus in captivity - 'Corrie' (born to parents Jack and Jill).

what I'm saying is, the story of trying to Classify the Platypus ends in "Nature is just fucking weird, we're going to try understanding it as best we can, and maybe we should ask and respect the opinions of the people who have lived alongside something we don't understand for thousands of years."

The platypus is literally referred to by Mervyn Griffiths, an authority on monotremes, "The animal of all time."

Anyway, in summary: - Colonialism fucking sucks and Sovereignty was never ceded.

- The Platypus is an Amazing Creature and sorta Toppled Creationism in the scientific community??

[mithliya]

If it's not too much to ask (and I'm sure you've answered it already but I can't find,), how did you move to Germany? Do you have any advice? I'm Ukrainian and I want to get outta here but the immigration topic is a lot and I don't know where to begin, esp as a woman.

god i hate tumblr so much, i wrote you like 3 paragraphs and it just crashed. ill try to repeat and give u as much detail but pls feel free to ask if u want to know about certain things;;

i came to Germany under a student preparation visa. the way i got such a visa is by applying to a language school (i applied to their university pathway program but im not sure if that’s a necessary part of your application. i would assume not). i signed up for their most intensive language course (which is necessary as you need a minimum of smth like 15 hours per week) then, i applied to a university and got a conditional acceptance letter. without the university acceptance, i could only apply for a language preparation visa which is much more likely to be rejected especially due to the pandemic + has less time on it + i believe you get no residence permit? so if you decide to come here for study-reasons, id highly recommend the student preparation visa (or even student visa if you’re eligible) over the language preparation visa. my girlfriend came here under the student visa and another advantage is, once you study in a German university, it’s easier to stay & get a job here. in my case, there were some issues and complications tho. they told me (and the website also says this) that it’ll take up to two months. however i waited for 7 months for my visa and after waiting for months without any kind of update or information from their end, my gf pushed me to get a lawyer especially bc she felt like they were being discriminatory towards me. i thought it was highly unnecessary but she & her other friends that have lived in germany a while & my aunt who lives here all insisted on it, and they were all right that it makes a difference. the lawyer didn’t even have to do anything other than tell them that she represents me, and after they got that message they gave me the visa i spent 7 months waiting for. i was also told that in the applications, they often discriminate against female foreigners bc they worry we’ll come here and become prostitutes, or that we’ll look for a German husband.

i actually know two Ukrainians from my language course! one of them is a Ukrainian man who has lived in Germany for iirc 8 years, he came here for work. as he’s in IT, he could easily get a job here. since he has worked here for several years (i think through the work visa path, you need to be working here 5 years to be eligible? but im not super sure), he’s now eligible to apply for citizenship but only if his German level is above B1 i think. the Ukrainian woman i met moved here because her husband got work here. if you’re considering working here, there are certain jobs that are in high demand in Germany due to a deficit:

from my experience, most people i met who came here for work (excluding guest workers) have come here to work in IT, programming, or data science. however, also keep in mind that many foreigners come here for work or expect to be able to find work & are sorely disappointed. Ukrainians are among the groups in Germany with the highest unemployment rates:

however it is definitely possible as ive met countless people who have done it. ive even met people who just did a crash course in IT and then got an IT job in Germany & moved here using that. you just need to plan ahead and be in the right field basically. if you’re in those fields with a high demand, you could potentially get the EU blue card which is a pretty valuable type of permit and makes it quicker for you to get permanent residency in Germany as well as easier for you to work in other countries within the EU. however i heard it can be difficult to get that, and bear in mind foreigners that studied in a German university & then worked here vs people with a blue card (at least from what my gf told me) don’t have that much of a difference in terms of time they must wait until they’re eligible for permanent residency.

hopefully that helped!! if u have other questions about it pls feel free to ask. if its about the work stuff, i can also ask my gf as she has experience with that.

[savage-rhi]

jay, i need the continuation for that spicy one shot, pls i beg, i want them to kith

can i get a crumble 💙😩

i love you so much i hope your day is going alright and that you're feeling better 💙

@nemodoren You got it :D

During the monthly company meet, Kahio felt beside himself. As Higgs was giving a speech about unity, and new trade routes a sick feeling stirred in Khaio's stomach.

It had been weeks since the little incident with Higgs. Knowing he was trying to steal information from Bridges. Khaio felt like an idiot. He should have gone to the higher-ups as soon as he escaped Higgs's clutches, but not even Khaio could explain his irrational actions. It kept him up most nights, wondering why he didn't take initiative to do the right thing.

Maybe I am just as bad as him. Khaio thought to himself. Maybe there's a part of me that was too prideful to say anything--

"Khaio, you look distracted. Is there something you want to share?" Higgs interrupted Khaio's thoughts, putting him in the spotlight.

By all accounts had this been normal circumstances, Khaio would have been ecstatic to be called upon by Higgs. But Khaio knew that behind the kind eyes and soft smile, there was a wolf there. Leading the sheep to god knows what.

"Nothing, just thinking about the next route," Khaio said. He did his best to keep neutral, but Higgs knew better. A brief smirk appeared before disappearing. His happy-go-lucky demeanor quickly taking over.

"Ah, well do pay close attention. This part might be tricky." Higgs grinned for a moment, turning his direction to the board.

Khaio tensed up. The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention. He was focused now on what Higgs was discussing. Was he trying to give a clue to--something? Either way, Khaio was having a difficult time keeping his emotions in check. He settled with himself during the meeting, that he would confront Higgs once more. This time, on his terms.

An hour later, after the last of the porters left, Khaio approached Higgs. He immediately grabbed him by the collar, slamming him up against the wall of the meeting room. The impact knocked down a few things, nearly taking the dry board with Higgs.

"What do you plan on doing to Bridges?!" Khaio shouted, surprised as Higgs was nearly limp in his arms. "Answer me!"

There was a blank expression on Higgs's face, up until he put reached out. A shaking hand gently pressing against Khaio's shoulder, stunning him before the earth spun. Khaio could feel the momentum of Higgs's body turn the tables, shoving him to the wall this time around. His right arm to Khaio's throat to keep him still.

"I knew it during the meet, you just couldn't let things go, could you? You're either really stupid or smart. I'm willing to lean on the former." Higgs hissed, grunting as he tried to keep Khaio still while he attempted to wiggle out of his grasp. Much like last time.

"You can't keep the charade up forever Higgs! Bridges will know, the security will know you've been stealing data and pawning it off who knows where!"

"I think I'm doing just fine," Higgs said as a matter of fact. A slight smile gracing his lips as he tilted his head. The action avian as Khaio shuddered, watching him carefully. "You on the other hand, not so much I'm afraid."

"I'll turn you in--I swear it I will!"

"Like you did the last time you caught me with my trousers down?" Higgs laughed, shaking his head. "I don't think so. If you were such a good little boy scout, you would have done it with no hesitation, and yet...here you are, making bold threats when we both know you ain't got the fuckin' grit."

"You son of a--"

"Y'know what gets me, about this whole thing?" Higgs interrupted.

Khaio could feel his throat bob as he swallowed hard, his nerves growing as his reserve began to falter.

Higgs continued. "You had every opportunity to nail my ass these past couple of weeks. There was nothing I could have done had you went to the higher-ups. Nadda. Now--not so much, but the point is, you had the power to take me down. Even with the threats I gave, you could have done it. Maybe just maybe...don't tell me you got a little soft spot for--"

Higgs's eyes went wide as Khaio managed to break from his grasp, punching Higgs in the face and attempted to tackle him. The two men scrambled, their bodies writhing while fists met with flesh. Tables were knocked over, and papers scattered as they fought in a frenzy. Neither of them cared about the state of the office. Not when their lives were on the line.

Higgs slipped up, ending up flat on his back with a powerful thud as Khaio climbed on top of him. He had a piece of metal in his hand and rose it up, ready to strike Higgs down as the two panted.

"Go ahead, do it." "Higgs breathed, swallowing thick as he stared up sat the weapon, bracing himself for impact. His body quaked as blood trickled down his nose, tasting the metallic scent of it.

Khaio had every right. He had every instinct yelling at him to put the enemy down, but as he peered into Higgs's eyes, seeing that despite the front he put on that he was terrified, Khaio screamed and tossed the metal away. He was a fighter, but he was no killer. And Khaio was prepared to face the consequences of not killing his adversary.

Khaio was ready for Higgs to kill him this time. Now that the hostility was out in the open, it would have been the smart choice. Suddenly Khaio felt Higgs grab the back of his scalp, causing him to yelp as Higgs pulled Khaio forward. Their chests hitting one another as Higgs roughly pressed his mouth to Khaio's.

Khaio's eyes went wide. His heart thudding powerfully in his chest as Higgs's mouth moved over his limp lips. The shock was enough to make Khaio push Higgs back, the two panting as Khaio shook his head. Confusion settling against his reddened face.

"W-what the hell did you do that for!?" Khaio breathed as Higgs furrowed his brows. There was a look of hesitation before he smirked and leaned forward, his hand still on the back of Khaio's scalp as he pinched. The hiss Khaio made sent a shiver down Higgs's back as he chuckled darkly.

"Like I told you before when you caught me, a part of me likes you. Remember what I said earlier during the meeting? Play along with it, and your ass will be safe. I don't want to see you burn with everyone else. You ain't like them. Never were."

Khaio knew he should have leaped up and run to the nearest porter. Anybody who would listen. Higgs literally spelled out doom for the group on their next delivery, but he was under a spell. Something about the way Higgs looked at him then, like he was dearly beloved made Khaio melt.

He ignored his wounds, ignored the fact Higgs and he were at each other's throats, and decided. He would sin for a second time.

Khaio leaned forward, his movements slow, and then Higgs's mouth latched onto his. The two roughly moving their lips against one another.

Maybe, just maybe I can get him to stop. Maybe if I show him someone cares...Khaio's words drifted away, fading into the back of his mind. He was too enraptured by Higgs to give a damn.

[palmett-hoes]

7 for Andrew??

( ask game )

7. Exists as a pretext for the intellectual exercise of seeing how much textual support I can find for something patently absurd

okay well this isn't patently absurd it's actually a very sad and sadly very common story for a lot of kids, but i did spend a lot of time combing the books for evidence of andrew’s relationship with books and reading. him being a big reader is a super common headcanon in the fandom, and im sorry to tell yall that we pulled that one out of our asses. from what’s available in canon andrew hates reading and refuses to do it in front of other people. so, i concluded that andrew is in fact, dyslexic, and that reading is difficult and frustrating for him. he avoids it whenever possible, instead relying on audible information that seems to work best for his memory. it also tracks that he wouldn’t read around other people because it would be displaying weakness in his eyes for people to see him struggling

so, the evidence. i’ve searched the books by appearances of words like “book” “read” “paper” etc. most things i can think are related to reading yknow? and there’s not one instance in the entire trilogy of andrew reading anything, ever. in fact, he canonically hates libraries and refuses to go in them. one time he’s handed a packet of an opposing team’s stats and he crumples it up and throws it in his locker immediately.

to put it in perspective, most if not every other characters is shown reading at some point or another, it’s just in very short, missable scenic descriptors. aaron buying a book in the airport. kevin reading a magazine in the dorm. the upperclassmen hanging out and doing homework together. neil reading foreign news sites. it doesn’t seem like much but the fact that andrew is never actually seen reading anything at any point ever,, is actually somewhat conspicuous if you pay attention to the fact that well,, everyone else does.

there’s a handful of other details, mostly andrew’s phone. he has an older model that both essentially forces him to use it slower to type, as well as disincentivizes other ppl from texting him and expecting a quick response. he doesn’t text neil at any point except for the essentials of setting up the phone, and it doesn’t seem like he texts with anyone else either. he specifically tells neil to call him, not text.

so let’s backtrack. let’s talk about what it means for andrew to be dyslexic.

(um,, a lot of this is gonna be based on articles and studies i’ve read but i don’t really wanna make this an Essay i want to cut through the explanations and background info so i’m gonna be making some Statements. if you’re curious or confused pls send me a message and i’ll tell u what i had in mind/what i was drawing from)

thematically, when thinking about andrew’s background, the most important thing i keep in mind about andrew is that he has never been lucky, ever. he is consistently, over and over, handed the worst cards. he is born and raised in the foster care system, and even within this (basically inherently traumatic system) he is ONLY placed in bad homes. he says so. maybe they vary in their methodology, but they’re all bad. so then i have to extend this reasoning to the other parts of his life. he has bad teachers, bad foster siblings, bad case workers. no one CARES about this boy, no one looks at him, no one asks why he behaves the way he does. he gets written off, over and over and over again, in every part of his life. that is FUNDAMENTAL to who he is and what has shaped his views and personality as a person

growing up, no one helped him with his homework, no one read to him at night. probably he had very limited experience with books before he entered school. if andrew is dyslexic he would have struggled in school from very early on, and he would not be receiving any help or support at home. he never learned any skills or coping mechanisms for dealing with the fact that he mixes up his letters or that his head hurts when he looks at them too long, because no one is paying attention to him to notice these things. if he’d received help, if people had been patient with him, he probably could have learned to read just fine and could have done well in school with some accommodations. instead, he just learned to resent reading, to hate books, because people were always trying to force him into it the wrong way, when he was a square peg in a round hole and he needed to approach reading differently from the other kids. but no one saw that there was a problem that could be helped, they only saw HIM as a problem, so no one helped him. not his foster parents, not his foster siblings, not his teachers. so he has no positive associations with reading, it’s just a continuous negative in his life

his teachers especially saw his outbursts and his resistance in class. they didn’t see that he was an abused, traumatized (autistic) child with a learning disability who couldn’t convey to anyone that reading was frustrating and physically painful for him, that he only needed a little more time and a little more support. they only saw his “attitude” and the fact that he took longer than his classmates. so they labelled him a “bad” kid, a “stupid” kid, and they didn’t question that judgement further

no one saw that, if he was given that extra time to read and think at his own pace, that he was brilliant. that he remembered everything that was ever said to him, word for word. they didn’t notice his self-discipline. his skill at puzzles and mind-games. the way he could see right through people and predict with uncanny accuracy how they would act and react. how good he was at putting clues together. his incredible spatial reasoning. they didn’t start conversations with him long enough to realize that he was incisive and observant and clever. they didn’t notice that he was bright and inquisitive, if reserved. that because no one ever answered his questions he learned how to answer them himself. that he started trouble because he was bored and under-stimulated. all they knew was that he never finished his tests and that he couldn’t read aloud in class because everything in schools is levels and data and test scores and working under ridiculous time requirements.

so i don’t really like that common characterization of andrew as a bookworm who does well in school. we know that andrew is intelligent, it’s so obvious that he’s brilliant to us from reading the books, but that’s because we’re seeing him through neil’s eyes. neil who looks at and understands andrew more than anyone else ever has, who sees in him the things that other people miss. and that’s important, because people have missed the fact that andrew is smart. but reading books, getting good grades, eloquent essays, that’s all one of the most typical, the most universally recognized ways to be smart. and i think that’s an injustice for andrew as a character and what his story represents, because he represents all the kids that got missed and passed over and thrown aside for not operating “correctly,” for reacting to things the “wrong” way

there are so many ways to be smart, so many different kinds of intelligence that get dismissed and written off for not being successful in the very narrow set of skills the school system teaches. giving andrew the most classic and conformative and universally recognized signs of “being smart” (actively AGAINST his passive characterization in canon) is honestly a disservice to him. and that’s what i like about him being dyslexic, of him struggling in school, because he can still be smart, be BRILLIANT (because he IS brilliant) but in non-conventional ways

[airitouttwst]

Do you, um, have any headcanons about Ace's big bro? 😳 Share?? Please??

A CRASH COURSE ON ANIPOLA 101

[Courtesy of @bobaryn​. I’m finally bringing my shit-simping of Anipola to Tumblr huhuhuhuhuhuhu)

Hi, anon! Sorry it took me some time to answer this (༎ຶ⌑༎ຶ), but I had to collect my thoughts because of the powerful brain rot that I inadvertently inflicted upon myself when I was going through my powerpoints ueeeeeeee (ಥ﹏ಥ)

For the sake of being attentive and mindful to spoilers to personal stories, lemme just put the data underneath the line wwww. There’s nothing NSWF btw wwww. We can save that for another ask? BAHAHA (I’ll get k-worded)

Okay, okay, game time, game time (✪‿✪)ノ

(The following information below has been cited informally via CSE-style; for the ones without citations at the end, those are purely headcanons of Anipola mostly as a sibling to Ace and my inane simp-talk about him. This is not in any way meant to be academic.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Who is Anipola?

Anipola is the slang and informal reference to Ace’s older brother. 

Not much is known about him in canon.

Exceptions being [1]:

He is an alumni of Night Raven College.

He is 7-years older than Ace Trappola.

He was sorted out into the Heartslabyul Dormitory.

He has been not only a thorn to Ace’s side but also one of the prominent guiding lights during his childhood and younger adolescent years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HEADCANON 1: The “Annoying Older Sibling”

When Ace was younger, Anipola had blown out all the candles of his birthday cake and woah did they have a huge fight over it www [2].

Furthermore, during another one of Ace’s birthdays, Anipola brought out a really cool watch and showed it to Ace who’d believed it was going to be his [2].

Anipola: “Psyche, just a joke hahaha. Here, have this other gift. Just kidding~ That’s empty toooo—wah! Hey, no, don’t pull my hair!”  < (The dialogue is just my headcanon to what happened wwww).

From this we, can suppose that Anipola may also have a trickster characteristic and you expect to be teased by him. And, hey, maybe he’ll even pull some pranks on you sometimes? (人◕ω◕)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HEADCANON 2: A “Mentor” to Ace

Anipola is very good with magic tricks, especially card ones, and has displayed this during Ace’s birthday parties [2]. Furthermore, he’d taught Ace a few tricks with the sole exception of card tricks—here, Anipola stubbornly refused to teach Ace who eventually learned how to do it himself by attentively watching his brother’s hand movements [3].

As harsh as this may sound, this could also be taken in as a lesson. Anipola could have wanted to teach Ace to be able to be somewhat independent, having him hone his skills for copying techniques and fleshing it out into Ace’s current ability right now as shown by how talented he is with imitating Rook Hunt’s example of speaking in the language of moles after just being demonstrated once! [3]

From this, we can assume that Anipola is good with his hands ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) and really just wants Ace to be the very best version of himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HEADCANON 3: In spite of being a thorn in Ace’s side, Anipola is a really good older brother

Ace has explicitly mentioned of how happy and proud Anipola had been when he’d learned that Ace had been accepted into Night Raven College and even into Heartslabyul [1].

He’d given Ace some advice such as: “When you’re lying, mix a bit of truth in it” and also on the best spots as to where to stay when skipping classes—the courtyard being a prime example [4].

From this, we can see a bit more of Anipola’s cunning and sly attitude that Ace himself could have been influenced by. Take note that I’m NOT saying that Ace himself is a carbon copy or Anipola or vice-versa, since the two are their own characters and have their own personalities and struggles. What I’m saying that Ace could have found Anipola to be his role model, even if he would deny it, and Anipola, in turn, has a significant amount of trust in Ace to not get himself into too much trouble (e.g. fail a year because of so many absences from class) with how he’s encouraged Ace’s truant behavior. Also, he just wants his younger brother to have a generally good time while in school. He’s a good older brother UEEEEEEEEE ╥﹏╥

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HEADCANON 4: Close with his family

I don’t have solid enough evidence for this, but it has been mentioned that the Trappola Family have little competitions at home (like with card tricks) [2], and this could signify that the family has relatively good relations with each other. But I don’t want to assume just yet, with the lack of evidence.

BUT I DO WANNA SAY THAT UEEEEEEEEE MY BRAIN IS ROTTING AT THIS THOUGHT UEEEE. I LEGIT SHED SOME TEARS FOR THIS BECAUSE CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE?!?!? THE TRAPPOLA FAM JUST DUKING IT OUT, ALL SERIOUS LIKE BECAUSE THEY DON’T WANNA LOSE, AND THAT’S SOOOOOO CUTEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! б（＞ε＜）∂ I WANNA ATTEND THAT COMPETITION TOO UEEEEEEEEEEEE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reference List: 

[1] Ace Trappola’s R School Uniform [2] Ace Trappola’s SSR Birthday Suit [3] Ace Trappola’s SR Ceremony Robes [4] Ace Trappola’s SSR Dorm Uniform

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A simple Laundromat’s Thoughts:

Thank you for tuning in to such an embarrassing thing (´﹃｀) HUHUHUHU but this is what I generally feel about Anipola. 

I’ve only ever seen him in fanarts or fanworks, showcased in a way that he might have been his time’s Heartslabyul Dorm Leader, a Jack of Hearts version, one of the motivators to have Ace betray NRC (Ace betrayal is merely a theory and not canon! www), demon version, him in his NRC days, generally being a good older brother, visiting Ace during the Halloween event, and visiting Ace during the VDC competition. One thing in common is that he has the same eyes as eyes and, 96% of the time, has the same shade of hair as him.

But, most importantly, all these talented artists have illustrated him in such a handsome way and, to all of you, thank you. You’re all amazing and god, do I just slave away for your works. When I’m more stable in the future, I’d like to be able to commission you for your works or even send payments to you because (ಥ﹏ಥ) they’re all so beautiful holy shit.

In any case, the people in the discord server I’m in get to see me get utterly wrecked by just a single mention of him in chat or even a fanart of him UEEEEE. I’m very very grateful for the server, though, since I get so much food from there (´﹃｀). If ever Yana-sensei gives him an official character design, I’d grovel over and scream until my throat is hoarse—but for now, though, I’m safe and in despair because HNGHHH ANIPOLAAA

Oh oh! If any of you know any Tumblr people who post or like Anipola, pls feel free to message me ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡