#primary framing solution

[vedanshiindustries-blog]

Who is the Largest cold storage Building Manufacturers company in India?

  Cold Storage Building Manufacturers Steel Structures, Industrial Roofing Sheds, and MS Portable Cabins are some of the things that VEDANSHI INDUSTRIES manufactures. Cold Storage Building Manufacturers Additionally, VEDANSHI INDUSTRIES offers steel fabrication services of the highest caliber.

Secondary Members/Cold Formed Members Cold Storage Building Manufacturers Roof and wall panel Manufacturers C Purlin Suppliers Z Purlin Suppliers Warehouse Manufacturers Multi Storey Steel Building Manufacturers Z Purlin Manufacturers Roofing Sheet Manufacturers

Website – https://www.cpurlin.in/

[reasonsforhope]

"The average pediatric wheelchair can cost thousands of dollars. And when children grow and their needs evolve — or a wheelchair gets damaged — those costs multiply.

So, the team at MakeGood NOLA, a New Orleans-based adaptive design lab, has made something that can transform the world for disabled children.

“Introducing the world’s first fully 3D-printed wheelchair,” MakeGood founder and president Noam Platt started a recent social media video.

He wheels a small, almost toy-like lime-green wheelchair into the frame, complete with a matching harness, suitable for children ages 2 to 8.

“Everything from the body, to the wheels, to the tires, the seat, and even the straps, all were 3D printed on a regular Bambu Labs A1 machine,” Platt continued.

This means the design is fully compatible with a regular 3D printer anyone can have in their home.

“We designed this to be modular and easy to make,” Platt continued. “Really, anyone with a 3D printer and some filament can download the files and print it.” [Note: You can also use 3D printers for free or a small cost at some public libraries and maker spaces, opening up accessibility even further.]

Once the prototype is completely finished, it will be available as a fair-use download that anyone can use for free.

Pictured: The new 3D-printed chair by MakeGood. Photo courtesy of MakeGood NOLA

Platt said that because it has a modular design, the wheelchair can be put together without any tools or glue. And if any part of it breaks or is damaged, users can simply re-print the single piece they need.

“As a wheelchair user I love everything about this,” TikTok user @thisisharlie commented on Platt’s video debuting the wheelchair.

“Mine costs more than my car, I can’t imagine having to buy a new one every year or two as they outgrow it,” @thisisharlie continued. “You’re going to change the world.”

For Platt, that’s always been the plan.

When he created MakeGood in 2021, the nonprofit design lab was thinking of the more than 1 billion people around the globe who live with disabilities.

“Since traditional design often overlooks diverse bodies and minds, it is crucial to reshape the built environment,” MakeGood shares on its website. “The challenges our communities face — both physical and social — are solvable.”

MakeGood works with individuals to co-create their adaptive design solutions, centering the “Need Knower,” the disabled person or their primary caregivers, throughout the entire process.

Since the founding of MakeGood, 1,600 individualized adaptive devices have been delivered to families for free. Platt’s team found a niche with this wheelchair, which they call the Toddler Mobility Trainer, or TMT. 

On its website, the organization says the wheelchairs were “designed with therapists from all over the world” and offer “unmatched mobility and independence to young kids.”

Children and parents agree.

“It’s an A+,” one parent said of an earlier prototype of the TMT in a report by CBS News. “It’s helped [my son] become more mobile and be able to adapt into the other things that he’s going to be offered. It’s helped his development.”

At the start of the design process, Platt reached out to area hospitals to see if he could fill a need.

“Part of it is empowering clinicians that we can go beyond what is commercially available,” Platt told CBS News. “We can really create almost anything.”

Now in the final stages of tweaking the TMT design to be ready for release, Platt is eager to get the wheelchair rolled out and into the homes of the children who need them most.

Pictured: A rendering of the 3D printed design, which will soon be available for download. Photo courtesy of MakeGood NOLA

“We think this sort of 3D printing and design is going to be huge for accessibility, and for wheelchairs specifically,” Platt said in his social media video. 

In the meantime, people can request a free chair from MakeGood.

“We have a growing list of people who’ve requested these, and once we finish the design, we’ll start filling those requests with custom-printed chairs, including things that you might need for your particular chair,” Platt said in a follow-up video.

Because the chairs are easily 3D printed, they can come in any color and can be modified to include other accommodations, like a section to hold a breathing device or other aid. With years of customization and design experience under his belt, this new innovation is simply an extension of Platt’s dedication to inclusive design.

In 2023, Platt told New Mobility: “I feel like every time I deliver one of these [assistive] devices, I get a hopeful feeling that the world has been changed a little bit for the better for the next generation.”"

-via GoodGoodGood, May 8, 2025

[inthelittlewood]

So, just out of curiosity, are you thinking of making episodes for rats 2 like you did for all the other pow creations smps? If not, that's okay (:

I'm really not sure currently. For full transparency, the previous episodes of both series made on average about £40 individually. The occasional one flicked up to NEARLY £100, but they're real anomalies. Thumbnail costs take up a good portion of that 40, then what's left, divided by the hours it takes to condense masses of content down to episode form would be a wage grossly below minimum wage. It's not smart financially or motivationally to proceed that way.

I've always been proud of the end products of each episode / series but I had revenue coming from other sources that have since dried up. I can't make purely artistic decisions when I have mouths to feed and a home to maintain.

I've been quiet on video content this year because I've not had an SMP play in, so streaming became a primary earner. Even that was propped up significantly by our Logitech/Streamlabs sponsorship - which concluded unexpectedly early at the end of September due to budget adjustments on their end (zero bad feelings regarding that btw, it was all done fairly and by the contract, it was quarterly renewals and I was communicated respectfully with)

I'm lucky that Wild Life has come along when it has, as it gives me a little breathing room to try and secure a new sponsor or at least compile a content plan for late 2024 / early 2025.

Even my Life series barely pass the threshold to where an editor wouldn't gobble up the majority of the revenue. That one is a real 50/50 between coming out net neutral, or coming out with a minimal profit. It's rough. Speaking honestly, I'm a tad nervous about the immediate future, but I promise this isn't a post trying to rouse pity or spur on donations/subs etc, it's just transparency as I've always operated. It feels better laying it out so analytically because it gives people context and answers the FAQ of "why don't you just hire someone", the overhead isn't there.

I'm going to start putting the feelers out to try and secure a new partnership, I have one conversation pending and if we can I'll nab some sponsored streams more often to raise the tides.

That said, we are headed in to the best time of year for ad revenue on YouTube especially, but it's not quite the 5x multiplier I would need to sensibly navigate my situation ha

The only viable solution currently would be to crowd source funds to cover the costs of the work for making the episodes, whether that be paid to me and I edit them myself or more ideally, an editor, so I can focus my efforts in to producing another piece of content. I've no idea what the Patreon/Kofi/Crowdfunding landscape is like currently both mechanically and socially. Are they a thing people subscribe to anymore? They inherently come with more pressures too which I'm nervous to take on.

I'm likely to get inbox messages offering to edit for free or at a reduced fee, but PLEASE DON'T DO THAT. Even if you're framing it as good practice, or a portfolio/client list piece, I wouldn't feel comfortable with that. It's a very sweet gesture and I totally understand showing that initiative / sincerity, I've been there, but those scenarios can too often be miscommunicated or misconstrued and it gets messy. People's time and talents deserve compensation.

So tl;dr answer is I'm not sure, I might try an episode 1 to see how it performs, but it's not looking great. Sorry.

[technofeudalism]

What's New Experts are warning of a looming increase in grocery prices as agricultural soil becomes increasingly unproductive. In a concerning trend that could impact households across the globe, the combination of overfarming, climate change and insufficient sustainable practices has left vast swaths of farmland degraded and unproductive, threatening food supply chains and driving up costs. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 33 percent of the Earth's soils are already degraded and more than 90 percent could become degraded by 2050. Why It Matters According to the FAO, soil erosion "occurs naturally under all climatic conditions and on all continents, but it is significantly increased and accelerated by unsustainable human activities (up to 1,000 times) through intensive agriculture, deforestation, overgrazing and improper land use changes. "Soil erosion rates are much higher than soil formation rates," the FAO said. "Soil is a finite resource, meaning its loss and degradation is not recoverable within a human lifespan." A map previously published by Newsweek predicts that 95 percent of America's soil will be degraded in less than 30 years. Only a 5 percent area is marked not degraded.

i absolutely love (/s) how this story is being framed as further price inflation and economic woes being the primary thing to worry about. the worst part of barren food stores isn't related to high prices.

the soil of our earth, our home planet, is dying/being killed by industrial agriculture, and as such we are now struggling to produce food. what this describes is imminent global famine within most of our lifetimes (~30yrs). sticker shock is not the biggest threat. that award goes to malnutrition and starvation.

it's possible to recover from this. but the solutions involved cost money and also winds up reducing overall crop yield, so many farmers aren’t going to pursue these solutions as frequently because they just aren’t feasible. the biggest concern for the average farmer is economic viability. point blank.

thus, any efforts at taking even baby steps to solve this problem will require centralized governments, particularly in the west, to enact direct, formative changes. unfortunately, all of them happen to be collapsing at this very moment. so... hang on tight, i suppose.

[foxprints]

Newest version of my design for Murderbot, this time with all sorts of fun details! I just love drawing it so much!! And I have a similar design sheet for Three, though I'm still working on it.

Details about specific parts of the design are under the cut! Because I've spent too much time contemplating how everything works and why and figuring out which parts are organic and which are inorganic and how it's put together...

The ports on its back from the top down: data port, repair valve, external recharge port for primary power supply, resupply valve, and external recharge port for auxiliary power supply.

The light on its chest is a sort of power indicator

The primary power supply in its chest is what's used on a regular basis. It usually has a kinetic self recharging mechanism (sort of like a car battery in that moving helps it stay charged) that is entirely adequate in most circumstances. When the energy weapons are used, or it hooks itself up to a dead system to act as a power supply, or does a lot of intense movement/fighting/processing, the energy levels may drop enough that it either has to manually engage a recharge cycle or its systems force it into a shutdown to recharge. When this sort of recharge cycle is initiated, the power is taken from the auxiliary power supply. These power cells can last an incredibly long time.

Its eyes are inorganic, but not typically noticeable as such unless it's actively adjusting filters etc. They do have a slight glow to them and will reflect light like a cat's eye in the right circumstances

SecUnits eyes produce a saline solution not unlike tears to help clear out debris and keep the lenses moving smoothly. And SecUnits can cry -- the ability to is usually suppressed by the governor module.

Not actually shown here, but it has inorganic filaments throughout its body that help distribute energy from the power cells. They glow yellow and are visible from under the skin during an external recharge (which should be rare) or if there is an unexpected surge of power sent through it

Its insides are a mix of organic and synthetic, with organs being one or the other depending on how easy they are to replace or how much use they get. For example, the endocrine system is biological, the neural pathways and nervous system are mixed, the heart and lungs are inorganic. There's no need for a digestive system, bladder, or liver. It has synthetic organs similar to kidneys that help make sure the fluids -- both blood and synthetic -- are properly filtered and free of contaminants.

The skeletal framework is made up entirely of a metal alloy of some sort. This makes SecUnits and combat units quite heavy compared to a human. ComfortUnits have a lighter synthetic frame that keeps their weight comparable to that of the average human. The metal used in Combat SecUnits is heavier and more dense than that used in regular sec and combat units.

[sch-com]

my executive function model

I've heard the term "executive dysfunction" thrown quite a lot online, but I couldn't really pinpoint what exactly it means. I decided I first need to understand what executive function is first in order to make sense of it.

After some research (not a lot so take it with a big grain of salt) and self-reflection I developed an executive function model to better understand where I struggle and where I excel.

I identified 8 executive functions, split into primary and secondary, and defined how they interact with each other.

I created a diagram that illustrates and summarizes this model, kind of a tldr. The information from the diagram is described in the text in this post though. At the end of the post is an example of how this model applies to me specificaly.

core executive functions

Those I kept the same as in the research I did, as they seem to be more widely agreed upon.

Inhibitory control - suppressing inappropriate behavior, resisting distractions and urges, emotional control

Working memory - holding, recalling, and manipulating information, mental juggling

Cognitive flexibility - switching tasks, shifting attention, tolerating change, letting go of stuck thoughts

secondary executive functions

Those are more adjusted to fit my personal experience, and are in the sequence it which I personaly engage in activities.

Strategic analysis - understanding the problem, reasoning, generating solutions, predicting outcomes; you need to analyze the problem and generate what can be done about it

Decision-making - balancing risk, reward, and long-term outcomes, deciding on course of action; you need to then compare and decide on one of the courses of action from the generated ones

Planning and organization - planning, organizing, breaking tasks into steps, time estimation, prioritizing; once you know what you want to do, you have to plan the actual actionable steps of it, place when you will do them, in what sequence

Action initiation - getting started on tasks, overcoming inertia, avoiding procrastination; you actually need to follow through the plan, go and do the thing you planned

Self-monitoring - monitoring progress, noticing when you're off-task or overwhelmed, error detection, adjusting behavior, self-assessment; once doing the thing, you need to monitor yourself on how you're doing on the task but also notice if something else hasn't become more important

how they interact

The primary executive functions support the secondary, they are like building blocks of them:

1. Inhibitory control

Strategic analysis: prevents rushing to conclusions; allows pause and reflection before jumping to solutions

Decision-making: suppresses impulsive or emotionally-driven choices; supports delay of gratification

Planning and organization: helps avoid distractions when building plans and ignore irrelevant details

Action initiation: inhibits avoidance behaviors or urges to delay ("I’ll do it later")

Self-monitoring: suppresses defensive reactions to noticing errors; allows recalibration

2. Working memory

Strategic analysis: holds problem details, relevant knowledge, and potential solutions in mental space

Decision-making: maintains multiple options, their pros/cons, and predicted outcomes to compare

Planning and organization: tracks task steps, sequences, and dependencies during mental planning.

Action initiation: remembers what the task is and how to begin — even after delays or distractions

Self-monitoring: holds the original goal or plan in mind while checking current performance against it.

3. Cognitive flexibility

Strategic analysis: allows consideration of alternative problem framings or novel solutions

Decision-making: enables reevaluation of options and openness to changing course

Planning and organization: helps adjust plans dynamically if priorities shift or obstacles arise

Action initiation: Supports shifting mental state from rest to task-engaged mode

Self-monitoring: helps switch strategies mid-task, revise expectations, or tolerate outcomes that don’t go as expected

my personal application

Firstly, out of the three core executive functions my weakest one is working memory. I am quite good at the other two though.

Going off that profile of my primary executive functions, I perform as below in the secondary executive functions:

Strategic analysis - I excel at it. My high cognitive flexibility allows me to see a lot of options, and inhibition allows me to focus on analysing a problem for a long time. I compensate for my low working memory by writing things down, visualizing them etc.

Decision-making - I am rather bad at it. After I analyse the problem to its smallest components and generate lots of ideas in the first step, there are a lot of details to keep in mind when comparing them, and this is where my poor working memory struggles. I also have problems with confidence in my decisions, since I can so clearly see so many options possible and their consequences after my analysis.

Planning and organization - another area I am good at, because I can write things down or draw them out thus compensating for my bad working memory. Inhibition allows me to be realistic with my plan, and cognitive flexibility allows me to adapt it to the actual needs.

Action initiation - a real bottleneck in my process. At this stage I usually have so many details I can be easily overwhelmend with my poor working memory. Also it involves deciding to do the thing, and we already know I struggle with decisions. My high inhibition may also cause a lot of hesitation here.

Self-monitoring - I am moderately good at it. I can struggle with keeping the original goal of the task in mind because of poor working memory, but can manage if it's cleary defined and written down. High congnitive flexibility allows me to adjust my actions according to the performance, and inhibition allows me to avoid distractions and reflect without becoming emotional.

As you can see from this picture, I clearly can benefit the most from using various visual aids and allowing myself to "think on paper" rather than forcing myself to hold everything in my brain. I just seem to have small RAM, but my processor is quite strong.

[thyfleshc0nsumed]

Okay I need honesty, do I sound fucking insane. like do I sound crazy. like do I sound cookoo dumb stupid crazy ass who should delete this and stop wasting their time on this or like am I making some snse

‘The pedophile’ is a scapegoat and boogeyman. It is an individualist, carceral, and fascist framing of childhood and adolescent sexual abuse. The individualist nature of this widely-accepted phenomenon functions to provide cover to the material basis that allows and creates such abuse, and is beloved by fascists for its malleability and galvanizing effect. Individual and carceral solutions are fundamentally incapable of stopping sexual abuse; if we truly care about the issue, we must abandon these frameworks altogether.

What is ���the pedophile’ as a framework?

‘The pedophile’ is an attempt to provide anatomy of the problem. In this view, the cause is simple: for whatever reason, there exist a number of intrinsically sick, or more likely, evil individuals who lust after children and adolescents and make it their life’s goal to rape and defile them. With this framework, the solution is just as simple–dispose of the problemed people. If something about them is incurably evil, then what else is there to be done?

I understand the appeal of this framing to the majority that buy into it; a few years ago, I was caught up in the fervor myself. It’s a fairy tale; there exists a possibility of a ‘happily ever after.’ Evil is singular, and discreet from the world around it. The question of ‘why did they do it’ is conveniently irrelevant and inexplicable–evil is evil because it is evil; we must only know that it is evil and we (who could never be evil) must expel it. 

Unfortunately, evil does not exist. But harm does, and harm is necessarily based in the material, not the moral, or spiritual, or metaphysical. Material results have material causes–that is to say, there are ‘whats,’ ‘whys,’ and ‘hows’ to every meaningful harm.

First, the ‘what’: What happened, and what detrimental material impact did it have?

Second, the ‘why’: Why might the person who did the harm have done so?

Third, the ‘how’: How was the harm made possible?

To view sexual abuse in terms of ‘bad people do bad things,’ we shut down the second question with the thought-terminating idea of evil, and entirely ignore the third question. By doing this, we fully close ourselves off from any ideas that could meaningfully deal with the issue outside of individual instances of it. If we don’t know how harm comes to pass, we are utterly powerless to stop its furtherance. 

Childhood sexual abuse, like all forms of abuse, is made possible through unequal relationships to power. To understand this, we must understand ‘the family,’ the role of children within it, and the way capitalist society uses the family as an economic unit.

What is ‘the family’?

‘The family’ is capitalist society’s primary organizational method through which individuals meet their material needs. No matter a society’s methods of distribution, it is labor that is the animating essence of survival. Food must be cooked, children must be raised, waste must be taken out, and in a capitalist society, labor power must be sold so that the rent gets paid and the cabinets stay stocked. 

Ignoring the production chains that produce the commodities that are foundational to our lives, it is exceedingly difficult to run a household single-handedly. If someone is not able to leave a situation because they would lack the financial means to subsist otherwise, the person providing those financial means holds power over them. This is a neutral

[class1akids]

I just caught up and dude I don’t think appreciating endeavor as a character makes someone a pro-abuser how could you say that. The director was wrong about the title change but why are you dragging her kinks into it? It’s separate from more concerning things like the title and missing scenes. Her primary problem was putting emphasis on the family instead of spotlighting shouto. Now I’m seeing misinformation from ppl I follow that it’s solely about her liking endeavor when that’s not the case.

Let me clear it up - I'm not a purist in any way. Appreciating Endeavor as a character or shipping him with whoever doesn't make you a pro-abuser, but manipulating or altering canon content to fit certain untrue framing can make someone's storytelling pro-abuser.

Let me sum up the issue and expand on what I mean:

Director announces her promotion to series director with a tweet with EndHawks plushies. Some fans raise eyebrows, but most don't react.

Director tweets about liking Endeavor fat ass and various other kinks from the same account she uses to communicate from as one of the official faces of the anime.

Director changes scenes that get widely interpreted as Shipping additions (Endeavor getting giant fire wings that don't exist in the manga and making sure his ass is in plain view)

Director changes the pre-agreed title of Todoroki Shouto: Rising last minute, even though the episode is Shouto's last episode and one for which he is very clearly the focus character connecting part A (his talk with All Might about becoming who he wants to be) with part B (the Todoroki climax and Shouto becoming who he wants to be).

She knows full well that it will anger fans. So instead of a title that applies to Shouto, we get a title that "might apply to Shouto" but also might apply to the family Endeavor. (We all know it wasn't about All Might who had three more episodes coming up and where they didn't even bother to adapt the famous middle schoolers panel). So now instead of a title that celebrates a beloved character's coming into his own as a hero, who did 90% of the work when it comes to Touya and the family, we have a title that apparently applies to the character who ironically was "never there" and even now is only there to do a murder-suicide. It obfuscates the fact that the family coming together meant total annihilation until Shouto showed up with a solution.

Trying to stretch All Might's "I'm here" which can apply to Iida and Shouto to Endeavor, who caused the entire tragedy in the making and frame the episode that this is "also" Endeavor's "I'm here" moment rather than his reckoning is a pro-abuser interpretation and clearly goes against Horikoshi's authorial intent of story-framing.

The Todoroki family climax is compressed into a 10-minute part B, where miraculously none of Endeavor's scenes are cut, but Natsuo's flashback is (isn't he family?), and so are the kindergarten kids rooting and smiling for Shouto despite them being prominent in the manga, not to mention Shouto's big double spread, Hawks hugging Tokoyami or Geten and Compress discussion. Yet there was time to give the TogaChako fight with the same amount of chapters 1.5 episodes.

The Director expresses a kink for Endeavor crying and as a strange coincidence the episode makes the change from the manga (where Endeavor is not crying) to the anime with Endeavor crying big tears.

On the episode MVP, even though most votes were for Shouto, Touya and Iida in this order, they changed the second place for the "Todoroki family", to include Endeavor even though in Light Fades to Rain they refused to accept votes for the UA Big 3 (and Mirio didn't even make the list). Ironically, this change in the counting meant that Endeavor won a place on the MVP, while All Might for whose "big and impactful moment" the supposed title change was, didn't make the MVP ranking.

Fans asked the official account to tell them if it was Todoroki Shouto Rising episode - it was trending for days. The official didn't respond or address those concerns in any way. I can tell you, Shouto fans were in real distress for days as Japanese fandom could not conceive that someone could cut the Rising title and it ruined the episode experience for many fans. Then the following week during the TogaChako episode, the official account tweeted "Rising this week and last week" which made the fans feel mocked and even more angry and wondering if the staff is truly this dense or downright malicious.

Btw, she was also behind the OP storyboard in S6 where Ochako was made to seem single-handedly save Deku while the entire Class A was erased almost completely. BK/DK fans were furious at the time too and she was widely criticized for that choice, but at least it was "just an OP" and not actual source material adaptation. So it's not just Shouto fans who feel that she's not the most impartial when it comes to the anime adaptation or understanding the manga.

I'm sorry, but the evidence is pretty overwhelming that certain changes are being made to fit Nakayama's personal ships, kinks and character preferences. I don't care normally who she ships or what fetishes she is into. I don't care if people like Endeavor, as long as they don't try to alter the canon content to deny his wrongdoings.

However, she was the one using her work account to tweet about Endeavor's ass - people didn't go digging into some obscure side account. The Japanese fandom was talking about it for days. I find that truly unprofessional.

I don't want someone in charge of adaptation of the manga who thinks that it is ok to flaunt her ships and kinks on the same platform she uses to tweet about her work. Plus her thirst tweets taint the work of her colleagues - many of whom worked hard on amazing sequences that were faithful to the source material and showed deep understanding of the content. It's disrespectful to them. They made the episode shine in spite her intents.

And it is clear that she is unable to stop herself from filtering her preferences into the adaptation. She is not writing fan fiction or making a fan video. She is adapting the manga into the one and only official anime for the entire fandom and she needs to be able to take off her Endeavor-fan hat, her EndHawks shipper hat or her Ochako fan hat and stop alienating and disenfranchising fans of other characters. Shouto fans, in this case whose Rising from now on will only exist in the manga. (Or you know the two people who were looking forward to for years seeing Geten and Compress one last time in the anime).

It's also good business not to alienate fans whose viewership generates ad money and who spend money on merch which eventually finance her job.

And with these very questionable things, I do think people questioning her real motives is both normal and fair.

Not to mention, Shouto fans are demonized for complaining, but 90% of the comments were simply asking to add the "Rising" subtitle to part B for the home DVD release which is honestly a no brainer if they want to boost the otherwise pitiful sales of the BlueRay / DVD.

[mayhemchicken-varneyposting]

Varney the Vampire, Chapter 40: Exeunt Pursued By A Mob

[Previous chapter] [Next chapter]

The mob reaches Varney's house and search it from top to bottom, while his servants, as well as Chillingworth, look on helplessly. When they don't find him, they turn around to go back to town, but are intercepted by a random shepherd boy who tells them a savior has been born in Bethlehem he has seen Varney in the woods, and they immediately change course.

Henry and Marchdale go to meet the mob and find out what's got them all riled up. Chillingworth explains to them that he has let slip that Varney is suspected of being a vampire, and the mob enthusiastically yells their intentions to catch Varney and stake him. Henry tells the mob that he does not want anybody staked on his account, and that he is very disappointed in all of them. Several people tell Henry that this has nothing to do with him; they're here to kill the vampire before he attacks any more people. They then run off to search the woods.

Henry and his friends watch from the edge of the woods, and talk about how terrible it would be if Varney was caught and killed by the mob, rather than killed fairly and honorably in a duel. Just then, Varney comes running out of the woods at top speed, with the mob in hot pursuit. The admiral directs Jack Pringle to stop the leading pursuer, which he does by running into him and knocking him over.

Chillingworth, who had been attempting to follow the pursuit but was unable to keep up, emerges from the woods and catches up with Henry and the others, who tell him what happened at the duel he missed. They resolve that, despite having been dead set on killing him minutes prior, they are going to attempt to save Varney from the mob, and head into town for backup.

Meanwhile, Varney makes a beeline for the ruins of Monk's Hall. The mob follow him, but when they reach the ruins he appears to have disappeared without a trace. When a thorough search of the ruins turns up nothing, they decide to leave, but leave behind a lookout in case Varney does turn out to be hiding somewhere they missed. However, no one wants to be the person who stays behind, and in the end none of them do.

The true villain of this book is here. In a literal sense, it's the mob, but more accurately it is the fear, ignorance, and superstition which fuels them. I've written before on this topic; it is one of the principal themes underpinning the text. In this chapter, we see the primary manifestation of this theme laid out before us, and the contradictory way ignorance and knowledge are framed by the text.

Human nature truly delights in the marvellous, and in proportion as a knowledge of the natural phenomena of nature is restricted, and unbridled imagination allowed to give the rein to fathomless conjecture, we shall find an eagerness likewise to believe the marvellous to be the truth.

The people comprising the mob are uneducated and ignorant; this, in turn, makes them superstitious, and their superstition leads in turn to violence and chaos. Lack of knowledge is, therefore, a bad thing. And yet:

...we blame Mr. Chillingworth for being so indiscreet as to communicate the secret of such a person as Varney the vampyre to his wife...

Spreading information is also bad. This is the same author who thinks gaslighting people is good actually. One would think that the solution to ignorance causing mass panic would be to educate the populace, but this is not how Rymer thinks. In his worldview, certain people are almost innately uneducated, and efforts to remedy their ignorance only make the problem worse. The mob rebuffs all efforts to explain the situation; the only new information they absorb is that which reinforces their beliefs. It is clear that the only solution which exists in the author's head is that the townsfolk had never learned the rumor of a vampire at all. His thesis, here, is that ignorant people must be kept ignorant, because they cannot be trusted to correctly interpret information.

Under such circumstances, ignorant people always do what they have heard has been done by some one else before them and in an incredibly short space of time the propriety of catching Sir Francis Varney, depriving him of his vampyre-like existence, and driving a stake through his body, became not at all a questionable proposition.

...All of which is ludicrous to present in a narrative where the core central conceit is that vampires are real. Please tell me again, in this novel which opens with a graphic description of a vampire attack, why the actions of the townsfolk should be considered at all unreasonable.

Chillingworth spends this whole chapter lamely following the mob around, attempting to convince them to put down their pitchforks and go home. You would think, given the sentiments he has expressed earlier in the text, that his arguments would consist primarily of reasons why Sir Francis Varney is not a vampire, and vampires are not real. Would you believe, then, that this never once comes up?

"You are wrong. I assure you, you are all wrong," said Mr. Chillingworth, imploringly; "there is no vampyre here, you see. Sir Francis Varney has not only escaped, but he will take the law of all of you."

Why are you conceding the possibility that Varney is a vampire, dude, whatever happened to "vampires aren't real and I wouldn't believe in them if one bit me"?

At the beginning of the chapter, we receive some very "citation needed" facts about vampires and vampire-like creatures in other cultures.

The ghoul of eastern nations is but the same being, altered to suit habits and localities; and the sema of the Scandinavians is but the vampyre of a more primitive race...

I cannot for the life of me figure out where he got the word "sema" from. I assume he is thinking of the draugr, but can see no way for him to have gotten "sema" out of that, unless he literally made up a term because he didn't know what they were called.

Rymer depicts the mob as a sort of separate entity in its own right, at once more brutal and more stupid than the sum of its parts, though equally as cowardly. You can really taste his contempt for the working class. He gets in a little misogynist dig, too.

Men and women were mixed indiscriminately together, and in the shouting, the latter, if such a thing were possible, exceeded the former, both in discordance and energy.

The social order has broken down, and it is lower-class women who head the rising tide of Hobbesian chaos. Their gossip spreads and inflames the vampire rumor, and their action (contrasted to the upper-class Flora's virtuous passivity) drives the mob's vicious appetites.

"Drive a stake through him," said a woman; "it's the only way, and the humanest. You've only to take a hedge stake and sharpen it a bit at one end, and char it a little in the fire so as there mayt'n't be no splinters to hurt, and then poke it through his stomach."

Within the mob, individual voices are amplified, lending them power. In this story, however, the power of collective action is firmly negative, with the hollered suggestions of the crowd functioning as a sort of blind animal impulse which leads them from one violent act to the next. This will become more and more evident as we move ahead in the story, and the mob violence escalates further and further.

"He's in the town somewhere," cried one. "Let's go back to the town." It is strange how suddenly any mob will obey any impulse, and this perfectly groundless supposition was sufficient to turn their steps back again in the direction whence they came,

At this early stage, however, it is hard to find fault with these people, despite Rymer's best efforts to portray them as ignorant and savage. Henry assumes the mob must have rallied on his behalf, but they don't care about him:

"Oh, to be sure," said the humane woman; "nobody's feelings is nothing to us. Are we to be woke up in the night with vampyres sucking our bloods while we've got a stake in the country?"

This is, I think, a very understandable motivation. Vampires in folklore are bad fucking news. Are they really going to put themselves, their livestock, and their children at risk simply because the vampire in question is very good at playing gentleman? Recollect, also, that Henry JUST got done trying to kill Varney, and indeed our heroes have shot at him many times. Apparently when rich people try to kill a vampire, it's virtuous self defense, but when poor people try it, it's vicious barbarism.

From here on out, Varney rapidly becomes more and more sympathetic. It is hard to say which comes first in this chicken-and-egg scenario: whether Rymer introduced the mob as a convenient way to make the heroes sympathize with Varney, or whether Varney's defanging as a villain (no pun intended) is meant to highlight the monstrosity of the mob.

"What a strange mixture," exclaimed Marchdale, "of feelings and passions this Varney appears to be. At one moment acting with the apparent greatest malignity; and another, seeming to have awakened in his mind a romantic generosity which knows no bounds. I cannot understand him."

It is fascinating to me how the mob are othered in a way Varney, the literal monster, never is. Varney is humanized throughout the text, even while he is biting people and committing crimes, but the mob--well, they are presented as both an overwhelming and deadly force of evil, and also as cowardly, impotent, and stupid, which is the exact blend of contradictory characteristics used by fascists and conspiracy theorists to other their targets of fear and hatred.

Yet what danger could there be? there were they, more than half a hundred stout, strong men, to cope with one; they felt convinced that he was completely in their power; they knew the ruins could not hide him, and that five minutes time given to the task, would suffice to explore every nook and corner of them. And yet they hesitated, while an unknown terror shook their nerves, and seemingly from the very fact that they had run down their game successfully, they dreaded to secure the trophy of the chase.

Any voice would have sufficed to break the spell which bound them. This did so; and, with one accord, and yells of imprecation, they rushed forward and plunged among the old walls of the ruin. [...] It was astonishing how the fact of not finding him in a moment, again roused all their angry feelings against him, and dispelled every feeling of superstitious awe with which he had been surrounded; rage gave place to the sort of shuddering horror with which they had before contemplated his immediate destruction, when they had believed him to be virtually within their very grasp.

The mob slingshots back and forth between rage and fear. Rage spurs them impulsively forward, and so long as their rage produces results, they will keep on moving; but as soon as they encounter an obstacle, fear sets in, and they will retreat unless some voice within their ranks gives a suggestion or rallying cry which can rekindle their rage once more. At the end of this chapter, having failed to find Varney's hiding place within the ruins, the mob slink fearfully away, milling about uncertainly nearby until a lone voice gives them an actionable suggestion:

"Now, my good friends, I propose that we all appear to give it up, and to go away; but that some one of us shall remain and hide among the ruins for some time, to watch, in case the vampyre makes his appearance from some hole or corner that we haven't found out."

Spurred into action by this plan, the mob leaves en masse; but none of them, including the man who volunteered the suggestion, are brave enough to stay behind, and the ruin is ultimately left unguarded.

Next: The chapter that launched 50k words of fanfiction

[atamascolily]

I keep seeing people saying variations on "Gosh, I can't wait to see Madoka fight Homura in Walpurgis no Kaiten!" and while far be it from me to rain on anybody's parade (the id wants what it wants), I can't help doing a double-take every time this comes up, because it's so dramatically different from my own viewing experience and perception of the characters.

Apart from the inherent assumption that violence is the only possible method of conflict resolution, you're telling me that Madoka Kaname, who wants all magical girls to be friends and team up together to fight witches, who repeatedly throws herself in between angry combatants who could break her like a twig, who tosses her best friend's soul off a bridge to break up a fight, who faces down a witch on the faint hope of getting said friend back, who sacrifices herself so magical girls don't have to suffer anymore, and whose reaction to finding that her best friend has become a big scary monster in Rebellion is to rush over and hold her hand--is going to fight Homura, of all people?!

Let's just say I'll believe it when I see it.

It's not that Madoka isn't capable of violence--she made that abundantly clear when she shot Mami at point-blank range to save Homura--but to say it's not her preferred solution is a vast understatement. Being forced to kill both Mami and Sayaka in quick succession devastates her--and if Homura hadn't been present, there was a very real chance of Madoka becoming a witch herself in that moment. When we do see Madoka fight, she tends to win in a single shot, as in later timelines against Walpurgisnacht. Maybe Devil!Homura is the only one strong enough to stand against her--but that assumes that Madoka would ever choose to fight her in the first place, no matter how angry/hurt/betrayed she feels, and no matter what Homura has done.

Madoka is not only the show's title character, she is its moral center, and the literal heart (there's even one on her magical girl outfit to drive the point home); the goddess she becomes, while still bearing death, is guided by compassion and mercy, not aggression and cruelty. Even if she were to fight Homura, it would be very much a "I'll kick your ass to bring you back to reality" kind of fight rather than one to kill.

Homua might well see herself as Madoka's enemy, but I don't think Madoka sees Homura as hers. Their conflict is real and deserves to finally be addressed, but ultimately it be can only be resolved by honest communication with each other. You know, that one thing Homura simultaneously craves and shies away from in equal measures, so it isn't like this is going to be easy! True emotional openness and vulnerability requires far more courage than blowing stuff up and always has.

It's tempting to see Homura and Madoka's reification as two opposite and opposing forces to be the primary conflict moving forward, but I think that will ultimately prove to be a false dichotomy. If the two are truly on the same level, the yin to the other's yang, neither can win against the other in the end; the only true ending involves them united as equals.

Instead, I see Homura vs. herself to be the ultimate conflict, with "self" taking a wide variety of externally manifesting forms thanks to previously established worldbuilding. The key visual for Walpurgis no Kaiten appears to support this premise, with Homura facing off against another Homura, while Madoka hovers in the background. It's not that I think Madoka isn't important, but the framing here certainly does not suggest that a violent struggle between her and Homua will be a large part of the plot.

And sure, trailers and promotional materials can be misleading--but like Kyubey, they generally do so by putting the truth in plain sight and trusting the audience to mislead themselves.

[mitigatedchaos]

I've been doing some conceptual sketching over the last several weeks, chewing on the limited technology zones idea that I've been working on. (It's not just an excuse for fictional detectives.)

Rather than proposing a single solution, this post covers some of that thinking, to provide you with concepts to chew on.

The Medieval1900/1960s/1990s/2010s/+ tech zone poll was based on a general sense regarding the speed of movement and the speed of information, and noticing that in the year 2000, "the Internet" was still a place you went to (by sitting down at your computer), and not a cyberspace layer that surrounds the planet.

But what, exactly, would "1990s/Y2K computer limits" cash out to? 800x600 pixel resolutions? 800MHz processors?

Just what was this mysterious "it factor" we would be trying to bring back by making computers slower and less advanced?

From my notes:

One way to view virtual reality is that the VR environment has extremely low weight, and is therefore extremely mutable. Any physical good, such as a sports car, can be simulated, and in almost any number, which raises a question: why buy a real sports car when we can simulate them? People are at risk of getting lost in virtual reality, with simulations becoming more satisfying to them than real life, leading them to underinvest in their real life. We can think of technology as altering the ratio of effort to environment change. High effort is required to move dirt with a shovel. Low effort is required to move the same volume of dirt with a bulldozer.

The assumption behind the zones-by-tech-level question is that beyond a certain point, except for medical technology, additional high-tech development is superfluous, because virtual reality means that nearly arbitrary sensory experiences can be generated relative to an agent's sense limits.

Demand results when the expected value of a change in the environment loops back through the agent, resulting in a potential change in behavior.

The point of video games is to produce a high stimulus feedback relative to the amount of effort. (I read that in an article on GamaSutra once years ago, and it really stuck.)

In a virtual reality environment, reward signals can become disconnected from agent well-being.

Movies, television, and books appear to be less addictive than video games and social media. What separates them? Interactivity appears to be the primary difference.

With this in mind, I was then able to work backwards and develop an intermediate regulatory concept: interaction frames.

With a book, the content is static the entire time. With a DVD, you press a button and then the DVD may play to completion. You might skip back to a previous scene, but there is no need for further interaction.

A paged website is static until you update the page. With continuous-scroll social media, new content is always being added, and at any moment you may receive a notification to get into an argument or that someone liked your post. Video games in general tend to have continuous interaction.

This model does not adequately address the situation, and, importantly, cannot distinguish between a video game and a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel.

We can adapt a concept from gambling: human beings seek mastery or identification of patterns, and the randomness of gambling prevents mastery of the pattern from being achieved. A spreadsheet is very much not random, while loot drops in many video games are quite random!

We could at least measure commands to produce random numbers, or require registration of pseudorandom number generators.

However, this is still insufficiently general. Simulator games may generate complex behavior from simple rules. Are we stuck regulating "game-like elements" by committee? That doesn't sound right.

Still, people do get bored of single-player games, either by mastering the gameplay, or when they get used to the story elements of the game. A visual novel is more like a spreadsheet or a book than like a slot machine.

Also, not all social media seems to be equally addictive. Why were chatrooms seemingly less dangerous than twitter?

There is an anticipation of information gain (informative tweets). There is an anticipation of exciting experiences (someone shows up to fight!). Also, from the user's perspective, it's somewhat random.

In a chatroom, there are fewer people, and they stay for longer. This means that (1) you have more information about them and their positions, (2) you have more incentive to be cordial, and (3) because there is a limit to how much they can have gotten up to while you weren't looking, there is a limit on the anticipated amount of new social information.

On Twitter, there is an endless stream of new people to argue with, and they can show up at any time. You can post about some chalupas you made yesterday, and some lunatic will show up to fight you. Thus, there is always the background anticipation of an (emotionally stimulating) attack.

In a chatroom, if someone would attack you over chalupas, you already know him as the chalupa guy. In real life, an argument is limited by space and time - the chalupa argument ends by default when the bar closes and the chalupa guy is no longer within earshot, and you cannot reopen it until you see him again.

Tumblr is slower-paced, but things like "likes" are continuous, so there is always the incentive to check in to see how your post is doing.

This allows us to get into a model based on food.

There is a dieting strategy involving not buying junk food at the store, so that it is not at your house when you get a craving for it.

This implies that the craving is a temporary impulse or peak, and that it just has to be outlasted. If the craving were uniform, the strategy wouldn't work, because the dieter would just buy the junk food at the store.

(This suggests that the baseline craving for drugs is higher, because drug addicts are willing to take much more extreme actions to feed their addictions, over a longer time period, and that the symptoms for withdrawal (a more constant negative stimulus) are worse.)

So is control in the hands of the agent, or is it in the environment? Is there choice, or not? The dieting strategy appears to split the difference - removing junk food from the cupboard is a kind of prosthetic self-control and willpower shifting. Willpower exists and can be exercised, but is limited, and reserves vary over time. Altering the environment at a point of high willpower can reduce willpower requirements in later contexts, until they are within the window of reliable feasibility.

This suggests a strategy of altering the digital environment to enable users to act on meta-preferences for prosthetic self-control.

For social media services, this suggests regulations imposing new usage modes. For example, it might be required to provide access to third-party user interfaces, which might do things like hide the number of likes. Alternatively, a user might receive all the tweets from a specific set of accounts as a daily summary. Since social media companies require revenue, this access might be a paid service based on average foregone ad revenue. It's a matter that would require a good deal more consideration.

For other items, as part of a broader social movement, we might imagine users being able to buy dedicated hardware. Attempting to control interactivity via software requires a great deal more regulation and is easier to bypass. By contrast, we might imagine a hardware module that writes to a virtual canvas at some rate. The user could then scroll the canvas without receiving updates until the next refresh.

The user could buy an appliance device with built-in limits, similar to not bringing junk food home from the store.

Regarding welfare...

If social media makes people insane, then refraining from social media is pro-social, but suffers from a coordination problem.

However, that's more speculative. More broadly, this is about the liberal concern of consent under capitalism, and what it means to consent to technology. There are two considerations, in tension.

If you have to either use a technology or be homeless, then can you really have been said to have "consented" to the technology?

On the other hand, why should everyone else be expected to subsidize some guy using a horse and buggy?

Maximization of pattern efficiency is likely to be hostile to the continued existence of the human species, not that differently from how hard drugs distort and kill people. On the other hand, insufficient pattern efficiency means reduced production, which may mean making hard moral choices and having wasteful suffering that could have been avoided.

(Regulated capitalism is actually pretty good about consent relative to production levels, compared to say, feudalism or command economies.)

The conventional liberal response is a universal basic income - this neatly ties up many questions of consent by removing the greatest point of leverage - but this is problematic, as it involves redistributing labor to able people who may not be working at all. I've been working on an alternative based on "universal basic land," but I'm not satisfied with it yet. The essential idea is that land and materials are scarce, while labor (directed effort) and capital (configurations of materials) are variable. If life support (sunshine, air, food, water) is guaranteed, then trade is a net benefit (rather than resulting in potential gradual loss of life support due to lack of leverage).

[evidence-based-activism]

Hi, @not-yet-so-broken! I wanted to respond to your re-blog of my post since it raised some important points. Unfortunately, (and unsurprisingly since they clearly didn't have any counter-arguments) @genderkoolaid has me blocked, so I can't re-blog that post. As such, I'm responding to your points below:

I'm glad you agree with the basis of my re-blog! I think it's helpful to start with a similar frame of reference. In reference to the rest: I thought it was pretty clear that the op's intention with that post was to: imply female-on-female violence is as common as male-on-female, suggest that separatism is pointless, and criticize people for focusing on male-on-female violence prevention. It was from that lens that I responded to the post, which I think is the main reason why you interpreted my post as you did. I talk a little bit more about female-on-female violence in this post and this post.

To be very clear, my conclusion that men are the primary perpetrator of violence against women is not meant to imply that women's violence is more acceptable or excusable, only less common.

However, I do think that trying to make violence "gender neutral", as I believe the op of that post was attempting to do, causes significant harm. It sounds like you agree with this much? Since this was the frame of reference I started with, my goal in my re-blog was to show why we shouldn't do this, not to actually address solutions for female-on-female violence. This is why I didn't address the issue, not because it is "lesser and 'insignificant'".

---

However, I feel I should point out that there is no evidence that as a whole people are more likely to dismiss female violence than male violence. (I address this point a bit more in those two posts I linked to, which is also where most of the sources are, but I'll reiterate below.) In fact,

Victims appear to report violence by women and men at similar rates

When victims do not report the violence, they appear to have similar reasons for both male and female violence [1]

When convicted, women appear to have similar (or even more severe) punishments as men for equivalent (violent) crimes

There is very little research about public opinion on female vs male offenders, however the little there is suggests crimes (particularly violent crimes) are rated at least as bad/serious when committed by women as men [2]

In terms of same-sex couple violence specifically:

Data on the response from the legal system is frustratingly scare, and somewhat contradictory. For example, [3] indicates that there is little to no difference in prosecutor and police response to same-sex domestic violence when considering cases where the victim doesn't refuse to cooperate, but also indicates victims of same-sex violence (domestic and non-domestic) are more likely to refuse to corporate with law enforcement. Alternately, [4] indicates that same-sex domestic violence incidents are less likely to result in arrest and more likely to result in dual arrest than opposite-sex incidents, although this difference appears to be eliminated with increasing incident severity. A different study [5] found no difference in police perception of same-sex vs opposite sex domestic violence.

Public opinion research is essentially non-existent (or at least, very very difficult to find). I did find a study [6] that showed some differences in perceptions about same-sex domestic violence among crisis center staff, which is obviously important given their extremely significant role in the issue. However, there are some pretty significant concerns with generalizability, given that the sample was not random or representative. In addition, the results were somewhat mixed, in that they indicated statistically greater concern for opposite-sex incidents on some measures (consider situation more serious, consider it more likely the abuse will re-occur, etc.), greater concern for same-sex incidents on some measures (believe it's harder for a same-sex victim to leave, believe same-sex victims were more likely to be financially dependent), and no significant difference on 14 of the 21 measures (perpetrator/victim responsibility, counseling recommendation, etc.). As a side note: the scores also indicate there's a need for more education in the field in general, concerning both opposite- and same-sex abuse.

In my opinion, all of this suggests that the claim that female violence isn't taken as seriously as male violence is a myth, one that's been repeated so many times many people regard it as fact. This is relevant because it means that we can apply solutions to the broad problems of child abuse and domestic violence, rather than requiring separate solutions for male- vs female-offenders.

---

As indicated by the above, I hear the assertion that people are more likely to dismiss women's violence fairly often, but I have never received or found any evidence that this is the case. There are, however, several reasons why this may appear to be the case:

First, there are unfortunately still far too many people who are prepared to dismiss most/any sexual or domestic violence. These people would dismiss violence by both men and women, which appears to the victim as a dismissal of that specific form of violence. This dismissal can be countered by broader social messaging, most of which is about male violence (as it is more common). As a result, victims of female violence are more likely to feel dismissed by society at large. Notably, this is a excellent reason for why we need to address female-on-female violence without diluting the message by comparing or minimizing male violence.

Second, even among those who don't dismiss all/most sexual and domestic violence, there are many who will only recognize overtly violent behaviors. For example, there are some people who believe rape has to involve physical violence or threats of physical violence; they (incorrectly) do not recognize that rape can also be coerced through non-violent means including use of authority, drugs and alcohol, etc. This is relevant because research also shows that female offenders are much more likely than male offenders to use these sorts of "indirect" tactics. As a result, a greater proportion of female crime than male crime may not be taken seriously. However, this is a result of insufficient understanding and/or malicious dismissal of a type of crime not of female offenders specifically (i.e., a crime by a man using these sorts of tactics would be similarly dismissed by people with this view point). Obviously, this is a problem, but the solution to this is a campaign directed at increasing understanding/emphasis of these sorts of violence not one about female-offenders specifically.

Finally, this belief may be what people expect other people to believe, without necessarily believing it themselves. When enough people repeat this, it appears to the public as if it's a common belief without actually having much genuine support. This would suggest that this assertion is based on a widely held (MRA based) myth, more than any actual fact.

Importantly, the above points also mean that, regardless of the empirical findings, many victims will feel invalidated by the people around them. This is absolutely a problem, and it's one that will be reduced by further public education (as it has already been reduced over the past decades). For you personally, I hope the evidence that people (in general) understand the seriousness of women's violence may help alleviate these feelings.

---

All that being said, this still doesn't address what can actually be done about female-on-female violence (or violence more broadly). I have a few thoughts (many of which are already being implemented to varying degrees).

In reference to child sexual abuse (many of these would apply to both male and female abusers):

There's much better awareness that most child molesters are known to the victim (i.e., rather than "stranger danger"), however there's still much too little discussion on the implications of this. For example, many, many, child abusers position themselves as "pillars of the community", in part to get access to victims but also to make it seem inconceivable to other adults that they would ever (or ever intend to) abuse a child. In many cases, these abusers don't just groom the child, they groom the adults around them as well, so that the adults are more likely to ignore or excuse any evidence of abuse as "not possible" given the person's reputation. This is a very significant problem, and one that needs to be addressed to continue making headway in preventing CSA. Increasing awareness of and addressing this problem will help prevent these abusers from gaining and keeping access to kids. (As a note this is a specific manifestation of the first point of the above list.)

More detailed screening of applicants for positions that involve access to vulnerable populations (children, students, juvenile offenders, etc.) would also help with the above problem.

Some (many?) cases of abuse are missed by adults because the children don't have the language needed to communicate the problem (e.g., use of euphemisms for genitals, no discussion of what is considered sexual activity, etc.). Sex education programs aimed at rectifying this is absolutely essential in helping prevent CSA.

Related to the above point: reforms and education for the justice system concerning child-friendly reporting procedures and education for parents to circumvent common issues with child testimony.

Removal of the statute of limitations for CSA (or sex crimes in general).

Increasing education and awareness around child-on-child sex abuse (COCSA). COCSA is becoming an increasing problem around the world, so addressing it is essential.

In reference to intimate partner violence (again many will apply to both male and female offenders):

We need more research into same-sex domestic violence on almost every topic. In particular, I can find no studies concerning the prevalence of situational vs coercive controlling violence in same-sex relationships. This is important because the best response to these types of violence is significantly different (e.g., situational violence may respond to rehabilitation/counseling whereas counseling can make coercive controlling violence worse).

Better education/public campaigns concerning the impact of the "less" or "non-" violent tactics (like drugging, coercion, etc.). Public awareness on this issue is already much better than a few decades ago, but there's much more ground to be covered.

Education about identifying domestic abuse (per the coercive control, responsive, situational violence typology) in general, but also, in particular, for people in positions of power (i.e., police, prosecutors, victim advocates, etc.). Under the current procedures, many victims are being arrested as an abuser when they use responsive violence.

For the female-on-female domestic abuse shelter problem: I don't have a perfect solution, but potentially granting any who seek the shelter access but keeping anyone in a relationship separate from each other (i.e., via separate shelter locations, sheltering with separate volunteers who agree to keep the location confidential even from other advocates/victims/etc.).

Programs concerning rehabilitation for both child and domestic abusers have produced ... inadequate results. I honestly have no idea about improvements in this area for any type of offender, male or female, as despite the wide variety of programs attempted none appear to have a significant success rate/effect size.

---

I hope this clarifies my views on the topic?

In particular, you said "but as victim of abuse i want an answer tho because i never am given any", but I'm not sure what question you're referring to? As such, I tried to address the main points you brought up concerning social views on women's violence and also provide some initial suggestions about how to address domestic/sexual violence.

---

Most references are in the linked posts, the rest are below the cut:

Shannan Catalano. (2007). Intimate Partner Violence in the United States. Bureau of Justice.

Female Offender and Public Opinion - Perceived Seriousness of Crimes and Recommended Dispositions | Office of Justice Programs. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/female-offender-and-public-opinion-perceived-seriousness-crimes-and.

Lantz, Brendan. “Victim, Police, and Prosecutorial Responses to Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence: A Comparative Approach.” Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, vol. 36, no. 2, May 2020, pp. 206–27. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986219894429.

Hirschel, David, and Philip D. McCormack. “Same-Sex Couples and the Police: A 10-Year Study of Arrest and Dual Arrest Rates in Responding to Incidents of Intimate Partner Violence.” Violence Against Women, vol. 27, no. 9, July 2021, pp. 1119–49. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801220920378.

Younglove, Jane A., et al. “Law Enforcement Officers’ Perceptions of Same Sex Domestic Violence: Reason for Cautious Optimism.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 17, no. 7, July 2002, pp. 760–72. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260502017007004.

Brown, Michael J., and Jennifer Groscup. “Perceptions of Same-Sex Domestic Violence Among Crisis Center Staff.” Journal of Family Violence, vol. 24, no. 2, Feb. 2009, pp. 87–93. Springer Link, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-008-9212-5.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Published in May, but it's obvious many people have not read this.

Also preserved on our archive.

New comprehensive review provides strong evidence that masks and respirators effectively reduce the transmission of respiratory infections like COVID-19, based on analysis of over 400 studies from multiple disciplines.

A comprehensive new review published in Clinical Microbiology Reviews provides strong evidence that masks and respirators are effective in reducing the transmission of respiratory infections like COVID-19. The review, conducted by an international team of 13 researchers, analysed over 400 studies from multiple disciplines, including epidemiology, public health, engineering, and social sciences.

'Our review confirms that masks work, with a clear dose-response effect,' said lead author Professor Trisha Greenhalgh from the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford. 'The more consistently and correctly you wear a mask, the better protected you are. Respirators, when worn continuously, provide even greater protection than ordinary masks.'

Masks, including cloth face coverings and disposable medical masks, help reduce the spread of respiratory droplets and aerosols. Respirators, such as N95 and FFP2 devices, are designed to filter out smaller airborne particles and fit more tightly to the face, providing a higher level of protection.

The team's novel contributions include re-analyses of key clinical trials and observational studies, as well as a synthesis of evidence from fields ranging from fluid dynamics to anthropology. This comprehensive approach allowed the researchers to not only assess the effectiveness of masks under experimental conditions, but also to explore the real-world factors that influence their use and impact.

While the review found no serious harms from mask-wearing, it did identify some challenges, such as discomfort, communication difficulties – for hearing-impaired people for example – and environmental waste. However, the authors frame these as opportunities for further research and improvement rather than fundamental flaws.

'We need to see these challenges as a call to action,' said co-author Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, an epidemiologist based at the University of Otago, who is herself deaf. 'By investing in better design, more inclusive policies, and clearer communication, we can optimise masks for real-world use and ensure that everyone can benefit from this powerful public health tool.'

The review also highlights the importance of clear, consistent public health messaging to support mask use and combat misinformation. While mask mandates can be effective, the authors emphasise the need for context-specific assessments that consider cultural factors and public acceptability.

'Masks are not just a technical intervention, but also a social and cultural one,' said co-author Professor Deborah Lupton from the University of New South Wales. 'To be effective, mask policies need to be grounded in an understanding of people's beliefs, behaviours, and real-world constraints.'

Looking forward, the researchers call for further studies to improve and optimise mask design, explore new technologies like nanotechnology, and develop more sustainable and inclusive solutions. They also emphasise the need for ongoing public engagement to bring about more evidence-based and constructive conversations around masks.

'This review shows that masks are a valuable tool in our pandemic response toolkit,' said Professor Greenhalgh. 'By continuing to build the evidence base, innovate in design, and engage the public, we can harness the full potential of masks to protect public health now and in future respiratory pandemics.'

Read the full article at: Masks and respirators for prevention of respiratory infections: a state of the science review Clinical Microbiology Reviews DOI: 10.1128/cmr.00124-23

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/cmr.00124-23

[dr-octavio-kalev]

TW: Body horror, indulced body horror, unnerving imagery

ANM-045-117-P:

Identification: eRa uM@ veZ umA caasA t0rta...

Responsible Researchers: Dr. Öctavio Kalev and Dr. Moon

Item #: ANM-045-C(rooked)

Threat Level: Nightmare 💀

Anomaly Type: Oneiric, reality-altering

Damage Type: Both 🔴🟣

Containment: ANM-045-C cannot be physically contained, as it manifests only in the dreams of affected individuals. Preventing exposure is currently only viable by inducing wakefulness through medications that inhibit REM sleep. The MOTHRA Institute is developing techniques to block or alter dreams, but no viable solution has been identified yet. All individuals reporting dreams of ANM-045-C must be immediately quarantined in a specialized medical ward called Base-045-HQ, with full psychological and palliative care provided. There is no known cure for the long-term effects of the anomaly.

Description: ANM-045-C, nicknamed "Papa Mangler" by "Patient Zero," manifests as a tall and deformed figure with a disturbingly eerie and unsettling appearance. Despite its simplistic black-and-white color scheme, its exaggerated physical features and unnatural movements induce intense psychological fear in those who encounter it.

ANM-045-C stands approximately 2.80 meters (9 feet 2 inches) tall with a severely emaciated frame. Its limbs are grotesquely long and thin, with arms and legs bent at sharp, impossible angles. The most striking feature of its limbs is its fingers, which extend up to 40 cm (15 inches) in length, resembling elongated claws. These fingers taper into thin, bony tips, which ANM-045-C frequently uses in its attempts to touch or torment its victims. The sharp, angular movements of its limbs, combined with its exaggerated proportions, give the entity a distorted, supernatural nature.

ANM-045-C's head is oval and static, with deep, glowing eyes, a pointed and stretched nose, and a wide, permanent grin. Many speculate that the entity wears a mask due to the smooth surface where its face should be. This "face" adds to its cold, emotionless behavior. It wears a formal black top hat, adding a bizarre formality to its appearance that starkly contrasts with its form.

The entity appears dressed in an entirely black outfit, including a long, flowing coat. The coat billows unnaturally, even in the absence of wind or movement, as if the fabric itself exists outside the normal rules of physics. ANM-045-C’s body is entirely monochromatic, except for one anomalous detail: its footprints. Whenever it walks or moves, it leaves behind glowing, colored footprints. These colors seem random, shifting from vibrant reds to greens, yellows, and purples. The footprints often stand out in sharp contrast to the black-and-white dreamscape that ANM-045 inhabits.

ANM-045-C is also reported to have long, unkempt hair. Its hair is thin and greasy, hanging in tangled strands beneath its top hat. Like the rest of its body, the hair is devoid of any color except black. Only the entity's "face" and limbs are white, with spots alternating between gray or dark.

ANM-045-C is classified as a purely oneiric anomaly, appearing only in the dreams of its victims. Once present, it converts the entire dreamscape into a black-and-white environment, devoid of life or warmth. The entity exhibits a highly predatory nature, seemingly omniscient within the dream, as it can teleport to any location within the dreamscape, actively pursuing its victims. ANM-045-C’s primary method of attack involves chasing and touching its victims, inflicting severe agony upon contact. Victims of ANM-045 awaken with severe physical symptoms resembling connective tissue diseases, including malformed or elongated limbs, abnormal flexibility, and skeletal deformities, leading to a progressive decline in health—symptoms akin to "extreme Marfan syndrome."

Affected individuals often exhibit severe psychological distress, reporting an overwhelming sense of dread and helplessness induced by the entity's pursuit. It is believed that ANM-045-C derives sustenance from the fear and torment of its victims.

Although the exact origins of ANM-045-C remain a mystery, it is theorized to be a manifestation of shared human trauma or a collective unconscious fear. The nature of this anomaly suggests a potential connection to mass hysteria or a deeply rooted, transcultural nightmare.

ANM-045-29-P:

Addendum 045-C-02: Effects of Contact with ANM-045-C

When an individual is touched by Papa Mangler within the dream, the experience is described as an immediate and overwhelming wave of excruciating pain, concentrated at the point of contact and rapidly spreading throughout the body. The pain is often described as a burning or tearing sensation, as if the victim’s bones and muscles are being stretched, compressed, or twisted into unnatural shapes.

Upon waking, the victim initially feels disoriented, with the intense pain persisting for a few seconds before rapidly escalating. Medical evaluations have confirmed that individuals touched by ANM-045-C exhibit symptoms similar to extreme forms of Marfan syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, or other connective tissue disorders, but these symptoms manifest in exaggerated and grotesque ways, far beyond the scope of any known natural disease.

Documented symptoms of exposure to ANM-045-C:

1. Severe Hyperflexibility and Joint Dislocation: Victims often display extreme joint hypermobility, with their limbs contorting into unnatural positions. In most cases, the joints spontaneously dislocate or bend backward, causing further physical and psychological suffering. Some victims describe feeling their bones shifting and stretching under the skin as if manipulated by an invisible force.

2. Limb Elongation: Some victims report that their limbs grow several meters within minutes after waking, resulting in grotesquely long and disproportionately large appendages. This rapid growth puts immense strain on muscles and connective tissues, often leading to severe lacerations and internal damage.

3. Skeletal Structure Deformation: The skeletal system of affected individuals undergoes rapid and extreme deformation, particularly in the spine, ribs, and facial bones. This deformation results in hunched backs, twisted limbs, and pronounced facial disfigurements. In several cases, the victim’s bones began to fuse or calcify in strange, asymmetrical patterns, leading to permanent disabilities.

4. Extreme Pain and Neurological Damage: Victims report that the pain caused by Papa Mangler lingers long after waking, often intensifying over time. Nerve damage, particularly in the extremities, leads to constant sensations of burning, tearing, or numbness. Many victims develop neurological disorders, including tremors, loss of motor control, or partial paralysis.

5. Tissue Degeneration: As the deformities progress, victims suffer rapid breakdowns of connective tissues, skin, and muscles. Open wounds and lesions appear on the body, particularly in areas where bones or joints have been severely displaced. This tissue degeneration leads to infections, necrosis, and, in most cases, death within weeks to months after initial contact.

6. Increased Psychological Distress: In addition to physical symptoms, victims exhibit extreme psychological distress, including persistent nightmares, anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations. Many victims claim to continue sensing Papa Mangler’s presence even after waking, describing an invisible weight pressing on their chest or an unseen figure standing at the edge of their vision.

ANM-045-0-P - Case Study:

Victim: Kamila [REDACTED] (Subject 045-0-P) Incident Date: ██/██/1956

Age: 26

Sex: Female

Termination Date: N/A

ANM-045-0-P was conducting research on ANM-045-C when she began experiencing recurring nightmares involving the entity. During the third recorded episode, Kamila described being chased by ANM-045-C in a desolate, black-and-white urban landscape. She tried to escape the entity by fleeing into an alleyway but was cornered. Papa Mangler extended his skeletal hand and brushed her shoulder before the dream abruptly ended.

Description: Upon waking, ANM-045-0-P exhibited severe curvature and deformity in her spine, leaving her hunched and off-balance. She was diagnosed with severe kyphosis, which caused compression of her nerves and organs. Although she underwent corrective surgery, she did not regain mobility or sensation. The researcher remains in critical condition, reliant on a wheelchair and physical therapy.

Despite intensive medical intervention, Kamila succumbed to rapid degeneration of her connective tissues within two weeks, her body having become deformed beyond recognition. Her final journal entry read: “It’s not just the pain; it’s the feeling of being hollowed out. Like he’s still with me, twisting my bones even when I’m awake. I can hear him... Papa Mangler... waiting.”

---

Biological Studies:

Extensive research into the physical consequences of contact with ANM-045-C reveals a unique alteration in the victim’s genetic structure. While the symptoms mimic certain connective tissue disorders, biopsies have shown unprecedented acceleration in tissue growth and disintegration, suggesting that ANM-045 introduces a foreign agent into the victim’s body, speeding up cellular degradation and elongation. The exact mechanism by which this occurs remains unknown, but studies suggest a breakdown in proteins responsible for tissue elasticity, leading to the chaotic and exaggerated deformities seen in victims.

Additionally, victims of ANM-045-C universally exhibit a sharp increase in stress hormones and neural activity, particularly during REM sleep. It is hypothesized that Papa Mangler’s connection to his victims may persist beyond the initial contact, slowly warping both the body and mind until the individual succumbs to either their deformities or madness.

Termination Protocols:

Due to the extreme physical and psychological damage inflicted by Papa Mangler, euthanasia is recommended in cases where the victim’s condition has deteriorated beyond the point of recovery. However, containment personnel should be prepared for potential violent outbursts from victims, as many experience psychotic episodes caused by the entity’s continued presence in their psyche.

As a result, the underground Base-045-HQ was founded in Massachusetts, USA, to house all victims of ANM-045-C before and during any experiments, analysis, interviews, or future euthanasia procedures.

---

Behavioral and Psychological Profile:

The exact personality of ANM-045-C remains ambiguous, as it does not verbally communicate with its victims. However, through numerous dream reports, certain traits and behavioral patterns have emerged.

Papa Mangler exhibits playful behavior. He appears to enjoy terrorizing his victims, prolonging the chase within the dream and appearing when the victim least expects it. He often displays mocking gestures, such as tipping his hat or making a theatrical bow before beginning his pursuit. His movements, though unpredictable, often carry an air of deliberate precision, as if he is aware of the fear he is inducing and takes pleasure in the slow unraveling of his victim’s psyche.

Several male victims have reported that Papa Mangler displays what they described as “effeminate” behavior during their dreams. Though this has been difficult to define scientifically, victims frequently report that the entity moves with a certain flamboyance, incorporating exaggerated gestures such as dramatic hand movements, overly stylized poses, or an exaggerated and theatrical walk. Some victims claim he approaches them in a flirtatious or mocking manner, adding an additional layer of discomfort. This perceived behavior is likely part of ANM-045-C’s psychological manipulation, exploiting social anxieties and discomforts for added emotional impact.

Despite his complex behavioral profile, ANM-045-C does not speak or make vocal sounds (except for exaggerated sighs, mocking chuckles, or groans). Instead, he relies on facial expressions, hand movements, and body language to communicate his intentions. In some cases, he has been observed slowly tapping his long fingers together or running them along his own face or surroundings as a form of silent mockery.

ANM-045-C’s colorful footprints are a unique signature of his presence. Even after victims wake up, they often claim to continue seeing flashes of color in the periphery of their vision, reminiscent of ANM-045-C’s footprints. This lingering effect suggests that Papa Mangler’s influence may extend beyond the dream world, leaving a lasting psychological impact on those who encounter him.

There are cases where Papa Mangler prolongs his interaction with his victims, as if relishing their suffering before finally inflicting physical damage through touch. However, it is unclear if he directly kills his victims within the dream. Instead, he ensures that the waking world continues their torment through extreme and grotesque physical deformities, which ultimately lead to a slow and agonizing death.

Addendum 045-C-01: Incident Report

The first documented case of Papa Mangler occurred during the 1950s, discovered by Dr. Öctavio Kalev, who reported frequent nightmares involving a distorted figure resembling the entity. Within a few weeks, several patients reported similar experiences, with one undocumented victim eventually succumbing to the same physical symptoms later described in future afflicted individuals. The victim's final dream journal entry stated: "Papa Mangler comes for me; I see his face getting closer every night. He wants to consume my dreams and my will to live..."

Dr. Moon continues research on ANM-045-C, focusing on dream modification as a means of containment, though progress remains slow.

Current Status:

ANM-045-C remains uncontained. Research into methods of preventing or altering the dream patterns of affected individuals is ongoing.

Note: Under no circumstances should unauthorized personnel attempt to interfere with research on ANM-045-C or make contact with affected individuals without proper psychological training.

[all-pacas]

Don't leave us in suspense! Drop the baldirs gate takes!

the one literally on my mind right now:

there is not a single good astarion/halsin story out there. like prove me wrong i guess, i haven't looked at all of them, but every single one i dip my toes into goes:

uwu poor baby astarion so sad

uwu halsin takes care of him and teaches him consent

uwu halsin is very paternalistic and teaches astarion how to sex

uwu he Big

and it drives me bonkers. like fandom has the habit of infantilizing astarion anyway, making him out to be a poor sad victim. like other people have pointed out the hilarious "man whose personal journey is gaining agency -> let's take away his agency" fanfic pipeline already, but for real!

rambling about how emotionally stunted astarion is under the cut:

he doesn't like to talk about his trauma, but he's also clear that it is trauma. he isn't in denial. he knows he's fucked up. and yes, when it comes to sex it's a bit more of a gray area, but he's a willing participant. he has a bunch of horny comments. he very much wants to hook up with someone at the goblin party, and WILL fuck lae'zel if tav doesn't romance either first. he tends to not enjoy sex as much as he THINKS he will and disassociates and knows his feelings are all fucked up around it, but he is NOT naive or in denial. he actually seems pretty self aware about it! he knows he forces himself through seductions, he knows he uses sex as a tool, he doesn't like either thing but he's been doing it for a long time. he's not naive.

he's also just. not. vulnerable? in general? like the man whines and complains, but he's one of the least emotional people in camp, in that he HATES expressing his real feelings. he doesn't talk about feelings. shadowheart, by way of contrast, is standoffish and doesn't open up easily, but IS able to pretty plainly state when she likes and trusts you. astarion? he has no idea. he will say this. he doesn't admit to liking anyone or anything, and yes, trauma, etc., etc., but he's also just kind of emotionally closed off. in general. anything that isn't superficial is shut down.

astarion actually goes pretty far out of his way to NOT be uwu vulnerable. he HATES being pitied and looked down on, or being perceived as such. CONSISTENTLY. he hates it when you tell him you'll protect him. he doesn't like being seen as weak. my favorite example: he doesn't actually approve of you offering to be his personal juice box after the first bite: he does approve of you agreeing with HIS plan to eat bandits. he doesn't like charity; he likes agency. he'll still take advantage, because he'll take what he can get, but it's REALLY telling he consistently prefers the answer that gives him agency (eating bandits) over the easier solution that doesn't (being fed at tav's discretion). with durge it's even more obvious. he says repeatedly: he wants to be in this TOGETHER. he wants them to rely on HIM. he very, very, very much does not want to be a kept toy.

i think there's also some ambiguity about him calling off sex in his romance. he's VERY clear that he enjoyed sex with tav and sees them as very attractive; it's just that (as he also says) he doesn't know how to have a relationship that isn't framed around sex as a tool and payment. that's re-enforced by his stated vulnerabilities once tav stops sleeping with him: he sees sex as his primary purpose/his looks as his only selling point, and he worries about tav hooking up with the drow twins (slightly) or halsin (more so) as a result. and yes, he has lots of other trauma and issues to unpack on top of it: but from the outset, he's pretty clear that he wants to figure out how to have feelings and a relationship in a non-sexual context. the other stuff exists TOO. many things can be true. it's just that he states, his stated reason for withdrawing, is wanting to sort out his feelings for TAV, not sort out his sexual trauma. again, both are true. but also: BOTH are true. he's not just a sad traumatized boy, he's also and equally trying to learn how to Relationship in a different way than he's used to.

so going back to halsin, who i'm not trying to demonize. all these FANFICS, man. halsin teaching astarion about uwu consent and taking care of him in a strong and paternal way. that's like. the last thing in the universe astarion would want. he'd go full cat exposed to water. and i'm not saying the ship can't happen or whatever, but it's such a common thread in the fanfics it drives me bonkers.