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choupiee · 1 year

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Ninjago movie verse headcanons Pt. 3 (Maybe a bit chaotic, might be my last one, who knows?)

- Zane obviously knows how to cook. He cooks very well, barely gets anything burnt or undercooked. He accidentally acts like a mom to the rest of The Skittle Squad (yes I’m calling them The Skittle Squad from now on) he also gets cooked food straight out the oven with no oven mitts. It was a jumpscare for Cole

- On the other hand, Kai is permanently banned anywhere in the kitchen. Get a glass of water? He has to beg someone else to get it for him. Getting an apple? He has to walk very slowly to get it off the bowl. Why? Because he unintentionally blows up the kitchen. Nobody knows exactly why he’s like this

- Since Jay knows how to invent stuff, he mainly did most of the blueprints for each mech, and had Zane to do it in the holidays non-stop. It wasn’t such a big deal, since Zane is a robot and has stamina. But Jay felt a bit too bad for making Zane do the work so he just forced Zane to make a plain water flavoured popsicle in his free time whilst Jay did his fair share of tinkering

- The Skittle Squad does karaoke nights. Lloyd sings pretty fine, he’s the most decent singer. Cole would most likely beat box or dance instead (they had to drag him away from the stage). You cannot not convince me that Kai forced Jay to do a Spin The Wheel and got Barbie Girl as his song and absolutely cried whilst trying his best. Zane sings like he’s speaking. It makes Cole cry. Nya does a whole K-pop performance (+ Kai because he was supposed to mock Nya behind her on the stage but they synced their moves and they look pretty good). Kai just shows up in those inflatable suits and sings a seductive song whilst pole-dancing. (He’s banned from the stage as well)

- Bonus when Kai sings but makes a commentary in the middle of the song he’s singing like, “I left all the doors unlocked when you- Okay, whose holding my dinosaur tail, let it go-”

- They all do bets. They exchange money so much that it’s a tradition (Right now Jay’s got the most money but he’s acting as if he’s broke so the others won’t turn bets towards him)

- If SnapChat was real in Ninjago, Kai would most likely take a selfie of Cole spitting out his drink with Jay’s hair on fire and the text would be like ‘Damn new hair style on 🔥🔥🔥’ (Then there’s another selfie all blurred of him on the foreground and Nya behind him chasing him to grab the phone and the text would be an unfinished message like ‘Hold on brb my sister-’

- Nya and Lloyd (obviously) do hair routines together. They would exchange shampoos, conditioner, hair tips and practise on wigs as well, the rest of the Squad thinks it’s so cute

- Meanwhile Cole suggests Jay should cut his hair by burning it (Zane almost had an urge to get a marshmallow and roast it over Jay’s head)

- Jay and Kai love (really) social media. They both type very fast and have quick comebacks. When someone posts a hate post about Lloyd, you’ll bet Kai would tell him off about how Lloyd is better than them and Jay would go over their profile and shame them for whatever they are interested in (even if it’s actually something that he thinks is decent)

- Cole did that one trend where you fake looking through the internet and find out that your friend’s celebrity has ‘died’ at the age of whatever, he did it on Nya using her hero ‘The Lady Iron Dragon’. Nya couldn’t stop crying for days

- Jay keeps his room pretty tidy. When the others (Lloyd mostly) got invited to stay at his place, they try to attempt to make everything a huge mess just to spite him (It was Kai’s idea, of course)

- They all own a group chat and spite eachother by changing their display names. Lloyd’s phone got taken from Cole and the message notification just notified Kai that his display name was changed to ‘K-Baby’ and that made him change Lloyd’s name to ‘Child Booster Seat’

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docmary · 3 years

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The politics of a pandemic, how not to manage coronavirus

No man is an island, Entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manor of thy friend's Or of thine own were: Any man's death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind, And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls.

It tolls for thee.

John Donne

1624

The poet John Donne warned of the dangers of isolation and imagining oneself as self-sufficient, without need of community. It was true 500 years ago; it still holds true today. No man is an island…every man is a part of the main. As wave upon wave of SARS-CoV-2 reached every continent, even Antarctica, most of us have tried to isolate ourselves on this crowded planet - with mixed results.

As of May 30, 2021, by every metric, the United States was leading the world in the number of cases and deaths from COVD-19. Brazil and India are catching up quickly. In the US, the underlying tension between public health and personal liberty has had disastrous consequences. As successful as the vaccine roll-out has been, and even with the numbers of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths dropping, this is no time to be complacent.

India, with a population of over 1 billion, and Brazil, a pariah among countries in Latin America for its poor response to the pandemic, cause or should cause great concern to everyone everywhere. Not having the resources of rich countries, they will require help to manage the tragic situation their leaders have put their populations in and it is in our interest to do so because...the bell tolls for thee.

India

When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic in March 2020, there had been 330,000 cases and 30,000 deaths from SARS-CoV-2 reported worldwide. In the early days of the pandemic, India was considered a model of how to manage the worst public health crisis in recent memory. India responded with a strict lockdown. International flights and exports of masks, ventilators, and certain medicines were banned. As a result, India did not see the same initial explosion in new cases and deaths compared to other countries.

Three months later, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi began easing lockdown restrictions - like the American football player who does the end-zone dance on the two-yard line—not a good idea. When the lockdown lifted, many Indians stopped taking precautions. Mr. Modi allowed large gatherings, including campaigns in state elections that he attended, without wearing a mask, at rallies of thousands of mask-less supporters, to help his governing Bharatiya Janata party. Large religious festivals resumed drawing millions of people as well. By July 2020, India had seen 600,000 cases and 17,834 deaths due to COVID. An editorial from The Lancet, said that Mr. Modi “seemed more intent on removing criticism” on social media than “trying to control the pandemic.” Sound familiar?

As recently as March 2021, India’s health minister assured the public that they had reached the pandemic’s “endgame”.

The New York Times reported in May 2021 that India was responsible for more than half of the world’s daily COVID cases, setting a record-breaking pace of 400,000 new cases in one day. Researchers believe the B.1.1.7 variant and the delta variant, which are also major variants in Britain and the US, are to blame for the surge. Clinics across India report desperate shortages of hospital beds, protective equipment, and oxygen.[1]

Just to add to the global disaster, India is one of the world’s leading vaccine manufacturers. It is struggling to inoculate its own citizens; less than 10% of Indians have gotten even one dose.[2] In September 2020, Serum Institute of India (SII) received $150 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation to accelerate production of Oxford University’s AstraZenica (AZ) vaccine and the American vaccine Novavax as soon as the WHO granted regulatory approval. Under the original terms of the agreement, 50% of vaccines would be earmarked for India and the remainder would go to other low- and middle-income countries.[3]Currently, exports of vaccines from India have been shut down.

Brazil

In an editorial from The Lancet, dated May 9, 2020, the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsanoro, was criticized for allowing the SARS-CoV-2 virus to spread widely while presenting himself as a “messiah” touting unproven medicines like hydroxychloroquine, with support from his rightwing allies.

At the time, Brazil had the most cases (105,000) and deaths (72,88) in Latin America. Estimates suggest the death rate was doubling every five days. When asked by a reporter about the rapidly increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases, Mr. Bolsanaro responded: “So what? What do you want me to do?”[4]

In March 2021, Brazil’s pandemic spiraled out of control. Its Latin American neighbors grounded flights, closed land borders, and regional sports events were canceled in attempts to stop the P.1 variant (and approximately 90 other variants) from spreading to their populations.

The British Medical Journal reported that 400,000 Brazilians have died from COVID-19—13% of deaths worldwide.[5] Some models predict the death toll in Brazil will reach half a million this month. That trajectory could be an indicator for what is to come for its neighbors. As Paraguay’s director of health surveillance, Guillermo Sequera, has said: “When Brazil sneezes, Paraguay gets a cold.”[6]

COVAX

With a fast-moving pandemic, no one is safe, unless everyone is safe.

author unknown. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-accelerator/covax

COVAX is an initiative dedicated to equitable access to a vaccine, particularly to healthcare workers and those most at risk. To date (5/31/2021), COVAX has shipped more than 77 million COVID-19 vaccines to 127 participants. It is co-led by[7]:

CEPI-Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. The governing board has 12 voting members; four investors and eight independent members with competencies in industry, global health, science, resource mobilization, and finance—and five observers (17 total). Financial support comes from public sources including US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance-a public/private partnership which has helped to vaccinate 760 million children in the world’s poorest countries.[8] It ensures that infrastructure is in place and technical support is available to make sure that COVID-19 vaccines can be safely delivered to support the participation of 92 lower-middle and lower-income economies. It is part of the health systems work of Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator effort, focusing on areas where it has expertise and experience, such as keeping vaccines at the correct temperature.

World Health Organization (WHO)

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

COVAX hopes to get 280 million doses of vaccines to Latin America but has been hit with delays to eight manufacturers (including SII) it has deals with and does not expect to deliver them until the end of 2021.[8]This has led South American nations to look to China’s Coronavac and Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine supplies. One study found that Coronovac was only 50% effective after a single dose. The Biden administration has pledged to purchase 500 million doses of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine to give to COVAX; the first 200 million doses will be distributed this year, with the subsequent 300 million in the first half of next year.[10]

My Take

In what can only be called being one step ahead of the game, armed robbers in Hong Kong stole $16,000 worth of toilet paper as coronavirus sparked panic-buying of essential goods a month before WHO declared a global pandemic in March 2020.[11] (Good times)

In July 2020, President Trump formally notified Congress and the United Nations that the US was withdrawing from WHO because of course he did.

Several articles, including one from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)[12] have compared weekly deaths in the US that would be expected from historical trends with COVID and non-COVID deaths from March 2020 until January 2021. There was an increase of 22.9% of all-cause mortality. This far exceeds expectations. Excess deaths attributed to non-COVID causes could be the result of deaths that were, in fact, COVID but misclassified. They might also be due to delayed care, an overwhelmed healthcare system, or behavioral health crises. On the other side of the ledger, no doubt at least some of the deaths that would have been anticipated from non-COVID causes might have died from the coronavirus instead. Which is to say, these are at best estimates of the mortality rates. During surges in various parts of the US, deaths from several non-COVID diseases like heart disease and Alzheimer’s increased. Either way, the excess deaths could have been helped with a better response to the pandemic early on.[13]

For those “give me liberty, or give me death” fans, do I really need to point out that Patrick Henry was referring to his own death, not the deaths of millions all over the world? My parents’ generation made many sacrifices during WWII, including blood and treasure, and considered it worth the price to defeat Hitler. Wearing a mask to defeat a virus? Really? Who have we become?

It comes as a surprise to no one that the countries with the largest death tolls to date, the US, India, and Brazil, are also countries in which partisan politics was the priority over public health measures. It isn’t a good idea. Why don’t we just stop?

[1] What to know about India’s coronavirus crisis. What is behind the explosion of new coronavirus cases that is overwhelming the South Asian country? NY Times, May 25, 2021. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/article/india-coronavirus-cases-deaths.html

[2] ibid

[3]Raghavan, P. 2020. $150 million dollar shot for serum production of COVID vaccine, India Express.

[4]Lancet editorial. September 19, 2020. COVID-19 in Brazil: “So what?”, Lancet, 395: 1461. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(20)31095-3

[5]Taylor, L. 5/20/2021. COVID-19: How the Brazilian variant took hold of South America, BMJ 2021, 373: n1277. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n1277

[6]ibid

[7]World Health Organization: COVAX Working for global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-accelerator/covax

[8]Raghavan. Op cit.

[9]Taylor. Op cit.

[10] Page, T, Rauhala, E. Jun 9, 2021. Biden administration to buy 500 million Pfizer coronavirus vaccine doses to donate to the world, Washington Post, retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-vaccine-donate/2021/06/09/c2744674-c934-11eb-93fa-9053a95eb9f2_story.html

[11]www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article1

[12]Woolf, SH, Chapman, DH, Sabo, RT, Zimmerman, EB. May 4,2021.Excess deaths from COVID-19 and other causes in the US, March 1 2020, to January 2, 2021,JAMA, 325(17): 1786-1789. doi: 10.1001/jama.2021.5199

[13]ibid

#COVID-19 #Brazil #India #COVAX #vaccine #AstraZeneca #PfizerBioNTech

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maverick-guy · 3 years

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2012’s successor, quarantine life, the Philippine government, and everything else in between

To begin with, 2020 seemed dreamlike – this year was somewhat a clash of heavenly entities and hellish forces. The universe was not kind to us this time. Doing activities and routines outside were put to a halt, but with humans' confinement in their houses, it made our situation worse. 2020 has been a fast yet long year, and we may all feel that time now is linear.

Allow me to borrow a line from the 1972 film Grease: This is the life of illusion, wrapped up in trouble, laced with confusion.

Most would agree that the words above sum up the year 2020. An unfortunate series of events have taken place – from the Australian Bushfire crisis, the Iran-US conflict to earthquakes in Mindanao and the eruption of Taal Volcano in Batangas – and these events have transpired in the first quarter of 2020. It seems like a frightening state to begin the year.

Afterwards, life was starting to be okay. People were adjusting with initial solutions to problems and ready to start anew, but coronavirus emerged. Reports say the first local coronavirus case struck in January – and due to a rise in positive cases, collective fear transpired in March, thus declaring coronavirus as a pandemic.

During the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in March, changes were relatively minimal since people could continue their businesses at home. But some of which lost their jobs resorted to starting food businesses or grieve because of said situation.

It's funny yet disturbing to witness that the government officials thought of matters that are supposed to be "important", but negate the needs of ordinary citizens. There were also debates about the enforcement of travel ban during the first quarter of 2020, but to our disdain, it was never taken seriously. In the end, we suffered a lot from their gambit during people exclaiming for assistance.

People get nervous each time the government transitions to the loosened GCQ. Businesses, travel, and movement imposed some restrictions, but there's the liberty of people to go out and do [unimportant] stuff. Some boomers also mentioned that this pandemic is a divine intervention, telling us to step up our faith and keep praying until we see the hope of day. So weird to think of.

As time passes by, everyone has set and bat their eyes on social media. With boredom and temporary pleasure, the rose of TikTok dance challenges has become a trend, along with experimenting DIY recipes and snacks. The creation of support and humorous Facebook groups has also been a craze, helping us cope while in quarantine by sharing memes, tips, tricks, tutorials, and advice according to members' inquiries and concerns.

Though these temporary distractions made us somewhat feel on edge, social hurdles increased such as unemployment rates. A few lucky corporate employees are compelled to the transition to work from home; and for students to continue their education online. Some were not ready for this sudden change of lifestyle as they may lack the resources and mental capacity to keep moving forward. Along with financial issues inflating, hopes and dreams feel deteriorated.

2020 did not feel the need to stop, as it delivered more than we ever expected. There is the shutdown of ABS-CBN, the demise of George Floyd, hence advocating the socio-political movement #BlackLivesMatter, and the implementation of the Anti-Terrorism Bill, as it being unconstitutional inflicted dangerous implications towards the society.

Throughout the ber months, people thought of celebrating the holidays is something we all looked forward to, yet another shooting incident caused by the police emerged. Jonel Nuezca, an off-duty police officer, shot his two unarmed neighbors, Sonya and Frank Gregorio, due to a heated discussion over right of way and the use of a boga. The untimely shooting incident emerged on social media, along with netizens expressing their protest with the acronym A.C.A.B (All Cops Are Bastards), and the hashtags #StopTheKillingsPH, #JusticeForSonyaGregorio, among others. These phenomena struck us of the social realities we ought to face.

Not to mention some of the heart-breaking deaths of celebrities this year: NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, actress and singer Naya Rivera, and YouTube vlogger Lloyd Cafe Cadena, made us feel disposable. Netizens can’t help but spit these words with spite: GRABE KA, 2020!

Once a new year has come, people always claimed that it would be their breakthrough. 2020 was the most anticipated year for redemption, but unexpected turnovers left us clueless on what’s in store for us in the following days, dominating anxiety and resentment. It is then claimed that this pandemic may change our lives forever.

People could go all night, overthinking about the simplest and pettiest stuff. With chaos going on, the utmost priority should be safety, security, and survival. One's daily routine felt timid, hence the desire to feel free again. People are now forcing themselves to perform their duties and just call it a day.

No one gets ready for a pandemic. There may be warnings beforehand, but it isn’t the ordinary citizens’ fault – it’s the government’s accountability to look after. As much as possible, I do not want to sound overly political, but the government’s incompetence affects the rise of numerous COVID cases each day – why plenty of Filipinos still suffer and plenty of then-employees remained jobless.

It’s a good thing that searching for new ways to thrive is an innate feature we acquire. However, I also do not want to glorify our resiliency, as being a Filipino is commonly construed as “resilient people.” If there comes a similar situation in the future, people should use their “resiliency” to stay at their homes, and be careful at the very least. But one thing that needs to be changed is the decision-making and planning of our government officials. The birth of our chaos came from them, so it shall end from them.

We are close to bidding farewell to 2020, yet the glimmer of hope seems far away to be achieved. Ambiguity lingers as we ask ourselves “What does 2021 have in store for us?” Are there people still looking forward for more pains and unfavorable events and perceive them as a leeway to unlock the tool of growth and our power to keep moving forward? Are we still going to settle for the bare minimum and keep our “resiliency” intact?

With all these points elaborated, this now begs the question: did the world really end in 2012? Or these unfortunate events are just unusual to us and we are, more or less, capable of taking action to undermine our demons?

#blog #thoughts #opinion #reflection #quarantine

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cultml · 4 years

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covid 19 problem

1 i decided not to read do deeply about it, ignorance warning

2 i decided over the past few days to just post links with the covid19 tag instead of trying to link to them here, and not going to take the time to explain.

SO..

Around the time of the ban on flights China i read that the genetics of the virus meant that the spread rate was 2.???... a couple of days latter it was becoming clear they had no idea. then it looked like they had a clue... then no...

What is the incubation period.. 5-6 days.. 2-14.. you might be able to spread it up to three Weeks latter?....

how long does it live on surfaces 3hrs... 9days? They may have the answers to those questions now, though i haven’t seen them.... but i gave up some time ago. Play with the models and the reasons all you like.

They didn’t know and still don’t as far as i can tell. Looks like there may be good reason why... still they don’t know

So I am going to jump around a bit and hopefully get to my point. Trump and Cuomo need to SHUT THE FUCK UP. Cuomo seems to be doing a chicken little rain dance every day... why...it’s not helping. Trump.... he does not speak in clear and concise term. That’s good for a whole range of things. It is the worst way in the world to talk about a freak’n pandemic. I do not ever want to hear him speak about the half ass attempt to keep it from coming here by shutting down flight from China. And he is a target for the press and that makes him a distraction. The local news and their social media should have been where the official messing should be coming from. One press conference from the White house a week, the rest, paper statements. It turned into a circus... what’s new

China’s fault. Trump was to optimistic and moves to slow. Bureaucracy and bureaucrat did what they do. Our leaders didn’t do the basic they supposed to before a crisis hits. The technocrats are in charge and the wise men are all dead.

Masks..?...

Masks..?... A wise leadership would have caught this. there are at least two types of masks.....that do TWO different things...... that means we need to use TWO DIFFERENT terms. Surgical masks and respirator masks? You want to stop the spread? 2 ways people don’t catch it or people don’t spread it. Med. personal need to not catch it the rest of us need to not spread it.... so cloth surgical style mask for everyone. there solved it. They are not a complicated piece of equipment... that make them very DYI able.... and that make the very customizable.... and that make them very meme able.... I will never understand why the in the fucking hell we didn’t do that.... Childish technocrats me thinks. Some other came to a similar conclusion as i about mask uses they just did it by looking at what Asia does differently than us. Depleted stock piles of N95s etc.

Ventilators... I feels like some one raised Robert McNamara from his grave. Or someone been read Moneyball to many time. It sound like we will have all the ventilators we will ever need some time next...year? We need the guys that where stacking sand bags and what ever else on Shermans or the guys strapping on gun pods to the early Phantoms or any of the engineers that where there when the space missions went pear-shaped. The actual McGyvers types that are acting out of necessity. If this is PR BS wheel McNamara out there.... If this is the freak’n war you say it then screw the rules and save the live. Inflatable swimming pools filed with sanitizer to respirators made from shop vacs and duct tape. don’t give me this shit about FDA clearance, sterile production environments, retraining workers and retraining Drs for the new machines... really...

there was some hope, a couple of university have cheap prototype with of the quasi of the shelf parts and there was talk of using F-150 blowers and batteries form tool manufactures.... Then today, FDA clearance... and “we are not sure how fast we can retrain the medical staff”......

If they can’t suppress blueprints for the 3d printed gun ......

The stimulus pt 3 (i couldn’t tell you with a gun to my head what 1and2 where about) looks like heaping piles of mistakes repeated (ignorance warning) Bitching about income inequality and that Trump hasn’t taken over production sooner... It a country lead be wise men these people wouldn’t even be in the room and no one would listen to them. Like wise saying it doesn’t matter what’s in it, it just needs to get done....? Fair enough, but really this is the best we can do ... you go to war with what you have and you enter crisis with the facile toddlers for leaders that you have. That fact that all side are pleading for the workers and not for the ideals that would help the works should tell you how bad all this is going to be.

Civil liberties... to late now. We will just have to hope we can wrestle most of them back after the fact.

Economy or lives is a false dichotomy, a prison of two ideas. It is some of both and there is no right answer in this moment, maybe in ten years it will be clear. If you can’t under stand that then you can;t understand leadership at least at this level.

closer to the point.. Virtue ..... Puffery? It’s not virtue signalling, there is a semi virtuous act involved. Having a kids plat a concert out side the door of your elderly neighbor, or showing Grandpa your engagement ring through the window or going to the store for them is What Your Supposed to do..... I stopped smoking some ..years ago now. I don’t talk about it, in fact hate it, it is not a source of pride. It is embarrassing,not that anyone said good job, because few in a position to say know better.It would feel like more of knife in the back than support. I stop doing something that was bad for me. I stop a negative that is not a positive.... Our virtue is all relative, for a number of reasons. any thing sort of getting caught for rape or murder is a positive. Say thank you and we should be good. you want to be an asshole I’ll happy to leave you alone. That’s it and tell the news crews to fuck off. I know people are posting this shit themselves which is worse......

The point.... well i never really got to it, which is part of the the point i think. The battle for what comes next was barley getting oxygen before. and most of it was between the progressive et al. and the New Theocrats / national conservatives. Neither should be any where near power... and what are we doing... trying to understand statistical modelling most of us will not totally understand.. a giant waste of time. The virtue puffery of the moment and the failure of Sanders followed by the insane Dem over reach in this moment and then by the catastrophic Biden campaign. May well propel the new theocrats in to power.

The something new, the thing to come, the what’s next..... will be old. It will have no defense against what pushed it out of power because it never adapted because it never saw it’s failure as legitimate. If it was legit or not is an open question but it’s failure and weaknesses are real. They may gain power again not because they defeated their enemies but because their enemies failed.

This quasi fascist verses socialist cycle is a fixture in Europe and not here. My fear is that that is over. The cycle could very easily shorten and escalate. The increasingly useless, populist , theocrat Tucker Carlson made the point the crisis don’t change much they just exhilarate the trend. The what’s next just wasn’t there going in to this crisis. The path for change may be dead.

The world may end up rather dark and very boring.

(not editing/ pissing in the wind for 2+ hrs is long enough, and didn’t get to the uselessness of libertarians substituting econ or morality)

#black swam #Cult ML #cultml #covid19

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caeows · 4 years

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jeon jeongguk . cis male . he/him ／ graeme bae just pulled up by blasting dirty little secret by all american rejects --- that song is so them ! you know , for a twenty three year old actor , i’ve heard they’re really gullible , but that they make up for it by being so tenacious . if i had to choose three things to describe them , i’d probably say tousled hair , triple dog dares and a closet full of black . here’s to hoping they don’t cause too much trouble !

hello ! i’m deni ( she/her pronouns , gmt+9 timezone ) . i’m best reached on discord at gayfairy#6371 for plotting . below the cut is ... a ridiculous amount of keyboard smashing but it was a holiday and i was feeling inspired so !! i included a few TLDRs for some quick scanning . there’s also some plots at the bottom i’d LOVE to see . looking forward to writing with you all !

* ☆ ·˚ background.

you could say he was destined for the spotlight .

an only child , he grew up watching his parents performances on the stage , accepting their kisses and gentle smiles before they set off for tours around the country and left him with his cousins . sure , they were absent --- but they tried --- and graeme knew he wanted to be just like them . when his parents delighted in his little home-staged sets he presented , they quickly enrolled him in acting classes and coached him through first auditions , even moved back to korea when it was clear some american roles wanted to confine him to one note . after gaining exposure , graeme shared the screen with one of the biggest names in the american industry in a dramatic hit that led to some ridiculous fanmail being sent to him as a kid , then excitedly landed a role in a revamped science fiction film he was stoked af abouy !!! unfortunately , the film was met with an absolute brutal blowback from fans , some of that hot , petty anger taken out on graeme , and at thirteen years old , his parents made the decision for him to step back and focus on school . ( he still holds onto those spiteful letters------ all that hate from grown ass adults thrown at a child )

performing arts high school , but graeme stayed away from the public stage for a bit . worked on some sets as a tech to get a better idea of the film making process . kept a low profile occasionally caught by curious paparazzi at a basketball court or baseball game . recognizable , but not to the point where he couldn’t be seminormal . there were a few bumps in the road :: leaked photos of a beer at a high school party , couple of fake friends sliding in for clout , people pushing questions like when are you returning ?? how does it feel to ruin one of the most important films of all time ??? shitty . but , with the help of his parents , friends and coaches , graeme returned to student films to grow more comfortable in front of a camera . his official comeback was in the background of a friend's directorial debut , a lady-love drama critics salivated over but failed to earn is’ nominations . still , graeme’s name was back and out there . jumping headfirst into the thing that scares him , graeme’s slated for teen flicks , romantic dramas , action films . a diverse portfolio . people love a comeback . ------as if there was something wrong with what he did before .

TLDR. former international child star who took a break after experiencing a massive fan-driven backlash . pseudo retired , did the performing arts school thing . popped back on the screen about a year ago and working his ass off since . early career inspiration : jake lloyd , natalie portman , yeo jingoo

* ☆ ·˚ current.

suddenly getting all this praise and earning cash , living on his own in a sprawling city of work and sin . hasn’t stop busting his ass , no , but maybe he’s found outlets for all his stress in . . . less than healthy outlets . some of the headlines are way off the mark , some a little too close to home . either way , it’s not something his parents or his management company are thrilled about ( doesn’t he want to be taken seriously as an actor , they say ) and he does . of course he does . but what else does he have to sacrifice to be taken seriously ? and how serious does any twenty-something year old wanna get ?

late hours on dance floors , strips of things he doesn’t know the name of on his tongue , lips on any pretty , wanting pair he can find . he’s young , virile and at the top of his game . who can blame him ? it starts with a string of tabloid images , a rumpled and sleepy-eyed graeme leaving apartments that aren’t his in clothes he was spotted in the night before . zoomed-in , fan-cropped photos on twitter of hickeys and swollen mouths and unbuttoned shirts . america’s sweetheart ? maybe , but clearly not around the clock . him , scaling rails of hotels and dancing on top of cars . grabbing mics at clubs and taking over DJ boots at parties . twitter explodes when he moonwalks through the airport one time and baristas trend his insane coffee orders .

and even though he’s got his own name --- and a variety of different spellings , hashtags , and whatevers --- blacklisted on social media , every now and then he’ll run along a stream of grueling comments , petty nitpicks about his performances , his looks , his voice , his goddamn smile and it’s----- it’s rough , even for someone who grew up in that environment . there’s days where he’ll hole up in his apartment and refuse to see anyone , refuse to leave . the guy in the interviews with the wide smile and sparkle eyes is so , so far away and people almost forget that he’s human , too . he pushes himself out of that mindset , sometimes with help , but it’s always a shadow on his back , waiting to catch him at his weakest .

TLDR. tabloids gossip about speculated hookups and strange behavior . potential alcohol abuse . pushback from management and parents . anxiety towards social media . current career inspiration : ansel elgort

* ☆ ·˚ tidbits.

sporty as fuck —— basketball , soccer , skateboard , swimming , climbing . says he would’ve been an athlete if not for movies . fit as fuck despite a steady diet of ramen and pizza . claims to like horror movies the most , but he’s a total schmaltz snob . can hold a pretty tune well enough to pass . has a private twitter account for the memes , public accounts are all operated by a social media manager so he doesn’t have to read comments . watches college basketball championships religiously . has very strong opinions about scented candles . likes sugary drinks more than coffee but claims to be a connoisseur . loves biopics . punk and 2000s emo rock fan . gets anxious easily , suffers through interviews and avoids personal topics as best as he can . is rumored to be difficult to work with , but keeps to himself on sets save for a few opinions about blocking and lighting . pan as fuck and fairly open about it . mom and dad are chill , but don’t understand much of anything past bi . they get on to him more for his diet and job . when not on the court or working , spends free time rewatching anime in the safety of his bed in an threadbare pair of boxers , eating Doritos by the fistful and leaving his manager on read .

even his underwear is black . occasionally, he’ll change it up with a screen printed vintage t-shirt and wears whatever kind of fancy thing his stylist squeezes him into . otherwise wears by a black or white t-shirt , black pants and combat boots . seventy percent of his sneakers have sharpie drawings on them and he’s got a lot of holes in his ears and another in a place you’d be lucky ( or unlucky ) to see . loves dangy earrings and wearing his hair loose , a bit long with a mild perm . silver on his wrists and friendship bracelets from yesteryear but no rings . tattooed up ! recently collaborated to design a line of temporary tattoos . extensive collection of sunglasses . hit up a lot of music festivals in the past but that’s died down in recent months due to a busy schedule . swung his way into VIP passes before . he was a total Warped kid in the past , no shame . no longer does fan conventions because of a negative experience a few years back , and even fan meets are a little awkward , but he manages to push through . can’t drive worth a damn but he’ll kick your ass at any arcade game . occasionally , he’ll stream over twitch but that’s becoming less and less common . was banned from several dave & busters before he made it back on the screen . moody as fuck .

* ☆ ·˚ plots.

so . bonds . there’s a best friend who may not have been there since the beginning , but they’ve been there when it matters . the friendship is new , fresh , and maybe graeme shouldn’t be as dependent on it as he is , but he can’t help it . clinging to them like crazy --- let’s hope it doesn’t fall to the wayside . ( ? / 1 ) there’s several of his idiot friends who , after being stranded on too many red carpets , a hundred hotel rooms , and hours of press junkets , have learned to survive by snapchatting each other random dares throughout the day . ( 1 / unlimited ) there’s a few childhood friends who , like him , grew up either in or close to the spotlight and they have this , like . . . support group kind of situation . i don’t know . graeme checks on them from time to time , even as they’ve grown apart . ( 2 / unlimited ) he’s got some partying buddies who may not have his best interest at heart --- who may or may not stop him when he’s slurred out and whining about twitter trolls . some gaming partners he teams up with over stream , but lately they’ve drifted apart .

it’s such a cliche that his management’s set him up for a fake dating situation . if graeme wants the dramatic , serious roles , then he needs to show he’s a mature and capable young man . how else to do that than jump headfirst into a few awkwardly orchestrated dates with another hotshot on the radar ? ( ? / 1 ) but they’re not serious . so , he hasn’t stopped hooking up , or thinking about a one night stand that totally rocked his world . ( ? / 5 ) and ( ? / 1 ) media and fans definitely know about a few of these . the jury’s out for how they feel about it . then there’s his competition , actors in the same demographic targeting the same roles . it’s a tough business and they know it , but the press picks up on all these weird quotes and posts that twist shit into beefs . what other misunderstanding will cause the casket to blow ? ( ? / unlimited ) there’s some co stars on old and upcoming films . people who see how hard he works and how much effort he puts into what’s seen on the screen . they tough out hard days on set and the press circuits during promotion . see him at his worst and best . ( ? / unlimited )

#excess:intro #tw flashing gif #tw anxiety mention #going back to SLEEP c u l8r

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shuhey-hisagi · 5 years

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Could I get some headcanons on what Rangiku, Rukia, Renji, Shuhei, and Toshiro's favorite things to do are in the human world when they're not working(I hope that's not too many)?

I was way too excited writing this..

Favorite things to do in the human world

Rangiku Matsumoto:

- It’s a no brainer that she enjoys visiting shopping centers. She’ll drag along whatever poor sap was around her at the time so they can carry all her bags. How she has that much valid currency is a mystery, but she goes all out. She’s interested especially in new make-up and fashion trends.

- She’s all about doing things that make you happy and is a firm believer in the power of retail therapy. Rangiku might pick up several magazines with make up tutorials so that she can practice back at home when she’s bored. She actually becomes really good at make up and her favorite looks usually involve brown/red eyeshadows and a bold lip. People at the mall confuse her for a social media influencer or model often.

- She’s not Rangiku if she doesn’t hit up the night clubs or bars. She’ll talk some of the girls into going with her. While at the place of business, she has an easy time talking men and women alike into buying her and her friends drinks. It’s a fun night, especially since she’s really outgoing and down to try new things.

- Since she goes to clubs often, she’s developed a taste in a particular sort of night club music genre, so she might ask Ichigo to help her find a certain song or similar songs. He’s less than pleased but tries his best anyways.

- SPA DAYS. After a long night of drinking and dancing, she most definitely will have booked a spa day. I’m talking facials, full body massages, that weird tropical music they play, a complementary jacuzzi for extra pizazz, all of it. She brings along whoever she feels might be having a bad week/needs to destress though. It’s sweet of her, because she acts like she just wants company, but is trying to use something that makes her feel a little better to help someone she loves.

Rukia Kuchiki:

- Rukia enjoys learning about modern ways of life. This involves watching a lot of cute shows on television or picture books. She appreciates animated shows a lot because it’s interesting to her how much work people put into creating such content. It takes her a while to get used to the subtle humor though.

- Definitely someone who would try to go see the tourist sights available and enjoys places like beaches or small hiking trails connected to parks.

- Would probably take Renji and/or Ichigo to an aquarium with her because that’s a whole uncovered field for her and she’s awestruck. She would find a tour guide or worker and badger them with questions the whole time that she’s there.

- She does like spending time with Orihime and her friends. It gives her a sense of belonging, and they are all really sweet and animated in their own ways. It’s a definite break from the strict atmosphere of the Soul Society. She especially enjoys going to the movies or amusement parks with them because she always experiences something new.

- I can see her trying out a yoga class with Renji and making an utter fool of herself. That’s something she’s never going to attempt again...

- Would definitely be on the look out for anything that she believes her brother may appreciate. Though her sense of style is a little tasteless, she does like to hit up scarf shops or even craft stores that may have odd trinkets that she thinks Byakuya may find (secretly) endearing. Probably has a custom frame made for him.

- She also enjoys spending time with Ichigo. Harassing him has become one of her favorite pastimes and no matter how old he gets, she’s still able to rile him up. It never stops being funny.

Renji Abarai:

- Renji is a mess. He wants to try everything out. He’s passionate about new foods and accessory shops most.

- You can find him strolling through downtown observing a map and trying to find that new sunglasses shop Orihime mentioned. This dude totally gets talked into buying bootleg Ray-Bans or something. He doesn’t really care- brand names don’t mean anything in the Seireitei, so he can get away with sporting some cheesy glasses.

- Likes going out to try new foods with Rukia and the gang. He usually ends up ordering too much and has to get Rangiku to pick up the tag. She does with the threat that he has to pay her back, but she never owns up to it. She secretly doesn’t mind it.

- At one point he became interested in motorcycles and Chad was trying to help him learn. That ended up as badly as you can imagine.

- On the off chance that Byakuya is also in the world of the living, Renji tries to break his shell by bringing him to shopping centers or even suggesting a hike that has a nice view.

- Though his experience at the Urahara shop was iffy, he does like to drop by every now and then with candy or other small gifts for Jinta and Ururu. He’ll never admit it, but he’s become extremely fond of the two and views them as his younger siblings. That being said, it doesn’t mean that the kids are any less lenient on him. He’s still the victim of relentless taunting. He’s learned to be patient with them and usually just gives them the reaction they want because he knows it makes them happy.

- Renji enjoys going to the jazz cafes that Shinji Hirako suggests. He’s grown fond of the music and when he needs some alone time, he can count on the atmosphere to mellow him out.

Shuhei Hisagi:

- There’s this one Shinigami Golden clip where when he was in the world of the living, he brought back Sajin Komamura a brush for his fur. That makes me think he’s usually on the lookout for items that are not available in the Soul Society that he thinks will benefit his comrades. He’s also always tempted to buy other things like sweets or snacks for people he thinks might enjoy them.

- Chad helps him learn how to play that guitar he found. His progress is slow considering he can’t meet up often, but he takes back books and probably has a laptop that he can watch tutorials on. (Chad got a new one so he downloaded videos on it for Shuhei).

- He likes to cook, so he enjoys going to the grocery stores and scoping out produce that he may be able to find back home as well and looks up recipes. He spends a lot of his time at used book stores.

- Has definitely thought of getting another tattoo or piercing. Scratch that, he got an eyebrow piercing on his gigai and liked how it looks, so when he got back home he decided to get an actual one. Once it healed, he only ever wears jewelry in it occasionally. He’s thought of a nose piercing but is a little too nervous about a cartilage piercing.

- Ichigo was skating once and Shuhei thought it was cool and had Ichigo teach him how to skate. He’s actually a natural at the whole thing and enjoys evening skates through quiet streets. That is, until someone mistakes him for a rival gang member and he ends up being chased. Usually he tries to avoid conflict, but sometimes thugs just deserve getting their asses kicked.

- On that note, Orihime suggested he get rid of the face tattoos on his gigai if he wants to look a little less intimidating, but Shuhei refuses because they’re an important part of him. He does mind that people are intimidated by him, but he’s come to accept that he might not be the most conventional “human”. ( help im crying )

Toshiro Hitsugaya:

- Definitely visits all the grandmas who somehow hav managed to melt his icy demeanor. A few of them don’t get to see their relatives that often, so he makes it a point to stop by when he can. He’ll help around the house or eat the snacks the provide. They usually don’t mind if he takes a nap and often suggest he can take their spare bedroom, though he hasn’t done so yet. He’s tempted.

- Does his best to avoid any other soul reaper who may be in the world of the living. Once the mission is done, he just wants to relax. He’ll spend time at local parks, and sometimes, if Karin spots him, he’ll be talked into a game of soccer.

- Toshiro enjoys feeding stray cats and has done so so many times that even when he’s not in his gigai, the animals can sense him and follow him around. He claims it’s a nuisance but he’s truly happy about it.

- Like the others, he enjoys experiencing new foods. Shaved ice is one of his favorites, but when he found out about frozen yogurt, he was swayed. He’s definitely the type of person who stocks up on snacks from the convenience store then goes back to where he’s staying, locks himself in his room, and proceeds to devour everything and nap.

- I see Toshiro as someone who would enjoy learning new languages and learning about other cultures. He has made i his goal to learn as many languages as possible, and if he’s able to, he’d like to travel to more countries aside from Japan. He’s learning English. Sometimes Chad will teach him some conversational Spanish. He gets a smartphone so he can use apps like Duolingo when he’s in the world of the living, and definitely suggests that the Soul Society should make more technological progress so he can use said apps in a completely separate plane of existence

#bleach #bleach headcanon blog #chad bleach #byakuya kuchiki #toshiro hitsugaya #rangiku matsumoto #renji abarai #shuhei hisagi #rukia kuchiki

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rebelwheelssoapbox · 5 years

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Pride Month Means Politicians Are All Rah Rah Rainbow, But Do They Support All Of The LGBTQ+ Community?

By RebelWheels NYC The following article is not an attempt to drag, shame or throw shade at people, but rather is an attempt at education and a call for solidarity.

[image description: Cast photo from the Queer Eye. photo shows five different gay men who have various appearances and looks, but are all very stylish. ] With perhaps the exception of Queer Eye & RuPaul’s Drag Race (which not everyone has access to), if one were to go by LGBTQ+ representation in the mainstream media, one might get the impression that LGBTQ+ often equals very glam/stylish, white, able bodied, cisgender, middle and/or upper class. However, the truth is like many identities, queer people exist within every community.

[image description: Cast photo from the RuPaul Drag Race. Photo shows a wide variety of drag queens looking pretty damn fabulous and colorful] I am a proudly queer, disabled woman, (among other identities) and therefore I don't just face queerphobia, but also deal with sexism and ableism. Sometimes I experience these things all at once. Sometimes I even face ableism within queer spaces and sometimes queerphobia in the disability community. Related: Ableism? What the hell is Ableism?

[image description: a graphic with a white background and black “typewriter” font text. It reads, ”Ableism is… (a form of) discrimination.The false idea that disabled people are by default, inferior. When in truth, disability is just another way for a mind and/or body to be.”] So often when we hear about oppressed groups of people, it's often presented in this very isolated fashion (or what is often referred to as single issue). Here is Group A , they face Discrimination A and that's it. However, the truth is, unless you are white, straight, cisgender , male, upper class, able bodied, etc., life is rarely that simple. You can be queer and disabled. You can be queer and poor. You can be queer and a person of color, queer and Muslim, queer and an immigrant and/or refugee, queer and indigenous, etc etc etc. In fact, at the end of the day, a person can be all of these things.

And I mention this, not to simply partially list the possible combinations of marginalized identities, but to point out that when we talk about the importance of supporting and giving love to the LGBTQ+ community, we must acknowledge that many LGBTQ+ people aren't just dealing with LGBTQ+-phobia (which is hard enough on it's own.) That if you say you support the queer community, then we must support all of the community, and that means having solidarity for the varying experiences of all queer people.

[image description: Black and white photo of Audre Lorde, a black and queer activist. To the right of the photo, is a black background with white text : “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle, because we do not live single-issues lives.” Audre Lorde.] Related: Ted Talk by Kimberlé Crenshaw who is credited for coining the term intersectionality. (TW: various forms of oppression, including racism and police violence, including footage of literal violence towards the end of the presentation) I am writing this article during Pride Month, where companies galore are fishing for those beloved pride dollars, as they remake their logos in the colors of the rainbow flag. Some people in the community applaud this action and are happy to give them their money, while some of us in the community are asking, what have you done for our community other than make your logo more colorful in the month of June?

After all, solidarity is more than just slapping on a rainbow.

[image description: Rectangle rainbow graphic, with red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. On top is the following text “Rah rah rainbow!”] Meanwhile, in comes the wave of politicians, who too, are all rah rah rainbow on their social media, but do they really support our community, or are they just in it for the good PR, or perhaps running for re-election? And if they say they do support our community, even if they are LGBTQ+ themselves, we must ask: do they support all of the community? It's great if they are against LGBTQ+ phobia and the consequences of, but as we discussed earlier in this article, in order to support all of the community, solidarity must go beyond that. In order to support all of the community, we must acknowledge how many forms of oppression intersect. So, what does that look like? Well, there are many issues that I could include here, but in the interest of keeping this article at a reasonable length, I'll just name the following three examples.

1.) Are they working to end the cash bail system, which predominately impacts women and mostly poor women of color. A system that keeps people in jail, sometimes for months, many who haven't even been convicted of a crime, but can't afford the bail money to get out? It's Pride month. Do the rah rah rainbow politicians also support the end of this classist and racist system, that keeps many people, including many in the LGBTQ+ community in jail? Related: VIDEO: Moms Behind Bars: How Cash Bail Is Keeping Women In Jail | AJ+ Related: Southerners on New Ground (SONG), a Southern queer liberation group, has been raising money to help bail Black mamas out of jail for Mother’s Day.

[image description: screenshot from a video from Mic, showing two transwomen of color, walking down the street in a city environment] 2.) Do they support the ban of an archaic law, often referred to as #WalkingWhileTrans, which unjustly gives the police legal permission to harass (and in many cases, racially profile) transwomen just for being out in a public space, under the “loitering for the purpose of prostitution” law. They don’t even need proof. A transwoman could just be walking home from going dancing with her friends in a cute little dress, she stops to talk to someone and if a cop thinks she might be a prostitute, regardless if she is or not, he can arrest her. Related: Transwomen and activist, TS Candii tells her story of when she was harassed by the pollice TW: transphobia, police brutality and assault Related: Civil Rights Groups Call Out ‘Archaic’ N.Y. Loitering Law For Targeting Trans People 3.) Meanwhile, similar to how LGBTQ+ people exist within every marginalized community, so do disabled people. And since this is pride month (though solidarity should of course not be a 30 day event), we must also ask do these politicians support efforts like the DIA or Disability Integration Act which would make it so that states could not force disabled people (and thus queer disabled people, queer disabled people of color etc) against their will, trapping them into institutions and nursing homes? Related: Disabled Activists as part of ADAPT occupies 19 House offices to pass the Disability Integration Act (HR.555) Because if they don’t support issues like these (and many more), then they are not allies to all of the LGBTQ+ community, in which case, are they really allies? In this case, in many ways, even if they are against LGBTQ+ phobia, but stop there, the social media post of rainbows, and maybe even waving and marching in their local pride parade, can not be fully authentic. The powers that be go to great lengths to pit oppressed communities against each other and because social media has a short attention span when it comes to trending topics, and there is just so much injustice going on in the world, it can be difficult (at best) to get that spotlight to shine on the oppression that you face and/or care about. But in the end, if we say we support the LGBTQ+ community, if we say we are against oppression of LGBTQ+ people, then we must not leave a single LGBTQ+ person behind.

________________________________________________________________ This article was partially inspired by a tweet (social media post) by Bruce Darling, a queer and disabled activist from ADAPT, who said the following in response to some rah rah rainbow politicians: “Seriously, if you HONOR Stonewall, and civil rights, STOP STONEWALLING the Disability Integration Act! #HR555 Disabled Americans should not be locked away in institutions because you refuse to take action on a bill… Support #DIAtoday! “ which got me thinking about the importance of intersectional or complete LGBTQ+ solidarity or the lack of.”

#pride #pride month #gay pride #LGBTQ+ pride #LGBT pride #queer pride #queer #queer and disabled #intersectionality #queer intersectionality #disability integration act #cash bail #walking while trans #bruce darling #queer eye #rupaul #politicians

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mathogenicxz · 3 years

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New Normal New Me (to make people aware of the situation of the youth)

This pandemic affected many lives of the people around the world. The whole world has been devastated by the worse and worse of the covid 19 case. Due to the aggravation of the case of covid 19 many people became ill and the others lost their lives. The countries closed their economies so the result was that many lost their jobs, many went hungry; so many people wondered then if this pandemic would end? Or not anymore.

Way back in March 2020 a frightening announcement from the government, there is a deadly virus spreading in China and it continues to spread and for our safety our country has implemented a lockdown. Most people thought that the virus would go away immediately, so the schools implemented a 2 -week suspension so the students were happy because there was no school work and most of all there was no school.

At first I thought that after a few weeks I would be back to normal. A few days have passed and a few weeks ago, the ECQ is still going on in the country. A month later I just accepted that this is our destiny. The prevalence of disease caused by COVID-19 is still not abated but is increasing. In the midst of this pandemic I learned to be more patient. I felt there was no rush in things because everyone was more focused on their own safety.

But most of the students were surprised because the case of covid 19 is on the rise. It's supposed to be a 2 weeks suspension but it became postponed. Many students didn't finish school properly. There are no graduations, moving ups, or any ceremonies allowed. But back then, nobody knew that this pandemic would last longer than ever.

And since classes stop at schools everyone is quarantined in their own homes. The government bans going out of the house, family gatherings, and requires face masks face shields for safety purposes to prevent infection or transmission of the deadly virus. They also enforced community quarantine and lockdowns here, lockdowns there, lockdowns everywhere in our country.

People have been busy with their lives so that they will not be bored with the community quarantine imposed by the government. Because people are bored during lockdowns, almost all of them are addicted to social media. Many do trending things in social media like food, dance, song etc. they do that to entertain themselves to escape boredness carried out by community quarantine.

Because of the long time people have been locked up in the house because of covid 19 for our safety, some of the people in their houses are completely bored. Most are not accustomed to confinement at home because they are used to going out all the time, wandering here and there. For a long time being quarantined in their own house some people have experienced mental disorders like anxiety and depression and this is of concern to our countrymen.

Our government has almost no conceivable way to free us from community quarantine and they are still working on a way to eradicate this deadly virus. Most of the people complained that because they had nothing to eat, no money to get because of the closure of the economy and the others are about to starve to death. Others wonder if this pandemic will end or not, due to the increasing incidence of covid cases 19.

So in our experience being quarantined for almost a long time, many problems tested me and my family especially our family's financial ability is average and our life is simple rather. At the height of the government's implementation of the community lockdown, our family was very poor at that time, we had almost nothing to eat because my father lost his job. We endured a lot but they said there was a rainbow after the rain so I just believed that and I also believe in our God and every day I prayed that everything would be okay.

And one of the saddest things I did was that I experienced depression because of being locked in the house, being in community quarantine. I'm used to interacting with others. Almost everyday I cry, I used to think there was nothing there for me I felt like I was alone, I almost committed suicide and I almost overdosed on medicine. I also had insomnia, the type where I couldn't sleep even though I was very sleepy. I experienced this pandemic very hard.

I miss my best friends so much during my breakdowns, I was looking for my friends at that time because they were the ones who made me feel better when I had a breakdown apart from my family. and another problem is that we will be apart and the government banned the social gatherings. So here I am, fighting alone with my feelings, I tried to be strong and survive this pandemic. But fortunately social media was invented so we use it to communicate with each other to greet each other now pandemic.

And another thing is that my GrandFather passed away during lockdowns. But one day during the Buried of my GrandFather I felt something strange. I had a fever, I had a cough and a cold, I also lost my taste and smell, my body was really weak at that time. All the symptoms of covid I experience. And sadly when I did a swab test I was tested positive and I was hit by covid. That time I didn't know what to do so my anxiety and depression got worse. There were too many problems I felt.

Many lessons and things are taught to us in this Covid 19, Lockdowns and Community Quarantine. Aside from valuing myself I also learned how to value every hour - every time I was with my parents. Another of the things I learned was to enjoy life. Now I realize I was just repeating what I used to do. After school will go home or after church will go home. I have never experienced other things that would make me happy. I forgot how to enjoy life. I always touch my gadget or my plates. I never thought to do the things I wanted to. And now I have been given the opportunity. One of the first things I loved to do when I was young was to dance. Before the lock down happened, I would just dance whenever needed. I’ll just dance because that’s what ‘kin’ was assigned to me. But now I am free to do so at any time.

I also learned to appreciate the people around me, especially those who are struggling with the situation of the country. I had an organization back then and I volunteered to raise funds to help many families in need of support. Employees who have lost their jobs and salaries as well as frontliners who need support for their safety are the ones I make sure to share with the help I can.

And lastly I will never forget that I have learned this pandemic is to be strong, to fight to survive and most of all to trust in God.

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romymdxcontexualstudiesfirstyear · 3 years

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The censorship of women on social media.

Deep rooted in our society is the attempt to control women, it goes back centuries. Women being told to act proper, lady like and quiet themselves, in fear of being unfairly labelled a shameful name. For decades this attitude towards women continued until more recent times, women have found new ways to challenge this outdated idea of womanhood. In today’s society women can proudly express their trues selves online, whether its speaking out about an issue they normally wouldn’t feel able to do or simply posting a picture of themselves. Although women nowadays have much more freedom then before, do they really have complete freedom? On social media women can post and write whatever they please, as long as it complies with the ‘community guidelines’, this is where the issues start to crop up. An alarming amount of women’s posts that get removed are to do with their appearance, if it doesn’t fit into the ‘healthy lifestyle’ or the objectified version of women. The culprit of this is usually Instagram and TikTok, along with most social media platforms having their own ridiculous guidelines.

Rupi Kaur the visual poet, had a menstruation-themed photo series which she posted to Instagram, to challenge the taboos of periods. One photo in particular gained some attention which resulted in it being removed twice, the image under fire (See Figure 1) was of the artist herself, fully clothed lying down in bed, with 2 small spots of bloods visible both on her trousers and the bed sheets. The post was then removed twice for violating community guidelines, Kaur challenged these removals and eventually the post was restored where you can still find it today. On the restored post Kaur writes how she “thanks Instagram for providing the exact response her work was created for, deleting a photo of a women who is fully clothed and menstruating, claiming that it goes agonist guidelines when the guidelines state that its nothing but acceptable.” (Kaur, 2015)

Although the post is back up and has been ever since, the fact that it was removed twice despite that there was nothing within the image that violated guidelines, proved how women are controlled to fit the common place ideals that have been ingrained into society. It’s surprising to see the amount of people who think this type of image shouldn’t be on social media, as if a women menstruating isn’t natural, it’s made to seem dirty which it just isn’t.

Figure 1. Rupi Jaur photographed by her sister Prabh Jaur, exposing a small part spot of blood, a part of the period series to break the taboos of menstruation. March 25th 2015.

Out of social media women are censored for simple things we might take for granted now, such as reading a book or educating yourself. Once women were ‘allowed’ to read and write books men started trolling and claimed that women’s novels were dangerously distracting, unrealistic and even damaging to their mental health; Men would often deem female writers insane or secretly male. Joan Acocella an American journalist comments on the book ‘The Women Reader’ by Belinda Jack (see figure 2) “Women seemed stupid therefore, they were considered unfit for education; therefore, they weren’t given an education; therefore, they seemed stupid” (Aocoella, 2012) this statement holds a lot of truth, women were never even given the chance to educate themselves and when they did they were called insane and made fun of.

Male writers retaliated by publishing ‘helpful advice’ for women, targeted to keep women in their place; but women fought back. Publishers in the 16th century would offer cheaper and smaller books that could easily be hidden from husbands, book clubs started to form among women, discussing what made men fear women reading do much? The biggest reason being that women would then start to gain their own opinion, unguided or unbiased and they would think independently, another form of women being censored to fit this ideal that had been created just to put them down. The fear of women gaining education is still feared in more modern societies today, for example Iran’s ban of women studying certain topics like English literature, a way of controlling women to do and act how predominantly men want them to act and being punished if they disobey these rules, similar to the community guidelines on social media but in a more serious way.

Figure 2. Front cover of “The Women Reader” by Belinda Jack, the book introduced frustrated female readers over many eras, exploring the differences between men and women’s reading tastes.

The social media platform TikTok is particularly a culprit of censoring and discriminating women, policing their bodies and removing videos with women with “abnormal body shapes”. Raeann Langas, a body-positive influencer with a substantial following on TikTok aims to show people that all bodies are beautiful, regardless of shape or size. Langas posted a video of her and a friend dancing on the beach in matching bikinis, (see figure 3.) a few days after she posted the video she realised that the video had been taken down for violating community guidelines, assuming the app didn’t allow those types of videos she didn’t feel the need to challenge it. But after some digging she found countless videos of women in bikinis using the same #bikini nut the only different was they were all straight-sized women. She says “It was alarming to me that they were clearly removing certain types of people and body types, not the mention a majority of these videos kept up were highly sexualised and would be considered inappropriate for certain viewers.” (Langas, 2020

Langas brings up a great point here, for a post to be “accepted” on social media it is overly sexualised and pretty much objectifies women. You see it on most social media platforms, for example if a slender, “in shape” women posted a bikini picture on Instagram it would get high praise from both women and men, but if a women with a bigger body and stereotypically “unfit” shape were to post the exact some picture, the response would be name calling and making her feel like she is less than, and in some cases the post gets taken down for “violating guidelines”, censoring women who express their true self because society has deemed their body type unappealing and not fir for social media.

Figure 3. Picture of Raeann Langas with her friend at the beach, spreading body positivity. Malibu California, 2020.

Despite this unjust censorship women have experienced for far too long, there is also a positive side to it. International Women’s Day always brings to light the achievements of women and gives them to opportunity to continue to challenge the status quo by changing the shape of society. Alyssa Milano the American actress, singer, author, producer and activist is known for many of her achievements but especially her #MeToo movement that sparked up in 2017, Milano asked women on Twitter to write ‘#MeToo’ if they had ever been sexually harassed or assaulted. In just a few short days tens of thousands of women had responded, one small outcry became an army or supporting women. (Protesting women after Harvey Weinstein arrest pictured below. (See figure 4)

The MeToo movement is just a small part of the victory for women, women having the right to be free, uncensored is shifting the social norms, especially on social media. From my own personal experience getting the upmost amount of support from women on social media is so uplifting, it makes you feel seen and listened to, not just other women preaching about her rights. The more women taken control and break down barriers on social media the more freedom we will get, no longer being put in our place for expressing ourselves, we will no longer conform to the misogynistic views and objectify ourselves for anyone.

Figure 4. Picture above is participants in the march against sexual assault and harassment apart of the MeToo movement in LA Hollywood, November 12th 2017.

The cases I have brought up all support the same opinion that I have about women and social media which is that, misogynistic, sexist and old-fashioned views that have for years censored women are now the very thing that are now giving us the power to take a stand and challenge the status quo. Recent events of women being attacked and sexually harassed are terrible and should never have happened, I feel as if people have already started to stop talking about it and only support it while its “trending” and once it’s done being in the spotlight we get censored again because people don’t really want to talk about the real issues, only talk about them when its gaining them clout, which I feel is the real problem with the social norms we have created. Although it may seem like every step we take we get knocked back three, but every small victory makes up a brighter and better future for women, we need to continue to challenge the status quo, breaking down the barriers and make people uncomfortable until we are heard. Censoring of women may never stop, but we can learn how to make the censorship our own and command what we can and can’t post, no more of being put in our place, more of claiming our rightful place.

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bryanllamado · 3 years

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How the Quarantine Affected Me

Hi there, reader slash blog visitor! We’re down to the last week of November and soon, it’ll be the Holiday season. I recently celebrated my birthday and I’ve seen people flock to malls. But as much as I delight in seeing ~some things~ go back to normal, it also bothers me how people seem to have forgotten that there is STILL a pandemic. Don’t get me wrong– I still want to celebrate Christmas, but in a safe manner. It also makes me anxious that people will be too comfortable “going out” as soon as the holiday rush sets in. How will Christmas in the #NewNormal be celebrated?

For today’s entry, (as seen in the title) I’ll be talking about how the quarantine affected me. I wanted to write this entry weeks ago, but I don’t think I’m in the right headspace to do so. So yeah, in this entry I’ll be listing down some of the changes that I have observed in me ever since the quarantine started more than 8 months ago. It’s so unlikely for the majority to be stuck at home and far from the old way of living that we all had. What’s even more saddening is that we don’t know when this will all end. *shrugs*

As soon as WHO declared ‘it’ as a global pandemic, classes in the local areas were initially suspended. I had a bad feeling about it and so I took home all of my teaching resources and started working on the quarterly exams and final grades. Eventually, the school year prematurely ended without a formal culmination – no graduation, year-end event, etc. The summer (which did not seem like an actual summer) began soon after and the quarantine protocols became stricter and stricter. It led to the temporary closure of establishments, loss of jobs, and sadly, the increase in the number of cases.

With that being said, let me give you my list of the changes this 9-month long quarantine has brought me.

The Quarantine Made Me Socially, Morally, and Politically Aware.

During the years prior, I had this constant discomfort with bad governance and ill-conceived policies. Once a law or a public servant steps over one or any of my values, I would feel the need to express my opinions but I would also be too afraid to stand up for it as some people may tell me that I’m too young to get involved. But now that I’m an adult and a teacher by profession, I feel the need to speak up – not only for me, but also for those who can’t speak for themselves. Furthermore, if I can amplify their voices and use my platform to raise awareness, I will.

I’ve been constantly disheartened by the things that happened while we were under a strict quarantine– workers lost jobs, people got arrested, businesses shut down, and frontliners got sick. It’s plain to see that the pandemic response of the country was derailed from the get go, and you can tell it by the lack of massive testing, insufficient contact tracing, and faulty protocols. Now, here we are– still stuck in our homes and the risk of getting sick is still there. The situation could have been better had we employed preventive measures– flight bans, medical solutions, and isolation among others. The elected officials owe the public a competent leadership and comprehensive plans.

The Quarantine Made Me Check My Privileges

Yes, you read it right! Talking about privileges, I, for one, did not come from an affluent background, but I have always had my needs in check– tuition fees, new clothes from time to time, 3 or more full meals per day, and a quite comfortable home. I may not have all the things I want, but I’m definitely privileged compared to other Filipinos who suffered severely since the lockdown started. I acknowledge that fact, so as soon as donation drives surfaced, I started donating small amounts to certain causes. If I can spend money on shopping and pricey drinks, I definitely have the money to support those who are in need.

With the recent typhoons that hit the country, I became very vocal on social media about how I support relief operations and donation drives. I may not be personally there to help, but I know I can still provide assistance from afar. Despite my efforts to support these causes, this does not mean that I did not experience financial difficulties during the ECQ. Just like what I said, the school year prematurely ended in March, but I believe we were supposed to work until the first week of April. I know that my struggle is nothing compared to what other people experienced, and that’s the reason why I’m using my privilege for good.

The Quarantine Made Me Process My Emotions and Assess My Mental Health

If you’re someone from my circle, you would know that I’m an escapist. I hate facing problems, addressing my emotions, and dealing with confrontations. It does not mean that I’m in denial of the problem, it’s just that I despise addressing them because what’s the point? People care but not enough to apologize or change the behavior that hurt me in the first place. Or at least that’s how I used to think. The quarantine helped me process my emotions and I went through some of the deepest scars that I used to cover up. It was liberating, but emotionally exhausting as well.

I’m still an escapist, but I use escaping for better reasons this time. I use it as a thinking time, a processing period for me to realize where I went wrong and how I want to solve situations. I have gotten over my “what if’s” and “could have been’s” over the lockdown. I’ve made peace with my past, and I’m currently dealing with what’s in front of me– my present demons. I needed that release, and the quarantine gave me sooo much time to do it. I must say that I’m handling things better, and even if I escape the situation, I come back with a definite solution in mind.

The Quarantine Made Me Decide that I’m Too Old for Some Things

TikTok? I don’t know her. HAHA! Let’s go to something light and quite positive this time. I know there have been A LOT of trends that came up when everyone was stuck at home, and I’m quite horrified by the things that people can do out of boredom. Oh well, most of friends have succumbed to the craze. Then, there’s me– the one untouched. HAHA! I just decided I’m too old to dance in front of my phone, take a video of myself, and share it on that app. Can I just say how hard I cringe at myself in videos? Ugh. #nevertried lol

The Quarantine Made Me Rest and Take a Break from the Old Normal Lifestyle

Quite frankly, I used to splurge a lot on food during the old normal, which I still do, but now it’s in moderation. Aside from that, I shopped regularly and buy unnecessary things to compensate for the times when I felt like I lacked in material things. Isn’t it so unhealthy? But how was I supposed to know at that time, when I was working so hard day and night, and the only thing that validates my hard work is when I see my hard earned money go somewhere? In this case, it goes into food and shopping items. *insert my friends’ constant advice for me to stop spending*

Looking at it now, the way I used to “live” was so unsustainable. A friend used to say, “You never know when the next economic crisis it going to happen.” And it just did, right at the start of the new decade that we were all looking forward to. It made me realize how valuable money is, and that it should be in places where it will grow in quantity and in value. But here I am, once again, circling back to the old lifestyle. I guess it’s me searching for a sense of normalcy and validation as I’ve been working from home for the past 4 months. All I can say this time is “send help.” *note sarcasm*

So there, this is where the list ends… for now. We’re still stuck in quarantine so I guess the list will go on until we fully win against this pandemic. I’ve been so busy lately that I didn’t even realize how near Christmas is. Well, the rush is slowly setting in, and the guidelines for the Christmas celebration for this year was already released a couple of days ago. Let me remind you to stay safe and vigilant all the time. Practice social distancing as much as you can and stay at home unless it’s for essential business. I know we are all craving for the usual Christmas celebrations like Simbang Gabi, Christmas carols, and parties.

But trust me, we’ll all have that when this is all over. For now, we’ll have to celebrate in the #NewNormal way. We may not be rejoicing in the same manner, but the reason to make merry is still the same. This may not be a good year for some, but there is something good and something to be thankful for if look enough to find them. Or actually, we don’t have to look elsewhere. The mere fact that we are still here, thriving despite being under challenging situations, is enough to be thankful for. Advance merry Christmas everyone and don’t forget to wear a mask!

Till the next entry!

Bry. x 112120

#article #blog #blogging #blogger #journal #life #personal #writing #writer #christmas #quarantine #lockdown

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youarejesting · 4 years

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Quarantine.32

[Masterlist] Editor: [Yoongisauce] Pairing: BTS x reader Friends2Lovers Genres: friendship, drama, romance SLOWEST OF BURNS. until the anticipation kills us all… Rating: PG-13 and above Summary: Your brother works with a few BigHit dance teams and whilst having permission to accompany him at work the city shuts down banning anyone from stepping outside for a whole WEEK while they disinfect the streets. If you step outside you might get arrested, shot or poisoned by the chemicals they are emitting through the city. Words: 1.9k Announcement: This is the closing chapter of ARC 1 ‘Fog’ So of course it had to be a big one.

[Part 1] [Part 31] [Part 33] [Tag Yourself Here]

Seokjin sat beside your bed drifting in and out of consciousness, watching the rise and fall of your chest. At first, it was hard to look at you, your features strained and obviously in pain, but as the night rolled over to the day you seemed almost peaceful. Cheeks warming into a soft peach hue. There was life in you yet.

He watched a sleek ginger cat walk through the open clinic door and jump onto the end of the bed. Its tiny bell tinkled. Seokjin sat up, ready to move the feline before it had a chance to hurt you.

“Leave the cat, just watch.” The soldier in the neighboring bed smiled at Seokjin. The cat gently walked up the bed and nestled by your injured thigh and started purring. “Cat’s purrs are said to help the healing process.”

“Mister Kim, I think you should get in contact with your friends before they worry themselves further,” Doctor Chang called from the door. He had showered, combed his hair and even shaved his shadow of a beard. He looked more respectable in fresh clean clothes and his white uniform coat.

Seokjin realized the tight feeling he had in his chest. It all made sense; he missed the boys deeply and wished to just embrace them and recharge mentally.

“Thank you for last night. Here is your jacket,” The doctor smiled handing over the folded outerwear. Seokjin tried not to grow bashful at the appreciative words, and picked up the walkie talkie ready to contact his friends. His phone now had service above ground but had run out of battery.

With a small breath, he spoke clearly into the walkie, “This is Kim Seokjin, uh… I am uh trying to get in contact with BigHit”

“Kim Seokjin!” a voice called and he knew that tone, it was a fan. It only took a few minutes for the radio to sound off a mess of voices calling for him and announcing their love for him. The military, who were now in the area dealing with the gangs, began scolding these fans for misusing the emergency radios.

“This is Kim Namjoon, calling for Kim Seokjin, are you okay? Where are you?”

“Namjoon, I made it. I am safe. We are fine.”

“Mister Kim, we have been made aware of your situation with our more secure radio channel. We will send some men out to collect you and take you back to your company when the area is secured.”

“Ah, thank you,” he smiled, turning to see the soldier in his bed with radio in hand.

“Hyung, let’s not use the radio’s cause we are now trending on twitter.”

“Okay, my phone is out of battery but I’ll try to find some way to charge it.”

Feeling like perhaps things were looking up, Seokjin headed back to your bedside, seeing you stir momentarily. You were mumbling about shooting someone and he knew the memories must have been haunting you.

Taking your hand in his, he wondered when he would see your sparkling eyes open once more and gaze upon him.

All the boys had been present for Seokjin’s news and they were cheering and hugging each other. They had deciphered the message earlier when the oldest stressed the word other. They hoped that the message they received that night had indeed just been distorted and that you hadn’t actually been injured.

“Hyung they are safe!” Jimin grinned as he and Taehyung jumped circles around Namjoon, “Jin-Hyung said they are okay.”

Namjoon received a message calling him to speak with a few of the higher-ups. Looking at the boys in the midst of celebration, he quickly excused himself, catching Jungkook’s eye on the way out.

What did they want to see him about? He knew they were already in trouble for speaking over the radio. The fans and social media were going wild with theories of what was happening and he was too scared to even peak at the damage.

The elevator ride was, as always, slow and kind of stuffy but once he reached the third floor from the top, he sighed. The air was so cool and clean. Pulling his sleeves down and smoothing his unruly hair he approached the reception.

“Ah Kim Namjoon-ssi, please follow me to the meeting room.” He followed a thin young man in a suit to an elaborate meeting room designed for at least thirty board members to be present. But today? There was a single chair at the side of the long table.

The young man turned on the thin laptop, set up the headset, and selected CEO Bang Si-Hyuk icon on the screen. Namjoon smiled politely, trying not to appear guilty in front of the CEO.

“Good day. I heard you have made quite a commotion late this morning. There are magazines and social media outlets asking ‘Where is Jin?’ and they want a statement as to why he is outside of the company building, who he is with and why he needs a military escort. What are you expecting me to tell the press?”

“Well– we can state that Jungkook dislocated his shoulder and the two went to the clinic together. And now he needs an escort back as we were informed there are some violent groups in the area that have been causing trouble.”

“As long as you know that this is a warning– if you do something like this again and put your images in jeopardy it will be a breach of contract. I don’t want to have to penalize anyone and I definitely don’t want to remove anyone from the band.”

“Yes sir, understood,” Namjoon sighed brushing his palms down his face.

“I would like regular updates on this female that seems to be causing trouble within the group. None of this was happening before you met her and I hope you aren’t thinking of breaking our dating policy. We have allowed you to have one night stands but we don’t want to cause any more scandals.” Bang Si-Hyuk looked comfortable in his home, but the dull light in his eyes showed he was put out by the latest internet exposure. “I will send out the statement. You boys know I don’t want to be the bad guy. I am trying to do what is best for you.”

“We understand sir, I will speak to the others and remind them of our obligations”

“Good man, keep me in the loop and I will speak to you soon.”

Seokjin woke up with a start. There was a commotion in the clinic; he could see people that were badly injured. He walked around to see if anyone needed help. People were on the floor, all pink and blistered, gasping for breath. “Doctor Chang! What happened?”

“The building had a leak– they all have serious chemical burns and poisoning from the gas.” Doctor Chang sighed, “There are too many of them; the hospital is filled and they have already sent some to nearby health centers but there aren’t enough beds. Can you pass me the saline bags behind you?”

Seokjin handed them over, becoming more concerned. “We have to find these patients beds,” The doctor said, stacking more items onto a trolley.

“They can have mine. Doc, is there anything I can do?” A lethargic voice spoke softly. Seokjin turned so fast he felt his neck pop loudly. “My bed is free.”

“No! You were shot,” Seokjin said and you sighed, “I slept for a long time. I am fine, let me give my bed up. I am recovering and they are suffering, let me give them some comfort.”

The place was packed wall to wall and after some grueling work and care to the injured, everyone seemed to be taken care of. Multiple soldiers arrived announcing that they would be escorting Seokjin back to the company. He looked surprised to see you dressed in a suit as well.

“Why are you dressed?”

“I am coming back with you. I want to be comfortable somewhere quiet and dark. There are no more beds– I would just get in the way if I stay any longer. I will be on bed rest at the company, so it will be fine.”

Seokjin saw the desperation in your eyes at the idea of leaving the clinic and nodded softly. “I have antibiotics and painkillers and I can come back when I need the drain removed. The government says they are going to stop the fog so it won’t be as dangerous to walk to the clinic and back.”

Reluctantly agreeing, the two of you made the final trek to the company. Seokjin held your hand the whole way. He could see you getting tired from walking, trying to mask the pain in your thigh. He lifted you up onto his back, letting you rest your head in the crook of his shoulder.He heard your breathing even out and knew you had fallen asleep, your exhausted body still recovering.

You arrived at the Big Hit building and he set you down on the pavement, smiling at you as you yawned behind your visor. The fog was getting lighter as the day dragged on.

The building had just opened the doors, when Seokjin saw something pass the corner of his eye in the fading fog. He saw Thomas and the boys waiting in the lobby waving at you both, Taehyung and Hoseok with happy tears in their eyes. “Come on let’s go inside.”

Seokjin looked down at you. The smile on your face from seeing everyone again had him feeling warm and fuzzy; he wanted to hold you and kiss you in ways friends did not. He wanted to show you how much you meant to him and he knew his band members wanted the same.

Placing his hand delicately to the curve of your waist, he moved to your side, “You are so beautiful.”

You blushed, cheeks reddening as you looked up at him. Everything seemed so surreal at that moment; the glow of your cheeks seemed to light up your face inside the visor, eyes sparkling brightly. That is until– the visor splattered red.

It all happened so fast– there was a noise that echoed in his ear, loudly ringing out through the street. He watched your body fall like a rag doll. Loud popping sounds continued going off around him.

Jin rolled you onto your back and saw a bloodied hole in the side of your headpiece. Blood pooled out from your head. Your body was lifeless, eyes no longer contained their sparkle.

Everything happened so unexpectedly, he turned away from your dead body and proceeded to vomit onto the sidewalk. What happened to the smiling girl from just a few minutes ago. Where did he go wrong?

Seokjin could register several voices screaming hysterically; Captain Won-Shik pulled Seokjin away from your corpse, dragging him safely inside. The captain shouted about tracking down every single gang member before running back onto the street to continue the search for any hidden gunmen.

Seokjin looked across the room at Taehyung who was crying so hard it didn’t sound human. That’s when he heard a very distinct meow and something soft brush his cheek.

Eyes shooting open, Seokjin was face to face with the ginger cat who meowed once more, rubbing its soft cheeks against his. He felt how wet his cheeks were and knew he had been crying.

[Part 1] [Part 31] [Part 33] [Tag Yourself Here]

Please tell me if the tags work or not, I am still working with them.

Tags:@theneverdays @hi-itstt @bubbletae7 @lovemusicandotps @taetaebq @seveniefive @w0lfqu33n @anaiss97 @moccahobi @maddymal @lilacdreams-00 @lethargicalyssa @knjkitten @pieislife @bunnyboyenthusiast @vividwoosan @seesawsmin-flower @tinyunknownflower @gguksfilter @fawnzilla @passionate-love-57911 @btrombley13

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sehakeemsworld · 4 years

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Is this another one of those TikTok trends?

You guessed it, guess who is back and better than ever! Well, maybe not better than ever but back nonetheless. I have returned from hiatus for another social media switch up. So join me as I dance my way through understanding TikTok. Admittedly, I did download TikTok before the ban (Thanks, Donald) and out of quarantine boredom. Before you ask, no I do not know how the app works and no, I do not know who Charlie D’Amelio is or why she is allegedly famous.

By now, you know how these go, so let’s get down to the nitty gritty.

You have how many views?!!

The average TikTok user spends 46 minutes a day on TikTok, according to Hootsuite. With this being said, it is no surprise that with an increasing number of users some videos go viral almost instantly. Much to my surprise, I am in the age range of the most populous demographic on the app. The user age breakdown is: Age 13-17: 27% Age 18-24: 42% Age 25-34: 16% Age 35-44: 8% Age 45-54: 3% Age 55+: 4%

Based on what you hear about the app, I would have most definitely guessed that teenagers made up the largest demographic. But when looking at the data, the majority of users are able to vote which means they are old enough to make purchases based on marketing they see on the app.

The time is ticking so let’s talk TikTok marketing strategies

As I have noticed, TikTok is another app that willingly (and annoyingly!) shoves advertisements in your face. Every time I go to click “skip ad” I somehow end up clicking on the ad and going to the page for whatever the product or service is. Whether I just have fat fingers or the skip ad button does not actually work is still unclear, but I like to think it is the latter. However, believe it or not, TikTok guarantees 5 million daily impressions for brand takeover ads. Yes, you read that correctly, 5 million daily. Guaranteed. That is pretty amazing and significant for a fairly new app. Not to mention it is a big promise, yet TikTok habitually follows through. This kind of brand exposure does not come for free, unfortunately. Although, I am sure you saw that coming, we are a capitalist society after all, no? For a brand takeover ad, it has been leaked that for the guaranteed 5 million views, brands have to pay $50,000 for a single day of exposure. That is slightly more than pocket change especially for mom and pop shops. Another perk though is that if you do pay for this kind of treatment, it does not fall short, if you pay up, TikTok does too. In addition to the 5 million guaranteed views, you are also the only brand allowed for the takeover spot for that whole day. 50k for some brand exposure? It just might be worth it.

But isn’t it just a bunch of kids dancing?

Surprisingly, no. As you can see above, it is full of hilarious fails and even more than that. A bulk of TikTok videos actually provide content based on education. For example, in China, more than 14 million educational videos were shared. The buck doesn’t stop there! Many groups who have felt pushed to silence have broken that wall and used the platform to educate on various global issues, news, and even their own misrepresented cultures. Several NGOs have also taken to the platform to reach especially younger generations with their platforms.

So while yes, there are a bunch of kids dancing, TikTok is more than that and actually has a place in digital communication strategy plans, especially in the areas of advertising but more than that in producing content. While I will never be a content creator of TikTok and will never post a video, it is fun to go on and see and support other communities. Here’s to TikTok. May the fails keep coming, the laughs rolling, the dances together, and the education for all!

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ftrend · 7 years

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Top 11 consumer lifestyle trend that drives fashion trend 2017

Fashion trend of 2017 will be influenced by Economy, Technology, Politics, and Art which drives human psychology, thinking and attitude. 2016 was not a good year for Europe’s economy and politics, which affected the economy, brought down the currency value that caused the purchasing power of consumer's. India's demonetization severely affected the textile industry, retail and luxury fashion.

Top 10 consumer lifestyle trend that drives fashion trend 2017

Smart shoes now helping to connect with smartphone to get health data

The health and fitness –

The health and fitness are the biggest driving motivational force that is currently changing society. The leaders are Victoria Secret Models, and their gym selfies at their various social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter.com, and facebook.com helping viewers to get inspired for fitness body and better clothing.

The new technological innovation of wearable tech is now allowing to measure one’s performance and calories to track the records of daily health. The sportswear brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Rebook are now integrating chips in shoes to measure the walks. Fitness brands such as fit-bits, pebbles are developing their product to track the most accurate data. Which caused the evolution of wearable tech wear.

Rave culture lifestyle now-now its turned back as techno-pop

The rave culture-

While the movement never really died out, it made something of a comeback on the pop culture scene in 2012. Over the past few months, the trend has resurfaced and re-evolved in Europes and American cities, large or small, and on their outskirts.

Not so long ago, the rave phenomenon was often singled out for criticism. Now it’s the subject of exhibitions! an interactive, multi-sensory show presented by the Scale collective at La Gaité Lyrique (Paris) in early 2016. Earlier Rave culture was confined to the underground and certain notions about the transgression of social conventions, now finds itself at a turning point.

Today, it’s an active driver of nightlife all over the world. The electronic music dance floor is a catalyst for the visual arts, social/political protest and a particular lifestyle. In response to current tensions or fashion trends, it gets people from every socio-cultural category and age group to gather in common spaces.

Today Artists and fashion designers started to explore their inspiration from the rave culture's nightlife; now it's been turned as the return of 90's pop as techno aesthetic. Many designers such as Kenzo, Miu Miu are finding inspiration for their creativity. The traditional colors that emerge from the trend are techno pink, or we can say bright pop pink.

Selfie culture

The selfie culture-

Socialism is great especially when you have the power to be more presentable on social networking websites like Facebook and Instagram. New Modern cameras and selfie-centric software allowed people to share pictures. According to Google daily, more than 200 million selfies are taken every day. These data allow designers, fashion brands to create a product which takes care of consumer’s demand, which is why Rebecca Minkoff in collaboration with GE launched a case for IPhone6 plus with new enhanced L.E.D light which allows great photos during low light conditions

Vetement's collection at Paris fashion week. disrupting the classic style with new overlarge sleeves

The Modern Rebels –

Anti-Establishments - The Millennials are often described as a rebellious generation. While in some parts of the world young people are taking to the streets with their demands, going against the establishment is a much more universal phenomenon. The many means of communication available today provide a variety of channels for expression. Young people no longer trust in the traditional hierarchy, whether at work, in politics, with regards to their elders or with ownership. Undoubtedly, this mistrust stems from the strict, vertical structure of a system that is bogged down and miles away from their collaborative view of the world. Or, because of what typifies their generation: the Internet, a notion often still regarded as a simple ‘tool’ by everyone else.

The anti-authentic luxury culture –

Modern consumers now don’t care much for a brand, designer’s name, for them luxury is losing its value all they care about appealing designs. That’s why the top designers are now forced to create styles which are not expensive. Adidas and Alexander Wang’s collaboration is an outcome of the demands from the anti-Luxury tribes.

Consumers are now less focused on Image of the brand but rather focused on individuality. Researchers have revealed that purchase of non-logo handbags has increased among Millennial, Gen X and older (70+). Gen Z share of non-logo bags rose 8 % in the 12 months ending June 2016

The socialist gen-z –

The children born after 1995 considered as Gen-Z, they are truly modern consumers, grown up with the modern gadgets since from their childhood and exposed to new revolutions. They are not shy, very expressive and adventurous.

The Gen Z consumers are extremely experimental with the new ideas.

The analytical Millennials- New Millennial consumers now buy products after reviews from blogs, user’s reviews from e-commerce website such as Amazon’s user’s reviews. This change now helps retailers/manufacturers to create the even better product and understand the real demand. Also, this shows now consumers are even more awaken

The feminist women

The Modern Feminist-

The “girl power” movement embodied by new figureheads, some highly educated and others self-taught. Its modern ideology primarily based on the social media, which relay influential opinions and enable personal branding. These superwomen – many still in their teens – go straight to the head of the class! Hyper-connected, enterprising, uninhibited and inventive, they are redefining social conventions and status. Over and above success, the women in this new generation are seeking personal and professional satisfaction. Sometimes – in fact, often – they combine the two, forgoing a filter. They do their own thing. Their objectives are not exclusively material: making a tonne of money is no longer a valid goal in and of itself.

Zara Agender collection

Anti-Gender-

The gender-based distinctions are slowly blurring now, the tentative steps were taken by some of the retailers like Selfridge, Zara and some of the other big retailer’s created the positive buzz in the industry. Zara came up with the collection named Agender to tap this opportunity.

When Gucci has given a chance to Hari Nef the first transgender model to walk a ramp during the Men’s pre-fall 16 collections at Milan, Italy, it did not matter of awe. Nobody was surprised to see the transgender model at a ramp.

This social trend is not stopping at all, as the Lakme fashion week is now set to launch Anjali Lama the first transgender model at Indian runway for the summer resort 2017 runway show.

Modern Nomads

The Nomads-

The world is shrinking, and we think you as the citizens of the world. The Generation Y and Z love their native country but don’t want to live there. They want to find adventure, flee constraints or experiment with new uses and lifestyles. They go by the moniker of “roamers”…

Flexible and extremely mobile, these new nomads from Generation Y – with Generation Z hard on their heels – are citizens of the world. Having studied abroad in several countries, they already have several life/work experience under their belt and are reinventing work, travel and. roaming. The phenomenon of transborder appropriation, now changing in the wake of various terrorist attacks, has further affected transcultural delimitation. These nomads develop a temporary emotional bond with their city of residence rather than relate to their country of residence or native country. As for the migratory flows, they are becoming incessant and unquantifiable.

We cannot ignore the change caused by modern nomads as there are transmitting the culture of their native place city to city they visit. They are acting as the catalyst for the new changes also an inspiration for the creativity. Now we have started to see an emergence of short-lived trends.

Body Positive campaign- feeling comfortable in own skin. No more fat shaming

Body Positive -

ModCloth dropped the term "plus" ModCloth had to drop plus term from its store seeing shoppers irritation, those who don’t want to get associated with the plus term.

France banned thin models

France became the first country to ban thin models, they added the new rule - a model cannot be hired if her Body Mass Index (BMI) is lower than levels recommended by health authorities. Casting agents and fashion houses who violate the law could be subject to imprisonment of up to six months, and a fine of up to €75,000 ($82,000).

Ashley Graham brought her lingerie collection to the U.S.

Ashley Graham the US model turned into lingerie designer added new collection for the plus size consumers shaken the innerwear industry which previously was known for perfect figures,

The following blog post Top 11 consumer lifestyle trend that drives fashion trend 2017 was originally published to Blog

#Blog

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melyaliz · 7 years

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Normal Teenage life Day 2

Summary: Gigi was just a teen trying to live her teenage life. Get on the cheer squad. Get good grades. Get a date to the Spring formal.

All the parts

Pairing: many

Notes: Still trying to figure out how I want this to go...

Also adding in more OC’s!

Tagging: @royslittleharper @guns-n-lilies @the-shadow-of-atlantis @coffee-randomness @daisyboobear @werewitchling @nightwing-rules @jayne-writes

"I am not your plaything. We are not your toys"

The words echoed in Gigi’s mind as she opened her eyes. A bright light shining on her face as a man looked down at her. A surgical mask across his face as he studied Gigi. The red haired girl struggled to move but quickly realized she was strapped to a table. Monitors around her whirred and beeped as several doctors and nurses walked around her.

“We are not toys.”

The voice wasn’t her’s it was a boy, a boy with broken wings.

She didn’t know how she knew that but she did.

“Get ready for the procedure,” the doctor said leaning forward. One of the computers by him starting to beep.

The sound of someone screaming in the back of her mind started, an explosion of bright lights and debris…

And Gigi woke up to the sound of her own voice screaming.

"Gigi?" Antoinette asked standing in her doorway rubbing her eyes, "are you ok?"

The twin shook her head looking around her room, taking in the pale pink walls and boy band posters. Everything was back to normal, everything was the way it should be.

Giving a yawn Antoinette crawled up into bed next to Gigi, “another bad dream?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled pulling the covers over herself as the voice echoed in her mind “We are not toys”

“I don’t see why I have to do this” Bart “I am always the victim” Allan whined as he rested his forehead on the counter of the coffee bar. Maia couldn’t help but laughed as she watched him slump across the counter. The scruffy hair boy hadn't stopped complaining since they had come in a 5am to relive the night crew. Because of all the recent free coffees he had caused the small shop the owner had threatened to ban him unless he worked off the chaos he had caused.

Thus he was stuck with Maia, who was the only one anyone trusted him with, before class. The brunette had put him on cleaning duty since she didn’t trust him with much else. The kid was a quick worker even if he did complain and was soon just leaning against the coffee bar lamenting his predicament.

“Look you have caused enough chaos in here to work off a million hours. You’re lucky this was all my boss said.”

“But this is so boring” he groaned from under his shaggy mane his forehead still panted on the counter.

Maia was about to respond when the loud sound of a motorcycle engine rived outside. “Oh joy” she sighed rolling her eyes as the bright red bike rolled up. The rider of the bike parked jumping off carelessly tossing his helmet on the seat before sauntering up to the caffe hands in his letterman jacket. Maia watched him with a scowl on her face. This was the infamous Roy Harper, the bane of her existence.

“Well a beautiful morning to you too frosty,” Roy Harper said in response to the frown that greeted him as he walked in. Running his fingers through his hair he leaned against the coffee bar. “I’ll take a smile please.”

“Good Morning!” the bell jingled as Gigi and her twin walked into the caffee. Roy turned to smile at the small cheerleader who waved at him before skipping up to the register where Bart had popped up at the sound of Gigi’s voice. He was now standing mouth open clutching his mop as if it was holding him up. Maia glanced over at the boy whose face was slowly turning the same shade as his red hair as Gigi talked to him. Next to her, Anntonette had a similar smile to the barista as she watched Bart fumble over his words as her twin ordered her drink. Maia sighed, she better go save him before the poor guy tried to make a coffee and burn the place down.

Turning back to Roy she felt her mouth move back to a frown again, “So are you ordering something or just wasting my time?”

“Hummm,” Roy said looking over the menu “Do you have a frappe with some of that ice exterior of yours?”

Maia sighed rolling her eyes standing up going toward the three younger teens, “When you decide let Bart know and I’ll make it.”

Roy was about to say something when the bell on the door gave a little ring several students walking in. Three cheerleaders, Kaya, a pretty dark skinned girl who was known for her cat like reflexes on the squad, Kori, a tall redhead who was a total bombshell who use to date Roy, and Amber, the queen bee herself. Amber was a pretty blonde who always looked perfect. A hair never out of place. Her pretty green eyes scanned the cafe before running up to Gigi who was talking to a flustered Bart.

“There’s my newest star! I’m so excited about our practice today I have so many ideas.” she gushed tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder her back to Bart who was trying to look over the girl to catch Gigi’s eyes. “Oh, I’ll just have a black coffee,” Amber said. Bart just stared at her for a moment until Amber turned to him again waving her hand “Oookk shoo”

Kaldur and a few of the other football players filed in all laughing and goofing off. At the sight of Kaldur Kaya’s face light up.

“Oh good morning Kaldur!” she said waving before grabbing her drink and walking up to him. “How was your weekend?”

“Excuse me,” Annabella said pushing through the crowd as she tried to make her way into the now crowded shop. Behind her Tim darted in as if his life depended on it followed by Lucy, “Do you guys mind?” she added shooting Kaldur and Kaya.

“Good morning Annabella,” Kaldur said and Kaya turned flashing the girl a quick smile as she pulled Kaldur away from the door.

“Let’s get out of their way before they hack our brains or something.”

Annabella just shot the cheerleader and quarterback a half wave as Lucy laughed unsure what “hack our brains” even meant. Better not question it.

The morning rush continued as it always did. Jocks first, allready hiped for the day, loud and full of energy. Everything was worth cheering about and life was so exciting.

Then shuffled in the nerds. All ready for class while moaning about their late nights studying. With them came as many puns and jokes about coffee that could ever be made.

Then, just when Maia was about to close up came the rich kids came strutting in. All dressed to the nines on their phones taking morning selfies with their drinks.

In the lead of this pack was the IT couple, Dick and Layla. Dick was not only the hottest guy in school but also the nicest. He was part of the local Dance studio with Faith and Lily while also class president.

Layla was super sportive of her boyfriend in everything he wanted to do. From behind his treasure and campaign manager during his election to going to every show just to brag on social media about how great he was. No one knows what her dad does but she is always dressed in the latest trends that match her vibrant blue hair.

After the rush was over Maia turned to Bart who was still looking a little dreamy. Suddenly he turned to Maia.

“Wait, does Gigi come here every morning?”

“Yeah, and normally before practice too.”

“This is the best job EVER,” he said grabbing his skateboard before dashing off to class.

#Teen highschool fic #Gigi #Maia #Annabella #Layla #Lucy #Faith #Lily #oc story #is it bad I don't want to tag this?#my fic #my wrting #too lazy

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shirlleycoyle · 4 years

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All Of My TikTok Followers Are Fake

The followers poured in. Then the likes. Then tens of thousands of people watched my TikTok video. The clip itself was of a few Motherboard staffers winning a match in the hugely popular game Call of Duty: Warzone; TikTok is full of streamers and players uploading their wins or soul-crushing loses.

The video itself isn't good—there's no slick editing, no captivating TikTok personality talking to camera, and certainly no dancing—but in a few short hours the video accumulated 25,000 views and over 1,000 likes. This is very little engagement compared to the most popular videos on TikTok, but it's not bad for my first ever clip uploaded to the platform. The video climbed through the rankings of one of the Warzone-related hashtags people use to share their games.

But most of that engagement was fake. I bought the TikTok followers, likes, and views from a website that offers them all for sale. For around $50 in total I had artificially inflated the popularity of my TikTok clip, and, although my video certainly isn't about to go viral, potentially increased the chance for unsuspecting TikTok users to see it themselves.

The news comes amid increased attention on TikTok, including not-yet-publicly verified claims from the Trump administration that the app poses a national security risk. Last week President Trump signed an executive order that would ban TikTok from the United States if the company isn't bought by an American company. TikTok plans to sue in response as early as this week, NPR reported. Microsoft is in talks to purchase TikTok.

Buying followers, likes, and other engagement on TikTok highlights the grey market for social media amplification; an issue that is common across social networks writ large. The engagement we paid for didn't make the video or account viral, and we don't know if a TikTok video can go viral with inauthentic engagement alone; we only bought a relatively small amount of engagement., But paying for engagement on TikTok is easy and cheap. Nine days after paying for followers, the account and video are still up, seemingly undetected by Tiktok.

"Paid likes, follows and shares on any platform are basically a numbers game. They can make a post look more popular than it otherwise would, and that can give it an air of credibility," Ben Nimmo, director of investigations at disinformation-focused security firm Graphika, told Motherboard in an email.

Do you work at TikTok? Did you used to? We'd love to hear from you. Using a non-work phone or computer, you can contact Joseph Cox securely on Signal on +44 20 8133 5190, Wickr on josephcox, OTR chat on [email protected], or email [email protected].

With TikTok, users create an account, perhaps search for some topics they're interested in, and are then presented with an essentially endless stream of short clips to watch. Once users interact with this content, perhaps by watching clips to their completion, liking videos, leaving comments, or sharing them with others, TikTok quickly and effectively figures out what other videos to recommend. These then present themselves in the "For You" stream. TikTok differs from many other social networks in that it doesn't run on a so-called social graph which recommends content to users based on who they follow, and instead on a content graph, which looks at other indicators such as how long people watched videos or otherwise engaged with them.

To see how simple it is to buy various pieces of TikTok engagement, last week I uploaded my Warzone clip to TikTok, and then bought 250 followers from the website advertising the service. After specifying how many followers I wanted, providing my account name, and adding the item to my cart, I paid just over $12 via PayPal. The site also takes Paytr, Stripe, and other payment processors too for a cheaper price.

The results weren't subtle. I got 250 new followers seconds after making a payment. The followers I bought were a wide mix of accounts purporting to be women, men, and many users with profile pictures of things like animals or even in one case a computer graphics card. Some have obviously generated usernames such as "user2299926539189," others have full names like "Pauline Chavez."

"Looking at some of the accounts you sent over, they don't seem to be terribly high quality, but also not super low quality for fake accounts," Zarine Kharazian, assistant editor at the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), which researches online misinformation, told Motherboard in an email after reviewing some of the purchased followers. "High quality would be something like previous users' compromised accounts with full posting histories, while low quality would be no customization at all."

These accounts sit somewhere in the middle, with profile pictures, and some also had bios and their own video uploads. One clip was a typical cat video you may see go viral (although the video appears to have been ripped from a cat-focused TikTok account that shared the same video a month earlier). Another set of at least three accounts all had generic stock art of female models as their profile photos. These accounts had each uploaded a video of showing a screen of Google Image search results of the same models. All of the videos showed a web browser with the same language bookmarks, suggesting the videos posted by multiple accounts we paid to follow us were created by the same person.

Many of these fake followers I paid for followed the same TikTok accounts. One user who is followed by many of the accounts I paid to follow me was a young female TikToker with 2.2 million followers. Another account followed by many of the fake followers belonged to a talent scout from the UK. It is not clear if the suspicious accounts followed these users in an attempt to present their own accounts as genuine TikTok users, or whether the account owners also purchased followers or likes. Several TikTok creators followed by the suspicious accounts did not respond to multiple requests for comment; one person who replied on behalf of the young female TikToker said the user had just turned 13 and so did not have the ability to buy anything. Many of the fake followers also like videos from many of the same accounts.

A customer support representative for the website Motherboard used to purchase the TikTok engagement declined to answer questions on how the service manages to fulfill orders, be that using hacked accounts, making their own, and whether they use any sort of automation to like videos or follow accounts.

"Sorry i am only able to answer questions about our customers' orders. Thank you for understanding and have a good day," the person replied in an email. Notably, their response also included the date and time in Turkish.

DFRLab previously found multiple apps that promised TikTok engagement in exchange for high level access to users' phones, including contacts.

Over the next few days, I also bought 1,000 likes and 25,000 views for my video, which arrived within minutes. To test whether these purchases had any tangible impact on the video's visibility, another Motherboard staffer scrolled through a Warzone-related hashtag and successfully found the video. Generally, TikTok videos that appear near the top of the hashtag have more likes than videos that appear further down. Motherboard found our test clip among other videos that also had around 1,000 likes (some of the top videos in the hashtag have around 500,000 likes). TikTok told Motherboard that videos under a hashtag are not sorted solely based on likes, but a combination of other forms of engagement, such as views, and relevance too.

It is difficult to tell whether any of this inauthentic engagement led to TikTok users viewing the video in their "For You" feed. The video did receive over 1,100 views after Motherboard stopped purchasing for inauthentic engagement, but it is unclear where exactly those views came from, via "For You," browsing the Warzone-related hashtag, or another way.

"Buying engagement on TikTok could definitely amplify content, although it's hard to say exactly how without knowing more of the specifics of TikTok's recommendation algorithm," Kharazian from DFRLab added.

Nimmo added, "If a tweet or post has 1,000 likes or shares, it's going to look more instinctively impressive than a post with zero. In the same way, an account with 100,000 followers will appear more popular than an account with ten. But that's largely a cosmetic effect: it can make a post or user look popular, but it can't actually make them popular."

"If fake accounts can be used to make a post trend and thus bump it up the algorithm, that might attract the attention of real users, if they're searching for the trending topic. At that point, it's a question of using fake accounts to fool the trending algorithm, rather than fooling human users," Nimmo said.

Inauthentic activity is certainly not limited to just TikTok. Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and other social networks have all shifted more focus on detecting and trying to remove inauthentic accounts, especially in the last few years. Some campaigns have involved PR agencies peddling lies on behalf of clients; governments pushing out divisive messaging, or political spin doctors doing much of the same.

"Can I be TikTok famous yet."

In a blog post published at the end of July, TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer wrote, "we believe all companies should disclose their algorithms, moderation policies, and data flows to regulators. We will not wait for regulation to come, but instead TikTok has taken the first step by launching a Transparency and Accountability Center for moderation and data practices. Experts can observe our moderation policies in real-time, as well as examine the actual code that drives our algorithms." On its website, TikTok says "Due to constraints as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the physical opening of our Transparency and Accountability Center has been delayed. We look forward to being able to welcome guests in the near future in Los Angeles and at our upcoming Transparency and Accountability Center in Washington D.C."

"TikTok is committed to protecting the safety, integrity and authenticity of our community," a TikTok spokesperson told Motherboard in an emailed statement. "We use a combination of technology-driven security controls and human review to mitigate spam and fraud on our platform, including purchasing followers or likes, which is a violation of our Community Guidelines, and we take swift action against accounts that break our terms of service. Understanding that spam and fraud are evolving industry-wide threats, TikTok will continue investing in solutions to strengthen our security infrastructure and stay ahead of these challenges."

In the days after purchasing the 1,000 likes, TikTok appears to have suspended some of the accounts.

"This account was banned due to multiple Community Guidelines violations," a banner on top of the impacted accounts now reads. Most of the accounts appear to be still active however, and the video itself still displays a like counter of over 1,000.

The video of another user who had many of the suspicious accounts following them says, "Can I be TikTok famous yet."

Subscribe to our cybersecurity podcast, CYBER.

All Of My TikTok Followers Are Fake syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

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