#undetectable

Danny Roberts was a member of the cast on MTV’s The Real World: New Orleans (2000). His storyline was noteworthy because at the time he was dating Paul, a US Army captain. This was during the era of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” so if his boyfriend was shown on camera, Paul would risk being court-martialed and dishonorably discharged. (As were more than 1,200 servicemembers that year.)

After the show ended and for several years after, Roberts spoke at schools across the country on sexuality, coming out, public policy, and the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, and other LGBT advocacy. By 2006, he and Paul had broken up.

In 2011, Roberts learned he was HIV-positive.

“Those early years were very difficult and very lonely. You don’t know whom to turn to have a conversation, and people don’t know what to say.”

Fortunately, Roberts is currently “undetectable,” which means that his viral load is so low it can’t be measured by a blood test and, according to the CDC, that it’s unlikely the virus can be sexually transmitted from one person to another.

Roberts continues to speak out on LGBT issues. He hopes to help others avoid the pain he endured.

Imagine an unknown virus is spreading at incredible speed, causing a global pandemic that kills millions everywhere.

And now imagine that nobody cares. Nobody does anything about it. Nobody even talks about what's happening. Even worse, in many places the research into this lethal virus and possible ways to stop it are actively obstructed.

That's how the AIDS pandemic was for several decades.

World AIDS Day, held on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV.

In the 40 years since the first cases of AIDS were discovered, enormous strides have been made in our knowledge of HIV and how to manage it, but there is still a great deal of work yet do be done to end the pandemic that never went away.

Thanks to the efforts of activists, scientists, and educators around the world, today a diagnosis is not necessarily a death sentence. Progress continues at an ever-accelerating pace, reaching milestones that were unthinkable only a few years ago:

U = U

With the treatments now available, a person living with HIV can have a totally normal life, including not being contagious. Yes, you read that right. When a person living with HIV receives adequate treatment, the virus is suppressed to the point that is no longer detectable in their blood: they become undetectable.

Undetectable means untransmissible. In other words, that person is not able to pass the virus to others.

PrEP and PEP

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) are two kinds of medication that are highly effective in preventing the transmission of HIV. They have been made available recently, and their implementation is still limited, but these drugs are already playing a critical role in reducing transmission rates among at-risk populations.

HIV Vaccine

We have never been closer to an effective and long-lasting vaccine against HIV. Thousands of researchers and volunteers around the globe are working tirelessly to develop one. Currently the Mosaico Study is the most promising candidate.

VIHsibility

"Any deity whose mysterious actions can't be measured or even directly identified is indistinguishable from a god that doesn't exist at all."

On the heels of World AIDS Day, New Yorkers have good HIV news to celebrate. The city announced it reached the 90-90-90 HIV targets set by the United Nations’ AIDS group, making it the first U.S. city participating in the “Fast-Track Cities” initiative to do so. What’s more, it reached the goals two years ahead of schedule.

The 90-90-90 targets are:

90% of people living with HIV know their status

90% of people diagnosed with HIV are on treatment

90% of people on treatment are virally suppressed.

Editor’s Note: I originally drafted this stub January 9, 2020, but saved it as a draft. On March 13, 2021 I found the old draft and decided to post it retroactively.

STRYFE

Wishlist Poll—Recent Rank (as of January 2020): 143rd

Build Idea

A playable Marvel Contest of Champions character in the Mutant class. 

Telepathy could mean controls reversal (a la Emma Frost) Telepathic Camouflage could mean Undetectable or strikes Miss Telepathic Power Negation could mean:   • Buff Cancellation and/or  • Ability Accuracy Reduction Advanced-looking firearms and/or a sword w/ Bleed & Armor Break Armor Break resistance or immunity Sharp armor could mean on-strike damage (like Spiked Armor or Morningstar)

Synergy

“Latverian Standoff” with Cable, X-Man, and Madelyne Pryor; “Vendetta” with Cable, Hope Summers, and Bishop; “Survival” with Cable, Warpath, and Blackheart; “Enemies” with Cable, Apocalypse, Jenskot, and Professor X; “Allies” with Mister Sinister, Dragoness, Genesis

In Other Games

As a boss, Stryfe appeared in X-Men: Gamesmaster’s Legacy, and X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. He was in Marvel’s mobile card game app, X-Men: Battle of the Atom.

Currently he is playable in Marvel mobile games Marvel Future Fight and Marvel Strike Force.

And Summoners

Stryfe is mentioned 48 times in the MCOC message boards and has 40+ Summoner upvotes on the MCOC Wishlist Poll.

NEWS

January 4, 2021 — Stryfe’s Champion Spotlight published and Stryfe retired from the MCOC Wishlist.

December 2020 — Stryfe will enter the contest in January 2021

Glimmer like hazy moonlight

Enveloping endless moments of time,

Spreads itself like a wide embrace

That dives deep into infinitesimal folds inside

Whispering in it's own dreary tongue

Something that leaves me lost

Amid a labyrinth of contemplations every night.

So poised and unruffled is it's presence all around

That nobody can ever try

To pause it's meandering might,

Feeling something undetectable