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ovaruling · 10 months

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i found this very interesting, especially as a woman who has cheated death several times, came away from it disabled, and is now fiercely determined to live independently into old age, child-free (in this case, the relevance of that being the context of having no children to assist me with care or basic function as i age).

however, this is also important for all women, because being able to carry fitness (and by fitness i refer to the ability to complete everyday tasks and basic mobility without extreme difficulty or injury) into old age is a topic that affects us as a sex with some growing urgency.

statistically, we know (or should, by now) that women cannot depend on male partners/family members to care for us in times of illness or crisis, and that also goes for caring for us as we age. they leave. they shirk. they hope we’ll just die and relieve them of the burden of caring for us.

and even if male partners are not a factor, aging women ARE seen as a burden–to our families, to our friends, to our loved ones, to our doctors, to our governments, to our societies. having children or a partner or family members or friends does not necessarily guarantee that they will assist you in your old age.

so it is of utmost importance that we as women educate ourselves on how to stay as physically independent as possible as we age. here is an excerpt of the article that describes why i think this is so important:

"Think of the Centenarian Decathlon as the 10 most important physical tasks you will want to be able to do for the rest of your life. Some items on the list resemble actual athletic events, while some are closer to activities of daily living, and still others might reflect your own personal interests. I find it useful because it helps us visualize, with great precision, exactly what kind of fitness we need to build and maintain as we get older. It creates a template for our training.

I start by presenting my patients with a long list of physical tasks that might include some of the following:

1. Hike 1.5 miles on a hilly trail. 2. Get up off the floor under your own power, using a maximum of one arm for support. 3. Pick up a young child from the floor. 4. Carry two 5-pound bags of groceries for five blocks. 5. Lift a 20-pound suitcase into the overhead compartment of a plane. 6. Balance on one leg for 30 seconds, eyes open. (Bonus points: eyes closed, 15 seconds.) 7. Have sex. 8. Climb four flights of stairs in three minutes. 9. Open a jar. 10. Do 30 consecutive jump-rope skips.

The full list is much longer, with more than 50 different items, but you get the idea. Once they’ve read it, I ask them to please select which of these tasks they want to be able to perform in their ninth, or better yet 10th, decade. Which ones do they choose?

All of them, typically. They want to be able to hike a mile and a half, or carry their own groceries, or pick up a great-grandchild, or get up if they fall down. Or play 18 holes of golf, or open a jar, or fly somewhere on a plane. Of course they do.

That’s great, I say. You’ll make that kid’s day when you pick her up like that. But now let’s do a little math. Let’s say the kid weighs 25 or 30 pounds. That’s basically the same as doing a squat while holding a 30-pound dumbbell in front of you (i.e., a goblet squat). Can you do that now, at age 40? Most likely. But now let’s look into the future. Over the next 30 or 40 years, your muscle strength will decline by about 8 to 17 percent per decade—accelerating as time goes on. So if you want to pick up that 30-pound grandkid or great-grandkid when you’re 80, you’re going to have to be able to lift 50 to 55 pounds now. Without hurting yourself. Can you do that?

I press the issue. You also want to be able to hike on a hilly trail? To do that comfortably requires a VO2 max of roughly 30 ml/kg/min. Let’s take a look at the results of your latest VO2 max test—and guess what, you only scored a 30. You’re average for your age, but I’m afraid that’s not good enough, because your VO2 max is also going to decline. So you can pull it off now, but you likely won’t be able to do it when you’re older.

On it goes. To lift a 20-pound suitcase overhead when you are older means lifting 40 or 50 pounds now. To be able to climb four flights of stairs in your 80s means you should be able to pretty much sprint up those same stairs today. In every case, you need to be doing much more now, to armor yourself against the natural and precipitous decline in strength and aerobic capacity that you will undergo as you age.

Eventually, my patients get it. Together, we come up with a list of 10 or 15 events in their personal Centenarian Decathlon, representing their goals for their later decades. This then determines how they should be training. In the end, most people’s Centenarian Decathlons will probably overlap to a degree. Someone who enjoys stand-up paddleboarding, for example, would perhaps choose “events” focused around building core and cross-body strength. But she will likely be training the same muscle groups as I am doing for archery, and maintaining a similar degree of stamina and balance.

The Centenarian Decathlon is ambitious, no question. A 90-year-old who is even able to board a plane under her own power, let alone hoist a carry-on bag, is doing extremely well. But there is a method to the madness. These individual tasks are not out of reach. There are octogenarians, nonagenarians, and even centenarians right now who are running marathons, racing bicycles, lifting weights, flying airplanes, jumping out of airplanes, skiing the Rocky Mountains, competing in actual decathlons, and doing all sorts of other amazing things. So all these events are within the realm of possibility."

#tumblr formatting made this IMPOSSIBLE for some reason so bear with me #save

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 2 months

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By: Alex Byrne and Carole K. Hooven

Published: Apr 3, 2024

As you may have noticed, “sex” is out, and “sex assigned at birth” is in. Instead of asking for a person’s sex, some medical and camp forms these days ask for “sex assigned at birth” or “assigned sex” (often in addition to gender identity). The American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association endorse this terminology; its use has also exploded in academic articles. The Cleveland Clinic’s online glossary of diseases and conditions tells us that the “inability to achieve or maintain an erection” is a symptom of sexual dysfunction, not in “males,” but in “people assigned male at birth.”

This trend began around a decade ago, part of an increasing emphasis in society on emotional comfort and insulation from offense — what some have called “safetyism.” “Sex” is now often seen as a biased or insensitive word because it may fail to reflect how people identify themselves. One reason for the adoption of “assigned sex,” therefore, is that it supplies respectful euphemisms, softening what to some nonbinary and transgender people, among others, can feel like a harsh biological reality. Saying that someone was “assigned female at birth” is taken to be an indirect and more polite way of communicating that the person is biologically female. The terminology can also function to signal solidarity with trans and nonbinary people, as well as convey the radical idea that our traditional understanding of sex is outdated.

The shift to “sex assigned at birth” may be well intentioned, but it is not progress. We are not against politeness or expressions of solidarity, but “sex assigned at birth” can confuse people and creates doubt about a biological fact when there shouldn’t be any. Nor is the phrase called for because our traditional understanding of sex needs correcting — it doesn’t.

This matters because sex matters. Sex is a fundamental biological feature with significant consequences for our species, so there are costs to encouraging misconceptions about it.

Sex matters for health, safety and social policy and interacts in complicated ways with culture. Women are nearly twice as likely as men to experience harmful side effects from drugs, a problem that may be ameliorated by reducing drug doses for females. Males, meanwhile, are more likely to die from Covid-19 and cancer, and commit the vast majority of homicides and sexual assaults. We aren’t suggesting that “assigned sex” will increase the death toll. However, terminology about important matters should be as clear as possible.

More generally, the interaction between sex and human culture is crucial to understanding psychological and physical differences between boys and girls, men and women. We cannot have such understanding unless we know what sex is, which means having the linguistic tools necessary to discuss it. The Associated Press cautions journalists that describing women as “female” may be objectionable because “it can be seen as emphasizing biology,” but sometimes biology is highly relevant. The heated debate about transgender women participating in female sports is an example; whatever view one takes on the matter, biologically driven athletic differences between the sexes are real.

When influential organizations and individuals promote “sex assigned at birth,” they are encouraging a culture in which citizens can be shamed for using words like “sex,” “male” and “female” that are familiar to everyone in society, as well as necessary to discuss the implications of sex. This is not the usual kind of censoriousness, which discourages the public endorsement of certain opinions. It is more subtle, repressing the very vocabulary needed to discuss the opinions in the first place.

A proponent of the new language may object, arguing that sex is not being avoided, but merely addressed and described with greater empathy. The introduction of euphemisms to ease uncomfortable associations with old words happens all the time — for instance “plus sized” as a replacement for “overweight.” Admittedly, the effects may be short-lived, because euphemisms themselves often become offensive, and indeed “larger-bodied” is now often preferred to “plus sized.” But what’s the harm? No one gets confused, and the euphemisms allow us to express extra sensitivity. Some see “sex assigned at birth” in the same positive light: It’s a way of talking about sex that is gender-affirming and inclusive.

The problem is that “sex assigned at birth”— unlike “larger-bodied”— is very misleading. Saying that someone was “assigned female at birth” suggests that the person’s sex is at best a matter of educated guesswork. “Assigned” can connote arbitrariness — as in “assigned classroom seating” — and so “sex assigned at birth” can also suggest that there is no objective reality behind “male” and “female,” no biological categories to which the words refer.

Contrary to what we might assume, avoiding “sex” doesn’t serve the cause of inclusivity: not speaking plainly about males and females is patronizing. We sometimes sugarcoat the biological facts for children, but competent adults deserve straight talk. Nor are circumlocutions needed to secure personal protections and rights, including transgender rights. In the Supreme Court’s Bostock v. Clayton County decision in 2020, which outlawed workplace discrimination against gay and transgender people, Justice Neil Gorsuch used “sex,” not “sex assigned at birth.”

A more radical proponent of “assigned sex” will object that the very idea of sex as a biological fact is suspect. According to this view — associated with the French philosopher Michel Foucault and, more recently, the American philosopher Judith Butler — sex is somehow a cultural production, the result of labeling babies male or female. “Sex assigned at birth” should therefore be preferred over “sex,” not because it is more polite, but because it is more accurate.

This position tacitly assumes that humans are exempt from the natural order. If only! Alas, we are animals. Sexed organisms were present on Earth at least a billion years ago, and males and females would have been around even if humans had never evolved. Sex is not in any sense the result of linguistic ceremonies in the delivery room or other cultural practices. Lonesome George, the long-lived Galápagos giant tortoise, was male. He was not assigned male at birth — or rather, in George’s case, at hatching. A baby abandoned at birth may not have been assigned male or female by anyone, yet the baby still has a sex. Despite the confusion sown by some scholars, we can be confident that the sex binary is not a human invention.

Another downside of “assigned sex” is that it biases the conversation away from established biological facts and infuses it with a sociopolitical agenda, which only serves to intensify social and political divisions. We need shared language that can help us clearly state opinions and develop the best policies on medical, social and legal issues. That shared language is the starting point for mutual understanding and democratic deliberation, even if strong disagreement remains.

What can be done? The ascendance of “sex assigned at birth” is not an example of unhurried and organic linguistic change. As recently as 2012 The New York Times reported on the new fashion for gender-reveal parties, “during which expectant parents share the moment they discover their baby’s sex.” In the intervening decade, sex has gone from being “discovered” to “assigned” because so many authorities insisted on the new usage. In the face of organic change, resistance is usually futile. Fortunately, a trend that is imposed top-down is often easier to reverse.

Admittedly, no one individual, or even a small group, can turn the lumbering ship of English around. But if professional organizations change their style guides and glossaries, we can expect that their members will largely follow suit. And organizations in turn respond to lobbying from their members. Journalists, medical professionals, academics and others have the collective power to restore language that more faithfully reflects reality. We will have to wait for them to do that.

Meanwhile, we can each apply Strunk and White’s famous advice in “The Elements of Style” to “sex assigned at birth”: omit needless words.

Mr. Byrne is a philosopher and the author of “Trouble With Gender: Sex Facts, Gender Fictions.” Ms. Hooven is an evolutionary biologist and the author of “T: The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone That Dominates and Divides Us”

[ Via: https://archive.today/P05Ci ]

There's an entire world of animals out there who mate and reproduce successfully all day, every day, without needing humans to "assign" them a sex. The idea that we are separate from all of this is as much evolution denial - or, arguably, more so - as Ken Ham's stupid zoo boat.

Predictably, this essay was deemed "transphobic" by the same people who insist that "sex and gender are separate" - how it can be "transphobic" when accurately describing sex has no bearing on your "gender identity" is beyond me - and who not long ago were insisting that "nobody's saying sex isn't real." Of course, now they're saying it out loud, such as nutcases like Jonathan "India" Willoughby, who is male, literally claiming to be female. If he's not being an obnoxious troll, he's certainly dangerously delusional.

How did we get to the point where sex - which is a real thing that is objectively true and the entire reason our species exists at all - is being denied, and "gender identity" - which is mystical, metaphysical hokum of gender thetans being trapped into improperly matched meat prisons - is unquestionably true?

#Alex Byrne #Carol Hooven #Carol K. Hooven #sex assigned at birth #assigned sex at birth #male #female #sex is binary #sex binary #biological dimorphism #human biology #evolution denial #religion is a mental illness

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greenlodgecypher · 8 months

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Cypher Editorial and Update

by Adria

How things have changed. The community of a person, the society they live in, hasn't disappeared in the modern day; it's moved on.

We made our own communities. We published our manifestos of what we love. We found our own people. Haven't we, here, sought out the creativity and creations of others in our lives? Shared our enjoyments and mutual love? Isn't the Internet an echo of our cries to one another? Surely there is a future there! I hope so. But I wonder if those things can last. How long will a website be maintained? What, when they leave? E-mails can fall silent. Chat rooms die. The friends you have may not bother to stay in contact. There are so many things worth loving that will fall into obscurity. Getting specialty items is hard when they were published years ago and will never be again. There are so many films that have no proper release in this country, or in this time. Home video is an increasingly lacking medium. What will return on DVD? What callous license-holder will simply sit on their hoard of art that, though beloved to us, means nothing save a margin to them? How many passages of some soundtrack must I remember, and be fated never to hear again? It is all water in our hands. The Ensor Zone can be a strange place. People thought that it was rural, safe, and satisfyingly isolated yet conveniently close to the more commercially developed places in the state. But it is insular. Isolationist. It is part of a diverse state, yet people act as if it has nothing to do with the rest of that community. It has a lot of expensive estates, yet it also feels like it's full of houses and places that are slowly decaying away (yes, even before this year). The farm history is disappearing. Who now knows that the area was known for a women's jousting competition as recently as the 30s? Who learns the dark histories of the locale? That north of the Line, people were kidnapped and taken back here to be enslaved? Who remembers the early industry here? The clear-cut fields? How the world has changed. We remember so little of this, as a community. But what community is there? Even before we started having to move, what continuity of culture? Now that there are major pressures to leave, we find that these communities melt away into nothing. There is nowhere back and nowhere forward to move. Those with the money can leave. Families with ties elsewhere, perhaps. Those without any of this are dependent on the goodwill of an increasingly more hapless government to make do. They wanted me to cut that sentence. I don't care what Compliance wants anymore. I'm sending in this print file and they can shut me down for all I care. These things may be only a fig leaf, a remnant of the idea that anything can be done at all. There may be no future. I have a confession to make to you all. Gillian, my partner in the Cypher, has been submitting her articles from Wollstone, and soon may be leaving the state entirely. Her departure is due to several reasons, not the least the growing problems in our area. Kino may be moving to California, after the loss of their stock. Meanwhile, there is a new circle of trees on the field above my family home, where there were no trees before. We're having the yard inspected again shortly. I don't want to leave, but I may need to in the end. Remediation doesn't leave much behind. Because we could not leave before, and because inspections are starting to be made outside the Zone, there may be no more aid for us. There may be no Cypher next month. I don't think I can see this through. Surely, I tell you again, there is a future. But I don't know if I believe it myself.

#the green lodge cypher #tglc oct 97

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wolint · 1 year

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FRESH MANNA

RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS

Ephesians 4:32

Kindness is one of the fruits of the spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 and we must commend ourselves as servants of God in everything that includes kindness, random acts of kindness to people around us who need that from us as believers to show them what the ministry of God looks like.

Kindness means benignity, tender concern, and uprightness. It’s kindness of heart and kindness of act. Kindness is the sign of a loving heart, one of the greatest of all virtues. A kind person is a pleasant, good, and gracious person who is always appreciated and appreciative.

There are a lot of “random acts of kindness around us, I had one a little while ago. Maybe this is because we live in a society starved for good deeds, so every act of kindness, especially a random one is welcomed and appreciated.

God is our model for kindness according to Titus 3:4-5. The kindest act ever committed was when God sent his own Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins so that we might live forever with him. God also showers us with kindness each day, sending sunshine and rain, food and provisions, family and friends, comfort and encouragement, boundless love and wisdom.

This is God you may say, but how about when God leads and uses someone you don’t know, who may not look able to do so show you a random act of kindness that makes you feel good, loved, seen and appreciated for a long time that we keep talking about it to everyone? Love is patient and kind declares 1 Corinthians 13:4.

Kindness stems from the love of God in our hearts.

When we exhibit kindness, we are tender, benevolent, and useful to others. Every action, every word will have the flavour of grace in it. Maintaining this attitude toward those we love is hard enough but expressing kindness toward those who are against us or strangers to us requires the work of God according to 2 Corinthians 6:4-6. That is why kindness is a fruit of the Spirit.

When someone does something unexpected for us, no matter how little, it creates euphoria in us that makes us what to pass that feeling to someone else, doing a random act of kindness.

We should all desire to be kind because following Christ and becoming more like him leads to growing in kindness according to Colossians 3:12 while 1 John 4:19 says we love each other because he loved us first. Meaning that kindness to others is our response to God’s overflowing kindness to us.

God has been kind to us and asks us to pass it on to others. It is a way to show others Jesus’ love. When we discover how good kindness is, we will want to share it with others as

Zechariah 7:9 puts it “This is what the Lord Almighty says: Judge fairly and honestly, and show mercy and kindness to one another.

We don’t need to know people to be kind to them, that’s why is called random, show kindness to whoever looks like they need it. You may just save someone’s life by doing that!

We must make kindness a lifestyle as it’s a fruit of the spirit, as Proverbs 3:3 says, never let loyalty and kindness get away from you! Wear them like a necklace; write them deep within your heart. Don’t just do random acts of kindness a single act but a lifestyle. We can begin by showing kindness in the small things we do and say until we are truly kind in all situations.

PRAYER: Father, help me to always exhibit kindness not only as a fruit of the spirit but as a virtue in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Shalom

Women of light international prayer ministries.

#spotify #devotional #christianpost #women's ministry #biblestudy #biblestudy christianpost women's ministry #biblestudy christianpost 'women's ministry

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tsunflowers · 3 years

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this is the sewer freak romance novel we have all been waiting for but that I will never actually write

Ok so the setting is in what used to be America in the aftermath of what was probably a nuclear war but no one ever goes into it and they just call it The Blight. Humanity rode it out by living in underground bunkers but within living memory they’ve finally been able to build habitat bubbles on the surface and fill them with breathable air so they can at least see sun again. There are several bunkers which maintained digital contact the entire time and while they were underground they built tunnels to each other so they could trade but they’ve had to seal off the tunnels and now you have to travel the blighted landscape to reach other habitats. Bc years back a bunch of people were like “we’re not waiting for your pussy habitat bubbles we can hack it on the surface right now” so they went out and got irradiated and the bunker people wouldn’t let them back in. So they started living in the tunnels and became sewer freaks. The sewer freaks are known to eat people and everyone is convinced they’re just biding their time until they can storm the bunkers and take over the habitats so they have to take the overland path even though it’s objectively more dangerous. The habitats are largely self-sufficient but there are some specialty parts that can only be produced in one habitat… and they just ran out. Enter our heroine

She’s named Ticonderoga bc lots of people are named after silly things from the old world but she goes by Ty. She has pcos or another condition that makes it very unlikely that she’ll ever be able to give birth which makes her uniquely expendable among the young women of the habitat. There’s this huge push in the community to expand the population now that they have the habitat bubbles but she knows she can’t be a part of that and people actually warn the boys her age away from her bc she won’t be able to have kids. Bc in a closed society like this everyone’s medical status is everyone’s business. This combined with the fact that she doesn’t have a job lined up for when she turns 18 bc her mentor died and The Council silently got rid of the job completely means that she’s selected to join the expedition to the other habitat. Btw the job is the storage and maintenance of physical artifacts and documents from the habitats history and from before The Blight. Everyone else has relied on technology for so long that they’ve forgotten the value of Real items and they’re like “didn’t we digitize that ages ago? who give a shit” but ty is Retro and she knows that holding something in your hands gives it a totally different feeling. She also likes to draw by hand. I kind of want her mentor to be a cool lesbian but she does die. Wait I had a great idea I’ll get back to this later

The rest of the expedition team is like older guys who’ve done this before and they’re kind of hazing her and telling her scary stories about sewer freaks. The general vibe is like “if you can’t keep up why are you even here :/" and she’s like it’s not like I asked to be here fuckers. But she’s actually kind of enjoying it in a weird way bc there are all these mutant plants that she’s never seen records of before bc the habitat bubble people ignore the outside world as much as possible. One morning while the guys are breaking camp (she tried to help at first but they were like “don’t chip a fingernail girlie”) she sits down to sketch a mutant flower. Which is hard bc she’s in a hazmat suit but she wants to record it somehow. And when she looks up she realizes the guys left without her. It’s not like they left her for dead bc she has a gps and radio communication. She could call them up and be like “hey fuck you guys.” But it was seriously a dick move and she’s really upset about it. She turns off her comms to kind of process and figure out what to do to catch up/how she’s going to confront them when she does and then suddenly….:.. a sewer monster appears on the surface!!!

We get like two full pages describing the sewer freak’s physicality at this point so as a reader you’re like ok she seriously wants to get hot and heavy with this sewer monster. He has, you know, smooth translucent skin and huge dark eyes and delicate long-fingered hands and he might be bioluminescent although she probably can’t tell that during the day. And he is definitely like cut also. He is one ripped sewer freak

Ty has this emergency signal she’s supposed to set off if she’s separated from the group and something happens to her but she’s not exactly in the mood to get rescued by a bunch of guys who just ditched her for fun. And besides her analytical brain is whirring at the chance to see and interact with a real sewer freak. So she tries to greet him. They have some trouble interacting bc sewerspeak (the language of the sewer freaks) diverged from English some time ago but they manage to communicate that he thought she was hurt but it’s only her feelings that are hurt. Btw sewer people can sense radio waves or some shit so he got concerned about her when he noticed hers cut off bc he knows habitat people always have radios on. So he thought maybe her suit stopped working. He acts like he’s gonna leave and she’s like “no wait!!” bc she wants to make a tangible connection with him bc that’s her thing. So she gets him to stay long enough for her to sketch him. He’s clearly super impressed by the sketch so she hands it to him and he indicates that he wants to borrow her pencil. He adds his own sketch on the corner of the page, a stylized drawing of the flower she was just drawing. She’s like “oh you draw too?” but he points to the flower drawing and then to himself and she understands that it’s a glyph representing him and he’s named after the flower. (This means the habitat people are named after relics from the old world while sewer people are named after things from the current world. Do you get it) They trade names and then he leaves. She’s like wow! Maybe everything everyone said about sewer freaks was wrong, bc clearly some of them are kind of sexy and intriguing. So she heads off to meet up with her party with a spring in her step. The party actually felt guilty and turned around for her bc they saw her gps signal didn’t move at all and she disappeared from comms but when they see her they’re like wtf why is she is such a good mood?? but something tells her she should not brag to them about her freak encounter so she pretends she encountered mutant wildlife and scared it off and they’re a little bit impressed

I just realized if they’re so paranoid and their technology’s so good they could probably invent some vehicles to go between habitats so they wouldn’t have to walk it. Pretend I have an explanation for that one

She gets to the habitat with the group. It has the exact same layout as her home but she can’t stop noticing all the things that are subtly different. They have different slang, and the food they grow and cook is different bc of the backgrounds of the people in this one, and stuff. Also the pregnancy thing is probably more intense compared to her home. Like in her habitat there’s social pressure but here it’s a civic duty. She sees a lot of really young moms and people who clearly don’t want children. She realizes that her infertility actually gives her more choice and autonomy than most women in her society and it’s an uncomfortable realization. Can I have uhhh, unsubtle grappling with conflicting feelings about motherhood as a prerequisite for adulthood using a sci-fi setting for 600, Alex?

Ty wants to get Out Of There and maybe see that spicy little sewer freak on the return trip but there are all these protocols and rituals they have to observe. They have to formally trade. They have to spend the night. They have to accept a meal and travel provisions. Since I guess this is the shitty evangelical Christian habitat the meal is probably like, unseasoned chicken and green bean casserole or something

Idk if Ty has any friends back in her home habitat. I kind of want her to have a gay guy friend who shares her reproduction related struggles bc he’s like “can I live openly as a gay man knowing that people will judge me for not Doing My Duty? even if I go to the medical center and donate sperm am I comfortable fathering children I will never actually be a father to?” so in that way her mentor could be a mentor to him as well since she’s an example of an adult lesbian in their society, and maybe that’s how they met. So she’s also like "man I wanna get back home and hang out with my bff again"

when shes home her parents are like omg we were so worried about you out in the Blighted landscape. while you were gone The Council gave us some of your mentor's stuff that she wanted you to have. and it's like a very tender handwritten note about how much she meant to her mentor that makes her cry and also some blueprints of the now-sealed tunnel opening?? basically her mentor left a coded message telling her to go down to the tunnel opening. she and her bff figure it out together and he's like Uhhh I dont want to go down to the tunnel with the sewer freaks??? but she tells him she met a sewer freak and not only did he not eat her he was smokin hot. if the sewer freaks are like cave dwellers they probably shouldn't have hair but I can't. I need them to have hair. sorry it's not Scientifically Accurate. so anyway she's like "listen it's not like we're going into the tunnels. we're just going Next to them. it's fine"

so they sneak down into the tunnels. it's kind of sad down there. ty's been down there before to cross-reference documents and just to see where her ancestors lived but it's totally different to be down there with just one other person and confront the reality of living in cramped quarters underground. kind of makes her empathize with the sewer freaks as well. when they get to the location the mentor marked they realize that there's a sealed hatch with a broken lock and inside it are mysterious items that were deposited by the sewer freaks! their mentor must have been in contact with the sewer freaks all along and she knew they weren't evil monsters! some weird shit she said starts to make a lot more sense. if ty kept the drawing she puts it in the hatch to try to make contact and if she gave it to him she sees it in the hatch as an attempt at contact

so ty and the sexy sewer guy strike up a gift cache based friendship. they don't meet in person but every time she manages to sneak away to the tunnel he's taken her gift and left something new. she's having to train in a new job that she's not that interested in but knowing that she'll have sewer presents makes her everyday life exciting. this goes on for a while and then one day she receives a drawing of a person crawling through the hatch and she's like omg. I could crawl through the hatch. there's also a drawing of a sunrise so she's like does that mean I should do it at sunrise...? will he be there....? and she decides to fucking go for it. her friend stays behind bc he's scared and also she needs him to cover for her but she has a radio. she wiggles through the hatch as early as possible in the morning and who is waiting for her but the handsome sewer freak!!

he brought a light bc he knows habitat people need them but he personally can see in the dark. she sees his bioluminescence for the first time and is like Wow.... and on his side he’s like amazed and totally hot for her once he sees her out of the hazmat suit bc he wasn’t 100% sure she was human until then. All the adults say habitat people are like humans under the suits but he had never seen one in real life so in the back of his mind he kind of doubted it. Both sides have the thing where they’re like “we’re the only People.” But actually he knew she was a People the moment she drew for him bc spontaneously creating art and then freely giving it away is such a uniquely human gesture

he takes her down through the tunnels and she sees that they've been decorated and added to and the sewer people have a whole civilization down there. they can also go onto the surface freely but they get sunburned real fast so they try to limit it. but the tunnels are now dotted with surface exits and that's how he seemed to appear and disappear when she was on the surface. they just kind of explore for a while bc she's so curious but he clearly wants to lead her somewhere. they get to a large but cozy room full of bioluminescent moss and mushrooms and a ton of sewer freaks just hanging out and who is there but... her dead mentor?!

It turns out The Council actually tried to kill her mentor for being pro-freak!!! They were like “see how much you like those sewer freaks when they’re eating you!” and left her for dead in the tunnels. but since she was friends with the freaks they did not eat her, they took her in and healed her using sewer freak blood and now she has some powers and she’s married to a lady sewer freak

The eating people thing IS true but listen. It’s hard to get protein as a sewer freak ok?? So they’ve been practicing endocannibalism all along (eating the dead members of their community). And they’ve eaten some habitat people who they killed in self defense, and maybe way back in the first few generations of sewer people they did kill and eat habitat people for no reason. But they don’t do that anymore and they feel really bad about. Actually they don’t even do endocannibalism anymore bc they raise cave fish and hunt surface animals but it’s ceremonial

so ty is like whoa i can't believe it, but I do believe it, and her mentor is like "you can't tell the habitat people. they're not ready to accept it. but you can change that. your generation needs to be open minded and accept the new earth and the new people and I think that you are a special girl and if anyone can change minds you can" and she returns to the habitat bubble with the gears in her mind turning over and over wondering how she can possibly accomplish this mission...

I said she would my fair lady the sewer freak but maybe thats book two. and I decided while writing this that the sewer freaks do have their own culture so it's not like he needs to be taught to be human. but I still want her to dress him up in normal clothes and take him home to her parents

#sewer freak romance

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itsclydebitches · 3 years

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ngl voyager gets a whole lot of very disproportional hate from the fandom and i'd hazard a guess that a lot of that is just garden-variety misogyny (and probably racism mixed in, considering how many of the most prominent characters are women, poc, or both). like, is voyager perfect? absolutely not. and no spoilers but there was a lot of executive meddling that wound up leading to the finale/conclusion being lacking and there's a lot of reasonable dissatisfaction with that--but again that was largely thanks to the execs fucking the show over and i recommend looking into that if you can once you've finished the show. but overall? voyager is trek right to its very core--it has heart, it's about family, and it never loses sight of that imo, even if some episodes are weaker or just duds (but, like, would it be a trek series without some episodes that just kinda suck but are still fun to watch???)

anyway, i absolutely love that you're getting into voyager, it is my all-time favorite trek series to this day for a lot of reasons, and i hope that ppl like that anon dont put you off bc i'd love to continue to see your thoughts as you watch the series!

Oh, it would take a whole lot more than some anons being salty that others enjoy things to turn me off :D

Thus far (I lost internet last night so I’m still only on Episode 7 of Season 2), Voyager is the Trekiest Trek I’ve watched. Which is a weird sentence, but I mean it in the way you said it’s “trek right to its very core.” What is Star Trek, if we strip the intent of the story down to its basics? It’s about exploration, discovery, that “wagon train to the stars,” wrapped up in the argument that life is fundamentally good. We have problems, but we can work past them. We have differences, but they strengthen us. Diversity is the lifeblood of the universe and the future will continue to improve so long as we embrace that.

Voyager is (again, from what I’ve seen so far!) basically a love song to that premise. I didn’t do too deep a dive because I’m trying to avoid spoilers, but I did look at a couple threads discussing why Voyager is so hated. Again and again I saw the same reason pop up: wasted potential. Now, a lot of fans left it at that (as if the answer to what potential Voyager apparently missed out on is self-evident. It’s not), but those who did expand on the idea consistently claimed that the show needed to be darker than it was, even if they rarely said it like that. Why aren’t the Federation and the Marquis at each other’s throats? Why isn’t the crew going crazy under these circumstances? Why aren’t characters getting killed off left and right in hostile space? “Anything could have happened out there and they played it safe!” but the “anything” here is always... awful. There’s this very pervasive idea that the world is inherently cruel, people are inherently divisive, that when pushed to the brink everything will fall apart... and that (while making for one kind of great story) is very much not Star Trek.

See, Voyager created an unimaginable scenario--lost in space, 75 years from home, forced to live indefinitely with strangers--and their answer to the question of “What happens?” is “People make it work.” They learn to respect one another, they uphold their ideals, they maintain a love of life and discovery, and they create a family. And that’s fucking fantastic. That’s Star Trek! I’m not going to pretend there aren’t problems with the show, with plenty more to come, I’m sure, but I don’t think this is one of them. Why do so many viewers think that hatred, horror, death, and growing jaded is the only potential here? Why would they expect that in a Star Trek show whose premise is the very antithesis of those things?

“But they don’t do enough with those things, even if they have happy outcomes.” They do plenty, they just do it in an episodic rather than serialized nature. I can point to multiple episodes where the replicator rations or Maquis differences are driving the characters’ actions. “But without that horror there’s no conflict.” There’s plenty of conflict. Hostile aliens aside, I just watched an episode where Tuvok and Chakotay are pissed as hell at one another because they fundamentally disagree over how to handle problems, but--because they’re adults with a well-tested respect for one another--they apologize and work through it. “But the characters don’t develop at all.” You mean they don’t grow harder. That’s not the same thing as no development. Tuvok is figuring out how to be more flexible, Chakotay is becoming more willing to accept cultures he doesn’t agree with, Harry is growing more confident now that he’s far from home, the Doctor is learning to see himself as a person, Paris is grabbing his second chance with both hands by making strong ties, and Janeway is learning to command and care for her crew simultaneously. I honestly believe that a lot of people think of “character development” as the character becoming a fundamentally different person, unrecognizable from where they started out. But characters can also grow into the people they wanted to be in the first place. “We’re far from home, in hostile territory, tempted to do horrific things to survive... but no. Right now at least, we’re holding onto who we are. We’re scientists, so we’re going to explore and learn. We’re peaceful, so we’re going to make friends with as many species as we can. We’re members of a society that teaches acceptance, so we’re going to form a family on this spaceship.” That’s incredible!! Did fans miss why Seska was an antagonist in the episode she was unmasked? Because she was trying to convince them to give up everything they believe in in the name of survival, an ends justify the means argument. And the crew said no, we will not give up what we believe in just to make it through. I legit saw a ton of fans saying some version of, “I can’t believe they were that far from home and actually followed Starfleet’s rulebook.” It’s because those rules don’t exist for the hell of it. Overlooking their practical function, they’re a philosophy that the characters believe in, and they’re figuring out how important that part of their identity is to them under these circumstances. Am I willing to steal a specie’s technology if it gets us home? Am I willing to die to help another uphold their own philosophy? (Chakotay in “Imitations”). What regulations should we bend or change to accommodate our new situation? The first two things Janeway does are a) giving the guy who just came out of a penal colony a rank and b) deciding that she needs to be more familiar with her crew than is normally encouraged for a captain because she’s essentially their mom now. Developing doesn’t have to mean characters do a 180 on their initial personality, or characters getting killed off when stuff gets “boring” so that others can do edgy things in response.

Voyager upholds Trek’s premise and runs it to its logical conclusion:

Voyager has the most literal trek--a trek back home.

Voyager has the most diverse crew--a woman Captain, Native American First officer, black Vulcan, Asian-American communications officer, and a White Dude pilot that realizes he wants to be soft and kind towards those who took a chance on him because Toxic Masculinity who?

Voyager has the most literal family--not just a 5+ year mission, but a crew who expects to raise the next generation. They have no choice but to work together, so they indeed come together rather than pulling apart

Except they do, of course, have a choice. In “The 37′s” the crew is allowed to stay on the Earth-like planet with a city of other humans and Janeway is convinced that a sizable number will choose that. After all, they may never get home and this is a safer, kinder future for them. In fact, the real question is whether so many will stay that they can no longer run the ship... but Janeway would never dictate her crew’s choices in that manner. So she swallows her worry down, opens the door...

... and finds that not a single person decided to stay behind. And the show has ensured we understand that this is not just because they all have some unshakable belief that they’ll get home (many don’t), but because this is their family now. This is home.

And fans want to toss that out for a generic, gritty, sci-fi adventure where hope is scarce, the universe is cruel, and people need to be pushed to the limit just to admit that they maybe, sort of, like each other?? Obviously like what you like, but that’s a hard pass for me. I’ll take the bridge crew comforting each other in “Twisted,” thanks. Besides, we already have shows like that. And we already have DS9 which grapples with many of those dark, pessimistic themes. Voyager feels like a breath of fresh air, even within the breath of fresh air that is Star Trek as a franchise. It’s a show that says, “Yes, when everything goes wrong people will come together. They will love each other. They will make it through.”

What’s more Star Trek than that?

#star trek #ST #mymetas #Anonymous

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dwellordream · 3 years

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“This brings us to the most fundamental fact of rural life in the pre-modern world: the grain is harvested once a year, but the family eats every day. Of course that means the grain must be stored and only slowly consumed over the entire year (with some left over to be used as seed-grain in the following planting). That creates the first cycle in agricultural life: after the harvest, food is generally plentiful and prices for it are low (we’ll deal with the impact this has on trade and markets a little later). As the year goes on, food becomes scarcer and the prices for it rise as each family ‘eats down’ their stockpile.

That has more than just economic impacts because the family unit becomes more vulnerable as that food stockpile dwindles. Malnutrition brings on a host of other threats: elevated risk of death from injury or disease most notably. Repeated malnutrition also has devastating long-term effects on young children (a point we’ll come back to). Consequently, we see seasonal mortality patterns in agricultural communities which tend to follow harvest cycles; when the harvest is poor, the family starts to run low on food before the next harvest, which leads to rationing the remaining food, which leads to malnutrition. That malnutrition is not evenly distributed though: the working age adults need to be strong enough to bring in the next harvest when it comes (or to be doing additional non-farming labor to supplement the family), so the short rations are going to go to the children and the elderly.

Which in turn means that ‘lean’ years are marked by increased mortality especially among the children and the elderly, the former of which is how the rural population ‘regulates’ to its food production in the absence of modern birth control (but, as an aside: this doesn’t lead to pure Malthusian dynamics – a lot more influences the food production ceiling than just available land. You can have low-equilibrium or high-equilibrium systems, especially when looking at the availability of certain sorts of farming capital or access to trade at distance. I cannot stress this enough: Malthus was wrong; yes, interestingly, usefully wrong – but still wrong. The big plagues sometimes pointed to as evidence of Malthusian crises have as much if not more to do with rising trade interconnectedness than declining nutritional standards). This creates yearly cycles of plenty and vulnerability; we’ll talk about the strategies these fellows employ to avoid that problem in just a moment.

Next to that little cycle, we also have a ‘big’ cycle of generations. The ratio of labor-to-food-requirements varies as generations are born, age and die; it isn’t constant. The family is at its peak labor effectiveness at the point when the youngest generation is physically mature but hasn’t yet begun having children (the exact age-range there is going to vary by nuptial patterns, see below) and at its most vulnerable when the youngest generation is immature. By way of example, let’s imagine a family (I’m going to use Roman names because they make gender very clear, but this is a completely made-up family): we have Gaius (M, 45), his wife, Cornelia (39, F), his mother Tullia (64, F) and their children Gaius (21, M), Secundus (19, M), Julia1 (16, F) and Julia2 (14, F). That family has three male laborers, three female laborers (Tullia being in her twilight years, we don’t count), all effectively adults in that sense, against 7 mouths to feed.

But let’s fast-forward fifteen years. Gaius is now 60 and slowing down, Cornelia is 54; Tullia, we may assume has passed. But Gaius now 36 is married to Clodia (20, F; welcome to Roman marriage patterns), with two children Gaius (3, M) and Julia3 (1, F); Julia1 and Julia2 are married and now in different households and Secundus, recognizing that the family’s financial situation is never going to allow him to marry and set up a household has left for the Big City. So we now have the labor of two women and a man-and-a-half (since Gaius the Elder is quite old) against six mouths and the situation is likely to get worse in the following years as Gaius-the-Younger and Clodia have more children and Gaius-the-Elder gets older. The point of all of this is to note that just as risk and vulnerability peak and subside on a yearly basis in cycles, they also do this on a generational basis in cycles.

...Most modern folks think in terms of profit maximization; we take for granted that we will still be alive tomorrow and instead ask how we can maximize how much money we have then (this is, admittedly, a lot less true for the least fortunate among us). We thus tend to favor efficient systems, even if they are vulnerable. From this perspective, ancient farmers – as we’ll see – look very silly, but this is a trap, albeit one that even some very august ancient scholars have fallen into. These are not irrational, unthinking people; they are poor, not stupid – those are not the same things.

But because these households wobble on the edge of disaster continually, that changes the calculus. These small subsistence farmers generally seek to minimize risk, rather than maximize profits. After all, improving yields by 5% doesn’t mean much if everyone starves to death in the third year because of a tail-risk that wasn’t mitigated. Moreover, for most of these farmers, working harder and farming more generally doesn’t offer a route out of the small farming class – these societies typically lack that kind of mobility (and also generally lack the massive wealth-creation potential of industrial power which powers that kind of mobility). Consequently, there is little gain to taking risks and much to lose. So as we’ll see, these farmers generally sacrifice efficiency for greater margins of safety, every time.

Modern farms are built for efficiency – they typically focus on a single major crop (whatever brings the best returns for the land and market situation) because focusing on a single crop lets you maximize the value of equipment and minimize other costs. They rely on other businesses to provide everything else. Such farms tend to be geographically concentrated – all the fields together – to minimize transit time.

Subsistence farmers generally do not do this. Remember, the goal is not to maximize profit, but to avoid family destruction through starvation. If you only farm one crop (the ‘best’ one) and you get too little rain or too much, or the temperature is wrong – that crop fails and the family starves. But if you farm several different crops, that mitigates the risk of any particular crop failing due to climate conditions, or blight (for the Romans, the standard combination seems to have been a mix of wheat, barley and beans, often with grapes or olives besides; there might also be a small garden space. Orchards might double as grazing-space for a small herd of animals, like pigs). By switching up crops like this and farming a bit of everything, the family is less profitable (and less engaged with markets, more on that in a bit), but much safer because the climate conditions that cause one crop to fail may not impact the others.

...Likewise – as that example implies – our small farmers want to spread out their plots. And indeed, when you look at land-use maps of villages of subsistence farmers, what you often find is that each household farms many small plots which are geographically distributed (this is somewhat less true of the Romans, by the by). Farming, especially in the Mediterranean (but more generally as well) is very much a matter of micro-climates, especially when it comes to rainfall and moisture conditions (something that is less true on the vast flat of the American Great Plains, by the by). It is frequently the case that this side of the hill is dry while that side of the hill gets plenty of rain in a year and so on. Consequently, spreading plots out so that each family has say, a little bit of the valley, a little bit of the flat ground, a little bit of the hilly area, and so on shields each family from catastrophe is one of those micro-climates should completely fail (say, the valley floods, or the rain doesn’t fall and the hills are too dry for anything to grow).

...While some high-risk disasters are likely to strike an entire village at once (like a large raid or a general drought), most of the disasters that might befall one farming family (an essential worker being conscripted, harvest failure, robbery and so on) would just strike that one household. So farmers tended to build these reciprocal relationships with each other: I help you when things are bad for you, so you help me when things are bad for me. But those relationships don’t stop merely when there is a disaster, because – for the relationship to work – both parties need to spend the good times signalling their commitment to the relationship, so that they can trust that the social safety net will be there when they need it.

So what do our farmers do during a good harvest to prepare for a bad one? They banquet their neighbors, contribute to village festivals, marry off their sons and daughters with the best dowry they can manage, and try to pay back any favors they called in from friends recently. I stress these not merely because they are survival strategies (though they are) but because these sorts of activities end up (along with market days and the seasonal cycles) defining a great deal of life in these villages. But these events also built that social capital which can be ‘cashed out’ in an emergency. And they are a good survival strategy. Grain rots and money can be stolen, but your neighbor is far likelier to still be your neighbor in a year, especially because these relationships are (if maintained) almost always heritable and apply to entire households rather than individuals, making them able to endure deaths and the cycles of generations.”

- Bret Devereaux, “Bread, How Did They Make It? Part I: Farmers!”

#farming #history #bret devereaux #writing #ancient #medieval

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aspoonofsugar · 4 years

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Shipping aside, can you analyze Zuko and Katara's relationship, as well as Zuko and Azula's vs Katara and Sokka's

Hello anon!

When it comes to Katara and Zuko’s dynamic, I would start from this scene:

This scene is where they interact for the first time not as enemies, but as people. It is meaningful that the first thing they share is about their respective mothers.

Ursa and Kya are two fundamental figures in their kids’ lives. In particular, when it comes to Katara and Zuko, they are linked to sides of them they usually hide.

On one hand Ursa is linked to a kind and empathetic side Zuko has, but does not initially show.

For Zuko (and also for Azula, but in a more complicated way) Ursa symbolizes unconditional love. Ursa is the parent who has always shown Zuko kindness and appreciation no matter what he accomplished.

Ursa being linked to a more positive side of Zuko is made clear also here:

Iroh: “You have more than one great-grandfather, Prince Zuko. Sozin was your father's grandfather. Your mother's grandfather was Avatar Roku”.

Ozai is Sozin’s descendant, while Ursa is Roku’s. Zuko is the descendant of both and must reconcile these two sides of himself.

In short, Ursa embodies a more positive side of Zuko. This is why the flashback about her is one we have when Zuko is travelling alone and is already starting to change and to show more and more of these positive traits.

When it comes to Katara, the violent death of her mother is instead linked to a ruthless unforgiving side she rarely shows:

Katara: “It's not the same! Jet attacked the innocent. This man, he's a monster.”

Katara is usually compassionate and empathetic. As Sokka says:

Sokka: “ Nah, she doesn't hate you. Katara doesn't hate anyone.”

However, when it comes to her mother’s murderer, she shows cruelty. What is more, at the root of both Katara and Zuko’s traumas reguarding their mothers there is the fact that they grow up without knowing what really happened to them.

All in all, they stay confused and without closure to the point that years later what happened to their mothers is still haunting them. What makes their parallel even stronger is that both Kya and Ursa died/disappeared to protect their children. However, the reasons why their children risked death are different.

On one hand Zuko risks to die because Ozai does not value him. In particular, Ozai sees him and his bending as weak. On the other hand Katara risks to die because she is a bender, so she might be strong enough to pose a danger for the Fire Nation.

Both children are threathened by the Fire Nation, but for opposite reasons. Zuko is targeted because of his “weakness”, while Katara for her strength and potential. This ties to the different social role they are asked to fulfill by their respective communities. On one hand Zuko is asked to be a prince and so to exhibits traits like ruthlessness and strength. On the other hand Katara’s culture (well, the culture of the North Water Tribe, at least) asks her to be a woman and not to fight.

Both Katara and Zuko exhibits traits they should not have. Katara is powerful and has taught herself how to fight, while Zuko is compassionate and does not want soldiers to be cruelly sacrificed. They end up in trouble because of this and enter into a conflict with parts of their culture just to be themselves. At the same time, theirs is also a story of getting to know their respective cultures better and this can happen also through getting to know other cultures as well.

This is made clear by how their respective bending progresses throughout their journeys.

On one hand Katara leaves a homecountry which was almost completely destroyed by the war. Many aspects of her culture, especially the ones related to her bending, went missing and her main objective at the beginning of the series is to learn more about them. Throughout her journey she succeeds. As a matter of fact in each season she discovers more and more about waterbending. In the first book she discovers its healing properties and learns a Northern style. In the second book, she discovers the swamp style of water-bending. Finally in the last book she is trained by a Southern bender and learns blood-bending. In short, throughout her journey Katara discovers her roots and accepts both positive and negative things about them.

On the other hand Zuko’s bending develops as he learns more from other cultures:

And, thanks to in his attempt to teach fire-bending to Aang, he connects with a style of fire-bending often forgotten:

In short, Zuko is enriched by other cultures and it is through them that he also discovers more about his own.

It is also interesting that what we discover about each bending each season parallels Zuko and Katara in some way.

On one hand Zuko starts the story as an antagonist and what people say about firebending in season one is mostly negative:

Even a firebending master recognizes how dangerous his bending is. This is what is said about waterbending instead:

Waterbending has healing qualities. Water can heal, whereas fire can only hurt. This is a good power for a character like Katara to have. As a matter of fact she is an extremely nurturing character to the point that she often acts as a mother figure even for characters who are her peers:

Sokka: “I'm gonna tell you something crazy. I never told anyone this before, but honestly? I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like. It really seems like my whole life, Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there. And now, when I try to remember my mom, Katara's is the only face I can picture.”

However, in season three we are shown that firebending can also embody a positive philosophy:

Aang: “All this time, I thought firebending was destruction. Since I hurt Katara, I've been too afraid and hesitant. But now I know what it really is ... it's energy, and life.”

Zuko: “Yeah. It's like the Sun, [He curls his hand into a fist.] but inside of you. Do you guys realize this?”

Fire is linked to the sun and can represent life itself. After all, where would humans be without fire?

At the same time, we are shown how waterbending can be extremely dangerous:

These revelations about firebending and waterbending fit with what we discover about Zuko and Katara themselves, as stated above. Zuko can be helpful and kind, while Katara can be resentful and feel deep hatred.

In short, both characters have negative and positive traits. However, they manage not to lose themselves and to find an equilibrium and this is also because of their loved ones.

This is also true for their respective cultures. All in all, all cultures have positive and negative traits and this is why it is important to acquire different points of view. This is the main theme of ATLA after all. It is not by chance that the Avatar gets to bend all elements. It is because only through knowing all kinds of people he can help maintain harmony.

Another interesting similarity between Zuko and Katara is that they foil the other’s sibling.

On one hand Zuko and Sokka are both boys who are struggling to live up to others’ expectations. Both have a father figure they wish to make proud. However, they feel they are failing.

In Zuko’s case, Ozai being proud of him is something which will never happen. This is because Ozai will never accept Zuko as a person and will fail to see his positive traits. This is why in the end Zuko realizes Ozai’s praise is not worth it. He realizes that there is already a person who is proud of him and who loves him despite it all aka Iroh.

When it comes to Sokka, Hakoda is already proud of him, but Sokka feels he is not enough if compared to his father. This is because what he mostly sees of his father is his strength as a warrior. Sokka is an average person when it comes to physical strength and battle prowess. He acquires more experience as the series progresses, but he mostly uses his intelligence and skill to solve situations. What is more, he is a normal person in a cast of people with magical power. However, Sokka slowly discovers that he can be like his father (a leader and an example) just by being himself. His strength lies in him seeing things outside the box and he does not need to lose his goofy side to be useful. At the same time, he progressively loses his toxic masculinity (just like Zuko). He starts to respect women more and learns from them, for example.

On the other hand Katara and Azula are similar in how they are both affected by their mothers’ disappearances. This despite the fact that they hide their hurt well enough. As a matter of fact it is clear pretty soon that Sokka and Zuko want to be appreciated by their fathers, but the level of pain and unsolved issues Katara and Azula have for their mothers’ disappearances is something which comes up much later.

This is because both Katara and Azula are asked by their societies to fulfills different roles. Katara is asked to become the woman of the family and she ends up mothering her older brother. Azula is instead asked to be a princess and a military leader. This makes so that they repress their issues until they come up in ugly ways:

It is interesting that the moments they are at their most powerful when it comes to their bendings are also the moments where they are the most unstable psychologically wise.

That said, Katara still manages to process her feeling of grief and to find closure. It is also important that she expresses her feelings of resentment towards her brother to an extent:

Sokka: “Katara, she was my mother, too, but I think Aang might be right.”

Katara: “Then you didn't love her the way I did!”

Because of this, she is ultimately able to move on.

However, when Azula has the chance to address her feelings for her mother, she refuses to do so, as I explained here:

Azula: I don’t have sob stories like all of you. I could sit here and complain how our mom like Zuko more than me. But I don’t really care. My own mother… thought I was a monster… She was right of course, but it still hurt.

In conclusion, Katara and Zuko are pretty strong foils and they represent two sides of the conflict and two different cultures, which initially despise each other. This is pretty much made clear by them being linked with water and fire respectively. This is why their story is a story of reconciliation and forgiveness and this is made clear when one compares their respective roles in each season finale.

In the first season finale they fight each other. This is the first time they are on equal footing because Katara finally got the chance to be trained. The focus is mostly on their competitiveness and conflict.

In the second season finale, they discover they are more similar than what they think. They have similar traumas and are in similar situations. However, even if Katara is ready to give Zuko a chance, Zuko betrays her and a reconciliation does not happen.

Finally, in the third season finale, they are shown fighting together against Azula, who is a foil of both. They save each other’s lives and help to end the war.

These are my main thoughts on these two characters and their foiling.

Thank you for the ask!

#atla #atla meta #katara #zuko #azula #sokka #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

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96thdayofrage · 3 years

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Living through Covid-19 while Black and homeless

Not too many people do what Luther Keith does. Keith walks the streets among the homeless, passing out clothes and serving the unhoused with hot meals. This has been an everyday occurrence for Keith for over two decades.

On a weekly basis, Keith donates his time and feeds hundreds, sometimes thousands.

“That was my mission back in 1999, [that’s] to feed the homeless,” said Keith. “I started doing this on Avalon and Imperial Highway back in 1999 when I was at Locke High [School].”

At the time of his calling to help out those on the streets, Keith was a security officer for Locke High School in an area previously known as Watts, which is now encompassed inside of the boundaries of South Los Angeles.

A longtime gang interventionist, Keith has a strong presence on the streets of South Los Angeles. Working as the head of security for the renowned Drew League, a pro-am summer basketball league that has become home in the offseason for many NBA players, and keeping the peace among warring gang factions, Keith is a doer and not a talker when it comes to helping others.

Feeding and clothing the homeless is not for the faint of heart. Driving through downtown Los Angeles one can encounter many things. First, the many skyscrapers silhouettes that outline the Southern California skies make for a breathtaking view.

There are local hotspots and eateries that pop up on just about every block of the downtown area that make it chic or trendy to wine and dine.

STAPLES Center, the place that the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers call home, is snuggled in the midst of all of this hustle and bustle. Right across the street sits the Microsoft Theater, where live concerts from some of the biggest names in the music and entertainment industries are constantly on display as artists come and pay a visit when they’re in town performing.

Then there is Skid Row which is the direct antithesis to everything that is glamorous and modern in the downtown area of the second-largest city in America.

Though it is located in the downtown area of Los Angeles, a person would have to go through nearly two miles of designated parking lots and clumps of buildings and go past the city’s Los Angeles Fashion District before encountering humanity at its worse.

Skid Row is a proliferation of tents, gangs, hustlers, prostitution, gambling, and drug activity. The streets are blackened by the large amounts of trash and debris that have settled on them. The air space is almost inhalable. Assaults and robberies can happen about as quickly as you snap your fingers.

Navigating through Skid Row and other parts of downtown Los Angeles can be a dangerous place to walk or drive. The Covid-19 pandemic has magnified the danger alert to an even greater level. Keith is not too concerned about it. That’s because as a devout Christian, Keith arms himself with the faith weapons he’s been given on his sleeves.

These are the antidotes to any negativity he may encounter when he’s out and about doing what he’s called to do.

Judge David O. Carter gave the elected officials representing the City Los Angeles and Los Angeles County a sharp rebuke for failing to properly address the homeless crisis. The judge issued a memo ordering those living on Skid Row to be housed by this fall.

“There can be no defense to the indefensible,” Carter wrote in a 110-page ruling in the court case LA Alliance for Human Rights v City of Los Angeles. “For all the declarations of success that we are fed, citizens themselves see the heartbreaking misery of the homeless and the degradation of their City and County. Los Angeles has lost its parks, beaches, schools, sidewalks, and highway systems due to the inaction of City and County officials who have left our homeless citizens with no other place to turn. All of the rhetoric, promises, plans, and budgeting cannot obscure the shameful reality of this crisis—that year after year, there are more homeless Angelenos, and year after year, more homeless Angelenos die on the streets.”

The system of homelessness has become a Black problem with long-rooted institutional checks and balances in place playing a significant role behind the scenes, said Heidi Marston, director of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

“I want to be very clear, homelessness is a byproduct of racism,” Marston said. “We continue to see that Black people are overrepresented in our homeless population and that Black African Americans are four times more likely to become homeless than their white counterparts.”

Being homeless and Black in the middle of the Covid-19 is not just a Los Angeles thing. The numbers are just as staggering nationally. Much like the population-to-homeless ratio in Los Angeles, unhoused statistics for Blacks across the country are alarming.

According to the 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress, a report backed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 39 percent of the people who are homeless nationwide are Black. The AHAR report, released this past January, also concluded that Blacks with families and children (53 percent) are in far greater numbers to be homeless than any other ethnic group surveyed.

According to a 2020 U.S. Census study, Blacks are just 12 percent of the general population in the country, a sobering reality to the vast homelessness numbers this group represents. There are several contributing factors as to why many Black people can be found on the streets or are unsheltered, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

The main causes, poverty, rental and housing discrimination, lack of access to quality health care and incarceration, are nothing new. When it comes to re-entering back into society after being incarcerated, Black women are more likely than anyone else to be homeless, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. That’s including Black men.

A New Way of Life Reentry Project, founded by Susan Burton, does its best to address the needs of these women once they leave jail or prison.

“A New Way of Life and similar programs offer people released from jails and prisons an opportunity to live in a safe, welcoming, structured, and supportive environment where both staff and other residents understand the challenges that convicted and formerly incarcerated people face, and are able to offer a clear path forward,” said Pamela Marshall, co-director of A New Way of Life Reentry Project.

“Having stable, safe and affordable housing improves an individuals’ abilities to reduce stress; to heal from trauma or addiction; to manage a health or mental health condition; to find and maintain employment; to protect, uplift and support children and other family members; to attend school and/or job training programs; to avoid violence and system contact,” Marshall added.

Based in South Los Angeles, A New Way of Life Reentry Project has 10 homes to accommodate women coming from jail or prison. Marshall said once these individuals put incarceration in the rearview mirror, trying to live and function in normalcy, can be overwhelming.

“Imagine living in a jail or prison cell where your every movement, every minute, every meal and every decision has been made for you and you are suddenly released with $200 or less, without a state ID, social security card, medical or birth documents, into a world where the technology, bus routes, culture, and communities have advanced far into the future leaving you without direction or understanding and you have also lost all contact with family, friends or a place to stay,” Marshall said.

While A New Way of Life Reentry Project has a more structural way of helping those once locked up to stay off the streets, Keith keeps things pushing with his charitable outreach, bringing encouragement and food to fill the bellies and minds of the homeless. And he does it without fear.

“If you ain’t equipped and know how to do this…they got gangs down there,” Keith said. “Folks are scared to go down there.”

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adultprivilege · 5 years

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I've ranted about this so many times on main that I need to say it here:

The idolization of classical music is not just racist and sexist, it is blatantly ageist

Coming from a huge music nerd this is important for me to say: BEEHTOVEN IS BAD AND MOZART IS WORSE. I dont even know if other pianists are aware of the way we've been brainwashed by Europeans but Beehtoven and Mozart were mediocre at best for average musicians, and for musicians who stood the test of time, they are TERRIBLE.

These two musicians, and most pre-1900s classical musicians in general, are only so famous because they are meant to symbolize the pinnacle of white society and the achievements of whiteness. I like Monet, I like Tchaikovsky, but if that's the best we can do then white people should not do music.

Wanna see a dumb person say dumb shit?

Who is some people? Tell me right now who do you think some people are?

I love this tweet because it so perfectly encapsulates everything that older white people believe. So many people (mostly white and old, #yupisaidit omg I'm so unique) talk about rap being the cause of gang violence, black on black crime, younger people having lots of sex and doing drugs. Imagine believing that the music young people listen to and black people create (and I can get into the exchange of black culture and youth culture at a later date) is an epidemic.

It's funny because that happened all throughout the 19th century.

(Above: "flappers" aka rebellious young women who liked to party and listen to jazz -im not kidding that's literally what a flapper was - of the early 1900s dancing in what were considered short and scantily clad dresses for the time, then another picture of flappers posing for a picture with their boyfriends)

In the early 20th century teenage girls and women in their 20s became so famously known for having more sex, drinking alcohol, being unashamed to dress in shorter skirts, that the term designated to them by older white men - flapper - is now considered a historical term. And you've DEFINITELY seen old films depicting black jazz musicians as illiterate speaking in slang always cheerful with a bunch of other gross stereotypes given to them. No one liked jazz and no one like ragtimes.

(Above: Chuck Berry onstage, Little Richard in a cover photo -both black- and a bunch of white teenagers in the 60s posing on jeeps and pontiacs trying to look punk and cool)

I feel like it should be known by now, Elvis is not the king of rock, most white rock musicians were highkey appropriative and when young black popular music switched to blues white rock musicians tried to follow suit inconspicuously for profit. I'm mostly basing my info of rock and blues on Peter Guralnick's Feel Like Going Home, which isnt the most progressive book you could buy but if you're looking for a comprehensive musical history of the 1950s onward focusing on how young white people rebelled against their parents by participating in black culture, you should definitely read it. Guralnick described how as a young white kid he and his friends would listen to rock all the time, and try to dress in fancy outfits and pose the way Elvis posed, sort of trying to look and behave the way they imagined black people look and behave (again its not the most progressive if could be). Adults constantly judged youth for listening to rock, and all the new kinds of music that came with it that were created out of black culture.

"The first time I heard Little Richard's 'Tutti Frutti' was on the car radio on the way to school.

A-wop bop a lu bop a lop bam boom

Tutti frutti, oh rooty

It burst out at us. Our first reaction, I think, was one of chagrin. Somebody's father was driving, and he expressed our discomfort before we could ourselves. 'What command of the english language,'he said and switched stations. We all laughed self-consciously because it was, after all, our fault."

(Above: Mamie Smith on an album surrounded by black men on trumpets and various brass instruments. A party full of black teenagers listening to rhythm and blues.)

Rhythm and blues was another form of music pioneered by black people and exchanged with youth culture, and put down as a way to dismiss both identities. Again, from Feel Like Going Home:

"Country blues, which was at first considered too disreputable to record, remains to this day too funky in a pejorative sense to merit serious attention."

"These blues were common property long before they were set down on paper, however, and if the recording of the classic blues singers stimulated a new period of growth for country blues, WC Handy himself admitted, 'Each one of my blues is based on some old N**** song of the South, some old song that is part of the memories of my childhood and my race. I can tell you the exact song I used as the basis for any one of my blues.'

Instrumental jazz started out as the articulation of that same feeling, an ingenious approximation of the human voice."

And eventually the music was used by youth as a way to rebel.

"We thought of blues, when we first took it up, as protest music."

Which brings us to hip hop, rap, trap, and the like.

(Above: Duckwrth in his music video for Soprano, Angel Haze with a group of their fans mostly white and everyone in the photo looking pretty blatantly queer)

Obviously right now you are aware of the fact that black people pioneered these three genres, and obviously you are aware that they appeal to a much younger age, because you're living in this time period.

It doesn't matter what the music is. How many times have we seen the narrative that a teacher makes the young black student more interested in school because poetry is just another way to rap? White adults struggle so much to comprehend the evolution of music and its pioneers being black youth that they literally think they're teaching someone when they say that maybe instead of participating in black culture you could do something that is similar but a lot more white and I'll consider you more intelligent just from that. It's an attempt to destroy black/youth culture.

Which brings me back to that goddamn tweet I love so much. Yes, Shapiro is technically a millennial, but hes this type of millennial I hate, the one that thinks they have to compensate by saying "I was born in the wrong generation" "I have an old soul" "antiques are some of the finer things in life". They love the aesthetic of not having computers or phones or really any new technology, they want to live in a creaking house and use a typewriter and die of polio. Ageism is so strongly connected to racism because if you've internalized some ideas of white supremacy, as Shapiro ABSOLUTELY has, you develop a need to connect with white eurocentric society, and as the world becomes more integrated that becomes harder and harder to do until you develop some nostalgia for the 90s, for the 50s, for years that you weren't even alive to be nostalgic for. So these people decide to listen to classical music as a way of saying "I'm not like anybody else in my generation."

And I'm not just going to blame youth because obviously it's mostly the oldest generations saying that music taste is a sign of intelligence and that music contributes to teen pregnancies and drug use and criminal activity. This has been said about so many forms of music because the number one priority for people who have a goal of maintaining ageism is to prevent culture from evolving. Or more specifically, allow culture to evolve, but only to the point where hairstyles and clothes and tech and music tastes can be weaponized to separate and criticize younger people and maintain superiority. Older people have a vested interest in making the many parts of your culture, especially the parts of youth culture that are also black culture, seem crude and inappropriate and reflective of your moral character.

It doesnt matter if you don't listen to rap. You still have to tell people you're not like your generation, avoid using slang like lit and yeet, put on a tie every day, work 60 hours a week and not live in poverty, and talk shit about your own generation just to escape one of the caricatures of youth. And at that point you just enter another caricature that is the "born in the wrong generation" stereotype. Once older people know you're seeking their approval, they (possibly subconsciously, but this is also a very conscious tactic used by pedophiles) compliment you by saying you are very professional, you have an old soul, that you are mature for your age. They make you easily manipulable. So it's a bit terrifying to even try to gain that accreptance.

There are so many people nowadays just like Ben Shapiro who are listening to classical music that was made in 18th century Europe or previous. There are so many music history classes in schools that only teach about Bach, Beehtoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, all that. If you are going to listen to classical pieces, stop rehashing the old shit. You shouldnt be listening to music out of a desire for cultural "purity" and a feeling of superiority.

If you need to listen to classical music, listen to these:

youtube

If you think music can have an "authentic" sound to it, listen to these:

youtube

TDLR: the ideation of classical music has been used for more than a century to dismiss black/youth culture, to separate our generations and use our cultural contributions as a way to demonize black people and younger generations, and to manipulate youth into a desperation to appeal to older generations.

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nala-raines · 4 years

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Pro-life

Author’s note: With the election coming up, and upon learning one of Harris’ views it felt right to write this now. I am well aware of the fact some of you won’t agree with me, fill the comments with hate, or even try and get my account deleted, but I feel a call to write this. I have felt this type of call before, and I believe it to be from God. If you already want to get me off tumblr, I understand, but please read this through. All I ask is that you read this first, and try to have an open mind. After that, say whatever you want, do whatever you want to do. My purpose for writing this is to state my opinion, and why I believe it.

Abortion has been a plague in our society since 1973. Abortion is the act of ending a pregnancy before the baby is born. There are several different ways for an abortion to be carried out, but each one can have a devastating affect on the mother. The women that get an abortion can go through lasting reproductive health problems, severe psychological problems, and the lasting guilt of ending a life that had barely begun.

Even though each type of abortion has its own set of risks, each one can have a lasting affect on your reproductive organs. Most options need to use some medical tools that could poke or tear something in the uterus. There have also been several reports in women that have had an abortion earlier in their lives, have trouble conceiving a child later in their lives. Those that do have a higher risk of a stillbirth, miscarriage, or premature birth. Although, others are never able to conceive a child. It may not be common, but some women are so concerned with ending their pregnancy, that they don’t do all of their research or listen/read over the possible side effects of having the abortion done. All of this is bad in its own right, but psychological effects can be far worse than the physical ones.

Abortion is ending a life. You can ask soldiers or some police officers and they will most likely tell you that it had messed them up for a while. It’s the same with abortion. Most women, soon after they have an abortion, show signs of depression. I have a friend that knew a woman that had an abortion, she said she was never the same after that. I believe it, too. I can’t imagine what it was like for her to give up the baby she had growing inside of her. The guilt she must have gone through, can lead some people to end their lives.

The Bible says that from the moment a child is conceived, their life begins. However, most people don’t believe this, so I’ll put it like this: Even when someone’s mind is gone, doctors don’t say they are dead until their heart stops beating, and more often than not, an abortion is performed after the baby’s heart starts beating. You can hear the heartbeat at week 5 of the pregnancy. Therefore you are ending a life. The women that feel remorse and regret for getting an abortion recognize this fact. They recognize the fact that there was a life growing inside them, and they ended that life (or lives as the case may be). I know that there are people that just have an abortion, because they don’t want to raise a baby. Sadly, most people refuse to recognize that they can go through with the pregnancy and not raise the baby. They can put the baby up for adoption.

There are so many women in the world that are unable to have a child of their own. These women want to find one through adoption agencies. I understand that as the pregnancy progresses, the mom may get very attached and not want to give the baby up. She may think that she will never see her baby again, but she may be able to. Some adoption agencies will allow you to pick the people adopting your baby. If you choose to give your baby up for adoption, you can ask for visitation, photos, and updates. I know a couple that struggled for years to have a daughter and I have cousins that were in the same place that wondered if they should just adopt. Their are people looking at adoption, so abortion is not the only option.

Abortion is the act of ending the life of a baby, while in the womb. There are hundreds of cases from women that have said that they had problems with their reproductive health after they have an abortion, as well as, women who suffer from mental health problems. The Bible says that from the moment a child is conceived, their life begins, and even from a different religious perspective, abortions usually happen after the baby’s heart starts beating. Therefore, they die. Instead of abortion, women can still go through with the pregnancy and give their baby(ies) up for adoption, and maintain contact with their child. The only reasons abortion should be considered (or warranted) is to either to save the life of the mother or save the life of the baby.

When we look at murderers, we see them as monsters. Doctors call the time of death when a heart stops beating; and abortions will stop the heartbeat of a baby in the womb. With this logic, aren’t those who have abortions, murderers? You hear ‘Black Lives Matter’, ‘Animals Have Rights Too’, but honestly how often do you hear, ‘The Fetus’ growing inside of women are people too.’ Doctors have proven that fetuses feel pain in utero just as much as they do outside. These babies are the world’s future kids, teens, and adults. They will all have undeniable and unalienable rights (as most people will agree), so why are we trying to take these rights away from them? Don’t they have the right to live from the moment they are found to be coming into the world? I believe that the moment a baby is found to be coming into the world, they have all of the rights that I do.

#pro-life #2020 election #abortion #all lives matter #all lives are equal #future #baby #jesus loves the little children

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fionabasil · 3 years

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Who is behind Unlock Your Glutes and can we trust him?

How do women's bodies change as they age?

Yes, your 40s are your best decade. You will discover that you are wiser and more established; and if you are doing things right, you should discover that you are much happier as a woman, and / or as a man. In fact, you can look radiant and even younger than someone does at that age. But that does not mean that your body is not about to undergo interesting changes that, although it is not de rigueur that these changes appear to everyone just after the age of 40, yes to most and you should certainly know them because they commonly arrive without warning.

After age 40 your body changes in these ways

Now, if those changes are for better or for worse, it is really a matter of perspective. Plus, you are more than capable of lessening any adverse effects they may have on your life. So consider the following list a warning: that's what you should expect your body to do when it has crossed the threshold into middle age, and don't be caught off guard by the novelties of your four decades and beyond.

Your wrinkles become more pronounced

As we age, our skin becomes thinner, drier, less elastic, and less able to regenerate after damage. By the time we reach our forties, this aging plus wear and tear leads to wrinkles and lines on the skin.

All of that sounds like bad news until you consider the results of a Belgian study published in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, which found that when "crow's feet" were present, smiles were more authentic, intense, and spontaneous. If you are not influenced by this, you can anticipate wrinkles by using a moisturizer at night, staying properly hydrated and protecting your skin from UV rays with an SPF.

Hair begins to grow in strange places

To our knowledge, there is no study that has shown a connection between ear, nose, back, or chin hair and perceived attractiveness. However, it remains true that both men and women will be more likely to show off hair where there has been none before, often around the age of 40.

Keep in mind that many men's clippers come with ear and nose hair accessories, while a lot of new long-handled razors have recently hit the market. Tweezers are often the best option for wandering chin hair, although if there are more than a few, laser hair removal is something that women are turning to more and more.

Pains appear or more of them

Body wear and tear is, by definition, cumulative. Knowing your limits, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, stretching, meditating, and consulting your doctor when something doesn't feel right are all part of a prescription to reduce some of the novelties of turning 40. You'll find that stress may be making aches and pains worse.

Your hangovers get more intense

All the effects of alcohol amplify with age. This is partly because the liver becomes less efficient as we age and also because people with a higher percentage of body fat and less body water tend to feel the effects of alcohol more strongly than those with greater muscle mass.

Limiting your alcohol intake and having a glass of water between each alcoholic drink are good ways to ensure that you don't find yourself in such a sorry state the day after a night out.

Your teeth become less sensitive

Some good news, if sensitive teeth have been a problem for you in your teens, 20s, or 30s. As you age, more dentin - the hard internal tissue - forms between the enamel and the nerves of your teeth. According to the International Dental Journal, this additional isolation results in a decreased response to pain.

The downside of this is that you are less likely to feel when something goes wrong with your teeth, which means that regular checkups become much more important when you reach 40.

It takes you longer to recover from an injury

Scientists are still not sure why at age 40 you recover more slowly from an injury than before. Some posit that it's something called cellular depletion, others argue that fewer hormonal changes make muscle repair last longer, while some argue that as we age, our body's inflammatory response to injury increases. Of course, it could be a cocktail of all three. When you are injured, anticipate spending more time on rest and recovery than in the past.

Catch fewer colds

By the time we reach 40 years of age, we have been exposed to more cold viruses and have developed immunities, and thus we get sick less often.

Hair loss becomes noticeable for men

According to research, the proportion of men with moderate to extensive hair loss skyrockets for men in their 40s. The study found that while significant hair loss affects 16 percent of men ages 18-29, more than half (53 percent) of men ages 40-49 will look frayed.

There are a growing number of interventions that men can do to slow or stop their hair loss, and some ways are quite effective. Before throwing money at your increasingly exposed dome, consider a study that found that bald men are more socially mature, intelligent, educated, and honest compared to men with a full head of hair.

Hair loss in women

Many women also experience noticeable hair loss in their 40s. An Australian study found that 64.4 percent of women who lived in the city of Maryborough had bitemporal hair loss. One (possible) silver lining is that age-related hair loss in women tends to occur everywhere on the body, which means less hair on the legs, armpit, and pubis.

You sleep less

In a study of 110 healthy adults who were allowed eight hours of sleep, the middle-aged (40 to 55) slept about 23 minutes less than the younger group (20 to 30 years). A simple explanation is that people need less sleep as they age, but the National Sleep Foundation denies this.

On their website they write: “It is a common misconception that sleep needs decrease with age. In fact, research shows that our sleep needs remain constant throughout adulthood. "

It's harder for you to lose weight

You may recall a time when getting back to your best shape required nothing more than cutting bread and sweets for 72 hours. For many of us, losing weight quickly has to be a much more difficult prospect by the time we hit 40, and you probably already know that it is caused by a slowing metabolism.

What many of us forget, however, is that a large part of having a slower metabolism is a direct consequence of decreased muscle mass. Muscles need fuel, which means the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest. Put on a pound of muscle, and you'll re-fuel your oven and burn an additional 50 calories per day.

That math goes up, meaning that by gaining 10 pounds of muscle, with regular resistance training, and lots of high-quality protein, your body could burn an extra 3,500 extra calories per week.

You realize that you are shorter

People may start to shrink in height as early as their thirties, which means that, at 40, you may start to notice it. According to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), men can gradually lose an inch between the ages of 30 to 70, while women can lose about two inches.

Resistance training can help reduce shrinkage while eating foods rich in calcium and vitamin D can also help keep your bones strong.

A pilot study from UCLA showed that yoga could improve kyphosis, a forward curve of the spine that was originally believed to be an irreversible bone disorder. The researchers found that the study participants who did yoga had straighter spines and had increased height measurements.

Your hair starts to get grayer

As we age, the pigment cells in our hair follicles gradually die. What that means is that a hair follicle does not change color, but instead becomes transparent. Typically, Caucasians start to gray in their mid-30s, Asians in their 30s, and African-Americans in their 40s.

For men, there is a literal silver lining. According to a Match.com survey, 72% of women say they find men with gray, silver or "salt and pepper" hair attractive.

Your sense of smell and your taste change

When we are born, we have approximately 9,000 taste buds. But as we age, the number of taste buds decreases. What this means is that your sensitivity to the main flavors (sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami) gradually decreases.

Bad news ladies: this usually happens to women 10-20 years earlier than men. Loss of smell and taste is diagnosed by having a patient compare smells or tastes. From this, your doctor can determine the level of loss.

Dental cavities increase

As you get older, your mouth becomes drier. Saliva helps clean teeth and protects the mouth from cavities, which means that at age 40 the chances of cavities increase. Get it back by drinking more water, holding it in your mouth for a few seconds before swallowing. You can also suck on sugarless candy or chew sugarless gum to increase the amount of saliva in your mouth.

Your chances of developing breast cancer increase

In her 30s, a woman's chances of being diagnosed with breast cancer are 1 in 228. Between the ages of 40 and 49, however, that increases to 1 in 69. It is no wonder then that the American Cancer Society and The Mayo Clinic recommend it. Regular exercise has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer by 10-20%; A healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, especially carotenoids, has also been shown to help, as well as reducing alcohol consumption.

Studies have shown that results show that women who drink 2-3 alcoholic beverages per day have a 20 percent higher risk of breast cancer than non-drinkers.

Your bone density decreases

As we age, we lose bone density, although women are more significantly affected by it. In part, this is due to the fact that women start out with lower bone density than their male counterparts and lose density at a faster rate, around 1% per year beyond the age of 35.

Resistance training can help prevent bone loss. A 1,500 mg daily calcium supplement and adequate vitamin D (think salmon, egg yolks, and sunlight).

Digestive problems are more constant

As we move into middle age, the possibility of indigestion, constipation, diverticulitis, and ulcers increases. A host of age-related factors, including the medications you take and a more sedentary lifestyle can wreak havoc on healthy digestion.

Your best bet to avoid digestive problems is to drink plenty of water, stay active, load up on fiber, enjoy probiotics, and eat a variety of different colored fruits and vegetables.

You see a decrease in muscle mass

This goes hand in hand with the decrease in testosterone mentioned above. As we age, the ratio of lean mass to fat in our bodies changes, which has all sorts of negative effects on the entire body.

However, you can still build muscle in your 40s and stop that trend and even reverse it. Eat plenty of high-quality protein from organic sources and add more resistance training to your exercise routine.

You sweat less

As we age, our sweat (eccrine) glands shrink and become less sensitive. A study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that women approaching middle age sweated less than their younger counterparts.

They attributed it to "a diminished response of the sweat glands to central and / or peripheral stimuli" and "an age-related structural alteration in the eccrine glands or surrounding skin cells."

Urinary tract infections become more common for women

Estrogen appears to play a protective role against the bacteria that lead to UTIs, and by 40, your body produces less. A low dose of topical estrogen cream can help, but recurring UTIs are definitely worth discussing with your doctor.

You experience a hearing loss

When we reach 40, our eardrum and inner ear change. Unsurprisingly, this affects your hearing, and since your inner ear controls its balance, it can also be a bit less coordinated.

You start to struggle a bit with holding your urine

Perimenopause means a reduction in the amount of estrogen you produce. With less estrogen in your system, the muscles that support the urethra weaken and make it more vulnerable to leakage. There are several things you can do to avoid unexpected jingle.

These include: avoiding foods and drinks that tend to cause leakage, losing some weight to reduce pressure on the bladder, and doing Kegel exercises. If none of these strategies help, your doctor can suggest what to do.

You experience sleep disruption more often

You may have slept like a log in your 20s and 30s, but in your 40s, men and women are more likely to experience interruptions in their sleep.

Studies have shown that increases in the time it takes to fall asleep (sleep latency), an overall decrease in REM sleep, and an increase in sleep fragmentation (waking up during the night) occur more frequently when we are past forty. To combat the less-than-stellar sleep spectrum, check out 10 tips for your best sleep.

You become more distracted

As a person ages, their ability to ignore distractions worsens, according to research by psychologists at the University of Toronto.

But your libido can increase

In a study of 827 women, psychologist David Buss found that people in their 40s are more interested in being intimate. Buss is an evolutionary psychologist and believes that this increase in female libido could be a biological tactic to increase the chances of childbearing.

He proposes that as women produce fewer eggs, their bodies are wired to become more aroused to increase the likelihood that an egg will be fertilized.

Your brain changes

Another consequence of the female body producing less estrogen during perimenopause is brain chemistry and function. It can lead to being more forgetful because the brain has a harder time organizing its thoughts in a way that is easy to remember. The good news is that, over time, the brain adapts to lower levels of estrogen and compensates for it.

You become lactose intolerant

One of the myriad great things the body does is help your small intestine digest lactose, a disaccharide sugar made up of galactose and glucose found in milk, by producing an enzyme called lactase.

As we age, lactase levels drop, and the lactose we ingest can affect the colon in a less digested state, and the results, well, not as pleasant.

If you think you are developing an intolerance to dairy products, try taking probiotics and experimenting with other sources of milk such as almond, rice, coconut, or cashew milk. You can also take digestive enzymes to help.

Scaly patches of skin may appear

An actinic keratosis (also known as solar keratosis) is a scaly area in areas exposed to the sun, such as the head and face. It is the most common skin condition caused by sun damage - the result of skin damaged by the sun over many years.

They are more common in men, mainly because men are more likely to have outdoor occupations, but are generally not dangerous and only pose a small risk of developing into cancer.

You experience changes in vision

In your 40s, your eyes may need a little help reading fine print and deciphering menus in restaurants by candlelight. Now that you are the age when all of this and more can happen, it's more important than ever to get regular eye exams. Protect your eyes from sun damage with UV protection sunglasses and a healthy diet.

Research suggests that lycopene, the pigment that gives tomatoes their red color, may reduce your risk of macular degeneration and cataracts later in life.

Your risk of bad things increases

After age 40, regular checkups and exams are crucial to preventing heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, and a host of other illnesses that begin to pose a higher risk.

Yes, we will tell you to eat better, sleep well, reduce stress and exercise more, but we will also tell you to see your doctor more often and seek preventive care.

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kemetic-dreams · 5 years

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AFRICAN PHILOSOPHY: THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ODINANI BY M.O. ENE

Odinani is anchored on the sanctity of Ani, the Earth Deity, INTRODUCTION

The Igbo traditional religion is a philosophy that has stood the test of time. To understand the basis for Igbo philosophy, we must understand first the Igbo concept of the Cosmos, a logical concept that makes few pretensions about the great unknown. This concept has survived the introduction of Middle Eastern religious beliefs and modern science. The Igbo belief is therefore both metaphysical and scientific as well as sacred and socioenvironmental. A very tolerant but conservative philosophy, its capacity for ecumenism is enormous. While not yielding an inch to mythical and unproven concepts of life on earth, the Igbo philosophy maintains an elastic but credible concept of the Cosmos and its constituents that is rooted in science rather than the traditional myths of some imported beliefs.

To the ancient Igbo, the Cosmos is an endless space of visible and invisible beings. This Cosmo is divided into four complex constituents, [Onwuejeogwu, 1975: The Igbo Culture Area in “Igbo Language and Culture,” F. Chidozie Ogbalu & E Nolue Emenanjo -ed.]:

Okike (Creation)

Alusi (Supernatural Forces or Deities)

Mmuo (Spirit)

Uwa (World)

OKIKE

The Supreme Being (Chi ukwu or Chukwu) is the God of Creation (Chi Okike), the Force that fires all forces. God in Igbo language is also called Chineke (“God in the morning of creation, ” or “the God who creates” or “God and the Creator” (duality of deity)… depending on perspectives). Chineke is far removed from the perception of mere mortals. This Supreme Power (Ikekaike) is neither a living-dead (ancestor) nor a spirit. It has no known physical form, yet indirectly impacts the affairs of the human world. Chineke manifests to our world as:

Anyanwu (the Sun)—Chineke is the mastermind behind the source of light, love and knowledge and, implicitly, earthly existence or life itself;

Chi (the godly guardian), the personal providence is a divine agents assigned to each human from cradle to the coffin;

Kpakpando (the stars) which manifest as the celestial beauty;

Enuigwe (the heavens), the home of all supernatural forces including the stars.

Chineke created everything visible and invisible. The concept of Chineke is incomprehensible; to know God is the end of knowledge, which is probably why the Igbo do not debate those who say their ancestors dropped from the sky — who knows! The evil forces that intrude into our lives and the physical forces of the universe are all put in place by the Supreme Force, the Godhead or Creator, for definite reasons and to coexist in harmony and multiply and or evolve.

ALUSI

Alusi is a supernatural force. Although the forces are neither human beings (mmadu) nor spirits (mmuo), they sometimes assume the attributes of human beings. Prof. Onwuejeogwu called them “being forces.” Every Igbo town has a shrine dedicated to its communal alusi; every other community respects the deity. A priestly clan usually ministers to the revered communal deity on behalf of the community.

MMUO

Mmuo is the spirit of ancestors who lived, died, and moved on to the great unknown, the other side of the realm. Hence, mmadu (human beings) must die to become mmuo (spirit being). If a man was good while alive, upon his departure he could become an ichie or nna-mmuo —a hallowed ancestor spirit or a saint. Ancestor spirits are more commonly known by the collective term “Ndiichie.” A respected, living elder can therefore be called ichie —a living saint. Ndiichie is also used for a group of accomplished and distinguished elders who uphold the morals of the society, dispense unquestionable justic, and preserve the culture of the community.

A woman who has lived a distinguished life becomes nne-mmuo. Those who have lived horrible lives, and those who committed unpardonable sins (ajo njo) or alu (abomination) against Ani — the Earth Deity, become ajo mmuo (evil spirits) or Ekwensu (Devil or Satan). The male ajo mmuo could be akaliogoli (a roguish spirit); the female counterpart could become either a mermaid (owummiri) or a bloodsucking amaosu (vampire) or some other gender-specific evil spirit. Some mmuo are so restless they come back to be born-again (ogbanje), not to make amends but to torment a mother, her family, and the community. [This must not be confused with the desired and celebrated “inouwa” or reincarnation.]

UWA

Uwa is our world, or the so-called “Mother Nature.” [Compare with Hausa: uwa = mother]. This is the world we live in, the visible universe that directly impacts our life. Uwa is made up of two distinct parts: Igwe and Ala.

Igwe is the firmament, and it constitutes of the following:

Ulukpu (the clouds);

Onwa (the moon);

Alaigwe (the planets);

Ikuku (the winds) —the totality of winds and airs that hold the earth in place and help to make it everything it is.

While the ancient Igbo philosophers might not have measured the firmament by any known scientific method, they knew that it is immensely bigger than the earth, that the earth is but a revolving part — not the center — of the universe. Hence, the popular phrase Igwe ka Ala, which is also one of Chineke’s many names, Igwekaala.

Ala: Ala is the physical manifestation of Earth Deity, Ani. It harbors four components:

Mmadu (human being) — Man and woman exist to perform specific functions in the complex equation of conservation and preservation of the species. Humans are the beauty of life; hence it has been suggested that the word is from “mma ndu” = the beauty of life.

Anumanu (animal) — Like human beings, animals have their specific functions in the equation of life;

Ofia (forests) Vegetation sustains both mmadu and anumanu.

Mmiri (water) —The “life” of fish and all other beings in all water bodies is dependent on the quality of water. When the Igbo pray, they pray for the “life” of water because it is also the life of fish, which invariably provides rich sources of protein for humanity. Therefore, pollution of streams in Igboland is a taboo. All community streams are sacred and water fountains are deities, iyi. Menstruating women should not step into communal streams to fetch water. In some communities, women of childbearing age are banned all together from fountains.

GOLDEN RULE

The Igbo are very particular about constructive coexistence on earth. In the saying, “egbe bere ugo bere” (Let the eagle perch, let the hawk perch), the Igbo express the golden rule of the religion: Live and let live. Some go further and add: nke si ibe ya ebene, nku kwaa ya (whichever says the other shall not perch, may its wing break). This supposedly “old testament” version seeks to ensure that whichever of the Earth’s components wants the other not to survive shall not share of the food chain and shall eventually become extinct — so that others may thrive well in the ecosystem. Hence, the protection of lesser lives is imperative to good existence on Earth. Indiscriminate slaughter of animals or killing of human beings is an abomination of the highest order. To kill a female being is even more atrocious because she assures the continuation and preservation of the species.

A “new-testament” version of the saying stipulates: “nke si ibe ya ebene gosi ya ebe o ga-ebe, (whichever says the other shall not perch, may it show the other where to perch); but, truly speaking, there should be no reason in the first place to deny another an anchor on this planet. This pacifist approach to the Golden Rule is similar to turning the other cheek. Whichever holds in anyone’s philosophy is acceptable. However, it is highly suspected that the original saying is simply: “Egbe bere, ugo bere.” Period. There should be no room for compromise on the desire of one over the other.

ANI

Ani, the Earth Deity or so-called “Mother Earth” is also called Ala (land), which is actually the physical manifestation of Ani. This gives an erroneous impression of Mother Earth as “earth” — a rugged land mass of fiercely boiling, molten core washed by bodies of oceans. It may be, but it is also alusi, the deity which made the evolution of the modern person possible. Its core spiritual component is Ikejiani (“the force that holds the Earth” or the force of gravity).

In Odinani, the reverence of Chineke or Chukwu as the Almighty God is so deep that mere mortals, while attributing all cosmic powers to this Head, do not normally bring petty petitions directly to the seat of Supreme Power. It is not only humanly impossible, the chances of success are slim because God cannot be manipulated in any way, shape, or form. Besides, there are so many forces to overcome from here to eternity that Ndiigbo deal with the forces they can either manipulate or with whom they can enter into peaceful pacts. But, most importantly, every life on earth is pre-destined.

The Igbo religion is therefore anchored on the visible, which is invariably controlled by the invisible Ani. We thrive and derive life itself from the bounties of Ani. What more could be as merciful as “Mother Earth.” It provides human beings with an anchor, a base on which Ikejiani keeps people without restricting their ability to move freely on land (ala); avails earthlings with nutritional needs; protects all creatures from extended exposure to the Sun by providing day and night and the seasons; drains the unrelenting onslaught of rain from the clouds; shelves the wastes and, with time, avails earthlings with useful materials to make the passage through life an easier ordeal.

Together with other interlinked forces of our world (uwa), supernatural forces (alusi) and anyanwu (the eye of light, life, and love), Ani controls the “day deities” (Eke, Orie, Afo, Nkwo) and the “year-force” (afò). The sun therefore does not “rise” nor “set” in Igbo philosophy: the Earth determines the length of days and nights and, with the moon (onwa), sets the months. Hence, there are seven weeks or 28 days in an Igbo month and thirteen moons a year.

The Earth Deity’s control does not stop here: its forces control agriculture and even the activities of good and evil spirits, which occasionally attempt to misdirect the destiny of human beings. For example,

Ifejioku or Ahiajoku (“the yam force”) is very important for yams to do well.

Idemmiri (“the water force”) is a being force that must be appeased to ensure healthy water supply.

Okeofia or Agwu-Ofia (“the forest-force”) also plays important roles.

The Igbo enter into pacts with these forces to take into their benevolence. The process is called “igommuo”(to placate/negotiate — not worship– spirits). Even Agwu (“the divination force” or the trickster alusi, which causes confusion in the life of human beings) can be manipulated in afa (divination) to yield good effects.

Evil forces affect our lives adversely. The extent of their intrusion into our laid-out life-plan or destiny (akalaaka) can be curtailed by the intervention of one’s Chi and also by the intercession of ndiichie (ancestor spirits). The Igbo therefore maintain a special relationship with their ancestors by offering sacrifices to please their souls and working hard for the good of the lineage. Dealing with this spirits and deities is known by the same term “igommuo” or “ilommuo” (“to placate or ask of the dear departed/living-dead/ancestor spirit”).

Ndiichie are not worshipped; they do not demand to be worshipped — they are not Chukwu, the Almighty God) to whom we owe praises and thanks. In fact, the term “worship” does not readily occur in Igbo theosophy. “Ifé alusi” (“to worship deities”) is a colonial concept introduced by Euro-Christianity. The Igbo considered it more appropriate to negotiate and navigate natural forces around them; the will of God cannot be manipulated or changed. They just need to get there without too much hassles.

CONCLUSION Odinani is anchored on the sanctity of Ani, the Earth Deity, a creation of the Supreme Creator. O di n’Ani literally means “It is anchored on the Earth Deity.” Hence, Igbo philosophy is sacred, spiritual, and socioenvironmental. The Igbo attitude toward Chineke is unlike that of Euro-Christianity: Chineke has no form that humans can conceive nor perceive. Those who follow the teachings of Christian churches and Muslim mosques soon find out that the fundamentals of Odinani are unwavering in every Igbo community. Odinani is about doing the right things; it is about following the dictates of our personal providence, Chi. Failure to do so, Agwu or other more potent evil forces take over our lives; we would keep running in circles and meeting bad spirits (ajo mmuo) or even Satan itself (Ekwensu). But once we are at peace with Chi, we shall be on our way to our destiny. Which is why the Igbo say: “I buru Chi gi uzo, i gbagbue onwe gi n’oso.” [If you walk before your Chi, you will do the race of your life.]

Source: http://www.kwenu.com/odinani/odinani.htm

#odinani #igbo leaders #igbo #igbo culture #african #african religions #kemetic dreams #chineke #ala #alaigbo

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jokertrap-ran · 4 years

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[Stand My Heroes] 挽夏のミステリーブライド (Late summer Mystery Bride) Event Story: Part　① Translations

*Sutamai Master-list *MC name is retained default Izumi Rei *Scenario Writer: @eno_bara (榎戸乃ばら)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Special Stages

--Back when I was alive… I thought that I’d lose everything, once the spark of life snuffed out.

Affections. Loneliness. Happiness, sadness…--All of it.

Asagiri: But I was mistaken. Everything still resides within me, as vivid as ever.

Asagiri: Affections, loneliness, happiness, sadness…--Therefore,

Asagiri: I wish to stay by you.

Asagiri: I cannot stand being alone any longer.

Rei: A-Asagiri-san…?

Asagiri: If I’m unable to stay by you, then I’d much rather I--…

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

--Mid-August.

⋆⋅☆ Investigation Planning Division ☆⋅⋆

Asagiri: …Huh? A trip together with the Kujo Family?

Rei: Yup. This year’s Obon Holidays spans an entire week so,

Rei: After returning to our Family Home, paying our respects and maybe doing a big clean-up of the rooms or something,

Rei: We’d still have quite some time left to spare before our Holidays come to an end, so they extended an invitation to us while we were on the topic.

We had just finished and successfully closed a case today. It was a pretty nasty one that netted us to carry out a Joint Investigation with MPD’s Investigation Division One.

We toasted with bitter coffee, to our satisfactory triumph over successfully curtailing and prosecuting the suspect during our investigations. A toast, and chatter, about the upcoming Obon Holidays.

Imaoji: Well, it’s basically a trip where all parties involved and related to STAND can gather and bond together as friends.

Rei: That’s right. Shion-kun’s coming too, apparently. And Seki-san has given his official stamp of approval about it as well.

Asagiri: I see.

Yui: Izumi, if anyone looks like they’re trying to pull some funky business, don’t hesitate to use the Special Crime-prevention Spray.

Rei: Ahaha…Yes, I do have that packed.

Asagiri: It’s the Obon Holidays, so it’s going to be packed everywhere. Where is the intended destination?

Rei: It’s…

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Inside the Car ☆⋅⋆

Kirishima: La-la-la, an old castle♪ Kujo♪ Old castle-san and Kujo-san♪ Hm-hm-hm-hmmm~♪

Hinata & Kaname: …………

Kirishima: I’m going on a Trip to an Old Castle with family today♪ Kujo-san who plays in the Old Castle♪ How cool of ya’~ Kujo-san♪

Kujo & Miyase: …………

Kirishima: Kujo and an Old Castle, I’m so hyped up♪ I’m in such a good mood~♪

Shindo: ……

Kirishima: Come on Rei, you continue!

Rei: EHHH!?

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Inside the Car ☆⋅⋆

Rei: Hold up! I’ve been totally out of it till you called me out-

Kirishima: You just have to go along the flow with this kinda’ thing. Just try singing about how you feel to come on a trip to an Old Castle with the Kujo Family!

Rei: Try singing…?

Kaname: (That’s asking for the impossible…)

All the attention in the car centred on me, sitting on one of the Passenger Seats. A long-awaited Trip. Kirishima, who’s in a Godly-jolly Mood.

Rei: (…Right. I can’t let the mood die like this!)

Rei: A-An Old Castle♪…Kids♪ Elephant-san and Kujo-san…♪

Kirishima: Kids…

Kaname: Elephant…

Rei: Argh~ I’m so sorry! Kirishima-san added Rhymes to his tune, so I thought that I’d do the same too.

Shindo: Did you forget to pack a Travel Bag for your senses too?

Rei: Your jibes are as sharp as ever!

Kujo: --Pft.

Miyase: Heh. Seems like you grew a tail in Izumi-san’s song, Kujo-san.

Kujo: …No, I’m not making fun of it at all. It’s a brilliant improvised song.

Rei: It’s okay. I’d actually feel much better about this embarrassment of one if you laughed.

Kujo: I apologise…Pft-

Kirishima: Haha. Ain’t it great!? You’ve come up with a song that made even that Kujo-san laugh!

Kirishima: Rei, you’ve really got a good musical sense in ya!

Rei: I still can’t beat yours though!

Kirishima: Well, my version of the “Kujo-san and the Old Castle Song” came out pretty well too!

Shindo: Is the word twist in your dictionary?

Miyase: It’s a brilliant Song Name.

Kujo-san and—The “Old Castle”-san. The subject of Kirishima’s Original Song, was none other then the destination we were headed to with him behind the wheel.

Our destination was an “Old Castle Converted Hotel” that one of Kujo’s acquaintances owned. The Old Historic Castle had been renovated to become accommodatable and we were all invited to stay in it before it opened its doors to accept guests. Call it a Trial Run, of sorts.

Hinata: Mmngh…

Kaname: Oh, you’re awake.

Hinata: Mm…Have we already reached our lodgings?

Kirishima: The GPS says that we’ve got another 3 Minutes left.

Miyase: --Oh, isn’t that the Castle’s Rooftop we’re seeing over there?

Looking out of the Car’s Windshield, I could see green-tiled roofs that were pointing sky-ward.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Old Castle: Corridor ☆⋅⋆

Rei: Whoa…This is amazing. It’s really a Castle!

Hinata: The air in here’s really cool.

Kujo: I heard that Air-Conditioning was also installed during the renovations.

Miyase: Ohh, so that’s why it feels as cool as a cooler in here!

Hinata: It’s easier to sleep with so I think it’s a boon.

Kaname: Aren’t there any staff in here?

Kujo: Apparently, one of the pre-requisites of this place was to “Have no outsiders”.

Kujo: But I’ve got consent to use this facility however we wish during our stay here.

Kaname: Hmm. So we’re the only ones within this castle right now.

Rei: It’s a little exciting, when you think about it.

Kirishima: …………

Miyase: …Kirishima-san? What’s wrong?

Kirishima: Huh?

Miyase: You must be tired from driving. I apologise for leaving the wheel to you.

Kirishima: No, I’m not the least bit tired at all. Plus, I love driving!

Miyase: Then I suppose it’s fine.

Kirishima: You bet’cha! Well, we’ve definitely gotta explore this place first. Let’s see what this Castle has to offer!

Hinata: I’ll look for a good napping spot.

Kujo: Don’t you all want to know more about this Castle before you wander off exploring?

Kirishima: I wanna know!

Miyase: I shall prepare tea then. I hear that there’s a kitchen in here accessible to the Tenants.

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Old Castle: Study ☆⋅⋆

Kujo explained that the Lounge open to the VIP Guests had actually been the former Land-lord’s Study.

Hinata: The number of books in here is astounding. The collections in here have been beautifully preserved.

Miyase: I’m amazed by this and the Vintage Tea Sets that’s been carefully maintained.

Kujo: I hear that a Young Noble lived here in the past, alone.

Kujo: And that a caretaker was appointed to take care of the Castle after his death, according to his Will.

Rei: Alone?

Kirishima: In such a huge Castle?

Kujo: Yes. His parents died early-on in his life and it seems like he, himself, died young, having taken his own life.

Kaname: What…?

Silence descended upon us at the revelation.

Kirishima: …Did he die in this room?

Kujo: How’d you guess that?

Rei: Uwa…

Kirishima: No, I just…had a feeling.

I suddenly became acutely aware of this place, now that I knew that “Someone had died here”. That there was someone else here, present, as we casually sipped at our tea.

Rei: (I’ve been to sites where lives were lost during my Investigation. But this…this is a little different.)

Kirishima: Please continue; tell us more.

Kujo: Apparently, the only thing he had written in his Suicide Note was “I’m bored”.

Hinata & Kaname: ……

─────────────────────────⋅…⋆⋅☆

⋆⋅☆ Old Castle: Study ☆⋅⋆

The young man that lived here had put on a honey-sweet facade and was popular within the society’s circles.

Every night, without fail, he’d bring woman upon woman into this Castle of his. He never grew tired of it, despite having perpetually filled entire wings of them. However, despite the copious number of women he had invited in, it seemed like not one of them had managed to move his heart.

Kujo: For it he already had someone he had been enraptured with.

Shindo: But he had to let go of her— Was she the Wife of another?

Kujo: Indeed.

Kujo: He was never satisfied, no matter how much he repeated this cycle of mutual agreement between both parties. For he longed for someone he could never obtain.

Kujo: Thus, conceding to death alone, in the end.

Hinata: The person that held his interests might be the girl reflected in this Photo Album here.

Rei: Huh?

Shion had retrieved a thick and large tome from the bookshelf sometime during the explanation. He showed it to us as he returned back to his seat on the sofa.

Hinata: It’s all photos of the same girl.

Miyase: Wow, she’s pretty dazzling.

Rei: (She’s really gorgeous…She has her back straight and her entire being exudes coolness in every picture.)

Kujo: She bears some resemblance to you.

Rei: What?

Kaname: Maybe. Rather than how she looks, I suppose it’s the aura she has around her?

Kirishima: Oh…Now that you mention it.

Kirishima: Like how she’s so at ease despite having a photo taken, as if she doesn’t give a shit at all. Or maybe the part where her expressions change every second?

Hinata: It’s only natural-looking because they were all taken in secret.

Kirishima: Huh? How’d ya’ know that?

Hinata: There isn’t a single picture in here where she’s looking straight at the camera. And the flash function wasn’t activated even when the photos were taken at night.

Shindo: I see. All so that the person being snapped photos of doesn’t notice.

Kirishima: Ain’t that just like…Tokusatsu?

Hinata: The Sentai Hero?

Kaname: You meant Voyeurism, don’t you?

Kirishima: That’s the one!

Shindo: It’s a little ironic that someone wealthy enough to own a Castle like this has to lower themselves down to the likes of a stalker who stockpiles photos of his target.

Kirishima: Oh, speaking of Stalkers. –Miyase.

Miyase: Yes?

Kirishima: The Toaster that you had written off as broken; I managed to make it work by giving it a little smack this morning.

Miyase: Ahh, thank you so much for fixing it. I see, so all that Toaster needed was a simple smack from you.

Kujo: I’ll purchase a new Toaster.

Shindo: What are you talking about…?

Kirishima’s unique train of thought softened the tense atmosphere in the room. But right at that moment—

Rei: Eek!

Kirishima: Rei!?

The Teacup that had previously been seated atop the table fell with a clang and shattered into smithereens

There goes my top, brilliantly stained by the tea that had spilt forth.

Miyase: Are you alright!? Did you get scalded!?

Rei: I’m fine. The tea had already cooled anyway.

Rei: Rather than that, what just happened just now?

Hinata: The Teacup moved on its own accord…?

Kujo & Shindo: --

???: (…Ah-ah~ How boring.)

???: (I’m about to go crazy from boredom.)

???: (Who would’ve known that boredom would follow me even in death.)

???: (I wouldn’t have chosen to die in such a boring place like this if I knew that I wouldn’t be able to leave this place after I died.)

???: (Hm…? I can hear an approaching vehicle. Is it that stuffy and uptight constriction lot again?)

Kirishima: YEAH! IT’S THE OLD CASTLE!! WE’VE FINALLY ARRIVED!!

???: (Seems like it’s a different group…but well, I suppose anyone will do.)

???: (Anyone; save me from this never-ending boredom--)

───⋅𝕿𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖓𝖊𝖝𝖙 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊…⋆⋅☆

#Stand My Heroes #スタンドマイヒーローズ #スタマイ #Sutamai #Translations #Otome #挽夏のミステリーブライド #Late summer Mystery Bride #Asagiri Tsukasa #Imaoji Shun #Kujo Soma #Yui Kotaro #Hinata Shion #Yamazaki Kaname #Miyase Go #Shindo Kiyoshi #Kirishima Koya

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