#also for the record i was more or less the model child BUT when i won games in sabbath school with my sick scripture skills

[obeetlebeetle]

brennan's choice to bring the authors into neverafter is an interesting move -- on a basic, storytelling level, it adds another dimension to the cosmic horror elements already in place, which is useful primarily because brennan likes cosmic horror and tends to rely on it, so we have a lot of basis for comparison going forward. on another level, and one that i find more fruitful largely because it brings something very new and sharp to the story, is that we now have textual acknowledgement that these tales were recorded or written with authorial intent. we've yet to see if brennan will be invoking basile, perrault, the grimms, etc., but they are present in the text now and can be considered as much a part of the neverafter story as the characters themselves. all that said, i want to start thinking about what that authorial intent was, and how it has developed in our retelling.

much of the horror in neverafter is centered on pinocchio -- he is our most direct link to the stepmother, an entity that consumes other characters (notably, her own children and red's grandmother, and presumably snow white's stepmother) in order to achieve the same power as the authors. so we can demonstrate a link between authorial intent and parental authority, and we can assume that neverafter is interested in the intersections between parent and author as roles occupied in order to control characters or stories and their eventual outcome.

as a character, pinocchio is pinocchio, but acting on an archetypal level he is also the child: his original tale was inspired by and modeled after the "jack" tales, after all. there are two primary roles that the child can inhabit in fairy tales. the good child is rewarded, and the bad child is punished. as a character, pinocchio confuses these roles, and we can see why -- the original intent of his tale was not to reward him, and he was never supposed to become "good" and therefore "real." he was meant to die as a puppet. in nva4, pinocchio dies as a puppet. the dissonance of collodi's tale is recognized in the stepmother's promise to pinocchio, stating that she can make him real when it is impossible for him to be good.

in this, the stepmother takes on the role of both the blue fairy and geppetto in pinocchio's story. but those roles, as written by collodi, were never meant to be gentle -- the parent is not meant to be a source of care, or protection.

brennan is not collodi -- his concerns are less material, less related to the issues of class and poverty and survival present in collodi's tale -- but, consciously or not, he has drawn on the way the original story primes pinocchio to accept violence from parental figures and to understand their anger towards him as a function of a properly told story. in this instance, with the agency of a player behind him, he is able to develop new aims and defy his parental authority -- and we can see that the world of neverafter is unable to function properly when pinocchio cuts his strings and rejects his role as a servant to his father's wellbeing.

so, again, we see the stepmother taking on geppetto's role -- but what about the fairy? what about the fact that our pinocchio was introduced after the end of his tale, and what about the role the fairy has played until now? she was the one that killed him the first time, not the stepmother; she was the orchestrator of his moral adventure and, as neverafter so succinctly put it, the figure in control of whether or not pinocchio is "real."

there has been a clear schism between the fairies and the stepmother in neverafter -- we can see that in the exchange between the stepmother and cinderella's fairy godmother, particularly the claim that "magic was never [the stepmother's], magic is [the fairies']!" but what the fairies seem to resent is the stepmother's authorial role, her ability to take stories and reshape them, rather than the character role she plays within the stories themselves.

additionally, there have been a lot of hints that this was a "good" world, and that there is something to return to, if the stories can be restored to their "real" versions. but by breaking down the original pinocchio tale through the lens of what has occurred in the neverafter, we can see that this corrupted version is not really so different -- the macro effect, the authorial intent through first the stepmother and then brennan himself, has clearly changed, but the effect on pinocchio as character and the child as archetype remains.

i take the introduction of the authors into the tale and the link drawn between them and the stepmother to be our first significant sign that things will not be able to return to the happily ever after -- our first real critique of the conditions of thought created and reinforced within fairy tales, and hopefully, a sign that brennan is questioning not the optimism of the fairy tale but the goals fairy tales set out to achieve.

#ids in alt text #tumblr ate like three paragraphs of this between drafts btw so idk if my argument came thru on the retype #but im getting this out now before ep9 either contradicts this or says it for me #this is my ep8 post disguised as a pinocchio deep dive btw<3 #dimension 20 #neverafter

[bruhhhh-huhhhhh]

yooo is there any chance I can request parent headcanons for the safehouse crew (cod: bocw)??? been replaying the bo2 campaign and the Adler is Graves' father theory has a grip on me esp recently now that that mf is coming back

I imagine that Adler is a pretty distant parent, what with work in the CIA taking up most of his time and probably isn't able to see his kid much to begin with after the divorce, no doubt his ex wife has full custody of any of the children they had during that marriage. he's the kind of dad to buy his teenage kid expensive gifts to make up for the times he couldn't be there, usually related to something they were mildly interested in when they were like 7. And that thing is probably one of the only things he knows about them because they ranted about it to him when they were really young and naive. Russ is not as good as vocalizing his affection, but he's observant, and would zero in on any information and likes that his kid has when they express it... It's just that the usually don't with the distance between them. I think he does genuinely care about his child and still wants to show that they appreciate them, but just doesn't know how to properly connect with them on an emotional level, and usually doesn't even have the time. I don't think he'd treat his kid much differently based on their gender, he's still an emotionally-supressed mostly absentee father that his child would kind of just grow to resent as they get older. Adler is the 'he tried' dad. (I hc that Graves his kid is also the most likely to have a wild rebellious teens phase, and he'd kind of just let it happen so long as they aren't getting into any legal trouble because at that point their relationship would be so strained and he's just kinda apathetic about it. I think he's the type that would come home late to catch his kid smoking, and the only thing he'd do is ask why they started and if they know the consequences of it, then promptly asks for one and never brings it up again.)

Hudson, on the contrary, would be the perfect dad. Girl dad 100%, this man has a wife and two daughters (I think, might need to double check this one, but point still stands because I think he'd be good with girls). This man deserves a bo burnham 1985 edit. I think that he's really the type of guy who tries to squeeze in as much quality time with his family even with his work, and is the type to frequently show affection and pride for his children. Jason is completely soft for his wife and children, in contrast to how much of a no-nonsense hardass he is on the job. I am utterly convinced that this is the man who would always play along with his daughter's tea parties when he has tine and would never miss any of his son's games (he'd ask Jenny to record it for him if he's knows he's gonna be on a mission for a long time). I imagine that he really goes the extra mile to be the best role model for his kids, being both responsible and loving even with the limited presence he has because of his job. Hudson is the father figure some us needed in life ngl.

I don't think Mason would be an abusive dad contrary to what most people would take away from the one interaction we see with him and a very young David. I definitely think he'd have some major anger issues though, no doubt that trauma from The Numbers™️ and all the shit he's gone through as soldier and later CIA op would have an impact on him. He would never lay a hand on his own kid, but he's definitely shouted at them pretty frequently and has likely broken objects around them when he's angry. Much more so after his wife's death and being left as a single dad who barely has any idea what he's doing, and the only other person who can rein him in from it is Frank. I think he's more affectionate and less emotionally distant than Adler, but still just not as close as he should be to his child. He'd apologize for his outbursts and all but, being raised with traditional values from the 30s-40s, he isn't really the type to have those heartfelt talks about feelings because men are supposed to be strong and being emotional makes you weak and all that crap. Would be tougher with a son, and stricter with a daughter. Alex would become a lot more understanding and open over time when his kid grows older, and mellow out as an old man and just be proud of how they turned out despite how he was. The anger issues never really dissipates, but he learns to control it and be better for his kid for the remainder of his life. Mason is the dad you'd resent and have so much anxiety over in your teens and twenties but eventually make up with and get closure by your late thirties or so.

Woods would definitely be more of a fun uncle than a dad. More of the tough love type, but will always remind his kid that they're appreciated at the end of the day. But I also imagine he's a lot more reckless snd clumsy, specially as a first-time father. May not be perfect, has his own shortcomings in a lot of places, but he's really trying his best. I imagine that he probably tiptoed a lot when it came to raising David, trying not to yell at him too much and tried to be his anchor as much as he can after he was tricked into killing Alex (and then promptly going off on him when he shows face again after thirty years). Frank would be considerate and very vocal about his appreciation for his kid despite . Woods is the lovable old man that you'd have a lot of funny memories to look back on, and cussing you out is just his own way of saying he loves you.

I don't have as much thoughts on them but I think Park would be very overprotective, especially if she had a daughter. Would shelter her child and be very strict with them, making sure she knows how and where her kid is all the time, who her kid is with, and how safe they are. Would make her child wear a tracker watch and tell her all and any people they meet or see. Madam Shell's betrayal and her brother's death have definitely left a mark on her, and she would excessively worry about them at all times, to the point of it being suffocating and very invasive Lazar is the balance to this, more lenient and lets his kid have a right to privacy and freedom. Sure, he still worries a lot, but he has enough faith in his child to let then go off on their own when they're at an appropriate age. I also imagine that he gives the best best hugs. Sims would be somewhere in between, albeit more leaning on the stricter side.

AHHHH THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO ANSWER I'M SORRY

bUuuuT

i love this idea so I'm gonna do silly little headcannons for it

How the Safehouse Crew treat their kid

Russell Adler

He's absolutely an absent dad

It's not that he does it on purpose, it's just what happens with his job

Russell tries so hard. So hard to be there, but a lot of the time he just can't because of work

If his kid does any sports, you can bet your ass that he's gonna be at any games he can

Now, that's not a lot, but still

Adler absolutely cheers the loudest anytime that his kid does anything

He'll also argue with the refs or umpires about dumb calls

Has been kicked out multiple times

Russell also buys his kid anything that they want

Christmas with him is like out of a damn movie

Presents are practically stacked to the roof and each one is more extravagant than the last

Is definitely the type of parent to dump a bunch of money on his kid for whatever they want

It's his way of making up for barely being around

Has missed his visitation days a lot

Every time he does, Adler sends money and presents as an apology

One time, his kid was staying over at his house because they got into an argument with their mom

He came home late and was met with the sight of his only child smoking cigarettes in the living room

"You know what those do to your lungs?"

The kid just stared for a second before nodding in shock

"Good. Don't be surprised when you get lung cancer. Lord knows I'm already getting close to that. Give me one."

The kid hands over the whole pack, and Adler takes one, lights it, and hands it back. "Don't tell your mother."

On the times that he actually has off and has the kid, he tries to make a whole day out of spending time together

Adler takes them to an amusement park or something, and its just plain awkward the whole time

But, by the end of the day, they're just a little closer

Mainly because they had a heart to heart on the car ride home

They even hugged!

Yay!

And then nothing changed

Boo >:(

Jason Hudson

Girl dad 100%

He's the dad that everyone needs

So supportive, no matter what

Jason does, in fact, have two girls. And, if I remember right, he loves them more than anything

This man absolutely has been caught playing princesses and knights with his daughters by his wife

His favorite thing is to sit at the tiny tables and have a tea party

Loves his kids so much

If he had a son, Hudson would teach him how to throw a football

Definitely would push him to join a sport

If he does, Hudson goes to every game

Just like Adler, he cheers the loudest

If his girls get boyfriends, you can bet your ass that he's going to let them know that he has multiple guns and absolutely knows how to use it

#WillThreatenToKillThem

Jason has to be told by his wife to leave them alone

He only does because he loves his wife so so much and he'd kill for her

Lots of physical affection

Hugs and all that good stuff

His kids definitely won't be touch starved

Is absolutely who they go to first whenever something happens and they need help/support

If he ever catches his kid doing something that they shouldn't, like smoking, he has to try really hard not to yell at them. He pretty much has to walk away to cool off before he can approach the conversation in a way that he wants to

Hudson and his kid are going to have a long talk that ends in a hug and a promise not to do it again

Overall his kids are well behaved and he's a good dad

Alex Mason

My poor boy

I love him so much, anger issues and all

Any time that he screams and breaks things in front of his kid, he calls Woods to come and pick them up so he can take care of things

He always feels horrible after he yells. Alex never wanted to hurt anyone. Quite the opposite, actually. He just doesn't know how to control his anger

Throughout the kids developmental years, he tries his best not to yell or get angry, but a lot of the time he can't stop himself in time

In comes one Frank Woods, who ends up coming over and taking the kid out for ice cream or to the park or just for a drive

He ends up being that cool uncle that the kid goes to when something happens

When he gets discharged (Honorably) from the military, Mason ends up going to therapy

And anger management classes

Only reason he does is because his kid ends up yelling back when he gets angry

And he realizes that he fucked up :(

So that helps him mellow out for his kids later years

Definitely apologizes to his kid for how they were raised

Alex won't over explain or get all mushy, but it'll come up as a simple "I'm sorry for how you were raised," and leave it at that

Will express his feelings through gifts or spending quality time with his kid

If he gets grandkids, Alex will take that as the time to make up for his kids shitty childhood

Best granddad for real

When he's older, he won't mind as much when it comes to telling his kid that he's proud of them

Lots of praise

Frank Woods

HE'S SO BABY GIRL I CAN'T

LOOK AT THIS GIF

Anyway

Definitely the type of dad to pretend that his kid is in trouble and then it turns out to be a prank

He would absolutely do it just like he did in the scene of the gif

Frank wouldn't yell at his kid, more just yell in general

He'll scream over football games, tv shows, dropping something, anything

He does not care

His kid would be used to loud noises by double digits

Woods would absolutely not know that his kid was sneaking out until Alex caught them

He doesn't particularly care, but he's a little disappointed that they didn't ask him if they could go

Instead of yelling, he would sit them down and have a serious discussion

Lots of "You could have just asked," and, "How many times have you done it?"

Basically he'd get his kid to quit because he knows it's a bad habit

I can't remember if he's a smoker or not, but if he is he would go through the process of quitting with said kid

Helen Park

She's kind of a shitty mom, ngl

Park can be good at it when she wants to, but she's got her own shit that he's going through

She can't handle a kid

In the early years, she's a little neglectful and absent

Then she does a full 180 and goes full over-protective mom mode

Trackers, constant phone calls, reassuring messages

The whole nine yards

She'll try her best to stop if her kid says something, but her anxiety is way too high to stop fully

Definitely the kind of mom to apologize through gifts

One fond memory that her kid would have of their younger years is her sneaking into their room and climbing into bed with them

She just sat there and held them, silently telling them how much she loved them

Helen thought their kid was asleep, not awake and hearing everything she was saying

Park definitely let her kid sneak into her bed when they had nightmares or got sick

She secretly loves it and is sad when they stop doing it

Okay that's all I got-

I didn't mean for this to take so long to make

#bean writes #cod cold war x reader #cod cold war #cod bocw #russell adler #russell adler x reader #helen park x reader #helen park #frank woods x reader #frank woods #alex mason x reader #alex mason #jason hudson x reader #jason hudson

[vyrid]

Hermione does not, in any way, overpower Tom Riddle, in any field. 

For evidence purposes, I'll use all of their achievements from book one to book 7. Instead of going on a long, disorganized tangent, we'll cut them down into 3 categories: studies, wit, and talent/strength. (I swear theres a difference between wit + studies.)

Studies --

During school, Hermione:

Was referred to as the brightest witch of her school year by Lupin

Got 10 OWLS (2 less than Bill and Charlie)

Prefect

She did get Slughorn's favour to an extent

During school, Tom Riddle:

Was referred to as the brightest kid to step into Hogwarts (possibly ever) by Albus Dumbledore

His grades are never revealed, but it is implied time and time again that he was a model student with a spotless record

Prefect and Headboy

Got a Special Award For Services to the School (hes a rat 😭)

Slughorn's favorite despite being Muggleborn and broke

There is not much I can work on in the studies department, because there isn't much text to support their performances involving the school directly, but it's obvious that Tom Riddle takes the cake. With every bullet point presented, Riddle's side of achievments is always 3x more impressive. I would like to add that he thrived in DADA and didn't shy away from any dark subjects, while Hermione was too scared to put thought into DADA + was too impatient with Divination (which I don't blame her for.)

If I had to compare them involving other characters, I would say that Tom Riddle is right up there with Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald, while Hermione falls below tier near James Potter and Severus Snape.

If Severus Snape is no match for Tom Riddle (atleast when he was sane), then Hermione isn't a match for Severus. Snape was the BEST potions boy to go to Hogwarts -- it could be argued that Lily was also up there but yk shes dead so we don't care about that -- and he wasn't scared to apply his studies in the Dark Arts to real life. He was a smart kid, and even though he was below Tom Riddle in terms of brilliance, he was pretty darn smart. If Hermione cannot even reach his level, it's kind of silly to compare her to Tom Riddle.

Wit --

This one is a no brainer. The thing that sets them apart is their ability to think outside of the box.

Tom Riddle believed in a world of magic. He believed there was not a limit in which magic could be stopped. He achieved GREAT things simply by letting his trust in his own magic and the wonders of the Wizarding World lead him to his goals.

Hermione is close minded. She believes what she wants to believe, and most of her information comes from her precious, reliable books. She was too close minded to believe in divination. She was too close minded to sit back and think that, perhaps, house elves were made a certain way in which they ENJOYED labour (which is a whole other discussion), she was too close minded to believe in the Death Hallows. She was too close minded to think that there could possibly be a better, alternative recipe to a potion that didn't come straight from the school book. Her refusal to simply believe held her back from many opportunities.

Hermione is studious. Tom Riddle is BRILLIANT. Most of Hermione's knowledge comes from what she's been taught at school, but Tom Riddle went out and learned his own knowledge. And that's not a bad thing. Being studious and smart already sets her apart from many, many people.

But Tom Riddle wasn't just a studious guy. He was a genius, a prodigy, kind of a psychopath. He learned at a young age how and exactly when to use his strengths to get what he wants. He carried himself up as social ladder reserved solely for purebloods before even finding out his heritage as the descendant of Salazar Slytherin. He made a grown adult women scared of him as a child. He didn't use his wit for good, no, but was he pretty damn smart? Yeah.

Talent and Strength --

When Hermione was a kid, she learned to utilize what she had around her to catch up with other kids. She taught herself the syllabus before even getting into school and even learned spells without being taught by Professors! She was always the first one to get the spell right and was quick on her feet in an argument. She had a lot of brewing talent in her. It is not easy to be thrown into a whole new world but she took all of it with grace.

She was amazing at spells. When the trio ran away during the 7th book, she was their rock to lean on--for strength, for protection, for guidance. She knew every spell in the book to hide them away from Voldemort.

Her duelling skills, while not on par with Harry's, were pretty darn good, too. She could hold her own in a duel if she really needed to get out of their alive, using her quick thinking and sometimes, deception. Ex. (When she changed Harry's face to not resemble him when they got caught by snatchers.)

I give Hermione a lot of credit in the book. She was stronger than she needed to be at a young age, and she handled it better than most people did.

Tom Riddle on the other hand...

His talent is unmatched when it comes to anybody else.

He learned to get a hold on his magic and command it like the king that he is at the baby age of one digits. Because of all the instances at Wool's Orphanage, it isn't crazy to assume that this wasn't just a case of accidental magic. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he knew exactly how to call onto his magic to do his bidding. I don't think even Dumbledore could have said he was able to do that.

He was a parselmouth. It's less a talent and more a skill, but he used his hereditary trait to manipulate and use another type of magic to do what he wanted. Speaking to snakes is one thing--getting them to actually listen to you has to count for something.

He made horcruxes at the age of 16. That is a type of deadly, deadly magic. It is so forbidden it doesn't even fall under Forbidden magic because it's blasphemous to even think to do it. The fact that his magic was so strong that he could go through that process and come our alive is actually crazy.

He made a whole persona for himself, under Lord Voldemort, and got a whole race of people to follow him blindly. He wasn't even a pureblood and he still had them down on their knees. That's talent.

He could perform all forbidden curses with ease and not get drained. Moody says that you have to mean your intent and that nobody can *just* cast the curses. You have to have the willpower and strength to cast them--the fact that Voldemort could cast dozens of them at a time without thinking about it already sets him apart in strength from Hermione. I doubt even Snape, as he brilliant as he is, would dare push his limits like that.

I don't want this to get SUPER long, but here are some things I left out about Riddle and didn't know how to add on the list.

He found the long lost Chamber of Secrets during his time at Hogwarts. It was there for millions of years--he can't have been the ONLY descendant. It's safe to say he was one of the first people to open it and actually use it for his own gain.

He acquired the Elder Wand. I mean, so did Harry and Dumbledore, but it doesn't change the fact that he did. He was kind of dumb when he grew up and became all insane but that's impressive, too.

It is implied that he was at the brink of winning the war before Harry killed him on Halloween. If he hadn't taken the bait, maybe we'd see a world overrun by his power.

He didn't inspire fear in just Britain. He inspired fear across the world. Harry Potter was known across every wizarding community, such as Bulgaria. That means they must've known Voldemort too. There was lots of foreign people at the world cup, but every single one of them ran at the sight of the Death Eaters--which means they recognize his sign in some sort of way. The Gregrovitch family recognizes him, as does the German witch does when she sees him in folds in fear.

Sorry, this became a long rant of Voldemort's powers and not just a comparison, but it does go to show that Hermione being even near his level. It's just not plausible.

You're welcome to argue with me or correct me on my oversights! I haven't fact checked everything and I won't be offended if you correct some points. (Also there is a lot of typos and I have a cut on my finger so please dont kill me for my grammar 😭)

#Tom Riddle #hermione granger #tom riddle vs hermione granger #harry potter #harry potter and the deathly hallows #severus snape #?? #in a way #he always shows up in these for some reason lmao hes just that iconic #power #comparison #harry potter discourse

[spacenutspod]

It’s an exciting time in astronomy today, where records are being broken and reset regularly. We are barely two months into 2023, and already new records have been set for the farthest black hole yet observed, the brightest supernova, and the highest-energy gamma rays from our Sun. Most recently, an international team of astronomers using the ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile reportedly saw the brightest object ever observed in the Universe: a quasar (J0529-4351) located about 12 billion light years away that has the fastest-growing supermassive black hole (SMBH) at its center. The international team responsible for the discovery consisted of astrophysicists from the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) and the Center for Gravitational Astrophysics (CGA) at the Australian National University (ANU). They were joined by researchers from the University of Melbourne, the Paris Institute of Astrophysics (IAP), and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The paper that describes their findings, titled “The accretion of a solar mass per day by a 17-billion solar mass black hole,” recently appeared online and will published in the journal Nature Astronomy. First observed in 1963 by Dutch-American astronomer Maarten Schmidt, quasars (short for “quasi-stellar objects”) are the bright cores of galaxies powered by SMBHs. These black holes collect matter from their surroundings and accelerate it to near the speed of light, which releases tremendous amounts of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum. Quasars become so bright that their cores will outshine all the stars in their disk, making them the brightest objects in the sky and visible from billions of light-years away. As a general rule, astronomers gauge the growth rate of SMBHs based on the luminosity of their galaxy’s core region – the brighter the quasar, the faster the black hole is accreting matter. In this case, the SMBH at the core of J0529-4351 is growing by the equivalent of one Solar mass a day, making it the fastest-growing black hole yet observed. In the process, the accretion disk alone releases a radiative energy of 2 × 1041 Watts, more than 500 trillion times the luminous energy emitted by the Sun. Christian Wolf, an ANU astronomer and lead author of the study, characterized the discovery in a recent ESO press release: “We have discovered the fastest-growing black hole known to date. It has a mass of 17 billion Suns, and eats just over a Sun per day. This makes it the most luminous object in the known Universe. Personally, I simply like the chase. For a few minutes a day, I get to feel like a child again, playing treasure hunt, and now I bring everything to the table that I have learned since.” But what was most surprising was that this quasar was hiding in plain sight. “All this light comes from a hot accretion disc that measures seven light-years in diameter — this must be the largest accretion disc in the Universe,” said ANU Ph.D. student and co-author Samuel Lai. “It is a surprise that it has remained unknown until today, when we already know about a million less impressive quasars. It has literally been staring us in the face until now,” added co-author Christopher Onken, who is also an astronomer at ANU. As Onken explained, J0529-4351 showed up in images taken by the ESO Schmidt Southern Sky Survey dating back to 1980. It was only in recent years that it was recognized as a quasar, thanks to improved instruments and measurements. Finding quasars requires precise observations from large areas of the sky, resulting in massive datasets that often require machine learning algorithms to analyze them. However, these models are somewhat limited because they are trained on existing data, meaning candidates are selected based on previously observed objects. This image shows the region of the sky in which the record-breaking quasar J0529-4351 is situated. Credit: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2/Dark Energy Survey Since J0529-4351 is so luminous, it was dismissed by the ESA’s Gaia Observatory as being too bright to be a quasar and was ruled to be a bright star. Last year, the ANU-led team identified it as a distant quasar based on observations using the 2.3-meter telescope at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. They then conducted follow-up observations using the X-shooter spectrograph on the ESO’s VLT telescope to confirm their results. The quasar is also an ideal target for the GRAVITY+ upgrade on ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), designed to accurately measure the mass of black holes. In addition, astronomers look forward to making observations with next-generation telescopes like the ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). This 39-meter telescope, currently under construction in the Atacama Desert in Chile, will make identifying and characterizing distant quasars easier. Studying these objects and their central black holes could reveal vital details about how SMBHs and galaxies co-evolved during the early Universe. Further Reading: ESO, ESO Science Papers The post The Brightest Object Ever Seen in the Universe appeared first on Universe Today.

#space #astronomy #news #science

[horizon-verizon]

I'm a bit confused as to why some people say Rhaenyra idealized Visenya? Because she wore the same hairstyle and wanted to name her daughter after Visenya? I think Rhaenyra didn’t even know anything about Visenya’s hairstyle, it’s unlikely that she was told about it in the lessons, it was information for the author of asoiaf portraits.

Rhaenyra had no interest in martial arts (at least she didn’t practice it), she loved music, feasts, beautiful dresses and jewelry, courtship and handsome men, she loved being a mother and even though she married Daemon in the valyrian tradition, she still had some respect before the seven on personal level, otherwise she would not have forced her sons to swear solemn oaths upon a copy of The Seven-Pointed Star. It wasn't made for public, but for her peace of mind that they would be in safe. We know that Mysaria drove Rhaenyra crazy, so we can’t say how she felt about dark magic as a child, but I think she wasn't interesed in it anyway, but Visenya, as some said, dabbled in dark sorceries.

I think that she could associate herself in some way with Visenya, since she was the elder sister and she ruled the seven kingdoms almost on a par with her brother and had no less rights than he did (there is a whole huge theory that she actually ran everything, but it is not in english language), and the order of succession from this point was somewhat messy, but not more than that.

*EDITED POST* (1/5/24)

We know that she wore her hair like Visenya through the So Spake Martin site HERE. That is what anon refers to.

To be honest, when I first read F&B and GRRM's description of Rhaneyra and her love for Visenya, I wondered what she found so inspiring, not because Visenya is incapable of being inspiring to anyone, but because I didn't parse out the appeal.

But once you look at the Dance through a feminist lens AND just reread it, it became very obvious to the point that I felt like slapping myself.

A)

Why wouldn't Rhaenyra know about Visenya's braid? Visenya was literally one of the Queens who implemented a whole new institution that the Westerosi monarchy still has today: the Kingsuard.

She conquered parts of Westeros alongside her brother-husband.

She is the one who flew up the Vale (Rhaenyra's mother Aemma's home region, which Rhaenyra's sigil incorporates into her own war banner [look below]) and got Queen Sharra to surrender the Vale.

All of this is recorded as well as all 3 of the conquerors' appearances, which is the simplest and most trustworthy note one can see in a record because it is a basic observation. We do not really have the beginning of the excuse of appearance until later when Baelor I orders the burning of books at the Citadel, two generations after Rhaenyra.

Visenya saw herself as a protector of the Targ legacy/dynasty/family (as Daemon does) and Rhaenyra admires her for that as well as being a woman aware of and unapologetic about her own abilities and "oppositional" womanhood to the Andal ideal of subservient and demure womanhood. That singular purpose is compelling to Rhaenyra and people in the fandom because it is, as I said, unapologetic but also focused and passionate all at the same time. Visenya, ironically, takes on some traits of Andal knighthood that you and I know Rhaenyra admires: the warrior's devotion proven through the warrior's sword. Again, while being a woman (subversive)! She wasn't incompetent in politics, either, despite what people will say about her & Maegor--yes, Aenys was too weak for their needs!

It's an exciting & self-affirming thing to witness when you live in that sort of society.

Plus, Rhaenys dies young and Visenya, who outlives her AND their brother-husband, just gets to do more. There is more material for a young Rhaenyra to explore and find her inspiration/female role model.

It's not about "Oh, she was good with a sword" and finding superficial traits to relate to. Rhaenyra may have been proud, loved to dress up, and showed her status through clothes to assert her status in the face of those trying to reduce it and as just how aristocrats do, was "hyper femme", but her psychosocial development wasn't as simple as some like to think. And these traits and behaviors are not in themselves indicators of frivolity, stupidity, or inherent femininity & womanhood--the last so much as socially coded femininity and womanhood.

In the pool of people who prefer and admire Visenya over her sister Rhaenys, some of them are people who do not feel comfortable with the idea of using any sort of martial skills or violence. They might say to you that if they had been born in a medieval society, they would not want to pick up a sword and fight in battles or become someone's guardswomen/men even if they were able to. Or become a fencer or something. They'd probably think they'd be more scholars or politicians or spiritual/philosophical thinkers, artists, playwrights, or "reformers" if they went back in time.

But they admire Visenya over Rhaenys because Visenya is all of those things PLUS her self-confidence & blatant claim/use of power with no shame or trepidation that they wish they could access or have allowed for them--as Visenya comes from a lineage and culture that is less violent and restrictive against women than Andal culture. OR Visenys embody that spirit they have in themselves but prefer to direct into nonwarrior/militant pursuits.

Even with Valyrian culture/society not being as egalitarian about gender and sexuality as the Rhoynish culture. BUT she also is blatantly the type of person to fully take advantage of this background and live in her own power. She is the fulfillment of autonomous, competent, and powerful womanhood-subsumed-under-personhood.

B)

1.

You: "[...] she still had some respect before the seven on personal level, otherwise she would not have forced her sons to swear solemn oaths upon a copy of The Seven-Pointed Star. It wasn't made for public, but for her peace of mind that they would be in safe."

Even if Rhaenyra was publicly OR sincerely of the Faith as her father was, there is always going to be contention between faith in the Faith and being a Targ for her. All Alicent and other non-Targ women (noble or otherwise) have had since childhood--as a well of knowledge and guide to self-esteem or awareness--is the Faith and its teachings about gender, marriage, violence, motherhood, sexuality, etc.

Simultaneously, all noblewomen/royal women can exhibit more of an intellectual remove from the Faith's ideologies as absolute, sincere "truths" of reality than common-born women, because as noble women, they are more complicit and active in the machinations or politics that their male relatives and spouses lead. Or they advise them.. Or they themselves lead projects, wars, etc either not long after obtaining power or/and learning from thise male relatives' actions or their private observations. (post by mononijikayu) :

it is within the narrative to say that both in the east and in the west, power derives from the familial structure and that women were the leading figures that maintained these close, familial ties—from marriage, blood ties, and even friendships. these structures of close power proximity in early medieval life tell us that women are trusted with the growth of their family’s influence. mothers and wives advising the men around them are lauded because they speak to determine what’s best for the family. it is why we see women like olga of kiev influence her son in terms of policies that allowed religious freedom and goodwill with other christian nations that surrounded the territory of rus to flourish and develop. this was seen as a means to further what rus is and the standing of her own family within the state they governed.

Either way, these witness with their own eyes that their authorities or other adults (parents, older siblings, cousins, etc., even some maesters) understand, shape, and define the contours of power and identity and learn their methods. They'd definitely learn how those with power, or seeking it, use and twist the Faith's teachings for their own use. Thereby disillusioning, revealing, or making them sense of the Faith's teachings AS inventions instead of absolute truths...to some. Women of this class can see religion as a political tool in itself, just as Cersei and Jaehaerys I do. This doesn't mean that many will not continue to believe in the actual religion, though, as with Alicent or Catelyn or Brienne.

Rhaenyra herself has her sons swear by the book before their envoy missions yes. None of this actually means that she was as devoted to the religion as Alysanne or Alicent. Nor does it mean that she didn't see how the institution subtly and unsubtly has in the past, continues to in the present, and will continue to undermine her & her family's overall right to rule in the future. Because again, its teachings are very anti-female rulership, anti-dragons, and at its cultural-historical core, anti-Targ. It is rather her acknowledging & using the Faith's influence in the psychosocial framework of her society & family to inspire her sons to take their mission seriously and follow her directions. If only to compel them to show how well they take oaths/the Faith seriously to any/all who witnessed this swearing for both her sons, her own, & their entire section of the family's reputation. Kill two birds with one stone.

Visenya takes it upon herself to publicly (no sneaking around or attempt at subtlety over a decade or so, like Alicent, which isn't the superior tactic, it's just circumstance & resources) crown her son over her sibling's grandson and consistently vocalize her disapproval of Aenys' actions regarding the Faith, itself and institution that Rhaenyra would have had experienced supplying the rhetoric and rationale for why she shouldn't rule as a woman. There is a certain release of inner tension or stress just seeing & imagining that an admired past family relative also sees & treats the Faith as a threat specifically to them AS WELL AS to the dynasty. See how they dealt with them, learning from them & their successes or mistakes. It's very personal and intimate, this connecting.

2.

The Faith religion--as opposed to the institution, but eh--and a lot of its teachings cannot be fully eradicated w/o eradicating the sociopolitical system of feudalism as they know it because the Andals came and assimilated into FM culture or conquered swathes of "Westerosi" lands way, way before the conquerors actually set their eyes on Westeros. It is inside the psychological/sociopolitical framework of the "Westerosi" society even when they were separate kingdoms, like the proto-English kingdoms of Mercia, Northumbria, East Anglia, etc. all sharing a specific religion and various Anglo-Saxon practices and ideals, yet simultaneously warring against each other for years.

The Faith institution--meaning its Septons and its hierarchy & cultural authority--has always been the main antagonizer of the Targs and their rival for dominance over Westerosi culture and society. As I said before, Rhaenyra herself grew up expecting to rule and had always felt she deserved to rule and continue her family's legacy.

In order to rule Westeros, the Targs basically decided to capitulate some. Though they had dragons and won the war, to actually rule a conquered place with many grumbling and possibly vengeful people and expect to maintain a dynasty for many generations, one has to have a stabler base while diminishing as much as possible the use of violence. Again, once one has already used violence and warfare to conquer said regions.

Maegor's battles with the Warrior's Sons and Poor Fellows were too direct an attack against the Faith and were seen as him being tyrannical. He flouted political monogamy and didn't even try to use subtler tactics to destabilize the Faith's/High Septon's word and acclimate the Westerosi public to his marriages + suppress the lesser backlash so he could be safer/freer to marry more than once. Jaehaerys I created a sort of compromise with the Faith through his use of several septons and septas to spread the Doctrine of Exceptionalism after Maegor's death and his own troubles with the Faith. AND by affirming male primogeniture both inside his family and in the public event of the GC of 101. Yet NEITHER of these men thought of ways or thought it worth it to try to think of ways to both destabilize the Faith AND incorporate women into their plans or seek to make their female relatives their partners. Trying to make use of the growingly smaller and smaller window of opportunity the conquerors opened for female leadership by working with their female relatives to gain more agency or ceding power to them to diminish the sense of female unfitness to rule. Rather, they even thought to suppress female leadership and personal agency as much as possible for their own claims.

The problem with that was now the Targs had a much smaller pool of possibly capable candidates for rulership and it encouraged resentment, emotional disconnection, misunderstandings of character or perception, & further abuse--which breeds disunity, internal distrust, and infighting.

How can you sit and think of ways to consolidate power for your house (or do it with full confidence and therefore produce more, innovative ideas) if you know or suspect that you will be ignored sidelined, or abused for doing exactly that? Not every girl/woman can continue to fight and resist such an uphill battle, and really that is what misogyny hopes for, and works toward. If most of what you think/feel from childhood (or what you experience) into adulthood is how your father, brother, sons, etc. wronged you--or if you realize even later in life all this and you contend with them as Rhaena and Alysanne did--then how can you really want to fully think about ways to be an untied front that collaborates together for the better of the entire house/family/unit?

We even see how much better it would have been for ALL women and children if Alysanne had just been as able as Visenya and Rhaenys to pass laws (and have them stick): the water in KL, girls being allowed into the Citadel, the abolishment of the right of first night and women's courts. To exclude and abuse nearly half of your population of the house is actually idiotic and unpragmatic. It comes back to bite eventually because no one/group can take constant oppression for very long, even if it takes a couple of generations (slavery rebellions, and not just in the U.S.). Yes, she manages to get Jaehaerys to agree by persistence...but again, is it really entirely her fault that her brother-husband didn't care about her ideas until she had to force him to listen, or have Septon Barth back her up?!

And Daemon and Viserys no doubt loved each other, but Viserys distrusted his own brother by:

not understanding Daemon's aims when he "acted out", seeing them as just rebellious/threatening to his own authority

thinking he had to please and make those outside of the family and mimicking Jaehaerys' policy of conciliation through his parties; displays of wealth and prosperity (that Alysanne and Jaehaerys are actually responsible for); and sticking his fingers into his ears when true conflict erupted between his family members

While he did confirm her position as the heir to the throne multiple times in the boo AND have Rhaenyra listen in on council meetings as she served as his exclusive cupbearer so she could familiarize herself and learn some ways a ruler can address and organize sociopolitical/economic needs, he also refused to:

stop impregnating Alicent. One boy wasn't enough for man to have AND a worry for Rhaenyra, his own chosen heir?! It's giving Rogar Baratheon and Alyssa Baratheon.

keep Otto out of the council

directly address the anger, entitlement, and plotting Alicent, her kids, and her faction had (and I say he knew that she was plotting at some level bc he himself said that Alicent only wanted Aegon to marry Rhaenyra so Aegon could be closer to having the throne)

not marry Rhaenyra off to a gay man instead of vowing to have her children with someone else marry a Velaryon or Velaryon scion

actually, make use of his brother and what he's capable of (that protectiveness he displayed at the GC), and marry him to his daughter to both make Daemon even more devoted to Rhaneyra's cause--bc if you truly think that he would undermine her or yourself, what better way to reduce that than by marrying her to him when you decide she is marriageable--AND working towards reinforcing her authority over his own before you die?! If you/he actually thought Daemons' actions were so rebellious instead of coming from feelings of disrespect?

ETC.

The point is that between brothers/two men we see how a refusal to listen to another in the family can affect a family. How much more when one of the parties is an abused or sidelined woman? And generation after generation who themselves are reading the long history of this fact as Dany has her entire Targ legacy back in Essos?! How does that affect a young Targ girl-older woman, to internalize the whittling of their agency & to not be able to dream bigger for themselves other than select roles of mother-wife-dowager?

C)

You: "We know that Mysaria drove Rhaenyra crazy, so we can’t say how she felt about dark magic as a child, but I think she wasn't interesed in it anyway, but Visenya, as some said, dabbled in dark sorceries."

Mysaria didn't drive Rhaenyra into her entire spiel of "madness"--which was not really "madness" but grief, elitism, and paranoia making her default to extreme self-defense. Rhaenyra had no known or recorded delusions or hallucinations and she was fully aware of her surroundings, she didn't perform absurd displays of cruelty. (If there were hallucinations like with Aerys--plus with how she is a woman and this text seeks to undermine her for it--they definitely would have found evidence of her going through that and emphasized or exaggerated it to make a point.)

Later-Rhaenyra is still not on par with Aerys II, who was actually driven slowly so mad from paranoia that he wanted to use wildfyre to destroy KL, had elaborate executions to mutilate people or drew out their pain and humiliated them before death with and without said substance, wasn't fully aware of how others perceived him and his appearance, was so out of it that he let his nails & hair grow too long, etc.

Mysaria gives her false information and triggers her final paranoid act, directing her already existing paranoia to Nettles & Daemon. But she does not inspire the actual paranoia. That came from the betrayal of Hugh and Ulf, the betrayal of the council people at the green council, her children's violent and painful deaths, the suddenness of her father's death compounded with her need to immediately answer the greens (inability to properly mourn him), the greens' usurpation, etc. One not taking long to follow the others.

And as I said above, actual magic and Rhaenyra's interest or disinterest in it had nothing to do with her admiration for Visenya. There isn't even any indication that Rhaenyra was interested in magic for herself, her accusations of magic against Nettles was purely driven by her desire to claim back some power she thought she lost.

Of course, none of this proves that she was totally against the Faith or was atheist or agnostic. What it indicates, however, is that she was not as devoted to, deferential of, or "respectful" of the religion as you may suspect.

#rhaenyra's characterization #rhaenyra targaryen #asoiaf asks to me #visenya the conqueror #visenya targaryen #fire and blood characters #fire and blood #rhaenyra and visenya the conqueror #westerosi queens #visenya's characterization

[beardedmrbean]

“It’s fascist to eliminate DOE!” Americans are considered some of the most illiterate people and lack critical thinking skills on the planet since the DOE was made.

Boys are INTENTIONALLY throw under the bus since the public school system is purposely designed for girls style of learning. Fuck I’m 23 and I realize I only got any form of support because of my skintone.

And what we been getting, hmm, kids don’t know how to do taxes. We barely have any cooking lessons unless your lucky af. Most Americans can only read at a 3rd grade level and oh the big ones.

Teachers unions are corrupted af and we have rampant child sex abuse issues where 1 in 10 students REPORTED sexual misconduct. And how many headlines that boils down to “Teacher raped a male student” in one year alone?

And I’m African American, now I didn’t grow up in the inner cities. But I known the government don’t give two fucks about me(I live in the Chicago area too)

What wrong destroying the DOE? People call American schools a hell on earth and we been getting more stupid since the government interference. Oh shit I forgot, how many boys were overdrugged again? Sorry I don’t have Stockholm syndrome towards schools

2013 not sure if there's anything more recent this was the one that popped up when I was looking for something different for that post

You'll notice that adjusted for inflation there is three times the money being spent per student now than there was in 1970 with a fairly static level on scoring, but you know that whole definition of insanity trying the same thing and expecting different results doesn't count when it comes to my tax dollars apparently.

There are understandable newer things that will increase the monetary need like ADA compliance, computers, and meal programs (which I wholeheartedly support, kids shouldn't go hungry drop the obama one tho I don't support that one it's garbage and kids were still hungry, how bad does it have to be for a kid to skip out on some of what might be all they eat that day) and various other improvements and such, big fan of air conditioning myself.

Still shouldn't triple the dollar number,

Also for the record the DOE was formed in 1979 so the numbers were already going up for spending when it came in.

Data presented to the Akron, Ohio, school board revealed not a single student from the school’s inaugural third-grade class — now entering eighth grade — has ever passed the state’s math test. “It is discouraging,” said Keith Liechty-Clifford, the district’s director of school improvement, in a model of understatement. State test scores in English and science are nearly as bad, and Black students at I Promise test in the bottom 5% of all Black students in Ohio.

Nice to see the people there making excuses instead of taking responsibility too, one more lesson in failure from this school.

I do hope they can figure it out though, I still have hopes for this one.

But if you've been around here for more than a few months you'll likely know I have hopes for everything to be better, I try to be very bright side oriented.

and in that vein, at least these kids get 3 hots 5 days a week maybe more so that's a W, less hungry kids is always a W

#anonymous

[redwineconversation]

Selma Bacha Le Progres Interview (October 17, 2023)

Blah blah standard disclaimers apply; god I HATE invasive behavior so much it genuinely makes my skin crawl; @OL Comms Dept a PSL I beg of you; y'all know the speech by now. I don't want to commit to translating Le Progres articles on a regular basis but as is everything in life, that is subject to change.

In which the prodigal child returns from the cold, remembers Lyon's win/loss record against Barcelona, disses Lyon's men's team, and confesses love and admiration for WoSo's favorite Bad Catholic.

It was basically a fan Q&A and anyone with a Le Progres subscription will be able to find their names; however I took out the fans' names because I just don't feel comfortable outing private information like that. (See, it's that easy to be a decent human being and respect someone's privacy!!! Who would have thought!!!!)

SELMA BACHA LE PROGRES INTERVIEW

Selma Bacha: "My biggest strength is my instinct"

For one hour, the Olympique Lyonnais and French International left back talked with Le Progres readers with all the spontaneity and frankness we have come to expect from her. Without shying away from a single question. Her tenacious character, the difference in attendance for men's football compared to women's football, the support from her family, how she regards mental strength, her role models, her relationship with Wendie Renard... A Bacha with no filter!

[Fan]: Do you play any other sport apart from rugby?

I do a lot of boxing during preseason and when we're in preseason. It allows me to blow off steam. I also enjoy swimming, and because I'm such a competitor, I always have to swim against someone who swims professionally so I can improve and to improve my mental strength. I also go hiking even if I like it a little less. Ever since I was young, I really loved sports in general. In middle school, I did cross country. I wanted to do my middle school proud so I gave everything, and I finished third in the French Championship.

[Fan]: Did you play with the boys in the academy?

I started playing with the boys when I was five. I was recruited really quickly by Lyon when I was eight. But my parents got divorced at that time and I lived with my father and my brother, so I have certain male characteristics. But maybe that's what gave me my desire to win, the determination, how to be aggressive and not let anything go.

[Fan]: What would you say is the difference between men's football and women's football? The difference in attendance?

We do the same job, but female players don't bring in as much money as the men do. But we're seeing some progress, we see it with the French National Team where we often play in front of sold-out crowds. It's up to us to win over supporters, to make them proud and gain interest in us. I have a lot of confidence in that even if it's a little frustration to play the final of the Coupe de France or the Trophee des Championnes in front of a small crowd. That being said, then a game is at 9pm on a Sunday, I understand that's it is complicated for families.

[Fan]: Were you disappointed not to play the derby [against ASSE] at the Groupama Stadium?

I think I can speak for the team but we would prefer to play in front of a smaller crowd with a great atmosphere, which may have been lost if we played at the Groupama Stadium.

[Fan]: What is your best memory in the Champions League?

My first final in Kiev [Lyon beat Wolfsburg 4-1]. I wasn't even expecting to be on the team sheet and I went to the pregame meeting and I found myself starting at the age of 17. The atmosphere was incredible. Overseas, people are really interested in those types of events. Here in France, we're sleepwalking our way through it, even if after the [2019] World Cup a lot of people started to get more into women's football.

[Fan]: Other countries have overtaken women's football in France. What do you think about that?

It's not to put down our league because things were put in place and we were heard, so respect for that, but when there is a clash like Chelsea-Manchester City in England, it's hard to compete against. Discussions were had, I'm a bit young but Wendie Renard is taking part in them and things are starting to change. In July, professionalism was put in place, so it's moving forward. Slowly but surely.

[Fan]: What has been the most difficult thing in your career?

I integrated the professional group very quickly. I saw everything through rose tinted glasses at first. And when I was on the bench, I was asking the right questions of myself. I was talking with the physical fitness coach, the psychologist, the nutritionist, and I told myself I need to work twice as hard to achieve what I really wanted. I'm someone who is always very smiley and when I'm hurting, no one will know. I can internalize a lot but it will explode, I implode by myself and obviously, that's not good mentally. I have my parents, my team and my best friend, Alyssa Paljevic (former goalkeeper at Lyon), who is a shoulder to lean on. She doesn't judge me and she tells me if I'm wrong or not.

[Fan]: Are you properly supported in terms of mental health?

It depends on each individual. I often tell the youth to make sure to have a good support system. When I arrived at 16 [to the pro group], I wasn't paying a lot of attention to nutrition, to sleep, to recovery, the invisible part of training. I quickly understood you needed support and structure to achieve my objections, which are really high. When I go the [team] psychologist, it's because it helps me a lot mentally.

[Fan]: What qualities do you need to become professional?

Being good at football obviously. Beyond that, only hard work pays off. I give a lot of credit to the people working behind the scenes who put things in place for us. The invisible part of training is also really important. Beyond that, it comes down to having a lot of fun and confidence, you have to follow your instinct. Now it's my turn to ask if you want to be a professional football player? You'd like that? Right there, you can't say "I'd like to". You have to say "I want to" to send the right information to your brain and have confidence in yourself.

[Fan]: Have you stayed in contact with FC Gerland, the team you started with?

I'm the godmother of my former club which is still very dear to me. Last season, I was able to gift them jerseys thanks to my sponsor. Whenever I can go and give them advice, I do it without hesitation.

{Fan]: Do you play Fifa?

From what I'm told, apparently in the game, I'm expensive and a "cheat code"... Personally I don't really play, I prefer to relax.

[Fan]: Do you train in the morning and afternoon like the men's team?

Who told you the men's team train in the morning and afternoon? (laughter) We often have training in the morning, but sometimes we have double or even triple sessions when we come back from vacation. But yeah, we're like the men, we do the same job.

[Fan]: Do you interact with the men's team?

Yes, and besides that, once a year, during the gala for OL Foundation [Lyon charity], we're seated a table with investors and there's obviously a player from the men's team next to us. You might think they have big egos but when you get to know them, they're real softies. We see them in the cafeteria as well.

[Fan]: Was the transition post-Aulas easier for the women's team?

I don't know what's going on on their [men's team] end but from our end, Michele Kang came to see us, we had talks. We're not an easy team to handle but we're not complicated. (laughter)

[Fan]: Which players are your role model?

I'm a footballer but I don't watch a lot of football. The players who inspire, it's Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, because they're hard workers.

[Fan]: Have you recovered from your ankle injury in Australia?

My ankle doesn't bother me anymore otherwise I wouldn't be on the field, especially because I have a long season ahead and therefore we won't want to take any risks. But it's true the sprain was no joke. I had 10 days to recover. It didn't hurt at all during the World Cup even if it was swollen. I'm not a cheat: if I'm not 100 percent it's not worth putting me on the field. So yeah, my ankle is a little unstable since, it'll roll sometimes, I'll be in pain for 30 seconds up to a minute, but that's normal. Let's just say I played my joker. At Lyon there is all the necessary medical staff, I'm in good hands.

[Fan]: Does it help you to play in your hometown?

There are advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is I was born here, all my family is here and I'm really close to my family so I have a lot of support, that really helps me. But sometimes, you just want to be alone and that's not always an option.

[Fan]: What is your relationship like with Wendie [Renard]?

Wendie, she took me immediately under her wing as soon as I integrated the pro group. She knows the love and admiration I have for her. She's in my heart, she's a big sister for me who I can always count on. Our friendship goes beyond football. When things were going badly and I thought about quitting football, she really helped me. I owe an enormous amount to her.

[Fan]: Do you think you will change clubs in the upcoming years?

That's a good question! (laughter) I'm under contract with Lyon until 2025. I have incredibly strong feelings for this club, I grew up with them. For the moment, I'm good here, I live it day by day and for the moment, I'm not imagining myself elsewhere.

[Fan]: You wouldn't want to go to Barcelona?

Why would I choose Barcelona? (laughter) I'm not afraid to test myself in a new league. Each year, in my room, I take a blank piece of paper and write down my objectives. Last season [2021-2022], I wasn't expecting to be be the youngest player in the Champions League, have the most assists, be nominated to the Ballon d'Or... I couldn't believe it. But when you play for the team and you put the team first, the individual stats will follow by themselves.

[Fan]: Do you practice a lot shooting from afar?

Let's just say it's instinct. I have a very strong left foot. The assistant coach for the French National Team teases me a lot about that: he tells me I have a more powerful shot than certain male players but I need to put them on target (laughter), so I know what I have to improve on. I'd say that above all else, my strength, it's my instinct. I always follow it: if I have to take a shot, I'll shoot, if I have to get my teammate to score, I'll do it. I don't think just about me. I'd rather have an assist than score, even if scoring, it's a really special feeling.

[Fan]: Which team has the best style of play in your eyes?

Olympique Lyonnais (laughter). Otherwise I'd say Barcelona, because I am a player who likes ball possession and at the top level, the Spanish players are the best. I like to watch Barcelona.

[Fan]: Who was the best team you played against?

That's a good question. I'd say Chelsea and Barcelona.

[Fan]: And the best player according to you?

There are a lot. At the moment, I'd say Eugenie Le Sommer. Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona) as well, she's really good.

[Fan]: Do you chip in training?

Ball control, nutmeg, shooting, yes. But not really chips.

[Fan]: What is it like being an undisputed starter with the French National Team?

It's an honor! My team knows how much I struggled and all the tears I shed. Compared to other players, I integrated it a little later but I never gave up. There were nights when I was crying at home and I was thinking: "what am I missing?" And one day, when Lyon was at Issy-les-Moulineaux, I learnt that I would be called up because Sakina Karchaoui was injured. At first I couldn't believe it and I was even afraid the coach was pranking me. I screamed really loudly in the bus, everyone was really happy for me. Being at Clairefontaine, seeing the castle, it was a childhood dream. I'll never forget my first game against Kazakhstan, especially because I was a starter. And then I scored in my second game against Wales! I couldn't dream it any better. Now, my status has changed, but I'm not going to get a big head over it. I stay smiley, likable and I never forget where I came from. I want to keep my feet on the ground because it can all change so quickly.

{Fan]: How did you handle coming back from the World Cup?

That night, obviously I didn't sleep. But despite my missed penalty, I told myself that I gave everything and shouldn't have any regrets. Especially because I came into the tournament with an injury and had 10 days to recover from a big sprain. Afterwards? There was a long flight with a lot of sadness and frustration. I landed mid-morning in Lyon, I went to see my family and that afternoon, I went to Montpellier and then the next day to Marrakech. I turned my phone off and no one knew where I was. I needed a lot of time before I could talk about the World Cup.

[Fan]: What was missing for this World Cup?

Efficiency of course. We weren't able to impose our style of play and we were subjected to Australia's. Maybe we lacked a bit of bite as well. Ellie Carpenter, my Australian teammate, when she has one touch of the ball, she moves up 10 meters. When you foul a Brazilian player, they form a group around the referee to put pressure on her. When we had a team meeting about it, Kenza Dali actually called me out by name and said we needed to be more like me, aggressive. Of course you need to respect the referee and not waste energy for no reason when she has already made her decision, but in the quarterfinal of the World Cup, I think we can go talk to the ref. And not just in football. Look at rugby!

#all good love stories start in the rain #selma bacha #the prodigal child who came in from the cold

[queenboudicaa]

Many inventive theories attempt to explain why ovulatory signals disappeared in the human line, but none of them, in my opinion, propose an advantage so sterling that it offsets the abandonment of the premier genereplicating method used by millions of species over millions of years—females signaling males their sexual readiness at the same moment they are ovulating.

The few species of primates that do not ostensibly signal ovulation are distant from the human line on the evolutionary primate-branching bush. A few other species' females also do not appear to advertise their ovulation—for example, some birds, such as mallards—but the problem of knowing for sure is exacerbated by the fact that human observers can't ask the males of these species whether or not they are aware of the females' ovulation.

Among the more ingenious explanations for why sexual signaling disappeared in humans is the one proposed by anthropologist Nancy Burley. Women lost the ability to monitor their ovulatory moment, according to Burley because those who grasped the connection between sex and pregnancy realized that pain, possible death, and taxing demands were also part of the deal.

A woman so enlightened, Burley theorizes, might prudently decide to abstain from sex . Celibates do not leave offspring. Selection pressure would, therefore, favor those women who were unaware of their ovulation.

Primatologist Sarah Blaffer Hardy proposes that infantile murder coaxed human cryptic ovulation into being in a theory known as the “many fathers.”

Having carefully documented the horrifying fact that male primates some¬ times killed infants, Hardy posits that the loss of external signs of ovulation ultimately protected newborns by keeping all parties guessing concerning the issue of paternity especially males. Unsure whether an infant was due to his copulatory efforts, a male would be less inclined to kill it.

Hardy worked primarily with hanuman langurs, but other studies, including Jane Goodall's chimpanzees in the wild and Alison Jolly's ring-tailed lemurs, have confirmed that males commit infanticide in these species. To date, thirty-five species of primates have been identified in which strange males kill infants.

Social scientists Margo Wilson and Martin Daly found suggestive evidence that this abhorrent practice exists among humans. Surveying crime statistics, they noted that when an adult male murders a child he is sixty-five times more likely to be a stepfather or live-in boyfriend than the child's biological father.

Though I have great respect and admiration for Hardy's work, I wonder whether her theory is the whole story If infanticide was so great a threat to the continuation of affected primate species, why did only the human line adopt the evolutionary strategy of cryptic ovulation to solve the problem?

Chimpanzees, for whom infanticide is a serious problem, have not evolved anything resembling cryptic ovulation. Bonobo males have never been observed to engage in killing infants, yet bonobo female primates come closest to mimicking the human female's reproductive model of loss of estrus and increased sexual receptivity.

The observation that strange males do the killing is in keeping with evolutionary theory. Alpha maledom often does not last very long. A strange male who achieves dominance must make hay while the sun shines. By killing the sucklings of his new group, he can precipitate estrus among the distressed mothers and thus increase his chances of spreading his genes.

Among human populations, it has been a common strategy of conquering armies, after beheading the losing side's warriors, to turn their attention to killing the infants who the conquerors know were fathered by those warriors. This slaughter of the innocents has been amply recorded at different times in disparate locales throughout history. Cryptic ovulation has rarely protected infants of the conquered women from being killed by strangers.

If keeping the male uncertain concerning paternity increases the life span of children, what would be the advantage to the female of remaining in the dark on such a vital issue as her own ovulation?

Another question: The male primates that engage in the practice of infanticide do not seem to care one fig about the offspring they do sire. Since the majority of infanticide is carried out by recently arrived males that are strangers to the group, it would be safe to assume that these animals are equipped with an instinct to kill the infant of any strange female.

Hardy's theory rests on the assumption that a male primate is capable of making the causal connection between sex and birth, either instinctually or consciously. There is minimal scientific evidence to indicate that this quantum leap in logic has occurred in the mind of another species besides a human.

Another problem: Since knowing when a female ovulates is critical to a male's fitness, why did not the human male develop a compensatory counteradaptation to detect the female's ovaries' subterfuge?

Many other theories abound. Donald Symons suggests women use their year-round sexual receptivity to seduce philanderers in exchange for gifts . L. Benshoof and Randy Thornhill propose that cryptic ovulation allows a woman to mate by stealth with a superior man without alerting her husband.

Though the theories outlined above may have been contributing factors in reprogramming Gyna sapiens ’reproductive cycle, they do not seem to offer sturdy enough reasons to explain the origin of such drastic changes in her life strategy.

The rarity of concealed ovulation among the other three million sexually reproducing species suggests that cryptic ovulation is not a mainline solution to any of the problems posed by the various theories.

The primary consequence of cryptic ovulation—the need for increased sexual contact to coincide with ovulation's propitious moment—would appear to be highly disadvantageous, evolutionarily speaking.

In the cold calculus of energy conservation, copulation is both dangerous and a very expensive metabolic activity An ancestral couple in flagrante delicto would have been very vulnerable to a predator. Sex consumes time, calories, resources, and mental effort that might better be used for survival. With a few notable exceptions, other creatures expend minimal time and energy copulating. The mating act of most birds and mammals can be measured in seconds.

The human investment, in terms of time spent thinking about sex, planning, wooing, and actually engaging in the act, exceeds that of any other creature. After their strenuous coitus, humans generally require a longer recovery interval than any other animal.

Additionally without a visible or olfactory lodestar, men and women have found it necessary to engage in frequent, capricious copulations throughout the year to increase the likelihood of pregnancy.

The uncertainty of conception, both for those who yearn for it and those who don't, has been among men's and women's most consistent causes of stress, anguish, and anxiety down through the generations.

Evolutionary processes do not care whether an organism is happy or not. Nevertheless, stress tends to diminish an organism's fitness.

Nonestral females of other species, with rare exception, do not appear to begrudge the attentions estral females receive from excited males. When Gyna sapiens lost estrus and gained the ability to engage in sex anytime throughout the year (if she so desired), the nettlesome problem of sexual jealousy among women reared its ugly head.

The green-eyed monster consumes a staggering waste of spirit and is virtually unknown among other species.

Cryptic ovulation and year-round sexual receptivity also greatly increased the amount and degree of jealousy among many men.

Societies have had to construct draconian legal, social, religious, and cultural barriers to regulate members' sexual competition and minimize the outbreak of violence. Duels, dogmas, eunuchs, taboos, so-called honor killings, chastity belts, and female genital mutilation are just a few of the rituals and devices that attest to the difficulty men have had in dealing with women's robust sexual capability.

Desmond Morris in his book The Naked Ape makes the argument that humans are the first species to elevate sex to the status of a recreational activity’ Morris speculates, “The vast bulk of copulation in our species is obvi¬ ously concerned, not with producing offspring, but with cementing the pair bond by providing mutual rewards for the sexual partners ."

According to this argument, endorsed by many others besides Morris, we are Homo ludens (the Playful Ape) and we have liberated sex from the depths of the Minotaurean labyrinth! in the brain's primitive limbic system of instinctual drives.

By elevating sex to the brain's higher, neocortical planes, according to these authors, we have created a new kind of sex. Proponents argue that the pleasure we so derive and the love that enhances the deep human commitments more than offsets any of the disadvantages of drastic changes in sexual programming.

#leonard shlain #sex time and power #ovulation #hidden estrus

[attractivemyfoot]

Well, Nettie is said to be a problematic child, Only Jason and Tim checked her class background when they saw it was almost perfect before Lila but then  Lila Rossi in background check  came it raised red flags cause even a billionaire doesn't travel this much , way too much flaws and loop holes, hell she has criminal records for murder , suicide,  harassment, money laundering and sexual assault etc . 

Other bats treated her terrible than anything even left her to sleep on empty stomach and left her at Gotham Academy and Damian was pissed cause perfect grades and way to good reputation and Jon vouched her for injuries are indeed real but jealousy got best of him, he injured her more and shamed her for no reason who saw this behavior stopped giving him a glance where she was a great help and her organization plans helped school and student council.

 Well, Bat family dismissed his behavior but that didn't got under radar of bat girls , Jason, Tim, they helped her while others just thought that's fair. Then Jon begged his parents to go to Wayne Manor if not Damian will kill an innocent person and would be out of it unchecked. 

Diana and Arthur take Marinette a side and bow to her in recognizing the Miraculous. There were already Constantine, Zatana, Diana and Arthur. As soon as he scanned her  " You call yourself World's greatest detective my foot who can't tell the difference between makeup and bruise ? You're son of a bastard is also one of the reasons as well as you for her physical, mental and emotional scars, no wonder when Diana met Talia she said she is utterly disappointed in Damian. Shame on you Wayne .Are you stupid those bruise and scars are real? '' Clark yelled in his coldest voice and threw them a darkest glare

" That bitch got to your adopted parents , right pls . Do something you're practically the owner of black knights and gates  , official technopath of Europe, MDC, a genius recognised in magic and mechanics, singer named as NYX Night, prodigy of literature, mdc and businesswoman comes 1st place in the world. 

 I am your uncle . I can help hell, even some of your other honorary uncle or aunts like Oliver Queen, Barry Allen, Zatana , Diana, Arthur and Me etc  can help you. Those kids are sick as hell as you call mobsters but more worse than monsters and demons whatever shit is that? 

From what I see they are probably the worst people . You're skinnier than usual . And who the hell pushed you down the stairs and around so much. Pack your things you're coming with me .

 Most importantly you believe Joker should stay dead. Even Deadpool, Talia, Taskmaster and Slade are your models even though they wear masks and they would gladly kill them. It was a great relief that your parents never gave you much attention and at least you're away from that creep but still take Cat miraculous from him. Don't know what the guardian saw in that rat.  That Ass-greste boy is the worst and last night you told me  who the hawkmoth is.

 Well, I wonder How much big news it would be to know that a billionaire's son killed a CEO and owner of 1200 companies who has 27 digits in 8 bank accounts  just for jealousy and seriously your daughter who was unknown to his family who outright gave her up?

 Well, we have come to a decision to remove bat fam from JL only Red Robin, Red hood and batgirls are allowed. Can't you see there's less crime since she came here. A true creation soul can remove bad luck and destruction. Anyway we got better detectives and my personal favourite you think why don't we tell you to investigate some cases for us? She is'' said Constantine.

 Just then Akuma alarm was set off.`` Come on, I had only 12 hrs , Gabribitch, that's a lot and mass akumatation looks like I have put more fuel on fire. " "Kalki transform me" " wait, we want to help" other batfam was outright told no . Well Barbara and Cass with Jason not Damian cause he tried to kill her when she tried to help him were healed with magic of Mari as soon as she saw them "okay fine. Deactivate me. Cass- dragon, Steph- Fox, Barbara- Bee , John you need black cat sorry, " " that's okay" " Tim- Horse, Jason- Snake , Diana- Tiger and Arthur- Turtle and Rabbit after using it give it back as a guardian after this fight completing the box , I will officially retire and come to help only in need of pure magic  problems "  

 Clark and Lois  hacked the portal and caught bullshit of Alya" it's totally happening ' Lady noir' after all these years, Lois checked her blog in few minutes full of bullshit man she uploaded Lila Rossi too and ' how to bully a bully .' her credit was gone to drain only other classes saw bullshit and people were crap long before. First bee paralysed as he said M'lady and took away the ring gave it to John . And fought Sandboy as soon as they won. A agony shot through Mari as She casted Miraculous cure as the formation was going off in 4 minutes her injuries were more visible due to the assault of her classmates as she was caught by Liars squad except Alya. 

As soon as Alya saw Lois and Clark and other heroes ready to go home before they rescued her and tikki transformed her back she ran towards them asked for interview and demanded when Rena Rouge is coming back . Darkness cataclysms her phone. She became Lady Wifi. As she was defeated , they made their way back home. Wonder Woman picked Mari up in her arms and Tim made a portal for Medway at Watchtower and helped her heal from her injuries applied by Batfam and her old classmates .

 With the selection of miraculous holders, the hawkmoth was defeated by Storm . It was decided she will use miracles only in an emergency as she can use magic outside. Lila was taken down in a gala at La Garde Hotel were Chloe lives as CO-CEO of black knights and gates was revealed with proof of abuse of classmates and neglect of her problems , the school was sued a lot as Nettie was CEO of no . 1  company in the world. A adoption war broke out between Arthur, Jagged Stone, Batfam, Diana , Bourgeois, Constantine, Zatara, Queen , both Wilsons, Al-Ghul , Allen , Tsurgami ,Kents, Lucifer, Nightingale and Gardener, Jordan was actually smarter than others as he knew who did most of the funding and destroyed Injustice League and Lex Luthor, made a barrier greater than JL scientist can make for earth.

 Well, the possibility for so called greatest detective to be even called detective and to adopt her was out of options and who never supported them saw toxicity of batfam and left to Mansion even bigger than Wayne's and Tim outright switched his job of CEO from Wayne to Black knights and gates settled for co- CEO with Chloe Mari and Jason. Why, Jason do have a degree for it , and broke the contract of merging Drake and Wayne enterprises to merge with Black knights and gates.

 It made Bruce do all the work for Wayne's enterprises which he was serving his hours of torture that he gave to Tim force fully but black knights and gates have a system and most important, most honest employees do most of the work and get a bonus every week. They never slacked off or anything. Jason, Tim and Batgirls left all of their old personas for miraculous and magic.

 But after defeating the hawkmoth putting bitch into Jail with Lila as she was 19 while Mari was 15 and others were 18. Seriously she was older than Damian by 4 yrs  and didn't have strength to push him and that was done by other 12 graders just because she's young doesn't mean she's bullied by her classmates and it saved her alot . 

I mean Tim and Jason were in the same class and saw what Damian does to her in school for no reason. Outright laughed , this caused a shift in school and no one can take his bullshit anymore and saved her by putting themselves and taking her out of there  by either or Jason, Tim and Steph. He was treated like an enemy and even classic bully girls don't do this much one time a knife was launched at her. This proved the doubts of him being a demon being true and then tried to behave nice but outside and home it's another story, he tried to use a knife just because she learned self defense saved her by skin from time to time in 3 months and someone dying in Wayne Manor that's way too important for the Universe.

 It was a call to Constantine that proved everything and he called every person who can defend him against Bruce Wayne but it was wrong decision by which everyone came for adoption war and her parents tried to take her back with force as it  got leaked for being a person with 27 digits in 8 accounts those were highly secure even more than JL computers with her own company cause every hour codes get changed it takes one month to crack one so it was almost impossible that made them as incompetent parents and greedy .

 The behavior of Waynes was so much sore only Dick was put aside cause he was highly unaware and had a line between them and batfam almost killed every criminal. This caused Joker to change his ways to killing to praising miraculous gang only batgirls and Tim and Jason. It fueled their anger. But a problem arises as it was found Jason and Tim both are Black Cat so Plagg made another ring with help of tikki to create his twin. They're also involved in the magic community instead so they had less pressure in time of need and others were found but they still kept horses and snakes.

 Due to some reasons, she became guardian of every lantern too. She was self emancipated due to being but they can hoard her as they're still her aunts and uncles. During this, everyone in JL got modeling as a job at least once it gave them even a bigger cover for identification. They stopped having contact with Wayne in general and the police department actually liked the miraculous team more than batfam. After a week of insults from people in Gotham was a reason to stop Batman altogether. Due to this Damian Wayne was more violent and sent to Judicial custody of a strict man for no violence maybe there was a good  reason for the demon's mother, sisters and brothers to leave him and his dad alone.

 Meanwhile Jason 23, Tim and Marinette 20 started dating and got married at the age of  Jason 25 , Tim and Mari 22. Problems came and were gone. The crime in Gotham got so low that vigilants were not needed. The city of doom became the city of gloom . Well, Steph and Cass were married , Barbara and dick Kori all got married  due to some reasons a billionaire became a millionaire. Had to sell his property and live in a flat. Who knew treating the youngest CEO could cause a load of problems as well as his daughter.

#tim x jason x mari #knightgates #bio dad bruce wayne #joker is dead #wwars in the house fire around the world #salt bruce damian #dont knw where is alfred #a prompt #maribat #jasonette #timmari #jaytim

[sanctamater]

on our lady and her relationship with her own femininity - a meta looking at the character of lady a. c.omstock through the lens of religion, victorian womanhood, and pseudo science of the era.  or - a rewrite of an old meta that i needed a refresh given that i was in high school when i wrote this originally.  given the historical content from many sources in this post, please proceed with caution as it will contain heavy examples of misogyny and medical sexism. this post will also contain mentions of child birth, child rearing, pregnancy, and infertility.  THIS IS A MONSTER OF A META. GOD BE WITH YOU, YE WHO READ THIS.

Lady Comstock, within the narrative of of Bioshock Infinite, is shown to be a paragon of virtue - the wife of the cult’s prophet, the mother of the messiah; the ideal woman in all respects - the perfect mother, wife, and citizen and a model for all within columbia to emulate. While in the canon shown to the player within the game shows that she has been dead for near twenty years (providing Zachary the ability to use her corpse as a political prop, which is another discussion for another time) - it does not allow much exploration into Lady Comstock’s relationship with this mantle of holy mother, reconciling that with her own past, and the relationship she has with her own femininity and how she views herself under the influence of victorian upbringing and societal norms. 

By 1912, Lady Comstock’s perception of her femininity, self, and womanhood is incredibly - horrifically - skewed; almost self-hating while deifying. I will split this meta into 3 sections - her past and victorian ideals, Mary’s role in faith (and thus, Amelia’s within the cult); and some culminating thoughts on how all of these factor into and impact Amelia near twenty years into her role as mother of the messiah within the narrative of Infinite.

PART I: PAST REVELATIONS AND VIEWS OF THE ERA.

Not much is known of Lady Comstock’s past within the canon of the game - it boils down to a single voxophone singing praise to the prophet, her redeemer, and is left open-ended for audience interpretation for as to what, exactly, she was seeking forgiveness for. the transcript of said audio diary is as follows: 

“To those who loved me, I was the most generous of souls. There was no pain I would deny them. No betrayal I would not gladly give. And when I had scorched the hearts of all who loved me, the Prophet said, “There is nothing you can do for which I will not forgive you, for God has granted me sight, and through His eyes, even you are loved.”” (Unconditional; recorded in universe on April 1st, 1893)

Without reading too much into the audio and its implications, one can rightfully assume that Lady Comstock, at the very least, played with the affections of others for her own amusement until she was left alone due to her actions towards others. Aside from Daisy Fitzroy mentioning that Lady Comstock had ‘experienced hardship’ in her youth, nothing more is said about her past. The most popular fanon interpretation (one that i also subscribe to) is that this voxophone refers to promiscuity. Given that the character of Lady Comstock is based off of American socialite and political figurehead Alice Roosevelt Longworth - a woman known for breaking many social rules in her day; in addition to several affairs throughout her life, which she did not hide and were common knowledge in high society, I agree with this interpretation of the audio diary. With Alice’s proximity to the white house, the social consequences for this would be less severe, however - turning back to Lady Comstock, in my own canon, this voxophone does refer to her engaging in multiple affairs with multiple partners with the express intent of playing with their affections and publicly betraying them for her own gain and amusement. 

I have already discussed here why Lady Comstock must be of the upper class for Zachary to gain the traction he needs for his cult to flourish. with that in mind, most of high society could turn a blind eye to affairs - provided they remained discreet, which Lady Comstock at the time was not. The consequences of a promiscuous woman were more than just of the social variety, leaving her isolated; but of a moral variety as well. Elizabeth Lee (who received a BA from Brown University in ‘97 and wrote most of her material during a summer research group) also had this to say:

“Women were portrayed either frigid or else insatiable. A young lady was only worth as much as her chastity and appearance of complete innocence, for women were time bombs just waiting to be set off. Once led astray, she was the fallen woman, and nothing could reconcile that till she died.” “This preoccupation developed into an ideology that legitimised unequal power relations in the economic and political sphere even as it glorified women’s role in the domestic and “moral” sphere. It is easy to see, therefore, how the myth of women’s salvatory and redemptive potential victimized women.” (Langland, Patriarchal Ideology and Marginal Motherhood in Victorian Novels by Women).

The Victorian Era had given rise to the cult of domesticity and the role of the ‘angel of the house’ - in engaging in torrid, obvious affairs, Amelia directly defies these societal expectations, and brings the ire of that society upon not the man involved in the affair, but the woman. Though these affairs, Amelia would have made her social worth and capital null and void - an ‘unwoman’; with nothing to remove that mantle from her in life. She would have been considered the lowest of the low; and become a fringe society member. In addition to this, women with sexual drive were considered ‘ill’ and ‘unnatural’; disrupting the ‘order of things’ through their anomaly - 

 “… there can be no doubt that sexual feeling in the female is in abeyance … and even if roused (which in many instances it never can be) is very moderate compared with that of the male…. The best mothers, wives, and managers of households, know little or nothing of sexual indulgences. Love of home, children, and domestic duties, are the only passions they feel. As a general rule, a modest woman seldom desires any sexual gratification for herself. She submits to her husband, but only to please him; and, but for the desire of maternity, would far rather be relieved from his attentions. (Boumelha; Thomas Hardy and Women. P. 14). “Middle-class women who, by mid century, were giving birth 'confined' within the home, now achieved true womanhood if they responded emotionally to their infants and bonded with them through breast-feeding and constant attendance. Motherhood was seen as an affirmation of their identity.” (Abrams, Ideals of Womanhood in Victorian Britain).

Victorians, in addition to the moral consequences facing women who engaged in affairs and were connected with their sexuality and desires, also believed that women who were as such had something wrong with them on a medical, biological level - and subscribed to the belief that women were biologically destined to be subservient mothers - in addition to that, the Victorians also placed intrinsic value to a woman’s chastity: 

“And how is the vice of unchastity confined within boundaries so rigid in the case of the female sex? … it is because even an unchaste man will marry none but a chaste woman.”  (Boumelha; Thomas Hardy and Women. P. 19). “Even if Victorians did not subscribe to the idea of the Angel in the House, they were attracted to the implicit idea of women’s redemptive or salvatory potential.” (Langland, Patriarchal Ideology and Marginal Motherhood in Victorian Novels by Women).

Amelia, through her affairs, is victimised by this victorian mindset - and was not only removed of social capital and status, but ostracized from society and isolated with the consensus being that no matter what she did in the future that she would never be considered a ‘true’ woman - no amount of confession or repentance could change that. She would be, in the eyes of society, ‘damaged goods’; and nothing short of death could change that. With that in mind, we lay the societal groundwork and environment that Amelia grew up surrounded by, and was conditioned in.

PART II: MARY, MOTHER OF GOD; HER ROLE IN THE CHURCH, AND LADY A. COMSTOCK, HOLY MOTHER. 

After the elevation of Columbia and isolation of the cult, Zachary Hale Comstock reveals that Lady Comstock is to birth the messiah in seven days time - a girl who shall ignite the world and cleanse the sodom (re: Earth) below in flame. This prophecy and the action of Elizabeth being brought to Columbia cements Lady Comstock as the cult’s holy mother - the modern day ‘Mother Mary’ for the people to rally around.  Pope John Paul II wrote an encyclical on Mary’s role in the church which can be found here. Given the cult’s proximity to Catholicism in game canon, I have chosen to reference this in regards to Lady Comstock’s role within the cult as the mother of the messiah and the ‘mistress of forgiveness’. 

Mary embraces each and every one in the Church, and embraces each and every one through the Church. In this sense Mary, Mother of the Church, is also the Church's model.

Mary is thus present in the mystery of the Church as a model. But the Church's mystery also consists in generating people to a new and immortal life: this is her motherhood in the Holy Spirit. And here Mary is not only the model and figure of the Church; she is much more. For, "with maternal love she cooperates in the birth and development" of the sons and daughters of Mother Church. 

Amelia, with this position within the cult in mind, is also positioned socially at the helm of society - and in an environment where religion is one with all things in every level, she is to be a model for the women of Columbia and a piece of living, breathing propaganda - all that they are should aspire to be. She is, all at once, the perfect vision of a wife, mother, woman, and citizen in all that she does and must be above reproach in temperament, manner and history - and while she certainly has left things at the proverbial riverside, Amelia’s past is, according to the society she has grown up in and continues to be in, an unforgivable act. It should be noted, of course, that in my canon, lady comstock downplayed her relationships with others, her affairs, and lied in confessional to Zachary Hale Comstock - fearing another rejection after living as a pariah for so long.

Be that as it may - Lady Comstock must be, much like Mary, above her own humanity; a model to all and the spirit of the cult and its reach - for not only is Lady Comstock mother to the lamb (Elizabeth); she is mother to Columbia and all its people - it is her divine and (only) purpose within the cult and its hierarchy - and to fail or waver in that duty - or to question the prophet, who is both god and the church/cult embodied - would, of course, mean she has outlived her usefulness.

The Mother of that Son, therefore, mindful of what has been told her at the Annunciation and in subsequent events, bears within herself the radical "newness" of faith: the beginning of the New Covenant.

Lady Comstock, as the figure/spirit of Mary within the cult, bears the heavy weight of carrying it with her in all forms - Zachary may be a more tangible figurehead than God, and even redirects attention from Amelia to himself, but the narrative remains the same - she is the one to birth their messiah, it is her that carries the future of the cult and prophecy - and with that weight upon her, it is a venerated position meant for an ideal - not a living, breathing person to live up to and occupy. Indeed, Lady Comstock’s role within the cult goes beyond mother to the lamb - but becomes mother of the city and its people; with several referring to her as ‘sweet mother of Columbia’ and ‘mother of forgiveness’ et cetera, et cetera (all Marian-esque titles, might I add).  But Mary, of course, is not just a mother to the messiah and a carrier of the faith - but also a mediator between god and mankind - entreating to god for man, guiding christ to ensure he looks out for man. Mary is the balance - the bridge - between the holy and the mundane; and as such, Lady Comstock serves that same role - and does so, as far as iI can see within canon perception of her as some omnipotent entity ("You won't hide long from her! She knows no blindness!" "Her eyes are open even in the grave! You will not escape!" "I will shine her light on you!" "She sees in channels! Yes, she does!" Which, in canon, she has become in death a saint of justice and in that way they would be praying to her to intercede on their behalf in order to gain god’s justice; but again, Amelia the saint is a separate conversation for another day - and I have already discussed her narrative role as caritas) has her acting on behalf as a conduit for the loyal and devoted when the prophet is ‘busy’; or the prayers are not ‘important’ enough for him to act upon.

Thus there is a mediation: Mary places herself between her Son and mankind in the reality of their wants, needs and sufferings. She puts herself "in the middle," that is to say she acts as a mediatrix not as an outsider, but in her position as mother. She knows that as such she can point out to her Son the needs of mankind, and in fact, she "has the right" to do so. Her mediation is thus in the nature of intercession: Mary "intercedes" for mankind.

The teaching of the Second Vatican Council presents the truth of Mary's mediation as "a sharing in the one unique source that is the mediation of Christ himself." Thus we read: "The Church does not hesitate to profess this subordinate role of Mary. She experiences it continuously and commends it to the hearts of the faithful, so that, encouraged by this maternal help, they may more closely adhere to the Mediator and Redeemer." This role is at the same time special and extraordinary. It flows from her divine motherhood and can be understood and lived in faith only on the basis of the full truth of this motherhood. 

Of course, this role is steeped in the fact that she is still a mother to the city, the faith (read; cult), and to its messiah - it is because she is a mother that she intercedes on behalf of man, and in that vein, it is also why Lady Comstock is shown to be that same mediator in the balance between god and man - because she is a mother; and not just any mother, but the mother of mothers within the cult. Above all else, her role is that of holy mother - mother in all ways, mother of all things; perfection and humility incarnate - and selfless, as only any holy mother can be. 

PART III: SIMPLY, AMELIA. 

Now that I have discussed the environment and views in which Amelia was raised in and formed by - as well as her role within the cult, we can discuss how all of this has impact her at her core; her identity, and her relationship with herself and the societal ideal of womanhood that she has found herself to be exemplifying. The years of social shunning and shame and the sudden exaltation of herself by the masses has, to put it lightly, twisted her sense of self and her views on herself.

Amelia was 16-18 during the time she found herself ostracized from society - two years of being treated as lower than dirt; two years of being reviled and shunned; of having all manner of comments and insults hurled her way by “polite society”. While obviously, her treatment of her flings was not the greatest - she did not deserve the outright disgust from the people around her, who would have simply been neutral on the matter had she been a man. Not only that, but having friends and those who had watched her grow up - people she had respected - and eventually, her own family; not only turn away from her and leave her alone, but to insult her and shun her at every turn? That would deeply effect someone at any age; let alone an upset teenager who is lashing out at the world. Give it enough time, and no matter how much she might pretend that it does not effect her, it will - and Amelia begins to internalise these thoughts, these insults, these actions - believing that she deserves this; that she is everything that has been said about her, that she is unforgivable, and nothing could reconcile that now that she had left the good graces of society, and all that she understood about womanhood - that there was nothing beyond duty, motherhood, and rearing children; and now that she had strayed from this path, there was no recovering, or going back from this no matter what she did to attempt to fix it.  With all of this in play, it did leave Amelia open to being indoctrinated into the cult under the guise and appeal of finally finding redemption and getting a second start - a clean slate. She would have had no support system, no family looking out for her in order to keep their own reputations unsullied, and would have been at a very low point mentally/emotionally. This leaves her vulnerable - and it is all too easy for Zachary to draw her deeper into the cult once he finds out she has money to spare. Even with all this talk of redemption and clean slates, however, Amelia knows at this point that what she has done is unforgivable to the eyes of society - and fearing losing her chance at this second chance, she would lie to Zachary; claiming that the gossip was hearsay spread by men who she had spurned. This omission is understandable - but she continues to internalise these thoughts and beliefs, having no one to healthily discuss her emotions and thoughts with.  Her self-view continues to twist upon entering Columbia - the sudden exaltation; the prophecy that she is to bear the Messiah; first met with elation, but then sadness and despair as it becomes clear in game canon that she and the Prophet cannot conceive. Zachary mentions this in audio briefly:

“The Archangel tells me that Columbia will only survive so long as my line sits the throne. Yet Lady Comstock produces no child. I have done what a man can do, yet there is no child! I have asked Lutece about the matter, but even she refuses to help.” (A Broken Circle; recorded in universe on September the 10th, 1893; a month before Elizabeth’s arrival in Columbia)

The implication here is that Zachary blames Amelia for their failure to conceive - something that was common to do at the time with couples struggling with fertility. Amelia, too, blames herself - believing that her indiscretions have manifested into infertility; and that for lying to Zachary about the extent of these affairs, that God, himself, is punishing her with infertility - as all she knows is that women who have ‘fallen’ in the way she has never receive grace. 

With that in mind, it can also be argued that her outburst in Rosalind Lutece’s home after Elizabeth’s arrival in Columbia was as much anger and hurt at the thought Zachary had had an affair with her, but a projection of her own thoughts and feelings towards herself on to Rosalind. 

I have touched on the fact Amelia does not enjoy the deification she has received within the cult and in Columbia - it makes her uncomfortable at a base level; for she does not believe that she deserves it. Elizabeth is not ‘her child’ (though she comes to accept that she is indeed her daughter years down the road) - the messiah is a lie, the prophecy is a lie; and she, too, is a lie - but at every turn, she is praised as mother, above all else - when she knows this to be a lie; and believes that God, again, is punishing her for her transgressions. It is a heavy thing, to go from a social pariah to the apex of society - the ideal in everything. All those expectations would be crushing - and they are. Amelia has no resources or ability to cope with the self-loathing she feels internally, nor any ability to cope with or compartmentalize the devotion the public shows her - and it is killing her; and the blind adoration she receives does not sit well upon her shoulders. It is uncomfortable, to say the least - and has, over the years, twisted into self-loathing as she understands herself to be ‘unwoman’ in the eyes of society, while exemplifying womanhood within the cult - and endeavours to redeem herself by acting and being as she should, resulting in an unhealthy relationship with herself and her own sexuality. 

Going deeper into that, Amelia treats herself with distance - she is not herself, her desires are not hers, and has become, in years, very much a voyeur into her own life - she has numbed herself, frozen herself; and in attempting to become this caricature of a woman and mother that Columbia has asked her to be: unerring, perfect - and above feeling. It manifests in certain ways - namely in her appearance, as she attempts to reclaim her femininity and own womanhood and exist with it in peace.

But if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. Luke 7:38 ESV

Hair was also a symbol of womanhood in the Victorian Era with extreme importance placed upon it - Amelia covers hers, grows it long; wears it in elaborate styles - it is an intrinsic part of her; an extension - a visual representation of her reclamation of what she feels was taken from her. She’s got an unhealthy attachment to her hair - won’t let scissors near it - it is a core part of her identity. In addition, she dresses, of course, as she must - never too gaudy or ostentatious; always down to her toes, up to her neck, and down to her wrists - always blue, as a symbol of motherhood, of femininity. This, of course; is not as important to her as her hair - nor is it as important to her as the repression of her own sexual desires and appetites; which she cannot get rid of and are a great source of destress for her when they do surface, as she is constantly fighting against herself to be as she believes she is supposed to be: devoid of any desire. 

But at the end of the day, she still finds that she does hate herself - and believes, at her heart, that it will only take one small thing to send her back to the state she once was in, for she has never achieved grace - and feels altogether undeserving of the title of mother, and all that it implies. 

#indoctrination // #indoctrination mention // #cult mention // #cults // #sexism // #misogyny // #child birth // #pregnancy // #infertility // #religion // #THIS IS HEAVY LMAO #🕊️❝ you have declared it with your mouths; with your hands: a vow for the queen of heaven ( meta. ) #🕊️❝ sanctify them by truth: your word is truth ( headcanons. ) #this is a MONSTER meta #this is an entire dissertation what is WRONG with me

[skye-huntress]

The Witch from Mercury Reaction

Episode 12: “Keep Marching on Instead of Running Off”

I am so very late getting this out. Winding back to the night it aired, I recall this intense feeling of apprehension, so I wasn’t in the mood to record my thoughts during or after the show, so I called it a night. After that, I got distracted by one thing or another so I had to force myself to sit down and do a rewatch. I like doing this, I want to do more of this for other things I enjoy, but I don’t keep up the habit it’d be difficult to start over. With that explanation out of the way, here are my thoughts on the Season 1 finale.

That Sophie really has a few screws loose. Giving her dramatic and theatrical introduction to Suletta… who can’t possibly see or hear her!

“The girl will come to us.” “The girl”? That’s some reductive language to use for your own daughter. That said, this reiterates that Suletta is still important to Prospera’s plans. Perhaps she has a certain synergy with Aerial that Prospera just couldn’t match. Just as she needed Ericht to pilot the Lfrith, she needs Suletta to pilot Aerial.

Interesting choice for Jeturk to pilot a suit himself. Perhaps it is that same sense of pride (or arrogance) to take control of one’s own fate that we’ve seen in Bob few times

Why can’t Delling just tell his daughter to put on a space suit without framing it as a criticism?

So despite being Lfrith models like Aerial, these new Gundam’s still seem to function the same as every other Gundam we’ve seen. So the question is, is the technology less dangerous or is there something different about the pilots to keep them from dying?

“The Antidote” doesn’t work on them either, though it’s clear raising the Permit score to 4 puts a severe strain on the body. Sophie’s comment about still being alive is probably something to take note of. I might have an idea or two of what that’s about but perhaps its best to wait until we learn more about the Witches from Earth

That pollution comment is one I take interest in. Using live ammunition in space is especially dangerous, especially when fired so recklessly. Fire a bullet on Earth, and a combination of air resistance and gravity will limit how far and how fast it travels. In the vacuum of space, any object fired will keep its momentum until it hits something. While I’m sure Norea has very valid criticisms of Spacians, especially in regards to Earth’s pollution, she is just as despicable for disregarding this issue even if you ignore the terrorism and murder.

Of course Suletta’s first thought is to save Miorine.

Wasn’t expecting to hear anything about what actually happened to Miorine’s mother. I think I’m starting to get a sense of what Delling is like, though do not get me wrong, he’s still a massive asshole who should probably be sitting in prison.

This is starting to feel a lot like the prologue, what with the ordinary workers just going about their day being murdered indiscriminately.

Looks like Earth House made it despite holing up in a massive target. Of course, it’s difficult to give credit to Nika when she was partially responsible for endangering everyone in the first place. Now the question lingers about how the confrontation with Martin will turn out.

Oh look, Bob got his first win in 11 episodes… and he still loses! Definitely the series’ punching bag. That said, on his account, this was just horrendously bad luck. As for his father, I’d almost consider it karma if I actually thought such a thing existed.

So now the scene between Suletta and Prospera is one I wanted to watch again closely. It’s difficult for me to find fault with anything Prospera is saying because there is clear logic there. This is a kill or be killed situation where surrender and negotiation are not an option. Still Suletta has a certain child-like innocence to her, while also having been moulded by Prospera over the years to be a weapon.

I think the real issue has to do with the mantra, “run, gain one; move forward, gain two”. There are many situations where that works, especially for someone who lacks confidence like Suletta, however it doesn’t always work like that. The prologue proved there are cases where running is the better option. There are also situations where there are more options than “forward” or “run”. Of course, this situation wasn’t it.

There are a number of other nuances regarding this issue as well, but considering they were in the middle of a crisis, it wouldn’t be fair to fault Prospera for not bringing them up, even if she never has any intention to. It just wasn’t the time or place to discuss morality, ethics, rules of engagement and all number of topics. For better and worse, Prospera’s method of encouraging Suletta was probably the difference between life and death for Miorine and a number of other people.

Aerial has received quite the upgrade, but the result I think makes her look less friendly and more intimidating. In other words, more like a true machine of war. I take issue with that. I agree with Sophie, I prefer the old look, too.

Even in the middle of the fight, with life or death consequences, Aerial managed to check the status of Earth House and their ship.

Two Gundams, using live ammo, and they still can’t even scratch Aerial

I’m questioning what it is that Sophie actually wants from Suletta. To fight her? Screw her? Both?

At first, I was somewhat peeved that the credits started after Suletta and Aerial located Miorine, then the after credits scene started and that strong sense of anxiety I had before came back with interest.

I can’t really fault Suletta for that action. There was a terrorist with a gun pointed at her fiancée and she was in a giant robot that wasn’t designed to fight humans on foot. There was an extremely tight window for her to react before he got a shot off. That the action was so gory could not have easily been avoided if that were even possible.

I also can’t fault Miorine’s reaction to seeing that display from her perspective up close, having blood and dismembered body parts make contact with her. There’d probably be something deeply wrong with her if that didn’t freak her the fuck out.

The part that gets me though is how seemingly unaffected Suletta is to the gory mess she created. I get that she now thinks killing to protect those you love is a “good thing”, but she just fell in a pool of blood. It seems unnatural that she is this desensitised to violence after seeing her mother shoot someone in front of her. I’m not too surprised since there is already plenty of evidence she has been conditioned to perform this level of violence. If that’s true, there’s only one person that can help Suletta but she might not be in the right frame of mind right now.

Prediction time

It’s possible Bob will be picked up by search and rescue and interrogated. However, it seemed like one of the Dawn of Fold (Olcott?) spotted his suit as the retreat was sounded so it is possible they picked him up instead. Knowing his bad luck, I’d bet on the latter. That could get interesting. If they know who he is and find out what he did, they could take advantage of him in any number of ways for their own cause. After all, he is the official punching bag of The Witch from Mercury. Actually, given who he is, there’s a solid chance he could be chained to the ceiling and used as a literal punching bag. Seems like the kind of thing Sophie would do.

There’s a high probability that if the rift between Suletta and Miorine isn’t dealt with quickly and effectively, Number 5 will not hesitate to take advantage of it. The Peil faction doesn’t seem like they want to deal with the Dawn of Fold, they just want the secrets behind Aerial, probably more so knowing how effortlessly she fought off two Gundams at once.

As for Suletta and Miorine, this is more of a long term prediction, but I don’t believe we’re close to done with them yet. I do believe they’ll eventually overcome this, and then be met with even more challenges that make this one seem manageable in comparison. After all, even without knowing a thing about Gundam, I had no illusions that it would be smooth sailing for this ship. The drama may hurt, but that just makes it all the more satisfying to see them overcome it and beat the odds. Ultimately, I still think they’ve got a decent shot at being endgame.

That’s it for me, I think. I’ll definitely do this again for Season 2. Meanwhile, I’ll think about what else I want to write about.

#the witch from mercury #g witch #g witch spoilers

[netrunnerconduit]

Live Forever

It started with an ad. I don’t remember what sensie I was watching when I first saw it. Maybe it wasn’t even a sensie, maybe it was just on one of those holo-boards they have along the Queensway. I suppose it doesn’t matter how I originally saw it, what matters is that that ad etched itself into my brain. Figuratively, of course. I don’t believe all that conspiracy shit about NBN using subliminal messaging or radio frequencies to alter your brainwaves to make you more likely to buy… whatever. It struck me because in the ad it showed a kid playing with his dad, and having grown up without a dad, I’m always curious when they show dads in media. What was I missing out on? I always wondered. What if he hadn’t died in an industrial accident? Sorry, that sounds depressing. He passed when I was two, I have no memories of him, not even primal ones like a scent or a touch. It was just my mother and I growing up (and a crack team of aunts and uncles and cousins, it takes a village and all that, but that’s neither here nor there) and I thought turned out fine. So what was so magical about having a dad?

That was the hook. The barbed hook that got me to pay attention. They say we don’t even see advertisements anymore. We’re so inundated with them, it’s become a survival instinct to ignore them. They’ve done studies, people wearing advert clothing are 35% more likely to be hit by traffic, and not out of malicious intent, but because drivers will just zone out when they see an ad and blend the people wearing them into the background. They literally just stop seeing them.

Anyways, I was doing whatever and I happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and some subliminal part of my consciousness picked up that this kid was talking to his dad, so my brain zoned in, and I started paying active attention. What’s this father they’re advertising? They weren’t literally advertising fathers. Funny, I don’t think HB has released a line of bioroids for that. They’ve got nannies and “companionship” models for retail, but no parental simulacra. Someone should get on that, and write me a fat cheque for thinking of it.

The ad was actually for Reality Plus’ AI-remembered synthesis composites, which is a mouthful of technical jargon I don’t expect anyone to understand. Basically, they create a composite AI using every bit of recorded data available on your (presumably) deceased loved one. Every vid or holo you’ve ever taken of them captures how they look and move. Every audio recording or text they sent remembers how they would talk to you. They called it Live Forever. Obviously, it’s less perfect of a reconstruction than a full braintape, but it’s also way less invasive, and this is the clincher, way less expensive. It’s cheap enough that some rando like myself, earning a decent wage could afford it. Not that I went out and bought one right away, but enough that I was like huh, that’s in my price range, same as an above average vacation.

I also didn’t think about trying to get a composite of my dead father. Like I said, I never really knew him. I had zero attachment to him. Plus, I was a grown man, who like I also said, had turned out pretty decent. No, I was thinking about Hector and our child. To say Hector and I were serious would be a gross understatement. We had been living together for the last five years, an impossible length of time for the previous “Mr. Cruising King” (my nicknames for him) and we were talking about adoption. I think that’s what really did it. The day before I saw the ad, or the hour before, or some other relatively short period of time before, we sat down and had our first serious, practical planning talk about what we would need to do to adopt.

So it was in that mindset that I first saw the ad about this little kid talking to his holo-dad, and I thought, “If Hector or I die in an industrial accident like my father did, what would we leave behind for our child?” I kept gnawing at the thought, like a starving man with only his leather boots. I wanted to leave something for our as yet unknown child. So a couple days later, unbeknownst to Hector, I pinged the address for Live Forever and set up an initial consultation.

It wasn’t very exciting. Obviously, there wasn’t much to do while we were still alive. I signed a bunch of papers, and they explained the limits of the AI technology. The only practical piece of advice was to record everything. The more hours of recording, the more accurate their composites would be. It didn’t even really matter what kind of recording it was, though obviously full holos were the best to capture full 3D images as well as audio, olfactory, and tactile data. So I went home – and ordered 3 latest-gen holo-cams, and sixteen 80-zettabyte drives, all from Reality Plus technologies. What can I say, when I’m hooked, I’m hooked.

When the purchases arrived at our flat the next morning, I told Hector everything. He thought it was cute and didn’t mind but also wasn’t super interested. Hector was always more of a “live in the moment” type guy, and I always had to be the one planning out our future together. I set up two holo-cams in our modest apartment in the centre tier of our middle-class arcology, one in the kitchen, one in the living room. I asked about putting one in the bedroom, but Hector was confused. “I thought this was for our kid.” I dropped it and just carted the bulky holo-cam with me whenever we went out together.

At first, he was sort of into being constantly recorded. Hector had never been, shall we say, shy in the limelight. He loved to preen and show off and dance for the camera. I think I fell in love with him all over again, watching him soak up the holo-cam’s gaze. Eventually, I’d join him. This was how I wanted our child to remember us – happy, in love.

One evening as I was doing the monthly check of the holo-cams, I noticed that the two housebound ones had missed the last fourteen days of recordings. Apparently, there had been a power surge while we were out at work two weeks ago, and it caused the holo-cams to reset to their factory settings. That’s when I started going overboard. I started checking the cams every week, then every day, then twice a day. I think that coincided with Hector finally getting bored of the novelty of constant recording. He’d be in our dated kitchen cooking on hand-me-down cookware, dancing and singing to himself. And he’d beckon to me to come and join him in that sexy way of his, his gaze pulling at me from the side of his eyes, his finger curling like a hook below the waterline of his waist. I… pulled back. I ran to my PAD and double checked that everything was recording properly. The moment was perfect, and I had to make sure I captured it perfectly. “David,” he called out teasingly from the kitchen, “come join me.” By the time I finished double checking everything and tore myself away from the holo-cams feeds, Hector was no longer dancing or singing.

The holo-cams became a source of constant irritation. Even just seeing me check them or thinking about it (he could see it on my face) became an instant turnoff for him. “Please turn the camera off and join me,” became the most constant refrain in our house. But the less and less happy we became, the more and more obsessed I became trying to capture what few moments of happiness we had left. I couldn’t let our child remember us like this, some miserable couple who just communicated on fundamentally different wavelengths.

I remember our first fight over it. We had hopped out to Wasaga Beach for the weekend, and of course I brought the holo-cam with us. I had promised to only use it for one hour each day, and I was doing so well. We were doing so well. Hector invited me into our cabin for some sex, and I said, “Let me go change into something more comfortable.” That was a lie. I was setting up holo-cam. Hector came out into the kitchen, fully nude, saw the holo-cam and started yelling. I’m not proud, but I started crying, blaming him for our unhappiness. He locked me out of the bedroom. “If you won’t join me, you can stay out!” The cams caught all of it.

I wish I could say it got better from there, that I got help, but it didn’t. I kept recording everything, now with malicious intent. It gave me the upper hand in our arguments having perfect access to everything he’d ever said. Hector just became increasingly childish and petulant in response.

I don’t remember what came first, us losing the adoption bid or Hector’s diagnosis. Losing the adoption bid was obvious given our relationship at that time, but the diagnosis was a surprise. Hector got back from the doctors in tears. He said they discovered a rare form of lung cancer on him, stage four, or whatever number was code for “you’re way past the point of genetherapy”. That was the first night we shared a bed together for weeks, and we just spent it crying into each other. Some dam inside me broke and I stopped caring about the holo-cams. I turned them off and never turned them back on.

The doctors gave Hector six months to live. We got half that. I like to think we recaptured some of our old glory in those last three months, but it’s entirely possible I just sobbed the whole time. Hector seemed happy at times. He smiled genuine smiles at me. I stayed at his hospital bed all morning until he passed in the early afternoon. I didn’t know what to do with myself for the rest of the day, so I went home took a couple of his leftover pain meds and slept for over 18 hours.

When I woke up, I made a call to Live Forever. I lugged over the two 80-zettabyte drives I had filled with holos of Hector and myself. They were amazed at how much material I had, said that this was probably going to be their best composite ever. I even signed a release that they might use it in their presentation materials. I didn’t care about any of that. I just took my drive with Hector’s composite on it home. I didn’t even thank them.

When I first booted Hector up, I cried again. It turns out I wasn’t out of tears yet. After hours of sobbing and listening to his voice (he sounded exactly the same!) and looking at his perfect face, we finally started talking. Honest to God, I couldn’t tell that he wasn’t dead and we weren’t having a holo-chat from beyond the grave. Everything was the exact same, his mannerisms, how he spoke, how he laughed. It was the real deal. And then, at 4am in the morning, exhausted from crying and laughing and sleep deprivation, he said it.

“Turn that thing off and come join me.”

I blanked. Hector smiled his coy smile and gazed at me from the sides of his eyes.

“Turn that thing off and come join me.”

I panicked and ran into the bathroom. I was hyperventilating. There was no noise coming from the kitchen where the hologram of Hector’s head floated above our countertop. I slept on the bathroom floor that night, using the bathroom mat for a blanket.

When I came out for food the next morning, Hector’s head still floated pleasantly in the air, and he greeted me with a smile. We chatted a bit, until he said “I missed you last night. I wish you’d turn off that holo-cam and come and join me.” And you know what? I think I will.

#netrunner #my fic #CW: suicide #CW: depression

[dragonkingz159]

*slowly opens door* hi...uhhh...I'm alive.

Alright so back to Squid House AU! This time about Lilith’s idol career.

Lilith Seathorne (gods the puns are killing me why did i do this?) is perhaps the biggest solo idol in Inkopolis, thanks in no small part to the sponsorship of Belo Ink. She has starred in movies, television series, a whole bunch of advertisements (all exclusively for Belos Ink. products and services), and of course has sang nearly non-stop since she arrived on the scene after winning the Singing Contest and beating her sister...by default since Eda quit...and was disqualified and labeled a public danger after she transformed into a kraken form outside of a turf war without any gear.

Which Lilith had nothing to do with of course, Why would you ask that? Hahahahahahaha

*Cough* Where was I? Oh yeah.

In short she absolutely hates it.

Not outwardly, publicly, no. Her managers would absolutely berate her for doing so. Just internally, privately, absolutely despises being a public idol. It's not a fun adventure filled gig she thought it would be.

She joined because she wanted to be the next Squid Sisters alongside Eda. To go on world tours, explore the world, and escape her little bubble within the city of Inkopolis. I imagine her obsession with history carries over here and she possibly also wanted to use her career to share her passion for history. Think David Attenborough but with shows about archeology or obscure history rather than nature documentaries, which was probably the direction she WANTED to go into with her career.

But that is definitely NOT what Belos Ink. wanted out of her. Instead of exploring the world she was kept in Inkopolis and forced to produce and sing EXACTLY what they wanted out of her. Which...was fine, because she was a big star now. With a lot of money to help fund whatever she wanted (as long as it was Belos approved, Branding, you understand? Can't have anything affect that perfect public image.)

I don't actually have any particular sound in mind for her singing career. So any suggestions?

So Products she doesn't even try, "Perfume that smells like the sea and salt? Whatever will those folk down at Belos Ink. think of next?" (It doesn't even smell like sea salt). Movies she doesn't really care for, "Her stone cold exterior brings a depth to each character she preforms as!" (she just didn't want to be there). Music she doesn't really connect with, "Top of the Records again with another Hit Single from Miss Seathorne" (it used to be fun singing with Eda when did it stop being fun).

Anyway, I'm unsure about what exactly she would be involved in. Since the "Golden Guard" is in a similar position, what with being Belos Ink.'s Top Model, but Hunter is also their private hitman and general scoundrel..."Its for the good of the company. You Understand?" and while that might work on Hunter, child clone soldier that he is...Lilith is...not that. Brainwashed and indoctrinated? oh yes. But not so much that she would be okay with crime. That works in canon because Belos and the Emperor's coven IS the government. In Squid House, Belos Ink. is a Company and a Business.

So I imagine Lilith is more or less completely in the dark about Belos Ink.'s darker motivations and dealings. While she herself publicly defends Belos Ink. because its all she has known since she won that Singing Contest and she is stuck dealing with the terrible TERRIBLE idol industry where her entire life is micromanaged and controlled. She doesn't realize that she is basically being abused because she is surrounded by luxury and kept so busy she is too exhausted to question anything around her.

Thankfully Luz and Eda cause such a public scandal and mess that they drag her into it and Lilith's unwillingness to denounce or abandon her sister as Belos Ink. wants causes her to be dropped as an Idol and blacklisted by Belos Ink...effectively ruining any chance Lilith has of working anywhere in Inkolopis. But that is fine! She has her sister again and a niece and nephew to spoil.

#Squid house #the owl house #the squid house au #the owl house au #splatoon au #splatoon #lilith clawthorne #belos ink. #Yes i'm making belos ink. its own tag now #mentioned hunter but he's not really here #yes im back #sorry it took so long #it will happen again #ahhhhhhhhhhh what next #casually misspell kraken in the first draft #its fine no one noticed

[riversidewings]

So this is a preview from the beginning of Confluence Book 2, Path of the Straw-Thief. The title comes from an Armenian legend where the god of fire humbled the king of Assyria and planted the stars themselves. It features River and Kasu, who are wife and wife as well as blade doll and Wielder, during the 9 months leading up to the birth of their child. The story is as much about healing old wounds as it is choosing to model empowerment and wholeness for the generation yet to be.

The story is in third person but interspersed is a series of letters River writes to her child and keeps in her diary.

As with Confluence, Path of the Straw-Thief is significantly driven by my desire to figure out one of my life's current overriding questions: what does it mean to me to be an Armenian in exile, as someone who's queer, polytheist, and basically none of the things my ethnic community expects me to be?

The answer is more empowering than I would've imagined at first.

>From the journal of River Victoria M59A1 >Shinagawa, Tokyo >23 December 2024

Dear kiddo: So we tried our damndest with IVF, and they tell me you’re finally on the way. It’s going to be awhile before you get here, and even longer before you can read this. But I want to keep a record this way, and talk about some of the things that were on my mind and going on in my life while we were waiting for you to arrive. Perhaps it will better help you understand where you come from. Perhaps it will help you better understand both of your mothers. And if all else fails, perhaps it will simply be interesting reading.

Once, I was an American soldier. Now, I work alongside your other mother in helping build the tools that help combat dolls in the line of duty, here in Japan. I’m writing you from on the road, on the subway heading back to our hotel, right after the end of a trade fair called JDDEX. I am a combat doll, honed to balance softness and sharpness, though once I was human like your other mother. And while I wait for you to arrive, I’m going to have more and more time spent at home, so I’m also a student again, finishing the doctoral degree I started, way back when. If all goes well, you’ll be with us when I graduate, with my long overdue Ph.D. in history.

At the beginning, when I was just starting in transition and hadn’t undergone cyberization yet, I don’t think I’d have imagined I’d want to be a mother. But time has clarified some things and sharpened others, and I’ve never quite felt something so strongly as this. I’ve had to fight for it every step of the way, both as a human and as a doll. As hard as it’s been, it has also been worth the fight. Somehow, that makes me all the more look forward to your arrival.

From the outset of this series of letters to you, I want to tell you that between both of your mothers’ roots, you are heir to a lot of brave souls, people who stood up in the face of death, of war, and of genocide, and fought back, because it was the right thing to do. The legends have it that our ancestors’ forebears humbled empires, planted the stars, and brought rebirth from ashes and salt from the seas. But whatever the legends say, what matters most is that they were courageous and unstoppable in the face of long odds. You have that power in you, too.

Our own parents forgot this. They saddled us with the weight of guilt and obligation and conditions on their love and support, so it took us both a long time to find that through-line, that point of greatest strength.

If we prove any good as mothers, we will have done better for you than was done for us, and you will hopefully understand sooner than we did, and with less heartache on the way. I won’t lie. Life will be shit, sometimes. But we can work to make it less shitty for others. And as long as you remember that you come from brave, unstoppable roots, you’ll find your way through, and hopefully come to carry yourself with pride and confidence in the face of how awful the world can be even while you’re trying to make it a little better and kinder.

No matter what, we love you forever, child of mine.

I’ll write you again soon.

#confluence #cyberpunk #lesfic #new books #queer fiction

[thinking-of-thinking]

Profile on Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift… Everyone has heard the name at least once in their life. If you are 50 or under, you may have even listened to a couple of her songs and enjoyed them. I can name a few off the top of my head, such as "You Belong To Me," "Love Story," "Bad Blood," and "Shake It Off."

Her songs dominated the early 2000s, also known as my entire childhood. Every little girl was listening to Taylor Swift, singing along with her as she sang about crushes and heartbreak. Most of us didn't even have a true understanding of what each song meant since we had never experienced a first love before. Nonetheless, this did not stop us from perfectly belting every lyric to every song.

As I grew into my teenage years, I heard less and less of her; no one brought up her name or her songs anymore. The only time you would hear her music was at a middle school dance or a random fundraiser. Until recently, now that I am eighteen, she seems to have exploded in terms of pop culture and music. Out of nowhere, it feels like she gained millions of fans and is now touring the world. People are fighting tooth and nail to score tickets to hear her sing the most famous hits from every album she has ever released. The Era’s Tour flooded my TikTok; every other video was of Taylor at the center of a large stadium wearing a flamboyant sparkly outfit and her iconic red lip. What shocked me the most was the number of teenagers and adults over thirty who were absolutely obsessed with her.

The last time I heard of her was when I was eight or ten years old, so imagine my surprise when I found out that her music does not just appeal to kids or pre-teens anymore. The only thing I could think of was, “When did this happen? What did I miss?” So now, here I am, taking the time out of my day to dive deeper into her backstory and find out just how she rose to stardom. I want to know everything, from her first song, number one hit, album, signed record label, concert… EVERYTHING.

While doing some valuable research, I found that Taylor started her career at a very young age. At nine, she began taking vocal lessons, and at twelve, she learned to play the guitar from a family friend. These talents have clearly worked out for her in the long run, as Taylor is currently known worldwide for her amazing voice and her guitar skills, which she continuously incorporates into her songs.

Honestly, while looking into her story, hearing of Taylor's success made me wish my parents had gotten me interested in a hobby at a young age. Maybe in another universe, I could have been a famous singer, actor, or athlete, but this is just a small side note.

Getting back on track, the family friend also assisted her in writing her first song called “Lucky You,” which was never released to the public but heavily encouraged her to write more. Although her music did not initially gain popularity at only twelve years old, Swift hustled and took modeling jobs to get her name out in the industry. In my opinion, this was a very smart thing to do, and I respect her for her dedication.

She moved around a lot as a child, but Nashville, Tennessee, seemed to have the most impact on her career. During her stay in Nashville, Swift started working with a songwriter who would lead her to gain many social connections. We all know that the more social connections one can get, the more opportunities one will gain.

This is exactly what happened in Taylor's case. This songwriter led Taylor to become the youngest artist signed by Sony/ATV publishing house. This led her to catch the attention of a new upcoming record executive; she became one of the first artists to sign with this label, Big Machine Records. Once she had become comfortable with this label, she was able to convince them to sign a producer who would assist her in her songwriting. This producer would help create her first album, which peaked at number five on music billboards.

So far, we can all clearly see that Taylor put in hard work and arguably got very lucky. Her luck did not end here, as the next couple of songs she created would all reach the top music billboards. To think that a young and upcoming star could create songs that reach billboard numbers, back to back to back is mind-blowing. You see current-day artists struggling to get traction or a sliver of attention, even by turning to social media platforms like TikTok or Instagram, where you can reach thousands of people within minutes. It is surprising to see how many people a young teen was able to reach without the help of social media, just old-fashioned person-to-person social connections.

Her success did not end here; two thousand and seven was a huge year for Taylor as she gained massive recognition. She was nominated for a Grammy and won multiple awards. She continued on this hot streak all the way through two thousand nine, but if I am being honest, her hot streak never really ended. These years were just her rise to fame; the songs she released in two thousand nine were THE songs that replayed throughout my childhood. "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me" were hits on her Fearless album. The Fearless album became super popular amongst people, so much so that it led her to go on her first-ever tour, which was also a huge success.

Now that we have established her rise to fame, I am sure you all can guess what continued to happen to Taylor throughout the years. If you have no idea what I mean by this, then you clearly have not been paying attention, since the only thing that seems to follow Taylor is success. I can go on and on about all of her achievements and amazing things she was able to accomplish, but I want to get into the juicy side of Taylor’s career. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour had been flooding my For You page. Which is what prompted me to choose her as today’s blog post topic.

However, the big tour was not the only thing; several other posts regarding Taylor Swift took over the TikTok algorithm. Posts concerning conspiracy theories, controversies, and drama, which is something I also wanted to look into more because what teenager doesn’t like a little bit of drama. So without further ado, let's get started and dig further into the spicy side of Taylor Swift.

*Full disclosure I do not claim any of this to be true as it is all fun and games so I am asking the Swifties to not get upset, thank you.*

Let us start with the conspiracy theory regarding how Taylor Swift got famous in the first place. I find this to be the most entertaining because people can just come up with unthinkable ideas of how a celebrity got famous, and others will go along with it without questioning it for a second. My favorite conspiracy theory of hers regarding her success is that she is a part of the Illuminati. If you have not heard of this yet, I am convinced you have been living under a rock, as I would say it is one of the most widely known conspiracy theories surrounding a celebrity.

The story goes as follows: Taylor is known to have a strong connection with the number thirteen. She was born on December 13th, 1989, turned 13 on the 13th, and her first album went gold in 13 weeks. Her most famous album has 13 songs on it, and her first hit song had a 13-second introduction. For every award she has won, she was seated either in the 13th seat, 13th row, 13th section, or row M, the 13th letter of the alphabet. She’s also known to write the number 13 on her hand before all of her performances, as you can see, 13 is her lucky number.

Thirteen, however, is not just any number; it is notorious for having negative energy and suspicion that surround it, dating all the way back to before Christ times. It is also rumored to have a special connection with the organization of the Illuminati, which is why people believe that the star and organization have some sort of tie with each other.

Where it gets even more interesting is the idea that Kanye West initiated Taylor into the Illuminati. Yeah, as if it couldn’t get even more absurd. Apparently, for one to join the Illuminati, they need to take part in a sort of initiation, consisting of getting publicly embarrassed. 

If you are not aware of the drama that happened between Kanye and Taylor, you are lucky enough to have me tell you. During the September 13th, 2009, VMAs, Taylor Swift won an award for the best female video category. After accepting her award, Kanye ran up on stage, took Swift's microphone, and announced in front of live television, “Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'mma let you finish. But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!” If that’s not humiliating initiation, I don’t know what is, but… that’s the end of that conspiracy theory.

Side note: Did you notice Taylor won her award on the 13th of September? Seems fishy to me.

Now that we are done with the conspiracy theories, let’s move on to the controversies. The controversy that sticks out to me the most is the fact that Taylor Swift is contributing the most to harming the Earth, and she and her fans do not seem to care.

PSA: Climate change is a very big and complicated issue, so I will only be getting into the surface-level problems regarding Taylor Swift. If you are interested in going more in-depth concerning this topic, I highly encourage you to do your own research, as I am not a professional on this matter, just a teenage girl.

Going back to Swift's Era’s World Tour, it is obvious that she needs to get to her concert destinations quickly and efficiently to put on an amazing performance. Taylor's private jet use contributes almost 9,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, which is around 2,000 times the worldwide average. This is clearly not healthy for the Earth, as carbon emissions are what is causing global warming to occur. Global warming leads to a whole other massive list of issues and potentially humanity's impending doom. Scary. 

Don’t get me wrong; I am not solely blaming the Earth’s doom on Taylor Swift. Instead, I am asking her and every other celebrity/standard individual who is contributing to please cut back on our bad habits and adopt a green thumb. We need to understand that ignoring the problem doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, which is essentially what Taylor Swift and her fans are being rumored to do.

Enough of our impending doom, at this point, I feel as though we covered the most interesting parts of Taylor Swift and feel this is a good stopping point for today. We have gone over her entire early life story and rise to fame while also discussing her later fame and the issues that were caused because of it. I can confidently say that I am happy with what I discovered about Taylor Swift and successfully completed my mission of finding out how she got so popular while still keeping it entertaining. I hope I was able to do the same for those reading and would like to thank you for still continuing to read up to this point. Congratulate yourselves for reading 2,000 words as I congratulate myself for writing 2,000 words. I hope you all have a good winter break and happy holidays.

P.S. I've added a link at the bottom of this post that contains Taylor and Kanye's VMA drama so you could all form an opinion for yourselves. Was this a real initiation or just poor manners?

#Youtube

[aboutbraces]

A complete guide to braces treatment in Singapore

Why get braces?

Braces are orthodontic appliances used by orthodontists to correct teeth alignment. Modern braces have come a long way since 1819. There are many types of braces made of different materials, each with its own pros and cons.

Braces can be used to

straighten teeth

get a better bite

develop good oral hygiene

improve affected speech caused by a malocclusion

get a more beautiful smile and increase your confidence

With straight teeth, you can not only brush better and eat well, but you can also have higher self-esteem!

Do you need them?

It is a misconception that braces are for children and teenagers only. For children, the best time for them to get braces is when all their milk teeth fall out. Many orthodontic issues are easier to solve if detected early, meaning longer treatment time, surgery, and more serious complications can be avoided in the future. Therefore, the best time to get braces is when a child is 10 to 12 years old (for females) and 11 to 13 years old (for males).

Adults can definitely benefit from getting braces if they are thinking of correcting any teeth alignment issues, malocclusion, and want to improve aesthetics.

How does it work in Singapore?

Before you start treatment, you will have to book a consultation with the orthodontist. During the consultation visit, records such as x-rays (orthopantomogram and lateral cephalogram) and teeth study model will be taken to measure and determine the treatment plan.

The orthodontist will then discuss the treatment plan with you. This is the time for you to clarify any questions regarding your braces treatment with the orthodontist.

One of the most popular questions is “do I need to extract teeth?” Extractions, usually premolars, are required for patients with severe crowding or protrusion of teeth to achieve a more perfect result. The number and teeth are decided based on the type of malocclusion. It is common for patients to take out up to four teeth.

During the treatment, you would need to see the orthodontist for adjustments every 3 to 6 weeks. Overtime, you will notice your teeth getting straighter.

What types are the best or ideal for you

There are many different types of braces in the market. The ones which are most suitable for you depend on your lifestyle needs and preferences.

Metal braces:

Traditional metal braces comprise of small metal brackets which stick to your teeth and are joined by a metal wire to tighten your teeth. Metal braces are now smaller, more comfortable and sleeker as compared before.

The advantages of metal braces are that they are sturdy, able to achieve a detailed finish and suitable for complex cases

The disadvantages are that they are more visible and while harder to clean, the cleaning process is manageable by all.

Ceramic braces:

Ceramic or tooth-coloured braces are produced to look natural and complement the colour of your teeth. To the casual observer, they are barely noticeable. Ceramic braces are ideal for adults who are not suitable for Invisalign but want to improve their smiles.

The advantages of ceramic braces are that they are less visible than metal braces, are able to achieve a detailed finish and are suitable for complex cases. However, they are easier to break compared to metal braces. Like metal braces, ceramic braces are harder to clean but patients are still able to clean them well.

Damon braces

Damon braces, or frictionless systems, were designed to align teeth faster than traditional braces. This is due to the reduction of frictional forces during tooth movement. Studies have shown that the decrease in forces helps to significantly lower the discomfort caused by shifting teeth. This is good news for people who are afraid of the pain caused by braces treatment.

The advantage of Damon braces is that they are frictionless, making treatment faster and less painful. They have the same disadvantages as metal and ceramic braces and are more expensive as well.

Invisalign

As the name suggests, Invisalign is invisible when worn. Invisalign is a series of clear aligners that patients change themselves. This means that they are removable and patients can brush and floss as per usual. They can also continue to enjoy their food! As Invisalign is made up of smooth plastics, patients are less likely to develop ulcers, making it more comfortable. The visits are scheduled every two months, making Invisalign a great choice for working adult patients with busy schedules.

Invisalign is the least obvious among all the braces systems. As they can be removed, patients can clean their teeth easily. Invisalign is more comfortable compared to traditional braces as it is made of smooth plastic. However, the disadvantages are the results are less detailed than traditional braces and not advisable for complex cases. The result from Invisalign is highly dependent on patients’ discipline.

What dental problems do they address

Braces can be used to address various issues such as

overbite

underbite

crooked teeth

overcrowded teeth

gaps in between teeth

crossbite

open bite

deep bite

abnormal teeth growth

What to expect

Braces are made up of a few components: brackets, wire, modules and molar bands.

Metal or ceramic brackets are stuck onto your teeth using a special kind of dental adhesive and they will be there throughout the whole braces treatment. Therefore, it is very important to watch your diet as hard food will cause the braces to break, delaying your completion.

The wire is placed over the brackets and tied in place using modules. This is the fun part where you can choose colours to jazz up your braces! If you want your braces to look less noticeable, you can pick silver for metal braces or transparent for ceramic braces. Darker colours are less likely to stain than lighter colours, so you may want to keep it in mind when choosing the colours.

Molar bands are the back part of the braces. Before the molar bands can be put on, separators or spacers have to be placed in between the back teeth to create gaps.

Once the braces are on, it starts to work its magic and you can expect to see changes to your teeth alignment. The change can happen as early as in the first month. Over time, you can notice your teeth shift into their ideal position. This is possible with adjustments every 3 to 6 weeks. Elastics may also be used during treatment.

The average treatment time is 18 to 24 months, assuming you come every month for the adjustment.

After the braces are removed, you will have to wear retainers to maintain the teeth in their position. Retainers are to be worn all the time for 6 months, then only at night.  This is to prevent the teeth from shifting.

How painful is getting braces on?

After the braces are put on, you can expect some soreness which is temporary. Generally, painkillers are not needed. A few months later, patients do not experience any soreness as they are used to the braces.

What is the cost of having braces?

The costs of braces vary widely, depending on the severity of the issue, complexity of the case, and length of treatment.

To give you a broad idea, the typical costs of the different types of braces are as follow:

Metal braces $3000 to $6000

Ceramic braces $3500 to $6500

Damon braces $4000 to $7000

Invisalign $4500 to $9000

How long will you wear them

On average, braces treatment will take around 18 to 24 adjustments. That equates to 1.5 to 2 years assuming you have adjustments every month. However, the actual completion time highly depends on the complexity of the case and cooperation from patients.

There are a few things to follow to make sure that you finish braces treatment within the stipulated time frame.

Watch your diet to prevent food from breaking the braces.

broken braces may cause teeth to shift. Shifted teeth need time to realign into position.

Come regularly for your appointments so that the orthodontist will be able to keep your treatment on track.

Brush your teeth well. If you don’t, the plague may accumulate causing decalcification. Decalcification results in white marks on your teeth, spoiling the smile you’ve always wanted.

Oral hygiene and tips

Brush your teeth a minimum of twice a day.

Always use an interdental brush after normal toothbrushing as it helps to clean around the brackets.

Floss every day. You can floss on the alternate jaw so it is less tedious and you will be less likely to give up.

Use Colgate’s phosflur mouth rinse once a day to aid in the prevention of dental cavities.

It is recommended to get a cleaning every 3 months to maintain good oral health.

About Braces is a clinic that strives to provide high-quality services to our patients. Our braces packages are priced to cater to everyone so that they can have straight teeth and a beautiful smile.

Our patients are in the good hands of our skilled orthodontist and dedicated nurses, some of whom have grown with us since the start. We are ready to provide our best knowledge and orthodontic care to you.

About Braces also uses the latest technology such as digital scanners and orthodontic software to give patient a more efficient, accurate and comfortable experience. We also have a special programme that will allow patients to view their possible outcomes with treatment. This helps patients decide on the best course of treatment according to their desired goals.

https://aboutbraces.org/invisalign/a-complete-guide-to-braces-treatment-in-singapore/