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scripttorture · 4 years

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Are there usually pretty clear lines of separation between instances of torture, negligence, and unethical experimentation? Or do the three tend to cross over pretty often because of general lack of respect for prisoners in those types of situations? (Sorry if this sent twice, Tumblr is being dumb)

There isn’t always a clear separation in reality. The lines can be pretty blurred. (And no worries about multiple copies this place is a hellsite I understand.)

I make a strict distinction because I feel like that can be helpful to writers who might be… approaching a common sci fi scenario with no knowledge of how medical experimentation works.

The reason I make that distinction is because I think that otherwise it’s really really easy to fall into the trap of portraying torture as ‘smart’ or ‘scientific’. Which… it isn’t. It can’t be.

Here’s the thing: if any kind of torture or neglect is going on then it is a variable. And anything truly scientific needs to account for variables. The big question here from my perspective isn’t so much ‘could this cross section of abuse happen’ it’s ‘could the scientists get results from it’.

If you want to write smart scientists who are actually making some kind of progress with their discoveries then torture isn’t usually a good fit.

The exception would be when the experiment itself is torture, something like ‘how long does it take the average person to die if we take out their intestines?’ or ‘what happens to the body when a person is starved?’

I’m going to throw out a couple of examples to show you what I mean writing wise and then talk about how these things happen in reality.

Say you have your bad guys doing something suitably sci fi like trying to graft wings to some humans.

In a truly scientific (but unethical) scenario there will be lots of groups of test subjects/prisoners all of whom will be submitted to a slightly different regime to see which gives the highest success rate. They might all be given different drugs after the grafting procedure, or the grafting procedure itself might be subtly different.

But their cell conditions, food, and general environment would need to be kept constant. That’s done so that procedure itself is reproducible. So that the evil scientists can confidently say ‘this version of the procedure is the most successful one and therefore we should use it.’

These test subjects could still be suffering a lot because the point here isn’t to reduce their suffering (hence unethical). The point is to make sure that they’re not suffering in a way which impacts the results.

Now if there are torturers in the facility this careful controlling of factors goes out the window because torturers do not show self-restraint, patience or any real ability to follow instructions.

The torturers might be going round beating up the prisoners or depriving them of food or interrupting their sleep (I’m just picking common tortures here). And any of those things would be expected to effect someone’s immune response and/or chances of dying. And the torturers (if they’re behaving like torturers) won’t keep records of this or do it in an even, consistent way.

Which means all the results the scientists are gathering become… meaningless. Because now rather then the results showing the most successful version of the procedure they show… well probably something completely random.

May be all the test subjects on site 3 died regardless of the procedure used (because there were torturers on that site but not the others). May be the only tests that were successful were the subjects at the last four cells of the corridor (because it was further for the torturers to walk before beating someone up).

Note that the scientists in this do not know the reasons why these things happened and they might not have enough information to guess.

The information gathered is flawed. And if using this procedure on a large scale is a later plot point… well it could still be possible with the second scenario but you’d expect a much higher failure rate.

I’m a scientist. My day job is testing medicines. The history of medicine, and science generally, is full of abuse.

But that abuse does not look like the cackling evil ‘scientist’ who has a grand total of one test subject and somehow gets consistent, reliable results.

And when torture and/or neglect overlap with genuine attempts at experimentation in real life it gives results that can’t be taken at face value. They need to be analysed and tested further, sometimes for decades, in order to determine whether they’re genuine or not.

Let’s take some examples that are more like real life.

Imagine a scenario where scientists are testing a new vaccine* on prisoners. They are doing this in an unethical manner, by vaccinating the prisoners, waiting for a while and then deliberately infecting them with the disease. Unknown to the scientists the prisoners are routinely sleep deprived.

Sleep deprivation depresses the immune response. Some of the prisoners develop the disease when vaccinated and die. Some of them don’t but they do get the disease when they’re deliberately infected, suggesting the vaccine doesn’t work. And some of them don’t develop the disease when deliberately infected.

Now we know today that sleep deprivation reduces the immune response and there is evidence that it can make vaccines in particular less effective.

So does this particular vaccine work or not? The true answer is that we can’t tell and more data is needed.

But without the knowledge that at least some of these prisoners are sleep deprived the scientists can’t arrive that conclusion. They can’t really make any definite conclusion.

As another example let’s look at the case of Elsie Lacks**.

Elsie was a black child committed to a mental institute in 1950. She was deaf, epileptic and had developmental disabilities of some kind. She was experimented on without her consent during the period she was hospitalised and died at the age of 15.

We have records of some of the things Elsie was forced to endure because samples sizes were such that some of the experiments must have involved every single epileptic child in the hospital.

One of the recorded experiments was on brain imaging. It involved draining the fluid around the brain (a painful and dangerous procedure) in order to take pictures of it and identify the cause of epilepsy.

Stress and trauma can effect the structure of the developing brain. There was no attempt to account for the fact that the overcrowded, dangerous conditions in the hospital could have effected the end results.

There was also no attempt to account for the fact that these children were being used in other experiments. And that means that if this experiment did identify key brain differences there’d be no firm evidence that those differences were due to epilepsy rather then trauma or other experimental procedures.

What I’m trying to highlight here is that abuse in an experimental scenario isn’t just unethical it gets in the way of drawing accurate conclusions.

Torture does sometimes take place with a lot of pseudo-scientific trappings.

Abuse in concentration camps around the world comes to mind because (with a few exceptions) this mostly seemed to involve individual doctors picking out people to abuse with no real regard to results. Things like attempts to change eye colour by putting chemicals in people’s eyes and sewing twins together appear to have been conducted with pseudo-scientific trappings, rather then as careful experiments.

I say that these things weren’t experiments because there does not appear to have been any consistency, attempt to create a control group or sufficient sample sizes to draw conclusions.

And yes, I realise just how fucked up all that sounds when we’re talking about people who were tortured to death. That’s part of my point.

There’s a difference between a villain who is primarily focused on abusing others and a villain who doesn’t really care whether their victims suffer or not so long as they get data.

Torture can take place with pseudo-scientific trappings and unethical experimentation can take place alongside torture and neglect.

I make that strong distinction to encourage authors to think about what the most important part of their scenario is and tailor what they’re writing to reflect that. I want you to think about what’s going on in your story and what the consequences should be for the characters and the plot in general. Mostly I want writers to understand what ‘experiment’ means before throwing the word around and making torturers look smarter then they are.

An experiment should be:

Reproducible

Conducted with control groups

Conducted with a big enough sample size

Well recorded

Involve only one small change to procedure at a time

Account for variables

Analysed

So what’s the important part of your story? Is it that the victims suffer, or that the bad guys get some kind of knowledge? And if it’s the latter does the victims’ suffering have the potential to get in the way?

I don’t really believe in hard writing rules. So long as a scenario isn’t actively supporting torture I try to take a ‘never say never’ attitude.

The message here isn’t to never ever mix these things together: it’s to take the time to understand the separate components before you do that.

And think about what any mixture you write might be implying.

I hope that helps. :)

Available on Wordpress.

Disclaimer

*I chose this as an example because this sort of thing happened and because there were some massive risks involved with a lot of early vaccines. This does not mean they were worse then the diseases they protected people against when they worked. See hemorrhagic smallpox. Or don’t if you want to sleep tonight.

**I come back to this one a lot because it absolutely infuriates me.

#writing advice #tw torture #tw racism #tw genocide #tw ableism #tw unethical experimentation #pseudo scientific torture #torture is not scientific #unethical experimentation #unethical medical experimentation #neglect #neglect in hospitals #starvation #beating #scientific method #behaviour of torturers #writing torturers #writing scientists

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gnomaad · 5 years

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tododeku villain au?

these are rough notes of the main plot - obviously there will be subplot involving other characters and time for tododeku and feelings to develop but this is the main gist of my idea? honestly it’s messy and a little bit wack.

Villain TodoDeku Au!

main character trivia.

- quirkless midoriya izuku. inko (mother) ends up killed during a villain attack, due to all might’s recklessness.

- age 20

- ‘morihana’ meaning forest flower.

- given a quirk by all for one; can make any kind of flower with any kind of power - tends to prefer poison which he applies to dual knives he received from his mentor.

- works with the league of villains.

- another reason for choosing the villains - he is gay and in the hero world it is not accepted.

- trained by hero killer stain.

- green tie, white shirt, ripped jeans, dark green vest, black gloves - piercings, bracelets. occasionally red lipstick (depending on how he feels).

- todoroki is already a pro hero - only uses his ice as a hero in this au.

- age 20

- apart of his father’s agency, hasn’t reconciled with his mother, has a ‘dead’ look in his eyes that izuku finds rather attractive (izuku is a fanboy)

- apart of the team hunting the elusive ‘morihana’.

- simple life, avoids people, has no friends or people he truly trusts

- still abused by his father - hasn’t seen his family since he was a child

- his hero name in this au is ‘blindice’ - given to him by his father due to him being blind and ignorant in his father’s eyes.

background info.

- hitoshi shinsou is a villain in this au; his villain name is ‘scape’, inspired by dream scape. he infiltrated ua but actually works closely with izuku.

- legally, ‘izuku midoriya’ is deceased. during the villain attack, his body was not found, assumed to have been crushed and lost during this event. he was saved by the hero killer stain, and once deemed worthy, trained to become his successor.

- todoroki has villainous tendencies that come from his desire to destroy his father - a dark look to his expression, deemed not very hero-like.

storyline!

this takes place as a series of events throughout the bnha timeline (kinda??) ((ish??)) (((not really???))).

act one

+ izuku midoriya, age 15, returns home from middle school, his spirit damaged. his favourite hero, all might, refused to save him from a villain attack. once quirkless izuku managed to escape it’s grip, giving his supposed hero time to trap the sludge, he asked his hero if he could ever be a hero. all might says no. he did not show hero spirit and had no quirk. the boy returns home with tears in his eyes, dropping his bag and turning his attention to his mother who was cooking his favourite dinner, katsudon. “welcome home izuku!” with a smile was the last thing he saw of her, before a large piece of rubble broke through their ceiling, crushing inko midoriya in an instant. izuku screamed, his mind snapping. bullied, betrayed, he cannot stop screaming and shaking. anxiety takes over, causing the boy to crumple to the floor hyperventilating, unable to see. a warmth touches his skin.

+ the hero killer stain had fallen in with the rubble, using it as his disguise to get away from the number one hero. he had seen the boy crumple to the floor, looking down, seeing the severed hand of the boy’s mother, holding a ladle. he pitied the boy the boy, in realising that the heroes of current had taken the life of another innocent. stain picks the boy up, escaping with the passed out child. he decides that this boy will become his successor.

+ he trains izuku in using dual knives, the boy’s stunted growth would make it difficult to use a sword but he was perfect for fast, quick attacks. midoriya showed great dedication, becoming an intimidating force of rapid attacks. he decides to seek out the league of villains by the time izuku is 20. izuku takes a liking to tomura shigaraki and vice versa.

+ stain incapacitates ingenium, and is later attacked by the younger iida. during this attack, izuku watches from the roof, only to see stain momentarily frozen in his place. his attention is drawn to the back up, shouto todoroki. the darkness in his mismatched eyes, his strong physical form, his deep voice, the whole mystery around him had izuku giggling from the rooftop. deciding to get involved, he throws one of his knives at him, testing his reflexes and getting more excited as he sliced the pretty scar on the side of his face. blindice is frozen by stain, who scolds izuku for interfering with his work.

+ midoriya approaches todoroki, running gloved hand down his chest. todoroki is paralysed by his deep, emerald eyes even without the other villain’s quirk. he can’t help but find the sway in this short villain’s walk tempting, the soft yet manic smile on his lips, the innocent looking freckles contrasting with the slight bags under his beautiful eyes - it only made them stand out more. he had never seen this villain before, frozen as the boy caressed his body. “blindice, funny that you’d find me here, without even intending to find me!” izuku giggled, todoroki’s mind clicking with realisation. morihana. the quirkless villain. he reached to freeze the boy only to find himself literally paralysed.

+ midoriya finds the soft expression in shouto’s eyes too tempting as he leans up to press a kiss to the corner of the hero’s lips. the chill that ran down the hero’s spine was too tempting to him - seeing the ice cold hero with a chill made him ecstatic. izuku steps away from the hero, skipping with a little wink. he made his way back behind the hero killer, barely dodging with his fast reflexes as ice catapults stain into the air. a yell of recipro burst, and stain’s unconscious body atop a glacier. the green haired boy’s eyes widen. his mentor had been beaten. he turned to run, only to be frozen on the spot. ingenium, the other pro hero were also unconscious, due to blood loss.

+ todoroki approached the green haired villain. he grabbed him by his collar, tugging him closer as his eyes narrowed. “i don’t do favours.” he muttered. conflict was clear in the taller male’s eyes. izuku tilted his head coyly, a pout tugging at his plush lips. was that lipstick? the ice hero glanced behind him, then above him before unfreezing the villain. “go.” he mumbled, gesturing to the back of the alley. midoriya blinked in surprise, furrowing his eyebrows. “why are you letting me go?” todoroki only glanced towards the hero killer, then back to the greenie. “i’m supposed to apprehend you but at this moment in time, the hero killer is a bigger priority. you’d just slip away the first moment you get, after all you did avoid us for so long. that and… i have a feeling i’ll be seeing you again soon.”

+ with that, he watches as the green themed villain disappeared from his sight. He could only sigh. time to take care of the hero killer.

+ izuku meets shigaraki again, deciding to join the league of villains now that he had nowhere to go and shigaraki is eager to accept him.

+ upon tomura’s request, all for one welcomes izuku by giving him a quirk - flower garden. he had chosen it due to izuku’s given villain name by the media, and izuku found it rather fitting. izuku can create any type of flower - medicine, fire, ice, poison, anything he felt like, from the palm of his hand or anywhere on his body. when trained, he can also create vines due to it being tampered with by all for one.

act two!

+ people tease todoroki for the lipstick on the corner of his mouth, asking about his new girlfriend. todoroki blushes so hard his left side lights up a little. he didn’t want to be laughed at.

+ todoroki and iida are praised for taking down the hero killer, endeavour boasting about his son being a true successor but could have done it faster if he had used his fire. iida has some doubts, actually having seen todoroki release the green villain. their interactions seemed… odd for a hero and a villain. it bothered him. todoroki makes the report, speaking to the press. he tells the press that they have made no progress on finding morihana - which iida knows is a lie.

+ todoroki takes a beating from his father, for going against his wishes. todoroki ends up wandering the streets, his throat blooming with purple from his father’s grip, his stomach sore and breathing ragged. at least he could say it was from his fight with the hero killer, imagine what the media would say if he told them the truth. he ends up in a bar, ordering a drink from a shady looking guy. quite literally.

+ he doesn’t look up when someone sits beside him, a soft voice speaking to him. “it’s a little rude to ignore your date, y’know?” the familiar voice has him snapping his head up from his hood to come face to face with the villain he had let go, nearly three days before. “date?” his voice croaks, startled and a little confused. midoriya nods, sipping from his own bright pink drink. was that glitter? the smaller closed his eyes, glittery purple eyeshadow on his eyelids. damn it, he’s so pretty. morihana licked his lips, leaning into the hero’s personal space. “you’re in the big leagues, little hero. and you didn’t notice you walked straight into the fox’s den? that’s okay. come with me.” for some reason, todoroki followed the villain out the back, only to be pushed into an isolated room. the door shut behind him, his own self being slammed against it. lips met his. they do things, midoriya covering his skin in lipstick, and love bites over every bruise inflicted by his father. he finds peace in the calming green of the villain. maybe villains weren’t so bad? what if it wasn’t so black and white?

+ todoroki wakes up the next morning in the bed of the villain he was supposed to be hunting but he found himself okay with it. glancing at the mop of green, the smaller leaning against the hero’s chest as he hugged onto his waist, his leg thrown over the icy man’s hips. cute. he had no idea how he ended up in this situation, only meeting the boy three days before. was this even normal? of course it fucking wasn’t, his first time having sex was with not only a villain, but someone he didn’t even know! he sat up, running a hand through his hair. the villain next to him stirred, he turned to meet emerald green eyes staring softly up at him - a soft smile tugging at his soft lips. fuck it. todoroki caged the smaller with his body, the soft giggles music to his ears as he had his way with the smaller, first thing in the morning.

+ once he returned back to his office, his mood was obviously different. it freaked the rest of the heroes out. he didn’t even flinch when bakugo yelled in his ear. he smirked at people’s jokes, adding his own dry, witty humour. he even winked as the girls at reception giggled flirtatiously. midoriya was definitely rubbing off on him.

+ he checked his emails, and then his phone, only to find a text from a new contact. ‘i took the liberty of adding myself to your phone, mister hero. come see me any time, you put all the others to shame ;)’ - midoriya. ah, so that was his name. he’s spent the night with him and didn’t even bother to learn his name. it was then that he realised he had slept with a villain on the wanted list. but he couldn’t bring himself to be mad - if his dad ever found out, it’d be a big fuck you to him.

+ todoroki only rolled his eyes when kaminari, sero and mina saw the purples and reds on his throat, trailing down to his collar bones. he only shrugged when they asked to see the rest, unzipping the top half of his hero jumpsuit. it was odd to interact with people - was midoriya really rubbing off on him after one night? he barely knew him yet couldn’t get him out of his mind. he didn’t even realise his back was covered in scratches, or the fact that his father’s bruises had blossomed into beautiful flowers against his skin thanks to midoriya. so that’s what he was doing. morihana definitely suited him.

+ he goes on patrol, fights some villains - part of the team being the one and only izuku midoriya. they only smile at each other, something that catches iida’s attention is todoroki’s smile. they engage in combat, dancing around each other. todoroki gets angry when midoriya requests him to use his fire, lashing out of their little dance with the intent of really hurting the villain, only to have the villain yell at him. “It’s your power! Not his!” and with that, todoroki lit the whole street ablaze with his dazzling fire. all the heroes and villains look at him in shock. it was almost as if he was reborn, emerging from the ashes as a phoenix. the way his fire danced, casting a warm hue over izuku’s pretty features had his heart skipping a beat. izuku’s smile was different from his usual, crazed, manic one. it was warm, and everyone saw it. todoroki guided his fire like a second nature towards the villain, the other dancing around it towards the hero. he slashed the hero across the chest, making sure to only graze him, as he did, blindice made sure the angle was hidden enough as he leaned into ghost a peck to the villain’s lips. they bounced away from each other the whole thing being recorded now, on live t.v. but iida had seen what no one else did. he’d noticed how they were familiar with each other’s movements. he’d seen the kiss. and all he felt was betrayal.

+ iida steps in and apprehends midoriya, to which izuku’s warm eyes turn to todoroki, fear covering his usual expression - it shatters todoroki’s heart but there was nothing he could do.. was there? he steps in to try to take custody, iida refusing as he tightens his grip on the villain, the smaller letting out a blood curdling cry.

+ izuku is imprisoned for questioning.

act three!

+ izuku is questioned, he refuses to answer. todoroki and iida have to watch as the small villain is tortured for answers on the league of villains. this has todoroki questioning everything. it wasn’t right to torture anyone it was.. villainous.

+ his identity is kept hidden from the rest of the world so far, until they had answers. izuku decides he’ll only talk if todoroki is the one talking to him. suspicious, they throw izuku into a cell with quirk proof glass.

+ he faces the icy hero with a smile, reaching a bloodied hand to press against the glass. todoroki notices his nails had been torn off, making the hero wince. he listens to izuku’s story, his expression dropping.

+ midoriya shakes his head, tears rolling down his cheeks as todoroki’s hand presses against the glass, opposite izuku’s. the door bursts open, iida pulling the icy hero away

+ iida scolds todoroki. “i don’t know what’s going on with you todoroki, but you need to focus on your job. you are a hero. you need to stop fraternizing with a villain. a murderer! it is your responsibility to ensure the safety of the innocent! protect victims!” this has todoroki’s expression darkening, nodding as he steps away.

+ todoroki has made his decision. he turns back around, his hand covered with ice as he moves, his hand encasing tenya iida’s face. all he can see is the horror on his expression as he freezes his partner’s body. “If they don’t thaw you out in time, there will be serious brain damage.” he uttered nonchalant. he had always been treated as a villain. an obstacle. a tool. his ice had been melted by a damaged soul who had no one to turn to. he was just like todoroki only he saved himself. he didn’t pity his existence but decided to fight for something when he was abandoned. they didn’t even bother to look for him. todoroki melted through the cell, using his ice to shatter the wall. he pulled midoriya from the cell, throwing him over his shoulder.

+ he could see the horror in his father’s expression as they confronted him. a dark smirk tugged at the usual blank expression on his own face. he stomped a foot down, freezing everything in his path.

+ he escapes with midoriya, taking him back to the bar he had stumbled upon previously. he meets an unexpected face. touya todoroki - or currently dabi. this was the right choice after all.

+ as midoriya is recovering, being taken care of by everyone at the LOV, todoroki tells him about his father and they decide to make it their mission to take down endeavour and all might, even if it kills them. real heroes needed to step up instead of a corrupt system.

+ romance stuff: todoroki and midoriya slow dance in the bar and it feels like a real family. they all drink together, izuku never leaving his side, giggling as touya told him stories of younger todoroki, before his father had taken ahold of him. they got to know each other better, and something started to blossom between them - though they knew that the day their eyes met for the first time. izuku admits to missing his mother and his father figure, stain, and wished they had both gotten proper funerals.

+ todoroki moves into midoriya’s apartment (despite them all having rooms at the bar, izuku still wanted his own space away from toga). izuku and him have dinner together, and they both learn that villain and hero is just a dumb label and they talk about the future. midoriya realises he’s fallen in love as the man tells him that he will go wherever midoriya does.

+ midoriya cries; he hadn’t been left behind again. his mother was murdered by a hero, his father figured murdered by the police’s torture, his childhood bestfriend turned him away and bullied him for the sake of popularity - izuku had been quirkless after all. todoroki admits to being alone all his life, but felt of a higher purpose, necessary now that he had izuku.

+ soft confessions!! bathing together due to izuku’s still healing injuries, soft kisses, hand holding, play fighting. gentle gentle gentle babies!! <3

+ training together, lots of flirting.

+ media in frenzy about how the great blindice had become a villain, everyone in fear. LOV makes an announcement, blindice was no more. making his debut as a villain on live tv (yknow what izuku’s like, dramatic and theatrical) they just had to hack into the network and broadcast something themselves! todoroki had decided to use his real name, ‘shouto’, as a big fuck you to his father.

+ in the broadcast, it was clear as day how much shouto had changed. dressed in a crimson button up, black vest hugging his chest, sat on what looked like a throat. a dark glint in his eyes as he smirked, another male in green draped over the back of the throne - wearing lipstick?!

+ after the broadcast, merch and other things to do with shouto and morihana started to be released. it appeared people liked the idea of a hero turning into a villain. the publicity brought others to join LOV.

FINAL ACT!

+ tododeku and big brother touya break rei todoroki from the hospital, forging documents for the woman to be taken into fuyumi’s custody. natuso and fuyumi are shocked to see the eldest and youngest todoroki siblings working together as villains yet their actions seemed.. heroic? their family tells them they will support them no matter what and were glad to see their oldest brother alive and well, and their youngest finally flourishing and having expression and seeming.. alive.

+ hitoshi shinsou meets up with them and joins the LOV. with his quirk, they hatch a plan to capture endeavour, record him as they use shinsou’s quirk to make him confess to all of his villainous acts and let the law deal with him.

+ fight! fight! fight!

+ iida confronts them and calls them traitors to all that is good. bakugo recognises izuku, yelling how he should be dead. they all end up fighting. kacchan is paralysed by one of izuku’s flowers - he questions on how he has a quirk. izuku gets pissed off, using his vines to lock around them all - using the thorns on them to poison all of the heroes.

+ todoroki is gay *omg das my boo look at him go the fuq what a pretty little flower ugh i love one broccoli look at his lipstick so yummy wow look at those ABS!* < todoroki’s head.

+ the endeavour plan happens, they win yippy doo, endeavour is arrested

+ izuku confronts all might, tells him about the days after school and then how when he arrived home, the hero was responsible for murdering his mother. all might has a breakdown and his true form is outed, he runs away.

+ “you said i couldn’t be a hero. you never said anything about me not being a villain.”

+ todoroki get’s protective when bakugo runs his mouth at midoriya.

+ LOV takes over the city

+ villains win in this au wahoo!

+ izuku and shouto have dinner with the rest of the todoroki

the end

or something?

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sampleminded · 6 years

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Wiggs Dannyboy’s Theory of Floral Consciousness

"Humankind is about to enter the floral stage of its evolutionary development. On the mythological level, which is to say, on the psychic/symbolic level (no less real than the physical level), this event is signaled by the death of Pan. Pan, of course, represents animal consciousness. Pan embodies mammalian consciousness, although there are aspects of reptilian consciousness in his personality, as well. Reptilian consciousness did not disappear when our brains entered their mammalian stage. Mammalian consciousness was simply laid over the top of reptilian consciousness, and in many unenlightened—underevolved, underdeveloped—individuals, the mammalian layer was thin and porous, and much reptile energy has continued to seep through. When our remote ancestors crawled out of the sea, they no doubt had the minds of fish. Characteristics of mammal consciousness are warmth, generosity, loyalty, love (romantic, platonic, and familial), joy, grief, humor, pride, competition, intellectual curiosity, and appreciation of art and music. Inlate mammalian times, we evolved a third brain...whose principal part was the neocortex, a dense rind of nerve fibers about an eighth of an inch thick that was simply molded over top of the existing mammal brain. Brain researchers are puzzled by the neocortex. What is its function? Why did it develop in the first place? Moreover, neuromelanin absorbs light and has the capacity to convert light into other forms of energy. So Ely was correct. The neocortex is light-sensitive and can, itself, be lit up by higher forms of mental activity, such as meditation or chanting. The ancients were not being metaphoric when they referred to "illumination." With the emergence of the neocortex, the floral properties of the brain, which had, for millions of years, been biding their time, waiting their turn, began to make their move— the gradual move toward a dominant floral consciousness. When life was a constant struggle between predators, a minute-by-minute battle for survival, reptile consciousness was necessary. When there were seas to be sailed, wild continents to be explored, harsh territory to be settled, agriculture to be mastered, mine shafts to be sunk, civilization to be founded, mammal consciousness was necessary. In its social and familial aspects, it is still necessary, but no longer must it dominate. We need a more relaxed, contemplative, gentle, flexible kind of person, for only he or she can survive (and expedite) this very new system that is upon us. Only he or she can participate in the next evolutionary phase. It has definite spiritual overtones, this floral phase of consciousness. The most intense spiritual experiences all seem to involve the suspension of time. It is the feeling of being outside of time, of being timeless, that is the source of ecstasy in meditation, chanting, hypnosis, and psychedelic drug experiences. Although it is briefer and less lucid, a timeless, egoless state (the ego exists in time, not space) is achieved in sexual orgasm, which is precisely why orgasm feels so good. Even drunks, in their crude, inadequate way, are searching for the timeless time. Alcoholism is an imperfect spiritual longing. In a hundred different ways, we have mastered the art of space. We know a great deal about space. Yet we know pitifully little about time. It seems that only in the mystic state do we master it. The "smell brain"—the memory area of the brain activated by the olfactory nerve—and the "light brain"—the neocortex—are the keys to the mystic state. With immediacy and intensity, smell activates memory, allowing our minds to travel freely in time. The most profound mystical states are ones in which normal mental activity seems suspended in light. In mystic illumination, as at the speed of light, time ceases to exist. With an increased floral consciousness, humans will begin to make full use of their "light brain" and to make more refined and sophisticated use of their "smell brain." We live now in an information technology. Flowers have always lived in an information technology. Flowers gather information all day. At night, they process it. For one thing, information gathered from daily newspapers, soap operas, sales conferences, and coffee Hatches is inferior to information gathered from sunlight. (Since all matter is condensed light, light is the source, the cause of life. Therefore, light is divine. The flowers have a direct line to God. Our own nocturnal processing is part-time work. The information our conscious minds receive during waking hours is processed by our unconscious during so-called "deep sleep." We are in deep sleep only two or three hours a night. For the rest of our sleeping session, the unconscious mind is off duty. It gets bored. It craves recreation. So it plays with the material at hand. In a sense, it plays with itself. It scrambles memories, juggles images, rearranges data, invents scary or titillating stories. This is what we call "dreaming." Some people believe that we process information during dreams. Quite the contrary. A dream is the mind having fun when there is no processing to keep it busy. In the future, when we become more efficient at gathering quality information and when floral consciousness becomes dominant, we will probably sleep longerhours and dream hardly at all. Plants collect odors as well as emit them. The rose may be in an olfactory relationship with the lilac. Another possibility is that between the trees a kind of telepathy is involved. There is also the possibility that all of what we call mental telepathy is olfactory. We don't read another's thoughts, we smell them. We know that schizophrenics can smell antagonism, distrust, desire, etc., on the part of their doctors, visitors, or fellow patients, no matter how well it might be visually or vocally concealed. The olfactory nerve may be small compared to a rabbit's, but it's our largest cranial receptor, nevertheless. Who can guess what "invisible" odors it might detect? As floral consciousness matures, telepathy will no doubt become a common medium of communication. With reptile consciousness, we had hostile confrontation. With mammal consciousness, we had civilized debate. With floral consciousness, we'll have empathetic telepathy. A floral consciousness and a data-based, soft technology are ideally suited for one another. A floral consciousness and a pacifist internationalism are ideally suited for one another. A floral consciousness and an easy, colorful sensuality are ideally suited for one another. (Flowers are more openly sexual than animals. The Tantric concept of converting sensual energy to spiritual energy is a floral ploy.) A floral consciousness and an extraterrestrial exploration program are ideally suited for one another. (Earthlings are blown aloft in silver pods to seed distant planets.) A floral consciousness and an immortalist society are ideally suited suitedfor one another. (Flowers have superior powers of renewal, and thelogevity of trees is celebrated. The floral brain is the organ of eternity.) Lest we fancy that we shall endlesly and effortlessly be as the flowers that bloom in the spring, tra-la, let us bear in mind that reptilian and mammalian energies are still very much with us. Externally and internally. Obviously, there are powerful reptilian forces in the Pentagon and the Kremlin; and in the pulpits of churches, mosques, and synagogues, wheredeathist dogmas of judgment, punishment, self-denial, martyrdom, and afterlife supremacy are preached. But there are also reptilian forces within each individual. Myth is neither fiction nor history. Myths are acted out in our own psyches, and they are repetitive and ongoing. Beowulf, Siegfried, and the other dragon slayers are aspects of our own unconscious minds. At the birth of Christ, the cry resounded through the ancient world, "Great Pan is dead." The animal mind was about to be subdued. Christ's mission was to prepare the way for floral consciousness. In the East, Buddha performs an identical function. It should be emphasized that neither significance of their heroics should be apparent. We dispatched them with their symbolic swords and lances to slay reptile consciousness. The reptile brain is the dragon within us. When, in evolutionary process, it became time to subdue mammalian consciousness, a less violent tactic was called for. Instead of Beowulf with his sword and bow, we manifested Jesus Christ with his message and example. Jesus Christ, whose commandment "Love thy enemy" has proven to be too strong a floral medicine for reptilian types to swallow; Jesus Christ, who continues to point out to job-obsessed mammalians that the lilies of the field have never punched time clocks.) At the birth of Christ, the cry resounded through the ancient world, "Great Pan is dead." The animal mind was about to be subdued. Christ's mission was to prepare the way for floral consciousness. In the East, Buddha performs an identical function. It should be emphasized that neither Christ nor Buddha harbored the slightest antipathy toward Pan. They were merely fulfilling their mytho-evolutionary roles. Christ and Buddha came into our psyches not to deliver us from evil but to deliver us from mammal consciousness. The good versus evil plot has always been bogus. The drama unfolding in the universe—in our psyches—is not good against evil but new against old, or, more precisely, destined against obsolete. Just as the grand old dragon of our reptilian past had to be pierced by the hero's sword to make way for Pan and his randy minions, so Pan himself has had to be rendered weak and ineffectual, has had to be shoved into the background of our ongoing psychic progression. Because Pan is closer to our hearts and our genitals, we shall miss him more than we shall miss the dragon. We shall miss his pipes that drew us, trembling, into the dance of lust and confusion. We shall miss his pranksterish overturning of decorum; the way he caused the blood to heat, the cows to bawl, and the wine to flow. Most of all, perhaps, we shall miss the way he mocked us, with his leer and laughter, when we took our blaze of mammal intellect too seriously. But the old playfellow has to go. We've known for two thousand years that Pan must go. There is little place for Pan's great stink amidst the perfumed illumination of the flowers. When Western artists wished to demonstrate that a person was holy, they painted a ring of light around the divine one's head. Eastern artists painted a more diffused aura. The message was the same. The aura or the halo signified that the light was on in the subject's brain. The neocortex was fully operative. Maybe, as Dr. Dannyboy has postulated, all these things, including disease and our relationship with time, are merely bad habits. If so, an ultimate victory is possible. For individuals, if not for the mass. And maybe evolution—playful, adventurous, unpredictable, infuriatingly slow (by our standards of time) evolution—will rescue us eventually, according to a master plan. To physically overcome death—is that not the goal?—we must think unthinkable thoughts and ask unanswerable questions. Yet we must not lose ourselves in abstract vapors of philosophy. Death has his concrete allies, we must enlist ours. Never underestimate how much assistance, how much satisfaction, how much comfort, how much soul and transcendence there might be in a well-made taco and a cold bottle of beer. Thus, thou must vow upon this day that shouldst thou be living still when these events transpire, that thou wiltst battle them and refuseth prosperity to any immortalist thrust that doth not rise from man's soul and heart as well as his mind. Do promise me now." Alas, because they fight with reason only, making no advance in the area of soul and heart, true immortality wiltst be denied them. If I am truly immortal, I am my own grandchild, my own descendant, my own dynasty."

#tom robbins #jitterbug perfume #wiggs dannyboy #tim leary #floral consciousness #poetry #philosophy #magic #literature

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pluckyredhead · 7 years

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Daredevil 101: The Nifty (Late) Nineties, Part 2

Last time on Daredevil 101, Matt and Foggy accepted an offer to join the firm of cutthroat attorney Rosalind Sharpe. Finally, we find out why Foggy was so very eager to be a part of her team.

Content Warning: Emotional abuse by a parent, lousy treatment of mental illness.

Rosalind, who doesn’t like anyone or anything, has taken a shine to Karen. The two of them happen to run into Foggy giving Anna Nelson a tour of the office, and the bombshell finally drops:

Yeeeeeah. I do wonder how surprising this was to readers who didn’t already know, or if the foreshadowing was heavy-handed enough? Also, I suspect Foggy is meant to be facepalming over there, but I like the idea that he thinks if he can’t see anyone else, they’ll just disappear.

We never get a huge amount of detail as to how this situation developed, but the fight that erupts between Rosalind and Anna fills in some of it:

Foggy never actually gets to speak for himself on the Rosalind issue, so we never actually know how he feels about her, whether he did in fact go into law to please her, if he feels that she abandoned him and his dad, etc. I do like this argument, though, because I feel like between Anna and Rosalind the two sides of Comics Foggy’s personality are made really clear: the nurturing, loyal, unexciting-but-true-as-steel side, and the cutthroat attorney of dubious moral character (Rosalind was once a mob lawyer, and Foggy has worked with and for numerous unsavory types, including Fisk).

Meanwhile, Matt’s been getting his ass kicked by the supervillain of the week, but how does he respond to this shocking information?

And that’s it. Matt never mentions it to Foggy, they all know now. It’s bizarre. I have to assume Matt felt like he didn’t really have a leg to stand on re: keeping secrets from his best friend, but I wish they’d discussed it on the page, especially since this is the second immediate family member Foggy’s kept secret from Matt.

P.S. Karen your whole look is so 1997 and I am LIVING for it.

Possibly to make all this up to Matt, Foggy gets him a surprise:

If you can’t read that last panel, Foggy’s saying “Exactly, Matt, which is why he’ll only pretend to be one! He’s really a retired police dog! He can help you fight crime when you’re Daredevil!” Foggy, you are a silly man.

Anyway, since Matt didn’t actually want a dog, Deuce winds up living with Foggy (and does actually save the office staff from bad guys at one point).

Meanwhile, all is not well between Foggy and Liz, mostly because Rosalind, who doesn’t approve of Liz, has been making it look like Foggy’s cheating on Liz with a supermodel (there are those romcom hijinks again!). Since Liz still has legal business with the firm, she pours out her woes to Matt:

Yeah, it’s pretty clear why Matt doesn’t task Foggy with keeping his connection to Rosalind a secret, or even put up that much of a fuss (where Foggy can hear, at least) about working for Rosalind, even though he hates her. (I haven’t included most of this, but Rosalind spends pretty much all of her time with the boys sniping at Matt for being irresponsible (...legit) and making ableist comments, and calling Foggy stupid and fat. So.) Matt’s very aware that he is as indebted to Foggy’s immense capacity for loyalty and forgiveness as Rosalind is.

Side note: this is literally the only time Matt is a good wingman, usually he active undermines Foggy’s romantic relationships.

And speaking of romantic relationships...Natasha’s back in town! And she’s chasing down some Russian bad guys! She’s also pretty grim right now, because the rest of the Avengers have disappeared, presumed dead, and she’s determined to avenge them.

Matt intervenes to stop her from crossing a line and, well...

Maybe don’t say that to an assassin, Matt.

Welp, that’s it, Matt’s dead now, no more Daredevil!

But seriously, Natasha carries his bloody, unconscious self back to his apartment - to Karen’s great alarm - and takes off again. Karen patches Matt up, but he’s still badly injured and needs to go to the hospital. But he’s worried about Natasha, and wants to go after her:

UH OH.

Matt goes after Natasha, who has been overpowered by her adversaries, and immediately gets his own stupid, injured ass captured as well. While playing the unhinged, well, avenger out loud, Natasha explains herself to Matt by tapping out Morse code with her fingers:

Matt and Natasha are, like...really good at Morse code. Also that’s not much of an “old KGB trick” if literally two people have ever survived it.

Meanwhile, Karen is worried about and furious with Matt, so she gets wine drunk and then starts fumbling around for someone to talk to:

“Someone who would understand what a pain it is to be Daredevil’s girlfriend sometimes...”

SOMEONE WHO WOULD UNDERSTAND WHAT A PAIN IT IS TO BE DAREDEVIL’S GIRLFRIEND SOMETIMES.

<3 <3 <3

(That’s Liz on Foggy’s couch. She’s super annoyed because he’s already gotten calls from two other women (the aforementioned supermodel and Candace) that make it sound like he’s tomcatting around. Romcom shenanigans!)

Meanwhile, Natasha and Matt free themselves and defeat Natasha’s enemies:

Siiiiiigh. So, yeah. Male writers (so...everyone except Ann Nocenti, who I have issues with but who treated Natasha better than this) really love to write both Natasha and Elektra as forever and always thirsty for Matt’s dick. And they tend to show up as sexy alternatives when Matt is in a committed relationship with someone who isn’t a ninja, like Karen or Milla. Meanwhile, Matt gets to play the hapless “good guy” who doesn’t exactly encourage these advances, but does tend to run out the window and play superhero with them rather than stay at home. And can he help it if one of them kisses him, or gives him a sexy speech about how they’re meant to be and their bodies understand each other and blah blah, and he thinks about it for a really long time afterwards?*

I blame Matt here less than the writers, who appear to believe that once Matt enters a room none of his exes can think of anything else. It’s sexist writing, it’s consistent, and it’s gross. And we’re going to have a lot more of it in the next few years. I’m sorry.

*This is how Matt behaves in his own book. In the Elektra solo series that was published concurrently with these issues, Matt cheats on and almost leaves Karen for her, but let’s set that aside because Karen is not long for this world and I don’t want to think about that bullshit.

Anyway, Natasha drops Matt off at the Night Nurse’s clinic, since he’s still got a bullet wound to take care of, and flips away. Matt gets stitched up and calls Foggy for a ride. Foggy, not really understanding the whole “discreet” thing, shows up in a limo:

Honestly this has no plot relevance but if you thought I wasn’t going to post Foggy practically crawling into Matt’s lap with his arm around him and Matt affectionately patting Foggy’s face, well...you must be new here.

Matt finally goes home and takes his medicine, which turns out to be Karen being eminently reasonable, and also adorable:

Matt, you dingbat, she has faith in you. (Whether that’s misplaced is a discussion for another time.) She just doesn’t want you doing backflips when there are holes in you. Focus on that, and not on how many chicks want to take your billy club for a whirl, okay?

Oh and hey, speaking of Matt’s exes (sort of)...Deadpool’s in town! And he’s palling around with Typhoid Mary, who convinces him to help her kill Daredevil. You see, she’s recently remembered some formative experiences involving Matt:

Sorry that text is kind of fuzzy, but basically...remember the prostitute Matt accidentally knocked out of a window to her death in Man Without Fear? Yeah, well, it turns out she didn’t die, but the fall gave her multiple personalities? Or something? ANYWAY IT WAS TYPHOID MARY. This makes no sense and I hate it, but it’s canon. I guess. SIGH.

Wade then refuses to kill Matt - he just did all this to help Mary get closure, because he loves her or whatever - and he and Mary head off to pull their Joker and Harley shtick elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Foggy’s spent this issue (the 1997 Deadpool/Daredevil Annual) hanging out with Deadpool’s sidekick Weasel, and I could have sworn I did a post about how Foggy clearly slept with Weasel, but I can’t find it. Anyway, they got very drunk and played poker, and the next morning...

Aw, poor Foggy. So yeah, that’s the last we see of Deuce (don’t worry, he’s fine, Wade gives him to Blind Al). Someone get Foggy a new dog, he clearly deserves one!

Luckily, to cheer Foggy up (???), he comes home after work one day to find a surprise visitor!

Okay, so you know how Karen has been on point with her late 90s fashion? Yeah, no one ever dressed like Candace is here. Although her long lavender waves are actually very on trend for 2017.

Foggy kicks the partiers out of his house, but lets Candace stay for a while, even though they still drive each other crazy. She’s more of a club kid than a hippie these days, but still politically active and very liberal, as we see when she meets Rosalind for what appears to be the first time:

“Fur is murder.” “I approve.” I love it! Ugh, I wish these two had gotten to interact more, there’s so much potential there. (Although point of order, Rosalind: Candace is Foggy’s half sister, not his adoptive one, unless there’s more stuff about the Nelson family we don’t know.)

I’ve leave you here, but Candace - and Karen - are about to get into a whole heap of trouble as this relatively jovial period of Daredevil comes to an end.

Next up: The Trial of Karen Page!

#daredevil #daredevil 101

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aaltohelsinki · 4 years

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Aalto-Helsinki 2020 is here, come meet us!

The time has come for Aalto-Helsinki 2020 to finally take over the blog! Despite the COVID-19 situation, we have been busy with planning our project since February. We have brainstormed, read countless scientific articles, contacted experts and companies and had a lot of online meetings.

Now let us introduce ourselves:

Tytti

I did my Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology and Chemical Engineering and decided to continue with Biotechnology to the Master’s studies. What fascinates me the most about biotechnology is that we can study and engineer the tiniest components of life and at the same time do industrial scale production with them. I applied to iGEM because I’m very interested in entrepreneurship and this project mimics all the different elements that are needed to develop a business. Apart from science, my favourite things in life are playing the guitar, spending time in nature and enjoying tea.

An adventurous trip you have been on? My most recent adventurous trip was to Norway because I had always wanted to visit the Arctic Ocean. There was this fishing boat where some Finnish guy had designed a sauna among other unusual things. After warming up in that sauna, I jumped from the deck to the ice-cold water. It was cool to actually experience the Arctic Ocean fully!

Your most extraordinary skill? Making perfectly thin “muurikka” crepes

What is your favourite board game? Pandemic, rising tide version.

Carla

I am currently studying in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology MSc program at the University of Helsinki. I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Genetics at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), in Barcelona, Spain. I have always been interested in Genetics and Evolution of organisms. I believe that a lot has still to be learnt about evolution mechanisms to make insights that can be applied to healthcare and medicine. In my free time I like to exercise, I am a bouldering enthusiast and I also try to go running as much as I can. I love watching movies as well. I applied to iGEM because it seemed the perfect opportunity to work with a multidisciplinary team and get to know people from different science fields. I consider myself an extroverted and curious person, so this could be the perfect opportunity to make new friends and learn from them. I thought it would also be the perfect opportunity to start a project on a topic of interest for all of us from scratch.

What is your favourite movie of all time? I don’t have a unique favorite movie, but my list of must watch movies is the following: Inception, Shutter Island, Green Book, The Good Will Hunting, The Shawshank Redemption, Jungle, Into the Wild, Mr. Nobody, Untouchable, Captain Fantastic, Interstellar, Donnie Darko, V for Vendetta and Dead Poets Society.

What kind of music do you listen to? I don’t only listen to one type of music, I like all types. Some international artists that I like are: Jonathan Wilson, John Frusciante, Steven Wilson, Eddie Vedder, Chet Faker, Gus Dapperton, Isaac Gracie, Billie Eilish, The Kooks, and Men I Trust among others. When talking about Catalan and Spanish music I usually listen to rumba, and rock, and also a bit of pop.

Your dream travel destination? My dream travel destinations would be: Iceland, Canada, Japan and Australia!

Amanda

I am studying at the Bachelor’s programme in Science in the chemistry study track at the University of Helsinki. In this year’s iGEM team I will work in the wet-lab but I am also involved with the funding, human practices and business. I applied to Aalto-Helsinki team to get the opportunity to take theory to practice and to learn a lot. In my free time I like cooking, baking, crocheting, knitting and gardening. I recently bought a greenhouse, where I will grow lots this summer!

What’s the most interesting or adventurous trip you have been on? Hard choice, but I would have to say the trip to Kenya with my family. So different and we saw a lot of animals and the whole Big Five!

What is your favourite board game now? And as a child? I think my favorite board game now is Dixit, but as a child I think it was Kimble.

Coffee or tea? Definitely tea, preferably green or white.

Artur

I study bioinformation technology at Aalto University. My minor is computer science. My role in our iGEM team is dry-lab and during the project I will be focusing on modelling as well as wiki development. I applied to iGEM because I wanted to be a part of a student driven team project and international competition. In my free time I enjoy programming, playing video games and going to the gym.

Your best tip to survive the quarantine? Outdoor activity, that does not require other people e.g. skateboarding and riding bicycle. Also playing video games with friends and watching tv series makes it easy.

What is your favourite movie of all time? Definitely Interstellar. After watching this for the third time I still get chicken skin. This almost three hour movie is a perfect combination of action, sci-fi and drama. Hans Zimmer did an astonishing job on music in this movie. I still keep one of the movie's soundtrack as my wake-up alarm. It's so good!

Who is your favourite scientist and why? Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku. I remember watching his show on Discovery Channel about black holes and teleportation. He got me interested in science and that's why he is my favourite scientist.

Daria

I am a second year master's student in Genetics and Molecular Biosciences, with focus on Molecular and Analytical Biosciences at the University of Helsinki. I have done my bachelor's in Biotechnology at the University of Silesia. I have experience in both environmental and biomedical research.

What was your favourite game to play as a child? Scavenger hunt. We lived right next to the forest, it felt good to be there for hours unsupervised.

What’s the grossest food you ever had to eat to be polite? Bananas. My culinary nemesis. Being grossed out by them is one of my earliest childhood memories.

What was the worst haircut you ever had? Bob at the age of 13. Thanks, mum.

Emilia

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Tampere University and I’m now continuing my MSc (Tech) studies at Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering, major in Biotechnology. In my free time, I work out at the gym and love to cook. Also, I enjoy being outside in nature and spending time with my family and friends. I applied to iGEM because of my passion for life sciences and interest in challenging myself. I wanted to be a part of a powerful team of young professionals who share the same goal to achieve something meaningful. iGEM is a unique opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary team and carry out a research project from start to finish. In this iGEM project, my main responsibility is working in the wet-lab and obtaining funding. I will also contribute to human outreach activities and updating the team’s social media. Furthermore, I hope to learn more about bioinformatics and modeling. I have some experience in biomedical research and I’m looking forward to expanding my knowledge in the field of synthetic biology during the iGEM project. In the future, I wish to work with innovations which would somehow improve the quality of life.

What is your favorite time of the day and why? I love quiet mornings. I want to enjoy my morning coffee in peace and start my day without rushing. On the other hand, I also love spectacular sunsets, especially during the summer in the Finnish archipelago.

Your dream travel destination? Iceland. I would love to get to experience its unique nature, geysers and hot springs.

Coffee or tea? Coffee, of course.

Gustav

I am currently finishing my first year of masters studies in biosystems and biomaterials engineering. I applied for iGEM since I have always been interested in cell mechanisms and the intriguing and complex principles behind these cellular-systems. In the Aalto-Helsinki team, I am primarily doing wet-lab and budgeting, which means that I’m currently mostly researching data and cell-mechanisms related to our project. I often find one hobby at a time for which I am very passionate until I get tired of it and eventually switch. Previous hobbies have included been sewing, chess and origami, but for the moment I most do horticulture.

What is your dream travel destination? I would love to see the Socotra Island and the strange species living there.

What makes you happy? A cup of good quality tea in the evening.

Cats or dogs? Both??

Julia

I study Molecular Bioscience at the University of Helsinki. My part in iGEM is mainly in the wet lab, but I also take part in social media and human practises. Outside of iGEM I enjoy reading and listening to music, as well as playing video games and D&D. I applied to iGEM because I wanted to do something different and concrete with my knowledge and skills. Besides molecular biology for the last year I’ve been studying Chinese and hope to be fluent in it one day.

Most interesting trip you have been on? A couple of years ago my friends and I went on a trip to Chongqing, China. The trip was very pleasant despite none of the locals knowing English, the hole in the outer wall of the room or there being no warm water for the first couple of days. One thing led to another and we somehow ended up as models for the hostel’s website, which meant a full-blown photoshoot with free drinks and food. Afterwards the hostel owner even treated us to delicious hot pot!

Also, the baby pandas were cute.

What is your favourite book of all time? The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. The heroine of the story is refreshingly sensible, the plot innovative and the book builds an interesting world for the sequels. Would recommend to anyone who likes fantasy, paranormal, or is interested in librarians using spycraft to steal books from alternative worlds.

Coffee or tea? Most definitely tea. Jasmine tea is especially close to my heart.

Maria

I am a third-year physics student from the University of Helsinki, majoring in theoretical physics and minoring in computer science. My main motivation for applying to iGEM was to apply my science skills to a real-world problem. I’m also eager to learn how research projects work. In our project I will focus on modelling, human practices and social media. Besides science, I love languages, especially French. In my free time I enjoy ballet, board games, walks and reading.

What fictional world would you love to visit? With all the chaos in the world currently, I’d love nothing more than to escape to Moominvalley. Moominmamma’s pancakes and a worry-free life sound really appealing. I’d also like to visit Hogwarts, I have been waiting for my letter since I was 10.

What skill would you love to master? I’d love to master flying, imagine all the freedom it would bring! However, all my attempts so far have failed. I wonder why that is.

What is your favourite board game? Probably Battlestar Galactica or Dale of Merchants.

Nata

I study Biosystems and Biomaterials Engineering in the program of Life Science Technologies at Aalto University. I completed my Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology and Chemical Technology. In this journey of iGEM, I'm responsible for Human Practice activities and taking part in the wet-lab work as well. In my free time, when I'm not passionately studying life sciences or being fascinated by nature, I keep myself active with group gymnastics, friends and family. I applied to iGEM to be part of the fascinating project in the field of synthetic biology. I'm sure that we will learn precious skills of planning, team working and presenting as well as meet many wonderful people! Currently beside the iGEM, I'm working with seedlings of tomatoes and herbs that I will relocate in my glass house when it gets warmer.

Describe your dream job: In my dream job, I would be able to utilize the field of life sciences to help people and the environment at the same time.

Your best tip to survive the quarantine? Your favourite movie of all time?

My tip to survive this quarantine would be to spend time in nature and watch as many movies as possible. One of the movies should definitely be my all time favourite: The Intouchables.

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actutrends · 4 years

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Week 14 observations you can steal to impress your friends

Another week of NFL action is in the books, but what did we learn and what takes can you steal to impress your friends and co-workers?

With just three games left this year, we only have two teams officially in the playoffs. That means these final weeks will feel less like molding something out of clay and more like forging the playoff picture out of cold steel.

It’s going to be fun.

But beyond just the playoff picture, a lot of things are happening between the lines that are absolutely fascinating. Huge plays, bad calls, and loyal fans all defined this past week in the NFL and we have a lot to unpack.

So before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s ponder what we saw and come up with some observations you can use around the water cooler to sound like the Lamar Jackson of your friend group.

Jimmy G answered the haters

For as bone-rattling as the San Francisco 49ers defense has been all year, the biggest question we had about their Super Bowl chances was Jimmy Garoppolo. Was he capable, when called upon, of getting into a shootout with Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers and winning?

He proved as much on Sunday.

Robert Saleh’s vaunted defense gave up a season-high 46-points and allowed Drew Brees to score 5 touchdowns, but it was Garoppolo who executed the game-winning drive. San Francisco won on the road in the Superdome in a shootout specifically because of their quarterback.

Of course, with a huge assist from George Kittle.

Kittle optically put the team on his back, but Garoppolo did so in every other way. That throw to Kittle was a fourth-and-two play; the game — and any shot at the No. 1 seed in the NFC — was on the line. When Garoppolo threw that ball to Kittle the Niners were the fifth-seed in the NFC playoffs. Less than a minute later they owned home field advantage.

Garoppolo delivered that.

This was the type of game he needed to have in order to prove to everyone he wasn’t the weak link some may have thought he was. Maybe it doesn’t happen again, maybe the Niners lose in the playoffs because Garoppolo makes a mistake. Maybe they lose the top seed between now and the end of the season — who knows. What we do know is that until proven otherwise we have to operate under the assumption that if the Niners need him to, Garoppolo is absolutely capable of playing Big Boy football when it counts.

Mitchell Trubusky will be the Bears QB in 2020

Let’s just cut right to it: Mitchell Trubusky will be back as the Bears quarterback in 2020.

While everyone else in the NFL is spending their time slamming Jason Garrett and discussing his future, the Trubisky narrative quietly slipped out the back door and into the night. Now fans in Chicago are left with whatever the ramifications from this are.

For as bad as he’s been this year, it was going to take a lot for Ryan Pace and the front office to move on from Trubisky and very little to justify keeping him. Fans can throw themselves against a padded wall as much as they want but they weren’t the ones who traded up in the draft to take Trubisky.

Their legacy isn’t tethered to the success of Trubisky.

Even Pace outlasts Trubisky in Chicago, he needs him to play well enough now to keep the heat off until one of two things happen:

A) Trubisky improves and develops into a franchise quarterback B) Pace finds a replacement that is good enough to erase the bitter taste Trubisky is leaving

Option A is the best because it means Pace was right. It’s also the most dangerous because it means the pursuit of being right, something that has felled many general managers throughout the history of football.

Bears fans might not want to hear it but Trubisky is Pace’s guy, and it’s going to take more than one lost season to change that. How much long term damage this does or doesn’t cause is yet to be seen.

Patriots fans got a taste of their own medicine

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but there was some fishy officiating in a Patriots game. The plot twist was that, for the first time in human history, the calls went against New England.

Usually, around this time of the year when the Patriots play an AFC team with something involving the playoffs on the line, a call happens that affects the outcome of the game. But it usually benefits New England, where on Sunday the calls helped Kansas City get hand Bill Belichick and Tom Brady their first home loss since 2017.

The worst call was N’Keal Harry being ruled out of bounds short of the goal line when he absolutely was not:

Officials also missed a blatant pass interference call the drive after that:

There was also play earlier in the game where the Patriots clearly recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown, but the play was blown dead.

Three missed calls, all of which would have changed the course of the game.

Some of this is on Belichick, which is also incredibly shocking. Because the Patriots had lost two challenges before the fourth quarter even started, there was no way to review the Harry play or the missed pass interference.

No one is crying any tears for calls not going the Patriots way, but it was a stunning dose of reality that fans in New England aren’t often forced to swallow.

Lamar Jackson’s white glove troll is G.O.A.T.-worthy

Earlier this week San Francisco 49ers radio color commentator Tim Ryan was suspended for making comments about how the color of Lamar Jackson’s skin helps him disguise the ball on RPOs.

Richard Sherman said he wasn’t offended but thought there was a better way to have said it. Depending on what part of Twitter you wade into, it was either the worst thing ever said or the libs getting triggered. It was a deeply stupid thing to say, but Lamar Jackson had the final word.

Jackson started Sunday’s game in Buffalo with white sleeves and gloves and proceeded to do exactly what he always does — juke defenders out of their souls.

This isn’t the first time Jackson has quietly thrown u both middle fingers at his haters and it won’t be the last. Some folks still cling to the idea that he’s “athletic” but not a good quarterback — which is coded and thinly veiled racism — something that Jackson, the Ravens, and Ravens fans happily continue to throw back at everyone.

Meanwhile, here’s Marcus Peters maybe shotgunning a beer with fans after the game to serve as the latest exhibit in why you should be in love with this Ravens team.

Perhaps he was just letting out a joyous yell at the same time a beer was being poured near his face. The mere fact that we have to ask that but also don’t really care is why we should cherish this run Baltimore is on.

Cleveland needs Ron Rivera

Before Sunday’s game, there were rampant reports that Odell Beckham Jr wants out of Cleveland. After the game, Baker Mayfield attacked his own franchise by saying the medical team purposefully didn’t handle Beckham’s sports hernia and therefore derailed his season.

The Browns won on Sunday, for what it’s worth.

For all the hype the Browns had this offseason — all the Baker commercials and trash talk, the flashy trades and high-priced moves — this year has been a total wash. Bad decisions, drama, and losing have defined what we all thought would be a watershed season for a habitually horrible franchise.

What Cleveland needs is a culture change. Ron Rivera is the man for the job, and he happens to be looking for one at the moment.

To hire Rivera, the Browns would need to fire Freddie Kitchens which it doesn’t seem like they’re going to do right now. But if the Haslam’s are serious about getting something out of this Baker era, something drastic is needed. Rivera isn’t a flashy hire like Lincoln Riley would be, but he’s a culture guy who would instantly come in and change everything. People would point to his mediocre record in Carolina but what those people would be saying is they don’t watch football. Rivera took the Panthers from a middling franchise to one that was always in the playoffs — sometimes with a losing record. Oh yeah, he also helped develop the franchise’s star quarterback into a star while leading the Panthers to a Super Bowl less than a half-decade ago.

Cleveland has a ton of talent but has no rudder. Riverboat Ron is the perfect man to take the Browns and finally help them become something better than they are.

Raiders fans deserve better than this

Oakland lost by more than 20-points on Sunday, but that wasn’t the saddest thing that happened.

The saddest thing happened when Raiders receiver Rico Gafford scored a 49-yard touchdown and then leaped into a sea of black and silver behind the endzone.

That doesn’t look like a fanbase that has abandoned a franchise so badly that it needs to leave town — but that’s what’s happening. The Raiders will play one more home game in Oakland before leaving for Las Vegas next season, leaving behind the sort of atmosphere that Gafford launched himself into after scoring.

Whenever a franchise has packed up and left a city, the games are usually played in front of mostly empty stadiums and without much fanfare. But the Raiders were in the playoff hunt a week ago and played in front of sold-out crowds all season long.

If you’ve ever been to the Coliseum, it’s not the type of place you want to breathe through your mouth while you’re at let alone pay money to spend an entire afternoon there. Yet Raiders fans have filled a crappy stadium to cheer on a team that won’t be there next year. It was mentioned during the broadcast that Jon Gruden recognized faces in the crowd who were there during his first tenure with the Raiders all the way back in the 90s.

That’s not a fanbase that deserves to lose its team.

Meanwhile, amid the recognition of how loyal and hardcore Raiders fans are, there was a shot of Mark Davis, the man who so badly managed his money that he couldn’t afford to sign Khalil Mack, sitting in his owner’s box shit-eatingly laughing the afternoon away.

You don’t have to be a Raiders fan for that to make you angry.

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