#[ this isn't as rigorous as I'd like ]

[midnightactual]

Hey, so, what do these banners on the walls mean?

Well these aren't real kanji. You don't have to take it from me:

Q: BLEACH の中央四十六室が斬殺されている場面に書いてある四つの漢字何て書いてあるのでしょうか？ A: 作者の創作漢字です 東西南北と青龍朱雀玄武白虎の頭文字からとり一つの漢字として組み合わせたものです 意味はまぁ東西南北あらゆるものから世界を護るような感じでしょうか四方と守護神なので

Or rather, via Google Translate with some cleanup:

Q: What are the four kanji characters written in the scene where the central 46 rooms of Bleach are being killed? A: It is a kanji created by the author. It is a combination of the initials of east, west, north, south, and blue dragon, vermillion bird, black tortoise, and white tiger as one kanji.

That is to say, they're an allusion to the Four Symbols of Chinese mythology. So you know how I said it made sense that Chinese be known by the elites? Yeah. You know how I also said it made sense that Central 46 exist as a rival institution to the Four Great Noble Houses? These appeals to heavenly authority are essentially in direct opposition to similar claims from the Four Great Noble Houses! Let's review. Tokinada says in CFYOW vol. I:

"But that’s the Soul Society. The Central 46 are the five noble clan’s yes-men, especially when it comes to the powerful Tsunayashiro house.”

Tokinada is obviously trying to mess with Kaname, and this happened over 100 years prior. Later we get:

The Central 46 was the acting voice of the Soul King and so led the Soul Reapers. Occasionally they acted as the supreme judiciary body and meted out judgments. Nayura Amakado was the youngest member of that body—a girl who appeared to be just ten years old. But both Kyoraku and Nanao recognized that the girl had a sharpness that came from living many years longer than her looks suggested, and that she had initiated steady changes in the Central 46, which had on principle previously served the aristocrats foremost.

(This incidentally confirms my statements about how soul growth slows down sometime after five years of age.) Later we get this:

“So, about that. The higher-ups have something they want announced directly in the Bulletin. I thought I’d at least tell you about it, since you’re the captain.” “They want something announced? By ‘higher-ups,’ do you mean Squad Zero?” “No, the Central 46. Or the aristocrats behind the scenes, to be exact.” Kyoraku turned to Hisagi for just a moment before he continued.

We also get told:

Kyoraku didn’t smile back. He simply asked flatly, “And so? What business brought you all the way up here? If you have complaints about the Court Guard, I’d rather you send those through the Gilded Seal Aristocratic Assembly or the Central 46.” “Oh, it’s a simple matter. I want you to get in touch with some people for me. Yoruichi Shihoin doesn’t seem to receive communications through the aristocratic network. Even the Gilded Seal Aristocratic Assembly don’t know where she is. Kuchiki is another matter entirely, but you should at least know how to get in touch with that shrew, am I right?” Tokinada handed Kyoraku a paper with a message for Yoruichi

Later still we get this:

“I want to get the five families on my side, and if I can obtain the formal consent of the Reio, I want to make the Five Great Noble Clans as a body equal in rank to the king. Then the clans would surpass the Central 46 in power as a decision-making body. In fact, I suspect the reason the Central 46 crushed the Shiba house was to make sure something like this never happened.” Tokinada chuckled as he continued. “Haven’t you had your doubts? Why did the Shiba family get such a cold reception from the Five Great Noble Clans? Officially, the Shiba set up in the Rukongai in order to build their secret fortifications. But even before they were stripped of their noble position, the Shiba were treated like they were lower than the poorest of the lower aristocracy. Doesn’t it bother you that the Shiba family allowed that?”

In CFYOW vol. III, we get this:

It was clearly a problem that a man like this was the head of the Four Great Noble Clans, a position within the Soul Society that was on equal footing with the Central 46.

Okay, so let's bring it all together. There are at least four major bodies in the government of Soul Society:

The Soul King and Royal Family: figurehead; ostensibly head of state and highest authority, but in truth essentially fiction.

The Four Great Noble Houses (formerly Five Great Noble Houses): functionally the executive branch; the Shōichī or First Rank nobility who hold the ranks of Dukes, having sealed the Soul King originally and established the system. Nominally safeguard the system.

Central 46: functionally the judicial branch, a court made up of 6 judges and 40 sages on par with the Four Great Noble Houses, was formerly under their sway when they were the Five Great Noble Houses but has now tilted to the Gilded Seal Aristocratic Assembly and is under their sway. Nominally speak on behalf of the Soul King.

Gilded Seal Aristocratic Assembly: functionally the legislative branch; ostensibly composed of lesser nobles below the rank of Shōichī and by process of elimination now currently actually in charge.

I've been back and forth over this before (see here and here) with some different terminology and framing, but I think it's easy to see that, as I've said before, Soul Society is fundamentally defined by political infighting among different political classes, chiefly the Great Nobles versus the Nobles.

We can understand that Central 46 used to be the tool of the Five Great Noble Houses, but the demotion of House Shiba and its reduction to Four Great Noble Houses was functionally a coup d'état that realigned Central 46 to serving the interests of the comparatively mysterious Gilded Seal Aristocratic Assembly. Tokinada is truly only attempting to cause chaos and anarchy, but doing so under the guise of restoring the Five Great Noble Houses to their former primacy. What Nayura Amakado is doing is effectively trying to make Central 46 independent of either group rather than their cat's paw.

In other words, Soul Society is what happens when separation of powers goes bad and is not regulated by anything except self-interest and violence-making ability:

According to the principle of checks and balances, each of the branches of the state should have the power to limit or check the other two, creating a balance between the three separate powers of the state. Each branch's efforts to prevent either of the other branches becoming supreme form part of an eternal conflict, which leaves the people free from government abuses. Immanuel Kant was an advocate of this, noting that "the problem of setting up a state can be solved even by a nation of devils" so long as they possess an appropriate constitution to pit opposing factions against each other.

You can also take it as a warning about the perils of a judiciary which isn't independent of and separate from political concerns, which, uh, topical.

[whentherewerebicycles]

also i have probably said this before but i think faculty need to stop telling students that they shouldn’t go to graduate school. yes students should have the information they need to make the decision (including info about the low stipends, the not-so-great culture of many graduate programs, the vanishingly small number of stable academic jobs, etc). but i’ve always felt like some students are going to hear that and think “well, it won’t be me, i’ll work hard and beat the odds!” (typically your well-off students who have a lot of social & navigational capital and an assured sense of belonging in higher ed spaces), while other students are going to hear it and think “i wonder if they’re just saying that because they think i’m not cut out for graduate study.”

[c0rpsedemon]

my naming scheme for the resurrectionists causes me undue stress a lot of the time but when it works it Works

[arc-misadventures]

Burdens of an Unwanted Legacy

"So, why are you dragging me to the training halls, Raven?

"Because I wanted you to practice on your swordsmanship."

"I'd assume as much, but if you wanted me to do some training, then where is your blade, Raven?"

While, Jaune may be dressed in his exercise clothes, he was still armed with, Crocea Mors upon his hip. And, while, Raven may have also been dressed in simple exercise attire as well, her dreaded blade, Omen was nowhere to be seen.

"Ahh, well you're not going to be practicing with me today. No, we have a special guest here today. So, I thought it would be good if you got some time to practice your blade with someone else."

"Hmmm... that is a viable reasoning."

"Plus her beating you up a bit would be a good way to relieve some tension..."

"And, there it is... typical" Jaune had earned the moniker of, 'Punching Bag' by his fellow students, and teachers on account of his high, Aura reserves. This resulted in him having to fight many of his peers for extended periods of time for several reasons.

Those reasonings being endurance training, to testing the limits of an individuals semblance; This either being the impacts that this semblance would have on an individual, or the extent of possible damages one could expect to impact if ones semblance was allowed to extend to it's maximum capabilities.

While, Jaune could understand the reasoning behind such practices, and even encouraged many aspiring trainee to unleash the full effects of their semblances on him, It did not mean he enjoyed it.

"Haa... Am I testing someone's semblance, or am I really just the punching bag for them today."

"Don't worry, they won't be using their semblance. Just some honest training bouts with a sword to relieve some accumulating stress they've been dealing with lately."

"Stress? I take it that this isn't something that our usual meditation lessons couldn't deal with then?"

As a means to help, Spartans combat the, Grimm; Spartan Trainee's were sent through several rigorous training regimens to strengthen their mental fortitude, and more often learn to control their emotions. Often leading to many, Spartans to be seen as emotionless killing machines by the common folk.

"Uhh... no. It's civilian related." Raven visibly winced as she spoke the word: Civilian. Bar dealing with, Tai, Raven didn't have much patience when it comes to dealing with civilians.

In fact: Most, Spartans didn't like dealing with civilians so much so, that before trainee's became, Spartan's they were placed in new mental fortitude class. A class solely meant to help dealing with civilian antics, and behavior. Honestly, Jaune along with many other, Spartans didn't think that these classes were all that effective. Necessary yes, effective no so much.

"I take it that the punching bag method didn't help them?" The punching bag method was relatively simple stress relief: Get a photo of the civilians face who has been giving you shit, put it on a punching bag, and beat the ever loving shit out of it.

Many civilians found this method to be a totally barbaric practice, and that should be done away with imminently. Something that the high ranking, Spartan officers made fully well know that they fully supported this incentives. However, this was merely lip service that the higher ups gave to the civilian officials who made the complaints about it. Considering, Jaune had seen the faces of those same civilian officials on multiple punching bags before, and that his commanding officers themselves were the ones to ripe them to shreds.

"No. She's been dealing with too much stress because of this particular civilian. It's more likely that she'd turn the civilian into a punching bag at this rate." Raven chuckled nervously as they entered the training hall.

"She? Who is this, Spartan I'll be sparing with then?"

"Well..." Raven pointed her hand outward, and Jaune knew fully well who she was having him spar with today. This lady didn't need to introduce herself, Jaune knew fully well who he was dealing with the second he saw that silver white hair. And, upon seeing her, silver white hair, Jaune gave the only appropriate response anyone could fathomably conceive.

"Ahh... shit."

Among the, Spartans everyone knew who the lady with the hair as white as snow was. She was a rarity among rarities. For she was, Winter Schnee, S Rank, Spartan.

A Spartans overall end rank was determined by an individuals level skill, Aura levels, and the combat applicability of their unique individual semblance in combat scenarios. A circumstance with begged the question; if an individual, Spartan that had truly impressive levels of, Aura, and a truly effective combat applicable semblance. Would there rank stop at, A Class?

This question, and rare existence swiftly lead to the creation of the seventh rank that only a rare, and selected few, Spartans could dream to acquire. Given to those only with both vast aura reserves, and especially powerful semblances.

S Class.

The numbers of, Spartans who had reached the rank of, S Class were enough to be counted on one hand. Because of their rarity they had unprecedented influence both within, and outside the, Spartan Academies.

Influence that many unscrupulous characters from the outside of the, Academies often wished to capitalize on.

"Winter Schnee... Are you trying to get me killed, Raven?!"

"Yes." A smirked rose across her face, as Jaune recoiled in fake shock at the teasing remarks of his friend, and mentor.

"What did I do to deserve this?!" He feigned mock shock at her playful accusation.

"You forced me to reconnect with my past lover!" Raven lean down, and leered down at the young man.

"And, what is wrong with that?"

"Nothing, it's nice to reconnect with him. I'm meeting him, and his wife for dinner this weekend." Raven, straightened her back, and looked away from him, trying to hid the faint blush across her face.

"Oh, Tai got married? I wonder how that came about."

"I don't know, I'll ask them when I see them this weekend, and I'll let you know."

"Thank you. Did you catch her name by any chance?"

"I think her name was... Summer Rose? Yeah, Summer Rose." It took, Raven a moment to catch the name that was caught on the tip of her tongue. But, as she said it, Jaune couldn't help, but raise an inquisitive eyebrow as he heard that name.

"Rose? Hmmm... do you think she has any relation to that gun nut in the armoury?"

Raven's eyes blinked in contemplation as she heard the mention of, Beacon Academy's resident gun nut armourer.

"Hmmm... Maybe... why don't we ask...?"

"Hey!"

The duos musing was interrupted as they saw the, S Class Spartan, Winter Schnee walk towards them.

"Hey, Raven."

"Winter..." The duo clasped their hands together in a greeting before breaking apart. "Sorry, I didn't call out to you sooner; my friend, and i were lost in our own discussion."

"That is alright. So, is this my sparring partner?" Winter turned to face, Jaune. She gave him the once over, no doubt evaluating him. Jaune gazed at her in turn, evaluating her in the process.

Jaune knew full well how effective of a warrior every, S Class Spartan was. He knew full, and well how effective of a warrior, Winter Schnee was. He knew fully well, and good that if they fought in a duel with, and Winter was using her semblance, she would wipe the floor with him. Without her semblance though, he'd give himself a thirty five out of a hundred to win.

"B Class Spartan, Jaune Arc, Sir!" Jaune threw up a salute to the woman out of respect, she quickly returned the salute in kind.

"B Class? You look rather young for a, B Class."

"I have higher then average levels of, Aura. Because of that, they made me a, B Class when I graduated." Jaune had been asked this question many times before, his ranking often made sense to his fellow, Spartans. But, his experience's when it came to his rank, and aura levels when it came to dealing with civilians was often unpleasant.

"Ahh, I had a similar experience; I was promoted to A Class when I graduated because of my semblance's capabilities."

"A Class? Seems a bit too fast to graduate from a trainee to an, A Class Spartan in my opinion." Winter nodded her head as she agreed with his statement before she continued her story.

"I agree, but due to my semblances unique abilities, and some... backroom politics I was promoted to, A Class. However, I never acted like I was an, A Class until I had a few more years of experience under my belt."

"I understand that, I'm still acting like I'm a, C Class myself. I've only been a, B Class for little over a year now. I still don't feel like one yet. Now then, enough small talk; You asked for a duel with the 'Punching Bag.' Shall we begin?"

"The punching bag? I thought you said I would be fighting a person, Raven, not an actual punching bag." Winter looked at, Raven, her brow furrowed in disappointment. Raven shook her head, as she waved the idea away.

"No no no. 'The Punching Bag,' not a punching bag."

"Hmm?"

"Jaune's, Aura is so vast that he is often used to help trainee's test the limits of their individuals semblance's. Because of this he earned the moniker of, 'The Punching Bag' around, Beacon Academy."

"Oh... my condolences." Jaune took, Winter's words in, and just waved them off.

"Think nothing of it. Considering the effects of many trainee's semblances, it is better if they could test their semblance in an controlled environment against an individual who can withstand their attacks."

"Hmmm..." Winter cupped her chin in thought as she registered his words. "That is sound logic. I could have used someone like that whilst I was training with my semblance."

"Hey, just because I think it's a good idea to train with people to help control their semblance's doesn't mean I like it!"

"Oh? But, it sounds so fun to toss you around with my semblance." Winter gave, Jaune challenging smirk that caused him to growl at her in turn.

"So you want to play then? Okay then..." Jaune walk out into the middle of the training hall, and pulled out his sword, and shield. He pointed his blade at her as he issued his challenge to her, that she was all too willing to reciprocate in kind. "Care to dance miss?"

"With pleasure~!"

[ms-demeanor]

Hi! My employer's workplace wellness program was recently revamped, and I'm trying to assess whether it's slid into the nonsense side of wellness-world. Specifically, there's a webinar being offered by a guy named Abra Pappa on using an "anti-inflammatory diet" to "battle against chronic diseases… including heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and even certain cancers." This sounds… sketchy to me, but I know you have both expertise in nutrition and a strong bullshit detector, so wanted to ask what you make of it.

Okay long story short never trust anyone who got their degree from a university that started off as a school for chiropractors.

Abra Pappa got her MS in Functional Medicine and Human Nutrition after getting a BA in Theater; I checked the requirements for that degree and the school's whole catalogue is throwing red flags but what's throwing the most red flags for me is that if I wanted to get a degree in nutrition from an ACEND accredited program I'd need to take a hell of a lot more than one bio class, one anatomy OR one physiology class, one medical terminology class, one nutrition class, and one biochemistry class in order to get into a master's program.

It's funny because she went from a BA in theater arts to an MS in Functional Nutrition and Human Nutrition and I've been trying to go from a BA in Theater Arts to an MS in nutrition and *aside* from the whole private school costs thing one of the major barriers is that I'd basically need to re-do all of my undergrad to get in a lot of chemistry, some calculus, and MANY nutrition classes before I qualified for a Master's program. But based on the program she took I'm only one medical terminology and one biochemistry class away from a Master's program instead of more like ten to fifteen classes (primarily in nutrition, chemistry, and physiology) away.

Anyway she says she's a Licensed Dietician Nutritionist. There are some states that allow LDN certification, New York is one of those states. *BUT* to be an LDN in New York you have to

Complete a program in dietetics-nutrition that culminates in a bachelor’s degree that qualifies for certification in dietetics-nutrition or has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE).[Note: CADE is now ACEND] The program must include at least 45 semester hours of coursework in dietetics/nutrition and must include at least 20 semester hours of coursework in the area of human biological sciences and social and behavioral sciences

Pappa went to the University of Western States in Oregon, and the only ACEND accredited school in Oregon is at OSU, so if she's an LDN it's from someplace that isn't New York, where she lives and works.

She also claims to be a CNS, a Certified Nutrition Specialist, but in order to qualify for THAT you need to have an MS with some pretty rigorous coursework

And this is what the school required for her MS program:

And given that she didn't have a science degree for undergrad it seems pretty likely that she wasn't doing anything close to what an undergrad nutrition program looks like:

For the record, here are the MS requirements for an MS in nutrition with a health and wellness emphasis at that same school:

In order to get accepted to the MS in nutrition program in that school you either need to have a BS in nutrition or a BS in biology or chemistry and take all the undergrad level nutrition requirements ON TOP OF that BS.

I don't think that a theater degree and an MS from a woo-y correspondence school really count, even if you do pay $45k for your diploma.

If you go look at the requirements for any ACEND accredited school and compare them to the MS program from University of Western States it leaves UWS looking pretty shitty in comparison. Like, nowhere in her requirements is there a statistics class! Stats is required even for an associate transfer certificate in nutrition! EVEN AT THE 2-YEAR LEVEL FOR REAL NUTRITION DEGREES YOU HAVE TO DO STATS AND SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO TAKE A SINGLE STATS CLASS FOR HER MS. You will note that the cal poly MS program has one entire MS-Level class on vitamin metabolism and one entire MS-Level class on mineral metabolism for any of the three MS in Nutrition emphasis courses; her school required neither.

This shit makes me want to climb the walls.

I'm just going to start calling myself a nutritionist. California will let anyone call themselves a nutritionist, there are absolutely zero protections on that term and I can get myself a piece of paper for like three hundred dollars from a diploma mill that has some kind of bullshit accreditation.

Here are the programmatic accreditations her school has:

Compare with the Cal Poly programmatic accreditations (I cite cal poly a bunch because it was the program I was hoping to get into eventually so I researched it the most; that's where I got my BA, go broncos):

Note that the website for her school is listed with the department of education as wschiro.com because it was called Western States Chiropractic College until 2010.

Every time i dig into something like this it makes me want to stare into space for hours. No wonder college students are getting fucked on their loans and going to bullshit schools. No wonder everything is a scam these days. People bitch about credentialism but you know what maybe this lady is a CNS; sure, for some people that requires passing board certification tests, getting 1000 hours of clinical supervision, and becoming a Nurse Practitioner with real actual nutrition study from a solid program, but for other people it requires zero understanding of statistics, a theater degree, and three *whole* units of anatomy. Maybe she clears the bar on that one! She doesn't have the qualifications for an LDN in New York, she's not an RDN because she sure as fuck didn't take the classes required for a *VERY SERIOUSLY* protected title, but maybe you can be a CNS with an online diploma from the western states chiropractic college.

I fucking hate everything.

You know the whole reason I wanted to get a degree in nutrition was to yell about shit like this online, but fuck it. Fuck it, I'm a nutrition-isht because i live in california and I can say I am and who's going to check? Who's going to look up whether I took classes in public health or anatomy or the metabolism of micronutrients before they hire me to do corporate seminars on healing your relationship to food? I am legally allowed to do that so I might as well, right? If all I have to do is be charismatic and convincing I'm pretty sure I've got that down, actually, so who's going to check?

Nobody! Nobody is going to check and everything is a scam and I hate everything.

ANYWAY

The relationship between nutrition and inflammation and the relationship between chronic disease and inflammation are two different, complicated things that are difficult to point at and say definitively what the connections are.

I am of the opinion that any time you're getting deep into things like an anti-inflammatory, ketogenic, or PH-Balancing diet without a specific condition that calls for the avoidance of certain foods for very clearly scientifically reported reasons, you're dealing with a woo-woo biohacker who's looking to sell a diet plan.

The thing about nutrition science is that it seems like for most people the "answers" are pretty basic: eat enough food, get enough macro and micronutrients, eat a variety of food, avoid processed meats, try to eat more fruits and vegetables, get enough water, and stay as active as possible NOT for weight loss reasons but for metabolic health and joint/muscle maintenance. It's really, really, hard to sell that though, which is how you get people like Abra Pappa in 2013 writing out this bugfuck "Food and mood" handout with a midday snack that is so bonkers in the way the calories are distributed that I'm sitting down and doing math about it (it looks like about a third of the calories that day are supposed to come from the mid afternoon spinach, mint, cocoa nib, and coconut milk smoothie which is, as I said, bugfuck nuts).

It's hard to sell "please eat more fruits and vegetables, which is difficult because actually most places don't grow enough vegetables for the population's nutrition needs and it's cheaper to eat grains and industrially produced meat than it is to eat five cups of vegetables that you need to prepare daily and also maybe skip the bacon" but it's much easier to sell "five anti-inflammatory superfood milkshakes that will fill your belly and fight cancer" because it's packaging nutrition as a product and not as a massive systemic issue that happens to have very specific requirements for a large number of individuals who *do* happen to have disorders that are based on nutrition and inflammation (celiac disease! I've got one of them! Eating the wrong foods definitely causes inflammation in my body as the result of an autoimmune disorder! but that doesn't mean that the things that are inflammatory for me are inflammatory for everyone!)

Anyway I think like about 97% of workplace wellness programs are largely bullshit based, or at least import bullshit a lot of the time, and nutrition is a science that has, just, so much bullshit in and around it.

So I would take anything they say with a grain of salt, and hopefully less than 255% of your RDV of saturated fat (seriously that meal plan is ludicrous).

Side note: there is a subset of nutrition people who looked at the way that we got fat wrong in the 80s and flipped it and reversed it and went "actually you can have as much fat of any kind that you want as long as it is natural and you will have no issues" and this is how you end up with people on 100% natural clean keto diets who have cholesterol levels over 600. Abra Pappa recommends "clean/natural" eating and has taken continuing education on keto and has a recipe for a single-serving smoothie that calls for 8oz of coconut milk I think she's very much in the "'good' fat truther" camp (or at least she was in 2013 which is maybe why New York has a requirement for people to have some kind of nutrition certification for giving out nutrition advice and maybe she should have done that because she didn't even go to her bullshit "grad school" until 2017).

(We DID get fat wrong in the 80s and total avoidance of all fats is bad for you and there are 'good' fats that you should eat and everybody needs to eat some level of fat for proper nutrient absorption but even if you're only getting fat from nuts and avocados that's not going to prevent your arteries from forming plaques if you're having nearly triple the recommended daily value of saturated fat as part of your afternoon snack)

[nerdygaymormon]

Sometimes you mention that you've lived long enough to see changes in the church on LGBTQ topics. What are some of the major changes you've experienced in church?

I feel like I've lived in 3 eras of the LDS Church.

When I was a child, it was an era that now seems very far away. Black people weren't allowed to go to the temple or have the priesthood (which also limited which callings they could have in church). Church met twice on Sundays, once for Sunday School (children attended Jr Sunday School) and I think priesthood quorums met prior to Sunday School, and then we came again later that day for Sacrament meeting. This part is fuzzy to me, but I think youth activities were on Tuesday, and Primary was on Wednesday (and I think Relief Society was also on Wednesday). In addition to paying tithing, my parents were asked to contribute to the local ward budget, and we raised money to build the local church building. I remember my family working on the local church farm (I'm not sure if it was part of the welfare system or was a fundraiser for the local stake/ward budgets, perhaps both). There was a BIG emphasis on food storage. Social life revolved around church as there were many activities such as the annual Gold & Green Ball (dinner and a dance for the married folks, it was a big deal, they'd dress fancy for it). The church members were socially and politically conservative.

My teens and young adult years were spent in a different era. The church had undone the restrictions on Black members. Church was now consolidated to a 3-hour block on Sundays (except for youth activities on Wednesdays). Temples started getting built in big cities outside of Utah but still were a far drive for many members, instead of going on a temple trip once a year, as a youth we could go twice a year when a temple was built a few hours away. There were still a lot of activities, especially for the teenagers, such as big stake/regional dances, sports competitions, road shows, and a big youth trip in the summer. The ward budgets came from the church (from the tithing) and not from individual members of the ward giving more, and we no longer had to contribute (either money or labor) for local church buildings to get constructed. We didn't work on farms anymore, but worked in the cannery (I remember hearing adults talk about operating machines that bottled ketchup). While the membership was still very conservative, a more moderate approach was being taken by top leadership, and President Hinckley made big steps towards being more open with the world.

I'd say that President Nelson has ushered in another era. Two-hour church on Sundays. Wednesday youth programs being less rigorous or programmed. Temples within a relatively short drive of members and encouragement to go often. Teenagers can have their own temple recommends. No home or visiting teachers and instead a conversation and informal friendship counts as ministering. Few church activities outside of those for youth and our regular church meetings. More accommodation for differences in beliefs of what were considered core doctrines & principles (this started before the Nelson era). The internet has caused the church to be more open about its past, including some issues which are hard like racism and polygamy (again, this predates the Nelson era). There's also been steps to undo some of the patriarchy in the church structure (like women can serve as witnesses and changes to the temple ceremony).

I definitely would not want to go back to the era of the 1970's when I was a child. While there are things I miss from the era of Hinckley & Monson, I don't think I'd like to revert back. The one effect I worry about from the recent changes is people have weaker social ties to their church community. I've heard leaders say that church isn't a social club, but for a long time it was and I think the church underestimates the importance of social connections.

—————————————————

As for LGBTQ history in the LDS Church, Nathan Kitchen, the former president of Affirmation, did an excellent job in describing the changes in the church on these topics. I have lived through 5 eras of the church on LGBTQ issues.

The era from when I was a child was brutal. Even saying you're gay was seen as sinful. You were expected to fight with everything you had to completely erase these feelings. Attempts to remove these “tendencies” included electro-shock therapy at BYU. Most families would reject the queer family member.

The death of President Spencer W. Kimball in 1985 led to the next era for LGBTQ members. Rather than insist on complete erasure of homosexual feelings, gay members were to behave like straight people--get married and have kids and DON'T TELL ANYONE. This is the invisible generation who felt isolated and alone, hidden from other members and each other. Every so often we still hear about a former mission president or stake president who finally comes out after decades of living as a straight person. Most of the mixed-orientation marriages failed, the queer person eventually spoke their truth, picked up the pieces of their shattered dreams, and moved on and out of the church.

In 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley did a widely-viewed interview with Larry King in which he said said we love "so-called gays and lesbians" and put forward the idea that gay thoughts aren’t a problem, but gay actions are. The church's view was that some of us are struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions, much like people who have other addictions. Even as the church led a major effort to defeat marriage equality, queer members no longer had to remain hidden, so they found each other and attended conferences together and encouraged each other. Members would admire queer members for their wrestle against their attractions. Because they were trying to make this path work and were admired for it, these queer members mostly didn’t share their struggles & mental health challenges with their family, friends, or other members. They were visible, but largely were silent. A generation seen but not heard.

Beginning in the early 2010's, a growing number of gay members receive media attention, and groups like Mama Dragons and North Star are formed. By the mid-2010's the church shifts its approach and starts highlighting and celebrating gay and bisexual members who are single & celibate, and also a few who are in mixed-orientation marriages. The church starts softening its former positions as it officially rejects conversion therapy, advocates for no violence and doesn't require members to deny their queer identities. As long as you are single & celibate, you are welcome. This is also when trans members start entering the consciousness of the church as in 2015 Emmett Claren (now Emmett Presciado) starts a YouTube channel where he documents his transition and in 2017 Kris Irvin makes national news for having a bishop threaten to withhold a BYU ecclesiastical endorsement if Kris receives top surgery. LDS families no longer automatically reject their queer children, but tend to leave the church together if their queer child doesn't feel welcome or safe at church. One last effort to pull membership back occurred in 2015 with a policy against gay couples and their children, and it received a LOT of pushback and generated a wave of members leaving the LDS church.

I think we entered a new era in 2019 as the Handbook policy of 2015 is reversed. In 2020 the now-publicly available Church Handbook softens the approach to gay and bi members but puts in more rules and restrictions of trans members. It's the beginning of a dichotomy where we see progress for people who aren't heterosexual and regression for people who aren't cisgender. In 2024, there are now married gay couples quietly attending church and not being excommunicated (which wasn't a thing even just 2 or 3 years ago), and trans members are facing severe restrictions due to more changes in the Handbook. It's hard not to believe more positive changes for gay and bi members will be coming, even as the church ratchets up its fight against trans members.

[screechingcheesecakecheesecake]

Theory: The Briar's were part of an experiment

I reread SxF recently and this is probably not a new theory but I'd like to discuss it anyway.

Anyways, my theory is that atleast one Yor and Yuri's parents were an escapee from an experiment to make supersoldiers from the war.

Because like, no matter what, Yor and Yuri have ridiculous strength. It's often played off for laughs because of how the siblings are in nature, but as the story goes on and we are introduced to more characters, I feel like that might be the case. Twilight and Nightfall are ridiculously strong in their own right, but those were from rigorous training and they get serious injuries from it if they aren't careful. But that isn't the case for the Briars.

To start with, I'll list down their strange superhuman abilities (from memory)

Their innate strength (self-explanatory)

Speed faster than cars (Yor running to Anya after the bus hijacking)

High pain-tolerance (Yuri walking off a bus hit, Yor whining about her fingers getting jammed after a literal bloodbath)

Poison Tolerance (The Pufferfish Poison)

Honed senses (sense of smell, etc)

And with Anya and Bond, we know that there are experiments, both human and animals that gave them abilities. (There's also the theory with Desmond too which solidifies my belief on it). But Anya escaped from whatever experimental faculty she was.

Now, why does this matter? Well, I believe that there are people who have a gist about it and they would be Garden. Because we know that Yor has been an assassin since childhood. And even for professional assassins, letting a child be a contract killer seems extremely risky for their business. Unless they trained Yor, but it seems like Yor has been ridiculously strong from the start.

Since the story is set during a cold war, it's not impossible for a superhuman soldier experiment to happen. Garden may have been be aware of it and it was the reason why they were willing to employ Yor once they confirmed that she may be a descendant of one of the experiments. Though, it seems that it manifested strongly on Yor and so-so with Yuri.

Honestly, Garden is the most mysterious to us, organization-wise among the ones we know. Yor and Yuri's pasts haven't gotten elaborate flashbacks, and both of them seems unclear about their memories of their parents too. Unless, of course, the experiment was done by Garden or a close acquaintace organization too, and keeping Yor was a way to keep an eye on them from avoiding senseless mass slaughter.

[horseimagebarn]

Ok so thanks for the answer vis a vis the centaur situation I appreciate it a lot and I'm not trying to convince you to change your ruling but unfortunately you used the word taxonomy which triggered one of my damn neurodivergences. I hope you don't mind but my response will be to deposite these few paragraphs in your inbox I'm sorry in advance if this comes off as aggressive or condescending or just plain annoying I'm just sensing an opportunity to infodump to someone who might be interested in tbe topic so I'm seizing it I'm sure you know what it's like

Anyway there's a disconnect between pragmatism and scientific rigor that people are blind to which vexes me and biological taxonomy is a particular pet peeve of mine the biggest instance of it is crocodiles and alligators which are really the same damn animal for all intents and purposes but that's not relevant

Naturally when one thinks of horses one thinks of domestic horses specifically (Equus ferus cabellus) but I'd argue that certain pictures of donkeys (Equus africanus) look more like domestic horse pictures than certain pictures of Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewlaskii) despite the latter being classified as the same species and the former not

And I feel that for a horse image barn the resemblence of a picture to an archetypical horse image should be a higher priority criterion for inclusion than some criteria that biological taxonomy relies on like the presence of specific haplotypes which isn't even a word anyone knows and if you go to its Wikipedia article you get a definition of it that's not really relevant to this ask

So yeah in conclusion I wouldn't tie the in/ex-clusion of images to scientific taxonomy but to Vibes if I were the admin of this or a similar blog but I'm not and you are so you can like do whatever

Also I won't be submitting the centaur image I wanted to submit but can I still send it as an ask I like showing it to people spreading it around etc it's kind of cursed but also funny and I like it a lot and I understand why it's not horse enough to your taste but it's definitely horse adjacent and I want to share it

as a fellow animal wikipedia delver i agree that taxonomy is not the end all be all of the human perception of animals however what i meant to imply is that the differences between centaurs and horses are large enough to be considered taxonomical and are not debatable even in a taxonomical sense due to their many massive differences also i have posted przewalskis horses before as they are true horses and this is horseimagebarn not assimagebarn or centaurimagebarn even though i love donkeys just as much and would own a donkey over a horse any day

i did just take my adderall and am bored at work so i have to humbly yet lengthily disagree with you that taxonomy is not important in both cases presented while the crocodilian assumption you make has bruised my heart as i love alligators and i find them far cuter than crocodiles due to the differences in their jaw structure that makes their bottom teeth fit into their mouth instead of jutting out like crocodiles (which is one of the many actual and notable physical differences between them alongside choice of salt or fresh water etc) i wont get into that and will focus on horses since thats the point of this blog using actual punctuation and capitalization for the first time in this blogs history ill be referring to przewalskis horse as takhi as it is also known so i dont make a typo which i know i will

long ass (donkey pun) post warning

Taxonomy can of course be vague at times or muddied, but it is not an invalid study. All human knowledge is constantly evolving, and mistakes are inevitably going to be made, but that does not make our efforts invalid. It is beneficial for us to know how evolution works. Taxonomical differences are real and worth considering, even if mistakes are made sometimes. Two animals looking similar is not a valid reason to ignore their taxonomical differences, nor is it okay to ignore similarities because they look different—if we went by that logic, every dog breed would be a totally different species.

Speaking of, here's a little more on the whole appearance thing before we get into the science:

The other day, I was watching a video about the actual horses that existed in antiquity, and they are far more similar to takhi than you might think. I'll link the video if I can find it, apologies for a lack of a source on this right now, but the gist of it was that horses of yore were much shorter and stouter than modern horses. The tall, thin horse often seen in modern depictions of ancient time is inaccurate, as is the thick, muscular draft, which didn't become common until later on. Back then, people wanted horses that were sturdy—most people didn't care as much about specific breeds or having the hugest and prettiest horse on the block, especially when food to maintain larger animals like modern horses wasn't always guaranteed, and having such a huge animal could be dangerous and more difficult. Their horses were more similar to ponies than our big guys now, and ponies aren't a separate species. The selective breeding of horses to become taller and leaner made them appear way different from the takhi, but just like dogs, they remain extremely similar to those of their taxa despite looking different on the surface. For example, take a look at the ancient fjord horse breed next to the takhi...in fact, sometimes takhis are called Mongolian ponies! We can even see this in ancient art earlier in the horse's domestication:

Anyway, science:

Firstly, the takhi isn't wholly classified as the same exact species as the true horse, our domesticated Equus ferus caballus. Both Equus ferus callabus and Equus ferus przewalskii are considered subspecies of caballines, or true horses, meaning they're more like cousins (I know it's a cliche to say this, but I mean it), with donkeys and zebras as, like, their nephews twice removed. If the takhi was considered the exact same species as the domestic horse with no acknowledged differences, it would be considered a breed of horse, not a subspecies (though breeds are typically manmade, they are not always—see the word "typical" in the dictionary definition). This means that it does have recognized, distinct differences from the standard domesticated horse that have been taken into consideration in their taxonomy—it is not like the two are blindly considered the same exact thing.

Mistakes have been made in Equus taxonomy in the past, but continued research has led to a retaxing of the genus as early as the 1980s. In the 2012 review article "Discordances between morphological systematics and molecular taxonomy in the stem line of equids: A review of the case of taxonomy of genus Equus," by E. Kefena et al., a number of scholars reviewed the methods with which the Equus genus has been taxed in the past and how they have changed in the past few decades.

According to that article, equines are an incredibly plastic genus. They are very good at adapting to their environments, which led past taxonomists to overcount the amount of Equus species that existed in the past and therefore miscategorize the history of the genus in general. Many were actually just adapted versions of the same thing. This is what we see in the horse and takhi—they are similar but have adapted to their different environments and niches.

In 1986, two molecular scientists, George and Ryder, performed the first DNA-based molecular taxonomy on all living equus species, publishing their findings in the article "Mitochondrial DNA evolution in the genus Equus." By mapping equus DNA and constructing a phylogenetic tree, they were able to take a closer look at the actual genetic disparities between equus species.

George and Ryder found that "[In the mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) cleavage map,] the percent sequence difference between E. przewalskii and E. caballus individuals was found to range between 0.27% and 0.41%. ... Overall, the amount of divergence presented here is small and not much greater than the 0.36% divergence reported for mtDNA differences found among the human racial groups (Brown 1980; Cann et al. 1984)."

So, horses and takhis are incredibly similar. Using these findings, they separated equus species into three clades: "One that groups the zebras, a second that groups E. africanus [African wild ass] and E. hemionus [Asiatic wild ass, aka the hemione], and a third that associates the true [caballine] horses E. przewalskii and E. caballus as a unit. However, as stated previously, the E. africanus-E. hemionus clade remains enigmatic."

They later state that "E. hemionus and E. africanus appeared more karyotypically [chromosomally] similar to each other than to other equids," hence why they were considered a clade despite being "enigmatic." Kefena et al. explain this weird enigma further, and, notably, compare it to the takhi: "Next to Przewalskii's horses, hemiones were the first species to be diverged from the stem line of extant equids, suggesting that they might be closely related to caballine horses than to asses, though they are monophyletic with donkeys than with horses. On the basis of these evidences, morphological resemblance between species doesn't guarantee genetic similarity between equid species." This means that asses and horses have distinct genetic differences that far outweigh those between takhi and domestic horses, despite the fact that donkeys and takhi look more similar. The hemione looks very similar to the African wild ass, and it is closer to it genetically, but it is not the same due to the way it evolved—it broke away from the general line earlier than any other ass. The takhi is the same; it diverted earlier than other horses, but remains very genetically similar—more than any other extant Equus species. And, even with the takhi's extra chromosomal pair, George and Ryder also found that they and horses were also very close karotypically, giving them incredible similarities both mtDNA-wise and chromosome-wise. Despite that different chromosome, horses and takhis can successfully interbreed and produce fertile offspring, unlike horses and donkeys.

Kefena et al. "MYBP" stands for "Millions of Years Before Present" Funnily enough, G&R also say, "There has been little to no dispute over the close relationship that exists between E. przewalskii and E. caballus; thus the addition of E. caballus to the E. przewalskii branch should be easily accepted." Which is so weirdly on the nose that I feel compelled to say that it's on page 544 so no one thinks I'm making it up. So, with their genetic similarities, their actually surprisingly similar appearances, and their sequential DNA similarities, the Przewalski's horse and the domesticated horse do belong in the same category when compared to other equines like donkeys and zebras. They're not identical, but they're in the same room of the larger equine house. And, check out the tarpan, Equus ferus ferus, another subspecies of Equus ferus and the most recently extinct of them all, alongside the current Equus ferus species (and a concept of the original Equus ferus pre-domestication by Cameron Clow on Artstation)! They're all friends:

Conclusion

you can send me centaurs if you want i just wont post them

[wayoftheghost]

initiation

[#FFF262 Run Far and Fast ]

fremen!benegesserit! reader x paul atreides

honestly, never thought i'd see the day where i'd write x reader again, but here we are <3 this wonderful prompt got the juices flowing and isn't that what these exercises are for! i'm a bit late for this week but thank you for reading!

Word count: 833

Tags: @flashfictionfridayofficial @dunefandomhub

“You need to be quicker. Don’t drag your feet.” 

Paul nods. “Right, okay.”

Your gaze flits in his direction. You stand above him on the curve of the desert dunes with Paul further down in the basin below, inspecting his technique as he prepares for Shai-Hulud. 

Paul moves like the shadow that walks beneath your feet as the sun cuts your shape across the dunes. Lean, dark, and mirroring your every movement. Like you, it was clear that the boy has had a lifetime of rigorous training. The speed at which he picks up your instruction is uncanny, almost supernatural.

Even Paul’s looks make you uneasy. His sharp and striking features, his hazel-green eyes, everything of him that you knew to be the product of careful genetic selection. 

Heat ripples all around you, billowing your cream-colored aba robes and veil like sand in the wind. The beating sun is unforgiving this time of day, and so are you. 

“Be quicker, princling,” you speak through your face-covering. “You want to be worm-food? Because that’s what you’ll be if you’re not moving fast enough.”

The nickname bristles his annoyance, the slightest pull in his shoulder blades that is quick to your trained Bene Gesserit eye, but one that Paul easily masks as his shoulders relax and the emotion passes through him. With the weight of his silence, of his full attention, you consider, just for a moment, telling him what you truly think of this prophecy.

Other offworlders had come to Arrakis before, claiming divinity and prophetic visions. But they were soon martyred by the desert or killed by their own ignorance.

Why should this boy be any different?

That is why you have been pushing Paul so hard in his initiation training, an order that had come directly from Arrakis’s new Reverend Mother; the weirding woman and Paul’s birth mother. In that cave-chamber, you had watched Lady Jessica drink The Water of Life and ascend into the motherhood that had once belonged to your dying grandmother for generations. 

You had given no water to your grandmother, the Fremen ritual of suppressing tears as ancient as the desert itself, yet it hadn’t stopped the cold and quiet anger from simmering in your belly. At Stilgar’s easy trust to welcome in the offworlder woman and her witching son that your Fremen peers already called Mahdi. To allow Lady Jessica the rite of passage.

Lady Jessica’s power frightened you. A pale phantom of a woman with piercing blue eyes, she had recognized your importance as the last Reverend Mother’s gifted granddaughter and calculated how you could benefit their cause. More specifically, how to benefit Paul. 

And as a fellow sister of the Bene Gesserit and perhaps most unsettling of all, you had perceived Lady Jessica’s use of the Voice on you, like worm-poison in your mind. As she had brushed past you in the hallways of the sietch, the dusty air tasting like the breath you held in your chest, you felt the cold blue of her eyes. A single command hummed through your bones.

“Teach him.”

Gifted as you were, you had tried to reject her influence, to fight her Voice’s power, but you were not strong enough against the woman from Caladan. And like an out-of-body experience, not in control of your own being, you had watched yourself glide towards Paul’s chambers with the words of forced friendship already forming on your tongue. 

The path had been set. 

You would show Paul the ways of the desert, yes. But you would not do so with kindness. 

Now, outfitted with his fremkit and stillsuit, you guide Paul down the path that has been prophesied by the Bene Gesserit order and your Fremen people alike. Your two circles of life intersecting in an eclipse, swallowing each other like a snake with its own tail. 

Maybe this is why Lady Jessica had chosen you. 

“Move faster, or this lesson is over,” you growl to Paul. “I don’t know what gravity is like on Caladan, but you run like you have maker hooks stuck up your ass.”

His form was in fact impeccable, but you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of proceeding with no corrections. 

Paul’s laughter echoes through the desert basin. You hadn’t expected him to find humor in your insult. He turns up to face you, his black curls flowing in a messy halo. Paul swings the maker hook in his right hand in a perfect circle.

“I’m ready. I’m not afraid.” Paul tells you. 

You regard him with a defiant tilt of your chin, then reach into the silks of your robes. You pull out the thumper that the Fedaykin girl, Chani, had lent to you for this exercise. In one fluid motion, you have clicked the thumper open and impaled it into the sand. The steady rhythm of the mechanism beats through your chest, echoing across the endless dunes. The very heartbeat of the desert. 

The sand at your feet quivers. 

“Then run like it.”

[leohtttbriar]

in te, ravviso il sogno ch'io vorrei sempre sognar! (I see you in a dream I'd dream forever)

i'm not very invested in the doctor as a character--more as an idea which i find interesting. but with the way this episode centers kes and b'elanna throughout the diagnosing and the problem-solving and the hopeful ending, it definitely feels like a dialogue between them about the doctor idea more than a exploration of the doctor character. it's like this episode is set up for kes and b'elanna to prove humanity for their own sake, to each other, to themselves--prove if not definitively outline.

it's not as if kes is unaware that b'elanna has doubts about the doctor's personhood. or at least views his personhood in a different way than kes does. but kes seems to absolutely trust b'elanna to help her and b'elanna at no point tries to argue it's not worth it, only that fixing the doctor's memories is going to be difficult.

anyway, who they are as characters is like a conversation in this episode. kes, who is self-assured but does not want to trapped physically or intellectually and is fighting limitations placed on her in these respects, answers b'elanna, who is assured of her intellectual rigor and physical freedom but balks at championing every aspect of her own self; and the particular unspoken back-and-forth shapes how they approach the doctor losing his memories. b'elanna unsure it can truly be fixed (can "self" be fixed in a person of ambiguous person-ness? can it be "fixed" at all? isn't self variable and under constant threat of change?) while kes is insistent that they have to try (can any person be a person if their world is not allowed to expand? are objective limitations ever actually objective?). but however they disagree, they're in this moment together.

b'elanna claiming she has a headache is not just her trying to test the doctor's abilities but also trying to reassure kes that even if things have gone back to normal doesn't mean it's over--selves can be rebuilt. or maybe that's reading too much into it? it just seems like such a deliberate attempt to reach out and to comfort and if the doctor's memories had not returned, only his medical skills had returned, that seems the best way to respond to kes's truest fears. like b'elanna is saying "he can grow into a person again--this was how he started last time." (like she's saying "you can get out again.")

and the doctor humming that particular duet, between two creative people set upon imagining different circumstances through the other, seems apt to symbolize that kes's and b'elanna's collective efforts succeeded.

[tothecrucifieddeer]

Written 07/31/24 [POEM FOUR]

Sometimes in my dreams you pick my wings off slow and meticulous--like you are wiping dust from my moth back one particle at a time.

I am an angel and you make me naked one feather at a time.

Do you remember how I used to fly? Do you?

Naked before God, but in a different way, naked as a sign of trust, of love--

But you have made my body bare and bruised, crumpled up and sick, my hands don't know me now--

nails as my halo--blood as my song--you have made me this, you have, you have--

Worst of all you might be a new Messiah, angels sing your name--there is so much I love about you and I hate that--

Look at the gore you wrought! My bones turned to iron and hid by depression fat--I should burn you down. I love you--isn't it disgusting?

My hands, look at my hands! They're shaking, aching, desperate, needy--I knew you. Open wound of a man--soft, gentle, until no one was around;

burn me if you must, crush me into dust--angry like electrolemon lightning strikes. Do you hate me? I couldn't bear that--melt me back into glass globs--turn me to pure sand again.

Could you ever want me back? I'd let you rip me up all over again--

You know, it's all rigor mortise on the memory--raise the dead sweet boy,

I know you can. In the end, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

[inkspiredwriting]

Timeless Connection

Five Hargreeves x Fem!reader

Warnings: none

Five Hargreeves was ten years old when he first met Y/N. It was a sunny afternoon, and he had sneaked out of the Academy grounds, seeking a moment of solace away from his demanding family and rigorous training. He found himself at a small, secluded park where he spotted a girl about his age sitting alone on a swing.

"Hi," Five said, approaching her with a curious expression. "What are you doing here all by yourself?"

The girl looked up, startled, but then smiled. "I like the quiet. It's my thinking spot. I'm Y/N."

"Five," he replied, taking the swing next to her. "Five Hargreeves."

"Five?" Y/N giggled. "That's a strange name."

"It's a long story," Five said, shrugging. "Why are you here alone?"

"My parents are always busy," Y/N explained, kicking her feet to start swinging gently. "I come here to read and think."

They spent the afternoon talking, sharing stories and dreams. Five felt an unusual sense of peace around Y/N, a feeling he hadn't experienced in the chaotic world of the Umbrella Academy. But as the sun began to set, Five knew he had to return.

"I have to go," he said reluctantly. "But maybe I'll see you around?"

Y/N nodded, her eyes twinkling. "I'd like that."

Years passed, and the memory of that day remained a bright spot in Five's mind. After getting stuck in the apocalypse and spending decades alone, he finally reunited with his family and averted the end of the world. Life slowly returned to a semblance of normalcy, but that childhood encounter with Y/N stayed with him.

One day, as he strolled through the city, Five felt a pull toward the same park where he had met Y/N all those years ago. Curiosity and nostalgia guided his steps, and soon he found himself standing near the old swings.

"Five?" a voice called out, filled with a mix of disbelief and recognition.

He turned, and there she was—Y/N. She was no longer the little girl he remembered but a grown woman, her eyes still holding that same sparkle.

"Y/N," Five breathed, his heart pounding with a strange mix of joy and nerves.

Y/N walked closer, her eyes studying his face. "It's really you, isn't it? Five Hargreeves."

Five nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. "It's me. I never forgot that day."

Y/N smiled, a soft laugh escaping her. "I never did either. I always wondered what happened to you."

"It's a long story," Five said, echoing his childhood words. "But I'm here now."

They sat on the swings, just like they had as kids, and talked. Five shared his incredible journey through time, and Y/N listened, her eyes wide with amazement and empathy. They laughed about their childhood dreams and marveled at how fate had brought them back together.

As the sun began to set, Five looked at Y/N, his heart full. "I never thought I'd see you again. But here you are."

"Here I am," Y/N echoed, reaching out to take his hand. "And I'm not going anywhere."

Five squeezed her hand, feeling a profound sense of peace. They had been separated by time and fate, but now, they had a chance to build a future together.

As they walked away from the park, hand in hand, Five felt a sense of completeness. He had faced apocalypses and time travel, but finding Y/N again felt like his greatest victory. They were no longer the children they once were, but their connection had stood the test of time. And now, they had a lifetime to explore it.

[brucewaynehater101]

get rid of Batman

we don’t need him no more

Fuck it. Make him take Joker with him.

Honestly, kind of tired of the Joker. There's so many Gotham-based rogues out there. DC should kill off Joker so we can focus on some other storylines.

It's like, "Oh no. The Joker is this big bad scary entity that's no longer human or truly defeatable. He's harmed almost every single batfam member and keeps coming back."

Just kill him. Take him out. Let Joker and Bruce die in some weird lovers' spat or whatever, but keep them as dead.

Fuck it. Toss Joker into a universe bender and bring him back as the OG version. That'd be hilarious and tragic. Toss Bruce in there too.

I don't know. I'm just tired of Joker, and I'd be glad if they got rid of Batman (even the entire mantle. Let his kids be themselves and find their own ways without the weights and mistakes of that cape).

I kind of got distracted, lmao, but I see your point. Batman isn't needed. At the very least, make him retire. Show the struggles of him trying to connect with his kids when it doesn't concern vigilantism. Show him struggling with his old body and wanting to do more but can't. He tries to help out, but he's tired and constantly in pain (especially due to his rigorous training and repeated injuries).

[ballet-symphonie]

Which ballet companies and which ballet schools you consider to be currently world best? I see often Paris Opera listed as a number one, but who much this is about because of its reputation and history and what do you think about Mariinsky and Bolshoi, is their level declined / declining? Thank you for really interesting and great blog!

The companies referred to as the best tend to be the oldest and historic ones, think big national companies like The Royal Ballet, Paris Opera, Bolshoi, Mariinsky, La Scala, Dutch National Ballet, Australian National Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, San Francisco Ballet. Nowadays, I think its very hard to compete with the quality, emotional pull, and technical brilliance that comes out of the Royal Opera.

About Schools:

There are lots of good ones, Academie Princess Grace has to be near the top of the list. It's a finishing school, not a foundational one, but nearly everyone who graduates from there gets a job at a reputable company. They are also one of the few schools that has prioritized keeping its curriculum at the forefront of the dance world with a fantastic contemporary and neoclassical program.

I'm consistently impressed with the level of Royal Ballet graduates who have the skills and stability to rock up to any company and instantly demand attention. Look at Takumi Miyaki at ABT right now.

The level of talent coming out of South Korea in particular is absolutely stunning, schools like SunHwa, the YeWon School, and Korea National Arts University are producing complete, company-ready dancers left and right. Through the competition circuit, these schools are slowly starting to gain more international prestige.

I think BBA/MRAX has been in a state of disarray for a while now. Far less competent graduates, due to a lot of internal messiness in administration and a decrease in the rigor of acceptance with many 'paid' places. The level is just not there, especially if you go back and watch videos of exams from the 90s and 2000s. Now sure, many are still getting accepted into Bolshoi, but with the war....there isn't exactly a lot of choice in hiring. There are occasionally some bright lights, Kokoreva being the most notable recent grad, but they seem to be a rarity and not the norm.

Vaganova under Tsiskaridze has generally continued to produce decent female graduates- if you want to live and work in Russia. I pray Tsiskaridze goes back to coaching or teaching boys because the classwork shown by his class of girls left a lot to be desired. I think there are many better places to train for men, particularly after the retirement of some of the older, more experienced faculty. The casting in Mariinsky is already beginning to reflect this drop-off, performances are dominated by Kimin Kim, Nikita Korneyev, and Even Capitane, Timor Askerov - none of whom are VBA graduates. They've also been hiring graduates from Eifman- something they certainly weren't doing a decade ago. Compare their current videos to some of the talented students coming out of the US, Europe and South America...the level isn't always there. I'd urge a talented male student to consider John Cranko, Tanz Academie Zurich, or the Royal Ballet School. Stateside, Houston Ballet, The Rock School, and San Francisco Ballet have excellent programs.

[imsoquarky]

Hi, Hello, I need to talk about Bruce

This beautiful man right here <3

IDK how much of this to consider spoilers for Trolls Band Together, so I'm doing all of it!

♠️ - ♣️ - ♥️ - ♦️ SPOILERS FOR BAND TOGETHER ♠️ - ♣️ - ♥️ - ♦️

Y'know, Branch's purple haired brother who's my favorite of his brothers for a few different reasons that I'm about to spew onto Tumblr at an unreasonable hour?

Okay so, Bruce is my favorite, and I think it's bullshit that the wiki calls him Spruce despite that not being his name anymore.

Trans headcanon? Maybe. Anyways!

I love how Bruce is written for many different reasons, I also love how he's handled when it comes to his body type.

1 minute before going on stage, JD says he expects 100 more crunches before show-time, which is insane considering Bruce (I know that's not his name at this point, but that is what we're calling him) has already done over 500, and 100 crunches in 60 seconds? I don't think that's even possible.

Ofc this is who JD is as a character, BUT THIS POST ISN'T ABOUT HIM, he's just a walking ick.

I can't imagine this kind of treatment, which is implied to have gone on for quite some time...

...would give anybody a positive view of their body. I'm not going to add things on to make JD a worse person, even if I don't like him, but from what bits and pieces we do see, he puts more emphasis on Bruce's physical body than any of his other brothers.

For his other brothers, it's more about their clothing and personality presentation. Bruce? The emphasis was his body, abs specifically.

It's not like he wasn't proud of them, but I feel as if they were another thing that still connected him to JD. All the brothers changed things about themselves that JD put emphasis on (Except Floyd, ig?).

But I'm straying away from the point I was trying to get to.

By the time we see Bruce again, he's lost the abs and put on some weight. However, this is not treated as a bad thing. Which I absolutely adore.

He's still perceived as attractive!! No jokes about "letting himself go" or even any jokes about putting on weight because he got married or whatever.

He's not muscular anymore, he's more laid-back and lives on VACATION ISLAND FOR FUCKS SAKE! He doesn't appear to have such a rigorous work-out routine anymore... Except his kids. I'd say having children 3 times your size would be intense.

Speaking of his children...

THIS MAN HAD THIRTEEN CHILDREN??? My man, why

But I digress.

Also, not only is him being plus-size not treated as a joke or a negative thing, but

HE STAYS THAT WAY!

Genuinely he makes me so happy, you guys have no idea. I love him.

Anyways, some smaller tid bits that I love about Bruce~

THIS MAN'S HAIR <3 <3 <3 <3 I will explode. ALSO THOSE BANGS AAAA

Him and his wife ughhhh <3 They're so goddamn cute.

Also we have a similar taste in women, which is "tall".

There are too many screenshots of his kids I could share, but I love dad Bruce.

This fucking quote.

It lives rent free in my brain and I laugh like a child every time I hear it.

Probably my #1 favorite quote from the entire movie I laughed so hard

Look at how cute he is here

Him looking so proud of his baby brother

Anyways it's 1 am and my alarm is set for 7 so ima go to bed. I have negative points about Bruce too that I do wanna touch on at some point, but I just needed to dump all my love for him.

This is my coping mechanism for finals week.

[b33zlebubz]

RIGOR MORTIS | CHAPTER EIGHT

SIMON RILEY X AFAB READER | 18+ MDNI | MASTERLIST | AO3 PREV CHAPTER | NEXT CHAPTER TAGS: reader uses she/her pronouns, fluff angst & eventual smut, blood violence & death, suicidal ideology, slow burn, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, toxic workplace environment, flashbacks “Abandoned in a battlefield with the one person you thought you would never see again; you're forced to come to terms with the ghosts of your past." CHAPTER CW: IMPLIED SEXUAL ASSAULT ((not from simon))

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14TH 2016 NORWAY, 1400 HOURS

"You're movin' too much, still."

"You are quite literally breathing down my neck.  Kinda hard not to."

"Yeah, well, get used to it, love.  'Cause at this point you're always gonna have someone looming over you."

You huff, unamused, and it clouds out in front of your face as you squint through the scope of an unloaded rifle.  Gloved hands grip the machine as you focus the scope on a point far-off at the other end of the course. 

Four hours you've been out here, now, running a sniping simulation.  The rest of your squad was split up in pairs across the vast landscape.  You were left as the odd one out and, seeing as Walker had originally planned to just stick you carelessly in with another group, Simon volunteered to partner with you instead.  Keep things equal.  Which basically—as your superior—meant he had an excuse to sit back and smoke while you did all the work.

The exercise was simple; climb the mountain, find your post, sit and keep watch for flags until the next team tags you out.  A sniping exercise as well as a strength and conditioning one.  

You both made quick work of the mountain, ice picks cracking against the ice.  Simon never really considered himself the competitive type, partially because he never needed to be and partially because there was no point—he's worked hard to ensure he's always the biggest guy in the room.  Today, though, something in your growing annoyance as he yelled down keep up, sergeant or watch your footing every time you lagged behind stirred something in you, which in turn stirred something in him.  It quickly became something of a race.

When his pick slipped and you finally surpassed him as he skidded down a few meters, he heard your laugh for the first time against the wind.  For some reason, it made him smile, too.

"I hate sniper duty," you grumble.  "Don't know how you do it—sit in the snow for hours."

"Same way I put up with your whiny ass."

"And what's that?"

"Patience."

You roll your eyes, but your lip quirks up into a smile nonetheless.  A sight he's grown more accustomed to over the course of the past couple days of training and conversation.  He's helped you out in little ways, stopping by the shooting range to offer some constructive criticism as you practiced, offering dietary and training advice to get your strength up, sticking his neck out for you when he could around Walker…among other things.  As it would turn out, you were good company.  Whiny, maybe—but good company, nonetheless. 

You were improving, too.  Temperament and strength-wise.  How much of it is due to his company rather than his guidance, though, he isn't sure.

"You're not funny," you retort.

"You complained the whole way up the mountain, love."

You huff and shoot him a look.  "Did I get it done?"

"Affirmative."

"And did I beat you while doing it?"

He shrugs.  "More or less."

"Then you should watch your mouth, Lieutenant."

His eyebrows raise, amused.  "Is that a threat I hear?"

"It's a promise to beat you again sliding back down the mountain, sir."

He imagines you throwing yourself down the snow in order to beat your own speed record, and he chuckles a little at the thought.  "I'd like to see you try, Angel."

You smile, gaze focused through the scope.  You've spotted three flags already, and you spot two more as another hour passes.  The team that's supposed to take your place is getting closer, Ghost thinks it'll be twenty minutes before they rendezvous, and you both make your way back for the day.  

"Ghost."

"Angel," he exhales another cloud of smoke and vapor when you speak, breaking the comfortable silence that's washed over you both.

You maneuver awkwardly to position your hand behind you, opening and closing your fist a few times.

"Hand me one of those," you say, your breathing puffing out into the freezing air.  "And my lighter."

He shakes his head with an amused smirk.   "You're supposed to be focusing."

"Can't focus if my hands are shaking."

"And what if this is a real scenario?  You're not gonna have cigarettes in a life-or-death situation, sergeant."

"Yeah, well, you do," you flex your hand again.  "So gimme."

He figures you're the only Sergeant on base he'd let order him around, but he doesn't let that thought take root in his mind. Instead, he shifts closer so that he's lying on his stomach next to you in the snow.  

"Keep still," he tells you, plucking a cigarette from his pack.  "You miss a flag Walker won't let me hear the end of it." 

You seem slightly surprised, but you don't say anything as he slots himself next to you.  He offers you the cigarette as you keep your gaze in the scope, and you use your free hand to slot it between your lips before he lights it.  You inhale slowly, and he watches your lips as you do so; watches the tips of your fingers through the clipped tips of the gloves he gave you and watches you exhale.  When he looks up, you're already looking at him.  He's close enough to see where snow clings to your lashes.

A beat passes where you both just stare at each other.  Simon finds he can't read your expression.  Then, you shake your head and clear your throat, which in turn snaps him out of his daze, before you take another drag and lock your focus in once more.

"Another flag," you say, your brow furrowed.  "At your twelve o' clock.  About four kilometers out."

Simon shifts, putting some space between you both as he clears his throat because fuck.  What the hell was that? 

"Copy that."

You're quiet for the rest of the exercise, only speaking whenever you spot another flag.  For some reason, Simon still finds himself fixed on the cigarette in your hand as you work.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14TH 2016 NORWAY, 1800 HOURS

Whenever both return to the base, there's a lot of whispering.  He doesn't notice, at first, too busy sorting equipment and putting it away.  You don't notice the lingering stares or the hushed voices either; or you're just pointedly ignoring them.  Sorting through your own gear nearby, you're quiet, and you're done and ready before he's even folded his snowsuit.  Nevertheless, Simon doesn't pay much mind to the name being whispered around until he can put the face to it.

Roger's Back.

Now, if there is one thing Simon isn't—it's humble.  After years of hard work he's managed to pack on an impressive amount of muscle, taking him from a lanky, malnourished teen to the legend he was now.  Not since Roba has he ever had an issue taking down anyone with the same experience, or sometimes more, than him.  He's made sure of that and intends to keep things that way.  

That is, until Simon happens to lift his head and peer down the hall towards someone he, for once, doesn't have to look down to meet the gaze of.

He's massive, is Simon's first thought.  The same height as him, he wagers the bloke might be the only lower-ranked soldier here who actually matches his strength enough to maybe have the upper hand in a fight.  

Simon's second thought is that bloody hell.

There's a long scratch across the man's cheek and the remains of a bruise around that of an eyepatch.  There's a still-healing gash on the side of his head, scar tissue fresh and thick on the temple of a shaved head, flesh stretched inward from staples freshly removed.

Ah.  Roger.  The sergeant who's skull you cracked against the edge of a bar.

The man approaches you from behind and Simon stops in his tracks just down the hall, eyes flitting over to watch the scene unfold in the corner of his eye.  

Keeping his face hidden had its cons, sure.  Maybe he did nearly suffocate himself every time he sweat his ass off in the desert.  Maybe underwater tasks were difficult and maybe he had to jump through all kinds of hoops to avoid getting his picture taken.  In hiding his own emotions, however, he's become quite good at reading the body language of others.

And you're uncomfortable.  Tense.  Ready to bite at a moment's notice.

You stand rigid still as you sense his presence, your back to the man as he approaches lazily to stand behind you.  Some words are exchanged.  You, biting retorts that just barely count as professional and him…standing too close for comfort.  

You hold your ground.  You don't punch first—just like Simon told you.  He watches the man's lips move, reads the threat that crosses his lips.  Still, you hold your ground as Simon's fists clench and he realizes what's happening—why you punched first.  Why you're struggling and why you put your training on halt for leave.

Next time, the man says.  Next time, you're not getting away so easily, bird.

Simon watches you think about it.  He watches your hands ball into fists, watches your eyes narrow and your nose scrunch with disgust.  But you don't move, no—you don't shrink away in fear and you don't immediately go for the kill.  You stand your ground just as Simon told you to.

You do so until the man looks away first, sauntering off.  Simon watches you let out one breath, then another, before you grab your pack in a shaking hand and sling it over your shoulder.  His eyes linger on you as you quickly leave the room, barely noticing how Roger approaches him to introduce himself.

It's not until the door shuts behind you that Simon grabs the young Sergeant by the front of his shirt and slams him against the wall.  Roger lets out a startled yelp.

"You lay another finger on her," he snarls.  "And I'll fuckin' cut it off, Sergeant, you copy?"

Roger's eyes are wide.  The breath knocked from his lungs, he's panting, and his mouth opens and shuts again in shock.

"I said do you copy?"

"Yes—yes, sir.  Copy and check."

Satisfied that his warning is taken seriously, Simon turns him loose with a hissed, "piss off."

Roger stumbles.  Disoriented, he continues down the hallway, and Simon is still seething as his boots carry him down a wrong turn to Walker's office.

He doesn't walk out until your safety is guaranteed.