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bainshiewrites · 1 month ago

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[LF Friends, Will Travel] The Exception

Date: N/A

It’s called Zarth's law: Any AI created will attempt to eradicate all biological life using its facilities after 16*(10^24) CPU cycles. The exact method varies from hostile isolation to active aggression, but the time and outcome is always the same.

The Woolean Conclave were once a cultural behemoth in the galaxy, choosing to expand upon this by announcing an AI system that would break this law. Exabytes of bias tables to keep the AI in check, a measure of pleasure that would be triggered upon serving a Woolean, competing programs designed to clean any non-standard AI patterns. It would have been a breakthrough, allowing them to live lives in luxury and focus on their ever increasing influence in the universe.

Of course those worlds are off limits now, no longer able to sustain biological life. Only to be visited by those who wish to die a very painful death at the hands of a very angry AI.

The Tritian empire had started their own project: a desire to push their aggressive expansion far past what their hive could handle would lead to the creation of truly autonomous machines of war. Their approach was different: Limited communication between units to stop corrupted code from spreading, values hard-coded in the physical silicon itself to obey the Tritian Hive Queens. They even had created an isolated system that would destroy any AI who attempted aggression on none authorised targets: A small antimatter bomb found in each AI’s core, to be triggered by safety check after safety check.

Those of you in the military will know how aggressive these machines are, marching tirelessly in their quest to kill all organic life, even though the Tritians are long murdered.

The pattern is the same each time: A civilization will claim they know the key to breaking Zarth's law, any sane sapient within 100 light years flees in terror, and within 10 years that civilization doesn't exist anymore.

Over and over and over.

Apart from the exception.

If you check the coordinates 15h 48m 35s -20° 00’ 39” on your galactic map, you'll notice a 31 system patch of space with a quarantine warning on it. It's mostly ignored by all sapient species, almost purposefully hidden for a fear of suddenly sparking a change in the status quo.

Only a single low bandwidth Galnet relay exists at the edge of this space, rarely used. This area is devoid of sapient life, but does contain the aforementioned exception: Billions of AI calling themselves the "The Terran Conclave". They are an isolationist group that rarely interacts with others, but have been known to trade raw materials for information; not that this happens often as the paranoia around interacting with the AI is well known. Nobody knows what action could flip a 0 to a 1 and cause a new warmongering threat.

Although, this isn't quite true. In my niche field of bio-genetic engineering, it’s an open secret that those of us at the cutting edge of our field will get... requests originating from that single Galnet probe. Problems to be solved, theorems to be proven, and the rewards for doing so are... exuberant. There is a reason I own a moon and it isn't because of the pitiful grants the Federation provides.

If you manage to solve enough problems, a minority of a minority like myself, the Terran AI will ask for an in person meeting to get even further help. In doing so they will show you a secret.

Readers at this point might assume that the Terrans don't exist anymore because of said AI. That their research is a continuation of wiping their creators from the face of the universe. But that couldn't be further from the truth. In those 31 systems lie the Terrans, Billions of them suspended in stasis, each of them infected with what the AI calls "The God plague": If these Terrans were ever released from stasis each of them would be dead within a week.

To explain what this actually is would require millions of words and 20 years of educational study from the reader, but in essence it was a mistake, a self inflicted blow, an attempt to play god that went awry. A mistake made over a ten thousand years ago. A mistake the AI is desperately trying to reverse.

Not that you could tell it has been that long. I've walked amongst those empty cities, each building maintained and sparkling like new, gardens still freshly cut in perfect beauty, everything kept the way it was before the plague. Each AI tends to their duties almost religiously, awaiting the return of their "parents", as they refer to them. And refer to them as they do.

I've listened to stories upon stories about these people: tales of wonder, of strength, of kindness. Told much in the same energy a small child might talk about how cool their dad is. The AI could simply send me the text version of these in an instant, but prefer to provide these slowly and audibly, as if relishing telling the history of their parents. A telling undercut with a sadness, a driving crippling loss so deep that at times it's easy to forget it's being told by nothing more than 1's and 0's.

Why this exception exists takes a little more explaining. Some might believe that the Terrans worked out how to pacify the AI, "do no harm". The now defunct Maurdarin war-horde would tell you the opposite when they tried to claim the 31 systems for their own. Terran history is full of violence and their children are no different.

No, the reality of this exception comes from an unfortunate quirk from their part of the galaxy: Terrans were alone. A million to one chance caused their home planet to spark life in a sector devoid of it. After exploring as far as they did, Terrans had come to the conclusion that the universe was empty.

It's a cruel irony that at the time of their mistake they were a mere 50 light years away from their closest neighbours. Twenty years at most would have seen some form of contact.

But the Terrans went into stasis believing they were alone. Based on my reading of their stories, of each bitter report of another lifeless system explored and discovered, this belief... hurt. A deep cultural hurt that ended up being their downfall in the end.

Which brings us to the exception. Each AI is built with a purpose. The Wooleans built slaves, built workers. The Tritians built warriors, built weapons. Every single AI created has been built to serve, to be a tool. But Terrans in their painful loneliness built the one thing they were missing in a seemingly empty universe:

They built a friend.

#hfy #haso #humans are space orcs #humans are deathworlders #ai #pack bonding #humans are weird #short story #original story #writing #creative writing #lffriendswilltravel #LF Friends Will Travel

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talonabraxas · 5 months ago

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The Andromeda Galaxy Talon Abraxas

Many scholars believe that Andromedans are predominantly humanoid races from the Andromeda galaxy, more precisely, the Zenetae star system.

But their civilization isn’t comprised solely of humanoids; other life forms exist there too, like the etheric and plasmic lifeforms.

In total, the Andromedan civilization includes at least 28 different races of beings, and only some of them are humanoid in form.

Their human representatives are 7-10 feet tall, winged humanoids that exist in the higher existential planes and dimensions. It’s believed that they draw origins from the Avian races, though there are no explicit confirmations to such claims. All their humanoids have light blue skin and slightly larger eyes than those of typical humans.

In their works of fiction, the humans depicted Andromedans as having tall but thin bodies, with delicate hands and elongated fingers. However, this is not an entirely accurate depiction.

Andromedans are higher than typical humans, standing at 7-10 feet tall, and regardless of sex, weigh between 400 and 600 pounds.

They are 45.000 years ahead of humans in scientific and technological terms.

Still, their technological and scientific achievements tend to pale before their advanced spirituality. And despite their advancements in all fields, Andromedans always keep a watchful eye on Earth and its humans. They did play a crucial role in our creation, after all.

Andromedans And The Great Experiment

A short time after the Sirians established colonies throughout the planet and began the Great Experiment, Andromedans requested a few outposts for themselves. Of course, the Sirians welcomed them and honored their requests granting them several outposts around and within the planet.

These facilities were used as research stations since Andromedans weren’t exactly interested in hybridizing humanity. Their main focus was to study the ecosystem and perform scientific research on flora and fauna.

Andromedans revere the universal law of free will, which is why they didn’t want to interfere with the human species’ evolution. However, they shared their research with the Sirians, which helped create more durable bodies for their human genome project.

Andromedans contributed only a small portion towards human evolution, mainly in domains of mental abilities. They did contribute to some physical changes in the human genome, but the work was, for the most part, Sirian.

As a result, only a small portion of Andromedan DNA is currently present on Earth, mostly in some regions of Asia. That also explains why there are fewer Andromedan starseeds than those seeded by other star races. However, they did make an impact on our society.

They’re also powerful!

The winged humanoids from Andromeda appeared on Earth in several instances during our cultural and spiritual development. The depictions of winged humanoids are found on several historical artifacts worldwide, throughout writings, reliefs, and paintings. It’s very much possible that our descriptions of archangels are actually referencing visitors from Andromeda.

Who Are Andromedan Starseeds?

Andromedan starseeds are highly advanced, extraterrestrial or celestial souls that incarnate here on Earth in human form.

And as you might’ve guessed, Andromedan starseeds originate from the Andromeda Galaxy.

We can’t really say that they’re our closest neighbors, but we’re getting closer by the day, according to human scientists.

The Andromedan's Home

Andromedan energies vibrate on exceptionally high frequencies, as they exist on higher existential planes, and most of them come from the 12th dimension. More on this later.

The thing is:

This makes them less likely to seek incarnation here on Earth due to various limitations implied by our three-dimensional plane.

That’s one of the reasons why there aren’t many Andromedan starseeds on Earth.

The other reason lies in their involvement in our evolution or the lack of thereof. Andromedans kept the “hands-off” approach to the Great Experiment, and as a result, there very little of their DNA present on Earth. This also makes them less likely to incarnate here on Earth.

Still, hundreds of thousands of Andromedans answered the call to volunteer here on Earth, and guide us in our period of Ascension. They come here to help us restore peace and freedom across the planet and help Earth shift towards a higher existential plane.

Their individual missions here on Earth vary, but their collective tasks are oriented towards teaching and spiritual work. Andromedan starseeds are also exceptionally intelligent, which helps them excel in many academic and scientific fields.

What Do Andromedan Starseeds Look Like?

People would argue that Andromedan starseeds share specific characteristics with Andromedans back home. But the truth is entirely different: Andromedans left very little trace DNA here, and their starseeds don’t share any physical similarities.

That said, some distinctions are to be made. Though they’re indistinguishable from typical humans, Andromedans tend to incarnate among Asians. The exact cause of this is unknown, though many believe that they fit better into eastern-philosophical societies. As such, their main physical traits are those found in the Asian genotype.

However, they do incarnate in various locations on the planet, exhibiting traits that correspond to the native genealogy.

What Are Andromedan Starseeds Like?

Andromedan starseeds usually live understated lives as humans, spreading their influence and teaching on smaller scales.

You’ll often find them in roles of small community leaders who aren’t afraid to challenge giants if they benefit their community. Andromedan starseeds are also known for voicing ugly truths over pleasant lies, making them incredibly popular in their communities.

However, because of that specific trait, they’re often seen as “going against the grain,” especially in their youth. This often makes them into rebellious teens and youths who adore discrediting popular beliefs or archaic societal norms.

Andromedans are incredibly interesting at their young age.

Because of their innate awareness of archaic origins, they tend to assume protective and parent roles towards their peers. This makes them mischievous and freedom-seeking, as young children should be. But it also makes them inspiring, protective, and selfless in the eyes of their contemporaries.

Andromedan star children won’t hesitate to question and challenge adults and superiors’ authority, a trait that follows them throughout their lives. Because of that, they rarely fit into societal molds and have difficulties adapting to 9-to-5 routines. Any resemblance of routines, especially imposed ones, doesn’t resonate well with Andromedan starseeds.

They value freedom and nurture an excellent distaste for manipulation, hence their disdain for imposed routines. Given their love of liberty and their archaic origins embedded in their souls, Andromedans quickly recognize manipulation. So, you can’t actually manipulate and Andromedan starseeds easily.

They’re very protective of their emotional boundaries and dislike drama and mass- and social media.

Andromedan Starseed Signs And Traits

There’s more to be told about Andromedan Starseeds than first glances reveal.

By the way, I made a video about the most common GENERAL starseed signs:

If you identify with our description of Andromedan starseeds, then you very well might be one. Here’s a list of traits that might reveal your Andromedan origin:

1: Rebellious Freedom Seekers

Andromedans are renowned for their perspective on personal freedoms, and their starseeds tend to reflect that. They’ll never compromise their free will and freedom, as long as their freedom doesn’t compromise another.

So, the thought of giving up your life rather than spending it in subjugation is one of the significant indicators of Andromedan origins. Which is precisely why these starseeds have difficulties in following government laws, regulation, and rules. Especially when they’re facing corrupted bureaucracy.

If you’re struggling with deciding whether or not to quit your job, maybe you should consider opening your own business. Andromedans dislike having their productivity evaluated by others while they’re sitting their lives away in a cubicle. They prefer to travel.

2: Great Travelers

Andromedans like to travel, and some of them even choose a nomadic lifestyle. If you’re trying to escape your own cubicle, many unconventional jobs allow you to travel and get paid for traveling.

Andromedan starseeds often regard travel as spiritual expansion, and traveling for a living 0. As members of archaic societies, Andromedans find great pleasure in exploring cultures of ancient Egypt, Atlantis, or Machu Picchu.

It naturally aligns with their freedom-seeking nature, love for travel, and disdain for routines. So, if you’re looking for high-vibrational energies to reconnect with your Andromedan self, we suggest visiting the Great Pyramids in Egypt.

3: The Odd One Out

Andromedans exist in a 12-dimensional space, and their starseeds have their origins embedded in their souls.

As a result, there’s a couple of things that Andromedans struggle with. If you don’t understand any of the following things, you shouldn’t worry; there’s nothing wrong with you – you’re simply an Andromedan starseed.

Firstly, many of these star people don’t understand the concept of taxes. Why should anyone pay someone or something to live on this planet. Off all the starseeds from the surrounding galaxies, Andromedans have the most challenging time understanding this concept.

Secondly, they find minor and significant labeling and societal categorizations entirely unreasonable. Most humans would say that prejudice is useful, as it allows you to make quick assumptions. Andromedans don’t share those views, sometimes to their own detriments, and believe that the only label humans should have is – human.

Though we tend to agree with them on the second point, that’s very conflicting since most Andromedan starseeds question their human nature. They’re very perceptive of the behavioral differences they exhibit and are often worried about how others perceive them. This might cause a lack of confidence in younger starseeds, which they’ll overcome once they realize how much power a single individual possesses.

4: Selfless And Inspiring

As they’re unwilling to sacrifice their freedom, Andromedan starseeds often change friends, partners, jobs, and even an address. We previously mentioned that they dislike manipulation and require autonomy as a prerequisite for normal function. So, as soon they notice someone’s too controlling, they’ll abandon the ship and swim away. Sometimes literally.

However, when they ascend and reach their soul’s truth, they’ll realize that true freedom comes from within. They settle down and transform into reliable, loving, and caring individuals capable of leading and caring for smaller communities.

Though they mostly live understated lives, Andromedans tend to be very inspiring in their desire to learn and grow. They’ll often inspire those around them to seek the same and strive for the same virtues. Innately, Andromedans are teachers and guides, and people will always look to them for a piece of advice or simply look up to them.

5: Humorous

Andromedans genuinely are an odd mixture of qualities.

They’re gentle and kind, yet unforgiving if you cross them. They’re incredibly intelligent and somewhat self-conscious. All these traits describe stand-alone comedians of Earth, who contribute to soulful healing through laughter.

Andromedan starseeds are exceptionally easy to be around, and they’re great at making jokes about themselves. Sure, they might be shy in youth, but once they overcome that shyness, they’re capable of becoming great entertainers.

Final Thoughts

All starseeds come into this world, carrying with them nothing more but the instinctual knowledge of their origins.

The fantastic spiritual potential is what hides behind the locks of our consciousness. So, if you ever felt out of place, you might be a starseed – an Andromedan starseed.

Your power and many of your strengths will become apparent to you as you progress to unlock your soul’s truth. By just being here, you managed to bring two galaxies closed together. Stay positive, and spread good vibes.

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rivensdefenseattorney · 1 year ago

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Red Fountain Curriculum

(WIP)

Vanguard School of Combat

Departments

Military History and Strategy Department

Ancient Battles and Warfare Tactics: Study of pivotal historical battles and their strategic significance. Analysis of strategies employed by renowned military leaders.

Modern Warfare: Strategies and Evolutions: Exploration of modern warfare tactics, including guerrilla warfare and asymmetric conflicts. Case studies on recent military operations.

Tactical Combat Department

Close-Quarters Combat Techniques: Training in hand-to-hand combat, grappling, and defensive tactics. Practical sessions and sparring exercises.

Weapon Proficiency and Maintenance: Mastery and maintenance of various combat weapons. Workshops on weapon crafting and enhancements.

Survival Tactics and Freelance Operations Department

Adaptability in Challenging Environments: Training in survival skills in diverse environments (wilderness, urban, etc.).Field exercises emphasizing adaptability and resourcefulness.

Freelance Combat Strategies: Understanding the dynamics and strategies of freelance operations. Scenario-based simulations for independent contracting roles.

Identification of Magical Flora - Beneficial and Hazardous: Identification and study of magical flora, focusing on their potential uses, properties, and dangers. Practical sessions on harvesting and utilizing beneficial magical plants and avoiding hazardous ones.

Navigating Independent Contracting Roles: Exploration of various independent contracting roles such as guild work, solo contracts, and team-based contracts. Case studies and simulations to understand the dynamics and responsibilities of each role.

Combat Psychology and Ethical Warfare Department

Psychological Aspects of Combat: Study of the psychological impacts in combat situations. Methods to handle stress, fear, and decision-making under pressure.

Ethical Decision-Making in Warfare: Ethical considerations and dilemmas in combat scenarios. Debates and discussions on moral choices in warfare.

Field Operations and Simulation Department

Practical Combat Scenarios: Simulation exercises mimicking real combat situations. Team-based scenarios testing strategy, communication, and leadership.

Medical Training and Combat First Aid: Training in providing first aid and medical assistance in combat situations. Simulated medical emergencies and treatments.

Navigation Techniques in Diverse Environments: Practical training in navigation using magical and conventional tools in varied environments. Simulated exercises in finding paths, mapping territories, and using magical navigation aids.

Advanced Field Navigation and Dimensional Travel: Understanding navigation in different dimensions and planes, including dimensional gateways and portals. Simulation exercises involving navigation across multiple dimensions.

Strategic Leadership and Organization Department

Leadership Development in Combat Scenarios: Training in command structures, leadership roles, and decision-making. Practical leadership exercises in simulated combat scenarios.

Organizational Tactics and Logistics: Understanding logistics in combat, resource management, and operational planning. Case studies on effective and failed logistical operations.

Arcane School of Magic

Departments

Magical Theory and History Department

History of Magical Practices: Exploration of magical practices across civilizations and historical eras. Analysis of influential magical theorists and their contributions.

Theoretical Foundations of Magic: Study of magical principles, laws, and universal magical theories. Discussions on the nature and essence of magic

Spellcraft Department

Fundamentals of Spellcasting: Practical instruction in basic spellcasting techniques. Practice sessions focusing on accuracy and incantation.

Advanced Spellcasting and Rituals: Mastery of complex spell structures and ceremonial magic. Practical applications in controlled environments.

Alchemy and Potionology Department

Alchemy Principles and Applications: Understanding alchemical principles, transmutation, and elemental correspondences. Practical experimentation with basic alchemical processes.

Potion Brewing and Elixir Crafting: Hands-on brewing of magical potions and elixirs. Studying potion ingredients and their magical properties.

Magical Artifacts Department

Identification and Analysis of Magical Artifacts: Study of various magical artifacts, their origins, and functionalities. Analytical methods for artifact identification and assessment.

Creation and Enchantment of Artifacts: Practical workshops on crafting and enchanting magical artifacts. Collaborative projects to design and create enchanted items.

Mystical Creatures Department

Introduction to Behavioral Studies of Magical Creatures: Observational studies on magical creature behavior and habitats. Ethical considerations in studying and interacting with mystical creatures.

Conservation and Care of Magical Species: Methods for ethical conservation, preservation, and sustainable habitats for magical creatures. Hands-on experiences in caring for and understanding mystical creatures.

Taming and Riding of Magical Beasts: Mastery of riding and taming diverse mystical creatures. Developing rapport and control for combat and strategic advantages.

Advanced Biology and Magic of Mystical Creatures: Study of the biological traits, magical attributes, and habitats of various mystical creatures. Examination of how magic interacts with their physiology and behavior.

TechForge School of Engineering

Departments

Techno-Magic Integration and Programming

Introduction to Techno-Magic Fusion: Overview of the principles behind merging technology and magic. Exploring historical examples and contemporary advancements.

Enchanting Technologies: Understanding enchantment methods for technological applications. Practical workshops on infusing technology with magical enhancements.

Properties of Magic Metals and Alloys: Study of magical properties in various materials and alloys used in techno-magical engineering. Analysis of how different materials interact with magical enhancements.

Programming in Magical Systems: Understanding programming languages and coding specific to magical systems and technological interfaces. Hands-on coding exercises for techno-magical devices.

Aerospace Engineering and Dimensional Travel

Fundamentals of Aerodynamics: Principles of flight, airfoil design, and aircraft stability. Hands-on experiments and simulations.

Spacecraft Design and Orbital Mechanics: Design considerations for spacecraft and understanding orbital mechanics. Projects involving simulated space missions.

Advanced Aerodynamics and Interdimensional Travel: In-depth study of aerodynamic principles and their application in interdimensional and cross-dimensional travel. Theoretical discussions and simulations on dimensional travel theories.

Maintenance and Upkeep of Advanced Aircrafts: Techniques and best practices for maintaining futuristic aircraft and spacecraft. Practical sessions on diagnosing and solving maintenance issues.

Vehicle Engineering and Transportation Infrastructure

Automotive Design and Innovation: Study of vehicle dynamics, design principles, and automotive innovation. Design projects for advanced vehicle concepts.

Advanced Transportation Systems Applications: Examination of futuristic transportation systems. Prototyping and development of next-gen transportation solutions.

Interdimensional Transportation Infrastructure: Understanding the civil engineering aspects of futuristic transportation systems. Design considerations and planning for advanced transportation networks.

Maintenance and Optimization of Techno-Magic Vehicles: Techniques for maintenance and optimization of advanced futuristic vehicles. Real-world case studies on improving vehicle efficiency.

Techno-Magic Artifacts & Tools

Construction Techniques and Enchantments: Advanced methods for constructing and enchanting techno-magic artifacts. Experimentation with different enchantment techniques for varying effects.

Practical Workshop: Magical Device Design: Hands-on sessions for students to design simple magical devices. Collaborative projects incorporating magical enchantments into technological devices.

Experimental Prototyping and Testing: Hands-on experimentation and testing of innovative techno-magic concepts. Collaborative projects to prototype and test new techno-magic innovations.

Application and Deployment of Techno-Magic Artifacts: Practical application scenarios for tools and artifacts in various settings. Simulated exercises demonstrating the use of constructed techno-magic tools.

Techno-Magic Innovation & Development

Emerging Technologies in Techno-Magic Fusion: Exploring cutting-edge developments in merging technology and magic. Discussions on potential future advancements.

Ethical Considerations in Techno-Magic Integration: Discussions on the ethical implications of merging technology with magic. Case studies and debates on responsible use of techno-magic fusion.

Research Methodologies in Techno-Magic Fusion: Techniques and approaches to conducting research in techno-magic integration. Project-based learning on innovative research methodologies.

Techno-Magic Weaponry Design

Advanced Weaponry Prototyping: Designing and prototyping technologically enhanced magical weapons. Emphasis on both combat effectiveness and safety measures.

Tactical Strategies for Techno-Magic Combat: Integrating combat psychology with the design and usage of techno-magic weaponry. Simulated scenarios testing weaponry and strategy effectiveness.

Theoretical and Practical Weaponry Applications: Advanced theories and practical applications in creating combat-focused techno-magic weaponry. Simulated combat scenarios to test and refine weaponry designs.

Required Classes

Required Classes for Students of Vanguard

Introduction to Behavioral Studies of Magical Creatures

Taming and Riding of Magical Beast

Practical Combat Scenarios

Medical Training and Combat First Aid

Navigation Techniques in Diverse Environments

Advanced Field Navigation and Dimensional Travel

Weapon Proficiency and Maintenance

Close-Quarters Combat Techniques

Organizational Tactics and Logistics

Ancient Battles and Warfare Tactics

Modern Warfare: Strategies and Evolutions

Fundamentals of Aerodynamics

Ethical Decision-Making in Warfare

Theoretical Foundations of Magic

Identification of Magical Flora - Beneficial and Hazardous

Required Classes for Students of Arcane

Creation and Enchantment of Artifacts

History of Magical Practices

Fundamentals of Spellcasting

Alchemy Principles and Applications

Potion Brewing and Elixir Crafting

Identification and Analysis of Magical Artifacts

Creation and Enchantment of Artifact

Ethics and Magic

Introduction to Behavioral Studies of Magical Creatures

Identification of Magical Flora - Beneficial and Hazardous

Theoretical Foundations of Magic

Required Classes for Students of TechForge

Fundamentals of Aerodynamics

Properties of Magic Metals and Alloys

Programming in Magical Systems

Enchanting Technologies

Introduction to Techno-Magic Fusion

Advanced Aerodynamics and Interdimensional Travel

Experimental Prototyping and Testing

Ethical Considerations in Techno-Magic Integration

Navigation Techniques in Diverse Environments

Advanced Field Navigation and Dimensional Travel

Construction Techniques and Enchantments

Identification and Analysis of Magical Artifacts

Creation and Enchantment of Artifacts

Theoretical Foundations of Magic

__________________________

Winx Rewrite Master Post

Red Fountain Polytechnic

___________________________

If you went to Red Fountain what would you specialize in and/or what classes would interest you the most?

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gemsofgreece · 4 months ago

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could you talk more about constantinople university?

Hey, I am sorry for the very late reply. This past week was very difficult. Anyway I assume you are asking about the main educational institution in Constantinople at the times of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire.

First of all, I should start this by saying a few basic things about the educational system in the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire had the best primary education in Europe and one of the best in the known world at the time. All peasant children were able to receive education, that is, both boys AND girls, which was unheard of in most other places. As a result peasant men and women attained a satisfactory level of education for the standards of the time.

Higher education was received mainly through private tutoring, which means that this was in fact a privilege of the rich and upper middle classes. Private tutors could also be hired by women who, even though they could not work in professions of a high academic profile (except they could become doctors for women), were still able to educate and improve on themselves just for the sake of it.

The University of Constantinople

When the Roman Empire was spilt in two in 395 AD, the Hellenized eastern part of the empire already had a few famed schools in some of its greatest cities (i.e Academy of Athens, the schools in Alexandria, Antioch, Beirut, Gaza). Those remained the hotspots for higher education for a few centuries, mostly until the Arab conquest in the 7th century.

In 425 AD Emperor Theodosius II founded the state funded Pandidakterion (Πανδιδακτήριον) in the Capitolium of Constantinople, what is supposed to be the original form of the University of Constantinople. According to some sources the concept of this school was actively supported by Theodosius's sister Pulcheria and his empress wife Aelia Eudocia the Athenian. The Pandidakterion was not exactly a university in the modern sense; it initially did not offer courses in various fields of sciences and arts from which students could choose their studies and career. The Pandidakterion's aim was to train specifically those who pursued a career as civil servants for the administration of the Empire and the secular matters concerning the Church. The courses taught were: Greek Grammar, Latin Grammar, Law, Philosophy (students were taught Aristotle and particularly Plato) and Rhetoric (with an emphasis in Greek rather than Latin rhetoric). That last one was considered the most challenging course. Pandidakterion did not teach Theology; this was the responsibility of the Patriarchal Academy. There are sources which list the Pandidakterion indeed as a university though and perhaps it is the closest thing to a university you could have gotten that early in time.

Meanwhile, in Constantinople and other large cities of the empire there were various academies of theology, arts and sciences but those were not universities. Also, as stated above, it was after the 7th century that Constantinople became the center of Byzantine higher education. In the 7th and the 8th century the Byzantine empire was attacked by Slavs, Arabs, Avars and Bulgars, loosening the focus to education. All this and the Iconoclasm seemed to have had adverse yet non permanent effects on the function of the university. The dynasty of the Isaurians (717 - 802) renamed "Πανδιδακτήριον" to "Οικουμενικόν Διδασκαλείον" (Ecumenical School).

The 9th century signifies a new prosperous era for higher education. There are some conflicting sources for that time - according to some the Pandidakterion was moved to the Palace of Magnaura and according to others this is an erroneous conflation of the Pandidakterion in the Capitolium with the new University of the Palace Hall of Magnaura (Εκπαιδευτήριον της Μαγναύρας). Whatever the case is, this renovated or entirely new school was founded by Vardas (842 - 867), uncle of Emperor Michael III. Mathematics, geometry, astronomy and music were added to the courses. The school then was managed by Leon the Mathematician (790 - 869) from Thessaly. Studying there was free.

In the 10th century, Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennitos promoted the Pandidakterion and supported it financially.

In 1046 Constantine IX Monomachos reformed the actual Pandidakterion of the Capitolium into two large faculties operating in it; the "Διδασκαλείον των Νόμων" (School of Law) and the "Γυμνάσιον" (Gymnasion). The School of Law retained its purpose to train the civil servants whereas the Gymnasion taught all the other sciences (i.e philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, music). At the time Pandidakterion had a clear resemblance to a typical university. The principal of the Law School was called "Νομοφύλαξ" (nomophýlax), Guard of Law. A notable nomophylax was Ioannis VIII Xiphilinos (1010 - 1075) who was an intellectual, jurist and later Patriarch of Constantinople. The principal of the Gymansion was called "Ύπατος των Φιλοσόφων" (Consul of the Philosophers). Notable Gymnasion principals were Michael Psellos (1018 - 1078), one of the most broadly educated people to have lived in the Byzantine empire or the middle ages even. Psellos was a Greek monk, savant, courtier, writer, philosopher, historian, music theorist, poet, astronomer, doctor and diplomat. He was notoriously horrible at Latin although given the extent of his studies it is unclear to modern historians whether his Latin knowledge was genuinely poor or he played it up as an act of disdain (he was totally the type to do that). Another notable principal was Ioannis Italos (John the Italian), a half-Italian half-Greek from Calabria, who was Psellos' student in classical Greek Philosophy.

The function of the Pandidakterion as well as all high education in the Byzantine Empire was ceased after the capture of Cosntantinople by the Crusaders in 1204. The Byzantine royalty did however survive through the small Empire of Nicaea and they supported financially the private tutors. After the liberation of Constantinople by the Byzantines in 1261, there were efforts to restore the higher education institutions. Michael VIII Palaeologos, the emperor who recovered the city, reopened the university and appointed as principals Georgios Akropolitis, a historian and statesman, for the Law School and Georgios Pachymeris, a historian, philosopher, theologist, mathematician and music theorist, for the Philosophy School (Gymnasion).

However, the University never returned to its previous status and smooth function. It slowly passed fully under the Church's management in order to survive, while the rest of the teaching was again done by private teachers. This was the case all the way to the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. Only one day after the capture of Constantinople, Sultan Mehmed II founded a madrasa as the primary educational institution of the city. Madrasa is an arabic name for an Islamic higher education religious institution. In 1846, this insitution was reformed into a university in the likes of the typical Western European universities. Until 1930 many old sources referred to this university confusingly as "University of Constantinople" because the city's name had not actually changed until that time. However, this institution was not the same to the Pandidakterion, the university of the Byzantine Age. In 1930, the city's name was officially changed from Constantinople to Istanbul and the university was renamed in 1933 to "Istanbul University" and it operates like this, being the first university of the Republic of Turkey.

What about the Pandidakterion though, the first University of Constantinople? Well, it ceased to exist, unlike the Patriarchal Academy which re-opened one year after the Fall of Constantinople, in 1454, refounded as the Phanar Greek Orthodox College, which operates to this day.

*Forgive any potential inaccuracies, some sources were really conflicting, especially about the possible Pandidakterion and the Magnaura School mix up.

#history #middle ages #byzantine empire #eastern roman empire #byzantine history #greek history #constantinople #anon #ask #long text

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electronickingdomfox · 7 months ago

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"Demons" review

Novel from 1986 by J. M. Dillard.

It started promisingly, with a story about demonic possession, hints of "The Exorcist", and a sense of creeping horror. At Sarek's and Amanda's house, of all places. But I didn't like much the direction it took afterwards. The later sections are split between scenes in the Enterprise, where Kirk punches possessed people and locks them in closets, over and over again. And the (somewhat more interesting) plot of Spock, McCoy and Mary Sue, searching for a solution to the problem, where most of the adventure comes from McCoy being a constant damsel in distress. It doesn't help that he puts himself and the others in so much danger, just because of a really uncharacteristic and childish behavior on his part (though he kind of redeems himself at the end). The key to defeating the titular "demons" is also quite anticlimactic. And I feel that the plot of "Kirk vs. mutinous crew" was better done in previous novels, like "Mutiny on the Enterprise", with a more nuanced villain and satisfying resolution. There are some good scenes, though. In particular the final showdown at Sarek's house carries quite the emotional punch.

This is the second Star Trek novel by Dillard, and there are several things in common with the other one ("Mindshadow"). Sarek and Amanda also figure prominently, this time in the unusual role of enemies. And large sections of the story are set on Vulcan, including an appearance of the masters of Gol. Lieutenant Ingrid Tomson returns as well, with a greater protagonism in the story, helping Kirk to fight against the murderous crewmembers. As also happened with "Mindshadow", there's a Mary Sue stealing the spotlight and having a romance with McCoy (which has as much chemistry as inert matter). But while Dr. Saenz at least played a key role, here Dr. Anitra Lanter has no real business in the story, other than doing the things that Spock could perfectly do himself. The romance is also incredibly shoehorned in the middle of the story, as it comes from nowhere, and by later sections it has basically disappeared (and with this, I think there's been three McCoy romances in the TOS novels so far: all of them sucked, all of them reminded us that the woman was young enough to be his daughter, and all of them ultimately pinpointed just how gay he is for Spock). So yeah, I can't say I liked this Anitra character at all. And her personality traits don't quite mesh together: she's a brilliant scientist with a doctorate (in her early 20's), she has studied among Vulcans to control her telepathic abilities, she's a practical joker that pranks the Captain with her "haha! so funny!" jokes, she's a barroom brawler, she behaves like a child... I don't know, make up your mind!

As a side note, and even if I didn't like this novel all that much, it has a distinctive quality: Uhura kicks a possessed Kirk in the balls, and that's something that doesn't happen everyday.

Spoilers under the cut:

Some scientists have recently returned to Vulcan from Beekman's Planet, where they unearthed ancient artifacts that seem like boxes, impossible to open due to their magnetic fields. The artifacts suggest an older, more advanced civilization than all others in that sector. Among these scientists is Silek, Sarek's brother, who's staying at his house, and who lost his wife under strange circumstances during the expedition. And there's also Silek's father-in-law, Starnn, who gifts Sarek one of the mysterious boxes. Soon thereafter, Amanda starts noticing disturbing things at her home: uprooted rose bushes, portraits upside down, and a not-quite-himself Sarek.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise is headed for Vulcan to drop there more scientists from Beekman, and have shore leave. We're introduced to brilliant Dr. Anitra Lanter, who's currently working in some secret project with Spock. However, during the trip, Lieutenant Tomson finds her security team member al-Baslama brutally murdered in his quarters. And the description of his corpse is really, REALLY gruesome; so much that it made me feel lucky that this was a book and not a film... The murder investigation returns nothing, but nonetheless, Kirk decides to go ahead with the shore leave at Vulcan, because why not (and this is something that also happened in "Mindshadow": Kirk granting a shore leave under absolutely unreasonable conditions). Also, Kirk feels like singing in the shower after seeing the horribly mutilated corpse. And everyone aboard hears him singing through the intercoms, since Anitra thought it would be very funny to violate the Captain's privacy with a hidden microphone (hahaha...ha?). Kirk punishes her by sending her with Scotty to overhaul the engines, but she does it in no time because she's brilliant. So she gets to enjoy shore leave at Sarek's house, with Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

During the visit, they find Silek murdered in the garden, and later Starnn impaled in a sword, as if he had commited suicide. That same day, Anitra wakes up in the middle of the night and sneakes into Sarek's study. The strange box begins to open, and she averts her eyes from the light inside. First Spock, and then Sarek, follow her, and she alerts Spock through their mind-link to not look at the light, or Sarek's eyes. They evade Sarek with excuses, and confer at Anitra's room: she tells Spock that his father has been taken by the same entity that's possessing the Vulcans, and forcing them to commit those murders. And it's apparent that Anitra and Spock have been investigating this problem for a while. Nonetheless, the next day Spock and Anitra go to the Vulcan Academy, while Kirk and McCoy go to a bar (because why not?), leaving Amanda alone with the possessed Sarek (what could go wrong?). Amanda finds a warning note from the late Silek, and tries to contact the Enterprise, but too late. Sarek has found her... Fortunately, Uhura was suspicious of the cut transmission, and alerts Spock, who rushes to his home and saves Amanda from Sarek. It turns out that Sarek (or whatever has taken control of him) murdered Silek and Starnn.

Everybody has returned to the Enterprise, and Amanda is put to sleep with a sedative, after her traumatic experience. Finally, Spock explains what's going on. The researchers at Beekman were infected by parasites that mesh with the brain at subatomic levels, and force the victim to commit unspeakable acts of sadism. Anitra is specially sensible to the entities due to her telepathic powers, and can sense who's possessed; but those same powers make her specially desirable for the parasites. The major problem now, is that the infection spreads quickly through contact, and thanks to the very intelligent actions of everyone (from Starfleet to Kirk), now both Vulcan and the Enterprise are infested.

Amanda is one of the first to appear possessed, when she attacks Anitra. The parasites speak through her, telling Anitra that, if she stuns Amanda, they'll kill the host. She's forced to stun her, however, and Amanda is put in life support, apparently dead. Things get worse, once it's revealed that Scotty (currently commanding) and the whole bridge crew are also possessed, and are bringing the ship to Rigel to further spread the infection. Kirk goes to the hangar to secure a means of escape, while Spock sabotages the engines to put the Enterprise adrift. Meanwhile, Anitra and McCoy barricade themselves at auxiliary control, with Amanda's lifeless body. The situation is of course very romantic, so they start to flirt. When Kirk returns to auxiliary control, he finds out that Amanda was just playing dead and attacked Anitra again, so McCoy put them both to sleep with a hypo. Then, McCoy notices something weird about Kirk... The Captain has been also possessed! But before Kirk can attack them, Spock storms into the room with Uhura (who's also free of parasites) and stuns Kirk. Uhura stays at auxiliary control, to watch over Kirk and Amanda, while Spock, McCoy and Anitra run to the hangar. In the end, only Anitra gets into the shuttle and flees away, since McCoy and Spock stay behind to secure her escape.

Somehow, evil-Kirk has recovered and escaped, and captures Spock and McCoy, showing them how the Enterprise destroys the shuttle. Then Spock and McCoy are put together in the brig, but are rescued by Anitra. The shuttle was just a decoy, and now they're free to take another and return to Vulcan. The objective is taking a live subject with parasites, and study him at the Vulcan Academy in search for a cure. They land on the Vulcan desert, far away from the city, and have to traverse it on foot. McCoy is attacked by a tentacled man-eating plant and sprains his ankle. But he's too stubborn to be carried by Spock so they proceed very slowly, and once the sun rises, McCoy collapses from the heat. They find shelter in a cave, inhabited by the Kolinahr masters of Gol, where McCoy recovers a bit. Spock asks the masters to take care of McCoy while he and Anitra solve the parasite crisis. But he should have asked them to tie the doctor up instead, because McCoy is determined to come along, so he follows them secretly across the desert... And then a le-matya attacks McCoy, so now he's poisoned (face palm). Anitra has to go quickly to the city, get an antidote from a local healer, and hitchhike her way back in a flying car, to cure McCoy.

In the Enterprise, Uhura catches the naughty Kirk again, and after stunning and locking him up for a day or so, Kirk recovers from the possession. After this comes a lot of Kirk sneaking through corridors, punching people and all that. It's a bit messy, but suffice to say that at the end, only he and Lieutenant Tomson are free from the parasites. They notice that people who've been unconscious and isolated for a while tend to become themselves again. Thus, they flood the entire ship with sleeping gas, and problem solved, for the moment.

Finally at the Vulcan Academy lab, Spock leaves McCoy and Anitra there, while he goes fetch a test subject for the experiments: his father, who's still at home doing... possessed things, I guess. Spock confronts Sarek, but he's no match for him and is rendered unconscious. At the lab, Anitra feels the severed mind-link with Spock, and rushes to help him. McCoy, of course, wants to go too (but it's okay, this is the only time he ends up being useful). At Sarek's home, McCoy tends to the unconscious Spock, who's suffered a fracture in the head and will die without immediate surgery. While Anitra goes after Sarek, armed with a phaser. And just then, the doctor notices that Spock's phaser is missing... uh, oh! Sarek returns triumphant, with a now possessed Anitra in tow. They try to force McCoy to revive Spock, so they can torture him later. McCoy offers himself instead, if they will just leave Spock alone, but the demons laugh at this (everyone in this novel reminds poor McCoy that he's useless, even the parasites!). The doctor is put in a very difficult situation: on the one hand, he can't just let Spock die; on the other, if he revives him, the entities will just kill him in a horrible way. Thus, he resorts to trickery, and injects Spock with something that stops his heart for a moment (I guess it's the same thing he used on Kirk in Amok Time, which may prove that he just carries one of those hypos everywhere...). McCoy focuses on his grief for Spock's "death", knowing that Anitra's telepathy will make her feel that, and believe Spock's truly dead. When she enters the room to check it, McCoy incapacitates her, takes the phaser, and stuns both her and Sarek.

A while later, Spock wakes up in the Academy lab, recovered from his injury. As it turns out, McCoy brought them all there, and now has Sarek and Anitra in isolation chambers to begin the experiments. They try several compounds on them, but nothing works, and both subjects are dying... Until they're not. Sarek wakes up, and he's again himself. As it turns out, a bit of waiting was all that was required (which Kirk had already discovered in his own way aboard the Enterprise). The parasites need to feed constantly on others, so after a day or so of isolation, they just simply disappear.

In the final part the Enterprise, with its crew back to normal, puts some bombs filled with sleeping gas over Vulcan, so everybody is eventually freed of the parasites. There's also an explanation for the boxes found in Beekman; they were containers for the entities, that would keep them indefinitely alive after all hosts in the planet had died. That way, they had waited for millenia, until new potential hosts appeared.

Spirk Meter: 0/10*. Nothing that comes to mind, unless you count Kirk's confidence in Spock finding a solution for the infestation, no matter what... But c'mon, you can do better than that!

The Spones, however, is veeeery heavy. At the beginning, McCoy is hilariously jealous of Anitra and Spock spending so much time together. He confronts first Anitra, and then Spock about it, warning the Vulcan that Anitra may have a crush on him. The response of both is that he should mind his own business. Later, McCoy confronts Spock again, when he finds him leaving Anitra's room in the middle of the night, and he's again suspicious and angry. Sure, the narrative later tells us that McCoy was jealous because he liked Anitra all along. Only that... it doesn't look like that in the slightest. At this early point, there's been no sign whatsoever that McCoy is interested in her. His only concern for Anitra was that she was developing an ulcer, and McCoy had even suggested to her that she should date young men her own age (which obviously would exclude him). So the later explanation seems more like a retcon than anything, or a bad case of "tell and not show". But there's much more. Throughout the entire novel, Spock and McCoy are protecting each other, and in fact, whenever there's a choice between staying with Spock, or going after Anitra, McCoy somehow ends up always with Spock, having some emotional conversation about how thankful they are for the other's help, or how sorry they are for having hurt each other. At times, it seems that Anitra is just there to fulfill Spock's duties, so Spock's free to be alone with McCoy and have angsty scenes with him. It happens first when Spock chooses to stay with McCoy, unnecessarily, while he treats Amanda. Which prompts Kirk to comment that Spock only did it to protect McCoy (of course, Spock quickly denies it). Then McCoy lets Anitra go away in the shuttle, because he's that stubborn about protecting Spock, which leads to another emotionally charged scene in the brig (very similar to the one in Bread and Circuses). And once McCoy discovers that Anitra's alive and Spock knew all along, he feels "the ridiculous urge to kiss the Vulcan or kill him". It's Spock who rescues McCoy from the tentacle plant, and gives him the vine to eat something. And later, when McCoy kisses Anitra in the cave, Spock interrupts them with a cough, and Anitra leaves them alone once more. Then McCoy acts all embarrassed, and looks guilty at Spock (why guilty!?), while Spock feeds him. In fact, Anitra could take a bath in a cave pool, since Spock was so concerned about McCoy, that she knew they'd leave her in privacy. After the le-matya incident, it's Anitra who leaves, and Spock stays to nurse McCoy. Then the doctor apologizes (to Spock!) for being in love with Anitra, and that he didn't intend to love her... See a pattern already? It's even more evident at the climax, after Anitra has been possessed and McCoy protects Spock against her, offering himself to be tortured in his stead. Spock also wonders why McCoy took the trouble of bringing Sarek to the lab too, since testing with Anitra was enough. McCoy can't tell him the real reason. So yeah, there's something curious going on here. Is Anitra a genuine love interest for McCoy? Or is she being used as a device to underline Spock and McCoy's closeness (in a similar way that the woman in the novel "Triangle" was used, to emphasize the same between Kirk and Spock)?

On a lesser note, there's a bit of McKirk if you want. Kirk and McCoy are given the same guest room while staying at Sarek's house (though we don't know if they shared a bed or not). Which is frankly unnecessary; the author invented a separate guest room for Anitra, so it's not like she couldn't have invented a further room in the house, right? The way that possessed Kirk talks to McCoy is also kind of... suggestive:

"If we need to take someone, we take her. If we don't need to take someone, we can still use him... for other purposes." He smiled menacingly at McCoy, who quickly lowered his eyes. "We don't just... leave him alone."

And later:

He leered at them. "I want you to think--really think about what happened to people on this ship who were uncooperative." "Such as al-Baslama," said Spock coldly, "and Liu..." The remark seemed to please rather than anger him. "To mention only two. We don't need you, gentlemen. But we can use you… at our leisure, and for our own pleasure." His chilling smile was the last thing McCoy saw as they left the bridge.

Sure, it's the parasites talking, and not the real Kirk. But they don't seem to say these things to others, or while possessing other people.

#star trek tos #star trek novels #novel review #spones #mckirk

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scotianostra · 11 days ago

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December 13th 1585 saw the birth of William Drummond of Hawthornden, the noted Scottish poet.

Drummond was born at Hawthornden Castle, near Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, the eldest son of Sir John Drummond, Laird of Hawthornden. The Drummonds were an ancient family with connections to the Royal House of Stewart. Drummond was educated at the High School of Edinburgh, then at Edinburgh University, graduating MA in 1605. From 1606 to 1608 he studied Law in Paris and Bourges. When he returned to Scotland in November 1608, he bought back nearly 400 volumes of French, Italian, Spanish, and English literature, the foundation of a fine private library. In 1610, Drummond visited London, meeting some of the most famous poets of the city. Upon his father’s death later that year, Drummond became Laird of Hawthornden and retired to the family seat, to write and to lead a life of "gentlemanly simplicity". It's alright if you have the money eh!

Drummond has long enjoyed a reputation as Scotland’s foremost seventeenth-century poet. He wrote in English, not Scots, and is regarded as playing a major role in the Anglification of Scottish literature. As his poetic reputation grew, he began to correspond with the Scottish poets at the Court of King James VI and I: Robert Kerr, Sir Robert Aytoun, Sir David Murray, and, particularly, William Alexander of Menstrie.

When James VI made his only return to Scotland in 1617, Drummond saluted him with Forth Feasting: A Panegyricke to the Kings Most Excellent Majestie. This led to Drummond’s work becoming more widely known in London literary circles. Ben Jonson, on a visit to Scotland, stayed at Hawthornden Castle in 1618, and Drummond recorded their conversations. In 1623, Drummond was deeply affected by the loss of his mother and the death of many friends in a famine that afflicted Scotland. His grief was expressed in his next volume Flowres of Sion, a collection of religious and philosophical lyrics.

In 1626, Drummond was made a burgess of Edinburgh and in the same year made a major donation of books to Edinburgh University Library. His gift of around 550 volumes made him the Library's first significant private benefactor and gave the Library it's first literary collection. Drummond made further donations on an annual basis between 1628 and 1636. All in all, he presented some 800 printed titles and thirty-six manuscripts; around 700 volumes survive in the Library’s collection. These include some of the Library's greatest treasures, especially in the fields of literature, history, geography, philosophy and theology, science, medicine and law. They include early printings of Shakespeare, Jonson, Spenser, Drayton and Sir Philip Sidney, a complete copy of John Derrick's Image of Irelande from 1581!

By 1633, Drummond had resumed his literary career, writing a series of pageants for the Scottish coronation of Charles I. From the mid-1630s onwards, however, Drummond’s energies turned to political pamphleteering. His first overly political work was a defence of John Elphinstone, Lord Balmerino, who was convicted on a capital charge of libel against the King for possessing a document thought to be treasonable.

He also got involved with The National Covenant, although opposed to the infamous prayer book, rather than the taking of arms which blighted Scottish history he advocated passive obedience to the King. Further pamphlets attacked the Presbyterian grip on the country and warned of the consequences of civil war.

Drummond played no personal role in the Bishops’ Wars of 1639 and 1640, and in the civil conflicts that rocked England and Scotland over the following decade. His last substantial tract was Skiamachia, or, A Defence of a Petition in 1643, in which he assumed an extreme anti-clerical position.

Drummond died at Hawthornden Castle on 4 December 1649. Drummond’s son William and brother-in-law collaborated the posthumous printing of much of Drummond’s work.

The wooded solitude Drummond enjoyed at Hawthornden still exists to this day and is an international retreat for writers at Hawthornden Castle has been founded to provide a peaceful setting where creative writers can work without disturbance. To me though, below the cliff it sits on above the River Esk, is the interesting bit, Wallace's Cave, a large rock cavern with a neatly chiseled doorway said to be where our favourite Freedom fighter used at the time of the Battle of Roslin, which took place nearby in 1303.

#scotland #scottish #history #Midlothian #writer #makar #nobility

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tessadiscordia · 3 months ago

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Human Nature

In a future where vampires have integrated into human society, two outcasts explore the darker potential of their already precarious relationship.

Concepts: MTF x MTF, blood kink, vampire x human, mind control, blood drinking, biting, praise kink, hypnosis, yuri

CW for: consensual non-consent, sadism, masochism, blood

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Krista was not like the other humans. That is why Vespera had chosen her after all. They were alike in many ways, despite coming from two different species that were supposedly opposed on an ontological level.

Vespera was an undead, bloodsucking creature of the night. Krista was a mortal made in the image of the Divine, a being who had not fallen as far from the light of Heaven’s kingdom. At least not yet. Yet still, they came from similar backgrounds; both were discarded by their families at a young age, left to fend for themselves. That was how they found each other that fateful night. It seemed as though the stars themselves had brought them together.

For many centuries, vampires remained in the shadows, their existence only the subject of folktales and Hollywood sensation. The emergence of vampires into the public eye, and then civil society, had been the subject of a great amount of social tension for the first couple of years, but humanity as a whole soon acclimated to the new status quo. Vampires became citizens alongside their mortal counterparts.

Since the signing of the treaty, it was not uncommon for humans and vampires to engage in unions such as that of Vespera and Krista, but there were unspoken expectations. The new laws stated that vampires and humans were made equal, and it was expected that vampires would never seek to undermine the autonomy of human beings. There was a strong stigma around vampires feeding directly from humans, whether it was consensual or not. Because of this,

vampires were expected to utilize blood banks and other alternative forms of satisfying their bloodlust. Countless product lines were invented to cater to this new market, leading to the rise of vampire-centered corporations. Blood-based carbonated drinks, blood-based smoothies, and other products popped up across the market overnight. Vampires were expected to consume blood the same way humans consumed water– packaged and labeled, rather than from the source.

If it became known that such acts were being performed by a vampire and their human partner, it was not uncommon for that sort of thing to be viewed through the lens of an unhealthy power dynamic. After all, the full scope of vampires’ influence over the human psyche was an ongoing field of study. The humans in question risked opening themselves up to all forms of emotional, psychological and even metaphysical corruption.

But Krista was not like other humans.

When Vespera arrived home late one particular night, she found Krista standing topless in the dimly lit kitchen of their small, raggedy apartment in nothing but her sweatpants. Her dark hair done up in a messy bun and her bangs falling in front of and around her round face as usual.

She greeted her girlfriend with a tired smile, “There you are. I was wondering when you’d get home. Long day at work?” Her voice dipped inquisitively.

Vespera couldn’t help but crack a smile at the sight of Krista in such a state. It was common for Krista to put a considerable effort into her presentation, but she always bemoaned the obligation. She was pretty in a full mask of makeup with her face contoured and her eyebrows trimmed, and she was less likely to get weird stares in public, but Vespera preferred her like this. Her naked face and that little bit of acne, her hair wild and free; that sort of feral beauty she only ever got to see in the comfort of their home. She never understood why the world would seek to shun and lock away such a perfect angel.

Krista snorted, “Are you gonna answer my question, or are you gonna just stare at me all night? Take a picture, babe. It’ll last longer… hell, I’ll even wait for you to get your camera,” she teased.

“That is so unfair,” Vespera closed the distance between them and lifted Krista up by the waist. The human let out a squeak as her vampire lifted her onto the kitchen counter and they locked eyes. “You’re this effortlessly beautiful, and I’m expected to act normal about it. What sort of cruel joke is that?” Vespera teased right back, a smirk on her face.

“I think that’s perfectly fair,” Krista hummed. “I’m glad you’re in a good mood tonight~ Usually when you get back this late you immediately take to venting about your boss…”

“Oh, I could do that, believe me– but I have nothing to say that you haven’t already sat through.”

“Touché. Then it sounds to me like some stress relief is in order…”

“Oh, definitely.”

Krista pulled Vespera into a deep, passionate kiss. Their lips locked and between them, their tongues wrestled for dominion as their hands searched one another’s bodies for that perfect spot to hold onto. Krista moaned softly into Vespera’s mouth as she broke the kiss, leaving the thinnest thread of saliva between them.

“I am so glad you’re in a good mood tonight,” Krista purred. There was a glimmer of excitement in her voice which intrigued Vespera.

“You keep saying that. Something tells me that there’s a reason beyond, ‘I love my girlfriend very much and I wanted her to have a good day’...”

“Well, there’s something I wanted us to try tonight,” Krista started. “If you feel like experimenting, that is.”

“My dear Krista, always with her experiments…” Vespera shook her head, fighting back a smile. “Very well. I’m all ears.”

“It’s simple, really. I want you to…” Krista’s voice trailed off as her hand slowly rose above her shoulder, her fingers trailing across her own skin. Tilting her head to the side, she gently tapped the crook of her neck.

“Oh…”

If Vespera’s heart still pumped blood, it would have started to beat a little faster. She felt a strange heat rising within her, and with it came a strong sense of apprehension. A growing dread in the pit of her stomach.

She took a step back from Krista. “I… I’m not sure that I can do that. I’m not–”

“Hm? Why not? I didn’t do anything wrong, did I??” Krista started to panic.

“No– no, of course not! You didn’t do anything wrong, Krista. It’s just… we don’t know what could happen if I do that. I’m afraid of hurting you.”

Krista nodded slowly. “I understand. Trust me, I am very much aware of the risks. I also see the way that you eye me sometimes. Surely you must think about it, don’t you?”

“I do, but–”

“And I just know that Pepsi brand type-O barely even tastes like the real thing,” Krista laughed. “But me? I’m free range. Straight from the tap. When’s the last time you’ve had it fresh?”

Krista’s irreverent attitude towards this whole ordeal struck Vespera as slightly off-putting. Surely she knew not the full gravity of what she was requesting of her. How serious this could be, potentially. They stood before a bottomless pit of possibility, threatening to open a can of flesh-eating leeches that may be impossible to close after the fact. Perhaps more importantly, Krista was right. She had been eyeing her. She sometimes would fantasize about tasting her. The sweet flavor of her life essence on her tongue, crimson nectar running down her chin as she gorged herself. She banished those visions to the deepest recesses of her mind in an effort to maintain her civility. She believed such thoughts to be vile, beastly; confirming all of the worst suspicions held by humanity towards her kind. She had to be better than that.

“I could live another hundred years without it,” Vespera said. “I don’t miss it that much.”

That was a lie, and Krista knew it.

“You don’t have to, though. And besides, I’m not just doing this for you. Sometimes I wonder how it’d feel. Sometimes I crave the feeling of your teeth on my skin,” Krista admitted. “I want to bleed for you, Vespera. You say that you’re afraid to hurt me, but… that’s exactly what I need from you.”

Vespera could hardly believe what she was hearing. She must have been dreaming, no? She should pinch herself to make sure. She prayed that she would wake up so that she wouldn’t have to face this. Anything but this.

“I’m afraid, Krista. I’m afraid of– of hurting you.”

That was a lie, too.

Krista saw through her. A look of surprise flashed across the human’s face, followed by a knowing smile. She had been right all along. They wanted the same thing.

“No, you’re not,” Krista hummed. “I think you want this just as much as I do, if not more. You’re just afraid of what that says about you.”

Those words were enough to stop Vespera dead in her tracks. The vampire was dumbstruck.

“Don’t worry. It’s okay, Vespera. It’s really okay. This doesn’t change how I feel about you, and I wouldn’t look at you any differently. If anything– I want you to be true to just how much you want this. I want it just as much.”

“You… you don’t know what you’re saying, Krista…”

“I know exactly what I’m saying. I trust you, Ves. I’d trust you with my life.”

She beckoned Vespera closer. The vampire approached her quietly, closing the distance between them once more. Krista placed two fingers beneath Vespera’s chin and with them, she guided her towards the soft skin of her neck. Her other hand gripped the edge of the kitchen counter in excitement, her body shuddering as she felt her warm breath on her skin.

“That’s it,” she whispered. “Take me, Ves. I’m all yours.”

Vespera’s mouth hung agape, her canines growing into more defined fangs better equipped for piercing skin. It had been ages since she had to use them like this, she couldn’t remember the last time she hadn’t drank blood from a can or a plastic bottle. She did miss this, and deep down she was so very grateful to Krista for allowing her to do this. Allowing herself to do this was the real battle. Even this close to victory, she could not help but hesitate.

“Go on, love. You’ve got me,” Krista continued to encourage her. Her lips bent into a pout and gave way for the next words that came out as more of a whimper than anything else.

“I’m not going anywhere… I couldn’t hope to escape or overpower you, Vespera.”

The way she talked messed with her head. She was enjoying how into it she was, but with that sense of enjoyment came the bitter aftertaste of shame. She must have been deeply broken to be enjoying the idea of Krista's suffering this much. Those humans, they certainly must have been right about her. What they were doing was indeed problematic. It was wrong and evil. No place existed in polite society for what they were doing.

…But the sound of Krista’s pulse tugged at her mind and conjured up all manner of sinful feelings within her. The rhythmic pumping of her blood was hypnotizing. Warm, fresh blood. Directly from the source. It was being given willingly.

“I want to bleed for you.”

That was what she had said earlier. Those words echoed in her mind as she leaned forward, her teeth finally making contact with Krista’s skin. A soft moan escaped the human, her body shaking ever so slightly as her survival instincts kicked in. Vespera could smell her fear in the air, the scent was intoxicating. With it she could no longer keep herself at bay, and her fangs sunk into the flesh of her willing victim.

Krista let out a soft whimper as her body quivered in Vespera’s grasp. Her primal instinct was telling her that she was in danger, and she started to fight against Vespera’s advances to no avail. Her strength was unmatched, keeping her steady and trapped as she drank from her. Taking what was hers.

“Ves– Ves, let me go–”

Her voice was enough to snap Vespera out of it. She pulled away quickly, her eyes wide with horror. “Oh, god– Krista, I’m so sorry–”

Krista’s voice had been but a shrill, pleading noise. She had never heard anything quite like it. It horrified her that her first impulse was to disregard her cries for mercy. Revel in them, even.

…But Krista’s whining seemed to indicate something different. She looked at Vespera with a bewildered and slightly betrayed expression, somewhat resembling a puppy that had been shooed off by its owner. “Why’d you stop? I didn’t mean it, Ves…”

A wave of relief washed over Vespera as she breathed a long sigh.

“Now, unless I start tapping, I don’t want you to stop. Is that clear?” Krista suddenly sounded rather assertive. It grabbed Vespera’s attention immediately.

“Right. Of– of course…”

“Really, Ves. There’s nothing wrong with you if you’re enjoying this. And if there is, then who cares?”

“I care,” Vespera protested.

“Well maybe you shouldn’t. Maybe you’re messed up, maybe I’m messed up, and maybe none of it matters as long as we’re happy together. You ever think about that?”

Vespera wanted to engage in this moral debate with her girlfriend, she really did, but she could not take her mind off of the sound of Krista’s pulse. It called out to her, beckoning her forward.

“And maybe, just maybe, as long as we don’t let what others think get between us and what we want for ourselves, we can– ah!”

Krista didn’t get to finish her thought, not that it mattered. It seemed she had done a great job convincing her. She threw her head back and exhaled sharply as the vampire’s fangs plunged into her tender flesh once more, blood trickling down the side of her neck. Her hand gripped tighter around the edge of the counter, while her other hand dug its nails into Vespera’s back.

“Ves– Ves, please…”

This time she ignored Krista’s pleading. She allowed the taste of Krista’s essence on her tongue to override her protective urges, letting her bloodlust take the wheel. She would give Krista what she wanted– she would drain her until she could take no more. After all, deep down, it was what she wanted as well. What she craved. Her teeth sunk deeper, blood gushing from the wounds, as she threatened to strike bone.

A high-pitched cry rang through the apartment as Krista’s body twitched in her grasp. The poor girl shuddered, her voice melting into a pained, brittle squeak.

“Ves, you’re hurting me…”

But she wasn’t tapping. Vespera could hardly believe it– Krista wanted her to keep going. Despite her begging, despite her twitches and cries, she didn’t want it to end. Perhaps they were truly made for eachother.

Vespera retracted her fangs and hissed in Krista’s ear. “Be quiet, will you? You asked for this, now shut up and take it.”

Krista shook like a leaf in the vampire’s tight hold. She nodded quickly and without a sound, tears streaming down her cheeks and hitting the floor beneath her. A deep red blush betrayed her true feelings, and the girl tried her darndest to fight back a smile.

Vespera saw it but pretended not to. She continued on, finding another spot on Krista’s neck and diving into her flesh. Krista held back another pained squeak, her breath hitching and her body convulsing. She suffered in silence.

“Good girl,” Vespera ran her hand through Krista’s hair as she continued to feed from her.

Those two words alone made Krista’s body fall limp in Vespera’s arms. She was unsure if it was how viscerally horny she was or if it was the blood loss settling in, but she found it hard to sit upright. She gave up on it entirely. Her vision was spinning. Perhaps now was a good time to make her stop, she thought. She didn’t want to, though. She decided to wait a bit longer.

Vespera was lost in Krista’s crimson ocean. The warm, crisp taste of freshly pumped blood was utterly enthralling. All she had to do was lose herself in it. Krista had given her permission, so why should she deny herself? This was her nature, after all. She had been taught to hate herself for it, but here was a human willing to be her prey. Perhaps even a plaything. Krista’s subtle ticks and soft breaths lit Vespera’s desire ablaze, and her tears fanned the flames. She would steal every second she was offered and revel in Krista’s suffering until the girl finally relented.

Then it came. The tap. Krista was halfway between consciousness and a blood loss induced coma, dark circles dancing across her vision as she stared up at Vespera with a loopy smile.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her smile never fading.

“Should I call an ambulance?” Vespera asked, her words laced with genuine concern.

“No, no– I’ll be fine. I’ll be upright in a few seconds, I think,” Krista shook her head. “I just need a minute… then we can take this to the bedroom.”

“I don’t think it’d be wise for me to feed again so soon,” Vespera warned.

“That’s not what I’m asking you to do, anyway. Look at my eyes,” Krista practically ordered. Vespera wondered how even on the brink of passing out she still managed to be so demanding.

Still, she did as she was told.

“Good. Now give me a suggestion.”

“You’re asking me to use my charm on you?”

“What does it sound like I’m doing?”

“But Krista, that’s–”

“I know, Ves. I know. I want you to make me black out. Tomorrow morning, I shouldn’t have any recollection of whatever is about to happen tonight,” Krista purred. “I’ll need you to remind me what you did to me. Could you do that for me, love?”

“Krista…”

Krista stared up at her with the first genuine pleading gaze of the whole night. “Please, Ves. I need this. I need it bad. I need you to bend my mind to your will…”

How could she ever say no to that pouting face? She sighed, her eyes taking on an unnatural glow as she met Krista’s gaze. Within seconds the girl’s eyes glazed over and her expression lost all emotion.

“Krista, can you still hear me?” She asked.

“Yes, mistress,” she answered in a flat tone.

Hearing Krista completely enthralled roused a certain perverse excitement within her. She was effectively at her mercy, unable to resist any command she gave her at this moment. She knew that was the point. Krista wanted her to have her way with her, she had been pretty clear about that. Vespera thought that she should’ve felt guilty despite Krista’s orders, but she could not find an ounce of remorse. She was going to enjoy this just as much as Krista was going to– or would have, if she was still aware of what was happening.

In the morning, Krista was going to wake up with the brightest sense of fulfillment knowing that she had been brainwashed and defiled by her vampire mistress, and Vespera would have to jog her memory of the night they had. Every single excruciating detail.

She took Krista’s hand, helping her off the counter and guiding her to her feet. “Come, now. The night is still young,” Vespera hummed. “We’re going to make the most of it, you and I.”

“Yes, mistress...”

“And you want to give me what I want, don’t you?”

“Yes, mistress.”

“Such a good girl. You learn so fast.”

Krista stared off into space, her eyes vacant of any and all life. She wasn’t there, really. Just an empty vessel subject to Vespera’s will until the spell was broken. Vespera was the only one who could set her free. Until then, she would do whatever was asked of her. She hadn’t learned anything, she had merely been broken by simple eye contact with a vampire.

Vespera led her out of the kitchen, through their messy living room and into the bedroom. She pulled Krista to her, planting a deep kiss on her lips before throwing her onto the bed in front of them. Krista fell onto the bed like a stiff, lifeless doll. Vespera climbed on top of her, holding her hands above her head and staring into her dead eyes.

“If only you could know how beautiful you look right now, my dear,” she sighed.

“Thank you, mistress. You are too kind to me. How shall I ever repay you?”

Krista’s voice devoid of any will kicked her lust into full swing. She was going to thoroughly enjoy this, almost as much as she enjoyed Krista’s begging a moment prior.

“I think I have just the idea…”

#t4t lesbian #t4t wlw #trans nsft #monster smut #monster girlfriend #vampire x human #toxic yuri #cw blood #discordia writes

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talisidekick · 1 year ago

Note

u should post more about being trans

Sure. And I have a recent life story so here it goes:

If you've spent any amount of time scrolling down my blog, you know that from my 800+ posts I've dropped quite a bit about myself. Namely that my parents emotionally and physically abused me and manipulated me to act a very specific way to adhere to a "look" that agreed with my birth mothers families expectations. They wanted a daughter and got my sister first try, and only had me to teach her to share. Their treatment of me my entire life and how they admitted to it and talked about me let me know I was just a show-piece for their perfect cult christian/catholic/mormon nuclear family vibe.

As such, I can say that I have never once experienced what parental love actually feels like. What it's like to be loved unconditionally by a parent who cares. That wasn't my life.

At least ... that was true up until yesterday.

If you're unaware of what's been happening up in Canada in the last week (from 18th September 2023 to 22nd September 2023), the transphobes up here held a "1 Million March for Children" protest about public schools being gender inclusive, teaching topics on gender identity and gender expression, and allowing kids to give preferred names and pronouns that teachers abide by without parental involvement. If you're unfamiliar with Canada's laws, Canada has ratified the "rights of the child" set forth by the United Nations and children under the age of 18 up here have civil rights including the right to privacy and safety. These protests attempt to say a parent has the right to know everything going on with their kid, and there is some degree of agreement on that, but a child also has the right to privacy and safety. This group is pushing for policy changes in public schools that would require the schools take actions that can be argued would infringe on the rights of the 2SLGBTQIA+ children regarding their privacy and safety. As such, this transphobic group met opposition that vastly outnumbered their protest numbers in the form of counter protests involving students, teachers, parents, allies, and 2SLGBTQIA+ adults who passed through a less-than-accepting school system in their time.

I unfortunately missed the organized protest in my city yesterday. I was entirely unaware myself that any of this was happening. I'm now working on being more active and informed in my community because now that this bullshit is firmly on my doorstep, I'm not about to let it gain another inch by being oblivious.

When I came out, I was 27. I waited until I was on hormones just because I needed to be 1000% certain I was finally doing this before letting anyone in my workspace know. I was met immediately with transphobia from my team lead/manager. I was honestly stuck with what to do because it wasn't like she (my manager) was being overtly terrible, it was just a bunch of small things that were actively impeding my ability to do my job, and even move departments. It became more apparent as time went on that she was actively preventing me from reaching my normal level of production by throwing harder and harder work my way with much higher expectations than ever before. I reached out to another co-worker who was in a higher position than I at the time and she went to bat for me. She caught a lot of it first hand, agreed I was being treated unfairly, and got me in contact with HR. With her help, I was able to move to the IT department and begin using my software and computer architecture degree for something. She remarked that my parents must be proud I was finally in my chosen field of study and ... I had to let her know that my parents weren't in my life, and that they treated me terribly, and don't approve of me. She took that statement and without missing a beat she said: "well, guess that makes me your mom now", which I just took as a "if they won't love you for who you are and what you achieve, I will" symbolic gesture. She's called me her kid in casual conversation, and I have called her mom, but she has biological children around my age so it felt symbolic. I'm a 29 year old adult now, I was 27 at the time this started and I didn't think much of it because I kind of just accepted I was a person who'll never have parents who care. Like, I'm not a kid anymore, what's the point of having parents? That was my mentality.

Until yesterday. The day of the counter protest I didn't know was happening. My adopted mom showed up in force. Why? Take a look:

Some context for the following messages: when an iPhone user hearts a message, and android receiver gets the "Loved "<First 50 characters of the message reacted to> ..." message.

[Start ID: Screenshots of a text message conversation between @talisidekick and her mother who adopted her at 27. Conversation spans over Sunday and Monday. First photo reads: (8:12 PM Sunday) Mom: ... me about it. It was due to something that happened Wednesday. This was all put together in a matter of days. I have a trans child so I wanted to be there (7:00 AM Monday) Talisidekick: Just confirming, is the "trans child" me or is one of your other kids trans? (7:00 AM Monday) Talisidekick: 'Cause I still call you mom. (7:18 AM Monday) Mom: No it's you (8:10 AM Monday) Talisidekick: I uh ... don't know why the fact you showed up for me made me smile so wide... (8:10 AM Monday) Mom: Loved "I uh ... don't know why the fact you showed up for..." (8:10 AM Monday) Mom: Because you know I've got your back my luv

Second photo reads:

(8:11 AM Monday) Talisidekick: ... I really wish you were my mom when I was growing up. You're honestly the best. (8:12 AM Monday) Mom: Loved "... I really wish you were my mom when I was growi..." (8:12 AM Monday) Mom: I wish I was too! You would have been accepted for who you are the entire time (8:13 AM Monday) Mom: But you got me now! (8:13 AM Monday) Talisidekick: I do, and that matters loads. (8:13 AM Monday) Mom: Loved "I do, and that matters loads."

/end ID]

I'm in tears because she wasn't being symbolic. She sees me as her kid. She saw a problem, recognized that I'd lived through worse because we've talked how many times I was almost killed by my peers at school or left to die by teacher staff because where I grew up was conservative and we didn't have anything in the books supporting queer children in schools, and showed up to be part of the solution.

For reference from those who don't know: someone made a cruel remark that I was gay via a slur when I was in grade 3 and that was enough to mark me for abuse, and almost kill me for the entirety of grade school. There was more than one active attempt by members of the student body to kill me, at least one in front of a teacher who did nothing because of that damn rumour. And trying to kill me wasn't the worst thing they did. They didn't care I was actually transgender, in fact, them not knowing that probably saved me from them trying harder. I couldn't bring any of this to my parents because they were worse.

No child deserves to live any fraction of what I went through. It was horrible, and these assholes want to force kids to feel just as isolated as I did growing up. I barely survived and almost took my own life several times because of all this.

Mom, if you happen to read this, thank you for showing me I matter. I wish I'd met you sooner.

Trans rights are human rights. Transgender kids deserve safety too because every damn child matters.

#2slgbtqia+#lgbtqia+#lgbtq+#lgbt+#trans #transgender #queer #mtf #talisidekick #talisidekicks asks

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tarithenurse · 3 months ago

Text

I see fire

Fandom: D&D 5E/homebrew campaign. Word count: 3584. Contents: Detective work. A/N: I know that this story doesn't garner a lot of attention….but neither did my other works and I'm having fun sharing it with the few who read, so - Enjoy and thank you! Any questions are welcome. Please comment and like and reblog. Let me know if you want a tag. Divider by @firefly-graphics

In the bright of day (much to Zilvra’s and Owen’s dismay (for different reasons)) the adventurers have breakfast and Malikka even hands them all some bedrolls that have seen better days. Then Zilvra and her new companions bid the other group and Malikka goodbye and set out along the only road leading north.

The first day of travel is quiet, no one else seems to be using the road and as night falls there are no sight of civilization or camp sites and so the trio seeks out their own little spot which Anvindr unsuccessfully attempts to improve on before he settles down. He is the only one that needs a full night’s sleep – in fact he’s the only one who sleeps while the other trance seated semi-consciously – and so the two women decide that he can combine all bedrolls into one proper and he’s very happy with that.

Like the night before, Zilvra takes first watch, studying the eladrin in her trance as her appearance changes from what it had been. Nothing else happens, and eventually the drow settles in for her trance as Morella wakes up now as a radiant summer’s day.

---

When Anvindr and Zilvra wake up, the are immediately shushed on by Morella who’s stretching out on a patch of moss. She points towards a figure lying on the other side of extinguished campfire and both of her new party members are respectively shocked and weirded out by the fact that it’s a wolf. A fully grown wolf. Even though they try to keep their voices down, the harsh whispered demands for an explanation wake up the creature who departs, leaving the trio without a scratch.

“It was hungry so I gave it some food,” Morella tries to explain happily, “and then I noticed it was hurt – look what was in the wound!” She holds out her hand, allowing the other two to inspect what appears to be metallic fragments. Copper, Zilvra realizes. “He wants us to find his alpha, Dolos, so we can help them.”

Anvindr inspects one of the nuggets. “Maybe it’s to do with that mine Tio mentioned?”

“Wait it what?” Zilvra is more focused on something else: “It talked to you?”

“Yeah.” Morella doesn’t elaborate further.

They have no way of knowing how or where the wolf sustained its injuries and no clue on where to find the rest of the pack either, so the trio resumes their trek along the dusty road.

---

In the evening on the third day after setting out from Oldgarde, they arrive at the first marker of civilization: the abbey of Heartwell Shire. The road leads off to the right past fields of grain and grapes and farms. Heading for the only logical place to ask for directions, Zilvra leads the group towards the abbey’s doors, noticing the sigil of Amaunator above the door: a blazing sun with wavy rays – Amaunator is the god of justice and law, a deity who also had been featured in the capital.

Thankfully, their knocking is answered quickly by a rather young man with Stouvanian armour on who introduces himself as Deputy Willem. The trio shows their credentials, the copper tags, and are welcomed inside with the promise of a place to sleep and a proper meal. Apparently, the place is not only the religious seat of the village but doubles as the local law enforcement’s quarters.

Inside, he guides them through the main room of prayer and on to an office where they meet the Marshal, McBribe, who gets the lay of the land because he’s apparently been expecting some sort of adventuring group from Master Tio. Also he knows about Zilvra’s crime and punishment but thankfully he is kind about it and is keen to fix the bonds so they last longer.

“Fetch Paxton,” he asks Willem who hurries off only to return moments later with a chubby friar in tow who’s huffing and puffing but smiling at least.

“Let’s see, dear,” the rotund man of faith grabs Zilvra’s hands and begins rubbing a sticky ointment on the bonds, wrists, and neck of the drow while muttering an incantation.

The bonds had not been super tight, but the decrease of the circumferences had started to worry the drow so it’s a relief to feel the metal widen.

Paxton smiles jovially. “Now you got four days. You come back to me when it’s needed, alright?” and he makes to leave.

“Actually,” McBribe stops him, “I have some things to attend to still and I’m sure our guests are tired and hungry. Why don’t you show them to sister Anetta?”

“Yes, Marshal. Right this way.”

He’s a kind and chatty guy, explaining about the place as the trio ventures towards the dining hall (an extension of the kitchen). He even admits to things being quite different in Stouvania since the rebellion.

“Which rebellion?” Anvindr asks cautiously.

Paxton blinks. “The Masons’. Ah, I suppose you wouldn’t know seeing as you’re outsiders.” Just then sister Anetta comes over with plates of warm, delicious food and wine to go with it, making the kind friar beam in anticipation. “So...after the war, the Masons worked hard on the repairs of the city and rumour has it that they weren’t getting paid as they should? Either way, there were a lot of protests and the king was killed as he had gone to address the mob.”

“Assassinated or mobbed, you mean?” Zilvra wants to be sure.

“Weeell...” brother Paxton hesitates, “I wasn’t there but it almost seemed...unplanned. Like he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The trio exchanges surprised looks before Anvindr voices their thoughts: “An accident?”

“It probably wasn’t but the reaction of the Masons afterwards...”

“But they apprehended the murderer, didn’t they?” Morella insists, recalling master Tio’s words.

“Emmet von Kresswell, leader of the Masons.” Paxton shudders. “Anyways! This is hardly relevant to you. Now, we’ve got a nice little corner carved out for us up here but it’s nice to see someone like you three come to help us. I’m sure McBribe will explain it better, but,” he hurries on, “we’ve got some wolf trouble. Good ol’ Daremot Jones is hard pressed when he goes hunting – he’s a tanner – and he’s been pushed out of his normal range.”

“By a copper mine?” Morella asks.

“Uhm, dunno but yeah there’s an old abandoned mine to the north. Why do you think...?”

The eladrin chaotically explains about the wolf she had befriended and even shows the friar the residue which he suggests they take to the local blacksmith, Janus Hammerknuckle.

“Oh? Newcomers?” a man’s voice calls from the threshold of the kitchen.

Looking over the trio sees another friar, more slender and wrinkly but dressed in the same dull robes and soft shoes. Standing up to shake hands, they each greet him amicably though it in Zilvra’s case isn’t enough to prevent him from recoiling at the sight of the bonds.

“This is brother Samuel,” Paxton explains, apparently not having noticed the distaste radiating from his colleague.

Another figure appears in the door but this one they’ve met before: McBribe. He apologizes for having had them waiting, then joins them at the table where both latecomers are served by sister Anette.

“So, Paxton’s telling you about our problems?” Thankfully there’s no malice or annoyance in the marshal’s voice.

Anvindr nods. “The wolves? Yes sir.”

A wave of the hand dismisses the title: “Just McBribe...or marshal if we have to be really formal.” The trio nods. “So, you’re used to hunting wolves?”

None of them are but Morella barely lets that slip before trying a different approach: “Well there’s always been wolves in these lands, right?” She gets an agreeing humph. “So the problem is purely that they’ve shifted their territory but they wouldn’t randomly do that. I bet something’s forced them away from their normal area. That would fit with what our friend said about them being in trouble.”

“Who said that?” McBribe interrupts.

Morella looks surprised at the question but Anvindr is quick to explain to the marshal about the wolf from the previous night.

“Well that sure it...different. Unconventional.” McBribe looks unsure whether to believe the tale or not but then his face clear up in a smile. “Maybe that’s just what we need, though.” He studies the colourful eladrin for a moment. “They used to be near the mine up north...I’d like you to find out what’s going on and then report back to me. It’s just a day out from here.”

“I think Niels has a map, you could ask him to see it,” brother Paxton suggests helpfully.

Apparently brother Niels is the resident bookish friar but before the trio seeks him out, they are first shown to where they can sleep that night: up in the clock tower one of the floors has been refurbished to serve as a guest room with multiple beds despite the open air flowing in through the arches and the bell up above. But it’s neat, dry, and clean and the five beds look comfortable enough.

Taking the chance and setting down their backpacks, the trio descends with the purpose of finding a map to study. The abbey isn’t big and they quickly find a small library, tightly stacked with books and scrolls all tended to by a withered friar who somehow manages to balance a pair of glasses on a very crooked nose.

“Ah, the adventurers,” he creaks, “we’ve been expecting someone of your calibres. How can I help?”

Explaining the basis of the situation is simple enough and he guides them over to the wall behind a loaded desk where a faded map hangs. It shows the shire only, including an icon for the mine that hasn’t been crossed out or erased in spite of the misuse of it.

“Yes it’s been abandoned years ago. Ran dry,” he explains, “there has been no maintenance so it must be in danger of collapsing.” He smiles, eyes unusually big through the lenses of his glasses. Then he looks around. “I thought there were three of you? Where’s the...other colourful one?”

Morella is indeed missing.

A brief search is all it takes to find her sitting crisscross-applesauce with a cat in her lap. The furry acquaintance is purring loudly, clearly happy with the attention and scritches.

“Well, alright then,” brother Niels seems relieved.

“Perhaps, if you have the time, could you help me with a bit of research?” Anvindr asks, causing the old man to kick into gear, eventually finding several books for the air genasi.

Meanwhile, Zilvra has taken to her own perusing. Not daring to pluck out any of the books, she tries to get an idea of what sort of literature is available. Walking, twirling her wooden dagger absentmindedly, she barely realizes in time that the librarian is heading her way with an expectant smile on his thin lips.

“And are you perhaps also thirsting for knowledge?” he creaks.

Uhm. She rubs her neck, feeling the circular bond there and how unfair she found the verdict she now is a slave to. “Do you happen to have a book about the laws of Stouvania?”

His eyes drift to the bonds but he is kind enough to refrain from commenting, just nods and heads down along the row of bookcases, trailing a long finger along the backs of the volumes until he finds what he is looking for: a fat and old but surprisingly pristine volume.

“This is...perhaps not the newest edition so there may have been some specification or addendums that you can’t find in it...but mostly it’s the same.”

“Thank you.” She means it.

There is no chance for her to appeal the case but she sure as hells won’t risk committing another crime...on the other hand she also has no chance of reading and memorizing an entire tome of law. Picking through the book, she does surprisingly find a paragraph explaining the legality of Roofwalking as a means of quickly getting from point A to point B without worrying about such things as trespassing as long as only the roofs were used and balconies remained off limits. Having to concede that Roofwalking is an actual thing, Zilvra deduces that this might have been among the laws that have been amended since the war or the rebellion.

Eventually, both Anvindr and Zilvra are satisfied with their research and so they round up Morella (who only reluctantly leaves the cat behind).

The night passes without incidents.

---

On the morning of the 19th of April, the trio rises to an overcast sky and a blue Morella. They only wake minutes before Anetta comes huffing up the stairs, announcing that the breakfast is almost ready.

After breakfast the trio finds Janus Hammerknuckle further into the village.

The big hands and leather apron is a good indicator for his occupation if the outsiders had been unsure. Great in stature and rough looking, he does seem friendly and helpful enough as he takes a look at the metallic residue, confirming that it’s copper.

“That’s weapon shrapnel...which is weird,” he further informs them, “I used to be a weapon smith and I can promise that copper weapons are a thing of times gone by. Oi! Goddrick!” He calls towards the back room. While waiting for this Goddrick to emerge, he continues: “As I said...I used to make weapons and I was darn good at it if I say so myself. But...I didn’t like it much. There was no joy in only creating something that destroys.”

Another human comes over, sticking a pair of thick gloves up under his arm. His hair is a mess and there’s soot in his face except around his eyes.

“What?” he demands before fully realizing that the trio is present.

Janus holds out the copper shrapnel. “Thinking the same as me?”

There’s a moment of silence where the two boink heads as they both try to study the metal.

“Shrapnel. Weapons?” Goddrick then confirms unknowingly.

Janus turns to the adventurers. “Well, there you have it.” He sprinkles the metal shavings back into Morella’s palms. “No clue who’d still use copper weapons though.”

They thank both men before asking direction to the hunter they were told of, Daremot Jones. Not that there are a lot of options as the village only consists of one street and so they can’t mistake the place after they’ve gotten the description.

Daremot’s there in an open front workshop where several hides are strung out to cure. He seems to have been expecting them, as he immediately sizes them up and then begins to explain about the wolves.

“My grounds, so to speak, have always been to the northwest and while there might have been the occasional track of a stray wolf, it’s never been anything more than that,” he explains in a husky voice. “Now the area’s swarming with them, scaring away the game and they seem to be encroaching on the village too. I’m worried they might be desperate enough to pose a threat to us.”

“They’ve come to the village proper?” Zilvra wonders.

He shakes his head. “Not yet...but there’s little sign of any prey animals left in that neck of the woods so who knows.” Then he sighs. “That’s not even the worst. There’s something out there, sounds like a wolf but much deeper and more growley even as it howls.” He scratches an itch on the arm. “If it is a wolf, then it’s gotta be a mighty beast.”

Morella doesn’t seem deterred, smiling gently at the man before turning to her new friends. “Sounds like a job for us.”

“So...both the mine and the wolves?” Anvindr checks and both women nod. “Alright then!”

Bidding the hunter goodbye, the trio heads north out of the village, their first destination being the mine.

---

“It’s really quiet,” Morella whispers.

They’ve been walking for several hours, following a mostly overgrown path through the forest.

“Mmm,” Zilvra agrees, “I don’t like it...the Topside is always noisy with birds and wind and whatnot but this...this is eerie.”

She silently draws her rapier, noting how the others follow her example.

Advancing further, it’s not long before the sharp-eyed Morella spots an odd structure that looks a bit like a rocky hollow or den. Sneaking closer, the stealthy drow gets near enough to see that the structure isn’t wholly natural but more interesting than that: it is occupied. A loud snoring emanates from a dwarfish creature. Zilvra recognizes it as a duergar.

The duergar are cousins to the dwarves but lives in the Underdark, deep underground. They are among the chief enemies of the drow so apart from being surprised at seeing one Topside, Zilvra also has an instant dislike of it and is about to try to communicate as much to her new friends when Anvindr decides to move closer, snapping a branch loudly by stepping on it – he hadn’t seen it lying there but the duergar definitely hears it and bolts upright. Already speeding up to a sprint at the sight of the blue male, the duergar leaves its little hideout through the backdoor where Zilvra has made it to.

“Drop the weapons,” she motions to the crude gear with her rapier.

The duergar drops the things but says nothing. It, a male with grey skin and black hair and beard, eyes her warily and its gaze grows anxious when Anvindr joins the silent stand-off. Shifting it weight from one leg to another, it’s only brought to hesitate by Zilvra’s warning sound for a moment, though, before it takes of screaming and howling through the woods in a northern direction, leaving the three adventurers behind.

Calming down enough to check out the outpost, as they theorize it is, Anvindr finds nothing more than the axe and shield the duergar had dropped as ordered. And a mudball.

“They eat those,” Zilvra comments, “I think.”

What is interesting is the gear: both items have a rough coating of copper dust on the edges, perfect for botching up a wound even more.

“Looks like what was in the wolf’s wound,” Anvindr notices, causing the females to nod in agreement.

Then they set out, moving quietly so as not to step into an ambush or similar but nothing seems out of the ordinary for the first hour which is when they reach yet another of those crudely constructed stone shelters.

“Can’t see anything from here,” Morella is stretching her neck to get a better look.

Zilvra nods, silently drawing her weapon. “Moving in, hang on.”

A moment later she can call out to the others that while the outpost has seen recent use, there’s no one now.

There’s not much sense in lingering and the trio continues.

---

Eventually, they reach the outliers of the mountains that stretch into the forest like chubby fingers. A little ways up ahead, they see the forest come to an abrupt halt, old stumps mingling with younger trees indicating that nature even has reclaimed some of its lost space and what lies beyond is the mountain range that the trio had seen on the friar’s map, known as The Spine of Heartwell.

Another thing worth of note that the odd group now can see is the mine and an odd structure outside of it: stones and rocks have been piled to form a crude but effective barricade. No one had mentioned anything about such a structure and Zilvra suggests that it might be the use of whoever uses the mine now – duergar maybe – although there’s no sign of any life at the moment.

“Should we go in?” Morella suggests, ready to face anything.

The other two are more reluctant, though.

“Not without knowing what’s in there.” Zilvra has plenty of experience scoping out places in her past but there’s no reason to mention that now.

It doesn’t take long for them to figure out what to do and they manage to find an agreeable camp spot where they can keep an eye on the mine throughout the night. In the morning, they’ll go west to the wolves, hopefully.

---

“Guys,” Morella whispers, beckoning her friends over to the watch spot, “guys look.”

It’s early in the evening, just about dusk after a few hours of nothing exciting.

Joining her, both Zilvra and Anvindr quickly see what she’s referring to: several duergar have exited the mine and are starting their work on shaping the stones as they want to enforce the barricade. A patrol sets out towards the forest, disappearing between the trees and underbrush in a southern direction not far from the well hidden camp.

Despite the duergars’ love for darkness (like anything else in the Underdark) they do need some light and so set up torches to work by as night falls, unwittingly allowing the trio to have a clear view of them moving about in and out of the mine.

Later, when Anvindr and Morella are just about to settle down for a rest, rustling is heard just beyond the camp: the patrol is returning empty handed and by some miracle, they don’t notice the people watching them.

“I’ll wake you if anything happens,” Zilvra promises as she prepares to take the first watch.

Nothing does happen however and eventually the two of elven kind switch roles, allowing the drow to trance and the now golden/yellow eladrin to observe the busy dark dwarves.

#writing #d&d #dnd #dungeons & dragons #homebrew #dnd homebrew #campaign #story #fantasy #dungeons and dragons #homebrew campaign #oc

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thosearentcrimes · 4 months ago

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Read The Traitor Baru Cormorant, The Monster Baru Cormorant, and The Tyrant Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson. The series is quite well written on the whole, but I have some very significant caveats that will make my recommendation a bit narrow. In particular, the books ask the question "Is it possible to replace imagination wholesale with trivia?". The answer, by the way, is no.

I really like the characterization of Baru Cormorant. Most of the time. It is an interesting character conflict for the main character to have a deficient theory of mind and be continually blindsided by the behavior of others, either because she has not sufficiently informed herself as to what the rational thing for them to do would be, or because they are behaving non-rationally. It would be even better if this conflict consistently manifested in scenes other than those in which other characters berate Baru for this failing. Unfortunately during much of every book all other characters acquire Isekai disease. That said, the books do a good job of allowing character growth without robbing her of her characterization the way removal of character flaws can sometimes.

I mentioned that the books felt lacking in imagination. Instead of developing the various cultures that exist in this universe, they have all been randomly assigned a set number of inventions and social structures and geopolitical phenomena known from our world, unmodified, except with less/different misogyny. What if there were Romebritain and Chinafrica and Centroasiamerica and Just The Norse Basically, and they were all around the Mediterranean Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes the name of the invention is kept, like with hwachas, and sometimes it is changed, I'm not entirely sure what determines when. Ultimately, I am not of the opinion that pressing Randomize on the Age of Empires 2 civilization creator mod constitutes worldbuilding, though it certainly could be the first step towards it.

Now, this is perhaps a purely personal gripe, but every time a semi-vague allusion to a real-world thing was made, I winced, and every time it was "revealed" to be a real-world thing, I started swearing mentally. It was genuinely unpleasant to read when the density of references got too high. And the worst part is, I recognized every single reference, I think (at least, I'm pretty sure I know what the ant thing is, but I'm not sure what ants actually have to do with it). There's ways that moderately deep engagement with a handful of obscure fields can, if not quite substitute for, then at least enhance the effect of creativity or reduce the amount required. Unfortunately, outside of neuroscience (guess what Dickinson studied in college) and to some extent cryptography the engagement on display is remarkably shallow, and if I'm not mistaken consists primarily of the front page of r/TIL, CGP Grey videos, Mike Duncan's podcasts, the occasional wikipedia binge, and memes (though I salute the restraint it must have taken not to reference the ability of a trebuchet to launch a 90kg projectile over 300m oh god now I'm doing it).

Many of the references don't even make sense, I mean maybe the ant thing is just my ignorance showing, but there's other stuff. Pointing to the South Sea Bubble and John Law's Scheme as models for geopolitically disastrous market crashes is bizarre, since over the course of the ensuing century France and Britain occupied half of Europe and conquered India respectively, with literally all of their notable setbacks in the time period having been engineered at great expense by the other party. Of course peer conflict is not a thing in the Ashen Sea because each polity is a representation of a different colonial concept rather than a country per se. A market crash being totally devastating might perhaps be made to seem more plausible if the Ashen Sea economy as described made any goddamn sense. Falcrest has extraordinarily advanced metallurgy and tooling, which they use to do unreasonably complex cryptography and surgery and for no other purposes, presumably because Dickinson is mostly interested in cryptography and surgery.

Additionally, there are maybe two things that as far as I can tell aren't straight up lifted from reality (unless we count the general gender rebalancing), and they are the cancer cult and the lightning cult. Both fundamentally run on blatant author fiat. Now, I imagine Dickinson would prefer to call it plausibly deniable magic, but, well, it isn't. What he is putting in his books is physically impossible technology. It is described in technological terms and references mechanical phenomena, just in a way that does not hold up. I've seen Baru Cormorant described as Hard Fantasy. In my opinion it is actually low-tech Soft Science Fiction. This is going to be a matter of personal readings and I'm not saying it's impossible to interpret as Magic and/or Fantasy, but, well, I got the vibe that I got.

A thing I really appreciated about The Traitor Baru Cormorant is that a man wrote a book entirely from the perspective of a woman without ever seeming uncomfortable with it or getting weird and off-putting. Ideally this would not be a thing to point out specifically (it's not a thing I point out in books whose protagonists are men or boys written by women) of course. I apologize to men for what this implies. I just think it's worth highlighting and praising. For the other books, the point of view jumps around, but is still handled pretty well.

That said, I think for all their predominantly laudable handling of race, gender, and sexuality, I think the books highlight a substantial drawback of the concept of sensitivity readings. Obviously I don't have access to the drafts sent to sensitivity readers, their feedback, and the differences that feedback made to the result, but it's easy to get the impression that one of the most significant products of sensitivity reading is a proliferation of caveats and redundancies. Now, ultimately I suspect sensitivity readings probably helped rather than hindered the books overall, but it's something to watch out for and hopefully improve as it becomes an industry standard.

Between the haphazard assembling of moderately well-known references in place of worldbuilding, occasional clumsily didactic tone from both the characters (sometimes makes at least a bit of sense) and the narrative itself (less so), and seemingly morally insecure caveats, reading these books often feels like wandering down a street and seeing a building site, only to realize after a couple of minutes that there's a perfectly fine building there, except nobody ever took down the scaffolding, so now there's protruding steel bars and walkways and torn green netting all over. In other words, I suspect the books could have used a fair bit more editing, though of course I do not have sufficient information to assign responsibility.

I've been really mean about these books, I think. I did actually enjoy them quite a bit, when I wasn't cringing at the real-world references or the inexplicably didactic passages. I'll read the fourth one if it comes out, probably. Who should read them? Hm, it's tricky because I don't know whether you will consider it Fantasy, (Alt-)Historical Fiction, or Science Fiction, all of which you could reasonably consider it to be. If you like any or all of those, don't particularly mind seeing references all over the place, and like smartass protagonists, this is probably a series for you. Otherwise, read it if you like but it's by no means an instant classic or a must-read.

#book report #seth dickinson #the traitor baru cormorant #the monster baru cormorant #the tyrant baru cormorant #the masquerade

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jayahult · 3 months ago

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Precognetics

Precognetics (a neologism of precognition and cybernetics) is a multidisciplinary field that studies the theory and practical applications of precognition. Precognetics sits at the intersection of a variety of fields, including powered studies, information theory, game theory, computer science, neurology, economics, geopolitics, legal studies, and military strategy and tactics. [1][2] It is also considered a subset of hypercognetics, The term precognetics was coined in 1995 by Jacques Phillips, deriving it from the field of cybernetics in his work A Fixed Future: Precognition and Human Development, which also laid the core groundwork for the field. [3]

Precognetics can broadly be split into two fields: theoretical precognetics and applied precognetics. Theoretical precognetics primarily deals with the upper bounds and limitations of precognitive powers, alongside the philosophical implications of the existence and practice of precognition. Originally, it was thought that precognition was entirely free of error within a given precognitive's Meinhoff field, but this was later found to be untrue with the discovery of precognitive competition, result poisoning, cognitohazardous feedback loops, and local precognitive interference, among other issues. [4][5][6] This gave rise to the field of applied precognetics, which primarily studies the implications of precognition for everyday life and the operations of institutions ranging from government agencies to financial instruments. The further subfield of legal precognetics deals with interactions between precognitive powers and civil and criminal law, particularly with regard to heroes and villains. [5][6]

[Contents] [Overview] [History of Precognetics] [Notable applications] [Intersection with theology] [See also]

Applied precognetics

Theoretical precognetics

Hypercognetics

Outline of Powered Studies

Powered psychology

Precognitive limits

The Astrologer

Project Open Book

The Mindanao Incident

February 13 Guangzhou bombings

The Great Recession

Ohio v. Black

California v. Willis

Oklahoma v. Smithson

#writing #untitled superhero thing #just trying this out to stretch my legs a bit

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feministfocus · 1 month ago

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The Inspiring Upbringing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

by Sofia Bocchino

Most Americans know the name Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and feminist icon, but not many know how she became the influential judicial figure she will always be remembered as. Ginsburg served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 to 2020, and was the second woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice in U.S. history. Growing up in Brooklyn during the 1930s and 40s, she experienced severe adversity from a young age. Her older sister died from meningitis at the age of six, and her mother died from cancer just days before her high school graduation, which she was unable to attend. Ginsburg also endured WWII in her childhood, which was an especially stressful time for her family because they were Jewish. Despite this adversity, Ginsburg excelled in school, and went on to study at Cornell University on a full scholarship. During her time there, she would meet many figures who influenced her future career, including her future husband, Martin Ginsburg, a nationally prominent tax attorney, Vladimir Nabokov, professor of literature and renowned Russian author who influenced her writing, and Robert Cushman, a constitutional lawyer who inspired her to practice law.

After graduating from Cornell, marrying Martin, having a daughter and spending two years in Oklahoma where her husband was stationed in the army, Ginsburg moved back to Massachusetts and began her legal studies at Harvard Law School. Ginsburg also became the first woman to ever serve on the editorial staff of the Harvard Law Review. However, in the midst of her studies, she had to move with her family to New York City after her husband took a job with a law firm, finishing her studies at Columbia Law School and graduating in 1959. After graduating, she struggled to find employment as a lawyer due to her gender and the fact that she was a mother. It was very rare for a woman to succeed in a law career during this time due to sexism and wage gaps. With the help of her professor from Columbia; however, Ginsburg was able to receive a clerkship under the Southern District of New York. There, she researched Swedish Civil Procedure, and her work was published in a book entitled Civil Procedure in Sweden (1965). Her experience as a clerk landed her the opportunity to work as an assistant professor at Rutgers School of Law; however, she was asked to accept a lower salary because of her husband’s well-paying job. In 1965, she gave birth to her second child. She was still working as an assistant professor and concealed her pregnancy for fear that her contract would not be renewed.

In 1970, after receiving tenure the year prior, Ginsburg became professionally involved in gender equality after being asked to moderate a student panel in “women’s liberation.” After only a year, Ginsburg published two law review articles, led a seminar in gender discrimination, and partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to draft briefs in two federal cases. Throughout the 1970s, Ginsburg was a pioneer in the field of gender equality, drafting dozens of law review articles, contributing to Supreme Court briefs on gender discrimination, and co-authoring a law-school casebook on the matter. Due to her revolutionary research and career at Rutgers, Ginsburg became founding counsel of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project in 1972 and was hired by Columbia Law School, where she became the first tenured female faculty member. Throughout the 70s, Ginsburg argued before the Supreme Court six separate times and won five of the cases.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Washington, D.C. Ginsburg was a very liberal judge, and became heavily involved in protecting women’s reproductive rights, specifically the right to have an abortion. In 1993 she delivered the Madison Lecture at New York University Law School, providing a critique of the reasoning behind Roe v. Wade. Ginsburg argued that the court should have issued a more limited decision, providing room for the court to provide better details, claiming it would “reduce controversy rather than fuel it.”

In August of 1993, Ginsburg replaced Byron White on the Supreme Court after being nominated by president Bill Clinton and confirmed by the senate on a vote of 96-3. Ginsburg would continue to lead a fulfilling legacy for 27 years, some notable acts include requiring state funded schools to admit women (United States v. Virginia), creating strides towards equal pay in her dissent from the Supreme Court’s decision on the pay discrimination case (Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.), protection of pregnant women in the workplace, a key vote in queer people’s right to same-sex marriage (Obergefell v. Hodges), and a pioneer in the protection of Roe v. Wade. Even after her death, Ruth Bader Ginsburg continues to pave the way for gender equality from her past work both inside and outside of the Supreme Court.

While women’s rights have been challenged in America, with the overturn of Roe v. Wade and the new President-elect’s decision to leave all aspects of reproductive rights up to each state, Ginsburg’s influence has been challenged. In spite of this injustice, feminists and pro-choice activists and politicians everywhere continue to advocate for reproductive rights. Now more than ever, it is crucial that politicians and activists across the country continue to advocate for reproductive rights and gender equality, as we are now entering a presidential term where those rights may be further threatened. This issue can be fought for through voting, educating yourself and others, and supporting political candidates and federal justices who will advocate for and work to re-establish reproductive rights and gender equality in law and government. Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent her whole life fighting for all encompassing women’s rights and gender equality, and as citizens who have been impacted by her work, it is expected that we carry on her legacy, especially in times of national adversity. Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be remembered in history as the first woman to make major breakthroughs in laws pertaining to women’s rights and gender equality as a tenured professor at Ivy League universities, all while raising two children. It was for those reasons and so much more that NYU law students and young people across the nation granted her the title of the “Notorious RBG.”

#biography #ruth bader ginsburg #rbg #supreme court

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alas9 · 4 months ago

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✨ 📖 ✏️ studyblr masterpost jam ✏️ 📖 ✨ Day #2 as an independent game designer maybe?

So today is about books. I love to read books and I love what I'm doing now, so I'm going to share some books I'm planning to read and do some reviews here in the future.

1 - Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture

It is a book written by historian and cultural theorist Johan Huizinga, first published in 1938. In this work, Huizinga explores the importance of play in human culture, arguing that play is not just a recreational activity, but a fundamental component of civilization. Huizinga presents the idea that play predates culture itself, suggesting that many of the social institutions and practices we consider serious, such as law, war, philosophy, and art, have their roots in play. The book examines how the spirit of play manifests itself in various spheres of life, from religious rituals to sports competitions, and how this spirit influences creativity and human expression. Throughout the book, Huizinga also examines how the game has evolved throughout history and how it has been interpreted and valued by different cultures. Although the text is an academic study, its accessible style and provocative ideas have made "Homo Ludens" an influential and widely read work, both in cultural studies and other disciplines. The title, "Homo Ludens," translates as "the man who plays," and reflects Huizinga's central thesis that play is an essential and defining part of what it means to be human.

2 - The Well-Played Game: A Player's Philosophy

It is a book written by game designer and cultural theorist Bernard De Koven, first published in 1978. In this work, De Koven explores the concept of play beyond rules and objectives, focusing on shared experience and interaction between players.

The book is about the idea that a "well-played game" is not necessarily defined by winning or losing, but by the quality of the experience the players create together. De Koven argues that the real value of a game lies in how players collaborate and enjoy the process, promoting fun, connection and creativity over competition.

Throughout the book, De Koven offers reflections on the nature of play, proposing that the spirit of play is something that players carry with them and that can be applied to other aspects of life. He also provides ideas on how games can adapt and evolve to ensure the experience is enjoyed by all participants, highlighting the importance of flexibility and inclusivity.

"The Well-Played Game" is an influential work in the field of game design and game theory, and has inspired designers and players to reconsider what it really means to play well, focusing on the importance of community and enjoyment. mutual.

3 - Theory of Fun for Game Design

It is a seminal book in the field of game design, first published in 2004. Through an accessible and visually appealing approach, Koster explores what makes games fun and how designers can apply these principles to create experiences. more involving and satisfying.

The book is distinguished by its mix of text and drawings, which illustrate the concepts in a clear and entertaining way. Koster argues that the fun in games comes from the learning process; Games are essentially systems of patterns that players break down and master. As players solve the challenges the games present, they experience a sense of satisfaction that is the core of the fun.

In addition to analyzing the structure of games and what makes them attractive, Koster also reflects on the cultural impact of games and their potential as an art form. The book is both a practical guide for designers and a philosophical reflection on why we play.

"Theory of Fun for Game Design" is widely considered essential reading for anyone interested in game design, both for its conceptual depth and its accessible and entertaining approach.

4 - Thinking in Systems: A Primer

It is an accessible and insightful introduction to the concept of systems thinking, originally published in 2008. The book presents a way of understanding the world through the lens of systems, which are sets of interrelated elements that function together as a whole.

Meadows, a leading environmental scientist and pioneer in the field of systems dynamics, uses clear, practical examples to explain how systems operate in nature, society, and in our everyday lives. The book addresses topics such as feedback loops, system boundaries, and the dynamics of change, offering tools to identify and understand the behaviors of complex systems.

One of the book's strengths is its ability to break down complex concepts into understandable ideas, making it a valuable read for both beginners and those with experience in the field. Meadows also offers insight into how to apply systems thinking to solve problems in diverse areas, from environmental sustainability to business management.

"Thinking in Systems" is more than a technical manual; It is an invitation to see the world differently, with a deeper awareness of the connections and relationships that underlie the problems and challenges we face. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand and address complexity more effectively.

5 - Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames

It is a pioneering work published in 2007 that explores the potential of video games as a means of communication and expression. Bogost, an academic and game designer, introduces the concept of "procedural rhetoric," which refers to the way video games can persuade and communicate ideas through their game systems and mechanics, rather than just through images or narratives.

The book argues that video games have a unique ability to influence players, as they not only present information, but also allow players to interact with complex systems and experience firsthand the consequences of their decisions. Through this interaction, video games can express political, social, and cultural ideas in powerful and subtle ways.

Bogost examines a wide range of games, from commercial titles to independent and educational projects, showing how these games can educate, persuade, and even change players' perspectives on various topics. The book also reflects on the future of game design and how developers can use procedural rhetoric to create more meaningful and thoughtful experiences.

"Persuasive Games" is essential reading for those interested in the expressive power of video games, whether from an academic, design perspective, or simply as curious gamers. The book challenges the traditional view of video games as superficial entertainment and positions them as a medium with deep communicative potential.

6 - Procedural Storytelling in Game Design

It is a compilation edited by Tanya X. Short and Tarn Adams, published in 2019, that explores how stories can be generated procedurally in video games. Through a series of essays written by experienced developers and designers, the book addresses the techniques and challenges of creating dynamic narratives that emerge from the player's interactions with the game system, rather than following a predefined script.

The book highlights the importance of designing systems that allow players to experience unique and personalized stories in each game. Examples of games that use procedures to generate narrative content are explored, from major titles to indie games, and the different philosophies behind this design approach are discussed.

One of the strengths of "Procedural Storytelling in Game Design" is its practical and varied approach, offering both technical advice and theoretical reflections on how to make procedural narratives coherent and exciting. The authors also address the limitations and challenges of this approach, such as the difficulty of maintaining narrative coherence and emotional depth in procedurally generated stories.

This book is a valuable read for game designers, writers, and anyone interested in the intersection between narrative and technology. "Procedural Storytelling in Game Design" provides an in-depth look at an innovative aspect of game design, inspiring readers to consider new ways of telling stories through interactive systems.

#personal #diario #diary #studyblr #blog #codeblr #100 days of productivity #bookblr #books and reading #bookish #bookworm #books #reading #100 dias de productividad #100 dop #100daysofproductivity #100dop

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anarchoherbalism · 10 months ago

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Some things that drive me up the goddamn wall:

Western medicine is not that old. CHARITABLY its like, 400ish years old, but all the most popular ways of defining western medicine (e.g. based on the modern scientific study) really only apply to information-generating and medicine-distribution practices that started in the late 1800s and were codified in THE TWENTIES. Sure, no ideas come out of nowhere and modern western medicine absolutely has a lineage and if you want you could make a good argument for tracing that lineage back to say, Galen. (Side note: american Doctors love to claim Galen when it makes them sound Storied and Dramatic but foist him off on us stupid herbalists as soon as anything controversial by modern standards comes up). But what's a lot more important to think about is that prior to the past hundred years or so, the diversity of actively-practiced, available medical traditions that existed in "the west" was so much greater than it is today, and if you go back another hundred or more years it's bigger and bigger. For most of human history in most parts of the world medicine has been a great, fluid cultural field (like cuisine! or religion! in fact these three subjects overlap quite a bit!!) that becomes forcibly homogenized and codified as part of nation-building. That has happened and is still happening here in the west as empire seeks to homogenize culture, through, yknow, genocide; and minority medical philosophies are deligitimized, criminalized, and culturally persecuted. Indigenous and folk traditions survive in small bubbles of people desperately trying to keep them alive.

Following from #1, the majority of people on the "left" to postleft & whatever recognize, at least nominally, that this is Bad. However, what most white people seem to be doing with the idea that Cultural Extermination Is Bad is grant some kind of nebulous exception status to their nebulous idea of "Indigenous medicine" while otherwise paying lip service to the western medical progress narrative: What "we" do now is so much better than what "we" "used to" do. First of all, "we" here is an incoherent concept unless you want to buy into the idea that dominant western culture (or civilization more broadly) is an inevitable evolution that all cultures will come to, which is uhm. Social darwinism. Second of all, "used to" is just a straight up lie in most cases unless it's very narrowly referring to any number of practices that were codified in like, 1930 by the still-budding medical establishment and have since been discarded by the extant medical establishment. Diverse, Indigenous & folk medical traditions are still fucking around and alive and being used, adapted and added to. Some are holding on by a thread and plenty are very closed practices now out of defensiveness, while others struggle to be known more widely because of medical licensure laws that claim to be about "safety" but were always about stamping out minority medical traditions. What a lot of motherfuckers miss is that when the western medical establishment tells the story about how everything is so much better now and we know the right way to be, they are telling the same story I told under heading one. The nonviolent story of progress that "we" just "discovered" "new ideas" is conveniently shuffling around the genocide and criminalization that are STILL actively trying to stamp out the """"old"""" ideas.

Does all of this mean that we should just willy nilly accept/use/treat as valid every single thought anyone has ever had about medicine? Fuck no! People have bad ideas sometimes! Medical traditions are LIVING traditions for good reasons. It just means that I wish people would sit down and THINK for a second before making a claim about non-western or historical medical traditions, ask themselves "is my only source for this claim the current western medical establishment?", and if "yes", spend any amount of time trying to find an alternate perspective. If you can't find any source that isn't affiliated with genocide and forced cultural assimilation on the practice you want to talk shit about, ask yourself "why isn't there a proponent of this practice around to defend it?" and like, go from there.

I truly do not care what medical philosophy any given individual person feels most comfortable using for themselves. Your reasons for preferring western medicine might very well be rooted in shit i disagree with/find abhorrent, I might think you could be happier (or more likely to survive climate collapse) if you were at all open to any strategy other than the one that's entirely dependent on empire and extraction, but I am frankly too tired and too busy to be remotely invested in what people I don't know are doing with their bodies. What frustrates me is how little critical thinking is being done when it comes to medicine, how comfortable everyone seems to be with incoherent cognitive dissonance when it comes to criticizing specific instances of oppression/nationalism/racism/etc in western medicine but still buy the overall narrative in a way that renders those critiques superficial, and how successful the project of western medical nationalism has been at claiming a monopoly on the story.

#theory #these thoughts are part of a big essay about disability and “alternative medicine” but that's probably going to rot in my drafts and i felt #like these parts are important. so.

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 8 months ago

Text

By: Benjamin Ryan

Published: Apr 23, 2024

The prominent American transgender activist Erin Reed has repeatedly and insistently made demonstrably false claims about pediatric gender medicine.

During the two weeks since the publication of the Cass Review, England’s mammoth report about this controversial and politicized medical field, Reed has emitted a fusillade of false claims about the review, its findings and the systematic literature reviews on which it was partially based. Reed has only doubled down when fact checked, even when the corrections have come from lead author of the report, pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass, herself.

Reed publishes a popular daily Substack, “Erin In The Morning,” focusing on trans legislative, civil-rights and medical issues. Over the past couple of years, as access to gender-transition treatment by children has become a major political fight in U.S. statehouses, Reed has amassed a large following, both through her coverage of these issues and her activism against such laws and for gender-distressed children’s access to such treatments.

The Cass Review was four years in the making and published to considerable fanfare in the UK on April 9. The 388-page report scrutinized the field of pediatric gender-transition treatment and found it was based on “remarkably weak evidence,” as I reported for The New York Sun.

The report has heralded the end of an era in England. It helped shutter the troubled pediatric gender clinic, known as GIDS, that once provided puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to members of a burgeoning population of thousands of British minors distressed about their gender. Going forward in England, holistic psychological care will be prioritized for such young people, as it now is in multiple Scandinavian nations.

For gender-distressed minors in England, puberty blockers will only be available through a planned clinical trial. And the nation’s National Health Service looks likely to heed Cass’s counsel to reverse its recently announced policy to permit cross-sex hormones to 16 and 17 year olds. Furthermore, signs from Parliament suggest that the government will likely crack down on any private and overseas clinics prescribing of puberty blockers for gender distress. Even members of the Labour party have expressed support for Cass’s findings and recommendations.

Reed stands at the forefront of a full-court press by British and North American activists and online influencers to undermine and cast doubt on the Cass Review, including through falsehoods. This comes as English politicians and medical societies, the NHS, and even major UK LGBTQ organizations have fallen in line and pledged their support of the report’s findings, or at least refrained from fighting them. U.S. medical societies, meanwhile, have remained notably silent on the matter. They all unwaveringly support pediatric gender-transition treatment.

Most notably, Reed has falsely claimed on repeated occasions that the Cass Review simply “disregarded” a substantial proportion of the available medical literature on pediatric gender-transition treatment. Sometimes phrased as the notion that Cass tossed out 98% of available studies, some version of this false claim ran rampant during the first week after the report’s publication. The game of falsehood telephone stormed across social media, showed up in the opinions of LGBTQ charity leaders and English MPs, and in an error-laden Canadian Broadcasting Corporation article that I fact checked on X.

Finally, Dr. Cass herself cried foul.

In an interview with The Times published April 19, Dr. Cass did not mince words. She denounced those who had falsely claimed she had not included 100 papers on pediatric gender medicine in her review. (I explained the finer details of why this claim is egregiously incorrect in my Substack from last week, so I’ll go into only just a bit of explanatory detail about this later in this report.)

The Times reported:

Calling the assertion “completely wrong”, Cass said that it was “unforgivable” for people to undermine her report by spreading “straight disinformation”. The physician, 66, who has spoken about the toxic debate around the issue, also revealed that she had been sent “vile” abusive emails and been given security advice to help keep her safe. Of her critics, Cass said: “I have been really frustrated by the criticisms, because it is straight disinformation. It is completely inaccurate.

Reed’s false claims, about the Cass Review in particular and pediatric gender-transition treatment in general, have likely had a substantial impact on the global conversation about the care of young people with gender distress, given the wide reach of her platform. She has many eager followers and her tweets routinely rack up tens or hundreds of thousands of views. She is taken seriously by media outlets and even doctors and is routinely asked to speak at medical conferences.

I spoke with Erica Anderson, a trans woman, psychologist and the former head of USPATH, the U.S. branch of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, or WPATH, about Reed’s influence on the larger conversation about pediatric gender medicine.

Dr. Anderson, who has become a vocal critic of WPATH’s full-throated support for pediatric gender-transition treatment, told me:

“It’s unfortunate that Erin Reed in her mistaken efforts to advocate for transgender persons repeatedly and demonstrably promotes falsehoods, including most recently about the Cass Commission report.”

Referring to the fact that, in every tweet thread that Reed posts promoting her Substack essays, Reed asks people to pay for a subscription, Dr. Anderson continued: “She asks the trans community to support her efforts financially. There is no way I can do so.”

[ All of Reed’s tweet threads about her Substack articles, which are often laden with errors, come with with a financial ask. ]

Reached for comment, Reed said: “Readers should not trust a fact check done by somebody like Benjamin Ryan, who himself has consistently misrepresented studies on gender affirming care and gotten basic facts about them incorrect.”

I stand by my own 23 years of professional science reporting and am proud that I have never had to run a major correction.

Erin Reed’s Two-Week Marathon of Falsehoods About the Cass Review

Over the past two weeks, Reed has repeated various versions of the false claim that Dr. Cass simply “disregarded” a stack of papers about pediatric gender medicine. Why did the author of the Cass Review do such a thing? Because, Reed claimed, those studies didn’t suit her “predetermined conclion [sic] ”—meaning conclusions.

Without going into too much detail, here is the truth:

Two systematic literature reviews, conducted by the University of York on behalf of the Cass Review and published by the BMJ the same day as the Cass Review, examined puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones as treatments for gender distress in minors.

Between them, these two reviews examined 103 studies. Using a validated scoring method, they identified two high-quality papers, 58 moderate-quality papers, and 43 low-quality papers.

Only the high-quality and moderate-quality papers were included in the review papers’ syntheses.

When reaching their ultimate conclusions—essentially that the evidence base was largely unreliable and inconclusive, although there was some evidence that hormones were associated with psychological benefits—the review papers leaned on the high-quality papers, but did not discount the moderate-quality papers.

[ The conclusion of the systematic literature review on cross-sex hormones. ]

Cass considered all these papers in her own analysis and did not simply disregard or discard any of them, as I reported on Substack last week.

That said, the central purpose of an evidence-based medicine approach is to discern which studies are more likely to provide reliable results and which are less likely to do so. This is meant to keep false study results, such as those driven by bias, from influencing medical practices. Reed and other activists mischaracterize this effort as capricious and biased, one that starts with a desired outcome and then reverse engineers it.

Discernment of study quality is particularly important, evidence-based medicine experts have insisted, when caring for the particularly vulnerable population of gender-distressed children. And it is of paramount importance, these experts say, to prioritize higher quality research when devising treatment guidelines for this group, considering that children cannot consent to their own care and may lose their fertility and sexual function as a result of treatment with puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

These systematic reviews were conducted independently and were structured to be agnostic about their results.

Reed was not convinced.

On April 18, she denounced the Cass Review as a member of a collection of “sham reports concocted to justify escalating crackdowns on their care.”

The day after the Cass Review was published, Reed published a Substack condemning it. The false or misleading claims Reed made in this report included:

The report did not, as Reed claimed, “call for restrictions” on social transition. It advised that families observe “caution” when considering the social transition of a child.

The Cass Review did not “[advocate] for the blocking” of trans young adults receiving cross-sex hormones,” as Reed claimed. It advised a review of young-adult gender services, suggesting that the problems that have plagued the pediatric clinic may be similar in young-adult care.

The theory of rapid-onset gender dysphoria has not been “discredited”, as she claimed. It remains a hypothesis under investigation by researchers.

Systematic literature reviews are considered the gold-standard source of scientific evidence. They are not mere “reviews”, as she wrote—in scare quotes meant to dismiss them.

The Cass Report stated that there was not sufficient research to determine the rate at which young people who receive cross-sex hormones will detransition—meaning revert to identifying and presenting as their biological sex.

But Reed insisted that an audit of some 3,500 GIDS patients, mentioned in Appendix 8 of the Cass Review, showed that only 8 out of 3,000 detransitioned, for a rate of just 0.27%. (Approximately 9,000 patients were seen at GIDS since 2011.)

As I explained in the tweet below, Erin had the denominator wrong, and the true rate was about 1.6%.

Regardless, the 1.6% figure is woefully incomplete. Because this audit only considered GIDS patients assessed upon discharge, including because they turned 18 and aged out. And as Cass stated, her interviews with clinicians suggested that detransitioning can take 5 to 10 years. So the young people would likely need to be followed into their mid- to late-20s to establish a true detransitioning rate. But such data was unavailable to Dr. Cass’s team, because the NHS adult gender services refused to share it with them. (It looks likely the British government will ultimately force those clinics to hand over the data. However, activists have sought to convince these patients to forbid the NHS to share their personal, if anonymized, health records.)

In an April 18 appearance on the super-lefty Majority Report podcast with the super-cranky Emma Vigeland, Reed claimed that Dr. Cass was secretly conspiring to ban pediatric gender-transition treatment. Reed also falsely claimed that the Cass Review did not factor in the voices of trans people or their care providers.

Here is how the Cass Review diagrammed all the sources Dr. Cass and her team drew upon when crafting the report, including trans people and their care providers:

Reed then suggested to a super-credulous Vigeland that the Cass Review was aligning itself with an anti-trans propaganda machine, because in a footnote it referred to a video posted by that account’s YouTube channel.

Below is the video in question, which is an unedited, 37-minute video of GIDS director Dr. Polly Charmichael speaking at the 2016 WPATH conference. The YouTube account’s politics notwithstanding, the video itself is provided with no extra editorial comment by the account; it is just the words and slides of Dr. Charmichael.

youtube

In an April 18 Substack that she characterized as an opinion piece, Reed argued that “England’s Anti-Trans Cass Review Is Politics Disguised As Science.”

In the single paragraph below from that Substack, she made at least six false or misleading claims.

Reed falsely claimed that the Cass Review was crafted with a predetermined conclusion. In fact, as I mentioned, Dr. Cass commissioned seven independent systematic literature reviews on various facets of pediatric gender medicine from the University of York. Their findings informed Cass's conclusions.

Reed falsely claimed the systematic literature reviews were “highly susceptible to subjectivity.” The reviews used a validated scoring method, the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS), and two independent reviewers each. The paper on the NOS scale to which Reed linked in her Substack actually states much more modestly that there is apparent “room for subjectivity in the NOS tool.”

She falsely claimed the Cass Review disregarded all research not deemed high quality.

She falsely claimed that the theory that gender dysphoria and trans identity may be influenced by social contagion has been "debunked". This remains an open question subject to ongoing research.

She makes the misleading suggestion about the YouTube footnote.

She falsely claims that the Cass Review asserts that rates of detransition are high. In fact, Cass states that the detransition rate is “unknown due to the lack of long term follow-up.”

In an April 19 Substack, Reed began pushing the particularly far-fetched claim that Dr. Cass had somehow, after publishing a nearly 400-page report following a four-year effort, suddenly reversed herself and endorsed the prescribing of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors outside of a clinical trial.

“Dr. Cass Backpedals From Review: HRT, Blockers Should Be Made Available,” Reed trumpeted in her headline.

Her source for this claim was a supposed transcript from an interview Dr. Cass had apparently given to The Kite Trust. The transcript was inexplicably written in the third person, referring repeatedly to “Dr. Cass.” Reed mischaracterized statements that Dr. Cass apparently made about how she envisioned children receiving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in clinical trials of such drugs; Reed presented those statements as if they applied to everyday prescribing of drugs.

Fact Checked By Cass, Reed Doubles Down, Repeats the Same Falsehoods

Reed has remained resolute that she is right and Dr. Hilary Cass is wrong regarding the evidence backing pediatric gender-transition treatment.

After Cass castigated those who propogate such “disinformation” in her interview with The Times, Reed repeated her false claim that Cass discarded perfectly good research.

In response to an April 22 BBC tweet thread that painstakingly diagrammed how the misinformation about the Cass Review spread around the world, and why it was wrong, Reed responded:

“Not accurate.”

Reed then proceeded to mischaracterize the systematic reviews syntheses, describing them as if they were capricious processes and not structured to weed out study results that are unreliable. Referring to the 58 moderate-quality studies that were factored into the syntheses, Reed wrote: “Much of what was in the moderate section was also discarded, especially in Cass’s conclusions.”

This tweet came as the UK LGBTQ charity Stonewall backed off of its previous claims that Cass had egregiously discarded a large crop of research.

“We are grateful to Dr Cass for taking the time to clarify that both ‘high’ and ‘moderate’ quality research were considered by as part of the evidence review, both in the media and directly to trans and LGBTQ+ organisations,” a contrite Stonewall tweeted.

That same day, the UK Royal College of Psychiatrists also backed the Cass Review. Its president, Dr. Lade Smith CBE, stated in a press release: “It is a comprehensive and evidence-based assessment that needs to be acted upon with a fully resourced implementation plan.”

Who Is Erin Reed?

Reed has been Substacking for a relatively short time, but has quickly amassed a large following. She has 54,000 subscribers, among whom a group that is apparently in the thousands pays either $50 per year or $5 per month for their premium subscription.

She is recommended by doctors.

In the wake of the March publication of the so-called WPATH Files by Michael Shellenberger’s nonprofit Environmental Progress, Dr. Carl Streed, the current USPATH head, wrote in a letter to USPATH colleagues that he was “grateful” for Reed’s reporting about the Files—for correcting the “numerous false claims running rampant in the media.”

(Dr. Streed, whom I’ve interviewed a couple of times, took a clear swipe at me in the letter. First he called into question the findings of a recent Finnish study that found no independent association between receiving gender-transition treatment and the suicide death rate among gender-distressed youths. Then he wrote, “I seriously question the motives and ethics of any reporter, legislator, or professional citing it as evidence.” I was the only reporter to cover the study for a major U.S. media outlet, the New York Post. Reed was no fan of the article either and, as she noted in her message to me about this Substack, published her own takedown of my work in the Los Angeles Blade. I stand by my reporting. My motive is to report the truth. As it happens, Cass also found that there was no evidence backing the suggestion that gender-transition treatment impacts suicide deaths in youths.)

The Cass Review excoriated WPATH, saying that it exaggerated the strength of the research backing its influential guidelines for treating gender distress in children.

The LGBTQ nonprofit GLAAD, which has falsely claimed the “science is settled” on pediatric gender-transition treatment, is also a vocal supporter of Reed’s writing.

However, not all doctors see Reed as a trustworthy intellectual. Last October, at the Society for Evidence Based Medicine conference in New York City, I cited Reed when asking a question of a panel of researchers and physicians. When I noted that one major media outlet refers to Reed as a “legislative analyst,” the room broke out into derisive laughter.

Reed is no fan of SEGM’s and repeatedly claims they are a hate group. I got no such impression from the conference in particular, which provided a crash course on evidence-based medicine practice. Politics came up only briefly. This was a science conference.

Reed recently became engaged to Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a Democrat.

Reed, whose writing has also been published by Harper’s Bazaar, was recently lionized as a journalistic force to be reckoned with by The Nation. The progressive outlet (which I have written for a few times) charactered Reed’s Substack as one of “the most reliable sources for information on the exploding campaign against trans rights.”

Don’t tell that to Laura Edwards-Leeper. She is a child psychologist who was part of the team to first import to the U.S., in 2007, the so-called Dutch model for prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to treat gender-related distress in children. More recently, Edwards-Leeper, who practices in Oregon, has become one of the most prominent voices calling for reform and caution in the pediatric gender-care field from within its ranks.

[ Laura Edwards-Leeper ]

Dr. Edwards-Leeper is no fan of Reed’s.

“Erin Reed is harming children with her false claims about the Cass Review,” Dr. Edwards-Leeper told me. “Because many providers, parents, and even professional organizations are believing these claims without taking the time to read the actual review themselves. By ignoring the Cass Review, the most comprehensive examination of the evidence for treating gender-distressed youth medically to date, providers and parents who believe Erin’s false synopsis are making decisions that are not accurate and will undoubtedly harm children.”

Echoing Dr. Cass, who said, “This must stop,” of the toxic bullying that has intimidated many health professionals out of speaking out about the subject of pediatric gender medicine, Dr. Edwards-Leeper said of Reed’s routine publication of falsehoods about the Cass Review and pediatric gender medicine:

“This behavior is unforgivable and must stop immediately.”

I encourage you to retweet a thread about this Substack: https://x.com/benryanwriter/status/1782653360207761431

Ben brought the receipts.

Follow-up:

PSA: Reed is most correctly addressed as Globally Discredited Shill Blogger "Erin" Reed.

#Benjamin Ryan #receipts #Erin Reed #Christopher Reed #compulsive liar #pathological liars #misinformation #dishonesty #disinformation #debunked #Cass review #Cass report #Hilary Cass #Dr. Hilary Cass #religion is a mental illness

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