#Reproductive fidelity

[queencolondarkwing]

Um…

some couple just approached us on fetlife and want us to eventually move in with them so they can financially support and date us. The woman also said she may want to have my primary partner’s child.

I’m not monogamous, but I’m beginning to feel I may believe in reproductive fidelity because the idea of that offended me deeply. We have been building a life together and haven’t had our own kids yet. I would at least insist we have kids first before he branches out, but this woman is older and on a timeline…just…I know it’s hierarchy…but ain’t no way. Kids are a HUGE commitment and not just some willynilly decision that this lady and her hiss and are talking like it is. I think she just wants a mixed race child tbh…

keep in mind we haven’t even MET these people yet and only started talking to this older couple days ago. I don’t romantically connect to people easily. We mainly are swingers/open relationship and not polyamory (but open to it). It took 7 years of slutting around before I got with my partner. I’m very picky. They seem to assume we wanna jump into a relationship. And also that they can create a closed relationship with us (he hates condoms apparently) when we are both very popular in the swinger scene right now.

like nah I don’t know anything about either of you yet. Chill. Let’s take things slow. I view them talking about us moving in as they’re younger human sex toys when they don’t know us yet to be a massive red flag, but we agreed to hookup in a few weeks to at least test sexual compatibility. We aren’t committing though.

[richardvarey]

Full sonic capture, or euphony? And why.

Audio engineer Ben Duncan’s book High Performance Audio Power Amplifiers for music performance and reproduction (1996, Newnes) is unusual for its “interleaving of electronics and audio, engineering ideality, and musical and practical reality”. He points out that the ideal intention of hi-fi audio is to capture, and reproduce at any time, the captured sound with greatest accuracy. Alternative to…

[synchodai]

Let's talk adaptation theory, because I've been seeing a lot of accusations that criticism of HotD is just "wanting it to be exactly like the books" and "book purists" not knowing what an adaptation is. So okay, let's talk about what an adaptation is, then.

I'll mostly be quoting from Linda Hutcheon's A Theory of Adaptation, because this is the first book most everyone reads when going into adaptation studies. Let's look at several ways we can approach and critique adaptation.

ADAPTATION AS INTERPRETATION

The adapted text, therefore, is not something to be reproduced, but something to be interpreted and recreated [...]

No one expects HotD to be a 1:1 reproduction of F&B. Hutcheon often compares adaptation to the process of linguistic translation, in that there will always be an inevitable loss of fidelity when translating from one language to another. However, the translator is still expected to provide an accurate representation of the source text — hence, adaptation as interpretation and recreation. Some may call this approach "fidelity criticism," an evaluation of quality based on how much the adaptation aligns with the source text.

("Fidelity criticism" is not what GRRM did. He didn't criticize the show simply because it differed from the books, and often even praises changes from the source material if it "strengthens" the impact of the work. His priority was never fidelity.)

This approach has its detractors, but there is merit to pointing out that HotD and its audience will have a difficult time interpreting and conveying F&B's message (story) if the showrunners actively take out key words (characters) and terminology (plot events). If we view adaptation as translation (from one medium to another), then the role of the adapter is to convey the intention and meaning of the source text as accurately as possible. And people do have a right to criticize "accuracy" of meaning if we see adaptation as a process of translation and remediation — which you are free not to, but some people DO come from this angle and are often dismissed as "book purists."

If you see adaptation as interpretation, are you a book purist? Perhaps, depending on what the definition of "book purist" is, but to make it clear, the people who are coming from this viewpoint clearly do not expect a blow-by-blow reproduction, and to argue that they do is dismissing a whole school of thought when it comes to adaptation.

ADAPTATION AS SUBSTITUTION

Another way to look at adaptation is through a "process of substitution." Pretty simple to understand, right? Prose that says "red dress" is substituted for an image of a white gown but with ruby embellishments, two characters are merged into one for the show, and Aemond and Aegon working together in Rook's Rest is substituted for the former betraying the latter. Your mileage may vary on whether you find these acceptable substitutions.

I believe this is the camp GRRM falls into. He brings up fidelity only insofar that he's concerned a lack of it will lead to poor and unacceptable substitutions.

How does one know if a substitution is "acceptable?" Well, I'd like to use the analogy Hutcheon brings up about surgery:

Usually adaptations, especially from long novels, mean that the adapter's job is one of subtraction or contraction; this is called "surgical art."

Good adaptations are like good surgeries: the body remains holistically intact and ideally functions better with the replacements and removals. Bad adaptations are like bad surgeries — hence the oft lobbied critique of an adaptation "butchering" the source material. The body of the adapted text cannot function on its own, being maimed or crippled by the adaptation process.

For example, the adaptational change of making Rhaenyra and Alicent the "heart" of the story has been discussed a lot by fans and critics. It was praised in the first season because it gave the story an intimate and personal "face." But it was lambasted in the second season because it actively deterred the plot progression, "crippling" the pace and stakes of the show.

In GRRM's case, his argument was that while Maelor was an unimportant part by himself, his presence was necessary for the continued function of other more vital organs. He goes on to suggest possible replacements and reprecussions upon the text as a whole. While he expresses disapproval that Maelor was removed in the first place and mentions other potentially "toxic" changes, there's also the (albeit wary) admission that Condal and his team could very still find acceptable substitutes that may stave off the damage he foresees being done to the body.

Again, this is valid criticism and a legitimate approach to HotD as an adaptation.

ADAPTATION AS AUTONOMOUS

Perhaps one way to think about unsuccessful adaptations is not in terms of infidelity to a prior text, but in terms of lack of creativity and skill to make the text one's own and autonomous.

Basically, this approach to adaptation asks, "Is the show still good by itself? Or does it fall apart without its source text and paratext (interviews, podcasts, press releases, etc.)?" This mode argues that adaptations cannot be simply sequels, prequels, or any sort of expansion of the source text. They must be separate retellings that actively evolve and mutate into a species that can survive on its own — mainly, that it adapts to a new context and audience so to speak.

A critique lobbied at the season two HotD finale was that its impact relied solely on the legacy of the prior show and the A Song of Ice and Fire mystery of who truly is The Prince That Was Promised. If the audience had no connection to Daenerys, no investment in the question of who truly was TPTWP, and never watched Game of Thrones, would Daemon's decision to finally devote himself to Rhaenyra make sense? Or does its emotional resonance rely solely on the audience's investment to another story that is not this one? Is it an adaptation of F&B or a prequel to GoT?

There's nothing wrong with it being a prequel, but if it was billed as an adaptation, then the audience has the right to feel misled because both conventional wisdom and esoteric theory agree that prequels are not adaptations. I think this is the school of thought most people subscribe to when they say HotD feels like "fanfiction" — because while fanfics CAN be written as adaptation (like modern AUs, video game novelizations, etc.), a vast majority of them are not. Most fanfics are grafted on expansions reliant on the source text for context.

This is all to say that a lot of criticism levied against the show, including GRRM's, can't be chalked up to "people not knowing what an adaptation is." There are several different ways to approach adaptation — the question is does HotD succeed in any of them?

[a-word-a-day-for-writers]

𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚

Strong interest in the high-fidelity reproduction of recorded sound.

[blorbohoarder]

i already love them

ALSO!!!

you can buy this if you want!

[a-d-nox]

lenormand cards: key phrases and an example of a card combo (part 2)

this is just a beginners guide to the lenormand. these are key phrases that come to mind when i think of the cards - NOT how they should be directly applied. they needs to be thought about situationally - the card / when it is in specific combos can change or alter its meaning in a reading.

child: innocence, nativity, spontaneity, seeing only the good in people, carefree attitude, an actually child, smallness, newness, beginnings, playing, immaturity, etc.

child + heart = young love, blind devotion, puberty, just happy to be around others, small joys in life, parallel play, nostalgia, an olive branch, etc.

fox: plotting, protection, security, stealth, deviousness, treachery, manipulation, deception, trickery, loyalty, work, routine, obligation, responsibility, duty, cons, etc.

fox + child = white lies, feigning ignorance/innocence, impulsive actions based on opportunity, pretending to be better than you are, avoiding responsibilities, etc.

bear: defensive, fierceness, resourcefulness, power, strength, courage, protection, maturity/matriarchy, stability, security, management, finances, investments, income, possessions, diet, food, etc.

bear + fox = protective yourself, a fierce loyalty, seven of swords energy, white collar crime, savings account, etc.

stars: peacefulness, tranquility, guidance, direction, happiness, hope, encouragement, perseverance, confidence, etc.

stars + bear = protecting your peace, the power of ones mindset, seeing a way out of the red / debt, etc.

stork: esteem, admiration, respect, babies, fertility, fruitfulness, productivity, birth, renewal, change, movement, new job, new home, new person in your life, extra money, improvements, pregnancy, adoption, new activity, new projects, progress, advancement, renovations, evolution, etc.

stork + stars = good self-esteem, becoming pregnant soon, encouragement from the universe to get a new job, don't lose hope in a project/task, etc.

dog: best friend, companionship, protection, loyalty, fidelity, guidance, sincerity, partnership, acquaintanceship, therapist, boyfriend/girlfriend, an affair, advisor, doctor, reliability, etc.

dog + stork = your best friend is pregnant, meeting a new friend, renewal of vows, a reliable new source of income, real estate agent, taking things to the next level in a relationship, etc.

tower: shelter, protection, confinement, imprisonment, government, corporation, judicial system, military, guarding, ego, ambition, isolation, guidance, schools, law, hospitals, high self-esteem, condos, movie theaters, office building, mall, airports, chain businesses, legal matters, bureaucracy, etc.

tower + dog = a sheltered friend, a friend you protect, roommate, an egotistical friend, water cooler encounters at the workplace, needing to visit the doctor for testing, etc.

garden: courting, public gatherings, harmony, beauty, relaxation, birthday parties, concert, play, movies, restaurants, public/private occasions, reunions, conferences, seminars, meetings, crowds, audiences, celebrations, abundance, etc.

garden + tower = little to no dating experience, solitude, hotel stay, movie theater, cafeteria, airport reunions, a convention, etc. 

mountain: immobility, resistance, standing still, endurance, blockage, obstacles, what must be overcame, challenges, delays, interruptions, burdens, postponement, procrastination, remoteness, faraway retreats, etc.

mountain + garden = stage fright, an enduring relationship, social anxiety, social burden, secrets, a rain date for an event, etc.

crossroads: options, choices, free will, multiple directions, doubts, hesitation, double lives, cheating, etc.

crossroads + mountain = analysis paralysis, the many ways to overcome an obstacle, challenges within a relationship ("where do we go from here"), etc.

mice: sickness, fast, smart, group work, damage, reproduction, stress, worry, restlessness, agitation, palpitations, anxiety, nervousness, apprehension, tension, fatigue, lost items, small problems, tediousness, repetitiveness, excitement, eagerness, agitation, etc.

mice + crossroads = options of treatment, anxiety, paranoia, worrying about doing the wrong thing or picking the wrong choice, decision fatigue, etc.

heart: love, passion, devotion, affection, emotions, connections with others, appreciation of others, happiness, joy, contentment, satisfaction, fulfillment, gratification, peace, harmony, delight, pleasure, enjoyment, kindness, charity, generosity, hospitality, feelings, desires, fondness, intentions, fidelity, etc.

heart + mice = heart break, a wave of emotions, instant gratification, manifesting, etc.

like what you read? leave a tip and state what post it is for! please use my "suggest a post topic" button if you want to see a specific pac/pile next. if you'd like my input on how i read a specific card or what i like to ask my deck, lenormand combos centered on specific card, etc. feel free to use the ask button for that as well.

click here for the masterlist

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© a-d-nox 2024 all rights reserved

[oddman-the-oldman]

Black-footed Drone Fly aka Eristalis hirta shown feeding on Meadow Deathcamas aka Toxicoscordion venenosum feeding a usually poisonous flower where both nectar and pollen are poisonous to most animals and insects. It also shows the flower fidelity required to pollinate a mandatory out crossing plant at the beginning of the clip when the fly moves from one flower to the next.

I found this activity while looking for Andrena astragali which so far appears to be absent at this location. (Mima Mounds Wa.)

Use the two arrows near the bottom right of the video so you can get the resolution to see the detail by full screening it. Use your escape key to move on.

You may also wish to read:

Notes on the reproductive biology of Zigadenus paniculatus, a toxic range plant.

Where they talk about Eristalis flys.

@jadeseadragon

[perenial]

gene im so glad you said this cause I haven't seen anyone else comparing it to the book as source material for like character and tone but i am So sure that if terry was alive the season would not be like this but i fear good omens fans dont realise how big a factor the lack of terry's influence is?? or like they forget that good omens was never just neilman???

ok before i go any further: i rly don't want to detract from anyone's enjoyment of the season and everything im going to say comes from a place of love for a) the original novel (& season 1 to a certain extent bc it got me back into it lol) and b) tv as a medium so like peace and love on planet let people enjoy things etc etc

but

like u said, terry's influence on the book was enormous – what makes gomens gomens is the balance of his genuine warmth and precise understanding of humanity tempered with neilman's sardonic voice and general like.....savvy approach to storytelling? i guess u could call it? anyway what rly helps the book is that it took them years to write it, passing ideas back and forth and rewriting each other's work until their voices blended seamlessly and a well structured capital-s Story was created. when i praise the book for being self-contained i think a huge part of that comes from the circumstances in which it emerged: two authors with complementary styles writing in a v particular time period where they had both the space to play with their ideas and the constraints of the novel as a storytelling format from which to craft something extremely specific.

adaptations are a tricky business and a tv version of gomens produced literal decades after the book was always going to have some unique challenges, but i don't think that's a bad thing bc the challenges could prove to be creative opportunities to take both the established audience and those new to the story by surprise. my biggest hot take here is that i don't think translating a story into a different medium means it has to follow the original narrative exactly, bc each medium has its own ways of communicating information and these structures, rules and traditions in turn inform what that story is. what matters more than following a story beat-by-beat is capturing what that story is about at its core, what themes and messages and ideas it works through and how.

all this is to say i never expected tv gomens to be a perfect reproduction of the book and if it had it been, it probably would have been worse off for it. that being said, there are parts of the book – like u said, its tone and character – that needed to have some fidelity in order to pull it off, and for the most part s1 did that bc it was still working predominantly within the bounds of the novel & its core ideas. while i did have some issues w how neilman & amazon adapted some details and characterisations, i generally rly liked s1 – it reminded me of why i loved the book and it was just generally fun to watch.

s2 was. not that fun to watch

a few positives before i go ham w the critiques:

the hair & makeup + costumes were fantastic (although i feel like s1 was slightly better re: makeup?)

the sound design & score made some of the more awkward scenes bearable and thats no mean feat imo

david & michael gave incredible performances w what they were given – michael especially managed to salvage aziraphale enough that his complete 180 didnt feel completely tonally dissonant (more on this later)

the detail of the sets is NUTS and i genuinely want to see more of hell bc of how intricate and fun the props look

i actually like gabriel/beelzebub!! their getting together montage worked for me, although they could have spent sliiiightly more time establishing what it is they like abt each other so much + why gabriel wanted to stop armageddon 2.0 so suddenly

the opening scene, although not on par w the novel's & s1's, was visually gorgeous and thematically resonant (although neilman owes me royalties for ripping it off from this shitty fic i wrote back when raphael!crowley was all the rage lol)

now w THAT being said:

like i said yesterday, the pacing was fucking awful. flashbacks are hard to work w at the best of times and the way they were used in this season felt so needless, especially the 40s one in ep 4 that takes up like 90% of the episode. in both flashbacks + present day there were scenes that dragged for no real reason, dialogue that looped back around on itself to stretch out the runtime, and weirdly enough places where there should have been character & plot work where there just,, wasn't any?? for example, maggie & nina's night locked in the café – some parts of the dialogue in later episodes made out that they'd had some rly deep conversation abt how they feel about each other or even that they'd had an affair, but that isn't clear from those scenes in the café. i'm not saying we had to see that conversation in its entirety but that there needed to be more connective details – either in dialogue or direction – that gave that part of the story coherence.

(there were pacing issues w the editing too but i don't want to jump down the editor's throats on this one bc im more focused on writing & direction issues)

the second major problem that i mentioned in my tags yesterday is the protagonist shift, which is an issue that started in s1. aziraphale & crowley are side characters in book gomens – significant ones, yeah, but still somewhat peripheral to adam (& anathema who counts as a deuteragonist imo). this works incredibly well w who they are as characters: they're Just Some Guys who happen to be involved in this epic biblical-level bureaucratic nightmare and importantly, they don't want to be in the spotlight. the arrangement was created so that they could explore what it meant to be themselves away from the Big Narrative; literally any time they get involved in larger affairs is bc the plot is alive and caught them unionising on company time. the last fucking chapter is adam (& god) being like haha u guys are alright keep it sleezy and letting them go. like. hello. neil u let them go.

but then!! tv gomens s1 does something interesting at the end w the body swapping addition that i dont totally hate – it gives aziraphale & crowley the extra bit of character work that brings them slightly more adjacent to their book selves. see i kinda view tv a/c as the younger, less settled versions of book a/c; they're still caught up in the immediacy of being key players and haven't fully realised that earth is their home. i haven't watched s1 in a while but one scene i remember rly clearly is crowley throwing all those astronomy texts in the air and angsting abt when he was an angel; i remember it bc his anguish in that scene feels a lot newer and rawer than book crowley's feelings about falling. when tv a/c do their bodyswap, it gives them the chance to land a blow against heaven/hell in a way that solidifies their allegiance to earth in a way that more closely resembles what book a/c have been abt the entire time (still adjacent, though. not parallel).

the reason why this works is that it does one final pivot to orient aziraphale and crowley as almost-main characters in a manner that makes sense in relation to a) their book selves and b) the position the tv show has placed them in. a combination of factors made tv a/c feel a lot less mature than their book counterparts but at the end of s1 they're sort of facing the same direction the book ended in, albeit through their own flashy late 2010s means.

when s2 was announced i was.......apprehensive bc to me, that felt like a satisfactory ending. i get the impression that amazon saw how wildly successful the adaptation was and was like oh shit we could make way more money out of this and neilman, having all those undead darlings that he and terry killed in the process of whittling the book into a workable novel, jumped at the chance to resurrect all those half-realised ideas. but not only were those ideas probably discarded for a reason, they've either been laying in wait for years unworked or they're new inventions, which means they weren't molded in the way that the book had been. like i said before, book gomens underwent years of rewrites and creative collaboration, and i think that process was what made it so good; s2 didn't have that. even if some of terry's ideas made it into s2, his influence is still missing bc he and neilman weren't in dialogue the same way they were in the book (and in some ways s1 bc i know terry was involved in the process of adapting gomens to screen before his death).

i don't think it's a case of newer fans forgetting terry so much as it is the context of terry's involvement being so removed from the current circumstances that certain aspects & discourses (i.e. is the s2 finale queerbaiting (no), does binge watching change the viewership experience (yes), etc etc) about the show overshadow other discussions that would usually be taking place. and before anyone says it's a case of neilman forgetting terry, i definitely don't think it's that either bc thats. yknow. wildly disrespectful. but also there are larger systems and structures at play than one writer no matter how much beef i have w him and his decisions, bc ultimately he's just one guy (a powerful and wealthy guy, but just a guy) and there's a wider cultural shift happening rn towards rehashing old stories without understanding what made them successful in the first place, and that same culture just doesn't allow for much, if any, constructive discourse analysis

so yeah

[ad-caelestia]

Constellation Correspondences

A

Andromeda - power, removing barriers, release, letting go

Aquarius - new beginnings, luck, wishes

Aquila - guidance, psychic work, astral travel

Ara - hearth, home, devotion, refuge, protection 

Aries - fertility, abundance, protection, banishing 

Auriga - wisdom, knowledge, storm warding 

B

Boötes - inspiration, nature, storm warding 

C

Cancer - astral travel, dreamwork, psychic abilities, imagination, creativity, subconscious desire 

Canes Venatici - companionship, faithfulness, protection, healing 

Canis Major & Canis Minor - death, renewal, new beginnings, protection, purification

Capricornus - harvest, energy, abundance

Cassiopeia & Cepheus - balance, relationships, love, union, healing, maternal conflict (Cassiopeia), and familial/home conflict (Cepheus) 

Centaurus - balance, duality, healing, wisdom

Cetus - power, intelligence, communication, change, growth, happiness

Columba - peace, relaxation, fidelity, devotion, marriage, union

Corona Australis - emotions, love, spirituality, success, manifestation of goals 

Corona Borealis - guidance, protection, knowledge, divination, success, manifestation of goals

Corvus - wisdom, secrets, duality, prophecy, divination

Crater - life, emotions, abundance

Crux - elemental energy, crossroads, decision-making 

Cygnus - light, death, transformation, prophecy, self-esteem 

D

Delphinus - intelligence, wisdom, truth, releasing negativity, fertility, safe travels 

Draco - wisdom, power, knowledge, prosperity, luck, protection 

E

Eridanus - life, health, abundance, power, wisdom, transformation, meditation 

G

Gemini - balance, change, transition, increased power, banishing

Grus - death, rebirth, mysticism, truth, divination  

H

Hercules - wisdom, creativity, strength, energy

Hydra/Hydrus - life, reproduction, forces of nature, power, healing, transformation

L

Leo - power, protection, courage, strength 

Lepus - abundance, swiftness, wisdom, divination, hidden knowledge, transformation, lunar magic 

Libra - balance, healing, legal matters 

Lupus - power, purpose, loyalty, protection

Lynx - isolation, purification, cleansing, illumination, insight, hidden knowledge, swiftness

Lyra - underworld, enchantment, immortality of the soul, music 

M

Monoceros - beauty, freedom, love, luck, spirituality, transformation, wisdom, creativity 

O

Ophiuchus & Serpens - healing, balance, the flow of energy 

Orion - self-confidence, strength, victory, winter storms 

P

Pegasus & Equuleus - travel between realms, contacting the dead, astral travel, divination, psychic abilities 

Perseus - hope, desire, wishes, manifestation, power 

Phoenix - change, cycles, transformation, rebirth, renewal, personal growth 

Pisces - creation, fertility, union, creativity 

Piscis Austrinus - prophecy, divination, inspiration, astral travel, wisdom, otherworldly knowledge 

Pleiades, the - mysticism, power, higher consciousness, wisdom, awareness

S

Sagittarius - mental stimulation, virility, sexuality, physical energy, power, skill, manifestation of goals

Scorpius - protection, the underworld, creativity, transformation, psychic abilities 

T

Taurus - abundance, regeneration, power, strength, potency 

Triangulum - balance, change, transformation

U

Ursa Major - healing, protection, survival

Ursa Minor - renewal, rebirth, awakening

V

Virgo - rebirth, harvest, regeneration, prosperity 

source

© 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺 𝙰𝙳-𝙲𝙰𝙴𝙻𝙴𝚂𝚃𝙸𝙰

[alsgrid]

Why retro graphics are sometimes better

For the past few days, I have been playing through this game called Signalis. It's a survival horror game, and a throwback to the genre classics of the 90s in both gameplay and visuals. And I like those visuals. A lot, in fact, I think it looks better than any of the Resident Evil remakes, or any modern horror game. Looking at gameplay screenshots, that might sound absurd, but hear me out.

For a long time, I felt like older games were in many ways more atmospheric and immersive, specifically because of the way they looked, but playing through Signalis finally helped me articulate why that is. In the pursuit of realism and fidelity, a lot of games have stopped having a distinctive, deliberate visual style. In other words, instead of drawing inspiration from art, they draw inspiration from reality. This might work well for many kinds of games, and I won't say that a lot of modern AAA games aren't good looking or the people working on them aren't talented.

But for fantasy, sci-fi, and horror, a lot of the time, photorealism just doesn't cut it. In Signalis, everything from the color palette, the character models, the environments, to the animations and even the lighting is designed to create a certain mood, and transmit an emotion. The game is scary, and melancholic and mysterious because every facet of the world was specifically designed to look that way. Instead of trying to reproduce objective reality, the game creates a subjective representation of it, filtered through the lens of whatever it wants you to feel. It also leaves a lot of details to the imagination, which is, quite frankly, the trick to all good horror. No one can frighten you more than your own imagination.

Now, I have no actual background in analyzing art, and quite honestly, I'm talking out of my ass here, but I do think it's an interesting example, and an example that mainstream developers can learn from. Not every game needs to be as close of a reproduction of the real world as you can muster, and in fact, for some games it is quite counterproductive.

Oh, and I will also be posting a full review of this game soon, cause I think it's excellent(you can find it on gamepass BTW)

[juliakristeva]

does mary being a virgin actually matter?

i will talk about rape in this response.

it does and it doesn't. it depends on who you talk to and what they believe. on a social level an immaculate conception is important if you think that sexual activity is an unnecessary addition to an existence that was intended to never involve the need to procreate and thus symbolizes human fallibility and sinfulness. i think a more generous reading of the need for a virgin birth is that it simply means mary was unmarried. theologically mary's virginity also symbolizes (in mary as it does in the later celibacy of nuns) fidelity, total consecration, single-minded devotion, and submission to his will. i think that perhaps, and this is also me being generous, the assumption that many people, both christian and secular, make to the idea that virginity = purity is not really implicit to mariology or to the gospels. it wasn't that mary was pure because she hadn't had sex. the implication is that mary was pure because she loved God that much: she loved God as a lover, as a friend.

there's no doubt that mary would have been a virgin at the the point in her life when the events of the lucan narrative are said to have taken place. on the immaculate conception narraiteve makes it much too easy for mary to weaponized against abortion rights and women's bodily autonomy, which is inherently antithetical to scripture. i've read a lot of literature lately arguing that the lucan narrative is one of coercion, making the conception of christ inherently a rape: but my inclination is to read luke 1:38 (let it be with me according to your word) as mary giving her explicit consent. (an interesting point that i encourage people to internalize: "let it be", in koine greek, is γένοιτό, may it become, come into being, or (of a person) be born: in short mary explicitly consents to her pregnancy in the original text, meaning that the weaponization of mary as pro-life does not hold water and absolutely goes against scripture.)

but i also think that there is something extremely worthwhile in the idea that mary was a rape victim. this is a much more literalist, historicist reading of the gospels, which i do absolutely think can coexist alongside the theological. mary can be an eternal virgin and a rape victim. christ can be the son of God and a victim of rape. i'm not sure which theorist it was (its definitely elisabeth schussler fiorenza or elizabeth johnson but im too lazy to check and im sorry) but feminist theologians in the 90s proposed that mary may have been raped by a roman soldier (not a preposterous notion given that mary was a young, unmarried child living in an area that was being violently colonized). s much as i read that narrative as a consenting and mystical one, i think there is something very powerful in the idea that mary could have been raped.

(i've lifted the following two paragraphs from a paper i wrote on this topic last semester)

in considering mary as a rape victim, mary’s experience offers the opportunity for victims of religious and sexual abuse to gain a sense of empowerment and a defined place in christianity. it locates trauma as central to christian narratives and strips back the shadow of obscenity that clouds conversations of sexuality, even in instances of force or coercion. it shakes the exploitative patriarchal underpinnings of christianity. still, there is danger here. such analysis can and does reinforce narratives of the place of and necessity for women’s sexual and reproductive exploitation within christian dogmas. this danger is so pervasive that it maybe impossible to fully rehabilitate the image of mary as rape victim effectively within theology. it is a submissive, exploited woman that is useful for patriarchal epistemologies because a traumatised woman more properly embodies the “void” which femininity is said to be: a traumatised woman may be stripped of her sense of self and identity, her spirit, and her own body, reduced down solely to the violence which she has experienced, either in terms of what freud terms neuroses or hysteria. in this instance, a woman’s response to the trauma of her exploitation within dogmatic institution invariably becomes hysterical because it is a response to an exploitation which is perpetrated but also demands to be disguised, since the institution is unable to particularise women’s sexuality as meaningfully existing and instead as an absence demanding penetration. thus in the conceptualization of mary as a rape victim– and in the experience of all rape victims seeking a defined place within theology– both their bodies and their experiences are constantly under scrutiny and susceptible to outside patriarchal validation as orthodox or heterodox. 

the foil to Mary as rape victim, the concept of Mary as empowered, also harbours danger for theological analysis in that it may be appropriated as a means of validating rape and other forms of denial within patriarchal religious dogmas. it may be construed as meaning that when a woman is denied choice, it is for the “greater good” of humankind and she finds joy and fulfilment through being denied her divine Yes and No capacity. this renders her as one “victimized into a state of living death.”

either Mary is the victim of rape by coercion, or she partakes willingly and joyfully of an act of union that is unfaithful to human institutions of female domination and sexual ownership. to be more precise, either mary is disempowered by a masculine and penetrative god-man, or she is endowed with her own authority as a woman, an authority which transcends human dogmatic formulations and gender divisions. both of these are dangerous to the patriarchal underpinnings of theology, and both need to be taken seriously. so the answer to your question is, essentially: it stops mattering when women have full rights over their sexuality, regardless of how patriarchy identifies them, under repressive cultural authority.

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

Would one of the mass produced Cwejen be proof on concept off Human looming. Or due to the fact the original Cwej was granted the ability to regenerate so he could act as a Regen-inf (a fate he luckily escaped) mean that his respective Biodata duplicates are not human enough to count as a human born of loom?

Or is the creation of a Cwej closer to using a remembrance tank, or the Tanks they use in the City to make Remakes?

How were the Army of One/the Cwejens created?

The Cwejen are a result of an advanced biotechnological process known as the "Army of One," distinct from both Looming and creation via remembrance tanks. This method involves diffracting an individual's timeline—originally Chris Cwej's—into multiple copies, effectively creating an army from a single biodata source.

🧬Differences from Looming

Here’s why the creation of the Cwejen isn't related to Looming:

Biodata Diffracting vs. Weaving: Looming traditionally involves weaving new life from base matter and biodata, creating a Gallifreyan from genetic material stored and manipulated within the Loom. Meanwhile, the Army of One technique used to create Cwejen involves splitting an existing timeline into multiple independent trajectories, effectively cloning one individual into many through timey-wimey stuff.

Purpose and Function: The function of Looms in Gallifreyan culture is to perpetuate their race, typically producing individuals who start life complete in terms of Gallifreyan physiological traits. The Cwejen, however, are cloned soldiers with variations in their forms and functions designed for specific military purposes and not to continue the lineage of a House or maintain the cultural heritage of Gallifrey.

Genetic Integrity: While Looms are designed to maintain the genetic integrity and continuity of the Gallifreyan race, ensuring each new individual is a fully functional Gallifreyan, the Cwejen are designed as derivatives of a single individual, with varying degrees of fidelity to the original’s characteristics.

🏫So ...

While the creation of the Cwejen is impressive, it doesn't align with the traditional concept of Looming as it lacks the element of genetic weaving from a broad biodata base. The Cwejen are more like copies of a single source, whereas Looms produce new beings from a collective genetic repository. So, the Cwejen don't represent a case of human looming or any form of traditional looming; they're a unique product of technological innovation highly specific to the conditions of the War in Heaven.

Related:

What is looming and how does it exist alongside natural reproduction?: Overview of looming and its place alongside natural reproduction in Gallifreyan society.

Could you loom a human?: Realities of looming a human.

Can a human and a Time Lord loom a child?: Overview of the looming process for hybrids.

Hope that helped! 😃

More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[st-just]

The Marxist theorist Walter Benjamin made a somewhat notorious prediction about the value of visual art in an era of photography; he thought that, in an age where an image could be mass reproduced with perfect fidelity, the value of original artwork would drop to zero. But of course, the opposite proved to be true: the mass production of visual art coincided with a vast flowering of public interest in seeing the real thing, huge lines at art museums, the reproductions simply contributing to the sense that the original was worth reproducing. Something very similar happened with those predictions about the demise of legacy media: as more and more independent shops opened up, the value of prestige only increased. The more opportunity writers had to publish anywhere, the more they jockeyed to publish at a place that everyone recognized as somewhere.

-Freddie deBoer, What is n+1 for?

[quinloki]

Some Direction

Fem Reader x Roronoa Zoro

26 Chapters - 58,485 words Version with images can be found here.

CW: Language, stalking, violence, sexual themes and situations, ptsd -- surprisingly fluffy despite it all. 18+ only

Summary: This is a time where a new world government has taken over. While the world is now at peace, marriage and reproduction are in decline. This New World Order has stepped in and forced the population into arranged marriages. You've been matched with Roronoa Zoro.

Inspired by Lyndsyh 's Closure series - Which you should read! The world building and character usage is really well done! (It is *very* angsty, especially compared to my piece, but I wanted to do something more light hearted while I enjoyed Lyndsy's hard work =D https://www.wattpad.com/story/151287153-closure-trafalgar-law-x-reader )

Chapter 1: Meeting

You had been at work in the library when a man in an ill-fitting government issue suit and tie had approached you with a package. Everyone knew what it meant, these sorts of notices weren't sent through the mail, but you were a little upset you were being notified in the middle of work. You weren't exactly fond of being the center of attention, unless it was during a presentation for the library, and even then you weren't leaping for joy at the prospect.

Your boss, an older gentleman with a slim build, an impressive afro and an exceptional love of tea came over to you as you turned the envelope over in your hands.

"Oh-hohohoho, your fate has been decided I see, (Y/N). You can take a break and review it in the back room." He offers, taking a sip of his tea. "I can watch your section for a little bit, oh-."

"But your eyes don't work anymore," you mutter with a sigh. Normally you didn't dislike his jokes, but you were in a soured mood now. "Mr. Brook, your sight is amazing given your age."

"You mustn't deprive an old man of his jokes, (Y/N)." He pouts. You often teased him for being older than most of the books in the library, but there wasn't a fleck of grey in his hair, and despite his slim build, he was in good physical condition. You wouldn't be surprised to see him performing in a circus or some other equally high energy venue.

"Mm." Smacking the envelope against your palm you turn toward him. "Thank you, I think I will go in the back and open this."

Sitting down in the mostly private back room you opened your Match Book. Match Books had a lot of information in them, part of why they were delivered by hand, and that information included things like pictures, phone numbers, addresses, work information, blood type, interests, family situations, and other bits of data to help make a first meeting go smoothly. Matches had 48 hours to meet after receiving their Match Books, and six months to arrange their weddings.

You always felt the process went a little too quickly, but it worked more often than not. Even if part of that had to do with the law itself, the punishments for breaking fidelity and the fact that there was a robust system in place to offer marriage counseling. The whole point was to make people stable enough and happy enough to bring the population numbers back up. As well as the Government could hope to facilitate such a thing, they had done a socially accepted good job of it.

Your first look at your match made your face twitch. He looked like a hoodlum! He had three piercings in one ear, a scar that was only impressive because you weren't sure how he survived getting it, and every picture seemed to have caught him with a scowl. There wasn't one image of him smiling or laughing, and he had a sword in his hand – sometimes in both hands and one in his mouth – in almost every shot.

Match Book photos were candid images, but it seemed like your match had two settings: wielding swords or sleeping.

First impressions could be poor, so you tried not to let it drain you, but you had really expected your match to, well, match you. At the risk of being cruel, you weren't entirely sure this Roronoa Zoro even knew how to read. The data did show he graduated, so he was educated. As you read more details your initial concerns melted away a little and you started to understand how you were both matched.

You and Zoro were both orphans, you had both gotten through school quietly. While your grades were higher, they weren't that much higher. You did martial arts to keep in shape, but not competitively, and certainly you could see how they'd connect that with his passion. The dojo he attended was owned by his adoptive father, and it wasn't far from where you lived and worked.

You heard a low whistle behind you and let out a long-suffering sigh. Nami was looking over your shoulder.

"I did not expect you to get matched with such a -."

"Muscle Head?" You prompt.

"I was going to say hunk, but that works." She sits down across from you, a mischievous grin on her face. "So?" Nami was looking forward to her match adamantly. Though, knowing her as well as you did you imagined it had more to do with her desire to get matched with a rich man, as opposed to any romantic reasons.

You shrug. "Match Books hardly spark a connection on their own. I guess we'll see how it goes. I'll give it a couple hours before I reach out. I don't want to contact him before he's had a chance to flip through whatever they gave him about me."

You didn't want to make too many assumptions, and you didn't even want to read the whole Match Book. There was just something too clinical about getting to know a person from a government provided dossier. You'd rather get to know him through conversation.

Time for a change of topic. "How're things going in the sea chart restoration project?" You ask Nami, pulling your eyes away from the book.

Nami smiles. "It's been a real pleasure. Thanks for telling me about it, it's the most fun I've had with old sea charts since I was a kid."

"Yeah, sorry you gotta deal with the old man."

"Oh don't be, I've already made a few thousand berries off him."

You freeze. "Nami, you did not."

"Of course I did, it's just underwear, (Y/N)."

You put your head in your hands and sigh. There's a pat on your arm as another of your coworkers, Nico Robin, is closing your Match Book for you and giving you a look that already has you worried. The older lady was still young by conventional standards, just older than you and Nami. She normally had the most impressive neutral expression on her face and in her voice, but not right now.

"Robin?"

"You'll want to go to the study desks, (Y/N). There's a young man with green hair looking through a Match Book, and, well..." She tilts her head toward your Match Book.

Your eyes go wide. "No way." You grab the Match Book and go out into the library proper, heading over to the study desks. There was no running in the library, so you were half-a-pace away from jogging.

You didn't have to look around long to catch sight of him. Green hair was pretty easy to spot. You walk toward him automatically, not really thinking about what you would do or say. Of all the places he could end up reading his Match Book, it would be your library. It wasn't like you'd spent your life looking forward to meeting your match, you had a more practical outlook on the whole thing. Something about this felt a little overwhelming though, and you realize as you are reaching out toward him that he might need space.

Stopping short of reaching him by a few feet, you stand there in silence for a moment trying to decide what to do.

"Need something?" He questions, and you feel a shiver run up your back. Match Books couldn't tell you what someone else sounded like, and his voice was pleasant, if not a little irritated at the moment. What catches you off guard the most was the fact that he hadn't even so much as twitched his head in your direction. There was no way he could've seen you, and you didn't wear hard-soled shoes, so you hadn't made any noise despite the speed in which you approached.

How in the heck did he know you were there?

"No, er, yes. I mean. I'm sorry, it was quite rude of me to approach you this way." You bow, as you usually do when giving an apology at work, and hear the chair slide across the floor as he turns toward you.

"What do you mean," he starts to question as you straighten back up, "by... that." His eyes go wide as realization dawns on him. "Gah! I thought you were at the library by the dojo! What're you doing here?"

You blink at him blankly for a moment. "But... this is the library by the dojo."

Next Chapter

[mugiwara-no-toshokan]

Some Direction

CisFem Reader x Roronoa Zoro

26 Chapters - 58,485 words - COMPLETED

CW: Language, stalking, violence, sexual themes and situations, ptsd -- surprisingly fluffy despite it all. 18+ only

Summary: This is a time where a new world government has taken over. While the world is now at peace, marriage and reproduction are in decline. This New World Order has stepped in and forced the population into arranged marriages. You've been matched with Roronoa Zoro.

Inspired by Lyndsyh 's Closure series - Which you should read! The world building and character usage is really well done! (It is *very* angsty, especially compared to my piece, but I wanted to do something more light hearted while I enjoyed Lyndsy's hard work =D https://www.wattpad.com/story/151287153-closure-trafalgar-law-x-reader )

Chapter 1: Meeting

You had been at work in the library when a man in an ill-fitting government issue suit and tie had approached you with a package. Everyone knew what it meant, these sorts of notices weren't sent through the mail, but you were a little upset you were being notified in the middle of work. You weren't exactly fond of being the center of attention, unless it was during a presentation for the library, and even then you weren't leaping for joy at the prospect.

Your boss, an older gentleman with a slim build, an impressive afro and an exceptional love of tea came over to you as you turned the envelope over in your hands.

"Oh-hohohoho, your fate has been decided I see, (Y/N). You can take a break and review it in the back room." He offers, taking a sip of his tea. "I can watch your section for a little bit, oh-."

"But your eyes don't work anymore," you mutter with a sigh. Normally you didn't dislike his jokes, but you were in a soured mood now. "Mr. Brook, your sight is amazing given your age."

"You mustn't deprive an old man of his jokes, (Y/N)." He pouts. You often teased him for being older than most of the books in the library, but there wasn't a fleck of grey in his hair, and despite his slim build, he was in good physical condition. You wouldn't be surprised to see him performing in a circus or some other equally high energy venue.

"Mm." Smacking the envelope against your palm you turn toward him. "Thank you, I think I will go in the back and open this."

Sitting down in the mostly private back room you opened your Match Book. Match Books had a lot of information in them, part of why they were delivered by hand, and that information included things like pictures, phone numbers, addresses, work information, blood type, interests, family situations, and other bits of data to help make a first meeting go smoothly. Matches had 48 hours to meet after receiving their Match Books, and six months to arrange their weddings.

You always felt the process went a little too quickly, but it worked more often than not. Even if part of that had to do with the law itself, the punishments for breaking fidelity and the fact that there was a robust system in place to offer marriage counseling. The whole point was to make people stable enough and happy enough to bring the population numbers back up. As well as the Government could hope to facilitate such a thing, they had done a socially accepted good job of it.

Your first look at your match made your face twitch. He looked like a hoodlum! He had three piercings in one ear, a scar that was only impressive because you weren't sure how he survived getting it, and every picture seemed to have caught him with a scowl. There wasn't one image of him smiling or laughing, and he had a sword in his hand – sometimes in both hands and one in his mouth – in almost every shot.

Match Book photos were candid images, but it seemed like your match had two settings: wielding swords or sleeping.

First impressions could be poor, so you tried not to let it drain you, but you had really expected your match to, well, match you. At the risk of being cruel, you weren't entirely sure this Roronoa Zoro even knew how to read. The data did show he graduated, so he was educated. As you read more details your initial concerns melted away a little and you started to understand how you were both matched.

You and Zoro were both orphans, you had both gotten through school quietly. While your grades were higher, they weren't that much higher. You did martial arts to keep in shape, but not competitively, and certainly you could see how they'd connect that with his passion. The dojo he attended was owned by his adoptive father, and it wasn't far from where you lived and worked.

You heard a low whistle behind you and let out a long-suffering sigh. Nami was looking over your shoulder.

"I did not expect you to get matched with such a -."

"Muscle Head?" You prompt.

"I was going to say hunk, but that works." She sits down across from you, a mischievous grin on her face. "So?" Nami was looking forward to her match adamantly. Though, knowing her as well as you did you imagined it had more to do with her desire to get matched with a rich man, as opposed to any romantic reasons.

You shrug. "Match Books hardly spark a connection on their own. I guess we'll see how it goes. I'll give it a couple hours before I reach out. I don't want to contact him before he's had a chance to flip through whatever they gave him about me."

You didn't want to make too many assumptions, and you didn't even want to read the whole Match Book. There was just something too clinical about getting to know a person from a government provided dossier. You'd rather get to know him through conversation.

Time for a change of topic. "How're things going in the sea chart restoration project?" You ask Nami, pulling your eyes away from the book.

Nami smiles. "It's been a real pleasure. Thanks for telling me about it, it's the most fun I've had with old sea charts since I was a kid."

"Yeah, sorry you gotta deal with the old man."

"Oh don't be, I've already made a few thousand berries off him."

You freeze. "Nami, you did not."

"Of course I did, it's just underwear, (Y/N)."

You put your head in your hands and sigh. There's a pat on your arm as another of your coworkers, Nico Robin, is closing your Match Book for you and giving you a look that already has you worried. The older lady was still young by conventional standards, just older than you and Nami. She normally had the most impressive neutral expression on her face and in her voice, but not right now.

"Robin?"

"You'll want to go to the study desks, (Y/N). There's a young man with green hair looking through a Match Book, and, well..." She tilts her head toward your Match Book.

Your eyes go wide. "No way." You grab the Match Book and go out into the library proper, heading over to the study desks. There was no running in the library, so you were half-a-pace away from jogging.

You didn't have to look around long to catch sight of him. Green hair was pretty easy to spot. You walk toward him automatically, not really thinking about what you would do or say. Of all the places he could end up reading his Match Book, it would be your library. It wasn't like you'd spent your life looking forward to meeting your match, you had a more practical outlook on the whole thing. Something about this felt a little overwhelming though, and you realize as you are reaching out toward him that he might need space.

Stopping short of reaching him by a few feet, you stand there in silence for a moment trying to decide what to do.

"Need something?" He questions, and you feel a shiver run up your back. Match Books couldn't tell you what someone else sounded like, and his voice was pleasant, if not a little irritated at the moment. What catches you off guard the most was the fact that he hadn't even so much as twitched his head in your direction. There was no way he could've seen you, and you didn't wear hard-soled shoes, so you hadn't made any noise despite the speed in which you approached.

How in the heck did he know you were there?

"No, er, yes. I mean. I'm sorry, it was quite rude of me to approach you this way." You bow, as you usually do when giving an apology at work, and hear the chair slide across the floor as he turns toward you.

"What do you mean," he starts to question as you straighten back up, "by... that." His eyes go wide as realization dawns on him. "Gah! I thought you were at the library by the dojo! What're you doing here?"

You blink at him blankly for a moment. "But... this is the library by the dojo."

[blorbohoarder]

The lovers

ALSO-

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