#Sydney's Leading Institutional

[multidimensionalguidance]

Anuradha - The Bridge To All Paths Pt.2

Services

As mentioned in the first part, the light aspects of Anuradha are almost always easy to identify through films or by paying attention to the major themes in their life. Now, with all Scorpios there is always a much darker side despite the already observable shadows.

Scorpio placements always carry an intense and intimidating aura, yet out of all the nakshatras the one that carries the most harsh attitude and presence is Vishakha ruled by a male tiger. Both Anuradha and Jyeshtha are ruled by the deer, which makes them more skittish, sensitive, and paranoid.

An observation was made by a fellow astrology account "v1rginldy" on Twitter, and I wanted to expand further on it because it speaks volumes of this nakshatra. They pointed out how there seems to be a connection between Anuradha and demonic possessions, specifically in a context with nuns or women getting pregnant by evil forces.

Anuradha is the only female yoni nakshatra among the others, so perhaps this is why there is such an association with gestation and birth. The corruption comes in from the shadow that speaks and lures in Scorpio placements.

All Scorpios seek power in some way, and in this nakshatra they attempt to obtain it by becoming devoted and subservient to a goal or individual that can give them the authority they seek. Their much softer, innocent, gentle, and servicing nature makes them an easy target.

There seems to be a pattern of young girls who wish to devote their love and energy to God, divinity, or a mystical force yet get deceived to unwillingly participate in dark rituals. They are used as a vessel who is willing to sacrifice anything in order to achieve what they consider to be their inner purpose.

Sydney Sweeney from "Immaculate" plays a young novice nun, who basically ends up getting possessed, lied to, and manipulated to carry the antichrist. She has her Ascendant in Anuradha.

Nell Tiger Free from "The First Omen" plays a young woman who is also a young nun that is selected to bring about the birth of evil incarnate. She has her Moon in Anuradha.

Juliet Mills from "Beyond the Door (1974 film)" has Sun in Anuradha and played the role of a young pregnant woman in San Francisco who is going to have the devil's baby during her strange possession.

Laurel Vail in Delivery: The Beast Within has Moon in Anuradha and plays as a young couple documenting their first pregnancy for a new TV show discover that a malevolent entity has taken control of their unborn child.

Laura Harris from The Calling (2000) has Sun-Mercury in Anuradha and also plays as a young woman who has her child under abnormal circumstances. She pieces together clues that lead to one conclusion, her son is the Antichrist.

It seems that the pure intention and services of these natives are often misused by those who have hidden agendas. They push the narrative to Anuradha natives that suffering for love is the ultimate expression of devotion.

This is why the long term alliances they choose to make are essential not just for their future, but safety. It is the guidance and protection of those who are their partner/s, friends, family, and even coworkers that keep ill willed individuals at bay.

The nun and religious associations are very interesting considering that their whole life journey is about devotion to a higher calling, and it is the corruption within these institutions that take advantage of their natural gifts.

Hope y'll enjoyed these observations, and if I encounter more patterns with this nakshatra, I'll be continuing further.

[reasonsforhope]

In 2016, when the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signed a peace agreement with the Colombian government, scientists realized that the rainforests, mountains, and savannahs, out of which the FARC waged a 50-year guerrilla war, and which were counted among the most biodiverse and least-explored places on earth, were suddenly safe to explore.

In Colombia, a few biologists who longed to journey to the heart of these places also saw them as the perfect way to bring 14,000 former guerrillas back into society in a meaningful way that would benefit not only them, but the country’s stunning biodiversity.

Colombia is often referred to as the world’s most biodiverse country. Although this is a hard thing to designate since many species around the world of all kinds remain undiscovered, she does lay claim to the most bird species anywhere on earth – both endemic and migratory.

Who better to help protect Colombia’s wild spaces than those who know them best, thought Jaime Góngora, a wildlife geneticist at the University of Sydney but who is originally from Colombia.

Góngora now leads a group of researchers from the United Kingdom, Australia, and 10 different Colombian scientific institutions in a program to train ex‑guerrillas to study Colombia’s native plants and animals, which to date has uncovered nearly 100 previously-unknown species.

Peace with Nature

Peace with Nature is the result of these scientists working together with guerillas to help protect Colombia’s biodiversity and aid in the post-conflict situation for thousands of people, 84% of whom, according to Góngora, are interested in pursuing, of all things, river habitat restoration as their post-conflict career path.

Góngora and his colleagues are only too happy to help, and Peace with Nature began hosting citizen scientist workshops to help train eager folks how to find, identify, catalogue, and study wild plants, insects, birds, amphibians, and more.

The preparation work was long and hard – between 15 and 18 months according to Góngora...

“In some of the workshops, we have the presence of the police and military forces along with the ex-combatants,” explains Góngora. “I think what has surprised me most is the opportunity that biodiversity offers for reconciliation and healing after an armed conflict. These workshops have been spaces for a respectful dialogue about biodiversity and nature.”"

-via World at Large, 7/13/20

Note: Video is half in English, half in Spanish. Spanish subtitles for English parts only.

[micewithknives]

Top 5 archaeological sites in Australia that you feel people should know more about? Or top 5 Australian artefacts?

I feel like I’ve talked a bit about artefacts in a few recent asks, and also I feel like a lot of Australian archaeology (and as such, sites) are very underrated, particularly on a global scale. Its often acknowledged in Australian archaeology that getting international academia to recognise the importance of our country’s archaeology is very very difficult.

While there’s a million and one sites I’d love to talk about, I’m going to TRY and give sites that relate to different aspects and locations

This is probably going to be long, so...

1. Nauwalabila, Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II), and the Deaf Adder Gorge region, Northern Territory (Aboriginal)

Rock shelters in this region, and specifically Madjedbebe, are currently the oldest location of human habitation in Australia. Dating evidence from 2017 excavations provided an estimate of earliest occupation of 50 000 years at certainty, possibly extending back as early as 65 000 (+/-6000). It also has provided a lot of evidence for research into the extensive grind stone technologies of the Pleistocene.

2. Cloggs Cave and the Buchan region of the Victorian Gippsland (Aboriginal)

So much research has been done into this region in various ways. Josephine Flood focused her research on Bogong Moth usage (and festivals) within this region, providing some of the earliest accepted academic research in support of Aboriginal peoples’ claims of large scale Bogong Moth Festivals in Australia’s highlands (although the fac that no one really believed communities until then…………..). In 2021 grind analysis found Bogong Moth residue, making this the earliest stone artefact with evidence of insect food remains. And in addition to that recent 2017 research in the area investigated Holocene occupation with Aboriginal community members, with a focus on understanding the interaction of spirituality with the resources found in the caves.

3. Mabuyag Island, Torres Strait Islands, Queensland (Torres Strait Islander)

Mabuyag Island (alternatively known as Mabuiag or Mabuyaagi) has archaeological evidence of human occupation since 7300 years ago. The island is both associated with recent religious practices associated with he heavy processing of dugong remains, and totemic associations with these, which played a role in early 2000s into community lead and directed archaeological research into ritual and religious traditions and practices. In addition to this, Mabuyag is the location of the first archaeological excavations in Australia to find pre-colonial pottery fragments. The fragments at the two sites on the island were associated with Melanesian and Papua New Guinean pottery trade. The excavations relating to pottery on the island played an important role in our understanding of domestic and international trade in pre-colonial Australia, and also formed an influence for the recent excavations at Lizard Island, 300km south, which identified the first datable domestically made pottery technology found in Australia.

4. Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney, NSW

Hyde Park Barracks is part of a collection of colonial heritage structures in Australia, relating to Australia’s time as a penal settlement. Hyde Park Barracks in particular were the location of the housing of convict men from 1819 to 1830, with the 1830s to 1840s also involving the site being a location of additional convict punishment, and the base for the Board of Assignment of Servants. Following on from a reduction of convicts to NSW in the 1840s, the Barracks became the Female Immigration Depot, and the Orphan Institution, later becoming the Asylum for Infirm and Destitute Women.

This time period of women’s occupation provides some of the most interesting archaeological remains, as redevelopment and management of the site has found high rates of preservation within walls, and in areas below floorboards. This includes textiles and fabrics, papers, and other non-organic materials such as pipes (with their tobacco intact) stashed in what was once floor, wall, and ceiling cavities. Archaeological investigations in the area form one of the most detailed assemblages of artefacts relating to instituted women in the British Empire during the 19th century.

5. Notch Point, Western Australia (Multicultural heritage)

Notch Point is a site of varied and mixed archaeology, ranging from pre- and post- colonial period Aboriginal heritage, to diverse 19th century occupation of the region by Chinese, European, Malay, and Aboriginal peoples in association with pearling industries off the coast. In addition to this, the point is located on Dirk Hartog Island (otherwise known as Wirruwana), the site of the earliest European arrival in Western Australia in 1616, and contains archaeological evidence of both various early Dutch interactions with the island in 1616 and 1697, as well as French arrival in 1772, 1801, and 1818. Notch Point in particular also contains evidence of conflict between the predominantly Chinese population of the pearling industry, with white-Australian and European pearling masters, and pastoral agents. Its not a site that is widely discussed, but provides a fascinating overlay of the amount of varied cultural groups that can be present within Australia’s archaeological sites.

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Honourable mentions to:

Lake Mungo and the Willandra Lakes which should 100% be on this list, but also I feel like I talk about it ALL the time and I wanted to mention sites that I actually don’t see discussed a lot. Theyre super important for cultural reasons, for archaeological reasons, and also for their role the development of archaeology, Aboriginal community consultation, and the role its played in developing repatriation practices in modern Australia. I have multiple posts about them HERE

Budj Bin Eel Traps in Victoria (same reasons, I’ve definitely talked about them before).

Juukan Gorge (and its destruction, im still horrified)

Harrietville Chinese Mining Village

Strangway Strings and The Peake Afghan Cameleer sites

Recherche Bay in Tasmania, and its 1792 French settlement sites

Homebush Mill & Mission Hall in QLD and Beowa National Park sites containing South Sea Islander heritage

[axvoter]

Blatantly Partisan Party Review XVII (federal 2025): Libertarian Party

Running where: in the House, many seats across NSW, QLD, VIC; in the Senate, for every state and territory

Senate note: for the ACT and NSW, the Libertarians are part of the Australia First Alliance. In the ACT, they are supplying the running mate in Group F with HEART in the lead position, and in NSW they are supplying the first and fourth candidates in Group I as part of a joint ticket with HEART and Rennick First)

Prior reviews (most under their former name of Liberal Democratic Party): federal 2013, VIC 2014, federal 2016, VIC 2018, NSW 2019, federal 2019, federal 2022, VIC 2022, NSW 2023, WA 2025

What I said before: “This is a cynical and callous party for people who lack empathy. Its economic and social policies are destructive; its approach to firearms is dangerous; its blinkered hostility to government accepts no possibility it can be used for—or that there even is such a thing as—collective good.” (federal 2022)

What I think this year: Libertarianism is the ideology for overgrown toddlers whose parents never taught them to share. Overgrown toddlers with an anger management issue. If you have the misfortune on social media to have an even moderately popular libertarian account drag you to their followers, your mentions will soon be filled with vile insults and threats from the worst people online. It is important to block on sight and move on.

The Libertarians are always in contention for my last preference and often get it, although I sometimes decide somebody else deserves that indignity (e.g. Aussie Trump at the recent WA state election). Their ideology is consistent, but consistently terrible. The Libertarian Party’s policies would gut Australia’s public services and promote hatred and discrimination; they do not want to cut red tape, they want to make government so small that it is ineffective. Their ideal public realm is a mean and cruel one, and they would enable malign actors to prosper at the expense of ordinary people. The Libertarians have also embraced covid pandemic conspiracies and extremist language in the last few years.

Basically, while most of the world looks on aghast at the vandalism occurring in the US—the dismantling of institutions and safeguards, cronyism and corruption, vicious culture wars, contempt for the rule of law—this party admires Donald Trump and similar world leaders like Javier Milei in Argentina, who has exacerbated poverty in his country and promoted crypto scams.  One thing that strikes me about libertarianism around the world is the regular hypocrisy and ideological inconsistency of its adherents. A great example is David Seymour of New Zealand’s libertarian ACT Party, whom I have dubbed the world’s worst libertarian for how frequently he promotes tighter regulations or bans or censorship of anything that he disagrees with (or which might upset his NIMBY electorate). Australia’s libertarians also have their share of hypocrisy. If this party were sincerely committed to personal freedom, they would not be transphobes who want to restrict the rights and participation of trans people in society.

No doubt there are many charlatans and creeps standing for this party, but two stuck out to me on the NSW Senate ballot. The Libertarians' lead candidate (who tops the Australia First Alliance shared ticket) is Craig Kelly, the distasteful ex-Liberal MP and conspiracist, who for a time led Palmer’s UAP and was promoted with delusional language as a future prime minister. He then served about half a year as One Nation’s federal campaign director in 2024. Clearly he is trying to collect all the cretinous parties. The other Libertarian candidate on the NSW ticket is ex-Labor Western Sydney councillor Steve Christou, who was One Nation-curious and participated in its events with Kelly before the latter left the party. Christou has clearly followed Kelly into the Libertarians. He is known for such hits as promoting bans on drag queen storytime and on same-sex parenting books at the Cumberland City Council’s libraries, trying to stop welcomes to country and smoking ceremonies, and back in 2019 he was elected mayor of Cumberland while a Labor councillor and quit the party in his formal acceptance speech. Classy fella.

Always assume bad faith from this party. Every election I roll my eyes with contempt when I reach them in my reviews. There is a much more detailed review over on Something for Cate if you want a blow-by-blow account of this party’s atrocious policies.

Recommendation: Give the Libertarian account a very low preference in the House and a weak or no preference in the Senate. As noted above, they are an appropriate choice for last place.

Website: https://www.libertarians.org.au/

[sometimes-men-need-help-too]

James Harrison, Whose Antibodies Helped Millions, Dies at 88

This was published on March 4th

James Harrison did not much care for needles. Whenever he donated plasma, he would look away as the tip went into his arm.

But Mr. Harrison was one of the most prolific donors in history, extending his arm 1,173 times. He may have also been one of the most important: Scientists used a rare antibody in his plasma to make a medication that helped protect an estimated 2.4 million babies in Australia from possible disease or death, medical experts say.

“He just kept going and going and going,” his grandson Jarrod Mellowship said in an interview on Monday. “He didn’t feel like he had to do it. He just wanted to do it.”

Mr. Harrison — who was affectionately known as “The Man with the Golden Arm” — died in his sleep on Feb. 17 at a nursing home about an hour’s drive north of his regular donation center in Sydney, Mr. Mellowship said. He was 88.

Mr. Harrison’s plasma contained the rare antibody anti-D. Scientists used it to make a medication for pregnant mothers whose immune systems could attack their fetuses’ red blood cells, according to Australian Red Cross Lifeblood.

Anti-D helps protect against problems that can occur when babies and mothers have different blood types, most often if the fetus is “positive” and the mother is “negative,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. (The positive and negative signs are called the Rhesus factor, or Rh factor.)

In such cases, a mother’s immune system might react to the fetus as if it were a foreign threat. That can lead babies to develop a dangerous and potentially fatal condition, hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn, which can cause anemia and jaundice.

The condition is uncommon: Only about 276 out of 100,000 live births have complications related to this type of blood incompatibility, the Cleveland Clinic said.

But doctors cannot predict whether such an incompatibility will lead to serious problems. So, in Australia, the practice is to offer the medication to all pregnant women with negative antibodies as a preventative measure.

In Australia, that’s about 17 percent of the population, or about 45,000 women a year. In the United States, it’s about 15 percent, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

In Australia, scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne are working to create a synthetic version of the drug using what some have called “James in a Jar,” an antibody that can be made in a lab.

But for now, human donors are essential: The anti-D shots are made with donated plasma, and Mr. Harrison was one of about 200 donors among the 27 million people in Australia, Lifeblood said.

“It wasn’t one big heroic act,” Jemma Falkenmire, a spokeswoman for Lifeblood, said in an interview as she reflected on Mr. Harrison’s 64 years of donations, from 1954 to 2018. “It was just a lifetime of being there and doing these small acts of good bit by bit.”

Mr. Harrison sometimes met some of the women he helped, although most were strangers.

But two he knew well indeed. His daughter, Tracey Mellowship, received an anti-D injection made with Mr. Harrison’s plasma. So did his granddaughter-in-law, Rebecca Mellowship, who is married to Mr. Mellowship.

“It was special that I received Dad’s anti-D,” Tracey Mellowship, 58, wrote in an email.

But his rare antibodies were only part of the puzzle. Mr. Harrison’s commitment was key. He donated about every two weeks from ages 18 to 81, first his blood and then his plasma.

Vacations did not stop him: He would stop in clinics across Australia when he and his wife, Barbara Harrison, traveled in their camper van. She was a prolific blood donor, too.

Neither did old age: He rode the train for more than an hour each way to get from his home outside Sydney to his regular donation center.

And he never missed an appointment, said Ms. Falkenmire, the Lifeblood spokeswoman, who talked to him during donations.

Partly, she said, they just enjoyed chatting. But he also welcomed the distraction. “He was petrified of needles,” she said. “He hated them.”

Mr. Harrison knew the importance of his work firsthand. At 14, he needed a lot of blood transfusions during a major lung surgery. The experience inspired him to donate and encourage others to donate, too.

“He would walk up to people who were donating for the first time and congratulate them, and tell them they were important and special,” Ms. Falkenmire said, “without revealing anything about his own donations.”

James Christopher Harrison was born on Dec. 27, 1936, in Junee, a small town in New South Wales, to Peggy and Reginald Harrison.

After he recovered from lung surgery, he met his future wife, Barbara Lindbeck, when he was a teenager. She was a teacher who died in 2005. He worked as a clerk in the regional railway authority. He received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1999 for his donations.

In addition to his grandson Jarrod, Mr. Harrison is survived by his daughter, Tracey; another grandson, Scott Mellowship; and four great-grandchildren.

And also, maybe, 2.4 million babies — which Mr. Harrison never quite knew how to comprehend.

“Saving one baby is good,” he said after his final donation in 2018. “Saving two million is hard to get your head around, but if they claim that’s what it is, I’m glad to have done it.”

Mr. Harrison’s wish, he liked to say, was that people would keep donating. Maybe even more than he did, Jarrod Mellowship said, “because then it means the world’s going in the right place.”

[mariacallous]

After the U.S. election, pundits had predicted Dutton would follow Trump’s lead and beat Albanese, seen as a milquetoast one-term centrist, with tough talk and tax cuts. But the tariffs shock put Dutton, a former police officer, out of step with the national mood. He had praised Trump as “shrewd” and a “big thinker” after Trump had proposed to “level” Gaza, and intimated that he could have secured a better outcome with Washington than Albanese’s no-deal. That approach backfired, and the internet crowned him “Temu Trump”—meaning that he was nothing more than a cheaper knockoff of the American leader. By the time the federal election was eventually called on March 28, it was considered Albanese’s to lose.

Yet focusing on Trump’s role alone misses that foreign policy, unlike in Canada, was not even close to the most important political issue for Australian voters. Instead, surveys consistently ranked cost of living (“cozzie livs,” according to the Australian penchant for abbreviation) at no. 1. Also ranked highly were affordable housing and improving health services. Albanese riffed on this by brandishing his own government-issued Medicare card as he unveiled an $8.5 billion influx into the public health care system. No one could call Albanese’s campaign visionary: Along with the proposal to strengthen Medicare, he promised modest tax cuts, more money for child care, and cutting student loan debt, while remaining conspicuously quiet on climate change and foreign policy. Yet resisting the impulse to enter into a broader debate with Dutton on the national character and direction served him well.

In addition to warning about “woke” school curricula, the opposition advanced a central proposition of lower inflation, higher productivity, and lower taxes. The dog whistles were unnerving, though, and even as Coalition leaders stressed cheaper gas and tax cuts, voters didn’t trust them not to gut institutions such as Medicare. Meanwhile, the Liberals’ attempts to capitalize on antagonism toward migrants—net overseas migration has been the main driver of population growth over the last 30 years as fertility rates have fallen—fizzled. Unlike in the United States, immigration didn’t even rank in the top five voter concerns.

Dutton’s perceived zealotry may have even worked against him, worsening a decadelong phenomenon of voters in metropolitan areas drifting away from the Liberals. The result was a loss of seats in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide to moderate “teals”: independents, usually women, who rallied around pillars of government accountability, anti-corruption, and combating climate change. In diverse outer metropolitan seats, voters also flocked to the center-left. With the primary vote slumping to record lows, Dutton lost his own seat.

The Australian Election Wasn’t Just About Trump

[submalevolentgrace]

Rough sleepers who present as suicidal to hospitals are being turned away or discharged back into homelessness due to a lack of beds, emergency housing and mental healthcare availability. In two cases identified by the Guardian, homeless Indigenous men linked their hospital presentation directly to their homelessness. One told staff: “It is hard to find a reason to live when you have nowhere to live.” They were discharged and found dead a short time later. Rough sleepers are dying needlessly after encounters with police and the justice system on trivial matters, which lead to use of force or deaths in custody. In at least four cases seen by the Guardian, deaths occurred after arrests for minor public order offences, such as drinking in public and public urination. Frontline workers say the chronic underfunding of specialised homelessness health services means easily treatable injuries and illnesses are being missed in early stages. This is compounding the significant toll homelessness causes on physical and mental health. Homeless Australians are being subjected to brutal, sometimes fatal violence while sleeping rough, and being found in parks, squats and on the street shot, stabbed or bashed. In one case, that of Sydney rough sleeper Roger Davies, police decided there were “no suspicious circumstances” despite evidence he had sustained fractures to nine ribs about the time he died and had complained of being subjected to violence and constant robberies while sleeping in a burnt-out squat house in Granville. They then failed to notify his family until more than two years after Davies was buried in a pauper’s grave. In Western Australia, Indigenous families say the state government is evicting public housing residents even when it knows this will lead to homelessness. Guardian Australia is aware of at least two families whose loved ones died by suicide shortly after losing housing and becoming homeless. The state’s department of communities said terminations are sought only as a “last resort” and that they provide support to tenants facing eviction.

The Australian government does not count the number of homelessness deaths each year, setting it apart from other western nations. Correspondence seen by the Guardian show the former federal government and state governments rejected or ignored the homelessness sector’s pleas in 2021 to build an annual tally, including by commissioning the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare to develop a reporting framework for hospitals, homelessness services and coroners.

[moneeb0930]

...in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s many in the scientific community viewed non-Caucasian races as evolutionary ancestors, human subspecies, or not quite human. As a result of this thinking, humans of certain races were treated like laboratory specimens. The Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC holds the remains of 15,000 individuals of various races. Ten thousand (10,000) Australian Aborigines were shipped to a British museum in an attempt to determine if they were the “missing link.” Some of the leading evolutionists of the day, including anatomist Sir Richard Owen, anthropologist Arthur Keith and Charles Darwin wanted samples. Museums were interested in bones, fresh samples, and pickled Aboriginal brains. Edward Ramsey, curator of the Australian Museum in Sydney (1874-1894), published a museum booklet that appeared to describe Aborigines as “Australian animals.”

photo: last living original Tasmanian (Australia) Trugannini

[qnewsau]

New gender euphoria scale developed for trans community

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/new-gender-euphoria-scale-developed-for-trans-community/

New gender euphoria scale developed for trans community

A team of Melbourne researchers has developed a world-first tool to measure gender euphoria.

This scale could be a game-changer for mental health support and research. Experts say it could help clinicians support trans clients in experiencing the positives of gender identity, rather than just managing dysphoria.

Findings show over 90 per cent of trans people experience gender euphoria

The research was led by the Swinburne University of Technology and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), in collaboration with the University of Melbourne.

The study, published in the International Journal of Transgender Health, involved 732 trans participants aged 16 to 79 across Australia.

As part of the TRANSform study, a trans-led project from the Trans Health Research Group at the University of Melbourne, participants were asked about their past experiences with gender euphoria.

The findings were powerful, showing that 96.6 per cent had experienced gender euphoria.

61.6 per cent say they felt it weekly or daily, and 85.6 per cent described it as moderate to very strong over the past year.

Image: Swinburne University

Gender euphoria scale focuses on the positives

Gender euphoria is the joy a person feels when their gendered experience aligns with their gender identity. Until now there was no reliable way to measure this experience.

The research found that the tool consistently and accurately measures gender euphoria. This makes it a valuable resource for clinicians and researchers looking beyond gender dysphoria and focusing on positive gender experiences.

Charlotte Blacklock, a Swinburne PhD student and MCRI researcher in transgender health, says this scale is a huge step forward.

“There is growing recognition of the need to broaden understandings of gender diversity by exploring and highlighting the joyful aspects of trans people’s lives,” she says.

“We have created the first ever scale to assess gender euphoria,” Blacklock continues. “A concept that arose from within the trans community to describe positive feelings associated with being trans.”

Dr. Simone Buzwell from Swinburne says this tool could help shift the focus of mental health care for trans people.

“The gender euphoria scale could be used to help clinicians focus on assisting clients to experience positive aspects of gender identity, rather than focussing on eliminating gender dysphoria.”

Image: Instagram/Trans Justice Sydney

MCRI Associate Professor Ken Pang expects the scale to be widely used in clinical care.

“The scale may assist mental health workers and clinicians with helping trans patients to experience gender euphoria rather than focussing primarily on avoiding dysphoria,” he says.

“Identifying experiences that lead to gender euphoria could highlight pathways for interventions that improve mental health and facilitate positive gender experiences.”

The research also involved experts from The Royal Children’s Hospital, the University of Melbourne, and Duke University. With this new scale, there’s now a way to measure, and hopefully enhance, the positive experiences of being trans.

A timely step on Trans Day of Visibility

This much-needed positive news comes on Trans Day of Visibility, at a time when trans rights are under intense scrutiny and are being politicised ahead of the upcoming election.

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[50books50movies]

Immaculate

It feels like the discourse about the movie threatens to subsume the movie itself.

1. Talking about Sydney Sweeney

Sweeney famously auditioned for this film in 2014, and the film escaped production hell because she purchased the rights to the screenplay and tapped Michael Mohan to direct. She then joined the cast as the lead and helped to produce the movie through her production company, Fifty-Fifty Films. 

This means that this film, part of the moment of films about women's bodily autonomy in a post-Roe v. Wade world (Immaculate and The First Omen, Apartment 7A [the unasked for Rosemary's Baby prequel], The Girl With The Needle, Cuckoo, The Devil's Bath, and even Alien: Romulus) runs right into the American right wing's attempt to co-opt Sydney Sweeney's image to use as their avatar of femininity. 

Coming up alongside these forces of discourse is Sweeney's attempt to control how she appears on screen. While Sweeney has stated that she's comfortable with appearing in nude scenes, she wants them to serve the work's story. Being a producer here has its perks, such as making the bathing scenes feel less exploitative here than a film as adjacent to old nun exploitation films as this would lead a viewer to expect. One could have imagined that the cold shower late in the film would have been filmed differently if Sweeney didn't exert control. 

As an actor, Sweeney tries her best, but she felt miscast during the early parts of the film. She feels flighty in scenes where she should feel mature and sure of her convictions. She gives Sister Cecilia a vivacity that made for a stark contrast with the setting, a convent that is the convalescent home for aging nuns. When we see the young nuns working, that contrast works. When we see Cecilia claim that she regrets drinking too much wine the night that she blacked out (and was likely impregnated without her consent), it makes for an odd tonal clash, as if the film invites us to blame Cecilia for what happened to her rather than pointing the spotlight at the priest/geneticist and the nuns responsible. 

Later in the film, when Sweeney is working against the priests and other nuns to gain her freedom, she shows fire and grit that do feel more aligned with the film's overall anger at how institutions deny women their rightful autonomy. Sweeney sells Cecilia's creative attempt to escape the convent really well, and she gives it her all in the climax. Those climactic 7 minutes make the film work. 

2. Sometimes, Blood, Other Times, Not

Running for a quick 89 minutes, the film tries to keep things moving so you skip past things that you might pick apart in hindsight. (For example, if Father Tedeschi is able to get volunteers like Sister Isabelle, why do he, the cardinal, and the nuns feel the need to force their so-called miracle on unsuspecting women?) 

It also tries to keep things moving because the movie has few surprises other than an occasional interest in playing in genre brutality. If you've seen Rosemary's Baby, for example, there isn't much here (other than the ending) that might surprise you other than its propensity for gore and violence. The film will shock you here with Isabelle's destroyed face after she falls to her death, her likely punishment for trying to drown Cecilia in the bath, or there with an on-screen tongue mutilation of Sister Gwen, her punishment for speaking out against the convent and its schemes. 

Despite the film's willingness to play in the blood, the film intentionally pulls back at the end. Cecilia has escaped, and she gives birth on the hill outside of a cave. We only see Cecilia from the neck up, holding the blood of birth at a discreet distance and in our imagination. Cecilia brings the umbilical cord into view and severs it with her teeth. We hear animalistic grunting, not a baby's crying. The camera retreats to follow Cecilia as she picks up a rock (the newborn on the ground behind her, out of focus), and returns to focus on Cecilia as she decides to drop that rock on the newborn, a slam to credits as the film ends. Mohan and cinematographer Elisha Christian keep the ambiguity (is the baby demonic or just malformed; did Cecilia kill the newborn because the impregnation was against her will or because the newborn is diabolical) by focusing on Sweeney and keeping the grunting shape out of focus, and the mystery is what stays with the viewer, not the preceding film.

That is, except for one beautiful shot and one awkward interrogation scene. When the priests and nuns discover that Cecilia is pregnant, the priest and the cardinal who have arranged the conspiracy to assault Cecilia interrogate her about her chastity. As you watch the film, you're led to think that they're trying to confirm the veracity of the miracle. In hindsight, the scene becomes much more sinister. They know everything about Cecilia, including her gene sequencing. They don't need to interrogate her about her chastity, but they do it anyway to create the pretense and to try to break her will and convince her of their lie. 

Later in the film, Sweeney is clad in a golden gown and blue cloak and cries a single tear, evoking the Virgin Mary to bludgeon the viewer with subtlety. Nonetheless, it's beautifully framed and captured by Christian, and it's one of images that stayed with me after viewing. 

After it ended, I was asked if I would recommend the film to anyone. I think that I would because it has three good scenes (the interrogation, the escape attempt, the ending), and the film moves quickly enough to show you those sights. There is a bunch of cheap jump scares throughout, but that shouldn't be held too harshly against the film. Sweeney's performance becomes more convincing as the film progresses too. That's just enough to make it a recommendable film.

[ciaomarie]

Season 1 Rewatch: Ep. 3 "Brigade" was Sydney's. Carmy decided to start a new kitchen system, dropped off new uniforms, and immediately left Sydney alone to institute it.

Tina: Like hierarchy?

Sydney: More just like a regular... chill-archy? Uh, it's more about dividing labor. So, like, because I'm the sous, right? Like, I just, uh, follow orders, even if it leads to tension and, uh, chaos and resentment and ultimately doesn't work. But yeah, that's what I do.

Sidenote: I noticed Sydney had special bonding moments with both Carmy and Marcus in the first episode that focused on her. With Carmy it was asking for him to hear her and reminding him of their mutual goal to make "this place" different from any place they've worked before. With Marcus, Sydney realized that she has a teachable ally and that she can (and must) accept help from him. Eek! I can't wait to rewatch when she and Tina bond!

P.S. Posted this in a The Bear Facebook group (The Bear Cousinposting) and didn't want to get hated for mentioning the foreshadowing of a love triangle. I'm enjoying the group a lot, but it leans anti-romantic. The whole "why can men and women just be friends" blah blah blah like women and men working closely together don't often blur the lines emotionally if not physically.

[onomonopetabread]

Declawing the Cat, Chapter 3 (after literally three years)

“Father, do I have to go?” Adrien asked for the hundredth time.

“Of course Adrien. I refuse to go on a business trip as important as this one without you. You’re my son.”

Felix rolled his eyes. He and his mother were visiting the two bachelors (against his actual will, obviously). Everyone in the room knew the real reason why Adrien had to go; he was the face of the brand, and it was common fashion knowledge that to go to such a high-ranking event without your leading model would get you shunned and cancelled. ‘You’re my son’ EVERYONE’S arse.

It was obvious that Adrien was all too aware of this fact, because he couldn’t seem to run out of excuses for why he couldn’t go.

Well, he could also not wish to go because of how brain-numbingly boring the whole affair is, and honestly, who could blame him? This year’s Annual Pre-Junior’s Fashion Competition Assembly was being held in Sydney, and all of the biggest names in the industry were going to attend. The assembly takes place over the course of two. Entire. Months. For what, not even the attendees know. Felix swears, these designers were as mad as a bag of ferrets.

I mean, if you’re into that sort of thing, like Miss I’m-all-that Ginger Breadhouse, you’d probably be in Seventh Heaven there, but if you were, how do you say, normal, you’d sell your soul to be another else. In fact, Felix could almost bet Chat Noir’s Miraculous that Adrien would sign that demonic contract in a heartbeat if that were an option.

“But Father, what about school? I’ll miss so much instruction-”

“Natalie will tutor you, just like she did before you attended that … institution.”

“And my fencing practice? Surely, you wouldn’t want me to miss out on those.”

“Adrien, are you suggesting that they don’t have fencing areas in Sydney?”

“No, I’m just saying that fencing without Kagami wouldn’t be the same…”

“Well, you aren’t going to be fencing with her forever, so think of this as a sample for the future. Now, no more of this arguing, Adrien. You are going to the Assembly and that’s final. Have I made myself clear?”

Adrien’s shoulders slumped in defeat and for a heartbeat, Felix felt sympathetic. “Yes, Father.”

“Good, now go pack some clothes you will need for the weeks. We won’t be at the events the entire time, so I will permit you to bring some of your own wardrobe. Please remember we will be there for a long time, so pack accordingly.”

And with that, they were all dismissed. Adrien trugged upstairs looking particularly peeved. He invited Felix to come with him, and Felix agreed, but only to keep up appearances. If he knew any better, Felix would have sworn that he heard him talking to someone on the way up, but he decided to ignore it; he couldn’t be bothered to guess what weird habits his wanker of a cousin had.

Once they got to Adrien’s room, Felix sat himself down at the piano while Adrien took out a suitcase from his closet and started choosing some informal clothing for when they were just doing day-to-day activities.

“Can you believe that he’s making me go, Felix?”

“Yes, I can believe it.”

“AND we have to leave tomorrow! I won’t even get the chance to say goodbye to our friends.”

“Not to worry, cousin dearest. I’ll tell them for you. Anyways, don’t look at this trip as a burden, look at it as a new opportunity. You can gather information and resources for your friend Marinette.”

Adrien’s face brightened at the mention of his friend and Felix rolled his eyes when his back was turned. He swears, all it takes to cheer him up was to be reminded that Pigtails was alive and well somewhere on the planet.

“You’re right, Felix! This way I can help her pursue her dreams! I can’t wait until we get back to tell her everything I’ve learned about the industry.”

“...Can’t you just text or call her?”

“You mean with my phone?”

“No Adrien, I mean with a plastic banana you can buy at the baby store. Yes I mean your phone!”

Adrien paused in the middle of folding a t-shirt and packing it into a suitcase. “I didn’t tell you? Father confiscated it for ‘my own good’. He thinks I spend too much time around my friends and not enough time focusing on my studies, so it’s with him for the time being.”

Well, there goes Felix’s plan to pull a quick cell prank before Adrien leaves. “Adrien Bartholomew Agreste, is that resent I hear in your voice?”

“Yes, it is. I’m tired of responsibilities and having people depend on me every second that I breathe. That’s why I wanted to go to school in the first place; it gives me eight hours of non-Agreste related freedom.”

Felix narrowed his eyes. What did this boy know about responsibilities? All he had to do was play a keyboard, wave a stick around, and look pretty for pictures. Felix couldn’t understand how a job like that could burden someone so badly.

“Goodness, Adrien. You make it sound as though Uncle asks you to carry the weight of the entire ever-loving world on your shoulders.”

Adrien sighed. “That’s just how I feel, sometimes. Anyways, I think these are all of the casual clothing Father will let me take with me. Maybe if I’m lucky, he might not see the video game I hid under them all.”

The next day was a Saturday, so Felix the delivery boy was going to have to give the mega-twits the message at a later time. Today, it was all about acting as emotional as he could for the departure of his Cousin & Co. gabriel thought it would be a good idea for Felix and his mother to stop by the mansion every once in a while to make sure everything was all right, accounted for, and in the case of the house plants, watered. This was news to Felix. He doubted his uncle was even a living being, let alone the type of person to have plants in his home. Right now, they were standing next to the family limo. Natalie and gabriel were talking to Ape Man about transportation in Australia.

“Oh, darling Adrien, I’m so sad to see you go. We only just now got here, and you’re leaving. Why must the fates keep up apart?”

“It’s alright, Aunt Amilie. We’ll be back before you even realize we’re gone.”

“We? Oh, I wasn’t talking about your father, dear. I wouldn’t mind some time away from him. Anyways, I hope you have the best time in Australia. Bring something back for me, will you? I’ve always wanted to get a real boomerang, ever since I was a young girl.”

“I’ll be sure to get you the best boomerang in the country, Aunt A. What about you Felix? Do you want me to get you anything?”

Felix, who was standing some ways behind the others, pretended to ponder it over. “Bring me a friendship bracelet.”

“...A friendship bracelet?”

“If you can’t find one it’s okay I really don’t mind-”

“No, I’ll get you a bracelet. I was only surprised because you aren’t really the type to want one.”

He’s right- there was no way on Good Green Earth would he want some dingly little arts and crafts project. There also wasn’t any way that maybe he wanted his cousin thinking about him during his trip, that he wanted to envision Adrien getting something for him. Don’t even think about considering that Felix felt bad for him, dealing with the devil himself in a new place and wanting to give him something to do. Nope. Not a chance. Felix simply thought that Adrien would look hilarious running around Australia looking for beads and twine.

“...Just make sure you make me a good one, alright?”

Adrien smiled as though he could read right into Felix’s mind, and of course he had to look completely handsome in doing so. Stupid model. They practically had the same face and somehow Felix ended up looking like the off-brand knockoff.

“Adrien, we have to go now. The plane leaves in five hours,” gabriel said, entering the car.

“Why do we need to leave so soon?”

“So that I can buy fabrics with threads, gather all of my designs, double check with Natalie that the suite is still booked for us-”

“Alright, Father. I understand. Well, bye Felix. I’ll miss you.”

With that, he entered the limousine and the four of them drove away.

“Come Felix. Let’s go check the house for anything they might have accidentally left behind. We wouldn’t want them to leave something important,” said Amilie, still a little teary-eyed over the loss of her precious little baby nephew. She couldn’t stand the idea of being away from him for so long, even though his look-alike (her own bloody son) was right in front of her. Of course, Felix wasn’t bitter! Why wouldn’t ever say such a thing?

“Yes, Mother. Would you like me to check Adrien’s room?”

“Please, dear. Oh, look at you, watching over your cousin! And to think you said you wouldn’t like him!”

It was as though his mother never met him. Couldn’t she see that he was just trying to gain some sort of upper hand against Mr. Perfect or to uncover a secret of his? On the sunny side, at least he knows his facade is effective. He was beginning to worry that someone other than Blue-Eyed Phoenix Wright would figure him out.

Felix pushed open the door of Adrien’s room and immediately began to look around and turn things over. He was being extremely careful to make sure that everything he touched was put back in the place he got it from. After looking through his closet and library, however, he was disappointed to find that Adrien was actually as innocent as he seemed (and acted). In fact, the worst thing he could find was a disturbing amount of Ladybug memoria. It was a pity, really. Felix hadn’t blackmailed anyone in a long time, and he was beginning to get antsy. He turned around and headed out.

“Adrien, is that you? I thought you said you weren’t going to come back for another two months.”

Felix did a complete 180 and faced the source of the voice, which seemed to be some sort of floating cat-thing. It looked like a deer in headlights.

“You aren’t Adrien. Wait, are you okay, you seem to be swaying-?”

The thing was right; he was feeling woozy, and it didn’t take him that long to hit the floor, having fainted. The last thing he heard was the talking cat muttering,

“Shit.”

[5sosfanfictioncatalogue]

Married Lashton Masterlist

By The Sound of a Drum (ao3) - DeanAndHisBeautyQueen G, 2k

Summary: This one shot is about Lashton - Luke and Ashton are married and are about to have a baby! There good friends Michael and Calum decides that they would like to take Luke out for a bit of fun before the babe is here and while he is out Ashton goes into labor!

Come Back When You Can (ao3) - fivesecondsofmae T, 1k

Summary: Luke and Ashton left the Shadowhunter world as soon as they could so they could get married and start a family and have a normal family life, but when Luke gets a call from the Sydney Institute, announcing they have information about his deceased parents, he decides to go and found out what he can about his history, leaving behind his husband and their daughter. What will happen when Luke is reunited with his parabatai and Ashton is left with his, to care for their child? Can their relationship survive even when the Shadowhunter world collapses in on them once again?

Convivencia (ao3) - antisocialhood M, 4k (WIP)

Summary: Or, Ashton and Luke find themselves twisted up in a fake marriage for a cheaper college tuition, and somehow, feelings come about.

Domesticated Erotica: Luke’s Hobby (ao3) - twinkylukey E, 1k

Summary: Basically, Luke likes those hetero erotic romance novels and Ashton thinks it’s cute

Good Days Start With Coffee and You (ao3) - lgbtlukas, MyMy G, 2k

Summary: Calum wonders if Michael is as invested in this relationship as he is, but he doesn't know that Michael is one step ahead of him.

Home Is Wherever I'm With You (ao3) - fivesecondsofmae M, 2k

Summary: Luke and Ashton Irwin-Hemmings live in suburban London with their 3 children. Fluff for now about the cutest couple in existence. Lashton.

I'll Give You The Best Years (ao3) - FayeHunter T, 4k

Summary: Luke and Ashton have their backyard wedding

no control (ao3) - lukevegas N/R, 625

Summary: so evryones cute and married and ashton doesn't know when to shut his mouth

Off-Screen (ao3) - allsassnoclass (brightblackholes)

Summary: Now that classes are being taught from home due to the pandemic, students are getting a glimpse into Professor Irwin's home life, especially when his mysterious husband keeps interrupting class.

Tastycake (ao3) - plushyluke E, 2k

Summary: “i was not an ‘it girl’!” he sat up to straddle ashton.

as ashton took in the tall blonde figure with the poutiest lips and the brightest blue eyes, he almost laughed out loud at the assumption. he placed the forgotten prom queen tiara on top of luke’s head and tutted.

“you were the cheerleading captain, an a-student, blonde, and a little mean. i think it is safe for me to say I was intimidated by all of your…assets.”

or luke is looking through old memories, and ashton needs to remind him that he'll always be the 'it girl' in his eyes

The Panty-Dropper (ao3) - Honeyedlashton E, 5k

Summary: Ashton’s discovered an old recipe from Luke’s recipe box, and decided to cash in on an anniversary prize.

the situation is like a mountain that's been weighing on my conscience - @sup3rbloom (haveufoundwhaturlookingfor) T, 2k

Summary: Luke is closeted and nobody outside of the band, and close family, knows that he has a secret husband. During promo for Youngblood, Luke suffers a panic attack when the interviewer asks a personal question. Cue, Ashton to the rescue and comfort.

What A Wonderful World This Would Be (ao3) - badtales G, 784

Summary: "May I have this dance?" He asked formally and handed a hand out for Ashton to hold. Ashton smiled so brightly Luke couldn't help but think he was looking at the sun and if Ashton was the sun, Luke was the moon, lighting up when Ashton was shining on him.

"You may," Ashton giggled and placed his hand gently in Luke's allowing the younger boy to lead the dance.

aka. married Lashton sharing a moment

you tell me you're tipsy, i tell you you're pretty (ao3) - orphan_account E, 13k

Summary: He heads off towards the bathroom, trying to avoid the inevitable conversation, when he notices something glinting off of Ashton’s left hand. He steps forward, picking up Ashton’s left hand and staring at the ring on the boy’s finger and felt himself stiffen. “Ash, why is there a wedding ring on your hand?”

Ashton’s eyes bulged out of his head and the moment he caught sight of the ring and he tore his hand out of Luke’s, staring at his hand as if it was on fire. “What the fuck,” he whispers to himself before looking over at Luke, murder in his eyes. “What the fuck did you do!?” he demands, as if Luke had something to do with the entire thing. As far as he knows though, he had nothing to do with this entire situation.

Or maybe he did, but he was hoping he didn’t.

or, Luke and Ashton wake up married during a weekend in Vegas

[kamenstranger]

With this new season of Castlevania alleged creepy sex weirdo Warren Ellis was out as head writer, and Clive Bradley was in. Bradley is known primarily as a crime and horror writer, whose works I wasn't too familiar with before this. That, in addition to the events of season 4, left me with basically no expectations for what direction the show would go.

That said, The first episode perfectly sets the stage for the rest of the season. It is efficient without feeling rushed or over-stuffed. It is concise while covering a lot of ground.

We open on Richter being sent away to France for his protection, but in the process, his mother, Julia (Sophie Skelton), is killed by a powerful vampire, Olrox (Zahn McClarnon). Nine years later, in 1792, we find Richter (Edward Bluemel) with this adoptive sister, Maria Renard (Pixie Davies). Maria is a witch and a young revolutionary fanning the flames among the peasants, making her and her listeners targets for the literal bloodsucking cronies of the upper class. Although they pose no threat to our two heroes.

Richter and Maria right off the bat have a great sibling dynamic. While it would be a stretch to call this young cocky Richter level-headed, he has a comparatively cool demeanor to Maria's short fuse. Maria herself is a lot of fun. She is foul-mouthed and rebellious in a "burn the bourgeois" sort of way, which puts her at odds with institutions such as the church.

Still, the two meet with the local Abbott, Emmanuel (Richard Dormer), seeing as one of the attacking vampires mentioned a Vampire Messiah. Although the church is of no help.

After that excursion, there's a slight respite in Richter's domestic life, focusing on Maria and her mother, Tera (Nastassja Kinski). We see that Richter suffers from PTSD nightmares over his mother's death. He's awakened by an attack on the homestead by night creatures, something neither Richter, nor the rest of the household, has experience or knowledge of, resulting in a pretty brutal beatdown.

He's saved by the timely intervention of Annette (Thuso Mbedu) a former plantation slave who can manipulate rocks and metals; and Edouard (Sydney James Harcourt) a revolutionary opera singer. Both were looking for Richter in hopes of stopping this vampire messiah. Elsewhere, Olrox arrives in France to meet this messiah.

As I said, this episode covers a lot of ground. The back story for Richter, supporting characters and their relationships, major events being set up, more supporting characters to explore, and a lot of small character moments. That last one I think is the most important because there is a lot of that sprinkled throughout, along with some quick dialogue that explains small details. For example, when Richter is a child there's a quick line about how Tera isn't a vampire hunter. Richter is talented and has some training, but we see his limitations with the Night Creatures. There's some other stuff too, like Richter not having much thought on the current affairs of a classist system, but finding Maria and her mother good people with good intentions, so he stands by them. He has a good heart, but he perhaps doesn't think much about the world at large the same way Maria does.

Another small but appreciated bit is Annette's spear turning into dust and reforming as plates. You immediately pick up on her metal manipulation ability, and it's nice that Maria isn't the only one with unique magic (that being the Sì Xiàng.) Not to mention this also sets the ground for a much larger world of magic, like say, Richter's Item Crash abilities from the games. And yes, that is a key component because Richter lost his ability to do any magic after his mother's death.

In fact, episode 2 expands on that very thing while also explaining that Annette's powers came from her father's side, leading all the way back to her culture's God of war, Ogun (They don't specify which African Religion.) An inheritance of magic would become a running motif throughout this season. But That's just a small part of this episode.

The real meat of the second episode is the arrival of the Messiah's Emissary, Drolta Tzuentes (Elarica Johnson) to France, and Annette revealing the vampire messiah's name; Erzsebet Bathory. This triggers memories in Maria's mother that she had long kept secret. Tera was originally from Russia, part of a group of speakers helping a small village until they were besieged by vampires. Tera lost her sister to vampirism in the process and was forced to kill her. She fled until she reached France and was taken in by Emmanuel, hoping to leave that nightmare behind.

With their best lead being an Island chateau with nightly parties, Richter, Maria, Annette, and Edouard, skulk out the place in hopes of finding out where the night creatures are coming from. While spying on the partygoers, Annette spots her former slaver, Vaublanc, and nearly loses control of herself. Regardless, Vaublanc still takes notice and things quickly go south. The four flee an onslaught of monsters, but only three make it out. Edouard is overwhelmed and slain in the chaos. His body is brought to the Abbey along with other corpses to be made into night creatures in the cellar.

Unlike the slow methodical smith-like process of the 1400s, the demon forging process has become industrialized. Something I didn't care for much (at first) is that Edouard is turned into a night creature where it's basically just him but with monster appendages. So his midriff and face are perfectly normal. Everyone else turns into these barely recognizable monsters, but you know his features stay intact for future drama. We'll get back to that.

Episode 3 focuses on the group comforting Annette's loss, and her in turn opening up to the group about her past. Seeing her mother killed by Vaublanc, the awakening of her powers, her escape at age 16, and of course her meeting with Edouard. Edouard hid Annette from Vaublanc and brought her to a rebel militia in the mountains where she was trained to use her powers by a Seer, Cécile, and eventually aids in the uprising of Saint-Domingue. Although Vaublanc would of course escape. Annette is obviously very different from her game counterpart and for the better in my book. She's a proactive player here and the backstory given also connects both narratively and thematically to the setting and themes. It's also nice that Edouard gets some backstory laid out because we never really got a chance to explore him before his death. While this is still more in the service of Annette, it's at least something.

A smaller part of the episode is a homoerotic confrontation between Olrox and the Abbott's right hand, Mizrak (Aaron Neil) Olrox seemingly throwing a wrench into their plans for his own gain, planting a seed in the warrior's mind that Erzsebet will cast them aside when the opportunity arrives. Maria also introduces Annette to her revolutionary group, but are attacked by night creatures, Edouard among their ranks. One little twist is that Edouard maintains a degree of consciousness. He turns away from Annette, hides his face, and ends up attacking another creature that goes after her. In that regard, I consider his appearance to reflect that the process of the forge was perhaps flawed in some manner. But we have seen creatures display a degree of independence before, and memories of their past life as with FlysEyes. Whatever the cause, he's carried off with the remaining night creatures, Maria noting that they were heading in the direction of the Abbey.

Episode 4 follows up with Maria and Annette being hell-bent on assaulting the Abbey for answers, although Richter objects to the impulsive nature since they're unsure. Tera instead offers a more subtle approach with an alternate entrance to the cellar. In fact, she knows a little bit too much about the Abbey, something Richter takes notice of.

Olrox is also busy getting answers. From an afterglow chat with Mizrak to secretly investigating the demon forge and its workings. He even chats with Edouard while the Abbot is busy in a meeting with Drolta on their uneasy alliance. Trepidatious though it may be, both see a benefit. Emmanuel wants to purge the revolution for questioning and outright attacking the church. The Vampires want to maintain a ruling class and need a human to forge demons for an army. It's all about the status quo.

Drolta also has some good character bits here. I wouldn't call her particularly deep as a villain, she never becomes as interesting as Olrox. But she is a fun villain. Which, hey, that's more than I can say for her Bloodlines counterpart who was just a witch. You can also tell someone had a lot of fun designing all of Drolta's different looks, she has more outfit changes than anyone else and her aesthetic is fucking great.

All that said, Drolta and Emmanuel cross paths with our heroes, and a big chunk of the episode is a massive fight in the cellar. If you've read my previous Castlevania reviews you know I dislike regurgitating what's on screen followed by "done well" But this is a highlight of the season. We're at the midway point, the threads are starting to come together, and we're ramping things up with an amazing battle showcasing everyone's abilities brilliantly. In particular, we see how dangerous Drolta is. All this with a beautiful vocal performance by Edouard.

Amongst all this action are some story morsels; Tera is horrified at Emmanuel for one- although he does stop Drolta from going after Maria. Put a pin in that. There's also a truly heart-wrenching moment between Annette and Edouard where he begins to remember who she is. And if that wasn't enough, just when we're showing how fucking badass Richter can be with him finally handling night creatures, Olrox makes his presence known. And the utter looks of terror in Richter's eyes upon hearing his voice is so palatable.

The facial expressions this season are truly wonderful. Richter tells everyone to get the fuck out and runs for it, not stopping. And what I love is right after everyone has escaped, Olrox acts completely natural toward Drolta, saying he just got off the boat and the messiah is expecting him.

Ep 5 is split into three parts. One follows a frustrated Annette as she heads out and eventually tails Drolta's carriage until she meets up with Olrox. This segment is largely exposition while also trying to further convince Olrox of their cause. There's a lot of back and forth about rising and falling empires, something both Olrox and Drolta have seen their share of since their Aztec and Egypt days, respectively. It boils down to Drolta considering the natural order of things to be of rulers and subjects. The messiah can supposedly offer a permanent empire for Vampires to rule. After that meeting, and by complete happenstance, Annette ends up running into Vaublanc in the same graveyard. She uses her ability in possibly the most unique manner to trap the slaver in a cage of crosses. And for really no good goddamn reason at all, he gloats about Erzsebet Báthory's plans and her power. How she drank the blood of the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet. Considering she's a solar goddess, all I'm picturing is the time Dracula bit Superman and blew up.

That somehow didn't happen but instead supposedly gave her the ability to block the sun. This ranting goes on until the sun rises and burns the lesser vampire to a crisp. Meanwhile, Emmanuel shows up at Tera's house. It's a similar case of back and forth, how Emmanuel is clearly engaging in horrible sacrilegious acts but he views it as an end justifies the means sorta way. I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself here, but this is basically Emmanuel's character for the rest of the show. Becoming increasingly unhinged, but with a touch of self-awareness. His character has this uneasy combination of the deeper he goes, the worse he feels…but he can't stop. You wonder if it will ever be too much. Honestly, it makes for a more interesting human monster compared to the flat 200% evil priests of the previous Castlevania. Oh, it also gets revealed that he's Maria's father. Okay, that's not shocking from an audience perspective, it's painfully obvious what with Tera's comments, history, and the fact that there are only two adult blonds in the entire show. But from the Character's POV, it causes a rift between Maria and her mother.

Richter oddly has the least to do in this episode, yet he is perhaps the most interesting. After bolting and having a breakdown, he wanders aimlessly, gets a bandana from some revolutionaries smitten with his looks, and ultimately winds up at a bar. He's too poor for a drink, although an old man pays for a meal. And this is when things take a surprising turn. A vampire bursts into the bar looking for the old man. Richter reaches for the whip, but the old man has already taken it and quickly slays the vampire with ease.

Playing up an old fan theory, this is in fact Richter's Grandfather, Juste (Iain Glen). This one got me. The moment I saw a long white-haired man I figured it could be, but I was still pleasantly surprised they went there.

Episode 6 is another dense one, with Erzsabet making her horrifying arrival to France. Edouard meanwhile begins talking to fellow night creatures, one of whom, Jacques, recalls attending Maria's meetings. Speaking of, Maria visits Emmanuel in hopes of swaying the Abbott away from his path. I guess you could say she's presenting the choice of what sort of father he wants to be. I admit, it's slightly jarring that Maria would extend this offer in the first place given her utter disdain prior. I guess she wants to give the benefit of the doubt, but she's not exactly had a longing for a father figure as part of her character. Sure, she thought her father was dead until now, but it feels more like something thrown in so Drolta can secretly take notice and set up events for the finale. In fairness, Maria is impulsive, so I guess in that regard it still works. But… yeah I'm still iffy on it as a plot point.

Thankfully, the main core of this episode is much better by being centered on Richter and Juste. We learn why there was such dissonance with his daughter, and why he's kept away from Richter, how he became so broken. Juste once was the most powerful magic user of the Belmonts, the whip was almost secondary to him. But his wife Lydie and his best friend Maxim were both killed by a vampire. After that, he lost his magical touch. He lost hope. These tales of woe are cut short when elite vampire warriors sent by Drolta assault the duo, chaining Juste and separating Richter from the whip. Richter is restrained and prepared for execution. But something happens to Richter. A burning desire to not only live, but to protect the people he loves. That fire inside him grows and becomes literal.

What follows is less of a fight and more pure elegant destruction. Richter burning, freezing, and stabbing all the night fiends. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention this is backed with the one game cover for this season; Divine Bloodlines. Which is just exquisite. Beyond that, I just love this bit of character. Richter's strength, and consequentially what makes him contrast with Trevor and more directly Juste, is how he channels his trauma into something positive.

However, do not let the above distract from the fact that Olrox gets his own spotlight finally delving into his motivations. After all, he was once part of a great kingdom until the Spanish arrived. Does he see Erzsabet as just another god king which fools have pledged themselves to? Perhaps. We also get some insight into the lover Julia killed. A Mohican man who fought in the Revolutionary War, only to have his home stolen by those same people. The only thing that changed was who the colonizers were. But lest you think that makes Olrox too sympathetic, the only reason he lost his love is because he was turned into a vampire. Mizrak actually confronts him on this, asking if a choice was even granted. Of course, Olrox was too selfish for that.

Ep 7. Our penultimate episode, unsurprisingly, is mostly set up for the finale. Although a great deal is simply low-key character interactions, like the fallout between Maria with her mother over Emmanuel.

Richter also returns to the trio and has a nice quiet scene with just him and Annette, Richter apologizing for abandoning them and promising to help rescue Edouard. It's really the only scene the two have leaning into there being something between them, Annette admitting she was more worried about him than she wanted. It's rather cute and I love the subtle blush on Annette. But there's no time to kindle that spark. The four must prepare a full assault on the Abbey.

Less low-key is Erzsabet's plans being fully laid out. Olrox is nothing more than a servant to pay Erzabet tribute by conquering the Americas on her behalf. This submission is not something he takes kindly to, but he has little choice. Speaking of submission, Emmanuel is expected to do just that for the new messiah. A sacrifice of something dear to him; Maria.

As our heroes begin planning their attack on the Abbey, Maria voices concern over what could happen to Emmanuel. But as Tera bluntly puts it: he made his choice. Before they can continue, they're interrupted by an unlikely source, Olrox, who drops off Emmanuel's infernal tome. While this leads to a whole excursion, the gist is really quite simple; Olrox can't afford to get too involved with this subversion, Erzsabet is far more powerful than any know, and the Demon Forge can only be handled by humans. Whether or not they trust Olrox is irrelevant, this is their best bet at dealing a blow before Erzsabet can build an army.

That night, as Tera reads over the tome, Maria sneaks out and heads for the Abbey, hoping to give her father one last chance to have a change of heart. But it's to no avail, his mind is thoroughly poisoned and Maria is captured, breaking the last straw for Mizrak.

The following day, Tera figures out the solution to dealing with the forge, but it won't be easy. Destruction isn't possible, the only solution is sending it back where it came from; Hell. Annette will be needed to quite literally push the entire machine through a portal. Just as their plan is formulated, Mizrak arrives, warning them that Emmanuel is preparing to kill Maria. As they hurry to the church, the sun is suddenly eclipsed.

Erzsabet, true to the rumors, can call forth an eternal night.

This brings us to the season finale in episode 8. The four arrive in time to save Maria from the crazed holy man. Annette heads down to take care of the forge and also free Edouard, although he prefers staying with the night creatures, two of whom have regained their sentience and even protect Annette.

As Tera reads incantations to summon the portal to hell, Drolta and a small squad of vampires arrive at the church for Richter, Maria, and Mizrak to take care of. One thing for sure is that Drolta is a force to be reckoned with. Their previous fight was during the day, but now she's at full strength. Maria is giving it her all, and Richter is no slouch with his new magic. He even gets a few good licks in with his ice whip.

But things change when Erzsabet arrives. She has since transmogrified into a Sekhmet lioness appearance, and she is immensely powerful. None of the attacks launched at her can even make contact. Not Maria's guardians, not the whip, not the elemental magics. She casts everyone aside and heads right for Maria, which causes Tera to lose focus and close the portal. See, Emmanuel misunderstood. Bathory wasn't looking for a blood sacrifice, she was looking for someone to turn. Tera intervenes and begs to be taken instead of Maria. After all, she's a speaker and would be a powerful minion to have. Bathory accepts. I want to take a moment and say Tera's fate hits surprisingly hard. She's not the deepest character, we don't spend a great deal of time on her. But she's prominent enough to leave an impact. A flawed individual with the best of intentions and ultimately a good heart. I do want to give mention to Nastassja Kinski's performance, which is her first voice role. She gives Tera this soft-spoken kindly forlorn inflection that perfectly matches her complicated past. And to see that character turned and suddenly become this ravenous beast, feasting like a combination of starving infant and strung-out addict… it's beautifully sad. This is a show full of contrasts and Tera made a great contrast to Emmanuel, more so than Maria, I think. I don't believe Tera was under any illusions like Emmanuel. Her sacrifice isn't going to spare Maria, but it buys everyone enough time. Conversely, Emmanuel would give up anyone else with the assumption it would be worth it, even as it broke his heart. And make no mistake, his heart is breaking during this moment.

With the situation at its worst, the four make their escape as Drolta and her minions give chase. Drolta closes in on Richter, lunging after him.

Only to be met by a familiar sword. Understandably an elite vampire being taken out followed by a guy claiming to be the son of Dracula causes the rest of the vampires to flee. Alucard turns his attention towards Richter, hoping that he isn't too late. And that is one hell of a season finale. Goddamn.

If it wasn't clear by now. I thoroughly enjoyed this season. There are a few issues I have, mostly small and nitpicky stuff. But things are fairly damn solid and I don't have much major to complain about. One thing I do see criticized is some of the dialogue being "Cringy." It's not as bad as I had seen made out, but there are undeniably some dorky-ass wince-inducing lines. Some try too hard to be inspiring or funny. One example would be Richter going on a speech as his powers awaken and saying he was "gonna have a witty line… but fuck it." It just doesn't come off as earnest. I get the feeling that it's trying to evoke Ellis' form of vulgarity and irreverent humor- which itself sometimes fell face first. But there's nothing in here even close to "Eat shit and Die. Yes, fuck you." or "See? God Hates me." Nocturne thankfully avoids trying to be too much like its predecessor and is better for it. Although its own quirks occasionally stick out, it's nothing that ruins the moment. Probably the worst it gets was Annette's speech to the revolutionaries which isn't even a paragraph and about as inspirational as Marshmallow fluff is nutritious. Maria's overly enthusiastic reaction only highlights the lame awkwardness. Fred Hamton this was not. I suppose on a related note, it is worth talking about the themes of the series. The most notable of all these is how it interprets Vampires among the aristocracy, literally feeding on the lower classes. Not an original take by any means, but one that works and is great for the setting. Perhaps the most criticism I can levy towards Nocturne when it dips into the various class systems at play is how little it actually gets to delve into them, despite how constant they are. It does raise some interesting ideas and points, such as the uprising in Saint-Domingue, or how Olrox's Mohican lover was turned against by the Americans. It presents this idea that there are those that will always see themselves above others and the French Revolutionaries aren't really going to give a shit once all is said and done. A slave is beneath a peasant, an Indian beneath a colonist, a night creature beneath a human, a human beneath a vampire, and so forth. But as prevalent as that is, I don't think the series ever takes full advantage of those elements. The parallels are just that, parallels. Something repeated but never expanded upon in a meaningful way. Look, I'm in a post-Black Sun world. I realize nothing is going to compete on the totally radical scale by comparison. Still, while Nocturne is far from toothless, it doesn't have as much bite as it could. I will give credit to Olrox. I think he's the most interesting of the bunch in how these systems affect his compass. Driven away from his homeland by Conquistadors, his lover was driven from his by revolutionaries. Olrox himself is now part of a system of power- and yet he is still subjugated as nothing more than muscle to a more powerful figure within that system… who wants him to colonize.

As for everyone else… Man, this is a weird situation. For Richter, I don't think there's much that hasn't already been covered. I like his character and what they do with him. It's a fairly typical young hero journey, one that just got started in a lot of respects. He overcame is trauma, got his power back, and was met with something far stronger. He has quite a ways to go and more to learn. I think it's safe to say that applies to Maria, too. Perhaps even more so because she lacks a character-focused episode that doesn't center on her family. She was fine overall, but I'm more looking forward to the next season and the fallout of losing her mother to a fate worse than death, how that affects her, the relationships around her, and perhaps channeling it into becoming more powerful.

Curiously, Maria is down an animal buddy throughout this entire season. I'm not counting the doves/owls because I'm fairly certain they were considered redundant with huáng. But Shenlong is noticeably absent and I can only assume that's going to be Maria's big upgrade in the next season. I hope the same is true for Richter. As much as I appreciate seeing them get clever with the ice and fire abilities, I want to see things I associate with him specifically. The closest we get is the flame whip and a pseudo grand cross. Have him throw a bible and the page cut like razors or stick like Fulu talismans, 1,000 blades, hydro storm. Make that a part of him getting stronger, going beyond the traditional magic, and perhaps tie that in with some character stuff with Annette as their relationship blossoms. (As an aside. I can't help but think Tera being turned into a vampire is perfect setup to make the whip into a proper vampire killer ala Lament of Innocence.)

To give more credit where it's due, I also appreciate what's done with Annette by incorporating wider cultural elements into the setting, in addition to still being something that's a major part of her background. I'm hoping for more stuff with Annette next season because I feel aside from her origin tale she's easily overshadowed by Richter's journey feeling more full. Plus it's perfect opportunity to set up a family dynamic with the three.

Getting back to the magical angle, I also love that Erzsabet takes on a second form in relation to a God. That's very much in tune with how in the games Dracula could assume a form like Pazuzu. Likewise, Olrox can turn into a giant serpent, which is a nice twist on his lizard form from SOTN while giving some Quetzalcoatl-like qualities related to his own background. Hmm, that's another Sun God like Sekhmet…

But a lot of what I'm talking about here is setting and background stuff around characterization. And also shit I'm expecting/wanting next season because I've already covered most of the characters. Well, that, and as efficient as the story is, it does leave me wanting more. Which, yes, is a great thing. I enjoy these characters and want to spend more time with them. I feel it's at least appropriate enough to leave off where we do. But there is still a nagging part of me that hates that we have horribly short seasons with this franchise. As wonderful as the writing is at balancing the narrative and characters for a streamlined experience, it's still in the single digits. We only have 8 roughly 25 minute episodes and I struggle to say more than a few unique blurbs about any one character because of that short run. The plus side is they use every bit of that run time well, it's remarkable how much is done in that time. The downside is "barely scratched the surface" is a phrase I can apply to most of the cast. Richter is truthfully the only one with a proper fulfilling arc that still leaves room for growth. Annette sorta gets a spirit journey about using the full strength of her ancestors and forgiving Richter, but that's kinda it. Maria has some character stuff with her family, but it's not a journey in the same way as the others, despite the personal nature. We're going to have to wait until next season before deep-diving on Maria and Annette. To say nothing of Mizrak who barely has a speaking role. The more I think about it, the more I wish this was 3-5 episodes longer just to sink those claws in more. It almost feels like a show that is the best case scenario for when you cut out all the fat. As it stands, I'm still appreciative of what was done. 8 episodes were ordered and they did the best with those restrictions, that much I believe is certain. Maybe it's best to focus on what is rather than what could be, and what we got is still damn good.

Also damn good is the animation this season. So this is going to be a pretty sort section because I'm limited to 30 photos and I've got 4 other reviews talking about the animation in Castlevania. One thing I have to point out is that Netflix and many others are calling this an anime, despite the fact that outside Japan the term typically refers to animation which is at the very least produced by a Japanese studio. We won't get into the semantics of how that applies if the actual animating is outsourced to South Korea (Which Studio DR Movie is) Or the nuances of how styles have intermingled for decades. Honestly, I don't really care all that much. I'm just pointing it out because I find it hilarious that a show partly handled by a studio based in Austin, TX gets slapped with the Anime label because, and let's be real here, they're too insecure to call it a cartoon or animation outright. That's the only reason. Amazon does the same damn thing with Invincible, which is just embarrassing in my eyes. If the HBO Spawn was made today they'd be trying to do the same shit with that… especially since that was partially handled by Studio Madhouse… who outsources to DR Movie.

Anyway, we've got yet another change up this season with animation moving from Tiger Animation in Season 4 to the renowned DR Movie. Chances are you've seen their work somewhere before, as they're pretty big in both the Japanese anime and Western animation scene. They've done everything from the in-between shots on JJBA Diamond is Unbreakable, to additional work on the 2010 Young Justice series.

Of course, that's not to say they handled all of this. After all, Powerhouse Animation has been at this since the first season in 2017, and are damn impressive in their own right. If you've seen the Sonic Frontiers and Superstars animations, that was them.

While the gap between this and Season 4 isn't massive, the uptick is still very noticeable. Fights in particular stand out more with a strong sense of choreography to the battles. There's a good use of the environment with impactful kinetic energy. Shading and lighting are probably the best it's been, and at no point was there a glaring instance of what could be perceived as "corner-cutting." It's frankly gorgeous and perhaps the best so far.

What I have a harder time commenting on is the music, and man, I always feel trepidatious talking about Music in the animated series. Comparisons to the games are inevitable, and those have some of the most rockin' iconic beats of any game series. The show typically only has one game track represented per season, if that. Yet I also feel that's disingenuous to Trevor Morris and (this season) Trey Toy, who do great work. Yet often times it is very atmospheric and more subtle, which I have a hard time conveying that, aside from asking if you like Castlevania IV's approach. What I can say, aside from the obvious choice of Bloonelines, is that Lamento della Ninfa is the standout track this season. It's used a couple of times, mostly in the Abbey, and it is a truly beautiful piece that complements the battles yet is still a great track divorced from the context of the scene at play. I also feel bad saying that because it, like bloodlines, is a preexisting track. In this case a Claudio Monteverdi composition.

Since we're on the subject of vocals, I might as well talk about the voice acting. It's good. I mean what the fuck do you expect? We're on a sequel to a 4 season show, of course, they're going to get that right. I will say it's surprising that not a lot of the cast have voice-acting credits prior to this. Some have one or two, for others this is their first VA role, and they all do a damn fine job. Less surprising is that Zahn McClarnon is one of the stand-out performance to me. He is the most experienced of anyone in the cast, and ironically it's the role showing the least variety. But I would say it's the most complicated because Olrox has a very subdued, practically emotionless delivery. To impart that sense of control over oneself without being stereotypically monotone is remarkably difficult for a lot of performers. I can hear Olrox and immediately pick up he's weary from all the shit he's seen. Every now and then you'll get something dry and cheeky, or a cold threatening aura peeking through the unnatural calm.

The other standout is Sydney James Harcourt. As far as I'm aware, this is his first VA role. He is primarily a musical performer on and off Broadway. And yes, that means when Edouard sings, it's still Harcourt. So that amazing rendition of Lamento della Ninfa is him.

Final Thoughts.

Castlevania Nocturne quelled most of my fears about the series continuing on, and in some areas showed itself to be far more nuanced and interesting than its fore bearer. There are still critiques I have with the show- it seems an absurdly short season is a reoccurring issue with this franchise. But I can't deny that few shows can do so much in so little. I've seen 43 episode series do less with their characters, so make of that what you will. Whatever issues I have with the episode number, I'd rather them set up and wait than try to tackle too much in a season that clearly doesn't have the time. My only real concern going forward is Netflix's abysmal practices fucking the show over. Ya know, is it going to take a third season to get some characters a satisfactory amount of development?

Regardless, I can say that Nocturne's first season feels refined, and frankly more mature. It never goes above the means given to it, and despite some stumbles, it's not overly ambitious or clunky. Nocturne knows exactly what it wants and gets to it in the shortest amount of time. If season 2 can continue that trend remains to be seen. I'm at least confident the series is in good hands.

As always, thanks for reading, and reblogs are always welcome. You can find me on Bluesky @kamenstranger.bsky.social I have a Ko-fi if you'd like to throw a dollar at me. Happy Halloween!

[sodiumlamp]

Picard

This one started out promising but went downhill fast. They should have called this one "The Icarus Factor II: So Very Tired".

I'll try to keep it short this time. Geordi's still trying to figure out how to get Data separated from Lore, since they're now both stuck in the same body. Euthaizing Data (again) might be an option here, but they need his help to stop the attack on Frontier Day. That's a good way to explain why they don't just dump Data's new body in the sun. He's clearly suffering, but there's too much at stake.

Beverly suspects there might be a way to track or even kill this new-and-improved breed of Changeling Revanchists, but she's worried about the moral implications of using a species' own biology against them. Meanwhile Jack is loaded with survivors guilt, and wants to trade himself to Vadic in exchange for Riker. Also Troi, I would imagine, since Vadic has her too, but Jack doesn't know that. Picard won't allow this, but it does give him an idea to set a trap.

So the Shrike finally tracks down Titan and it looks like it just got disabled in a battle with a "Vulcan warship", also disabled. Was there actually a battle or did they stage the whole thing? Anyway, Vadic is desperate because she can't get any information out of Riker and Troi, so she leads a boarding party and Jack lures them into a bunch of force fields. Hooray!

And then things start to go bad. Somehow Lore takes over all of the ship's systems. I'm not sure what the rest of the good guys' plan was supposed to be, but Lore causes it all to backfire. Jack and Sydney La Forge are trapped with a pair of Changelings, and Jack has to do some sort of telepathic thing to guide her body into defeating one of the Changelings the same way he did.

Meanwhile, Picard and Beverly interrogate Vadic, who reveals her dark origins. She and her comrades were Changeling prisoners held captive during the Dominion War. They were experimented upon by a Federation scientist at the Daystrom Institute, and apparently the goal of the experiments was to make them even better at infiltration? Was the plan to use them as Federation agents? How was that ever going to work? Anyway, Vadic escaped, and she could pass her enhanced powers to other like-minded Changelings. So I guess she was always part of the Changeling plot going on in this season, but why is she posing as a bounty hunter? If her comrades have so much influence in Starfleet, what do they need with the Shrike? Why did she kill those security guys who had captured Riker? She just re-captured him for the same cause.

Anyway, thanks to Lore's treachery, Vadic escapes and takes control of the Titan. Data reasserts control, so may he has a chance to turn the tide, but the episode ends before that can happen.

And that's the problem with this thing. It's a pretty good half-episode, but it's been padded to full-length. Vadic's origin story was compelling, Picard and Beverly's moral dilemma was compelling, Geordi's plea to Data was nice, but what I really wanted was for the good guys to get a win, and they decided to defer that for the next episode.

There's no good reason for this. A lot of time was spent on dramatic pauses and ominous posturing. When Vadic takes the bridge she gives a(nother) long, rambling speech. Then she stops talking, and this really grim, suspenseful music plays, and she.... sits down in the captain's chair. Is that supposed to matter? She already won, what difference does it make that she decided to sit?

The next episode will probably feature the big comeback I was hoping for, but that's the problem. I wanted a mid-story comeback, kind of like what we had when they escaped the nebula a few episodes ago. But now, if the good guys get out of this jam, it'll have to happen in Episode 8 of the season. So then they'll have to immediately move on to the part where they win the whole thing. It's not paced well, is what I'm saying.

Oh, wait, we never saw Worf in this one. In the previous episode he said he would bring back Riker, so maybe he snuck aboard the Shrike or something. Well, this might be worth it after all... but I doubt it.