#To preventing the murder of a disabled infant

[autismmydearwatson]

The priest from Romeo and Juliet, the Archdeacon from the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the Bishop from Les Miserables are all the same guy

[rayshippouuchiha]

Thank you! So here I am to infodump, full of gratitude, and you can post this if you want no problem it's just a bunch of scattered ideas so yeah. Feel free to chuck suggestions at me too! I really don't know what to do with these... building blocks just yet.

Akatani Mikumo is Midoriya Hisashi.

Toshinori gets sandwiches by the Midoriya couple and it turns into an OT3 but that's much later down the line.

Hisashi is a journalist, keeps getting into everybody's business and Knows™ more than he frankly should.

Hisashi is a Cryptid™. But of a different energy from his son who is all lightning-in-a-bottle jittery On The Verge Of Throwing Hands feral sort of cryptid, Hisashi is mostly of this... supernaturally unflappable blank-faced chill entity.

Who keeps spooking people bc No Footstep sounds.

And might possibly be partially mute or just ridiculously soft-spoken bc when he tries to speak at normal volumehis fire-breathing quirk goes ballistic.

Might or might not have bloodline relations to AFO. Origins ambiguous, Inko just literally plucked the (then) teen off a back alley like he was a stray cat.

Also might or might not have more than one quirk, see the probable AFO connection.

Izuku got his mumbling thing from Hisashi.

A cryptid man who seems normal enough except a little off-kilter, like two inches to the left of what's a “normal” man? Weirdo but nobody can pinpoint how or why. That's the sort of vibe I want with this Hisashi.

And some Wack™ backstory lore I came up w for Hisashi, I dunno what I'll do w it but:

Cw: mention of infant murder, bc I'm Me™ and I was thinking about Yotsumegami (it's my favorite game) and how my version of Hisashi would tie in with it.

Yanno how in Yotsumegami “unwanted children” (children with disabilities, the younger of a twin pair or every sibling except the eldest in triplets or higher, etc) would be killed (it's a real historical practice in Japan, mabiki, they called it) or something like that? Would be kinda fun if an offshoot of that variety existed in the BnHA world, even if it's not outright child murder kids would be abandoned, especially in the chaos of the Dawn of Quirks. People who were scared of quirked people would abandon their quirked child, quirkist folk abandoned their quirkless children, it's chaos.

It would be more prominent during the initial chaos, though I guess laws and stuff would've been passed later on to prevent it or at least cut down the numbers— and the practice fizzled out but there's still a few remote rural villages who accept “unwanted” children.

One such secret community could be like, giving the surname “Akatani” (red valley, for the red of spider lilies used in mabiki in times past) to the children that were discarded at their metaphorical door. Do they still practice mabiki? Debatable. But it's like a giant secret orphanage with questionable, cult-like mentalities.

Akatani Hisashi was one of those until he miraculously escaped and tried to survive in the outside world.

Or maybe he didn't have the Akatani surname at first bc nobody in the remote village had any surname but once he got out he might've created the surname as a way to hm, not quite honor but carry his origins into his new life.

(maybe Yoichi was almost mabiki'd too, like I said I'm still not entirely sure where I'm going with this)

So Izuku gets to grow up w two parents who care a great deal for him. Maybe they move away, resulting in Izuku not having to deal w Bakugou in his childhood. Maybe Izuku makes friends with some other future 1-A classmate.

The Commission keeps trying to track down this one rogue “vigilante reporter” whose name is unknown. And they keep failing because Hisashi (along with his son and excessive gaggle of... comrades? followers? does the Midoriya family accidentally create an organization of rabid info gatherers?) is a certified cryptid.

Izuku has his hands in so many pots. He's a lot more nosey than in canon probably?

Endeavor had better be prepared bc his entire way of life is about to go up in smoke

I don't know why but I just have this very strong feeling that Stain doesn't like Hisashi for one reason or another.

I... wouldn't be entirely opposed to the AU just chucking Bakugou out the window so that he's not in 1-A (or in UA at all, fuck that pomeranian) and instead is replaced by another loud blond...

Fucking Monoma, LMAO.

A lot of the AU is just ?????? for now and most of it is Hisashi backstory but hnnnnng I want to do something with these jigsaw pieces I just don't know what

Also I'll be sending in Hisashi's design in a non-anon ask but could you append it to this ask's answer instead? Thanks!

I adore everything about this!?!?!

Also I didn't get another ask, anon or not, so Tumblr might have eaten it

[tired-reader-writer]

Here's what I've got of this... version of Midoriya Hisashi. Or at least the beginnings of him. @importantdestinydefendor thank you for enabling me!

This is very scattered and out of order and... yeah. Hope y'all enjoy nonetheless.

Freckles, fluffy dark hair (the exact colour I find it hard to describe, lemme see if I have a sample on hand) that's in a long ponytail, eye colour yet undetermined but they're kinda... they look tired. Glasses. Doesn't speak much normally so can come across as distant or standoffish but loved ones know better. Subtle and gentle physical affection, but by no means rare or sparse. Has a habit of mumbling under his breath while in Speculation Mode™ (Izuku gets it from him) though he tries to suppress it somewhat in front of people he's not very close to. Does something that requires creativity, haven't decided what though. Art? Inventing wack stuff? Very quiet and easy to miss, which he uses to his advantage. Neither hero nor villain, probably not a vigilante either, but for some yet unknown reason is regarded as “someone that can be trusted” by some kids who end up in the uh, more legally dubious side of things. Vigilantes and other denizens of society's underbelly go to him for help (because they don't trust heroes or the police to not arrest them) or exchange favors.

And I like the idea of the Midoriya couple eventually courting Toshinori. A throuple!

Oh and Hisashi took Inko's name. His original surname was probably Akatani, more on that later.

It'd be kinda funny if he kept butting heads with the Commission, though not out in the open. Like he accidentally keeps stumbling onto their shady shit and uh, Deals With It™ in one way or another. Hawks might just develop the Ducky Syndrome and imprint on Hisashi.

Yanno how in Yotsumegami “unwanted children” (children with disabilities, the younger of a twin pair or every sibling except the eldest in triplets or higher, etc) would be killed (it's a real historical practice in Japan, mabiki, they called it) or something like that?

Would be kinda fun if an offshoot of that variety existed in the BnHA world, even if it's not outright child murder kids would be abandoned, especially in the chaos of the Dawn of Quirks. People who were scared of quirked people would abandon their quirked child, quirkist folk abandoned their quirkless children, it's chaos.

It would be more prominent during the initial chaos, though I guess laws and stuff would've been passed later on to prevent it or at least cut down the numbers— and the practice fizzled out but there's still a few remote rural villages who accept “unwanted” children.

One such secret community could be like, giving the surname “Akatani” (red valley, for the red of spider lilies used in mabiki in times past) (note: I don't think we know for sure that killing infants w poisonous spider lily bulbs was a historical thing, other methods are used but probably not this, but this is taken from Yotsumegami where the children are killed in this manner) to the children that were discarded at their metaphorical door. Do they still practice mabiki? Debatable. But it's like a giant secret orphanage with questionable, cult-like mentalities.

Akatani Hisashi was one of those until he miraculously escaped and tried to survive in the outside world.

Based on Kara no Kyoukai's Hollow Shrine agency maybe he works for a really unknown hole-in-the-wall tiny detective agency? Perhaps?

Wears a lot of dark colours.

[coochiequeens]

For all those who support that nutcase I recently posted about who claimed that trans people were the first victims of the holocaust here’s some actual history.

The persecution of those with mental and physical disabilities by the Nazi Party began in July 1933 with the ‘Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring’. The law enforced compulsory sterilisation for those with conditions believed to be hereditary including schizophrenia, epilepsy, Downs Syndrome and even alcoholism. The task of locating those to be sterilised was carried out by special courts called the ‘Hereditary Health Courts’. They examined institutions such as hospitals, schools and nursing homes. Between 1933 and 1939, an estimated 360,000 people were sterilised.

The first killing of a disabled child took place in July 1939. The victim was an infant named Gerhard Kretschmer, who had been born blind with physical and development disabilities. The ‘trial’ took place in 1938 after the parents asked for a ‘mercy killing’ of their son. Hitler then asked for the programme to be extended to all similar cases.

The Reich Committee for the Scientific Registering of Hereditary and Congenital Diseases was established in August 1939 by Hitler’s personal physician Karl Brandt. Its aim was to identify all infants and babies who should be ‘euthanised’. The killings of those considered lebensunwertes lebens (Life unworthy of life) began in 1939. By 1941, over 5,000 chidlren identified by the committee had been murdered. Soon, the policy extended to adults and became known as ‘Aktion T4’.

Historians estimate 250,000 to 300,000 people were killed as part of Aktion t4 due to their mental or physical disabilities.

THE HOLOCAUST

To carry out the programme, six euthanasia centres were established at six hospitals in Germany: Bernburg, Brandenburg, Grafeneck, Hadamar, Hartheim and Sonnestein. There were also centres in Austria. These centres played a crucial role in the development of the Holocaust.

The gassings of those as part of Aktion T4 began in January 1940. Those chosen would be bussed to the euthanasia centres where a fake medical examination would take place before they would be sent for a ‘shower’. These were in fact the gas chambers. Most of those killed were murdered within 24 hours of their arrival at the centres. Their families would then be sent a falsified death certificate along with an urn containing ash (as the victims would be cremated as a group).

As the German army occupied Europe and began filling ghettos with Jewish citizens, the Nazis searched for the most efficient way to kill as many as possible. In the East, mass shootings of Jewish and other ‘undesirable’ people by the Einsatzgruppen was slow, expensive and stressful for those carrying out the killings. By June 1941, the Nazis began to experiment with mobile gas vans as a new, less costly method. The Einsatzgruppen proceeded to gas hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Jews, Roma and mentally ill people.

The use of  gas to kill disabled people and POWs as part of Aktion T4 experiments were also carried out in Auschwitz in September 1941 with Zyklon B gas. This process was found to be the most effective and went on to kill millions of people in the Nazi death camps.

Two of the commandants of the euthanasia centres, Christian Wirth and Franz Stangl, later become commandants of the extermination centres using what they had learnt to perpetrate the Holocaust.

PREJUDICE TODAY

Prejudice regarding both mental and physical disabilities is still an issue in many societies across the world, including here in Britain. This month is UK Disability History Month, which seeks to mobilize the history of disabled persons’ persecution and struggles in order to promote better treatment and ensure equality and basic human rights in our society today.

[batboyblog]

Joe Biden: The U.S. won’t back down from the challenge of Putin and Hamas

Joe Biden, a Democrat, is president of the United States.

Today, the world faces an inflection point, where the choices we make — including in the crises in Europe and the Middle East — will determine the direction of our future for generations to come.

What will our world look like on the other side of these conflicts?

Will we deny Hamas the ability to carry out pure, unadulterated evil? Will Israelis and Palestinians one day live side by side in peace, with two states for two peoples?

Will we hold Vladimir Putin accountable for his aggression, so the people of Ukraine can live free and Europe remains an anchor for global peace and security?

And the overarching question: Will we relentlessly pursue our positive vision for the future, or will we allow those who do not share our values to drag the world to a more dangerous and divided place?

Both Putin and Hamas are fighting to wipe a neighboring democracy off the map. And both Putin and Hamas hope to collapse broader regional stability and integration and take advantage of the ensuing disorder. America cannot, and will not, let that happen. For our own national security interests — and for the good of the entire world.

The United States is the essential nation. We rally allies and partners to stand up to aggressors and make progress toward a brighter, more peaceful future. The world looks to us to solve the problems of our time. That is the duty of leadership, and America will lead. For if we walk away from the challenges of today, the risk of conflict could spread, and the costs to address them will only rise. We will not let that happen.

That conviction is at the root of my approach to supporting the people of Ukraine as they continue to defend their freedom against Putin’s brutal war.

We know from two world wars in the past century that when aggression in Europe goes unanswered, the crisis does not burn itself out. It draws America in directly. That’s why our commitment to Ukraine today is an investment in our own security. It prevents a broader conflict tomorrow.

We are keeping American troops out of this war by supporting the brave Ukrainians defending their freedom and homeland. We are providing them with weapons and economic assistance to stop Putin’s drive for conquest, before the conflict spreads farther.

The United States is not doing this alone. More than 50 nations have joined us to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself. Our partners are shouldering much of the economic responsibility for supporting Ukraine. We have also built a stronger and more united NATO, which enhances our security through the strength of our allies, while making clear that we will defend every inch of NATO territory to deter further Russian aggression. Our allies in Asia are standing with usas well to support Ukraine and hold Putin accountable, because they understand that stability in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific are inherently connected.

We have also seen throughout history how conflicts in the Middle East can unleash consequences around the globe.

We stand firmly with the Israeli people as they defend themselves against the murderous nihilism of Hamas. On Oct. 7, Hamas slaughtered 1,200 people, including 35 American citizens, in the worst atrocity committed against the Jewish people in a single day since the Holocaust. Infants and toddlers, mothers and fathers, grandparents, people with disabilities, even Holocaust survivors were maimed and murdered. Entire families were massacred in their homes. Young people were gunned down at a music festival. Bodies riddled with bullets and burned beyond recognition. And for over a month, the families of more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas, including babies and Americans, have been living in hell, anxiously waiting to discover whether their loved ones are alive or dead. At the time of this writing, my team and I are working hour by hour, doing everything we can to get the hostages released.

And while Israelis are still in shock and suffering the trauma of this attack, Hamas has promised that it will relentlessly try to repeat Oct. 7. It has said very clearly that it will not stop.

The Palestinian people deserve a state of their own and a future free from Hamas. I, too, am heartbroken by the images out of Gaza and the deaths of many thousands of civilians, including children. Palestinian children are crying for lost parents. Parents are writing their child’s name on their hand or leg so they can be identified if the worst happens. Palestinian nurses and doctors are trying desperately to save every precious life they possibly can, with little to no resources. Every innocent Palestinian life lost is a tragedy that rips apart families and communities.

Our goal should not be simply to stop the war for today — it should be to end the war forever, break the cycle of unceasing violence, and build something stronger in Gaza and across the Middle East so that history does not keep repeating itself.

Just weeks before Oct. 7, I met in New York with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The main subject of that conversation was a set of substantial commitments that would help both Israel and the Palestinian territories better integrate into the broader Middle East. That is also the idea behind the innovative economic corridor that will connect India to Europe through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel, which I announced together with partners at the Group of 20 summit in India in early September. Stronger integration between countries creates predictable markets and draws greater investment. Better regional connection — including physical and economic infrastructure — supports higher employment and more opportunities for young people. That’s what we have been working to realize in the Middle East. It is a future that has no place for Hamas’s violence and hate, and I believe that attempting to destroy the hope for that future is one reason that Hamas instigated this crisis.

This much is clear: A two-state solution is the only way to ensure the long-term security of both the Israeli and Palestinian people. Though right now it may seem like that future has never been further away, this crisis has made it more imperative than ever.

A two-state solution — two peoples living side by side with equal measures of freedom, opportunity and dignity — is where the road to peace must lead. Reaching it will take commitments from Israelis and Palestinians, as well as from the United States and our allies and partners. That work must start now.

To that end, the United States has proposed basic principles for how to move forward from this crisis, to give the world a foundation on which to build.

To start, Gaza must never again be used as a platform for terrorism. There must be no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, no reoccupation, no siege or blockade, and no reduction in territory. And after this war is over, the voices of Palestinian people and their aspirations must be at the center of post-crisis governance in Gaza.

As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution. I have been emphatic with Israel’s leaders that extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank must stop and that those committing the violence must be held accountable. The United States is prepared to take our own steps, including issuing visa bans against extremists attacking civilians in the West Bank.

The international community must commit resources to support the people of Gaza in the immediate aftermath of this crisis, including interim security measures, and establish a reconstruction mechanism to sustainably meet Gaza’s long-term needs. And it is imperative that no terrorist threats ever again emanate from Gaza or the West Bank.

If we can agree on these first steps, and take them together, we can begin to imagine a different future. In the months ahead, the United States will redouble our efforts to establish a more peaceful, integrated and prosperous Middle East — a region where a day like Oct. 7 is unthinkable.

In the meantime, we will continue working to prevent this conflict from spreading and escalating further. I ordered two U.S. carrier groups to the region to enhance deterrence. We are going after Hamas and those who finance and facilitate its terrorism, levying multiple rounds of sanctions to degrade Hamas’s financial structure, cutting it off from outside funding and blocking access to new funding channels, including via social media. I have also been clear that the United States will do what is necessary to defend U.S. troops and personnel stationed across the Middle East — and we have responded multiple times to the strikes against us.

I also immediately traveled to Israel — the first American president to do so during wartime — to show solidarity with the Israeli people and reaffirm to the world that the United States has Israel’s back. Israel must defend itself. That is its right. And while in Tel Aviv, I also counseled Israelis against letting their hurt and rage mislead them into making mistakes we ourselves have made in the past.

From the very beginning, my administration has called for respecting international humanitarian law, minimizing the loss of innocent lives and prioritizing the protection of civilians. Following Hamas’s attack on Israel, aid to Gaza was cut off, and food, water and medicine reserves dwindled rapidly. As part of my travel to Israel, I worked closely with the leaders of Israel and Egypt to reach an agreement to restart the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance to Gazans. Within days, trucks with supplies again began to cross the border. Today, nearly 100 aid trucks enter Gaza from Egypt each day, and we continue working to increase the flow of assistance manyfold. I’ve also advocated for humanitarian pauses in the conflict to permit civilians to depart areas of active fighting and to help ensure that aid reaches those in need. Israel took the additional step to create two humanitarian corridors and implement daily four-hour pauses in the fighting in northern Gaza to allow Palestinian civilians to flee to safer areas in the south.

This stands in stark opposition to Hamas’s terrorist strategy: hide among Palestinian civilians. Use children and innocents as human shields. Position terrorist tunnels beneath hospitals, schools, mosques and residential buildings. Maximize the death and suffering of innocent people — Israeli and Palestinian. If Hamas cared at all for Palestinian lives, it would release all the hostages, give up arms, and surrender the leaders and those responsible for Oct. 7.

As long as Hamas clings to its ideology of destruction, a cease-fire is not peace. To Hamas’s members, every cease-fire is time they exploit to rebuild their stockpile of rockets, reposition fighters and restart the killing by attacking innocents again. An outcome that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza would once more perpetuate its hate and deny Palestinian civilians the chance to build something better for themselves.

And here at home, in moments when fear and suspicion, anger and rage run hard, we have to work even harder to hold on to the values that make us who we are. We’re a nation of religious freedom and freedom of expression. We all have a right to debate and disagree and peacefully protest, but without fear of being targeted at schools or workplaces or elsewhere in our communities.

In recent years, too much hate has been given too much oxygen, fueling racism and an alarming rise in antisemitism in America. That has intensified in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks. Jewish families worry about being targeted in school, while wearing symbols of their faith on the street or otherwise going about their daily lives. At the same time, too many Muslim Americans, Arab Americans and Palestinian Americans, and so many other communities, are outraged and hurting, fearing the resurgence of the Islamophobia and distrust we saw after 9/11.

We can’t stand by when hate rears its head. We must, without equivocation, denounce antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate and bias. We must renounce violence and vitriol and see each other not as enemies but as fellow Americans.

In a moment of so much violence and suffering — in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and so many other places — it can be difficult to imagine that something different is possible. But we must never forget the lesson learned time and again throughout our history: Out of great tragedy and upheaval, enormous progress can come. More hope. More freedom. Less rage. Less grievance. Less war. We must not lose our resolve to pursue those goals, because now is when clear vision, big ideas and political courage are needed most. That is the strategy that my administration will continue to lead — in the Middle East, Europe and around the globe. Every step we take toward that future is progress that makes the world safer and the United States of America more secure.

[ablednt]

Abled people really do subconsciously lump disabled people in with housepets though.

We're last priority in emergencies, leaving us behind is seen as a tragic necessity like if any of us died a preventable death our abled loved ones would be the only ones receiving any sympathy

Any genuine care for us is seen as a niche and not an expectation. Like and people making caring for their disabled loved ones their personality the same way we have "dog people" and "cat people"

Our freedom is always inherently limited and we're normally entirely at the mercy of our carers. If they neglect us if we aren't being treated well it's like "oh well that sucks I guess but nothing to do about it" and it also differs in that unlike at least widely accepted housepets when we're abused/neglected it's treated as OUR moral failing rather than our abusers for not finding a way to take care of ourselves instead.

We get coo'd at and pet-talked the way people talk to me irl is literally indistinguishable from the way people talk to dogs and infants

And in many ways certain animals like dogs get a lot MORE sympathy than us. Most ableds would be like oh my god if you hurt a dog i will kill you in cold blood you're a monster but when disabled people are abused/murdered it's "sad" but they can "kind of get it" or they acknowledge it's bad but there's no anger there's no passion to defend our rights.

My parents never pretended to see me differently than our dogs they always made it very clear I was on that level to them but idk I used to think that was just them and not the whole of society but...yeah lol

[samwpmarleau]

What do you think causes some targaryens go mad. I go with the theory that it has to do with the blood magic that they were doing

It’s a common misconception that “Targaryen madness” is a thing. Targaryens have no more “mad” people in their family than anyone else, it’s just that they are much higher profile than anyone else due to being monarchs. In fact, they really should have a much higher count and a whole lot more deformities, given that the IRL families they’re based on — primarily the Ptolemys and the Hapsburgs — had a lot of that.

In 300 years of known Targaryen history, there were only a handful who could be considered “mad,” and almost all of them were in part or in whole a result of trauma:

Maegor

Was likely conceived through some dark magic by Visenya, or was possibly just a psychopath.

Helaena

Victim of Blood and Cheese. They killed the guards at her door, took her and her three young children hostage, forced her to choose which of her sons would die and if she didn’t then her daughter would be raped and all three children would be killed, so she ended up choosing her youngest son who was too young to know what was happening but they killed her eldest instead.

Then she was held for half a year in captivity and finally committed suicide (or was murdered) at age 21. I’d go “mad” too, wouldn’t you?

Aegon III

Grew up in the midst of a civil war. At the age of just 9, he fled with his younger to Essos, but their ship was attacked by pirates and the only way to escape was on his dragon with Viserys left behind. The dragon died of injuries once returning to Dragonstone and Aegon never rode one again due to the experience.

A few months later, his brother led an attack against the people who took Viserys and died in the attempt. A few months after that, another brother was killed in a riot in King’s Landing, which Aegon witnessed.

After returning with his mother to King’s Landing later from Dragonstone, he saw charred corpses of Rhaenyra’s loyalists hanging from the gates, cried out for his mother to flee, watched her guards get slaughtered, and then witnessed her get devoured by Sunfyre, her dragon.

Ascended to the throne and had to deal with an endless parade of would-be regents who were scheming, plotting, and assassinating.

In 133, lived throug the Winter Fever that killed many, including his Hand of the King. This all happened before the age of 13, at which point his wife, Jaehaera, committed suicide or was murdered.

He eventually died of consumption (tuberculosis) at age 36.

Baelor I

Peaceful, forgiving, and kind to the smallfolk, though did lock up his sisters in the Maidenvault to prevent temptation.

Brokered peace with Dorne to bring them into the Seven Kingdoms without bloodshed.

Became a bit more loony later, but that could be due to all the snake bites he endured while rescuing his brother in Dorne. Eventually died of fasting when Daena gave birth to a bastard.

On the fence whether he was some kind of religious extremist or whether he was just Like That.

Rhaegel

Called mad, but not really. He had some kind of intellectual disability, yet a) he was still regarded as “sweet” and “gentle” (not that those traits are necessary to being “not mad”) and b) had three children with his wife who all appeared to not inherit his condition, in addition to three brothers and their children who also did not show signs, therefore suggesting it was not something he inherited or passed down, merely a fluke.

Aerion

Likely mad. Though interestingly, for a very long time he was just a supreme douchebag; it wasn’t until he was 40 years old that he did the whole thing about thinking himself a literal dragon and dying by drinking wildfire.

Maelys Blackfyre

Vicious, brutal, and incredibly strong. Possibly mad...or could just be a beefier version of Tywin.

Aerys II

Obviously the Targaryen most people cite as the first example of madness. For good reason, of course; you don’t burn people alive and brutalize your wife if you’re sane.

...however.

Was married off to his sister, neither of whom was fond of the other, at just 14 and Rhaella was 13. Became a king at the pretty young age of 18.

In his youth, he was charming, generous, resolute, and ambitious. He liked music, dancing, and masked balls, though was not the most intelligent person, which was partially why he relied so much on Tywin. Of course, there was also the incident with Joanna Lannister (not rape, as many believe, but certainly groping).

The madness started to appear with each successive stillbirth, miscarriage, and child death, to the point where he would behead Rhaella’s wet nurses and then his mistress, though after all that he changed his mind, did a walk of repentance, and swore to be faithful.  In short, he was an asshole and sometimes ruthless (again, it should be noted: is any of that much different than Tywin?), but certainly not yet the monster he would become.

Then came the Defiance of Duskendale, wherein many of Aerys’s guards were killed and he was taken hostage for six months with constant threat of execution. This ordeal led to him sequestering himself in the Red Keep for four years and his mental state deteriorated quite rapidly from there.

So, was he mad? Absolutely, there’s no denying that. But at the same time, I’m not so sure that he would have become quite so monstrous and tyrannical as he is in canon had it not been for the trauma of Duskendale.

(Also, I know he has a reputation of paranoia and all, but is it really paranoia if lots of people are out to get you?)

Viserys

The only evidence we have for Viserys showing signs of madness as a boy is Barristan’s statement that is done 20 years later in retrospect. I sincerely doubt that a 7-year-old child was some mini-Aerys and that like a lot of Barristan’s statements and thoughts, he is not being truthful.

Growing up, he was forbidden to be alone with his mother and witnessed at least some of his father’s atrocities, though Rhaella tried to shield him from it. Likely had little interaction or bonding with Rhaegar, who was 17 years older and an extreme introvert, so he was functionally an only child.

At the age of 7, learned that his father, brother, sister-in-law, and two infant cousins were killed, and fled with Rhaella to Dragonstone. Eight months later, Rhaella died in childbirth and he, baby Dany, and Willem Darry fled in the night to exile in Essos.

Five years later, when Viserys was 13, Willem Darry dies, the servants steal what little money they had, and Viserys is left to fend for himself with a 5-year-old sister in tow. They end up having to live off the generosity of others, all while being pursued by Robert’s assassins. Eventually the people who put them up turned from them and they had to sell their possessions, the last of which was Rhaella’s crown: “the last joy had gone from him, leaving only rage.” To add insult to injury, people started calling him the beggar king.

We know the rest, of course. Though his and Dany’s relationship was warm at the beginning, he began to blame her for Rhaella’s death and took out his anger and their plight on her.

So, was Viserys mad? I think that to a degree, we can say he was. But again, while his actions towards Dany are NOT excusable, I think they are explainable. Viserys suffered extreme trauma from a very early age and throughout the rest of his life, and that would have a profound impact on anyone. It’s my belief that had that not happened, Viserys would have not have been the rageful, abusive person we see in canon.

In sum, unless I’m missing someone, there are a grand total of nine Targaryens who are often deemed “mad” or “addled.” Two of those — Aegon and Helaena — are most definitely trauma-induced. One — Rhaegel — had mental issues. Two — Baelor and Maelys — are up for debate. Two — Maegor and Aerion — are I’d say pretty definitively mad. And two — Aerys and Viserys — are a combination of both.

To answer your question, no, I don’t think the madness is from blood magic (other than Maegor), both because of the circumstances and because to my knowledge no one was practicing blood magic. I think the handful of Targaryens who are “mad” is just luck of the draw.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Returning Good for Evil

by Rev. Charles Simeon

"If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and Yahweh will reward you." - Proverbs 25:21-22

The morality both of the Old and New Testament is the same. Some have imagined that because our blessed Lord said "a new Commandment I give to you," he has in his Gospel enlarged the duties of his followers beyond what was required by the moral law. But no command of his was new in itself but only in its circumstances, as being enjoined from new principles and illustrated by new examples.

Morality does not depend on any arbitrary appointment. It arises out of the relation which we bear to God as our common Father and to each other as brethren. To love God with all our heart and mind and soul and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves, must of necessity be the duty of every child of man. Had our blessed Lord increased the demands of the moral law, then the Law must have demanded too little of us or the Gospel must have demanded too much. But neither of these is the case. The requirements both of the one and of the other are the same as far as morals are concerned. Love is acknowledged to be the fulfilling of the Law and the great commandment of the Gospel also.

From the words of our text we shall now be led to consider the duty inculcated therein.

By nature we all are inclined to render evil for evil. There is not a child who does not manifest this disposition as soon as it begins to act. Nor is there anyone whose own experience will not furnish him with unnumbered proofs that this is the natural bent of his own heart. Circumstances may indeed prevent us from retaliating injuries in an open way. The person who has inflicted the injuries may be out of our reach, or be too powerful for us to contend with, or be so low as to be deemed unworthy of our notice.

But in our hearts we shall find the vindictive principle strongly operative, disposing us to take pleasure in any evil that may have befallen our enemy, and to decline yielding to him any service which we might have rendered under the influence of a better principle. The man with the workings of hatred in his heart scarcely thinks of his enemy except with pain and a direct reference to the injuries received from him. And though from lack of opportunity he may not retaliate, he has in him the spark that might soon, by a concurrence of circumstances, break forth into a flame.

In proof of this we need only see how this spirit has operated in others, sometimes rankling for years till an opportunity was presented to gratify itself, and at other times bursting forth at once into furious resentment. Simeon and Levi, the sons of Jacob, were full of indignation against Shechem for defiling their sister Dinah. They formed a plan to murder not only Shechem but every male of the city in which he dwelt. To put them off their guard and disable them for resisting, they devised a scheme the most hypocritical and infernal that could enter the heart of man. And succeeding in this plan, they executed their bloody purpose without pity and remorse. Absalom's desire for revenge over the wrongs which his sister Tamar had sustained by Amnon rankled for two full years, till by artifice he was enabled to effect his murderous design. More rapid but not the less cruel was the vindictive wrath of David when Nabal had refused to recompense his services in the way he desired. David instantly hastened with armed forces to cut off Nabal and every male belonging to his numerous household. Alas, alas, what is man when left to the workings of his own corrupt nature! His every thought accords with that Pharisaic principle, "Thou shalt love thy friend and hate thine enemy."

But the word of God requires us to render good for evil. Every species of revenge is absolutely forbidden, even in thought. "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it." Thus by the law of Moses the secret alienation of heart was to be counteracted by the exercise of actual kindness and benevolence.

But the words of our text are stronger still, and especially as they are cited by the Apostle Paul. The idea conveyed by him is that we must not merely give our enemy bread and water when he needs it, but must feed him with the tenderness of a mother towards her little infant. O what a victory does this suppose over all the vindictive feelings of our hearts!

We have a beautiful instance of this recorded in the history of Elisha. The prophet was surrounded by an army of Syrians determined to apprehend and destroy him. By a power communicated to him from above, he smote them all with blindness and then conducted them into the heart of Samaria. The king of Israel, now having gained this advantage over them, would have slain them. But the prophet said, "You shall not smite them, but shall set bread and water before them that they may eat and drink and go to their master."

Such is the disposition which we also are called to exercise towards our most inveterate enemies. We must "bless them who curse us, do good to them who hate us, and pray for them who despitefully use and persecute us."

Let us not be deterred by the arduousness of this duty but consider the encouragement given us to perform it. If we act in accordance with this kindness, we have reason to hope that we shall overcome the hatred of our enemy. Certain it is that no enemy was ever yet won by vindictive conduct. We may silence him by power, but we never can gain his affections by anything but love. And this will, if not always, yet sometimes prevail, as St. Paul intimates when he says, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." Indeed, where there is a spark of honor left, we cannot but hope that such benevolence as this will at last prevail.

It is well known that metals are fused by heaping coals of fire upon them and not by putting fire under them. And thus shall the hard hearts of our enemies be melted by accumulated instances of undeserved love. True, we cannot convert their souls by this, for nothing but omnipotence can effect so great a work as the conversion of a soul. But we may reasonably expect to appease their wrath, perhaps also to slay their enmity against us. And one such victory will be a rich recompense for all the forbearance we have ever exercised and all the love we have ever displayed.

It is also plainly asserted in our text that such conduct shall be rewarded by God. It will be rewarded here, in that it will bring unspeakable peace to the soul; for whenever love rises superior to resentment and enables us to render good for evil, we find comfort springing up in our hearts.

But the promise will be yet more fully accomplished hereafter. Every act of patient self-denial and generous love will be noticed by God with special approbation. If a cup of cold water given to a disciple for Christ's sake shall in no way lose its reward, much less shall services rendered to an enemy for his sake pass unnoticed.

Therefore, let us guard against a vindictive spirit. You will sometimes be inclined to think that the exercise of resentment is necessary, that some displeasure needs to be manifested or your enemies will be emboldened to take still further outrages. But look at the command of God, which is clearly on the side of forbearance and love, and say, "Get thee behind me, Satan; you are an offense to me."

And set the Lord Jesus Christ before you as your example. When you were his enemy, he left the bosom of his Father for you. Yea, "when you were yet enemies, he died for you." I need say no more. Set him before you and your way will be clear. If you look to him for all needful help, his "grace shall be sufficient for you," and you shall be able to do all things through the strength he will impart.

[savedfromsalvation]

The 12 Worst Ideas Organized Religion Has Unleashed On the World

These dubious concepts advocate conflict, cruelty and suffering.

By Valerie Tarico / AlterNet

April 30, 2018, 10:34 PM GMT

Some of humanity’s technological innovations are things we would have been better off without: the medieval rack, the atomic bomb and powdered lead potions come to mind. Religions tend to invent ideas or concepts rather than technologies, but like every other creative human enterprise, they produce some really bad ones along with the good.

I've previously highlighted some of humanity’s best moral and spiritual concepts, our shared moral core. Here, by way of contrast, are some of the worst. These twelve dubious concepts promote conflict, cruelty, suffering and death rather than love and peace. To paraphrase Christopher Hitchens, they belong in the dustbin of history just as soon as we can get them there.

1. Chosen People –The term “Chosen People” typically refers to the Hebrew Bible and the ugly idea that God has given certain tribes a Promised Land (even though it is already occupied by other people). But in reality many sects endorse some version of this concept. The New Testament identifies Christians as the chosen ones. Calvinists talk about “God’s elect,” believing that they themselves are the special few who were chosen before the beginning of time. Jehovah’s witnesses believe that 144,000 souls will get a special place in the afterlife. In many cultures certain privileged and powerful bloodlines were thought to be descended directly from gods (in contrast to everyone else).

Religious sects are inherently tribal and divisive because they compete by making mutually exclusive truth claims and by promising blessings or afterlife rewards that no competing sect can offer. “Gang symbols” like special haircuts, attire, hand signals and jargon differentiate insiders from outsiders and subtly (or not so subtly) convey to both that insiders are inherently superior.

2. Heretics – Heretics, kafir, or infidels (to use the medieval Catholic term) are not just outsiders, they are morally suspect and often seen as less than fully human. In the Torah, slaves taken from among outsiders don’t merit the same protections as Hebrew slaves. Those who don’t believe in a god are corrupt, doers of abominable deeds. “There is none [among them] who does good,” says the Psalmist.

Islam teaches the concept of “dhimmitude” and provides special rules for the subjugation of religious minorities, with monotheists getting better treatment than polytheists. Christianity blurs together the concepts of unbeliever and evildoer. Ultimately, heretics are a threat that needs to be neutralized by conversion, conquest, isolation, domination, or—in worst cases—mass murder.

3. Holy War – If war can be holy, anything goes. The medieval Roman Catholic Church conducted a twenty year campaign of extermination against heretical Cathar Christians in the south of France, promising their land and possessions to real Christians who signed on as crusaders. Sunni and Shia Muslims have slaughtered each other for centuries. The Hebrew scriptures recount battle after battle in which their war God, Yahweh, helps them to not only defeat but also exterminate the shepherding cultures that occupy their “Promised Land.” As in later holy wars, like the modern rise of ISIS, divine sanction let them kill the elderly and children, burn orchards, and take virgin females as sexual slaves—all while retaining a sense of moral superiority.

4. Blasphemy – Blasphemy is the notion that some ideas are inviolable, off limits to criticism, satire, debate, or even question. By definition, criticism of these ideas is an outrage, and it is precisely this emotion–outrage–that the crime of blasphemy evokes in believers. The Bible prescribes death for blasphemers; the Quran does not, but death-to-blasphemers became part of Shariah during medieval times.

The idea that blasphemy must be prevented or avenged has caused millions of murders over the centuries and countless other horrors. As I write, blogger Raif Badawi awaits round after round of flogging in Saudi Arabia—1000 lashes in batches of 50—while his wife and children plead from Canada for the international community to do something.

5. Glorified suffering – Picture secret societies of monks flogging their own backs. The image that comes to mind is probably from Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code, but the idea isn’t one he made up. A core premise of Christianity is that righteous torture—if it’s just intense and prolonged enough–can somehow fix the damage done by evil, sinful behavior. Millions of crucifixes litter the world as testaments to this belief. Shia Muslims beat themselves with lashes and chains during Aashura, a form of sanctified suffering called Matam that commemorates the death of the martyr Hussein. Self-denial in the form of asceticism and fasting is a part of both Eastern and Western religions, not only because deprivation induces altered states but also because people believe suffering somehow brings us closer to divinity.

Our ancestors lived in a world in which pain came unbidden, and people had very little power to control it. An aspirin or heating pad would have been a miracle to the writers of the Bible, Quran, or Gita. Faced with uncontrollable suffering, the best advice religion could offer was to lean in or make meaning of it. The problem, of course is that glorifying suffering—turning it into a spiritual good—has made people more willing to inflict it on not only themselves and their enemies but also those who are helpless, including the ill or dying (as in the case of Mother Teresa and the American Bishops) and children (as in the child beating Patriarchy movement).

6. Genital mutilation – Primitive people have used scarification and other body modifications to define tribal membership for as long as history records. But genital mutilation allowed our ancestors several additional perks—if you want to call them that. Infant circumcision in Judaism serves as a sign of tribal membership, but circumcision also serves to test the commitment of adult converts. In one Bible story, a chieftain agrees to convert and submit his clan to the procedure as a show of commitment to a peace treaty. (While the men lie incapacitated, the whole town is then slain by the Israelites.)

In Islam, painful male circumcision serves as a rite of passage into manhood, initiation into a powerful club. By contrast, in some Muslim cultures cutting away or burning the female clitoris and labia ritually establishes the submission of women by reducing sexual arousal and agency. An estimated 2 million girls annually are subjected to the procedure, with consequences including hemorrhage, infection, painful urination and death. – In the list of religion’s worst ideas, this is the only one that appears to be in its final stages. Only some Hindus (, goddess of power) and some Muslims (, Feast of the Sacrifice) continue to ritually slaughter sacrificial animals on a mass scale. Hindu scriptures including the Gita and Puranas forbid ritual killing, and most Hindus now eschew the practice based on the principle of ahimsa, but it persists as a residual of folk religion.

7. Blood sacrifice – In the list of religion’s worst ideas, this is the only one that appears to be in its final stages. Only some Hindus (during the Festival of Gadhimai, goddess of power) and some Muslims (during Eid al Adha, Feast of the Sacrifice) continue to ritually slaughter sacrificial animals on a mass scale. Hindu scriptures including the Gita and Puranas forbid ritual killing, and most Hindus now eschew the practice based on the principle of ahimsa, but it persists as a residual of folk religion.

When our ancient ancestors slit the throats of humans and animals or cut out their hearts or sent the smoke of sacrifices heavenward, many believed they were literally feeding supernatural beings. In time, in most religions, the rationale changed—the gods didn’t need feeding so much as signs of devotion and penance. The residual child sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible (yes, it is there) typically has this function. Christianity’s persistent focus on blood atonement—the notion of Jesus as the be-all-end-all lamb without blemish, the final “propitiation” for human sin—is hopefully the last iteration of humanity’s long fascination with blood sacrifice.

8. Hell – Whether we are talking about Christianity, Islam or Buddhism, an afterlife filled with demons, monsters, and eternal torture was the worst suffering the Iron Age minds could conceive and medieval minds could elaborate. Invented, perhaps, as a means to satisfy the human desire for justice, the concept of Hell quickly devolved into a tool for coercing behavior and belief.

Most Buddhists see hell as a metaphor, a journey into the evil inside the self, but the descriptions of torturing monsters  and levels of hell can be quite explicit. Likewise, many Muslims and Christians hasten to assure that it is a real place, full of fire and the anguish of non-believers. Some Christians have gone so far as to insist that the screams of the damned can be heard from the center of the Earth or that observing their anguish from afar will be one of the pleasures of paradise.

9. Karma – Like hell, the concept of karma offers a selfish incentive for good behavior—it’ll come back at you later—but it has enormous costs. Chief among these is a tremendous weight of cultural passivity in the face of harm and suffering. Secondarily, the idea of karmasanctifies the broad human practice of blaming the victim. If what goes around comes around, then the disabled child or cancer patient or untouchable poor (or the hungry rabbit or mangy dog) must have done something in either this life or a past one to bring their position on themselves.

10. Eternal Life – To our weary and unwashed ancestors, the idea of gem encrusted walls, streets of gold, the fountain of youth, or an eternity of angelic chorus (or sex with virgins) may have seemed like sheer bliss. But it doesn’t take much analysis to realize how quickly eternal paradise would become hellish—an endless repetition of never changing groundhog days (because how could they change if they were perfect).

The real reason that the notion of eternal life is such a bad invention, though, is the degree to which it diminishes and degrades existence on this earthly plane. With eyes lifted heavenward, we can’t see the intricate beauty beneath our feet. Devout believers put their spiritual energy into preparing for a world to come rather than cherishing and stewarding the one wild and precious world we have been given.

11. Male Ownership of Female Fertility – The notion of women as brood mares or children as assets likely didn’t originate with religion, but the idea that women were created for this purpose, that if a woman should die of childbearing “she was made to do it,” most certainly did. Traditional religions variously assert that men have a god-ordained right to give women in marriage, take them in war, exclude them from heaven, and kill them if the origins of their offspring can’t be assured. Hence Catholicism’s maniacal obsession with the virginity of Mary and female martyrs.

As we approach the limits of our planetary life support system and stare dystopia in the face, defining women as breeders and children as assets becomes ever more costly. We now know that resource scarcity is a conflict trigger and that demand for water and arable land is growing even as both resources decline. And yet, a pope who claims to care about the desperate poor lectures them against contraceptionwhile Muslim leaders ban vasectomies in a drive to outbreed their enemies.

12. Bibliolatry (aka Book Worship) – Preliterate people handed down their best guesses about gods and goodness by way of oral tradition, and they made objects of stone and wood, idols, to channel their devotion. Their notions of what was good and what was Real and how to live in moral community with each other were free to evolve as culture and technology changed. But the advent of the written word changed that. As our Iron Age ancestors recorded and compiled their ideas into sacred texts, these texts allowed their understanding of gods and goodness to become static. The sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity and Islam forbid idol worship, but over time the texts themselves became idols, and many modern believers practice—essentially—book worship, also known as bibliolatry.

“Because the faith of Islam is perfect, it does not allow for any innovations to the religion,” says one young Muslim explaining his faith online. His statement betrays a naïve lack of information about the origins of his own dogmas. But more broadly, it sums up the challenge all religions face moving forward. Imagine if a physicist said, “Because our understanding of physics is perfect, it does not allow for any innovations to the field.”

 Adherents who think their faith is perfect, are not just naïve or ill informed. They are developmentally arrested, and in the case of the world’s major religions, they are anchored to the Iron Age, a time of violence, slavery, desperation and early death.

Ironically, the mindset that our sacred texts are perfect betrays the very quest that drove our ancestors to write those texts. Each of the men who wrote part of the Bible, Quran, or Gita took his received tradition, revised it, and offered his own best articulation of what is good and real. We can honor the quest of our spiritual ancestors, or we can honor their answers, but we cannot do both.

Religious apologists often try to deny, minimize, or explain away the sins of scripture and the evils of religious history. “It wasn’t really slavery.” “That’s just the Old Testament.” “He didn’t mean it that way.” “You have to understand how bad their enemies were.” “Those people who did harm in the name of God weren’t real [Christians/Jews/Muslims].” Such platitudes may offer comfort, but denying problems doesn’t solve them. Quite the opposite, in fact. Change comes with introspection and insight, a willingness to acknowledge our faults and flaws while still embracing our strengths and potential for growth.

In a world that is teeming with humanity, armed with pipe bombs and machine guns and nuclear weapons and drones, we don’t need defenders of religion’s status quo—we need real reformation, as radical as that of the 16th Century and much, much broader. It is only by acknowledging religion’s worst ideas that we have any hope of embracing the best.

Valerie Tarico is a psychologist and writer in Seattle, Washington, and the founder of Wisdom Commons. She is the author of "Trusting Doubt: A Former Evangelical Looks at Old Beliefs in a New Light" and "Deas and Other Imaginings." Her articles can be found at valerietarico.com.

[call-signtracer]

Talon's Claws Part 1B

This will be a little long so it will be cut into parts. I'm still writing the rest but though I should share what has happened so far. hope you enjoy and all that jazz.

@runephoenix6769 Special thanks to Runepheonix here for helping me actually go through with writing a fic and being there as my first audience as well as to bounce ideas off of.

Before Lena could ask Widow lifted the tray lid and an array of food was before her. Against her will her stomach growled again and she dug in with only the slightest hesitation that it might have been poisoned. Her meal finished Lena piled everything back on the tray and glanced at the clock on the computer, it was nearly midnight. Just how long was I out for she wondered.

"I uh, Luv. What day is it?"

Widowmaker thought a moment before replying coolly, "The 18, though it will be the 19th not too long from now. Why?"

Lena's stomach clenched. "Three days..."

When Widow's brows furrowed Lena followed up her last statement, she leapt up her hands clenched. "Three. Bloody. Days! Ohhhh, Ang is gonna kill me! This is bad. Really bad! What happened while I was out! I don't feel any different. Do I look different? Would I know if they messed with my head? Crap! Sombra said she disabled my blink what else of my tech did she mess with!"

Lena began pacing back and forth muttering to herself. She was so wrapped up in her own rambling that she didn't notice Widowmaker stand and place herself in Lena's path. Next thing she knew she and run into Widowmaker; she jumped in surprise and looked up at the taller woman in need of some reassurance. Widowmaker tilted Lena's head this way and that and peered into her eyes before shrugging.

"Did you notice anything off about the rest of your body when you showered? The changes start in the eyes 90% of the time if they were messing around with your head but you look fine to me."

This did not ease her fear as much as Lena hoped and she continued to pace the floor. Widowmaker grew tired of the Brit's constant movement and snatched her by the back of her shirt and pulled her onto the bed.

"I have just spent a week on the road. I am finally in my own room. And you are tearing a hole in the floor. Lay down and shut up."

Lifting her hands in surrender Lena curled up under the blanket, thoughts of what could happen preventing her from her usual deep slumber. Rolling onto her side she found herself staring at Widow's back, the other's slow breathing helped pull her into a light sleep. She felt like she had just closed her eyes when a hand on her shoulder shook her awake again. Jumping up hands balled into fists before she remembered where she was, she stared up at Widow only to have a soft bundle hit her in the face obstructing her view. Pulling the fabric from her head she realized it was another set of clothes and she began to strip tugging on the fresh ones.

"So Luv, now what?"

"I am going out. That's what. And you are going to stay here and behave until I get back." She leveled Lena with a stern glare, "Do not touch anything. I'll have food sent."

With that Widow disappeared out the door and Lena flopped back onto the bed curling up muttering to herself, "Roight. Bye Luv, catch yah later Luv. Totally could have left a note Luv."

She yawned and fought to find that uneasy sleep she had managed to get while she waited for whatever it is Widow had to do.

______________________

Widowmaker stalked through the halls, a thunderstorm in a bottle. Her anger and suspicions driving her forward she found her target honed in. Slamming her hands down on Sombra's desk she let her presence be known.

"What did you do?"

"Do what chica? You'll have to be more specific, I've done a lot of things?" Sombra replied nonchalantly with a chuckle.

"To Le... Tracer. Why is she here and why has she been here for three days?" Widowmaker snapped harshly after nearly slipping up.

"Ohohoho, that one? What? Did you not like your gift? You've been complaining lately that you don't get to see that pretty little girlfriend of yours so I arranged a playdate."

"I have said no such thing!" Her voice cracked like a whip at the accusation.

"Pssh, listen chica. You get into such a mood when you haven't tossed her around in a while. I'm doing us all a favor here."

Widowmaker continued to glare, not believing Sombra for a moment.

"Ay, believe me or not that's your choice."

"Three days. She said she was out for three days. Explain that."

"Hey, I didn't expect it to be so easy to snap her up, no wonder you like to do it. I thought it would take longer and when it didn't and you weren't back I wasn't wasting my efforts. So she was asleep for a while, big deal." Sombra scoffed offhand rolling her eyes, "So suspicious, why do you care anyway?"

Widowmaker's eyes narrowed, why did she care? Amelie cried out first, of course you care do you want her to end up like us? Visciously snapping a lid on those thoughts before she did something stupid, Widowmaker grabbed Sombra by the collar and tugged her forward.

"If I find out you did anything to her, you had better be as good at disappearing as you claim to be because I will personally see to it that your days will see no respite from my fury." She hissed from between clenched teeth.

Letting go of her collar Sombra unceremoniously dropped back into her chair where she scoffed, "Yeah yeah yeah, I'd like to see you try Chica. And you're welcome by the way."

____________________

Widowmaker continued out of the room, forcing herself to get some distance between her and Sombra. While it would be satisfying to put her in her place, Widowmaker would gain nothing and lose a lot getting on her bad side. As always when her thoughts were troubling her, she found herself outside the range simulator. Flipping the required switches and retrieving a sniper rifle from the wall she let her emotions sink away until it was just her, the rifle, and the targets. Shooting until she had buried everything deep inside, she gave the rifle back to the omnic maintaining the range, and made her way back to her quarters.

The doors slid open and she was greeted by the sight of Lena throwing a myriad of paper airplanes around the room. Her scowl grew when one of the planes flew veered towards her and bounced off her temple falling to the floor.

"Is this what you call not touching anything?"

Lena burst out laughing at Widowmaker's incredulous scowl, piecing together what happened with her facial expression and the plane with the bent tip on the ground.

"What? It was all in the trash anyway. You were gone and obviously I couldn't just waltz out of 'ere and have a look around."

"Clean this up. And quickly I have places to be."

"Alright alright, don't get your knickers in a twist."

Lena gathered up the paper scraps and tossed them in the trash bin followed by a mocking salute to Widowmaker. At least she's back to her annoying self, for now Widowmaker thought. Rolling her eyes Widowmaker led Lena out of the room and deeper into the catacombs of the base. Lena looked around with interest, even if they were just dingy grey steel walls. Her curiosity peeked when they went through a double set of doors and she found herself in a room about as big as a soccer field and covered in rubbery black mats. Brow furrowed she turned to ask a question when the doors at the other end of the room opened and a squad of black and grey swathed soilders entered. Lena quickly figured out who was in charge based on the fact he was barking orders like a dying seal. Widowmaker looked on unimpressed as parts of the group peeled off and began sparring or practicing on different mats around the room. A good third of the group made their way over towards them and the man in charge narrowed his eyes at Lena begrudgingly addressing Widowmaker.

"And who is this?" He asked sourly, shrewdly looking Lena up and down like a cut of meat.

"A forgettable annoyance." She answered coolly, her steadfast gaze letting him know that was all he was going to get.

Huffing the man drew himself up and snapped at the assembled men behind him. Widowmaker took a place on the mat in front of them as another man drew a chalk line across the black surface. Sitting off to the side Lena watched as the men tried in vain to fight their way past the line to the other side but none succeeded. Hardly breaking a sweat Widowmaker continued to look bored even as they switched to actually sparring. Knocking aside the soldiers like gnats she began to take them on in teams of two and still they all landed flat on their backs if with a little more effort.

"Isn't there anyone who can even put up more of a fight than a wet paper sack! This is ridiculous! She is just one woman and you lot are fighting like infants! I'll est my hat if anyone of you can last more than 5 minutes!" The commander howled throwing his hands up in the air.

Lena perked up and raised her hand. "Oye, General Loudmouth, I'll take yah up on that offer!"

Whirling around Lena could have sworn she saw murder in his eyes, "You?! You?! Do you really think you'd last even a minute?" He let out a loud belly laugh, "Hell I'd like to see you try."

"Alright then I will! Just be ready to start chewing on that ridiculous thing you call a hat." Lena snipped, jumping up and jogging onto the mat.

Widowmaker raised a brow as Lena took up a fighting stance across from her, "Are you sure about this cherié? There will be no last minute escape for you."

"Ha, I don't need my chronal accelerator to take you down!" Lena quipped as she moved forward feigning to the left before aiming for the right.

Widowmaker easily knocked her fist aside, "So entirely predictable."

Lena and Widowmaker began their dance in earnest, paralleling each others moves as they tried to get the upper hand. Wincing as Widowmaker's fist connected with her shoulder she used the backwards momentum to twist the other way ending up behind her. Lashing out with a kick she caught Widowmaker on the small of her back sending her staggering forward. Whirling to face her Widowmaker closed in as they traded blows, Widomaker's landing more than Lena's as time went on. Lena made the mistake of exposing her torso. In a flash she felt Widowmaker's foot connect with her ribcage and she prayed that the crack she heard was from somewhere else in the room as pain blossomed there.

Wheezing as the breath left her lungs she staggered backwards still bringing up her arms to block Widowmaker as she advanced again. Sucking in several breaths Lena danced forward accepting the risk of being caught and managed to land a solid jab to Widowmaker's stomach. Even as she winced, more from the force behind it than the actual pain, Widowmaker gripped Lena's arm and twisted it behind her back. Pulling the girl in close she swept her leg under Lena's bringing the Brit to her knees. Once down Widowmaker's arm snaked around Lena's throat, holding her securely and cutting off her airway with steady pressure. Releasing Lena's arm Widowmaker tangled her now free hand into that brunette mop of hair pulling back to hiss in her ear.

"Do you feel like giving up Pet, or shall we continue?"

Lena gasped uselessly as she felt her vision become fuzzy and the lights dim. She brought her hands up and tapped several times on Widowmaker's arm, hoping that that sign for mercy was universal and was rewarded with Widowmaker loosening her grip allowing Lena to suck in a breath.

Smirking against Lena's ear Widowmaker purred. "Good girl."

Widowmaker stood completely releasing Tracer letting her fall onto her hands and knees gasping in ragged breaths, her face red for several reasons. Coughing Lena staggered to her feet one hand cupping her throat.

"H-How long was tha?" She croaked out.

Everyone was staring, the other matches having come to a standstill to watch the two of them try and destroy the other. The commander puffed up nostrils flaring in fury at his squad being shown up by this strange woman.

Begrudgingly he answered, "Seven and a half minutes."

"Ha! Hope you like the taste of polyester and cotton for dinner!" Lena smirked in triumph.

Before either one could have a go at the other Widowmaker grabbed Lena by her hair again, her voice serious. "Enough. Come."

A shiver running down her spine Lena nodded numbly shooting one last look to the soldiers she jogged after Widowmaker. She navigated the maze of hallways barely and managed to catch up with Widowmaker before she got lost. Falling into step behind her Lena rubbed her throat wondering if it was going to bruise. Widowmaker was silent so Lena decided it would probably be in her best interest to be quiet as well. Plus her throat was still burning from that chokehold, she was going to have to ask Widowmaker how to do that later. Widowmaker opened the door and Lena hurriedly ducked inside feeling Widowmaker's predatory gaze on her back. She managed to turn around at the sound of the door closing before Widowmaker was on her.

Their lips crashed together and Lena's eyes closed. Her arms circled around Widowmaker's waist pulling her closer and she felt the taller woman smirk into the kiss. Long delicate fingers tangled into the deflated spikes and pulled backwards exposing Lena's neck. Kissing along the Brit's jawline she nipped gently before moving down to her neck. Sighing softly Lena leaned into Widowmaker as her other hand began to wander tugging up Lena's shirt. Shivering at the coolness of Widow's hand as it moved along her stomach and up to her breast Lena inhaled sharply at the contrast of her soft touch and the sudden stinging pain of teeth digging in roughly where her neck met her shoulder. Stifling a moan Lena backed up keeping her arms around the other to lead them towards the bed. Amused Widowmaker let the smaller woman go eagerly to her bed once they were close enough she moved forward quickly pinning Lena to the bed.

The kisses came hot and fast Widowmaker's hands wandering downward and tugging off Lena's pants and tossing them aside. Oh sure, save your clothes but mine get ripped to shreds Lena thought. That was the last coherent thought she had as she began to squirm beneath Widowmaker's hand. Breathless, pleading cries echoed off the walls as Lena's hips jerked up into those satisfying digits building her up. So close, so so close and yet Widow stopped. Whimpering she pressed against Widowmaker a semi silent plea to continue.

"On your knees."

Shaking but her mind too hazy with need to care about her lack of coordination she managed to get off the bed without falling flat on her face. Kneeling down she quietly waited as Widowmaker disrobed, her eyes immediately going over every curve drinking her in. Burying her fingers in Lena's hair once more she tugged the time hopper forward guiding her to where she wanted. Lena bit back her moan and looked up at Widowmaker hesitantly lifting her hands, when she didn't receive any rebuke she placed them on either pale purple thigh to steady herself even as the hand in her hair anchored her. Nuzzling forward she set to work, every right move rewarded with a quiet noise of pleasure spurring her onwards. Her own needs neglected at the moment but she knew better than to finish herself off without being told, she learned that lesson the hard way. Widowmaker's grip tightened on her hair as she got closer, Lena's soft whimper lost to her work as Widowmaker gasped out Lena's name.

Panting softly Lena looked up at her lover memorizing the way she looked after coming undone by her. Widowmaker reached down and pulled Lena up onto her lap her hand delving back down to where she knew Lena needed her most. She couldn't stop herself from moaning now as Widowmaker redoubled her efforts, Lena's hips rolling in time with her thrusts. Her nails digging into Widowmaker's shoulders Lena cried out in release, shivering she leaned against Widowmaker her body limp. Brushing away a lock of hair Widowmaker kissed Lena's forehead shifting on the bed laying them both down and pulling the blanket over them both.

It was a God awful time in the morning that Widowmaker shook Lena awake again. Groaning Lena looked up bleary eyed at the assassin and had another bundle of clothing thrown at her face. Lena rolled out of bed grumbling to herself and it wasn't until she was halfway dressed that she realized she wasn't pulling on black or grey yoga pants, it was her orange spandex. A little more alert now Lena finished dressing, more than a little relieved to have her bombers jacket back. Running her fingers over the familiar leather she furrowed her brow and she turned to find Widowmaker holding a blindfold. Knowing it was pointless to resist she let her blind her again and she was led out of the room and down the dead silent halls. She felt like they were climbing higher and was rewarded with a breath of fresh air as they left the compound. Breathing deeply Lena was brought across the tarmac and loaded into a Helicopter Widowmaker securing her in before herself. Lena felt the reassuring sense of the chopper taking off and she was in the air. Judging by how cool it was and the dead silence under the chopping rotors Lena figured it was either late at night or the very early hours of the morning. The helicopter began its descent and she couldn't help but wonder where they were now. Widowmaker helped her up and brought her to the edge of the Helicopter belly. With the bobbing motions and steady sound of the motors running Lena could tell they hadn't landed even as Widowmaker removed the blindfold.

With a shove Widowmaker sent Lena plunging from the chopper and tumbling along the rough, sloped concrete top of a high rise building. Skidding to a stop Lena winced as she stood, her clothing scuffed and dirty she could feel the start of road rash on her hands and knees. She jumped up as the Helicopter peeled away Widowmaker mockingly blowing her a kiss leaving Lena dumbfounded and silent until they were a speck on the horizon. The sun began to dawn over a familiar cityscape and Lena sighed pulling out her phone from the bag that Widowmaker had dropped after her. Bringing up the home screen she flicked through the contact list until she reached the number she needed. It rang in her hands for what seemed an eternity before an achingly familiar voice answered.

"Hey Em... do you think it would be possible to give me a lift? I may have gotten in over my head." Lena asked, rubbing the back of her neck with a hand.

[confrontingbabble-on]

“These twelve dubious concepts promote conflict, cruelty, suffering and death rather than love and peace.

1. Chosen People –The term “Chosen People” typically refers to the Hebrew Bible and the ugly idea that God has given certain tribes a Promised Land (even though it is already occupied by other people). But in reality many sects endorse some version of this concept. The New Testament identifies Christians as the chosen ones. Calvinists talk about “God’s elect,” believing that they themselves are the special few who were chosen before the beginning of time. Jehovah’s witnesses believe that 144,000 souls will get a special place in the afterlife. In many cultures certain privileged and powerful bloodlines were thought to be descended directly from gods (in contrast to everyone else).

Religious sects are inherently tribal and divisive because they compete by making mutually exclusive truth claims and by promising blessings or afterlife rewards that no competing sect can offer. “Gang symbols” like special haircuts, attire, hand signals and jargon differentiate insiders from outsiders and subtly (or not so subtly) convey to both that insiders are inherently superior.

2. Heretics – Heretics, kafir, or infidels (to use the medieval Catholic term) are not just outsiders, they are morally suspect and often seen as less than fully human. In the Torah, slaves taken from among outsiders don’t merit the same protections as Hebrew slaves. Those who don’t believe in a god are corrupt, doers of abominable deeds. “There is none [among them] who does good,” says the Psalmist. Islam teaches the concept of “dhimmitude” and provides special rules for the subjugation of religious minorities, with monotheists getting better treatment than polytheists. Christianity blurs together the concepts of unbeliever and evildoer. Ultimately, heretics are a threat that needs to be neutralized by conversion, conquest, isolation, domination, or—in worst cases—mass murder.

3. Holy War – If war can be holy, anything goes. The medieval Roman Catholic Church conducted a twenty year campaign of extermination against heretical Cathar Christians in the south of France, promising their land and possessions to real Christians who signed on as crusaders. Sunni and Shia Muslims have slaughtered each other for centuries. The Hebrew scriptures recount battle after battle in which their war God, Yahweh, helps them to not only defeat but also exterminate the shepherding cultures that occupy their “Promised Land.” As in later holy wars, like the modern rise of ISIS, divine sanction let them kill the elderly and children, burn orchards, and take virgin females as sexual slaves—all while retaining a sense of moral superiority.

4. Blasphemy – Blasphemy is the notion that some ideas are inviolable, off limits to criticism, satire, debate, or even question. By definition, criticism of these ideas is an outrage, and it is precisely this emotion–outrage–that the crime of blasphemy evokes in believers. The Bible prescribes death for blasphemers; the Quran does not, but death-to-blasphemers became part of Shariah during medieval times.The idea that blasphemy must be prevented or avenged has caused millions of murders over the centuries and countless other horrors. As I write, blogger Raif Badawi awaits round after round of flogging in Saudi Arabia—1000 lashes in batches of 50—while his wife and children plead from Canada for the international community to do something.

5. Glorified suffering – Picture secret societies of monks flogging their own backs. The image that comes to mind is probably from Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code, but the idea isn’t one he made up. A core premise of Christianity is that righteous torture—if it’s just intense and prolonged enough–can somehow fix the damage done by evil, sinful behavior. Millions of crucifixes litter the world as testaments to this belief. Shia Muslims beat themselves with lashes and chains during Aashura, a form of sanctified suffering called Matam that commemorates the death of the martyr Hussein. Self-denial in the form of asceticism and fasting is a part of both Eastern and Western religions, not only because deprivation induces altered states but also because people believe suffering somehow brings us closer to divinity.

Our ancestors lived in a world in which pain came unbidden, and people had very little power to control it. An aspirin or heating pad would have been a miracle to the writers of the Bible, Quran, or Gita. Faced with uncontrollable suffering, the best advice religion could offer was to lean in or make meaning of it. The problem, of course is that glorifying suffering—turning it into a spiritual good—has made people more willing to inflict it on not only themselves and their enemies but also those who are helpless, including the ill or dying (as in the case of Mother Teresa and the American Bishops) and children (as in the child beating Patriarchy movement).

6. Genital mutilation – Primitive people have used scarification and other body modifications to define tribal membership for as long as history records. But genital mutilation allowed our ancestors several additional perks—if you want to call them that. In Judaism, infant circumcision serves as a sign of tribal membership, but circumcision also serves to test the commitment of adult converts. In one Bible story, a chieftain agrees to convert and submit his clan to the procedure as a show of commitment to a peace treaty. (While the men lie incapacitated, the whole town is then slain by the Israelites.)

In Islam, painful male circumcision serves as a rite of passage into manhood, initiation into a powerful club. By contrast, in some Muslim cultures cutting away or burning the female clitoris and labia ritually establishes the submission of women by reducing sexual arousal and agency. An estimated 2 million girls annually are subjected to the procedure, with consequences including hemorrhage, infection, painful urination and death.

7. Blood sacrifice – In the list of religion’s worst ideas, this is the only one that appears to be in its final stages. Only some Hindus (during the Festival of Gadhimai) and some Muslims (during Eid al Adha, Feast of the Sacrifice) continue to ritually slaughter sacrificial animals on a mass scale. Hindu scriptures including the Gita and Puranas forbid ritual killing, and most Hindus now eschew the practice based on the principle of ahimsa, but it persists as a residual of folk religion.

When our ancient ancestors slit the throats on humans and animals or cut out their hearts or sent the smoke of sacrifices heavenward, many believed that they were literally feeding supernatural beings. In time, in most religions, the rationale changed—the gods didn’t need feeding so much as they needed signs of devotion and penance. The residual child sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible (yes it is there) typically has this function. Christianity’s persistent focus on blood atonement—the notion of Jesus as the be-all-end-all lamb without blemish, the final “propitiation” for human sin—is hopefully the last iteration of humanity’s long fascination with blood sacrifice.

8. Hell – Whether we are talking about Christianity, Islam or Buddhism, an afterlife filled with demons, monsters, and eternal torture was the worst suffering that Iron Age minds could conceive and medieval minds could elaborate. Invented, perhaps, as a means to satisfy the human desire for justice, the concept of Hell quickly devolved into a tool for coercing behavior and belief.

Most Buddhists see hell as a metaphor, a journey into the evil inside the self, but the descriptions of torturing monsters and levels of hell can be quite explicit. Likewise, many Muslims and Christians hasten to assure that it is a real place, full of fire and the anguish of non-believers. Some Christians have gone so far as to insist that the screams of the damned can be heard from the center of the Earth or that observing their anguish from afar will be one of the pleasures of paradise.

9. Karma – Like hell, the concept of karma offers a selfish incentive for good behavior—it’ll come back at you later—but it has enormous costs. Chief among these is a tremendous weight of cultural passivity in the face of harm and suffering. Secondarily, the idea of karma can sanctify the broad human practice of blaming the victim. If what goes around comes around, then the disabled child or cancer patient or untouchable poor (or the hungry rabbit or mangy dog) must have done something in this or a previous life to bring their position on themselves.

10. Eternal Life – To our weary and unwashed ancestors, the idea of gem encrusted walls, streets of gold, the fountain of youth, or an eternity of angelic chorus (or sex with virgins) may have seemed like sheer bliss. But it doesn’t take much analysis to realize how quickly eternal paradise would become hellish—an endless repetition of never changing groundhog days (because how could they change if they were perfect).

The real reason that the notion of eternal life is such a bad invention, though, is the degree to which it diminishes and degrades existence on this earthly plane. With eyes lifted heavenward, we can’t see the intricate beauty beneath our feet. Devout believers put their spiritual energy into preparing for a world to come rather than cherishing and stewarding the one wild and precious world we have been given.

11. Male Ownership of Female Fertility – The notion of women as brood mares or children as assets likely didn’t originate with religion, but the idea that women were created for this purpose, that if a woman should die of childbearing “she was made to do it,” most certainly did. Traditional religions variously assert that men have a god-ordained right to give women in marriage, take them in war, exclude them from heaven, and kill them if the origins of their offspring can’t be assured. Hence Catholicism’s maniacal obsession with the virginity of Mary and female martyrs. Hence Islam’s maniacal obsession with covering the female body. Hence Evangelical promise rings, and gender segregated sidewalks in Jerusalem and orthodox Jewish women wearing wigs over shaved heads in New York.

As we approach the limits of our planetary life support system and stare dystopia in the face, defining women as breeders and children as assets becomes even more costly. We now know that resource scarcity is a conflict trigger and that demand for water and arable land is growing even as both resources decline. And yet, a pope who claims to care about the desperate poor lectures them against contraception while Muslim leaders ban vasectomies in a drive to outbreed their enemies.

12. Bibliolatry (aka Book Worship) – Preliterate people handed down their best guesses about gods and goodness by way of oral tradition, and they made objects of stone and wood, idols, to channel their devotion. Their notions of what was good and what was Real and how to live in moral community with each other were free to evolve as culture and technology changed. But the advent of the written word changed that. As our Iron Age ancestors recorded and compiled their ideas into sacred texts, these texts allowed their understanding of gods and goodness to become static. The sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity and Islam forbid idol worship, but over time the texts themselves became idols, and many modern believers practice—essentially—book worship, also known as bibliolatry.

“Because the faith of Islam is perfect, it does not allow for any innovations to the religion,” says one young Muslim explaining his faith online. His statement betrays a naïve lack of information about the origins and evolution of his own dogmas. But more broadly, it sums up the challenge all religions face moving forward. Imagine if a physicist said, “Because our understanding of physics is perfect, it does not allow for any innovations to the field.” Adherents who think their faith is perfect, are not just naïve or ill informed. They are developmentally arrested, and in the case of the world’s major religions, they are anchored to the Iron Age, a time of violence, slavery, desperation and early death.

Ironically, the mindset that our sacred texts are perfect betrays the very quest that drove our ancestors to write those texts. Each of the men who wrote part of the Bible, Quran, or Gita took his received tradition, revised it, and offered his own best articulation of what is good and real. We can honor the quest of our spiritual ancestors, or we can honor their answers, but we cannot do both.

Religious apologists often try to deny, minimize, or explain away the sins of scripture and the evils of religious history. “It wasn’t really slavery.” “That’s just the Old Testament.” “He didn’t mean it that way.” “You have to understand how bad their enemies were.” “Those people who did harm in the name of God weren’t real [Christians/Jews/Muslims].” Such platitudes may offer comfort, but denying problems doesn’t solve them. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Change comes with introspection and insight, a willingness to acknowledge our faults and flaws while still embracing our strengths and potential for growth. In a world that is teeming with humanity, armed with pipe bombs and machine guns and nuclear weapons and drones, we don’t need defenders of religion’s status quo—we need real reformation, as radical as that of the 16th Century and much, much broader. It is only by acknowledging religion’s worst ideas that we have any hope of embracing the best.”

Valerie Tarico is a psychologist and writer in Seattle, Washington.

https://valerietarico.com/2015/01/20/religions-dirty-dozen-12-really-bad-religious-ideas-that-have-made-the-world-worse/

[nacrp]

lore release: cultural attitudes!

No silly character introduction here, folks; instead the staff would like to make a world building note. The real world is tough enough, and we wanted to create a fantasy world where the playing field was more fair. Simply put: racism, misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia do not exist in Aarne. Ableism exists to a minor extent solely because of the limits of medicine, magic, and technology, not because disabled people are seen as a curse. POC occupy noble houses & positions of prestige; gender exists on a spectrum & magical potions can be used as Ye Olde HRT; women can slay dragons and men can be seamsters. While there are major stigmas, taboos, and conflicts in Aarne, they will not be based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

Disabilities & Medicine. Disabilities that a person is born with, whether physical or neurological, are not viewed as a curse or a reflection of the parents’ morality. Medicine in Aarne, however, is not advanced enough to treat all disabilities equally. People rely on magic to treat both physical and mental illness, but magic is not foolproof—and despite its transformative properties, it cannot help someone to regrow a lost limb, lost eye, etc. Prosthetics are not terribly advanced either, although watchmakers have been inventive in creating springs and gears to increase functionality. People with disabilities can meet a wide variety of responses: a physical disability as a result of some heroic deed will be looked upon favorably, but a physical disability as a result of a mistake or failure will be scoffed at. Disability is also treated differently between the upper and lower classes; because of their money, nobility are able to afford accessibility, but the fewer social expectations and proprieties of the common folk may be better suited to people with neurological differences.

Hygiene. The poets will write sonnets dedicated to your rotted teeth and smelly feet. Hygiene in Aarne isn’t the best; people don’t bathe regularly and plumbing hasn’t been invented yet. Some characters may be more aware of their own personal hygiene than others, but this is on an individual basis and society isn’t super concerned about it. People don’t understand what causes disease, why disease spreads, or how hygiene impacts this. In Aarne, people still believe in spontaneous generation and that your soul can leave your body when you sneeze.

Education. “what up i’m jared i’m 19 and i never fucking learned how to read” is the mantra of the majority of the population of Aarne. The nobility are the only people who can afford tutors for their children, but common folk may receive informal structures of education from village scribes. Libraries exist on a small scale, and consist mostly of a single person’s personal collection of books.

Work. Among the common folk, finances are so bad that everyone has to work in order to contribute to the household’s monetary resources. Depending on what their parents’ profession is, children may help milk cows, deliver shoes, help thieving parents to pickpocket, and so on. Becoming a merchant, a knight, or a city guard are the highest paying professions for a common person. Advisors to the king, diplomats to other countries, and other government jobs are reserved for nobility.

Names. If you’re looking to change your identity or evade taxes, you’ve come to the right place: record keeping in Aarne is a disaster, due in part to the fact that there is no single system of naming. Among the nobility, fixed surnames—which pass on from generation to generation—are necessary due to the importance of heritage, ancestry, and inheritance. Common folk, however, are less likely to use fixed surnames, and may not utilize surnames at all. Marriage does not require one specific gender to sacrifice their surname to another; noble families decide between themselves who will adopt which last name, and common folk may hyphenate or create a port manteau. Because surnames are so unreliable, people in Aarne are generally known by their first name and a descriptor of some kind, e.g, Jiang the Golden.

Marriage. To borrow lyrics from an Elle King song, “love is for the poor.” And even that isn’t always correct. Across classes, marriage is seen as an arrangement of mutual benefit. For nobility, marriage is a way of cementing an alliance or an agreement, and for common folk, marriage is a way of pooling resources. Lower classes, however, do have the luxury of being more able to marry for love; this is almost unheard of among nobility. It is extremely frowned upon for a noble person to marry a commoner, as there is no clear benefit to such an arrangement. No person can be married before the age of 18 in Aarne, as this is the age when they are legally and culturally considered adults. Marriages between people of the same gender are all equally valid. The law permits only marriages between two adults, but polyamorous marriages are culturally (if not legally) recognized in some villages.

Marriage Practices. Followers of The Under generally marry in the large cathedrals that have been erected in honor of the Under Mother. Followers of The Over generally marry outside, so that the gods of nature can witness the union (and intervene, if they do not approve; a sudden rainstorm on your wedding day or a falling tree near the altar are examples of signs that two people in The Over should not be married). Followers of The All-Around generally marry during transitional times—dawn, dusk, spring, autumn—because they consider marriage itself a transition from life as one soul into life as two souls. Before any wedding occurs, a religious official of The All-Around will attempt to contact the ancestors of the two people involved to see if they approve. Noble weddings are lavish affairs planned far in advance, with no expense considered too great. Obviously because the lower classes have less money, weddings are less grandiose. The exchanging of rings is typically only done among nobility, while the lower classes opt for more symbolic gestures, such as exchanging lockets with locks of hair inside or receiving matching tattoos. All weddings are considered religious, and are overseen by a religious official of some kind.

Divorce. Marriage, in Aarne, is meant to be an “until death do us part” situation, as it is both religiously and legally binding. Divorce on the grounds of unhappiness or irreconcilable differences is only permitted by The All-Around, and even then the marriage cannot be dissolved unless deceased ancestors grant permission. There is a stigma against people who divorce, even when they do so for the single reason all of Aarne accepts: childlessness. There is a stigma against couples who are unable to produce children, to the point where that snazzy genius King Odder has decreed that any marriage that does not produce a child within three months of marriage must be dissolved. (No, he doesn’t realize pregnancy lasts nine months. No, this policy is not clear about whether this means one party must become pregnant within three months of marriage or give birth within three months.) King Odder isn’t the best at following through on his decrees, so the results of this have been haphazard at best—most people are sitting tight and hoping their marriage goes unaffected. Some couples have lied about having children or have presented swaddled turnips and kittens as evidence of progeny, and it works.

Children. Children are viewed as the object that cements the permanence of a marriage. Obtaining divorce after having a child is much more difficult. Because of infant mortality & childhood mortality rates, couples are encouraged to have as many children as they can in the hopes that at least one will survive. Adoption is valid route to parenthood. Becoming pregnant out of wedlock is a huge taboo, and these children are unfortunately the victims of societal scorn. Those who father children out of wedlock are equally as ostracized as the mothers.

Sex & Birth Control. Herbal remedies that prevent pregnancy are available to people of all genders, although they are not foolproof. It is uncommon in Aarne to value virginity. Premarital sex is accepted so long as it does not lead to the conception of a child out of wedlock, which either leads to an illegitimate child or the embarrassment of an unfavorable marriage. Although marriage is rarely for love, having sex or a relationship with someone other than one’s spouse is considered risky; it’s almost worse to be married and have an illegitimate child than to be unmarried and have one. It isn’t outright taboo, but it is something that people may squint at because it can be seen as a betrayal to the allegiance that the marriage was supposed to cement. Unfortunately there is some stigma attached to sex workers because they are (wrongly) associated with murder, fraud, illegitimate children, and extreme poverty. Sex workers are trying to correct this perception and earn more rights by forming a union.

[empiregalaxy]

Disabled people are well within there rights to feel upset and hurt by the Holocaust. They were victims. 

On July 14, 1933, the German government instituted the “Law for the Prevention of Progeny with Hereditary Diseases.” This law called for the sterilization of all persons who suffered from diseases considered hereditary, including mental illness, learning disabilities, physical deformity, epilepsy, blindness, deafness, and severe alcoholism. With the law’s passage the Third Reich also stepped up its propaganda against the disabled, regularly labeling them “life unworthy of life” or “useless eaters” and highlighting their burden upon society.

The term “euthanasia” (literally, “good death”) usually refers to the inducement of a painless death for a chronically or terminally ill individual. In Nazi usage, however, “euthanasia” referred to the systematic killing of the institutionalized mentally and physically disabled. The secret operation was code-named T4, in reference to the street address (Tiergartenstrasse 4) of the program's coordinating office in Berlin.

Ashes from cremated victims were taken from a common pile and placed in urns without regard for accurate labeling. One urn was sent to each victim's family, along with a death certificate listing a fictive cause and date of death. The sudden death of thousands of institutionalized people, whose death certificates listed strangely similar causes and places of death, raised suspicions. Eventually, the Euthanasia Program became an open secret.

On August 18, 1939, the Reich Ministry of the Interior circulated a decree compelling all physicians, nurses, and midwives to report newborn infants and children under the age of three who showed signs of severe mental or physical disability. At first only infants and toddlers were incorporated in the effort, but eventually juveniles up to 17 years of age were also killed. Conservative estimates suggest that at least 5,000 physically and mentally disabled children were murdered through starvation or lethal overdose of medication.

(x)

Disabled people are also allowed to feel that they aren’t getting enough attention or recognition for the trauma they have experienced. That’s not ‘taking away anything from Jewish people’. Do not fucking call us goyim who want to be victims. That is disgusting. 

[madtomedgar]

While I’m disability-blogging:

I think part of the problem with “anti-recovery” and “neurotypical karen” is that we’ve blurred the distinction between types of mental illnesses that it makes sense to talk about recovery for, and neurological conditions that it frankly does not too much. I am dyslexic. I am autistic. I will never recover from these. They don’t get better. It would be silly to talk about “recovery” for them. My brain is not, at this age, going to fundamentally alter the pathways it formed when I was an infant. If someone suggests something to me to “cure” one of these or insists that I try to “overcome” them, that is both stupid and offensive.

However.

I also have, on and off, issues with depression and anxiety (and probably trauma but I’m not sure I’m to a point of admitting that yet so). Depression and anxiety are things it makes sense to talk about “recovery” for, as is trauma, especially if you are measuring recovery in terms of functionality. You can in fact go from a place where you can barely get out of bed to a place where you are regularly getting up, making and eating decent food, showering, putting clothes on and laundry away, and going out into the world every day. You might fall backwards as the seasons change and lose some functionality, or something Big happens or fails to happen and now you are back in a depressive episode. This happens. It still makes sense to talk about recovery and about doing things that feel impossible or shitty (like eating! eating is very important!) as harm reduction or as steps toward recovery (it’s honestly fairly similar to physical therapy. You will want to murder the person who is insisting that you can and will in fact make it to the end of the hall and back and it will suck but you will be better for it.) You can in fact get to a place, with therapy or with life changes, or with identifying and taking steps to manage triggers etc, with anxiety, where it doesn’t prevent you from doing things. Your depression can in fact get better. It might not, but if nothing else the symptoms can get less shitty and debilitating. And it’s disingenuous and frankly dangerous to talk about depression as if it’s an unchangeable permanent state. Like... when I was in the worst deep throws of it, one of the things that was making life seem like a not great option was this inability to see beyond the depression. This was going to be my life forever and it was always going to be exactly this bad. Except that’s not how depression works. And yes, a large part of that is getting up, eating, showering, drinking water, and getting out of the house. Which always feels impossible and doesn’t “cure” anything, especially not immediately, but it does up your functionality. 

This got away from me but the point is I think it makes sense to be really fucking annoyed if people are suggesting that showering or doing yoga or eating a fruit will cure your neurological condition or that you should be working towards recovery from a neurological condition (like... ????????). It also makes sense to be really fucking annoyed at people who legit insist that your depression will be fixed by “positive thinking” or yoga or throwing away your meds and taking up jogging or “just putting your mind to it!” It does not make sense to be annoyed at suggestions that eating a fruit or taking a walk or a bath might make you feel slightly less shitty temporarily or that one day you might not feel so awful all the time.

[solarine]

Why do we still need feminism?

To everyone wondering why those loud, obnoxious feminists are still protesting today: American women have had mostly-equal rights for less than 40 years out of the entire recorded history of the Western world, thanks to loud, obnoxious feminists like the ones marching and protesting in cities across the US as I type this. There is currently a considerable and disturbing push by some conservative/religious groups to revert some of our hard-fought rights and freedoms to what they were back when we were considered property more than people.

To outline some of the injustices American women face, in case you're wondering what's wrong with our current set of rights and freedoms:

1 in 5 women will be sexually assaulted or raped during her lifetime. Of those, fewer than 1/3 are reported to police.

For every 1000 women who are raped by men, 994 of the men who rape them will never see the inside of a jail cell for that crime.

As of 2014, US police departments had 400,000 untested rape kits sitting around, gathering dust.

31 US states allow a rapist to sue for custody of a child conceived during that rape, and most of those states will not allow the mother to give the child up for adoption unless the rapist father is notified and gives consent. There are currently multiple bills in state senates which would also prevent a woman from aborting a child conceived by rape unless the father gives consent.

It is still an extremely common tactic for a rape trial to focus not on the rapist's crime, but on the entire sexual history of the female victim, what she was wearing, who she was with, whether or not she had been drinking, and often trying to coerce her into admitting it was consensual all along and she's just trying to save her reputation by calling it rape.

Rape is the only crime for which arguing that the temptation was too clear and obvious to resist is treated as an admissible and sometimes clearing defense.

1 in 3 women will experience domestic violence. 1 in 4 women will experience *severe* domestic violence.

As of 2014, 38 million US women had experienced domestic partner violence.

Also as of 2014, 4.77 million US women experience domestic partner violence every year.

Between 2001 and 2013, more than twice as many women were murdered by their male romantic partners than there were soldiers killed in our overseas war efforts.

Disabled women are 40% more likely to experience domestic violence than normally-abled women, and it's more likely to be severe violence.

Marital rape has only been illegal in all 50 states since 1993. Many states still have exceptions to the law, limit the degree of assault it can be considered as, and/or do not prosecute it as seriously as other rape and assault.

Most domestic abuse is never prosecuted.

Abused women lose a collective 8 million days of paid work every year directly as a result of their abuse.

The leading cause of death among pregnant women is being murdered by the father of their child.

The US has the highest maternal mortality in the developed world.

The US is one of two countries in the entire world without paid maternity leave, the other being Papua New Guinea.

Right-to-work states routinely overlook the firing and laying-off of pregnant women because employers abuse the loophole of not explicitly stating that as the reason.

Pregnant women are routinely denied even minor accommodations by employers, such as carrying a water bottle or being allowed to use the restroom more than once every four hours.

Access to contraception is still a hotly-debated subject, and a woman's employer can legally dictate her reproductive choices based on THEIR religious beliefs.

The most effective contraception methods are an entire month's wages for a woman earning minimum wage and who has no access to insurance.

Hormonal contraception has significant and sometimes fatal side-effects that were only approved because the testing was done on impoverished minorities, and it was assumed this would be the primary market for hormonal contraception.

Access to abortion is being increasingly restricted in many states, which has seen a corresponding rise in maternal mortality, infant mortality, and suicide by pregnant women.

Women accessing health care reproductive health clinics such as Planned Parenthood frequently face angry and even violent protestors.

Fake "crisis pregnancy centers" are legal in many states. These are not bound by HIPAA laws and often put their duped patients in actual physical danger.

A Texas anti-abortion group with 30,000 members infiltrated pro-choice groups and hatched a scheme to literally kidnap pregnant women by offering them rides to Planned Parenthood and holding them captive until they'd missed their appointment and/or agreed not to abort. None of them got into any legal trouble for suggesting this.

It is legal in some states for the state to keep a brain-dead pregnant woman on life support indefinitely, regardless of her wishes, her family's wishes, and the stage of pregnancy.

Women are more than twice as likely to die of a heart attack than men are, for the sole reason that their symptoms aren't taken seriously.

Obese women, especially minorities, frequently go without adequate care or any care at all in all levels of medical care, from the general practitioner's office to the emergency room.

35% of single mothers live at or below the poverty line, even though most of them have full-time jobs.

68% of the elderly poor are women.

60% of minimum-wage workers are women.

More than 70% of those living at or below the poverty line are women and children.

There is no affordable child care. A single mother working at a full-time minimum wage job is likely to spend half her income on day care. This forces her to either drop out of the workforce entirely and take government benefits, or to take a second job and essentially never see her own child.

The gender wage gap is real. At all levels of employment in all industries, women are frequently paid less than their male coworkers despite having the same experience, the same seniority, and the same education.

Sexism is rampant in many industries, particularly STEM and manual labor. This leads to less participation by women who feel they will receive unfair treatment from employers and coworkers alike.

The number of women earning degrees in computing-based STEM fields has dropped from 37% to 18% since the 1980s. This was largely due to the creation of hierarchies, hiring practices, and social networking in the 1990s that explicitly favoured men.

Female video game developers routinely receive gender-based harassment online, with an entire socio-political movement of angry young men (GamerGate) emerging because a female game developer was given what they perceived to be an unfairly-high rating on her game by a journalist with whom she subsequently entered into a relationship.

Female celebrities routinely deal with dangerous stalkers, with a number of them being assaulted and/or murdered by such, and our cultural reaction is to tell them that's what they get for being famous. Meanwhile, John Lennon's killer has been in prison since 1980 and is one of the most widely reviled men in America.

Women online in any capacity routinely receive gender-based harassment, demeaning comments, and unsolicited photos of male genitalia.

Women on dating sites frequently receive so much harassment that they are forced to delete their profiles.

The cultural reaction to nude/topless photos of any woman being stolen and posted online is that she got what she deserved for taking them in the first place. Revenge porn (selling nudes/sex tapes of your ex to shame them and ruin their lives/careers by sending links to their family and coworkers) is legal in most states, with females comprising almost 100% of victims. Very little legal recourse exists for victims.

Filming yourself having sex with a woman without her knowledge and selling the video to a porn site is not only legal, but is a popular category amongst viewers.

Womens' Studies is the most frequent butt of every joke made about "useless" college degrees.

Career fields that are high-paying, high prestige, and male-dominated lose their prestige and wages as more women enter the field. This is an observable and frequently repeated trend, and it generally only takes 5-10 years from the time when the number of women in the field exceeds 15-20%.

2017 marks the first year EVER that women have exceeded 20% representation in the Senate, and 19% in the House. Only four are minorities, with three newcomers joining Mazie Hirono, who had been only the second minority woman to ever sit on the Senate until the Nov. 2016 election cycle.

The first and only female Native American federal judge was appointed in 2014. The first white female federal judge was appointed in 1933, the first black female federal judge was appointed in 1966, and the first Asian female federal judge was appointed in 2010. Despite these minor gains, 73% of state and federal judges are still male.

-----

This seems like an exhaustive list, doesn't it? Imagine how exhausting it is to be living it and having to explain it nearly 100 years after the Suffragettes were cruelly derided in editorials, comments, and assaulted on the streets over wanting something to be done about many of these very same issues.

[dreddymd]

Magnesium Deficiency and Childhood Strokes

Magnesium deficiency can cause metabolic changes that may contribute to heart attacks and strokes. – National Institute of Health

J.B Handley, co-founder of Generation Rescue cuts to the chase when it comes to talking about the cause of autism. In an essay titled Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism, Pediatricians Do he says, “If a doctor sticks six vaccines into a child while the child is taking antibiotics for an ear infection and Tylenol for a cold, he’s not a doctor, he’s a criminal, and should be hauled into jail on the spot for assault and battery. If the child also happens to have eczema, long-term diarrhea, and has missed a milestone or two, perhaps the charge should be attempted murder.” These are appropriate words to describe what is happening in the world of pediatric medicine.

My 7 year-old son Jared collapsed in a playground holding his head. He could not walk. His speech was slurred. He had difficulty moving his left arm.  Doctors would later tell us our 7 year-old child had suffered a stroke. While certain pre-existing conditions can cause stroke in kids, my son did not have any of those ailments.  Doctors never could find a cause. As documented in a NY Times story, pediatric stroke is estimated to be the sixth leading cause of death in children. Meaning it affects thousands of infants and children every year.  And studies show incident rates are increasing.[1] Jonathan Dienst Older adults are not the only people in danger of suffering a stroke. Increasingly, children are also stricken, according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. “Children and adolescents with stroke have remarkable differences in presentation (symptoms) compared with adults,” said E. Steve Roach, M.D., chair of the statement writing group and professor of pediatric neurology at the Ohio State University College of Medicine.

In a study of over 200 children who had suffered a stroke, nearly 80 per cent were found to have abnormalities in the brain’s arteries. These abnormalities were due to an inflammation, a narrowing or a tear in the artery walls and researchers believe they were caused by a variety of infections or diseases. Of course they did not even look at underlying magnesium deficiencies or to the disturbances that vaccines provoke in the vascular system. On both counts we could cry medical negligence bordering on the criminal.

Dr. Tavia Mathers and Dr. Renea Beckstrand from Brigham Young University published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in 2009 that magnesium has been heralded as an ingredient to watch for 2010 and noted that magnesium is helpful for reduction of the risk of stroke.[2] Population-based information suggests that people with low magnesium in their diet are at greater risk for stroke. Clinical evidence suggests that magnesium is helpful in the treatment of a stroke.

“In newborns, the first symptoms of stroke are often seizures that involve only one arm or one leg. That symptom is so common that stroke is thought to account for about 10 percent of seizures in full-term newborns. Seizure is a much less common stroke symptom in adults,” Roach said. He emphasized that speedy diagnosis and treatment are still very important to minimize the risk for brain damage, disability and death. The problem is that vaccine promoting pediatricians are pretty much brain dead themselves when it comes to speedy diagnosis or appropriate treatment for neurological and vascular problems in children because they themselves are causing these problems.

The current RDA is considered to be sufficient but there is mounting evidence that this figure is much lower than optimal intake and that this low level of magnesium contributes to degenerative diseases and even strokes in children.

Experts now believe that a significant number of cerebral palsy cases may be due to strokes before or right after birth and that administration of magnesium sulfate given before birth to pregnant women, is preventing occurrances of cerebral palsy by a significant percent.[3] In orthodox medicine adult strokes are said to be caused by high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a history of smoking, too much alcohol and obesity. Children’s strokes, on the other hand, are thought to be caused by birth defects, infections (e.g. meningitis, encephalitis), trauma, and blood disorders such as sickle cell disease. Nowhere do you see in the literature that severe magnesium deficiency could have anything to do with it even though it is well known that high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a history of smoking and too much alcohol and obesity are all correlated with magnesium deficiencies.

In my practice the use of magnesium in the early stages of a stroke has rendered the best results for my patients who have the greatest deficits.– Dr. Al Pinto

Children who have suffered a stroke may often have problems with speech and communication (aphasia and dysphagia) as well as visual problems such as trouble with visual perception. There are stroke-related disabilities that are unique to children such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation and epilepsy. 20 – 35% of infant stroke survivors will go on to have another stroke, and more than two-thirds of survivors will have cognitive deficits, physical disabilities that require therapy, or seizures inappropriately treated by medication or surgery when it is magnesium that should be applied as a rescue emergency medicine at the first hint of something wrong.

The risk of stroke in children is greatest in the first year of life, particularly in the first two months. It decreases after that. Data shows that stroke in the first month of life (neonatal stroke) occurs in about one of every 4,000 live births. Stroke also can occur before birth. What this is saying is that a mother’s magnesium status is her child’s magnesium status and the damage can take place right inside the womb.

Primary prevention — stopping the first stroke from occurring — is possible if full magnesium status is paid attention to. Most doctors believe that initial strokes are difficult to prevent because the stroke is often the first sign of a problem but that is just a projection of ignorance about magnesium medicine. It is critical to recognize magnesium deficiencies and that is really not difficult to do if one simply looks at the dietary profile of a mother and child. But it is important to diagnose a stroke quickly when they do happen and start treating with magnesium right away because in this way we can reduce the likelihood of additional strokes as well as massive damage from the first stroke.

This chart basically shows the declining intake of magnesium and other minerals over the course of almost a century and this is telling in heart disease, diabetes and stroke. Magnesium has been consistently depleted in our soils. It has been further depleted in plants by the use of potassium and phosphorus laden fertilizers which alter the plant’s ability to uptake magnesium. This research concludes that it is magnesium status that controls cell membrane potential and through this means controls uptake and release of many hormones, nutrients and neurotransmitters. It is magnesium that controls the fate of potassium and calcium in the body. If magnesium is insufficient potassium and calcium will be lost in the urine and calcium will be deposited in the soft tissues (kidneys, arteries, joints, brain, etc.).

Magnesium protects the cell from aluminum, mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium and nickel. Evidence is mounting that low levels of magnesium contribute to the heavy metal deposition in the brain that precedes Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s. It is probable that low total body magnesium contributes to heavy metal toxicity in children and is a participant in the etiology of learning disorders.

The most effective stroke treatments can only be given within the first few hours after a stroke has occurred. Once you are identified by ambulance or emergency personnel as someone who could be having a stroke, doctors need to know when the symptoms started because this is crucial in terms of effective window of treatment. With magnesium treatments, the trend toward a better functional outcome at 30 days in  adult patients is seen when treatments are started much earlier, within 0-2 hours from onset.

Low CSF Mg+2 levels in patients with acute ischemic stoke at admission predicted a higher 1-week mortality.[4] In Los Angeles, California, we have what is called the FAST-MAG trial, which has the ambulance personal injecting magnesium quickly upon arrival of stroke victims. The Field Administration of Stroke Therapy (FAST-MAG Trials) is an NIH-NINDS-sponsored study whose goal is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of field-initiated magnesium in improving the long-term functional outcome of patients with acute stroke.

The FAST-MAG trial addresses the crucial factor of delayed time to treatment which has hindered all past human clinical trials of neuroprotective drugs.[5] The FAST-MAG Pilot Trial demonstrated that field initiation of magnesium in acute stroke is feasible, safe, and potentially efficacious. The basic design is to inject magnesium within 1-2h of onset of stroke when the benefits of neuroprotective acute stroke therapies are likely to be greatest. By utilizing field delivery via the ambulance medical scientists are conducting the first neuroprotective study ever performed in the 0-2 hour window. Most stroke patients typically don’t receive treatment within these brief windows. Patients typically arrive at the hospital too late; and the consequences as such are great.

If you notice a problem with your child that suggests any kind of neurological compromise call 911 immediately or get to a hospital right away. Normally for adults the major tip offs are:

• Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body (the most common sign of stroke). • Sudden confusion; trouble speaking or understanding. • Sudden trouble seeing with one or both eyes. • Sudden trouble walking; loss of balance or coordination. • Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

While you are waiting for the ambulance if one has magnesium oil in the house one can rub the magnesium all over the body or even quickly put the child in a bath loaded with magnesium chloride (Recommended are two to five pounds of magnesium flakes in a full bath for an adult with and added pound or two of sodium bicarbonate). This will not replace an injection of magnesium that could be offered by the ambulance operators (but is usually not, except in L.A.) but it opens up quick intervention that will help. One can also drink magnesium chloride. The point is the quicker one intervenes the greater the chance of a quicker and more complete recovery.

Researchers believe that magnesium slows the chemical process that can kill 12 million brain cells per minute during an untreated stroke, leading to long-term disability and death. So every moment is crucial to outcome. At least nine preclinical studies have examined the effect of systemic magnesium sulfate upon final infarct size in animal focal ischemic stroke models. Eight of the nine demonstrated substantial decreases in infarct size in treated animals, with reductions ranging from 26-61% in unconfounded studies.

Early studies using rats and mice showed that if given at high concentrations, magnesium can decrease the area of the brain that is permanently lost as a result of a stroke.– Dr. Jose Vega

‘Dr. Gregory Lip, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Birmingham, says that the majority of strokes are preventable, but under-diagnosis and poor care, as well as under-use of medicines and the side-effects of drugs means stroke creates “an unnecessary and heavy burden” on patients and health systems. Stroke is the most common cardiovascular problem after heart disease and kills an estimated 5.7 million people worldwide each year.

“How does magnesium protect the injured brain?” asks Dr. Vega. “The response to a lack of oxygen and nutrients (i.e., ischemia) by the brain includes a local release of chemicals which can damage brain cells, even beyond the damage that can be expected by ischemia alone. Perhaps the most harmful of these chemicals is glutamate, an amino acid used in very low amounts by brain cells to communicate with each other. During a stroke, however, the massive amount of glutamate released produces a flood of calcium inside brain cells which in turn causes them to die prematurely. Magnesium is thought to have the ability to prevent glutamate from causing this flood of calcium in the cells, thus protecting them from premature death.

Dr. Vega continues, “If magnesium infusion is found to be an effective approach for the treatment of acute stroke, it would be a much needed addition to the current armamentarium of medical therapies. Currently, less than 10% of stroke patients can benefit from tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) infusions partly because of the 3 hour limit after the onset of stroke symptoms in which it can be used, and partly because it is contraindicated in hemorrhagic strokes.”

An essential prerequisite for any pharmacological agent to offer significant brain neuronal protection during strokes is its ability to freely cross the blood–brain barrier. Several studies show that magnesium crosses the blood–brain barrier, in both animals and in humans.[6] Magnesium ions cross the intact blood-brain barrier efficaciously so that intravenous magnesium sulfate or chloride significantly raises cerebrospinal fluid and brain extracellular fluid magnesium to supraphysiologic levels. Magnesium is neuroprotective in preclinical models of cerebral and spinal cord ischemia, excitotoxic injury, and head trauma. Magnesium is economical, widely available, simple to administer and has a long established safety and tolerability profile in myocardial infarction and eclampsia, as well as in pilot human focal stroke studies. Unlike most synthetic neuroprotective compounds, parenteral magnesium has no major adverse effects in doses that achieve serum levels in the range of preclinical neuroprotective concentrations. The way to reduce the chances of developing dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease after a stroke is to prevent a second stroke by concentrating on the known stroke risk factors, a British study suggests. Magnesium plays a significant role in relaxing the blood vessels, an effect generally proven to help lower blood pressure. When blood vessels are constricted — not relaxed — the heart works harder to pump blood through the body, causing blood pressure to increase.

According to the current European treatment guidelines, no neuroprotective treatment is recommended for stroke patients.[7] Dr. Jerry Nadler says, “Higher dietary intake of magnesium was among the factors associated with a reduced risk of stroke in men with hypertension. In a survey of almost 45,000 men ages 40 to 75, the overall risk of stroke was significantly lower for men in the highest quintile of intake of potassium, magnesium, and cereal fiber, but not of calcium, compared with men in the lowest quintile of intake. A similar relationship was reported this year by Meyer and colleagues, who observed that a diet rich in magnesium, grains, fruits, and vegetables reduced the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes in a group of almost 36,000 women. While no consistent effect of magnesium on blood pressure has been noted among persons with diabetes, a significant blood pressure reduction was noted in diabetic patients with hypertension after dietary sodium was replaced with potassium and magnesium.” [8]

Magnesium is an agent with actions on the NMDA receptor and a low incidence of side effects. It may reduce ischemic injury by increasing regional blood flow, antagonizing voltage-sensitive calcium channels, and blocking the NMDA receptor. Using various mechanisms, neuroprotective agents attempt to save ischemic neurons in the brain from irreversible injury. Studies in animals indicate a period of at least four hours after onset of complete ischemia in which many potentially viable neurons exist in the ischemic penumbra. Intravenous magnesium sulfate administration during the hyper acute phase of stroke has been shown to be safe in a small, open-label pilot trial, in which more than 70% of patients were treated less than 2 hours from symptoms onset. Dramatic early recovery was achieved in 42% of patients, and good functional outcome (modified Rankin scale </=2) at 90 days post treatment was achieved by 69% of all patients and in 75% treated within 2 hours.[9]

Dr. Mark Sircus AC., OMD, DM (P)

References (9)

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Jared-7-Suffers-a-Stroke-82119942.html

Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. December 2009, Volume 21, Issue 12, Pages: 651-657 “Oral magnesium supplementation in adults with coronary heart disease or coronary heart disease risk”

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/569593

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=21648128

http://www.fastmag.info/sci_bkg.htm

Muir KW. Magnesium for neuroprotection in ischaemic stroke: rationale for use and evidence of effectiveness. CNS Drugs. 2001; 15: 921–930.

Toni D, Chamorro A, Kaste M, Keddedy Lees, Wahlgren NG, Hacke W, for the EUSI Executive Committee and the EUSI Writing Committee. Acute Treatment of Ischemic Stroke. Cerebrovasc Dis. 2004;17(suppl 2):30-46.

Diabetes and Magnesium; http://www.mgwater.com/diabetes.shtml

Saver JL, Kidwell C, Eckstein M, et al. Prehospital neuroprotective therapy for acute stroke: results of the field administration of stroke therapy — magnesium (FAST-MAG) pilot trial. Stroke. 2004;35:106-108.

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