#academics describe the exact same issue

[literaryvein-reblogs]

15 Ways to Improve Your Vocabulary

in response to:

1. Develop a reading habit. Reading is the most effective way to build your vocabulary. Read books, magazines, and newspapers that cover a wide range of topics, and pay attention to unfamiliar words. Look up their meanings and try using them in context. Vocabulary building is easiest when you encounter words in context. Seeing words appear in a novel or a newspaper article can be far more helpful than seeing them appear on vocabulary lists. Not only do you gain exposure to unfamiliar words; you also see how they’re used. In fact, 15 minutes is recognized as the ideal time for students to see positive gains in reading achievement; students who read just over a half-hour to an hour per day improve the most.

2. Utilize word lists. They are incredibly flexible tools that can help you organize your learning in a variety of ways. For instance, vocabulary can be grouped into small, easy chunks that can be revisited for maximum learning benefits. Research shows that a word needs to be seen up to 10 times before we really learn it, and researchers believe that staggered repetition is the best way to learn new vocabulary. Word lists help keep vocabulary terms in manageable chunks that a student can come back to as they gain mastery. I have posted some word lists HERE and will continue to add to this in the future.

3. Use the dictionary and thesaurus. Online dictionaries and thesauruses are helpful resources if used properly. They can jog your memory about synonyms that would actually be better words in the context of what you’re writing. A full dictionary definition can also educate you about antonyms, root words, and related words, which is another way to learn vocabulary.

4. Keep a vocabulary journal. Making a vocabulary journal is a great place to collect and interact with words you hear or see in your reading. Each page should be dedicated to a singular new word, including its definitions, synonyms, and antonyms. Review the journal regularly to reinforce your learning. 

5. Choosing appropriate vocabulary. It’s important to use words and expressions that fit the context so your meaning is clear. For example, different audiences for your writing will require different levels of formality: the vocabulary you use in an academic essay may not be effective for a blogpost targeting a popular audience. Consider the following questions to help you choose the most appropriate words for your audience and purpose:

a. What’s the exact meaning of the word? Words may be broadly similar in meaning but differ in important aspects of that meaning. Consider the difference between ‘the fragrance of flowers’  and ‘the odour of rotten eggs.’ Both words refer to the sense of smell, but fragrance has a positive core meaning while odour has a negative one. If you don’t know what a word exactly means, check it in a dictionary. b. Is the word attached to a feeling? Compare the two sentences: ‘The freeway snakes through the town’ and ‘The freeway meanders through the town’. In this example, snake indicates negative feelings about the freeway while meander doesn’t. c. What level of intensity does the word show? Many words with similar meanings describe different degrees of the same quality or action. For example, ‘comical’, ‘hilarious’ and ‘side-splitting’  show different degrees of funniness. Think about the intensity of what you want to convey when choosing words. d. Is the word formal or informal? Go for formal words and expressions in business communication and academic writing. In the following examples, the second expression in each pair is more formal than the first: (1) come up with / create (2) one after another / at regular intervals (3) huge / considerable (4) enough / sufficient e. Is the word polite? Words which describe negative qualities or sensitive issues too directly can be offensive. Good communicators consider the feelings of their audience. For example, when writing about childhood obesity, it’s more appropriate to use ‘children with weight problems’ or ‘children of an unhealthy weight’ than ‘fat children’. f. Is the word specific or general? Use words with specific meanings whenever possible to make your message clearer to your audience. For example, avoid overusing general verbs such as ‘be’, ‘do’, ‘have’ and ‘get’, especially in academic writing, as they don’t accurately convey specific ideas. It’s better to use a more specific verb or verb phrase to strengthen your message. Compare the impact of the verbs in these sentences: ‘To be successful, learners need to have high-level literacy skills.’ ‘To be successful, learners need to develop and demonstrate high-level literacy skills.’ g. What other words does the word often go with? Some words are frequently used together and therefore sound more natural in combination. This is called collocation. For example, we say ‘fast train’ not ‘quick train’, but ‘quick shower’ not ‘fast shower’. Similarly, it’s more natural to say ‘highly critical’ rather than ‘deeply critical.’

6. Play word games. Classic games like Scrabble and Boggle can function as a fun way to expand your English vocabulary. Crossword puzzles can as well. If you really want to be efficient, follow up rounds of these word games with a little note-taking. Keep a list of the different words you learned while playing the game, and then study that list from time to time.

7. Use flashcards. A quick way to build a large vocabulary is to study a number of words via flashcards. In today’s digital age, a wide array of smartphone apps make flashcards convenient and easy to organize. Aiming for one new word a day is reasonable. You can always go for more, but it may not be reasonable to assimilate dozens of English words every single day.

8. Subscribe to “word of the day” feeds. Some web platforms will provide you with a word a day—either on a website, an app, or via email—to help you expand your vocabulary. You can add these words to running word lists.

9. Use mnemonics. A mnemonic device is a form of word association that helps you remember words’ definitions and proper uses. For instance think of the word obsequious which means “attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery.” Break down that word into components: “obse” is the beginning of “obsessed,” “qui” sounds like the French word for “yes” (oui), and “us” is like the word “us.” So you can think of that big word obsequious as “obsessed with saying yes to us”—which is kind of what it means!

10. Practice using new words in conversation. It’s possible to amass a huge vocabulary without actually knowing how to use words. This means you have to take it upon yourself to put your personal dictionary into use. If you come across an interesting word in your reading, make a point of using it in conversation. By experimenting in low-stakes situations, you can practice the art of word choice and, with a little bit of trial and error, hone in on the right word for a particular context. Furthermore, speaking to native – or non-native – speakers of English (or any language you are learning) will guarantee you the chance to learn new words. Anyone who has ever wondered how to develop their vocabulary will know that the most important thing is putting your vocabulary to use and hearing what people say in return. This is how language works, and before long you’ll be finding ways to work those new words into your everyday use of the language.

11. Watch movies and TV shows. This simple activity can expose you to new words and phrases. When watching TV or a movie, pay attention to the dialogue and note any unfamiliar words. When the TV show or movie is done, look up the meanings of the new words and try to use them in context.

12. Build a story. Learning vocabulary words outside of their context is difficult, so why not create context with some creative storytelling? This can be an individual writing activity or you can do this in a group. A sample group activity: Choose a word list and determine an order in which your students or friends will take their turn. Every person gets to choose one word from the word list. You begin by writing the first sentence of a story; each student then uses their chosen word in a sentence to build on the story. This gets learners comfortable using the words in sentences, and putting those individual vocabulary words into a broader context. This is also an activity you can do via text, chat window, or email, which makes it perfect for remote learning.

13. Draw it. Sometimes the best learning activities are ones that don’t feel like a learning activity. This can be an individual activity but can also be used in group settings. Here’s a way to turn vocabulary acquisition into a game: Ask each student to have a piece of paper and a pen or pencil ready, and tell them you are going to be playing a drawing game. Using the private chat feature of your remote learning software, choose one student and give them a word from your vocabulary list along with its definition, and tell them that they have 20 seconds to draw it. While the student is drawing it, make sure that you make their screen the main screen of the software. You can do a countdown to keep up the momentum, or play music while you wait. At the end of the time, the student shows their drawing to the other students: The first student to guess which vocabulary word has been drawn is the next student to draw. This activity is not only fun, but also benefits students who are visual or tactile learners.

14. Be aware of idioms. Idioms are commonly used word combinations or expressions. These have very specific meanings that are not obvious from the words they contain, e.g. ‘a piece of cake’, ‘get the hang of it’, ‘an Indian summer’, and ‘after a fashion’. Many dictionaries list and define idioms if you look up the component words. For example, try looking up ‘Indian’ or ‘summer’ to find ‘Indian summer’. Idioms are generally more appropriate for speaking and non-academic writing.

15. Practice, practice, practice. In many ways, vocabulary is like a muscle – it will get stronger the more you use it. The key to building a strong vocabulary is to use it regularly. Try using new words in your conversations, writing, and everyday life. The more that you use them, the more they will become a part of your everyday vocabulary.

Sources & other related articles: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References

[jungkoode]

So... This Is awkward but we need to talk about plagiarism.

*taps microphone nervously* Hi everyone. It's your sleep-deprived disaster Kiki here. This isn't my usual chaotic author note where I scream about Jeon being emotionally constipated. Today we're talking about something more serious: plagiarism in our fanfiction community.

I've spent the last few days in a bizarre twilight zone where I had to defend MY OWN WORK from being copied. Wild, right? Not how I planned to spend my week when I could've been writing smut instead. (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

So! The situation.

Multiple readers contacted me about similarities between my fic Kkangpae and another work by Tumblr user jeonluvz called "Project Architect." Initially, I dismissed it. Gang AUs aren't exactly groundbreaking territory and creative overlap happens. But then I actually READ the work in question.

What I found wasn't just shared tropes or general vibes—it was specific, detailed replication of:

- Character assignments (identical roles for multiple BTS members).

- Setting details (down to the card-scanning system in the facility).

- Plot progression (same sequence of events, same turning points).

- Scene-by-scene recreation with only superficial changes.

Now let’s talk about coincidence vs. copying—because I’m a nerd like that.

In academic research on creative plagiarism, experts like Rebecca Moore Howard (Syracuse University) have discussed what's called "patchwriting" (= basically taking specific elements from source material and recombining them with minimal changes). This is different from being inspired by general genre conventions.

(Also, Dr. Thomas Mallon, in his book "Stolen Words," describes the difference between: drawing from the same creative well (using common tropes) and recreating specific unique choices made by another author, btw!)

Now. Let me break down the concrete evidence:

Character assignment and world building.

- Both stories have a division system with coincidental names (Seduction, Stealth, Medical…)

- Both stories feature exactly the same division system with Jeon as Tactical Chief, V as his rival, J-Hope as Medical Chief, Yoongi as Tech Chief, etc.

- Both use identical codename systems (where codenames must be earned).

- Both have the SAME codenames for key characters (Jungkook as "Jeon", Tae as "V").

- Both feature identical hierarchy structures where chiefs are higher-ups.

These aren't generic gang tropes—they're SPECIFIC creative choices I made for Kkangpae. I went through MULTIPLE codenames and hierarchy structures (military, boat system, I have my old scrappy notebook for reference, I’ll pull out the receipts if needed).

Scenes.

- Both begin with the reader sneaking into the empty cafeteria early due to strict serving times (pastries vs croissants btw).

- Both follow with the exact same cafeteria-to-Jeon interaction sequence.

- Both feature a joint training exercise that turns into paintball (ch 4 in my fic).

- Both have rules unexpectedly changed mid-exercise by V/Jeon.

- Both have the reader get separated/left behind and targeted by V.

- Both have the reader injured (ankle in mine, ribs in theirs) followed by Jeon's intervention.

- Both culminate in an identical confrontation between Jeon and V about the training, injury, and past issues.

This isn't coincidental alignment. This is scene-by-scene recreation.

Now, let’s go back to nerd stuff, because that’s just how I am: the statistical IMPOSSIBILITY.

Let's talk math for a sec. The probability of independently creating a story with ALL these specific elements in the SAME sequence is astronomically low. Dr. Mark Glickman, a statistics professor at Harvard, developed models to detect plagiarism that show how unique combinations of elements become statistical fingerprints of original work.

If you randomly selected character roles for 7 BTS members from even just 10 possible roles, the probability of independently matching the exact configuration I created is 1 in 604,800. Add in the identical scene progression, and we're talking lottery-winning odds.

WHAT PLAGIARISM ACTUALLY IS.

Plagiarism isn't limited to word-for-word copying. According to the Modern Language Association and academic integrity researchers, plagiarism includes:

- "Mosaic plagiarism" - taking specific scenes, structures and sequences while changing surface details.

- "Structure plagiarism" - copying the underlying architecture of a creative works.

- "Idea plagiarism" - appropriating unique creative concepts and their specific implementation.

This isn't about "both stories have gangs" or "both use paintball"—it's about the highly specific combination and implementation of these elements in the exact same pattern.

NOW. MY ATTEMPT AT RESOLUTION. I will be attaching SSs too to be fully transparent.

I approached the author privately first, explaining my concerns respectfully. I provided specific examples and suggested solutions like:

- Significant revision to create more originality.

- Acknowledging inspiration from Kkangpae.

- Removing the most directly copied elements.

Their response was to dismiss these concerns without addressing any of the specific examples I provided, claim their work was entirely original, and refuse to engage further.

Fanfiction exists in a unique space. We're all creating derivative works based on our love for BTS. But within this community, we still respect each other's creative contributions. The structure, plot, character dynamics, and unique world-building elements I created for Kkangpae represent hours of planning, writing, and creative energy.

When someone takes those specific creative choices and recreates them with only minimal changes, it devalues the time and effort that went into the original work. It's like copying someone's art and just changing the colors.

I'm not here for drama or to "cancel" anyone. I genuinely believe in resolving creative disputes respectfully. What I'm asking for is:

1. Recognition that specific, extensive similarities exist between these works.

2. Respect for the creative effort that goes into original story concepts, even within fanfiction.

3. Understanding that appropriating another writer's unique fictional framework isn't "just inspiration".

I've documented everything, including my attempts at private resolution, but I'd rather not have to pursue formal actions through DMCA claims.

Finally, to my readers and my writer girlies! 🩷

Thank you for bringing this to my attention and for supporting my work. Also thank you to all my writer girlies who validated my concerns and saw the similarities as well. Your enthusiasm for Kkangpae keeps me motivated even when I keepwondering why I made Jeon so emotionally constipated (the answer is because it's hot, obviously).

I'll still be updating regularly because no way am I letting this derail our journey through the disaster that is Y/N and Jeon's inability to admit they have feelings. The story continues!

Love you all (except Jeon who doesn't deserve rights after the stunt he pulled in the last chapter).

P.S. If you're curious about the academic side of creative plagiarism, I recommend Rebecca Moore Howard's "Standing in the Shadow of Giants" and Thomas Mallon's "Stolen Words" for more information.

[kaleb-is-definitely-sane]

hey, just a friendly note: i sometimes see your posts and that you refer to g-d as hashem, the hebrew scriptures as the tankh etc. the tankh in judaism and the hebrew bible in christianity are not the same: they are ordered differently and have different canon. hashem, which means "the name," is also ontologically disconnected from the christian trinity for a variety of reasons that the tumblr ask box is too long to get into. i also see that you are christian. i would highly encourage you to research why jews use the terminology that they do in reference to their faith practices and try to avoid expropriation of judaism for christian dialogue. interfaith exploration is fine, and it is very important to understand the jewish roots of christianity. but please do so with self-criticism and respect.

Hey, Anonie!

I'm assuming you're here from eesirachs blog because that's the only reason you would've come to this blog.

So, when I say "Tanakh" as opposed to "the Hebrew Bible" (a term that I don't use to begin with alongside "Old Testament" for several reasons) I do in fact mean the TNK, and in that order. That is the order I read them in, the order I tell people to read them it, and etc. As I'm sure you're already aware, one misses out on a lot when one doesn't read it as designed. As of a few weeks ago I've started saying "the prophets" (in comparison to "the apostles") as a way of referring to the writings of Moses and the prophets (which is how the text describes it's own authorship and composition). As to the canon, please correct me if I'm wrong but

The Instruction, 5 Books traditionally ascribed to Moses

The Prophets (4 Former + 3 Latter + the 12)

The Writings (3 Poetic + 5 Megillot + 3 Historical).

Is there an extra book(s) that Protestant Christians have? Or that is in the Tanakh canon that I haven't listed? (tagging @entanglingbriars in case Anon doesn't see this because this is an important question) I understand that (some) Judaism(s) have a different conception of canonicity that Christians, even more of a difference than an Orthodox Christian would have from a Protestant one, but the issue of extra books is a much bigger deal.

Edit: everywhere I look it says "In Protestant Bibles, the Old Testament is the same as the Hebrew Bible, but the books are arranged differently." So yes, very confused as to where the idea of a different canon comes from.

As to the issue of deity: the issue of whether or not Jews and Christians (or literally any other religions) worships the same deity is a matter of hot contention and a statement like "hashem is ontologically disconnected from the christian trinity" is a statement loaded with tons of historical, philosophical, and theological assumptions and can't just be said as is. The fact that I do not agree with this statement (at least, not in it's entirety) is evidence enough for differing sophistical, philosophical, and theological assumptions and emphasises. As I try to tell many Christians, no theological position just comes "sola scriptura" so to speak: there are tons of unstated assumptions that come with that position and without understanding those underlying assumptions it's very hard to have a conversation about it. Also, I am aware of what "ha-shem" means.

I was going to go into it but uh I'm tired and my head hurts lol. And have lots of school work to get done. If you would like me to you can send me another ask but for now I'm going to leave it at what I've already said. As far as I am concerned, and as far as is relevant for this discussion i believe, I worship HaShem.

I am quite aware of *why* Jews refer to G-d as "Hashem": i do so for the exact same reason. I never use the epithet personally, only ever in "academic" or public spiritual writings, and only ever use it in public as to not offend or possibly harm any Jews or Christians with similar feelings on orthopraxy and divine name usage.

All this said however, I can promise you that I have and will always try to do everything with awareness and respect.

[moralesmilesanhour]

Every time i think about atsv and its themes, my mind keeps going back to the scene with Miles and his parents in that college counselor’s office, and what its purpose is.

It establishes the strain that being Spider-Man has put on their relationship, yes - it also establishes that Miles feels trapped and limited, yes - but a lot of fandom discussion overlooks the important parallel that that scene sets in motion between racism in academia and Miles' rejection from Spider Society.

By now, everyone has already figured out that the issue with the 'Canon Event' theory is that it assumes that trauma - specifically experiencing the "right" traumatic events - is what makes a Spider-Man, and it is wrong for Miles to be required to accept this. It isn't enough that he had his uncle die, his father must die also because then he will have sacrificed "enough" to keep the canon intact. No one questions why arbitrary sacrifice is required at all.

The concept of the personal statement being required for college applications, I would like to argue, has the exact same issue.

Miles even says so in the beginning of the movie: "Having 'a story' in the first place sounds gross" (notice how Miles vocally critiques elite academia contantly and has been from the get-go. He is not an apolitical character like some might portray him to be).

It is not enough that Miles is an exceptional student with a variety of interests (art and science), he must have the appropriate traumatic "story" for white academic institutions to find him interesting enough as an applicant, even if the story they want him to tell is not actually his story (no, he is not from a "struggling immigrant family". They own an apartment floor and PR is in the United States). Just like the "Canon events" that Miguel describes are not Miles' story, and Miles does not want them to be because it requires the preventable deaths of innocent people.

In a similar way that has been touched upon more in wider fandom, Rio gives Miles a speech telling him not to let the people in these overwhelmingly-white spaces that he will be entering tell him that he doesn't belong. That speech, as we all know, ends up being a direct parallel to the way Spider Society treats him: he is simultaneously a charity case and a threat just by his mere presence. His very existence is disruptive to the canon: The spider wasn't "supposed" to bite him, he just got lucky. There is a reason why the visual of the ball with Miles' lottery number is constantly paired with the number on the spider that bit him; they are one and the same.

(Side note: this is also what makes Hobie's function as a character so interesting - The idea that you can just simply quit. You do not HAVE to be in these privileged spaces if they don't have your best interests in mind. You don't have to prove yourself to these people to be who you are. But that's a post for another day)

The reason I've been thinking about all this is because I feel like no one really touches upon why Miles' character exists. Like, on a thematic level. Yes, he's there to show that "anyone can wear the mask", but there's a lack of specificity in that statement that I wanted to address with this post.

Miles is a love letter to every black kid that's been told that they're only in the spaces they're in because they "got lucky". He's for every black kid that's ever looked at a college app and been told that they have to take their trauma and put it on display for some white admissions officer to shed a tear over. He's there to argue that you don't have to bend towards any of society's attempts to make a spectacle or a serviceable machine out of you, and that you can just be.

TL;DR: it was never just about the mask MWAH 🫶🏾

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: JLCederblom

Published: Apr 30, 2024

One of the most basic errors you would expect to be caught in peer-reviewed academic literature is plain data errors. They require no real expertise to catch and tend to be trivial to fix. It’s simply part of regular proof reading that any serious article of any sort should undergo.

So why are papers on transition regret rife with ridiculous errors, such as inventing thousands of people out of thin air? And why do those errors occur in the first place?

Let’s have a look at the latest in a long line of peer-reviewed garbage: “A Systematic Review of Patient Regret After Surgery- A Common Phenomenon in Many Specialties but Rare Within Gender-Affirmation Surgery” by Thornton et al.

This piece self-identifies as a systematic review, which it simply isn’t, but that’s rather technical (and, dare I say, academic) compared to the grievous errors in the paper, and will require some back-and-forth with the journal. Going over all of that in detail will take time and isn’t that interesting — although if the paper does get corrected or retracted, it’ll likely be due to such procedural issues rather than overarching problems.

While many individuals report satisfaction and improved measures of mental health after undergoing gender affirming surgery, there is a small but vocal minority who experience regret after their procedures.⁴ De-transitioning, also known as continued gender transition, has been exhaustively covered in the mainstream and conservative media and is an emerging area of study in gender affirming care.

The paper also has a rather noticeable disdain for the subject matter and a clear agenda with the goal of minimizing transition regret as a niche, “exhaustively covered” issue, championed by a “small” but unnecessarily “vocal” group.

Let’s have a look at the sources the paper cites for the rate of regret.

* * *

First up: Wiepjes et al., 2018.

A study performed in Amsterdam retrospectively examined 6,793 patients who attended a gender identity clinic in Amsterdam from 1972 to 2015 and found 0.6% and 0.3% of transwomen and transmen reported experiencing regret after gender affirming surgery, respectively. The authors noted that reasons for regret could be divided into three categories. True regret was defined as regretting having GAS. Social regret involved losing touch with loved ones or being fired from a job because of GAS. Lastly, some participants reported feeling non-binary and no longer feeling satisfied with their surgical result. Average time to experiencing regret was 130 months (more than 10 years) post-operatively.³⁰

This is simply erroneous. The authors make the claim that Wiepjes et al., 2018, measured reports of “experiencing regret after gender affirming surgery”. This is false, as the study first required hormonal detransition, the cessation of cross-sex hormone treatment and going back on your natal sex hormones, at the same clinic. Every time the authors describe this as only measuring “experienced regret” they are not being truthful.

In addition, the number who were investigated for this rather specific definition of regret was not 6,793 but 2,627. I’m not sure what the exact purpose of putting the number of people who visited the clinic, including those who never transitioned whatsoever, is but it certainly inflates the number.

You might ask yourself how it’s possible that the authors read Wiepjes et al., 2018, but did not manage to understand what was investigated, nor how many people were looked at. The most likely answer, to me at least, is that none of the authors, peer reviewers, or editors, actually read the paper.

* * *

Next up: Bustos et al., 2021. If you need a primer on this, I’ve written about it before.

In 2021, a systematic review and meta-analysis was completed which assessed 27 studies, including a total of 7,928 transgender individuals. One third of the included individuals underwent transmasculine procedures, while the remaining two thirds underwent transfeminine procedures. Of the 7,928 individuals included in the analysis, 1.0% expressed regret. The most common reason for post-operative regret was “difficulty/dissatisfaction in life with the new gender role.” Another common reason was failure of surgery to achieve their aesthetic surgical goals. The authors hypothesized that the rate of regret established by this metanalysis was lower than a previously established rate from 1993 due to increased rigor in the selection process before gender affirming surgery.

Bustos et al., 2021, pulls together all the greatest hits of gender pseudoscience: erroneous data, fraudulent methods, zero peer-review, irresponsibility (or perhaps hostility) from the journal, and more. It’s a paper where the factual error count is in the triple digits to this day.

However, after wrangling the arms of the journal editors a bit, they put out a partial correction (where they actually introduced some new errors as well as fixed a handful). The lowest possible bar you could hold the authors against in this 2024 paper is that they used that 2022 “correction.”

Of course they didn’t.

An inability to even copy and paste numbers is what we’re dealing with here. From the entire chain, authors through editors. It ties into the previous paper as well—if Thornton et al. had read Wiepjes et al., 2018, they would be entirely equipped to see through Bustos et al., which makes the exact same nonsensical mistakes they did.

I would provide an exact number instead of 7,928 here, but it’s not actually possible to do that because one of the included papers reports contradictory numbers, which Bustos et al. didn’t mention or, more likely, even notice. Another provides an estimate rather than exact figures. They also included papers which did not investigate a regret rate in the review, which is just bizarre.

Either way, out of the claimed 7,928 people, at least 3,400 were not investigated for regret in any way. As previously mentioned another 2,627 had a requirement that you had to hormonally detransition in order to count as regretful. Another didn’t measure regret at all, simply legal sex marker reversals. If you go through the papers and add up the number of people who were explicitly asked about regrets (in any way) you get around 1,300. With unknown loss to follow-up, often very short follow-up, and no uniformity to the way they were asked.

Which apparently to Thornton et al., the peer-reviewers, and the journal editors, is enough to conclusively state that we know the rate of transition regret.

* * *

Next up is Narayan et al., 2021, which was a combined survey and systematic review. See if you can spot the sleight of hand.

Another study surveyed all surgeons registered for the 2016 World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the 2017 US Professional Association for Transgender Health. Most respondents practiced in the United States and had surgically treated at least 100 transgender or gender-nonconforming patients. Of the 30% of surgeons that completed the survey, 61% respondents had treated at least one patient who experienced regret or requested reversal of a procedure. Overall, the calculated rate of regret after gender affirming surgery was 0.2%-0.3%. Of the 62 patients that respondents reported had sought reversal surgery, reasons for reversal included surgical complications, continued evolution of their gender identity, rejection or alienation from social support, and difficulty in romantic relationships.⁵

An anonymous survey of WPATH or USPATH conference attendants with 70 percent non-respondents (fairly catastrophic given the population), asking them to estimate the number of patients they’ve surgically transitioned (somewhere between 18,125 and 27,325) and how many patients they’ve “encountered” (meaning what?) who “regretted their gender transition” (open for a wide range of interpretations) is not a very serious approach.

The paper sometimes treats “regret,” “reversal request,” and “detransition” as the same thing, sometimes not. The authors (both Narayan et al. and Thornton et al.) seem very confused about what the respondents were actually talking about. Usually, when you’re confused, the right thing to do is to slow down and work it out. Not to take the decision to treat 62 patients seeking surgical reversal as “the regret rate”—which is absurd, and reveals the authors’ intellectual, or rather emotional, bias towards presenting as low a number as possible.

* * *

Next up is Bruce et al., 2023.

Recently, research from the University of Michigan demonstrated low levels of regret after gender-affirming mastectomy in a cross-sectional study. On average, respondents underwent surgery 3.6 years before the survey. The median Decision Regret Scale score was 0.0. Further, of the 139 respondents, zero requested reversal procedures.³²

The respondents certainly reported low decision regret. Of course, 3.6 year mean follow-up is less than most studies put the average time to regret at, and a 40 percent non-response rate is… an issue. It’s also exclusively following mastectomy, and that this often provides (at least) short term relief from breast-related distress seem highly plausible.

If Thornton et al. was a systematic review rather than a literature review with a (very poor) systematic search, these issues would be explored and Bruce et al. would take its rightful place as low quality evidence for potential short term benefits. Presenting it as evidence of a low regret rate, however, is ridiculous.

On a side note, Bruce et al. also cites erroneous data from Bustos et al., this time regarding follow-up times rather than sample sizes. It truly is the gift that keeps giving in terms of academic misinformation.

* * *

The final thing referenced is the 2022 USTS Early Insight report.

In February 2024, the 2022 US Transgender Survey Early Insight report was published, providing data from 92,329 binary and nonbinary transgender people. This report noted that 97% of respondents who had undergone gender-affirming surgery reported that they were “a lot more satisfied” or “a little more satisfied” with their lives.³³

This was an anonymous online survey recruiting participants via advocacy groups, and described as “a survey for trans people, by trans people.”

When Thornton et al. describe it as “92,329 binary and nonbinary transgender people” they actually get that wrong as well, as the report describes it as “38% nonbinary, 35% transgender women, 25% transgender men, and 2% crossdressers.” This may seem like nitpicking, but it actually describes the inconsistencies of the worldview that Thornton et al. champion.

Other than poking fun at them, there isn’t much more to say here. The Early Insight report doesn’t discuss regret, which is why they didn’t claim it did. Which would make it odd that they put it under the heading “Regret After Gender-Affirming Surgery” if you’re operating under the assumption that Thornton et al. are writing an academic paper, but that’s clearly not the intention.

* * *

Human writing has many purposes. The most obvious is communication, to convey thoughts and ideas to others. But we also do it for fun, or to assist ourselves, to organize our thoughts, all sorts of ways. Academic papers of this sort, however, are supposed to have a single purpose: to inform others.

When people write falsehoods, figuring out why they do so is interesting. It tells us something about them. For example, when Thornton et al. repeat erroneous data about papers, it tells us that they didn’t care. Despite using emotive language about regret, it tells us that they don’t care enough about the reality of regret to even read a six page paper (a very low bar), but they were happy to write a paper about it.

So why did they write this paper, despite not caring about the topic?

Research on regret after gender-affirming surgery poses unique challenges, as patients may fear that their regret could be weaponized against the transgender community. Those who seek to limit access to GAS often use regret as a key element in their arguments and in proposed legislation.

The aim of Thornton et al. appears to be to muddy the waters and push their own narrative, as the errors are not random but rather all go in the same direction. They are concerned with the consequences of regret, not regret itself. They simply aimed to distract people, and to breathe some new life into old misinformation, and they accomplished that.

There’s a steady stream of blatant garbage flowing through journals in this field. It’s not the replication crisis of science at large, or publication bias, and it’s not about large scale matters out of control—although structural vulnerabilities in the publishing process of journals is of course an issue.

In the end it comes down to emotionally driven choices by the individuals involved allowing falsehoods to be printed. The paper is a thinly veiled ideological document masquerading as science, but whether it highlights the complicity or just the illiteracy of the peer-reviewers and editors is yet to be determined.

*This article was originally published on JLCederblom’s blog on Medium.

==

They don't care about protecting people, they only care about protecting the cult. The point is to portray the cult as infallible, that the dogma and the doctrine is never wrong, it's only the members following the doctrine and dogma that are wrong. They don't have enough faith. They were never a true Scotsman. All the usual stuff.

[binders-and-beanies]

Studying the dsm for school n it was so cool to get to the dyspraxia part :) I wish our section was more than 3 pages when other stuff gets 10+ and it’s def incomplete like there are some essential things not mentioned but at the same time u cannot explain dyspraxia in one book no matter how many hundreds of pages it is. N it obviously aligns w the way I was diagnosed bc those doctors studied it the same way but it’s cool to see it even briefly mentioned in my grad school curriculum esp in a way where it’s like. So many people who just don’t believe me abt so many things are proven wrong in just 3 pages.

You can cover your ears all you want but the people who actually work w this subject understand it and the more educated a professional becomes the more accurate their understanding of dyspraxia is. I appreciated how it explained in what situations it’s appropriate to also be diagnosed w an intellectual disability and it described my exact situation (no shit, that’s what I’m diagnosed w and these are the criteria they used) and how it talked abt joint issues and pain as well despite it being a book abt the brain. I would love to find ways to incorporate it into my work in this course and I feel inspired to like. Use my voice more as a dyspraxic academic

[literaryvein-reblogs]

I hope this doesn't sound confusing, but is there a way to strike a balance between using "simple" words and "complex" words? Like, trying to write something that isn't too simple or too verbose.

I think context is the keyword here.

What I do is I just write using my current vocabulary, so that I'm able to convey what I mean as accurately as possible. And if I want to sort of elevate my writing, that's when I might swap out some simpler words with more "complex"/poetic words, or maybe even phrases. But I make sure I'm using the appropriate vocabulary. How do we do this? I'm just going to copy and paste here an excerpt from this writing resource to answer this question:

It’s important to use words and expressions that fit the context so your meaning is clear. For example, different audiences for your writing will require different levels of formality: the vocabulary you use in an academic essay may not be effective for a blogpost targeting a popular audience. Consider the following questions to help you choose the most appropriate words for your audience and purpose. a. What’s the exact meaning of the word? Words may be broadly similar in meaning but differ in important aspects of that meaning. Consider the difference between ‘the fragrance of flowers’  and ‘the odour of rotten eggs.’ Both words refer to the sense of smell, but fragrance has a positive core meaning while odour has a negative one. If you don’t know what a word exactly means, check it in a dictionary. Also look up sample sentences that use your "complex"/fancy word, and see how it is actually used. But, once you truly know what a word means, wordplay can be your friend. b. Is the word attached to a feeling? Compare the two sentences: ‘The freeway snakes through the town’ and ‘The freeway meanders through the town’. In this example, snake indicates negative feelings about the freeway while meander doesn’t. c. What level of intensity does the word show? Many words with similar meanings describe different degrees of the same quality or action. For example, ‘comical’, ‘hilarious’ and ‘side-splitting’  show different degrees of funniness. Think about the intensity of what you want to convey when choosing words. d. Is the word formal or informal? Go for formal words and expressions in business communication and academic writing. In the following examples, the second expression in each pair is more formal than the first: (1) come up with / create (2) one after another / at regular intervals (3) huge / considerable (4) enough / sufficient e. Is the word polite? Words which describe negative qualities or sensitive issues too directly can be offensive. Good communicators consider the feelings of their audience. For example, when writing about childhood obesity, it’s more appropriate to use ‘children with weight problems’ or ‘children of an unhealthy weight’ than ‘fat children’. f. Is the word specific or general? Use words with specific meanings whenever possible to make your message clearer to your audience. For example, avoid overusing general verbs such as ‘be’, ‘do’, ‘have’ and ‘get’, especially in academic writing, as they don’t accurately convey specific ideas. It’s better to use a more specific verb or verb phrase to strengthen your message. Compare the impact of the verbs in these sentences: ‘To be successful, learners need to have high-level literacy skills.’ ‘To be successful, learners need to develop and demonstrate high-level literacy skills.’ g. What other words does the word often go with? Some words are frequently used together and therefore sound more natural in combination. This is called collocation. For example, we say ‘fast train’ not ‘quick train’, but ‘quick shower’ not ‘fast shower’. Similarly, it’s more natural to say ‘highly critical’ rather than ‘deeply critical.’ Additionally, be aware of idioms. Idioms are commonly used word combinations or expressions. These have very specific meanings that are not obvious from the words they contain, e.g. ‘a piece of cake’, ‘get the hang of it’, ‘an Indian summer’, and ‘after a fashion’. Many dictionaries list and define idioms if you look up the component words. For example, try looking up ‘Indian’ or ‘summer’ to find ‘Indian summer’.

But if you have a wide vocabulary that people have difficulty understanding you, maybe you can do the opposite of this and swap out the too complex words with simpler ones, haha!

Lastly, when you read through your work whilst editing, ask yourself: Does this sound natural? Does it sound like your literary voice? Do you recognise yourself in this written work? Or do the simple/complex words you've inserted sound too unfamiliar?

Hope this helps, dear Anon. But if anyone has a better answer for this, do let us know.

[alsopartgekkos]

A Sallow Grave - what did go wrong and why

So, a try to delve a bit into the whole quest situation, because for one I love trying to analyse stuff, and Seb has some unearthing of his sallow ass to do. Buckle up.

Spoilers for Sebastian Sallow’s questline, mentions of death, psychological abuse and just general rumblings in no particular order.

Part one of idk how many.

And for a start probably I need to say, that nothing in that questline was okay. And though I do not agree with Sebastian's actions, it’s interesting to see how everything led to this exact outcome, and how he is, undoubtedly, more a result of his upbringing and problematic teenagehood, rather than was inclined or destined to something inherently.

So let's start up with early childhood, shall we? 

Little is known about the twins in earlier years, but they were raised in a full family, and their parents were described as passionate academics, passing thirst for knowledge and optimistic, open minded mindset to their children. It’s noted that they would spend days in the cellar, probably often leaving both Sebastian and Anne to themselves, which undoubtedly resulted in a strong bond between the two. Even years later for Sebastian it's never only just “my sister”, he underlines multiple times that Ann is his twin, the other missing half. 

However tragic events come to pass, and due incident Mr. and Ms. Sallow are gone, and since it’s noted that usually children with magical ability exhibit it by the age of seven, the twins could’ve been between age 5 to 7, where children undergo most important psychological development. They were left on their own, just the two of them, Sebastian subconsciously later opting the role of a fatherly figure, a protector, probably the elder twin. They also left their home - the place holding happiest memories, for Feldcroft and living with their uncle. 

Let us not actually forget that technically, and by Victorian standards no less, both Anne and Sebastian are orphans. Yes, they live with Solomon and he does provide for them, but they are perceived as two different entities altogether. There’s Solomon Sallow, separately, and there are the twins, and although it is never truly stated or hinted whenever wizards had different, more prodigious social structure, Sebastian and Solomon do verbally differentiate between the family. And they’re lucky in a way, because staying with close family is still better than any other sort of a magical orphanage.

The trick is, though, that Solomon as a person, probably was not ready for what he was dealing with, nor has the qualities of a child caretaker. He’s a former Auror: sure, providing safety for two kids, but he’s a battle worn veteran, who gave up the work of his life, plagued by his own wrongdoings [and not having luxury of therapy, let’s be honest], possibly troubled feelings against his brother and most likely PTSD in the form of rage fits. Which is no good thing for a child to be around. 

[Enter the fanon territory, following by the post here, I do think there was some sort of sibling rivalry between Solomon and his brother, and I think that he was to a degree enamoured with the twins' mother. It’s really easy to spot in their conversations, that being “his father’s son” is his own trauma projected into a child, whilst Sebastian can’t comprehend why it’s a bad thing. For him father is a happy memory and a role model, this bright inquisitive mind. For Solomon his brother is, probably, an example of passion going too far, of obsession, his own lost opportunities. And he sees Sebastian growing to be just the same, even before Anne is cursed he’d been this way, so I assume there’s something going on there. Besides well asserting dominance in the household, bc somebody didn’t live well though Aedipus complex I guess.]

Being tasked with bringing up two kids isn’t easy even for a full family, let alone a man with issues, so we start at that. And before Hogwarts became an outlet for both Sebastian and Anne, about 5 years passed, where both of them were mostly formed as people. 

We can assume from what both Anne and Sebastian tell, the relationship with their uncle has always been tense. And it’s easy to see why except for the above.

In the scene where he destroys a Shivelfig he is the one to get verbally aggressive first, and when blames his own outburst and Anne’s following seizure to be Sebastian’s fault. And something tells me that’s not the first time such an argument arises. [As Anne mentions below]

It’s certainly a gaslighting tactic to justify himself [Seb and his uncle have lots in common haven't they sometimes]. And that “what have you done” rhetoric stays with his uncle for the rest of the narrative, and is ultimately a poor communication method. He also intrudes in their safe moment of connection, overseeing the conversation, not to mention that he intrudes in their personal space with little regard to understand what happens [not even minding MC as a matter of fact]. 

After a shot argument he practically sends Sebastian, who only arrived, off, perfectly knowing what kind of bond the siblings have. It is a cruel thing to do, no matter how well justified. And acts with utter nerve as if nothing happened, casually dismissing MC in the conversation, getting quickly frustrated if their point of view does not align with his. It’s something many have experienced with a strict [and often unloving] parent. Not to mention he apologises on behalf of his nephew for some reason, not on his own, like sir you were rude.

[an interesting tidbit: he’s not looking at Sebastian. He’s looking straight at Anne, as if to make sure she understands that she shall not hope for the best and accept his better judgement as the only outcome. As Sebastian says “she’s not herself” ever since she stayed with Solomon, and if that isn’t a red flag well idk.]

And if you look at Sebastian [actually two times, second being with the relic], he’s absolutely helpless. His tantrums and his anger is not the first reaction to aggression. It’s fear. He watches hopelessly, brows raised and ashamed, how his uncle turns his achievements, his work into nothingness and he does not respond back immediately. [Which can be another form of response to domestic abuse] Because there’s still a child there, who is listening to what is said to him. And it’s absolutely heartbreaking to see.

[percabeth4life]

Why is it a problem that Rick's portrayal was so inaccurate? (I know why but I'd love to see your view on this)

Rick's portrayal of the myths is a problem for various reasons, not all of these people really care about.

In terms of irl: a lot of people take what Rick says and quotes it as facts. Like genuine discussions on the myths have Rick cited as the source for stuff they say (not academically but publicly). It's something baffling and spreads innacuracies

In addition, the portrayal of the Gods as cruel, selfish, and petty (almost exclusively) causes various pagans to get hate. Some of my followers may remember the times I've gotten asks telling me the Gods are actually cruel and Rick was right, it's upsetting. Now, this is a common thing, not exclusive to his books, but his have the habit of portraying the myths as if those are facts even while mixing in fantasy, so it's hard for people to know what's the fantasy and what's properly sourced.

And on that note, the issue in book canon with inaccurate myths is... We don't know what's canon or not.

Rick changes myths, he makes some myths up, he uses characters from the myths and makes them good or evil as he feels like.

Calypso's myths are at least somewhat true, but the myths show that she r*ped Odysseus (describes him unwilling and crying). Is that the truth? She only released him in the myths because the Gods interfered, the Gods interfered with Percy too, did that save him from that fate or is she kind now? Or was she never cruel? We don't know!

He pulls only parts of the myths and ignores the rest, and when you're basing major parts of your stories on the myths that creates questions and holes because we don't know what's fact and what's not as far as the books are concerned.

Medusa who was born a monster came first, and yet the Medusa they met was the one made a monster, are they one and the same? Or different?

There are specific Roman Centaurs so I'd imagine theres and Roman and Greek Medusa, but he treats the Roman one as Greek.

The myth of Arachne is Roman, it's written by Ovid, does that mean that all children of Athena are also children of Minerva for the grudge on them? Or are Minerva and Athena viewed as the exact same to everyone despite how much the books insist on them being different?

Its just... If you know the myths his actions mean... We don't know what the myths are in the books. He changes too much, he gets facts outright wrong, he makes stuff up. Its not just filling in holes with interpretations like me and Izzy do, he outright makes up Apollo bullying Harpocrates, that's not a thing! He did it solely to make Apollo look worse.

And he doesn't know how the myths were read back then either. He acts as if Apollo punishing people for breaking oaths was bad of Apollo, and not them breaking an oath to a divine being after getting their end of the deal. That's a big no no guys.

So yeah, not using the myths accurately or not just sticking to making stuff up (one or the other) causes a lot of confusion for what is their history in PJO, he pulls from the myths but doesn't use them properly.

[hoofdletter]

I'm not deciding anything ahead of time. I'd love to see the actual data behind this graph, but from how CAM describes this category of incidents, and from the examples they provide in the report and on their own website of what, according to them, constitutes "anti-Israel / anti-Zionist antisemitism", their perception of what actually constitutes an accident being antisemitic is capturing incidents that only target the state of Israel for the horrors it is enacting on Gaza. Not for being a Jewish state. That is why I am quite certain that this data is inflated.

You seem to be the one working on assumptions here, instead. Why is it that you see criticism of the Israeli government as a personal attack on your religion and identity? Why do you assume that people criticise and protest against the state of Israel because of antisemitic double standards, and not because of the widely mediatised genocide that its government is committing?

The reason why so many people in the USA and EU have become increasingly vocal in their protest against Israel is not because they inherently hate Jewish people and thus hate Israel by extension. It is because there are far-reaching political, military, economic, and academic ties binding the USA and EU to Israel and making these players--that pretend to be morally superior--complicit in this conflict. The USA is funding Israel's genocide and uses its great power status in the UN to shield it from any repercussions. The EU hasn't broken a single tie to Israel or hit it with even remotely the same sanctions apparatus as it has done to Russia. If citizens don't act and protest, governments will look away. Just like you are choosing to look away from the atrocities Israel is committing, because you somehow conflate criticism against Israel with an attack on your Jewishness.

You don't know what I or any protester against Israel feels about those other conflicts you mentioned. So how can you assume that they don't care, and don't call for other boycotts, too? The fact is that what Israel is doing in Gaza is visible all around the world. It's a salient issue. We all see what is happening, and recognise it for what it is: a disproportionate response that goes far beyond any reasonable interpretation of self-defence. An attempt to exterminate any and all Palestinians left in the Gaza strip. And this attempt will be successful if no one takes action.

The fact that you are even calling this cruelty and its status as a genocide into question is appalling. You bring up Amnesty International, but that's not the only actor labelling this a genocide. There are international law specialists saying the exact same thing. UNSCIIP--the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories--has said that the policies and practices they've seen Israel enact in Gaza are consistent with characteristics of genocide. Anyone who listens to what Israeli leaders are saying about Gaza sees it. Yet you don't--what does that say about your biases?

In an ideal world, every international crisis would receive the same attention, but that's simply not the case. There's nothing antisemitic about that--if anything, it says more about how Western media still underreport on crises happening in the global South and Eastern countries. All of those people deserve justice. But that still doesn't justify what Israel is doing.

You can't fault people for paying attention to a genocide unfolding in front of their eyes and deciding to speak out against it. You can't fault them for putting pressure on their governments because the leaders in charge prefer to stay silent and look the other way. Framing that as antisemitism is not only disingenuous, but it also says a lot about you as a person, and what you choose to attach your identity to.

I get an iteration of this ask like once a month, and it's always some form of "why do you care so much about leftist antisemitism when neo nazis exist"

And there are two main reasons.

1. Antisemitism is still antisemitism regardless of who does it. The left isn't less harmful in their antisemitism simply because it's coming from the left.

2. I am a leftist myself and care deeply about the left. Ignoring the harm to jews it causes, it is genuinely scary seeing people on the left abandon leftist values for right wing rhetoric wrapped in a thin cover of leftism.

[sebastiankeepsbustingmyballs]

This is another redo.

I’m 21, go by she/her, and I’m straight.

I’m around 5’5 at least, and I’m a brunette (fairly long, fine, wavy hair) with what I’d describe as (though in my case, they’re kind of sunflower eyes) basically green eyes with a brown ring. I have fairly pale skin and bluish glasses. I kind of have hooded eyelids, though I don’t take much note of that, if any. I also have a bit of a baby face according to my family (I was mistaken for a 17 yo at age 19). In regards to my body type, I don’t know my exact body type, but to give you an idea, I’m not skinny but not exactly chubby either. I’m not exactly sure how feminine my body is, but that’s ok. I have a few birthmarks scattered here and there on my body and a few moles, but only like 2 of them or so are particularly visible (the one on the right side of my forehead isn’t too big, but it sticks out). I’m half-Mexican (mom’s side) and half-Chilean (dad’s side), but have some Sephardic ancestry on my mom’s side, so maybe that’s where it comes from lol.

I’m an ISTJ, a Scorpio (year of the dragon), and a Ravenclaw.

I’m generally very patient and easygoing, which makes me very easy to please (the downside of that is that it can make me fairly indecisive sometimes). Like, I’m that person who will order mashed potatoes at a restaurant but will still eat the food if I get fries instead. I’m introverted but I can kind of handle a large group, though I do prefer to be alone or with a small group most times (and yes, family and friends are part of that small group). I’m generally quite soft-spoken, so I don’t yell much. I’m very much a homebody, so I prefer to be close to home. I don’t typically indulge in fashion and makeup-related affairs, but I’m at peace with that. Reading (more often than not digitally), however, is among those things I do enjoy. As for what genre, most are generally fair game, Shakespeare, and Jane Austen being a few examples. I also like swimming when the weather permits it. I’m also a huge opera and musical theater nerd, but I like any genre of music. Of course, I have sensitive ears due to me being on the autism spectrum, so I usually like to have things like noise-canceling headphones on hand. Also, I’m rarely in a bad mood according to my family. Also, I rarely ask for anything. Of course, I should also mention that I am staunchly pro-choice but I’m still in favor of the idea of having a family of my own at some point. I generally like to assume the best of people according to my family, which may cause some issues. Also, I can be a bit of a mom friend.

Some things I’m good at include singing, playing musical instruments (piano and flute, but I’m open to learning others), sewing (my mother jokes that I sew like a Victorian lady-in-waiting), possibly writing (my professors have said I write good essays), academics, and taking care of animals (I’ve volunteered at the same vet clinic for a number of years and I’ve learned a lot) I’m also multilingual (I speak English, Spanish (due to growing up in a Spanish-speaking household), and French (due to me taking lessons in high school)). I’ve also been said to be good at puzzles by my family. If needed, I’m fairly good at comforting people (according to family members). As for dancing, I’m decently good, but a bit rusty since I haven’t danced in a long time (I usually like ballroom or Latin dance styles). I’m also decently good at doing voice impressions (accents included). According to my parents, I actually have quite a good memory, which may be both a blessing and a curse in a relationship. I’m also good at giving massages, according to my family.

Of course, I do feel that I have to give you warning of a few drawbacks: For one thing, with me being on the spectrum, I struggle to directly address what I need (still working on that). It takes me a few tries to say what I want to say sometimes. Furthermore, I have some issues with social skills, so I need a gentle nudge in the right direction once in a while. According to my mother, I have something of a lack of a social filter (she knows me better than virtually anyone). On top of that, I process things slower than most, so that may cause some issues. Also, the hearing thing means I don’t take the best to yelling.

Now, in regards to my sense of style, I don’t wear dresses much, if at all, so I have mostly shirts and shorts/pants, sweatpants and nice pants included. This also extends to me wearing my brother’s shirts if they fit me well enough (I’m a size medium). I reserve dresses mostly for special occasions, like recitals. Occasionally, though, they may see some use if I travel abroad. For example, if I travel to Cancun or Monterrey, one of the two Puebla dresses I have may see some use. This is dependent on timing as the Puebla dresses I have are short-sleeved and thus best for summer.

As for what I seek in a man, when it comes to looks, I’m not really picky. I don’t mind if he’s shorter than me or if he has some unusual features of any kind. For me, the first thing I notice about a guy is his voice. Like, if I like his voice, that attracts me to him further. Tying into that is accents. If he has a unique accent, that is a bonus for me, whether it’s Cockney, southern, or something else. If he can sing, that’s even better. Of course, even if he can’t, I’ll still love him anyway. As for his personality, I usually like gentle, patient, caring guys. Bonus points if he’s good with kids on some level. Also, it would be nice if my future s/o had a sharp mind. Like, they could discuss things like philosophy and psychology (I’m open about being on the spectrum) with me. In regards to cooking, I don’t mind doing it if needed, but it would be nice if my partner could too. Of course, while all this is good, at the end of the day, I mainly want my would-be s/o to be caring, patient, and faithful. I’m not a jealous woman, so I’m not going to pry too much into his business. I may ask questions out of curiosity but that’s it because I want to go into this trusting my future s/o. As for what kind of a relationship I’m looking for, ideally, something solid and long-term. Also, I would want my would-be s/o to feel loved, so I’d dote on him as best I could if he liked.

I hope I’m not asking too much, but sweet J e s u s, I’ve said a lot! I am so sorry. You’re doing amazing You’re doing amazing by the way; have a nice day/evening/night/whatever it is in your time zone!

No worries. Thank you for the request and the kinds words and I hope you’re doing well too.

Notes: I’m doing two characters depending on if you’re reading the manga or not and I apologize that I did not add everything.

Snake!

Snake cherishes friends and those who he views as family so having someone who is similar in that sense will make him very grateful. He’d love that you’re a mom friend too as it would really make him feel loved and appreciated. As for your beliefs, I feel like Snake would have the same or at least similar views so you won’t have to worry about any disagreements. He’s new to a lot of things so having someone patient in his life would help a lot. He’d be very understanding of you being on the spectrum and if he ever doesn’t quite get something then he’s completely open to you explaining things. Your intelligence and love for animals will get him falling in love with you all over again too.

Now, Snake also struggles with social skills which will be difficult for you both but I see the possibility of the two of you slowly but surely working each other out of your shells though you may feel as though you both aren’t going anywhere which is where both your and Snake’s patience will be tested. I don’t think he’s too fond of loud noises either so if you two ever find yourselves in a situation that is too overwhelming then either Snake will give you as much comfort as possible wether it be getting you and him earmuffs and holding your hand (if you’re okay with it) or finding you both a quieter place to relax depending on the situation. He wouldn’t mind your sense of style at all (despite what other people in the Victorian era would think) and would find your overall appearance charming. This man will love how talented you are but he will also have moments due to how much he’d care for you where he may get insecure so reassurance is key with him. Snake speaks for his snakes so you’ll get rather used to multiple voices and accents when it comes to being around him but he’d definitely be more open about just talking to you himself. He’s so incredibly gentle as a s/o and would treat you with the upmost respect.

Blavat Sky!

Where do I even start? Blavat has would take great interest in you as a whole. Your intelligence to your musical talents, to your powerful beliefs and love for discussing psychology and philosophy. Blavat loves it all and though he may be a bit odd and out there, he’s certain to be a very understanding and caring individual. Although he may tease you for being the mom friend, he doesn’t mean any harm and he’s honestly such a sweet and hardworking guy too (which counts in relationships.) You being on the spectrum won’t trouble him and he might even ask questions only out of curiosity and interest. You being good with kids would be amusing to Blavat and I can see him loving you all the more because of that.

You needing someone to help nudge you into being social bit by bit would be Blavat’s honor and although he may not seem like it sometimes, he’s very observant and understanding so he’ll notice if you get a bit too uncomfortable. Your indecisiveness will annoy him just a tad which could result in a few arguments but he would always want to try and understand so talking about it will help but brings me onto another thing, the difficulties you have with communication can be troubling for both of you though Blavat wouldn’t blame you as it’s more of him struggling with how to help you with this but again, he is very observant and also good at reading people so he’ll also be able to figure out anything that might be difficult to bring up. Although he hasn’t been animated yet (he needs to be), I headcannon Blavat with a really soothing and nice voice and I feel like he’d enjoy reading with you so the thought of him with that beautiful voice reading Pride and Prejudice would be a literal dream. He is into spirituality so he’d definitely be into reading your fortune but only if you’re comfortable with it. I honestly think he’d find your style and overall look adorable and would genuinely respect you for how knowledgeable you are with writing, knowing so many languages and singing (he’d definitely ask for you to sing for him too.) All in all, Blavat would be a very calming, intelligent and supportive partner but let’s not forget teasing as well.

Other matches are Wolfram Gelzer and Sebastian Michaelis.

[duggardata]

Anna and Mary Maxwell Might Be Attending [Bible] College.  (Wow!)

Recently, an eagle–eyed Anon spotted the 2 Youngest Maxwell Girls, Anna (28) and Mary (25), in the absolute last place you'd ever expect—a college campus.  It's all on Facebook... Anna and Mary appear in a photo posted by Appalachian Bible College to its official Facebook Page, along with caption: "The first day of classes. That's something to smile about!"  (Permalink.)

Why Are We So Surprised By This?

Ordinarily, two young women attending college wouldn't be at all shocking, but the Maxwells are not ordinary.  Anna and Mary's Parents, Steve + Teri Maxwell, are openly anti–college.  Steve thinks that state–run education, including higher education, is "a godless, promiscuity–promoting, humanistic environment," and that it traps young people in debt.  He is wary even of Christian colleges, since he believes they cause children to rebel.  He’s proud of his sons' lack of higher education, and praised them for "avoid[ing] the influence and cost of college." Teri is, sadly, just as opposed to college—especially for women.  Back in 1999, she wrote an article speculating that college may undermine a woman's ability to be a good and godly wife.  Her article laments—

"As far as our daughters go, I wonder how many of us developed independent spirits during our college or working days. Has this made it more difficult for us to submit to our husbands in the meek and quiet way we would like?"

Finally...  Anna and Mary's views on this topic seemed to be aligned with their parents, until now. According to Steve + Teri, all of the Maxwell Daughters had planned to be Stay–at–Home–Daughters until marriage.  (See Also.)  (And all 3 Daughters seemed to be doing so, since none had moved out.)  What is more, in 2010, Anna described college as "silly," and said that she thought attending would expose her to unsavory influences, and possibly hold her back from her ultimate goal of "be[ing] a stay–at–home wife and mother."

So, yeah...  This is quite a surprise!  And, while neither Steve + Teri, nor Anna or Mary, has actually confirmed that they’re enrolled at Appalachian Bible College, their appearance on the Facebook Page is definitely suspicious!

Tell Me About Appalachian Bible College.

TL;DR   If you just want to know how conservative and restrictive Appalachian Bible College is, skip down to “Student Life.”

Appalachian Bible College (ABC) is a tiny (~250 Students), insular bible college, located on 150 Acres in rural Mount Hope, West Virginia.  (The Maxwell Family hails from Leavenworth, Kansas, which >800 Miles Away.)  It self–describes as a “non–denominational and fundamental” institution, primarily associated with “Baptist and Bible churches.”  Unlike many so–called “bible colleges,” ABC is nationally and regionally accredited.  (Hurray!)

A lot, lot more information...  After the jump.

Admissions—

ABC requires prospective students to submit an application; transcripts from high school or home school; ACT, SAT, or CLT test scores; and two reference letters, one from a pastor and one from another mentor, e.g., teacher or youth group leader.  A high school diploma or GED is required, unless the student is homeschooled.  In that case, a detailed homeschool transcript is needed, and standardized test scores are “especially important.”

As part of the application, prospective students must attest that they agree w/ the college’s Doctrinal Statement.

Academics—

ABC offers four degree programs—Bible Certificate (1 Year), Associate of Arts (A.A.) (2 Years), Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) (4 Years), and Master of Arts (M.A.).  In addition, it runs an online program for degree–seeking or non–degree seeking students.  (But, Anna and Mary were spotted on–campus, so they don’t seem to be in the online program!)  Anna and Mary haven’t gone to college, so they almost certainly aren’t in the Master’s program.  Let’s just look at the rest...

(Sidenote—Before we go on, just want to point out...  All ABC graduates must, in addition to completing academic requirements, show that they are members of a church and that they possess good Christian character.  If they don’t, they won’t give their diploma!) 

Bible Certificate—ABC describes the one–year program as an “opportunit[y] for you to dig into Scripture and build your life on its unchanging truths.”  The program has two tracks—Bible + General Education and Bible + Ministry.  As the names suggest, both tracks’ core curriculum is the Bible and Bible study.  Both also require three courses in ministry—Foundations of Ministry, Biblical Theology of Missions, and Personal Evangelism & Discipleship.  Where they differ is is what else they require...

For the Bible + General Education Certificate, students must also take four ‘core’ classes—English Composition, Speech, Physical Education, Music, and “Success Seminar”—plus, an elective of their choice.  (This curriculum also mirrors the first–year curriculum of ABC’s A.A. and B.A. Degree Programs, so students can easily continue their studies, should they decide to do so.)

For Bible + Ministry, ‘core’ classes are waived in favor of extra theology.  Students take Principles of Biblical Interpretation, along with classes on Systematic Theology (2 Classes), the New Testament (Survey Class + 2 Classes), and the Old Testament (Survey Class + 2 Classes).

Associate’s Degree (A.A.)—ABC also offers a 2–Year A.A. Degree in Bible + Theology.  (That’s the only major offered.)  For this degree, the curriculum is a 50/50 split between General Education and Bible + Theology courses, plus a few ministry classes and electives.  All students take the following courses—

General Education   English Composition (2 Classes), Speech, Physical Education, Music, Biblical Worldview, and Ethical Issues in Ministry

Bible + Theology   Principles of Biblical Interpretation, Survey of the Old Testament, Survey of the New Testament, Matthew to Acts, Genesis to Deuteronomy, Paul’s Letters (2 Classes), and Doctrine (2 Classes)

Ministry   Theology of Missions, Foundations of Ministry, Evangelism & Discipleship, and Homiletics I (Males) / Bible Teaching (Females)  

Additionally, students must take a history class, a science or sociology class, and an elective.

Bachelor’s Degree (B.A.)—Finally, ABC offers a 4–Year B.A. Dual Degree in Bible + Theology and in Ministry.  Each student completes General Education classes.  Beyond that, each student is also a “double major.”  Everyone’s first major is Bible + Theology and everyone’s second major is ministry–focused—but, not everyone has the exact same Ministry Major.  (More on that in a bit...)  As far as curriculum, students must complete the General Education, Bible + Theology, and Ministry courses required for the Associate’s Degree, plus the following additional core classes—

General Education   Health, Psychology, Sociology, Finance, 2 History Classes (History of Western Civilization and American Church History), and 1 Science Class (Earth Science or Biology)

Bible + Theology   Joshua to Esther, Hebrews to Revelation, Isaiah to Malachi, Job to Song of Soloman, Doctrine (2 Additional Classes), and Bible Capstone 

Ministry   World Religion and Cults, and Homiletics II (Men) / Women’s Ministry (Women)

Finally, students must also pick a Ministry Major and complete its mandatory coursework.  At ABC, there are seven ministry majors to pick from—some of which have concentrations.  Here’s the list of Ministry Majors, with additional concentrations or sub–specialties listed in parentheses—

Biblical Counseling  (Youth & Family or Women’s Ministries)

Camping Ministry 

Elementary Education

Missions  (Biblical Languages, Foreign Language / Spanish, International Studies, Nursing, or Teaching English)

Music  (Pedagogy, Performance, or Worship)

Pastoral Ministry  (Biblical Languages or Youth & Family Pastoring)

Interdisciplinary

The Pastor Ministry Major seems to be limited to male students.

Click the links to check out the coursework each Ministry Major requires.

Student Life—

So, yeah...  ABC is not a progressive place.  At all.  They’re upfront about it, though, which is nice.  Their Student Handbook is online, available for all to read.  Here are some highlights...  (All italics are mine, not in original.)

Discipline / Consequences—Students who break the rules face discipline in the form of “a verbal or written Carefrontation, a fine, a work assignment, a temporary room or dorm confinement, a social [or] ... campus restriction,” or “some other determination.”  Egregious offenses may result in the student being “suspended ... , asked to withdraw from the college, or dismissed.”

Dress Code—There’s a detailed Dress Code, with different different activities requiring different standards of dress.  Perhaps surprisingly, pants are allowed for female students for all but the fanciest standard of dress.  (For that, they’ll have to wear skirts or dresses.)  Here are a few of the rules...

“Earrings may be worn by females only,” and “all other body piercing is prohibited.”

ABC students are prohibited from getting new tattoos.  If a student has an old tattoo, they may be required to cover it at all times if the Dean of Students deems it “offensive.” 

Prohibited Activities—ABC says that, “in order to remain above reproach,” students are prohibited from the following “questionable activities”...

Consuming “alcohol as a beverage,” tobacco in any form (including e–cigarettes), or drugs for non–medicinal purposes.  (Penalty for violating this rule is dismissal.)

Serving alcohol to others, even if done in the course of a student’s off–campus employment.

Gossiping, or engaging in “other forms of impure speech.”

Listening to, viewing, or reading “unwholesome” media or literature, or accessing websites “that do not promote godliness.”  (See Prohibited Media and Prohibited Music.)

Attending “commercial movie theaters.”

Gambling.

Dancing.

Prohibited Media—Per the ABC Student Handbook, ABC students shall not consume “any media (including social media) that features vulgar or obscene language, sexual innuendo, nudity, immodest clothing, or ... a blatantly non–Christian message.”  Additionally, students may not—  

Watch movies rated PG–13, R, X, or NC–17, or shows rated TV–MA.

Play video games or use apps rated A, M, or RP.

... and, they’re strongly cautioned to avoid media that promotes “unbiblical definitions of love”; endorses “witchcraft or the occult”; mocks “law or law enforcement”; denigrates “marriage and the traditional family”; or contains “excessive violence.”  Students are urged not to consume media made by people—e.g., actors, producers, directors—“known for their stand against Christian values.”

Prohibited Music—Students are banned from listening to music “that includes God–dishonoring language, anti–biblical messages ... , a prominent resurfacing beat, pulsating and driving or dance rhythms, or sensual overtones in the music itself or in the performance.”  They’re specifically cautioned to avoid...

Rock—Because the “lyrics may be unacceptable” and “[t]he beat of the music may become the most prominent element.”

Country—Because the “lyrics may be unacceptable” and the underlying “music may be connected to a heavy rock beat.”

Folk—As “[e]xistentialism, humanism, or hedonism may be propagated through the lyrics.”

Jazz—Since syncopation may be “extensive[ly] use[d],” and “a sensual performance style may be employed.”

Contemporary Christian—Since “a sensual performance style may be employed,” “a beat may be overly prominent,” and the “lyrics may be theologically incorrect or existential in their emphasis.”

Relationships—

“The Bible restricts sexual activity to marriage between a man and a woman.  Thus, fornication, adultery, incest, sexual abuse of a minor, homosexuality, indecent exposure, sexual harassment, and other such activities are forbidden.” 

“[N]o display of affection through physical contact (including holding hands) on the part of non–married couples, on or off campus.”

Dating students are forbidden from sitting together in class or chapel.

No male–female pair, dating or not, may be alone together in anyone’s home or residence, on– or off–campus.

No male–female pair, dating or not, may socialize off–campus without a chaperone, unless they’ve been at ABC for at least 4 Semesters.

Divorced students “shall not be permitted to date other ... students.”

According to ABC’s Student Handbook, all these rules apply to all students, at all times, on– or off–campus.

All in all, it’s great if Anna and Mary are attending college, even if it’s a super–duper conservative one, like ABC clearly is.  The fact that they’ve possibly left home and are out there, living on their own...  Crazy to even think about, given Steve’s apparent iron grip on his household.  It can only be good from them to venture out on their own, even if it’s just to a slightly less stifling place.

[stitched-mouth]

Yes, hello. I would like to request a Black Butler matchup, if that’s not too much trouble. May I please? I’m looking to other people’s matchups as a reference for my own.

I’m 21, I go by she/her, and I’m straight.

I’m around 5’5 at least, and I’m a brunette (fairly long, fine, wavy hair) with what I’d describe as (though in my case, they’re kind of sunflower eyes) basically green eyes with a brown ring. I have fairly pale skin and bluish glasses. I kind of have hooded eyelids, though I don’t take much note of that, if any. I also have a bit of a baby face according to my family (I was mistaken for a 17 yo at age 19). In regards to my body type, I don’t know my exact body type, but to give you an idea, I’m not skinny but not exactly chubby either. I’m not exactly sure how feminine my body is, but that’s ok. I have a few birthmarks scattered here and there on my body and a few moles, but only like 2 of them or so are particularly visible (the one on the right side of my forehead isn’t too big, but it sticks out). I’m half-Mexican (mom’s side) and half-Chilean (dad’s side), but have some Sephardic ancestry on my mom’s side, so maybe that’s where it comes from lol.

I’m an ISTJ, a Scorpio (year of the dragon), and a Ravenclaw.

I’m generally very patient and easygoing, which makes me very easy to please (which may result in a slight touch of indecisiveness at times, but this is thankfully quite infrequent). Like, I’m that person who will order mashed potatoes at a restaurant but will still eat the food if I get fries instead. I’m introverted but I can kind of handle a large group, though I do prefer to be alone or with a small group most times (and yes, family and friends are part of that small group). I’m generally quite soft-spoken, so I don’t yell much. I’m very much a homebody, so I prefer to be close to home. I don’t typically indulge in fashion and makeup-related affairs, but I’m at peace with that. Reading (more often than not digitally), however, is among those things I do enjoy. As for what genre, most are generally fair game, Shakespeare, and Jane Austen being a few examples. I also like swimming when the weather permits it. Bike riding is also up there, especially if there’s a reward involved (I have a major sweet tooth). Horseback riding will also be in here bc I kinda miss it. I’m also a huge opera and musical theater nerd, but I like any genre of music. Of course, I have sensitive ears due to me being on the autism spectrum, so I usually like to have things like noise-canceling headphones on hand. Also, I’m rarely in a bad mood according to my family. Also, I rarely ask for anything. Of course, I should also mention that I am staunchly pro-choice but I’m still in favor of the idea of having a family of my own at some point. I generally like to assume the best of people according to my family, which may cause some issues.

Some things I’m good at include singing, playing musical instruments (piano and flute, but I’m open to learning others), sewing (my mother jokes that I sew like a Victorian lady-in-waiting), possibly writing (my professors have said I write good essays), academics, and taking care of animals (I’ve volunteered at the same vet clinic for a number of years and I’ve learned a lot) I’m also multilingual (I speak English, Spanish (due to growing up in a Spanish-speaking household), and French (due to me taking lessons in high school)). I’ve also been said to be good at puzzles by my family. If needed, I’m fairly good at comforting people (according to family members). As for dancing, I’m decently good, but a bit rusty since I haven’t danced in a long time (I usually like ballroom or Latin dance styles). I’m also decently good at doing voice impressions (accents included). According to my parents, I actually have quite a good memory, which may be both a blessing and a curse in a relationship. I’m also good at giving massages, according to my family.

Of course, I do feel that I have to give you warning of a few drawbacks: For one thing, with me being on the spectrum, I struggle to directly address what I need (still working on that). It takes me a few tries to say what I want to say sometimes. Furthermore, I have some issues with social skills, so I need a gentle nudge in the right direction once in a while. According to my mother, I have something of a lack of a social filter (she knows me better than virtually anyone). On top of that, I process things slower than most, so that may cause some issues.

Note: I’m what you would call “double jointed”, so that means I’m actually decently flexible, but that unfortunately comes at a price: One, I bruise kinda easy, and two, knee problems have been a thing with me in the past.

Now, in regards to my sense of style, I don’t wear dresses much, if at all, so I have mostly shirts and shorts/pants, sweatpants and nice pants included. This also extends to me wearing my brother’s shirts if they fit me well enough (I’m a size medium). I reserve dresses mostly for special occasions, like recitals. Occasionally, though, they may see some use if I travel abroad. For example, if I travel to Cancun or Monterrey, one of the two Puebla dresses I have may see some use. This is dependent on timing as the Puebla dresses I have are short-sleeved and thus best for summer.

As for what I seek in a man, when it comes to looks, I’m not really picky. I don’t mind if he’s shorter than me or if he has some unusual features of any kind. For me, the first thing I notice about a guy is his voice. Like, if I like his voice, that attracts me to him further. Tying into that is accents. If he has a unique accent, that is a bonus for me, whether it’s Cockney, southern, or something else. If he can sing, that’s even better. Of course, even if he can’t, I’ll still love him anyway. As for his personality, I usually like gentle, patient, caring guys. Bonus points if he’s good with kids on some level. Also, it would be nice if my future s/o had a sharp mind (he doesn’t have to; I’m just saying it would be nice). Like, they could discuss things like philosophy and psychology (I’m open about being on the spectrum) with me. In regards to cooking, I don’t mind doing it if needed, but it would be nice if my partner could too. Of course, while all this is good, at the end of the day, I mainly want my would-be s/o to be caring, patient, and faithful. I’m not a jealous woman, so I’m not going to pry too much into his business. I may ask questions out of curiosity but that’s it because I want to go into this trusting my future s/o. As for what kind of a relationship I’m looking for, ideally, something solid and long-term.

I hope I’m not asking too much, but sweet J e s u s, I’ve said a lot! I am so sorry. You’re doing amazing by the way; have a nice day/evening/night/whatever it is in your time zone!

Hey guys, please read my match ups rules before submitting a match up. They can be found in my description.

Also reminder that all match ups and general requests are slow because of my Stranger Things Love Letters series.

[bondsmagii]

omg you read we need to talk about kevin? what did you think? i went through a whole range of emotions, most of them bitter & negative, bc i saw too much of my mum & brother in eva & kevin, something i’m still working through. i started off hating eva bc i projected my resentment towards my mum onto her, but i found myself sympathising with her a bit more towards the end. it’s helped me sympathise a bit with my mum too. this book has probably had the most lasting effect on me than any other!

man, I love that book. I first read it years ago and liked it then, but I recently reread it and I loved it even more. it's such a brilliant book -- profoundly uncomfortable and incredibly bleak, but I think it asks so many important questions that, face it, most people are too scared to even acknowledge. it simultaneously asks the huge taboo of a question -- what if you regret having your child? what if a child is just born bad? -- and also combines it with that other big question: why do kids shoot up their schools? the nature vs nurture debate has been absolutely raging for years regarding children who commit violence at school; as someone with an academic interest in this particular crime, it's one I've banged my head up against multiple times. people seem to always be firmly in one camp: the parents are to blame, or the kid is just evil. nobody seems to consider the interaction between these two things, and how it's always ultimately a choice.

the book is a pretty intense read for me, as I'm sure you can relate. the difference is that while you can see your mother and brother in Eva and Kevin, I actually see myself and my mother in Eva and Kevin. I was an unwanted and a resented child. my parents did not want to have me. I was what my parents referred to as "a surprise", said in the same tone as you would describe a sudden house fire as a surprise, or bad news at work as a surprise. the major difference between my parents and Eva and Franklin was that they had me very young (they would have been 19 and barely 20 when they found out, and 20 and barely 21 when I was born) and this most certainly added to the resentment. my father was always away for work, often getting to go to some pretty interesting destinations; my mother wanted to be the kind of woman who wanted to be a stay-at-home mother, but she hated it. like Eva and Kevin, my mother and I were very, very alike in personality and what we did and did not want out of life, and we were engaged in some level of warfare for my entire childhood. while I wasn't quite on the level of Kevin in terms of blinding my siblings and whatnot, I was quite the terror as a child. by the time I reached my teenage years I was uncontrollable and my parents had given up trying. I could not be punished. I did not care. any punishment they did hand out, I was maliciously compliant to the point of infuriation. I'm sure my parents could argue that I was born evil, and indeed that's what they told the extended family. I admit I was not an easy child. however -- I was a child.

I did not ask to be born, and when my parents made the choice to have me and then resent my existence, that was on them. a child knows. a child can tell when he's not wanted, when he's an inconvenience. I knew it very well, from an early age. my parents' resentment of me resulted in them abusing me right up until I left home. I was like an unwanted pet, except they couldn't dump me off at a shelter. no, they never laid a finger on me physically, so they can claim they didn't abuse me -- but emotionally and psychologically they were abusive, and especially in my teenage years, they neglected me severely. (think along the lines of being left at home alone for extended periods with no food, no money, and no way to get supplies as we lived in rural Ireland and the closest supermarket was 30 minutes away. this was not something they did out of malice, but rather something they did because they did not consider me at all. they forgot my existence, most of the time, or they deemed me so inconsequential that making provisions for me was a task that could be forever put off.) understandably this made me hate them in return, and I took great pleasure in being a little shit. it was all I had. nature vs nurture, which is it? my parents weren't exactly nurturing, and they taught me very bad behaviour -- but at the same time from the moment I was born I had my mother's personality, predisposing me to being a little shit. even now, grown up and after many years of working on myself, I still find myself fighting the urge to be as cruel and as judgemental as she could be; likewise I see those positive qualities she had, that she could have shown more of if she had put the work in like I had. we went from being furious carbon copies of one another to an example of the best and the worst case scenario.

basically what it comes down to is choice. Kevin and I had a similar situation going on, but Kevin chose to try and find what he was looking for in mass murder, and I chose to try and find it by getting out of my house and never returning. I mentioned earlier that I have an academic interest in the kind of crime that Kevin committed; since the age of 17 I have been researching these things, and now have expertise in several specific incidents. I bring this up to illustrate that this crime was on my radar when I was around Kevin's age, when I was suffering from the same problems as he was. thousands of kids find themselves in this position, yet so relatively few commit the act. why? it's choice. nature, nurture -- it doesn't matter. there comes a point where you have to make the choice, and honestly? it's chaos theory, baby.

as well as researching this kind of thing I'm also an amateur meteorologist. I love weather. I love trying to work out what makes it tick. and weather is a good example of what I'm trying to say here. weather cannot be predicted. we can get decent ideas, but at the same time we never really know for sure and also weather acts differently every time. there are too many variables. it's the entirety of the earth's atmosphere we're talking about here. identical weather conditions can arise time and time again, and each time the weather is different. a sunny afternoon one day is a washout the next. this is because -- and I broadly sum it up here -- there are so many tiny variables that we cannot possibly predict how they will change the weather. and I mean it's tiny variables. I'm sure you've heard of the butterfly effect -- this comes from the idea that a butterfly somewhere on the coast of Africa can flap its wings, and this tiny reverberation can spread through the atmosphere, creating a bigger and bigger ripple, until a hurricane smashes into the Gulf of Mexico. tiny atmospheric changes all interacting in ways we cannot imagine. this is why some kids shoot up schools. it's easy to look at psychology broadly, but no two people are ever the same. siblings growing up in the exact same house are not the same. identical twins, genetically identical to their very DNA, are not the same. tiny, tiny events, microdoses of chemicals in the brain, exposures -- they all change us in subtle ways. two people -- Kevin and I -- can grow up with almost identical familial issues and outlooks, but Kevin shoots up his school and I study my ass off and get myself to university to escape my parents. why? I don't know. I don't know what tiny little things might influence me one way and another kid in the other. personality, brain chemistry, waking up that morning and having enough or not -- I don't know. it's chaos theory. the variables are too small to say. nature vs nurture are only two variables out of millions. it's an oversimplification.

so to go back to the book -- who do I blame? neither of them. it was a perfect storm. we could say Eva didn't help, but I know of plenty of kids with decent parents who still committed such a crime. we could say that Kevin was just born bad, but there are plenty of people with his resentful outlook on life who don't commit mass murder, or any harm against anyone whatsoever. it's like how every tornado comes from a supercell, but not every supercell will spawn a tornado -- that final genesis point is unknown to us. we just can't predict it. there are no easy answers. there is no simple formula. we just don't know, and that's what makes Kevin's story -- and its real-life counterparts -- so terrifying.

[eliotquillon]

HIVE TIMELINE TWO, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO (Updated and reworked for Bloodline; spoilers ahead!)

It's a year since my original HIVE timeline (which you can read here and is obviously pre-Bloodline), and how things have changed. Well...kind of. I was expecting more of my timeline to crumple under the weight of eight years' worth of continuity errors but, unlike most of my pre-Bloodline fic, my 2020 timeline has stayed somewhat intact. However, in light of Nessa's excellent post that used the Bloodline prologue to figure out Raven's birthday with a scary amount of accuracy, I've decided that somewhat intact just isn't enough. Lo and behold...find the C ottomalpense new and improved H.I.V.E. timeline under the cut. This is just my interpretation of the canon timeline; because Walden contradicts himself constantly when it comes to age and continuity, most of these dates are educated guesses and any other interpretations are more than valid. Bloodline spoilers below.

PART ONE: RAVEN

In my original timeline, I used two anchor dates: Otto's 13th birthday being August 29th 1993, and Raven being 16 in the 'fifteen years earlier' Hong Kong flashback, making her 31 in Aftershock/Deadlock. Using the age difference between her and Otto, I counted backwards to give Raven a birth year of 1979. Otto's birthday still holds up, but Bloodline has since made it clear that Raven was 15 in Hong Kong. Therefore, several options presented themselves in order to salvage the rest of the timeline.

Option 1: Raven was indeed born in 1979, and Hong Kong takes place in 1994. This would make her 27 in H.I.V.E., given that she has a September birthday and H.I.V.E. takes place between September-December 2006. However, this means Raven that if Raven is 30 in Aftershock/Deadlock, there are only three years between the first seven books....something that canon vaguely supports given Shelby's "I've waited three years for you two to get together" comment to Laura and Otto in Deadlock, but feels very, very unrealistic given the number of time skips and the sheer volume of things that happen in the first seven books. My original timeline was created to get rid of the stasis in canon and give a better sense of the progression of time between books. Keeping Raven's birth year as 1979 undermines that.

Option 2: Raven was born in 1981, Hong Kong takes place in 1996, and she is 25 in H.I.V.E., meaning that there's exactly five years between H.I.V.E and Aftershock. This supports my earlier placement of Aftershock being the start of fifth year, but 25 feels kind of...young? It also hinges on Raven knowing her exact birth date before she finds out that Nero is her father, which I personally don't think Bloodline supports - Nero didn't know her birthday, and I think if Raven did know, she would've told him pre-Bloodline.

Option 3: Raven was born in 1980, Hong Kong takes place in 1995, and she is 26 in H.I.V.E., but, because she doesn't know her birth date, she celebrates her birthday on New Year's Eve. So while Raven would technically be 31 in Aftershock, she would still consider herself 30 until the end of the year, as would Nero. This gives a little bit more leeway with her age, reduces the number of changes in the overall timeline, and accounts for the overall unreliability of both Raven and Nero's narration in the flashback scenes - given that one of them had been traumatised so thoroughly that she had recurring psychotic episodes just months before that scene, and the other had his memory tampered with to the point where he misremembered the date of worst day of his life.

I personally opted for Option 3, making Raven's new birthday 3rd-6th September 1980. She is 33 in the Bloodline epilogue. Therefore Hong Kong still takes place in 1995.

PART TWO: OTTO

This is just a rehash of my last timeline, but for clarity's sake: Otto being an August 1993 birthday makes him one of the youngest in his year, meaning that everyone else (Lucy, Wing*, Nigel, Franz, Shelby, Laura, and Penny) were all 1992/3 babies. Bloodline takes place right at the end of his final year (meaning I correctly predicted that it would be set in 2012), making him 19. Something I forgot to mention in my original timeline is that Tom is described as being a few years older than Penny in H.I.V.E., but given that Tom isn't really alive for long enough to present me with an issue timeline wise, I'm just going to let that one slide. The Bloodline epilogue thus takes place in 2013.

As always, I am ignoring Rogue's claim that Otto is 13, because it doesn't make sense in any context (if Otto really is 13, it means he magically ages three years in Zero Hour and Aftershock according to Walden's own implication that Otto is 16 by Aftershock...which I'm also ignoring, but whatever). Laura still choosing between universities in September 2013 is weird, because either she is very, very late for the 2013 academic year, or very, very early for the 2014 one, but, again, I am ignoring it. Essentially, nothing meaningful has changed for any of the student ages between this timeline and the 2020 one.

PART THREE - NERO

This is where it gets interesting. This time last year, my Nero section was just speculation. I was, uh, very off, and did not account for how early Nero knocked Elena up. That was on me. My bad!

Nero is in his early 20s when Elena is murdered. If we take the year to be 1980, and early 20s to mean anything between 20-24, we can get an approximate birth year of 1956-1960. I'm going to average that to 22, making Nero's birth year 1958. He's a practically spritely 48 in H.I.V.E, and 55 in the Bloodline epilogue.

(Also, I am treating the 'thirty years' in the 'thirty years ago' flashback to be an estimate. Nero has memory issues and also thirty years has a much better ring to it than thirty-two.)

PART FOUR - DIABOLUS

We can't talk about Nero without mentioning Diabolus because I, for one, have been haunted by the knowledge that Nero taught Diabolus for years. However, assuming Nero immediately joins the H.I.V.E. teaching staff in 1980 following Elena's death, he is 22. If Diabolus is a first year student, we can give him a birth year of 1966/7. That said, I tend to think Diabolus is a little bit older than that, given how close he and Nero are in Hong Kong, so if we age him up to a third year in Nero's first year of teaching, that makes him 15/16 with a birth year of 1964/5. There's only 6/7 years between him and Nero, leaving plenty of time for them to become close friends by Hong Kong, during which Nero is 37 and Diabolus is approaching 30. That means Diabolus had Nigel at 27/28.

PART FIVE - THE OVERLORD INCIDENT AND XIU MEI

The Overlord Incident (henceforth the OI) is the bane of my existence. There's no mention of Raven in the original flashback in the Overlord Protocol, implying that she wasn't around yet, but it's referenced as still being a work in progress in Hong Kong. Again, this is a rehash of my previous timeline, but the Deadlock interpretation doesn't work; regardless of anything else, Wing was definitely born in 1992/3 in order to be in the same year as Otto, and either Wing or Raven would be too young for the OI to occur after Hong Kong (Raven was only 13 in 1993 in this interpretation of events, and this is one that puts her on the older side - there's an argument to be made for her being born in 1983, which would make her 10). Ergo, in this timeline, the OI precedes Hong Kong.

As mentioned, Wing had to have been born in 1993 at the latest, and the evidence suggests that he's most likely one of the older kids in their year, pointing to a 1992 birthday, meaning Xiu Mei got pregnant by January 1992 at the earliest. There must be time allowed for the following to occur between Wing and Otto's births and the OI: survivors of the OI to start going missing, Xiu Mei and Wu Zhang /Cypher to marry and move to Japan in order to escape persecution, and Overlord to get enough soft power over Number One to convince him to start trying to produce a clone of himself to be his successor. At earliest this can be 1991. I, however, think that it's more likely to be January 1990, given Overlord's comments about how much Number One initially resisted having his brain hijacked. This is the same as my previous timeline.

Unlike my previous timeline, however, I'm also going to attempt to estimate the year of Xiu Mei's death. While the Overlord Protocol does not explicitly state this, it can be inferred that Nero receives Xiu Mei's locket and letter after she is murdered by Overlord for investigating the Renaissance project. Nero receives the locket "many years" before Overlord Protocol (which takes place roughly in Spring/Summer of 2007), but Xiu Mei was also presumed "long dead" already when he received it as a result of the OI. This puts 17 years between Xiu Mei's faked death and Nero's reminiscence over the locket and letter in 2007 after the assassination attempt in Vienna. Xiu Mei can't have died before Wing was at least 5 years old, given the strong memories he has of her and the fact that he made a promise to her not to kill anyone, so I'm tentatively putting Xiu Mei's real death at 2001, when Wing would've been 9. This leaves just enough time for Cypher to establish himself as a thorn in Nero's side, and for his relationship with Wing the deteriorate to what we see in the Overlord Protocol.

PART SIX - OTHER

I've been meaning to do the maths on this for a while, but H.I.V.E.mind was officially brought online April 10th, 2006! (He'd been online for four months, three weeks, and two days by September 1st.) Nero really was paranoid after the OI.

Brexit doesn't occur in the H.I.V.E.verse, because Duncan Cavendish (David Cameron) resigns in 2010, AKA way, way, before the rise of UKIP and the 2016 referendum. The Iraq war, however, does - Tony Blair is heavily, heavily implied to be the prime minister in 2006.

Not really timeline related, but the fact that both Otto and Raven are Virgos is enough to make me shudder.

TL;DR - THE (FINAL???) TIMELINE

1950-59: The Furan siblings are born at some point. Two siblings are twins, presumably Elena and Anastasia or Anastasia and Pietor. At some point, they are owed a blood debt by the Sinistres.

1958: Nero is born.

Early 1960s: H.I.V.E. is founded, most likely by Nero's mother.

1964-5: Diabolus Darkdoom is born.

Late 1970s: Elena and Nero start their affair.

1980: Elena is murdered by Pietor. Raven is born. Nero has his memory of Raven's survival forcibly erased by Francesca Sinistre, clearing the blood debt between the Furan and Sinistre families.

1980s: Diabolus Darkdoom and Duncan Cavendish attend and graduate H.I.V.E. Diabolus and Nero become friends.

1989: Raven runs away from her orphanage.

1990: The Overlord Incident takes place, leaving three named survivors: Nero, Xiu Mei, and Wu Zhang. Overlord begins to assert control over Number One.

1991: Raven is found by the Furans and brought to the Glasshouse. Wu Zhang and Xiu Mei marry and immigrate to Japan after survivors of the Overlord Incident start going missing.

1992: Presumably the year Raven claws out Pietor's eye and gets shot in the woods, it is also the point at which Overlord/Number One most likely starts considering cloning himself. In the final quarter of the year, some students - most likely Wing, Shelby, and possibly Laura - are born.

1993: Otto and the rest of the students in his year are born.

1994: Likely the year Dimitri's escape attempt fails, and Raven is forced to murder Tolya. Also presumably when H.I.V.E.'s Icelandic location became dangerously compromised, and Nero starts seriously considering plans to move. At this point his mother is dead.

1995: Nero and Diabolus go to Hong Kong to meet with the Architect, and thwart Raven's assassination attempt. Raven eventually defects to G.L.O.V.E., and the first Glasshouse burns.

1996-2000: Construction on H.I.V.E. 2.0 is completed. Nero starts work on the emergency Zero Hour protocol.

2001: Xiu Mei is murdered by Overlord for asking too many questions about the Renaissance initiative. Wu Zhang becomes Cypher. Nero receives his half of the amulet, and Xiu Mei's letter.

2001-2005: Lucy's parents die of unknown causes. Diabolus Darkdoom falsifies his death to escape execution for getting too close to the Renaissance initiative, possibly after divorcing his wife first. Otto drops out of school and starts scamming local business to repair St Sebastian's. At some point Pike convinces Nero to try AI again. Number One's will is entirely consumed by Overlord.

2006: H.I.V.E.mind goes online. Pike's experiment to give Ms Leon the same reflexes as her cat goes horribly wrong, leaving them both trapped in the wrong body. Shelby becomes the Wraith and makes headlines for stealing millions of dollars' worth of jewellery. Laura is caught hacking the nearby American air base's early nuclear warning system. Otto hypnotises the current prime minister, allowing Duncan Cavendish to come into power. During a failed escape attempt from H.I.V.E., several hundred million pounds' worth of damage is caused to H.I.V.E. by Nigel's experimental crossbreed plant, Violet.

2007: Cypher fakes his death as Mao Fanchu in order to lure Wing to Tokyo, and the Contessa betrays Nero. Nero keeps Cypher alive, unbeknownst to Number One, and starts to have suspicions about Number One/Overlord for the first time. By the end of August, everyone is fourteen, and first year is over.

2008: H.O.P.E. is formed, and Nero is captured in either April or May whilst meeting with Gregori Leonov. Three months later, he is rescued by Otto, Raven, and the gang. The Contessa and Number One/Overlord die. Laura and Otto kiss, but nothing comes of it. Diabolus resurfaces from the dead to be elected head of G.L.O.V.E.'s ruling council. At some point in late August to early September, Otto, Wing, Shelby and Laura first encounter the animus fluid on a train to Paris whilst on a mission to recover a stolen thermoptic camouflage suit. As a result of the Contessa's death, Lucy Dexter is transferred to H.I.V.E. at the start of third year, at which point everyone is fifteen. Following the hijacking of Dreadnought, and an encounter with Pietor Furan, the animus fluid, and the Disciples, Otto is captured by American forces after saving Air Force One and the US president. He is then turned over to H.O.P.E.

2009: Assassinations of key members of G.L.O.V.E.'s ruling council take place at the hands of Otto, now under the influence of animus. Raven is given executive privilege to kill him if necessary. Otto confesses his love to Laura. Following a confrontation in the Amazon jungle, Cypher, Ghost, and Trent all die. H.O.P.E. is destroyed. Otto feigns memory loss of everything that occurred under animus. By the end of the year, everyone is sixteen.

2010: Laura's brother, Douglas, is born. Otto has continual and repeated nightmares and is the subject of rumours. Overlord takes control of the Advanced Weapons' Testing Facility in Colorado. The Zero Hour protocol is activated. Wing and Shelby get together. Chief Lewis and Lucy Dexter die. Pietor Furan is killed by Raven. Nero becomes head of G.L.O.V.E. Duncan Cavendish is forced to resign. The Architect is contacted by Anastasia Furan through a proxy, and construction of the new Glasshouse is completed. Following the appointment of Security Chief Dekker, Laura is blackmailed into betraying the location of the Hunt after Tom and Penny's recruitment to H.I.V.E. Joseph Wright and several former members of the ruling council are offered the help of Disciples'. All of the Alpha stream save Shelby, Otto, Franz, and Wing are taken captive. Otto is expelled, and joined Raven on the hunt for the location of the new Glasshouse. By the end of the year, everyone is seventeen.

2011: Raven and Otto take down several Disciples, most notably visiting Dubai, London, and Paris. In Venice, they are pursued by the CIA after tracking down the Architect with the help of Diabolus Darkdoom. Tom dies. The new Glasshouse is stormed and destroyed, again. Laura is given the choice as to whether she wants to stay at H.I.V.E. or not, and decides to stay. Anastasia Furan is taken hostage in Nero's basement storage facility. The Disciples' countdown for the new batch of hostages starts at 99 days. By the end of the school year, everyone is eighteen.

2012: The majority of Otto and the gang's final year goes smoothly. Franz starts working out and loses weight, becoming conventionally attractive. A few days shy of graduation, the clone known as Anna becomes loose. Otto reconvenes with the CIA and is allowed access to the last remaining batch of the animus fluid. Francesca Sinistre dies. It is revealed to Nero by Anastasia that he is Raven's father. Raven kills Anastasia. Otto stays behind to destroy H.I.V.E. and dies. His consciousness is transferred to a cloning vat by H.I.V.E.mind. Everyone is nineteen.

2013: Construction on the new H.I.V.E. facility is already underway. Raven finds out her birthday. Shelby and Wing set up an orphanage, implied to be in Africa, for war orphans in Otto's honour. Franz is an instructor at the temporary facility. Laura gets in to MIT and Oxford. In early September, Otto shows up on her doorstep.

[sroloc--elbisivni]

re-reading the Redoubtable Pali Avramapul and continuing to lose my mind. do you get it. do you see the vision. like Pali and Kip's first conversation in the hotel makes me bonkers because kip is SO EXCITED and he sees some things immediately and he's playing all her songs in his head and from Pali's perspective she's having one of the worst emotional revelations of her life. she's personally and academically mortified. she's furious. she's heartbroken. she's ready to hate herself in the exact same way that Kip just saw in his best friend. and she ends up focusing all of that onto Kip and deciding Ah! You Are Mother Fucker! I can't hate my close companion for being trapped but i can hate you for being the representative of everything trapping him!!

and there are soooooo many OTHER ways that could have goooooone they're so SIMILAR and that's not HELPING because pali's also experiencing a nonzero amount of 'where did that other dog come from who is he i HATE him' and they're both!!! aaaaaaaghhhhhhhhh i'm gonna bite concrete.

listen it's. do you see my VISION. something goes horribly wrong and like. after the fateful Vacation Pali Avramapul is hauled up before the Lord of Zunidh. and he is just quietly losing his mind because he's been dreaming of this but he can't afford this, he can't stand her also being trapped here, and he can't exactly TELL kip!! but kip will still RECOGNIZE her as the woman on the elephant!!

like in my head she's being brought directly to His Radiancy quickly and quietly and he has no warning because if he did he would issue orders like 'release her immediately tell NO ONE' and she gets taken into the palace under heavy guard and Kip sees her and immediately has a quiet Fanboy Crisis but also one of his moments of. it's treason it's SO treason if i just have them...let her go...but also this is Pali Avramapul What If I Just-- (and he doesn't but he HAS THAT MOMENT is the point)

and then as soon as he sees her His Radiancy almost has his heart attack then and there. and does, in fact, pardon her basically immediately. and I don't think Pali recognizes him on first moments but she does immediately get offended because Hey. How Dare You. She Earned That Reputation. and now she is refusing to leave.

and Himself is still, kind of, panicking. what do you mean she won't leave. so his household gets involved. and by his household of course I mean Kip, Kip is now handling this, because well. She's Pali Avramapul. And she's no longer a criminal because she just got pardoned which means now they can put her in nice rooms, right?

she's not mollified in the slightest so she and Kip are now having a long conversation and possibly The Elephant comes up and the vacation and the Moon and she almost goes and bashes the Emperor's door back down because oh NOW she knows who he is get out here RIGHT NOW and as soon as she's talked down from that she's about ready to go punch the Moon in the face again and Kip is just trying to keep up and then! eventually! it clicks for him! and now he's having a Moment!

and now he's also thinking about. well. it's so much treason. but if he got them both out--(Pali: yes! thank you!) it's too much treason (Pali: fine I'LL do it--) but he WILL check over the whole schedule and try to figure out if the heirfinding can happen faster--

and about in here is, probably, when the heart attack actually happens which means everyone is panicking and Pali gets a good look at the taboo and the politics in action and it's all lots of fun.

but. graaaaahhhhh i just. these three are fascinating to me because it's a situation where Pali and Kip can both be described as the same man's love of his life. and that man is the love of both of their lives. and they would get on like a HOUSE ON FIRE if they had the chance they just have THE WORST POSSIBLE first conversation!!!!!

i have finished the Redoubtable Pali Avramapul, i am experiencing shrimp emotions, for the love of GOD someone tell me that the fic already exists where a member of the red company is hauled up before the Lord of Zunidh.