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fishnapple · 7 months ago

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Use your 3rd house & Mercury for manifestation

Finding your own manifestation method that gives consistent results, at a consistent frequency is peak life magic for me.

My manifestation method is called "Written coloured words on calendar". I have a theory that since Mercury is associated with The Magician in Tarot, it has something to do with manifesting, especially by using verbal or written words. Mercury will help manifesting the themes of the house that it rules. While the energy of the planet that rules your 3rd house will be the tool to communicate and express your messages.

Do give it a try and tell me if it's effective for you too. If you have your own manifestation method, feel free to spread the magic.

1. What you need

Coloured pens (the colour of the ink of the pen or the lead if you are using pencils, not the colour of the case)

A calendar that has space to write on (other things like a piece of paper or notebook don't work)

Basic astrology knowledge & your chart: you should know what planet rules your 3rd house and what house does Mercury rule in your chart

2. How I do it

The colour: Choose the pen with the colour that matches the colour associated with the planet that rules your 3rd house.

The phrase: I write "I want/need change" with that coloured pen around the space of the present day on the calendar. The phrase should be short, with a broad meaning, conveys the matters related to the house that Mercury rules in your chart. Don't be too specific like I want a red dress or I want 100$, start with general terms like asking for changes, surprises, chances, opportunities, helps, guidance.

Timing: the manifestation will happen within the next week, without fail, this is how it worked for me, the speed might depend on the planet that rules your 3rd house.

Example of how it works: I have Mercury rules my 3rd house & 6th house so it can be straightforward, whenever I wrote "I want change" with green (colour of Mercury) pen on the calendar, within the next week, a new business partnership/offer & more works (3rd & 6th house matters) appeared, I met someone new who would have Gemini or Virgo or both placements in their chart, who I would do business with, work with, travel with or became my friend (3rd & 6th house matters).

*Notes:

So you won't be able to manifest other things related to different houses & planets other than 3rd house and Mercury? → Most likely, I've tried with different houses & planets but it usually had short-term effect or no observable effect, while 3rd house and Mercury gave more long-term effects.

Each manifestation works only once, if you want it to happen again, you will need to write again.

3. Colours associated with each planet & their effect

Here is the list of effects I have observed through the years practising this. It can change depending on your chart though, try to experiment with each one yourself.

Yellow - Sun: Joyful events

Grey - Moon: No observable effect

Green - Mercury: Business, friendships, partnerships (strongest manifestation power, at least for me)

Pink - Venus: Interactions, pleasant exchanges

Red - Mars, Black - Pluto: Immediate unpleasant effects like traffic problems, meeting people in bad moods, troubles with machines, things become more hectic

Navy - Saturn, Blue - Uranus, Teal - Neptune : No observable effect

Purple - Neptune/Jupiter : Increase or decrease of interactions with people, can give rise to popularity but can also slow down your progress (I haven't really figured out this one yet)

Orange - Jupiter: Chances to expand your perspective, be more brave, test your resolution and faith. Some events can be negative at first but will turn out alright, after that you will learn some valuable lessons.

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notjustjavierpena · 2 years ago

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The idea of javier and reader being a baby making factory is so 🤪🤪

Trying (Drabble)

Series Masterpost | Main Masterpost | Support a disabled creator

A/N: Actually! My idea of them is that they don’t do super well with their attempts at starting/expanding the family. Which is why I think that they accidentally made Sebastian; they didn’t think they were super fertile and got a lil sloppy. It has always taken a good chunk of time to get reader pregnant during the times they were actively trying but fate often has it that when you stop focusing on it, it becomes easy.

Pairing: Javier Peña x f!reader (no y/n)

Word count: 500 words

Tags: Not explicit thoughts of infertility, trying for a bebe, soft!javi, the inherent suffering of being a person who has a womb, angst, hurt/comfort

Trying

“One line again,” you say quietly and try to hide your voice trembling as Javier leans against the bathroom sink. He reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose, letting out a frustrated sigh as the reality of not being lucky this time around either sets in. You shift on the toilet seat, “Really thought this was it this time.”

It’s been four months now without any luck.

“It’ll happen, baby,” he says without sounding overly optimistic. In fact, he sounds like he is in doubt, on the verge of giving up, and the tone of his voice makes you rise from your seat without a word. You twirl the pregnancy test in your hands for a brief moment before aggressively, and with exasperation, throwing it into the sink and pushing past your husband.

You start to cry the second that he cannot see you anymore. It’s big, heavy, and self-pitying tears that are accompanied by sobs as you walk into the kitchen with fast steps. You place both your palms on the counter, not caring about not having washed them yet, feeling stupid for being in this stupid house with two stupid spare bedrooms that you can’t help seeing as stupid nurseries.

Behind you, Javier says your name so softly that you heave for breath. You can only stammer your response, “I’m sorry.”

“What for?” Javier asks. You hear him come up behind you, so you turn to face him. Your face is tear-streaked, nose as well as mouth are puffy and red.

“The one thing my body is supposed to be good at doing and it’s not working. Probably won’t even be a good mom either,” your sniffles are filled with frustration, a fresh teardrop escaping as you tear yourself down in front of him.

“No, no, baby, no,” Javier shakes his head, tuts gently, and moves to cup your teary face. He wipes a few drops away with his thumbs, and you help by catching a few that threaten to drip off your chin, “It’ll happen. Think about how happy that’ll make us.”

“And if it doesn’t?” You know it’s a worst-case scenario, but admittedly it would be easier if people would only just talk about the struggles of getting pregnant. There is never talk about it not being a bed of roses, that it takes time for some couples. It’s always so fucking romantic and whoopsies, we’re having a baby.

“It will,” he stresses, holding your gaze while smiling gently, “Pero sí no, then we’ll figure it out. Maybe we’ll have our own Olivia like Connie and Steve.”

“Okay,” you reach up to hold onto his wrists, closing your eyes to steady your mind. He rests his forehead against yours.

“Okay,” he repeats, “And you’ll be the greatest momma in the world.”

You chuckle whilst still having tears in your eyes, “Okay.”

“Okay,” he chuckles too, “Now I think we need to wash your pee fingers.”

If you would like to follow my writing then go follow @notjustjavierpena-fics and turn on notifications 💖❤️

#husband!javi #pedro pascal characters #javier pena imagine #javier pena x reader #javier pena one shot #javi peña #javier pena narcos #javier pena fanfiction #javier pena fic #javier peña #javi pena #pedro pascal fanfiction #my writing

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nani-nonny · 1 year ago

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Um… minor spoilers for the general idea of how (a)paf ch.7 may go, although this is a deleted scene that I have already replaced

Main reason it was deleted was due to the difficulties I had trying to get to the parts I wanted. It wouldn’t flow in the right direction, the action was bland, and there wasn’t much going on. But I thought it’d be fun to share because writing is hard and I didn’t want to let 1k words go to waste :D

1099 words

“Case!” Leonardo calls out and nearly jumps through the window pane when he notices the majority of the Foot beeline in his direction.

They all scramble over one another, fighting tooth and nail to capture the mutant who stole the key.

Leonardo curses under his breath and calls out to the teen who is surrounded by numerous ninja, pulling out a modified hockey stick. The chainsaw on the end of the stick revs, challenging the surrounding ninja to step closer. The elder slider grabs the two teens and calls out to CJ, “Outside!”

The teen nods in response and tugs his mask back on, revving his chainsaw and swinging it at the Foot.

Leonardo can’t wait a second longer as a paper star is thrown in his direction, but just before it expands into a paper ninja, he grabs it and chucks it at the incoming Foot. He kicks the face of a ninja that barely made it to the window pane, sending them flying back into the crawling pile of Foot. He grabs the teens again and jumps off the roof.

“Wait!” Leo shouts in a panic and swings his sword, opening a portal below that pops them out to the ground below.

Leonardo lands on his feet, but collapses to his knee from the impact. His wound pulses painfully, reminding him of its presence and punishing him for such strain on his body. He releases the teens to hold his wound tightly, as if doing so will keep him from falling apart.

Leo waves his hands in the air, dangerously swinging his sword without a care in the world as he asks, “What was that? Your kid’s right there and you run away?”

Wincing, the elder slider rises to his feet and lightly massages his wound before finally letting it go. Leonardo unsheaths his sword and swings it once to test it out for any abnormalities as he answers, “Open area. It’s safer for you that way. And it’s a faster getaway.”

He starts to formulate a plan in his mind, taking into account that the Foot know he’s familiar with their “traitorous” new recruit. They won’t let Casey go so easily, especially now that they have a chance to get back at him for stealing their key. But he won’t let them hurt a single hair on CJ, or any of the kids for that matter. If he plays his cards right, he can open a portal for them all to retreat safely without anyone getting hurt.

A chaste chirp breaks Leonardo from his thoughts and he sees the baby’s hand reaching out of the sling. This time, she’s not allowing Leonardo to tuck her back in as she squirms with all the strength she can muster.

She chirps high-pitched and like an alarm, but so upset. And it upsets Leonardo in turn for hearing such a sound from the small thing.

The elder slider frowns, wondering where this feeling is coming from.

Her small head peeks out for the sling, reintroducing her to the world and her vibrant yellow stripe and matching red stripes. Her expression reflects Leonardo’s, until she makes eye contact and her frown melts away to the brightest smile.

She chirps again, high-pitched as the last but happier. She’s ecstatic to see him… but why? Why does it seem like she knows him better than he knows her?

Leonardo swallows nervously as she reaches her tiny hand to his scarf. Her tiny fist opens and closes as if begging for him to come close.

Why…? Who is he to her? What does she know that he doesn’t?

A heavy symphony of thumps and painful groans snaps Leonardo from his locked gaze on the baby. He follows the sound to see numerous Foot spill from the doorway and the rooftop. They’re scrambling to their feet, desperate to reach the mutant turtles that stand off to the far side.

Leonardo looks down at the baby one more time, stares at her wide eyes that look up at him so much familiarity. Not now. He attempts to tuck her in again, but this time she protests.

The baby snarls and frantically slaps his hand away with small smacks. She chirps angrily, nearly growling with as much ferocity as her tiny body can muster.

It’s enough to incite a muffled giggle from Mikey and a roll of the eyes from Leo.

“Just stay back, old man. Mikey and I will take care of it,” Leo orders the elder and takes a step forward when one Foot manages to squeeze out of the fallen pile and runs in their direction.

Mikey pulls out his kusari-fundo and swings it, warming it up as Leo takes the lead. The young slider runs straight for the pile of Foot, he easily slips by the front runner and slides in front of the pile to open a portal where the Foot fall from the rooftop. The box turtle begins flinging the Foot from the doorway beyond the rooftop, taking them from the ground to the skies in one swing of his chains.

Several Foot fall into the portal, unable to catch themselves on anything but each other. Each one soon finds themselves flailing in a panic within the shores of the ocean. They wave their arms in an attempt to warm their fellow Foot to stop falling through the portal.

Leo snickers and looks back at his future counterpart, a smug look on his face that showed how confident he was in his abilities. He wants his future counterpart to see that he’s not just some kid to ignore like the baby, that he’s worth it. He’s worth the attention and the respect, but when he sees the elder’s disappointed frown, his smirk falters.

Why? What am I doing wrong?

Leo’s brows furrow and he closes the portal, watching as the rest of the Foot fall and crumble on the ground.

Mikey’s movements slow when he sees Leo’s portal close. One Foot ninja slips from Mikey’s slowing defenses and lunges through the gaps, running directly for the elder slider.

Mikey glances in Leo’s direction, about to question his brother, but turns to Leonardo and calls out, “Look out!”

But the assistance isn’t needed, much to Mikey’s surprise, as Leonardo simply grabs the Foot ninja’s wrist and flips them onto the ground. The elder places his foot onto the enemy’s back and reminds Mikey, “Don't worry about me. Focus on what’s in front of you.”

Mikey releases a surprised squeak when he notices the pile has grown far larger than seconds ago.

#(accidentally) played American football with my newborn #rottmnt #rottmnt snippet #rottmnt future leo #future leo au

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bonebabbles · 2 years ago

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Clear Sky Abuse Tally

IT'S THE "HIT" NEW GAME SHOW WHERE WE KEEP A RUNNING LIST OF EVERY TIME CLEAR SKY BATTERS RANDOM PEOPLE

I'm trying to think of how to keep this list... I don't want to be tallying every small thing, but I do want to track the important cases, as well as the lesser ones that people tend to forget.

Important note- I'm starting this list while reading First Battle so the details of the previous books (especially sun trail) will be more broad than later ones. This list isn't complete yet as I'm still re-reading.

Sun Trail:

Screamed at young Jagged Peak and consistently put him down through the Journey

Commanded his cats to enforce borders for no reason, getting several people injured

Broke up Jagged Peak's bonding with Gray Wing during his visit and got into a public fight with pregnant mate Storm, suggesting that he was already being controlling.

Threw Jagged Peak out of his group for becoming disabled

Watched Fox brutalize Gray Wing, doing nothing, until Gray Wing flailed out in self defense (blinded by his own blood leaking into his eyes) and killed him accidentally, at which time Clear Sky accused him of murder

Abandoned baby Thunder

Thunder Rising:

Continues to aggrieve the border with the moor cats

Humiliates Jagged Peak by calling him useless

Lies to Thunder that abandoning him "was a test" that he passed, so he's worthy of his love now

Makes no note about Moon Shadow as they leave, because he is severely burned and ergo no longer useful.

Emotionally manipulates Thunder by saying he can, "stay with the kits" if he doesn't leave with them immediately, preventing him from properly saying goodbye to his adopted family

Brings him to a bunch of charred, unsafe trees to force him to leap around, shouting when he's too cautious and also when he is too fast. This is a manipulation tactic called a Double Bind.

Started expanding borders in spite of having enough food, as the fire didn't reach as far as camp and didn't burn the whole forest.

Slaughtered Misty, who was defending her kits

Suggested killing the kits too

Beat Bumble to death and acted offended that Gray Wing didn't start parroting his fantastic lie

Became so offended that Thunder tried to talk to him about the borders that he constructed a test of loyalty using Frost's life (warning: medical gore)

Publicly humiliated Frost by making him flash his weeping wound at the entire Clan

Exiled him, saying that Frost was 'endangering' the Clan with his weakness

Told the teenage Thunder to bring him away from the territory, "where the maggots can find him," knowing that Thunder wouldn't want to be responsible for the death of a Clanmate

When he refused, he shoved his face into the festering, reeking wound and told him to "lick it clean if he cares so much"

Pushed Thunder in front of a fox that suddenly attacked camp

The First Battle:

Called Falling Feather for a chat alone after overhearing her goodbye to Thunder, and then slashed her face when she called him greedy

Publicly humiliates her, 'feeling pleased' at seeing the guilt in her eyes, and announces she must be punished for displaying disloyalty. “Any cat may give Falling Feather orders. Any cat may take her prey if they wish. She is lower than a snake until she has earned our trust again.”

Brings the orphaned kits, Birch and Alder, out on a training session and forces them to run as fast as him, shaming them when the kittens can't keep up

Smacks Alder when she is uncomfortable about Clear Sky forcing her to do a surprise ambush on Birch

Leaves Birch alone in the woods where the kitten is attacked by a dog

Overhunts to the point of there being several piles of meat, about to spoil

Takes a hostage, Jackdaw's Cry, and starves him for 3 days. "Cats take months to starve, I've seen it in the mountains. Dumb moor cats, always wanting more than they deserve."

Lies that he would keep him safe and fed.

Forces his cats to train with claws out, leaving them collectively bloody and bruised

Does not allow cats to choose their own food, flinging carcasses at them so that they only eat when he allows it.

Tells son Thunder that he shouldn't exist before commanding his cats to attack him

Starts the First Battle over Jackdaw's Cry catching a bat "on his land" after starving him, ending what was supposed to be a peaceful negotiation

When the negotiation patrol jumps up onto a rock he makes it known the intention is murder, “That’s right,” he hissed, “Stay up here and watch your friends die.”

Murders Rainswept Flower when she hadn't attacked him, offended that she called him greedy, boasting that if he hadn't killed her then some other cat would have.

#bonefall reads dotc

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mariacallous · 2 years ago

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It’s the summer tradition no one wants to partake in: Covid-19 cases are on the rise again. Hospitalizations from the virus ticked up in mid-July, increasing by 12 percent to just over 8,000 across the US for the week ending July 22. That’s nowhere near the pandemic peaks that overwhelmed health workers, but July brought the first weekly increases in hospitalizations since the US ended the federal Covid-19 public health emergency in May, just a week after the World Health Organization did the same with its global public health emergency.

The end of Covid-19 emergency status meant the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stopped tracking the virus as closely. But metrics show infections are still spreading. The pharmacy chain Walgreens reported a 42 percent positivity rate for tests during the last week of July, up from 29 percent in late June. And wastewater samples show concentrations of the virus moving upward across the country. Cases of Covid have also increased in Japan and the United Kingdom.

SARS-CoV-2 has spiked every summer since 2020. “There’s no reason that we wouldn’t see [a wave] this summer,” says Katelyn Jetelina, who writes the online health newsletter Your Local Epidemiologist. “We’re slowly but surely starting to see one summer wave and one winter wave.”

But experts have a hazier view of the building wave than in prior years. In the US, publication of hospitalization data comes a week behind the dates it captures. The CDC no longer tracks community levels of transmission. When the WHO emergency declaration was in effect, we saw more cross-government communication, but that’s less available now. “Our magnifying glass is a bit smudged compared to where we were a year ago,” says Josh Michaud, an associate director for global health policy at KFF, a nonprofit research group. “Many of the data points and indicators that we relied on in the past are no longer available to us.”

But there are still signs to watch. Wastewater testing, which can find traces of the virus expelled in feces, has shown a “sustained” increase in Covid-19 concentrations over several weeks, says Mariana Matus, CEO and cofounder of Biobot Analytics, a company that tracks Covid-19, Mpox, and opioids in US wastewater. The data from Biobot Analytics draws from about 600 wastewater data collection points and is valuable, Matus says, because it doesn’t exclude people who can’t afford testing or don’t report the results of at-home tests—and it can show the presence of Covid-19 in a community before large numbers of people get test results or are hospitalized.

But ensuring a bigger picture will require additional steps, such as expanding wastewater sampling. The decision to test wastewater largely relies on individual communities opting do their own testing. Matus imagines a more robust system that could help people make decisions based on pathogen concentrations in different regions, analogous to the Air Quality Index—data that could be easily displayed on something equivalent to a weather app. “We’re very excited about a vision and a future where people interact with wastewater data similar to how they interact with weather data, where it’s that pervasive in our society,” Matus says.

At this point, it’s too early to say there’s a massive wave of infections building��but the hospitalization data is enough to pique the attention of epidemiologists and public health experts. Although case and hospitalization numbers are still relatively low, the virus does kill hundreds of people in the US each week. And as of early 2023, it had left an estimated one in 10 survivors fighting long Covid, which can include persistent health issues like breathlessness and brain fog.

There could be a few reasons for the current uptick in cases, waning immunity among them. Just around 17 percent of the US population has received bivalent vaccines, which became widely available in the fall of 2022 and are meant to offer better protection against Omicron variants. With lower case numbers over the past few months and many people not receiving a booster shot in 2023, immunity from vaccinations and prior infections could be decreasing, making more people susceptible to the virus, says Sam Scarpino, director of AI and life sciences at the Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern University.

Experts guessed that Covid-19 would become seasonal, peaking in the fall and winter like the flu and the common cold, but other factors have kept the virus around in warmer months. “It’s true that you have cyclical patterns for most of these respiratory diseases,” Scarpino says. “I don’t think it’s really well understood what drives those.”

There could be some particular factors at play this year. Much of the US is enduring a suffocating summer. Wildfire smoke from Canada has engulfed the East Coast and Midwest, and exposure to the particulate pollution that comes with the smoke may weaken the immune system. Those were the findings of a 2021 study: In 2020, parts of California, Oregon, and Washington that experienced wildfire smoke saw excess Covid-19 cases and deaths. Meanwhile, dangerously high temperatures are keeping people indoors in the southern part of the US, and as a respiratory virus, SARS-CoV-2 spreads most easily indoors. People also traveled at record rates during the summer’s early months, which meant more opportunities for Covid to spread. But it’s not yet clear whether one, all, or none of these factors may be driving infections.

Genomic sequencing from the CDC shows that, as of June, offshoots of the Omicron variant are responsible for all of Covid-19 cases in the US. “On one hand, this is a good sign,” says Jetelina. “We can hopefully predict where SARS-CoV-2 is going.” That’s helpful for formulating updated coronavirus vaccinations. But it’s not certain that the virus’s evolution will continue down this Omicron path. In May, experts estimated the possibility of a highly mutated variant of concern arising during the next two years at about 20 percent.

In June, the US Food and Drug Administration recommended the development of an updated Covid-19 shot, preferring a formula that would target the XBB.1.5 Omicron variant. The FDA may authorize such a shot by the end of the month. But it’s hard to know whether people will be eager to get a fifth or sixth vaccine—pandemic fatigue, distrust of public health officials, and an overall return to normal life left many unenthused about last year’s booster and contributed to the low uptake rates. And while the US government previously bought doses directly and helped distribute them for free, the distribution of vaccines is now expected to move to the private sector.

Officials are unlikely to roll out wide-ranging restrictions on masking and social distancing—and barring a threatening new subvariant or a massive peak in cases, people are unlikely to change their behaviors after living alongside the virus for more than three years. It’s too soon to know whether the latest Covid-19 cases are a blip or a big wave. But as the dog days of summer linger, Covid is hanging around too.

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healthcarehubhh · 8 months ago

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The Rising Pace of the Diagnostic Testing of STDs Market Driven by Increasing Disease Prevalence Owing to Changing Sexual Behaviors

Diagnostic testing of STDs involves screening and diagnostic testing procedures that allow for the detection of sexually transmitted infections in asymptomatic individuals and confirmation of STDs in symptomatic patients. Common STDs that require diagnostic testing include Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, HIV/AIDS, Syphilis, Hepatitis, Herpes, HPV and Trichomoniasis. Effective testing helps identify infections early and allow timely treatment, reduce transmission and curb rising STD cases. The global diagnostic testing of STDs market is estimated to be valued at US$ 10.4 Bn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 9.6% over the forecast period 2023 to 2030. Key Takeaways Key players operating in the diagnostic testing of STDs market are Vela Diagnostics USA Inc., Roche Holdings AG, Alere, Inc., Becton Dickinson & Company, bioMerieux, Danaher Corporation (Beckman Coulter), Hologic, Inc., binx health, Chembio Diagnostics, Pinpoint Science Inc., and bioLytical Laboratories. The major players are focusing on launching novel diagnostic products and services. For instance, in 2023, Vela Diagnostics launched an automated real-time PCR system for rapid and sensitive STD detection. The global diagnostic testing market is driven by the growing prevalence of STDs owing to rising high-risk sexual behaviors worldwide. According to WHO, every day more than 1 million STDs are acquired globally. This massive disease burden generates significant demand for effective diagnostic solutions for screening, detection, treatment monitoring and epidemiological surveillance. Rapid technological advancements are expanding diagnostic capabilities. Traditionally dependent on cultures and nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), the market is witnessing the adoption of novel platform technologies like CRISPR, microfluidics, and lateral flow assays for faster, integrated, multiplex and point-of-care testing. Industry players are developing smartphone-enabled testing devices and integrated diagnostic platforms to decentralize testing and improve access. Market Trends Growing preference for non-invasive diagnostic techniques: The trend towards non/minimally invasive testing methods is gaining traction. Technologies enabling self-sampling, sample stabilization and non-invasive molecular detection methods will improve patient compliance and uptake of routine screening programs. Increased automation and multiplexing of tests: STDs often require simultaneous detection of multiple pathogens. Industry is developing high-throughput, automated platforms for multiplex detection of STD panels from a single sample to streamline testing and reduce turnaround times. Market Opportunities Rising demand in low and middle-income countries: Most STDs disproportionately affect the developing world due to underdeveloped healthcare infrastructure and lack of awareness. Partnerships with governments, donor organizations can boost diagnostic accessibility in these regions. Integration of digital technologies: Leveraging telehealth, AI, blockchain and digital health records present opportunities to decentralize testing, strengthen surveillance and improve real-time clinical decision making in STD management. Impact of COVID-19 on Diagnostic Testing of STDs Market COVID-19 has significantly impacted the growth of the diagnostic testing of STDs market. During the initial lockdown phase, when people were confined to their homes, testing rates dropped dramatically as screening and testing centers were temporarily closed. Physical distancing norms also reduced the number of sexual partners, thereby lowering the risk of infections. This reduced the demand for STD diagnostic testing. However, as lockdowns eased, testing rates started increasing again.

#Diagnostic Testing of STDs Market Growth #Diagnostic Testing of STDs Market Trend #Diagnostic Testing of STDs Market Share

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kammartinez · 2 years ago

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Amanda Hoover

At this point, it’s too early to say there’s a massive wave of infections building—but the hospitalization data is enough to pique the attention of epidemiologists and public health experts. Although case and hospitalization numbers are still relatively low, the virus does kill hundreds of people in the US each week. And as of early 2023, it had left an estimated one in 10 survivors fighting long Covid, which can include persistent health issues like breathlessness and brain fog.

#covid-19 #medicine

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kamreadsandrecs · 2 years ago

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Amanda Hoover

#covid-19 #medicine

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lookninjas · 5 years ago

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In other news, I got a text from my district manager saying that there’s a possibility that some stores might be opening as soon as next week which, if history repeats, means that we absolutely are not opening next week but corporate’s going to spend every single day fucking acting like we’re gonna.

#covid-19 #cases are starting to rise again as testing expands #and to be honest even if southeast michigan settles some #otego's getting bad #alpena's getting bad #and given whitmer's recent statements #i think she might've actually noticed which to be honest i wasn't really expecting #i'm gonna say we've got another two weeks of this #i could be wrong #but i think we're looking at more mid-may #but who the fuck knows anymore #at least i can get tested if we do open back up so that's actually a huge weight off

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blackswaneuroparedux · 2 years ago

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Det sted man er fra er alltid pent, det er fedrelandsfølelsen i det små, hjemmefølelsen.*

- Knut Hamsun

*The place you're from is always beautiful, it's the sense of country in a small way, the feeling of home.

Most of us have heard of Lapland, but we’re not supposed to call it that anymore. The correct term these days is Sápmi - i.e. the land inhabited by the Lapps (or, rather, the Sami - as they very much prefer to be known). And, fair enough: they’ve got every right to assert their own identity, especially after centuries of domination by their southern neighbours.

Some of those neighbours are now keen to make amends for past injustices. For instance, the Swedish government made a point of using its presidency of the EU Council of Ministers to celebrate Sami National Day.

I can only imagine that it was worded with the best intentions, but if you read any of the Scandinavian press and media, it’s clear that it hasn’t gone down well with everyone. The problematic claim is that the Sami are “the EU’s only indigenous people” (my italics).

For a start, what is meant here by ‘indigenous’? According to most dictionaries, it’s the property of being original to, or characteristic of, a particular part of the world. In which case, there are all sorts of European peoples who could claim to be indigenous to Europe. For instance, the geneticist Razib Khan points out that the ancestors of today’s majority-Swedish population have been in Scandinavia for at least as long as the ancestors of today’s Sami.

The Norwegians and Swedes originated from the Norse people. The Norse people in turn originated from the Proto-Germanic peoples who migrated to the area of northern Germany, Denmark, southern Scandinavia. The Proto-Germanic peoples in turn originated from the Proto-Indo-European people whose homeland lies in the Pontic-Caspian steppe, the area around Ukraine and southern Russia.

Likewise, the Sami are not quite indigenous to the area either. The Sami originated from the Proto-Uralic people, whose homeland was around the Ural mountains (and was therefore close to the Proto-Indo-Europeans and resulted in interactions between their protolanguages, resulting in lexical borrowings). The Proto-Uralic peoples, just like the Proto-Indo-Europeans, slowly expanded and migrated, but in their case they expanded to the northwest and the northeast (with the notable exception of the Hungarians who ended up in Hungary). The Proto-Samic people, a subgroup of the Proto-Uralic peoples that gave rise to the modern Sami, were said to have displaced or merged with a much earlier indigenous Paleo-European group that was already in northern Scandinavia. This is evidenced by substrate words present in the Sami languages that derive neither from Proto-Uralic nor from Proto-Indo-European.

In any case, if Europeans are going to have a competition as to who was in Europe first, then it might be won by those with the most Neanderthal ancestry - because, as genomic testing has revealed, millions of us carry Neanderthal genes.

But perhaps the Swedish government is using indigenous to mean something more specific. According to Merriam-Webster the word relates to “the earliest known inhabitants of a place and especially of a place that was colonised by a now-dominant group”. This extra element of oppression by outsiders sharpens up the definition. However, while it applies to the Sami people and their history, it doesn’t do so uniquely. There are many ethnic groups in Europe that have been around for ages and which have been maltreated by foreign overlords. Just ask the Welsh, for instance, or the Basques.

It could be argued that the Sami are in a special category because of where they live (i.e. the most northerly reaches of Europe) and how they lived there (e.g. by reindeer herding). To have maintained a traditional culture for so long into the modern era surely sets them apart. But, again, this is debatable. While there’s no doubting the distinctiveness of the Sami, other Europeans can also lay claim to ancient traditions that have survived against the odds. To take a topical example, the Ukrainians are literally sacrificing their lives for a distinctive culture, language and history that Putin wants to erase.

Progressives ought to think twice before making an issue about who is and isn’t indigenous in Europe. While the label might play into the victim/oppressor narratives of the woke Left, it can also be exploited by the far-Right.

At a time when populism is a constant threat, telling people that they’re not indigenous to a place where they and their ancestors have lived for “time immemorial” is less than helpful. I’m sure that the Swedish government meant well, but it’s pulling on a dangerous thread.

When language is allowed to become dissociated from meaning or the map from the territory, then fractional strife and chaos awaits. Orwell understood it perfectly from his observations of Stalinists: control language and you control expression; control expression, you control dialogue, and eventually the political narrative.

#hamsun #knut hamsun #quote #norsk #norwegian #scandinava #sweden #sami #indigenous #identity #society #traditions #culture #europe #home

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lacklusterhero747 · 2 years ago

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Hacking the Game

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with running a game entirely according to the rules as presented in the book, most Game Masters I have encountered in life tend to have their own House Rules. After all, running a game comes with a certain amount of game design inherently built into the experience. I know some might disagree with this assertion, but I believe this to be true, starting when you craft encounters while agonizing over whether or not you believe your party of player characters can rise to the challenge and then eventually expanding as you begin to craft unique magic items or monsters specific to your campaign.

Why then shouldn't a Game Master eventually start tinkering around with the very rules that underpin the entire system in order to meet their specific needs? With the agreement of your Players, of course.

Success at a Cost

Not so much a house rule of my own design in this case, but rather an optional rule presented within the text of Fabula Ultima itself, well... I let the text box speak for itself:

I like this rule a lot because it gives the players the opportunity to turn those agonizing near misses, when you just miss the check difficulty by one or two, into successes... assuming they're willing to take on a complication. A Devil's Bargain, if you will, to borrow a bit of terminology from Blades in the Dark. Of course, to tinker with it a little bit more, I think I probably would not allow Success at a Cost on rolls that miss the mark by a wide margin in most cases, reserving it for say... within 5 of the Difficulty at most, but I suppose I would willing to hear my players out if the cost they proposed was suitably troublesome. After all, the more they're willing to get themselves into trouble, the easier my job becomes, right?

Starting Bond

Bonds in Fabula Ultima are a source of narrative power for the heroes, in some ways like the grease that keeps the wheels turning. They can be used to help improve Checks or Aid allies during Group Checks, and even some Class Skills or Equipment can benefit from a character's bonds.

So I thought it was pretty weird that Player Characters do not begin play with even a single Bond written down on their character sheet.

Thankfully, we can turn to an optional rule in the book yet again:

In short, the way bonds work, you may have a strong emotional attachment to characters, nations, kingdoms, organizations, and even religions. These bonds are composed of emotional pairs, consisting of Admiration or Inferiority; Loyalty or Mistrust; and Affection or Hatred. A bond's strength is a number equal to the number of emotions you have attached to it, up to a maximum of +3 if you've selected an emotion from each pair, and your bond can be invoked in different scenarios to grant you this numerical bonus to a roll.

With this optional rule in play, as it says above, we have a chance to hit the ground running with at least one bond predefined for each character, telling us a little bit more about who they are and allowing them to engage with this mechanic from the start.

Quirks

Another optional rule, this time from the play test material, Quirks are something that exist as a mechanical narrative reinforcement of a character's unique nature. You could almost think of them in a manner similar to picking a race in Dungeon's & Dragons, like elf or dwarf, but in this case it's more like giving yourself a bit of niche protection by adopting a Heroic Trope common in anime and video games.

Take these, for example:

I like this optional rule because it gives players a bit more room to define who their characters are and what they're about.

Earning Experience

This is probably the biggest one, and the one where I've done the most work on my own. Normally, the game simply awards players 5 experience points for showing up, plus an additional amount of experience defined by how many Fabula Points (think hero points from other games) the players spend during a session and how many Ultima Points (Hero points for villains) that the bad guys spend. Once you've earned 10 xp, you level up, and reduce your current xp ten, keeping any points that are left over.

In a broad sense, this is fine, but I've always been the sort of Game Master that prefers to reward players by giving out experience points for engaging in behaviors that I specifically want to encourage. So, I changed the model to look more like this:

Players will still gain XP from Fabula and Ultima Points being spent during the game as normal, as well as 1 point for participating in the session, and an additional point for playing to their character's Identity, Theme, Origin, and Quirk (your standard good Roleplay award). Next we go to a checklist of Experience questions to determine the additional amount of Experience Points that the Party gains. The questions are as follows:

Did we learn something new and important about the world?

Did we overcome a difficult or noteworthy obstacle?

Did we make significant progress towards our goal?

These questions help encourage the behaviors I want to see in the type of game we're playing: curiosity about the world, demonstrating fighting spirit or intellectual ability to overcome challenges set in their path, and setting goals as a group and staying on task.

Then, after we answer those questions, there is the experience vote. A chance to really let each player shine by sharing the spotlight. There are three awards, given out at the end of each session, and each award grants the player who receives it an additional 2 XP and if two or more players are tied, they will each gain this bonus experience!

A few rules apply, however: You cannot be awarded this bonus XP twice in a row, you may only win one award per session, and you cannot vote for yourself or for the Game Master.

The Awards are as follows:

Embodiment: Embodiment is for the player who perfectly captures the mood at the table or drives the story onward. Stopping the table dead in its tracks with humor while in character, or making great speeches, desperate decisions, or achieving gruesome revenge fall into this category. This goes beyond simply playing to a character’s background and motivation and speaks to a scene or action that the group finds particularly memorable.

Team Worker: The Team Worker is the player who worked the hardest to keep the group together and in good shape or to keep the story moving forward. This award goes to the ones who help despite the risks, the ones who the group leans on to get shit done without any thanks in return, and the ones who sacrifice their goals for their companions.

MVP: The MVP award goes to the player who makes the biggest splash. This could mean being in the right place at the right time, playing to your Identity/Theme/Origin in a way that hauls the group across the finish line, taking the big hit so the rest of the party can succeed, or simply making that crucial roll that enables party to face down the big problem besetting it in the session.

And that's really all there is to it. I like the voted XP awards for a game like this because it encourages players to stay engaged. They have to be involved in handing out the XP to one another, so the theory goes that should be paying attention to what's going on, as well as putting their best foot forward to try to earn these accolades. And the small insurance policy built in that you can't continually win the same award session after session should (hopefully) keep any one player in particular from steam rolling ahead of the others in this now, slightly more asymmetrical level system.

#role playing games #fabula ultima #ttrpg #jrpg #game mechanics #fiction first #complex systems #house rules #game design

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tjerra14 · 3 months ago

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Once again having to put a cut (haha) here because y'know. The Talkative™️is showing (I just love the Banuk okay)

I'd need to replay the Deep Din quest (and probably talk to nearby NPCs as well, some of them do have some interesting commentary to world state changes influenced by your completed quests) to see if I missed something about how often the drums are played, but I could see them being more on the ritualistic side where their purpose is concerned as you said.

Fully agree on the testing into weraks, and varying thresholds for those rites. The White Teeth's initiation likely killing you doesn't seem to be very practicable, considering there wouldn't be many Banuk left after a few generations, so that's definitely an extreme. Interestingly though, there's one thing (among others) Ikrie says that's been haunting me for a while now, when referring to the great weraks of Ban-Ur: "Not so many great ones left now." I do wonder, that since the White Teeth seem to have prestige and power, if all the so-called "great" weraks all or predominantly lean on the extreme. Multiple NPCs refer to expanding your song by doing great deeds, and that will, in most cases, be achieved through hunts and fights and generally all kinds of exploits that tend to be dangerous. There's also the general crisis of faith which will have its influence (this is mentioned in the game during A Moment's Peace, with Aluki being representative for the younger, questioning generation caring less about the Blue Light and harmony with the machines as they've never come to truly know it, but more about the hunt and the challenge and renown it offers; whereas the shamans present are more curious about how these machines are docile, and how the old ways can be preserved. the game sadly never truly touches upon it again but Banuk society is definitely facing some major challenges); so if the great weraks are dwindling--what if that way of life is no longer truly sustainable because the machines have grown more dangerous due to the Derangement? What would that mean for the Banuk in general? As for the testing age, there are a few young hunters around in the Cut seemingly at teenager age all training, likely for admittance into their preferred werak. We do meet Ikrie, Mailen, and the three unnamed White Teeth aspirants that are very cheerful about the prospect of Ikrie not returning because it elevates their standing within the werak skill-wise, and are essentially told to shut up by the Chieftain for it. All of them seem to be around Aloy's age, so it would be likely for tests to be held at that age. There is one line that mentions a shaman starting their apprenticeship at "ten winters old", so maybe it also differs a little depending on which path you choose? (Personally I like the idea of a central ceremony once a year, where Banuk of a certain age can pick their preferred weraks and run with them for a while while prepping for their trial, and then either pass and get accepted, or go back to square one with another one. Not sure how feasible that would be though.)

Absolutely with you on the gifts being more on the practical side. Sure, they would go with some jewelry, it's a people thing after all, but it also seems they value practical gifts that combine function and form. Enables you to survive and look great while doing it? Perfect gift.

I've always thought that the Banuk burn their dead because the smoke--their spirits--rises to the sky--"and beyond, to the Blue Light". I think Aratak says that during his initial speech addressing the werak? The warmth angle would also make sense, maybe it's a combination of the two?

The artbook has some concept art of Banuk working with machines, and it does state somewhere (I think?) that the Banuk shamans and the songs they sing are what they used to tame them. Which would a) explain the focus on music that we still see in the game and b) why those Glinthawks answered when the shaman blew the horn during the funeral scene. They scrapped that though to make Aloy more special. I do like to think that the stories of machine tamers are still very much alive, the art of that being lost a comparatively recent thing that feeds into the general crisis of faith that is fuelled by the Derangement (although I don't think the Derangement is what started the Banuk losing control over the machines, that has been going on for a while); and at least some of them, even though we never see it, completely lose their mind at Aloy strolling up on a Charger because why the hell is this outlander more familiar with the Blue Light than their own shamans.

Headcanon time! Banuk edition

So we already know that there are many many different Weraks within the Banuk tribe. We also know that they all have their own way of going about things, with different levels of intensity. The White Teeth (the werak associated with Ikrie's questline), for example, is very strict about the survival capabilities of its members, as new recruits must be able to survive four days and nights alone on a glacier. It's doubtful the White Teeth are the only werak with these ideals.

So with that in mind, that leads me to this question: what happens to the babies? Now it's fairly simple to imagine that a member of these weraks who could not keep up with the extreme lifestyle would either be ostracized or die trying to keep up (and in some cases left to die). But I feel that a baby would be treated (slightly) differently. Yes, a child is incapable of many of the actions required by the werak they were born into, but they have the potential to grow. Their weakness isn't a failing at this point, it is an inherent aspect of children which (in the eyes of the werak) can be overcome. I doubt many weraks would leave infants to die (though it's not unheard of) and that's where this headcanon comes in.

It is a common occurrence (at least to the degree that it isn't considered strange in Banuk culture) that the children of these extreme weraks are left in the care of other weraks. Some may know their heritage, others may not, depending on their birth parents and the werak that raised them. Should they wish to become a member of their parent's werak they are usually just as welcomed as any other Banuk.

Some weraks have many of these orphaned children because their land borders that of several extreme weraks. This may even become a part of their identity. Other times there may be only one due to one or both of the groups being nomadic. I believe the extremist weraks would want to be rid of a child as soon as possible, if a nearby werak recently had a birth then they're in luck, they won't have to wait for the infant to be weaned off of milk if they are able to pay the mother to raise the child. Otherwise they will have to wait.

Additionally, the parents of the child could be shunned by their werak as well. Obviously such a werak is no place for children, but people are people and sometimes babies happen. If the child becomes a large burden on the werak, I could see both parents being shunned until the problem is solved. (There's also something to be said here about how childbirth isn't something you just bounce back from and go back to roughing it on a glacier, but this headcanon is about orphans.)

Long story short, it isn't uncommon for weraks to raise the children of these extreme weraks. Many of these kids will remain in the werak they were raised by, some not even knowing they weren't born a part of it to begin with. Others will strive to join the werak of their parents, even if they don't know who they are. And yet others will feel abandoned, not feeling as though they belong to either werak. They might choose to strike out on their own or join a completely different werak.

A/N

WHYYYYY don't we know ANYTHING about Banuk family units??? do they even stay with their parents or is it a group thing??? literally the only people who mention having alive family is Ourea and Aratak and they're siblings. Do parents actually raise specifically their kids or is it like a whole gaggle of moms and dads working together on shifts? Are there weraks that function as giant daycares/boarding schools? I'm just trying to make some sense out of all this. One thing is for sure though: the White Teeth are not gonna keep kids around but kids are still gonna happen. That's life (literally).

#hope i didn't miss anything and i hope you have so much fun!#my brain is jumping up and down excitedly about all this #banuk my absolute beloved #hzd #hzd the frozen wilds

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powdermelonkeg · 4 years ago

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Hyrule Brochure: A Potential for BotW’s Future

Hyrule’s map in BotW is pretty sparse as far as cities go. Yes, it’s got more than any other Zelda game, but it also has like, 90% of its map being pure dead space.

So I decided to play around and make what I imagine Hyrule would look like, as far as cities go, if it were allowed to properly rebuild and not get totally wrecked by Ganon again.

Credit to Eragon2589 on DeviantArt for the free-to-use map icons. I love these little buttons so much.

So, these are the canon towns we get in BotW; Hateno, Lurelin, Tarrey, Zora’s Domain, Goron City, Korok Forest, Rito Village, Yiga Hideout, and Gerudo Town. I’m counting Yiga Hideout as a town because if the Yiga were a little nicer, it WOULD be marked one.

Adding the various stables on makes the place look MUCH less empty, but still; what can we do with this?

Well, I’ve spent the last several days locating all the significant ruins and landmarks, with one or two extra things thrown in, that I think would make this place much more populated.

Maps are free to use if you want them, btw. Have fun!

As a general rule of thumb, I want to make the towers and stables their own cities. The towers are a good landmark and beacon of safety, and the stables have all the building blocks to start building up a village.

If I’m particularly inspired, I’ll give some background on what the town is/does!

Starting off with the Rito! Their village has grown into a town, and the stable at its foothill is its own village now. I called it “fledgeling” because that’s where the Rito and Hylians would intermingle most, so the Rito aren’t exactly flying around here.

Beacon City is built around Tabantha Tower; the Rito have turned it into a sort of lighthouse, reflecting light off into the distance to help guide nighttime fliers home. Because of this, it’s a very popular stop for mail carriers, and where they go, development and cultural mixing follows.

Kaysa Town is built around Great Fairy Kaysa’s fountain; it’s a popular tourist attraction, and she gets plenty of offerings, so win-win!

For the Gorons, we’ve only got two more cities: Silversmith Village and Din’s Spire. Silversmith is built around the culture in the southern mines, and it has down-the-road access to the Goron Hot Springs. Din’s Spire is less of a town and more of a landmark, due to the sheer cliffs all around it, but the huge (and notably not in the burning death zone) hot spring lake makes it a popular rest stop for people on their way through.

I decided not to rebuild the northern mines; they’re pretty busted up and lava soaked, so my assumption is that they were abandoned either due to hazards or due to the ore being stripped out.

Korok Forest wouldn’t change much, besides the Royal Family declaring it a protected area. The Koroks don’t seem to have much interest in expansion, and they, as far as I know, don’t live in houses.

Gerudo Territory is MUCH more expansive than the others so far, and with good reason.

Gerudo Town itself is now Gerudo City, and the Kara Kara Bazaar has grown into a town. Canyon Stable has developed a village (mostly full of Gerudo husbands so they don’t have to travel a million miles just to see their families).

The Gerudo have control of one of the towers in their region, and the town built around it is Overlook Town. It mostly serves as a training grounds for young Gerudo warriors.

The City of the Seven developed when the Seven Heroine statues were recovered and restored; the town around them was built to honor them, and then it got a LOT of foot traffic from those wanting to see the legendary statues.

Tera Town rose up much in the same way Kaysa Town did up in Rito territory, centered around the Great Fairy Fountain.

Mesa Village and West Gerudo Town are both smaller Gerudo settlements; West Gerudo sprung up out of access to snowmelt from the Gerudo Highlands, and Mesa Village, because of its relative safety from Molduga and access to oasis water.

Finally, Gerudo Valley, in reference to Ocarina of Time. This town is a Gerudo-only zone, and is more a fortress than a town. It exists both to keep an eye on the Yiga and to gain control of the mountain pass, making people go through Canyon Village to get to Gerudo instead of avoiding Gerudo customs.

Speaking of the Yiga, they’ve taken two new spots for themselves; Gerudo Tower, which they’ve renamed Kohga Tower in honor of their late Master, and Banana Labyrinth, which serves as their highest security area. Imagine if you’d had to go through the LABYRINTH to get the Thunder Helm back.

Up next we’ve got the Zora. Truthfully, their territory spans as long as Zora river and WELL into the ocean, but these are the only cities that, technically, a Hylian with adequate gear can enter.

Mipha’s Landing is an above-water city built expressly for doing trade. It got its name from the late Mipha; since the tower reaches up into the sky, it was hoped that someday, her spirit would sit atop it for a rest and see all that her people had been able to do thanks to her sacrifice.

Lakebed Village is in Lake Hylia, and it’s actually a slowly-repopulating Lakebed Temple, from Twilight Princess. Meanwhile, Great Bay City is a port town above water and an aquatic metropolis below, full of music and dance and exotic wares.

And finally, Hylians.

Hoo boy.

I’ve split this up region by region but

THIS is how many living spots they’ve got.

Silver stars indicate military towns. Red stars indicate military outposts.

I USE THE TERM MILITARY VERY LOOSELY HERE. Hyrule, since it doesn’t interact with its neighbors, only has the Yiga and the various monsters to fight against. Anything labeled “military” means that it’s staffed by royal employ, meaning knights and Sheikah and the like.

Let’s start with Akkala. The northeast labyrinth has been converted into an emergency bunker, in case Calamity strikes and people need a safe place to hide. Not only is it difficult to break into, it also has a completely empty lower level that’s PERFECT for long-term seige.

City Tempest got its name for being near-constantly wracked by storms. Despite this, though, it remains a popular vacation spot for people who don’t mind a little rain; the Skull Lake and the giant flowers are worth it.

Valley Town rose up out of both East Akkala Stable and Robbie’s workshop. It doesn’t get too much foot traffic, but it doesn’t really need to.

Midna Village, I built where the ruins of Shadow Hamlet are. I figured it was a fitting name, and the area is almost constantly covered in the shadow of Death Mountain.

Four Brothers’ Base is a knight outpost that’s up extremely high, spanning huge bridges between the four Tingle isles.

Then Parapa Palace, in reference to Zelda II: Adventure of Link, was built in place of the Akkala Citadel and functions as a mini Hyrule Castle + Castle Town. In real life, monarchs would have several palaces to go between, kind of like how well-off people nowadays would have a summer home. So, I followed that trend! This is Zel’s summer palace.

And you guys know what Tarrey Town is. Although interestingly, as it expands, it goes vertical into the stone column it was built on.

Onto Central Hyrule.

Camp Rauru is training camp and lodging for new knights. Rebonae Village and Kasuto City were made out of the Wetland and Riverside stables respectively, though Kasuto (also an Adventure of Link reference) gets substantially more foot traffic due to being on the way from Castle Town to Dueling Peaks.

Outset Town got its name, lore-wise, from the fact that it’s the first bit of land Link from BotW visited after leaving the Great Plateau, and meta-wise, because it’s the starting point for Wind Waker Link.

Aquame City surrounds the Coliseum, which is how it grew to be so popular. The grand stage holds sparring matches and various other shows regularly, and it’s a pleasant boat trip from Castle Town to get there.

Saria Town was built out of the old exchange ruins, and it’s in walking distance of the ruined Sage Temple—which, at this point in time, would have been rebuilt—and its existence is both an AoL reference and an OoT one (but mostly AoL, I’ve kind of fallen in love with its map).

New Mabe is where you can find the new Lon Lon Ranch! The ruins there are actually called the Mabe Town Ruins in game, and they’re right by the Ranch Ruins!

Eldin’s pretty sparse as far as Hylian towns go. It’s got Gut Check Camp, where Sheikah train for endurance and elemental resistance, and Windfall Town, a place that sees a LOT of gemstones pass through, freshly mined. That includes rupee ore, mind you!

Faron Province is a little more spaced out, due to the nature of the region. Lurelin’s grown since BotW, becoming a trading bay; meanwhile Cora Lake’s Sheikah Tower has expanded into Parache Town, and the Highland Stable has become Malanya Village. Both of those locations are VERY fond of horses, and they’re a bit competitive, especially during archery season.

Ordona Hamlet is a tiny village tucked away into the middle of Faron. It came about due to the Lakeside Stable, and it’s named that because I am STILL salty that the Zeldevs didn’t put an Ordon Village reference in the game.

Eventide Outpost is more of a testing ground for boats than anything particularly significant, population-wise. The even tides that gave the isle its name make it an ideal location to work out the kinks in new watercraft (and occasionally, the lieutenant in charge of that base demonstrates how to launch a raft into the sky with octo balloons).

Hebra’s the most militarized area of Hyrule, and ideally, it functions as a reserve of men and tech in case Calamity rises again. If there’s anything that BotW’s era learned, it’s to never underprepare for Gann’s return.

Fort Lomei is a converted base, just like the Banana Labyrinth is to the Yiga. This one, though, is patrolled diligently by knights who use daily-changing codes, and it’s impossible to navigate without the locals’ help.

Fort Pikida is situated in that weird stone cavern-y area, and it’s a supply stach and Hebran monster patrol site. It’s the soldiers there’s job to make sure that the Lynels that like to roam the region don’t get too close to residential areas.

Hia Miu Outpost is a training spot for knights sent to the Hebra region; any new soldier to the area has to prove they can handle themselves by going into the Hia Miu shrine and taking on the Major Test of Strength Trial. (Fun fact, did you know that the X-test-of-strength trials reset themselves every blood moon?)

Snowpeak Fortress exists both because it makes a fantastic secondary base for the Hyrulean royals to plan, and because i am once again salty about the lack of Twilight Princess in this game.

Sturnida Resort is built around hot springs! It’s a nice spot for people living around Rito Town and Fledgling Village to take a vacation without having to trek all the way across the country to do it.

Snowfield City came from Snowfield Stable, and it’s the Windfall of Hebra; it sees a LOT of people coming in and out of the region, and the view of the northern lights you can get from there? You’d be hard-pressed to find a Hylian that didn’t have it on their bucket list.

New Tabantha was built on the ruined spot of the original Tabantha Village; you can visit there in-game! It’s a quiet town that raises highland sheep for a living, and its team won the Hebran Triathlon three whole years in a row.

Then, the Tanagar Restricted Zone. If you’ve ever been there, you know EXACTLY why it’s restricted.

Most of the Guardians inside have been dealt with, but the ruined temple remains a hazard testing ground for new tech. It’s off limits to everyone but those with the HIGHEST clearance; I’m talking a direct letter from Zelda herself.

The Thyphlo Secret Camp is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a place for Hyrulean lieutenants to meet for top-secret missions, and it’s one of those places that you need to be SERIOUSLY high rank to even KNOW about.

Over on the edge of Lanayru, we’ve got New Goponga, built where the old Goponga ruins are, and the Crenel Garrison. The Garrison was built to take care of the Lizalfos problems in the waterways, keeping it safe for Hylians and Zora travelers alike. Goponga, on the other hand, is what Lurelin was in game; nice, friendly, and centered around fishery.

In Necluda, we’ve got New Deya where old Deya was ruined (I think BotW Link was born in old Deya!), Watchtower Village built around the lakeside of the Dueling Peaks tower, and then Dueling Peaks City, a HUGE trade hub that was once the Dueling Peaks stable.

Kakariko Village is now a Town, Hateno has grown into a full blown trade harbor, and a tiny village has started to form around the Hateno Tower, making Firly Overlook.

But what I most love is the City of Hylanay.

Back in the game, it was the ruins of the Lanayru Promenade. So I had the promenade rebuilt, then people moved in around it, and now, Hylanay’s basically Hyrulean Venice! I want to visit it.

On the Great Plateau, we’ve got Aboda Town, named after Spirit Tracks’ Aboda Village in reference to the starting point in each game. This Town has access to the original Temple of Time, but because of the nature of the isolated plateau, it doesn’t see a lot of new faces often.

Over around Thundra, we’ve got Tanagar Village overlooking the canyon, built out of the old Tabantha Stable. The village actually builds downwards into the canyon; people have windows carved right out of the cliff face!

Thundra Village is built into the rocky slopes surrounding Thundra Plateau and the Ridgeland Tower. Their houses are built in the shelter of the giant mushroom things that grow so well in the area, and they’re famous for their signature dish of escargot.

The Serenne Exchange is up north, encompassing both the old Serenne Stable and the Maritta exchange ruins. You can buy practically ANYTHING there; if ever there was a supermarket in Hyrule, it would be right there.

The Royal Lab was rebuilt out of its ruins post Calamity, and it’s directed by Purah, who still hasn’t cured her immortality yet. It’s not uncommon to hear explosions as you pass by that place.

And then Camp Rutile is a small observational outpost, meant to keep track of the activity on Satori Mountain. Supposedly, the mountain’s health reflects the state of the rest of the kingdom, so the researchers assigned there are tasked with monitoring it EXTREMELY closely.

And Hyrule Castle. It’s Hyrule Castle.

Now completely bolted into the ground! :D

If we put all these locations together, we get a very nice, very well populated Hyrule, with LOTS to see. This is how I would design the future of BotW’s Hyrule.

Thanks for reading!

#loz #zelda #worldbuilding #headcanons #MAPS #CITIES #I WANT A POPULATED HYRULE #botw

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gffa · 4 years ago

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So I’ve been wanting to get into reading Star Wars books and have no effing idea where to start. Basically I’ve read the novelizations of a couple of movies, Jedi Apprentice everything and Rogue Planet because of my obsession with Obi-Wan back in the prequel era... and that’s it. Oh, and a few comics set in the Rebellion era.

Do you have any recommendations on where to start or just some good reads to start with? The obi-wan obsession is still alive and well if that’s a factor... anyway, thank you!

I’m going to include both canon and Legends in this list, because if you want more than, like, two recs for Obi-Wan stories, you’re pretty much going to have to dig into Legends, too. Plus, they’re genuinely good stories and that continuity has a lot of value and great stuff! - Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover, which I assume you’ve read already but just in case you haven’t! The characterization for Anakin is really the selling point for this novelization + Stover knows how to deliver a killer line or twenty, it knows how to really pack a punch to the feelings and make that movie an even better experience. - Wild Space by Karen Miller has a lot of issues with the structure of it, it feels like two books stitched together, it doesn’t earn its ending, it prioritizes whump over staying true to the canon, it doesn’t really quite get the Jedi, but MAN is that book quotable as all hell and so dramatic and an absolute scream of a read, so it’s still one of my favorites to this day. Miller’s work tends to be very iddy, but if you like that stuff, it’ll be stellar. - From a Certain Point of View: A New Hope by various authors. The first anthology was absolutely stellar for the three prequels characters stories, the Yoda pov, the Obi-Wan pov, and the Qui-Gon pov are all must reads. The Motti story is also the funniest thing I have read in my life. (I, uh, to put it mildly do not recommend the second/ESB anthology.) - Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott is an audiodrama and it’s a lot of fun and gives us a nice sketch of what the Jedi Temple was like, what Dooku’s time as a Padawan was like, and a really good look at Asajj Ventress’ character as she tries to uncover Dooku’s past. - Choose Your Destiny: An Obi-Wan & Anakin Adventure by Cavan Scott is very much a young readers book but I loved both characters here and there were some really hilarious moments in it. It’s just fun to read. - Force Collector by Kevin Shinick is set in the sequels era and it doesn’t deal with the prequels characters much directly, but it is a lovely look at a Force-sensitive young man trying to figure out what the Force is telling him and to rediscover the actual truth about what happened to the Jedi Order, not what the galaxy says happens. A lot of cool worldbuilding here that I loved! - Dark Rendezvous by Sean Stewart is probably the best book for the Jedi, as well as for Yoda and Dooku feelings, but all the Jedi get really good moments in this one, definitely read this! - Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover is focused on Mace, but again he brings his A-game to Star Wars and it’s an excellent read overall. - I haven’t finished either Labyrinth of Evil or The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno, but I’ve liked everything else I’ve read of his and I’ve heard good about these ones! - I’ve heard good about The Cestus Deception by Steven Barnes, though, I haven’t read it myself yet. - Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston has a bit of Obi-Wan and Anakin it, a couple of short scenes from Obi-Wan’s povs (like a single page short) and mostly Ahsoka occasionally thinking of them, but I enjoyed this book a lot for the look at Ahsoka’s character. - I have greatly enjoyed both Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule (definitely read this one first) and A Test of Courage by Justina Ireland, which are about the Jedi Order set about 200 years before the prequels and they’re set in a golden age where the Jedi are shown to be much more revered by the galaxy, there’s a lot more good faith going around, and yet you can see exactly how the cracks in it all are first appearing. Lots of really good worldbuilding and fun action and Jedi stuff! If you’re looking to expand beyond the prequels or looking for some comics/etc. recs, I have a handful of posts that may help you out here, here, here, here, and here..

#novels #fic recs #not really but that's my tag!#bewilderebeest

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beardedmrbean · 3 years ago

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Just one day after her diagnosis, she started her five-day course of pills, which have been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of hospitalization and death.

Martin, a 63-year-old Boston native who now resides in Canada, said she was thrilled when her symptoms began to subside.

“By the end of [the treatment], on Day 5, I was negative and feeling completely normal like without any symptoms, so I thought, 'Wow, this is really great. What a great drug,’” Martin told ABC News.

Martin resumed her normal activities, but a week later, she began to feel ill again. When her symptoms worsened, she tested again.

“It came roaring back, and this round two has been much more severe than round one was," Martin said. "This is like four days of much more significant symptoms than round one.”

Martin's case is part of a seemingly rare, but increasingly reported phenomenon of COVID-19 symptom recurrence after being treated with Paxlovid. While it is largely unknown what is causing the reported viral resurgence, scientists say they are investigating.

Pfizer says that it is taking the reported incidences of recurrence "very seriously," but that the rates mirror those who received a placebo in clinical trials. Experts urge that the benefits of the drug, in preventing hospitalization and death, outweigh the potential risk of a second positive test or symptom reemergence.

In additional analysis of the Paxlovid clinical trial data, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that most patients “did not have symptoms at the time of a positive PCR test after testing negative, and, most importantly, there was no increased occurrence of hospitalization or death or development of drug resistance.”

Company executives also reported, this week, that the use of Paxlovid continues to expand rapidly, particularly as infection rates across the country rise again. In the U.S., use of the treatment has increased by nearly ten-fold in recent weeks.

The number of locations in the U.S. with Paxlovid supply has grown to more than 33,000 sites now available, a four-fold increase since late-February. In addition, the company reported that there are now more than 2,200 Test to Treat locations now open.

'Game-changer'

Long heralded as a “game-changer” in the fight against COVID-19, the push to make Paxlovid available to Americans has ramped up in recent weeks, with the White House looking to increase supply of the treatment.

The drug, which was granted emergency use authorization by the FDA in December 2021 for people with mild to moderate COVID-19 at high risk of disease progression, is also strongly recommended by the World Health Organization. It has been shown to be highly effective, estimated to provide an 89% reduction in virus-related hospitalizations and deaths.

However, in recent weeks, a number of patients, who have taken the treatment, have taken to social media to disclose what they say is a perplexing phenomenon of COVID-19 symptoms reemerging after they finished the prescribed five-day treatment course.

Some individuals claimed on Twitter that after their initial symptoms dissipated, leading to a negative test, they are once again testing positive.

“We're seeing people get better on Paxlovid,” Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, told ABC News. “But then, when they stop at the end of five days, we're hearing stories of symptoms coming back and even, tests becoming either more positive, i.e. a darker line, or tests that had gone negative turning positive.”

Studies have found that a dark line can “indicates a strong positive with a high level of virus and is usually seen when people are at or near peak virus load.”

Reports of these “rebound symptoms” are largely anecdotal so far but with an increasing number of questions about the puzzling viral recurrence, scientists across the country are trying to assess what may be happening in new research.

Pfizer taking reports of viral rebounds ‘very seriously’

In February, a 71-year-old man in Massachusetts who had been vaccinated and boosted recovered after being treated for COVID-19 with Paxlovid, Dr. Michael Charness, chief of staff at the VA Boston Healthcare System, who has been researching the phenomenon and recently put out a preprint study last week, told ABC News.

However, around nine days after his initial positive test, Charness said his patient developed cold symptoms and tested positive again for the virus.

Molecular testing soon revealed that the patient’s viral load had increased to an even higher point than when the diagnosis was first made, according to an analysis by Charness and his team.

“We were interested in whether this was a new infection or whether this was maybe an adaptation or mutation that somehow changed the variant,” Charness said, adding that gene sequencing demonstrated that this second positive test demonstrated a recurrence of the original infection in an individual who had no symptoms for a week.

“We just were very struck by that,” said Charness. “I heard from people all over the country and some from other parts of the world, who had had the same experience.”

Representatives from the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, told ABC News that teams of scientists are investigating the surprising relapse reports, and they will provide further recommendations, if appropriate.

“The phenomenon of recrudescence reiterates the importance of following CDC’s isolation guidance – anyone who develops symptoms of illness during or after isolation should remain isolated, masked, and seek out testing and clinical care,” a representative from the CDC told ABC News in a statement. “Anyone who is concerned about having been exposed or who for any other reason wants to determine their infection status should test for COVID-19.”

The FDA stressed that the reports “do not change the conclusions from the Paxlovid clinical trial which demonstrated a marked reduction in hospitalization and death.”

The viral recurrence had been observed and reported in Pfizer’s application to the FDA, last year, in which the company said several trial participants had appeared to “have a rebound” of COVID-19 around day 10 or day 14.

Pfizer executives said Tuesday that they are taking the reports “very seriously,” but they do not believe that it is related to the drug, given that the same rate of rebound was observed in people who took the placebo. Further, no connection was noted between the viral load increase and subsequent severe illness.

“We've taken a preliminary look at our high-risk data, and so we've seen for example, that we have about an incidence about 2% of that viral load rebound, but we also see the same, or close to the same, percent in the placebo arm. So it's something that's not particularly associated with Paxlovid itself, but may have something to do with the virus itself,” Dr. William Pao, Pfizer’s executive vice president and chief development officer said during an investors call on Tuesday. “It's preliminary data so far, we again take it very seriously. But it's very current, and a very low incidence, and we continue to learn as we go.”

A representative from Pfizer told ABC News that although it is too early to determine the cause, initial indications suggest an increased viral load is both uncommon and not uniquely associated with the Paxlovid treatment.

“We remain very confident in its clinical effectiveness at preventing severe outcomes from COVID-19 in high-risk patients,” the representative said.

Reports uncommon but happening ‘frequently enough’

Although official reports of these relapses still appear to be rare, such occurrences are happening “frequently enough” in those treated with Paxlovid that Charness said that it should be studied further.

“I think the first step in studying something is to know that it exists,” he explained, adding that it is particularly important for clinicians to be informed about potential rebounds, and for the public to know, so that people do not become unduly alarmed.

Thus far, researchers know very little about the reason for the recurring symptoms.

Of critical importance in the investigations is whether an individual, in the midst of such a rebound, remains infectious, Charness said.

“We are sufficiently concerned about whether people can transmit, when they're on day 12 and 13 and 15, that we are essentially recommending that when people have a recurrence, a rebound, that they restart their isolation, and isolate until their antigen test is negative,” Charness said. “We're seeing people whose antigen test stays positive for a week after they rebound, which means that they're well outside the CDC’s 10-day guidance.

Should you experience a viral rebound, the FDA is now recommending that health care providers and patients refer to CDC guidance, wear a mask and isolate if they have any COVID-19 symptoms — regardless of whether or not they have been treated with an antiviral.

Charness and his team are also encouraging their patients to start their isolation period over again and stay away until their antigen test is negative.

“It's important to exercise caution until you clear the virus the second time,” Charness said, further urging people to notify their provider.

In terms of further treatments, Charness noted it is still largely unclear what patients should do. While there are no limitations, within the authorized label, around additional usage of the drug for a subsequent COVID-19 infection, according to Pfizer, the FDA said “there is no evidence of benefit at this time for a longer course of treatment … or repeating a treatment course of Paxlovid in patients with recurrent COVID-19 symptoms following completion of a treatment course.”

Despite the reports of rebounding, health experts stress that Paxlovid is still largely achieving its original goal, to keep people out of the hospital, and severe disease at-bay.

“The bottom line is if it prevents hospitalization, if it keeps you from progressing to severe disease, hospitalization and death, the fact that you might have a recurrence of some of the symptoms and even the recurrence of a positive test is sort of secondary,” said Doron. “The main thing is Paxlovid is to prevent progression to severe disease [and] hospitalization, and it does. So, it's still doing its job.”

#nunyas news

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ckneal · 4 years ago

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Sometimes I need to remind myself that not everyone watched Supernatural with an ongoing gen fic happening in their head, all about the family life of the angels before Chuck’s disappearance and the rise of humanity. And as such, not everyone was constantly compiling stray details thrown out about the angel characters, clustering them together into this rubber band ball of ideas that was just so fun to play with.

I mean, for instance, not everyone took in the way the other angel characters seemed to look down their noses at the cupid characters (who, it’s worth noting, are never once referred to by their individual names, but instead by the human pet name for their category of cherub [which in Lucifer’s case, was certainly framed as an unflattering term], despite Castiel once boasting that he knew everyone in Heaven), and reason to themselves that it was surely because the other angels were jealous. Because obviously, the cupids are given classified information from God himself about what bloodlines he wants to see continued and merged for the sake of his Plan, putting these silly, non-combatant angels on par with the archangels in terms of secret knowledge about what was to come. For the first couple billions of years of existence, while the other classes of angels were sitting around with nothing to do, they all had to watch the cupids happily zipping around the earth, cooing over blue-green algae and gradually coaxing different species into existence with their magic love arrows. And every time a significant milestone was reached, they also had to watch as the insipid little harbingers of love scooped the newborn creature up and raced over to the nearest archangel to excitedly show them their progress, like a little kid with their first art project. And the archangel in question, regardless of which one, would nod encouragingly and smile as the cupid in question babbled about the tiny, tiny lungs this fish had, or the beginnings of feet at the ends of its fins. Even Lucifer, who would also add the additional suggestion to try and give the next one more teeth.

Additionally, not everyone looked at the way that Lucifer was able to just insert himself into Sam’s head from inside the cage, and considered how Azazel needed to visit a specific geographic location to communicate with Lucifer, and even then was only just barely able to do so, and thus came to the conclusion that clearly Michael and Lucifer must have come to an agreement to pool their powers to project Luci’s image into Sam’s head. Which explains why Sam’s special link disappears right after leaving the cage, and also why Michael didn’t interfere when Lucifer was freed, even though season 15 makes it clear that Luci did not sneak quietly out the backdoor. Michael was fully aware who was responsible for the jailbreak, thus leading us to consider that perhaps Lucifer was supposed to turn around and free Michael and Adam in turn, but did not. Thus leading us to imagine Michael spending roughly a year (Earth time) tapping his foot in the cage, until . . .

“He’s not coming back for us, is he?”

And Adam, cracking open a molecule-flavored soda (manifested courtesy of Michael), snickers. “Nope. Told you not to trust him.”

“Right. . .” Michael exhales, looks around for a moment, settles on side-eyeing Adam. Then, with an air of ‘fuck it’ says, “Want to make out?”

And Adam promptly chokes on his soda.

And not everyone heard Metatron specifically say that he personally tattooed the names of every prophet of the Lord ever on the inner eyelids of every angel, and immediately had the thought, “Poor Michael” spring to mind. Because of course Michael was the first one on the proverbial chopping block, trying his best not to flinch as his little brother gradually figured out how to handle the needle. (To this day, Michael is still not sure if the prophet after Chuck Shurley is named Kevin Tran or Rovim Frun). And all the while, Michael was probably also trying his best not to worry about how things were going on Earth while he was busy getting his eyes stabbed.

After all, Lucifer was God’s second eldest son, barely younger than Michael in the grand scheme of things. He could handle watching over their younger siblings for a little while. And Raphael and Gabriel were there to help. Everything would be fine.

However, Michael isn’t aware that about five minutes after being left in charge, Lucifer yelled, “HEY EVERYONE, CHECK THIS OUT!” And then promptly threw his grace into the body of a nearby pterodactyl. Possession being a new ability that Chuck had recently invented, the surrounding angels were mystified as Lucifer piloted the prehistoric reptile through a series of dizzying loop-de-loops that saw the poor creature—not suited to containing angel grace—explode midway through, leaving Lucifer gleefully giggling in the sky.

About half of the angels looking on gaped in horror.

Gabriel whispered to Raphael, “We’re still beta testing that, right?”

The other half of the gathered angels, however, like the impressionable young followers that they are, start grinning, because Lucifer is grinning, and he’s their cool older brother, and as Lucifer—relishing the attention—makes a beeline toward the earth’s one continent, Pangea, and an unsuspecting herd of ornithopods, these younger angels eagerly follow.

Soon, Earth is full of the anguished cries of cupids, watching their hard work blown to bits again and again. Swept up in the crowd, are Castiel and Balthazar. They watch Uriel and Zachariah excitedly throw their armored dinosaur bodies against one another in the moments before both vessels combust, after which Uriel and Zachariah excitedly dart off to take on new ones.

“Are we sure this is. . .okay?”

“Well, Lucifer is in charge. We’re supposed to follow his lead. . .aren’t we?”

Meanwhile, Raphael is frantically trying to stem the carnage. Several dinosaurs are levitating in mid-air, as Raphael tries to simultaneously keep them from exploding while also ordering the angels possessing them to vacate the vessels immediately. But none of them have ever taken a vessel before, and do not know how to get out of them without tearing them apart. Raphael keeps expanding their powers to more and more creatures as their young siblings continue to follow Lucifer’s example.

“GABRIEL, DO SOMETHING!”

“RIGHT!” Gabriel looks around, locates Lucifer running amuck in an apatosaurus that he’s forcing to walk on its hind legs, and fires off a lightning bolt to startle him out.

The lightning bolt misses its target in spectacular fashion, and several trees catch on fire.

Gabriel throws another lightning bolt.

“GABRIEL, THAT IS NOT HELPING!”

“RIGHT!”

Gabriel then grabs a giant meteor from outer space and begins trying to smother the flames by whacking it against the continent, to Raphael’s horror. More cupids begin to cry. Thick clouds of dust fly up, choking out natural light on the planet’s surface—now only illuminated by flames, as well as the magma that rises up out of the cracks that form in Pangea, as Gabe unintentionally creates the first tectonic plates from the sheer force of his assault on the planet.

Trees fall over. Fire continues to spread.

Lucifer is still in the apatosaurus, but he’s fallen onto his side, laughing hysterically.

“WATER, GABRIEL! USE WATER!”

“OH! RIGHT!”

Gabriel throws the meteor into a nearby sea, creating a tsunami.

It is at this point that Raphael abandons the dinosaurs to their sad fate, forgetting their solemn oath to not reveal any secrets regarding evolution and God’s plan, to broadly yell out to any and all of their angelic siblings who are listening, “QUICKLY, SAVE THE MAMMALS!”

And it is at this point, that Michael returns. Samandriel, clutching a dozen or so rodents in his wings, is the first one to spot him. All of Michael’s eyes are red and puffy from abuse. The cupids are sobbing, the Earth is battered, flooded, and scorched. Angels are getting into fist fights with reapers as they dart back and forth, trying to ferry as many warm-blooded creatures as they can find from the site of the catastrophe to the relative safety on the other side of the mountain range Gabriel accidently made when he bashed a crater into the planet—relative, as it turns out some of those new mountains are in fact volcanoes, and it took some trial and error to figure out how far away from an active volcano could be considered “safe.”

Nearby, Castiel and Balthazar are somehow both stuck inside the same mosasaur, beached from the tsunami, and loudly panicking as they struggle to de-possess it before it explodes. There’s a snapping sound, and then suddenly all of the angels still trapped (or willfully frolicking) inside vessels are ejected, at the same time that the fire goes out and the volcanoes cease erupting.

Consequently, everyone goes very still as Michael scans the damage and his bedraggled siblings. With humans not yet existing, the art of facepalming is not yet a thing. But looking at Michael, one might just expect him to invent the practice right then and there.

When Michael gets to Lucifer, he’s greeted with, “What? Pop’s 86-ing the lizard kingdom anyway!”

Michael promptly drags Lucifer off to Heaven.

The next day, it was made an official rule, written into the very fabric of angelkind: vessels could only be taken after obtaining explicit consent.

Additionally, everyone agreed to never, ever mention the existence of the dinosaurs or how they ended ever again. And, rather than fixing the damage to the Earth’s surface, the tectonic plate situation was just sort of left to do as it would.

Many, many years later, Adam was shocked by Michael’s reaction when the cage door suddenly swung open in Hell. Adam had immediately surged to his feet in excitement, ready to leave and never come back.

Michael, however, remained stationary on the floor, squinting at the doorway, wondering what dystopian nightmare must be waiting on Earth after leaving his siblings unsupervised for a solid decade.

“Michael? You okay?”

“Adam, before we go back to Earth, I think I need to tell you a story. . .”

#himbos all of them #except raphael #raphael's doing their best but there's only one of them #the divine shurley family #is this really what i'm putting out on the midam wedding day?#yep guess so #i just didn't get any good wedding thoughts today #all i could think about was how michael was once a very exhausted older brother #today was not a romantic day for me #but it was chaotic #and i have expressed myself #and raphael deserves a raise #midam #supernatural michael #my thoughts #What did the rest of you guys even do to get through the boring seasons if you weren't imaging stuff like this?

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