#effective strategies. One such strategy that has developed interest

[pixie05love]

Wow, okay, after reading chap 285 and this post, I think I have a new and more positive perspective of the Kaisagi team up and Isagi's development.

(Please read the post I've linked, it's was very insightful, and it helped me a lot to get to this conclusion. Also *points a gun to your temple* Go follow @mvrdermeharder She's the best, ty)

Now, from that post, I agree a lot on the positive impact the kaisagi team up had on Kaiser.

Back in chap 279, it was revealed that Noa was using Isagi and agreed to join the NEL only to evolve Kaiser, so he'd have someone who'd boost him higher to beat his current opponent Loki:

Look at Kaiser's expression when Noa agrees to all of his questions and realises that Noa was using him to his own benefits:

Mild disappointment and acceptance are written all over his face. He had just witnessed how his mentor admitted using him (just like with Isagi) for his personal benefits and... he could do nothing about it. Kaiser had been used by Noa.

It's not like Kaiser liked or cared about Noa in a way but, someone like him, who was privated of a childhood, who had gone through abuse and has to experience and see how all this events still had an effect on him (remember the scene where he chocked himself as a trauma response) must have been extremely frustrating for him to know that, even now, he still doesn't have full control of his life, not even with soccer.

The thing is, Kaiser is not alone here. Isagi was also "betrayed" by Noa. It wasn't in the same level of traumatic as Kaiser because Isagi does not have a troubled past like him. But, hey, a betray is a betray. Isagi wants to win just like Kaiser, and Isagi doesn't have to go through Kaiser's past to understand what he must have felt after hearing Noa's words.

Isagi was used by his idol and mentor, the same person who inspired him to play soccer, so it had to have some level of effect on his psyche, too. Just look at his expressions when he talks to him. He was definitely hurt by Noa's words:

What Isagi feels here is not only frustration for being used by his mentor and idol but frustration for being used by a "genius"

This arc is about geniuses vs non geniuses, and Isagi felt hopeless against Noa because he saw how geniuses were toying with non geniuses to "take the spotlight from them."

Loki, Noa, Rin, they are all praised by everyone, outshining non geniuses who are the ones who have more complex plans but need the support of others to make them happen.

Geniuses are also non logical, so you cannot explain or understand why they did x or y, whereas non geniuses' strategies, once they are figured out by geniuses, have little to no chances against them because physically, geniuses tend to be way better than them (it's in their genes, dude. We've all met someone who is very good at something without trying)

It's frustrating when every effort you make is completely futile against the natural advantages of talented players.

So it's here when Isagi and Kaiser connect:

Yes, Isagi teams up with Kaiser because he wants to win but he is only able to have Kaiser agree to do so because they both share the same objectives:

Surpassing Noa and Rin, two geniuses that are both the wall Isagi and Kaiser have to overcome in order to discard their previous egos (what I believe Isagi calls "personal feelings") and create a new ego that not only will redefine this match but the current perception soccer has of non geniuses.

And also proving that non geniuses can win against geniuses by themselves [This one is more on Isagi's side since it doesn't seem like Kaiser is interested in proving such thing]:

Isagi, ironically, is being "considered" of Kaiser's feelings/situation here. This is why I don't think he discarded his empathy. That's his best weapon after all. He knows using Kaiser for his own goal won't make him cooperate because Isagi already knows what it feels to be used as a tool, so he won't do the same thing again with Kaiser.

This explains why Isagi let luck decide who scores the last goal. If is Isagi who scores, it won't be because he used Kaiser, It was luck who chose him. The same goes for Kaiser. None of them will use the other one. They'll cooperate to get both what they want -> It's a mutual agreement where both recognise each other as an individual with an ego to fulfil:

They are "healing" together from Noa's betrayal while also fulfilling what their egos desire without using each other as a tool.

That is, if you ask me, very considerated and empathetic of Isagi (for Kaiser, since Isagi is the first person to take in consideration his feelings and not only use him for his skills), but also very egotistic of him for doing all that to achieve his desire of winning.

So I don't think Isagi stopped being empathetic (maybe I just don't want to believe so idk), because that's what differentiates him from the rest -> His capability of making someone work with him, of changing fate by using his understanding of his surroundings and the opponents/teammates' mental state to his own benefit (while still taking them in consideration so he makes them work according to his plan).

I believe that's what Isagi meant by "becoming a machine" and "leaving his personal feelings aside" to focus even more on the rest so he has control over them.

It's like a symbiotic relationship between being empathetic and being egotistic/?

His weapon is his empathy which he pushes to its limits thanks to his ego, and it's what will lead him to achieve what said ego desires (winning for the sake of winning).

.

.

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or at least that's how I understood it lol

[reasonsforhope]

"Since it was first identified in 1983, HIV has infected more than 85 million people and caused some 40 million deaths worldwide.

While medication known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, can significantly reduce the risk of getting HIV, it has to be taken every day to be effective. A vaccine to provide lasting protection has eluded researchers for decades. Now, there may finally be a viable strategy for making one.

An experimental vaccine developed at Duke University triggered an elusive type of broadly neutralizing antibody in a small group of people enrolled in a 2019 clinical trial. The findings were published today [May 17, 2024] in the scientific journal Cell.

“This is one of the most pivotal studies in the HIV vaccine field to date,” says Glenda Gray, an HIV expert and the president and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council, who was not involved in the study.

A few years ago, a team from Scripps Research and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) showed that it was possible to stimulate the precursor cells needed to make these rare antibodies in people. The Duke study goes a step further to generate these antibodies, albeit at low levels.

“This is a scientific feat and gives the field great hope that one can construct an HIV vaccine regimen that directs the immune response along a path that is required for protection,” Gray says.

-via WIRED, May 17, 2024. Article continues below.

Vaccines work by training the immune system to recognize a virus or other pathogen. They introduce something that looks like the virus—a piece of it, for example, or a weakened version of it—and by doing so, spur the body’s B cells into producing protective antibodies against it. Those antibodies stick around so that when a person later encounters the real virus, the immune system remembers and is poised to attack.

While researchers were able to produce Covid-19 vaccines in a matter of months, creating a vaccine against HIV has proven much more challenging. The problem is the unique nature of the virus. HIV mutates rapidly, meaning it can quickly outmaneuver immune defenses. It also integrates into the human genome within a few days of exposure, hiding out from the immune system.

“Parts of the virus look like our own cells, and we don’t like to make antibodies against our own selves,” says Barton Haynes, director of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and one of the authors on the paper.

The particular antibodies that researchers are interested in are known as broadly neutralizing antibodies, which can recognize and block different versions of the virus. Because of HIV’s shape-shifting nature, there are two main types of HIV and each has several strains. An effective vaccine will need to target many of them.

Some HIV-infected individuals generate broadly neutralizing antibodies, although it often takes years of living with HIV to do so, Haynes says. Even then, people don’t make enough of them to fight off the virus. These special antibodies are made by unusual B cells that are loaded with mutations they’ve acquired over time in reaction to the virus changing inside the body. “These are weird antibodies,” Haynes says. “The body doesn’t make them easily.”

Haynes and his colleagues aimed to speed up that process in healthy, HIV-negative people. Their vaccine uses synthetic molecules that mimic a part of HIV’s outer coat, or envelope, called the membrane proximal external region. This area remains stable even as the virus mutates. Antibodies against this region can block many circulating strains of HIV.

The trial enrolled 20 healthy participants who were HIV-negative. Of those, 15 people received two of four planned doses of the investigational vaccine, and five received three doses. The trial was halted when one participant experienced an allergic reaction that was not life-threatening. The team found that the reaction was likely due to an additive in the vaccine, which they plan to remove in future testing.

Still, they found that two doses of the vaccine were enough to induce low levels of broadly neutralizing antibodies within a few weeks. Notably, B cells seemed to remain in a state of development to allow them to continue acquiring mutations, so they could evolve along with the virus. Researchers tested the antibodies on HIV samples in the lab and found that they were able to neutralize between 15 and 35 percent of them.

Jeffrey Laurence, a scientific consultant at the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, says the findings represent a step forward, but that challenges remain. “It outlines a path for vaccine development, but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” he says.

For one, he says, a vaccine would need to generate antibody levels that are significantly higher and able to neutralize with greater efficacy. He also says a one-dose vaccine would be ideal. “If you’re ever going to have a vaccine that’s helpful to the world, you’re going to need one dose,” he says.

Targeting more regions of the virus envelope could produce a more robust response. Haynes says the next step is designing a vaccine with at least three components, all aimed at distinct regions of the virus. The goal is to guide the B cells to become much stronger neutralizers, Haynes says. “We’re going to move forward and build on what we have learned.”

-via WIRED, May 17, 2024

[nenelonomh]

stop doom scrolling

doomscrolling, the habit of endlessly scrolling through negative news on your phone or computer, will not only destroy your personality and character but it is detrimental to your mental health. many people are trapped in the habit but do not release the insane effect that even half an hour has on their psyche.

you literally have a whole life to live! why are you wasting it!

and so, here are some tips to help you break this negative compulsion:

1. set time limits

use apps or built-in phone features to set time limits on social media and news apps. this can help you become more aware of how much time you’re spending and encourage you to take breaks.

2. schedule specific times for news

designate specific times of the day to check the news, rather than constantly throughout the day. this can help you stay informed without feeling overwhelmed.

3. practice mindfulness

engage in mindfulness practices like meditation or deep breathing exercises. this can help you stay present and reduce the urge to doomscroll.

4. seek out positive content

balance negative news with positive stories or uplifting content. follow accounts that share good news or inspiring stories.

5. engage in other (offline) activities

find alternative activities to replace doomscrolling, such as reading a book, exercising, or spending time with friends and family. keeping busy with other interests can reduce the temptation to scroll.

6. use thought-stopping techniques

when you catch yourself doomscrolling, use a thought-stopping technique like saying “stop” out loud or visualizing a stop sign. this can help interrupt the behavior and redirect your focus.

7. limit notifications

turn off non-essential notifications on your phone to reduce the constant influx of news alerts. this can help you control when and how you consume information.

8. reflect on your feelings

take a moment to reflect on how doomscrolling makes you feel. recognizing the negative impact it has on your mood can motivate you to change the habit.

9. set goals for screen-free time

establish goals for spending time away from screens, such as having screen-free meals or dedicating certain hours of the day to offline activities.

10. seek support

talk to friends or family about your efforts to reduce doomscrolling. having support can make it easier to stick to your goals and find healthier ways to stay informed.

bonus. change your mindset

instead of apathy and not caring about your mental health and character, try to grow and build yourself as a person; learn to love yourself. one trick that i use to stop myself if i ever start to rot is reminding myself that i am a creator and not a consumer. this identity reinforcement allows me to simply ignore the doom scrolling urge.

implementing these strategies can help you break the habit of doomscrolling and improve your overall well-being. i wish you luck on your development journey!

❤️nene

[threestarsaboveclouds]

Do you have any theories on Void fluid & its origin?

TSAC: Void fluid is a mysterious substance. Much more is known about it now than was known at the beginning of the Void Fluid Revolution, however many of its properties still evade our understanding.

Early scholars of the Void Fluid Revolution likened void fluid to antimatter, due to its ability to annihilate matter. However there is a key difference between the two: when matter and antimatter collide, they are both annihilated and release a proportional amount of energy. Conversely, when matter comes into contact with void fluid, it is annihilated without that energy release- seemingly violating the law of mass-energy equivalence. Despite this, the comparison between void fluid and antimatter was useful early on in developing methods of containment and manipulation, as many of the same strategies can be applied to both due to their volatile nature.

Void fluid has another strange property: through the process of Mass Rarefaction, void fluid can be used to generate an almost limitless amount of energy from a near-perfect vacuum, seeming to violate the law of conservation of mass and energy. Proper usage of mass rarefaction can power entire cities, and it only takes a few Rarefaction Cells to power an entire iterator if they lose access to their normal power sources.

In addition to these apparent violations of mass and energy, void fluid also has relativistic properties. It has been observed to bend both time and space, and witnesses in the presence of large quantities of the fluid in its raw form have reported what appear to be the effects of time dilation and gravitational distortion.

All of these qualities combined create a form of exotic matter that is quite mysterious indeed. Many of the breakthroughs in the field of void fluid research came to a halt after the global ascension of our benefactors, leaving us iterators to continue in their stead. There are some who carry on with their research, though I understand that many have lost interest in the topic by now. The fragmentation of the field has led to the development of countless theories about the origin of void fluid… and I have my own personal hypotheses, of course.

The primary task bestowed upon me by my creators was to catalogue and analyze everything I could see in the stars. The sky is filled with a myriad of different objects: stars, planets, galaxies… and the celestial spheres are not without their own abnormalities. Part of my work involves researching these phenomena in an attempt to develop a better understanding of our own place in the Cycle.

There is one type of celestial object of particular interest: black holes. Black holes are created in the destruction of a massive star, during which the star's mass collapses into a singularity: an infinitesimal point of infinite density. Black holes display some of the same properties as void fluid; namely, their distortion of the spacetime fabric. I believe the two are linked.

Surely you are aware of the Void Sea; deep below this planet's surface, the crust gives way to a mantle of void fluid. Very little is known about the Void Sea… no one has ever entered the Void Sea and returned. This is very similar to the Event Horizon of a black hole; a point at which nothing, not even light itself, can escape.

Due to the nature of the Void Sea, it is impossible for us to know what lies beneath its surface. All we can do is speculate. However, I have a theory: at the deepest point in the Void Sea, the core of our planet, lies a singularity. The catastrophic breakdown of spacetime around the singularity leads to the creation of an exotic form of matter: void fluid. It could also be possible that the void fluid itself creates the singularity, not the other way around. Or, maybe, the two are inextricably linked. Asking which created the other is a bit like asking whether the lizard came before the egg.

Additionally, it may be possible that void fluid doesn't violate the law of conservation of mass at all. I'm sure you're already aware of the dust that falls from the sky. It's hard to notice on the surface, but high up on the top of iterator superstructures, the continuously growing dust layer becomes very apparent. The ground becomes covered in the stuff if it's not cleaned regularly. There are many theories about the origin of this dust, but I suspect that it may be linked to void fluid.

Black holes, like void fluid, are poorly understood. No one knows what lies beyond the singularity. It is theorized that the singularity might in fact be a thread connecting different parts of spacetime; what goes in then comes out somewhere else. Of course, anything that falls into a black hole is destroyed, ripped apart into its constituent atoms by the intense gravitational force, rendered naught but dust.

If void fluid is closely linked to the singularity, it may be possible that any matter it annihilates simply emerges somewhere else. This may be the source of the dust that falls on our planet; those elements are deposited upon the surface to be used again, and preserving the conservation of mass. Another cycle that this world is inextricably bound to. This could also explain the source of void fluid's energy, meaning it conserves both mass and energy.

Perhaps, the distortion of spacetime around the singularity is what binds us all to the cycle. Much like an event horizon, it is impossible for us to escape. The karmic effects of the Void Sea may manifest as a field that encapsulates our planet, trapping every living being in an endless loop. Unfortunately, I lack the proper tools to study this phenomenon. If my benefactors were still around, I would be tempted to submit a proposal for a high-altitude atmospheric probe to measure the levels of karmic resonance high above the planet's surface, and perhaps study the density of dust particles in the upper atmosphere. Alas, I'm stuck with the equipment that I already have.

…It is here where my theory begins to waver, I'm afraid. Without the proper resources to actually collect the data necessary to prove my hypothesis, I've hit a bit of a dead end. Perhaps it is a fool's errand to speculate about the origin of the Void Sea in the first place; only those who have Ascended beyond the Cycle have witnessed its true nature.

I hope listening to my lecture was amusing, at the very least. Maybe I inspired some ideas of your own.

[sugar-grigri]

How to carry out a successful attack?

I'm going to give a quick review, as this is a transitional chapter intended to lead into the action of the next chapter, but it's still packed with juicy information.

The first few pages give quite a lot of information about the weapons…

Their relationship with death is interesting: one sees it as a divine consecration, the other finds it not bad, and Miri is the only one to face up to his own condition in this respect.

Not being afraid of death means not having too much trouble giving it…

Miri convinces himself it's a heavenly intervention, not because he finds the idea of being superhuman interesting, but because it relieves him of responsibility for the massacre he's about to commit.

For this massacre was inevitably destined to be extremely cruel, amputating people and leaving them screaming in agony to attract Chainsaw Man.

Miri convinces himself to stare at the clock and not look down at the child crying in front of him.

As for the weapons of the whip and spear, they pay no attention to their surroundings, one hiding behind her sunglasses, the other focusing on his cigarette.

This case shows the paradox surrounding Miri: as I've already detailed, he's not at all free, he's self-convincing in a kind of denial, but he's well and truly instrumentalized by the church.

He has no desire to spread suffering, yet he carries out the order assigned to him.

Non-observance of his environment is what made them lose in reality, believing that their intervention was celestial indicates that they were no longer paying attention to the concrete, loving to verge on overpowering and despising humans to the point of deciding what will make them suffer the most.

Quanxi used the opposite strategy: like a predator carefully examining her prey, she didn't put herself forward and focused on her mission. (Yes, if Quanxi imitates the feline by growling, it's not just to make lesbians scream, although it does have its effect…)

If she waited 5:00PM piles, it's because the public hunters wanted to make it look as if the attack had indeed been carried out by the church, in order to disengage public opinion and support them.

The paradox here is that Quanxi has indeed neutralized the threat, having killed the 3 weapons, even though a unit of hunters will be dispatched.

The 3 weapons were associated with specific demons: whip, spear and sword, none of which could produce the sound of gunfire.

My hypothesis is that the unit sent in simulated the attack by firing into the void to provoke general panic.

It's for this reason that the newspaper doesn't know the number of victims, and we also see a lot of hesitation on the part of the presenter: he only has one source of information (the State), and it's deliberately fragmentary.

We also see information on the workings of the church: the real leaders of the church are the ones who centralize information, while Haruka is just an empty shell (as we suspected) who is only there to recruit young people.

The attack wasn't even communicated to the guru, nor to this man who knows all about weapons. What's more, he uses the ambiguous term "weapons", but does he know what they actually are ?

Fujimoto is looking to develop the relationship between Asa and Denji, so what better way than to set up a rival - a rival who alone would be up to the task of countering Quanxi's power?

Ladies and gentlemen, nb hoes… her return has been announced…

[tobiasdrake]

Man, every time you post from Dragonball Meta I go "Man, that makes so much sense! Now I wanna see their take on this" On that note: How would you describe Gohan and Krillin's dynamic

It takes a village to raise a child. Goku, Chi-Chi, and Piccolo's contributions to Gohan's upbringing are often brought up, but it's often overlooked that he was Krillin's ward for a time too.

During their time on Namek, Krillin and Gohan have a pretty neat dynamic. As a hybrid Saiyan given some instruction in ki manipulation and martial arts by Piccolo, Gohan has a great deal of raw ability. But he's also five years old.

He's got a lot of power and some technical prowess but he doesn't have the sharp instincts or experience of a martial artist. He has the temperament of a child in need of guidance. Because. Like. That's what he literally is.

His ki sensing tends to be more finely tuned than Krillin's.

Gohan is a fantastic radar. I think learning to sense ki at such an early age probably made it second nature for him, like having a sixth sense. But that's my speculation.

In any case, Gohan's got a lot of ability but what he lacks is maturity, experience, and some of the more esoteric techniques picked up from a lifetime of martial arts study. That's where Krillin comes in. Krillin calls the shots during their time on Namek.

As an aside, I love this moment because it conveys the difference in technique between the two. Gohan and Krillin are both about to absolutely murder these guys in one hit each, but the way they're about to do it is totally different.

Gohan fights like a brawler, and so he's just going in for a hard right hook. Krillin, meanwhile, is preparing to twirl himself around with Bukujutsu in order to create momentum for a spinning kick.

Brute force on the one hand and finely honed martial arts on the other. Akira Toriyama's greatest talent as an artist was conveying character through action.

That is their dynamic on Namek. (Dynamek?) Gohan is powerful beyond measure while Krillin makes choices about where and how to apply that power. And when Gohan's impulsiveness gets them into trouble (in a way that will pay out massive dividends for years to come):

It's Krillin's technical knowledge, experience, and knack for subterfuge that gets them out of it.

This victory was brought to you by everybody cannibalizing Tenshinhan's techniques because they're so good. Dude needs to start filing patents.

Bunch of fucking thieves, Kame-senryu.

This sort of teamwork is the relationship they develop. Krillin is experienced and tactical, but also pragmatic. He didn't want to save Dende; He was totally willing to let Dende die to avoid exposing him and Gohan. But he rolls with it and adapts.

When he next sets out into a situation where they might have to leave the Namekians to die, he doesn't say he's not taking Gohan to avoid a similar predicament... but he does bench Gohan without giving any reason for it.

It's certainly an interesting choice, to be sure.

And a mistake he'll spend the next six days trying to un-make.

Oof. Would have been a great idea to have brought Gohan along in the first place, huh?

He does it again much later, when he's once again flying into a situation where he might have to choose between exposing himself to Frieza or letting the Namekians die.

Again, no explanation offered. Gohan volunteers to join and Krillin tells him, "Nope." Gohan has implicitly been fired from ever doing spy ops with Krillin again. Nonetheless, he continues to follow Krillin's lead unquestioningly, all the way up to the end.

For his part, Gohan is impulsive and follows his heart. He leans on Krillin for guidance and mentorship, but also follows his heart.

But together they effectively fight as a single unit. That... psychic mind training thing they were doing on the spaceship wasn't just sparring; They were also forming battle strategies and making plans for fighting an enemy together.

The coordination and teamwork between Gohan and Krillin is some of the best in the series, because they had both time and will to practice and train themselves as battle partners. Guldo can freeze time and he's still on the backfoot from how fast they flow from one attack to another, and how well Gohan's learned to read Krillin's moves and follow along without a word between them.

Oh, and the ki sensing.

I love the way Krillin and Gohan dominate this fight. Guldo's telekinesis almost pulls this out for him right at the end, but 90% of this fight is Guldo narrowly avoiding being brutally murdered by virtue of his time manipulation.

This is, once again, the Planet Trade Organization in the nutshell. Their raw abilities are incredible, while the Earthlings are better fighters. This tends to put the Earthlings on the backfoot, but the Earthlings have the tools to at least navigate the situation - For a time, at least.

When they can find an answer, they excel. When they can't, the raw ability of the PTO wins out. One of my favorite moments for Gohan and Krillin is right here, when they intervene during Vegeta's fight with Recoome.

This is a desperation move. There was no plan here. "We're fucked; GET 'IM!" was the only idea exchanged before they rush in.

So, lacking a coordinated strategy like the ones they used against Guldo, you can see their different values manifest in how they move. Krillin, the underhanded pragmatist, goes straight for a critical shot. Hitting Recoome with a well-placed knee drop to slam his jaw shut on the ultra-powerful Eraser Gun he's firing from his mouth.

Krillin's sneak attack fucks up Recoome about as hard as the preceding battle with Vegeta did.

But where Krillin sees an opening for a powerful hit, Gohan sees a life in danger. So he moves to save Vegeta instead of following Krillin's attack. Even Vegeta's startled by this decision.

Vegeta's pissed that Gohan didn't let him die. Vegeta would have let Vegeta die.

This is who Gohan is: A kindhearted boy who doesn't want to be in these violent situations but will do whatever he has to do in order to protect the lives of others.

Gohan is the most unambiguously heroic character in the cast. There is no poison in his heart. He's not here to fight. He doesn't care about martial arts. He has no enjoyment and no love of violence. He has Goku's best quality: He doesn't like it when people are being hurt, and he's bold enough to get involved if he can. But it's distilled in Gohan, untouched by Goku's poison.

Which is both a strength and a weakness, in different ways. And remains so throughout the rest of his life.

[librarycards]

The term “social transition” has a non-trans history in the psychology of adolescence. In the 1980s, it was an operative metaphor for describing adolescence through the American trope of a rocky period of self-making, what one psychologist in 1978 termed “the difficulty of adolescence as a transitional period.” The primary “transition” that concerned psychologists at the time was school, where social shifts in friend groups and hierarchies from middle school to high school affected a young person’s self-esteem and mental integrity, resulting either in positive self-actualization or, if the social transition went poorly, “problem behavior.”³

The term “social transition” was only later adopted by psychologists and psychiatrists looking to powerfully expand their jurisdiction over trans youth to include entirely non-medical practices that often spur parents to reject or harm their kids: wearing a dress, cutting or growing out hair, wearing a binder or a bra, wearing makeup, or adopting a new name and pronouns. Making those banal but concrete practices of changing gender into psychiatric events was intended to convince anxious and angry parents that they shouldn’t put down their children. By the same token, tying practices of clothing and self-description to healthy development overinflated them with a pathological degree of significance, upping the ante and creating a lucrative target, both for parents of trans youth who wanted to stop their children from transitioning and, now, politicians.

I don’t mean to imply that psychiatry directly caused HB 2885, just that it clearly holds one part of the blame for inventing the root vulnerability that Gragg has taken advantage of in Missouri. If anything, the attachment of sex offender felonies to a teacher complimenting a teenager’s haircut exposes, once and for all, how fraudulent the medicalization of transition has been all along. Gragg can claim the right of the state to control children’s dress and speech (masquerading as the rights of parents) through teachers and counselors, in part, because psychiatry and medicine first claimed the right to regulate trans youth’s practices of transition.

Still, the causal events that led to HB 2885 run far deeper than the shallow history of “social transition” as an especially foolish psychiatric fiction. Here lies the far bigger problem raised by this bill. Not only will psychiatrists prove to be the least effective political allies of trans youth in Missouri, but contemporary queer and transgender culture’s elevation of the private right to dress as the sine qua non of politics is also quite useless as a political strategy.

Part of what I gather stuns in bills like HB 2885 is their audacity. The law would target the most conservative, least politically subversive of all transgender practices: individual style, identification, and language-use. In the case of minors, “social transition” is also a cheap compromise offered to young people who are refused blockers and hormones by disapproving parents and doctors, but that compromise is offered in a broader queer and transgender culture that has elevated self-identification through style as the ultimate arbiter of being transgender, making it much harder to advocate for a genuine right to transition for anyone, teenager or adult.

[...]

Students have very limited First Amendment rights on school campuses, meaning that they cannot present themselves as private individuals enjoying the right to dress as they please.⁷Their self-expression is governed from the outset by a competing set of custodians, from parents to schoolteachers, to psychiatrists and doctors, to the Missouri House of Representatives. Trans youth’s interests are therefore materially extraneous to the mainline of contemporary queer and transgender culture, whose architects were wealthy, college-educated adults whose prior enjoyment of full-citizenship was the very reason they demanded only the affirmation of a right to dress.

I suspect that part of the genuine shock of bills like HB 2885 is that most people reasoned that LGBT liberalism’s elevation of the private individual over all other political concerns would inoculate dress and language from state interference. It evidently has not. What perhaps has been misunderstood, then, is how the state exercises power. The law cannot prohibit being transgender, for there is no such state of being. The state has no need to target people’s interior selves, either, for the law can seize people where it always has, in concrete social practices that it simply declares are the undesirable traits of transgender people—namely, practices of transition.

Jules Gill-Peterson, The Unimportance of Wearing Clothes. [emphasis added]

[argumate]

Expert policy-makers in Western capitals feel that they have to make a response to major historic challenges like climate or the rise of China, or South Africa’s energy crisis. It is their job to look to the future and to devise at least purportedly rational strategies of power. But those who make policy on such matters as sustainable development do not hold the purse-strings and have limited capacity to shift budget-constraints. Those that do set budgets, either do not care about broader global issues, prefer other tools for affecting those goals - such as military power - or are revenue constrained and unwilling to levy more revenue from their constituents for the far-flung goals favored by the policy-making elite.

There is thus never “enough money” for the softer and more complex dimensions of development and global policy. But, despite these all too obvious limitations, the policy-machine grinds on. Faut de mieux those tasked with geoeconomic policy and sustainable development cooperate to come up with programs like JET-P. The policies tick all the boxes as far as sophistication of design and conception. Powerful interests - notably high-finance - ensure that they are arranged, at least notionally, so as to offer derisking and to promote the vision of public-private partnership. The promise of “mobilizing” private money helps to paper over the lack of solid public funding.

But despite all the self-interested engagement by private finance, the fiscal constraint remains paramount. The forces interested in global development are not as powerfully engaged as they are around the military-industrial complex, oil and gas or the Wall Street nexus. The result are ambitious and professionally designed policies that whip up waves of enthusiasm in the ranks of analysts, think tanks, NGOs, pundits, but which have no prospect of materially affecting reality either with regard to the announced policy objective or the profit opportunities of Western capital.

From experience since 2021 the conclusion we must surely draw is that the one interest that such policies undeniably serve is the perpetuation of the policy circuit. Practical effectiveness is not necessarily the main driver of policy-generation. Indeed, failure may be productive in generating new policy. This not only perpetuates the machinery of policy-making. More importantly it contributes to the generation of a “state effect” - the US has a policy for x,y,z. It sustains the common sense that the world is governed and that “governance” is in some sense a coherent process.

brutal

[timhanlmacoursereviews]

Tim Han LMA Course Reviews - Unlocking Individual Prosperity

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Reviews of Tim Han LMA Courses

For those looking for direction and change in different areas of their lives, the LMA Course is a bright spot. It is clear from perceptive Tim Han LMA Course Reviews that the curriculum is carefully crafted to support participants in their quest for achievement and personal development.

Revealing Tim Han LMA Course's Power

Tim Han LMA Course - The Path to Your Personal Excellence is a road map for people who want to improve their lives. On a life-changing journey, participants explore mindfulness, self-discovery, and techniques for overcoming limiting beliefs. The course emphasizes internal fulfillment in addition to obtaining success on the outside. With the help of thorough modules and interesting exercises, participants experience amazing changes in their perspectives and actions.

The Tim Han LMA Course imparts effective methods for managing time, creating goals, and cultivating a resilient attitude. Participants find great resonance in Han's teaching technique, which consists of doable stages and real-world examples, enabling them to apply these strategies in their everyday lives effectively. Numerous Tim Han LMA Course Reviews attest that participants feel a great sense of empowerment, motivation, and clarity after finishing the program.

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The LMA Course serves as a beacon of guidance for those who aspire to achieve personal greatness. Through this course, people can transcend to infinite potential and free themselves from self-imposed limitations. Through the provision of tools to effectively navigate and conquer difficulties, participants can fully realize their potential. Tim Han's focus on comprehensive development guarantees that participants achieve personal fulfillment and success in their professional endeavors.

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The LMA Course combines psychological insights, motivational coaching, and realistic tactics to help participants achieve their objectives. Throughout the course, Tim Han's passion for igniting change and his experience in personal growth are evident. In addition to gaining practical skills, participants experience a deep mental shift that empowers them to overcome obstacles and achieve new heights.

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The LMA Course is a driving force behind people who want to walk the path of personal greatness. From reading influential Tim Han LMA Course Reviews, it is clear that participants go through a significant metamorphosis and acquire insightful knowledge, practical skills, and a fresh sense of direction. The LMA Course is a lighthouse for those striving for personal excellence because of Tim Han's life-changing effect and persistent commitment to helping people reach their maximum potential.

[bluetortoist]

Showing off another Batman OC. This time, its my own Alice. I know. So original 🙄 but I can't help myself. She's a very accomplished chemist who crossed paths with Mad Hatter and later on became his lover.

(More info of her down below! History kind of dubious, be warned)

Name: Alice (real name: Eleanor Carole)

Nickname: Alias "Dear Alice"

Age: 30

Gender: Cis Female

Identifies: Demisexual

Race: Human

Ethnicity: White

Nationality: American

Birth town: Lansing, Michigan

Current Living: Gotham City

Allegiance: Chaotic Neutral-Lawful Evil

Powers/Abilites:

• Being a chemist, she has experimented and perfected two different formulas to mutate one's body to grow bigger or smaller. They can be ingested as is, or injected/mixed in with various ingredients. She uses this as both a defense (Bigger) and stealth (Smaller) strategy. However, she can't use it too much or else has negative effects on the body.

• She has a few versions of long armed, Horse's Hammer formed in the shape of a pink flamingo, one heavy, the other light; It, no doubt, causes pretty hefty damage.

• Even though she has become more physically strong since working with Tetch, she still only knows basic self defense and fist-fight combat, but has always (and always will), kept a knife on her body since moving to Gotham.

History: Eleanor was born into a family of domestic abuse but doesn't remember too much from that time other than that they were clearly unhappy together. Luckily, she didnt get to experience that environment for long because both her parents died in a car accident when she was 4. She was sent to live in an orphanage until she was 10 and was adopted to a family of doctors and physicians. It was through them she found her interest/obsession with chemistry. Even though they try, Eleanor rarely get to see both her parents at the same time since both had conflicting work schedules at the time, and spent a good chunk of her school years making and losing friends and putting more effort in her hobbies. This was about the time (10-13) her emotional detachment problems for people started to develop. Graduated top of her class with her Chemist degree, no friends, but got a boyfriend in a one-sided relationship. They started living together once they moved to Gotham. Got a job at a chemical reasearch facility that was a branch of Wayne Labs, but wasnt that well liked; was considered a "cold genius" among other coworkers. Decided to go see a therapist to help with herself as well (much to her boyfriends chagrin). Both those took all of her time that it was putting a strain on her relationship with her boyfriend. Somewhere around this time was when she was feeling at her lowest and also when she met Jervis and soon became friends (whom she already knew was the Mad Hatter). She begun seeing him a lot more after venting her personal and emotional troubles to him (quite literally saying that she wishes she was born as someone else) and he suggests his own kind of hypnosis therapy to help bring feelings up to the surface, all while conditioning her into a version of Alice. She consented to this kind of therapy, desperate to feeling anything like any sort of person at this point. (Basically: delusional man teaches girl how to manifest a new persona to actively dissociate 💀). This continues on and eventually (and quickly) start to form a relationship. The boyfriend, already pissed enough, already suspects she is seeing someone else. Confronts her one night about it, says hes kicking her out and almost turns into a fight, but she manages to beat him unconscious in self defense. In a panic, she runs right back to Jervis, and he offers to let her stay. He goes out and kills the boyfriend himself before finding out the boyfriend had made a report on her to the police. She stays in hiding for a couple of weeks afterwards. In that time, she and her Alice persona has become one in the same and doesn't even remember her old name anymore and only small bits of her early life. Alice finally felt like a person, regardless of whether those feelings were in the right place or not. They were at least real and her own now, Jervis/Hatter was real, and she can finally say, without faking, that she loves both of them for it. It wasn't until later on in the future that Hatter and her got involved in a criminal incident that she decided that she would need to protect herself and her precious Hatter (much to his dismay, not wanting her to get involved at all, but was pushed to believing its for the best). She started learning how to use weapons and self defense and creating more of her own chemical formulas inspired by Alice in Wonderland. She eventually started gaining a name for herself as Hatter's lover, right hand, and mad genius chemist, "Dear Alice"

Notes/Quirks:

• She has two snaggletooth upper-canines and a small birthmark on her upper right cheek.

• She used to have a therapist she would go to to help with her apathy and general difficulty with forming attachments with other people, due to some emotional damage back in childhood.

• She used to volunteer to read to children at her local bookstore. It was something for the community that her therapist encouraged her to do to help interact with other people. It was the one thing she missed before going to crime.

• She has never read a lot of classic children's books as a child, including Alice in Wonderland until it was suggested to her for her next book reading. Thus, how she will soon meet Jervis Tetch.

[purpleheartskies]

Robby won captain

... because it fits his character development and character journey

After s5, I made a post called Robby as a leader that talked about how the writers have been building Robby out as the leader amongst the teens.

These are the main points in that analysis. That post has explanations for each.

Robby isn't a blind follower, which is important for a leader.

Robby doesn't actively seek out and hurt people to be vindictive, another good quality for a leader to have.

Robby honors the rules he sets and is an honorable leader.

Robby had some equal standing alongside Kreese and Silver in s4. Robby was the sole person in Cobra Kai who could teach Miyagi-Do to the students, meaning Robby probably led a lot of the classes.

Robby also tailored his lessons to the Cobras and didn't have them do chores. This shows he's able to identify how best to lead his group and change strategies to be more effective and to suit them. He did the same with Kenny, teaching him to use his speed to his advantage.

Robby was the first kid to mentor another kid. Robby was a great mentor to Kenny---despite what Robby believes, as he's too hard on himself.

Robby has been shown to be a strategic thinker who is at times willing to take risks, a good leadership quality to have.

Silver recognized Robby as a leader and even as an equal to the senseis, including himself, given how Silver responded to Robby in s5e9.

Robby was shown in a central, forefront position for the students in both dojos in s5.

These scenes were also in conjunction with Robby having a significant interaction with Daniel and Silver, respectively. The first one kicked off Miyagi-Dos return in s5. The second one was the first move against Silver by Miyagi-Do at the end of s5.

Robby's standing amongst the senseis is especially something of note. Robby is narratively an equal to the senseis.

In s5e9, Robby walked in after Silver and Kim talked about LaRusso, Lawrence, and Toguchi being pests and that they'll swat the next one. Robby then made his speech to the students, even daring to call Silver the enemy. Silver then swat Robby down with Silver's "they hear you, but listen to me" demonstration.

Another great example is s4e3. Robby became Kenny's mentor, while Daniel worked with Miguel and the Eagle Fangs alone for the first time and Johnny worked with Sam and the Miyagi-Dos for the first time.

And of course, Robby did what neither Daniel nor Johnny could accomplish in s4. Robby taught a dojo of students another style of karate and all of his students used that other style effectively in the tournament.

Robby is also the only kid to have teamed up with a sensei in a fight.

Hope we get at least one more team up between these two.

The matches in s6e5 were being used to determine who should be captain. The girls fight had no conclusion to it, and both girls became captain for a dojo. Not only did the girls each become captain, they also had a true resolution to their rivalry in terms of hashing things out properly. It's interesting, then, that there was a definitive decision for the boys for captain, although they haven't yet had a true resolution for their rivalry in terms of hashing it out properly. In fact, it was Robby only who took accountability and apologized, and Miguel didn't do either. Overall, the 3 kids who took accountability and apologized each became captain.

Robby became the captain after cleanly winning the only fair fight that he and Miguel have had. 😊 You go, kiddo!

It's important to note that being the best fighter doesn't make someone the best leader. imo Robby is the best fighter and the best leader amongst the boys (and teens). Even if Robby hadn't won the captaincy match, Robby is still the boy, between these two, who's better suited to lead. Robby is the kid overall who has been built out the most narratively as a leader.

Another important thing to note is that Robby is the teen that most naturally and closely follows Miyagi-Do, and as I point out in my Robby is the protagonist post:

Robby carries the essence of Miyagi-Do with him, wherever he goes, including juvie (The Heart of Miyagi-Do - Part 1 and Part 2). Although, this show is called Cobra Kai. Cobra Kai represents the generational trauma that is being passed down from Kreese to Johnny to Robby and from Silver to Daniel to Robby. Miyagi-Do is presented as the opposition to Cobra Kai: The goal of Miyagi-Do is to teach a better way. In fact, all the important avt final matches and the ST trial matches were Miyagi-Do vs Cobra Kai. The whole goal is to take down Cobra Kai. In s4, Robby beat the whole Cobra Kai dojo using Miyagi's teachings. Of course, the kid who carries the essence of Miyagi-Do will be the one to take down Cobra Kai for good in the end.

Robby, while wearing a Cobra Kai gi, used Miyagi-Do to take down the Cobra Kai students in their dojo. He then assumed his position as the leader (with Tory as a co-leader) and started teaching the Cobras Miyagi-Do.

It's important to note that Miyago-Do purely has yet to win a tournament. In s1, Robby was using pure Miyagi-Do to fight, but Miguel cheated to secure the win for Cobra Kai. In s4, Daniel told Hawk to put Robby on defense, which is Miyagi-Do, and encouraged Hawk to use Cobra Kai. Although Miyagi-Do won the boys championship by name, Hawk primarily used the Cobra Kai style to win. Sam was also using both styles to fight against Tory. Silver cheated and secured the win for Tory, so Miyagi-Do lost the girls championship and lost the tournament overall.

No other kid, especially not Miguel, has been built out the way that Robby has as a leader and as the teen who follows Miyagi-Do most inherently, even in his fighting style. According to Tanner and one of the stunt coordinators, Robby uses the traditional Okinawan style, but switches it up only when he needs to.

Miyagi-Do has to win a tournament purely as Miyagi-Do in this series. Miyagi-Do is the legacy of this franchise, and the whole point of this series is that Cobra Kai, including Eagle Fang, is a poison and must die.

In s6 part 1, the new development about Mr. Miyagi's backstory is interesting. When Johnny called Mr. Miyagi "a liar and a thief", I immediately thought of Robby. The earlier reveal that Miyagi had committed an assault and robbery and went on the run is a possible significant parallel with Robby, who shares other parallels with Miyagi. This reveal about Miyagi has shattered Daniel's perception of him. Maybe, as Daniel learns more about Miyagi's past, Daniel will also learn to listen to and consider all sides to a story before making rash judgments about people (..coughs... Robby...) in those situations.

In relation to Robby's character journey, the two King Cobras each told Robby, the kid who carries the essence of Miyagi-Do, that he can be a champion. Kreese even told Robby that he needs to show it to the world. Both of these conversations were also in the context of Robby not turning out like Johnny, which is a big part of Robby's character journey. Robby's "lie"/fear is that he believes that he's like Johnny and will end up like him ("second place" being one aspect of that).

Kreese to Robby (s4e1): "Trust me. You've got even more talent than your father. You just need to show it to the world... It's not about the trophy. It's about being a champion. Win or lose, that reputation will follow you for the rest of your life. Just ask your father and LaRusso."

Daniel's reputation as a winner has followed him. Johnny became... the person that Robby doesn't want to turn into. Kreese had also told Robby that Johnny squandered his talent.

Silver to Robby (s4e4): "If you want to be a champion, you need to dig out that fear and face it. Whatever it is. Because if you don't it's going to hold you back forever."

Robby later went to Johnny and told him that Robby's biggest fear is ending up like Johnny, but Robby isn't going to because he is better than Johnny. Robby has been trying to not be like Johnny in different ways.

It's notable that Johnny's "second place" trauma, especially in relation to his standing wrt Daniel, was being depicted alongside Robby's "second place" trauma in s6e5.

Kreese rooted Johnny's "second place" trauma in him when he told him "Second place is no place! ... You're nothing. You're a loser", strangled him, and then abandoned him. In s4, Kreese rubbed in Johnny's face that he's playing second fiddle to LaRusso. In s6e5, Johnny spent most of the episode dealing with his insecurities about being less than Daniel.

Johnny has rooted Robby's "second place" trauma in him by choosing Miguel over him since s1e5 and the plot device baby over him since s5e5. In s6e5, Robby was dealing with his "second place" trauma too.

Robby's struggle to not become like Johnny continues. From his lack of future prospects to being "second place", Robby still sees a bleak future ahead of him. Tory however gave Robby inspiration to fight for and believe in himself again. Robby is now ready to try once again to change his future by becoming a champion.

Also, to note, Tory is connected to Kreese and Robby, and Johnny brought up his mother's death after hearing about Tory's mother's death. Johnny's mother's death led him to abandoning Robby. All these strings are intertwining as part of the main plot, and Miguel isn't a part of this.

Robby definitely earned and deserved the captain position, and narratively, it was always going to be his.

Robby's Johnny's son. Of course, Cobra Kai is Robby's story, as much as it is Johnny's, maybe even more so.

I ended the Robby as a leader post with this:

I'd also love to see Robby get at least one mentor he wishes he had when he was younger (a strong support system of genuinely caring and compassionate adults would be ideal). Although Robby has many leadership qualities, he also still needs an adult in his life who is mature and grounded. He needs a mentor and supporter who he can look up to, who will be there for him and believe in him, and who can lead him.

It's become pretty clear in s6e5 that an important part of Robby's journey that makes him THE underdog and Karate Kid of this generation is that he's all alone. Robby is a leader, but he's still a kid; one who still has no support system and no real mentor.

In s6e1, Robby told Kenny that he should join their dojo so that he could go to the Sekai Taikai and "with the right mentors...". Shawn cut Robby off then, but Robby calling Johnny and Daniel the "right mentors" shows how much Robby has internalized the flaws in this relationships with Johnny and Daniel as being his own fault. Johnny and Daniel are the ones who have absolutely failed Robby, especially Johnny. They're not "the right mentors". Both refuse to acknowledge and understand Robby's side of the story. (My post The Neglect of Robby Keene covers this.)

Around the time that s1 came out, Ralph said about the first Karate Kid movie:

"It's a story about a boy who needs a mentor, needs a father, and he’s got all the odds against him."

This is definitely Robby as he goes into the Sekai Taikai. Robby has two "mentors", one of which is his father, but Robby obviously doesn't feel supported by either of them. Robby's balance is going to be really off as he starts the tournament, and I'm curious to see how it will affect his ability to lead and fight.

In s2, Robby had told Johnny that Miyagi-Do had helped Robby a lot and that maybe Johnny and Daniel can learn from each other.

Robby wanted Johnny to become Miyagi-Do even back then. He wanted him and Daniel to learn from each other. Now Johnny has joined Miyagi-Do, but he needs to become Miyagi-Do, like Robby is.

Johnny and Daniel are still not on the same page, though, and are still failing Robby and all these kids. Johnny and Daniel seriously need to step up. I really hope they do. Robby needs to believe in himself again, but it shouldn't be that this kid has to go it alone, not again, not anymore. Johnny and Daniel need to redeem themselves to Robby, and they need to be there for him.

Can you imagine Robby winning it with Johnny and Daniel both in his corner, all three as Miyagi-Do? 🥹 As much as I want to throw Johnny away, I know this would be a dream come true for Robby so I want it for him too. I hope it happens, and that it happens after they've validated Robby and all of his traumas and experiences, especially those caused by them and the person they blindly chose over him.

Robby wasn't second place for the first time, and his dad acknowledged him and his achievement. ❤️

[evolutionsvoid]

The slaying of the dragons after the betrayal was meant to end every last trace of their kind and their ancient age. To fell these great beasts for good, and allow Eitr to finally extinguish. But a fluid potent enough to fuel an entire era is one not so easily snuffed out. Though the Primal Flame has faded and dwindled, it will never truly burn out. Look within the spilled blood of the dragons and see that it still smolders. A far cry from what it once was, but still a godly fluid nonetheless. And so when the Church called for their kind to be slain and this fluid to be erased, it wound up only making its flame burn all the brighter...

From these pools of Eitr are born a number of beasts, warped by time and toxin. And one such monstrosity is the Primal Carcolh, created from a snail that came in contact with this mutagen. Though sluggish and slow, the Primal Carcolh is still an intimidating sight to behold. Armored by shell, scale and spike, its defenses seem impenetrable. Emerging from this fortress is a fierce head of branching horns and shredding teeth. Its radula has warped into a long flexible appendage, a toothy whip to snare and slash. Though it has a far reach, its slow pace would make it easy to escape. However, the Carcolh has a far greater weapon.

A vent beneath its neck can spew clouds of Eitr-tainted Phlegm, a great fog that envelopes foes and cloaks its body. Those who come in contact with it will find their minds fading away, devolving into a crude primitive form. Senses and mental adaptations slowly tick backwards, and the tools developed in times of progress vanish as it reverses. Intelligence is reduced to instinct and the mind becomes that of the simplest animals. Prey is reduced to a stumbling, quivering mess, as they struggle with their own brains turning backwards. Strategy and plans are erased, and many can do little else but stand there dumbfounded. And that is when the toothy jaw whips forth and drags them to their doom...

Primal Carcolhs are powerful beasts and scourges wherever they go. Their mind numbing fog sows chaos and their hunger devours any caught within. Though the effects wear off over time, usually victims do not live long enough to break free of its hold. Its armored hide is not easily damaged, and it can retract its neck partially inside. Though the head remains exposed, the toothy radula and devolving mist makes approaching it quite difficult. Yet, some people still try to slay them, though some swear other parties get involved for other reasons. Members of the Academy of Veritas Mundus are said to have been seen near Primal Carcolhs, collecting samples of their mist. When they are spotted though, they are quick to pack their things and vanish. Some have theories, but others call them rumors. What interest does the Academy have with these beasts? And what if they are involved with more than just the end result?

------------------------------------------------

"Primal Carcolh"

Just returned from vacation and trying to make up for lost time! Hurry! More dragons!

[mariacallous]

Since it was first identified in 1983, HIV has infected more than 85 million people and caused some 40 million deaths worldwide.

While medication known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, can significantly reduce the risk of getting HIV, it has to be taken every day to be effective. A vaccine to provide lasting protection has eluded researchers for decades. Now, there may finally be a viable strategy for making one.

An experimental vaccine developed at Duke University triggered an elusive type of broadly neutralizing antibody in a small group of people enrolled in a 2019 clinical trial. The findings were published today in the scientific journal Cell.

“This is one of the most pivotal studies in the HIV vaccine field to date,” says Glenda Gray, an HIV expert and the president and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council, who was not involved in the study.

A few years ago, a team from Scripps Research and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) showed that it was possible to stimulate the precursor cells needed to make these rare antibodies in people. The Duke study goes a step further to generate these antibodies, albeit at low levels.

“This is a scientific feat and gives the field great hope that one can construct an HIV vaccine regimen that directs the immune response along a path that is required for protection,” Gray says.

Vaccines work by training the immune system to recognize a virus or other pathogen. They introduce something that looks like the virus—a piece of it, for example, or a weakened version of it—and by doing so, spur the body’s B cells into producing protective antibodies against it. Those antibodies stick around so that when a person later encounters the real virus, the immune system remembers and is poised to attack.

While researchers were able to produce Covid-19 vaccines in a matter of months, creating a vaccine against HIV has proven much more challenging. The problem is the unique nature of the virus. HIV mutates rapidly, meaning it can quickly outmaneuver immune defenses. It also integrates into the human genome within a few days of exposure, hiding out from the immune system.

“Parts of the virus look like our own cells, and we don’t like to make antibodies against our own selves,” says Barton Haynes, director of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute and one of the authors on the paper.

The particular antibodies that researchers are interested in are known as broadly neutralizing antibodies, which can recognize and block different versions of the virus. Because of HIV’s shape-shifting nature, there are two main types of HIV and each has several strains. An effective vaccine will need to target many of them.

Some HIV-infected individuals generate broadly neutralizing antibodies, although it often takes years of living with HIV to do so, Haynes says. Even then, people don’t make enough of them to fight off the virus. These special antibodies are made by unusual B cells that are loaded with mutations they’ve acquired over time in reaction to the virus changing inside the body. “These are weird antibodies,” Haynes says. “The body doesn’t make them easily.”

Haynes and his colleagues aimed to speed up that process in healthy, HIV-negative people. Their vaccine uses synthetic molecules that mimic a part of HIV’s outer coat, or envelope, called the membrane proximal external region. This area remains stable even as the virus mutates. Antibodies against this region can block many circulating strains of HIV.

The trial enrolled 20 healthy participants who were HIV-negative. Of those, 15 people received two of four planned doses of the investigational vaccine, and five received three doses. The trial was halted when one participant experienced an allergic reaction that was not life-threatening. The team found that the reaction was likely due to an additive in the vaccine, which they plan to remove in future testing.

Still, they found that two doses of the vaccine were enough to induce low levels of broadly neutralizing antibodies within a few weeks. Notably, B cells seemed to remain in a state of development to allow them to continue acquiring mutations, so they could evolve along with the virus. Researchers tested the antibodies on HIV samples in the lab and found that they were able to neutralize between 15 and 35 percent of them.

Jeffrey Laurence, a scientific consultant at the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, says the findings represent a step forward, but that challenges remain. “It outlines a path for vaccine development, but there’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” he says.

For one, he says, a vaccine would need to generate antibody levels that are significantly higher and able to neutralize with greater efficacy. He also says a one-dose vaccine would be ideal. “If you’re ever going to have a vaccine that’s helpful to the world, you’re going to need one dose,” he says.

Targeting more regions of the virus envelope could produce a more robust response. Haynes says the next step is designing a vaccine with at least three components, all aimed at distinct regions of the virus. The goal is to guide the B cells to become much stronger neutralizers, Haynes says. “We’re going to move forward and build on what we have learned.”

[novlr]

🌨How to write in POV's?🌨

Choosing the perspective from which to tell your story is one of the most crucial decisions you’ll make as an author. Opting for multiple points of view (PoVs) can offer depth, diversity, and a panoramic view of the narrative that can captivate readers. Juggling multiple PoVs requires a deft hand and a clear plan. In this post, we’ll explore some effective strategies for writing a novel using multiple perspectives.

What is a point of view?

Point of view serves as the narrative’s eyes and ears—the viewpoint from which readers engage with your story. It can range from the intimate “I” of the first person, the rarely used direct address of the second person, to the more distanced and flexible third person (which can be limited to one character’s perspective or be omniscient, seeing into the minds of all characters).

Incorporating multiple PoVs means weaving a narrative through the lives and experiences of two or more characters, often alternating between their perspectives with each new chapter or section, which can enrich the story with complexity.

Choose your characters wisely

When writing a multi-PoV novel, it’s important to pick your characters carefully. Make sure that each one has a unique voice and their own way of seeing things. Each character should add something special to the story that no one else can. Also, think about how each character will change over time and how their stories connect. This will help your readers get to know your characters better and keep the plot interesting.

Map out your story structure

Planning your story’s framework is a crucial step in a multi-PoV novel. Start by outlining the individual plot lines for each character, making sure they fit well together and are interesting on their own. Decide how much time to spend on each character and keep it balanced to keep the reader engaged. Also, think about the order you introduce each character’s PoV, as this will affect how the story feels and builds suspense. Good planning will help you weave together the different viewpoints into a coherent and interesting narrative.

Create clear transitions

Clear transitions are key to a smooth reading experience in a multi-PoV novel. They guide the reader seamlessly from one character’s perspective to another, without confusion. Using character names or other distinct markers in chapter headings can help signal a shift in PoV. Consistency in these transitions is vital; once you establish a pattern, stick to it throughout the story. This consistency helps the reader quickly adapt to changes in perspective and maintains the flow of your narrative, ensuring each transition contributes to the depth and progression of your story.

Deepen characterisation through PoV

Utilising multiple points of view can deepen characterisation by allowing readers inside the minds and motivations of various characters. To maximise the impact on the overall story, ensure that each PoV shift adds new information, advances the plot, or reveals key character dynamics, helping to create a tapestry of interconnected stories and themes. By presenting internal thoughts and diverse perspectives on events, each PoV can offer a unique insight into the narrative, building a richer, more textured story.

Ensure each PoV advances the plot

In a multi-PoV novel, it’s essential that each point of view contributes meaningfully to the forward momentum of the plot. Avoid filling pages with scenes that do not serve the story’s progression or reveal significant information. Link the characters’ stories through shared events, underlying themes, or relationships. This approach ensures that every narrative perspective not only enhances the depth of your characters but also keeps the reader engaged with a plot that is continuously moving and developing through each character’s eyes.

[imakemywings]

do you have any good female fics to rec?

DO I. LOL. Putting this immediately under a cut because there are a lot! There are so many talented writers in this fandom who do ENORMOUS justice to female characters, both original and book-based. Couple of blog recs at the bottom too!

(I'm assuming this is asking for Tolkien fanfic since that's mostly what I'm on about these days, but if you'd rather see Mass Effect or Dragon Age I can do that too.)

I'm glad you asked! φ(*￣0￣)

I'm going to keep all of these to 1 rec per author just so we don't get totally out of control here.

Forging Gold by @swanmaids ft. Curufin's wife, Dwarf OCs. Heather is an amazing source of female character fic in this fandom; she has well-developed OCs for all of Feanor's daughters-in-law and treats canon female characters with such care and love. Absolutely recommend checking out the rest of her stuff!

Prick a Finger, Cut Your Hand by @welcomingdisaster ft. Indis, Miriel. A really great look at the dynamic between these two. Lena has lots of other good takes on female Tolkien characters too!

Friendship and Stern Demand by @polutrope ft. Elwing. Fantastic exploration of what the communications between Elwing and Maedhros might have looked like!

Untitled by @outofangband ft. Aerin, Morwen. Nelyo focuses a lot on the human characters so if you want to read more about what the mortal women went through in the First Age, definitely browse through their blog!

Abide, Abound by Elleth ft. Arwen, Tauriel. Elleth also has lots of works centering on female Tolkien characters.

And by their blazing signify that a great princess falls, but doth not die by TheLionInMyBed ft. Elwing. One of my favorite takes on Elwing's suicide.

Keeper of Kings by batshape ft. Lalwen. What did Lalwen get up to in Middle-earth? Seeing a lot of people die, for one thing.

Into the Heart of a Fey Thing by @amethysttribble ft. Aredhel, Galadriel, Luthien. Fun "behind-the-scenes" look at some adventures with these three!

A Fish Hook, an Open Eye by simaetha ft. Elwing, f!Maglor. Fascinating AU take on a meeting between Elwing and Maglor prior to the Third Kinslaying.

The Sleep of Flowers by Innin ft. Galadriel, Melian. Very beautiful scene, and plenty of other female-centric works by Innin!

Light Words About Nothing by Margo_Kim ft. Dis, Belladonna. I ship it.

Elwing's Strategy by lifeisyetfair ft. Elwing. Another great take on Elwing at the Third Kinslaying.

Out of Dreams, Into the Sun by solanaceae ft. Miriel, Indis.

Games and Fantasy by Genesis_Grey ft. Arwen, Eowyn. Ohh it captures that chivalric WLW so well.

Over the Unclear Eyes of Memory by Loriand_Lost ft. Anaire, Aredhel. Addresses Anaire's complicated feelings about Fingolfin's return to Valinor. This author also has a number of other great female-centric fics, highly recommend!

The Carriage Held but Just Ourselves by @starspray ft. Luthien, Elwing, Arwen. Amazing look at the line of Thingol's relationship with death. This author also has a whole series on Lalwen and an OFC!

Before the Breath of Storm by tinnurin ft. Dis, Dwarf OC. "Behind-the-scenes" look at the Dwarves before the battle of Azanulbizar.

This Now, This Us by crownlessliestheking ft. Indis, Miriel. Indis and Miriel talk after Miriel's return to Valinor.

The Tapestry by Zdenka ft. Thedowyn, Miriel. The ghost of Miriel Serinde offers some aid. This author also has a lot of female-centric works!

Not Undevoted by SatiricalDraperies ft. Galadriel, Melian.

Winter Sea by Tallulah ft. Finduilas, OFC. Finduilas had a girlfriend in the Falas. Another author with a great selection of female-centric works.

The Hunt by @cuarthol ft. Amarie. Amarie is trans and closeted in Valinor, but Finrod understands.

Come Home to Chaos (Get a Crush on a Queen) by ncfan ft. Arwen, Firiel. When Firiel of Gondor takes refuge in Rivendell, Arwen takes an interest.

Do I Hurt to Hold? by Anonymous ft. Galadriel, Melian. A darker look at their relationship.

That Time Elanor Gardner Had A Crush On Her Employer by Anonymous ft. Arwen, Elanor.

All My Shadows Fade by amyfortuna ft. Arwen, OFC. Unsent letter from a female friend of Arwen's as her wedding to Aragorn approaches. This author is also a good one to look at for more female-centric fic!

Orlaya by yeaka ft. Arwen, Tauriel. Cute!

Of All the Stars, the Fairest by whatiwouldnotgive ft. Arwen, Eowyn.

Or They Would Go On Aching Still by Farasha ft. Arwen, Tauriel. Oh, the grief!

Berrypicking Time by swamp_diamonds ft. Finduilas, Nienor.

Things They Don't Talk About by eris_of_imladris ft. Findis. Findis and Feanor have a complicated relationship.

Easily Sever What Never was One by vauquelin ft. Haleth. If you like Halenthir at all as a ship, you'll like this.

The One With All The Birds by clothono ft. Elwing, Nerdanel. I've said it before I'll say it again--my favorite Elwing fic.

Greensleeves by bravelittlscrib ft. Nerdanel. Little scenes of Nerdanel's life and her relationships.

Emerie by the_artifice_of_eternity ft. Erendis, Ancalime. Ancalime's last visit with her mother before taking the throne.

In the Family by arriviste ft. Celebrian, Galadriel.

At the Water's Edge by crackinthecup ft. Elwing, Idril.

And that's what I've got for you right now, I hope that helps! I would also advise checking out the blogs @tolkien-heroines and @sapphictolkien both of which focus on female characters in Tolkien's work. Happy reading, anon! ♪(^∇^*)