#embryo banking

[repromedca]

Embryo Freezing Toronto - ReproMed Fertility

The freezing also known as vitrification or cryopreservation of eggs, sperm, or embryos freezing for possible future use is known as fertility preservation. For medical reasons, such as when a medicine or illness could impair the reproductive system's health and fertility, it might be recommended. See our website for additional information.

[bishtmeenakshi]

3 Key Insights on US$ 15 Bn Opportunity in the Global Stem Cell Banking Market - Ken Research

Driven By the increasing prevalence of infectious diseases and rising individuals’ awareness regarding the therapeutic potentials of stem cells, the Global Stem Cell Banking Market is forecasted to Cross US$ 15 Bn by 2028 says Ken Research Study.

Stem Cell Banking is the collection and cryogenic storage of stem cells from a newborn infant's umbilical cord blood and tissue which can be further used in cell treatments or clinical trials. It has the potential to treat a wide range of diseases, as well as the ability to mortgage stem cells from multiple family members and use an individual’s own stem cells (autologous transplant). Furthermore, individuals with spinal cord injuries, type 1 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, stroke, burns, cancer, and osteoarthritis may also benefit from stem cell therapies.

“Ken Research shares 3 key insights on this high opportunity market from its latest research study”

Stem Cell Banking Market Continues to Grow Owing to The Growing Newborn Population Worldwide.

The Global Stem Cell Banking Market is expected to witness stable growth during the forecast period, owing to the increasing newborn population, and rising individuals’ awareness regarding the therapeutic potentials of stem cells. The global stem cell banking market was valued at ~US$ 4 billion in 2017, it is estimated to be ~US$ 7 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach a market size of ~US$ 15 billion by 2028 growing with a CAGR of ~12%.

North America is the dominating region in the Global Stem Cell Banking Market due to the increasing incidence rates of diseases, such as cancer, neurological disorders, and diabetes. Furthermore, the growing government initiatives and investments in stem cell therapies are contributing to the region's growth in stem cell banking.

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The Rising Prevalence of fatal Chronic Diseases, Such as Cancer, Cardiovascular Diseases, Neurological Disorders, Immunological Disorders, and Other Rare Metabolic Diseases is Propelling the Market Growth of Stem Cell Banking.

The growing geriatric population worldwide, who are more exposed to chronic and infectious diseases, including immunological disorders is propelling the stem cell banking market. In addition, the increasing prevalence of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, and nephrological diseases is widening the use of stem cells as a potential treatment option.

For instance, according to Scientific American, an American science magazine that covers science, health, and social justice issues, several autoimmune diseases affected nearly 4.5% of the world's population in 2021.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a United Nations agency responsible for global public health, nearly 18 million people die every year as a result of cardiovascular diseases.

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High Operational Cost Associated with Stem Cell Banking, along with the stringent regulatory Frameworks May Impede the Market Growth of Stem Cell Banking.

Stem cell therapies have grown in popularity in recent years as individuals seek out alternative treatments for a variety of chronic diseases. Every day, new types of therapies are introduced, and individuals from all over the world are turning to them in place of traditional drug treatments and hospital visits. Despite the significant increase in demand for stem cell therapies, they remain prohibitively expensive to pursue. Simple joint injections cost close to US$ 5000, and more advanced treatments cost up to US$ 100,000, depending on the condition.

Furthermore, the stem cell field remains highly specialized and has yet to be adopted by citizens or insurance companies. Additionally, the field is further limited by older laws in some countries, most notably the United States. That means that there are relatively few sources for stem cells, and labs equipped to perform stem cells.

Request Free 30 Minutes Analyst Call

Key Topics Covered in the Report

Snapshot of the Global Stem Cell Banking Market

Industry Value Chain and Ecosystem Analysis

Market size and Segmentation of the Global Stem Cell Banking Market

Historic Growth of the Overall Global Stem Cell Banking Market and Segments

Competition Scenario of the Market and Key Developments of Competitors

Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis of the Global Stem Cell Banking Industry

Overview, Product Offerings, and Strengths & Weaknesses of Key Competitors

Covid-19 Impact on the Overall Global Stem Cell Banking Market

Future Market Forecast and Growth Rates of the Total Global Stem Cell Banking Market and by Segments

Market Size of Source, Service Type, Application, Cell Type Segments with Historical CAGR and Future Forecasts

Analysis of the Global Stem Cell Banking Market

Major Production/Supply and Consumption/Demand Hubs within Each Region

Major Country-wise Historic and Future Market Growth Rates of the Total Market and Segments

Overview of Notable Emerging Competitor Companies within Each Region

Notable Key Players Mentioned in the Report

CBR Systems, Inc.

Cryo-Cell International, Inc.

ViaCord

Sartorius AG

StemCyte, Inc.

Smart Cells International Limited

Global Cord Blood Corporation

Vita 34

LifeCell International Pvt. Ltd

Cordlife Group Limited

Notable Emerging Companies Mentioned in the Report

CyroHoldco

Generate Life Sciences Inc.

Hope Biosciences

Cell Care

ReeLabs Pvt. Ltd.

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, Inc.

CellSave a CSG-BIO Company, Inc.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Key Target Audience – Organizations and Entities Who Can Benefit by Subscribing This Report

Stem Cell Banking Companies

Biopharmaceuticals Companies

Cord Blood Banks

Machinery and Equipment Suppliers for Stem Cell Banking

Cryogenic Healthcare Equipment Manufacturers

Biotechnology - Therapeutics and Diagnostics Companies

Pharmaceutical Companies

World Marrow Donor Association

Cord Blood Association

The International Stem Cell Banking Initiative (ISCBI) – PubMed

Healthcare Research Institutes

Healthcare Technology Research Institutes

Healthcare Technology Regulatory Authorities

Government Ministries and Departments of Healthcare

Period Captured in the Report

Historical Period: 2017-2021

Forecast Period: 2022E-2028F

For more insights on the market intelligence, refer to the link below: -

Global Stem Cell Banking Market

Related Reports By Ken Research: -

Global Stem Cell Banking Market Outlook to 2028

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Abroad with the Broad Shelled Turtle

Chelodina expansa, more commonly known as the broad shelled turtle, is one of the largest freshwater turtles in Australia. The length of their shells can reach up to 50 cm (19.6 in), and their neck accounts for an additional 60-80% of their total length. Because of this length, C. expansa tucks its head in sideways as opposed to pulling it directly into its shell. At maximum, females reach a mass of 6 kg (13.2 lbs), while males only typically weigh about 4 kg (8.8 lbs). The top of the shell, or carapace, is dark brown or green, while the underside is a light cream; the same is true for the broad shelled turtle's head, neck, and legs. The feet are webbed, and have large claws which help adults to dig or fend off predators.

While they spend the winter buried in the mud, the broad shelled turtle is most active during the summer months, from November to March. During this time they are almost entirely aquatic, rarely emerging from the water even to bask. This species lives throughout the river basins of eastern Australia, and can be found in rivers, dams, lakes, and wetlands with plenty of vegetation cover. C. expansa is entirely carnivorous, feeding on crustaceans, aquatic insects, fish, and frogs via ambush, and carrion whenever it can find it. To locate prey, they have a keen sense of smell. Adults are not usually predated upon due to their thick shells and sharp claws, but eggs and juveniles are often prey for foxes, dingos, birds, rakalai, and large fish.

C. expansa nests in the winter, beginning in late February or March. Outside the mating season, individuals are generally solitary, but aggressive territoriality has not been observed. When mating time roles around, males seek out females to mate with; following the encounter, the female climbs out onto the bank and digs a nest for a clutch of anywhere from 5 to 28 eggs. To seal the nest, she then slams her body into the re-piled sand and mud, compacting it into a plug that will remain intact until the following year.

Incubation takes about 360 days, though some nests have been recorded as hatching at 500 days; this process is exceptionally slow due to the two periods of diapause, or developmental delays, that embryos pass through in order to survive the winter. Juveniles hatch in the spring, and emerge from the nest at the first heavy rain. It's unknown how long these turtles can live in the wild, but given their slow growth rate and adult invulnerability it's likely that they can live in excess of 20 years.

Conservation status: The IUCN consideres the broad shelled turtle to be Near Threatened, due primarily to habitat loss and high rates of nest predation by introduced foxes.

If you like what I do, consider leaving a tip or buying me a kofi!

Photos

Claire Treilibs

Catherine Heuzenroeder

Shanna Bignell via iNaturalist

[familyabolisher]

Young’s protocol banked on a naturally available plasticity in the growing body that would induce phenotypic changes during childhood growth. Yet sex was not given by plasticity—it had to be grown. If it was plastic, then there were no guarantees that the originally mixed character of an embryo or infant would inevitably reach a binary form. This instability was precisely what drew researchers to experiments on intersex bodies in the first place, for in displacing the gonadocentric paradigm they cast serious doubt on whether humans were really sexually dimorphic, even as medicine promised to capitalize on their plasticity to produce a binary. To resolve this instability, the plasticity of sex was coded in this clinical research as an abstracted form of whiteness, a latent capacity to be reformed and transformed into something new. That most of Young’s intersex patients were white indexes how the “abnormal” body of a child diagnosed with hermaphroditism could be made valuable through its plasticity, the promise of alteration and normalization through medical intervention. That the few black intersex children and families who spent time at the Institute were regarded by its staff as more “difficult,” combative, irrational, and ultimately disposable points to the racialization of plasticity in this era. Young saw an abstract sense of alterability in white children, while he projected a fungibility onto black children that has a genealogy in American medicine stretching back to slavery. As was the case more broadly at Hopkins, doctors like Young regarded black children as suitable experimental subjects because of presumed access and disposability, whereas white children who were subject to similar procedures were framed as exhibiting the potential for a normative cure or at least improved normality.

Jules Gill-Peterson, Histories of the Transgender Child

[h0mocodes]

H 0 M O C O D E S 🌙

I figured I would talk a little about my life experiences beyond the spam posting of gifs ✨There is person with a story to tell 😭

My name is Dhyrek Grigorieva. Most just call me Derek. My partner thinks it's funny to mispronounce my name or call me comrade Zady 🤨 I'm 45 years old and I work as an administrator for CMS/SSA at a local hospital. I enjoy cookery (more specifically paleo/keto based), weightlifting & writing. I actually have four novels I am working on 😊

A lesser Evil which was a novel length witcher fan fic that I have removed all the copywritten stuff from & did a complete re-write.

Halycon is a classic cyberpunk series.

Quillington is a male queer Lovecraftian horror romance. It is written exclusively in Polari which was an English Pidgeon language used by gay men in Victorian/Edwardian period.

The Abysmal Horncall is Dracula but from the perfective of Draculas' wives.

I am also a musician. I make sample based lofi/cloud rap/vaporbient or drone noise music under the name h0mocides.

Music | h0mocides (bandcamp.com)

I'm creative but can also be very a bit standoffish with most people. I'm in decent shape; Average-height with olive skin, naturally dark auburn hair but the light makes it look darker with blue-gray eyes. I'm Serbian, well, to be specific my mother's side of the family are Bosnian and Balkan Jews who settled in Serbia. My father's family were from Hungary that came to work the molybdenum mines in Serbia. My extended family are Sicilian, Turkish and Hawaiian but I never met them. I grew up in a working-class neighborhood. I was raised by my mother; my father having left when I was young. I had a brother who killed himself about 2 decades ago. I have one stepbrother and two stepsisters; The sisters I have met twice. I feel like that was enough 🙄 My stepbrother is pedophile that made me sexual advances towards me, and I feel to some degree is a reason why I struggle with internalized homophobia. My stepfather...How do I describe him:

Well, insane but there's a bit more there to pick apart...

He believes in the great replacement theory

He believes that Jews are at the center of controlling the world bank (he doesn't see us as Jews because we don't present as he puts it 'New Yorker Jews')

He believes that America should not be a democracy but rather a Libertarian based theocracy

He believes in a strange Venn diagram where non heterosexual sex/gender meets with pedophilia and bestiality.

He supports project 25 and says there is no place in the modern age for faggots, embryo murders or California styled Bolsheviks.

He believes that the president is representative of God's will and no other religion than Jesus has a place in this great country.

So, simply put we don't see eye-to-eye. When my stepbrother was convicted of child sexual assault, he went off the deep end and then Trump appeared. I should note had it not been for a blood clot we later found out from text messages he fully planed on going to the J-6 rally to 'save America.' Won't shock you but he also is fatphobic and racist. The aforementioned was something he used to bully me about a lot which is why I yo-yo in-between BED and AFRID.

When I was 14 years old, we left Serbia because of the Bosnian War. Lived in Germany and the UK for a year. I loved living in the UK, but our solicitors fucked up and we were shipped to Canada but sadly they were over capacity for immigrants, and we were sent to Anchorage, Alaska while our claim was processed. We got citizenship and lived in Isla Vista, California, Yuma, Arizona and later Aurora, Colorado. That's where the rest of my mother's family is and I will post about it another time, but for obvious reasons I have nothing to do with them. My mother met her husband, and his family was from Tennessee; I lived here from 17-25 and then left for New York after series of bad events; Friends overdosing, physical abuse from my stepfather, etc. So, before the pandemic I was living in Floral Park, NY. I won't lie I was doing sex work, DJing and Mobile Messenger Service (those are the guys on bikes delivering documents to corps in NY). Then my mom got very sick. My lease was up so I decided to move back home briefly to take care of her. The intent was to move back to NY or CA but it didn't pan out that way. I actually almost moved to CA but that too is a post for another time. We found out what she had would later be called Covid related Tapia syndrome and Covid induced AFIB.

Within 5 days of arriving New York was shut down; I was rather lucky. I lived there from DEC 2019-MAR 2023. Sadly, my step and I had been on a long slow burn over issues with me accusing him of stealing money from my savings, creating credit cards in my name, stealing and destroying my personal effects and his issues with my religion (Rodnovery, or Slavic Native Faith), my clothing (apparently it looked 'too gay') and how I was flaunting the faggot shit. I will not make this already long ass entry long but just summarize. He attacked me and tried to kill me. Police were involved and watched until I safely got my stuff. My mother was beyond traumatized but I needed to leave for my safety, and I didn't want the stress to further impact her health. From March until August I was completely homeless without work or money living out of my SUV (mom was paying for it and buying me food secretly) under a bridge. I was talking to my new life partner, and I ran into my ex-boyfriend, Cory, who had me move in with him. Shortly later, Stephen and I went from boyfriends to partners and were in a position to move in together. I will say I love with living with him (despite the differences in our daily routines and our approach existing) but Christ on a stick I 🤬 hate Preakness apartments with unbridled passion lol 😖It has been interesting for two in love gay boys, one autistic with C-PTSD and the other with ADDHD moving in together building a life.

Sadly, the experiences of seeing murders, rapes, drug culture and gang violence along with my experiences throughout my life had a deeper impact that I realized. It was during that time I lived off of credit cards and recently the creditors have become particularly aggressive with litigation, but I am lucky that most have been charged off and I'm now with CCCS of Chattanooga which is helping me get back on track. I am pending 2 accounts to be added, on Oct. 4th I am going to court to see if one can be forgiven and 1 is with another agency so I am honestly making an attempt to fix my life and now that I am with a brilliant and loving man I feel hopeful but at the same time living in this Trump age is making us both consider our options. Japan, Scotland or Canada is on our short lists and we're going to Japan from Oct. 25th-Nov 15th so it's definitely a possibly. What a strange age to live in. Also, we're going to move out of Antioch in March as I literally hate this city 🖕 We have a few tours set up with nearby complexes at Tusculum, Stewart Ferry, Piccadilly and Heron Pointe.

Anyways, here's a survey to get to know me 💀❤️

Hobbies - I like Papier-mâché, Candle making and Walking

Have you ever collected anything? What was it? Yes, I collect enamel/button pins, vinyl stickers, vinyl's/cassette's.

How many relationships have you been in? 6-8, I think.

Turn ons - Confidence, Needing Me, Trust, independence

Turn offs - Ego, being the 'bitchy gay'

Favorite food - Riced Cauliflower Onigiri and ika sashimi

Favorite drink - Macha Latte and Water

Are you optimistic or pessimistic? Neither... I ama realist.

What is the most expensive thing you own? PS5, Gucci Shoes and SUV.

What is the cheapest yet most useful thing you own? knock off Plushes from China and maybe...my Tamagotchi lol

Text or call? Text...call if it is an emergency or our first time talking.

What is your definition of success? Being happy. Periodt.

Favorite song? VØJ, Narvent, KoruSe - Euphoria

Favorite artist? Yoshitaka Amano

Favorite flower? Chrysanthemums, Mushrooms & Ghost Flowers

What is the best gift you could receive right now? A kiss from Stephen

Do you like anime? Yes, but only 80s/90s magical girl, horror and cyberpunk. I absolutely hate harem, Isekai and mecha.

What was the name of the last book you read? Vampire Hunter D Volume 29: Noble Front

Do you believe world peace will ever exist? No, conflict and dominance is part of the human condition unfortunately.

Do you have any allergies? Onions, Dairy and gluten.

If you won a trip to Hawaii and you could take 5 people with you, who would those 5 people be? Stephen, Toby, My mom, Stephen's mom and best friend, Bree!

How many countries have you visited? 10 (Japan, South Korea, China, Iceland, Germany, UK, Canada, USA, Russia and Italy)

Do you consider yourself mature? LOL....No.

What is your favorite quote? “Transient guests are we.” ― Hideyuki Kikuchi

If you could live anywhere, where would you live? The place can be in an imaginary, fantasy, or the real world. If mythical I would love to live in Shangri-La, Toussaint from the witcher or maybe Night City from Cyberpunk 2077. IRL - maybe France or Portugal.

What were you like in 2013? A junkie. A Miss. I don't miss her.

If you could change one thing about society, what would it be? Get rid of all this MAGA bullshit.

Are you LGBT? Yes, Gay/Top.

What is the funniest joke you have ever been told? How does Darth Vader like his bagels? On the dark side.

What is your favorite animal? Narwhals, Cats and Goats.

What is one thing that everyone is bad at? Remembering shit.

What time do you normally sleep? How many hours of sleep do you usually get? 9-10. Maybe 6-7.

What is your favorite clothing store? Vapor95 and Incerun.

If you had the power to erase one person from the world so that nobody remembered him or her except you, would you, do it? First, it would be Donald Trump and hell yes, I would.

What do you fear the most? Losing Stephen. He's my heart.

If you could travel back to one year and relive it again, which year would it be? 2009. Would've kept clean and dumped Michael. He ruined so much for me.

What is the weirdest thing you have ever seen? RNC causing Grindr to crash lol.

What is something you will never forget? Grace and Compassion.

Is it harder to love or to hate somebody? I will say this quote ....Doug, you think killing is hard, huh? You wait in the bushes, the animal might outrun you or charge you. It's not easy to get your shot, hm? Try healing something. That is hard. That requires patience. You can break something in two seconds. But it can take forever to fix it. A lifetime, generations. That's why we have to be careful on this earth and gentle.

Coffee or tea? Both. Honestly.

[haphazardlyannotated]

How in Hylia's name does Gerudo DNA work?

I've been playing a lot of Tears of the Kingdom lately, and as I am wont to do when I like a piece of media, I started overthinking.

So, we all know Gerudo have to find Hylian(?) (I've never seen a Gerudo with a non Hylian partner) men to have children with, on account of being an almost exclusively female species.

But... how does this work?

If a Gerudo vai has a daughter with a Hylian voe, that child should be half Gerudo, right? And if that daughter has a child with a Hylian partner, that child should be one quarter Gerudo, and so forth.

Even if we assume that the once a century Gerudo male is immediately escorted to a sperm bank, and the Gerudo phenotype is extremely dominant, they should have acquired a massive pool of recessive genes from Hylian fathers that ought to show up sometimes.

So why don't they?

Theory 1:

Gerudo actually reproduce via cloning and their hunt for husbands is purely recreational. If the husband actually has a biological purpose, he's either an extra caretaker or a placebo. Variations like Riju's height are caused by unusual influences during the pregnancy or the child's youth.

Theory 2:

Everything that makes a Gerudo look like a Gerudo is saved in mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondrial DNA is only inherited from the egg cell, so if the unique Gerudo genes are passed on this way, the species continuity would work out.

But how do either of these theories mesh with the centennial Gerudo male?

If Theory 2 is true, that would imply that a paternal Y chromosome can very rarely get through the dominant mitochondrial genes. Unlikely assortment of factors, or something.

But why would that happen every 100 years exactly? That seems very regular for a random combination of factors.

I think Theory 1 holds a better explanation:

Gerudo gender has nothing to do with chromosomes at all.

Here's my theory: I think Gerudo gender is determined by some undiscovered natural or unnatural phenomenon (considering the setting, it's probably magic) that acts like gender swapping royal jelly. Every Gerudo embryo has the potential to be male or female. They're female by default, but exposure to this mystery phenomenon can turn on the male genes instead.

Why that would be advantageous is a complete mystery to me, but considering I've never heard of a non Ganondorf Gerudo male it's entirely possible that his purpose is to give the other Gerudo a chance to practice their fighting skills.

In summation: The Gerudo are a clone army and Ganondorf is essentially a cross of a queen bee and a training dummy. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[hyperlexichypatia]

do you consider things like in vitro selection of particular gametes as eugenics? on one hand, it is selecting for particular genes, but on the other, it avoids restricting peoples ability to reproduce. to be clear, it could still be bad even if its not eugenics, im just not sure if it is. asking in good faith, this is just something i was thinking abt lately and wanted your input

Yes, because it is based on the premise that some genetic configurations are "better" or more desirable than others.

Usually discussions of "what is eugenics" get bogged down in the method used to accomplish the goal (abortion, sterilization, etc) rather than the goal itself (preventing marginalized people from having children, preventing the births of disabled/minoritized children, reducing undesirable populations, increasing desirable populations).

So yes, embryo selection -- having the goal of decreasing the odds that a child will be born disabled -- is eugenics, because it's based on the premise that the birth of a disabled child is an undesirable outcome, that being disabled is lesser than being abled.

So is genetic screening at sperm banks. So is lack of insurance coverage/affordability for fertility treatment. So is lack of paid family leave and affordable childcare. So is sterilization of disabled people. So is forced pregnancy. Forced abortions are eugenics; abortion bans are also eugenics. So is family structure stigma (single parent stigma, adoption stigma, non-nuclear family stigma, etc.). Pro-natalism is eugenics; so is anti-natalism. Mass incarceration is eugenics; institutionalization is also eugenics. IQ and the concept of "general intelligence" is eugenics.

Anything rooted in, or uncritically accepting the premise of, "It is better for this type of person to have children than for that type of person to have children" or "It is better for this type of child to be born than that type of child" is eugenics.

And this has been true from the very beginning of the eugenics movement. The movement has always grouped together poverty, "criminality," disability, and marginalized ethnic status as inborn traits that should be prevented.

[radiant-reid]

Ok so I saw this (https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMF5bYbN5/) on TikTok and I can just imagine this is how reader tells spencer she’s expecting 😍 the whole team would already know, and they are playing scrabble on the jet, and everyone’s watching his reaction but he’s just not getting it, until she pulls out the test and then the penny drops and ahhhhhh I NEED this 🙈 please can you write something along these lines? You’re the best Reid writer ever!! Xxx

link, i love this, and thank you, and thinking about his reaction is just mwah

You know Spencer's in need of a pick-me-up when you get on the jet. It's been a long case, and he's been unknowingly doing his job as a soon-to-be-dad by holding up your hair while you were sick in the mornings.

So you break out the scrabble board, earning smiles from everyone as they know what you're about to do. He goes to get you tea first, and you use the opportunity to take the letters you need, putting some on his slider so he doesn't get suspicious.

"I bet you cheated." He accuses you, scowling at you playfully.

"Promise I didn't." You claim, holding your hands up in defense.

"I hope you're putting down a word like cat then." He scoffs, nudging your feet under the table.

That is definitely not the phrase you plan on putting down. Secretively, you put all your letters on the board and bank on Spencer's focus being on his own letters, no doubt trying to think up the most complicated word while you arrange the letters.

There's no doubt the only times you win are when he lets you.

You eagerly wait for him to read your word, heart thumping with anticipation for his reaction. He's been talking about having a baby for years and you know he's going to be elated.

It's an edge-of-your-seat event for the rest of the jet, as well, all excited for what his reaction's going to be. JJ's got her phone out, subtly filming it for you to keep the treasured memory, and so Penelope can see it when you get home.

"Y/n." He shakes his head, looking at you like your an idiot. But you're doing the same thing. For someone so intelligent, he is not getting it. "One, you can't have ten letters, and two, you can only have one word. Pregnant wouldn't even be okay. With those letters, you can have pigment for 16 before any double scores, but you can't cheat. You have to redraw."

Behind him, you can see Morgan, JJ, Rossi, and Emily laughing. There's even a smirk on Hotch's lips.

You bite down a smile. "Spence, read it out loud." You try.

"I'm pregnant." He repeats what's written on the board. Morgan and Emily can't contain their giggles, highly amused by your husband's obliviousness. "You still can't have it. I'll let you get away with knowing my letters, but that's worth at least 20 points."

"You're a genius, right?" You question.

He frowns again. "Provably."

"Okay, so what does that mean?" You prompt, trying to help him make the connection.

He's struggling, still completely baffled about why you would need a basic middle school biology lesson. "Being pregnant? When there's an embryo that turns into a fetus growing in someone's uterus."

Even you can't bite down your laughter that time. You realize you're going to have to ditch the original plan of him deciphering the board, and take the test out of your bag.

His eyes widen as he reads the same word as was on the board. Then he looks back up at you, slightly teary-eyed as the connection sticks. "You're pregnant." He says with deep realization.

You nod, still waiting for a reaction that wasn't him stating a fact. He quickly gets out of his seat, buzzing with excitement as he drags you up and wraps his arms so tightly around you that he can pick you up and spin you around.

"I'm an idiot." He shakes his head when he puts you down, holding you tightly in a hug.

"I know." You agree with a laugh, pulling away to kiss him in a rare public display of affection.

When you're done, there's a round of hugs and congratulations from the team, all equally thrilled for you two to be embarking on the next step in your lives together.

[female-malice]

can you explain post-natalism?

Well, some of the ideas that come from anti-natalist feminism are useful. But I find certain anti-natalist feminist discourse unproductive.

It's true that in our current socioeconomic system, reproduction is used as a tool of women's oppression. Right now, reproduction does not benefit women at all. And anti-natalism is the idea that women should stop reproducing because it's not helping us. And I don't disagree with that idea. I just don't think ending reproduction would give us total female liberation. Female liberation would come from a brand new socioeconomic system specifically designed to concentrate power with women. And in human society, power comes from reproduction. We would need a new cultural perspective on reproduction that primarily benefits women. And that new cultural perspective would come with new cultural norms. Maybe those new cultural norms would look something like this:

-Choosing not to have children at all would have no taboo

-Abortion and birth control would have no taboo

-Children would have matrilineal surnames

-Female embryo selection would have no taboo and would be made accessible to all women

-Male embryo selection would be extremely taboo and illegal. If you want a son, you have to leave it to chance

-It would be taboo to have more than two sons. If you actually want a large family, that family should be mostly daughters. And no one should be trying to have more than 5 kids

-No more old sperm. Men should be sterilized at 40. Or if a man is the biological father to 5 kids, he should be sterilized

-Sperm banks should be more regulated, logical, and accessible

-Lesbian families should be celebrated by society in some way

-Straight women should have the option to coparent with other women if they want. Straight women could use the title "aunt" for the friend they're coparenting with. Only lesbian families would actually have two moms

-Women's reproductive health research would be prioritized by society and this research would be led by women

These are just things I imagine would become norms if reproductive culture was specifically designed to benefit women. This wouldn't radically change much for the straight nuclear families who represent our current status quo. The average family with a mom, dad, and two kids would be exactly the same on the surface. But the family name would belong to the mother.

Post-natalism is basically imaging how women would change reproduction if we actually did control it

[liesmyth]

if they didnt have pets on the ship where did all the dogs on new rho come from

I choose to believe dogs evolved independently all through the universe! /only half a joke

but fr, I think it's interesting how Aim talks about "cradle creatures" meaning earth animals but dogs are just dogs - I'm always curious about how much the current population of the non-House planets KNOW about earth vs. how much it's just a flood myth. I wonder if they remember where dogs come from, or if there have just always been dogs wherever there are humans.

I think the easiest explanation is that the FTL fleet had the forethought to bring gene banks / frozen animal embryos, in the same way they definitely took along seed banks. Maybe some live animals were on board, but I can't imagine it was many at all that survived the whole journey + settlement (like, single digits.) From NtN it looks like there are multiple dog breeds around and that + plus the whole arboreal Noddle of it all makes me think that efforts were made to repopulate the settlements with domestic animals.

It wouldn't surprise me if sheeps, cows, donkeys, pigs etc. also exist on the non-House planets, or some genetic variation there of, but I'd be VERY surprised if any live animal that size was on one of those ships.

[envolvenuances]

Unofficial Translation of 'A Força de Uma Mulher [A Woman's Strenght]',

Edinanci wonders to herself: 'Did I really deserve to go through that?'

Edinanci Silva, in testimony to Demétrio Vecchioli. For the Sports News series "Minha História / My History". Please check the original;

I was bored and still getting notes on that addition I made to @f1ghtsoftly's post metioning the case with a brazilian judo athlete. So this is a quick work of translating it with probably too many translators notes.

Published at the Newspaper UOL, in São Paulo.  Publication Date May 24 of 2024.

In order to get on a bus in the city of Campina Grande (Paraíba), which was heading towards São Paulo, more than 30 years ago, I told my mother I would return. But the journey that would allow me to earn a living fighting judo was a one-way trip.

Months later, I told her a harsh truth, about how I was thinking of ending my life. All our lives were already too filled with suffering, filled with pain, to be subjected to all that public scrutinity on top of things.

I alone know the strenght it cost me to remain standing. Do you know these social media haters? I dealed with them on the streets. Every day. Good press? Solidarity? There was none.

After what I experienced between 1995 and 1996, I closed myself off, so I could protect myself and heal the many wounds that were inflicted onto me. I carried on practicing judo, I competed in four Olympics, I won two medals at the World Championships, but my resentment towards journalists remained, my fear of exposure.

Now, I have accepted the offer to tell my story.

I was born in 1976, when the Military Dictatorship (1964-1986) was strong, into a very humble family from a city named Sousa, located in the outback of Paraíba, where everyone suffered with hunger and drought. (TN: the brazilian outback, or Sertão Nordestino, located in th Northeast, is a region heavily associated with its drought, poverty and the violence exercised by both bandits and "colonels" - latifiundium owners with great political influence. Due to this social imagery, when the rural habitants move to the Capitals or the South-Southest region of Brazil, they typically face a lot of prejudice, comparable to stigmatized immigration. To this day, the city of Sousa has around 70.000 citzens).  The memories hurt so badly that from the year I turned 20, I have only returned to that place through the Internet, searching for news or seeing our old house in the André Gadelha neighborhood on Google Maps.

Until I turned 11 years old, I only had the chance to study for a sum of eight months.

Schools, leisure areas/third spaces, somewhere to play sports, all of that were fairytales for us. In my periphery, there was no water, no nourishment, there wasn't even a way out of crime. It's different from big cities. Only the ones who have experienced it know what it's like.

Besides that, I had family matters.  My father was extremely violent. He didn't accept the reality we lived in, and so he would lash out, take it out on us. I'm from a time when any politcal expression would put you at risk. My mother would often panic, because I repeated all the time: 'This Brazil is a shithole'

In Campina Grande, we had better living conditions. (TN: Campina Grande is the second largest city in the state of Paraíba, losing only to the capital, with around 420.000 citzens and an important industrial sector). There were five of us, counting my two sisters, living in an "embryo", a house built by the bank Caixa Econômica, which had a living room and a bathrrom. (TN: the embryo [portuguese: casa embrião] is a 15m² property commonly built as social projects in the periphery). Even so, quite precarious.

I helped as much as I could, but there came a point when I had to follow my own way. I was already training in judo and, when I was on competitons, I had to eat salad and not the usual rice and beans. But salad was a luxury we couldn't afford. I was a burden to my family.

I never had any kind of vanity. Things like doing my nails, cutting my hair, putting on makeup, you know? I grew up in a very rustic environment, where children ran around around barefoot. I had my first birthday cake at the age of 15.

So my arrival in Guarulhos, in 1994, when I was 17 years old, was a cultural shock. (NT: Guarulhos, with over 1.000.000 habitants, is an autonomous prefecture that integrates the metropolitan area known as Greater São Paulo). People were bothered by my accent, the way I behaved, the way I dressed. 'Edi, put on some lipstick', they would say. But I don't like it, that is not a part of me. I felt like a fish out of water, but turning back, returning home, was not an option for me.

With the intensity of the training, the masculine characteristics became more visible, in a physiological sense. I had that crab-like gait of muscular people, you know?

That's when the talk began. Until then, this had only come to light for me through a friend of my trainer back in Paraíba, who had told him to take me to a doctor in order to investigate it. But I, oh the tomboy I was, I never paid it much attention.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Edinanci has been intersex since birth. She had internal testicles and presented an abnormal amount of male hormones. In April 1996, she underwent an orchiectomy, the surgery to remove these testes. Without the operation, Edinanci would not have passed the so-called "femininity test", in which women were made to stand naked in front of a "committee", a requirement for competting in the Olympic Games. The test was banned in 1998.]

The exams, which I was only able to undergo when I moved to São Paulo, showed that I was somewhat benefiting from the production of the male hormone, but that in 15 to 20 years this would turn into a cancer. When they told me this, I said: 'What? Let's do it right now!'

The surgical procedure and hormonal treatment were not for competting in the Games, they were for my health. Sport was giving me an oportunity to discover a matter that, if I had stayed in Paraíba, I would never have discovered. I used this opportunity to take care of myself.

Between 1995 and 1996, my life became hell. I couldn't go out on the streets because I was constantly attacked. Not physically, but with words. In Guarulhos, when people recognized me, they would say: 'That thing is a man!', use slurs to attack me.

Much of this behaviour was the fault of the brazilian press, which had exposed the situation in a very sensionalistic manner. 'Is it a man or a woman, what do you think?' They turned it into almost an episode of 'Você Decide'. (NT: Você Decide/It's Your Call (1992-2000) was an interactive television program broadcasted by Globo, in which every episode presented a 'special case', and the ending was decided by the audience through phone votes. It has been accused of functioning as a 'thermometer' for public view of sensible subjects, from finding a bag full of money to abortion and female homosexuality.)

That got to me. Deeply. There was that thought in my head: 'Do I have a right to be this way? Is there a chance they are right about me? Everbody is saying the same thing, repeating it... maybe it's the truth'. It reached a point when, in a call I had made to my family, I told my mother: 'I'm giving up on everything'.

I seriously thought of suicide. The social media hater hurts this generation. But the real life hater is even more difficult to cope with. It hurts, you have no idea.

We keep on recalling things we've experienced, remembering the moments we lived, and before you know it, you are experiecing once again the same pain that you felt the first time. It hurts, and it's hard to talk about. So you keep it to yourself. There is no one to share the burden with.

I often used it to build results in the tatami. I would turn into the devil, filled with so much hatred, so much anger. But that causes you a lot of harm. You end up becoming someone you're not, some angry person who doesn't trust anyone.

It's not like I don't have scars, you know? I've tried to understand, but it's hard. Is it the grief? But it's not really grief. It's those things you remember and that make you wonder: 'Did I really deserve to go through that?'

My beginning in judo was for survival, after I was diagnosed with labyrinthitis, which was already caused by the hormonal issues. I was 1,70m [5'6 feet] and at some point I weighted 38kg [84 pounds]. It reached a point when I couldn't hold myself on my feet. My musculature was reduced to the bare tendons, and even my fingers had atrophied.

So my family sought treatment and psychological support. My mother, who was a member of SESC, searched for a modality of sport there. (TN: SESC is a private inniative from the trade sector. The project aimed to improve living conditions for their employees and their families, and counts with social services, health profesionals, art projects and sports training). Influed by the movies that were popular at the time, I wanted to do karate, but the only spot availiable was for judo.

In the end, judo was the only sport that embraced me.

I started training at the age of 14, and my recovery was quite fast. Soon, my sensei started to place me in competitions, and that gave me something I never had before: dreams for the future (lit= life perspective).

I would wake up at 5A.M. and jump over the fence of the UFPB (Federal University of Paraíba) to run on a sand track they had. My physical conditioning was lifting bricks with my bare hands. A gym? Not even in my dreams. To perform the judo techniche repetitions, I would tie a rubber band on an avocaddo tree we had in front of my house.

One time, we travelled for a competition in Canoas (Rio Grande do Sul-South). I needed to lose weight, and I didn't have money to buy something to eat. So I combined business with pleasure and spent the three days of the bus trip only drinking water.

That's why weight loss was never a suffering for me. Once, I even lost 10 kg in one week, via two days without food and water. People would ask me how I managed and I would say that, in my head, it was easy, because I already knew how it was like. When I didn't want to lose weight anymore, I could open the fridge and I would have a Coke there, I could buy myself a pizza, buy water.

In my childhood, hunger and thirst offered no other options.

This banning me from fighting tale began in 1995, when the prefecture of São Caetano do Sul, a city that couldn't beat us, tried to prevent me from representing Guarulhos on the Jogos Abertos. (NT: The Jogos Abertos do Interior [lit=Open Games of the Countryside] is a tournament between cities in the São Paulo state held since 1936, now with 192 prefectures and 28 sports, including judo)

My team said: 'Edi, if you want, we won't go in without you. We don't care about being disqualified'. I didn't want to hold them back, so all I asked of the girls was for them to bring the house down.

Guarulhos won. And the team of São Caetano was changed. In the following year, they invited me to join. But I said if they wanted me there, they would have to bring all of us. They accepted the deal so we all went.

Since then, I have defended the team of São Caetano do Sul in the Jogos Abertos for almost 25 years. I retired from the national team in 2008, but in the year 2019 I was still winning a gold medal for the city that tried to ban me. (TN: São Caetano is also located in the Greater São Paulo, with around 160.000 citzens)

I've always been realistic. When I got the support of the [Olympic Brazilian] Confederation, of the COB, to fight in the Olympics, it wasn't because they were pitying me, just because it was the right thing to do. It was because I was a real chance of winning a medal for Brazil.

Throughout my career, I've always had a certain resentment towards the brazilian press.  All the issue regarding my hormonal tests was exposed in a very sensationalist way.

They took a delicate matter just to reach numbers, to hold the attetion of the public not for the judo event, but for the controversy.

That made me walk away. Everything I've done within the sport has always been away from the spotlight. I've lost many sponsorships because of this personality I developed.

When I compare my situation with that of Caster Semeya, the south african runner, I find the whole country was on her side. The entire country cheering for her, and damn the rest of the wolrd. You just go there and bring that medal back to us.

That was something I didn't have here. I had to fight against the brazilian people, against the prejudice, I had to fight in search of answers about myself in order to take them back to the press, and I had to fight inside the tatami as well.

In the end, I won.

[rpmemesbyarat]

RP Meme from “The Howling”

“The newslady's turned into a werewolf!” “We get 'em all: sun-worshippers, moon-worshippers, Satanists.” “Bunch of deadbeats!” “They are neither people nor animals, but something in-between.” “There was howling just a minute ago.” ‘“I've got silver bullets in here.” “Humans are our *prey*. We should feed on them, like we've always done.” “ I got chicken blood, I got dog embryos, I got black candles, I got wolf-bane. Look at this: Silver bullets. Some joker ordered them. Thirty-ought-six. Never picked 'em up. I take Bank AmeriCard, American Express, Visa. You gonna buy that or what?” “Silver bullets or fire, that's the only way to get rid of the damn things. They're worse than cock-a-roaches.” “You can’t tame what’s meant to be wild.” “I don't know, I figure another five years of real hard work, and maybe I'll be a real human being.” “You know me, but I don't know you. Why is that?” “Repression is the father of neurosis, of self-hatred. “ "We can fit in," you said. "We can live with them." You make me sick.” “We have to warn people. We have to make them believe.” “I like a woman with a sexy voice.” “When I was first bitten, I fought against it.” “The struggle between mind and body is not a necessary one.” “Our secret will be safe.” “There's still time if you accept the gift.” “Times have changed, and we haven't. Not enough.” “Sorry to scare you, ma'am, thought you was a cowjacker.” “We should never try to deny the beast, the animal, within us - only to channel these energies in a positive direction.” “They're monstrous mutations with violent natures that must be satisfied.” “From the day we're born, there is a battle we must fight, a struggle between what is kind and peaceful in our natures, and what is cruel and violent. That choice is our birthright as human beings, and the real gift that differentiates us from the animals.” “It sounded like a wolf.” “They regenerate, you know what that is? Cut off an arm, cut off a leg, stick a knife in the heart, nothing. They may look dead, but bam, three days later, they're as good as new.” “That gun won’t do you any good.” “They’re real.” “The things they do with special effects these days!” “She turned into a werewolf, and they shot her.”

[squirrellypoo]

30 is just the beginning

I've recently seen a few people lamenting turning 30. I guess it hits differently when you're told at 29 that you're unlikely to live to see 31, but gazing back at that time from where I sit in my mid-40s I'm struck by the sheer amount of shit I've accomplished since 30. I'm sure conquering death had something to do with lighting a fire under my ass, but seriously, you can achieve SO much more than you ever thought possible.

I started compiling this list for myself and I'm choosing to share it now, not as a "look what I've done!" bragging exercise, but as a way to remind myself that I'm capable of doing epic shit.

And that we are ALL capable of change, growth, and adventure no matter what our age. Your thirties don't have to be about settling down or settling for.

In my 20s, I:

Studied abroad

Eurorailed around Europe for 6 weeks

Survived meningitis (the first time)

Graduated with an Hon BSc

Moved to a different country

Met my bestie

Started my dream job

Started running

Started sewing

Was on the front page of the New York Times

Had my first boyfriends (got dumped by one checking himself into a mental hospital in another country)

Got paid to work backstage at Glastonbury several times

Went to literally thousands of gigs

Met/interviewed Trent Reznor

Met my future husband

Bought a home

Got a cat

Lost 50+ pounds

Started a pension

Became seriously ill and was told I had months to live unless I underwent a risky procedure

Froze embryos

In my 30s, I:

Was saved from certain death by medical science (chemo ain't so bad)

Grew a new blood type

Survived meningitis, shingles, swine flu, and a constant stream of flu

Had all my childhood vaccinations… again.

Married my husband

Appeared on a BBC cooking show

Joined a running crew

Started my own business

Worked behind-the-scenes on a popular tv show

Had laser eye surgery

Wrote my first book

Ran my first half marathon (& then countless others)

Ran my first marathon (& then 7 more including 3 Boston Qualifiers)

Ran an accidental ultra in Transylvania

Had my face on a billboard and in a bunch of banks

Became undefeated GB & world champion on the track (multiple times - 16 golds for GB)

Cycled my first century (& then 2 more)

Started a pension

Started therapy

Started regular meditation

In my 40s, I:

Finished a 15 year home renovation

Shielded (couldn’t leave home) for 14 months in the pandemic

Having the best sex of my life

Broke 2 more world records and retained my world champion status on the track

Mourned a father & grandfather

Started swimming lessons for the first time since childhood

Received my first ever bonus check

Completed my first multisport race

…7 more years to go??

Frankly, I can't wait to see what my 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s have in store if my first 40-odd years have been so endlessly interesting. Happy birthday.

(Each of these is absolutely true, btw, and I'm happy to clarify/expand on these if you want to ask in the comments or using the Ask Me on my page)

[lunashy21]

Mother- Please stop doctor, we were overjoyed when we had are three planed children with IVF but we can't take care of seventh child.

Doctor- I'm sorry but the Alabama supreme court says all the prepared embryo's are children and must be implanted.

Mother- we're barely getting by. my husband works so much overtime I never see him and I spend all day taking care of the kid. I having trouble feeding the kid even with the supplies from the food bank.

Doctor- I'm sorry but if I don't implanted it I'll be charged with murder if anything happens to this embryo.

[ebitchwriting]

Jake Muller/Wesker Headcanons

Jake Muller ended up being my favorite character of the characters introduced in RE6, so why not do a headcanon list for him?

Firstly, his mother never actually loved Wesker. In fact, they never actually met. See, in the early '90s, Spencer decided to create a new test group for Project W. The big difference here between this batch of W experiment kids and the first batch is that instead of seeking the most intelligent and genetically hardy kids and "adopting" them, Spencer is just genetically engineering them to have the immune systems needed to adapt to viruses to their advantage as well as be more intellectually driven by choosing sperm donors of the highest pedigree and PhD. These scientists in queation didn't actually know what they were donating sperm for this purpose though, and instead were fed lies such as "Oh certain exposures to experimenral chemicals and gases may cause infertility. We at Umbrella are looking out for your future and want to take every precaution," or some other shit.

Jake's mother was a mercenary often hired by Umbrella for disposing of failed experiments and whistleblowers threatening to expose Umbrella. So when they contacted her for another job, she didn't think much of it. When she learned they wanted her to serve as a surrogate mother, it threw her for a loop. But ultimately, she agreed simply because, with that money, she can live an easy, breezy early retirement life instead of expecting to die a brutal death at every corner. But after the first trimester, she found herself becoming more attached. With each little ultrasound the scientists made her take to make sure there were no abnormalities, and no early miscarriage, she found herself warming up to the little embryo more and more. She never saw herself as mother material, never thought that was something she would want. But she did. And she after breaking in and reading the files to know what was the true purpose of this pregnancy, she knew she couldn't go through with it. (I'm sure you can see I'm a fan of the "heel-face turn" and "even evil has standards" tropes)

She knew Umbrella would be keeping a very close eye on her bank accounts, her home, and her vehicles, so she abandoned it all. Whatever petty cash and clothes she had on her, that was it. She died and cut her hair, changed her clothes, and used whatever cash she had on her to the one country she knew no one would ever look at. One that was constantly in war, whether that's an invasion or a civil war. Edonia.

Once she was in Edonia, that's when she really started to struggle. She managed to get a job as a bartender at a little bar, and get a shitty and small apartment. But saving money between rent, food, and getting the proper baby shit was way too hard. Not to mention finding a doctor was impossible in the war-torn country, at least one that had the equipment to tell her if the baby was alright. The rest of thr pregnancy was really scary. But in March 22nd of 1992, she delivered a healthy boy with red hair and a hell of a pair of lungs for an infant. She named him Jakov.

After he was born, she knew that she couldn't take the chance of taking any mercenary job, no matter how well-paying it was. If Umbrella even got a whiff of where she was and where Jakov was, they would torture and kill her and rip Jakov and start experimenting on him. And that's if she was lucky. So she kept her bartender job, occasionally taking on an extra tutor job if she had the time.

She homeschooled Jakov, and she found out how much of a quick learner he was. He really picked up on languages and mathematics really well, and even though she never knew any instruments, it seemed like all he needed was a week to fuck around and listen to the notes to learn how to master it. When he was almost at puberty age, she started to teach him what she knew about martial arts, as well as how to properly disassemble and clean a variety of guns, how to properly wield knives, and how to disarm someone. He never questioned how she knew all this, considering the constant wars and infighting Edonia was constantly suffering. But, as he wanted to learn more about his father, she couldn't bear to tell him the truth. So she told him lies about how she still loved him, how good of a man he was, and that one day he'll come back and everything will be right again.

Unfortunately, with wars there and shitty buildings that meant constant exposure to dangerous chemicals. She started getting sick when Jakov was 12. As her condition worsened and she was unable to work and keep Jakov safe, the tables turned and now Jakov is out working whatever odd jobs he could to help care for her. Which eventually led to him joining the Edonian Liberation Army at the age of 15 since mercenary work paid a lot more than the odd jobs he used to find. Unfortunately, this wouldn't matter much as just a year later, she would pass, thankfully peacefully in her sleep.

He threw himself into his mercenary work after that, grief-stricken and having no idea how to deal with it. Which, surprisingly quickly, actually helped him. The leader of the new mercenary group he joined(which took him all around the world), really took a liking to him and personally trained him, gave Jakov his first drink, gave him a shoulder to cry on when he couldn't push his emotions away and gave him pointers when he had his first crush in Siberia. His leader became the father Jakov wished he had growing up. Those two years were nice, until 2009 in South America when his leader sold out their mercenary group for a bigger paycheck.

This leads us to the Jake we see in RE6. Jaded, with zero trust in others, and zero wish to be taken advantage of like last time. Using sarcasm and jokes as a front to keep others away. And a reputation for only caring for money, the last lesson his father figure taught him. Which he eventually unlearns in the events of RE6 with Sherry Birkin thoroughly breaking all his beliefs about how people and the world works, and thoroughly charming him.

[laufire]

top five favorite Yellowjackets dynamics?

(thank you for sending it again! I think I intended to delete one ask and then I did. idek what xDD)

IIRC @legendsofamultishipper also asked me about my favourite dynamics in her ask.

If I were to pick a true number one, it'd be "the team". The group dynamic itself and how it's progressing due to the complications of their stay in the wilderness is absolutely fascinating. The pull and push of the embryos of "factions" building, the tension, the mutations or distance or deepening of past dynamics, the slow build (kind of wish it was even SLOWER, I like that xD) to the cult we've been hinted at... I'm into that shit xDD

Small aside: someone else has probably raised the possibility, but I've wondered whether there will be just one (1) antler queen (Lottie as the favourite, Shauna as the spoiler, IMO XD), OR if it'll be a rotating position so everyone is "equally" to blame, iykwim? Idk, I think if there'd been just one (1) girl in charge the dynamics among them in the future would be different (although I'd have to see more of the others vis a vis Lottie to be sure. Natalie is hostile towards her but that's not as clear-cut, and I think if Lottie had been Completely In Charge it'd make more sense for her to be waaaaaaaaay beyond hostile and snarky lol). I mean, unless my half-joke theory turns to be true and it was Mari until there was an uprising against her xDD

(not so small after all asñdlfkajsf)

After that... I must go with Jackie and Shauna. I find it really engaging, everything I could've asked for in terms of messy toxic teen girlfriendship LOL. The only caveat it's that Jackie's death and the consequent stagnation of their relationship is a double-edged sword: yes, it adds a fascinating component, especially in the future when you see how NOT OVER IT Shauna remains... but it means there's no advancement, no possible deeper exploration from half of the relationship (barring the show going full supernatural and resurrecting Jackie I guess xD, but it's doubtful). Jackie's doomed by the narrative and that's part of what I like about her, but it also means that Jackie-the-person, instead of Jackie-the-construct, has little to contribute from now on. All of this is to say: right now these two occupy the second position, but other relationships have more possibilities to grow in my esteem going forward.

For number three, I'm choosing Misty and Natalie. It's hilarious and weirdly heartwarming in the creepiest of ways xD, and I simply enjoy every second of them on my screen. Misty's fixation and admiration of Natalie could be enough to write an essay, and I also love wondering about how much their moments in 1x09-1x10 were Natalie genuinely warming up a little to Misty and how much it was Natalie needing her help LOL.

Positions four and five could vary going forward (there are so many dynamics that have gone underexplored for now but that I'm IMMENSELY curious about). But as of now, I'm going to pick Taissa and Van. This interview was an eye-opener. I already like them from what we've seen, but I'm really banking on their potential as exes in the present timeline because you guys all know I loooooove a good exes plot. Add that whatever is going on with mirror!Tai wanting to see Van again... I'm Looking 👀

I'd say either Lottie and Laura Lee or Lottie and Natalie. The first has that prophet/disciple flavour going on that I find superb, but we run into a similar problem as Jackie-Shauna (even more, given how comparatively little we have of Laura Lee vs. Jackie). Lottie and Nat still have a lot to say, IMO. I feel like we've barely scratched the surface in comparison, and I want to see more, but I'm not quite there. Shauna and Tai are a good pair too, but they've given me less in the last few episodes.

Since I already tagged her: @legendsofamultishipper also asked me about my favourite and least favourite characters.

My favourites could also be encompassed by "the team", although I obviously have preferences lol. Misty and Lottie are likely at the very top (Misty is unhinged and I can't look away from the crash, Lottie has the heretic messiah thing going for her), with Taissa and Natalie not far behind, Shauna as the !!!!! option, Jackie as a great Dead Girl TM, Vanessa has a lot of potential, and Mari and Crystal are simply hilarious...

As for "least favourite"... I don't hate anybody, but I reiterate that I don't care for the normies AT ALL. Like, nothing. "Oh this character is having a Rough Time" were they in the crash? Did they have to survive in the wilderness? No? Then I'm not paying any attention to them. My empathy is fully turned off, trust me xDD. My hierarchy is girls in the crash >>> boys in the crash >>>>>>> normies. But I'm mainly neutral about (and sometimes amused by) them. The ones I'd say I dislike the most are the cop characters, especially that moustache one, or Randy, or Adam... but it's a ~mute dislike, iykwim. They're unlikeable people, I just don't care about them as characters.