#except for ARTificial Condition my beloved :)

[scificrows]

Me: *always getting the The Murderbot Diaries titles mixed up and not being able to remember which one is which* Also Me: Well, Artificial Condition is obviously the one with ART in it!! 😌😌😌

[ilovewillsolace]

why dont you like solangelo? (genuine question)

Oh thanks for the question! I've already talked about this before, but I think now is the time to analyze this question in detail because I have something to say.

maybe one day I'll write a big analysis on Solangelo and what's wrong with them. but first, I shippered Solangelo myself when I was younger. but when I stopped loving Nico so much and started analyzing the characters better, I realized that something was wrong with them (spoiler: everything)

the main problem with this fandom is that they don't know how to analyze characters, just reading cliches and images and based on them they make up their opinion about the character and consider it canon. therefore, many people still think that Nico is an eternally whining suicidal almost ninja and Will is a stupid hyperactive spineless snot. that's why they like Solangelo because in their eyes they look like a black cat × a golden retriever and Rick later began to write them that way too

but in fact, Nico is a friendly, sociable, hyperactive child with a childish view of the world and interests. Will, on the contrary, is a cold, closed, pragmatic and even cynical person. they already look like a bad couple and their age difference (14 and 16-17 years old only makes it worse). but the canon incredibly makes them even worse because both do not see each other as people. Nico seems to be an interesting experiment for Will, he seems to have started it for himself like a kitten. maybe it's Rick who prescribes love disgustingly, but I didn't notice any special feelings for the son of Hades at all (flawed phrases about "I'm your boyfriend, you're my boyfriend" don't count, because it's just a disgrace). Will is very similar to Alhaitam from Genshin. therefore, in order to show how he loves someone, it is necessary to prescribe how he makes exceptions for his beloved, like Haitham for Kaveh. Does Will make any exceptions for Nico? No

from Nico's side, the situation is even worse. Like I said, he's still a kid. he has a poor understanding of love as a concept and therefore sees Will as a kind of prince on a white horse. but Will is not a prince and he doesn't have a horse, he's just a damn tired doctor who needs a man as mature as he is, with whom he will be on equal terms, and a child romanticizing everything around him, well... I've already told you. Nico does not see a person in Will, only an image that he himself invented and romanticized, and the real Will does not fit into this image at all

their dynamics are absolutely non-working, they would never have been together (as a mini-happily ever after) from any other author and in real life. that's why they look so artificial and fake. and the fact that they are also not on equal terms and will never be is one of the most important things for me, which is why they repel me so much

perhaps I'm asking too much from an author who positions himself as a "childish", but after Russian and Chinese fandoms, where even under conditions of strict censorship, the authors manage to prescribe beautifully revealed queer couples, it's just disappointing to look at such hack work from a Western author

[thatgirlonstage]

Book Collage 2023

Collage of all the books I’ve read in 2023! This has been a fun little pet project for me for the past few months; I just really enjoy seeing all the covers together and playing around with organizing them in a way that looks cool. What’s included: all books (regardless of format), short stories, graphic novels, art books, VNs/multimedia novels, and poetry that I completed reading in 2023 (would include zines or plays as well except I don’t think I read any, at least not cover to cover). What’s not included: individual news/nonfiction articles, fanfiction (mostly bc it’s so much harder to track — I’m considering altering this next year if I do this again), individual chapters of ongoing serials (eg every new Black Butler chapter or Wayne Family Adventures episode from this year), works shared with me by friends that are not available to the general public, anything that was not archived in my Goodreads list that I forgot about before I decided to do this lol. Yes I did spend the last week figuring out what short things I had saved to read that I could use to fill in any holes.

NB: This is a value-neutral collection of things I read this year, not a rec list. Some of these are beloved favorites I am rereading for the tenth time. Some of them are new-to-me books that I absolutely loathed. Feel free to ask my opinion if you’d like to know what I thought of a specific book.

Thanks again to @fluffyblue-multifandommess for recommending software to make this with!!

ID/Book list below the cut

First Row: Black Butler Artworks 1 by Toboso Yana | The Cain Saga: Series 1: forgotten juliet by Yuki Kaori | Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite: Volume 1 by Chomoran | The Worth Saga: Once upon a Marquess by Courtney Milan | Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite: Volume 2 by Chomoran | The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin | The Worth Saga: After the Wedding by Courtney Milan | Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen | Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite: Volume 5 by Chomoran | The Worth Saga: The Devil Comes Courting by Courtney Milan | Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite: Volume 6 by Chomoran | The Cain Saga: Series 4: the seal of the red ram, part 2 by Yuki Kaori | Black Butler Artworks 2 by Toboso Yana

Second Row: The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red by Martha Wells | The Cain Saga: Volume 2: the sound of a boy hatching by Yuki Kaori | The Murderbot Diaries: Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells | Saga: Volume 10 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples | Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite: Volume 3 by Chomoran | The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal by Clint, Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy and Carey Pietsch | Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite: Volume 4 by Chomoran | Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook, Ko Hyung-Ju, and Ryan Estrada | The Murderbot Diaries: Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory by Martha Wells | The Cain Saga: Series 4: the seal of the red ram, part 1 by Yuki Kaori | The Murderbot Diaries: Network Effect by Martha Wells

Third Row: Tracking Song by Gene Wolfe | The Murderbot Diaries: The Future of Work: Compulsory by Martha Wells | Salt Magic, Skin Magic by Lee Welch | The Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells | The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited by Clint, Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy and Carey Pietsch | The Murderbot Diaries: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells | Earthsea: The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin | The Cain Saga: Series 3: kafka by Yuki Kaori | Earthsea: The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin | The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Volume One by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu | The Adventure Zone: Crystal Kingdom by Clint, Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy and Carey Pietsch | The Murderbot Diaries: Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells | Sketchbook Number 1 by Zack Morrison | The Murderbot Diaries: System Collapse by Martha Wells | This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Fourth Row: Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 9 by Bisco Hatori | Inner Demons: The Art of Michelle Fus by Michelle Fus | The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins by Clint, Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy and Carey Pietsch | The Sawbones Book: The Horrifying, Hilarious Road to Modern Medicine by Dr. Sydnee and Justin McElroy | The Last Binding: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske | Radiance: The Necromancer’s Light by Tavia Lark | Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao | Fence: Volume Three by C.S Pacat | The Green Bone Saga: Jade War by Fonda Lee | Perilous Courts: Prince and Assassin by Tavia Lark | Doomsday Books: The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J Charles | As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride by Cary Elwes | The Adventure Zone: The Eleventh Hour by Clint, Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy and Carey Pietsch | Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 18 by Bisco Hatori

Fifth Row: The Witcher: Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 10 by Bisco Hatori | Dark Rise Book 2: Dark Heir by C.S Pacat | Dear Senthuran by Akwaeke Emezi | The Last Binding: A Restless Truth by Freya Marske | Radiance: The Paladin’s Shadow by Tavia Lark | Fence: Volume Two by C.S Pacat | Fence: Volume One by C.S Pacat | Fence: Volume Four: Rivals by C.S Pacat | Perilous Courts: Prince in Disguise by Tavia Lark | Doomsday Books: If He Had His Legs We’d Be In So Much Trouble by K.J Charles | Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree | The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 17 by Bisco Hatori | InCryptid: Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire

Sixth Row: Whyborne & Griffin: Balefire by Jordan L. Hawk | A Charm of Magpies: The Magpie Lord by K.J Charles | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 11 by Bisco Hatori | Crush by Richard Siken | The Last Binding: A Power Unbound by Freya Marske | Radiance: The Sword-Witch’s Heart by Tavia Lark | Spitfire by Maya Kern | Fence: Volume Five: Rise by C.S Pacat | The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen | Perilous Courts: Prince and Pawn by Tavia Lark | Doomsday Books: A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by K.J Charles | The Wandering Inn: Volume One by PirateAba | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 16 by Bisco Hatori | Montague Siblings: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee | Six of Crows Book 2: Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Seventh Row: Feminine Pursuits: The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite | Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (trans. Simon Armitage, perf. Bill Wallis) | Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (trans. Brian Stone) | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 12 by Bisco Hatori | 17776: an American football story by Jon Bois | Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud | Soul of Sovereignty: Prelude by gigidigi | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 15 by Bisco Hatori | Gentle Art: The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by K.J Charles | Gentle Art: A Thief in the Night by K.J Charles | Gentle Art: A Rose by Any Name by K.J Charles

Eighth Row: Nimona by [ND] Stevenson | A Safe Place to Land by boneturtle | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 13 by Bisco Hatori | The Enigma of Amigara Fault by Junji Ito | The Sandman: Volume 7: Brief Lives by Neil Gaiman | A Mutual Interest by Alec J. Marsh | The Quite Nice and Fairly Accurate Good Omens Script Book by Neil Gaiman | The Sentence by Lousie Erdrich | Ouran High School Host Club: Volume 14 by Bisco Hatori | We All Need To Get By by Lyn Weaver | Always Human: Love and Gravity by Ari North

Ninth Row: Black Butler Artworks 4 by Toboso Yana | Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition: Volume 5 by Ohkubo Atsushi | Memento Mori: Madison Square Murders by C.S Poe | Baal’s Heart: Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas by Bey Deckard | Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition: Volume 6 by Ohkubo Atsushi | Sugar & Vice: Liar City by Allie Therin | Memento Mori: Subway Slayings by C.S Poe | Roaring Twenties Magic: Once a Rogue by Allie Therin | Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition: Volume 7 by Ohkubo Atsushi | Reforged by Seth Haddon | Memento Mori: Broadway Butchery by C.S Poe | Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition: Volume 8 by Ohkubo Atsushi | Black Butler Artworks 3 by Toboso Yana

[rosewind2007]

Live

Love

Laugh

in The Murderbot Diaries

There are 12 mentions, a dozen (like a dozen red roses 🌹), of the word LOVE in the Murderbot Diaries

Or, to be more accurate:

6 x love

3 x loved

1 x beloved

1 x lovefest

1 x lovely

As one of the comments (from KosKat—thank you KosKat!) points out:

“You know what I find fascinating about these dozen mentions of love? They all have negative connotations. Possible exceptions:

I love you, armor, and I'm never leaving you again. But even here, Murderbot's using that as a shield.

ART loved its crew, like, a lot. But there's a sense that Murderbot's doesn't "get it"/is bewildered by that love, and then of course there's the fact that it finds their deaths really sad and unfair.

"No, the font was lovely." Perhaps not a negative connotation, but neither is the word being used in earnest.

And the absolute minefield:

Then Amena said, "Do you love my second mother?" Huge loaded question there!

The rest are all sarcastic and/or disgusted uses of the word "love". Really highlights how Murderbot views the concept, and I empathize. But also... it makes me a little sad.”

Their are thirteen (13) laughs in The Murderbot Diaries

No laughs in All Systems Red (two slaughters)

No laughs in Artificial Condition

Two (2) laughs in Rogue Protocol

She laughed and her dark eyes crinkled. “We’re finally going, Miki!”

Don Abene, being lovely with Miki

“I’m excited!” Miki echoed. “We will do a good assessment, and then we can have a new assignment.”

Ejiro laughed. “I hope it’s that easy.”

More Miki associated gaiety

Three (3) laughs in Exit Strategy (and a slaughter)

Ratthi walking when he was tired after a long day, absorbed in a conversation as he walked with Arada and Overse, laughing and pretending to defend himself as Pin-Lee threw a cushion at him, running as we frantically loaded a hopper to escape.

Ratthi possibly being a little flirty with Pin-Lee

I stepped out of the pod into dark purple clouds, lightning, simulated rain, and the startled yelps and laughter of the waiting passengers.

Yelps and laughter—during Murderbot’s dramatic manipulation of the artificial thunderstorm

She started to laugh, then her face did something complicated and she hugged me.

Mensah being lovely with Murderbot

No laughs in Fugitive Telemetry

Network Effect contains eight (8) laughs (but given its greater length the density is comparable to the novellas) and two (2) slaughters.

He led her into the darkened house, and she stumbled on a low table. She giggled and he laughed. Sounding way more intoxicated than he actually was, he said, "Wait, I got it," and tapped the house's feed to turn on the lights.

It’s the horrible Marne, pretending to be intoxicated with Amena

It also sounded vaguely like the break-up part of the romance scenes on the shows I watched, most of which I usually skimmed over. I said, "It's not me, it's you."

She huffed a laugh.

Mensah being lovely with Murderbot

"Poor thing was dead," Unidentified Two= Target Two responded, and laughed. Poor thing. I think a capillary just burst inside one of my organic parts.

Target Two is going to regret that

Target Two's gray face went surprised, then furious. It was kind of funny. This was a point where if I was a human (ick) I might have laughed. I decided to go with my first inclination and kill the shit out of some ass-faced hostiles instead. I told the Targets,

"Angry, then afraid, then dead. Is that the right order?"

What did I say? Murderbot associating laughter with humans, and here with a sort of cruel laughter

Eletra shoved her hair back and looked exhausted. "They did something that knocked us unconscious in the shuttle. One moment we were there, the next we were lying on the deck in this ship, and those gray people were laughing at us. I don't know what happened to the others."

More cruel laughter from the Targets (gray people)

If I sound calm, I was actually not calm. I thought I'd had control of the situation (sort of control, okay? don't laugh) and then it had unraveled rapidly.

Please don’t laugh at Murderbot, it’s really not a good idea (Ras has just shot it at this point so it’s not feeling its best anyway)

ART would have laughed at an attack like that. (Actually, ART would have laughed at the part where it sent back a code bundle that would have eaten my face.)

Murderbot thinking of ART laughing—which is nice…sort of? Code bundles which eat your face probably aren’t really nice. Also, at this point Murderbot still thinks ART is dead (sob)

Some of these laughs are actually gentle and warm, those with Miki for example. Mensah laughs warmly with Murderbot…

But many of the laughs are dark—Marne’s laughter is deceptive. The Targets’ laughter is cruel…and when Murderbot imagines ART laughing it’s not a kind laugh

[megsbooklr]

Tackling my TBR pile // a 6-year plan

I started 2024 with 91 owned books to read... And I really want to read them, not just to keep them around! I am, however: 1) a mood reader, 2) a person who is not capable of implementing book buying bans on myself - so the only way for me is to read both new and old books, according to my moods. I think I can do ~15 older books a year, so let's start with that :D

The plan for 2024 is as follows:

1. Read at least 16 books bought before 2024:

The Screwtape Letters

Strange Beasts of China

The Dragon Republic

The Burning God

Why I Swore To Never Hire A Goon (Except In Emergencies)

Heaven Official's Blessing vol. 7

Heaven Official's Blessing vol. 8

Stars of Chaos vol. 1

Holmes of Kyoto vol. 4

Holmes of Kyoto vol. 5

Holmes of Kyoto vol. 6

Onmyoji and Tengu Eyes vol. 1

Onmyoji and Tengu Eyes vol. 2

Guardian vol. 1

The Imperial Uncle

Peach Blossom Debt

All Systems Red & Artificial Condition (17)

2. Read ALL the books I bought/got in 2024:

What the River Knows

Mammoths at the Gates

Stars of Chaos vol. 2

Stars of Chaos vol. 3

Guardian vol. 2

Guardian vol. 3

Thousand Autumns vol. 3

Thousand Autumns vol. 4

Thousand Autumns vol. 5

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard vol. 7

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard vol. 8

Onmyoji and Tengu Eyes vol. 3

Tales of the Celestial Kingdom

7th Time Loop vol. 1

7th Time Loop vol. 2

7th Time Loop vol. 3

7th Time Loop vol. 4

7th Time Loop vol. 5

7th Time Loop vol. 6

The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish vol. 1

The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish vol. 2

The Last Murder at the End of the World

Heart of the Raven Prince

The God and the Gumiho

Romance of the Imperial Capital Kotogami

Darker by Four

Threads That Bind

Rogue Protocol & Exit Strategy

Song of the Six Realms

The Untold Origins of the Armed Detective Agency

Suzume

Ballad of Sword and Wine vol. 1

Peerless vol. 1

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop

In Calabria

The Last Unicorn

Trigger Warning

Godkiller

The Book of Doors

The Unmaking of June Farrow

A Quantum Love Story

SW: Brotherhood

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone

The Curse Workers Trilogy

Sword of Kaigen

Nettle and Bone

Network Effect

Echo of the Blue Mountain

A Crane Among the Wolves

So this post is to track this plan and to hold me accountable at the end of the year, lol :D

EDIT: the bought in 2024 stack got out of hand, I am aware of that :) I might have to face the possibility that I am, in fact, a h o a r d e r...

EDIT 2: it's August and I give up *crying and laughing hysterically*

[unohanadaydreams]

I was working on requests but then I was like y’know what I should do? Flesh out and write down my Mayuri headcanons because I can not bear the weight of this obsession alone.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi Origin Headcanons (incomplete but long)

features: uuuuh not overly disturbing. One instance of suicide, experimentation on a fetus.

The woman who raised him was elegant, ambitious, and dutiful. But she was not a mother. The care she gave Mayuri was toward his talent for sewing—he had an eye for detail and a competitive nature that compelled her to pinch his cheek and smile at his handiwork. Always, she smiled at the fabric. Never at him.

When he was very young, they worked for the local theaters. His mother—she told him over and over she wasn’t his mother, but Mayuri wanted her to be so badly that, in the secret of his mind, he called her that—was sought after enough to be choosy. They followed the actors before pay. She taught him that money was fleeting, but talent was everlasting.

She gave him books on educational odds and ends. Some were not to keep, on loan from someone who owed her a favor. Others were his, taken from those steeped in debt but unwilling to strip his mother’s wonderful kimono from their back. His favorite were of the natural sciences. He so wanted to keep a book on Reishi that he tossed it in the fire pit when his mother demanded it back, not wanting anyone to have it if he couldn’t have his way. She smacked his head against the wall until he bled.

His mother loved to be obeyed. Conditions were what she valued over coin. It was as close to power as could be gotten by someone with so little to begin with. She watched rehearsals, was ‘gifted’ favored seats, and was given a voice when it came time to pick the next play.

He was urged to nurture his curiosity; it would suit him when his mother sent him off to be a soul reaper. She always said she would, even when his entire face became a wrinkle at the thought of fighting on and on for nothing he cared about. At least the actors had grace, built up by makeup, masks, and finery.

Mayuri wasn’t fond of the actors as a rule. Their egos and posturing annoyed him. In opposition, his mother’s eyes followed them endlessly. The exceptions to his ire tended to moonlight as jesters; they came and bid him ask his mother to dye their kimonos or to copy the latest en vogue brocade—but better. That was her specialty—brocades.

He was often bored and lonesome, so when the actors spoke to him, he spoke back despite the cool facade he gave them when with his mother, which was often. The room in which he wove and dyed fabric was often filled with his chatter, to himself. But silent when his mother was there, which was often.

Mayuri pushed limits like all children do, but with himself. How far could he poke a needle into his skin before it became unbearable? If he sewed an eye shut, would it fuse together? His mother seemed very occupied and payed him little attention, until she noticed that his eye was, indeed, fusing shut.

She had a real son by an actor most beloved for his roles as heroines and not long after they were called for by a 1st rukongai theater, where the actor could not follow. His mother accepted, gave her conditions, and stayed for a few last shows. Playing a woman determined to follow her lover in death, he gave a long, wailing speech and did not get back up after twisting the knife to his gut. His mother smiled, looking satisfied that he had done it as the audience leapt from the pits to crowd the dying body.

Thereafter, he seemed to leave his mother’s side for good. Even if his little brother was too young to weave and was bland to everyone including Mayuri, he had an eye for color. His mother wove, aided his brother with dyeing fabric, and told Mayuri it was time for him to do more. “You think it’s only fighting, but my sister became a soul reaper. And now she lives in the clouds, doing as she pleases. No-no, not dead. Just dead to me.”

Mayuri left for the academy before he could watch a 1st rukongai production, his spiritual pressure growing well under instruction. But he hated the large emphasis on battle. Strategy interested him, but his questions soured many teacher’s attitudes toward him.

So used to his hands always being at work at weaving, Mayuri began to tinker on things during class simply to help him think. He sat in the back as a thin courtesy, but was known to dissect animals during lectures. His row was often empty but for himself.

Reishi, again, became a large focal point for him and Mayuri had more than a single book at his disposal. Texts both aged and modern were poured through with hunger. If all living things contain Reishi, then could some form of reishi revive the dead? Could life be made of reishi not through natural processes? Could the essence of the soul exist if pried from the shell, would there be enough reishi to support that?

He understood the concern behind the meetings meant to discourage his questions and lines of study, but he resented them all and burned his theories for show, every wondering word fresh in his mind. His logic was sound, his questions legitimate, and his ability up to the task. How could a soul reaper do as they please in such an environment?

Mayuri went to his mother when he neared graduation, pausing his education, years having past with much frustration, at her call. She sought opportunities for him, now that she served nobles, and he hurried back at the illusion of freedom.

His brother still wore an expression as blank as unmarked paper, but he hugged Mayuri round the legs whenever he entered the room. His mother scolded him for it.

It was here that he once again turned his wondering in on himself. Skin opened and tested for the conditions that would allow regeneration. Could healing Kido be broken down into a liquid or pill? Was there an alternative to healing Kido? With few tools or funding, Mayuri found his conclusions compromised. His skin became scarred, but healed well enough under his skilled needlework to cause no harm.

Not that Mayuri was afraid of harm. It hurt immensely to experiment on himself, but he was greater than the academy would let him be and beneath the pain would be the glory of discovery. At times, he had his little brother do what he could physically not. It worked well—though young, his brother seemed largely unaffected and his needlework had improved enough that Mayuri did not scold him about it. Which was praise enough.

While serving the Shihōin family, his mother made sly introductions to several of the clansmen and one who was not. A soul reaper named Kisuke Urahara, a dear friend of the Shihōin princess , who seemed impressed with Mayuri’s work, but only enough to praise it. He was two faced and annoying and worst of all brilliant. Mayuri wanted the praise he got as much as he hated the man. He was too touchy, always patting his back or hair or shoulder.

Urahara’s words gave confidence to the clansmen, who worked out arrangements with his mother. Instead of paying in full for expensive kimonos and debt-inducing brocade, Mayuri would have funding and permissions. It was all unofficial, under the table, and unknown the clan head. The only ones on the line were he and his mother and Mayuri knew that meant he would take the blame, alone, if relations soured.

The work the two nobles loved best in the beginning were that of regeneration, which suited Mayuri enough since they also gave him freedom to do more. He, too, wished to complete his work in that area. It was, once again, when he wandered back into questions of artificial life—the limits of reishi and the ways to change reishi to break those limits—that he was warned by Urahara. “Any good mind wonders about life and death, Mayuri. But you’re not cute enough to break the rules! Maybe if you looked like your mom ❤️ Instead of an angry burlap dolly~! Good thing you’re a little genius in the making, huh?”

Begrudgingly, Mayuri took the condescending advice and kept his work that did not suit the nobles at a minimum and extremely private. His notes were few, coded, and progressing badly without workable experimentation. What the nobles wanted were likewise becoming more petty; looking to outdo the humans on this or best another clan on that. Unbearable, demeaning work considering the fewer freedoms they gave him—the funding was running out.

He became more restless. More reckless. The Shihōin family and his mother parted ways. Mayuri’s freedoms were gone. He stuck holes in his little brother’s forehead until his face was covered in blood. Made horns. Tore off his own ears. Made better ones. Dug out his own fingernails. Tried to carve himself into something better—someone above these circumstances. His mother sewed his skin shut wordlessly one night, the one he’d rid himself of his ears, and pinched his cheek like he was a toddler again.

So too did his approach to his appearance change. Like the actors and jesters of his earliest memories, he painted his skin white. Covered his eyes in a strip of black. Set his blue hair stiff and neat like a wig. Unique to him were the metal improvements that replaced his ears.

His little brother began to follow him everywhere after he was given horns, his mother once again occupied. One day, they found their mother dead together, murdered body tangled in a weaving loom.

Mad, for sure, Mayuri took her body to his lab, determined to find out as much as he could before discovered. His mother was unsalvageable, but the fetus within her could be something extraordinary. A third sibling. A first sister. A wonderful dream. Someone to take his mother’s place, but better. Always better—always striving to be more than before.

The data was invaluable even if it was coated in failure. Not that he had truly expected to breath life on the first try, but he had wished to not be caught. The Shihōin were famed for their leadership of the secret police, though, and caught he was. Even his most ingenious traps could not stop an entire force.

Unlawful tampering of a soul, theft of Shihōin funds and equipment, unlawful creation, and the murder of secret police, mother, and unborn sister. He was sentenced to the maggot’s nest, no access to anything but a cell. Too valuable of mind to be die, but too dangerous to be free.

Too valuable of mind to die. He always knew he was. It was nice to hear it, though.

[ifartsparkswithkaty]

Cows are not sexually abused, and if you knew anything about working around large animals you would know that. A cow in heat doesn't care whether it is artificially inseminated, which is really obvious if you've ever seen it done (or met a cat in heat, they're the same way - hornier than you or I could possibly imagine.) Bulls are extremely violent and will often injure cows by mating with them aggressively and repeatedly, even if they don't want it or try to get away, which is why farmers use artificial insemination - it is actually significantly more expensive than using bulls, but much safer and gentler for the animals. Calves are also only taken away from their mothers for safety reasons with some breeds - a friend of mine working on a dairy had a cow calve in the middle of the night and they didn't notice right away, by the time they found it she had trampled the baby and it was so injured it had to be euthanized. It's not the only story I've heard like that either. Beef breeds are good moms and their babies stay with them after birth. Cattle of both sexes and all breeds are slaughtered at one year at the earliest, unless they have some kind of incurable health problem that's a welfare issue, and in beef slaughterhouses the animals can't see each other when they are killed, so they have no idea it's coming and don't have time to panic. The slaughtering method used in modern slaughterhouses is amazingly fast, it's like a light switch getting flipped off, not at all like the awful videos from years past that you see. It's hard to imagine it being more fast or humane. I don't have personal experience with pigs because my family all warned me never to work on pig farms because they are so horrific. I know from family who have worked in chicken houses that chickens are kept in very poor conditions. As someone who really cares about animals it bothers me to see misinformation spread, because it leads to a place where people assume that because there is so much misinformation about cattle, then the horror stories about chicken houses and pig farms must also be fake. I would really like for pigs and chickens to get the same consideration and care that cows do, and I think we should work toward that - my family raised our own pigs and chickens when I was a kid, and we always treated them as well as our cats and dogs, despite them being raised for meat, so I know it's possible. Hopefully in the future laws can be passed protecting these animals from abuse.

Yes, I also hope that laws continue being passed to protect animals from abuse. I’m glad you said that you really care about animals. Having said that, I’m a little worried about everything else you mentioned. Your family treated your pigs and chickens as well as they treated your cats and dogs? Did you also kill your cats and dogs for meat later? If not, why not? You treated them the same and cared for them the same except for the part where you killed the pigs for food but kept the dogs around for cuddles? In some parts of Asia dogs are killed for food - how do you feel about that? Do you feel dogs and pigs should be treated exactly the same except for the part where you kill one for food but not the other? Why?

Let’s address the point of the misinformation about cattle next. You started off by saying that cows aren’t sexual abused but then went on to say that well when they’re horny they don’t care what happens to then. Yeah, fuck off. Every sentient being should have the right to their own body and should have the right to consent to what happens to them. Even if you disagree with that (shame on you for thinking of other sentient beings who can feel pain and trauma can/should be impregnated without their consent), here is an article reporting violence and non-impregnation relation sexual assault on cows in factory farms. It also has video footage if you’d prefer. These are animals capable of feeling psychological trauma, so don’t fucking dare tell me that being impregnated without their consent isn’t going to be traumatic. And don’t try to bullshit me with the ‘its safer and gentler for animals thats why we do it’ because honestly an industry which kills male calves as soon as their born or tortures them after birth so they can be sold off as veal doesn’t give a shit about being ‘safe and gentle’ with their animals. Sure, you might have wanted your own small number of cows to be as healthy as they can be before you murder them - but don’t expect factory farmed animals to be treated like anthing other than an object.

And let’s talk about the murdering part, shall we? You said: “Cattle of both sexes and all breeds are slaughtered at one year at the earliest”. Do you know what the natural lifespan of a cow is? Well take a look at this:

Don’t you fucking dare come here and tell me that ^this is ethical in any way. The analogous age for a human (who would otherwise live for 80 years) to be slaughtered would be 6 years. Killing a cow at 18 months for meat is analogous to killing a 6 year old human child in terms of how much they’ve lived and experienced of life.

The next thing you say is that “in beef slaughterhouses the animals can't see each other when they are killed, so they have no idea it's coming and don't have time to panic”. Let me counter that by showing you some real life examples. A warning for anyone clicking these links - it has videos from the inside of slaughterhouses where animals are panicking because they know they’re about to die. The animals are risking their lives to try and escape.

By the way, if you don’t believe me or don’t bother watching the videos - you can read this confession of a former slaughterhouse worked posted on the BBC. Not only does it confirm what’s shown in the videos that animals do see others being killed and they do panic and that it’s all very barbaric, it also talks about why slaughterhouses are horrible for the humans who works there. It’s literally awful for everyone involved.

The next thing you say is “The slaughtering method used in modern slaughterhouses is amazingly fast, it's like a light switch getting flipped off, not at all like the awful videos from years past that you see. It's hard to imagine it being more fast or humane.” Did you ever have to euthanise your cats or dogs? Did you take them to a slaughterhouse or did you take them to a vet? Why wouldn’t you want your cat or your dog to be euthanised in a slaughterhouse? After al, you did literally say “It's hard to imagine it being more fast or humane” and wouldn’t you want the most humane possible way of saying goodbye to your beloved pet? Literally no one would even think about taking their pet to the slaughterhouse to be euthanised because everyone knows it’s not fucking humane.

As for the modern methods for slaughterhouses? Let’s take a look at these modern method. Here’s an excerpt: “The simplest mechanism consists of electrodes or probes built in the form of tongs with insulated handles and applied between the ear and eye of the animal for 1–4 secs.” You can read more about that here. How fucking dare you call having metal tongs inserted in your brain and being electrocuted ‘humane’? Just because it’s “fast” doesn’t mean it’s not painless. If you want to have your dog euthanised and you see the vet inserting metal tongs in between your dog’s eyes and ears you’d fucking start screaming animal abuse and just ask another vet for an injection. So don’t you fucking dare come over here and say ‘oh modern methods are very fast and efficient so theyre very humane’ when theyre just fucking barbaric.

Now, if you do really care about animals then put your money where your mouth is and join the movement to end animal abuse. This means not killing them. This means not gassing them or electrocuting them. This means not stealing their babies and killing them because it’s cheaper than rearing them. If you care about animals then protest against their exploitation. They’re sentient creatures capable of feeling pain and trauma, so protest against the industries who keep them in traumatic conditions and inflict pain upon them. If you care about someone then you don’t kill them when they clearly don’t want to be killed. There’s no ethical way to kill someone who doesn’t want to die.

If after reading all this you still disagree with me, then kindly fuck off. I don’t want you here in my inbox trying to defend animal cruelty. And I don’t appreciate you sending me an ask that forces me to go look up instances of animals cruelty so I can back up the points I’m trying to make. You’ve successfully ruined my day, and I don’t want any more asks that defend the instituitionalised torture of helpless animals.

[sepublic]

Now that I think of it, Belos has many things in common with Grace from Infinity Train. Both are cult leaders, Grace never had the love of her parents and maybe Belos never had the love of his peers. Grace controls the kids of the Apex just like Belos runs the Empire and his Coven. Both have a right hand man (Simon and the Coven member with the owl mask) and that makes me think that like Grace, part of why Belos controls others is because he's afraid of being alone again, to dissapoint others and to go back to being powerless people aka outcasts.

           Well! I already liked Grace BEFORE, as a very messed-up yet meaningfully complex and twisted character who ultimately turns around and overcomes her mountain-sized flaws in one of the most compelling redemptions I’ve ever seen!

           But this… Oh, this makes me love her even MORE, and I feel almost beholden to you for this beautiful comparison! Again, I’m mostly comparing Grace with my read/speculation on Belos and who I THINK his character will turn out to be… But to look over the wonderfully messed-up similarities;

           There’s this shared idea of Grace and Belos being social outcasts as children and wanting companionship, wanting to be surrounded by friends… So they arrive in a ‘magical world’ and they get to work compiling countless allies around them, be it Grace’s Apex, or Belos’ Coven System of followers! But at the same time… There’s this desire to be at the top, to be better than everyone else!

          With Grace this additionally came from her parents’ harsh expectations, but otherwise her and Belos have that issue of… Trying to cope with their previous status and ostracization as outsiders, and rationalize their mistreatment in a way that makes sense to them; In a way that’s flattering to themselves while maliciously downplaying those they see as having ‘wronged’ them! Grace decided to see the other girls as jealous of her for being better than them, and perhaps so did Belos… To Belos, he was actually a Chosen One this whole time, he was ALWAYS superior to those who didn’t recognize him! So of course he had to be separate from the rest as someone above them!

          So Grace and Belos not only feel entitled to some sort of universal compensation for their suffering, but their desire to be at the top also comes from a position of fear; Because neither are good with feelings, neither are used to letting others in, both are conditioned for rejection and hurt! Being above others in the form of a power imbalance, it allows Grace and Belos both to maintain control and distance from those they get attached to…

          Keeping their ‘followers’ at a proper distance thanks to the different positions in the hierarchy, to keep themselves from getting hurt! It’s a way of getting adulation without going through the uncomfortable pain of actually having to open up to others, because the work for unconditional love is too much and too scary for either of them! Not that they could differentiate between reverence from a distance and close, personal love of course… Not to mention, having power and control makes them feel safe and ‘in charge’ of their relationships, like Grace and Belos are always operating from a safe position where they can retaliate and defend if necessary!

          By having control, you can keep others from hurting you, and get a handle on them, forcing others to listen to you for once, to open up so YOU can be safe while they can’t expect the same of you because you’re already better… Belos and Grace want others to become dependent upon them, so they can feel good and needed and loved, while at the same time reassured that they’re necessary to those they know and thus can’t be disposed of, even if hated! Grace and Belos see themselves as giving consolation to the desperate and dependent, when in reality THEY’re the epitome of those personality traits! Clinging onto others and hurting them in the process… Like Grace with Hazel, or Belos with –possibly- the Titan itself!

           But while they want to be above their friends, Belos and Grace still see the people they surround themselves with as THEIR people, as others they personally understand and relate to, and want to take care of as a result! But they don’t want their beloved subordinates to be at the bottom, and if they want to uplift their subordinates with them (because the idea of hierarchy justifies and makes Grace and Belos feel special), there needs to be others BELOW those they call ‘friends’!

           So for Grace, she seeks a scape-goat in Denizens, and the fact that she herself was treated more like a toy and an object by her own parents doesn’t help! She puts the Apex above the denizens, enabling her own friends to be uplifted above others, while still beneath her! And Belos, well… He artificially manufactures hierarchy through his Coven System, restricting the magic of others and deciding that the natural ability to access all forms of magic will now become a privilege that one must EARN if they intend to keep it into adulthood; And his ‘friends’ are his Emperor’s Coven, people he sees as hardworking and ingenuitive like him! Separate from the others because they’re better than that and focus their time onto more important things anyway!

           Grace and Belos are both entitled deconstructions of the Isekai trope, dark reflections of your typical Isekai protagonist in that they project their fantasies and delusions onto the new world they enter, expecting it to cater towards their personal desires and needs… Instead of recognizing this new place as its own separate world with its own history and people who are living their own lives and are not beholden to these new arrivals! Instead of seeing the reality of these new worlds for what they are, they bring up what they’d like to see, and then treat it as objective fact!

           There’s also –canonically for Grace and in speculation for Belos- a lieutenant that they’re closer to than all others… Someone who welcomed them from the very beginning, the first to give them open arms and provide companionship! But in some ways this person was also their first ‘victim’, the first to be deluded and adopted into this cult of personality of theirs… Grace brought in Simon, while Belos potentially had Kikimora! Obviously the parallels between THOSE relationships aren’t exactly the same, and my speculation on Kiki has her as starting out as the one in charge actually…

           But there’s still the concept of someone they’re close to, but they also unfairly keep at a distance while expecting them to open up for them! And both relationships have both participants toxicly enabling one another to varying degrees (though I feel Kiki is more likely to ‘turn good’ than Simon, who never did while Grace at least changed), encouraging the other to bring out the worst and unironically supporting it!

           Grace and Belos have that desire to be the center of attention by any and all means, because for so long they were overlooked, ignored, and outright forgotten! Neither like to confront negative emotions, because why let it bother them, feeling sad about it isn’t going to change things! They’re both crippled by an apprehensive fear of rejection… And they operate on a Messiah complex (to varying degrees), with Grace completely misinterpreting her one sighting of ‘The Conductor’, and then preaching a bunch of lies mixed in with her own projections to others! A part of her is doing what she’s convinced herself is truthful, but another part is also being a little flattering to what she wants her worldview to be…

          And Belos… Well, I can’t say for sure, but he possibly operated on truthfully being the Titan’s messenger, before he became more invested in what HE had to say, and likewise, I think Belos is at least somewhat aware that what he’s saying isn’t really what the Titan says, but it doesn’t matter because more like Simon than Grace, he’s decided that HE knows better after all! I do believe that like Grace, he’s somewhat willingly lying to create a narrative that sets himself and his own worldview as real and objective, all for his own sake and those he sees as ‘companions’!

           In the end, both Grace and Belos operate from a place of willful ignorance, although in Grace’s scenario, her mistakes were at least a lot more understandable in that she WAS a child and had no way of going back to verify what really happened… And then when fully confronted with the truth of Amelia, actually began to change! Not to mention a lot of her entitlement and the idea that she did no wrong likely came from her elitist parents! Whereas Belos, I think by this point Belos is fully aware, or at least mostly, that what he’s saying is nothing but propaganda, that he’s twisting what the Titan actually had to say and is doing so deliberately… Because he’s rejecting the Titan’s message as not fitting what HE wants to hear, again more like Simon than Grace!

           I’ve already loved Grace, but now she’s extra-fascinating to me, because she’s like my read on Belos, except she’s actually the main protagonist in this narrative and was actually able to grow beyond her flaws and fix them! I can’t say for sure if Belos will or won’t have that opportunity though… I mean it IS worth nothing that while Grace did kill a LOT of people, I don’t think it’s nearly to the extent that Belos did, and as I’ve speculated before; I think Belos is WAY worse a person than Grace Monroe ever was! It’s like if early into his flaws and mistakes, a younger and healthier Belos was given the chance to change… That’s what Grace is like for me, in a sense, and that just makes her A-MAZING!

           Obviously there is the danger of me projecting some delusions and fantasies onto a different reality, as I am describing of Grace and Belos… But even if it isn’t true for BELOS, I think it could be true for Grace! And so she’s that twisted narrative I mentioned earlier, but actually fully confirmed, and so I love this beautiful, messed-up lady and I want to see her get well, her mind is fascinating and she’s SUCH a good protagonist! Good for Grace, good for her that she managed to overcome her flaws in the end and turned out happier for it!

           A lot of the times Grace only has herself to blame for her issues in life (and the Infinity Train, Amelia, and Simon too admittedly), but in the end she’s learned to confront herself and start making a change! She learned to see the truth, to set boundaries between what IS her fault and what isn’t, and similarly, not wallow in self-pity but instead make and effort to start turning things around! I’m so proud of her for it, she’s inspiring to me as a symbol of someone who can do SO MUCH wrong, but still make the effort to turn around!

[irondadgroupie]

Bohemian Rhapsody: Chapter 6

A/N: Tony and May taking care of Peter. Again, any errors and issues can be told to us @intoresus

“Pepper, I need to see him.”

Tony had finally been given the clean bill of health apart from his hand and heart but pain was manageable with drugs and his heart was recovering. Pepper had brought him clothes to replace the hospital pajamas and she shook her head at the demand.

“Tony, May doesn’t allow you in Peter’s room. As painful as it is, we need to respect her wishes.”

Tony grunted in frustration: “How can she ever accept me again if I don’t try to reason with her?”

“She is still in shock, Tony” the woman gave him socks and opened the laces on his shoes so putting them on would be easier.

“Then get her a counselor or something, my treat.”

Tony bit his lip, when had socks become so impossible to tame? The wound around his toes and the material scratched everywhere.

“Look,” Pepper sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She needed to be calm to get through to the man. “I think it’s not about the accident, it’s mostly about you.”

“I know that,” Tony spat out,” but I need to see Peter.”

“May barely lets Rhodey in, let alone me.”

“She will never learn I want nothing bad for Peter unless I prove it!”

Something in Tony snapped and he threw the shoe away in frustration. His right hand was practically useless and the fingers on his left shook from emotional turmoil.

“Peter- he is not getting better,” The man whispered and pressed his left hand against his lips. “Something is wrong. His pulse is quickening day by day-”

Pepper blinked in confusion at the abrupt change of topic.

“His pulse is- Tony!” Pepper shrieked once everything clicked. She felt a strong urge to smack the man across the head. “I gave you that Pad for relaxation only!”

“I can’t relax unless I know he is alright!” The man argued back. “It’s a win-win-situation!”

“Look,” The woman bit her lip in frustration and shook his head slowly. Pepper knew she had to be sensitive. “I understand that you tend to go a little overboard when it’s about someone you care about,” she stepped closer to caress the man’s good hand ,” but to hack a device I with love and good intentions gave you-”

“It’s not about that, Pepper,” Tony shook his head. His eyes glistened with unshed tears. It had been a long week. “I can only focus on Peter. I need to know what is wrong with him.”

The woman looked into Tony’s eyes and saw so much panic and concern she couldn’t but yield. Peter had become a part of his everyday life, there was always something: a message, a call, a meme, some kind of sing from Peter that he was thinking about his mentor.

Pepper gave a final, reassuring rub to Tony’s hand and debated whether to attempt a comforting smile.

“She is in the cafeteria, nurses are giving Peter a bath,” She turned her face away. It was difficult being the intermediary.

“Hey,” Tony's voice was a whisper as he hurriedly closed the door and stumbled to the kid's bedside. Peter laid in the exact same position, on his back, with the same tapes over his eyes and around his mouth to keep the ventilator in place. Tony hoped the boy had been moved at least once during the week.  

For a moment, he couldn't do much else but stare at Peter and ponder how the quick pulse did not match the serene image the kid was giving.  

“Shh,” Tony took the boy's hand and kissed his knuckles. “You're okay, Peter. I'm here now, Tony's here.”

Peter's chest rose and fell with artificial breaths and monitors flashed with lights. It shouldn't be like this.  

“I'm sorry,” Tony cried and pressed the boy's hand close to his mouth. His tears wetted the pale, cool skin. “I'm so sorry, kiddo. I didn't mean to- I swear I didn't mean to!"  

Peter gave no answer. Secretly and against his better judgement, Tony had hoped his presence would be the final push Peter needed to awaken but that appeared not to be enough. There was no movement anywhere, not on eyelids, on lips or in fingers.

Peter was truly in a coma.

“It should be me there,” Tony sighed and wiped his cheeks although he was certain more would come out in a minute. “I don't know why you were punished. I was the one driving. I should have been hurt. God,” He gave a shaky breath and looked at the Heavens. He cursed every God and deity in existence. He cursed Karma and every law of world order. “Why did I let you sit in the front seat?”  

He could not focus, he lost the track of time as he held the boy's hand and stroked his face gently, his fingers desperate to remember every dimple, every curve and the warmth of Peter’s skin. He muttered soft, loving words. He hoped that if Peter was aware, he knew he was loved and missed.

His moment of peace was shattered.

“And yes, if we take into account his-“ The door opened and Tony snapped back into awareness. Then, a shrill scream: “You!”

“Alright, I’ll go.” Tony raised his hands although speaking the words broke his heart. He didn’t want to leave, and he knew - and hoped - from the bottom of his heart that Peter wanted him to stay. It was only the fact that he’d spent the last few days reading nothing but scientifically proven researches on how to properly care for coma patients, and he’d learned that external conflicts between primary contact persons could cause an immense stress reaction. He didn’t want to have Peter hurt any more than he already was.  

The physician was standing between Tony and May, preventing the latter from physically jumping at the man. Suddenly he looked up, eyebrows raised at the numbers displayed in the heart monitor.

“Wait a moment, Mr. Stark, ple-“

“Send him out!” May screamed. “He only wants to finish what he started!”

“I’m do not!” Tony forgot his rule about staying calm for Peter. The boy was his sore spot, the apple of his eye, and the thought of him wanting to intentionally harm the boy was so outrageous he considered suing the woman for slander. “I would never harm a hair on his head, I couldn’t!”

“Be quiet, will you?!” The doctor snapped and his sudden outburst was surprising enough to have the entire room fall quiet, aside of the steady beating of Peter’s heart monitor, still far too quick for everyone’s tastes.

“There we go. If you want to have a fight, have it outside, instead of letting Peter catch the worst of it.” He paused, silently enjoying the looks of embarrassment on the duo’s faces. He turned Tony.

“Please, take Peter’s hand again.”

“Why do you let him -“The doctor silenced May with a single sharp gesture before pointing at the monitor. Tony settled himself in the armchair at Peter’s right side, took the boy’s hand in his and softly kissed his knuckles. It took a second for the reaction to settle in and then another for May to understand it: the green 85 on screen was suddenly replaced with a wonderful - and most of all healthy - 69.

“What -“

The medic thoughtfully shook his head, half a smile on his lips.

“Mrs. Parker, you know we’ve run dozens of tests to figure out why your nephew’s resting heart-rate is off the charts, even with factoring in his exceptional healing. We were able to rule out all sorts of infections and internal bleeding. After our latest council, we had to admit that there seems to be no medical reason for his elevated heart-rate. But I assume we’ve just found it.”

May almost scoffed.

“Are you trying to tell me -“

“Latest research shows that the presence of beloved people has a calming effect on comatose patients, even in a very basic state of awareness. I do not intend to tell you that your presence didn’t have such an effect,” he added after seeing the hurt expression on May’s face. “However, I believe that the absence of Mr. Stark seemed to have a negative effect, and the changes in heart-rate might be the body’s attempt to express that.”

May remained quiet for a second, her eyes first fixed on the numbers on the monitor, then on Peter’s face. She still disliked that it was necessary to tape his eyes to protect his vision, and she hated how small and pale he looked in that huge bed, but she could still recognize Peter.

The boy who’d spent his entire life admiring Tony Stark. The boy who wouldn’t stop talking about Stark Expo for months (“He said I did nice work! Isn’t that amazing?!”). Her teenage kid that finally came home with a smile on his face again when he could talk about how he’s been working in the lab with Mr Stark.

She might dislike Tony - and she wouldn’t stop being suspicious about what had happened - but Peter loved the man and his presence was undeniably calming him. If she’d send him away, she’d probably only worsen his condition - and that was the last thing she wanted.

Besides, having him here meant she could have a closer eye on what he was doing.

May took a step closer to the bed.

“You really missed him that bad, honey?” She asked gently and carefully ruffled her nephew’s hair, still damp and color darker from the bath.

Tony looked up, his thumb still subconsciously stroking the back of Peter’s hand. He didn’t dare destroy the moment by saying something that could probably change May’s mind again. He only dared to finally take a breath of relief when she said it out loud.

“You can stay.” Her voice still sounded gravely, but it was a start. Tony leaned forward and gently kissed Peter’s brow.

“I’m not going to leave your side, kid. Not ever again. I promise.”  

Tony was allowed to stay in Peter’s room but the cold between him and May didn’t vanish. The man held himself back in fear of saying or doing anything that could possibly upset her, so he remained quiet for a while, letting May do the talking and care for Peter. She started with how the weather had been over the day before coming to a little more serious topic, her voice getting quieter.

“Ned has been texting me non-stop for the past couple of days. Has been asking me if he could come visit you after school, at least.” She paused, smiling sadly, shaking fingers stroking trough the curled hair. The nurses had neatly brushed it and May realized she didn’t like it. The last time Peter had styled his hair that way had been on the first day of High School and May's encouragement and begging had played a large part in it. With school and lab-work and being Spider-Man, the ‘approved messy hairstyle’ had become his thing.  

“I asked him not to,” May continued after a moment. “I know you wouldn’t want him to see you this way. But don’t worry. He’s not mad, I even think he understands. Said he’d wait for you to wake up before continuing on that Avenger’s Lego set.”

At this point, despite all the fears and agony over Peter’s condition, Tony couldn’t help but have a hint of a grin grace his lips. The kid basically knew the greatest part of the Avengers in person and he still lightened up with joy when he got the Lego set.  

“Sure, I do. Like, I’m not always Spider-Man. And I’m not always at the compound either, so this’ll remind me of you when I’m ho-“The boy didn't the final sentence, there was suddenly blush on his face. He looked down, grabbing for a pencil before hastily noting something down. “Please just forget I said anything, Mr. Stark.”  

Tony just laughed. “Forget what, Underoos?”  

He knew Peter thought what he said was sort of cheesy and Tony agreed it definitely was but nonetheless it warmed Tony’s heart.  

He squeezed the kid’s hand as if hoping to transfer the happy memory by simple touch.

“But you shouldn’t keep him waiting for too long,” May continued. “You shouldn’t keep me waiting for too long. We need you here. Cheering everyone up with your quips, or unwittingly making me feel stupid for not understanding half of the science stuff you do.”  

Tony smiled again.  

“Oh, and I almost forgot he asked me to tell you the following, and I’m supposed to quote: ‘Mr. Spock’s not even half as cool as Luke Skywalker”.  

Tony saw May wait and he did too. A healthy Peter would’ve started rambling right now because who would dare to compare Star Wars to Stark Trek?!

Eventually, May accepted there was no hope of getting a response from Peter that day.

“He has always been a heavy sleeper,” The woman sighed and leaned back on her chair. “Ever since he was a baby. I remember we once walked by a construction site during a stroller nap and Peter didn't even flinch.”  

“I have noticed,” Tony nodded. “I have to practically drag the kid up from bed.”  

“I started setting an alarm clock a few feet from his bed so he would have to get up.”  

“Okay, I haven't considered that,” The man had to admit the idea had potential. “Mind if I borrow the idea?”  

“If it gets him to school on time, nope.”  

They fell into silence and watched over their kid. Only a day in and they were both exhausted from the tension. Would Peter sense it?  

May was the first one to break to resume conversation.

“Do you mind if I let my friend see Peter's scans and info? He is a renowned doctor and has worked with coma patients before.”

Tony had to think it over.  

“Personally, I have nothing against it but there might come some disclosure issues. I suggest you ask from Peter's doctor.”  

“But aren't you the head boss?”  

“Technically, yes, but I am not an expert in medical field. I don’t know if info on Peter’s condition would reveal he is enhanced.”  

May understood and fell silent. “If he is enhanced, why hasn't he woken up?”  

Tony again did not have a ready answer.

“Maybe he is not ready to.”  

“What would keep him in his head?”  

“Maybe he is having an adventure there.”  

“I'd rather he rests.”

They fell silent again. Their conversations were still forced and quickly cut short. The only reason they were having them were because hearing their voices was usually calming Peter, and aside from that, it sometimes helped with getting questions across.

Eventually, Tony felt a desperate need to get out of the room. To do something even slightly useful.  

He clapped his knees and stood up.

“I’ll go get coffee. You want some?”

May shook her head. “Thanks, but no.”

“I’ll try to fetch his doctor too. Ask him about his opinion on getting a second opinion.”

“Thank you.”

Tony tried to smile reassuringly at her but it felt wrong. He turned to Peter instead. His heart sunk just looking at him. The facial features were Peter’s, but the posture was wrong. He looked too clinical, too tense. And he definitely shouldn’t need a ventilator to support his breathing but that’s where they were now.  

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back in just a minute.” His injured hand remained grasping Peter’s, the other gently wandered up before reaching Peter’s face, stroking his cheek. He could still cry in joy by the fact alone that the skin below was finally warm. That was a positive, at least.

May watched the scene and Tony’s leaving in silence, eyebrows slightly raised. What she’d seen so far didn’t fit her mental representation of him, more prominently not the media version of him. There was no logical reason for him to even settle in Peter’s room. Why should he care that much for just one of his company’s interns? But then again maybe he was just worried that he’d lose his “Spidey-Sidekick”.  

May reached for one of the tablets Tony had offered her to stay on track with the details on Peter’s entire condition. It was also a gateway to majority of recently published papers that could probably include further information on how to take care of Peter the best way possible. She’d been offended at first, she certainly knew more about coma than Tony Stark, but realized that there was nothing against being completely up to date.

Tony returned five minutes later a mug of coffee in his hand and once he’d settled down May took the chance to have a few minutes for herself, too. No matter how much she disliked leaving Peter’s side, there were some basics she couldn’t reschedule forever. And she definitely needed a shower, too.

“I’ll be gone for a few, can you take care of him ‘til then?”  

“Sure.” Tony nodded. “We might do a session of therapy in the meanwhile, what do you think?”

Peter didn’t answer but May did in his stead.

“Yes, that’d be good.”

Tony had hired physiotherapists to come up with an exercise plan to maintain Peter's physique, and he was eager to begin as soon as the door closed. Starting with the boy’s feet and legs, he slowly worked up to upper limbs.  

“Curl,” Tony made a fist with Peter's fingers. “And open.” He rubbed the boy's palm between his hands. “Okay, we're done. Then light massage. Mustn't let those wonderful muscles wither away.”  

It did not compare to training together in the Tower and then relaxing in sauna and talking about their day, but it would have to do for now.  

“You're a mark A student,” The man held onto Peter's hand and patted it. “Same time tomorrow?”  

Peter gave no answer, only the monitors beeped. Tony felt the all too familiar sting in his eyes and hid his face in Peter's hair.

The door opened and May stopped at her place.  

“Sorry, did I-”  

“Nope,” Tony straightened and discreetly wiped his face. “We just finished working out.”  

“Everything good?”

“Yep, aiming for the Olympix.”  

May snorted quietly and took her seat. She had brought an old timer for the bedside table and at the moment, it started ringing. Tony hated the sound, his cooking timers had soft tunes but this one seemed better suited as an alarm clock for the military.  

“God, put that out!” Tony covered Peter's ears. At first, he had hoped the loud, abrupt sound would help the boy wake up but now his main concern was possible bleeding in the kid's ears.  

“Why? We need this,” The woman stood up and gathered the supplies.

Tony raised an eyebrow but understood when he saw May working on the settings of the ventilator, a catheter line in one hand. He backed off, not wanting to disrupt her work.

“Don’t worry, kiddo,” The man massaged Peter’s temple with his thumb. “Your aunt’s just cleaning your breathing tube. Sucking all that stupid mucus out so you can breathe just fine and don’t have to deal with a nasty infection.”  

His hand came to rest in the softness of the boy’s curls but his eyes were fixed on May performing the task.

The woman waited for the system to inform that thirty seconds of highly oxygenated air had been delivered, making it safe for her to disconnect the ventilator and insert the smaller tube. She was careful, her brows burrowed in the effort of letting the catheter follow the breathing tube and turned the suctioning machine on only after being sure that everything was well set.

Tony counted the seconds in his head.

“Take it out.” He said suddenly. “You aren’t supposed to go on for longer than five to seven seconds or you risk asphyxia or a dry and sore throat.”

“Which of us works in the medical field?” May’s answer was dry. She turned the device off and slowly moved the catheter out before reconnecting the ventilator.  

“That was it, sweetheart. You can rest now.” She squeezed Peter’s hand softly.

Tony pursed his lips but said nothing more.

[eldritch-sanctum]

Unpopular opinion about the Homestuck Epilogues:

I honestly do like how Dirk unfolded as a villain, I like the twist that he is the “Final Boss of Homestuck”, I mean someone you always thought was on YOUR side, someone beloved by fans and the protagonists alike? I guess because that is how a lot of psychopaths do wind up being-beloved by all until their dark secret is revealed, and I know I am kinda...privileged saying this because I never developed a proper bond with any of the kids, except Rose (and how the fuck was she convinced to go with Dirk? Maybe because of her condition, but why continue the cycle of Sburb?).  But I did feel bonded to John and Terezi moreso in the epilogues.

Also the realization that he is an amalgam or has always been there in some way or form, in all the other major antagonists (except the Dersite ones).  He has merged with all his other selves in power and mind, which also includes Lord English, Lil’Cal, and Doc Scratch.  Some speculate he’s become a very vile asshole due to also being connected to and influenced by them, but it’s hard to really tell at this point and might be wishful thinking, but it does kinda explain his feelings for Jake being that of utter disdain and contempt to the point of ruining him (But Caliborn did feel respect for Jake, enough to take his name?), and his obsession with masculinity (notice how when Roxy identifies as a man, he is suddenly fine with it), but one can argue that he’s always been manipulative with Jake, in fact I recall that being a huge thing about DirkxJake being a toxic relationship.  Basically saying that maybe Dirk really always has been an asshole.

I think a lot of people in fandoms still want to think of their villains as murderbabies or something, and there are villains who probably do deserve better, but it’s sometimes refreshing to be faced with a villain whose cunning comes seemingly out of left field. 

Dirk has always been sorta in touch with his other selves throughout the comic in some ways, but his character arc really drew on the horrible implications of him being linked with his other selves, even the ones he made and what it meant since it was seeded into the other mass manipulators, by himself actually, and into his puppet.

Which then brings us to the end of Meat, wherein alt Calliope uses Jade’s body to devour Lord English’s corpse in a way that got Aradia cheering.  This Calliope knew that Lord English was...more than just Caliborn but also a sweaty Void troll and an artificial version of Dirk, which is still linked with the other Dirks.  (Something worth mentioning is that Nepeta is the other Heart player).  Cherub romance and sexual style is said to be typically blackrom and said to be an attraction to a mate that reminds them of the sibling they overpowered and killed, which implies that maybe alt Calliope and Dirk could have been...a bit flirty with one another?  Does this mean eating that corpse was also a tad vore?  Dunno just food for thought. 

And then there is that last ominous line by him:

“I am already gone.”

Which echoes “He is already here”. 

Continuing the cycle of Sburb seems to imply that maybe Lord English was responsible for that, and that maybe all First Guardians really did have some link since their purpose was to perpetuate the cycle using the Green Sun.  And now Dirk just fucks off Earth C to do that.  It’s also stated that Earth C does eventually become barren and home of the Cherub players, which makes it kinda...depressing since it means they didn’t fully break the cycle, and what of the god tiers after that?

Although I did enjoy the meta stuff because last year I did go through a crisis a bit about the direction of certain fictional things but then I looked at some superhero stuff and how there are so many canons and verses and shit like that, which made me think about the fleetingness of canon.  So I do get that criticism of “what is canon anyway? lol” and the escape from canon being the only solution since canon is the “ouroboros”, the cycle in Homestuck which also prunes the broken time loops that ensure everything goes as planned.

Also I read Candy first, so that might have flavored (hehe) my perception differently than others.

[whitmerule]

oh yes, did I mention a very beloved pet/family member died yesterday morning? because that happened.

except it didn't 'happen' until...

I buried him. And had to make the decision about whether to pluck his tail feathers for grafting onto his cousin whose tail is broken (I did pluck them, in the end, and buried him without his beautiful long tail, but with some feathers from his husband).

Throwing camellias on top of the soft body in the soil is hard.

Throwing soil on top of the camellias is not so hard because you can't see what you're doing, and you know you can't touch him anymore.

But hardest is actually telling people about it. Because then they might acknowledge it. And they might sympathise. And THAT is when it becomes real. Because that's when you have to have Feelings.

Who ever drew the line between 'genuine' and 'performed' emotions? It's an artificial distinction. Performing an emotion is doing an emotion. Emotions are motions are actions are doings.

Action is creation. Emotion is action, quite literally.

We can feel a thing, but the moment in which we act upon that feeling is the moment in which we shape it and give it social and conscious meaning. And so that’s the moment when we have to face up to it.

And so that’s the moment when we have to say, fuck it. My beloved died.

I maybe could have stopped it if I did something different. But i don’t know what. And I’m sorry. And I did not tear up until I wrote those words. Because those words shape grief, in human terms. And before that, it was just... I have to move your body out from here, and cuddle it, because it isn’t stiff or cold yet, just in case it’s only hypothermia on top of whatever your existing condition it. I have to pet you, to comfort myself - and you,if you’re still in there. I have to call your husband over, and see what he does when you’re non-responsive. I have to offer the same option to Pumpkin, and Lucy, and Bucky, and...

And I have to choose what roots will grow in your body.

But these are all things I can do without acknowledging them to other humans. There might be a tear or two, and I wonder at the softness of your feathers, feeling like they should be stiffened as your body stiffens.

But that was over a day ago. And I did not cry over it until now as I write these words, for the eyes of other humans.

Because it is in the forming of emotions into stories that we make them, and make ourselves, and understand ourselves, and - oh, fuck it. I am a historian of emotion - I mean, seriously, that’s literally what my phd is in - but right now I am so very tired and I miss him and. I am tired.

I will literally be mid breakdown reblogging shit on tumblr it’s all a facade

[rosewind2007]

This is originally chapter 2 of a short story, Expurgate on AO3 (link provided below)

Murderbot and Humans and Augmented Humans

Murderbot frequently (82 times across the 6 books) refers to this apparent dichotomy between humans and augmented humans. It’s a dichotomy which may be unique to Murderbot’s perspective (or perhaps not).

In All Systems Red Murderbot says:

“Humans and augmented humans in close quarters with murderbots is too awkward.”

“It was based on a standard research group’s uniforms, and meant to be comfortable inside the habitat: knit gray pants, long-sleeved T-shirt, and a jacket, like the exercise clothes humans and augmented humans wore, plus soft shoes.”

“I popped the joint on my left arm so I could move it in a way not usually compatible with a human, augmented human, or murderbot body.”

“Bots who are “full citizens” still have to have a human or augmented human guardian appointed, usually their employer; I’d seen it on the news feeds.”

So there are four (4) occasions where Murderbot makes this distinction (which implies augmented humans are not the same category as humans).

I would also note that in All Systems Red Ratthi says:

“The practice is disgusting, it’s horrible, it’s slavery. This is no more a machine than Gurathin is—”

This implies some people see augmented humans (like Gurathin) as more like machines.

So, to restate, this dichotomy is (canonically) first mentioned in All Systems Red.

NB There is only one work which (in universe) pre-dates All Systems Red, the short story “The Future of Work: Compulsory”. In that ~1,000 word piece Murderbot doesn’t mention augmented humans at all. Maybe none are around, maybe the story is too short.

My e-books have ~35 lines per page ~7 words a line=>245 words a page. So “future of work” would be ~4 pages long: the book with the most mentions per page is Exit Strategy and that’s one within per ~9 pages.

A short story set pre All Systems Red where Murderbot mentions humans and augmented humans would change matters!

All Systems Red starts out with MB pretending to be a governed SecUnit. This is apparently a pretence no one (human, augmented human, construct or bot) has seen through in four years. This would (one must assume) include technicians familiar with constructs: but no one has spotted that MB is a rogue. Murderbot is, to be fair, behaving a lot like a SecUnit would normally behave (except for its obsession with watching media), and just doing its job.

But somehow Gurathin spots it, I reckon as early as page 38 (my e-copy):

Then Gurathin said, “What about your systems?”

Of course Gurathin later takes advantage of MB being incapacitated to confirm it is indeed rogue, and finds its “private name”. So, in All Systems Red, the one augmented human is indeed a threat to MB; though I would wonder if this is an ‘augmented human’ thing or a ‘Gurathin thing’.

At the end of ASR Murderbot heads off, initially blending in with the crowds (where it would look to an untrained eye like an augmented human). It then approaches a bot-pilot:

“It could have ignored me, but it was bored, and greeted me back and opened its feed for me. Bots that are also ships don’t talk in words. I pushed the thought toward it that I was a happy servant bot who needed a ride to rejoin its beloved guardian, and did it want company on its long trip? ”

So, interestingly, Murderbot initially (when approaching another machine intelligence) claims to be a bot.

Artificial Condition starts off with Murderbot disguising itself as an augmented human, walking through a transit ring. It is flustered by a newsfeed image of itself, where it is identified as a bodyguard. This indicates that an image of a SecUnit out of armour in casual clothes won’t flag visually as a SecUnit or construct—if this image has been widely available. It rattles Murderbot who then ends up not traveling on its initial choice of transport (delayed due to a coincidental hauler accident).

Due to this serendipitous accident it meets ART. (I can’t be the only one to wonder if it really was an accident ?)

It again tells the ship-bot that it is a free bot, a story (we all know) ART didn’t believe for one moment. ART lets MB settle in then introduces itself, and here we get a bit of explanation from MB:

“the presence in the feed was too big and diffuse for a human or augmented human, I could tell that much even through the feed walls protecting it. And it sounded like a bot. When humans speak in the feed, they have to subvocalize and their mental voice tends to sound like their physical voice. Even augmented humans with full interfaces do it.”

So Murderbot here explicitly describes bot presences and human and augmented human presences as detectably different in the feed. After a somewhat shaky start, ART helps Murderbot make a rather more impressive and effective augmented human disguise …this includes surgical modifications. Which clearly is a bit of a game changer.

In this book there are twelve (12) occasions when Murderbot makes the explicit distinction between humans and augmented humans.

So Murderbot seems to be thinking about the distinction quite a bit here.

Consider this exchange, prior to ART’s “makeover”:

That stung a little. “I can pass as an augmented human.” Augmented humans are still considered humans.

Murderbot reckons it can “pass” as an augmented human and it specifically states that augmented humans are still considered humans : the fact it feels obliged to state that seems germane. The use of “pass” in this context clearly has connotations of racial identity and gender identity. Which is rather beyond the scope of this little essay.

In Artificial Condition we have an augmented human who is, indeed, a (wannabe) threat to Murderbot and a very genuine threat to Murderbot’s humans. Tlacey is bad news. She also owns a construct, the ComfortUnit with whom she appears to have a pretty close (you can be close in a deeply unpleasant way) relationship; she even treats it like a SecUnit at times (or sends it to do a SecUnit’s job). BUT the threat the augmented humans are supposed to pose to Murderbot is that they’ll spot it for what it is, a rogue SecUnit: Tlacey fails to do this, despite the ComfortUnit figuring it out pretty quickly.

So here we have MB disguising itself against discovery by humans, augmented humans, constructs and bots, with varied degrees of success.

So far it seems that bots (well, ART—though we never know what that original bot-pilot actually believed) and constructs (is Tlacey’s ComfortUnit exceptional? we don’t know, it certainly seems to figure MB out fast—even identifying that it’s a Ganaka Pit SecUnit) are more likely to recognise MB for what it is (a rogue SecUnit) than humans (augmented or not).

As long as the human in question is not Gurathin.

The next book (Rogue Protocol) contains a record number of named augmented humans! It also starts off with MB on a transport with humans and augmented humans, none of whom see through its disguise as “Rin”, an augmented human. This is despite it spending twenty six (26) cycles with them. Remarkable performance from MB.

Back to the named augmented humans: Wilken and Gerth are both augmented (and both are threats to Murderbot’s humans—Don Abene’s crew—and by extension Murderbot) and there are also Vibol and Kader (on team GoodNightLander). On this adventure Murderbot impersonates firstly an augmented human security consultant when talking to Miki over the feed but has to come clean that it’s a SecUnit immediately it meets the humans (and augmented humans) in the flesh (its weapons ports are showing apart from everything else). And again, no one (though see below) and specifically none of the augmented humans spot that it’s a rogue.

I’m going to say that I for one reckon Miki knew right from the start MB wasn’t what it said it was. I think Miki saw straight through Murderbot’s “disguise”, because I am very much on team “Murderbot grossly underestimate Miki”—a team you don’t have to be on but let me present you with their first encounter:

“Miki the human-form bot followed, then stopped. It turned, and looked up at the drone I was riding. Its head cocked and I could tell it was focusing in on the camera.”

And when it introduces itself as Rin:

“That’s not your real name. I could tell through the feed it was genuinely confused. It doesn’t sound like you.”

But, regardless, Rogue Protocol has a lot of named augmented humans.

The big surprise for me is therefore that Rogue Protocol has the fewest mentions of all the books of the human/augmented human dichotomy—just three (3) mentions in the book:

“It was also bot-driven, no crew, but it carried passengers, mostly minimum to moderately skilled tech workers, human and augmented human, traveling to and from transit stations on temporary work contracts”

“I’d grabbed the first friendly cargo transport and after a seven-cycle trip I disembarked on a crowded transit hub, which was good, because crowds were easy to get lost in, and bad, because there were humans and augmented humans everywhere, all around me, looking at me, which was hell.”

“ART had altered my configuration so scans wouldn’t read me as a SecUnit, and I had written myself some code to make sure I behaved more like a human or augmented human.”

Which seems counter-intuitive. I’d note (just because it’s struck me before) that Rogue Protocol is the only book where Gurathin is not mentioned by name. Clearly this also strikes me because I have a strange fixation on the Gurathin/Murderbot relationship. I am not lacking self awareness here.

So, after our strangely dichotomy-less Rogue Protocol we move on to Exit Strategy where Murderbot meets back up with the PresAux Team! Including everyone’s (if not Murderbot’s) favourite augmented human, Dr. Gurathin. Now if, as I do, you think that a lot of this “humans and augmented humans” is actually all very much linked (subconsciously?) to Gurathin then you might expect a bit of a flurry of mentions of the dichotomy.

Exit Strategy does not disappoint such expectation. There are nineteen (19) mentions. This is the highest absolute number of mentions in the novellas, but also the highest number per page given the increasing length of the novellas across the series. It means the dichotomy is mentioned every 9 pages or so. The values for each of the books is given below, as “mention density” which I prefer to the “mentions per x no. of pages value”:

All Systems Red, 5 mentions 119 pages: density 4.2

Artificial Condition: 8.9

Rogue Protocol: 1.9

Exit Strategy: 11.4

Fugitive Telemetry: 9.6

Network Effect: 5.8

Let’s look at that as a graph:

[ID: mentions of the human/augmented human dichotomy in the Murderbot diaries as a bar chart, showing a high in ES and an anomalous low in RP/end ID]

It’s like poor Murderbot has all sorts of stressors being thrown at it, and one response it has is this mentioning “humans and augmented humans”. Of course despite MB’s expectations of him, Gurathin basically saves its life in Exit Strategy by operating the manual release. Gurathin is also there for it when it comes round after taking over the gunship.

The next book (in universe chronology) is Fugitive Telemetry. Here Murderbot is back with its Preservation Aux “crew”. Which is so great! Including Gurathin, with whom its relationship has blossomed; Gurathin even going so far as to blatantly tease it. I love this book. It is the only book set entirely in on Preservation Station. We’ve already gathered that Gurathin’s augments are at least a little unusual for Preservation? Of the original survey members Gurathin is the only augmented one, as Murderbot points out (before the whole “it calls itself Murderbot” thing when it’s perhaps more warmly inclined to him):

“He was the only augmented human in the group, so maybe he felt like an outsider, or something, even though the others clearly liked him.”

In Fugitive Telemetry we also get this information (as exactly how common augments are is something open to discussion):

“(None of them were augmented humans—apparently it wasn’t common to be feed augmented in the polities outside the Corporation Rim that used Preservation as a waystation.)”

In Fugitive Telemetry the dichotomy is mentioned seventeen (17) times. This is near the peak of Exit Strategy, but it is also a longer book.

There are clearly enough augmented humans on Preservation Station for Murderbot to comment that:

“For a name, I could use the local feed address that was hard coded into my neural interfaces. It wasn’t my real name, but it was what the systems I interfaced with called me. If I used it, the humans and augmented humans I encountered would think of me as a bot.”

The outcome of the meeting the quotation above comes from is that Fugitive Telemetry is the first book where Murderbot is operating openly (a lot of the time) as a (rogue) SecUnit. But it does disguise itself when it arrives to rescue the refugees in the life-tender:

“Oh, shit, my stupid, stupid feed ID that identified me as a SecUnit. Just as the hatch slid up, I switched it to the last one in my buffer, the Kiran ID I’d used on TranRollinHyfa.”

It is, of course, in this identity that SecUnit is discovered by Human One (and/or others) who shoots it. These are humans in a hugely stressed condition, who must be utterly terrified so I don’t really blame them. Human One, from what she says, knows SecUnits (she also spots that the armored hostile isn’t one).

So SecUnit, Murderbot, is again identified through its disguise BUT again it isn’t by an augmented human.

Throughout the novellas, Murderbot mentions the humans/augmented human dichotomy time and time (82 in total) again BUT only once is an augmented human a threat to it specifically by seeing through its disguise (be that as a governor modded SecUnit, or an augmented human). It does have its disguise seen through on various occasions by bots (ART for sure, and I would suggest Miki), constructs (Tlacey’s ComfortUnit) and by Human One.

So the idea (which apparently originates from Martha Wells herself) that MB notes the presence of augmented humans because they pose a unique threat doesn’t seem supported by the text so far. It would, logically, make sense—if augmented humans are immersed in the feed they would be more likely to notice something odd about MB’s disguise persona (as the machine intelligences appear to) BUT in canon the only augmented human to do this is Gurathin, who wants to know “how it spends its time” and has noticed some anomalies in the feed.

In my fiction this meta accompanies, Amena points out that in mentioning “humans and augmented humans” Murderbot is possibly constantly harping back to its initial discovery by Gurathin. He is the first and only augmented human who actually realizes this potential threat: that of revealing who and what Murderbot actually is, a rogue SecUnit.

Brief note on Network Effect:

Network Effect is a slightly odd book to deal with (it’s a novel, clearly: but there are other things at work). It has multiple POVs (MB, MB2.0 and Three) and it has flashbacks in the form of the HelpMe.files. I find it hard for this sort of brute force analysis to make direct comparisons with the novellas. The dichotomy this meta centres upon is mentioned 26 (twenty six) times, the highest absolute number BUT Network Effect is a novel, over twice the length of the longest novella (449 pages vs 178).

However, worthy of note are the augmented assassins:

One of the flashbacks features two augmented humans, who are a threat, but again not to our favourite rogue SecUnit’s “identity”. They are a special sort of augmented humans too: “less sentient than hauler bots” (direct quote there) kept drugged and docile and needing a human handler. These are augmented humans who Murderbot describes as more like machines than anything else. From Murderbot’s description (and yes, I don’t regard Murderbot as an altogether reliable narrator) are these two “more a machine” than a SecUnit? It’s probably an interesting discussion, especially as Murderbot explicitly refers to them as “less sentient than hauler bots”, a type of bot it doesn’t rate highly on the intelligence stakes at the best of times… As early as Artificial Condition “When constructs were first developed, they were originally supposed to have a pre-sentient level of intelligence, like the dumber variety of bot. But you can’t put something as dumb as a hauler bot in charge of security for anything without spending even more money for expensive company-employed human supervisors. So they made us smarter. The anxiety and depression were side effects.”

So here it contrasts the intelligence of SecUnits with that of hauler bots, again in a derogatory way: “as dumb as a hauler ”.

Of course there is also the issue of what an “augmented human” is to MB: is it simply a human with augments (of any sort) or when it refers to “augmented humans” is it thinking of a category it has defined? This topic is, for now, beyond the scope of this essay.

[architectnews]

David Chipperfield completes "surgical" overhaul of Mies van der Rohe's Neue Nationalgalerie

The renovation of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, Germany, has been completed by British practice David Chipperfield Architects.

David Chipperfield Architects' overhaul, which began in 2012, involved refurbishing the building's ageing concrete structure and steel, glass exterior while modernising its services.

David Chipperfield has completed the Neue Nationalgalerie renovation

The studio's intervention, which it described as "surgical", preserves Mies van der Rohe's original vision for the gallery as far as possible, ensuring that any new additions are subordinate to it.

"Taking apart a building of such unquestionable authority has been a strange experience but a privilege," said the studio's founder David Chipperfield.

The overhaul preserves Mie's original designs

"The Neue Nationalgalerie is a touchstone for myself and many other architects. Seeing behind its exterior has revealed both its genius and its flaws, but overall it has only deepened my admiration for Mies' vision," Chipperfield explained.

"Our work was therefore surgical in nature, addressing technical issues to protect this vision," he continued. "Certainly carrying out such a task in a building that leaves no place to hide is daunting, but we hope to have returned this beloved patient seemingly untouched except for it running more smoothly."

The building's envelope was refurbished

Completed in 1968, the Neue Nationalgalerie is one of Mies van der Rohe's last major projects and the only building he designed in Europe after his emigration to the USA.

This is the first time in the building's history that it has undergone a major renovation.

David Chipperfield Architects' updates to the building's envelope involved improving insulation, replacing glazing and refreshing the steel frame of its distinctive canopy.

Its reinforced concrete shell was also repaired. This process required temporarily removing 35,000 original building components, such as the podium's stone cladding and all interior fittings, in order to expose the structure.

Stone detailing inside was preserved

Alongside the renovation of the building envelope, David Chipperfield Architects has updated the building's air-conditioning and artificial lighting to improve energy performance.

The lower level has been partially reconfigured to maximise storage space and improve access to visitor facilities, which include the cloakroom, cafe, bathrooms and museum shop.

The lower ground facilities have also been updated

Some storage and technical spaces have been relocated to a new underground space below the gallery's podium terrace, which has freed up space for an "exhibition preparation area".

Completing the renovation is a ramp on the southeast of the building, which leads to the terrace and main entrance, making the museum "barrier-free" for the first time.

The shop is among the improved facilities

Neue Nationalgalerie is expected to reopen to the public in August 2021. A museum by the Swiss architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron is currently being developed for a site beside it. The design, unveiled in 2018, will involve linking the buildings by a tunnel.

Other recent projects by David Chipperfield Architects include The Bryant concrete skyscraper in New York and the limestone-clad extension to Kunsthaus Zurich.

Photography is by Simon Menges.

The post David Chipperfield completes "surgical" overhaul of Mies van der Rohe's Neue Nationalgalerie appeared first on Dezeen.

[allenmendezsr]

Red Eyed Tree Frog Secrets

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/red-eyed-tree-frog-secrets/

Red Eyed Tree Frog Secrets

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    World Renowned Red-Eyed Tree Frog Experts Say…

Your Red-Eyed Tree Frog may be seriously ill if it:

Experiences excessive weight loss

Is bloated or swollen in the abdominal region

Is not growing at a proper rate

Has difficulty moving

Has abnormal growths, such as pale patches or lumps

Is extremely dark in colour

Has loose stool, or a lack of stool

Has a loss of appetite

Becomes lethargic

Has reddening of the skin around the legs or abdomen

Has swelling on the body, legs or head

Has difficulty breathing

From the desk of Chris Johnson Date :

RE: An Urgent Message To All Red-Eyed Frog Enthusiasts!

Dear Lover of Red-Eyed Tree Frogs:

Did you decide to invest in a Red-Eyed Tree Frog over a more conventional pet, thinking you could just put it in an aquarium and forget about it?

Do you want to own a Red-Eyed Tree Frog so you have a cool pet to play with and hold all the time?

Actually…

You Could Not Be More Wrong!

I personally love Red-Eyed Tree frogs. I think they are the most amazing little creatures on the planet. I have raised and kept Red-Eyed Tree frogs for many, many years. Therefore, I have come to be somewhat of an expert on the subject of keeping these little guys happy and healthy.

Unfortunately, not all Red-Eyed Tree Frog owners have the knowledge and experience that I and other experts possess. These people just go out to the local pet store or herp shop and expect to purchase a Red-Eyed Tree Frog that is just as easy to care for as the common goldfish. As a result, these inexperienced owners make mistakes that are detrimental to the health of their cherished Red-Eyed Tree Frog!

In order to fully understand and care for Red-Eyed Tree Frogs properly, it is important to learn about not only the history of frogs, but the anatomy and physiology of the Red-Eyed Tree Frog as well. Over the past sixty years, the frog population has been declining. Over a third of the frog species in the world are at a risk for extinction, and at least 120 species are thought to have vanished from the earth within the past thirty years. Therefore…

A Number Of Captive Breeding Programs Have Been Created In An Effort To Rescue These Endangered Species!

As a result, a breeding revolution has begun! However, only recently has captive breeding reached an acceptable level of success for the Red-Eyed Tree Frog. Although successful captive breeding has led to a somewhat brighter future for the Red-Eyed Tree Frog, their endangered status puts them on the list in many states for restricted or licensed collection, transportation and ownership. Be sure to check with the United States Department of the Interior, or local game and fisheries commissions to gain knowledge of any restrictions in your area.

The Red-Eyed Tree Frog is indigenous to Mexico and Central America, and a few may be found in Northern Columbia. Like other tree frogs, Red-Eyed Tree Frogs generally thrive in tropical forests near water. Just imaging tearing a Red-Eyed Tree Frog from its natural habitat near natural rivers and lakes where the temperatures and humidity levels are just right…and putting them…

In Your Backyard!

Unless you live in a tropical rain forest, it is doubtful that your backyard has favourable conditions for the Red-Eyed Tree Frog…meaning you must create an artificial environment similar to the frogs natural habitat.

Do not expect to just through the Red-Eyed Tree Frog in a cage with a little food and water. It is just not that simple!

This is where many frog lovers run into trouble. Most people are clueless when it comes to raising Red-Eyed Tree Frogs and are oblivious to the related expense. Because of everything you need to build an appropriate habitat…owning a Red-Eyed Tree Frog can be quite costly!

Luckily, over my several years of raising Red-Eyed Tree Frogs, I have discovered quite a few tips and tricks that you can use to save money…while still providing your Red-Eyed Tree Frog with a top-notch, luxurious habitat!

Sure, you could spend countless hours on the Internet reading webpage after webpage about Red-Eyed Tree Frogs; however, you still may not know everything you need to provide your beloved pet with the best possible care. The reason for this is that many of the people who write the articles on these websites do not have a clue how to take proper care of a Red-Eyed Tree Frog!

It is like Helen Keller helping Louis Braille across the street!

Why in the world would you want to waste a moment of your time trying to learn from such newbies when you can have the advantage of acquiring knowledge from a seasoned Red-Eyed Frog enthusiast?

Do not hope you are doing everything right…know the exact techniques for caring for your Red-Eyed Tree Frog. Introducing my book…

“Red-Eyed Tree Frog Secrets”

Professional breeders and pet shop owners do not want you to learn all the secrets in this exceptional book. The reason for that is once you hear what I have to say about taking care of Red-Eyed Tree Frogs…

You will know

how to determine if your Red-Eyed Tree Frog is healthy or needs to go to the vet right away

You will know

the proper foods to keep your Red-Eyed Tree Frog happy and healthy

You will know

the warning signs of common health problems that plague Red-Eyed Tree Frogs

You will know

what to do if your Red-Eyed Tree Frog has any type of infection

You will know

how to treat abrasions, wounds and even trauma

I could have tried to sell my book in pet stores, but shop owners seemed to…

All Have A Lame Excuse About It Being “Too Informative” for The Common Pet Owner To Comprehend!

Therefore, I have decided to make this information directly accessible to your via the Internet…making it available for immediate download. No matter if you are considering owning a Red-Eyed Tree Frog, or you already have one of these lovable creatures at home…you will be able to refer to this book time and time again to ensure you are treating your Red-Eyed friend properly.

“I Own 3 Red-Eyed Tree Frogs… This Book Taught Me Things I’d Never Heard Of!”

I am the proud owner of three healthy Red-Eyed Tree Frogs that are absolutely adorable! I thought I was taking proper care of them, but after reading this book, I realized I was making several horrible mistakes! I recommend this book to all Red-Eyed Tree Frog lovers!

~ Beth Soupton, OK

“I Am So Glad I Read This Book Before I Bought A Red-Eyed Tree Frog!”

I searched on the Internet for Red-Eyed Tree Frogs and I found this awesome book. I am so glad I downloaded this book. Following the wonderful advice contained within these pages, I was able to avoid being ripped off by a number of local pet stores…who were trying to sell unhealthy frogs. Finally, I was able to find the perfect Red-Eyed Tree Frog just by following the steps in this book! Thank you!

~ Todd Anderson, NC

“The Local Pet Store Is Furious!”

I followed the simple steps outlined in this book and went to the local pet store, where I pointed out the problems with the Red-Eyed Tree Frogs they had for sale. The owner’s facial expression was priceless, when a customer who ALMOST purchased a sick Red-Eyed Tree Frog decided to take his business elsewhere, as did I. Many thanks!

~ Jillian Fuchs, NY

After you have chosen the Red-Eyed Tree Frog that is right for you, it is crucial that you learn how to communicate with your new little friend. Unfortunately, Red-Eyed Tree Frogs do not talk; therefore, you must rely on body language to determine if your frog is happy and healthy.

Learning to understand the body language of the Red-Eyed Tree Frog is very important to ensure your beloved pet has everything it needs!

“This Book Was Exactly What I Needed!”

I am beyond pleased with the “Red-Eyed Tree Frog Secrets” book. I just bought it, expecting to read information I was already aware of as an experienced frog owner. However, one page was spot on with a problem I have been having with my Red-Eyed Tree Frog. My frog is happier and healthier than ever! Thanks a bunch!

~ Amy Swindle, CA

By reading this book, you will learn:

The first sign that your Red-Eyed Tree Frog is in need of medical attention

How to tell your frog is unhappy with its habitat

How to maintain a hygienic enclosure that is safe for you and your Red-Eyed Tree Frog

How to make sure your Red-Eyed Tree Frog is getting the proper amount of light and heat

How to ensure your frogs’ skin stays nice and moist, especially during the daytime

About the proper diet for your Red-Eyed Tree Frog, including supplementation of minerals and adequate consumption

To overcome the challenges of breeding Red-Eyed Tree Frogs

To understand breeding behaviour

How to find the right veterinarian

What to do when faced with common problems, such as stress, obesity and poisoning

“My 10-Year-Old Loves Her Red-Eyed Tree Frog!”

My 10-year-old daughter wanted to get a Red-Eyed Tree Frog for Christmas so bad. However, my husband and I were concerned that she would not be able to take care of such a delicate creature properly. So, we downloaded “Red Eyed Tree Frog Secrets” and read it together before agreeing to buy her one of her own. We are proud to report that she is following all of the steps that she learned in the book and taking very good care of her new best friend. She has even impressed friends and neighbors with her knowledge!

~ Jill Thompson, NM

“Now I Can Take Better Care Of My Red-Eyed Tree Frogs!”

I have been breeding Red-Eyed Tree Frogs for a number of years, so I believed myself to be somewhat of an expert. That was until I came across this book online. Now, I know how to take the best care of all of my Red-Eyed Tree Frogs!

~ Tomas Gonzales, TX

One of the most important things that you will learn about in this book is creating the proper environment for your Red-Eyed Tree Frog. Keep in mind that in order for your frog to thrive, you must mimic their natural habitat as closely as possible.

Some of the things you will learn about include:

Cages and Enclosures. Red-Eyed Tree Frogs require an adequate amount of ventilation. These active creatures need plenty of space, both vertically as well as horizontally. You cage and enclosure options include glass aquaria and the like, plastic storage containers, screen cages and several custom made options.

Substrates. The problems you are having with your Red-Eyed Tree Frog may be related to the type of material that you are using to line your cage. Your frog needs something that will retain moisture and help to keep the habitat humid. Avoid any substrates that may cause abrasions to the underbelly of your Red-Eyed Tree Frog. The substrate that you choose should be easy to keep clean and harmless if accidently ingested. The best options for substrates include a bare cage bottom, paper towels, foam rubber, reptile carpeting, coconut husk fibre, soil, moss, bark, mulch, gravel and stones.

Water Sources. Red-Eyed Tree Frogs are amphibians, which means they do not drink water the way mammals do. Instead, they absorb moisture through their skin. Therefore, they need a fresh container of water for soaking.

Heating Options. These cold-blooded amphibians require an ambient temperature of air in order to maintain a healthy body temperature. In addition to an accurate digital thermometer, you will also need to learn about alternative ways to keep your Red-Eyed Tree Frog warm and healthy, including light bulbs, hot rocks and reptile heat pads.

Furnishings. The Red-Eyed Tree Frog spends most of its time in the wild resting on leaves or branches high above the ground. Proper furnishings are crucial to the health and happiness of your pet.

Maintaining Proper Humidity Levels. If your Red-Eyed Tree Frog is not getting the humidity that it needs, its skin may dry out. The humidity level in your frog’s enclosure should stay between 60% and 90%, which is much higher than most homes. A humidity gauge is crucial to ensure your Red-Eyed Tree Frog stays moist and happy.

Lighting Options. Unlike many reptiles, the Red-Eyed Tree Frog does not require special ultraviolent light. The incandescent light you are using for a heat source may be sufficient.

And Much More!

In addition to providing your Red-Eyed Tree Frog with the right enclosure, you must also learn the proper way to handle your pet. You have probably noticed how at ease expert owners are when handling these delicate creatures…this is because they know exactly what they are doing as well as what NOT to do!

“I Am Having A Blast With My Red-Eyed Tree Frog!”

Before I read “Red-Eyed Tree Frog Secrets”, I was nervous about taking my frog out of his cage. Now, by using the tips I learned in this book, I am able to handle my Red-Eyed Tree Frog comfortably. Thank you for making me a happy frog owner!

~ Edison McCormick, MD

A proper diet is essential to raising a happy Red-Eyed Tree Frog that will be around for many years. If your frog is fed properly, it will grow properly and live a long, healthy life. Unfortunately, a number of pet owners are not aware of the foods that they should be feeding their Red-Eyed Tree Frog.

“This Book Saved Me From A Huge Vet Bill!”

My Red-Eyed Tree Frog, Thor, was not eating like I thought he should…I was just about to take him to the vet, which would have cost me at least a few hundred dollars. Before I packed Thor up for a trip to the vet, I downloaded “Red Eyed Tree Frog Secrets” and boy am I glad I did! In just a few short days, he was back to eating like his old self. Thank you so much for the help!

~ Emily Candovar, GA

Get ready to learn:

What to do if your frog is off colour and not the beautiful specimen it once was

The best way to make sure your Red-Eyed Tree Frog is getting all the vitamins and supplements it needs to thrive

What to do if your Red-Eyed Tree Frog has a decreased appetite or refuses to eat at all

10 types of insects that you should feed your Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Why you should never try to feed your Red-Eyed Tree Frog freeze dried or pre-killed food

The best time of day to feed your Red-Eyed Tree Frog to ensure it stays happy and healthy

The best way to ensure your Red-Eyed Tree Frog is neither overfed or underfed

A number of tips for “gut loading” the insects that you feed your Red-Eyed Tree Frog

If you have made it this far and you are still interested in hearing what I have to say, you know the abundance of valuable information that I am willing to reveal to you in order to keep your Red-Eyed Tree Frog looking and feeling its very best. In fact, your veterinarian may not even know as much about Red-Eyed Tree Frogs…just because he or she is not a Red-Eyed Tree Frog expert!

In this book, you are also going to learn about several advanced topics related to the proper care of Red-Eyed Tree Frogs, including:

How To Breed Red-Eyed Tree Frogs Like A Pro!

Obviously, successfully breeding your own Red-Eyed Tree Frogs requires a certain level of knowledge and expertise. However, breeding these fine creatures can be quite a rewarding experience…if you know what you are doing!

Through my book, “Red Eyed Tree Frog Secrets”, I am going to teach you everything that I have learned from my personal experience with breeding my own Red-Eyed Tree Frogs.

You can expect to learn:

Things to consider before you get started breeding your own Red-Eyed Tree Frogs

How to determine if you Red-Eyed Tree Frogs are ready to breed

Why Red-Eyed Tree Frogs call and when they are most vocal

The difference in size and shape between male and female Red-Eyed Tree Frogs

What nuptial pads are and where you can find them

How to understand breeding behaviour

When the breeding season occurs

How to simulate the rainy season of Central American forests, when the weather is warm and rainfall is unceasing

Precautions you should take to ensure competing male Red-Eyed Tree Frogs do not harm one another

Red-Eyed Tree Frog eggs and what you need to do to take care of them

What to do during the tadpole stage, including housing, water quality and filtration, feeding, anatomy and physiology, metamorphosis and problems that may arise

Housing and feeding juvenile Red-Eyed Tree Frogs

To put it bluntly…

You Cannot Find The Same Quality Of Information Anywhere Else… Unless You Personally Are A Red-Eyed Tree Frog Expert!

None of the many tips and techniques that you find in “Red Eyed Tree Frog Secrets” are based simply on theory, as is the case with many publications on the subject. The information contained throughout this book is based on many years of experience as a Red-Eyed Tree Frog owner and breeder.

This is what I do, so you can rest assured that I know exactly what I am talking about when it comes to Red-Eyed Tree Frogs.

Stop spending every waking moment worrying whether you are doing what is best for your Red-Eyed Tree Frog with this handy guide that tells you exactly what you need to do is every situation.

This book is written for you the home Red-Eyed Tree Frog owner, so you can bet that it is 100% practical and does not go into sophisticated detail.

I want to make taking proper care of your Red-Eyed Tree Frog even easier, so I am going to include these awesome bonuses:

BONUS #1: 20 Frequently Asked Questions About The Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Over the years, I have worked with hundreds of Red-Eyed Tree Frog owners. I have found that all of the questions that they ask are somewhat similar when it comes to caring for their pets. It is likely that if you were to have a sit down with me, you would be asking many of these questions yourself.

Therefore, I have compiled all of the most challenging questions about Red-Eyed Tree Frogs, including my answers to them all!

Have no fear; I am not a vet just trying to make money off costly medicines and unnecessary treatments. Nor am I a pet store owner selling Red-Eyed Tree Frogs. So, you can trust me to provide you with honest answers to even the toughest questions…

Do Red-Eyed Tree Frogs carry any transferrable diseases?

Is it safe to catch a Red-Eyed Tree Frog in the wild and keep it as a pet?

How do healthy Red-Eyed Tree Frogs act?

What is the best type of cage for my Red-Eyed Tree Frog?

These are just a few of the questions that you will find answers to in this amazing special report.

BONUS #2: Red-Eyed Tree Frog Shopping List

Have you ever wondered if you have all of the right equipment and supplies that you need in order to provide your Red-Eyed Tree Frog with the best possible care?

I have created for you a life of

everything you need for your Red-Eyed Tree Frog, from enclosures to water bowls, including details.

Print a copy of the list and take it with you on your next shopping trip…so you will not be rushing out for important supplies while your pet rests in a plastic cup.

This special bonus is a must-have for all Red-Eyed Tree Frog owners!

BONUS #3: Red-Eyed Tree Frog Handling And Sanitation

This is another valuable resource you will not want to be without as a Red-Eyed Tree Frog owner. I recommend this guide to all frog owners new and old!

This handy guide walks you through all the steps to

properly handling your Red-Eyed Tree Frog and keeping the experience safe for you and your froggy friend.

So What Is This All Worth To You?

Think about this – The average lifespan of a healthy Red-Eyed Tree Frog is around five years. If you are already an owner or considering purchasing one of these fine animals…you need to plan to spend the next five years of your life caring for it.

During that time, you need to make sure that your Red-Eyed Tree Frog as a comfortable place to live and you carry out your duties as a responsible pet owner. Now, we are all aware this is not something that is going to come easy…or inexpensive. In fact, just creating the habitat alone may cost you hundreds of dollars.

You need to ask yourself how much money you plan to spend on…

An enclosure for your Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Supplies like heat rocks, light bulbs and other necessities

Breeding supplies, if you plan to breed your own Red-Eyed Tree Frogs

Food for your Red-Eyed Tree Frog, as live insects tend to be kind of pricy

And much, much more…

It goes without saying, owning Red-Eyed Tree Frogs is not the least expensive hobby. However, if you follow the methods and techniques presenting in this book, you will be able to find everything you need to keep your pet happy.

How can this knowledge alone save you money?

The proper care and handling of your Red-Eyed Tree Frog will save you hundreds of dollars per visit in veterinarian fees, not to mention the heartache of losing your beloved pet because you did not give it proper care.

I have made it my mission to help as many Red-Eyed Tree Frog owners as I can. My book, “Red Eyed Tree Frog Secrets” is available for you to download for a low, low price, and you will be able to read it immediately or print it out so you can refer to is at any time.

You read correctly. You can own your very own copy of “Red Eyed Tree Frog Secrets” for less than the cost of a month of supplies. Say goodbye to feelings of worry and frustration and hello to the confidence of knowing exactly what to do.

Still not convinced it is worth it! What if I though in a…

100% Money Back Guarantee!

I believe that every Red-Eyed Tree Frog owner should read this book because the information that you learn can greatly improve the life of your pet.

As a matter of fact, I am so sure that you and your Red-Eyed Tree Frog are going to benefit from this book that I am willing to offer you a 100% money back guarantee. Download “Red Eyed Tree Frog Secrets” for a full 60 days and try the techniques for yourself. If you are not completely satisfied that you have become a better owner for your Red-Eyed Tree Frog…let me know and I will refund every last cent of your money.

In addition, the book and all of the bonuses are yours to keep for FREE, just to let you know how much I appreciate your business.

If you own a Red-Eyed Tree Frog, this book is for you.

Get your copy today!

“Yes, Chris! I Want To Download My Very Own Copy Of Red Eyed Tree Frog Secrets Right Now!”

It is my understanding that if I act right now, I will gain access to an immediate download of this eBook full of tips that I will not find anywhere else for taking better care of my Red-Eyed Tree Frog. In addition, I will also learn valuable information on the proper food and supplies I need to keep my Red-Eyed Tree Frog healthy and happy.

I also understand that if I am not completely satisfied with this eBook, I will be granted an unconditional 100% refund, allowing me to keep all three special bonuses just for trying the book.

As a valued customer, your privacy is my utmost priority. Your information is always encrypted and will never be shared with 3rd parties.

NOTE: Your Copy Of Red Eyed Tree Frog Secrets Is Available For Instant Download Anytime Night Or Day!

Sincerely,

Chris Johnson Author, Red Eyed Tree Frog Secrets http://www.RedEyedTreeFrogSecrets.com

P.S. Let me just say this. If you are not willing to pay this small price in order to learn how to take better care of your Red-Eyed Tree Frog, and eliminate frustration and worry from your daily life forever, you should NOT own a Red-Eyed Tree Frog. Otherwise, reserve your copy of this wonderful book right now. Remember, your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed!

Red Eyed Tree Frog Secrets by Axon Media

© 2011 – 2014 All Rights Reserved

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How to care human hair wigs with the lowest cost

Wig care is of grave importance for those who wish for a pleasant and prolonged use of their hair wigs. Just like natural human hair, wigs also need maintenance and care. Unless proper care, they can get damaged and get roughed up easily which will affect their overall quality and look. Therefore, always make sure to give them the time and love they need. However, wig care can cost some of your money as well. But no need to worry as we have got it covered for you. We bring you the cheapest way to provide the necessary wig care to your beloved wig.

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Above stated tips are really easy to implement and can do that job for you. They are inexpensive; in fact, some of it won't even require a single penny from you and can still provide the first-rate care for your wig. So, make sure to follow these tips every day for a prolonged and best use of your wig.

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