#i’ll always make time for atg

[moonpascal]

these tags i WHEEZED AHAHAH my bad 🤭

it’s your fault i’m scrolling through Pinterest looking at my atg folder 😭

[jeannereames]

Hi, love your blog and your books, they have been good for my knowledge, they had made clear some points that were cover by the mist of ignorance, I mean, when I was at school my teachers didn't know about Alexander so when we saw him in history class there were a lot of incoherences (sorry for my poor grammar, I'm still learning english).

Hephaestion is an interesting character, we don't know much about him but I have always wonder how he was as a husband, in my research it seems that he wasn't so interest in women like others were. I have wonder if that make him a careless or a typical (in the context of the history) husband? Did he marry because Alexander say so or because he wants to ensure his place? Does he felt pity for the girl or he didn't care about her at all? Was a better husband than Alexander?

And talking about Drypetis, we know about the famous beauty of her mother and of Roxanne. But how do you think that beauty was? Certainly, not like my modern view about attractiveness of a female, so I wonder yours.

Sorry for the long post! 🙃

We know nothing about his interest (or lack of it) in women. He did marry in Susa in 324 because Alexander told him to…along with 90 other officers. That doesn’t mean he was against the idea—may have been one of the few fully in favor of it for the politics.

While fictionally I’ll make hay over his lack of recorded lovers (of either gender), from an academic point of view…it’s meaningless.

This is probably a good time to review “arguments from silence,” and why they’re so tricky.

An ARGUMENT FROM SILENCE suggests a lack of evidence is significant. BUT this only works if one can demonstrate that such evidence ought to be there…and isn’t.

That’s hard to do for the ancient world as “a lack of evidence” describes our cursed lot. My modern historian colleagues are regularly astonished by how little we have, and what we can spin out from that little.

I bring this up is because arguments from silence are too common in pop history, which too often does them badly due to a lack of understanding regarding 1) what evidence IS available, 2) what should be available, and 3) what’s absolutely unsurprising not to find.

Sometimes students will ask me, “But didn’t they write stuff like that down?” (‘That’ varying.) The answer is often, “No.” Or more colorfully, “They didn’t give a shit.” Even in the Roman Empire, they lacked bureaucratic record-keeping as we understand it. In Greece, centuries earlier, a few city-states kept some records, but most didn’t, especially prior to the mid-4thCentury BCE. It’s connected to the ��epigraphic habit”: the desire to record information (in public) for posterity, and the idea that record-keeping might be a good general idea often merge.

Even so, WHAT they thought worthy of recording isn’t always what we’d like to know. This, in turn, pertains to how they wrote historical texts: what they chose to report (or not).

So, with that background…

The problem with knowing Hephaistion’s sexual interest (or lack of it) in women is how and why our sources relate such information.

In short: they mostly don’t.

This owes to their LASER focus on Alexander. Even then, what each source tells about him varies. I think we can probably be sure we know all Alexander’s wives, although Barsine’s status is not completely clear (imo). I assume she was at least a palakē, which is a formal mistress: less than a wife, but more than a hetaira. Yet given Macedonian marriage practices, perhaps she was a wife in Macedonian eyes? The Greeks regularly “demoted” Macedonian royal wives to mistresses, so I don’t trust our sources on this score.

Whatever the case, we don’t know all Alexander’s female (or male) sexual liaisons outside his wives because the sources mostly don’t care. When they do care (ala Plutarch and Curtius), it’s for some—often Romanized—moral point. Which is a looong-ass way from anything the Macedonians cared about.

And if we don’t even know his, how can we assume we know his officers’? Hell-to-the-no!

We hear about these women only if they matter to the larger (Alexander-driven) narrative. So we know the name of Philotas’s mistress, Antigonē, because she was hired by Krateros to bring pillow talk back to Alexander. We know Harpalus’s mistresses because he spent oodles of treasury funds on them, and got in trouble for it (twice). We recognize the name Laïs because she later became the long-time mistress (palakē) of Ptolemy I, mother of some of his important offspring in the Successor wars.

Ergo, not knowing the names of Hephaistion’s mistresses—or whether he had any—is not significant. Outside of special circumstance, we wouldn’t expect to.

We DO know the name of his wife from the mass-marriages at Susa in the spring of 324 because she was a princess, sister of Alexander’s wife, and her selection for him had distinct political significance. Yet that doesn’t mean he didn’t have a wife already, back in Macedon. Others of Alexander’s officers did–one reason many promptly divorced their Persian brides after Alexander’s death. I note the possibility largely as it illustrates the level of what we don’t know.

My educated hunch is that Hephaistion’s marriage to Drypetis was his first marriage. And I don’t believe he had any children (even by-blows), or we’d have heard about them as a result of Alexander’s extravagant grief. Yet this is far from saying he had no mistresses—or boyfriends, for that matter.

Regarding Drypetis and his relationship with her…it’s a complete blank. We just don’t know how Hephaistion treated her, what she thought of him, or what he thought of her. They weren’t married long enough. The weddings were in early spring, after ATG got back to Susa following the Gedrosian march/rest in Karmania. He spent a while sorting business in Susa before he went on to Opis (and subsequent unrest/mutiny there). I suspect Hephaistion and Drypetis were married no more than 6-7 months. He died in early/mid-October. She wasn’t pregnant by his death, but given how busy that period was, it could be a function of his duties and lack of time.

As for the beauty of Persian royal/elite women, it seems to have been something remarked upon by more than just Alexander historians. We lack images of Achaemenid Persians, alas, but below is a lapis lazuli bust of among the most famous: Atossa, daughter of Cyrus, wife of Darius, and mother of Xerxes (lived second half of the 6th century BCE). Note the large eyes, high eyebrows (apparently plucked), and small mouth. Given the tendency to idealizing in Ancient Near Eastern art, this suggests what would have been considered high beauty.

Beneath her is a Roman copy of Praxiteles’s original Aphrodite of Knidos—considered the ideal of Greek female beauty in the early-mid 4th century BCE (based on the incomparable Phryne, Praxiteles’s mistress).

Both have an oval face with full cheeks, and we can see Aphrodite’s nicely plump. That meant something! She had enough to eat = wealth. The modern starved-skinny model with long face, strong jaw, and stark cheekbones…that’s attractive now partly owing to what photographs well: prominent features and thinness (because the camera adds pounds). Persians and Greeks preferred rounder features, heart-shaped faces, small bow mouths, soft jaws, and fullness in the body (plump, not overweight). About the only hold-over would be large eyes.

What I haven’t really noted is coloring…other than a preference for pale skin as that signified one had slaves (= rich) and didn’t have to work in the fields outside. Hair color and eye color just wasn’t that big of a deal. Sometimes it comes to the fore: gray-eyed Athena. (Although the word is generic for blue/gray/greenish.) Similar for Apollo and Dionysos, in the Homeric hymns. Dionysos had black hair there (as did Apollo). Both “blond-up” only in the Classical era. And Hera was noted for her extraordinarily beautiful “cow-eyes.” E.g., large and dark-dark brown.

BUT, because I love to support the Gingers of the World…RED-blond hair was considered the most desired in Greece. Aphrodite was a strawberry blonde (at least sometimes), as was Helen…when anybody bothered to note it. And (quite probably) Alexander.

[aquagustd]

Would you mind sharing which fics you plan to remove, and why you feel uncomfortable? :( Would love to read them one last time! I've been reading since ATG and loved all your works, thanks so much for sharing.

ah thank you you’ve been here since the beginning 🥹🖤 well, there’s some fics that i want to add to my archive post bc i plan to rewrite them & others im gonna take down forever 🫣

mostly, the ones i’m gonna take down are some of the pwps. like i had a good think the other day & writing pwps & posting them really doesn’t make me happy? ig. it’s not my thing i believe. seems pointless for me (for myself, not any other writer obvi). i know all my stories have smut in them but more than anything i like writing a good story with good characters & a good plot.

the ones i’m gonna add to the archive bc i wanna rewrite (simply bc i feel i can do a better job with the story & my writing in general) — not around, blind whispers, lisp and all that glitters. — all these fics will still be up.

ones i’m gonna take down (but i will put it up someday again if i feel like, i’ll still keep an eye out for plagiarists like i always am) — challenge & detention. these two fics somehow make me extremely uncomfortable to read. idk what even possessed me to write them 🥴 challenge had no plot whatsoever. like not even a smidge. & detention…i’m even embarrassed to talk about. a teacher-student affair? in high school? nope. this is just my opinion ofc.

i know you guys enjoyed reading them but i feel personally i could do much better with the ones i plan to rewrite.

[tzalmavet]

bunnybuddybonnie replied to your post: “can someone who’s been more into major fandoms...”

Ye the fandom from the renaissance seemed to strip away a lot of Snufmins interesting contrasting personality from the books for the sake of easy basic happy relationship vibes. This could be a result of ATG but I feel like the 90s anime being a popular adaptation is also partly to blame. The 90s anime also strips a lot of interesting personality from the characters for the sake of happy aesthetic. Not as bad as the fandom but it could be part of where its coming from.

Oh indeed indeed!  Like, I can’t completely fault fanartists for not knowing how to write Toft, or not knowing how much everyone in Moominvalley loves coffee, because things do get lost in translation to another medium!

But I guess what makes it so... unpleasant and weird... to me is how snufmin, Snufkin, and Moomintroll are all almost everyone seems to care about.  Every other fandom I’m in, there’s ALWAYS been people who don’t just write the main pairings and characters-- they’ll be off writing stories about another aspect of the media that they like, or who their favorite character is.  At this moment, there are 1,687 works in Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson on Ao3.  If you exclude snufmin from search results, that number goes down to 753. I don’t see modern fans who are really into other characters like Fillyjonk, the Hemulen, or even Sniff!  It’s almost all about Snufkin and/or Moomintroll, even in fics that aren’t romantic.  I’ll be real with you: I like Snufkin.  I, like many Snufkin fans, relate to him, and I admit I probably even project on him a bit.  But the Snufkin I see in most fanfics I read?  That’s someone else.

And Moomins isn’t like OFF where almost nobody has recurring speaking roles or names, and worldbuilding is vague and sparse, making fanon interpretation practically mandatory.  Moomins has a LOT of characters.  It has a LOT of reference for how they behave.  Canon characterization in Moomins does change from book to book, and by adaptation, but like... a lot of the time, fanon characterization doesn’t even feel like it’s from any of those!! And what’s also weird is how many Moomins fanartists are the type who like to dig for additional lore and will STILL write Snufkin and Moomin like that.  Even if they don’t have access to the books, they’re thirsty for that sweet canon content!  And they’ll learn it-- be like “cool! I love that!”-- and go right back to writing Typical Snufmin Fanfic #935.  They’ll talk about how much love they think a minor character deserves, but as artists they choose to make only what everyone else does.  There’s a branch of fanworks that gush over Joxter and the Oshun Oxtra crew, yeah, but the made up characterization in those is a whole nother animal.  There are these artists who know a lot about Moomins’s lore and world and side characters, and they claim to be hype about it all and think it’s super underrated, and YET all they choose to draw or write is the same old thing with a different sauce and side dish.

Heck, I’m rambling a bit here.  This is NOT me telling people to cut it out or anything, or to make something else they don’t want to.  BUT damn... the absence of variety is fucking jarring and lowkey haunting to me.  Basically every Moomins fanartist I’ve gotten invested in has left the fandom already, often for these very reasons. If there are people in the modern Moomins fandom who adore the other characters and have stories in their heads that center them, they’re not the fans who are drawing or writing about them in public.  This all is just the sort of thing that’s worth pointing out, in my opinion.

[litrojia]

Personal Update

I think I ought to provide a personal update to all of you, just to vent all my thoughts somewhere and to explain my recent activity.

Personal Life

Like many of you, 2020 was not kind to me. While I fortunately haven't been directly impacted by COVID yet, the pandemic amplified some minor personal missteps to the point where I'm extremely anxious about my future.

I'm a college student, and I'll have a bachelor's in engineering in May. My GPA is phenomenal, but I fear that's all I have going for me. The thing that really matters are connections, as well as the early experiences that connections help with. I don't have that. I'm quite shy and never put myself out there to anybody in the industry or professors, nor do I come from a family of engineers who can get me a job through nepotism. Either it was too late when I realized that connections were at least as important as grades, or I willingly buried my head in the sand. By the time I was planning to sort myself out and put myself out there, COVID hit, putting an end to physical interaction and any shot at an internship last summer, which I was really counting on. More recently, I've all but canned some plans that I had for grad school. I don't feel like it's worth it in the position I'm in. Thus, I've jumped right into finding jobs, and it's tough. I imagine it's a mix of a bad economy and just not knowing how to do it since I've never been hired for a competitive position. I'm gonna need a lot of luck.

I know I'm not alone, but it weighs heavily on me. Sometimes it overwhelms me. When I think about it, I feel bad to do anything else to enjoy myself (especially art), but at the same time I feel defeated and discouraged from trying, so it becomes a vicious cycle.

Art

I fell off hard in the second half of last year. ATG last June burned me out. By the time I recovered from it, my computer broke. And by the time my computer was fixed and I was getting back into art again, the semester started. It wasn't even a particularly hard semester, but I just struggled with time management. This break between semesters (started a month ago, ending very soon) hasn't been too productive either. There's still lots that I want to do (OC development, learning to draw backgrounds once and for all, collabs, anthro, non-pony, just some good ol' canon ponies more than once every few months, reviving that kinky alt of mine I've mentioned here once, and probably more), but I just struggle to focus on it with the world weighing on my mind.

A few months ago, I opened commissions. If any of my commissioners are reading this, thank you again for buying one. I was a little disappointed with the demand I got for them, but I figure it was mostly because when I opened them and ever since, I've barely ever been drawing. I might not have been able to handle a lot of commissions anyways. For now though, commissions are closed, and I'm not sure when they'll open back up.

Online Relationships

I've been becoming more closed off online (and offline probably) over the past few months. Again, it has to do mostly with poor time management and stress. I treasure many of my past interactions, and I'd love to talk to more people online, but I just struggle to balance it all. If I've drifted away from you lately, it's not anything to do with you. Maybe I'll be able to get back out of my shell soon.

Twitter etc.

Twitter bothers me a lot. Actually, nearly all of the art sites bother me, but Twitter bothers me most. First of all, it's one of the greatest hotbeds of toxicity ever. Even outside of a strictly political sense (which needs no elaboration, but I must say makes me fear for the world's future), it still leads to all sorts of unwarranted harassment that isn't good for society. I'm looking at you, "Trixie is trans" folks. That drama, along with the Capitol stuff, is the straw that broke the camel's back for me. Secondly, it just isn't an art site. People use it because others use it and because it has porn. That's all. There's no organization on Twitter, and stuff just gets easily lost to time. And yet, some artists not only put up with Twitter, but can't get enough of it. They get caught up in trends that spam my feed. They get caught up by numbers. They use fleets, which is just the dumb corporate "stories" fad imported to Twitter, and doesn't even appear on desktop (which is both a blessing and a curse). Some call themselves "Twitter artists", letting it form their identity. But really, I can't blame these people, and if I described you, I don't mean to cause offense. The toxic hellhole of Twitter just shows no mercy in corrupting reasonable people. And the people who run Twitter love every single bit of it. Fuck Twitter.

I don't want to support Twitter, and I've been considering abandoning it, even if it means losing most of my following. I have a few artist friends who don't actively use Twitter and they live, though frankly they have less of a following, so there's less pressure there. However, the main reason I stick around is because so many artists only use Twitter, so that's where I can see their art. If I do leave it, an idea I've been considering is doing a raffle on all of my other sites. Not only would it encourage a few people to follow me on new sites, but maybe, just maybe it would encourage people to use sites other than Twitter. Still, I would need to either say goodbye to a lot of art or browse Twitter without actually using it (RSS? Keep the account to browse but not interact?).

It sucks though, because besides Twitter, where else is there? I've been getting more and more fed up with DeviantArt, my second most popular page, seemingly purposely killing their website. Tumblr is already dead, and if Pillowfort is supposed to be mimicking Tumblr, then it mimics Tumblr's inactivity best. I created a Newgrounds account recently and it actually seems pretty decent for art, but it too is dead. I've always been heavily active on Derpibooru, but that lacks the features of a full-fledged art site and has its own drama. As an aside, I actually joined staff there pretty recently. I understand that some people may not be happy with that site or its staff, and sometimes I'd agree with you, but it's been so incredibly valuable to me in exploring the pony fandom that I felt obligated to help it out, and I hope you can accept that. Anyways, Inkbunny looks like it'd be great if it weren't for all the... y'know. FurAffinity exists I guess. And Instagram is just Twitter but worse. I'll never touch it.

If you read everything up to here, or at least skimmed it thoroughly enough to understand, thank you.

[captainsteveamericarogers]

Keeping Secrets - Chapter 15

A/N: Thank you all for your patience (some more than others!) while I’ve been struggling with this chapter. I hope my difficulties are not reflected in the end result and that you all continue to enjoy the story. Many thanks for all of your lovely comments and feedback, it’s overwhelming! Sorry for the reblog spam 💖

Master List

Pairing: Chris Evans x Original Female Character

Summary:  Harvey Brooks spent her childhood moving all over the country until her parents finally settled in Massachusetts. She’d never had a proper friend until she met Chris Evans on their first day as freshmen in high school. They quickly became close friends who kept each other’s secrets. When Chris comes to her one night asking for her help, she makes a decision that starts a chain of events leading to the ultimate secret. Years later, when tragedy strikes, the truth finally comes out, changing both their lives and the lives of everyone around them

Length: This part: 2832. Total so far: 61207

Warnings: Swearing, referenced sex, angst, unwanted pregnancy, illness, hospitals, talk of blood and vomit, needles

Belle’s birthday was bittersweet. Although they sang Happy Birthday to her, her presents were still at the beach house and there seemed little point making a fuss when she wasn’t awake to enjoy it. Harvey was content to sit with her, reading Little Women to her in a quiet voice and watching her vitals improve hour upon hour as, at last, the antibiotics fought off the infection.             Late in the afternoon, while Chris was out making calls, Mel walked in with a rare smile on her face. “I think we’re going to start waking her up soon. Maybe tomorrow or the day after.”             “How long does it take?”             “It depends. We do it slowly so as not to overload the brain. She hasn’t been out long, which is good. There might be times where it seems like she’s awake but she lapses back or she doesn’t seem to be waking at all. I’ll talk you through it more when we start the process.”             “I miss her so much.”             Mel laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I know all of this is incredibly hard for you. You know I can’t commit to a prognosis but if we can find her a donor in the next few weeks, I really think she’s got a fighting chance.”             “And if we don’t?”             “Then we can try the ATG. Remember, we can always try that first and still go for a transplant later if it’s unsuccessful. Belle wants the transplant, you and Chris want it, too, and that’s fine. There’s always hope, Harvey.”             She wiped her eyes, taking a shuddery breath. “I just want my little girl back. I know we can’t take her to the Cape any more but I really hope she’s awake by Christmas. Both Belle and Chris deserve a proper Christmas together.”             “We’ll do our very best.”             Mel left and Harvey continued reading aloud until Chris returned. He’d obviously visited the vending machine because he walked in with pockets full of candy. “Milky Way or Snickers?”             Harvey smiled, setting the book aside. Her eyes ached from staring at the print for so long “How is that even a question?”             He handed her the Milky Way and sat down beside her. “Everything okay?”             “Mel said they’re probably going to start waking her up in the next couple of days. She said it can take a while.”             He sighed. “I hope she’s awake by Christmas.”             “That’s what I said.”             Chris chewed on his Snickers for a moment, looking thoughtful. “My mom wants to visit this evening. Why don’t we drive down to the beach house? We can sort everything out and bring your car back.”             “I’ve kind of forgotten I even have my own car.”             He smiled. “It’s probably our best chance. I don’t want to leave her once they take her off the ventilator and I’m sure wild horses won’t drag you away, either. We know she’s getting better and she won’t be alone.”             She looked at Belle. She’d sworn she wouldn’t leave her but they really did need to go and sort out the house and pick up their things. “You’re right.”             Once Lisa arrived, Harvey and Chris said their goodbyes and headed for Cape Cod. When they arrived at the house, they found a parcel propped up in the corner of the porch beside the front door. Chris smiled when he saw it. “That’s for me.”             He immediately spirited it away upstairs and Harvey wandered through the ground floor, assessing what needed to be done and gathering her things. She turned on the Christmas lights and was once again hit by how wonderful the room looked. It seemed such a shame to take down the decorations that Chris had spent so long putting up, and the lovely tree.             “Beautiful,” Chris murmured, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. “Why don’t we have our own little Christmas right now, just the two of us?”             “Do I have to wear the onesie?”             “It just wouldn’t be Christmas without a sexy reindeer.” He turned his head to plant a kiss on the side of her neck.             She giggled, shying away from the goosebump-inducing contact of his lips on her skin and turning to face him. “You want to exchange gifts?”             He nodded. “I can’t imagine we’re going to be hanging around to open gifts on Christmas morning, and we haven’t decorated at home, so yeah.”             There was only one thing she wanted for Christmas and it was something that no end of wishing would bring her. Even fictional genies stipulated that you couldn’t wish for someone to fall in love with you. “Okay.”             He went upstairs first to finish wrapping her gift, returning in his ridiculous elf onesie with two boxes in his arms, one shoebox shaped and the other a little larger. Harvey felt a jolt of excitement as she went up to change and grab his gifts. While she’d been printing off pictures of Belle and her friends, something had occurred to her as a sort of extra gift. She retrieved the bundle of papers from her suitcase and, the absence of an envelope, rolled them up and tied them with a ribbon.             “Me first!” Chris said as she walked back into the room. He sat on the floor in front of the tree and pulled her down beside him. “This is the first present I bought you but then I had a better idea. Open it first.”             He handed her the shoebox-sized gift. It definitely wasn’t shoes. It was very heavy and felt solid. She carefully pulled off the wrapping paper, revealing a wooden box with burned lettering on the lid. Her heart thumped with excitement as she pulled the lid off and gasped with delight. “Chris! This is…wow!”             “It’s the right one, yeah?”             She nodded, overcome with emotion. It was her favourite Scotch whisky, distilled in 1981, the year they were both born, and bottled in 2006, the year Belle had been born. The golden liquid glowed in the lights from the tree. “It’s perfect. I can’t believe you tracked it down.”             “I’ve been working on it for a while,” he said softly, his eyes on her face.             She wiped her eyes on the sleeves of her onesie. “How on earth did you think of a better gift than this?”             “Well, you helped a little.” He passed her the bigger gift.             “What do you mean?” She frowned at him, running her finger over the wrapping paper.             “Just open it.”             She peeled back the paper and saw the word MacBook. “Oh! Chris, you shouldn’t have. This is far too good a replacement for my old laptop.”             “Technically, that’s not the present so it doesn’t count. Take it out.”             She took it out of the box and placed it on the floor in front of her. Chris opened the lid and the screen lit up. It took her a moment to realise what she was looking at. “The Harvard application portal?”             “I thought it was about time you went to get your MBA. What you said the other night about giving up everything for me…I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. It’s not fair that I’ve got to pursue every project that caught my eye while you’ve stayed here, holding everything together. You deserve to live your life, too.”             She let the tears fall, her eyes scanning the now blurry page. “I can’t apply now. Not while Belle is so sick.”             He put his arm around her, moving closer to hug her to him. “I know. But maybe later next year you can apply for 2020. Harvey, you’re too smart to waste your talent and this has been your plan since before we even met. You don’t have to worry about a thing. I’m going to look after you.”              It meant the world to her. It had been her plan for almost thirty years. A degree from Harvard, an MBA and then her own hotel. But plans changed. Life happened. All she wanted now was to settle down and be a family, to give Belle a couple of brothers and sisters. She was only a few months from her thirty-eighth birthday and she felt that incessant ticking in her belly every day, imagining it growing fainter and fainter until it stopped. Her life hadn’t gone to plan at all. One stormy night almost thirteen years ago had seen to that.             She realised that she was sobbing and Chris’s arms were around her as he comforted her. He thought she was happy, maybe even relieved. What she really felt was grief from the certainty that it was time to let him go. To stop putting her life on hold for him.             She pulled away, drying her eyes on her sleeves. “Thank you. For once I don’t know what to say. I’m completely overwhelmed.”             His hands smoothed her hair away from her face and he kissed her mouth. “You deserve it.”             “Your turn,” she murmured, gently pushing his hands away, hiding the dismissiveness of the gesture with a smile. “Open this one first.”             He took the gift from her hands but she saw the frown line between his brows deepen. She watched his fingers as he tore off the wrapping paper. Inside was a first edition copy of Winnie The Pooh. He turned it over in his hands, the gilt detail on the dark green cover glinting under the lights. Her smile became genuine as his eyes widened with surprise. “This is incredible.”             “I knew it was missing from your collection.”             “I’ve been looking for it forever. How did you even find it?”             “I’ve been working on it for a while.”             He chuckled. “This is the best. Thank you.”             “That’s not all.” She picked up the scroll of paper and handed it to him. “This is more of a gesture than a gift.”             He pulled off the ribbon and unfurled the papers, his eyes scanning the front page. “Petition for Change of Name of Minor?”             She took a deep breath as she nodded and shrugged awkwardly. “Obviously it’s Belle’s decision but I thought that this lets you know that I’m okay with it.”             “Really?”             “Yeah. She’s yours, Chris, she should have your name.”             “Harvey, stop saying shit like that. She’s ours. She should have our names. Brooks-Evans.”             She bit her lip, holding back yet another flood of tears. “Evans-Brooks is better. Let’s break up that alliteration.”             His grin was huge as he pulled her into another hug. “Thank you. Even if Belle doesn’t want to, it means the world to me that you’re okay with it.”             “I wish she was here. My heart hurts so much.”             “I know, sweetheart. Me too.”             She closed her eyes, letting herself relax in his arms. She tried to commit everything to memory; how soft everything looked under the twinkling fairy lights and the way his body felt pressed against hers, the warm, comforting smell of his skin, the sound of his breath in her ear.             She would have to tell him how she felt. He would never understand why they had to stop seeing each other if she didn’t. But not tonight. They had too much to do and they still had to spend time together at the hospital. The last thing she wanted was to have to go through all of that alone. She tried not to imagine how disappointed he would be that she had done the one thing he trusted her not to do.             “I love you, Harvey.”             For a moment, she thought he could read her mind. Her heart fluttered in anticipation before the realisation that he meant platonically sank in. The kind of love they’d had for each other for so long before they’d ruined it. “I love you, too,” she murmured, hoping he couldn’t hear the desolation in her voice.             After they cleared away the wrapping paper, Harvey cooked pasta while Chris made a reluctant start on taking down the decorations. While she waited for the water to boil, she retrieved the pregnancy test from the linen closet and put it in her handbag. The last thing she needed was her mother to find it when she was laying the table for one of her summer soirees. She’d never hear the end of it.             By the time she’d prepared two bowls of food, Chris had already taken down all of the lights and made a start on packing the tree ornaments. The room had that sad, New Year vibe and she had to keep reminding herself that they hadn’t even had Christmas yet. They ate in front of the TV, an ancient episode of The Golden Girls playing quietly in the background.             “Do you still have that bottle of Aleve in the car?” Harvey asked when she couldn’t ignore the cramps shredding her insides for a moment longer.             “Yeah. Why, headache?”             “Cramps.”             “Why didn’t you say something? I’ll go and get them.” Then, when he returned from the car bringing with him the tang of cold ocean air. “Let me take care of all of the clearing up. Just go and relax in bed and read or something.”             “No, don’t be silly. I’ll just take a couple of these and I’ll be fine in a little while.”             “I insist. I’ll be done here in an hour or two and then I can pack up the food. Just gather your things, pack your clothes and relax.”             By the time the painkillers kicked in, Harvey had already packed her bags. She stretched out on the bed and closed her eyes for just a second. The next thing she knew, Chris was gently shaking her awake and the room looked navy blue in the early dawn light.             “Time to go, sweetheart.”             “It’s too early. I don’t want to,” she mumbled, curling up and pulling the covers over her head.             Chris gently tugged them back down. “We have to. There’s a big snowstorm coming in so we need to get on the road. I packed the cars, everything’s ready to go. And we can stop at Dunkin’ to get coffee.”             “Now you’re speaking my language. Let’s go.”             “You get ready, I’m just going to walk around check everything’s locked up.”             Harvey got dressed and gathered up her last few bits and pieces from the bathroom, then went down to the kitchen to find her bag. Chris walked in as she was digging around in her bag. “What have you lost?”             “My keys. I swear to god if I’ve left them at home after all this…”             “I have them. I packed the cars, remember?”             She stopped rummaging and looked up at him. “I told you it was too early.”             He smiled, handing her keys over. “Are you ready?”             “Yeah, I guess.”             “I know you’re disappointed, Harvs. I am, too.”             “I imagined this week turning out very differently.”             “Me too.” Chris clenched his jaw, looking as if he wanted to say something. Instead, he picked up his backpack. “Let’s get out of here before the snow comes.”             Harvey hesitated for a moment as he walked out of the room. Something was wrong with him. “Wait. What’s up?”             “Nothing,” he said, his tone was overly casual and, even though he turned to look at her, his eyes didn’t meet hers. “I’m just tired.”             She frowned. He’d been absolutely fine the night before and she couldn’t think what could have possibly happened overnight to upset him. She decided not to push it, picking up her bag and following him to the front door. A blast of freezing air carrying the first few flakes of snow hit them as they stepped outside. Harvey hurriedly locked the door before jogging to her car and climbing inside. Chris had obviously run the engine at some point because the air that came out of the vents when she turned the ignition was already warm. If he was thinking of her getting into a cold car then surely he couldn’t be angry or upset with her?             It preyed on her mind all the way back to Boston. They went straight to the hospital, parking next to each other in the almost deserted garage. By that point, her anxiety had built itself up to epic proportions. Having learned the painful lesson about talking in public, she waited until they were alone in the elevator to turn to him and ask, “Are we okay?”             He looked at her and she saw something pass behind his eyes. “We’re okay, Harvey. We’re always okay.”             She nodded and quickly turned away, facing the doors so he couldn’t see her face. Dread bubbled up inside her. She knew she felt unsettled, unsure whether or not she could trust herself. Since the phone call with Belle, she couldn’t be sure if she saw things as they actually were or if her own fear skewed her perception. But if she knew one thing with absolute certainty at that moment, it was that Chris had just lied to her.

Tag List: @the-real-kellymonster @denise1605@avengerswon @mariswritingforfun @a-distantdreamer @introvertedmouse @jennmurawski13 @southerngracela @capnstarryeyed @mustangshelby04 @theladybiers @kelbabyblue @void-imaginations @estillion14 @twittytelly @patzammit @bahteerr @deidrashouseofpain @ab-baybay​

[starchild--27]

Randomizer Bias Tag

so, i was atgged by @heartcravings thank you very much, this will be fun ^^

Rules: Go to this website [www.random.org/lists/] and pick 15 of your biases/faves, then fill out the following.

1. Mom/Dad: Taeil! Hah, this suits so well - he has the mom energy for sure. he’d be a lovely mom ^^

2. Sibling: Kris! i always wanted an older brother :D and Kris as the protective brother who is super caring for his younger sister? sounds like a beautiful idea to me!

3. Grandma/Grandad: Sehun xDD omg i don’t have words for this other than “lamo”

4. Haunts you: Lucas! haha he really haunts me with being the cute dorky rapper he is (which seems to be THE type of guy foe me i dunno in most cases these guys end up as my bias xD) 

5. Boyfriend/Girlfriend: Rosé!! akfdjlkds yes please she’d be a really cute girlfriend i bet. we’d eat tons of food together and sing each other lullabies <3

6. Your best friend: RM - god, i never call him that - Namjoon.oh yey, we really could be good friends. from what i know about him we’d get along very well and probably would have deep talks all the time (at least that’s what my sister says xD)

7. Your ex: Hyuk. sweet boy, he bet he left me after he got to know about me and my sister secretly laughing about his high-pitched screaming... i’m sorry.

8. Proposed to you: chanyeol. *faints* *dies* *rises from the dead* *dies again* *rises from the dead again* *kisses Rosie goodbye and tell her that she’s an amazing and sweet person* *marries chanyeol* *never cries again in her life*

9. Your boss: baekhyun. tbh i’d be the most relaxed boss ever. you can joke around with him, he’s lovely and very nice and can cheer you up when having a bad day and he doesn’t take himself that serious. i’d love to work for him.

10. Random person you meet at the bar: haha, guess i joined you guys @heartcravings  @jongin-be-my-jagi because i got Yixing here too xD or yixing just hangs out in bars very often....

11. Rival: Bang Chan - oh boy, how can i make peace with him i don’t want him as a rival. both of us would be way too soft for that..

12. First kiss: Jongdae. oooohhhhh, how sweet that would be!!! this made me grin so much because kissing Jongdae’s smiley lips would be amazing... 

14. Played 7 minutes in Heaven with: Minseok. yip. sounds like heaven to me. no complaints.

13. Drunk and singing karaoke: Jongin. oh god that would be so messy and funny. one of us would get the lyrics comletely wrong - no better -confuse the song with soemthing entirely different and then we’d only be a giggling mess until one of us gets really tired and we decide to go home. would be a great combination ^^

15. Gave you your favorite dessert: last but not least, Taeyong. i had hoped i’d get him for the sibling part (because to me he has the older brother vibes xD) but this is nice as well. i mean, maybe i have two brothers and he’s the one who always makes the dessert for me (because i wouldn’t trust Kris with any kind of dessert i’m sorry my baby) :D

ahhh i don’t know who did this already... i’ll just tag @kiseokris @kafkascupcake @guardians-of-exo - do it if you like ;)

[tkmedia]

Dougie’s Friday Mailbag (Fire and Ice, Fury-Wilder3, Canelo-GGG3)

Dougie’s Friday Mailbag (Fire and Ice, Fury-Wilder3, Canelo-GGG3)

Fernando Vargas is one boxing's best "Hotheads" of the last generation (and one of Dougie's favorites). Photo by JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images 16 Jul by Doug Fischer BOXING’S ICEMEN AND HOTHEADS Some folks are like fire, some are like ice. Several boxing matches have been promoted like that: “Iceman vs Hothead”. My question is: Who do you think is boxing’s ultimate Iceman? Who is boxing’s ultimate Hothead? P.S.: Some mythical matchups for you: Kostya Tszyu vs Carlos Ortiz Benny Leonard vs Roberto Duran (at 135) Gene Fullmer vs Jake LaMotta Miguel Cotto vs Oscar De La Hoya (at 154) George Foreman vs Sonny Liston Canelo Alvarez vs Joe Calzaghe (at 168) Thanks. – Gregory Interesting question about the Hotheads and the Icemen of boxing. I think tomorrow night’s undisputed 154-pound championship features a potential star who represents the “fire” – being fueled by emotion with a tendency to rage – in Jermell Charlo and a live underdog who represents the “ice” – possessing steely focus and staying cool in the face of adversity – in Brian Castano. I’m generally attracted to the passion of the Hotheads, but I’ve always respected the Icemen. Who’s the ultimate Iceman? It’s hard to say. The best of the past generation are Lennox Lewis, Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Juan Manuel Marquez and Andre Ward. The best active Icemen are Canelo Alvarez, Gennadiy Golovkin and Roman Gonzalez. My favorites include Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker, Mike McCallum, Winky Wright and Miguel Cotto.

Joe Louis (here hammering poor Arturo Godoy) was a seek-and-destroy specialist but he was always cold as ice. Photo from The Ring archive. A few of the all-time best Icemen include Gene Tunney, Joe Louis, Archie Moore and Salvador Sanchez. Some were boxer-punchers, some were stick-and-movers, some were all-around technicians, but they were all unflappable. The Ultimate Hothead? Again, it’s hard to isolate a single fighter. But if I had to choose just one it would probably be the prime version of Roberto Duran. He was the epitome of controlled rage, which occasionally boiled over.   The best Hotheads of the past generation include Erik “El Terrible” Morales and “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas. The best right now are the Charlo twins and David Benavidez. My favorite hotheads include “Terrible” Terry Norris and “Merciless” Ray Mercer. Some famous hotheads from previous eras include Jack Dempsey, Rocky Graciano and Bob Foster. Of course, I think the greatest boxing talents are able to combine the traits of fire and ice: Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Sugar Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr., and Marco Antonio Barrera. Your Mythical Matchups: Kostya Tszyu vs Carlos Ortiz – Ortiz by close decision (in a 12-round bout); late TKO (in a 15-round bout) Benny Leonard vs Roberto Duran (at 135) – Duran by close decision. Gene Fullmer vs Jake LaMotta – LaMotta by close decision. Miguel Cotto vs Oscar De La Hoya (at 154) – De La Hoya (the 2001-2002 version) by close decision. George Foreman vs Sonny Liston – This is a fascinating ATG heavyweight toss-up. I’m going to reserve opinion until I’ve read a feature article on the Dream Fight submitted by Ron Lipton for upcoming issue of The Ring. Canelo Alvarez vs Joe Calzaghe (at 168) – Calzaghe by close decision. FURY-WILDER3 & CANELO-GGG3 Hi Doug, Hope you the family and team are well and staying safe. What is going on?? Fury Vs Wilder 3 postponed, after all the BS leading up to AJ Vs Fury non-event. Ok, you can’t blame the guy for getting COVID and I wish him and all in his team a full and speedy recovery. However, correct me if I’m wrong, but Fury has not defended any Heavyweight belt, ever, won from either Klitschko or Wilder. With all the fights over the years falling through for one reason or another, and postponements now, I feel it will hurt his legacy ultimately IMHO. Especially when compared to AJ whose CV simply cannot be argued with. Considering the inactivity for a “lineal champion” over 6 years, does he really deserve a spot on the P4P list above AJ? Social media doesn’t seem so sympathetic to Team Fury either. After testing positive for COVID pictures with fans are surfacing stoking the rumour mill. I really think after all the AJ negotiations BS fans have had enough and feel we’ll never get Fury Vs Wilder 3 and forget Fury Vs AJ. What’s your crystal ball saying? And where is Wilder??? You would have thought he’d be either shouting off the roof tops about how Fury is “trying to get away” or calling out AJ saying he’ll take Usyk’s place to have a “real” fight. Either way just making some noise to promote yourself and stick it to the other guy??? I think Hearn is correct and Wilder’s not mentally in the right place. All joking aside, has a fight ever been called off due to the mental state of a fighter? And if not should it be if behaviours warrant it? Are we getting Canelo Vs GGG 3? Ok, deep breath! However you scored them, the first two fights were amazing! Two future legends at their best! Why would you not want to see a third, right? Again the Twitterverse is pouring scorn over this possibility also. Firstly I’m a fan of both. I had no problem with the first fight being a draw, and could see arguments for it going either way. Thought the second one was closer than then official decision but not a robbery. My issue, mainly with Canelo, is that he is in danger of doing what Floyd is guilt for through his carrier with this GGG fight, and that’s stacking everything in his favour. Mainly because the guy is almost 40 now and there’s no way the fight will be fought outside Texus or Vagus. And why not people will say? They’s why boxers of yester year will always be held in higher regard then sadly most to today’s fighters. It’s a real shame these 3 fights didn’t happen years ago. I hope this fight gets made and I feel we’ll get another classic. MM: Danny Garcia Vs Adrian Broner 140 & 147 Prime Thurman Vs Spence Prime Thurman Vs Crawford I know not exactly mythical but humour me: Cap Vs Wolverine, Adamantium Vs. Vibranium Keep up the good work. – Tabraze, London I’ll go with Garcia by close UD at both weights (147 closer than at 140), The Thurmanator by come-from-behind late-rounds stoppage, Crawford by close UD and Captain America by SD (if he’s allowed to bring his shield into the ring). What is going on?? I have no f__king idea. I’ve all but given up on previewing big fights in Ring Magazine, let alone featuring upcoming showdowns on the cover. Fury Vs Wilder 3 postponed, after all the BS leading up to AJ Vs Fury non-event. For selfish reasons I’m not upset about Fury-Wilder 3 moving to October 9. I have a family engagement on July 24 that would have prevented me from watching the fight live had it happened on this date. Ok, you can’t blame the guy for getting COVID and I wish him and all in his team a full and speedy recovery. Actually, you CAN blame Fury for getting COVID-19, but I wish him and team a speedy recover just the same. However, correct me if I’m wrong, but Fury has not defended any Heavyweight belt, ever, won from either Klitschko or Wilder. That is correct. With all the fights over the years falling through for one reason or another, and postponements now, I feel it will hurt his legacy ultimately IMHO. Especially when compared to AJ whose CV simply cannot be argued with. That might be true if Fury were to retire tomorrow and never fight again, but if he beats Wilder in October and then defeats Joshua at least once in 2022, many will consider him to be the best heavyweight champ since Lennox Lewis and some will even view him as one of the best heavyweights of all time.   Considering the inactivity for a “lineal champion,” over 6 years, does he really deserve a spot on the P4P list above AJ? Neither he nor Joshua are in The Ring’s pond-for-pond rankings. Fans are free are decide who they think is the better heavyweight. It won’t truly be decided until they share the ring. Social media doesn’t seem so sympathetic to Team Fury either. Boxing Twitter always needs somebody to dump on. Fury is currently the focus of all that angst, anger, cynicism, and misery. In a few days someone or something else will take his place. After testing positive for COVID pictures with fans are surfacing stoking the rumour mill. And don’t think of one moment that Fury isn’t aware of this or isn’t loving every minute of it. He’s a master at manipulating the media and fans’ emotions and I believe he relishes it and uses this “gift” to get into his opponents’ heads. I really think after all the AJ negotiations BS fans have had enough and feel we’ll never get Fury Vs Wilder 3 and forget Fury Vs AJ. I can’t blame or fault fans for being cynical. What’s your crystal ball saying? To paraphrase the Beastie Boys (from Sabotage): “My crystal ball ain’t so crystal clear.” And where is Wilder??? In his nest, still rebuilding from that disastrous rematch. You would have thought he’d be either shouting off the roof tops about how Fury is “trying to get away” or calling out AJ saying he’ll take Usyk’s place to have a “real” fight. I’m sure he did shout off the rooftops when he got the news about Fury’s COVID result, he just didn’t share his anguish with the public, and that’s OK. And I don’t think he has any desire to replace Usyk as a challenger to Joshua. Either way just making some noise to promote yourself and stick it to the other guy??? Wilder clearly isn’t concerned with promoting this third bout with Fury and I think he knows it’s a lost cause to try to beat the Englishman in a battle of words. I think Hearn is correct and Wilder’s not mentally in the right place. No s__t! You don’t have to be Sigmund Freakin’ Freud to figure that out. All joking aside, has a fight ever been called off due to the mental state of a fighter? Not to my knowledge but I wish certain fights in the past were cancelled because of the mental states of the boxers who WON the bouts (Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Jimmy Doyle and Emile Griffith vs. Benny Paret 3). And if not should it be if behaviours warrant it? I think so. I don’t every want to see an emotional meltdown like we witnessed with Oliver McCall’s rematch with Lennox Lewis. The man stopped trying to fight – let alone win – after two rounds. All he did was clown around in Round 3. He was in tears during Round 4. He wouldn’t return to his corner after Rounds 3 and 4, and there absolutely should not have been sent back into the “fight” for Round 5 (when the fight was finally, mercifully stopped). With what we now know about mental health and brain injuries, I believe this fight would have been stopped after Round 3, but I wish training teams and management would recognize when their fighters are not mentally fit to be in the ring. Are we getting Canelo Vs GGG 3? Bro, I just told you my crystal ball ain’t so crystal clear. However you scored them, the first two fights were amazing! I agree. Two future legends at their best! Facts!

Purchase this issue from The Ring Shop. Why would you not want to see a third, right? Maybe you don’t want to see GGG lose a clear decision, take undue punishment or get KTFO. Again the Twitterverse is pouring scorn over this possibility also. Both Canelo and GGG trigger the worst in certain segments of fandom. It’s best to ignore these people. My issue, mainly with Canelo, is that he is in danger of doing what Floyd is guilty for through his carrier with this GGG fight, and that’s stacking everything in his favour. Canelo’s aim is Caleb Plant. It’s not his fault that Golovkin is past his prime. GGG is a backup plan but the future hall of famer doesn’t have to play along if he doesn’t want to. He can chill for the rest of the summer, report to camp in the fall and take on Ryota Murata in Japan on New Year’s Eve if he wants. It’s a real shame these 3 fights didn’t happen years ago. I hope this fight gets made and I feel we’ll get another classic. Perhaps their styles, skillsets and mentalities will always make for a close and entertaining 12-round fight, but GGG’s age and his effectiveness at super middleweight (against the current version of Canelo) are major X-factors in the potential third match. Email Fischer at . Follow him on Twitter and IG at @dougiefischer, and join him, Tom Loeffler, Coach Schwartz and friends via Tom’s or Doug’s IG Live every Sunday. GET THE LATEST ISSUE AT THE RING SHOP (CLICK HERE) or Subscribe

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Dougie’s Friday Mailbag (Fire and Ice, Fury-Wilder3, Canelo-GGG3)

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[theladylikesfics]

Afternoon Pick Me Up

Okay so after my last drabble request for G’Anna, I felt like we all needed some holy water. So this is all fluff no smut sweetness.Drabble #12

It was your normal routine, every day at 12:45 you would walk the two blocks down to this amazing family run café that had been in business for over 50 years now. You loved it not only for the amazing food and beverages but for the historical significance of being one of the first black own business in your town post Civil Rights Movements. You absolutely loved the Clark family and what they did for the community, what they represented and comfort food that reminded you of the best parts of home. The family matriarch Alice Clark know affectionately as Alice the Great was 80 and still going strong but you like other regulars and family members had started to notice Alice The Great slowing down a bit. Still feisty as ever she insists on both working the front counter interacting with all of her customers and creating all the delicious treats that come out of the kitchen. Over the course of past weeks, you noticed a new face in the café. He was undeniably handsome. His face was round with full distinctive cheekbones that took over his whole face when he smiled. His eyes were bright, playful and mischievous. You could definitely see a hint of cockiness in him but for some reason on him, it attracted you to him just a little bit more. There was also something familiar about him that you couldn’t quite put your finger on. It was on the tip of your mental tongue but you just simply shrugged it off.  

You couldn’t help but steal the occasional glance at him while waiting for your order. Sometimes it felt as though he too was stealing glances when you accidentally made eye contact one day. The blush was imminent, and you felt it throughout your whole body. You quickly gathered up your order and left to go back to the office. Sitting at the cozy outdoor patio set you were so distracted by split-second eye contact you forgot about your slice of banana pecan bread and lemon hibiscus tea. It was just a few seconds but it felt like magic. You took a deep breath and sighed at the thought of the handsome stranger. “This is crazy, I don’t even know his name and already I’m wondering what that mouth do…” you gasped suddenly realizing you’d said your thoughts out loud while still at work as you alarm on your watch sounded alerting you your break was about over. It was also then than you looked at your neglected snack and drink and shook your head at yourself in disbelief that you were so wrapped up you’d forgotten to eat.

 That following weekend you had a girl’s trip planned so your normal daily trips to the café didn’t occur. On Monday afternoon you discovered that for some reason you seemed more excited to go into work that day. You got up a little earlier spent a little more time on hair and make up than you normally would followed by trying on different outfits before deciding on what to wear. Weren’t entirely sure why you just chalked it up to still feeling yourself from a fabulous girl’s weekend. Right before your break, you took a moment to give yourself a double check your make-up in the mirror. Touching up your foundation a little bit and reapplying your lippy while still at your desk. “All I want to know is what is his name and when are we meeting him?” You turned to look at friend and co-worker Jai giving her a quizzical look. “Oh don’t play dumb now. All weekend long I knew something was up with you. We were at KCon NYC, fine men as far as the eye could see. You had several flirting with you, offering to take us out for soju and you couldn’t have been more pre-occupied and not really interested. Now I didn’t say anything because I know you’re still kinda sensitive since you and Jooheon split up but that was a whole 8 months ago, but whats up?! There’s a change in you. I see it. I know that’s the ‘I’m scoping a man’ outfit you’re wearing, I just want to know who he is?!” “What. No. Listen I’m just feeling really good after our weekend and wanted to dress up a little bit more today that’s all. As for the random guys from KCon there were way to sketchy to go and have soju with in the mood I was in after all the bottles we had already consumed. And I checked my make-up because its kinda hot in here and I don’t want to go around looking like my face is melting. Now I’m heading over to The Corner Stone do you want me to bring you something back?” “Bring me back a slice of lemon pound cake and tell Alice The Great I said hi and I’ll see her soon.”

While making the short walk to the café you thought to yourself had you gotten dressed up for the handsome stranger? Was he the reason you weren’t really feeling anyone from the past weekend? As you approached the door you gave your reflection a quick once-over before you walked inside. You couldn’t deny the tinge of disappointment you felt as you looked to the left and didn’t see the handsome stranger sitting in his usual spot. “Hey Baby Girl! I got your favorite chocolate pound cake today!” You smiled brightly and laughed as Alice the Great greeted you herself from behind the counter. “Oh and you look so cute today all dressed up and glowing  “Thank you, Ms. Alice. Its so good to see you! I’ll have that along with a sweet ice coffee, oh and a slice of lemon pound cake and a lemon hibiscus tea please.” “Lemon pound cake and a lemon tea, I know Jai’s order anywhere and why is she not here with you today?” It always amazed you how she still remembered just about all of her customers by name as well as their favorite orders. “Yes ma’am that is for Jai and has lunch with a client but you know she’s can’t resist your pound cake Ms. Alice.” “I was hoping I would see you today. ATG, I’ve got this order.” The velvety baritone of the voice wrapped around you like a cloak. Turning slightly you came face to face with the handsome stranger who was smiling brightly at you while carrying on friendly banter with Alice The Great. You wanted to speak but being so up close to him, seeing just how handsome he was and how incredible he smelled you felt your mouth go dry and you brain became hazy as you tried to form words. “Oh oh no I couldn’t-“ “Hush child, yes you can. Thank you Kwon. Cash only I don’t trust you” Alice The Great said with a laugh. “Alice The Great! I caught you cheating at cards last night but I’m the one that can’t be trusted.” You looked back and forth confused at the conversation between the two not quite understanding what was going on. “G’Anna, have you met Kwon yet? He’s my assistant.” “I’m actually her nurse but she treats me like her assistant.” Kwon said with a big laugh. “Hi, I’m Kwon Hyuk-Woo or Loco. My friends call me Loco. Please call me Loco.” “You two go sit down, and I’ll have Cameron bring over your order.” Just as you’re about to protest Loco’s phone rang and he excused himself. “Its about time you two stopped making googly-eyes at each other and finally say hello. I mean it has been nearly two months if you young people are going to flirt at least use your words. Y’all spend so much time on those phones of yours I think sometimes y’all forget how to use your words. Your faces aren’t those little picture thingies yall send to each other” Alice The Great scolded you with a laugh and a playful smile. “Now I happened to know he’s got a crush on you because he asked me about you and when he didn’t see you this past weekend he was honestly a bit sad and I told him to be bold the next time he saw you and if he didn’t bust a move I would do it for him. Hmmph” “Ms. Alice!” You were honestly surprised by all the information octogenarian had just laid before you. “Now go sit down and have a nice conversation with him, he’s a nice young man and he raps, I didn’t understand it but he was having fun so go talk to him.”

Not one to argue with your elders you smiled, thanked Alice The Great once again and walked to take a seat outside under a patio umbrella. To your surprise, it wasn’t Cameron who brought out your order but Loco himself. The way he looked at you made you completely melt, you’re natural reaction was to simply blush and look off to the side as you try to gather up your thoughts. “Why are you so cute when you blush? Last week Thursday you had on this amazing green top with those grey pants and I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you and you caught me staring, and just when I thought I would be brave and speak to you, you got your order and ran out. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable; that was never my intentions you are simply beautiful and I couldn’t resist taking you in. Ms. Alice also caught me looking and called me out on it.” He said with a huge laugh and smile causing you to laugh and breaking the nervousness that you had. Then it hit you, the thing that had been itching at the back of your mind since the first time you laid eyes on him you knew him, well not exactly knew him, but you knew of him. Your eyes went wide as your mouth dropped open and the realization fully set in. “Oh My God You’re LOCO!” You wished that you could have taken a picture of the shock on his face as you recognize him. “Oh my God, you’re Loco, you’re Da Da Da, Hold Me Tight, Movie Shoot Loco!!!!” Taking a long sip of his drink he flashed you a bright smile. “Oh, so you already know what my mouth can do. I’m sorry I’m just playing, I’m really kinda surprised you know my work.” “I’m surprised you’re moonlighting as a nurse.” He laughed at your remark clearly enjoying the banter “Well every up and coming has a regular hustle. Being a nurse is mine. I was really close to my grandparents growing up so I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for the elderly. I would pop in here from time to time whenever I was in the neighborhood and Cameron asked if I wouldn’t mind taking the job of looking after Alice The Great so of course I said yes.” The alarm on your watch sounded reminding you that your break was nearly over, his smile lightly waivered at the signal that your time together was up. “So I guess that means you’ve got to go back to work huh?” “Sadly it does but you know, I’ll see you tomorrow?” “Why not seeing me tonight. I’ve been wanting to ask you out to dinner for a few weeks now and I’m officially shooting my shot. I would love to take you out to dinner tonight.” You couldn’t hide the surprise and excitement in your voice as you quickly accepted the invitation quickly exchanging information and hurrying back off to make it to work. You practically floated into your chair as Jai sat with her head tilted giving you her best judging you quizzical expression. “So you going to tell me what happened so do I have to pry it out of you?” “Umm well, I may have a date… later tonight…” “I KNEW IT!!! Who is it and tell me everything!” Just as you were about to explain about your handsome mystery stranger the clearing of a throat gathered your attention. Loco was standing in front of your desk with a mixed bouquet of lovely spring flowers. “I couldn’t wait to see your face again and find out where you wanted to go to dinner tonight.” Before you could give a proper answer you couldn’t help but lower your eyes as a blush took over your whole being and an admiring chuckle from Loco. “Damn why are you so cute when you blush…”

[charmandhex]

🌻 :)

Okay, I’ve kinda been sitting on this because initially I started talking about western blots and then tumblr went and deleted it. 

Instead I’m gonna ramble about gene therapy (pretty generally) for a hot second. I’m entirely pulling from wikipedia from dates because my knowledge of dates consists of 90s??? and now basically.

So, gene therapy.

This got so much longer than I thought it was going to be.

Actually, scratch that, brief rundown on genetic disorders for context even though Shell already knows it (hi Shell you’re great). Our genetic information is stored in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid, no there will not be a spelling test folks), and we’ve got a lot of it. 6 billion base pairs spread across 46 chromosomes (in most cases- I could talk a whole lot more about that, but that’s a different case). And every time our cells want to split in half to make more cells, all of that information has to be copied, otherwise you have two cells walking off with incomplete directions/one cell with no directions- completely defeating the purpose of making two functional cells.

Now, if you were to, say, looking at a book and copying it word for word, you’re liable to make some mistakes as you’re typing. So it shouldn’t be surprising that our cells and cellular machinery are capable of mistakes too. They’re pretty good at it though! I’m too lazy to look up the actual numbers, but I seem to recall the initial error rate on just the polymerase copying the DNA is like 1 in a million base pairs. Okay, I lied about being too lazy, and I’m right, it’s 1e-6. Which is a pretty good error rate (certainly better than mine just typing this all out).

Except let’s go back to the part where I tell you there’s 6 billion base pairs that all need to be copied. So, we’re up to roughly 6000 errors every time you copy for mitosis (splitting our cells into two for growth). Which is really not great when you consider just how many cells are in the human body (quick search says 30 trillion is the number). But then we’ve got additional mechanisms in place to go back and proofread to get an error rate between 1e-9 - 1e-11 (that’s one in a billion to one in 100 billion) - much better!

Okay fuck wow this is not such a short primer on this after all whoops BECAUSE now I’m getting into DNA proper.

We use around 3% of our DNA to make proteins. There’s some other cool stuff we make with actual functions (there’s some neat RNA in there that I will not be getting into), but most of our DNA is either called non-coding DNA or junk DNA. Which means, if there’s an error in that part, you’re not going to see any major issues. So I’ll focus on that 3% that makes proteins. (I’m sorry Shell I swear I thought this was just gonna be me talking about literally the 70s onwards WHOOPS).

So what happens when we make a mistake with that 3% of DNA that makes proteins? Well, now’s the part where I say what kind of mistake are you asking about?

There are a couple of different kinds of mistakes, or mutations, that we can get into. A point mutation is the simplest one, where just one base pair is basically just switched out to the wrong letter. But then you’ve also got insertions (adding one or more extra base pairs), deletions (deleting one or more base pairs), inversions (sequences of DNA can get flipped around and reversed), and translocations (chunks of DNA up and move themselves to a different location).

So if our original sequence is: The McElroy brothers are not experts and their advice should never be followed.

Point mutation:  The McElroy brothers are not experts and their advice should lever be followed.

Insertion:  The McElroy brothers are not experts and their advice should never not be followed.

Deletion:  The McElroy brothers are  experts and their advice should never be followed.

Inversion:  The McElroy brothers strepxe ton era and their advice should never be followed.

Translocation:  The McElroy brothers are not experts should never be followed.

(With extra line): Previously on the Adventure Zone  and their advice

So, that’s a rough McElroy-centric approximation of what some of those look like. And the cool part about this example is that you can actually start to see which mutations are gonna cause the most problems. For example, switching that n for an l in the point mutation example just changes the one word, and the sentence mostly makes sense. But looking at the deletion and the insertion, well, now, I’m telling you to follow their advice in one and that they are experts in the other. Yikes-ycles on bicycles!

To bring this back to DNA, It is of course a little more complicated than a comedy podcast intro. You have four base pairs (A, C, G, T), but they’re always read in batches of three call codons, and those three are translated into either an amino acid or a stop signal (and I am completely bypassing translation into RNA here for which I apologize). The quick math is 20 amino acids (with some weirdos that I will not be getting into) and 64 possible combinations of three letters (4x4x4=64).

Starting with the point mutation. Obviously 64 is more than than 20 amino acids and one stop signal (total of 21 results), so there’s duplications (for every amino acid but methionine and tryptophan). We’re gonna say cysteine because this will let me get into all possible results.

So, we’re reading our DNA and we come across our codon TGT. That makes cysteine- yay! We’re right! Now for our mutations:

let’s mutate over to TGC- surprise! That’s still cysteine! So this point mutation has no impact! Yay!

okay, let’s get a little further away and say we get AGT. Okay, that gives us serine, which isn’t the worst thing ever, structurally there are some similarities. This is what’s called a missense mutation.

How about TAT or TGG? Still one off, right, how bad can it be? WELL, that gets you Tyrosine and Tryptophan respectively which are big fucking aromatic amino acids and can completely fuck up your protein structure in this hypothetical example. For a quick analog, imagine wrapping a present for someone. Now imagine wrapping that present with a hockey stick running through the box. These are still missense mutations.

Okay, but those aren’t the worst things ever. Let’s try TGA. THIS particular codon is a stop codon. So we just stop there. We don’t get cysteine. And we don’t get anything after. We could be looking at a mostly complete protein, a half done protein, or a protein that’s barely even there. You might have no functionality on this fucker, and that’s why these are called nonsense mutations.

But back to insertions and deletions, because these guys can also cause some major issues (I swear I thought this would be brief). I’m gonna make up a quick sequence and science gods help me if I accidentally write a stop codon into this before meaning to.

ATGCGTAGCTGGACCTAA

Yikes, so that’s  ATG-CGT-AGC-TGG-ACC-TAA

Which reads: Methionine-Arginine-Serine-Tryptophan-Threonine (and it stops there because I tacked a stop codon on the end)

For an insertion, let’s say we insert three letters:

ATG-CGT-AGC-TGG-AAC-ACC-TAA

Methionine-Arginine-Serine-Tryptophan-Asparagine-Threonine

Or delete three letters:

ATG-CGT-AGC-ACC-TAA

Methionine-Arginine-Serine-Threonine

You gain or lose one amino acid, not the worst thing ever. And this is more or less what happens if your insertion or deletion affects base pairs in multiples of threes- you add/delete amino acids, but the rest of the chain is unaffected.

Let’s add/delete ONE letter.

ATG-CGT-AGA-CTG-GAC-CTA-A

Methionine-Arginine-Arginine-Leucine-Asparagine-Leucine- and then onward, because we lost our stop codon

OR

  ATG-CGT-AGC-TAG-GAC-CTA-A  

Methionine-Arginine-Serine-oh shit that’s a stop codon stop stop stop!

(deleted the letter between the two bold)

ATG-CGT-ACA-CCT-AA

Methionine-Arginine-Threonine-Proline- and then onward, because, again, we lost our stop codon

So, obviously, these are way more fucked up than our point mutation from cysteine to cysteine, or even cysteine to tyrosine. These shift all of the base pairs down the line and shift what codons we end up seeing, and these are called frameshift mutations.

But wait! I hear exactly no one shout from the audience. Then how does that work with dominant and recessive disorders? Excellent question, my own disembodied voice! To rewind back to our chromosomes, we have 46 (usually), which you can split into 22 pairs and two sex chromosomes. Those 22 pairs are the same chromosome- chromosome 1 from one parent covers the exact same genes as chromosome 1 from the other parent (yes, with exceptions, no I will not waylay us even further from my eventual goal of talking about gene therapy).

Basically, we’ve got two copies of each an every autosomal (not sex chromosome) gene in each cell. When it comes to errors in those genes, you can either have inherited it from one or both of your parents or it could be a spontaneous mutation that happened during development. Let’s say we have a gene that, for whatever kind of mutation, just is wrong, and leads us to a non-functional protein. If that protein being fucked up leads to symptoms, then that’s what’s called an autosomal dominant disorder- one bad gene is enough to see effects (examples: Huntington’s disease, neurofibromatosis). If, however, you’re fine, or overall okay with one bad copy and one good copy, then this is an autosomal recessive disorder that you are a carrier for and could pass on to potential offspring. If the other parent is then also a carrier, potential offspring could end up with two bad copies of the gene, at which point they actually have the autosomal recessive disorder (examples: sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis). You can also have dominant and recessive disorders of the sex chromosomes, mainly the X chromosome because the Y chromosome is small and doesn’t have a whole lot of genes to have issues with (example: X-linked recessive disorder- hemophilia A and B).

Okay, we’ve got an entirely unnecessary primer on genetic mutations, but hey still my show and not to mention I’ve barely touched on a BUNCH of stuff (trinucleotide repeats, polygenic diseases, outside factors, how cancer works, and more). But talking genetic mutations also helps me to introduce the idea of gene therapy. Gene therapy is fundamentally about introducing the correct/functional gene (we’ll just say gene for now) to a patient’s cells as a drug to treat disease.

So, how do we do that? Conceptually, I’d break it down into several components:

you need a functional copy of your gene of interest- this is not the hard part; the Human Genome Project was completed in April 2003

you need to get that functional gene into your target cell

you need your target cell to express that protein (make the protein) off your functional gene 

you ideally want to the cell to keep the gene so it can keep making the protein

Okay, we’ve got our gene because, like I said, this isn’t the hard part. The interesting part is how we get the gene into the cell and get the cell to make the gene. We need a vector.

Gee, who do we know who’s really good at getting into cells and making them do what they want?

Yeah, I’m talking about viruses. Most of my experience, both in theory and in practice, pertains to the use of viral vectors. Different kinds of viruses have been in use since the beginning of gene therapy really, notably adenoviruses, adeno-associated viruses (AAVs), and lentiviruses (off the top of my head). Essentially, you build a virus but instead of nasty ass virus genetic material inside, you’ve got your gene of interest. Then you set your recombinant (it’s been edited in some fashion- you did chuck out all the yucky stuff remember) virus on your target cells. Your virus enters your target cells, and again, viruses are very good at bullying cells into making them do what they want. So, now you have cells making your protein.

Another option is through the use of stem cells. And you’ve got a few options here. There’s a couple of different types of stem cells, in order of how much stuff they can be:

Totipotent- or omnipotent, these are found at the earliest stages of development, which is why these can turn into any kind of cell

Pluripotent- these ones are next and can differentiate (specifically) become nearly all cells, basically anything from the three germ layers (endoderm, mesoderm, ectoderm) - more on these guys in a sec!

Multipotent- a little more specific, they can only differentiate within whatever set family they come from

Oligopotent- just a few types

Unipotent- just the one, what they already are

What I really wanna talk about here is pluripotent stem cells. Because these fuckers are cool. Because we figured out how to make induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs). Basically, we took adult (fully differentiated, doesn’t wanna be anything else) cells and did some magic (I’m tired at this point can you tell) and drove them to be pluripotent. Which means we can do a lot of cool useful stuff with them. Like, for example, we can take adult cells from a patient, get IPSCs, edit those IPSCs ex vivo (outside the body- it’s easier to edit cells that are not currently attached to a living person) and reintroduced to the patient to differentiate and grow and thrive- all with a functional gene.

And then we’ve got CAR-T cells- chimeric antigen receptor T-cells. This whole branch is specifically to treat cancer. The premise is to take T-cells (a kind of white blood cell, please I can’t get into immunology now I don’t know how long this is and I’m afraid to ask) either from the patient or a compatible host and genetically engineer them to express chimeric antigen receptors before reintroducing them to the patient. A brief explanation of chimeric antigen receptors is that they’re called as such because they combine two functions- antigen-binding for some kind of antigen expressed only in cancer cells (grab onto the cancer cells) and T cell activation (fuck up said cancer cells).

Lastly: CRISPR, or CRISPR-Cas9. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats- a mouthful, I know. Also the newest technology. The CRISPR part comes from a family of DNA sequences found in prokaryotic organisms (bacteria, archaea). The idea is that prokaryotes grab little bits of DNA off bacteriophages that previously infected them and hang onto them- they play an important role in prokaryote antiviral defense. Meanwhile, Cas9 is a protein that uses whatever CRISPR sequences you’ve set to as a map- it finds what’s complementary to the CRISPR sequence and then slices and dices the DNA there. I’m honestly not as familiar with this as I’d like to be, so some quality time with some journal articles is probably in my future, BUT with my understanding, once you’ve targeted the sequence with CRISPR and snipped it open with Cas9, you have two options for modification- one adds random deletions/insertions, disrupting the gene, while the other incorporates the template DNA you’ve had accompany your CRISPR-Cas9 complex. Due to the random deletions/insertions aspect, there are still some concerns about precision. It can be introduced to your target cell in the form of having everything you need on a plasmid and yeeting that into your cell.

Onto the real actual history lesson!

So, according to wikipedia, it was back in 1972 that people thought, hey, it’s the 70s and we understand how DNA works, wouldn’t it be cool if we could fix bad DNA? Urging caution, natch, because this is, at the time, a whole new fucking thing, just absolutely wild and not exactly mad science, but holy shit do you wanna be careful when fucking about with people’s literal genome.

Fast forward to the 80s. A dude named Martin Cline tried gene therapy for beta thalassemia in 1980, which did not work and he never published the data. IN 1984, somebody designed this system that would use a retrovirus to insert genes into mammalian cells. We also had extensive animal testing through the 80s and a bacterial gene tagging trial in humans in 1989.

Onto the 90s where we start to see stuff. We focused primarily on some BIG stuff at first because, frankly, there weren’t a lot of options. We saw a successful treatment of severe combined immunodeficiency disorder (SCID) in a patient named Ashanti DeSilva in 1990. This partially restored her immune response, but the effects were not permanent, so she’d get treatments every two months. The internet is not being terribly helpful with recent news about her, but it sounds like she’s doing well!

In 1993 we saw our first permanent (or more permanent?) change thanks to gene therapy. This was the first time we went for cancer immunogene therapy, targeting glioblastoma multiforme (an absolute motherfucker of a disease, to put it incredibly mildly). The goal was to make the cancer susceptible to drugs to kill it. I think this all is an avenue they’re still working on, and fuck I hope we get this one right.

We see more treatments of SCID through the 1990s, and then, well, things went wrong. In 1999, Jesse Gilsinger, a patient with SCID, died from an immune response to the viral vectors used. Folks, this is something I remember hearing about when learning about genes and DNA and gene therapy, like, at the elementary school level, and it is still heart-breaking.

Despite this, we had more progress in the 2000s onwards- lots of clinical trials and animal studies... but we also started getting approvals.

2003- Gendicine was the first ever gene therapy to be approved. This drug was approved in China to treat head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. It’s a recombinant adenovirus that is engineered to express p53. I’ve touched on recombinant adenoviruses already, so p53 is a tumor suppressor gene. If you have a mutation in p53 that makes it less likely to function, cancer is more likely to result. So, the idea is express more p53, easier time beating the tumor. I don’t believe it was ever approved anywhere else, and the US FDA chose not to approve a similar treatment called Advexin from Introgen in 2008.

2011- Neovasculgen was developed in Russia and approved in Russia in 2011. This one is used for peripheral artery disease, including critical limb ischemia- when you have narrowing of the arteries in your limbs, restricting blood flow and thus oxygen. It’s a plasmid, which is a small piece of DNA in a circle (DNA does not like ends, but that’s another story) that contains a promoter (drives production of whatever gene comes next) and the gene for VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor). The most recent thing I see is it was in clinical trials in the US in 2017.

2012- Glybera is the first gene therapy we see approved in Europe. This one is an AAV, specifically serotype 1, that is designed to delivery an intact copy of the human lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene to muscle cells for treatment of lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD) and can cause pancreatitis. The DNA isn’t incorporated into the host genome; it just kind of hangs out floating around. This drug is a commercial failure. It’s infamously known as the million dollar drug (which, I’ll get to more on that in a hot second), and the company that owns it pulled it from the European market, couldn’t get approved in the US, and has no plans to introduce it elsewhere. As of 2018, only 31 people have received this treatment.

2016- Strimvelis was approved in Europe to treat ADA-SCID (that’s adenosine deaminase that’s causing SCID). This one is a stem cell treatment, specifically hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Adults actually have these guys, and for good reason; they hang out in your bone marrow and make everything blood cells- including white blood cells. That’s why for Strimvelis, they pull HSCs from the patient, isolate the ones they want, and then edit the adenosine deaminase gene causing the SCID by means of a gammaretrovirus (so yes, we are still using a virus over here, just not in a human person at the time), and reintroduce them to the patient- giving the patient functional adenosine deaminase. It looks to be effective based on followup, but there is an issue: once the HSCs have been exposed to the virus, you need to move fast (shelf life: six hours). SCID is also rare, which means it doesn’t sell much; from 2016 to when GSK sold the drug to another company in 2018, there’d been five sales.

2017- Kymriah (I’m using brand names because goodness gracious the generic names) is the first drug with a gene therapy step to be approved in the United States. Kymriah is a treatment for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and this CAR-T treatment is set to specifically target the protein CD19 that is commonly found on B cells. There’s a risk of cytokine release syndrome Also not cheap at $475,000 apparently, but the manufacturer Novartis says that it’s less expensive than bone marrow transplant. I am not going to be looking up how expensive bone marrow transplants are because then this will turn into a rant on the cost of medical treatments in the US (Oh, and read Shell’s fic got a license to kill (and you know i’m going straight for your heart); it has some good commentary on healthcare in the US). 

2017- Yescarta is another CAR-T treatment approved in the US in 2017, this one for large B-cell lymphoma that hasn’t responded to first line treatment. Probably because there’s a risk for cytokine release syndrome and neurological toxicities. Gilead owns this one.

2017- On December 19, 2017, Luxturna became the first in vivo (in the human body) gene therapy approved by the US FDA. It’s a treatment for Leber’s congenital amaurosis, an RPE65-mediated inherited retinal disease which causes progressive blindness. This one is an AAV2 with RPE65 DNA, so, the viral vector is applied to the eye so that the eye can then express the functional RPE65. Developed by Spark Therapeutic, owned by Novartis, $425,000 per eye. It was approved in Europe in 2018; you’d think there’d be lists of where these are approved but no make me google every organization why dontcha.

2019- And we’ve got our second in vivo gene therapy approved in the United States. Zolgensma is a treatment for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type I, the leading genetic cause of infant mortality. SMA is caused by a mutation in the survival motor neuron (SMN1) gene and is fatal without treatment at an early age (only other commercially available treatment is a drug called Spinraza). Zolgensma uses an AAV9 to introduce a functional copy of the SMN1 gene to motor neurons and should be a one time treatment. It’s since been approved in Japan and Europe (and I think Europe was really recent). And here’s where I really get mad about price tags. Developed by AveXis, owned by Novartis, this is the most expensive drug at $2,125,000 per treatment. Yeah, given the tech (doses specific to each patient, long manufacturing time, lots of resources required blah blah blah), it’s on the correct side of the bell curve, but holy fuck the United States is broken.

2019- Zynteglo was also approved, this one in Europe, for the treatment of beta thalassemia, a group of blood disorders that can range from asymptomatic to anemia. Beta thalassemia was/is treated with recurring blood transfusions, which can lead to iron overload, and is also treated with HSC transplants from a suitable donor. Zynteglo is another HSC treatment itself; the patient’s HSCs are taken and a lentivirus is used to introduce a functional copy of the HBB gene (hemoglobin beta) before being reintroduced. This should be another one time treatment. It had/has trials ongoing that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. Wikipedia does not tell me how much this one costs, but google says 1.6 million euros/1.8 million dollars. I do not rescind my criticism of the United States in the Zolgensma point.

2020- that’s right this hell year actually has SOMETHING fucking cool in it. Remember Leber congenital amaurosis from a few entries ago? In March of the worst times, we got confirmation that the first dose of the CRISPR-Cas9 system had been injected, marking the first instance in vivo genome editing in an adult human within the context of a scientific study. Apparently the first instance of in vivo genome editing in an adult human probably happened outside a clinical study when biophysicist Josiah Zayner, PhD injected himself.

So yeah. That is... over 4000 words on gene therapy so if you made it this far, hope you enjoyed it.

[madmazmind]

Hi, I heard you're like the *master* of getting tix - do you have tips?

Hello, anon! I think I prefer ticket Queen but I’ll take master ;)

Sorry for the delay! I wanted to have enough time to give a comprehensive answer. 

1. If you want tickets, be obsessive! Check Nimax and ATG here https://www.harrypottertheplay.com/ticket-information/ constantly. Like if you can check social media, you can check the sites! I see non-premium tickets come up at least once a day for the coming weeks and months. But also be patient! They will show up. I find Nimax usually has more but ATG sometimes surprises me with some lovely returns. 

2. If you’re in London or know someone who is, pop into the box office and speak to the lovely people in there. Ask them for specific dates and they’ll let you know if theres been any returns. In my experience there’s always more tickets in person than online. Its also kinda pot luck if the person serving you is in a good mood as to whether they will trawl through the dates you want for you or just tell you to (politely) give it up. 

3. Be willing to go alone (if you’re not like 12). You’re SO much more likely to get tickets and you’ll make friends with the people around you. There’s a big online community on here and twitter who will be happy to freak out with you throughout the day as well. 

4. The returns queue! This is essentially going to sit outside the box office from early in the morning and hoping somebody has returned their tickets. People start queuing from 6:30am-9:30am depending on the day and I’ve got non-premium tickets every time I’ve tried it. The box office is on the left hand side of the theatre if you’re facing the front, on shaftesbury avenue. Take a blanket and some books and snuggle down! This is also an amazing friend-making spot for people you’re gonna spend all day with when you get tickets! If you’re trying to be strategic, think it through- people tend to work on weekdays so some days are less busy than others. 

5. And now for a shameless plug: follow me on twitter @maia_rs_ … If theres a ticket dump online I will tweet about it!

6. Search twitter for people who’s friends can no longer go and have a spare single and go with them! Something I’ve done twice. Search “cursed child tickets” “hpplayldn tickets” and “harry potter tickets”. But be quick in messaging the people cos lots of people are on this!

And a do not:

DO NOT buy from touts on stubhub ect. You will be ripped off and turned away at the door so avoid the temptation.

Its mainly about persistence- good luck! xx

[jezendar]

Plans for the New Year

It is once again time for the yearly consideration of plans for the upcoming year. So let's get into that, shall we? A Good Job: This is the most important thing I'm looking to do this year. My work status has been quite chaotic over the past couple of years. After leaving my original job at a local grocery store due to longstanding problems with certain employees, I ended up taking a job at a Walmart. And while this particular store didn't suffer from any of the more extreme problems this chain is often associated with, it was nonetheless a rather less-than-worker-friendly environment, and I moved on rather quickly. My current job is with a merchandising company, which makes for largely independant work and free-form scheduling, but also means that the amount of work hours available in any given week is dependant on how many tasks actually need to be done. So I think it's long overdue for me to look for something that I've never really had: An actual full-time job with a steady schedule. Current ATG Themes: I want to get back into the habit of doing artwork on a fairly regular basis, and returning to the idea of doing the new MLP-ATG-Alumni Theme each week seems like a good way to do so. And providing more participation for a group that has slowed down quite a ways over the past years will be an added bonus for this. Catching Up on Past Themes: That thing I always seem to be 'working' on is still very much on the radar, and with two Season-based sets of prompts and three past NATG sets sitting incomplete, there's a fair bit of work here that still needs to be done. Specifically, a full 56 separate pictures will be needed to complete all of these, so I am admittedly not expecting to get all of this done over the course of the year. But I do want to get at least some of these sets taken care of. I'm planning to concentrate on the NATG VI prompts first, both because it alone is nearly half of the needed work (26 prompts out of 30 currently not done) and because the anthro-centric style I've been doing for these pics will likely broaden my art skills by the greatest amount. Non-Pony Artwork: I'm still interested in expanding my creations beyond this particular fandom, but so far I have done so very little. And all the work I have listed above means I won't really have much time to do so right now. Nonetheless, I may sneak the occasional wasteland dweller, otherworldy horror, or stellar traveler into my creations over the year, and I also have an idea for a character based on Thattagen's new AD-HOC webcomic that I would like to put some development into. Writing: Something else I've mentioned in the past (and am at least technically doing now) is the idea of writing more often, and this is still something I have an interest in doing. As this is a lower priority than the other things listed here, I'm not sure just when I'll start putting actual effort into this, but I have been considering starting up a second tumblr account once the time comes. Current Location: Someplace very scary. And purple-y. Current song stuck in my head: For the New Lunar Republic

[jeannereames]

Hi, Dr. Reames. I admire your work a lot and I thank you profusely for taking the time to answer asks in such a detailed manner.

If possible, could you talk a bit about the Alexander of Lyncestis affair? I always get mixed up about it (because of the relation to Antipater and Parmenion). Do you think he really wrote to Darius and would had murdered Alexander if he hadn't been stopped?

First, a quick summary of who he was, and the importance of Lynkestis vis-à-vis Macedon, then I’ll explain the conspiracy and why it’s possible Parmenion framed him.

Welcome, btw, to the Wonderful World of Macedonian Prosopography. I am a crazy person and love this stuff. 😝 Also, because we have too many Alexanders, I’m going to call Alexander the Great “ATG” throughout.

Alexander’s father was Airopos (Aeropus), basileus* of Lynkestis, cousin of Philip’s mother, Eurydike. When Airopos was banished by Philip at some point during the Charioneia campaign (338), his eldest son Alexander became basileus in turn. Alexander had two younger brothers, Heromenes and Arrhabaios, and probably unmentioned sisters.

He married Antipatros’s daughter, although we’re not told when. Antipatros’s kids are curious. The man was older than both Philip and even Parmenion, but had a string of offspring (7 boys and 4? girls) who seem to have been mostly ATG’s generation or younger. Perhaps he married late. Or his first wife was barren/had only a few children, and he married again after she died. We know the names of 3 of Antipatros’s daughters: Phila, Eurydike, and Nikaia, but there may have been an older fourth. The wife of Alexander of Lynkestis was not the famously clever Phila, already married to Balakros (later married to Krateros, and then to Demetrios Poliorketes). Possibly she was Eurydike or Nikaia, who didn’t marry (again?) till after ATG’s death. Yet if so, I’d expect the earlier marriage to the Lynkestian to be mentioned when we hear of them during the Successor Wars (as with Phila). Ergo, I suspect this an older, 4th daughter.

We don’t know Alexander’s age when he took control of Lynkestis. Airopos was still in the army in 338, so no older than his 60s, making him a contemporary of his cousin, the queen mother (Eurydike). This puts a terminus ante quem of mid-40s for Alexander of Lynkestis, but he could have been as young as late 20s (not any younger). I think mid/late 30s a safe guess.

As for his canton…before Philip, Lynkestis was an independent kingdom in Upper Macedonia located around Lake Ohrid. (See Selena’s map from my novel.) Along with Elimeia, Lynkestis had a troubled history with lowland Macedonia and the Argead royal house. On multiple occasions, they’d supported alternative Argeads for the throne—mostly to destabilize Macedon. Recent archaeology at Tribinishte (ancient Lychnidos) shows wealth and cultural development by the mid-500s (Archaic Age). But they seem to have been culturally distinct from lowland populations around Aegae, Sindos, and Archontiko (whose archaeology also shows wealth from c. 570 onward). The Lynkestian royal house had ties to Illyrian royal houses via intermarriage. Philip’s mother, a Lynkestian princess, was arguably half-Illyrian (see Beth Carney’s relatively recent monograph on her).

My main point is that these people had been independent, and quite powerful, for a few hundred years before Philip brought them under the Macedonian yoke. He did the same thing to Elimeia, in the southern highlands, as well as Orestis, sandwiched in-between, plus Pelagonia and Eordia. With the possible exception of the latter, and Almopia, these areas were NOT that firmly under the Macedonian heel. (See map again)

This explains why ATG would so readily believe the younger Lynkestian brothers were involved in Philip’s murder. They even had Phillip’s banishment of their father as an incentive. Initially, the older brother Alexander was included in the accusation, but as he supported ATG immediately after Philip’s murder, and had Antipatros protecting him, he was acquitted.

This isn’t to say a conspiracy against Philip existed involving any of them, but for historical reasons, it was an easy sell to claim there had been.

We tend to think of Philip as Master of his Castle and forget his subjugation of the upper cantons was relatively recent, and perhaps not so settled as later historians present it. The 338 banishment of Airopos is a good clue to continued unrest. Airopos and his buddy were exiled for bringing flute girls into camp (breaking Philip’s rules). But this wasn’t about the girls—it was about challenging Philip’s authority. Airopos fled to Athens, with whom Lynkestis had a long history too. As early as the Peloponnesian War, Lynkestis and Athens had ganged up on Perdikkas II.

Philip may have wanted to be rid of a troublesome father in favor of a more tractable son. Married to a daughter of Antipatros, his trusted regent, Philip preferred Alexander. It’s not unlike what he did in Epiros earlier. He’d chased out Arybbas, Olympias’s uncle, to put her brother Alexander on the throne because he trusted Alexander’s loyalty. (Yeah, too many Alexanders.)

In any case, Alexander of Lynkestis’s tie to Antipatros would elevate him under Philip and save him under Alexander—at least once.

Before we go on, I have to explain another court rivalry that isn’t about Alexander of Lynkestis, but would impact him. That’s the (apparent) rivalry between Antipatros and Parmenion.

Antipatros’s family seems to have had ties to the Argead royal house. During the Peloponnesian War, an ancestor held an important command and regency under Perdikkas II. Antipatros himself had been advisor and regent to Phil’s older brother, Perdikkas III. Philip “inherited” him, and some stories from Athenaeus’s Supper Party suggests he may have found him a bit intimidating. Antipatros was also a friend of Aristotle, and penned several histories and other works.

Contrast Parmenion. His rise at court coincided with Philip’s kingship and they were personal friends. It’s been suggested he was a relative of the Pelagonian royal family, whose basileus was a Philotas (probably not Parmenion’s own father, but you’ve seen how popular royal names repeat). Pelagonia is tucked up against Lynkestis and Illyria. Perhaps even more than Lynkestis, Pelagonia had Illyrian ties. Anyway, if that’s true, I wouldn’t be surprised if Philip first met Parmenion when he put down Bardylis in his first year or so on the throne.

Wherever he came from, Parmenion was a New Man at Philip’s court in contrast to Antipatros’s establishment position. A rivalry is understandable. That also means they would be looking for ways to undermine the other via proxies. Like Alexander of Lynkestis.

The 334 arrest of Alexander of Lynkestis in Syria for conspiracy is a holdover from ATG’s accession crisis, rather than something new. Returning a moment to Philip’s murder, ATG accused Darius of being involved, but if he had been, it was likely only in terms of offering money and a place to escape to for Pausanias. Darius later tried to suborn Attalos, but Attalos turned over Darius’s letter to ATG. It didn’t save him. There was also an Amyntas, son of Antiochus, who hated Alexander so much he fled to Darius’s court (and who was, in fact, supposedly Alexander of Lynkestis’s contact there).

We see Darius willing to exploit already existing fractures in Macedonian politics. Persians had been doing that in Greece for over a hundred years.

So, I don’t doubt a letter from Darius was intercepted by Parmenion on the person of a Persian courier. After questioning [torturing] the courier for the plot, Parmenion sent both letter and courier to ATG, claiming the letter was Darius’s reply to Alexander of Lynkestis, after an earlier overture from the Lynkestian. Maybe. But Alexander of Lynkestis had fared well under ATG. In thanks for his support after Philip’s death, ATG had first given him command in Thrace, then later elevated him to command of the Thessalian Cavalry, the most prestigious cavalry unit after the Companions themselves.

According to the letter, Darius had promised Alexander of Lynkestis the Macedonian throne plus 100 talents…if he’d kill ATG.

For a variety of reasons, some reactionary against ATG, Parmenion is often painted rather rosily by modern historians. Without diminishing the fact ATG murdered him, Parmenion didn’t get to his position by playing nice. Not long before, he’d thrown Attalos under the bus. Perhaps he did so out of loyalty to his friend Philip, and who he’d wanted to inherit the throne—but note that Parmenion’s eldest sons walked away with really plum assignments, especially for their ages: Philotas in command of the entire Companion cavalry, and Nikanor in command of the entire Hypaspists. And of course, Daddy got to stay #2 in the army. Alexander would have been a fool to demote him, but Parmenion understood how to play power games.

Antipatros might be back in Macedonia, but his allies had been plucking nice assignments too, post-Granikos. Balakros (son-in-law) was the new satrap of Cilicia, Antigonos Monophthalmos satrap of Phrygia, and Antigonos’s cousin Kallas also had a new satrapy…freeing command of the Thessalians for Alexander of Lynkestis. Parmenion might have worried Antipatros was getting ATG to put people in place to undermine Parmenion’s influence.  

It’s important to keep an eye on who is aligned with whom. I don’t think it outside the realm of possibility that Parmenion framed Alexander of Lynkestis to undercut Antipatros.

The offer of the Macedonian throne is curious. The Lynkestian house is often noted as related to Philip and Alexander. But the most recent tie was via Eurydike, Philip’s mother. That would give Philip a possible claim on the Lynkestian throne…but not a claim of Alexander or his brothers to the Macedonian throne, which could only pass to an Argead. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t an older marriage tie between the two houses, but the link is less clear (our sources suck).

My point is that Alexander of Lynkestis’s claim on the Macedonian throne might be no stronger than one from the Elimeian royal family, or Orestian, or Eordian…. Even if Darius gave him 100 talents, that’s a brush-off. Darius wasn’t going to help Alexander of Lynkestis keep the throne. He just wanted to see ATG dead and the succession in turmoil…so the Macedonians would sink back into the bogs that spawned them and leave HIM alone.

Given Alexander of Lynkestis’s current high position at ATG’s court, but also the precariousness of the army in Asia, making a deal with Darius wouldn’t have been in his best interest (imo). Yet accusing Alexander of such a deak would have been in Parmenion’s interest. And it wouldn’t be hard to convince ATG of such a conspiracy, as Alexander of Lynkestis had been accused once before of plotting the assassination of an Argead.

ATG, or perhaps his advisors, decided to err on the side of caution and arrested Alexander of Lynkestis. But he wasn’t killed. ATG didn’t want to piss off Antipatros. Or he didn’t entirely believe Parmenion. Maybe both. So he had Alexander of Lynkestis carted around under house arrest until the army got to Baktria 3½-4 years later.

I find it ironic that Alexander of Lynkestis met his end as part of the fallout from the Philotas Affair—which he had nothing to do with. ATG just finally felt strong enough in his kingship to get rid of inconvenient baggage. So Alexander of Lynkestis was put to death alongside the son of the man who possibly framed Alexander in the first place, and who would shortly be murdered himself. Perhaps it gave Alexander some bitter satisfaction as he stood beside Philotas, facing down the “firing squad” of spear throwers.

* Basileus means “king,” and these men were kings before being absorbed by Macedon under Philip. Yet by ATG’s day, the Greek term is best translated “princeling.” They were hereditary canton governors now.

On Prosopography: I use a lot of “appears to,” “seems,” and other qualifying terms because so much prosopography is built on probabilities, not certainties. We infer a lot. For those unsure what a prosopographer does, we try to discern the relationships between people, and how that may impact their political choices and alliances. 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon for the ancient world.

Initial prosopography of Alexander’s court was done by Helmut Berve at the beginning of the 20th century: Das Alexanderreich auf Prosopographischer Grundlage, I & II. In the late ‘70s/early 80s, Waldemar Heckel began to revamp that (in English) in a series of articles about the court and army. In the early 90s, he published the first edition of The Marshals of Alexander’s Empire. As the name suggests, it focused only on the men. In 2006, he produced Who’s Who in the Age of Alexander the Great, that did include women. At roughly the same time (they’re contemporaries), Elizabeth Carney was publishing on women at the court, notably in Women and Monarchy in Macedonia. But she’d also published a number of articles on politics that included men too.

Both have revised their respective books and articles in collections post 2010, including for Beth, King and Court in Ancient Macedonia (2015), and for Waldemar, Alexander’s Marshals (2019) and new Who’s Who that includes the Hellenistic Age (2021). They frequently have differing opinions, and for anyone seriously interested in the courts of Philip, Alexander, and the Successors, these are now standard works.

[ryanurzi]

prompt, but necessary love letters

in no particular order.

KK- You already know most of this, but I just wanted to put some of it in writing. It still baffles me that we can talk about nothing for so long. It’s like a never ending episode of Seinfeld.  Your phone calls keep me sane and your instagram memes keep me grounded. Even though we’re a couple hundred miles away, I don’t think we’ve ever been closer. “Knowledge Speaks, Wisdom Listens” This is going to take you far. Even though we won’t be together this summer, we have to keep each other motivated. Thanks for being such a great friend.

JW- To my oldest friend, I’m so glad that I kicked you in the shin in 3rd grade. Thanks for sticking with me through my chump years in middle school. Even though we’re far apart now, I have no doubt in my mind that we’re going to be friends forever. When we hang out, all my stress melts away and I feel like I can just be that goofy kid I used to be. You’re the most honest and genuine person that I have ever met. Thank you for holding me accountable and telling when I’m being an idiot. I can say without doubt that I would not be who I am today without you. Thanks m8. Much love (PS. The Dream Killers will soon return to their former glory)

JM- Dear Mr. Sir,

You’re probably never going to read this because I don’t think you ever check your phone, but in the event that you do, know that I really appreciate you man. It’s so incredible that we can go months without talking while I’m away at school and then come back and pick up right where we left off. You’re an incredibly hard worker and one of the most talented people that I have ever met. If you can make it through three years of digital imaging, I’m positive that you can do anything that you want. Wherever you end up, I know that you’re going to change the world.

JR- Lemme just uhhh, appreciate you really quick. I’ve really really missed you this year man. I get so nostalgic every time I think of last summer. All the time that we’ve spent together has been so much fun. You’re kinda like my November. I can’t wait to see you again

LH- Damn buddy, what a time it has been. Just about every good memory that I have from 7th grade forward has you in it. Project W, turning off the Xbox on round 30 of Nuketown Zombies, plotting to kidnap Taylor, small groups on Wednesdays, senior sunrise, Yosemite, Long Beach. So crazy to think how far we’ve come. From chumps in middle school to now being people who are actually doing things with their lives. Weird to think about. Thanks for being there for me man.

LS- Wow. Crazy to think that we met only a couple months ago.  You’ve been so honest and open and kind and helpful and I can’t thank you enough for that. Your hugs kinda hurt but it’s so worth it to be your friend. I have so much admiration for how genuine you are with everyone that you meet. I aspire to be the kind of friend that you are. Short in stature, but big in heart. Thanks for the good times this semester and I very much look forward to this summer.

ATG- Homie, I’m so glad we met this year. It’s only been two weeks, but I already miss you like crazy. You’re one of those people that I feel like I could talk to forever. I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but you really inspire me. You’re so incredibly talented, but you’re also one of the most humble and down to earth people I’ve ever met. I feel like every time we hang out, I learn something new. Thanks for all the laughs, quotes, and music recommendations. Our nights out were definitely the highlight of this last year. I’m gonna miss you this summer, but next year is gonna be one hell of a time. We’re gonna get true jedi on every level of Lego Star Wars. Mark my words MF. Talk to you soon, ya beepis.

A葛涵 G- To be completely honest, I don’t really know what to say here. All I know is that I wanted to write one of these for you. Whenever I see you on the sidewalk and we shoot the shit, I just get kinda happy. I realize how weird that sounds (I don’t mean it to be), but it’s true. When we hang out, I feel like I can say dumb shit and make stupid jokes and have someone that gets it. It makes me feel like I’m home. I really appreciate it. Keep rockin’ the double baseball hats and instagram polls.

MS- I’ll start by saying thank you for helping me get the internship because it means more to me than you know. I’ll follow that up by saying thank you for handling everything with housing so well. That was definitely the most stressful thing that I had to deal with this year and I’d probably be sub-letting a bush from the Morlan bunny if it wasn’t for you. But also, thanks for being such a good friend this semester. You’re an incredible guy and getting to know you has been an absolute pleasure. Working with you and living with you is something that I’m sure will be a highlight of our college experience. Next year is going to be our best year yet.

JY- I feel like I can’t say anything here that won’t sound whack as f00k, but hey #timesup amiright. Your cow milking skills are unparalleled but your sandwich eating could use some work. Seriously though, thanks for being such a bro. You don’t know it, but you’ve really helped to remind me to not take everything seriously and to have a good time above all else. I’ve had a great time this semester and I have no doubt that next year will be even more incredible (especially since we’re all sleeping in the same room). Pound it.

CVA- I’m convinced that you’re the only person in the greater Los Angeles area that can rock a peacoat in the summer. But in all seriousness, I’m so glad we met this year. There’s never been a time that we’ve hung out that hasn’t been loads of fun. I am beyond excited for next year and the years to come. It’s gonna be so much fun living together next year, even though it’s only gonna be for a semester. Thanks for being a friend this year and thanks for catching me when I fall ;)

SB- 1st off, thanks for giving me this idea. I remember when I saw you post this on your page and thinking to myself that I had to do that for my friends. That was such a genuinely nice thing to do. I’ve never really seen a guy do something like that before. It really made me realize how great of a person you are. I seriously don’t understand how you stay so humble because you are one of the smartest and most talented people I know. It’s also still so crazy to me that you were in LOK, but I’ll keep it on the dl. I can’t wait for next year man. It’s gonna be the time of our lives.

MZ- First off, oh my god. Second, you are actually the nicest person I have ever met. I genuinely do not understand how you always stay so positive. I get tired just being around you; I can’t imagine being you. You have this special way about you that makes it impossible to be in a bad mood when we’re in the same room. It makes me feel like I’m at home when we’re together. You’ve been a great fraternity mother and an even greater friend. Even though we had to say goodbye the other day, we’ll be back together soon.

SM- Honey, I don’t even know where to start this one. I never would have guessed that we would have been this close. You spill the tea a little too much and I’m still not 100% positive that you don’t want to shag all the pledges, but it’s ok. You’re a perfect example of striking a balance between working hard and playing hard. This semester would have been a completely different story if it weren’t for you constantly inviting me out. You’re extremely dedicated and extremely talented while also being one of the most genuinely fun people that I’ve ever met. I can’t remember the last time a came across someone that cares as much about their friends as you. You’re so nice and caring that in retrospect, I don’t see how we couldn’t be this close.

MC- Ummm, yeaaaa… sir? I remember when we first met. I thought you were just super nice and outgoing for o-week and I was like, “Hey, this person is pretty cool.” And then we started hanging out and you were still super nice and outgoing and I was like, “Wow. I really respect this person.” There are very few people that I know that can be super nice all the time and super honest all the time. I feel like most people are one or the other but you are somehow both. Thanks for being such a consistently good person and sorry for calling you names (but let’s be honest, that name is just too perfect). It was and will be an absolute pleasure, forever and always.

AC- It still kind of blows my mind how well we get along despite how vastly different we are, but at this point, I don’t question it anymore. Thanks for teaching me how to cube and thanks for giving me an excuse to watch old movies all the time. Thanks for making me laugh and attempting to motivate me. Even though we don’t hang out as much as we used to, it doesn’t mean that we didn’t have some great times this past year. Thanks for being my friend when few others would be.

AO- What can you say about a girl like you… It’s been truly incredible getting to know you this year. You’re so nice and funny and talented and I definitely don’t deserve to be your friend. I know that I’m a total flake, but thanks for sticking with me. I’m gonna try to forget the terrible formal that I took you to, but our countless trips to Disneyland will be one thing from last year that I will remember forever. Even though we won’t be bumping into each other at the caf anymore, this friendship is far from over.

LM- You were the first person at Chapman that I really clicked with. I remember the first night that we met. We were at someone’s housewarming party on the third week of school and we left and talked on that backyard porch for a couple hours about dumb shit. I know that it was just dumb shit but that meant a lot to me. I was a little worried when I got here that I wouldn’t fit in but that made me feel at home. Thanks. We had some really good times this year and we’re gonna have some more this summer and next year. If you ever need anything, you know who to call.

JI- You are truly one of a kind. You’re also the cutest MF at Chapman. I’m kind of in love with you man. Thanks for being such a gracious host this semester and thanks for being such a great friend. You’re one of the most fun loving and genuine people I’ve ever met and I can tell that we’re going to be friends for a long long time (especially if my SSN is still hung up on your wall).

NP- M’lad. I am seriously so happy that we met this year. I really appreciate how enthusiastic you are. You bring new energy into every conversation that I have with you. I feel like I learn something new every time we talk. I just really enjoy being around you. And I don’t mean that in a weird kind of way; I just genuinely enjoy hanging out with you. I can’t wait for next year man. I’m sure that we will have many more good conversations.

AL- Sometimes I forget how long we’ve been friends. It was that one Thanksgiving all those years ago and then countless Tuesday nights and weekends in between. I’m sorry that I haven’t kept in great touch since I’ve been away, but I’m so thankful for all the time that we’ve spent together. Seeing your grad pics the other day made me so happy for you. It was so so so good seeing you the other day. I hope it won’t be too long before we see each other again.

JCG- To be completely honest, you’ve been a really important figure in my life these past few months. Before we met, I hadn’t had an honest, open conversation with anyone in a good while. And the fact that we’ve continued that past the opening stages of our relationship means a lot. Thanks for being that for me. I know that sometimes I speak a little too openly, but the times when we can just sit down and talk about our feelings are some of the most relaxing and relieving times I have at school. I’m glad that we’ll get to continue that this summer and for the rest of our lives. Miss you. Love you. See you soon.

BJ- The 11th hour friend of freshman year. I don’t know how it took us so long to meet but we’re here and that’s all that matters. Damn dude, there’s something special about us. You just get it. You’ve got such a strong creative vision that I know will take you far. I can tell that we’re going to be friends for a very long time. I very much look forward to collaborating with you and getting to know you more in the process. Grand is gonna pop off next year. My door and my line are open at all times. Thanks for being such a broe.

sunday, june 3, 2:55 am

[bi010gic]

The Nylonase Story: How Unusual Is That?

Ann Gauger

Editor’s note: Nylon is a modern synthetic product used in the manufacturing, most familiarly, of ladies’ stockings but also a range of other goods, from rope to parachutes to auto tires. Nylonase is a popular evolutionary icon, brandished by theistic evolutionist Dennis Venema among others. In a series of three posts, of which this is the second, Discovery Institute biologist Ann Gauger takes a closer look.

In an article yesterday, “The Nylonase Story: When Imagination and Facts Collide,” I described how some biologists claim that the enzyme nylonase demonstrates that it is easy to get new functional proteins. It has been proposed that nylonase is the result of a frameshift mutation that produced an entirely new coding sequence from an alternate reading frame. I showed why such a claim is false. Now I will explain what that means and something about the unusual properties of the nylB gene that caught molecular geneticist and evolutionary biologist Susumu Ohno’s attention.

What are alternate reading frames? To answer that question, I first need to provide some background information. I will begin by defining some terms I used in yesterday’s post. DNA is composed of two anti-parallel strands of nucleotides. The order of the nucleotides in each strand is what specifies the information the DNA carries. The two strands, called the sense and antisense strands, run in opposite directions. Even though their sequences are complementary, with A always paired with T, and C with G, each strand carries different potential information.

ATG GCA TGC ACC GGC ATT AG → sense TAC CGT ACG TGG CCG TAA TC ← antisense

Before the information in DNA can be used, it must be copied into what we call messenger RNA. The sequence of one strand of DNA, usually the sense strand, is copied using the same base complementarity: G pairs with C, and A with U (U is used in place of T in RNA). We call that copying transcription. The message that has been transcribed from the DNA into that sequence of RNA is now ready to be translated into protein.

Notice the language of information shot throughout these processes. The names for these processes were given by men fully committed to a naturalistic worldview, men such as Francis Crick and Sydney Brenner. Indeed, they were materialists one and all. Yet they saw the parallels between these processes and the human manipulation of text (language) or code (another form of language). The genetic code is the framework that determines the relationship between groups of nucleotides (codons), and the amino acids they specify. The code specifies how to translate the messenger RNA that has been copied or transcribed from the DNA, so that it can be translatedinto a new language, the language of proteins. Below is an illustration of the standard genetic code (source here, used with permission):

Notice that the information in DNA is read in groups of three nucleotides (each group is called a codon), and each codon specifies a particular amino acid. Sometimes more than one codon can specify the same amino acid. For example in the top left corner, the table shows that UUU and UUC both specify the amino acid phenylalanine.

The nature of the code is such that it matters where the first codon begins — the first codon to be read establishes the codon groupings going forward. In the table above the “start” codon is AUG (it also specifies the amino acid methionine). The sequence of codons is “read” by a cellular machine called the ribosome, which starts reading the RNA message at AUG, and then proceeds three nucleotides at a time to translate the message into amino acids. In the sequence below, for example, the first codon to be read would be AUG and that codon determines the frame in which of all the other codons are read.

AUG GCA UGC ACC GGC AUU AGU

Now here’s where it gets interesting. Potentially, DNA can be grouped into different codons, or frames, depending on where the ribosome starts reading. See below for an illustration. For example, the sequence could potentially be read with the groupings shown in frame one (ATG GCA etc.) or frame two (TGG CAT etc., if a proper ATG exists somewhere upstream), leading ultimately to a different amino acid sequences for each. In fact there are six possible ways to group the DNA into codons — three frames on the sense strand going left to right (labeled 1-3), and three frames on the antisense strand (labeled 4-6), going right to left. Below I have laid out the six possible frames for the sequence we began with, but with the alternate frames staggered, and the alternate codons separated by spaces. Notice the sequence stays the same — the only thing that changes from frame to frame is how the nucleotides are grouped. It’s the same sequence, but it could be read and translated differently in each frame. This is because each codon specifies a particular amino acid. Thus, each frame results in a completely different string of amino acids.

frame 1  ATG GCA TGC ACC GGC ATT AG frame 2   TGG CAT GCA CCG GCA TTA G frame 3    GGC ATG CAC CGG CAT TAG

frame 4  TAC CGT ACG TGG CCG TAA TC frame 5   ACC GTA CGT GGC CGT AAT C frame 6    CCG TAC GTG GCC GTA ATC

The codons TAA, TAG, and TGA are stop codons — they specify where the gene ends and protein translation stops. (For extra credit, can you find any ATG or stop codons in the above frames? They are there in both the forward and reverse direction. For more extra credit, can you use the code table to translate different frames, and demonstrate that each frame encodes a different protein?)

So when Venema and others say that nylonase arose by a frameshift mutation that produced a novel protein 392 amino acids long, they are claiming that a completely new coding sequence with frame-shifted codons could generate a functional protein. How likely is that? Not very, given the rarity of functional proteins in sequence space (see my first post). And, as I have already shown in my first post, such an unlikely hypothesis is unnecessary. The nylB gene appears to be the product of a simple gene duplication followed by two stepwise mutations to increase nylonase activity.

There is something special about the nylonase gene’s sequence though, something very odd. nylB has multiple large, overlapping (alternate) open frames that lack stop codons.

How hard is it to get a gene with multiple reading frames?

Let me explain. Roughly one in twenty codons are stop codons. A random DNA sequence will have stop codons about every sixty bases, and may or may not have a start codon. Usually the alternate frames of DNA sequences are interrupted by stop codons. Only the frame that actually specifies the correct gene will have no stop codons at all over a significant length. This system is actually very ingenious. The one frame that needs to be read and translated is identified by an ATG. The other frames will usually lack an ATG and/or will have several stop codons that interrupt their translation, thus preventing the cell from wasting energy on nonsense transcripts.

According to the nylonase story, as told by Ohno and Venema and numerous others, a new ATG start codon was formed by the insertion of a T between an A and G, thus creating a new start codon after the original ATG, which shifted the reading frame for that sequence to that specified by the new ATG, and creating a completely different coding sequence and thus a new protein. Let us grant that scenario for the sake of argument. Normally such a shift would produce a new coding sequence that would be interrupted by stop codons, so the newly frameshifted protein would be truncated. Thus the only reason this frameshift hypothesis for nylonase is even remotely possible is because the sequence coding for nylonase is most unusual, and contains not one, not two, but three open frames Although frameshift mutations are ordinarily considered to be quite disruptive, at least in this case the putative brand new protein sequence would not terminate early due to stop codons.

My point? The first step to getting a new functional protein of any length from a frameshift is to avoid stop codons. The odds of a random coding sequence having an open alternate frame, without stops, are poor. As a consequence, if a protein does have an open frame in addition to its coding sequence, it’s worth paying attention to. And it so happens that nylonase does have more than one open frame. The DNA sequence above illustrates the six frames, numbering them frames 1 through 6. Using that convention, frames 1 and 3 are read from the sense strand. Both have no stop codons over the length of the gene in the sense direction. Frame 4 on the antisense direction has no stop codons either. Frame 1 is the coding frame that specifies the nylonase protein, otherwise known as the open reading frame (ORF). It is defined by the presence of both a start and stop codon. The other two frames have no start codons or stop codons, so I’ll call them non-stop frames (NSFs). They are frames 3 and 4.

The probability of a DNA sequence with an ORF on the sense strand and 2 NSFs is very small. Just exactly howsmall are the chances of avoiding a stop codon in three out of six frames? We set out to determine that by performing a numerical simulation using pseudorandom numbers to generate sequences at various levels of GC content. (By we I mean that my husband, Patrick Achey, who is an actuary, did the programming work, while I determined the parameters.) We chose to vary the GC content because sequences with a higher GC content have fewer stop codons. Remember, a stop codon always has an A and a T (TAA, TAG, and TGA are the stop codons) so having a sequence with a lower percentage of AT content will reduce the frequency of stop codons. Conversely, higher GC content makes the chances of avoiding stop codons and getting longer ORFs much greater, thus also increasing the chances of NSFs. The genomes of bacteria vary in their GC content, from less than 20 percent to as much as 75 percent, though the reason why is not known. One species of Flavobacterium has a genome with about 32 percent GC and 2400 genes — the precise values varies with the strain. The plasmid on which nylB resides is very different. It has 65 percent GC content. The gene encoding nylonase has an even higher 70 percent GC content, which is near the observed bacterial maximum of 75 percent.

We chose to use a target ORF size of 900 nucleotides (or 300 amino acids) because it is an average size for a functional protein. Nylonase is 392 amino acids long; the small domain of beta lactamase, the enzyme my colleague Doug Axe studied, is about 150 amino acids long. The median length for an E. coli protein is 278 amino acids; for humans, the median length is 375.

As expected, the simulation showed that the higher the GC content, the greater the likelihood that ORFs that are 900+ nucleotides long exist. At 50 percent GC, the average ORF length we obtained was about 60 nucleotides; most ORFs terminate well before 900 nucleotides. Indeed, in our simulation only two out of a million random sequences made it to 900 nucleotides before encountering a stop codon. As a result, we could not determine the rarity of NSFs at 50 percent GC — we would probably have to run the simulation for more than a billion trials to get any significant number of NSFs at all.

Sequences at 60 percent GC gave 57 ORFs at least 900 nucleotides long out of a million trials, while sequences at 65 percent GC produced 404 out of a million, one of which also had an NSF.

NSFs were much more probable for sequences that were 70 percent GC, like nylB. In our simulation 3,021 out of a million trials were ORFs at least 900 nucleotides long. That’s a frequency of .3 percent. Of those 3,021 ORFs, 86 had 1 NSF, and none had 2 NSFs. We had to run 10 million trials at 70 percent GC to see any ORFs with 2 NSFs. From those 10 million randomly generated sequences, we obtained 28,603 ORFs; 903 had 1 NSF and only 9 had 2 NSFs.

Interestingly, at 80 percent GC we got a few sequences with 4 NSFs; but I don’t know of any bacterium with a GC content that high.

Our simulation shows that multiple NSFs are very rare. The probability that an ORF 900 nucleotides long with 70 percent GC content will have two NSFs is 9 out of 28,603, or 0.0003. If these figures are recast to include the total number of trials required to get an ORF of that length and GC content and with 2 NSFs, the probability would be 9 out of 10,000,000 trials.

A sequence like nylB is very rare. In fact, I suspect that for all cases where overlapping genes exist, in other words where alternate frames from the same sequence have the potential to code for different proteins, unusual sequence will necessarily be found. Likely it will be high in GC content. Could such rare sequences be accidental? I think that if we compare the expected number of alternate or overlapping NSFs per ORF, with the actual number we will find that there are more of these alternate open reading frames than would be predicted by chance.

From another study of overlapping genes:

Thus, bacterial genomes contain a larger number of long shadow ORFs [ORFs on alternate frames] than expected based on statistical analysis. Random mutational drift would have eliminated the signal long ago, if no selection pressures were stabilizing shadow ORFs. Deviations between the statistical model and bacterial genomes directly call for a functional explanation, since selection is the only force known to stabilize the depletion of stop codons. Most shadow genes have escaped discovery, as they are dismissed as false positives in most genome annotation programs. This is in sharp contrast to many embedded overlapping genes that have been discovered in bacteriophages. Since phages reside in a long term evolutionary equilibrium with the bacterial host genome, we suggest that overlooked shadow genes also exist in bacterial genomes.

Indeed, a study of the pOAD2 plasmid from which nylB came indicates that there are potentially many overlapping genes on that plasmid. nylB′, for example, a homologous gene on the same plasmid that differs by 47 amino acids from nylB, also has 2 NSFs. These unusual and unexpected features of DNA have consequences for how we think about the origin of information in DNA sequences, as I shall discuss in the next post.

Monday: “The Nylonase Story: The Information Enigma.”

Photo: Nylon tire, 1967 AMC Marlin, by Christopher Ziemnowicz (Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.5, Public domain or CC BY-SA 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons.

[jeannereames]

1) I think it was Plutarch’s account, that after Hephaistion’s and Krateros’s famous clash, Alexander eventually reconciles them by telling them he loved them most of all men. Will you be expanding on Alexander’s and Krateros’s relationship in your future DwtL books? I remember you briefly touched upon them in Rise. Or like, is there any historical evidence that elucidates what their dynamic was like beyond/including the whole philobasileus thing?

Who Was Krateros (and what will I do with him in DwtL)?

I’ve always found it curious that, in most novels about Alexander’s conquests, Krateros tends to be a distant secondary character in contrast to others around Alexander, especially Ptolemy—despite the fact Krateros was more powerful than Ptolemy, and powerful at an earlier date.

I suspect it owes to the fact Ptolemy went on to found a dynasty and write a history. Modern writers feel as if they know him better. By contrast, Krateros died just two years after Alexander. So although he tends to have a better reputation among modern historians (which, I think, is not well-deserved), he’s never really received thorough treatment in much the same way (and for much the same reason) as Hephaistion.

He died too soon to become a major player among the Diadochi. But that means the people we know best from the era of the Diadochi were NOT the most prominent men at Alexander’s court. So don’t be surprised when Krateros pops up as an important secondary figure in the series with a more conspicuous role than Seleukos, or Antipatros, or Antigonos, who all long outlived him.

In part, that importance owes to Hephaistion’s role as protagonist. If pressed to name the chief protagonist of Dancing with the Lion, Alexandros or Hephaistion…it’s Hephaistion.

I don’t want to go into too much detail about future plots and spoil it—but if Krateros winds up Hephaistion’s bête noire, he doesn’t start that way. The details of their falling out is a driving point of the Long Plot (e.g., the plot across books, part of the overall tragedy of Alexander’s story). I’ll just say that, when I first saw Hamilton, the Musical, a lot of the Hamilton-Burr dynamic resonated because it reminded me of my vision of Hephaistion and Krateros.

Don’t overextend that, but it gives a general idea.

We have some hints that suggest, at least at first, Hephaistion and Krateros weren’t enemies. They may not have been bosom buddies, but I don’t think they were enemies.

I have a clear personal view of each man, based on the historical texts. Hephaistion’s personality I laid out in the first two novels. He can be touchy about his honor and how he’s viewed, and is 110% loyal to Alexander, but not a suck-up. The two just generally see things the same way, and will continue to do so (except in matters of religion, which does come to a head in one particular event I’ll not spoil). Yet in how to run the empire and how to Persianize the court, they’re on the same page and Hephaistion is deeply involved in court procedural renovations. This accords with what the sources tell us. Hephaistion followed Alexander in the changes, which is typical of how ancient sources would present it. Me, I’d argue he didn’t just “follow,” he helped Alexander come up with it. He understood the problem/hurdle as Alexander did and was a party to the solution of blending the two courts.

My Hephaistion is proud, and wants to be recognized for his contributions and ideas. He resents it when anybody suggests he’s just a “yes-man.” And no, that’s not because they were/are lovers. It’s because sycophancy is an easy way to insult your rival. 😉Nothing makes him angrier than being called a “flatterer.” His friendship with Alexander will go through highs and lows (because that’s human), but he remains mostly certain of his place at Alexandros’s right hand. That doesn’t mean he won’t get jealous, because he definitely has a jealous bone (which I think I pretty clearly established in Rise). Yet as time goes on, he settles down and his clashes with others stem from a failure by those others to recognize his place. Yet he understands his place—and ambitions—differently. He can act jealous and touchy, but not for expected reasons. My Hephaistion (and I stress this is not the historical person) just isn’t that interested in commanding others or occupying high office for itself. The kleos of it: glory He wants to help Alexandros make his new empire work, and gets really impatient with all the other “idiots” who can’t see what needs to be done to achieve that. He has ambition, but it’s north/north-west of typical.

Krateros is also pretty clear in my head, both as a fictional character but also how I think he was historically. He, too, is a deeply ambitious, and very capable. My fictional Krateros’s vicious ambition stems from being the “poor cousin” to Perdikkas and the Orestian royal house, needing to prove his place, not just get it as a right of birth—although he also gets it as a right of birth because he is not a commoner. In short, he has the resentment and envy of second-tier gentry, but the drive to succeed in Philip’s (and then Alexander’s) army where ability is recognized too. (I’d note that, after ATG’s death, Krateros [along with Ptolemy] joined Antigonos’s rebellion against Perdikkas as regent of the kings…which is why he died in battle fighting Eumenes, who was on Perdikkas’s side. Yet this is notable because he was almost certainly from Orestes…and thus, related to Perdikkas. We can debate who was higher born, but I think it was Perdikkas.)

Anyway, Alexandros recognizes both his ability and sympathizes with his drive to succeed because it’s similar to his own: the need to prove himself to his father, as prince.

That’s the fictional background of my Krateros, but the historical man was good at what he did, and knew it, and expected to be recognized for it among his peers: to stand first among them. Ergo, he was viciously competitive to rivals, but charming and charismatic otherwise.

How does that work? To those well above him in the power structure, he’s respectful and seeks their approval in order to receive advancement. So, for instance, he’s devoted to the kings (Philip, then Alexander) because they are Givers of Good Things (promotions, land, loot). He would have been a young officer under Philip, making him roughly the age of Ptolemy, Philotas, Nikanor, Koenos…maybe Kleitos (although I think Kleitos was a bit older), just as Leonnatos, Perdikkas, Seleukos and Hephaistion were coevals of Alexander.

So he couldn’t and wouldn’t challenge the “old men”: Parmenion, Antigonos Monophthalmos, Antipatros, etc. He even seems to have been an understudy to Parmenion. For instance, at Issos, he was in charge not just of his brigade but the whole left wing under Parmenion’s general command. He wanted to impress Parmenion and earn his support—not antagonize him.

Likewise, he had no reason to lord it over his infantry battalion, who would have been no threat to his ambitions. He needed them, in fact. By being chummy with them, he was far more likely to secure their loyalty—not unlike Caesar later.

It was those men who were rivals for positions he wanted who drew his special ire. Krateros would never get Parmenion’s spot while the old man lived, but Parmenion was old. Krateros could wait. After Issos, I expect Krateros saw himself as Parmenion’s natural successor. Yet Krateros was also unlikely to get Parmenion’s spot as long as Philotas lived. If we have only a sketchy idea of ranking order in the army, the whole Philotas Affair tells us/suggests the position of commander of the Companion Cavalry was the #2 position after Parmenion’s slot as viceroy to Alexander. Krateros may have served under Parmenion in charge of the army left side at Issos…but Philotas was still above him in the food chain.

Nikanor (Parmenion’s middle son) may also have been a hurdle, as commander of the Regular Hypaspists (as opposed to Royal Hypaspists), but he was younger than Philotas. Thus, Krateros would have started by removing Philotas, only worrying about Nikanor after—and as it turned out, Nikanor died of disease in late 330, deleting himself from the picture.

Our histories seem united on Philotas as arrogant and pushing his place: an obnoxious little brat, if also a perfectly capable commander. Ergo, Philotas provided Krateros with the perfect target, one unlikely to have staunch defenders.

So Krateros systematically went after him as early as the Egyptian sojourn, and possibly even earlier. Plutarch doesn’t always get things right, so we must be cautious about this, and Badian wanted to make the spying of Krateros part of Alexander’s big conspiracy against Parmenion’s family. Not at all. I think it was Krateros’s attempt to target the man he saw as chief rival.

At that point, Krateros would have regarded Alexander’s cohort as “the boys.” They didn’t have major offices, although were rising to some key junior commands. For instance, Hephaistion apparently commanded the “agema” (later term but good enough for this) of the Hypaspists. That’s the king’s own unit, who acted as his personal bodyguard in battle and actually ran with the cavalry squadron (!, yes in full armor). They would have been composed almost entirely of aristocratic young men: e.g., former Pages. So that’s a plum command for Hephaistion…but he didn’t command a whole SECTION of the army, like Philotas and the Companions.

Hephaistion, Leonnatos, Perdikkas, Seleukos…they weren’t a threat to Krateros. He could be friendly to them, may even have cultivated Hephaistion especially, for his unique access to the king. You may be thinking, Man, he sounds like a user! Well, yes. That’s how the Macedonian court functioned, although I think Krateros was more ruthless, and successful, than most.

Then he got an unexpected gift-horse: the Dimnos Conspiracy and Philotas’s casual (and deeply stupid) dismissal of the warning about it. Krateros went right for the jugular.

I want to make a point that I also made in “Crisis and Opportunity: the Philotas Affair…again.” We absolutely must resist looking backwards from the outcome to ascertain motives. When the scared Pages finally approached Ptolemy, who then went to Alexander and the other Friends, NOBODY knew what the outcome would be. It was not planned. It really was a crisis.

Yet Krateros saw opportunity in the crisis, and as a successful field commander, ran with it. So I see him, not Hephaistion, as the architect of the accusation against Philotas. HE had the most to gain (he thought), and if Plutarch can be believed in this, it wasn’t the first time he’d tried to bring Philotas’s snarky words and bad behavior to Alexander. As alluded to above, he’d paid Philotas’s mistress to report to him what Philotas said during “pillow talk” as early as Egypt. Now it could be (and quite probably was) that he saw Philotas’s bragging and claims to victories as a real threat to the king. (Kinda like shadow presidents in Mar-a-Lago.) People can have more than one motivation. They can even have a “good” motivation (protecting Alexander’s pride and reputation) alongside a “bad” motivation (making Alexander resentful of Philotas). Alexander’s pride was touchy too. 😉 Even if he blew off Krateros’s accusations at the time, we can imagine he was still stung. Seeds successfully planted!

We must, however, be careful not to read the final results back into the assumptions of the people at the time. Hindsight 20/20 and all that. I do NOT think Krateros believed this would result in Parmenion’s removal/death, although I do think he wanted to get Philotas arrested and executed.

Also, I do NOT believe Hephaistion had any idea he was about to be elevated to command of half the Companion Cavalry. He’d have had no reason to think he’d be leapfrogged over older, loyal men, such as Krateros…or Kleitos, who wound up as his co-commander.

Hephaistion’s motivation? Friendship. In “Crisis and Opportunity” I stressed it was friendship to Alexander, but I’ve also come to think that Krateros may have talked him into it, so also friendship, or at least alliance, with Krateros, who knew he could rile Hephaistion’s blood. He wanted that sheen of authentic anger. I want to quickly add that Koenos joined in with the torturers because he feared going down with the ship, as he was Philotas’s brother-in-law.

All this neatly explains why it was Hephaistion to whom Philotas appealed during his torture. Not because he orchestrated it, but because he had the least reason of the three to want Philotas out of the way. He was in it for passion and so, might then be moved to pity. Krateros was all-in from the outset, and Koenos had to be to save his own neck from Philotas’s arrogant stupidity.

So Philotas was convicted, executed, and then Alexander felt he must also execute Parmenion because he was sitting on Alexander’s all-important supply lines during a major operation. That is not a pretty picture and must be acknowledged as much. Philotas Did a Dumb, and lost his life for it. Extreme, but he dug his own grave. Parmenion was flat-out murdered. Realpolitik does not excuse the death of the man who’d sided with Alexander, put him on the throne, then advised him so capably.

In any case, from Krateros’s point of view, this was terrific. Philotas was out of his way, and so was Parmenion. Honestly, I doubt he wanted to see the old man dead instead of honorably retired, but it still cleared the way for him.

Then an astonishing thing happened!

Krateros didn’t get the Companions. Hephaistion did. And Kleitos. Of the younger generation, Hephaistion had just leap-frogged right over the heads of Krateros and all his cohorts. (Again, I think Kleitos was older; there’s no evidence of Krateros being at public odds with him.)

Just imagine how angry Krateros was!

The snotty little upstart! Who the hell did Hephaistion think he was?

So yeah, Krateros got what he wanted: Philotas out of the way. And in the process, he shot himself in the foot.

Plutarch tells us exactly why Alexander made the choice he did: nobody should have that much command authority henceforth, even his best friend. But he did want a man loyal to him in that position. I would not be at all surprised if—crisis past—Alexander recognized Krateros’s maneuvering for what it was…and didn’t indulge him. He wasn’t about to give out promotions for the backstage take-down of a fellow officer.

By the Battle of the Hydaspes against Poros in India (almost three years later), Krateros served the same position as Parmenion: hold the main army while Alexander leads the attack. Yet in between, Alexander had rearranged units. Even the Companions had not only been split, but divided further into six Hipparchies. Hephaistion’s was primary, but only the first of six. He was no longer overall commander. And that would have happened had Kleitos lived or died, as Kleitos had been reassigned as satrap in Baktria. Dividing the Companions had just been the initial sally to a more comprehensive reorganization and power redistribution.

Ergo, if Krateros had power, it would never be equal to Parmenion’s, and it seems to have been deliberately delayed after the Philotas Affair. Krateros dared not get mad at Alexander. Again, as king, Alexander is above these status wars, and the Giver of Good Things.

Another complication for Krateros: Parmenion’s death had angered Parmenion’s loyal men, some of whom Krateros had commanded…and Krateros had been part of Parmenion’s downfall, however indirectly. Wouldn’t it be convenient if he could shift the blame to Hephaistion?

So Hephaistion was now the chief man “in his way.” Plus (fair or not) Krateros resented him for getting the plum assignment, may have convinced himself that Hephaistion used the opportunity to sweet-talk Alexander into giving it to him. Even if he didn’t believe that, he could still have spread the rumor. It was advantageous, displacing soldier’s anger over Parmenion’s death onto Hephaistion. And it would rile up his own battalion/soldiers with indignation on his behalf.

“Stop the steal!” *smirk*

It all exploded in India. We’re not told when, but I suspect sooner rather than later—before the Malian catastrophe. My best guess is after the Hydaspes, possibly while everyone was relaxing for a while in Poros’s kingdom. Bored soldiers are gossipy soldiers, and get restless and pick fights.

Gregor Weber in his analysis “The Court of Alexander the Great as Social System” (Alexander the Great: a new history, 2009) suggested that Alexander encouraged such rivalry among his Hetairoi and Friends, and uses the H. and K. squabble as a peak example. To some degree, that’s true. Competition was endemic to the Macedonian court because it was endemic (maybe EPIDEMIC) to Greek society more broadly. Macedonian kings (not just Alexander) would have encouraged competition as a way of choosing the best officers. The Hetairideia I described in Dancing with the Lion—the Festival of the Companions with competitions—was a real thing. I made up a lot of the details, but we hear about it under the Antigonids, by which time it involved mock battle. But it was said to have been much older. There very well may be ties between the Hetairideia and the original Macedonian “Olympics” at Dion. E.g., the latter may have grown out of the former, but it’s all too vague to know.

Anyway, competition was natural and encouraged at court, but I disagree with Weber about Alexander encouraging THAT particular competition between Hephaistion and Krateros. Weber reads the clever “philobasileus/philalexandros” as encouraging. I see it (and Plutarch’s wording suggests) just the opposite. He was trying to lower the temperature in the room. It didn’t work.

We simply aren’t told enough about the swords-drawn brawl to understand what led up to it. E.g., who started it, as Alexander put it. I don’t mean (and don’t think Alexander meant) who pulled his sword first. He meant who STARTED it. I tend to read that “I’ll kill you both, or at least the one who started it,” as a veiled threat to Krateros. He would have damn well known who started it. He was telling Krateros in that public reconciliation, “Knock it off, dickhead, or else.” And I expect that’s also what he told him in their private meeting/confrontation.

There is more to this, but I’ve said all I want to, for the moment. Again, I’m working on Krateros and Hephaistion at present for a book chapter in a collection, and I’ll also be doing more on them both for a monograph. So I’ll just end with my take on the Indian conflict.