#if they come to the conclusion that the science is wrong that's fair

[aevarswall]

Christians who see scientific consensus and actually try to make it fit in their biblical worldview instead of decrying all science as satanic my beloved

[themarsmaiden]

Accolade

Yuri x Gn!Reader

alternate universe

Summary: [Name] and Yuri have known each other since they were kids. Always competing, and now they prepare for their final year in high school. For their colleges of choice, the science fair, and in love.

Case Study 1: Isami Yuri

August, the start of a new school year.

They’ve never liked Isami Yuri. He was conceited, condescending, and most of all he was bitch. Yuri was a self centered, full grown, 17 year old bitch.

[Name] had known him since the first grade, and nothing about him has changed.

Take exhibit a: the first grade spelling bee

“[Name] spell extraordinary”

“E-x-t-r-a-o-r-d-i-n-a-r-y” they smile, proud of themselves, then hear a whisper from their right, “a baby could’ve spelt that.” A small boy stood there, smug and tall.

“Yuri, spell tenacious.”

“t-e-n-a-c-i-o-u-s” he smiled proudly.

This went back and forth for several more rounds until only those two stood. In the end Yuri was the one to win.

[Name] did not hold a grudge over this anymore, that would be childish. However they would hold a grudge over exhibit b: science fair, junior year.

“Second place?! Who won first??” They look down at their computer in bewilderment. How could they not have won this year? They had made a working liver!

Granted it only worked on pigs so far, but it worked it really did work!

They opened and scrolled through the excel spread of names attached to their ‘congratulations’ email.

Lying right above their name was written, “Yuri Sami: Frankenstein’s Monster”

They gawked silently, appalled. Did he really..?

“No. I did not reanimate dead. That would be stupid.”

The man in question appeared behind them, unpleasantly surprising them. “I did a year long study into the care and treatment of a boy named Jiro, successfully waking him from his coma.”

He bragged then left, leaving [Name] stunned alone in their school’s library.

[Name] could not forgive him for the embarrassment they felt after the librarian came to ask them what was wrong, and then after finding out what happened, insinuated that they might actually like him!

They are unsure how anyone could come to the conclusion. How could anyone enjoy his presence to begin with?

Yet here they find themself, studying him from afar.

First period, the first day of their senior year.

August 13th, a Tuesday.

He was alone in the back of the class, his nose stuck in a book that read “Care for the fragile” upon its cover. Class was soon about to start but he displayed no worry.

Soon after, students filled the seats around him. His demeanor did not change.

Only when the bell rang did he close the book and put his attention towards the class at hand.

English Literature

It was not a subject that either of them had paid particular mind to since elementary school, when they both decided to head down a doctoral path.

The rest of the day created a pattern in his behavior:

Get to class early, read, pay attention. (Of course the two did not share every class, so this observation could have its faults.)

The moment when this changed was eighth period Advanced Biology.

This was a freshman topic, however the advanced version of the course was only available to upperclassmen. This makes it a prime choice for two nerds interested in this exact subject.

Yuri gets to class early, the pattern continues, however contrary to his previous behaviors, he does not take out the text book. Instead, he waits attentively.

“With the way you’ve been staring all day someone might mistake your attention as affection.” Someone sits in front of [Name] blocking their view.

The person was none other than Rui Mizuki. “If I knew any better I’d be wishing for your gaze to be on me instead.”

He snapped them out of it, making them roll their eyes. “Can it, Rui.” He laughs at their reaction. “But no seriously, you’ve been staring at him all day.”

“It’s a case study Rui. I’m trying to get into the inner mind of one Isami Yuri to make sure I ensure a victory this year.”

He sighs, “The science fair? Again?” The student in front of him nods in response. “Can’t you let it go? You take these losses too seriously! You should focus on your victories! The second grade spelling bee, middle school valedictorian, and let’s not forget sophomore science fair.” He lists their victories, which seem to go in one ear at out the other.

“You don’t get it do you? It’s not about the victories, it's about the lack of victories! They should all be victories. Losing to him is embarrassing.”

“Your obsession with this is embarrassing.”

“Just because you’re my best friend does not mean you get to say something that insulting Mizuki Rui!”

Best friend: Rui Mizuki

Relation to the case: an outside spector with less than appropriate comments.

This is best understood in exhibit c: middle school.

To save the redundant amount of details, a brief example explains all the accounts.

Yuri and [Name] compete, yuri wins? [Name] complains to Rui and he comforts them. [Name] wins, Rui listens to them brag for a week straight.

It was straightforward, and simple. Of course there was also the added details of Rui practically saving [Name] every time another student thought they were bigger and tougher and threatened them for ‘being nerdy.’ (Cartoony but middle schoolers will be middle schoolers)

They truly owed him big time, but that does not forgive his stupidity. No matter how smart he truly was underneath all his casanova flirting.

The blond was about to retort, when the teacher walked in from the hall closing the door behind him.

It was a teacher they had before, Professor Dante. He was a presumably tall man, who’s height was visually limited by the wheelchair he found himself attached to.

No one knew what happened to the professor, but rumors had circulated about him being injured by a student. Though his condition could very easily as well be from birth.

This was unimportant, as what he was about to say was much more important.

The science fair.

A mandatory part of every advanced science class. Much to half of the class’ dismay, [Name] was thoroughly interested in this topic.

Unfortunately it was skimmed over, along with a mention of a year long project to start next month.

It was no worries, both of these things were to come in due time. And in due time, [Name] would beat Yuri Isami once and for all, and then never have to deal with him ever again.

Dante discussed the syllabus for the class a little longer before dismissing the class to do a simple back to school project.

“Seriously though, [Name], you need to start focusing on other things for once. Like for example homecoming, and who you’re gonna take, and how it’s going to be me.” Rui started talking again, as he picked up his pen to start writing on the small papers that the teacher was passing out.

They rolled their eyes in response, “I’m not going to homecoming, and I certainly wouldn’t take you.”

“You hate me and you want me to die.”

[Name] does not reply to Rui, simply rolling their eyes and getting to work. “Well if you had to take someone to homecoming, who would you take?” He asks, pointing his pen in their direction as he does so.

The student frowns, “You know the answer to that.”

Rui sighs, “Lucas Errant?” he asks, putting his pencil down. “Ding, finally something logical out of your mouth this period.”

Rui finally starts writing on his paper, they were simple ‘about me’s’, an annoying yet necessary part to the start of every class. “You’ve had a crush on him since freshman year.”

“Can you blame me? He is the perfect man, by all logical reasoning he is the only choice.” They finish up the small ‘about me’, and slide it towards the edge of the lab table they shared with Rui. “You’re done?”

“I was actually doing it, instead of gossiping. Which proves all prior points about my priorities.”

Rui rolls his eyes and finishes up his paper, “It does not, but to each their own, my love.” He slides his paper to be where [Name]’s was.

“Of course vermin like you would spend all the allotted time with drab chatter.” Yuri comes around and grabs the papers on the tall table.

“At least I have friends.” [Name] retorts back.

“I have friends!” He stutters out.

“Jiro doesn’t count, he's a patient.” They refute.

“Well-” Just as Yuri was about to speak, Professor Dante comes around and grabs the papers from his student and interrupts his voice. “It’s the same every year with you two. Would it kill you to just get along?”

Without missing a beat they both respond “Yes.”

He sighs, “You two are seniors now, it’s time you start acting more mature. At least start acting cordially with one another during this period.” They both stay silent. “For me? Or else I’ll force you to work together until you can.”

The two seniors glared at each other, and then the bell rang.

“Let’s go Rui.” [Name] picks up their bag and walks out the class, Rui rushes to join them.

It seems a new challenge approached Case Study: Isami Yuri, acting cordial with him.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

“Dante has no idea what he’s talking about!”

It had been a week, and nothing has changed in Dante’s favor. [Name] and Yuri were still bickering and competing as always.

Just today, the two competed over who could finish a lab the fastest. A group assignment that was supposed to take a while.

“I’m sure he does.” replied a voice from above the couch that [Name] had slumped themselves upon.

It was a maroon velvet couch with elaborate detailing dyed into it, classic decor of the voice who was speaking to them.

Edward Hart, a stay at home shut in who spends his time doing online school and watching twitch. The entire concept brings a tear to [Name]’s eye, they might keel over if that were them.

Luckily, it wasn’t. Though they couldn’t fault the man either, it was hard to go out due to his condition. They could get on him for slacking off though, but that was a topic for case study: Hart Edward. (a document that has already been made)

“What do you mean by that?” They look up at him as he moves to sit next to them. “Just that, perhaps, it was time you started acting more mature. In the real world you’ll have to work with people you don’t like all the time. I think he wants you two to know that.”

[Name] sighs, “I can work with people I don’t like! It’s just Yuri that I can’t tolerate.” Edward shakes his head, “There’s also the fact that as a teacher, having two intellectuals constantly fighting like children might not be the best thing in the world.”

“You talk like you have experience Ed, may I remind you you have none??” They point this out to the dark haired man next to them.

“I may not have experience, but YouTube does.” His rebuttal wasn’t a strong one, but [Name] wasn’t about to argue with him today on something this trivial when they can turn their attention to Rui who was walking into the living room with a plate of freshly baked pastries.

“You know I think Dante is onto something as well, it’d be nice to hear less about Yuri and more about myself for once.” He jokes, setting the plate down on the dark oak coffee table that sat in front of the couch.

“I don’t talk about Yuri that much!” [Name] raises their voice slightly, shocked and appalled that their friend would say such a thing.

The other two gave them an unconvinced look, “You literally only talk about beating him at science fair.” Rui says, picking up a sweet and popping it into his mouth.

“Do not! I also talk about my grades, and maybe video games, and yeah maybe the science fair but! Not always.” They complain back to him, grabbing a sweet for their own and tasting it.

“Exhibit A: Today, at lunch, I could not talk about my homecoming plans without you mentioning how homecoming was unimportant because you had to start on the science fair, so you can beat Yuri.” Rui retorts, mocking them a little by doing so.

“Or how about exhibit b? Last week’s rant about him from the first day of school.” Added Edward, who had previously been too busy eating a pastry to talk.

“Fine! But can you blame me?” They got a similar uninterested look, “Ok whatever, but you’ll see this will all pay off when I’m accepted into an Ivy League and he isn’t.”

“Whatever you wish to tell yourself, I will not stop you.” Edward dismisses them, to which Rui sighs. “Same here, I know there’s no stopping you when you’re already committed to something. But I do still think you should be a teenager some more! We don’t have long left.”

“I know, I know, I’ll take your suggestions into consideration. But only because it’s you.”

The conversation dropped and the 3 teens began talking about less important things, like what to watch. They ended up putting on Alpharad, by suggestion of Edward until the night got dark.

Edward and Rui lived together with another roommate named Lyca, who had been busy at the moment. This leads to [Name] often staying the night when they needed some space from home, or it got too late when hanging out.

It also helps that they live walking distance, which is how [Name] met Rui to begin with. (Of course when they met, his parents were still living with him and not out traveling the world.)

The rest of the month passed in a flash. School was slow and easy as everyone was getting back into the pace of things. Homecoming came and went. (Which [Name] did not go to, much to Rui’s dismay.) And Case Study: Isami Yuri saw no improvements.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

A/N: first chapter :3 this will go on ao3 soon!!! I hope you enjoyed this one!! Updates will probably 3-5 days depending on how inspired I am ^^

MasterDoc

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[bestworstcase]

What do you think is Salem's reasoning behind the creation of the Hound/Grimm-SEW hybrids? Is it simply a matter of creating an effective counter to SEWs or is there a grander plan in place for them?

couple of old posts:

on his anonymity

salem's experimenting

possible lovecraft allusion

the fox and the hound

always worth reiterating that the conclusion ruby leaps to upon seeing the hound's silver eye is incorrect; cinder has never seen anything like the hound before (but recognizes him as something strange on sight) and salem indicates that he is an experiment. he's unique; the first of his kind. i also tend to think his silver eye is, if not an complete red herring, at least secondary to him being a faunus. (see this post for a review of all the thematic lines connecting faunus to the grimm through salem.)

salem herself is also indifferent to power and mocks ozpin's dependence on symbolic "guardians" and "monuments" because that is, in fact, his fatal flaw. "there will be no victory in strength" is not only a central theme of the story; it's also salem's guiding philosophy. so while she has orchestrated attacks on notable silver-eyed warriors* like maria it is unclear to what extent she considers them to be innately a problem to counter. especially given that her general has silver eyes.

(*as always, this is a specific subset of silver-eyed people; the narrative uses the 'silver-eyed warrior' conceit to interrogate the idea of the 'chosen one' and the coercive and dehumanizing pressure that comes along with a perception of preordained fate. it does this with the maidens too.)

the most plausible explanation to my mind is that her experimentation with the hound was incited by what happened to cinder at beacon: the second linked post goes over this in greater depth but broadly, V4 opens with the question of "why did ruby's silver eyes harm cinder?"; salem suggests "because of the maiden's power" as the answer and then a little bit less than a year later, turns up in atlas with an experimental silver-eyed grimm. i think the answer she gave in V4 was part of a hypothesis that she is testing.

i also think the guy in the hound matters in his own right, and that insofar as he's a proxy for summer rose he's a red herring: if ruby is right about "that's what happened to mom" it will be in the unexpected sense that both he and summer chose to join salem, and he either died and salem used his corpse for science or he chose to do this for whatever reason. if ruby is wrong, i think there is a fair chance it'll turn out that he didn't have silver eyes until salem resurrected him, or else she went in reverse order and grew a new person inside a grimm. in any case i think she's prodding at the boundary between life/death and dark/light for the sake of deepening her understanding thereof moreso than she's interested in creating grimm immune to silver eyes.

[idealistings]

𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛 , 𝙞𝙛 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 ?

ALUNE LULU KIM has registered to be a guest speaker at new horizon's high ! we ask you to take this opportunity to ask this alumni about her pursuit of higher education , and rumour has it ... she even brought some free swag from the university of chicago !

death , car accidents , cancer , neglect tw !

basics:

name: alune kim nicknames: only responds to lulu age: 27 , 04/20/1997 pronouns: she/they sexuality: pansexual physicalities: at 5'0" with a slightly athletic build , lulu seems to not have grown much since high school . her hair flips between being brunette and blonde , and while her instagram has both , she's currently a brunette , with her hair looking healthy despite how many times it's been dyed . she has scars from the car accident as a teenager on her body , completely healed , but jagged edges and raised lines on her legs where they had been near crushed in the accident . face claim: lee ji eun personality : bright , intelligent lulu , falls victim to a bit of social awkwardness and validation from others --- always trying to make sure everyone is happy , even at her own expense . with a penchant for adrenaline rush , lulu found herself doing dares that often teetered the line of dangerous --- if only to herself . a bit childish and needy , lulu is a bit dense when it comes to other's emotions to her , and groups : science club ( president ) , track ( 100 & 200 m )

why is lulu back ?

lulu's been in therapy since what she's dubbed the 'chris incident' , and while she likes to think she's grown up since then , she still wants to believe that the people she loved and grew up with are innocent , and good people --- that no one could have done anything wrong . sure , they were hooligans , but they were all kids ! who wasn't a troublemaker at that age? she knows that if something happened , that it had to have been a mistake . a part of her returns to regain some kind of closure , some kind of insight as to what happened , because she knew her classmates , her friends . they were sometimes mean , sometimes jerks , but not … not that mean . not KILLERS . she wants to talk to the people in her class , try and see if they're willing to be a little more open than they were ten years ago , to see if maybe they can come to a conclusion --- maybe they can be friends again . & it's always been in her nature to try and give back to the people that helped her --- she couldn't have fell in love with astronomy and physics without her beloved science club , and she wouldn't have started pursuing her astrophysics pHD if it weren't for that silly little club and a lost boy who probably didn't even remember her name the last time they interacted .

background: death , neglect , cancer , car accident tw

alune was adopted by her parents at a young age ( from what she remembers her mother telling her , her college roommate had a kid she didn't want --- ) ; a wealthy couple that was struggling to have their own children , and despite this all , she found herself growing up in a very lonely , very empty house . her mother paid her very little mind and her father was out on business almost constantly , leaving her to her own devices quite often . they did love her , in their own way , she'll insist , and speak of the times where her parents took her to the carnival and different fairs that were held --- but she won't remember all the arguing and fighting they did while she was on the ride . her mother passed away in her freshman year of high school , and her father barely paid attention to her after that --- and so all the things she did in school was to try and get some kind of validation from him , to prove that she's not just some deadweight daughter . perfect gpa , perfect scores , perfect school --- but he barely blinked at her . at school , lulu was kind of a drifter . a wallflower , maybe girl next door type . kind to everyone , if not a bit naive and sensitive . she's often the girl people would go to if they needed help in class , or needed to copy down homework before class that day --- and she'd happily accept , if only after teasing them beforehand . she ran the science club , where she had most of her older friends that graduated and left the club to her --- and track . she didn't really have a solid friend group though , often described as a social blender --- good wherever you stick her , but not actual group of friends to call home . lulu , in her own spur of rebellion , often found herself going towns or cities over , enamored with the street racing scene --- admittedly , an upperclassmen from science club had introduced her to it in high school , and it became a heavy source of found family for her . with little to no attention at home , and not a solid friend group at school , the kids from other schools welcomed her ( and her family's money … ) , where she got dangerously addicted to the high of going fast and being one of the best as a newcomer . expensive cars , going fast , ruining her tires , a FAMILY … she couldn't ask for more . the one time lulu's dad paid her any mind was when she had ended in the hospital after one of the boy's she was riding with ended with their car wrapped around the pole , severely injuring lulu and the driver having died , one of her closest friends in the group . thinking that her father had come to see that she was alive and okay --- only to be met with a grounding and scolding for her to be "wasting her life away committing crimes" "this'll ruin any chance at ivy league schools" "you're ruining the family name" and she was angry . so angry that this one moment is the thing her dad decides to fixate on , not any of her achievements , not anything , just her one failure --- the one that caused her to lose her friend . she seemed to shrink back from everyone , becoming a little more quiet . "fuck your dad. do what you want," she remembers chris uttering over the waterbottle he waterfalled from --- having forgotten his after the meet . she watched her drink the last of her water , but didn't say anything . "you're way too smart to be held back by anyone, let alone your dad." and she took that to heart . although her and chris were nothing more than after school acquaintences, sharing some stories during track , talking about things and people the other party were never going to be friends with , venting and listening until practice was over. never really friends inside of school ; never sat together at lunch , but she'd make it a point to wave to him from her table , and he'd occasionally wave or smile back. it's always nice to know you have a friend on the otherside of the wall , you know ?

lulu dipped as soon as she could after graduation , attending uchicago's astrophysics program , where she's currently attending their pHD astrophysics program. her father passed away a few years ago when she was 24 , but she was able to air some grievances and speak with him . while they had a strained relationship , at the end of his battle with cancer , she was the one with him and signed his DNR . everything in terms of money had been left to her , leaving her to inherit the house as well as his money , as well as the house near her old school . a large hollow house she grew up hating, and yet she still struggles to sell it , even now . lulu still street races . god . she loves it . it's the one way to get her mind off of everything , even though her therapist will constantly tell her not to do it . it's not odd to see her hanging out with faces the class won't recognize --- kids from other schools she grew up with when street racing and finding family with them . while she doesn't really keep in contact with a lot of people from her class , she's been in contact with them over the years , coming back to visit them , and only them . she has a two published papers with a few others which is probably one of the reasons they reached out to her / requested her as a guest speaker . after all , everyone loves a child prodigy.

wanted plots:

anything . please dear god message me i'm such a weenie. jk ill update this more when i have an idea but >< ....... i have a wanted plot tag HERE , but if u have any ideas just slam them in2 my messages bc tbh .... im down for anything

[roninreverie]

Raph's Paper Powers:

I had this idea like a year ago and am never going to get around to drawing it out properly; plus, seeing yet another review channel doing the Frankenfoot episode has reminded me this has been sitting in my drafts for a lot of months. So ENJOY in the only way I can muster right now!

...

[The boys are standing around, Raph patching up Frankenfoot with the last of the tape. Leo and Mikey are praising his skills. Donnie is in the background, hardly paying attention and texting--probably April.]

Mikey: Wow Raph! You sure have a way with Frankenfoot!

Leo: Yeah. Any other paper ninja would be toast and a half by now, but he still looks great, even after all the sparring and wear n tear he goes through.

Raph: What can I say?  Raph just had the magic touch!

Frankenfoot: Buddy!

*RIP!!!*

Raph: Speaking of… don't worry buddy,  Raph’s got ya covered. 

Leo: Oh, hey, I think there's a spare roll of duct tape in the--

(Magically repairs the tear.) 

Leo (cont.): Whaaaaaa?

Mikey: What the heck was that? 

Donnie: Hold the proverbial phone! Did Raph get a new power? I wasn’t paying attention. I’m taking notes this time. Do it again! Do you need me to cause an accident to do it again?

(Buzzsaw comes out, goggles go down, and notepad is opened.) 

Raph: No! What? This? Nah. Buddy just gets tape-heavy after a while and needs a paper-refresh.

Leo: He said as if that’s just something NORMAL to do with his BARE hands!

Mikey: Ohmigosh! Raph! You totally have Origami ninja powers just like the Foot Clan! What’s next? A flaming head?

Leo: Never really saw our Raphy as the hotheaded sort, but-- 

Raph: Huh? Nah… listen guys! This is just buddy's own paper-magic mojo and the healing powers of friendship at work! Nothing Foot Clan about it! 

Leo: What? No way! 

Donnie: Emotional nonsense aside, this ability explains everything and yet nothing! But why manifest now? How? Hmmm?

Mikey: Admit it! You’ve been holding out on us and getting super secret ex-foot recruit training from Cassandra! No fair!

Raph: Wha---no!!?

Donnie: Aha! Of course! The only logical explanation is that Raph must have absorbed a fraction of the unique mystical ability from ingesting that temporarily sentient salami paper that we confronted on that cargo ship the night we first met the Foot.

Mikey: Raph got a new superpower from eating salami-origami!? Lucky…

Leo: Huh… he “ate” himself a new superpower! GASP! Like Kirby!! 

[Cass walking in overhearing everything, she is here for a sparring session of her own, a gym bag over her shoulder.]

Cass: Raph got a new superpower from eating something!? Well don’t hold out! I want some too! Fork it over!

Raph: Oh, hey Cass. Nah, my brother’s are sayin’ I got Foot Clan paper powers just cause I ate some briefly “ninja-fied” salami a long time ago-- but I’m trying to tell them that ain't it and that they’re jumping to conclusions.

Donnie: HOW DARE YOU SIR! I never jump to conclusions! My theories and hypotheses are always based on facts and science thank you very---oof!

(Cass enters, throwing her heavy bag into Donnie and toppling him over.)

Cass: Yeah, no… All of you have it wrong. Dude… origami manipulation is a sacred ability passed down through generations of worthy Foot Clan warriors. It’s even more rare than the flaming skull and footprint ceremony held with Hatsu the boiling tomato soup cauldron of eternal power. 

Leo: Wait, can we go back to that last par---

Cass (Ignoring Leo): Anyway, after learning that Shredder was your ancestor during the whole "stealing your dad's essence and betraying my clan" situation… I realized that must be why that rogue paper ninja--

Frankenfoot: BUDDIES!

Cass (cont.): --was so drawn to you to begin with.  Based on lineage, you all should have the latent abilities for paper no jutsu. Kind of like how you all have your Ninpo thing. Shredder lost his connection to all that after he became Shredder, cutting off his opportunities at gaining full power but he still could pass along the origami technique used by his clan, which managed to continue to this day like with my old sensei. Raph here is obviously just better at harnessing it than the rest of you. I thought everyone here knew this already? It’s kind of obvious.

Mikey: Uhhhh…. It is?

Raph: Aww, thanks Cass!

Frankenfoot: Buddy! 

Leo: Wait! So does that mean we might also be related to the Foot Brute and/ or Lieutenant?  Man Family get-togethers just keep getting more and more awkward in this house.

Donnie: Not everybody in a clan is related, Nardo--- (under his breath with sinister intent) But yes, we can’t rule out the possibility just yet. We’ll need a blood sample to be sure.

Mikey: Daaaaad! Quick! It’s an emergency! I need all the paper we’ve got in the lair!

Splinter (panicked, off-screen): What!?! Wait! Why?!? 

Donnie (taking notes): This is all incredibly useful information… and coming from Cassandra of all sources. 

Cass: Hey!? (Instant Headlock)

Raph: Huh? An ancient clan power that isn't the same as ninpo. Guess I gotta learn more about origami, huh?

Leo: With those digits?  Pffft! Good luck! 

Raph: *Grumbles*

Frankenfoot: Buddy!

[End on Leo making fun of Raph’s huge hands. Splinter trying to make sure whatever Mikey’s doing doesn’t destroy the lair. Donnie getting beat up by Cassandra. Frankenfoot is just happy to be there. April walking in with pizza like that meme from Community where everything is on fire and chaotic.]

____________________________________________________________

Bonus: Comic draft that never made it out of doodles:

[valeriefauxnom]

Phares: How Possessed Was He?

Ah, Phares. He's admittedly something of a bias of mine in the royal family despite his overall very small screen presence. I just like the science man, I guess! But the big revelation in the later chapters had me wondering for a long time the title of this post: how much agency did Phares have with the Progenitor? This probably won't lead to much of a definite conclusion or smoking gun answer, but hey, I'll try to observe things as I go and let you judge my words' quality.

As always with me it seems, very long post ahead...There's, uh, lot to cover and moments to cite in this one for me to properly build my case here!

Phares is first mentioned in chapter 2, where he is remarked by Euden indirectly to be 'good' and an 'incredible person' who works as Court Alchemist in the castle, researching all kinds of things. Now, Euden is something of a biased narrator when it comes to his siblings, but when it comes to describing basic traits of Phares, this is what he has to say in chapter 7, even after some of the 'perfect sibling' worship magic has worn off:

"He's a gentle man, and a lover of science." I personally feel this is a fair assessment that isn't too stained by bias. This is how Euden knows Phares in his limited encounters: kind, loves science. Heck, this seems to be corroborated by Gala Leif when he reminisces on serving the royal family and recalls Phares apologizing for turning Leif into a servant boy when fetching things for him.

And he largely lives up to this in chapter 7. He's the only one of the elder siblings to really try to step in and shield Emile from consequences out of affection, as Leo and Chelle have pretty much given up on him, but he does so because of familial fondness, 'because he's my brother.' (Emile almost seems to latch onto him through chapter 10 and even into the Blood that Binds as a sibling that would protect him without immediate mockery, as an aside) He largely is also very polite and...kind?

-He immediately notes he's pleased Euden is well

-Immediately clarifies that he is technically aligned with Dyrenell as a general instead of stringing along Euden's initial belief that he wouldn't join forces with it to gain something/manipulate

-"Heh heh. Dauntless in the face of unknown danger, eh? That's the little brother I know and love."

In general, his actions, -while wrong, -he converses with fond, polite speech to everyone, complimenting Mym's wisdom before eventually praying that 'next time they would not meet as foes'. It's at odds with his overall demeanor that suggests he previously wouldn't be one to endanger others, but not to the extent it's immediately strikingly out of character seeing as it is his introduction. It more reads that Euden might have overestimated his bro's kindness level and underestimated the 'mad scientist' level.

But then comes chapter 13. Largely, he's still the same, 'polite even when attempting murder' Phares, greeting them warmly and introducing Beren. Then comes this exchange, where Euden confronts Phares on this sudden change in willingness to attempt harm to him and other bystanders in the path to science:

There's...a lot to say here, and this is a big part of the larger claim I'll be making. Again, he leads with his kindness, "I am grateful". Then a claim Phares makes no distinguishment between good and evil and finds moralizing inherently useless. Keep that in mind.

I'll also note that about this point, Phares is doing a lot in the background, and knows quite a bit more. He releases Beren, holds meetings with his similarly-aged siblings...he also establishes that he does know Euden is fake, and is aware Nedrick is head of the Agito and is the 'real' 7th Scion. When exactly he learned this, I dunno. But still interesting if he has known it for some time.

Then comes chapters 21-23, where the Progenitor makes their official debut as Phares. First, the Progenitor seems to be in complete control of Phares, painting him as dead and gone in soul and mocking Audric with it all the while. Notably, to me, it almost reads like there's a bit of a 'dropping of the mask' in the Progenitor's wording in the scene "Father and Child". He starts polite, even addressing Nedrick as 'sir', and complimenting Audric's blow, but suddenly shifts into cold mockery of what used to be there, who he used to be. This continues to the next scene, wherein he makes remarks like, "And here I thought simpering over ideals was part of the Euden special" that would be very out of place for Phares, who, even when sending things to possibly kill him, more took on a cheerleader 'yaaay bro, you can do it, don't let my monsters kill you!' encouragement style.

But Beren has been noticing this, too. Beren actually seemed to be developing something of actual brotherly love for Phares, and Phares seemed to return it all the while. So after the Progenitor dropped the mask, he notes it.

Also notable is the sudden confusion into Phares' reference of self, as evidenced by the ? in his name. He starts interchangeably referring to himself as both from Phares' perspective and the Progenitor (ex: 'I will free the Progenitor vs. 'I am almost freed'), sometimes even confused in the same sentence!

(Honestly please go read "The puppet and the door", "Vessels of the Mark", and "Family" again to play a game of 'who's speaking that?' with Phares...) Ahem. Anyways, Phares is quite a bit colder to Beren as well, expressing that he needs only move according to his will and is effectively a tool even as he serves as Phares' right hand. This seems to cause some hesitation in Beren.

But then, as we know, Phares reasserts control for a moment, stating that 'it's been some time' to Euden, and otherwise imploring the family to kill him. Of course, we also now know Phares survives and lives past the chapter, now completely free of the Progenitor. And oh boy, more material here yet to uncover. First, a return to his kind sibling behavior, immediately trying to stop Euden from pushing himself, to promising to see Alberia and its people safe before exiting the main campaign, stage left.

But there's more, as evidenced by The Blood that Binds and Phares' own adventurer story. Again, he acts more consistently with his chapter 7 self than not, yadda yadda, but there's this interesting tidbit in his lines...

Hm. Here's where I get to the actual thesis of this post. This is a subtle but big shift from even his chapter 13 thoughts. Previously he held that 'there is no good or evil. period', but now he's almost making a more morally demanding (philosophically, anyways) 'there is good and evil, but they are dependent on the situation' claim. It's not exactly a unique stance to acknowledge the gray areas in morality, but to nonetheless have a moral sense with this claim means a great deal of thinking and consideration when trying to determine whether something is 'good' or 'bad' if one guides one's self not through moral absolutes but by the situation.

Now, we know the Progenitor's big talent when it comes to possessions is taking the same person, and warping them. Corrupting them, not so they make a huge shift in personality, but one two steps to the left, then one more, and another...Take Au!Euden, who seemed to possess the same drives of saving everyone and stopping suffering, but the Progenitor exploited and turned into 'when there is no free will, there will be no more suffering'. He's acting on the same principles Euden did, but in a darker way.

This is what I think Phares is going through in the campaign, through time: a slow corruption of himself. Xenos expresses it himself, that his chosen tools are more under his influence the closer he is to actually returning. And I think, after looking at a truckload of Phares material we got (well, relative to Phares' presence), I can finally say I agree and can add the extra 'and when Phares is still Phares, in control, his personality is still shifted' tack-on to the end there.

I'd also like to harken back to his statements when freeing Beren and the fam: "I, however, believe he is not a secret, but a POSSIBILITY", "Revolution. Progress. Perhaps you might even call it 'creation'."

Hm. The Progenitor isn't exactly much for 'possibility' in any sense, nor is he one for 'creation' of new things or progress. This leads me to think Phares is still mostly in control at that stage, working for his own aims (and trying to shuck the Progenitor entirely, if this is about the time when he starts messing with an Alberius REPLICAAA- ahem, to offset his burden). But then comes Chapter 13, where the Progenitor, now emboldened by Beren's return, starts asserting more control.

I'm going to reinterpret this exchange under this idea, despite the fact the writers 99% likely were not setting up the Phares possession line this soon given the scattered writing in Dragalia (ex: I think I recall reading there were 3 writers that each did entirely different arcs on their own, then piecemealed dragalia's story together, explaining a lot of its randomness and shifts). Phares starts warm, thankful Euden is enduring. Then, when Euden calls Phares' personality shift, Phares pauses abruptly and awkwardly, then starts speaking in colder, more distant tones.

Could this have been the Progenitor going 'oh, darn, I guess this isn't what this body would do normally, huh? Gotta step in and start asserting my personality more, then, to start establishing a new character trend so this doesn't look too odd'. It may not be intended, but if it was, it's brilliant foreshadowing something's increasingly not right with the dude. I'm expressing myself poorly, but I think you get what I mean. Phares starts this conversation, Xenos ends it (or otherwise heavily influences Phares' point of view here). After all, Xenos doesn't seem to particularly care about 'good, evil' or any other philosophical concept like free will and all that, so it also would align with his personality. From there, it's a slow creep to the Sacred Tree, when the Progenitor's playing most of the time even though he's trying to keep up some of the Phares act, incorporating niceties and maintaining some fondness for Beren. Or maybe that's just shreds of Phares peeking through, I don't know.

I also look to Phares' adventurer story and quotes, wherein he seems very tied and strongly devoted to keeping his family alive and happy. He wants to be a good big brother, and it shows, in yet another reversal of his previous claim 'he' cares not for the well-being of the royal family.

Whatever the case, I think you're starting to get the overall idea I'm suggesting. Phares remarks that 'it's been a while' to Euden when he reasserts control. A while, not the years and years that it would have been if Phares truly was not himself for about a decade and a half as the Progenitor pretended. He could be referring to chapter 13, or even chapter 7, but either way, I think those are the last times we can largely pinpoint Phares moving on Phares' will, even if it is a corrupted one. After that, I think it starts shifting more and more to the Progenitor. In short: Chapters 7-13 are a 'Phares, but to the left' shift of himself as Au!Euden is in chapter 25, and largely after that increasingly the Progenitor.

I should cut it off here, though, since this is waaaaay too long to begin with, even though I could talk about it for ages.

What do you make of this entire essay, though? This all could just be some bias of my own peeking out, or do you think I might be onto something here? Please let me know, and thank you for reading this whopper of a post!

Fun fact, if you made it this far: Phares taught Chelle archeology (and also is skilled in ancient languages), and thus indirectly contributed to her rapid development bringing back manacasters! I just find the idea of Phares teaching Chelle how to dig about gravesites of ancient battle zones on a fun sibling trip while the rest of the guards just kinda stand there and shuffling nervously kinda funny!

[chayacat]

Road96: Shandara’s Land (9)

Fandom: Road96

Rated M for Language and Violence.  

***

Ah, the Repentie... One of the symbols of Petria. This river, crossing the whole country in its own way, finds its starting point at Mont National. During Flores' election, the latter had completely cleaned it, to make the place more beautiful than it was before. No one really knows who gave it that name, or why. But one thing is certain, the sight of these places still takes your breath away. Anna can't help but look with admiration at the beauty of these places. It's as if time has stopped. And yet he continues his race. She could spend hours contemplating the view before her. But unfortunately, she has a mission to accomplish. 

“Wow...what a view. Petria is truly a beautiful country, when you know where to look.” said Anna in awe.  

“Yeah...if you say so.” said Sonya. “So, what are we looking for exactly?”

“An entrance. A passage, something that can help us to find the next Shandarian place.”

“Okay. Then let’s get to work. Girls.” replied Sonya, looking at Anna and Fanny.  

*Mom? Do you receive me? * Asks Alex through the talkie.  

“Yes baby, I got you 5 on 5.” responds Fanny.  

*Moooom! I'm not a baby anymore! ...forget it. For now, you’re all alone. No enemies around. But be careful, those guys can be pretty sneaky. *  

“Don’t worry about it, Alex. We’ll be careful.”

*I should have come with you. Please stay safe, okay? * Said Stan worried.  

“Don’t worry Stan. I know how to defend myself.”

*That is what worries me the most. *

“Hey! I heard that!”

*Fair and square Sis* said Mitch.

“Pfft...yeah...fair and square.”

The three women advanced along the lake that had formed at the foot of the mountain. They looked everywhere for a clue, a symbol that could help them on the way forward. But for the moment, nothing very conclusive. It was almost disappointing.  

“I may have been wrong... I must have made a miscalculation...” said Anna sadly.  

“Hey. Don’t start. We haven't searched everything yet. There is a cave under the waterfall. Maybe we will find something?” said Sonya.

“A cave? Under the waterfall?”  

“Yes. Teenage runaways hid here before attempting to cross the border when Tyrak was in power. Well, teenagers... There were families even...” said Fanny.  

“Tyrak was really a monster.” replied Anna.  

“Oh, you don’t say. He could have been capable of the worst... although he was capable of the worst just to keep control over his people. And we just had to... shut up and obey.” said Sonya, sadly.  

“Yeah, you right...” said Fanny. “Come on, let’s get moving.”  

The three women went to the cave under the waterfall. It was covered with graffiti which represented the remnants of the rebellion against Tyrak. Others appealed to the voice of the people. And still others claimed their freedom of thought.  

“All these people... Did they manage to cross the border?” asks Anna

“I don’t know. Maybe some...but maybe some didn’t. Maybe some of them died at trying to. All I hope, is that they’re fine, wherever they are.” Said Fanny.  

“I remember that one day, I met a young girl who wanted to try to cross the border... She wanted to do it so she could help her family live better. I hope... that she succeeded.” said Sonya.  

“I hope so.” said Anna. She then sees something strange between the graffities “wait...”  

She walked to the wall and touch the strange symbol delicately with her hand. She had never seen this kind of symbol before. She took out her notebook and began to study it. As she began to look closer, a strange bluish light escaped from the wall, heading towards the next room. The three girls looked at each other before following the ray that touched the wall at the back of the other room.  

“I really feel like I'm in an adventure movie... or science fiction.” said Sonya.  

“And yet it is very real. It looks like there are other symbols on the other facades of the room. I think that if the light ray touches these symbols... The passage will open to us.” said Anna.  

“And how do we do it?”  

“...do you have a mirror with you?” replied Anna.  

“Well no. But I have my necklace.” said Sonya.  

“That should do the work! Can I borrow it?”  

Sonya took off her necklace and handed it to Anna. The latter placed it against the wall and directed the light ray against one of the walls. Then with her other hand she took out a pocket mirror. She handed it to Fanny, who once in hand, used the mirror to direct the beam to the other wall opposite. A rumble was heard, and suddenly the ground under their feet trembled, creating an opening, stairs appeared, descending deeper underground.  

“Wow...It’s so cool.” said Sonya.  

“Do you think we'll be safe underneath?” asks Fanny.  

“There’s only one way to know.” said Anna beofre going down the stairs.  

Fanny and Sonya exchanged glances before following Anna. The torches embedded in the wall lit up little by little, as the descent progressed. Then, once downstairs, they faced a huge door, as for the garden gate. It was larger, more imposing, gilded engravings running through its surface, and made of a stone that was foreign to the rock that surrounded it.

“How are we going to open it?” said Fanny.  

“The real question is HOW did YOU manage to open the garden gate?” said Sonya looking at Anna.  

“I don’t know...I just...touch the door and then...” she said putting her hand on the door.  

And like the first time, the door lit up before slowly opening. The three women stepped back, watching the door open in front of them in surprise. Sonya looked at Anna in surprise.

“Are you a witch or something?? Because this is going to scare me a lot if you do things like that every time!” she said.  

“I don’t know! I don’t...” Anna starts before looking at her necklace. The blue stone on it glows a little, before fading away. “What in the name of...”  

“Are you okay Peachfuzz? Is there something wrong?” asks Fanny, worried.

“I... I am. Let's go.”  

“All...All right.”  

All three entered the room. The door closed behind them. In front of them, huge libraries, filled with parchments so old, that they would be almost frightening to touch them, for fear of damaging them. They were all in awe, not even one of them dared to say a word. Then after a while, Sonya broke the silence.  

“Daggnabit...This place... It is the historian's paradise. Can you imagine all the stories that must be here?” She spoke.  

“Not just the stories, Sonya. Research, tales, legends, traditions, technologies... Everything was recorded here... it is much bigger than the Library of Alexandria... It's... It is wonderful to see such a place as intact as it was in its time. Look at this. It seems that, as with the gardens, time has stopped here.” said Anna.  

“How...how did they managed to do all that?” asks Fanny.  

“I don’t know...Shandarians were quite...something. And no one knows anything about them. Apart from Merlina Yung... And me. And so do you. This is what we must protect from Yung and her group from the Purple Lynx. It is these centuries of hidden stories that could allow Petria to discover a facet of its past previously hidden from everyone.”  

“This is easier said than done, unfortunately. They will eventually find this place, as they must have found the gardens. Let's try to find clues about the next place, before we have unwanted visits.” Said Sonya.  

Anna nodded before stepping forward to look around. She absolutely had to find a clue about their next destination. But easier said than done. How do you find something in such a big place? You might as well look for a needle in a haystack. Fanny and Sonya did their best on their side but they were no luckier than Anna. And after a while...

“Anna! Fanny! I think I found something!” said Sonya.  

The two women joined Sonya and looked at the wall in front of them. Anna smiled heartily. She took out her notebook and began to write down the inscriptions on the wall meticulously, not forgetting any symbols. Then she closed her notebook.  

“Good job Sonya. I hope that with this we will have information about our next destination.” said Anna happily.  

Suddenly the talkie turned on. And Alex spoke. But given his voice, it wasn't a good sign.  

*Mom! Do...*BZZZZ* copy Me ??* He said.

“I’m here baby! What's going on?” said Fanny.  

*BZZZ* *Yung.... *BZZZ* -diers, are com*BZZZ* to you! You must *BZZZZ* of here! *  

“Alex? Alex??” Alex, do you hear me?? Alex !!” replied Fanny. “Damnit! We must get out of here! Right now!”  

“But how?? Apart from the door through which we entered, there is no other exit! We're stuck! And if they see us, we're screwed!” said Sonya.  

“There must be another exit! We just must find it! Let's go!” Said Anna.  

Suddenly, knocks were heard at the door. They are already there. And they will do anything to get inside. If they want to make it out alive, they will have to find a solution. and fast. Either they find another way out. Either they must fight. But faced with the troop waiting for them behind these doors, do they even have a chance? Probably. But it is very thin.  

Flee or fight? That is the question.  

But a more important question comes to mind. No matter what they choose...

Will they survive? Or will they die?  

If they do not act quickly, the answer will be clear. And they won’t like it.  

***  

(Summer is coming and it's starting to make itself felt. And in 2 days I take another year. Enough to finish me with the XD work. But hey you must hang on! And staying hydrated is also important! I hope you’ll like it like the other ones! Feel free to tell me what you think about it! Have a great weekend to you all!  See ya!)  

[best-international-schools-2025]

Is Value Education Necessary in Schools?

When you think about school, what comes to mind? Most likely, it's maths, science, and other academic subjects. In fact, in recent times, more people have also been questioning why art is important in school. But what about the values and life skills that shape a child’s character and prepare them for the real world? 

This is where value education steps in. Alongside teaching academics, schools must also help students develop qualities like empathy, integrity, and respect. After all, education is not just about securing marks but also about becoming a good human being.

What is Value Education?

Value education is the process of teaching children moral values, ethics, and skills that help them make better decisions and lead a fulfilling life. It’s not just about lessons in honesty or kindness—it’s about cultivating a mindset where students understand the importance of respecting others, resolving conflicts peacefully, and contributing to society.

Value education is like a moral compass that guides children to differentiate between right and wrong. It helps them become responsible adults who can thrive in personal and professional relationships.

Why is Value Education Necessary?

The question, "Is value education necessary in schools?" often comes up in debates about modern education. The answer is a resounding yes! In today’s fast-paced and competitive world, children face pressures from all sides: academic expectations, social media, and peer influences. Value education provides a foundation that helps them navigate these challenges with confidence and clarity.

Here’s why it’s essential:

Building Strong Character

Schools are the first social institutions where children learn to interact with others. Value education shapes their character by promoting empathy, teamwork, and kindness. These values stay with them throughout life and influence their relationships and actions.

Promoting Mental Well-Being

In a world where stress and anxiety among children are rising, value education teaches them the importance of gratitude, self-awareness, and resilience. It encourages them to reflect on their emotions and seek help when needed.

Encouraging Ethical Leadership

Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders. By instilling values like honesty, responsibility, and fairness, schools can nurture leaders who prioritise the greater good over personal gain.

How Can Schools Teach Values?

Integrating value education doesn’t require an overhaul of the school curriculum. It can be woven into everyday activities:

Storytelling: Stories of courage, kindness, and honesty resonate deeply with children and help them connect with these values on a personal level.

Group Projects: Teamwork teaches students about cooperation and respecting others’ perspectives.

Role-Playing: Simulating real-life situations helps children practice problem-solving and decision-making.

Class Discussions: Open conversations about current events or moral dilemmas encourage critical thinking and empathy.

Conclusion

Ultimately, value education isn’t just an addition to the school curriculum—it’s a necessity. It ensures that children grow into compassionate individuals who respect others and contribute positively to society. Coupled with the arts, it helps create a well-rounded educational experience that addresses not just the mind but also the heart.

When schools focus on instilling values alongside academics, they truly prepare students for life’s challenges and opportunities. So let’s prioritise value education and answer the question “Is value education necessary in schools?” with action, not just words.

[vamptastic]

i"m reading the mismeasure of man by stephen jay gould which talks about the history of scientific racism and a lot and i am seeing... parallels. we're presupposing being fat is bad for you, which i personally blame on the innate human disgust reaction to the unfamiliar. so when we do studies on fat people, it is almost always to figure out how to make them less fat. we find out that it may be wholly impossible to make 90% of people less fat and we continue to ignore it. we find that over half of people considered 'morbidly obese' have perfectly healthy bloodwork and we ignore it and keep referring to them as walking corpses. for fucks sake, we don't even know how to calculate calories correctly for most food in the modern age, we don't know what the ideal amount of calories is for a human to eat, and being at a certain BMI is still classified as 'morbidly obese due to excess calories' in the ICD-10.

it just doesn't seem to matter how many preconceived notions about fat people are disproven, because people are still thinking under the framework that fatness is bad. adipose fat is found to not have significant impact on heart disease? oh, well then let's lay in on people with lots of visceral fat harder. being fat can be caused by illnesses or medication side effects? oh, well, those people are fine but most fatties still must live a life of hedonistic indulgence.

to be optimistic though, i think the reason a lot of scientific racism is now considered ridiculous is because society is now much less racist than it was in the 1800s. the leading theories of scientific racism were reworked with the discovery of evolution, rather than being disproven. over and over in this book, data is collected correctly but misinterpreted to fit the presupposition that whites are superior. and when the evidence is beyond the point of ambiguity, the conclusion is simply rephrased to make it sound as if it isn't.

but in the modern day, phrenology and atavism are considered ridiculous- not because they are particularly difficult to make convincing scientific evidence for, but because most people no longer believe that whites are superior or that crimes are committed due to innate nature. (obviously scientific racism does still exist in new forms- that's what the other half of the book is about-but i think it's fair to say that it has become far, far less prevalent.)

so i think that if being fat is more accepted by society, better science will follow. it is, however, incredibly frustrating to recognize the obvious problems with the current rhetoric around fatness and have the majority of people genuinely believe their childish, stupid, immature disgust towards fat people is objectively intellectually justified. humans are prejudiced, we instinctually fear the unfamiliar, and we have instinctive disgust reactions when we think something may disease us. it is very easy to ignore these instincts when you know they are wrong and coming from an obsolete base instinct, but also very easy to come up with reason why they must be correct. be the better person and overcome whatever base reactions you have to other sorts of people, because history has shown time and time again that following those instincts is not productive.

[kspp]

Time to be “Significant”

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”– Dr. Jane Goodall, Scientist & Activist

Christened the “World Environment Day,” June 5th, this year marks half a century since the inception and foundation of the moral principles to encourage and direct countries and people to preserve and enhance the human environment in Stockholm, also known as the 1972 Stockholm Conference. This indeed was the cornerstone for it heralded the admission of “Environment” as a sprouting and salient issue of global importance. It led to the marriage of science and society that gave birth to environmental laws and established institutions bearing environmental impacts. It set the ball rolling for international environmental diplomacy and, through these years, also prophecised the goliath we are now confronted with – climate change. We have come a long way since then, where stakeholders now convene to tackle the Earth’s triple planetary crisis – climate, nature, and pollution and facilitate the fulfilment of SDGs, the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and support the adoption of green post-COVID-19 recovery plans at Stockholm+50. What will be interesting to witness is the outcome of the Stockholm+50 meeting for which my fingers are crossed.

At this juncture, it is too bold of me to comment on what other counties are doing or have committed to tackling the planetary crisis and hence will restrict myself to India. The honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi advanced India’s formula of ‘Panchamrits‘ at the COP 26, where India will,

increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030

meet 50% of its energy requirements through renewable energy by 2030

reduce its forecasted carbon emission by one billion tonnes by 2030

reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45% by 2030

achieve net-zero by 2070

This is a testament to India’s bold vision and dedication to the collective global battle against the aforementioned crisis. It is, in fact, one of the very few nations on course to meet its Paris Agreement targets , and hence, it is fair to state that it is on its path to being successful.

Nevertheless, having said that, I believe it is important for India not to focus on being successful. Yes, you read that correct; I do not want India to be focused on being successful. Don’t get me wrong; every country ought to be successful, and I hope India does too. There is no harm or nothing wrong with being successful. But, success is just about oneself. I instead want India to be “Significant.” because significance is about others. And I want India to be significant both domestically and Internationally.

Domestically, it is paramount that India does not abandon the development needs of the most vulnerable communities. And hence, this planetary crisis must prioritize equity, exchange, and access; and have a human rights-based approach where development, along with mitigation and adaptation measures, fortifies the resilience of such vulnerable constituents.

Internationally, it is paramount that India puts its best foot forward, contributes to the international stage, and extends a helping hand to the most vulnerable nations and communities. To quote Dr. Shashi Tharoor, when countries, especially the developing ones, “Look at India, they say, there is a mess just like us. They have the same sort of problems; they have poverty, they have the divisions. We may have clans; they may have castes. If they can triumph over these problems, we can learn from them.” This is an opportune time for India to strike while the iron is hot, make an impact in the global arena, and also concurrently further its foreign policy through its environmental and climate change diplomacy.

In conclusion, even as we mark one more “World Environment Day,” I hope we all are reminded as individuals and as a nation – “महत्वपूर्ण भारत “( Significant India) that it’s about ‘progression’ and ‘not perfection.’ It is about getting into an ‘active relationship’ with this planetary crisis of climate, nature, and pollution, facing it head-on, one pebble at a time.

Credit Suisse Global Megatrends Conference. “Martin Jacques and Shashi Tharoor discuss China and India.” YouTube. 2016.

MEA. “National Statement by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at COP26 Summit in Glasgow.” Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. Last modified November 2021.

NRDC. “The Road From Paris: India’s Progress Towards Its Climate Pledge.” Natural Resources Defense Council. Last modified October 2021.

Sohn, L. B. “The Stockholm Declaration on the human environment.” UN Environment Document Repository Home. Last modified 1973.

UNEP. “About.” Stockholm+50. Last modified June 2022.

[divorce-fiction]

The Seven Day Switch by Kelly Harms

Opening Tally

Marriages: 2 Divorces: 0

I hope we can all admit: Hatred is compelling. The Seven Day Switch thrives on this passion-in-negative, pitting Working Mom Wendy and Stay-At-Home Superhero Celeste against each other, but this not-so-cold war is only the beginning of a surprisingly non-ficitional take on a fictional bodyswap. Yes, the cliche of "I couldn't put this down!" but truly I didn't want to. This is no Morality Fiction, where the women end on a corny cryfest of how they were ~Both Wrong~ and the power of friendship makes them switch back. This is an examination of their shortcomings and justifications and public personas. This is a book that has heart AND brains.

There's also an introspective touch to the writing. Piling words high to the point of collapse, ambling setting descriptions without intent is the common technique for showing passage of time in a novel. Harms, in welcome contrast, runs the first-person film reel of Wendy and Celeste's entire thought process, with all of its rambling jumps and loose connections on full display. This makes you actually want to read through it to avoid missing out on the rich, internal world of these women.

The plot is this: After an uncommonly heavy night of drinking at a school fundraiser, Wendy and Celeste wake up the next morning in each other's bodies. There's the expected shock and stumbling, and they decide that a special, single-batch vodka Celeste ordered is to blame. They won't be able to get their hands on more until the next bottle is delivered in a week (title drop!) and, until then, entrepreneur Wendy intends to relax and homemaker Celeste plans to overhaul her neighbor's family.

I was anxious in the back of my head the entire time I was devouring this book. I expected that all of the lovely character development would result in a boring, Disney-style conclusion: Wendy would give up her productivity consulting business to make time for what was really important: Family. And Celeste would realize she was being too strict on her family and let her kids eat McDonald's once a week. Hooray!

Neither of these bland outcomes come true.

Or, perhaps that's burying the lede. Celeste's strictness is one of her greatest assets in the story, whipping Wendy's children into shape to help around the house, empowering them with responsibility, where Wendy, convinced she was the only one who could do everything correctly, had never delegated. It's shown as a true strength of her style of mothering, the militant care she puts into things like baking cupcakes for entrants to a science fair. The curse comes less as a blanket declaration about homemakers but about Celeste in specific: her husband makes all the money, and she has been pursuing absolute perfection to make up for only being a SAHM. Those science fair cupcakes might not NEED perfectly crafted DNA sugar helices made from scratch. She put herself second to everything in her life, never taking time to rest or take care of herself, to the point of ignoring a serious post-partum abdomen injury. Celeste isn't wrong in personality, she's just low in self-esteem. Her Mom of the Year act was never designed to shame the rest of the parents, but to justify her own existence.

Wendy, in contrast, is Working Mom of the Year: supporting her artist husband and over-achieving children, making feminist waves in the world of business-ownership, and still making time each day to be around her family for a whole hour. This balancing act belies an obvious truth: she isn't happy. But the solution isn't abandoning her ideals, and that's what's so comforting about this book. Neither of these women are in the wrong for how they want to live their lives, but how they've gone about it. They have mirror struggles, of never taking time for one's self. And Wendy's justification that her Excel-spreadsheet level scrambling makes her the best is undercut by the late reveal that her kids are a shameful compromise: in exchange for their birth, she agreed that her husband, Seth, would never have to lift a finger to help with them or her business or her life.

Shameful for Seth, that is. This man sucks so incredibly I don't even want to devote words to it. He's hot, yes, but also secretive and lazy and dismissive and unhelpful and resentful without intent to improve. Imagine the worst partner whose behavior you condone with "At least he's not abusive." That's Seth.

And Celeste's husband, Hugh?

“Of course,” [Hugh] says, without so much as a pause. “Whatever you need. Celeste, I don’t know what’s been going on this week, but I do know I love you, no matter what. When you’re ready to talk, I hope it’s me you talk to. Got that?” (pg. 240)

Hugh. Is. Amazing. I teared up at his devotion, his love for his wife. Taking on what most fathers would consider 'babysitting' when his wife seems to be in the midst of a mental breakdown, running interference on snobs at a gala dinner so his wife can enjoy her night out, oozing with attraction towards a woman who sees herself as 'over the hill'. I know men/husbands/fathers like this exist, but they’re so few and far between it’s often easier to pretend they don’t. He's a high-powered corporate executive who loves his wife, his kids, and his life. He's perfect. I want to run him through a cloning machine. No notes.

One last note: it’s the tiniest mention, something you’d normally blaze right past in your rush to finish a story: there’s a non-binary character in this book. Nameless, faceless, descriptionless. But with specified they/them pronouns that the characters respect. A hospital receptionist that exists for a paragraph and is intensely normalized. I like it. More of this, please.

Celeste and Hugh stay married and perfect forever.

Wendy and Seth get divorced after Seth's infidelity is discovered.

Closing Tally

Marriages: 1 Divorces: 1

Rating: ★★★★✮ (4.5/5)

[andtheghost]

01/16/24 - You’re made of contradictions

First off, I believe in astrology. I also know that it goes way, way beyond star signs. Really I think if most people looked into it with an open mind and allowed themselves to be honest, it would be hard NOT to believe in it. But also I’ve seen enough things line up too well to not believe it.

And we’re not talking prophets from centuries in the past making vague enough predictions that they could be plugged into any number of situations that have actually come to pass. In 2019, people predicted that there was going to be a pandemic the following year. Used the word pandemic. One of the videos I watched, the guy kept waffling around the word pandemic, because he didn’t want to scare people, but also he couldn’t deny that’s what it looked like. Some predicted a world war, because what they were seeing was death everywhere.

The problem with astrology is that it’s not a science. It requires some assumption, some conjecture, some guesswork. And there’s no test to run to see if your predictions are accurate. You make the predictions, then you wait and see how close you are, then you take notes on where you went wrong so hopefully you’ll do better next time. Or you look at what happened the last couple times this planet was in this house, and try to figure out how that relates to the world today.

I personally don’t make predictions, because I don’t understand it well enough. I do, however, come to my own conclusions on how I feel about other people’s predictions. But I base those ideas on the patterns I’m seeing in the world around me, not the placement of the stars.

But I have noticed this very particular behavior among people who believe in astrology that half amuses me, half confuses me, half irritates me. That’s too many halves, but whatever.

They take every transit, every full moon, every retrograde SO SERIOUSLY. Like dude. These things are happening every day. Why is this one so special? This could be the Taurus in me talking, but chill the fuck out, guys.

To be fair, I’ve seen certain transits have drastic impacts on me personally. And since I tend to be more reactionary when it comes to astrology, I’m rarely expecting it when it happens, and not prepared. I didn’t realize that retrograde was going to uproot my entire life for a month because I didn’t even realize it was going to be happening until it was happening. And even if I had known it was going to be happening, I don’t know enough about astrology to know how it’s going to affect me anyway, so how do you prepare for that?

Right now it’s Pluto moving into Aquarius. Apparently it’s the sign that AI is about to take over. Or governments are going to start falling. Others are still saying war. It’s also interesting how they all KNOW what’s going to happen, but their predictions are all so incredibly different.

In 2019, everyone at least agreed DEATH was absolutely going to be a thing, even if not everyone agreed on how it was going to happen. I suppose one thing being so prevalent on such a large scale, there were only so many options that could cause something like that, right? It almost had to be widespread illness or war.

As much hype as this Pluto in Aquarius thing is getting, no one seems to be able to pinpoint exactly what it’s going to do. Just some kind of drastic change to… something. Something to do with communication maybe? Or technology? Surely it has to do with innovation. But dude. Innovation is happening EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME. Vaguest. Prediction. Ever.

Nostradamus would be so proud.

But if no one can agree on what’s going to happen, maybe it’s not going to be such a huge deal? Or maybe it’s going to change something so integral to the very foundations of society that no one can see something that big hidden in all the little details.

And once again, the dreaded fate thing pops it’s nasty little head up. Because that whole concept has been kind of kicking me in the teeth lately, and it is RELENTLESS. Because if you can look at some stars and planets and asteroids, and multiple people across the globe can accurately predict a pandemic, then there has to be something to it. Or could that have been a coincidence?

And if the future is written in the stars for anyone knowledgeable enough to figure out what they’re saying, then fate has to be real on at least some level. But it doesn’t matter, does it? It still goes back to no one will ever know (?) so it doesn’t matter. And how incredibly boring would life be anyway, if everyone knew everything that was going to happen?

That’s really the thing I like about astrology: it’s interesting. It’s an intricate web of a thousand little puzzles to ponder and pick apart and the more puzzles you figure out, the more puzzles get revealed, and it’s just endless. And there’s no way to “figure it out” because it’s constantly changing. You can learn how the mechanisms work, but the planets are never going to stop moving.

In any other context, the inability to solve the puzzle would drive me absolutely INSANE. But I’m not really interested in solving this one. I like the fact that it’s unsolvable. If you solve the puzzle, that’s it. I like that it’s never going to get boring. And I’m really not sure why.

[scottdamron1]

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[nottskyler]

You can’t have a real discussion with someone going to the lengths of claiming that it is racist to believe that some ancestors of the Native Americans came from the Middle East instead of the Far East, especially about something that happened thousands of years ago. It’s not like a claim saying they were more recently descended from apes or come from space and thus aren’t human or were of the “superior” European/American white race. It’s simply saying they come from somewhere slightly different from current historical canon.

Tangent: Though I have always tried to find the evidence anthropologists have about the land bridge and how they determined where Native Americans came from, but I am not good at research and can only get explanations saying they had to walk there because ship technology wasn’t good enough which always seemed more racist to me (though I’m pretty sure this is oversimplification and not the real evidence and theory). Wish I could find it because it is really fascinating to learn how we figure stuff out like that. Tangent over.

Mormonism has racism because it was founded by people during a time where a lot of people were racist. Besides Brigham Young deciding to take away the equal standing of blacks that the Book of Mormon strongly supports, there is a long history of interpreting the Book of Mormon to mean that people will become white in the resurrection (instead of becoming glowy beings bright as the sun, which does look white when I look at it even though science tells me it is more yellow-orange). Because we all know that Jesus wasn’t European/American white even though the people of the Book of Mormon call him white and fair. So how can we jump to the conclusion that “exceeding whiteness” means European/American white? It’s a dumb interpretation that is not supported by the text.

But there is a valid question as to whether the Lamanites were cursed with darker skin or not. Regardless of the claim’s veracity, I don’t think it condones racism. If we interpret it as they were literally cursed with dark skin (a valid way for Gd to separate two factions that would’ve killed each other off a lot earlier if they couldn’t visually differentiate themselves into two separate nations), half the Book of Mormon is calling the Nephites to repentance for hating on the Lamanites. If we don’t take it as a literal skin darkening (which the war chapters seem to support as the Lamanites were distinguished from the Nephites by having a shaved head), then racism isn’t a thing. I personally read it as literal (and not a curse as in it is bad to be black or have darker skin but that racism was introduced to the Nephites’ condemnation) because it allows me to see the Nephites’ racism as a parallel to our day.

As for prophesying about colonialism and “painting it in a good light”, I don’t think the prophecy that it will happen means that it is a good thing. The Book of Mormon was written by humans with biases before it was divinely translated. Before this specific vision about the colonizers showing up in America, Nephi just saw his descendants killed off by his brother’s descendants. I don’t think we can trust his perspective on whether or not it was a good thing his brothers’ descendants were almost killed off by disease and violent land grabs and forced into schools to integrate them to eradicate everything that made them them. One of the hardest parts for people to accept about Gd is that He respects agency enough to allow genocides to happen. Just because Gd lead the gentiles to the Americas does not mean He wanted them to almost drive Native Americans to extinction. This vision is used by Mormons to excuse the bad actors of the past, but they are wrong to do so.

The whole “converting to Christianity” is a chicken and egg problem. Would they be opposed to the idea if we could prove without a doubt that the Native Americans were Christian and saw Christ? If Christianity hadn’t been the religion of colonizers, would they really be upset about us trying to revive an ancient religion that went extinct? Obviously there is baggage due to the claim that colonization was about spreading Christianity when it really was about spreading the “church of the devil” (material gain via exploitation, or what leftist consider capitalism), but the Book of Mormon teaches a Christianity that is not about conquering.

The Book of Mormon teaches that Gd speaks to all His children. Therefore if we come in and say only we have the truth, we are denying what He has spoken to other people. If we hadn’t been so corrupted by evangelical Christianity, we would be sending missionaries out to share our testimony and scriptures in order to open a communication to learn about how Gd has spoken to other nations. We would be sitting and listening to the Native Americans after doing our job of bringing them the record of some of their ancestors. So yeah, an issue in the Church that is contrary to the doctrine in the Book of Mormon.

But really, I share all this for your benefit because none of this will mean anything to someone looking to discredit a minority religion so they don’t have to challenge their worldview that religions are generally bad. This weird clash of unreligious purity culture and disposable consumerism where you throw away anything with flaws instead of trying to make repairs. It’s unproductive as it is much better to challenge your own racism and help those around you to be better than to judge others.

Sorry it is so long, but I love deep diving into the text of the Book of Mormon and seeing how it contradicts and/or supports modern thought. The Book of Mormon teaches that “black and white, bond and free, male and female…all are alike unto God” Is there a scripture as anti-racist as that in the Bible?

Saw a post today that was arguing that Mormonism is INHERENTLY racist because of our beliefs about Israelities coming to America and becoming Native American ancestors, Christ coming to America and converting them to Christianity, and justification of colonization.

The last point is fair and I’ve often been uncomfortable with the way the BoM seems to promote anti-Semitism and the treatment of Native Americans by White settlers. However, the other two I had never considered and I wanted to get the queerstake/tumblrstake take on this.

If we feel like this person’s arguments are valid, how do we deal with that?

(I know this is a whole can of worms to open up and I’m nervous about making this post because I don’t want it to breach containment.)

[heyhihellosworld]

𝗙𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆

Mason Mount x reader

Word count: 1.2k

Summary: Mason leaves a bit too many clues and you can't keep it together anymore

Warnings: Angst, cheating

Notes: Was in angsty mood but finished it in a good mood so it didn't turn out great heh

It hadn't been hard figuring it out.

So many clues, bad hidden evidences that led to one and only one conclusion.

The late nights away, the off mood, the disdain to touch you in any way, the making up, the weird smelling perfume and the dumb excuses.

The most evident evidence was his friends. You didn't know what to call them, clueless or stupid. The clumsy attempts to stick up for him, the over-explaining and the dumbest fuck of them all almost telling you something he shouldn't.

The math had been easy, what you should do to solve it was a tougher problem though. Your thoughts where scattered, did you confront him? Did you pretend nothing happened? Did you act clueless or would you be selfish, call him out on it and scream out your frustration at his guilty face.

When you thought about it the last option was the most tempting one and to be real it wasn't selfish it was fair.

You were sitting on the couch, your sweat-set on and curled against the pillows in the corner and a hot cup of coffee in your hands as you pondered your options. It had been clear for a couple of days now.

Mason finally coming home this day after a weekend away with away-game in Spain meant you had to decide. Maybe greeting him with this wasn't very nice but he hadn't been very nice to you so you honestly didn't care. You were done being nice.

"Hey babe, you home?!"

You sighed heavily, resting your head back before responding "Living room"

Mason's quick footsteps where heard from the kitchen, walking into the living room with a playful pout on his face completely unaware of the pondering you had spent the weekend doing.

"Hey, you're not greeting me today?" he smiled but his face fell as he saw your completely emotionless face looking back at him, tired and anxious.

"What's wrong?" he questioned, walking into the room and standing before you with narrowed eyes, frown on his face as you still hadn't even given him a smile.

"Maybe you can answer that" you muttered, standing up from the couch and walking off to the kitchen with your empty cup.

"You wanna greet me with an argument, really?" He scoffed, following behind you, your eyes rolling but he couldn't see as your back was against him.

"Well what would you do if you found out that your boyfriend had been cheating on you?" You snapped, turning around to see his face fall completely "Huh? What would you do, would you greet him with a kiss?"

Mason swallowed hard, eyes looking away from yours as he couldn't take the intense stare you gave him. "Uh-I-" "You uh-I what Mason" you chuckled sarcastically, all the debating and choice making flying away, there was only one thing you could to and that was confront him and the anger just took over.

You had loved him, given him all of your spare time, tried hard to make it work and to travel with him for his work and in return he gave you nothing.

"You're not gonna say anything?!"

your voice raised, getting extremely annoyed by his silence

"How did you find out?" he said lowly, eyes staring at floor as you chuckled sarcastically again. "That's the only thing you want to say?" You shook your head as you put the cup into the washer.

"It wasn't rocket science Mason. It was actually extremely easy, you really suck at lying" "How?" he repeated lowly and you sighed, threading your hands trough your hair in stress.

"C'mon Mason, you had hickies on your neck, messages from girls I didn't know, you've been out late 'with the lads' multiple times in the week meanwhile I've got picture from the girls on movie nights and dates with the ones you claimed seeing. You've been off, not wanting to look at me our touch me, you smell like a micture of woman prefume and your own shitty one, you have the dumbest excuses ever and you always feel so guilty you want to make up for it afterwards, acting so so sweet after you've come home late. Plus not to mention those stupid friends of yours, so so stupid, not knowing when to shut their mouths" You reeled on his face falling more and more for every evidence you spoke. He was quite for several moments before looking at your face, still avoiding your eyes "I'm Sorry"

"Well fuck your sorry" you grumbled, "We're done"

You moved from the counter, grabbing your phone and charger before shouldering past him, making your way to the bedroom where you'd already packed all your stuff.

"What? No y/n don't say that" Mason pleaded, following you like a puppy, your eyes rolled again. "Fuck off Mason" you grumbled, pushing his arm away as he tried to grab you.

You had been sad enough, now there was only pure anger and frustration left, frustration at your boyfriend who had betrayed your trust and ruined your relationship. Anger that you had let it happen for too long, angry at him for putting you in that position. Anger anger and frustration clouded your vision as you turned back out of the door with him in tow, heading straight to the door where he grabbed you again.

"Y/n, please let me explain" he pleaded. You couldn't stomach looking into his brown eyes, knowing they would break your anger but you needed that anger to not break down right now.

"What's there to explain?" you sighed tiredly, meeting his sad teary eyes but it didn't make you sad, it made you angrier. Like why the hell was he sad, it was his doing and his choice.

"I didn't mean to, I I-I was drunk and stupid and i-"

"Just be quite, there is nothing you can say, and don't you dare put this like a one time thing, I know it's been going on for weeks Mason so just drop the act and tell me why"

He looked down, squirming on his spot "I-I don't know why!" he exclaimed. Your head shook and tiredness filled your body, was this all he put down into your relationship, was this what you meant for him?

"Well then we are all done here" you stated, moving to leave but he stopped you again. "No! Please, I am sorry, it was stupid an-" "Mason just stop!" You groaned, grabbing his chin to force him to look into your eyes "I don't care if you're sorry now, you still fucked multiple girls behind my back. You knew exactly what you were doing and you chose to do it anyway, you chose to throw us away you made me feel like shit you broke us up so stop saying sorry and stop trying to make me stay. I have felt shitty this last month, you made me feel like garbage, like I was the one doing something wrong and now I finally managed to clear my head so don't fucking stop me. We are over Mason"

You pushed past him and threw the door closed behind you, throwing your bag in the car before settling in yourself, you backed out of his driveway.

Leaving your relationship and him behind you.

[spinariosthorn]

sengen 56 chapter 

I want to talk about chapter 56 because it it incredibly significant. This whole observatory story is one of the most important in the development of Senku’s character and his relationships with other people. And it would be truly illogical to reduce it all to some simple romantic infatuation. Sengen's feelings go much further than a petty romance, and here is why.

*was inspired by this post

Let's start from the beginning. Magma blindfolds Senku and brings him to all the villagers. Things are really unsightly, and Senku naturally comes to the conclusion that Gen has persuaded all the villagers to bring his head on a plate to Tsukasa. Hence it can be assumed that Senku had such thoughts before, and he admitted the possibility that Gen could raise the whole village against him. Senku is right that Gen could raise the whole village since he has no less power over the villagers than Senku himself does, but he is wrong with the fact that Gen would want to go against him. He didn’t know his motives and even though Senku chose the “as long as you are on my side, let’s just be friends” strategy, he was wary of Gen. That is, he did not trust either Gen or the villagers completely. The fake speech of Magma, who was just trying to make Senku angry and let go of his hand so as not to die together, immediately becomes real in Senku's head, and does not help the situation at all.

Gen immediately calms Senku down, saying "I swear I haven’t a clue what you’re on about", because he never had any thoughts of rebelling against Senku. On the contrary, his uttermost devotion can be admired. The blindfold is removed, and instead of a bloody betrayal, a view of Saturn opens up to Senku’s eyes, followed by the view of the whole observatory. And then Senku mentally transfers to his childhood, remembering his main dream - to go to space. This is how Gen shows that he sees Senku. He sees the great scientist Senku, and the highschooler Senku, and the child admiring his father Senku. He sees his wishes, ambitions, desires, he sees what brings him happiness and fills him with inspiration, he can hear what Senku’s heart says.

Gen also sees that it will be difficult for Senku to cope with emotions after such an event, so he begins to chat about everyday things so that Senku finds support amid such an emotional shock, feels more comfortable and has time to gather his thoughts.

Senku clings to this opportunity and continues the conversation in his pragmatic manner. However, here is another Gen's revelation waiting for him. Gen says that he remembers the date of his release from the stone and he counted the days to find out his birthdate. He once again shows that he can see the real Senku, and thus makes it clear how much Senku means to him and to all the villagers. How much he believed in him, even before he met him.

To make it a “fair deal”, Gen opens his heart to Senku in return, allowing him to see his real self. Formerly we saw Gen as a fickle opportunist, a dark horse, a vile greedy man, a traitor, a self proclaimed “the most selfish man on earth”. But right here he’s telling Senku almost straight up, that this has never been true. That he is by Senku’s side not because of pros and cons but because of true likelinesses, admiration and respect.

He cracks his mask with his own hands, allowing Senku to see into his heart as well. It's like he's saying, "I trust you completely, so please trust me too." This scene means so much because after it Senku gains 10,000% confidence and trust in Gen and the villagers, he can not doubt their loyalty for a millimeter anymore. And this is incredibly important for the development of the plot.

Gen's words gave Senku so much faith in himself and in the success of the Kingdom of Science that Senku literally changed as a person overnight.

After this conversation, he is noticeably getting closer with the villagers. He even gives them all something like "high five", although physical contact has never been his thing.

And communication with the Gen becomes a hundred times warmer, and Senku keeps showing and showing that now he also trusts Gen for all ten billion percent. He trusts him to work in the laboratory, and drive a car, and a tank, and he plays along with Gen’s schemes even if he doesn’t know much about it, and he even doesn’t mind when Gen starts analyzing him.

So it is truly illogical to call this scene a romantic confession when it is the greatest anthem of trust and devotion. When it is a masterpiece of subtle analysis and mastery of Gen’s smooth talking. When it's an oath to stay until the very end, no matter what happens. When it is an expression of admiration and respect coming from the heart. When is the moment where they both let each other into the innermost corners of their souls.