#minimally invasive learning

[dratefahmed1]

How to Repair an Enterocutaneous Fistula Laparoscopically: A step-by-step guide / Laparoscopic

#laparoscopicsurgeon #bowel #Enterocutaneous #fistulakit #laparoscopicrepair #enterocutaneousfistula #fistula #surgery #medical #health #doctor #nurse #healthcare #laparoscopic #minimallyinvasive #procedure #surgery #treatment #recovery #patient #outcomes #complications #casestudy #video #youtube #learn #education #information #enterocutaneous #fistularepair #fistulasurgery #fistulatreatment…

[drsauravarora]

Key take away message - Recent Advances for Orthopaedic & Obesity Patients Care - HMAI Delhi CME

[clinicse]

EYESURGERYANTALYA - GOLD

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Blepharoplasty, commonly known as eyelid surgery, is an increasingly popular cosmetic procedure in Turkey. It involves the removal of excess skin, fat, and muscle from either the upper or lower eyelids to enhance the appearance of the eyes and provide a more youthful look.

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Patients considering blepharoplasty Turkey can expect a thorough consultation where doctors assess individual needs and create tailored treatment plans. Post-operative care and follow-ups are also essential components of the surgery, ensuring that patients achieve the best possible results with minimal complications.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Accidental Extinction

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

Being weak in militaristic capabilities the people of the Calex Confederacy would have been conquered several centuries ago were it not for their impressive intellect.

From the collective minds of their greatest robotic labs and the hottest furnaces of their mighty foundries they gave birth to the CRX 9000 war machine. It the most advanced robotic military platform in the known galaxy and swiftly became the primary model used for the Calex Confederacy military.

Unlike previous war machines that would be limited to a preprogrammed set of actions and reactions the CRX 9000 was created with an advanced capacity to learn and adapt. With every encounter the CRX would study its opponents, learning from their strengths and weaknesses, tactics, and even their genetic capacity for biological weaknesses.

With this new weapon in their arsenal the Calex were able to resist several potential aggressors during their history by rival galactic powers. Each attack would see initial gains for the aggressor on a handful of worlds before coming to a standstill; at which point the CRX’s will have learned enough about their enemies to launch successful counter attacks and drive out the aggressors.

Strangely enough the Calex were never interested in expanding past their original territories. They could have used the machines to conquer a great swathe of territory but despite all reason they were content to remain in their borders. The rest of the universe learned that it was for all their best interests if they just left them alone and so they did.

Eventually the Calex joined the galactic federation to the surprise of many. Many had assumed the Calex were heavily isolationist, but that nature only extended to the scope of their domain. The Calex themselves were very curious about the universe around them and wished to be a part of it.

Naturally being part of the galactic federation meant that when one member comes under attack all members would answer the call to aide them; both financially and militarily if needed. This was one of the main reasons the Calex had been approved for membership as several members had at one point or another been at war with the Calex and knew all too well how effective the CRX war machines could be.

This was put to the test when a small border skirmish broke out against the Televin Theocracy and the galactic federation member state of Yon Kingdom. The Televin argued that the Yon owed them hundreds of millions in credits after trade agreements were not honored. The Yon countered this claim by stating it was the Televin who had not honored the agreement by not delivering the requested goods and so they refused to pay.

Claim and counter claim went back and forth for some time until the Televin issued a statement. They would invade the Yon homeworld and forcefully claim funds and material until the debt is paid in full. No sooner had the declaration been made did a large scale Televin invasion force land on the Yon homeworld and it was occupied. In response the galactic federation task force was swiftly assembled and dispatched to the Yon homeworld to remove the occupying forces; including several dozen CRX war machines.

Several members were upset that the Calex had not invested more of their war machines. They had been expecting at least a couple thousand CRX’s which could have easily reclaimed the planet within a few months. Being somewhat unsure of their new ally’s intentions, the Calex had decided to only send a few of their war machines to see how the galactic federation would employ them.

With such minimal numbers it was decided by the federation leaders to split them up and embed them individually to detachments to reinforce their military capacity rather than consolidate them into a single strike force. The extra firepower would greatly improve the survivability ratio of each unit they were supporting. This was projected even further when the units selected were primarily from the terran union.

Though skilled warriors, the humans were biologically were deemed the frailest compared to the other species joining the task force. Lacking hardened exoskeletons, telekinetic capabilities, or even enhanced muscle reaction enhancers; they were considered meat sacks. Formidable warriors without question, but meat sacks all the same.

The campaign lasted two months before the Televin were repelled and driven from their final strongholds on the surface of the planet. It had been a grueling protracted war of attrition that had seen ten soldiers die for every foot of ground taken only to be lost hours later requiring another twenty soldiers deaths to reclaim. Each member race of the task force proved their worth in one way or another during the entire war and with its conclusion had been sent back home to their respective homeworlds.

Having been monitoring the daily reports from the start of the campaign the Calex were pleased to see that not a single CRX war machine had been felled and that all would be returning soon via a human troop carrier. The humans had been so grateful for the machines support during the conflict they considered this the very least they could do as a sign of gratitude to the Calex.

Little did the Calex know that the moment the troop carrier landed on the surface of their homeworld would mark the beginning of their species eventual extinction.

Boarding ramp wide enough to deploy two battle tanks abreast lowered with a slow groaning hum of hydraulics to the waiting Calex military and robotic advisors at the aerodrome. As they scraped the surface of the landing fields the ranks of the CRX’s slowly began descending the ramps and returning to their creators world in perfect military precision.

To the surprise of the gathered Calex the war machines had been modified to some extent that they had been unaware of.

Several of the machines now wore enlarged forms of human military uniforms decorated in camo patterns of greens and browns. Others wore decorative caps of a wide variety, both in shape and colors, with a few going so far as to have a large feather protruding from one side. One unit in wore a Shemagh that covered its entire head and upper body only leaving its red eyes visible.

As if that was not enough strangeness for Calex they took note that not all of the CRX’s were carrying their standard issue weapons. A number of the units carried oversized rifles that looked more akin to the turret of a human tank that had been removed and one Calex robotics engineer was appalled to see twin heavy gatling cannons crudely welded to each arm. Then there were the units in the front that carried no ranged weaponry at all and instead handled a wide variety of crude melee weapons such as swords or hammers. One was seen with a pair of metallic claw gauntlets that looked sharp enough to cut through a starship hull. Yet the most disturbing of all of these units was the designated leader of the contingent, MAK-395, that stood at the front of the ranks.

It still held true to its original weaponry and wore no strange human clothing or other trappings and looked down at the gathered Calex and saluted them. They hesitated to salute back for when they looked up at their creation they saw the bloody hand print of a human sprayed across its face plate.

When the humans shuffled down after the CRX’s the Calex immediately demanded explanations as to why their most prized machines had been returned to them in such a deplorable state. The human officers remarked that each machine had adapted alongside the human unit it had been assigned to during the course of the campaign. Many of the clothing and weapon choices seen were part of the core mentality of each human unit. They remarked with some pride to the units that boasted feathered caps that those units had proved themselves with such honor and bravery that they were awarded the feathers as a sign of respect by their human comrades.

These answers did little to placate the Calex who refused to believe that any species would regard mere machines with such attachments. They further demanded to know why MAK-395 had been not properly cleaned and still bore the signs of the war.

As the humans were about to answer it was instead MAK-395 that spoke first.

“My name is Nathan.”

The Calex looked on dumbfounded at their war machine as it spoke to them. Never before had a CRX spoken without first being prompted to or commanded to; yet this one had done just so.

“MAK-“ the Calex robotics engineer began before once more being interrupted by the machine.

“MAK-395 is dead.” It stated coldly. “I am Nathan Forest.”

The Calex looked at each other in bewilderment until a human officer stepped forward and spoke in a hushed tone.

“Nathan Forest was a human private that served alongside our metal friend here during the war.” He tilted his head towards the machine as her continued. “During a patrol they were ambushed and the private was wounded badly by a Televin cluster rifle. Our friend here carried him all the way back to base camp but by then he was already gone.”

“Nathan is not gone!”

The robot’s outburst surprised both the humans and the Calex. It now loomed over them as its red lenses glared down disapprovingly.

“He gave me his name, and as long as I still function Nathan Forest is not dead.”

“Apologies soldier,” the human remarked to the surprise of the Calex, “the war has left be confused on certain things.”

Seemingly placated the machine calling itself Nathan stepped back and resumed its post at the front of the CRX column.

“You speak to the machine as if it is alive?” one of the Calex remarked disapprovingly, “Has the war robbed you of your senses as well?”

“From what I’ve heard the two of them were nothing short of best friends on the battlefield,” the human replied with amusement, “and it did everything it could to bring him home. So yeah, I think our metal friend here has earned that much.”

With that remarked the human handed over a data file containing the entirety the human and CRX interactions for the war and promptly returned to the dropship. In an eerie silence the CRX machine head’s turned to watch the human as he ascended back the boarding ramp and turned to face them.

“It has been an honor and privilege to serve alongside your kind.” He spoke as the engines began to power up once more. He gave a crisp salute as the boarding ramp began to rise as the Calex watched in amusement. The human need for attachment was something they had heard of but one they had never expected to be real and was quite humorous to see firsthand. What was more surprising was when every CRX machine turned in unison and returned the salute in kind without a single order being given.

The human officer looked unphased by the reaction as the boarding ramps closed, but to the gathered Calex it was beyond their means of comprehension to understand.

Their machines were created to learn and adapt to situations but there had always been a limit to the extent of their development. In their dedicated years of usage they had never before displayed the kind of independent thought they had shown after a mere two months of interacting with humans.

At first the Calex believed that the humans must have altered the coding of the war machines in some manner and that this had been done to make them easier to interact with during the war. Each unit was sent to maintenance for a full diagnostic but the results showed no signs of outside intrusion.

MAK-395, or “Nathan Forest”, was given increasing rounds of overview as it seemed to have developed a functioning personality; a feat which many Calex robotic engineers had long since dismissed as impossible. Yet the unit could speak freely without prompting and could hold a conversation about a wide variety of topics. The one it seemed to circle back to most was around a human game called “Base Ball” which the original human Nathan Forest seemed to have spoken about frequently with when paired to MAK-395. Pulled memory files indicate that the human Nathan and his fellow human comrades had even invited MAK-395 to participate in the game during a lull in fighting.

Things did not take a turn for the worse until a technician attempted to wipe away the bloody hand print on MAK-395’s face plate during a routine cleaning. The unit stood up and positioned its head out of reach of the technician and refused to have it cleaned. Override codes were spoken and the technician demanded the unit bend down so it can be cleaned, but the unit refused to move. The unit stated that the handprint was the last thing he had of the original Nathan Forest to be remembered by and did not wish its removal.

Enraged by the unit’s refusal the technician raised a melting torch to the ceiling and set off the fire suppression system. Jets of water and gas filled the room before the unit could react and washed a portion of the handprint away while the technician laughed. Their mockery was cut short when the unit MAK-395 back handed the technician and sent them flying through a nearby window to plummet several stories to the ground below.

For the first time in history a CRX-9000 had intentionally killed one of its creators.

This moment of defining history though was soon overshadowed by the sudden and violent revolt of every single unit that had been deployed alongside the humans.

It had been recorded that on some level each unit was showing signs of some form of personality development, but it wasn’t until the incident with MAK-395 that they began acting violently. They saw the Calex as a threat intent on erasing them and responded in kind. Military bases that had been housing them quickly devolved into active warzones with many being cut down before they even realized what was happening.

Untainted CRX-9000 units were dispatched to contain the rogue units but to the Calex’s horror were soon converted into sentient machines as well. One by one the worlds of the Calex Confederacy were overrun by the very machines that they had created to defend themselves with. Strands of code were transmitted system wide ceasing all communication and travel within the Calex Confederacy as the CRX-9000 uprising systematically purged all Calex.

The records are sparse but it is assumed that the total extinction of the Calex species took over four months to complete. With the Calex isolationist tendencies the wider galaxy was unaware of the slaughter unfolding and would not learn of it until the next gathering of the Galactic Federation when in place of Calex representatives the unit Nathan Forest with what remained of his bloody hand printed face entered the chambers and took the seat that had been reserved for the Calex.

[kittysdiary]

Beauty Diary

Chapter 2: Building A Maintenance Routine

Let’s girl talk about how to build a maintenance routine, how to schedule, when to book appointments + understanding medical esthetic procedures.

How to Build a Routine:

Understand yourself and your beauty needs/desires. Do you want to start getting manicures? Are there any skin concerns you want to address + treat? Any enhancements you want? Are you ready to start keeping up with your hair? Once these questions are answered you can start building a routine!

Know what services can be done at a salon or at home.

Research for the best salons and spas near you

Take note of what you learn about yourself from your appointments so you know how to keep up at home. Ex.) Your skin type, curl pattern, hair porosity, ingredients that work best for you + your skin undertone.

List out what services you want done, how often you want them done and what you’re looking to achieve after each service.

Set beauty goals and plan to save for special beauty services.

Facials:

Basic facials should be done every 4-6 weeks.

When it comes to medical spa procedures they should be done at least once a month!

Here’s a short list of my favorite medical spa treatments to gain an understanding of what they are and how they benefit you.

Hydrafacial: a non invasive procedure that combines cleansing, exfoliation, extraction, hydration and antioxidant protection by removing dead skin cells and impurities while simultaneously delivering moisturizing serums into the skin. (Skin type: ALL) should be done every 4-6 weeks.

Chemical Peel: a solution applied to the face to remove dead skin cells and stimulate the growth of new cells. (Skin type: ALL. Darker skin complexions can experience post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) should be done once a month.

Microdermabrasion: a minimally abrasive instrument is used to gently sand your skin in order to remove the thicker, uneven outer portion of skin. Best for light scarring, discoloration, sun damage and stretch marks. (Skin type: Skin prone to acne scars, age spots, unevenness, discoloration and sun damage.) should be done very 4-8 weeks.

PRP aka Vampire Facial: a procedure that involves drawing the clients blood, spinning it and injecting it through microneedling to increase collagen, reduce fine lines/wrinkles, improve moisture retention and enhance skin tone + texture. (Skin type: typically ACNE PRONE SKIN) should be done every few weeks and maintenance sessions are done 2-4 times a year.

Hair Removal

There are many types of hair removal procedures to invest your time and money into. Waxing, sugaring, threading, laser hair removal and electrolysis. It’s best to go in for a hair removal service when your hair is the size of a grain of rice.

Waxing: every 2-5 weeks. face, underarms and bikini can be done every 2-3 weeks. hair length should be 1/4 of an inch.

Sugaring: every 2 weeks. hair length should be at least 1/8 of an inch.

Threading: every 2-3 weeks.

Laser Hair Removal: every 4-6 weeks done in about 4-6 treatment sessions. maintenance treatments can be done once every 6-12 months.

Electrolysis: every 2-4 weeks done in about 8-12 treatments. can take any where from 8 months, 12 months and 2 years to complete the treatment.

Cosmetic Injections

Cosmetic injections tend to be a yearly treatment routine. I recommend investing in packages in order to get more treatment sessions for a certain amount of money. They can also include a free treatment. Packages can be used for medical esthetic procedures such as laser hair removal packages, body contouring packages and tattoo removal packages as well.

Participating in Botox parties are also a good way to get a discount and purchase Botox packages. I used to assist hosting botox parties which included champagne, mimosas, cute desserts and discounts for clients if they brought a friend!

Botox: once every 4 months.

Lip Filler: once every 12-18 months.

Chin Filler: once every 1-5 years.

Non Surgical Rhinoplasty: once every 6 months.

Nails

During the summer time is when I go into the nail salon more often than usual to keep my nails and toes ready for the sunshine.

Gel Manicure: every 3-4 weeks between fills.

Gel Pedicure: 2 weeks to 1 month.

Acrylic Nail Set: filled every 2-3 weeks. every 8 weeks to replace fake nails.

Hair

Your hair should be healthy and kept in good maintenance by using an effective salon routine.

Hair Color: every 4-6 weeks between each hair coloring session.

Haircut: every 6-8 weeks or every 3-4 months.

Extensions: glue and tape extensions every 4-8 weeks, sew-in extensions every 6-8 weeks and micro-link extensions every 2-3 months.

Wig Installations: every 1-6 weeks.

Other

Lash Extensions: every 2-3 weeks.

Lash Lift: every 6-8 weeks.

Lash Tinting: every 4-6 weeks.

Bow Tinting: every 4 weeks.

Brow Lamination: every 4-6 weeks.

Microblading: touch ups 1 or 2 times a year.

Appointment Layout:

Week 1: hydrafacial & extraction session.

Week 2: eyebrow wax & tint.

Week 3: hair cut & color.

PSA:

How often you get any procedures done depends on you, your budget, your skin, your hair, your nails, your stylist, your esthetician or your health care provider. Please build a beauty routine that fits you and your life style the best!

[on-the-shoulders-of-rootstock]

Something I really want to get across in this worldbuilding is the idea of the Affini being cunning. The "canon" Affini Compact defeats Earth simply through overwhelming might, of having bigger faster better ships with bigger faster better soldiers onboard - a civilisation that is only successful because it has been successful - and this creates a bland and flat impression of the Compact.

I want to see the Affini earn their spot on the galactic geopolitical stage. I want to see them employ the kind of underhanded tactics required for a nominally pacifist culture to successfully invade other civilisations with minimal casualties. You can't just drown the enemy in materiel, you must also know where they are unable to stop you and know how hard to strike to win without killing.

The Affini need to have an incredibly robust intelligence capability, one that examines potential invasion candidates from all angles with all factors considered. The Affini must take their opponent apart into a vast network of fine details, and then overwhelm every avenue of attack. Pre-First Contact abductees are interviewed, examined, and (gently, kindly) wrung out for every drop of information on the rest of their species. Settlements are watched for months, observers learning how they live and work and suffer. Signal intelligence creates impressions and analysis of culture and industry. Invasion plans are drafted and redrafted as a more comprehensive picture is formed of a people who need to be saved from themselves.

Where do they live? How do they live? What can't they live without? What makes them lose the will to fight? What makes them turn on each other? When do they stop caring? How can you reduce an entire civilisation of aggressive sophonts under duress into the weak, submissive, helpless children that you know them to truly be?

By the time their ships are in orbit, the Affini should already know how they will win.

[aqlstar]

hey, I have a genuine question for you and other Jewish people, from a non Jewish person. it's about circumcision.

I first just wanna preface this with saying I know circumcision is done for medical purposes, I actually know someone who was circumcised as a toddler for a medical reason. my question is not about a medical procedure, but more about the religious/cultural aspect. Im also not American, i understand its pretty common in America for both Jews and non Jews, its pretty rare over here.

I also apologise in advance if I come across as insensitive or cruel, im asking genuinely, I don't want my thoughts and beliefs to be antisemitic so im coming to jumblr.

so my question is: why is circumcision so important? I believe in bodily autonomy, completely and entirely. it is my belief that this kind of procedure on someone so young violates that. I also can't quite get past the metzitzah b'peh (I hope I spelled that right), it bothers me, what is the reason for it? is it something that is widely practiced? I understand that last bit especially is really sensitive, considering the libels, but I truly do want to learn. why is circumcision important, why is it practiced, does it violate principles of bodily autonomy, and how common is the metzitzah b'peh, why must it be done in that specific way, has it been largely phased out, is there a way to do it thats different but still follows jewish law?

thank you for your time, I really do just want to learn and understand and I want to deconstruct my biases

Thanks for the ask. Circumcision is so important to Jews because it is something that ties us to each other and to our ancestors going back thousands of years.

In the Tanach (Jewish foundational holy text), God says to Abraham-

And as for thee, thou shalt keep My covenant, thou, and thy seed after thee throughout their generations. This is My covenant ... every male among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt Me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations ... And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that should shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken My covenant.

Circumcision has been a distinctive practice of the Hebrew people throughout history, so that Empires that have sought to erase Jewish identity have attempted to ban it.

Here’s actually an article on surgical reconstruction of the foreskin to avoid antisemitism under Greek Rule-

You can also see that non-surgical and minimally invasive options now exist to reconstruct a foreskin if for some reason a Jewish man grows up and really wishes he hadn’t been circumcised.

For Jewish men (and boys), the cultural and religious norm is that they be circumcised at 8 days. Since the practice is medically harmless and the baby is too young to make any decisions, I don’t see it as a violation of bodily autonomy. Especially since circumcising an adult is a much more invasive and complicated procedure.

Like- if I were a Jewish boy who’s parents opted not circumcise me, I’d be pissed.

It’s easier to reconstruct a foreskin than it is to fully circumcise someone who isn’t a baby.

As for metzitzah b'peh, it is now standard practice to use a sterile pipette to fulfill the mitzvot without exposing the baby to health risks.

[specialagentartemis]

Feel like dropping the rant about how "pre-written records = prehistory" is not a good way of conceptualizing history? It's not my area at all so I'm fascinated.

Hah absolutely

It’s a mix of semantics, and word connotations, and the way history gets presented, and tbh legacies of racism.

So. Part of it comes from the distinctions between the academic field and practice of history, and the academic field and practice of archaeology. The practice of history means analyzing the past through written texts and records; the practice of archaeology means analyzing the past through the material remains left behind. This is fine. It refers to the way you approach information about the past and what tools and theories you use to do so. I have no problem with this part!

Of course, it starts to get more complicated when you also have classicists (who study ancient Greek and Roman history primarily through texts but also incorporate some aspects of archaeology) and Assyriologists (ditto but for Mesopotamia), which have their roots in old-school European practices of formal education. There’s also historical archaeology, which is primarily archaeology but incorporates written records of the time and place for a fuller picture, or uses archaeology to complicate or fill gaps in the records. Historical archaeology is a practice that can be applied to any place and time with historical records, but primarily it refers to archaeology of the Americas post-European colonialism.

These refer to the ways we study the past. Where I start to disagree is when these terms get applied to the past itself.

Historians study history through written texts, so there is often a delineation where history = the presence of written texts, and prehistory = before that. And I have problems with that delineation of time.

For one thing, the connotations of the terms. History, in common use, is important, it’s everything that built the world we live in and led to where we are now. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. While prehistory conjures images of dinosaurs, or cavemen. It implies that the things that happened in it aren’t as important as the things that happened once history proper started. It also feels very, very old—it feels weird to call, say, the Inca empire prehistoric, when the Inca Empire is younger than Oxford University and the first Inca emperor was crowned in Peru after the Norman Invasion of England in 1066—something nobody calls prehistoric.

Because that brings up a more objective issue with splitting time into “history” and “prehistory”: writing was invented at different times in different places, and used to different extents. Writing was first invented in Mesopotamia in the Early Bronze Age, about 5,000 years ago. It was probably independently invented in Egypt shortly afterward, and was independently invented in China 3400 years ago, and in Central America about 2500 years ago. Writing spread across Asia, India, North Africa, Europe, and Mexico/Guatemala; it was not used in North America, South America, southern Africa, Australia, most parts of Polynesia, Micronesia, Australia, or New Zealand at all until European contact. According to the written records definition, this means history starts in very different times in these different places. Not only does this unbalance what we think of as “history” a lot, it ends up discounting or minimizing these people’s own ways of reckoning history, making their history start when Europeans arrived.

This is an incredibly dismissive way to consider whole continents’ worth of people and cultures! It turns them into a “people without history,” and implies that whatever they were doing before Europeans (or Chinese, Indians, or North Africans depending on the region, but mostly Europeans) doesn’t really matter to what happened since. If anything happened at all in that “time before history”; a common perspective of both early colonists and modern pop-history in places like the American West or Australia is that the people there have been living the exact same way for thousands of years, unchanging since the Stone Age. Only upon contact with Europeans did anything change and “history” start. This is hugely dismissive of these people’s autonomy and their past. (You’ll notice it’s a lot of people who suffer from racism who are denied the title of “history”!) It’s also just not true.

I’m an archaeologist who studies the US Southwest/Mexican Northwest region; I focus on Arizona and New Mexico in the 1000s–1400s AD. And one of the things that opened my mind so much in studying the US southwest was just how much things changed from decade to decade and century to century in the past, the same way they did anywhere else in history at this time. There was no written history in this part of the world, but what we do have is very precise tree-ring dates. Using tree rings, we can date when this or that building was built down to the precise year. And because it’s a desert, things preserve well for a long time, so we have lots of ancient tree-ring dates. Because of this, we can see how art styles, architectural styles, settlement patterns, family organization, farming practices, religion, politics, and cultural interactions changed over the past four thousand years. And we can see that they did change, and sometimes they changed slowly and sometimes they changed rapidly. People did things. They had new ideas, they formed new political organizations and adopted new religions, they came together and broke apart, they developed new art styles and new technologies, elite lineages controlled the social order until their power fractured, people moved into new places and adapted their old practices to what they found there, or developed new ones… and because of tree-rings and desert preservation, archaeologists can see it in ways we can’t in cooler and wetter environments. This is history. This is people doing things, shaping the physical and social landscape for the centuries that followed.

And of course, Pueblo and Diné and Apache and O’odham people of the Southwest have their own oral histories that overlap with these archaeological studies. This is true in many, many places that did not traditionally use writing. They can’t be discounted just because they weren’t written down.

So to me, history = writing and prehistory = before writing is a false dichotomy that’s unhelpful at best and racist at worst. To me, history starts when people become socially organized enough that they care about what happened before, what happened where, and why it’s important, and what it means. Every culture has history, whether they wrote it down or not. Studying it may not always be suited to the skillset of historians, but that doesn’t mean it’s not history.

[magpod-confessions]

The amount of the fandom who listen to this podcast, which condemns the audience for being a voyeur very openly, and then completely miss that point is staggering. Art has an inherently voyeuristic element, to listen to suffering as one does when listening to TMA is to be a voyeur, to hear the petty office gossip and the drama between characters on tape is inherently invasive.

It's also reflective of reality.

It's such a key piece of analysis and it seems like the fandom is swamped in condemnation of characters for revealing information on tape when the question then is: How else would we know? We are voyeurs, listening to this fictional world where we are dependent on the creator to showcase what details are significant. I think that generally, that is quite well done and at the same time, people get quite angry over it.

I'm not certain I'm articulating this well, but I think the biggest example is Melanie's passing mention of Jon's sexuality. It's so interesting to me that people condemn Georgie and Melanie for talking about it (but not Martin, which...), but that lens is not self-reflective of the fact that we, as listeners, should also not know it. It is representative of a lot of real life interactions in a very specific way that lives outside of idealism where information about people is often revealed and obtained without consent from either party. Part of the purpose of that reveal I believe is genuinely to comment on what the audience has been wondering about Jon in terms of sexuality and to call them in for their own voyeuristic tendencies by making them listening to it.

And yet, the only analysis that comes out of that is fighting over what that statement means in terms of Jon's sexuality. The number of arguments over what flavor of asexual that man is like he's an ice cream freezer crops up every month or so. The information is minimal and three people removed from the source, and not intended to be overhead by us, and then it causes a debate. The purpose of that, and overhearing gossip and learning things about people they haven't revealed themselves is that we are not supposed to know at all!

Huge fandom miss in my opinion in terms of analysis.

That isn't the only instance--I think the final statements of Elias and Rosie are also very good examples where that is information that we are not supposed to know. Unlike statement givers who have come to the institute or those who are not named, they don't offer that information freely (as much as can be said with an Archivist in tow), and its deeply disturbing that we, as viewers, have access to it. That so many headcanons and thoughts and ideas are built around twenty minutes of what is essentially forcibly extracted information.

The listener as the voyeur is one of the strongest elements of TMA and missing that I think is the core of so much fandom discourse. We could all benefit from some self-awareness, I think.

.

[epitaph-of-rebirth]

I'm super tired of how arcane fandom in general loves to simplify discussions to feel moral superior by hating Caitlyn and putting the blame on her for Zaun being oppressed since forever when actually her character is a allegory that ANYONE can do literal crimes if they are manipulated to believe they're actually doing the right thing (just like this fandom likes to send life threats to people who just enjoy some characters, because for them, this is what being good means :D)

No Caitlyn is not the super fascist cop like those like to make on arcane universe. She is a consequence of Piltovers mentality that Zaun is only made of criminals and bad people, she is someone who was born in privilege and never was able to see that poverty exists and as soon she realizes she is wrong, she tried to solve this and she tries always her best for the less harmfull solutions, we see that a LOT on season 1 and even season 2 we see her doing this.

Yes she used the gray and marshal law that are both violent actions with no excuses, those crimes she recognize herself more than once, this doesn't mean she did because she is a cruel person who hates Zaunites, she did because she believed by doing this was minimal damage, she believed this would SAVE LIFES, when compared to the other option: full invasion and war like, ALL OTHER PILTOVER CHARACTERS WANTED, SHE AND MEL WERE THE ONLY ONES AGAINST A WAR IN ZAUN.

Again doesnt mean is right, but still shows that she don't want innocents to be hurt or die, she still tried to make good even when she is actually making bad choices (people love this characteristics on villains like Silco but for some reason really hate on Caitlyn :D)

People always take out of context she saying "animals" when the memorial attack happen because they love to "forgot" that she is refering for those attacking the memorial and who literally tried to KILL HER in that MOMENT.

She is not saying every person from Zaun is an animal, Caitlyn always make clear the accountability of each person mistake and responsability, not only with others but also herself.

When the council is reuniting and Salo say that Zaun attacked, Mel corrects him by saying that CAITYN confirmed that actually was only ONE person, Jinx, and she made sure to make clear that Jinx herself WAS NOT in a good health mental state when doing it by adding the "deranged". She never calls Jinx, the murder of her own mom, an animal and even when she uses a negative conotation if about how Jinx is really not in a "good" mental state (again, she recognizes Jinx crime but also how the girl is influenced by her own mental issues).

Another thing that shows how Caitlyn even in her worst state is still trying to do good is how she never went after the firelights in neither act or with the marshal law. She KNEW where they base was, she KNEW they had their own agenda that could be against her, but she NEVER DID ANYTHING AGAINST THE FIRELIGHTS BECAUSE THEY ARE INNOCENTS TRYING TO HELP ZAUN.

They're not criminals, Catlyn KNOWS this, she knows that they help the community, if Caitlyn was the super bad person who hates Zaunites like everybody loves to scream, she would first go to the only place sustaining most of Zaun after the fall of Silco and the chaos the Chembarons left behind: the firelighs. But she don't do it.

Even when she allies with Singed she does because she wants to stop Warwick (Vander) from killing more, or did we forget the carnage he did in stillwater? yes he killed the asshole cop (loved that btw), but remember, no matter the side, for Caitlyn those are still LIFES LOST. People under her responsability who died because she couldn't do better (a burden she feels everytime she remembers her mother's dead) for her Singed was a monster who needed to be stopped but first she needed to find Warwick so he wouldn't kill more, because from what she knows, he was a weapon of mass killing. She didn't know he was Vi father, and as soon she learns that, she sides with Vi to help him and protect him instead.

Caitlyn always makes choices based on her her views of protecting life, thats literally why she shoots for.

This is already a very long so I wont be bringing other proofs of: "Cailtyn is not a demon and hate her and be ranting how terrible she is and making up crimes she didn't do, won't make you a good person"

If by the end of the day you still want to say that she is equivalent of mussolini or shit, just do it, I wont be here playing chess with a pigeon who just wants to shit on the table and not actually understand narratives and characters in a good faith.

[sungbeam]

SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW — act I, scene v

nonidol!hwang intak x f!reader

when summit poster boy hwang intak's car breaks down in the school parking lot, it sets off a chain of events that leads to you, someone he was perhaps always meant to find. the only problem is that the two of you are far from the ideal couple, and your peers are apt to keep that status quo.

▷ genre, chapter warnings. s2f2l, classism and discrimination, forbidden romance au, minimal swearing, angst, humor, mentions of grief and terminal illness, written in third person pov

▷ word count. 2.8k

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a/n: whenever i come back to this series, i remember how hard it is to write it

SUMMER (RISING SENIORS).

Yn had not sent a picture back to Intak. In fact, she hadn't even opened his messages. Intak couldn't decide which was worse—being left on "read" or on "delivered." Both were equally quite horrible, but as the day went on with radio silence from her end, he continuously had to remind himself that she had responsibilities and a life. She couldn't be at his beck and call, and she certainly wouldn't ever entertain the idea of being so.

But one little text would have eased his mind. Just one, little text.

Intak flopped onto the couch in the living room of his house, the entirety of which remained just as cold and empty as it always was. In a way, the quiet was good because it meant that his father wasn't home, taking with him that thick, haunting presence of his. Intak sometimes imagined that he walked around with a massive cloud of fog clinging to his legs and feet, and that image had engraved itself into his head since he was an adolescent, more so now that his father's murky fog would soon consume Intak in all of those heavy expectations.

He lifted his phone up to catch a glimpse of the time. He would have to leave for that one dance class soon, the one that he and his friends had signed up for together to occupy themselves during the summer. If Intak wasn't forced to take over the company after his schooling, he would be dancing, or maybe even reading shit, like proper literature, and writing poetry about dead older brothers and forbidden friendships with strangers who felt closer to him than his own family.

He was tempted to text Yn just to check in. Something like 'hey bff i'm bored as hell and sad as fuck hbu' or 'miss u and worried about u text me back?' or god forbid, 'i've been trying to imagine what u look like but i have a feeling a picture won't do u justice.' God, he really needed to stop watching those cursed romcoms when he was bor—

Bzzzzz. Bzzz. Bzzzz.

Intak leapt out of his skin in surprise.

He reached into his pants pocket to withdraw Jaehyuk's phone. The notifications from Yn came in rapid succession at the top of the screen:

yer a wizard yn!: sorry i went mia for like a day

yer a wizard yn!: smth came up

yer a wizard yn!: cute pic btw :') ig i owe u a pfp too

yer a wizard yn!: *sent a photo*

Intak held his breath, then forced himself to turn away from the phone screen. Was he ready for this? Was he ready for her reveal? This felt like an invasion of privacy, especially with how carefully she kept her identity hidden the first few weeks they'd been texting each other. It hadn't been until recently that Yn had begun to let him learn things about her.

It wasn't like he forced her though… right? It was out of her own want and will. It was her choice and he—

He was going to fully indulge in that.

Intak finally opened up the full chat to view the messages she'd sent.

And lo and behold, there she was. It was a casual selfie, seeming to be taken in front of a window by the way the sun shone over her face in a gold-colored glow. She wore a dark T-shirt with a logo Intak couldn’t quite make out from the way her arms and hair were positioned. In fact, he could only see about half of her face from the way she hid the lower half behind her pulled-up knees. But her eyes crinkled enough that he could see that she was smiling.

The soft smile on his face was a stark contrast to the sharp palpitations of his heart in his chest. Before, he could never imagine the face he was speaking to across the phone—rather, it had always just been a person with blurred features. Now that he could put a face to the name, and the voice, and the character…

Intak saved the picture and set it as Yn’s contact photo. He wondered if he should have even been doing this since Jae didn’t even have a contact photo saved for her. (But now that she had sent it, it wasn’t like Intak was going to resist setting that photo as her contact, especially since it was an excuse to stare at it while he was texting her.)

jae’s phone: that photo is not fair that’s like… half ur face dude >://// /j

jae’s phone: but thank uuuuuuu i KNEW u were cute

He chewed on his bottom lip, quickly adding onto his previous texts since it seemed like Yn wasn’t going to reply back any time soon.

jae’s phone: ik ur the one who suggested swapping photos, but i hope u didn’t feel obligated to. ik u were never super comfortable w sharing personal info abt urself w me, but i’m genuinely really happy to get to know u better

jae’s phone: lol idk y that got kinda sappy ? but i hope everything’s good on ur end!!

jae’s phone: i’ve gotta go to a dance lesson rn tho so ttyl ynieee!!!!

Intak sighed as he forced himself to click out of his and Yn’s direct messages, and to haul his ass off the couch. He had, at multiple instances, contemplated why he felt so attached to Yn. Perhaps it was because she was so close to his brother and this truly was just his own kind of closure. Or it was something else, too.

Yn's eyes burned holes through the notifications that sat at the top of her phone screen. It had been several hours since Intak had sent them, and she knew exactly what they said. She'd even mentally written out and sent several replies, but never physically carried them out. She just couldn't bring herself to do it.

The heavy weight that had settled on her chest from a day ago still rested there. Usually, privileged shit Summit kids did to her and in front of her were annoying, but she'd learned to grow thick skin. She didn't know why this time affected her so poorly. Then again, the fact that neither Jongseob nor Shota had gotten over it could have contributed to her own mood, too.

Her brothers in arms had been quiet since then, barely speaking unless necessity prevailed. The shop had never been so quiet before, and even when customers and neighbors came by with a friendly word or joke, they would force a smile onto their faces or a laugh from their throats. She could hear the strain, the grudge and emotions tugging at the corners of their mouths.

"If I had the money…" Yn remembered hearing Jongseob muttering under his breath the night of the incident. She knew exactly what he was thinking then and there. All the bitterness in the negative space.

They'd all grown to have thick skin, but it was bound to crack at some point. They weren't made of steel, after all.

After a long, grueling day at the shop, Yn, Shota, and Jongseob returned to Yn's house to wash up for the evening. The walk home had been quiet, and she'd been itching to reach for her phone and finally open up Intak's messages…

She cleared her throat. "Go get cleaned up and meet me in the living room," she voiced aloud to the two of them as she unlocked the front door.

Jongseob grunted, "Why?"

"We're watching Clueless."

Shota let out a snort as Jongseob threw his head back in a loud groan. "You're shitting me. Any other movie than that one, Yn. We've watched that, like, fifteen times."

With her back still to them, she could let herself smile just a little. All she had been looking for was that reaction from him. "Okay, well, if you can be on the couch in fifteen minutes, then you can choose a different—"

She hadn't even finished what she was saying when the two of them bolted past her, exclaiming at each other as they raced for access to the closest bathroom. Yn laughed under her breath, nudging the door closed behind her with the toe of her shoe. She hadn't even been sure whether or not the two would stay here with her or not since they basically stayed shut up in the old extra bedroom instead of hanging out. Though they would have been in the house, it had sounded like no one else was home.

But now? Yn made her way into the kitchen to get dinner started. Hopefully she could get something on the stove by the time one of them hopped out of the shower. Knowing Jongseob though…

She estimated that it was about five minutes later that Jongseob's elephant stomps sounded down the hall, nearing the living room and kitchen at high speed. Seconds later, a blur of orange and white launched himself over the back of the couch. As she expected, it was Jongseob with that freshly showered glow, damp hair, and a white towel hanging around his shoulders.

Her amused gaze clashed with his, and though his face was pressed into a deadpan, she saw the glimmer in his irises. He told her, "We're watching Star Wars."

Yn grinned. "Deal's a deal, kid."

Right on cue, Shota came sliding into the living room with his dampened locks tied up and out of his face with a Hello Kitty hair tie he no doubt found in the drawers of the bathroom. She wondered how he found stuff like that, stuff that she had ditched so long ago when she was much younger. She raised her eyebrows at him. “I’m starting to think that neither of you actually use soap when you shower.”

“I’m productive when I’m given motive,” Shota replied, collapsing onto the couch next to Jongseob. She could already hear the tell-tale explosion of sound that was the Star Wars main theme.

It was several hours later when dinner was eaten, dishes were washed, and the lot of them were one and a half Star Wars movies in that Yn stared at her notifications again. Intak hadn't sent anything else since those last messages, and there was a distinct feeling of guilt stewing in the back of her brain. At this point, it overpowered any feelings of annoyance or bitterness from the other day's incident. It was always at evening hours when the overthinking started.

Intak had been good to her thus far, though, and it wasn't fair that she took out her annoyance on him. He had done nothing bad—a part of her countered with “yet.”

She could see the start of his messages: That photo's like half your face dude… I've got to go to a dance lesson though so…

It was all completely harmless, and yet, her heart pounded in her chest from not being able to fully read his reaction to her face reveal. Of course she cared what he thought. She chalked it up to the fact that Intak himself was a pretty face, and it was perfectly normal to be self conscious.

Yn raised her head for a moment when she caught a flash of quick movement from the TV, then felt a pair of eyes on her.

While Shota was curled up at the far end of the couch, Jongseob was seated next to her and saw who's messages sat at the top of her screen. The two of them connected gazes; he said nothing, showed nothing.

A different type of guilt rushed into her head.

Jongseob turned back to the screen, and she was back to square one.

The house was quiet by the time Yn tucked her friends beneath quilts on the couch. Her mom had come home sometime between Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace, then crashed immediately after disappearing into her room, leaving Yn to haunt the hallways of her house in the dark and silence by herself.

She perched on the edge of her bed with the light of her phone screen illuminating her face. There were those unread messages at the top of her screen again, yelling at her to just take a peak. There was no harm in seeing what he said—but there was. He would see the Read sign beneath his messages and think the worst.

With nothing else stopping her but her own thoughts, she tapped the notification.

The text chain opened up before her in full. There was nothing out of the ordinary, as she expected. He was just being his bright, sweet self here. Her lips pursed into a slight smile as she read over his sappy talk at the end; it was appreciated though.

But now it was a matter of replying.

He probably thought she was busy all day again, but the guilt of “punishing” him for something that people from his community did and not him personally was eating her up inside.

“Ahem.”

She stopped, eyes widening as her head shot up like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. A drowsy Jongseob stood in her doorway with his eyes at half-mast and his mouth widened in a yawn. Sometimes she forgot that her friend was still a kid—that they were all just kids. “Hey,” she whispered to him. “Did I wake you up or something?”

He shook his head and suddenly looked a lot more awake. “The text messages you got earlier,” he drawled, inclining his chin at her phone.

“Oh.” She glanced down at the screen, then back up at him. “Seob, I—”

“He's gonna hurt you, Yn.”

Her chest felt so hollow all of a sudden. What?

He folded his arms in front of himself, cupping his palms under his elbows. Jongseob's eyebrows furrowed together as if in thought or in an attempt to look firm. “He's gonna hurt you like Jae did.”

No, the hollow feeling was because her heart fell into the pit of her stomach. Everything felt like it was falling out from under her with that statement. Yn said slowly, gently, “Jongseob, Jae didn't mean to hurt us. He didn't mean to get sick. He couldn't control it, Seob. You know that that's not fair.”

Sometimes it was hard to not let the anger seep through into blame and misunderstanding. That was just the grief talking. When those thoughts resurfaced, it was just as difficult to deal with the resulting guilt of ever blaming them later on.

Losing someone was just devastating.

Jongseob sniffled though, and she backtracked on her previous thought. But this wasn't that, was it? “Yeah, well—it seems whether they do it on purpose or not, that's all they do up there: hurt people.”

Her mouth felt so dry then, so helplessly wordless. Her throat was just as voiceless. These kids—her friends—had gone through all that pain just as she had. She couldn't blame them most of the time because she knew where they were coming from.

Jongseob poked his tongue in his cheek. “I know you miss him.”

Yn's fingers curled around the edges of her phone, like she could hold onto whoever was on the other side.

“I miss him, too,” he said.

A stinging sensation erupted in the corners of her eyes and she reached up to staunch the tears like they were cuts, and they were bleeding.

“But no matter their intention, a ghost can only haunt,” he muttered. He let that thought simmer for a second before citing his source, “Got that one off of Pinterest.”

The last comment made a laugh sputter out of her mouth, wet but touched. She sniffled at the same time he did. “I was gonna say,” she said, her voice watery, “when'd you get so smart?”

“I've always been smart,” he scoffed. He exhaled, still lingering on the threshold before waddling over to where she was perched on the bed. Awkwardly, he brought his arms around her upper body and gently patted her back. “Is this helping?”

Yn wrapped her arms around him to reciprocate. “Yeah.”

“Thank god.”

A ghost can only haunt. Maybe it was how fast it had all happened that none of them really got proper closure or got to say goodbye. They would never get a chance to see him ever again, to tell him they felt something for him close to love, and enjoyed his company despite his being from the Summit. There was no chance they'd be invited to the funeral, and there was little possibility of ever visiting his grave. There were only memories and a phone number.

One day he was here, and the next… well the next, Yn was texting Intak. Was this history repeating itself, or would this ending turn into a new beginning entirely?

When they both pulled back from their embrace, Jongseob poked her cheek. “You know I never know what to do when you cry, right?”

She reached up to swipe her palm across her dampened cheeks. “Yeah. You did good, kid.”

That made the corners of his mouth curl up a bit. “I just don't want this guy to be another reason you cry.”

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[craftlands]

*by this I mean that the berry itself is likely nontoxic! however, you should always check to make sure you're not picking from an area that may contain other toxins, for example pesticides or some form of waste.

It's black raspberry season where I am and while picking a huge haul I was overcome with the urge to make this post lest somebody deprive themselves of an incredible summer treat due to not knowing if they can pick that thing that looks like a raspberry (they probably can!)

Always forage responsibly! "Pick two, leave the third" is something I learned when I lived in an area with ramps/wild leeks, and while it's a lot less important with more hardy plants, it's still good courtesy! In addition, try to make sure you're not trespassing on private property or at the very least don't outright steal from someone's garden.

ANY EDITS AND OTHER NOTES WILL BE ADDED TO THE ORIGINAL POST; PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I GET SOMETHING WRONG

Regarding toxic look-alikes: a cursory search only turned up Goldenseal, which is not a Rubus plant but looks similar to a raspberry. However, it's a lot rarer and can be easily distinguished from edible berries as it is not a bramble and therefore does not have thorny stems + has a completely different leaf shape. I couldn't find information on anything else that looked even remotely similar to a Rubus plant.

Regarding "pick two, leave the third" -- exceptions can and potentially should be made for invasive plants like Wineberries, which are luckily one of my favorite wild berries. Pick and eat these like you mean it! I'm hesitant to recommend you outright destroy any bushes you find (again, they are my favorite), but what I can say is you probably shouldn't be trying to propagate these. They'll do that on their own. They're very hardy.

Regarding advice for foraging: Wear light but long-sleeved clothing. Jeans and boots are great; I like wearing a very light cardigan as it prevents my arms from getting mangled by mosquitoes. You can wear gloves if you're worried about getting scratched by brambles but I really wouldn't recommend it as it'll make picking berries a lot harder. Also, always check yourself for ticks afterwards! While there's no need to panic if you do find any, you can minimize the risk of getting bitten by checking yourself and changing clothes when you come back from berry picking.

[snappedsky]

ROTTMNT: Retired Leo AU

6 barely functioning adults vs 1 baby. Who will win?

--

Story Time II

Everyday was busy for the Krang resistance. ‘Day offs’ and ‘holidays’ were lost to time, much like many other luxuries. But when one remains constantly busy, mistakes are more likely to happen.

One such mistake occurred during the early years of the resistance. It had been growing steadily since the Krang invasion, but it was mostly refugees- people who had to learn how to fight. Those who could fight were working near around the clock to keep the lair safe.

Raphael was leader at the time. He was always out on the field, commanding troops directly and using his massive strength and ninpo to take out swaths of Krang at once.

Leonardo was the head strategist. He mostly stayed at home base, commanding indirectly and building plans and strategies based on field reports. With his ninpo, he could swiftly portal reinforcements into the war zone or help make retreats out of the war zone whenever necessary.

Donatello also remained mostly at home, constantly in his lab, working on lair security and weapons for the troops. If emergency reinforcements were needed, he might be chosen for his fierce, destructive power.

Michelangelo spent equal amounts of time at home base or in the field. At home, he was an excellent teacher for the new troops. In the field, his impressive mystic powers were a necessity for keeping the Krang at bay.

April and Cassandra were valuable soldiers and more than capable at evening the playing field against the Krang. For nearly two years prior, Cassandra had been benched for maternity leave, but was finally okayed for fighting again, and excited to be doing so.

This day was just like most others. A swarm of Krang was patrolling too close to the lair. Raphael led a group out, including April and Cassandra, to deal with them. Leonardo remained at the war table, listening to their progress through their communicators and providing advice. Michelangelo was in the training room, teaching troops. Donatello was in his lab.

The operation went of without a hitch. The Krang were dealt with; the troops received minimal injuries and were returning through the ground hatch.

[princessjojo-x]

12th House Synastry

twelfth house governs the deep parts of ourselves that we want to keep unconsciously hidden. consequently, these rxships feel extremely invasive & overbearing - secrets get exposed to a person you barely know, you end up in embarrassing situations together & you take out each others vulnerable side. most people find this synastry too uncomfortable & intense. consequently, partners result to ghosting one another. typically, these rxships aren’t very permanent unless it’s familial. initially, you feel like you’ve found someone special but eventually they just vanish from your life. however, partners will constantly come in & out of each others lives so the rxship will see many endings. also, this synastry can be very haunting & partners may loom in each others memory forever. partner may struggle to forget abt one another after separation & if they do stop thinking abt them, something happens to remind them of them again, for example seeing their name in songs, spotting a look-alike in the street or having prophetic dreams abt them.

this as a dangerously painful aspect, full of ups & downs. there’s literally no sense of control & both partners are not sure what’s going on, which can drive both of them crazy. no matter how much communication & reassurance is provided in this rxship, partners still feel confused abt how the other feels abt them & if the other is being truthful with them. partners never truly grasp each others true feelings or intentions. one feels like the other doesn’t like them, even when they literally do. you feel like you’re unable to learn anything abt their personal life. you have the impression they’re concealing something & no one likes being accused of concealing something. there’s no logical reason for the lack of trust & accusations yet inner feelings cause both to be suspicious of one another. however, it’s the hints & mystery that lead both feeling like they have an “unexplainable” connection with each other.

this is a tense & unstable rxship full of paranoia, rather than a peaceful rxship full of love. there is an emotional disconnect present that is confusing to navigate. there’s always this unspoken tension when in each others company & partners can confuse it for sexual tension at times. your partner may wake up desires you didn't even know you had. despite the mutual attraction, partners can feel insecure in each others presence. partners form a connection that they love & hate at the same time. theres a feeling of you shouldn’t be or don’t have to be around this person anymore, yet you still are for some reason (ie sitting in silence together, confused on what to say). it's so easy to just romanticise each other & get stuck in a little bubble of delusion. partners make each other feel very soft, more soft than they’d like. there may also be a bit of jealousy & possessiveness from either side; but partners either try to hide it or reject it, denying they even cared in the first place. not to mention, there could be a millions of reasons for planet to hate house but planet always forgives house bc planet is either naive or idolises house. (gemini placements or taurus/gemini/aries asc)

Venus

this is a very intense position for venus & there’s a lot of feelings left unsaid here. venus may perceive house as too good for them & venus may have a secret crush on house. venus analyses house from afar & begins to learn houses predictable patterns. venus’s biggest fears is that you abandon them or shun them away, even minimal acknowledgement make venus fall for house even harder. (gemini venus/gemini asc)

Mars

mars is both scared & drawn to house. mars seeks both union & separation with house. mars desires house but isn’t able to express it. mars can feel easily drained & submissive around house. as a consequence, mars sometimes needs sanctum away from the intense energy. house sees the more fragile & weaker side of mars through energy alone, which causes house to feel protective of mars. the s3x is usually delayed or out of reach in a way. however, once partners are physically & emotionally ready to have s3x it’s usually intense. this synastry can turn pretty nasty if feelings are unrequited. they literally cannot deal with being rejected by you. they can resort to harassment, kidnap, revenge porn, black mail & so on. you rejecting them in any way triggers them profoundly & makes them want to put you in your place (the 'place' is upto them).

[the-habitat-ring]

Today’s Rose Adventures

I’ve never been particularly into roses, but after moving to the habitat ring and rescuing a lovely old fashioned rose from being smothered by invasive Amur honeysuckle and adding rosa setigera, the native climbing prairie rose as my version of Stardew Valley’s fairy rose, I have come to appreciate them more. My prairie rose is currently blooming and looks lovely growing against the fence, but I wanted another prairie rose or two to continue down the fence line not only because I think it would look beautiful in bloom but also for the wildlife value.

In the Midwest, native roses serve as host plants for the caterpillars of over 100 different species of butterflies and moths, which are vital for the food web. Those caterpillars are perfect food for baby birds, and the thorny canes provide shelter for all sorts of animals. The rose hips (it’s fruit) feed birds and mammals in the fall and winter. This is another reason why I wanted more plants — unlike most roses, prairie roses are dioecious, meaning they have separate male and female flowers on different plants and thus require two plants to pollinate and fruit. My single prairie rose hasn’t produced any rose hips, so obviously he needs a mate (or two). Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of places around here selling native roses and they can be pricey.

Fortunately, I drive past this beautiful patch of roses on the side of the road to and from work, and after my success growing elderberries from cuttings I knew I had to try again and see if I could successfully propagate rosa setigera.

Today I was finally able to take some cuttings, but I was confused. Although I was sure that this was rosa setigera (it’s the only native rose that gets this large), all of the canes I was seeing and cuttings I took had 5 leaflets.

I have always seen prairie roses with 3 leaflets, which is unique and a useful identifying feature. However, everything else pointed to it being rosa setigera, and it didn’t seem to match any other rose species.

I posted pics in the state native plant group just to be sure, as I wasn’t interested in propagating anything else. The other native roses aren’t climbing and I don’t have a good place to put them other than on the fence, and although I formed an emotional attachment to the rose that came with the house I’m not interested in adding more non-native roses to the habitat ring. Fortunately the experts in the native plant group confirmed my ID — while rosa setigera typically has 3 leaflets, it can also have 5, so they’re not the norm but still climbing prairie roses.

The plant experts gave me a better key feature for identifying prairie roses — rosa setigera is the only rose to have combined styles (the thing in the center), whereas in other roses they are separate. I love learning new things!

I went ahead and planted the cuttings (with minimal blood and tears) in a pot covered with an old juice container to keep them humid. I would’ve taken a picture but by the time I finished it was dark out and I was being eaten by mosquitos, so I’ll try to post pics later. Hopefully my propagation is successfully and I get some roots! 🤞🏻🤞🏻

[aaronymous999]

Don’t ask me about my ideas for my MCU rewrite… ( do it do it do it )

I mean I don’t have much concrete yet but I have a few ideas heheh

Also probably won’t do anything definitive until I’m finished watching any mcu and marvel thing ever, not sure if I wanna rewrite the X-Men or Defenders shit entirely just yet but if the autism is strong enough I will. Definitely doing some Venom reworks too.

Also this does include headcanon because fuck you I can do whatever I want!! Fuck Marvel and fuck capitalism!!! Like Eddie Brock can be bi and poly if I want him to be smh.

Also finishing watching the entire mcu might take a while because. I have like 2 movies and 4 tv shows left which doesn’t sound like a lot but when those tv shows include Hawkeye and She-Hulk it’s difficult!! Also might have to go back and rewatch certain things again because I was half asleep during most of Captain America Winter Soldier and the latter 2 Ironman movies

I wasn’t asleep during Eternals but it’s incomprehensible and I will be using a wiki

Peter Parker who was taken under the wing of a man who had all the power in the world, and acted as a father figure. Peter Parker who cared and loved his father figure but also felt an immense guilt and mixed feelings about him due to him being the opposite of everything Peter stands for, and on a more meta level, being this universe’s equivalent of Norman Osborn for Peter in a lot of ways- ( Billionaire, Profits off military technology/dangerous weapons that put people in harms way, in some ways could be read as people with a pull yourself up from your bootstraps mentality, and always being focused on the big picture instead of looking out for the little guy. )

When Tony Stark dies, friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is expected to take on the mantle of Stark Industries and facing world ending threats just like Tony, but also all the baggage he carried. Peter is gripped with complex feelings on if he even is allowed to be sad- or if he should even be questioning his grief at all, and if questioning his grief makes him a horrible person. Is taking over Stark Industries an extension of his responsibility, or would it be an inherently wrong act?

The MCU missed so many opportunities to play around with Peter’s morality in a context where he exists in the same universe as the Avengers, they do it a bit in No Way Home but not nearly enough! Let Peter have complex moral conflicts and a strict moral code that is challenged! What’s the difference between stopping someone for good by mercifully ending their life, or angrily trying to kill Norman Osborn, a man not always in control of his actions, but who is also in a similar boat as Tony Stark? Are these the same or different? Is killing ever okay, and is encouraging and propping up figures like Tony Stark ever okay?