#not for lack of trying on ibrahim's part

[magnificentposting-fabrizioart]

I'm about to say the thing you were waiting for.

By the way. Still here.

Still not done with episode 16, but a few random comments.

First of all, THE thing.

We're now rooting for Hurrem hard. She's learning, actually trying and thinking, and at this point almost everyone else is worse tbh.

Especially Mahidevran.

The Leo Arc has begun. It will be glorious and dumb.

Matrakçi apparently having the key to Ibrahim's place like we were in Friends is hilarious.

Same as him being utterly confused by the concept of twins.

Matrakçi has never not been hilarious actually.

YAY MOCENIGO IS BACK (and keeps being bullied).

I loved the roasting of the Pope for selling indulgency because while correct on that, it was hilarious coming from Suleyman, ESPECIALLY when he decides to throw shade at religious authoritarianism and/or inner division, given what just happened with the letter from the Shah (amazing trash talk from both sides there. Suleyman, as usual, is as subtle as Orban's cannons).

Lastly the important stuff- I was not ready for loose hair nightgown Nigar.

None of my family was actually, my sisters took it just as I did, we're still recovering.

[hurremsultanns]

I’m thinking about this more and I have something to say. I do think that who the audience is expected to be rooting for changes throughout Magnificent Century. So at various points, different characters occupy the roles of hero, antihero, villain and antivillain.

Hürrem does a lot of bad things but her motivations are often enough more on the sympathetic side to take her out of the villain camp for the most part (she’s trying to protect her children). When we’re rooting for her, she’s an antihero. But when we’re rooting against her, she’s an antivillain. The definition of an antihero is ‘a character we root for who doesn’t have heroic qualities, or is flawed. Which fits Hürrem especially around season 2. She can be ruthless, selfish, petty, vindictive and cruel. But she still has redeeming qualities and her goals have an understandable motive enough of the time. Even if we don’t always agree with what she does. Later on, I think there isn’t so much a difference in her methods or motives, but in how she is framed. Especially in season 4. The protagonist of season 4 is Mustafa, who is undoubtably a hero. And as such, the audience is instructed to root against Hürrem. So arguably at this point she’s more of an antivillain than an antihero as such. Because, as I said earlier, she isn’t a full on villain. She has redeeming qualities and her motives are still for the most part understandable, even though there’s even more things that she does that we don’t agree with. An antivillain is a character with noble attributes or goals who does terrible things in order to accomplish those goals. Hürrem is not a noble person, but her goal is to protect her children. And as much as she ultimately fails at this and the show presents it as her fault, her love for her children is almost framed in this light. On the one hand, her actions and decisions indirectly contribute to the deaths of Mehmet, Cihangir and Bayezid. On the other hand, she puts her own life at risk for the sake of her children. At the end of season 3, she runs to be with Selim because she’s told he’s sick. Which results in her being kidnapped. Then when she hears that Cihangir is very sick in episode 125, she rushes to be with him too. In spite of not only the riots taking place, but also the fact that the last time something like this happened, she was kidnapped. Which was only after Mustafa had been sent to Amasya, so if a trap was set for her she would not be allowed to live this time. And in spite of the fact that she’s a paranoid person who remembers the traumatic events she’s been through. She still without a second of hesitation hurries to be with her son. During the riots, she makes her way to Mihrimah’s palace to make sure that her daughter, son-in-law and grand-daughter are safe. In spite of the fact that she is one of the people who the rioters hate the most because they blame her for Mustafa’s death. And finally, the fight between Selim and Bayezid becomes more serious, this happens twice. She walks out into the mob who are gathered outside the witch’s house after she’s told that one of them will kill the other. The news devastates her so much that she doesn’t care if they kill her. So I would argue that she fluctuates between antihero and antivillain. I think Mahidevran is similar. She also fluctuates between antihero and antivillain. She is morally grey. she does some terrible things but she does have her redeeming qualities. And her relationship with Mustafa is written as a downright noble attribute of hers.

Ibrahim is written to be more sympathetic than he comes off as being. He does do some noble things and his dedication both to Süleyman and to Mustafa is presented as noble. And he has a sympathetic backstory. But he is much easier to describe as evil than either Hürrem or Mahidevran. Although this is less because of his actions in and of themselves than due to his narcissism, arrogance and complete lack of empathy and remorse. So where they skirt the line between antihero and antivillain, he skirts the line between antivillain and straightforward villain.

[doorbloggr]

Monday 12/7/21 - Palaeontology's History of Spinosaurus

Spinosaurus over the decades, Mario Lanzas

In a strange twist of fate, being very deeply obsessed with Dinosaurs as an adult means that it's a lot harder to choose a favourite Dinosaur. I have a few I hold higher than most species, and one of those is Spinosaurus.

Spinosaurus is a very unique animal, even among Dinosauria. It was thought to be the largest meat-eating dinosaur, and also the most aquatically adapted dinosaur. Despite being such a mainstream dinosaur, Spinosaurus is only known from a handful of specimens, and none of them have been close to 100% complete. This has meant that every time we find new remains, we often find something we never knew about the dinosaur before.

In today's article, I'm gonna go over a brief history of Spinosaurus discoveries and how we thought it looked at the time.

1912 - Holotype

Although there are many intricate unique parts to its anatomy, the first and most striking thing about it is the tall neural spines on its back, and this became its namesake, Spinosaurus. In 1912, the first remains of Spinosaurus were discovered in the Bahariya formation, Egypt, and named by Ernst Stromer in 1915.

The full species name was Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, meaning Egyptian Spine Lizard. This specimen became the Holotype, which means this specimen is what all future specimens would refer to when deciding if remains belong to Spinosaurus aegyptiacus.

Original Skeletal remains, as reconstructed by Stromer. The bones actually found highlighted in black.

Since the Holotype lacked the top of the skull, Spinosaurus was originally reconstructed with a more typical therapod head, and also more upright, as was standard with meat eating dinosaur reconstructions at that time.

Spinosaurus, Terry Riley

Stromer's Spinosaurus skeleton was destroyed during a bombing raid in WW2 that destroyed part of Berlin Museum, so modern Palaeontological techniques cannot be used to uncover more information about that particular set of remains.

1998 - New Century Spinosaurus

Some very fragmentary remains of Spinosaurus was found over the 20th Century, but nothing substantial enough to inform palaeontologists about more of Spinosaurus's anatomy, until 1998.

Although these remains were still very incomplete compare to many other popular dinosaurs, we now had part of the upper jaw. Scientists could now group Spinosaurus with other similar crocodile headed dinosaurs, especially Baryonyx, described in 1986. This new Spinosaurus was tentatively given its own species, S. marrocanus, but most scientists do not consider the species valid, and lump it together with S. aegyptiacus.

Left: Upper jawbone of Spinosaurus described by Taquet, and Russell.

Right: Skeletal remains of Baryonyx (top) Suchomimus (middle), 1998 Spinosaurus (bottom)

Since 1998's Spinosaurus was just a sized-up Baryonyx with a large dorsal sail, it became a very exciting dinosaur. Spinosaurus was now taller, heavier and longer than Tyrannosaurus rex. This popularity peaked with Jurassic Park 3, which was based on this reconstruction.

Below: Jurassic Park 3 Spinosaurus, NikoRex (DeviantArt)

2014 - The Aquatic Neotype

In 2014, a new skeleton of Spinosaurus was found in Morocco, and it was the most complete skeleton yet. Not only did we have almost a complete skull, but we had a full neck, several neural spines, and LIMBS! The completeness of this specimen has made it the Neotype (the new Holotype which we compare Spinosaurus remains to).

2014 reconstruction of Spinosaurus, actual bones in red

Ibrahim et al's description of Spinosaurus aegypticus revolutionised how we reconstructed Spinosaurus. The legs recovered from this specimen revealed that they were way... smaller than what we'd expect of a dinosaur it's size. Based on the maths of trying to balance Spinosaurus, reconstructions of the 2014 specimen had concluded that Spinosaurus was too front-heavy to be bipedal on land.

Facultative Quadrupedal Spinosaurus, Davide Bonadonna

Thus began the new age of the river monster Spinosaurus, who spent a lot of time in the water and knuckle-walked on all fours while on land.

2020 - The Tail

You may have noticed in all the skeletal remains diagrams I've posted so far, the tail has never been anywhere near complete. That changed in 2020, when Ibrahim and company returned to the site of the 2014 discovery and found more bones, this time of a truly unique tail seen nowhere else in the dinosaur clade.

2020 Spinosaurus, remains found in red, green, and yellow, bones never found previously in green.

This new tail discover all but confirms an aquatic lifestyle for Spinosaurus, as this new tail also had taller spines that would have supported a Newt or Crocodile-like tail paddle in life.

Also for the knuckle-walk haters, this tail would've overbalanced Spinosaurus wayyyy in the other direction. Spinosaurus was not only definitely bipedal again, but it probably walked more upright that any other of its close relatives, or most therapods in general.

2020 Spinosaurus, Mark Witton.

As of writing, no more major overhauls in what we know of Spinosaurus's anatomy have been proposed. But there are new possibilities just waiting to be discovered.

To put it in perspective for a second, there have been about 50 partial to full skeletons described of Tyrannosaurus rex, so our understanding of what that dinosaur looks like is pretty set in stone. There have been less than 10 partial remains described of Spinosaurus, maybe 2 of them are complete enough to give a good picture of the full animal, and the Holotype was destroyed by bombs.

Part of why Spinosaurus is among my favourite dinosaurs is because how unique it is. Part of it is that new stuff about the animal is being found all the time.

Thanks for reading

Hope you enjoyed the read. If there's anything you wanna correct me on, feel free. I'm not a palaeontologist, just a dinosaur enthusiast, so there's bound to be stuff I got wrong. If you wanna suggest another article topic on dinosaurs, my asks and inbox are open.

[ravenadottir]

So, in the actual Love Island show, most of the cast are recruited and scouted, and though its not really played up in the game, I do wonder who out of S2 cast would have been recruited vs who applies? From what we know of them, I think Noah got the producers attention from the viral Reading post, Bobby from his Insta (a talented chef and he's hot?), Lottie from being a MUA, and Ibrahim from his golfing vs maybe someone like maybe Marisol or Hope? Wondering what your take would be.

islanders: who applied and who was scouted

applied:

hope, bobby, priya, felix, arjun, chelsea, lottie, hannah, marisol, graham, carl. because i don't think they have a huge online presence or were under the producers' radar. people like hannah or felix might've even had a different intention than just finding love. the show helps a lot with quick fame and it's up to the islanders to keep that momentum so i reckon all they needed was a push.

people like lottie, priya, gary, hope and marisol had a different reasoning than the others. it was legit about love and finding someone, or at least to meet a lot of people and have a good summer. despite some of them not being ready, or not playing fair, it was still about finding someone.

now, i'll never NOT talk about bobby and his intentions. fusebox tried to amend his route but i still think the original plan was to make him a player, so i reckon his intention was to win the show for the money and not for love, at least initially. plus, i'm still not sure whether he would take it all or share, but part of his motivations were that fame-starter-formula love island gives the contestants, so it was a good reason to apply.

chelsea, arjun, rocco, graham might've just applied for the kicks. "what's the harm?" but i don't think they believed the casting director would actually call, so i believe when they got that call they were excited about the show. but i can't seem to see beyond that: good fun.

carl is a special case to me. he did apply but i think he was induced to do it. he can give that confident "love island is the future of dating" but i think he studied the show, hard, to be able to come in. he was nervous, blabbering, didn't know much about talking to the girls and would fail every time he was trying to be charming. i think he did it as an experiment.

scouted:

kassam. he says he's done some tours so i believe he was already a regionally successful dj. now that i think about it, he might've been introduced to tim at some point... i'm not saying he would like tim, but they probably met.

lucas. he probably was news at some point, like those "OMG, you'll never believe this guy is actually a doctor" facebook posts, and it spread like wild fire. i can even see him posting things like "i'm not a doctor, i'm a physical therapist" but no one really cares about it. a viral post like that, even if old, still has some impact. people always remember hot people.

henrik. social media for sure! there must be hundreds of thirsty comments on every single one of his posts! besides, i think the fact that he was caught naked by a couple made regional papersm so... he was under the producers' radar. not only he's hot and single but already had a funny secret to be shared.

noah. i agree, he was scouted from the post on social media. plus, how many times will you have a HOT guy turning into a meme? that's just dumb luck!

jakub. from instagram, possibly some videos on youtube. his personality, or the lack of it, was shining through, and that's why he was there. they need someone to be "hilariously dumb" and that granted jakub's ticket to the show.

elisa, influencer. instagram and youtube probably contributed for her name to be brought up, and if she was involved in a "beauty community drama" or two, even better!

jo, dmx competitor, under the spotlight for the fans, she might've got her account looked at for her spot in the villa. especially if they knew rahim was a fan of the sport.

ibrahim, hot golf player on a calendar? sounds about right.

elijah. he's a part time model, and the girls talk so much about his level of attractiveness. i reckon they scouted him for that exact purpose, to tempt the girls to switch.

shannon. because of her job i feel she has some online presence. and it's always nice to bring people that smell like innovation. poker player is not a very common occupation so that's part of the reason. the other part: she's extremely hot and seems to not hold back when she talks about her matches, that could translate into the villa when it comes to love, so... it's a good reason to bring her to casa amor.

blake is also a special case. she was an afterthought, because i believe the producers looked for someone who had the same vibes, and possibly look, as one of the contestants on purpose. inserting her in casa amor to tempt the boy who's coupled up with mc is genius. a true test of loyalty given they share the same occupation and posture.

[ibrahimnerde]

What do you think about Ibrahim and Hatice’s relationship overall? Do you think that it was unhealthy from the start? Or do you think that it wasn’t so, that it was a healthy relationship at its heart and that they truly loved each other and it only broke apart because of the dire circumstances and the mental health problems they both independently had?

At first their relationship was fine , had crushes on each other and longed for this marriage to happen.They were great and very couple goals and they both wanted to have a normal family away from the drama. Both of them contributed in this relationship becoming toxic.

Let’s start with Hatice. Aside from her obsession with Ibrahim like he doesn’t come home due time or acting as if the world is ending while he is away, Hatice’s main problem is not being realistic. When she shattered Ibrahim’s pride and told him he is just a servant, she later expects him to live with her happily as if nothing happened. Same with everyone she “slip up” with. It is almost weird how she never realized how Ibrahim is distancing himself from her until he had been sleeping with Nigar for a good amount of time. Before that she thought everything was bubbly and everything was okay and when she finally starts realizing she doesn’t ask him. Hatice lack of realizing things is actually an evident aspect of her character. The fact that she is the only one who never realized that Ibrahim’s arrogance is growing….like even Mahidevran knew this but just kept quite. Ibrahim named himself “Sultan Ibrahim” but she was fine and she was still rambling about how Hurrem is a threat. Hatice ignoring the many warning signs around the relationship and pretending that everything is great is part of why this relationship fell.

Now into Ibrahim the biggest reason why this relationship is destroyed. He has a hugeee inferiority complex. Ibrahim wanted to dominate his partner but he can’t dominate Hatice even before their heated moment his ego was never satisfied that’s why he was flirting with Nigar cause she satisfies his ego. Plus it took him soooo long to get Hatice while with Nigar he got her in a sec. Anyway, his secretiveness towards Hatice ,imo, was him trying to satisfy his ego in any way. He wants to see her ,the imperial princess, desperate for him. Ibrahim never imagined that the little fragile Hatice would lash at him and consider him a mere servant that is at her and her family’s service….and he starts questioning reality. The heated moment triggered the already triggered identity crisis within Ibrahim. He probably felt somewhat “home” with Hatice more than with anyone else from the dynasty. Hatice ,like everyone else, reminding him that he is a slave made him distance himself and he never tries to give Hatice another chance despite the fact that it was all his fault from the beginning cause he was being unnecessarily secretive.

When the relationship is exposed and Hatice later forgives Ibrahim that makes him more arrogant. Only he can get away after cheating on the imperial princess. He might be a slave but he has the sultan’s sister wrapped around his finger, he got the sultan himself to protect him and honor him with positions and money. Ik this is historically inaccurate but Hatice allowing Ibrahim back fed his ego more. Actually in SO3 if you noticed in some moments Ibrahim is rather rude to Hatice and screamed at her that’s because he knows she is desperate for him and if she allowed him to get away with infidelity then she’ll allow him to get away with everything else.

This relationship was never gonna develop healthy anyway. Hatice is not fitted in the environment. She is rather naive and innocent for such a ruthless period. Ibrahim deserved to get executed from ep 1.

[minetteskvareninova]

Was this necessary? Episode 1: Valide Sultan

A first in a hopefully long series of metas, in which I analyse Magnificent Century, and maybe later other historical fiction, and ask myself the burning question on every history nerd’s mind - did they really have to change a specific historical detail in order to make for a better story? (Most of the time, no, not at all.)

First topic: Is it better that Ayşe Hafsa was made a Crimean princess instead of a slave woman, like she was in history?

First off, I am not sure it was a conscious decision on the part of creators, rather than bad research. They didn’t invent this misconception, it was perpetuated by some actual historical literature, even if by 2011 it was already outdated. That aside, would the story gain anything by more historically accurate origins for Valide?

Are there any benefits to this change? Well, Valide’s relationship with power in the harem was made unique by the fact that she was never a slave, never in the position of her son’s concubines. Şah Sultan upholds her as an example of a woman who knows her place in life, so to speak, and this would also account for her exceptional political influence as well as her outrage when other women of the harem try to gain the same - after all, they aren’t daughters of a Crimean khan, they have no right to power. Valide’s conflict with Hürrem would parallel nicely with Ibrahim and his status as a lowly former slave among other pashas, who were already born as members of the Ottoman elite. This would work MUCH better if Valide was shown to be exceptionally powerful in comparison with other valide sultanas, as she was in history, but oh well.

Okay, so the reason Valide wasn’t made exceptionally powerful probably is that she represents tradition, the order that Hürrem completely upends. Does that work? Well, it’s fine, though I’d argue since most valide sultans were slave women, Ayşe Hafsa falling into that category would work better; her being an exception from the rule as a free woman and princess doesn’t translate well into her being a bastion of the centuries-old traditions. In this way, the story would work best if she was either a completely standard valide sultan, born a slave and not possessing more power than her predecessors, or born a princess, and thus entitled to more respect than those who came before her. The story would be better off if they changed one of the two aspects of historical Ayşe Hafsa; changing both ruins any thematic elements that might compensate for lack of historical faithfulness

What about the fact that her being born privileged would lend her a different perspective on the conflicts in the harem? Well, as valide sultan, she is already above everyone else, and as mother of an heir she has been for a long time. As we saw with every other valide sultan (and honestly it’s kind of tiring, I wish at least one of them was different, just one sultana that acknowledges she knows what it feels to be at the bottom, I BEG OF YOU), time can make people forget, lose empathy for those who stand where they used to. Which on the other hand is also an argument in favour of making her a princess - it makes her stand out, even if it is in a pretty shallow way in my opinion. It’s also worth noting that aside from marrying Süleyman and perhaps meddling in politics more than usual, Hürrem in the show doesn’t do much upending of the established order in the first place, but that’s a topic for another day.

There is one other, actually pretty surprising reason why her being a Crimean princess adds something to the story - Aybige. Her character and connection to the Ottoman court just wouldn’t work in the same way without her being a relative of Ayşe Hafsa. That’s a whole season 2 storyline out of the window, right there. Is it a good storyline? Well, no, but it had a potential, and some of Mustafa’s best moments came from it, so I can’t completely condemn it.

VERDICT: Overall I don’t think this change was worth it, but at least some good came from it. It wasn’t implemented without thought and it did add some unique elements to Ayşe Hafsa’s character, I’ll say as much. As someone who doesn’t like Hafsa and cares little for her character, I myself don’t have any strong feelings about this, but if you do, feel free to express your opinion trough a note, reblog, or a meta of your own! I’ll be happy to start a discussion on this.

[mc-critical]

This would be a little complex sorry :) but what do you think the scenario would be like if Meryem did not leave the show before S3 finished? For example how would Sah sultan leave, will Hurrem finish her off instead of Mihrimah? Because it was obvious that she would be absent in S4 since Fatma was coming as the new sister. Also how would they make Hatice kill herself? I mean in my opinion they would still make her kill herself. But how do you think her final moments/scenes with Sah, Suleiman, Gülfem, Hurrem, Mihrimah... would be like? And about Mehmet, they would probably give him more screentime and to his death as well. I can't even imagine Hurrem's reaction and what would be like if she meets Mahi in his funeral. Well...what do you think? :)

When I was thinking this through, I realized that... I don't see so much changing in the script as I anticipated.

I'm not sure about Şah Sultan, tbh. I think she would still leave in S03 (even though I speculated what are her odds against Hürrem and what would happen if she stayed in S04 here.) and it would be probably Hürrem that would finish her off, but I'm not sure how would it happen. She doesn't have much in the way of a fatal flaw which would doom her when it comes to Hürrem and the one "flaw" or "scruple" she had was more connected to Mihrimah. So they would either contrive some kind of a fatal flaw that would let Hürrem beat her or make her love and respect for the dynasty the fatal flaw that would cause her to slowly begin underestimating Hürrem too much, because of her wins against her, but that would be far too much of a flanderization for Şah. Maybe they also could still leave her to Mihrimah the way they did, but Mihrimah to decide to act because of what she sees as disrespect to Hürrem, along with her growing confidence of her own power, not because of the abduction situation.

I agree that Hatice would still end her arc in suicide. If the abduction isn't a factor, maybe she may try doing that, but not succeed? Hatice may go in such a state where it's really "all or nothing" and no one could stop her and she may repeatedly, frequently, one episode after another try to end Hürrem and it would lead to the same confrontation, with SS wondering why she would do this, why didn't she get over Ibrahim. Or maybe, Hatice would simply give up from it all by ruminating alone in her chambers on the recent situations, to have a longer farewell with Şah and Gülfem and want to be with Ibrahim so much, to have a suicide attempt a parallel with E83, but this time, with no one succeeding to save her or fill her with promises.

I'm with the fandom in that we could've seen more of Mehmet. Certainly his funeral and that scene would be very impactful. I doubt Mahidevran would appear in his funeral, because of the massive regret that overtook her and both her mind and conscience perhaps speaking against that, but I wouldn't sign off them adding a scene like that for dramatic effect. And it would be very impactful for both characters, too. There certainly would be a scene with Mustafa, since he would (and was confirmed to in the show itself) be in his funeral ceremony. Maybe Mustafa would say he massively regretted that loss and he suffers as much as she does and Hürrem would take a deep breath before she spoke, probably accept his words, but also say, in parallel to E75, that he should pray nobody around him is behind this. Maybr then a plot-line of Musti suspecting his mother would be possible. Though I think the funeral would be mostly SS and Hürrem grieving for their favourite son and preferred candidate for the throne, since they have lost a part of them for the first time. It would be a powerful showcase of their state of vulnerability and maybe a more visible transition point where they truly begin to act as partners and stand together in every situation.

Mehmet himself would definetly have tiny bit more scenes with Hürrem, because she would at least be there to congratulate him for going to Amasya and tell him to be careful. They may have a conversation about why is he going to the sanjack of his brother and there could be a bit of conflict between them in that regard.

I don't think Mehmet's death would change so much. The episode itself was a A Day/Death in the Limelight episode for Mehmet, the reason for Mahidevran acting against him would remain intact (Mustafa going to Amasya), the trajectory of her conflict in E101 would also remain intact, so she could still set the Illyas scheme in motion and Mehmet would still trust him blindly, because of his relative lack of experience. What may change, however, is the opposition Mahidevran would have here - the scene with Mahidevran confronting Hürrem for Amasya in E101 would most likely be a scene between both of them and Hürrem might suspect that Mahidevran is up to something. Hürrem would try monitoring things in Manisa and might even begin to see through Illyas's facade, but the outcome would still be the same in the end. Maybe Hürrem would try her best protecting Mehmet, but it would end in vain, it could end with Mehmet doubting her opinion on Illyas only for the inevitable to happen... It would amplify even further the tragedy of this death and Hürrem would be more involved in acting against it/trying to prevent it.

With that said, that's where perhaps the biggest change in the script is gonna lie - S04 Hürrem's motivation. An important part of S04 Hürrem's motivation was not only that Mehmet was killed and by Mahidevran, no less, but that she wasn't there in that death, she wasn't there to stop it, that she didn't even get to look at him for what was probably the last time. With Meryem not leaving and Hürrem being more involved in his sanjack plot, this would be gone. There would be no abduction, there would be no shortage of what they could show, they would amplify the drama even more. Mehmet's death would be even more of a motivation now than it was when coupled with what Hürrem went through during the abduction. And by extension, it would mean that Mahidevran won not when Hürrem wouldn't be there to stop her, but by her efforts to prevent all this failing altogether. That would fuel Hürrem to get rid of her enemies, especially Mustafa even more, but at the same time, I doubt it would change her S04 actions. I don't think S04 itself would change so much, either, (aside from Mehmet getting more mentions and callbacks, because the last three S03 episodes would be densely packed with him, not just his last episode and Hü's visit to Mehmet's mosque, was it? in E119 where Afife died would give some place for Mehmet himself, too, before the attack with stones from the organization defending Musti happened), because this development of Hürrem's character and her relationships would be inevitable. I see even her death episode with little to no changes, because no, Hü didn't have flashbacks not because they had some issue with Meryem or something (if that was the case, why did we have the first ever Hü and SS scene in E01 as a flashback in E139?), but because in MC, she was the epitome of the total adaption in the harem. Her not recalling her past is perfectly fitting. Though that's not to say I don't see more flashbacks of her love with SS in previous episodes to happen, since they know that will bring even more impact. I don't think her final moments with the characters would change so much, as well, especially when it comes to Mahidevran and Gülfem, but maybe we can have a bit of a change with SS. Maybe both will recite their poems in her last scene, who knows? And maybe if not the death episode itself, her burial scene would be probably filled with flashbacks of Hü and SS, I can almost imagine her next to SS's bed in E55 showing on the screen when they bury her and SS's poetry plays in the background.

[duchessofostergotlands]

Thoughts on William's new eco Prize ?

Right, let’s do this! So in the past with major projects I have done a kind of good, bad, questions break down so these are my thoughts at this point:

The Good

I’ve followed royals from across the world for quite some time now and I have never seen or heard of anything this ambitious or at this scale in any monarchy. I expected it to be big but I genuinely didn’t think it would be this big. No matter what happens from here, they need to get props for pulling something this epic off logistically 

The people and organisations involved at almost every stage have been genius. I’ve talked a lot about royals not being that influential in terms of securing donations or raising awareness but one thing they can do is convene people. Almost no one will turn down a royal and William must have pulled in every contact and every business card in his file to get these people together. And that’s present at (almost) every stage: from Bindi and Robert Irwin narrating the clips to David Attenborough promoting it to the Global Alliances which have Greenpeace, WWF, National Geographic, the World Economic Forum and the UN on there - these are some of the most influential organisations and people in this space and to have them all involved in one project is massive  

There has clearly been a lot of thought that has gone into the process behind it. I particularly liked that they brought on Deloitte to do assessment screenings and the Centre for Public Impact designed the process itself. It’s obviously a rigorous process that they’ve recognised they can’t do fairly on their own 

The diversity involved in the Council is great. They have representatives from across the globe rather than just a bunch of white Europeans and I really appreciate the choice of someone like Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim who represents grassroots projects in Africa who are often left out of the conversation despite being more heavily impacted by climate change than countries like the UK. 

The Bad

Some of those council members...Queen Rania is a dreadful choice. I think people like Shakira or Cate Blanchett could be good Ambassadors for the programme but on the Council? The Council are going to make the ultimate decision. The quality of the ideas selected ultimately hinges on them and even if they have advisors, it just feels bizarre to hand such an important part of the project over to people with no experience and nothing that qualifies them to be there 

Look, £50 million sounds like a lot of money. To most of us it’s astronomical. But the budget of just the UK branch of the WWF was almost £70 million in one year. When William first shared the idea back in December I read up on the Moonshot concept and the original Moonshot cost $150 billion and that was only trying to achieve one specific thing. It sounds impressive because in comparison to what’s out there already it is, but I don’t know if the financial aspect is going to be that impressive. Especially as it sounds like the winner doesn’t get the prize money themselves - "the £1 million in prize money will support environmental and conservation projects that are agreed with the winners.” Essentially it just sounds like they want people to provide their labour and ideas for free and that’s not necessarily realistic 

The Questions/concerns

I don’t work in climate science but I do work with a lot of scientists and researchers. Human beings are incredibly creative and innovative. We have been coming up with ideas to solve major societal issues for as long as there have been major societal issues. The problem is getting these ideas to become reality. We’ve all seen those videos on inspirational news sites like “7 year old Jamie created an app that diagnoses people with cancer with a 99.99% accuracy and it’s free!”  And then you never hear about it again. The barrier isn’t the lack of ideas but making those ideas global norms. And I don’t know if this will help. I hope it does but I don’t know. They seem to recognise that it matters as they say that winners will be provided with access to their network of people to scale up but that doesn’t really mean anything will actually change. Let’s say someone came up with a product that can substantially reduce energy usage in a home (I’m not a scientist, don’t @ me, I’m just trying to come up with something I can explain lol). What you then need is agreement from government and building companies that every new home built in the country will have that device by law. I’m putting this in concerns because maybe their network really will be able to make these ideas a reality but I’m just not sure if we’ll end up with great ideas and a bit of money to charity and then nothing else - especially if the winners don’t get the money so have no capital to fund their ideas themselves. 

As I’m not a climate scientist I have questions about what kind of things will win. They haven’t given specific examples obviously because they want other people to come up with the ideas but will they fund concepts with no practical testing yet? Groups who are doing great work in their communities but it’s not a “product” as such? Or all those things? The first set of winners will be really intriguing

Coming up with ideas or products takes money and generally the organisations or people that have the money are in the Global North and are white. If you look at the Nobel Peace Prize or Literature for example there’s a lot of diversity in who wins because you don’t necessarily need the same money to be an activist or a writer as you do to conduct scientific research. Whereas there have been no black winners of the Nobel Prize for any scientific discipline (except economics) and almost all winners of scientific Nobel Prizes conducted their research in wealthy, industrialised nations. I’m encouraged that they will have nominating partners across the globe to hopefully ensure diversity in nominations but I worry about some countries and candidates being blocked out because they don’t have the resource

[damonalbarn]

Have you got one more [anecdote] you can leave us with?

Well, here’s most fabulous one, and really the point where I realized what an unbelievably lucky person I was to know him [Tony Allen]. I was booked to do a song with him and Ty. It was a TV program in two parts. The first half was Ibrahim Ferrer’s band, who I had worked with on Gorillaz. I was asked whether I would sing harmonies and play melodica, and then I was helping Tony promote his album on the second half of the program. So it was a very, very exciting thing to be doing, to work with all these Cubans and then Tony afterwards. What a nice day's work!

Unfortunately, after the first half, which went very well, I was with Ray Cokes, who was one of the original presenters of MTV. He was presenting this program for a French TV company, and he gave me a bottle of white Guadeloupe rum, which I drank too much of, and then I went and hung out with Tony and had a joint or two. So when it came time to film our bit, I had truly lost the downbeat. It had completely vanished, and was not to be found on that occasion. After about two minutes of him playing and me trying to find it, I sort of gave up and I went and sat behind him on his drum seat and kind of passed out. Anyway, I don't really remember anything else or anything about the rest of that TV filming.

There's probably a record somewhere...

Yes, probably on the cutting room floor. Anyway, I woke up in bed and my manager and my girlfriend were standing over the bed the next morning. I open my eyes and said, "It went well, didn't it?" And they said, "Mmmm. Not that well.”

Then they retold in exquisite detail the very embarrassing previous afternoon. I was embarrassed and very crestfallen. So I contacted Tony, and also Ty, who had to be very patient with me as well. And Tony was so good about it. He made me feel like absolutely nothing had happened, it was totally normal, and I was great, and I shouldn't worry. I shouldn't lose any sleep over it. Which was such a sweet thing to do. Because he could've admonished me for my lack of respect or something. You know what I mean? But he's not like that at all. And ever since then, he's been one of my best, best, best friends, and will remain, though not physically present, he is still and will always be present with me. He's part of who I am. I'm with him.

Damon Albarn on Tony Allen, Afropop Worldwide [X]

[bobbyboops]

Can you do worst qualities in guys next?

Ask and ye shall receive anon!

Gary: he can be very indecisive, and because he avoids drama so much he often leaves mc to deal with shit on her own. I just wanted him to stand up to Lottie once and tell her to back off!

Noah: again indecisive, and he’s so worried about hurting people’s feelings that he just accepts a mediocre at best relationship.

Rocco: a slimy cheater who never showers. He also is very misogynistic at times. He thinks it’s ok for him to flirt with everything that has a pulse, but if you flirt at all it makes him uncomfortable. ie you showing off your swimsuit. Smh 😒😒😒 also he cheats on you, but then when he is leaving he will try to make the moves on you again!! And if you ask “what about mARiSol?” He says “what about her?” But then when he is outside and Marisol leaps into his arms he kisses her goodbye!! 🤢🤢

Ibrahim: he again is very indecisive! He switches from mc to Shannon to kissing jo. Then he asks jo to be his girlfriend after 3 days (if not on his route) Like boy have you lost your mind? Cause I’ll help you find it!

Bobby: he is so worried about pleasing everyone that mc gets left behind a lot! ie making cupcakes for Lottie (especially when mc was partnered with Rocco) like why the hell does she need cupcakes?! he’s very protective of priya during ON but never has that energy for mc.

Lucas: his jealousy, and he can sometimes come off as selfish. He is definitely out for number one. Which I guess could be a pro or a con depending on who you are.

Henrik: I don’t know??? He’s just a giant puppy dog. I guess just the lack of apology when he brings Blake back.

Jakub: he is very condescending, and he just gives off a really creepy vibe to me. Like he’s the guy who doesn’t take no for an answer. Then if you really do say no he would come back with “whatever you aren’t even that pretty anyway.”

The casa amor guys I feel like we really don’t get to see that much of their personalities (since they lose them right after casa) but I’ll do my best.

Carl: workaholic, and not great with communication.

Kassam: communication, and jealousy.

Elijah: self involved at times.

Graham: I’m not sure.

Arjun: again not really sure.

Felix: exists.

TBH the biggest problem I had with the guys was the fact that they were never held accountable for anything!!

Gary kisses Lottie but only Lottie catches shit about it.

Noah kisses mc, dumps her for Blake, and then goes right back to hope! Then has the audacity to ask mc to sleep with him on the roof terrace. Once again no consequences.

Bobby was a major part of ON and he gets off Scott free while priya gets dumped on. (Mc as well even if you don’t participate because you get dragged into it anyway) 😒😒

Ibrahim kisses jo behind Shannon’s back, and everyone has to hear about it for DAYS except the one person it involves.

Lurik bring Blake back and there are no consequences for that either.

The only boy who had consequences was Rocco. And thank goodness I didn’t have to look at his dusty stinky ass anymore!

Ok sorry that got ranty! Haha

Thank you so much for the ask!! I love when people as for my opinion! 🤗❤️🥰

[boundlesshart]

how royal succession works in Almyra + Other Things about almyra that’s been rattling in my head since that nintendo dream interview laid waste on my crops

hi, so after reading M’s @ladamedepique​ drabble about a concubine war kid getting kmarted, i realized that what i actually want to write is the Everything i’ve been thinking about since this nintendo dream interview came out back in march. so i did. it’s 2am and im hungry.

i realize that it’s been a while, so the summary of that interview’s impact on my claude headcanons is “my handcrafted claude backstory that i had to write myself bc intsys decided fuck claude is now irreversibly fucked by the introduction of a bunch of half-siblings he had to be rivals with.” if you ever catch yourself wondering why this is such a mess, well because that’s exactly what this is! this is all subject to change, it’s same kind of “haphazard and bizarrely long half-baked headcanon report” that my dlc thought train was. i’ve changed my mind at least 20 times during this process i will change it again

i’d like to thank zotero for holding all of my journal articles and pdfs on the ottomans and their succession system, and also magnificent century og and kosem, while not being totally historically accurate, for being a fun soap opera to give me some visuals to work with in my head. i now have a positive understanding of what claude’s shitty little beard could realistically look like, which is a gift that i never thought i would have.

Almyran Succession

All of the king’s children, regardless of if they were born in or out of wedlock, is considered a legitimate prince or princess. This is pretty much the only title that they can expect to have, as they and their mothers cannot inherit any lands, titles or wealth that would have been passed to them from their own families. Almyran property law aims to avoid partitioning property between multiple heirs for the sake of maintaining the family’s financial stability. The throne of Almyra works under the same principle, which had led to the introduction, legalization, and practice of open succession.

Open succession, despite its potential to be cruel, is viewed as a necessary step to ensure that the throne would only be held by strong leaders chosen by the people (”people” ending up being the higher-ranking officials that would benefit from a specific child’s ascension). If they proved to be lacking, they would simply be deposed of and replaced. 

What determines who becomes the next ruler of Almyra is not whether a child is the oldest of all the children, but if they and their allies have the political acumen to not only claim kingship but keep it, fighting off their rival brothers and sisters.

All sons and unmarried daughters are eligible to rule Almyra. By law is not only the next ruler’s right but duty to remove other potential heirs to secure their right to rule and the stability of their reign. Generally upon a ruler’s ascension to the throne, their brothers will be killed and their sisters married off or killed if they threaten their siblings’ rule. Exceptions have been made in the past, but they are few and far in between and have led to succession crises down the road. 

The previous ruler’s choice for an heir is usually accepted after their death, and ideal for minimizing the interregnum period. Even so, it doesn’t guarantee that the heir will be able to keep the throne.

Ok, but where do the kids come from?

Rulers of Almyra are allowed to have multiple spouses, but they usually only marry for political purposes.

The vast majority of children are mothered or fathered by concubines with no background of political power, which is preferred. Princes and princesses are allowed to have children once they leave the palace (to prove that they can have them), but if they have too many they may be considered a threat to the king and dealt with appropriately.

I think the one mother-one child rule would have been in place here, not necessarily as a law but as a rule enforced by other spouses and concubines, as well as the ruler’s mother or father.

Princes and princesses aren’t dropping like flies, and murdering them without having the law on your side is considered treason of the highest order. They’re still aware of their competition and fear being murdered when one of their siblings takes the thrones, so few end up becoming friends.

Children are ultimately their mother’s or father’s responsibility. They are expected to guide them through their education and follow them to their provincial post when they are old enough, setting them up for success and paving their path to the throne. King and Queen Dowagers have been incredibly influential in Almyran history and support their children by representing them politically and managing their spouses and concubines. 

Ok, whatever, just tell me what’s relevant to Claude:

Ibrahim, Claude’s father, became the king of Almyra only after 5 year civil war between himself and his two remaining brothers. He got to the throne first and is still feared for the ruthless execution of even his youngest brothers and sisters.

In all, Ibrahim has had 2 wives and 12 concubines, and he has fathered 10 sons and 6 daughters. A few died to childhood illnesses but most made it to at least 13 years old. He’s a doting father and cares for their well-being, though only when he happens to see them. Though he was a constant presence in Claude’s life, his half-siblings usually only saw him during holidays.

No one in Almyra knows that Tiana is the daughter of Duke Riegan, for all they know she’s a Fódlaner that King Ibrahim brought back with him after a short border strife with the Leicester Alliance. Obviously she goes by another name in Almyra, and here is where I think I’m going to bring back the first name I had for her, Desdemona. Suck it, intsys. She wasn’t liked when she first came due to being from Fódlan, and was accused of witchcraft when Ibrahim married her and devoted himself to her at the expense of his other wives as concubines. As the herd of children and concubines thinned, Tiana’s strong personality and battle prowess garnered her respect among the top officials of the Almyran court and even her enemies.

In Fódlan Year 1175, rebels infiltrate the palace walls and kill over a dozen people, from palace servants to princes and princesses. In the moment it was believed to be part of a revolt that was ongoing in the capital at the time and carried out by rebels storming the palace walls and stealing and killing whatever came in their way. After an investigation, it was discovered that that was just a cover up for.... a noble Almyran house trying to make a power grab through either an older son or with their own heir? I’ve been working out the details on this for months and I still don’t have them ironed out don’t look at me. It ends with a couple of older half-sibs dying but more importantly Claude’s older and younger brother dying and Claude nearly dying himself, only to survive with the Crest of Riegan. I imagine that there have been instances before hinted at him having the Crest of Riegan, but it was this incident that confirmed it for Tiana. 

These are the notable royal family members, or the ones I’ve spent at least one second thinking of:

King Ibrahim II of Almyra: Claude’s dad, born Fódlan year 1131 so 19 when he ascends the throne. He is feared but respected, brutal to his enemies, firm with his allies... but you’d be surprised by how easygoing he actually is with friends and family. He’s young at heart and energetic, even laughing at jokes made at his expense, but only in very close company. He loves writing poetry, especially to Tiana, and he frequently sends her love letters so that one can be read out to her every morning and evening when her mail is given to her. Relishes the thrill of battle. Nader introduced him to kumis back when they were boys and to this day Ibrahim regularly drinks a glass each night, claiming it makes him stronger.

There’s a tradition in the royal family that all princes and princesses must learn a trade in case that they fall into misfortune. Ibrahim enjoys goldsmithing when he is alone, a good distraction from his thoughts. Claude’s earring is part of a set given to his mother, crafted by his father as a gift.

Tiana von Riegan/Desdemona: Claude’s mom, born Fódlan year 1135. Claude calls her a warrior goddess and a demon queen that would laugh at his expense, I imagine that she’s in that “dead serious but good humored about it” boat like Claudedad, but less sappy about it. A tough but loving mother, she was very involved in her children’s upbringing and did her best to secure their place in the royal family. She doesn’t teach any of her kids the Fódlanguage because she was distancing herself from That, but Claude is able to convince her to help him learn (though she was reluctant about it and limited their lessons greatly, forcing him to teach himself mostly). She has firmly decided to never return to Fódlan, but a cup of Leicester Cortania is her guilty pleasure. These days Tiana spends her time at her husband’s side in Maragheh, keeping up with her training.

Two older half-brothers: So Claude’s endings have him as heir to the throne without a mention of rivals, but part of me feels like that’s too simple for Claude considering he just up and walked out of there 7 years ago so here we are, two rivals. They’re probably early to mid 30s at this point and have one or two small children of their own. I don’t know their names yet, but my initial ideas are a “nice” brother cool calculated pushing up glasses kind of dude that is actually a huge dick and a chad dudebro who’s just trying to distance himself from these bad vibes.

If I had to give them trades, nice brother likes to fish and sails for pleasure (he governs a coastal province) and chad brother carves wooden thumbrings. 

Orhan: Claude’s older brother, born Fódlan Year 1160. He was conceived months before Tiana went to Almyra (born 5 months after she arrived), so his parentage has been in doubt from day 1. I imagine him as having low self-esteem since he was believed to be a full-blooded Fódlaner, discriminated against in a similar way or worse than what the rest of his siblings went through. Historians would later debate whether or not he was actually Ibrahim’s son.... but we’re not historians, and Orhan was definitely his son. Died in the FY1175 uprising at the age of 15.

No idea what he looked like, he just happened to not look like his parents. His favorite food was salted cod, but he was rarely able to get it. Orhan enjoyed playing the violin.

Claude/Khalid: You know him, you love him, born Fódlan Year 1162 under another name. He’s the only kid that ended up getting the Crest of Riegan, and after one too many accidents where that crest ended up proccing, he’s been accused of practicing witchcraft like his mother. I think this would be a better like, concrete thing for the Almyrans to fixate on rather than a general “you’re half-Fódlan rahhh” and I think it would definitely go with Claude talking about how he was constantly fighting and explaining himself to get out of trouble.

If I’m going with the “kids can only inherit from the ruler of Almyra”, then I’m gonna have to figure out how Claude fits into this. His first move is to probably bullshit a loophole about how actually the Dukedom of Riegan doesn’t exist anymore and I may have destroyed Failnaught after the final battle so technically I didn’t really inherit anything that would give me an edge in Almyran politics. :). Ibrahim is pissed at Claude for going to Fódlan in the first place and getting caught up in a war and he definitely did not sign off on Nader bringing Almyran troops into a war that they have no business being involved in. The first thing Ibrahim does when Claude returns to Maragheh is shout at him and ground him to his apartment in the palace. And then proceed to assign Claude to a governmental post so that he’s out of his sight.

As an aside, I imagine that when Ibrahim dies and Claude rises to the throne, he deliberately delays his coronation so that it coincides with the Almyran New Year. It;s that kind of inconvenient dick move that he would delight in making bc symbolism.

You know what he looks like, in terms of food he strays away from sugary sweet stuff and towards meat and cheese. I’d like to think that he gains a genuine interest in gardening (like, beyond just cultivating poisonous plants as a cover for “gardening”) during his time in Fódlan and brings back different seedlings and scions for grafting back to Almyra. 

Mehmet and Rahimah: Twins, born Fódlan Year 1164. Ok so basically I kind of wanted a dead sibling that was around Cyril and Lysithea’s age for the Drama of it (bc I thought of Claude looking at Cyril and thinking of his brother and immediately went “That hurts. Let’s do it”). But I ALSO thought what if Claude had a little sister, and then I ALSO thought what if Claude has a new full-blooded sibling that got conceived during the five year war, like the shittiest surprise. I’ve combined all those ideas into the twins.

First of all, they have more function than personality. Mehmet only exists to die during the uprising, but I’m starting to like Rahimah bc like... she literally loses most of her brothers including her twin, and then Claude up and leaves her for Fódlan (a place she has little connection to, regardless of her mother). Her only remaining sibling is gone for years, misses seven birthdays, her wedding with an Almyran general, the birth of her first child and the announcement of her second... like, by the time Claude comes back to Almyra she hates his guts and you know what? She’s right! I imagine Rahimah angry, but also grasping for literally any kind of deep and long-lasting relationship at this point. She loves her kids fiercely, she loves her husband, and even though they have their struggles she's still very close to her mom. Fuck her no-show brother Khalid, and fuck Fódlan for taking him away from her.

No idea what Mehmet looks like, like I said he only exists to die. Rahimah is shorter than Claude at maybe 5′4, round-faced and carrying herself gracefully. She’s lactose intolerant but she bears the pain for the sake of eating ice cream, and her husband goes to great lengths to get the ice for her. Likes to sing and dance with her son Ömer.

[hurremsultanns]

🔥 the heaviest themes in MC (such as slavery, warfare, fratricide...) and their treatment at the writers' hands throughout the show/franchise

I think the show couldn't entirely commit in terms of how it approached a lot of these topics. And this was to the detriment of a significant amount of nuance in how they were portrayed.

In terms of slavery and warfare. These are closely intertwined. While the show clearly had an interest in the experience of slavery and what the characters who had been enslaved went through, I don't think it went far enough in this respect. The show uses it far more as a way to explain the psychology of certain characters - most notably Ibrahim, Hürrem and Nurbanu - without really using it as a springboard for a meaningful systematic critique to the extent that could have been done. Outside of Viktoria's plotline there really isn't a connection made between this harm and destruction and the imperialism and conquest that cause it. In fact, the warfare is shown in a downright heroic light. Both in terms of the uncomplicatedly heroic treatment of warfare itself and the characters who engage in it. Characters like Bali Bay, and most notably Barbarossa, whom I touched on in this post, are outright heroised for the precise actions that cause this harm. The issue with this isn’t only this though. It lets some of the worst parts of the system off the hook. Because it means that the contributions of these characters to the toxic system and the wider issues of empire are barely acknowledged by the show if at all. And it contributes to a problematic narrative. In addition to this, the show has a tendency, both with Hürrem and Nurbanu most notably, to scapegoat the very women who had been enslaved and turn the members by blood of the Dynasty into their sympathetic victims. In seasons 3 and 4, we are encouraged to root for the aristocrats over the people whom they had enslaved. And the fact that there is more inherent criticism of the women who were enslaved and fought their way into a position of power than the literal royalty who were brought up to believe that they were inherently superior because of their blood is notable.

In terms of the fratricide law. That was selectively acknowledged when it was convenient for the narrative the show writers wanted to create. The show recognises that it was the source of the problems and conflict at certain points. However, when it suits the narrative trying to be presented, it forgets about the impact that it had. We see this most notably in the favouritism towards Mustafa. We’re encouraged to sympathise with Ibrahim, Şah, Hatice and Fatma and view them as compassionate when they clearly support Mustafa over his brothers. Even though it is never acknowledged by any of them that this means that by implication they accept that this means the death of Mehmet, Selim, Bayezid and Cihangir. And we’re supposed to see Mustafa as being able to protect his brothers. With little acknowledgement of the fact that would be almost impossible for him to achieve. Hürrem worries about this, but the show invalidates her fears. The message is ‘Mustafa would never hurt his brothers. He’s too good and heroic.’ And there’s no acknowledgement of the logistics or the complexities of this. So the show writers prioritise favouritism towards Mustafa over a nuanced portrayal of this reality. So this comes at the cost of a lack of concern for her own son’s lives outside of blaming her for it and casting Hürrem as a villain when it’s not entirely fair on her to do so. As her humanising motivation gets hidden under the rug.

So overall the heroising of the military, the scapegoating of powerful women and the inconsistent portrayal of the fratricide law plays into an old narrative. One that perpertuates pro-empire worldviews and a fear of women in positions of power. The show tries to critique the system, but its attempts to do so ultimately fall back on old narratives that perpetuate this bias.

[wisdomrays]

TAFAKKUR: Part 222

THE AMAZING STORY OF HEARING

HE HAS GRANTED YOU FROM ALL THAT YOU ASK HIM. WERE YOU TO ATTEMPT TO COUNT GOD'S BLESSINGS, YOU COULD NOT COMPUTE THEM. BUT FOR SURE, HUMANKIND IS MUCH PRONE TO WRONGDOING (SINS AND ERRORS OF JUDGMENT) AND TO INGRATITUDE. (IBRAHIM 14:34)

Today a large part of modern science focuses on understanding the human body. Researchers working on life sciences hope that one day the secrets of every single detail that make us human will be revealed. Every year billions of dollars are spent by scientific institutions on learning more about us. Actually this fact by itself is enough to suggest how little control we have over things happening in our bodies, and we know even less about the mechanisms of moving, touching, speaking, seeing, or hearing, and so on.

As a scientist, I really cannot guess whether life scientists will ever be able to learn enough to solve the puzzles of the human body, but I feel a lack of satisfaction when the knowledge we have gained from scientific discoveries is compared with what is unknown. In my opinion this is why one of the most intelligent physicists in history, the Nobel laureate Richard Feynman, once said, “I was born not knowing, and have only had a little time to change that here and there”. My understanding is that such a conclusion must be inevitable if the primitive knowledge given to us by modern sciences is not interpreted in the light of a far superior logic that is meant to explain the whole creation. In that sense, I believe that we have to consider every single detail in creation as a vital part of the whole in order not to feel lost before the grand picture of this masterpiece.

Last year, in a seminar at Osaka University Graduate School for Frontier BioSciences, I was thrilled to hear Professor Keichi Namba say, “Japan’s fastest supercomputer dissipates more than billion times the power dissipated by a fly’s brain, yet it is not able to simulate the brain of such a tiny animal.” This worked as a wakening call or a reminder for me to think again about the magnificent arts of the Creator. In particular, I wanted to revise my research on a hearing-related protein from a new perspective, rather than using the mechanical attitude that is followed most of the time.

This article is an attempt to explain an amazing mechanism in our ears that enables us to hear the faintest whispers. A mechanism that is switched off at loud cries to protect us from disturbing noises, yet amplified to make the softest sounds audible. Before starting to explain the basic anatomy of the human ear, I should mention that today the ear’s active amplification mechanism is still being investigated in research centers by biologists and physicists together.

HOW DO WE HEAR? WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE INNER EAR?

Findings from the last century have shown that our ears are not just simple receivers as we had imagined. In 1979, David Kemp of University College, London discovered that mammalian ears can also emit sound vibrations. By placing a very sensitive microphone close to the eardrum he could detect whistles, implying that there is a source of vibration within the ear. However, before trying to explain the cause of vibrations in the ears, we have to go over the mechanism of hearing briefly: The delicate design of the outer ear, the tympanic membrane (eardrum), and the tiny bones (malleus, incus and stapes) enables to collect sound waves traveling in the medium and transfer them to the inner ear. In the inner ear the sound waves are sorted according to their frequency and amplitudes and then converted into electrical signals which can be transported to the brain via nerves. At the onset of this process the sound waves are transformed into standing waves on the basilar membrane which is laid along the organ resembling a snail, the cochlea. The frequency of the incoming sound wave determines the positions of the distortions along the cochlea: High pitches create vibrations at the basal end of the cochlea (i.e. adjacent to the middle ear) whereas low frequencies vibrate closer to the apical end where the cochlea gets narrower. This geometry helps our ears to act as a frequency analyzer.

The efferent and afferent nerves that connect the ear to the central nervous system are attached to the organ of Corti, which is situated right next to the basilar membrane, extending over the cochlea. In other words, Corti is the sense organ of hearing, converting the motion of the basilar membrane into electrical signals that are conducted to the brain via neuronal cells. The organ of Corti is also lined with multiple rows of sensory hair cells.

[ravenadottir]

hi ravena! I love reading your blog. I had a random thought: how do you think the argument between Bobby/Gary/Ibrahim and Lucas/Henrik/Noah went down when the girls went to Casa Amor? I hope you have a great day :)

hello! thank you so much, anon!  ❤️ ❤️

i think i’ve answered this ask before, a really long time ago, but i can’t find it in the over 2k posts i have, so i’m just gonna try to articulate it the best i can.

when i think about the boys’ reactions, one thing i’m really certain. all of them would’ve been different from each other. like bobby on noah’s route, or gary on lucas’.

i’m gonna divide it by boy, then by route, to make it easier for me, if you don’t mind lol

‘bobby’

noah route - he would’ve been hurt by mc, but not really hold it against noah. they’ve been close friends since the beginning, and because it was his idea, the pastry chef wouldn’t have the guts to tell noah he was wrong by stealing mc away. 

lucas/henrik - definitely hurt! but i reckon he wouldn’t say anything about it. bobby is not the type to confront, and definitely not one to point out what someone else has done wrong, no matter how much it pains him not to.

‘gary’

on mc’s lane:

noah route. forget it. he’s not saying anything about it, because one: noah is a mate, and he knows something this serious (about hope braking up with him) is taking a toll on him just as much. he would confide to bobby about it, and even say how unfair it is for him to lose the girl because noah did as well. but no confrontation.

lucas. “LISTEN HERE, YOU LITTLE SHIT” and more. gary has reason enough to despise lucas, and getting his girl picked on disaster rescoupling would only add fuel to that bonfire of lucas’ hair products. this is one scenario i can believe they squared their shoulders and almost got into a real fight. as much as the game wants us to believe gary isn’t jealous, i’m sorry, but i call it bullshit! he’s jealous and he would start a fight with lucas, specifically!

henrik. i don’t think he would’ve been as intense on mountain boy. definitely would’ve been upset, but the kind of discontent that goes away with an apology, that i’m sure henrik delivered. he and gary have that in common. the sincerity and bluntness are a part of who they are and they get each other in that way.

on lottie’s lane

i don’t think he even addressed it with rahim if i’m being honest. gary was as worried about choosing lottie as he was about bobby and marisol being a couple. rahim might’ve been the one to approach him and clear things up, but gary probably said something in the lines of “we’re mates, man. i understand.”

‘rahim’

‘on mc’s lane’ noah route. not-saying-a-damn-thing. he’s gonna switch either way, and i think that’s due to his lack of faith in the relationship and has nothing to do with some boy. if mc went with noah is because she wanted to. she brought it on herself and there’s nothing he can do except moving on.

lucas/henrik. i don’t believe rahim would’ve been up to their faces and saying things, demanding explanations. i really can’t see it happening, as annoyed as i think ibrahim was at them. he would think mc had a chat with the boy before thinking the boys would’ve blatantly steal her away.

on priya’s lane: i reckon rahim stayed a bit hurt, and didn’t exactly hide it. noah was the one to approach him and the other way around. i don’t think ibrahim is the kind of boy to fight a mate over someone who actually made a pass on another guy.

‘lucas’

noah route. he broke up with her over it, and as painful as it is to watch noah choose her, and she being happy about it, lucas would still be too proud to admit how much that actually aches, and how upset he is about it. “i broke up with her because of it. there’s nothing left to say.” he would say to the boys while noah is not around, but deep down he would’ve been questioning himself on why she would go for him. definitely some confidence issues going on. but he wouldn’t say a damn thing to noah because he doesn’t think noah was the one to cause all this.

‘henrik’

noah route. nooooo! he would’ve been so hurt! the fact that i think about how henrik was down when noah picked my mc is not even funny! he wouldn’t say anything unless noah asked about it. “of course it hurts. i thought we had moved pass this, but apparently i was wrong. it was awful to see you sharing a bed with her.”

‘noah’

about jakub. never saying a word, avoiding the lad as much as he could, staying away from the gym and pool whenever orc boy was nearby and definitely high key judging the bodybuilder over the decisions he made during those days. noah wouldn’t give jakub the time of his day by talking to him, but that doesn’t mean he would stay quiet about his attitude.

‘jakub’

head empty. all is good. cracking on with two girls and eventually ignoring what he said to both of them. working out. not understanding the reason of such animosity during casa days. head emptier.

[ibrahimnerde]

Mahidevran character analysis (continuation)

I wanna talk more about Mahi’s clearness and lack of snakey-attitude. Mahidevran is not a moral person, no one under the is palace, but she doesn’t wear a fake mask. She supports shit proudly, how is that a good trait? Well no it is not a good trait it is realism…..something we don’t see with the show characters. I know what I’ll say might be controversial but imo she is a good mother for the most part. I know it was horrible of her to try to make young mustafa hate Hurrem sons but we shouldn’t undermine her motherhood to those moments. I refuse to hold a woman accountable for not being able to hold her feelings in her own room cause at the end she never went crying to Mustafa, it just happened that Mustafa entered her room and saw her crying. When she goes to Manisa with Mustafa everything changes. She is calmer and wiser. She does her job perfectly as a mother, she keeps Mustafa safe and leads him

I loved that she never used Mihrimah and Taslicali love to provoke Hurrem. Ik part of this is because she needs Taslicali and that would be literally exposing him, but for some reason when she returns to the capital at Ibrahim’s death I thought she’d make Hurrem know that she knows about Mihrimah love story? Not necessarily threat to expose her but to simply provoke her. This in my opinion shows a progress in Mahi , she is no more impulsive. While in SO3 she does some impulsive unnecessary acts like telling broken Hatice about Hurrem doing festivals in the harem

In SO4 we see a different Mahi. Mahidevran is a valide-in-waiting in Amasya. She calculates her moves (or Mustafa’s moves) , she doesn’t want him to defy his father in any way, but we see a new side of her which is accepting something that is out of traditions….she accepts Mihrunisa and Mustafa’s marriage. Yeah at first she didn’t want it but seeing how this marriage will benefit Mustafa and make him happy she accepts it. Her reaction to mustafa’s death is heartbreaking she didn’t just lose her Sehzade , her hope to get her out of long misery….she lost her solace , her heart , her son. Forget the throne and the Valide title , she only had him and now she is alone.

AND no this isn’t a pay back because of what she did to Mehmed. Hurrem and Rustam were scheming against Mustafa even when Mehmed was alive, SS was doubting Mustafa and was paranoid before mehmed’sdeath (he never actually suspected Mahi). Mustafa’s execution and scheme was bound to happen with or without Mehmed’s death.

When Mahi let’s go her granddaughter, she didn’t do it fearing SS. She did it because she knows she can’t give Nergissah a life , she doesn’t want Nergis or even Fidan to end like her, she hopes those who served her and loved her to just have a peaceful life. When Hurrem visits her and tells her she is going to die, Mahi is shocked or more confused. Her biggest enemy is ill wouldn’t that make her happy? No cause at the end Mahi wanted to be happy with Mustafa than anything else. She forgives Hurrem because she came to realization that both of them are sinners who had the same gaol but only one is bound to reach it. Mahi just leaves everything to god , not only because she can’t actively do anything because even if she had the power to hurt Hurrem after Mustafa’s death she still wouldn’t do it. For her everything is useless when Mustafa is dead, she will just let guilt eat Hurrem up that’s enough.

Mahi as a character writing-wise and show-wise deserved better. I didn’t sympathize with her so much before but in SO4 I was shattered, I wanted to break through the screen and give her a hug.

[guerillas-of-history]

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A year after the last black flag of the Islamic State group (ISIS) was lowered in the Syrian village of Baghouz, local farmer Hamad al-Ibrahim is trying to restore his scorched land.   There is little to mark the grim occasion, just a screeching metal frame holding the town’s name at the entrance of a road leading into fields littered with twisted metal that appears as though it fell from space onto an eerie lunar terrain. At the foot of a craggy hill, the 75-year-old Ibrahim paces, picking up the litter left on his property: discarded explosives belts, a gas mask, tattered military vests, and a crumpled book on shariah law, covered in dust. "We are fixing the wreckage so we can sow this land with wheat for bread," says Ibrahim, who heads an extended family of 75. "We want to revive this plot and plant crops we can eat." Before he can plant seeds in the earth, he must first clear away the remnants where ISIS fighters put up their last stand and where the US-led coalition declared the ISIS proto-state defeated in March 2019 after a blistering months-long assault. Nearby, an empty bullet casing rusts and the mangled remains of charred vehicles dot the landscape. Still all around him in this small and remote village near the Iraqi border, the militants no longer have a caliphate — instead, they have gone underground. Ibrahim returned to Baghouz a few months ago, having fled to other parts of Deir ez-Zor province and later to the northern province of Raqqa as the fight against ISIS raged. In a battered encampment on the edge of the village, once crammed with thousands of ISIS jihadists and their relatives, Ibrahim's family now works to clean up the detritus of war. They have found landmines planted where Ibrahim hopes his wheat crops will grow and, on some occasions, weapons buried beneath the ground. "When we came back and saw what had happened to our land, my son was going to go mad. I was scared he was going to have a stroke," Ibrahim says. "This wreckage feels like a wound in my body."

The churned-up wasteland Ibrahim must now tend to is all that remains of the so-called caliphate that the extremist group declared in 2014 across large swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq. At its height, the group inflicted its brutal interpretation of Islam on some seven million people and launched deadly attacks against the West. While the so-called caliphate is now dead, fears of attacks by ISIS remnants are still very much alive among residents and Kurdish-led security forces. At the entrance to Baghouz, fighters of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) verify identity papers and conduct foot patrols at strategic points. A spokesman for the Deir ez-Zor Military Council, a body affiliated with the SDF, says Baghouz is secure, but IS cells "continue to operate in nearby villages such as al-Shaafa and al-Sousa." Despite the defeat in Baghouz, ISIS has maintained a presence in SDF-held areas, where it claims near-daily attacks. The SDF and its coalition allies have since last year been on the hunt for such jihadist remnants.   In October, a US raid in northern Syria killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, before the group announced his successor as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi. But Baghdadi's killing has only spurred more sleeper cells into action, says the military council spokesman, who asked to be identified as Haroun.   "ISIS is seeking revenge," he sighs, concerned. 

Reeling from missile strikes that have pounded its military installations in Iraq following an adventurous standoff with Iran that followed the surprise drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, American troops are pulling back from their positions in the region. "Nearly one year after the Battle of Baghouz, the defeat of ISIS's physical territory, our security partners in Iraq and Syria apply constant pressure on ISIS remnants to prevent resurgence," read a coalition statement published Friday, announcing the repositioning of troops. It added the the US would continue supporting Iraqi troops in working toward a "permanent defeat" of ISIS, albeit from a safer distance. "The coalition understands that ISIS remains a threat," US Colonel Myles B. Caggins III told Rudaw English in a recent interview. "ISIS is down but not out." The US withdrawal was planned months in advance, he said. "Transfer of our base at al-Qaim to the Iraqi security forces happened for one reason, because the Iraqi security forces are successful in the ongoing fight against ISIS," he told Rudaw English.

Despite the looming threat of attacks, half of Baghouz's residents have returned in recent months, bringing a semblance of normal life with them. In the main market, women clad from head to toe in black stroll along the street, ISIS insignia still painted on surrounding walls. Vendors sell fruit and vegetables from small roadside carts beneath listing balconies. Many war-battered apartment blocks are abandoned, while those inhabited lack running water and electricity. Amid the devastation, an outbreak of leishmaniasis – a skin disease caused by a microscopic parasite spread by sandflies – has gripped the village. The illness is endemic in Syria but has become more prevalent during the nine-year civil war, especially in areas rocked in recent years by clashes to expel ISIS jihadists. Baking flatbread on a rudimentary stove, Faten al-Hassan says the outbreak of the disfiguring disease in Baghouz is significant. "All my kids have leishmaniasis, and it's not just them. Most residents suffer from this illness too," the 37-year-old says. But at least "we are living inside our home, and for now, this is enough," she adds. Nearby, Hashem Raafat, 20, is not so lucky. Living in a tent near his bombed-out home, he says: "Public services are non-existent, houses are destroyed, and many have died because of landmines while we don't have a single hospital." With reporting by Delil Souleiman, AFP