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hannah-martin-uor · 5 years ago

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Aggiornamenti vari + appunti inglese

Martedì 27 agosto

Sono stata allo studio fotografico di Carmilla per visionare di persona le foto da lei stessa ascattate e unica testimonianza di quella duplice aggressione. Non è stato piacevole posare lo sguardo sul monitor del computer, però ora non ho alcun dubbio sulla loro morte. Preoccupata per la storia in sè, preoccupata per Carmilla stessa che vede in quelle morti, un colpevole alquanto fantasioso per via di due piccoli fori visibili sul collo. Da lì il suo commento "Cosa penso? Che se non credi che i vampiri esistono forse è un buon momento per farlo.".

Queste parole di Carmilla mi hanno davvero fatto preoccupare, ma per lei. Per il suo voler vedere in quel duplice omicidio un qualcosa che non esiste.

Questa ottica fantasiosa del “vampiro” renderebbe per lei la cosa più eccitante. Come se ci fosse qualcosa di eccitante davanti alla Morte di quella madre col figlio. Davvero non la riesco a comprendere. E sinceramente non so cosa pensare di tutta questa faccenda, sicuramente non una componente sovrannaturale. L'uomo della biblioteca aveva parlato di come l'aggressore si fosse avventato sulla donna con il viso al suo collo, ma se l'avesse morsa, ci sarebbe stato il segno di tutta la dentatura di incisivi e canini di entrambe le arcate, superiore e inferiore. Quindi sei segni sopra e sei sotto. Non solo due fori, ma anatomicamente parlando, quella distanza precisa, sarebbe da attribuire ad una bocca piuttosto grande, almeno per quello che ho potuto constatare dallo zoom sui due fori. Senza un'autopsia con un referto autoptico, si possono fare molte congetture ma non avremo mai la verità sulla causa del decesso e chi sia il colpevole o a cosa attribuire quei due piccoli fori.

[...]

Mercoledì 28 agosto [//one shot "la fanciulla e il gabbiano", Master May\\]

Che fanciulla particolare quella che ho fortuitamente incrociato questa sera. Lei e il suo gabbiano ferito, che ha poi specificato essere "sua zia". Altrettanto casualmente avevo appena incontrato monsieur Ranieri prima che la nostra attenzione venisse catturata dal suddetto gabbiano ferito.

La fanciulla è sbucata dopo da dietro un albero. Aveva paura di monsieur Ranieri in quanto somigliante all"uomo del ruscello, chi sia tale uomo del ruscello è rimasto un mistero, ma sicuramente le ha fatto qualcosa di poco piacevole...

E non so come mai abbia definito il gabbiano come sua zia. Non che apparisse molto a posto la povera ragazza, tra come era conciata e i modi di fare e parlare. Perché pure a parole era peculiare, come enigmatica e per questo non ho compreso cosa volesse in realtà da monsieur Damiano, una sorta di scambio che però non è stato accettato.

In quanto al gabbiano, la fanciulla mi ha dato un vasetto contenente un unguento e lo ho applicato io stessa alla povera bestiola ferita alla zampa.

Sono rimasta ulteriormente stranita subito dopo, quando la fanciulla mi ha detto di tenermi il vasetto perché mi sarebbe servito... "ti farai male", parole sue. Beh può succedere, tutti ci facciamo male prima o poi. Ma almeno ho dedotto che questo strano unguento sia utilizzabile sia sugli animali sia sugli umani. Aiutasse realmente alla cura delle ferite, allora sarebbe comodo da tenerselo sempre in borsa per ogni evenienza. Tutto sta a capire di cosa sia composto per poterne fare dell'altro e documentarmi a dovere sulle dosi.

Ci studierò sopra. O almeno ci proverò!

29 agosto 2019 - quaderno appunti di Inglese

Theme Of Brave New World

In his foreword to the New Harper edition of Brave New World, Huxley states its theme as "the advancement of science as it affects human individuals." Within the last ten years we have seen tremendous advances in science and technology. In any single ten-year period since 1900 the advances in science and technology have overshadowed the advancement made during any previous hundred-year period. Huxley realized that these advances which were almost universally hailed as progress were fraught with danger. Man had built higher than he could climb; man had unleashed power he was unable to control.

Brave New World is Huxley's warning; it is his attempt to make man realize that since knowledge is power, he who controls and uses knowledge wields the power. Science and technology should be the servants of man - man should not be adapted and enslaved to them. Brave New World is a description of our lives as they could be in the none too distant future, if the present obsessions persist for standardization according to the sciences - eugenics and psychology, as well as economics and mechanics.

Chapter One

The novel opens with the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning taking a group of students on a tour of the "Central London Hatching and Conditioning Centre."

[Comment: We notice that the World State's motto is "Community, Identity, Stability." A World State would necessitate a single political ideology and a single point of view. This singleness of purpose emphasizes the need for conformity in social, political, and personal matters. The first part of the book discusses in detail how this stable society was established and is maintained.]

Since babies in the Brave New World are "artificially" produced, the tour begins in the "Fertilizing Room." The students are shown the incubators where the male and female reproductive cells are kept. The year is A.F. 632.

[Comment: Huxley introduces us to several startling ideas at this point which he will develop in more detail as the story progresses. We learn that babies are artificially produced in a laboratory, and that the people have a new way of reckoning time.]

The Director explains the process whereby a single human egg reproduces up to ninety-six identical twins. These individuals are mentally and physically identical and thus contribute to social stability.

[Comment: We begin now to understand better the motto of the World State: "Community, Identity, Stability." The World State controls every aspect of the person's life, including his conception.]

Mr. Foster, one of the workers at the Centre, joins the tour. They enter the "Bottling Room" to continue observing the mechanical process being used to produce babies. The fertilized eggs are placed in bottles, labeled, and sent into the Social Predestination Room." The Director and Mr. Foster explain that a World Government bureau, the Predestinators, determines the number of each type of individual desired. Mr. Foster explains that the entire process from fertilization to maturity takes two hundred and sixty-seven days.

[Comment: Scientific knowledge is used extensively in this section. The Bottling Room process artificially reproduces much of the maturation process which normally takes place in the mother's womb. The two hundred and sixty-seven days is, of course, the normal gestation period.]

Mr. Foster explains how the fetus is predestined and conditioned according to the caste and adult life that has been selected for him. On the highest level are the Alphas, who will hold leadership positions, and at the lowest level are the Epsilons, who will do the simplest jobs in the World State. This conditioning begins at the time of fertilization and continues until decanting (birth). Conditioning prepares the yet unborn child for the kind of job he will do as an adult.

[Comment: Society in the World State is determined by the government. The society consists of five main groups or castes: Alphas (leadership positions), Betas (positions demanding high intelligence), Gammas and Deltas (positions demanding some intelligence), and Epsilons (positions demanding no intelligence). Illustrations of the five types occur throughout the book.]

The conditioning that takes place from the time of fertilization through the individual's formative years guarantees, in most cases, the individual's complete acceptance of every aspect of life in the World State. Since an individual, any individual, is conditioned by hereditary and environmental factors, if these factors are controlled, the individual may be controlled. And if an individual is conditioned to think, to act, and to react in a particular way to a particular stimulus, then free will has been abolished.

[A government office in the World State determines the number and kind of individual needed in various positions and in various parts of the world. The Hatchery and Conditioning Centre is then given an order for a certain number of individuals with particular characteristics, abilities, and beliefs. In the words of the Director: "All conditioning aims at that: making people like their unescapable social destiny."]

Chapter Two

The Director and his students go to the "Infant Nurseries - Neo-Pavlovian Conditioning Rooms." Here the conditioning continues. At this time eight-month-old babies belonging to the Delta caste are being conditioned to hate books and flowers. The babies are frightened by loud noises and electrical shocks when they attempt to touch these objects; thereafter they will refuse to touch these objects.

[Comment: The importance of conditioning is a scientific fact first proved by Pavlov, a Russian scientist; hence the reference to him in designating this area.]

The Director explains that babies in the lower castes are conditioned to hate books and flowers because of the economic policy of the World State. In order to keep the factories busy and maintain a high level of employment, all classes are compelled to consume as many of the products of industry as possible - reading and nature study would not help the economy. One of the slogans based on their economic system is "The More Stitches, The Less Riches.". The Director tells the students that the principle of sleep-teaching dates from Ford's lifetime. This principle was later used to teach children the values they should hold. The group visits a dormitory where sleep-teaching is taking place, the two lessons for the day being Elementary Sex and Elementary Class Consciousness. These lessons teach the children to be happy in the group chosen for them. They learn that each group has its own color clothes and its own duties.

[Comment: The conditioning that takes place influences the individual throughout his life. Since values can be taught, in Brave New World the values established by the World State are impressed upon the children. Many of these values are taught as slogans: "Ending is better than mending - A gramme (of soma) is better than a damn - Civilization is sterilization."]

At the end of chapter two, one of the first uses of "Ford" instead of "Lord," or "God," or "Christ" occurs. Society in Brave New World is State-centered rather than God-centered. Since Ford has had, and continues to have, the greatest influence on their society, he is invoked as a supernatural being would be and is looked to as a source of inspiration and wisdom. We will see further reference to this substitution of Ford for God later in the book.

Chapter Three

Going outside, the Director and his students watch six or seven hundred naked little boys and girls at play. Many of the children are playing simple sex games. The Director explains that at one time this sexual play had been regarded as abnormal and immoral.

[Comment: This chapter contains considerable reference to sexual activity. We find that what the World State considers to be normal, we consider to be abnormal and immoral. Since Huxley makes many references to sexual activity, some explanation may be of value. This Brave New World, through the advancement of science, has affected every aspect of the human individual's life. In some instances man's beliefs and values have been completely reversed or eliminated. Man is no longer responsible for himself - the state is his master. Man is simply "a cog in the wheel." Therefore, the individual uses sex as he would use a telephone, a spoon, a car - because it is needed at the particular moment. The individual must not "fall in love," marry, and raise children because this would demand allegiance to others, and the individual's allegiance is to the state only. The sexual license encouraged by the World State also eliminates emotional tension which may engender creative or destructive impulses. By removing tension and anxiety, the World State can better control its citizens.]

The students find it difficult to believe that erotic play between children was once considered abnormal and immoral. A stranger arrives - it is the Resident Controller for Western Europe.

[Comment: The rest of this chapter places characters in a variety of situations, and we are introduced to a number of new characters: (1) Mustapha Mond is the Resident Controller, one of ten World Controllers; (2) Bernard Marx is from the Psychology Bureau and does not seem to belong in the Brave New World; (3) Lenina Crowne, Fanny Crowne, Henry Foster, and the Assistant Predestinator work at the Centre. Although Huxley has written this section to indicate that a number of things are occurring at the same time, it will be easier to discuss each conversation separately: the first conversation involving the Director, the Controller, and the students; the second involving Lenina Crowne and Fanny; the third involving the Assistant Director, Henry Foster, and Bernard Marx. Notice Huxley's choice of names for his characters - Ford, Marx, Lenina, Benito Hoover. These have been chosen because of their connotations at the time the novel was written and their connotations today. Ford calls to mind Henry Ford, whose utilization of the mass-production technique has had a tremendous influence on social, political, and economic life. Marx is an obvious reference to Karl Marx, a German Socialist, whose greatest and best - known work, Das Kapital, expresses his belief that the fundamental factor in the development of society is the method of production and exchange. Lenina is a variation of Lenin - Nikolai Lenin, the Russian Socialist, who had a tremendous influence in the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the present-day Russia. Benito Hoover combines the names of two men who wielded tremendous power at the time Huxley was writing Brave New World-Benito Mussolini, the Italian dictator, and Herbert Hoover, the American President. Huxley's choice of names for his characters is significant because of his concern with the ways people are controlled - politically, economically, and socially.]

The Controller recalls a saying of Ford that history is bunk. He speaks of "mother," "home," "family," "romance," and "love," and the students find such ideas and situations repugnant. He insists that stability is the most important thing for society and discusses the importance of conditioning. The Controller outlines the rise of Ford and the World State. Scientific progress has led to the abolition of old age, to innumerable distractions for everyone, to "no leisure from pleasure," to the elimination of thinking and worrying.

[Comment: The importance of conditioning is shown throughout this section - the students find the idea of "normal family life" repulsive and the idea of motherhood embarrassing. They have been conditioned to consider their way of life superior, and they do. The historical account of the rise of Ford and the World State provides the reader with some insight into how this society came about. Note Huxley's use of the inequalities of a democratic social system to show some reasons why this new society came about - poor housing, poverty, sickness.]

Henry and the Assistant Director discuss the merits of Lenina Crowne as a sex partner. Bernard is upset by their conversation because of his own interest in Lenina. Henry and the Assistant Director advise Bernard to take Soma.

[Comment: Although this is the shortest of the three conversations, it reveals much about Bernard Marx. Conditioning has not made him accept life as it is. He is not satisfied with his life and often refuses to take Soma, a drug which produces a feeling of happiness and well-being.]

Lenina and Fanny discuss the men in their lives. Fanny is concerned because Lenina has been going out with only one man - Henry Foster. (Everyone expects a young woman to have sexual relations with many men because "everyone belongs to everyone else.") Lenina tells Fanny that Bernard Marx has invited her to visit the Savage Reservation with him, but Fanny is concerned because Bernard has the reputation of being odd (he does not conform).

[Comment: The comments on the World State view of love are especially applicable to this conversation. Because the state considers any close relationship between two people could lessen the power and stability of the state, Fanny is concerned about Lenina's relationship with Henry. The state expects her to be "available" for anyone who wants her sexually; the state considers a person abnormal if he is not promiscuous.]

While these conversations are taking place, the work of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre continues - the work of the World State goes forward.

[Comment: Huxley's juxtaposition of past, present, and future in this chapter emphasizes the enormous control the World State exercises over the individual and every facet of his existence. The Controller discusses and explains the need for control and the methods of control; at the same time we see the results of this conditioning (control) in the thoughts, actions, and reactions of the other characters. And not content with simply explaining and illustrating, Huxley keeps referring to the continuing operations at the Hatchery and Conditioning Centre - producing tomorrow's citizens of the World State.]

[...]

#gdr #uor #underworldofrome #quest #one shot #journal #fotografie #carmilla #damiano #la fanciulla e il gabbiano #unguento #lezione inglese #quaderno degli appunti #brave new world #aldous huxley #master may #vampirism #scetticismo

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hopoo · 7 years ago

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RoR2 Q&A 12/2/17

Since we got a million asks, I’ll collapse all the answers periodically into one giant QA so it doesn’t ruin your tumblr feed. I tried to answer every question - if yours isnt there, someone else might’ve asked the same question. Expand below to read!

Q: Are you thinking about putting out a beta version to test or are you just waiting for the game to be fully released A: Not sure exactly how we want to do it – we HAVE to have some way of getting the game out to testers, especially for networking/matchmaking testing. It will most likely be some form of closed/limited beta, but we really haven’t though too much about it.

Q: Any ideas on what the system requirements could be? Will they be high or playable on most machines? Also will it work with integrated graphics? A: Most likely the game will be pretty light for GPU with our graphical style, but CPU intensive. What that actually translates to won’t be until the game is closer to launch, where we start optimizing.

Q: ROR1 most loved thing me and my friends liked to do is ruining the framerate with all the items that we had. we had lots of fun crashing the game for whoever hosted the game. might this still be able to happen? I'm looking forward to the release anyway and so are my friends especialy with peer to peer now we can connect better. A: Uhh hopefuly you won’t be able to crash the game, but the game will still scale infinitely like it did previously

Q: Could you make it so that when you use Unstable Watch and timestop, all colors in the game become inverted for the duration? And if you want to go all the way with a certain reference, have only Chef's cleavers stop in midair at the edge of a radius from an enemy, and when the timestop ends the cleavers hit at the same time. A: No memes

Q: Super excites for risk of rain 2. Im real glad i found it in a steam summer sale, bought then and after that bought it for my ps4. Are we going to see any new characters? (Bandit will always be fav so as long as hes good im happy) A: Yes, definitely new characters!

Q: can you make one of the new death messages be "HOST WHEN?" A: No memes!!!!

Q: While Vita's out of the question, what about the Switch, which basically seems to have slotted itself in the 'more powerful handheld device' niche? A: We’d obviously love to be on the switch, but that ultimately depends on A. can we optimize the game to run on the Switch, and B. do we have the technical know-how to actually get it running? Porting to consoles tends to be a much more dramatic change than people expect, even if the engine natively exports to it.

Q: Hi. I’ve been a fan of risk of rain for the past few years. I just want to ask: in risk of rain, some mechanics like heaven cracker can pierce a line of enemies and the huntress’ ability to hit and run. With the change from 2D to 3D environment, how will they work? There are many other abilities and mechanics that i also want to ask about, but these two were the first ones that i could remember immediately. A: We’re not going to bring back any mechanics that don’t fit just for the sake of continuity – however, the Heaven Cracker I can see being actually more fun in 3D since you have to actually align yourself with the enemies. Since everyone can shoot and run in the 3D version, Huntress’ niche is sorta gone, but we have some clever ideas to make that back

Q: In DevBlog #8 you explain some of the steam integration going into Risk of Rain 2 which will make a lot of people happy but will RoR2 also be available without steam for those who prefer? For example will I be able to buy it on GOG like I did RoR1, and play LAN games without steam? A: Right now we’re focusing on making it work via Steam P2P, but (I believe) that we haven’t done anything to explicity lock out connections via IP. You just won’t get the same Nat punchthrough benefits (I’ll have to ask Jeff, our network dude about it to make sure this is correct, but afaik I think that’s right)

Q: Would you guys happen to have an idea of when you think the game would be realeased? A: Nope! Hopefully not too long!

Q: Hello! I loved Risk of Rain 1 and it is great to play with friends. I have two questions (technically three, I'm cheating). 1. I am assuming you're going to release it on steam, so that said will there be steam multiplayer integration? Like... Invite via steam, games are created with the help of steam peer-to-peer. It was a pain to get 4 people playing on one server without port forwarding. 2. Will there be a better way to keep track of items? 3. Can you add a menu to see what items you have? A: Yes, steam invites and all that are the goal. I know we talked about holding TAB to expand the item menu so you could see more at once, but we haven’t actually done that yet. I know it was a bit silly for it to be uncropped and expanding off the screen.

Q: Is this still in development? A: No we’re just pretending

Q: Are you gonna have the same soundtrack from the first game? A different soundtrack? A mix of both? (Don't get rid of the Dried Lake or Sunken Tombs songs). A: That’ll ultimately be up to Chris, but I’m sure he’s in the same boat as us and doesn’t want to cover the same ground that we did previously.

Q: I was telling a friend how excited I was for this, and he expressed a concern I’d like to ask you guys about. He said that, being 3D, the game might end up either not as hectic as the first, or too hectic, what with the hoards coming from all around you. What’s your take on this? (I’m not actually too worried about it, but I still wanna hear your take on the matter.) A: Currently, we’re using SFX as a tool to present not only how close an enemy is, but what state they’re in and how many there are. Since I’ve also been playing the game for like a million hours I’ve also developed the ability to recognize which enemy by the frequency of their screenshake… but that won’t be relevant to most players. We’re really hoping to avoid radars or anything like that for awareness.

Q: Just wanted to say, RoR2 is looking to be coming along fantastically. I really love that you are constantly taking things in unexpected directions-- I never expected to see the game translated to 3D but you have done it and I can imagine many hundreds of hours spent playing. Will Chris Christodoulou be working on the music this game as well? A: Yes, he will be back!

Q: Have you considered calling the second Risk of Rain "Risk of Twain"? A: Not until now

Q: This is kind of a question and a half. How big will the RoR2 maps be and will all the RoR1 maps return in 3D with the additions of new maps or just overall new maps? A: Overall we’re not really looking at the previous maps for the inspiration for our new ones – we’re not making RoR 3D, but a sequel, so we don’t really want to recreate too much old stuff!

Q: Since RoR2 is moving to more dynamic network model, how will people with screwy NATs be affected? NAT Punchthrough is great and all, but if implemented incorrectly can lead to multiple users on the same NAT being unable to join servers outside of the NAT (See Rainbow Six Siege). Will users still be able to host dedicated servers like the old game? What does this mean for users buying the game through GOG/Humble Bundle? Really hope everything goes swimmingly because port forwarding sucks. A: This is the exact reason that we will have to have some form of limited beta, because this is something that we can’t recreate in office. I honestly don’t know enough to respond accurately on what would happen in that particular situation, but thanks for the heads up

Q: Relative to the first one, will Risk of Rain 2 be a sequel, prequel, completely unrelated, or even have story at all? A: Sequel!

Q: How were you going to implement artifacts this time around? Is it going to be based around areas that are randomly generated and you sometimes have access, or multiple spawn locations, etc. A: Dunno, we haven’t implemented really any form of map permutations yet. The artifacts also ended up taking a much more important role in the game than we initially expected – not sure if the old way of unlocking is strange if it’s to be a core feature.

Q: (Big fan) I just had some curious questions; How many characters do you intend there to be in RoR2?, How differently do you plan on changing the previous characters?, Any hints on the final boss? pls, What is the estimated price of the game? and will their be any chance of PvP? Cannot wait, super hyped and keep up the great work :D A: We’re aiming for 10 characters on launch. No spoilers or hints! Definitely not PvP in any official capacity since the networking structure wasn’t designed for a good PvP experience.

Q: I've got three questions : 1) Will it be called RoR2 or will you find / have you found something else ? 2) Why the hell is there one more 'o' in the tumblr URL than in the actual 'Hopoo' name ? 3) What's the average of the team's favorite meals ? thx xoxo <3 A: I think it’ll just be RoR2. The hopoo tumblr was taken on creation of this tumblr, so we had to make it hopooo instead ☹

Q: Will RoR2 reveal why the Contact Light was carrying a teleporter linked to a planet crammed with hostile lifeforms? A: I’d like to explore what the heck is up with the humans in this game, but I sorta wish I had a better avenue that’s not just item logs and monster logs.

Q: I'm going to ask the real questions, is Sniper a man or woman? This is important because reasons. A:

Q: Theres something that confuses me alot about risk of rain 2. It's the lore. If the characters have left the planet, why would they come back? A: Canonically, the returning characters were never on the Contact Light to begin with (and presumably there could totally be like, a bunch of engineers and commando suits.)

#riskofrain #gamedev

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resbang-bookclub · 7 years ago

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AMA Transcript: Soul Eater: A New Madness Consumes?

Next, @emiralnova (Ryu on Discord) stopped in to talk about her Resbang, Soul Eater: A New Madness Consumes? Here’s some of what went down:

Q: What made you think of the plot? Did you know how you were going to end it before you started writing? (I really loved the canceling out concept).

Ryu: Lolololol what is plot? I didn’t have too much of a plan going in. I had their mission sorta laid out, but after the mission I winged it. I feel that writing this was a tad difficult because I wanted to stay in canon and omg never again lol, but it was really fun and satisfying towards the end.

Q: Do you feel like your writing style grew/improved while writing? Was there anything you wish you could have included or that you cut out?

Ryu: I think I improved a little just by the act of writing, which I need to do more of, lol. And I think it was jaded who mentioned “what happened to Maka's christmas gift?” and that kinda got lost in the end, my bad lol.

Q: Do you have any favorite beta comments you’d like to share?

Ryu: Omg there was one thing that marsh said: 'Be the laxative Soul.'

Q: Was music important to your process at all, and if so, are there any songs/playlists that were relevant?

Ryu: I tend to not listen to music when I write cause it distracts me. Unless it fits the mood I need. But usually, no music.

Q: What are you most proud of in this bang?

Ryu: I think I’m really proud of what I did with the mission to the moon and rescuing Crona. Like, I had to plan out what I wanted and it was like a few days before posting, so I crunched it out. And I pulled the whole cancel out and 8 kishin horcruxes out of my ass, but it worked out.

Q: What are you working on next?

Ryu: I am working on nothing writing-related atm.

Q: Was there anything in mind that you wanted to do with the Christmas gift? :0 Like, if the notion hadn't slipped away?

Ryu: I sorta wanted a more romantic scene to happen and it was supposed to happen before Maka collapsed. But that scene ran away from me so it didn’t work out ^^"

Q: Okay your villain was so interesting, how did you come up with that concept?

Ryu: Oh, the wizard. So like during my first Resbang, I had a dream that basically took place in Brazil at the monolith and there was a guy that was there and was speaking mysterious words to Maka, and that is sorta what I pulled on the entire first mission. His design is slightly based on that one antagonist in BNHA. Slade? Shade? I forgot his name. STAIN, HIM.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/263055402583851008/409538871441883138/tumblr_o9sua1jpR61vux8v6o3_400.gif

Ryu: Like his posture and hair and skin were the same. [He’s] maybe less thug and more old and evil.

Q: What's your writing process like?

Ryu: I definitely work better when I plot out my shit point by point, so if I were to deviate, it can happen but at least I had a point for the scene. And it was hard cause of laziness buttt the checkins really helped me decide what would actually happen.

Q: Is there anything you wish you could change?

Ryu: I kinda wished I had more time so that I could maybe have a better ending. I feel like the cancelling out was good for the circumstances, but it felt like cheating to me, but it largely worked out and I was ok with it.

Q: Why the amazon?

Ryu: Hmm idk. I think the guy I liked at the time was half Brazilian so I just… made it so. But it wasn’t done in the fandom yet, so I felt that Brazil was a safe place to host my mission. And I also pictured tons of trees and tropical areas. So… Brazil.

Q: Who is the Wizard? Does he have a real name? Is he actually Mabaa's brother?

Ryu: I didn’t have a real name for him. And it’s rumored but not confirmed, like I said in the fic.

Q: Do you think your view on characters changed or anything as you wrote?

Ryu: I felt like I was stretching Maka’s mindset during her fall out but it was okay? I think? Whenever I think of Maka, I tend to imagine her as like this brave, no nonsense sorta girl that wouldn't really let her emotions hold her back? At least that is what I struggled with this whole fic. But I think I did the best I could to try to make it realistic, and I think that sort of helped balance Soul out because he seemed to be the most put-together of the two. And I sorta drew my inspo from the sloth chapter from the manga to help me cement some of Maka's guilt.

Q: Did you have a fav moment in the fic. Mine is def chew toy Soul.

Ryu: Omg I love that part. I feel like my favorite part would be Crona and Maka reuniting. I think I teared up a little writing that scene. I felt guilty about Rag. Like, I wanted to save him too, but the black blood held me back.

Q: I really liked that he did the good thing in the end though. Like, he actually gave a shit.

Ryu: I struggled with that at first cause I didn't just want to get rid of him for no reason other than the blood thinning or something. I think it would've redeemed his character a little, so I was really happy with that. The ending for me somehow pulled itself together at the last minute lol.

Q: Were there any parts you had to rewrite? :0 And if so, why?

Ryu: Ughhh so the fic started with Spartoi waking up as animals??? That was the original beginning, and that was supposed to lead into the Brazil mission. But when I started to plot the story out, the story turned out much darker than I intended and so the beginning didn't fit anymore. So i had to start from scratch. At some point I wanted to rewrite first half so that the story became more linear than having the flashback, but I didn't have time for it. ^^" I did rewrite some paragraphs, but that was basic editing. I found that later, when I was in the writing process, there were some passages that were weak and long, so I cut a lot of stuff out, and rewrote them to fit the tone.

Q: Was there a scene that was your least fave to write?

Ryu: I feel like the Death Room meetings dragged me, but I had to do it. Also I have a thing where the death room is the place to spam info into dialogue. So in the future, I kinda want to deviate from the room for more nuanced info dumps

Q: I love that you dealt with witch relations and all those post canon dynamics, was that always the plan?

Ryu: i sort of wanted to play with all the things that happened after the manga happened, so it just worked out that the witches were there and I was dealing with magic/kishin stuff lol. And that Kid would need to prove himself somehow. I think Kid ended up being more of a central character than I intended, but he is a Shinigami after all lol. I wish I did more with Black Star and Tsubaki, but I have trouble writing them. ^^"

Q: What would you have done with B*S and Tsu, any ideas? :0

Ryu: Hmmm, I wish i could've used them as more plot devices instead of comic relief. Like maybe Black Star could've been more involved with... idk, something serious lololol. In which then Tsubaki would also come into play. I figured if anything, he would at least be there to give some advice and common sense in a funny way :D

Q: How did you come up with the whole cutting up Asura thing? And btw I love that it's acknowledged in fic how gruesome it is.

Ryu: Hmm I’m not sure how it happened but I knew I needed something to happen to Asura once he fell, and my instant reaction was 'cut him up into pieces.' We needed some blood in here, and the spreading it across everywhere sorta made sense as well to me. I didn't intend for it to be like 7 horcruxes, but it [was]. Whoopsss, sorry JKR lol. So yeah, it was mostly a kneejerk reaction. Because if the skin bag didn't work, well ok, let’s cut him up then lol. And he's immortal as well, so Kid had to do something!

Q: Do you think you'll do Resbang next year or any other big projects? :D It sounds like you grew and learned so much from it!

Ryu: I don’t have any active plans. I do have a few AUs on a list but they're hard affffff. Like Evangelion AU. That universe is like a trip and a half, so I don’t think I’m ready for that yet lol. In the meantime, I’m still mulling over my own OC universe I've sat on for ages. But who knows what'll happen this year. We'll see.

---

Thanks to Ryu for stopping by! Stay tuned for more transcripts!

#rbbc #resbang book club #ama transcripts #soul eater: a new madness consumes?

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insane-mane · 7 years ago

Photo

Some 5YL work! (Facts n such under the cut)

First up we got some alternate universe Bens! Streetpunk Ben, OmniArm Ben, and Fallout Ben.

Diamondhead- This one was so much fun, I did it twice! For the first one, I just made up whatever suit design I wanted. Sort of a mix between his OS, OV, and my own personal Reboot design. For the second, I just thought it'd be interested to do an OV version of his OS 10K design. Added a lil beard to the both of them for fun, too.

Fourarms- Rob really wanted to go back to his gladiatorial-esque roots Tetramands have, as shown in his UAF Form and in OV. I was a liiiiiittle hesitant to bring back the ponytail, but Rob thought it was a nice callback.

Ripjaws- I sorta wanted more of a wet suit design (which if you haven't noticed with my other Ripjaws-related stuff, I like doin' that a lot). I took a bit of inspiration from my old Ultimate Ripjaws with the water neck tank things. His beard is heavily based on how actual angler fish have odd, beard-like fins on their mouths.

Stinkfly- Stinky’s design was probably the least challenging, despite how complex his body can be to draw. A lot of the original 10's aged up designs are sorta like beta-versions of their Ben 10K forms in canon. Stinkfly was simply given stockier, sharper legs, larger eye stalks, and lil grubby chin hairs and finally a minor costume change.

#ben10 #ben 10 omniverse #my art #5 Years Later

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kamen-rider-zed · 7 years ago

Text

Do You Believe in Miracles? Chapter 6

Me attempting to write this chapter:

This fic started as something DRASTICALLY different before I started posting it. The following couple of chapters are edited versions of chapters I wrote over a YEAR ago.

Thanks to @ageisia for being my amazing beta!

You can find this chapter and my other work posted on my AO3 and my FF!

Chapter 6: Slow and Steady

Nino strolled through the Parisian afternoon, Daft Punk blaring through his headphones, the warm August air wafting around him. On his way to Alya's house to study, he had his backpack slung over his shoulder, loaded with school books, a few albums Alya wanted to borrow, and a copy of Interstella 5555 he'd borrowed from Adrien. Nino was disappointed he hadn't known his favorite artists had a movie based on their music, but he was still excited to share it with Alya.

He blushed and smiled as his mind turned to Alya. Her fire, her passion, her drive, all so intoxicating, inspiring. Who knew all it took to get a sort-of-semi-unofficial-girlfriend was to have a superhero lock you in a gorilla cage for a few hours? Maybe Marinette and Adrien should try 'couple’s cage therapy' sometime. He bobbed his head to the beat and managed to dance around every pedestrian on the sidewalk between his house and his destinationl. Well, almost every pedestrian. In the middle of singing, he didn't notice the short Asian man with a box full of old books in his arms.

“One more time/Music's got me feeling so free/We're gonna celebrate/Celebrate and dance sowoOOOOAHHHH!”

Both men went to the sidewalk, books scattered, and Nino's backpack, the zipper already on its last legs, split open spilling his homework and CDs everywhere. 'Note to self: ask for a new backpack for Christmas.' Nino scrambled to clean the mess, blurting apologies interspersed with swears and thankful none of his CDs were scratched. Satisfied his homework was back in his torn bag, he turned to the old man, whose lips were moving, but with his headphones still on, Nino couldn't hear a word of it.

He pushed the headphones down on his neck. “Sorry, what was that?”

“I said there's no reason to apologize. I was moving too slow for an energetic young man such as yourself.”

Nino waved his hands. “No, no dude! I was the one not paying attention. Here, let me help.”

He snatched up some books and stacked them as best he could back in the old cardboard box. Some paperback Louis L'Amour westerns, Candide by Voltaire, a worn out copy of Through the Looking Glass, and a much older book knocked open to...a picture of Volpina? Nino plunked the books in his hands back into the box, his eyes never leaving the fox woman. He lifted the book and ran his darkening eyes over the ninja-esque figure and the strange writing. The image wasn't exactly like Volpina, but the tail-like sash, the ears, and the flute were similar enough.

“Why...do you have a book about Volpina?” he asked through gritted teeth. If one were asked to describe Nino, the words loyal, friendly, and chill might come up, but you would never hear angry or vengeful, and he wasn't. Unless it involved a particular fox-themed villain and his best friend. Yeah, Adrien had been caught up in Akuma attacks before. Turned into a brainwashed knight, his car blown up by an invisible bazooka, cocooned in purple slime, but Volpina had targeted him. Made it personal.

The old man took one look at the book, grimaced, and pulled it from Nino's hands. “It's not just about Volpina. It contains passages on all of the Miraculous heroes.”

“Hero?” Nino stared at the old man as though he'd told him 'Hawkmoth just needs a friend'. “She threatened my best bud's life!”

“That was an Akuma forged from the pain in a lonely girl's heart.” The old man spoke in hushed yet intense tones. “The real fox is a hero, I assure you.” Nino grumbled under his breath, and the old man sighed. “You must truly care about your friend.”

Nino face softened. “I do! I'm like his only friend. A-and he's been through so much crap, and not just 'cause of Hawkmoth.” He removed his hat and scratched through his bristly hair. “His mom disappeared four years ago, his dad works him to the bone and lets him have, like, no fun even when he has down time, and he's head-over-heels for a superhero he has zero chance with when there's this girl in our class, literally right behind him, who...” He trailed off and blinked. “Why am I telling you all this?”

The old man smiled and stashed the mysterious book in the box. “Perhaps you simply needed to vent to a welcoming ear.” Nino nodded and shrugged, his eyes averted. “Help me carry these books into my shop and I'll continue listening.”

Nino weighed his options. Alya wasn't expecting him for another half hour, and he owed this old man after knocking him over. He nodded again, stacked his backpack on top of the box and hefted it up into his arms. “Woah! This is heavier than it looks. You must have some real guns, old ma...uh, s-sir.”

If he minded being called 'old man', he didn't let it show. “More like muskets at my age,” he joked. “Come, this way.”

It was only a few more meters down the sidewalk before the old man pulled a key ring from his pocket and unlocked the door beneath a sign reading Fu Masseuse. A short hallway lead to three doors, two on the left, one on the right, the latter of which the old man opened and gestured for Nino to enter. Inside was a sparsely decorated room with bamboo flooring and several scrolls covered with what Nino could only assume was Chinese dotting the walls. A thin mattress sat in the center of the floor beside a round table covered in candles and an incense burner. A small bookshelf sat in the far right corner close to a dresser with an old phonograph on top. Nino dropped the box next to this bookshelf, and leaned in to get a closer look at the antique phonograph. Definite Asian influence in the design. Intricate etching in the bell, a pair of dragons on the front, both with ruby eyes, and a flower-patterned inlay around the octagonal base.

“Got anything good on vinyl?”

The old man hobbled up to the young man, a cane now in his hand. “Pavarotti, Maria Callas, an autographed copy of Thriller somewhere, but don't bother. That old thing hasn't worked in over a hundred years.”

“Probably make bank at auction. The copy of Thriller, too.”

“Sentimental value; it belonged to my mentor.” The old man turned his eyes up to Nino. “And I'm not parting with Michael for anything.” He turned back to the thin mattress pad, sat cross-legged upon it, and motioned for Nino to join him. Nino felt like he should kick off his shoes, which he did before sitting down.

“No need for such formalities, Nino. You're a guest here.”

“Sorry, sir, it just felt like I should...” Nino paused and slanted his eyes at his companion. “I...never gave you my name.”

The old man's eyebrows raised, then he sighed, realizing his error. “I must confess something to you. Our meeting this afternoon was no accident. I've had my eyes on you for some time, and the reason as to why is actually related to the book you saw.” Nino's eyes widened. “Ladybug delivered that book to me about two weeks ago, just after she and Chat Noir defeated Volpina. I don't know where she found it, but that tome, the Qíjī Shū it's called, has been lost for centuries. With its reappearance, and Hawkmoth somehow knowing far more about the fox hero than he should, I can only assume it was in his possession.”

“A book full of superhero secrets in the hands of a supervillain? That's heavy.” Nino adjusted his glasses. “But why did LB give the book to you?”

He sat straighter and said, “I am Master Fu, the Great Guardian of the Miraculous. I protect the jewels when they are inactive and choose wielders when fate demands it. She believed it best that I have the book so I may translate the passages.” He slumped again and shook his head. “We don't know if Hawkmoth managed to translate any of the pages, discovered secrets of his own powers, but we must be prepared for the worst, and that is why I have deemed it necessary to pass on the few jewels that remain in my possession.”

Nino blinked. “Uh, what does this have to do with me?”

A grin spread across Master Fu's face. “Is it not obvious, Nino? I wish to pass one of the Miraculous to you.” The DJ's mouth fell agape, but Fu continued before Nino could speak. “This conversation wasn't my original intention, but it seems fate has decided a different course for us. How exciting.”

“N-no way, dude,” Nino stammered. He scrambled to his feet and paced the room. “No. Friggin. Way. There's no way I can be a superhero! I've got too much on my plate as it is! School and friends, DJ gigs, a girlfriend...” He stopped and wrenched his hands together, a blush creeping up on his face. “Well, she's sorta my girlfriend. I-it's nothing official, yet. I mean, it’s official-ish, but...” His eyes flicked back to the smiling Guardian. “Again! Why am I telling you this?”

“You are open and honest,” Master Fu shrugged, “if not a little disorganized and impulsive, which is why I believe the stability and focus of the turtle would suit you well.”

Nino raised an eyebrow at this. “Turtle?”

“Yes, a symbol of protection and wisdom. A passive, defensive hero.” Master Fu struggled to his feet, and Nino scrambled to help him up. Master Fu limped over to Nino's backpack and from it, withdrew a hexagonal black box, the lid etched with red designs similar to those on the phonograph. He smiled and held the box out to Nino. “Your moral compass and desire to protect your friends will make you an excellent hero, despite what you may think.”

Nino looked from the box to Master Fu, then took a breath. “And if I say no?”

“Then we shake hands, part ways, and I choose someone else.” This response surprised Nino, a reaction the Guardian didn't miss. “Fate is far less rigid than people believe. Most perceive fate as railroad tracks, linear and uncompromising, when it is more like a curving mountain path, full of detours and shortcuts that all lead to the same destination.”

Nino glanced down at the box as though to may bite him, apprehension evident in his eyes. Fu sighed and withdrew the box. “The choice is ultimately yours, Nino, but if you decide to embrace the hero you could become, I will make you this promise: should you ever change your mind, you may return the Miraculous to me, and I will accept it without question.”

(#)

Nino couldn't focus while studying with Alya. He couldn't focus while playing his new demo for her. He couldn't focus while some jerk brainwashed a band of blue-skinned aliens to the tune of Harder Better Faster Stronger. Every time he thought he could enjoy her company, the music, or the movie, his mind drifted to the black box in his pocket. Why had he accepted it? Was it the thought of being a hero? Was it the knowledge that he had an easy way out?

No. It was a conversation he'd had with Adrien last week.

“Seriously, dude, do you know who she is?”

“For the last time, Nino, I don't, and even if I did, what would you do?”

“Some crazy fox chick attacks you in your own bedroom and you want me to do nothing?”

“Just drop it, buddy. Akumas can't be held responsible for their actions, and attacking L...an innocent girl wouldn't do any good. There's nothing you can do.”

“You okay, Nin?” Alya asked from her bed. He sat on the floor, his back to her mattress, to her, his right hand scribbling notes, his left rubbing the hexagonal bulge in his jeans. At Alya's question, he tilted his head back and met her upside-down gaze.

“Yeah, just...a lot on my mind.”

“Still hung up on the Volpina thing?”

Nino huffed. “Is it that obvious?”

“I know how you feel, babe.” She rolled over so her head rested beside his. “When Evillustrator,” she paused and her face fell, “still a stupid name by the way, got all stalky, creepy with Marinette, I wanted to get my murder on, just like you do with Volpina. But we have to realize the Akumas are just victims of a middle-aged loser obsessed with magic jewelry.” Nino snorted back a laugh. “We can't hold their actions against them. How would you feel if every adult in Paris demanded your head on a pike?”

“About the same as you if Chloé realized you were the one who revealed her Ladybug cosplay fetish to the city.”

The pair giggled together. Though Alya made it Ladyblog policy to keep Akuma identities as confidential as possible, the two of them were fully aware of each other's 'dark side' and openly mocked them as an inside joke. Tonight, however, Nino's laughter faded quicker than Alya's, and this did not escape her notice.

“Nin, look, I understand Akuma attacks are different when it’s your friends in the crossfire, but since we're not superheroes, as awesome as that would be, we just have to trust Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Queen Bee to do their jobs.” He didn't seem satisfied by her words, and Alya sighed. “If you really want to help out, you can put your amateur director skills to work and get me footage for the blog.”

Nino nodded and smiled, but more to placate her, not because he accepted her advice. She turned over and planted a quick peck on his forehead before they moved back to studying, but Nino's heart wasn't in it anymore. We're not superheroes, she had said. There's nothing you can do, Adrien had said. Nino's left hand tightened around the box in his pocket.

They were both wrong.

(#)

Nino finally left Alya's house just after sunset, making some excuse about helping an old relative with some furniture. He traveled a few blocks away and ducked into an alleyway when he was sure no one was looking. He pulled the box from his pocket, but stopped himself when his fingers brushed the lid. Why did this feel like the point of no return? Master Fu had given him permission to give the Miraculous back if he wanted, so where did this sense of impending doom come from? Why did it feel like the weight of the world was about to fall on his shoulders? Nino shook his head. It was just the responsibility that came with being a superhero. That's all it was.

He flipped open the lid and an orb of green light rose from the box. Nino stood transfixed on the orb, which soon solidified into the strangest creature he'd had ever seen. A small chartreuse...fairy?...with a bulbous head, a tiny shell on its back, stubby flippers instead of limbs, and an antenna on top of its head. It opened its eyes, bright yellow with dots of green in the center, and smiled at Nino.

“It is a pleasure to meet you at last, Master Nino.” Nino had witnessed many oddities since Hawkmoth first reared his ugly head. Hell, he'd even been turned into a girl once, so he shouldn't have been surprised when a small floating turtle popped out of a box and called him 'master.' But he was. He attempted to babble out some form of greeting, but the small fairy ignored the inarticulate muttering. “I am Wayzz, kwami of the Turtle Bracelet. I look forward to working with you.”

“Uh, m-my name's Nino!” He straightened his back. “But you already knew that! Right,” he chuckled and fiddled with his hat, “yeah. Um, I...really don't know what I'm doing or why I agreed to all of this, but...”

“Ah, spontaneous, unfocused, you remind me of Master Fu when he was young.” Wayzz narrowed his eyes and brought a flipper to his chin. “Though I suppose it's just Fu now.”

“Wait, you're Master Fu's, uh, Kumi?”

“Kwami,” Wayzz corrected. “And yes, I was, but in his advanced age, he has decided to retire the mantle of Yù Guī and pass the Turtle Miraculous to you.”

The weight dropped even heavier onto Nino's shoulders. Not only did he have a Miraculous, an opportunity to become a hero, but it was the Guardian's Miraculous. Why did Master Fu trust him with something like this, trust him to be his successor? And why him? Why not someone else? Brave Kim, gentle giant Ivan, intelligent Max...

“Why me?” The question of the hour. “What do I have that makes me a hero? He called me impulsive and disorganized, and you said pretty much the same thing, but then he said the turtle is stable and focused. Why make me a hero when it's clear I don't fit the bill?”

Wayzz chuckled. “If you only knew how many times I have heard that exact question.” The kwami floated up to better look into Nino's eyes. “Miraculous are not granted to those who match their traits, but rather to those who need their traits. This is what allows you to grow and develop, not just as a hero, but as a person. So, Master Nino, what kind of hero will you become?”

Nino looked from Wayzz to the open box still in his hand. Inside sat a green stone oval carved in the likeness of a turtle. Arms, legs, and a head jutted from the sides of the intricately etched carapace. The thin leather strap attached to either end of the oval looked almost too large for his wrist. He lifted the bracelet from the box, surprised by the tingle in his fingers as he touched it, and started to slip it over his left wrist. He thought again, then slipped it over his right hand, thinking to camouflage it with the rest of his bracelets. Just as the jade stone settled on his skin, the leather band contracted, setting it firmly in place. Nino's eyes widened and he brought the bracelet to his face.

“Well, that was freaky,” he muttered. “What now?”

“Simply say 'Shell Up' to transform, and I will walk you through your powers.”

Nino blinked and clenched his fist. This was it. The plunge. He was about to become a superhero. He held up his wrist and squinted. “Shell...Sh-Shell...”

(#)

Nino eased open the door to his home, his head low and his hat sitting awkwardly on his head due to an unexpected passenger. He tried his best to keep quiet, considering he'd taken his time coming home and it was now almost nine o'clock. However, he wasn't quiet enough. Around the corner came Sophia Lahiffe, a bronze skinned woman with wavy brown hair down to the middle of her back, chocolate eyes, and multitudes of jewelry hanging from her ears and neck.

She planted her fists on her hips and shouted, “Imanino Lahiffe! Where in aljahim have you been? No texts, no calls, no anything! Were you out with the Césaire girl again?”

“Mom...”

“Answer me, Nino.”

Nino shifted from foot to foot and rubbed the back of his head. “Well, yeah, I was over at her place studying.”

Sophia raised an eyebrow. “Just studying?”

Nino grimaced and groaned. “Mom, we’re too young to be...having...you know…”

She furrowed her brow, then her eyes widened when realization struck. “No, no! I know you are more responsible than to have sex this young…”

“Mom!”

“I’m more worried about you getting lassoed into her Ladyblug shenanigans.”

“It’s ‘Ladyblog’, and no. I’ve been trying to talk her out of doing crazy, dangerous stuff. We were just studying, okay?”

Sophia looked him up and down, as though trying to find some hole in his story, then huffed and pushed back his hat to kiss him on the forehead. He slapped a hand on top of his head to hold the hat in place. “Hungry, ghaliti?”

“Uh, n-n-no,” he stammered, adjusting his hat. “I ate with Alya. Her mom makes the best chicken piccata ever. But uh,” his eyes drifted to his hat. “I could use a snack before bed. Do we have any carrots?”

A few minutes later, Nino wished his mother goodnight and staggered into his room with no further interrogation. The moment his door closed, he took his hat off and let Wayzz float down to his bed. “Sorry for being so rough, little buddy,” Nino apologized, his hand held out to offer some chopped carrots. “Couldn't let my mom see you.”

Wayzz shook his head and accepted a carrot. “No worries, Master. Kwamis are more durable than you think.”

Nino opened the closet door beside his bed and changed into his pajamas while Wayzz continued to munch on his carrots on the bed. The kwami ran his eyes over the immaculately organized room, marveling at how Nino’s desk at the foot of the bed looked so out of place. Random papers, stacks of CDs, empty energy drink cans. The signs of an artist. Wayzz smiled. Nino was more like Fu than he knew. When Nino finally flopped on his bed and folded his hands behind his head, Wayzz floated up and settled on the pillow next to his head.

“Tired already, Master?”

Nino turned his head to face the kwami. “Why do you keep calling me ‘Master’?”

“Because that is what you are.” Wayzz tilted his head when Nino shifted uncomfortably on the sheets. “Do...you not wish me to?”

“Well...master, servant, it just doesn’t sit well with me.” He raised his right arm over his head and glanced at the bracelet.” Especially since I only just got this thing.” He let his arm drop and sighed. “I'm...sorry I couldn't transform earlier. It feels like everything’s moving too fast.”

“Again, Ma...Nino, no worries. You will come to accept your powers in time. Just sleep, get some rest. Tomorrow is another day.”

(#)

A twinkly jingle emerged from Alya's phone at 7 AM on the dot. The device's vibrations made the little ladybug charm dance on the girl's bedside table. Alya swatted the phone twice before she managed to grasp it and swipe a finger across the screen. The jingle died and she dragged herself out of bed, her face stretched into a yawn. She danced around piles of dirty clothes and found her way to the chair at her computer desk. A jiggle of her mouse awoke the machine and the Ladyblog homepage bloomed across the twin monitors. Alya refreshed the blog pages, and noted that her Glutoneer footage had received a respectable number of hits. She checked the forums, and noted nothing new besides another shipping war between the LadyNoirs and the VolpiNoirs that she needed to shut down.

A new image on the speculation boards caught her eye, and she clicked over to a picture of a yellow and red blur. Alya squinted at the picture. Was that...Queen Bee tackling Ladybug? Some of the commenters believed not all was right and peaceful between the heroes, but Alya brushed it off. While Queen Bee was a little...abrasive, she wasn’t a bad person, and it seemed as though she adored Ladybug. Maybe she could ask Ladybug the next time she agreed to an interview. The scent of sweet nirvana wafting beneath her door interrupted Alya’s thoughts, and she inhaled deeply. Mom was home.

Alya picked out her clothes for the day, black jeans and a violet t-shirt with a pink wifi symbol on it, and made her way out into the family kitchen. A seven-year-old brunette sat on a stool beside the kitchen island, shoveling cereal into her mouth. She had her hair pulled back into pigtails, surprisingly because of Marinette rather than Ladybug, as the young girl became enamored with the hairstyle after she had first met the designer. The girl smiled when Alya entered the room, her little chipmunk cheeks bulging, and turned back to her breakfast. Their mother wasn't in the room, but evidence of her presence sat in the full and steaming coffee pot beside the stove.

“Morning, Cici,” Alya said as she poured herself a cup of coffee and pulled a bottle of creamer from the refrigerator.

Cici swallowed. “Morning, Allie!” She cocked her head to the side when Alya brought the Ladybug mug (Ladymug, Alya thought. I'm hilarious!) to her lips. “What's that black stuff you and Momma drink every morning?”

Alya smiled and lowered her mug. “It's a magic elixir designed to turn zombies back into normal human beings,” she intoned, waggling her fingers for effect.

Cici's eyes became saucers. “You're a zombie?”

Alya shrugged. “We all are, through Mom. Well, technically, we're half-vampire. Ever wonder why she works all night and sleeps all day?”

The look of awe on her sister's face made Alya's morning, especially when their mother walked into the kitchen, still in her chef whites, and poured her own cup of coffee. “Alya, stop telling Cecilia I'm a vampire.” She threw on a Romanian accent and whispered, still loud enough for Cici to hear, “I don't vant her to get suspicious.” She threw her head back, cackled, and passed back out of the kitchen, likely to dress down into her pajamas.

Cici giggled and Alya poured more coffee into a small thermos, paused, then filled another. After talking to Marinette on Discord last night, Alya knew she would need a pick-me-up. More footsteps came into the kitchen and Alya turned to face pixie cut red hair and thick-rimmed glasses around brown eyes. The girl could almost be confused for a younger version of Alya, had their tastes in fashion aligned. While the eldest preferred jeans and button up shirts, her younger sister stuck to skirts with tights underneath and a myriad of t-shirts plastered with various band logos, a good number suggested by Nino as of late.

“Good morning, all,” the thirteen-year-old sang. She eyed Alya's coffee, crossed her arms, and sighed. “What a sad day when youthful exuberance and enthusiasm is replaced with caffeine...” She picked up the creamer and turned the bottle to sneer at the ingredients list. “And artificial flavors.”

Alya snatched the bottle away her sister. “It's these 'artificial flavors' that keep me sane during the day, Chess,” she hissed.

“I'm just saying,” Chess grinned as she retrieved a bottle of almond milk from the fridge. “Would it kill you to go organic?”

“It would kill Mom's wallet,” Alya scoffed. “You know, I give your health food kick another week before you're back to eating garbage like the rest of us mortals.”

“I thought we were vampires,” Cici pouted at Alya.

“We are, Cici. That's why Fran is so skinny,” she teased with the nickname her sister hated. “She can't find any free range, non-GMO pig blood.”

Chess opened her mouth to protest, but their mother barged into the kitchen yet again, this time in white fleece pajama pants and a dark blue tank top, her hair pulled from its bun. “No more arguing. You all need to get,” she planted a kiss on Cici's cheek, “to,” a kiss for Chess, “school.” Alya got the last kiss of the morning and the trio of Césaire's marched of for their school bags and shoes.

“Momma,” Cici started. Her mother looked down with a smile. “If you're a vampire, then what was daddy?”

Marlena's smile faded and an awkward silence fell over the household. Alya shifted from foot to foot and her mother stammered in her search for an answer. The only one seemingly unaffected was Chess, who broke the silence.

“The invisible man, obviously.”

Marlena whirled towards her daughter. “Francesca!”

She threw up her arms. “Hey! Don't get mad at me just because her dad...”

“Our dad,” Alya asserted with a firm hand on her sister's shoulder. Chess looked to Alya, then to their mother, whose frustration was visible in her eyes. “We can talk about this later.”

After a few seconds, Chess relented. The three girls threw their bags over their shoulders and walked out into the cool morning. They stood outside long enough for Cici to hop on the bus to her school, the averted shouting match gone from her thoughts. Chess and Alya waved goodbye, smiles on their faces, however, the moment the bus rounded the corner, the middle sister scowled.

“Don't you think she's old enough to know she's not really our sister?”

“She is our sister, Chess.”

Chess huffed. “We have different fathers!”

Alya jabbed a finger into Chess' face. “I don't care if she's one-hundred-percent adopted.” Alya leaned in. “She. Is. Our. Sister.”

The pair walked towards Francoise-Dupont in silence. A few blocks down, Alya sighed. “Look, I want to tell her the truth as much as you, but Mom said to keep it quiet until she's old enough to understand. I hate lying to her, but making Cici feel like she's not part of the family? I hate that even more.” She met her younger sister's eyes. “She deserves to know the truth, just...not now.” Chess nodded, seeming to accept this answer.

“Pardon me,” came a soft voice from behind them. The girls turned to face a short, older man with a gray receding hairline, a mustache with pointed goatee, and a red Hawaiian shirt covered in white flowers. He hunched over his cane and asked, “I'm sorry to trouble you, but I seem to have left my wallet at home. Could you please spare some change for bus fare?”

Chess shrugged. “I got nothin'. Sorry.” She kept walking while Alya dug through her purse and pockets. She managed to scrape together something for the man and deposited the coins into his waiting hands.

“Thank you so much,” he smiled. “I think it's wonderful that you care so much for your family.” Alya's eyebrow quirked and the old man blushed. “Oh, forgive my eavesdropping.”

“It's no problem,” she chuckled. “I'm the eldest, so I have to look out for them all the time. Cici, the youngest, looks up to me, like I'm her hero.”

A wild glint flashed in his eyes. “And a fine hero I'm sure you make.”

Alya grinned and looked over her shoulder to see Chess almost disappeared into the crowd. “Sorry, gotta go. Gonna be late for school.”

Alya turned and ran after her sister, leaving the old man to stroke his beard and gaze after her. “A fine hero, indeed.”

#miraculous ladybug #ml fic #Nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #the zed writes

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delusionalkiing · 8 years ago

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Voltron Season 2 Thoughts

After having some time to process everything that happened, I wanted to do a write up about season two! I’ll be going over everything I liked and everything I didn’t like (justice for Hunk and Lance plz!!). I’ll be going over each episode briefly but most of my thoughts will be about the major characters!

Obviously, major spoilers are under the cut!

Episode 1: Across the Universe

Pretty strong season opener! I’d have to say my favorite parts are Pidge’s junk friends and Allura and Coran’s time loop. Coran getting younger and younger and poor Allura trying to save him was really good! Especially when she says she saw him as another father!! I wanted to cry! Pidge missing her friends was so painful too. Liked the Shiro and Keith part too and Keith asking black Lion to help him save Shiro! Very nice!

Episode 2: The Depths

Oh man I have such mixed thoughts about this episode. I really loved the underwater world, the mermaids and all the Hance interactions, as well as Lance unlocking a new weapon.

I disliked the continuous pushing of Lance trying to flirt with every mermaid lady... like... this is something I’ll bring up again later but I feel like they really just turned him into girl chasing comic relief. Justice for Lance tbh.

Episode 3: Shiro’s Escape

I liked seeing how Shiro escaped!! Though FUCK the Galra /took/ his hand, I always kinda assumed he lost it in the arena or something but fsfjlekjsflsfe SHIRO. Someone give him a hug. Ulaz was a really interesting character and the Blade of Marmora’s methods of hiding their bases are super interesting! The fight was really neat too and Ulaz’s sacrifice was painful too, even though we barely knew him.

I also really liked how it was Shiro that brought up that not all Galra might be evil, despite everything he went through.

Episode 4: Greening the Cube

THE SPORE FIGHT WAS ADORABLE. I really love moments like this where the paladins all bond together and stuff! The alien race and their planet and nature tech was really awesome too. I really love all the aliens races in this show, tbh. They’re great!

And ahhh Pidge bonding more with her lion was really good! And her new weapon is really cool and will definitely be useful in the future (and it was!) I don’t have much else to say about this episode other than I really enjoyed it and the NGE references during the fight!

Episode 5: Eye of the Storm

ALTEAN BIOLOGY LMAO. I wanted to know more about it but NOT LIKE THIS.

The Klance moments were HILARIOUS, as well as Pidge trying to learn Altean. Hunk’s cooking did save the day, which was nice. I just wish later episodes didn’t just focus on this aspect of him...

Not really much else to say about this episode really other than Coran was really funny and Zarkon chasing them was really tense.

Episode 6: The Ark of Taujeer

I found Allura and Keith’s talk in the pod really interesting! I’m all for Allura having one of one moments with the younger Paladins and getting to know them better.

The design of the alien race made me laugh ahah they look soft. I enjoyed this episode except for one thing: Hunk’s new power activation. I kind of have the same issue with how Lance activated his. Compared to Pidge, there wasn’t a huge focus on connecting with their lions?? Pidge had a whole scene but their power just sorta... happened in the middle of a tense situation and not separate from the fight. Idk it would have been nice to see them have more of a connecting moment with their lion rather than wham bam new power.

But yeah, that’s about it. Oh, Red saving Keith and Allura from so far away was great!!

Episode 7: Space Mall

Okay, I won’t lie, all the scenes that take place in the mall had me dying of laughter. Pidge and Lance’s quest for money, Coran sneaking around, Hunk being Gordon Ramsay (would have been nice to have less food jokes with hunk tho...), and Keith getting distracted by knives lmao. And the mall cop was HILARIOUS. I love seeing the younger Paladins able to act like the kids they are despite the war.

ALL THE SHIRO SCENES MADE ME WANNA SCREAM. Though I’m really glad his connection with the Black Lion got stronger and Black saved him and severed the connection with Zarkon!

Episode 8: The Blade of Marmora

THIS ENTIRE EPISODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, first: The base hiding spot is SUPER COOL and really pretty looking!! The Blade is also really interesting! I’ve been waiting SO LONG to get something about Keith’s backstory!! So of course I was screaming the entire time ahaha.

We were all right that Keith was galra BUT we got it wrong that Thace was his father! His father is human and his mother is Galra and I LOVE THAT??? I want to know more about her?? Who is she??

And I’m so glad with the whole “Shiro, you’re like a brother to me” line because Keith has always acted kinda distant and like he has no family but he does! I love that so much!

Also overprotective Red Lion!!! I love Red’s connection with Keith!!

Episode 9: The Belly of the Weblum

THIS EPISODE WAS GROSS LMAO But I still loved it because of all the Hunk and Keith interactions!! We finally get an episode with Hunk doing great stuff... Him distracting the worm and putting himself in danger of the laser thing was so good. THIS IS THE KIND OF HUNK CONTENT I WANT.

Also Keith saving a Galra was interesting! I wonder if the Galra soldier will ever come back?? I really want to know more about them tbh... It was interesting.

But yes, more good Hunk content like this and more Keith interactions with the other Paladins!!

Episode 10: Escape from Beta Traz

I really liked this episode because as someone with severe anxiety, I relate SO HARD to Slav LMAO. Seeing more of Pidge’s tech genius was great and finding out that Matt is okay and escaped with some rebels is great! (Though where is her father?????)

I WAS SO HAPPY FOR THE LANCE CONTENT but it didn’t really go anywhere... It sort of did with Shiro acknowledging that he’s a sharp shooter but other than that, nothing much else happened with it... I really hope we get future episodes of Lance struggling with this!! Please give my son the arc he deserves!!

Also I want the space dog thing it’s so CUTE AND BIG!!!

Episode 11: Stayin’ Alive

Allura!!! I love her and her interactions with the Balmerans! AND SHAY ASKING ABOUT HUNK <3 Her fighting the Robeast with the castle until the others arrived with great too. Also this battle gave me more NGE vibes lmao...

And then at the end of the episode we see Allura being cold toward Keith for being Galra... Which is understandable but I really dislike how they treat her as being bad for being scared... :/

Also, THACE. You tried, buddy...

Episode 12: Best Laid Plans

This episode was SUPER TENSE and Keith and Thace interacting was really cool too. The fighting was really cool and we see that Zarkon is SUPER OBSESSED with the Black Lion. We still don’t really know WHY but its interesting to see his obsession.

I’m glad Allura talks to Keith and says she was scared and considers the Paladins her new family. So I’m glad they didn’t really drag this out too much but like... Still not that happy with this plot thread.

Thace’s sacrifice HURT.

Episode 13: Blackout

Oh man this episode... The fight with Zarkon was SO COOL and ahhhhh and Shiro screaming for Allura when she’s injured and ahhhhhh!!! Allura being a battle princess was SO COOL. Her fighting Haggar and the other druids was great!! And the reveal about Haggar... ahhh I wonder who she is??? Does she have a connection to the royal family?? I’m so... ahhhhhhh lmao.

Shiro getting the bayard back and the wings on the black lion....

I don’t really know how to say everything I feel but this was a really good finale. That cliffhanger ending... WTFFFFF SHIRO WHERE ARE YOU...

Praying for Black Paladin Allura while they search for Shiro...

Final thoughts:

I dont like how Lance and Hunk were really sidelined in this season. I really hope that we get lots of character growth for the two of them in season 3!!

And that Shiro won’t die... please... where is he...

Also, it’s good to know we’ll be getting LGBT rep later on!!

CHARACTER THOUGHTS:

I’ll just go over the main characters!

Coran: I love Coran so much lmao all of his scenes were really great and it’s nice to see him doing a lot of mechanical things!

Allura: I LOVE HER I was so ready for her fighting in the last two episodes!! I do wish they had handled her thing about Galra Keith differently... But I’m happy she got to shine in combat AND unlock new magic??? That was SO COOL. Also her interactions with Shiro... my heart... Him calming her down by softly touching her hand was so good...

Shiro: I love him SO MUCH. I’m so worried about him!! His bonding with the Black Lion, his scene with Allura and touching her hand softly, all the great brotherly scene with Keith ahhh this was a good season for Shiro development! I feel like he didn’t get much development in s1 so this was really nice to see. BUT THAT ENDING... IS HE OKAY???

Keith: This was such a heavy Keith season (to the detriment of other characters...) but I was really hoping we’d get answers about his past. We did get some! Nice to know his mom is the Galra and his father is human! His father reminded me of Shiro so maybe they are related?? Cousins or something? Ugh I want more answers lmao vld s3 give us more answers but don’t ignore the others!

Lance: MY POOR BOY. I feel like he was reduced to being aggressively heterosexual comic relief sighs. I was hopefully when we saw him doubting himself but they really didn’t do much with it... it was over really fast and like... ughhh flesh out his self doubts more please!!

Hunk: MY OTHER POOR BOY. I love that Hunk is funny, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like 95% of his content this season was food jokes and talking about food. I feel like the only ep that really let him shine somewhat was the Weblum episode. Can we please have more content like that?? Hunk being brave?? Even when his lion got a new power, it was barely touched on, just like Lance’s was. PLEASE GIVE THESE BOYS GOOD STORY ARCS.

Pidge: MY TINY DAUGHTER. I love that her tech stuff got to shine more in this season. And I’m so glad that she found out that Matt is okay but I don’t know why they didn’t talk about her father?? Like... he’s missing too... But I think this was a pretty good season for Pidge!

SO YEAH, those are my thoughts! I really hope we get more character development in future seasons and that the LGBT rep we were promised comes soon lmao

#voltron #voltron legendary defender #vld spoilers #takashi shirogane #keith kogane #allura #lance mcclain #hunk garrett #pidge gunderson #katie holt #shiro #coran #i've never really done a review thing like this but it was fun!#rin reviews things

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milenasanchezmk · 7 years ago

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Grok Didn’t Take Supplements, So Why Should I? (and a Giveaway)

The main objective of following the Primal Blueprint is to extract the healthiest, happiest, longest and most productive life possible from our bodies – and to look and feel good in the process.

Our 10,000-year-old Primal genes expect us to emulate the way our ancestors ate and moved; and the Primal Blueprint says we should do exactly as they expect. While there are many things we can do (or eat) today that very closely approximate what Grok did to trigger positive gene expression, there are also a number of obstacles that can thwart our attempts to be as Primal as possible. Artificial light prompts us to stay up too late and sleep too little. Electronic entertainment competes for our time when we should be out walking and basking in sunlight. We don’t always have access to ideal foods. We shower too much in water that’s too hot. We use medicines to mask our symptoms instead of allowing our bodies to deal directly with the problem. You get my point. You can’t go back to the paleolithic.

One of my tasks is to find the shortcuts—the easy ways to get the same genetic expression benefits Grok got—but by using 21st century technology or just plain old common sense. Working out in Vibram Fivefingers to simulate going barefoot is an example. Or learning how to spend time in the sun without sunscreen AND without burning. Getting more from a 20-minute full-body exercise routine than from a 3-hour cardio workout is yet another example. And given the lack of certain critical nutrients in even the healthiest diets, finding the best supplements is another.

Here are a few of the best categories of supplements I can recommend to just about everyone:

1. Antioxidant Booster

Some people claim exogenous antioxidants are useless or even harmful because we already have our three main internal “onboard” antioxidant systems that take care of most of the normal oxidative damage when we are healthy, unstressed and eating well (catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione). But these systems can come up short when we are under stress (who isn’t), eating too many sugars and other carbs, trans and hydrogenated fats, or drinking alcohol, or when we are exercising inappropriately. Theoretically, that still ought to be no problem, because our bodies were designed to get additional antioxidant support—and hormetic stimulus— from the foods we eat.

Unfortunately, many of our historically healthy sources of dietary antioxidants have gone extinct or have been rendered impotent by today’s aggressive factory farming techniques. In the fruit industry, for example, obtaining the highest possible sugar content has replaced antioxidants as the focus. Fruit is bred for sugar and durability, rather than nutrient content.

That’s one reason why I’ve always emphasized and encouraged the consumption of non-starchy veggies and brightly colored berries—they’re some of the most antioxidant-rich produce around. But I believe that we also need a broader mix of different antioxidants in order to emulate the wide variety of wild plant foods we evolved consuming. That means taking a supplement to obtain hard-to-get nutrients like full spectrum vitamin E (not just alpha tocopherol), mixed carotenoids (not just beta carotene), tocotrienols, NAC, alpha lipoic acid, curcumin, resveratrol, milk thistle, CoQ10 and quercetin to name a few. Now, you could make sure to eat all the foods that contain those nutrients, and in an ideal world I’d prefer you do that. But not everyone can, or even wants to. The convenience of modern technology is a reality, a tool that can be used to good effect.

Of course, too much of any one single antioxidant (in the absence of others) has been shown to have potentially negative effects. But when you take a good broad-spectrum antioxidant formula, all these antioxidants can work synergistically to mitigate oxidative damage and then help each other recycle back to their potent antioxidant form after donating an electron to the antioxidant effort. For that reason, I take a high-potency multi-vitamin loaded with extra antioxidants on an irregular basis.

Irregular? Huh?

Nowadays, I’ve got my health dialed in. I eat right, move correctly, sleep well, and kinda-sorta handle stress adequately. I don’t need to take an antioxidant supplement on a daily basis, so I take it intermittently. One pill after breakfast one day, three the next day, and none for half a week. Then I’ll take it every other day at varying dosages, then back off for another half week. That’s just an example, not a prescription. I jump around, basically. What’s funny is that because I’m fairly healthy, taking Master Formula every day could conceivably offer diminishing, or even negative returns. The same negative effects you see bandied about. Taking it the way I do now has a hormetic effect, the phenomenon whereby a moderate stressor upregulates your own antioxidant mechanisms to make you healthier and more robust.

2. Probiotics

Grok ate dirt. All day, every day. Hey, when you never wash your hands or your food (or anything for that matter) you pretty much can’t avoid it. But with all that soil came billions of soil-based organisms (mostly bacteria and yeast) that entered his mouth daily and populated his gut. Most were “friendly” bacteria that actually helped him better digest food and ward off infections. In fact, much of Grok’s (and our) immune system evolved to depend on these healthy gut bacteria living in us symbiotically. Grok also ate the occasional “unfriendly” organisms that had the potential to cause illness, but as long as the healthy flora well-outnumbered the bad guys, all was well. Several trillion bacteria live symbiotically in our gut today – some good and some bad. Much of your health depends on which of the two is winning the war.

The problem today is that we don’t eat dirt; we wash everything. Of course, given the crap that’s in and on the dirt around us, it’s probably best that we do wash it all. But in the process we never get a chance to ingest the healthy bacteria that our genes expect us to. In most healthy people this doesn’t usually present a problem. As long as there are some healthy gut bacteria present, as long as we don’t get too stressed out (stress hormones wreck the gut), too sick (diarrhea and vomiting are ways the body purges bad bacteria – but it purges good bacteria with them), or take antibiotics (antibiotics tend to kill both pathogenic and beneficial bacteria), and as long as we are eating well, those healthy bacteria can flourish and keep us well.

Unfortunately, we live in a time when stress is everywhere, where we do tend to get sick or take antibiotics, where certain processed foods support the growth of unhealthy bacteria and yeast forms while choking out the healthy flora. Many people whose diets include daily doses of yogurt or acidophilus are able to maintain healthy gut flora, but these sources aren’t always reliable (pasteurizing and added sugars can reduce their effectiveness), and not everyone can tolerate dairy that well.

For that reason, I think it’s wise to take probiotic supplements on occasion. Not necessarily every day, since once these “seeds” have been planted in a healthy gut, they tend to multiply and flourish easily on their own, especially if you feed them (see the next section). I’d certainly take extra probiotics under times of great stress or when you’ve been sick or are taking (or have just taken) a course of antibiotics. The reversal of fortune from a few days of taking probiotics can be dramatic. Better than eating dirt, I always say.

3. Prebiotics

For most of human history (and prehistory), carbohydrates were different. Rather than refined grains, white sugar, and white rice, we had wild tubers. There’s something to understand about the wild tuber: They generally don’t turn into creamy smooth starchy goodness when baked. They’re tough, fibrous things that provide a fraction of the usable energy modern cultivars provide (PDF). Whereas your typical kilogram of potato offers over 1000 calories, a kilo of many wild tuber varieties hover at around 300 calories. Eating these would have provided a moderate dose of glucose – akin to, perhaps, butternut squash—plus a load of prebiotic fiber for the gut bacteria.

That’s very important. Prebiotics are carbohydrates that we cannot digest. When we eat them, they pass through to the colon where our gut bacteria consume them. In doing so, they create short chain fatty acids like butyrate and propionate, which have a host of health benefits. This is in addition to supporting the growth and stability of our healthy gut bacteria.

We get a lot of prebiotics through foods like garlic, onions, leafy greens, and other plant matter. But it’s often easier and more reliable and more commensurate to the doses our ancestors commonly ate to take prebiotic supplements like inulin and raw potato starch (a source of a particularly potent prebiotic, resistant starch).

5. Fish Oil

In Grok’s day, virtually every animal he consumed was a decent source of vital Omega 3 fatty acids. The fish he caught had eaten algae to produce Omega 3 fatty acids rich in EPA and DHA (which helped build the larger human brain over a few hundred thousand years). The animals he hunted grazed on plants that generated high levels of Omega 3 in these meats. Even the vegetation Grok consumed provided higher levels Omega 3s than today’s vegetables. In Grok’s diet, the ratio of pro-inflammatory (bad) Omega 6 to anti-inflammatory (good and healthful) Omega 3 was close to 1:1.

Unfortunately, most people with a typical American diet today get way too much Omega 6 from seed oils and way too little Omega 3 from seafood and pastured meat, and that unhealthy ratio tends to keep many of us in a constant state of systemic inflammation. Since Omega 3 oils are found in fewer and fewer modern foods (fish being one of the few, but fresh fish also being impractical to eat regularly due to heavy-metal content) the single easiest way to overcome this serious deficit and rebalance your Omegas is to take highly purified Omega 3 fish oil supplements. The research on fish oils is extraordinary, showing benefits across the board from decreased risk for heart disease and cancer to lowering triglycerides, improving joint mobility, decreasing insulin resistance and improving brain function and mood. The drug companies are even starting to recognize the power of this “natural” medicine and have begun promoting prescription fish oil (at four times the normal price, of course!).

Nobody “needs” fish oil. But not everyone’s willing to eat seafood on a regular basis and avoid seed oils high in omega-6 fats/

6. Meal Replacement

The reality of modern life means that sometimes there just isn’t enough to time to lovingly cook a real Primal meal. Sometimes you need something quick, easy, and nourishing. To fit these requirements, I created Primal Fuel. It combines coconut milk (for healthy saturated fats, including medium chain triglycerides for easy ketone production), whey protein isolate (single most bioavailable protein around), and prebiotic fiber for a low-carb, moderate-fat, high-protein meal. Add a few ice cubes, a cup of water, maybe some greens or berries, blend it all together, and you’ve got yourself a legitimate meal in a cup. The coconut milk provides creaminess and texture, so it tastes almost exactly like a milk shake.

I’m a busy guy, though. That’s why I needed something like this to have on hand. I just find it useful to have something quick and shelf-stable that doesn’t compromise my eating regimen or health. Eating low carb often means being at a loss as to what to have for a snack or a small meal. We are so used to reaching for the bagel, a few pieces of fruit or something sweet as a snack. On the other hand, there are also times when we just don’t feel like fixing a full meal or we are strapped for time.

7. Collagen Powder

In a world full of shrinkwrapped steaks, roasts, ground meat, and other examples of lean muscle meat, people often forget that about half of a cow is “other stuff.” That other stuff includes marrow, liver, kidney, heart, and other organs, but the vast majority of the other stuff is bone and connective tissues like tendons, ligaments, and cartilage.

These days, the bones and connective tissue usually go into pet food, glue, and other industrial products. But for millions of years, right up until your grandparents’ time, hominids consumed as much of the animal as possible. They made soups, stocks, broths, aspics, head cheese. They ate the tendons straight up. They gnawed the gristly bits at the end of bones. In other words, they consumed a lot of collagen along with the muscle meat.

Most modern people eat only the muscle meat, and this is significant. Muscle meat has a totally different amino acid profile than collagen. Meat is rich in methionine. Collagen is rich in glycine. Methionine metabolism requires and depletes glycine. In animal studies, diets high in methionine lower lifespan and cause a range of health issues—unless the diet is also balanced with glycine. We see glimpses of this occurring in humans, too.

To skirt around it, and to reduce the need to spend all my time making bone broth (which I still do, just not enough), I take collagen powder.

8. Vitamin D3

For tens of thousands of years, we lived and worked “outside.” This was the situation because, for all intents and purposes, “inside” didn’t exist. Now, we spend all day inside. Many of us simply can’t get the amount of sunlight our genes expect because of where we live, like the Toronto transplant whose ancestors evolved along the equator. For many, it’s a rare treat to see the sun, feel its rays, and make some vitamin D the old fashioned way, yet our bodies are set up to obtain vitamin D from sun exposure. It’s safer that way—we only produce as much as we need. It’s more enjoyable that way—we make endogenous opioids in response to sun exposure.

We can get vitamin D from foods, but it’s tough. Unless you want to exist entirely on a diet of sockeye salmon (there are worse things to eat, I guess) and cod liver oil, you won’t get enough vitamin D from your diet.

It’s true that sun itself carries some unique benefits separate from vitamin D. We should strive to get moderate sun exposure. But vitamin D is the most important benefit of sun exposure, and it’s coincidentally a really easy—and incredibly important—one to replace with supplementation.

9. Vitamin K2

We can eat it in natto (a sticky, gooey fermented soybean from Japan), aged gouda (my preferred method), goose liver (I always grab goose paté when I see it), and some other foods—see here for a comprehensive database—but the most reliable way to obtain this scarce yet vital nutrient is through supplementation.

Why do we care so much?

Vitamin K2 essentially directs calcium to the right spots. If you have good vitamin K2 status, calcium goes to teeth and bones. If you have bad vitamin K2 status, calcium may go to the arteries, leading to calcification.

10. Primal Calm

Instead of facing the kinds of chronic “made-up” stress we have today—like jobs we hate, traffic we hate more, and other trappings of modern society—our early ancestors faced acute stress—like encounters with dangerous animals or enemy tribes and intense hunting sessions. That’s the environment in which we evolved: big spikes in stress followed by long valleys. The environment we have now: constant elevations in stress with very little respite. The situations have flipped. Our bodies are set up to deal with acute stressors and woefully unequipped to deal with chronic stressors. That’s where supplementation can come in.

Phosphatidylserine is the lead ingredient in Primal Calm, a custom formulation that blunts the spike of cortisol in the bloodstream in response to stress. As I mentioned in yesterday’s video, my old training partner Brad and I used PS for over 20 years to help speed recovery from our crazy training binges, but PS and the supportive ingredients in Primal Calm are also effective against routine modern life stressors like jet travel, hectic daily routines, work stress, compromised sleep, and so on.

While I don’t categorize this as a daily supplement (long-term anyway), it wouldn’t be unsafe to use Primal Calm that way if that fits your needs (just check with your doctor if you have a health condition or take any medications—standard suggestions for any supplement protocol). Personally, I’ve benefited from using Primal Calm as a “situational” supplement—taking a few capsules when my body and/or emotions are under extra stress.

Now for the Giveaway…

For one randomly chosen commenter on today’s post, I’m giving away a bottle of Primal Damage Control, a Primal Essentials Kit (Primal Omegas, Primal Sun, and Primal Probiotics) and a package of my unflavored Collagen Peptides. It’s a full Primal arsenal of nutritional support for your health and performance.

Just tell me what questions you have about supplementation. Are you wondering about specific nutrients? Special circumstances or health conditions? Particular uses or formulations? Don’t be shy.

*Be sure to comment before midnight tonight (1/24/18 PST) to be eligible to win.

I hope this post opens up the conversation to a topic I feel quite strongly about. If you have any questions or comments please drop me a line in the comment board.

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watsonrodriquezie · 7 years ago

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Grok Didn’t Take Supplements, So Why Should I? (and a Giveaway)

The main objective of following the Primal Blueprint is to extract the healthiest, happiest, longest and most productive life possible from our bodies – and to look and feel good in the process.

Here are a few of the best categories of supplements I can recommend to just about everyone:

1. Antioxidant Booster

Irregular? Huh?

2. Probiotics

3. Prebiotics

5. Fish Oil

Nobody “needs” fish oil. But not everyone’s willing to eat seafood on a regular basis and avoid seed oils high in omega-6 fats/

6. Meal Replacement

7. Collagen Powder

To skirt around it, and to reduce the need to spend all my time making bone broth (which I still do, just not enough), I take collagen powder.

8. Vitamin D3

9. Vitamin K2

Why do we care so much?

10. Primal Calm

Now for the Giveaway…

Just tell me what questions you have about supplementation. Are you wondering about specific nutrients? Special circumstances or health conditions? Particular uses or formulations? Don’t be shy.

*Be sure to comment before midnight tonight (1/24/18 PST) to be eligible to win.

I hope this post opens up the conversation to a topic I feel quite strongly about. If you have any questions or comments please drop me a line in the comment board.

0 notes