#the complete lack of humanity in so many people witnessing and approving this is difficult for me to comprehend

[cuntylouis]

Today is World Children's Day, meant to commemorate the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child and promote children's welfare globally. Since October 7 Israel has killed at least 5500 children in Gaza and injured at least 9000. A further 1800 children are missing. One out of every 200 children in Gaza has been killed. The surviving children suffer from severe psychological trauma. The number of killed children in one region and in a short timeframe has been unprecedented for modern conflicts. Israel's war in Gaza is a war against children and breaks every international law and convention.

[fymagnificentwomcn]

ask-mother-germania replied to your photoset

right?I was shooked too at how weirdly stockholm-syndromy it went

Same, I missed a lot during first watching because I practically binge-watched first 6 episodes, the whole issue of her wanting to go home, him promising to help her out, but then pressuring her to stay, and then here choosing to go back because „love” bothered me already back then, but I still missed a lot.

We truly see a traumatised young girl, who just wants he family back (and we see that she had a perfectly happy life in Cephalonia, with loving and well-situated family, no one thought about marrying her off and her father even entrusted her with certain things and clearly planned to make her inherit his business). She’so young that she even believes all the talk about sultan eating young girls!

Ahmed built a whole fantasy about this girl being embodiment of innocence when he was going through a really dark period in the palace - his brother was murdered by his father with contribution of his grandmother, with hinted silent approval of his mother. Then there was also Halime likely making some moves to get the throne for Mehmed earlier. This is why Ahmed called Nasya’s portrait his “light in the dark”, with the rest of his family and palace being placed in the “dark”. I think there also stemmed his later attitude to his mother - she was classified in the darkness of palace intrigues for him. Heck, he even placed candles around Nasya’s portrait, turning it into quasi-altar.

On the contrary, Nasya’s life is full of light & carefree until the traumatised teenager’s obsession changes her life forever and she also becomes a traumatised person.

Still, while Nasya is so young, she knows her own mind and is able to see that what is happening to her IS wrong. She repeatedly voices this even to Ahmed himself. She does of course admit he’s not a monster and treats her well, but this does not mean the situation is acceptable. It’s so heartbreaking to see them all mould her (yes Ahmed included), but she’s SO young and in such vulnerable state. Each time someone mistreats her, Ahmed appears to save her from their hands. For long time he’s the only one who treats her well. However, even his kindness to her has limits - each time she mentions wanting to go home or even missing her family, he either begins talking how it’s her destiny to be here with him or becomes angry with her, thus punishing her by withdrawing the only source of affection she has in this palace. The scene when she throws letters out of the window is the saddest - she’s deeply upset, yet Ahmed scolds her for “demanding too much” – no she still dares to think about home when he treats her well, so what’s her problem? She kissed him out of her own will, so what’s her problem, why does she now hurt HIM so? It’s such a sad scene of guilt-tripping and when, confused, she replies that she does not know, he takes his hand from her and orders her to leave him.

All Ahmed/Nasya scenes are sweet as long as she offers comfort and understanding to HIM, once she mentions her own unhappiness and missing home, things stop being cute. Yes, Ahmed has “good intentions” - he wants to make her his queen, treat her as best among all women, even differently from them, offer her love and luxurious life.. but completely fails to understand she wants her family, freedom and identity back. When he says “You’re as unhappy as me, so let us be happy”, he completely fails to perceive she’s unhappy NOW because she was kidnapped due to his obsession with her portrait. We saw her life on Cephalonia - she was perfectly happy before Ottoman palace, not lacking anything, with glorious future ahead. She wasn’t even Hürrem from lower classes or Nurbanu carrying a  burden of illegitimacy and being forced into arranged marriage - she truly didn’t lack anything, and she had a family alive to whom she could return. And here’s first crack in Ahmed’s ideal fantasy - the girl from his portrait is not happy to be brought into his palace, and he never manages to understand this. When he promises her to help her return, we know that he lied deliberately because in next scene he happily thanks Safiye for the “gift”. He continues to be clueless when he laughs when Nasya discovers her own portrait and is dismayed  (”I’m not a gift, I’m a human”) because he was certain that she would like it. When she wants to leave, he grabs her and tells her that she cannot run away from here.

Yet Ahmed’s “ideal fantasy” or “image” isn’t forced on Nasya only by him, of course. Others also want to convince Nasya of a glorious life in front of her, sometimes with more understanding because some of them went through similar experience too, hence Safiye’s “if you are scared, wear love as your armour”. When Nasya calls Ahmed oppressor, who takes poor girls away from their homes, she’s brought before Handan, who immediately punishes her harshly. Nasya knows that Ahmed is not a monster and has his good qualities as she told him before: “You’re a good person, but I want to go home”. Yet she sees that the way she was kidnapped because of him becoming enamoured with the image of her IS wrong and demanding from her to accept it and love him in return for being nice and treating her well ARE wrong.

Add to this the whole issue of Nasya responding to first charms of first love - a nice guy telling her romantic things, reciting poetry for her, planting flowers for her or sending it to her, magical garden with sunsets..her sexual awakening that Safiye used by telling her “if you see a guy in your dreams it must be love”. The allure of romantic settings, beautiful and romantic dress, perfume, making her hair for guy.. and suddenly Nasya, who earlier stated that she was nobody’s property, for whom returning to her family was always the most important thing, even despite any developing feelings for Ahmed.. exclaims “she belongs to him”. Suddenly, all she wants is Ahmed. In this state, she makes a rash decision that any person struck with first touch of young love may do and traps both herself by staying at the palace and also all people she loves and will love. There’s nothing romantic about this deal in hindsight, especially since it covered Ahmed anyway. In S2, when Kösem is at Gevherhan’s tomb she’s now very bitter about the deal, saying she gets very angry each time she recalls the woman and her words. Back to Nasya, who now turns into Kösem – she is now wrapped up in this ideal fantasy - believes in her fairytale with Ahmed, triumph of love because of power of “pure” love and innocence. Early Beren!Kösem is already different from Nasya - she no longer holds her ground against Ahmed’s ideal fantasy. She totally believes in it talks with phrases such as “my heart burns with love for you Ahmed”, but it’s so exaggerated&exalted that it sounds pretty artificial. All she wants is to give Ahmed children, while he conquers the world. At the same time, Ahmed showers her with gifts showcasing he wants to make her his queen. Even her costumes at this point are rather “Disney princess” style. But is love pretty much based on Stockholm syndrome pure and true? Can you stay innocent in such a place? Kösem soon learns it’s all illusion. Several people warn her that you cannot live in this palace without any sin. Beren!Kösem did tend to be a very judgmental idealist.

First awakening came with the death of her father - a totally unjust, cruel, purposeless death. From then on, Kösem’s character has her first pragmatic turn, which affects both her desire to stay away from all “dirty matters” and simply live a life full of love and providing Ahmed with children, while he conquers the world. She realises she will need to put a fight for her family to survive. She also realises the gravity of the decision she made in the spur of her first. young love, which we witness when Iskender meets her for the first time since the failed escape from the palace.. she’s no longer entthusiastic about her choice and finishes the conversation that she’s now the padişah’s favourite and that’s it, her fate was sealed, there’s no use in doubting anything, since nothing can be changed anyway. /On a sidenote, t’s also interesting to point out how portrait symbolism appears again when we see Iskender developing obsession with Kösem’s other portrait too, and then it serving as final factor determining Ahmed’s decision about Iskender/.

The huge tragedy of her arc is gradual disillusion and being confronted with very harsh reality. Even after years spent in the palace and seeing many twists and turns, she still believes after Ahmed’s death that fratricide may be put off behind swiftly and protecting the sehzades&state always get together. She still believes in power of innocence, to a lesser extent than before, but she still believes in iit. How could she have predicted that her sons would bring back fratricide law, even if it meant danger for their sons? Or that one of her sons would be a bloody tyrant endangering dynasty’s survival and the other one would be mentally ill? How she could have predicted what difficult and painful choices she would need to make?

Meanwhile, Ahmed doesn’t help her because while his decision to spare Mustafa is commendable, it’s later not followed by necessary pragmatism. We see Ahmed after the time skip, who pretty much gave up on his dreams of conquering the world and becoming a great sultan, likely because he was disheartened by all the shit that followed his accession. He’s mostly interested in his mosque (and unfortunately causing frustrations with spending so much money on it when he did not conquer anything and... Osman will pay also due to all bottled up frustrations later), while we see it’s Kösem who’s more interested in state matters. She also told Ahmed he should regulate the matters of succession especially since he had an alive brother and his two eldest sons were in conflict, but Ahmed didn’t do anything and counted on his sons honouring their promise (and lbr both of them were still kiddos of 13 and 12). And it later turned out to be important = if decree about changes in succession law had come from Ahmed, Osman wouldn’t have been later able to question it and Kösem wouldn’t have been accused of forgery for her own purposes.But Ahmed was all “honey, you will just manage it all, no worries”.

One of Beren!Kosem’s main flaws was her judgementalism. She  truly believes at first in perfect solutions. She believes in that dream of love bringing her here to make her a queen that would bring change, but at the same time stay pure and happy. She believes that obeying “simple rules of conduct  and loyalty to sultan” will bring her this, this is why she’s often easy to condemn people, which I guess most visible in her treatment of Handan and Derviş. She pretty much views Handan’s feelings for Derviş as treason and thus views her behaviour as “immoral” and seeing Dervis’ poisoning of Mehmed as betrayal to state, even though if Ahmed had been dead, even the dynasty could have been endangered, with just little Mustafa being left. (yes, Dervis did it for Handan & Ahmed, but lbr with Mehmed being so unhealthy & shitty ruler at that point, whole dynasty benefitted from it). Couldn’t she then imagine she would make a decision to switch her fatally ill son’s medicines for placebo not to prolong his life because her last son and last living prince of the dynasty (end of Ottoman line in the Ottoman Empire would have meant its division and civil wars, that dynasty was an element that glued all together, state existed as long as dynasty existed, later idea indeed switched more to dynasty than individual sultan). Likely not. Did she expect that her second son would be so harmed beyond belief by another one and that her daughter-in-law would try to dethrone him despite Kösem sharing her power with her and preparing her to be next Valide? Could she truly have predicted so many brutalities and how far people can push her even though she was aware of dark Ottoman rules? Could she have predicted that loyalty to sultans would later come in conflict with benefit of the state or that her own sons would switch back to fratricide law once they got to the throne despite this law being such a burden of princes for so long? Could she have predicted that her being involved in coup against her son could prevent him from worse fate and bloody coup (similar to the one when Osman was deposed) because her daughter-in-law would push for bloody dethronement?

It all seemed so easy, obey the established rules of loyalty, protect all members of dynasty, and it would also ensure survival of state, change succession law… and it will all adjust itself.

But reality truly hit her hard, with truly no truly good choices in front of her, with circumstances pushing her to do things she never could have imagined she would have to do, and she simply could often only act to minimise damage as much as she could.

Easy rules did not apply, suddenly even the concept of loyalty to the state and dynasty shifted and turned out no longer to be tied with a ruling padişah, same with future and well-being of dynasty. It all became blurred, even in her private life. She was highly critical of Handan once because loving another man than your padişah, even a deceasd padişah, equals treason.. but so many years later she sees no problem with herself falling in love again - and  there’s no sign she considers it as betrayal of Ahmed.

In the end, there is no good choice, the whole palace is covered with blood and dead bodies, sheer, brutal power won out, and the only thing that remained untouched by blood was the white rouse symbolising pure and true love, even though by Ottoman rules of morality at that time it should have been considered sinful (and she remarks in her monologue for Kemankeş when she sees him dead that Kemankeş is the one who knew her heart). /Plus it’s interesting to observe how Ahmed fell in love with Kosem’s portrait at first sight, while Kemankes and Kosem needed to get to know each other to fall in love/.

Ultimately, Kösem dies in a sequence closely paralleling her capture, signifying that she was never truly free, no matter how much she rose in ranks and how much power she had, the only thing that stayed pure in all the destruction was not the love that brought her here and one that “ should have been part of the plan”, and thus the last loved one she saw was other man than the one she had made the sacrifice that doomed her loved ones years ago (and she points out in her monologue for Kemankeş whether anybody “author of the heart” would write their love story because of how secret the romance had to be). Irony of life.

The warning “Life of princes is not a fairytale” is contained in Ahmed’s opening monologue, and despite some fairytale&yellow filter elements in first episodes (which looked a bit “fake” here).. the story began with with Mehmed II executing 19 of his brothers, an event that best symbolises the brutal Ottoman reality and its rules.

- Joanna

[nuclearmu5hroom]

I saw this floating around and I decided to pick it up for funsies idk

FALLOUT OC INTERVIEW

Rules:

1) Choose an OC

2) Answer questions as that OC

3) Tag 5 people to do the same

1) What is your name? Dr. Drake Fenring, Director of the New Institute.

(more under the cut)

2) How old are you? You’ll have to get more specific than that. I suppose biologically you could say I’m approximately 44 years old, though I was born in 2052. I doubt you’ll be able to understand the circumstances that brought me to this era.

3) What do you look like? I’m 5′7″, 140 lbs. Blonde hair, brown eyes its right there in the picture, what more do I have to explain? If you’re wanting to know what kind of clothing I prefer I am generally wearing my lab coat, or my uniform. I keep clean, bathe regularly (unlike the rest of these cretins) and prefer to stay as healthy as I can. 

4) Where are you from? Where do you live now? Originally I’m from Boston, out near Concord area. At this particular time, my current residence is classified; I’m sure there are many people who would love to know where I sleep.

5) What was your childhood like? Nothing of note. I am an only child, my mother’s name was Marie and father was Anthony. I received high marks in school, particularly in math and science. Socially, I suppose you could say I was even well liked, but my peers were simple and could be impressed by balloon animals so that doesn't quite count for much. I was more than content on my own.

6) What groups are you friendly with? Are you allied with any factions? *rolls eyes* ah yes, the factions...before my sudden voyage here I supported the US Government; I was even on the short list by invite of General Chase to reside on an oil rig just off the coast in the even of War. I didn't quite make it there, if you hadn't guessed. They called themselves the Enclave after the bomb dropped, so you can say I align with them as an original member. Its my plan to combine my former employer with my current organization which is all that is left of what used to be the Institute. Occasionally, I have been known to employ a few talented Gunners to run security from time to time as well.

7) Tell me about your best friend. I--I don’t have one...well, um. No. I have an associate that I’ve worked closely with however ‘friend’ is not the word I would choose, lets not be silly. 

8) Do you have a family? Tell me about them! They’re dead. They’ve been dead for 200 some years now, honestly I don't think much about them. However, if you must know more detail I guess I was closer to my mother growing up. My father didn't quite approve of certain aspects of myself as I got older but I never needed his approval for anything anyway. 

9) What about a partner or partners? UM.....well. That is also a complicated area of life. I’ve just recently started to realize I had....interesting emotions...come up as of late and I’m not quite sure what to make of it. I don't like this question....MOVING ON.

10) Who are your enemies, and why? Oh darling, who aren’t my enemies? Let’s see....the Railroad and the Minutemen are my current opposition, and won’t they be surprised when they find out what I have in store for them...I find the Children of Atom to be completely infantile with their “mysticism” *tch* please, give me a break. 

11) Have you ever heard of The Brotherhood of Steel? What do you think about them? The Brotherhood could have had potential but in the end they lacked the full scope of their own vision. Not surprised, considering they thought that dirty neckbearded child they called Elder could lead them to whatever victory they thought to achieve. 

12) What about The Enclave? Ah yes, my Enclave. We’ve suffered setbacks, yet no one can quite get rid of us, eh? Mark my words, I will spend my last breath in the pursuit of their return. There is so much that the Enclave and the Institute could share together. A thing of orchestrated beauty.

13) How do you feel about Super Mutants? Fascinating, if anything. As a biologist, the FEV virus was an absolute joy to work with, despite the difficult process to stabilize it. Unfortunately, like all works in progress it was not viable to continue and since they’ve become a menace to our own operations extermination is required on site. It is nice to capture one alive and run some tests...for old times sake.

14) What’s the craziest fight you’ve ever been in? I prefer not to fight, but escaping the Institute during its destruction was probably the most intense combat I've faced since Anchorage. 

15) Have you ever fought a Deathclaw? Yes. I do NOT recommend it. Only a fool would consider it.

16) Do you like fighting? It depends. I like a good struggle, especially as I watch them lose consciousness. Its amusing to watch them squirm when they wake up restrained. I am not above taking certain advantages in a fight.

17) What’s your weapon of choice? I am quite partial to my quad gauss rifle, I also have a soft spot for my bat. There’s nothing like beating a man’s skull in with nothing but a solid piece of wood.

18) How do you survive? Your wits, your charm, your skills, brute force, some combination? (a.k.a. what’s your S.P.E.C.I.A.L?) I can be very persuasive when it comes to getting what I want, when I want it. Its not hard to read the intentions of these wastelanders out here. I would be lying if I said that I didn't have a bit of luck on my side as well; things fell into place almost as soon as I arrived in this century. 

19) Have you ever been in a vault? What do you think about them? HAHAH the Vaults....right. Yes. They’re fun little games, aren't they? Some of my research even made its way into a few of the programs Vault Tec used. It was a pet project, however I still thought it was unnecessary. Waste of good resources on average people.

20) How do you beat all the radiation around here? Has it affected you? Hazmat suits, lackeys, decontamination arches, general avoidance. Its not like I’m some dumb vault dweller who decided to play hero and soak up a lethal dose like some kind of idiot. 

21) What’s your favorite wasteland critter? Critter? What kind of descriptor is that, you backwater hick? Local fauna has become too contaminated to be considered a ‘favorite’, they’re all mostly disgusting creatures. 

22) What’s your least favorite wasteland critter? Bloatflies. Hands down.

23) How do you feel about robots? Useful, to a degree. Not quite what a Gen 3 Synth is capable of....or even a Gen 1 Synth but for disposable use I find them agreeable.

24) How many caps do you have on you right now? Why? Is this a pitiful attempt to set me up to rob me after this interview? I have plenty of caps at my residence. I don't carry currency on me. 

25) Nuka Cola or Sunset Sarsaparilla? Ugh, I’d rather swallow Abraxo cleaner than drink either one of those.

26) Do you do chems?  I make chems, I don't do them. Chems are for the weak

27) Do you ever think about the Pre-War world? Often. I....miss the music.

28) What’s your deepest regret? What would you do differently? If I would have known that that Holoway girl was going to destroy everything I worked for I would have shot her back in Anchorage. I also....have some regrets over how I viewed my previous partnership. 

29) What’s your biggest achievement? Or what do you hope to achieve? My biggest achievement is my own survival. My goal is to purge the Commonwealth of all that is impure to pave the way for a more advanced group of individuals. My legacy will be to ensure that whatever’s left of humanity comes from only the best genetic stock.

30) What do you want for the future? For yourself? Your friends? The world? I want to be able to look upon the world that I have created and say “I made this happen.”

tagging: @vkm11, @catastrotaffy @coffeecogs @red-king-4, @radiationgroove, @mininuked   @theartofblossoming (only if you want to)

[kley-blog]

Just for the Record: COVID

This is what any well-trained virologist will tell you:

My advice: Ignore it at your peril. To quote from the Conclusion below:

When one follows the science, and nothing but the science, it becomes extremely difficult to not label ongoing mass vaccination campaigns as a crime, not only to public health but also to individual health.

Thus, it will soon be clear whether “politicians” are taking notice of medical knowledge or have a hidden political agenda driving their behavior.

We must halt all ongoing Covid-19 mass vaccination campaigns as a temporary health benefit to the most vulnerable groups does not justify a public health disaster of international concern.

Geert Vanden Bossche, DVM, PhD virology, independent seasoned vaccine researcher, previous SPO at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and SPM at GAVI is urging WHO and world political leaders to immediately halt all ongoing Covid-19 mass vaccination campaigns as there is compelling evidence that they will soon dramatically worsen the consequences of the current pandemic.

Attached to this letter, you will find a summary of the manuscript I am currently in the process of finalizing. I initially intended to attach the manuscript in full to my letter. However, given the exceptional urgency of my call, I have no choice but to send you the summary (+ conclusion) in advance. I will post the manuscript in full on LinkedIn as soon as I can (presumably in the course of next week).

In the upcoming manuscript I will share my insights on the immune pathogenesis of Coronavirus pandemics. Those are based on an in-depth analysis of Covid-19-relevant scientific literature (key references will be appended) and backed by my deep vaccine knowledge and relentless perseverance in unraveling the host’s immune defense mechanisms and strategies viruses have evolved to escape those. Understanding the interplay between the virus and the host immune system is a prerequisite for designing vaccines able to counter the immune subversive strategy of infectious pathogens. I do not think that it is reasonable for WHO or any other health authority to approve ‘emergency use’ of vaccines aimed at conducting mass vaccination campaigns in the very heat of an infectious pandemic without having gained an in-depth understanding of how this may impact on the outcome of the pandemic.

In particular, lack of understanding of the consequences of immune pressure on highly mutable viruses has now allowed for the approval of a number of Covid-19 vaccines that are completely contraindicated for fighting a pandemic, regardless of the technology used. Although safe and efficacious and providing temporary relief to part of the population and to healthcare facilities, these vaccines will soon come with a heavy toll to be paid by the entire population if mass vaccination campaigns continue.

Again, given the urgency of my call, I will neither allow time for peer-review, nor for English proofreading, nor for fine-tuning the wording or for screening the manuscript for redundancy. As I merely seek to provide enough of compelling scientific proof for sounding this warning bell, I will not deal with relevant matters as exhaustively as I would normally do. Clearly, the upcoming manuscript is not meant to be submitted to a scientific peer-reviewed journal but to explain the scientific rationale behind my cry of distress and urgent wake-up call. May they for God’s sake draw the world’s attention to what I think is now likely to become the biggest and most tragic mistake made in the history of public health in general and in the field of vaccination in particular.

To support my wake-up call and credibility, I am not nearly as much relying on my credentials (which you can find at LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geertvandenbossche/) as I am on a diversified set of relevant scientific reports from the literature and on the evolution of the pandemic itself. The latter is now featured by the emergence of much more infectious viral variants.

Nevertheless, you may still opt for now to not believe the statements, conclusions and forecasts that will be made in this manuscript and which have already been summarized as attached. However, I have no doubt that in the days and weeks to come ‘doubting Thomas’ will have to admit that he was proven wrong. In the meantime, these disastrous vaccination campaigns will likely be intensified and even extended to younger age groups. Given the power, influence and blind ambition of the stakeholders driving these campaigns, it is going to be incredibly difficult to stop this act of complete madness. When all of them will finally have to admit the catastrophic consequences of this ‘experiment’, precious time and, more importantly, many more lives will have been lost. Eventually, complete lockdowns will likely be imposed for an indefinite period of time as a last resort.

Although largely based on direct or indirect scientific evidence, the views expressed in the manuscript will be my personal views. Of course, I take full accountability of what I am saying and I can only hope that those who’re in charge will be sufficiently convinced to take their responsibility and stop all ongoing Covid-19 vaccination campaigns immediately. There should be no excuse and certainly no complaints about lack of warnings by dedicated experts. I cannot emphasize enough that continuing these vaccination endeavors will dramatically prolong, instead of shorten, the current pandemic and take a much higher toll in terms of disease and fatality rates in all of the population. It goes without saying that a such enhancement of this crisis will come with unbearable socio-economic consequences for many years to come.

The manuscript will provide compelling evidence that – as far as acute self-limiting viral infections are concerned - the natural course (i.e., without human intervention!) of a Coronavirus pandemic is typically featured by 3 waves that ultimately flatten as the infection merges into a seasonal ‘common cold.’ However, it is difficult to predict how long it would take a natural Covid-19 pandemic to ‘downgrade’ to yet another kind of seasonal ‘common cold’ without human intervention. Maybe somewhere between 2 to 4 years, but that’s a personal guess. This is, of course, not to say that in the meantime one should not do whatever is possible to mitigate the disease in those developing severe symptoms. But first, “do no harm” (“primum non nocere”): Given the huge amount of immune escape that will be provoked my mass vaccination campaigns and flanking containment measures, it is difficult to imagine how human interventions would not cause the Covid-19 pandemic to turn into an incredible disaster for global and individual health.

I would have been able to put the appended manuscript together without having dedicated the last 10 years of my career to designing an entirely new vaccine concept that aims at enabling our immune system to kill a multitude of infectious (and even, noninfectious) diseases without allowing the pathogen, or any ‘variant’ editions thereof, to escape the immune response induced. In contrast, all of the current Covid-19 vaccines rely on strengthening adaptive (as opposed to innate) immunity in general, and humoral (i.e. antibodies) in particular. Hence, none of them will prevent immune escape and, for that matter, all will be subject to anti-viral resistance. Adapting the composition to the new circulating variants does not solve the problem as science tells us that this will even accelerate the rate of immune escape (in asymptomatic Covid-19 carriers).

Isn’t it surprising that while we have now become so well aware of all dramatic consequences and threats surrounding microbial resistance to antibiotics, we still don’t believe that fighting viruses in ways

that do not completely kill them opens the door to vaccine resistance? While we have been taught to always take the medication for as long as prescribed, even if we were already feeling much better, we still don’t seem to believe that viruses can escape to specific antibodies if antibody concentrations or affinity are no longer sufficient to neutralize the virus. Widespread use of antibiotics is generally acknowledged to raise a serious global concern about antimicrobial resistance, but nobody seems to bother about resistance to vaccines that are used in mass vaccination campaigns in the context of an ongoing pandemic. Since those are conducted against a huge infectious background, a multitude of vaccinees will be in the process of seroconverting while being exposed to circulating infectious virus. Prophylactic vaccines against viral or other infectious diseases are typically administered well in advance of a likely risk of infectious exposure. While this is ensuring full-fledged protection to the infectious agent, it is also preventing immune escape and hence, resistance to the vaccine. Aren’t we not already witnessing an increasing number of cases of Covid-19 vaccinated people who still shed virus and sometimes even develop mild symptoms? Aren’t these cases compelling enough in proving how easily Covid-19 viruses can escape antibody responses? How can we then be so excited about current Covid- 19 vaccines knowing that they allow immune escape and thus, enable the virus to select more infectious variants? And do we really think that going for a one dose shot (instead of the prescribed 2-dose vaccination schedule), as some propose, is not going to even expedite immune escape?

In our naïve and simplistic attempt to prevent the pandemic from running its natural course, we are in fact providing the beast with an even much better opportunity to escape host immunity than natural infection does. The only way to do better than the natural pandemic is to eradicate Covid-19 right away. To do so, there is probably no other way but to concentrate on vaccination strategies that allow DURABLE priming of innate immune killer cells (i.e., NK cells), the activation of which has already been shown to correlate with full viral clearance in asymptomatically Covid-19-infected subjects. As innate cytotoxic cells enable non-antigen-specific killing of the virus, they don’t drive immune escape.

By implementing immune intervention strategies that capitalize on empowering these innate immune cells to acquire immunologic memory, it must be possible to fully, broadly and durably protect human populations against all Covid-19 editions, and even against Coronaviruses at large. The ‘sterilizing’ immunity they provide would not only protect people who would ‘naturally’ become asymptomatically infected (but, unfortunately, only enjoy natural protection for as long as they keep their innate immune system well-trained through moderate but regular pathogen exposure) but also subjects who would ‘naturally’ develop (severe) symptoms or even succumb to the disease.

In conclusion, fostering the development of NK cell-based vaccines should become a public health priority. As will become obvious from the manuscript, NK-cell based hold great promise for stopping this pandemic at its source while also ensuring future preparedness to emerging pandemic threats at large.

Immediate cancellation of all ongoing Covid-19 mass vaccination campaigns should now become THE most acute health emergency of international concern.

Executive summary

The manuscript, which is in now in the process of being finalized, should shed some light on how the virus and especially its interaction with the host immune system determines the natural course (i.e., without human intervention) of a Coronavirus (CoV) pandemic. The interplay between host immune defense and viral immune escape determines the course of a natural CoV pandemic (including a natural Covid-19 pandemic).

In the clinic, viral immune escape is known to occur when the neutralizing capacity of serum antibodies (Abs) does not suffice to fully eliminate highly mutable viruses (e.g., CoV) for lack of their concentration or affinity. In a CoV pandemic setting, seroconversion occurs against a background of high infectious pressure and is, therefore, prone to promote viral immune escape.

The first wave of disease 1 (and mortality) primarily affects elderly people (or otherwise immunocompromised subjects). Selective (i.e., adaptive) immune escape is expected to cause this wave to transition into a more severe, second wave in younger age groups. Subsequently, non-selective (i.e., innate) as well as selective immune escape operated by increasingly infectious viral variants will trigger a third wave. The latter would primarily affect subjects who recovered from disease they contracted during the first wave as their seroneutralising Abs do no longer properly match the new circulating viral variants. This third wave of disease (and mortality) would come to an end when those who recovered from the disease will have mounted new functional Abs against these immune escape variants. As seroconversion in this population will now occur much faster (due to recall of cross-reactive T helper memory cells) and as the majority of the young and middle-aged population will either be seronegative or have seroconverted already by the time the third wave starts to expand, chances are slim for the virus to escape the host’s Ab response. Asymptomatic 2, seronegative individuals (i.e., the vast majority of young and middle-aged people) may spread virus upon (re-)infection and hence, constitute a relevant source of viral transmission. However, CoV infection in these asymptomatic carriers is abrogated after a short period of viral shedding. Viral clearance in these subjects is likely to occur through activation of NK cells. The latter are capable of recognizing CoV-associated, antigen (Ag)-nonspecific patterns on the surface of CoV-infected epithelial target cells. As killing by NK cells is, therefore, not Ag-specific and as seroconversion

1. For the purpose of the manuscript, ‘disease’ refers to severe Covid-19 disease with involvement of lower respiratory airways 2. For the purpose of the manuscript, ‘asymptomatic’ infection refers to CoV infection which does not cause clinically relevant symptoms or only causes a mild level of disease (i.e., only involving upper respiratory airways) in asymptomatically infected subjects is only short-lived, viral immune escape does not normally occur. Consequently, new, more infectious, variants are unlikely to emerge from this population as long as viral infectiousness does not dramatically increase.

At the point of ‘no immune escape’, the pandemic will be under control and merge into an endemic infection. However, as long as the point of ‘no immune escape’ isn’t reached, any additional immune selection pressure, for example as a result of suboptimal concentration or affinity of Ag-specific (e.g., spike protein-specific) Abs, will allow the virus to rapidly unfold more infectious, immune escape variants. Additional immune selection pressure, especially when exerted during the second wave of a CoV pandemic, is likely to precipitate and amplify viral immune escape. This might even cause the second and third wave to merge into a single huge wave of mortality and disease that affects all layers of the population (possibly, with the exception of small children).

Especially mass vaccination campaigns, particularly when conducted in the midst of a pandemic, are prone to exerting enormous immune pressure on circulating virus strains. This is because the vaccine is used in an increasingly infectious context (as escape variants are more infectious). Mass vaccination campaigns will accelerate the emergence of even more infectious immune escape variants. This because the number of vaccine recipients who seroconvert within a given time period will dramatically increase . In addition, Ag-specific, high affinity Abs induced by any of the current vaccines will outcompete natural, broadly protective mucosal IgM antibodies as the latter only bind with low affinity to the receptor-binding domain of CoV (RBD). This will particularly affect natural resistance of younger age groups which - thanks to a well-trained innate immune system- resisted disease during the first wave. The new circulating CoV variants may now even be able to escape the host’s CoV variant-nonspecific line of immune defense at the mucosal portal of entry. These age groups may, therefore, become more susceptible to symptomatic infection and shedding caused by more infectious variants.

But mass vaccination campaigns will also have severe consequences for those who got vaccinated first (mostly the elderly or people with underlying disease or those who are otherwise immunocompromised). In the highly likely event that mass vaccination will soon result in antiviral resistance (see below), these people will have no single bit of immunity left to rely upon. In contrast to the infectious circulating virus, current vaccines do either not contain any critical killer cell motif or fail to activate dedicated killer cells. It goes, therefore, without saying that vaccine-induced immune responses will inevitably result in a dramatic enhancement of morbidity and mortality rates in all of the human population (except for small children?).

Alike naturally infected subjects, vaccine recipients need time to mount a full-fledged Ag-specific Ab response. Further to all of the above, low exposure to circulating CoV strains (e.g., due to stringent containment measures) will increasingly weaken innate mucosal immunity for lack of training. Again, this is particularly relevant for those who - thanks to their sufficient and adequate innate immune defense – got away with asymptomatic infection during the first wave. Stringent and widespread infection prevention measures are now increasingly compromising their innate immunity and rendering them more susceptible to symptomatic infection. Especially the younger age groups may, therefore, end up with relatively higher morbidity and mortality rates, even regardless of the emergence of more infectious viral variants. This is to say that broadly implemented infection prevention measures will only amplify the already detrimental consequences of ongoing mass vaccination campaigns. It is reasonable to assume that the combination of non-selective and selective immune escape will cause morbidity and mortality rates in younger age groups to explode.

The more Covid-19 vaccination campaigns in the young and middle-age groups will be delayed (i.e., relative to their initiation in the elderly), the more they will enhance morbidity and mortality rates in this group: By the time mass vaccination campaigns are about to start in the young and middle-aged groups, a substantial number of these people will already have been infected with Covid-19. Enhanced rates of infection by highly infectiousness viral variants significantly has now increased the likelihood for them to become re-infected while being in the process of seroconverting. So, by the time vaccinations will be initiated, viral immune escape in this group may already be fueling a vicious circle of enhanced viral infectiousness resulting in more seroconversion and hence, more immune escape. Mass vaccination campaigns in this group will only dramatically deteriorate the situation as they will lead to a fast and massive increase in the number of asymptomatic subjects that are in the process of seroconverting against a highly infectious background. and, therefore, prone to promoting viral immune escape. As there is naturally no reason for them to isolate, there will be plenty of opportunity for the highly infectious circulating strains to replicate in the presence of suboptimal Ab titers and, therefore, to escape the host’s immune control.

Hence, the more vaccination campaigns in this group get delayed, the more selection of even more infectious viral variants will be expedited. The ensuing exponential increase in viral immune escape rates will ultimately enable viral variants to even break through vaccine- mediated protection in the vaccinated elderly. As their Abs increasingly mismatch the ever more infectious emerging variants, they will no longer manage to control viral replication and shedding and rapidly allow for massive viral immune escape. Because seroprotective Abs primarily confer protection through targeting Covid-19’s RBD, the virus will now increasingly select mutations in this particular part of the spike protein as those most readily enable the virus to escape vaccine-induced Abs. This will inevitably precipitate resistance to the vaccine. As a result of mass vaccination, people who got the vaccine first will suddenly no longer be protected and, despite vaccination, fall prey to a wave of catastrophic morbidity and mortality.

There can, therefore, be no doubt that current vaccination strategies are rendering the impact of mass vaccination campaigns even more catastrophic and only adding to the magnitude of a pending global health disaster. However, mass vaccination also harms individual health as vaccine-induced variant-specific Abs will outcompete natural variant-nonspecific mucosal Abs for binding to CoV variants and thereby deprive individuals from their broadly protective natural (life)line of immune defense.

As large scale vaccination campaigns combined with the sustained implementation of several containment measures will only expedite the occurrence of viral escape mutations, the illusory hope that current Covid-19 vaccines could generate herd immunity should once and for all be thrown overboard. Along the same line of reasoning, it is not unthinkable that Covid-19 will, once again, cross species barriers. One can definitely not rule out that with growing immune- mediated selection of virus variants, Covid-19 is ultimately going to be able to jump to other animal species, especially industrial livestock (e.g., intensive pig and poultry farms with high stocking density) as i) these species are already known to host several different Coronaviruses and ii) variability/ mutations in the very same spike protein, and particularly in the RBD, are known to be responsible for shifts in host tropism/ susceptibility. Similar to the situation with influenza virus, these animal species could then constitute a reservoir for SARS-COVID-2 virus. Depending on the prevalence of circulating animal CoVs in those farms (and hence, the level of trained immunity), those animals could now serve as asymptomatic carriers, thereby constituting a serious threat to humans.

Conclusion:

The combination of mass vaccination and infection prevention measures is a recipe for a global health disaster. Following the science, one has to conclude that all age groups (possibly with the exception of small children) will be heavily affected and subject to rates of morbidity and mortality that raise much faster and much higher than those expected to occur during the natural course of a CoV pandemic. This will particularly apply if the sequence of mass vaccinations following the first infectious wave parallels that of natural infection (i.e., immunocompromised people and elderly first, followed by the younger age groups).

No one, for that matter, should be granted a right to implement large-scale pharmaceutic and non-pharmaceutic immune interventions, especially not during a viral pandemic, and certainly not without an in-depth understanding of the immune pathogenesis of a viral pandemic. When one follows the science, and nothing but the science, it becomes extremely difficult to not label ongoing mass vaccination campaigns as a crime, not only to public health but also to individual health.

To substantiate the reasoning above, the manuscript will first explain how components of the innate immune system can protect against Covid-19 and render infections asymptomatic. It will then go on to explain in more detail why and how, in an immunologically Covid-19-naïve population, selective (i.e., adaptive) immune escape shifts the first wave of disease and death from the elderly (and immunocompromised) subjects to those who at the outset of the pandemic got away with asymptomatic infection (i.e., the younger and middle-aged population segment). Similarly, it will be explained how viral immune escape in the asymptomatically infected population finally shifts back the burst of morbidity and mortality to the elderly, and how the population eventually controls the pandemic by controlling viral immune escape. This will already illustrate the critical importance of desiccating the changing contribution of innate and adaptive immunity to the population’s overall immune defense against a viral pandemic. Understanding these dynamics helps to comprehend the sophisticated course of a natural CoV pandemic, how it eventually merges into an endemic infection and why human intervention has a highly detrimental impact on the refined interplay between the virus and its host. In regard of the latter, the devastating global health impact of ongoing mass vaccination campaigns and accompanying stringent and widespread containment measures will be explained in more detail as the global and individual health consequences could simply be unbearable for many years to come.

After the introductory section on innate immune defense mechanisms relevant to Covid-19, other relevant topics will be addressed in form of questions and answers. Last, a section will be dedicated to the scientific rationale for using NK cell-based vaccines that could provide sterilizing immunity and hence, wipe out Covid-19 and related variants all together.

The natural course of a CoV pandemic is controlled by the population’s innate and adaptive immunity and dramatically aggravated by antibody-based vaccines when used in mass vaccination campaigns conducted in the course of the pandemic and flanked by stringent containment measures.

NAC:

Natural asymptomatic carrier : for the purpose of this manuscript, NAC is defined as a subject disposing upon a level of innate immunity high enough to resist disease

nonNAC:

For the purpose of this manuscript, nonNAC is defined as a subject who is not endowed with a level of innate immunity high enough to be able to resist disease when exposed to infectious virus during the first wave

Author: G. Vanden Bossche, DVM, PhD; 26 February 2021

[tipsycad147]

Five hard truths about magick

Posted by Michelle Gruben on Mar 29, 2019

Of the many laws of magick, there are a few that you’ll never see on a T-shirt or affirmation board. Here, we’ll cover some of the tough stuff: The harsh, the unsettling, the ambiguous facts of living an enchanted life.

This article was inspired by some recent discussions of false positivity—that is, the habitual repetition of encouraging words and images. In short, false positivity means well, but it does harm by shutting down discussion of anything problematic. You can’t hide the truth forever—and when you try, it seeps out in sneaky and unexpected ways.

There are certain aspects of magick that are difficult to come to terms with. The purpose of airing them is not to discourage anyone from their path, but to counter some of the shallow advice and empty promises that the witchy blogosphere churns out.

It’s time for some straight talk about magick—some Swords to go with your Cups, some Rue with your Roses.

1. It's not for everybody.

Can anyone become a Witch? Any honest answer to this question is complicated. In some ways, yes—the magickal arts are open to all who seek them. In other ways, no. Some people lack the gifts, the learning—but most often, the dedication—to become effective practitioners of the Craft.

These two are the fundamental magickal skills: The ability to alter reality through will. And, the ability to perceive things beyond the normal senses. These experiences are part of our natural state of being. They are, in a sense, the birthright of every conscious creature.

Yet these abilities are constrained on our earthly plane and must be located and cultivated. You need a strong will to accomplish this. It takes repetition. It takes humility. It often requires help from others—partners, spirits, plants, disparate parts of self—whose cooperation you must earn.

In short, excelling in magick is just like excelling in business or music or athletics. Not every aspirant will have what it takes. Talent only gets you so far. Hard work isn’t always enough. Sometimes you do everything right and still don’t get the results you want.

It’s not easy. It’s not for everyone (or at least, not all of the time).

2. Real witchcraft isn't photogenic.

Thick black eyeliner, a bespoke cloak, moon tattoos, and a table full of Amethysts—that’s what magick is made of, right? Sure, if you believe the internet. Like so many other things, witchcraft has been co-opted in recent years by lifestyle bloggers and taste makers, advertisers and influences. Super-stylish, just-edgy-enough witchy pics go hand-in-hand with the idea that magick is a piece of cake.

What’s wrong with enjoying all these highly preformative images of witchcraft? Nothing! There’s no reason a person can’t be genuinely magickal and also extremely good at self-presentation. Visual art is a kind of magick, too. However, let’s not make the mistake of confusing Instagram witches with the real thing.

It’s even possible for personal magick and social media to work at cross-purposes. Oversharing violates the principle of magickal silence—the idea that talking about your workings can dilute or disperse their energy. People who endlessly photograph their working tools, altars, and ritual garments are arguably siphoning off some of their power for the sake of likes and followers.

Thinking back about the most powerful magick I’ve witnessed, much of it has been in the dark, among old or shabbily dressed people, with nary a smartphone in sight. The most eye-opening books I own are crappy dog-eared paperbacks that would look terrible in a tableau with a crystal pendant and a sprig of Rosemary. Pinterest offers no altar porn for the third eye…you’ll have to find those goodies on your own.

3. Magick is dangerous.

The Satanic Panic of the 1990s was in full swing when I first embarked on my magickal studies. The media often reported on the addiction, insanity, and death that were the obvious consequences of dabbling in the occult. Religious tracts and books warned against the dangers of “gateway” activities like drum circles and Harry Potter books. I used to hoard these writings and snicker at them. What a quaint idea—that devils stalk the earth, seeking the ruin of souls through Ouija boards and zodiac pendants!

With more experience, I see a grain of truth in those zealous warnings. It’s not all rainbows and butterflies out there, folks. Different magicians have different opinions about whether spirit entities have an external reality or only dwell within the mind of the magick worker. I can’t prove it either way, of course. But my own instinct says that entities are real, they have independent consciousness, and not all of them have your best interests in mind.

Not scared of spirits? Fine—let’s go to the energy model of magick. Playing with spiritual technologies—meditation, invocation, astral travel—can cause extreme and rapid shifts in your energy body. They can wreck your appetite and mess with your sex life. They can effect changes in your mood and sleep cycle that will disrupt every aspect of your daily existence.

Other hazards of the occult are more pedestrian: You can become arrogant (common!). You can turn into a colossal bore who only talks to plants (and even the plants wish you would shut up). You can invite the scorn of people who don’t approve of your path, people who formerly respected you. It’s hard to keep your spiritual and mundane lives in balance—but it’s absolutely necessary if you want to make magick a lifelong quest.

Anything worthwhile carries some risk. With magick, we are talking about nothing less than the rapid evolution of the soul…so it only makes sense than the risks would be commensurate with the reward. Only you can weigh the dangers and decide if it’s worth doing. (See #1: It’s not for everybody.)

4. You (probably) need tools for effective spellwork.

“Cast spells without tools!”

“The secret of mental magick!”

“Advanced witchcraft!”

There’s a whole slew of authors and teachers offering instruction in tool-less spellcraft. And yeah, technically they’re correct: The only tool you really need is your focused, unadulterated Will.

But therein lies the problem. How many of us actually possess a focused, unadulterated Will? We’re human! Our thoughts are always mixed with distractions, mental noise, memories, and misgivings. Magick without tools is theoretically do-able…but in practice, it’s rarely as effective.

It’s true that intention is the most important component in spellwork. It’s true, also, that the more practised you become with certain skills (visualisation and trance induction), the less you tend to rely on the externals. However…

Magickal tools—and I’m not just saying this as a shop owner—tools play a very important role. Several roles, actually. That’s why Witches—yes, even “advanced” ones, have employed them for centuries.

What do tools accomplish that thoughts alone do not? Here’s a sampling:

1. Anchoring: Tools link your intention in the physical plane (which is where you want the results to manifest, right?) Most magick spells can be conceived as a kind of cycle—from earthly need to thought/will and back to physical action. Tools complete the loop by grounding your petition in the present time and place.

2. Distraction: Tools subvert the less-magickal parts of the brain (mental chatter, worries, skepticism) by engaging the older, more primal parts. Tying knots, lighting incense, and dressing candles are all classic ways to activate spells. You could say these actions let your magickal self do its work by keeping the mind and body busy.

3. Correspondence: Spell ingredients like herbs and candles contribute allied energies to your spell. The magickal brain is both literal and sensual. To a person who is very familiar with lemons, the thought of a lemon is enough to invoke Solar energy. But if you have an actual lemon—bright and yellow and soaked in the summer sun—that’s better, you know? I refer to Randall Garrett’s maxim: “The best symbol for a sharp knife is a sharp knife.”

4. Effort: The extra work of using tools is a gatekeeper that separates the worthy spells from the unworthy ones. When you go through the trouble to acquire and prepare materials, you’re signalling to your unconscious that this spell actually matters—and that will generally translate to better results.

Magickal tools don’t have to be complicated, and they don’t have to be expensive. (See our list of cheap and free witchcraft tools.) A candle and some oil. A pen and a piece of paper. Keep it focused: An over-encumbered spell is just as a bad as a flimsy one.

Unless you are a super-adept—like, the kind of master that comes along once in a zillion years—you probably can’t just speak or dream your desires into being. Spells without tools are more akin to…wishes. It’s fun to make a wish, but they usually don’t come true on their own.

5. There are no experts.

“We’re all apprentices in a craft where no one becomes a master.” Ernest Hemingway was referring to writing, but the same can certainly be said of the metaphysical arts.

Magick is a vast and mysterious topic. There’s a natural instinct to look up to people who have been at it longer than you, or who seem to be more sure of themselves. But while some people are objectively more accomplished, there’s nobody who’s got it all figured out. We are all grappling with the inexplicable mystery of consciousness. We are all grasping at forms we can’t possibly see the shape of.

It’s scary to realise that everybody else is basically flying blind. But it’s liberating, too. When you stop relying on others to show you the way, you can begin to truly explore your own power.

And there you have it...five tough nuggets. I don't expect that this will become one of my most popular blog posts ever, but I'm happy that I published it. What are your hard-won magickal truths? Share with other readers in the comments!

https://www.groveandgrotto.com/blogs/articles/five-hard-truths-about-magick

[archivesdiveronarpg]

Congratulations, RONI! You’ve been accepted for the role of CIRCE with the approved faceclaim change to AARON YAN. Roni, what else is there to say except that your applications are always, always inspiring? You grasped Cinead’s voice so perfectly I got chills the more I read of your writing. From their cryptic, coy interview answers to the perfectly pivotal moments you captured in your para sample, you’ve demonstrated that the awe they inspire is, while terrifying at times, subtle in its potency. I especially loved the bit about their hoarding, and that they named their beloved crows! Congratulations - I’m so excited to see Cinead grace our dash! Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

                                                                             WELCOME TO THE MOB.

Out of Character

Alias | Roni

Age | 21

Preferred Pronouns | she/her

Activity Level | I’m attending uni this year, and it’s not too difficult at the moment. I have a lighter course due to dropping a class, yet the ones remaining are still rigorous. So while I am on Tumblr during my free time, it’s hard to gauge when my free time will be. However, I would probably rate myself a seven out of ten on weekdays and a eight out of ten on most weekends, depending on how many replies I have/the length of my replies.

Timezone | EST

Permission | yes, you have my permission to publish this application!

Added note | I am turning this in with ten minutes to go before the submit closes, so I apologize for any grammatical/spelling errors!

In Character

Character | Circe // Cinead Tsai (with a fc change to aaron yan please?)

What drew you to this character? | like i’ve said before, i love playing neutral characters, as i love the dynamic neutral characters have with everyone. and reading through the witches, i was pulled to each of them, for their demeanors are absolutely wonderful and enticing. yet i kept returning to cinead. there is something so enticing about them, in the contrast they hold among their siblings, and the aura they possess within verona. they and their siblings hold a level of control among a city belonging to such an old feud; essentially, they all can hold their own. and with cinead, they can hold their own with that flare of indifference; mallory is the heat of a flame, hea a cool breeze that comforts and stings, and cinead is the cold chill that never truly leaves your bones. and that chill permeates throughout verona, and gosh, i would love to roleplay that if accepted.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character?

( plan i ) there is something elusive to cinead about both matthias and hugo. they spark their interest unlike so many others, and it doesn’t escape their notice how different they are. of course, if they were similar, perhaps neither would capture his eye. the urge to test them, to push them past their breaking points, is a nagging notion that refuses to release them. oh, there are more important things in their lives that requires their attention —- and yet, their thoughts will drift to one of them more often than not. perhaps they want to see them burn. perhaps they want to touch their lives in ways they will never dream of. not even they know for sure what they truly desire of them. they are willing to discover it, though, and they will push and pull the strings to attain it.

( plan ii ) their siblings are their lifeblood. whatever true happiness they experience, whatever contentment they derive from this life, it all begins and ends with mallory, hea, and themselves. the three of them —- cinead cannot imagine what life would be if one of them disappeared from their lives. and yet, they dance on the edge between gods and mortals, and despite their confidence in the fact that of everyone in verona, they cannot die, there is a sliver of doubt. that inkling that, yes, they are mortals like those who surround them, and they all will die with a soft exhale. cinead does not wish for their bond to each other to break, nor does he wish for any of their deaths —- and yet, what will happen if either were to occur? what would happen if that sliver of doubt turns into the heartbreaking reality? how would verona explode after that?

( plan iii ) what would happen if someone forced their hand, and their reaction essentially caused them to choose a side? whether they wanted to side with any group is beyond the point; the action has marked them. how would that challenge their siblings? how would that impact the world they’ve slowly built? how would that change the stance they’ve all adopted for years? i want their would shaken, completely disturbed, and that could very well be the best way to disrupt what they have held close.

In Depth

What is your favorite place in Verona?

A raised brow, a flicker of a smirk. Humorous, really, that their time is being wasted on questions and words when their answers usually depend on actions. Their mind flits from the room to what the city is like that day. It’s as if their sight is linked to that of their crows —- there, the dark lady, a foreboding place of uneasiness, even for them and their siblings. the cathedral in the distance, tall and grand and antagonizing like always. The Capital Library, where knowledge should be a safe haven for many, and yet, it’s only for a select few. The roads and alleyways, the bodies littering the ground, the desolate wailing as their tears mix with the river —–

They blink. They are in a room, and the person is waiting with bated breath.

“I’ll share a secret with you,” they finally whisper, and, oh, the spark of excitement and wariness is exactly what they wanted to witness. The two of them lean forward at the same time.

This time, the smallest of smiles instead of a flicker. “Sometimes, us witches need an escape. Sometimes, we use our own rooms at the Hotel Emelia. It’s relaxing, quiet, little space for the wars that rage these streets.

“And it is the best place to share secrets. And if any spill from our doors — especially our own, especially mine if I even were to share — the consequences are just as quiet, just as relaxing for some.”

As the being leans back, lips pressed thin, Cinead’s smile grows inch by inch.

What does your typical day look like?

“I’m the one who greets you in the morning, depending on where you are,” they answer, smooth and effortless. “My siblings don’t tend to rise with the sun, but I enjoy sipping coffee as the sun rises. It’s a beautiful masterpiece, just like the ones at our museum.

“Every day I work — on different things than my siblings, of course, though we do share duties from time to time. Have to, if we want anything we touch to run smoothly and successfully. And then, perhaps on a particularly good day, you can find me at the Tempest Lounge.”

A tilt of the head, then, another flicker of a smirk. “Were you wondering, by chance, what my work entails? If it includes anything unusual?”

        ( —- a flock of crows, gold coins slipping through fingers, a soft note of warning —- )

“I assure you, whatever you suspect it is —- well, my work depends on it, don’t you think?”

What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?

They cannot help the scoff that escapes. The other is startled, unsure of how to react, and Cinead rolls their eyes. “Their war is suffocating. Their war is damaging. Their war is ruination. And that is what the city needs, in some sense. One cannot know peace without war; that is how we thrive, that is how we remain alive. The thought of something better being so close amidst chaos —- that brings people together.”

A hum burns the back of their throat. The sound is choppy, something unnatural coming from them. “It is true art of the human life, is it not? This devastation, this cry for revenge, this begging for peace. It’s beautiful and entertaining, a brilliant show to witness.”

Their gaze locks with the other, and the other sucks in a harsh breath. Another smile blossoms across their face, and, oh, they feel how absolutely crushing it is. “Are you not entertained yourself?”

In-Character Para Sample: (unfortunately, this isn’t as long as i planned it to be, so hopefully the snippets allow enough insight!)

Imagine a single being, born with eyes closed, and yet saw the world as it was: darkness. Imagine that being opening their eyes to witness light, and yet know they were not led astray. Imagine still how that being grew, with light surrounding them, trying to convince their soul that darkness did not exist, that salvation existed for them and everyone.

Imagine the being seeing a crow in the distance, black as night, existing as truth.

Know it was a call of reckoning; know it was the first curse and blessing bestowed on the earth the being walked.

It is Cinead’s origin; it is Cinead’s truth.

****

They return to the orphanage with less than they left; some of their belongings had burned in the house fire, and some the foster family denied them. Cinead had left the latter matter alone; there was nothing of importance, and they believed the family had suffered enough.

And if they hadn’t, the cycle of fate would. That, of anything, would always remain despite the passage of time.

Mallory and Hea did not notice their return. Thirteen and twelve, they still remained in the corner by themselves, quiet and thriving all at once. It was something Cinead had longed for while away.

Hea is the first to notice their entrance. Their fingers brush Mallory’s, and the youngest whips their head to the door. Both stand, both glide across the floor, and both surround Cinead with silent questions, slow nods as silent answers are given.

Hea’s warmth embraces them, and a beat passes Cinead’s arms wrap around the other. “I’m sorry the foster family did not work,” they say, and their voice lacks the genuine lilt they usually possess.

Cinead nods. “Me too,” they reply, and their tone exposes the lie they do not care to hide.

They are home. And they are not sorry.

****

"Pitiful.”

It is the only word they offer to the air, and neither Mallory or Hea are surprised. They all stand upon the roof of the Hotel, the image of the dead stamped in the back of their minds. The cycle is anew with the arrival of new players, and it was something the two warring families did not expect. Though what is worse, is the three of them could not foresee the change in its entirety.

In the moment, Cinead does not know who the label is directed for.

Still, change is a card one wants on their side; while inevitable, the consequences can be controlled.

A deep breath, a slow exhale. “It seems we are in need of a wider scope.”

Mallory huffs, arms crossed in annoyance. “We are in need of the unexpected, Cinead. Just as these Spades possess.”

“And we will possess it once more, you two. A mere blip is all this is,” Hea says, their voice soft as the breeze kissing their cheeks.

“A mere blip is a beat of a butterfly’s wings, Hea. I do not intend for us to be caught in the impending tornado.” Licking their lips, Cinead takes a step away from the lights and the screams that still echo the night. “Do not lose sight of what is important. Our lives could burn at the same time as theirs.”

This time, Mallory rolls their eyes, their hand trailing up Cinead’s arms to rest on their shoulder. “This eldest sibling act isn’t a good look on you, Cinead. Especially if you begin acting like a toddler who lost a board game.”

“Please, do you see me stomping my foot Mallory?” Cinead says as Hea’s chuckle resounds behind them.

Once silence embraces them once more, Hea whispers, “We will not forget as long you don’t, Cinead.”

They all stare to the bright lights of a city that is truly theirs (for how can this city belong to any meaningless humans?), and Cinead sucks the dark world into their lungs.

“I will not forget.”

Extras:

~ color palette

~ quotes

“you are the one everyone fears: the monster in the closet, the witch at the stake – the devil, falling. all of this is because they cannot understand you. they fear you like they fear death; instinctively. do not mind them, for death is a kind god: the sweetest sleep, the darkness from which life is born.”

“hope is going to kill you and it wont be a pretty death. sorry.”

“it’s quiet and you feel serene you splay your fingers against the water and you sink lower and lower just enough to breathe”

“We learn that the heart is the same size as the fist but we keep forgetting they don’t have the same functions.”

~ headcanons

cinead’s crows are their delight and joy. while many have been seen flying above where they walk ( a true sign of a blessing and a curse ), there have been three by his side for many, many years. once upon a time, the flicker of the thought in naming them after themselves and their siblings highly amused them to the point of almost following through. instead, in order to avoid confusion for the rest of their lives, they settled on different names. tempest, the strong-willed and loudest of the three, one, emelia, the quiet, elusive darling, and twelfth, the one who delivers the most trinkets. creative names, no?

they dabble in makeup, more for the aesthetic than for a true passion. eyeliner designs decorate their eyes, their temples, whatever they decide to settle upon that day. they appear as a run-way model most days; however, if they ever need to blend, they will easily wipe away the designs with no regret.

they tend to hoard items they believe to be interesting, or items that twelfth has brought to their attention. the collection isn’t organized as it should be, and their room is messy because of it. their siblings tease cinead is truly a crow’s counterpart, and they aren’t sure whether they take the remark as a compliment or not.

they take their coffee with one cream and half a sugar cube. they would rather wake in the morning with little bitterness, but not too much sweetness either.

they rather adore the museum; is was their desire to fill the museum with mostly baroque designs, as the era and style enraptures them. though they understand they cannot control those who kiss the statues, they will certainly complain about the marks left behind.

[namhanman]

A Path of Passion, Excellence, & Purpose

I was a spectator during the event and not a huge fan of dirt bike racing. I was just hanging out with my friends and watching with mild interest. It became apparent very early in the race who was going to win. The leader quickly established a lead distance of about half a track and never missed a beat. The rest of the pack moved along somewhere behind him, no one stood out, except for maybe a few who were doing worse than the rest. But this One excelled. His skill for his chosen path was far above and beyond the norm. He implemented each maneuver with a grace and confidence that can only come with endless hours of practice and understanding not only for himself but for the machine, the track, his peers and the hobby itself. Nothing threw his concentration off. He stayed completely dedicated and committed to the task at hand. An attitude had been developed by him of focused harmony; he was one with what was required of him. I was blown away. It was an awesome experience to witness someone’s passion so vibrantly. Since that brief moment i have looked for excellence and now have witnessed it everywhere.

Mostly people aren’t committed to a purpose, aren’t passionate, and aren’t playing out their lives with quality. It’s maybe not that they don’t want to, they just haven’t found where or how to do it. But once in a while, out of the blue, someone appears who is, and then they’re easy to spot. For example, occasionally you find an excellent teacher. You might not see it when you first look, but when your child comes home from school bubbling with excitement and a new fire burning in a need to their eyes to attain, you know they have encountered excellence. Hopefully that fire burns off long enough for them to ignite their own passion.

This may be the plain thing about passion and excellence; it’s contagious. It spreads, igniting and firing up dormant minds and energy in a random fashion. That bike racer didn’t inspire me to master bike racing but rather to find and develop that same fire within my own heart in my own way. And I didn’t stop I felt just watching him until I could feel that fire in my own soul the way. We all hunger for this passion to ignite that we are here for a reason, that we have a purpose within ourselves because it tells us.

To be in the same room as the spirit of quality can be an experience that is intimidating. It is not easy for us to witness another’s excellence if we are overly aware of our own lack of passionate purpose. It is always easier to criticize, to try to minimize the other’s accomplishment rather than maximize our own. Our world that is western believes and creates attitudes of competitiveness and one-up-man-ship. The prize would go to the we&rsquo and winner;ve all been conditioned to want the prize. We have not been trained to look into our hearts and soul for the plain thing we feel passion for, for the thing we long to be excellent at. We have been taught to strive fervently for the sake of getting and staying on top. Passion itself has not been applauded, just the winning. In our world today success that is financial almost everything else. Unfortunately, we've been taught that prosperity and wealth come at a cost, a sacrifice of some heart piece. But no matter how close it may seem to come; money does buy happiness or n’t excellence and definitely not purpose. Achievement itself is not the same as excellence. We can achieve any goal it and stick to the plan if we determine to do so, set our minds to. Continuing excellence is soul driven and promises fulfillment.

We become aware of the power they have when we witness excellence in another. Working and living from your passion is an empowering experience and it is a potent force that is recognized by others as power. The need for energy has driven guys to madness. A lust for power can focus and channel all the force that is creative of individual towards self-destruction. Trying to take power from anything outside of our selves will cause us to implode in bitterness and grief, confusion and pain. True power can only be realized in one’s own expression of quality. When faced with quality we will feel bombarded with emotions that need to be acknowledged, accepted and released. We will wade through feelings of inferiority, of jealousy, of egotistic pride and criticism. But there is a better, easier way. When we have the opportunity to experience another’s brilliance we can allow ourselves to blissfully harmonize with their passion, feeling our own awakening. If we can learn to forgive our own shortcomings, accept ourselves as we truly are we will see that we too own a unique signature of excellence that can easily co-exist with anyone else’s.

Function can be painful, difficult and usually the plain thing we least want to do. The thing that is funny purpose is that it often doesn’t look like anything we’d expect or want. Although another may inadvertently provide you with to your purpose they can’t give it to you. They also can’t take it from you. It is had by you all for yourself. It arises out of you and compels you to be who you are. Purpose isn’t affected by anyone’s disapproval or approval. It simply is. Purpose is self-motivating; it makes you put your feet on the floor every morning and keep putting them one in front of the other all day long. This is beyond duty and responsibility. It is done by you because your soul demands it.

In fact it is our purpose that gives us life. It is purpose that propels a spark of light through the veils of consciousness to embark on another journey through physical life on this plane. Purpose has a divine quality to it because it is the heart-string that connects us to consciousness. It is that which allows us to maintain a resonant familiarity with the spirit that is divine. Our purpose is our inherent need – the thing that can’t be denied no matter what it costs us. Purpose is connected to evolution and thus to our karma. And because purpose is connected to growth it isn’t always pleasant. Every person lives to fulfill his purpose. And that’s a hard pill to swallow. Life happens on a continuum, beyond the short life cycles of one person or another. We are typical connected in some way. We know this. We want to assume that purpose is glorious and beautiful, harmonious and cherished. But it’s not always. It can be painful, ugly, revolting and despicable to our rationality and to humanity.

We are able to recognize the force of purpose at work when we see that we played a pivotal role in how a situation unfolds, this may be through conscious or effort that is unconscious. We are only purposeful in relationship. Purpose is part of the healing effect of karma. It is a dynamic charge that must be activated and released into consciousness to push start something into a possibility that is new. clash of clans hack Purpose is not lived for others alone, there is always a self-serving, self-defining aspect to it, but maybe one that we don’t understand in front mind. .

Purpose will be fulfilled, it is more of who we are than what we do, and there seems to be a force larger than our own free choice and will which determines the time and place for ones purpose to be revealed. Passion and excellence are forces that ignite invention that is creative our selves and others, building the path of life before us, opening possibility for many other people, and paving the way for purpose to unfold. People search obsessively because of their purpose; trying many hats on for size, they are usually searching for a demonstration that is profound of and climactic change. But purpose can also sneak up on you quietly, subtly, and discreetly. All we can do is observe patiently, with an heart that is open willingness to play our role when we are called, then play our role excellently with passion.

[pneumasthesia]

Chapter 5

B.    Ace of Wands

First Card – Past: Wands

Today is not a good day.

I’m sure of it. As sure as I am that the sky is blue. As sure as I am that my name is-

What was my name again?

Oh no. It’s happening again. I’m in one of my Ruts. I knew that today would be a bad day, but not that it would be this bad. If my mind is this addled, then this has to be my worst Rut in a very long time. But to look on the bright side, the worse the Rut, the greater the High that will come once it passes.

But this night is hardly the time to be in a High. This night is a time for action, for action with a clear and focused mind. I must remember what I’m here for.

I’m here to learn. To learn about myself. To understand my condition. I will come out of this “retreat” of The Professor’s greater than I have ever been before.

Though it is hard to believe that an Ace such as myself could possibly be any greater than I already am.

I am not just an Ace; I am the Ace; a singular existence whose very mood shapes the makeup of the world.

If only I felt like that right now. Now I am simply ruled by the Wands; driven forward into action no matter the consequences. How manly of me.

It’s not just me though, this whole room, this salon, is ruled by the Wands. The Magician, the Hanged Man, the Fool, the Hermit, and that goodly Hierophant can all feel it, though I doubt they know it. The excitement and apprehension is palpable. Even someone who was not the Ace would surely be able to sense it. A gathering so Major in its attendance is sure to have suitably major forces at play.

“My sincerest greetings, Gentlemen. I come to you on this most momentous of occasions to give you all a truly exciting proposition” says the Hierophant, pulling the attention of each onlooking Arcana towards him and only him. Impressive, if not more than a little infuriating.

“As a psychologist, I have long pondered the human condition. What is it that brings us joy? What is it that makes us suffer?” continues the Professor.

“I have known great suffering in my life” his eyes turn towards the fireplace where a well-crafted old rifle hangs. An excellent gun, very manly.

“Yet I have also found great joy, far greater than those that I know that have not experienced that same great suffering” pontificates the Hierophant, “I have a theory that joy is not the absence of suffering, but the result of it.”

An odd thought. A presumptuous thought, but if a famous professor is not allowed to be presumptuous, then who is.

“My greatest joy in life came from when I finally conquered my suffering. When I laid to rest that blight upon my soul that prevented me from being my true, complete self” he continues with a look of immense satisfaction on his face, “that is why I have taken up the profession of the psychologist, to bring that same joy, that same catharsis, to those that suffered as I suffered.”

“I have reason to believe that you all have suffered” the Hierophant presumes. How blunt. I had not thought a well-regarded psychologist to be so tactless.

“Not just that, I theorize that those I have gathered here today have suffered in a way that modern psychology has not yet even begun to understand” the Hierophant continues, whipping himself into a mania of scholarly excitement.

“I aim to end that in this retreat of mine. That suffering. That lack of understanding. By week’s end, I shall bring the greatest catharsis a human can ever now to each and every one of you, and from you all the world shall know of your stories, so that no one again can suffer how you suffered” the Hierophant continues, having worked his frail body into breathlessness from the thrill of his speech.

What noble intentions. I’m sure that poor, lonely Hanged Man and the awkward Hermit beside me will surely benefit greatly from this. That pitiful little Fool seems doubtful of the Hierophant’s proposal, though not quite as surprised as the Magician, who seems ready to burst in their anger. I have no interest in finding “catharsis” from this “suffering” that he has so erroneously presumed me to have.

The Hierophant surveys the salon for approval, though only one pair of angered eyes, and my own of course, meet his. Undeterred, if not rejuvenated, he continues “now you may wonder for yourselves what this new malady of the mind I have discovered within you is. And rightfully so, I doubt that any one of you have even realized for yourselves what has been plaguing you. It is always difficult to understand yourself, that is why there are people like me.”

“I call this new illness of the psyche: Pneumasthesia” the Hierophant announces, seemingly waiting for applause from his captive audience, which does not come.

“Pneumasthesia is the synthesis of souls, of the very creative essences of creatures” the Hierophant continues, as unflappable, or perhaps ignorant, as ever, “ordinary men have only five main senses. That is what is commonly known in science. Yet it is false. All men have a sixth sense.” Preposterous.

The Hierophant chuckles to himself, “you may think it to be preposterous, but it’s nothing so outlandish as ESP or some other such occult nonsense that my more imaginative colleagues may espouse. The human sixth sense is very real, and very observable.”

“Humans, as social animals, possess the capacity for empathy. It is a necessary trait to evolve in order to function in a group of individuals” the Professor lectures, in an even more academic tone than the one he was already using, “It’s basic evolutionary psychology to know that social animals must be able to understand the thoughts and feelings of their peers in order to survive. To do so, a language is created within the collective unconscious that all ordinarily functioning humans understand. Not a consciously created language of words and symbols, but an unconscious one of facial expressions and bodily ticks, even down to pheromones and microscopic movements of the eye muscles. It is by subconsciously sensing these tells that we understand each other.”

I suppose I understand where he is coming from, but that can hardly be considered a sixth sense.

“If this sense, the sense of empathy, is based off sight and smell and whatnot, why do I say that it is a sixth sense. Simple, because our brains, the brains of ordinary human beings, do not process this unconscious language the same as we do the other five senses. In some people, the five conventional senses can function just fine, but this sixth sense can be disrupted” he says, turning to the Hermit, who attempts to meet his gaze and fails.

“Because of the unconscious nature of the sixth sense, all ordinary people can feel the thoughts and emotions of others to some extent but can never probe the minds of others. That’s not how empathy works” the Hierophant begins to grin “at least that’s not how it normally works.”

“What if the sixth sense was intertwined with one or more of the other five senses?” he begins to speak louder and quicker, somehow even more excited than before, “If a wire were crossed in one’s brain that made one perceive the thoughts, the emotions, the very souls of others as simple, ordinary sensory data?”

“Then empathy would no longer be an unconscious function of the brain! It would simply become another axis by which the human brain experiences the world!” the Hierophant reaches the climax of his speech “that is Pneumasthesia: ‘souls-together’! It is the condition where which the soul of another becomes as easy to witness as one’s own hand in front of one’s own face. This condition …” he trails off.

“It horrifies me” he finishes, in a hushed tone. The room is rapt at attention, confused at this sudden turn, but I am not surprised. I understand him. It figures such a stuck-in-his-ways Hierophant as him would be resistant to this idea.

“My heart goes out to those who suffer from this condition. Empathy, though it is often spoken of with reverence, especially among my peers, is hardly a gift. It is in many ways, a curse” his tone comes down to a whisper with a dramatic flair that could only come from practice, “to be a social animal is to be as a soldier, under constant attack. The concern, the fear, the hatred, of each and every member of the ever-expanding human pack bombards a man. With this sort of stimulation, it is nigh impossible for an individual to find their own stoic satisfaction.”

“Now, imagine if an individual was not simply subconsciously made witness to the thoughts of others, but persistently and consciously forced to nearly inhabit the minds of others” the Professor pauses for effect as a fresh smile creeps up his lips, “though I doubt it is difficult for any one of you to imagine. I have seen your medical records and I can say with near certainty that this malady is exactly what is causing you all to suffer so. And I can assure you, I will cure every last one of you, by my honor as the soon-to-be greatest psychologist who has ever lived!”

The Hanged Man looks down, collapsing into a pitiable ball like some sort of hurt puppy. Were I in a better mood, I’d almost feel inclined to pet the poor thing.

The Magician’s fury appears to have subsided for a moment, replaced by smoldering contemplation. Something must have struck a chord with that one that not even an Arcana of such indefatigable action could ignore.

The Hermit looks towards the Hierophant with confusion and what seems like a hurt, personal hurt, as if they feel that they were betrayed.

The Fool walks away slowly, their mind a flurry of emotions. Anger, confusion, resentment, but the confusion reigns out among them all. I would expect nothing more from such an entertaining little Fool.

The Ace, I, feel nothing so melodramatic as these other Arcana. I am glad, ecstatic even. I can feel my Rut abating. To know that the goodly Professor shares my views has me overjoyed. To know that he too recognizes the hell that is other people brings to me a deep sense of camaraderie with this man, one I rarely feel with other Arcana.

Though I cannot say I completely agree with the Hierophant’s words. I am not an invalid to be cured. I am the Ace. I know the Arcana of men and women because I am the Ace. I know the evil, the pain, the ugliness of each and every individual I meet, and that does not bring me suffering, it is my greatest joy.

The Hierophant, basking in his perceived success, unaware of the negative effect that his speech had on each listener, but clearly aware that it had a great effect, turns to the Fool, and speaks “come back here my little Pet. Greet our patients properly.”

The Professor’s “Pet” stops reluctantly and turns back towards the other Arcana. The Foolish “Pet” hesitantly looks between the dismayed faces of each Arcana and speaks “I am the Professor’s assistant, P-E-T, as he called me. I will be serving you all during this retreat, including making your meals which I am currently in the middle of preparing. If you need me for anything, I will be in the servant’s quarters on the first floor down that hallway” he points behind him to where he was trying to retreat before and then speaks up one last time before retreating again “Please just call me Peter, because that is my name.”

“It’s a very clever little name if I do say so myself. And I do. His name’s PETer, and PET is his initials as well. And the name’s quite fitting for who he is as well. Hehehe” the professor jokes, seemingly having forgotten the tense atmosphere he had left the room in from his claims, “I think you’ve met him before as well, old friend. Though that was just once in a fairly busy conference so I’m not sure if you remember.” The Professor seemed to have a note of good-natured challenge in his tone in that last remark, though I’m not sure why.

The Hermit steps forward, towards the Hierophant and says “we need to talk, it can’t wait till later, it has to be now. Please.”

The Professor seems resistant, his eyes dart towards the staircase behind him. I can’t let him escape.

“I would like to speak with you as well, if that’s alright, Professor” I say with a perfect, trained politeness.

The Professor sighs, he can’t refuse if we gang up on him. That would be too rude for a Hierophant.

The Hierophant sighs, “very well, I would like to talk with you as well.”

 00:27:35

 “Are you alright now? It seemed like that one was awfully difficult for– “

“We need to talk.”

“?!”

“What is that surprise for? Did you think I was mute or something?”

“Ah … well … no … it’s just…”

“Are you crying?”

“Am I? Oh, you’re right. Of course you’re right but … hahaha. I didn’t think that someone like me was capable of this, especially not for someone like you.”

“Was that one of your jabs?”

“No, no, of course not. Now that you’re speaking, I don’t need to insult you. Unless you really deserve it.”

“You’re just as much of a little annoyance as before.”

“Hahahahaha … Oh, I can’t stop laughing. I knew it! I knew that those questions would work! With stimulation like that, you could hardly ignore me.”

“Yes. Congratulations, you bullied me into compliance. Excellent work, therapist.”

“Do you think anyone will blame me for bullying you a little, patient?”

“No, and that’s the problem. I had thought you’d be above something like this.”

“Then you’d be very wrong. You must be slipping after that little ‘vacation’ of yours.”

“And your education has clearly not benefitted your soul as much as your ego.”

“What of my soul?”

“Hmm?”

“Tell me, what do you see within my soul?”

“…”

“Let me change the question, what do you hear within my soul?”

“That’s not going to change my answer- “

“What do you smell within my soul? What do you feel? What do you taste?”

“Why would I taste your soul? Are you some kind of sick fetishist?”

“Hahahahahaha I suppose you could say that, but I don’t see what’s wrong with being excited about these things.”

“You’re far, far too excited right now. I would tell you to calm down, but I doubt I’m in a place to suggest anything like that to my therapist.”

“You are absolutely within your rights to suggest something like that to me.”

“What?”

“I’m not here to examine you. I’m here to understand you. And in order for myself to understand you, you must also understand me.”

“………”

“Oh, that statement struck a chord! I’ll have to write that down!”

“……………”

“Even with how little you’ve spoken so far, your body language and reactions have given me such a wealth of interesting observations! I’ve almost run out of space on my notepad with all this information!”

“…………………”

“With info like this I’m sure to come to a wonderfully conclusive thesis by the end of this session! We have so much time left, and I cannot wait to go even further! We’ve just barely begun the first step of this process! We’ll connect to an even closer degree! Aren’t you excited, my good patient!”

“………………………”

“My patient?”

“……………………………”

“Oh no, no, no, NO! Stay with me! Not now! Can you hear me?!”

Introduction – Behavior: Part 2

“Can you hear me?”

00:29:46

“Please, answer me!”

Introduction – Behavior: Part 3

“C’mon, Answer me!”

00:29:49

“Can you see me?”

Introduction – Behavior: Part 4

“Can you see anything?”

00:29:51

“How many fingers am I holding up?"

Introduction – Behavior: Part 5

“Wait, uhh, how many fingers am I holding up?”

 >Pick one:

A.    Answer correctly

B.     Answer incorrectly

[garyh2628]

Chairman and Managing Operational CEO (Global Legal Authority Quasi-Judicial)

(Finance, planning, industry and foreign trade portfolios) Private

Head of Human Resources Finance and People and Global Head of Corporate Responsibility

 Investments/Contracts/Superior/Technically Competent and Right-Hand Men

NGO - (Finance, planning, industry and foreign trade portfolios) Private

 To my Pharma Hubs, Technology Hubs, Social Creative/Personal Hub, My Private Hubs, My Financial Hubs and my Health and Wellbeing/Scientific Hubs, Legal and Innovation Hubs, Hinterland Hub and to my Eastern Caribbean Hub, Linguistic/Psychology Hub, to my beloved additions and to my Institutions and Partners and Team, Pool of Potential Personal Assistants and Private Secretaries and Business Managers and also to my Fitness Hub which is an extension of my Health and Wellbeing Hub and not to forget my beloved Brooklyn Hub and my Wine/Adviser Hub and my Influential Legal Cashier.

 All Options remain on the Table applying the finishing touches to our Genius and my Genius and the Network and this Global Structure Genius.

 This is great news from my Property Expert Guy, my Personal CEO, My Influential Advisers, my Statement of Intent and my Strategic Partnerships and from the Network and this Global et al and my Personal CEO, we got some amazing news today and we are tipping over Financially. I’m very impressed with the level of work that is being done as a matter of urgency presently.  We are moving forward with vision and we are moving forward with purpose.  To my surprise an additional very highly respected Natural/Organic Intellectual will be joining my Personal Team as soon as the Offices and the Particulars and the tool kits and the entire Global Portfolio. My softly spoken personal CEO said “But criticism from those is another story. He said too many of the them are on public assistance or looking forward to assistance”.  I’m also very encouraged that the Chambers ruling in relation to the Compensation Suite in relation to those personal subjects are now legally full proof and will be forth coming with the particulars.   Great jobs private hubs et al.  We will win the Election, we will deliver for Intellect.

 We are approaching the next stage of the Statement of Intent and Strategic Partnerships et al, and also the Wealth Fund and my Private Hubs et al and Intellectual Capacity Investors Council are moving into the developmental stage with regards to the shaping of the particulars for delivery to myself for perusal.  There are indications that all of the CEOs, hubs et al are working together plus the team. They have learnt the lessons of the past which was a serious sin of the of the Network and Global Structure: failure to stand up to corporate interests. Previously, they have too often simply nipped and tucked other people’s ideas instead of romancing Intellect and Education and making me the Network and the Global Structure and the Particulars and the delivery of the Global Portfolios and the Offices their priority.  Intellect doesn’t seek to apportioned blame, but it analyses the root causes.  This Community of Companies and Corporations and Team and Partners and Institution that I own which forms part of the Sector and Industry Community, should always be our priority.  The delivery of all of the details with all of the particulars and tool-kits need to be our priority as we have a huge and broad mandate with the Environment and Intellect.  Great work Property Expert Guy and great work Personal Attorney et al and excellent work Strategic Partners and Statement of Intent and attachment.

My Investors Council and my Personal CEO began today the difficult work of prioritising the various investment portfolios for my perusal, and further for delivery to my Office of Signature and Stamp and Approval and then to my Personal Boardroom.  The various development stages are moving forward with urgency as the Office of Budget and Management and all of the various details in relation to the tool kits need deliver before the additional resources needed for Investment, potential income, traditional avenues and the foundation delivery become available.  I do not delegate.

This Community of my Companies which form part of the Global Sector and Industry Community will not allow the shallow tactic of a few mediocrity sympathisers to cause us to face a financial crisis based on the Offices not being delivered within lead time. We will deliver on formidable, environmentally friendly Monetary Policies. My Property expert Guy and Influential Advisers and my Personal Attorney et al said “It’s a truism that’s been on my mind recently, as I’ve pondered why I they have not been enthralled by the Initiatives, The Programs, and all of the great and wonderful things that are in the pipeline to be delivered as a further responsibility to the Environment.? Don’t get me wrong (and please don’t start drafting your protest letters yet, or at least not until you finish the piece).  I’m bullish at this moment as I say that all of the requisite Intellects are in the Infrastructure Globally and locally wit regards to the Statement of Intent, the Private Hubs et al, my Personal Attorney and my Strategic Partnerships and my Intellectual Advisers and my Advisers Councils.

 How things will change and already beginning to change as a result of Gary and the Network and The Global Structure and additions, the Statement of Intent and the Strategic Partnerships and my Private Hubs and Team.  We have not delivered any of the Offices and we haven’t developed in detail any of the Initiatives but yet we are seeing evidence of the environment being influenced in favour of Intellect.  We will win the Election, we will win for Privatisation and we will win for Compliance and we will win for Guidelines and we will win for hospitality and we will deliver for health and we will deliver in our further responsibility to the environment “We the People, By the People”.  This Network and this Global Structure will deliver the ingredients so that you yourself can take control of your Destiny because It’s time for you to live your best life. The decision was well judged.  I am your newly appointed chief executive and yes as was told by the OLC I will take it on with pleasure.  Together we will achieve and succeed.  I’m looking forward to our meetings. A member of leadership and a member of the committee said people are “thrilled” with the choice of Gary. The six-year agreement will be ready for my perusal and delivery to my Office of Signature and Stamp and Approval. The conglomerate is almost complete. “When I got here, it took me a while to understand it before he realised the sheer complexity of the Network and Global Structure and then is when I concur that the correct Intellect for the challenges and progress and growth and leadership quality is rightly Gary, I now understand the excitement and the buzz around the boardrooms.

 Truly flawless are exceedingly rare and they are normally priced accordingly and is normally a celebration of classical Intellect. In the network and the Global Structure, we ensure that your intellectual investment is safe with us, leaving you free to celebrate that special occasion and your investment in love. Truth to Tell, Tell it first, Tell it like it is.  I love you, I love you. The Colour grade is actually determined by it’s lack of colour. The more colourless, the greater it’s rarity and value.

 Don’t say it yet, keep quiet, whisper it to your advisers and your confidante, we have a rendezvous with Education, we have a rendezvous with Economics, we have a rendezvous for shared prosperity, we have a rendezvous to deliver for the Statement of Intent, we have a rendezvous with History, we have a rendezvous with the Environment.  We have an occasion to attend as I deliver to Intellectuals all across the world my Fire and Brimstone address and as the Intellectual Capacity Vault begins to turn.  As this Community declares Financial independence. This family, you and I will deliver, and let everything that have breathe shout, It’s time to live your best life!

 I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you! Yes Yes Yes.  We won.

 Chairman and Managing Operational CEO (Global Legal Authority Quasi-Judicial)

(Finance, planning, industry and foreign trade portfolios) Private

Head of Human Resources Finance and People and Global Head of Corporate Responsibility