#That's indicative of a greater issue

[atomicc]

Had a huge thought but it ended up just boiling down to how I think people should focus less of their energy on shipping or whatever but also do what you want just don't be a misogynist i don't know

[odinsblog]

🗣️ This is for all new internet connected cars

A new study has found that your car likely knows more about you than your mom. That is disconcerting, but what’s even more so is what is being done with your information. It’s all about the Benjamins. Our private information is being collected and sold.

The Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit that studies internet and privacy issues, studied 25 car manufacturers. And it found every manufacturer sold in America poses a greater risk to your privacy than any device, app or social media platform.

Our cars are rolling computers, many of which are connected to the internet collecting information about how you drive and where. New cars also have microphones and sensors that give you safety features like automatic braking and drowsy driver detection. Those systems are also providing information. Got GPS or satellite radio? Then your car likely knows your habits, musical and political preferences.

Did you download your car’s app which gives you access to even more features? Well that also gives your car access to your phone and all the information on it.

The study found that of the 25 car brands, 84% say they sell your personal data.

And what they collect is astounding.

One example the study sites is KIA’s privacy policy. It indicates the company collects information about your sexual activity. I initially didn’t believe it until I pulled KIA’s privacy policy and read it. And it’s right there in black and white. It says it collects information about your “ethnicity, religious, philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, sex life, or political opinions.

And it says it can keep your info for “as long as is necessary for the legitimate business purpose set out in this privacy notice.”

Translation: Nissan can keep your information as long as they want to. And more than half of the manufacturers (56%) say they will share your information with law enforcement if asked.

(continue reading) more ↵

[sexhaver]

in the late 2030s, noosphere analysts in the Unified Irish Republic made a breakthrough: by injecting the souls of people on their deathbeds with specific radioisotopes, they could filter through the greater noosphere for that marker to identify where the soul ended up. the first test subject's soul reappearing in the Mesozoic Era, in turn, led to the discovery that reincarnation is not only real but completely unbound by time or space: upon death, your consciousness is instantly transferred to some other vessel somewhere/when in spacetime at the moment it attains cognizance.

after further research, it was determined that 1. this jump is as close to random as modern nooscopes can measure and 2. the minimum threshold for "cognizance" is incredibly low. this means that most people will end up reincarnating as some kind of insect or vermin, with "human surviving to the age where they start becoming self-aware" being a vanishingly rare outcome. there was also an issue where something like 15% of test subjects ended up returning identical signatures indicating they had been reincarnated somewhere around Orion's Belt, but this was chalked up to a combination of interference from dark matter and insufficiently accurate tools.

this eventually led to the formation of a new religion asserting that there is only one individual "consciousness" in the universe, and that all beings that have ever existed or will ever exist (including you) are all simply different iterations of this one consciousness. the Great Schism of 2037 resulted in this religion fragmenting into two sects due to an argument over the existence of immortal or timeless beings: the larger faction (called "Wombists" due to their habit of referring to the universe as an egg or womb) held that true immortality was impossible in this realm and the endgame for the One True Consciousness (i.e. you) after living every life in the universe was to ascend to godhood; whereas the smaller faction (referred to by the history books as simply "Heretics" after their eradication for heresy) argued that there was exactly one (1) Truly Immortal Being and that the endgame of the One True Consciousness was to end up trapped in this body/life and eventually go mad with power.

in 2041, after the existence of dark matter was conclusively debunked, Cuban astral projectioneers managed to resolve the apparent discrepancy with the earlier Irish dataset: there was, in fact, a planet near Orion's Belt host to an incomprehensibly vast biomass. further expeditions revealed this life to be trillions upon trillions of silicon-based microscopic organisms that were effectively biologically immortal, with metabolic cycles operating on the timescale of stars. the implications of this prompted a second minor schism within the church, since the Wombist line of reasoning implied that 15% of all reincarnations were billion-year jail sentences in the body of an alien tardigrade.

at 1:07 PM GMT on July 27th, 2043, a Mexican observatory detected evidence of a massive eel-like entity emerging from the asteroid belt. it had yet to receive an official name before rendering the issue moot by consuming the Earth whole approximately 28 minutes later.

[ms-demeanor]

are there really chiropractors out there right now who are claiming they can treat all that stuff?? im really actually asking because ive never seen anything like that at all, but obviously i might just be really lucky. i constantly see people saying chiropractors claim they can treat everything, and its just baffling to me. my chiropractor is pretty young (so maybe she just doesnt have the same attitude as older ones?) and went to med school for physical therapy before becoming a chiropractor, and shes the only doctor out of the dozens ive seen who already knew what hyper-mobile ehlers-danlos syndrome is before meeting me. shes never once said anything about treating anything at all beyond the issues in my back from my muscles going whack, and has actually suggested i see a physical therapist (and referred me to one) to strengthen my back so i dont have to see her very often. i assumed that was the normal experience with chiropractors, but did i just luck out? are the majority of chiropractors really insane and claiming they can cure diabetes and stuff?? thats so crazy to think about...

Just to clarify: your chiropractor is not a doctor. Having a doctorate in physical therapy does not make one an MD, having a DC degree does not make one an MD. People who become physical therapists go to school for physical therapy, but that wouldn't really be called medical school any more than getting a degree in nutrition would be called medical school.

I want to be very firm here because you're using the words "medical school" and "doctor" and that indicates to me that she IS claiming to be more than what she actually is, which is a chiropractor and possibly a physical therapist, both of which have requirements that pale in comparison to the training that MDs (or even nurse practitioners or physician's assistants) go through. But chiropractors really like to let people believe that they're doctors. They're not. They're chiropractors.

It's a very good thing that your chiropractor has told you to seek other care for your back pain; neck and spinal adjustments are potentially life threatening to people who don't have connective tissue disorders and are *extremely* dangerous and an even greater risk for people who DO have hypermobility issues (check out what @thebibliosphere has to say about chiropractic and EDS). A licensed physical therapist will be able to do much, much more for you than a chiropractor, and is a MUCH safer choice.

Now, all of that being said:

Yeah it's super common for chiropractors to claim they can treat all kinds of nonsense and when they're doing so it is probably technically illegal and if they actually treat stuff it's probably technically practicing medicine without a license and can be really fucking dangerous if it convinces people to forgo evidence-based treatment.

Here's a chiropractor in LA claiming to treat a laundry list of ailments:

Here's one also in LA county whose yelp photo is of her doing spinal manipulation on a baby (Literally never ever let a chiropractor treat your child it can no-shit kill them) and offering prenatal and perinatal care

Here's a guy in North Hollywood claiming to treat asthma and allergies with chiropractic:

It's not the majority of chiropractors, but it's more than you'd want.

[alchemistc]

"Evan's not here," Tommy says, and Eddie scowls at him as he pushes past Tommy, already aiming for the kitchen as he hitches the six pack he'd brought with him up under his armpit. It'd been a - a thing. A 'my best friend and my new friend are too busy sucking face to spend every spare moment distracting me from my problems' thing, a thing where Eddie sort of finally understood exactly why Buck had hip checked him on the basketball court months ago. He wants his best friend back. He wants the ease of his friendship with Tommy back.

Which is - Christ, he's selfish, is the thing. A month without Chris there to keep him occupied and Eddie has had some startling realizations about himself. ("You're not selfish, Eddie, you're the most selfless person I know." from Buck and "So fix it," from Tommy, a rare night out with the both of them because he'd headed date night off at the pass by asking Tommy to go out for drinks before he and Buck could make plans without him).

"My world doesn't revolve around Buck," Eddie tells him, and screws the cap off a beer to hand it to Tommy. Tommy's doing that judgmental face he gets when he wants to say something bitchy but hasn't put the words in the right order yet. And - Eddie's not lying. Buck is a fixed point, an ever present life-line, but he's not the fucking sun.

Neither is Chris, apparently, which is news to Eddie and he's - spiralling, still. Quietly, calmly, and he's only punched one hole in the wall on a bad night.

"You ever go to Frank?" Eddie asks, like Frank is the only therapist in the greater LA area, and Tommy rolls his eyes, disappears long enough for the muted sound of the television to go quiet.

When he comes back Eddie's reading the label on his beer bottle

"Apparently I resent you," Eddie says, and Tommy chuffs a laugh.

"Apparently?"

"No, I -." The words had been just as hard two hours ago. This little trip was his own design, he'd been told specifically to sit in it for a while but Christ, an hour a week isn't enough time to talk through his issues and it's not like he can tell Buck he resents him for finding something he's happy and stable and solid in. So. Tommy it is. "You and Buck are good together. I'm happy for you both. I am."

Tommy settles against a countertop with his hip digging into the Formica. His kitchen has gained a dutch oven that looks suspiciously like the one Buck has been showing Eddie for like six months that he couldn't justify the cost of because he's not around enough to use it as much as he'd like.

"I'm not usually the one without his shit together," Eddie says.

"No offense, Eddie, but I thought the whole point of therapy was you realizing you rarely have your shit together."

Also true. He's - usually better at hiding it though. Kim was a joker stacked up on a wobbly house of cards and he'd known, somewhere in the back of his mind, that she'd bring the whole thing tumbling to the ground. Mass casualty event. No survivors.

"You make each other better people," Eddie says, which is the wrong thing to say apparently because Tommy scowls.

"If you wanna completely ignore all the work we've both put into ourselves," he snipes, and - yeah. Fair. Buck's been in therapy for years now. Every once in a while he'll pull something out of his ass that makes Eddie's skin itch - something so mystifyingly self-aware that it makes Eddie want to claw into his chest cavity and rip out his fucking heart. And Tommy - well, he doesn't know much but it's not like Tommy's the paragon of perfection. He's worked through some shit. Is still working through shit, if the aftermath of his and Buck's first real fight is any indication.

"I've never been with someone who makes me want to work on myself," Eddie admits, and the lines around Tommy's eyes shift. He sighs.

"Never gonna find that if you don't want it for yourself."

Yeah. Frank's said as much. It's just - Eddie doesn't have a starting point. Tommy had the whole hiding his true self thing, and Buck had the dead-brother-shitty-parents thing, and he's whittling them both down to the sharp edges of themselves in his mind, which isn't entirely fair but it's easier than trying to confront what the fuck his own problem is. Dead wife, his kid in another state, a contentious relationship with his father, a whole backlog of PTSD he's never really confronted head on. Weird feelings cropping up about a religion he thought he'd left in the dust and sand of Afghanistan and a hole he's been trying to fill up with other people since - well, he doesn't even know since when.

Tommy's got his dog tags laying in the bottom of an empty fruit bowl on his kitchen table. Eddie's never seen them before, and some part of him knows Tommy'd brought them out for a conversation with Buck he'll never hear himself, and he aches. He doesn't want them, but he wants what they have, wants to be able to talk about the difficult shit without closing in on himself, wants to have someone to come home to, wants -

"I spent six months imagining my therapist's head exploding every time she made me talk about something uncomfortable," Tommy tells him, and takes a long drag off his beer. For the first time since he'd knocked on Tommy's door, Eddie actually feels a little bad about interrupting his night, but that just leaves him spiralling some more because Eddie usually feels bad about everything, all the time, so why hadn't he felt guilty about this until now? And why does he feel guilty about not feeling guilty?

"I just want him to fix me," Eddie says, and Tommy laughs. Laughs hard and long enough that Eddie's feeling offended. Off kilter and pissed off and -

"You're not a single loose wire, Eddie. Can't just replace a cable and have a clean slate. You gotta change your oil and replace the spark plugs and top up the coolant, over and over again until you die."

It's the sort of metaphor Eddie'd like to lob across the field of engagement just to watch it get shot to pieces. It's apt, though.

"Feels like the whole engines gotta go," Eddie tells him "Transmission's shot and my catalytic converter keeps getting stolen and the mufflers been welded back on so many times that it's half-solder."

"Christ," Tommy says, which. Yeah. Exactly. "Well you can't exactly send yourself to the junk yard for scrap and buy a newer model."

"Buck does," Eddie snaps, and Tommy rolls his eyes. He'd been there the last time Buck brought up his 1.0 days.

"Half the time a system update patches ten bugs and creates twenty more."

"So Buck's buggy, is what you're saying."

He rolls his tongue over his teeth. "You are running off faulty software and you've been refusing to update to the new version because you heard it'd burn the battery faster, is what I'm saying."

Eddie doesn't have a whole lot of charge to begin with. And the metaphors are starting to muddle in his brain, too many different ideas battling around when he's already spent an ornery hour talking to Frank and another trying to convince himself he doesn't resent his best friend for accepting his own fucking flaws and working on them.

Tommy sets the beer bottle down. Eyes Eddie for a moment, and Eddie wonders how often he levels that look on Buck, how Buck feels when Tommy flays him open and digs through his insides. "You wanna go hit something for a bit?" he asks, and Eddie nods so quickly he nearly smacks his nose into the brim of the bottle in his own hand. He's about done feeling his feelings, for the moment. He'll probably end up being annoyed that Tommy makes him wrap his hands before he takes some aggression out on the bag hung up in the corner of Tommy's garage, but maybe when Tommy gets annoyed with him and does that takedown maneuver that knocks the wind out of Eddie's lungs when they're sparring he'll let that go.

Tommy flicks his forehead on the way to grab him something to wear. "That's for calling my boyfriend buggy, jackass," he says, and laughs himself all the way down the hall when Eddie splutters after him.

His bedroom door snicks shut by the time Eddie's recovered enough to remind him that he'd been Eddie's friend first.

[walble]

Good Fortunes Coming In The Near Future

This is meant to be a fun, general reading, so it may not resonate with everyone. Take what resonates for you and leave the rest behind! Please take a moment to breathe, focus on your intuition, and choose the photo that calls to you. Each holds a unique message for you!

𐙚 • 𝑃𝑖𝑙𝑒 1

Your reading suggests a period of financial stability and self-sufficiency approaching soon. There are strong indications of abundance, whether through career advancements, investments paying off, or an overall increase in wealth and comfort. Hard work and patience are paying off, and this is a time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. You may find yourself in a position of authority or influence, where your wisdom and strategic thinking lead to long-term success. This also points to a sense of independence and confidence in managing your resources wisely.

Balance and patience play a key role in what’s coming. You are entering a phase where harmony is essential, particularly in decision-making and personal growth. There’s a need to carefully weigh your choices and move forward with a clear, logical mindset. A rational approach to problem-solving will serve you well, and guidance from a mentor or an institution could provide valuable insight. This could be a time when discipline and structure lead to greater success, whether in your career, finances, or personal development.

Future planning is highlighted, urging you to consider the bigger picture. You may find yourself at a crossroads, looking ahead to new opportunities that require careful thought. Whether it's travel, relocation, or expanding your ambitions, taking a well-calculated risk will bring favorable outcomes. This is a period of learning and growth, where traditional values or structured systems will help guide you forward. Seeking wisdom from trusted sources and staying open to new experiences will ensure that the coming changes lead to stability and prosperity.

❥ ♡ 💜 ♡︎

𐙚 • 𝑃𝑖𝑙𝑒 2

Your reading suggests that personal fulfillment and emotional satisfaction are on the horizon. A long-held wish or desire may soon come to fruition, bringing a sense of joy and contentment. This could be related to personal growth, relationships, or even a long-awaited opportunity finally manifesting. While there may be external challenges, your internal sense of happiness and self-acceptance will be strong, allowing you to navigate any obstacles with confidence.

However, there seems to be a disruption in stability, possibly within your home life or close relationships. A sense of nostalgia or attachment to the past may be holding you back, making it difficult to fully embrace new experiences. Letting go of old wounds or past disappointments will be necessary to move forward. This is a time for healing, as the worst of a difficult period is finally ending. You're emerging from struggles stronger than before, ready to rebuild with clarity and resilience.

Fairness and truth will play an important role in the near future. There may be a situation where justice is served, or a long-standing issue is resolved in a fair and balanced manner. Staying honest and making decisions based on integrity will lead to positive outcomes. Curiosity and a thirst for knowledge will also be important—new ideas, insights, or even unexpected messages may come your way, offering valuable lessons. Keeping an open mind and staying observant will help you make the most of upcoming opportunities.

❥ ♡ 💜 ♡︎

𐙚 • 𝑃𝑖𝑙𝑒 3

Your reading indicates that recent or ongoing conflicts may bring unexpected benefits. While there may have been tension, disagreements, or even a sense of competition, these challenges will ultimately lead to personal growth and a clearer understanding of what truly matters. You are learning to choose your battles wisely and focus on what will serve your long-term success rather than getting caught up in unnecessary disputes.

Collaboration may feel difficult at this time, as teamwork or group efforts could be lacking harmony. However, this is a reminder that your personal achievements are not dependent on others. Independence and inner strength will be key to pushing forward. There is great emotional fulfillment ahead, as your desires and aspirations start coming to life. Confidence in your own abilities will help you create the life you want, and your resilience will ensure lasting success.

Expansion and recognition are significant themes in the near future. Opportunities for growth, whether in career, travel, or personal development, are on the horizon. You are stepping into a time of victory and public acknowledgment, where your efforts will be noticed and rewarded. This is a powerful moment for stepping into the spotlight and embracing the success you’ve worked for. With courage, determination, and a willingness to take risks, you will find yourself moving forward with great momentum.

❥ ♡ 💜 ♡︎

If you're looking for a personalized reading tailored specifically to your energy, feel free to message me to book a session or visit my Ko-fi page to schedule one here: KO-FI

[astrosamara]

Solar Return Observations #1

🔆Sun in 1st house: You might feel a strong urge to express yourself more than usual this year. There's a desire for you to be seen by others. You could also just generally find yourself feeling more optimistic about life than usual. When I look back on photos I've taken of myself during these years, I feel like I notice a glow in my appearance.

🔆Chart ruler conjunct AC: Can be a year filled with a lot of personal change and the rising sign/planet can provide more insight into what that change is. For example, a year when I had Capricorn ascendant with Saturn on my ascendant, I was dealing with so many obstacles and put into situations where I was forced to mature and grow constantly and I now consider it one of the hardest years of my life. Another year when I had Libra ascendant with Venus on my ascendant, I found myself feeling really confident and attractive and embracing my style and creativity, and this was one of the happiest years of my life.

🔆Uranus conjunct IC: Can be a year where your living situation could be changing suddenly and frequently. I lived in multiple new places during a year when I had this aspect. All of these moves happened within a couple of days to a month. There's a strong emphasis on the sudden changing nature of these living situations.

🔆Neptune in 5th house: You might be really romanticizing and enjoying your hobbies this year as well as discovering new hobbies. You can really lose yourself in your creative endeavors and your imagination is vibrant.

🔆North Node conjunct AC: Can indicate a year where you really focus on self-growth. You're not as interested in comparing yourself to other people because it's really important for you to focus on building your own life and unique identity.

🔆Saturn in 6th house: Is a year when unexpected health issues can arise. Your day to day life might feel restrictive in some way as well. You can be in a job that is demanding on you mentally and physically. You may struggle keeping a consistent and pleasant daily routine.

🔆Sun in 12th house: You might feel lonelier than usual. Your energy levels can also be lower than usual. This can be a very reflective and inward time. You could also experience frequent illness.

🔆Uranus in 12th house: You can experience profound spiritual experiences during this year. You can have very vivid dreams that feel like divine messages. You might be drawn deeply to spirituality.

🔆Squares and Oppositions: If your SR chart is filled with squares and oppositions with very little or no harmonious aspects, this can be a year faced with many obstacles, but it can also be a year where you're more determined to make changes. These years tend to be very memorable in terms of a year where you really worked hard despite any obstacles or setbacks.

🔆Moon in Capricorn: I've seen so many SR charts with this placement and it's always during years that people describe as being the hardest and most emotionally challenging years of their lives. This energy is emphasized even greater if the moon falls into one of the angular houses (1st, 4th, 7th, or 10th).

🔆Sun trine Saturn: You might make very practical and achievable goals this year. You feel content with taking baby steps and you don't feel like you're in a rush to make big life changes. You see more results by slow and determined consistency.

🔆Pluto conjunct DC: You can experience powerful transformation through relationships this year. You can meet someone who becomes an important and meaningful influence on your life. Pluto in your SR chart can really highlight the area of your life that will experience a death and rebirth during that year.

🔆Sun in angular houses: These years might stand out more than other years. My past 7 solar return years have all had sun in angular houses and they've all been significant years.

🔆Sagittarius or Pisces MC or Jupiter in 10th house: You can experience a lot of financial gains and recognition in your career during these years.

🔆Saturn conjunct Venus: If you're in a relationship, this can be a year you really value commitment and might consider marriage or some other significant milestone happens. If you're single, you might be more serious about finding love and getting into a relationship.

[cy-cyborg]

Tips for writing and drawing Wheelchair using characters: Your character's wheelchair can tell us a lot about them

When you first start learning character design, you'll often be told something to the effect of "use your character's outfit to tell us more about them" - and this same principles can be applied to a disabled character's mobility aids.

Mobility aids like wheelchairs, to many disabled people, are a part of us. They can be an extension to a person's body and chances are, if you're going to be using this piece of equipment every day for the foreseeable future (or at least for a good amount of time for the foreseeable future), it's going to start reflecting some aspects of your personality, your interests, your passions, especially when you remember, a lot of people get their wheelchairs custom built for them.

You can use your character's wheelchair to tell us a lot about them without ever needing to show/describe them directly.

Let me show you two examples:

Take a look at these two wheelchairs. they're similar in shape and build, but still pretty different to each other. Can you make some guesses about their users based only on what's shown here?

intended answers below:

Please note, the following points are all generalisations and the real world is rarely this simple. This is to demonstrate how to use disability aids to contribute to your character's design, not how to make assumptions about real people in real life.

So here are some similarities between the chairs:

Both wheelchairs have ridged frames, this means the wheelchair can't be folded in any way. These kinds of chairs can imply a few different things depending on the person. They are typically lighter, sturdier and more durable, and indicate the person probably will be using the wheelchair for a long time and/or has the money to get something built to last (or lives in a place where cost not an issue due to universal/subsidised access to healthcare). They are also typically better to travel with when flying, as they are less likely to be broken by airport security/staff.

Both wheelchairs also lack anti-tip wheels, which are a third set of wheels that extend from the back of the chair. Them not being present could indicate the person is likely pretty confident in their ability to use the chair without worrying about tipping out. It could also indicate they are in an environment where the anti-tips could be more of a hazard than a help, such as on rough terrain.

So lets look at some specifics for the green wheelchair:

Take a look at the wheels. The front wheels are pretty small and appear to be solid, while the back wheels appear to be quite narrow (compared to the orange chair anyway). This indicates the user likely lives somewhere with decent accessibility like a (well funded) city where they are unlikely to encounter unpaved/dirt roads/grass. Small front wheels and thin back wheels are good for manoeuvrability and a smooth ride over even terrain, but they will get stuck as soon as bumps appear, so this probably isn't an issue for this person.

While its a bit hard to tell unless you have seen other similar wheelchairs, this wheelchair is very long in the front, meaning the footplate and front wheels are further away from the seat than most. There could be a few reasons for this. One either indicates the person has very long legs, or a lack of motion in their knees, making it harder to bend their legs. This is moves the chair's centre of gravity forward by a decent amount, making it harder to tip back, which could indicate the person's legs are very light. You tend to see this most often in the wheelchairs of bilateral leg amputees, who are at a greater risk of tipping backwards due to a lack of weight at the front of the chair (even if they wear their prosthetics).

The colour of the chair is bright. This could simply be the character's favourite colour, or maybe this colour has some significance to them?

There are stickers on the side of the chair relating to the Paralympics. This could indicate the person is a fan, or perhaps had some involvement in the games?

The wheelchair has handles on the back, but they are able to be folded down. This is a popular feature for people who are independent enough to go out on their own, but still want to have the option for some help. folding down the handles also deters random strangers from grabbing at you (an unfortunately common experience for wheelchair users).

There is some mild paint scratching to the front of the wheelchair, but nothing too noticable. This is typical of older chairs and people who are a little rough on their chairs. Maybe they've had a few stacks and falls throughout the years, probably going a decent speed.

Ok, now let's look at the orange chair

This wheelchair has very large, inflatable front wheels, and very thick back wheels. This will make the chair slower and less manoeuvrable on flat/even surfaces, but much, much easier to push on rough terrain. This is supported by the amount of mud on the wheelchair.

The seat on this wheelchair tilts upwards slightly. This is called a bucket (or according to an old basketball teammate of mine, a dump-truck lol). This is a feature you typically see in wheelchairs made for people with spinal injuries who are unable to move their legs and engage their lower bodies or core to help keep them stable.

The back of this chair is very low, indicating that if this wheelchair user has a spinal injury, it's probably pretty low on their spine, likely fairly close to the hips, making the person a low-level paraplegic. Higher-level paraplegics and quadriplegics usually need a higher back to help support them and keep them from flopping over, since all the muscles below their place where their spine broke either doesn't work, or is significantly weaker. Higher backs though can get in the way of pushing and reduce mobility, so people who need less support will likely opt for a lower back rest.

This wheelchair has no handles, which indicates the user is probably very independent and doesn't need a lot of help getting around.

The paint on this wheelchair is very scratched up, showing the person is very tough on their wheelchair and doesn't care to get the paint touched up.

This wheelchair has no breaks. This is very common on chairs with larger tiers as they don't tend to be as effective, but also on many outdoor wheelchairs, for two reasons. One is because they are made for rough terrain, so chances are, you aren't going to go far without a big push to get you moving. The second reason is that to get over large bumps and obsticals in a wheelchair, it can be helpful to do very large pushes using the top and front of the wheel. When pushing a normal chair, most people will only use the top section of the wheel to push since it's closest, but these big pushes that use the front of the wheel make it easier to push, since you can benefit from downwards momentum. However, this is also where the breaks are located on most wheelchairs, which can create a hazard. I've lost entire fingernails by them getting snagged on the breaks when pushing this way. So if you live somewhere where the breaks are not going to be helpful to you often, it makes sense to not get them.

And here are the characters who own these wheelchairs

The owner of the green wheelchair is an amalgamation of a few people I knew from when I played wheelchair basketball. They're a bilateral leg amputee, and judging by their outfit (The Official National Wheelchair Basketball uniform for Australia), they're an elite athlete. This wheelchair is not the one they play sport in, but it still needs to be durable enough to withstand the rough treatment of airport staff when traveling, as well as heavy day-to-day use that comes with being an active person. While it needs to be rough, the person also seemed to want to prioritise speed and manoeuvrability, and likely doesn't need to worry about rough terrain too much, so they probably live in a major city.

The owner of the orange chair was inspired by a family friend of mine. They live on a farm, and need a chair that can handle life in those conditions, rough terrain and all. This comes at the cost of speed and manoeuvrability on smoother terrain, but honestly, anyone who's lived in the country knows you won't find many of those around there anyway, so that's not too big of a sacrifice. They are paraplegic, are very confident in their ability to use their wheelchair, and probably doesn't need help too often, but still benefit from some extra stability support from the raised seat on their chair.

Conclusion

Once again, these are generalisations, and in real life there are always exceptions, but I hope this helped demonstrate what I meant when I said you can use your character's wheelchair to tell us more info about them if you're smart about it.

I originally planned to do a whole series of these, showing a wider variety of wheelchairs and the people who they belong to, but I guess I kind of forgot because they've been sitting, abandoned on my hard drive for the last 2 years 😅. If that's something you folks would be interested in seeing though, let me know, I'd happily revive the series lol.

[astrocafecoffee]

•Healing through marriage (Based on Groom pc) •

✨For entertainment purposes only, enjoy ✨

☞ Masterlist

☞solar return observation

☞Groom pc obs. Part 1

☞Groom pc obs. Part 2

•. •. •. •.(☉｡☉)•. •. •. •.

🌹What to check?

- check your Chiron in your groom persona chart , where it falls in.

🌹Why Chiron?

- Chiron is associated with our deepest wounds and our capacity for recovery . In your groom pc ,it can show how you fs will heal your inner child/ your trauma through marriage.

Let's go ~

❤️ Chiron in 1st house : Your fs may heal you through unconditional acceptance. They may love and accept you for who you are, flaws and all, helping you overcome self-doubt and low self-esteem. They could provide a safe space for you to express your emotions, validating your feelings and helping you process past wounds.Their empathetic nature may help you feel understood and supported, especially during difficult times.

❤️ Chiron in 2nd house: your future spouse may help you overcome financial struggles, debts, or insecurities, teaching you healthy financial habits and empowering you to achieve stability. Their presence in your life could help you recognize your inherent value and worth, transcending material possessions or external validation. They might empower you to take charge of your financial life, making informed decisions and breaking free from dependency or fear.

❤️ Chiron in 3rd house: your future spouse may help you express yourself more clearly and confidently, fostering open and honest communication in your relationship. Their influence could help you quiet your mind, reducing mental chatter and increasing focus, allowing you to tap into your inner wisdom. They might teach you to recognize and manage your emotions, developing emotional intelligence and empathy.

❤️ Chiron in 4th house:your future spouse may help you resolve unresolved issues with your family, fostering understanding, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Their presence could help you build a strong emotional foundation, providing a sense of security and stability.Chiron in the 4th house can indicate wounds from childhood; your partner may help you heal and integrate your inner child.

❤️ Chiron in 5th house:your future spouse may help you overcome creative blocks or insecurities, fostering self-expression and artistic growth.Chiron in the 5th house can indicate a need to reconnect with childhood joy and creativity; your partner may help you recapture that spark. They might help you heal from past relationship wounds, teaching you to love yourself and others in a healthy, empowering way.

❤️ Chiron in the 6th house : Your future spouse's influence could help you establish a sense of structure and organization in your daily life, making you more efficient and productive. Chiron in the 6th house can indicate a need to integrate your mind and body; your partner may help you develop a greater awareness of your physical and emotional needs. They might help you find a healthy balance between work and personal life, reducing stress and increasing overall well-being.

❤️ Chiron in the 7th house: Your future spouse might help you overcome past relationship traumas or wounds, teaching you to form healthy, empowering partnerships. Their influence could encourage you to examine your own role in relationships, taking responsibility for your actions and growth. With Chiron in the 7th house, they may help you find a balance between independence and interdependence, recognizing the value of both.

❤️ Chiron in the 8th house:Your future spouse may help you overcome fears or insecurities around intimacy and vulnerability, creating a safe space for deep connection.Their influence could guide you in exploring your shadow, acknowledging and integrating repressed aspects of yourself. With Chiron in the 8th house, they may facilitate transformative experiences through intimate connections, helping you rebirth and renew yourself.

❤️ Chiron in the 9th house : Chiron in the 9th house can indicate a need for continuous learning and growth; your partner may inspire you to pursue higher knowledge and wisdom.They may foster a sense of curiosity and wonder, inspiring you to ask questions and seek answers.Their presence could help you recognize the interconnectedness of all things, fostering a sense of oneness and unity with the universe.

❤️ Chiron in the 10th house: Your future spouse might help you discover your life purpose and passion, aligning your career with your soul's mission. Their influence could help you overcome self-doubt and imposter syndrome, recognizing your value and expertise.They might inspire you to redefine success on your own terms, prioritizing fulfillment and happiness over external validation.

❤️ Chiron in the 11th house:Chiron in the 11th house can indicate a need to embrace innovation and progress; your partner may encourage you to think outside the box and pioneer new ideas.They might help you expand your professional and social network, connecting you with like-minded individuals and opportunities.They may help you overcome feelings of isolation or disconnection, integrating you into a larger community.

❤️ Chiron in the 12th house : Chiron in the 12th house can indicate a need to confront and heal subconscious wounds; your partner may support you in this process.They might inspire you to develop greater compassion and empathy, understanding the struggles of others.Their influence could help you recognize and break free from self-sabotaging patterns, releasing limiting beliefs and behaviors.

-----------------✨------------------

Hope you enjoyed ❤️

- Piko ✨

[etherisks]

Dr. Ratio's bathtub scene. We all know and love it (some more than others) but I have not really seen anyone talk about the references made by it, so I'd like to throw my hat into the ring for a possible interpretation.

So, his first name Veritas—we all know that to be Latin for truth. Though, I'd like to shift focus a bit more towards the Roman Goddess of the same name (whose Greek counterpart was Aletheia). The aspect that I want to focus most on was how she was often depicted as nude - in reference to "nuda veritas" (naked truth). This was also reflected in her Greek equivalent, though Aletheia - despite also meaning truth - is more accurately understood to be translated as "unconcealedness" or "revealing", with the literal meaning of the word (ἀλήθεια) being "the state of not being hidden; the state of being evident." Meanwhile, for Veritas, she was also said to have been an elusive goddess hiding in the bottom of a holy well.

Starting in the mid-1890s, French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme Gérôme ("arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880") made at least four paintings personifying Truth as a nude woman, either thrown into, at the bottom of, or emerging from a well. This general imagery/story of her hiding in a sacred well arises from a translation of an aphorism of the philosopher Democritus, "Of truth we know nothing, for truth is in a well". The original Greek version (ἐτεῇ δὲ οὐδὲν ἴδμεν: ἐν βυθῷ γὰρ ἡ ἀλήθεια) is seen to literally mean "in reality we know nothing; for the truth is in an abyss". The well in these paintings serves as a substitute for the abyss, and the nudity of the model in these paintings of course also arose from the expression la vérité nue ("the naked truth", in French). There are a lot of interesting things about these paintings (and definitely worth taking a look at - for example, see 'Truth Coming Out of Her Well' on Wikipedia to take a look at a few of those pieces) but all in all I think depicting Veritas as naked in a bathtub could very well be a nod to the naked truth.

Now, a second tidbit that could have also been given a nod to in this scene from the trailer is related to Archimedes — one of the famous Ancient Greek know-it-alls (mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, inventor; is there anything that scholar didn't do...). Anyway, here I'm specifically talking about the famous story where, while taking a bath, he discovered that the displacement of water could be used to accurately measure the volume of irregular objects. This story is also where "eureka" was said to be exclaimed for the first time, the word being attributed to Archimedes generally.

For the more detailed version, he reportedly proclaimed "Eureka! Eureka!" after he had stepped into a bath—and noticed that the water level rose— whereupon he suddenly understood that the volume of water displaced must be equal to the volume of the part of his body he had submerged. Due to this, the previously intractable problem was solved, when he realized that the volume of irregular objects could be measured with precision in this way. He is said to have been so eager to share his discovery that he 'leapt out of his bathtub and ran naked through the streets of Syracuse'. Then, later on, Archimedes' insight led to the solution of an issue posed by Hiero of Syracuse, on how to assess the purity of an irregular golden votive crown; he had given his goldsmith the pure gold to be used, and correctly suspected he had been cheated by the goldsmith removing gold and adding the same weight of silver. The equipment for weighing objects with a fair amount of precision had already existed, and now with Archimedes being able to also measure volume, their ratio could give the object's density—which is an important indicator of purity (in this case due to how gold is nearly twice as dense as silver, ergo having a significantly greater weight for the same volume).

But I digress, the story of discovery being referenced in Veritas sitting in the bathtub was my main point—perhaps a stretch, but if so, then simply an interesting coincidence I stumbled upon. This entire post is already far longer than I expected, so apologies for the ramble-

All this to say, I may just be reading too much into it because I am basically insane and only ever think of him and the connections that every detail of him seems to be implied to have when I should really be doing other things. However, I'd say given the sheer amount of references that Hoyo has hidden in all other parts of his character, it's not as big of a stretch to say this scene may be holding at least one as well (or, I'm just crazy).

Anyway this has been sitting in my mind basically since the trailer came out (like the millions of other things in relation to him) and I haven't seen a lot of talk about this in particular (as opposed to, for example, the much more freely circulated knowledge of the statue references) so figured I'd share my thoughts as some sort of potential discussion point. Moreover, apologies if this is a bit chaotic and all over the place with no clear "point a to point b" thing 😭 Despite being obsessed with everything about this man since day one and crafting elaborate theories and links (I'm also insane about Ancient Greek/Roman philosophers and a lot about that whole time period, especially works of art, so he was perfectly up my alley. Hoyo got me SO good with him, it's unreal) I was never confident enough to actually post them (or in that sense fully write them down in a more essay-esque format as opposed to random bits of notes that had keywords to remind me of what I was thinking of).

Finally stopped beating around the bush and decided why not, so now we're here. ʕ⁠´⁠•⁠ ⁠ᴥ⁠•̥⁠`⁠ʔ Got to actually making a dedicated account where I'll be able to more coherently articulate these things and hopefully provide a different way of thinking in relation to these details...it's always enjoyable to talk about his character and encourage other perspectives~ (and i finally realized I, in fact, do desperately need an outlet to yap about him because the chokehold he's had on me. I need to get it out somehow)

[nobodyfamousposts]

Scarlet Lady Essay: Frightningale

Yet another essay for @zoe-oneesama. Because you deserve it.

I’m not going to bother with a compare/contrast of canon vs Scarlet Lady Frightningale because Frightningale in canon was a pretty forgettable episode. Akuma was lame. Setup was wasted. And it’s removal from the series would lose nothing of value.

So instead, I'm going to focus primarily on the Scarlet Lady version of Frightningale and what it does that makes it memorable.

I guess to start with, I should make it clear that I’m not a fan of shows being lazy, especially when they display a lack of planning or consideration of their story and characters. And perhaps one of the greater indicators of this issue is when a series suddenly realizes they they neglected multiple plot points until it’s too late to give them all the focus they warrant so they end up shoving all of those points into one episode and try to present it like it’s supposed to be an adequate resolution of all that buildup or in any way intentional.

Penalteam was that episode for Miraculous. They had the “temporary heroes” setup going for them but then wasted so much time on filler like Frightningale that it seems like they honestly forgot about it until they were reaching a designated end point and they realized they still had four more heroes they were supposed to introduce. Whoops? Ah well, just introduce them all at once. Not like anyone will care!

And when you treat most of the cast like they’re all as shallow as a puddle, I guess that’s true.

The thing is, when you have a setup where there is a running theme of every person in a specific group getting their own episode/chapter to detail their issues and how they get a power up, it’s going to stand out whenever one of them doesn’t. Especially when that one or more are forced to share their limelight episode. 

That’s not to say you can’t do it, but it’s bound to get attention if you do. It reflects poorly on the writing. It shows whom the “favored” and “unfavored” characters are. And it displays the issue with pacing—namely that it’s next to nonexistent until it hits you with the force of a freight train.

But can it be done and be done well? Is it possible to pull off such a thing and have it make sense and fit in lines with the characters?

Well, yes. Off the top of my head, I can think of two different ways to do it to make it work.

And Zoe did both of them.

If you look at Scarlet Lady as a whole, you’ll see a conglomeration of characters—each with stories and arcs attached. They have personalities. They have goals and problems and their own highs and lows. One sign of good writing is that some focus is given to highlight these other characters as people. Individuals in their own right with lives outside of the main characters or situation.

Miraculous doesn't really do this.

Scarlet Lady, however, does. Because contrary to the title, Scarlet Lady isn’t just about Chloe.

It isn’t even just about the heroes.

It isn’t just about Chloe being horrible. Or Marinette being in love. Or Adrien being in desperate need of a hug and a nap. Because while the story is centered around them, it isn’t solely about them. Other characters get focus and growth and their own arcs throughout the comics.

But the big two—the BIGGEST two with arguably the most depth and most growth and quite frankly the best storylines out of everyone in the entire series?

It’s Sabrina and Lila. And their individual stories have led up to this.

As such, this episode—which was mostly filler and all around forgettable in canon, matters here.

It’s where Sabrina and Lila reach the culmination of their respective character arcs. 

Yes, it’s when they both get to become Miraculous Heroes and meet their own kwamis, but it’s more than just that! They both hang out with the girls group as full members of the crew, getting to take part in a music video together. It’s also where they both get to stand up for themselves and the city at large while calling out Chloe and Scarlet Lady. This is what their storylines have been building up to and where their growth really shows.

Sabrina started out as Chloe’s minion same as canon—albeit with more attention to her feelings and her responses, no matter how seemingly small, allowing her to feel more like her own person. And through this focus, we got to see her open up more, pull and eventually break away from Chloe and her influence, and over time stand up for herself and try to establish herself both with the class and as an individual.

Lila started off as a liar and manipulator, selfish and self centered, much like canon. Unlike canon, her lies are tied to her issues, noted to be poorly thought through, and give her more introspection as a person. After the lies are revealed, she’s not “redeemed” so much as she is “accountable”, and it doesn’t change who she is. She remains selfish and certainly far from being considered “good”, but she’s letting people in past her walls and masks in a way she hadn’t been able to before.

Both of these things? Figuring out who you are and letting people know you for who you are? They’re incredibly hard. And a lot of time was devoted to both of their journeys along the course of the comic.

Sabrina’s arc was about her figuring out who she is on her own. Outside of Chloe and her previous role of being a follower and lackey. And sometimes it feels less scary to stay with someone toxic than to be alone and facing the unknown. We see it in the way she tries to put herself out there afterwards, reaching out and risking rejection and just figuring herself out. Even or perhaps especially with those she already knows and has a less than positive history with.

And we still see the struggle of her view of herself in this episode. It was in the way she was upset that she legitimately tried to help and it still resulted in bad things happening. And it was also clear when she calls herself a ���sidekick” to Marigold after the day was saved, as if it’s a role she still sees herself as and one she struggles not to fall in to. Over time, we’re seeing Sabrina learning that she doesn’t have to be attached or subservient to someone else to have an identity or be accepted. 

Lila’s arc involved her figuring out who she is with people. Outside of the lies and manipulations she creates, the masks she wears, and the identities she crafts to make people like her. The “real Lila” is far from the best person and arguably not even a good person, but she also doesn’t have to be for the others to accept her as the still somewhat bad influence she is. She’s still very much selfish and flawed, but she’s less inclined to hide it or treat it like something that needs to be hidden. And isn’t that a common lesson? That it’s better to be liked for who you are than to force yourself to be someone else to be liked?

And at the same time, even with being less than a fully good person, she’s showing that she can still find better ways of acting that allow her to help others rather than hurt them or serve herself. She still hates Scar, but rather than working with Hawk Moth to kill her and risk dooming Paris and the world, she’s instead working with Alya through more legitimate (and legal) means…and hitting Scar where it hurts most. She and Adrien may not be friends, but rather than try to punish him for not going along with her, she’s instead rescued him, putting herself on the line—something that the former Lila wouldn’t have considered doing and one that canon Lila wouldn’t be capable of. Even if she’s motivated by pettiness or self-interest, what would have been straight up revenge on someone who upset her has grown to be something that is working in everyone’s better interests.

Both Lila and Sabrina hid themselves in different ways and for different reasons. So having them both assert themselves and call out both Chloe and Scarlet Lady is a show of their growth and overall a huge deal. It’s not something either of them would have done at the start of the series. Sabrina, because she was a “yes man” who wouldn’t dare to argue with Chloe and Lila because she wouldn’t risk openly doing something to make herself a target. 

And now boom! Look at them both! Lila stepped up to openly and publicly denounce Scarlet Lady as not being a hero for real reasons that aren’t just about herself or her feelings—complete with receipts! The girl did her research, noting incidents from before she even came into the picture. Then follow up with Sabrina standing up against Chloe’s machinations and dismantling Chloe’s main source of power: her father. Even better, she’s using logic and knowledge she would have as a former ally of Chloe’s who would know her tricks, taking her former friendship with Chloe and using it against her.

And on top of that, each of them are given the Miraculous by the person they wronged in the past. Marinette to Sabrina and Adrien to Lila. Especially in Lila’s case, it says a lot that they’re trusted. That shows narratively that even with their mistakes and bad choices and continued struggles, they still can move forward—not necessarily to find redemption, but to find themselves and be their best selves.

This is why it makes sense for them to share this episode. It’s also why both of them speaking up matters. They are both publicly confronting their greatest foe, and the fact that their foes are really two faces of the same person further highlights this. 

So they both have issues with the same person, are dealing with forming their identities without catering to others, are working out how to have/be friends, were formerly not the best of people, and have a fear of rejection. As such, this isn’t just their obligatory hero episode, this is what their individual stories have been leading up to. Almost like they’re two sides of the same coin. And the comparison between the two helps them both shine.

And speaking of shining, does anyone remember how the all girls team up didn’t get a chance to shine in canon? Zoe sure did.

I have a whole list of problems I have regarding Party Crasher, but perhaps number seven on that list is that the boys got to have an all male temp hero team up episode while the girls didn’t.

In fact, by this episode in canon, only Alya, Chloe, and Kagami actually got to be temp heroes.

To be fair, only four of the guys out of seven in canon got to be part of their particular event in Party Crasher, leaving out Ivan (who often tends to get overlooked) and Nathaniel (who has had a precedent of just literally disappearing from the episode). But originally, part of the appeal of Party Crasher was that the focus was supposed to be on the male classmates and getting to see at least some of them being part of a team against the akuma.

Why then didn’t we get an episode like this with the girls? Or at least something LIKE this?

Frightningale became that episode. And if any of the episodes were to do it, it makes the most sense for Frightningale to be the one.

All of the girls were together to take part in this event. So Zag would have had the perfect excuse to include them all in the fight or just have the girls do something to help even as civilians. I mean, we’ve had episodes do this before. Max in Robustus. Nathaniel and Alix in Reverser. Luka in Captain Hardrock. Let the civilians show their heroic traits even before they become heroes. It’s not a Miraculous, but it’s still giving them focus and expanding on them as individuals.

Instead, canon Frightningale was a filler episode. And not even a good one. For an akuma who forces people to sing or dance, it’s a waste that they just had the heroes spend the whole time rhyming. A waste of writing and talent. I mean, have you heard Christina Vee sing? If there needed to be a musical episode, I would think that the akuma who forces people to sing would certainly warrant it! At least more than it’s Christmas and they sing just cuz.

So this is yet another thing that Zoe improves with the Scarlet Lady version of this episode. Giving us the all girl team up episode so many of us have long wanted and getting to see all the female heroes together at last. 

And with this, we get the full roster of friends-turned heroes.

Except for Alix. Poor, poor Alix.  ;_;

Your day will come.

In this way, the end where Clara goes a different direction with her music video feels less like a half-assed fix to a half-forgotten plot point and more like something that was built by everyone involved. I don’t know about the rest of you, but given Clara’s excitement over the all girl band playing and Pigella’s gift showing Clara an idea for her video, it highlights the focus on EVERYONE being part of this—both the video and the episode itself. It kind of comes off as a lesson of its own about teamwork and giving everyone a shot rather than focusing specifically only on one or two specific individuals.

And isn’t that what separates the heroes from Scarlet Lady?

But there’s a third important aspect of this episode.

This is the episode where Chloe is smacked in the face with Scarlet Lady’s falling popularity. 

Let’s remember that at the start of the comic, Scarlet Lady was fully and widely considered THE Hero of Paris. She was beloved for doing nothing and it was a point of frustration for Chat, who actually was having to pick up her slack. Initially, there was nothing he could do because him being the only real hero among the duo meant he often couldn't stick around after akuma fights to prevent Scar from telling "our story". In addition, he didn’t know who she was or who chose her and why. Then even when it was clear her getting the Earrings was a mistake, for a lot of the first couple seasons, she was so popular that they couldn’t just take the Earrings away from her lest they risk backlash from the rest of the city. It’s a backlash that seems increasingly unlikely as more and more people get to see her behavior and callousness firsthand.

We’ve seen hints of it in other episodes, but none of them were so blatant to Chloe that she couldn’t ignore it or shrug it off or otherwise make excuses to protect her ego.

Prime Queen wanted to focus on Marigold and Chat Noir for their “romance” to try and boost ratings. Alya and Lila made some snarky comments, but Chloe could easily dismiss them both. Nadja also made a comment that nobody cared about Scarlet’s love life, but a lack of interest in her love life isn’t a lack of interest in herself and Chloe despises both of her “sidekicks” and wouldn’t want anyone trying to pair her with them anyway. And Nadja reassures her that they’ll focus on her after they’re done with Chat and Marigold. So yes, she can dismiss that as well.

Reverser has Chloe faced with both of her identities are made as villains in art and a story. However, she clearly looks down on Nathaniel and Marc barely registers to her. So she can dismiss them.

Look at Despair Bear, the Intermission, the interactions with the various other heroes, and the fact that only Chat Noir and Marigold are privy to the Guardian’s secret existence and allowed to pass out other Miraculous. Much has been shown of the other characters being less than impressed with her, snarky towards her, or showing the process of how they discover the truth about her and how she actually handles akuma attacks…namely in that she doesn’t. And Chloe can dismiss all of that because to her, none of them really matter to her.

But Chloe can’t dismiss the fact that a renown celebrity dedicating a music video to the “Heroes of Paris” isn’t including her. Bad enough her sidekicks are taking center stage but she’s not even in the music video at all?

And when someone she despises calls out the reasons why she’s not a hero in an openly public setting surrounded by a multitude of people who all agree with her? You could say it’s insult to injury. But some would say it was a long time coming.

Some Rando: Scarlet Lady sucks! Alya: Marigold and Chat Noir do all the work, not her! Kagami: She’s barely even necessary at this point. Clara: This video and song are to celebrate hope and love. And Scarlet Lady lacks both when push comes to shove. Chloe: ARGHHH! WHATEVER!

It further shows the turning tide of public opinion against Scar. What was once a trickle has grown into a wave, and now Chloe is forced to acknowledge her image and status aren’t as ironclad as she thought. Sure, she could denounce Lila as a liar like she’s done before, but Lila is bringing up instances that Chloe can’t deny: being late (as she’s just plain been a no show to several fights), endangering civilians, and being caught live on camera being willing to let someone die in a particularly horrible way because it’s easier.

This is the episode where it’s not just people seeing Scar is horrible, but acting on it and letting Chloe know they know she’s horrible. It’s reached the point where Chloe can’t just disregard the claims or discount and ignore her critics. And we’re seeing Chloe starting to lose control as a result. To the point she has to force her dad to ruin a previously sanctioned event in what has to be one of his most flagrant displays of abuse of power to date just to shut down her detractors.

And even that would come with more consequences for Chloe if it had been allowed to continue. Sabrina herself points it out that Clara is very popular with a lot of fans—people who would be aware she’s making a music video and whom would be very disappointed if word got out that it was cancelled due to an issue with the Mayor. And given all the very unhappy people we see in the comic in question where she points that out, it stands to reason that the word would get out. Heck, I’d be surprised if someone wasn’t recording it.

Then there’s the love square/hero shenanigans.

Remember how in canon, the whole “playing themselves/risking identities” bit kinda just dropped out halfway in? The kwamis were the only authority figures involved to call out on the risk and of the two, Plagg didn’t care and Tikki gave one knowing stare at Marinette before turning around to gush about the suit. Even though Marinette offers the alternative idea to the music video by the end, there’s no further comment or notice of how she and Adrien nearly blew their identities….or alternatively a comedic take where nobody recognizes them regardless and they worried for nothing. Honestly, I would have taken either setup.

Having Fu present to call them both out shows there is a responsible authority figure watching, makes it clear there are rules they are expected to follow, and reinforces that this was, in fact, a horrible idea. Sure, Marinette and Adrien worried enough to hide their masks, but it should have been obvious that wouldn’t work long term. They are risking their identities, not just to Paris but to each other. And he calls them out for doing it on purpose.

Then there’s the beautiful crescendo of the love square dance in that the two both pretty much have figured out the other’s identity and just want an identity reveal to make it official—which Fu won’t allow. We see it in their playful banter that gets mistaken for “getting into character” and in Adrien in particular pushing Marinette to take part.

This is a point where we are seeing them be teenagers. Foolish of them? Yes. Should they have known better and not done it? Yes. But is it in character and the sort of teenage shenanigans we would expect of teenage superheroes? Definitely. And that’s part of the point. Because they are teenagers. Teenagers in love, no less. Teenagers in love with secret identities to dance around. Which is half the fun of secret identities!

It’s just another aspect to this episode that makes it enjoyable.

So overall, the episode matters in ways that the canon version didn’t and was fun in ways that the canon version wasn’t, making it stand out not just as an episode or a remake of the canon episode, but as its own standalone episode AND a noteworthy point in the overall story.

[reasonsforhope]

Pairing frogs and toads together might conjure memories of Arnold Lobel’s beloved characters — dressed to the nines in caramel coats and polyester �� biking off toward adventure. 

But in the animal world, frogs and toads on nearly every continent are facing a much more harrowing adventure: a decades-long fight against a mysterious fungal virus that has afflicted over 500 amphibian species. 

Since the 1990s, scientists estimate that the chytridiomycosis disease caused by the fungal pathogen Bd (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) has led to the extinction of 90 amphibians. One of the lost species includes the Panamanian golden frog, which hasn’t been spotted in the wild since 2009. 

Fortunately, a new research study has finally pinpointed the virus that has been infecting fungal genomes for decades. 

“Bd is a generalist pathogen and is associated with the decline of over 500 amphibian species…here, we describe the discovery of a novel DNA mycovirus of Bd,” wrote Mark Yacoub — the lead author of the study and a microbiology doctoral student at the University of California, Riverside. 

In an interview with UC Riverside News, Yacoub said that he and microbiology professor Jason Stajich observed the viral genome while studying the broader population genetics of mycovirus (viruses of fungi). 

The discovery will undoubtedly have monumental impacts on future amphibian conservation efforts. This includes the possible launching of new research studies into fungal species strains, the practice of cloning and observing spores, and engineering a solution to the virus. 

But Yacoub cautioned that this is only the beginning. 

“We don’t know how the virus infects the fungus, how it gets into the cells,” Yacoub said. “If we’re going to engineer the virus to help amphibians, we need answers to questions like these.”

Still, as scientists strengthen conservation efforts to save frogs and toads (and salamanders too!) they also appear to be saving themselves. Yacoub pointed out several amphibian species around the world have begun exhibiting resistance to Bd. 

“Like with COVID, there is a slow buildup of immunity,” Yacoub explained. “We are hoping to assist nature in taking its course.”

Pictured: A Golden poison frog — one of the many species endangered by chytridiomycosis — in captivity.

Why are frogs and toads so important?

From the get go, every amphibian species plays an important role in their local ecosystem. Not only are they prey for a slew of animals like lizards, snakes, otters, birds, and more, but in an eat-or-be-eaten world, frogs and toads benefit the food chain by doing both. 

Even freshly hatched tadpoles — no bigger than a button — can reduce contamination in their surrounding pond water by nibbling on algae blooms. 

As they grow bigger (and leggier), amphibians snack on whatever insect comes their way, greatly reducing the population of harmful pests and making a considerable dent in the transmission malaria, dengue, and Zika fever by eating mosquito larvae. 

“Frogs control bad insects, crop pests, and mosquitoes,” Yacoub said. “If their populations all over the world collapse, it could be devastating.” 

Yacoub also pointed out that amphibians are the “canary in the coal mine of climate change,” because they are an indicator species. Frogs and toads have permeable skin, making them sensitive to changes in their environment, and they also rely on freshwater. 

When amphibians vanish from an ecosystem, it’s a symptom of greater environmental issues...

Herpetologist Maureen Donnelly echoed Yacoub’s sentiments in an interview with Phys Org, noting that when it comes to food chains, biodiversity, and environmental impact, the role of frogs and toads should not be overlooked. 

“Conservation must be a global team effort,” Donnelly said. “We are the stewards of the planet and are responsible for all living creatures.”

-via GoodGoodGood, April 22, 2024

[utilitycaster]

Could you give your full thoughts on the Caduceus answer from C2e2? Very curious to hear them

Sure! So to give a quick summary if anyone hasn't watched it, the question was "How would Caduceus and Pike respond to Asha and Trist from Downfall, seeing as they are their gods." Taliesin's answer was that Caduceus would struggle with it and his response would ultimately be that his practice is much more about nature and the ecosystem and natural order than the Wildmother herself, so he'd have issues with his god but ultimately maintain his practice.

First off, I like this, as a person who is religiously observant in many ways but philosophically agnostic; maintaining the balance of nature and providing a means of burial and grieving are important, regardless of whether there is a figurehead representing them. I also think this means that the loss of the Wildmother as a more active presence is something Caduceus will similarly adapt to, as will many other people, ie, the gods being mortal will certainly affect people deeply but the institutions involved will, as we even saw a bit in the C3 finale, remain. This is both true to life, in which multiple religious institutions exist and even contradict and conflict to the point of bloodshed, and there is to my opinion no hard proof of any deity's existence; and also indicates once again that lessening the presence of the gods won't actually fix any real-world political problems and might make some of them worse; on some level it's the kindest solution to the gods and Predathos and immediately emotionally devastating but ultimately merely a mildly negative to neutral effect for the actual people of Exandria and Ruidus other than the jealous types who are now glad that no one can have the toy firetruck if they can't have it.

The second is that it's very funny because Taliesin also described Asha as very much his idea of the Wildmother Caduceus worships! She is violent and hungry and largely merciless; it's just he doesn't like to see what that actually means when she is a person and not an abstract anthropomorphized force! This is unsurprising, by which I mean it's great and entirely in character. Caduceus is really often uncomfortable with the real-world implications or what happens when the tenets of the natural world meet society and people - which is also fun, because that's the whole point of the Wildmother and the Lawbearer's romance and conflict. Caduceus tries to use the idea of nature's presence to get Fjord to stop lying, to which Fjord points out nature deceives all the time. Caduceus is very much a contradiction; a deeply civilized if not very socialized person whose nature-based practice is heavily focused on a very specific facet of other people. He runs a graveyard! I'd also add that for all he says nature is violent, Caduceus late-game is getting very tired of the violence. The Clays also deal with one of the least violent aspects; the slow decay of a ground burial, vs. the Stones and the visceral (quite literally) destruction of air burial or the Dusts and chucking one's body into a volcano. To compare with Fjord, Fjord's deal is "no, I love the sea as a safe place and a home, and also because it can kill you in a thousand different ways without a shred of mercy" and embraces that aspect of the Wildmother (as well as a comfort with violence in society to a greater end).

I would also add that I feel this does also underscore the complete incoherence of Bells Hells' positions at the end (vs, Caduceus feeling inconsistent/a little hypocritical in a way that feels very true to life for people, who are contradictory and a little hypocritical, and wonderfully in character!): we have here a devotee of a god - a devotee who, I would argue, is truly trying to provide a net good to the world and is not engaging in oppression or colonization in any capacity - who both would have been very uncomfortable with his gods' actions in Downfall and distanced himself, and also (per another answer from Taliesin in I think the wrap-up) believes the choice to have the gods take on mortal form is the kindest choice - without that context. It really asks the question "did suppressing the Downfall story accomplish anything than putting Liliana at risk, in the end, or was the motivation behind a lot of the actions Bells Hells took ultimately some kind of weird scrupulosity-driven behavior that didn't actually have any consistent principles behind it other than 'I hope I'm not a bad person', which is an ass-backwards way to behave."

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

CLASSES - a comprehensive guide

The first thing that needs to be said is that there is no such thing as a "bad" class. All of them have the potential to be a great detriment OR great boon to the rest of the team, depending on how far along the journey of self-actualization a party member is. Some may have steeper challenges, but this corresponds with greater rewards.

The second thing that needs to be said is that all players are part of a team, and all personal journeys and playstyles are interlinked. No class is truly "solo." Even the smallest viable session is still two people, and even the most suitable classes for solo play are stronger when they're in a party.

The last thing that needs to be said is that the game wants you to succeed. The game, inherently, wants every player to reach godhood, wants every player to self-actualize, wants every player to win. It respects free will and free choice, so it will allow for failures (and, indeed, doomed timelines are vital to the alpha one existing), but Skaia is ultimately optimistic, and tries at every turn to ensure that a golden ending is possible.

Because, after all, SBURB/SGRUB - and Homestuck itself - are about children growing up, maturing, and learning compassion for each other. About fixing their flaws and rejecting the negative aspects of the society they came from. It's about how it is our duty, our responsibility, to become kind, mature people who care about one another, because we will one day be responsible for creating a new society.

And so, without further ado:

ACTIVE (-) Classes and PASSIVE (+) Classes are described with the dichotomy of "powers working for the self" vs. "powers working for others," but I believe this to be an oversimplification of what the active and passive split is. Both active AND passive classes benefit from being in a party; however, an active class will gain fewer party benefits in exchange for being more suited for solo play, while a passive class will be less suited for solo play, but confer much greater benefits to party play.

This is reflected in their personal quests: while active classes and passive classes will both require intervention, empathy, and guidance from their teammates, the struggle of an active class is usually one of grappling with internal flaws, and the struggle of a passive class is one of grappling with interpersonal or societal relations. In other words, the personal quest of an active player will usually involve getting therapized, while the personal quest of a passive player will usually involve addressing a systemic societal issue. Often, both will be required, but whether a class is active or passive will indicate an area of focus.

KNIGHT - / MAID +

PARTY MANAGEMENT

one who wields [aspect] or leads with [aspect] / one who distributes [aspect] or manages with [aspect]

KNIGHTS (-) are a very flexible and versatile class; "wielding" their aspect does not necessarily mean they are skilled at DPS. It actually indicates the way a knight interacts with their aspect, a very straightforward relationship of tradesperson and tool, or soldier and weapon. Similarly, while a knight does not always take up the "leader" position in the party, they will be the "spearhead," a point behind which the other players rally, a beating heart keeping the party together.

This straightforward relationship between a knight and their aspect leads to knights finding little difficulty mastering their aspect once they've begun. Many knights are, in fact, instinctively drawn toward utilizing their aspect, in the same way that they are naturally drawn toward roles of importance or heroism.

Knights often struggle with their perceived place in society, as well as with their innate sense of self and self-worth, seeing themselves as outcasts, resenting the responsibility placed on their shoulders, and fearing vulnerability. Unaddressed, these issues will lead to knights who actively become a detriment to party success. For example, they can dismiss valid concerns, shirk their duties, and in the worst case scenario, actively lead the party down the wrong path, invoking their natural ability to lead for ill.

Therefore, a knight's journey is one of accepting themselves and accepting their duty to better the world. It is about coming to terms with their own insecurities and learning to rely on others. It is about learning to take responsibility, and accepting the banner of a just and glorious cause.

A fully realized knight will be the center of every charge, the guiding star behind which the other players rally. They can provide clarity and guidance to those still on their journeys, and peace and comfort to those who are struggling or in pain. Where the knight goes, the party will follow, as a unified and united front.

MAIDS (+), meanwhile, tend to be on the backlines. If the knight is the forward march, then the maid is the supply line, an incredibly vital role whose absence is disastrous, even if its presence is nearly invisible. Maids have a nearly infinite well of their aspect to distribute, and are uniquely talented at managerial duties - keeping players on task, patching up the holes in a plan, sourcing and supplying resources, so on and so forth.

This is not to say that maids are relegated to support roles - a maid is usually capable of holding their own in combat just fine, especially if they've been endowed with a more combat-suited aspect. Both knights and maids are extremely versatile. That being said, maids truly shine when they're able to take on these backline roles, and many maids are more noticeable by the devastating effects of their absence rather than the invisible touch of their presence.

However, they are the class that most often starts in subservient conditions - low status, strict duties enforced upon them, so on - and their personal journey is a constant struggle against the control of others. Maids whose parties fail to grapple with and undo these shackling forces will find their maids succumbing to the influence or control of malicious entities; in the worst-case scenario, a maid can become an actively hostile enemy or saboteur, invisibly pulling the party's strings and setting them up for failure.

Therefore, a maid's journey is about rejecting societal oppression and throwing off the chains that bind them. A successful maid rises to become the head of the household - nothing occurs within the game that does not first pass the maid's inspection, and their touch ensures that there is a place for everything, and everything is in its place.

A free maid, who belongs to themselves, incomparably increases a party's efficiency. Every communication line is clear, every distribution route is clean, every mystery is solvable, and every plan is airtight. A maid guarantees that nothing can ever go too wrong.

PAGE - / HEIR +

TEAM BONDING

one who must earn [aspect] or inherits the mantle of [aspect] / one who is beloved by [aspect] or awakens to [aspect]

PAGES (-) start the game with the fewest benefits from their aspects, but the greatest potential for growth. Theirs is a constant battle with the self; they are often cowardly and naive. They possess sensitive souls, and while it is incredibly easy to hurt a page, it's much more difficult to build them up. Because of the difficulty of raising this class, it's practically defined by its journey - a constant struggle against the self - rather than its destination, and the powers the class confers.

Pages, like heirs, are classes of inheritance. A page is promoted by trials and tribulations and comes to inherit a greater power than they begin with; in the same way, the class will one day come to embody its aspect, although the road will always be turbulent and long. Moreover, it is a journey without end; pages, being as sensitive as they are, are the most prone to backwards progress, even after reaching their peak.

They prone to staying weak throughout the entire game, never self-actualizing past being the party joke. They attract the obsession and ridicule of stronger-willed players, and their mistreatment can become extremely divisive. A page can easily become a party's albatross, the epicenter of massive interpersonal conflicts, which can tank an entire session.

Therefore, a page's journey is one of the most difficult of all - that of teaching others how to care about other people. Pages rely on great patience, kindness, and understanding. Their sensitive souls must be carefully nurtured and propagated with love and attention. In the same way that a page can tear a team apart, they can bring a team together, all in the name of compassion and empathy. A fully-realized page is the symbol of a party that has linked hands with one another.

Self-actualized pages, as a result of the difficulty inherent to the class, are incredibly powerful and versatile when fully realized. Inheriting the mantle of their aspect, they become pure embodiments of their aspect, capable of achieving impossible feats of raw, unfiltered power, and inspiring all those who gaze upon them.

HEIRS (+) begin the game very strong, but have a difficult time becoming stronger. This is because their usage of their aspect is very instinctual to them, even at times being entirely beyond their control, hence, "beloved by" in the class description. However, because of how naturally their aspect comes to them, it makes taking further command of their powers difficult.

An heir "awakens to" their aspect because their natural, intuitive control often renders them too comfortable to grasp the greater implications of their class. As an inheritance class, heirs can come to embody their aspect, transforming entirely into it. Their challenge lies in breaking out of their comfortable shell and learning how to utilize their powers in more active, intentional ways.

This is reflected in their personal quests. They are often set to inherit great privilege or wealth prior to entering the game, and are thus naive to the realities of the suffering and pain of others. Without a supportive party willing to challenge their views, heirs can perpetuate that pain by submitting to their place in the world, becoming a divisive force within the party, or, in the worst case, losing themselves to their inheritance, and submitting so wholly to their aspect that they become lost to the rest of the team.

Thus, an heir's journey is to question the stratification of the society they belong to, so that they can recognize and address its flaws. They must learn to interrogate their inheritance, separate it from themselves, and reconcile with it. Theirs is an arc of examination and understanding, descending from their position of privilege and peace to learn about the suffering of others, and deciding that they wish to do something about it.

With full command over their aspect, and a clear vision for how it ought to be distributed, the party gains a new and powerful ally - the aspect itself, which will come to embrace the entire party as family. A fully-realized heir connects the privileged and underprivileged, spreading their inheritance to all.

MAGE - / SEER +

GUIDANCE

one who invokes [aspect] or is drawn to [aspect] / one who comprehends [aspect] or is guided by [aspect]

MAGES (-) are a class of prophets, although saying they "see the future" is misleading. Rather, mages "invoke" the future, collapsing causality to align to their desires. Most mages remain unaware that they are doing so until well into their journey. While all players weigh on the scale of causality, affecting both past and future events, and which sequence of events is the "alpha" sequence, mages have the most direct effect.

Because of this ability to invoke future events, mages possess powerful buffing/debuffing abilities. Furthermore, as one of the two knowledge classes, a mage usually has a very deep understanding of their aspect, and an intuitive knowledge of how the flow of time and causality function. They are "drawn to" their aspects in this way, instinctively searching out points where their influence can affect the flow of events.

However, with great power comes great cost; the mage class is usually assigned to those who are stricken by tragedies and prone to negativity and self-loathing. Mages often begin the game as a detriment to the party, "prophesying" future events that leave the party - including themselves - at a disadvantage. In the worst case scenario, a mage can invoke certain doom for their party or themselves.

Therefore, it is vital that a mage address their tragedies and be given a chance to heal and grow. The ones most struck by tragedy, theirs is a journey of reclaiming lost joy and rediscovering lost hope. However, the transformation is powerful once completed - as the one who suffers tragedy and loss most intimately, a mage can also come to be one of the most empathetic and compassionate members of the team.

If a mage is uplifted, and capable of believing in a kinder and gentler world, then their ability to invoke the future - and the aspects of their aspect that they are drawn to - become kinder, as well. Pain and suffering still have their place, but the ending will be a happy one. With a fully empowered mage, the future will always be better than what came before.

SEERS (+) see multiple branching paths. A mage determines where a road will be built, but a seer tells you where a road CAN be built. They are also often gifted with knowledge of the game and its mechanics, and are especially uniquely gifted with understanding of their own abilities. In this way, they "comprehend" their aspect.

Seers themselves are not particularly gifted in combat through their classpect alone; however, in exchange, they often play a vital role in steering the party. They are the game's built-in guides, with an intuitive knowledge of the game's victory conditions, as well as an instinctive desire to lead others along their paths. Seers are, therefore, one of the most important classes in the game, when one is present.

However, the ability to see is a burden as well as a gift. Seers find themselves paralyzed by choice, and often doubt their own abilities to choose "correctly." They are prone to becoming mired in what-ifs, and struggle with political or ethical debates with no clear answers. In the worst-case scenario, a seer may feel so cursed by their sight that they self-destruct, and deliberately choose poor or incomprehensible answers, in an attempt to free themselves of their sight.

Thus, a seer's quest is, ironically, to see the world beyond the purview of their aspect. They must come to have a more comprehensive understanding of the world they live in, and what purpose they are trying to achieve, so that they can feel confident in the choices they make. A seer is often blind - their journey, therefore, is that of regaining their vision, by connecting with the world outside their inner sight.

A seer with a clear vision for the future will always know exactly which path to choose. A party with such a seer in it will never be stuck and never be lost. If there exists a path to self-actualization, the seer will know it. And if there exists a path to a breathless and perfect victory, a fully-realized seer will light the way.

THIEF - / ROGUE +

UTILITY

one who steals [aspect] from others or steals with [aspect] / one who steals [aspect] for others or steals from [aspect]

THIEVES (-) are a very difficult class to play. They start out with almost no passive abilities regarding their aspect, and their ability to actively use their aspect is contingent on their ability to first "steal" it from someone else. Thus, they are always playing a game of resource management, and there is always a chance for them to be left helpless after a heist gone wrong.

However, their gimmicky nature allows them to overtake other classes even in that class's specialty, if they can set up the exact right circumstances and manage their resources well. This makes them incredibly versatile, especially when a thief is working together with a party, and thus able to count their party among their potential resources. It takes great cunning to play the thief class well.

However, this also makes the thief a potentially dangerous element to the rest of the party. Thieves are often egotistical and self-serving, willing to see enemies and allies alike as resources and tools. Unaddressed, their reckless, selfish natures will earn their teammates' distrust and enmity. In the worst case scenario, a thief running rampant can severely harm the party, or earn so much ire that the party turns against them.

Thus, their journey is that of realizing that their selfishness and ego are flaws - the classic parable of "money doesn't bring happiness." Beneath their uncaring surface lurks genuine emotional distress; a thief must come to realize that their greed and selfishness is an active detriment not only to the people around them, but their own selves. Only then can they heal from their injured souls.

A thief that has undertaken this journey is one who has realized that they are stronger when they are working with others. Their versatility, creativity, and cunning are incredible assets once harnessed toward the will of the party. No situation will ever be inescapable, no safe uncrackable, and no problem unsolvable - not if the thief has anything to say about it.

ROGUES (+) are similarly difficult to play. Unlike the thieves, rogues do see passive benefits from their aspects. However, their active abilities are much less straightforward, and rogues often struggle with understanding them. A rogue's role is to redistribute wealth - thus, "stealing for the sake of others."

A rogue, being able to steal directly from their aspect, truly shines when given enough time to prepare. If a thief must fly by the seat of their pants, then a rogue is a heist planner - they have an infinite box of tools to pull from, if only they know what tools they'll need for the job. This makes them incomparably versatile, even if not necessarily in the heat of combat.

Rogues take on the mantle of challenging the status quo. They usually begin the game already in opposition to their society, seeking out better alternatives and considering unorthodox options. However, not every party is ready for a rogue's radical ideology, and not every rogue has considered the full consequences of their belief in change; in the worst case scenario, the rogue can become outcasted and disregarded, or cause an upheaval that proves disastrous, rioting for the sake of rioting.

It often requires the help of others for a rogue to understand how to use their powers. In the same way, it requires the party's honest communication and exchange of ideas to help a rogue grasp exactly what form their rebellion ought to take. A rogue knows instinctively that something must change; their journey is learning how they ought to go about it.

Once they do, a rogue - given enough time to prepare and plan - is the ultimate utility player, having the right tool for every possible situation. Their abilities are only magnified in a party setting, as their teammates become variables that unlock new possibilities. A party with a fully-prepped rogue always has a perfect plan, a way to solve any problem that they might face.

WITCH - / SYLPH +

AREA CONTROL

one who manipulates [aspect] or achieves dominion through [aspect] / one who nurtures [aspect] or creates a land of [aspect]

WITCHES (-) carry with them the winds of change. A witch manipulates, changing properties of their aspect and their aspect's effect on others, creating a "territory" over which they rule. They see few passive benefits of their aspects, in exchange for their active abilities being so all-encompassing and overwhelming.

Once their territory has been established, witches make the rules. Their changes can be permanent, temporary, massive, and miniscule. However, a witch "achieves dominion" with their aspect - this means that they must first struggle to create this domain, and it's difficult for their abilities to manifest until they do, often leaving younger witches weak and vulnerable.

Witches have strong feelings for how things should and should not be, but not necessarily grounded ideas for how to implement them, often due to some "outsider" status in society. Unfocused witches become dangerous for the party, as they are easily manipulated; in the worst-case scenario, they can fall in with malicious forces, who can sway a witch's turbulent heart and utilize them as a force for negative change, rather than good.

Thus, a witch's journey is that of interrogating right and wrong. A witch must struggle with morality and ethics, and come to clarify their own beliefs; only then can they know what sort of domain they wish to establish, and what sort of rules they wish to enforce. Once they know their own hearts, they can shake off the insidious whispers of malicious external influence.

As if a reward for their struggles for autonomy and independence, the witch is the one whose will is most imposed on the world that comes after them. Just as an evil witch putrefies the world around them, a fully-realized witch who has decided to use their influence for good can create a near-utopia.

SYLPHS (+) call to mind the images of fey folk who sprout plants where they walk. That is how a sylph "creates a land" of their aspect - merely by existing, the world around them becomes suffused by it. A sylph's mere presence nurtures, grows, and heals their aspect; unlike witches, who manipulate what is already there, sylphs can create something from nothing.

The establishment of their domain comes naturally to them. Those caught within it are on the receiving end of their aspect, whether they want to be or not. In exchange for such powerful passive abilities, a sylph's active abilities are weaker, and usually unsuited for solo combat, generally being of healing, buffing, or debuffing nature.

A sylph is prone to selfishness - to luxuriating within their own land, their own aspect, their own mind. They often have difficulty connecting with others and understanding why their own personal world may not be to the liking of the world outside of themselves. Often, they are aloof. An unrealized sylph can cause great harm to the world around them, their domain choking out and smothering their party; in the worst case, they can mire their party within it, leaving their party unable to proceed.

Thus, it often requires the outside world to breach their safe haven in order for a sylph to grow. They must be made uncomfortable, and then made to accept that uncomfortable things are also important - maybe even more important than comfort, at times. Growth often requires pruning; a sylph's journey is to come to understand that good intentions may lead to harm, and, vice versa, that harm can often lead to true growth.

Sylphs can provide the greatest compassion and emotional comfort within a party, encouraging - if not enabling - their teammates' growth in their personal journeys. Once a sylph understands when it is appropriate to encourage, and when it is appropriate to pull back, there is no refuge safer for the party than the sylph's domain.

PRINCE - / BARD +

OBSTACLE REMOVAL

one who destroys [aspect] or destroys with [aspect] / one who allows the destruction of [aspect] or allows destruction through [aspect]

PRINCES (-) possess the ability to annihilate, a destructive class not limited to physical or tangible objects. Princes also enjoy auxiliary benefits as befits their royal titles - many princes start the game with great talents, great status and wealth, or both. They are also endowed with royal presence; their very existence provokes strong emotions from those around them, for good or for ill.

One of the more straightforward classes in the game, a prince's ability to destroy most commonly manifests as DPS. However, their abilities encompass a greater scope than mere damage - the prince's ability to annihilate figurative or metaphysical concepts makes them capable of directly removing any obstacles that stand in their way. As if hungry to consume their aspect, they are naturally drawn towards where it congregates.

However, with great power comes great responsibility: princes are often the most psychologically maligned within the party, and their destructive talents can very easily become self-destructive instead. Usually the result of societal pressure, trauma, and suffering, a prince is prone to embodying the lack of their aspect, rather than its presence. In the worst-case scenario, a prince spreads this misfortune to the rest of their party, destroying the presence of their aspect from their session altogether, often taking themselves along with it.

A prince must be shown compassion. Though they are often viscerally unpleasant to engage with, turning a blind eye to foolishness, loneliness, and suffering - which a prince embodies - is one of the worst things that a party can do. Though the effort at times seems undeserved, to heal a prince requires a staunch belief that there is good to be gained if we are kind to each other. This kindness will be returned; once you are counted among a prince's "people," they will do anything to keep harm from befalling you.

A prince, once shown this grace, is incomparably powerful. To destroy their aspect or with their aspect is the ability to destroy nearly anything, including concepts such as despair, death, and doom. As if proclaiming a royal decree, a fully-realized prince can banish misfortune and ill tidings altogether, leaving nothing standing in the party's way.

BARDS (+) are a wildcard of a class, often responsible for a party's improbable victory, abject defeat, or both. Their abilities are not very well-understood, even by the bard themselves, and they often utilize both passive and active abilities intuitively, unaware that they are doing so. The morale of the party is deeply tied to the bard's own, and it's unclear which side is cause and which is effect.

The ability to allow the destruction of their aspect, or invite it through their aspect, is actually something of a debuff rather than DPS - the bard's ability is to break unbreakable shields, tear down unclimbable walls, and nullify unstoppable forces. Rather than dealing damage themselves, they allow for damage to be dealt that would otherwise have no effect - in other words, by nature, they make the impossible possible. This is the true source of their ability to evoke "miraculous" situations.

Bards are inextricably tied to society - after all, their tales only hold as much value as their relevance to the audience. This means those with the bard class are invariably molded by the worst aspects of the society they come from. They serve as living embodiments of the most unpleasant aspects of society, and living reminders that leaving these elements to fester only means they will multiply in severity. If these beliefs are allowed to go unexamined, bards will always steer a party towards ruin.

Therefore, a party must engage with the bard earnestly, compassionately, and openly, and help them see the errors of the past. A bard must be led, with gentle guidance and genuine openness, to discard their harmful beliefs, and sing a new, more beautiful tune.

A bard that has been brought back into the fold is a worker of miracles. When every other possible option has been exhausted - the knight and maid in disarray, the page and heir unable to keep the party together, the mage and seer blinded, the thief and rogue out of action, the witch and sylph with their territory lost, the prince no longer able to function - this is where a bard will step in, transmuting abject defeat into a perfect and breathless victory.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Scientific Literacy

Scientific Literacy - the ability to parse through scientific information and understand it. Furthermore, it can entail the knowledge necessary to conduct experiments, hypothesize about new data, and think critically about the wider world.

How to Improve Scientific Literacy

The more science literate a society becomes, the better equipped it is to meet the challenges of the contemporary world. Consider these ways to improve the public understanding of science:

Combat misinformation. Science education is essential to combating misinformation. Unless people know how to vet sources of information, they’re more prone to take untrue or science illiterate alternatives at face value. This has led to people outright denying the reality of climate change and global warming, as well as refusing to take life-saving vaccines.

Demonstrate the real-world value. People are more likely to achieve scientific literacy when they see it has pragmatic value. Show students how an increased understanding of science can boost economic productivity, increase personal well-being, improve professional development, and have a positive general impact on their everyday lives.

Specify needed skills. There are many different important science literacy skills, so help people break them down into manageable chunks. Walk students through how to form a hypothesis, conduct an experiment using the scientific method, or read through a science paper and evaluate its veracity.

Take a wide-angle view. Encourage people to study all sorts of different scientific fields. For example, someone may have a hard time understanding the scientific processes underlying a life science (like chemistry) but also take to a more physical branch of the field (like earth science). You could then use their enthusiasm for the latter to inspire them to work harder to understand the former. Utilize different science teaching strategies to encourage a love of the field in general.

How to Evaluate Scientific Literacy

There are various approaches you can take to test for scientific understanding. Here are a few key ways to evaluate literacy in the science classroom:

Follow an established science curriculum. You can find plenty of curricula to guide your own personalized science education goals. For example, institutions like the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Academy of Science provide general wisdom about how to teach students to become science literate throughout their time in school.

Start a dialogue. Constant conversation and experimentation are part of the very nature of science. As such, scientific inquiry requires a group approach to problem-solving. Ask your students to help each other deepen their understanding of scientific concepts and step in to assist them along the way. See if they’re grasping these concepts as you talk to them.

Test for knowledge. Try to test for knowledge of science concepts in multiple different ways. Ask your students to conceive of and conduct an experiment from start to finish. Encourage them to write a scientific research paper with the appropriate citation format, utilizing peer-reviewed resources. Provide traditional multiple-choice tests to evaluate general scientific knowledge as well.

The Importance of Scientific Literacy

Scientific literacy enables you to understand why things are the way they are. Becoming a science-literate person can lead to or contribute to:

A greater impetus to act on important issues: Scientifically literate citizens are more likely to act when science indicates a crisis is on the horizon. Scientific issues often become political and ethical issues, drifting out of the lab or classroom into the real world. Science teachers help their students identify issues like these as well as propose ways they can act to solve them.

A greater understanding of the world: From elementary to high school science and beyond, teachers do their best to explain the wonders of the natural world to their students. Scientific knowledge expands your ability to grasp mysteries you previously thought of as inscrutable and unsolvable.

Improved critical thinking skills: Science learning allows you to hone your critical thinking skills in a way that can apply to a vast array of other arenas in your life. As you comb through scientific evidence and assess data, you train yourself to think objectively. Core competencies like these have far-reaching benefits on your general decision-making capabilities.

At a very early age, even elementary school students receive exposure to scientific concepts in the interest of building this sort of literacy.

Schools follow national science education standards to bring the next generation up to speed on everything from physics and chemistry to the broader life and social sciences.

Certain scientific authorities lament what they see as the low standards of scientific literacy throughout contemporary society.

They insist we need education reform to ensure the general public can better learn to see the world through a science-oriented lens.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

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Asteroid Industria and Asteroid Varuna in your Astrology Chart

Asteroid Industria is about your ability to be diligent and industrious, therefore represents a significant part of your career, while Asteroid Varuna represents in your birth chart the pathway that represents where you will receive justice and fairness. Both these Asteroids along with their separate interpretations are often used to see as to where your life trajectory including your career are leading you towards.

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In astrology, the asteroid Industria (Asteroid 389) represents themes related to hard work, industriousness, ambition, and diligence. Its position in the houses of your natal chart indicates the areas of life where you focus your efforts and work ethic. Here's an interpretation of Industria in the different houses:

1st House: You are seen as a hardworking individual with a strong personal drive. Industriousness becomes a central part of your identity and how others perceive you.

2nd House: You may work hard to attain material security and financial stability. You're likely to place a lot of effort into building personal wealth or resources.

3rd House: You are diligent in communication, learning, and perhaps neighborhood or sibling relations. You put effort into writing, speaking, or developing skills in areas of education.

4th House: You apply your energy toward family, home life, and creating a strong emotional foundation. You might be focused on real estate, property matters, or improving your living space.

5th House: Your industriousness is channeled into creative pursuits, hobbies, romance, or activities involving children. You might approach pleasure or self-expression with a serious work ethic.

6th House: This is one of the most natural placements for Industria, emphasizing diligence in daily work, health routines, and service to others. You might be highly organized or disciplined in your job or personal health.

7th House: In partnerships and relationships, you apply effort into maintaining balance, cooperation, and mutual benefit. You may work hard to form strong partnerships, both personal and professional.

8th House: You might work hard in matters of shared resources, transformation, or dealing with crises. This placement often signifies intense effort in areas like finances, taxes, inheritances, or psychological work.

9th House: You may apply your energy into higher learning, travel, or spiritual/philosophical pursuits. You might be hardworking in educational endeavors, publishing, or expanding your worldview.

10th House: Industria in the 10th House points to career ambitions and public reputation. You may be seen as hardworking, disciplined, and industrious in your professional life.

11th House: You apply your energy into social causes, group activities, or friendships. This placement suggests hard work in achieving long-term goals and in collaborating with others for the greater good.

12th House: Your industriousness may be focused on behind-the-scenes work, spiritual growth, or serving others in a more hidden capacity. There could be a tendency to work in solitude or on issues related to mental health, healing, or the subconscious.

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Asteroid Varuna (20000 Varuna) in astrology is linked to themes of cosmic law, justice, fairness, and overarching principles that govern life and the universe. Named after the Hindu god of the oceans and the guardian of cosmic order, Varuna's presence in an astrological chart often reflects one's relationship to larger principles, truth, and integrity. Here's how Varuna might manifest in the houses of a natal chart:

Varuna in the Houses

1st House: Varuna here may influence your personality and how you present yourself. You may be someone who naturally stands for fairness, cosmic justice, or a higher truth. There’s a tendency to carry a sense of personal integrity, often seen as someone with a strong moral compass.

2nd House: In this house, Varuna affects your values and approach to material possessions. You may have a deep sense of fairness regarding wealth and resources, with a focus on acquiring things in an ethical and balanced manner. There could be a drive toward working in fields that uphold justice or universal laws.

3rd House: You express Varuna’s energy through communication, learning, and interacting with your immediate environment. You may be concerned with truth in communication, desiring clarity and fairness in all conversations, possibly advocating for justice through writing or teaching.

4th House: Varuna influences your home, family, and emotional foundation. There may be a strong sense of moral principles within the family or an emphasis on fairness and justice in your home life. You might seek to create a nurturing environment based on universal laws and fairness.

5th House: In this house, Varuna’s energy is expressed through creativity, romance, and self-expression. You may infuse a sense of justice into your creative works or feel compelled to use your talents to address larger issues of fairness. Romantic relationships might also be influenced by ideals of truth and ethical behavior.

6th House: Varuna in the 6th House suggests that your daily work, health routines, and service to others are guided by a sense of cosmic justice. You may be drawn to work environments where fairness and integrity are key values, or you may approach health and wellness through a holistic lens that respects universal laws.

7th House: Varuna influences your partnerships and relationships. In this house, fairness and justice become central to your interactions with others, particularly in personal or business relationships. You may be drawn to partners who share a similar ethical stance or work in areas related to law or justice.

8th House: Varuna in the 8th House can bring a focus on justice and integrity in matters related to shared resources, transformation, and deeper psychological issues. You may explore intense themes of power, control, and fairness in joint ventures, inheritances, or spiritual transformation.

9th House: Here, Varuna amplifies themes of higher learning, travel, philosophy, and religion. You may be deeply concerned with exploring truth and justice on a global scale, possibly engaging in studies or travels that challenge your sense of universal laws and cosmic order.

10th House: Varuna in the 10th House suggests that your career and public reputation are linked to themes of justice, integrity, and universal principles. You may be seen as a figure who upholds high moral standards or works in a profession where justice and fairness are paramount, such as law, governance, or education.

11th House: Varuna here affects your involvement in social groups, friendships, and long-term goals. You may be drawn to social causes that focus on justice, fairness, and the betterment of society. Varuna can inspire you to work within communities that are committed to ethical and fair practices.

12th House: In this deeply spiritual and hidden house, Varuna may influence your subconscious mind, dreams, and connection to the mystical or unseen realms. You may have a strong inner sense of cosmic justice and be drawn to work behind the scenes to support fairness, or you may grapple with themes of integrity and truth on a deeply personal and introspective level.

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Conjuction, Square, Sextile between Varuna and Industria

1.Conjunction

When Varuna and Industria are conjunct, their energies blend and work together. This aspect suggests that your sense of hard work and industriousness (Industria) is deeply aligned with cosmic justice, integrity, or higher truth (Varuna).

You may approach work and effort with a strong sense of moral duty or feel that your career or daily tasks should reflect universal principles of fairness and justice. You could be driven to work in areas that promote ethical values, social justice, or larger causes. This aspect might also make you feel a profound responsibility to maintain balance and integrity in your professional or personal efforts.

If you are in a leadership role or public service, you may work tirelessly to ensure that justice is served or that ethical standards are maintained. Your industrious nature is deeply tied to what you perceive as universal truths or laws.

2. Square

A square between Varuna and Industria creates tension between your drive for hard work and diligence (Industria) and your ideals of cosmic justice or truth (Varuna). This tension can manifest as internal or external conflict, but it also creates opportunities for growth.

You might experience situations where you have to balance between working hard and staying true to ethical or moral principles. There could be a struggle between what you must do in your day-to-day life or career versus what you feel is morally or cosmically correct. Alternatively, you may face challenges that force you to choose between practical hard work and higher ideals.

You might be in a job or situation where your industriousness is at odds with your ethical values. Perhaps you are expected to compromise your integrity to achieve professional success, and this creates stress or a feeling of being morally "out of balance."

3. Sextile

A sextile between Varuna and Industria is a harmonious aspect that facilitates easy flow between your work ethic and your moral or ethical principles. This is a positive aspect where both energies support each other, offering opportunities for growth and achievement.

You are likely to find it easier to align your work efforts with higher ethical standards. This aspect suggests that your industriousness complements your sense of cosmic justice, and you may find opportunities to work in areas that reflect your moral values. You can effortlessly apply hard work in fields that promote fairness, integrity, and truth.

You may be in a role or profession where you feel a natural alignment between your sense of responsibility and your ideals of fairness and justice. Opportunities may come your way that allow you to work hard while promoting social causes or acting with high ethical standards.

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