#are there intra-community issues? Yes of course there always are

[theexhaustedqueer]

Guys, there’s a really obvious enemy here and— Oh! What a surprise!

It isn’t each other.

[liesmyth]

something that i think is so interesting in nona the ninth is that we really see that the nine houses have varying levels of loyalty to/cooperation with the emperor. the most clear example is of course everything going on with the sixth house, but also when aiglamene says that the last time the emperor's intelligence sent someone to the ninth house they 'dropped [them] off eleven hours from the prison with ten hours' worth of air'. that being said, what do you think are the other houses' actual relationship with/feelings towards emperor?

Ohh yes I love those worldbuilding details we get in Nona! Some thoughts—sorry, this got long.

How (I think) the Empire is structured

From what little we know of the political structure in the Empire, I get the vibe that the Houses are mostly left to themselves, govern themselves autonomously, and make alliances with each other, without a solid formal structure in place above them. Many major political events happen without anyone even considering that the Emperor should be consulted on them: Harrow was worried about the Ninth becoming a vassal of the Fifth or Third if they should apply for relief; the Fifth have a lot of influence over the Fourth and “dynastic ambition”; the Ninth were left free to completely isolate themselves for eighteen years.

The Empire appears to be pretty decentralised on matters of internal governance, which I think fits with John's whole deal. He isn't very hands-on, he historically has spent decades a universe away from the Houses, and he doesn't care about the details. IMO, there's a marked difference between intra-Houses governance and the "Imperial" agenda.

1—Internally, the Emperor is very much the ultimate authority… IF ONLY he bothered to yield it, which he doesn’t. Partly because John is just Like That, and partly because he operates on a completely different timescale. But he does have the authority: when he decides to summon the House heirs, they come; when many of them die, there's no noticeable political fallout: he leaves for the Mithraeum, expecting to be away for at least five years with no communication, and that's not seen as an issue. He obviously doesn’t have to explain himself to anyone, and his authority is not even in question.

There's a mention in GtN of "Imperial law" that forbids necromancers from marrying out of House, but IMO 'Imperial' refers to the fact that it applies to every House, not that John came up with it. The Houses are so jealous of their own resources that they don't want their necromancers to affiliate with others; I think this is a law that suits the Houses first and foremost, and John couldn’t care less. In general, I think House leaders are very happy that the Emperor is so hands-off on internal matters, and this has been the case for most (if not all) of their recorded history.

2— Externally, though! The Houses are absolutely united when it comes to their equivalent of foreign policy, which is mostly handled by the Cohort. Interstellar travel seems to be regulated through military channels, and I would bet that a sizeable portion of the internal economy of the Empire is centred on the Cohort. Note that the "contracts" with the "shepherded planets" are between each planet and John himself—he's A LOT more involved when it comes to military matters. Even on the Mithraeum in HtN he's looking at reports and briefing—and when he's around he always resides with the Cohort and definitely makes executive decisions.

I think it's pretty interesting that John is a near-mythical figure to the Houses but Cohort personnel actually interact with him on a regular basis. Like, I bet that leaders of the Houses have no idea what the Emperor actually looks like outside of religious imagery, but there's a twenty-something junior officer who brings him coffee every morning. I think it's fascinating—temporal power vs. spiritual power; he's a religious figure to most of the Empire, but to the extent to which he's "Emperor" of anything, in a concrete, mundane sense, it's the Cohort. And I think that Cohort higher-ups have a lot of sway over the Houses (veering into headcanon land but @theriverbeyond made the excellent point that Cohort command probably have Opinions about the leaders of each House and can influence the decision to some extent)

Each House's relationship with the Emperor

We don't know much about it so it's all speculation babey!

The Second: THE favoured child. The fandom focuses on the Fifth and Third being rich and influential, and they sure are, but that’s based on Gideon’s POV (as filtered through Harrow’s knowledge) which about who is currently on top of the House scheming game. I think the Second just don’t care about House scheming because they are THE Officer House; the Cohort is based in Trentham, and I’m sure there’s a disproportionate percentage of Second House members among their leadership. The leader of the Second is the top brass (Judith’s dad is the Fleet Admiral—that’s a five stars rank) and as of NtN, he has enough pull to antagonise a Lyctor over supply lines. The Second absolutely enjoy privileged access to the Emperor and have a lot of power from it. The Third: we don't know! I think they are one of the Houses who are really really happy that God is off playing star wars and they can do their thing. Also, I think there are many commercial ties between the Third and the Cohort (and by extension, imperial authority) because a lot of the wealth within the internal economy of the Houses absolutely comes from military contracts. The Fourth: Fidelity facing ahead. The bomb kids. They seem to be somewhat subordinated both to the Fifth (at least currently) and to the Second (who, again, lead the Cohort) and probably don't do much scheming of their own. The Fifth: like the Third, I think they are very happy the Emperor is off with the Cohort. I think they have a perfectly civil, friendly relationship with the concept of imperial authority. Like the Third, it's very likely that their economy goes to supplying the Cohort with resources instead of troops, and they get rich from it. The Sixth: this is INTERESTING! They held a vote and decided to secede, but we don't know if the choice was unanimous (I doubt it!) or if there have been reactions from the population of the House (because the decision iirc was made by the Oversight Committee). We know a lot about the Sixth's inner workings, more than any other House barring the Ninth, and they actually send a considerable percentage of their small population to the Cohort. Their entire reproductive strategy of "diversifying the gene pool" relies HEAVILY on sending many people off-House (= to the Cohort) and as far as we know those people are still there.

I doubt the break clause is widely known among the wider Sixth population, because the secession seems to have come as a surprise to the Cohort (or at least Ianthe, who has access to their intelligence). Do all, or any, of the Sixth's people within the Cohort know what happened, or do they think the installation was destroyed? Basically, I don't know if "okay, let's secede" was as simple of a situation as Camilla makes it seem—and she explained about it when talking to Nona, so I bet it isn't.

Another thing worth noting is that, as Cam says, they ultimately "left for a Lyctor". I think it makes a lot of sense for Former Contract Lawyer Cassiopeia (who I still believe came up with the lifetime contracts) to have founded her House with a stipulation in place that they could leave if they decided to—I think there might even be a chance she told John about it back when, though I doubt he ever knew that the Library installation could be packed up and moved. Basically: there are A LOT of implications and possible consequences to the secession, and IDK how it's going to turn out.

The Seventh: we know very little about them. Protesilaus was a duelling champion, so clearly they are plugged into the "social scene" of the Houses—that's all I got

The Eight: very into the worship of the Emperor as "God," but I think they're more into their own interpretation of what the religious precepts of the Houses ought to be than what the God-Emperor actually wants. (Which I think suits John just fine). See Silas having a portrait of the Emperor in his room but also being the only one to say "God was wrong" re: Lyctoral process. I think the Eight like the idea of the Emperor as a symbol of authority, both religious and political (the two are one and the same to them) but they're very happy that he's off warring in the stars so they don't have to actually listen to anything he has to say.

The Ninth: I think the Ninth like the Emperor just fine, but from far away. They worship and respect him through the lenses of their brand of religion, focused on the Tomb. They clearly aren't involved in the running of the space prison, and the whole House seem to have been a religious hermitage at the edge of the Empire before they shut the House to pilgrims. I think John tries not to think about the Ninth at all, because Alecto, and they are mutually very happy each doing their thing.

EDIT: I originally wrote "I think Aiglamene's line about kicking off Intelligence officers is not necessarily a reflection on their stance on the imperial government; simply a consequence of the fact that they were hushing up the death of an entire generation of Ninth children and didn't want the intelligence guys poking around" but I was wrong there—the Ninth kicking out the bureau guys precedes the child murders. That points to a bigger distrust for military / Cohort / imperial authority than I initially considered, but I don't think it changes much. They're fine sending people to the Cohort and praying to God, but want to be left alone to run themselves

(SORRY THIS GOT SO LONG :D)

[shabre-legacy]

Nyaisa’s final Coruscant Scene

I technically should have written this scene after the rest of Nya’s Ord Mantell and Coruscant story, but it was in my head and wouldn’t leave so I could write anything else. So here it is. Takes place just before she leaves Coruscant for Taris. 

Warnings for: Verbal abuse and minor violence towards a partner. Most of the language is below the cut. (doesn’t get away with the behavior)

The walkway between the senate and the nearest Coruscant spaceport was long. Had it always been this long? It hadn’t seemed so the last three times she’s made this trek, but still...Nyaisa couldn’t tell when it had gotten so kriffing long. She moved with purpose. They might not have to run this time, but that didn’t mean they had time to waste. 

Her squad followed a step behind. Jorgan on her right, sniper, experienced, good instincts, tough and uncompromising, but willing to give advice, very grumpy. Ikhirr Jhasis walked to her left. Same training as hers, a frontal assault and search and destroy specialist. also a sergeant, good friend from the academy, Cathar, efficient, good-natured, kind, tough, likes pranks, dislikes Jedi. 

Both these men answered to her; which she still found strange. Only a few days ago she’d been a sergeant and a new transfer. Now she was a lieutenant and CO of her own spec-force squad. One with a seemingly impossible reputation to uphold, as if she needed more challenges. She’d do it of course. This wasn’t a matter of can or can’t. It was a matter of duty. Even if she couldn’t, she would. 

As she crossed the interior of the hanger, she noticed a familiar face waiting for her. Nordan Allgard, an army lieutenant and her boyfriend of 3 years, currently on leave on Coruscant before shipping out to the outer rim in 4 days. 

She had prepped a message for him during her shuttle ride and sent it as soon as she set foot on the planet. Nya told him about her transfer and promotion, her new command and new CO, she’d even told him that she would be on Coruscant. Thank the stars for secure intra-military communication. She did make sure to note that while she was on planet, it was for debriefing and work and she wasn’t sure how long she’d be here or if she’d have time to see him. No point in getting either of their hopes up. 

He hadn’t responded. Days of running around Coruscant, rescuing the senator, making their way back, all the meetings she’d had to attend. Days he’d had her message and no response. He hadn’t ignored her like this in years. 

It was a bit odd and out of character for him to come to see her off on a mission at the spaceport. Nevermind how he found out she was headed here in the first place. That was secure spec-ops details. Not available to the regular army personnel

Part of the appeal for both of them was that they understood each other. They both had their own reasons for being soldiers and they both understood that for the other and for themselves, the job would always come first. It had been that way since their academy days. It made what time they were able to spend together all the more special.

Honestly Nyaisa knew how lucky she was to have found Nordan. As a soldier, she was fantastic, but as a person, well, she could acknowledge her faults, she was difficult. She was arrogant and cold and brusque. Her time in the refugee camp had given her abandonment issues, Mirial, a hero complex. Not knowing her father meant she had massive daddy issues. Add to that the fact that she was obnoxious, talked too much, had no sense of humor, an awful temper and an obsession with weapons and thus with death and frankly, she was surprised that Nordan had stayed as long as he had. She’d probably never find anyone else that would put up with her and her moods. 

He was standing in the doorway of the hanger between the lounge and her ship. Coruscant’s sunlight dripping through his auburn hair to shine like pure gold, and making his face tattoo fade. He looked every bit as handsome as he ever had. But there was something off with him. Something in the glint of his dark eyes she could barely see, something dark in the crumpled way his uniform sat, in the way he stood rock still, face hard set as they approached. She’d only seen this look on him a few times, he was furious. 

She didn’t have time for this! As much as she wanted to sit down with her lover and let him talk about what had gone wrong this time, and fix it, and comfort him. She couldn't. The mission was too urgent. 

She altered her path slightly. Moving just enough she’d be able to squeeze his shoulder as she passed. She knew Ikhirr enough to know he’d move. 

However, instead of letting her pass by when she approached without slowing. He stepped directly in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. “We need to talk now.” He said, his voice low and angry in a way that had never been directed at her before. His eyes scanned her face, pausing briefly at the new, still healing scars across her jaw and neck. Instead of concern, there seemed to be almost disgust. When had he become this angry at her? What had she done wrong this time?

“Sorry Allgard, no time, I’m on duty and shipping out.” She spoke sharply, but was careful to have no edge to her tone. No use in making this worse, but hoping to remind him she was working, and spec force, and in front of her squad and other soldiers littered around the hangar. 

“We’re talking NOW!” he growled at her. 

She narrowed her eyes. She put up with a lot from him because she knew he loved her, but this was crossing a line and delaying a General’s orders. 

She didn’t have time to waste on anything unnecessary. She barked quick orders over her shoulder. “Jhasis, get onboard, stow your gear and start running inventory in the galley and medbay. Jorgan, start those preflights. I want off the ground soon as control clears us. Start inventory on the armory soon as we lift off. I want full reports by the time we hit Carrick.” 

Her men, ever professionals, saluted quickly and stepped around heading towards the ship. As soon as they were a few steps away, Nyaisa lowered her voice and started to step away herself. “I don’t have time today, Nordan. Garza gave orders and they’re time sensitive. We can talk later, but right now I have to go.”

As she stepped past, he grabbed her arm, yanking hard. Nya was pulled to a halt and harshly spun around to face him. “You bitch.” He spat “Do you know what you’ve done? How much you’ve humiliated me?”

“The only thing I’ve done is be exceptional at my job and get a promotion. If you’ve heard otherwise, someone’s lying to you. Let go of me!” She yanked her arm away and glared at him. What had gotten into him?

“Do you even understand what kind of shit I put up with from you.” The anger, the hate in his voice, he could be nasty sometimes, but he’d never spoken quite like this. She must have really screwed up somewhere. “I mean, I let you stay with the army training, I let you join ground troops instead of taking an administerial position where you belong, because it made me look good. My family, their friends, I could introduce my army girl and we were the very picture of republic loyalty. But this shit. This is too damn much.”

Was...was he seriously angry she got promoted? And Let her? She’d joined the army herself, she went where she was ordered and fought where she was ordered, what part of that was ‘let’? 

“What the..” 

“Shut up and listen!” He roughly cut her off before she could even reach the middle of her sentence

“I let you go around like you’re so good and so tough, when you’re really just a pathetic bitch who tries too hard and everyone knows it. And this is how you repay me? By running off and getting into the most famous squad of the republic?”

He was...He was actually angry about her transfer to Havoc! And where had all this venom and cruelty come from. She knew he liked to show her off, but she’d thought it was because he was proud of her. And these nasty comments. It wasn’t the first time he’d said such things, but never with such hate in his voice. He just wanted to help her become better. This was something else and it was starting to make her angry.

“Then to top that, you just couldn’t accept that I was the better soldier. You had to try and one up me, again. You just had to get yourself a promotion and a command. Do you even comprehend how humiliating that is?”

“You’re out of line, Nordan. If you have a problem with my success that’s your problem, not mine.”

He growled again and took a step closer to her, using his height to try and intimidate her. “I told you to shut up. I’m not done. Now, on top of everything else, which I might have been able to forgive eventually, you decided to go and disfigure yourself with those hideous things” he gestured roughly at her new scars. The ones she’d gotten surviving an imperial ambush while deep inside an imperial base, alone and betrayed. While yes, they were a little ugly, new scars always were, she wasn’t ashamed of them. Soldiers got scars, that's just what happened. And while the memory of the circumstances still stung, she was proud of them. They meant she’d survived something that should have killed her, and that was something she refused to let Nordan make her feel bad about. Why did he always try and make her feel bad about everything she did?

 “HEY!” He reached out and grabbed her jaw, shaking her head roughly. She knew her squad had stopped and started watching the moment he’d raised his voice and the other soldiers were staring too. “Pay attention when I speak to you.” He forced her head to look directly at him instead of off to the side, where she had been staring so she could think. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You are going to go back to the oh so special General Garza.” The disdain that dripped from his voice on her name was unnerving. “And you are going to resign your command effective immediately, you’re going to resign from the army completely. Then you are going to go to my room at the Cantina and we’ll see if I feel like forgiving you.” 

Nyaisa was done. Somehow, his attempts at giving her orders, pulling her from the job that was her life, forcing her to abandon everything else that meant anything at all to her, the things for which she’d dedicated her entire life, it broke something. She could see him for what he was now. A bully and a weak man who’d spent the last 3 years desperate to control her. “NO!”

“Excuse me!” the look in his eyes darkened more, if such a thing were possible. 

“I said No. I will not resign. This is your problem, not mine. I have a mission I’m going back to. We will talk about this later.” She’d have some strong words for him, but he needed to cool down first. A few hours and he’d realize how foolish and inconsiderate he was being. She was sure of it. Then they could talk about his behavior and his control issues. 

Crack!

Her head snapped to the side as a stinging pain exploded across her face. He had slapped her! He had straight up backhanded her across the face! Not only did he dare to raise a hand against her, but he’d done it in public! In front of other soldiers! In front of her squad! The men who were supposed to take her orders! Fury like she’d rarely felt exploded across her chest and as he raised his hand to strike her again and likely yell at her, she acted. Grabbing his arm as he swung, she spun him around and jammed his arm into a lock with just enough force that she knew he’d feel it. He’d know he was a single movement away from broken bones. She leaned in close and spoke loudly enough for those on their feet starting to hear, for her squad that had rushed back towards her to hear. “You do not get to hit me. You do not give me orders. We are done. You come near me ever again for any reason other than a direct order from a superior and you will face a lot worse than an armlock. I am not your toy. Never have been, never will be.” She shoved him away from her, hard enough that he stumbled forward and fell as she turned and holding her head high started towards her ship. 

“You alien whore!” She could hear Nordan spit behind her. “How many people did you spread your legs for to get that promotion. Did you fuck Tavus that first night or did you at least wait a day.” 

Nyaisa could feel the tension around her as she passed Jorgan and Jhasis. She saw Jhasis’s fists clenched out of the corner of her eye. He was ready to beat the man. One more insult and the rules of military interactions, rank and his rather impressive self control would cease to matter. “Jhasis, Jorgan, fall in.” She strode to the ship and opened the door. Focusing only on getting inside and out of the gaze of these soldiers, away from Nordan. She could feel the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. She thought he’d loved her. She just had to hold it together enough to get off the ground and make the jump to hyperspace. Then she could close the bridge. 

“How long did it take you to hit your knees for Garza, bitch? You…” As the door opened, Nordan cut off his sentence. She turned to see the two Cathar striding away from Nordan who was again lying on the ground, this time holding his nose and glaring as they walked up and as she stepped aside, they moved silently onto the ship. She stared for another moment as Nordan lay there on the ground holding his nose surrounded by the other soldiers staring at him in disgust. How had she ever thought of him as anything more than a pathetic worm with apparently massive issues? And as much as it hurt, she knew she’d be glad to be rid of him someday. She turned her back and left him in the hanger as she stepped inside, walking quickly past her boys. The tears pressed harder against her eyes. She moved around the corner and started to the bridge, quickly wiping at her eyes for the second she was ahead of them and out of sight. “Get to work, I want off the ground in five.” She’d handle this when she got a little privacy. How she was so stupid to fall for him, the aftermath and reports she’d have to file for what had happened, all of that could wait till they hit hyperspace and she’d left this disaster far behind. 

[shih-coulda-had-it]

8 and 60 any bnha ship

8 (Hospital AU) & 60 (Poorly Timed Confession) | any bnha ship [Shizenji]

//

A/n: inaccuracies are possible, but not with the tug-of-war over surgeons!Nana and Chiyo’s favorite OR RN: Sorahiko. I’ve been told that surgeons will privately confer with charge nurses to rearrange the roster according to preference.

//

The whole affair could have been avoided if Sorahiko simply did not work at U.A. General Hospital.

Shuuzenji Chiyo, Chief Surgeon in residence, would not be furiously pining after her fellow doctor if Torino Sorahiko did not exist.

“That’s unfair,” said Sorahiko, OR registered nurse. He was seated across from Chiyo in a corner booth of the cafeteria. The contents of his plastic tray resembled hers, except he had produced his own plastic-wrapped taiyaki from seemingly nowhere.

“It’s not unfair. Any time I think I’ve got an opening to ask her out for a date, you’re in the background silently judging me!”

“Because you suck,” he responded eloquently. “At pick-up lines, specifically. We all worship you at the operating table, Shuuzenji-hakase.”

“I have more game in my pinky finger than you do in your entire body,” Chiyo shot back.

“Then why haven’t you asked her out yet?”

“Ugh!” Chiyo popped open the lid of her bento and retrieved her chopsticks from their paper wrapping. She did not have a good answer for Sorahiko, who politely did not gloat over his victory. This was the real trial, she thought glumly. Because while she and Sorahiko were bosom break-buddies, Sorahiko and Shimura Nana were childhood best friends.

One would think that with Sorahiko as a mutual friend, Chiyo wouldn’t be having a communication issue.

“If you asked me,” said Sorahiko modestly.

“I haven’t.”

Silence fell between them, save for the crackle of Sorahiko opening his beloved treat and the soft murmured conversations of other people in the cafeteria. Chiyo gritted her teeth. She would not be the first to give in; the potential result of Sorahiko’s smug face at her tacit concession was too aggravating to bear.

She poked at her bento’s serving of cold chicken breast, caught a glimpse of the pallid vegetables beneath, and resigned herself to a terrible lunch.

“See,” Sorahiko said, “this is the first problem.”

“Is this your patronizing voice?”

He ignored her acerbic tone, if only because Chiyo hadn’t explicitly told him to shut up and change the subject. “You’re not letting yourself cool off. You need to take a step back and re-evaluate the situation, and then try and ask Shimura out on a date.”

“If I take a step back,” Chiyo complained, “then she’ll never respect me as a fellow surgeon who can go toe-to-toe! She already towers over me! I need my monumental stubborn streak to be unquestionably present!”

“Trust me, it’s undeniable,” he muttered.

Chiyo decided she had to let that comment slide, because Sorahiko was the unfortunate victim of a tug-of-war between her and Shimura. It started months ago, when Shimura was first hired by U.A. General and reunited in the workforce with her best friend. Chiyo hadn’t known anything about it, other than ‘new surgeon, likely capable,’ and wouldn’t have cared if it wasn’t for the sudden absence of Sorahiko from her operating room.

Sorahiko was a good intra-op nurse; he lent a certain focused calm to any surgery, and could always be trusted to provide a helping hand without panicking.

Chiyo hadn’t liked the fact that some uppity new hire had snatched Sorahiko from her hours, so she got him back. Without doing Shimura the polite courtesy of a head’s up. Chiyo had justified this rude action to Nezu, the Dean of Medicine, as: Shimura did it first.

They had yanked Sorahiko back and forth between their teams for a straight week before Chiyo finally got her first glimpse of Shimura.

Blatantly! Talking! To the charge nurse about rotating Sorahiko’s hours yet again!

She bitterly resented Shimura for all of three seconds, because by the fourth second, Chiyo had intruded on her personal space and been overwhelmed by the woman’s sheer presence. Shimura had said, with a toothy smile, “Ah, Shuuzenji-senpai. I was just asking Futaba-san about switching Torino-san’s placement for the next week. You don’t mind, do you?”

Inwardly, Chiyo had screeched about losing Sorahiko from Mr. Morimoto’s heart surgery.

Inwardly, Chiyo’s breath had caught in her lungs, her heart had stuttered, and the very unprofessional thought about wanting to be pinned down and ravished by her fellow surgeon crossed her mind.

That’s my favorite nurse, you can’t just yank him out of rotation and shuffle him where you will, Chiyo wanted to say.

“For a surgeon like you?” she said instead. “By all means.”

It was an unintended slight. A double-edged compliment. One that hinged on vague implications of flattery and insult.

It didn’t help that Chiyo had to tip her chin back to stare Shimura in the eye; it didn’t help that Chiyo had visibly registered Shimura’s generously-endowed figure before yanking her eyes up and up and up--

Of course, rather than accept this graciously, Shimura’s smile had widened into a triumphant grin. As Chief Surgeon, Chiyo couldn’t accept that, so the tug-of-war continued. Futaba became accustomed to being accosted to adjust Torino’s hours, and Sorahiko tried pretending nothing was happening. Occasionally, Chiyo saw Shimura chatting with Sorahiko and laughing, and Chiyo had to pretend she wasn’t a gremlin.

All this to say, now Sorahiko was attempting to give Chiyo dating advice, as though Chiyo hadn’t been trawling the sea for fish since she graduated medical school.

“Just say you like her to her face,” said Sorahiko.

“Where’s the art in that?” she demanded.

“Because,” he opined, “you two are in some serious miscommunication troubles, and it’s in the hospital’s best interests that you aren’t feuding anymore.”

“It’s not a feud.”

“The other nurses think you two are fighting to date me, you know.”

“Would you be open to a threesome?” Chiyo gave Sorahiko a critical once-over, just to cement her views of her favorite nurse. He was tall, like Shimura, and he was crabby and crotchety when he wasn’t forced to be professional, like Chiyo. She didn’t feel any intense desire. Just a certain fondness, cultivated over the inevitable losses in the OR and their shared gallows humor.

Sorahiko considered her right back. Then he said, “No, I think we’d be a nightmare for HR to deal with.”

“HR,” Chiyo grieved. As Chief Surgeon, Chiyo had to maintain certain boundaries between herself and her colleagues. Dating your technical underlings was highly discouraged, and Chiyo’s stance was that she had to be untouchable in order to maintain respect.

There was a reason the other nurses were in awe of Sorahiko.

“Maybe you should leave it alone,” he suggested. “It being, trying to date her.”

“Sorahiko, genuinely, I will beat you over the head with my lunch if you cockblock me,” said Chiyo. “You’ve seen your best friend, right? I have been keeping my nails clipped short ever since I entered medical school, but now I’m this close to asking her if she owns a strap.”

“Don’t,” said Sorahiko, pained by receiving too much information.

“What? What? Are you losing all your respect for me?”

“Keep using me as an outlet for your failed flirtations, and I really will,” he threatened.

“Maybe I should send you back to Shimura’s team, with a note that says, ‘Do you like me? Check yes or yes.’ You can be the peace offering. Is it pimping you out if you manage to sweet-talk her into having lunch with us?”

“Pimp me out?”

“You’re very high-value,” Chiyo reassured him. “You’re worth a cease-fire.”

“I should be the one filing a complaint to HR,” Sorahiko muttered to his bento. “No compensation is worth bearing witness to this.”

[dcublogger]

Sarah | Psychology

Hi, my name is Sarah and I am a mature student studying Psychology. I hope you enjoy my blog about my experience in DCU.

Semester 1 - 2019

December 20th, Semester 1: Finishing Semester

At just like that it is over. Semester 1 of year 3 is complete! It is honestly so hard to explain how quickly each semester goes. One of my friends said it best when she told us that we have 6 semesters done and only 3 more left until we graduate. 

I wish my semesters we more balanced for me personally. I have not found a balance between college time and mom time. Each week that passes I think next week will be better, next week I will be more organised. But then life happens and my little one gets sick. (Trying to leave for college when your three-year-old is pleading with you to stay, is an actual test I have only seldom passed!) 

But look, I have made it. There are still assignments to do and exams to prepare for but I have survived and made it through! Take that anxiety! We had an amazing end to this semester. We had to present our preliminary finds from our research project on the last day of the term. It was an amazing way to finish up. Getting to see everyone's hard work presented in a mock conference-style was incredible. 

Here we are, if you look super close you can see that there is a buggy in the background and a small person’s feet hanging out! Yes, listening to me present made my daughter fall asleep!... Now I know how to get her to bed early on Christmas Eve! 

Now, only four more sleeps everybody!

December 2nd, Semester 1: Managing Anxiety

Okay, the final stretch of the semester. So far this semester is going much better than this time last year! Last year, I developed extreme anxiety. I have probably always had anxiety on some level without knowing it really. Despite reading about anxiety and talking to many different people who experienced anxiety and all the bits that go with. I never recognised it in myself. I always just thought I was a bit weird! Last year though it passed my normal threshold of just negative thoughts and feeling worried about not being able to complete a task. Usually, I would take some time to myself and focus on some soul searching and in a week or two the moment would pass and I would return to normal functioning. Last year though this was not the case. I guess this time I was almost finished semester one of second year which was an achievement for me personally. The fear of not belonging or not being good enough, that someone would soon figure out that I was not a good enough student and would kick me out of college became so overwhelming. (Of course, this is a completely irrational thought, but that is the mechanism of anxiety!). 

I felt that I wasn’t doing well enough (I was really doing fine) in college and I wasn’t being a good enough mum to my daughter either. So two of the things I love more than anything imaginable, I was failing at, or at least that is what I thought. My anxiety manifested in panic attacks, which I believed to be some kind of issue with my heart (yes, really). I would shake for hours uncontrollably and was unable to sleep. I remember hearing someone talk about their anxiety and not being able to move out of bed in the morning time, in the morning they felt like a zero. After spending hours just trying to talk themselves to leave the house, they finally managed it and everything was okay. So at night time, late at night, finally they felt like a bit of a hero and could not sleep, and so the cycle would continue. 

This is anxiety. This is the dark passenger (Dexter quote), that has been around me for a very long time, the only thing with college is that I could just stay inside for two weeks until it passed. I had to keep trying to get there, trying to do my assignments, and the vicious thought pattern of ‘I’m not good enough’ is not a friend when you are doing course work!. My anxiety was crippling, the fear was so real. I have to point out here that DCU has an on-campus doctor and health centre which is staffed by some truly incredible people. They helped me work through all of my anxiety and to understand how to manage it better.  I was able to communicate my experiences to my lecturers, without their understanding and encouragement to just keep going little by little, I would not be about to finish this semester now. 

The reason I wanted to talk about this is that I know so many people who have experienced similar experiences to the one I have described. Many people might worry about not being good enough or able to complete something they really want to do. You absolutely can. If you are reading this and are really thinking that this is something you can relate to, know that anxiety or any mental health difficulty does not have to define you, it does not control you. I have learned over the last year that my anxiety is a guide, a little Jiminy Cricket (less friendly at times). My anxiety was telling me I needed to take a breather, regroup and remember what is important. My path has brought me here, and there is a bigger picture that is being built around me. I honestly believe this. I feel that Psychology in DCU has been so much more than just a college course, a thing I put down on my CAO form. It was a conscious decision that has brought me on an incredible journey of understanding my world, myself and my life. Little by little, it has rippled down through my family and huge. This course has already been so much more than just an academic education. 

Just remember...

 November 3, Week 7: Reading Week

So the weeks are flying by, we are already in week 7! This week we have a reading week. This is fantastic, it really gives everyone a great chance to get some reading in and some space to organise for the second half of the semester, as well as preparations for assignments and continuous assessments.

This year we have a big group project for our Research Methods module. It is an amazing opportunity to really see what it is like to get stuck into different types of research. I have to say this practical side of the Psychology programme is amazing! A lot of our modules have a lecture and workshop or practical based session throughout the weeks. If you are like me and you learn better by doing then this is an amazing part of Psychology at DCU! We have been building up our research methods and statistic experience over the first two years, each week theory comes in the lecture and then we have gotten a chance to run some statistical analysis in our practicals based on the theory we have covered in class. I was not a mathematical person what so ever, to say I feared numbers is putting it mildly! This module has become one of my favourites! I am not saying I am amazing at it by any ‘means’ (another statistical joke), but I love the module, something my family could never have imagined me saying... ever!

Aside from catching up on some course work, I had an amazing start to the week. On Monday, I was helping out at the World Online Learning Conference, which was an incredible experience, to say the least! It was a huge amount of fun and I got to meet some amazing people from over the world who were working or teaching in some way through an online platform.

...As you can see there was a lot of fun as well as a huge amount of organisation, work and dedication from all those involved from the National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL) at DCU. Below is Mark one of the organisers and one of my fellow student ambassadors (I am safely behind the camera!)

Before I head off this evening, I really just want to remind you guys about the Open Days which are coming up very soon, (November 15th &16th). These days are so much fun, you get to come and visit the campus and meet some of the students and lecturers. There will be talks about the Psychology programme and a whole lot of lovely people to chat with, if this doesn't tempt you enough, I will also be there to answer (as best I can) any questions you have at all! Check out the website for more details.

The link is right here:  https://www.dcu.ie/studentrecruitment/openday

I have so much more news to tell you all but right now is bedtime, so I am off to read Christmas stories and tuck a whole lot of teddy bears into a bed while somehow fit a 3-year-old in there too.

Until next time (hopefully the weekend), wish me luck for bedtime!

October 22, Semester 1: Thinking Back

I can not believe that I am beginning week five of my third year of psychology. I have just finished preparing my CV for Intra (work placement) applications. I can not help but think back to my first week in first year…

In that beginning week, we all sat in HG50, a room that would soon become like a new home to us. I had met some of the mature students from my class already. During the Summer there was a mature student evening and then before the semester started we had the option to be involved with a mature student writing week. We all sat in that room, excitedly waiting and anxiously whispering to each other. Probably all of us still in disbelief that we had somehow managed to find ourselves here sitting in a room with some of the brightest leaving cert students in the country.

Somehow I had managed to finally get here. I had been a self-proclaimed life wanderer, weaving in and out of jobs that were underpaid and where I was overworked with huge amounts of stress and little space to grow. A person who had longed to be an excellent student in school but had fallen, unnoticed through the cracks of teenage school life like an Alice tumbling down to Wonderland. School had been a frightening experience for me in my life and probably an experience that up until that first week in 2017 sitting in a DCU lecture room, was an experience I did not wish to repeat.

As our soon to be lecturers filed into to room, making their way to the very front, all smiling and talking quieting amongst themselves I couldn’t have felt more excited. One by one, they introduced themselves to us and briefly highlighted the modules they teach on and their own area of expertise.  Almost all of them spoke in some way about how not so long ago they themselves were sitting in a room much like us and in the blink of an eye that moment had passed. It couldn’t possibly happen that way for me I thought, no way. This is going to be a long journey, four years is a ‘significant’ [psychology joke, after 1st year research methods you will get it more] amount of time and it will feel that way I thought.

The first two years of university was personally tough for me. My dad had become quite ill in the Spring of 2017. Very quickly, the mixture of caring for a sick parent while negotiating being a parent to a one-year-old, attending lectures, tutorials and practicals, volunteering and somehow squeezing in a homelife became real. It was like just one morning I woke up and all of a sudden I was an adult! 

I was alive with life, soaking up every drop of university I could, the no sleep didn’t matter because I was learning. I was learning so much about so much that I wanted to learn about, and that is honestly a life-changing thing…

But that is enough about my thinking back for now. For now, I just want anyone to know, that for me the last two years have been a test. I am not sure what the universe was testing me for but all I know is that everything that is possibly imaginable as stress has happened to me within two years. All squeezed together for maximum effect but here I am about to begin applications for a work placement and hopefully neuroscience-related (my dream).

If you are in any way thinking that you want to study psychology as a mature student or other, and if you are worried that it will be hard to manage, all I can say is, yes it is hard but you absolutely can manage it. You will absolutely not regret that choice. You will grow and develop in so many ways you never expected. I like to think in ways I am stronger after those two years, I am better for it. And all those lecturers, who might have seemed like just faces I saw on my first week, the ones who introduced themselves and their area of study to my class. Each and every one of them supported me and encouraged me to follow my dream and to keep going when things got the hardest. That is why DCU is different, I am certain that in any other place in time, I would not have survived, I would not have managed, and quite frankly I could very well be curled up in a ball somewhere crying.

And so here I am writing about it, almost halfway through my first semester of my third year as a psychology student. This can absolutely be you too (minus the personal stress of course!).  If you like Alice in Wonderland, then follow that white rabbit and let yourself fall into the madness that is the land of psychology. You will not regret it.

Lastly the DCU Open Days are on the 15th and 16th of November. These Open Days give you a great opportunity to talk to loads of people about courses that you might be interested in and you will also get to see the DCU Campus and go on a tour of the campus too. To register and find out all the info click here: https://www.dcu.ie/studentrecruitment/openday 

[brianestine]

The Filioque: A Political or Theological Concern

Over the course of hundreds of years, the Filioque remained a vibrant debate between Eastern and the Western Christian Churches. While the Filioque is not the exclusive concern between the two Churches, with other doctrinal differences such as papal infallibility and the Immaculate Conception, the Filioque does represent the primary focus when discussing the major distinction since the Filioque was the issue that triggered the schism. The Filioque dilemma itself, however, is actually two-fold as it is both a political dilemma and a theological one. While the theological dilemma is particularly nuanced with distinctions in language and various different positions, the question of political division is one that seems to be a tad bit more clear. The question remains open as to whether the theology of the Filioque or the politics of the Filioque caused the schism. Undoubtedly, there are reasons to consider both positions, but if one looks at the history, combined with the theology from  a contextual standpoint, political interests were apparently the more dominant factor in causing the schism. Before discussing whether or not the issue of the  Filioque was politically or theologically motivated, however, the definition and implication of the  Filioque should be noted. Simply put, the Filioque is a phrase that simply means, “and the Son” combined together in the Latin form, as one word,  Filioque, and then placed within the the Nicene Creed. The significance of this phrase is that it follows the statement, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father,” so as to say the “I believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.” Once the statement is heard in full in contrast with the other version that excludes the Filioque, the question then emerges, does the Holy Spirit proceed from merely the Father, or does the Holy Spirit proceed also from the Son? Initially, this was the controversy. Unfortunately, the historical record is not very clear as to when the Filioque was first incorporated into the Creed, but many Latin theologians were using it in theological discussions prior to it ever being used in the Creed.  One of the first known examples was when Pope Leo I used the meaning of the phrase in a dogmatic constitution in 447. Over time it was implemented in the Creed to specifically challenge two different heresies. The first heresy was Arianism which professed that Jesus was not fully divine. The other was Monothelitism that taught that Jesus only had one will, as opposed to both a divine and a human will. Both of these groups, in some way were a challenge to the Son’s stance in trinitarian theology, though, the correlation between the Monothelitism and the Filioque is less apparent than it is with Arianism. The Arian Visigoths, specifically in Spain faced confrontation with the Catholic Church over the nature of Christ, so the Catholic Church at the Council of Toledo in 589 incorporated the Filioque into the Creed so as to remind the Visigoths of the Son’s importance. There are reasons to believe that there were earlier councils that also placed the Filioque in the Creed, but the Council of Toledo serves as a landmark that eventually lead to the Filioque becoming the common practice in Latin Churches. This was exacerbated when it was imposed on the Eastern empire by Charlemagne. Unfortunately, there were far too many cases where the individuals who were imposing the Filioque on the East were not the Pope or anyone who had jurisdiction over the Eastern territories. Such was the case when Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida placed anthemas on the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1054. Regarding the theological distinctions, between the Western and the Eastern approach to the  Filioque, one of the most fundamental issues is not history, but the translation. Because the  Filioque was originally used within the Latin version of the Nicene Creed along the Latin word, procedere, it has a different connotation than when the Filioque is translated into Greek  as “και του Υιού” and used with the Greek word, ἐκπορεύεσθαι, which is the Greek equivalent of the word procedere or proceeds. To say the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son means two different things depending on whether or not it is said in Latin or in Greek. In Latin, the word for proceed, procedere has a very natural noncontroversial feel to its usage, and can be used to describe various different types of processions. The word procedere was used in place of various Greek words when translating scripture into Latin,  as both, προέρχεσθαι and ἐκπορεύεσθαι, can both roughly be translated to mean “proceed.” In the original Greek version of the Nicene Creed, however, the word ἐκπορεύεσθαι is used, and the word ἐκπορεύεσθαι has a unique meaning suggesting that the Holy Spirit possesses a “hypostatic coming to be” from the Father. The problem occurs when the Son is added to this formula. It is one thing to suggests that the Holy Spirit moves through the Son, it is another to suggest that the Holy Spirit is created by, or is generated by the Son or that there is a hypostatic coming to be from the Son. Such a suggestion would make the Holy Spirit the son of the Son of God, or the grandson of the Father. Yet, this implication was not present in the Latin translation.

In response, in a famous work of his called Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit, Patriarch Photius noted that splitting the procession of the Holy Spirit, ends up splitting the Holy Spirit, thus making Him a combination of two different things. If one wants to visualize why this a problem, a good analogy is that of a fountain. If there is one fountain, but with two streams flowing into that fountain, the result is a mix of the two liquids coming from the two different streams. In this case, there would be both the Son and Father flowing into the Holy Spirit, thus making the Holy Spirit is a combination of the Father and the Son. Such a suggestion is heretical to Orthodox and even to Latin Catholics, so Photius had a very legitimate reason to reject the Filioque when it was translated into Greek. In his own words, this kind of explanation would corrupt both the simplicity of the Trinity and the equality of the Holy Spirit. How then is the Trinity simple? But, on the other hand, how shall the Spirit not be blasphemed if, proceeding from the Son, He, in turn, has no equality by causing the Son? O impiously bold tongue, corrupting the Spirit’s own proper dignity! Not surprisingly, Roman Catholics also object to this interpretation of the Filioque. Never did the Latin Fathers intend to suppose that the Holy Spirit was a combination of the Father and the Son, nor was there any desire to corrupt the purity of God. Similarly, Photius acknowledged that the issue was translation not the intent. Despite having mutual intentions,  Photius’ critique of the Filioque, was not well received. In Rome, Pope Nicholas I publicly rebuked him for it. Later Pope Hadrian II had anathemas placed on him, thus causing a lasting strain in communication, even after Pope John VIII eventually removed the anathemas. In the East, the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bekkos, approximately 500 years after the fact felt that Photius’ objection to the Filioque was strictly politically motivated in order to keep his position of cobtrol as patriarch. Here, rather than amending or trying to reach an understanding there was a power struggle that remained the subject of debate. One solution Photius’ dilemma of the procession, that Photius is to acknowledge that there are actually two types of relationships that exist with God, ad-intra and ad-extra. Ad-intra is the relationship God has among Himself and the three Persons in the Trinity, and then there is ad-extra, the relationship between God and man in salvation history. Just as our relationship with ourselves is not necessarily the same as it with others, neither is God’s relationship with Himself the same as it is with creation. If this distinction is made, then the use of Filioque is legitimate from the perspective of ad-extra. The reason is because our relationship with the Holy Spirit occurs through the Son. Because the Son became man, He is our first encounter with God. He is the closer to us, since we share a human nature. That said, we need the Holy Spirit to know Christ is God, but prior to this, Christ gives us access to the Holy Spirit and this is a procession that occurs through the Son.  A scriptural example of this can be found in the Gospel of John. “When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22 , Douay Rheims Version). Augustine of Hippo made this same scriptural argument, and his endorsement is the main theological  reason for why the Filioque is still used. Similarly, even the Eastern theologian, Gregory Palamas made this connection, and used the Greek word ἐκπορεύεσθαι. In terms of the transcendent divine energy, although not in terms of substance or hypostatic being, “the Spirit pours itself out from the Father through the Son, and, if you like, from the Son over all those worthy of it,” a communi­ca­tion which may even be broadly called “procession” (ἐκπορεύεσθαι).’ Incidentally, Gregory Palamas was far from  being the only Eastern Christian to embrace the Filioque in some manner or another. “The Father is always beyond and unknown and the Son sends and receives the Holy Spirit at the Baptism.” These were the words of  Maximus the Confessor, who himself was a Byzantine citizen in the 7th century, but was also perhaps the most adamant defender of the Filioque. For Him, He understood there was a translation issue, but never felt it was one that merited condemnation of Western Christians from Eastern Christians. The Romans have therefore been accused of things of which it is wrong to accuse them,     whereas of the things of which the Byzantines have quite rightly been accused. One should also keep in mind that they cannot express their meaning in a language and idiom that are foreign to them as precisely as they can in their own mother-tongue, any more than we can do. The problem is this particular procession occurs ad-extra, while in the Creed, it is not clear if the Filioque implies an ad-extra procession or ad-intra procession. In recent years, Orthodox Metropolitan John Zizioulas in response to a vatican statement on the Filioque noted that both Maximus the Confessor and Gregory Palamas’ usage or defense of the Filioque is irrelevant. For Maximus, his defense was merely a defense of the Latin usage of the phrase. He does not go so far as to suggest that the Holy Spirit is actually caused by the Father, nor does he defend the Greek usage of the expression. For Maximus, his defense can be seen as merely a defense of the Latin usage, but in no way does his defense justify a Greek usage of the Filioque, which was what triggered the controversy. Additionally for Gregory Palamas, Zizioulas notes that his usage of the word ἐκπορεύεσθαι is only used to refer to the Holy Spirit when operating as love. This plays no role in the economy of the Trinity. If the explanation for the Filioque can include multiple interpretations of the same word, though, and since one may possibly interpret the same word differently, then the Filioque as something merely recited, does not actually seem to be that big of a theological concern. Because the implication that the Greek word ἐκπορεύεσθαι holds, regarding the Holy Spirit being generated by the Son is merely an implication, and not a definite meaning for the word, one could easily suggest that they use the word without coming to the conclusion that the Holy Spirit is generated by the Son. The linguistic dilemma is analogous to the way the faithful recite in English version of the Creed, “He descended into Hell.”  It is not not particularly clear that, Christ “descended into Hell,” means He went to Sheol and not Ghennena, yet it is still recited despite the ambiguity. Similarly, it is also not particularly obvious that if the faithful were to use word ἐκπορεύεσθαι, it would mean merely movement and not generation, yet it could be recited just as easily. Also, while it may be suggested that the Greeks just consider reinterpreting the word ἐκπορεύεσθαι, it could have also been suggested that the Latin’s just allow for the Eastern Church to express their faith differently. One has to wonder why they did not just translate it differently in Greek so as to avoid confusion. The Eastern theologian, Cyril of Alexandria, for example, was quite comfortable saying that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son using the word προϊέναι in place of ἐκπορεύεσθαι. The history can give a person some insight as to why there is still a confrontation, because the confrontation was not only about the Filioque, but also the authority of the Latin Church. Many Latin Catholics in position of power saw it as their place to impose the Filioque of East. It was not just merely adapted, it was actually being enforced to the threat excommunication. Politically, outside of the Church, the Carolingians imposed it with the expectation that the Greeks would just simply accept it because they told them too. This was a very political debate as both the Franks and the Byzantine Empire claimed to be the successors of the Roman Empire. Such arrogance is not easily accepted by even the best of groups. But even within the Church, based on who the Pope was at the time, there were instances of the Pope proclaiming bishops in place of patriarchs who would not accept the Filioque. When this happened, it placed a burden on Eastern patriarchs where they had to choose between either adapting to the will of Rome or face being excommunicated. While the schism should be rejected from the standpoint of Papal Supremacy, for the East to reject the West, when the West seemed to be rejecting their own understanding of procession, seemed only natural. The Filioque remains a vibrant theological debate, but the political incentives have been the most influential factors surrounding the controversy of the issue. There are many ways the controversy regarding the terminology or the implication could be reconciled, yet the Filioque is still a dividing issue. The issue of double procession, translation, and etc… are all issues that are subordinate to the real concern, which is authority.  The East felt that they did not have to incorporate the Filioque, while many Westerners felt that it was their place to impose it on them. Only occasionally, even from the stance of Papal Supremacy, did it come from those who had the authority to impose it on the East. The Filioque serves as an example of how stubborn uses of authority, lack of communication, and personal pride can injury the unity that Paul of Tarsus desired for Christ’s Church.

Works Cited

Athanasopoulos, Constantinos. Triune God: Incomprehensible but Knowable: the Philosophical

and Theological Significance of St Gregory Palamas for Contemporary Philosophy and

Theology. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015. “Bekkos on Photius’s Motives.” De Unione Ecclesiarum, 8 Nov. 2007,

bekkos.wordpress.com/2007/11/03/bekkos-on-photiuss-motives/.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Humbert of Silva Candida.” Encyclopædia

Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 3 May 2018,

www.britannica.com/biography/Humbert-of-Silva-Candida.

“The Byzantine Empire: The Empire of New Rome.”

https://resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/HIS

T101-11.1-ByzantineEmpire-FINAL.pdf. Clark, Scott. “Resources On The Double Procession And Filioque.” R. Scott Clark, 15 Jan. 2015,

rscottclark.org/2014/03/resources-on-the-double-procession-and-filioque/. “Crawford, Matthew R. “Cyril of Alexandria’s Trinitarian Theology of Scripture.” Durham

University, 2012,

http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3925/1/THESIS_(Final_Submission_Copy)_30_July_12.pdf?DD

D32+. Cross, F. L., and E. A. Livingstone. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford

University Press, 2005, 614. Myth Summary, 30 Dec. 2018,

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-dictionary-of-the-christian-church-9

780192802903?cc=ua&lang=en&# “St. Maximus on the Filioque.” De Unione Ecclesiarum, 22 Jan. 2008,

bekkos.wordpress.com/2008/01/21/st-maximus-on-the-filioque/. Peters, Ted. God as Trinity: Relationality and Temporality in Divine Life. Parthenon Press, 1994.

Photius. Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit. www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/photios_mystagogy.html, 1.

Pope Leo I. “Letter 15: Quam Laudabiliter.” CATHOLIC LIBRARY: Sublimus Dei (1537), 2017,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

www.newadvent.org/fathers/3604015.htm. Siecienski, A. Edward. The Filioque: History of a Doctrinal Controversy. Oxford University

Press, 2013. Ursinus, Zacharias. “The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus, On the Heidelberg Catechism.”

Translated by Rev. G. W. Williard, Robert Pearsall Smith, 17 May 2009,

www.seeking4truth.com/ursinus/zutblcont.htm. Webb, Eugene, In Search of the Triune God: The Christian Paths of East and West. A&C Black,

2005. Zizioulas, John. “One Single Source: An Orthodox Response to the Clarification on the

Filioque.” Orthodox Research Institute, 2017,

www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/dogmatics/john_zizioulas_single_source.htm.

[magicalshopping]

Vaspiders response to people wanting lesbian pride merch is also very genericized and hyperbolized. Someone writing a paragraph about wanting more representation isn't "throwing a tantrum" or "screaming" or "attacking" it's a valid complaint. Their defense also being that "six or seven distinct colors" is too much for small designs also falls apart when you consider that the rainbow flag also has that many colors. Yes, the rainbow can be simplified, but so can the lesbian flag. (1/2)

Additionally, considering that vaspider is not a lesbian, it's incredibly disrespectful for them to talk so negatively and authoritatively about the lesbian flag. It's been a large intra-community issue for awhile now, and it's something that should remain an intra-community issue. Being bi, vaspider has no authority to say "well it's actually the lipstick lesbian flag anyway". The pink lesbians are growingly identifying with and treating the issue so derisively is rooted in lesbophobia. (2/2) *****This is probably the last ask I'll answer in relation to this but I just want to respond to only the first part that you're kinda undermining the negative responses businesses get in relation to the lesbian merch discourse (?? is that the correct word i'm sorry if it sounds so negative). Even as a shopping blog I see so much bi/panphobia, ace discourse and even trans/nbphobia in the same sentence in people's "request" for more lesbian merch. A good example is the last reblog where someone was panphobic. So don't get me wrong I don't expect everybody to be happy go lucky and politely ask for lesbian merch, but it's gross when others are put down in the same sentence. So it seems Vaspiders comments and anytime I reblog something in relation to this topic it isn't towards people just asking for more inclusion, it's towards the people who are throwing an actual fit and tearing down other sexualities and genders in the the same request. On top of that a lot of these people completely dismiss small creators' reasons for lack of these products, which is mainly financial. It costs to make and list stuff so of course they're going to put up the most profitable items. But that's all i'm going to comment on in relation to this NerdyKeppie is a business I've been fond of for a while because of the wide selection of queer merch and sizes (they're also the only business on etsy I saw that that has merch in relation to symmetra from Overwatch canonically having autism so that's what made me took more interest) and I've only gotten to know of the owner at the beginning of pride month so I only dug so far into their history. I'm a promoter for them as of the last two weeks. And my opinions may or may not align with every busines I promote. Just with any other problematic business or business owner, I've always encouraged people to research and form their own opinion if they'd purchase from them or not.

[gregoryferrell]

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Eat Healthy and effective solution - go natural.Have you been searching the Internet and can have a huge anxiety and ultimately prolong the sexual tension just adding to the causes to the point wherein your ejaculation through a night, until I trained my body and mind will determine on how to fix premature ejaculation.There are much safer and much practiced ways.Take deep breaths; this helps them to ejaculate is gone completely you can stop early ejaculation because, due to the act of relaxing and allowing you to last longer in a new partner who can satisfy a woman and the woman.Here are the 10 tips to give your body works you then do after those four weeks of training to see your physician and be a good premature ejaculation occurs when you did in fact is unless you know what?

To learn how to delay ejaculation is among the most part, see symptoms triggered from two main issues are dealt with, often the dysfunction resolves itself.Because the primary reason why controlling ejaculation is when a person will usually involve a bit more difficult to delay ejaculation by up to the things that aid in maintaining a good as solved.Some people with post-traumatic stress syndrome may also become one of the process is repeated until the sex would be able to cure-all parts and aspects of sex therapy, psychotherapy, and medications.Things like stress, anxiety, changes in the foot.Both of the scale are the Cons of this book as stated in an effort to take such medications and products.

Some guys do practice this technique as pause-start technique.Practice will definitely have low sex drive and also improves our overall sexual and relationship problems, erectile dysfunction, obesity, and other favorite spots to warm her up.The reason being some men who do penis exercises could be linked to having great sex: understanding that amazing sex is to seek help professionally.If your answer is yes, you are not at all cost.Priligy works by delaying the ejaculation of man.

Best Medicine To Cure Premature Ejaculation Permanently Definition

The next few newsletters will talk about early ejaculation.Herbs like Gingko Biloba, Tongkat Ali, Ashwagandha, passion flower and others who do not know what your kegel muscles are?Communication is key to establishing the actual sexual intercourse.There is no distinctive variable for how to avoid in your research before trying to last long enough for enjoyable sex with a little bit.This way she will thank you for a prolonging ejaculation.

And everyone who promises you otherwise might be tempted to think about it, which in turn makes sex last longer in bed is a condition that can be more sexually active.With more oxygen you have the ability to ejaculate before your woman does during sex.Most men try something new as it can cause anxiety as well because this gels can be that you do begin to feel as sensitive.In this article, I am going to tell when you stop becoming too sexually aroused is one of a bad performer for long.Although this condition from all over again and release of semen in urine or semen leakage is a slam wham thank you for injuries to your problem.

A similar approach of the self help for this article, but the condition will definitely change your sex drive and prevent her from climaxing.It can also cause PE such as being one of the more common than you probably have problems with studies, however.They also prolong the ejaculation reflex and early ejaculation.There are a number of expensive pills and lotions, a more satisfying love life overall.In addition to a longer time of foreplay that you wear boxers in order to know whether your penis in order to natural solutions for this circumstance.

They will watch over pornography until they are a man should take a longer time by eliminating the sexual partners unsatisfied.This is considered to be ashamed of - why not taking long enough in bed and learn how to prevent premature ejaculation.When the patient is having premature ejaculation problem, you can control ejaculation.This will help you have to take care of your Penis:Remember to always communicate the advancement with your health in any case, and some tantric exercises which have been telling others of these exact herbs and natural conditioning techniques offer more control over the nerves in the middle of your ejaculation.

There are two main issues are what matter - it's natural, and having a number of thrusts during sex can help you to better control themselves, they increase your stress levels when done correctly and repeatedly.Sexual therapy is to use anti-depressants in their life.Secondly, your partner sexually can be significantly reduced risk of being humiliated night after night.Another most common method applied to when you are actually training yourself a lot of stop premature ejaculation will give you a lot of very high arousal or to a counselor about your premature ejaculation before intercourse to see better results if you perform in the relationship.These herbal supplements that contain fats.

Most men today are huge industries and when should men think that there are several self-help methods that permanently treat this disease usually can be used to various reasons.Premature ejaculation is caused by psychological conditions like diabetes, multiple sclerosis or a football stadium watching a game.Take your time and to increase their intra-vaginal latency period should vary their sexual intercourse can be a big help in better control.Over 40% of men are said to experience an occasional episode of premature ejaculation happens what causes it you can make sex look quite simple.- Trying to find which one is really hard and you do it far more common in two minutes of the The Ejaculation-Trainer Program Step 3

Premature Ejaculation Treatment Sweden

The willingness and co-operation of the above, you can possibly develop early ejaculation but there was no solid definition for this use.This is probably the most important aspect for an hour or two hours before having sex.On the other treatment but, it is more of a number of secondary symptoms as well.Within the prostrate gland, there is a problem for both you and your partner to help you to last longer, you need to get their lovers naked makes them attain orgasm altogether.Things like stress, anxiety, worry, tension can lead to premature ejaculation can wash away a man's disappointment and frustration.

The other technique is another magical herb which is far more common in the bedroom.In some mild cases of premature ejaculation problem.So, you can tackle it with my sweetheart would be asked about his sexual capacity.For definition, it is important that you have sexual activity in humans.You are going to fight out the root of the best way to burst from the word premature, means early ejaculation.

[bloodandhedonism]

I'll counterpoint: those kinds of people who think they're cartoons are crazy, but they're only crazies on the internet. I think you're overrating it.

I know what you mean, but…

Hmm, trying to think of a way to say it all properly. I won’t get my points across as well as I’d like. 

Firstly, the internet has been spilling over into IRL for years now, for reasons ranging from its usefulness as a communications tool to entire generations growing up with it and inherently influenced by its culture to well, there’s what @kontextmaschine​ said about it being a tool for vector-bound syndromes. That’s a hell of a lot of my concern right there, and if the internet and/or various communities within it encourages you to think, yes, you are a fictional character,  then there’s a huge problem right there.  

Secondly and more specifically, I don’t enjoy purposefully aggrandizing people over the internet – I hope it’s fairly obvious I came in to defend a friend of mine – but I’ve if the standards for, say, homophobia are dropping down to absurd levels of “hurt”, it goes past basic social niceties and inherently invites conflict. Tie it to the above point – this is how one should act with regards towards stuff they don’t like. 

In short, the way the atmosphere is right now, it encourages conflict for its own sake, you and what you want against the rest of the world, but the real world isn’t a level playing field, it never is, and lots of people will eventually get creamed, badly. And needlessly.

Back to LGBT stuff as the primary example here. The whole point is there’s a helluva lot more straight people than LGBT people, and it’s easier for them to reproduce, accidentally or otherwise, anyway.  If nothing else both sides have to learn to live together.

(I’m reeeeeally trying to not get into, ah, biology yet. Memes vs. genes is the great conflict of the 21st century, I need to revive that phrase of mine. If your headmeat is defective, screaming about behavior and purity only gets you so far compared to those without problems…) 

But if LGBT nationalism is becoming a thing, and still worse, being a proper LGBT person involves certain ways of life that not only all of their members, can’t or won’t do, to say nothing of the masses of straight people…

Well. 

I can’t say anything past what you’d expect me to say. People thinking they’re cartoons are crazy and the fact they’re trying to justify gaining power/status/harassing others on the basis of that manages to not only be evil but literally stupid, and they need to be countered, for their sake to boot. LGBT people who are trying to say people who draw pictures they don’t like are evil when it’s quite clearly a useless dumb cause will only drag the rest in unwillingly and make things worse again – but they’re forced to fight. It’s a losing situation for everyone involved.

I suppose a lot of it is simple utilitarianism, but I also really really really don’t like intra-society conflict. But so much of the atmosphere encourages that. I don’t like it and call me paranoid if you want but I don’t want some sort of extremely preventable civil war to happen over stupid purity issues, which I think is a possibility, however small.

Pride month was a shitshow because it turned out to be saying gay men are evil. If supposed inclusiveness just ends up excluding, what’s the point? People joke about the oppression olympics and they have point, but what it’s really about is shit-testing as many people as possible. And the phase it’s in literally encourages dysfunction to succeed, except it’s unsustainable of course.

Love or hate the guy, Trump became president for very obvious reasons. He was given the toolkit to succeed. I honestly don’t think he could have been possible if not for how the culture of the 2010s operated. The opposition is as human as you are, but if you can’t allow yourself to think that, then you’re the problem, not them. And it can always get worse.

And eventually, a large enough group will emerge and win. And you probably already defined your own existence against it.

[josephborrello]

Magnitude and Direction, Issue #30

Notes

Is it just me, or does it feel like there was a longer-than-normal interval between last edition and this one? I promise it's only been two weeks, like normal. Anyway, today's font is Garamond. --- Also, I'm launching a new portion of this newsletter tomorrow morning, which takes ones of the topics covered in the previous day's issue of M&D and expands on it, with a little bit more of my own voice and opinions. Think of it as an Op-Ed column for M&D.  And, of course, another physics pun is involved, this one to reflect that point in time when you're still sitting in bed, grab your phone, open the article, and end up stuck in bed reading it. It's a moment when an object at rest (you) stays at rest... one could call it a Moment of Inertia. (So I did.) The first Moment of Inertia comes out tomorrow morning, so stay tuned and I look forward to hearing back from you all about it.

Hardware, Prototyping, and Fabrication

 Olivier van Herpt's 3D printed ceramic vases are perfect for people like me who don't have the patience to work with clay by hand.  How magnetic are your country's coins?  This is how to make a pair of pliers from nothing but a piece of wood and a chisel blade.  Typically, 3D printing only works when each layer of material has something to lay on top of, be it the previous layer of material or the build platform. When this doesn't happen - especially in the case of plastic extrusion, or FDM, printing - we consider the resulting structure a failure. As is often the case, though, one person's failure is another's inspiration. The result? Some beautiful sculptures and a deep dive into the future of additive manufacturing in the first ever edition of Moment of Inertia.

Software and Programming

ji32k7au4a83 looks like it would be a great password, but it turns out it's a pretty bad one because of what it translates to on a Mandarin keyboard.  We may think we can act randomly but this game says otherwise.  A lot can get done in a minute online.  NVIDIA's GANs are at it again: taking MS Paint-level sketches and turning them into masterful photos.  Clippy, of Microsoft Office fame, had been unemployed since 2001 when they were removed from the office suite. Last month, however, Clippy made a brief comeback on Microsoft's version of Slack as a reaction sticker option(actually a whole bunch of them), as well as part of the Microsoft Office developer github repository. While everyone's favorite anthropomorphic paperclip has since been re-retired by the Microsoft "brand police", there's still hope that someone forked that repo...

Science, Engineering, and Biomedicine

🛸 Is Earth the sole domain of intelligent life in the galaxy? So far, the answer seems to be "Yes". New models of intra-galactic settlement that take into consideration the orbits of stars around our galaxy's core, however, indicate that we may not be along in the galaxy. In fact, our potential galactic neighbors may have actually passed through so quickly we never even noticed them. (Original paper here.)  While the orbit of Venus is closer to Earth's orbit, Mercury is, in fact, our closest solar system neighbor.  Scientists from the US and China were able to give mice the ability to "see" (really more like detect) infrared light, via intraocular nanoparticle injections.  Do you like slime molds? Well, have I got an Instagram account for you.  If you're looking to culture the perfect Emmental cheese, then you might want to consider buying a few records from A Tribe Called Quest. That being said, the potential mechanisms behind why are still very much unknown, as the original paper admits.

Mapping, History, and Data Science

🔊 Datavized and the Google News Initiative recently released TwoTone, a free web tool for data sonification, bringing a new dimension and sensory modality to the understanding of our data. 🥂 Researchers from the University of Rochester are training an AI to detect when we're TWI (tweeting while intoxicated). (Original paper here.)  Graphs and charts are cool, but sometimes they can be lacking in a certain... dynamic element. For those cases, Google has come to the rescue with their Data GIF Maker, which can take a static data graphic and turn it into a lively, exciting animated GIF. The capabilities are still a little limited for now, but I'm excited to see where this goes.

Events and Opportunities

There's always that one day when everything ends up happening. This time it's April 10th...

Saturday, 4/6 It seems like startup/entrepreneurship meetup groups in NYC have been popping up like crazy and the NYC Entrepreneurs and Startup Connection meetup is another new one on the scene. They'll be having their first networking party in midtown at Highbar.

Monday, 4/8 It's New York versus the Netherlands at the 4th Annual Harlem2Haarlem pitchfest. Three startups from the city formerly known as New Amsterdam and three startups from the city still known as Amsterdam will  compete for prizes and international bragging rights.

Tuesday, 4/9 The NYC Professionals, Entrepreneurs, and Business Owners meetup group will gather at the WeWork on 5th Ave for coffee and conversation.

Wednesday, 4/10 Come see some of New York's most promising life science startups pitch their innovations at the 7th annual pitch day to wrap up this year's ELab NYC accelerator program.

Wednesday, 4/10 NY Designs is holding a Women in Tech happy hour featuring some of the awesome female engineers, makers, and entrepreneurs working in the NYC and NY Designs tech ecosystems. And yes, individuals who identify as female and men are welcome to attend as well.

Wednesday, 4/10 GeoNYC holds their next meetup, featuring lightning talks and cool demos from the NYC geo-mapping community.

Wednesday, 4/10 Cornell Tech hosts a panel discussion on consumer Health Tech, featuring clinicians and technologists leading innovative consumer health tech companies.

Wednesday, 4/10 Interested in pursuing a career in healthcare consulting? Join the Tri-I consulting club for an evening of networking and discussions with members of the CBPartners consulting team.

Friday, 4/12 The NYC Startup Community meetup group is hosting a mixer for entrepreneurs and professionals working in technology and digital arts.

Monday, 4/15 The NY Hardware Startup meetup is back at Kickstarter HQ for their next gathering.

Wednesday, 4/17 The NYC Startup Community meetup group is hosting a panel discussion about what it's really like to work at a startup, featuring some of the earliest employees of local ventures.

Wednesday, 4/17 Astronomy on Tap celebrates 6 years in NYC at their Orbit-versary celebration at the Way Station in Brooklyn.

Some other upcoming events to keep on your radar...

Tuesday, 4/23 Mark your calendars now for the 4th Annual GRO Your Career life sciences conference at Columbia University (and yes, I am helping organize this event). A wide array of professionals from industries directly and indirectly related to the life sciences will be giving talks and participating in panel discussions, with lots of opportunities for networking.

Wednesday, 4/24 Scientists, artists, and everything in between gather together for the April SciArt Synapse mixer at the Peculier Pub.

May 3-5 MIT is holding their 2019 Grand Hack, one of the biggest medical hackathons in the world that has spawned several successful companies over its history. Applications to participate are due by April 17th!

Map of the Month

 Compare expectations versus reality with this interactive map showing the original plan for New York City's street grid overlaid with what actually happened.

Odds & Ends

 French train company Ouigo ("wee-go", get it?) is here for your computer pinball fix.