#binary for those who are unable to translate it:

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

I think one should experiment with alternate modes of non-familial bonds in their worldbuilding actually. I would argue that nonhuman groups will have different frameworks compared to the common human platonic-romantic binary (which is already bullshit in itself) For example, my necromancer-warrior (at the point in the setting they have ceased being unpaid mercenaries a long time ago, but their history as being an artificial race made for war still shows) cat people have two modes of relationships that can be translated as mates and pair-bonds. A mate is a primarily sexual relationship that usually only last for the mating season. A mate relationship is typically initiated by a trial of combat - one will propose a trial of combat to another person. If the other person consents to the trial, and both parties are satisfied with each other's combative performance, they will agree to become mates for the season. Occasionally, a trial of wits would be used instead of a trial of combat - this is typically arranged for non-combative outsiders who wish to officially become mates with a person from the group, but it is also arranged for those who are unable to enter combat for some reason. It is quite common for more powerful warriors to end up with multiple mates for one season. While primarily sexual in nature, a mate is also akin to a combat partner - they are also to complement each other physically, to help each other improve their reflexes, their strength, and so on. There is also a subculture of "sexless mates" which focuses more on the combative aspect of their culture's close perceived relationship between sex and combat, and it is popular among the group's equivalent of asexual folks. Meanwhile, pair-bonds are closest to what a human would consider a QPR. Asking someone to become your pair-bond is as simple as asking them to move in with you - which is a big deal, because these people are instinctively quite territorial of their "home territory". After moving in, they will become each others' next-of-kin, manage the household together, become each others' default emergency contact, and will raise the children they have with their mates together (alongside mothers' groups which birthing parents will congregate to help nurse children, like how female cat colonies irl take care of each others' babies). Pair-bonds are typically only between 2 people, but pair-bonds between more than two parties are also recognized. (In those cases, those people would refer to their relationship as tri-bonds, quarter-bonds, penta-bonds, etc????) Sexual intercourse, or sparring, between pair-bonds is regarded as very unusual (though a lot less so for sparring) but most people give about the same amount of fucks as you overhearing about what TV show your coworker watch in their free time. While mates and pair-bonds are usually separate, there are cases that two or more people are both mates and pair-bonds with each other - those cases are often met with silent judgement from other people, but there isn't really any further social consequences.

I feel like this is trying to reply to something, but I'm not sure which post it could be replying to.

regardless, these are some cool ideas! I like it.

[kitawarheit]

Havik Headcanons

Okay so I originally wrote this up for my wife, who wants to do a paper in her cultural class on Havik using a specific model and asked for me help cuz she thinks I know him best (bless <3) I asked if I could share them cuz I really liked thinking about them!! I wrote for both OG Havik and MK1 Havik. Long post, so I'll put everything under a cut!

Deception/Armageddon:

Age: 1,127 (by Earth Realm years)

Disability: None; Able-Bodied and Neurotypical

Religion: Havik is a Cleric and practitioner of Chaos Magic. To define Chaos Magic by Earth Realm standards (which have many similarities that overlap to the definition by Chaos Realm); Chaos Magic teaches that the essence of magic is that perceptions are conditioned by beliefs, and that the world as we perceive it can be changed by deliberately changing those beliefs. Chaos magicians subsequently treat belief as a tool, often creating their own idiosyncratic magical systems and blending such different things as "practical magic, quantum physics, chaos theory, and anarchism."

Ethnicity: natural born denizen of Chaos Realm, although a small percentage of his blood can be traced back eons ago to high mages of Outworld

Social Status: while there is no caste system in Chaos Realm, he can be seen as a higher class due in part to his Clerical status, ability to commune with The Tempest, fighting abilities, and general respect held by all denizens of Chaos Realm

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Indigenous Heritage: Most of ideals, traditions, and generally what was Chaos Realm has been lost to time–when the God of Chaos released The Tempest, everyone’s memory was wiped and most texts were lost. What little texts remain are unable to be translated. Nowadays, traditions and ideals are passed down orally, very little is written down. There are very few social rituals to talk about in Chaos Realm, since rituals are inherently orderly, but there are still few to look at–such as how most will “bless” (via a murmured prayer) or meditate over water before using it for their everyday lives, since the Realm sees water as something revered and holy. Another ritual that can be seen is one that doesn’t happen often–a rite of bonding. This can be comparable to marriage but it is essentially the bonding of two souls in a celebration where each partner carves intricate matching patterns onto one another. A more common ritual can be seen in the Clerics and Seers of the Realm; when they have mastered chaos magic and ability to seamlessly commune with The Tempest, they will hold a ceremony where it ends in some form of permanent self mutilation (for Havik, this was tearing off the bottom half of his face and why he can heal it but refuses to unless necessary). This shows their commitment to chaos and The Tempest. Social practices can be seen as rather backwards compared to other places. They view pain and fighting as something fun and friendly. With this, friendly fights are quite common, and something as simple as a punch to the face can signify an affectionate greeting. There are many temples dotted throughout Chaos Realm and they hold significance to Clerics and citizens alike. The ever present red light in the middle of the Realm, able to be seen no matter where you are, is significant as well, as it is the exact position where the God of Chaos entered, released The Tempest, and left. No one truly knows what it is, but it is a symbol and location for worship. It’s rumored if a non-denizen stares into it for too long, they will go mad.

National Origin: Chaos Realm

Gender: Non-Binary, male leaning (he/him/his)

MK1 (Seidan):

Age: 457

Disability: High functioning autistic (formerly Asperger’s Syndrome) (he isn’t the best at reading social cues/situations, stims a lot, doesn’t like his personal space invaded, etc)

Religion: The religion of Seido never appealed to him but when he learned of Earth Realm and Nether Realm, he picked up some of the teachings for his own use. He’s mostly aligned with the unholy, and his main deity he will work with is Lucifer; for he wanted free will to all humans. Other deities he would work with include Glasya-Labolas (teaches liberal arts, inspires murder, predicts the future), Raum (steals treasures out of kings' houses, destroys cities and dignities of men; he is said to have great dispraise for dignities; tell things past, present and future, reconcile friends and foes, and invoke love), Furcas (teaches philosophy, rhetoric, logic, astronomy, cryomancy, and pyromancy), and Andras (sows discord).

Ethnicity: natural born denizen of Seido

Social Status: Havik was born into one of the lowest classes of the caste system in Seido

Sexual Orientation: Pansexual

Indigenous Heritage: Nearly everything in Seido is written down in texts; while things can be passed down verbally, there is always also a written text for it, because it makes things more “precise” and leaves little room for arguing details. Nearly all of Seido worships The One Being, as it is seen as a symbol of unification and divine rule under one concise set of laws. There are temples that litter each caste area of Seido, but everything is all taught in the same way, to avoid any different opinions or arguing over details. Seido is very strict in their laws and ways of thinking of learning. Caste classes are separated by towns (IE, lowest class lives in one town namely the outskirts, while highest class lives in the capital, etc) and very rarely do people come together from different castes. This, however, can be seen when the capital holds celebrations (namely important days for those in the Senate and other higher ups), where the streets are lined with people of all castes. While most of the lower class could care less about what’s being celebrated, it gives them a chance to break from their mundane and hard lives, experiencing something lavish for just a day. Floats and dancers line the streetways and food is given out in excess–but even then, there are still strict rules to how much food and drink one person can have. Normally, the Senate is a little more lenient on these days, giving the lower class a little more food than they would normally experience on any given day. Ascending the caste system is nearly impossible, but descending the caste system can be easily obtained, as it mostly serves as a harsh punishment to those who break laws in the higher caste. Marriages for the higher class are normally predetermined but in cases where it’s not (and in other castes below the capital), there must be a hearing before the Senate to determine if two people should marry or not. The Senate holds a LOT of power in that regard–take child rearing for example. Seidans cannot just decide they want a child, it has to go through the Senate first, and the Senate will also decide how many children one couple is allowed to have at maximum. Pregnancy outside of what the Senate has approved is usually dealt with severely and is grounds for an automatic abortion of the child and possible revoking of rights of having children at all after that. Also, most careers and duties are assigned to Seidans at a “coming of age” ceremony. There is no choice, you are given what the Senate feels is best for you given your status, scholar grades, physical competence, etc.

National Origin: Seido

Gender: Non-Binary, male leaning (he/him/his) (specifically; genderfluid)

[gamewizardsclub]

Barry, the eeviepokemaniac, has a question: If legendary Pokémon are deemed genderless, why is Mother Lugia with that of Silver? Being asexual counts as a gender, at least to a degree or extent (asexual reproduction means the sex is female)

Thiccc badge replied-

You don't need a gender in order to split your cells. Examples of asexual reproduction include binary fission (bacteria, amoeba), budding (yeast, hydra), fragmentation (flatworms, starfish), sporogenesis (fungi, ferns), and vegetative propagation (plants like strawberries, potatoes).

Lugia could literally split (tho that seems unlikely with lore). Or create a bulge which falls off becoming its own Mon. Or chop off it tail slowpoke style and grow its tail back while the tail grows a new body. Or an egg pops out (which could denote female, but considering daycare just finds eggs and there's no proof that male or female has anything to do with it (ditto is agender and is used as a breeding ho) and it just grows into a pokemon.

That's probably relatively how all mons are made and gender just comes up for shits and giggles

Goth badge replied-

I like to think most legendary mons are all genderless and when they speak/use a specific vocal tone that comes across as Male or Female, it's simply because they like the tonal range and has nothing to do with their gender identity at all. As for breeding, birds will literally lay eggs even if they didn't mate simply because they're biologically inclined to do so when the habitation is beneficial for egg production, so who's to say Pokemon aren't able to just lay eggs willy nilly and sometimes those eggs just happen to be fertile? Weirder stuff has happened in Pokemon before so legendaries being able to make more of themselves asexually or such doesn't feel very far-fetched (pun intended) in comparison.

Hollownest badge replied-

So the genderless pokemon and Legendary pokemon get pretty confusing, so let's break it down:

First, genders. Pokemon basically has 3 genders, with male, female, and "gender unknown". And it's that third gender is where things get interesting. The original Japanese text translates to "sex unknkown", so we can infer that the intended meaning is that the Pokemon's gender/sex is literally unknown and potentially impossible to determine, and is not meant to mean that they are a specific third gender or a species that gender simply does not apply to (try asking a desk lamp if it's a boy or a girl). Due to this, it can be argued that Pokemon has a massive number of genders if we assume that each Gender Unknown species is its own unique gender (i.e. Magnezone gender).

In terms of functional categorization, however, it makes sense to lump all Gender Unknown Pokemon into the same category, as the observable characteristics of all Gender Unknown Pokemon are identical. Every Gender Unknown Pokemon is immune to infatuation, cannot use Attract or Captivate, is ignored by Rivalry, and is unable to breed with other members of their Egg Groups. From a practicality perspective of breeding and battling, simply saying Gender Unknown or the technically inaccurate Genderless is the most useful and widely adopted approach.

There are currently 155 Gender Unknown species of Pokemon, making up 15.12% of all known Pokemon species. Of these, all but 40 are in the No Eggs Discovered Egg Group (which includes Lugia), and one of those 40 is Ditto, which is an Arcues-send for breeders but an absolute aneurism for scholars due to how it makes everything much much weirder. To make things even more complicated, some Genderless Pokmeon *are* able to produce eggs, but only with the assistance of a Ditto. Not any other members of their Egg Groups, not even with other members of their own species. Just Ditto. And then some can't do that. So let's go over the different 'types' of Gender Unknown Pokemon to get a better understanding of what we're dealing with.

1. Pokemon that do not have the anatomy to support reproduction. Everything from your Magnemite to Porygon to Dhelmise. Strangely, there are a number of Pokemon that would fit this description that have genders anyways, such as Muk or Chandelure.

2. Pokemon based of creatures that reproduce asexually. Specifically for Staryu and Starmie.

3. Pokemon that are multiple creatures. Falinks, Tandemaus, and Maushold fall under this category as a result of being single species' that are made up of multiple members of presumably disparate genders (especially in Maushold's case). Strangely, other multiple-bodied Pokemon actually have discernable genders, such as Exeggcute and Dugtrio. Especially strange in Exeggcute's case, since it is known to have individuals leave one group and join another.

4. Pokemon that should not exist. The Paradox Pokemon, which are implied to be fabricated from fiction, as well as the Galarian Fossil Pokemon, which are chimeric in origin and thus do not have proper biology. Also includes Type: Null, Silvally, Genesect, and Mewtwo

5. Pokemon that are aliens. The Ultra Beasts are too alien to our understanding of life to try and accurately gague what genders they may or may not be. Deoxys is Deoxys.

6. Pokemon that are unique entities. Pokemon like Mew, Arceus, Jirachi, the Temporal Trio, Legendary Heroes, The Swords of Justice, and so on are less species and more of mythological characters. These are the Pokemon with specific backstories and often supernatural origins. But to make things more complicated, some unique entities *do* have genders, like Ogrepon, Terapagos, the Loyal Three, and the Forces of Nature.

7. Other. These are the Gender Unknown Pokemon that kind of just confuse me and necessitate the verbage of "Gender Unknown" and "No Eggs Discovered". Lugia had a baby. Manaphy can lays Phione eggs, but not Manaphy eggs, but is always being shown hatching *from* a Manaphy egg in almost every appearance. What lays the Manaphy egg? And what the hell is going on with Meltan? There's also the thing where supposedly unique entities like Celebi and Rayquaza have shiny versions of themselves canonically running around. There are even regional forms of the Legendary Birds, indicating that they really are just exceptionally rare and nothing more.

8. Ditto. I am too eepy right now to articulate why Ditto angers me so much

. . .

"Hey Yveltal, what gender are you?"

"DEATH"

"oh ok"

Also the Legendary Beasts having a whole Shiny trio mucking about implies that rather than Raikou Entei and Suicune being fully unique, Ho-oh just occasionally revives dead dogs with slight deviations. So yeah fuck it maybe Walking Wake, Raging Bolt, and Gouging Fire were just *really* early takes on Ho-oh reviving dead lizards or something

"Hey Solgaleo are you a boy or a girl?"

"I am a cosmic construct born of stars. Your kind often refers to me as male, but the notion of genders does not actually apply to me."

"neat. Hey Lunala, what gender are you?"

"Still not how that works, but I suppose you can call me female. Human mythology often relates the moon to femininity, and I like how it sounds."

"yeah that's fair. Hey Necrozma, what gender would you say you are?"

"I AM IN CONSTANT PAIN"

"ok but what's your sex?"

"ETERNAL SUFFERING"

"ok but what are your pronouns?"

"HELP/ME"

[lillian-darby]

This is purportedly a recreation of the text on the fragment of a statue about Silimabzuta, a person from Ancient Mesopotamia who has been said to be anything from intersex, non-binary to trans.

In respect to gender diversity & many terms often known to apply to them in ancient mesopotamia—Assinnu, Gala, Kurgarra, Pilipili & more—I'd say it is.... Well, we know for sure that this person wasn't a part of any sex/gender binary, but fully finding out is tricky without the rest of the statue.

More on this forgotten person: Irving Finkel translated the text as uhhhh "Silimabzuta, hermaphrodite of Inanna", but "hermaphrodite" has been a word so misconstrued from its origins with Hermaphroditus to later being the medical term for intersex, that I don't feel you can just simply trust it like that anymore >.> I mean, even the fkin word "Hijra" has been translated as anything from "hermaphrodite" to "eunuch", aswell! And we know that is just not the truth! Another translation, by Cheryl Morgan, interprets it as "person-man-woman". The British Museum is in possession of the fragments; I was unable to find any photos of it, specifically.

Before the 1800s and more specifically 1900s, the terms used for anyone gender nonconforming applied to anyone who was Gay aswell, with terms like sexual invert, urning (original meaning), crossdresser, transvestite (as described by Hirschfeld), sodomite, crime against nature's law, female/male impersonator.... A whole lot! Crossdressers & impersonators is especially tricky since they also included cis & straight people, but these terms were broad and flexible due to the lack of other terms for those who were gender diverse, as it had been taboo in Europe for closer to 1000 years in many parts... Scientists didn't want to study it, and public society held no sympathy for these people... Books like Secret Confessions Of a Parisian by The Countess(1895), & Jennie June / Ralph Werther's trilogy of books & medical writings (1918/1921/1922) show that there was quite a bustling "Underworld" of LGBTQI+ people, however. Karl-Heinrich Ulrichs was one of the first to dig into it, first with the intention to figure out why gay people are Gay, but it soon came to include gender diverse people, aswell, such as trans men & trans women... I will get into that in another post 😊

Anyway, I love you and bye 💕💕

[anakinandhisprincess]

Just a week after I’ve left, a mail delivery droid delivers a thick envelope to him, stuffed with a few sheets of papers.

Dear Anakin,

First I wanted to say that I hope the translation droid has translated this letter not proper Huttese, and I hope you are able to read my words. I’ve included this letter in both Huttese and in Binary, as I noticed you were able to understand what R2D2 was saying.

I wanted to write this letter to say that I am so very grateful to you and I am in your debt for the way that you healed me and fixed my ship after my crash. I couldn’t thank you enough for your kindness, but if there is anything I could possibly do for you, please let me know, even if it’s just being a pen pal.

I’d like to introduce myself properly to you, as we did not truly get the chance due to our language barrier. My name is Knight Lilium, of the Jedi Order, and I live on Coruscant. I was on a reconnaissance mission to Jabba’s palace when my fighter was shot down near you. If you have any questions about the Jedi, I would be happy to answer, as I know we are sort of a mystery to outsiders.

I have a large family outside of the Jedi, a father and a brother, and my Master is actually married to my father. There’s a lot of love in my house. Do you have a family? I’d love to learn about you.

Thank you for fixing up R2, he took a liking to you and has been yapping to his friends about this ‘kind man from Tatooine’. He calls you a genius, haha.

I hope you are doing well, I’ve included extra paper and an envelope and stamps for you to send a response, any of the languages you know would be fine and I can run it through a translator droid.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, also included in this envelope is a… water.. card? I googled the best gifts to give someone on Tatooine and that’s what came up. It’s metal with your name engraved, so you should be able to take it to any water station near you and get free water. I hope you have use for it.

Have a wonderful day and thank you again,

Knight Lilium.

After reading the letter with a big grin, and even crying over the water card, Anakin incorporates the help of his best droid, unable to write but knowing the droid can do it for him.

He speaks slowly so the droid can keep up, and just a week after your letter arrived, his arrives for you at the Temple.

Jedi Knight Lilium,

I am very happy to hear from you. I wasn’t sure I would ever hear from you or see you again and I honestly thought you would forget about me. Tatooine is very different from Coruscant.

Sorry if this looks careless. I cannot write so my droid is doing it for me. I am speaking to him and he is writing for me.

I admit I know nothing about the Jedi. My whole life is here and I have never seen a Jedi. Are they all so pretty like you? You should stay away from Jabba. He is a very bad man and has whipped me and my mother.

My mother is very kind. I don’t see her much anymore because she got sold somewhere else, but we write sometimes. She is very busy and I am getting busier too. Her name is Shmi. She has very dark hair and kind brown eyes. I look a little like her but my hair and eyes are different. Clearly. She is my only family. I have no father and I have no siblings. Just me and my droids.

I have a few friends. My best friend Kit works in town too, for one of the rich men who need an assistant. And his boyfriend, my other very close friend, is Voran, a beautiful male Togruta. He works in the pleasure den here but he can come home most evenings. We had a fire night recently and it was very nice. He enjoys those nights with us because he is comfortable with us. We are all working to free ourselves so we can go visit all the planets the rich slavers tell us about.

I am a mechanic but I am guessing you knew that. My Master makes me keep my face extra dirty because he knows a pleasure slaver would buy me right away. He is not very kind but he is kinder than most and I appreciate it. Sometimes he lets me use tools and parts from his shop for my own projects.

I would like to know more about your Jedi people. They sound very interesting. And what planets have you been to? One day when I am free I will travel the stars and forget all about this place.

Tell your R2 unit that I am happy to be his friend. And thank you so much for the water card. You do not know how important those are.

Anakin

Though he can’t write, he can draw really well. So included with his letter is a sketch of your ship, with R2 sitting right on top like normal.

[ohthatskabe]

Journal

-Self talking through different points in manifestation 

we often give too much energy to the blocks, the setbacks that occur when we are looking to manifest. as manifestation is the process of setting an intention, bringing our awareness to our strengths that can help us achieve it, focusing our attention on the process ahead and putting it all into action, we often get lost in translation somewhere around the awareness/attention stage.

it is important to note that this process is not linear. i see this in myself, and in others, that we complete the steps outlined and find ourselves at the end without the sought out result. but to do that is to look at the process as a binary, single dimensional formula rather than acknowledging that the universe in which we reside is complexly multidimensional yielding various outcomes.

when we inevitably come to a point in the manifestation process where the road is seemingly blocked or that the outcome isn’t what we imagined, let us stop. 

observe where you’re at.

ask yourself these questions honestly:

Is this outcome better suited for you?

Is this challenge that’s seemingly causing the stagnancy, unable to be overcame? 

-the answers to those questions will vary, so let’s address them one at a time.

You don’t get the outcome, but this one is better. The biggest takeaway to this is that you went through the process and found an outcome you could’ve never imagined. Show gratitude for it! If you find yourself wanting to manifest that original idea again, go back to the drawing board. What intentions or actions led you to getting the result you got? How are you going to plan and respond differently this time? How’re you keeping yourself accountable to this new action?

You don’t get the outcome, and this result is worse. Analyze your thought process that brought you to labeling this as bad. What qualities are you seeing that you don’t align with? Could this be a definite outcome or a temporary block? Who have you become during this process and what are the biggest takeaways? What areas of the process do you need to strengthen before attempting again? How specific are you in visualizing your actions during the awareness/attention stage?

You can’t overcome the obstacle. Could it be that the universe is blocking you to give you space for something bigger and better suited for you? Are you focusing too much energy on the obstacle, rather than the lessons, learning, the overall vision or the potential next step? Are you showing yourself compassion or are you applying immense pressure on yourself? Are you reminding yourself that distractions are inevitable, but that your focus cannot go with it? Are you struggling to see where this could be a teachable moment for you, to be better prepared for achieving your vision? Write it out. Where do you really stand?

You can overcome the obstacle. Congratulations! You’re one of the very few that make it past the setbacks. What did you do to overcome it? How did it change you? What redirections occurred and how did you cope with them? Who/what did you lean on for support; did you show them gratitude? At what point did your perspective shift? How can you best share this experience with others? Was your determination/resilience tested? 

[jonathankatwhatever]

(Apologies. I thought I posted the first part of this. I felt so close to you.)

It’s 15 Sept 2023, and I just confused myself, which I hope is good because maybe I can identify the confusion. It’s always about identity, isn’t it? And how identity is both a state and a process, when a process is defined as a series of states, but that word leads me into saying that we show how a concept like that decomposes into SBE, fCM, Halving and the other counting methods developed, like LayerView. That is, if we take these ideas in the abstract, as separate from any geometric representation, then as methods of counting these compromise that very abstraction which says there is a state and a process of states. There is an existence and a series of existences. This requires defining existence and series. Both of those are represented in the statement 1-0-1, which translates into an existence, not that existence, an existence.

As an existence, look it at stacked from above or below, or as written 1-0-1 but if you were standing and looking down the line. In both those cases, you’d see 1. You’d see continuous existence of an object. If you allow for nuance, then imagine a pillar of 1 aging and you see the not emerge as the 1 erodes. You can’t squeeze that Not existence out of existence. That should be obvious from the statement: to squeeze Not out of the existence that Is, then you need to convert that Not into Is, into something that can be eliminated, because elimination of Not means you’re adding to Is. So what you can do is eliminate Not from what is visible to you, which means you’ve identified the basic confusion of thinking what you can see is all there is. If I eliminate this, my problem goes away. That doesn’t work because your problems have complex roots, which means they originate in D4-3//D3-4 Space, meaning they come into you because the potential for them exists as it reduces toward the tangible you. They come into you because those Pathways appear before you.

Some Pathways are inherited traits. Like some people are inherently messier. They can be highly focused and unable to see their messes and that gets passed down so then it can be identified as a trait. It’s a fairly easy one to understand now that we have the mechanics. There are a series of immediate steps one must take to be neat. If you are focused on something else, you do not have the gs Space to do those immediate tasks. This signals less efficiency overall, with more work, more heat burned in the focus area. So that’s actually an example of the Zeroeth Law using gs to say that the mess which results is the lower energy area.

That is a lesson about work and how to find satisfaction in life. And that makes it the single best argument for real healthcare. That is, when people don’t have to worry about their health, when they don’t have to worry about trading their health to save money, don’t have to worry about their children’s health, then they can focus on finding more satisfaction in their work. The math proves this. You can then focus on working to pay your rent or your mortgage, like people whose healthcare is not a worry. That makes a base case in which everyone is even not having to worry about healthcare.

The next one, education, is different. It has a different gs explanation because it is effort now to pay off later. That is obviously to society’s benefit because a certain amount of money invested generates a return later. The problem is we’ve converted that return into money, meaning we’re taxing the futures of those who can’t afford education. That converts into present terms in a variety of ways: like people choose the cheapest or shortest options, choose lower goals, can’t go full time, etc. Since in the present, these are all potential paths, permutations over a field, meaning various group forms, which the person involved sees as a set of choices. That set of choices tends to go binary. And that leads to ugly decisions for society as well as for the person.

This is all math. It isn’t a political argument at all. If you want to reduce social tension, you need to reduce the effort people put into worrying about their health, and you need to offer opportunity. The way we offer opportunity now has significant discouraging effects. This is especially true when you consider that younger males confront binary choices often when driven by emotion. That is, they can be perfectly capable of seeing nuance, but when their emotions get out of control, they see only one choice. The math says they’re being pushed toward that choice from within, and that it comes from being male, from the need to express your maleness. Being pushed means the emotions line up orthogonally and shove you at their pairing. I imagine this as the line, which represents the orthogonal nSquare, reducing to a point in Triangular, as the 1-0Segment contracting to an End, which is all that can be seen from within.

The other End of the fD is represented by those emotions, which can be very powerful. The other End, the one hidden behind the emotions, can be the Mr. Hyde, meaning you can be lined up internally to the negative side. You can see here this connects to the Mama Bear defense of cubs: not normally aggressive at all, can be hyper aggressive in this one situation. With the male, males tend to be aggressive to compete with other males, so they need to learn that situational aggressiveness, to reduce their natural tendency. The problem with that approach in the male is obvious: you need to be able to dig as deep as the threat to win, but you are already tending to aggressive, which means you need to work harder, to express more to reach the same state. The female bear relies on being hyperaggressive as a deterent, while the male has to reach a state of hyperaggression combat, which is exceedingly visceral. As in a female with cubs will go all out to protect them, but she relies on the fact that she will to drive off threats, not a super level of fighting power. A male must be ready to fight and to fight to the death because males kill males.

Anyway, the point was, back before I took a break for housework, is that the built-in perspectives generated by gender perspective are identifiable in male and female conduct. I identify the male to gs(n) and the female to gs(m) because the metaphor is perfect. That means male counts from center Bip out to the gs, while the female counts from the gs to the Bip. I first noticed this decades ago, in my early 20’s, when I was analyzing how I thought versus what I saw. I saw that men were not linear but threaded, that they developed areas of expertise because they mastered the threads within that area. The details of stamps or cars or plumbing or law or whatever. I never knew what females thought like because I knew enough to know that boys talk differently around boys and girls are the same. That means there were aspects of female thinking I could not experience until I had daughters and could listen to girls talking without knowing I was there, without caring I was there, without reacting to me as though I were a male.

I’m trying to get that association into more rigorous form. Not easy. What does it means to extrapolate or infer as the two complementary parts of the system? That is, if we freeze gs(n), that’s the male function, which is separate from the male animal. So gs(m) is the female function, because it encloses what is injected. And of course the internal Injection is female, so the gs(m) contains the female gs(n), so those meet. On the male side, gs(n) must be followed by gs(m). That represents the potential Injected.

Now, we de-humanize this, de-living thing it, and we get that each moment is Injection, that it has some potential and you Inject into it what you bring to it, and that continuously generates, like sexually generates, the seamless but punctuated experiences of reality. That is the literal mindfuck.

Creation as continuous sexual existence is embodied in religions, as we’d expect. In Judaism, Shabbat is a bride, so continuity is rhythmic, like the sexual act, modulating over an amazing buried 13, the 6 and 7 of the sabbath cycle. It’s 6 +1 and it’s 7, so we can view this as 6 then a separate 1 count, like a count of weeks, then 6, etc. Or we can simplify to modulo 7. That’s such a deep one: SBE2 identity + Attachment, and the completion of that thought so whatever does occur on each Shabbat, is specifically a result of what happened over the SBE2, so we get a chain of those as identities. That is why we can read a weekly portion of the Torah. It’s a weekly congress whose ecstasy depends on the SBE2 identity of that week.

Christianity does this through purity, thus bringing the sanctity of holy union to the very forefront. Hinduism expresses this on the surface.

That seems to be pretty good. The male can continue on its own. The female develops awareness when they’re a prize to be won and that gives them power of alliance. Like female lions may get rid of males they don’t want. The idea is they pick from among the males, like the suitors in the Odyssey or at some ball. This is going in a strange direction. Let’s see what happens.

I just heard about 20 examples of ‘I need a man’, when the reality is those are all outdated other than for sperm. So, we typically flip that over to say these behaviors reflect the present value of the fertility choice, whether there’s a child or not, where there can be one or not. These pathways develop, like peacock tails, and now you’re stuck with a giant tail.

Take this back to a fundamental memory, of being a prize in a game and realizing that wasn’t fun, which is a metaphor for a lot of life. Being the object removes you from the joy people playing the game experience, and it dehumanizes you. This is not a show because in a show you are doing, so you become the object that is doing, not a prize.

I can see this arising as a variation on the female pack. A herd is a female pack though we don’t think of cows like that.

I need to take a break. I’m not happy where this is right now. I wanted to nail down the gs forms. Maybe if I restate where we are: gs(m) is not ‘female’ but rather the base perspective in counting versus gs(n). So the male and female fit to a single count by 1-0-1//0-1-0, where the 0 and 1 associate in pairs to gs(n) and gs(m). That means each thread can have its own gender, which finally fits to gendering in language. That’s better.

———-

I’m exploring aspects of Not, because a key concept now is that Triangular over gs defines Is externally, meaning the actual End is defined by what? That we define Is by what it is Not. The bonds of trust require treating all as being on the same side, as not the enemy, no matter the actual act. That fusion over of 2 to 1 occurs all the time, like in a creative partnership.

I’m hearing an extraordinary dialogue. Being discussed is whether you would quit because you have enough, and the answer is we’ve proven eternity, so that would be a rejection of the work we’ve just done, which is not sensible within this frame. I can imagine all kinds of motives for no, but they all depend on not proving eternity, meaning they thrive in uncertain soil. An uncertain soil is one where nearly any voice has some reasonable appeal, where you can’t separate the crazy or the foolish because no one knows what’s needed or how to get there, but they pretend they do, convince themselves they do, convince others they do.

The limit of this is the first topic above, that you can’t squish Not out of existence, that you can only squish what is visible. If you can make the statement Not, then you can’t eliminate that Not globally because all Not relates to the contextually derived Not you can see. Like not your kind. Wow, going over this is like exercising old muscle memory. We spent a tremendous amount of time struggling with the meanings of phrases like Is is, because how can you convey the concept of existence so without using the word ‘is’ or its equivalent? Yes, we could change the name of Is to Bub, but the word Is conveys the sense of what we’re talking about. This meant a lot of careful delineation like Is Not and Not Is, which are perspective based, meaning you look at Not as Is, like you’re looking for a door, so you look for what is not the wall. Not Is means it’s may feel like a doorway, but it’s ornamental or it leads to the wrong place. I think the old example was you’re looking for a rock and most of them aren’t it, so each is Not Is.

The fluidity of those statements shows how much work we put in. Loads.

So what ‘builds’ within is through I//I, because that links states over states. Example is 1-0-1 as 1 can mean the last 1 or a combination of whatever the 1 looks like because of the layers of 1 behind. This can be brightness or color or something else. So everything compresses to its End, and we can idealize that to a shared End which is a you or me or a rock or a raging river or fire. So that says within is a statement of existence in the moment. This enables touch to be superficial or deep.

That fits exactly to the mission statement, which is to understand and devise a mechanism to enhance understanding so people recognize how these processes of existence work. This last example, as abstract as it is, means you progress along Pathways, and these express you, your identity, the good and the bad, the minor and the material.

The more I look at this, the more I realize spending that time, which was immensely frustrating to live through, was essential. Thanks.

[zephirite]

I HAVE A THEORY ABOUT THIS! It’s based on Forever’s theory that the eggs are former islanders and the current islanders will turn into eggs too.

For those who don’t know, Arin is an entity that “escaped through the cracks in the code” from a world “where life and death can be re-written.” Arin possessed Luzu’s body, knows nothing about the world or how to move or talk. Despite their lack of knowledge, they have vague memories of where they came from and built a computer to anchor themself to the QSMP world. When Arin is possessing Luzu, Luzu’s eyes turn green.

Arin signals their arrival by spamming binary in the chat. They appeared twice before the eggs existed, and once after. When they appeared after the eggs existed and typed binary in the chat, the code appeared and attacked Arin. Arin knew they were being targeted for being in the wrong world, and the code even ignored Dapper for Arin. (The binary that attacked Phil even translated to L for Luzu)

(that looks like an I but it’s a lower-case L)

An entity with mysterious origins who doesn’t remember their past and is ignorant about the world but willing to learn with a childlike innocence yet skilled beyond their years, adopted by members upon arrival, unable to talk or fight but communicates by writing, attacked by the code just for existing…

…doesn’t that sound like an egg?

The eggs are skilled at art, music, fighting, engineering, but don’t remember their names or how they got here. Perhaps they have past lives because they were the former islanders!

We know the Federation can erase memories (like Cellbit’s). We know the results of SOFIA’s tests on the eggs revealed their placentas are older than two months. We know that the Federarion can keep people frozen in stasis and it only feels to them like a short time, and we know that they can clone or brainwash people (like El Quackity, or the identical Cucurucho workers). We know they can revive eggs for a limited time, and revive players on the brink of death from code attacks. But no one’s asked what ties these advanced abilities together.

Well, if the Federation has access to the realm Arin hails from (where death and life can be re-written on a whim)? What if the information Fit is seeking IS access to that realm? What if the way Vegetta could build SOFIA a body and Max could transfer Leonarda’s consciousness into a robot is through that dimension? That explains the “how” of the experiment, but what about the “why”? Why now? Perhaps it’s linked with the Federation’s obsession with perfection, and the error that caused perfection to be of tantamount importance.

What if the “error” spoken of in the video is the same one that BBH read about in the books—the “error” that changed everything?

That phrase “our team” and the book sitting in an old Federation building implies this was written by a Federation employee, but the odd final line—“only in our dreams will they fulfill their promise”—introduces an odd dynamic where the EMPLOYEES were the ones betrayed , and felt like fools for believing their deceivers. Perhaps this person was like Jaiden, Felps, or Cellbit—a normal islander, helping the Federation but realizing too late they’ve been used.

What if these original islanders were used to found and create the Federation? Or, they were part of an experiment until then they made a mistake that ruined the experiment and forced the Federation to annihilate them…but instead, the Federation turned them into eggs to use them as they re-did the experiment? There was one flaw in the initial experiment that the Federation now seeks to correct.

And that transformation was the start of the current experiment, so it’s been underway for years. The Cinematic videos look old, retro—they’re called “tapes”. Perhaps the promises of a vacation were re-used from the old islanders.

The Week One video reads: “First phase—completed. All vitals: —full. Deaths: zero. Conflict: mild. Age: Iron Age. First experiment: underway. Results: null. Error. Error. ERROR. ERROR. TEST SUBJECT—ERROR. ERROR. ERROR—“

“Age: Iron Age.” Means iron armor was unlocked at this point.

Analysis of this video changes whether we view it as a summary of the CURRENT islanders…or the PREVIOUS ones. Remember, Q kept calling it a “tape”, meaning it was pre-recorded by the time our islanders arrived.

*side note; the tickets everyone got have numbers starting at 24. That’s another reason to believe our streamers aren’t the first on the island.

Now, how does the Federation deal with imperfections? It makes them work FOR them. They allowed Cellbit into their ranks despite him having been their most outspoken dissident (Jaiden and Felps were openly sympathetic to Cucurucho and even they didn’t get that same trust). They seem to follow the “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” doctrine. If the initial islanders rebelled or messed up after being used (causing that Error in an initial experiment that relied on…obedience?) it makes sense this new experiment would account for disobedience, for imperfections, and adapt so the island remains perfect (for the Federation). It makes sense that an organization obsessed with perfection would be terrified of an error it made.

So they make use of their error by making the old islanders the eggs. But presumably the initial islanders weren’t eggs, so how did they become them? That’s where Gegg comes in. When Forever confronted Slime about transforming into Gegg, Slime admitted that initially, Gegg was a mere joke he could transform into at will. But as he started developing separate relationships AS Gegg, it became harder and harder to transform back. Slime’s new skin also has lighter green eyes than his old one that now match Gegg’s color.

So if developing relationships AS an egg can turn someone into an egg, perhaps the Federation assigned the eggs to the current islanders to keep them from remembering their past lives, WHILE retaining their original skills and personalities (which they couldn’t if their minds were entirely wiped). All the missions are bonding tasks, especially if they’re dangerous.

But wrapping back around to the original post…

What if the original islanders were given the ability to turn into eggs, and as they did and formed relationships as eggs with each other, the egg parts of them started taking over. The federation wanted this and encouraged it, and eventually, the eggs took over entirely. When that happened, the Federation imprisoned the consciousness of the inhabitants (the part that can be transferred to make Leo a robot, or one clone act like it’s original—aka El Quackity) in the code realm. Fragments of the consciousnesses are still inside their egg bodies and can occasionally possess them, just like Arin with Luzu—only Luzu wasn’t Arin’s OG body.

The codes could be sentries made by the Federation to prevent the consciousness from escaping…or maybe even the codes ARE the consciousnesses like Arin, only instead of ending up in a body they manifested as code and want to destroy the eggs—their one link to the world—so they can be free? (The parents letting the eggs die so they can be free might be a decent ending if it means they can meet the original versions of their kids)

And the code realm could be the dark space Richas paints when he’s possessed, and the places he and Leo remember. They wonder if they’re real, which humans-turned-incorporeal-codes would probably do.

It’s a crackpot theory, but a theory nonetheless.

And I have a potential explanation for Cucurucho’s place in all this, here.

Alright guys. It's me again with a new theory <3

Okay, so.

Today's main Big Thing was Richas' apparently possession and diaries and his art. At surface level, it seems like just a small little arc to give a nudge towards Cellbit's RPG, more specifically the spin-off O Segredo Na Ilha (The Secret Within the Island). But, this wasn't the only thing that happened today...

Leonarda had a nightmare today, one that caused her to stay up the entire night and even write a whole book to tell Foolish about it

And i think both events are connected

Follow me on this, oki?

First, lemme show y'all Leo's notes + signs again

Breaking down the nightmare, Leo talks about how she was trapped in a weird room, not being able to escape and feeling very afraid, while he was still trapped in the room, she heard weird sounds starting, and he couldn't see anything.

Leo finishes the topic saying that, sometimes, she knows things without knowing.

Now, to Richas' diary. If you want to read the entire translation, here's the link to a post, I'll be focusing on 2 pages out of the 7

At first, it all seems like a big salute to the spin off, a direct reference with an enigma to keep the Brazilians (more specifically Cellbit and Forever) hooked. But...

These pages. Richa talks about a metallic sound that reverberated like a bell, and how it made him feel deeply tormented and scared, doubting his own existence. He says he claimed to the skies as a prayer, he asks for an exit

So. Okay. What I'm trying to say?

Leo and Richas are talking about the same thing.

Both of them talk about how they saw themselves trapped somewhere, tormented by a sound and feeling deeply afraid. There was no way out no matter what they did

Both refer to how they know things at the same time as they don't. Something tipped for Leo that she wants to be immortal and a robot in order to protect his family, Richarlyson suddenly went into a whole Jekyll and Hyde arc

Richa's way of explaining was through enigmas and nods towards Cellbit's rpg because Cellbit has been integrating his RPG's mythos within the server (the ritual room, explaining it all to richa, his whole castle theme). Leo is approaching as if she's the haunted kid from a horror movie

The past of these eggs is suddenly coming back into their minds, and, as far as we can theorize, the possibility that these eggs used to be human before is getting stronger by the day

[scriptlgbt]

Hi!

Right now I'm (attempting) to write a sci-fi story centered around a human and an alien, and basically it would be the alien trying to get the human back home, all the while the human teaches them about Earth culture (what they know of it) and the alien reacting to it/other biological things humans have (a la humans-are-weird).

My plan was to make this human nonbinary (I've been thinking specifically bigender) as a way to explore both masc and femme ways of moving through society. Taking on both masculine and feminine traits to showcase to the alien how either would work back on earth. My thoughts on their gender presentation would be as androgynous as possible, and that people would be unable to tell if they're a man/woman but would believe either if they were told so. They would also go by they/them, with a pretty gender neutral name.

What's the best way to go about this? Is it insensitive to construct a nonbinary person that's split so evenly down the middle? I know, of course, that actual nonbinary people can have an array of presentations, but story wise I thought this would be the best way to showcase more of the human experience in one character. They're experiences as being nonbinary would be shown too, but I wanted an avenue to bring up different trends if needed.

This wouldn't be the only human character, but they would be the main one, and the one the reader gets introduced to first/know the longest.

Any advice you can give would be amazing! (And thank you for reading/responding this kind of got away from me).

Others will definitely have different opinions on this (I especially encourage replies here) but I take issue with nonbinary characters specifically existing within the plot as a teaching tool. When I was in high school, I was outed specifically so my "friends" could teach others about queer topics as though they had a right to share that information without my consent. So this one hits particularly subhumanizing for me, since I was seen as a teaching tool and not a person.

I realize that in this ask, I am only getting the relevant parts of your story to ask about, so that's all I have to judge off of. There are details of your characters that I am not privy to, where they are possibly written as whole fully fleshed out characters.

I think you should also explore your own fluency in teaching about gender from a nonbinary perspective, like your character will be doing. There are nonbinary people who aren't the same as me and who have different relationships to their identities, but I think about gender every day of my life in some way. When I first came to terms with it 11 years ago, I had to deprogram my idea of what gender can be from the binary way I was trained to, in order to accept that I am a real person and part of mainstream society. At least, that I deserve to be part of it.

I think a lot of people who haven't spent time around [other] nonbinary people tend to have not really decoupled their thoughts from the prescribed gender binary. Gender is not two pillars of "man/masculine" and "woman/feminine" and everyone else in relation to that. In the cultures that exist on earth, we don't even have the same perspectives on what either of those mean, if they exist at all.

And that's another thing - it is inaccurate to say that manhood and womanhood are inherently human in the way your nonbinary character would understand it. There are many human cultures who have 5 or 6 genders as the socially accepted norm. When we ignore these cultures and their genders when teaching about "human gender" in these stories, we are implying that those outside the colonial binary are not human. Even when womanhood (for instance) is a thing that exists in a given culture, that doesn't mean it translates to the colonial enforcement of a given gender. There are many Indigenous people I know of who specifically have said, "I'm kwe, which is different than what English-speakers mean when they say 'woman.'" Or who have said they identify as an Inuk woman, or 'nonbinary' if they have to use that framework.

It is not enough to say, "femme and masc" as though these are a new, more inclusive binary. They aren't, and femme (when used in English) is a very specific queer identity. It is not synonymous with feminine, and feminine doesn't mean woman-like either. At least to me, and the majority of trans people I know personally. And I'm not sure what exactly you mean when you say masculine or feminine traits either. How these things are defined is really, really subjective. And tbh, a lot of us unfortunately think of stereotypes around what these things mean. Maybe not when we think about it and how we actually perceive these things, but it's the kind of thing many just happen to more readily have words for.

Re: "Split down the middle" bigender. There's nothing wrong with having a nonbinary person have a specific identity. This happens sometimes.

Actual advice:

I don't think you should write this character to be a teacher of gender. I think it's okay to explain some stuff when asked and to make general statements with disclaimers, and have those general statements not imply that most people are men or women (because that only accounts for a specific cultural setting, and one where anything otherwise is persecuted in order to uphold certain systems of power, like patriarchy, colonialism).

Another thing you could do is involve a nonbinary co-writer to write with you from the perspective of this character. Or write their dialogue at least, which your writing responds to.

mod nat

[the-insomniac-emporium]

Waking Comfort (Bela Dimitrescu/Reader)

Fandom: Resident Evil: Village Rating: T for language, brief violence (in a flashback), implied/referenced trauma (unspecified) Warnings: N/A Summary: Unable to sleep on a cold day, Bela Dimitrescu tries to find comfort in her favorite servant... only to end up being the one doing the comforting. Notes: This is super self indulgent, because my dreams have been murdering me recently. Reader is a selective mute/partially nonverbal, implied neurodivergent (unspecified), gender neutral but written with a non-binary person in mind, with non-specific past trauma. Basically this is somewhat of a self-insert fic but I've smudged some lines to make it more relatable for other people.

----------------

In the early hours of the day, when the sun had yet to reach its peak, a cold quiet fell over Castle Dimitrescu. Most inhabitants were of a nocturnal persuasion, and lay sleeping soundly at this hour. Those few that thrived in the sun moved softly, with caution, daring not to awaken their masters. Oh, if only they knew that one Lady of the house was awake, prowling the corridors with marked intent. What a chill it would send down their spines- what lovely fear would permeate the household.

Ah, but that was not what Bela Dimitrescu desired, at least not for now. No, what she needed was something she would never admit out loud. It was a “base” need, one that all humans felt, and so she feared that it was beneath her. There was only one person that she could trust for this: A servant, experienced in all matters needed of them, level-headed, compassionate… and, most importantly, selectively mute.

Over the past year, Bela had found herself growing closer to you, much to her own surprise. The two of you had started to bond through reading, after you had helped her reorganize a mess in the library (left by none other than Lady Daniela). Since then, you had proven to be a valuable ally, always finding creative solutions to the family’s problems. From jury-rigging a set of climbing gear for repairs, to proof-reading all formal letters, there was hardly any part of Bela’s life that you hadn’t assisted with. All while only ever saying two or three sentences- short ones, at that.

Neither of you would ever forget the first (and only) time you spoke out loud. A would-be hunter had infiltrated the estate, through a damaged skylight (which you later repaired), intending to prove his worth by killing the nobility inside. By the time Bela arrived, after being notified by a terrified maiden, she found the situation had already been aptly handled. There you had stood, clutching an ornate, bloodied cane like a club. In front of you had been the unconscious hunter.

“You could have been hurt!” Bela had snapped, unable to stop herself, glad that her sisters hadn’t arrived yet. Then you had glanced at the man, then her, then back to the man. Something uncharacteristically dark had danced in your eyes.

“He said he was going to save me… from you. Called me defenseless,” you had snarled, poking the man with your cane as you did. “Rude.” Before Bela even had a chance to react, her sisters had appeared, disappointed to find the fight already over. They had fought over who would get to kill the hunter, and somewhere in that chaos you had slipped away without another word.

That day had replayed itself in Bela’s mind hundreds of times in her mind. Though she would not readily admit it, that had been the day that her casual affection for you had started to turn into something more serious. These days she didn’t even know how to describe your relationship- after all, you had never told her how you felt. But you had held her, closely, fingers running through her hair while she fought off memories from someone else’s life. Held her in your arms, as she held you, staving off the cold like it was all you had ever known.

This was what she wanted. Your touch, your comfort. All that stood in her way was a familiar question: Where were you? Master of your environment, schedule constantly in flux, you were rarely where anyone expected you to be, especially when you were prone to taking on whatever tasks others hadn’t had time to finish. So Bela searches, quickly, around places the day-shift tends to gather. She’s careful not to be seen, even though she knows the maidens aren’t likely to gossip where her family might hear. In the end she catches a hint of your scent near the servants’ quarters, and curses herself for not checking there sooner.

Your room is one of the only single-occupancy rooms in this wing. Only senior staff were allowed within these places, most of them rotating out as they “lost their usefulness”. The fact that you had slept in the same bed every night for six months was a testament to your skill. It’s the kind of thought that brings Bela some semblance of warmth in her chest. Still, the thought alone is not enough, so she slowly eases your door open.

Her ears strain against the silence, listening for the pattern of your breathing, or the telltale murmurs that would announce your awakening. Instead, the first things she hears are little gasps, then the shifting of fabric. Dreams of some sort have you turning and tossing, lungs getting hungry in their pursuit of air. It’s not immediately clear whether or not you are enjoying the dream. Were these good gasps, like those that Daniela often cooed about when she praised her maiden? Or were these the same kind that sometimes haunted Bela herself?...

A whimper cuts through the air, and suddenly Bela loses all patience. Practically running, she crosses the room in an instant, concern etched into her brow. One hand cautiously reaches for your blanket, pulling it back enough for her to slide in next to you. It’s a risk, one that could make you wake up with a panic, but it’s one she’s willing to take. After all, she had asked you about this sort of thing before. Though you couldn’t form full sentences, you had experience “miming” things, and Bela was quite clever with her “yes or no” questions.

When she carefully wraps an arm around your waist, she does so with confidence. Beneath her touch you stiffen, back going as tense as possible, but you stop shaking. A few more gasps leave you, and Bela wonders whether or not she should wake you up. Less than a minute later the decision is made for her. All the sudden your gasping turns to a sharp exclamation, body jerking hard, eyes snapping open. Tension coils through your muscles, driving your already overstimulated brain overboard.

Before Bela can even try to comfort you, you sit up, quickly turning so your legs dangle off the edge of the bed. Muffled sobs pass your lips as you hold your face in your hands. Memories struggle against each other behind your eyes, blocking out every other sensation. Your jaw is clenched, hard, and you struggle to breathe between shakes. A hand touches your back, but quickly moves when you flinch in response. It takes a minute for you to even process who else is with you. Once you do, some of the tension bleeds from your body.

“If you’d rather be alone right now, I understand,” Bela says, quietly, as soon as she thinks you’ll be able to understand her. For a moment you can’t bring yourself to respond, and you can feel her side of the mattress shifting, like she’s getting ready to leave. Panic springs up in your chest again, so you quickly reach a hand out in her direction. Thankfully she knows what to expect at this point, easily finding your hand in the dark, gently taking it within her own. “One squeeze for yes, two for no?”

You squeeze, once.

“Do you want me to hold you?” Bela asks, trying to hide the hopefulness in her voice. It makes you pause, considering, even though you’re still overwhelmed by your sensory inputs. In the end you squeeze her hand twice. “No worries, my dear. Don’t be tempted to push yourself just for my sake.” Somehow she always knew how to read you like an open book. Even with the… difficulty of communicating with you. Not that she had ever complained, or even thought about it. Knowing you, and caring for you, made any effort feel as easy as breathing.

A few minutes pass without another word being said. Sometimes Bela gives your hand a little squeeze, just to check in, and you always return it. Soon enough your brain starts to relax, loosening its vice-like grip on your motor controls. Once again you can ease the tension in your muscles. Then you find yourself rubbing your thumb against Bela’s hand, moving in soft circular motions, head turning so you can smile at her. Even if it’s too dark for you to see much, you know that her eyes see you just fine.

“Feeling any better?” She asks, donning a smile of her own. One squeeze. “Is there anything more I can do to help?” A pause, then one squeeze. Now that your limbs don’t feel as staticky, there’s only one thing on your mind: Cuddling. You’re moving before you know it, briefly letting go of Bela’s hand so you can get closer to her, pressing your face into her neck and giving her a soft kiss. Then you’re falling against the bed, on your side, looking up at your partner with a grin. It doesn’t take her long to get the message, shifting back onto her side so she can hold you for real this time. One of your hands goes to rest on her back, to serve as your translator for the rest of the night. “I love you,” Bela says, without even thinking.

She freezes up afterwards, realizing that this is the first time she’s ever said the words out loud to you. For a moment she’s scared, a feeling alien to her, but she refuses to back down. It pays off a few seconds later, incredibly so, when you return the words the best way you can: One squeeze.

[screamting]

ok i did the complaint so I’ll write up the cheat sheet.

Way back when manga and anime were first being translated to English, especially by fan translators, a lot of scanners chose to keep in honorifics. Honorifics function a little bit like the Miss/Mrs/Mr/Mx system in english, mixed with an informal/formal ‘You’. Unlike Mr/Ms, where it’s a title that’s consistent, honorifics change based on the speaker’s relationship with the addressee. One person may be addressed with all manner of honorifics, depending on how many different ‘status’ relations they have.

I learned these in like. 2000s/2010s, so if there’s been a recent upheaval in honorific usage in Japan that I don’t know of, that’s my bad, but this is the basics rundown. the way i’m typing may imply a gender binary but that’s just because I don’t know the specifics of what japan does w neutral language and you’ll have to ask someone who knows more.

Because the original examples from the nickname post were bnha, most of these examples are also going to be bnha lol.

-san: this is most similar to how Ms/Mr is used in english. When in doubt with an adult, it’s usually -san. Girls around the speaker’s age group and up are also called -san by default, generally. Kids may also refer to their older relatives with -san, like Oka-san, Onii-san, Oji-san, etc. but usually not the other way around.

-kun: this is usually for young men or between men of the same age-ish. It’s fairly casual and not a hard rule on gender. It isn’t insulting to use for girls, and may imply endearment.

-chan: chan is feminine, but usually just for girls younger than the speaker. It’s kind of a cute honorific (which is why in bnha Tsuyu (san) asks to go by Tsu-chan instead). Again, usually girls around the speaker’s same age would be -san, except in the case of Tsu wanting to be cutesy, or calling your gf -chan. It might be comparable to calling someone ‘honey’ affectionately. This is why Bakugo Katsuki’s nickname being Ka-chan is fucking adorable and bewildering to everyone around Izuku. It’s like running around calling him “Boomy”.

-sama: used like san, but for someone very important. Like god or something. Someone using -sama on themselves (hi papyrus) is being very braggerty. Like putting “The Great” in front of a name.

no honorific: you fam. .... or you being Real rude to people. For example, Kirishima in english calls everyone bro... because he is super informal and just drops honorifics because he is fam. Bakugou doesn’t usually use honorifics because he doesn’t care to be polite. Some of that rudeness is translated into the nicknames he uses all the time. It’s kind of like referring to your boss by their first name. It could be friendly, or you are on your last fuck.

-sensei: this is a job-based title, and is roughly equivalent to ‘teacher,’ but it is in general for someone who has a certain skillset that the speaker benefit(ed) from, like a doctor, lawyer, etc. In higher ed, it ‘Hakase’ may be used instead of sensei. Again, not everyone will call a teacher sensei-- Aizawa’s students call him Aizawa-sensei, but because Yagi is not a student, he uses Aizawa-kun, because Aizawa is a jr in the hero world.

So those are like....fairly common honorifics. There are others and other levels of them. They can be used to form nicknames as well. For example, the only way to make Ka-chan even more cutesy might be to make it Ka-tan, which is a babytalk version of -chan.

Honorifics also make it easier to tell the difference between siblings since last names are usually used by default. I was reading a fic where there was a brother-sister thing in the same class, and the running joke was someone would say their last name and they would both respond. It... would probably not happen that way, because between -san, -kun, and -chan, there were three ways to distinguish between them. Since it was a boy-girl duo I’d guess they’d use girl-san and boy-kun, or if one was slightly older than the other that one may get -san, etc. Fuck man, maybe they’d just uses -shonen and -shojo to differentiate them (as All Might calls Midoriya-shonen-- translated as “Midoriya my boy!” usually.)

This is a long post to beg people to consider the function in linguistic jokes. You don’t need to like. KNOW japanese and understand all the puns and whatever-- and I am goddamn begging you we not bring back bad honorific desu ne in fanfic-- but sometimes the jokes jarr enough with just having the setting in Japan that like. I keep reading. But I am also kept up at night staring at the ceiling, unable to forget.

Free me.

[fairymadnessyeah]

BNHA Ship to Finish the Year

ShishiKoda (Shishida Jurota x Koda Koji)

Canon

Before anything, two important things.

Koda is non-binary, pronouns they/them. Also, Koda is selectively deaf.

They only talk with the people who are close to them, with animals, or if they absolutely need to.

I believe that there are a lot of types of heroes, there are daytime heroes, underground heroes, infiltration heroes, etc.

And one of those types, that is rather new, is the eco-hero. They are heroes who, apart from fighting against crime, they also fight for the planet and the animals.

Both Shishida and Koda are Eco-heroes.

I feel like they would start working on the same agency at first, being desk mates.

Koda is selectively deaf, so they communicate with sign language. But not everybody knows, so Shishida translates and gives out the number of a good ASL teacher.

It makes them grow closer, and that is how they start branching out towards the Eco-heroics.

They find an agency that works kind of like Greenpeace having mission out in the world to help with the environment.

They first start local, their first missions aren't even together. Koda is sent to a zoo protest, and Shishida to a stop a deforestation.

They do have to re-study some laws for this job though. UA might be a great school, but they can't teach you everything.

They study together, with Shishida making the coffee and Koda bringing some of the cakes their roommate Satou bakes.

Satou, who is very protective of his roommate and friend Koda, notices that something is going on. But when he asks about it, Koda shrugs it off with pink cheeks.

Shishida doesn't have any roommates, but he still hangs out with his friends from class B. I imagine one day, they drop by uninvited and interrupt one of their study hang out. 

Koda understands and leaves, but the class B boys can feel the sparks in the air.

They tease him non-stop about it, while Shishida tries to deny it.

"Somebody got a crush~," "No, I don't,"

"I bet you want to take them out to that new restaurant you were talking about," "As friends,"

"You should ask them out! They looked ready to pick up what you were giving," "I won't,"

"You are afraid they'll say no and then don't talk to you again, aren't you?" "Terrified,"

Shishida would ask Koda out, but they are so shy that he is afraid that if he does, the relationship they have been building up will crumble.

But that's okay, Shishida can wait.

They keep working and hanging out together, and then one day, they are put on a mission together. This mission takes place in the Amazon, on Brazil.

The two need to travel, and while they are there, Shishida asks Koda out.

They say yes, and when they go back to Japan, they make it official and become the significant other of one another.

I like thinking that Satou starts acting like a protective big brother to Koda and glares at Shishida when he comes to pick him up for dates.

Family

Koda is the only child of a single mother. She doesn't have a name yet, but I think she is a like a 50's mom.

She bakes cookies, she dances to the music of the radio, and leaves lipstick marks on your cheeks when she kisses you.

I also love the idea that no matter who you are, no matter what you are doing, you are going to get greeted with a bear hug by Koda's mom. 

Shishida was not ready. I also like the idea that Shishida has a bun on for the first meeting. He would look so dapper in one.

I also think he would use his strength as a good selling point. Oh, Miss Koda's earing fell under the dishwasher? No worries, Shishida will lift it with his bare hands and place it back where it was once she got it.

I have no ideas as to who Shishida's parents could be, but one thing is for sure, Koda wants to crawl under their bed and stay there until the night passes.

They are a mess and get anxious thinking about it. On the drive there, Koda's mind conjures situation after situation, and how bad and disastrously are all going to end up.

Of course, nothing like that happens.

Shishida's parents are nice and know sign language, so they can communicate no problem.

I don't think they would have kids, but I kind of seeing them moving from the big city and settling in a small village with a giant lot where they rescue animals.

They are some of the only heroes around the small town, along with a few others, and nothing much happens. 

But considering the hectic years they spent as heroes and as students, a nice, quiet town seems like a good option.

When Koda moved out of the apartment, Satou cries and hugs him, while saying that he'll miss them. It's a sad day, but they keep in contact.

Also, their house is so big that both classes come for reunions, and they are even able to bring their kids. 

They have a rehabilitation program, but some of the animals they rescued aren't able to go back to the wild, so they have a few rescued pets.

They have a fox, who ended up blind after getting caught in a trap. His name is Red, and it likes to scare their mailman by screaming at him. Have you ever heard a fox? It's crazy AF!

They also have an owl inside the house. It was hit by a moving car, and it damaged its wing, making it unable to fly. Its name is Big eyes, and sometimes it chills with Shishida in the library.

They also have a wild horse on the back. They called it Hone, in dedication to Honenuki because when the Hone smiles, which it does a lot, its smile looks like their ex-classmate.

Hone was rescued from a circus, and is now living a retirement on their home.

AU - Tarzan AU

So, you might read Tarzan AU, and think:

"Well, Shishida could make a good Tarzan. He is wild, hairy, curious, and kind of look likes bigfoot when he uses his quirk. It makes sense that he would be Tarzan,"

But you are wrong. This is a different Tarzan AU.

For once, it happens in the woods instead of the jungle. So our Tarzan is closer to civilization than the classic.

Koda was just a small three-year-old when, on a camping trip, their parents died. They were crossing a stream when the bridge broke, and they feel into the river. Their parents drown and died of hypothermia, but Koda somehow survived.

They were taken care of by the animals. Because, yes, they speak in this AU, but only Koda can understand them.

Koda lives like a cryptid, and becomes an urban legend of the woods. They are known as the creature-man. Many go into the woods to get a peak or a capture them on a picture.

The people know them to be a generous being. If you get lost in the woods, they will guide you back home. If you get hurt, you may find yourself healed by the next morning.

Shishida is new in town, recently graduated from college and has a psychology degree.

He doesn't believe in the existence of creature-man, and thinks it's just a tourist attraction. 

The rest of the town tries to convince him, but he is a stubborn one.

But one day, a couple of his friends invite him on a hike on the woods. They are hoping that with this trip, he might start believing in Creature-man.

The storm catches them by surprise. It comes out of nowhere, and it makes Shishida slip and roll down a hill. He hits his head on and blacks out, but when he wakes up, he is not alone.

Koda found him and started taking care of him. Shishida had a concussion and a broken arm, so Koda couldn't take him back out of the forest.

Shishida, now an absolute believer of Creature-man, takes them to his home, to re-introduce them to society.

He starts by cleaning them and dressing them, but it's not as easy as he believed it would be. Koda is afraid of everything, and knows nothing of the world.

Shishida doesn't tell the rest of the town about having their cryptid creature on his home. He knows that they will freak out and want to see him, and that could overwhelm Koda.

But one day, Koda freaks out, and runs back to the forest. The whole town finds out, and questions Shishida.

He explains that Koda, is not a creature, but a person who grew up in the woods and was not introduced into society.

The people decide to leave Koda alone, but Shishida feels a deep conection with them. He feels responsable for them, and doesn't want to see them hurt.

He visits them daily, and starts writing a psychology book on them.

Fanon Opinion

I can't see Koda having sex.

I just can't. Maybe it's their shy demeanour, their muteness or the way they look, but I can't see it.

I think I might headcanon them as asexual to much for me to picture him in sexual acts.

I think this is a cute couple, but it's very cracky.

There is no content for them. No pictures, nothing written, there isn't even a ship name.

I think that whoever requested these two, took somebody from class A and then somebody from class B that is not that known, and paired them together.

They have only one interaction, when they faced against each other on the A vs B battle. 

But, weirdly enough, they make sense together.

They are the personification of looks like they could kill you, but it's a cinnamon roll x looks like a cinnamon roll, and it's a cinnamon roll.

If there ever is a veterinarian x librarian AU, they would be perfect for it.

Like, Koda is super sweet and shy, and Shishida is a gentleman, who dresses in suits.

 I think they also make sense to me due to their quirks. 

Shishida looks like an animal when he is all big and hairy, and Koda can talk to animals.

It's a weird ship, however.

But it definitely deserves more love.

It's also not that impossible to happen. They are the same age, they go to the same school, they are in the same career, same side.

I know this is short, but there is nothing to go on with this couple.

It's a background character with an even less important character.

[twinmiki]

If You're Undergoing Top Surgery Soon, Treat Yourself to These Essentials

Originally published on Cosmopolitan by Desi Sulca November 18, 2020.

rom Cosmopolitan

When people think of top surgery, or the removal of breast tissue to treat distress due to a person's current physical gender expression, per the Mayo Clinic, they mostly think of female to male (FTM) folks receiving "gender affirmation" surgery. That's definitely a thing, but there also are plenty of people who live somewhere between or outside the binary of male and female, like me! Even though we're not out here trying to "affirm" a "gender," some of us find this surgery to be an important part of living an authentic life.

For most, receiving the surgery usually entails patiently waiting on a literal waiting list for months before the surgery date is officially confirmed. Once it is, you've gotta prep for taking time off of work, clearing your social cal, and, uh, planning to be the proud owner of tyrannosaurus rex arms for an entire month. (Translation: You'll be unable to lift your arms or pick up anything heavier than five pounds.)

People are often left to rely on family members or their partners to aid them during recovery. And while some may say it’s not the cutest time in a person's life, I *do* think you can treat yourself as you heal up.

Whether you’re trans masc, trans man, a non-binary or genderqueer individual, a lesbian, two-spirit and find that top surgery is right for you, these are just a few suggestions to get the ball rolling with post-op care.

MANY PILLOWS You want to be literally surrounded by pillows for the first few weeks. That's because you won't be able to sleep on your back or your side without the support of pillows. Here are a few must-haves to make you feel like pillow royalty.

JFYI: If you’re on T or just regularly get overheated, being stuck in bed or with pillows around you sounds suffocating, the BedGear pillow will keep your body temperature cool for hours.

LOOSE BUTTON UPS, ROBES, AND HOODIES With you've got little arm function, these are an absolute must-have during recovery. People who have had top surgery recommend getting a size up because of swelling, and I recommend getting silk/soft material to not irritate your skin.

FOOD SERVICES Meal prepping is big for those who have to go through top surgery without someone to make every meal for them, and what’s a better way to do it than ordering already made meals in bulk to put in your fridge/freezer for the month?

BIDET During the first 30 days, it’s going to be hard to reach certain places, that includes cleaning yourself fully. These affordable bidets are perfect for anyone who wants to feel as clean as possible during their recovery.

TOWLETTES You won’t be able to shower for a few days. If you don’t have a partner or a caretaker to really help ya, give these a shot.

GINGER CHEWS It's super common to feel nauseous after major surgery, per UCLA Health. These ginger chews might help take the edge off.

HYDRATION Your body is healing and might need extra support with hydration. With that in mind, these packs are clutch.

EASY SLIP ON SHOES Good for taking walks around the house without wiping out during the recovery time.

FANNY PACK For the first few days you’ll have drains attached to you. You’ll have to pin them to your clothes or find a bag to store them in. FWIW, I chose to put them in a fanny pack. Style meets recovery.

PROBIOTICS It’s common to be irregular after, so it’s recommended to either get laxatives or probiotics to aid your tummy. My favorite way to consume is kombucha.

LARGE CUP AND STRAW These are lifesavers when you need to rest (see: lay) as much as possible. Everyone who's had top surgery has told me it's essential.

Tushy is a bidet startup which aims to replace toilet paper, Tushy was founded by Miki Agrawal.

[brooklynmuseum]

Stronger Together

Hi Brooklyn. We hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. The times are difficult and it is valid if you may not feel your best. It is okay to feel your feelings, and take your time to heal during these moments. As you navigate these difficult times, remember that you are a part of the community that is here to support you. The Brooklyn, and New York community at large, is one of the most vibrant and resilient there is!

If you have questions, or have more you wish to see or to spotlight, reach out. We want to hear from you. Please email stay.connected@brooklynmuseum.org. 

Also, text 'COVID' to 692-692 to get important COVID-19 related updates sent straight to your phone. You can text 'COVIDESP' to get updates in Spanish.

Local Business Highlights of the Week: 

Oxalis is temporarily closed for service, but will offer pick up and delivery on Friday, Saturday and Sundays from 4pm-8pm of fresh and prepared foods, cocktails and wine. Place your order, or pre order at www.boxalis.com , by phone at (347) 627-8298 or by email at hello@boxalis.com

No-frills Korean flavors are still being served at the famed Kimchi Taco. Take out and no-contact delivery available from 12-10pm daily. 

Census

A reminder to complete the 2020 Census today at my2020census.gov. 

In this webinar, you will learn about the guiding principles the Census Bureau is implementing for the use of administrative records and research findings for the housing and demographic questions on the survey.

On May 12th, United Way is launching United We Count, United We Vote – a civic engagement campaign to mobilize people in civic participation and collective action during this time of uncertainty and social distancing. Register for the event here.

For literature on the 2020 Census and how it may affect your community, check out the reading below:

How Changes to the 2020 Census Timeline Will Impact Redistricting

Census in a Time of COVID-19: What can we do as individuals?

Resources for children and families

COVID-19 has dramatically changed our lives. All New Yorkers deserve to celebrate, honor, and memorialize their loved ones. Get funeral & burial guidance from the City of New York.

If your work schedule was reduced as a result of the coronavirus and you are unable to pay your rent, you can apply for a Cash Assistance special grant request to get benefits for emergencies.

The City of New York's COVID-19 Hotel Program provides free hotel stays to eligible New Yorkers who cannot isolate where they live and frontline workers in the healthcare industry who wish to reduce the risk of transmission at home. This will help New York City stop the spread of COVID-19.

Scholastic Learn At Home allows open access to daily learning journeys divided into four grade spans—Pre-K–K, Grades 1–2, Grades 3–5, and Grades 6–9+, covering ELA, STEM, Science, Social Studies, and Social-Emotional Learning. 

CORE: CHILDREN OF RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES is dedicated to serving food and beverage service employees with children, who are faced with a health crisis or a natural disaster and are in need of support and in need of our help. If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19, you can apply here. 

Resources for artists, freelancers, and gig workers

Rauschenberg Emergency Grant Program provides one-time grants to artists of up to $5,000 for unexpected medical emergencies.

Max’s Emergency Relief & Resource Fund is a one-time grant award of between $500-$1000 ($1,000 when funds are available) to assist artists in all art disciplines who have a steady work history, but who are experiencing a temporary financial set back.  Visit their application here. 

In light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the artist community, on March 18 Foundation for Contemporary Arts launched the FCA Emergency Grants COVID-19 Fund. To find out your eligibility, click here.  

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of American have developed an Emergency Fund to help genre writers pay medical expenses not otherwise covered by insurance. Visit their website for more information.

Employment Resources

New York State is waiving the 7-day waiting period for Unemployment Insurance benefits for people who are out of work due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) closures or quarantines. Visit the New York State Department of Labor (DOL)  website for more information.

The New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires businesses to give early warning of closing and layoffs. More information for business is available from the New York State Department of Labor. 

Find Employment through Virtual Workforce Career Center online. The Virtual Workforce1 Career Center system connects New Yorkers, via web or phone, to one-on-one help from professionals who can help.

NY Job Listings during Quarantine organized by Davide Chen. 

PTFB is offering assistance in finding employment at Northwell Health for FOH/BOH foodservice and housekeeping positions. Find out how to apply here.

Resources for the Undocumented Community

List of Resources for Undocumented People in NYC may be located here. Document is translated in three languages, English, Spanish and Portuguese. 

For more information regarding DACA, check out Informed Immigrants.

CUNY Citizenship will be live, May 13th at 12:00PM on Facebook with Shawn Rahman, Managing Attorney for Training and Capacity Building with the latest immigration updates.

Contact Jesus Perez if you are an undocumented student at Brooklyn College who needs support via email: jperez@brooklyn.edu or phone: 718.951.5023

Funding Opportunities

The Carroll and Milton Petrie Student Emergency Grant Fund was created to provide eligible students facing short-term, nonrecurring emergencies with a one-time grant to alleviate the situation.  To find if you are eligible, visit the Brooklyn College’s Website. 

Volunteer or Participation Resources

The NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives has joined the national #ShareMyCheck campaign to encourage those in a relatively stable position to donate all or a portion of their check to people who are not eligible for these checks - those that are historically and contemporarily most impacted by economic and health crises. 

LGBTQ+ Resources

Ohher Publishing angels is offering $50 relief funds for trans/non-binary/two spirt people of color who are in need of community support right now. To learn more, visit Leste Magazine. 

Trans Lifeline is a trans-led organization that connects trans people to the community, support, and resources they need to survive and thrive. If you are in need of mental health assistance, visit their website here. 

 Upcoming Webinars

Tuesday, May 12: 2:00PM-3:30 PM: Brookings’ Reopening the Coronavirus-Closed Economy

Wednesday, May 13, 6:00PM-7:00PM: Make The Road New York will host a Seminario Web De Estudio Comunitario (community study webinar) on Facebook live.

Thursday, May 14, 2020 4:00pm-7:00pm: New York City Network of Worker Cooperatives is hosting a COVID-19 Health Awareness Training. The goal of this program is to Increase health and safety awareness for workers in industries with potential exposure to COVID-19.  

Remember to Follow Our Elected Officials For Up To Date News:  

Stay up to date with information provided by Governor Cuomo. Follow our New York State governor on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for up to date information regarding new health guidelines closures, and executive orders. 

The Mayor has a new Daily Message available on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube every morning. If your constituents have questions, comments or concerns, they want him to respond to, they can send them using the hashtag #AskMyMayor 

The Office of the Brooklyn Borough President provides the most up-to-date information and resources to Brooklynites. Follow these pages regularly and follow Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams on social media for real-time updates.

Congresswoman for the 9th District, Yvette D. Clark is working hard in Congress to support our local communities. Follow the Congresswoman on her Twitter to receive updates on what is going on in Washington DC and resources available in your ‘hood!

Follow updates and news from Council Member Laurie A. Cumbo on Facebook and Twitter. Cumbo serves as the Council Majority leader for Brooklyn’s 35th District- Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights, Prospect Heights and Bed-Stuy.

Follow New York City Council Member Robert E. Cornegy, representing Brooklyn 36th District- Bedford Stuyvesant and Northern Crown Heights on Twitter , Facebook, and Instagram for important updates regarding COVID-19 updates. 

Check out New York City Council Member Brad Lander’s resource page aimed to help NYC-based freelancers and artists navigate these uncertain times. Have your voice heard, fill out the survey and explore what benefits might be available to you. Follow him on Twitter for important updates.

Follow updates from the NYC City Immigrant Affairs office on Twitter interested in renewing your DACA application form. Call ActionNYC at 1-800-354-0365. 

Roxanne Swentzell (Kah'p'oo Owinge (Santa Clara Pueblo), born 1962). Making Babies for Indian Market, 2004. Clay, pigment. Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Helen Thomas Kennedy, 2004.80. © artist or artist's estate

[shuilebhride]

Hello! I hope you are doing alright in these crazy times. Thank you so much for taking the time and energy to do these readings. My birthday is April 24, 1997 and I would love an Ogham reading.

My question is, what message is Loki trying to send me that I've been struggling to receive and understand?

Thank you for your kind wishes. I'm doing very well actually, just extremely busy, which has been hindering this little shindig I started, much to my chagrin. Regardless of that though, let's see what I can do for you in the way of a reading with Ogham.

For your reading, I shuffled my Rowan set and pulled the following feda for you:

Luis, Ruis, Huath, Nuin, Gort, Ngetal

Ultimately I feel like Loki is trying to tell you that there's something in your life that you need to get up, get moving, get busy to take care of or otherwise it is going to cause you problems. It could be a person, a thing, or a simple situation that causing the problems. I'm not getting a specific feeling about if it's a person, being, object, or situation, so anything could be the reason why things are going or will become the way they are or about to be.

I also feel like that it could be something that it happening right now and you are already in the thick of things, but it could easily be something that is starting to creep up, fester, grow, develop without your awareness. I don't know if you are completely unaware of what's going on or what's starting to happen around you, or if it's something you are aware of, but can't fully express to yourself. Either is just as likely the case, and once again I'm not picking up on anything that gives me some sort of clue  about which is more likely the case out of those two options.

Either way, Loki is both disapointed and irritated with you regarding the state of things and the lack progress on taking care of them before they either become a problem at all or become such a problem that it ends up feeling like something that imsurpassable to deal with. I also get the feeling that he's been trying to get your attention about this for a little while now. I asked Loki if he could give me some kind of time period and he says he's been trying to pass the warning and information to you about this since at least June, maybe even before then.

This problem, whatever it may end up being, is or at least can become a true threat to you. It is something that can either harm you or disrupt your life in a major way for a long period of time. The feeling I'm getting from thissituation is that it's the kind of disruption and havoc that could cause you to start over from scratch in a lot of ways.

However, taking care of this being, person, situation, or thing, will bring you peace and harmony in your life, along with causing things to go much more smoothly for you for a good long period of time. In fact, taking care of this, whatever it may end up being, will bring you some major satsfaction for you while Fixing and setting right the road you are currently on in life.

Okay, let me break things down a little bit with how I got to this point with your reading. When it comes to Ogham, I primarily focus on Word Ogham for the majority of the meanings, along with the depth of meaning, for each of the fedas or letter characters from the alphabet. Sometimes I'll grab some inspiration from how the letter characters mean for the other varients of Ogham such as Tree Ogham, Color Ogham, etc, but prefer to rely on Word Ogham most of the time. 

Also, I have translated the names and kennings for the letter characters for myself and tend to work with the specific meanings I came up with, which may differ slightly from other translations in some ways.

First and foremost, let's start with Luis. Luis or Lus, as it also comes up as, can be commonly translated as Herb, plant, etc, though some people also translate it as flame. I have personally not seen enough evidence to agree with the flame translation, so rarely use it for this fid.  

The three kennings for Luis can be translated as Luster of the Eye, Friend or Relative of Cattle, or the Sustance of Cattle. Right away the feeling I was getting for this fid in regards to your reading is the sustance of Cattle.

Keeping in mind that one of the main translations for the name of this fid is herb, plant, it's refering specifically to the sustance that fuels us, gives us energy, power, etc. When I translate the word that commonly means sustance in this particular kenning, other words come up, words like motion, vigor, movement, power, joy, or rejoyacing.

Hence Loki is trying to get across to you that you need to get moving, go in motion, find the power or vigor to get things done.

Next, Ruis, can be translated as Red, Redness, or Reddening. It's kennings, in turn, can be translated as Brighest of Blushes,Reddening Face, Brightest Fury.

With at least one of the kennings mentioned here, one of the words means more than just angery, but also shame. I tend to read this fid's general meaning to encompass more than just anger and shame, but all emotions that cause one's skin to flush and once's face to blush, including lust or passion.

Taking a moment from the actual reading and checking in with Loki, the feeling I got from him wasn't intense enough to be anger or shame, but more along the lines of annoyance and disapointment. The feelings felt very much like he thought the situation, person, etc was easy enough to be reckonized for what it is, and hoped he wouldn't need to step in and try to catch your attention about this as much as he has as of late. Not that he minds aiding and helping you, from what he shared with me, but that the fact that it came to this, and more so that there has been problems getting the message across to you at all has been causing some of those feelings to manifest.

After Ruis is Huath, which can be translated as Fear, Horror, Terror, Phantom, and Spectre among other things. It's kennings can be translated as Gathering of a pack of Hounds, the Paling of one's face, and Hard at Night.

Like I said, the problem can either be a person, thing, being, or situation. Usually I tend to get a strong feeling about what it actually is when this fid comes up in a reading, but not this time, and there could be any reason why that might be the case.

Regardless of the identity of what is causing the problem or what is the identity of the problem, it's an actual and honest threat.Like I said before, it has the power to undo, unraval, and harass your life if steps aren't taken to deal with it while also working on yourself and the things in your life that you are cwishing to currently progress, improve, prosper.

After Huath comes Nin, which translates into English from Irish as things such as letter, forked letter, and part of a weaver's loom.It's kennings can be translated as establishing of peace, Boast of Women, and Boast of Beauty.

So yeah, this one is interesting. Among other things, I occasionally read this fid as a feminine letter character with feminine energy. Sometimes when I do this, it is because someone involved in the reading, being it the person I'm reading for or someone else that's being brought up in the reading itself, happens to be female. I see that you aren't female from taking a quick gander at your blog, so obviously that aspect isn't focused on or refering to you.

Of course, just because a large portion of the energy and meaning behind this fid is feminine by nature, doesn't mean a woman or feminine energy has to be involved at all. There has been occasions where men or non binary people were involved or being read to or for, and the focus on the reading with this letter character involved more of other aspects of the meanings and energies that make up Nin.

And while that could be what's happening here, I don't think so. I think that the first of the three kennings is what is being refered to here, what is showing up for you instead. While this kenning is commonly translated as Establishing of Peace, the word that translates as Establishing also can translate in kind to words such as checking, maintaining, keeping, etc. Also, the word that translates specifically as peace in this kenning specifically refers to the sí mounds and those folks who dwell there. I'm of the opinion that the core essence of this kenning is all about the building and maintaining of right relationships with otherworldly folks through hospitality, offerings, etc.

I think often of Daghda and his harassing with the descendants of Mil until they formed the pact with him, the Tuatha De Danann, and the Aos Sí, etc.

Of course, I read this one, when the first kenning comes up, as much as regarding mundane peace and relationships as it does spiritually.

So it could be that it's peace that you will have when you deal with and set right what's causing you and your life problems. It could also be that the problem itself, that threat that wishes to unraval your life like so much spun thread, is due to a relationship that you started to build but didn't properly maintain or manage along the way.  

If the source of the problem Loki has been trying to warn and alert you to happens to be a person, it could be that this person is female and that's a strong reason why this fid showed up for you as well. I'm not sure if this is the case, however, as I'm still unable to get a certain lock on the identity of this thing or person or situation at all. The details are very cloudy for sure.

Next is Gort. Gort translates as field, paster land, farmland, or even battlefield. It's kennings can be commonly translated asSweetest of Grasses, Suitble Places for Cattle, and the sating of Multitudes.

This fid showing up next to Nin goes a long way to make me feel and think that Nin is refering to the fight, the effort, the journey to create and maintain peace, especially in relationships. This letter character is telling you what you will receive once you are able to set things right, accomplish things to the best of your ability. Things will be set back to rights and you will have the resources you need to keep growing and thriving, especially spiritually, but in general as well. You will not have to hunger for understanding, for connection, especially with Loki.

Of course, he too will be sated by this. By working through this, dealing with and accomplishing things and settling or even dispursing the threat that's been developing and growing, will sate Loki and cause both his disapointment and irritation that he currently has leveled towards you to disapate altogether.

Last, but certainly not least, is Ngetal. It commonly translates as slaying or killing. It's kennings can commonly be translated as sustance of a Leech, Clothing of a Healer, and the Beginning of Slaying.

Yeah, this fid all but screams and crys out that the best way to fix things, restore things as they should be, is to excise the threat that is or will be causing you problems. The more it is allowed to grow and fester, the more harm it will do to you and your life.

This letter character is quite interesting as there's a strange dual nature to it's meanings. It's kennings can refer to healing or to fighting. What translates as healing or dealing with a healer, can also be translated as belonging to or part of a warrior. It's an interesting balance for sure. Even the beginning of slaying can be the slaying of an enemy or the operating upon a wound or injury that threatens to kill or destroy.

Operating upon, slaying, excising the problems that surround you will sate both you and Loki in the end.

I apologize that this reading took me so long to complete for you. The past week or so has been super busy, I'm still behind on finishing and posting or sending out readings, but I'm trying to get through them when I am able to. I hope this reading helps you in some way and thank you for giving me the oppertunity to read for you like this. Please let me know if there's any thing else I may be able to help you with.

[spirit-science-blog]

Let us begin first with the Demiurge. The Demiurge is an ancient Greek and Gnostic concept describing a consciousness that is essentially the creator of the physical reality, but not the supreme creative force behind all things.

An excellent way to explore this idea is through the Matrix, a Science-Fiction story that suggests everything we think we know of as the real world is nothing but an illusion, a false world within which most are imprisoned, unable to identify what is real effectively. As people go about their day to day lives, they think that their world is real, but every individual is plugged into an artificial reality severed from the real world. While people suffer, there is a tremendous benefit to the ruling overlords, who were a form of AI in the film. As it relates to us, this AI is, in essence - the Demiurge.

The Demiurge was described as a force, a deity, or a consciousness responsible for creating the physical world. However, in a way, it had imposed itself over top of the actual reality, the supreme oneness that created all things. In this, it was a false god who had assumed authority over the world, masking the living beings - namely us - from the supreme truth, the highest order of creation, and making us believe that what we experienced as real, the physical reality that we’re a part of, was the actual, authentic reality. Depending on the school and belief of the different Gnostic Sects, the Demiurge was seen either as something evil, deliberately trying to deceive us, or something that was merely ignorant or misguided of its place in the universe and of the rest of creation, which led to us becoming lost in the illusion as a result.

Said in simple terms - the Demiurge was the force behind the physical universe. Still, within our consciousness, so long as we perceived that physical to be real, we were slaves to the illusion of the false or at least incomplete reality.

To that end, these ancient people, at least those who were a part of the old mystery schools, believed that the physical reality was an illusion. They sought to liberate themselves from the illusion of reality through varying spiritual practices, from meditation to plant medicine ceremonies and everything in-between, to connect with higher realms of existence, and break free of the false world by finding the truth: the supreme oneness within. This is because even the demiurge and the physical universe still stemmed from the ultimate oneness, and the light of Truth could be found within. Known to the Gnostics as Sophia, meaning Wisdom in Greek, it was the act of awakening this divine spark within us to return to the higher realms that were the ultimate goal of many Gnostic Schools.

This is where we find the roots of Enlightenment and like-concepts from around the world, which teach that within this world of suffering, we can release ourselves from the illusion through various forms of mastery and self-discipline (physical, emotional, mental). This, of course, takes considerable effort and intention to do so. In essence - transcendent people do what is hard, and that’s why their lives are comfortable. People in suffering do what is easy, and that’s why their life is hard.

Fast forward to today, there is a tremendous volume of voices from across the internet, exploring ideas, concepts and sharing a metric-buttload of memes. But amidst the voices of the masses, we find a new concept emerging and being discussed in scientific and even some mainstream circles… an idea that proposes that the entire universe as we know it is a hologram or a simulation of some kind.

Scientifically speaking, if we look at the cosmos from the perspective of quantum mechanics, there is a general acknowledgment that we don’t understand the universe like we thought we did. We are seeing the building blocks of the universe, the subatomic particles, the waves, behaving in ways that do not make sense in the context of Classical Mechanics, which reveal discrepancies in the laws of physics. Yet, physics laws still stand and apply in a practical sense when talking about our macroscopic world, but the fabric of the reality that we live in operates by rules we have yet to uncover.

The holographic universe seems, in principle, to be very much like how you might expect a movie and a projector to work in tandem. When you watch a movie, you enjoy it linearly, going through it one frame at a time, usually at 24, 30, or 60 frames per second. The stories on the screen follow a narrative of some kind and generally speaking, there are definite laws that make-up the universe you are experiencing in the film.

Yet, the quantum world, on the other hand, is like observing the entire film, timelessly at any point, which includes zooming in on individual frames, playing things backward, forwards, the sequels, the prequels, all at the same time. The particles and waves that make up our reality are non-linear and could potentially imply notions of retrocausality. While they also follow their own set of laws, they are different from the world. We exist at a macro level. Another example of this is computer code. What you see on your computer or phone screen at any given time is a filtered projection of what is going on underneath, designed to be easy for you to interpret.

Yet, under these machines' surface, there is an incomprehensible computer language to nearly everyone. Languages like Binary and Machine Code are too simple to make complex algorithms effectively. Instead, programmers use ‘higher-level languages’ designed to be understood by humans to write code that is then translated into the lower, base-level machine code, then binary at the bottom. When you look at your phone or computer monitor, what you see ultimately comprises mountains of ones and zeros that lay under the surface of the digital world, just like what is under the surface of our reality.

You might be familiar with the ancient wisdom teaching, As Above, So Below. A concept that applies on several levels, describing that which exists in higher realities is a mirror of lower realities. With machine code and binary, ultimately, all of that computational code is equal to and actively creates the digital experience on your devices, but they are two entirely different paradigms.

This is the great challenge of modern science today, unifying quantum mechanics and general relativity because we are unable to comprehend yet how the physical world with tangible substance, continuity, gravity, life, time, and consciousness emerge from this flux field of quantum information, which appears to operate by a very different set of laws related to statistics and probability. Yet… are they so different?

The question then becomes, as many are theorizing today - could our entire reality be nothing more than a simulation? An artificial reality that our consciousness is plugged into? Some oddities have been captured on camera that some people believe are glitches in the matrix. Maybe it’s fake, who knows, but we do have this curious clip of a bird perched in midair without moving before flying away.

There was also news footage from Russia many years ago that someone caught an individual levitating on camera, but when the guy with the camera called out to them, the girl dropped down and ran away. Now again - I’m not trying to say this is hard evidence of a real-life matrix, but it indeed compels curiosity, and this is what it’s all about - humanity living in the question, in the mystery of life, and these strange occurrences that beg us to ask the question… What is the true nature of reality? Now on that note, I encourage you to please do your research, go down these rabbit holes for yourself, and make up your mind! In this way, you become a conduit of free thought, rather than following in the herd mentality of that which has been established for you by the powers that be. Even if physics laws as we know them today say that this is impossible, we also understand that physics laws are incomplete. We don’t even know how to fit Gravity into our standard model of physics properly… Perhaps unlocking these secrets will change everything for us.

And this brings us to the primary key of our conspiracy theory of everything, the basis from which everything to come will build off. The demiurge is, in essence, a lesson about the illusion of reality. As we conceive it to be, the entire world is based on what we perceive with our physical senses. A limited experience of the totality of that which exists in the whole universe. This idea suggests that this illusion of the cosmos is incomplete, and as long as we believe in only it by itself, we too shall remain incomplete. We live within a material universe, but there is more to the cosmos than just that, and as long as we choose to believe in this false reality, we will continue to perpetuate its existence. Only by embracing what we don’t know and asking the right questions can we begin to break free of the constraints that bind us.

In the Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean, there is a great deal of discussion that describes the human soul as a light trapped in a veil of the night, a metaphor suggesting that the night is the illusion of separateness, the soul disconnected from the supreme oneness, or trapped in illusions in general… basically, anything that is not the highest truth. It is the unilluminated mind that actively creates the reality that it perceives to be real. As such, humanity lives out its days in the darkness, veiled in the illusion of one's own beliefs, disconnected from a higher reality.  

This was portrayed excellently in Marvel's Dr. Strange when Steven denies anything beyond the material universe and then is shown a glimpse of the multidimensional nature of reality and that thoughts are things. He shows that we steer the reality field by our conscious intention, but as we become complacent in creating our lives, we give up control of the driver's seat, and who then is driving the ship? Anyone, and everything else. Jung called it the collective unconscious, the collective mind-field of everyone whose thoughts and feelings influence our very own decisions and actions by calculating their energetic weight. Whether it be the media, the news, advertisements, what your family or friends tell you, or things you happen across on the internet… Ultimately, all of it goes into our egos, shaping who we think we are, as we disconnect further from the nature of our being.

So the question then becomes, what IS the truth, what is the higher reality, and how do we connect with it? The ancient wisdom teachings describe that the quest for wisdom, or enlightenment, or the true nature of being - is a continuous journey into the unknown, and the illumination that we are active creators of our lives, not merely beholden unto the preconceived patterns that we’ve been following in.

The great truth we must understand about the demiurge is that we are the ones who actively perpetuate its existence by believing in the physical universe as the ultimate reality. Your beliefs shape the truth that you experience, as Dr. Bruce Lipton has demonstrated through his work with The Biology of Belief - the thoughts and ideas we hold in our minds can be scientifically proven to affect how our DNA and Cells express themselves.

If you believe you are a lowlife with nothing going on and will die alone and miserable, guess what kind of life you will lead? If you think you can change the world, imagine what kind of life you will lead? To break free of the limitations that we feel are imposed upon us, we must first believe that it’s possible to do so. We must open ourselves to a greater truth, a greater reality, one that is beyond the demiurge, and perceive a cosmic truth that forever changes life as we know it…

Yet, humanity is not paying attention to messages like this in mass, and there’s a reason for it. It is a very significant and critical thing. This one piece of the puzzle must be resolved for humanity to truly advance as a species and break free of illusion collectively…

Our journey down the Rabbit Hole is only just beginning…