#(vote spike he’s very spike coded)

[soullessjack]

mkay wait mlp brainrot is returning I need to settle that one poll I made

[scientia-rex]

When I was in ninth grade I wanted to challenge what I saw as a very stupid dress code policy (not being allowed to wear spikes regardless of the size or sharpness of the spikes). My dad said to me, “What is your objective?”

He said it over and over. I contemplated that. I wanted to change an unfair dress code. What did I stand to gain? What did I stand to lose? If what I really wanted was to change the dress code, what would be my most effective potential approach? (He also gave me Discourses on the Fall of Rome by Titus Livius, Machiavelli’s magnum opus. Of course he’d already given me The Prince, Five Rings, and The Art of War.)

I ultimately printed out that phrase, coated it in Mod Podge, and clipped it to my bathroom mirror so I would look at it and think about it every day.

What is your objective?

Forget about how you feel. Ask yourself, what do you want to see happen? And then ask, how can you make it happen? Who needs to agree with you? Who has the power to implement this change? What are the points where you have leverage over them? If you use that leverage now, will you impair your ability to use it in the future? Getting what you want is about effectiveness. It is not about being an alpha or a sigma or whatever other bullshit the men’s right whiners are on about now. You won’t find any MRA talking points in Musashi, because they are not relevant.

I had no clear leverage on the dress code issue. My parents were not on the PTA; neither were any of my friend’s parents who liked me. The teachers did not care about this. Ultimately I just wore what I wanted, my patent leather collar from Hot Topic with large but flattened spikes, and I had guessed correctly—the teachers also did not care enough to discipline me.

I often see people on tumblr, mostly the very young, flail around in discourse. They don’t have an objective. They don’t know what they want to achieve, and they have never thought about strategizing and interpersonal effectiveness. No one can get everything they want by being an asshole. You must be able to work with other people, and that includes smiling when you hate them.

Read Machiavelli. Start with The Prince, but then move on to Discourses. Read Musashi’s Five Rings. Read The Art of War. They’re classics for a reason. They can’t cover all situations, but they can do more for how you think about strategizing than anything you’re getting in middle school and high school curricula.

Don’t vote third party unless you can tell me not only what your objective is but also why this action stands a meaningful chance of accomplishing it. Otherwise, back up and approach your strategy from a new angle. I don’t care how angry you are with Biden right now. He knows about it, and he is both trying to do something and not doing enough. I care about what will happen to millions of people if we have another Trump presidency. Look up Ross Perot, and learn from our past. Find your objective. If it is to stop the genocide in Palestine now, call your elected representatives now. They don’t care about emails; they care about phone calls, because they live in the past. I know this because I shadowed a lobbyist, because knowing how power works is critical to using it.

How do you think I have gotten two clinics to start including gender care in their planning?

Start small. Chip away. Keep working. Find your leverage; figure out how and when to effectively use it. Choose your battles, so that you can concentrate on the battle at hand instead of wasting your resources in many directions. Learn from the accumulated wisdom of people who spent their lives learning by doing, by making mistakes, by watching the mistakes of their enemies.

Don’t be a dickhead. Be smarter than I was at 14. Ask yourself: what is your objective?

[cozzzynook]

Cybertronians used to have heat cycles until the Functionalists got rid of it by editing people's coding until they no longer had them.

However some places on Cybertron like Nyon were not under Functionalist control and people still had heat cycles. Except they were dormant because everyone was starving and it wasn't safe to have one.

Then during the war and the destruction of Nyon. No one with a heat cycle was left except for one. Rodimus had never had a heat cycle before because of growing up in Nyon and then the war. That was until the Lost Light when it suddenly started and he became extremely horny. Begging to be filled with sparklings and creating a nest for himself and acting really affectionate and clingy.

This mech is going through it.

He knows what a heat cycle is because he’d seen it a few times as a sparkling wandering the streets of Nyon. But he himself never experienced it.

He experiences the frame weakness and slight exhaustion he suffers among a few other things from the pains and hunger he suffered while living on Nyon but the actual heat cycle itself was something he never suffered.

Him going into a heat cycle is a slow and agonizing process even before he realizes just what it is.

He figured the adventures and lack of taking care of his health for so long was finally catching up to him. The extra extra tiredness. His frame feeling weaker than usual accompanied by the new occurrence of his hips spreading and his tanks puffing along with his energon pouches feeling far too sensitive inside his chassis. He put the crew up to vote if they wanted to keep going to planets or set the ship to cruise. Of course they picked cruise and he was very very grateful for it.

None of them knew it was because he was concerned for his health or the fact that he was beginning to suffer from his spark condition that he kept hidden. His spark would flutter and make venting hard at times. He would have to lay down to subside the pain usually only this time the pain was more like pleasure and he was finding himself more and more charged by the klik.

He decided he didn’t want to be alone on the ship where bots could find him like this so of course telling the crew they were going on a planet that was sunny and had a large ocean and a few places that were like resorts but it was a self serve type of resort did he feel a form of relief that was quickly lost the moment Drift and Ratchet wrapped an arm around his neck cables and waist making him melt on the spot.

His attempts at hiding how charged he currently was is poor at best and his attempts at making an excuse to slip away are terrible even to him.

He doesn’t go to a room where others can hear him, he slips into a cave where the waters crash against the rock drowning his screams of pleasure as he’s wrist deep in his drenched, squelching, fluid pooling valve that cycles and clamps down looking for a spike that he desperately needs.

Does he realize he is in heat.

Of course after a few unsatisfying overloads does he leave to go recharge in his room only for Drift and Ratchet to ask where he’s been and he blushes saying he wanted to be alone.

Its such a lie to all of them and before they can question him Megatron and Minimus appear grabbing him making his voice box short out in a loud telling moan that makes Drift and Ratchet bug eyed.

Rodimus wets himself on the spot when Megatron drapes him over his shoulder with ease and takes him back to Megatron and Minimus’s room where they purr and knead on his tanks and chassis.

“You could’ve told us you were in heat Rodimus,” Mwgatron’s voice has never so arousing.

“We would like to help you,” Minimus states with a vox so filled with charge his old accent is prevalent and Rodimus opens his legs wide snapping his modesty panel open to reveal a soaked needy valve just begging to be stuffed.

“How - how”

His thoughts are so hard but the two conjunx know what he’s asking.

“Because we can smell it on you,” Minimus simply says burying his faceplates into Rodimus’s node, licking like a starved mecha.

“We’re old enough to remember what heats are. We may not have them but in the areas we came from, our homes, in the lower districts no one bothered to care about, we still had mechs and femmes that used to enter heat.”

Megatron was so slick and skillful Rodimus didn’t even know he’d unclasped his chassis and that his energon pouches were out. Heavy, exposed, leaking and sore with his nozzles darker than he remembers.

“So fertile,” Minimus murmured into his valve as he ate him out.

“You taste so fertile and good. You’re completely Ready for our transfluid to fill you,” Minimus sucked a long stream of fluid from Rodimus’s valve and tipped his head back as he sat up making Rodimus whine.

“Would you like a taste dear?”

“Why of course my love,” Megatron pulled Minimus to him with one servo, while plunging his whole fist inside Rodimus’s unprepared valve making the mecha static and gasp frame twitching and shaking as his spinal struts struggled to keep him from lock shaking as his valve stretched wide open and clamped down only a tad more satisfied.

Megatrons tongue slid inside Minimus mouth and he drank every drop of fluid the mech managed to hold that his own throat tube wasn’t greedily hogging for himself.

“By primus you are born to be bred captain.”

Rodimus didn’t have a clue who said it but not a nano klik after hearing it, he’s not really sure time has become irrelevant, he’s feeling two large spikes slide into his overheating valve that clamps down onto them finally satisfied after what felt like vorns of aching mistreatment and he cries out spilling slick and tank fluids the two just know means he’s not gonna leave this berth without welcoming a new age of sparklings.

Its not long before other bots hear them loudly fragging inside the suite not to mention feel the vibrations of them harshly pounding into Rodimus’s poor valve and forge tanks that greedily take every drop of fluid they can offer him.

By the time they’re finished its been a full two weeks of constant fragging and Rodimus already looks heavy with a new spark.

Of course, Rodimus is too fucked out to be embarrassed by the state he’s in as they go back on the ship.

By the time he wakes the crew have already learned about their captain going into heat and that its something they all could do at one point.

By the time Rodimus is coherent and awake for longer than a few kliks he sees Ratchet and Drift talking with Megatron and Minimus. All four look to be discussing something of serious importance and he tries to get up he does. But his tanks are too heavy and makes him whimper as he falls back into berth making all four rush over to him.

Turns out Perceptor was working with Ratchet to undo the coding locks so bots could have a sparkling if they so desired.

Rodimus explains all he remembers on the subject as a sparkling in Nyon and it helps the two a great deal in making reproductive precautions and aides for fertility.

The most experience Ratchet gets however is joining Drift, Megatron and Minimus in doing up close and personal research with Rodimus.

His forge tank is completely willing and accepting of the four and takes all the transfluid it can get because his time with Minimus and Megatron surely did leave him sparked.

When he only gets bigger as time goes on its an easy guess as to why and Rodimus isn’t really upset about it.

But when he gets so much bigger than all the other bots who are sparked and he’s carrying even after other bots emerge their sparklings even when he himself was sparked before them, is it revealed he’s carrying multiple sparklings that belong to not only Megatron and Minimus but Drift and Ratchet as well.

He swells so much to the point of him being the subject of every optic until he can’t walk on his own anymore and becomes berth bound.

Its then he learns Ratchet, Drift, Minimus and Megatron made a deal to share him and keep him as their mate and broodmare.

Yeah he’s pissed but its not much he can do when he needs their transfluid and help to function since he’s so heavy with healthy sparklings.

Their healthy sparklings they fragged into him.

Sooo he figures allowing his carrier instincts that make him clingy and affectionate can be overlooked since they did this to him.

And okay it backfires because they kinda like it and maybe its not so bad being the one they choose to be their broodmare when he gets pede and back rubs all he wants a permanent cuddle bot till his fluids break.

He’s mad all over again when the sparklings emerge with big helms and healthy bodies that stretch him out to the point he fears his valve may never go back.

He’s especially mad when he learns a lot of mechs don’t have heats but a thing called ruts.

A heat made a mech want to be spiked and sparked, a rut made a bot want to spike and another sparked.

It was just his luck all four mechs who claimed him had ruts and fell into them at the same time not long after he’d given birth.

He was beyond pissed and clingy when he ended up sparked again not even a full year after emergence.

Much to his chagrin, they really meant it when they said he’d be their broodmare.

[kirby-rarepair-tourney]

Round 3, Poll 5!

Oh Hey, It's Almost Colour-Coded! Flamsoos VS Metajecra!

Which one's rarer, and which one's pairer? Vote now, for your favourite rarepair!

Propaganda:

Flamsoos

I think they're cute. Flamberge is the Mage Sister that would most help Susie get out of her comfort zone and grow, IMO

[Added by Poll Runner] Total opposites attract~! Fiery tomboy and cold cutesie girl~! It's amazing the way they could show each other new perspectives - Susie warms up and learns to be kinder, Flam learns an appreciation for tech and such!

Metajecra

In the anime, Meta speaks more highly of him more than anyone else. It’s EXTREMELY clear Meta was very fond of Knuckle Joe’s father, in the sub MK says that he “swears on his love”. ALSO their masks both have the matching four spikes, there HAD to be something going on there.

[asaka-lucy-dr-rc]

RAIN CODE Fan Meeting Report ③

From the second reading to the end of the of the daytime program.

Previous posts:

RAIN CODE Fan Meeting Report ①

RAIN CODE Fan Meeting Report ②

⚠️This is a looong post and contains spoilers! Only read this if you have already played RAIN CODE and have time.

After introducing the merchandise sold at the event, Fukuhara, Suzushiro, and Ishikawa gave a reading performance. The reading was a direct reenactment of the game's dialog from Chapter 1, when Halara's forensic forte was first shared with Yuma, so I will just leave out the details.

After that, KENN joined in and the four VAs gave a reading performance. This was a re-enactment of the part after the Mystery Labyrinth in chapter 2, where Kurumi gave Yuma information about the homunculus and Yuma shared it with other detectives of the Nocturnal Detective Agency. Yakou's lines were replayed by playing the voices in the game, and Fubuki's and Vivia's lines were simply omitted. In the actual story, Vivia mentions Death God here, implying that he knows Yuma is possessed by Shinigami, but those lines were left out, and Shinigami forced a punchline by being a bit silly instead. I remember it ending with a meta-statement like, "The most mysterious thing is that Fuzz Head's voice is heard even though he is not here."

I forgot to mention in my previous post that the entire script for the reading was done by Spike Chunsoft staff, and Kodaka was not involved at all. (From the way he talked, it sounded like he didn't even supervise it). So the story itself was not something worth explaining in detail. Just the VAs' performances were really perfect and wonderful :)

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The next segment, "Kanai Ward Citizen Survey", featured a game in which the VAs predicted which answer to a three-option question would receive the most votes from the audience. The audience was treated as Kanai Ward residents, and voting was done by clapping their hands. The person who best predicted the audience's answer won a book token printed with the main artwork of the RAIN CODE Fan Meeting.

The first question was as follows:

Q1.Which Forensic Forte would you use if you could? 1. Halara's Forensic Forte 2. Desuhiko's Forensic Forte 3. Fubuki's Forensic Forte

Maybe they dared to make it easy because it was the first question, but clearly Halara's abilities are too limited compared to the versatility of Desuhiko and Fubuki's abilities 😅 so the VAs predicted that it would most likely be either 2 or 3. And here's the result of their choice:

(The VAs were given placards to hold up to answer the questions.)

Then, the option that got the most votes from the audience was "3. Fubuki's Forensic Forte". To which the VAs said, "I knew everyone wanted to rewind time." lol

The level of popularity was Fubuki > Desuhiko >> Halara.

The next question was this:

Q2.Who is the detective you want to be your boss? 1. Yakou 2. Halara 3. Yuma before losing his memory. (Number One)

When Kodaka saw these options, he immediately commented as follows:

But Suzushiro said "Isn't Halara too strict? Yakou seems to be very subordinate-minded." Then Ishikawa said, "If I were to become Halara's subordinate, I would like to see Halara looking at pictures of cats."

(The gesture of looking through the gap is what she actually did on the stage!)

And here's the result of their choice:

I was so convinced by Ishikawa's opinion, but she actually raised Yakou's number. (She betrayed us! 😂)

Only Fukuhara chose 3 and was asked by the MC why:

(He really loves Yuma!)

Then, Kodaka commented as follows:

Fukuhara countered, "But don't you think it's good that he only shows his true face to me!?" (He seemed to imagine what would happen if he became Number One's secretary or entourage 😄)

But whether his arguments did not resonate with the audience or were simply not popular enough, the option that got the most votes from the audience was "1. Yakou".

The level of popularity was Yakou > Halara > Number One.

Q3.Which organization would you prefer to join? 1.World Detective Organization 2.Amaterasu Corporation 3.Resistance

Kodaka saw these options and again immediately commented.

(That's true 😂)

The VAs began to discuss these options and which organization would give them the best chance of survival. However, all of them are very risky 😅 WDO's work is fraught with danger (as a lot of detectives were actually killed in chapter 0), and workers in Amaterasu would be executed if suspected of rebellion. Of course, the Resistance is always fraught with danger!

After such discussion, here is what they chose:

When asked by the MC why they chose Amaterasu Corporation, Ishikawa and KENN replied:

(Becoming an Ama-Pal developer is certainly a fairly peaceful option 😆)

Fukuhara replied that the reason he wanted to join WDO was because of his love for Yuma, and Suzushiro said she wanted to use Forensic Forte.

And as a result of audience voting, the most popular option was "1.World Detective Organization".

The level of popularity was World Detective Organization > Amaterasu Corporation >>> Resistance. (FYI, WDO and Amaterasu were almost equally popular. WDO was slightly more popular).

Last Question: Which line do you want Shinigami to say? 1. "Kyahaha! Down the rabbit hole we go!" (JA: きゃっきゃっきゃ！　いざ、迷宮入りーーーー！！) 2. "Luminous darkness! Shining rainbow! Glorious stellar spiral! Bello Fresco Grand Finale!" (JA: ダークネスシャイニングファビュラスレインボービューティフルマックススクリューラブリーフレッシュグランドフィナーレ！！) 3. "I hope he dies with his upper body stuck in the pond." (JA: 池に上半身が突き刺さって死ねばいいのに)

*As for the third, I don't remember where Shinigami said it, so I made up the translation myself. I used "he", but it may have been said to a female character. The first and second should be correct because I checked the English version of the videos on YouTube.

As for the first line, KENN mentioned that this line was memorable, but I need to make some explanations so that you can see why he said it. This line is said by Yuma and Shinigami enter the Mystery Labyrinth, but it differs considerably between the Japanese and English versions. If I translate the original Japanese line into English, it should be like "Now enter the Labyrinth!" However, in Japanese, it actually shares a meaning with another word that has a different meaning, but if it were put into English, it would lose that meaning, so it was probably changed to something completely different. In Japanese, when things are left unresolved, the thing is described as having entered a labyrinth. So KENN commented that he found it interesting that a word that was originally used in this sense was literally used in the sense of entering a labyrinth.

The second line is the one that Shinigami says at the end of Mystery Labirinth, when she reaps the soul of the true culprit:

Kodaka said it was based on the scene when the main characters perform a special move in the Pretty Cure series, a famous Japanese anime for girls. Suzushiro said that she searched for videos of Pretty Cure on YouTube and used them as a reference for her performance. When I heard this, I remembered that the title of the music played in the scene is "Heart Catch! Convict! Convict!" in the OST. I think "Heart Catch" is based on a title of one of the Pretty Cure series: HeartCatch PreCure! - Wikipedia

By the way, for Japanese Otaku, "heart catch" is also a word with a different meaning. I know the correct grammatical order in English should be "catch heart", but Japanese otaku dare to say "heart catch" when a cruel character grabs someone's heart (as an organ). So I think the reason for such a music title is a cross between the Shinigami harvesting the soul scene and the cute image of Pretty Cure.

Sorry for the long explanation! 😣 And my memory is a little fuzzy as to which answer the VAs chose here. I think 2 was the most popular. And in fact, 2 was the most popular among the audience, and Suzushiro actually read the line out loud!

The level of popularity was 2 > 1 >>> 3.

As a result of this game, it was Suzushiro who was the best at guessing the audience's answers! She received the book token and declared that she would use it to buy some RAIN CODE books :)

------

In the next segment, "RAIN CODE Maniac Quiz", the audience answered super-geeky questions about RAIN CODE. All questions were true/false and the audience answered by opening their fist for true and clenching their fist for false.

The audience was first asked to stand, and the person who made the mistake was treated as having left the quiz at that point and was seated. And when there were only a few people standing, the game was over. Those who stayed until the end received limited edition merchandise. (They received a card that looked like a pass).

This quiz was full of really difficult questions! 😅 There were 7 questions in total. I encourage you to see if you can answer them.

The questions were as follows:

The tallest person in Amaterasu Corporation is Dominic. True or false?

2. It is in Chapter 4 that Shinigami shows the pose in the following image. True or false?:

3. The word "WINE" is written on the label of the wine bottle* used in the case in Chapter 2. True or false? * The bottle was used as a prop for a play by the Aetheria Academy Theater Club.

4. The cat in the photo Halara was looking at in Chapter 1 had blue eyes. True or false?

5. The color of Pucci's stuffed bear* was white. True or false? * It is the stuffed bear that was sitting on a chair in Pucci's room in Chapter 0.

6. The load capacity of Ama-pal is 120 kg. True or false?

7. In chapter 1, the amount Halara asked for as the price for helping Yuma was 5,500,600 shien. True or false?

The order of the questions may differ from the order of the actual quiz, but in any case, only those who answered all of these questions correctly were eligible for the prizes.

The correct answers are written at the very end of this post!

------

Finally, the participants gave their closing remarks. The VAs all said that it was the first time they had seen the fans since the game was released, and that it was nice to know for the first time that these people love RAIN CODE.

Ishikawa said that even from the stage she could see some fans wearing merchandise shirts or carrying Shinigami bags, and felt that RAIN CODE is really loved.

Fukuhara said that he was very happy because this was the first time he had been able to talk with spoilers. (He had been on the RAIN CODE introduction live stream before RAIN CODE was released, so he had had many opportunities to talk about RAIN CODE, but this was the first time he had done so with spoilers).

The following is Kodaka's final comment, which I tried to write as accurately as possible:

"It took six years to make RAIN CODE, and as you can see from the credits, there were a lot of people involved in making RAIN CODE. I was nervous about releasing it because it was the result of so many people's efforts, and I was worried about whether how many people would like it, but I am glad that there are a lot of fans who have gathered here with such enthusiasm. I am sure that RAIN CODE will have new developments and other things to come, so please continue to support us. Thank you very much."

After the closing remarks, Shinigami's announcement began. Shinigami then asked the audience, "Did you have a great time?" and the audience responded with applause 👏👏

------

Correct answers to the RAIN CODE Maniac Quiz! :

1.✅ True. (Dominic's height is 225 cm (7'4").) 2.✅ True. (You can see this pose in the result of the second Shinigami Puzzle in Chapter4.) 3.❌ False. (It was labeled LEQUELR.)

4.❌ False. (Black is correct.) 5.❌ False. (Pink is correct.) 6.❌ False. (100kg is correct.) 7.❌ False. (5,500,800 shien is correct.)

How many questions did you get right? I got the third question wrong and dropped out 😝 (In a post-event interview in the media, Kodaka said he did not know the correct answer from the first question. lol)

This is the end of the daytime program!

Next:

[molsno]

Now that Neo Danganronpa 56 is over, I can FINALLY post about my mastermind: Kyra Acker, the Ultimate Neuroscientist. There’s a long recap about her and the killing game below the cut. Content warnings for murder and suffocation.

Nero Tamochi promised Kyra she would be able to continue Danganronpa and become an Ultimate Despair worthy of rivaling Junko Enoshima. So she took up an offer his sister, Vivian Tamochi, the Ultimate Programmer, made to collaborate on a virtual reality program that interfaced directly with the human brain. Of course, Kyra intended on betraying Vivian by using it to use the program to continue Danganronpa.

After Nero Tamochi used the other members of Ultimate Despair, the members of Kyra’s class, Class 2, to initiate a real-world Tragedy like what was seen in the original Danganronpa games by dropping a nuclear bomb on Hope’s Peak, he and the rest of his class, Class 3, were transported to an island for protection. Little did Hope’s Peak know that Nero Tamochi was the one behind it all. After a year on the island, he started Neo Danganronpa 54.

Kyra was furious. All of the other members of Ultimate Despair knew about Nero’s plans, and they didn’t tell her about them. So unbeknownst to them, she defected, joining the Future Foundation, which was founded to stop the Tragedy. Of course, she intended to betray the Future Foundation as well. She was hellbent on continuing Danganronpa, and even if her game couldn’t be first, then at least it would be the best. Seeing the pathetic excuse for a killing game that 54 was, she was determined to make her game even better.

Then, unexpectedly, another killing game started only a month after 54. This time it was run by a billionaire named Jacques Hughes, who had found the members of Class 4, who were thought to have died in the bombing of Hope’s Peak, and forced them into a killing game for two reasons:

For the entertainment of a world obsessed with despair.

As a birthday gift to his sickly daughter Antimony, who he had cloned over and over and performed multiple biological experiments on to stop her from dying every few years.

After Hughes abandoned 55 and fled in a helicopter when Vivian and the others refused to vote and demanded to see him face the consequences of his crimes, Kyra was even more furious to see the franchise she was so desperate to revive made a mockery of. The Future Foundation rescued the survivors shortly after, and Kyra worked closely with them to help them recover their lost memories. After some time, Hughes was located and brought into Future Foundation custody, and so were his daughter and all of his employees.

Shortly after, the Future Foundation began tracking down the Remnants of Despair and taking them into custody. The Future Foundation president, Isaac Stoke, wanted to put them all to death for their heinous crimes, but Vivian convinced him to let them undergo rehabilitation. At first she suggested using the program she and Kyra developed, but he refused, only allowing it as a last resort in case normal rehabilitation failed. He wanted nothing more than to prevent another Danganronpa from occurring.

So, each of the Remnants met with Kyra, who secretly erased their memories of her involvement with them before assigning them a therapist to treat them. It took nearly 6 months of therapy nearly around the clock for all of them to be fully recovered. Once they were, the program was no longer needed, so it was stored away in a room that only Vivian and Kyra had access to.

Kyra began making changes to the program in order to set it up for the killing game. After all her preparations were complete, she put them all in the program in the middle of the night. There were just two exceptions:

She put Antimony in the program.

She brought Hughes into the room as well, tied up and unable to move.

She had several goals with the killing game. First, she wanted to use it to kill all of the Remnants of Despair, who had betrayed her and caused a horrific Tragedy to occur all over the world. To do this, she would manipulate Cara, who was the most obsessed with Nero, into committing a gruesome murder of someone she was close to, by making her remember Nero in the 5th chapter. Then, she would be waiting in the general manager’s office after Cara emerged from the elevator, and murder her. Due to the spikes she implanted in the simulation pods that would penetrate the user’s skull upon death in the program, their death in the real world could be guaranteed. Unfortunately for her, the other students figured out that Cara was the culprit, and so Kyra lost her last opportunity to kill them all.

Her second goal was to kill Hughes and Antimony, keeping the blood off her hands the whole time. Hughes’ death was understandable. She knew Antimony was innocent, however. To her, the fact that she had been cloned over and over was unethical. She had previously destroyed all of her remaining clones, leaving only this one alive. She thought it was ethical to end Antimony’s suffering once and for all.

To achieve this, she gave Antimony a note to meet her in the break room, then used the secret slide in her restroom into the general manger’s office, and logged out of the program. Due to the way the program worked, her avatar was still in the general manager’s office, completely immobile without a consciousness being uploaded into it. She forced Hughes into her simulation pod, who found himself in her avatar in the program. He exited the general manager’s office, dazed and confused. Antimony, who believed only the mastermind had access to the general manager’s office, murdered who she thought was Kyra by suffocating her to death, but little did she know it was actually her own father. The spikes in the pod penetrated his skull, killing him for good.

The other students found Kyra’s body and naturally assumed that she had become the first victim of the killing game. In a tearful class trial, they voted for Antimony, who was executed by Monokuma.

Kyra dragged Hughes’ body out of the pod and logged back in. Due to the time dilation within the program, about 12 times more time had passed than in the real world. Fast forward 24 days within the program, and only 2 days have passed in the real world. The 6 remaining students found many interesting things in their investigation of the program. Most notably, they found out that Kyra was scouted as the Ultimate Neuroscientist. She had lied to all of them and claimed to be the Ultimate Chemist so that it would not be immediately obvious that she was the mastermind when they found out that it was a simulation that interfaced directly with their brains. Moreover, they found that she didn’t have a file documenting what she did as a Remnant of Despair. Among other evidence, it became very evident that she was the mastermind all along.

Kyra revealed herself in the final class trial, and revealed the truth behind their voting options. If they chose to Graduate, then Faust’s (one of the players, long story) personality and memories would be overwritten by nothing, effectively turning him into a vegetable in the real world. If they chose the Future Foundation’s other method, to simply log out of the program, then at the end of the broadcast, the source code and everything else needed to run the program would be aired all over the world, effectively allowing Danganronpa to continue forever.

Vivian and the other two Future Foundation members found a solution. Because of the time dilation within the program, only two days had passed in the broadcast. They had several weeks to find out how the killing game was being broadcast and shut it down.

Kyra panicked. If that happened, everything she’s worked for would go to waste. Even worse, Vivian and the others told her she was nothing more than a pawn for Nero. She did exactly what he wanted her to do. All this time, Kyra truly believed she was doing this for herself. She didn’t side with Nero or the Remnants of Despair or the Future Foundation or anyone. But in the end, she was just another victim of Nero’s manipulation. Rather than face the truth and see all of her hard work go to waste, she executed herself. She would rather die than admit that she was used. Of course, she wouldn’t actually die in the real world. The spikes in her pod were already used on Hughes, and were firmly lodged in his skull. She would simply be comatose for a while instead, but that didn’t matter to her. She couldn’t accept defeat.

Kyra has become one of my favorite characters over the past year that I’ve been planning this killing game. She did many unforgivable, downright evil things. But she, like everyone else in this series, was a victim of Nero Tamochi. She wasn’t inherently evil like he was. Deep down she’s nothing more than a nerdy scientist who sees herself as intelligent, independent, and determined. And Nero took advantage of all of those traits.

I took so many precautions in order to make Kyra’s reveal as climactic and surprising as possible, all the while dropping hints throughout the game that subtlely pointed to her. The most impressive feat was claiming I had a friend named Amber who would be playing Kyra in the killing game as early as January. I logged into “Amber”’s account nearly every day at set times and changed her profile picture every few months. I occasionally popped in our server to talk as “Amber”, using a different way of typing. After Kyra died in game, “Amber” claimed to have family issues, which is why she was ok with dying first, and I made her less active over the remaining course of the game. I did ALL of it to convince everyone that “Amber” was a real person, when it was really just me all along.

I’m so thrilled that NDR56 went so perfectly. I’ve been working toward this reveal and ending for the past year, and everyone loved it. And I’m even more happy that I can finally talk about Kyra, and hopefully I’ll get to RP as her again soon!

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

After a huge night on Super Tuesday — and with all his major opponents1 except Sen. Bernie Sanders having dropped out — former Vice President Joe Biden is a strong favorite to win the Democratic nomination, according to the FiveThirtyEight forecast.

We’d encourage you to approach the forecast with a bit of caution for the next few days until we have new polling and a better sense of what the post-Super Tuesday landscape looks like. There are several uncertainties to keep in mind:

Many states, especially California, are not yet done counting their votes. In California, the results could shift significantly based on late-returned mail ballots. Under the state’s rules, ballots only need to have been mailed out by election day, so millions of votes are literally still in the mail.

Two candidates, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have just dropped out, and while the model makes some educated guesses about where their support will go, it may be wrong about that.

Super Tuesday itself could have a substantial effect on the polls — most likely in the form of a bounce for Biden. The model, again, makes educated guesses about the size of these bounces. But those guesses may not be right: Biden got a much bigger South Carolina bounce than is typical for that state, for example; while Sanders got little, if any, bounce after winning Nevada when the model expected him to get one.

Making matters trickier, it’s also not entirely clear what the race was like prior to Super Tuesday because Biden’s ascent in the polls was quite rapid and there were few national polls during this period.

With that said, even if there’s some uncertainty here — perhaps a bit more of it than the model lets on — things don’t look good for Sanders. He has several compounding problems:

First, he’s already behind by around 70 delegates, according to our estimates, based on returns in each state as currently reported. That deficit could get worse because there are some signs that late-returned mail ballots in California will help Biden — a reflection of the fact that Biden surged in the race in the final few days before Super Tuesday.

As mentioned, Biden will probably get a bounce in the polls as a result of his Super Tuesday wins. The model’s guess (accounting for its projected Super Tuesday bounce for Biden and the effects of Bloomberg and Warren dropping out) is that he’s currently ahead by the equivalent of 6 or 7 points in national polls. So although momentum could shift back toward Sanders later on, it may get worse for him in the short run.

Some of Sanders’s best states (California, Nevada) have already voted, and the upcoming states generally either aren’t good for him or have relatively few delegates. In fact, given how broadly Sanders lost on Super Tuesday — including in northern states such as Minnesota, Massachusetts and Maine — it’s hard to know where his strengths lie, other than among young progressives and Hispanics, who are not large enough groups to constitute a winning coalition in most states. Conversely, it’s easy to identify places where Sanders will likely lose badly to Biden. Our model has Biden winning a net of about 85 delegates over Sanders in Florida on March 17, where Sanders’s polling has been terrible, and a net of about 35 delegates in Georgia, which votes on March 24.

There aren’t that many delegates left after March. Some 38 percent of delegates have already been selected. And by the time Georgia votes in two-and-a-half weeks, 61 percent of delegates will already have been chosen. So even if Sanders did get a big, massive momentum swing late in the race, it might not be enough to allow him to come back, with only about a third of delegates still to be chosen.

Finally, even if Sanders does come back, it might merely be enough to win a plurality rather than a majority of delegates. We project that roughly 150 delegates — or about 4 percent of the total of 3,979 pledged delegates available — belong to candidates who have since dropped out or to Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, even after accounting for the fact that statewide delegates are reallocated to other candidates once a candidate drops out.2 That creates an additional buffer that will make it harder for Sanders to win a majority.

So basically, Sanders has to come back quickly when the momentum is currently against him in a bunch of states that are not very good for him — or it will be too late. It’s not impossible. But the chances are low. The model gives Biden an 88 percent chance of winning a majority of pledged delegates, with most of the remaining outcomes being “no majority” rather than a Sanders majority. It also gives Biden a 94 percent chance of winning a plurality of pledged delegates, and Sanders a 6 percent chance.

Again, that’s not impossible. Any chance that’s 5 percent or higher is within what you might think of as the model’s “margin of error.” The model does not account for other real-world contingencies such as Biden dropping out because of a health problem. (It assumes that the delegate leader never drops out of the race.) But the comeback path is not going to be easy for the senator from Vermont.

The one potential opening for Sanders is that the recent volatility in the polls could imply further volatility in the days and weeks ahead. This is one thing we looked at while the model was “off” over the past couple of days: Is recent polling volatility predictive of future volatility?

I’m skipping a bunch of steps here, but the basic answer is “yes.” There are short-run spikes of volatility in the polls, just as there are short-run spikes of volatility in the stock market. We’ve now implemented code reflecting this in the model, which slightly improves Sanders’s chances relative to what they would have been otherwise.

Note that the volatility could run in either direction, however. It could mean that Biden completely runs away with the race and wins Michigan by 25 points or something next week.

But since Sanders is a substantial underdog in the race, the more volatility the better for him. He’ll take his share of 25-point losses if he can get his share of upset wins. And the model does reflect the substantial uncertainty in Michigan, a state where polls have historically not been very good, giving Sanders a 21 percent chance of winning there. Even a win in Michigan would just be the first step in a long journey back to front-runner status for Sanders — but every comeback has to start somewhere.

[cityandstonerp]

Stoneclan

Junkclan’s rival clan in every way, Stoneclan’s territory is based in a sparse forest marked by many rocky cliffs that ultimately lead up to a mountain at the edge of their territory. The forest also has more stone in general compared to other forests, much of the ground being broken by boulders, long buried in the dirt. Stoneclan thrives on the blessing of many types of pine trees, giving them and potential prey shelter no matter the season. Mice, birds, squirrels, voles, rabbits, and some minnows and frogs are the most common prey in the territory, but further away from the most rocky terrain of their territory, moles can be found burrowing in the ground.

Every moon, medicine cats and leaders travel through their territory to a cave in one of the cliffs to speak with Starclan. Every time they hope not to run into a fierce patrol of Junkclan, with their leader flanked by their powerful guards. Communicating with Starclan is the priority. 

Because of the stony nature of the territory, snakes are very common for Stoneclan, taking shelter between boulders. One collection of rocks and boulders Southwest of their territory is notable for housing many of them. Other common predators include birds of prey that shelter in trees and the mountain behind the clan territory, dogs, foxes, and on a very rare occasion, cougars. 

                                                   Camp

Stoneclan makes its home in nothing short of a pile of rocks. Located deep in their territory towards the mountain, the trees grow thickest around the camp before starting to narrow back out close to the mountain and its cliffs. Brambles are used to guard the perimeter of camp, but warriors are always assigned to sit high on the rocks to keep watch as well.

The Leader’s Den: Between the two top rocks of the rock pile is a cozy space large enough for the leader and one other cat. These two rocks also make an excellent place for the leader to sun themselves as well as make announcements.

The Medicine Den: Set apart from the clans’ other rocky dens is a large fallen log, hollowed out from previous moons. One part of the log has a hole in the top, giving the medicine cats the ability to fall asleep gazing at the starlight on clear nights. Surrounding the den is the medicine cats’ garden where herbs are grown and harvested.

The Warriors’, Apprentices’, and Elders’ Den: Underneath the leader’s den is more rocks. Hidden in these boulders are surprisingly large spaces where the cats can sleep and take shelter. 

The Nursery: Underneath the medicine den is a burrow, where queens and their kits are kept safe and warm. Warriors guard the nursery night and day.

                                 Territory Landmarks

Snake Ravine: A deep ravine in the southwest end of the territory where snakes house between the cracks of boulders. Apprentices are forbidden from traveling here alone. 

Tall Cliff: A staggered, towering cliff North of camp and close to the mountains, where apprentices are taken to practice their climbing skills. The ground is mossy and soft at the foot of the cliff, making the climb safe for trainees. Battle moves are practiced at the base of the cliff as well.

Mole Hill: A sparse clearing of soft earth Southeast of camp towards Junkclan territory where moles, mice, and other burrowing creatures can often be found. This hill and the area around it is a common hunting ground.

Narrow Creek: A small creek that winds through the East to West of Stoneclan territory. Stoneclan cats get their water, cool down, and catch minnows and amphibians from it.

The Dog House: A rackety old dog house right on Junkclan and Stoneclan’s border close to the junkyard fence. Rumor has it that there’s a dog on the other end of the chain there.

The Star Cave: In Stoneclan's forest territory, a cave deep in a cliffside holds a pool of water that drips from the cavern's ceiling. The leader and medicine cats drink from this pool to converse with Starclan.

                                   History and Culture

Many moons ago, a vision was sent to a kittypet named Spike to follow the life of a clan cat, and build a life outside the twolegplace following the code given to him by a clan from the stars. The inspired tom traveled through every nook and cranny of the twoleg place to call every cat to join him, both rogues and kittypets alike, and when he had gathered a large group of followers, they made their home in the forest that Leafbare. However, the cats that Spike had gathered were used to their comfortable lives. When leafbare came and the clan cats had to put more effort into hunting, many complained and started to threaten to leave the clan altogether. Although there were some loyal warriors who were dedicated to staying, Spikestar feared that his clan would fall apart if he didn’t make compromises. In a decision called the Code Compromise, Spikestar chose to ignore parts of the Warrior Code in order to keep more cats in his clan. This rejecting of the Code lead to more and more compromises and changes, and the old Code started to become legend. Moons later, the clan’s medicine cat, Tingletail, received a vision from Starclan urging him to break away from the Code-bending Junkclan. Him, along with others, left the clan and went back to the forest territory where they truly belonged. Tingletail became Tinglestar, leader of the newly formed Stoneclan.

Generations later, the already rebellious Junkclan met with Stoneclan in a gathering. Their leader Driftstar declared war on Starclan itself, fully turning away from honor and tradition - things that Stoneclan holds most dear. While the two clans once bitterly tolerated each other, Stoneclan now considers the border clan their deepest enemy.

Stoneclan strictly follows the Warrior Code, and has no tolerance for any rule breaking or bending. They have seen what it leads to.

Cliff climbing is considered a valuable skill and asset in warriors, especially using that skill to hunt. Birds are a delicacy to Stoneclan cats, and catching birds of prey sets a warrior’s fame for life. 

Because the Warrior Code and clan history is so important to Stoneclan, some apprentices with an enthusiasm for such things also train to become Code Keepers. They collect and share stories, making sure that important names are always remembered through the generations and the Code is kept consistent from leader to leader. History Keepers also serve as the leader’s council, and can vote in favor or against the leader’s decisions. If a leader or deputy becomes corrupt, they even have the grounds to banish them by majority vote.

When a cat wishes to be mates with another cat, they present them with a cardinal feather as a proposal.

[nxjusticehere]

Escape the Motherloving Nightmare - Part 5

Tag list:  @undocumented-terriaki @risiskifi @virge-of-death @i-do-stuff-sometimes-notreally @shay-untitled @uraeus56 @supersepticsteph @margarita-is-the-answer @derisiveharridan @brookeisanerd @reeeeeaaper @aquilacalvitium @squishy-anon

Silence reigns as they approach the great granite doorway stood in the middle of a clearing on the far edge of town. It’s attached to no building, but they’ve all learned by now that that means nothing. There’s a large stone stood to either side of the doorway, the outer sides each sporting four colored buttons.

The premise is simple. Two of them, selected by vote, will remain behind, keeping the door open by sharing and inputting the color codes that light up on the opposite stone. So long as they enter the correct codes in time, the doors will remain open. Meanwhile, the rest of the group will pass through the doorway to retrieve the artefact from the Demon’s Keep. For every mistake made, a gong will sound and the door will begin to close. Once the doors shut they will not be opening again.

“Wait,” Shane is more than a little concerned as he unconsciously steps back, “Are you saying there’s a chance we could basically all die in this?”

“You say that like you’re surprised.” Lucas, the Madman, is bringing up the rear, wearing the same look of disinterest that he’s worn for every task that has lead them here.

This vote isn’t like the others. They’re not voting for someone to die, they’re voting for who is going to keep the rest of them alive. Even so it’s not easy to keep the underlying angers, grudges, and annoyance from their minds as they each cast their vote.

The Savant is the first to be drawn, definitely uneasy and not sure whether to feel relieved that he has no chance of dying, or afraid that he has so many lives resting in his hands.

No one is surprised as Calliope raises the Madman’s card, a perfect recreation of Lucas’s face, right down to the aggravated black lines across his skin. Everyone, save for his brother is honestly a little afraid of him. Why is he in this game? How can he care so little about the consequences? You’d be hard pressed to find someone who would find it a shame were he to die.

Dirk stares at his brother, trying to get a read on him, but there’s nothing but stoic annoyance on the idiot’s face. It takes quite a shove from Ro to finally get Dirk’s attention, the Jet-Setter raising her eyebrows and very not-subtley inclining her head at Lucas.

The two of them had had a brief talk earlier, away from the rest of the group. A quiet discussion in which she heavily implied that Lucas is not being entirely truthful about something and maybe Dirk should try and get it out of him. No doubt she thinks this might be the perfect opportunity for the two of them to talk.

“Wait,” The Detective steps forward, a hand raised, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “I volunteer to take Joey’s place.”

“You can’t do that.” Liza says sternly, honestly just wanting to go through that door and back again. The sooner this starts, the sooner it will be over.

“I don’t mind!” Joey interjects, and everyone turns to Calliope.

She glances between them all, pausing before saying, “If everyone agrees.”

Before the group has a chance to devolve into chaotic arguments that just waste time they probably don’t have, Dirk raises his hands and speaks firmly and confidently.

“Has anyone heard of the single-soul theory?”

The general confusion would suggest the answer is probably no, though Safiya gets a curious look on her face. Not surprising; of the group, she’s the one Dirk would expect to have at least heard of it. But the only response he’s watching for is his brother’s

You can practically hear the cogs turn as the unspoken message is received and Lucas shrugs.

“I say we let him do it.”

The twins each step up to one of the stones, able to see over them to the other side while the group stands in nervous anticipation between them. Nobody trusts the apparent simplicity of this task, there’s probably something very sinister at work here but there’s no time to dwell.

“Blue, red, green, green.” Lucas calls out the first code and Dirk punches it in on his stone.

The doors swing wide, neither of the twins able to see through it from their standpoint, only able to watch as the group walks through.

“Green, blue, yellow, red.” Dirk calls back.

Time passes, both of them losing track of it as they continue to put in the codes. The air between them is tense and awkward but they’re used to it by now.

Lucas is the one to break the silence.

“I didn’t think you believed in the single-soul theory.”

A widely speculated but mostly unsubstantiated theory that twins are born as a single soul shared between two bodies. As they grow, they become more individual while managing to maintain a mental and spiritual closeness that is unobserved in the rest of the population.

“Neither of us has said a single color in the last five minutes,” Dirk points out, “yet we haven’t missed a code.”

He would hardly call himself a believer of the theory, but he’s more of a skeptic than a naysayer. Maybe when they were younger, when they did everything together, and people struggled to tell them apart, he would have believed it but when they were about twelve years old, something changed. Dirk had assumed it was something to do with puberty, or maybe there was something in their environment, but Lucas started to push him away. He started to push everyone away no matter how hard they tried to reach him, and after what happened at Drew Studios, everything just fell to Heck.

Reaching across he presses the yellow button, then green, then the blue twice, his hand guided by instinct. After a moment, his lights blink out a new sequence; the code was correct. Yeah, there’s definitely something here.

“Why did you really volunteer?” Lucas asks as he puts in the next code, unprompted.

“Ro said you keep getting this look,”

“What look?”

“Like you’re hiding something.”

“Ah. So you want to keep an eye on me.”

Dirk glances up at his brother. Lucas is skinny, clearly unwell, his hair’s all over the place and even beyond that he has an air of scruffiness about him. Though the guy has been AWOL for the last few years, and Dirk won’t even pretend to know what happened to him, he can see that Ro was right. There’s just….something this guy isn’t saying.

“What I want is to help you.”

The laugh Lucas gives is hollow and almost makes Dirk want to punch him. “I’m beyond your help, little brother.”

Dirk scowls. “You’re the little brother.”

A shriek beyond the door, snaps both their attention to it.

“Was that-?”

“Dirk, what’s the code?”

Whatever link they may have had before is broken, the Madman staring blankly at the lights, blindly reaching for the instinct that had been driving him before, but grasping at nothing. His anxiety quickly spikes. Dirk is distracted, oblivious, staring at the door.

“Dirk!” Lucas snaps, finally getting his brother’s attention long enough to look at the code.

“Yellow, red, bl-” he starts.

A high-pitched scream sounds from beyond and that’s it. The Detective slams his hand on top of the stone, easily vaulting it in one leap and rushing for the door. As he passes just through the arch, a loud gong sounds. They’ve missed a code.

He skids to a stop as the doors slightly close in on him, just barely past the arch, hearing Lucas shouting obscenities but it’s too late at this point, the only thing they can do is make sure the others make it through the door in time.

Beyond the door is an empty grey hallway that turns off a short way down the path, filled with a foul stench that the Detective would rather not identify, though it’s strong enough to topple an army. If he were to guess, this hallway is near the heart of the Demon’s Keep and the group can’t be that far away.

Dirk cups his hands round his mouth and shouts, his voice bouncing off the walls. Within less than a minute, Safiya, Alex, and Liza speed into view, all of them passing Dirk without a second thought as he continues to call out. Shane isn’t far behind, carrying the artefact, only stopping for a second as Dirk grabs a hold of his arm.

“Where’s Ro?”

“I don’t know,” Shane gasps, not really comfortable being stopped so close to being on the good side of the door, “She was with Joey.” With that the Renegade pulls out his grip and runs through the door.

Another gong sound and the doors close a little more again. There’s just barely enough room for a person to pass through at this point, and after the next one, the doors will close.

That’s all the motivation he needs, ready to dash forward and carry the others back to the door if he has to. Before he can even take a step, firm and desperate fingers grasp tightly to the Detective’s wrist, holding fast and not allowing him to move even slightly.

Lucas, having slid through the small gap in the doors has a tight hold of his brother and tries to drag him back through. There’s no reason for all of them to die.

“Let me go!” The Detective rages, twisting and turning in an attempt to break free. He’s sick of all this death. Is it too much to want to finish one game with every single person still breathing? Is that such a crime! Is that such a bad thing! But Lucas is nothing if not stubborn, holding tight and refusing to let go. Of course it’s beyond his understanding. Why would a murderer understand!

‘What happened to murderer?’

Dirk’s struggle stumbles as he realises what he’s just thought, unintentionally proving his brother’s distrust of him right. Lucas takes full advantage of it, bending to throw the Detective over his shoulder and just barely managing to squeeze them both through the barely open doorway, just as the final gong sounds. The doors thud shut behind them.

Everyone is gasping as Dirk is thrown to the floor, each of them shaking with adrenaline and fear, none of them okay with what they’ve just lived through.

“I’m sorry.” They all jump, having forgotten Calliope was still there, turning to her with looks of utter heartbreak. “The Jet-Setter did not make it.”

Joey steps from beside the door, clearly shaken and afraid. He must have slipped by while the brothers were fighting.

Dirk’s movements are slow as he pushes himself to stand again, chest awash with a hateful mix of confusion and anger. She didn’t deserve this! She didn’t deserve to be left behind! If Lucas would have just-

A loud -SMACK- splits the air as the Madman’s hand slaps the Detective across the face. A hand raised to his reddened cheek, Dirk stares in shock as his brother begins to scream at him.

“I needed the fucking code!” the pure rage pushes everyone but Dirk away. “And why did you run in-”

Words devolve into heavy coughing, Lucas seemingly choking on his own anger as he screams, only the words aren’t continuing and the coughing only gets worse.

A hand against Dirk’s chest shoves him back as the Madman bends double practically hacking his lungs inside out while he attempts to drag any amount of breathable air into them.

When he straightens up, his right eye is almost completely black, while the veins that litter his already too pale skin have stretched even further across it.

Everyone stares, none of them sure of how to process whatever it is they’ve just witnessed. As Lucas looks over them all, they step back, a predatory look in his eyes and a shiver running down their backs. Only the Detective stands firm, meeting his brother’s stern glare with his own look of determination.

“We should leave.” Lucas growls, a strange and honestly terrifying gutteral tone to his voice that none of them have heard before. With a scowl, the Madman steps forward, around his brother, striding angrily towards the others who part before him like the red sea.

Once he’s gone, the strange oppressive feeling they hadn’t noticed in the last few minutes is suddenly gone and they all share worried looks.

“Is it just me or does anyone else not feel safe around that guy?” Joey asks.

[flairrstarling]

Sanders Sides Mafia AU

In which Thomas is the part of a Mafia family (not technically a blood-related family, just a really small tight knit Mafia gang, instead of a full out 100+ member mini army with a whole hierarchy figured out).

//this post is to quench my thirst for an evil Sides au lol so if u looking for fluff/angst/anything that isn’t absolute edge u can scroll right past

Roman

- The Right Brain

- Creativity, in charge of imagination

- Hangs out with Deceit all the time, coming up with elaborate tricks and lies to pull on the police

-Also hangs out with Logan, discussing exploitation and manipulation tactics (also inventing new torture and killing methods)

- Wears a crown and has a red fur-lined cape draped around his shoulders instead of a sash. He has black costume instead of a white one, but this one has intricate golden designs lining the cuff of his sleeves. His sword is still in its sheath though. Sharper and longer, but lighter.

- Red eyes smirk at you from the dark.

Patton

- Moral compass and empathy.

-Not many moral values. Doesn’t believe things like kindness without strings attached, after all, why advocate something that can hold Thomas back?

- Loyalty within the family is high on his list, but otherwise he’s very loose. Believes that disloyalty is the highest sin, and should be punished severely. That’s where a lot of Roman and Logan’s torture methods come in.

-Thomas may be a part of the mafia, but there is still use in having manners and being presentable. It’s quite ungraceful and impolite to just start a massacre on impulse.

-But sometimes he just can’t help himself.

-Tries to advise against killing children. Tries. Half-heartedly.

-Nah, he loves the sounds of the little kiddies’ screams squeals. He loves cuts and blood. The human body has so much of this beautiful red.

-Emotional intelligence. Handy for manipulation.

-Empathy means recognising likeminded people’s motives, very useful for dodging tattletales and no good backstabbers when recruiting. Logan is very pleased with his skills. So far Joan and Talyn have proven to be loyal and efficient, just as Patton had made them out to be.

- Blood splatters everywhere, crazed bright blue eyes, wide and full of the light of insanity.

-I want to give Patton a special and memorable redesign but the truth is he just looks more iconic in his normal clothes, innocent and childlike and whatnot, except for the bloodstains and sharp knife of course. Oh, and the yandere tendencies.

Virgil

- Anxiety, fears

- Has little power over Thomas these days

-plagues him with nightmares of Joan, Talyn and his whole family turning against him

-other nightmares include being assassinated by a hitman

-as years go by and Thomas’s enemies in the underground black society accumulate, the more power Virgil has, before he ultimately reduces Thomas to an empty, distrustful old man, too cowardly to tell a believable, bold lie, and when he does, too scared to go through with it. Reputation destroyed, anxious and restless, he leads his family to their demise before they all abandon him and he dies alone.

-Virgil doesn’t really hate Deceit. But he also kind of does. It’s complicated. Virgil’s job is fears and anxieties. Insecurities. Everyone has their own creepy crawlies they sweep under the rug. Thomas is scared of getting caught. Of being punished, jailed, sent to death for his crimes. But he’s already a criminal. It’s too late to change now. So instead that fear is projected onto

- Choker, piercings, bubble gum and tattoos. Brass knuckles and spiked bat. Top half of his jacket slid over, exposing pale skin lined with scars, stitches and bruises. Sleeveless tank top, purple eyes and permanent scowl.

- Kinky goth boy.

Logan

- Left Brain

- Logic

- Booksmarts aren’t all that handy now, but having to constantly catchup with new code words in the underworld occupies him enough.

-On top of that, being well versed in law means backup if anyone gets caught.

-Of course, it also happens that logic is needed for literally, everything.

-Y’know, decisions like who should be sacrificed in trying times

-Whether to trust this new but proven to be competent newbie at a particular job

-Can Thomas get away with this crime in this area?

-And literally every family operation is meticulously planned by him.

-It’s up to him and Virgil to turn Roman and Deceit’s ideas to something believable. At the same time he has to stop Virgil from turning Thomas into a coward. He also stops Deceit from making Thomas lie compulsively about everything and Patton from going on a crazy killing spree when he has too.

-A businessman’s suit. Black all over, except for a dark blue tie and blue tinted undershirt. Hair slicked back perfectly, glasses thin-framed and rectangular. He doesn’t really need them, it just makes him look frail. The getup hides his aptitude at defending himself. Prefers handguns. He hates getting bloodstains, but somehow still gets some splashes anyways.

-Dark blue eyes, their toxic glow like the harsh cold they radiate.

Deceit

-Self-preservation

-Snake boi, main side.

-Well, he is self-preservation. And guess what? When you’re in the crime business, you’ll need that a whole damn lot.

-Can’t be giving other people good deals and pitying every orphan street rat they come across

-When he and Roman are bored they sometimes write this list of things to say to the police for scenarios they could be caught doing

-sometimes it’s genuinely believable and sometimes it’s just “OFFICER THERE THE COOKIE MONSTER’S ESCAPING”

-But Deceit can’t really talk to any one side for too long. Everyone is slightly intolerable in their own ways. Roman always needs an ego stroke, Virgil always needs to be comforted, Patton always has to be forced by someone before he lets down his facade, Logan always needs to be heard, he could feed into these weaknesses and gain power, but what’s the point? He’s already a main side, and doing that takes a lot of effort. But he tries sometimes. He likes to think of it as a trade. The sides get a bit happier and healthier for a bit, and he gets what he’s after. Like an extra cookie or meal, a favour, object, another side’s vote on a certain topic, etc.

-A snarl and hiss, revealing sharp fangs and a forked tongue. His eyes are open, but you can only see one, sinister, bright yellow eye, and the beastly black slit at its centre.

-lol i think he looks dark enough the way he is, don’t he?

Thomas

-This is a mafia FAMILY. There is no head. Everyone is family, everyone is equal.

-Well, that’s what he said.

-The founder of the family was Thomas. He was a lowly scammer and thief, but then he recruited Joan and Talyn. They jumped in on the bandwagon and soon, more and more people came in. Terrence, Mary Lee, Lee, Camden...then suddenly they were armed, six feet deep into the drug smuggling trade and had a secret base to top it all off.

-So technically, Thomas is the head, Joan is his right hand and Talyn as well.

-Thomas has grown a lot of guts since he founded his family and knew he had people who had his back. He went from scamming and stealing to bank heists and trading with top members of black societies.

-He’s also experienced betrayal of course. But they worked that out. He knows he can trust his family. He just knows to take precautions.

-“ACCEPT GAYS OR ILL RAID YOUR BANK”

-T: “Hey now that I think about it Roman I don’t think that was a very good idea”

V:“YOU’RE TELLING ME YOU WENT THROUGH WITH IT”

-He stares you down, with hard determination in his eyes, and a bit of peace and resign.

Thomas Sanders, who recruited and assembled one of the most powerful mafias in the world, is here, surrounded by the police, his gun cocked, smiling warmly and confidently, knowing that his family has escaped.

[everlark-your-own-adventure]

Powder Keg - Ch 2

Happy Monday, everlarkers! Last week introduced us to ski!instructors Katniss and Peeta, and all of the gang at Mt. Mockingjay Lodge. When we last looked in, our cinnamon bun was offering Katniss some of the cash he earned when he stole away her private lesson. You voted to have her refuse the offer (understandably so, I think!) So what’s in store for our gang this week? Let’s see, shall we? This week’s installment of Powder Keg was written by @xerxia31.

As always, you have 48 hours to vote, until noon, Wednesday, November the 15th. Remember, vote in the comments or reblogs, not in the tags! And as always, share with your friends, more voices = more fun! Ready? Here we go...

The wad of cash in Peeta’s hand is so tempting. I have no doubt that Glimmer is a good tipper, probably even more so with Peeta than she would have been with me. And I really need that money.

As if he can sense my indecision, a hint of a smile lifts the corners of his lips, lights his eyes. For the briefest of moments, it’s as if I’m looking back through time, to that golden-haired boy with the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. The one who stole my heart.

The one who tore it to shreds.

Anger wells up inside me, stamping out the flicker of pain and humiliation that remembering that day has allowed to surface. Obscenities sit on the tip of my tongue, begging to be unleashed at him. “No,” I say instead, adding a tight “thank you,” when I catch Wiress frowning at me from her fry station. Peeta’s expression hardens.

“Take the damn money, Everdeen,” he hisses. “You earned it. I’m trying to do the right thing here.”

“Yeah, well you always were the superior one, weren’t you?” Peeta recoils, as if I’ve actually shoved him instead of just envisioning it.

A group of rowdy thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds bursts through the cafeteria door, all laughter and good-natured hijinks. Morning ski school must be over. A perfect distraction from the hurt on Peeta’s face. I head back behind the counter, ready to start dishing out meals to the skiers, and when I finally look up, Peeta is gone.

❅❆❅❅❆❅❅❆❅❅❆❅❅❆❅❅❆❅❅❆❅❅❆❅❅❆❅

The sun is still a solid forty minutes away from cresting the mountain when I pull my Jeep into the parking lot. Most of the instructors at Mt. Mockingjay stay in the staff dormitories, but I'm a local, having lived all of my life in Panem, just ten minutes down the mountain. No point in paying for lodging here when my childhood home is so close, though I've heard there are some crazy parties in the dorms after hours.

Stepping into my bindings in the blue-grey predawn is like coming home. My father had me on skis when I was barely old enough to walk. His seasonal job at this very resort opened the world of carving and shredding to our family, who otherwise could never have afforded it. My skis and boots were always bought at the end of the season, former rentals too dinged up to appeal to the tourists anymore, my lift passes purchased at the employee rate. But on the runs, I was never that poor kid from the Seam. My dad used to say Mt. Mockingjay was the great equalizer. This was his favourite place in the world, and it’s mine too.

Just enough snow fell overnight to frost the hills in a perfect layer of powder and I’m anxious to get up there and be the first to slice through it. I slide my key into the chairlift controls and fire up the engine. This is the smallest of the resort’s five chairlifts. I’d rather use the main lift, the one that services the two double diamond runs, but it’s a stupid idea to ride that behemoth alone. Instead, I make the four minute and thirty-seven second ascent to stand at the top of the single diamond Arena run.

My breath catches in my throat; from up here the mountain is a smooth blue-white canvas, faintly glittering in the slope lights, begging to be brushed by my skis. Though my first instinct is to race down as fast as I can, kicking up a spray of diamond-bright sparkles as I plow through the fresh snow, I instead carve through the powder, executing one flawless turn after another, concentrating on my technique, my father’s voice in my ears directing each perfect arc.

And when I reach the bottom, exhilaration and adrenaline spiking in my veins, I turn back to check out the pattern I’ve sculpted into the hill. Disappointment floods my veins as I realize that someone else is up there already, disrupting my curves. But as I watch, it quickly becomes apparent that the other skier is taking pains to mirror my line, almost exactly. Their turns are not as precise, but there’s a casual elegance in the careful line they’ve chosen. As they descend, a double helix emerges from the tracks in a way that has to be intentional, even artistic. I’m just reaching into my jacket for my phone, to take a picture of how cool it looks, when I notice that the other skier is wearing an orange helmet.

“Fuck,” I mutter, the word hanging in a silver cloud before slowly dissipating. There’s only one person in this place who’d be caught dead in safety-cone-orange headgear. I can’t escape that asshole for even one stupid morning.

Peeta Mellark has done everything in his power to make my first week here miserable. When he’s not actively stealing my clients right off the hill, he’s sabotaging my schedule. Just yesterday, he cheated me out of what would have been a high-tipping private lesson. I’m certain it was my name written beside Seneca Crane on the big board, but he swapped his own name in and took off with the older guy in his Armani snowsuit before I even noticed, leaving me instead with some punk kid named Marvel who was much more interested in his helmet cam than in learning.

And when I pointed that out to Jo, she just shrugged and said that the base rate was the same whether the lesson was with Mister Snowsuit-worth-more-than-my-car, or the disinterested brat. Which it is, but while Marvel’s dad only tipped twenty bucks, I’m certain Peeta got more than that from the guy he snatched away from me.

The entire week has been him dicking me around, then acting huffy when I call him on it. A whole week of us trading barbs. I swear I’m going to snap soon.

I scowl, watching Peeta traverse the rest of the run. He’s on skis today, I’d almost forgotten that he used to ski, before he switched to boarding with all of the other cool kids in his clique.  I know the moment he catches sight of me watching him, because he stiffens and nearly loses an edge, flailing just a bit. But he recovers quickly, barrelling towards me, spraying me in snow as he stops just feet away. Jerk.

He pulls off his helmet just as the thin winter sun finally crests the mountain top, crowning him in golden light, like he’s in some kind of damned shampoo commercial, then he flashes that arrogant smirk at me, the one that gets him all of the prime lesson slots while the rest of us peck at the dregs. “Good morning, Katniss,” he says, insincerity practically dripping from the words.

“What are you doing here?” I grumble. He gestures at his skis and raises an eyebrow.

“Same as you, it appears,” he laughs. I roll my eyes. “You want to share a chair back up?”

“No thanks, I’m done here,” I say, and ski away. I really wanted to get in a few fast, carefree runs before the day’s duties begin, but I’m not sharing a chair with him. And if I got on before or after, I have no doubt he’d stop the lift and leave me stranded, just for the pleasure of screwing me over yet again.

I can hear him calling after me, but I don’t turn back. “Dammit Katniss, wait,” he puffs as I shove the tip of my pole into my bindings with more force than is really necessary to release them. He’s chased after me, for some reason. I stack my skis in the rack beside the lodge entrance and yank the door open roughly. “The hill is big enough for both of us.”

“Forget it,” I bark, noticing too late that we’re no longer alone. A few early bird guests are already sitting by the big stone fireplace.

“Katniss!” He’s still following me, clattering awkwardly through the lodge even as he greets the guests sitting there by name. I roll my eyes. Suck up. I weave down the corridor that connects the main guest lounge with the staff area, Peeta huffing behind me.

He manages to catch up when I struggle for a moment to punch in the door code. “Why are you so stubborn?” he practically bellows as I finally push open the door. Several heads whip around to gawk at us, other instructors and staff members getting ready for their days. My ears burn, but I still don’t acknowledge him, stomping instead over to the huge whiteboard that outlines the day’s lessons.

Every square next to my name has been wiped clean. “What the hell, Peeta?” I whip around to face him, hands on my hips and fire in my eyes. “This the reason you got here early? Just to screw me out of a day’s pay?” My voice cracks pathetically on the last word. I really need a full roster of lessons if I’m going to earn enough for Prim to have a Christmas this year, not to mention keeping the lights on at my mother’s house.

“I had nothing to do with this,” he snaps, almost distractedly, as he walks over to the board. It’s only then that I realize the normally overflowing boxes next to his name are also blank. “What the--?”

“Oh good, you’re both here and still alive.” It’s far too early for Johanna’s acerbic tone. Peeta and I turn in tandem to glare at her, talking over each other in an attempt to accuse each other in the latest round of schedule manipulation. “Can it, both of you,” she barks.

“Jo, I can’t afford to spend another day in the snack bar,” I hiss, not wanting Peeta to hear how desperate I am for the higher pay that comes with teaching.

“You’re not in the snack bar today,” she says. “We have a school trip coming in. You’re leading it.” I feel a little better, there are no tips for teaching school groups, but I’ll at least get the full instructor wage for my time, instead of minimum. But then Jo looks over my shoulder. “Both of you.”

“No,” Peeta says before I can even spit the word out myself. “No, Jo, not today. I had five private lessons lined up today!”

“And now you don’t,” she smirks. “I gave them to Bristel.” A fiery flush sweeps up Peeta’s neck and his jaw clenches. It’s kind of fascinating. “You two are going to take the field trip kids, and you’re going to get over whatever this crap is between you.” I’m two seconds away from stomping off. I definitely didn’t sign up for this. As if she can hear my thoughts, Jo glares at me. “I have fielded seven complaints about the two of you already.” She waves her finger between us. “Seven! It’s only been a week!”

“None of that is my fault!” I try to defend myself, but Johanna cuts me off.

“Brainless, I’ve cut you a ton of slack because you’re by far the best skier here. But you’re at the end of the rope. You need to figure this out.” My heart sinks; I’ve never been fired from a job before, not once. And to be let go from Mt. Mockingjay… well I’d never be able to ski here again, never be able to look any of these people in the eye again. Suitably chastened, I stare down at my ski boots.

“And you,” Jo says, turning her attention to Peeta. “You think you’re safe just because the snow bunnies cream themselves when you unzip your parka?” I sneak a peek at Peeta, whose entire face is bright red now. “They’re not the ones managing this place. I am. And I haven’t forgotten that you still haven’t passed your level two certification.” My head snaps up at that, just as Peeta’s face falls. He isn’t even level two certified? He shouldn’t be teaching private lessons at all!

“Jo, I can’t work with him,” I plead. It’s true, we’ll kill each other. She tips her head back and lets out a mighty groan.

“You know what, Brainless, fine. Hawthorne’s scheduled to be off today. Call him in if you have to. You choose. Gale or Peeta.” She levels me with a glare. “Twenty-two fourth graders. Bus will be here at eight sharp. Make sure they’re all kitted and on the bunny hill by nine,” Jo says as she walks away. “The rest of you, get to work,” she calls to the group of other instructors, who scramble to appear as if they hadn’t been watching our entire dress-down.

I let out a deep breath as beside me Peeta does the same. I glance up at him. He doesn’t look pissed anymore. He almost looks… sad. Resigned. He turns his gaze to mine, expectantly, waiting to be dismissed. To lose an entire day’s pay.

What do I do? Bring Gale in on his morning off to teach with me, even though he’s likely to be pissed about it. Or see if Peeta and I can call a truce, if only just for the day?

[olko71]

New Post has been published on All about business online

New Post has been published on http://yaroreviews.info/2021/02/jj-single-dose-covid-19-vaccine-gains-backing-from-fda-advisory-panel

J&J Single-Dose Covid-19 Vaccine Gains Backing From FDA Advisory Panel

Johnson & Johnson’s JNJ -2.64% single-dose Covid-19 vaccine worked safely and should be authorized for use in the U.S., a panel of experts advised federal health regulators Friday.

The advisory committee’s unanimous vote in support of the vaccine’s authorization is the last step before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issues a decision, which is expected Saturday.

The panel, a group of 22 medical specialists in such fields as internal medicine, pediatrics, vaccines and epidemiology, regularly advises the FDA about experimental vaccines. It voted to recommend shots from Pfizer Inc. PFE -0.98% and partner BioNTech BNTX -2.94% SE and Moderna Inc. MRNA 4.33% before the agency authorized those two-dose vaccines in December.

Latest Vaccination News

The vaccine’s effectiveness and safety results were “way over the bar,” said panel member Eric Rubin, who is editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. “The demand is so large that this vaccine clearly has a place.”

Arnold Monto, the panel’s acting chairman and a professor of public health and epidemiology at the University Michigan, said people should welcome getting J&J’s shot if it is authorized. “In this environment, whatever you can get, get,” he said.

During the all-day public meeting, representatives from the FDA and J&J discussed the safety and effectiveness of the company’s vaccine in a 44,000-plus subject study, as well as how effective the J&J vaccine is in preventing new cases caused by variants.

The give-and-take of questions and answers can be valuable in bolstering public confidence in the shot, according to FDA officials.

The vaccine was 66% effective at protecting people from moderate to severe Covid-19, an FDA review found, and even more effective at preventing severe disease alone.

“If authorized, Janssen’s vaccine candidate would play a pivotal role in the global effort to fight Covid-19,” Johan Van Hoof, global head of vaccines research at J&J’s Janssen pharmaceutical unit, said during the panel’s meeting. “A single-dose regimen offers the ability to vaccinate a population faster.”

As highly transmissible coronavirus variants sweep across the world, scientists are racing to understand why these new versions of the virus are spreading faster, and what this could mean for vaccine efforts. New research says the key may be the spike protein, which gives the coronavirus its unmistakable shape. Illustration: Nick Collingwood/WSJ

A rollout of the J&J vaccine could add enough shots in the U.S. by the end of March to boost the total number of people vaccinated by 20%. Health authorities are pushing to inoculate enough people as quickly as possible so that business, schools and other establishments can fully reopen.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

How would you grade the vaccine rollout? Join the conversation below.

J&J has said it would deliver about 20 million doses for U.S. use by the end of March.

The FDA often convenes public meetings of outside experts to scrutinize experimental drugs, devices and vaccines up for agency approval, in part to boost public acceptance of the products should they be cleared for wide use.

J&J’s vaccine appeared to be safe in its pivotal study, the FDA found, aside from being effective.

“The known and potential benefits of Ad26 outweigh the known and potential risks,” Macaya Douoguih, head of clinical development and medical affairs at J&J’s Janssen unit, said during Friday’s meeting, using a code name for J&J’s vaccine.

FDA medical officer Yosefa Hefter said there are still unknowns about the vaccine, including duration of immune protection and the safety and effectiveness in use with children.

Vaccines’ Effectiveness

Number of doses

Overall efficacy

Efficacy against

severe disease

Efficacy in people

65 and older

Efficacy in U.S.

An FDA analysis for the committee meeting also said rare cases of deep vein clots and of blockages in lung arteries were slightly more common in vaccine recipients than in placebo patients, and that the FDA considers these to be “of clinical interest.”

The vaccine was effective “across demographic subgroups,” the FDA said. The demographic subgroups in the large study of J&J’s shot included racial and ethnic groups such as Black, Latino and Asian people, and age groups such as those 60 years and older.

Researchers also assessed efficacy in people who had underlying medical conditions including obesity and high blood pressure before entering the clinical trial. Sometimes vaccines don’t work as well in older people because of weakened immune systems. The J&J vaccine appeared to be less effective in people 60 and older who had certain medical conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines also worked effectively across various demographic subgroups.

The J&J vaccine was less effective in South Africa than in the U.S. J&J is among the companies working on new shots targeting a more-transmissible Covid-19 variant that has thrived in South Africa and against which several current vaccines don’t appear to work as well.

J&J’s shot, however, was very effective against severe and critical cases in South Africa. The vaccine was 73.1% effective in preventing such cases occurring at least 14 days after vaccination, and 81.7% effective in preventing such cases at least 28 days after vaccination.

How Viral Vector Vaccines Work

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine relies on a different mechanism for conferring immunity than traditional vaccines.

Traditional Vaccines

1. In classic vaccines, such as those against measles and polio, the patient is inoculated with weakened or inactivated versions of the virus. This triggers the immune system to produce specialized antibodies that are adapted to recognize the virus.

2. After vaccination, the antibodies remain in the body. If the patient later becomes infected with the actual virus, the antibodies can identify and help neutralize it.

Weakened virus vaccine

Actual viral infection

antibodies

Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccine

Scientists have isolated the genes in coronavirus responsible for producing these spike proteins. The genes are spliced into weakened, harmless versions of other viruses.

Instead of using the whole virus to generate an immune response, these vaccines use only coronavirus’s outer spike proteins, which are what antibodies use to recognize the virus.

Weakened virus with

spike protein genes

Spike

proteins

When injected into a patient, the genetically engineered viruses enter healthy cells where they produce coronavirus spike proteins.

The spike proteins produced by the cells prompt the immune system to mount a defense, just as with traditional vaccines.

Spike protein

Vaccine-generated antibody response

1. In classic vaccines, such as those against measles and polio, the patient is inoculated with weakened or inactivated versions of the virus. This triggers the immune system to produce specialized antibodies that are adapted to recognize the virus.

2. After vaccination, the antibodies remain in the body. If the patient later becomes infected with the actual virus, the antibodies can identify and help neutralize it.

Weakened virus vaccine

Actual viral infection

antibodies

Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccine

Scientists have isolated the genes in coronavirus responsible for producing these spike proteins. The genes are spliced into weakened, harmless versions of other viruses.

Instead of using the whole virus to generate an immune response, these vaccines use only coronavirus’s outer spike proteins, which are what antibodies use to recognize the virus.

Weakened virus with

spike protein genes

Spike

proteins

When injected into a patient, the genetically engineered viruses enter healthy cells where they produce coronavirus spike proteins.

The spike proteins produced by the cells prompt the immune system to mount a defense, just as with traditional vaccines.

Spike protein

Vaccine-generated antibody response

1. In classic vaccines, such as those against measles and polio, the patient is inoculated with weakened or inactivated versions of the virus. This triggers the immune system to produce specialized antibodies that are adapted to recognize the virus.

2. After vaccination, the antibodies remain in the body. If the patient later becomes infected with the actual virus, the antibodies can identify and help neutralize it.

Weakened virus vaccine

Actual viral infection

antibodies

Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccine

Scientists have isolated the genes in coronavirus responsible for producing these spike proteins. The genes are spliced into weakened, harmless versions of other viruses.

Instead of using the whole virus to generate an immune response, these vaccines use only coronavirus’s outer spike proteins, which are what antibodies use to recognize the virus.

Weakened virus with

spike protein genes

Spike

proteins

When injected into a patient, the genetically engineered viruses enter healthy cells where they produce coronavirus spike proteins.

The spike proteins produced by the cells prompt the immune system to mount a defense, just as with traditional vaccines.

Spike protein

Vaccine-generated antibody response

1. In classic vaccines, such as those against measles and polio, the patient is inoculated with weakened or inactivated versions of the virus. This triggers the immune system to produce specialized antibodies that are adapted to recognize the virus.

Weakened virus vaccine

antibodies

Actual viral infection

2. After vaccination, the antibodies remain in the body. If the patient later becomes infected with the actual virus, the antibodies can identify and help neutralize it.

Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccine

Instead of using the whole virus to generate an immune response, these vaccines use only coronavirus’s outer spike proteins, which are what antibodies use to recognize the virus.

Spike proteins

Scientists have isolated the genes in coronavirus responsible for producing these

spike proteins. The genes are spliced into weakened, harmless versions of other viruses.

Weakened virus with

spike protein genes

When injected into a patient, the genetically engineered viruses enter healthy cells where they produce coronavirus spike proteins.

Spike protein

The spike proteins produced by the cells prompt the immune system to mount a defense, just as with traditional vaccines.

Vaccine-generated antibody response

Covid-19 Vaccines

J&J, citing preliminary evidence in an analysis released by the FDA, said the vaccine was 65.5% effective in preventing asymptomatic infections in a subset of study subjects.

Health authorities have been watching whether Covid-19 shots can stop people without symptoms from transmitting the virus. The virus has largely been spread by people who were infected but didn’t realize it because they had no symptoms.

Write to Thomas M. Burton at tom.burton@wsj.com and Peter Loftus at peter.loftus@wsj.com

Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

[novelsceningyou]

The Davinci Code Chapter/Scene Summary

The Davinci Code by Dan Brown

Prologue

870-950 words

1 scene

2 characters

told from the POV (point of view) of the murdered victim

When: 10:46pm Where Louvre Museum in Paris, France Who: Jacques Saunier, the Louvre’s renowned curator  Who: a pale white skin man with pink irises and white hair Pale white skin man  What: The museum curator is trying to separate himself from an intruder who has shot him in the stomach and is chasing after him in the museum. The intruder points a gun to the curator’s head and demands to knows the location of an item. Curator tells the intruder a lie. Intruder tells him that this lie is the exact same one the other three told him.  Why: The museum curator realizes that if he dies the truth will be lost forever. He has to figure out a way to tell someone the secret before he dies in 15 minutes from gun shot wound to the stomach.

Chapter 1 (Action)

900-950 words

3 scenes

POV: the hero’s 

1 major character. 2 minor characters (hotel concierge, Lieutenant Jerome Collet)

Scene 1 (action)

When: 12:32 AM Where: Ritz Carlton, Paris, France Who: Robert Langdon, professor of Religious Symbiology, Harvard University

A phone call from the hotel concierge wakes Robert Langdon from sleep at the Ritz Carlton. Concierge tells Langdon that he has a visitor and it is urgent. Langdon dismiss the visitor as a fan and tells the concierge to take down their number. He hangs up and tries to go back to sleep.

Scene 2 (reaction) flash back to a few hours the night before

Just a few hours ago the Harvard Professor had given a slide show and lecture about the pagan symbolism hidden in the stones of Chartres Cathedral. Some useful info about the professor is given to help readers understand who this person is. Besides being a professor at Harvard he is the author of many books on symbiology, and secret religious sects. He was voted by Boston Magazine as one of the city’s most eligible bachelor with  salt & pepper forty something good looks and a “Harrison Ford in Harris Tweed” with low baritone voice that is “chocolate for the ears”

Scene 3 (action) bac

The phone in Langdon’s hotel room rings again. Concierge tells Langdon that the guest from the previous phone call is on his way to his room now. When Langdon protests-the concierge insists that the visitor is “to importantant” and that he lacks the authority to stop him. As soon as the concierge hangs up there is a loud knock on his door. The visitor identifies himself as Lieutenant Jerome Collet from the Direction Centrale Police Judiciaire (DCPJ) which is the French’s FBI. The Lieutenant tells Langdon that the Captain wants to see him right away. Langdon tells him its midnight. What is it that’s so important that it cannot wait until morning.

Langdon begins to feel uneasy when he is asked about a private meeting tonight that he was suppose to have with the Louve museum curator Jacques Sauniere. Langdon admits he was suppose to have drinks with Sauniere  after his lecture but the curator never showed up. The Lieutenant then shows Langdon a Polaroid which gave Langdon quite a shock. The photo shows Sauniere’s dead body laid in a very odd position. This gave Langdon flash backs of a similar photo he was show last year and 24 hrs. after seeing that photo he almost lost his life. Langdon completely numb when the Lieutenant tells him the odd position in which the museum curator’s body lays was done by the deceased himself. Not the man who murdered him. 

Chapter 2 

POV: Villain

2 scene

730-830 words

2 major characters (Silas, and the “teacher”)

Time: A few hours after prologue  Where: Paris, France

Scene 1 (action)

The villain is given a name- Silas. He is entering a residence on Rue La Bruyere. Silas wears a spiked cilice belt around his that that cuts into his flesh. He enjoys the pain. Silas is a visitor to Paris and resides in New York City. Silas calls a man named “teacher” from a secret cell phone and reports on what happened tonight. There are 4 dead and they all belong to a brotherhood that has in its possession a “keystone”. It’s a stone map that reveals the final location of their greatest secret. Silas is a religious man and believes he is on a mission from God. 

Scene 2 (reaction) 

The teacher tells Silas he must retrieve the keystone tonight at the church where the 4 dead men said it is located. The teacher gives Silas one hour of rest. Silas uses this time to perform self mutilation by flogging himself. We learn that he belongs to a religious order that that believes in “corporal mortification” which reminds them of the sacrifice that Christ gave to mankind. 

Chapter 3 (reaction to chapter1)

POV: Robert Langdon 

3 scenes

1900-2145 words

1 major character, 2 minor

Scene 1 (reaction)

Where: Paris, France

Time: about a hour or so after Ch 1

Robert Langdon is being driven through Paris. Reader get an insight into what Langdon is thinking about. He is shocked over the lost of Jacques Sauniere. Readers  learn about Sauniere’s contribution to art, his interest in hidden codes in paintings and Landgon’s deep admiration for the venerable curator.  We learn about a woman named Vittoria that Langdon kissed on the Eiffel Tower just last year. Langdon has an almost encyclopedic memory of various French history such as the word Tuileries in Tuileries Garden which he noted that most people assumed its named after the thousands of Tulips but in actuality it is named after the red roof tiles all over Paris called Tuiles. Langdon considers Tuileries Garden to be sacred ground because this is where Monet had experimented with form and color and gave birth to the impressionist movement. There are vivid descriptions of various landmarks of the city and museums. We learn a little history of the Louvre, it’s 3 most famous occupants the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and Winged Victory.