#Anonymous Methods in C

[sileisce]

please share or repost the link to your own blog. the billie bust up team have been covering up that the voice for barnaby [ blackgryph0n / gabe / gabriel brown ] is a groomer, transphobic, and racist. they are actively silencing one of his more outspoken victims and also engaged in victim blaming. this doc is well over 100 pages put together by someone who wishes to remain anonymous but was also victim of gabe.

instead of addressing things the bbu team put out a smear document and said it's impossible for gabe to be a pedophile because he's asexual (ignoring that his wife is someone he knew since she was 13 and he 24 and made comments about them not dating "yet" while she was underage) the doc has proof on his racism and predatory/grooming behavior. and a response to the smear attempt. the bbu team is desperately trying to act like everything is normal, meanwhile they are not just defending but also giving a pedophile who groomed a 13 year old access to more children through a game. mind you he was able to groom his wife through the same method of being popular in a fandom

[incognitopolls]

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[amalgamasreal]

Updated Personal Infosec Post

Been awhile since I've had one of these posts part deus: but I figure with all that's going on in the world it's time to make another one and get some stuff out there for people. A lot of the information I'm going to go over you can find here:

https://www.privacyguides.org/en/tools/

So if you'd like to just click the link and ignore the rest of the post that's fine, I strongly recommend checking out the Privacy Guides. Browsers: There's a number to go with but for this post going forward I'm going to recommend Firefox. I know that the Privacy Guides lists Brave and Safari as possible options but Brave is Chrome based now and Safari has ties to Apple. Mullvad is also an option but that's for your more experienced users so I'll leave that up to them to work out. Browser Extensions:

uBlock Origin: content blocker that blocks ads, trackers, and fingerprinting scripts. Notable for being the only ad blocker that still works on Youtube.

Privacy Badger: Content blocker that specifically blocks trackers and fingerprinting scripts. This one will catch things that uBlock doesn't catch but does not work for ads.

Facebook Container: "but I don't have facebook" you might say. Doesn't matter, Meta/Facebook still has trackers out there in EVERYTHING and this containerizes them off away from everything else.

Bitwarden: Password vaulting software, don't trust the password saving features of your browsers, this has multiple layers of security to prevent your passwords from being stolen.

ClearURLs: Allows you to copy and paste URL's without any trackers attached to them.

VPN: Note: VPN software doesn't make you anonymous, no matter what your favorite youtuber tells you, but it does make it harder for your data to be tracked and it makes it less open for whatever public network you're presently connected to.

Mozilla VPN: If you get the annual subscription it's ~$60/year and it comes with an extension that you can install into Firefox.

Mullvad VPN: Is a fast and inexpensive VPN with a serious focus on transparency and security. They have been in operation since 2009. Mullvad is based in Sweden and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for payment methods that allow it.

Email Provider: Note: By now you've probably realized that Gmail, Outlook, and basically all of the major "free" e-mail service providers are scraping your e-mail data to use for ad data. There are more secure services that can get you away from that but if you'd like the same storage levels you have on Gmail/Ol utlook.com you'll need to pay.

Tuta: Secure, end-to-end encrypted, been around a very long time, and offers a free option up to 1gb.

Mailbox.org: Is an email service with a focus on being secure, ad-free, and privately powered by 100% eco-friendly energy. They have been in operation since 2014. Mailbox.org is based in Berlin, Germany. Accounts start with up to 2GB storage, which can be upgraded as needed.

Email Client:

Thunderbird: a free, open-source, cross-platform email, newsgroup, news feed, and chat (XMPP, IRC, Matrix) client developed by the Thunderbird community, and previously by the Mozilla Foundation.

FairMail (Android Only): minimal, open-source email app which uses open standards (IMAP, SMTP, OpenPGP), has several out of the box privacy features, and minimizes data and battery usage.

Cloud Storage:

Tresorit: Encrypted cloud storage owned by the national postal service of Switzerland. Received MULTIPLE awards for their security stats.

Peergos: decentralized and open-source, allows for you to set up your own cloud storage, but will require a certain level of expertise.

Microsoft Office Replacements:

LibreOffice: free and open-source, updates regularly, and has the majority of the same functions as base level Microsoft Office.

OnlyOffice: cloud-based, free

FreeOffice: Personal licenses are free, probably the closest to a fully office suite replacement.

Chat Clients: Note: As you've heard SMS and even WhatsApp and some other popular chat clients are basically open season right now. These are a couple of options to replace those. Note2: Signal has had some reports of security flaws, the service it was built on was originally built for the US Government, and it is based within the CONUS thus is susceptible to US subpoenas. Take that as you will.

Signal: Provides IM and calling securely and encrypted, has multiple layers of data hardening to prevent intrusion and exfil of data.

Molly (Android OS only): Alternative client to Signal. Routes communications through the TOR Network.

Briar: Encrypted IM client that connects to other clients through the TOR Network, can also chat via wifi or bluetooth.

SimpleX: Truly anonymous account creation, fully encrypted end to end, available for Android and iOS.

Now for the last bit, I know that the majority of people are on Windows or macOS, but if you can get on Linux I would strongly recommend it. pop_OS, Ubuntu, and Mint are super easy distros to use and install. They all have very easy to follow instructions on how to install them on your PC and if you'd like to just test them out all you need is a thumb drive to boot off of to run in demo mode. For more secure distributions for the more advanced users the options are: Whonix, Tails (Live USB only), and Qubes OS.

On a personal note I use Arch Linux, but I WOULD NOT recommend this be anyone's first distro as it requires at least a base level understanding of Linux and liberal use of the Arch Linux Wiki. If you game through Steam their Proton emulator in compatibility mode works wonders, I'm presently playing a major studio game that released in 2024 with no Linux support on it and once I got my drivers installed it's looked great. There are some learning curves to get around, but the benefit of the Linux community is that there's always people out there willing to help. I hope some of this information helps you and look out for yourself, it's starting to look scarier than normal out there.

[scifibabee]

hey fam, welcome to the November round up of all my favorite fics i read this month!!

as a reminder: the ingredients for a five star rating typically (but not always!!) include some combination of a.) believable characterizations of both Hannibal and Will, b.) compelling plot and/or character arcs, and c.) high quality smut.

that being said, my judgment of the aforementioned ingredients is powered almost exclusively by vibes and as such, it's incredibly subjective.

you can find past recs below:

February March April May June July August September October

you can now also find ALL of the five star fics in my 5 Star Hannigram Fics collection on ao3 :))))

and if you have any recs of your own for me, PLEASE SHARE.

without further ado, and in no particular order, let's go!

~

WET by agarina_amigara

Word Count: 5652 Summary: the prompt for day 5 of fcktober: "wet"Post-Fall. The water filtration on the boat sailing Hannibal and Will to freedom sucks ass. Thankfully Will is good with his hands. So is Hannibal.

i desperately need more 'Will being good at fixing boats' fics lolol this was so good!!

Only One Night? by onmywayhome

Word Count: 3203 Summary: It had been 20 minutes of him laying down with his eyes closed, still awake. The only thing that caused his eyes to open was the feeling of his psychiatrist wrapping his arm around his stomach. He pulled Will in closer, Will could hear the faint noise of snoring, ‘Is he asleep?’ he thought to himself, he suddenly felt something poking his backside as Hannibal pushed closer. ‘Oh.’-OR-Hannibal and Will have to share 1 hotel room (and 1 bed ;)) which brings out some intense feelings in both of them

oooooooooookay, i saw the "only one bed" tag and blacked out, love love love love. (it's just PWP, what more do you want from me?)

The Corpse-Angel's Blessing by @dbmars

Word Count: Summary: Will Graham is the omegan prince of the kingdom of Gaulemagne. Despite being the eldest child of the murdered king and queen, he cannot take the throne - the crown is reserved for alphas only, and his brother Matthew will rule once he comes of age. In the meantime, Will and beta princess Alana are under the guardianship of the Regent, their father's first cousin: Frederick Raul de Brûler, Earl of Chilton. Gaulemagne suffers under Chilton's rule. Will's only method of resistance is writing anonymous pamphlets about omegan rights and getting them into the hands of those who can affect change. Chilton knows this brilliant omega is trouble, and arranges a marriage for him with Alpha King Hannibal, the sovereign of Eidermark, the last "civilized" kingdom before the Northern Wastes - a tundraland filled with dangerous nomads uniting under the banner of a man calling himself the Great Red Dragon. Will is sold to King Hannibal the Vicious, traded along with a herd of cattle and casks of wine for weapons and armor. He travels to Eidermark determined to stand up for his beliefs and resist any way he can. And yet... there is more to King Hannibal than anyone knows...

this was a TREAT!!! (idk what else i'd be expecting from dbmars though) the tag 'hannigram is very very horny for eachother but they have to wait for the wedding' is what initially got me and wowow.

Safehome by @dbmars

Word Count: 27798 Summary: On the run, Will and Hannibal lay low for a month in a safehouse in rural Iowa.“We could disappear now. Tonight. Feed your dogs, leave a note for Alana, and never see her or Jack again. Almost polite.”Will’s mind railed against the words. His resistance was powerful at first, like the failure of a mighty dam holding back a river, the water pounding down to the valley below. No. Of course not. Hannibal had to pay for what he’d done to Abigail Hobbs. Jack Crawford was his friend and on the right side of the law. The plan to betray Hannibal would go down exactly as they’d plotted together.But then...Will opened his mouth to artfully refuse.Instead, he heard himself say, “Let’s go.”This is a finished, polished version of my DoMAYstic 2023 prompt challenge completed with twitter x threads. I was saving it to publish in May of 2024 with more smut and better writing, and then suddenly I realized IT'S JUNE AND I FORGOT TO POST IT.So, anyway. If you're looking for a comfort fic, this is pretty damn sweet. And if you've ever lived in the Midwest, well... you get it.

oh oh oh oh this was so freaking good. it was beautiful, it was poignant, it felt like home (hi hello, i am from the upper midwest), it felt like a hug. i love them so much.

Strangers with History by sourweather

Word Count: 2843 Summary: Will and Hannibal both like to visit a website that allows them to sext with random, anonymous strangers. What are the odds they would match with each other?It had to happen eventually.

I want like… 80k words of Will and Hanni sexting each other anonymously while normal s1 events are happening, you know? Or s2.

Night Terrors by @gnawing-suspicion

Word Count: 2665 Summary: Will Graham wakes up from a sex dream about his therapist. It throws off his whole morning.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH I AM DECEASED THIS WAS SO HOT. the entire series is fucking AMAZING, @gnawing-suspicion bb you're amazing <3

Birthday Wish by Redeye17

Word Count: 5927 Summary: Will makes an impulsive wish and is dismayed to find it granted by the gods of love.-"I feel it's pertinent to ask you what exactly you wished for last night."Will rapidly mentally calculates how to explain the situation. He certainly hadn’t fucking wished to be a woman, but he has to admit that it is perhaps an easier solution to his wish than the logistical hurdles that carrying a baby in his male body would present."I can't tell you. If I do, it won't come true," Will mumbles out against Hannibal’s chest after a moment's hesitation.

DELICIOUS

Quarantined by KatherineKrawl

Word Count: 9102 Summary: En route to Kansas City for a murder case, Hannibal and Will get an urgent call from Jack, telling them to self-quarantine immediately in a small cabin near the woods. Shopping at Walmart, one double bed and no suits will bring them both a lot of 'firsts'.-“Perhaps we could...” and before Will could turn, an arm extended before his chest to pick a bottle from the pile. “...forgo this for the coming weeks?”Hannibal had appeared beside him, and Will saw the cart he was dragging after himself filled to the brim with cans, bags, bottles and packages. Toilet paper, too.Hannibal had been smart rather than stubborn by forgoing the fresh, perishable produce, and Will was relieved to see it. The look in those amber eyes, however, was... haunting.“That's my aftershave,” Will frowned, as he watched the glass bottle with the little blue ship being removed from the basket.

Enough time has passed since those initial days of the pandemic that this was actual perfection. I loved this so freaking much. And the marshmallow bed. Naturally.

responsible, forever, for what you have tamed by multifandom_fanfic_writer

Word Count: 6689 Summary: There was only one bed.

ONLY ONE BED. God, this was perfect.

To Fuel Your Radiance by GoldenUsagi

Word Count: 21340 Summary: AU where Will is the actual Devil. After Hannibal sells his soul, a fascination begins to develop between them. Will is intrigued by the unique monster Hannibal is, while Hannibal thinks Will is the most magnificent thing he's ever encountered. As their conversations continue, their involvement with each other becomes something else entirely.

Oh this was excellent. This dialogue here was TOP NOTCH.

If i went to touch you now (what would you do?) by LumusWinter

Word Count: 1944 Summary: Will tries to make Hannibal jealous. Needless to say, it works. Set during the second half of season 2.

This was hot PWP, love Will Graham being a size queen.

SEMI-BUTLER by TheSeaVoices

Word Count: 23714 Summary: A modern day Master/servant Hannigram AU. This idea came to me whilst working (literally on my hands and knees applying gold leaf) in one of the extraordinary Cheshire mansions I find myself in surprisingly regularly. I am continually surprised by the inexplicably loyal staff managers (nobody ever says the word BUTLER - but they are), proudly servile and selfless.Will inherits such a property in North West England, complete with staff and an interesting sort-of-butler who enjoys his work. REALLY enjoys his work.Also inspired by Jeeves and Wooster which I'm currently re-reading and loving, and all butlers everywhere. Oh, and Men On Edge :)Encouragement, ideas and pointers have really helped, thanks to:@weconqueratdawn@thecountessolivia@zigzagwanderer@aviran007@zacharybosch@fragile-teacup (Mrs_Gene_Hunt)

This was so OOC for Hannibal and Will, BUT i loved them anyway, and the sheer creativity when it came to the smut ramped this up to five stars for me!

Graham Cam by bigfootghostdick

Word Count: 19363 Summary: In nearly every aspect of his life, Hannibal is wholly unabashed in the endeavors he chooses to take on, especially where Will is concerned. At his core, he lives outside the realm of societal norms, so in a twisted effort to learn more about the beautiful empath that has captured his attention so utterly, he decides to install hidden cameras inside Will’s home.Will is blissfully unaware…or is he?

Will Graham showing off for Hannibal on the cameras Hannibal set up without telling Will? God, this was perfect.

It takes four by TheRosetteThief

Word Count: 4893 Summary: Adam confesses that he has a dirty fantasy to Hannibal. Hannibal talks him into letting him help him act it out with Will and Nigel.It's really just shameless foursome smut written for my lovely friends.

okay yes this is technically not just hannigram, but HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA good lord, I think if I could be Adam in this scenario, that would fix me.

The Pleasure Was Ours by wyldefire

Word Count: 4215 Summary: “Hear that, Han? Fucking your boy full. He fucking loves my cock.” Nigel teased, reaching up and tweaking at a nipple, nearly drawing a cry from Will’s lips. “Hush. Go on, Will. What else?” Hannibal replied, unfazed by his brother’s taunts. “And… And… I need… I need more. Fuck, Hannibal, I need more. I need more. Please.” Will begged. “What do you need, William?” Hannibal inquired. “You.”

Once again, not strictly Hannigram but... yeah, I'll see myself out. Trans Will in this was perfect.

A Joy Hard Learned in Winter was the Warming of the Bed by omnilegent

Word Count: 2709 Summary: The doctor took the key and opened the door, revealing a pretty standard motel room. Small en-suite with the light still on, terrible TV leaning precariously off the wall, clean but worn out to almost complete smoothness carpet. And only one bed.Ah.‘Adequate.’ Hannibal sniffed, hanging his coat up and feeling the fluffiness (or lack thereof) of the pillows.‘Yeah?’ Will asked, nervous that Hannibal was going to demand another room out of disgust.‘It’s only a night, after all.’ He gave Will a look, fond with a teasing twinkle that he couldn’t quite understand. ‘Unless you would be uncomfortable?’‘No!’ Will replied all too fast. ‘No. Better than the car.’ He tried to quip, but Hannibal’s smirk grew toothy.‘I assure you, I will keep you far warmer than the car heaters can.’—————The boys get stuck in a snowstorm and have to stay in a motel - but guess what? There was only one bed!

THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED.

Appetites of the Flesh by Magnetism_bind

Word Count: 2902 Summary: Will gets aroused at murder scenes. Eventually this gets noticed.

So this is a thing now for me, I guess!!!

The Business of Pleasure by Magnetism_bind

Word Count: 23888 Summary: Hannibal hires a hooker with the intention of eating him after he’s done fucking him.His plans change when he sees the hooker.

Give me moreeeeeeeeeeeeee.

A Little Unfinished Business by Magnetism_bind

Word Count: 26680 Summary: Ten years later Will Graham returns to Baltimore.

Sequel to The Business of Pleasure. Just as good.

Sweatpants by mattHughdancy

Word Count: 11736 Summary: It's gray sweatpant season and Will wears some for Reasons. Poor Hannibal is having a *hard* time.

Gimme more of the gray sweatpants please. Tbh me and Hannibal are very much on the same page here.

Wringing a Rock Dry by McRibFarewellTour

Word Count: 4556 Summary: (Between S2 and S3)Will’s sick. Sick enough that he’s pretty sure he’s going to die. Aware that winning their game is no longer an option, he decides to change the rules and go see Hannibal in prison.Hannibal does not appreciate this move.

OUCH. I've rec'd this one before, but I did a reread and it is just as good as it was the first (several) times!!!

~

and that's it for this month!! see y'all next month for the December rec list :)

[itsdeniini]

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

♡MASTERLIST FOR U, BAE

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

hi baes ୨🩷୧ my name is deni, i'm 18 >.<

| 𖤓 and ↑ in aquarius | ☾ in cancer |

here you can mainly find tarot readings on enhypen and their dynamics with other kpop idols! 

BASIC THINGS

𖹭 if my inbox is closed, then please don't request anything until I am done with my other to-do readings! also, avoid spamming me with the same request, i SEE everything 👀 i will take my time and do it earlier or later, hehe >.< (not doing ideal type or fs readings atm).

𖹭 you are a recurring anonymous or you are constantly sending me requests? send me YOUR REQUEST with a distinctive emoji/kaomoji ^.^ that way, it will be easier for me to recognize my baes and interact with them, and it will also help me with my readings because I will know your preferences.

𖹭 any form of hate on my page is a BIG no-no :c it's a safe place for everyone to express themselves and their thoughts, so let's avoid negativity!

FOR KPOP IDOLS

[REQUESTS CLOSED TEMPORARILY]

𖹭 if you have tarot requests for other groups other than enhypen, you can also openly ask!

𖹭 i prefer to avoid NSFW, but if you're an 18+ requester and your question fits my own criteria, then i can (proooobably...) do it, but I think it will be more of a SFW. in any case, there will be a TW for the girlies that are not comfortable with these themes, nevertheless, i'll keep it cute without delving too much into things.

(NO NSFW REQUESTS ABOUT MINORS) | (MDNI)

𖹭 i turn down requests that have a sensitive character (health, death, legal actions, sexuality, readings about the idols family members or defamatory readings).

FOR UR PERSONAL MATTERS (aka for my lovely baes >3<)

𖹭 if you want a detailed reading for yourself, then I'm open to helping you with that c: to book a reading, send me a dm on tumblr or on 📧 densunietarot@gmail.com to set the type of reading you want and the price <3

𖹭 it would be great if you provide me with your natal chart (if you don't know how to do it, then i can also guide you in the dm). but if not, your initials (or name), zodiac sign, and email adress (if you want your answer to be delivered there) will be enough. the reading will be delivered within 1-2 days following your payment . ̫. i will send the reading via both email and tumblr.

➜ you can drop your 🪙 on my Ko-Fi (or we can discuss your most convenient payment method in dm).

ko-fi.com/itsdeniini (idk if my link is working 😭)

ENHYPEN READINGS

#OT7 𖹭

How Enhypen members handle jealousy and possessiveness towards their partner?

How would Enhypen members act if they made their significant other cry?

How would Enhypen members act around their crush? (coming soon)

How would Enhypen members cope with a breakup?

How would Enhypen members ideal dates look like?

#ENHYPEN MEMBERS DYNAMICS WITH OTHER KPOP IDOLS

Stray Kids x ENHYPEN

Aussie Line: Jake, Felix and Bang Chan

How do Hyunjin and Ni-ki feel about each other?

NewJeans x ENHYPEN

How do Haerin and Sunghoon feel about each other?

How do Minji and Jungwon feel about each other?

LESSERAFIM x ENHYPEN

How do Yunjin and Jay feel about each other?

ILLIT x ENHYPEN

How do Iroha and Ni-ki feel about each other?

IVE x ENHYPEN

How do Rei and Sunoo feel about each other?

#HYUNG LINE 𖹭

Hyung line approach to kids

Hyung line emblematic tattoos

Jakehoon turn ons and turn offs

Jakehoon bond

Heejay turn ons and turn offs

HEESEUNG

Heeseung as a boyfriend

Could Heeseung date a foreigner?

JAY

Jay as a boyfriend

Is Jay the type to get back with his ex-partner?

Could Jay date a foreigner?

JAKE

Jake as a boyfriend

Jake's feminine energy and inner demons

Could Jake date a foreigner?

Jake's twin flame (coming soon)

SUNGHOON

Sunghoon inner demons

Sunghoon as a boyfriend

Could Sunghoon date a foreigner?

Sunghoon's twin flame

#MAKNAE LINE 𖹭

Maknae line approach to kids

Maknae line emblematic tattoos

Maknae line inner feminine energy

Maknae line turn ons and turn offs

SUNOO

Sunoo's healing methods

Sunoo as a boyfriend

Sunoo's future paths in career

JUNGWON

Jungwon's dominant emotions in his relationship

Jungwon as a boyfriend

Jungwon's twin flame

Could Jungwon date a foreigner?

NI-KI

Ni-ki's future paths in career

Ni-ki as a boyfriend

Could Ni-ki date a foreigner?

KATSEYE

READINGS

Part I: Concept and Success in the US

Part II: Group synergy and personalities

last updated: 240725 𖹭

#𖹭densunie-readings

[darkmaga-returns]

A bombshell study reveals that COVID-vaccinated children face a 23% surge in vaccine-acquired immune deficiency syndrome (VAIDS), with official data exposing a significant rise in autoimmune diagnoses following vaccination. Published in Pediatric Rheumatology, the large-scale pediatric cohort study pinpoints a mean onset latency of nearly 9 months, raising urgent concerns about the vaccine’s long-term impact on kids.

Titled “Investigating the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19 vaccination, and autoimmune diseases in a pediatric population: a comprehensive analysis,” the study found no increased autoimmune risk from COVID-19 infection itself but confirmed a statistically significant 23% higher risk of autoimmune conditions in vaccinated children. These alarming findings, detailed in the peer-reviewed journal, intensify scrutiny over the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for young populations and demand immediate attention from health authorities.

Background During the COVID-19 pandemic there were reports of an increased association between COVID 19 and various autoimmune diseases (AID) in adults. This study aims to investigate the incidence of AIDs in children before and during the pandemic and explores potential links to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Methods We analyzed 493,705 anonymized medical records from Maccabi Healthcare Services, Israel’s second-largest healthcare provider, to study AID incidence during 2014–2022. The study period was divided into three phases: two pre-pandemic phases of equal duration (A and B) and a pandemic phase (C). Results Of 4,596 (0.9%) patients diagnosed with an AID in the cohort, incidence rates were 0.9% for Group A (2014–2016), 1.0% for Group B (2017–2019), and 0.9% for Group C (2020–2022) (p = 0.13). Logistic regression showed no significant differences in overall autoimmune disease incidence between the pre-COVID and COVID periods. Notably, specific conditions like celiac disease showed reduced incidence in Group A (OR 0.8309, p = 0.0071) while arthritis was significantly more common in Groups A and B. Additionally, COVID-19 diagnosis was not significantly associated with increased autoimmune disease risk (HR 1.092, p = 0.491); however, receiving at least one COVID vaccine was linked to higher risk (HR 1.2323, p = 0.0033).

[irish-dress-history]

Making late Medieval Fringe

Fringe was an important part of 16th and 17th century Irish fashion. In this post, I will discuss the historical evidence for its use and my attempt to reconstruct it.

Fringe shows up on Irish garments in several period works of art.

1680 Portrait of Sir Neil O'Neill by John Michael Wright and the 'Civill' Irish Woman from John Speed's 1611 map of Ireland, both shown wearing a fringed brat (Irish mantle).

Detail from 'Drawn after the Quicke', an anonymous 16th c. English print showing Irish men wearing ionair (Irish short coats) embellished with fringe.

Historical Research:

The Irish use of fringe is mentioned by several period writers. In 1548, Paolo Giovio stated that most Irish men wore, "a soldier’s woollen cloak, with a fringed and variegated edge for elegance" (translation from Harris 2007). Similarly, William Good said Irish men and women wore "mantles or shag-rugs [. . .] fring'd round the edges with divers well mixt colours" (1586/1695). 17th century writers Luke Gernon (1620) and John Lynch (1661/1850) both described how the Irish continued to wear fringed mantles in spite of British colonial laws banning them. Gernon stated that the Irish mantle (ie brat) "differs nothing from a long cloke, but in the fringe at the upper end, which in could weather they [the Irish] weare over their heades for warmth," suggesting that this use of fringe was such an important part of Irish fashion that it was a marker of cultural identity.

This fringe appears to have been a separate trim, typically made of wool or silk, that was added to the garments. This is suggested by John Speed's description of Irish mantles as being "purfled with a deepe Fringe of divers colours" (1611). Applied fringe trim can be seen on the brat in Sir Neil O'Neill's portrait. In his poem "A Vision", 16th c. Irish poet Tadhg Dall Ó hUiginn describes a fairy woman wearing, "A purple mantle with satin fringes" (1550-1591/1921). Fringes made of silk and wool are found among recorded imports to Ireland in the late 16th c. (Flavin 2011).

Despite all this period evidence, I sadly do not know of any extant examples of Irish fringe from this period. Since at least some of the fringe used in Ireland was imported, I decided to look at examples from other parts of Europe to determine how Irish fringe might have been made. Looking at 15th-17th c. examples in the V&A, I saw 2 common manufacturing methods: warp-faced plain weave and tablet weave.

I decided to go with tablet weave for this project, because tablet woven bands have been found at earlier Medieval sites in Ireland (Wincott Heckett 2002). Following the historical costuming advice of The Welsh Viking that simple things less likely to be wrong, I used this simple late-15th c. fringe from Sweden as the basis for my pattern. Simple tablet-woven fringes continued to be used into the late 17th or early 18th century.

I used wool yarn for this project, because I wanted something that could have plausibly been made in Ireland and afforded by Irish commoners, instead of a luxury import like silk. Wool also seemed like the best fit for John Lynch's characterization of the fringe on a brat as a practical feature which protected the wearer's neck from the rain (1661/1850). I chose blue based on a combination of the availability of woad in 16th c. Ireland (Flavin 2011), the noted fondness of the Irish for bright colors (McClintock 1943), and personal preference.

My reconstruction:

I used Garnhuset wool weaving yarn I purchased from Vävstuga Weaving School in size 20/2 for the warp and 28/2 for the weft. (Check out this video, if you need an explanation of how tablet weaving works.) I made a box loom out of a cardboard box, although I suspect that any loom type that works for tablet weaving would also work for this.

Also used bamboo chopsticks, tape to cover the rough edges of the cardboard, and a shoelace. Not pretty or historically accurate, but cheap and easy to make.

My tablet weaving pattern uses 6 cards. Cards 1,3,5 are Z threaded. Cards 2,4,6 are S threaded. All 6 cards are turned in the same direction until too much twist is built up on the warp to continue, all 6 cards are then turned in the opposite direction until too much twist is build up to continue. Reverse direction and repeat until you run out of warp.

For the weft, I used 5 strands the of 28/2 yarn run together as if they were a single weft thread. I placed a rectangle of sturdy cardboard against the left side of the warp and looped the weft around it as I wove. I neglected to get a good picture of this on my actual loom, so here is a picture of my test piece setup.

The relevant part here is the light blue and purple threads. Ignore the shuttle of black thread.

As I advanced the warp, I slid the cardboard rectangle forward to continue weaving. After I took the completed fringe off the loom, I took a pair of scissors and cut the bottoms of the weft loops.

If you try this, I strongly recommend covering the long edges of your cardboard rectangle with tape. This will both protect your warp from being chewed up the cardboard and make the cardboard more slippery and easier to to slide forward. Also, make sure you are beating the shed well and pulling your weft tight. Once you cut the loops, the tightness of your weave is the only thing keeping your fringe from pulling out.

Results:

I whipstitched the completed fringe to the edge of my brat. I am extremely happy with how this turned out. I had never done tablet weaving with wool before, so I had no idea what to expect.

This method creates a thick, fluffy fringe which I think does a nice job recreating the look of "Drawn after the Quicke". You do lose quite a bit of length though. The wool yarn is kind of stretchy, and tablet weave is kind of stretchy (similarly to a twill-weave fabric). Between the ends of the warp lost to setting up the loom, and the stretchiness of the finished product, 11 ft (335 cm) of measured warp gave me 92 in (234 cm) of completed fringe. Oh, well. At least my loom can easily accommodate a longer warp, and this piece only used 20% of my 2 skeins of yarn.

I did also make a test piece out of DMC Pearl cotton. The warp is size 8 embroidery thread, and the weft is size 25 embroidery floss with all 6 strands used together. It is slightly easier to work with than the wool, (wool warps do have an annoying tendency to stick to each other), but I don't like the way it looks as much.

Wool fringe above, cotton below. Ignore the purple fringe. It has an extra weft thread that is not part of the fringe, which is why it looks more gappy than the light blue.

The cotton tends to stay in its discrete clumps rather than feathering out to form a nice fluffy, connected whole like the wool does.

I then went to the Ren Fair and located an appropriate sword.

(Yes, that's an English kirtle and smock. I haven't finished making my other Irish garments yet.) Me carrying a sword a la Albrecht Dürer's kern.

I really should have made this fringe longer. It's only 1 in (2.5 cm) long. Looking at the scale of Speed's "Civill" woman, I would estimate that hers is closer to 2 inches long. I may add a longer second layer. John Lynch does say that the brat has a doubled layer of fringe in the neck area (1661/1850). Adding a second color to the weft would probably better match William Good's description of "divers well mixt colours" and Paolo Giovio's "variegated," but I like the way the solid blue looks.

As a bonus, I will say that the wool fringe feels softer and nicer than the cheap coating wool I used to make my brat. I suspect that may be part of the reason the 16th-17th c. Irish were so fond of having thick fringes in the neck area, to protect the skin of their necks from the irritation of a brat made of coarse wool. The léine would have protected most of their body, but it largely left the neck bare.

Irish woman wearing a brat with a deep fringe by Wenceslaus Hollar published 1643

Want to give me a tip? Ko-fi page

Bibliography:

Flavin, Susan (2011). Consumption and Material Culture in Sixteenth-Century Ireland. [Doctoral thesis]. University of Bristol.

Gernon, Luke (1620). A Discourse of Ireland. https://celt.ucc.ie/published/E620001/

Good, William (1695). The Ancient and Modern Customs of the Irish. In W. Camden (ed) Camden's Britannia newly translated into English, with large additions and improvements; publish'd by Edmund Gibson (p. 1042-1048) (Edmund Gibson, Trans.). Edmund Gibson. (Original work published 1586) http://name.umdl.umich.edu/B18452.0001.001

Harris, Jason (2007). Ireland in Europe: Paolo Giovio's "Descriptio" (1548). Irish Historical Studies, 35(139), 265-288.

Lynch, John. (1850). Cambrensis Eversus (Matthew Kelly, Trans.). Dublin: The Celtic society. (Original work published 1660) https://archive.org/details/cambrensisevers04kellgoog/page/200/mode/2up

McClintock, H. F. (1943). Old Irish and Highland Dress. Dundalgan Press, Dundalk.

Ó hUiginn, Tadhg Dall (1921). The bardic poems of Tadhg Dall Ó Huiginn (1550–1591) (Eleanor Knott, Trans.). (Original work published 1550-1591) https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T402563/index.html

Speed, John (1611). The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine: presenting an exact geography of the kingdomes of England, Scotland, Ireland, and the iles adioyning. William Hall, London.

Wincott Heckett, Elizabeth (2002). Irish Viking Age silks and their place in Hiberno-Norse Society. Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings, 427. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tsaconf/427

[macabresymphonies]

Are we dealing with alchemists looking for The Philosopher's Stone?

(I will be referencing partially to the ARG, most importantly to the so called Klaus sheet that has german version on categories the OIAR team is using, and some light spoiler to The Magnus Archives, so beware).

We're four episodes in and cross-referencing each episode so far, there seems to be few things that connect most of them:

an orchestrator

a medium

an obsession

a transformation

Each episode so far mentions some type of third party being involved in the incident: Harriet Winstead mentions a "consultant" that was supposed to help her see Arthur, RedCanary mentions getting harrased by an anonymous stalker, Daria commissions Ink5oul for a tattoo, Dr Samuel Webber mentions seeing his dead wife "Maddie" who stops him from tampering with the transformation (could be a hallucination, but could also be somebody using his delirioum to impersonate her) and today we've got a mention of a "giftgiver" who gave The Violinist the Violin.

Additionally each incident mentions some type of specific medium the characters came into contact with: The Box, The Violin, The Ink (cross referenced in Klaus sheet from the ARG), The Garden (as in plants in the garden). The exception being the Harriet, but we don't know yet what "caused" ressurection of Arthur. This is important, because in TMA items and "mediums" weren't actually all that common, it was very often stressed that relics were medium for the fears to use directly (with people only doing their bidding), not to be handled by others as a medium.

Lastly each episode talks obsession and/or transformation and oh boy, let me tell you about bunch of guys historically obsessed with tranforming stuff through different mediums:

"It's not very suprising, alchemical symbols are everywhere throughout the podcast!" you might say. True, but let's take into consideration, what excactly is a goal of an alchemist? Well the answer is quite simple and there is actually three of them. The Three Goals of Alchemy are:

To turn base metals into noble ones

To discover the recipe for a Philosopher's Stone

To find the Elixir of Life that gives eternal youth and defies death

All of them refer to some type of recipie of method, so where are the recipies? Under our own noses. The recipies are the DPHW catalogue and the database Freddie is sending the incident reports to is an alchemical cookbook! Each entry is categorized something like that:

CAT$$$R&&#### - theme (specification) -/- subtheme [medium]

Some specifications:

$ - are a conbination of numbers 1, 2 and 3. They do not always appear in threes, sometimes it's just 3, sometimes 12 (as in 1 and 2) so forth. These has been widely theorized to be related to the The Tria Prima, a group of three materials which occupy a position of prominence in alchemy: Sulphur(🜍), Mercury(☿) and Salt(🜔) or as they are also characterized Soul, Mind and Body. If we assign each of them a number with 1 being Soul, 2 being Mind and 3 being body, they so far align with the main "components" of each incident or realms they deal in.

R - either appears or not, it was theorized this is a RANK and that previous files were simply misfiled by Sam, but to me it also could be REGIA as in Aqua Regia (🜆) where we are to assume the R was added to the previous element (Aqua (🜄) + Regia (R)). The meaning behind assigning some some incidents the rank of regia has yet to be explained though.

& - these are letters C, BC, B, AB, A and S signifying a rank (or rang in the Klaus sheet) . Lets ignore that S for a second, but they seem to be stages and half stages, well there can't possibly a concept of four stages in alchemy? Let me introduce you to the Magnum Opus (Great Work). Basically each alchemical project went through four stages: nigredo (black), albedo (white), citrinitas (yellow) and rubedo (red) with rubedo specifically signifying a great discovery was made and Magnum Opus was a success, but it does not necessairly mean an alchemical goal was reached.

To summarize, numbers one C-A signify stage of the project, with S, that appears once on mostly redacted cell in the Klaus sheet, signifying that not only the final stage was reached, but the project has been a success.

This could mean a finished Magnum Opus is out there, developed in the field of the Soul and related to the mysterous Mr. B.

# - these numbers are still a mystery, I do have some theories myself, but to summaries I think they are grades and some type of combination (I think it's either 9999, 0000 (as in all 10s) or perhaps 7777 (7 being the most important alchemical number)). Basically a specific combination could imply the specific discovery could be categorized as a Philosopher's Stone. What that could mean for the narrative? We will see, but I suspect it's an alchemical equivalent to an eldritch nuke in this universe.

Last thing to support my theory, the OIAR logo. The lion and the unicorn are obviously symbols for the United Kingdom, as this is a government office, and the words undearneath are "we will not falter" (probably reference to the paranormal incidents they deal with) the rest though?

Alchemical symbols for Salt, Mercucry and Sulphur are right there, all encompassed by an upside-down version of The Philosopher's Stone symbol; The Greatest Magnum Opus:

As to what the Magnum Opus are in TMAGP, each incident has an item associated with it, I noticed that the characters do not get corrupted by people directly this season, but through the use of items like ink, instruments, plants.

[khaire-traveler]

whenever i see Aphrodite in visions she is associated with fire. i don’t remember her having any specific association with it, but she always appears to me with some form of fire: (Magma, Flames, Warm glowing light.) this isn’t a very pressing or serious ask, just something i’m curious if you have thoughts on or not

Khaire, Nonny!

It's certainly not unusual for deities to present themselves atypically. I've heard of Apollo presenting himself to others with aspects of darkness, Dionysus presenting himself as extremely serious and stern, and Aphrodite presenting herself using a different appearance each time. Know that it's entirely normal for deities to change things up between worshippers; it's very common. c:

Regarding the fire association specifically, I also can't recall a specific historical connection, but I will say it strongly reminds me of Aphrodite's war aspect, as well as her connection to passion. Maybe these are aspects of hers that she'd like you to explore. There could be some kind of lesson she wants to teach you regarding passion (for life, for a career, for a significant other, etc.), assertiveness, inner strength, or ambition. It makes me think of the message "Fight for it because you deserve it," as in don't give up on something you're passionate about because you're worth the end result - your happiness is worth the end result. I obviously have no idea if this is what she's actually trying to convey; it's just the first thing I thought of. XD

I can definitely see making connections to her and fire, though, be it of your own accord or through visions she's given you. Although her origins tend to involve the ocean, I feel that love - in all its forms - has an element of fire to it. The secure warmth of hug shared, the roaring flames of a passionate kiss, the toasty comfort of good self-care - all of these things and more are all expressions of love. This is a perspective of Aphrodite that I'm honestly surprised isn't talked about more; I'm very glad you brought it up from your own experience, and it's extremely awesome that she brought it to your attention.

I wonder why she specifically chose to present herself in such a way. 🤔 I'd say it's uncommon enough for it to stick out. I actually don't think I've ever heard of someone describing an experience with Aphrodite relating to fire, but I'm sure it's happened before. I'd be shocked if no one else has either made their own connections like this or seen her present similarly. Maybe someone reading this can chime in with their own experiences! Regardless, I encourage you to look more into this. You could try divination, or whatever communication methods you use, to ask her if there's a specific reason that she presents herself this way. I'd be curious to know her answer if you're ever comfortable sharing it!

I will say that sometimes when a deity presents themselves in a form that is remarkably different than usual, it's because they have come with a specific purpose relating to the change. I had a friend (remaining anonymous) who is trans and struggled with comparing himself to "manlier" men. Apollo purposely presented to him with a more feminine appearance, usually looking extremely AFAB, to help him slowly move past his limiting expectations of himself. Essentially, "I'm still a man, right? So why wouldn't you be?" A very touching and beautiful story that makes a great example of how deities will sometimes use atypical presentations for a specific purpose. If she has a purpose for this, I hope you're able to figure it out soon!

Thank you for sharing your interesting vision! I definitely think this is a really cool and special experience to have with Aphrodite. I hope she brings plenty of warmth and comfort in your life. Take care. c: 🩷

[absurdthirst]

Kinktober 2023: October 21st

Day 21: Anonymous Sex, Hair Pulling, Masturbation

Dieter Bravo x F!Reader

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 1k

Warnings: Masturbation, exhibitionism, mentions of submission

|| Kinktober List || MasterList ||

Click Keep Reading only if you have read the Rating and Warnings and understand the warnings may not be complete to avoid listing spoilers. As AO3 says 'creator chooses not to use warnings'. You also agree that you're the right age to be consuming anything here.

“Are you going to cum?” Your eyes are fixed on the sight in front of you. Dieter, gloriously bare and straining, shivering with need and repressed pleasure as he curls his toes every time his hand slides down the length of his shaft. 

“Fuck yes.” He pants, nearly whining his answer while he tries to suck in air at the same time. Unable to function properly from the excitement, the thrill of having your gaze on him while he masturbates. 

You had discovered this dirty little secret love of Dieter’s by complete accident. Opening the bedroom door after coming home early, finding him spread out on your bed, his bed, and moaning your name with a plug in his ass and his fist around his cock. You swear he nearly took his eye out from how hard he came. 

You hadn’t shamed him, you had been away and the man had needs. A very high sex drive that you normally were very quick to satisfy, finding him an eager and experienced lover that was far more submissive than his public persona would let on. 

Since then, it had been nearly comical how often you had ‘discovered’ Dieter with his cock in his hand, pumping furiously. It had almost become a dirty little game of his. Having you walk in and view his method of self pleasure that he was most familiar with is almost an aphrodisiac, another source of pleasure. 

He would never admit it, never could admit it, but he liked the rush. The split second panic that it wasn’t you and that someone else would discover him. Despite asking any and everyone if they would have sex with him before you started dating, Dieter didn’t want anyone else to know that he masturbated. Somehow thinking that it would make him seem less, like everyone didn’t have their moments that they just needed to take care of themselves. You couldn’t convince him otherwise, so you had just stopped trying. 

His favorite way of masturbating was in bed beside you. He would wait until just before you were asleep before he started shuffling in the bed next to you. You would always wake up, not moving because you know what he is doing. There have been plenty of times that you have woken up in the middle of the night to take care of yourself when you had that urge. Needing to cum and just go back to sleep without any of the other trappings that came with waking Dieter up. 

It’s when the slight sway of the bed would begin. The soft, gentle rocking as his rhythm had slowly started. The way that he would sigh, clearing his throat quietly and then sigh again. Not being obvious, but so obviously wanting to be heard. 

If you moved, he would freeze. Listening so hard that you could practically hear his thoughts, hear the way that he is hoping that you would whisper his name. Only to sigh in disappointment when you settle back down. Wanting to wake you up naturally. You let him continue on for a few minutes before you would roll over and ‘wake up’ for him. 

He doesn’t see you smirk in the darkness, turned away from him. Doesn’t see the way that you are just waiting for the right time to ‘wake’ up and surprise him. To give him what he craved. The private audience of one while he strokes his cock to completion. 

Now, the light is bright in the bedroom, his dark eyes fixed on you as he literally shakes. Body tense and goosebumps covering every inch of his flesh. Gloriously flushed and his skin slick with sweat. 

He’s obviously been at it for a while. Edging himself. Drawing it out and waiting for you. Pushing himself just to the peak and then backing down to where he could hold himself. Like a plane circling an airport, he’s just waiting for the clearance to land. 

You provide that. Biting your lip, you see that his pre-cum has added to the spit and lube he uses, his hand slick and shiny with it. Running down his balls and his ass crack, soaking into the bed. 

Striding closer to the scene and kneeling on the edge of the bed. You can’t deny that it’s sexy, your cunt clenching as you watch him. “Does it feel good, baby?” Your fingers tease the hairs on his leg and he shudders, moaning your name. 

“So good baby, I’m going to cum.” He whimpers, gasping out another cry as his hips start to lift off the bed. His hand tightening around his cock as he digs his heels into the bed. 

“Yes, you are.” You hum, shifting to straddle his thighs, moving closer and wanting to wrap your hand around his and take over. Do it for him. But you don’t. You know that it would change it for him. Despite the fact that Dieter loves when you touch him, blow him, fuck him, he is in charge right now. “My dirty little boy.” 

Dieter groans, curling his toes as his body bows tight. Catching his breath and holding it. Eyes wide and fixed on you as he starts to cum. 

You watch him, ropes of cum covering his chest and hand. Whimpering as he works himself through it with short, hard jerks to his cock as he milks himself dry. 

Groaning your name when he’s through, chest heaving and looking gloriously undone by the orgasm that had just rocketed through his system. 

“Wow.” He pants, looking at you and smirking as he tries to catch his breath. Already starting plot when the next time he would masturbate and you would ‘catch’ him. He sighs and reaches for your hip. 

“Let me make it up to you, baby.” He coos. “I came, you didn’t.” He reminds you with a wink. “Let me make you cum too.” 

You have to hand it to him. Even though he has developed this little fetish of jerking off in front of you, you don’t mind it. Dieter Bravo makes up for it with excellent head game. 

[stephofromcabin12]

hi, i'm the anon from before-- oh no sorry, i didn't mean to pressure you! take as much time as you need :)

anyways i'm finally coming off anon after sending asks anonymously this whole time because i was shy lol. here's my LC question: where would you put the main characters on the dnd alignment chart?

No worries! I don't feel super pressured by it–It's hard to top the pressure I put on myself, so you're all good hahah...Ah.

Excellent question!

Stephanie: I'm going to have to say neutral good. She's not that chaotic (As in, she's not a rulebreaker unless the rule is really stupid, and even when she provokes, she does it in a truly harmless way. She's also a virgo, she needs a little structure)

Castor: Lawful good. For sure. He's a pacifist with a giant, cartoonish P. He does not care for rulebreaking, and just wishes everyone could get along, because then people would have time for things that really matter. Like music, and food, and theatre.

Pollux: Eh-He's probably also a neutral good. He's also a pacifist at heart, but slightly more realistic in his view of people and the world. He's also the type to follow the law, unless the law is fucking stupid. Like he wouldn't commit arson or anything but he would trespass if it's just crossing a field, you know? (The difference between them is that C believes people are inherently good and can be convinced to end their bad behavior, while P believes that once people decide to be evil, they will be because to be evil is inherently a choice, which means you inherently have to 'un-choose' it yourself.)

Mr D: Chaotic good. He's not a bad guy. And he unfortunately does mean well with everything he does. But there's a reason he's not Athena, if you get what I'm saying.

Rhonda: Whatever the dnd alignment for "Is a rule enforcer, and seems rigid but every now and then will also hit you with the most left turn, out of nowhere, rascal behavior." is.

The grandparents: True neutral. They are simply not bothered.

Cassandra: Chaotic neutral. I will not elaborate at this time.

Tacitus: True neutral. Does whatever he wants. Thank the GODS he's a chill dude.

Vincent: Seems like a lawful good but is surprisingly chaotic good. His reaction to being sent away to a terrible school for troubled youths was to method act as a troubled youth just to get back at his shitty parents. He's not above making up his own rules. Again. Thank the gods he's a good guy at heart because evil Vincent would be the literal Joker.

Esben, Jasper, Malger: Chaotic neutral but in different directions.

Arvel, Padma, Dana: Lawful good

Matthias, Laura, Celeste, Billy: Somewhere between chaotic and neutral good.

I can't think of anyone else. Oh wait.

Caroline Wynnes: If there's a 'true good' alignment, she owns it. She invented it. Her birthchart called her "Sweetness itself" It's literally written in the stars that she's the nicest mom in the world.

Bellerophon: Chaotic evil. I'm kidding. Chaotic neutral. Because it's a cat. How rogue can she really go.

[academicfever]

Research 101: Last part

#Citing sources and the bibliography:

Citation has various functions: ■■ To acknowledge work by other researchers. ■■ To anchor your own text in the context of different disciplines. ■■ To substantiate your own claims; sources then function like arguments with verification.

Use Mendeley:

It has a number of advantages in comparison to other software packages: (1) it is free, (2) it is user-friendly, (3) you can create references by dragging a PDF file into the program (it automatically extracts the author, title, year, etc.), (4) you can create references by using a browser plug-in to click on a button on the page where you found an article, (5) you can share articles and reference lists with colleagues, and (6) it has a ‘web importer’ to add sources rapidly to your own list.

plagiarism – and occasionally even fraud – are sometimes detected, too. In such cases, appeals to ignorance (‘I didn’t know that it was plagiarism’) are rarely accepted as valid reasons for letting the perpetrator off the hook.

#Peer review

For an official peer review of a scholarly article, 3-4 experts are appointed by the journal to which the article has been submitted. These reviewers give anonymous feedback on the article. As a reviewer, based on your critical reading, you can make one of the following recommendations to the editor of the journal: ■■Publish as submitted. The article is good as it is and can be published (this hardly ever happens). ■■Publish after minor revisions. The article is good and worth publishing, but some aspects need to be improved before it can be printed. If the adjustments can be made easily (for example, a small amount of rewriting, formatting figures), these are considered minor revisions. ■■Publish after major revisions. The article is potentially worth publishing, but there are significant issues that need to be reconsidered. For example, setting up additional (control) experiments, using a new method to analyse the data, a thorough review of the theoretical framework (addition of important theories), and gathering new information (in an archive) to substantiate the argumentation. ■■Reject. The research is not interesting, it is not innovative, or it has been carried out/written up so badly that this cannot be redressed.

#Checklist for analysing a research article or paper 1 Relevance to the field (anchoring) a What is the goal of the research or paper? b To what extent has this goal been achieved? c What does the paper or research article add to knowledge in the field? d Are theories or data missing? To what extent is this a problem? 2 Methodology or approach a What approach has been used for the research? b Is this approach consistent with the aim of the research? c How objective or biased is this approach? d How well has the research been carried out? What are the methodological strengths and/or weaknesses? e Are the results valid and reliable? 3 Argumentation and use of evidence a Is there a clear description of the central problem, objective, or hypothesis? b What claims are made? c What evidence underlies the argument? d How valid and reliable is this evidence? e Is the argumentation clear and logical? f Are the conclusions justified? 4 Writing style and structure of the text a Is the style of the text suitable for the medium/audience? b Is the text structured clearly, so the reader can follow the writer’s line of argumentation? c Are the figures and tables displayed clearly?

#Presenting ur research:

A few things are always important, in any case, when it comes to guiding the audience through your story: ■■ Make a clear distinction between major and minor elements. What is the key theme of your story, and which details does your audience need in order to understand it? ■■ A clearly structured, coherent story. ■■ Good visual aids that represent the results visually. ■■ Good presentation skills.

TIPS ■■Find out everything about the audience that you’ll be presenting your story to, and look at how you can ensure that your presentation is relevant for them.

Ask yourself the following questions: •What kind of audience will you have (relationship with audience)? •What does the audience already know about your topic and how can you connect with this (knowledge of the audience)? •What tone or style should you adopt vis-à-vis the audience (style of address)? •What do you want the audience to take away from your presentation?

■■If you know there is going to be a round of questions, include some extra slides for after the conclusion. You can fill these extra slides with all kinds of detailed information that you didn’t have time for during the presentation. If you’re on top of your material, you’ll be able to anticipate which questions might come up. It comes over as very professional if you’re able to back up an answer to a question from the audience with an extra graph or table, for example.

■■Think about which slide will be shown on the screen as you’re answering questions at the end of your presentation. A slide with a question mark is not informative. It’s more useful for the audience if you end with a slide with the main message and possibly your contact details, so that people are able to contact you later. ■■Think beforehand about what you will do if you’re under time pressure. What could you say more succinctly or even omit altogether?

This has a number of implications for a PowerPoint presentation: ■■ Avoid distractions that take up cognitive space, such as irrelevant images, sounds, too much text/words on a slide, intense colours, distracting backgrounds, and different fonts. ■■ Small chunks of information are easier to understand and remember. This is the case for both the text on a slide and for illustrations, tables, and graphs. ■■ When you are talking to your audience, it is usually better to show a slide with a picture than a slide with a lot of text. What you should do: ■■ Ensure there is sufficient contrast between your text and the background. ■■ Ensure that all of the text is large enough (at least 20 pt). ■■ Use a sans-serif font; these are the easiest to read when enlarged. ■■ Make the text short and concise. Emphasize the most important concepts by putting them in bold or a different colour. ■■ Have the texts appear one by one on the slide, in sync with your story. This prevents the audience from ‘reading ahead’. ■■ Use arrows, circles, or other ways of showing which part of an illustration, table, or graph is important. You can also choose to fade out the rest of the image, or make a new table or graph showing only the relevant information.

A good presentation consists of a clear, substantive story, good visual aids, and effective presentation techniques.

Stand with both feet firmly on the ground.

Use your voice and hand gestures.

Make eye contact with all of your audience.

Add enough pauses/use punctuation.

Silences instead of fillers.

Think about your position relative to your audience and the screen.

Explaining figures and tables.

Keep your hands calm.

Creating a safe atmosphere

Do not take a position yourself. This limits the discussion, because it makes it trickier to give a dissenting opinion.

You can make notes on a whiteboard or blackboard, so that everyone can follow the key points.

Make sure that you give the audience enough time to respond.

Respond positively to every contribution to the discussion, even if it doesn’t cut any ice.

Ensure that your body language is open and that you rest your arms at your sides.

#Points to bear in mind when designing a poster

TIPS 1 Think about what your aim is: do you want to pitch a new plan, or do you want to get your audience interested in your research? 2 Explain what you’ve done/are going to do: focus on the problem that you’ve solved/want to solve, or the question that you’ve answered. Make it clear why it is important to solve this problem or answer this question. 3 Explain what makes your approach unique. 4 Involve your audience in the conversation by concluding with an open question. For example: how do you research…? Or, after a pitch for a method to tackle burnout among staff: how is burnout dealt with in your organization?

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for tricking my (ex-)friend into doing something that benefited her?

I (28 F) recently re-encountered an old friend of mine– let’s call her C, (27 F) – under less-than-ideal circumstances. I have long resented C for the nature of our falling out, and may have been looking to exact a bit of revenge. Long story short, following an altercation, C nearly fell to her death after being knocked unconscious. I was able to rouse her in time for her to catch herself, but was honestly surprised that I had wanted to. Anyway, now I can’t help feeling a little guilty for that (and for her subsequently being afflicted by a curse while rescuing a third party (A, 14 F) that I had fooled into endangering herself as part of the plan to get back at C).

Suffice to say, this has left me somewhat conflicted about the whole feud, and even made me a tad uncertain about its origin. I still believe I was and am in the right, but I suppose there’s no harm in asking for a second opinion, especially as this is anonymous. 

C and I were very close friends throughout high school. She was, for a time, arguably the most important person in my life. We’ve always been very different people, in terms of ambitions, outlooks, and personalities, but we nonetheless made it work. The issues arose when our ambitions came into conflict. For my entire life, I have been working towards the preservation and resurgence of an important natural force (magic) (upon which, among other things, the lives of multiple sapient species depend) which has been slowly and surely dying out over the past few centuries. There isn’t much time left (although, not to worry– I have a plan). 

On the other hand, C, while having as much love as I did for magic, always preferred to focus on its application. She intended to use it to entertain, so that she could, to paraphrase, ‘bring joy to the whole world.’ I saw no issue with this. It seemed a harmless enough course of action, and she was certainly quite skilled at it (even I found her performances charming). 

The problem, then, was that my plan at the time to safeguard magic hinged on obtaining a particular ancient relic (the CS, ???), which has the ability to unlock an immense source of power (the GT, ???) capable of enacting large-scale changes to the fabric of reality itself. I had spent my entire life working towards this end, but the CS and its creator/guardian (W, 1000s F) chose instead to entrust that responsibility to C. 

At first, I did my best to be accepting and supportive towards C in light of these events. I worked with her to the best of my ability to access the CS’s abilities. Unfortunately, around this time, C’s performances began to garner attention. She was signed by an agent, and went on tour shortly thereafter. I was furious. Magic was dying out all around her, and she wanted to use the one thing possibly capable of saving it as a stage magician’s prop! Meanwhile, I was left behind to try to think of some alternate method of accomplishing the same thing. (Obviously, I understand that this was her lifelong dream, but surely her responsibility should have come first?)

Eventually, C (then 17 F)’s shows started to wane in popularity. I (then 18 F) correctly deduced that this was not due to a lack of talent on her part, but on the inability of magic in its current state to provide enough of a spectacle to be consistently worth watching. I saw an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, so I approached C about a process I had been experimenting with, which would allow her to utilize much more powerful magic, even in locations without any ambient magical energy. This would also serve as a test of my process’s abilities, which I hoped to (and, in the future have) develop into a power source for an alternate means of saving magic.

Here’s where I think I could, from a certain viewpoint, have been at fault. The process had a slight drawback. The power it offered was harvested from the emotions of people in its surroundings, and came at the cost of their own potential to use magic in the future. Now, as I’ve repeated ad nauseam, magic is dying. No one other than families for whom it is traditional bothers to learn to use it these days (foolishly seeing it as nothing but an useless curiosity of a bygone age), and I did not believe that any of those would be in attendance. However, C has always been something of a bleeding heart, and I knew she probably wouldn’t go through with it if she knew how it worked. For that reason, I neglected to inform her.

The performance was far more spectacular than any of her others to that point, and my experiment was a tremendous success. After the show, however, I informed her of the true nature of the process. We had an argument, and then angrily went our separate ways (although, it is worth mentioning that I did attend the final of her subsequent shows, and erased the audience’s memories to protect her from facing consequences for accidentally blowing up the moon). We didn’t speak for about a decade afterwards. 

I feel that I was only doing what was necessary, and that because of her recalcitrance to focus on what was most important, was forced to turn to more extreme measures, but I realize she may see it differently. 

So, AITA?

EDIT: Do you people have no reading comprehension? I wasn’t asking if I was the asshole for nearly killing a child. That was a largely irrelevant aside. Can we please focus on my actual question?

[m-sciolist]

Après un cadavre un choeur de vermisseaux ...

Midas und Bacchus, c. 1624–1629 - Nicolas Poussin

Introductions are always a bit strange, aren't they? As are names, and intentions, and most things, really. These will all be sorted out in due time. Probably.

After some time as an observer, I have decided to step out of the shroud of spectatorship and establish a page of my own. Anonymous, to some extent. But if someone from the physical realm manages to find me on here, who am I to impede their prying glances? I must admit I am not a terribly interesting person, anyways.

I find myself in a peculiar set of circumstances: wrapped up in the contrived image of profundity but really just being a sparsely educated sophist. While my personal method of stringing words together in vaguely pleasant ways has managed to pull the wool over many an essay-grader's eyes, my near-absolute nescience gnaws more and more incessantly at my soul. In truth, I can no longer rely on the rations of just-niche-enough-to-be-impressive knowledge that have furnished my musings thus far.

As such, I have set myself upon the path of seeking knowledge—un-stupiding myself, if you will.

Join me, Internet cosmonaut, in this voyage through literature, music, science, philosophy, and whatever else I stumble across in my studies. If you stick around long enough, you might even get to see me form a thought! (Unlikely, but one can dream.)

The DMs are wide open. Don’t be shy. Tell me a story. Send me a picture of a bird. I'm sure we'll enjoy getting to know each other.

[headmate-laundromat]

full cycle + fabric softener for creator's choice of any fictive from yandere sim? we'll definitely come back for another request at some point, thank you in advance if you're able to do this for us.

∘˙○˚.• We Decided To Go With Info-Chan Cause She's Interesting And Underrated In Our Opinion~! (Also IK The Faceclaim Is Technically From Dark Deception I Just Thought It Looked Better) - Mod Bubbles~!

‧₊˚ Info-Chan [Full Cycle + Fabric Softener] ‧₊

｡˚○ Alter Type: Fictive~! ｡˚○ Source: Yandere Simulator~! ｡˚○ Role(s): System Manager, Enforcer, Moderator, Emergency System Masker, Front Alerter, Warden~! ｡˚○ Name(s): Info-Chan, Anon-Chan, Anon, Nona~! ｡˚○ Gender IDs: Scorpigender Girlneu Anonfem~! ｡˚○ Pronouns: She/Shx/Ix/Xt/Anon/Info/Mask/No Pronouns/Nameself Pronouns/Mirror Pronouns~! ｡˚○ Sexuality: Pansexual (TransAroAce)~! ｡˚○ Age: 18~! ｡˚○ Title(s): The Informant, The Anonymous, [Prn] Who Has Eyes Everywhere, [Prn] Who knows Every Secret~! ｡˚○ ID(s): CisJapanese, CisASPD, CisNullEmpathy, CisMonotone / TransMonotone, CisHighschooler, CisPantyshotDealer, CisBlackmailer, CisMurderAccomplice, CinEmotional, MetaNameless / PermaNameless, TrisHikkikomori, TransChinese, TransNorthKorean, TransSexRepulsed, TransProgrammer, TransAlphaProgram, TransNonExistent, TransDisembodiedVoice, TransHumanTrafficker, PermaAnonymous, PermaSillouette, NullBody, NullDNA~! ｡˚○ Philia(s): Voyeuristic Sadism, Voyeuristic Erotophonophile~! ｡˚○ Typing Quirk: O = Ø, I = 1, E = 3, only uses periouds for puncuation. (Ex. Th3 qu1ck brøwn føx jumps øv3r th3 lazy døg) ｡˚○ Sign-Off: - 💻🎭 ｡˚○ Personality: Introvert~! Info-Chan Is Considered A Methodical And Reclusive Shut-In, Often Locking Herself Up Into The Computer Room Of The School, Which She Had Turned Into Her Main Base Of Operation~! From Bugging Classrooms To Listen In On Conversations, To Selling Panty Shots Of Her Classmates To The Guys Around The School, To Assisting In Committing And Hiding Murders, Info-Chan Is Not The Most Morally Sound Person. She Prefers To Be In Control Of Most Situations, And She Will Often Communicate Via Texts Messages or Phone Calls Rather Than Speak Face To Face~! Likes: Eavesdropping, Knowing What People Are Doing, Security Systems, Hacking, Being Left Alone~! Dislikes: Public Events, Being Recognized, Leaving Her Room, Fronting~! Aesthetic(s): Mysterycore~! Worldview: Finalist~! ｡˚○ Abilities/Powers: Hacking~! ｡˚○ Blankqueer: Anonqueer, Incurioqueer~! ｡˚○ Contact-Stance(s): Neu-C, Content-C, Discourse Apathetic~! ｡˚○ Source Relationship(s): Ayano Aishi (Neutral. Client & Classmate)~! ｡˚○ Front Trigger(s): Only Really When The System Needs A Masker But None Are Available. Watches Front Through Security Cameras And Communicates From A Speaker On The Wall~! ｡˚○ FaceClaim:

[betweenzone]

From Reality to Fiction: How CIA Documents Inspired Stranger Things

Stranger Things: A Blend of Sci-Fi and Real History

Since its debut, Stranger Things has captivated audiences worldwide with its eerie storytelling and supernatural mysteries. But what many fans don’t realize is that the show’s foundation is deeply rooted in reality. The secret experiments at Hawkins National Laboratory and Eleven’s powers draw heavily from declassified CIA programs like MKUltra and STAR GATE. These aren’t just wild theories—they’re backed by real documents, freely available in the CIA Reading Room for anyone to explore.

The Real Inspirations: MKUltra and STAR GATE

MKUltra: Mind Control by the CIA

From the 1950s to the 1970s, the CIA conducted MKUltra, a top-secret program exploring mind control techniques. Experiments ranged from LSD administration to sensory deprivation and hypnosis. In Stranger Things, the parallels are clear: Eleven and other children are subjected to intense experiments to develop and harness their mental powers, just as MKUltra sought to manipulate the human mind.

STAR GATE: Remote Viewing and Psychic Powers

From the 1970s through the 1990s, the STAR GATE program investigated the potential of Remote Viewing, where individuals attempted to perceive distant or hidden locations using only their minds. In Stranger Things, Eleven demonstrates this ability repeatedly, using sensory deprivation tanks to locate people and objects far away.

Techniques: The Real Meets the Fictional

1. Sensory Deprivation Tanks: A Portal to Other Worlds

In Stranger Things, Eleven uses sensory deprivation to amplify her abilities. This method directly mirrors real-world experiments where tanks were used to isolate subjects from external stimuli, fostering deep mental focus. The concept traces back to John C. Lilly’s isolation tank studies, which also influenced MKUltra.

2. Remote Viewing Protocols: Fact or Fiction?

In STAR GATE, participants were trained to describe distant locations by focusing their minds on specific coordinates. While results varied, some successes, like accurately identifying hidden military sites, were striking. Eleven’s mental explorations mimic these techniques, albeit dramatized for effect.

3. Numbered Test Subjects: A Nods to MKUltra

In the series, Eleven is designated as “011,” implying many other test subjects. Similarly, CIA experiments anonymized participants with code names or numbers, especially in MKUltra studies involving vulnerable populations like orphans or prisoners.

Stranger Things and CIA Documents: A Tangible Connection

What makes these connections fascinating is that the history behind Stranger Things isn’t pure fiction. The CIA Reading Room, an extensive online database of declassified documents, offers everyone the chance to read about programs like MKUltra and STAR GATE in detail.

How to Access the Documents:

• Visit the CIA Reading Room.

• Use search terms like “MKUltra,” “STAR GATE,” or “Remote Viewing.”

• Explore millions of pages that reveal the extraordinary lengths governments went to in their pursuit of power.

Conclusion: Stranger Things Is Closer to Reality Than You Think

The creators of Stranger Things skillfully blend real-world inspirations with supernatural storytelling. By borrowing from programs like MKUltra and STAR GATE, the series offers a chilling reminder of how far governments are willing to go in the name of science and security.

While Eleven’s adventures take us to alternate dimensions, the truth behind the experiments she endured can be found in history itself. The real question remains: how much of this is truly behind us?

Want to dive deeper into the connections between Stranger Things and real government experiments? Don’t miss the music by Betweenzone, a band inspired by mysterious stories and thought-provoking narratives, blending reality with artistic imagination. Their tracks will take you on a journey that perfectly complements the intrigue of these stories.