#Hypothesized

[xtruss]

What Happens When You Season a Cast Iron Pan! Here is How Oil and Heat Can Form a Durable Coating.

— By Attabey Rodríguez Benítez | Published: Monday August 1, 2022 | NOVA— PBS

Image Credit: Jack Kennard, Flickr

Ahh, Cast Iron Pans. Love ‘em or Hate ‘em, they’ve been around for hundreds of years. With proper maintenance, they can last long enough to become family heirlooms. A cornerstone of this pan’s upkeep is seasoning, the process of baking oil onto the pan. Contrary to the name, you won’t need salt and pepper, but fat.

To season, you heat the pan covered in fat to scalding temperatures in an oven. What is left behind is a somewhat nonstick surface that not only helps with cooking but protects the pan from rust.

You can use the fat of your choice, but one thing to keep in mind is the smoke point, the temperature at which it starts to smoke. That temperature varies from oil to oil. For example, virgin avocado oil has a smoke point of 520 F, but coconut oil smokes at just 350 F. As soon as that temperature is reached, the seasoning process begins.

There are multiple hypotheses about what’s happening at the molecular level inside that hot oven. The predominant one is that the oil is polymerizing. Fats are made up of different fatty acids, like saturated and unsaturated. When heated, those acids break down into smaller molecules called monomers. And when monomers join together, they form larger molecules called polymers. When this joining happens over and over in an iron skillet, the polymers form a protective layer that keeps water at bay.

A group of researchers from Chongqing University studied this phenomenon in the context of another cast iron cooking tool: the wok. Woks, mainly used in Chinese-style cuisine, are usually round-bottomed. The team hypothesized that the slick surface formed during seasoning is due more to the iron than the oil. To test their hypothesis, the researchers coated a wok with beef tallow and heated it up. As the temperature increased, the fat started to reduce. And the scientists, using X-ray technology, started to see oxygen molecules sneaking into the places where iron was present. With this unexpected guest, iron atoms had to shuffle around to make space, creating small lumps along the surface. The final product is what the team called “iron nanoballs.”

They point out that these nanoballs didn’t make the wok completely nonstick, but rather made the surface conditionally hydrophobic. That means that it repels water when there isn’t much around, but gets wet when there’s a lot of it. The study authors claim this property comes in handy during cooking, because if the pans are completely nonstick, the fat will lump together, causing uneven cooking. If the surface can get wet, it creates an even layer, and the food can cook evenly as the water evaporates, creating less charring.

[jcmicr]

Case Report: Oocyte Degeneration during Thawing Procedure in a SARS-CoV-2 Positive Woman by Poopak Eftekhari-Yazdi in Journal of Clinical and Medical Images, Case Reports

Abstract

An essential concern for the safe preparation of assisted reproductive techniques (ART) during the current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is the probability of viral transmission through the gametes and its potential risks on gamete function. To date, there is no evidence about the precise effects of SARS-CoV-2 on functionality of gametes derived from infected individuals and whether there are deleterious effects on IVF outcomes. In this study, we inspected the degeneration of vitrified-warmed oocytes from a SARS-CoV-2-positive woman who underwent ovarian stimulation. Although the exact reason for the degeneration of these oocytes is unknown, SARS-CoV-2 could affect oocyte performance via an increase in oxidative stress. Thus, further investigation is required regarding the effect of SARS-CoV-2 on reproductive function. Keywords: COVID-19; Oocyte vitrification; SARS-CoV-2; Degeneration; Assisted reproductive technologies.

Introduction

In late 2019, a novel coronavirus emerged from China that resulted in the onset of a global Covid-19 outbreak. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) could have possible negative impacts on female reproductive health. Infection of the genital tract is a serious problematic issue for both natural and medically assisted procreation because of impaired gametes. It is imperative to know the risk of viral transmission by gametes in order to prevent transmission to the embryo and for laboratory safety during the assisted reproductive technique (ART) [1].

SARS-CoV-2 uses angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2) receptors for host cell entry. In both reproductive-age and postmenopausal women, there is evidence that ACE2 enzyme expression, an important component of the renin-angiotensin aldosterone (RAS) system, is abundantly expressed in the ovaries. According to evidence, the RAS system is crucially involved in folliculogenesis, oocyte maturation, and ovulation [2]. It is likely that SARS-CoV-2 could theoretically decrease ovarian function and oocyte quality; however, there is limited data about indirect multiple avenues of viral damage on reproductive function [3, 4]. Therefore, researchers hypothesized that the female reproductive system might be potentially at high risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection [2]. Most recently, Barragan et al. examined in detail the expression levels of ACE2, TMPRSS2, cathepsin L, and basigin transcripts in a subpopulation of collected oocytes. Conversely, the viral RNA was undetectable in all of the mature oocytes that were analyzed from two asymptomatic positive women who were undergoing ovarian stimulation and oocyte retrieval [5]. Stanley and colleagues have asserted that the co-expression levels of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 broadly increase with oocyte maturity [6]. Based on previous studies, it could be hypothesized that SARS-CoV-2 might target granulosa cells and ovarian tissue. Thus, this could hamper both reproductive health and oocyte viability, and result in female infertility or miscarriage [7]. Until now, the possible risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection on cryo stored gamete quality has not been reported. Likewise, the present study aims to set the possible effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on degenerated cryopreserved oocytes retrieved from a SARS-CoV-2 positive woman.

Case report

On June 2021, a 28-year-old Iranian woman with a body mass index (BMI) of 32.7 kg/m2, who had previously undergone four failed IVF/ICSI cycles referred to Royan Institute in Tehran, Iran. The couple was married for ≥15 years, and a secondary infertility also occurred. The patient’s reproductive system was intact. Both hysteroscopy and sonography reports revealed that the uterus and ovaries were anatomically normal and had a regular size. The uterus dimensions were 88 × 45 × 51 mm and the right and left ovaries had dimensions of 38 × 14 mm and 23 × 12 mm, respectively. All of the menstrual criteria, which included duration, amount, and interval were normal. Her AMH level was 2.16 and the other hormones were within the expected ranges. The woman also has hypothyroidism.

The Royan Institute COVID-19 policy mandates that both husband and wife undergo a PCR test before commencing IVF/ICSI treatment. Prior to starting ovarian stimulation, their PCR tests were negative. The ovarian stimulation was performed with 150 IU per day Gonal-F (Merck Serono, Bari, Italy), as recombinant FSH, from the second day and Cetrotide (Merck, Idron, France), a GnRH antagonist, from day six. Ovulation was triggered by administration of 0.1 mg decapeptyl (Ferring GmbH, Kiel, Germany), a GnRH antagonist, and 250 μg ovitrelle (Merck Serono, Modugno, Italy), as recombinant hCG. There were 17 follicles. On the day of oocyte retrieval, the woman’s PCR test was positive.

According to the Royan Institute COVID-19 guidelines, oocyte retrieval as well as the vitrification procedure should be planned in the safe provision ART for exceptional cases of high risk ovarian hyper-stimulation (OHSS), cancer patients, and those with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) where cancellation was not an option for medical reasons. Therefore, in our case, the oocytes were retrieved and then vitrified for possible future use while she was involved with COVID-19. There was no exact consideration about the reason for the thawing failure. Moreover, the inflammatory factors that are present in COVID-19 infectious could be recognized as deleterious. Of note, oocytes from 12 cases were satisfactorily thawed on the same day as the oocyte retrieval for the patient with COVID-19. Written informed consent was obtained from the woman for participation in the present study.

Oocyte vitrification and warming procedures

There were 11 oocytes frozen in three cryotops from this patient with SARS-CoV-2. The vitrification/warming procedures were performed according to the Royan Institute protocol [8]. At first, denuded oocytes were placed in 50 μL equilibration drop of solution (ES: 7.5% ethylene glycol and 7.5% dimethyl sulfoxide) for 15 minutes at room temperature for oocyte equilibration. After recovery, the oocytes were transferred to a 50 μL vitrification drop of solution (VS: 15% ethylene glycol, 15% dimethyl sulfoxide, and 0.5 M sucrose) and they were kept for one minute at room temperature. Subsequently, the shrinking oocytes were loaded onto the cryotop tip (Kitazato, Japan) and then plunged directly into liquid nitrogen, where they were kept until thawing for insemination.

After the recovery time, and when the patient’s PCR test for 2019-nCoV was negative, she returned for microinjection of the thawed oocytes. The cryotops were thawed one after another and the entire 11 oocytes that were loaded on the three cryotops degenerated immediately. For the thawing procedure, we used a petri dish, thawing solution (TS) medium and washing solution (WS), which were warmed to 37 °C for at least 90 minutes. Dilution solutions 1 (DS1) and 2 (DS2) were at room temperature. The cover straw was removed from the liquid nitrogen and the laminate film was submerged into 1000 μL warm TS (1 M sucrose) for one minute and then transferred to DS1 (0.5 M sucrose) for three minutes and to a DS2 drop (0.25 M sucrose) for three minutes. Afterwards, the oocytes were washed four to five times in WS drop. This is the first report on the degeneration of oocytes from a woman with a positive PCR test for SARS-CoV-2. We did not evaluate the presence of viral RNA in the 11 oocytes from this patient. Therefore, we recommend that additional confirmatory evaluations such as RT-PCR be performed for degenerated oocytes

Discussion

At the time of ART, invasive procedures such as transvaginal oocyte retrieval increase the risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as the indirect effects of viral infection in women who are candidates for IVF/ICSI [7]. Bearing in mind that viral RNA is transmitted through blood, vaginal secretions, and cumulus cells, the possibility of contamination of this virus in the oocytes cannot be entirely ruled out. The human oocyte-cumulus complex cannot be a barrier to viral entry into the oocytes, thereby raising the possibility of infection [4, 6].

Accordingly, Qiu and colleagues tried to detect viral RNA in vaginal secretions of postmenopausal women infected with SARS-CoV-2. They did not diagnose SARS-CoV-2 in all of the vaginal samples or cervical swabs [9]. Scarica et al., in 2021, presented a single case of failure to detect viral RNA in follicular fluid in a woman with an active SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, they reported the possibility of viral transmission with increasing viral loads of SARS-CoV-2 [10]. Although several studies reported negative RT-PCR test results from genital fluid samples, Scorzolini et al. observed the presence of viral RNA in a 65-year-old woman. Their finding supported the risk for SARS-CoV-2 transmission in vaginal fluid [11]. Based on these reports, it is clear that we do not have enough information about the pathophysiologic effects of SARS-Cov-2 on the female reproductive system.

The pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is proposed to be dependent on the SARS-CoV-envelope viroporin (E). These coronavirus proteins may play a role in viral replication, ion channel formation expressed in the plasma membrane, and regulation of the pH inside the lumen of intracellular organelles. Therefore, SARS-CoV-2 proteins can be trafficked to the lumen of intracellular organelles [12]. Westerbeck and Machamer were the first to demonstrate activity of the SARS-CoV-2 envelope protein (E), which corresponded to an increase in pH within the lumen of intracellular organelles (i.e., the Golgi apparatus) [13].

Intriguingly, modification of the ionic channel function of intracellular organelles by the SARS-CoV-1 envelope (E) protein is proposed to activate the cellular stress response and apoptosis pathways [14]. In this regards, it has been shown that SARS-CoV-2 could operate via numerous mechanisms such as inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, and apoptosis pathways, and result in an impaired reproductive function. Indeed, one of the main reasons for a direct, negative impact on human oocyte quality is oxidative stress. The SARS-CoV infection induces overproduction of reactive oxygen species, which might accelerate the nuclear factor kappa-light chain-enhancer of activated B cell-toll-like receptor (NF-κB–TLR) pathways. Therefore, COVID-19 results in a cytokine storm that further exaggerates the inflammatory response [7, 15, 16]. According to Timmerman et al., a case of a 54-year-old woman with inflammatory ovarian masses diagnosed during COVID-19 infection. In view of the SARS-CoV-2 infection and the signs of a systemic inflammatory response syndrome, an association with viral infection is plausible [17]. Based on the previous researches, we speculated that SARS-CoV-2 could impact oocyte performance through an increase in oxidative stress, which induces apoptosis of the oocytes [18, 19].

Thus, there is a probability of deteriorated oocyte quality, such as an alteration in oocyte membrane integrity, which is associated with oxidative stress [16]. Several other factors, which include exposure to cryoprotective agents and the cryopreservation procedure, might have a negative impact on human oocyte quality [20]. Therefore, oocytes from individuals with SARS-CoV-2 might be more prone to deleterious effects after the freezing-thawed procedure. The permeability of the oocyte membrane to cryoprotectants, and the possible stress after exposure to cryoprotectants during the cryopreservation procedure cannot be ignored. There is a probability for oocyte degeneration after the thawing procedure. Overall, due to the limited sample size, we could not draw any conclusion about the implication of SARS-CoV-2 on the quality of human oocytes. Large sample sizes are needed for future investigations.

Taken together, we present a case of a thawed-oocyte evaluation from a SARS-CoV-2-positive woman. However, the pathogenic mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection on gamete function is still unclear. Our small finding shows that it is possible that oxidative stress from inflammation could be responsible for oocyte degeneration in these infected patients. Nevertheless, we must consider this viral illness as a potential source of infection in the IVF practice until more information is gathered about the safety of performing ART in patients with SARS-CoV-2.

Conflict of interests

The authors declared that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at Royan Institute (IR.ACECR.ROYAN.REC.1400.050).

Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by Royan Institute, Tehran, Iran (99000178). The authors express their appreciation to the staff of the IVF Clinical Laboratory for the use of their facilities, and for their kind assistance and constant support throughout this study.

For more details : https://jcmimagescasereports.org/author-guidelines/ 

[meirimerens]

youtube shorts is just tiktok without being on the app the amount of "i'm a [qualification] and [misinformation]" could make one turn their skin inside-out in protest. "i'm a board-certified OB-GYN & it's only been about the last hundred years that women have actually experienced menopause. We didn't live long enough to experience it" how can you be so incredibly wrong about something so integral to your practice. King of the Hittites Hattusilis III was told in 1250 BCE that his sister was too old to reproduce at age 50+. Aristotle wrote in the 4th century BCE that women stopped menstruating between ages 40 to 50, common menopause ages today still. i cannot begin to tell you how 4th century & 1250 BCE don't really count as "the last hundred years" unless that -s is doing a lot of heavy lifting. waiter waiter more misinformation laws.

[amielot]

Uno Reverse

Bonus:

@arialerendeair keeps giving me ideas to springboard off of XD

final image was referenced from Calvin and Hobbes :3

[juhbebbie]

The spot saying "hypothesis: I am going to put my head in that hole" is such an underrated line because while that is just not at all a hypothesis, it is pretty much exactly the kind of shit an actual scientist would bs instead of making an actual hypothesis. If fuck around, then find out

[quantumshade]

i love the criticism that hell bent "wasted" gallifrey because all the time lords did was stand around and talk. and it's like. i'm sorry but have you seen the war games. have you seen the deadly assassin. this is their modus operandi this is literally the only thing they do. and that's the fucking point

[nympsycho-ao3]

ok hear me out brainrotters... what if the blanket from this scene...

is also the blanket from this scene?

That blanket would be back at the Citadel, waiting for Jack's return which never came. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that Furiosa might have kept it for herself. She would be intensely connected to anything that reminds of her loved ones, I think. And she would have brought it with her for her journey home with the Wives.

[eye-of-the-hawk]

“Yes. Stole my own hypothesis and turned it against me.”

“Fascinating. I’d love to meet her.”

“… Ah. So you’re just like her here, aren’t you?”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“*Sigh…* unfortunately, you’ve already made it quite obvious.”

[some-stars]

i reblogged this post with my own commentary but then i wanted to pull out the commentary and make it its own post bc i actually do want people to read this one.

[Deadpool and Wolverine] is both [homophobic and genuinely queer]. It's very obviously both. The character is literally queer and the movies are queer and the comics are queer, all of it on purpose, AND the fact that the only queerness in the movies is in the forms of jokes, deniably camp song choices, and winking use of traditionally romantic plot structures with a female love interest montage stuffed in at the climactic moment to defuse it all into a safe (say it with me) joke, is extremely homophobic. literally both of these things are true, and it's weird and sad to me that most of the fandom either can't or refuses to recognize that no, disney is not on their side.

like you guys....every single post i see like 'the next movie better make them boyfriends!!' and it seems like they're serious, makes me so fucking sad. because disney will never. ever. ever. ever let wolverine be queer. ever. we do not live in that world. and they will never. ever. ever. ever let deadpool make any actual onscreen* comment or approach to a guy that can't be completely discounted as a joke by anyone who doesn't want it to be serious.

and the fact that so, so many people don't recognize that the world is like this honestly kind of frightens me, both for them and for the world. like i know this is fandom and i'm gonna go back to posting porn and fluff and blorbos in a minute but you genuinely have to recognize the actual state of things or it's just going to keep getting worse.

*the comics are largely a different story bc there's exponentially less money involved and an exponentially smaller audience. would love someone to confirm whether 616!wade has had a non-female love interest yet actually, bc i haven't heard about a guy but i'm almost certain he was dating someone non-binary recently. anyway none of that is the point which is that hugh and ryan are beautiful souls and i'm so grateful for their work but no, the movie is not a romantic comedy. it's a buddy comedy that deliberately uses very obvious romcom tropes as a joke. the punchline of the joke is of course they're not like that, but wouldn't it be wacky and hilarious if they were? which, btw, was also the punchline when they did this on friends. in the fucking nineties.

[nonebinary-leftbeef]

Five minutes into the new magnus protocol episode and all I can think about is how shitty this guy’s essay is

[concord-and-cliches]

THOUGHT GAINED: The Reaming Hypothesis (from [x], id in alt!)

[rorah]

The mentally stable Dimitri Fire emblem 3 hopes.

It surprises me that there's still ppl claiming so, but then I remember we're talking about 3h interpretations and I have to make peace with it.

But that doesn't stop me from venting a little bit in this little space I have lol. Actually, it dries me and makes me feel bad to bring this up because I will have to talk bad about Dedue, and I don't want to talk Bad about Dedue. He's a genuinely good boy. But "Human" nonetheless, which means Flaws. I like Felix too but he's become some sort of a clown that doesn't make me feel too bad. I like Felix tho, In a different way.

Mostly talking about these two because the take that "Dimitri has better support system" baffles me because, technically, these two are his support system in HopesVerse. The persons who Dimitri relays on and seek solace/advice/support. The rest doesn't really tackle any of his personal struggles (aside from the Mage!Mitri frustrated dream, but that's out of the bad equation in our 'mentally unwell' set of pixels, and Shez only has a glimpse). Contrary, to Houses verse where the whole blue lions cast knew about his shit, didn't know what to do, but didn't leave either.

I tackled this topic with other person on Twitter who was (or still is) on board with this take and the phrase they used was They contained him better, which of course I agree and remarked that was exactly the problem. Contain him is gonna be contra productive. I used a water dam analogy, where the structure of such dam is damaged, and the pressure of water keeps accumulating. Causing a foreseeable damage for the dam itself and the surroundings. You don't need to be a genius to understand it, you need experience or knowledge for mental ill topics tho.

I really don't want to extend so much on here because it's mostly just, rant format more than a proper analysis so I just want to point out these two things in their support conversations.

First, Dedue. Encourage him to keep on the vengeful path. Which we know was the final goal of Azure Moon and if you payed attention to 3 houses message. The whole Vengeful argument was something Bad, to keep it simple. Despite Dimitri actively looking for answers/guidance for something that, in a rational state he can see clearly like vengeance will consume his life (also Shez and Felix called out this behavior). Dedue answer only encourage him to keep on that path, because he would do that 💔. Presenting 2 oposite views is a great formula for confusion and disorientation. Now, Dedue's role is primary SUPPORT, not guidance nor orientation. He will support his shit no matter what, and we are quite aware of that if played Houses.

Second, Felix. Felix is a special case. He is smart but also an idiot lacks A LOT of soft skills to actually be of help. He's the only one who knows in this verse about Dimitri having a mental issue. In their A support to say the least, so they don't close or solve anything. What makes it more worrisome is the fact that Felix conceals the issue as a secret.

"So try to keep that whole "removing their heads" thing in check, yeah? We can just call it our little secret."

this extract here makes me feel so unwell 😭help

The whole burden falls over him and his lack of skills and wisdom on the matter will be too much for him later on. He at least, will be able to recognize that the problem is beyond of his capabilities and will look for help. Felix himself has his own issues and journey where he needs to learn. He's forced to get pass beyond some of his angry teen behavior but hasn't completely get over it.

There is a lot more to tackle, but that requires more work and time. What are the topics some of you think is important to cover around understanding the Hopes verse resolution? Dimitri's route? something? Do you think the route without Byleth is better? With that being said, I would like to delve deeper into character analysis, and the role each played for the Lords too. That also requires to talk about the Byleth and needs a whole analysis on their own, which requires time (which i don't have much lol) To end this vent, I would like to encourage people to do a little research for the terminology they're using like "Support System". Who makes it up and how it operates successfully. The fact that ppl saying "he has better support system" only because he didn't go feral on the run alone is not entirely valid. A reminder that people can feel alone with or without people around them. And containing the issue within doesn't solve any problem. At best, it's presented later. At worse, it gets worse.

[eggcats]

I've been listening to the Thunder Saga, and I wonder if Zeus is also asking a question with a right and wrong answer in Thunder Bringer like I think Poseidon did in Ruthlessness. (I have a post for that, but I think Odysseus wasn't supposed to apologize, but to instead acknowledge that he should have killed Polyphemus).

Poseidon had to teach him to be ruthless.

Zeus needs to teach him to stop being so prideful.

Like, yes - Eurylochus did stage the mutiny and killed the cow. But! That was because Odysseus decided not to tell any of his men that they would need to accept 6 deaths to get home and allow them to make the choice themselves - because Odysseus couldn't handle the idea that they might refuse going past Scylla and keep him from going home.

This is even present in the song Scylla. Eurylochus is moved to confess that it was him who opened the bag of winds, but Odysseus keeps his own secrets and guilt to himself. I think none of the men even knew they were going past Scylla at all until it happened, since all Eurylochus says is "something approaches," implying he doesn't know what that something even IS.

Scylla even compares Odysseus to themselves, with his full transformation from man to monster now completed.

You hide a reason for shame You know that we are the same Leaving them feeling betrayed Breaking the bonds that you've made There is no price we won't pay We both know what it takes to survive

But if you notice, once they kill the cow, they start following Odysseus again. Hell, Eurylochus calls him captain! They follow his orders to escape! This shows that their real desire wasn't to overthrow Odysseus, but rather their anger and betrayal at not even having the option to choose to fight over sacrifice.

And honestly, this happened because Odysseus has demonstrated time and again that he will not discuss anything with his men and instead makes decisions without their input (too much pride to ever consider anyone's opinion other than his own).

In Storm, he tries to force the fleets to keep going despite Eurylochus saying that continuing would sink them all. In the same song, Odysseus also decides to go to the wind god without any discussion beforehand, and completely ignores Eurylochus's advice in Luck Runs Out about the inherent danger of going to the gods for help. In this same song, Odysseus also completely ignores the deaths of his men by Polyphemus, and instead brags about none of them dying in the war. (Once again, the pride Zeus mentions, and that Eurylochus criticizes in both Luck Runs Out and Puppeteer).

This is why Eurylochus opens the bag of winds, because Odysseus has proven he can't be trusted to tell him anything that could be important or put their lives in danger. Despite Eurylochus being his second in command, he's never treated as such. Odysseus has never once discussed something with him, taken his concerns into account, made a decision with him together, or even taken his advice. (Even cutting him off as far back as Full Speed Ahead without even considering his opinion).

Odysseus continues to ignore what Eurylochus tries to talk to him about in Puppeteer, and instead unintentionally gets all his men trapped by Circe. He then goes against Eurylochus again in the same song to confront her despite neither of them knowing if she can be defeated. All of this comes to a head when Odysseus does the same thing again in Scylla, except his decision was to intentionally let their men die for his own desires - and Eurylochus had no idea until it had already happened.

And that's why Eurylochus mutinies. He does it because he cares about his men, seemingly more than Odysseus has demonstrated he ever has.

(I'm not saying that Eurylochus has been right this whole time, and honestly I doubt Eurylochus would say the same - but Odysseus won't even listen to what he has to say, is the problem. He has too much pride).

And then Zeus arrives and proves Eurylochus right.

Zeus gives Odysseus a choice - him or his men. Forcing him to come to terms with the very same decision he made during Scylla and expose him for only caring for himself and not the men under his command.

Zeus is criticizing Odysseus and claiming that he's too full of pride to sacrifice himself to save his men. His men of which he is their captain. Of which he is their king. Zeus points this out to him explicitly, leading me to believe that he wasn't supposed to choose himself here.

I think that by taking back command after they killed the cow, Odysseus had taken responsibility for his men's actions. Except, when confronted with those same actions, he refuses to. Much like how a boss gets in trouble when their subordinates do something wrong, a captain should do the same for his crew.

Except. Odysseus doesn't. He fails the test.

And now he must have his pride taken from him again and again until he learns the lesson Zeus was teaching him. Just like he did with learning ruthlessness from Poseidon.

I think the next saga will involve him being confronted with this decision he makes here, and how it was the wrong one, and then the saga after that (perhaps with the suitors? I'm unsure how many more are planned) is when Odysseus will reprise Thunder Bringer and finally be able to return home.

[canisalbus]

Following in the other anon’s question about Fast Machete… Healthy Machete AU where he’s a 100m dash Olympic runner, and Vasco is an equestrian Olympian. (Had to look up which Olympics had the 100m dash and learned that equestrian is a sport in the summer Olympics). Or maybe archery?

.

[sofipitch]

There are now at least two theories in TLT that seem to exclude one another yet both are true. Both Harrow and Palamedes' theories about how lyctorhood is achieved are true. Both Harrow's theory that her weird experiences are due to her psychosis and Abigail's that it's bc she is super haunted by ghosts are also true. There may be others. I know Tazmuir is religious but seems to have a good deal of biology knowledge, which biologists are one of the least religious groups in science. I wonder if this is reflective of her experience as a religious person who is both queer and probably believes in evolution?

[illogicallyinclined]

watching NHL playoffs and thinking about my boys again and all i can imagine is some complete asshole doing his best to piss Roman off the entire game (and it is working) except, plot twist, Logan has overheard every exchange near his net and he is Pissed Off As Well (which. that's never good if you're trying to play against him).

anyway, aforementioned asshole gets this solid shot on net -- an absolute laser beam in the middle of a messy scrum -- and Logan is so petty and spiteful and determined not to let This Guy score on His Captain that its like he unlocks a new, never-before-seen reflex just so he can make the save. the crowd doesn't know how he did it. his team doesn't know how he did it. LOGAN doesn't even really know how he did it. but DAMN if it isn't the most satisfying thing in the world to watch that smug bastard skulk off the ice with his tail between his legs