#Ossifer is actually a reference to Ossification

[thecupcakewritesmorethings]

Meet the Ossifers

Jesse Cromeans/Chromeskull x Reader

Plot: Jesse, currently acting as Richard Ossifer, returns to his fake spouse and their son on Halloween afternoon after a successful surgery. He proceeds to get a wholesome surprise.

Contrary to what one might expect, Jesse quite enjoys the concept of Halloween. Okay, sure. He wasn’t the biggest fan of the adult costumes unless he was actively hunting... And YES, a thousand roving little packs of children being lead around by their parents or older siblings could get annoying...

However, the safety and sanctity to be anything, or anyone HE wanted to be was a delight in of itself. More often than not, however, he choses to remain the one thing he doesn’t need a costume for; himself.

The sentiment may have been a little gaudy, but it rung VERY true for Jesse... Or “Richard Ossifer,” to his new neighbors. When else was the normally bandaged, mute man, going to enjoy the comfort of wearing his mask and suit out in public without it activating some fight-or-flight instinct in the general populace?...

... And in a way, he was happy he chose today to schedule his dental surgery.

Spann had driven him too and from his appointment. As much as it killed his machismo to not sit in the driver’s seat; he had to be careful. So the backseat, reclined as far as he could go would have to do. From behind the confines of his ace bandages he could feel his cheeks swelling to an otherwise alarming degree.

He tried not to think about how fucked up he’d look.

Instead, he focused on the world passing by outside. He surveyed the decorations in the shop windows, watching all the pumpkins and the sugar skulls and streamers. It wasn’t dark yet, but on occasion he’d pass by someone in their costume about to go out for candy.

Jesse should have reminded you to pick up candy... The good kind, too. Not the fun-sized stuff... Oh well. Maybe he’d be able to convince you to go get the goods after he arrived. They weren’t that far away from the house...

Wait. Anesthetic make braincells go brrr- he has a PHONE. In a few seconds he is patting himself down, earning a quick glance from Spann as he withdraws his phone.

“Is something wrong, sir?”

He shakes his head and sends you the message. Spann, he guessed, was more than capable of walking into a Target or Walmart to get candy- but he needed to be home. He’d not bother her with it.

It’s Halloween. Do we have good candy?

It takes a few moments for you to respond. When you do, Jesse feels slightly baffled.

Yeah. Cole and I went out and got costumes last week, don’t you remember?

No. He didn’t. Did Spann go with you? He wracked his brain trying to recall you requesting--.... Oh. That’s right. You had asked him for a few hundred the week prior for something. You had told him- but by now your fake relationship as his happy little house-spouse had become iron clad. He never batted an eye when you asked for some pocket change.

What candy did you guys get?

A variety pack.

It’s a bunch of fun-sized stuff isn’t it?

You haven’t met Cole high on sugar. Trust me. You want fun-sized.

Oh. Now Jesse had to jump to your son’s honor. It had been a happy little coincidence that you had a young son when Spann had scoped you out. You had been... Struggling, to put it mildly, when Spann found you. It had been a risk when Jesse suggested that acting the part of his romantic partner would help keep you and your child afloat. Thankfully, you listened.

Well. You haven’t met Richard short on sugar.

Didn’t you just get out of surgery?

I recover well.

Cole was only six, but by god. Cole was impossibly ideal for a child. Sweet, respectful for a child his age, thought “Richie” was the coolest thing since sliced bread. Jesse had been hesitant, initially when he discovered you had a child. His plan would have gone to shit if Cole didn’t like him, and even if Cole HAD he wasn’t... Sure how he’d feel around kids since his Ex’s death.

Note to self: hide candy. From you.

Traitor.

Jesse returns his gaze to the road and watches for a moment as he lets any unease in his stomach uncoil. He’s the type to get motion sick if he’s looking down in a car, and the cocktail of pain meds and worn off anesthesia is making it worse.

After a few seconds he lifts his phone again.

What costumes did you get?

You do not respond immediately and it... Well, this is the ONE thing that annoys Jesse sometimes. Half of the time this is the only way he can talk to you, and though he knows you aren’t ignoring him on purpose: it’s hard to not feel that way sometimes.

You’ll see.~

Oh now he was curious.

... What are the costumes?

Trust me, you want to see them when you get back. We’re already in them!

Now Jesse was getting... Annoyed. Where you purposefully trying to be obtuse?

Pics?...

A thought occurred.

It’s nothing raunchy is it?

What? No. Cole picked them out!

However, his insistence was paying off. 

Let’s put it this way; we match!

... “We Match?” What the heck was that supposed to mean. Were you trying to be cute, and wound up being obtuse about it?

Jesse detested this guessing game, but before he pulled out the financial benefactor card, you recovered.

You want me to make you a shake?

Fuck yeah.

His eye hurt too much now, and his stomach was up in knots. Jesse didn’t like the idea, but he hated the idea of vomiting in Spann’s vehicle even less. He reclined and tried to relax the rest of the way home.

As tempting as it was to close his eyes, though, Jesse couldn’t. He and his little makeshift family lived in the back of a large suburban neighborhood of well-to-dos. Hiding in plain sight, really. Which meant you and Cole were essential. As far as your neighbors knew, your veteran of a boyfriend had been planning to tie the knot with you for quite some time... But the car accident had left his face burned and ruined, and so the two of you had decided to postpone it. Still, Jesse had been happy when you never corrected anyone who called you Mx. Ossifer.

There were lines of Mc-Mansions and slightly decorated lawns, but nothing too crazy for the Halloween Holiday, even as kids and their families dragged out red wagons to cart around toddlers and their candies... Maybe Jesse could have paid a landscape artist to decorate. You had only done so much on your own.

As Spann pulled up into the circular driveway of your shared home, Jesse had only been reminded that you hadn’t done too much to decorate. A few foam jack-o-lanterns at the doorstep, a few small pumpkins littered along the walkway, and orange lights replacing the walkway lights.

Spann helped him out of the car, and moments after stepping out he felt his entire back let out a symphony of pops. God he was tired. Still, the procedure would help him in the long-run... Plus he had a shake waiting on the inside.

After taking a few uneasy, sore steps, Spann offered her shoulder to help Jesse in, and minutes before they got to the French doors of the house, Cole opened them and stepped out.

He was wearing his Sunday best, a gift from Jesse for his birthday, excluding the dress shoes which had been swapped out for much more comfortable tennis shoes. He stared up at Jesse through a metallic half-mask shaped like a skull, with the other half of his face painted to look like a skeleton.

“You’re BACK!” he said to Jesse as he ran forward and went-- straight for the knees-- and hugged Jesse. “I missed you, Richie!”

Jesse could die and go to hell and he’d be happy. Forget the shake. There was a kid less than ten years old who was dressed up as a fancy skeleton holding his knee. It took all of three seconds before said child was scooped up into Jesse’s arms and safely clinging around Jesse’s neck.

You were soon to follow, a glass and a large straw poking out of it. You were- also in costume, but unlike Cole your face was all makeup to match the painted parts of his face...

Jesse continued to assess you with one eye while you approached with the shake. You had been dressed up nicely as well. Maybe not as corporate and formal as Cole, but you dressed well. Head-to-toe in black, bordering slightly on too form-fitting for a funeral, but far too dark for casual house-spouse attire.

A makeshift family of three Skeletons. You, looking like a modern-day Adams, Cole looking like a mini, corporate Grim Reaper... And of course... Jesse himself.

No. Not Jesse.

Richard. Richie Ossifer.

“Chocolate shake?” you asked. “Since your teeth will hurt otherwise?”

As soon as Jesse had picked up Cole, he sat him down and began typing away on his phone. He held it up to you frantically.

What’s this for?

“Oh, well.” Instantly through the skull paint he could see your face warp to a pensive frown of unease. “Cole SAID he wanted to be like you for Halloween, and when I saw the half-mask and the face-paint I came up with the idea. I didn’t...” your eyes turned to Spann for a split second. “I didn’t over-step did I?”

No. No you had not.

Jesse came forward and pulled you into an uncharacteristically emotional hug as Cole hugged your legs. “Yayyyy~ He likes it!~”

A perfect little cover-family. Jesse may have needed this cover family, but in that moment he wished so desperately that a fraction of the lie was a truth. To come home to an understanding spouse, a loving step-child... God damn, Richard was a lucky son of a bitch, and he wasn’t even real. Right now, though- the two of you were.

Pictures.

Jesse quickly released you and turned to Spann who was busy... Processing this. His hand shot out with his phone.

Spann held the phone in her hand and gave a sort of half-frown. “Sir, you’re not... You’re not in your mask.”

FUCK SHE WAS RIGHT.

Jesse stormed off into the house, maybe faster than was probably safe on as many pain meds as he had in his system, but the man waltzed right up to his stairs before slowing down. Cole passed him up. “I’ll get it! In the bathroom?”

The man nodded, lifting his hands to sign “Shelves”. Cole had done good learning a few spare ASL phrases... Still wouldn’t sign back to Jesse but, well. He’d take a win where it mattered.

“OKAY!” Cole hollered halfway running to Jesse’s room already as you and Spann entered the house.

“Sir, you just came out from under the knife. You should probably sit down.”

Jesse shook his head and signed HELL, then proceeded to shake his head. Hell no, he said. Had to get pictures with his boy and his spouse. It was actually odd, Spann let out a humored chuckle-snort. Clearly she found the idea cute as well. 

Seconds later Cole came running down the stairs with the Chromeskull mask in his hand and handed it to the tall man on the way down. “Pictures! Pictures!”

Jesse bobbed his head to the chant and held hands as they descended the stairs with a jaunty little step.

In no time at all Jesse grabbed your arm and pulled you up a step to get better into the photo and Cole was up in his arms. In three seconds Spann would take no fewer than five pictures of “Richie” and the rest of the Ossifers. In twenty minutes, Jessie would convince Spann and you to let him stay up to pass out candy while you went out with Cole. When you’d return several neighbors would tell you how adorable your family Halloween theme was.

An hour after that the paint on you and Cole’s face would be hastily washed off and soup would be had for dinner. Your son would be asleep on the entertainment system and Spann would leave. Jesse would help wake Cole long enough to get him into his bed and the two of you would go to your own separate rooms.

If it hadn’t been for his aching jaw, Jesse would have been brave and tried to coax you into spending a little bit more time together... Put on a horror movie. Maybe be coy and get closer to you, or pull you a little closer if you’d allow it... But his jaw was aching, and he desperately didn’t want this day to end with him over-stepping any boundaries, so he went to his bed alone and looked at the photos once more... He’d get a few of these printed for the home office.

Richard Ossifer was a lucky man. A lucky man indeed.

[goodqueenaly]

I sometimes wonder whether GRRM will in the future draw inspiration from Aegon IV (and, by extension, a bit for Daeron II) from John II of France, specifically as he's portrayed in The Accursed Kings.

The reason I say "in the future" is because I don't actually know whether GRRM has read the seventh and last book in the series, The King Without a Kingdom, where John II is (albeit somewhat indirectly) one of the main protagonists. The King Without a Kingdom is sort of the odd duck of the series, because not only was it published nearly two decades after the sixth novel, but it was only officially translated and published in English in 2015, long after GRRM started writing Aegon IV (much less ASOIAF). GRRM himself lamented back in 2009 that the last book in the series had never been published in English, and while he gleefully reported in 2013 that as part of the new English editions being published, Harper Collins would include a translated version of the seventh novel, he did not go on to mention his reading the seventh novel. Even the (repeated) foreword by GRRM to these new publications of The Accursed Kings - including, inexplicably, The King Without a Kingdom itself - includes GRRM’s statement that “the seventh and final volume was never translated into English at all”. (I myself didn’t see anything I felt was specifically related to or drawn from The King Without a Kingdom in F&B, obviously the first major new/mostly new Westerosi work from GRRM since The Accursed Kings was republished in full.)

Yet now that almost a decade has passed since The King Without a Kingdom was published in English, I would not be surprised if GRRM has taken the opportunity to read it - and if so, if he might use the character of John II for inspiration for Aegon IV. Indeed, even the official summary for the book suggests John II as to some extent a ready parallel for Aegon the Unworthy, calling him, John, "a monarch as vain and cruel as he is incompetent". The very first description of King John from the novel's narrator, Cardinal Talleyrand of Perigord, refers to the king as "a brutal and violent man" whose "dreams and secret fears ... provoke sudden and murderous fits of rage" - traits which also fit Aegon IV, the man who had no qualms about executing Bethany and her father, consigning Cassella Vaith to (presumed) execution, and attempting to judicially murder both his brother and his sister-wife (and who may have murdered his own father in the bargain). Further, the cardinal's account of King John as a man "incapable of listening to advice or of the slightest self-control” served as an apt reflection on Aegon IV, who showed no restraint in his many sexual affairs or his tyrannical regnal decisions. John II, according to the cardinal, “hiding his weaknesses under an exterior of grand ostentation” very much recalls the author's description of Aegon IV, with his excessive and garish draconic crown, his “bright and rich” garments, and his many gems. Both John II and Aegon IV can be accurately described as “at the core, a fool, the exact opposite of a conqueror, his soul the opposite of the soul of a commander" - an assessment borne out by the spectacular military failures of each king. 

Moreover, there are specific points in the book’s description of John II which may be used by GRRM in the future for Aegon IV. If John II is not presented as quite the omnivorously lascivious man Aegon IV was, or as hateful toward his wives as Aegon was toward Naerys, the cardinal nevertheless observes critically the king's (specifically romantic) favoritism toward a male aristocrat. The cardinal’s report that John II falsely charged and condemned his constable in order to seize that man’s rich possessions and pass them off to his favorite echoes both Aegon IV’s seizure of the Plumm inheritance after his cousin Elaena’s marriage to Lord Ossifer as well as his grant of the Teats to the Blackwoods (after taking the land from the Brackens). John II’s obsession with building a mighty siege tower to take an English-held town during the Hundreds Years War, only to watch that tower be spectacularly destroyed and burned (particularly by Greek fire, GRRM’s own explicit inspiration for wildfire) closely resembles Aegon IV’s abortive attempt to invade Dorne with his wooden dragons, which were themselves incinerated by wildfire. King John’s willingness to pursue a charge of treason against King Charles of Navarre and a number of other Norman knights on no greater basis than the hollow accusation of a member of his court may also find similarities to Aegon IV’s accusations of treason, again on no basis, toward his brother and sister-wife as well as his (probable) betrayal of justice against Terrence Toyne (and by extension Bethany and her father).

Even John II's relationship with his eldest son and heir Charles may be used by the author in writing about Aegon IV and his son and heir, Daeron. If John II is not quite as openly antagonistic toward the Dauphin as Aegon was always reported to be toward Daeron, there is nevertheless a steep contrast between the Valois royal father and son which broadly parallels that between this Targaryen king and his Prince of Dragonstone. Just as Daeron II was "[n]ot a warrior by any means; round-shouldered, with thin legs and a small pot belly", so the cardinal notes that the future Charles V is "unable to wield a sword", thanks to a condition which makes his right hand swell "whenever he tries to lift a heavy weight or hold on to an object tightly" (and indeed, the dauphin eventually retreats from the disastrous battlefield at Poitiers, a move even the cardinal considers unheroic). (It may also be worth pointing out that the cardinal claims that the dauphin Charles physically resembles Louis IX, the explicit parallel for Daeron’s own spiritual predecessor Baelor the Blessed.) Yet while the cardinal reports that John II therefore "conclude[s] ... that the dauphin is an idiot who would make a bad king" - surely about what Aegon IV thought of the future Daeron II - the cardinal himself overall sympathetically portrays the dauphin as a thoughtful, judicious contrast to his blustering, foolish father - much the dynamic I think the author wants to write between Daeron and Aegon. (And indeed, Maurice Druon excepts the future Charles V from his declaration that ”[t]he thirteen Valois kings who were to … reign over France for two hundred and fifty years would all have in their blood … certain characteristics of [the] crazed nature” of Charles, count of Valois, brother of Philip IV. Too, Druon gives Charles his familiar epithet, calling him a “wise king”, when describing the future kings of France at the end of the sixth novel, The Lily and the Lion.) 

Again, none of this is exact, and there are certainly other parallels the author will doubtless look to for Aegon IV (and Daeron II). (No one bring "Aegon IV is the Henry VIII of Westeros" into my house, we all know how I feel about that.) But it me to bring in more of The Accursed Kings.

[sakuraswordly]

Knowledge 25

How to identify types of petrified wood?

Petrified wood seen at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. Petrified wood does not have a strict classification system. It is typically identified based on color and mineral composition. Depending on their oxidation state, trace metals, particularly iron, can produce a range of hues in petrified wood.

December 10, 2020Alison Cornford-Matheson

Petrified wood is an amazing stone. Its look can be quite distinct, featuring the same grain, rings, or other patterns found in wood without being made of organic materials. As a result, it’s a popular item for jewelry.

If you’d like to learn more about petrified wood, including what it is, how it’s made, and more, here’s what you need to know.

WHAT IS PETRIFIED WOOD?

Before we dig into what petrified wood is, let’s look at another question that often springs to mind: what does petrified mean? In the simplest terms, petrification is a process where organic matter changes into a stony substance. It’s not unlike ossification in the human body, where cartilage is turned into bone.

For something to be petrified, it needs to have gone through the process of petrification. As a result, petrified wood is simply wood (an organic material) that’s been changed into stone because of that process.

WHAT IS A PETRIFIED TREE?

A petrified tree is just petrified wood. Usually, the only difference in those terms is the size of the piece being discussed. If it’s a large sample that still very much resembles a branch, trunk, or another clearly tree-like segment, it may be referred to as a petrified tree.

However, calling a large, tree-like specimen petrified wood isn’t incorrect. Similarly, referring to a smaller sample as a piece of a petrified tree isn’t wrong, either. It usually a matter of semantics.

HOW DOES WOOD BECOME PETRIFIED?

When it comes to what causes petrified wood, the process is relatively straightforward but rarely occurs. Typically, when a plant dies, it decomposes. For wood to petrify, that decomposition process can’t happen.

To end up with petrified wood, a dead tree or branch needs to be buried in the earth, such as under a layer of mud, silt, or even ash from a volcano. Once covered, oxygen can’t reach the organic matter, preventing or substantially slowing traditional decay.

Water with a high mineral content (or mineral-rich mud) also has to be present near the now-buried tree. As the fluid seeps into the wood’s structure through pores or similar openings, the organic form breaks down slowly. As it does, the physical structure is replaced by minerals, leading to petrified wood.

WHAT TYPE OF ROCK IS PETRIFIED WOOD?

In most cases, petrified wood contains silica, usually quartz. If you find a piece of agatized wood, it’s simply petrified wood that features agate, a type of chalcedony (which is actually a form of quartz).

With opalized petrified wood, it’s a bit trickier. While opalized wood can refer to petrified wood that’s made of opal, the term also covers any petrified wood that’s ended up with an opalescent sheen.

It’s also important to note that, with opalized petrified wood that actually contains opal, it’s usually common opal. Common opal does have a sheen, but it doesn’t have the characteristic play-of-color you typically find in precious opals (the version most frequently used for jewelry). As a result, opalized wood can actually look a lot like chalcedony petrified wood. In some cases, it even takes scientific testing to tell the difference.

However, there are petrified wood samples featuring precious opal. They are incredibly rare and tend to be more valuable than their counterparts.

IS PETRIFIED WOOD A FOSSIL?

Yes, petrified wood is a fossil. The process essentially preserves the structure of the original specimen while replacing the organic material with minerals.

[dravidious]

Yeah, both this one and the Goodbye theme had references to every previous CH theme (some more subtle than others)

And I'm glad you liked the edits to the art, because I spent unreasonably long on them (and it's nice to know I wasn't the only one laughing at the Enchanted Forest one)

I once made the worst MTG deck ever. I realized that if a normal deck runs like 24 creatures and 12 removal cards, then if I play a deck with no creatures in it, the opponent's removal cards become useless. So if I have 36 removal cards against their ~24 creatures, I can remove everything they play and I'll never lose. All I need is 2-3 win condition cards. The result was a deck of pure evil: Hyper control.

Amazingly, the deck actually worked kinda well! It wasn't fun for anyone, but it won games, and it was very satisfying to just say NO to all the infuriating overpowered rare cards I always lost to. Turns out a 5-mana 10/10 doesn't matter if you just cast murder on it. The deck even survived standard rotation (it was standard, because no way am I trying my chances in historic). The first version of the deck used Ill-Gotten Inheritance, and the second version used Dogged Pursuit. Unfortunately, there have been no good win condition cards since Dominaria United, and mill without blue (blue doesn't have enough permanent removal) would take WAY too long. I did actually win some games via deckout, but it was too slow.

But recently, with strong removal cards like Planar Disruption and Ossification, I wanted to try it again. And I realized a certain card had been sitting in my collection...

Hyper control still works

[wisdomrays]

TAFAKKUR: Part 103

Human Development As Revealed In The Holy Qu'ran And Hadith

Dr Albar is a Consultant to the King Fahad Medical Research Center, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah. In this excellent, fully illustrated study, written in plain English with only the minimum of technical words, he presents a summary of present knowledge about human embryonic development in the light of the Qur'an and Hadith.

The Qur'anic descriptions and those in the Hadith are remarkable for their accuracy in relation to what is known about the subject now. But, what was known then? Until 1688, among Muslim as well as European scientists, the Aristotelian account dominated, no one daring to question it. The two theories in Aristotle's time were: (a) the embryo is preformed as a miniature in either the male semen or the female secretion and then grows in the womb; and (b) the embryo is actually formed and created out of the menstrual blood. Aristotle favoured the second view, adding that male semen caused the menstrual blood to coagulate, like milk curdling into cheese. The Qur'anic description tells us, by contrast, that (a) the embryo is not pre-formed but grows in successive stages (71.13-14, 23.12-14,22.5); and (b) is formed equally of male and female fluids (76.2). The relevant ahadith re-state what is in the Qur'an. Interestingly, while exegetes of Qur'an and Hadith did not fall into error in their account, many Muslim scientists and doctors, under the spell of Aristotle, repeated Aristotle's (incorrect) view. Thus, about 700 years after the Revelation, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani commented: 'Many of the anatomists claim that the semen of the male has no role in creation of the baby. Its role, they claim, is limited to curdling the menstrual blood… The saying of the Prophet denies what they say. The semen of the male actually participates equally to that of the female in formation of the embryo.'

The pre-formation theory lasted in Europe into the 18th century when it was believed that a full miniature existed either in the female ovum or in the male sperm, then simply got bigger in the womb. This theory was destroyed gradually and was no longer held in any form after 1900. Von Baer (1829-37), called the 'father of embryology', identified the human ovum. Subdivision of the egg, i.e. growth of the embryo in successive stages, was properly demonstrated and understood in 1839 by Schwann and Schleiden. And in 1875, Hertwig described the fertilization of an egg by a sperm. Then in 1883, Von Benden showed that male and female cells contribute the same number of chromosomes to the embryo.

However, not until this century, have a number of discoveries established how and when the sex of the embryo is determined; how and when the hones and musculature, the organs of sight and hearing, the nervous system, and so on, develop. It is rather more than remarkable, therefore, that in Qur'an and Hadith we should find unmistakably accurate and detailed references to these matters.

The earliest of the successive stages of embryo development is the nutfah, in turn distinguished as male and female nutfah (in modern terminology, gamete), the two being commingled to form the nutfat amshaj (zygote). The Qur'an clearly and explicitly states (75.3(t), 53.45-6, 59. 58-9) that the sex of the embryo is carried in the fluid ejaculated by the male (X or Y chromosome in the fertilizing sperm). Also, in the Qur'an s emphasis that growth is from a lucre drop of fluid, we find a clear pointer to the fact that the spermatozoa make up a mere 0.5% of the ejaculated fluid, in which tiny quantity are carried an average 2 to 300 million individual sperms.

The nutfat amshaj (zygote) develops into 'alaqah (that which clings) which attaches itself to the uterine wall. The stunning precision of the term 'alaqah for the detail of how the zygote attaches, implants and is nourished in the womb, is striking in Dr Albar's account. (For even more on the detail, see Sikander Hussain 'Al'Alaq: the mystery explored', Ark Journal, London, 1986, pp. 31-6.) The 'alaqah is transformed into mudghah (chewed lump), the somite(s) from which hones and muscles are subsequently differentiated. The mudghah stage includes also the pharyngeal arches (out of which face, ear and neck are formed) - the marked indentations give the embryo the look of a 'chewed lump'. The Qur`an's allusion (22.5) to mukhlaqa and ghairu mukhlaqa, formed and non- formed development of the mudghah, is now readily understood as the critical period of organogenesis, when the embryo is most susceptible to factors which can cause congenital malformations. The Qur'an says (2.259): kayfa nanshuzu-ha thumma naksu-ha tahma, 'how We erect them (the bones) then enclothe them in flesh'. Nanshuzu-ha, here inadequately rendered 'We erect them' is as informative as any modern textbook description, for example 'With time a number of needle-like spicules are formed which progressively radiate from the primary ossification centres towards the periphery.'

The pre-formational aspects of embryo development are now understood as hereditary characteristics contributed by parental genes. In the Qur'an (81). 17-19), the nutfah (male and female gametes) is said to carry these predetermined characteristics. There are several ahadith confirming this reading. One, in the Sahih of Muslim, explicitly mentions 4O -42 days after fertilization as the moment when the angel enters the womb and 'gives the nutfah its shape and form, creates its hearing and visual apparatus, builds up the hones, the muscles and forms the skin. He then asks, 0 God, is it a boy or a girl, what is its livelihood and what will be its lifespan? God gives His answer and the angel writes all that will come. 'The textbooks tell us that 'In the sixth week of development the Primordial germ cells invade the genital ridges; if they fail to reach the ridges, the gonads do not develop..' The site of formation of the gonads is indicated in Qur'an 86.5-9 as 'between the backbone and the ribs'. This is exactly right. Once formed the gonads differentiate into either male and female and make their progress in the body accordingly. Blood and nerve supply and lymph drainage remain connected, even in the adult, to the area 'between the backbone and the ribs'.

In this review only a few of the great many correspondences between the Quranic text or ahadith and current knowledge about human embryo development have been mentioned. What is the point of noting these? Almost all of these Qur'anic verses have as their general context a reminder of the resurrection. The re-creation of individual human life after death. We are confronted with the fact of life as a stunning miracle of the Mercy and Omnipotence of the Creator. Knowledge of the successive stages of growth from the near-nothing of a spot of bodily fluid cannot but create a sense of awe at the responsibility one carries for the miracle of one's life. And one carries it hack to Him whose care initiated, ordained, proportioned and sustained our life - the contrasted human contribution being that drop of 'lowly fluid'. Then, what - except perversity - could allow us to doubt that the Creator has concern for how we use our lives, or doubt that He can and will bring us again to life so that we may ourselves understand fully the worth of our intentions and actions? Also, these verses, urging a meditation upon the fact of life rather than upon the fact of death, educate a positive temperament, a positive attitude. Religious responsibility can be awakened by reflecting upon the wonder of birth, as much as by reflecting upon the mystery of death.

No textbook about human embryo development can inspire reflections of this kind. Of course, it is also of the utmost importance to know that the information in the Qur'an, given in words which are extraordinarily precise and yet remain generally intelligible, is accurate. Most non-Muslims do not believe that the Qur'an is the Book of God verbatim, as Muslims believe. In trying to make sense of the phenomenon - so copiously illustrated by Dr Albar from the field of human embryology - of how so much accurate knowledge is there in the Book, they may be led to question the assurance with which they hold to their non-belief.

[scoliosiscarecenters-blog]

5 Things to Know Before Choosing Your Scoliosis Treatment Provider

Choosing a scoliosis treatment provider is a difficult task. There are multiple types of treatment options all claiming to be better than the other. Many treatments are expensive, some treatments look extremely painful, other treatments look like they’re a huge time commitment, and others just don’t seem like they’d actually work. In an ideal world, you could simply do some stretches and your spine would miraculously straighten out. Unfortunately, that’s not usually the case for most scoliosis curves. So, how do you choose which scoliosis treatment is right for you? Before you either spend a lot of money, waste a lot of time, or do a treatment that’s irreversible – these are 5 things you should know before choosing your scoliosis treatment provider.

1. There are Multiple Types of Scoliosis

It’s extremely important to know which type of scoliosis you have prior to choosing a provider, as some types are much more difficult to treat as well as time sensitive. Some of the different scoliosis types include Congenital Scoliosis, Degenerative Scoliosis, Neuromuscular Scoliosis, and Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis. Among the different types, the most common type of scoliosis by far is Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, also sometimes just referred to as Idiopathic. It is commonly believed that Idiopathic Scoliosis has no known cause; however, there have been multiple hypotheses on what the cause might be. For more information on what Scoliosis Care Centers has found to be the most common root cause, read The Root Cause of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis.

2. There are Two Main Categories of Scoliosis Treatment

In a broad classification, there are two core types of scoliosis treatments; nonsurgical treatment and scoliosis surgery. With scoliosis surgery, there are two main options as well, Spinal Fusion Surgery and Vertebral Body Tethering. Both options are invasive (as surgery tends to be) Spinal Fusion Surgery is entirely irreversible and while VBT can be reversed on occasion, that is contingent upon the type and point of entry. There are a variety of different nonsurgical treatment options which include, but are not limited to, Scoliosis Soft Bracing, Scoliosis Hard Bracing, Traction Devices, Scoliosis Exercises, Schroth Therapy, and multiple combinations of those used in tandem (AKA a comprehensive treatment).

3. Time is of The Essence

Idiopathic scoliosis curve progression is directly correlated with increased rate of growth. In other words, the spinal curvature can quickly spiral out of control during growth spurts. Nonsurgical treatment works best while the body is still growing as the spine is not skeletally mature. The “wait and see” method of monitoring annually and taking no action is not a good strategy when you’re still growing. This begs the question –“How do I know if I’m done growing?” Doctors factor in a couple of things when assessing whether you’re still growing. First and foremost, age. If you’re 11 years old, it is highly likely you’re still going to grow. Secondly, if you’re female, if you haven’t had your first menses, you’re probably still going to grow. Lastly, doctors look at your Risser stage. Your Risser stage is determined by analyzing the ossification in the iliac crest or the growth plate in a hand through either an X-ray image or MRI. The stages go from 0-5, with 5 being skeletally mature.

4. Understanding Your Scoliosis Curve Measurements

The curvature of the spine is measured by calculating the angle of the topmost tilted vertebrae above the apex of the curve with the bottom-most tilted vertebrae. Where the lines intersect is the Cobb angle. The severity of scoliosis is determined by the Cobb angle. The ranges are as follows: 10-24 degrees is mild scoliosis, 25 to 39 is moderate scoliosis, and 40 degrees and above is severe scoliosis. 40 degrees is also the surgical threshold – most surgeons will not operate until the curve exceeds this measurement. There are two types of spinal curves, S-curves and C-curves. S-curves have two main curves. When referring to the severity of an S-curve, doctors will usually refer to the higher Cobb angle (see example). Given that S-curves have two main curves rather than one, they are generally more difficult to treat. That said, contrary to popular belief, S-curves can still be treated non-surgically, even severe cases.

5. Not All Scoliosis Braces are Created Equal

Scoliosis bracing is the most well-known method of non-surgical treatment. It is also one of the most heavily ridiculed, and for good reason. Although some braces are effective at straightening the spine, there are plenty of other braces that actually make the curve worse. That said, it’s important to point out that, through extensive studies, scoliosis bracing is the only nonsurgical treatment method proven to provide scoliosis curve reduction beyond a reasonable doubt. To ensure that you choose the best brace possible for your specific curve, here are some traits to look for in brace design:

A) Custom bracing — every spine and scoliosis curve is different, so every brace should be too. Avoid generic one-size-fits-all braces.

B) The spine will never be straighter than the brace makes it — if your spine is not straighter in-brace than it is out-of-brace, then it is not doing its job. The purpose of the brace is to hold the spine in a straighter and centered position.

C) Part-time bracing — for very small curves you might be able to get away with just a nighttime brace. However, as a general rule of thumb, the brace only works when you wear it, thus the longer you wear it, the better the results. This is only valid if point ”B” is true. So, if a brace is advertised as only needed to be worn for a few hours a day it is likely to be ineffective.

D) Monitoring the performance — arguably the most important thing in any brace design, it is critical to CHECK IF THE BRACE IS REDUCING THE CURVE. An in-brace X-ray or standing MRI (preferably standing MRI to avoid radiation) should be taken immediately after fitting to test the effectiveness of the brace and identify areas for improvement. The brace should be monitored every three months after initial fitting to ensure it’s still providing adequate correction.

If you’re interested in learning more about Scoliosis Care Centers’ nonsurgical scoliosis treatment, visit our treatment page or contact one of our case managers to discuss today!

[kittykatknits]

Hi! Love your thoughts on ASOIAF. What's your opinion on Alayne's talk w/ Lyn Corbray in WoW chapter? Also your take on certain words GRRM use to describe their talk- Do you think he writes their interaction in that chapter as if Alayne and Lyn are parrying, Sansa using her words as a sword

I was convinced we wouldn’t get a Sansa chapter until Winds came out, especially since Martin pushed the Dance chapters off. We can thank S5 of the show for giving this to us.

My initial reaction to this whole chapter, before picking it apart, is the feeling of reading a dance scene. Sansa drifts from one partner to another, interacting in a small scene before going on to the next. It also reminded me of the third Jaime chapter in SoS which features the big fight between Brienne and Jaime.

It’s the sexiest non-sex scene in the entire series. I’m not going to break down the entire fight but let’s look at this:

As he felt himself falling, he twisted the mischance into a diving lunge. His point scraped past her parry and bit into her upper thigh. A red flower blossomed, and Jaime had an instant to savor the sight of her blood before his knee slammed into a rock.

-Jaime III, SoS

Jaime lunges and the point of his “sword” bits into her upper thigh. A red flower blooms, and flower is an in-universe term for a woman’s virginal state. This whole bit comes in the same book that has the Ghost of HH use the “blood on the maiden’s thigh” line just in case we somehow miss what’s going on.

The point is, the fight isn’t just a fight, there’s something else here. Jaime refers to it as a dance multiple times, other characters refer to sword fights as dances, plus we have the in-your-face Dance of Dragons.

But, Sansa doesn’t fight with swords or daggers or beasts. She uses words, courtesy, and courtly behavior. It’s still a dance though, just a difference kind of dance.

This won’t break down the entire chapter, but I do want to expand beyond her conversation with Lyn Corbray. Sansa has three separate interactions in a short span of time with his being the second. The first is with Ser Ossifer Lipps and Ser Uther Shett. Their names tell us much of what we need to know, simple opponents, nothing to worry over.

“And have you seen all those maids yourself, ser?” Alayne asked him. “You are young to be so widely travelled.”

   He blushed, which only made his pimples look angrier.  “No, my lady. I am from Gulltown.”

- Alayne I, WoW

Sansa uses her words, deflecting the compliments, showing us, the readers, that these two are harmless. Right after the above exchange, she tells herself to remember that Shett is from Gulltown and then tells them she needs to go, not bothering to wait for a reply. Sansa can easily disarm these two. She won that match and moves on to her next dancing partner.

We see Ser Lyn Corbray who is sparring with an unnamed knight who Lyn defeats. Sansa notes the ferocity behind the fighting, telling us Lyn would have killed his opponent if not for the blunted swords. She opens with this:

“Well struck, Ser Lyn,” Alayne called out. “Though I fear you’ve knocked poor Ser Owen insensible.”

She’s courteous, complimenting a knight on his skill. Corbray dismisses it, rather than accepting the words as he should:

Corbray glanced back to where his foe was being helped from the yard by his squire. “He had no sense to start with, or he should not have tried me.”

Sansa counters that:

   There is truth in that, Alayne thought, but some demon of mischief was in her that morning, so she gave Ser Lyn a thrust of her own. Smiling sweetly, she said, “My lord father tells me your brother’s new wife is with child.”

This is a dance we are looking at here, just as other dances occur in the series. Except, it’s with courtesy. This is Westeros where the family is very much a public and political institution. Lyn Corbray’s brother is going to have a child which means the line of succession is secure. Sansa uses courtesy as her armor, but the thing with armor is that it can also be made into a weapon. She struck him though and she knows it:

Oh, that’s an open wound, thought Alayne. Lyonel Corbray’s first wife had given him nothing but a frail, sickly babe who died in infancy, and during all those years Ser Lyn had remained his brother’s heir.

And because she’s so good at using her courtesy, Sansa twists her sword even more:

She smiled and said, “My father is always pleased to be of service to one of Lord Robert’s leal bannermen. I’m sure he would be most delighted to help broker a marriage for you as well, Ser Lyn.”

He’s not so easily defeated though:

“How kind of him.” Corbray’s lips drew back in something that might have been meant as a smile, though it gave Alayne a chill.

Lyn almost frightened her with a mere smile. He’s no Lipps and Shett. She needs to be more careful with Corbray and although she landed a wound against him, that’s about it. I do want to draw attention to this line, as I’ve seen it used as a criticism of Sansa:

Perhaps, instead of being Petyr’s man pretending to be Petyr’s foe, he was actually his foe pretending to be his man pretending to be his foe. Just thinking about it was enough to make her head spin.

She doesn’t have all of the information to put the whole picture together but she recognizes enough to realize it’s more than what appears on the surface. Lyn is LF’s catspaw but now we know he’s angry with LF and has no problems being vocal about it. I don’t think he was acting there. We also know that Ser Lyn spent almost six months glued to Lysa’s side and volunteered to fight as the Vale’s champion in Tyrion’s trial. Of course, LF went on to marry Lysa instead. So, is LF right? Is all Corbray needs to be happy are gold and boys? More, we know that his father gave him Lady Forlorn which his older brother is unhappy about. That tells us the dynamics between the two siblings may be even more complex than has been revealed to us so far. Lyn Corbray should make Sansa’s head spin, she should continue watching him.

Now, here’s the next dance that fascinates me (and is likely the most important of the three):

Alayne turned abruptly from the yard… and bumped into a short, sharp-faced man with a brush of orange hair who had come up behind her.  His hand shot out and caught her arm before she could fall.   “My lady.  My pardons if I took you unawares.”

   “The fault was mine. I did not see you standing there.”

Of course, this is the Mad Mouse and as this passage shows us, Sansa did not see her opponent coming. She bumped into him and he caught her. He’s a hidden dagger right in the open. They have a short, courteous exchange, but this is the part that matters:

 “A good melee is all a hedge knight can hope for, unless he stumbles on a bag of dragons. And that’s not likely, is it?”

   “I suppose not. But now you must excuse us, ser, we need to find my lord father. “

The Mad Mouse just told her that a good melee is the best he can get, unless he stumbles upon something better. That “something better” is Sansa. He knows who she is and he’s going to do something about it. Sansa missed it all. As LF told us in aFfC, even the lowest pawns have minds of their own, and that applies to the Mad Mouse as much as anyone. He won that match and Sansa never realized they were sparring, unlike with the first  two.

Of course, after this, Sansa meets with LF and then goes to an actual dance where we get to know Harry better.

A few other tidbits in this chapter that I wonder about:

   Near the keep, she ran headlong into Ser Lothor Brune and almost knocked him off his feet. “Harry the Heir?  Harry the Arse, I say. He’s just some upjumped squire.” Alayne was so grateful that she hugged him. “Thank you. Have you seen my father, ser?”

Up until now, Ser Lothor Brune has been a loyal man to LF. But, he’s developing feelings for Mya too. Maybe he will become one of LF’s hidden daggers?

Sansa lists all of her dancing partners, I think one of them will get her favor, probably a Waynwood, whichever would annoy Harry the most.

Ser Morgarth is mentioned to us as a dancing partner too. Martin wants us to remember he exists but I don’t have an idea of what for quite yet. I’m not a fan of the theory that he’s the Elder Brother in disguise though.

Hopefully I at least partially answered your question! Thanks for the ask anon!!!!

[moonlitgleek]

What's the connection of Aegon the Unworthy to Rhaenyra? I've never seen or read anything in the lore of Rhaenyra being an Unworthy or problematic ruler like Aegon IV?

What I was referring to in my original post was that both Aegon IV and Rhaenyra were monarchs who put their personal pleasure and desires ahead of the realm and its laws. The power of the Iron Throne was a vehicle for them to use to satisfy their fancies and caprices, and little more. But the similarities do not end there: both were brazen about their affairs; both bestowed favor (or tried to, in Aegon’s case) on a lover publicly; both cared little for legalities; both used their obvious bastards to get the property of their purported fathers, Laenor Velaryon and Ossifer Plumm; both took action that threatened to send the realm into a civil war (Rhaenyra by having an affair and passing her bastards as trueborn heirs, Aegon by legitimizing his bastards and giving Daemon the sword Blackfyre, one of the visible symbols of Targaryen legitimacy - and one that had been used to argue that its wielder was the heir to the throne before - while casting shadow on his sister-wife’s fidelity and showing public disfavor to his heir to the point where rumors abounded that he was planning to disinherit him); both abused royal power even before they ascended to the throne, both were vindictive, cruel and consummately selfish. The list goes on.

As for Rhaenyra being a problematic ruler, boy oh boy. There is an abundance of evidence to that in the text that I’m wondering if perhaps you only read TWOIAF but not The Rogue Prince or The Princess and The Queen? The latter two really paint a picture a proper tyrant with a heavy inclination to abuse the law for her personal gain and pleasures, whether during her time as Princess of Dragonstone or her short tenure as queen.

Under the cut for length.

As Princess of Dragonstone, Rhaenyra’s most infamous act that bespoke of her indifference to the laws governing the realm she claimed as hers was her brazen affair with Ser Harwin Strong that produced three boys that she claimed fathered by her husband Laenor Velaryon, but who were facially the bastard sons of her lover rather than her husband. Trying to pass three obvious bastards as trueborn princes not only speaks of the extent of Rhaenyra’s belief of her own supreme power that (she thought) allows her to claim unprecedented privilege by getting her boys acknowledged as trueborn heirs based on her own say so, but also shows her willingness to flout the law and jeopardize the integrity of the line of succession for the sake of her own pleasure. According to Archmaester Gyldayn, it was high treason that Rhaenyra brashly committed by claiming bastards as trueborn heirs to the Iron Throne. Politically speaking, this was an awful political action that undermined Rhaenyra’s already tremulous position as heiress, but more importantly, it was an outright invitation for a future succession war even without the Dance happening. No one was ever going to accept the throne being passed to an obvious bastard while trueborn male heirs to King Viserys I lived, not the Westerosi nobility, not Rhaenyra’s brothers, not even her second husband Daemon the Rogure Prince who assuredly would have pushed for his two sons’ rights over the three nominal Velaryon princes. This decision on Rhaenyra’s part was a civil war waiting to happen, one way or another. The fact that she thought she could get away with it and that everyone would accept her kids’ parentage on her word is a testament of a despotic view of her power and what allowances it gave her, and a clear statement of her disregard of the laws governing Westeros. I mean, I don’t really have to argue how damaging to the realm such an attempt was, do I? The main novels made that argument quite effectively with Cersei’s children.

Of that inherently destabilizing act came two instances that set the tone of Rhaenyra’s behavior when it came to covering her treason, and emphasized her dismissal of the law as something that didn’t apply to her. The first is the tiff between her brother Aemond and her three Velaryon sons in which he called them Strongs that escalated to her second son Lucerys using a dagger to slash at Aemond taking out his right eye. In the aftermath, Rhaenyra demanded that Aemond be questioned “sharply” till he revealed where he heard the Strong rumor. She wanted Aemond, all of ten years old then, to be tortured so she could make a statement about her intolerance of the “rumors” of her sons’ parentage, completely ignoring the fact that someone armed her five-year-old child with live steel that he then used on his uncle permanently injuring him. Mind you, Alicent’s demand that Lucerys’ eye be put out in retribution for Aemond’s eye was just as monstrous, but two wrongs don’t make a right. Just because Alicent was awful does not make Rhaenyra any less awful. One wanted a child maimed, another wanted a child tortured.

The other example happened after the death of both Laena and Laenor Velaryon when their father Corlys was stricken by fever raising the question about the inheritance of Driftmark. Rhaenyra urged her goodfather to name her son Lucerys the heir to Driftmark, except, you know, Lucerys was not actually a Velaryon so he didn’t have any right to the Velaryon inheritance, no matter how Rhaenyra insisted otherwise. When Corlys’ nephew Vaemond objected and argued that Driftmark should pass to him because Rhaenyra’s children were bastards (admittedly purposely ignoring the claims of Baela and Rhaena Targaryen, Laena’s daughters by Daemon Targaryen, in the process), Rhaenyra had Daemon seize Vaemond and with no trial or due process, had him beheaded and fed his body to her dragon, an atrocity that was later compounded when Vaemond’s brothers went to Viserys I with their families to ask for justice and press their claim, only for the king to have their tongues removed, every single one of them, based on his previous edict that he’d remove the tongue of any who talked about the Strong rumors. That’s a gross mockery of justice and law, an infringement on the rights enjoyed by nobles, and a blatant show that Rhaenyra thought she could do whatever she wanted, even illegally seizing and murdering a noble with no trial. How very Aerys II of her.

Those are, unequivocally, the actions of a tyrant that also show what an awful political actor Rhaenyra was. There are some other examples of her bad political action during her time as Princess of Dragonstone, but I’m not going to get into them because being a bad political player doesn’t automatically equate to being a tyrant. Aenys was a terrible and ineffective political actor, but he was no tyrant. It just happens that Rhaenyra was both. Her actions during the Dance and her short tenure sitting the Iron Throne only damned her further on both accounts. Even at the height of her victory, her vengeance and whims proved her an appalling leader and ultimately led to her losing any legitimacy she could have claimed when her actions led to the smallfolk of King’s Landing storming the Dragonpit in a clear rejection of her rule (and to be fair, of Aegon II’s as well), and to even her most leal noble allies deserting her.

During the course of the Dance, Rhaenyra sanctioned the murder of Aegon II’s heir, the six-years-old Prince Jaehaerys, and started a rewarding manhunt for his daughter, the six-years-old Jaehaera and his youngest son, the toddler Maelor, that involved sending out “knights inquisitors” AKA torturers to wring information about them from the people. Strategically and politically, Rhaenyra prolonged the war in pursuit of personal vengeance and ignored Corlys Velaryon’s counsel of war-ending efforts. She insisted on inflicting severe punishments on those who served Aegon II, lined the walls of the Red Keep with severed heads daily (something that soured the smallfolk of King’s Landing on her and led to a comparison to Maegor the Cruel), refused to offer reasonable surrender terms to Lords Baratheon, Lannister and Hightower, and summarily had the Hand Otto Hightower and several members of the small council executed with Tyland Lannister sent to the torturers, all of which made bending the knee to Rhaenyra a rather unattractive option and ensured that the lords on Aegon II’s side would continue to fight to the end since their choices were death in battle or death after surrender. If all the roads led to death, why not go down fighting? Corlys Velaryon argued for pardons and hostages from the noble lords, for Alicent and Helaena to be sent to the Faith and Aegon and Aemond to the Wall, for Princess Jaehaera to be his own ward and in time wed Aegon the Younger in a conciliatory move between the two factions. Rhaenyra actively rejected any attempt of peace talks and chose vengeance instead.

She then doubled down on her brutality and went on to turn the smallfolk against her and alienate her own allies out of paranoia. She showed utter tone-deafness and lack of care for the people of whom she claimed the right to rule when she redirected resources away from a populace wrought by war and hunger and to preparations of a “lavish” party for her last Velaryon son to mark his installation as Prince of Dragonstone. Taxing the people to throw a party is damningly selfish in normal circumstances but doing it in time of war and winter when the people have been suffering for a prolonged period of time as it was (for a petty fight over the throne between two spoiled children no less) is reprehensible. The storming of the Dragonpit was a natural response and a testament to the level of misery the Dance inflicted on the people that facing fire-breathing creatures became an acceptable risk. This was a rejection of the dragons, greens and blacks alike, brought to head by Rhaenyra pushing a populace already pushed to the brink to throw a party. The frankly idiotic order for Addam Velaryon’s arrest and the execution of Nettles in the wake of the Two Betrayers and news of Nettles’ relationship with Rhaenyra’s husband Daemon came after that, and was crippling to Rhaenyra in every way. 

First came another instance of Rhaenyra’s disregard for the law by ordering the arrest of someone who proved nothing but loyal to her and who later went on to die in her service for the grand crime of being bastard-born, made worse by her demand of Lord Mooton of Maindenpool to break one of the oldest tenents of law to kill a teenager protected by guest right under his roof. Which made his options to either defy Rhaenyra’s order which was tantamount to treason in her eyes and basically forfeited his life, or violate an ancient and widely respected taboo and bring down the wrath of the gods upon him (and face the wrath of Daemon and his dragon as well). That the Maidenpool maester showed Prince Daemon and Nettles Rhaenyra’s orders and was promptly followed by Lord Mooton’s defection to Aegon II comes as no surprise in the face of the “foul choice” the queen gave him. Second was the devastating result of that decision. Through her paranoia and vengeful impulses, Rhaenyra effectively forced her allies to turn on her. Besides Lord Mooton, that edict lost her her two most loyal supporters: Coryls Velaryon who warned his nominal grandson Addam of Rhaenyra’s orders leading to Addam’s escape and Coryls’ arrest, and Daemon Targaryen who helped Nettles escape then took off to settle a personal score with Aemond, abandoning Rhaenyra. Considering that Coryls provided like, half of Rhaenyra’s army and all her naval force, Daemon was the commander of her troops and her Protector of the Realm, and that he, Addam and Nettles commanded three out of the four mature dragons on the Blacks’ side, that decision was counterproductive to Rhaenyra’s war efforts and a serious blow to her military strength. It was only Addam Velaryon’s stalwart valor at the Second Battle of Tumbleton that prevented the greens’ descent on Rhaenyra in King’s Landing.

Too, and relatedly, that edict and its consequences also sent a rather damning message to Rhaenyra’s supporters and created uncertainty within her ranks. She was turning on her own allies by this point for absolutely no reason. She ordered a loyal dragonrider’s arrest for no crime just because two other dragonseeds betrayed her and threw one of her staunch supporters, her one-time goodfather, in the black cells awaiting trial and execution. If the queen could turn so easily on her most loyal subjects and on a lord with the weight, influence and familial connection to House Targaryen like Corlys Velaryon whose family served the queen faithfully and even died for her, if she gave orders to have her own husband subdued and delivered to her in King’s Landing, what’s stopping her from doing the same to the next lord who displeased her?

So I’d say that Rhaenyra was more than just problematic, anon. In light of how she showed herself to be dismissive of the law as something that didn’t apply to her, a dreadful political player who was more interested in serving her own wishes and wants than in anything that benefited the realm, and a dishonorable and brutal figure in both war and peace with no respect to law or social taboos or the rights of the nobility or the suffering of the smallfolk, I’d say she proved herself a tyrant and earned her place as one of the worst Targaryen monarchs in the text.

[edwinvtik394-blog]

Anencephaly Causes, Manifestation, and Life Span

What are the causes, indicators, as well as signs of anencephaly?

Folic acid is very important in transfer and also exchange of methyl teams. https://www.storeboard.com/blogs/general/fetal-acrania/1746417 Thus, it is a substratum for the methionine synthase reaction which converts homocysteine to methionine. The production of methionine is very important for protein synthesis.

Can stillborn babies donate organs?

The remaining brain tissue is often exposed (not covered by bone or skin). Affected babies are usually blind, deaf, unconscious, and unable to feel pain. Almost all babies with anencephaly die before birth, although some may survive a few hours or a few days after birth.

At 11-- 14 weeks pregnancy, the majority of cranial ossification is in the lateral facets of the frontal bones and also lower parietal bones, and also no safe ossification is visible in the midline on an ideal midsagittal picture. For this reason, misdiagnosis might take place so midsagittal sights of the unborn child are gotten. The lack of cranial ossification may not be noted, and the head might appear fairly typical. It is very important to look particularly for frontal bone ossification in the coronal and also axial airplanes (3,4). Fetal acrania (exencephaly) is a congenital irregularity defined by the partial or complete lack of skull bones surrounding the fetal brain.

You can talk with your doctor concerning taking a greater dose of folic acid prior to pregnancy as well as during very early maternity if you have already had a pregnancy influenced by an NTD. If the top part of the neural tube does not shut all the method, Anencephaly happens. This often leads to a child being born without the front part of the mind (forebrain) as well as the reasoning as well as collaborating component of the brain (brain).

Symptoms of spina bifida differ from specific to specific. Treatment depends upon the kind of spanina bifida the person experiences.

However, there is normally considerable neurologic disability.

The establishing brain and also back cable are exposed to the amniotic liquid that borders the fetus if the neural tube fails to shut appropriately.

Females in high threat groups must take 4 mg of synthetic folic acid daily for 3 months prior to perception as well as during very early fetal growth.

The staying mind cells is frequently revealed; it is not covered by bone or skin.

How can you prevent neural tube defects?

Microcephaly is a condition where a baby's head is much smaller than expected. During pregnancy, a baby's head grows because the baby's brain grows. Microcephaly can occur because a baby's brain has not developed properly during pregnancy or has stopped growing after birth, which results in a smaller head size.

Having a difficult time discovering the meaning of a unicorn infant. What is it?

In some cases, very early stitch closure can likewise limit total head growth which might be unsafe to the brain inside which is trying to grow. The medical condition referred to as cyclopia, named after the one-eyed giants of Greek mythology, is an extremely uncommon type of birth defect in human beings, occurring as hardly ever as 4 times in 1,000 births, and are extra frequently seen in animals. An infant in Egypt was born with a single eye in the middle of his temple. The doctors believe direct exposure to radiation during pregnancy has actually been the reason for this uncommon problem. Modifications in loads of genetics may affect the risk of anencephaly.

Anencephaly is a problem that protects against the typical growth of the mind as well as the bones of the head. When a framework called the neural tube falls short to close during the initial few weeks of embryonic development, this problem results. The neural tube is a layer of cells that eventually becomes the mind and also spinal cord.