#hard data interpretation questions

[hayatheauthor]

12 Red Herrings to Keep Your Readers Distracted

I’ve seen mystery/thriller authors use the same handful of red herrings too many times to count. So here are some (hopefully not as common) red herrings for your writing. 

1. The Unreliable Narrator's Bias

Your narrator can play favourites and scheme and twist the way your readers interpret the story. Use this to your advantage! A character portrayed as untrustworthy can really be someone innocent the narrator framed, vice versa. 

2. The Loyal Traitor

A character with a history of betrayal or questionable loyalty is an obvious suspect. They did it once, they could do it again, right? Wrong! They’ve actually changed and the real traitor is someone you trusted. 

3. The Conflicted Expert

An expert—like a detective, scientist, or historian—analyses a piece of evidence. They’re ultimately wrong, either due to bias, missing data, or pressure to provide quick answers.

4. The Overly Competent Ally

You know that one sidekick or ally who’s somehow always ahead of the curve? They’re just really knowledgeable, your characters know this, but it makes it hard to trust them. Perfection is suspicious! But in this case, they’re actually just perfect. 

5. The Misleading Emotional Clue

Maybe one of your characters is seen crying, angry, or suspiciously happy after xyz event. Characters suspect them, but turns out they’re just having a personal issue. (People have lives outside of yours MC smh). Or it could be a cover-up. 

6. A Misleading Alibi

At first this character’s alibi seems perfect but once the protag digs into it, it has a major hole/lie. Maybe they were in a different location or the person they claimed to be with was out of town. 

7. The Odd Pattern

Have a seemingly significant pattern—symbols left at crime scenes, items stolen in a specific order, crimes on specific dates. Then make it deliberately planted to mislead.

8. The Misinterpreted Relationship

A character was secretly close to a victim/suspect, making them a suspect. Turns out they were hiding a completely unrelated secret; an affair, hidden family connection, etc.

9. A Forgotten Grudge

Create a grudge or past feud and use it to cast suspicion on an innocent character. Introducing an aspect of their past also helps flesh out their character and dynamics as a group + plant distrust. 

10. The Faked Death

Luke Castellan, need I say more (I will)? A supposedly innocent character dies, but turns out they faked it and were never a victim in the first place. They just needed to be out of the picture. 

11. The Mistaken Eavesdropper 

A character overhears a threat, argument, etc. They suspect B based on this convo, but turns out they just came to a false conclusion. (Or did they?)

12. The Forgetful Alibi 

Someone confesses to hearing/seeing a clue, but turns out they were mistaken. Maybe they thought they heard a certain ringtone, or saw xyz which C always wears, but their memory was faulty or influenced by stress.

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks? 

Check out the rest of Quillology with Haya; a blog dedicated to writing and publishing tips for authors!

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[wild-west-wind]

For anyone who may be interested, Summer 2025 Park Service jobs start opening on September 9th this year!

On September 9th, Recreation Fee Clerk and Technician jobs go live! These are fee focused jobs, usually at entry stations. If you have a high school diploma, and can work a cash register, you can get this job! The pay is usually not excellent (but much more than minimum wage in most states), but it has health insurance, and can take you to new and interesting places!

EMTs may also go live on that day.

On October 21, Interpretive Park Rangers and Park Guides will go live! These are educational and informational jobs, teaching people about parks, working visitor center desks, etc.

Around this time, Facilities/Maintenance, Backcountry, Resource Technician and Fire Jobs should go live as well.

Facilities/Maintenance jobs cover the gamut from running wastewater treatment plants, to custodial work, to repair to electricians. Pay is usually pretty good.

Backcountry jobs include trail work, checking permits, wilderness EMT stuff, Search and Rescue, etc.

Resource Technician type jobs generally do field work and research. Spraying for invasive plants, treating trees for parasites, collecting data, assisting researchers from around the world.

Fire jobs are pretty straightforward: fight fires, look for fires, initiate controlled burns. NGL you need to be kinda ripped for these, and able to complete a lot of training.

Park Service is weird, but if you have some time on your hands and you want an okay job in a cool place meeting lots of new people and doing stuff that will make you sound cool at parties for the rest of your life, it's a cool seasonal gig!

Also if you have any questions about being a park ranger my ask box is there! And I answer most of the asks I get that are normal, and I think really hard about it every time someone asks me to weight in on a major global issue, and sometimes respond to those too.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking - the ability to examine information rationally and make a reasoned judgment based on your analysis.

Critical thinkers refuse to accept subject matter at face value and are aware of their own cognitive biases, which allows them to approach objective conclusions.

Higher-order thinking skills like critical thinking enable you to learn actively, rather than passively absorbing information as it's presented to you.

How to Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills

The development of critical thinking skills takes time, but there are some particular ways to speed up the process. As a starting point, follow these steps for teaching critical thinking.

Pinpoint the issue. Whether it's a problem that needs solving or a question that needs an answer, begin the critical thinking process by identifying the issue at hand.

Collect information. Accumulate as much research and data on the issue as possible. Make sure to seek out sources that challenge your own beliefs.

Examine and scrutinize. Check that your sources of information are reliable, determine their biases, and ensure any opinions are backed up by hard evidence.

Decide what's relevant. Figure out which arguments are actually relevant to your issue, and flag the most consequential pieces of information.

Self-evaluate. Ask yourself, "Was I biased when seeking information?"

Draw conclusions. Decide on one or more possible conclusions. Evaluate the soundness of your conclusions and flag any flaws.

Explain your conclusions. Clearly communicate your conclusions to the relevant parties.

Examples of Critical Thinking Skills

There are many important elements involved in thinking critically. To become a better critical thinker, familiarize yourself with these key concepts.

Open-mindedness: Critical thinkers must work to have unbiased thought processes and remain open to more than one point of view. This openness to challenging information is a foundation for critical thinking.

Analysis: Analyze information to determine its reliability and to understand it well enough to draw further conclusions. This is one of the most important aspects of critical thinking.

Interpretation: Take time to interpret your analysis, synthesizing, and deciphering the meaning of relevant information.

Problem-solving: Once you analyze and interpret a problem, you can come up with one or more possible solutions.

Decision-making: By making a decisive decision, you come to a conclusion based on the data you have interpreted.

Effective communication: You must be able to convincingly explain your conclusions (and the thought process behind them) to others.

Self-improvement: Good critical thinkers develop positive habits of mind by reflecting on their own personal critical thinking process and looking for ways to improve it.

The greatest benefit of critical thinking is simply that it helps you make more informed decisions in your everyday life.

Strong critical thinking abilities are especially important in both secondary and higher education environments; critical reading and thinking skills allow high school and college students to engage in learning at the highest level.

Critical thinking is also an important skill in your professional life. Employers value workers who tackle problems logically and view situations from different perspectives in order to come up with the best solution. If you're in a job interview and can demonstrate to your potential employer that you have a proven track record of thinking critically, there’s a better chance you’ll get hired.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[uyuforu]

Is lunar return as important as solar return? What's the difference? Are the interpretations the same?

Thanks 🤎

Astro Observations: Lunar Return Chart I

Hii! That's a very good question! So Lunar Return Chart is pretty similar to Solar Return Chart, except that it is focused on the moon. While the Sun takes a year to come back, the Moon takes a month, so your Lunar Return Chart change every month. It will tell you how your month will go, what will most likely happen. I have never been through a lot of Lunar RC but I will try yo make an observation post now! I hope you will like it :)

How to make a LRC?

✮⋆˙ Go on Astro.com

✮⋆˙ Free Horoscopes > Horoscope Drawings & Data > Extended Chart Selection

✮⋆˙ Chart Type: Scroll to "Lunar Return Chart"

✮⋆˙ Start Date: I suggest to start with 1st of the month and you'll see the date written when your LRC starts on your chart.

╰┈➤ For ex: For April, mine starts on April 12th 2024 and the next date if May 5th 2024 for my May LRC. So be careful about the dates!

✮⋆˙ Don't forget to add additional objects if you want to, and you are done!

All pictures are from Pinterest.

Other posts you could like:

જ⁀➴ Solar Return Observations I

જ⁀➴ Solar Return Synastry I

જ⁀➴ Solar Return Synastry II

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Buy me a Kofi •ᴗ•

ִ ࣪𖤐 Best tool to know about LRC.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Sun 1H will make you have focused on confidence this month. You could also be more bold and you could be more courageous. You could want to take actions on whenever house/ sign is complimentary to that placement. You could also move more and be more physical in general.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Sun 3H will make you have a month focused on expressing yourself. You could also commit to know more about yourself, discover yourself, and it could be a time of getting to know us better.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Sagittarius Rising/ 21° will makes you appear as pretty open minded this month! You could appear as curious, smart, immature too, but you could also appear as someone who knows a lot of things and who want to learn more.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Gemini Rising/ 27° is quite similar as Sagittarius Rising/ 21° but you could appear as gossipy or veryyyy talkative lol. People could think you speak non stop.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Moon will always be at the same sign as your Natal Moon and same degree also, so you should look mostly on which house it falls every month.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Moon 5H will make you feel quite creative this month. If you want children, you could want to be pregnant. You could also find yourself spending more time with children this month! You could be very sensitive to art in general but also you could be good at acting/ pretending your emotions. You could want to spend more time with friends, loved ones. You could be more flirty this month too. More romantic.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Mercury 3H means you will def speak this month about you, your thoughts, your feelings, you will share! It's a good time to go to therapy, to talk to a friend about you and what is deep inside of you. You will probably need to lash out. You could also spend a lot of time just talking, small talking, but actually speak with people will probably be a need this month. You could also be very into drama and gossips lol.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Venus 3H could mean you could do or have a love confession! You could speak a lot about your feelings this month, speak a lot about love and how you love people around you. But you could be overanalyzing or overthinking your feelings and your relationships with your loved ones this month too.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Chiron 3H could mean you will have hard time with communication this month, you could argue more with your friends, or people in general. This could be because of miscommunication or just misunderstanding people. You could also speak in a more mean way this month, and be more vulgar too.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Mars 12H could mean you are quite sensible this month and you could not have much motivation. You could be very lazy and it could also be a sign of depression.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Mars 2H could also be you being lazy but you could also be very money focused. You could not be quite that motivated.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Jupiter 5H means you will be lucky for sure this month and you'll probably be very creative too.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Jupiter conjunct Uranus 5H could mean a sudden idea on the creative side, or a sudden luck that you didn't expect.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Mars conjunct Saturn means you'll struggle to be motivated this month.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Saturn 2H could be that you'll very focused on your money and income situation, this can be stressful because you'll feel like you need to take responsibility for that.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Uranus 5H could be a sign of sudden ideas, sudden popularity, sudden love and flirt, romance could happen unexpectedly, but also fun moments.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Pluto 1H could be there is a big change about your physically. Perhaps you'll decide to lose weight or do more sport this month.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Sun 10H means you can focus a lot on your career, your reputation, how people see you but also you progress in your life. You could become just very hard working and you could be more busy during this month.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Moon 11H could be that you'll probably spend a lot of time online, you could also find some comfort online, talking to some online friends perhaps or just texting/ calling friends. It could also watch a show you love, or playing video games. Technologies and internet can bring you comfort. But being with friends, talking to friends or spending time with people with whom you feel good.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Mercury 9H could be that you can be focused about learning a new language, or learning things about a certain culture. You could also just be very focused on your studies, whatever you do. Even if you work, you could be very focused about learning new techniques or tools. You could also be more into spirituality than before.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Leo/ 5°/ 17°/ 29° Rising will make you seen as very popular, someone people look at a lot, you could be seen as the main character. You could be very fashionable and you could dress up very well this month. Could be a sign to be a it-girl.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Libra/ 7°/ 19° Rising will make you be perceived as very beautiful, fashionable, good looking, you could be seen as someone who dress up well, do well your make up, take care of your appearance.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Sun conjunct Venus in 10H could mean you could become very popular and well liked by other people this month. You could have a lovely reputation. You could also get a good popularity at work.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Venus 10H will make you love your job! You could also love your reputation lol. This could be a sign of you feeling more well liked and you could really like the popularity you get.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Venus conjunct Uranus 10H means you can get an unexpected popularity at work, or recognition. You could not expect it, or this can be pretty sudden and unplanned. This could also happen online.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Sun conjunct Uranus 10H could represent sudden fame! It can also represent sudden rise up in your work, career, you could get a sudden recognition for something you do. A good popularity and rise up in your reputation.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Mars 9H could mean you'll have more motivation in studying this month. You could want to learn more and you'll have a lot of drive to do so. You could also be very motivated to expand your knowledge in general.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Mercury conjunct Mars 9H means you'll study a lot during this month. You could want to achieve a certain goal. You could also be talking a lot about your spiritual goals if you have some.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Jupiter 10H means you can get lucky in your job and career. You'll also be very luck in general because of your good reputation! This also means you'll probably get good opportunities at work.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Venus conjunct Jupiter 10H represents big opportunities that you probably always wanted to happen in your work. Opportunities that will make you love your job more.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Sun conjunct Jupiter 10H means your month will be very focused on your work and the opportunities you'll have. You'll be very focused on your career this month because you'll feel more lucky about it.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Jupiter conjunct Uranus 10H means unexpected opportunities and good fortune in the work field! Happy!

ִ ࣪𖤐 Uranus 10H means expect the unexpected in your career field! You could have some things happening suddenly in your work.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Saturn 8H could be a sign of feeling very overwhelmed, and depressed this month. You could have the feeling to go insane sometimes. Be aware of this, this is a sign to be careful with your thoughts. Your mental health will not be that great, so don't be afraid to ask for help.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Neptune 9H means some life lessons will probably confuse you and you can get hard times to learn those. But this could also mean you will probably be more spiritual this month!

ִ ࣪𖤐 Vertex 5H means something important could happen in your love life, fun life or creative life.

ִ ࣪𖤐 When your LRC Rising is the same as your SRC then this month will be very important in your life!

ִ ࣪𖤐 Pluto 6H means there could be a change in your health and how you eat, how you live your life. You could also try to work on your health, and mental health too.

ִ ࣪𖤐 Part of Fortune 1H could be a sign of a glow up. It could also be a sign of you being naturally lucky this month.

ִ ࣪𖤐 North Node 9H could mean you will learn some important life lessons this month.

Thank you for reading!

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[sgiandubh]

I love your style, intelligent, down to earth, very practical, not in the 5-10 children in 7 years part of the fandom. Guess that’s why I’m very intrigued by your take on recent events. I feel a massive shift in their public behavior, very different from the last 6-7 years where they tried very hard to separate themselves from their characters and each other. Why do you think that is?

Dear @i-ship,

Thank you very much for the kind words. I try to keep things in check and base my opinions on solid facts. Not 'FACTS', mind you, but as much as possible publicly available documents and data. The not so public things (meaning you have to pay for those, which indicates a different confidentiality level) I keep for myself, because I am not an idiot: in no way, however, do they contradict the rest, in which case I would immediately recalibrate my analysis. I also know very well that confirmation bias has often been mentioned as a sad excuse across the street, when things didn't look good for them. That is wishful bullshit, because no legal professional would prostitute their skill in order to shoehorn reality into a given scenario. Papers speak by themselves - there is no need to stretch the information they contain, but yes, you can (and you should) interpret them. Therefore, all I did was to translate in everyday English what is often not accessible to everyone and wrap it in a bit of context. This is, apparently, a mortal sin and I know it is the main reason I am being hated with a passion, by many.

All of the above just to stress the fact that I am not easily swayed by sensational pics, tidbits and gifs. I may sound like a damned party pooper to you, but I prefer to patiently follow what I think is interesting, rather than childishly bounce on my chair every single time people see what they really saw a thousand times before, in eleven years of saga. Nor do I need to have confirmation four times a day of something that simply exists, irrespective of the fact I know about it or not.

I will say only this: C definitely looks as she DGAF about the whole circus anymore. It started with the piggyback pics, on March 25, continued with the Taylor Swift concert (the only time I allowed myself to oooh and awww at 4 AM) and is now seemingly confirmed by these new promo pics and interviews. Yes, they screeched 'it's fan service', but as far as I know nobody forced C to behave the way she clearly intends to show everyone. It's Season 7B, for Christ's sake, the script is hogwash and the acting is not so good (yes, I will need a rewatch to write something decently balanced about it), the audience numbers are dwindling and OL is on its way out. Hard truths, no matter how you turn it: why would she open again the door to 'speculation' (ah, but what's in a word?), especially considering this cesspool of a fandom's obsessive-compulsive collective behavior?

Unless...

Unless, @i-ship. Let's not write the script, but you got me. I hope this answers your question - at any rate, it was a pleasure trying to.

[jjmcquade-misc]

Why Are Federal Judges and Trump’s Policies Clashing?

As of March 2025, federal judges have issued at least 15 nationwide injunctions against President Donald Trump’s policies, far exceeding blocks on the Biden administration in its first three years. These blocks target a wide range of Trump initiatives, including his efforts to end birthright citizenship, tighten immigration, roll back EPA regulations, cut foreign aid, alter military readiness, and deregulate industries. Many of these judges were appointed by Democratic presidents (e.g., Obama, Clinton), often rule from Democratic-leaning districts (like California or D.C.), and are seen as holding progressive judicial philosophies that align with Democratic priorities, such as protecting civil rights and environmental laws. This has led to accusations from Trump, the Attorney General, and supporters that the judiciary is politically biased, engaging in “judicial activism” or “venue shopping” by liberal groups to target Trump’s agenda.

The perception of political bias is fueled by the judges’ legal interpretations, which can reflect personal beliefs or philosophies (e.g., living constitutionalism vs. originalism) rather than strict application of the law. Critics argue that nationwide injunctions, used repeatedly to halt Trump’s policies, look like power moves to undermine his mandate after his 2024 landslide victory. Some Republican-appointed judges have also ruled against Trump, but the concentration of Democratic appointees in key districts amplifies the perception of a liberal judiciary.

The Trump administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court to limit nationwide injunctions reflects this tension, with potential implications for the balance of power. If the Court sides with Trump, it could reduce judicial blocks; if not, clashes will likely continue. This ongoing battle raises questions about judicial impartiality, with public trust in the courts at stake.

I see a complex interplay of legal duty and political perception. The data clearly shows a pattern of Democratic-appointed judges issuing injunctions against Trump’s policies, often in Democratic-leaning districts, which lends credence to the perception of political bias. The aggressive scope of Trump’s executive actions, combined with the judiciary’s role as a check on power, explains the high number of blocks, but the alignment of judicial philosophy with Democratic priorities makes it hard to dismiss the idea that some rulings are influenced by politics.

[daggerfall]

So the GM of one of the big PC/NA raiding servers attended the ESO guild summit and wrote down some notes about questions and answers asked there. A lot of them are about potential future features we could see in ESO's future, and also answers to questions some worried players have had, but most of it is about guild stuff. I'll post the text under a read more.

Hey @/everyone, I recently attended a guild summit with ZOS developers where we got a chance to do a Q&A session. I am breaking down some of the keys points from the discussion for us. I will include the stuff I know a lot of us care about first. This is a really exciting time for us to have some feedback/suggestion for the future of ESO. ZOS has been doing a great job of engaging the community and we can expect more from them in the future. For instance, this guild summit will likely become yearly or biannual. About the questions - I missed some, there’s some interpretation, and comments from me included. I want to keep you guys in the loop on what is going on and how we as a guild are involved. A lot of this stuff is things they are considering doing or testing feasibility on. It doesn’t mean it will 100% happen.

Isiimode and I had a very similar question about the next trial drop. They answered the question by saying watch the global reveal. They said they don’t see a lot of the content drops changing. My interpretation of this was mainly that we can still expect a yearly trial and it might not drop exactly on the day that it used to drop on. They want more flexibility in releases and instead of large drops with a drought they would like to drop engaging content as its ready to keep players more engaged over the year. April 10th will be revealing the new trial/content. I think(?) there will be a new trial like normally scheduled just by interpreting Rich’s comments.

It looks like ZOS is going to be working on guild management tools for us in the future. Guildhalls seem unlikely but maybe if we can do them with limited capacity. They are looking into guild halls more. They are going to try to make it so multiple people can manage a guild home from a guild like an officer permission. This last sentence is my interpretation but based on Rich’s answer it seems like someone still have to own it and this is hard to do.

They are working on guild traders and adjusting how they work. Number of listing was really high and this was hard on the servers. They want people to still be able to sell stuff and understand this changed a lot for trading guilds.

They are thinking of more mechanical ways to make guilds useful. They understand that the only reason for joining a guild is really a guild trader. Otherwise discord is the best place for things to happen. No real specifics on this yet.

Limits on guild capacity and other limit items are there to reduce server load. When they started enforcing the mail limit it turned their mail server from terabytes of data to gigabytes. They are trying to minimize the workload on the servers with some of the choices they are making. They referenced guild history, and even Cyrodil changes. Ideally reducing server load overall should help with performance.

Five guild is somewhat arbitrary but it cant be higher because it is a lot of server load to manage five guilds for everyone. Think about how the server has to be pinged every time someone logs on and off or deposits something in the bank. They might consider reducing the number of people in a guild so you can have more but i dont think this is a good idea. They are going to add a guild search function if possible.

They are going to add a guild communication system if possible. It might not look like in-game mail. It could be a calendar or some other functionality.

They are going to explore adding API for guild bank/roster stuff for addon developers to introduce addons. (I didnt really understand this question)

They are going to consider working on a companion app to allow people look at achievements and other account statistics and have already done this in the past but they always blow up the server and make performance tank.

Servers are expensive and getting aussie or other servers seems unlikely. They are already supporting some servers that aren't really active so it’s hard to add more that might not be active.

Some leaderboard changes might be coming in the future. Ultimately, score is the best metrics to base leaderboards on. It includes vit, speed, and HM so it is all encompassing.

What would console addons look like? Very hard to answer. Strict memory limits make it very hard. On PC memory isnt really the limiting issue so its hard to say what console addon developers will be able to use. Codes combat and lazy writ crafter will likely go to console.

People want lore about the players to be included in the game more.

Do the devs play the game? The team plays the game a lot but not everyone plays the game the same. Rich likes the solo content and does that more. Other developers like world bosses, cyrodil, and trading. Its really hard to make content that every single person will love. That being said the devs do play the game and just see different issues than we might see. These summits are way for us to bring our issues forward.

How many people dont interact with guilds? A lot of players play this game like a traditional eso game but might join a guild for a trader or something. They are thinking of new ways to include the community in the functionalities that they have created. It seems like a lot people find playing with people scary.

ZOS love RP community and they like giving them opportunities to RP. A lot of story development includes ways for people to RP.

There is some consideration for integrating EU console servers.

Increasing limits on furnishing in player homes is something they are thinking about but might be hard to do.

They dont want guild homes to replace going to a major city. They want people to have reasons to go to these areas. No one stop shops!

A lot of the cyrodil related development right now is solely on the performance and the champion campaigin/system(?). No other changes will likely be made in the short term.

Will the game be around in 5 years? The best way to answer this is look at development patterns. New cyrodil stuff is an indication that ZOS is going to continue to support the game. ZOS is committed to the game and will continue to commit to the game.

Update the guild tabards to look more modern. Guild specific decorations would be fun and cool.

[equipment-manifest]

What do you think of these axon looking things?

Given the similarities to axon terminals I was wondering if they were for delivering information/status report of their surrounding equipment

But the one at moon's gravity disruptor feels more like its sampling data from the engine (the last few times I went through that room it ragdolled very hard upon entering due to the gravity lol)

And looking at that screenshot I just took from the map website, it also has the "reading halo", so it probably is catching on information rather than relaying it

Ah, these things - there's not a lot to go on with them, but they're certainly interesting. I'm going to use the game's internal nomenclature and call them "coral stems" for clarity.

Coral stems seem to interact with an Iterator's internal biota in much the same way as their more common cousin, the wall mycelia. Both organisms sprout from the Iterator's internal walls, attracting to their hyphae neuron flies and the free-floating hyphae of coral neurons and inspectors. The sparking effect produced upon contact with these organisms is identical to that seen between interacting overseers, so I'm inclined to believe it represents the exchange of information (rather than say, energy or nutrients) between an Iterator's stationary machinery and its free-floating organic parts. The question then is how the role of coral stems in this interface differs from the role of the wall mycelia.

As you implied, the segmented body of a coral stem closely resembles an axon wrapped in a myelin sheath, the part of a neuron that transmits signals away from the cell body. In such an analogy, the cell body would have to be the machinery the coral stem is anchored to. The wispy mycelia growing from that machinery would then seem to fit the description of dendritic branches, thin growths that receive signals from other cells. So one interpretation could be that the coral stems and wall mycelia perform opposite functions, delivering messages to and receiving messages from the free-floating biota respectively.

Another possibility is that the wall mycelia and coral stems are both sensory organs, but with complementary roles. The mats of wall mycelia are not especially dense, but their hyphae extend into a large part of an Iterator's internal spaces. This makes them well-adapted to sensing macroscopic organisms like neuron flies or coral neurons. These organisms are unevenly distributed in a way that requires hyphae to be able to reach them no matter where they are in a room, but their large size and weight ensures that any nearby hyphae will certainly be disturbed by their presence and brushed against them. In contrast, small particles like microorganisms or chemical traces in the air would be unlikely to collide with the scarce hyphae of wall mycelia, and too light to be reliably detected when they do.

The bundled hyphae of coral stems could act like scent traps for these particles—when one happens to wander into a coral stem's bristles, it's likely to become trapped and bounce around among the dense hyphae for a time, the repeated collisions ensuring that there are many chances for it to be detected. Of course, coral stems are distributed much more sparsely than wall mycelia, but that would be just fine for this purpose. Diffusion ensures that the distribution of small, light particles is relatively homogeneous throughout a space: the air in one part of a room is about the same as the air in any other part, so there'd be no need for too many coral stems close together.

I hope this provided some food for thought, thanks for the ask!

[in1-nutshell]

Well first off we now need IDW Steve because you have to pry Ophelia and Steve out of my cold dead hands.

I haven't read anything about IDW Steve (if there is any) so this Steve is my interpretation of the bot.

Will also be referring to this Ophelia and Steve for MTMTE.

Hope you enjoy!

MTMTE Steve meets MTMTE Ophelia

SFW, Platonic, Hinted Romance, Cybertronian reader

MTMTE

Like many other Cybertronians, Steve just wanted a fresh start in life.

With the ending of the war, the former con didn’t really know what to do and there was no way he was going to stay on Cybertron as it was.

Either being on the same planet as Prowl or going on a definitely ‘real’ quest to find some mystic knights.

The knights sounded much more pleasant than Prowl.

Steve knew for a fact there were still great prejudices between bots and cons.

He wasn’t blind to the glares and snide remarks behind his back.

Thankfully, Drift helped make settling onto the ship much easier.

Drift and Steve walking down the hall. Steve: “Thanks again for helping me Drift. I can never get directions the first time.” Drift: “No problem. I’m heading to Swerve’s with some of the others, care to join?” Steve: “Maybe next time—” Steve suddenly spots a large bot talking to Rodimus. A very familiar looking bot. The bot momentarily looks up at the pair, smiles, then waves. Steve absent mindedly waves back. The larger bot walks with Rodimus to Swerve’s. Steve: “You know what, Rung did say something about meeting new bots. Count me in Drift!”

Steve didn’t really know why this larger bot seemed to be occupying so much of his thoughts.

It was… strange.

Maybe it was because he met only a few bots that large.

It took a while for him to actually begin to talk to her.

To his surprise, she was a friendly bot.

Soon enough the pair began hanging out around random places in the ship.

From meeting rooms, to Swerve’s, to in between work.

It was nice.

What was not nice was how Steve found out she was a minibot.

Steve opens the medbay carrying a box of medical datapads. Steve: “Ambulon? I brought the extra data pads you asked for.” He stares at Ratchet and First Aid, both with their servos inside a grey frame of ‘Ophelia’. Steve dropped the box and screamed. Ambulon quickly came to the screaming bot. Steve: “AAAAAHHHHHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” Ambulon: “Steve! Steve, calm down!” Steve: “CALM DOWN!? CALM DOWN!? WHAT HAPPENED TO HER!? WHAT—” Ophelia walks into the medbay with a couple of energon cubes. Ophelia: “Ratchet they didn’t have your usual. I asked Drift if you liked any other drink, so I…” Ophelia looks at the scene in front of her. Steve was staring at her, wide optic; Ambulon had both his servos holding said bot still; Ratchet had a welder in one servo while First Aid still had his servos in her mech suit. Ophelia: “… Am I missing something?” THUD! Ophelia: “OH SWEET PRIMUS! STEVE!” Ophelia hurries over to the unconscious mech’s side. Ophelia: “What in the Allspark happened?!”

Yeah, it took a bit to explain her mech suit and why she put it on.

At least, what she told most bots.

It was hard being at war and being so small on a team known for taking heavy hits.

The suit helped not only her, but her team.

Steve had to take a few minutes to properly understand that this minibot that barely made it past his knee joint was the same bot who arm wrestled Whirl for a free drink (that she gave to him after she won).

Just wait until he finds out about Minimus Ambus…

Steve often finds himself questioning how the Autobots won the war, seeing how dysfunctional they are.

But then again, the Decepticon’s weren’t better off either.

It takes a bit for Steve to get used to seeing Ophelia outside the suit, that meaning stop looking up but down, but he didn’t mind it too much.

Ophelia was still the nice, friendly, kind, and pretty—

Did he say pretty?

Pretty small!

Yes, she was pretty small…

Ophelia and Steve are walking down the halls when the halls start getting crowded with larger bots. Steve looks down to see Ophelia slowing down a bit from having to weave through the number of bots pedes. Steve: “I can carry you.” Ophelia: “What?” Steve: “I mean, so we don’t have to slow do—OW!” A bot had accidentally pushed Steve back. Steve waited to feel the harsh ground connect to his helm. It never came. Instead, he felt a pair of smaller servos on his back. Ophelia was holding him and walking like he weighed nothing! Ophelia starts walking with the crowd. Ophelia: “Maybe we should get back to the classroom and wait until everyone leaves. That way we don’t have bots trying to step on us or push us out of the way because who-knows-what.” Ophelia notices his stare. Ophelia: “1 percenter. You don’t weigh a thing.” Steve still in awestruck: “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” Ophelia laughs at the comment. Ophelia: “Trust me Steve, you haven’t even scratched the surface yet.”

And he believes it.

Steve just knows that there’s something Ophelia isn’t sharing with him.

Something big.

But he’ll wait for the time to come, he isn’t in a hurry after all.

It was a couple of days after the percenter reveal that Steve sat up at three in the morning realizing he did, in fact, had a crush on Ophelia.

He doesn’t know how to properly go through this.

So many ‘what if’ scenarios go through his processor.

What if he confessed?

What if she said no?

What if she said yes?

What if she wanted an Amica instead?

In all his years in the war and now post war, Ophelia, the minibot powerhouse, was the reason his spark started up like a speedster on circuit boosters.

The reason he started getting out of his room earlier.

The reason he ‘borrowed’ Rodimus’s buffer from time to time (He put it back when the captain was training with Drift).

Steve, all buffed and shiny, enters Swerve’s. He spots Ophelia, out of the suit, happily chatting with Chromedome. Steve waving: “Hey—” Whirl suddenly gets in front of him. Whirl: “And where do you think you’re going?” Steve: “I’m just going to Ophelia—” Whirl: “And what?” Steve getting a bit confused and annoyed: “I just want to talk—” WHAM! Steve gets hit in the face and stumbles onto a table, that flipped on top of him. Whirl: “FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!” Ophelia turns to the sudden sound of glass shattering and screeching metal. Ophelia: “Steve!” A while later… Steve winces a bit as Ratchet fixes his injuries. Ophelia is sitting in a seat next to his medslab with a worried look on her face. Ophelia: “So he just punched you?” Steve: “Essentially… but that’s Whirl.” Whirl on a nearby medslab: “And I’d do it again!” Ratchet: “Both of you hush!” Steve winces again. Ophelia immediately grabs his servo in support. Ophelia: “You’ll be okay Steve. Ratchet’s the best in the business. Just take a nap, I’ll be here when you wake up.” Steve doesn’t hear that last comment, just focuses on his servo slightly dwarfing her servo. He catches from the corner of his optic Whirl glaring at him before... winking? …Maybe Steve could use that nap…

[uponawhitehorse13]

We know characters like Rachel and Kokonoe care a lot underneath it all; but also that they're pretty standoffish, and probably wouldn't rush into a relationship. If anything, there's a real risk these two would try to keep their feelings to themselves in hopes it'll go away, rather than ever confess. With that in mind, do you have any headcanons for how these characters behave while crushing on, pining, or otherwise struggling with their romantic feelings before the actual relationship???

Kokonoe and Rachel with a crush

-Kokonoe would definitely keep her feelings to herself. Only something huge could push her over the boundary into actually confessing. She does not like the idea of being in love. If she understood it well enough she would remove the capacity for it from her brain. But there is always that tiny spark of hope in the back of her mind convincing her not to.

-She would grow more obsessed with you over time. Spying on you through the cameras she hacked and even secret ones she placed in your room. She would constantly reread any information or papers she could find about you. She’d send Tager and Lambda on missions with you to “gather data” only for her to discard everything not related to you. 

-She would never confess. At least not in any conventional way. She’d instead pressure you into spending time with her using her position or blackmail if necessary. From there the duty of actually making the relationship progress past what most likely resembles a friends with benefits arrangement falls on you. This means you need to interpret at what times she’s serious about her tsundere act and when you can squeeze in some genuine affection.

-The most help you’ll get through this process is from Tager. He owes Kokonoe his life but still understands she has a myriad of her own problems. He wants to help but understands only someone in your position can do that. He functions as a translator in the early stages of the relationship and a safe haven for when she gets angry at you in the later stages. He is not beyond fighting her to protect you when he feels she is unreasonably attacking you. You are also always welcome to stay at his place whenever she kicks you out. He'd get mad at someone for waking him in the middle of the night but when he sees you he knows everything. He’ll offer you something to drink or eat and a place to rest until Kokonoe gets over whatever she was mad about.

-So with Rachel it’s a far more difficult question to answer due to how much her behaviour could change depending on when this is. In the beginning Rachel wouldn’t even notice you being too busy trying to undo the looping nature of the world.

-Slowly as she sees everything constantly repeat itself she grows ever more bored. Almost feeling jealous of the blissful ignorance others find themselves in. There was an exception to that rule. You. For whatever reason she found comfort in you always being the same.

-She would spend several loops observing you from a distance and slowly get closer from there. Maybe becoming a regular at where you work. Then slowly getting closer. Learning more about you. Trial and erroring her way into a perfect method for quickly getting through the pre-relationship stages.

-Rachel would never even attempt to explain the truth of the world to you. It’s not that it’d be hard; she could do it without a hitch. But wasting an entire loop watching you filled with dread is no good. Even worse if you tried to get involved. She’d rather keep you out of it until time finally continues. When it does she has some plans of her own.

[katyahina]

Dark Souls 1 faces references Part 6: Darkmoon Knightess, Lautrec, Two Lautrec's Helpers

Darkmoon Knightess

Everyone noticed already I know, but yes, she doesn't look hideous at all, unlike her lore suggests:

I've assumed she is supposed to have traces of Hollowing, but on the second look, her armor might actually hide some creepy body mutations that are exclusive for those who become Firekeepers:

Japanese description of her armor (yet again, this ( x ) document) says:

すなわち暗月の剣として罪人を狩る助けとし また、火防のおぞましい姿を隠すために

It kinda says 'as the Darkmoon Blade, it helps her to hunt the guilty/criminals, as well as hides hideous appearance of fire hindering/defending'! 火防 says approximately this, to 'hold/defend/protect/hinder fire', and 'firekeeper' is written as 火防女, with 女 (woman/female) symbol added as Firekeepers are all women! Though all of her armor descriptions, including helmet, say that they 'hide hideous appearance' when for example Anastacia's face looks fine and we see it! Maybe, either: the "mutation" in question doesn't effect everyone the same way, or helmet refers to it simply in bundle to armor set overall and real "horror" is closer to her chest area!

Also, unfortunately, she IS identical to Pharis, in all but eye color:

I'd say that Pharis should hold the 'priority' for this face data, as someone who we actually can observe in the game even withoit datamining headwear away even though in transparent Fog Ring filter! Darkmoon Knightess I think would be better off with at least an altered hairstyle and, again, traces of the strange Firekeepers mutation in question!

....and I am thinking about it so hard, when the real answer to why Darkmoon Knightess doesn't look 'hideous' at all is because they copied appearance of Pharis, nor DS1 character creator allows much creativity lol. But, well, this post is primarily a reference if anyone wants to draw the characters, so I still need to bring potentially useful details!

Lautrec

Already mentioned, but he has the most beautiful shade of green eyes ever!

And also someone stole his eyebrows I guess. Keep pale, almost green skin in mind because Oswald has the same, and both him and Lautrec are from Carim! So yeah, lore? 🤔

Also DO YOU GUYS WANT MORE LORE, I know you do! Something interesting was found out while Rayan was checking NPCs data! At some point Rayan found this data:

However, this screenshot is not perfect but unfortunately the only thing that got documented! The data of this character is not fully loaded and according to Rayan loading it fully required restarting it completely! And when it was restarted, the face loaded into.....

Not only it loaded Lautrec's face, but also the one with slightly different features! Eyes more open and nose less crooked! Chin seems to be slightly less long. I'd say, perhaps, a bit "younger" Lautrec? So... yeah, seems like now we know what Lautrec was wearing before encountering Fina, since his current golden armor just imitates her aesthetic!

Lautrec's Helper (Sealer)

This is one of the guys that help Lautrec fight you when you invade him for vengeance! This one wears the red sealer set, same as Ingward and Yulva!

There were only three Sealers in total; one is Ingward who stayed in New Londo, another is this guy who helps Lautrec! That leaves only Yulva's design to be up to interpretation, but her sorcery and set are found in Blighttown and corpse appears to be regular human one, so nothing out of ordinary I guess!

Yulva IS a she, too:

彼女は、病み村で治癒術をふるうために 封印の任を捨てたのだろうか

('Did she abandon her duty as a Sealer to bring healing in 'sick village'?) You can see the 女 again! 彼女は is 'woman (talked about in the sentense)'! A he would be just 彼は, without the symbol (used for Ceaseless Discharge in his ring, for example).

Lautrec's Helper (Warrior)

And this is the one that has the spear (Pike) and shield!

____________________________________

Part 1: Oscar, Ricard, Solaire, Anastacia

Part 2: Reah, Petrus, Vince, Nico, Leeroy

Part 3: Pharis/Evlana, Americus, Forest Hunter (Cleric), Beatrice, Dusk

Part 4: Shiva, Shiva's Bodyguard, Forest Hunter (Sorcerer), Forest Hunter (Thief), Forest Hunter (Bandit)

Part 5: Quelana, Jeremiah, Grana, Cut Content Character, Domhnall

Part 6: Darkmoon Knightess, Lautrec, Lautrec's Helper (Sealer), Lautrec's Helper (Warrior) (you are here)

Part 7: Ingward, Kirk, Oswald, Havel, Tarkus

Part 8: Griggs, Logan, Rickert, Crystal Knight, Laurentius

Part 9: Patches, Siegmeyer, Sieglinde, Mildred, Crestfallen Knight, Crestfallen Merchant

* Shots of characters' faces datamined and provided by RayanTheMad on Twitter + rayanwasalsotaken on Discord!

* Twitter thread with the faces here: ( x )

* Data for characters Ciaran, Darkmoon Soldier (Balder) and Darkmoon Soldier (Berenike) doesn't exist and they simply copy the last face loaded, when there wasn't any loaded they use default placeholder data

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Scientific Inquiry

Scientific Inquiry - a form of problem-solving and questioning that helps people come to a greater understanding of observable phenomena.

An understanding of this style of scientific reasoning forms the basis upon which the nature of science itself rests.

Once you become familiar with scientific inquiry, you can use it for specifically science-related study or as just one additional tool in your arsenal of critical thinking skills.

Core Elements of the Scientific Inquiry Process

From encouraging scientific questions to facilitating well-reasoned conclusions, the scientific inquiry process helps illuminate our understanding of the world. Here are 7 core elements to the scientific inquiry process:

Asking constant questions: At the center of both the scientific method and general scientific inquiry lies the ability to ask questions well. Make observations about a particularly interesting phenomenon and then pose questions about why such a thing happens. Let preexisting scientific theories guide your questioning, but keep in mind every theory continues to be just that—a theory—until scientific inquiry definitively proves or disproves it.

Testing your inferences: Scientific progress hinges on your ability to experiment and test inferences about evidence. To do so, you need to set up an independent variable (something you will use to test) and a dependent variable (the thing or things you are testing). Seeing how well your inferences or predictions match up with the reality of a given experiment is essential to scientific inquiry.

Making connections: As you make observations about a specific phenomenon, make connections with every other relevant topic you can remember from your past science lessons or research. Scientific knowledge is as much a result of old realizations as it is of new discoveries.

Seeking evidence: As you seek to understand the natural world, there’s no substitute for hard evidence. Collect data and gather evidence relentlessly throughout your scientific investigations. The more evidence you have to answer your initial questions, the more ironclad your ultimate case will be when you draw conclusions.

Classifying data correctly: Science is as much a process of data collection and classification as it is of asking and answering questions. This means knowing how to elucidate or graph out your discoveries in a way other people can understand. It also means using citations from other scientific journals and texts to bolster your ultimate argument as to why a particular phenomenon occurs.

Drawing conclusions: Eventually, you need to draw conclusions from the data you collect. After you’ve made an exhaustive study of your specific focus, use inductive reasoning to make sense of all the new evidence you’ve gathered. Scientific ideas are always malleable and never completely concrete—alternative explanations are always possible, and new evidence should lead to new questions and conclusions.

Sharing findings: Science is an innately group-centered discipline. The more people interpret data, the better chance there is to ensure there are no loopholes in new research. No one person’s understanding of science content is infinite, so it’s important to let other qualified people ask questions of your conclusions. Natural science is more of a never-ending collaborative process than one with a concrete point of termination.

Teaching science means ensuring learners understand how to conduct qualitative and inquiry-based learning.

Science teachers must utilize a pedagogy that foregrounds hypothesizing, experimenting, and drawing on other scientific knowledge in both theoretical and practical ways.

Educational research indicates that it can help students see the correlation between scientific inquiry and everyday life, whether in elementary school or high school.

This sort of analogization helps people understand that a scientific frame of thinking is quite intuitive when you observe it within more commonplace parameters.

As a simplistic example, imagine a student has a hard time understanding the effect of heat as an abstract force.

Allowing them to observe the degree to which bread burns at different temperatures in a toaster would help make the point clear in a more hands-on way.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[sid-the-sandwich]

Womb Theory in Love For Love's Sake

Hello!

These are just short form notes on an idea that I had late at night, as I thought more about it, the more the thoughts kept coming - its hard to explain, but envisioning Myungha's life as a cycle of life and death, we can imagine the 'game' as the in between these two points - this explanation takes heavy liberties and goes into major details so beware.

Warning: Suicide / Suicidal thoughts

DEATH:

Myungha's first life represents the start of the cycle - we can link this to the stages of Grief in its usual order (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance) - showing Myungha grieving his own death.

Denial - denying his want to live when wishing on a star

Anger - anger when his grandmother passes away

Bargaining - bargaining by not acting when his Girlfriend breaks up with him.

Depression - depression when his mother rejects him, and instead takes care of another child

Acceptance - accepting to end his own life and feeling a strange calming sensation.

[this also links to this post where I theorised that Myungha goes through the stages of grief in reverse in the new world - coming back full-circle]

NUCLEUS:

Purgatory Bar is the place that could represent the Nucleus of Creation, the start of a life filled with Data and DNA - a relatively compact bubble filled with warmth and security before becoming an embryo - its singular and extremely lonely.

The senior being an unknown force speaking to Myungha can be interpreted in two ways - 1) The cell is going through Meiosis, prepping to become an embryo, or 2) A cell overhearing unusual, strange voices (usually the baby's parents)

The questions Myungha is made to answer are symbolic of DNA - his senior is collecting information on exactly what type of person Myungha will turn out to be. However, in this case, instead of physical characteristics, the data collected determines his inner psyche.

Purgatory being a bar could represent the insemination process itself, highlighting Myungha's life starting off as a 'drunken mistake'.

The warmth of the colours is interesting to note. The lighting is similar to the warm colours of Myungha's Mother's cafe. These are two scenes where such intense warmth is found. If purgatory is seen as a Nucleus in the womb, then both of these moments relate to Myungha's Mother.

WOMB:

The game world, just like an embroyo in the womb is confined, governed by its own unique rules and regulations. Myungha's freedom is limited and his actions are based on his missions, or he faces punishment - just like an embryo learning to survive.

The game world represents the mother's body - the womb. the parallels are clear. Myungha doesn't enter the game out of his own free will; he is placed there by an external source (his sunbae) - in the womb its by the parents.

Myungha's actions are based on the game's system and what it asks of him - just like an embryo, he is not actively making decisions; rather, following a predetermined program set out for him - he's merely a passenger within.

Myungha's game-life depends on a 'host' - he was inserted into a body within the fictional world - his survival clings on following the world's rules, just like how an embryo leeches on the nutrients given to them.

The game, like a mother's body, provides a framework, but it's up to Myungha/ the embryo to interact with what is around them. Both are not sufficient in this state. Without the mother, an embryo cannot exist, and without the game, neither can Myungha. If separated from the mainframe too early, neither can survive on its own.

Sometimes Myungha can hear faint bubbling (and yes this signifies his death) is also symbolic of the stage he is in, that transition between death and life.

The sub-missions Myungha are given can easily be explained - the missions are very general (making friends, earning money, social media, etc). The simplicity of these goals represent something a parent may talk to with the child inside their womb.

The glitches and system errors that cause unpredictable outcomes are similar to the womb - even if the smallest thing goes wrong, it can lead to disastrous consequences.

The author's pen, although a strange addition to the game world can be explained with this theory - it can be deemed as a divine trait. This once more links to this transitioning phase between death and life - Myungha is writing his own story for the world he is about to enter.

the timelimit Myungha is given when entering the world is 300 days - this is noteworthy as the usual time for gestation in the womb is 280 days. (However, and even though Myungha disappears and reapears earlier then expected, babies are born anytime from 24 weeks onwards)

LABOUR:

After being ejected from the world, Myungha is thrown straight into the void - its conflicting, scary, otherworldly and cold.

no matter how much heads-up Myungha was given, with all the planning he still feels so unprepared - he is kicking, screaming, crying because he's scared - Myungha is neither fully inside the game (womb), nor out of it - he is neither dead nor alive.

the water of the void symbolises the water breaking during birth. the dark narrow nature of the void represents a baby being pushed out through the birthing canal - the void is painful for Myungha, made to to accept both his past which he can never return to and the future right before his eyes - this process is painful and disorienting.

Myungha enters the void on a few occasions before he is sent there permanently - this can be explained as false labour.

the void is temperory, the shortest time compared to the other stages, and labour is the shortest of them all.

he has no control over how or when he is ejected, he is pushed out, pulled toward a light - feeling suffocating - but he is alive. Myungha is in the process of being born.

BIRTH:

Myungha is returned to the game - this time, he is not an error factor, but a character, someone alive and apart of that world. Myungha takes his first breath and tears up a bit when he wakes up fully.

the game mechnaics still being present, means Myungha is not fully cut off from his past yet as he is still connected somehow - this represents the umbilical cord.

Myungha must still learn to survive for a little while connected, until he gets used to the real world - the game mechanics 'hold his hand' in this case, telling what to do before he is cut off forever.

the beach, more importantly the water that surrounds them, could sybolise the state one is born in, all wet from internal fluids (idk how else to put it). Myungha is out of breath from running, he's breathing hard representing his first few breath taking a large amount of power on him.

the final stage of birth is the cutting of the umbilical cord - the point at which the mother and child are detached - in this case, when the aspect ratio changed, Myungha is cut off from the game (from his host).

he is fully alive and there's no going back.

LIFE:

the final scene of the show - the day at the beach, can be interpreted as looking into the future,

the baby growing up, learning, adapting, making friends, being in relationships and learning how to live.

=========================================

I don't know what compelled me to write this and to make such an in-depth analysis of being born - but here it is for all you. any questions? lmao

i am not normal about this show, what gave it away?

I find it fascinating looking at it through this lens even if it was never intended to, but given all the imagery and mention of Life and Death in the show, its worth analysing.

Thank u for reading

Stay Safe <3

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| Masterlist |

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[thoughtfulchaos773]

Fishes, Water, & Dreams: Dominant & Inferior

Part II of This Jungian Series

"Man becomes whole, integrated, calm, fertile, and happy when (and only when) the process of individuation is complete, when the conscious and the unconscious have learned to live at peace and to complement one another." -― C.G. Jung, Man and His Symbols

I wanted to look into the dominant and inferior Jung's theory Richie was reading in the network script of 2x01, which brought him to question his purpose. Using this I wanted to write what I believe is each character's inferior function.

I'm not a therapist but I love the subject of stories and mental health.

Carl Jung - a leading figure of psychology that theorized how people view and act in the world is based on four psychological functions that are either dominant or inferior. (Four functions are thinking,feeling,sensation, intution)

But TLDR: We behave based on these four functions, and one of these functions is an inferior part of our personality that needs to be explored. Eventually, it seeps into co-consciousness, asking for integration, and can make us act in compulsive ways to compensate for our weakening dominant function.

The inferior function can come into consciousness when a traumatic event occurs. I believe these psychological types reveal each character's inferior function.

The inferior function breaks through the ego's attempts to dominate and exposes us to the unknown and unexplored. According to Jung, despite being perceived as a weak spot in the personality, this "treasure hard to attain" is also the source of our vitality, liberation, and enjoyment.

Descriptions of the rational functions:

Thinking:

Internally or externally, using logical consistency, understanding, and concepts and systems in a personal way (introverted), we make decisions and organize and structure the world objectively, and we implement systems based on outside data (extraverted)

Extraverted: Principled, idealistic, objective, rational

Introverted: Influenced by ideas, independent, often fearful of intimacy.

Feeling:

 It is making decisions based on feelings and relationships. In an introverted way, it centers on internal values and personal emotions. It's about evaluating situations based on what feels right to the person.

Extraverted: Adaptive, relating well to the external.

Introverted: Sympathetic, pleases others, may be dependent, reserved.

Descriptions of Irrational Functions:

Sensation

We can recall and integrate our inner or external world to interpret our immediate environment and the present.

Extraverted: Realistic, concrete, pleasant, and friendly.

Introverted: Calm and passive, restrained, controlled and controlling.

Intuition

Focuses on internal insights that reveal patterns and future possibilities based on past experiences. It involves developing personal long-term visions and intuitively understanding complex ideas.

Extraverted: Enterprising, outgoing, can be irresponsible.

Introverted: Mystical, dreamer and artist. Can be obsessive.

I thought it would be interesting to apply these theories to Carmy, Sydney, Richie, and Natalie in the first part to get a quick profile of the characters. I also attached quotes from psychology types that go deep into Jung's theory on the four functions.

Carmen Bezatto- Inferior Function (Extraverted Feeling)

Dominant Introverted Thinker: Influenced by ideas, independent, often fearful of intimacy.

"In the case of a human object, the man has a distinct feeling that he matters only in a negative way, i.e., in milder instances he is merely conscious of being superfluous, but with a more extreme type he feels himself warded off as something definitely disturbing."

I was back and forth between extraverted sensing being his inferior or feeling. But Carmy's desire to no longer be alone overshadows. He longs to have Claire and Mikey's extroverted nature and way of being with people. Carmy, not knowing his inner feelings, reflects why he can have trouble focusing on the feelings of others at times. Since Mikey’s death, his inferior function - the longing to connect, to no longer compete - is playing in a way where carmy is resisting. Heavily relying on processing systems - what introverted thinking types are good at instead of working on their relationships and feelings of themselves and others.

This also stood out to me for the dominant introverted thinking types resisting- they will stay in environments no matter the external conditions as long as it lets them focus on their work and projects.

“"Invariably the object has to submit to a certain neglect; in worse cases, it is even surrounded with quite unnecessary measures of precaution. Thus, it happens that this type tends to disappear behind a cloud of misunderstanding."

Years ago, to help his trauma, Carmy heavily relied on this function that helped him understand systems and logic - to swallow his feelings and become the best chef. But now his longing for feeling for connection is weaning his introverted thinking effect. Now, it's affecting the relationships around him. His obsession with meeting high standards creates further misunderstandings. The more Carmy resists intergration it is only hurting himself and those he wishes to be close to, the season 3 finale the chefs dialogue reminds Carmy the reason he is running a restaurant has to be about the people. Not the systems of stars but putting importance on relationships will get him closer to wholeness.

Sydney- Inferior Function (Introverted Thinking)

Dominant: Extraverted Feeling

Extraverted: Adaptive, relating well to the external.

"One can feel 'correctly,' however, only when the feeling is disturbed by nothing else. But nothing disturbs feeling so much as thinking."

Some sites consider Sydney introverted, but I say extroverted. Watching Season 3 highlighted for me that Sydney is an extravert. She can talk to a group of world-star chefs and include herself in conversation seamlessly- adding her humor to the mix- extravert. Also, the party she threw at her apartment, along with the desire to go out and explore the external world. Sydney needs social harmony amongst the team. Sometimes, she shows some socially awkward moments, but that plays into her inferior function, where she can sometimes overthink.

Also important to note is that being alone at her dad’s house was not great for Sydney's headspace. She has to be out in the world exploring and engaging with people.

Sydney is open to new possibilities. Carmy, though he wants to improve the beef, automatically resorts to old, tried, and accurate methods. Sydney presents how different and positive things could be. 

Her inferior function is introverted thinking. Sydney is working on this for the 3rd season. Her dad points out how excited she is about opening The Bear but wants her to still be cautious, and it seems she did this same thought process with her catering business. There seemed to be a sense of urgency? She did move out fast, according to Emmanuel, like that is second nature to her, and for her dad to be pre cautious, she considers it negative.

At the beginning of season 1, by meeting Carmy and being part of the beef, Sydney approaches things differently than what's in her nature. She’s patient (incredibly patient with carmy) and creates and analyzes systems that will work for the business. This, along with her feelings of enthusiasm that I'm sure she hasn't felt since the start of her catering business, has her leaping in despite what happened in review which wasnt quite resolved between Sydney and Carmu. Her feelings are in it. She sees that carmy is open to a new chapter, and her feelings for her team make her jump into opening The Bear.

But 2x10 brings her back down to reality. Because of the Berzattos' dysfunction, she takes a step back to see if she should actually sign the agreement. In this case, her inferior function is asking for integration. This explains why she suddenly wants to think logically when faced with this decision. It’s as though she’s trying to step back and analyze the situation carefully, but this may not come naturally to her, and it leads to internal conflict.

Sidebar: This was not on purpose! But seriously, it's funny that Sydney's dominant function is Carmy's inferior and vice versa. Sydney wants to create a new menu, and carmy says, "Give me a minute." Classic interaction of an extroverted feeling (I feel this, and you should too! Let's do it, carmy!) and introverted type- (I'm not so sure; I need a minute to think).

Richie Jerimovich inferior Function (Introverted  Intution)

Dominant Extraverted Sensing

Extraverted: Realistic, concrete, pleasant, and friendly.

"Upon the lower levels this is the man of tangible reality, with little tendency either for reflection or commanding purpose."

We don’t see much of Richie’s inferior function play except for season one. Since he’s extraverted sensation-dominant, he relies on external senses to connect to the world. Due to Mikey’s death, we don’t see this side of Richie. We only hear stories of the boisterous nature of Mikey’s sidekick, such as all-night partying and random trips. 

With the introverted intuition being inferior, there is anxiety towards thinking long-term. We see him consider long-term goals when Tiffany’s pregnant, but it falls through. His attachment to his immediate environment The Beef,Mikey- attachment to the delicate ecosystem Richie overcompensates with his dominant function - he’s louder and even more stuck in keeping his immediate environment the same. 

Then, in season 2 , Richie becomes more introverted and considers aspects of his personality yet to develop. A lack of responsibility runs inferior intuition, but Richie is on the integration steps when he asks Carmy for his purpose. 

In Forks, his inferior function plays out, mainly when cleaning forks, where he can’t see the purpose or have a deeper reflection of the repetitive task. It isn’t until Tiffany tells him the news of her long-term future happening that Richie again reflects and has a deeper introspection - working on his unconscious, he starts to understand what he can do for self-actualization.

As the episode progresses, Richie’s inferior intuition starts to realize when he begins to appreciate the high standards and purpose at Ever. He connects with Chef Terry’s story about her father’s journals, which helps Richie connect the dots between his life and the importance of how to spend his time, dedication, and purpose. 

Season 3 Richie has a different level of self awareness. He understands the causes of fear and how his dominant sensation function overcompensates (e.g., Carmy changing his environment, which creates fear in his dojo), and he notices Carmy's own need for integration.

You notice at Sydneys partner Richie wasn't as loud as season 1 Richie? He didn't celebrate immediately at Ever Funeral dinner. He connected to the decorations and showed his extraverted personality, which is more pleasant than we've seen him. Even through being in a group, his introverted intution comes into light when he asks Jess how she continues to find inspiration. Richie wants to move forward by still creating that meaning in his life that only the intution function can give him his answer.

Natalie Berzatto Inferior Introverted Thinking

Dominant:Extraverted Feeling

This made me see Natalie and Sydney's relationship in an even more positive light - they have the same dominant and inferior functions- no wonder Sydney naturally asked Natalie if she was okay. Natalie also cares about the well-being of her family and prioritizes relationships and those happiness around her - although this can be positive for Sydney. We see this as a negative for Natalie. She makes herself sick as she tells her mother. But this imo tells me that Natalie's dominant function of feeling for those around her was and drained by Donna, or it's an overcompensation for her upbringing. Maybe both.

Internal introverted thinking is her inferior function, and this plays out in season 3 when Natalie, like Sydney, is having a battle between her heart and her head. She wants to connect to her mother but knows the implications of bringing a child into the world she was raised in. Logically, Natalie knows her mom is who she is, and she must accept it from a distance, but she still longs for a close relationship with everyone around her—she longs for social harmony.

In the Ice Chips episode, we see Natalie's inferior function come out and integrate when she observes her mother during her labor. Natalie can think logically and see why she is the way she is, hold her mother accountable, and see everything objectively. She sees how broken her mother is and can move forward when she balances her head and her heart.

Thank you for reading! Season 3 really did a deep dive into psychology. I would not be surprised if the writers explored personality types and integration. Do you notice the show also uses a lot of symbolism, and a character is always discussing a dream they had? Well, Jung was big on dreams and symbolism as a way to connect to our subconscious to get closer to integration. I'll connect the symbolism and dreams with Jung in the next post.

Tagging @moodyeucalyptus @mitocamdria @vacationship @whenmemorydies @brokenwinebox @fresaton

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Space junk falling to Earth needs to be tracked—meteoroid sounds can help

Space junk and meteoroids are falling to Earth every year, posing a growing risk as they re-enter the atmosphere at high speeds. Researchers are using infrasound sensors to track these objects, including bolides, which are meteoroids breaking apart in the sky.

New research presented at the EGU General Assembly (EGU25) shows that infrasound signals can help track these objects, but the trajectory needs to be considered, especially for objects entering at shallow angles. This study highlights the importance of improving monitoring techniques for planetary defense and space junk management.

Every year, Earth gets a bit bigger. Thousands of metric tons of space dust fall from the sky, while about 50 tons per year of meteorites crash land somewhere on the surface. Since the 1960s, space junk has also occasionally returned to Earth, falling from a hazy sphere of trash encircling the planet. Remnants of rockets, tools lost by space-walking astronauts, defunct satellites, and more fly through lower Earth orbit, reaching speeds of 18,000 miles per hour.

When any item—whether space rock or space junk—enters the atmosphere, scientists try to track its path to estimate where it will land. Will the item in question plunk straight down, or will it fly along at an angle before skittering to a halt?

In a new study to be presented at the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union, Elizabeth Silber, a scientist at Sandia National Laboratories, will consider how infrasound sensors—instruments that detect sounds at lower frequencies than humans can hear—listen for bolides. Bolides are the bright flashes and booms from large meteoroids breaking apart high in the sky. These events release huge amounts of energy, creating shock waves that travel as infrasound signals across thousands of kilometers.

But here's the challenge: Bolides aren't like explosions that happen in one place. They are moving, generating sound along their path as they travel through the sky. This movement matters, especially for meteoroids and space debris that enter shallow angles. In those cases, different infrasound stations might pick up signals coming from different directions, making it harder to pinpoint the source.

Motivated by this problem, Silber used a network of infrasound sensors around the world maintained by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), an organization tasked with listening for illicit explosions. These instruments also record anything else that claps or booms, from thunder to supersonic aircraft. Using signals specifically from bolides, Silber isolated the purely geometric component for her analysis.

She found that if a bolide enters Earth's atmosphere at a relatively steep angle—greater than 60°—analysis of the infrasound signal gets the trajectory right. But when it comes more horizontally, the uncertainty increases.

"Infrasound from a bolide is more like a sonic boom stretched across the sky than a single bang," Silber says. "You must account for the fact that the sound is being generated along the flight path."

And so, this study highlights a critical need: to consider the trajectory of an object when interpreting infrasound data. Infrasound instruments are indispensable for planetary defense, according to Silber, and the findings are relevant to Earth-bound space junk. If you don't know where something is going, then you have a hard time preparing for it.

[dr-futbol-blog]

Epiphany, Pt. 8

McKay is in the jumper with Beckett, Weir and a pilot that is capable of flying straight and they are approaching the sanctuary from space, able to see an aerial view of the time dilation field that Sheppard is trapped in. It does not appear as though there is much else on the planet, but the sanctuary is sizeable. We may note that Weir has taken shotgun seat inside the jumper even though it might actually have been more convenient for McKay to see what was going on down below from the front window, now having to crane up his neck to see. But in taking a seat behind Sheppard's usual seat, he may also be feeling closer to him.

Weir: There it is. McKay: Well, according to these readings, it's not there. Beckett: Rodney, I can see it with my own eyes. It's right inside that crater. McKay: It's hard to say whether the Ancients actually built it inside the crater or whether the rim formed as a result of the time dilation field.

There may be something symbolic once more about mentioning a thing that most definitely is there but that cannot be detected by people that do not know how to look for it. This is also a place that was actively hidden by the Ancients so that only the people who needed to find their way there would be able to do it. It is meant only for the group initiated insiders to find. But sometimes you just have got to trust your own eyes even if everyone is telling you that there is nothing there to see. They are subtle like that.

Weir: The jumper sensors aren't picking up anything? Pilot: Nothing, ma'am. McKay: Alright. Position us directly above it and stand by. Prepare to launch the probe on my mark. Weir: What is this probe of yours supposed to do? McKay: Well, it's supposed to descend slowly into the atmosphere of a gas giant.

Very likely in an attempt at making herself seem useful to the mission Weir asks the pilot to confirm McKay's lack of readings, which someone who pays more attention to what other people do than McKay might have interpreted as a personal slight, calling into question his professional capacity. McKay pays what she says no attention, too immersed in implementing their plan on getting some actual data from the field. The chain of command on this particular mission is more than a little fuzzy, but McKay seems to have taken point if only because he has any idea what they are even doing here. McKay announces that he is ready to launch a "probe" into a "gas giant," and it is probably for the best that Sheppard is not with them because he likely would have had a difficult time not reading double entendre into McKay's innocuous statement. Sheppard would also recognize descending slowly as something that McKay is wont to do, to his unending frustration.

McKay: The ‘chute opens, the probe separates into two components joined by a tether hundreds of metres long. Weir: So we should be able to receive telemetry from inside the time dilation field while the other half of the probe is still outside. McKay: Right. And depending on the variance, we might be able to fly right into the field and rescue Sheppard.

We may note that now that McKay is not making any kind of a point with Sheppard's name, he calls him Sheppard without the title, which is how we most often hear him say it. The description of the probe, as consisting of two components joined by a thread where one is on the outside and one on the inside that are still able to communicate, is interesting with regards to what was discussed previously about McKay's conscious choice to assume that Sheppard is alive. Sheppard and McKay are as though connected by a tether, one now left on the outside, and if McKay feels like Sheppard has to be alive, which he seems to do, it could be that they are able to receive some telemetry from one another. It does not seem to matter how long the tether between them, Sheppard and McKay are connected. A probe that separates into two components joined by a tether could also be used to describe soul mates or a married couple, and definitely a couple of people that seem to keep a mental model of the other person with them when ever they are apart.

Beckett: Very clever, Rodney! McKay: Yes, it is.... Actually Zelenka's idea.

Beckett compliments what he thinks is McKay's idea, and it is not as though McKay has not had plenty of good ideas in the past. In fact, it is natural for Beckett to think that it had been McKay's idea, and McKay's response to this is telling in two regards. There seems to be a note of incredulity to Beckett's tone that probably just meant to communicate what a great idea this was, rather than to suggest that McKay so seldom gets great ideas that he was taken by surprise by the greatness of this particular one. But given McKay's poor self-esteem, the fact that he has likely had to fight tooth and nail for his position in Academia and to defend his ideas on a whole other arena ever since he started contracting for the military, it is understandable that Beckett's tone would make McKay interpret it as derisive and feel the need to defend his own competency. Also, because McKay has a subconscious need of earning approval from the people he loves through his performance of tasks, the fact that he cannot claim ownership of having accomplished something that one of these people whose approval he yearns seems to appreciate feels like a very personal loss for him.

And so, while giving credit where credit is due, he seems humiliated having to admit to it. But at the same time, we must appreciate the fact that he does give Zelenka the credit he is due because he does respect Zelenka as a colleague, and while they may drive each other up the wall, they both also do push each other forward, they do have a good working relationship and mutual respect. McKay and Zelenka are not in direct competition with each other, and Zelenka even seems to head his own department (where McKay thinks that Zelenka is working under him), which makes McKay feel less like he has to put Zelenka down to lift himself up like he had done for example with that "dumb blonde" Samantha Carter. It is because it was said by someone McKay needs approval from that makes McKay feel inadequate here, since he has not heard Beckett ever say that to him for his own ideas. And given some of the things McKay has said about Beckett's chosen profession and their tendency to bond making disparaging remarks, it is understandable that Beckett does not give such compliments out very often either.

From McKay preparing to get telemetry from the sanctuary we transition to Sheppard slowly regaining consciousness, lying on a bed and being tended to by a strange little girl who dabs water to his temple, suggesting that he may be suffering from a concussion. Given the way the camera lingers on the vat of water before moving to Sheppard, water being a medium, immediately following the exchange about getting information from the inside by someone on the outside, the question of Sheppard's and McKay's connection can at least be thrown out there. We may also note that Sheppard is no longer wearing his fatigues but is dressed in white linen like Avrid, which may symbolically tell us that while he is here in this village, with this family, he is not fulfilling the role of "the man in black". But it also tells us that his original clothes had been done for. We may also note that Sheppard has been slumbering with his hands crossed on his lower abdomen as a kind of barrier, not how we have seen him sleep before.

Sheppard: Hi. Hedda: He's awake again! Sheppard: I am now! Teer: I am Teer.

The girl who seems to be around eleven appears to be extremely glad that Sheppard has finally stirred, and given that she is a child with healing powers rather than an actual physician, she alerts the others by shouting rather loudly right at his ear. She seems to be treating Sheppard almost as though he were a doll for her to play with, and likely has at least somewhat of a crush on him. We see Avrid outside with a woman, and the woman sends him away by touching him on the shoulder, and while we are lead to understand that they are brother and sister, it is not actually entirely clear what their relationship is.

Regardless, these people are somehow connected to the man that Sheppard had saved on the meadows, and Sheppard is now met with a beautiful woman in a pink dress. We may note that she does not actually greet him (Teer has known Sheppard in her mind since she was a child, the same is not true for him), but she starts by telling him her name. Teer seems to be the most important thing to Teer, is the thing. She is excited to finally meet him, having waited for so long for him to arrive.

Sheppard: Have we met? Teer: When Avrid first brought you here. You were terribly injured from fighting the Beast. Avrid carried you almost halfway across the Sanctuary. Hedda: And I healed you! Sheppard: You did? You're a little young to be a doctor. Teer: Hedda is one of the few among us who possesses the healing power.

Sheppard sounds frail as he struggles to speak, probably as much from hunger and thirst as he does not what ever injuries he had sustained and which had apparently been healed by the little girl. We may note that he keeps his hands on top of the covers in loose fists, not quite in a crotch blocking posture but not far from it either, definitely defensive. And given that he has just woken in a strange place being tended to by people he does not know, feeling defensive is understandable. It seems as though Sheppard vaguely recognizes her but unlike her, who has seen his face her whole life, there is nothing mystical about this. It would be easy to interpret this as him thinking he has seen an angel or recognizing her through some soul-connection but Sheppard seems to remember her because of the massive violation of his boundaries she committed right at the offset, to which she will admit to momentarily.

The people in the village are close to ascension and hence seem to have special abilities just like the Ancients. The little girl has the power to heal, Teer herself has precognitive abilities and is capable of remote-viewing, and she later tells him of her mother that was able to move things with her mind, who had telekinetic powers. It follows that Avrid too likely has some abilities but we are never told nor shown what they might be. But Teer says here that Avrid had carried Sheppard for many miles, and while a strapping young lad, he does not look like he would be strong enough to do that. But given that Teer indeed says that he had carried him instead of dragging him or bringing him in by some other means, he must be very strong--perhaps even preternaturally so.

While Avrid had called the village they are in now the "Cloister," they seem to call the inside of the time dilation field the "Sanctuary," which connects this episode to Sanctuary (S01E14) and Sheppard's previous experiences with "ascended women" that seem to have a penchant for wanting him so badly that his own desires do not really enter the picture. At the same time, the sanctuary that Sheppard finds here is not unlike the sanctuary he was looking for from Chaya, and the lesson that Sheppard learns here, the epiphany he has, is a reminder of what he had learned then about human connection. Given how badly Sheppard wants a family, he wants someone that will never walk out on him and that will never die, what he finds here presents him with a true temptation, and the parallels between the episodes are not accidental. Both Chaya and Teer may have been one-off characters but meeting them had profound effects on his character and taught him lessons that he will not be fully appreciate until The Shrine (S05E04).

Sheppard: Oh, good. Thank you. Teer: It's we who should thank you for saving our brother from the Beast. Sheppard: It's funny, I don't remember winning. Avrid: It's good to see you awake and well again!

Teer calls Avrid "our brother" but as mentioned, it is not clear what their relationship is and whether all three of them are siblings. Teer tells Sheppard later that her mother has ascended, meaning that she had essentially died. There is a considerable age gap between Teer and Avrid, who may well be brother and sister given the family resemblance, and the little girl. It is possible that "brother" is merely a term they use of men in the Cloister, in the sense of monks being called brothers in various religious sects. In that sense, Avrid could be their brother even if Teer and Hedda were not sisters but were mother and daughter, which seems infinitely more likely given their respective ages.

I have written about the sexuality of the Ancients previously, and given that the people of this world are close to ascension their attitudes toward sexual congress may be similar to that of the Ancients, among whom having sex was one of the few preoccupations besides meditation that even remotely interested them prior to ascension, and that there had to be that strong physical pull between them to be able to overcome the desire to just meditate all the time -- which we will see as a point of contention between Sheppard and Avrid later (Sheppard seems to desire Avrid's company and is upset that all he wants to do is meditate). Hedda is the only child we see in the Cloister, but I would not take this "our brother" as evidence of her being Teer's sister instead of daughter. She may have been waiting for Sheppard her whole life but it is unlikely she had been saving herself for him. Besides, Hedda is a part of Teer's charm for Sheppard.

It is not entirely clear whether the people of the Cloister actually understand what the beast is, whether they know it consists of their fears and that they have created it themselves, the final obstacle on their way to ascension. This is why it is also not entirely clear whether them repeatedly telling Sheppard about his triumphs with the beast is a form of gas-lighting or not. There is something decidedly strange in the way they talk about the beast to him, at the very least. Regardless, Avrid finally comes in with what seems to be a plate of food, presumably what Teer had sent him to fetch earlier, seeming very happy to see him. He steps past Teer to get closer to Sheppard, telling him that it is good to see him well, which means that he puts the onus on Sheppard and his well-being. Avrid is glad to see him, and he is glad that Sheppard seems to be alright. His smile is broad and genuine, and he puffs out his chest as he approaches Sheppard. And then brother and sister stand side by side by his bed, beginning Sheppard's "Dear Penthouse" letter episode.

Sheppard: Didn't it come after you? Avrid: No. Only the ascended know why. Sheppard: None of them are around, are they? Avrid: Are you hungry? Sheppard: Starving.

And Sheppard is likewise interested in Avrid's well-being, was concerned for him and seems to be glad that he survived the beast, what ever it is. Avrid does seem to be quite charming, as beautiful as his sister, breathy voice, broad frame, noble demeanor. He seems to be a good man. He also brings Sheppard food which, given that he was starving before they had even met, he is well and truly thankful for. Also, given Sheppard's quip later about why Avrid is not the one to bring him breakfast when he actually asks Teer to stop doing that for him is interesting in this regard, being that Avrid is the first one of them to bring him food to bed, to essentially bring him breakfast in bed here.

Avrid brings him breakfast in bed. Avrid asks Sheppard whether he wants food and when Sheppard tells him that he does, he lays the plate down by him. This is pretty much the opposite of what Teer does later. Sheppard wanted Avrid to be the one to bring him food, is the thing. And the reason this needs to be underscored is that although Sheppard does like Teer, although he is even attracted to her, throughout his stay in the sanctuary, he is more attracted to Avrid. This much is obvious from his disposition toward them, how they are purposefully contrasted. Even now he sits up on the bed and opens his hands, removes the barrier from between them, only as Avrid enters the room. Here, in this temptation of John Sheppard, brother and sister are very much a package deal for him.

Let us also make note of what Sheppard mutters here, which the others do not acknowledge at all because they have no way of knowing what he is on about. Sheppard's "None of them are around, are they?" is not intended as a question, it is a statement. Sheppard really does not seem to like the ascended which is interesting, given that his one and only experience with an ascended being was with Chaya and if we go by what the mainstream audience saw, if we do not acknowledge the rather obvious way she manipulated him, this is a pretty curious statement. The last we saw the two of them, they were basically soul-melding. So, what gives? What has happened in the interim? What made Sheppard change his mind?

It is later in Irresponsible (S03E17) that we get confirmation of what Sheppard implies already here: it was Chaya that had tried to seduce him and he had not liked it. She violated his boundaries, and where Sheppard may not have the tools or the concepts to even deal with it, he knows that he feels awful when he thinks about it. And it is not accidental that he refers to that here, now. Sheppard does not like the ascended.

Sheppard: Which one of you got me out of my clothes and into these? Teer: I did. Is that alright? Sheppard: Yeah. I just usually like to meet a woman before she sees me naked. What do we have here?

And consent and boundaries are also a theme in this episode. Knowing full well that he is no longer in his fatigues, Sheppard pretends to look under the covers to draw attention to the fact that he realizes they have taken his clothes while he has been unconscious. He is not alright with that. He may understand why they have done it, he may realize why it needed to be done, but it still makes him feel awkward. And as Sheppard looks up at the man and the woman standing by his bed, it is not clear at all which one of them he would have wanted to have done it.

Sexual orientation aside, Sheppard seems much more comfortable around men which may well be due to him having both grown up and worked in homosocial environments (boarding schools, the military). This is why he might well prefer that Avrid as a man had helped him undress, just as many men appreciate male nurses to care for them in a hospital. It has nothing to do with attraction but has to do with comfort. And while Sheppard probably wants to know what they had done to him while he had been out, that is not why he is asking. He is asking to make a point, to have it on record that he is made uncomfortable by this, which is something that Teer, who we may note again has been waiting for him her entire life and has been in love with him since she was Hedda's age, does not seem to get at all.

Also, what Sheppard says here, "I just usually like to meet a woman before she sees me naked" -- this is the exact same thing he was saying to the wraith queen in the previous episode when she had him on his knees in front of her, being forced into submission in a scene that had more than echoes of sexual abuse. He had told the wraith queen "I don't even know your name" flippantly, not actually wanting to know her name but making it into a joke to himself because making fun of the horror of the situation was the only thing that got him through it.

Sheppard makes light of heavy situations as a coping mechanism. And that is what he is also doing here, he is coping with the feeling of violation that comes from someone having touched him and looked at him intimately without his consent. It is a flippant remark, pointing out the absurdity of turning the usual sequence of events (meet a woman, then get naked) on its head. And note that Sheppard is not saying he usually likes meeting women. He is not saying that he likes meeting women at all. This is not about him wanting women to see him naked, or being naked with women. Probably he has been naked with women previously, having been married and everything, but what he says here is not a confirmation of that.

This is also not Sheppard making it known that he is such a gentleman that he likes to get to know a lady before getting frisky with her. I know some people take pieces of dialogue such as this as evidence of Sheppard's attraction to women, which I do not deny, when that is not what this is at all. This is not even in the hemisphere of Sheppard saying that he likes women to see him naked, or to be naked with them. This is Sheppard saying that while he appreciates the gesture, the fact that she had done it makes him uncomfortable. And it is rather obvious that she does not hear him, not now or later. And so to put an end to the awkwardness of the situation, he draws their attention to the food instead. It is clear he does not want to even think about what has been done to him while he has been out cold.

Continued in Pt. 9