#i did so much research on the dawn machine and how it affects people and then threw all of it out the window

[redstone-sun]

For the ask game it’s kinda late but the scene where mumbo wakes up after the dawn machine business lives completely rent free in my head

never too late!! and that was another one i was sorta anxious to post >.> so i’m really glad you liked it!!! i’m better with weird emotional stuff than action imo

[astaroth1357]

Long Distance Longing with the Brothers

Want a little angst and sweetness? I love how this turned out and I think it’s a new favorite for me. I honestly should wait to post it... But I have no patience, I love it too much. Weirdly enough, thank Taylor Swift’s new album for giving me this idea. Go figure. 🤷‍♀️

Warnings: Angst, implied starvation

Intro:

The brothers knew it was going to happen eventually. The year can't last forever, and at some point they were going to have to say goodbye to their human for the break… But that didn't make the situation any easier. Nobody likes being so far from the one they love. It was only a matter of time before our boys are reaching a breaking point...

Lucifer

Lucifer has never really had a reason to not to work before… Like, yeah there are those days where things get stressful and he takes a step back, but actually taking an extended period of time to just... not work? A "vacation" if you will? He’s never had the desire. What would he even do with himself?

Well, for the first time in literal God knows how many centuries, he had an answer for that question. He was going to be with MC.

And that's exactly what he told Diavolo when he finally accepted that missing the MC was negatively affecting his work. 

He wanted a… "vacation."

Diavolo had never once thought Lucifer would ever ask, and to be fair the man never thought he would either, but he's more than happy to give his friend a few days off to visit his dear human.

Whatever brief hit that his pride took by having to admit that he needed a break was more than made up for by finally seeing the MC again. He knew he missed them, painfully aware of that fact, but just the sight of them waiting to meet him outside the portal was enough to nearly take his breath away…

His first vacation was sure to be paradise. 

Mammon 

Oh, the distance was killing this poor boy. Any day where he can’t have the MC on his arm feels worse than when he's on a losing streak…

Speaking of a losing streak, he's been stuck in one for a whole month without his beloved partner in crime with him. Did he lose his lucky charm or was he just too down in the dumps to gamble well? Anyone's guess.

Well he got fucking sick of it. He wanted to see the MC, ASAP. But how would he get to the human world…?

It takes a week but he gets an idea. It took another for it to actually trigger.

Like clockwork one of the witches he's regularly in debt to, one that just happens to be a bad gambler herself, summoned him out to give her a little extra luck. Usually, he'd just kick whatever slot machine she’s parked herself at and be done with it but this time he's got to ask… How long does that summon spell last, eh?

He made a new sort of bargain. She gets to take Goldie out for a spin if she gave him some time in exchange… 24 hours to be exact.

He didn't waste a second after striking the deal because he had a lot of flying to do.

The MC probably didn't expect to hear frantic knocking on their door at the break of dawn, nor to find a beat tired and disheveled Mammon leaning outside it….

But he embraced them for all it's worth anyway. If it meant feeling them in his arms again, he'd trade away the whole world if he had to...

Leviathan 

He… didn’t do so well with the distance. Like at all. He'd mope around the house, constantly bemoaning how unfair things were. Not even his favorite games can give him any joy because those were the games he used to play with MC…

Sneaking in the occasional video call was pretty much the only thing that could make him smile anymore. Just seeing their face felt like getting a cold drink in the middle of a scorching desert… But he wanted more.

Thankfully, the MC themselves gave him a really, really good idea…

For two weeks straight, Levi seemed to get out of whatever funk he was in to help out around the House… Like, really help out. Suck-up levels of help out. It creeped everybody out...

After a time he finally approached Lucifer and made a simple request. There was an anime convention going on in the human world soon and he'd like to attend…

The ulterior motive for this little visit is practically written on the wall, but he'd been acting so damn unnerving for the past two weeks Lucifer just gave him permission to make him stop.

When the MC agreed to meet him on the opening day, they said they'd be dressed up as someone he'd recognize. Frankly, he was expecting Henry or maybe Ruri-chan but he was completely floored to see them waiting for him dressed in a familiar black hoodie with coral-like horns on their head and a carefully crafted serpent's tail behind them.

To this day he still can't decide what made him happier: seeing the love of his life so adoringly dressed as him or finally feeling their body collide with his after they came running to each other outside the convention hall...

In the end it probably doesn't matter because for that whole day alone, he finally felt like he had everything he could of ever wanted right there with him.

Satan 

Satan's not one for idle moping so when he felt that yearning in his chest finally hit a tipping point, he didn't whine. He didn't complain. He got up and did something about it.

Teleportation magic is tricky to master and dangerous to perform even with sufficient skill. One wrong move and you could end up smearing yourself across three different continents…

But like that would stop him.

He pulled out every book he could find on the subject, researched for days, then practiced for weeks. First on books and apples, then on some of Lucifer’s belongings.

He had to keep making new excuses to throw Lucifer off the scent (especially after he started sending some of his shirts away to different parts of the house) but after some time, it finally paid off.

Satan was probably the last person the MC would have expected to see show up in their room randomly one night, sitting casually by a lamp and reading a book like he didn't just master time and space just to come say hi.

But who was going to be all that picky when they could finally shower their nerdy cat-lover in all the love and kisses they've both been missing for months now?

Asmodeus 

If you took Asmo at his word, then the sheer depths of longing and despair he was experiencing while the MC was away could far outweigh that of anyone else to ever have existed in the history of all time.

He was the Avatar of Lust, desire was in his nature. Couple that with a burning need to have his lover as close to him as he possibly could and it was safe to say he was losing his mind!

This might have been the reason Solomon finally gave in after his 16th-ish time trying to beg the sorcerer to help him. He really was quite pitiful in this state...

When Solomon told Asmo that he could smuggle him out of the teleportation gate between the Devildom and human world ONLY if he could magically disguised his appearance, he was kind of expecting Asmo to refuse. This was Asmo he was talking about. He honestly thought that he'd rather die than deprive the world of his beauty so selfishly…

The world is full of surprises, ain't it?

No matter where they were, no matter what they were doing, the MC was suddenly mowed over by a "stranger" running at them at top speed like an Olympic sprinter. It’d probably have been pretty scary before Solomon lifted the enchantment shortly after to reveal their demon’s gorgeously familiar face.

Solomon wasn't going to let him stay too long, lest he incur the wrath of Lucifer, but Asmo couldn't care less. Be it a thousand hours or a few short seconds, he could always find a way to make his time with the MC last a lifetime...

Beelzebub

Fun fact, Hell freezes over a little every time Beel says "I'm not hungry…" No. Seriously. A freezing wind blasts across the entire Devildom like the realm itself gets a sudden chill...

So imagine the levels of panic that went through pretty much everyone there when his appetite started to fail him.

It's not like the poor baby could help it, food just tasted so much better when the MC was there that eating without them was like trying to digest actual disappointment… He got tired of trying after a while.

A few days of this behavior were worrying, but when he started to get a little thinner the family went into an uproar, starting with Belphie but soon spreading to the rest of the House as well.

Lucifer's soft spot for the twins may have influenced his decision. I mean, it was awfully generous of him to get Diavolo to approve of an fully sanctioned, planned meeting between Beel and the MC. He probably wouldn’t have offered that to anyone else...

Not that Beel cared about all that background favoritism anyway. Hell, on the day that he was finally allowed to see them, he couldn't be bothered by anything other than holding the MC close and hoping they'd never let him go again.

His appetite did return to him eventually, of course, but as long as he had his human with him even the cheapest street taco tasted like a fine five star-meal.

Belphegor 

Frankly, Belphegor was sick and tired of missing people.

Ever since the Celestial War he missed Lilith. When he was stuck in the attic, he missed Beel. And now that the MC was away he was supposed to just sit patiently and miss them too? No way. Not happening. Something about that had to change.

It wasn’t the first time he'd gone to Lucifer in an angry huff, but admittedly he had more ammo than usual...

There was a… discussion between the two. It went on for a couple hours… There may have been some words to the effect of, "Don't you think you owe me?" exchanged… 

Honestly, it was kind of amazing Belphie didn't end up in another attic "timeout" by the end of it. But he got what he wanted, so what's to complain about?

With a little persuasion on his part, Lucifer managed to get Diavolo to approve of a weekly visit for the two, SO LONG as Belphie stayed on his best behavior in the human world.

There wasn’t really much worry about him acting up, though, since he'd have his nap buddy back. It would be pretty hard to be a threat to humanity when he was too busy staying snuggled up to his favorite person until well past noon...

[singular-braincells]

i just wanted to thank all of y'all for nearly 100 followers and i'll probably do something special for it (maybe a Q&A? idk come up with something dw)

school is dumb and i hate it here stressing about college applications is also wack

i've always wanted to try my hand at the fluff alphabet so i hope this isn't too ooc or bad

kageyama tobio A-Z fluff alphabet

[a]ctivities: what do they like to do with their s/o? how do they spend their free time with them?

kageyama would absolutely love love love to play volleyball with you. it doesn't matter if you're a professional or don't know what a recieve is, if you show interest in playing it with him he will be just so over joyed (of course without showing it very much)

his favorite thing to do with you that's not volleyball is going out for hikes or walks in the park. just being able to go outside and enjoy the weather is a good stress reliever for him. you two don't even have to talk very much. if you want to ramble about your day or about the latest tv show you've watched, he's gonna listen but if you want to just be together and walk in silence he's totally down for that too.

[b]eauty: what do they admire about their s/o? what do they think is beautiful about them?

one physical trait kageyama likes is your voice. he would love your voice no matter what. if you're one to talk about anything and everything he is low-key relieved because he cannot carry a conversation for the life of him but if you prefer a comfortable silence he's down for that too.

a personality traits he admires is patience. he knows he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed and isn't one to pick up hints easily. so if you bare with him and help him maneuver through life and its obstacles he will definitely fall harder for you

[c]omfort: how would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?

to be honest, I can see Kageyama not knowing what to do the first time his s/o has a panic attack or feels awful. he's just very inexperienced with relationships in general, but he's gonna try to do some research and ask his upper classmen teammates for help. the second time it happens he'll be there for you. he is gonna provide all the physical and emotional support that he can.

[d]reams: how do they picture their future with their s/o?

once he has a stable schedule, kageyama sees the two of you living in a large condo home living the domestic life. making breakfast together on days that the two of you have off, movie nights with popcorn and tea, doing cosmetic face masks together (despite Kageyama having the clearest skin known to mankind), and just being able to take the time to cherish one another.

[e]qual: are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive?

at the beginning of the relationship Kageyama's gonna be more passive just because he a) doesn't want to accidently hurt you and b) he does not have the slightest clue what to do in a relationship. as the relationship goes on he's gonna be a little bit more dominant, but he will always ask to do something (like ask to give you a hug or for kisses etc. because he is a polite boy 😤)

[f]ight: would they be easy to forgive their s/o? 

it honestly depends on what the who's at fault. if you're clearly at fault kageyama is gonna expect you to apologize and own up to it, but if he's the one at fault he will apologize as soon as he realizes it. he doesn't want to lose you in some dumb argument so he'll quickly and sincerely apologize, though it might take just a little bit of time for him to realize.

[g]ratitude: how grateful are they in general? are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?

kageyama is super duper duper grateful for all that you do for him. waiting for him to come home at night with late practices, him leaving at dawn for early practice, all of it. he doesn't know how to verbally say "thank you so much for all that you do I don't know where I'd be without you" but he'll show it through actions. he's gonna get you a cute little trinket he sees at the airport when he's away or gets you that thing you've been looking at for some time without you realizing.

[h]onesty: do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? or do they share everything?

Kageyama doesn't share too much, only if you ask. he's not very good at opening up and he's very scared of abandonment. just be patient with him and let him open up at his own pace. he'll tell you everything just not at all once

[i]nspiration: did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? like trying out new things or help them overcome their personal problems?

he's become more aware of how to talk to people and the general aura he gives off. he’s learned to be vulnerable around you, to lean on you, and love you. it scares him that on any day you could pack your bags and leave him, never looking back. he’s scared of making mistakes and ultimately destroying the most wonderful thing that the two of you have so sometimes he overthinks every action. you’ve taught him to go with the flow, that it is okay to mess up. mistakes happen and that is okay. you’ve soothed and ease the insectuities that kageyama has. he can’t thank you with words because he’ll stumble and stutter but he can thank you with a gentle hand squeeze and a hug that conveys “I don’t ever want to let you go” 

[j]ealousy: do they get jealous easily? how do they deal with it?

again, baby boy kags has abandonment issues from Junior high so he's gonna be at least a little bit jealous, but not to worry! he trusts you 100 percent to make the right choices and to be loyal. he wouldn't really get that jealous unless someone was blatantly flirting with you. you notice his jealousy when he gives off the iciest glare to whoever is flirting with you. unless you look visibly uncomfortable he won't step in since he knows you can handle yourself. but if you needed him to step in, he would in a heartbeat. he deals with his jealousy by pouting at you and glaring at the other person until you give him all the affection he wants.

[k]iss: are they a good kisser? what was the first kiss like?

there is a 100 percent high chance that Kageyama has never been in a relationship before, let alone kissed someone. he's gonna be very inexperienced so if you take the lead until Kageyama feels more comfortable with it he'll be grateful. but fyi this boy learns and he learns fast don't worry ;)

your first kiss was an accident (i know cliché but hear me out). the two of you were sitting together shoulder to shoulder studying for midterms. you were aiming to give kageyama a kiss on the cheek for getting a question correct on his literature homework, but he moved his head towards you to ask you something about a certain kanji character and bam. that was your first kiss. 

[l]ove confession: how would they confess to their s/o?

kageyama would do the cliché "stick a note in your locker asking you to meet after school on the roof top" but would either fuck it up by a) messing up some kanji so it's unreadable and confusing, b) make it sound like a threat, or c) both. how he wrote it is option c.

you ended up going to the rooftop of the school out of curiosity and you see the dark haired boy standing there with a strawberry milk carton, bag of steamed buns, and a single rose (fun fact: the karasuno boys vbc made him get all of those things because let's face it this boy is hopeless with gifts).

as soon as you meet his gaze, his face turns red in record time. he adorably stutters out that he's got the biggest crush on you and you can't help but accept his heartfelt confession.

[m]arriage: do they want to get married? how do they propose? what would the marriage be like?

he would totally want to get married. he'd propose to you at a really really serenic place at night either at like a picnic at the beach or under the night sky on your condo balcony. your wedding would be small private with just your friends and family. the marriage would just be your relationship before y'all got married just now y'all share a bank account.

[n]icknames: what do they call their s/o?

at the beginning of your relationship, he was used to pet names but as he got comfortable in your relationship he uses some of them. the most common ones he uses are things like "honey", "love", and "babe"/"baby"

[o]n cloud nine: what are they like when they are in love? is it obvious for others? how do they express their feelings?

tobio makes it painfully obvious that he has a crush. he's never experienced these feelings before so he doesn't really know how to handle them so it's very obvious to others that he has a crush (even if he doesn't know himself). the longing glances, the flushed cheeks, the spacing out, the stuttering, it's really really obvious to tell if he's infatuated with someone.

he doesn't really express his feelings very well but he does express it by walking you home after school or after his practice, getting you your favorite drink from the vending machine, and just showing he cares in small ways.

[p]da: are they upfront about their relationship? do they brag about their s/o in front of others? or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?

kageyama is definitely more reserved when presenting his relationship. he won't go sucking off your face in front of people, but he doesn't mind the small gestures like hand holding and settling his hand on your waist.

when the two of you first got together, he kept it a secret from his team for months until hinata accidently saw the two of you kissing in the closet. it was only then when kageyama decided to announce to the team that the two of you are dating.

[q]uirk: some ability they have that’s beneficial in a relationship.

okay, he is a god at massages and other things with his hands ;))))). so if your back aches from sleeping weird or sitting at a work desk for too long he will gladly give you a quick massage to relieve some of the pain. because of this you learned some massage methods and tricks to help tobio out when he comes from practices sore.

[r]omance: how romantic are they? what would they do to make their s/o happy? cliché or rather creative?

he's not very romantic himself, but he'll do anything he can to make his s/o happy. most of the things he'll do will either be corny and cliché as hell or they'll be super thoughtful and unique. it honestly depends on who he asks for advice (hint: nishinoya and tanaka are cheesy as hell so do what you want with that info)

[s]upport: are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? do they believe in them?

he will support you all the way with your dreams and goals like you've supported him with his professional volleyball dreams. he can't help you much with writing essays or calculating certain equations, but he'll try his best to give you all the emotional support you need to achieve your dreams.

[t]hrill: do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? or do they prefer a certain routine?

i think he'd be more of a routine sort of person, but if you want to do something new he will give it his best shot. he'll do anything to make you happy and who knows, maybe he'll discover something new about himself.

[u]nderstanding: how good do they know their partner? are they empathetic?

when it comes to your niche habits and things you like, he knows them like he knows the back of his hand. y'all saw how fast he memorized those lil volleyball signals, he unconsciously memorized all these small little details about you.

when it comes to being empathetic, he's got the right idea but he's going to come off a little off. the best way to get your feelings across to him is by straight up telling him. he'll learn to notice the small signs you give off when something is off.

[v]alue: how important is the relationship to them? what is it’s worth in comparison to other things in their life

he will value your relationship like he values volleyball. he takes most of his relationships seriously so expect him to put the most effort he can. he'd expect you to do the same.

[w]ild card: a random fluff headcannon.

he saw you taking care of your friend's three year old son once. the way you were so doting and motherly towards him made his heart go doki doki. he realizes how much of a good parent you'd make and after that, he sometimes has cute domestic fantasies about having children with you.

[x]oxo: are they very affectionate? do they love to kiss and cuddle?

kageyama is not very affectionate in public, but in private he will be all over you. he's just more comfortable being cutesy and vulnerable in private with you. he will give you cute forehead / head kisses, snuggle you while the two of you sleep, hold your hand while you're doing laundry, and put his chin on your head while you do the dishes. he's just more baby in general when at home away from the public.

[y]earning: how will they cope when they’re missing their partner?

when kageyama misses you he will look at old pictures the two of you have taken together or pictures he has taken of you when you asked him to over the years that you've been together. these get him through some of the more lonelier times when he's away from you due to volleyball competition. he'll hold a pillow trying to pretend it's your warm self, but it doesn't work too well in the end.

[z]eal: are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? if so, what kind?

kageyama is willing to do whatever he can for your relationship. as long as you're his anchor in the storm and treat him with kindness, he's willing to move mountains for you. he just loves you very much and will do any action to prove it to you again and again.

[tansypoisoning]

Tansy’s Spooky Challenge

Because the World is terrifying :D

To celebrate this milestone (1k followers :O) I’m starting a challenge which hopefully will give back to this community in terms of exposure of less known authors (or just authors that aren’t known by my followers) and in creating more stories. I’m so thankful for all the attention I’ve been given, and I hope to give you guys my attention as well.

I love writing challenges because they give authors motivation to write (sometimes even things out of their comfort zone), because they’re a great way for writer’s to promote themselves, and because it’s a great way for the person hosting it to find more stories and authors they could end up being big fans of :D I especially encourage people with less followers, or whose works I haven’t read to participate.

The main objective of this challenge is to write something that has an element of horror in it. It can range from a situation that seemed scary but is okay, to something that is a little eerie, to pure unadulterated terror. As for rules:

You DON’T have to be following me to participate.

You have to enter with a reader insert/OC fic. There doesn’t have to be any smut or shipping, and if there is, the relationship DOESN’T HAVE to be about dark!character or dark!reader.

I’ll read works for any fandom, but the ones I’m most familiar with are Marvel, Overwatch, Snowpiercer, Knives Out, Naruto, Avatar:The Legend of Aang

You can submit drabbles, one-shots, or an entry of a serialized story.

A single prompt CAN be used by more than a single person.

The fanfics can be of any length, but if they’re on the longer side, please try putting a ‘Read More’ in there somewhere to avoid making things difficult for people reading on phones.

Things that are not allowed in terms of content: underage sex, bestiality, graphic child abuse (allusions are ok) I don’t think anyone would submit an entry that I would have reservations reblogging, but if in doubt you can ask me for help. Give warnings for any sensitive topic you bring up.

Tag your fic with “TansySpookyChallenge2020”

Send me an ask or dm telling me you posted it, preferably a dm. Asks can get eaten by the inbox, and tagging doesn’t always work.

Deadline is November 24th. You can DM for extensions

PROMPTS BELOW

Choose one item from each list and work them into a story. I allow and encourage trying to game the system with multiple interpretations of a term, less literal readings, or wordplay.

List 1

Happiness

Jealousy

Nostalgia

Desperation

Fury

Triumph

Sadness

Acceptance

Fervor

Disgust

Awe

Confusion

Hope

Craving

Foreboding

Denial

Loss

Ennui

Adoration

Sympathy

Pain

Betrayal

Commiseration

Anxiety

Rancor

Determination

List 2

Sink or swim

Chokecherry

Crossroads

“Let me see what you have.” “A knife!”

French vanilla

Something forgotten long ago

The shore

The eye of the storm

Bathtub

Corn hell

Down by the river

Baby’s breath

A little fire

An old saloon

Unearthed bones

On the move

Before dawn

Dead men walking

By candlelight

Frankenstein

Prima Donna

A hill about a mile outta town

First dance

Ritual

Underground

A small request

These text prompts can be used however you want: whether you want to have them in your story in their entirety, use bits, write something around them, something inspired by them, or just something you think has a similar feel. Just let me know which you picked.

There is a Corvette parked in front of the building, just by the front door. You approach the vehicle as if compelled by an invisible force and look in through the closed window. There’s none inside, but you see, in the driver's seat, illuminated by the neon lights of the bar, a white cowboy hat with a golden band. This isn’t the first time you see this hat.

The hole is no more than eight feet long and three feet wide. You peer in deeper, but you can’t see the bottom. There’s a soft but grating sound coming from somewhere within, like sharp nails raking against a metal plate. You can’t see the bottom, but you think you can see movement inside.

You abandon the warmth of the laundromat for the biting cold of the outside world. To your right, the road extends for miles and miles into the night, as it does to your left. There’s no place for you to go, but you can’t go back inside.

The light of the neon sign proudly displaying “Rising Sun Motel” shines through your door. You had closed and locked it before taking your shower – you know you had, because you do it in every room you rent. You take a cursory glance of your surroundings. Nothing is out of place or missing. Must be a faulty lock. The night is windy and could have pushed the cheap door open. You go to lock it again, and when you turn around you see that the closet door is slightly ajar.

The land is flat as far as the eye can see and identical houses with identically manicured lawns sprout from it as far as the eye can see. You run up and then down the street (or is it down and then up?) but you can’t seem to find anything else. The people look so friendly when they smile and wave as they pass you by, but you don’t ask them for directions. You look at your phone. You have signal, but all you can get your internet to show you are advertising for washing machines and sites with recipes for awful things preserved in aspic. The date and hour on your home screen keep changing. You’re positive you’ve been in this place for hours, but the sun won’t set.

“B-but… I don’t understand...” “We have checked the security footage three times and found nothing. There are also no signs of forced entries. No fingerprints.” “-My phone! I took pictures, I know I took-!” “We found nothing on your phone, in the SD card, or in the Cloud. There’s nothing.” “That’s impossible!” “We searched as much as we could. I’m sorry, but… are you sure-” “I know what I saw! I know it! Look again!” You aren’t imagining things. It couldn't have been your mind. It couldn't, it couldn’t, it couldn't

What kind of convenience store has taxidermy heads for decoration? You ask yourself as you roam the aisles of the near empty shop. You peek from behind a row of shelves to one side and spot the clerk. He’s old and severe looking, and although his pupils are pointed in your direction, you get the distinct feeling he’s looking right through you. You move your head to the other side of the shelves and spot another one of those fucking deer heads. This one’s large, wet eyes are turned to a fixture in the ceiling, but you would swear it’s watching you.

Rain pelts you as you stand at the dock, waiting. You hope your boat will arrive soon. You look over your shoulder into the mist and see nothing that should give you pause, but your leg still won’t stop shaking. You touch your arm by reflex and wince when you brush your cut. You think your makeshift tourniquet is working, but it looks fragile, like it could get dismantled at any second. In this weather, you’re sure is just a matter of time. You look over your shoulder again. Still nothing, but you fear it won’t last. You hope your boat will arrive soon.

The living room is dark, but you don’t turn on the lights. You are still too close. You move to the kitchen, and there you feel safe enough to reach for the switch. The illuminated room, much larger than it needed to be, is a ghastly land of contrasts. The many counters and their many marble tops are covered in trash. The tile floors, formerly clean enough to eat out of, are now muddied, not a single spot spared. The eyes of the two stoves are covered by pans and pots boiling foul mixtures. Through the window you can see the sprawling lawn and walls of hedges. They will hide you, but for how long? There is something waiting for you in the hallway, something terrible. You have to address it before sunrise, but for now you’ll wait here. The kitchen isn’t half as bad as the rest of the house.

‘The Bystander Effect’ is the term used to describe the phenomenon in which people don’t intervene in emergency situations when in a group, and, the larger the group, the less likely they are to intervene. You know this to be true, even without doing any research, as you hobble your way through the maze of alleyways. Your cries for help had gone unanswered, bouncing off the concrete walls into a multitude of uncaring ears. It’s just how it is in the big city – every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost. So much for safety in numbers. The truth is, in this city, surrounded by all these people, you’re more alone than you’d ever been.

You take the first step with care, mindful of all the ice. The second is a little clumsier. On the third you almost slip. You skip the fourth and fall on the fifth, rolling down the stairs and landing face first in the snow. You scramble to get back to your feet and run to your car. You have to get home. You lock yourself in and don’t bother with the safety belt. You shove the key in the ignition and turn and turn but nothing happens. Did you leave it in the cold too long, or- There’s no time to think about it. You step out of the car and start running, into the freezing night. You have to get home, you have to get home now.

Cleanup time is always a hassle. You wish you didn’t have to do it, but it wouldn’t be fair to leave the mess all to your partner. You two near the open trunk of the car and load the heavy cargo into it. Your companion seems the most affected by the weight, and you offer an apologetic smile. Fair is fair though; it was your turn to carry the feet end.

Skinny dipping had seemed like a good idea when your friend suggested it earlier, under the sweltering sun. Now, standing in front of the pool in your bathing suit, all by your lonesome, you start to regret having agreed to her scheme. Wasn’t she supposed to have arrived forty minutes ago? She said she’d bring people too, because skinny dipping alone isn’t fun. Well, now you are all alone in the cold, and you suspect that is even less fun. Just as you make up your mind to leave, you see a car through the chain link fence. It pulls up just before the gate and the engine turns off. That must be them.

[hitsuackerman]

What in the World? (Akaashi Keiji x Reader) pt.4

Part 4 of WINTW? :D Enjoy!

Akaashi’s lineup: @alluring-akaashi​ @oikawalmart-hq​ @extrasugafree​ @bbykiyoomi​ @apricotjihyo​ @simpformiya @colorseeingchick @something-that-idk

links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 5

“How is she?” Todoroki asked as he witnessed the scene before him.

None of them were expecting your quirk to go rampant for a few seconds. Being kept under surveillance, it was a miracle that UA signed the papers to let Recovery Girl be in charge. With your quirk’s sudden outburst, a good portion of her office was now upside down. The closest bed to yours was flipped over, the machine monitoring your vital signs now rested on the floor, and the window separating you from the rest now torn into shreds.

“Her vitals are still normal.” Recovery Girl said as she fixed the machine. Making sure that everything was as it was, she sighed and stared at your sleeping body. In all her years as a nurse, this would have to be the first time she would experience this. “Todoroki-san. Your father’s lab sent me some EEG results. I went over them a few hours ago.”

Todoroki nodded. His fist slowly balling.

“It perplexes me.” She pointed her index at you. “Her brain activity shows no sign of being in a commative state. In fact, it’s the opposite. The results told me that her brain is as active as ever.”

“Then why is she sleeping?” Bakugo asked. All this time he had been quietly observing. “If this extra’s brain is acting up, why the hell isn’t she responding?”

“I still have to run a few tests. And maybe call a few colleagues. It’s only been the second day, with a quirk like hers, it may be normal for her body to remain in a constant state of consciousness.”

Deku was about to speak up till he saw the faint glow of yellow on your palms once more. Everyone in the room prepared and distanced themselves from your sleeping body but nothing extreme happened. Staring at how the glow was steady and disappeared after a few seconds, collective hums and tiny gasps filled the room. With nothing happening next, Recovery Girl motioned for the three boys to leave.

Inside the classroom, everyone was waiting for the doors to slide open. When it did, everyone began bombarding them with questions till Bakugo finally yelled at them to shut their mouths. Commanding Todoroki to tell them, the half and half boy began.

“Recovery Girl said that (y/n)’s brain doesn’t show signs of being in a coma.”

“The girl’s quirk went haywire in the clinic. Either she’s sleep fighting or her quirk is getting out of control. You two were handed a mission, right? What exactly happened half and half? You hidin’ somethin’ or shit?”

“Kacchan, Todoroki-kun already explained what happened.” Deku tried to calm down the angry pomeranian. It worked but he received a snarl. Looking at Todoroki, Deku asked. “You’ve known her longest, do you think she’ll be okay?”

“She was in pain when I last saw her conscious. It angers me that there’s nothing much I can do but to hope that she’ll recover.”

~

Meanwhile, in another dimension, you were now preparing the gym with Yukie and Kaori. Dragging the cart out, you had been assigned to take care of the volleyballs. Pumping and making sure that there was enough air in them, you felt glad for the mini work out. It had been too long since you last worked out and even this amount was barely enough to maintain your body.

Asking a member, he hesitantly agreed into letting you become the new ball boy.

“(y/n)-chan? You sure you wanna be incharge of the balls?” Konoha asked.

“Yeah. There’s more than enough managers and it would be good exercise for me.” It was a shocker that Konoha even talked to you. Among the team, he was one of the few people you didn’t bother to research about. All you knew was he could cheer Bokuto up and that was that. Satisfied with your reply, you watched as he excused himself and walked back to begin his warm up.

At the end of the day, your body was far from sore. Not even an increase in your heart rate. Though, you did sweat but only due to the heat the gym radiated. Now that you were inside the girl’s locker room, you stretched your limbs only to be left unsatisfied.

“You moved and caught the balls like there was no tomorrow yet you barely broke a sweat.” Kaori commented as she took her shirt off. Yukie chimed in and agreed with the statement.

“I used to work out a lot back in Musutafu.” Taking your shirt off, the two girls gasped at the sight of your toned body. It had only dawned you that this would be the first time you were changing with them. You always made it a habit to enter the gym earlier than the others.

“Were you in a gang? Why do you have a lot of scratches on your body, (y/n)?” Yukie took a step closer and feasted on all your small battle scars.

Mentally cursing that you did not think this moment through, you chewed on your inner cheek and tried to think of an explanation.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m a clutz, Yukie-san.”

“A big one at that.” She pointed to a particular one. The most painful one of them all. Running from your shoulder to the tip of your breastbone, the memory of Toga digging her knife across your skin made you shudder. Seeing how you shuddered, Yukie felt guilt for intruding such personal space.

“It’s fine, Yukie-san~ No need to apologize.” You stopped her before she could speak. “Those were just… tough times ya know? But, this doesn’t hurt or even affect me that much anymore.”

“Well, you better get dressed quickly,” Kaori commented as she giggled. “Akaashi-san just sent you a message saying he’s waiting by the gate.”

Changing quickly, you could feel the stares behind you.

“Nothing is going on, okay? We’re just neighbors.” You pouted with your eyebrows furrowing.

“So you mean to say, you have the strength to walk past his beautiful face?”

“Yes, Kaori-san.” You replied with a deadpan voice. Yes, you admired him during the first day here in this dimension but that was it.

“And that none of those athletic boys caught your attention?”

“None at all.” Shrug.

The two girls shared a quiet giggle. Squinting your eyes, you stared at them till they waved you off and told you to have fun on your walk back home with the setter. Now that you were walking towards the gate, you checked up on your quirk once more. The pulling sensation was a little stronger, the glow a little brighter, but no significant changes. When you saw Akaashi leaning on the wall, his gunmetal blue eyes looked silver under the moonlit night.

“Shall we?”

“Yeah.”

The walk began and it was wrapped in silence once more. But, this time, the silence was comfortable. It gave you enough time to gather your thoughts. Every now and then, you would ask a school related question to the setter and immediately a response was given. Passing by a cafe, your eyes were glued to the (favorite pastry) being showcased. On record time, your stomach sang and your cheeks turned red.

“You hungry?” Akaashi asked as he stared at the (favorite pastry). “I don’t mind eating dinner out. The food this cafe offers is pretty tasty.”

“Can we?” A wide grin formed on the corners of your mouth. When he nodded his head, you grabbed on to his hand and dragged him inside the cafe. The scent of brewed coffee accompanied by the soothing melodies of soft jazz reminded you of Kiri and Bakugo’s study sessions.

Bringing him to the counter, Akaashi’s eyes focused on both your hands. There was no spark now, but this time a small pulling sensation took its place. Judging that it might have been the effects of practice he brushed it off and enjoyed the warmth your hold had to offer.

“I’ll have pasta and a slice of that (favorite pastry) please!” The giddiness in your voice made the cashier smile.”What about you, Akaashi-san?”

“Caesar salad and a pork chop.”

Offering to pay for the food, you let go of his hand and fished out your pocket. It wasn’t too expensive and the money your o-mother gave you was slowly piling up. Getting the number, you pointed to a small booth that had enough privacy the two of you would appreciate.

“Do you eat here a lot, Akaashi-san?”

“Not quite.” The way he sat down was very proper compared to yours. Though he didn’t really mind. “I do like their latte’s here. What about you, Firecracker?”

“Firecracker?” You raised a brow and your palms began to sweat.

“Have you eaten here before?”

“Nope. This would have to be my first time.” Your eyes scanned the decoration. It was homey and rustic. The lights above you looked as if the designer had a lot of glass bottles at home. “You’re pretty good at dealing with Bokuto-san’s personality.”

“Barely. I just grew up with him.”

“Were you in the volleyball club in middle school?”

“Yeah.” He began to play with his fingers. “But my teammates weren’t as dedicated. What about you?”

“Well, I didn’t join any club.” You placed your elbow on the table and rested your chin on your palm. Your stare glued to the boy sitting across you. “But I did like aiding the support department from time to time. They built some pretty interesting gears that helped me and my friends cope with the curriculum.”

“Gears?” The look of confusion was amusing. It was subtle but clear.

“Yeah.” You smirked. “UA was pretty brutal when it came to subjects. Being in 1-A was interesting and the smallest trip caused a lot of chaos. It was fun, scared the shit out of us, but the experience was worth it.”

“You’re talking as if you have special abilities.” His eyebrow was the one raised now. The playful glimmer in your eyes evident.

“Are you saying I’m not special, Akaashi-san?”

“I never implied that, (l/n)-san.”

The both of you stared each other down for a while. Being with Akaashi in a private booth was a different experience. His extra shirt was a little loose on him, thus hiding his well formed shoulders. A little sad, you had to admit. Being given the opportunity to stare at his face, you had to give him praise. He really was gorgeous despite looking a tad tired from the heinous practice.

“I’m kidding. Ya got me.” You pulled out a tissue and threw it on the table. A white flag, so to speak. “I wasn’t into sports. I was mostly in the background and focused on my studies. Boring right?”

“Far from it.” The corner of his lip curled up for the slightest bit. That small smile made your tummy feel weird and tingly.

“Indeed. I’m far from boring.” You winked. “I’m probably the most interesting person here in this dimension called Tokyo.”

“You’re rubbing ass now.”

“So the very proper and dainty Akaashi Keiji knows how to swear?” You feigned surprise and couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the words he had just said.

“Ass is not a swear word, (l/n) (y/n).”

“You’re right. It’s something you're blessed with.” Fuck. You got carried away. Biting your tongue and clearing your throat, the food finally arrived. Hopefully he’d let it slip and just enjoy the meal. “ANYWAY~ Thanks for letting me drag you in here.”

“My pleasure.”

The meal was pleasant and the embarrassment of complimenting his ass forgotten. Yet, the feeling of finally telling someone about a few things back home was a huge weight off your shoulders. Having to bottle up so much knowledge that you’re a complete stranger in this world was straining.

Akaashi noticed it too. How your shoulders relaxed and your features as well indicated that you had just taken a load off your problems. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was but he was pretty sure that there was more to what you had just told him. Not to mention your choice of words were far from being carefully selected, almost as if it was natural to you. Swallowing his thoughts, he continued savoring the food and the enigma before him.

Now standing on the street, in the middle of your houses, you stared at the gap between the two buildings. 5 meters was your estimated distance. Not too far and not too close, a pretty standard distance based on the houses in the neighborhood.

“Thanks for walking me home, Akaashi-san.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, (l/n)-san.”

“Ya know, we might as well drop the honorifics. Neighbors, same year, same team.” You were never one to like formalities anyway. “But, I’m cool with keeping it tho.”

“In that case, I can agree with your proposal.” Akaashi now walked towards his side of the area. With his back facing you, he glanced over his shoulder and bowed. “Goodnight, Firecracker.”

Firecracker. That was more of a Bakugo thing, if you were to be honest.

But, coming from his mouth?

You were more than willing to let him call you that.

- - - - -

so did ya’ll like this chapter? we now have a picture as to how our BNHA friends are doing~ Akaashi is still accepting in his line up :) comment if youd like to be a part of it!

[studiopoprocks]

Can you do fluff alphabet for Bakugou with a chubby s/o

Bakugo Katsuki Fluff Alphabet

I was a little confused on how I could add body type into the alphabet. So I tried my best to do your request, I hope it’s okay! @ash-the-lover

A - Affection (How do they show how much they care in their day to day lives)

Yes Kastsuki can be affectionate, big surprise. He’s pretty bad with words (unless written) so he tries his best to show how much he cares. He’ll always be right beside you despite how big the room may be, or even pat your head in public with a rare smile on his face. He’s trying his best, he just needs a little more practice.

B - Before (How did they act before the relationship/ what was the relationship like?)

He wasn’t the best with dealing with the fact he had a crush on you. He would yell at you more, but none of his words contained any venom. You kinda just stuck around him anyways. Even before you started dating, he was very VERY protective. Heaven forbit any ass hole degrade your amazing beautiful body, it was lucky recovery girl was there.

C - Comfort (How they act when their S/O is sad)

He instantly turns soft the moment he realized you’re upset. If it’s something another person did, he’ll offer to kill them, then proceed to explain why you’re so much better, and don’t need to even think about them. But if it’s insecurities, his heart breaks. He believes you are perfect, and even out of his league. He tries his best by pulling you into his chest, and saying ‘this heart beats for you stupid’ he’ll make sure to show you how much you mean to him more often.

D - Dawn (What are mornings like?)

This boy goes to be at 9pm, so you know he’s getting up at 4:30am. He’s actually very quite, almost never waking you up as he’s getting ready. On the off chance that he does, he’ll kiss your forehead and tell you to go back to sleep. Although you wake up alone, there is always a warm plate of breakfast on the kitchen table, and a good morning note from Bakugo

E - Embarrassed (How does their S/O make them flustered? How do they return the favour?)

Kiss him on the cheek and he’s out. Bakugo could be screaming, or in the middle of sparing and instantly freeze up if you somehow kiss him. Error Boyfriend has Stopped Working. He kinda just stands there as his face gets redder, then screams ‘OI What the hell was that for!’ But you know he secretly enjoys it, plus he’ll get you back by slapping your ass. Bakugo is a perv, what more can I say.

F - First date (Were did you go and what did you do for your first date together)

This boy did his research. You two would meet up at a nearby park, walking around a little bit before heading to a very expensive restaurant. He’d convince you to split a dessert with him, and you best believe he’s paying for the whole thing. Don’t even attempt, trust me it won’t be pretty. Afterwards you would go see a movie, at one of those expensive theatres that has an arcade inside. It may have taken him 27 tries, but he did get you that plushy you wanted from the claw machine before the movie started. And at the end of the night, he would give you a quick goodbye kiss as he dropped you off.

G - Gentle (How Gentle are they with their S/O? Or do they like to rough house with them?)

Bakugo will be rough. If your his girlfriend, one of the reasons he loves you is because you’re strong, otherwise you’d be too scared of him. It’s usually just rough language, swearing, screaming, just normal Katsuki. He also prefers to spar with you, and you better not expect him to hold back. If he does end up hurting you, he’ll give you one of his famous massages to make up for it.

H - Habit (What do they repeatally do in the relationship?)

His hands like to wander... he says he can’t help it, that you’re just too beautiful, but you know it has to do with him being a bit possessive. It’s not even pervertive most of the time. Often running his hands down your sides, or petting your hair. He won’t admit to doing it, but the playfulness tells a whole nother story.

I - Intreating (What do they find fascinating about their S/O? And vise versa?)

He’s astonished that you deal with him so well. The first time you were able to calm him down, played on repeat over and over in his mind. He doesn’t understand how! It kinda pissed him off because he felt weak, but now he goes to You whenever he needs to de stress.

J - Jealousy (How easily do they get jealous, and how do they deal with it)

He doesn’t want to get jealous, but it just comes with his personality. He feels kinda bad after he basically threatens to kill some guy hitting on you. Not for the fact that he planned on murdering the poor dude, but because he knows you can take care of yourself, and don’t need him butting in. He’s gotten a lot better after the first couple incidents, and often will just glare at the pervs while putting his arm around you.

K - Knick Knack (A random momento they still have from their S/O)

Just like Uraraka and Midoriya, you actually gave Bakugo his hero name ‘ground zero’. You had drawn a funny little doodle of your boyfriend in his hero costume, during class. Three thing were written: ‘Boom boom McSpolde man’ ‘Ground Zero’ and ‘love uwu’. He had taken it from you to look up, but never gave it back. He currently has it on the top of his nightstand, where it’s been since he got it.

L - Location (Favourite place to go on dates)

Arcade or amusement park. Honestly any adrenaline inducing thing he loves. He gets really competitive at the arcade, but will always try to win you something! (Even if it takes 14 tries). He doesn’t like how many people there are at the amusement parks, by he loves having you cling to him on rollercoserts. He will drag you on the scariest one, just so he can ‘protect’ you.

M - Movie (What cliché movie trope has actually happened in the relationship?)

That whole yelling in the rain then someone accidentally confesses, was how you two got together. You honestly didn’t know what was going on with him, and you two started arguing on your way back to the dorms after sparing. ‘All I want is for you to tell me what I did wrong Katsu!’ ‘You did nothing wrong!’ ‘Well something’s wrong!’ Fast forward a bit and he actually ends up saying ‘for some reason I fucking like you a lot!’ Arguing in the rain + confession = kisses!

N - Nickname (What do they call their S/O?)

What he calls his S/O:

‘My idiot’ a term of endearment kinda

‘Babe’ never used at school

‘Fucking perfection’ he’s trying

What you call him:

‘Baku-babe’ in response to him calling you babe

‘Jerk face’ another term of endearment trust me

‘My hero’ yes he almost cried when you first called him that

O - On Cloud Nine (How they act when they are in love/ Is it obvious to everyone around them?)

He’s only obviously about it when he’s actually with you. His full attention with be on you, and the anger in his face has melted away. He looks really civil and it kinda freaks people out when they first see it. Neither of you notice, but he’s always in a protective stance around you. It’s very obvious you’re dating the hot head.

P - PDA (Do they like showing off their s/o, or are a little shy to kiss in public)

It’s either full on makeout session, or no touching what so ever. At school he’s not very affectionate because he wants to focus on being a top hero, and he knows if he even thinks of you for too long, it’s going to distract him for the rest of the week. In the dorms though, almost anything goes. He doesn’t want to talk to someone? He’ll start cuddling up to you, blaintly ignoring them. Deku is pissing him off? Makeout session outside your door.

Q - Quirk (A random ability they have, that’s helpful in a relationship)

Even though he isn’t very good with words, Bakugo will never lie about what he’s saying. He’s so blunt that everything he says is genuine, and 110% his option. Maybe he doesn’t say it in the most classy way, but he means well. Having him be like this prevents insecurities, and trust issues.

R - Rearly (Something they love to do, but it doesn’t happen often)

He loves cloths shopping with you. Hear me out; his parents are fashion designers, so you best believe he’s going to have their skills when it comes to looking good. He loves to dress you up like his own personal manikin, he thinks you have the perfect body for any outfit, and can rock anything he decides to throw your way.

S - Special (Something that only them and their S/O do together)

Horror movie nights. He absolutely hates watching movies with the squad, usually because they talk so dam loud, and they have to pause the movie every 10 minutes! So he’ll only watch with you. He absolutely loves it when you get scared and cuddle into him. He feels like your his missing peice, and you both fot together like a puzzle. He’ll feel bad if you have a nightmare afterwards, but how can he be stop when every time you come to him for more cuddles!?

T - Together (How often do they spend time with their S/O?)

He never thought about having a relationship, so he’s really booked up with becoming a hero. Although you don’t spend much time together, you spend enough time in the same room. Most weeks it’s just lunch, and walking to the dorms together. It’s not a lot of time, but it makes you both cherish the time you do spend together.

U - United (In which way does the relationship become a whole? Marriage?)

Once you start working together, and get into a flow. It would happen close to when he would propose. You both just start to understand eachother, and work well together even in your day jobs. You can communicate without words, making you both successful in whatever you put your mind to. Bakugo may not be the number 1 hero, but you do hold the title of best hero couple.

V - Value (What do they treasure the most in their relationship?)

He treasures the quiet moments you share. He’s so go go go, and always working towards something, that when he gets a break alone with you, he wants to just sit and enjoy you being there. When it’s quite, he feels like he can detach from the world and just exist without expectations. He’d never have these quite moments until he met you, and he’s so so thankful for them, and you.

W - Wish (What do they hope will come from the relationship?)

Honestly he doesn’t know. All he knows is that he wants to be by your side no matter what. He has so many goals for himself, he doesn’t want to put any stress on you or your relationship. So he’s ready to go with whatever you want, because he’s content on just being with you, and being there for you.

X - XOXO (Favourite types of kisses and hugs)

After a long and stressful day so everyday, katsuki will just want to smother you into his chest and stay like that. Having you between his arms grounds him, and he won’t admit it but he loves the smell of your shampoo. He much prefers to do the kissing, just so it doesn’t catch him off guard. So he’ll usually just come up to you and start a full out makeout session to relive any negative energy he has.

Y - Yearning (How do they cope when they're missing their partner?)

Katsuki is a big baby. So if you’re not with him, you best believe he will snap at anyone in a 50ft radius of him. You always calm him down, so being without you puts him into demon overdrive. If you’re gone for a long time, he’ll end up pacing the house, glaring longingly at the spots you spend the most time in. The only thing that helps him get by is the adorable pictures he has of you as his phone screen.

Z - Zeal (Will they go great lengths for the sake of the relationship? What kind?)

Although he won’t turn villain for you, he will kill someone. We all know his threats are empty, but it something were to happen to you... whoever did it would be dead. If he wasn’t able to kill then for some reason, then he would make their life a living hell. He loves you, and no one will ever take that away from him.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Radiation Theory - Connecting Grady to Coming Arcs

 Okay, let's talk about radiation. Let me first give credits to @frangipanilove for first figuring this out. It's something that's been percolating for all of us for a while, but she is the one who first articulated it. I also know she’ll be doing a post of her own on this topic, which will probably be more extensive than mine.

First, I’ll talk a little bit different times we’ve seen radiation references throughout the series.

Let’s start at Grady. If you go way, way back to when I first started my account, I have to say that Trevitt really bugged me. I felt like something about him was really significant and that we ought to be reading more into him than simply a random person brought into Grady that became a pawn in Dawn and Edwards’ games. But even in the years since, nothing has really cropped up to indicate he was of any special significance.

Let's review. Edward said Trevitt fell out of a second-story window. He had serious internal injuries and Edwards didn't think he could save him. Yet, despite that, he went out of his way to have Beth give him the wrong medication and kill him. Which means that he was very threatened by Trevitt.

As with all things Grady, I think there were double meanings all over this, but the way the writers presented it made a certain amount of sense, which meant that no one really asked any deep questions. Edward seemed just insecure enough that he would do something like this. Even if it was totally unnecessary.

The question I always asked was why he would want to kill Trevitt. Trevitt was a doctor? Was Dawn really such a terrible leader that she would rather have one doctor instead of two? You think they'd be happy to have more than one. But Edwards was obviously afraid of being replaced and we, the audience, have to trust it was a well-founded fear. If he was so afraid of it, perhaps because she'd really threatened to replace him before.

At the end of the episode, we find out Trevitt was an oncologist (cancer doctor) at St. Ignatius hospital. So Edwards knew him professionally.

We didn't get a whole lot more in terms of radiation until S8. Remember that when TF was conducting war on the Saviors outposts, they came across one that was leaking chemicals. Many of the walkers had radiation burns and this toxic stuff was spilling out into the water and the surrounding land.

A lot of us tried hard to read into that. It felt very significant, like something we needed to pay attention to. But again, not much came of it in the plot.

About the only thing that affected the long-term plot was what happened to Father Gabriel. After he and Negan covered themselves in irradiated walker guts to get through a horde, he got sick and lost part of his sight. It was just the luck of the draw that father Gabriel got radiation poisoning and Negan didn't. Gabriel became a walking embodiment of the Sirius/Dog Star symbolism. Between this and Still/Alone callbacks around this time (when Dr. Carson died) we couldn’t help but relate it to Beth.

But it’s still hard to figure out where it sits in the grand scheme of things. Why Gabriel? Why now?

Now let’s fast forward to S5 of FTWD. Obviously, radiation was a big theme in this past season. Grace was wandering around trying to stop nuclear reactors from melting down, and both she and Alicia were exposed to the radiation in a big way. We spent half the second half of the season wondering if Grace would get sick from radiation poisoning at any moment. It was probably this heavy emphasis on radiation in the plot of the season that helped @frangipanilove pull this all together.

And finally, this past Sunday in 10x01, we had a radiation reference. Luke was concerned the fallen satellite might have brought radiation with it. Eugene didn’t seem too concerned about it, though.

Many theories in the fandom are circulating about Ezekiel perhaps having cancer. It’s pure conjecture for now, but if he does, we may be able to connect that to the radiation theme as well. After all, what is one of the major treatments for cancer? Radiation?

And therein lies the crux of the importance of the radiation theme.

So, remember the cure theory at Grady? We’ve always about how they might have been treating the virus in some way. I've always thought that it really was more of a treatment than a cure. The way in which they could possibly save people from walker bites—though with no guarantee—but wasn't a blanket cure for the virus either.

So, here's our collective hypothesis. We think the people at Grady were using radiation to treat the virus.

Let me explain. First of all, it would make a lot more sense for Edwards to be threatened by Trevitt if Trevitt was specifically radiation doctor (oncologist). Edwards’ fear of being replaced would make much more sense if they were using radiation to treat the virus. Edwards was not an oncologist. He was a research doctor who didn't even have a practice. Dawn really would probably favor Trevitt over him. He knows more about radiation.

It also explains why she demanded Edwards save Trevitt, even though he was something of a lost cause. Edwards claimed the man couldn’t be saved and they were wasting valuable resources on him. Dawn herself was usually very against that and would cut off care (such as with Carol) if there was even any doubt about their survival. Why, then, did she demand he be saved? Probably because he knew a lot about radiation and could have helped them.

When Dawn tells Beth she has to eat, she says, “if you don’t eat, you’ll become weak and then you’ll need more treatments.” While we can’t prove anything about a suspicious wording, the way she said “treatments” made it seem like more than just run of the mill medical treatment. It sounded like something more specific. Radiation treatments, perhaps?

There's also the opening scene where Beth was locked in her room when she woke up. I’ve always thought they locked the door because they didn’t know if Beth would ultimately live and didn’t want to risk her waking up, staggering out in the hospital as a walker and eating people (as happened at the prison in 4a). So all I’m adding here is that they didn’t know if the radiation treatments would work.

Also remember how weird we’ve always found it that Dawn talked about how Beth had a chance to be part of something important here and maybe the most important thing in her entire life. Delusions of grandeur, anyone? But if they were working on a cure, that makes more sense. Again, nothing different here. We just think they were using radiation to fight the virus.

But here’s some real evidence that we’re barking up the right tree. I figured out not long after S5 that Beth was being treated for blood clots. Others noted that her IV had heparin in it, which is a blood thinner. Edwards said she had a concussion, and no doctor in their right mind would give a patient with a head injury blood thinners. It could kill them. So right away, something didn’t jive.

Then I noticed the little white machine that Edwards tries to use on Joan. One of my followers who knew medical machines told me it was a deep vein thrombosis machine. Those machines are used to treat blood clots as well. So that was proof—along with the heparin—that she was being treated for blood clots, as was Joan after being bitten.

I did some very basic Google research and guess what? Cancer patients who receive radiation are at a higher risk for blood clots due to that radiation. Heparin is often given to them in conjunction with radiation to cut down on blood clots. Do you see If Grady’s patients received radiation to deal with walker bites, it would make perfect sense for them to also be treated with heparin. *mind blown*

Let's return father Gabriel and S8. If the radiation hypothesis about Grady pans out, suddenly FG’s arc makes a lot more sense to me. Think of it this way. The radiation resulted in him looking like Sirius/Dog star, right? And Sirius = return symbolism. Well, it will be radiation that saved Beth's life and will allow her to return to TF. In other words, radiation makes the Sirius return possible.

This is our new hypothesis as to the Bite/Cure theory. Not only were they working on a cure or at least treating walker bites at Grady, they were doing it using radiation.

Now let’s consider 10x10. Luke asked if the satellite had any potential for radiation, and Eugene didn’t seem worried. So maybe we’ll see some radiation sickness from this, but personally, I think this was more symbolic than anything else.

So, all during Fear this past season, I talked about the water scarcity situation and how the helicopter people are purifying water, right? Well, a little over a week ago, after spoilers for 10x01 were leaked which said a satellite would fall from the sky, I was trying to figure out how to put together the ideas of water scarcity and radiation. Because based on the symbolism we’ve seen, they seem to both be related to Beth.

Then it hit me: wormwood.

Okay, so we know this show is big on biblical symbolism, right? Well, for those who don’t know, in the book of revelation, it says that near the end of the world (apocalypse) a meteor will fall from the sky and hit the earth. It will poison 1/3 of all the water on the earth so it’s undrinkable. People who have studied revelation assume that something like that must be due to radiation the meteor is giving off. Radiation of that magnitude would make the water undrinkable. That is to say, it would be irradiated. Anyone who drank it would get sick from radiation poisoning.

Well, of course this was a satellite, not a meteor. And I don’t see how plausibly this satellite could infect anyone’s drinking water. So, it’s not literal. This satellite symbolically represents wormwood from the bible. Once it falls, the water will become undrinkable. So it’s not a drought in that the water will dry up. They’ll have water, but just won’t be able to drink it. That’s where the helicopter people come in because they know how to purify water. The fact that Luke asked Eugene if radiation was an issue just reinforces this as a wormwood symbol.

So, does that mean that TF’s water supply is bad now? I actually thought when I read the spoilers that this would mean that. Symbolically, after the satellite fell, the water would go bad. But after watching the episode several times, I actually don’t think it’s going bad yet.

Why? Because of how the sequence of events in the show represents what we’ll see next. See THIS POST from two days ago for details, but remember I said the first section, Training Day, is about everything that’s come before to prepare them for what’s to come. The next 4 sections show different characters doing different things (Michonne, Aaron, Daryl, Carol, Negan, Eugene, Rosita, Siddiq, FG, etc) and represents their separate arcs during the Whisper War, which is now upon us. And each of these sections ENDS with the satellite falling.

So I think this is telling us that the radiation/water scarcity arc will happen right after the Whisper War. That will be the next arc. And we don’t know how long the Whisper War will last. I tend to think probably for this season, but there’s no way to tell yet.

So what does that mean for Beth? I honestly don’t know. Just because we won’t see much about the helicopter group stuff until a later time doesn’t mean we won’t see Beth earlier. It could be that she shows up during the Whisper War (remember that we’ve seen a lot of her symbols around Alpha and the Whisperers) and then when the water goes bad, she’ll know where to go to find water because she’s been with he helicopter group before. Or it could be that we won’t see her until after the Whisper War. If we don’t see her this season, well the Rick Grimes films are slated to start releasing this next year, and many people have suggested she’ll be in them.

So I really don’t know, but this is how we think the radiation theory is related to Beth. So if we see more indication of it in the future and mention it, you’ll have a frame of reference for it. Thoughts?

[wwwps4]

Detroit

Can robots feel? To empathize? To do? Despite years of research, scientists do not give clear answers. And where science is powerless, fiction comes to the fore. Last year, with the help of NieR: Automata, Taro Yoko tried to get to the truth. Now David cage, the author of the interactive thrillers Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, has decided to present his view on the problems of artificial intelligence. Well, guys, myltso? On the blade Near future. Technology has made another leap, and the achievements of Boston Dynamics are in the past: androids are already among us, their appearance and behavior are barely distinguishable from ordinary people. Indispensable helpers and cheap slaves in one person, the" children " of CyberLife have been performing the most thankless work for years, bearing the humiliation of the Almighty masters. But nothing lasts forever: suddenly, in Detroit, one after another, deviants begin to appear-machines that have gained self-awareness.

Detroit: Become Human

In a matter of months, humanity is on the verge of war with its greatest creation. Now, in the darkest hour, the fate of the world depends on the actions of ordinary robots, not people. Marcus, the old artist's Butler, is stranded on the street in an accident. Connor, a police officer, hunts for "broken" brothers and tries to find out the reason for their madness. Kara, the housekeeper, runs off with her owner's daughter when he raises his hand to his own child. Heroes are waiting for incredible adventures, and their paths will cross more than once. And who knows how their amazing story will end?

Light, camera, shame Video games have long been made with an eye on Hollywood. Game designers spy on the Directors ' techniques, more and more screensavers from year to year, and the traditional gameplay is regularly replaced with spectacular QTE. It seems as if developers want to" shoot " movies, rather than sculpt conveyor blockbusters. Only a few people have the courage to say this openly. Few people except David cage and his Studio Quantic Dream.

Detroit: Become Human

Unlike other famous teams, the French company has long ceased to disguise itself: since 2005, it has been exclusively engaged in interactive cinema, where there is no place for shootings with terrorists, boss fights, or other distracting nonsense from the narrative. Cage's logic is impeccable: the industry is already littered with shooters like Call of Duty, why not do something original? But to create such masterpieces, you need skill. Talent. And here's the problem: the Frenchman has nothing else but naked enthusiasm.

Omikron: the Nomad Soul, Fahrenheit, Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls... Each of his opus is a story about how a good idea was ruined by a bad performance. Whatever the game, it's a beautiful dummy-fascinating at first, and then, closer to the final, falling apart. So it was hard to expect anything good from Detroit: Become Human (with its banal beginning). And all the same old cage I found something to surprise.

Detroit: Become Human

Double Detroit is an emphatically cinematic adventure that tells the fates of several characters at once. As before, the player is required to do relatively little: walk around locations, collect or view garbage, talk a lot, pass sophisticated QTE and survive. Yes, unlike many of the genre's peers, in Become Human (as in the ever-memorable Heavy Rain), the characters can die, and the plot will move on quietly — though, already in the direction of a bad ending. This is not a peaceful LucasArts quest.

Already from the introductory chapters, the new product is perceived as one big work on mistakes — as if all these years the authors studied reviews of their creations, threw out unsuccessful elements and kept working. The output turned out to be a kind of collection of "the best of". Check the boxes: a futuristic world a La Omikron (alas, without David Bowie), an intriguing Fahrenheit introduction with dozens of scenarios, investigative episodes, the death of the protagonists and elements of the heavy Rain interface, Hollywood actors just like in Beyond. Even the main menu resembles the beginning of the Nomad Soul — only instead of a low-poly model, a beautiful girl breaks the fourth wall. Try not to blush.

Detroit: Become Human

And it seems that everything is familiar, familiar, but there is nothing to swear at: from the point of view of game design, the game is made wisely. Even the usual genre flaws here, in the new context, do not look so scary and critical. Do robots speak in an unnatural, UN-human way? Logically, the same pieces of iron! Invisible walls prevent you from exploring locations? Of course, the program does not allow you to deviate from the set course! Bullets don't kill or even slow down characters during action scenes, and wounds heal too quickly? Cars, what to take from them.

However, these are rather pleasant things — the really impressive thing about Detroit: Become Human is something else. Here (unlike the series of some Telltale), the decisions made by the gamer during the "movie" really affect what is happening — very noticeably change the story. At first, the linear narrative branches out over time: unique mini-episodes are opened, even fleeting dialogues and individual chapters vary. And endings are determined not by the choice of a specific scene in the final, but by a number of not always obvious moments. How thoroughly did Connor study the crime scenes? Had Kara managed to escape from her master? And how?

Detroit_ Become Human_20180522213231

Conceptually, the mechanics are similar to the "butterfly effect" Until Dawn (or the earlier Blade Runner from Westwood): do something or say-prepare for the consequences, the authors will not allow the descent. Unless in the Supermassive Games horror movie there were much less variations of the development of events: in this regard, chamber horror is difficult to compete with the cyberpunk epic. Quantic Dream employees have done a lot of work, and they do not hesitate to demonstrate this by drawing giant diagrams at the end of each Chapter, similar to the intricate chronology of some Metal Gear Solid. A good way to mask loading screens!

In other words, in terms of gameplay, the new product really succeeded. Taking the best of their previous creations and borrowing a couple of other people's inventions, the authors finally fulfilled their promise: they released a real interactive movie. Hooray? Hooray. But unfortunately, Detroit is still David cage's "Need more emotion" game. With all the consequences.

Be a man Alas, in the five years since the premiere of Beyond, the head of Quantic Dream has not learned to write good scripts. Even with the help of new assistants and editors, all he managed to compose was at best a mediocre melodrama about racism, where the roles of oppressed Negroes were assigned to soulless androids. Vulgar metaphors and clumsy references to real historical events (up to the Nazi concentration camps!) attach.

Detroit: Become Human

Admittedly, it's very funny to watch such obvious and artless nonsense in 2018. There are no bright new ideas, unprecedented sci-Fi concepts, or unique views on AI problems. Instead — it is a continuous repetition of what has been studied with a lot of loud words, high-sounding platitudes and obligatory tears in artificial eyes. The characters are all drawn up according to the textbook of archetypes and communicate such Terry platitudes that at times the game borders on self-parody. Sometimes it even seems that Lieutenant Frank Drebin from the Naked gun is about to turn the corner and everything will fall into place. But that would be too subtle. Well, at least there was no nonsense in the spirit of Heavy Rain, that is, attempts to hit and turn what is happening upside down, somehow. Here everything fits into the fragile logic of a fabulous cyberpunk universe, where a robot service can be bought for a measly 899 dollars, and Canada is a futuristic Wonderland.

However, not everything is so sad. There are also good scenes in Detroit — and such that it's not even a shame to watch! They are concentrated mainly in the storyline of Connor (who has to play a buddy movie in the spirit of the series "Almost human"). There is humor, and "chemistry" between two dissimilar partners, and quite a sensible dialogue almost without stupid "snot", from which it is time to roll your eyes. Looking at the amazing adventures of an Android and a grumpy detective Anderson, you keep asking yourself: "why the hell are there two other protagonists in this game?»

[fulcrum-agent]

Dysphoria

I’m going to talk about some things that I need to get out there a bit more than I generally do. So today, I’m going to discuss my gender identity, gender dysphoria, and what it’s doing to me emotionally and mentally. Before I end up falling into a repeat of March.

People on both sides of the fence in regards to gender and sexuality (meaning both the LGBTQ+ community and the “straights”/”cis” world) aren’t going to like everything I’m about to say here. But the past few days and weeks, I’ve been feeling the same kind of horrible pressure I had largely freed myself from a year ago, some of it is almost as oppressive as when I was a teenager.

It’s not just going to be anecdotal information, not just “feels” - I involve science in everything.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand why the LGBTQ+ community can get upset about the use of science with gender identity and sexuality. A lot of really bad science has been done in an attempt at erasure and vilification. But that shouldn’t lead to discounting the good science that is starting to make its way into the fore.

All that out of the way, let’s get started.

Taking a trip in the Way Back Machine, when I was in utero, mum wasn’t keen on getting ultrasounds. It wasn’t something that was well covered by her insurance, and she had issues with the gel they use for them. So the doctors were more heavily relying on other methods to determine gender, and the few ultrasounds mum could afford weren’t very conclusive due to positioning. This was back in the late 70s/early 80s, and the tech wasn’t as good as it is now.

The vast majority of markers pointed towards the concept that I was a baby boy. The pregnancy and much of the social stuff surrounding it were treated like I was going to be a boy. There was a stupid amount of pastel blue involved.

As it turned out, not only were their predicted due dates off dramatically (an entirely separate story there), but physically, I was a female baby; it was so expected that I’d be male, they had no female names handy, so they used the name of the type of piano they bought for me (spoilers: I’ve always hated my birth name because of this).

Essentially, I’ve had gender issues since birth. One of my doctors expects that I’ve had PCOS nearly my entire life, possibly even before puberty, since my testosterone levels even in utero were higher than they should be.

While I personally had almost 0 concepts of gender and the societal bullshit around till around puberty, it still affected me all the damn time.

I was almost immediately labelled a tomboy, because I was physically active - climbing trees, playing sports, wanting to do martial arts, and I also liked things like GI Joe and He-man while having an obsession with dinosaurs and science. However, people who viewed me as a tomboy would get confused by the fact that I also liked dance, music, My Little Pony (this was before bronies), and dolls like Jem and Barbie.

Back at the dawn of the 80s, things were rather black and white when it came to gender norms.

Despite the people around me having issues with my “gender weirdness”, I was perfectly fine till around 11, when puberty started.

Much to my distress, my body became extremely feminine. Before I was even 12, I was more than an A cup, and I started getting curvy hips and rear. For some reason, I really just did not like the way my body was starting to look, yet I had tonnes of people telling me how “lucky” I was, and how I should dress to compliment my form.

I also was absofuckinglutely not okay with menstruation. It was beyond the typical uneasiness about this new thing, about learning how to manage it - there was visceral hate I didn’t understand. It didn’t help that having my period made me ill, something that only got worse and worse as I got older. Between the dysphoria related anxiety/depression and the actual physical problems, I wanted nothing to do with menstruation and decided I wanted a hysterectomy even before I had my first procreation systems problems. I also realised before I was out of high school that I really wanted a breast reduction; increasing back and shoulder problems were what I thought the root of it was, but I realise now I actually just wanted a more androgynous body, even back then.

Throughout part of junior high, and all of high school, my friends who were female were always being pushy about making me dress like a girl, and to weaponise the body I was “so lucky to have”. At the start of junior high, I dressed like a goth skater boy - in part because I was slowly building a gothic wardrobe, and in part cus men's clothes were just super comfortable. And cheaper - most of the stuff I was buying with saved lunch money, so buying boy’s/men’s clothes was also something of a financial strategy.

Despite often feeling awkward about my body, by the time high school landed, I had just given in to the pressure. I dressed like a little goth princess, I wore push-up bras (even though I was already a D cup at that point), most everything I wore either accentuated my breasts by being tight or super low cut. On one level, fashion was always fun for me, I nearly became a fashion designer before realising how horrid that industry is, so the putting together outfits and such was fun - it was when I was actually wearing them that I could feel super awkward.

Once I moved from Salt Lake to San Diego, I was able to ditch a lot of that. No one knew who I was, I didn’t know anyone else, and SoCal was a lot more chill about things than Utah could ever hope to be. I still would sometimes dress the goth princess, but my default style swerved back towards skater/raver in cuts. I wore rave pants and tank tops with men’s graphic button downs.

While I was in San Diego, I met a transman and transwoman who were both chill with explaining gender transitions to me. I suspected someone I knew in SLC was along those lines (I was wrong, they were intersexed, and parents made terrible decisions for them). While I was aware that I didn’t want to transition entirely to being male, I knew there was something along those lines that I needed. Sadly, I didn’t meet any non-binary people, and no one really ever brought up the concept to me while I was in SoCal.

About ten years ago, after I had gotten sick and had to move back in with my mum, on the Eastern Seaboard, I met an incredibly knowledgeable transwoman who pointed out to me that androgyny isn’t just an art style but also was gender. She was the first to explain to me what being non-binary was the full spectrum of non-binary - from being gender fluid to androgyne to flat non-binary.

For once in my life, I felt normal as far as gender was concerned. I wasn’t some weird tomboy, I didn’t have to conform to what I’d been told to while growing up, I wasn’t weird for having certain previously odd dreams. It all made sense.

At this point, I’d already done a lot of research on what all transgender, the emerging science behind it, the process of transitioning, chest binding. But at that point, I did a lot more research into non-binary aspects of gender; there’s not nearly as much as there is on MtF/FtM transgenders, but there was a fair bit.

Since I was having problems with depoprovera actually helping with the PCOS and nixing menstruation, I decided that I wanted to do low dose HRT. It took a lot to get to a facility to do so, but I managed to start that in 2015. I was also hoping that if I was right about my hunch, that a number of other medical issues I have could be affected for the better. There’s a lot of emerging science pointing to the fact that transfolk have chemical imbalances - their chemical make up doesn’t really match that of their birth gender; about how HRT helps move their different hormonal chemicals to the range their body actually needs; how many times transfolk feel better physically once their HRT reaches stable levels, and how often times being on HRT reduces or eliminates different chronic medical issues.

Locally, there was no facility that could manage HRT. Even with the hard science in my hand, local doctors couldn’t wrap their heads around it, so I couldn’t even “cheat” and have a mainstream endocrinologist manage it for me. Most didn’t even want to look at the science. I still have to go to Philadelphia for HRT, and half the science I take with me is still relatively new to the Mazzoni Centre.

Getting HRT was the lesser struggle. Although I had started addressing the need for a breast reduction clear back in 2012, insurance coverage in general on reductions is trash. A certain amount of mass has to be removed for them to cover it, which often times cannot be accurately gauged before the surgery; much of the time, a person needing a reduction would go under, get mass removed, only for it to be too little for insurance coverage, leaving them with a $7,000 bill.

The only surefire way to have them cover it entirely for almost the entire decade I was working on this was a full mastectomy, whether or not it was related to cancer. For a while, I was very on the fence about a full mastectomy, because I didn’t want to transition to being male - I wanted a body that was just a hell of a lot more boyish than mine’s been since puberty.

Eventually, I came to be at peace with the idea of this, thanks to people like the fabulous Elliott Alexzander, who promote non-binary fashion and are also male-bodied. Seeing someone who had absolutely no breasts rock women’s fashion helped immensely.

I did finally luck out, however. By the time I was okay with the concept of having to have a full mastectomy to get insurance to cover the surgery, a WPATH certified surgeon had moved into the area. With his help, I was able to get what he termed a hybrid top surgery, 100% covered by my insurance, due to gender dysphoria.

While recovery was rough, as it became painfully apparent that the boyfriend who lived with me at the time had massive issues with all of it, despite having been warned back in 2013 that I was going to be doing all of this. He’d always been lowkey abusive, often in ways that evaded mum seeing him be so, but that escalated rapidly after the surgery, to the point where even mum could see it; I had an HRT check up not long after the surgery, and the nurse who roomed me asked if I was okay, or if I needed help - the abuse had become that apparent, and constant. (Yes, the relationship was terminated, though it took 3 or 4 more months for him to find a place and move out.)

For most of the time since the top surgery, I’ve not had my dysphoria trigger all that much; at most, I have a lowkey fear of some crazy, conservative, Christian redneck here is going to decide they don’t like how I look, and try beating me up - or worse. This has already happened once since the surgery: some loon was sitting on his porch at like 2 AM, and I was out on a walk; I had my headphones in, and music on, so I couldn’t hear everything he said, but caught something about how I was a vile dyke, and he started coming down off his porch at me - I ended up just looking at him as if he were less than a gnat, while continuing to walk, and he backed off. The power of looking like you don’t give any fucks.

Recently, I’ve been having more and more dysphoria, due to people just not getting that I as a person am non-binary. I have pronoun preferences. Ignoring them isn’t okay. I actually have to have my characters all have small breasts still because I get the same sense of dysphoria I’ve had for my entire life when they’re much past an A cup. I’m not going to wear a dress when I don’t want to, and I’m not going to wear an a-shirt/muscle shirt when I don’t want to. I’m not going to forgo mixing and matching men and women’s clothes for someone else’s comfort.

Generally, I’m not one to get aggressive about this stuff, because I don’t believe that aggression helps the LGBTQ+ community (or any community) considering its aggression that creates the situations we find ourselves in right now. I’m more about educating someone politely, giving them time to adjust, to remember that for me as a person, it’s They (or Xe) and not She. Let those who know me offline adjust to the fact that no, you can’t use my birth name, you have to use the name that I go by (even though that’s about as variable as David Bowie during his early musical career). You can prefer people with more curves, but you can’t tell me that I can’t be okay when you want me to be curvier, in a game or out.

Initial microaggressions are fine. Persistent ones after the fact aren’t.

If I ask you to stop doing something because it’s causing dysphoria, you don’t get to shrug it off, and just continue to do it. You don’t get to ignore the fact that what you’re doing is harmful to me, just because opening your eyes to who I actually am is inconvenient to your current world order. You don’t get to invalidate me as a person because you think your religious doctrine is against who and what I am (spoilers: nearly every religion on the planet preaches love as its highest law - and doing any of this shit to anyone violates that tenant of your faith).

You don’t have to entirely understand the why of all this. You don’t have to be savvy on all the different points on the gender spectrum. You don’t have to know the science behind it.

What you have to understand is that your actions are harmful and that if you want to be a better person, you have to stop those harmful actions. Not just because they’re harmful to me, not just because you care about me, but to just be a better person overall - to avoid doing this to anyone and everyone.

If that’s asking too much, well:

EDIT: It occurs to me that I should probably mention that it doesn’t bother me when people refer to my characters by their gendered pronouns. Ashe, Claire, Fia, and Vaylin can be referenced by she/her while Rel, Saber, and Kym’a can be referenced as he/him. Vieno will probably lean more towards they/them. The only one it’s a hard must be they/them with is Dwynd, because when I made her, it was an outlet for being completely out of the non-binary closet when I couldn’t yet be RL.

[sinangoral2017-blog]

[06.15.17] today, i had the privilege of visiting the family-owned mushroom cultivation farm, oyama no taishō, which has been perfecting the art of shiitake mushroom farming for over 24 years. i’m still a little flushed and surprised that they allowed for someone like me to come to their farm, but i’m not questioning it. let me walk you through the organization of events prior to my visit, as well as the farming day, itself.

i had really been struggling with their website, since it is completely in japanese. thus, finding any contact information provided quite difficult. over the several days i have been in japan, i asked as many japanese natives as i could on how to navigate the website. surprisingly, it wasn’t any hostel worker who got me through, but some random girl on the street urging people to come into the made-famous ‘maid cafes.’ i don’t even want to get into what i think about those places, but if you want to look it up, check this out. 

in either case, this sweetheart named yuna helped me decipher the site, and i was able to email the farm. within hours, an equally friendly lady named takako emailed me back with broken, albeit discernible english. after basic introductions and several back and forth emails, my research intent became clear to her (as clear as ‘building materials using mushrooms’ would be lololol) and we gained an understanding of expectations from one another. i was invited to the farm, and she even suggested that they pick me up from the train station. google maps only showed a 1.3 km walk, but she insisted. i obliged, and set towards haneda.

well, boy was i grateful for their pickup. the 1.3 km drive, in the minitruck, took over 20 minutes. the farm happens to be on a severe incline, and the winding roads to go up to it present daunting cliff overhangs. the same stuff from the movies. no joke. 

a young man named takashi picked me up. we couldn’t really speak to one another in light of the language barrier, but he seemed to exude a lot of excitement. as i later found out, it was pretty rare for people to ‘randomly come through to the farm.’ in retrospect, i must have been the most bizarre visitor to see them. 

once we got to the farm, takashi introduced me to takako, her mother, and her father. i met some cute cats (whose names i cannot remember), and then takashi took me of a tour of the facility. 

the farm has several ‘houses’ that house prepared logs, dropped off by a partner logging company. these logs stack either vertically or horizontally. temperature and humidity are meticulously controlled in these houses. as takashi explained to me, ideal humidity levels never go over 80%, and temperature never exceeds 90 degrees. 

the logs continually cycle through misting (humidification), heating, cooling, and flushing (in cold water baths)to expand and contract. any log can spawn several generations of shiitake mushrooms, but can only continue for this cycle for up to three years. 

takashi also explained that there are several benefits to horizontal and/or vertical growth. none of these benefits affect taste per se. rather, they affect the aesthetic quality of the mushrooms and their directional growth. you can see, for example, that all the shiitake which have blossomed out of the vertical logs arch upwards. depending on the consumption method (i.e. grilling, frying, etc), this affect might be more desirable. 

you might be asking yourself: ‘okay, these logs are prepared, cycled through, and nurtured. but how do they give birth to mushrooms?’ good question. throughout the three to four hours i spent on the farm, i had the same underlying question pestering me. though i should’ve asked earlier, takashi explained towards the end of the day the two ways in which they can implant mushroom spores into the wood - both of which accomplish the same thing, but do so with different speeds.

the first involves a gun resembling a drill punches a hemispherical cavity into the log. after this space has been excavated, a tool resembling a pneumatic nail gun fills this cavity with a paste, which is also provided by a partnering company. though we got confused with one another when i asked about what kind of ‘paste’ this was, i have a pretty good idea from my own research that this paste was mostly fungus/spore based - a mycelium paste, of sorts. i would’ve uploaded an image of the canister, but i’ll spare you, since i’m not sure if any of my readers know japanese. 

the second method does exactly what i just explained, and in the same order, but through automation. the huge (and beautiful... drool) machine resembling a diesel tank engine does just this. takashi powered this up for me and showed how a log enters into the machine’s claws, gets ‘stamped,’ turned, stamped again, and then filled. one log can be covered in +/- 20 dimples in around 15 seconds. pretty efficient, pretty japanese.

we then picked my favorite mushrooms and grilled them for lunch. no sauces other than soy sauce to top them off, yet they were the most delicious vegetables i’ve eaten in a while. they still reeked of that fresh dirt smell - sort of akin to a recent rain. combined with the smokey coals of the grill, to me, the mushrooms needed no other taste. sure beats organic trader joes mushrooms.

though none of my research (at least at this point... ~ massages beard inquisitively ~) is interested in the taste qualities of mushrooms as they relate to architecture, the experiences i gained at this farm are invaluable to me and my research process. one thing that utterly failed in my previous mycelium experiments was the actual cultivation of the mushrooms in an efficient way. though the farm specializes in shiitake, specifically, i’m sure that i can adapt the insight i gained towards my own work.

now that my visit to oyama no taishō has come to a close, i plan to continue down south along the east jr line. tomorrow morning, i’ll leave for hamamatsu if i cannot stop in shizuouka beforehand to take photographs of mount fuji (the town offers some pretty spectacular views, i hear), but i also worry that the weather will not allow me. it has been especially foggy and rainy here, so i might have to skip out. nonetheless, i’ll be in nagoya by tomorrow night, and plan to stay there for a couple of days.

from nagoya, i’ll head down to kyoto and osaka and soak those cities up for a few days. i’m planning to travel to tottori on june 21st, because i was finally able to secure a meeting and tour with the tottori mycological institute. i probably shouldn’t even start writing about that yet because this post has gotten too lengthy, but let it be known that i am inexplicably pumped to somehow get a foot in a door, there. 

after all of this, i’ll be slowly returning back to tokyo because i secured some visits and tours of some non-architectural ‘museums’ of sorts. more on this later... but those of you who know me and my side obsessions with tuner culture might be able to guess what comes out of japan. hint: ~ jdm ~

i don’t think that i’ve expressed this at any point in this blog, but something peculiar happened to me when i was on the subway, still in tokyo. i mention it only because it might help explain why i am so in awe of japanese culture, and why i respect the diligence and discipline of the country’s work ethic.

i happened to get off at the same station as a well-dressed man in a suit at around 9:30 or 10:00 at night. he was carrying a briefcase and sporting some kind of expensive watch. his shoes were shiny, and his walk upbeat. he sped up, and i lost sight of him. but i remembered the back of his head distinctly, because he had this iconic mole on the left side of his neck. i have a thing for moles.

nonetheless, some minutes later, i took a wrong turn in the subway system and ended up in a small alley tunnel. i ran into my businessman friend, again. he had just finished changing out of his suit, shielded away in this alleyway, with thousands of people rushing by, oblivious to his existence. realizing i was invading in on his privacy, i turned around - he never noticed me, because he had his back to me. but i happened to catch a glimpse of his mole to clarify his identity, as well as his new attire. it was a navy blue worker’s uni-suit with indiscernible writing on it. written in english, however, was ‘crane operator.’ 

it then dawned on me how hard working people are here. businessman by day, and crane operator by night, this guy was working his life away. suddenly, studio life became irrelevant. so did my coffee job. thoughi wasn’t necessarily looking up to him in awe, i just couldn’t believe how someone could juggle so much, from such seemingly different sectors.

it’s in this way that i am intrigued by japanese culture - specifically by its workforce. people use the train to catch shut eye. most aren’t on their phones to socialize, but get work done. it’s unlike anything i’ve ever seen.

also, a lot of people have blackberry phones here. honestly, that’s the easiest way to my heart.

and, to conclude, a brief aside - thank you so much to all of you who have reached out and connected with me to provide feedback on or encourage my writing of this blog. that people are actually reading this makes me really happy. keep the questions and inquiries coming - and thank you!

oh, and for any of you nerds who want to learn more about traditional mushroom cultivation, check out this pdf from the university of vermont. 

[salmonthestoryteller]

Writing Influences

A few years back on LJ I wrote about what had influenced my writing the most. It still remains relevant to this day so I thought I should reblog it.

A Trip Through a Wardrobe, UFOs, and Things That Go Bump in the Night

My oldest influence has to be my love of fantasy, sci-fi, and the paranormal.

From the Hobbit, to Narnia, to the Last Unicorn, to the original Dragonlance Trilogy. Fantasy was my first love. Movie-wise, Willow comes to mind, as well as The Never Ending Story, Krull, Troll, and The Princess Bride.  They were bedtime stories when I was little, and the movies I begged to watch over and over and over again. So they’ve definitely had a lasting influence on the kind of stories I like to read and write.  Someday I will write an epic fantasy. Just wait. LOL

Sci-Fi was no less present, though in the form of movies and tv shows greater than books.  Dr Who, Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Buck Rogers.  Babylon 5, Jurassic Park, The Last Star Fighter, and Space Raiders.  Those are just to name a few.  I could also list cartoon influences as well.  Exo-Squad, Invasion America, Thundercats, Transformers, Go-Bots, and Xyber 9: New Dawn all come to mind.  Book-wise, there’s always The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and a smattering of books like The Time Machine, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and War of the Worlds.

They aren’t concrete influences. Nothing I can point at and say - that was what made me want to write. Or that’s why I write this way. But it was by reading and watching all these that I came to love what I’ll refer to as the Art of Storytelling.  What any of these may or may not lack in others minds when it comes to Writing, I adore because they tell a Story that you never forget.

Paranormal isn’t so much something I watched or read.  Not in the way I can list the above. Sure, I can say I watched X-Files, Watcher in the Woods, and The Lady in White.  But that was because I was already drawn to it.  I guess I’m the kid who never outgrew ghost stories.  Some of the people may remember shows like Sightings.  The older Unsolved Mysteries.  The original version of Ripley’s Believe It or Not.  It was by watching these that I came to find a fascination with mysteries and the paranormal.  The things that can never be fully explained.  But like my love of storytelling, my love of the paranormal and mysteries was a general influence.  All encompassing rather than specific.

Every War Has Two Sides

When I was a kid, my least favorite subject was history. Given that I’m a self-proclaimed history nut, you’re probably all looking at me like I’m crazy.  Salmon, you don’t shut up about history. You research for fanfics, right?  Oh, but I hated history as a kid.  Only Cs and Ds I ever got outside of Gym class.  Bored me to tears.  Then I had a World History Teacher in Middle School. She didn’t turn me into a History Nut, but she did profoundly affect my view of history, and through it my writing.

Two incidents come to mind, and one was when we were discussing what we had now that they did without in the past.  No lightbulbs. It sounds funny, but seriously, that was a discussion. They didn’t have lightbulbs. They had lanterns and candles.  And, being obnoxious 7th graders, one of us called them stupid.  The class laughed. But, whoa, did we get put in our place.  When our teacher asked how many of us in the room could make a lightbulb.  If we were plucked out of our comfy, modern homes, and dropped in the Middle Ages.  Could we build a lightbulb?  You never saw a group of school kids shut up so fast.  And my teacher told us that it looked like we weren’t any smarter than the people who lived in that age, so maybe try to have a bit more respect.

The second time was a simple thought she left us with one day while discussing the numerous wars that had occurred.  Every War has two sides she told us, and history is written by the victor.  It was a profound thought.  That the wars we were studying we only really knew by how the side that won wrote about it.  What would the other side write?  What didn’t we know about because they never did?  To this day, I think that has definitely influenced my view of history, and how I craft my stories.  I guess I discovered that life wasn’t black and white, just shades of grey.

[wristwatchjournal]

No Longer Made: Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph SLQ019

Launched in 2005, the Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph still looks futuristic today. Limited to 2,005 pieces, inspired by high-performance sports cars, and powered by an absolute peach of a Seiko movement, this reference SLQ019 is a no-longer-made highlight of the Sportura collection. Here’s a hands-on look at this time machine, the real beauty of which is that whether it takes you backward or forward in time is up to you.

Funky subdials and mighty impressive movement details we’ll look at soon enough, but we’ll start with something else. Why? Because when you see the SLQ019 out in the wild, it’s not any one detail that stands out. No, this watch is like a lightning strike on the wrist — it’s like seeing Dr. Emmett Brown from Back to the Future walk up to you on the street in full-time travel gear. As watch lovers, I don’t think any of us would be left without at least some sort of reaction to give when seeing a friend, colleague, or random acquaintance rock one of these rare beasts.

Source: reddit user u/Watch_Chris

While researching the Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph, I stumbled upon this wristshot shared on reddit by u/Watch_Chris. I chose to feature this image because it so beautifully represents how the Sportura aesthetically fits into our lives in 2020. Given the limited time I had with this reference SLQ019, and the fact that I own and prefer rather more analog cars, I didn’t quite have the chance to create a similar image — so a special shoutout to this fellow watch enthusiast, wherever he may be in the world. Because here is something the Swiss don’t appear to know how to do at all, let alone do it as well as their Japanese competition: blend real-world functionality (not exactly a top priority for European manufacturers) with an implemented vision of futurism. One would risk being publicly stoned on a Sunday dawn somewhere in the Vallée de Joux for speaking such heresy.

A Seiko Kinetic ad from 1998. Not quite something you’d expect to see today.

Seiko A.G.S. — Ring a bell?

Seiko A.G.S. was introduced in Germany in January 1988, and it went for sale in the same year in Japan as Seiko Auto-Quartz. Short for Automatic Generating System, it was the world’s first quartz watch to be equipped with an automatic power-generating system, using an “ultra-compact power generator” that did away with the need to replace a battery. It was designed to work even when the wearer’s movements were slow, and to not break when exposed to sharp, fast movements or shocks. As Epson, a Seiko corporation, explains: “The automatic generating system watch (AGS) works on essentially the same principle as a bicycle lamp that’s dynamo-powered by the turning of a tire.”

A gear train multiplies the self-winding rotor’s movement by approximately 100, spinning a power generator at “ultra-high speed…”

The current that is generated by this motor is what charges a capacitor. The capacitor then supplies the electricity needed to drive the timekeeping circuits. Furthermore, Epson slashed current consumption by developing a number of new components, including a CMOS integrated circuit, stepping motor, and capacitor, as well as by establishing technology for winding tiny coils with wires having a diameter of just 13 µm. That is about a sixth of the thickness of an average human hair. A.G.S. was renamed Kinetic in 1997, but it is fundamentally the technology that lives inside the Sportura Kinetic. The design team succeeded in reducing total power consumption to just 0.7 µW and in driving the watch for up to 75 hours on a single charge. In other words, wear the Sportura Kinetic Chronograph for a normal day and you’ll add about three days of go-juice to its Kinetic E.S.U., i.e. Kinetic Electricity Storage Unit. Apparently, when fully charged, the Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph SLQ019 has a power reserve of a full month.

One Heck Of A Quartz Movement: The Seiko 9T82

The Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph SLQ019 is powered by the Seiko Caliber 9T82. The 9T82 is a highly advanced and complicated version of 1998’s Seiko A.G.S. that incorporates a 12-hour chronograph capable of measuring down to 1/10th of a second. Power reserve, as we mentioned, is about a full month once fully charged through regular daily wear. This is only negatively affected by the excessive use of the chronograph — use it just a couple hours a day and power reserve won’t be affected. If you rely on the chronograph for longer than that, the energy required to drive its hands will deplete the power reserve a bit faster — but, thanks to the extremely high energy efficiency of its components, you won’t ever have to really worry about your Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph stopping.

Energy consumption is key — we have established that. In researching the Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph SLQ019 and the Seiko 9T82 movement, we found an interesting quirk highlighted by Seiko in the manual of the watch: “Do not pull the crown out to the second click with the intention of stopping the second hand just to save energy. By doing so, a large amount of current flows through the built-in IC. Therefore, pulling out the crown to the second click will not save energy but, in fact, consume more energy than usual.” Just a dorky insight into the inner workings of the 9T82. Similarly, Seiko says “If your watch has a glass case back, do not expose the case back to strong light such as direct sunlight or an incandescent light at close range, as this may temporarily increase the power consumption of the watch circuit.” People say they like mechanical movements because they have a “heart” — well, the 9T82 seems to be no less of a living thing.

Made in Japan and assembled by hand, the Seiko 9T82 is a neatly finished and highly capable movement that is revealed through a transparent caseback. Measuring just 6.8mm-thick and 33mm-wide, it has 38 jewels and an accuracy rating of +/- 15 seconds per month. Its striped plates and countersinks with beveled edges are visible even though they are partially disguised by a Sportura text and what appears to be a pattern inspired by lightweight wheels used on sports cars.

The 9T82 movement drives the chronograph’s totalizers situated in dedicated subdials for x0.1 seconds, 60 seconds, and to the far right one that combines the chronograph minute and hour totalizers with superimposed hands. All these windows feature a bold orange color, complemented by the orange running seconds hand of the main subdial and the orange frame for the date offset to the right of the face of the watch. Additional levels of refinement can be identified in how the hand for the 1/10th of a second measurement always jumps exactly onto its markers. Even when the chronograph is stopped using the pusher in the top right, it always stops exactly on one of its markers, allowing for a clear reading.

Looks & Wearability

The Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph SLQ019 has a case diameter of 42mm with a substantial reach over one’s wrist. That’s due to the lug-to-lug distance of around 49mm further emphasized by the massive double end-link and beefed-up strap. The effect is yet more pronounced on the black coated metal bracelet. Nevertheless, with a case thickness of 14.2mm and a design that wraps around the wrist neatly, it’s a fine, if not outstanding, wearing experience among chunky sports watches.

Credit: Cazalea, WatchProSite

And if the funky-sporty-menacing styling of the SLQ019 isn’t to your taste, check out all the other references equipped with the 9T82 movement. Kudos to Cazalea from WatchProSite for assembling this picture, complete with reference numbers. The quirky dial layout is of course a defining feature, but it’s fascinating to see how you can go from the rather elegant SBCG003 through Jay Leno’s SLQ011 (sometimes misrepresented as an SLQ007),  all the way to full-on Japenese design madness goodness with the SLQ005 or SATX005. On a personal note, I can’t help but love that these watches got designed and made.

Value Retention & Summary

At the time of its release in 2005, the Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph SLQ019 retailed for just under $4,000. Today, a nice one with box and papers will set you back roughly the same amount, though the selection is limited to just a few available pieces at any given time. Still, fine examples can be obtained and you can expect prices to linger around this mark. That makes the SLQ019 an expensive but arguably cool and charming option — and a safe one at that.

In summary, the Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph SLQ019 is one heck of a watch lover’s watch that has so much going for it — movement, design, wearing experience — to keep its ownership fun. Valued at around $4,000, the Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph SLQ019 is in a saturated field full of amazing watches… but none of those will be quite like this one.

The post No Longer Made: Seiko Sportura Kinetic Chronograph SLQ019 appeared first on Wristwatch Journal.

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[izabelatwirybody]

The Thyroid Factor Review

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Did you know that Hypothyroidism is the most common thyroid disorder and that women over 50 are more at risk?

The Thyroid Factor is an online nutritional regime for women who have been searching for quick, effective, and safe ways to improve their thyroid and eliminate thyroid killers but have not found an effective program. It also helps women achieve their desired body and optimal health needs.

The Thyroid Factor Review

Did you know that certain organic green veggies can kill your thyroid levels faster?

We all think we’re eating healthy, yet with every bite, we feel like our energy is being drained as belly fat piles up faster than ever. Many of us don’t know that there are a handful of so-called “healthy” fruits and veggies that work AGAINST our body’s natural ability to burn fat. When we THINK we’re doing everything right, it is still shocking that the scale never budges, and your clothes never fit any differently.

According to the American Thyroid Association, over 20 million Americans have Hypothyroidism, but 60% of them are not aware that they have a thyroid problem, and most women don’t know this.  What’s worse is that women are more prone to suffer from thyroidism than men, and there three thyroid killers that mostly affect women’s health.

They are commonly found in food items that we enjoy and often classify as healthy as organic greens and veggies.  This is why many women confuse their belly fat, low energy fatigue, brain fog, and many other symptoms with signs that they need to undergo a new strict weight loss diet or workout regime.

However, the most suitable solution is to start using natural thyroid jumpstart techniques and nutrition to improve this hormonal deficiency. This is the sole purpose of The Thyroid Factor, a 21-day meal plan with everything you need to improve your thyroid problems and tackle whatever is stopping you from achieving your ideal health and weight loss goals.

There is no need for you to follow any strict diet or avoid the foods you love, nor do you have to spend hours working out. You need to know what kinds of to include in your daily diet instead of eliminating them.

You must avoid all kinds of thyroid killing vegetables if you want to banish your fatigue, boost your energy, and finally see your ideal flat and firm belly.

Check the special offer and discount of The Thyroid Factor

Table of Contents

Thyroid Factor Review

What Is the Thyroid Factor?

The Thyroid Factor Review

Hypothyroidism shows up in many ways, causing belly fat, slow metabolism, weight gain, exhaustion, poor mental health, brain fog, and host of many other symptoms, but The Thyroid Factor offers an opportunity for you to tackle such symptoms and live hypothyroidism-free.

It is a 21-day program that guides you’re eating habits towards tackling fatigue, boosting your energy, and shedding off excess weight without necessarily following any strict diets or undergoing tedious and exhausting workout regimes. It is more or less a nutritional program than a weight loss diet – it exposes you to the kinds of foods that help address this hormonal deficiency, which will help you restore balance in your body for practical functionality and burn off excessive fat.

You don’t even need to count calories or start portion control, nor do you have to weigh your food or keep off from food that you love. It is somewhat more about knowing how to incorporate these foods into your daily diet except ingredients considered to be “thyroid killers.”

This program doesn’t just offer a nutrition plan, and it additionally provides you recipes, food lists, grocery shopping lists, and a vast array of helpful information that will see you through achieving your ideal weight loss goals. It doesn’t just show you; it teaches you also and exposes you to the importance of each ingredient, including the effects thyroid can have on your body and much more. It is merely a guide; it’s a companion that meets your health needs and has been packed with guides and action plans that have been packaged in such an easy-to-read manner.

The Thyroid Factor Review

We will explore in detail the program’s content in a bit, but first, I would like to tell you about the three guides that make up the system:

Main Manual: 101 Thyroid Boosting Foods

Thyroid Factor Quick Start Guide

21-Day Meal Plan Guide and Grocery List

Immediately you purchase your copy of the manual. You receive instant access to all three guides in the manual since the program is digital, and just like that, you can sign in and download the content right onto your device. No need for shipping and all the stress that comes with it. You can start balancing your thyroid and boosting your metabolism and health, no matter where you are. Being able to download this content onto your laptops, smartphones, PCs, and tabs means that you have your regime at all times, whether you’re at the grocery store, at work, or having dinner with family and friends. It is easily accessible and pocket friendly.

Many people doubt the chances that they might be suffering from Hypothyroidism. Hence, if you have not been diagnosed or are unsure of the possibilities, remember that 60% of most infected Americans had no idea that they were exposed to Hypothyroidism which was the sole cause of their problem so you should take this leap of faith and try this regime for yourself risk-free. It comes with a 60-Day money-back guarantee that allows you a 2-month free trial, after which you will get a refund.

The Thyroid Factor Review

Who Created the Thyroid Factor?

Dawn Sylvester is the author of The Thyroid Factor. She is a 57-year-old woman who has spent the last 15 years of her career, helping women find solutions and treatments for their mental, emotional, and physical health challenges. She is a leading thyroid and female fat loss expert and is highly sought after for her smooth and practical approach, which she developed specifically for women.

What You’ll Learn from The Thyroid Factor?

The Thyroid Factor is a comprehensive, easy-to-follow nutritional program that teaches you and other women everything you need to know about potential thyroid problems and their possible effects on your bodies and weights – and then puts everything in a complete guide. This includes things such as the thyroid basics, symptoms, medical tests available, and treatment options.

This 21-day meal plan makes it easy to put your knowledge into practice. All the research, planning, organizing, and preparation has already been done – no more homework; all you have to do is tag along and let your body become balanced again. It is effortless to practice, and all of the recipes use-easy-to-find, affordable ingredients that can be whipped together quickly – perfect for the modern woman.

No weird-looking machines, no exotic food items; reframe your body. You are also entitled to receive food lists that list different food items that boost your thyroid, food lists for things you want to avoid, ready to use grocery shopping lists, a 24-hour detox jumpstart, and much more.

The Thyroid Factor Review

Here’s a little sneak peek to give you an idea of what to expect from the program as a whole:

Main Manual: 101 Thyroid Boosting Foods

101 foods listed, photos and information about how each item helps your thyroid and health

Thyroid Factor Quick Start Guide

Thyroid Basics

Symptoms

Medical Tests for Thyroid

Thyroid Boosting Foods

Thyroid-Friendly Foods

Foods to Avoid

Thyroid “Killers”

Supplements/Herbs/Spices

24 Hour Thyroid Detox Jumpstart

21 Day Meal Plan Guide and Grocery List

Thyroid Friendly Grocery

Protein

Fats

Nuts and Seeds

Vegetables

Fruits

Spices and Herbs

Salsa

Additions to Smoothie Recipes for Thyroid Health and Energy

Avoid These Foods

High Energy Foods to Eat Sparingly

Limit These Foods

Flat Belly Soothing Snack Ideas

10 Foods that will Sabotage Your Goals to Stay Away From

10 Foods that Support a Flat Belly and Low Thyroid Levels to Get Your Body and Hormone Levels Back to Optimal Levels

Recipes

50 Smoothie Recipes

Top 10 Foods for Flatter Thyroid Belly

Terrible 10 High Inflammatory Foods

The Thyroid Factor Review

Check the special offer and discount of The Thyroid Factor

Related Reviews:

Plant-Based Diet Cookbook Reviews

Old School New Body Reviews

If you’re a woman over 40 and you’re still struggling to lose the excess fat or feel worn out, exhausted, and drained by fatigue and low energy, and you’re experiencing brain fog and more often, be sure to try it this incredible regime.

So, in sum, we can say that The Thyroid Factor is an ideal companion for women when it comes to tackling all kinds of thyroid issues. It comes with an abundance of valuable information about Hypothyroidism and its possible effects on the body. It then organizes these data together in an easy-to-follow and easier to eat meal plan. It is entirely and safe but if you still won’t take my word for it, why not jump on the 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee and try the program out for yourself risk-free. You have nothing to lose by giving it a try.

The Thyroid Factor Review

Topic: The Thyroid Factor Review Wirybody.com

August 17, 2020 at 01:45PM

[katie-the-killer-blog2]

A Dark Dawn - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Grey woke up with a soft groan. He sat up and looked around. On the floor, Sydney and Abigail were sleeping sharing a blanket. Levy was writing something in a journal and Max was staring out the window. Clyde and Jessie weren’t in the room. Levy looked up from her writing and her bright green eyes met Grey’s blue ones. “How are you feeling?” She asked, readying her pen.

“Uh... Sore... I guess..” He replied, rubbing his burned arms. Max looked at him from his place at the window. 

“No not your body. Your brain, dummy.” Levy corrected with an eager grin. Grey raised a brow in confusion.

“Clyde, our psychologist, is out right now and Levy wants to get information for him. How are you feeling mentally.” Max explained, trying to sound relaxed and cool.

Grey just nodded and thought carefully of an answer, not quite trusting these people yet. “Overwhelmed I guess.” He muttered.

Without waiting for a second Levy asked “How does that affect you physically? A headache? Chest ache? Anything?” Grey took a deep breath and tried to answer her questions, getting distracted on how much she was writing for his simple answer. “Oh. Don’t mind me, please tell me more.” Grey fidgeted anxiously. 

“Stop it, you’re making him uncomfortable.” Max barged in.

“C-Can I get my mask back please?” Grey asked, searching the room without moving from his position on the couch. Max handed it to him and Grey instantly put it on.

“Why do you feel the need to hide your face now? We’ve already seen you.” Levy leaned in closer with a slight grin plastered to her face.

“Habit.” He said simply, looking out the window to check if the fog had lightened. The fog had been blown away by some strong winds, leaving only large puddles in its wake. Grey got up and grabbed his stuff and headed to the door. Max grabbed his wrist before he could leave.

“Please don’t go. We’ve only just met.”

“I’m going to collect my samples and try and clean up the puddles. Please let go.” Max didn’t let go. 

“Not unless you promise to come back. I don’t care about what you’re doing, I just want to be friends.”

Grey looked away. He wanted to trust them, he really did, but he didn’t want his actions to get them imprisoned, or worse. His heart ached with loneliness.

“You have friends. You don’t need me.” Grey stated, a little more aggressively than he had wanted. Max flinched away at his sudden change of tone and looked away. “Great,” He thought “I’ve already hurt someone and I haven’t even been awake an hour.” If he apologized then they would come after him again, but if he didn’t he would feel guilty every time he thought of them. After a moment of battling himself, he simply said “See? I’m not friend material.” and with that, he left to collect his buckets of rainwater and soak up the acidic puddles with towels and pretty much any cloth he could find besides his clothes. 

Max heard Jessie storm in “What the hell? Did you let him leave? Where is he?” She crammed herself by the window next to Max. “Great, he didn’t get far, maybe I can convince him to come back.” Jessie ran to the door when she felt a cold hand on her wrist. Jessie tried to pull away. “Let go, Max.”

Max only tightened his grip. “He needs to be alone.” 

Jessie ripped her arm away from him. “I don’t care! We’ve been searching for him for so long, and you guys just let him go? No. I’m bringing him back.”

Max rushed to block the door. Jessie tried to push him away. “Max. Step aside.” She tried to sound nice, but it was obvious she was stressed out.

“He’s a human too. Your fascination with him is beyond the rest of us. What is it you really want from him?”

Jessie huffed and looked up at Max. “I didn’t come here to be harassed! I thought we were friends! What’s more important to you? Me or some person you literally met yesterday.” Max looked her in the eyes, obviously hurt. He stepped aside. 

By now Sydney and Abigail had woken up. Sydney put a hand on Jessie’s shoulder with a sweet smile that hid anger. “You don’t get to talk to my brother that way.” Jessie swallowed hard and nodded slightly. 

“R-Right. Won’t happen again.” She stuttered. 

Abbigail ran out of the room to get Clyde, hoping he could calm things down. Levy watched in fascination. She had seen her friends argue before but this seemed different. Max watched as Sydney and Jessie stared at each other. 

“Guys, it’s fine. I promise.” He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and Jessie ran out just as Clyde and Abigail walked in. 

Grey looked over his shoulder, hearing quick footsteps approach him.

“Go away.” He mumbled. He sounded exhausted.

“We treated your burns, and this is how you treat me?” 

“You used my supplies, which were supposed to go to people who needed them.”

“And you’re saying you didn’t need the help? Even after you were coughing up a lung?” Jessie put a hand on her hip.

“You may think you’re helping me, but you’re just making things harder.” He looked back at his stuff. “It’s not that I hate you guys, it’s that I can’t afford it.”

“Can’t afford it? Have you been paying attention?! We have scientists in most of the major fields. Levy, our botanist, can help make medicine. Max and Sydney, the engineers, can make things to help your research safer and more efficient. Abigail can do some physics magic and Clyde can profile and give therapy to people in need. I can help too, I just don’t know how, but I can too. Clyde already talked to you but I guess you were too tired.”

Grey looked at Jessie and considered this. Jessie smiled, hoping to get somewhere. Grey sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes under his mask.

“One bad sign and I’m kicking you all out. You will not tell anyone about me or what I’m doing. Get your friends out here.” He sounded so totally exhausted and Jessie ran back into Abigail’s house and ushered everyone outside. Grey pulled his wagon of stuff behind him without a word as the other 6 followed. 

The walk to the hospital was about 40 minutes. Grey didn’t speak the entire time. Clyde offered to pull his stuff a few times but Grey only shook his head no. Once there, Grey took off his mask.

“This is my home and lab,” Grey announced. “It was shut down after nobody could afford a doctor.” He showed them around. One operating room had been emptied out and was serving as an indoor garden with ultraviolet lights. “I grow aloe here mainly, but I also have some other herbs.” Levy frowned at the gimpy setup. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll fix it up all nice for you.” She giggled.

Grey passed the hospital room that he used as a bedroom. “My research journals are in there, not terribly exciting.” He took off his jacket and threw it on his bed, leaving him in only a short-sleeved t-shirt and jeans.  The others noticed the extensive burns all up his arms and the back of his neck. Grey sighed, noticing their stares. “Don’t pity me, I chose this lifestyle myself..” He passed the kitchen “Anyway, here’s the kitchen, I use it for food storage. Obviously.” He made his way to the lab on the third floor. “The machines here are almost all broken, I analyze blood and the rainwater by hand.” There were vials of blood and different colors of rainwater. 

“Okay, so I guess you guys wanna know what information I have at this point. Well, simply, burns like this can be treated like normal acid burns. Just clean it up and put some medicine on it. If inhaled it will rip you to shreds.”

“Like we saw last night? When you coughed up blood?” Levy interrupted. Grey nodded. 

“I have no idea how to treat it if someone inhales more than that. People often die. Its compound is lead, gunpowder, water, and a couple more compounds that I have yet to find.” He sat down on a lab bench. “Each rainfall has a different concentration of each substance, making it more or less dangerous. The darker purple acids are more harmful when they touch you, but the clearer they are, they tend to be more deadly because people mistake it for water and drink a lot without noticing anything, and within hours to days, they die.”

The others pulled up chairs as they listened to him. 

“Any theories on what happened?” Abigail asked quietly. Grey shook his head no.

“I thought it was someone testing weapons, but it’s been happening all over the country, and the government has gotten weak. It can’t afford weapons, never mind enough to test on a major scale like this.” He sighed heavily. “I then thought it was pollution that caused it, but that still doesn’t make sense because it seems pretty even throughout the country.”

“How do you know it’s only us experiencing this? Communication to other countries died off a long time ago.” Sydney added.

“I don’t know. I guess I’m just being hopeful that not everyone is experiencing this.”

“The rain only started about 10 years ago, and the government has been down for 20 years before that… Have you been living alone here your whole life?” Max asked.

“You like getting into the deep things, huh?” Grey chuckled slightly. “Yeah. My parents were doctors. I was born in this hospital. When I turned 15 they left to continue their research. I got letters from them often but suddenly they just stopped. I knew they weren’t coming back, so I decided to continue their research.” He paused. “Jeez, how old am I? 22? I’ve been doing this for 7 years… It seems like it’s been forever.” 

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories.” Max apologized.

“No, it’s okay. You guys would’ve found out sooner or later..” He sighed softly and rubbed his aching throat. There was a silence as the group looked at each other and then back to Grey.

Jessie cleared her throat. “I guess we should all head to where we're needed.” The six of them split up to the different sections of the hospital. Jessie stayed by Grey eagerly.

“What do you want?” He tried to be patient but Jessie was annoying the hell out of him. 

“Well, I work in forensics, I think I could be most useful here next to you figuring out where this came from.” She bounced on the balls of her feet, trying to read his expression.

“Go ahead and do that. Don’t break anything. I’m tired, I’ll be back in an hour or so.” He left to his room and locked the door, sliding against the wall until he was sitting on the floor. Grey put his head in between his knees with a soft groan. He had a headache. He didn’t particularly trust any of them. “I should have ignored them.” He whispered to himself. Grey fidgeted anxiously, thinking of all the things that could go wrong with them around.

After a few hours, there was a gentle knock on the door. Grey tensed, thinking it was Jessie.

“Hey. It’s me, Max.” Grey sighed in relief. “The others went back into town to get some dinner. They’re bringing it back.” Max waited for a response but got none. He frowned but kept talking. “I get it, you don’t really trust us and that’s okay. I understand.” He sat down with his back against the door. “I can imagine this is all really stressful. Is that why your hair is Grey? Is it a coincidence that your hair is Grey and your name is Grey? Or is it a nickname?” Max tried to lighten the mood. He could hear Grey moving on the other side of the door but there was still no response. “Look, it may seem like we’re here to use you for something to do but I promise everyone wants to help people just like you do.” Still nothing. “I bet you’re tired of talking about work, huh?” Max smiled a little as he heard Grey shuffling more. “I guess you’re not much of a talker, I’ll just tell you about myself. It’s only fair. My full name is Max Williams. Sydney is my twin sister. We’re 20 years old. My father is an engineer and my mother is a woodworker. There’s little work for them so we lived in poverty for a while. Sydney and I decided to move out here to research and hopefully send some money back to our folks.” He paused for a moment. Science isn’t my first love but it’s the only way I can make an impact in the world. My first love is music. I can’t live without it. I try to make people laugh and smile however I can. That’s my main goal in life… Please don’t tell the others.” He laughed sheepishly. “They’d get on my case if they found out I wasn’t spending every waking second thinking about my machines.” Max fell silent as he waited for any sign that he was listening. 

There was a long pause before Max heard “I love music too.” in Grey’s rough voice. “Play any instruments?”

Max silently pumped his hands in the air in victory. “Uh, yeah, piano and guitar. Self-taught. You?”

“Flute and violin. My mother taught me the violin and I taught myself the flute.” Grey replied, his tone slightly more relaxed. 

“Mind if I come in?” Max asked quietly. There was a moment of silence before the door creaked open and Max went inside, fully observing his room for the first time. Books were stacked everywhere and his bed was messy. A single window looked outside, the view was nothing but a thick layer of trees. The room was cold and dark. The sun was setting but it only made the room look emptier.

“I-I… I uh, don’t clean my room much.” Grey admitted awkwardly.

“I can tell.” Max said quietly. There was yet another pause between them.

“Look, I’m sorry about what I said this morning. It came off more aggressive than I wanted.” Grey fidgeted.

“No no, don’t apologize, I get it. Kinda.” Max admitted. “You’re not selfish, you want friends, you just don’t know how to talk to people, and you’re afraid of a failure on your behalf affecting the others, right?”

Grey’s eyes widened. “H-how..?”

“You already admitted half of it. The story you told earlier gave me what I needed to fill in the holes.” Max smiled proudly but Grey looked terrified. “I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but you’re not as mysterious as you thought you were.” 

“I’m that obvious, huh?” Grey looked down and Max chuckled. This caused Grey to look up in surprise. 

“You take things far too seriously. It’s okay to know a little bit about you. I’ve never seen cops come through here and no one is going to turn you in, okay?” Max tried to reassure Grey, who just took a deep breath and gave a weak smile. “You have friends now. You don’t have to carry every burden alone.”

“Friends..” Grey sighed in relief. “I like that.”

[businessliveme]

Can You Sue a Robot When it Loses Your Fortunes?

(Bloomberg) — Robots are getting more humanoid every day, but they still can’t be sued.

So a Hong Kong tycoon is doing the next best thing. He’s going after the salesman who persuaded him to entrust a chunk of his fortune to the supercomputer whose trades cost him more than $20 million.

The case pits Samathur Li Kin-kan, whose father is a major investor in Shaftesbury Plc, which owns much of London’s Chinatown, Covent Garden and Carnaby Street, against Raffaele Costa, who has spent much of his career selling investment funds for the likes of Man Group Plc and GLG Partners Inc.

It’s the first known instance of humans going to court over investment losses triggered by autonomous machines and throws the spotlight on the “black box” problem: If people don’t know how the computer is making decisions, who’s responsible when things go wrong?

“People tend to assume that algorithms are faster and better decision-makers than human traders,” said Mark Lemley, a law professor at Stanford University who directs the university’s Law, Science and Technology program. “That may often be true, but when it’s not, or when they quickly go astray, investors want someone to blame.”

The timeline leading up to the legal battle was drawn from filings to the commercial court in London where the trial is scheduled to begin next April.

It all started over lunch at a Dubai restaurant on March 19, 2017. It was the first time 45-year-old Li, met Costa, the 49-year-old Italian who’s often known by peers in the industry as “Captain Magic.” During their meal, Costa described a robot hedge fund his company London-based Tyndaris Investments would soon offer to manage money entirely using AI, or artificial intelligence.

Developed by Austria-based AI company 42.cx, the supercomputer named K1 would comb through online sources like real-time news and social media to gauge investor sentiment and make predictions on U.S. stock futures. It would then send instructions to a broker to execute trades, adjusting its strategy over time based on what it had learned.

The legal battle is a sign of what’s to come as AI is incorporated into all facets of life

The idea of a fully automated money manager inspired Li instantly. He met Costa for dinner three days later, saying in an e-mail beforehand that the AI fund “is exactly my kind of thing.”

Over the following months, Costa shared simulations with Li showing K1 making double-digit returns, although the two now dispute the thoroughness of the back-testing. Li eventually let K1 manage $2.5 billion—$250 million of his own cash and the rest leverage from Citigroup Inc. The plan was to double that over time.

But Li’s affection for K1 waned almost as soon as the computer started trading in late 2017. By February 2018, it was regularly losing money, including over $20 million in a single day—Feb. 14—due to a stop-loss order Li’s lawyers argue wouldn’t have been triggered if K1 was as sophisticated as Costa led him to believe.

Li is now suing Tyndaris for about $23 million for allegedly exaggerating what the supercomputer could do. Lawyers for Tyndaris, which is suing Li for $3 million in unpaid fees, deny that Costa overplayed K1’s capabilities. They say he was never guaranteed the AI strategy would make money.

Sarah McAtominey, a lawyer representing Li’s investment company that is suing Tyndaris, declined to comment on his behalf. Rob White, a spokesman for Tyndaris, declined to make Costa available for interview.

The legal battle is a sign of what’s in store as AI is incorporated into all facets of life, from self-driving cars to virtual assistants. When the technology misfires, where the blame lies is open to interpretation. In March, U.S. criminal prosecutors let Uber Technologies Inc. off the hook for the death of a 49-year-old pedestrian killed by one of its autonomous cars.

In the hedge fund world, pursuing AI has become a matter of necessity after years of underperformance by human managers. Quantitative investors—computers designed to identify and execute trades—are already popular. Rarer are pure AI funds that automatically learn and improve from experience rather than being explicitly programmed. Once an AI develops a mind of its own, even its creators won’t understand why it makes the decisions it makes.

“You might be in a position where you just can’t explain why you are holding a position,” said Anthony Todd, the co-founder of London-based Aspect Capital, which is experimenting with AI strategies before letting them invest clients’ cash. “One of our concerns about the application of machine-learning-type techniques is that you are losing any explicit hypothesis about market behavior.”

“It’s a beautiful piece of software that was written”

Li’s lawyers argue Costa won his trust by hyping up the qualifications of the technicians building K1’s algorithm, saying, for instance, they were involved in Deep Blue, the chess-playing computer designed by IBM Corp. that signaled the dawn of the AI era when it beat the world champion in 1997. Tyndaris declined to answer Bloomberg questions on this claim, which was made in one of Li’s more-recent filings.

Speaking to Bloomberg, 42.cx founder Daniel Mattes said none of the computer scientists advising him were involved with Deep Blue, but one, Vladimir Arlazarov, developed a 1960s chess program in the Soviet Union known as Kaissa. He acknowledged that experience may not be entirely relevant to investing. Algorithms have gotten really good at beating humans in games because there are clear rules that can be simulated, something stock markets decidedly lack. Arlazarov told Bloomberg that he did give Mattes general advice but didn’t work on K1 specifically.

Inspired by a 2015 European Central Bank study measuring investor sentiment on Twitter, 42.cx created software that could generate sentiment signals, said Mattes, who recently agreed to pay $17 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges of defrauding investors at his mobile-payments company, Jumio Inc., earlier this decade. Whether and how to act on those signals was up to Tyndaris, he said.

“It’s a beautiful piece of software that was written,” Mattes said by phone. “The signals we have been provided have a strong scientific foundation. I think we did a pretty decent job. I know I can detect sentiment. I’m not a trader.”

Artificial Intelligence Gets Real for Investors: A Timeline

There’s a lot of back and forth in court papers over whether Li was misled about K1’s capacities. For instance, the machine generated a single trade in the morning if it deciphered a clear sentiment signal, whereas Li claims he was under the impression it would make trades at optimal times during the day. In rebuttal, Costa’s lawyers say he told Li that buying or selling futures based on multiple trading signals was an eventual ambition, but wouldn’t happen right away.

For days, K1 made no trades at all because it didn’t identify a strong enough trend. In one message to Costa, Li complained that K1 sat back while taking adverse movements “on the chin, hoping that it won’t strike stop loss.” A stop loss is a pre-set level at which a broker will sell to limit the damage when prices suddenly fall.

“Misrepresentation is about what a person said to you. What happens when we’re not being sold to by a human?”

That’s what happened on Valentine’s Day 2018. In the morning, K1 placed an order with its broker, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., for $1.5 billion of S&P 500 futures, predicting the index would gain. It went in the opposite direction when data showed U.S. inflation had risen more quickly than expected, triggering K1’s 1.4 percent stop-loss and leaving the fund $20.5 million poorer. But the S&P rebounded within hours, something Li’s lawyers argue shows K1’s stop-loss threshold for the day was “crude and inappropriate.”

Li claims he was told K1 would use its own “deep-learning capability” daily to determine an appropriate stop loss based on market factors like volatility. Costa denies saying this and claims he told Li the level would be set by humans.

In his interview, Mattes said K1 wasn’t designed to decide on stop losses at all—only to generate two types of sentiment signals: a general one that Tyndaris could have used to enter a position and a dynamic one that it could have used to exit or change a position. While Tyndaris also marketed a K1-driven fund to other investors, a spokesman declined to comment on whether the fund had ever managed money. Any reference to the supercomputer was removed from its website last month.

Investors like Marcus Storr say they’re wary when AI fund marketers come knocking, especially considering funds incorporating AI into their core strategy made less than half the returns of the S&P 500 in the three years to 2018, according to Eurekahedge AI Hedge Fund Index data.

“We can’t judge the codes,” said Storr, who decides on hedge fund investments for Bad Homburg, Germany-based Feri Trust GmbH. “For us it then comes down to judging the setups and research capacity.”

But what happens when autonomous chatbots are used by companies to sell products to customers? Even suing the salesperson may not be possible, added Karishma Paroha, a London-based lawyer at Kennedys who specializes in product liability.

“Misrepresentation is about what a person said to you,” she said. “What happens when we’re not being sold to by a human?”

The post Can You Sue a Robot When it Loses Your Fortunes? appeared first on Businessliveme.com.

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[theconservativebrief]

We have just 12 years make massive and unprecedented changes to global energy infrastructure to limit global warming to moderate levels, the United Nation’s climate science body said in a monumental new report released Sunday.

“There is no documented historic precedent” for the action needed at this moment, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) wrote in its 700-page report on the impacts of global warming of 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.5 degrees Celsius.

From rising sea levels to more devastating droughts to more damaging storms, the report makes brutally clear that warming will make the world worse for us in the forms of famine, disease, economic tolls, and refugee crises. And there is a vast gulf between the devastation from 1.5 degrees C, what’s considered the moderate level of average warming, and 2 degrees C.

“It’s very clear that half a degree matters,” said Valérie Masson-Delmotte, co-chair of IPCC Working Group I at a press conference in Incheon, South Korea, where the report was released.

Under the Paris climate agreement, nations set a goal of limiting warming to 3.6 degrees F, or 2 degrees C, increase in global average temperatures, with ambitions of a stricter limit of 2.7 degrees F, or 1.5 degrees C of warming. The UN asked the IPCC to figure out what it would take to hit the 1.5 degrees C target, and what’s in store for the world if we did pull it off.

The team pooled more than 6,000 scientific publications, drew contributions from 132 authors, and had more than 1,000 scientists review the findings.

As expected, the report doesn’t pull any punches: Staying at or below 1.5 degrees C requires slashing global greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent below 2010 levels by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050.

Meeting this goal demands extraordinary transitions in transportation; in energy, land, and building infrastructure; and in industrial systems. It means reducing our current coal consumption by one-third. It also demands a vast scale-up of emerging technologies, such as those that remove carbon dioxide directly from the air. All in the very narrow window of the next 12 years while our momentum pushes us in the wrong direction.

The report also shows there’s no avoiding the costs of climate change; we either invest now to clamp down on greenhouse gases, or we pay down the line through property damage and lost lives. The additional sea level rise of going from 1.5 degrees C to 2 degrees C would put another 10 million people at risk, for example.

Another key finding is that every bit of warming matters, so every fraction of a degree we can knock off the global thermostat will pay dividends across economies.

In short, things will get worse. We can avoid some of the worst-case-scenarios of global warming, but the easiest options are no longer on the table. Regardless, our action or inaction both stand to shape the future of our planet.

As far as the science goes, there isn’t much new here. Anyone who’s been following climate research over the past six years since the last major IPCC report came out in 2012 will find much of the conclusions familiar. And that’s typical. IPCC reports pool together research that’s already been published to paint a picture of how the world will change as it heats up.

Since the early 19th century, humans have pumped increasing amounts of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, a consequence of burning fossil fuels to drive industry. We now spew carbon dioxide, the main human-produced greenhouse gas, at a rate of 2.4 million pounds per second.

The new IPCC report emphasizes that the 1 degree C of global warming since the dawn of the industrial revolution is already wreaking havoc through more damaging extreme weather and rising oceans. However, further warming depends on more greenhouse gas emissions, according to the report (emphasis added):

Warming from anthropogenic emissions from the pre-industrial period to the present will persist for centuries to millennia and will continue to cause further long-term changes in the climate system, such as sea level rise, with associated impacts (high confidence), but these emissions alone are unlikely to cause global warming of 1.5°C.

What this means is that we still have a chance to limit a very significant amount of warming this century. However, hitting the 1.5 degrees C target leaves just 0.5 degrees C of headroom over the next 80 years. That demands getting to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the century, which in turn requires an almost immediate, precipitous decline in emissions:

Greenhouse gas emissions have to fall rapidly in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. IPCC

So when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, we can’t just take our foot off the accelerator; we have to slam on the brakes.

The half degree between and 1.5 degrees C may not seem like much, but it’s a yawning gap in terms of the effort required and the consequences thereof. Remember, we’re talking about a global average, which means a change over every part of the world. The amount of energy needed to heat the whole planet by 0.5 degrees C is immense. So is the effort to avoid it.

Cutting greenhouse gas emissions sharply enough to reach the more ambitious climate mitigation goal requires a massive global shift in energy use. The pathways outlined in the report aren’t counting on any magical technologies that don’t yet exist; the greenhouse gas mitigation pathways use systems we have now. But they do require deploying them at massive, unprecedented scales. In particular, the 1.5 degrees C goal will require sucking carbon dioxide out of the air, even if the planet doesn’t overshoot its carbon budget.

For greenhouse gas sources like commercial shipping or from agriculture, there may not be any feasible way to trap their emissions, so the only option of balancing out that carbon is to pull it back from the atmosphere. That’s why countries need to start thinking about negative greenhouse gas emissions — there’s no way around it.

“We have not identified any pathways that get to 1.5 degrees C without carbon dioxide removal,” said Jim Skea, co-chair of IPCC Working Group III, at the Incheon press conference.

Carbon dioxide removal can take the form of direct air capture, where machines scrub carbon dioxide from the air. It can also come from using bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration, where plants pull carbon dioxide from the air and scrubbers prevent the carbon from the resulting biofuels from reaching the sky. Land use, from how we graze cattle to how we plant forests, is also a critical tactic for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

But how much removal we need depends on what other tactics we use, whether that’s energy efficiency, switching to low-carbon energy sources, or cutting our energy use overall. In the worst-case scenario, we may have to drawdown upward 1,000 gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by 2100, a massive international undertaking.

An avocado grove affected by a major dought in California’s Central Valley in 2014. Droughts and crop failures will become more frequent as global warming increases. Getty Images

One point the authors repeatedly emphasize in the IPCC report is that the impacts of climate change get worse as temperatures go up. It seems like an obvious point, but researchers have substantiated it.

Extreme heat and storms, as well as related outcomes like disease and poverty are projected to rise with temperatures. “Climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth are projected to increase with global warming of 1.5°C and increase further with 2°C,” according to the report.

But the inverse also holds true; avoiding warming also yields direct and indirect gains for societies. “Improved air quality resulting from projected reductions in many non-CO2 emissions provide direct and immediate population health benefits in all 1.5°C model pathways,” authors wrote.

“Every extra bit of warming makes a difference,” said Hans-Otto Pörtner, co-char of IPCC Working Group II, at the press conference.

The question now is how seriously governments will take these findings. If past, climate reports are any indication, odds are it will receive some lip-service but little action. The number of new coal plants in the world is declining, for example, but that still means new coal plants are coming online and these generators will emit carbon dioxide for decades.

The IPCC researchers will present their findings at the Katowice Climate Change Conference in Poland in December.

Original Source -> Report: we have just 12 years to limit devastating global warming

via The Conservative Brief