#long division with and without remainder

[yamagata-division]

"Life doesn't get easier or more forgiving; we get stronger and more resilient."

Introduction

Kenshiro Sugi is the leader of the Yamagata Division rap battle team, Bishamon Sentry. He is also known by his MC name, Iron Boss. A former thug of the Yakuza, this father of two has since turned his life around, dedicating his time to providing for his family, whilst trying to make up for his past mistakes. His only hope is that nothing from his past will come back to haunt him, and he can live out the remainder of his days in peace…

Kenshiro stands as an imposing figure, effortlessly commanding attention wherever he goes. His stature is remarkable, with broad shoulders and a sturdy, muscular frame that clearly reflects years of dedication and effort. His deep brown eyes radiate a blend of intensity and wisdom, suggesting the numerous hardships he has endured throughout his journey. His short, ebony hair is neatly arranged, though hints of silver are beginning to emerge at the sides. He is also marked by several scars: a noticeable one across his left eyebrow, another slicing across the bridge of his nose, and a visible mark on his neck. Additionally, he adorns both ears with black ball earrings.

At home, Kenshiro often opts for a snug muscle shirt that accentuates his chiseled physique, paired with a set of cozy sweatpants. When he's at work, he typically dons a plain white tee layered beneath a long gray apron, which frequently bears stains from his daily tasks. His ensemble is completed with dark gray jeans and durable black-and-white steel-toed sneakers, complemented by long white socks. To protect himself from blood and potential infections, he wears dark gloves. A glimpse into Kenshiro's history is revealed by the elaborate Yakuza tattoo that peeks from beneath his shirt sleeve.

Name Meanings

Sugi (杉): This is a shortened form of "Uesugi" (上杉), which is a historical Japanese surname. "Sugi" (杉) means "cedar," symbolizing strength and endurance.

Kenshiro (剣��郎): Pronounced "KEN-SHA-ROW." The name Kenshiro is composed of two parts:

Ken (剣): Meaning "sword" or "blade," representing strength, courage, and warrior spirit.

Shiro (四郎): Traditionally used to denote the fourth son in a family, but in modern contexts, it can simply be part of a given name without specific birth order implications.

Aliases

Dad/Father - Niko & Saeko

Ken - Common Nickname

"The Son of the Dragon"

"The Dragon Fool"

"Dragon of Yamagata"

Biographical Info

Gender - Male

Age - 37

Ethnicity - Japanese

Hair Color - Blackish-Brown

Eye Color - Deep Brown

Height - 196 cm (6'5")

Weight - 107 kg (235 lb.)

Birthday - April 8th

Star Sign - Aries

Piercings - A black ball earring in both ear lobes.

Markings - A vertical scar on the left side of his face, a scar covering the bridge of his nose, a scar across his neck, and an intricate dragon tattoo covering the majority of the upper right part of his body.

Family

Biological Father, Incarcerated

Biological Mother, ???

Wife, Deceased

Sister-in-law

Eldest Daughter

Youngest Daughter

Voiced By - MUD (Rapping)

Fun Facts

MC Name - Iron Boss

Occupation - Butcher/Cook

Division - Yamagata

Team - Bishamon Sentry

Position - 1st Member/Leader

Favorite Food - Yakiniku with Rice

Least Favorite Food - Surimi

Likes - His daughters, his deceased wife, his profession, his city, Bishamon, dragons, chocolate, drinking wine, Niko's cooking, an excuse to let off steam, fishing, ocean air, working out

Dislikes - Talking about his past, his father, talking about his ex-wife, his sister-in-law (sometimes), his short temper, bad wine, hangovers, his bad temper, boys approaching his daughters, people who bully his daughters, his daughters crying

Hypnosis Microphone

Kenshiro's Microphone is a standard microphone that is made out of iron, alluding to his name. It features a coiling dragon design inspired by Yakuza art, along with traditional motifs such as cherry blossoms and waves.

His Speaker takes the form of a white, mystical Japanese dragon that looks like it descended from Heaven; it's of divine origin. A speaker is inside its mouth when it opens it.

His ability, Dragon's Bite, allows Kenshiro to, periodically, release a much more powerful attack that exceeds his usual strength, which not only deals significant damage but also drastically lowers his opponent's stamina, leaving them weakened and less effective in battle. The downside is that this move lowers his stamina with each use.

Kenshiro's rap themes frequently explore the harsh truths of his former existence as a Yakuza enforcer, contemplating the obstacles, risks, and tough lessons that emerged from that chaotic era. His compelling lyrics not only recount his path to redemption but also illustrate his metamorphosis from a life entrenched in crime to that of a nurturing and affectionate father. The affection and commitment he shows toward his daughters are pivotal motifs in his songs, investigating the essence of being a responsible and loving parent despite his troubled history.

Personality

Kenshiro is a boisterous and impulsive individual who thrives in chaotic confrontations. He is headstrong, quick to anger, reckless, and filled with a sense of pride. Turning away from an adversary is something he cannot tolerate, and he is easily provoked into a rage. Known for charging directly at his challenges without a moment's hesitation, his approach often exacerbates his troubles. With an unwavering determination and a lack of fear in unfavorable situations, he battles his foes tirelessly until he emerges victorious.

His obstinate personality makes him averse to seeking or accepting help from others, leading him to rely heavily on himself to navigate through difficulties. The most prominent aspect of his character is his fierce anger, deeply rooted in his past and his experiences as a member of the Yakuza. He detests anything that ignites his rage and will go to great lengths to eliminate whatever has disturbed him. As a result, he has frequently faced criticism for his intense struggles with anger management.

Nevertheless, despite his fury, he doesn't unleash it indiscriminately. Even at his most volatile, he directs his wrath solely towards his foes, never towards those who are dear to him or who have done nothing to provoke his fury. Kenshiro's background in the Yakuza has led him to exhibit little interest in the lives of others. While he won't simply stand by and watch someone suffer if he can intervene, he is largely indifferent to the problems of others unless they directly involve him or his family.

He has expressed on multiple occasions his disdain for suffering and his contempt for a world that seems to inflict pain upon its inhabitants. It often takes the gentle persuasion of his youngest daughter, Saeko, to remind him that there is still goodness in the world and that he merely needs to seek it out.

Although his involvement with the Yakuza profoundly shaped him, Kenshiro harbors significant remorse for his days as a minor enforcer and strives earnestly to leave that chapter of his life behind. His greatest dread is reverting to his former self. His father, who subjected him to relentless psychological torment, often claimed that "changing is impossible because people never truly change." These haunting words have left a deep mark on Kenshiro's psyche, leading to recurrent nightmares throughout his life. Following the tragic loss of his wife, he nearly fell back into his old habits. It was the love and presence of his daughters that provided him the motivation to seek a better path.

Kenshiro is a devoted family man, and his sister-in-law, Aya, has remarked that his anger is always simmering just below the surface, driven by his desire to safeguard his loved ones. He cherishes his wife, Suzume, and his three daughters immensely. His greatest vulnerability lies in his inability to tolerate their tears, particularly those of his daughters; their happiness and laughter are what he yearns for, as it brings him joy in return.

Despite his deep affection as a parent, Kenshiro experiences unease, anxiety, and shyness around his family, stemming from his lack of social finesse and parenting abilities. He regretfully admits that all he knows how to do is "hit anything that makes them cry." He tends to worry excessively about their well-being, often questioning if he is fulfilling his role as a father. This uncertainty arises from his upbringing, where his father showed him no semblance of familial affection, seeing him merely as a tool or resource.

Having spent years aligned with the Yakuza, Kenshiro remained largely ignorant of religion and divine beings, though he had heard of them. It was only through his sister-in-law, Aya, who was deeply spiritual and well-versed in Japanese mythology, that he was introduced to Bishamonten, the deity of warfare and triumph. This encounter sparked Kenshiro's interest in worship, as he found resonance with the god's ideals of strength, protection, and justice. This connection inspired him to become a devoted follower of Bishamonten and even name his team in his honor.

Background

*Coming soon*

Trivia

He has a deep fondness for wine and various alcoholic beverages. However, he makes an effort to limit his consumption for two main reasons: firstly, because it is a costly pastime that doesn't benefit him, and secondly, because he aims to improve himself for the sake of his daughters.

Kenshiro received the nickname "Dragon Fool" from his father, a title reflecting his remarkable strength, courage, and simple-minded nature. Despite this, he has always loathed the moniker.

The name of his restaurant/butcher shop is called 'Ken's Cuts'.

Unbeknownst to many, Kenshiro has a hidden obsession with chocolate. Once, after indulging in too many sweets, he had to visit the dentist due to a painful toothache, which was prompted by Niko's insistence.

Although he isn't particularly keen on vegetables, he often took the ones left on his daughters' plates during dinner, much to the dismay of his wife, who frequently lectured them all about it.

Despite his age and how large he is, Kenshiro is actually quite acrobatic and versatile.

Before he married his wife, his surname was 'Murakami'. Although its normal for women to take their husbands' surnames when they marry, Kenshiro opted to take his wife's surname instead. The reason is because he didn't want anything reminding him of his family.

[novankenn]

Ah, come on!?!

FIVE

The BoD meeting went on for another three hours, after which the exhausted duo of Jaune and Wolf Bete dragged thier feet as they walked the last twenty feet from the bus stop to the “new” home of the Grimm Development Division.

Wolfie: So just like that, I’m part of the Grimm Development Team?

Jaune: Pretty much, but look on the bright side.

Wolfie: What bright side? Without asking me, they just assigned me to your department, a department you cry about being understaffed. A department I have no clue about how to do ANYTHING in! What bright side?

Jaune: You’re automatically the Deputy Head of this department, and if something happens to me… this will all be yours! 

Wolfie: Something happens to you? Like what?

Jaune: A promotion?

Wolfie: Not likely. Try again.

Jaune: A Nervous Breakdown that requires me being institutionalized for the remainder of my natural life?

Wolfie: (Sighs) That’s believable. So what will I be doing?

Jaune: I’ll go through all the basics once we’re back inside, but considering we’ve be assigned this “mission”

Wolfie: Did you just use air quotes?

Jaune: Yes.

Wolfie: Just making sure.

Jaune: Anyway, due to us having to shut down and move to Beacon you’ll be protecting my behind, over doing any lab work.

Wolfie: Are you really that trash in combat?

Jaune: I’m a genius when it comes to grimm biology, human biology, chemical and molecular biology, and I have those four PhDs done all before I turned twenty… you think I had any spare time to study the proper way to hit people? Besides, that’s what my sisters are for, or at least Saphron and Azalea.

The pair of co-workers reached the secured entryway of the new lab. Jaune pulled out a key and unlocked the padlock that was keeping the chained door closed. Opening it he stepped aside letting Wolf Bete enter first…

????: Big BROTHER!!!

Wolfie: ACK!

Jaune: SHIT!

Jaune and Wolfie whipped themselves around, averting their eyes from the sight of the nude young woman, standing in the center of the lab, coated in slime. Protruding from her back, four serpentine heads on long necks.

????: Is something wrong, big brothers?

Wolfie: No… no, nothing is wrong… um, where did you come from, and what’s your name?

Hydra: I’m Hydra!

Jaune: Wolfie get her some CLOTHES!!

Wolfie: ME?!? Why me?

Jaune: You’re girl like! So it doesn’t count if you see her… bits.

Wolfie: I ONLY have a girl’s body! I’m still a guy inside!

Jaune pulls off his lab coat and holds it out behind him.

Jaune: Hydra, please put this on, okay?

Hydra: Okay daddy.

Jaune: Urk!

Looking over his/her shoulder, Wolf Bete sees that Hydra was indeed hidden under Jaune’s lab coat, even if the four extra heads being squeezed through the back of the collar was a little strange.

Wolfie: She’s covered up.

Jaune said nothing but weaved and stumbled over to his desk, and sat down heavily in his chair. Opening the bottom drawer, he pulled out his emergency pillow and laid it onto of his desk.

Wolfie: Jaune?

Hydra: Daddy?

Jaune: Sleepy time.

Pulling off his VR goggles, Jaune then proceed to slam himself face-first into his pillow. The muffled screaming told Wolf Bete and Hydra that Jaune was not in fact trying to sleep.

Wolfie: Is something wrong? I mean, you did successfully complete a second monster, so that’s an achievement, right?

Jaune: (mumbling into the pillow) 

Wolfie: Ah… what was that?

Jaune: (mumbling into the pillow)

Wolfie: Again?

Jaune slowly lifts his head from his pillow and looks at Wolf Bete and Hydra with dead eyes.

Jaune: She was completed without BoD approval, which means I will be fined for misappropriation of resources…

Wolfie: Huh?

Hydra: Is everything okay, daddy?

Jaune: I’m not your dad!

Sister head #1: I beg to differ…

Sister Head #2: As do I. You provided some of the genetic material for our construction…

Sister Head #3: Plus, you designed every aspect of her, including her mind…

Sister Head #4: We have your eyes.

Jaune: This can’t be happening… I finally have help, and now I’m going to be in trouble! They’re going to seize Hydra and take Wolfie from me, and I’ll be all alone  in here again!

Wolfie: What?

Hydra: No! I’m staying with Daddy!

Sister head #1: I agree.

Sister Head #2: Nope. Not going.

Sister Head #3: I like it here.

Sister Head #4: I’m hungry.

/==/ 4 Hours Later /==/

Jaune collapses onto his pillow after hanging up. He turns his head to face Wolf Bete and Hydra, who were standing a few feet away with worried looks on their faces.

Jaune: We’re okay… they did a conference call and decided that Hydra’s completion was caused by the miss handling of materials by the movers.

Wolfie: You lied.

Jaune: Damn right, I did. I’m not losing my only staff member because of this!

/==/ Elsewhere in a Secluded Club Backroom /==/

Hazel Rainart (Director of Recruitment): Ms Amitola welcome, and thank you for taking the time from your schedule to meet with me. Now before we start, do you require the use of our facilities, or would you like something to drink?

Ilia Amitola: No, I’m good, thank you.

Hazel: Very well, then we shall proceed. So, please tell me why you are here today. Please be aware this is a safe place and anything you say is confidential, as per the NDA you signed prior to this interview commencing.

Ilia: Is that what that was?

Hazel: Yes. Did no one go over it with you? A member of our legal team should have been present to guide you through the clauses and answer your questions.

Ilia: Ah, well… I um sort of just walked in and signed whatever was handed to me.

Hazel: I see. Why would you do that?

Ilia: Nothing leaves this room, right?

Hazel: Correct.

Ilia: I used to be a member of the White Fang, but I decided I didn’t like what was happening to them in terms of external image, and internal policy. So I quit, and now I REALLY need a job, and I’m willing to do just about anything. Janitor, Secretary, Customer Greeter, hell I’ll even sign up to be a minion as long as it has a steady paycheck and …

Hazel: And?

Ilia: I may need some protection from the White Fang… being a defector and all.

Hazel: Well, if you do end up being hired, that is a given. We take the safety of our valued employees very seriously.

Ilia: That’s a load off my mind.

Hazel: I have a few questions.

Ilia: Okay?

Hazel: I assume you are a trained combatant, and do you have your aura unlocked? 

Ilia: Yes, I am a trained combatant, but I do not have my aura unlocked.

Hazel: I see. Would you be against having your aura unlocked?

Ilia: No?

Hazel: I think we may have use for you, Ms Amilota. Yes, I think you would be perfect for a very special project.

Ilia: Really?!?

(== Table of Contents ==)

[leicamoments]

Harrogate Railway 5-0 Glasshoughton Welfare

NCEL Division One

I think that Saturday was probably the first day this year of covering sport, that the weather was conducive to sitting pitch side and enjoying what was going on in front of me, as well as the conditions.

I initially had a few options with regards to the game I was going to cover, but they were eventually severely constrained by my photo-schedule that morning. Instead of being at the ground at least an hour before kick-off, I was rushing to get pitch side as I had turned up with only 20 minutes to spare.

I said hello to a good few friendly faces, and made my way towards the home dugout where I could see Craig Dinsdale sitting and setting up his camera. I interrupted him with a cheeky comment, smirking to see how he would react. Smiling back, we chatted for a few minutes while I pulled my cameras out of the bag and got them ready for the game.

It's always great to catch up with Craig and look forward to seeing his set of images.

The visitors to Station View on Saturday were Glasshoughton Welfare, a team with a similar record to Railway and starting the day just above Harrogate, albeit having played more games.

The first fixture in October had seen Welfare win 2-1, which meant that Railway had something to prove; and being honest, this is the sort of game that they need to win to help in their quest to finish as high up the league as they possibly can.

The first 30 minutes were a relatively even affair with both teams creating some good opportunities to score; however, the game was to come alive in the 34th minute as a free kick taken by Harris Eggleston was beautifully curled around the visitor’s wall, and into the goal to put the home team ahead, 1-0.

Harrogate Railway had grown into the game and around the time they scored, had been having a good period of dominance in both midfield and up front. The home team were to see out the remainder of the half without too many scares, and went in, probably deservedly on the balance of play, a goal to the good.

Harrogate immediately pickup in the second half, where they had left off in the first; and it wouldn’t take long for them to add to their lead.

Three minutes in and Eggleston angled into the box, squaring the ball to Des Okoro, whose initial shot was saved by the keeper, but could do nothing about the follow up by Des as he sent it into the back of the net, 2-0.

Railway were indomitable at this point and four minutes later were to add to their tally.

A corner on Railway’s right side of attack was played into the centre of the box where Des Okoro got his head to the ball, sending it past the Welfare keeper and into the back of the net to make it 3-0.

Six minutes later and Railway struck again, as an initial free kick on the left side of the visitor’s penalty box was cleared for a corner. The resulting corner was then initial half-cleared before a nice lay-off by Des allowed Harry Atkinson to guide the ball home with a lovely strike, 4-0.

With the game effectively won, it seemed like the visitors had lost their shape, allowing Railway time and space in which to play. Welfare’s manager had been vocal on the sideline and the referee saw fit to walk across and show him a yellow card – presumably for something he had said to or about the official.

The next goal came in the 63rd minute as a move down Railway’s right saw a ball played into the box to Des Okoro who, unmarked, stroked it past the exposed Welfare stopper to make it 5-0 and claim his well-deserved hat-trick.

Harrogate Railway continued to create opportunities to increase their lead in the remaining minutes of the half, but a combination of wayward finishing, outstanding defending, and good goalkeeping meant that the score remained at 5-0.

As the final whistle approached, welfare’s Joe Rawcliffe received a second yellow for a late challenge, that saw the number 10 make the early walk to the dressing room and he was clearly very unhappy about the decision; however, there was little time for Railway to make anything of the extra-man advantage.

At the final whistle, Railway had won 5-0, claimed all three points and more importantly had leapfrogged their opponents into eleventh place, and just into the top half of the table.

Next up for the Station View team is a home game on Saturday against Yorkshire Amateurs, who lost 5-0 on Tuesday to Appleby Frodingham – a game that will pose a different set of questions to the Railwaymen.

Goals: Harris Eggleston, Harry Atkinson, Desmond Okoro (3)

[colin-ross]

North Macedonia is a fairly new, relatively small landlocked country. The Macedonian nation is anything but.

North Macedonia became independent in 1991 following the break-up of Yugoslavia. North Macedonia has been a member of the UN since 1993, but the Greeks objected to the original name "Macedonia", as there is a Greek region of the same name. They were admitted under the provisional description "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" in 2018 the dispute was resolved with an agreement that the country should rename itself "Republic of North Macedonia" which came into effect in early 2019.

This is not the end of that particular story though. A few days ago at the Presidential inauguration, new President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova called the country "Macedonia" - the Greek ambassador walked out of the inauguration. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3g5rj4y24do

The wider region of Macedonia is spread, mainly, across three countries - North Macedonia, known as Vardar Macedonia, Greece, known as Aegean Macedonia and Bulgarian, known as Pirin Macedonia. There are also parts of the Macedonia region in Albania, Kosovo and Serbia.

Settlements date back to around 7,000 BC. The Kingdom of Macedonia became the dominant power in the Balkans from the middle of the 4th century and peaked under Philip II and Alexander the Great.

Under Philip II Macedonia subdued mainland Greece and the Thracian Odrysian kingdom through conquest and diplomacy. Philip II defeated Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC.

Alexander the Great conquered the remainder of Greece when he destroyed Thebes and grew the Empire to reach India in the east and Egypt in the south/west.

After Alexander’s death things began to fall apart and between 168 BC and 148 BC the Romans had taken over most, if not all, of Macedonia.

With the division of the Roman Empire into west and east in 298 AD, Macedonia came under the rule of Rome's Byzantine successors. Over time great parts of Macedonia came to be controlled by Slavic-speaking communities known as Sklaviniai.

After 836/837 the region was absorbed into the First Bulgarian Empire. The first Slavic Glagolitic alphabet was created in the early 860s in the cultural, and ecclesiastical, centre of Ohrid.

In 1018 Macedonia was reincorporated into the Byzantine Empire as the province of Bulgaria. At the end of the 12th century, some northern parts of Macedonia were temporarily conquered by Serbia.

In the 13th century, following the Fourth Crusade, Macedonia was disputed among Byzantine Greeks, the Kingdom of Thessalonica, and the Bulgaria. After 1261 all of Macedonia was once again returned to Byzantine rule, where it largely remained until the Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347, when it once again came under the control of the Serbia Empire.

After the Ottoman victory in the Battle of Maritsa in 1371, most of Macedonia was again under their rule and by the end of the 14th century the Ottoman Empire gradually annexed the region. Macedonia remained part of the Ottoman Empire for most of the next 500 years.

By the late 1890s rival groups were trying to assert themselves across Macedonia. In 1903 the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising in 1903 calling for an independent Macedonian state, and the Greek struggle for Macedonia from 1904 until 1908 led to diplomatic intervention by the European powers and plans for an autonomous Macedonia under Ottoman rule.

What happened, however, were the Balkan Wars. In the First Balkan War (1912-1913), Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro occupied almost all Ottoman-held territories in Europe. The Ottoman Empire in the Treaty of London in May 1913 assigned the whole of Macedonia to the Balkan League, without, specifying the division of the region. The Second Balkan War (1913) saw Bulgarian troops to attack the Greek and Serbian troops in Macedonia, the war sucked in various other powers and the Ottomans even regained some of their lost territory. Most of Macedonia ended up under Greek control.

The ‘settlement’ at the end of the First World War confirmed most Macedonia as under Greek control. Serbian-ruled Macedonia was incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which later became Yugoslavia.

During the Second World War the boundaries of the region shifted yet again. When the German forces occupied the area, most of Yugoslav Macedonia and part of Aegean Macedonia were transferred for administration to Bulgaria. The western Aegean Macedonia was occupied by Italy, with the western parts of Yugoslav Macedonia being annexed to Italian-occupied Albania.

Macedonia was liberated in 1944, when the Red Army's advance in the Balkan Peninsula forced the German forces to retreat. The pre-war borders were restored under U.S. and British pressure. What is now North Macedonia became the People's Republic of Macedonia as part of the People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

In 1991 following a referendum the People’s Republic of Macedonia became independent of Yugoslavia. (North) Macedonia remained at peace through the Yugoslav Wars of the early 1990s although there were agreed changes to the border.

North Macedonia is a candidate country for EU enlargement, but the recent comments from the new President have led to Greece saying they may veto any accession agreement.

[theohonohan]

Shift register sequences

I looked into shift register sequences a few years ago, as a way to create a random dissolve. This is a fairly well-known trick, sometimes referred to as FizzleFade. An \(n\)-bit maximal Linear Feedback Shift Register is used to cycle through all but one of the possible strings of n bits. In most shift register applications, it’s the output bit that counts. In FizzleFade, the contents of the register are what we care about.

There are two variants of LFSR, the Galois and the Fibonacci. They both use polynomials, “taps” to create feedback in the register, and in both cases they use XOR to calculate addition mod 2 (we are working in GF(2)). At first it might seem that the Galois and Fibonacci LFSRs can’t be equivalent, since the Fibonacci type XORs the tap values together to create an input bit, whereas the Galois type XORs the output bit together with a set of bits withi n the register. These are very different operations.

It turns out, though, that Galois and Fibonacci LFSRs create the same stream of output bits, so they are closely related. I’m tempted to say that they are ‘duals’, which is the go-to term when two mathematical structures are somehow opposite without being exactly complementary.

The mathematical operation on which LFSRs are based is long division of polynomials over GF(2).

As everyone knows, long division produces a pair of values, the quotient and the remainder. The Galois LFSR stores the remainders (both the ‘intermediate’ remainders, and the final remainder) in the register. At each step, it subtracts the divisor from the register using XOR. So the contents of the register change abruptly at each step. The quotient can be recovered by watching the output bits.

Here’s a visualisation of the calculation performed by a 3-bit Galois LFSR, formatted as long division:

The contents of the register at each step are bolded. The first thing to notice is that after seven shifts the register returns to its initial state. This property is a result of the choice of divisor. It corresponds to the divisor polynomial being a factor of \(X^n + 1\) for \(n= 2^3 - 1\), and not for any smaller value of n. Any divisor polynomial with this property is called a primitive polynomial.

The upshot of this is that the cycle length of this particular LFSR is \(2^3 - 1\), which is \(7\). Since there are only \(8\) possible values for the contents of the register, and the “all zeros” value is excluded, this is the maximum length of cycle. The successive output bits of the shift register give the quotient of the division operation.

The Fibonacci LFSR is more difficult to understand, but it’s also an implementation of the same long division process. At each step, the bit values at each of the tap locations are gathered and XORed together, which is the same as adding them (or subtracting them), and also equivalent to a parity check. The way to conceptualize this is that a digit at position \(n\) in the divisor only contributes if a) it is a \(1\) and b) a division took place \(n\) steps ago. The resulting bit corresponds to the sum of digits in the current column, and it tells us what the next bit of the quotient is. This bit is shifted into to the input of the register. As a result, the contents of the register in the Fibonacci case are the digits of the quotient.

The duality here, then, is that the Galois LFSR works on rows, and the Fibonacci LFSR works on columns. As in many cases of duality, one form is like an inside-out version of the other, not just an opposite. In this case, the Galois form is a log more natural. Indeed, because the Fibonacci implementation stores (part of) the quotient in the register, there is no place to “input” a dividend polynomial—it is specialised to dividing polynomials of the form \(X^n\), while the Galois LFSR can be readily adapted to do general polynomial long division.

In explaining this, I feel the need for more detailed terminology dealing with the workings of long division. What words are there to describe the condition when a one is entered in the quotient, and a subtraction takes place? I’ve referred to this as “a division” above, but that doesn’t seem quite right. On the other hand, it doesn’t seem likely that using words like subtrahend will improve the description.

[janczarnieckicas]

CAS Service

7.12.23

1st tutoring. We've learned about the remainder theorem and how to divide polynomials. Long division is a difficult concept, and it's crucial in understanding it's origin. I've managed to explain it successfully so my student by the end of the session could solve multiple questions all by himself without any help

[themontessoriacademyofarlington]

Upper Elementary - Test Tubes

The Long Division beads, aka Test Tubes, is a long-desired lesson for students who are learning long division. Maria Montessori designed this material to concretely represent this math concept so students can fully understand the process of long division, with and without remainders, until they are ready for abstraction. The color coding is very important. Green for units, blue for tenths, red for hundreds, and green again, for “units” of thousands. This work requires extensive focus, concentration, and attention to detail to complete.

[nehaprem]

Comprehensive Guide to Java Operators: Understanding the Basics

Java Operators are of prime importance in Java. Our goal is to provide you with the necessary knowledge to start working with operators in Java. Without operators we wouldn’t be able to perform logical, arithmetic calculations in our programs. Thus having operators is an integral part of a programming language. In Java, operators are symbols used for performing various operations. These constructs enable the manipulation of operand values.

 Operators are the symbols that perform the operation on values. These values are known as operands. In computer programming, an operator is a special symbol that is used to perform operations on the variables and values. The operators represent the operations (specific tasks) and the objects/variables of the operations are known as operands.

There As Many Types of Operators in Java As Follows:

Arithmetic Operators

Logical Operators

Unary Operators

Assignment Operators

Ternary Operators

Relational Operators

Bitwise Operators

Shift Operators

Arithmetic Operators:

Arithmetic operators in Java facilitate the execution of mathematical expressions, akin to their use in algebra. Java offers operators for five fundamental arithmetic computations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and calculating the remainder. These operations are denoted by the symbols +, -, *, /, and %, respectively. Each of these operators functions as a binary operator, necessitating two values (operands) to carry out the calculations.

Addition (+):

The addition operator (+) in arithmetic performs the task of summing the values of its operands, resulting in the addition of the two values. The operands involved can be of various types, including integer (int, short, byte, long, double) or floating-point (float and double) types.

Subtraction (-):The subtraction operator (-) in Java subtracts the second operand from the first. This operator can work with operands of integer or float types.

Multiplication (*):In Java, the multiplication operator (*) is used to multiply the values of its operands. These operands can be of either integer or float types.

Division (/):In Java, the division operator (/) is used to divide the first operand by the second. The operands may be of either integer or float types.

Modulus (%):The modulus operator (%) in Java computes the remainder of the division of its first operand by the second operand. It essentially finds the modulus of the first operand with respect to the second operand.

Logical Operators in Java

Logical operators, also referred to as conditional operators, are essential for evaluating boolean expressions in complex decision-making scenarios. They generate a boolean value (true or false) as output.

In Java, there are three types of logical or conditional operators: && (Logical-AND), || (Logical-OR), and ! (Logical NOT). Among these, && (Logical-AND) and || (Logical-OR) are binary logical operators that operate on two operands or expressions, while ! (Logical NOT) is a unary logical operator that operates on a single operand or expression. Let's explore into each of them in detail:

The Logical AND Operator (&&):

 It combines two expressions (operands) into one expression, evaluating to true only if both of its expressions (operands) are true.

The Logical OR Operator (||):

 This operator also combines two expressions (operands) into one expression, resulting in a true evaluation if either of its expressions (operands) evaluates to true.

The Logical NOT Operator (!):

It is a unary operator that works on a single operand or expression, negating or reversing the truth value of its operand.

Unary Operators:

Unary operators in Java work on a single operand and can be classified into two types:

Unary plus (+):

This operator signifies the identity operation, leaving the operand value unchanged. For instance, if "number1" is 5, then "+number1" remains 5.

Unary minus (-):

This operator changes the value of the operand to its negative. If "number1" is 5, then "-number1" becomes -5.

Increment/Decrement operators (++/--):

Java includes the increment (++) and decrement (--) operators, which increase or decrease the value of the operand by 1. These operators can be used in two forms: pre-increment and post-increment, as well as pre-decrement and post-decrement.

Assignment Operator (=):

In Java, the assignment operator (=) is employed for assigning a value to a variable.

It adheres to the principle of right-to-left associativity, signifying that the value on the right-hand side of the operator is assigned to the variable on the left-hand side.

Thus, it is crucial to declare the value on the right-hand side before using it or ensure that it remains a constant. This operator serves a fundamental purpose in initializing and updating variables within Java programs.

Ternary Operator

The Java ternary operator is designed to streamline and simulate the if-else statement. It consists of a condition followed by a question mark (?).

The pattern involves two expressions separated by a colon (:).

When the condition evaluates to true, the first expression is executed; otherwise, the second expression is executed.

6.   Relational Operators in Java

·        Relational operators in Java facilitate the comparison of numbers and characters, helping to establish the relationship between operands.

·        These operators assess the relation among the operands and yield results in the boolean data type.

·        They play a crucial role in looping and conditional if-else statements. It is worth noting, however, that relational operators do not function on strings.

Certainly, Here Are the Six Relational Operators in Java Along With Their Corresponding Functionalities:

Equal to (==) Operator: Returns true if the left-hand side is equal to the right-hand side; otherwise, it returns false.

Not Equal to (!=) Operator: Returns true if the left-hand side is not equal to the right-hand side; otherwise, it returns false.

Less Than (<) Operator: Returns true if the left-hand side is less than the right-hand side; otherwise, it returns false.

Less Than or Equal to (<=) Operator: Returns true if the left-hand side is less than or equal to the right-hand side; otherwise, it returns false.

Greater Than (>) Operator: Returns true if the left-hand side is greater than the right-hand side; otherwise, it returns false.

Greater Than or Equal to (>=) Operator: Returns true if the left-hand side is greater than or equal to the right-hand side; otherwise, it returns false.

Bitwise Operators in Java :

Bitwise operators in Java are used to manipulate the individual bits of a number. These operators work with integer types, including byte, short, int, and long. Java provides four bitwise operators:

Bitwise AND Operator (&): Performs a Bitwise AND operation on each corresponding pair of bits of its operands, producing a 1 only if both corresponding bits are 1.

Bitwise OR Operator (|): Returns the Bitwise OR operation for each corresponding pair of bits of its operands, resulting in a 1 if at least one of the bits is 1.

Bitwise XOR Operator (^): Produces a 1 if the two bits of the operands are different; otherwise, the result is 0.

Bitwise Complement Operator (~): Inverts the value of each bit of the operand, turning 1s to 0s and 0s to 1s.

You can use these operators to perform various bitwise operations on numbers. The provided code snippet demonstrates the application of these operators in Java.

8. Shift Operators:

Shift operators in Java are used to perform bit manipulation on operands by shifting the bits of the first operand to the right or left. There are three shift operators available in Java:

Signed Left Shift Operator (<<): This operator shifts the bits of a number or operand to the left and fills the vacated bits on the right with 0. It has a similar effect to multiplying the number with a power of two.

Signed Right Shift Operator (>>): The signed right shift operator shifts the bits of the number to the right. The leftmost vacated bits in this operation depend on the sign of the leftmost bit, or the most significant bit (MSB) of the operand. It has an effect similar to dividing the number by a power of two.

Unsigned Right Shift Operator (>>>): The unsigned right shift operator also shifts the bits of the number to the right. In this operation, the leftmost vacated bits are always set to 0, regardless of the sign of the leftmost bit or the most significant bit (MSB).

It's important to note that in Java, the signed right shift operation fills the vacated bits with a sign bit, while the left shift and the unsigned right shift operation fill the vacated bits with zeroes. These operators allow for various bitwise operations and are useful in scenarios where direct manipulation of bits is required.

In Java, apart from the fundamental arithmetic, logical, bitwise, and shift operators, there are several other operators that serve diverse purposes within the language:

• The Dot . Operator:

The dot operator (.) is utilized to access instance members of an object or class members of a class.

• The () Operator:

 The () operator is used for declaring or calling methods or functions. Arguments for a method can be listed between parentheses, and an empty argument list can be specified using () with nothing between them.

• The instance Of Operator:

The instanceof operator is employed for type checking. It verifies whether its first operand is an instance of its second operand, testing whether an object is an instance of a class, a subclass, or an interface.

Having completed my Java training at ACTE Technologies, I highly recommend their program to individuals seeking to enhance their Java skills. With experienced instructors proficient in Java training, they provides a variety of flexible learning options, catering to both online and in-person preferences. In ACTE Technologies, Java program includes certification opportunities and assistance in securing job placements.

[wuggen]

Okay, see, the thing is it's really not a very simple conversion. Like, okay, let's not even touch the ambiguity of what one could want from an int-to-string conversion (decimal? Hexadecimal? Octal? Some other base? Divider characters between groups of digits? Different character encodings?) and assume that what you're wanting from an int-to-string conversion is to format the integer in base 10 ASCII characters with no dividers, that's the most common thing. That would be simple if the integer were stored in base 10, but it's not, it's stored in binary. And there's no way to convert from base 2 to base 10 by just scanning the digits (bits, rather) and making substitutions based on patterns, that'd be pretty simple. But no, what you've gotta do is:

Divide by 10. The remainder is the 1's digit.

Divide by 10 again. The remainder is the 10's digit.

Keep dividing by 10 and taking the remainder until you're left with zero. As many divisions as there are digits in the base 10 form of the integer.

And division is among one of the more computationally expensive basic operations you can do. Like, CPUs can do it in a few millionths of a second, sure, but it's a good few more millionths of a second than most other single actions that the processor does. And if you're doing a whole bunch of this kind of thing, (e.g. if it implicitly happens all the time,) it's really easy for it to become the bulk of the time the processor spends processing.

There's also memory space to consider. A typically-sized int fits in 4 bytes, always. It's constant sized. The largest number it can represent is 10 digits long. And in ASCII, each digit is a byte on its own. More than double the space. That needs to be allocated somewhere. And again, one individual instance of it is nothing, but if it happens all the time implicitly then it's easy for it to become more noticeable.

But alright, these are all very minor little performance concerns that aren't relevant for like 99% of what anyone does with a computer. A language that's less geared towards super-low-level performance-critical stuff can totally get away with making a slightly-less-than-trivial conversion implicit, and it'll be fine.

Until (actual problem I've had) you're writing a byte into a network connection stream and finding that the byte that comes out of the receiving side is always very different than the one that you wrote into the sending side, and weirdly always one of a few specific values even though the original is random. And you spend an hour banging your head against the problem and finally figure out that, when you wrote an integer on the sending side, the language "helpfully" converted it to a string automatically and implicitly, and the byte that you're pulling out of the receiving side is the ASCII character code for whatever the first decimal digit of the original byte is. And so now you have to spend another half hour investigating what extra code you have to write to prevent the language from doing work that it does not have to do and that you don't want it to be doing so that you can just send the damn byte, as it already exists, over the connection without the language doing counterproductive bullshit that you never told it to do in the first place.

Idk, I just like it when my programming languages do only and exactly the stuff that I tell them to do ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So the thing about me is that if your high-level programming language doesn't have strict statically-checked types I'll kill you, and if your low-level bytecode knows about anything except raw untyped bytes I'll kill you

[blood-darkened-moon]

What is your view about the characterisation of the overall Ashford family? I think they are Scots in origin, since the majority of them are red-rehaired, and likely they made their fortune on the British Empire. I have the impression that all of them had Ph.D. and were scientist, which is a rarity among European nobility.

Omg, what have you gotten me into? Don’t get me wrong, doing all the research was fun, but there is so much stuff I cloud write about here, so much stuff. Every time I thought I could see an end, new points popped up, and I had to keep it going. This is long. I hope you don’t mind. Anyway, I tried to limit this answer to speculations and useful information without drifting too much into headcanon territory.

Surname

The surname Ashford was first found in Cornwall and Devon in southern England. Later a branch of the family migrated eastward to Kent, where a town with the name Ashford can be found. There are seven places in total with the name Ashford in the UK. The surname Ashford originates from a place called Ayshford, which was located in Cornwall. Many Cornish surnames appear to be topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees. They are also characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. “Ashford” was also derived from the Old English words aesc and ford which meant a ford where ash trees grew.

Surnames became common during medieval times. English people were formerly known only by a single name. During medieval times the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent. Names were recorded as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules. It wasn’t unusual that the same person was referred to with different spellings of their surname. Spelling variations of Ashford include Aishford, Ayshford, Aysford, Asford, Asseford, and many more.

Peerage

In the UK, five peerages or peerage divisions co-exist, the Peerage of England (titles created by the kings and queens of England before the Acts of Union in 1707), the Peerage of Scotland (titles created by the kings and queens of Scotland before 1707), the Peerage of Great Britain (titles created for the Kingdom of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801), the Peerage of Ireland (titles created for the Kingdom of Ireland before the Acts of Union in 1801, and some titles created later) and the Peerage of the United Kingdom (most titles created since 1801 to the present).

The peerages in the United Kingdom include both hereditary and lifetime peers. The latter ones form now the majority. The titles comprised in the peer system are duke/duchess, marquess/marchioness, earl/countess, viscount/viscountess, and baron/baroness, with duke being the highest and baron the lowest rank. Peers can hold more than one hereditary title by virtue of different peerages.

The title earl is equivalent to count. The difference is that “earl” is only used for counts in the UK, while “count” is used for the same rank in other countries. A female form of earl does not exist. Thus, “countess” is used as a word for both a female count and a female earl.

Peerages are created by the British monarch by either writs of summons or letters patents. The Government in the United Kingdom makes recommendations concerning who should be elevated to the peerage after external vetting by the House of Lords Appointments Commission. The initiative to award a peerage, baronetcy, or knighthood today comes from the British Prime Minister.

Typically, the title is only inherited by the direct male line and is lost if the peer has no sons. In certain peerages in the peerage of Scotland and in exceptional cases, the titles can be transferred to daughters if there isn’t a male offspring available. Other descendants can be specified in the letters patent by a special remainder. Letters patents are not absolute; they may be amended or revoked by an Act of Parliament.

Family members of British peers aren’t peers themselves. They count as commoners until they receive a title, for example, through inheritance. Though, the children have courtesy titles. The eldest son of an earl, for example, receives the courtesy title viscount, and daughters receive the title lady.

English, Irish, or British (but not Scottish) peerage can only be inherited by a legitimate born child (parents are married at the time of its birth) and not legitimated by a later marriage.

Only 18 (2.2%) of 758 hereditary peers by succession were female as of 1992. A female peer, in their own right, keeps her title after marriage. Her husband does not receive a title by marrying her. If he has a higher-ranking title, she bears both titles. The higher-ranking one is mentioned first. Her title is inherited by her eldest son or daughter if she doesn’t have sons.

Notes:

Veronica was a countess. I haven’t found cases of women receiving titles on their own during the 19th century and a few 100 years prior. (I’m not saying they don’t exist, but I haven’t found anything similar.) I only found cases of women inheriting existing titles due to the absence of male children.

Veronica’s female descendants can probably inherit the title if they don't have brothers.

Alfred and Alexia weren’t born legitimate since Alexander wasn’t married. Alfred shouldn’t have inherited the title. Maybe Alexander requested a change in the letters patent, or Alexander married the surrogate mother and got a divorce after the twins were born, or this rule doesn’t exist in the RE universe.

Harman addresses Alfred and the other Ashfords incorrectly in his letters. He wrote Sir Alfred and used Sir for the others too. Sir is used for the gentry. The correct way to address Alfred is My Lord or Dear Lord Alfred. Only in the file Butler's Letter, he addresses Alexander correctly as Lord Alexander.

Timeline for reference (calculation can be found here):

Minimum estimation/Maximum estimation [Time as the head of the Ashford family] official and unofficial estimated dates

Alexia: January 1971 – December 1998 Age: 27 Alfred: January 1971 – December 1998 [1983 – 1998] Age: 27 Alexander: 1938/1943 – (March/April 1983) or December 1998 [1968 – 1983] Age: 40/45 or 55/60 Edward: 1910/1915 – July 1968 [1958/63 – 1968] Age: 53/58 Arthur: 1875/1885 – 1958/63 [1910/1925 – 1958/63] Age: 73/88 Thomas: 1875/1885 – 1910/1925 [1900/1905 – 1910/1925] Age: 35/40 Stanley: 1840/1855 – 1900/1905 [1875/1885 – 1900/1905] Age: 50/65 Veronica: 1805/1825 – 1875/1885 [1830/1850 – 1875/1885] Age: 60/80

Veronica

As I already said in the Veronica post, I dislike the background information from DC about her because it makes no sense and raises more questions than it answers. Therefore, I will ignore the part about her being a child prodigy (let’s say Leon made this up too). As for the rest, that’s ok, and I tried to integrate it. However, good looks and charming people with your manner of speaking won’t give you titles. I tried to find out what Veronica possibly could have done to receive hers without much success. Well, human nature never changes, so I guess the answer is the same as it would be today: lots of money and powerful friends in high positions. Money is always the best option to bend existing rules. Now have some, hopefully historically less inaccurate, speculations: Women during the Victorian Era and before didn’t have many options for what to do in their lives. They were mostly limited to being a housewife and mother, plus a few other career choices that would never explain Veronica’s success. Apparently, Veronica got her title in her mid-20 or so. She was definitely young, judging by the portrait. Starting at the bottom is unlikely since it would consume too much time. She must have had a lucky start. I assume she was born into a wealthy family, probably of commoners, since she is considered the founder of the Ashford family. If she was born into a noble family, even a low-ranking one, I assume, they would be at least worth mentioning. And based on the origin of the name, I think her side of the family originated from England rather than Scotland. Maybe her father profited from industrialization or had a trading business. Trading with the colonies or sovereign Asian countries was lucrative back then.

Veronica was probably the only (living) child of her parents. Because of that, they were either unusually supportive, or they died early (when Veronica was about 16-18). I prefer the second possibility. It would also offer a way to escape her fate. Veronica must have been highly intelligent and received a good education. However, not to the extent DC described. Why should her parents send her to a university (assuming this is even possible) when she’s just going to become some rich dude’s wife and a mother? Realistically this would be what her parents expected of her during that time. With her parents gone, she was free to do what she wanted. Inheriting her family’s fortune and her father’s company is a good starting point and a plausible way to make even more money. Maybe she had innovative ideas, took the right risks, and was able to multiply the profit immensely within a few years. Meanwhile, she used her economic power to make friends in high positions and gain more political influence.

Linguistic skills are certainly helpful for manipulating people and in the trading business. She could have been one of those people who could sell you sand in the desert. And when you make your money by trading with other countries, speaking the local languages is an advantage. It makes you more independent since you don’t need an interpreter, and direct interactions could make trading easier. (It is possible that she spoke other languages as a ten-year-old child, but only a few and probably not that fluent.)

I don’t think Veronica was a scientist, nor that she graduated from a university. Before she became a countess, she must have put a lot of work into her business and building relationships. There was no time to study. And afterward, why should she go back to learning? She was successful without a degree. There is no reason to get one. Plus, her position, especially since she was a woman, must have been very fragile. “Friends” wouldn’t have hesitated to backstab her if she would have shown any signs of weakness. She must have been ready to defend her position and do what was necessary. What I can see, however, is that after she retired, Veronica became a hobby scientist and attended lectures at a university. According to DC, she was interested in mathematics and biology. Owning a trading business would be an easy way to get her hands on exotic plants and animals from around the world. It is also possible that she invested a good amount of money into a university. And maybe she was rewarded with an honorary title for her commitment.

Personality-wise, Veronica must have been very ambitious, even hungry for power. I also think she was manipulative and ruthless since otherwise, she wouldn’t stand a chance in a world that could turn against her in a second. Thus, Alexia and Veronica seem to have similar personalities, which makes sense.

It looks like her husband took her family name. Unusual, but it is possible that he wanted to upgrade his status. Therefore, I think she married after becoming a countess, and her husband stood below her. He could have been a wealthy commoner like her or a younger son from a lower-ranking noble family. Maybe he even was a scientist and from Scotland. Her son had red hair. It is likely that it came from his side of the family. I know she must have carried the gene too, but her hair was either natural brown or blond and dyed brown for the portrait. Henna became popular in Europe only in the late 19th century. But people used an extract of onion skin or chestnut leaves to dye their hair brown before that.

Stanley, Thomas and Arthur

I don’t have much to say about them. There is no information given except that they exist. They all seemed to be successful in what they were doing, but they did not achieve anything outstanding. Stanley and Thomas were the eldest sons. I think it was expected of them to continue the family business. Though times change, and I don’t know how long it went on. Maybe they sold it at one point and invested in something else, or at the latest, WW1 put an end to it. As with Veronica, I think it is more likely that they were businessmen rather than scientists. Stanley had enough time to visit and graduate from a university. I’m not so sure about Thomas. I think he began his studies, but if he finished them is another question. He was young when his father died, in his early 20s. Stanley wasn’t that old at the time of death. Maybe he was sick, or it was an accident. I assume Thomas had other more important duties for the time being and suspended his studies for a while or later decided he was doing well without a degree. And we shouldn’t forget he died relatively young. Based on my reconstructed timeline, his death (between 1910 and 1925) may be somehow related to WW1 (1914-1918). Though I don’t think he was a soldier nor that he died on the battlefield. In case he had a family, maybe they died along with him.

As for Arthur, as the younger twin, becoming the head of the family was probably unexpected. He was in his late 30s and must have already established his own career. Without many obligations regarding his family’s business, he was free to choose a job to his liking so he could have been a graduate scientist. It appeared to be ok for him that his son became a virologist. As a scientist himself, he may have had a better understanding of Edward’s passion.

Edward and Alexander

Edward was apparently a very passionate scientist. He even went to Africa for research when he was already in his 50s instead of settling into a desk job. It appears a bit weird to me that Edward was the most notable member of the Ashford family after Veronica. Besides the foundation of Umbrella and possible academic awards, he hasn’t achieved anything we know. Ok, the foundation of Umbrella was a huge success, but Edward died in the same year and pretty much had nothing from it.

I already wrote several things about Alexander. Right now, I can’t think of anything new. So I will just link the other posts here. Alexander’s personality Alexander’s relationship with Edward Alfred and Alexia’s backstory and how Alexander treated them

Ashford family – General notes

It is possible, even likely, that Veronica, Stanley, and Arthur had more children than the ones we know of since the family tree in the game only considered the family members that inherited the title. Other potential children were either female or younger male children or older male children who died at one point.

Rockfort Island belonged to the Ashford family before Umbrella started the construction of its facilities in the early 90s. The island is small and located in the South Pacific. It has no strategic value and probably no precious resources, and without a plane, it is hard to reach from the UK. I doubt that Veronica, Stanley, or Thomas acquired it. There is nothing they can do with a tiny piece of land at the other end of the world. Most likely, either Edward or Arthur, in his later years, purchased it somehow.

Forget what I said about Rockfort Island. @midori-laboratories (thank you again) has pointed out that this island could have been a coaling station for refueling HMS ships. Before the Panama Canal was opened in 1914, the routes around Cape Horn and through the Strait of Magellan were the shortest navigable waterways from Europe to the west coast of the American continent. An island as a place for refueling and stocking up supplies nearby would have been a valuable possession. So it was probably indeed Veronica who purchased Rockfort Island. I still think the Ashfords (we know of) didn’t live there or visited the island frequently before planes became publicly available. Therefore, Arthur or Edward would still be the first family members who could have spent more time in this place.

Research degrees, such as Doctor of Science and other higher doctorates, first appeared in the UK in the late 19th century. The Ph.D., like it is today, was introduced in 1917. Therefore, the first Ashford, who could have an actual Ph.D., is Edward.

Alfred and Alexia – Veronica Project

Ok, the whole cloning plot wasn’t thought through very well at the time, but I want to offer a reasonable explanation anyway. It’s almost ironic that the scientific progress in the last decades helped to make some sense of it.

I always doubted that Alfred and Alexia were monozygotic twins because they were genetically obviously different. I want to point out that Alexander never claimed this was the case. He just wrote twins. Of course, seeing them as monozygotic twins is one way to interpret the situation, but not the only one and certainly not the one that makes the most sense. I think Alfred was rather an early-stage experiment/prototype that never should have made it into the final stages or some kind of backup plan.

First, it is almost impossible that Alexia was the only Veronica clone Alexander had prepared. In scientific experiments, you never do things just once, and they work immediately. Creating a Veronica clone is a multi-step process. If you want to avoid going back to zero, if something goes wrong in the end, you prepare yourself. There are many things that could go wrong: the clone dies while it is still in a cellular stage, the surrogate mother has a miscarriage, the clone dies during or shortly after birth, the clone is sickly because of genetic defects, and so on. Alexander probably had at least 5 to 10 Veronica clones ready to go. Alexia was only one of them. And who says Alexia was the first one? She was the first successful one but maybe the second or third attempt. Who knows? Now, this does not only apply to the final product. Alexander would have needed lots of pretests and methods testing. He may have produced dozens and dozens of Veronica clones and “clone precursors” ranging from laboratory waste over ok, but not what he was looking for to suitable but unfinished clones.

Also, the more I’ve read about cloning, the less likely it appears to me that Alfred and Alexia were true Veronica clones. For cloning, you need an intact cell with a complete genome and an egg cell from a surrogate mother. The nucleus of the egg cell is removed, and the other cell is inserted. Then you need an electrical impulse to start the cell division. The latter part is partially described by Alexander. My problem is the first step: finding an intact cell with a complete genome in a mummified corpse. As I already said in another post, I doubt DNA can persevere well under these conditions. Maybe it is possible, but I think it is very, very unlikely.

There is another way to “clone” something. I got my inspiration from the cloning attempts of mammoths. One approach involves taking DNA from Asian elephants, cutting out genes, and replacing them with other genes to make the resulting animal more mammoth-like. Alexander could have used a similar approach. This would not only solve the problem described above, but it would also even tie the loose ends of the cloning plot together. After extracting as much DNA from Veronica’s corpse as possible, Alexander could have used his or Edward’s DNA as a base. Edward, who was still alive when the project started, would have been the better choice. He is more closely related to Veronica, and maybe scientific interests, virology specifically, have a genetic component. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if Alexander used his DNA, considering his slightly creepy attitude toward his ancestor. These clone hybrids are the closest thing to having children with Veronica he could get. In any case, everything Alexander had to do now would be cut out and replace the respective genes to create a Veronica/Edward (or Alexander) clone hybrid. The genetic difference between humans is less than 1%. Alexander doesn’t have to replace that many genes. And maybe the resulting hybrids were even more Veronica than Edward (or Alexander). DNA shearing must have existed in the RE universe in the 60s because this is how Alexander inserted the intelligence genes, right?

Alfred and Alexia being hybrids instead of true clones would explain the different hair colors. Veronica had brown hair, the twins had blonde hair. Veronica could have dyed hers brown, which is possible. But maybe the blond hair color originated from Alexander’s or Edward’s (if he was blond) DNA. The hybrid theory could also explain why Alfred is male. If the base DNA is taken from Alexander or Edward, the first attempts would only produce male clone hybrids. Alexander was so fascinated by Veronica. I think he wanted the final result to be as close as possible to her, which means a female clone would be preferable. So Alexander must have exchanged the Y for another X chromosome somehow. Although, keeping some male clones just in case the procedure doesn’t work as intended or causes problems would make sense. A male Veronica clone hybrid is still better than nothing. And he can use less valuable clones for testing purposes. Alexia having the intelligence gene while Alfred doesn’t can also be explained this way. I assume the insertion of this gene is the last step of gene editing. If Alexander had planned to use the male clones only as a backup or for testing, then that’s a step he may have skipped for (most of) them. After the gene editing, he can proceed as described above.

Anyway, I assume Alfred is the result of a flawed experimental setup. Alexander didn’t pay enough attention at one point, switched the storage vessel, and ended up with Alexia and Alfred in the same vessel, which led to using them both instead of only Alexia. It would even add an additional layer to Alexander seeing Alfred as a failure. This explanation works with one single mistake without hinging on an arrangement of spontaneous mutations, coincidences, and whatnot.

Overall, if Alexander already had access to modern or futuristic techniques (from our world) in the 1960s, then I honestly think the cloning plot isn’t even that farfetched. Of course, it’s still science fiction.

Notes:

CRISPR gene editing, which is most commonly used, was first published in 2012. The researchers Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, who work on this method, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020. There are similar methods, but they were also published after RE Code: Veronica came out.

Chromosome replacement therapy is a more recent approach to treating genetic diseases. The defective chromosome is removed and replaced with a healthy one. Y chromosomes can be replaced with X chromosomes with this technique.

Alfred and Alexia – General notes

I think Alfred didn’t study anything science-related, even if he may have been interested in it. No matter what he would achieve, Alexia would have towered over him with her achievements. Alfred never envied his sister’s intelligence, but constantly being compared to her must be tiresome. I think he either studied business administration or maybe history. At least medieval torture methods and war-related history fascinated him. He even brought an ultra-rare Wehrmacht tank.

Despite his fascination with war and the military, I doubt Alfred ever joined the British Army. He was in charge of the Antarctic base, Rockfort Island, and studied. When should he have done this? And then we have his mental state. No sane person would give this man a loaded gun, ever. It is possible that he tried and was declined, though. I think he got some training on Rockford Island along with the UBCS soldiers, at least he can fly a Harrier jet. Alfred must have brought the medals he wears on his uniform.

In the portrait puzzle, Alexia is called the true master of the family. I think this was Alfred’s personal addition to show his devotion to her. Since the title is only inherited by the male line, Alfred is the true hire. It doesn’t matter if he or Alexia was born first. Alexia could only become a countess if Alfred died. Harman never mentions her, either. And Alexia looks a bit older in her portrait than Alfred in his. Alfred, dressed as his sister, probably modeled for the painting.

It is strange that Alfred took control of the Antarctic base after Alexander disappeared and Alexia allegedly died. He was 12. But otherwise, Umbrella would have discovered Alexander and Alexia. It seems that Umbrella has lost interest in the facility after the incident with Alexia. So, it could be part of a deal. Alfred can have it, probably unofficially, until he turns 18, and in return, they build on Rockfort Island.

I don’t know what Alexia did to fake her death, but I assume it was something big, like an explosion or a massive fire that destroyed all or most of the labs. That’s the only way people wouldn’t get suspicious if they couldn’t find her body. Also, Alexia got rid of her research results this way. I think many researchers died during this incident too.

[cyborg-franky]

Good Wine

This is a commission for @athenaportgas Thank you for the work and I hope you like it <3

Ace x Fem Reader N/SFW Word Count:3,170

“You know he can’t get drunk right?” “What? Really?” “Yeah! Something to do with his devil fruit powers or something…” Ace shrugged as he picked himself off the floor, walking to one of the large barrels and turning the tap to get more of the liquid from it. You joined him, he let you hold your empty mug under, refilling your drink.

“So, he has to be the only sober one on the entire ship?” “Yeah” You laughed, shaking your head, suddenly feeling very sorry for the zoan user, not that sorry though. Ace grabbed your free hand and pulled you along the deck where there were less of your crew mates milling around, wanting to be able to talk to you without drunken shouts and Thatch aggressively singing and announcing his undying love to poor Izou.

“Sometimes I forget about the hang ups that come with the fruits” You sipped your drink, leaning against the railings next to Ace, he nodded staring down at his own booze. “Like never being able to swim again, that would kill me” You sighed turning around the face the ocean, the very thought of losing your ability to swim made you want to admire it’s endless beauty.

“I mean, I can still swim.. in fresh water” Ace joined you, arms resting on the wood, drinking more booze, staring over the shimmering sea, even in the dark it was stunning, the way the lights from the ship made it glitter, it matched the intense wounder of the sky above.

“Just doesn’t do you much good if you fell overboard huh?” Ace looked at you with his mouth open “That sounded an awful lot like a threat, are you going to push me overboard?” the dark-haired pirate laughed a little, you smirked and narrowed your eyes, bringing your mug to your lips, deliberately not replying.

“Hey… come on… you aren’t gunna do that.. right?” Worry in his voices as he blinked at you. “That depends how much you piss me off, your snoring keeps me awake and then I’m cranky for my morning kitchen shift, have you ever had to work in the kitchen at 5am with a very perky and awake Thatch? He’s too useful to throw over the side.. so, I guess it has to be you freckles” You smirked and poked Ace on the nose seeing him go cross-eyed before batting your hand away.

“Fuck off!” You both laughed enjoying your time together.

You’d been on the ship for a few years, not as long as many of the members around you but no one treated you any less like family. You had grown especially close to the second division commander with the bright smile and cute freckles dusting his skin. Maybe it was because you were closer to one another’s age, you weren’t sure, the bond you’d formed with one another was strong regardless.

Older members often teased the pair of you about being a couple, always seen together, like tonight, sneaking away to be alone together. You thought that over as you swirled the remainder of your drink around in the bottle of the mug, staring off to sea.

Ace flirted with you, you liked to tease him back, it was just the sort of back and forth the two of you shared. Flirty comments, lingering touches, you’d blow him a kiss across the deck, and he’d pretend to catch it. It was just a friendship that was closer than most.

You did have feelings for him, you didn’t want to ruin the bond you had with the mera mera no mi user, you couldn’t bare the feeling of not having the closeness, how you’d drink together, play cards, you’d even fallen asleep next to him talking.

A bond like that was irreplaceable, a once in a lifetime connection, you didn’t want the yearning and desire in your heart to snuff out that light. You could feel your brows furrowing as your thoughts turned to sadder corners of your mind.

“What’s up?” Ace’s voice pulled you from the sinking into your own abyss. You laughed and downed the rest of your drink. “Ran out of booze is what’s wrong, wanna go grab some of the good wine from the kitchen? This stuff just isn’t right” Your grin held such a mischievous air to it.

Ace’s expression morphed to match yours, grinning, he grabbed your hand and you both scampered off to steal form the kitchen. The cook was busy having the time of his life with the others, sneaking into the back and sneaking out a bottle was easy. Ace hid it down the front of his shorts “Wow Ace, are you happy to see me?” Ace was confused at first before glancing down to his crotch “Oh ya know. Always”

The two of you ran down the deck, laughing and giggling, you were surprised no one stopped you to question your actions. You both slid into his room, he locked the door behind him and pulled the bottle out. “That was really cold on my balls” He set it on the nightstand, and you rolled your eyes “Ace! That’s gross, I don’t want bollock sweat on my wine”

“More for me then!” He cheered, pulling the cork out, flicking it at you, ducking you jumped on the bed with him, watching as he tried not to spill the wine, his lips pressed to the opening and giving you a look when you jostled him.

“Hey, this is good wine”

“Then give me some” You snatched the bottle from his hands and sipped it, you sighed and whipped your mouth on the back of your hand “That is the good stuff…”

“Wanna play cards?” Ace asked and you perked up, he reached over to the bedside and rifled through the draws pulling out the old and used pack of cards.

He started to shuffle them as you took another sip of the fancy wine, he started to deal the cards, sometimes you only ever played snap with one another, but it was still fun, just spending time with him, made you forget you were on one of the most feared pirate crews of all time.

You took turns in picking a card up and setting it on the pile hoping it would match the one face up. You blinked when he took a swig of the wine looking at the card you flipped. “Where did you get these cards? They have naked woman over them” You shot him a suspicious look.

“I have no idea, I lost my set, so I just grabbed these” “Ace you have such sticky fingers” You laughed and took the bottle from him once more, the fact you kept indirectly kissing was making the butterflies in your stomach flutter.

“On the subject of ‘sticky’ why do some of these cards stick together?” He paused and tried to pull two of them apart. “Oh, well so much for cards huh?” He wrinkled his nose in disgust and collected the cards up, throwing them on the floor, not wanting them near himself or his bed.

You both leaned against the headboard, passing the bottle between each other, cheeks rosy and giggles airy as the bottle got less and less full. Ace set it down on the floor once he’d had the last sip.

“That was good..” “Yeah” You agreed.

You leaned your head on Ace’s shoulder, in turn he leaned his head on yours, you watched silently as his hand reached for yours, interlacing your fingers together and giving a squeeze. You blinked and tilted your head to try and get a look of what Ace’s thought process was. “Ace?”

“Oh sorry, was that too forward?” He tried to slip his hand away from yours, but you held it tight “No, I mean, it was but I like it” He sat up now, facing you fully.

You didn’t know what was going on, staring into each other’s eyes, flushed cheeks, he looked so kissable, his lips parted as his eyes searched for a sign, one he didn’t need because you placed your hand on his cheek and leaned in, your lips meeting his.

Ace’s sighed into the kiss, deepening it, his hand over yours, his hat falling off his head, left forgotten on the floor, his hands far too busy tangling into your hair, keeping you close, wanting the kiss to never end. Neither of you the most experienced with kissing, the taste of wine on one another’s tongues just spurring you on.

You both pulled away and he gave an awkward laugh, he itched his neck not making eye contact, he seemed sheepish, it was cute, the normally confident commander blushing and avoiding your gaze “so, that happened huh? The wine I bet.. right?”

“A little but Ace..” He turned when you addressed him, the way you bit your lip, looking at him through your lashes “I do like you, more then I should considering we are friends” You let out a sigh and went to stand “I’m sorry I don’t wanna ruin what we have”

“Hey” He put his hand on your thigh and got you to make eye contact “I like you too, like a lot and for awhile but I didn’t wanna fuck it up either… but if we both….want one another…” He trailed off unsure how to finish his sentence, he bit his lip and you just couldn’t stop looking at them, just wanting to feel them on your own once more.

“If we regret this, regret tonight, we’ll blame the wine right? we didn’t ruin a friendship, it was the wine!” He laughed and you grinned, nodding “Yeah it’ll be the wines fault!”

You both chuckled, the mirth dying down as you both realised you’d admitted feelings, admitted you both wanted this, you knew you couldn’t blame how much you’d had to drink tonight but at least it was a good backup if anything was to shift between you.

As soon as your eyes met again hands shot up, grasping for one another pulling him back into a kiss. It didn’t take long before you needed to come up for air, pulling off your shirt and taking off your bra, you had a feeling Ace hadn’t had much experience with them and you didn’t want to ruin the moment. He worked on his own shorts and underwear sitting on the bed cross legged and expectant.

Seeing his hopeful expression as he looked you over, still in your shorts and panties you blushed but put on a little show for the freckled pirate, you slowly wiggled your shorts down your thighs, your legs, and off, doing the same with your panties, but slower. You’d never seen Ace pay so much attention to anything in his life.

When your underwear joined the rest of your clothes on the wooden floor you saw him take in a breath, his Adams apple bobbed as he took a gulp. “Wow, you… your even better without clothes… “You chuckled and crawled back onto the bed with him.

“I’d say the same for you, but all you guys walk around half naked anyway” He rolled his eyes at your joke before he gently pushed you over onto your back.

“I’ve never heard you complain” He mumbled against your neck, his knees parting your thighs as he did so. He kissed along your neck, his hair tickling your skin as his mouth trailed down to your chest. He took one of your pert nipples into his mouth, sucking with vigour, his hand finding your other one, giving it a rough tweak.

He was eager that was for sure, you moaned into his touches, arching your back into his touches, enjoying when the tip of his tongue flicked over your nipple, going back to sucking, rolling the other one between his fingers.

Your moans spurred him on, you slipped a hand between your thighs and rubbed at your clit, you felt wet, your slick coating your lower lips, how did you get this worked up from the man? All the built-up longing for his touch had finally come to a head. You whimpered when he grazed his teeth over your nipple, he pulled away, blowing on the moist nub, sending a shiver over you.

“Ah Ace!” You whined “What?” His voice was soft and husky in your ear, hot breath tickling. “I want you..p-please?”

The smile on his face was so genuine and kind, how he cupped your face between his hands and rested his forehead on yours. “Are you sure? I don’t think I can hold back..” He mumbled, eyes closed, taking a breath to steel himself. “Y-yes” you murmured.

That had been the magic word, the switch, he was on you in seconds. He rubbed the tip of his erection against your wet folds, smearing your slick all the way up to your clit, You wriggled, you wanted him inside but he teased you, a soft chuckle from the mischievous pirate.

Ace didn’t waste anymore time as he caged you in, arms either side of your head as he pushed the first few inches, both of you groaning in unisons. You never realised until now how small you felt against him, he wasn’t the biggest pirate you’d seen on the crew but you started to wounder how much of his cock you’d be able to fit.

It had only been a few inches and you already felt like it was going to be a struggle. He kissed your neck mumbling sweet reassurances, telling you just how good he wanted you to feel. You ran your fingertips up along his arms, feeling his muscles flex, you couldn’t get enough of seeing this handsome man on top of you, his beautiful, freckled face with an expression of bliss as he sank the rest of his hardened cock into you.

You moaned, head rolling to the side giving him better access to your neck, he kissed relentlessly as he started to work up a rhythm with you. Your legs wrapped around his waist, you pulled him closer, the last inch of his delicious length stuffing you completely.

“Oh Ace…s…shit you feel… feel” The words fell from your lips as he smirked against your neck, rocking his hips into you, rolling them with each thrust, he was hitting the deepest part of your core, you cried out in pleasure when he started to speed up.

You’d wanted this for so long and now you could tell the fire user felt the same, the way he fucked into you like a man possessed showed how much lust he had harboured for you. No one fucked like he did just over a crush after all.

“You look so pretty when I fuck you like this” He hissed into your ear, you’d never have thought dirty talk was something Ace would be into, but God’s did it make your pussy clench around his cock as you mumbled to his comment.

That was a new feeling for him, the way your womanhood gripped him, the extra tightness, he moaned, his speed picking up, the way his balls slapped against your ass, the feel of skin on skin, getting to see his face as he enjoyed you, it was all just as good as his cock pounding into you.

“I don’t know…h..how long I can… go Ace” You admitted. “Me either…” He huffed hair from his face, you reached up and stroked his hair behind his ears, he kissed your wrist from the soft and gentle gesture.

“I want to ride you” His eyes widened when you said that, he nodded and pulled out, laying on his back, arms behind his head as he gave you a cocky smirk, his prick standing to attention, slick with your juices.

“I’m all yours” You rolled your eyes but straddled him the new angle had you moaning the moment he was fully sheathed. His hands grabbed at your hips.

You leaned forward, grinding against him, your clit rubbing against him for the extra desired pressure as you rode him. His sounds were louder now as he aimed his hips up just right to catch the most perfect spot as you came back down on him.

Your breasts bounced and he was having a hard time looking between your pretty fucked out face and the way your breasts moved. “I’m so close!” You moaned into his ear, he started to kiss your neck whispering against the skin once more “I want to cum inside you so bad, I ..I just gotta fill you up” Your body tingled at the man’s desperate confession, like a sinner in church, needing you so deeply.

“Good, I want that” The way his thrusts picked up you could tell he was on the edge, you rocked against him with earnest, the biting on your neck got harder, the little pricks of pain making the pleasure just that little bit spicy.

He sucked on your neck, he wanted to make as many hickeys as he could, he wanted everyone that saw you to know he had marked you, that you were his and he was yours. He didn’t care about the teasing that would come with it, he wanted you so badly. The nips got a little harder as you rocked against him.

“I’m…g ..going to..” “Yeah…cum for me…” The way his voice was husky in your ear was too much, you felt that wonderful coil in your belly curl tighter and tighter, you came with a cry of his name, you came over his cock, the way your womanhood clenched down, fluttered against his member was the last straw, his cock twitched, he groaned and sank his teeth into your shoulder as he filled you, a few desperate thrusts in your body, letting you milk him dry.

You cried out in pleasure and pain when Ace still had his teeth in your skin, holding you so tightly against him as he finished fucking up into you. He pulled away, panting, seeing the damage he had done to your shoulder he blushed and kissed it tenderly. “Oh I’m sorry” He sighed.

“It’s okay” You kissed his nose, not moving from laying on top of him, enjoying how it felt to rest against his broad chest, feeling him trying to catch his breath from the intense session. You eventually rolled off him, feeling satisfied and pleased being full of his seed still.

He stretched out an arm so you could cuddle up against him. “I think that ruined out friendship” He mumbled, running a hand through his messy black hair, glancing at you, your brows furrowed at the words. “I think we have to step it up to boyfriend and girlfriend huh?” You slapped his bare chest causing him to laugh.

“You are a shit Ace” you sighed and leaned back against him; his hand played with the strands of your hair softly. “But yes, I’d like that”

[masterwords]

Long Division

Summary: Jess and Jack are not doing well with Hotch in the hospital. (09x05 - Route 66 hospital stay)

Warnings: nothing

Pairings: none

Words: 1.2k

Notes: Prompt 8 - Laying a gentle kiss to the back of the other’s hand from 50 Types of Kisses.

Read on AO3: Long Division

**

She's feeding Jack simple meals, whatever he wants. She's back to biting her nails so badly that she shoves them into big yellow rubber gloves before cleaning the apartment because the chemicals burn her chewed up cuticles. Deep cleaning, like the apartment needs it, Aaron always keeps it tidy. He's got a cleaning lady who comes once a week, someone vetted by his mother, and of course he deep cleans in the hours prior to her arrival anyway. She doesn't need to clean, but she does because it keeps her busy and it stops her chewing her nails until they bleed.

They've been doing it for days now, the same routine since it happened. She can't decide what to do, can't decide whether to move furniture to make it easier for him to maneuver, give him a steady line of chairs and tables to steady his gait against if he stumbles or if she should just leave it because he won't want the attention and he certainly won't think he needs it. She's gone and dug out every item of clothing she could find that would be easy for him to get in and out of, that would be comfortable, even bought a few new things he'll grumble over but he'll wear them and secretly admit she was right. Pants low slung and loose to sit beneath his new incision, he'll hate those the most. She's got JJ helping her build zip-lock bags for smoothies because she knows he won't eat, and JJ makes them for Henry when he's picky. Aaron isn't picky except when he doesn't feel well and then he's worse than a child so they're stuffing bags with bananas and avocados and hoping he doesn't lose too much weight before getting a handle on things. At night, she sits and watches Jack fuss over his homework while staunchly refusing her help.

“I'm really good at math, I can help,” she tells him, hovering over his long division work. He's not struggling with the problem itself, he's struggling with the concept of having remainders, of something in math not matching up and being neatly tied with a bow. Life has remainders, it's messy and unpredictable but not math. Math is comforting in its predictability and he loves it, has told her so many times. She laughs and thinks to herself about college level math, theory, how that'll throw him for a loop if he follows this passion but he's got to wrap his mind around remainders first. He keeps erasing and starting over figuring he's done it wrong, he's worn holes in the page, and he won't listen when she tells him that his answers are correct. He's upset with his father, about his father, torn between childish worry and anger because his father is going to leave him just like his mother did.

“As soon as you finish we can go see your dad..” she offers with some hope, but it seems to make him more anxious and he erases furiously again at the third time he's gotten the problem correct. His teacher called while Jess was on her lunch break earlier that day to let her know she was worried about the sudden change in Jack's demeanor and ask if there was anything concerning happening at home, and Jess took her short break to wander outside with a cigarette and divulge information Aaron would never want her to share. It felt good to say it to someone, to include someone else, even if just for a moment. Maybe shouldn't have, but knowing that there was one other person who could help Jack lifted a weight on her chest, she could breathe again, indulge her own fear. He's got a long recovery ahead of him, she told his teacher, and Jack might need to take a few days off when he's released in order to help them all settle. As much as she helps, it really is just the two of them.

He finishes most of his homework without any real hurry, shoves it all into his backpack and agrees to go with to see his father, take the rest with him so they don't miss visiting hours. He doesn't want to go, doesn't want to see him in the hospital again, doesn't even want to know what happened. The feeling of betrayal is too strong and he hates that he feels this way, doesn't want his dad to know.

They take him a milkshake, it's about all he can keep down right now. She's been bringing them by a few times a day, stocking his freezer with ice cream at home...she doesn't care so much about whether it's healthy, she'll give him anything he wants in order to see him take in calories. Jack curls up in the corner beneath the doctor's table with his headphones on, barely even looked at his father when he walked in, and pulls out his piles of homework. He focuses hard on it in order not to think about where he is, smell the antiseptic sharp tang of the hospital room. Jess takes a seat on the bed beside him, she's not going to pretend she cares about decorum, she's at her wits end and worried sick.

“He's upset with me,” Aaron whispers, nodding toward Jack and Jess shrugs listlessly. Yeah, she thinks, of course he is. But she won't say that, he's so fragile, so pale.

“He's just scared. It'll pass.”

“And you?” He's weak and unsure, can't hide it in his voice.

“Me what? Am I upset with you? Aaron...” She wants to scold him. She's not a child, she's not upset with him for being sick no matter what faulty logic he might subscribe to. No matter how many symptoms he ignored, no matter what he didn't say – he had his right to privacy and no, she isn't upset. She's scared because her best friend, her brother, nearly died and she was powerless. She'd just spoken to him, heard his voice and he sounded fine, that was the worst part. He sounded fine, she would take the sound of his voice with her for weeks, desperately trying to figure out if she could have known, picked up on any indication...because minutes later he was dying...they'd both missed it. And then to add to it, she can't figure out how to fix things for him and Jack, is worried about him coming home, worried about their relationship. He'll need help around the house and she can move in with them, she will move in with them to help, but she can't mend what is quietly breaking.

His eyelids are heavy, there's a quiet sickness hovering just beneath the surface. It's the cocktail of pain medications and fluids, he lets himself sink heavy into the pillows and closes his eyes just for the relief it brings. It takes so much energy to stay awake right now.

“I just want you home,” she whispers, letting her hand settle over his. She feels his fingers twitch, knows he's asleep already. His breathing is shallow, eyebrows knit together like he knows there is pain even if he doesn't really register it, he knows it is with him and will catch up to him in due time. She can't bear it so she touches him, brings his knuckles to her lips and dusts feather light kisses along their bony ridges while she watches Jack furiously erase his work over and over again.

[themontessoriacademyofarlington]

Upper Elementary - Test Tubes

The Long Division beads, aka Test Tubes, is a long-desired lesson for students who are learning long division. Maria Montessori designed this material to concretely represent this math concept so students can fully understand the process of long division, with and without remainders, until they are ready for abstraction. The color coding is very important. Green for units, blue for tenths, red for hundreds, and green again, for “units” of thousands. This work requires extensive focus, concentration, and attention to detail to complete.

[kanonsarchivedblog]

Hair Cut

Writing Example Word Count: 1430 Rating: T Warnings: Brief description of wound care. Characters: Yumichika Ayasegawa

Shortly after joining the Eleventh ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Each step felt like fire shooting through his legs, starting at the soles of his feet, racing up through his calves, only to settle in his thighs, as if that were its bed for the night. Even so, he dragged himself along, cold night air filling his burning lungs with each breath he drew. His side was white hot, as if a coal had been pressed into the skin and left there, sitting and burning away. It was such a good pain. A little smile tugged at the corner of his lips as the sight of his barrack came into view. His room, his bed- where he could tend to his wounds without feeling shame for grimacing. Where he could see the full extent of the damage done. After all, sparring with your captain was either a great idea if you were in another division, or the absolute worst. Lucky for Ayasegawa Yumichika, it was the latter of the two. He had to prove himself, that’s what he’d been told. He’d come along with the other new recruits; Ikkaku had proven himself two days ago. Today? Today it had been his turn. Watching Ikkaku fight had been amazing, wonderful- it brought back memories of their time in the academy, sparring together and meeting one another blow for blow. The feeling of the blade reverberating within his grasp, the way his blood seemed to sing within his veins, heartbeat pounding in his ears. Yes, this was what he was made for. He was made to fight, to survive. Survival was key in the world he grew up in.

A hand covered with dried blood reached up to grasp the edge of the Shōji, carefully sliding it open. Distantly, he could hear laughter; other members of the Eleventh celebrating. He, too, would celebrate- just not now. Now, he needed to change out of the torn and bloodied shihakusho he wore and make sure nothing was actually broken.

Broken bones meant making a trip to the Fourth, and he’d rather avoid moving any further than necessary. Door closed soundly behind himself, Yumichika took a moment to simply stand and breathe. The fight had lasted longer than he’d expected, Zaraki-taichou pushing him further than he’d pushed the others earlier. But by the Soul King, it had been amazing. Perhaps this would solidify a numbered rank? He certainly hoped so. A numbered rank meant more respect, a better chance at advancing, and a better chance at surviving. He knew his own reiatsu was certainly stronger than some of the grunts that had ended up here; not larger than Ikkaku’s, though. Head tilting, he noted that the ache was beginning to spread throughout his entire body. It felt like he got his shit rocked- and not in the fun, rolling around in a bed sort of way. Then again, that is what happened- he got his shit rocked in front of fifty others. But he’d lasted well over two hours before he finally collapsed. And the smile hadn’t left his lips since then. Gaze drifting around his personal quarters, he paused as he took in the old flowery kimono he once wore. It had been beautiful, well taken care of, and his most prized possession aside from his zanpakutou. Now? Now, it paled in comparison to the shihakusho he donned. A sense of pride swelled within as he limped to the mirror in the corner of the room. A cushion sat before the large mirror, and beside that lay an ivory comb, a small bag containing little pieces of makeup he’d managed to get his hands on through the years, and a much larger bag of first aid supplies. Bloodied fingers grabbed the bag as he settled onto the cushion with a long-suffering sigh. “Shit.” Yumichika murmured, wine toned gaze widening in surprise at the utter mess he was presented with. Carefully, the shihakusho was shrugged off, a hiss escaping his lips as the fabric clung to wounds, the dried blood acting as glue. Head tilting this way then that, he studied the bruises that bloomed along his jawline and torso- and the utter mess that his hair had become. The deep navy locks were a tangled mess, matted and, in some places, uneven. Brow pinching, he turned his attention away from his hair to study the scratches and scrapes along his arms. “Double shit. He really did a damn number on me, didn’t he?” He asked the empty bedroom, staring down at the gash on his side. It wasn’t deep, so it wouldn’t require stitches or any sort of healing. Teeth gritting, he steeled himself for the inevitable sting that would come from rinsing it out. At least he’d had the foresight to ask for water to be delivered to his rooms. He wouldn’t be able to get to his bathroom even if he wanted to, not now. Sitting up on his knees, he grabbed hold of the towels he’d set aside just for instances like this. He needed to flush it first. Kenpachi’s blade didn’t look to be the cleanest, and it obviously wasn’t the most well-kept, given how jagged the gash appears to be. Then again, this wasn’t the worst scar he had. No, that one was on his left thigh, and even now when he looks at it for too long, his stomach twists with the memory. Shaking his head, he drew in a breath before beginning to flush the wound out with clean water. “Fuck, shit, damn it, maybe I should’ve gone to the Fourth,” he muttered under his breath, jaw clenching. “But that’s one long fucking walk that I really don’t want to take. Get it together, Yumi.” Next step, cleaning it with a rag and water. Tears pricked at the inner corners of his eyes from the sharp sting that came with agitating a fresh wound. It took a good few minutes before he was satisfied enough to set the rag aside and slouch, a tear sliding down a pale, unblemished cheek. Ouch. “Tomorrow. The Fourth.” Damn his pride. Angrily, he began to wrap his midsection up with gauze and a white cloth bandage, which only caused the wound to hurt even more, which caused more tears to fall from the pain. By the end of it, he looked a proper mess, bandaged up and crying. Even so, as he studied his reflection, he couldn’t find it in himself to be truly mad. Until he began to try to comb out his hair, and then, reality hit. A lump formed in his throat as he stared at the uneven length. When had Kenpachi even grabbed his hair? Or had he even? Yumichika couldn’t remember; all he knew now was that the waist length locks had been butchered. The hair he’d spent so long growing out, that he’d taken such careful care of- Half of it was cut to his collarbone. The other half was still long. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he reached out, taking hold of his zanpakutou’s hilt. He could hear the spirit whispering to him, wondering what he was doing, what he was planning. He didn’t answer. Instead, he settled the blade on his lap and took out a hair tie, reaching behind himself to gather the mangled, navy tresses into a ponytail that settled at the base of his neck. Wine toned gaze trained upon his reflection, wine toned hues were strong, steeled. Ruri’iro Kujaku hissed as he left his scabbard. The moonlight settled upon the floor beside him, causing the metal to glint in the darkness of the bedroom as he raised in behind his head, the edge settling between the ponytail and his neck. He pulled. Navy locks fell to the ground around him, the remainder swinging forward to settle just below his chin in an asymmetrical bob. Head tilting, he studied his reflection. So much lighter… He shook his head, and the tresses followed the movement. It made a little laugh bubble up. Cutting his hair- that had felt oddly freeing. A smile curled his lips as he reached up and touched the ends. It felt smoother, healthier. Lighter. “Beautiful,” he whispered, a hand cupping his own cheek as he studied his reflection. A tear slid down his cheek, the last bit of mourning leaving him with it. This was who he was. Yumichika Ayasegawa of the Eleventh Division. He will become a seated officer. He will earn the respect of his peers. He will survive this. He will survive.

[ngeche-nt]

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Gospel Mark 9:30-37

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – Gospel Mark 9:30-37

September 19 2021, https://youtube.com/c/TaminangThereseN https://anchor.fm/nwufor Gospel – Mark 9:30-37 https://youtu.be/e9APj6P88wI 30 Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it.   31 He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three…