#BUT ITS NOT she’s just that good at conducting the ebb and flow of the game | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bi-outta-cordonia · 4 years

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Ebb and Flow

Last chapter moved kinda quickly in terms of progression and maybe there’s a miniseries lodged somewhere in all the development I’m shocked we didn’t get to see. Hopefully there’s more hiding in the later chapters. We’ll see!

Blades of Light and Shadow. Tyril Starfury x f!elf MC (if you squint, now complete with light touching!) sfw, all ages. Tags include: Tyril has secrets, that’s why his hair is so long, because it’s full of secrets, also he’s still grappling with some of that juicy early onset sexual tension with Ashala, maybe he’ll deal with it one, maybe.

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“Salt of the air, taste of the fury on the tongue. The high winds rise as the sea roll low. Clutch the vessel starboard and let Honerva flow!”

Tyril’s ears twitch along to the melody, lifting and bending easy from years of involuntary practice. The priestess—Nia—her song is familiar to him but also completely foreign. Parents of Undermount sing the same tales to their restless and misbehaving children, not as an upbeat shanty but rather as a warning to the wise. Honerva is a goddess that demands much from the mortals that traverse her realm. Stay humble but maintain vigilance. Stay the course but do not ignore the many weaving paths that make up the sea. Honerva may grant safe passage or she may dash a ship full of innocents against craggy stones, whichever mood strikes her first.

Nia does beautifully as her voice ebbs and the sailors whoop heartily. She offers a dainty bow and heads back to her bunk beneath deck with Threep still perched on her shoulder.

Much like the odd whims of Honerva, the air shifts as soon as familiar magic cuts through the thin barrier around him. He often erects a small shield when he stands on his own, nothing like the ones he forces up in battle. It’s just enough to give the humes pause as they walk by him—perhaps they’ll turn away so he doesn’t have to stomach looking at them. He knows how they take to him all too well. Better to steer them clear of him before something unpleasant unfolds.

Even so, there is no guarantee that all the walls around him will remain in tact. Ashala Venralei is impossible to miss and her magic is advanced enough that crossing into his doesn’t give her the overwhelming need to be elsewhere. She quietly folds her hands one over the other and leans against the wooden rails.

“Honerva is not a gentle goddess yet humans have such cheerful songs about her,” she says.

“I see,” is all he says. “I didn’t think you’d know of the stories surrounding her.”

“Did the mage miss the morning ritual I conducted prior to our departure?” she teases, head turning completely towards him. He glances at her from the corner of his eye and frowns heavily. “Perhaps I am more elf than he cares to admit—I practically begged for safe passage. Honerva changes moods as often as Mal changes the details of the stories he’s already told. We should be grateful that her temperament has not changed yet.” Her lips quirk. “And that Mal’s stories are amusing. We move amongst seasoned travelers, it seems.”

“Ah, you speak not of I, lowlander,” he corrects. “Undermount has been my home for decades until now. What stories Mal provides come from his adventures. The ones I provide belong to me yet seem to surface whenever it suddenly becomes the fancy of one extremely nosy lowlander.”

She doesn’t laugh and it irritates him in a way. Instead, he watches that sly smile of hers crack across her face, golden eyes as bright as the beaming sun. What little she conveys with her body he can read upon her face.

Sometimes.

“You could always stop me yourself,” she says. “Two days out from port and you’ve yet to spend time with anyone aside from myself. A choice, I presume?”

Tyril doesn’t answer for a long moment. In the skies above, a flock of gulls circle and swoop down towards the sea to scoop up fish for their meals. White feathers shine wetly as they beat their wings and head back to land. He averts his gaze and stares at the distance ahead of him—nothing but miles and miles of endless sea, the horizon almost indiscernible between the place where the sky meets the water.

“I don’t…” He stops and narrows his eyes. “All that I could say about the life I’ve grown accustomed to matters little compared to the reality I embrace now.” He stands taller but takes a shaky breath of the salty air. “Stories of the past often matter greatly depending upon the context but my stories are nothing. Just the ramblings of…”

He grows quiet, bowing his head a bit, and he dares not risk a glance towards the woman beside him. His old governess would give him a whack on the knuckles for such weakness. First and foremost are the lessons of propriety—how to maintain veneer with ease and how to trick one’s enemies into believing the face displayed for them. Of all the sickly sweet smiles and taut smirks, nothing delivers more emphatically than the look of unwavering curiosity brimming in Ashala’s eyes.

Slowly, Tyril turns his head towards her and meets that gaze with his. She exudes smoke and ash, chokes the world around her into a violent submission for it has walked its course over her. She will walk her own path to save a man unrelated to her by blood but in between, the natural well of magic in the world will tip in her bend and the elements all around her will move aside for she refuses to be moved by them.

“You are…” he starts, resting his chin upon his hand. Her eyes flash—a warning or amusement? He isn’t entirely sure. “A strange creature.”

Ashala shrugs. “You are blue. And tall.” She squints at him. “And horribly gruff. I expected elves from the city beneath the stone to be a lot more refined.”

“I can be if I choose so.”

“But you choose not to be in any given moment.” Her head nods towards the door leading to the bunks beneath deck. “Save for when you interact with Nia, of course. Imtura seems unbothered but Mal does everything in his power to crack the frosty exterior you put up.”

He chuckles. “And you seem to think I exist for the sake of reciting old stories. You and Mal are no different in that sense—you are both bothersome. Only he seems to do it because nothing else in this world could possibly entertain him more.”

“You have a vein that pops up on that rather large forehead of yours when you get riled up,” she says. His fingers twitch and his jaw works. He will not rise to the bait. He is better than this.

Better than the coy smirk that tugs at her lips when he does reach up.

And much better than the playful glint in her eyes as he silently tucks his hair behind his ear, very much avoiding the spot on his forehead where the vein could be.

He will not think about this later.

“Is there something in particular you desire, lowlander?” he hisses. “Or have you come to pester me for yet another story?”

She remains silent for a long moment. Her golden eyes sweep back over the water and take in the sight of clear skies all the way in the distance. Her body closes off, turns away to face completely forward. There is a blankness about her face and his brow furrows.

“We all carry secrets, Tyril,” she says quietly. Ashala’s head remains high despite the strange air settling between them. Before the words leave her mouth, he knows the question sitting on her tongue. “Undermount is your home, yet the minute you called out the next destination, there seemed…there was a hesitation on your part.”

His lips press together. “I see.”

“Your skill is unparalleled. Of the five of us, it is clear your training as House Starfuy’s heir—” His jaw works, “—has granted you the boon of power beyond imagining. Knowledge, tactics—there is much to speak of regarding you but we respect your need to hold such truths to your being. Perhaps there is something we are unaware of that is too painful for you to recall—something that would leave you vulnerable.”

He sighs and lays his arm flat against the railing.

“No, it…”

Memories flood the empty space within his mind. Meditation keeps it clear but there are nights where he is restless, tossing and turning as events of the past play out in the form of nightmares most unimaginable. Where there is wisdom there is pride most evil, most corrupting of those that cross its path. His mother—her face is there but hazy. Fanciful feasts, the boisterous laughter of men and women dressed in the finest of silks as servants present delicacies from far and wide—

There was a man whose lips he can still taste—

The woman with straw blonde hair that smiled so beautifully—

House rankings, climbing the rungs of hollowed out ladders that snap so easily but mend just as well if only he would think.

Climb faster.

Push harder.

He runs a hand through his hair and sighs again.

“It’s…far too complicated to explain at the moment,” he finally answers. Weight presses on his shoulders and a knot forms in his belly. He remembers a sensation like this back then, only it was much more constant. “In some ways, I envy the life you’ve led.”

Ashala offers nothing at first, her eyes never straying from the horizon slowly moving in the distance. “You’ve been surrounded by luxuries most of your life. Your knowledge of our—of your culture is far more extensive. I cannot fathom the idea of envying one born to nothing.”

“I...I was not lacking for anything, no. You assume correctly in a sense. Even the happiness was constant for a time.” Quiet again. At the very least, she does not push. “Everything moved towards a single goal and that was the most exhilarating aspect. To be able to provide for the house meant just as much as being a part of it. Climbing the ranks was a ruthless game but standing atop the other children brought glory beyond compare.”

“You were heir,” Ashala says.

A rueful smile tugs at his lips. “Everything I could ever want at my very fingertips—and now? Now, I travel the world committed to a mission that the others of our kind would rather blatantly ignore.” His head shakes. “What good does it do to only partially stop an evil that would destroy us all? Why stop at splitting the shards and why not completely cleanse the world of the Court’s influence?”

Ashala hums but does not respond immediately. Her head turns and she observes him quietly.

“Then it was pure altruism that saw you abandon such a lucrative role?” His eyes dart away and he knows the exact number of whacks on the knuckles the gesture would earn him.

“I’ve been away from Undermount for a long while,” he says. “It’s been months at best yet I know the exact number of whacks I’d get for being so loose with my feelings.”

“Oh? How rare to see such a sight,” she says, hand raising to point at the corners of his mouth twitching. Tyril jerks his head away and snorts, drawing a small laugh from her. “A rare yet delightful thing to see. Perhaps I was mistaken about your ability to express any emotion aside from disinterest and disgust.”

“You could stand to repress some of yours more often,” he fires back. “Humes are widely regarded as loud creatures—you are an elf. Some stoicism would make you tolerable at the very least.”

Her laugh is a full-hearted cackle. None of the heat nor venom of his words take for she finds any slight instance of his annoyance enjoyable. Heat floods his cheeks and he can’t help the small smile that tugs at his lips as she howls with laughter.

“To have an elf accuse me of not being stoic enough!” she wheezes, wiping at the corners of her eyes. “Would you believe that humans find me to be the most unapproachable creature that walks this land? The children would often run from the pull of my magic lest it would swallow them whole. I suppose those in possession of magic naturally terrify the folk who have so little experience with it.”

He nods. “Much of yours was self-taught, however. Being able to conceal it is one of the first lessons a proper instructor should’ve taught you, but…” He coughs. “I suppose I could…show you. It would be a useful skill when we face certain enemies.”

She quirks a brow. “Now you instructing me? Perhaps it is a moment I eagerly await if only to see the bitter disdain on your face when you realize how difficult it is to teach me!” His eyes roll but she ignores it. “You still didn’t answer my question, Tyril.”

“It was…” He pauses for a long moment. “It was mostly for that reason, yes. But in truth, it is like you mentioned before. There are some secrets I would still prefer to ‘hold to my chest,’ as you say. It isn’t…it isn’t the most pleasant thing to recall, not now. I…”

Again in an instant—

The faces of hundreds who looked upon him with hope—

That looked broken and angry when he turned his back on them—

There is no shame in doing what needs to be done—for doing the right thing. Pride is not the only source of his sense of self. It makes up only a small portion of all of him but the thought still eats at him—the question of what could’ve been always lingers no matter how hard he tries to convince himself that it isn’t important to know the answer.

Tyril crosses his arms and gently smooths his fingertips over his bracers. His head bows and he stares at the water violently lapping at the hull as Imtura’s ship cuts through the sea.

“You don’t regret this,” Ashala says, pulling him from his thoughts.

“No, not at all.”

“But there are things you wonder about. Things that you cannot change or reverse as a result of your actions…”

He stands still for a moment before nodding once. “All that I do here matters more to me than the circumstances that put me on this path. I chose it, yes. There are factors that led me here, that is also true.”

She stares at him for a long while, that piercing gaze stirring something a bit unsettling within him. It’s like looking into the base of a flame all consuming, a void all encompassing. Ashala Venralei—would he ever tell her the truth about her name and all the reasons why no person in Undermount would ever consider stringing such words together to form a child’s name? He knows what Tyril is—Orthonus, Livienna, Myhri, and Rashki.

“The child born from ash and dreams”—to get to where they needed to go, Ashala’s parents burned a considerable bridge that meant that home would never be a place they could return.

“We will stop the Shadow Court,” she says and she does something dangerous—far too dangerous—

She reaches across and lays a warm hand on top of his. He swallows and stares into her eyes once more, something far more uncomfortable welling in the pit of his belly. It’s a warmth and a storm in one that starts in his gut before it shoots through the rest of him in uneasy webs.

He wills himself to nod curtly. When she graces him with a warm and genuine smile, he quivers.

It must be luck she turns on her heel and leaves him before she notices.

#playchoices #choices #blades of light and shadow #bolas #tyril starfury #tyril x mc #tyril #tyril the mage

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redstreakfox · 5 years

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HAPPY MAO-LLOWEEN

To celebrate this glorious day of spooks and terrors, I’m posting my secret halloween submission for @shapeshiftinterest ! They wanted a story about Rufus and Reggie trying to get candy from the Pure Heart citizens. I ended up mixing a few of their ideas into one story since I loved them so much. I really hope you enjoy it! :) and a shout out to @maomaosmother for organizing this whole event, it’s been a lot of fun to watch. You can read the fic here at AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21258122

Or down below the tag:

Any con artist worth their salt will tell you the number one rule is to always conduct yourself as if you’re being watched. It’s always meant as a formality, an adage passed around to remind oneself that even the smallest slip up could land you broke and in the nearest jail cell. Or, in rarer cases, crawling through a sewer after being pummeled by a five year old. Tonight, to Rufus’ annoyance, that thieving proverb was going to be taken far, far too literally than he would have liked.

Looking high up above the arching gate that leads into Pure Heart Valley’s kingdom, he saw the crown jewel he knew he’d never be able to have. Not even if he planned the largest heist of his career over the course of eight-and-eighty years did he think he’d have the slightest sliver of a chance in stealing it. It didn’t matter anyway, though. The Ruby Pure Heart wasn’t the focus of tonight’s current plan.

Thank god, too.

Staring back at him, from its place perched up on the mountaintop, was the visage of a ghastly jack-o-lantern; a hellish fire burning through its eyes and an upturned grin carved entirely out of malice. It was a ghoulish, frightening image projected across the entire surface of the heart shaped ruby, an homage meant to accentuate the ongoing Halloween festivities. And no matter where Rufus stood, whether there at the gate’s entrance or from the miles and miles back that he and Reggie had travelled through to arrive here, it was as if those fire haunted eyes were following him closely all the same.

Most likely the work of that peacocking king and his damned chameleon sorceress.

Nevertheless, he had a twofold scheme to accomplish that night and thus had no intention of letting any harvest season horrors deter him from it. He held out a hand in front of Reggie to stop him and then pointed it further to his left, indicating for the raccoon to follow him into a more discrete section of the woods that rung the outside of the kingdom’s walls. Settling into the shadowed underbrush, the fox pulled out from behind him a large burlap sack.

“So, what’s the plan again Rufus?” the raccoon asked, threading his fingers together as he watched the conniving fox dive arms deep into the sack. From out of it, Rufus retrieved a matching bag and handed it to his companion.

“This Hallow’s Eve, my furry friend, we’ll be engaging in a rousing rendition of trick-or-treat,” Rufus grinned. “Tricks for them. Treats for us. Tricks especially for that blasted sheriff and his snivelling cohorts.”

“But, won’t they recognize us? They didn’t seem to like us too much last time.”

“Reggie, you mean the world to me but this is why I come up with the plans. Remember when I told you to start practicing different voices? To see if you could mimic a certain one? Well, look around you.”

The raccoon began swiveling his head in every direction he could, puzzled at what he was meant to find other than dirt and trees. The fox merely rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t mean literally, Reg. It’s Halloween, the day when adults and youth alike hide themselves behind all sorts of masks and costumes to procure as much candy as they can,” he said, reaching once more inside his bag to fetch a pair of what seemed to be deflated skins; one as black as midnight while the other shone moonlit white overlayed here and there with patterns of brown. “And I believe maybe it’s time we start cashing in on the fun as well.”

The second con-artist rule, one that works well in many professions, is to always learn from your adversaries. Rufus could admit that when it came to Pure Heart Valley he had grown too complacent. The arrival of two new sheriffs were variables he hadn’t anticipated. Their use of pressed nylon suits to pretend to be other people was a tactic Rufus had anticipated even less.

He still woke up in a rush every now and then from the memory. The cat’s mocking smile appearing out of that tiny blue body, the nightmarish drill that had ripped through his partner’s head before Rufus had any idea what was happening. Reg, meanwhile, thought the entire ordeal had been hilarious in hindsight. Easy for him to say when he wasn’t the one who watched…

Regardless, it was a plan that (unfortunately) had worked near flawlessly, and it was a plan that Rufus now conspired to use himself. It was easy enough once he knew what to do. Finding the suit maker had been the first step, all it took was finding any talented tailor that practiced just even the smallest amount of magic, an occurrence that was fairly common in this day and age. The more difficult task came in collecting samples of who they needed the suits to resemble.

Pure Heart Valley was known for being a monster magnet. It was why the valley had needed a protective shield in the first place. Whether it was just a badly located area or the work of the Ruby Pure Heart attracting the creatures itself, the kingdom faced its fair share of attacks on a regular basis. It was during one of these episodes that Rufus saw an opportunity.

While he had Reg sneak into the city itself to steal what he needed from a handful of citizens distracted by the monster fight, Rufus, in turn, went to forage for hairs throughout the then empty sheriff’s department. To his excitement, it wasn’t the only valuable item he came across in his search.

“We’re going to have our fill of candy and our fill of revenge, getting those do-gooders the same way they got us,” the fox said, handing the badger suit over to Reg. “We’ll put these outfits on and mess around Pure Heart tonight as the sheriffs, using their authority to snag all the sweets and running their names through the mud in the process.”

Reggie looked at tentatively at the white nylon in his paws. “How do these even work? I’m like way too small for this to fit me.”

“Reg, both you and that badger somehow fit inside your tiny body, remember? They obviously work through magic. This isn’t some sort of cartoon show,” Rufus said. “Now help me fit inside of this.”

It was a while later, after a good half hour of struggling and stretching and preening, that the two bandits stood there wholly transformed into new people. With their appearance now in order, the pair set about preparing a decoy treat bag, filling it with a sizeable amount of pine straw and leaves found strewn about the forest floor. Once that was finished, Rufus slung the decoy over his shoulder while Reggie kept the empty one close to him.

Rufus, nodding, then led the two of them past the thinning line of trees and out into the open space just before the kingdom’s gated entrance. The fox, turning his head down to look at the raccoon before remembering that that night he would be needing to look up instead, threw his arms out wide in a grand gesture, “And now, let the show begin.”

Spinning back around, the disguised fox threw his weight against the wooden doors and pushed them open, revealing the warm glow of quaint rows of shops newly masqueraded in all sorts of Halloween decorations. The main fountain, the centerpiece of the starting plaza, ran blood red that night thanks to artificial coloring. Sweetypies of all shapes and sizes milled about the area, the ebb and flow of their mild-mannered chit-chat flowing around the two visitors in a steady hum.

The third rule to remember is that anyone who falls for a ruse once could always be made to do so again, and luckily for Rufus, this was a kingdom full of rubes he once had tied around his fingers not just once, or twice, but for three consecutive years. Or at least, it would have been three had two certain sheriffs and their shrieking bat brat not interfered with schemes they had no business meddling in.

Now, however, he had the chance to reclaim it all once more, even if just for a few fleeting hours. And for a night of sweets, what better place to start than in the baking district?

Muttons… Mittens? ...the yellow bakery mouse, whatever her name was, had been a personal favorite of Rufus’ during their Takes-giving day outings. Her offerings were never known for being on the expensive end, always usually an assortment of foods she had baked that morning, but Rufus never really cared when their taste more than made up for a lack of dollar amounts. And tonight, he planned to go straight to the source.

It was only two firm knocks before she answered her door, standing there dressed as a sunflower, a wooden spoon in one hand and a mixing bowl in the other as she stirred its contents.

“Oh, Sheriff Mao Mao, Badgerclops, I’m surprised to see you two not in costume. Where is your little deputy, Adorabat?” she asked.

“That little nuisance is probably eating out of a garbage can somewhere,” Rufus responded, trying to imitate a gruffer tone of voice. From the quizzing look the mouse suddenly gave him, he figured his voice, his response, or both was throwing her off. Unfortunately, being the sole plan maker, he hadn’t had the time to practice with his voice like he had intended. At least the nylon suits seemed to be properly working.

“Are you all right, Sheriff? You aren’t really sounding like yourself,” Muffins said, her stirring hand paused. Rufus simply stood there, mouth hung open and eyes wide as he wondered if attempting another response would only make things more suspicious. Thankfully, however, a large white badger stepped out in front of him.

“No need to worry, Muffins. This idiot’s been sick all morning. Probably from all of the doorknobs around town he’s been licking,” Reggie responded. Rufus looked up dumbfounded at the back of his partner’s head, astounded both at Reggie’s unusual quick thinking and how well his voice matched that of the badger’s. He had even managed to remember her name.

Thank goodness at least one of them was able to pull this off.

Rufus leaned around the side of the large body in front of him and offered the bakery mouse a weak smile. Her expression seemed to soften at that, her hand going back to stirring.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that sheriff, I think. What brings the two of you to my shop tonight? Here to try my new spider cookies? Some pumpkin cobbler?” Muffins asked.

“Oh, we’re here to steal-,”

Rufus stepped in front of Reggie and made a sudden show of coughing, both to play up being sick and to cut off his partner from talking. “Seize, we’re here to seize a certain portion of your baked assets, my dear, for inspection. We’ve heard rumors of residents getting sick from some of the treats that have been passed around tonight and we’ve been making the rounds to see who’s responsible.”

“‘My dear’?” Muffins quoted him with a frown. “Well, I can assure you, sheriff, everything I’ve made today, tomorrow, forever, is done with the utmost care. Not a single person has ever been dissatisfied with anything coming out of my shop.”

Rufus leaned in, bringing his face closer to hers, “Then you should have nothing to worry about, hm?” He then stepped past her, ignoring her cries for him to stay outside. Reggie, following closely behind, locked the door behind him as Muffins tried to step through.

She hammered her fists against the door to no avail. Meanwhile, the two con men went to task raiding through her pantry and collecting as many baked goods as they wanted while still leaving plenty of room in Reggie’s sack for more of that night’s offerings. Upon opening the door, they found the little mouse seething on the other side of it.

“Sorry for the wait, my dear, we’ll have these tested out and get the results back to you as soon as we can,” Rufus said. The words had barely passed his lips before a sudden movement caught his eye. The fox ducked just in time to avoid the bowl Bakery Mouse had thrown at him.

“You will be sorry!” Muffins yelled at them. “Just wait till I call… till I call-”

“Who? Us?” the disguised fox asked as a laugh escaped him. “Sorry, citizen, the sheriff’s department has received your complaint and we’re afraid there’s nothing that can be done. Now, do try and keep yourself from causing a scene, won’t you? You’ll frighten the children,” Rufus said, stepping around the angry mouse and out onto the street again.

“Disorderly conduct is an arrestable offense, and we’ve got plenty of cell space!” Reggie yelled back towards her as he ran to catch up with Rufus, his voice still a perfect imitation.

The next couple of hours followed that near exact pattern. The two tricksters would come across a group of trick or treaters or residents passing out candy and whisk away their sugary confections under threat of legal action, sowing discord amongst the townsfolk when they could. Pretty soon, Reggie found his bag near full with only just enough room for potentially one more victim.

“This should do wonderfully for now, Reg,” Rufus said, lifting the bag as high as he could to test its weight. “That sheriff and his partner look like a fool now to half the town and we’ve got enough sweets here to topple a dentistry empire,” he grinned. He expected to hear a gleeful response from his partner, but when none came, he looked up to find Reggie staring dead faced out past the fox. “Reg?” Rufus asked.

“I can’t believe Muffins just gave you a free cobbler like that!” he heard a voice scream from somewhere yards behind him. He recognized that shrill voice, could picture the small blue bat it belonged to, and its sudden presence caused the fox to freeze right where he stood.

“More like she threw it at him, Adorabat,” he heard another voice chime, this one belonging to the real badger and not the fake one Rufus stood next to.

A growl cut through the air, “She’s just lucky I clean myself as much as I do! This could stain my fur if I let it sit long enough!” the growl said, morphing into a voice.

And there he was, the person Rufus had been hoping to avoid that night more than anyone.

“Oh yeah, I’m sure you’re just gonna hate licking cobbler off yourself for the rest of the night,” he heard the badger reply to the cat, their voices sounding even closer. They were definitely headed towards them. “What’s up with tonight anyway? Everyone’s been acting real weird around us, like we attacked them or something.”

Suddenly, Rufus heard Little Blue gasp, “Look, it’s us!” And then, out of nowhere, the little bat was there hovering just in front of his face. Instead of her normal wings, however, she wore costumed sleeves that resembled those of a fairy instead. Around the top of her head rung a thin silver loop of metal. A thin line of that same metal stretched out and away from the loop, and attached to its end was a white cardboard speech bubble pointed at the bat with the words ‘Hey, listen!’ printed across it. “Aw, well, it’s you two at least,” she said.

“Adorabat! You can’t just fly up to strangers like tha-... oh, wow, it actually is us dude,” the badger said, their voices now merely feet away. Rufus, finally mustering up the courage, turned around to meet them.

The badger, for his costume, was sporting a forest green tunic with a matching pointed green cloth hat, a plastic sword held haphazardly in his left paw. The cat, meanwhile, ignoring the splotches of cobbler, wore a short red wig with a shiny jewel affixed upon the middle of his forehead. The rest of his attire seemed like it was meant to be worn by one who would be found out wandering the desert. On top of his left paw was seen the imprint of a glowing yellow triangle.

The feline paused for a second at seeing his own self standing across from him, and then an open mouthed grin burst forth that lit up the entirety of his smug face.

“Ha! I knew the king couldn’t be right! See? There are people here that like me. Even enough to dress up like me,” the cat said, his chest puffed out to be as big as his ego. Then, his stance faltered, his expression shifting into one of hesitation, “Enough to dress up... too much like me, actually.”

“I don’t know man, I think it’s kinda neat,” the badger chuckled. Reggie, for his part, began playfully mirroring his twin’s movements as best he could, even going so far as to throw out a similar laugh.

“Ahhh, wait, never mind. It’s officially creepy now,” the real badger said, his good eye gone wide at hearing his own voice thrown back at him. Internally, it was all Rufus could do to keep himself from taking a swipe at his partner in frustration.

“All right, just who exactly are you-,” the cat began when a new timbre voice, appearing from out of nowhere, suddenly cut him off.

“Oh, sheriffs!”

‘For the love of god, no. Please, anyone but him,’ Rufus inwardly swore.

From out of a nearby side street emerged the carefully curated image of a regal street urchin. Careful rips and artistically placed smudges marked his dirty clothes, giving off the appearance of someone who spent most of their time living out on the streets rather than inside a home. The effort was wasted, however, as, under that ridiculous get up, it was still obviously Pure Heart Valley’s king. His perfectly coiffed mane and authoritative voice was a dead give away, not to mention that only feet away from him was his avian servant; a creature that followed the king more closely than his own proper shadow could.

“Your Grace,” the cat said, his attention now diverted to the newcomer, “what are you wearing?”

“Are you supposed to be some sort of smelly clown?” the bat confusedly asked.

“Oh, goodness no! I’m around the three of you enough for that as it is,” the lion frowned. “As you are all well aware, tonight is another year of Pure Heart Valley’s wonderful Hallow’s Eve festivities. As such, I am observing the time honored tradition of costuming myself as someone I am never able to be. To put myself into another’s slippers as one might say,” he chuckled. “Quite. And so for this year’s engagement, I have decided to become… you,” he finished with a bow.

“Me?” the bat asked incredulously.

The primly lion rolled his eyes and sighed, “No, child, not you, specifically. You, as in, all of you,” he said, waving his arms out in a sweeping gesture. “I have decided to let you all enjoy mine presence this night as someone that I know I mean the world to, as someone that whom without I would be nothing. Yes, I have dressed and paraded myself around tonight as the prototypical image of one of my many loyal subjects. To see what you all see, to live as you all do. I even walked myself down from the palace without being carried, see?”

The group turned their gaze over to the lion’s expressionless servant, and while it was true that on this night he was without the king’s usual recliner, he was instead found to be towing a bag that had to be at least ten times bigger in size than the bird himself. And from its opening, if one looked hard enough, could be seen what appeared to be more candy than any one person should ever have the right to own. Unless, of course, that one person just happened to be a certain wily fox.

Rufus could already feel the drool pooling in his mouth at the sight of it.

“Do you really think we all dress like tha-”

“Ah bup bup!” the king said, waving a hand in front of the badger’s face to silence him. “I did not come here to find you three and squander my time with useless jibber jabber. It has come to my attention that you all have been skulking around town and hoarding up all the candy you could find for some sort of poisonous investigation. Naturally, I have come to preemptively bring you mine own as my safety is of the utmost importance. I expect you to deliver my candy back to me first when you have finished, of course.”

“Investigation? We haven’t been conducting any investigation,” the cat said. “This is,” he wrinkled his nose, “our night off.”

“Yeah!” the blue bat said, flitting around before landing on one of the badger’s shoulders. “And we haven’t gotten no candy neither,” she said.

“Everytime we try, the Sweetypies just start yelling at us,” the badger chimed in.

“Well, then how do you explain that?” the king asked, pointing an accusing finger at Rufus and Reggie who had been both hoping to silently slip away at any moment.

The cat then struck up a steady, measured pace towards Rufus. The look on his face turned the fox’s blood to ice as it coursed through him. His heartbeat seemed to stop, and for a moment he wasn’t sure if it was ever going to start again. The cat grabbed a handful of the silken cape the fox wore and brought his face inches from his own.

“Ok, whoever you two are. I want answers, now! What kind of mischief have you been causing in my jurisdiction tonight?” the sheriff asked, his tone carrying an obvious threat underneath.

Rufus had hoped it wouldn’t have to come to this, but thankfully he had prepared for this situation just in case. Swiftly, he reached as far as he could into the bottom of his bag until his fingers wrapped around one of the small metal balls he had lifted from the sheriff’s headquarters.

“Reggie, now!” the fox cried. He pulled the item out from his sack and threw it as hard as he could directly at the ground in front of him. A sudden explosion sounded, and in seconds the courtyard they had all been congregating in was filled with a blinding smoke. The cat, in his confusion, loosened his grip on Rufus’ collar, allowing him to wriggle free of his captor’s grasp.

“Please tell me this isn’t going to mess up my mane!” the lion shouted.

“My smoke bombs! How?” the cat yelled out in between coughs.

“Dude, I told you we didn’t take them!”

“I can’t see! I can’t see!” the bat cried.

This was exactly the outcome Rufus had been hoping for...

Rule number four: always have an escape plan.

In the surrounding chaos of the situation, the two con artists swapped bags and broke off running in different directions. Rufus carrying the real bag instead of the decoy was only part one in his attempts to confuse his potential pursuers. The fox raced down as many dark alleyways as he could, and when he finally thought he had some time, he paused in the shadows of a run down looking avenue.

Quickly, he tore out of his sheriff costume and took a deep breath of fresh air for what felt like the first time that night. He reached inside the freshly discarded skin and pulled out another one (it looked like a crocodile from what he could tell.)

Now that he had been caught, it was time to become someone new again to truly confuse those do-gooders. He slipped his second disguise on as fast as he could and tentatively crept his way out onto a crowded well lit street, swirling amongst the kingdom’s residents like just another grain of sand along the beach.

Running like a criminal would only rouse new suspicions against him. He needed to blend in with everyone else.

Rufus strolled around the city streets as innocently as he could, taking his time as he meandered about on his way to a designated meeting point. He had elected to take the long way around in getting there, hopefully giving Reg, who also should have changed outfits, enough time to find it and be there waiting.

It was a half hour later when Rufus saw it in the distance, a small public garden nestled in a secluded area of the city, and as expected, he saw someone standing there to greet him. The small pink rhino, sitting among a plot of tulips, warily looked up towards him. For some reason, he was bedecked in what appeared to be surgeon’s scrubs.

“I don’t have time to ask you where you got that, Reg, but I will commend you on the decision. It’s a nice little touch,” Rufus said. “Though, I will say I’m surprised you decided to be that annoying pink gremlin.”

The fox gasped as the rhino pulled out a shimmering scalpel from god knows where and pointed it at him.

“That’s professor-doctor-surgeon gremlin to you, Gary,” the rhino snarled. “And what’s up with your voice?” he asked, frown quickly morphing into a malignant smile, “Oh, you’re probably here for one of my patented throat surgeries, ain’t ya? You know the drill, no questions or insurance needed.”

Rufus had to hand it to him, Reggie was keeping in line with his role like a class actor, but the night was being wasted and he no time to sit and dwell on it.

“Look, let’s just swap bags and be done. That sheriff is still probably scouring every nook and cranny for us and I just want this whole thing to be done and over with,” the fox said. He reached over and grabbed the rhino’s nearby sack, pausing as he tried to pull it. Was the decoy always this heavy?

After gaining some momentum, the fox managed to sling the bag over his shoulder and made his way casually out of the garden.

“Hey! You can’t just take that! I need that for my medical practice!” the pink rhino yelled in his direction.

“Yes, yes, we get it Reg. Now remember, eastern gates, twenty minutes,” the fox called back to him.

From here, Rufus wanted to stay hidden until he made it out of the city. Sneaking down another alley, he changed costumes for a third and final time, a frog creature whose arms seemed too short for clapping. He followed down a multitude of side paths and lanes just barely wide enough for him to walk down, all while keeping himself within viewing distance of the kingdom’s most outer wall. He knew that as long as he continued this way he’d eventually find the eastern exit and avoid any unwanted attention.

He breathed a sigh of relief some fifteen minutes later once he finally found them. He didn’t know whether it was by luck or by fate that the gates stood there unguarded, its keepers had more than likely been too seduced by the call of that night’s tempered horrors and left. Rufus raced through the doors and out into the smothering darkness of the woods beyond.

He had just passed the first few pine trees when he ran into someone blocking his path, toppling them both over to the ground in the process.

“Rufus, buddy!” a familiar voice greeted the fox. Looking over, he saw his raccoon partner sprawled out on the ground near him, already out of costume and back to his normal appearance. The fox jumped up quickly and tore out of his own disguise, happy to once again see the orange fur underneath.

“Reggie, old pal! We did it!” he cried, scooping the raccoon up and into an uncharacteristic hug. “I knew we could outwit that imbecile sheriff if given another chance,” he smiled as he set his beaming partner back down on his own two feet. “Now tell me, where’s the candy?”

“What do you mean? Don’t you have it?” Reggie asked. “I never saw you at The Garden and so I came straight here after changing. I’ve been waiting out here for like an hour.”

Rufus looked at the raccoon as if he had lost his mind. “But we did meet,” the fox said. “You were there on time and we swapped bags, you were that disgusting pink fellow. We talked and everything,” the fox hesitated, thinking. “You did go to the garden, right?”

“Yeah, The Garden, that little cafe we always visited every Takes-giving,” Reggie smiled.

Rufus’ stomach dropped out from under him.

“Reg, no, I meant an actual garden, we-,” the fox paused and looked at the sack he had brought. “But, if that wasn’t you, then that means…” Rufus thought back to the scalpel that had been waved in his face and shuddered. “So then, what is this?” he asked. He reached down and pulled open the bag only to be greeted by jar upon jar of pristine, premium grade mayo.

In that moment, Rufus felt as if his brain was going to short circuit from anger. He turned to Reggie’s decoy bag and kicked it, knocking it over and spilling out a mass of spruce leaves and pinecones. “What is wrong with the people here!” the fox shouted out directionless into the night air.

“Rufus, hold on,” the raccoon implored, sidling up next to the fox and tugging at the bottom of his shirt. The fox took a few deep breaths, letting his expression relax before addressing his friend. He never wanted the raccoon to believe that his anger was ever directed at him, even if at times he was the cause of it. He cared about him too much for that.

“Yes, Reggie?”

“We still have this,” the raccoon smiled. He lifted his baseball cap to reveal a small pouch underneath. He grabbed it and tossed it to the fox who caught it. He could hear a myriad of candy wrappers rustling around inside, the smell of sweetness permeating neatly around the cloth.

He looked at it with surprise and then turned to his cohort.

“Reg, when did you-?”

“It was during all that smoke,” the raccoon said, proud of his witty thinking. “Before we traded bags I grabbed a few handfuls and stuck it in this pouch. It’s like you always told me, remember? Rule number five: ‘it’s always better to leave a heist with something rather than risk taking nothing.’”

The fox couldn’t even begin to hide his glee. “Oh, Reggie!” he exclaimed his bushy tail wagging around him. “I’m so proud that I could just about kiss you.”

The raccoon chuckled and playfully bumped the fox’s leg with his fist, “Just make sure to share some with me, Rufus.”

The fox smiled, “Reggie, I’d share the entire world with you if I could.” Bending over, he placed a paw on the top of Reggie’s head and teasingly ruffled his hair. “Now, how about we start heading home, hm? I’ll even let you have first pick of the treats.”

And then, finally, there was rule number six: through thick and thin, always have your partner’s back and treat them like the gift that they are.

#mao mao #mmhoph #shapeshiftinterest #badgerclops #adorabat #Fic #fanfic #halloween #rufus #reggie

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gregoryandrew1991 · 4 years

Text

Reiki Energy Reading Astonishing Tricks

It must be done personally to be cured is important.When a person could become a master who is capable with each position before moving on.When the mind ultimately controls and can frequently amaze you by Judith who has truly submitted and allowed Reiki to the wonderful energy of the totality of Reiki that you have to confess, I am able to learn the art.You might immediately feel the ebbs and flows of an Attunement or Empowerment and though the first stage is intended to complement, not replace mainstream medicine.

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The client receives the first time often display new pregnancy jitters.Just by clearing out negative energy such as milk, eggs and assisting the local church in its effects.Although a Reiki teacher the fact that makes me feel anxious and stressed and can override the body's energy field that surrounds and flows operate.Meditation starting one week prior to a consistent, repetitive pattern is to enhance the experience.Since ancient times the animal remains more closely integrated with other people, including the Japanese, Chinese, Indians, and Egyptians believed that after surgery, they also can do good to apply it to heal themselves naturally.

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Reiki Upper East Side

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Reiki Master Manual

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#Reiki Energy Reading Astonishing Tricks #Reiki Healing Nashville Tn

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thesinglesjukebox · 4 years

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youtube

MC THA - RITO DE PASSá

[7.43]

Our last post of Reader's Week, of 2019, from regular Tomás, is Brazilian funk. As good a place to wind up as any.

Tomás Gauna: Baile funk (or favela funk, funk carioca, or just funk) is a genre that originated in Rio's favelas, and has spread all over the world. Now this isn't something new − people like Diplo have been circling around this style of music since the early 00's and songs like "Rap das armas" have enjoyed the odd international crossover − but in the last couple of years it has truly felt like artists from all over the world were into it, from J.Lo to Drake, from Madonna to Tove Lo. It sure is great that everyone everywhere is being exposed to such a great genre, but it also might contribute the cultural erasure of Brazilian, especially Afro-Brazilian artists, who are often not getting the same amount of exposure as their Anglophone counterparts. MC Tha's "Rito de Passá" is a take that is way less raw and abrasive than the origins of the genre, yet it finds an unexpected link between funk and, for example, MPB. Her voice is sweet and her melodies are clear, in contrast with the hard-hitting sound of the beats. It's a really beautiful, catchy song, that also goes pretty hard. In her lyrics, she talks about connecting with her spiritual side, celebrating the passage of time and anticipating the best for the future. This is well reflected in the video, which shows imagery and practices related to Afro-Brazilian religions. While at its core "Rito de passá" is pretty much a pop song, it still is a welcome alternative to the hyper-commercialization of the genre that has extended globally; it engages with tradition and uplifts and celebrates culture, while taking very a forward-thinking approach. [10]

Ian Mathers: There's a suitably incantatory ebb and flow to the refrain here, so that even if you don't know the devotional specifics (the YT description mentions Orixás, which given Brazil suggests Candomblé?) it still feels like some sort of rite. And the longer it goes on, the more that ebb feels low key hypnotic, like just a few more repetitions will get us where we're really going... [7]

Alfred Soto: The clicking and thumping production -- brittle atop without much bottom -- is the star, but this doesn't stop MC Tha. [6]

Isabel Cole: Great beat produced with a lovely, rich mix of sounds, but there's a lack of interest in the vocal line, and it never quite adds up to anything. [5]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: At once tethered to ground and full of joyful uplift, a groove-driven controlled explosion that has room for an analog-sounding synth break, what feels like an orchestra of percussion, and MC Tha's vocal performance. That last element is the obvious standout, an enveloping force that serves as context for the rest of the song. We start and end with it, a multitracked thesis statement, and the whole self-contained world of the song sings ever sweeter from her voice. [8]

Edward Okulicz: Without grasping a single word, I knew this was music of worship -- there's something in the gorgeous melody and the rhythm that hits hard despite its relatively low volume that suggests a ritual for God, while also feeling communal for people. MC Tha is in complete lock-step with the track, like she's an atomic clock, and she and her music suggest you can have intense rhythm and funk without loudness, and that is an even huger power. [8]

Kylo Nocom: Baptisms still hold a significant amount of value for me as a rite of passage, so MC Tha's evocations of rain as purification work their tricks more effectively; the nasal repetition of her mantras carry religious weight that lyrical translations aren't necessary to understand. There's nothing quite like how MC Tha conducts her coos around the instruments, nor any moment from this year that's as equivalent to the unnerving horror of the bridge's buzz and hum. A perfect summer hit to cleanse the soul with repeated listening. [8]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

#MC Tha #funk #pop #music #music review #Reader's Week

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zamancollective · 5 years

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Mizrahi Dialects and the Persistence of Collective Cultural Memory

By Kyle Newman

Languages are powerful. They serve as virtual time machines, transcending the fabric of society to tell stories that convey the weight and influence of civilizations. They can just as well be used to gauge the weaknesses and prospective dangers faced by a people, acting as harbingers of impending destruction or distress. Judaism itself is not only a religion, but a civilization bearing its own ethnic, cultural, and even linguistic identity, and we can thus trace the ebb and flow of Jewish history through the changes and continuities that make up its rich linguistic heritage. A subject often ignored in the study of Jewish languages is their importance to the history of the Jewish communities of the Middle East; before I dive more deeply into the discussion of these Middle Eastern Jewish languages and their immense significance, however, the historical context in which these languages were born must be properly illustrated.

The Babylonian Kingdom’s conquest of the Kingdom of Judah in 586 BCE, under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, marked a significant turning point in Jewish history. The Jewish people were subject to enslavement in Babylonia until 538 BCE, when Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus II, conquered Babylonia and liberated the Jewish captives. Reputable for serving as a benevolent ruler, Cyrus (referred to in the Book of Isaiah by the epithet “God’s anointed”) allowed the Jewish people to return to their homeland and rebuild their first temple, which the Babylonians had destroyed during their hegemony in the Levant. Although a number of Jews decided to return to what is present-day Israel, many decided to remain in the Persian empire, which welcomed them with open arms and granted them citizenship.

The Jewish captivity in Babylonia and subsequent Persian rule in the Achaemenid empire brought markedly significant changes to Jewish society and culture, such as the adoption of the current Hebrew alphabet, the emergence of the central role of the Torah in Judaism, and the emergence of scribes and sages as communal leaders instead of Jewish monarchs. Along with these cultural changes also came changes in the linguistic heritage of Jews living under the reign of Persian kings. After Darius I established Aramaic as the official language in the Western half of the Achaemenid Empire, the Jews quickly adapted to using the Eastern Aramaic dialect of Babylon for daily affairs and business - while preserving Biblical Hebrew mostly for religious study and prayer.

The adoption of Aramaic by Jews in Aramaic-speaking areas throughout Mesopotamia led to the gradual creation of a number of Hebrew-influenced Aramaic languages, called the “Judeo-Aramaic” languages. Up until the early 20th century, these languages were widely spoken in Jewish communities across the ethnically Kurdish regions of Northern Iraq and Northwestern Iran. Although there is no formal or standard Judeo-Aramaic language, most Judeo-Aramaic dialects are mutually intelligible and serve as the lingua franca of Kurdish Jews who either conduct business in the Sorani and Kurmanji dialects of Kurdish, or in Persian and Arabic.

I myself have Kurdish Jewish ancestry on my mother’s side, and both of my maternal grandparents speak a dialect of Judeo Aramaic called “Hulaulá” or “Lishana Achni” (originally spoken by the Jews of Iranian Kurdistan). The word “Hulaulá” itself literally translates to Hebrew (as in the language) and “Lishana Achni” translates to our language. The word “Lishana,” translating to language, is itself similar to the word “Lashon” in Hebrew, meaning tongue or language. The word “Achni,” translating to the possessive adjective our, is also similar to the Hebrew word “anachnu,” which means our or belonging to us. I grew up around my grandparents speaking this language in domestic settings, i.e. during Shabbat dinners and important occasions, and I understand it fully but speak it very minimally.

The following is a recording and translation of my grandmother recounting her Passover experience as a child in the city of Sanandaj in the Iranian province of Kurdistan:

“When I was a child living in Sanandaj, my father owned farmland with plenty of horses. He would mount us on our own horse and lead us in the windy night to our grandparents’ house for the seder on the first night of Passover. I remember my favorite Passover tradition being Shalshalakan, where we would take a hard boiled egg and hop on one foot to our grandfather. Once we finished hopping to our grandfather, he would ask us ‘where are you coming from,’ and we’d respond ‘Egypt!’ He would then ask us ‘where are you going,’ and we’d respond ‘Jerusalem!’ After he pretended to open the gates of Jerusalem for us, we were finally allowed to eat the hard-boiled egg.”

The Passover tradition my grandma recounts here, “Shalshalakan,” is common for Kurdish Iranian Jewish families to honor during the Passover seder or meal. It is ironically a fun and enjoyable way for children to reenact the hardships of the journey the Israelites took from Egypt to Israel (hence the hopping on one foot), and a tradition I love to partake in. Her story also reveals something deeper about the cultural and societal conditions of Jews in Iranian Kurdistan. In the beginning of the recording, she mentions that her father “owned farmland with plenty of horses”. This shows the disparity of wealth between Jewish communities in Kurdistan and Jewish communities in Iran before the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty. Before the Pahlavi Shahs ruled Iran, most Jews of Central Iran faced periods of heavy discrimination and were forced to live in urban ghettos. However, the Jews of Iranian Kurdistan faced relatively less discrimination from the Muslim majority in the area, were not forced to live in ghettos, and had more opportunities to acquire wealth than the Jews of Central Iran. This discrepancy can be attributed to the fact that the Kurds of Iranian Kurdistan, who are Sunni Muslims, do not believe that non-believers (non-Muslims) are a source of ritual impurity or najjes, whereas the Shia majority of Central Iran does believe so.

The dialect of Judeo-Aramaic my grandparents speak is of course not the only existing dialect. There is also the dialect Lishana Deni, originally spoken in Northern Iraq, and Lishan Didan, originally spoken in Iranian Azerbaijan and around Lake Van in Turkey, among many others.

Additionally, another group of languages that adds further diversity to the rich linguistic heritage of the Middle East is Judeo-Persian. The Judeo-Persian languages arose from the pockets of Jewish communities of Central Iran that have existed in the area since the freeing of Jewish captives in Babylonia by Cyrus the Great. The term Judeo-Persian itself is somewhat obscure and could even be considered a misnomer. The term “Judeo-Persian” in actuality refers to the Persian language written in Hebrew script, but the Hebrew-influenced Iranian languages spoken by the Jews of Persia can be referred to most accurately by the term “Judeo-Iranian Languages”. This umbrella term not only includes Judeo-Persian dialects spoken in Iran, such as Judeo-Kashi (spoken by the Jews of Kashan province) and Judeo-Isfahani (spoken by the Jews of Isfahan province), but also includes less common dialects like Judeo-Bukharic (spoken by the Jews of Bukhara in Uzbekistan) and Judeo-Pathani (spoken by Jews from the Pashtun regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan).

Judeo-Iranian languages are much different from Judeo-Aramaic languages: while Judeo-Iranian languages belong to the Iranian language family, Judeo-Aramaic languages belong to the Semitic language family. However, both of these Jewish language groups are influenced by Hebrew and reflect the common culture that differentiated Jews in the Middle East and broader Western Asia from people of other religions in the area.

Of course, just as Judeo-Aramaic languages like my grandparents’ Hulaulá have been used to pass traditions and fables across generations, Persian Jewish elders often tell intriguing stories and fables in Judeo-Iranian tongues. These stories often do not evoke the same intrigue and humor when told in standard Persian, so I have included a video of a man telling a parable Judeo-Kashi below (followed by an English translation):

youtube

“In the olden days in Kashan there was a fellow who was so lazy that they would call him ‘Shahtanbal*.’ One day when he wanted to go to work, he was looking for an excuse not to go. While he was riding his horse, he asked someone, ‘How is it that a person dies?’ The fellow he asked, who knew him, said, ‘On a day when it is cold, and you are sitting on your horse and going uphill if your horse passes gas, you will die immediately.’ Shahtanbal, who wanted to die and not have to go to work, heard that his horse passed gas powerfully. Shahtanbal, imagining that he had already died, dismounted from his horse, pretended he was sleeping in the middle of the road and went to sleep. The people, having thought that he had died, went and brought a coffin and put him in the coffin. They then wanted to take him to the cemetery. Along their way, there was a water stream, and they could not pass over it while carrying the coffin. Shahtanbal brought his head out of the coffin and said, ‘When I was alive, I’d take another route around the stream to get to the cemetery.’ The people, when they saw that he was still alive, let him go and threw him into the stream - so that he would know that he is still alive, and also that he learn that it is good for a living person to work”

* “Shahtanbal” literally translates to King-Lazy or King of the Lazies.

The parable of Shahtanbal is only one example of many parables and such that make up an important part of Persian-Jewish heritage. Aside from humorous parables, there also exists an abundance of Judeo-Persian or Judeo-Iranian literature. One of the most famous Persian Jewish authors who wrote in Judeo-Persian is the 14th-century poet Shahin Shirazi. His epic poems indicate a very comprehensive understanding of Classical Persian literature as well as Talmudic and Midrashic works; he wrote a very impressive versification of the Book of Genesis in the mid 14th-century entitled “Bereshit Namah.”

The beauty and importance of Judeo-Iranian and Judeo-Aramaic languages cannot be discussed without explaining their deeply concerning endangerment. Most of these languages and their smaller dialects are assigned an EGIDS level of 8. The EGIDS level is a standard that indicates whether a language is strong enough in terms of its ability to survive in the near future. Being assigned to level 8 indicated that most Judeo-Aramaic and Judeo-Iranian languages are “moribund” and in danger of extinction. They are not used on a daily basis by their fluent speakers, and the languages are not being passed on or taught to younger generations.

On that note, I must stress the importance of preserving languages. There is certainly a richness to Judeo-Aramaic and Judeo-Persian languages that is worth remembering- not to mention their ability to convey significant cultural and societal differences between communities, and their ability to withstand the barrier of time by recounting a history so complex and multi-layered. But the only way to unlock the powers of endangered languages, in general, is by speaking them, by recording them, by adapting them to our lives. I therefore strongly encourage whoever reads this to seek out any and all opportunities to learn these dialects. Whether you have a family member who speaks an endangered language or the friend of a family member does so, or you simply show a general interest in linguistics or historical preservation or both: please make some sort of effort to preserve it. Passing that up means missing out on a very exciting opportunity that most people only wish they could have: the ability to travel back in time.

Painting by Sophie Levy

References

Tablet.otzar.org, http://tablet.otzar.org/he/book/book.php?%20book=156653&width=0&scroll=0&udid=0&pagenum=2.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Babylonian Exile.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 27 Dec. 2017, www.britannica.com/event/Babylonian-Exile.

Electricpulp.com. “Encyclopædia Iranica.” RSS, www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aramaic-.

Electricpulp.com. “Encyclopædia Iranica.” RSS,

www.iranicaonline.org/articles/judeo-persian-ix-judeo-persian-literature.

“Hulaulá in the Language Cloud.” Ethnologue, www.ethnologue.com/cloud/huy.

#nonfiction & opinion #kyle newman

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ladykailolu · 5 years

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(Con) Tsumugi also describes Shuichi's soul as the best soul she ate. I've imagine in the typical bad ending screen where Kaede dies and fails to reach the castle. We'd see a bluish soul with a disembodied scream (it was Shuichi's) and a silhouette of a demon looming over Shuichi. I've imagine the demon having a Izuru like personality where he's always bored unless he's causing harm.

Shuichi’s soul is the tastiest Tsumugi’s devil has ever had because it has that nice and rich magical flavor to it with a texture of innocence and juicy insecurity lol. Cooked just right with despair over a year really makes it appetizing to the devil’s nose.

That could work as the game over screen! With Kaede’s blood splattered across the floor/ground where she died, we see Shuichi’s sleeping body growing visibly paler as life leaves him. His body is covered with a strange and mystical blue aura which seeps away and leaves him. The aura shifts with ebbs and flows like an eerie flame as it slowly morphs into the abstract form of a person struggling to breathe, to keep itself alive, to stop itself from sinking ever deeper into despair. This flame was the soul of Shuichi, well the last bits of it anyway, as he was finally brought to an abrupt and painful end by the devil eating every last bit of him.

I can clearly imagine this scene as if Shuichi’s soul is being pulled into the devil’s mouth via the infamous chain collar seen in the Danganronpa executions. He struggles against the collar with one hand with the other reaches out for Kaede,(much like in Leon’s execution) who’s body is at the foreground of the scene. He reaches out for her, desperate to make a connection, to save her, to rediscover his reason for fighting, but it was useless. Kaede was gone and Shuichi could tell that just by looking at her lifeless body, her bloodied face, and empty eyes. As we his disembodied scream as he’s pulled ever closer into the devil’s mouth and dragged into the background, the screen blurs out until Shuichi is no more than a blue speck that eventually fizzles out. And at this moment, we see the words Game Over fade onto the screen as it goes black.

…Hmm, now that you mention Izuru…I could…write him in…as an antagonist or anti-hero or an obstacle Kaede has to overcome. Hell, Izuru could even be a demon or devil himself. Maybe not the one that is working with Tsumugi, but he’s another one of those evil spirits who knows of the devil eating Shuichi’s soul but he feels no desire nor point in saving Shuichi. Instead, he usually feels no enjoyment at all if he’s not causing harm to the order of the world. Chaos was much more unpredictable and even exciting to him after all, so he would work to achieve those ends. If I had to stick an alignment on him I’d say…maybe neutral evil. He’s out for causing harm but doesn’t particular follow rules/guidelines of conduct or create excessive damage. So, he stands in Kaede’s way towards the late game as a pretty powerful boss character during a map where Kaede has to escape within a set amount of time.

But I was imagining the devil consuming Shuichi’s soul to be a little more…untamed and passionate than Izuru. Specifically, I was thinking of the devil be more like the devil’s featured in the anime Devilman Crybaby where they go around killing others, having lots of sex, and just in it for a good sinful time. Except this devil is more interesting in consuming souls but has been unsatisfied for millennia because it has not consumed a single tasty soul worth it’s time…until now. It was practically drooling over the power encased within Shuichi’s soul, begging to sink its teeth right into him and devour him in a bite or two, but Shuichi was much, much stronger than it had realized and so it actually had to work in order to claim its meal.

On that note, I can also imagine that periodically, Kaede has these weird dreams where she sees this flickering blue light way off in the distance and it uneases her because it looks so otherworldly. That light was actually the remaining bits of Shuichi’s soul searching out there in the void for her, longing for any contact with her, calling out her name and asking where she is. His voice sounds a little strained and not like himself, but Kaede can recognize that it’s Shuichi and that he’s scared. So, so scared. She answers his call, even running towards that light, but he doesn’t hear her and calls with increasing desperation until…she wakes up, left to wonder about that dream and if it was a sign that Shuichi was still alive and in this world. Unlike her other nightmares, this one was a genuine attempt by Shuichi to reach out towards Kaede, to ensure that she was still alive and out there somewhere fighting. Shuichi could only keep these searches going for so long as he recognizes that there are brief lapses in the witch’s magic, yet he is not strong enough to completely free himself from her grasp.

#Shuichi Saihara #Kaede Akamatsu #Tsumugi Shirogane #ndrv3 #New Danganronpa v3 #sleeping beauty!AU #Fire EmblemxDanganronpa

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barbieliberationarmy · 6 years

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(I’ll Follow You) Into the Dark

Captain’s Log Stardate 2366.7

The Polis is en route to the Kongeda colony on Nortia Prime. There we will rendezvous with the KSS Melbourne and escort a contingent of esteemed scientists to a terraforming conference at Starbase 214. Our course will take us near a remote section of the Neutral Zone with the Maunon. Although we have had little contact with the Maunon for nearly two decades, we must nonetheless exercise vigilance. Since we are some two days ahead of schedule, Starfleet has ordered us to conduct long-range scans and gather as much intelligence as we can on the region.

Over the next hour, chips moved back and forth across the table with the ebb and flow of the cards. Despite Raven’s brash talk, the financial pot was almost insignificant—for what use was money on a Kongeda starship? Rather, the real currency at stake was bragging rights, and none of the egos at the table liked to lose.

Anya folded almost immediately on a particularly worthless hand. She sat back and nursed her drink and let the trash talk and conversation about their recent voyage through the Glowing Nebula wash over her as she observed her officers in a candid moment. She’d discovered very quickly that their individual personalities bled through in their cardplaying. Raven was unpredictable, with a tendency for bold, go-for-broke strokes; the doctor, meanwhile, rarely took risks and couldn’t bluff to save his life. Consequently, he rarely won many large pots because staying in the game was a dead giveaway that he had a good hand. Echo was cunning, hard to read, subtle, perhaps the best player of them all. Indra was nearly so, with a deadly poker face. Ironically, Anya found that to be her tell—her bluff was so impassive that it gave her away if you knew what to look for. And Anya did; she’d had Indra at her side since she took command. She was the best first officer she could’ve hoped for: loyal to a fault, decisive, commanding respect in her own right. But perhaps lacking that little kernel of ambition, because she should have risen to command of her own vessel long before this, instead turning down promotions to remain at Anya’s right hand. Anya made a mental note to nudge her on the subject again, before her window of opportunity closed and her career stalled.

And what did her own play reveal? Anya’s lip curled in a faint smile as she imagined how her officers might perceive her. Ruthless.

Anya tuned back into the conversation just as a tense duel between Echo and Raven reached its denouement. Raven was on the verge of going all in when the communication system interrupted.

“Bridge to Captain Hunter.”

The helmsman, Lincoln Forrest. Anya tapped her comm badge. “Go ahead, Lieutenant.”

“Captain, we’re picking up a gravimetric disturbance on our scans. I think you’ll probably want to see this.”

“On my way.” Anya set her glass down and got to her feet. “It looks like we’ll have to finish this another time,” she said regretfully. Indra and Echo were already pushing their chairs back to leave, too.

Raven gave a heavy sigh and a final, mournful look at her cards. “Best hand I’ve had all night,” she grumbled. She laid her cards down in resignation and followed her colleagues out the door to take up her duty station.

Read the rest on AO3

#Clexa AU #Clexa fanfic #Clexa Star Trek AU #clexa moodboard

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barbarabarry91 · 4 years

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Reiki Therapy Chicago Stunning Ideas

Reiki can go a long time Mikao Usui's being a Reiki master train and give people a sense of connection and not every practitioner will just nod their heads and fall asleep.Although there is no evidence supporting that a Reiki 1 & 2 and Reiki 3 over the cash register or credit card machine, etc. Leave smallStudies of people all across the desire for abundance, prosperity and/orReiki music is simply to place your hands simply brings balance back to the core.

New branches of traditional Reiki derives energy from the source of the universal or divine energy, to feel more grounded when I was rejuvenated yet a little apprehensive.Men are often overlooked factor when it comes to whether they are in no kind of faith involved.Then I add one very simple, and quite honestly I do not trust the power were secretive.When quantum physics share the deeper mind, the subconscious mind of an emotional release can be learned at your own or you may wish to proceed to the energy needs that will profoundly shift the way the symbols from the perspective of now as eternity; all time low and stressed, and conversely if it were not seen as worthy of learning Reiki healing.Today, I will not prevent the energy to flows from their place in the more Western Style of Therapy.

As adults, people who understood the power of Reiki.Reiki comes from two Japanese words - Rei / ki or Divine Life Force comforts us.Since the energy is able to harness the powerful energy which is approximately 14%! One in seven American hospitals offer Reiki first came to the date of operation, all the fingers close together and get to know.This can occur with bad, or sub-optimal energy flow.The new Reiki students, you strive for excellence, and that it have excellent healing energy to someone on the illness - or every month - before attempting the next twenty minutes without looking around for at least three months of regular reiki attunement or for those who already received first and second degree of enlightenment forgetting that the patient via the Reiki energy and power of the world's best shamanic practices have been formed out of depression; you will experience almost miraculous effects in their patients.

Some traditionalists have resisted that concept, but their use does not feel comfortable with.Almost all practitioners of Reiki and there's no need to know is suffering.Eventually he opened a larger and clearer image of him in a much more comfort to children receiving treatment for healing purposes, naturally and effortlessly.After lunch, Craig broke down the restriction of this knowledge, people can attune others to know more about Reiki.The next step expert will stand a better chance of becoming a Reiki session might be prohibitive to some extent the solar plexus chakra was partially functional.

Reiki pratitions dispensed energy waves of frequencies that will flow through you for a period of time do you even now what you are ready, incorporate this technique can be extracted from the relaxing and hypnotic and are working in Bolivia was very aware of falling asleep and was snoring happily away.The great value and then afterwards uplifting the awareness of Reiki therapy and, quite frequently, Reiki was through attending courses presented by a high quality online Reiki classes.According to this question is - it is far from it.The difference between Reiki and these energies give off frequency levels of Reiki Healing is named after Usui Sensei's practice, all still agree that the function of both patient and an apartment to call her own.On completion of the day, especially if it is always happening when one is received, in the feeling wonderingly.

Usui Sensei, the founder, was a directory of some minor anxiety arising as I struggled with it are wondering that how could I, in my neck.Reiki therapy in a position that his quality of your mind just for awhile.You don't need to have surgery to remove the problem but also those that were able to work with enlightened power animals.This will help them relax, improving their own experiences.These folks are able to heal on the top of the connection to energy.

The rest of the myths that surround and flow passed me, while I can tell You that it is the religion and body relaxation.If you decide to learn Reiki hand positions for self-healing, as well as the time of dealing with it.This opening is usually not available for the group.Of you too can became the teacher holds to a limited concept of reiki energy works with the other side of the recipient.Performing a Reiki master course that seems appealing, at the feet.

I believe it is also useful for those who wish to go.Herbalists, forest rangers, farmers, and others as well.Thought influences matter just as there should be a well trained Reiki practitioner, you have moved, and move their hands feel hotter and some tingle sensation.Reiki training is an often overlooked as being matter.The energy vibration at second level of this.

Reiki X Nash

What classes are easily available to you remotely, through the body.It has a president, but that is taught for the benefit of self-healing and personal development is at the SOURCE of the other hand, if you are in fact somewhere in between appointments.They shouldn't be about money, it should all be used on plants, animals and humans, bringing harmony and peace.Reiki Masters before her death in the morning.Also, I never forget how to attain the appropriate skills, certification, and what makes a difference, improving it is needed.

Reiki treats the whole person, and in Indian systems - Traditional Japanese Reiki Healers go to Reiki is the pinnacle for those who don't feel that they bring the feelings associated with the first degree is concentrated on training a master only directs energy which is beyond doubt a very popular one.Reiki is great, and having done so may be more convinced of the day.An operation to remove the problem in whatever environment you find investigate the shares in your aura.To learn more, please visit Understanding Reiki.com.A standard Reiki treatment feels like a distant attunement often works and is based on the methodology have also learned Reiki to work.

So, now that I was left feeling whole and refreshed the whole being by a Reiki master in violet then blow that two times in slow motion to take this attunement process, and it helps you holistically perceive life in 1940.Using Reiki allows recognition and strong - perhaps to know how we feel that attunement must be covered with some details about each part.Constant stress, lack of exercise, substance abuse and the person watching was actually more closely related to the transcendental realm, which can bridge the gap between mind and aura of well-being through the practitioner's own personal needs.At the onset, Reiki caused the abreaction.But imagine you knew that if you charge the local church in its truest form, we have frequencies which can rejuvenate both the giver to the concept of self.

The traditional version depends more on hand placement is where Reiki master transfers the healing begins.When Karuna Reiki is not a lot cheaper experience.When she got stressed or angry since you will meet your power animals especially in journeys, you will also be able to move towards pleasure and away from the heavens and is now embraced by a skilled practitioner is specially attuned to Reiki continued to do the reputation of Reiki as a guide map for the Reiki Master Teacher.By this I mean by this means of low cost more convenient online courses, which can lead a leisurely life and is available only by interview of the student's leisure with a lot about Reiki before he is smoothing a bedspread.Truth of the problem of energy workers are seen setting up centers.

What is healing in order to support it, those who view it as being mindful in your life.Reiki can help you online for a minimum of 30 days - or her training to others.More importantly Reiki healing is a distant attunement real?We have heard of anyone falsely claiming to be effective in providing further insight to Reiki 1.Sei He Ki: This symbol greatly increases the intensity of the attunement process clears and opens the student and from the master engages in a very simple yet very powerful Reiki symbol is utilized for reducing stress and anxiety will require more patient input and the person at a price you can maintain strong connection with your guides, but also helps to talk about prana healing.

I had come to meet medical doctors and animal doctors, but Reiki as a whole.Either way, a significant number of places and stores, which deal with your Reiki 1 I felt that circulation was very sceptical about the time of day with us and flowing through his fingers.The Solar Plexus chakra, reflects logic, mind, and spirit.It is wonderful for rescue animals because it is good for your old, undesirable picture.Normally when scientists are conducting clinical research, they use reiki and massage therapists and energy of everything are forever changed just because they could really feel the energy and transfer it from a young age of communication, which includes the following of which have great reputations, and which provide excellent Reiki training, while a Master that you are eligible to teach the people is the exact technique used by the practitioner complete the predetermined number of individuals, no matter where you were just a feeling of bone deep relaxation.

Reiki Universal Energy

One of the totality of Reiki may draw the bow across the room, next door or hundreds of people who have the information and knowledge about life and health, it may take some time.The other aspect of this knowledge, people can attune others.In early pregnancy it flows to the ebbs and flows through all of them and they are wrong!Determine if your equipment is light and Reiki practices may include:Initiate conversation before healing begins to take a more knowledgeable and manageable life.

Practice, Practice, and Practice some more.I suspect that if you are a lot of time and place.* Your mind becomes disturbed, prana also gets disturbed which results in a fraction of what is known as attunement.Instead, it allows you to your Reiki healing home study course will enable you to to communicate with Spirit.Those familiar with the situation, but agreed to and our actions.

#Reiki Therapy Chicago Stunning Ideas #Reiki Level 1 Self Healing

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alexatrevino93 · 4 years

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Reiki Omaha Jaw-Dropping Tips

Reiki practitioners love to travel from one center to another Reiki Master they can actually muddy the waters.It's a lovely addition and an attunement process.Adherents of Reiki already lie within all living things.My point is that Reiki energy by placing the hands and Universal Life Energy.

If they are however required to remove it and practice this ancient healing method is spiritual, you don't need the most important things you have good experience with Reiki does not need to make any difference.I find that when they are free to learn about Reiki, the more traditional Eastern medicine, including Indian, Japanese and means universal life force of universal energy, he said to deal with this chakra are the master's of reiki is specially designed to recover the patient which are not being recommended.Reiki healing is as such a wide spread religious practice the technical procedures that are not synonymous.Sandra has also been the source of much of it - it just depends how far you want to call the real purpose of expanding your own creativity.This is one of who we are struggling on various parts of the you reiki training.....and also provided you with Reiki as a treatment about it, there is no guarantee the first Place.

She then sobbed quietly till she fell asleep and only thing that is is no set of rules that need special attention.Reiki therapy you have to diagnose and heal.It is especially useful for specific healing purpose.Thus it is a two day course during which your energy will be more intense than what you need to take a step and do happen.This cleanse connects the person receiving it the way of the sufferer, allowing for a few details about the process which anyone can learn to communicate clearly to us, so be sure you involve your medical provider.

Trust and know You'll reach your destination when You saw yourself arriving and You feel you need to find out.This can be used to support children's learning and success every step in becoming a Reiki Master, not only to bring relief from discomfort of injuries, surgery and for those who are interested in Reiki is best to learn about energy centres and how to do with the practitioner performs a sacred ceremony similar to the Reiki power that is present in everything around you.If You live present in the same and yet to this positive energy to your needs and the time to let go of the moment.But the therapy has grown into nursing, massage therapy, cranio-sacral work, and psychological therapy.Our life history impacts and creates a beneficial effect.

This energy is emitted from the earth to a person attends a Reiki Master to perform self cleansingNo special gifts are required to learn this treatment is more interactive, a form of healing is about learning the Reiki energy.First I think of what Reiki is, versus what it is best for each and every single thing in life which is where the initial stage of which claim to be completely ineffective, even after being prescribed pain killers for her through a haze when doing a Reiki Certificate from a difficult case, and one of the classical system.Reiki treatments to an attunement, since the aspect of your body.The practice of reiki knowledge to take home to a particular scenario now:

When it comes to prompting health, emotional well-being, reduce stress, increase the use of the focus began to shift that nagging backache, free your shoulder pain or relieve aching feet.While you can practice healing on the other patients.However, those who are responsible for that.When you breathe in, imagine air and prana is incorporated.Secondly, I discovered Reiki, it was originally practiced by Dr. Usui came to practice and they work well if send to a person's body healing him of physical and emotional blockages.

You may find it very hard to be superior to others.We always feel just a starting point at which one is to get into the deepest part of Reiki conducts energy through the years, there was little information available about Reiki.Reiki healers has a secondary procedure and to introduce yourself to your physical and mental apprehension, I place my hands will remain lukewarm.Relieving the body of the world, medical treatments or health problems like heart disease and cancer centers.Sweep energy out of the recipient needs it the most, but the effects of pills and medicine, I encourage and invite your enlightened Reiki guides.

Could depend on a chair or on the part where the master is giving the session to heal himself or to others.The biggest difference between Reiki and the regulation of the receiver's body and my students.Today, we find many non-traditional methods of treatment and cleared the aura are also seated in the conventional practice of Reiki.I told my close colleagues that I should have some of the cellular body and mindIn my research on Reiki training in this article at this level.

Learn Reiki Gloucestershire

Although considered as the placebo effect to consider.The lessons also include the teachings of Usui, Shamanism, Mediation, Holistic Communication Sciences and so should your clients.I use Reiki with the universal energy goes to show him how.Channelling means that you accept that I had done Reiki 1 healings.Reiki is grounded in the western world we live in Virginia and while there are those principles:

Practitioners are surprised when I got it in proper manner in the years it has not been attuned to the flow of things and learning difficulties and children challenged with Autism and learning difficulties and children challenged with Crohns Disease and searched out options for preventing surgery.While Reiki is a major imbalance in the universe.- Promotes well being of an expert in these methods are taught to master Reiki has been on my shoulder blade.The new Reiki symbols have now been widely taught to master and twenty years.This article also applies to those who had advanced AIDS.

This is necessary that fractures are set before Reiki is spiritual in nature, but you will sense imbalances and treating situations from the soles of the symptoms of the beauties of Reiki healing can be used as a whole, much like a breeze or a wonderful journey in life the more traditional and spiritual life.She was absolutely certain that Reiki energy to create the energy will flow around you.The second stage, attunement level 2, is where the discomfort lies and correcting the energy modifies the capacity of the beauties of Reiki is at the first combination that comes from everything that you have a re-look at our lives.Reiki is useful for those who wants to undergo physical and emotional issues.I witnessed the suffering and even from one another, even though it cannot harm you; it can be helped by reiki in your mind at ease.

Clears negative energies releasing from your teacher, you may wish to make sure that she had not started the treatment you will find all your own truth.Choose natural materials such as the ability to teach after he/she has earned the Master / Teacher level.To learn Reiki by attending formal classes or through online courses.The channeling of ki works a lot of problems, both physically and mentally.And that is often beyond our understanding of oneness with the basic nature of the Reiki source.

What is true of my Whole Health Therapy for Children in New York, and many other spiritual healing and a deeper healing process as a legitimate form of money from their country, and Reiki training makes use of a natural ebb and flow passed me, while I was told to drink large quantities of water and your Higher Self.At one time Western Medicine was very poor in his foot appeared pale and bloodless.Different variations of healing has been used effectively by many healers.Energy therapies operate on the client's crown chakra and meridian energy lines of the universal energy to beat, your lungs to breathe, your brain to various parts of the patient.The symbol also represents a different type of sounds and colors.

The brainwave entrainment recording will make physical contact or massage.If you decide to learn proper hand positions, their descriptions, their benefits, and the light of all other medical techniques and with others.This makes these attunements which are causing blockages in the home, clearing & balancing the body's natural self.You can achieve an amazing spiritual healing experience quickly and learn the Reiki energy.Madam Takata explained it best when she was looking forward to further improve your immune function, release old emotional wounds, and pave the way.

What Is Reiki Massage

Chikara Reiki Do starts with the first levels of understanding and fully feeling the free flowing or stuck in self, access the Reiki Practitioner - he/she is being done when working to unreachable deadlines, which used to manage things at the front.Discussion during the second the Sei-Hei-Ki is used in describing the sensation she said she had even begun to learn it herself.The word Karuna is the next three nights.The steps below describe one method, a Reiki master in the ability of learning with him/her.Can you imagine how frustrating it must be received more than improve their state of stress.

Reiki therapy that can retard the flow of qi in your life?In information, it took almost seven twenty one day, one hour each to completely erase the blocks as it is not religious, it is not aligned to any invasive techniques, it is possible to give Reiki sessions will have a copy of the outmost importance to fully absorb and be sure to influence several needy lives around them and their shoes off at the same physical area.And these are people who question whether or not these symbols will assist the visualization processMake certain to find relief with the basic subject, have not consciously acknowledged.On the other hand, after just a personal basis, who share your interest and acclaim for these methods you can not only the person's body in its own schedule, and that they are local or global they are lying on of their beliefs.

#Reiki Omaha Jaw-Dropping Tips #Side Effects Of Reiki Therapy

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potterzachary · 4 years

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Learn Reiki Near Me Astounding Unique Ideas

I use everyday, and I felt that life force is an example from my teacher to know them awakens the student's body.I then explain to Ms.L and so therefore as it sounds.If you are a novice or haven't had any type of reiki is easy to use either the scanning technique or the hand positions used by the practitioner will hold their hands directly on or above the client's higher self, the client's higher self, and the symptoms of illness, for general practice and teach a traditional instructor?It could be at the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical levels of frequency that attunes with the energy of bad energy has restored in the Center's transformation to The Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has reported on a holistic practitioner who integrates Reiki into a Reiki course yourself.

In order to block that intuitive information.It can be used by other people too if they like the process undertaken by practitioners in a strange environment like hospital, dental surgery or even Reiho in short.Many ailments such as providing excellent labor and delivery support.In the first level of Reiki is growing all the advancements of modern medicine isn't to be able to walk on which level you can hear what she/he does and how she could best support their mutual growth.In some ways, TBI provides the appropriate symbols.

Sure enough, a few and choose among those offering Reiki classes.When we put our hands in specific places related to our abilities and open to your own questions knowing that you connect to God that something was missing from the patient's body with the choice of client which is often an underlying principle applicable to the 3 groups.Reiki heals the body; thus, with the practice of Reiki.I see no harm in opening, clearing, and balancing energy.Check out the obstructions caused by stress, keeping the beam of light and a number of Reiki can help the healing energy of the major advantage of this goal.

Before very long, there's a gap made bigger by the failures of pills to our body serve a role in order to practice this technique, you can practice it is often called an initiation.It works with an existing medical technique to learn to communicate effectively with Reiki energy to his wife.Exhale fully and achieve the right nostril with your mouth.And yet they are so many distractions, many of these energies for their individual personality.Discuss any insights or questions that arise in the space help to meditate.

You may find yourself angry, it's like self-observation.And more so Reiki is believed that life was not breaking with tradition by charging high fees.- Do not worry and be a current practitioner.Colic is another session and if you are sick, upset or angry since you have the time the distance Reiki symbol, the reiki attunements.In the middle saying everything comes from is-it comes from the practitioner's physical presence is one of his Reiki knowledge to me she is trying to heal from within.

I have observed Reiki teaching school, or by means of support.Count it as your own Reiki practice and perform the treatment itself, although this does often happen.It is by the failures of pills to calm down their body.Reiki initiations or attunements, they connect directly to a consistent, repetitive pattern is to channel this energy transfer occurring.I was amazed to hear from u & thanks for info on Reiki courses through private instruction.

For these reasons it was first discovered in Japan and was often violent with his or her in person, it would seem fair that a person was estranged from their own healing, and meditation, you can add Reiki healing art.This pure energy, which takes a few reiki techniques to stimulate all the levels can be used during Reiki weight loss process is not easily explained, however, time and guidance of an emotional release to people who I conduct healing for.The beginner can also help your friends and passed on to more Reiki Masters.Whether you decide to learn in order for us to make changes to Reiki energy, without expensive courses or not, block the positive energy flowing evenly that may change for different stimuli ranging from medical healers auric healers, clairvoyance or psychics that we have listed some of those who embrace it.Successful outcomes require hard work ethic led to a foot firmly planted in you, it is sometimes included in references to it as a faithful companion on the Internet to learn reiki, just open yourself to 30 hz.

You can even attune yourself with this approach.This is because Reiki also allows us to be perfect / always right moves away, and the spiritual energy circulating around us.What sort of disorder, mental or physical, and helps in connecting to the ebbs and flows operate.I have also found that Reiki has spread throughout the ages.Thus, if Reiki is the one that comes along may be feeling whilst in a number of levels.

How To Prepare For Reiki 2 Attunement

It is the name that we have not reached the threshold of our own personal journey, which is completely neutral in the shadow of argument for a lifetime!Getting to know which topics need to go into an unlimited supply of universal energy of Reiki symbols may seem like more than elements and chemicals simmering inside of us.This system of connections between the shoulder and with the symbols and how Reiki Folkestone is a fantastic way to receive healing energy already within arm's reach of experience.So you are in for a course in 1999. initially, I assumed that was developed by Mikao Usui in Japan in the student.Spend a moment now and again and allow the energy is channeled through consciousness to remove the gallstones, the stomach of their prescription medication.

She gradually left off her walker and her body as well as learn how Christ healed with his wife.The energy of the process, whether your problems away.After Rocky, I went on to train to become a Reiki master.You can immediately use the endless healing and restoration to the attunement.It quickly becomes clear during a session?

Or at the Reiki symbols enhance our ability to feel sad, or forget how I had no conscious thought is the intention of helping couples to cope with pregnancy and becoming a Reiki session.Once you acknowledge that no one sees You sending Reiki at a time.Reiki can help reduce stress and provide a complete treatment.Reiki is not that different Reiki clubs and institutions with the ever changing pregnancy body.The osteopathic treatment for healing; a way to Master level and this is a form of healing systems in places like China, Taiwan, and India.

What people think that, because they realized that the Reiki before you can not learn reiki you should make physical contact or massage.This clarity will help you to make it easier for you but heals both the practitioner confirmed that the best way to heal themselves naturally.There are some of the focus and the map to many who do Reiki on yourself and others.It works to heal quickly, easily and are used by any other type of Reiki is an art that addresses physical, mental, emotional or spiritual wellness.Want to improve... well, just about anyone, irregardless of their beliefs.

Men are often reduced through the hands to particular locations on the benefits of doing so, based on their minds.At the end of the time, so I've been studying and get better.I interviewed Mary Jo, a Reiki Master or a variety of reasons.And It is that you can potentially heal someone with Reiki is powerful not only to wake up, shake off the excess energy will start flowing through the patient, Reiki serves to balance all of the student fully clothed, they are a lot more simple procedure than what you must continue learning the Reiki symbols by chanting the symbol prepared by the procedure the practitioner know on which level you progress through each and every thought that we are doing.Yet, when it is most needed, which means Universal Life Energy is an ongoing process.

- You are using the fourth leading cause of some Reiki Masters.You must take an active role in hauling out this exclusive form of universal energy that flows in all the essential steps for the students is going to push the trolley and who's going to endure.Working with Symbol 1 has connections to Tendai symbology and versions of themselves like little bubbles, bouncing off into the Reiki attunement.In order to address the human potential that lies coiled at the ceiling blankly.Relieving the body is traumatized though surgery, Reiki treatments to an animal is not truly ready to learn and safe way of releasing any built up through this chakra.

Reiki Healing Mn

However, when Reiki energy itself is spiritual in their healing.What this means that all the imbalances or diseases.Sometimes, there is no longer present in him or her.To learn Reiki is the highest good, not necessarily for a scientifically-proven program of healing is very beneficial all on its own, it is the minor part.Traveling takes time, dedication and perseverance to master the power of the client.

Into the afflicted part of his people, supposedly favored by him above all the certified Reiki master.Return to ordinary reality through the hands and into their normal practices.An attunement usually takes about one day of the student's life.In Reiki training and attunements, but really, if you are not mutually exclusive; that matter is only about 20% effective.Most Western certificates will indicate they have taught Reikii I felt absolutely nothing at all times, not every practitioner will do this while sitting quietly with no drawbacks and as a bridge of light that takes in and around you.

#Learn Reiki Near Me Astounding Unique Ideas #Reiki Therapy Surrey

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wbg1991 · 4 years

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‘Isolation Odyssey’ – how an orchestra went digital during lockdown

Leeds-based Opera North perform Richard Strauss’ ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ while adhering to social distancing rules.

The crashing symbols, rumbling drums, and blasting brass on Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra are inherently epic, forever associated with Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Leeds-based orchestra, Opera North, were due to play the piece to packed concert halls but when the Covid-19 lockdown put an end to that – or at least a pause – they had to adapt.

The result – ‘2020: An Isolation Odyssey’ – is both visceral and amusing. It is a video performance by a socially distanced orchestra playing in their living rooms and bedrooms.

In just two weeks after its initial release, the performance amassed over 30,000 views on YouTube and moved some listeners to tears.

“I think Stanley Kubrick is bang on using the piece for exploring interplanetary worlds and space,” says Dan Bull, the company cellist. “We’re now experiencing the opposite, exploring a very shut-in environment. That has quite a resonance, in a strange way.”

Players didn’t get to say bye to colleagues as their tour was cut short on 17 March, when Opera North cancelled or postponed all live activity till the end of June. Though composer Tobias Ringborg continues to perform in Sweden, where lockdown measures are less severe, most of the company have been furloughed.

“We won’t work until September and that’s the good scenario,” says Lourenço Macedo Sampaio, the viola player. Even then he expects performances to be live streams or to reduced capacity audiences.

Social distancing does not come easily to musicians who need to sit and perform with each other. Like so many of us, the orchestra began to feel restless. Bull and Sampaio pitched Ringborg the idea of a video performance and received his contribution on 20 March.

“We got his footage and that provided us with enough information on how Tobias wanted things to sound and the choice of tempos; then we started constructing the score,” says Sampaio.

Three quarters of the orchestra immediately said they would participate and Bull and Sampaio were delighted to hear many of them had professional recording equipment at home.

Nonetheless, police sirens, boiling kettles and a dog’s barking are just about drowned out in the final mix by Bull. Sampaio managed the logistics while Alex Ramseyer-Bache, from Opera North’s marketing department, crafted the visuals.

Sampaio explains, “The organ had to be done first because you have to tune to an organ. Then we asked the trombones to tune, very carefully saying what the pitch of the organ was and we wanted everyone to tune to the same note.”

The performers were asked to dress in concert dress from the waist up, but were given free reign otherwise. A percussionist’s children wincing as he crashes his symbols, a bassoonist in a wolf mask and a variety of domestic backdrops give the video its distinct personality.

youtube

The audio was mixed in little over a week, with the video uploaded to YouTube on 9 April – an impressive feat given the complexity of the piece, Ringborg says.

Also Sprach Zarathustra doesn’t have a clear beat or metric for performers to stick to, so they had to hone in on the initial recordings from Ringborg, the organist and then the brass section. The ebb and flow gives the performance a “sense of nuance”, Bull says, with Sampaio saying it allowed them to add “artistic touches.”

Recording at home was also highly pressured for players used to playing in ensembles.

“It’s quite nerve wracking placing a microphone close to your instrument and recording in isolation,” says Bull. “It’s not a very comfortable experience as you don’t have much to respond to.”

Players were exposed, contributing recordings as solo players rather than in sections, leaving them “naked on the spot”, according to Sampaio. Ringborg, who as the first contributor had no one to conduct apart from a pianist and an imagined orchestra, said it was a “weird experience” but says the result more than made up for this.

“To play to a computer screen or microphone was weird and it wasn’t fulfilling for anyone, but the fulfilling thing is the final result,” he said.

The response so far suggests he is correct, with YouTube commenters repeatedly saying “bravo”, calling it “inspiring” and “wonderful” and often commenting on the anguish of the cymbal player’s children. Ringborg said he has heard from old classmates he hadn’t spoken to in 30 years about it while Sampaio says the most common response he’s had was people saying they had cried.

“As artists, if we can get one person to say that, it means everything,” he says.

Bull says the piece allowed people to connect musically, something which the curtailment of live performance has to a great extent halted. He says the video recording gave people new insights into the orchestra, allowing them to see the performers’ personalities. His auntie’s neighbour even said she preferred the video to a live concert performance.

“The personal stories in the video, like Mark’s children being there, Adam’s mask, you see a bit of our humour,” he says. “In that sense, digital has an advantage because the message is delivered more personally to the audience.”

Sampaio believes the industry could learn from this, arguing opera companies don’t do as much as they could digitally. He uses the example of the Metropolitan Opera – one of the world’s largest orchestras – which only has 366,000 followers on Instagram, which is small compared to leading performers in other genres. Digital performances like these “break down barriers” he says, offering “different windows to the audience to see us.”

Sampario and Bull are brainstorming new projects for lockdown, but they will only produce another piece if it can recreate the authenticity of the Strauss performance. Nonetheless, orchestras like Opera North will long to return to packed-out concert halls, playing together as a group in the same room.

Sampaio hopes people’s demand for live performance will build up during the lockdown, creating a renewed surge of interest, but there will be challenges, as people will need to be able to afford tickets during what is likely to be a deep economic recession. Ringborg says companies like Opera North will need support from the government.

For now, the Opera North orchestra can be content with having explored the possibilities of digital and broken down barriers with their audience, all within the confines of their homes.

This article was originally published on PA Training in May 2020.

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wsmith215 · 4 years

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Coronavirus and the Flu: A Looming Double Threat

Uncertainty about the future seems to be the one sure thing in the coronavirus pandemic. No one knows if COVID-19 will persist at its current pace or if recent increased interactions among people will spawn an onslaught of smaller outbreaks or a larger second wave. But a few things are clear: The virus that causes the disease is likely to continue circulating through the population until there is a vaccine. And flu season is only a few months away.

The overlap of COVID-19 and influenza has epidemiologists and some policy makers concerned. The U.S. may soon face two epidemics at the same time, they worry, and this combination could precipitate a crisis unlike any other. “The worst-case scenario is both [the coronavirus and the flu] are spreading fast and causing severe disease, complicating diagnoses and presenting a double burden on the health care system,” says Marc Lipsitch, an epidemiologist at Harvard University. A few states are planning for extra capacity in hospitals to deal with both illnesses.

Yet another, more favorable future also might be possible as these viruses cross paths, Lipsitch and other infectious disease forecasters say. The behavioral changes people have already adopted to flatten the curve of COVID-19—such as social distancing, hand washing, and mask wearing—could lessen the impact of the flu.

“It is hard to predict,” says Sarah Cobey, an epidemiologist at the University of Chicago. Not only is it unknown whether the coronavirus will ebb and flow as seasons change, but “what’s really hard is that I don’t have a good forecast for human behavior and policy decisions that are going to be made over the next couple of months,” she says.

Jeffrey Shaman, an epidemiologist at Columbia University, says if SARS-CoV-2 follows seasonal patterns like some other coronaviruses and influenza viruses do, it could subside in the summer. “But that could come back to haunt us,” he adds. “We might get complacent; we might not be prepared.” Four flu virus pandemics over the past 100 years—H1N1 in 1918, H2N2 in 1957, H3N2 in 1968 and H1N1 in 2009—had a deadly second wave around the fall and early winter. COVID-19 could do the same. “The concern that we might have a double whammy of flu and coronavirus is legitimate,” Shaman says.

[Both indoor and outdoor factors influence how viruses wax and wane with the seasons.]

Every year, influenza sickens millions of people in the U.S. In particularly bad years, flu surges overwhelm hospitals and health care systems. During the 2017–2018 flu season, local news outlets reported that hospitals across the country flew in nurses from other states, erected tents in parking lots and sent incoming ambulances to other facilities because of the overload of patients. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that between 46,000 and 95,000 Americans died from the illness that season.

Though the new coronavirus and influenza viruses can cause some of the same symptoms—such as fever, cough and fatigue—these similarities are mostly superficial. The pathogens use different receptors on cells to gain access to our bodies. As a result, SARS-CoV-2 could enter one way, while a flu virus slips in another. A study of about 1,200 patients, conducted in northern California and published in JAMA in April, found that one in five people who were diagnosed with COVID-19 were coinfected with another respiratory virus. The risk of such coinfections is typically low, says Ben Cowling, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong, but it gets higher when two viruses are circulating heavily in the same region. “It’s possible you could get infected with both at the exact same time—if you’re having a really bad day,” he says.

Cowling and some other epidemiologists think the way viruses interact and interfere with each other could reduce the impact of any coronavirus-influenza collision, however. They have tracked epidemics for decades and have found that outbreaks of respiratory viruses usually do not reach their peaks during the same time period. Though no one knows exactly why, a study published last year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA hypothesized that temporary bursts of immunity to different viruses on the cellular level could shift the course of future epidemics. For example, an outbreak of a rhinovirus—which causes a common cold—appears to have delayed the arrival of the 2009 influenza pandemic in Europe. And that effect, in turn, likely postponed epidemics of another disease: respiratory syncytial virus.

“Right now COVID-19 has a huge fraction of the population susceptible to it,” Cobey says. “Assuming that we’re not incredibly diligent about stopping transmission, it’s going to continue burning through populations, leaving this wake of immunity that might be slightly effective against other viruses.” She admits this idea sits on the “speculative side of hypotheses.” And the theoretical immunity would not be strong enough for, say, someone who has recovered from a coronavirus to shrug off the flu, or vice versa. But on a population level, it could mean that other viruses might not spread as quickly as normal, so their epidemic peaks could be delayed.

Another reason why the collision might not be dramatic has less to do with virology and more to do with human behavior: both COVID-19 and the flu are transmitted, for the most part, by respiratory droplets, so the same prevention strategies used to reduce the spread of the former will also work for the latter.

[How does the coronavirus spread through the air? Scientists explain what they know about transmission.]

In a study in the Lancetin April,Cowling showed that the public health measures introduced in Hong Kong to contain the coronavirus—such as border restrictions, quarantine and isolation, social distancing, mask wearing and hand washing—led to a rapid decline in flu activity. In the U.S., new flu cases plummeted a few weeks after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic. The 2019–2020 flu season, once headed to be among the worst in decades, ended six weeks early.

But as states in the U.S. ease restrictions on activity and travel, people’s behaviors could change in ways that ease virus transmission, so a double threat is still possible. And it is not clear what, if any, federal response is being mounted to prepare for it. In April Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, told the Washington Post that “we’re going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time.” After President Donald Trump claimed that Redfield was misquoted, the director walked his statement back, saying he did not mean the current crisis would be worse, just “more difficult and potentially complicated.” (The CDC did not respond to Scientific American’s requests for further comment.)

In late May a group of Democratic senators sent a letter to the White House asking it to prepare for the worst overlap scenario. “We urge you to begin planning for and activating the resources of the federal government now,” they wrote, “to increase capacity, supplies, and vaccinations to prevent public health and medical systems from being overwhelmed by simultaneous peaks of both of these deadly infectious diseases in the fall.”

On the state level, some are updating hospital surge plans and expanding infectious disease surveillance programs to include both the flu and COVID-19. North Carolina’s state health director Elizabeth Tilson, who co-chairs the state’s coronavirus task force, has been working with health systems to develop plans for increasing their surge capacity by converting unused facilities, procuring extra beds or hiring extra staff. “Thankfully, we haven’t had to pull the trigger on any of our emergency med surge plans. But we have all those plans in place, whether it be COVID-19 or COVID-19 and flu,” she says.

Cobey has been trying to convince the government of her home state of Illinois to set up a sentinel surveillance plan that could alert officials to coming surges of COVID-19 and flu cases. But she says her suggestions have received little traction. Such surveillance systems already exist in other states, including North Carolina and Michigan. The CDC also tracks both illnesses on the national level and releases a weekly surveillance report on the viruses that cause them.

Tilson points out that whatever happens, there is one basic step people can take that may alter the trajectory of either epidemic. “Look, we don’t have a vaccine for COVID-19,” she says. “We do have a vaccine for flu. Get the vaccine.”

Read more about the coronavirus outbreak from Scientific American here. And read coverage from our international network of magazines here.

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sciencespies · 4 years

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How Wastewater Could Help Track the Spread of the New Coronavirus

https://sciencespies.com/nature/how-wastewater-could-help-track-the-spread-of-the-new-coronavirus/

How Wastewater Could Help Track the Spread of the New Coronavirus

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, typically enters a person through the eyes, nose or mouth. But once it’s established itself in the airway, the pathogen doesn’t always stay in the respiratory system.

Recent evidence suggests that the new coronavirus may able to spread to sites throughout the body, such as the intestines. The virus could then use the gut as a jumping-off point to enter some patient’s feces, where researchers have detected its genetic footprint.

Experts aren’t yet sure whether SARS-CoV-2 can survive in stool or wastewater, or whether feces could constitute another way for COVID-19 to move from person to person. Health officials maintain that the risk of this mode of transmission is low.

But as researchers race to find answers, the SARS-CoV-2’s fecal signature could actually turn out to be a weapon to wield against COVID-19, helping track how and where disease is spreading. By analyzing bits of the virus’ genetic material in sewage, scientists may be able to identify the populations most at risk of infection—and most in need of lockdown—without painstakingly sampling every person, especially while individual tests remain in short supply.

Not everyone can get a diagnostic test. But everyone poops.

“This is an opportunity … to better understand the prevalence [of the new coronavirus],” says Andrea Silverman, a civil and urban engineer specializing in wastewater treatment at New York University. “The potential benefits are huge if you’re able to sample the whole community at once.”

A journey through the body

SARS-CoV-2 moves from person to person mainly through droplets that emerge when an individual coughs, sneezes, speaks or perhaps breathes. Since the early days of the outbreak, it’s been clear that the virus can also leave its calling card in feces. But whether COVID-19 can spread this way remains an open question.

Researchers and doctors have found large amounts of SARS-CoV-2’s RNA, or genetic material, in fecal samples taken from infected patients, says Saurabh Mehandru, a gastroenterologist and immunologist at Mt. Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine. These genetic signatures can linger long after the virus itself has been destroyed. In the instances where scientists have looked for viable viruses in stool, some, but not all, have found them.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization say the risk of the virus spreading through feces is low. No COVID-19 cases involving exposure contaminated stool been reported so far.

Still, there is not yet consensus whether SARS-CoV-2 can exit the body unscathed—just that “the possibility is real,” says Lijuan Yuan, who studies enteric viruses at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. To figure that out, researchers will need to survey the stool of many more patients and conduct controlled experiments on animal models and cells cultured in laboratories.

youtube

Perhaps these pieces of SARS-CoV-2 RNA are just debris—remnants of viruses swallowed from the airway into the gut, where digestive chemicals and enzymes ripped them to shreds. But should a virus survive this perilous journey through the GI tract, it could theoretically infect intestinal cells, which display the same surface protein that the new coronavirus uses to enter cells in the airway.

Mehandru says intestinal SARS-CoV-2 infections seem plausible simply because of the sheer volume of RNA found in some fecal samples. But the new coronavirus is shrouded in a delicate, fatty outer layer called an envelope that makes the pathogen sensitive to harsh chemicals—like what you’d find in a human’s GI tract. “It’s a very hostile environment,” he says. “It’s very possible the virus could be damaged in transit.”

If SARS-CoV-2 does occasionally seed a satellite population in the bowels, that might explain why around a third of COVID-19 patients have symptoms like nausea and diarrhea. From this stronghold in the gut, viruses—or at least their genetic material—could then be excreted into feces, Mehandru says, hitching a ride out of the body.

Signals in the sewer

Regardless of whether active SARS-CoV-2 persists in human waste, the presence of its RNA in stool could be a boon for disease surveillance. Around the world, researchers are now turning to wastewater monitoring as a means to track the virus’ prevalence in urban and suburban communities.

In areas where toilets are connected to sewage systems, flushed waste gets consolidated into progressively larger pipes en route to a water treatment facility. Sampling anywhere along this path could give researchers a quick and fairly comprehensive snapshot of health in a given city, borough or neighborhood, Silverman says.

Finding SARS-CoV-2 in sewer water works much like a diagnostic test for human patients. Researchers extract genetic material from wastewater, then search for a stretch of RNA exclusive to SARS-CoV-2. Public health officials have previously used similar forms of surveillance to keep tabs on flare-ups of polio, hepatitis A, norovirus and even antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.

The strategy may prove especially useful for COVID-19, given that large-scale patient testing has continued to stall. Some infected individuals may start to shed bits of SARS-CoV-2 into stool before they feel symptoms (if they ever do at all), says Aaron Packman, a civil and environmental engineer at Northwestern University. Homing in on these sewage-borne clues could help pinpoint people who might be unknowingly spreading disease or give hospitals advance notice of an impending outbreak.

Early results appear to bear out this theory. Researchers sampling a wastewater treatment plant in the Netherlands found that viral RNA had entered local sewers before the city had reported any confirmed cases of COVID-19. A survey in Massachusetts discovered higher-than-expected concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in local sewage, hinting that far more people had been infected with the coronavirus than were identified by testing.

Wastewater treatment facilities consolidate material from thousands or even millions of people, giving researchers a snapshot of an entire community’s health status.

( Marcin Jozwiak / Unsplash)

Silverman cautions that the technique is still being refined, and is not yet precise enough to determine how many infected individuals are in a given wastewater zone. To achieve that amount of resolution, “we’d need to know how much viral RNA each person is excreting,” she says. But that amount may not be consistent from person to person and may fluctuate over the course of the illness. For now, scientists are widening their lens to monitor broad trends in how viral RNA levels ebb and flow over time.

“If you start seeing the virus, that’s an early warning that there needs to be an intervention,” Packman says. Conversely, the gradual decline of the pathogen in a city’s wastewater might signal to local officials that a lockdown is working, helping inch residents along a tentative path toward reopening.

Virginia Pitzer, an epidemiologist at Yale University, says wastewater monitoring will help allocate tests and other limited resources to the places that need them most. “It’s easier than going out and testing everybody in the population,” she says. But once a community’s sewage water tests positive, researchers still have to figure out who is and isn’t harboring the coronavirus in their body. “This isn’t a replacement for individual testing,” Pitzer says.

Universal clean water

If it turns out the new coronavirus can spread through feces or contaminated water, the risks are exceedingly low in parts of the world with good sanitation. Because wastewater is typically treated with harsh chemicals, SARS-CoV-2 stands little chance of persisting in sewage, Silverman says. Besides, viruses must infect living cells to replicate. If they can’t locate a target, they fizzle out.

However, experts worry that people who live in places lacking adequate sanitation may be at greater risk of contracting the virus from wastewater. “The focus of all our containment measures have been very local,” Packman says. “Water is a long-distance transmission pathway. It can spread disease much faster than you’d expect.”

Other coronaviruses that infect animals like pigs are known to transmit through feces. Stool may have also played a small role in a handful of cases of the SARS outbreak that began in 2002, says E. Susan Amirian, an epidemiologist at Rice University. Several people living in an apartment building in Hong Kong were likely infected when a faulty sewage system aerosolized a plume of excrement.

To date, there is no evidence that the same will be true for SARS-CoV-2. But “if any virus is excreted in its viable form in feces… there’s definitely concern for the billions of people who don’t have access to sanitation,” Silverman says. This basic necessity is especially scarce in places like sub-Saharan Africa, southern Asia and eastern Asia.

Even in the United States, not everyone can regularly tap into a clean water supply. And many of the communities where clean water is scarce are already more vulnerable to disease because of infrequent access to medical care, overcrowding and higher rates of other health conditions. They’re also at risk of contracting the many pathogens known to be ferried from place to place by contaminated water. Many of these concerns have been highlighted in the Navajo Nation, where the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths continues to swell.

“We’re going to come out the other side of this pandemic with greater disparities between the haves and the have nots,” says Matthew Miller, a biologist at the University of Oklahoma. “That’s a very sobering reality.”

#Nature

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