#complete system failure

[dragonqueenstormwitch]

i wonder how that one guard is doing after having inej ghafa hold him at knifepoint and say “i like it when men beg. but this isn’t the time for it” into his ear because personally i would never move on

[torpublishinggroup]

Murderbot is MurderBACK in the next installment of Martha Wells’s NYT bestselling Murderbot Diaries series System Collapse 🤖🚀

WHAT’S IT ABOUT

Following the events of Network Effect, our favorite lethally cybernetic television fiend has done the previously unthinkable: agreed to accompany the sentient spaceship Perihelion (dubbed ART by Murderbot, short for Asshole Research Transport) and crew on its next mission. 

Unfortunately, they’re not going to get too far. 

Having failed to harvest dangerous artifacts from their target planet by way of Murderbot misadventure, the Barish-Estranza corporation is much angered and determined to recoup their considerable losses. And when you’re a lethally opportunistic space corp, blood and muscle are valuable currency. 

Murderbot, ART’s crew, and the Preservation humans have planetside work to do as Barish-Estranza seeks to claim the planet’s beleaguered colony as a conscripted workforce. 

But for Murderbot, the challenge is as internal as it is external. Something is deeply, deeply wrong with it. Normal operational parameters are unmet, but with the corp’s SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams en route, Murderbot needs to resolve its issues, and fast!

[gurggggleburgle]

Modern Tianlang-Jun should be a nepo baby twitch streamer who blew his trust fund funding indie projects and niche advant garde artists and saucey fanart from furries before he was 30 and the only reason he's not homeless is Zhuzhi-Lang pays rent on their shared apartment and now is like in his 50s just found out he had a son and is playing hello kitty island adventures while telling people about his made up drama for the game.

Buf he's also dropping hints that he's in on the fact these 3 big youtubers are about to do a rug pull on a ponzi scheme involving their sports drink and it's very odd. Because he is right but like he's never collabed. Was not in that room. He just knows.

And that's his entire shtick. He plays animal crossing and cute village sims and meanwhile is telling his chat all about the tea being spilt and no one understands how he has this. He's just always in the room somehow and he makes everyone's lives worse for it while somehow being scandal free himself.

He's iconic. We'll loved and hated

He can't hold a sponsorship to save his life

[ezdotjpg]

I’m gonna be so real I don’t regret quitting my job when I did bc it was truly tearing me apart and the company went under 4 months later and laid off everyone anyway bc it was truly a disastrous workplace but. I rlly thought the nightmare would be over by now 💀 I lose my health insurance in a month 💀 really fun times

[afniel]

Realizing that I went and wrote a bunch of intentionally aro relationships and my partner was like, "Idk, it seemed like normal relationships to me," and I was like, "I mean yeah it's not that different from ours, I guess, I was kind of going for 45° off from 'normal' romance," and they're like, "Okay, but ours is also pretty much like that," and I'm like, "Yeah, true," and now I'm like, damn hold up, are we both some kinda arospec and THIS is how we figure it out? Because I wrote a long-ass fic about intentionally queer-coded (among other things) robots? Life is weird, man.

Like I've been prone to extreme long-term crushes on a very few (mostly unattainable) people over the years, but I wouldn't have known what to do with them even if they worked out, and cough my ex was not even one of them. I just kind of assumed I was failing to feel a thing I was totally supposed to feel, there, and quite a lot of that relationship emotionally was me going, "Okay, I care like This, but I think I'm supposed to care like That? I'm pretty sure he cares That way. I'm not sure I do, but I mean, there's really only one way*, so maybe I'm just misreading this and actually I do care like That, I'm just bad at it."

*This was me being very incorrect, it turns out. There's all kinds of ways to love someone. It's a very inadequate and nonspecific word.

When I confessed my feelings (which I'd been sitting on for a year) to my partner, their reaction wasn't to be particularly romantic about it. In fact they told me they'd help me move to California if I wanted to. And after I got over my initial confusion of being kissed on the forehead (which is also not super romantic as a gesture and I couldn't decide how to even read that so I kinda skipped over even trying for a while), I was thinking, Awesome, that is a yes. They have promised to assist me with difficult stuff, and said nothing at all about emotions, because that's not a big deal anyway. The important thing is that I can rely on them and vice versa. Cool. We are basically together forever now. Which ended up being true. I just never moved out and now it's like 13 years later, go figure. But that's not what I think actually passes for reciprocating feelings for most people? Worked great for me though.

Anyway I feel like I have accidentally learned something about myself, lol. I guess romance is okay I guess, like it's not repulsive, but seriously, it's WAY more satisfying to me to guess someone else's Quiplash answer because you know they know you would think it's fucking funny, and you do, and because you think it's funny and you're well aware they know your type of humor and you know theirs and that you wouldn't expect them to use "cum" as an answer because that's not usually how they roll, so of course that is the only answer they can possibly give, which is instantly evident to both of you with no conversation whatsoever on the topic. When you got just one brain cell and it's quantum entangled with their just one brain cell so you have a lot of null discussions where nobody has to say anything but it's fully understood anyway, that's The Dream, if you ask me. And like I don't really think that's romantic by the usual definition. You can have that with friends and family, too. But that is what it turns out I prioritize in relationships, which I'm starting to feel like isn't what the majority of people are here for?

TFW it's hard to tell because I've been assuming I'm totally alloromantic so everything I experience must be typical totally alloromantic stuff too, but I'm starting to think it isn't maybe? But how do I even tell, this is like being colorblind, lmao.

[sing-me-under]

The reason I like the idea that Bruce was a teenage idle then personally experienced some aspect of poverty in his time abroad is because if I ever found out that some privileged rich white man spontaneously decided to go out into the streets and fight criminals hand to hand, I would personally tear his neck out with my teeth. Absolutely the fuck not. If he has no frame of reference for starvation, addiction, or homelessness, he has absolutely no right to enact his so-called justice.

That motherfucker better have fucking empathy in whole ass wheelbarrows OR ELSE.

[bambiraptorx]

So like...a pack of small war weapons who strive to be overachievers in order to impress their "adoptive" goat father

-🔮🕸

Honestly, yeah, pretty much. It's kinda ironic, actually, because even after he decides not to train them as warriors, he kinda ends up doing that anyway. Mostly because when he decided to find an intensive high-energy activity for them so they could have a specific setting to get all their energy out, his first thought was "teach them how to fight" (he was a warrior for centuries and it's where his brain went), but still.

And yeah, there's other activities later, like ballet and chess and various sports and theatre and the robotics program Demophon pioneers and a crazy number of clubs, but a lot of that comes from the drive to do something well. Especially because, even with as flexible as the yokai education system is, it's still structured around sitting still and listening for most of the lower levels, and that's incredibly hard for the four of them. People specifically engineered to fight day in and day out for months or years at a time don't do well at staying still.

There's also the factor that Draxum is not super openly affectionate, at least not in the way they see that other parents are. Other people greet their kids with hugs and kisses; he maybe gives them a head pat. Outright compliments are kinda few and far between, are often given as a result of them accomplishing something.

And like. None of them are straight A students. Lua forgets too many homework assignments, Demophon never speaks in class, Miltiades' attention wanders too much, and Ragnarok struggles to keep up with his course load. Even at the best of times they're getting the equivalent of Bs and Cs. And Draxum... he isn't disappointed, per say, but there's a couple years of the "if you only applied yourself" type of unhelpful advice before he realizes he needs to change how he understands successful learning.

[adiotical]

how does canada have more measles cases than the us

[najahmeq7]

Urgent appeal to those with merciful hearts.🚨 I hope you will help me save my child from his serious illness, which may lead to the worst if we do not address the bad situation that he and my husband are going through, who is injured in this war.

I am Najah Al-Hila, married to Khaled Muqdad from Gaza City. I am a mother of four young children. My family consists of Waleed, 9 years old, Mira, 6 years old, Ahmed, and Mayar, 3 years old.

Ahmed suffered from head cramps and increased electricity after his birth. He was given medication and had blood tests done every two months to make sure his health was stable. He suffered from these cramps in 2021. My husband also suffered from liver and digestive system problems five years ago and is still suffering from these problems. Over time, my husband was injured during the war, which made things worse for him. We thank God for everything. Because of the instability and unavailability of the medication, we face difficulties in buying medications due to their high prices. Now life has become very difficult and the prices of medications have increased due to their scarcity. Things have become more difficult due to the lack of money and his expensive treatment, which has led to its unavailability due to money. I hope that all donors and supporters will not forget Ahmed and his father Khaled in alleviating their pain by providing the costs of his treatment and buying him the appropriate medicine and food. We also do not forget his brothers from the malnutrition they suffered from during this difficult period.

Please everyone pay attention, I have been away from you for a while due to my health condition. I hope this situation is taken seriously. My husband and children's lives are in grave danger, I hope you do not suffer what he suffered. May your children and loved ones be safe and sound. I hope you help in their treatment and that their condition, which has worsened over time, stabilizes. Save Khaled and Ahmed from this disease that has afflicted them, please. Help us.

Note: My husband Khaled was working as a teacher before the war and obtained a teaching certificate from Al-Aqsa University and became an Arabic language teacher, but he was not lucky enough to find a job, so he became a worker due to the poor economic situation we are going through. At the end of my talk, he became injured and unable to work in this current situation. I hope you do not forget this and take it into consideration that there is a mother who seeks to preserve her husband and children by fighting for them. Your support is a support for me in these critical moments that we are living in and we may not live due to the repeated attacks by the occupation and the failure to reach an agreement to end the war.

We are now living in dilapidated tents, my child and husband are suffering.

We can no longer provide the necessities of life. My family's future is completely destroyed. I can no longer live in Gaza. I want to leave the Strip and treat my child and husband, so I need $5,000 per person.

I hope that everyone who watches my story will help me.

To get out of Gaza and find treatment and a better life for my children and family.

I am asking for help, and I hope that you will help me and donate to me.

To save my life from death.

I hope that you will donate even $25-50, it would be wonderful.

This will save my child's life. My husband's life. Donate to help Ahmed and his father evacuate Gaza.

My account vetted by :

@gazavetters Our team at #GazaVetters has rigorously vetted and approved this campaign, earning it a spot on our official list at (#49)

@el-shab-hussein

My campaign has been verified by @el-shab-hussein

@tamamita

@90-ghost

The campaign was documented by @gaza-giving-tree

@a-shade-of-blue The campaign was documented by

My campaign was verified by @sar-soor

My campaign was verified by @bilal-salah0

The campaign was documented by victormcdicktor-deactivated2024

My heroic friends who support the Palestinian cause... Today, after we have lost hope in this world, I ask you to help us and stand by.

Najah alhela and Khaled Muqdad

@ashwantsafreepalestine @feluka @3000s

@b0nkcreat

@postanagramgenerator

@wis-art @ot3 @ @wolfertinger666

@tamamatango @rammbook @ravenisheree @flawlessgentlemen

@sar-soor @ashwantsafreepalestine @sayruq @queerstudiesnatural @bluebellsinthedells @rizzyluke @kordeliiius @self-hating-zionist @raelyn-dreams @unfortunatelyuncreative @licencetokrill-blog @jezebelgoldstone @ramelcandy @labutansa @sammywo @autistwithattitude-blog

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@determinate-negation @littlegermanboy

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@ashwantsafreepalestine

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@tortiefrancis @sparklinpixiedust @feluka @revcuse @golvio @leftism @star-the-gremlin

@space-ace-studies @applebunch @rainbowywitch @marscodes @annoyingloudmicrowavecultist @boyvander @the-bastard-king @ammonitetheseaserpent @girlinafairytale -blog @timetravellingkitty @applebunch @applejupiter @brutaliakent @malcriada @retvolution @deansmultitudes @devilofthepit

[cocainecowgrrl]

dumb shit yapping in tags

[amplexadversary]

Man. I watched the critmas special today and I *am* worried that I'm just not going to like watching actual play Daggerheart.

Might be the autism talking but I feel like they went in a direction that's even more "rules-light" than 5e, and I feel like that's pretty close to my lower limit for how much structure makes sense for an actual game.

I was hoping DH would wind up closer to a Pathfinder type of deal, or, since they did want a more modular system, Rogue Trader-ish level of complexity, since they DID come from Pathfinder into CR1.

I feel like I'm definitely going to miss seeing a lot of the strategizing over specific ranges and how long things last and the like. Not to mention I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to read the rulebook to keep up with what's going on unless they release a free PDF version (or someone reliable pirates it; I don't buy games my own group has a <0% chance of playing and my friends are very much d100 system lovers)

[emergencyplumbingil]

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Final Thoughts.

Maintaining your pool heating system and understanding warranty terms can save you time, money, and stress. Whether it’s a simple fix or time for a complete replacement, working with a reputable company ensures you receive expert advice and reliable service. Keep your pool comfortable year-round with proper care and informed decisions.

Phone 224-754-1984

[livingfandomly]

This is something I’ve seen a lot and I’ve also joked about a lot but after SotR I just need to clarify my actual thoughts on this topic: Snow’s “twink death” and his inability to let go of, what was essentially, a month long relationship.

The thing is, it’s not Lucy Gray that he’s holding a grudge against… it’s her lifestyle. He got to experience first hand, the freedom and self-assurance that groups like the Covey generated for themselves. He saw Lucy Gray run off into the woods, swim in a lake, sing and dance with her peers, all after a game that should’ve destroyed her spirits - because that is the point of the Games. To have a sole surviving reminder of why the Capitol is in control. To send back one “victor” who every district hates because the person standing in front of them is taking their friend/child/sibling/cousin/partner’s spot. To completely dismantle that person’s ability to cope with the world the way they used to and to have them beholden to the Capitol for “awarding” them with riches. They’re supposed to serve only as a reminder, a threat, a shell of a person who is visibly hollow and tarnished, hated by many, feared by some and pitied by few.

Lucy Gray is not that shell. Lucy Gray, therefore, serves as a constant reminder to Snow of what should not be happening to those who get to leave the arena. The more he takes command of the Capitol and the Games, the more the “mistakes” of the Games stand out to him because his benchmark for measuring them is Lucy Gray.

Keep in mind that the 10th Games were also the first time he got to see from the inside out. He saw what pissed off the tributes. He saw how they were transported. He also saw how the public reacted at the home district. Lucy Gray had nightmares, sure, but her ability to re-mingle with her friends was a failure of the Capitol. He saw the need to maintain a constant difference between “victor” and “friend”. He saw the need to put them on tours so that the divide and distance grows. He saw the need to be able to broadcast every aspect of the Games without having to constantly be frantically cutting the feed or very obviously fixing the narrative, because that was yet another failure of the system the Capitol was trying to enforce.

This becomes so clear in SotR when he has his talk with Haymitch and realises that the Lucy Gray spirit he has been trying to squash is still alive. Not only that, it’s infectious. It can take someone like Haymitch, someone who is very well pressed under the Capitol thumb, and spark a fire inside him. The colours of the Covey, the singing, it doesn’t just represent Lucy Gray, it represents aspects of freedom that shouldn’t exist. Even him saying:

“You love her. And oh, how she seems to love you. Except sometimes you wonder because her plans don’t seem to include you at all.”

Is so telling because he can’t fathom that a person in the districts could have the independence of thought to do whatever they want. To him, she should be desperate to go back to the Capitol with Snow to get a chance to live the dream that they’re trying so hard to sell, but obviously failing.

So no, Lucy Gray isn’t just the girl he couldn’t get over. She’s the girl that serves as a warning, as an abomination of the purpose of the Capitol. As his personal blueprint of what should not be repeated ever again.

[jeonglixie]

.

[deep-space-netwerk]

So Venus is my favorite planet in the solar system - everything about it is just so weird.

It has this extraordinarily dense atmosphere that by all accounts shouldn't exist - Venus is close enough to the sun (and therefore hot enough) that the atmosphere should have literally evaporated away, just like Mercury's. We think Earth manages to keep its atmosphere by virtue of our magnetic field, but Venus doesn't even have that going for it. While Venus is probably volcanically active, it definitely doesn't have an internal magnetic dynamo, so whatever form of volcanism it has going on is very different from ours. And, it spins backwards! For some reason!!

But, for as many mysteries as Venus has, the United States really hasn't spent much time investigating it. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, sent no less than 16 probes to Venus between 1961 and 1984 as part of the Venera program - most of them looked like this!

The Soviet Union had a very different approach to space than the United States. NASA missions are typically extremely risk averse, and the spacecraft we launch are generally very expensive one-offs that have only one chance to succeed or fail.

It's lead to some really amazing science, but to put it into perspective, the Mars Opportunity rover only had to survive on Mars for 90 days for the mission to be declared a complete success. That thing lasted 15 years. I love the Opportunity rover as much as any self-respecting NASA engineer, but how much extra time and money did we spend that we didn't technically "need" to for it to last 60x longer than required?

Anyway, all to say, the Soviet Union took a more incremental approach, where failures were far less devastating. The Venera 9 through 14 probes were designed to land on the surface of Venus, and survive long enough to take a picture with two cameras - not an easy task, but a fairly straightforward goal compared to NASA standards. They had…mixed results.

Venera 9 managed to take a picture with one camera, but the other one's lens cap didn't deploy.

Venera 10 also managed to take a picture with one camera, but again the other lens cap didn't deploy.

Venera 11 took no pictures - neither lens cap deployed this time.

Venera 12 also took no pictures - because again, neither lens cap deployed.

Lotta problems with lens caps.

For Venera 13 and 14, in addition to the cameras they sent a device to sample the Venusian "soil". Upon landing, the arm was supposed to swing down and analyze the surface it touched - it was a simple mechanism that couldn't be re-deployed or adjusted after the first go.

This time, both lens caps FINALLY ejected perfectly, and we were treated to these marvelous, eerie pictures of the Venus landscape:

However, when the Venera 14 soil sampler arm deployed, instead of sampling the Venus surface, it managed to swing down and land perfectly on….an ejected lens cap.

[kira-akira]

What I Want You To Know About Long COVID

Well lads, I've been suffering from Long COVID for over a year now. My life is at a complete standstill. I'm 25 years old and I'm too sick to go back to school, I can't work, I had to move back in with my parents and I'm still stuck here.

Here are just a few things I wish people knew about Long COVID, including things I didn't know myself until I got it.

COVID destroys your immune system. Yes, even if you don't have Long COVID. Are you getting sick more often now? When you get sick, does it last longer? There are many studies showing that COVID causes t cell depletion, even in mild COVID cases! T cells are how your body remembers how to fight off infections you've had before so losing those cells? Bad news.

Your initial infection can be mild and you can still get Long COVID. Right from Yale Medicine, "Most people with Long COVID had mild acute COVID." (This is also a good link for a basic Long COVID overview).

There can be a gap of time between when you "get better" from the initial COVID infection to the onset of Long COVID symptoms. Some people get sick with an initial COVID infection and never get better. Some get better and then weeks or months later start developing Long COVID symptoms. Long COVID symptoms can even fluctuate over time, can go away for months and then suddenly come back.

So many people have Long COVID and don't realize it. Do you feel more tired lately but no matter how much you sleep, nothing helps? Is it harder to concentrate at work or school? Can you just not think like you used to? You could have Long COVID and not even know it. Even mild post-COVID symptoms are still Long COVID.

COVID can do anything to your body. Long COVID has over 200 recognized symptoms and can affect basically any part or system of your body. There is no one mechanism or cause of Long COVID which unfortunately also means there's no one cure either.

The effects of COVID are cumulative. Each COVID reinfection increases your chances of developing Long COVID. COVID is also affecting your body in other ways, yes, even if you're otherwise young and healthy! "Repeat COVID-19 infections increase risk of organ failure, death".

Once you have Long COVID, repeat COVID infections will make your symptoms worse. "80% [of Long COVID patients] saw their symptoms worsen [from reinfection]. In 60% of people who were in recovery or remission from Long COVID, reinfection caused a recurrence of Long COVID."

There is a lot more I want to say about Long COVID but I want to keep this post at least somewhat manageable to read. Like how when COVID is contracted during pregnancy, those COVID-exposed fetuses have a 6.3-fold increased risk of motor developmental delays, or that another study found 50% of babies exposed to COVID in utero had developmental delays.

You need to keep caring about COVID, for others around you and also for yourself even if you're "healthy". Everyone is at risk. And don't forget 40-60% of COVID infections are asymptomatic, which is why masking even if you feel fine is crucial. The only way right now to not get Long COVID is to not get COVID in the first place. It's not too late, if you've stopped masking it's never too late to start again! I know it's easy to get distracted by things in your life that seem more real than the possibility of getting sick some time in the future, and the peer pressure to not mask can be intense. But it only feels less real or less important until your entire life is having Long COVID. Trust me.

I know this is a complicated issue, many people can't afford to stay home when sick even if they want to because of their jobs, there are disgusting policies trying to ban wearing masks, but please if you can. Keep masking. Masking works, masking saves lives.

This post got a bit longer than I wanted so below the cut is a non-exhaustive list of my Long COVID symptoms and some of my experiences as one of the "healthy young people" who got "unlucky". cw brief mention of suicidal ideation.

Welcome to the Thunderdome that is my body with Long COVID. Keep in mind these are just my experiences and symptoms, Long COVID can cause any range of symptoms at varying severities.

Dysautonomia: Exercise intolerance, Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM), fatigue, and heat intolerance. What do those things mean? Here's some specific examples. Absolutely terrible circulation I am so cold all the time but also, if I get a little too warm I will pass out. Eating hot food makes my heart rate spike, I sweat, my body feels heavy. Blood pooling and pins and needles in my feet when I walk. Don't even think about exercising past walking, it's impossible. I used to work out an hour a day 4 times a week and now walking up one flight of stairs makes my heart pound and I can't breathe. Can't take even just warm showers anymore or I will pass out. Heat rashes from being in the sun for 10 minutes.

Digestive issues: Honestly too many to name but: constant bloating, extreme nausea, constipation, slow motility, lack of appetite, just so much cramping and pain. I lost 18 pounds from Long COVID, as someone who was already considered underweight their entire life, and almost had to get a shunt put into my chest to deliver nutrients because I was nearly completely unable to eat. For the first 6 months of Long COVID, if I could manage 600 calories a day, that was a good day.

Histamine intolerance: Oh boy. My worst symptoms, I don't even know where to start with it. If you know Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) it's very similar. I can only eat 19 foods. If i eat a single bite of something not on that list, it's 48 hours of absolute hell. Coughing, migraines, itchy eyes, such extreme nausea I cannot even describe it, panic/feeling of doom, racing heart rate, derealization, rash, uncontrollable muscle tremors. I only learned about histamine intolerance 5 months into having Long COVID so before that, I was experiencing these symptoms nearly every single day. Terrifying isn't even a strong enough word to describe how it felt to experience all this and have no idea what it was, how to stop it, or if it would ever stop. Really dark times.

Neurological issues: More of that derealization. Inability to concentrate. Anxiety. OCD-like symptoms such as thoughts getting "stuck" in my head, repeating 24/7 completely unable to stop them, genuinely felt like my brain had cracked open and I had lost my mind. Constant dizziness like I'm on a boat.

Sleep issues: I sleep like garbage. I have insomnia, I wake up dozens of times every night and every single time I sleep I have intensely vivid dreams. I can't sleep longer than 7 hours total no matter how exhausted I am. It is exhausting. I'm exhausted, I'm so so tired.

And finally. Just. Really intense suicidal ideation. My body, my health, my entire life has been stolen from me because someone else decided my life was worth less to them than wearing a mask or staying home if they feel sick. Before I got Long COVID, I was preparing to go to South Korea to teach English, then on to a PhD in neurolinguistics, I was supposed to meet my long distance partner and had already booked plane tickets when I got sick. All of that has been destroyed.

Most of us with Long COVID are stuck in a cycle of being extremely sick, then if you're lucky you'll slowly get better over months, just to get reinfected and go right back where you started or worse. Honestly, I'm not scared of dying from COVID. I'm scared of living for a long time, suffering from Long COVID the entire time. This isn't living.

I don't know how to end this now. I'm still fighting, I'm trying experimental treatments, I'm not giving up yet. I hope everyone reading this stays healthy and well.