pamprinninja
LGBT | Bi | Trans | She / Her
218 posts
Latest Posts by pamprinninja
tagged by @danielsarmand
I know they selected “Death Riders” as their new group moniker; but “BCC: PAC and White” was right there!
I love that the uniform is white shirts and then there’s PAC.
“Oh boy! It looks like I’m going to make it through the entire night without a single nocturnal panic attack!”
The nefarious 6:41am:
“The Importance Of Having Focus”
A Familiar Comedy for Inattentive People.
Act I.
LAUREN.
[Stiffly.] Good heavens, my back! This suffering is most insufferable; one would pen a remonstrative missive to the Times, were such an endeavor permissible in the purview of one’s own pernicious musculature!
LAUREN.
[Crossing room.] Oh, ibuprofen; faithful, dependable ibuprofen! Come to me now; I require release from the animosities of this fractious anatomy. [Opens bottle and swallows pill.]
Act II.
LAUREN.
Wait.
LAUREN.
…That was the cat’s thyroid medication.
LAUREN.
[Exclaimingly.] Fuck.
We have been laughing all evening because my wonderful, sweet, lovable idiot cat fell asleep in the crook of my arm - despite his eyes being wide open!
Just imagine gentle snoring from this little guy as he disaffectedly stares a hole through time and space itself…
This Author notes that a combination of Unicode superscript numerals¹ and the ❮s❯² formatting sub-type may be utilized concomitantly to approximate the divagate³ authorial style of noted poet⁴ E. E. Foot (for whom the ubiquitous ‘foot note’ is so named⁵).
¹ The first three numerals are - for historical reasons - located in the Latin-1 Unicode block; the remainder may be found in the aptly-titled Superscripts and Subscripts block.
² Lit.: ‘Small’.
³ Meandering, digressionary; from the Latin verb, divigari (“To wonder”).
⁴ …And ‘poet of notes’, as it were! (It should be remarked that Foot was, by day, a dutiful, detail-oriented customs agent; and it is oft-theorized that this choice of profession strongly influenced Foot’s idiosyncratically particularized approach to prose).
⁵ This is, factually-speaking, a fiction; but fictionally-speaking, a marvelous fact.
Tumblr’s lack of support for sub/superscripts is killing my need for footnotes in my posts😞
For as long as I can remember, I've been in the habit of carrying around all manner of spare tools and supplies for whatever minor emergencies life might throw in my direction.
Since downsizing from a backpack to a messenger bag, I've had to give greater consideration to the volume and weight of such items; but this has only served to gamify my choices!
(Heck: I've modified my current bag multiple times, to better organize the contents; and now I'm planning to construct a new bag from scratch, to hold everything exactly the way I want.)
The following are always in my bag:
Hedgehog best friend;
Keys (on a retractable winder);
Wallet and checkbook;
A6 notebook(s), pencil, ultra-fine marker;
Hairbrush, hair ties;
Netbook and charger;
Folder of miscellaneous papers;
Spare N95 masks and hand sanitizer;
Tissues, spare pad¹.
There are two optional item sets that I include unless traveling light - a personal care bag:
Nail clippers, nail file, tweezers;
Hand lotion, lip balm;
Travel toothbrush, flushable wipes;
Medications;
Basic first-aid supplies (i.e. Band-Aids, pain relief).
...And what could broadly be termed a 'repair kit':
Multi-tool², bit driver, additional bits;
Needles, thread, safety pins;
Universal charging cable³;
Emergency rain poncho⁴.
¹ I'm a great believer in the idea that trans girls should carry a spare pad, in solidarity. However, this also proved personally helpful during my lengthy period (no pun intended) of post-reassignment healing.
² Once used to fix the latch on an ornery stuffing machine at a Build-A-Bear.
³ Each year I attend a convention with my friend; and one of the major highlights is a puzzle-solving activity - the research for which can quickly drain a phone battery.
⁴ Prompted by a situation in which I had to cross a small distance through driving rain, and did not have an umbrella with me.
@ people who carry bags everywhere what do you put in them what is there to bring other than chapstick, keys, phone and maybe a tampon why are you packing a suitcase to be outside for 5 hours
In an ideal world, we would all have access to the healthcare - especially of the life-saving variety - that we need. Unfortunately, this is not the case; and until such a time as we can make it so, all we have to rely upon for assistance is one another.
If you are able to, please consider donating to Sera's fundraiser; every contribution helps.
My name is Sera, you may not know me but you know my past work behind the scenes here and there, such as the Mass Effect trilogy, Dragon Age, Silent Hills, and many others.
I am an agoraphobic indigenous Kanienʼkehá:ka (Mohawk) mixed lesbian who has fought for several years a worsening health condition that is currently killing me. The point of no return is not that far away. I have spent years exhausting any paths and means to get help, enduring extreme and near endless pain. I have sold all I have, spent every dime to my name. I have received various forms of help over the years in this battle, but I have reached the critical point I have feared all this time. And to make matters worst, the family responsible for inflicting a lifetime of abuse on me is stalking me very heavily online, which has not only exacerbated my agoraphobia, but has also made the efforts to build this harder than I could describe. Know that I share as many details as I can while seeking to avoid undermining my immediate safety, I hope you understand. This post is a highly abridged version of the content in the link, the unabridged and unedited version is available below the Read More cut ❤
If you have been following me for a while, you are familiar with my struggle and saw me talking about it throughout the years. There are no other options or help besides this, besides you. I need your help or I'm going to die, this is the last chance I have left. I'm afraid to my core, I still have a life in front of me, dreams to pursue. If you read this far, I know you may be inclined to share and move on, but I am asking you to pause and think if you have a dollar that could make all the difference. I know it can be troublesome to stop and actually do it, I am asking you to please consider doing it.
If you yourself have a health condition, I salute you for fighting your own battle. Regardless of whether you donate or not, if you read this far, know that you are loved.
A warm thank you to @transmechanicus , the kind soul who made this possible. I would be lost and doomed without your help. Erika did not believe thank yous were necessary, but they are. Attempting to save a human being's life is no small act. Whether it succeeds or fail, no thank yous will ever be enough. Even as the pain consumes my body, I am able to feel hope thanks to this. There are no words invented to express this level of thanks, but if I get to live, I will search for it.
(Please don't put tags on this unless it is to actually talk or comment something. As always, kind words are appreciated.)
My name is Sera, you may not know me but you know my past work behind the scenes here and there, such as the Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age, Silent Hills, and many others.
I am an agoraphobic indigenous Kanienʼkehá:ka (Mohawk) mixed lesbian who has fought for several years a worsening health condition that is currently killing me. The point of no return is not that far away. I have spent years exhausting any paths and means to get help, enduring extreme and near endless pain. I have sold all I have, spent every dime to my name. The system, I feel, is indifferent to my situation. I have received various forms of help over the years in this battle, but I have reached the critical point I have feared all this time. And to make matters worst, the family responsible for inflicting a lifetime of abuse on me is stalking me very heavily online, which has not only exacerbated my agoraphobia, but has also made the efforts to build this harder than I could describe. Know that I share as many details as I can while seeking to avoid undermining my immediate safety, I hope you understand.
If you are reading this, you are one of the few people who can help save my life. A single dollar is enough to make a tremendous difference. There is no other options or source of help besides this, besides you. I need your help or I'm going to die, this is the last chance I have left.
The goal is a series of treatments and challenging surgeries that will remove small metal shards near vital organs and bones in my body. It is categorized as severe internal injuries secondary to a traumatic event. As medical professionals have put it, "the lack of immediate surgical intervention necessitates a comprehensive, multidisciplinary treatment approach aimed at mitigating the risk of disease progression and optimizing long-term outcomes."
My injuries are from a car accident which injured me immensely and took the lives of my two closest friends in the world. This page does not ask for the full amount of the procedures and treatments, since it is a very large sum of money that cannot be reached that quickly. The page only asks for enough to get me started in the process and access proper vital treatments in countries of the european union. Adding time to the clock, giving me a chance to fight this battle and launching an important part of the process towards saving my life.
I know you may be inclined to share and move on, but I am asking you to pause and think if you have a dollar that could make all the difference. You may be but a few clicks away from truly helping someone who desperately needs it. I know it can be troublesome to stop and actually do it, I am asking you to please consider doing it.
If this fails to reach its goal, I will die. I'm afraid and I need your help. I still have a life in front of me, dreams to pursue. If you read this far, you are the only chance I have left. Don't underestimate the difference a dollar can make, your dollar could be the one dollar we come short of. The expenses covered by this amount ranges from the medical consultations, medical treatments, surgeries and, of course, accessing said treatment, reaching the places where I need to go. I will have a true chance at fighting for the remaining amount myself.
As for cheaper alternatives, it is mainly temporary fixes that would not fix the issue and waitlists that I would die waiting on years before my turn comes. This is it, this is the only way I have that provides the care I need, in the timeframe I need it, with a success rate that gives me a chance to live.
Thank you for reading this and for persevering in the brutal system we all live under. If you yourself have a health condition, I salute you for fighting your own battle. May we all make it and may we all have the softest of epilogues. Regardless of whether you donate or not, if you read this far, know that you are loved.
I would like to thank Erika, a dear friend who has made this possible at all. Without her, I would be lost. I would also like to thank immensely Milica, who has been on this journey with me for so many years, almost since the beginning. Her medical knowledge and her kind heart, her support and dedication, have allowed me to survive long enough to get to this point. I would not be here still without her. I would like to thank the amazing and loving Dana, who has been here during the good days as much as the bad days. She has been a beacon preventing me from giving up hope. I would have abandonned before getting to this point had she not been there for me. And thank you to Oli, who has been my champion, it is thanks to his help that I can move around where I need to go. A great support and a great friend. I would like to also thank Bruna, a kind heart who has never failed to cheer me on, even when her life was not perfect, she never stopped cheering and supporting me.
I would also like to thank my tumblr mutuals, you know who you are, those who have been in my DMs offering me your kindness, laughter and support in these dark times. Your help has also saved me more than once. You are true blessings. Thank you for never giving up hope during the days I felt like doing so.
You have all carried the torch during the days I couldn't, and for that, I can never thank you enough. I have lived and survived because of you, your help in every form has made a difference in the world. I am ready to fight for my life, and whether I reach my goal and live, or fail and die, know that none of it was wasted. You have all made me a better person and that is the mark of true love transpiring from one person to the next. Thank you for believing in me when I could not. I love you all.
Thanks to @cronnissar for tagging me in!
Eggs: Poached when in a breakfast sandwich / over Eggs Benedict; white omelette with Swiss cheese if I’m being good; fried¹ if I’m not.
Steak: My sympathies to the well-done folks (a preference frequently born of poverty); but medium-rare is objectively the right way to go.
Milk: For drinking, almond milk (preferentially with honey, over ice). Skimmed milk for everything else².
Alcohol: Oban 14, chilled³.
Warm drink: So, so much coffee. So much. (Although green tea is also good!)
¹ The closest US equivalent would be ‘over hard’; although Americans like to smash the yolks and / or move the eggs off of heat before the edges are crisp.
² I know that full-fat milk is considered superior in taste; but I was raised on skimmed, and reacclimatizing my taste buds is, alas, not a priority.
³ Do not mistake my choice as proof of a sophisticated palate; Oban is in a drinking polycule with Bailey’s and Jose Cuervo.
…And again in the season one Babylon 5 episode, “Infection”:
“You and the rest, you forgot the first rule of the fanatic: when you become obsessed with the enemy, you become the enemy!”
That JMS repeated himself virtually verbatim goes to show that this is a message he felt very strongly about (and rightfully so)!
That video of Alex Hirsch reading S&P notes for Gravity Falls conveys a few things to me:
1) the U.S. entertainment industry (especially animation) is run by older conservative types who make up offensive terms and get really mad about them.
2) the people who run Disney would be the first to fall in line with a fascist regime.
3) most of the media we consume is tailor-made and watered-down to appeal to the tastes of older, deeply religious conservative audiences.
4) conservatism, not the left, is and always has been the biggest voice of censorship in American culture.
After months of silly overwork, I finally got to see my stylist! I feel so much better now that my hair is both multicolored and a more manageable length. 🙂
I see @foone has switched from reblogging deer girls… to reblogging John Deere girls. 🙂
Imagine the frustration of trying to do maintenance on your robot gf only to find out her wiring diagrams, code, and repair manual are considered confidential and proprietary and only factory certified technicians are allowed or able to work on her. Now imagine working tirelessly to build a wiring diagram, reverse engineer her code, and documenting troubleshooting and maintenance procedures
To go in the opposite direction:
It’s theorized that the Red Templars are a Black Templars successor.
Their armor is (unsurprisingly), red; and their chapter insignia, fittingly enough, is a fleur-de-lis.
Those Black Templars of yours would look pretty darn sharp painted up in crimson; and standing next to their allies, the Order Of The Bloody Rose… 🙂
Been going through my pile of opportunities for something to be my next project.
I think it is time:
But the question is, do I build them by themselves or do I make these two as accompaning armies?
I absolutely love the sister/BT vibe and together they would look baller. But this is a lot of black armour to paint for someone who loathes painting black armour 😅
Multiple of the above!
I take my extended-release Adderall and half of my estradiol in the morning. Generally I do this by sheer routine; and it’s very unusual for me to forget.
Addendum 1: it helps that I’m also responsible for giving one of our cats her medication at the same time; so one event acts as a reminder for the other, and vice versa.
Addendum 2: if I do forget, it’s usually because I am under the weather, and my neurological issues are making a temporary appearance - in which case, my Adderall isn’t going to be of a whole lot of assistance anyhow. 🤷🏻♀️
During the day, I take omeprazole and an instant-release Adderall. I have alarms set for these; but I’ve also found that if I don’t take them at the exact moment the alarm goes off (or do something to remind myself as soon as I’m able, such as move my phone to the wrong pocket) then I absolutely will forget.
Addendum 3: my spouse will kindly follow up a few minutes after my afternoon medicine alarm goes off, to make sure I’ve taken it.
I take the other half of my estradiol before I go to bed; which again, happens to coincide with medication time for Old Lady Feline.
…
Everyone is different; and what works for one person might not be true for another. What I’ve noticed for myself however is that:
Taking my medications at home isn’t too much of issue, because (a) they are in a place where I can see them all the time (which is a helpful reminder) and (b) I’m not distracted.
Taking my medications at work is a whole other ballgame; partly because they are out of sight, but mainly because there are too many unplanned interruptions that distract from the task and / or apply unwanted time pressure.
(Which has me thinking: I wonder if I could block out time on my work calendar for taking my medications; and more critically, set my availability to “Do Not Disturb”? 🤔)
Alright I'm terrible at waking up to take my meds on time and I'm not sure if it's OCD, ADHD, or just my fatigue. So anyone who has this or a similar problem,
Please reblog for a bigger sample size!
I grew up in the UK. As a teenager, I inadvertently lacerated my index finger; an injury that necessitated emergency medical intervention, followed by surgery to repair the two tendons I had severed.
The total cost to myself and my family: £0.
A few years later, I was employed; and I am lead to understand that around 11 - 12% of my income was taxed in the form of National Insurance (which pays for the NHS; plus a number of other significant social services).
...
I then moved to the US; where I contracted a series of common respiratory infections that, unfortunately, would routinely lead to such complications as bronchitis, pneumonia, and (on one memorable occasion), pleurisy.
My first major introduction to the exorbitant cost of American-style, privately-funded healthcare came when, during one of these instances, I needed a chest x-ray; for which I paid $400 out of my own pocket (equivalent, at the time, to a month's rent).
There was a later instance in which a family member was experiencing breathing difficulties, and was directed to the ER. The medical professionals involved ordered virtually every test in their arsenal (as they were not privy to, nor concerned, with the costs involved). Our private health insurer refused to pay for these, citing the need to investigate a possible preexisting condition.
That one event cost us $15,000.
...
At my company, a mid-level employee is paid a salary of $60,000. They then have the option to purchase a mid-range private health insurance plan with coverage of all family members. This costs $600 a month; 12% of their income.
So far, there is relative parity with the NHS.
However: the plan also includes a $3,750 deductible; and a $7,500 out-of-pocket maximum. That is to say: until you reach the first threshold, the insurer pays little to nothing; and it is only when you reach the second threshold that they will pay for the entirety of your care.
(And this does not account for out-of-network care; i.e. conducted by medical providers that do not have a contract with the health insurer specifying payment rates. The out-of-network thresholds are tracked separately; and both are on the order of tens of thousands of dollars.)
So really, in the event that you actually need to exercise your health insurance, you are potentially paying up to 24.5% of your income on healthcare.
But wait, there's more!
The aforementioned $600 per month isn't the full insurance premium; merely the part the employee pays. The employer also pays a portion - another $1,600 per month.
(This is, of course, part of the employee's overall compensation package; but most Americans don't think of it as such, as the expense circumvents their paycheck. Just one of the many ways by which the true cost of private health insurance is kept opaque.)
So really, our hypothetical mid-level employee receives $79,200 per year in compensation; of which a minimum of 33% goes to healthcare (and as much as 42% if you actually need to exercise said healthcare).
(Now to be fair: a family health plan would cover our employee's partner; so their contribution of income would be 0%. Assuming that they earn a similar salary however, you are still looking at an average cost of between 16.5% and 21% for each partner.)
...
The American healthcare system is a travesty; one where health insurers and (other various middlemen) demand an enormous portion of American income, while interfering with (and frequently preventing) access to care.
The simple reality is that private industry will, in any given context, prioritize profit; and that in certain sectors of service, this will place the needs of industry in direct conflict with those in need of said service.
Put another way: to make a dollar of profit in the healthcare industry, you must take it from someone that has paid for and needs healthcare; and then you must choose to deny said healthcare, and keep it for yourself. It is the vampiric exploitation of a group of people particularly unequipped to fight back.
The people of the UK should seek to defend, tooth and nail, any and every attempt to not only privatize the NHS in general, but especially at the hands of the same US health insurers that have so successfully raised costs and lowered health outcomes.
The NHS will last as long as there are folk left to fight for it” – Aneurin Bevan
I’m no fan of Keir Starmer or Rishi Sunak. Sunak is completely out of touch with ordinary people and Starmer will promise just about anything to get himself into power and then break those promise when it suits him. However when it comes to the future of the NHS I feel it will be safer under a Labour government than one run by free market, neo-liberal Tories.
From a purely selfish perspective - something the Conservative Party excels at - the NHS saves all of us a small fortune. When your child needs medical care it is free at the point of use; when your parents need medical care it is free at the point of use; and when YOU need medical care it is free at the point of use.
Of course we pay for this through taxes and national insurance contributions but the clue is in the phrase “national insurance”. Medical treatment in Britain, is, at the moment, paid for through collective funding. It is a system based on community, social responsibility, and the old fashioned concept of caring for your neighbour. . Aneurin Bevan, the "Father of the NHS” said:
“No society can legitimately call itself civilized if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means."
It is a sad fact that Conservative Party members, many of them rich individuals who can afford private medical treatment, have been undermining the NHS because of their unwavering adherence to the ideological belief that all things run by private enterprise are good while all public sector institutions are bad. . The Tory’s will, of course deny this, claiming the NHS is save in their hands and that they have no plans to privatise it.
Lets look at the facts.
Despite Prime Minister David Cameron promising there would be no cuts to the NHS this was the headline in the Daily Mirror when the Conservatives took over from Labour in 2012.
“David Cameron cuts NHS spending by £500million.” (06/11/12)
Two years later and we have this headline from the Guardian:
“David Cameron accused of hypocrisy over £1.4bn ‘raid’ on NHS funding." (06/07/2012)
By 2014 NHS staff were on strike because of the Tory government refused to give them a 1% pay rise. Rows over poor pay and under-funding continue to this day.
While Jeremy Hunt was Health Secretary patient experience and staff moral took a dramatic turn for the worse. Despite presenting himself as a “champion of patient safety”, targets were missed, waiting times increased, and the very fabric of some hospitals began to crumble, leading to Hunt being labelled “the man who ruined the NHS”. (Open Democracy: 08/07/22)
In 2016 The Independent ran this headline:
“Jeremy Hunt co-authored book calling for NHS to be replaced with private insurance.” (10/02/2016)
Is it any wonder the NHS has been seriously under-funded and run down when the man in charge was an advocate of private medical health insurance? Millionaires like Cameron (£40m) Hunt (£15m) and Sunak (£651m) can afford to pay for expensive medical care but the rest of us are not so fortunate.
This brings me back to the purely selfish reason we should vote for the party most likely to protect the NHS. Below are some AVERAGE costs for private medical procedures and treatments in the USA provided by Statistica 2021
Heart valve replacement…….$170,000 £133,390
Heart bypass………………….......$123,000 £96,518
Cornea (per eye) ……………......$17,000 £13,339
IVF treatments ………………......$15,400 £12,084
Hysterectomy ………………….....$5200 £4,080
In addition, Americans have to pay for their stay in hospital. This fee is on top of medical treatment costs. According to Debt.org (30/11/23) the price for the average stay in hospital of 4.6 days is $13,262. (£10,406)
Whatever your political leanings, the protection and restoration of the NHS should take precedent over all other electoral considerations because we will ALL need medical treatment at some stage in our lives be that as a child or as an adult.
We know the Tory mantra "private sector good public sector bad” just doesn’t live up to reality: we only have to look at our polluted waterways to realise this. Whether Keir Starmer would be any better at protecting the NHS from profit motivated private companies is a moot point.
With headlines like:
“Can Wes Streeting’s private sector plans save the NHS?” (Guardian: 14/04/24)
and
“Labour’s Wes Streeting just used the SUN to talk up NHS privatisation” (Canary: 08/04/24)
we cannot rely on the Labour Party leadership to protect the NHS from the profiteering private sector, not least because Wes Streeting has been paid £175,000 from donors linked to private health firms. (National: 14/04/24) There is no such thing as a free lunch so one doesn’t have to wonder to hard what these “donors” might want in return for their money!
Even so, I feel there are those within the Labour Party who would work very hard to stop the leadership of the party from running down the NHS to the point of collapse, as is the Tory plan, so with great reservation I will be voting Labour in the coming elections.
Save Our NHS
Orikan: *Rewinds time*
Trazyn: "...A single thread of fact within this tapestry of fiction you have woven."
Orikan: "BASTARD, BASTARD, BASTARD!"
"Stop laughing Trazyn, I have a Gf, she's just from another dynasty"
Orikan: *Rewinds time*
Trazyn: "...A shred of truth within this tale of yours."
Orikan: "BASTARD!"
"Stop laughing Trazyn, I have a Gf, she's just from another dynasty"
Trayzn: "I am an expert, dear colleague, in the location and acquisition of antiquities. I have scoured this galaxy in search of artifacts both rare and priceless; and my service to the Infinite Empire is second to none in this respect.
And yet there is one thing, I must profess, that I have not be able to find: your story to be credible."
Orikan: "..."
Orikan: "BASTARD!"
"Stop laughing Trazyn, I have a Gf, she's just from another dynasty"
The spackle technique looks great! The pattern scales perfectly; and the cross-hatching of the brush strokes reminds me of modern digital camouflage (and by extension, suggests that the Kroot received their cold-weather gear from their Tau allies).
This definitely seems like the direction to go in; and I'm very excited to see the finished result! 🙂
Work in progress shot of my first four Kroot.
Using Farstalkers as Carnivores simply because they have cloaks - my Tau are going to have snow bases, so the Kroot will match, and there is a limit to the amount of genetic cold weather resistance you can inherit by eating dire-lemmings, ice-ferrets and Valhallans.
Not at all happy with the snow camo pattern I botched onto these guys tho... Might have to go back to the drawing board.
This is long overdue; but thanks to @ghastspidergwen for the tag! 🙂
...
Last song: Lust For Lies, by The New Division.
Favorite color(s): they change periodically; currently in are dark reds, greens, and teals!
Currently watching: whatever delightfully absurd game-streaming compilation my kiddo chooses to share with me. (The most recent was PointCrow trekking a straight line across the entire Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom map, sans upgrades.)
Sweet / savory / spicy: all of the above! My only corollary is that I quickly find too much of either sweet or savory to be overpowering; and need to alternate between the two.
Relationship status: currently celebrating my 20th year of marriage!
Current obsession: I recently reignited my passion for customizing the 8" figures from the short-lived GI Joe: Sigma 6 line (and just finished indexing a 200-page notebook specifically to record my ideas in).
(Honorable mentions: learning to play the blues on the guitar; learning to play Elgar's Variation IX (Adagio) "Nimrod" on the piano; creating updated versions of the Warhammer: 40,000 Chaos Champions I originally converted in my youth; downsizing my not-insignificant stockpile of nerdy collectibles.)
...
There's zero pressure to join in; but the following people routinely brighten my dashboard, and I would love to know more about them! 🙂
@cronnissar,
@foone,
@owlrageousjones,
@transmechanicus,
@socialistexan,
@whenflowersfade.
Nine people i'd like to get to know better:
Tagged by: @bell-of-indecision, thank you so much for tagging me <3
Last Song: Gmfu by Odetari,6arelyhuman
Favourite colour: Dark red, violet, pink
Currently watching: Death note, ep6
Spicy/Savoury/Sweet: Spicy
Relationship status: Single
Current Obsession: Mbti types and cognitive functions.
Tagging: @somin-yin @a-cloud-for-dreams @axepen @hinsaa-paramo-dharma @basic-bitch-alkali @rhysaka @blackknight-100 @squishywizardd @reykalot
'Standard Clitoris™'
Apologies for those that read the title with confusion and / or an injured sense of propriety; there is critical context here, I promise!
Act I:
Two years ago, I contacted Mt. Sinai's Center For Transgender Medicine And Surgery; with the intent of pursuing gender reassignment.
(The people there are lovely; but this was still an incredibly involved and rather stressful process, as (a) my health insurer required numerous hurdles be jumped before they would authorize the surgery; and (b) the Mt. SInai health system is located in New York, whereas I am quite definitively not.)
I ended up consulting with renowned vaginoplasty surgeon Dr. Miro Djordjevic. For those not in the know, Dr. Miro originates from Serbia; and while he speaks excellent English, he also has a flair for creating unusual turns of phrase that are as delightful as they are unexpected.
To transcribe this conversation (to the best of my recollection):
"Dr. Miro - what level of control do you have over the appearance of the new vulva?"
"Oh, Lauren; many young girls, they come in here with pictures of other women, they say: 'Dr. Miro, please can you make my new vagina look like this'. And I say, 'I cannot, I am sorry; for the final appearance is very dependent on your individual anatomy'. However, I understand this, and I will give you a very good vagina, a very beautiful vagina; you will see."
"Ah! This makes sense to me. Let me rephrase my question: once I am healed, I hope to have my clitoris pierced; but I understand that this requires the anatomy to be a certain way."
"Lauren, in many surgeries, you are the first girl that has asked this. But! The clitoris, this I can change! You tell me what size your clitoris should be, and I will do this for you."
Act II:
Thus, I visited my local piercing parlor; and provided my piercer with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to specify the exact dimensions and (and other qualities) of the clitoris that they would, in future, be piercing.
The takeaways were surprisingly straightforward:
The clitoris needed to be large enough to pierce (with an overall diameter of 10mm suggested as an appropriate target).
There needed to be sufficient space between the clitoris and clitoral hood to comfortably fit a Q-Tip.
So armed, I prepared for the day of surgery (a tale in its own right).
Act III:
It is the 9th of February, 2023; and I am currently sitting in the pre-op room, meeting the vast team of individuals who will shortly be participating in the surgical revamp of my genitalia (or the critical task of ensuring that I remain wholly unconscious during said revamp, but not so unconscious that, say, my heart stops).
It is here that I see Dr. Miro once again; and remind him of our previous conversation and my subsequent fact-finding mission regarding clitoral anatomy as it pertains to piercing suitability:
"Okay, so: my piercer says that the clitoris should be around 10mm in diameter; and that there should be enough space between the clitoris and hood to fit a Q-Tip."
...To which Dr. Miro wryly shook his head, and proceeded to hew from his English lexicon a brand-new term that has lived with me ever since:
"Lauren, Lauren! Why didn't you say? This is Standard Clitoris™! This is what I was going to give you anyway!"
...And so it was, as I rapidly drifted towards my robotically-assisted neovaginal destiny (and away from consciousness), that the primary thought looping through my mind was: "I should have known: the Standard Clitoris™"!
I love this illustration so much! It was used as both the cover image of the Mad Max-inspired Fighting Fantasy installment Freeway Fighter (published in 1985); and again for the rule book of Games Workshop's short-lived post-apocalyptic racing game, Dark Future (released in 1988).
(The dual use is hardly surprising, given the close connection between the two organizations.)
The contradiction of pristine paintwork and flawless chrome, versus the tank-like armored cabin, leather enthusiasts, and desert background... Ah, simpler times!
Jim Burns
Professional wrestling is a strange blend of fact and fiction; a form of theater in which the characters are extensions of the athletes that portray them. Fans are encouraged to participate in the performance; to display the sort of passion and vitriol normally reserved for world sporting events.
To be clear, however: it is a performance; and there should be no room for the kind of fans that cannot distinguish between, say, booing a villainous character, and hurling the kind of abuse that leaves performers and fellow attendees deeply disquieted.
I have attended AEW / ROH events; and they are upfront about their expectations regarding fan conduct, and the consequences of violating said expectations (up to and including immediate ejection from the arena).
However:
At one such event, I had the displeasure of being seated next to a small cadre of inebriated fans that kept up a continuous stream of obnoxious, disrespectful, and at times, highly offensive chants for the entire duration of the show.
In wrestling parlance, these fans were attempting to 'get themselves over'; a phenomenon that could be understood as similar to heckling in that a portion of the audience has decided that they, in fact, should be the focus of the show.
(And - also much like heckling - neither those performing, or those also in attendance, care for this behavior.)
Having grown weary of the group and their incessant personal grandstanding, I asked arena security to intervene - who promptly did no such thing. The chants were also sufficiently loud that Christopher Daniels - then sitting at the commentator's desk - signaled for these fans to desist (which, inevitably, they did not).
I am deeply sorry that Skye Blue - one of AEW's quickly-rising homegrown talents - found herself in the position of suffering a tirade of abusive comments from a fan with zero comprehension of appropriate conduct.
However, I am more frustrated that the man in question was not removed until the match had concluded.
I am not sure as to why the delay; and when in doubt, try to apply Hanlon's Razor (i.e. inaction as the result of mismanagement; rather than some sort of malicious intent).
Whatever the case may be: while AEW has the right idea regarding their policy of fan conduct, they need to be a great deal swifter in applying it.
Skye Blue is such a lovely lovely wrestler its so sad she had to go through this
i dont understand why theres still people like this in 2024 :(
And you: who never thought to question If this was how things were supposed to be... I convict your conviction. History is contingency, And things could always have been otherwise. (And still might.) And still might will end in time, All you held so perpetual. All you thought was supposed to exist, I only suppose to exist; And may not - One day soon.
Hybrid always excel when it comes to crafting a memorable opening to each album; but even by their standards, Flashpoint is something special. The initial spoken word segment - a poem by author James Scudamore - is particularly evocative; read in a chilling, almost accusatory fashion.
Putting this out there, as Fiona’s work is absolutely incredible and she deserves more exposure! Are you looking to have a miniature painted with topnotch blending? Commission Fiona today!
howdy do! I'm opening one (1) commission slot for a (single) miniature to help me pay for my Transition, I am starting small and may open up more slots in the future.
A questionnaire will be provided to assure quality and satisfaction of the finished product.
Contact via DMs or email if interested
Email: f.ekerholm@gmail.com
Rules and terms
Payment via paypal*
Payment up front, if any extra paints, a model or resources are needed that is paid for in full.
The model is paid for by the buyer, either sent or I source locally (Sweden)
Single model ONLY, 28-54mm sized, no over detailed/huge model, regular basing is included.** Progress pictures will be provided.
Painting time 1-2 weeks painting time + shipping
Shipping rates are 12€***
*If you are located in Sweden payment is done via swish
**Basic basing is texture paste, in the color of your choosing shaded and highlighted with a few small tufts
***Some countries may be more or less expensive
Costs:
Building is required: 10€
Painting time 5h/7h 40/55€
If building is required
Complex or special basing: 7€
Simple OSL: 4€
Face: 4€
NMM Weapon effect: 5€
There have been a number of particularly insightful additions to this chain. Courtesy of crazy-pages:
...Relative to the dollar value of labor, video games are cheaper than they've ever been. It's just that the inequality distribution of wealth has changed so much, and cost of living along with it, that the cost of games relative to people's discretionary income after necessities has skyrocketed.
...And robotsandfrippary:
That's where your $60 goes. To the corporation and CEOs, not the devs... It's killing games, and none of us know what to do about it because we're busy scrambling to find work and feed our families.
...And nerdlingwrites:
Approximately 9,000 people in the industry were laid off in 2023, and so far this year there's an estimated 8,000... I think we've gone past crash, and now the entire industry is imploding.
The pandemic was (I know, I know; Apollo's gift of prophecy) a once in a lifetime event; and for all of the disruption, devastation, and deaths it caused, some industries - such as those offering entertainment at a time of mass quarantine - made out extremely well.
Unfortunately, America's particular brand of short-term, shareholder-centric capitalism demands that the Lines Goes Ever Upwards (even when the explanation for a much-needed correction is as simple and easily-digested as "We experienced an unexpected windfall due to one-time exterior circumstances").
This is why the price of games goes up, even as consumer purchasing power goes down; why massive layoffs are occurring across multiple industries (even as companies report record profits against a background of sustained economic growth).
The entire system is sick, and growing sicker; and until such a time as we stop treating share price as an objective measure of value, it will grow sicker still.
As for what this means for the video game industry at present? Hard to say; although this wouldn't be the first time the medium has nosedived due to mismanagement on the part of major players.
Historically, the industry has bounced back from prior crashes (and often with new captains at the helm). I imagine however that this will bring little solace both to the developers that have lost their jobs, and the consumers that can no longer afford to engage in this pastime.
Unironically I think we might run into another video game crash like back in the day
Joe
Once a week, I meet with my guitar instructor; and will usually arrive as he's finishing up with the previous student. The latter happens to be an incredibly sweet, cheerful, older fellow by the name of Joe; and I always enjoy our little interactions.
Today, Joe addressed me as "Young miss"; and while the accuracy of this statement might be disputed on both the first point (I wish I was still young!) and the second (in as much as I'm married), the sentiment was nonetheless greatly appreciated, and a highlight of my day!
From what I recall, JMS originally offered the explanation that:
1. He had written the character of Jeffrey Sinclair to be something of a warrior-philosopher (which makes a great deal of sense if you are familiar with the character's eventual fate); with considerable emphasis on the 'philosopher' component in the first season.
2. From the second season forward, Sinclair would adopt a more action-oriented role, and drive the main story arc forward.
3. He hadn't laid the necessary groundwork for this change; and having written himself into a corner, JMS opted to exercise one of his famous 'trapdoors' and switch Sinclair out for John Sheridan.
The reasoning wasn't wholly implausible (imagine, for instance, Sinclair deploying nuclear weapons with the same sort of joyful abandon as Sheridan); and the timing happened to coincide with the introduction of Hotshot Network Note Warren Keffer (which lent some credence to the idea that TNT had a hand in the change)
To give full credit to JMS: not only did he protect Michael O'Hare's reputation (and kept the actor's mental health struggles in confidence until after his passing), but he did so by offering up a cover story that placed the blame entirely on his own shoulders.
If I had a nickel for every time a 90s sci-fi show had to write out a character who had visions and other mental power things, because their actor developed severe mental health issues, only for the producers to lie about why they'd been written out for decades afterwards? And they came back once or twice for a cameo?
I'd have 10 cents, but it's still weird that it happened twice.
(Kes played by Jennifer Lien on Star Trek: Voyager and Jeffery Sinclair played by Michael O'Hare on Babylon 5)
“We constantly battle the sins of the fathers, thought Guilliman. That is no less true on an eternal scale than it is within the history of a single world. We suffer because of those that have gone before.
Heaving a sigh, the Primarch resumed the protracted process of correcting his unruly VLOOKUP.”
- Guy Haley, Dark Imperium
It is kind of funny that the entire fandom have agreed that Perturabo’s nickname is “Perty”, when he in canon has a perfectly fine nickname.
Some observations:
"No new sculpts after the fact."
Games Workshop have been transparent about their 10th Edition roadmap; which includes releasing a new codex for each faction, to bring them into line with the new rule set.
Between the rapid pace of release and the focus on mechanical changes, most of the codexes have been accompanied by a modest number of new models at best.
Games Workshop previewed a single new Adeptus Custodes model at the start of March: the Shield-Captain. One hardly requires inside insight to deduce that the Custodes probably won't be getting more models in the immediate near future.
"Social media department jumped the gun and tried to put out fires with the wrong hose."
This is an attempt to discredit Games Workshop's immediate response, via Twitter, that female Custodes are canon (both in the present setting, and retroactively throughout the setting's history).
Discreditation only makes sense if one assumes the following:
First, that there are actual 'fires' (i.e. that this change is impacting Games Workshop's business model in some capacity). There is no evidence that this is the case: the complaints are coming from a small minority of fans; and specifically, far-right fans.
(Games Workshop have previously sought to distance themselves from the latter; ironically, because said association does pose a threat to the business model).
Second, that the company's social media team are either able to announce major lore changes without first consulting with the relevant internal parties, or that they face no consequences for doing so.
(This would appear not to be the case, given that the relevant Tweet remains publicly viewable, and no retraction has been issued.)
"Intent is to push female Custodes character in Amazon show without it 'breaking lore' because Amazon execs wanted a woman in power armor and wouldn't settle for SoB."
There's a lot to unpack here.
The idea that Amazon executives perceive power armor as a majorly marketable concept is ludicrous; as is the idea that they are sufficiently well-versed in lore to accurately differentiate between the Adeptus Custodes and the Sisters Of Battle.
(These are matters of interest for the kind of nerds that comprise the fandom; and not high-level entertainment industry management.)
Let's just assume for a second that this is true, however: then why on earth would said executives try to soft-launch what they believe to be a highly-marketable concept via codex microfiction?
After all: such executives are famously fearless when it comes to meddling with source material; yet we are supposed to believe that they feel it important these changes are reflected in a rules supplement?
And that brings us to...
"...Cavill threatening to walk away from the project."
Henry Cavill famously quit the cast of The Witcher because it diverged too far from the source material. Now he's working on developing Warhammer: 40,000 content for Amazon; not as actor (although he'll undoubtedly feature), but as executive producer.
The aforementioned Amazon executives would be displaying an incredible lack of business acumen in attempting to force source material changes on a star actor and producer who has been quite clear in his refusal to accept such changes.
"GW figures it can ride it out if it stays mum on the subject."
An interesting note here: to 'stay mum' is a British idiom (i.e.: "Remain quiet"). And yet earlier, the same author used the word 'armor' (and not it's equivalent British spelling, 'armour').
This is purely speculatory on my part; but I'm inclined to believe that the author is American. If so, this raises questions about how precisely they acquired inside information from a company headquartered in another country (which is precisely why they are cosplaying as a Brit).
(It has also been my observation thus far that the majority of fans kicking up a fuss over female Custodes are far-right-aligned Americans. British fans are, of course, equally capable of overreaction; but there's been a very specific culture war aspect to the complaints that is very much a hallmark of American conservatism.
This is worth noting for a variety of reasons; but one of the most pertinent is that the American far-right utilizes a "Ends justify the means" approach to debate; i.e. outright fabrication of evidence is entirely permissible.)
Last, but not least:
The stories and information posted here are artistic works of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact.
Any party treating any part of the original post as fact is either deeply unaware of the lack of credibility inherent to anonymous image boards, or is so entrenched in their position that they are willing to accept and endorse non-credible evidence.
Neither is a good look.
I found the original because I kept seeing this being quoted at random.
To everyone crying because "GW is making fun of us, they think we're stupid😡", yes. Yes you are. Yes you are if you believed this obvious troll.
They even added the "trust me bro, my dad works at Nintendo".