#All Systems Nominal | Online

[morgansmornings]

A Slow Return

Hello All, I am going to be making a slow come back now that I feel less like I'm drowning in my thoughts. I know that I have missed a lot since I last left, but I am happy and willing to pick things back up from where they were left. Or, if interested in starting something new I am open to that as well.

As always I am lurking on both Tumblr and Discord.

Thank you for being patient with me. I know I have a terrible habit of being flaky and not commiting when I say that I will.

Your truly,

Stoat.

[mcyt-fictives]

Introject/kin poll event!

Thanks everyone who’s reblogging and liking our interest check post! We’ve seen enough interest to start preparing now- though we won’t start the event for another week due to the holidays and college finals.

It would be really appreciated if you all would reblog this post to get some more traction! We’re a really small blog so it helps a ton.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

𝓗𝓸𝔀 𝓭𝓸𝓮𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓴?

Until the 12th of December, we will be accepting nominations for characters from all Minecraft related media (minecraft, mcyt, mcrp, mctv) to add into the lineup. We will also be adding anyone who was not nominated that we know we have seen a lot of online.

The event will be a series of polls where two characters go head to head to see who has been kinned/introjected into more systems. The winner will go in to the next round. Each round will last a week. I’m sure you’ve seen gimmick blogs like this (such as @/sonic-fankid-showdown)

Due to the way polls work you’ll only be able to vote for a character once even if you have multiple of that character introjected (ie; you can only vote for Ldshadowlady once in a poll but you can vote for her again the next round)

At the end of the event we’ll get to see who’s the ultimate introjected/kinned character!

𝓡𝓾𝓵𝓮𝓼

Please nominate a character using our askbox, commenting, or reblogging this post. We would prefer if you reblog to get it out there!

No limit of characters you can nominate! The more the better!

Characters with variations are allowed! (Ie; Dream and DreamXD will be treated as separate characters) don’t be shy about giving multiple character variations!

𝓔𝓿𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓮

Dec. 12th - Nominations close

Dec. 18th - 25th - First round

Dec. 25nd - Jan. 1st - Second round

And so on (won’t know final amount of rounds till the nominations close)

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Please remember this poll is for fun. It’s not meant to be taken super seriously.

@/ for reach (please don’t feel obligated to reblog)

@fictive-culture @plural-culture-is @does-it-introject @fictionkinfessions @plurality-is-mundane @cringegenic @fictive-confessions

Thank you everyone! Can’t wait to run this event!

-Dream

[dragonkid11]

I think Armored Core has fully taken over me now, 'Reactor Online, Sensors Online, Weapons Online, All systems nominal' no longer tickles my brain.

'Main System, Activating Combat Mode' however makes me want to bath in someone's hydraulic fluid.

[apas-95]

"Heya."

"Hey."

"Ready to clock out?"

"God, you know it. Alright, handover - everything normal, system 7 is still down for work so make sure that whole section isn't energised."

"Wasn't it supposed to be back up already?"

"Eeyup. Other than that... uh, a node in block 12 started reporting processing mode 1."

"What?"

"Yeah, 12F3, if you remember it. It was running pretty poorly, we lost connection with it for a moment, and when it was back online it was reporting processing mode 1."

"But it's a mode 2 node, right?"

"Yep. I don't know how it happened."

"Whatever the problem with it is, it must've somehow confused it, I guess. You report it?"

"Yeah, technical says they'll have someone down. Weird thing is... hm."

"What?"

"Well, I mean, it kinda fixed the problem. The node efficiency went from around 70% of nominal before the switch, to just under 102% after the switch."

"...That can't be right. It's gotta be running hot or something, this could be dangerous."

"See, I thought the same thing, and I had a good while at the station, so I got the idea to check through the logs. Input/output for 12F3 hasn't actually changed all that much, it's just that the processing it's been doing fits mode 1 a good bit better than mode 2."

"Wait, and the rest of the block is just running as if it were an extra mode 1 node? That's..."

"Weird as fuck, yeah. Anyway, technical should be down during your shift to set it back to mode 2, or disconnect it, or whatever, so keep an eye on that."

[the-clawtake]

“Stravag!” Jehan swore, slamming his fist against the console as an error message flashed up on the screen. Taking a deep breath, then exhaling slowly, he pulled the diagnostic unit towards him, and started to type on the keyboard again. His Trinary had got lucky, after the fight. Two of the Blakist pilots had not made it as far as their ‘mechs. While a wholy inadequate substitute for his own Kodiak under the best circumstances, the Toyama he was presently attempting to jailbreak at least had a functional cockpit. His Kodiak not so much.

“Uh... Star Colonel?” The portable comm at his belt crackled with static as the transmission came through. He reached down and hit transmit,

“Aff?” he responded, focused on trying to bypass the Blakist security. He had no desire to have his brains fried when he started up the ‘mech. He keyed in another string of code. Tapped enter. Error.

“You... you might want to hurry it up there. We have contacts, north. A lot of contacts.”

He growled softly, tapping out a different string, then toggled his comm.

“How many contacts, Warrior. And how far out.” Really, that should have been the first thing the warrior had passed along. He finished the string of code, tapped enter.

“Looks like a full Level III. Maybe more. They are still a couple of kilometers out, coming in slow.”

“Aff. Keep me posted.” He turned his attention back to the diagnostic unit, where a green “Access Granted” was flashing. Breathing a sigh of relief he unplugged the unit, slotted it behind the command chair, and reached for the coolant vest and neurohelmet connections. Thank Kerensky those connectors were pretty much universal. A quick scan of the console and he found the ignition.

“Reactor. Online. Sensors. Online. Weapons. Online. All Systems. Nominal.” the familiar start-up litany was reassuring, even in the unfamiliar cockpit. Now to find the comms, and the sensor map, and key into the Star network, and... He did not have time. Even the slowest battlemechs would cover that distance before he could get everything figured out. An entire Level III?

He hit his portable comm again.

“Star Commander Rauda. You have command. Defensive positions.”

“Aff.” was the immediate response, and he went back to trying to figure out the cockpit. He did not have time for this. There. There was the sensor screen. The first contacts were showing up on it, and showing up as friendlies. Which given that he had not touched the IFF settings was a bad sign. He was already, effectively, down two Stars. This was not looking good.

Ah! There was the comms settings. He adjusted the frequency to 117.69 – Hopefully, Star Captain Tseng was on their way. All he had to do was hold out until then. He listened as Rauda passed out positioning orders – They had decades fighting alongside each other, knew each other better than anyone and her troop dispositions were exactly what he’d have ordered – while he continued to work out the control scheme,

All he had to do was hold.

@is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dave Jamieson at HuffPost:

Last week, attorneys for SpaceX and Amazon began arguing cases in federal appeals court that could upend the U.S. collective bargaining system that’s been in place since the New Deal. The aerospace company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, and the world’s largest online retailer have both been accused of violating their workers’ rights. To defend themselves, they now claim that the structure of the agency enforcing the law, the National Labor Relations Board, is unconstitutional. Powerful employers mounted similar — and ultimately unsuccessful — legal challenges against the NLRB after its founding 89 years ago during the Great Depression. But there is one crucial difference today: a right-wing judiciary shaped by President-elect Donald Trump that’s steadily chipping away at the regulatory state.

The repercussions could be immense. The NLRB oversees private-sector union elections and investigates thousands of allegations of illegal union-busting every year. Although it barely has enough funding to enforce a highly imperfect law, the labor board is often all that employees have to turn to when companies violate their rights to form unions or speak up about working conditions. Other employers accused of breaking labor law have adopted the arguments of SpaceX and Amazon, and a slew of similar cases are working their way through the federal court system. The question could eventually end up before the Supreme Court, where a conservative supermajority could all but gut the agency with an aggressive ruling in corporations’ favor. The litigation falls against the backdrop of a new Trump administration that may fire the board’s Democratic members before their terms are up, or decline to defend the agency’s constitutionality in court. Though workers and unions are accustomed to a corporate-friendly takeover of the board following a GOP presidential victory, they now face the prospect of the board falling into dysfunction.

[...]

‘A Perilous Place’

The constitutional challenges worry not just unions and their attorneys but many of the workers who’ve turned to the board for help. The NLRB has no ability to fine employers or seek damages for workers who’ve been illegally fired or retaliated against, and its cases often drag on for years due to appeals. But it still can serve as a check against companies’ worst behavior and deliver some justice to employees who’ve been wronged.

Erin Zapcic, who helped lead a union organizing effort at Medieval Times, said her blood “ran cold” when she learned about the SpaceX case. [...] Congress passed the law establishing the labor board in 1935, to create order around collective bargaining at a time of economic and social upheaval. The independent NLRB has a bipartisan five-member board in Washington that reviews decisions handed down by administrative law judges. It also has a prosecutorial arm led by a general counsel. The president gets to nominate the general counsel and new board members as their staggered terms end, reshaping the agency’s agenda when the White House changes hands. The cases brought by SpaceX, Amazon and other employers attack the board on several grounds. They claim that the board members and administrative law judges are unconstitutionally protected from removal by the president, and that the way the NLRB handles unfair labor practices violates the employers’ right to a jury trial.

[...] Jennifer Abruzzo, the board’s current general counsel appointed by President Joe Biden, has called the lawsuits a distraction from the companies’ own alleged lawbreaking. Her office has accused SpaceX of illegally firing several workers because they had criticized Musk, and Amazon of refusing to bargain with the Amazon Labor Union after its groundbreaking 2022 election victory at a New York warehouse.

[...]

‘A Pandora’s Box’

Despite his glaring conflicts of interest as SpaceX’s owner, Trump ally Musk now has the president-elect’s ear and could end up advising him on NLRB matters. That includes whether to fire board members, who to replace them with and whether the Justice Department should defend the agency against Musk’s lawsuit. Trump’s only labor pick so far is surprisingly moderate: For labor secretary he has tapped outgoing Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, an Oregon Republican who has supported pro-union legislation. But his approach to the NLRB may be far less gentle, especially given Musk’s history with the agency. SpaceX has called the labor board’s structure “the very definition of tyranny.” Jeff Hauser, director of the Revolving Door Project, a nonprofit that tracks corporate influence on the executive branch, said he finds Musk’s cost-cutting advisory role to Trump particularly concerning, since it won’t have the same kind of oversight as a Senate-confirmed Cabinet position. He doesn’t believe Musk’s influence bodes well for workers or the NLRB. “He hates unions almost as much as he hates trans people,” Hauser said. (Musk has a long history of making derogatory comments about transgender people, including his own child.)

Elon Musk and his hatred for unions knows no bounds.

[rainofaugustsith]

I've seen posts about planning that needs to be done before the horrors of January 2025 for USAmericans, but I have not seen one specifically about disability/chronic illness. So: Here are some things you may want to consider doing as soon as possible, particularly if you have any sort of government-administered insurance such as Medicare, Medicaid or Tricare. Those can be gutted independently, and probably faster than, ACA insurance. But a lot of these things apply to anyone.

1. Get prescriptions filled with 90 day supplies as often as you can.  2. If you order eyeglasses from a discount place online, make sure you have glasses to last you a while. They are often made overseas, and will likely be affected by tariffs.  3. A lot of common contact lenses are also made overseas so you may wish to get what you can now. 3. If you need any medical supplies on a regular basis, such as diabetic testing supplies, etc. get them now. A lot of them are made either overseas or made in the USA but with materials from other countries.  4. MASKS. If you're wearing masks, KN95s, N95s, whatever, get them now. If you are not wearing masks anymore, you might want to consider stocking up again since the people nominated for HHS and other posts do not seem to care even the slightest about serious airborne and infectious diseases.  5. If there's a procedure, test or treatment you've been putting off, do it as soon as you can. Mammogram, biopsy, routine blood tests, whatever.  6. If there is medical equipment your doctor or physical therapist think you may need - braces, canes, walkers, new hearing aids covered by insurance, whatnot, get that now.  7. Over the counter vitamins, medicines and supplements may cost more with tariffs, so be aware of that and get some extras if you can/if they will keep. 8. If you are not up to date with any vaccinations, get those now. The person nominated for HHS has looked into removing FDA approval from at least one well established vaccine (polio) so the vaccines may not even be available to you in future. Would that be extreme? Unfortunately one has to think worst-case scenarios here.

This was mentioned in a wonderful post already, but since it does pertain to medical care I will repeat here: If you are in a marriage that may be affected by marriage equality being struck down (a frightening but very real possibility with the current state of SCOTUS and incoming horror), you want to make sure you have the correct paperwork to ensure your spouse or partner can make medical decisions for you even if/when your marriage is legally deemed null and void. In the event marriage equality ends, your partner's parents will likely have more legal standing than you, if you do not officially state otherwise on the necessary documents.

Make sure you have a power of attorney, healthcare proxy, advanced directive, will, and beneficiary forms signed and sealed for any insurance, back accounts or property. With any doctor or hospital system that treats you, you can sign off on who is allowed to make decisions or speak to your medical team.

This is very devastating issue many gay couples faced during the AIDS epidemic and before: when one partner got sick or died, their families could come in and take everything, make all decisions, and freeze the person's longterm partner out entirely. And there was nothing the partner could really do, since legally the parents were considered next of kin.

Get the paperwork done. Now. There are a lot of nonprofits right now who are trying to help people set up what they need to protect themselves and their loved ones. If you need things notarized, check with your bank. A lot of them have free notary services for members.

[vera-keller]

easy company registration cards part 1

part 2

included in this compilation under the cut are the registration cards of 15 easy company veterans featured in band of brothers (2001). all are taken from publicly available draft records held in online databases and collected by me, and contain details like the registrant's serial number, physical attributes, date and place of birth, phone number, residential and mailing addresses, place of employment and nominated next of kin, as well as their handwriting sample and signature. like or reblog if you use or save.

a note about draft registration

during the second world war, the united states selective service system conducted a total of six draft registrations, the records of which are held collectively in two groupings at the national personnel records centre in st. louis, missouri. members of easy company were drafted in all but one of these registrations from october 1940 through to december 1942. the six registrations are as follows:

16 october 1940: males aged 21 to 35 "within the continental united states". winters, nixon, welsh, toye, perconte and liebgott were among those registered on this date.

1 july 1941: males "who had reached 21 since the first registration". lipton and speirs were registered on this date.

16 february 1942: between the ages of 20 and 45 "who had not previously registered". roe, bull, malarkey and luz, among others, were registered on this date.

27 april 1942: between the ages of 46 to 65 "not eligible for military service". no known easy company members were registered on this date.

30 june 1942: between the ages of 18 to 20. talbert, webster, grant, guarnere, babe, shifty, skip and christenson, among others, were registered on this date.

10-31 december 1942: "those who reached the age of 18 after 12 november 1942". penkala, who turned 18 in august 1942 three months before the cutoff, was nonetheless among those registered in this period.

if you have a family member or ancestor who served in a branch of the us armed forces during either the first or second world war, chances are that you can find their registration card on databases like ancestry.com and familysearch.org.

richard "dick" winters

lewis nixon

carwood lipton

ronald speirs

harry welsh

charles "chuck" grant

note: a few online sources incorrectly state that grant was born on 14 july 1915. his registration card gives his real date of birth as 1 march 1922, making him about 7 years younger than people generally think he is. supposedly this misconception comes from confusing grant with another veteran drafted between 1940-42, charles m. grant, who was born on 14 july.

william "bill" guarnere

joseph "joe" toye

george luz

eugene roe

donald malarkey

denver "bull" randleman

frank perconte

joseph "joe" liebgott

[botgal]

California Bills To Watch For

I'm sure by now that many people are aware of the dangers posed by AB 3080 (discussed in my post here), but for those unaware, there are yet other bills in California that pose a danger to free use of the internet which we should also keep on the forefront of our minds. 3 of the 4 bills I will mention here will be going up for a hearing in the California Senate Committee on Appropriations, one of the bills is currently being held in suspense file until the suspense file is read and thus will not be up for discussion in the same way as the rest. So that one will remain more on the back burner but still good to call your representatives about nonetheless. (A link on how you can find your reps here).

CA SB 976: Protecting Our Kids From Social Media Addiction Act (Senator Skinner et al)

Building on the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, this bill seeks to make it unlawful for the operator of an addictive 'internet-based service or application' to provide an 'addictive feed' to a user unless the operator doesn't have actual knowledge the user is a minor, has reasonably determined the user isn't a minor, or has obtained verifiable parental consent to provide an addictive feed to a minor user.

Essentially a very complicated and roundabout bill which would be difficult to enforce and would necessitate the usage of age verification for nearly all users. Especially when the alternative is that parents would have to also give up their identifiable information to allow a child to use an online platform. And also limits the ability of a minor user to receive notifications from a service or application during times assumed to be for school attendance or for late night usage. Great potentials for privacy violations and potential dangers for minors in abusive households where parents can exercise greater control over them and what they do. Also does not limit this specifically to social media platforms.

Overall a very unnecessarily complex bill that attempts to solve issues with perceived addictive social media features in inefficient and privacy violating ways.

Currently set for Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on May 13th.

CA SB 1228: User Identity Authentication (Senator Steve Padilla)

Requires social media platforms to verify the identities of people with large social media followings and influence in a tiered system. Nominally to minimize the spread of misinformation during an election year.

"Influential users" are defined as people who either has content that has been seen by more than 50,000 users within a seven-day period across all accounts the user controls on the platform, those with accounts over 15,000 followers, or ranks in the top 6% of users by amount of content viewed by users on the platform within a seven-day period across all their accounts on that platform. These users would be required to provide the platform with their name, telephone number, and email address in order to be considered authenticated.

"Highly influential users" are defined as people whose content has been seen by more than 100,000 users within a seven-day period across all accounts the user controls on the platform, those with accounts over 30,000 followers, or ranks in the top 3% of users by amount of content viewed by users on the platform within a seven-day period across all their accounts on that platform. These users would be required to provide the platform with their name, telephone number, email address, and government-issued identification in order to be considered authenticated.

Supposedly there would be safeguards and rules saying that any information taken to authenticate a user would not be stored or used for anything besides authentication. And they would be marked as authenticated, with the option to block non-authenticated users. But also allows social media companies the option of requiring either of these things even for those who aren't considered influential or highly influential.

Essentially another identity verification measure which should not be allowed to pass, and unnecessarily complicated and unlikely to work in its attempts to prevent misinformation.

Currently set for Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on May 13th.

CA SB 1444: Let Parents Choose Protection Act of 2024 (Senator Stern)

Requires large social media platform providers to create, maintain, and make available third-party safety providers through which parents or guardians are able to control what appears on their child's social media feed.

Another bill which by its sheer existence would put the identities and information of users at risk, both adults and minors. And would likely lead to further age or identity verification measures which would be wholly unnecessary and highly invasive.

CA AB 1949: California Consumer Privacy Act of 2020: collection of personal information of a consumer less than 18 years of age (Assembly Member Lowenthal)

Would remove the conditions that an online business have actual knowledge that the consumer is less than 16 years of age, and would prohibit a business from selling or sharing information of a consumer less than 18 years of age unless the consumer or their parent/guardian has authorized the sale of the personal information. Also requires businesses to inform the consumers of what information is being collected and sold and will not collect additional information. Allows consumers the right to opt out of any sale of personal information, but by default none under 18 may have their information sold.

Also runs the risk of invasive age verification becoming the norm for internet websites, rather than wholesale allowing the opting in and out of sale of personal information to be default for all.

Currently set to the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Suspension File.

With all that said, while I know it may seem like a lot, please look into these bills as much as you can, and send messages to your representatives letting them know you're in opposition to all of them and what they could potentially mean for our internet freedom, privacy, and safety.

[morgansmornings]

I am not dead.

I swear, I meant what I said when I was making a slow come back. That being said, this is the first time in months that I have had any sort of grasp on my muses, fickle little things that they are.

I will be in my Drafts, working on things one at a time. If you want to hang out and chat, I am around in my usual places.

[anhttydbookfan]

the httyd books could totally have a Servant of the People AU. Tailoring it to the US system because that's the one i know best.

Hiccup is a tired scottish-american middle/high school biology teacher who got into a rant against the president's environmental policy, which eventually turned into a rant against his everything policy, the entirety of which has severe criminal allegations against "President Alvin" (one of the kids audibly whispers "he's on First Name Basis with the President?!" Another kid responds "he's on a First Name Basis with a Republican?" in the background) peppered throughout it. Youtube-user-with-delusions-of-grandeur-and-biology-teacher's-son XxX_ToothlessDaydream_XxX surreptitiously films and uploads this rant onto youtube, where it immediately goes viral and starts multiple online campaigns to write his name in the Republican Primaries "for the memes", and multiple parallel campaigns to write his name in the Democratic Primaries "to force the Democratic party to stop shooting themselves in the foot and actually nominate someone the People want."

The Iowa caucus happens, and it's about what you'd expect. Then the results for the New Hampshire Primaries come out and...

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third wins both of them. Super Tuesday comes along. Hiccup wins in every state. Both parties. Same in California, Same in Louisiana. Same in Alvin's home state of Florida. It's the highest turnout for presidential primaries in the nation's history it's the highest turnout for any election in the nation's history. All for this biology teacher brimming with righteous anger.

Hiccup doesn't know any of this. He was wrangling children all throughout Winter and Spring. He spent his summer on the bottom of the Pacific ocean discovering eight new kinds of sea snake, two new kinds of giant anglerfish, and a new species of whale. When he emerges, he finds that the school has put him on Paid Administrative Leave until the second monday in november. He uses this time to discover three new species of bird in the Darien Gap.

By the time he returns to the States, he's already the President-elect.

[tumblingxelian]

Underrated Writing: .Hack's Morganna Mode Gone

There's a villain I don't think gets enough credit, Morgana Mode Gone from .Hack//Sign, Liminality and the four part game series, plus the AI Buster novels.

Brief summary:

Hack is set on a slightly altered history Earth, where in part due to plot & also the era it was conceived it blends the Sci-Fu futurism and "The internet is magic" together with the "Isekai" and "Trapped in a game" story concepts. Different eras of the series have different tones & structures, but this is covering the early eras overarching Villain.

Morganna Mode Gone is the "God" of a game simply called "The World", which was based on the writings of the epic poem Epitaph of Twilight.

But in truth she is more akin to a Gnostic deity, false or proto god. Because her primary purpose is actually to tend to and facilitate the birth of the worlds Ultimate AI, Aura.

I mean actual AI, as in, artificial intelligence, not some shitty algorithm tech bro idiots slapped a trench coat on.

Morganna Mode Gone is herself an artificial intelligence, one capable of contradicting herself, ah sapience, but is still bound by the rules of her programming.

This is a problem for her because once Aura is born/awake, Morganna Mode Gone won't have a purpose and she can't really conceive of what happens then.

As a result, before the series even began she essentially fragmented off a portion of her own identity, forming the Vagrant AI Macha, but she couldn't solve the problem.

Because if Aura dies, then Morganna Mode Gone also has no purpose. She needs a way to Ouroboros this situation, leaving Aura always growing but never developing, never waking.

She also trapped her and Aura's creator in The World when he realized what was happening. He survives the series but never escapes, and eventually devolves/evolves into a sort of living relic.

It was around this period that she began breaking & twisting things to try & escape the paradox she was trapped in. Re-styling herself from Harold's idea of a mother into the Cursed Wave.

This included orchestrating the hunting down and deletion, IE murder of other Vagrant AI's that were forming as a result of the Black Box meant to birth Aura, IE, proto Aura's, like Lycoris.

"I am an unwanted child. Even God doesn't want me." — Lycoris —

As well as using Macha or Guardians to 'Data Drain' any humans who get to close, which at its lightest, leaves them temporarily comatose, destroys their characters and has a negative impact on their mind.

You might notice Moraganna Mode Gone has not yet been established as making an appearance, good eye.

See, one of the things that makes her so interesting to me is that Moraganna Mode Gone is nominally omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent figure.

She is the underlying system of The World itself and for all intents and purposes a force of nature. As a result she primarily acts through intermediaries, or by guiding others to act for purposes.

Managing to make a villain like this work, and work so effectively is one of the biggest strengths. As it is, we pure Moraganna Mode Gone as a disembodies voice that influences the world & creatures.

She also has some fantastic lines, though not quite as effective without the atmosphere and delivery, I still love them, such as:

"The higher up it is dropped, the worse the crash will be. Hope is the best spice to bring out despair." — Morganna Mode Gone —

In order to accomplish her goal, Moraganna Mode Gone has Macha manipulate and Data Drain Tsukasa. A human who she had been watching and trying to replicate for some time, but without getting what she needed for her goal.

This also involved warping Tsukasa's memories, leaving only those of her abusive father, and creating a divide between her real world identity of Shoji and online identity Tsukasa, to further weaken his ties to the real world. Tsukasa's gender is rather liquid, as far as I can tell and either way, also a lesbian.

"The World and all of its wonders; this is my world, you see."— Tsukasa —

The reason for this was to essentially tie Tsukasa's desire to stay within The World to Aura's development. So long as Tsukasa never wanted to leave, Aura would never want to wake up.

However, other determined players, isolation, and a disconnect from physical sensation leading to alienation led to Tsukasa gaining connections and desires outside of simply staying in The World.

This, Morganna Mode Gone began... Moving chess pieces so to speak. Orchestrating traumatic incidents. Giving Tsukasa a pet monsters for protection but that would also attack those she wanted gone. As Tsukasa continues to develop independence Aura's health improves, VS her sickened, pallid state when Tsukasa is locked in survival mode.

Things eventually come to ahead and well,

Morgnanna Mode Gone basically destroys Tsukasa's mind to ensure a perpetual state of despair and catatonia. Permanently stunting Aura's development.

Much of the rest of the series, is centered on the rest of the characters gaining the necessary knowledge to finally understand the situation.

As well as the Macha fragment of Morganna Mode Gone's ties to Tsukasa creating doubt and Subaru and Tsukasa's bond managing to slowly begin waking Tsukasa up.

Which naturally leads to Morganna Mode Gone needing to orchestrate more despair, but circumstances such as the bastion of Net Slum & her programming keep her from auto winning.

A great deal happens, including some mind fuckery and illussion conversations. Along with more classive abuser tactices like holding the threat of what awaits Tsukasa in theoutside over head.

But eventually Aura is awakened by Tsukasa's desire to return to the real world regardless of the hurled and the characters escape with Aura, thanks to the turncoat Sora.

Suffice to say this doesn't pan out well for him.

Morganna fragments more of herself and uses him as a sort of beacon & vessel to craft the first Phase of the Cursed Wave:

"Riding the Wave is Skeith, the Shadow of Death, to drown all that stands." — Epitaph of Twilight —

This is such an imposing threat that Helba, thematically the same Helba, Queen of the Dark from the Epitaph of Twilight, has to erase the entire world segment they are in just to keep Skeith away from them and put Aura beyond its reach for a time.

Skeith continues to be hosted inside Sora in an ensuing novel, with Sora flittering between amnesiac, malevolent brat and an utterly inhuman monster which violates the basic principles of the game.

But is eventually devoured by Skeith and continued hunting down Aura until the Phase is defeated in .Hack Infection. A memory of Sora leaves behind a reward for the one who did the deed.

Moraganna Mode Gone wasn't done however.

As all this was happening, she basically began fragmenting off parts of herself into other portions of the Cursed Wave:

Skeith:"The Terror of Death"

Innis:"The Mirage of Deceit"

Magus:"The Propagation"

Fidchell:"The Prophet"

Gorre: "The Machinator"

Macha:"The Temptress"

Tarvos:"The Avenger"

Corbenik:"The Rebirth"

Relying on the logic that Aura wasn't yet 'finished' or otherwise not not correct 7 so needed to be destroyed like any other Vagrant AI, so Morganna could start the process over again.

These phased also sent anyone they encountered into comas and even altered electrical installation and internet usage with their presence, while generally corrupting The World.

Fun fact, they all have the symbol of an eye on them representing Morganna Mode Gone's presence in them and her observing the world through them.

Skeith actually did manage to capture and fragment Aura, but not before she created the Bracelet of Twilight, and with it the Eldrich horror Cubia to combat the Cursed Wave.

Morganna Mode Gone would eventually fuse with the last of her Phases in a bid to directly end her foe that had slowly, over the course of four games, destroyed the other seven phases and Cubia.

Ultimately, Aura had to sacrifice herself to ensure Morganna Mode Gone would be destroyed, but in doing so, also allowed herself to be reborn .

Remnants of her continue to haunt and corrupt the world in the form of Data Bugs and an effort by the parent company to recreate her through the lingering fragments of the Eight Phases doesn't go quite to plan, let's say.

Conclusion:

But yeah, Morganna Mode Gone, No one is doing it like her, she has everything:

She is a force of nature and omnipresent goddess, to a Gnostic false god & a program breaking itself & everything around it in the quest for agency inside its own mind that struck down her creator.

She's a woman bound to and violently rejecting the sacrificial role of mother & seeking to destroy that which will supersede her & a manipulator and abuser, as well as philosopher and prisoner.

She is a corruptive influence on the world as well as the very foundation upon which the world world itself is built & she is the Cursed Wave, part of a story, a myth, a poem that is woven into The World itself.

What's more,

Her fragments in the Cursed Wave Phases are all a wonderful blend of eldrich, Biblical & elemental. Something only enhanced by the games Graphics of the time:

[texas-gothic]

Before I begin, please note that this is all ESPN Sports Room-style analysis and that Kamala Harris is every bit the genocidal monster that her boss is. Neither she nor anyone attached to her will be seeing my vote. Not that that matters since I live in a deep red state where my vote would end up going to Donald Trump regardless. Yay deeply undemocratic election system!

I honestly think that Harris has a really decent chance of winning this election with Tim Walz by her side. I was almost dead certain she was going to pick someone like Shapiro or Kelly who would have alienated key voting blocks, but no, she actually did the smart thing.

Walz is smart because he continues to hammer on Trump's biggest weakness while distracting from Harris's own. No matter what she and her allies might have to say about a fresh new start, it remains the case that Kamala Harris is still the other face of the most unpopular administration since 1968. By all means Donald Trump should have been able to coast by on an awful economy and taken the Presidency with ease. But then he went and picked professional pervert weirdo JD Vance as his running mate. A strange little man who can't shut up about how much he hates women at a time where Trump's biggest sore point is women's rights. And while it might not seem possible, Tim Walz makes JD Vance look even worse.

Walz, as governor, is extremely popular with his electorate. He has an especially rare record of actually doing the things he set out to do and has been flagrantly ignoring the Democratic Party line of "Look pretty and do as little as possible." People wanted him to defend public education and the rights of minority groups, and he has done so with flying colors. All while his colleagues in Washington allowed abortion rights and affirmative action to crumble while they were too busy scrounging together trillions of dollars to fan the flames of proxy wars.

Vance, on the other hand, has only been Senator for a little under 2 years. And in that time he has done little besides contribute to the partisan havoc that has largely deadlocked this term of the legislature. He's gone on a lot of bizarre, right wing podcasts, sure, and maybe that's what matters to the core base of Republicans, but I don't imagine the fact that he got to sit down and talk with Tim Poole once will play very well with undecided voters. Then there's the myriad of scandals that has broken out around him only since his nomination as VP. Did Vance fuck a couch? Does Vance want to strip people without children of their right to vote? Why does Vance follow so many people who post about "towel boys"? Why did Vance google dolphin pornography? Why did Vance right the forward to Project 2025, maybe the least popular thing to ever come out of an already unpopular think tank? The questions with this guy never end.

So on one hand, we have a beloved governor whose record of firm, swift action and following through on promises might just cover for the current administration's record of the opposite, and on the other hand, a living embodiment of the kind of weird, extremely-online reactionary nonsense that Trump needs to avoid, whose bizarre behavior keeps pulling in more and more of a negative spotlight on their campaign.

This is still a tight race. Kamala Harris was not that popular to begin with, and Joe Biden has given her a lot of baggage on her way to the White House. But Tim Walz might just be likeable enough with voters that they can look past all of that. Largely because it's hard to look away from the weirdo running opposite of him.

I guess we'll just have to find out.

[agbpaints]

"Test Vehicle One to Control, ready for final checks." Colonel Kinkaid said. Despite the prototypes immense size, the Mackie's cockpit was immensely cramped for all the diagnostic equipment that had been stuffed in it, as well as the bulky interface helmet he wore. Everything hummed with the quiet vibration of the fusion engine buried in shielding a few meters below his feet.

"Control to Test Vehicle One, T-minus 30 seconds, begin final checks. Reactor online. Sensors online. Weapons online. All systems nominal." The voice of the officer in the control room responded back over the radio. "Weather forcast for Yakima Valley Proving Grounds is 21 degrees and sunny, perfect for making history. You're free to proceed to the test range, Colonel."

"Roger." Charles Kinkaid responded as he pressed forward on the foot pedals. Around him, the mech reacted- myomer bundles tensed and loosened, armor plates slid across each other, the great gyro in the mech's core joined the hum of the fusion reactor- and he felt it through the helmet as a second body. Slowly, the Mackie lifted one gargantuan foot and placed it down in front of the other. Then again and again. The mech baby's umbilicals detached and retracted as it cleared the gantry, leaving Kinkaid to walk freely. He turned and stepped out of the hanger and into the sun and history books.

[former-leftist-jew]

i’m a little anxious to send this not on anon but i saw one of your posts where a comment mentioned jewish conversion and you seemed to support it. my boyfriend is jewish and i would like to convert to judaism but a lot of the research i’ve done says that you can’t convert, you have to be born into it since it’s an ethno-religion. i know everyone has different beliefs about this but i worry i won’t be accepted

Hello tyblackthornsheadphones, welcome!

"my boyfriend is jewish and i would like to convert to judaism"

Oooh! Mozel tov! I'm always so happy to meet new people who want to join the Jewish community! <3

"a lot of the research i’ve done says that you can’t convert, you have to be born into it since it’s an ethno-religion"

Oh dear, I'm so sorry to hear that! D: There's so much misinformation being passed around online. :( Thankfully, I'm happy to report that those sources are incorrect: It IS possible to convert to Judaism. ^_^

Like any group, though, how friendly any given Jew is to potential Jewish converts depends on the individual and/or the group they belong in. Just as there's elitism and gatekeeping in every group of people ever (like high school cliques and video game circles--"you're not a REAL gamer unless X"), unfortunately you'll also find some snobbery, elitism, and gatekeeping in Judaism. :(

Though I think Rabbi Friedman has a very loving and accepting view of Jews by conversion. ^_^

The way I see it, the differing experiences of a "Jew-by-birth vs a Jew-by-conversion" can be comparable to an American citizen who was just born on American soil vs an American immigrant who had to go through a long and rigorous bureaucratic process to become an American citizen--they have to learn everything there is to know about American history, presidents, laws, customs, the legal system; spend a "probational period" living in America to become a naturalized citizen, etc.

(The Jewish religion used to be very conversion friendly, but that came to an end when Christianity and Islam became huge world powers who outlawed the Jewish community "tempting" good Christians or Muslims away from the One True Faith.

Jewish identity also used to be passed down from father to children in ancient times--as you'll see in the Torah--but that was changed by Hillel the Elder during the tyrannical reign of King Herod--yes, THAT King Herod! Hillel did this partly to give the children of Jewish mothers who were abandoned by their non-Jewish fathers a place in Jewish society, and he did this partly as a big old political "fuck you!" to King Herod, whose father was only nominally Jewish and his mother was a foreign gentile woman.)

Chabad is an Orthodox Jewish organization.

And here's a link from a Reform Judaism POV. ^_^

In my experience, Reform Jewish synagogues and organizations tend to be more accepting of and friendly to Jewish converts. (Though it's not universal! Sadly, there are snobs everywhere. D:)

So if I were you, I would just start with checking out some books on Judaism from your local library, attend Friday night or Saturday morning Shabbat services with your boyfriend (that's usually a time when non-Jewish guests attend).

If your local college has a Hillel or Chabad Jewish student organization, I would visit that too! They usually host fun events that are free and open to to all, especially students who're just interested in connecting with other Jewish students, and learning about Jewish identity. ^_^

In the meantime, I'd just take time to study and learn about Jewish history and culture just for fun.

I think Sam Aranow's "Jewish History" Youtube series is a very entertaining way to learn about Jewish history, from ancient to modern.

Unfortunately I have to go to work now, but if you have ANY other questions, please reach out to me! I LOVE sharing knowledge and resources about Judaism, especially to potential converts who show a genuine interest and curiosity.

(Jewish culture can be, in my opinion, not as accepting and welcoming of potential Jewish converts as they should be, and I want to make up the difference. ^_^ )

[the-clawtake]

Trial of Position

As he went through the startup procedure on his Viper, Cadet Jehan let his mind drift back to his briefing.

“The Warden cause has lost, and Clan Ghost Bear has successfully trialed for a place in Operation: Revival” His Ursari had told him. “Your Sibko will be the last to graduate in time for a place in our triumphant return to Terra.”

He remembered the thrill those words had sent through him as he shivered in the cold morning air.

“As such, we are doing something for your Trial of Position.” He had carefully controlled his response to that as she went one. “You and your fellows will be undergoing them in the Tseng-Jorgensson Training Ground, on the southern continent here on Strana Mechty.” He knew the area, they had performed several exercises there after arriving on the planet. Twenty-five square kilometers of mixed tundra and boreal forest, dotted with lakes that would be frozen at this time of year.

“As usual, you will undergo the trail with another cadet. You will both start at opposite ends of the training ground. Three opponents will await each of you, to be fought in sequence. Their positions will be marked as nav points.”

She had leaned in close for her final pronouncement.

“Do well, Cadet, and there will be a place in Operation Revival for you.”

Now, the fusion reactor was humming beneath him, the battle computer announcing in a monotone voice that the reactor was online, the sensors were online, the weapons were online. All systems were nominal.

He checked the readouts manually anyway, then confirmed his weapons groupings. His ‘mech was configured in the Prime variant, with two medium pulse lasers, a four tube srm pod, and twin .50 calibre machine guns. A lighter loadout than most Omnimechs in it’s weight category, but it made up for it with speed and armour.

He eased the throttle forward, carrying the ‘mech out of the hangar and into the swirling snow. That would complicate things.

He glanced down at the map screen with it’s wire-frame topography and marked nav points, manipulating the view with his free hand. His own opponents, according to the Nav were in a rough semi-circle, spaced around a kilometer and three quarters apart, the closest being about 2 kilometers away to the west north-west, his hangar being at the southern end of the training zone.

Visibility was considerably lower than that. He set off into the snow, slowly at first, then picking up the pace as he grew used to the uncertain footing. Here and there he could see what was either low hills or deep drifts, and he resolved to avoid them.

The wide dog-leg he took of his first opponent took him into the trees, and he came in on the Nav from the North.

His first opponent was in a clearing. He didn’t recognize the burly-looking build, and the drifting snow meant his battle computer was unable to get an idea, but it was obvious that the main threat was the missile pod up on the right shoulder. It was big for a light ‘Mech, twelve or fifteen tubes at least.

He carefully settled his targetting caret on it, and then toggled his comms to the open band.

“This is Cadet Jehan, piloting the Viper Prime. I offer challenge to the Warrior in the light ‘Mech at Nav Point Alpha.”

He shifted his direction of travel to pass behind the other ‘mech, twisting the torso to keep his weapons trained on the missile pod and watched the rangefinder.

The numbers were blinking in and out, the snow interfering with the lidar. But it seemed to be about 300 meters. He slammed his throttle open to full, accelerating to his maximum speed of almost 130 kilometers an hour. Powder flew up behind him in a swirl, and he felt his mech stagger and slip before recovering.

“This is Warrior Edgar, in the Howler at Nav Alpha. Challenge Accepted. In this solemn matter let no man interfere.”

The Howler was turning to the source of the transmission, to meet Jehan’s charge, but slowly, so slowly.

Before it could bring it’s targetting systems to bear, the range was under 250 meters, and Jehan opened up with his SRMs and his pulse lasers.

One missile hit the right arm.

One tracked up and hit the side of the missile pod, and then the lasers did the same.

The whole right side of the Howler collapsed, armour, arm, missile pod.

The battle computer was showing an entry for it now, and the only weapons had been the missile pod.

“Your weapon systems are disabled. I offer hegira.” Jehan transmitted on the open comm.

“Accepted. Do not think your next opponent will be so taken in.” Edgar’s voice was filled with anger and frustration. “I will not forget this, Cadet.”

Jehan made sure his comm channel was closed and then let out a short bark of laughter, before turning towards the next opponent.