#Virus Ruth

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

ooh in that case could we hear about thatcher or ruth :o

YEEAAA Sorry i'm just happy to be able to ramble a bit- /VLH

Thatcher. I'm thinking he's a werewolf but I haven't gotten a good idea of his design that. wouldn't just be alt au Thatcher- /VLH

Basically, he got turned on the investigation in the murray household, being attacked and bit by another werewolf, while Ruth. unfortunately died in the attack. Thatcher definitely. hates the fact that he's no longer fully human.

However, Ruth. is still around. in spirit anyway. She mainly talks through radios, but also really likes living in computers and only making herself known to Thatcher. she basically takes over the computer fully and can access anything said computer also can access. Kinda like. a sentient, less annoying and actually helpful Clippy.

Also I just finished a mock up of her design like less than an hour ago so here!

[mysterious-art-greenhouse]

a pile featuring: spud with mechanical leg prosthetic. the damage done by that cat that i hate is irreversible but at least he can walk now :) pest, more spud, more beetle, poob my favorite, bive, the knife that is capable to kill god and more infected au featuring my ideas on what his mutation could evolve to. rotating him and this au in my mind

[agustina956]

"Congratulations!"

Today's @rorriskawaii birthday yay 🎂🎉🎉🎉

(Sept 21)

[[ Jelly (TricksterVirus! Rein) -> me ]]

[[ Ruth -> @rorriskawaii ]]

[anewstartrekfan]

Why I like Kirk so much and why I think he didn’t resonate as much with general audiences as Spock did

I think what Gene Roddenberry and the rest of the tos crew underestimated is how powerful knowledge of a character can be when they thought Kirk would be popular over Spock. As season 1 progresses while you do get information about both Kirk and Spock peppered through out, how much and how it’s conveyed is important.

Spock is Stoic yes, but surprisingly he talks about his past and what it means to be Vulcan a lot. And other characters comment on Vulcans too like McCoy describing where a Vulcan heart is. Even moving onto season 2, when Spock truly, desperately, does not want to explain what Pon Farr is or that Sarek is his father, he admits these things under pressure. And all of this information is what’s gives the audience an idea of what informs his actions.

Jim Kirk however, despite being very outgoing and charismatic, very rarely talks about himself. With few exceptions, every time you do learn something about his past it’s because someone else explains it or points it out. You’ve got where no man has gone before where Gary talked about their academy days, The naked time while Spock talked about his regrets, Kirk vents that he wants a personal connection and then is literally the only person who is able to will the virus to stop effecting him (on his own I mean) just long enough for McCoy to give him the cure.

The Android copy of Kirk tells us about Kirk’s brother Sam, in Conscience of the king literally everyone except Kirk explains his tragic tarsus iv backstory, we never find out who the Ruth girl is in shore leave, and it’s Bones that brings up Sam lives on Deneva. Even in season 2 in the worst episode ever, the deadly years, when Kirk is in a room alone with his ex fiancé, she explains their history. Not Kirk.

This man is allergic to talking about himself I love it.

Edit: Whenever Jim does even sorta talk about his past, it’s always in the context of what the other people he’s talking to know about it. Take Tarsus IV. Spock tells Jim that he checked the same library records. So when Jim finally opens up at the end of the conversation, it’s information Spock and Bones already know. “I saw him [Kodos] once, 20 years ago.” Then about 10 minutes later when he’s talking with Kodos and trying to get proof, he gives Kodos a copy of the speech Jim heard him read 20 years ago. Saying that he memorized the words. Again, these are things only the two of them would know about. It’s not something Jim exclusively went through.

Then later in Obsession when Jim is talking about his prior experience with the fog, everything he references was in the report he made after the Farragut disaster that he knows Spock and Bones read. There is no new information he reveals about what happened to him or even how he felt about it. Bones has to be the one to say Jim was wrecked with guilt because at the end of the day, Jim will never willingly talk about his past without knowing or thinking the other person he’s talking to has the same information. He will not reveal anything new 95% of the time.

Anyway back to the old blog.

While I’d argue conscience of the king does most of the work you would ever need to explain why Kirk is the way he is, the fact is we don’t learn much about his past through him. Instead it’s Kirk’s actions that inform our understanding of him. Which on some level I like a lot. It’s rare that a tv series doesn’t lean heavily into some tragic backstory explaining why a character acts the way they do. But it isn’t just he doesn’t have multiple tragic backstories. It’s what we know nothing about his past in general. Ffs we didn’t learn he grew up in Iowa until Star Trek IV. It might not even be Riverside! That town just claimed it for themselves and everyone rolled with it.

Edit: SNW did confirm after almost 40 years that riverside is Kirk’s birthplace.

The audience never truly closes the gap with Kirk because he never willingly opens up (at least where I am in the show idk maybe the movies change this) So comparatively Spock just had more going on.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

A new Cleveland Clinic-led study published in The EMBO Journal shows that mild and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections can trigger immune responses in a pregnant individual that may cause serious inflammatory responses in the developing fetus. The study's findings also suggest that vertical transmission of the virus from a pregnant individual to the fetus is more common than previously estimated; and that even without this transmission, a pregnant individual's immunological response to infection may impact the fetus.

Typically, healthcare providers test for SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus that causes COVID-19, in a newborn through a nasal swab after birth. For this study, Cleveland Clinic researchers collected samples from the placenta and the fetal compartment (tissues that surround a fetus while still in utero), and then analyzed them for the presence of inflammatory markers and virus. They found higher instances of the virus in those tissues than what could be found in a traditional nasal swab, and even in the absence of a full infection they found small proteins from the virus had passed through the placenta. The researchers hope their study will help ensure pregnant individuals can rapidly and reliably receive evidence-based medical care needed during novel outbreaks and public health crises.

When the COVID-19 pandemic first began, OB/GYN Ruth Farrell, MD, and colleagues at Cleveland Clinic and other major medical centers wanted to determine the best way to prevent and manage the infection in their pregnant patients. Pregnant individuals required different medical considerations during the pandemic compared to their nonpregnant counterparts; Dr. Farrell notes that many of the prevention and treatment approaches used in non-pregnant patients either did not have enough data to use in pregnant patients or were not feasible to perform.

"During the early stages of the pandemic, there were significant delays in determining how best to prevent and treat pregnant patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection," explains Dr. Farrell, who also serves as the Vice Chair of Research for Cleveland Clinic's Obstetrics & Gynecology Institute.

Dr. Farrell worked with clinical colleagues across the Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative (CTSC) of Northern Ohio to develop methods for examining the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on pregnant patients, including researchers from University Hospitals of Cleveland and MetroHealth Medical Center.

She then teamed up with Cleveland Clinic maternal-fetal virologists Jolin (Suan Sin) Foo, PhD and Javier (Weiqiang) Chen, PhD from the Infection Biology Program to determine how the virus impacted the immune systems of both mother and child.

When the standard-of-care COVID-19 test is used to detect the virus in newborns (nasal swabs upon birth) they only detect infections in about 2% of children whose mothers tested positive for the virus during pregnancy. However, when Drs. Chen and Foo looked at tissues that surrounded the newborns when they were still in utero-; including the amniotic fluid, chorion and umbilical cord plasma -; they detected high levels of the virus in over a quarter (26%) of study participants.

The team also found elevated immune and inflammatory responses affecting the pregnancies of about 66% of study participants. Dr. Foo had previously shown elevated levels of fetal inflammation in pregnant individuals who experience severe SARS-CoV-2 infections during pregnancy, but few had asked whether asymptomatic or mild infections had the same effect. Now that they have their answer, however, the team were faced with even more questions.

"Even though we only saw vertical transmission of the full virus infection a quarter of the time, we saw strong immune and inflammatory responses in over two thirds of the cases," Dr. Foo says. "It was clear that even when the fetuses were not technically infected, they were still being impacted by their mothers' viral infection. But we weren't quite sure how."

Elevated levels of inflammation during pregnancy, in COVID and other conditions, can have negative impacts on the offspring long after birth. Further research can define how inflammation affects children in the long term.

Dr. Chen noted that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has a protein called ORF8 that physically resembles a human immune protein called immunoglobulin G that passes through the placenta from mother-to-fetus during development. He wondered whether the viral protein could also pass through the placenta's defenses to cause inflammation in the fetal compartment.

Drs. Foo and Chen, alongside co-first authors Tamiris Azamor, PhD and Débora Familiar-Macedo, PhD (a former and current postdoctoral researcher, respectively, in Dr. Foo's lab), were able to prove that the virus-made ORF8 did indeed pass through the placenta into the fetus. ORF8 then bound to immune proteins and "turned on" a process called the complementary immune response.

At normal levels, the complement system is a good thing during pregnancy and helps the fetus develop properly, Dr. Familiar-Macedo explains. At higher levels, the complement system can cause dangerous inflammation in a developing fetus. Lab studies supported that this immune response directly led to the elevated levels of inflammation seen in the fetuses of pregnant patients infected with the SARS CoV-2 virus.

"Our findings challenge the currently accepted definition of vertical transmission, or what it means to transmit an infection from mother-to-fetus," Dr. Chen says. "We have shown that it is indeed possible for only a small part of a virus to slip through and affect a pregnancy."

Dr. Foo adds that she hopes her team's findings will serve as guidance for healthcare practitioners, researchers and policymakers alike on further research into vertical transmission and long-term care.

"We've shown that the misconception that uninfected babies born from infected mothers are fine, is sometimes just that: a misconception," she says. "Pregnancy is such a vulnerable nine-month period where any change from the norm can cause long-term impacts on the baby, so we need to work more closely with these individuals to understand their unique healthcare needs during public health crises. It's the only way to make sure they receive the care they need."

Source: Cleveland Clinic

Journal reference: Azamor, T., et al. (2024). Transplacental SARS-CoV-2 protein ORF8 binds to complement C1q to trigger fetal inflammation. The EMBO Journal. doi.org/10.1038/s44318-024-00260-9. www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.1038/s44318-024-00260-9

[conflictofthemind]

Can we Please Re-Open the Petergate?

Ever since learning about Petergate in its entirety, it has been breaking my brain. There’s obviously something incredibly important happening here, enough so that it has to be hidden until the final season of the season.

For those not in the know, Sam Owens has / had a son named Peter that was first name dropped in Season 4. For some reason, the military wants his old schoolwork as evidence in the investigation of the Chrissy murder in Hawkins.

We also pretty much know that Peter is dead. The way Owens acts around Will in Season 2 as the only scientist who is actually determined to save his life, and the implications he makes that he understands the plight of Joyce both heavily imply he has lost a child. This also adds a layer to the whole ‘taking away your son’s precious school projects’ if that son is dead and those are some of the only memories you have left.

Okay so: Sam Owens lost a child, which explains his character motivations in the show. But it’s not quite interesting just ending it there, is it? And why leave this to be seemingly be a reveal in the fifth season where we already have so much else to take care of? Would Sam Owens’ son dying really be that impactful towards the narrative? Would that warrant the copious amounts of references (at least seven just in season 4) to Peter that exist within the show and are still coming out even in recent ST5 BTS pictures?

Something about Peter Owens has to be crucial information in the fight against Vecna.

Let us also remember that those military agents took Peter Owens’ schoolwork as some kind of evidence in relation to the Henry Creel murders, and it was important enough to highlight to the audience.

Let’s go over some facts:

1) Sam Owens has a house in Ruth, Nevada where he lives with his wife. Population irl of only a few hundred people.

2) Henry Creel lived in Rachel Nevada which uh didn’t exist in the 50s during his childhood where he encountered:

3) The Nevada Experiment. Henry happens upon related equipment and is briefly transported into Dimension X before coming back with powers and an altered personality.

4) In TFS, Henry is mentioned to have put a classmate from Nevada in a wheelchair following the events of his trip to Dimension X.

5) Henry was in the care of different doctors before he met Dr. Brenner and moved to Hawkins.

We curiously get no more explanation on this matter; whatever happened in Nevada is probably some of the most crucial information and is thus saved for Season 5. We’ve already gotten most answers that are relevant to Henry’s backstory in Hawkins… but not for Nevada.

Some of the major questions for S5 include:

1) What is Dimension X?

2) What is the actual origin of the Mindflayer and is it an independent sentient being?

3) How did Henry develop powers while in Dimension X?

4) What was the Nevada Experiment and the original Project Rainbow?

Since the military took Peter Owens’ schoolwork as evidence… it means Peter is at least connected in some way to this mystery, if not directly to Henry and probably implies the two knew each-other and were even classmates who worked on projects together.

Here’s the basis of what I propose (to be expanded upon later of course):

Henry and Peter were classmates in their youth fairly likely at this point. Henry and Peter were working together on a project that had them investigating the Nevada cave system. Or perhaps something relating to Area 51 / secret US government stuff. The project has to be relevant evidence since the military took it. This is what led to Henry stumbling upon the dimensional equipment in the cave that transported him to Dimension X.

My question is - what if Peter was also involved in Henry’s disappearance? Maybe he disappeared with him, and this was covered up by the government. Or he was simply exposed to the event but didn’t get transported with Henry, just became severely ill because of this Dimension X virus, and died as a result.

Or maybe Peter was meant to disappear as part of Brenner’s Project Nevada experiment. They didn’t plan for Henry to be there as well, and sure didn’t plan for him to be taken. The whole “rogue staff member stealing the equipment and hiding it inside a cave where Henry just happens upon it I guess” has been weird for a while. Maybe Peter was actually older and involved with P. Nevada, and he was the rogue staff member who hid the equipment? But then how did Henry conveniently get there and why was the schoolwork taken.

I don’t want to make this post too long; but something about this gives me major Will and El parallels in a way I can’t really illustrate quite yet. Boy gets taken under suspicious circumstances that could imply HNL meddling, but this time the supernatural kid is able to save him and bring him back. Owens becomes interested by this and comes to study Will in S2.

Owens also mentions that he has risked his family’s lives for the sake of their research, which I feel is relevant here. He’s talking about the current day NINA Project… but it could of course be a reference to the fact that this happened before, and ended in tragedy.

So wow, that got long! I didn’t even get to mention the Fringe parallels that people have brought up. This is just going to be Part 1 into my investigation of Petergate.

There’s so much promise in this potential storyline that I think really needs to get investigated, so I hope this interested people regardless of whether or not they’ve already come across Petergate. The fact that Henry’s time in Nevada is such a major gap in his backstory really fascinates me as to what they’re hiding from us.

[bubbles-for-all-of-us]

Can I please get a fluffy dad Pedro coming home to trader taking care of their sick baby?

It's been a hot minute since I've wrote for Pedrito. Felt good, so good!!

Snotty noses

Pedro was rather lost in his head as he made his way through the busy New York streets after yet another interview. He had declined so many of them towards the end of your pregnancy. Even more, once your baby girl was born. But his management was pressuring him now. He had to make an appearance. There were shows and movies of his that had to be promoted. Especially with him being the main lead.

But now all he felt was guilt because he must have dragged some virus back home last week. Causing you to fall ill slightly but most importantly making your newborn baby sick for the very first time. So to say that he felt like the most shit father ever now would be an understatement.

Pedro stopped at the little pharmacy not too far from your shared apartment to grab the medication you had asked for. Asking for extras of everything. Hating all the little syringes that would help the baby swallow the mixtures. His little angel. Unexpected and hardly planned but no less of a miracle. Truly, Pedro had given up on the idea of having kids. He wasn't in his youngest years. Plus his schedule was still so tight. He knew he would spend way too little time at home for his liking.

But you fell pregnant and he had sat on the bathroom floor for over an hour just started at all the positive tests with you. Happy tears running down his cheeks. Pedro never failed to remind you how thankful he was for this. For you choose to go through the rather ruth pregnancy. Being an absolute wander woman at birth. He loved you even more now and was smitten with the little girl you two had created.

Pedro unlocks the apartment door quietly just in case you two had managed to fall asleep. Dropping the pharmacy bad to the side he kicked off his shoes, quickly making his way towards the living room where he had left his two girls snuggled up in the morning. The fact that no baby was screaming made him hopeful that she was at least slightly better. Had to be, right? The doctor had said that by now she should be showing signs of getting better.

And what Pedro sees is you swaying softly, humming your tune as you no doubt are trying to make her fall asleep. But her tiny little hands are wildly grabbing around as she wiggles in your hands. You turn sideways slightly, jumping lightly at the sight of your partner.

"God, Pedro, I nearly had a heart attack...", you mutter letting your shoulders sag in relief. "Sorry, my love, just was trying to be quiet", he mutters quietly, taking you in. You're still in one of his shirts that you wore to bed. Hair messily pushed to the side. A part of Pedro knows that you hadn't had a shower or a moment to do something for yourself today and that makes him feel so guilty. "You sure succeeded in doing that", You breath out but now you're smiling up at him, "How did it all go?"

"In all honesty, I just wanted to go home. Don't like leaving you two like this", Pedro stepped closer, leaving a light kiss on your forehead, as he embraced you. Noting that your skin was noticeably less warm. "How's our bunny?", his eyes fall onto the little bundle, who's already looking up at their dad with big brown eyes, "How's my little girl? You're feeling any better?", he coos at her, earning a little gummy smile you two haven't seen in over a week.

"The fever is gone, she's mostly snotty", you hum in response, laying your hand down on Pedro's shoulder for a moment. "And you?", he asks within a heartbeat. Your silence says enough. And truthfully Pedro can only imagine what a toll this caused to your body. "I'll be fine", you mutter but Pedro is shaking his head. "Go take a long hot bath, I'll make you something to eat before the evening feed. The pills you asked for are on the entrance table", his words are soft, and caring, as he carefully takes the baby from your hands.

"I'm fine, P", you know that he's also just as tired. He had been taken most of the night feeds. Sure, you both had stayed up for most nights because you both were scared that you might miss something but still. More or less Pedro was the one getting out of bed to change dippers and picking up whatever you might need for a feed. "Don't, my love. You too deserve to take a breather", he gently rubs your upper arm, "I've got her. You go pamper yourself a little. Believe me, you'll feel much better". And of course, you knew that he was right. Sometimes even a little shower can make a huge difference when you're not feeling well. So with a quick kiss on your baby's cheek, you slip away into the bathroom.

Pedro quickly changes into more comfortable clothes while babbling to the rather active baby. He had forgotten how much he enjoyed watching her when she was so active and alert. The droopy, tired eyes had been cutting his heart for days now. Pedro gets the kettle for tea ready. Pulling out a pot of soup from the fridge to heat up once you're out. Already thinking about the sandwich he'll make to go alongside it.

But he finds himself on the sofa almost immediately. With the light weight of the baby pressing onto his chest. "Look at your snotty little nose", he coos, reaching out for the stuff to extract the mucus with and carefully wiping the area, "It must feel so frustrating, huh?" The baby only bubbles in return and Pedro finds himself nodding to the sound. Her curious gaze finds him. The deep chocolate eyes crinkle with a smile as she notices him. "You're happy to see me today? Did you miss me?", Pedro is smiling himself as he carefully runs his fingers over her cheek, "I've missed you too, baby girl. Never want to leave you and your mommy again".

A big yawn slips out of her lips. Pedro moves to rub her back with his palm. She doesn't break the eye contact, trying to stay up and look at her dad but her eyes are slowly betraying her. Pedro laughs a little, "Don't fight it, baby girl, Daddy will be right here when you wake up", he promises. She lets out a sigh. Nuzzling deeper into his chest. Pedro takes hold of her tiny first, placing a loving kiss onto it, letting her tiny finger grip onto him. She's out within seconds. The warmth of him mixed with the calming sound of her father's heartbeat is enough to make her settle in no time. Pedro smiles to himself. Allowing himself to just watch her. Soak up all of her tiny features and the love she can show even while being so small.

[remembertheplunge]

A day of magic

9/17/1990

Monday 9:59pm

A day of magic—

The weekend whispered and

Blew sweet nothings into the 

Day.

A silent virus

sang, too

And

The combination kept me home.

And the house came together

In the most

Fantastic of ways.

Letters were written

Mom thinks Ruth

may be dying.

She is again ill, weak and vomiting.

Poor thing

“Write her” said Mom.

Arturo and I had a good talk.

He seeks a cure.

I support him in that.

 “I wanna live

I wanna live”

He treats his body in the best of ways.

At his home, I could

hear hammer

Pounding

I could hear

Brash music

Playing.

His family calls.

What wants to happen?

Life wants to happen!

And just as I was thinking—

Wow—no phone calls except from Mom in 3 days—

The phone rings—it’s Cliff , the 4th admirer

I know him. My heart sank. 

Gay, older

But, as he spoke, it

Lifted.

He sounds interesting and fun.

We go out to dinner 

Friday night.

End of entry

Notes:August 5, 2024

Ruth was my Mothers older sister. Ruth died in November or December of 1990 of cancer. She first exhibited symptoms at a family reunion in Lincoln Nebraska in August of 1990. My Mother, Father and I  also attended the reunion.

Arturo was my Hand to Hand Aid’s match. He died of Aids in February 1994. Hand to Hand was a volunteer organization in which we were matched with people with AIDS and helped them through their illness and death. HIV AIDS preventative medication did not come along until 1995. But in 1990, Arturo thought he could find a cure in a healing spring in Mexico. He and his family journeyed to that spring. I encouraged him to go.

According to the journal, I had 4 guys who liked me in  September of 1990. Cliff was one of them.

[queen-mihai]

Ok I'm developing a theory.

Let me say this first: I don't care if it's true or not. I think it's fun and I'm going to choose to believe it's true even if the writers literally come out and say it's not. It's that good.

Valerie is V

In the movie "V for Vendetta", V is explicitly never identified. We obviously see that he is a man. He has heightened basic kinesthesia, awareness, strength, and reflexes. He's got a deep voice, is reasonably tall, and thin.

Those are all things we know.

He never takes off the mask in any way we can see. If the hair is a wig, it's DAMN solid on his head, and he's got severe burns over so much of his body that he no longer has eyes.

"He looked at me, but not with eyes, there were no eyes"

Now for some evidence:

V is very obviously a thespian. Sure, we could assume the "man" was one as well, but we actually have backstory behind Valerie that would perfectly set her up with the type of knowledge V seems to have in the arts. Especially when she says "I'd always known what I wanted to do with my life"

When Valerie is taken, she already has the same look on her face as Evey has when she said "I'd rather die behind the chemical sheds"

V is very in tune with emotions. Obviously men can be in tune with their emotions. But Hollywood generally plays to a low common denominator. Why include this personality detail when all he needs to do is kick butt? If we are doing stereotypes 👇 this scene plays fairly heavily against the "male" stereotype when V perfectly times the moment where it will be okay to reach for Evey, let alone knowing when it's okay to touch her

Valerie falls in love fast. That's practically a personality trait we're shown in the story. With Sarah "it was her wrists". With Ruth, "the first time we kissed, I knew I never wanted to kiss any lips but hers again. This matters because when V says "I fell in love with you Evie" He mentions that he had thought of nothing but revenge until he saw her. That sounds an awful lot like something Valerie would do IMO

"This is the most important moment of your life, commit to it" spoken like someone who has lived that *exact* experience to the letter. You might think if he was a man when this happened to him, his experience might have looked *a little* different. If it was Valerie, though, it would make sense that she knows exactly when everything is falling into place because that's when it happened for her.

The anger she had over Ruth being taken fits V's actions far more closely than anything we get from our mystery man. Yes, he was tortured, but so was everyone else.

Writers love these kind of Easter eggs. Come on, room V, Valerie, V,...geezus "V" could have been the nickname she got from Ruth when they were together.

"I fell in love with you Evey. Like I never thought I could anymore" fits SO much better if Valerie just didn't know she could love again after Ruth was gone. That hits SO much harder if she's a woman from whom love was taken away and who went on a murderous revenge spree.

This was written by the Wachowski sisters. They would know what transitioning does to a person. If the "virus" was some sort of super-soldier serum, we could assume that some part of that serum might have included heavy doses of testosterone, which would have deepened her voice, even down to the level we hear in the movie.

If V was forcefully transitioned, it would stand to reason he'd want to hide his face (her face?) And would say things like "There is a face behind this mask, but it is not me"

Valerie might well have known how to create masks and such

The damn Scarlett Carson roses! They make SO MUCH more sense when you consider Valerie would have already known how to take care of them before she got taken, (and maybe even knew where to find a stash of seeds?) rather than some guy randomly found out about them and then learned how to keep them

If she indeed got cast for major motion pictures, and gotten paid well for them, that might explain the VAST resources V has at his disposal in order to pull off his schemes

👇 This right here👇

Soooo many similarities

"I had only told them the truth"

"I told you, only truth"

There's so many scenes that VERY MUCH make V look feminine

Ugh, there's so much more

There's SO MUCH MORE

But I'm dead tired right now and I want to post this now while I'm still excited about it and I'll have to write an update about it later if people want to hear more.

Heck... one very personal but deeply powerful concept about this movie for me is that I have shaped some parts of my personality around V's character. His intelligence. His ability to be both a monster and a face of kindness, his love for the arts and passion in keeping up his skills. I was surprised as heck when I found out his favorite movie is "The Count of Monte Cristo" because before I found "V for Vendetta", that was already MY favorite movie (the 2002 version though)

I don't see there being any fewer similarities after transitioning and I found this movie LONG before I thought any part of me was feminine

If MatPat ends up stealing this idea for a video, my name on here (Ce'irth) is pronounced like "surf"

OK see you later

[ladychandraofthemoone]

Monster Engine Infection/Virus AU Rambles Stankyle Angst:

Yep, I’ve joined the bandwagon basically Kyle gets released from the lamp with the organization’s “assistance” though they had their own plans and made Kyle “patient 0” well for the narrow gauge engines and dumped him nearby the skarloey railway after he attempted to escape where he was then found recused and reunited with Stanley who’s is overjoyed and immediately keeps him updated one everything that has happened, weeks to a month pass and Kyle is settling in nicely Stanley has done all he can to help him recover to the point that the older engines had to tell him to take a break cause he’s overworking himself (guy wants to impress Kyle so bad he’s got it bad)

Then one day after having to handle people and differing them about “proteus” he falls “ill” at the same time some of the standard and miniature engines fall “ill” Stanley is understandably nervous and worried for Kyle often staying up late into the night keeping Kyle company who seems to be getting worse each passing day…

The currently skarloey railway manager, Sir Handel Hans Brown understands Stanley’s feelings and lets him stay though it’s the older engines mainly Duke and Nia gently yet firmly convincing him that Kyle wouldn’t want to see him running himself down to the ground as he’s doing both of their jobs.

So for the first time in what felt like ages Stanley leaves Kyle on his own devices in the shed with Kyle’s encouragement of course it getting hard to smile and remain confident in himself but he hold his grin till Stanley is out of view…

So when Stanley returns as quickly as he can worried but hopeful he finds the shed doors closed which is odd Kyle always wants them open even in rainy or snowy weather he hasn’t experienced it in 50 years

“Hey Kyle I’m back,sorry it took so long-…” So his driver and fireman,Benji and Charlie, Ruth’s apprentices who Stanley watched grow up after Ruth took him in before he went to the mid-sodor railway open the doors..,

It’s dark..there’s a strong stretch none of them can place..but over in the corner hunched over…something..Stanley could make out the familiar shape of Kyle..a nagging sense of dread filled his boiler as Stanley prayed to the Lady above that this wasn’t real..

“Kyle?”

Golden eyes turned to his names, no they’re not Kyle’s warm honey brown eyes they’re now more feline-like with bright red silts and golden irises and matching light sclera, sparkling ✨ glittering ✨ golden tears dripping from them and his mouth…

“K-Kyle?..” it was then he finally noticed what Kyle was…chewing at…ripping up..or what remained of a certain B12 that was their former supervisor..

Alfred…

Everyone throughout the entire railway was alerted to the sounds of Stanley’s gut wrenching screams of absolute sadness and terror, Benji and Charlie screamed too but not as loudly as Stanley as people workman and any nearby engines rushed over to contain Kyle who was reaching out a clawed?paw?hand?engines don’t have fur engines don’t have hands towards Stanley…

“S-Stan?” Minutes before Stanley screamed, Kyle managed to mutter a “run…please…” trying so hard to keep his new instincts,his urges but finally gave in as he became aware of the horrified looks and shouts from everyone ,their pointed fingers and some of them holding… no he won’t be trapped anymore, he won’t let them trap him…

Without thinking he lunged towards the first thing he saw coming towards him,being Duke, Nia,Skarloey,Rheneas, Charlie and Benji..Stanley now realizing what he has done immediately rolled forward towards him calling out for him as Kyle turned his attention to Stanley....

like god the feels and how everyone gotta be handling this especially Stanley considering he nearly loses an eye (he and Thomas have eye trauma here and Kyle is either directly or indirectly involved…) gotta do a follow-up post on this and maybe art…

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

"GET YO FUCKIN DOG BITCH"

"It dont bite :)"

"YES IT DO"

(Im sorry that this is the first thing I thought of when I saw were-Thatcher"

DGFHDJSGHJKAGHJAKA

Thatcher going feral and Ruth in the computer trying to say he's friendly (he is not)

[philaet0s]

Six Sentence Sunday

(As always, I'm completely ignoring the Six Sentence bit.)

It's been such a crazy week for me! I had my students in class for the first time on Friday and spent basically every day before that completely paralised because I was Finally going to teach for real soon, so I have, once again, not written much lol

Baz and Ruth

“Perhaps we could help each other out, Basil. I could come to your house, or you to mine. We would not have to be alone any longer.”

“I don’t think that’s permitted,” I say with a frown.

“Oh, young man, do not tell me you follow rules to a fault. That would be disappointing.”

I have, in fact, followed these rules to a fault. In a twisted way, it makes me feel more human to bend myself to rules put in place to protect the population of a virus a vampire can’t catch.

[whoartthoueventhough]

TELL ME ABT UR NPMD ZOMBIE AUUUU!!!

OKAYYYY ^_^

so our main crew is obviously the nerdy prudes [Richie, Ruth, Pete, and Steph]. As far as they know, they are the only survivors. The first zombie was Max, and he quickly spread the virus to the football team and the cheer squad at the Big Game. Over time, the zombies completely overtook Hatchetfield.

The longer a zombie has been infected, the more animal-like its intelligence becomes. A recently infected zombie might even be able to speak, while the first zombies are running around on all fours tearing apart raw meat. However, don't be fooled! Even if a zombie is mimicking intelligent behaviours, it is still extremely dangerous and unpredictable!

the most dangerous zombies have been nicknamed Nighthawks, because they've been infected the longest. Physical effects can include claws, deformed legs, sharp teeth, missing limbs, peeling skin, and blank white eyes.

There are other survivors out there, but the Nerds do not encounter them. Hannah, Lex, and Ethan are trying to build a boat to get off hatchetfield. Emma and Paul are killing as many zombies as they can. Both these groups are far away from Hatchetfield High, so they happen to just. Not cross paths with our Nerds.

The nerds spent the first week of the apocalypse panicking. Eventually, they found eachother, and took over the chem lab for shelter. Ruth has been experimenting with a cure, but it's still in the early stages. Steph has been defending her group, and is still figuring out a way to kill the zombies permanently. Richie learned a lot of basic medical stuff from various hospital dramas, plus he found a first aid kit in the gym on day one, so he's been patching everyone up. Somehow, Pete has ended up as the leader, and he's been doing well so far (mostly just decided what order everyone sleeps/keeps watch, but that was successful, so... good job, Pete)

I have a lot more but I might want to keep it secret for now, bc I'm probably gonna make more content for this! If you have any other questions, please send more asks about this AU, or doodle requests!! I'm super happy youre interested :D

[svturn-exe]

super important tmc hcs. ignoring the fact tht terraria and minecraft both came out in 2011

adam terraria: starts a new world every week bc it forgets what he's supposed to be doing next and it never occurs to him to look it up. bro doesn't even know the wiki Exists. never gets to hardmode bc he insists on playing master difficulty and also is bad at the game minecraft: exclusively plays creative mode in superflat worlds. makes ugly box structures out of diamond blocks and performs horrible labrat experiments on mobs in them

jonah terraria: almost exclusively plays journey mode! makes it his mission every time to 100% the research catalogue. the collection aspect of it tickles something in their brain minecraft: exclusively plays modded with like 20 different incredibly complicated tech mods tht each have a 200 page user manual . and also tinker's construct. they r a pro at it

mark terraria: gets to hardmode on expert mode, delves into the underground hallow bc he's excited to explore, gets jumpscared by a naturally spawning hallowed mimic and has a fucking heart attack minecraft: mark operates out of a dirt hut and yknow what fuck you they like it that way. brother rocking the greentop with the oak door. half the floor is gravel. no glass or trap doors for windows, just 1 block holes in the walls and one of the "windows" is blocked by a double chest. fully enchanted netherite and elytra btw

cesar has never played a video game. walks in2 marks room like are ya winnin, bro?

sarah terraria: plays w so many mods and texture packs the game is nigh unrecognizable. plays exclusively master mode and turns on every 'challenge' difficulty that comes with the mods at once bc she's seen the face of god and it was weeping minecraft: girlie is in the minigame servers. find sarah doing tnt run at 3 am she is going for it . good for her

evelin terraria: actually a pretty good builder. uses the wiki as a guide for npc happiness and builds little towns for them. beat moonlord like 2 months ago and just keeps going back to the same world to build stuff minecraft: plays adventure maps bc she thinks they're fun. evelin has played every minecraft horror adventure map that exists. i think she would love terra swoop force too dave terraria: once he gets far enough in a world to get access to wiring it's all over. spends the rest of the game trying to build machines to instant-ko bosses, with varying degrees of success. a master of the hoik minecraft: you know those videos that are like. using redstone to play minecraft in minecraft. yeah ruth terraria: plays vanilla summoner class in master mode for the worthy seed. she is god's strongest soldier and baby she's going for terraprisma. minecraft: spends the entire first night punching skeletons and creepers to death with her bare steve fists. has that Totally Legit Speedrun luck and finds everything she needs just from running around and raiding generated structures

thatcher terraria: terrible at building but god bless he's trying. favorite part of the game is old one's army, and she spends hours grinding to collect all of the sentries and the armor sets. somehow gets spawn camped by a crawdad and cries minecraft: keeps forgetting that you shouldn't make eye contact with endermen and it scares the shit out of her every time. is prone to lava-based mining incidents

jude tries to download minecraft free minecraft cracked no virus 100% safe trust me :) dot exe. is shocked when he gets a virus. how can this be

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive (Thousands of news, science, and opinion articles on top of links to helpful resources and explainers! Daily updates!)

A new Cleveland Clinic-led study published in The EMBO Journal shows that mild and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections can trigger immune responses in a pregnant individual that may cause serious inflammatory responses in the developing fetus.

The study's findings also suggest that vertical transmission of the virus from a pregnant individual to the fetus is more common than previously estimated—and that even without this transmission, a pregnant individual's immunological response to infection may impact the fetus.

Typically, health care providers test for SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus that causes COVID-19, in a newborn through a nasal swab after birth. For this study, Cleveland Clinic researchers collected samples from the placenta and the fetal compartment (tissues that surround a fetus while still in utero), and then analyzed them for the presence of inflammatory markers and the virus.

They found higher instances of the virus in those tissues than what could be found in a traditional nasal swab, and even in the absence of a full infection they found small proteins from the virus had passed through the placenta.

The researchers hope their study will help ensure pregnant individuals can rapidly and reliably receive evidence-based medical care needed during novel outbreaks and public health crises.

When the COVID-19 pandemic first began, OB/GYN Ruth Farrell, MD, and colleagues at Cleveland Clinic and other major medical centers wanted to determine the best way to prevent and manage the infection in their pregnant patients. Pregnant individuals required different medical considerations during the pandemic compared to their nonpregnant counterparts; Dr. Farrell notes that many of the prevention and treatment approaches used in non-pregnant patients either did not have enough data to use in pregnant patients or were not feasible to perform.

"During the early stages of the pandemic, there were significant delays in determining how best to prevent and treat pregnant patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection," explains Dr. Farrell, who also serves as the Vice Chair of Research for Cleveland Clinic's Obstetrics & Gynecology Institute

"These delays lead to gaps in our understandings of the COVID pandemic for pregnant persons. These gaps also contribute to disparities that prevented pregnant individuals from accessing the best possible treatment as quickly as possible during the pandemic."

Dr. Farrell worked with clinical colleagues across the Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative (CTSC) of Northern Ohio to develop methods for examining the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on pregnant patients, including researchers from University Hospitals of Cleveland and MetroHealth Medical Center.

She then teamed up with Cleveland Clinic maternal-fetal virologists Jolin (Suan Sin) Foo, Ph.D. and Javier (Weiqiang) Chen, Ph.D. from the Infection Biology Program to determine how the virus impacted the immune systems of both mother and child.

When the standard-of-care COVID-19 test is used to detect the virus in newborns (nasal swabs upon birth), they only detect infections in about 2% of children whose mothers tested positive for the virus during pregnancy. However, when Drs. Chen and Foo looked at tissues that surrounded the newborns when they were still in utero—including the amniotic fluid, chorion and umbilical cord plasma—they detected high levels of the virus in over a quarter (26%) of study participants.

The team also found elevated immune and inflammatory responses affecting the pregnancies of about 66% of study participants. Dr. Foo had previously shown elevated levels of fetal inflammation in pregnant individuals who experience severe SARS-CoV-2 infections during pregnancy, but few had asked whether asymptomatic or mild infections had the same effect. Now that they had their answer, however, the team was faced with even more questions.

"Even though we only saw vertical transmission of the full virus infection a quarter of the time, we saw strong immune and inflammatory responses in over two thirds of the cases," Dr. Foo says. "It was clear that even when the fetuses were not technically infected, they were still being impacted by their mothers' viral infection. But we weren't quite sure how."

Elevated levels of inflammation during pregnancy, in COVID and other conditions, can have negative impacts on the offspring long after birth. Further research can define how inflammation affects children in the long term.

Dr. Chen noted that the SARS-CoV-2 virus has a protein called ORF8 that physically resembles a human immune protein called immunoglobulin G that passes through the placenta from mother-to-fetus during development. He wondered whether the viral protein could also pass through the placenta's defenses to cause inflammation in the fetal compartment.

Drs. Foo and Chen, alongside co-first authors Tamiris Azamor, Ph.D. and Débora Familiar-Macedo, Ph.D. (a former and current postdoctoral researcher, respectively, in Dr. Foo's lab), were able to prove that the virus-made ORF8 did indeed pass through the placenta into the fetus. ORF8 then bound to immune proteins and "turned on" a process called the complementary immune response.

At normal levels, the complement system is a good thing during pregnancy and helps the fetus develop properly, Dr. Familiar-Macedo explains. At higher levels, the complement system can cause dangerous inflammation in a developing fetus. Lab studies supported that this immune response directly led to the elevated levels of inflammation seen in the fetuses of pregnant patients infected with the SARS CoV-2 virus.

"Our findings challenge the currently accepted definition of vertical transmission, or what it means to transmit an infection from mother-to-fetus," Dr. Chen says. "We have shown that it is indeed possible for only a small part of a virus to slip through and affect a pregnancy."

Dr. Foo adds that she hopes her team's findings will serve as guidance for health care practitioners, researchers and policymakers alike on further research into vertical transmission and long-term care.

"We've shown that the misconception that uninfected babies born from infected mothers are fine, is sometimes just that: a misconception," she says. "Pregnancy is such a vulnerable nine-month period where any change from the norm can cause long-term impacts on the baby, so we need to work more closely with these individuals to understand their unique health care needs during public health crises. It's the only way to make sure they receive the care they need."

More information: Tamiris Azamor et al, Transplacental SARS-CoV-2 protein ORF8 binds to complement C1q to trigger fetal inflammation, The EMBO Journal (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s44318-024-00260-9 www.embopress.org/doi/full/10.1038/s44318-024-00260-9

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974 - Japanese Edition 2012 R&B / Doo Wop / Soul / Rock & Roll / Funk / Jazz / Blues / Pop

Alright, well, I had originally planned for this post to dovetail quite nicely with the end of Black History Month, but when you get a virus, it has a way of setting things back a bit. But then again, Black History should obviously be celebrated in every month, so either way, without further ado, here's a massive end to my foray into the history of Atlantic Records: a deeply comprehensive recounting of its first 27 years in the record business called Atlantic Rhythm & Blues: 1947-1974.

Now, maybe because of how this label is currently constituted, you think of Atlantic as being among the amorphous blob of major record labels whose fingers are seemingly in the pies of every popular genre, and the quality of the output is barely distinguishable from its other competitors. Like, who cares who's on Atlantic these days, right? A major label is a major label is a major label. They all basically feel indistinguishable from one another at this point, don't they?

But here's what you may not know about Atlantic in particular. For about two decades, until they started signing rock bands like Led Zeppelin, they were almost exclusively dedicated to nothing but secular, black-made music. And that's originally how they ended up making a name for themselves, as an independent label for black musicians that actually had a reputation for usually compensating their artists fairly.

So in 1985, the first iteration of Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974 hit the shelves. It consisted of a whopping *186 songs*, chronologically spread across 14 separate records or 7 cassettes. And then in '91, it was reissued on CD in an 8-disc set, with an extra 17 songs mixed within.

But this edition that I have for you all today is a much, much rarer one that was issued exclusively in Japan in 2012. And what it consists of is the same eight discs from the 1991 reissue, plus two more, which have songs on it that were handpicked by Japan's own super selector, Keishi Suzuki, who ends up supplying 52 more songs—a lot of them rarities—bringing the total amount of tracks within the release to a grand total of *255*! 😯

Now, obviously, that is a whole lot of music, and I'm not gonna write an ungodly amount of paragraphs to cover it all, but regarding the first discs in this box set, what I'll say is this: these are must-listens for any old school r&b/soul/doo wop novice or junkie out there. These CDs do a wonderful job of allowing you to take a bird's eye view of this label that managed to develop itself into an indefatigable powerhouse for popular black music. From its earliest days of jazzy and jump-bluesy instrumentals, to its deeper endeavors into soul, you can trace this label's contours and get a feel for just how eminent its entire existence has been upon the history of popular music writ large. From its first star Ruth Brown—who helped earn the label its clever, Yankee Stadium-inspired nickname of 'The House That Ruth Built'—to Ray Charles, to The Drifters, to Otis Redding, to Wilson Pickett, and to the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin; it's all in those first 8 discs.

But those final two Keishi Suzuki-curated CDs are the ones I'm here to write about especially today, because a whole bunch of these total obscurities are, really, absolutely phenomenal.

Like, maybe you're familiar with 60s soul-man Don Covay, who had a solid number of Billboard Hot 100 and R&B chart hits in his career, and also penned Aretha Franklin's own mega hit, "Chain of Fools." But did you know that Covay actually started out under the name of 'Pretty Boy' and performed with a raucous Little Richard-esque rock & roll flair? Suzuki provides "Bip Bop Bip" here, an energetic tune with scratchy, throaty shouts, mashing hi-hats, and an electrifying saxophone solo. And it was actually produced by Little Richard himself!

Then there's Lawrence & The Arabians (what a fucking name, man), a short-lived all-white group, who in 1967 released the outstanding "I'll Try Harder," a fully uptempo and poppy piece of horn-heavy blue-eyed soul that sounds partially cut from some type of Motown cloth. Delightful gem right there.

And lastly, we have Peggy Scott, a pretty well-known southern soul and R&B entity in her own right who managed to make the American top 40 thrice in the late 60s. But after she stopped charting, Scott ended up releasing just one single on Atlantic—through their Atco sublabel—and in 1972, on that single's B-side, she showed that she could still more than hack it with the fantastic "One Night Is All I Need," on which her voice is striking all throughout, but is especially so whenever she goes for that gravelly passion 😌.

And these final two discs in this set have more underappreciated stunners on them too, but we're done here. This is such an excellent release that I shelled out a pretty pretty penny for, and I'm ultimately glad I did, because while the easier-to-find editions of this thing are cheaper and deeply satisfying themselves, nothing beats the thrill of being exposed to underheard gems that not very many other people know about. And in that regard, Keishi Suzuki knocked his task way out of the park.

A magnificent album, both for its extensive chronologizing of one of the most important labels in the history of popular music, as well as its extra 50+ songs that get some much needed light shone upon them too.

Highlights:

CD1:

Ruth Brown - "So Long" Joe Morris - "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere" Ruth Brown - "Tear Drops From My Eyes" Joe Turner - "The Chill Is On" Joe Turner - "Sweet Sixteen" Willis Jackson - "Gator's Groove"

CD2:

Ruth Brown - "Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean" Ruth Brown - "Wild Wild Young Men" Ray Charles - "Mess Around" Joe Turner - "Honey Hush" LaVern Baker - "Soul On Fire" Professor Longhair - "Tipitina" The Drifters - 'White Christmas" The Drifters - "Whatcha Gonna Do" Joe Turner - "Shake, Rattle and Roll" Tommy Ridgley - "Jam Up" Al Hibbler - "After the Lights Go Down Low" Ray Charles - "I Got a Woman" Ray Charles - "Greenbacks"

CD3:

Ray Charles - "A Fool for You" Ray Charles - "This Little Girl of Mine" The Robins - "Smokey Joe's Cafe" The Drifters - "Ruby Baby" The Cookies - "In Paradise" Ray Charles - "Drown In My Own Tears" The Coasters - "Down In Mexico" Ray Charles - "Lonely Avenue" Clyde McPhatter - "Without Love" Chuck Willis - "C.C. Rider"

CD4:

Chuck Willis - "Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes" The Coasters - "Yakety Yak" Ray Charles - "Night Time Is the Right Time" The Coasters - "Charlie Brown" Ray Charles - "What'd I Say" The Drifters - "There Goes My Baby" Ray Charles - "Let the Good Times Roll" The Coasters - "Poison Ivy" Ben E. King - "Stand by Me" LaVern Baker - "Saved"

CD5:

The Mar-Keys - "Last Night" The Falcons - "I Found a Love" Ben E. King - "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" Booker T. & The MG's - "Green Onions" Doris Troy - "Just One Look" Esther Phillips - "Release Me" The Drifters - "Under the Boardwalk"

CD6:

Otis Redding - "I've Been Loving You Too Long" Wilson Pickett - "In the Midnight Hour" Otis Redding - "Respect" Percy Sledge - "When a Man Loves a Woman" Wilson Pickett - "634-5789" Sam & Dave - "Hold On, I'm Coming" The Capitols - "Cool Jerk" Wilson Pickett - "Land of 1000 Dances" Eddie Floyd - "Knock On Wood" Otis Redding - "Try a Little Tenderness" Wilson Pickett - "Mustang Sally" Sam & Dave - "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" Arthur Conley - "Sweet Soul Music" Aretha Franklin - "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You" Aretha Franklin - "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" Otis & Carla - "Tramp" Wilson Pickett - "Funky Broadway" Booker T. & The MG's - "Hip-Hug-Her" Sam & Dave - "Soul Man"

CD7:

Aretha Franklin - "Respect" Aretha Franklin - "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" The Bar-Kays - "Soul Finger" Aretha Franklin - "Baby, I Love You" Aretha Franklin - "Chain of Fools" Wilson Pickett - "I'm in Love" King Curtis - "Memphis Soul Stew" Aretha Franklin - "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" Otis Redding - "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" Archie Bell & The Drells - "Tighten Up" Clarence Carter - "Slip Away" Aretha Franklin - "Think" Clarence Carter - "Too Weak to Fight" Donny Hathaway - "The Ghetto" Tyrone Davis - "Turn Back the Hands of Time" Les McCann & Eddie Harris - "Compared to What" Aretha Franklin - "Call Me"

CD8:

Aretha Franklin - "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)" King Floyd - "Groove Me" Clarence Carter - "Patches" Wilson Pickett - "Don't Knock My Love" The Beginning of the End - "Funky Nassau (Parts 1 & 2)" Persuaders - "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" Aretha Franklin - "Rock Steady" Aretha Franklin - "Day Dreaming" Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway - "You've Got a Friend" Betty Wright - "Clean Up Woman" The Spinners - "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" Roberta Flack - "Killing Me Softly With His Song" Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway - "Where Is the Love" The Spinners - "I'll Be Around" Roberta Flack - "Feel Like Makin' Love" The Spinners - "One of a Kind (Love Affair)" Blue Magic - "Sideshow" The Spinners - "Mighty Love"

apparently you can have too many hyperlinks in a post...will include the rest in a reblog...