#benefit costs

[tearlessrain]

kind of wild how much fiction still treats torture as something that objectively works when every study has shown that it does not work at all and is possibly the least effective way to get correct information

[felikatze]

this has probably been said before but murderbot is interesting in how it's also a deeply intersex narrative.

murderbot exists as an inherently transgressive being by having aspects of humans and bots. initially, it pretends to be wholly a bot because being one or the other is more comforting to humans - the reality of its existence horrifies others, and they attempt to push it into one or the other categories. (e.g.: preferring to keep its helmet on in All Systems Red so the survey team see it as a bot)

Once it can no longer masquerade as a bot with its personhood uncovered, it rejects the notion of "becoming human" and is at every turn discomforted by having to put on a different ruse (e.g. its vehement refusal to ART's alteration of its body in Artificial Condition - it is literally subjected to surgery in order to better blend into society, because being recognized as a SecUnit could spell its doom.) Obviously the metaphor here is that "bot" and "human" function like the genders in our current society, deciding of a person's perception by society and their social standing and their bodily functions.

Augmented humans may be augmented but still slot entirely into the "human" category. Murderbot's existence (and the existence of SecUnits and constructs as a whole) is a transgression to this set binary. Even with people who accept its existence, it struggles to feel at ease because it is aware of this.

At one point in one of the books (I forget which), it also explicitly rejects the phrasing of being "half-bot half-human". It is not half anything, it is a construct, it is Murderbot, and nothing else.

[transmascutena]

the poor little meow meow-ifictation of saionji in this fandom has got to stop i can't take it any more

[vampiricsheep]

"Vet Bills Drained My Account" Commissions

Hey all,

After getting hit with an astronomically high (for me) vet bill this month that drained my reserves, as well as being saddled with increased med costs for my ESA, I'm fairly strapped for cash and could use any help I can get.

I know money is tight for the vast majority of people, and there are thousands of people right now in more dire need than myself, but I'm putting myself out here anyways because my current options are to get more cash, neglect my pets' healthcare needs, or give them up.

With this preface as background, I'd like to boost my commissions again with some adjusted prices. Please note that due to overworking my wrist I'll be a little slower, but I do my best to give a fair time estimate and progress updates when working on a commission, as anyone who has commissioned me in the past can affirm. Pricing and full details can be found [here]; basic examples below. If interested, you can contact me through here (or my discord, if you have it).

If you don't particularly care for my art or would rather toss a smaller amount my way, you can also send me a quick buck through KoFi [here]!

Thank you so much for your time and consideration! Love you bunches

[border-collie]

Yes, every FDC podcast pisses me off, but the most recent one might be the most so. Dr. O'Neill essentially recommends against all health testing (or disorder testing a he calls it) unless it's a major issue in the breed based on quality of life and population AND the test showing significant value to change population over time. Basically saying unless over 20% of the breed is affected, don't test for it in favor of genetic diversity. I think this is a clouded take of someone who works with population as a whole, and not breeding dogs. Just about every health concern in border collies, less than 20% of the population is affected. And a big part of that? Genetic testing that prevents two carriers being bred to each other. That doesn't mean that carriers are pulled from the gene pool, they just aren't bred to other carriers. I've seen very, VERY few cases of dogs being pulled from breeding on their genetic testing results alone. But pull the genetic tests, and you have NINE different easily tested for genetic diseases common to the breed that it would be exceedingly easy to breed two carriers to each other when breeding blindly. According to OFA, only about 10% of the breed has failing hips, but what kind of life is in store for a high energy dog who's body can't withstand that lifestyle they need? Only two percent fail elbows, but elbow dysplasia in the breed is more likely to be a career ending diagnosis than hip dysplasia and IMO a much worse QOL prognosis.

Sure you can't guarantee the results of any breeding, but coming from a breed where more dogs are washed from breeding for bad temperament than failing a health test, I'll keep spending money to stack the cards in my favor and will buy from breeders who will do the same.

[stinkybrowndogs]

Contemplating a bee

[darkwood-sleddog]

you cannot fight against Animal Rights Activist bullshit for only certain circumstances and spew ARA rhetoric when a situation pulls at your heartstrings.

Agricultural animals can be kept and produce eggs, dairy, fiber, etc. ethically given they are provided proper housing, water, food, vet care and enrichment.

Given proper housing, water, food, vet care, and enrichment dogs can live fulfilling lives outside of the interior of the home. Extreme weather is NOT dangerous for specific breeds of dogs (this goes both ways for hot and cold temperatures).

Given proper housing, water, food, vet care, and enrichment wild animals can live full lives out of the wild and in the care of conservation focused zoos.

Anyways.

[creakysocks]

I was thinking abt piccolo and gohan talking after the events of superhero and wound up with this interaction between them

[slimynematode]

ode to sierra sam

[thorarms]

Do you think when thor was born odin ever considered linking him up to the power grid in asgard

[nico-moist-moses]

Please don't take mental health advice from the emotionally constipated man, Dipper

[greymoggy]

Emergency dental procedure wisdom tooth disintegrating many thoughts

[eggtrolls]

I’m not going to pile on to the ‘everything hurts and I’m dying’ posts right now because I simply do not find it useful or productive. But here is the only thing that made me feel even an iota better today.

The food pantry where I volunteer is typically closed the weekend after Thanksgiving/Christmas, after we do our regular turkey drive. the holidays run up our costs and we’re getting an 18,000 dollar budget cut since a grant is ending and isn’t being renewed. We’re cutting costs wherever we can.

In the midst of trying not to drown myself at a beach during low tide, I got an email from the pantry coordinator. He said that “one of our neighbours” had made a donation and it was enough to cover the additional cost of the pantry being open for a holiday weekend, so now we will be able to serve clients for the weekend after Thanksgiving. On a given week, we serve around 400 households (last week it was 443). thanks to the actions of one person, 400 families will have food in their homes that they otherwise wouldn’t.

You and I are also one person.

[parachutingkitten]

"But you don't understand, Nadakhan doesn't hit people with the sword because he's all about the chase of getting people to wish it themselves."

So... Nadakhan is just a pretentious theater kid who thinks he's Sherlock Holmes...

Got it.

[exiaax]

dni if you don't like these angels

look in tags for me going crazy about these three hahahahahahahaha

[awesomebutunpractical]

It's not a question of "Will the readers fundamentally misunderstand my characters dynamics and ship the wrong ships?" it' a question of "Is letting go of that sense of control something you're ready for? Can you separate what you know your characters are from any strange fandom versions of them that will happen if you publish? Is setting them loose into the world to be misread something you're actually prepared to do?"

Like, it's not going to be your fault when the characters are misunderstood. A lot of people are just kind of looking for a loose idea to impose their favorite tropes on. If it isn't your creative work, it'll be someone else. It's really not personal.

But there will be people who actually engage with the work and understand what you're trying to say. Those are the people you're actually having a conversation with. You can't force the fandom crowd to be part of that conversation.