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#yes i'm fucking serious
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putting my prediction on record now that the coming decade is going to see the rise of viral-marketed fancy at-home water filtration systems, driving and driven by a drastic reduction in the quality of U.S. tap water (given that we are in a 'replacement era' where our current infrastructure is reaching the end of its lifespan--but isn't being replaced). also guessing that by the 2030s access to drinkable tap water will be a mainstream class issue, with low-income & unstably housed people increasingly forced to rely on expensive bottled water when they can't afford the up-front cost of at-home filtration--and with this being portrayed in media as a "moral failing" and short-sighted "choice," rather than a basic failure of our political & economic systems. really hope i'm just being alarmist, but plenty of this already happens in other countries, and the U.S. is in a state of decline, so. here's praying this post ages into irrelevance. timestamped April 2023
#apollo don't fucking touch this one#serious post#not a shitpost#hope i forget about this post and have no reason to ever look back on it one day#fyi i'm aware that access to potable water is already a major issue in parts of the U.S. yes i know flint michigan exists#i'm saying that this issue is going to GROW unless local & federal governments work together to fix it.#so it's a matter of if we trust them to fix it. And well--do you?#what are the chances the government just denies there's a problem until the water actually turns brown#at which point it's already been common knowledge for years and people have just become resigned and that's our new normal#i'm mean come on. how many of us already believe that we're being exposed to dangerous pollutants we don't know about and can't avoid#like that's pretty much just part of being a modern consumer. accepting that companies will happily endanger your life for a few pennies#and the most you'll get is like a $50 gift card as part of a class action rebate 20 years down the line#probably the history books will look back on Flint as a warning and a harbinger that went ignored#luxury condos will advertise their built-in top-of-the-line filtration systems--live here and you can drink water straight from your tap!#watch the elite professional class putting $700 dyson water filtration systems on their wedding registry#while the rest of us figure out how to fit water delivery into our grocery budget while putting 90% of our paycheck towards rent#also eggs are $15
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slugcatmusings · 4 months
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What is the Rot? Why is the Rot?
Spoiler Warning and Holy Wall of Text Batman Warning. I got WAY too into questioning the turbo-cancer here, hopefully my rambling makes sense.
So, the Rot is… weird, from a biological standpoint. Really weird, if you stop to think about it. It’s most frequently described as some variation of cancer, and it certainly fits the criteria for it. Caused by damage to DNA? Check. Multiplies uncontrollably? Check. Comes in both benign and malignant forms, one stationary and the other mobile? Big fat check. Heck, even the Rot cysts eating other creatures kind of fits, according to some research I’ve done – there are apparently cancer cells that will eat other cells, which makes sense in hindsight since cancer cells are cells that have lost important genetic restrictions, which may include whatever lets cells identify other cells as “do not eat.”
(I ain’t a biology whiz and I’m doing research on the fly while getting my thoughts out here, so take whatever I say about biology with a grain of salt)
So, Rot is clearly cancer of some kind, right? Case closed. Except when me and a friend of mine were talking Rain World theories on Discord, she brought up some interesting points that got me thinking.
First point: Rot cells obviously mutate in a way that affects FAR more than just cell replication and termination. Some of the cysts can HEAR. As far as I know, cells in the body do not hear sounds. They communicate via chemical signals and maybe, MAYBE react to temperature. Hearing involves complicated, specialized sensory apparatus to pick up on vibrations in the air. Even if you simplify it and say that it’s only vibrations, that’s STILL a multicellular thing, not a single-cell thing. It’s something that took millions of years to evolve on Earth, if not billions.
And while Rain World’s timeline goes on for long enough that it those kinds of mutations might happen eventually, Rot cysts have the ability to hear pretty much right from the start – because even the Proto-Long-Legs react to your presence like the Daddy Long Legs do, and the Rot in Spearmaster’s campaign, where Pebbles has recently contracted it, reacts the same way as it does in later campaigns. It’s already able to hear.
As far as I know, cancer just means the same cell duplicating over and over again. Are more mutations possible with each division, as errors are made in the DNA during splitting? Probably. But not to THAT extent. There’s no way a lump of cancer somehow mutated the exact complicated genetic blueprint needed to grow organs, at least not without outside interference.
Second point: Cases of Rot are way too consistent across the board. Now, we don’t have a huge sample size to work from, but from what we see from both Pebbles’ Rot, and Hunter Long Legs, they’re… pretty similar. Hunter Long Legs is basically a mobile Rot cyst. They move the same way, seem to grow the same way (starts as a growth inside/on the body before eventually freeing itself from whatever wall/flesh it grew from in some capacity and moving elsewhere), they have the same senses, and they even eat the same way, via something like phagocytosis (how white blood cells “eat” invading organisms via engulfing them and breaking them down in a sac in their main “body.”)
Now, this doesn’t tell us much, because cancer, when it does emerge, is pretty consistent in symptoms/what the mutated cells do once they start replicating. It’s pretty much the same regardless of whatever organism the cancer is happening in. But what ISN’T consistent is what causes the DNA error in the cancer cell in the first place. IRL, cancer can be caused by all kinds of things – smoking, radiation poisoning, being out in the sun too long, drinking deadly chemicals and whatnot, anything that damages DNA. But in RW, the only time we ever hear Rot talked about, or see it present, is in the context of an iterator having f*cked up while mucking around with DNA. Pebbles was trying to create an organism that could change his own genome, and No Significant Harassment created Hunter as a messenger and probably mucked something up in the process in his haste to get them to Moon.
This doesn’t mean that there aren’t other causes of it, of course, we’re working with a sample size of two in an apocalyptic world with who knows how much potentially DNA-damaging stuff around, but… that’s still awfully consistent.
So, combining these points and everything we know to be canon, Rot is:
an organism that lives inside another organism
Until a certain condition is met, it cannot harm said host organism.
Once said condition is met, it goes out of control, wreaking havoc on the organism’s systems and mutating, giving it sensory capabilities and an appetite
Said condition is apparently someone messing up when re-arranging genomes, in yourself or others
It is widespread across multiple different species, at least iterators and slugcats but potentially other species as well.
Once you have a bad case of it, it is apparently NOT CURABLE. Pebbles tried everything he could think of but apparently exhausted all of his options by the time of the Survivor/Monk campaigns.
So, with all the context FINALLY laid out, here’s my wild theory: Rot isn’t a cancer. It’s a symbiote turned parasite. Specifically, I believe it’s a symbiotic microbe that lives inside the cells that make up every other creature in Rain World, and is held in check by a specific gene that all species share, and altering or getting rid of that gene causes it to go berserk, taking over and eventually mutating the host cells.
Yeah, I did watch Parasite Eve let’s plays as a kid, why do you ask? Anyway, hear me out here.
There is precedence for single-celled organisms living inside of other single-celled organisms. They’re referred to as intracellular endosymbiots (hopefully I got the spelling right there), and the most well-known one is probably the mitochondria. The powerhouse of the cell is thought to be descended from some bacteria way, WAY back that was engulfed by a larger cell and not only survived it, but BENEFITED from it. Since then those ancient proto-mitochondria and eukaryotic cells have mutually evolved to be dependent on each other. So it’s entirely possible for something similar to have happened in Rain World.
However, I don’t think it happened NATURALLY, here. Because something that’s able to take over a cell entirely and begin wildly mutating it is NOT something your average cell wants inside of it. There’s a VERY high chance of extinction if you do that. Which means that of course those funky bio-tech loving Ancients either took a look at a wildly dangerous cellular parasite and went “hmmm we can use this” or made one themselves.
Why did they do this? Who knows! Currently, I’m tied between “they needed a better powerhouse for the cell to power the various weird adaptations they’re building into various creatures,” “there was some sort of disease that this parasite gave immunity against and they wanted to make use of it,” and “it gave their creations massively powerful regeneration factors that made them much easier to maintain.” Possibly it was all three. Whatever the reason, the Ancients either found or created this parasite, and put it into their creations’ cells, hoping to reap the benefits.
Well, they got the benefits, but they also got a microbe that hijacked the cells and harnessed their pre-existing DNA blueprints to build organisms disguised as great big blobs of cancer. Which is not exactly ideal, but hey, they just had to figure out a way of keeping the cell hijacking from happening! And the way they ended up going about it was to alter the thing so that so long as there was a specific DNA sequence in the cell, it laid mostly dormant. All the benefits, none of the risks – so long as that specific string of genes remained intact.
And then BECAUSE it was so beneficial, they spread their artificial symbiote and it’s genetic reins throughout ALL of their creations, from the smallest pipe-cleaning slugs to the iterators. Which meant that as their purposed organisms replaced most of the original ecosystem, they spread the symbiote as well. Thus making it possible for pretty much ANY creature on the planet to come down with a bad case of the Rot. And with the iterators, I wouldn’t be surprised if this symbiote is tied to their self-destruction taboos. Try to cross yourself out? Well, it’s gonna maybe happen now, but it’ll be a slow painful death as you’re eaten alive from the inside and all your own parts turn against you, so was it really worth it?
And they never told their creations this perhaps even actively hid it, because why tell them the cause of the main deterrent to them mucking with their taboos? They might find a way around it. The iterators were left ignorant of how Rot works, and because of this they never figured out that Rot HAD a cure after all: rebuilding that genome that reins in the symbiote. Because why in the name of the Void would they repeat the same mistakes that gave them Rot in the first place, and potentially make it worse?
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barghest-land · 7 months
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how i was drawing horses when i was 4yo, and how i draw them now (i'm 27)
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thought all my childhood drawings were gone but i was wrong! i've found some of them and i'm still giggling looking at all the goofy horses. it was pretty much all i was drawing back then
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i guess it took me 23 years to draw them like i do now whoops
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milkteamoon · 1 year
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Arthur. Arthur, listen to me. Ahead of you is a movie theater. Go up to it. Good... Now head to the box office to your left. No, your other left. No, Arthur jesus fucking christ your- yes, good Arthur. There is a man behind the counter wearing a theater employee uniform. Now tell him you'd like one ticket for barbie and the twelve dancing princesses. Wh- Yes Arthur I'm serious. This is very important for our investigation. Yes this has everything to do with the king in yellow- oh he's handing you our ticket. Pick it up off the counter Arthur. Good Arthur... now show the ticket to the woman inside. Yes Arthur, yes......popcorn is $6.50 Arthur.........
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mikakuna · 12 days
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the way people care more about jason fighting tim than like any other rogue fighting tim during his robin run is...!
"they're brothers! jason is so horrible to attack his little brother."
aside from the obvious twinkification of tim, stop pushing the family narrative on two people who did not see each other as siblings at that moment.
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artificialflav · 3 months
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Soooo I've been banned from Fitmc's stream chat for acouple days now for saying "Man can't believe the server cock blocked Fit and Pac again." during the stream where Q!pac got kidnaped to go back to purgatory, and Q!fit got all worried and sad.
Now I find this absolutely hilarious outside of the mild annoyance lol. I filed an appeal when it happened, but I had like no idea what I was supposed to say. I was just like "LOL sorry guys I was joking! I won't say shit like that again I swear! I wasn't actually mad at the server or under the impression that pac and fit were actually going to fuck LOL! I understand there is a world outside of funny block game roleplay! I was joking!"
While typing the appeal Fit then started talking about nominating the minecraft sex mod into the vote I was fucking dying. How dare they ban me and not their sick and perverted streamer! How dare they censor me, the mods must be bias and homophobic./J
Anyways I am now rotting away in twitch jail. I am shaking and screaming against the bars of my cell like a rabid dog, frothing from the mouth to spam emotes in chat and be the mindless twitch chatter I once was.
If someone could get me a lawyer or a spoon so I can get out of here that would be great, thanks! LOL
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wistfulwatcher · 1 year
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nat + the torn fishnets
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steelthroat · 4 months
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Please Hasbro let the Shattered Glass version of Hardtop be named Softbottom. Please please please please!!!!! PLEASE, HASBRO I'M BEGGING YOU!!!!
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bitchthefuck1 · 23 days
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People who hate Shiv or think she was wrong for what she did in the finale are so unserious to me. "How could she screw over Kendall and stop them from keeping the company???" oh you mean the guy who promised they'd run it together and then immediately double crossed her? And then spent the rest of the season trying to cut Roman out of the company too?? How could she betray that guy??? real mystery.
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coffeeandcalligraphy · 7 months
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Adorned by stars | Changing States
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When he hits the I-70, Jeremiah slots George Michael’s Faith into his ’98 Accord and drives with the windows down. His mother would chide him for two reasons: a) he’s wasting fuel and b) it’s begun to storm. But he likes the way the wind shears through his hair like a nail breaking drywall and he likes the way spats of rain settle on his skin like constellations because on the road, he isn’t just a hand for someone else to hold, a body to handle, a man who looks at another man and fears how much of himself he’s lost in his reflection. No. On the road he is the sky, adorned by stars of his own making, relentless in his abundance, blinking in the absence of any other light.
A little Changing States aesthetic & excerpt!
i'm so normal about him i'm so normal i'm so normal i'm so-
#i can't wait to explain more about this project when I actually get into it#like there's no plot rn but the vibes are impeccable#BUT I DO HAVE A LOGLINE: after a whirlwind romance devastatingly ends#jeremiah moves back to his hometown in maryland for support#only to receive word there’s been a death in the family the day he's set to arrive.#“WHIRLWIND ROMANCE DEVASTATINGLY ENDS” YEAHHH BYEEE#harrison fucked this man up i'm MADDDDDD#you know that scene in BB where harrison's pissed off at the congregation and turns and goes DO ANY OF YOU WANT PITCHFORKS???#the answer rn should be yes BECAUSE WE'RE HUNTING HIM FOR SPORT (quoting That Post) anyway let me be serious#CW: death/grief talk#like i said this is a little autofiction-y in the sense that last yr my family had a maryland trip planned and right before we left#there was a death in the family (I didn't know the person well but it affected my parents/grandparents/uncles a lot)#so what was a trip to just see family was a trip to go to a funeral#anyway I was thinking about those circumstances and what that's like (like packing funeral clothes when they weren't originally in the plan#and what that funeral was like/how interesting it is that times of grief are also times where family reuintes#as I saw people who wouldn't have ever met me or last met me when I was very little#it was also joyous in ways etc while also being incredibly sad to witness the grief anyway so I was drawn to write about that#because I think about that trip a LOT (I was getting back into SV at the time)#and that was the first time I'd been in MD in a long time (just like this is the first time Jeremiah's been in MD in a long time)#for me it was 4 years so maybe I'll make it a similar timeline for him!#anyway Jeremiah means so much to me ughhhh I’m so grateful I created him#changing states
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the-busy-ghost · 3 months
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Minor throwaway sentence in a book on corruption I've just finished was talking about 1930s gangsters and about certain organisations in Chicago which the author stated were more ethnically diverse than the Italian mafia, and whose members were said to have included 'Irish, Welsh, Italian, and Jewish' gangsters.
Now call me sheltered but I've seen MANY Italian American gangsters immortalised in film, I've heard of the Jewish mob, and the police Irish American gangs but I have yet to see a movie about the Welsh mob. As a rule I don't go in for gangster movies but I feel there's an unfilled niche here and also I need more info.
#Might delete this in a bit#On a more serious note given the context of the Great Depression and slumps in the coal mining districts of Britain#I can see why Welsh people who emigrated to America might be form an impoverished immigrant community targeted by organised crime#And possibly my surprise comes from outdated national stereotypes and the fact that popular stereotypes of 1930s gangsters#Rarely include immigrant groups that are largely Protestant (at least in the US- in Glasgow and London it's a different story)#Makes me wonder if all those Catholic Aesthetics that directors who make movies about Italian and Irish mobsters are so fond of#Would play the same with Meredith Davies who may be a crook but at least he regularly attends the Methodist chapel#And is a teetotaller and a fixture in various choirs#Welsh accents are often quite soft too I think I'd be fucking terrified of a Welsh gangster in a movie tbh#To be fair real life organised crime obviously encompassed people from all walks of life I'm more interested in movie depictions here#'More Welsh representation!' 'Ah yes how about as gangsters?' 'Er...'#Less surprised if I come across Scots because eventhough they're privileged in the US English media does seem to view Scottish accents#As threatening so Scots often get roped in to play tough guys and gangsters and villains in all sorts of media#And often they will get an Englishman to play a Scot and Scots to play Eastern Europeans which is also weird#But that's off topic; I am not however used to Welsh villains
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lizardthelizard · 8 months
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listen. LISTEN. I knoooowwwwwwwww that August has never been important enough for canon to ever bother expanding upon issues like this. I know, but...
In the pilot, we KNOW that Emma is lonely. We know this because she’s sat in her apartment, alone, celebrating her birthday by herself. It’s well established that Emma had no one she considered her family and has had extreme trouble connecting with people over the years (Neal, Lily and Ingrid as fleeting exceptions).
But August? Canon gives us NOTHING. We know almost NOTHING about his past in the Land Without Magic. We’re given the name of one (1) character (Isra) that he has a connection with (someone who is clearly not THAT important to him, as she’s never mentioned again ever) and that’s IT.
Emma stays in Storybrooke to begin with because of Henry, yes. But it’s not a particularly tough decision for her because, well...she has nothing to go back to anyway. And I can’t help but wonder how true that was for August as well? Like....??? did he bother to contact ANYONE when he thought he was dying???
August is a genuinely intelligent and charismatic character (albeit, a little obnoxious). I have no doubt that he has made friends + friendly acquaintances over the years. But close friends? People he can open up to about his past with and who won’t think he’s losing his mind? HIGHLY doubtful.
I know that the show didn’t really explore their friendship very much or expand on it in any meaningful way, but Emma and August’s relationship is sooooooooooo *chef’s kiss* to me. Yeah, they have genuine chemistry and a fun dynamic, yeah the ‘I can always tell when someone is lying to me’ character interacting with a character that is literally Pinocchio is funny af and surprisingly poetic. But also!!! These are two lonely, emotionally closed off characters that were essentially orphaned by their parents for 28 years that have both had shitty childhoods and have connected so genuinely with one another and I don’t know where I was even going with this but I love both of them so much and they both deserve this friendship and WHY WASN’T AUGUST AT EMMA’S WEDDING I’M STILL MAD ABOUT THIS OKAY
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gailynovelry · 16 hours
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“Kill the part of you that—”
I 100% understand the sentiment, but what if we would have an easier time talking down “the part of us that.” What if we tire of violence against the self?
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highlifeboat · 1 year
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Ah, yes, my favourite trope. Misunderstood, overpowered children that are just kinda lonely and sad.
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ybcpatrick · 4 months
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whoever submitted srar to that onesonghastogo blog better start counting their gotdamn days how DARE you even put that record anywhere near a blog with that premise. as if any song off that record deserves to be old yellered. sleep with one eye open you fucking bitchass stankass cracked motherFUCKER
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felizusnavidad · 2 months
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rhyming burr with sir 184747488383 times is just A++++++ and so funny, let's not forget that
well, yes! absolutely! one of my favourite rhymes for sure! thank you for reminding me about it (it's not like i listen to hamilton every day so...).
also, i'm just gonna drop these here:
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(this is from hamilton book btw, i especially love the second one because i'm fucking dumb & i haven't even noticed he rhymed sister with if, burr, i had to read about it to find out lol. but also this rhyme reminds me of pubwe/rugby soooo)
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