Okay, so this just feels not very fair. I was finishing up my N7 Day Andromeda vid and just needed to capture a couple more scenes. But even though the recording seemed to start as usual, there was just nothing there when it was done. Then I realized that the Game Bar itself wouldn't actually even load. None of the fixes for that have, you know, fixed it. (The Game Bar was working as of Nov 2 because that's the last day I have any captures recorded.)
Digging around, I discovered that my computer is throwing errors left and right but just managing to correct from them and not crashing. Rather, not crashing yet. Clearly something is STILL wrong, despite having acted normal in the month since it was Blue Screening like mad before I reinstalled Windows.
But. Here's the kicker. My dad's computer started Blue Screening right after I got mine working again. The difference, though, is that it's very difficult to get his to restart. If I can get it to come on once more, I'm going to try to completely reinstall its Windows but I don't honestly know if it's going to be able to or not. This thing is pretty fried and, of course, is *just* past its warranty. 😣
I was already assuming we're going to have to replace his computer but now mine, which is much older, is starting to circle the ol' drain. He told me tonight to focus on replacing mine and not to worry about his. He's been able to pretty much do the stuff he likes to do on the computer via our tv's Fire Stick so he said he's not missing out on anything. But still. I'll feel awful if he gets bumped back because of me since he's already not had a reliable computer for the past 3 weeks.
That said, in my 20 some years of having computers, I've never before had BOTH of them in danger of being bricked at the same time. This just sucks so much! I just want to be able to make my silly little videos and to try to get my WIPs done with NaNo. I was actually doing pretty good juggling both up until now.
Ah well. I'm just venting, sorry. I may be gone again, depending on how things go. However, I did schedule my Andromeda video to post on Youtube on November 7 whether I'm able to get here or not. Will post it here and on my AO3 when I can. Even though it's not completely the vision I had for it, I still like how it turned out. Surprisingly, it's not a shipper vid this time. And probably nobody thought I could MAKE a character study that didn't have even a hint of shippiness, right? 🤷♀️😉
*sigh* I'm trying not to let this get me down but dang if I'm not just tired of pretending I have any idea how to fix all of these issues. I can't find any place decent to take them for repairs that doesn't want a ton of money just to reinstall Windows and since I can do that, I don't want to pay somebody else for something I can do for free, you know? But I'm getting to the point where I think they've either got some sort of hardware issues that just reinstalling can't fix or I'm just borking up the reinstall somehow. I don't know. I'm so, so, so tired of it.
Love you, friends. Hope you're doing well and that I'll see you again soon. 💖
god i wish i wouldn't have to explain the intricacies of the neopets economy to you guys to give the full context for this but. the new neopets team that took over from jumpstart pledged that they were going to curb the inflation of rare items, which is great because a lot of rare items are worth literally hundreds of millions of neopoints, they are unbuyable unless you've been playing actively for 20 years. they did this earlier with a site festival that included random loot boxes, some of which had Unbelievably Fucking Rare And Precious items worth 200 million neopoints apiece.
well.
today they have gone a step further. by releasing this year's trick-or-treat bags. and having the trick-or-treat bags be stuffed to the brim with unbelievably fucking rare stamps, weapons, paint brushes, defense magic, and other unbuyables. (all prohibitively expensive and in-high-demand types of items.)
jellyneo, the premier neopets website, has recorded prices of some items plummeting from 2,000,000 neopoints to 4,000 neopoints IN THE LAST THREE HOURS. this is when most people haven't even heard about the event or OPENED THEIR BAGS YET.
and of course. cherry on top. 20-year-old account holders are crytyping on the site events neoboard about how mean and cruel it is to make rare stamps part of the prize pool, because their entire identity hinges on being part of the neopian bourgeoisie, and they are having MELTDOWNS over their assets being devalued until they're part of the lowly proletariat.
I was just trying to figure out how procreate works but then the op brainworms got to me and 35 hours later here we are! can you tell I miss home-cooked meals :')
What I love most about Gandalf big naturals is how much it eases my chest dysphoria. I can sleep without a shirt on now because of Gandalf Big Naturals. Knowing that the artist made the original image while recovering from top surgery and said the image was like a final parting gift from their boobs makes me feel even better about the image's effect on me. Men with big naturals makes me feel much more good about my body than those old posts on here that were like "trans men! Some men have pecs!!! So don't feel dysphoric <3". It's much more meaningful to see a hairy, bearded man with a huge H cup rack not letting his tits get in the way of his masculinity.
Most of all, Gandalf Big Naturals helped me love my body the way it is instead of hating something that's a part of me. Of course I still want top surgery but the fact that I can live with my own big naturals until then without wanting to guillotine them off is really important.
peter capaldi doctor sitting on a bench going "yeah i had a crush on the master. when he was a boy. and i was also a boy. yeah gender is stupid and ours are better than yours. get on our level. idiot." to his favorite lesbian and then missing his mouth and dropping food all over his lap is actually so iconic.
Today my therapist introduced me to a concept surrounding disability that she called "hLep".
Which is when you - in this case, you are a disabled person - ask someone for help ("I can't drink almond milk so can you get me some whole milk?", or "Please call Donna and ask her to pick up the car for me."), and they say yes, and then they do something that is not what you asked for but is what they think you should have asked for ("I know you said you wanted whole, but I got you skim milk because it's better for you!", "I didn't want to ruin Donna's day by asking her that, so I spent your money on an expensive towing service!") And then if you get annoyed at them for ignoring what you actually asked for - and often it has already happened repeatedly - they get angry because they "were just helping you! You should be grateful!!"
And my therapist pointed out that this is not "help", it's "hLep".
Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hLep.
At its best, it is patronizing and makes a person feel unvalued and un-listened-to. Always, it reinforces the false idea that disabled people can't be trusted with our own care. And at its worst, it results in disabled people losing our freedom and control over our lives, and also being unable to actually access what we need to survive.
So please, when a disabled person asks you for help on something, don't be a hLeper, be a helper! In other words: they know better than you what they need, and the best way you can honor the trust they've put in you is to believe that!
Also, I want to be very clear that the "getting angry at a disabled person's attempts to point out harmful behavior" part of this makes the whole thing WAY worse. Like it'd be one thing if my roommate bought me some passive-aggressive skim milk, but then they heard what I had to say, and they apologized and did better in the future - our relationship could bounce back from that. But it is very much another thing to have a crying shouting match with someone who is furious at you for saying something they did was ableist. Like, Christ, Jessica, remind me to never ask for your support ever again! You make me feel like if I asked you to call 911, you'd order a pizza because you know I'll feel better once I eat something!!
Edit: crediting my therapist by name with her permission - this term was coined by Nahime Aguirre Mtanous!
Edit again: I made an optional follow-up to this post after seeing the responses. Might help somebody. CW for me frankly talking about how dangerous hLep really is.
Etho immediately choosing Decked Out 2 (+Tango's reaction)
xBCrafted's Season 10 Episode 17 Hermit Q&A
xB: So, question number three. What has been your favourite project, build, and/or event since joining HermitCraft?
Etho: That I did? Or that other people did?
xB: Uh, just, whatever. Whatever you...y'know, your favourite. Just, whatever.
Etho: Oh, that's gotta be Decked Out 2, then.
xB: Okay. (laughs)
Etho: (laughs) Easy answer!
xB: I mean, you only played it a little, though...
Etho: Ahh, it was a few months. A few months of my life, there. Got a little bit involved.
xB: (laughs) A couple minutes, here and there, you know.
Etho: Yeah.
xB: I know how you are. No. (laughs)
----
xB: I feel like your answer is gonna be the same as Etho's.
Tango: Oh, did he say Decked Out?
xB: Yes he did. (laughs)
Tango: Ohhhh, my hero! Yeah, Decked Out is definitely my answer. Slam dunk.
xB: I was like, 'Yeah, what do you mean? You only played, like, a little bit...'
(both laugh)
Tango: Well, that -- Honestly, the fact that he said that, means -- means everything to me. That's great, that he values it that high. That's great. That's great.
xB: Oh, yeah, yeah. He was like, he was like, 'That's easy. Decked Out 2.' I was like, 'Okay!' (laughs)
Tango: (laughs) Fantastic. Good! Good!