#academic jerky

[vermillioncrown]

i can't talk about specifics bc too detailed, but tldr:

everyone started off w saying the presentation was good

my advisor actually called my presentation "immaculate"

answered every question to the point we had off-the-books (not for corrections, but for curiosity) discussion

holy fucking shit i was standing for three hours straight (1 h 50 m non-stop verm infodump lmao, then 1 h of closed questioning, and then another 10-20 m of committee deliberation)

(to put into scope: defense presentations should aim to be 60-75 mins at most and 15 min questions)

(everyone agreed it actually needed the whole time bc of the sheer scale of the work)

the committee all agreed that the work is a very big contribution w immense practicality to the field

i just need to finish the document, add their suggested corrections, and that's fucking it 😎😎😎😎😎

=====

what does that mean for fanfic?

well. i need to prioritize my corrections bc uh lol my job deadline is by the end of the month

but i think i'll have enough bandwidth to be creative again, so likely i'll be writing and noodling as i make those corrections, so no promises but we'll see if anything gets posted

[snuffedcat]

Requested by anon! I lost the ask somehow?? But hopefully I remember it correctly.. “adult sapphic fem, hyper fixated on nature / space”? It was something along those lines! Thank you Anon for your request!! :D this is right up my valley, and hopefully it’s up to expectations.

︵ ₊ Name :: Nova , Nebula , Lyra , Solara , Juno , Mercury , Willow , Fern , Cedar , Ivy , Ember , abyss , altair , astra , comette , knox , stella , stardust , jupiter , skye , pluto , milkyway, verta, clover, honey, oak , cedar , river , fawn

︵ ₊ pronouns :: she/zir/em/faer/space/planet/universe/nebula/star/shine/heat/void/cosmo/nova/astro/supernova/glow/abyss/antenna/scurry/fossil/dino/alien/spaceships/ufo/moon/ring/🌍/🌙/🪐/👽/bug/beetle/moth/deer/faun/doe/wild/leave/rain/dawn/garden/florence/flora/grass/moss/nature

︵ ₊ terms :: prn who shines in the night, prn of stars, the cosmos, bathed in the glow, dancing through saturn's rings. the star gazer, shooting star, the orbiter, prn who comes from the woods, prn who sings with birds

︵ ₊ genders :: all of the following have feminine twist to them! Stariverusa, lumicattic, lavendercosmic, multivercous, universpacic, rainynightgender, stargrapegender, spacecatdoggender, moongender, starmarked, fidgetcubic, snowstarthing, swirllstaremojigender, lumigender, consentellunyx, nocturlance, earthic, stormcomifc, purplestaric, galaxic, bloomgirl, sungirl, sproutgender, stonerthing, stargirl, biolumistarric, vinegender, pillbuggender, froggender, leafdripsoundic, foremizzlen, goblincoric, genderuttumna, dandedappline, foreststaric, forestcoric, naturegender, plantgender, floragender, komorebian, floradeeric, forestgender, naturebodiment, mossgender, naturecomfic, dreamgender, rainsleepic, hangingstaric, shakergender, rainydream,

︵ ₊ Presentation :: fem presenting. Presents as adult, snail, and alien.

︵ ₊ cisIDs :: Snail, ADHD, writer, artist, painter, harmless, kind

︵ ₊ transIDs :: autismseverity (worse), fully non-human, wheelchair user, forearm crutches user, service dog, biology researcher, biology major, Asian, time traveler, astronaut, alien, minus weight, cryptic, cryptozoologist, historian, warmbodytemp, transsummer, leafshaped pupil, planet shaped pupil, childhood, drooling, college grad, DPD, Schizotypal

︵ ₊ otherIDs :: tris autism, permahydrated, permacozy, perma living in forest, permaharmless, permaunharmed, permaadult, permaessa, sapphic

︵ ₊ ageID :: perma27

︵ ₊ physical age :: 27

︵ ₊ age requirements :: treat as adult

︵ ₊ species ID :: snail, alien, beetle, cryptic

︵ ₊ physical species :: snail, human

︵ ₊ disorders / MUDs :: DPD, Schizotypal, MAA, GDS, CNSD, has a condition similar to GDS but with nature, adhd, autism

︵ ₊ symptoms that stand out :: Very hyperactive and manic when it becomes nighttime- will often try to stay awake only at night, misses big events in life due to space/nature, has a delusion that one of her stuffies is her child, has delusion that her ESSA talks to her

︵ ₊ paras :: 🍯🐾⚾️🧵 📚🌱🌧️

︵ ₊ functions :: interest holder, happiness holder, obliviousness holder, academic productivity

︵ ₊ sources :: N/A

︵ ₊ kins :: willow from TOH, shelly from DW

︵ ₊ aesthetics :: goblincore, cottagecore, aliennature, twillightcore, art academia, art nouveau, bloomcore, fantasy astronomy, green academia, whimsigothic

︵ ₊ likes :: all things Space, all things Nature, books, painting, earths history, bugs, journaling, learning

︵ ₊ dislikes :: ppl who are mean to bugs, debates, loud noises, misinformation, beef jerky, ham

︵ ₊ music :: crane wives, the oh hellos, the amazing devil, comso sheldrake, the paper kites, hozier, florence + the machine. folk music

︵ ₊ boundaries :: no loud noises, do not talk negative about interest, no reality checking unless trusted, be careful with touch, dont correct her during rants

︵ ₊ notable traits :: she is very bad at understanding social situations, cares deeply about those around her but sometimes cant express it right, often has a flat tone of voice

︵ ₊ appearance :: darker skin with freckles, long green hair that's commonly put up into a ponytail/pigtails/braid/two braids, snail like antennas, snail shell backpack, dresses in earthy clothes with a gothic twist, sometimes dresses whimsigoth

︵ ₊ typing quirks :: h🌿ll🪐 h🪐w are 🌱🪐u?

e=🌿 y= 🌱 o= 🪐

︵ ₊ hex codes :: 9b7ba7 84a77b 3e423d dcc3e7 719593

︵ ₊ sign offs :: 🍃⛅️🏞️🌱🌿 🧺🐌🚀🪐🌕🌑☄️🛸

︵ ₊ other notes :: she's overall a very sweet and caring gal!!

[nyhti]

Definitely think Jonathan can not accept a single compliment regarding his looks. If anybody ever tells him he looks nice or that they like his shirt or that his eyes are pretty, he interprets it as an insult. It has to be an insult, because that's how it has always been. His bullies suddenly saying something nice about him and him thinking they are being genuine until they reveal they were fooling him all along, laughing at him for how ”stupid” he was for thinking, even for a second, that someone might find something in him to like. He told himself he was never going to fall for that again. The only area he is capable of accepting compliments is academics, as the few genuine compliments he received growing up were from his teachers, who were impressed with his smarts. It was those compliments that made him study harder, it was those compliments that led him to become a professor of psychology. To this day, his intellect is the one thing he has confidence in. It's easy for people to think he doesn't like compliments, given how aggressively he reacts to them, but that is not true the slightest. When he can actually believe your compliment is genuine, that is, when your compliment is about his smarts, he absolutely melts. He'll try not to show it, of course. He will try to stay as stoic as always, but it's there. The way he's suddenly stumbling over his words, the way he'll avoid eye contact, the way his moments become jerky and uncoordinated from nervousness. Perhaps you can even see a slight plush forming on his cheeks.

[roachliquid]

There's a certain subset of the Fallout fandom who, when anyone brings up the idea that a game should let you play as a ghoul, is primed to shut it down. "It wouldn't make sense!" they say. "Everyone hates ghouls, you wouldn't be able to interact with anyone!"

This issue is, of course, academic, because all of the Bethesda games have mods that let you play as ghouls. But that doesn't mean that they don't have a point, as loath as I am to concede it. The Wasteland is a cruel place, and while you could make a game whose story is designed around playing as a ghoul, giving you the option to be either a ghoul or a human would raise some unusual questions. Not that Bethesda cares, since they're introducing playable ghouls to Fallout 76 next year, but what about those of us who would like a little more consistency? How do we balance the yearning to embrace our inner human jerky with the complications of anti-ghoul prejudice?

Well, short of Bethesda releasing a new title that fulfills our aspirations, we're left trying to get a mod to make sense. So what are our options?

To begin with, Fallouts 3, 4, and New Vegas all have mods that let you start play as a ghoul. This makes very little sense in 3 and 4, where you start out as a vault dweller and a pre-war popsicle respectively, and to make matters worse, anti-ghoul prejudice is so bad in Fallout 3 that they're flat-out barred from entering many locations. The same is true of Fallout 4's Diamond City, but while ghouls face enough prejudice that they still have difficulty finding places to live, things in the Commonwealth have at least relaxed enough that I could see you getting to move around freely.

But that leaves us with the question: how to justify playing as a ghoul? Fallout 4 offers a "progressive ghoulification" mod (as does Fallout 3, if you don't mind the lore issues) but it is buggy and apparently abandoned. So your best option, IMO, is to ditch the Sole Survivor start - there's a mod for that, as well - and use one of the mods that let you play as a ghoul from the beginning.

Setting aside the Bethesda games, though, there's one standout contender for almost-plausible ghoul roleplay - and that is beloved series standout, Fallout: New Vegas.

Like the other games, New Vegas boasts a mod that lets you start play as a ghoul. Unlike the other games, this is completely lore compliant. You're not playing as a fresh-skinned vaultie; the protagonist is Courier 6, someone who's been gallivanting across the Mojave Wasteland for quite some time. To top it off, you've just survived being shot in the head, which just sounds like the kind of shit a ghoul would do.

Of course, you may note that the Mojave has a lot of anti-ghoul prejudice. And that's a pretty pertinent detail when weighing the pros and cons of New Vegas. However, I have a convenient excuse for why people don't treat you, the Courier, as bad as most other ghouls:

You don't fuck with the mailman.

[papiermachete]

Am I the only person on earth who actually likes the game Dustborn? Like beyond all the people who hate how unapologetically queer it is, character design-wise, it’s such a fun queer game (theory-wise). It’s a “no fun” game that says fuck you to trying to teach empathy, and it’s a game where failure can get you fucked up and yet even that is enjoyable in its own way.

People both hate and love you, people are always on your case and it’s both frustrating and fucking funny (looking at you Ziggy, you tsundere). I think the game’s comicbook style is gorgeous — and Noam is definitely endgame (look a lot of the time I have to look up who to romance because I don’t care for anyone in the game, so I’m just trying to find an interesting or best route meta-wise but I actually LIKE Noam).

I accidentally returned a gift so someone and they got so upset and I felt so embarrassed. Isn’t that such a fucking hilarious move for the devs to pull? They caught me slacking! I tried to give someone jerky to calm down and it made things worse!! Like part of this game is so funny because of how absolutely messy and complicated the relationships are — games like Stardew Valley have their place but, in Dustborn you can’t just give out gifts willy-nilly (rip no one likes this game enough to give me a gift guide 💀).

I’m not finished with this game, so maybe I’ll hate the ending, but I saw that one of the main enemies is this guy who is basically “objectivity” and people were making fun of that so hard. But, objectivity in queer and feminist theory literally is bad because objectivity only exists in the white academic towers context. Where people are being forced to conform to heteronormative contexts of study, and where there’s only one way of thinking and it must be the logical and binary, non-queer way of being/thinking.

Tbh, the main thing I’m getting from this game is that even the leftists who hate it because of how unsubtle it is (and are typically lacking in reading comprehension) are enforcers of their oppression. They hate it because it’s not afraid to be what it is in a landscape where they can only have good queer rep, we’re only allowed to have queer media that’s subtle and not cringe. But they’ll never be able to reach the other side, if they can’t understand this basic lesson taught in SKAM (another Norwegian media, of all places!):

“Let me.. Let me tell you one thing about these people you don’t want to be associated with, Isak. About those who have put on tights and mascara and gone out to fight for the right to be themselves. They’re people who, throughout the years, have chosen to endure harassment. And hate. Who have been beaten up, and killed. And that’s not because they’re so extremely keen on being different. But because they would rather die than pretend to be someone they’re not. And that, Isak, requires courage on a whole different level than most people are able to understand. And I.. I think that before you’ve fought that battle yourself, before you’ve dared to stand up for who you are, you should be really fucking careful about putting yourself above Gay Pride.” — SKAM s3e5

[denimbex1986]

'Scientific grunt work doesn’t render very well on the silver screen. But neither do most jobs, or for that matter, most people. When it comes to theoretical physicists and aesthetic appeal, it’s best to channel quantum mechanics and suspend your disbelief.

Enter Oppenheimer, where Brigadier General Matt Damon says things like, “This is the most important thing to ever happen in the history of the world!” And, “We’ve given them an ace. It’s up to them to play the hand.” No doubt these sentiments were actually delivered as 700-page memorandums, Pendaflex-foldered and date-stamped. But this is Hollywood we’re talking about. You’ll find little in the way of stationery here, at least not on screen. And when the occasional differential equation rolls into frame, writer/director Christopher Nolan cuts smartly away before the audience might nod off.

To Nolan’s credit, Oppenheimer is a terrifically researched film. But it’s a film nonetheless, and translating sprawling, decades-long military sagas via camera necessitates shortcuts. I’m not a vetted expert on nuclear history but I’ve dabbled, having acted as research assistant for a 2020 treatise on plutonium production. This is to say that I’m familiar with the players.

I know, for example, that Matt Damon is far too cuddly, good-looking, and agreeable to portray the irascible Leslie Groves, nicknamed “Greasy” by his fellow West Point cadets. I know that Niels Bohr, the Danish physicist with a famously soft, nigh-unintelligible voice, is misrepresented by Shakespearean enunciator Kenneth Branagh. Nolan’s rolodex runs deeper than Wes Anderson’s these days, and if there’s a gripe to be had with Oppenheimer, it’s that everyone involved is just too damned sexy.

But, again, this is Hollywood, and where Nolan leaves the beaten path of record he generally does so to sate our dopamine addiction. Come to think of it, I haven’t been inside an actual physics department in a while. Maybe the professors really are incredibly gorgeous.

Luckily for Nolan, the subject of his cinematic obsession was a high-cheeked academic anomaly. The poet Edith Jenkins, who overlapped with J. Robert Oppenheimer in leftwing circles, describes his “precocity and brilliance… his jerky walk, feet turned out, a Jewish Pan with his blue eyes and his wild Einstein hair.” Manhattan Project scientist Robert Wilson agrees, admitting that he was “caught up by the Oppenheimer charisma,” “his style, the poetic vision of what we were doing.”

No, Oppy’s jawline never approached the artful chisel of Cillian Murphy’s, but there are unmistakable parallels—a bit elfin, a bit skeletal—to be drawn. Certainly Oppenheimer availed himself of more mistresses than your average mid-century physicist. Nolan spends perhaps too much time focusing on one of them (Jean Tatlock, played by Florence Pugh) and mentions a second in passing (Ruth Tolman, a bit part Louise Lombard), while avoiding speculation of yet others, such as when Berkeley cops found grad student Melba Phillips sleeping in Oppy’s car somewhere in the Coastal Range, the professor himself suspiciously absent.

Oppenheimer’s messy personal life makes him an ideal candidate for exposé—look no further than Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin’s bestselling American Prometheus, Nolan’s source material. But here I’ll return to Hollywoodization, for it’s one thing to get wind of Oppenheimer’s foibles and quite another to see Florence Pugh writhing hallucinatorily on his lap during the 1954 AEC security hearings.

If Nolan goes too far in this film, if he stretches the Oppenheimer envelope past its roomy Pendaflex accommodations, it’s in the context of Oppy outside the Manhattan Project. Despite magnificent wartime subject matter—not all of which is touched upon—Nolan can’t quit his blockbuster tropes. Monochrome senate hearings, petty political twists (how is RDJ’s aide still employed?), Oppy’s fingers gracing Emily Blunt’s as she asks for a cocktail science primer.

Maybe audiences require such touchstones to contextualize the rest of the film. Nolan seems to think so. But as the string section swelled during a trite turn in the relatively forgettable career of Lewis Strauss, I found myself wishing we could’ve stayed put in New Mexico, on the high mesa that forms this film’s heart.

Nolan’s feat comes in recreating Los Alamos, a critical American moment with more than enough narrative to forgo some of the politico-romantic schlock that drags this thing to a three-hour runtime. Fascinated by character, by gray morality, Nolan found Oppy such an attractive case study that it nearly steered his magnum opus (I do think this film qualifies) off track. Each of the factual and immensely complicated bomb-related obstacles—for example, thunderstorms the morning of the Trinity Test—holds a world-changing thrall entirely separate from the whims of one man, no matter how chiseled his jaw.

Speaking of moralistic study, there’s one character who escapes Oppenheimer scot-free: Matt Damon’s overly fit and preposterously understated Leslie Groves. “I’ve known General Groves since I was 2nd lieutenant,” said the real-world David Nichols (cast as Dane DeHaan) in a 1965 interview. “To start off with, I would say he is the biggest son-of-a-bitch I’ve ever met, bar none.”

“Impatient, brusque, intolerant,” writes Robert S. Norris in his comprehensive Groves biography Racing for the Bomb. “He had few close friends, and others generally kept their distance.”

“When you looked at Captain Groves, a little alarm bell rang ‘Caution’ in your brain,” said a colleague.

Damon bulked up, lumped up—whatever—for his role as Nike executive Sonny Vaccaro in this year’s Air. But it’s a serious leap from office park Vaccaro to Army taskmaster Groves, who even in his 1970 New York Times obituary suffered the redundant label of, “a chunky, heavyset man, with a tendency toward paunchiness.” More unfounded than Damon’s weight, however, is a good guy nature cultivated over decades of Good Will Hunting television marathons, Invictus advertisements, and so on.

Cillian Murphy’s shell-shocked victory speech presents a nice commentary on the ethical morass of atomic weaponry. But Damon/Groves makes for an even juicier moralistic target, and he’s let off the hook with that aforementioned one-liner: “We’ve given them an ace, it’s up to them to play the hand.” If anyone bore responsibility for detonating two atomic bombs over civilian populations, it was General Leslie R. Groves, the only person playing said poker game in the first place.

Racing for the Bomb explains, “Groves, sitting atop his security pyramid, was the only person who knew everything about the bomb project—more than the chief of staff, more than the secretary of war, more than the president.” He was therefore “singularly concerned with the bomb, with getting it finished, tested, and used, and his superiors deferred to him time and again to make the choices that would make this happen.”

Nolan illustrates how the bomb haunted Oppenheimer. Groves, cinematically absent after Trinity, showed no such regret. Critiquing the general’s 1962 autobiography Now It Can Be Told, the Saturday Review wrote, “Groves is motivated by a simple and all-sufficing patriotism that is untroubled by what others see in the atom. He does not probe for any new vision of national interest in the age he helped create.”

Simple and all-sufficing patriotism—sounds familiar. Make of it what you will.

The only Oppenheimer character who comes across as legitimately malevolent is Benny Safdie’s terrific Ed Teller. Maybe I fell for Teller because Safdie, a director by trade, looks more like a physicist than a cologne model. Still, I get the sense that Safdie studied his source material. When he pipes up about the “Super”—the hydrogen bomb—his eyes hold nary a flicker of regret. And he keeps doing so despite repeated disdain from his colleagues.

Look, I get it, I really do, on the attractiveness quotient. This is a movie, and if scientists and bureaucrats don’t suffice for a visual study then we’ll goddamn pretend. It’s only sensible that Ernest Lawrence— who, per physicist Jeremy Bernstein, “looked a bit like a country bumpkin”—becomes Josh Hartnett. That Lewis Strauss, a crooked-toothed self-made paper pusher, turns into silver fox Robert Downey Jr. I guess I even understand why Olivia Thirlby got thrown in out of absolutely nowhere, probably as Lilli Hornig, though I can’t recall her name being said aloud.

Nolan had to beautify this stuff because the big screen is a beautiful place. He gets most of the issues absolutely right, and I’ll be pulling for him come Oscar season. I doubt I’ll wind up remembering Emily Blunt’s Kitty Oppenheimer, Matthew Modine’s Vannevar Bush, or whoever the hell Rami Malek was supposed to be. But I’ll surely remember the Trinity Test, fingers trembling over that big red button, “10-9-8” and the towering explosion and the pressure wave—even if, no shade at Nolan, David Lynch already did it better on television.'

[modernmisadventures]

Chapter 2: Reactions

It took three locks to get into Cirdan and Varrus’s apartment. This was on top of the secured access, the doorman-cum-guard dog in the lobby, and the keycard required to take the elevator all the way up to their floor. For Cirdan, it was just another day - for Varrus, it was something of another matter. He wondered if he’d ever get used to it.

But tonight, his head was too full of questions - and a pair of large, brown eyes - for him to do more than feel a momentary anxiousness at the procedure. As soon as the door swung shut at their backs and they entered the well-appointed sitting room of their apartment, he pounced. “So, that girl. Who was she?”

Cirdan didn’t answer immediately, making his way through the seating towards the kitchen. He slipped inside and moments later Varrus could hear the refrigerator open. “Come in here while I see if there’s anything to eat,” called the Au Ra.

"You just downed two drinks and an entire plate of nachos and you're still hungry?" Varrus couldn't help but shake his head with a snort - gods knew that man had a bottomless appetite, for more than just food. All the same, he settled himself onto a stool at the island, but refused to let his friend off so easily. 

"You can talk and forage at the same time. So, what's the deal?"

“Ugh.” Cirdan bent down and stuck his head in the fridge, wondering for the thousandth time why he didn’t just get a side-by-side. “There’s shit all in here. I’m going to order in some Doman food. The usual?” Without waiting for the Elezen to respond, he slid his tomephone from his pocket and placed the order.

Varrus was almost certain he was stalling on purpose, and waited in impatient silence.

Finally, Cirdan tucked his phone in his pocket and sighed. “You heard her. Her name is Ciprys.” More silence, and he cursed. “We kind of grew up together. Her parents moved into our neighborhood when her mother was still pregnant, and I was about two. I don’t remember much, except my mother wasn’t very thrilled to have academic-types in her domain.” The Au Ra hardly had to explain more; though Varrus had never met his mother, he’d been treated to plenty of diatribes about her high-class - and high-maintenence - ways.

“Anyway,” he continued, slipping out of the kitchen and collapsing onto one of the overstuffed chairs, which creaked ominously beneath the weight of his plus-seven-feet frame, “her parents were also quite close to the Satrap of Radz-at-Han, so father couldn’t do anything about it without making more waves than he was willing to at the time. So they stayed, and mostly they stayed out of our way.”

He stared up the ceiling, lost in his own thoughts until Varrus pointedly cleared his throat. “I probably actually met her for the first time when she was six and I was eight. One of my father’s men was dressing me down; I’ve forgotten why, now.” He smiled. “It wasn’t important. It was summer, and hot, and I didn’t want to stand there on the sidewalk in front of her house getting chewed out because I’d done something any eight-year old would do. All of a sudden, she comes tearing out of the house, yelling at the man to stop being ‘such a bully’. You know how auri women are so tiny compared to the men?”

Varrus nodded.

“Well, they’re always that tiny. She’s six years old, all of three fulms nothing, and she comes tearing across her yard and plants herself right between me and… gods, I don’t even remember his name.” Cirdan’s smile is surprisingly tender, given his usually fierce demeanor. “And she proceeded to let him know how it’s not right to yell at a kid, and you shouldn’t pick on people smaller than you, and didn’t his mother raise him right to not throw a tantrum in public?

“The guy… Jaiko, I think - yeah. Jerky Jaiko. He drew himself up, affronted. I think he might have struck her, but I reached out and pulled her back, and if he’d hit her, he might have hit me. My father’s men, they could yell at me, especially if I was being stupid, but my father would have had their horns if they’d laid a hand on me.” Varrus wasn’t entirely certain that was simply a figure of speech. Cirdan had never exactly told him what he and his father did - but Varrus wasn’t entirely dense.

He just liked having plausible deniability.

Cirdan inhaled deeply. “Her mother comes streaking out of the house, pale with fear. I held up a hand to her - it was a gesture my father used all the time - and she stopped dead in her tracks. I very carefully told Jaiko that the little girl was right, that he was being rude, and that I expected to hear no more on this matter. It was the first time I’d ever stood up to one of my father’s men when they were picking on me. And damned if he didn’t turn as pale as Ciprys and draw himself up. ‘Yes, Master Cirdan’ he said - just as he often said to my father - and he turned and walked away.

“As he left, Ciprys pulled out of my hands,” Cirdan continued, his smile positively sloppy at this point, “turned around, and informed me that she was not ‘a little girl’. ‘I’m Ciprys Dreamweaver’, she said to me, very regally, ‘and you may thank me now.’. Gods,” he sighed. “She hasn’t changed a damn bit. Anyway. I thanked her, and she smiled and very politely told me I was welcome, then went to her mother, took her mother’s hand, and led her back into the house. We were fairly inseparable after that, for a very long time. Her parents hated it. My parents hated it. They learned very early on we didn’t give a damn and if they tried to keep us apart, we’d simply sneak out and meet up anyway. Then I had to go to Doma for a few years to serve in the Master’s household, and while I was gone, she went off to college. I figured that was the end of that. But she’s here,” he whispered. “And damned if I didn’t miss her.”

“So… Did you ever…?” Varrus let the word hang, his intent clear - it was evident just how much the woman meant to his friend. So much so that he couldn’t help if their reunion had been entirely coincidental. Cir had never spoken such words about any of his partners - and Varrus had had the misfortune of meeting a few in the early mornings after his buddy’s escapades, but they were always in and out, never the same each night; hells, he’d never even known any of their names, the rare occasions he did meet them. 

So to hear Cir speak so happily, candidly about this Ciprys woman… Well, it was clear she was special. Beyond special. 

Cirdan was quiet for a moment, mulling over the question. “No. No, we didn’t. She was sixteen when I left for Doma - and maybe she was willing, but I wasn’t. Not with her. I didn’t want - she wasn’t…” He trailed off, frowning, and this may have been the first time Varrus had ever seen him so uncertain. “I wasn’t going to do that to her - not when I was leaving and no idea when I’d be back, or what her life would be. So no. We never.” Then he smiled, slow and lazy. “But there’s always tomorrow, now that I know where she is.”

“You, with the same person, more than a single night? I’ll believe it when I see it,” Varrus snorted - though it was a bit of false bravado; there was little that would bring him more joy than seeing his best friend truly, truly happy with another.

Though he wasn’t exactly looking forward to the sounds that would be coming from the shared wall between their bedrooms. 

“Well, come on, loverboy.” He plopped down onto the seat opposite the Au Ra. “Food’s gonna be here soon; what say we get a few rounds in? Winner gets the third egg roll.” With a smirk, he tossed the second controller to Cir, knowing he’d absolutely just lost himself a bet - a shame, really. He loved those egg rolls. 

Unfortunately for him, so did Cir. And Cir had one advantage.

He cheats.

Ciprys didn’t quite slam the door shut behind her - but it was a near thing. Her mother’s voice was still ringing against her horns, but she blocked it out with the ease of long practice. It was all piss and wind; her mother had never had the fortitude to follow through on any of her threats. Not that Ciprys particularly tested that - she loved her mother and father, and she recognized that their overbearing nature came from anxiety about raising her so far away from kith and kin.

But she was twenty-one years old, by the gods, and she deserved to have her own damn life. 

“I need a job,” she said to the air. “I need to stop racking up degrees and just get a damn job with them.”

Her parents would be surprised to find out that rather than being a dilettante who had been in school for nearly four years now with nothing to show for it that she’d actually managed to scrape up two degrees and was on the verge of a third. Refusing to walk or be announced by the school had simply been one more way of taking control of her own life. And since her grades had been exceptional - as expected - the U had been more than willing to indulge her, even against two of their more valuable professors.

But she didn’t want a job. Not one that had her tied to a desk, or a bar, or a building. She wanted to travel, she wanted to see places she’d only heard of, meet people she’d never known existed. She wanted to experience the world first-hand… and she wanted to capture it, she mused as her roaming eye fell upon the camera tucked on her dresser, through a lens, then share it with the rest of the world.

And her parents would never go for it. Without a means of support, that dream was just a dream - she’d known that the moment she’d fallen in love with photography and made it her second degree. They’d never let her out of the city - and if they knew how far away she wanted to go, they’d never let her out of the house. And without a job, she’d never have the means to break those gilded chains.

It all circled back. And why, she wondered, was she thinking of this now?

Jess. Something had changed between the moment she’d walked into the bar tonight, and the moment she’d walked out. She’d already started growing fond of the bartender - and a bit envious of her freedom, her freedom to work, to live away from her parents, to have a life that hadn’t been decided before she was born.

And now there was that other woman - the other Au Ra. The teacher. Someone living the life her parents had imagined for her and happy with it. More than anything, that had made it all hit home: she didn’t want that. She didn’t want the same thing, day after day. She didn’t want the papers, the students, the responsibility.

She wanted to spread her wings.

And if she could just find a degree of independence, it wouldn’t matter what her parents thought of Cir-

No.

Five years. Why hadn’t he told her he was back? How long had he been back? He’d never said anything in the texts, the emails, the little gifts he’d sent anonymously.

Why?

With a grunt, she flung herself on her bed and brooded at the moon rising outside her window. And did her best not to dream a dream of turquoise eyes and wide, spreading wings.

“Can I walk you home?”

“The answer is still no,” Kal’istae replied evenly, ignoring Thancred’s soft sound of disappointment. “I appreciate the invite to the bar, though. I enjoyed meeting your sister.”

Doing his best not to sulk - and how was that even a thing? - Thancred strode along at her side, his hands shoved in his pockets. “Scamp? She’s one of a kind. Minfilia’s more reserved, and Ryne’s more like a daughter, but Jess is exactly the kind of younger sister I wanted growing up.” The affection in his voice was real and rich, and Kal’istae had no doubt in her mind that he meant every word.

Kal’istae let her eyes drift up towards the stars above them, nearly drowned out from the lights of the city. “Is that why you do it?”

“One reason, perhaps,” Thancred replied, only half of his mind on the conversation. “There’s a lot more to it than just filling in the gaps, of course, and it’s mostly for their sakes, not mine - but I’d be lying if I said I got nothing out of it.”

Kal’istae tried to ignore the prick of her conscience, the whisper of her unconscious that suggested that perhaps saying yes, just this once, wouldn’t hurt. She was not interested in leading him on. She liked their relationship exactly where it was - non-existent with a side of friendship.

So why did you go to the bar with him?

Gritting her teeth, she shoved the errant thought away. “Here is where we part ways,” she said instead, indicating the entrance to the underground. “I’ll see you around, Thancred.”

If by around you mean next Wednesday when he inevitably swings by your classroom during his weekly visit to the school.

Well, of course. If he didn’t, she’d probably be very disappointed. Worried, even. Except when he’d had to go out of town, he’d come by every Wednesday like clockwork…

As the thought trailed off, she stared at him as he waited, gazing at her with a puzzled expression.

Oh hells.

“Good night, Thancred,” she said, just a bit faintly. “I’ll see you… I’ll see you.”

His smile was slow, and just a little smug. “Good night, Kali,” he replied, backing away. “I’ll see you Wednesday.”

Yes. Yes he would. And she would be waiting.

Oh. Hells.

[andrea-lyn]

Happy new year! If the adage is that you spend today doing what you want to for the rest of the year, then I want to keep reading and reccing some fics I’ve loved in the last little while!

So, here’s a mish-mash of multi-fandoms. As always, you can find my master rec collection here. 

Ghosts (BBC)

And So On and So Forth by V_Evergreen

Dying is, of course, incredibly tragic. It is also the most wonderful opportunity.

Father of the Bride by EllianaDunla

Rachel Fawcett visits Button House to feel closer to her father.

Which happens, just not quite in the way she expects.

Project Chatterbox by SqutternutBosh

‘What’s this?’ Alison asks, looking down at the scrappy piece of note paper that Mike has just put down in front of her.

‘It’s a list of ways I can talk to them,’ Mike says, sitting down beside her at the kitchen table.

Raven Cycle

hold me tight, fear me not by audikatia for Northisnotup

When Adam stepped around, he found himself suddenly in an emerald glen of moss-covered trees. More blue roses scattered over the green ground like raindrops or tears.

And there, in the center, was a man pinned to a tree with an arrow through his heart. :: Tam Lin AU

Someone Worth Knowing by SprigsofViolets

Alex Claremont-Diaz and Adam Parrish meet on their first day at NYU. They do not hit it off—cue the academic rivalry. They hate each other until they learn to understand each other.

(I can’t tell you how many times I’ve re-read this one, esp as it hits two of my fave canons in all the right places)

since you've been home, see what you have become by Mici (noharlembeat)

Adam goes touring colleges, and Ronan comes along. And Opal, well. She stays with Declan.

***Greywaren spoilers for the below fics!***

There's No Place Like My Room by Lil_Redhead

Sometimes endings are endings, but sometimes they’re just middles and the real ending is very, very far away.

Or, the days between the last chapters and the epilogue of Greywaren

(This one is still a WIP with one chapter left to post, but it hits all the right notes of post-Greywaren + plot that I was craving after finishing the book)

god only knows (what i'd be without you) by RhymeReason

[Part of Gansey was starting to accept that two of his best friends were most likely dead.]

Or: gansey finds adam and ronan :)

and on the seventh day he rested by Prevalent_Masters

On the seventh day, the Lynch brothers discovered they were friends once more.

Or, the week following the (near) apocalypse.

Roswell New Mexico

Contigo me encontré by beautifulcheat (Katalyst), ladynox

The Lockhart House was once a home, although it was never a happy one. Steeped in tragedy, it still stands today, in the heart of Old Town Roswell, attracting ghost hunters and those seeking to catch a peak of something from beyond the veil.

Contrary to popular myth, it wasn’t currently haunted (except by one paranormally talented docent). It was Michael’s favorite job and the best part of his summer home from UNM. Or at least was until Alex Manes was hired to man the gift shop, complicating an otherwise fun and easy job.

With Love Overflowing by Nestra

"We both agree that this is not the place we belong, right? Please say yes."

Michael tossed his hat on the coffee table and dropped onto the couch. "If you mean that your dad's been dead since CrashCon and some kind of crazy shit is going on, then yeah, I agree."

(This one was for me for Secret Santa, it is just THAT GOOD that I want everyone in the world to read it)

Severance

r/severed by curtaincall for LearnedFoot

Welcome to r/severed! This is a subreddit to discuss the experience of severance and provide advice and support to fellow severed people (and friends and family).

Top Gun Maverick

we're fools to make war by whimsicule

In a Walmart at three am, between beef jerky and tortilla chips, with the lights flickering above them like it’s the fucking twilight zone, Bradley wants him more than he’s ever wanted anyone.

or: it's a hundred degrees in texas.

what doesn't kill me makes me want you more by ok_thanks

For Rooster to be his ex-boyfriend, that would require him to have been Jake’s boyfriend in the first place. Which he definitely wasn’t. He was – "Ex-something," Jake coughs. or, the intricate ritual of teasing the guy you've been hooking up with since college that you're definitely not in love with

Men Like Us by DancingDisaster

Seresin men love with reckless abandon. It’s put every man before him in the ground.

Jake refuses to be buried.

[ynseincanada]

dinsdag 05/09/2023

Ik ben nog altijd een beetje verkouden, maar het gaat al stukken beter dan vorige week. Vorige week heb ik ook mijn tweede bloeddrukval meegemaakt toen ik pizza aan het eten was. Opeens was al mijn kleur weg (aldus, mama). Het duurde even voor ik terug kon rechtstaan, maar sindsdien heb ik het niet meer meegemaakt.

Afgelopen zaterdag zijn mama en ik naar de Farmer's Market in St. Albert geweest. Wat een evenement. Een honderdtal kraampjes met fruit, koekjes, juwelen en heel veel jerky (ieuw). Ik heb zalm jerky geproefd en ik heb nog nooit zoiets zout geproefd. Mama en ik hebben een watermeloen, koekjes, frambozenconfituur en vegan feta (zo ongelooflijk lekker) mee naar huis genomen.

Maandag ben ik naar de opening geweest van het academiejaar. Naast een gratis drinkbus, zoute popcorn (ieuw) en een cola was er niet veel te doen. Twee uitverkoren studenten kreeg 1000 CAD, maar daarvoor moest je in Canada wonen :') Je kreeg ook een gratis bellenblazer. Redelijk teleurstellend.

Vandaag heb ik mijn eerste lessen gehad. Deze ochtend had ik Global Critical Race Theory, maar ik weet niet of het vak iets voor mij is. Ik denk dat ik morgen Topics in Gender and Social Justice ga volgen, om te zien of ik het kan vervangen met GCRT.

In de namiddag had ik Canadian Texts en dat was geweldig. We trekken in de natuur rond om te praten over literatuur, hoe geweldig is dat? De prof is ook een geweldig lieve vrouw. Voor onze eindopdracht krijgen we een plant of dier toegewezen. We moet in de natuur opzoek gaan naar die plant of dat dier en over deze ervaring schrijven. Ik kijk er enorm naar uit.

Hier zijn nog wat sfeerfoto's van de afgelopen week:

De Rogers Arena, waar de Edmonton Oilers spelen

De plaats op campus waar ik verblijf

Het zicht van op mijn kamer

Het mooiste zicht tot nu toe (niet zo duidelijk op deze foto's)

Tot de volgende keer.

x ynse

tuesday 05/09/2023

I still have a slight cold, but I am doing much better than last week. Last week I also experienced my second blood pressure drop while I was eating pizza. Suddenly, all the color drained from my face (so my Mom said). It took me a while to get back up, but I haven't experienced it since.

Last Saturday, Mom and I went to the Farmer's Market in St. Albert. What an event. About a hundred stalls selling fruit, cookies, jewelry and lots of jerky (juck). I tasted salmon jerky and I have never tasted anything so salty. Mom and I took home a watermelon, cookies, raspberry jam and vegan feta (so incredibly delicious).

Monday I went to the opening of the academic year. Besides a free drink box, salty popcorn (again, yuck) and a Coke, there wasn't much to do. Two chosen students got 1000 CAD, but for that you had to live in Canada :') You also got a free bubble blower. Overall, pretty disappointing.

Today I had my first two classes. This morning I had Global Critical Race Theory, but I don't know if this course is for me. I think I will take Topics in Gender and Social Justice tomorrow to see if I can substitute it with GCRT.

In the afternoon I had Canadian Texts and that was great. We walk around in nature talking about literature, how great is that? The professor is also a wonderfully sweet woman. For our final assignment we are assigned a plant or an animal. We have to go into nature to look for that plant or animal and write about this experience. I am looking forward to it immensely.

See you next time.

x ynse

[treelightcitystory]

Character Chart 

Character’s full name: Samantha Pearl Rivers

Reason or meaning of name: Flower in Greek

Character’s nickname: Sam, Sami, Little Pearl

Reason for nickname: Her name is short for Samantha, delicate as a pearl

Birthdate: 5/11/97

Physical appearance

Age: 17 (going on 18)

How old does he/she appear: 15

Weight: 102 lbs

Height: 5’4 ft

Body build: Slim

Shape of face: Soft round

Eye color: Golden yellow

Glasses or contacts: None

Skin tone: Ivory

Distinguishing marks: her golden eyes

Predominant features: None

Hair color: Light blonde

Type of hair: Long, wavy, down to the waist

Hairstyle: Hair down

Voice: Silvery

Overall attractiveness: Her golden eyes

Physical disabilities: None

Usual fashion of dress: Light pink dress, galaxy comprese leggings, flip-flops

Favorite outfit: Crop top, shorts, flats

Jewelry or accessories: Her mother’s pendant from her fifth birthday

Personality

Good personality traits: Sweet, gentle, understanding, caring

Bad personality traits: shy, easily frightened

Mood character is most often in: shy, but optimistic

Sense of humor: Yes

Character’s greatest joy in life: Her father and Josh

Character’s greatest fear: death

Why? She had lost her mother from childbirth

What single event would most throw this character’s life into complete turmoil? If anyone found out about her powers and Everworld

Character is most at ease when: She is around her father and her boyfriend

Most ill at ease when: Someone mentions anything of her mother

Enraged when: Michael had sold her and her friends out

Depressed or sad when: someone yells at her

Priorities: Keeping her home safe

Life philosophy: “Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.” 

― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

If granted one wish, it would be: To see her mother one last time

Why? She loves her more than anything else

Character’s soft spot: for Josh

Is this soft spot obvious to others? Yes, since they first met Alli in middle school

Greatest strength: Her mother’s love for her, her friends

Greatest vulnerability or weakness: Darkness, abandonment 

Biggest regret: Not saving her father in time

Minor regret: Talking back to jerky people

Biggest accomplishment: Earning a degree in child care in later years

Minor accomplishment: Standing up to Michael

Past failures he/she would be embarrassed to have people know about: Her old drawing of herself and her family

Why? Someone had made a harsh comment about it

Character’s darkest secret: Her mother’s side of the family is selfish and greedy and blames her for her mother’s death

Does anyone else know? Only her father and friends know

Goals

Drives and motivations: Be normal

Immediate goals: Find a good college education

Long term goals: Raise a family

How the character plans to accomplish these goals: Wait until marriage later on in life, put academics over other things, apart from her friends

How other characters will be affected: Josh will gladly wait with her in the long term goal

Past

Hometown: Arbutus Ridge, Vancouver, CN

Type of childhood: Mother passed away during childbirth

Pets: None

First (worst) memory: her mother’ side of the family blaming her for her death and cutting her off from them

Most important childhood memory: Earning her mother’s pendant on her fifth birthday

Why: so she can know how much she loves her

Childhood hero: Helen Keller

Dream job: Childcare social worker

Education: studied at Graham Bruce Community Elementary, at Daleville Elementary when moved at age 8, Daleville Middle School

Religion: N/A

Finances: Saving for college loans

Present 

Current location: Daleville, Alabama

Currently living with: Her father

Pets: N/A

Religion: N/A

Occupation: Senior at Daleville High School

Finances: Saving for college loans

Family

Mother: Georgia Rivers (deceased) 

Relationship with her: Biological

Father: Oscar Rivers

Relationship with him: Biological

Siblings: None

Relationship with them: N/A

Spouse: N/A 

Relationship with him/her: N/A 

Children: N/A

Relationship with them: N/A 

Other important family members: Her father’s side of the family

Favorites 

Color: Deep pink

Least favorite color: Light pink

Music: Pop

Food: Funnel Cake

Literature: Fiction, Sci-Fi

Form of entertainment: Movies

Expressions: “Oh, my God!” When frightened or surprised

Mode of transportation: Car

Most prized possession: Her mother’s locket and a picture of her and her father

Habits

Hobbies: Studying, hanging out with friends

Plays a musical instrument? No

Plays a sport? No

How he/she would spend a rainy day: Splashing in puddles and spending the rest of the day reading

Spending habits: None

Smokes: No

Drinks: No

Other drugs: None

What does he/she do too much of? Worrying about her father

What does he/she do too little of? Taking breaks from studying

Extremely skilled at: Singing, but only in private

Extremely unskilled at: being dominative at times

Nervous tics: Playing with her hair, avoiding eye contact

Usual body posture: Back straight, arms behind back in shyness

Mannerisms: her mother’s positive outlook and smile

Peculiarities: her shyness and frightfulness 

Traits 

Optimist or pessimist? A bit of an optimist

Introvert or extrovert? Introvert only a bit

Daredevil or cautious? Cautious

Logical or emotional? Logical

Disorderly and messy or methodical and neat? Methodical and neat

Prefers working or relaxing? Prefers working

Confident or unsure of himself/herself? Confident of herself

Animal lover? Yes

Self-perception 

How he/she feels about himself/herself: Feels like she was a burden before she met the Daleville gang

One word the character would use to describe self: Soft-hearted

One paragraph description of how the character would describe self: With her eyes and hair as golden as the sun, Sam is shy but gentle towards people like her mother had been before her. 

What does the character consider his/her best personality trait? Her soft nature

What does the character consider his/her worst personality trait? Her easily-frightfulness

What does the character consider his/her best physical characteristic? Her flowing hair

What does the character consider his/her worst physical characteristic? None

How does the character think others perceive him/her: As a soft dork

What would the character most like to change about himself/herself: None at all

Relationships with others

Opinion of other people in general: Some she trusts, others she is scared of

Does the character hide his/her true opinions and emotions from others? She easily tells her own opinions to someone, no matter how scared she is

Person character most hates: Michale James

Best friend(s): Nabel, Alli, Caleb, Cody, Matt, Brittany

Love interest(s): Josh Smith

Person character goes to for advice: Her father

Person character feels responsible for or takes care of: Josh

Person character feels shy or awkward around: The Defenders of Everworld

Person character openly admires: Her friends

Person character secretly admires: Josh

Most important person in character’s life before story starts: Her father

After story starts: The people of Everworld and her friends

[xtruss]

Illustration: Timo Lenzen

Too Many People Take Too Many Pills! Medical Systems Are Set-up To Put People On Drugs, Not Take Them Off

— Science & Technology | Overprescribing Drugs | April 26, 2023 | The Economist

As a pharmacist in a big hospital in Adelaide, Emily Reeve would often see patients overwhelmed by the number of drugs they took each day. “They’d say ‘I take so many medicines that I rattle when I walk’,” she recalls. And she worried that some of the medications these patients were on seemed useless, or even harmful.

Dr Reeve’s patients are not unusual, at least in the rich world. About 15% of people in England take five or more prescription drugs every day. So do 20% of Americans and Canadians aged 40-79. Since the old tend to be sicker, the number of pills a person pops tends to rise over time. Of Americans who are 65 or older, two-thirds take at least five medications each day. In Canada, a quarter of over-65s take ten or more.

Not all those prescriptions are beneficial. Half of older Canadians take at least one that is, in some way, inappropriate. A review of overprescribing in England in 2021 concluded that at least 10% of prescriptions handed out by family doctors, pharmacists and the like should probably not have been issued. And even properly prescribed drugs have side effects. The more medicines someone takes, the more they will experience.

“Polypharmacy”, as doctors call it, imposes a big drag on health. A recent study at a hospital in Liverpool found that nearly one in five hospital admissions was caused by adverse reactions to drugs. The Lown Institute, an American think-tank, reckons that, between 2020 and 2030, medication overload in America could cause more than 150,000 premature deaths and 4.5m hospital admissions.

Getting people off drugs is unfamiliar terrain for modern health systems, which are mostly set up to put patients on them. But that is beginning to change. Doctors, pharmacists and nurses are setting up “deprescribing networks” to try to spread the word. (Dr Reeve, now at Monash University, in Melbourne, runs one in Australia.) England’s National Health Service published a plan to reduce overprescribing in 2021. The first international conference on it took place last year, in Denmark.

Excessive pill-popping burdens patients in several ways. One is the sheer logistics of it all. “People feel like their entire lives revolve around their medications,” says Michael Steinman, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. The more drugs someone takes, the greater the chances are that some of them will be taken wrongly.

Other problems are more straightforwardly medical. Some patients end up taking several drugs that affect the same biological pathway. One example is anticholinergics, which suppress the activity of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. Several drugs, including some anti-allergy pills, anti-incontinence drugs and tricyclic antidepressants, work this way. But doctors are not always aware of that, says Dr Reeve.

The Pills Won’t Help You Now

That can cause overdosing. Loading up on anticholinergics can suppress acetylcholine so strongly that it can leave patients stupefied or confused. Often such effects are wrongly ascribed to old age, or to disease. By cutting away problematic drugs, “we’ve had incidents where we have been able to reverse the [incorrect] diagnosis of dementia,” says Barbara Farrell, an academic and pharmacist at the Bruyere Research Institute in Canada.

Overprescribing can become self-reinforcing, says Dr Steinman. Several common drugs block reabsorption of serotonin, another neurotransmitter. Taking too many can cause tremors, insomnia and jerky movements of the arms and legs. Those symptoms are often mistaken for Parkinson’s disease. So drugs for Parkinson’s are added, in what is known as a “prescribing cascade”. These, in turn, can cause low blood pressure and delirium–which are, of course, treated with yet more drugs.

The problems compound in other way, too. The more pills someone takes, the more likely it becomes that some of them will interact in harmful ways. Pharmacists have reference databases which they check for nasty drug interactions. But knowledge is limited because clinical trials tend to test only one drug at a time. Pharmacists cannot catch problematic combinations when different prescriptions are dispensed at different pharmacies. And anything bought over the counter is “completely invisible”, says Dr Steinman.

All these effects are compounded yet again in the elderly, whose bodies are less efficient at metabolising drugs. Sleeping pills, for example, might make a youngster a bit drowsy the next morning. In an elderly individual they can cause “brain fog” that makes everyday tasks impossible. Getting the dose right is difficult, says Dr Farrell, “because [old people] are usually excluded from clinical trials for new drugs”.

Medication overload persists for several reasons. One, particularly in America, is advertising, which oversells the benefits of medicines, says Dr Farrell. Lack of unified personal health records is another. A cardiologist may prescribe drugs for a patient without knowing what the doctor treating his lungs may have put him on.

Perhaps the most common reason is that patients are not told when to stop taking a drug, or forget. In America one in five patients who are given gabapentin, a potent painkiller, after surgery are still taking it 90 days later (the recommended maximum is four weeks). Often prescriptions are renewed automatically by other doctors, who see them on a patient’s notes and assume they have to be continued.

Many doctors presume that, in any case, patients are not particularly interested in stopping their medicines. That is probably wrong: studies from a number of countries show that eight out of ten patients are willing to give up a drug if their doctor advises them to do so. But those doctors face problems of their own. Money for de-prescribing studies is scant. Drug firms, the main sponsors of clinical trials, are not interested, for obvious reasons.

Evidence about how to proceed is nevertheless starting to build up. Brochures have been developed in Canada to help patients wean themselves off a number of common drugs. They explain, among other things, what alternatives are available—such as cognitive behavioural therapy rather than sleeping pills for insomnia. Trials suggest they work.

Automated de-prescribing tools and guidelines for some medicines have also been developed in recent years. Medsafer, one such electronic tool, increased the share of hospital patients for whom drugs were de-prescribed from 30% to 55%, according to a study published earlier this year in jama Internal Medicine. The Drug Burden Index, another tool, tallies the cumulative doses of drugs with anticholinergic or sedative effects.

A medical movement, in other words, is beginning. Its potential impact could be considerable. Keith Ridge, England’s chief pharmaceutical officer, drew an ironic but telling comparison in 2021: “With well over a billion items dispensed each year”, he wrote, “there is a huge prize to be gained in improving the health of millions of people—comparable to a new ‘blockbuster’ medicine—if we can only get this right.” ■

— This article appeared in the Science & Technology section of the print edition under the headline "An Ill For Every Pill"

[asterdmhealthcare1]

Pediatric Brain Tumors and the Common Pediatric Brain Tumors Symptoms

Pediatric brain tumors are a rare but serious type of cancer that can occur in children. These tumors can develop in various areas of the brain and can lead to a range of symptoms depending on their location and size. As with any cancer, early detection and treatment are crucial in increasing the chances of a positive outcome. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the common symptoms of pediatric brain tumors.

Headaches:

Headaches are a common symptom of pediatric brain tumors. The headache can vary in intensity, location, and frequency. The headache may worsen when the child is lying down or when they cough, sneeze, or strain. Headaches caused by brain tumors are typically more severe in the morning and may be accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

2. Weakness and Coordination Problems:

A brain tumor can affect the child's motor function, leading to weakness, loss of coordination, and difficulty with balance. The child may have trouble walking, and their movements may be uncoordinated or jerky.

It's important to note that the pediatric brain tumors symptoms can vary depending on the location and size of the tumor. If you notice any of the above symptoms or any other concerning changes in your child, it's essential to seek medical attention promptly. Your child's pediatrician may refer you to a pediatric neurologist or pediatric oncologist for further evaluation and treatment.

3. Seizures:

Seizures are another common symptom of pediatric brain tumors. A seizure occurs when there is abnormal electrical activity in the brain. The child may experience convulsions, involuntary movements, or a loss of consciousness. Seizures can occur at any time and may be isolated or recurrent.

4. Vision Problems:

A brain tumor located near the optic nerve can cause vision problems. The child may experience blurred vision, double vision, or a loss of vision in one or both eyes. The child may also experience other visual symptoms, such as a change in the appearance of colors, halos around lights, or difficulty with peripheral vision.

5. Behavioral and Cognitive Changes:

Pediatric brain tumors can also affect a child's behavior and cognitive abilities. The child may experience a decline in academic performance or have difficulty with memory and concentration. The child may also exhibit changes in mood, personality, and behavior.

In conclusion, pediatric brain tumors are a serious health concern that requires prompt attention. The symptoms of brain tumors can be varied, and it's important to be aware of the signs and symptoms to ensure early detection and treatment. If you have any concerns about your child's health, it's essential to seek medical attention from us at Aster DM Healthcare an qualified healthcare professional.

At Aster DM Healthcare, we are on a mission to bring accessible, quality healthcare to millions of people. We strive for excellence in every moment, every day. We understand that excellence isn't a destination – it's a never-ending process of growth and improvement. Our commitment to excellence has made us one of the leading healthcare providers in the Middle East and India, with core competencies in clinical care, diagnostics, and medical services. We are passionate about utilising the latest technology and approaches to improve patient experiences and outcomes.

Address - Corporate Head Quarters 33rd Floor, Tower D - Aspect Tower, Executive Tower at Bay Avenue, Business Bay, P.O. Box 8703, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Contact us at - 971 4 4546001

[goodnightmoonvale]

Hi! Inattentive-type ADHD runs in my family — me, two of my brothers, and two of my kids have it. Here's what I tend to notice most about our collective experience with it:

Anxiety as a coping mechanism (incredibly, profoundly anxious about "not doing well", "letting people down", "everyone will see me as a fuck up" used for motivational purposes. Works great until it doesn't. Also tends to turn into deep shame and avoidant behaviors, being unwilling to speak up when struggling, "I'll just fix it and everything will be fine"

High intellectual capacity coupled with wildly varying academic performance. Extremely high reading, reasoning, and/or math skills. Extreme struggles with motivating self to do projects that seem stupid or pointless. Hard time remembering to turn homework in, even if complete. Boring homework or tasks take significantly longer than other people to complete, to the point of tears and extreme frustration

Just sort of spaced-out staring out a window or the wall. Losing time for like 5-20 minutes and not knowing how that much time has slipped away

Caught in the grip of "waves" of attention. Either intense, blinding, extreme interest to the point of irritation and inability to be pulled away from something, or extreme boredom to the point of depression-like anhedonia. Feeling "brain itchy" when you're not hyperfixated on something and not knowing what to do with yourself unless you're in a three-day research rabbit hole

Always feel like you're falling behind

Hating "maintenance" tasks like having to eat, shower, wash clothes, wash dishes, etc. I will often forget to eat, purposely not drink enough water bc I don't want to have to stop and go to the bathroom, not want to cook for myself bc it's too much work, etc. This can also come with a "relaxed" attitude as to what "counts" as a meal. I've eaten artichoke dip and tortilla chips for breakfast, beef jerky and mandarin oranges for dinner, a banana and a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter right out of the jar for lunch, etc.

Sensory sensitivity, especially to sound. Very stressed by high pitched noises, loud talking, repetitive background noises, etc

For me personally, I didn't get diagnosed until my 30s. I tried, at one point in my 20s, to get neuropsychological testing done to get an ADHD diagnosis, but the doctor supervising the test said I had "too high of an IQ" to have ADHD and I was "probably just depressed". I started antidepressants and felt less depressed/anxious, but it did absolutely nothing for my motivation to do anything.

Years later, when I got officially diagnosed and started ADHD meds for real, I found that a large portion of my anxiety and depression simply melted away, because I was able to accomplish tasks and not feel like I was teetering on the edge of a cliff all the time.

Feel free to DM me or send me an ask! Always very happy to talk about ADHD, especially inattentive-type and how it presents differently

Uhhhh I watched JaidenAnimations's new video about ADHD n realized that it's very likely I have it as well (specifically the inattentive kind).

I just spent about an hour talking to my friend who has it asking about their experience n also doing some research while waiting for responses n I mean they straight up ended up telling me they've been thinking I had something similar to them for awhile. To anyone who sees this who has it, I'd love to hear about your experiences with it, I prefer hearing from people who have experiences rather than Googling it. Anyone is welcome to answer!! /nf ofc

Tldr; I'm pretty sure I have inattentive ADHD and I wanna hear about experiences from anyone else who has it. /nf

[sad--tree]

2 midterms 2day 😰😭💀 first object-oriented programming (java) at 12:30-2:30 then database systems at 3........ wish me luck yall i have not prepared at all!!!

[alexkablob]

cass will you stab this asshole already

[communistkenobi-archive]

I miss reading circle-jerky academic literature so bad. I want to read a thousand pages on whether place arises from space or the other way around