#also treat kidney stone

[flowerishness]

Saxifraga rosacea (Irish saxifrage)

Spring is just roaring along out here on the west coast and new flowers are showing up every day. In it's European homeland this little saxifrage is found on the banks of mountain streams but it also grows on cliffs and scree slopes. Now it adds a little color to rock gardens and and it's an attractive ground cover too. Incidentally, the Latin word saxifraga means "stone-breaker" and it was used in ancient times as a medicinal herb to treat bladder and kidney stones.

[talonabraxas]

The 7 Ancient Planets Since ancient times there have been 7 Ancient Planets: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury with the Sun and Moon being also classed as Planets (or more correctly, Celestial Bodies). These 7 Planets were known to many ancient cultures and the Planets had energies applied based on their size, color, distance, speed of motion etc. Curiously, the Sumerians knew of these 7 planets plus another within our solar system which appears where the asteroid belt is. The knowledge of the 7 Planets was blended with the Theory of the Elements and Medical theory at an early time. There are 2 ways we can look at it: Western, Four Element: Saturn is Earth, Jupiter is Air, Venus is Water and Mars is Fire, the Sun being Yang (ultimate Fire) and the Moon Yin (Ultimate Water). Mercury is in the Center as Balance. Eastern, Five Element: As above, but Mercury is Metal Each planet has associations based on the Elements, Organs and Humors: Saturn is associated with the Earth, Spleen and Melancholy Jupiter with Air (Wood), Liver, Metabolism and Blood Mars with Fire, Heart, Circulation and Bile Venus with Water, Kidney, Fluid and Phlegm Mercury is associated with balance Sun with Fire, Heart and Yang Moon with Water, Kidneys and Yin So an Herb assigned to Jupiter will tend to nourish Liver and Blood, and so with the other Planets. Each Day of the Week is also assigned to a Planet from which their names are derived: Sunday–Sun Monday–Moon Tuesday–Mars Wednesday–Mercury Thursday–Jupiter Friday–Venus Saturday–Saturn A Lunar herb is best collected on the day of the Moon (Monday), and so with the other planets. Also, a cool herb could be more Yin tonic in nature if collected on a Monday, as compared to if collected on a Saturday which may be better to clear Heat and Damp. The day was also divided into equal proportions between sunrise and sunset, with each period being allocated a planet. So the first hour after sunrise on Sunday is allocated to the Sun, the next the Moon, and so on throughout the day. So a Lunar herb is best collected on Monday, and in the hour of the Moon. Later, this was taken further, and the Natal (Birth) chart was used to ascertain weaknesses in the Chart which could be treated or prevented with appropriate Medicine. Medical Astrologists would look for weaknesses in the Birth chart and aim to strengthen them with medicines. Even today in India, certain Healers study the Birth chart for weaknesses, then prescribe a particular Gem stone to be worn on a particular finger to restore balance. Each planet has an associated color, and stones of that color were associated with the planet. Astrology and the energetics associated with the Planets is just another method of energetic correspondence that was used by the Ancients to better understand and work with the Universe they lived in.

[gofishygo]

[PRIDE MONTH- WEEK FOUR] : through green hydrangeas (my heart lies) price x ftm reader (part 2/2) - UNFINISHED

(i will complete this once i am unsuicidal and motivated)

[PART ONE] | notes: medical settings, description of injury, should have a good ending but like rn its not necessarily very bonita for either of them

The next time you and Johnathan price meet each other is indeed, in Burningham.

The doctors treating you had come with a prognosis- a puncture to the intestine. Through the whole eight hours of the surgery, the whole two weeks of an induced coma, he’d shadowed it behind a glass window. His now practically immune to the scent of disinfectants, the lemon-stained chemicals burning at his nose until the chemoreceptors in them saw nothing, felt nothing. He compares it to a black hole, how his sensory limbs have dulled since his career; his ears are now half drowned, all noose shallow and diasporic, left behind at a botched mission in 2002 Moscow. The keenness of his nose now snuffed by a recent disaster with chemicals. His body is trying and failing, pulling the weight of the world on its shoulders and inside the gaping voids of his chest, always consuming, killing, but never truly settled. Never truly sated.

And now his eyes have resulted in you being eaten, now his ears have resulted in you being ripped at your core. His body has chewed you and, and was left to spit out your body, just like Johnny-

He is scared of looking into closed eyes-they remind price too much about him. So, he leaves the living pearls alone, refuses to peel the skin back to see your colours. He never wants to chew again, not after this.

In every other world be should have stayed attentive, should have yelled at you to not mount the doorframe. But now you are here, bandage wrapped vice-tight below your own scars under your chest and blanketing part of your tattoo, and guilt and pity and some dark festering emotion he couldn’t pinpoint layer and boil like bile in his kidneys. Threatens to spill over into his throat and all over the bed when he is finally allowed to take the compression off. It reveals the shooting star of a wound, crusted tail stretching and expanding into arms that seem to try reach across your skin, to take more of the body it had infested. And he fears you will meet the fate of Johnny- that the wound had claimed your soul instead of your life. And it was an early death too, for the man he had met, for the private who’d body he thought he’d fully memorised a decade ago. The short-lived life of the man who smiled with his whole face for the woman who couldn’t. He knows you have changed, have grown up and out of your past life.

But he can only hope that now; you are strong enough to live through it.

On the nineteenth day of your bedrest, John seems to notice that the slow trickle of bouquets and cards of condolence had been wrung dry, petals brown and crusting on the small bundle of roses that Gaz had left on the bedside since the beginning of your stay in the hospital. The colour of the wilt now matched his increasingly darkening eyebags, crow’s feet near buried, shallow dents in the corner of his peripherals. Pads of his fingers rest atop your forehead- and he knows no matter how dysregulated your internal temperature was since the mission, the number of degrees in your body would always be more than the amount of “get well soon’s” you were given. Some stone of pity seems to snowball at the tip of his tongue and lodge in his throat at the lack of a similar last name on any of the unopened cards left to collect dust on the table. Perhaps, since you’d dropped your original name, the people who’d carried your last refused to see you. And maybe, the idea that the number of degrees your body temperature was also outmatched the number of times you’d seen your relatives since your transition. And maybe, you had been alone for that stretch of years, without familiar flesh to grip onto or a face to share your ashtray and lighter with.

(When long-abandoned lawns are left unattended, they seem to flourish. Rainwater fills the cracks of pavement, toadstool and wildflowers sprouting between the roots of household weeds. In miracle, you had thrived in your isolation.) With one of your eyes slightly peeled open and fixed towards him, and voice barely gathering into the creak of a tree deforested, you ask what is wrong. Price swallows: and he replies with silence.

But even in your quarter-dead state, the captain can’t seem to stomp out the embers of your stubbornness. You’d always cared for him, affection growing teeth and latching onto him with a grip near impossible to pry. In warmth, it held him, in cold, it smothered him. “Put a lid on it, private,” its some form of rumbled warning, a predecessor to earthquakes that would split continents open. “Laswell called. All six targets got taken down, thanks to the work of you and the ULF. Another mission cleared, another day of living.” The dynamics of your exhale sound oddly like a rendition of price’s puff of a cigar. He can faintly recognise the lethargy, energy seeped out of your injuries, clearly exasperated by the way he slams shut at your prying. “You don’t need to worry about me,” But you’re attentive, even in your indigence, and notice how his eyes are not focused on the explosion of scab across your torso, but on the scars that adorned the underside of your chest. “Or is there something else on your mind?”

Price- he truly does hope that you register his stifled grunt and the widening of his eyes as shock instead of horror. Your words catch him off guard, a bear trap that ensnares his tongue instead of his legs, and he is left thrashing in desperation for new words. “no, it’s not- its not that you’re transgender. I don’t care for that. Why didn’t you contact me? What made you think that I would despise you, just because you changed? Just because you were happier?” did you think I could ever hate you for that? “no, its not your fault kid. m’ mistake.”

Silence from the only person who’d dared to raise their words to match all his own, isolation from the man whose touch anchored you down to the ground of the earth and the heat of his skin- it’s smothering him still, a phantom weight that chained the both of you to the bones in your knees and the cuffs of your necks. (If love Is liberation, maybe you two could have been set free-)

[bardic-inspirjaytion]

Why do you call your cat piss king? Is he really good at it or something?

hi anon!

we're gonna learn a bit about cat urinary systems and issues! it may be a bit TMI for the scope of the question but, given how few cat guardians know about this, I'm always looking for chances to educate since being informed can literally save a cat's life.

the main takeaway: if you notice that your cat cannot pee, HEAD TO THE EMERGENCY VET NOW, DO NOT PASS GO! full stop.

if they cannot pee, that is one of the few true emergencies in a healthy cat, and you NEED to treat it as such.

usually you'll see a blocked cat straining and vocalizing in the box, licking themselves, whining and highly reactive to being touched on the lower belly, and - of course - you won't see any proper urine in the box. there may be dribbles or blood, but no pee. this is a problem that escalates really fast, and can easily be lethal. do NOT fuck around with it.

what qualifies me to talk about this? it's exactly what happened to pekoe (peek for short) about three years ago.

proper Storytime and more detail below the cut.

see, the thing with cats is that their bladders are tiny and their kidneys are, uh, bad! so if they can't pee, not only is it incredibly painful, but the liquid and toxins building up in their system can do a LOT of organ damage in a VERY short amount of time. this can get very bad, very fast, and it is very easy for them to die from it if the issue can't be fixed easily and promptly.

usually, the vet will be able to get a catheter into the blocked cat to relieve the pressure, flush out their bladder if there's a physical blockage (ex, if they've made bladder crystals/stones, we gotta get those out of there!), and give them medication to prevent spasms and infection as they heal. a cat then needs to go on urinary-friendly food to prevent additional blockages for the rest of their lives, and some other lifestyle adjustments should be made to treat any underlying risk factors that the animal might have.

sometimes, however, that doesn't resolve the issue, and they block again. and if you're extra unlucky, they'll block AGAIN after that. and maybe again, for extra spice. if you're extra extra unlucky, this will all happen in the same week.

this is the situation that peek and i found ourselves in.

picture the urinary system of a cat as a funnel, with the external bits being the tip of the funnel. when you ultimately need to make a funnel bigger because it can't drain anymore, what do you do?

you remove the tip.

this is an operation called a perineal urethrostomy, or a PU for short. it's a last resort salvage procedure that essentially removes the external genitalia of a male cat to widen the exit of the urinary tract and prevent future blockages. it's a difficult and delicate operation with a very long recovery time. it was also the only option left to save peek's life.

real talk before this next bit: i will never judge pet guardians for impossible decisions made in good faith based on qualified medical advice, in the interest of trying to do what's best for their pets. flat up, i don't stand for that shit.

okay? cool, let's keep going.

a PU is definitely not a surgery that has any guarantees, it can be very painful, it needs a very skilled vet to do it, and it's both expensive and difficult to see an animal through it safely. it was also the one option we had left to save peek, who was very very VERY sick at that point. the vet told me that she was also willing to do euthanasia, if the PU was not right for us, with zero judgment - the little guy had been through a lot of pain and several surgeries already, and doing this operation would be asking a lot more from an animal that was already very weak, with no guarantees of success.

he was briefly stable so i took him home to think about it and sat with him overnight. hours in the darkened living room, with my fluffy best friend sleeping fitfully in my arms like a sick baby. in the morning when he woke up he gave me a little lick on the face, and then a headbutt with a weak but undeniably hungry little meow. he hadn't had an appetite in a week, but now he wanted breakfast. in that moment, i knew he was letting me know that he wasn't finished fighting yet, so i knew the right decision for me was to keep fighting for him.

i called the vet, and we went ahead with the surgery.

i'll spare you the rest of the grisly details - the procedure was a success, and i was lucky enough to be able to work remotely and nurse him through the recovery. it was long and difficult and stressful. it sucked! it was crazy making. i would break down weeping with relief every single time i saw a dirty litter box for WEEKS. if you're reading this and going through it yourself, please feel free to reach out to me any time, okay?

but we persevered. i took care of him, and he rallied like a goddamn king. and hey. anon. guess what?

that was almost three years ago. his life went fully back to normal after he healed. you wouldn't know that this had happened if you didn't already know, because that fluffy little king still pisses like a champion race horse.

so, that's the story of how pekoe became

THE PISS KING.

[genderqueerdykes]

re: gallbladder stuff i'm sorry you're dealing with all that, I know you already know it's all BS, but i just wanted to share my experience with gallbladder surgery that really emphasizes how BS it is: -my surgeon didn't ask me to lose weight in order to operate even though i was also over 300lbs at the time -they treated it as an urgent surgery even though i had to get it done during COVID lockdowns -the doctor told me that it was almost certainly genetics that caused me to have gallstones, there was nothing i could have done to cause it -the doctor told me i should stick to a plain diet leading up to the surgery to reduce the chances of passing another gallstone, but told me that once you pass one stone it's not a matter of if but when you'll pass another. the only way to stop it completely is to remove the organ your doctors are treating you terribly for actually no reason and i'm sorry they're doing that to you. i wish there was a way to hold healthcare workers accountable for these things.

thank you SO much for this ask, holy shit

i'm so glad they didn't ask you to lose weight and treated it like an emergency, which it was. i'm really glad they actually treated you. nobody should have to put up with having a diseased organ stay in their body because of someone else's prejudice. i've been considering asking fatphobic doctors why they are even in the medical field to begin with if they can't wrap their heads around the fact that fat people need medical help as well, whether it's related to their fatness or not doesn't matter. many fat people WILL need some form of medical attention in their lives. why would anyone who actually cares about helping others go into medicine if they knew they couldn't handle a little bit of cellulose

also thank you for confirming that there's a genetic factor and that if it happens once, it'll happen again. that's what i was showing in my research. i mean it makes sense, it's not going to do that just once, and i have multiple stones in my gallbladder. i don't understand why multiple stones isn't cause for concern. my mother had to have her gallbladder removed as well. and i've also shown in my research that there's very little to nothing a person can do to cause themselves to develop gallstones, unlike kidney stones which can be caused by severe and repeated dehydration

thank you so much, i've felt absolutely horrible in the wake of this. it made me feel as though my pain was somehow my fault, as if it wasn't worth looking into. i don't think anyone should have to feel like that, especially when they have a diseased organ that needs removed. it was like she didn't even see it as a matter of disease and illness, but rather something completely caused by me. i could tell she thought it was my fault due to eating a "high fat diet" and not because there's a genetic factor.

the "high fat diet" affects my liver way more than my gallbladder, and even then: i do not routinely eat a high fat diet. my liver is the one who got upset when i ate a lot of high fat and processed foods while i was homeless. my gallbladder is not the one who's having a hard time with anything that i choose to do of my own volition. the organ itself is literally diseased and no amount of kale smoothies and celery could ever fix that

thank you, i really appreciate you. i'm glad you were able to get treated without pushback. i think what i'm going to do is call that office and ask to consult with one of their other surgeons to see if they all believe that, or if it's just the one surgeon i spoke to. i also want to report her for medical malpracitce because she's choosing to let me continue to get violently ill because of her own personal issues. she's allowing me to remain sick and potentially be subject to even worse things like you mentioned

again, i really appreciate the amount of support i've gotten over this. i didn't realize that i was being treated this poorly. i really appreciate you, i'm going to do whatever i can to advocate for myself so i can get this removed ASAP. i want to be able to eat regular meals again without pain or vomiting. i want to be able to sit and stand upright without severe stabbing pain in my abdomen. i want to live my life again. i appreciate you, take care of yourself, thank you for your kindness and reassurance

[watchingthegregoryandjamesshow]

S1:E3 Occam’s razor

Okay first of all, what did I just watch? A guy is coughing, and than He and this girl start banging and than one of them passes out,

Woohoo! Here comes Greg and James!

James and the giant peach is like, “So there’s a person in the emergency room.” (The guy form earlier) and Greg Heffley is like “Alright.”

James: How was that so easy? Gregory: You know why ;)

James: Blood pressures not responding to IV fluids? Gregory: Yeh

James: *Smiles*

Gregory: That’s just WEIRD.

(What does this even mean? 😭)

So the House named Greg says “This guy has too many symptoms.”

He shows the other docs all the symptoms the guy has on a whiteboard.

The girl doc with a pony tail is like, “No condition accounts for all the symptoms.”

and Greggy goes, “Oh good, I thought he was sick, but it turns out he’s not!” Than says they need to treat the guy with a bunch of big doctor words I do not understand.

So now it cuts to a scene where the kid is coughing up a storm, his girlfriend is like, “Stop testing him, start treating him!” A doc says “Erm, actually we need to test him before he make him better sooo….”

Then Greg house guy introduces himself to a waiting room full of people, and says “Hi, I’m stoned, who wants me?” And then proceeds to look at the people like this….

Then the guys girlfriend goes up to the Australia doctor and says, “did I give that guy this sickness?? Me and that guy were having sex, and I was very rough.” And he looks at her, very concerned.

So now a lady is with Greg and says, “My mucus was pale golden rod a week ago, and I don’t like being told what to do.” Greg says “We’ll do a full body scan later this week.”

so than the Australia doctor, says to two other docs “That girl thinks she rode him to death.” and the girl doc says, “I hope you got some specifics! If she thinks it could kill him, It’s worth knowing about.”

and he goes “have you ever taken a life??”

Then the other guy Doc goes, “THERES FLUID FILLING HIS LUNGS, HIS KIDNEYS ARE SHUTTING DOWN!”

*Super epic realistic blood cell CGI*

“Our treatment isn’t making him better. it’s killing him.” *Dunn Dunn duuuuuunnn*

Gregory tells a guy he thinks his tie is ugly

The patient Guy’s parents arrive. He tells his parents “Hi. This is my fiancé.” And shows them the girl who Rode him to death.

The tests show the antibiotics didn't cause the kidney failure. Greg tells them the patient is getting better.

Greg is with a patient, but he’s busy playing on his game boy. ”My THRoAT HUrTS.” Says the patient

“Yeah, so you said.” Greg rolls his eyes. “HoW LOng Do I HAVE to WaIT?” ”Two minutes less than when you asked me two minutes ago.” 🙄

Australia is pouring coffee, but spills some because he was staring at the doc girl. Then she starts talking to him in very very graphic detail about talking about what sex does to the human body. “Did you know That WomEn Can HaVE An HoUR lOnG OrgASM?” Australia man just stares at her.

than this just happens:

Greggy boi meets with the family. He accuses them of giving the patient the "cough medicine" (He thinks the patient was taking an illegal drug instead of cough medicine) after he arrived at the hospital. The mother admits to it and finds the medicine bottle. Australian doc goes to the pharmacy. The guys mom says “Yas, those are the SAME pills I gave my son.” It turns out they did give the patient the cough medicine after all not illegal drugs.

Gregory says,

“I was not wrong everything I said was true, it fit! It was elegant!”

James: “so reality was wrong?”

“Reality is almost always wrong.” Greg says before he downs a ton of pills.

They start to prepare the patient for surgery. Then the patient goes crazy, and almost dies, They get his heart started again, But, they have to cancel the surgery. The patient now also has pain in his fingers. A doc guy tells Greggory, and he starts thinking of something.

Greggy goes into the clean room without preparation. He still thinks the patient was poisoned because of a new symptom, the guy is losing hair 🫨He thinks the kid has been using illegal drugs contaminated with Colchicine and orders treatment. The patient starts getting better.

But Gregory is STILL not satisfied - he still can't figure out the source of the poisoning. the patient guy starts coughing again. They give him cough pills, and he realizes they aren't the same as the old pills he was taking; the new pills have the letter "L" on them but the other pills did not.

Australia says to girl “wanna get some food?” but she cuts him off right away and says “Nah.”

It ends with a scene showing Greggy Pooh in the pharmacy after hours, he’s sitting on the floor searching through the bottles. He holds two similar-looking pills, they both have the same shape, only one has writing on it and one does not. He smirks, He was RIGHT. *happy music 🎉🎊🎉🎉🎊🎊🎉*

This show is the bomb.com guys 💯 🔥

[anotherdayforchaosfay]

Waiting for my telemed appointment. An appointment that was at 10:23am...and it's now 11:22am. Nurse called at 10:30am to go over everything and told me I'll receive a link for the appointment. It's been nearly an hour.

I had a shorter wait as a walk-in at the clinic.

Why not do a walk-in today? I went to urgent care on Monday for this issue (suspect UTI), then they sent me to the ER, and the ER told me to go to a gynocologist because it may be a yeast infection. Saw her on Wednesday. She wasn't sure, but gave me medicine for it because it might be. Took the medicine yesterday (Friday), and today my bladder feels like it's going to explode. Urine has been cloudy all morning, if I can manage to pee seeing as I'm going every five minutes. It feels like liquid fire!

I told the nurse the last time I had a UTI, it kept coming up negative in the urine sample. The doctor who treated me sent me home with a cup to collect a sample first thing in the morning. Lo and behold, it came up positive!

I'm in pain. My bladder will not shut up or calm down. Even after using the toilet, it still burns. Maybe I have both infections? I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case.

Now I need the fucking doctor to send me a link for this appointment. I need antibiotics before this moves up into my kidneys. That's what happened to my mom. She was asymptomatic, then she just...collapsed and had to remain in the hospital for over a week because the UTI had turned into a kidney infection.

And as of now, it's 11:31am.

UPDATE!

The reason the doctor was late is due to their telemed system being a brat. She called me directly, told me she 100% believe me because everything I'm describing is exactly what a UTI is, and she has the same problem with it being detected. I've got a prescription waiting to be picked up, and the medicine covers nearly every bacteria that causes UTI. She also told me the number of UTIs has shot up in the last three weeks because when stress is high, it can lead to a UTI. Recent events are definitely the cause.

Oh, and she said the fluconazole will prevent the yeast infection the antibiotic may cause, so it's a good thing I have it in my system now. I always develop a yeast infection when I use antibiotics. I'm also to drink lots and lots and lots of water, and herbal tea is also something she suggested. I take a cranberry supplement everyday, as suggested by the doctor who treated me for kidney stones twice in the same year (mine are made almost entirely of salt, which is why my diet is extremely low in sodium). Cranberry juice makes my mouth feel weird, but I'm not allergic to it. I just don't like the weird feeling.

My pharmacy is open on Saturdays, which is a fucking relief because I've been dealing with these symptoms since Friday of last week.

UPDATE 2

Four pots of herbal tea and two doses of the antibiotic have already brought relief. It doesn't feel like I'm passing molten lava, though it stinks all to hell and then some when I do urinate. Still cloudy too.

I'm feeling better though! Another nine days of the medication, and this infection will be gone. Hmmm...I may run out of a few teas between now and then.

[johnnycrass]

I was awakened by how much pain I'm in. I guess when you pee blood that's kind of par for the course. I went to one of those independent emergency rooms and they assessed me free of charge but then they quoted me so much money for any actual procedures so now I am driving home. I am in so much fucking pain. I think I'm gonna smoke a pound take a bunch of over-the-counter painkillers and drink a lot of liquids. Also what is it about doctors that makes them treat you like you're retarded? This motherfucker asked me if I eat too much sugar and if I've had gout in the past fuck you. earlier there was a shooting pain in my fucking leg coming from my kidney you think I have fucking gout. The most useful thing the doctor said was you know passing a stone could take three hours it could take three days and it could take three weeks

[captain-mj]

I’m asking. Here it is. Ghoap outlander au. I have nothing to offer but my left kidney

Keep your kidney. Ive been shaking and waiting for someone to send me this ask. Real quick though, besides the basics of “modern person gets sent into 1700s Scotland” This won’t follow the show that much. Also, we are IGNORING homophobia. Realistically they were Catholic at the time but i do not care. Chances are there's going to be quite a few historical accuracies (plus I'm planning on making multiple parts because I fucking adore this idea) so just like... little heads up about that

Also, I'm doing this based off og SoapGhost, obviously it doesn't matter much, but I wanted you guys to know :)

Ghost had never believed in... well anything mystical really. He thought it was nonsense. For some people, it was helpful, but it meant nothing to him. Gunpowder held more meaning than a cross. He was a medic in the army for fuck’s sake.

So when he walked into an area he was told was sacred and asked to be careful, he treated it the same way he treated everything else of this nature. That was not to say he was in any way disrespectful, but he didn't treasure it the way his colleagues did. He was a soldier first, person second. The dark stones reached up to the sky, unnerving in their monolith, but they didn’t strike the fear of God into him.

And then, he felt a knife go through him. It aimed for one of his organs. He didn't remember hitting the ground, just knew that he was on it suddenly. Blood filled his mouth and he couldn't breath. Silently, he prepared himself for the next blow. Accepting death was maybe a bit too easy for him.

But he didn't die. He just laid there in a puddle of his own blood. Weird. It hurt a lot more than a regular stab wound but he was alive.

Ghost tried to get up to call for the others but someone's boot landed on his back, pushing him into the ground. The person started to speak, though he didn't understand the language.

"Get off of me." He tried to stand up and then a blade was against his neck. A sword. The person had a fucking sword. Ghost managed to glance up.

The person must be some kind of weirdo fucking larper. They had a mohawk with braids in it and blue swirling tattoos all over their shoulders and chest. As for their clothing... it was traditional. Kilt, furs over their upper half. He was hot but that was besides the point.

The person looked irritated, barking at him in his language again.

Ghost thought it through. "I can't understand you. I'm English?" He hoped the word “English” would mean something to him.

The man made a very upset face when he said English and that wasn’t what Ghost had in mind when he said something. He hissed at him and dug his heel in. Ghost groaned and gritted his teeth, glaring.

Someone spoke from elsewhere and he paused.

The man stepped off of Ghost and made a motion to get up, sword still pointed at him. Ghost got up and went for his gun, only to find the holsters empty. All of them. Even his assault rifle, which he was pretty sure only landed a few inches from his hand, was gone.

What the hell.

He looked up at him cautiously.

The man looked down at him and slowly used the blade to force him to tilt his head back.

His mask. Ghost's eyes widened as he thought about it. The stranger knelt down and went to remove it and Ghost tried to shove him off. Quickly they were surrounded by more men and something blunt hit the back of Ghost's head.

It was hours later when he woke up. He groaned softly and sat up, feeling thin restraints tug at his wrists. They were just thin leather straps, clearly more of a message than to keep him down.

Ghost looked around the room. It wasn't that well furnished, but it was rather cozy. The few pieces of furnishings he could see had clearly been hand carved. That did not mean they weren't well made, just it was clear they weren't machine manufactured.

He slipped from the binds anyway, touching himself to check for injuries. The knife wound had been well stitched and bandaged perfectly. Funnily enough, it looked like the supplies came from his own bag which was next to him on the floor. His shirt had been taken but the blanket had been pulled to his collar, so he had some privacy.

His mask. Fuck. He quickly touched his face, but luckily, his fingers met the soft fabric. They hadn't taken his mask.

Ghost started to get up but someone came in. The same mohawked person from before. They stared at each other before the man set the plate on the dresser.

They were roughly the same height, but Ghost was sure he could fight him off if needed. However, he was injured and the man brought food.

"English?" He said slowly, like he was feeling out the word. Ghost had a feeling it wasn't his native language. His thick scottish accent grated on the words.

"Yes... Speak it?" Ghost held his wound.

"Vaguely. Soap."

Ghost blinked, a little taken back. "Soap?"

Soap pointed at himself and nodded before pointing at Ghost.

"Ghost." He didn't want to tell him his real name. "What do you speak?"

"Gaelic."

"Don't speak that..." Ghost backed up and tried to joke.

Soap smiled and held out the food. It looked simple. Meat, potatoes, almost laughably what you'd expect from a Scottish person. "Eat."

Ghost reached out slowly and took it from him. The plate felt funny under his hands. He held it to himself, but Soap wasn't leaving.

Ghost decided to try to get some information. "Where am I?"

"Highlands."

"Here with a lot of people?" Maybe if there weren't too many, he could fight his way out. Or maybe just escape silently.

"Dozens. Better you stay here." Soap reached out and Ghost backed up, pressing against the wall. He pulled his hand back though it still lingered in the air.

Ghost slowly pulled his mask up and started to eat. He was starving. It tasted pretty good. His sunglasses were gone and the candle lighting of the room made Soap look otherworldly. A angel. He quickly glanced away again.

“You’re injured. Shouldn’t be out of bed.” Soap chided him, his head tilting slightly. He waited though until Ghost was done eating, hand reaching out for the plate. Once it was set to the side, Soap grabbed him, wrestling him back down.

Ghost fought back, trying to get away from him, but Soap had the advantage of not being fucking stabbed. He ended up straddling him to the bed as he retied him, this time much more securely.

Ghost tensed, feeling Soap’s weight on him. Panic filled his mind until it overflowed and he was kicking and thrashing. He didn’t make a sound, but he didn’t really need to.

Soap grabbed his face. “Breath.” It was a command and Ghost found himself following it. “Good.” He took a deep breath for Ghost to mirror and soon, his head was slightly clearer.

“Don’t touch me.” Ghost managed to spit out.

Soap nodded and got off of him. “Stay down, yes?”

Ghost glared and Soap put his hand firmly in his chest. “Won’t have to touch you if you stay down. Now. Stay. Down.”

Slowly, Ghost nodded.

“Good boy.” Soap grinned and Ghost felt heat rush to his face. He patted him gently and left Ghost alone again.

Ghost started to plan how he would escape.

[luc3]

[Dogrose] French Folk Traditions.

Common names : Dog Rose, Hedge Rose, Rosehip.

Vernacular names : dog rose, wild rose, rosehip (name given to the fruit of the dog rose), in France we call it "gratte-cul" literally "itching-ass", it evokes hairs in the red fruits which can cause itching. Also call cynor(r)hodon, kunorhodon (greek) : Dog Rose, Rose du Chien.

The name “dog rose” comes from the property once attributed to the root of this plant, which was supposed to cure the bites of rabid dogs.*(I will talk about this property further when I will translate extracts from Fournier for the botanical properties of the plant.)

The rosehip is a shrub which, in France, has always had great magical properties.

Suspended from the door or from the ceiling of houses, its branches protect against diseases and spells (North); they prevent cow's milk from drying up, especially after a curse has been cast on it (Limousin).

To cast or "lift" a spell, one uses a rosehip root that one will have picked up in a cemetery on a full moon night. (Languedoc)

The magical and formerly sacred character of this shrub appears in certain prohibitions (taboos), mixed with fear and respect, noted in the 19th century :

you must be careful not to insult it, otherwise the culprit will be affected by an illness that will only go away when he apologizes. (West)

the young girl who picks a rosehip flower will see her marriage delayed for a year.

if this same young girl (mean virgin) touches the fruit of the dog rose, she will fall from the "high-disease" (old name given to epilepsy.) (Drôme.)

laying rosehip flowers on a grave brings bad luck to the family for entire generations.

-

According to a Breton legend, it's the devil who designed the rosehip while trying to make a rosebush.

-

Magical Medicine:

you must cut a branch of wild rose the same size as the patient and put it to dry in the fireplace. When the branch is completely withered, the patient is cured.

various skin problems can be treated in the same way.

certain healers in the Gard treat their patients by pulling up a rosehip at sunrise, a gesture accompanied by magic words. Healers must then walk away backwards.

Sometimes an excrescence that looks like a sponge grows on the dog rose (it is called "rose scab"). It has long been used to dissolve kidney stones and has long been attributed with all sorts of marvelous properties. It protects against toothaches, it brings good luck (if you find it without having looked for it, or if you can't remember where you put it in your clothes)(Loiret), as a poultice on the kidneys it soothes the pain of menstruation and calms the influx of blood.

( *wikipedia + Fournier.)

[abstracts arranged by me from Delmas, Fournier, Thiers.]

[duskier]

hello i have questions about my new gf clara. what is her stance on pineapple on pizza? how does she take her coffee? what's her favorite holiday? who was her first celebrity crush? whats her least favorite household chore? does she prefer sweet or savory snacks? whats something on her bucket list? does she like fat, tattooed femmes with bad posture???? (the last one is important) -391780

Early I love you so MUCH and I will be taking all of these questions seriously and oversharing thank YOU

her stance on pineapple on pizza?

She loves pizza. All pizza. But there's nothing she loves more than pineapple on pizza. She probably has some ugly dorky shirt that says something about liking women and pineapple on pizza and being a virgo!! Wears it to the shooting range with the sleeves cut off!

(She WILL ask for extra pineapple, but she is indifferent about the ham on the pizza.)

how does she take her coffee?

She drinks black coffee. Not in a macho way but the one CO she had that she didn't actively hate drank his coffee black like it was water and the smell always makes her think of him. It is comforting. Plus she kind of got used to the taste of bitter first-wave style coffee. (She does have a French press in her lonely little apartment that sits empty for most of the year- that to her is a special treat) She hates tea unless she's really sick, and only then does she drink mint tea with obnoxious amounts of honey in it. (Really, she's a monster energy kind of girl, but she has a constant anxiety of getting kidney stones so she balances it with also drinking SO much water every day!)

what's her favorite holiday?

Her favorite holiday is Christmas!! She is a quiet little lurker and keeps notes on people close to her in her life during the year- so she's a scarily excellent gift giver. She really likes giving thoughtful gifts and wraps every one all at once so she can get that yearly rush of satisfaction looking at the pile of wrapped gifts she's going to get to give out. (Imagining her on base with a little sled carrying a tower of gifts on it G-D SHE'S SO CUTE)

who was her first celebrity crush?

Brandy in Cinderella, easy. She has all the songs memorized, too. Still sometimes hums it to herself when she's alone or when she's on the range and everyone's got too much ear pro on to hear her. You WILL be dancing to at least one song from that soundtrack at your wedding and she WILL sing it to you in your ear!!

whats her least favorite household chore?

She hates the dishes. She hates how the water rolls down her arms and the textures SO much. However she hates it so much that she's also on top of it at all times, she's definitely a 'clean as you go' kind of baker/chef. Clara cannot sit down and enjoy the dinner she's made unless all the dishes are either drying or in the dishwasher.

does she prefer sweet or savory snacks?

She's definitely a savory person as a priority but will always choose a bit of both if she can. She's going on a road trip? It's going to be beef jerky and a Cola-flavored ICEE to start, then probably spicy chips and fruity candy. She isn't a fan of chocolate bars, but loves pastries made/covered with chocolate. (Her weakness are dark chocolate covered pretzels. She will give herself a tummy ache eating too many of those- the sweet and the salty flavors just sing for her!)

whats something on her bucket list?

Genuinely she's always wanted to learn to play a string instrument. She's got big but short fingers, she tried guitar but got really frustrated and gave it up fast. She wants to try it again and get better at it, but right now she doesn't really have the free time- she's either cooking, training, sleeping, or on a mission. Busy bee!!

does she like fat, tattooed femmes with bad posture????

She LOVES fat tattooed femmes with bad posture THAT'S HER TYPE but BOY she can't talk to women. She's the kind where she probably looks scary and intimidating (rightfully so, because she's a machine on the field) but someone smooth talks her and she just goes red and doesn't talk. She's the kind that buys you a drink from across the bar and PRAYS you come over and initiate conversation because she definitely will not. Driest texter in the world because she's nervous on how you might read her tone on accident but she sends SO many photos throughout the day, just dorky little things that show that she's thinking about you <3 (She's also the president of sending voice messages/texts bc she's dyslexic)

[disableism]

TLDR at the bottom:

Thursday at PT I started feeling kinda nauseous & lightheaded. I texted my sister to come get me. By the time she showed up 15 minutes later, I was dead white and so cold that I was extremely shaking which was causing joint contractures. With arthritis, no cartilage & locked joints, this was very painful. It was weird, because I didn’t feel cold to the touch. No fever either.

We called 911. By the time the ambulance arrived I was crying out in pain. They took me away but because my vitals were all fine —except for a slightly elevated blood pressure, which I don’t know how that’s possible— they refused to treat me & said they had to leave me for the doctors. I begged for blankets & got one flimsy one. In the ER they wouldn’t treat me until the doctor saw me, even though I was begging for heated blankets. Eventually I got one flimsy one there too. I also was crying for them to go out in the waiting room and get my sister. I was told that when she arrived she’d be let back. I kept having to explain she’d been right behind the ambulance. They left her in the waiting room for an hour. Meanwhile I’m in the exam room alone, unable to do more than roll over without assistance because said sister is my caregiver. I’m also in horrible pain, shaking so bad everything is contracting. I couldn’t answer their questions except one word pushed out with every breath because of the shaking. I kept telling them my sister could answer everything and that she had my med card. I had to do the whole check in process one…word…at…a…time. Finally I saw a doctor who said “sure” to my request for a stack of heated blankets & a flush of IV fluids. Then Sis was allowed back & I got a room nurse assigned to me who was a godsend. The blankets stopped me shaking enough that I slept and when I woke up 3 hours later, I felt exhausted & a lil shaky, but no longer cold, even a bit sweaty. And my face color had come back. My labs & urine came back fine. So they sent me home.

The only thing anyone could think of was I had a weed gummy that day, an hour before my appointment. I have not had weed in 20 years but my doctor finally cleared me for it to have even though I also take Norco. This was my 4th gummy in the past week. The doctor said maybe it was a bad reaction. Why not with the first one? I know sometimes allergies can take a while to build up. With my Sulfa allergy I was on it a week before I had my very awful reaction of muscle seizures. So maybe that’s what this was? Except today I was outside & the temp was dropping, a storm in the air and I started to feel cold. And had a bit of a cold flush run through me. I thought it was outside air making me cold which caused a spike of anxiety because of the earlier experience. So I went inside but I kept feeling colder & started shaking, so I got under the covers, turned on the heating pad & turned off the fans. My color stayed fine and after 30 minutes of lowkey cold & shaking I was warm enough, I slept for an hour and woke up drained but fine. Even hot. (My sweet kitty had come to lay on the top of my head because he takes care of his Mommy Lady).

Was this last bout anxiety? I don’t know. I just wanna sob & sob because I can’t handle yet another thing being wrong with me, especially one that comes on so sudden and requires me to drop what I’m doing immediately and get under ALL the blankets. Also my family is here from Canada & I only get so much face to face time with them each year, I do not wanna miss a single second with my niblings.

Anyway, anyone ever have something like this happen? Other issues I have that might be relevant is medication allergies which is why I thought “reaction to gummy”, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune liver disorder, kidney stones, fibromyalgia and I had the Inspire implant surgically put in a month ago but I have healed fine & it has not been activated yet. Thoughts?

Tl;dr: I went cold & dead white all over causing me to shake so hard I had joint contractures. Lasted about 2 hours & only went away with many heated blankets. Vitals stayed fine, labs/urine were fine, no fever, was not cold to the touch, doctor was not sure what happened. Anybody have something similar?

[drhoz]

#2411 - Coprosma robusta - Karamu 

Bonus Tetragnatha spider I only just noticed.

Originally described as Pelaphia lata.

Endemic to New Zealand coastal and lowland areas, but an increasingly serious weed in Victoria and Tasmania. The fruit is spread by birds and the plant grows readily from seed in infertile soils, and in poorly drained and exposed lands. It can also grow in a large range of altitude varying from sea level to 1,200 meters, under full sun to shady, windy and frostprone habitats.

Introduced mammals such as goats (Capra hircus) and deer (Cervus elaphus) have a severe impact on karamū, and hares (Lepus timidus) and rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) eat the seedlings.

The berries are edible and leaves can be brewed into a medicinal tea. The leaves are believed by Maori to have the ability to deal with kidney troubles and the bark to treat stomachache and vomiting. Karamū is rich in dyes including alizarin and purpurin. Sometimes leaves of the plant were put on stones to dye the food and preserve them after a hangi.

Lake Mangamahoe, Taranaki Ringplain, New Zealand

[aangussca]

Art Week Workshop: Nature prints with Keg de Souza (12.9.24)

Description of session

"Plants have always moved over and between land masses, transported both intentionally and inadvertently from their native lands to new ones. This spread of plants has accelerated over the past few hundred years through colonial expansion, massively altering ecosystems.

We will begin by wandering the university gardens to gather weeds. These specimens will serve as a starting point to return to the printmedia room to print, research and discuss how the movement of plants has left lasting impacts, many of which have propelled us towards climate crisis."

Short summary of Keg de Souza's practice (with link to portfolio)

Goan heritage (from the Goa state in India)

Politics of space (architecture, colonialism, displacement, culture, etc.) - e.g. Abundance: Fruit of the Sea, Bounty of the Mountain (2016) and Impossible Utopia (2011)

Botany/landscapes in relation to global/colonial histories (documented in herbariums and other botanical archives), as well as the impacts these histories have (e.g. "trauma of the landscape") - e.g. If a coconut falls (2024) and Monumental as Anything (2023)

EDIT (OCTOBER 2024) - Here's a link to more detail on her practice and her works:

Process and research (with images)

We collected a number of plants (mostly weeds) in a hidden garden on campus.

After choosing the ones we liked to use for our print, we rolled ink onto the plants and printed them onto paper to create a monoprint (NOTE: I WILL DEFINITELY CONSIDER THIS PROCESS FOR A FUTURE WORK).

Some of the plants I found that I could identify: Euphorbia peplus (Petty Spurge), Nandina domestica (Heavenly Bamboo), Cyclospermum Leptophyllum (Marsh Parlsey), Youngia japonica (Oriental False Hawksbeard), Epilobium ciliatum (Fringed Willow-herb)

Interestingly, after some research, I learnt that all of these plants either have been used or are being researched for their medicinal properties.

Petty Spurge: Has been historically used to treat warts and other skin conditions, and has recently been researched for its cytotoxic (toxic to cells) properties in treating non-melanoma skin cancers.

Marsh Parsley: Has been researched for antibacterial and antimicrobial properties.

Heavenly Bamboo: Antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties for treating colds, asthma and other respiratory conditions in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine.

Oriental False Hawksbeard: Used for treating fever, snakebites, coughs and colds, shingles, sore throat and diarrhoea in traditional Chinese medicine (and for treating wounds, and preventing the formation of kidney stones in traditional Bangladeshi medicine) - recent research has also found antiviral properties in treating respiratory conditions like RSV.

Fringed Willow-herb (not used in monoprints out of fear that the flowers would get damaged in their already delicate state - perhaps I could try a technique not too dissimilar to the Japanese printing technique gyotaku): Used to treat infected skin sores, hip and back pain, and diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal problems by some Indigenous American groups.

Final prints

Row 1-2: Ghosts of a Herbarium: Euphorbia peplus (Petty Spurge) and Cyclospermum Leptophyllum (Marsh Parsley)

Row 3-5: Ghosts of a Herbarium: Sprig of Nandina domestica (Heavenly Bamboo) embraced by Cyclospermum Leptophyllum (Marsh Parlsey) and Youngia japonica (Oriental False Hawksbeard)

Row 6: Both monoprints alongside each other