#and I think it caused me to get an autoimmune disease

[danielnelsen]

there’s so much i wanna do this week/month/etc but i’m just too sick, i have no energy, i can’t sleep, i’m constantly nauseous and headachey and on the verge of a migraine, i’m stressed and irritable and impatient and panicky…….how tf did i survive nearly 5 years of high school untreated if i can’t even manage this when i don’t have any major obligations rn

[disabled-queer-culture-is]

Disabled culture is going to see a doctor about a new medical scare and being able to predict exactly what they’re going to suggest, because it’s the exact same thing every doctor tells you for everything

[ghostickle]

The top two guesses for what the fuck is wrong with me rn is celiacs or Graves’ disease and celiacs looks really possible but I Really don’t what that to be it cause there’s already so many foods I can’t eat im already very limited in what I’m able to eat and that would knock out just about all of it and in a weird way I hope it’s graves cause then it’d also explain a lot of the issues with my eyes

[ms-demeanor]

I hate to say that, but in defense of homeopathy:

A lot of medicine is value projection and/or placebo. We give kids sparkly bandaids on minor abrasions not to help the symptoms or risks of infection, but so that the kid feels cared for.

We sometimes take daily medication not because it helps or we think we need it, but because our grandma raves all about this new cure-all that fixed all her issues.

We overindulge in paracetamol and ibuprofen even in the cases it clearly doesn't work because we need to feel like we took something that will help.

Homeopathy that tries to replace standard treatment is evil. But there is value in having a readily available, socially valued, thing you take when feeling bad, that does absolutely nothing.

In the 20s they just did heroin instead, it wasn't better.

So there's this thing called informed consent that is kind of super duper important and the use of placebo to treat illness is a major violation of informed consent.

Everybody likes the gifset from the Birdcage with the Aspirin with the A and the S scraped off because it's cute and funny, but it's cute and funny in a movie; if a "medical professional" is giving you sugar pills because they don't actually know how to treat you and want to offer you comfort instead, they're saying "you're too fucking stupid to handle the fact that you're ill so I'm going to hold your hand for a moment and hope that makes you feel better."

Your attitude is both fatalistic and tremendously paternalistic, and people with complex illnesses and chronic pain deserve to be treated better than kids getting a sparkly bandaid and a pat on the head.

People overuse painkillers because they're in pain; NSAIDs have effects, even if they aren't treating the root cause of pain, and people often take them because even though they won't stop a spasm, they'll make it less painful for a few hours and if that's what you've got, that's what you take.

The huge, regular doses of ibuprofen I used to take to help my migraines when I didn't have health insurance didn't stop the migraines, but they made it so I could work. What DID help was getting medically diagnosed with celiac disease and no longer triggering my autoimmune disorder on a daily basis.

You know what wouldn't have helped? A sympathetic listener and a sugar pill. Or worse, yet another sympathetic listener telling me about some fucking lead-contaminated turmeric supplement that cured their granny's headaches.

Shit on the heroin cures all you want, they at least included a legitimate cough suppressant and had a mechanism of action more effective than a patronizing lecture about how we've all got to get on somehow, so we might as well pretend we feel better.

Fuck your shitty, shitty attitude. Sick people deserve better than you.

[genderkoolaid]

some misc thoughts on child abuse and adultism/ageism:

in House M.D 2x16, the patient is a disabled teenage girl, melinda. she's had multiple life-threatening allergic reactions, the last of which led to a car accident which resulted in her needing a heart transplant. her mother is shown to be extremely protective of her (not allowing her to attend public school, not letting her go outside, restricting who can visit her) and this is a major issue in her and her daughter's relationship.

about halfway through the episode, melinda goes missing from her room. one member of houses' team, foreman, realizes she is trying to get outside and went to the roof. he finds her sitting in the stairwell, distressed. melinda reveals that her mother was always extremely controlling over her- the point of not allowing her to do seemingly any after-school activities- long before she got sick, and that her daughter's heart transplant "gave her what she always wanted." foreman responds by saying that, because of her current illness, it's "an insane time to criticize your mom for being overprotective."

melinda expresses that her mother's abusive behavior has now been retroactively justified by her disability; she is seen as "insane" for being distressed by what is clearly a life of restricted autonomy. the scene ends with a line that has stuck with me since seeing it: melinda looks up at the stairwell and says softly, "i didn't even try to get outside. i was too scared."

the actual plot of the episode isn't the point. the point is that we tend to view "children abused by foreign adults" and "children abused by their parents" as two separate categories with opposing needs. children being taken advantage of by strangers should have been monitored and restricted. like the mother in the episode, the parent assumes that being more protective = the child being more safe. the correct way to handle child abuse is parental vigilance. sure, maybe this behavior encourages some abusive parents (who are probably the minority anyways, because I would never abuse my child!), but that's just the price we pay for making sure the other children are safe?

what i think this episode shows- accidentally, seeing how they never actually take melinda's abuse seriously- is how you can be fucked over twice. a child who is being abused by someone online can also be abused by their parent- are probably even more likely to experience that because of an abusive home. and then, if that outside abuse is realized by the parent, it retroactively justifies their behavior. it proves not just to them but the adult world that controlling behavior is rational and helpful- clearly, the abuse was caused because they didn't control enough.

and in both the episode and this hypothetical, the parent's reaction- while it may include genuine feelings of love- also comes across as being more distressed over the violation of one's possession than being distressed on another person's behalf. the child is an extension of you, and thus any desires it has that conflicts against your own are like an autoimmune disease. something to be shut down as fast as possible. vulnerable children, abused children, the "sympathy" given to them is a double-edged sword because as soon as you aren't the quiet, docile creature who agrees with whatever the adults say, you are crazy and ungrateful and "don't you realize we just want what's best? look at what happened to you!"

[jinnie-ret]

placebo

stray kids x hybrid!ninth!reader (fem)

genre: light angst, mostly fluffy

content warnings: small swearing, mention of disease, mention of vaccination

word count: 1.8k

summary: the boys are shocked at how your hybrid features present themselves when you are feeling particularly emotional

requested: @shua-f4lmings

1K FOLLOWERS PLAYLIST 💚🖤

MAIN MASTERLIST

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How could it ever work being a Kpop idol when you were forced to hide a part of our identity every day? Well, you managed somehow. Despite the fact that you were a hybrid, JYPE still accepted your audition and allowed you to become a trainee. You felt fortunate that you didn't face direct discrimination from the company, considering you were part of a rare few, an experimental collective, of children that had turned into hybrids against their will. You see, there had once been terrible news of a new outbreak of an autoimmune disease breaking out, during your childhood, so when a vaccination was created, your parents had rushed at the opportunity to make sure you were safe. Little did you know, did anyone know, that it was in fact a scam. The disease - a hoax. The vaccination - contained a serum that caused you to experience genetic mutations and develop physical attributes very similar to a cat, all because of some deceiving scientists that wanted to experiment.

Luckily, you had learnt to love yourself and your feline features. Your fluffy black ears that helped your hearing become more sensitive, and perhaps even more attuned to music, your tail that would swish and perk up anytime you saw your members or somebody you loved, these all became things that you appreciated. It truly showed your strength and determination to not let anybody get you down, particularly when you used to feel like the black sheep, or, black cat, of the family.

You remember that it was not too long after Chan had gathered you all together as a unit, pre-debut, that you decided to reveal this side of you. After all, you could only wear baggy sweatshirts and beanies for so long.

"Guys, can I tell you something?" you spoke up after you were all sat evaluating a dance practice.

"I think we really should practice this dance again, can it wait?" Chan pondered, not wanting to miss any rehearsal time, especially since the new TV debut show was on the horizon.

"Please, it's important," you had urged them all, your future group members, not wanting to withheld this information from them for any longer.

"Ok, sure," Chan nodded and turned his phone off, before everyone was looking at you as you stood up.

"Is everything ok?" Hyunjin frowned.

"Yeah, I just want to share this side of myself to you. I've not been honest," you began, confident in yourself, just unsure about what their reactions would be.

"If we're going to be a group..." Changbin tilted his head.

"-that's why I'm telling you now! Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. Umm," you apologised, feeling guilty.

"It's ok," Changbin nodded, seeing the weight of the situation in your eyes.

"Please can you just tell us? The suspense is killing me," Jisung groaned, whining after when Minho smacked him on the back without even looking.

"I don't know how to say it so..." you had taken a deep breath before pulling your beanie off, ruffling your hair back into plsce and ultimately revealing your ears. It had seemed like some sort of headband at first, but seeing the way your ears twitched and pointed at sharp intakes of breath or gasps in the room, showed that they were very real.

Poor Felix was incredibly confused. It was hard enough for the Australian boy to follow the conversation, and even harder to make sense of things as he saw your fluffy cat ears on top of your head.

"What the-" Jeongin's jaw dropped.

"Why are your ears moving like that..." Seungmin was astonished.

"I'm a cat hybrid. There was an experiment gone wrong a while back, masked as a 'cure', a vaccination, when really it was an experiment. So, umm, yeah, I'm sort of like a test subject.." you trailed off as Chan came to stand in front of you, raising his hand slightly.

"Can I touch your ears?" he questioned, which honestly wasn't what you were expecting. Instead, you thought it was time for him to go into his words of wisdom mode, but really even he couldn't avoid his own curiosity, as he waited for your response.

"Oh, yeah sure," you shrugged, a smile working it's way into your face as you felt a soothing scratch and pat to the head. It was so relaxing that you shut your eyes for a moment.

And when you opened your eyes...

"My turn! My turn!" Han was suddenly in front of you, Seungmin and Jeongin surprisingly waiting too.

"Wow, so cute!" Hyunjin was looking at you with the biggest heart eyes, and you could also lightly hear Chan explaining to Felix what had just transpired.

"Cute, haha," Changbin chuckled, stood next to you and observing your reactions.

"So you guys don't find it weird then?" you laugh as you ask, knowing that they were entranced.

"No! Never!" Seungmin shook his head.

"Me?" Felix came up behind Seungmin, half hugging his arm before asking permission to also pet your ears.

"Yes," you smiled reassuringly at the shy Felix.

The only one of the boys who hadn't interacted with you after you revealed your big secret was Minho, and perhaps that was because he simply couldn't comprehend that his fellow band member he had naturally grown protective over was also part cat. His favourite animal by a mile.

"I knew there was something feline about you," Minho hugged you tightly, the only one not to go straight for the ears.

"That's all the approval I needed."

Post revelation, you were able to feel even more relaxed around your members at the dorms, and wow, when they saw your tail, to be frank, they lost their shit. That was a story for another day though. You had more important things to think about them, such as the meeting that had been scheduled with the company before filming began. Understandably, in your opinion, they had found some medication, hybrid suppressants, that would hide your features. Some people would have been offended by the gesture but in reality, you were relieved. You just wanted to debut and you didn't want to take any attention away from the boys with your obvious differences in genetics. Although the first day of taking the pills felt rough, especially with your body having to withdraw physical features, you went through with it, initially explaining to the boys that it's what you wanted. Whether they believed you or not at the time, you weren't sure, until today...

"No way!" you gasped, clutching the blanket for dear life as you sat up from your comfy spot curled up on the sofa. Once again, you had chosen to use your vacation off from work as a chance to binge watch your favourite show, and finally, you had made it to the end.

"Don't roll credits, don't roll credits, don't- NO!" you cried out in disbelief. As if they had just killed off your favourite character. You sobbed, curling into yourself, ears flat against your head and tail curled up against you, like you were trying to protect yourself from the TV screen even though you had already turned it off and thrown the remote away from you in distress.

You hadn't realised that your hybrid features had popped out, not that it would be a problem as you were on break, but you must have forgotten to habitually take your tablets, the ones you bad taken the previous day finally wearing off. Even with the box being on the coffee table in front of you, the idea had left your mind.

It was long forgotten now.

It was a pitiful sight, the way you were trembling as you cried, but with your physical hybrid features also came mental ones, emotional ones, instincts that you couldn't help but follow. That emotional attachment that cats found with their people, happened to you and your favourite TV show. You felt hurt, betrayed, distraught.

"Rori?" Minho was the first to call out in concern, as the boys piled in from their outing at the beach. Yes, Rori, that was your stage name. It was a running joke between you all that Minho adopted Dori and her namesake was because of you. They weren't that dissimilar right?

"What's wrong? What's happening?" Felix called out in confusion, still taking off his sandy shoes by the front door. The boys had wanted you to come along with them, but you hated water, and would much rather laze around in the comfort of your own home.

"Aigoo, your tail is all fluffy," Jeongin patted your head, yet you continued to cry. The eight boys looked between each other in confusion until Jisung spotted the medication on the table and looked at Chan pointedly, hoping he took would connect the dots he had just found.

"Oh, Rori, we thought you didn't like taking the, it's ok. It'll be ok, we'll sort this," Chan rubbed your back gently.

"We can announce it to the fans," Hyunjin suggested, and the others nodded along.

"We'll have a word with the company," Changbin added, their plan already formulating before your very eyes.

"They'll still love you," Jisung didn't like seeing you cry.

"They won't care, you're still the same person," Seungmin spoke up, last to enter the room. He had soon caught onto the situation though, only after rinsing his feet from the sand that lingered. He couldn't barely the itchy feeling.

"What are you talking about?" you sniffled, lifting your head out from your arms and your ears lifted in curiosity.

"Aren't you sad because of, you know, having to take the tablets...?" Chan was confused, so much so that his hand had even stopped it's comforting motions on your back.

"No!!" you cried out, tail fluffing up even more, irritation flaring up ever so slightly as you wished you didn't have to explain yourself. It would much easier if these humans just knew what you wanted!

"Oh," Minho pursed his lips in thought.

"Then what's wrong?" Jeongin urged, eager to hear what was truly wrong.

"-died! It's not fair! They were my favourite and they were so kind and-" you whimpered tearfully, already having flashbacks of the final episode you and just watched.

"It's because of a show?!" Felix rose his eyebrows in surprise, leaning back to try and see your whole face.

"Really?" Seungmin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It's not just a show!!!" you wailed louder, tail swishing now as you felt a mix of sadness and annoyance.

"Ok it's not just a show, we know that, chill, kitty," Jisung patted your head but Minho nudged him warningly, knowing you didn't like that nickname.

"Ji-" you huffed.

"But it's definitely not because of the suppressants, right?" Changbin cut you off, which was annoying at first, having being interrupted twice in a row, yet you were appreciative of the change in topic.

"No, no, I don't care about taking them. I'm fine with that," you took a deep breath and wiped your remaining tears away, "I just might need 2-3 business days to recover."

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tagged: @skz-streamer @kiraisastay @kpopmenace143 @haodore @arloo00 @dunno-wut-to-do @splat00z @his-angell @2minstan @skzoologist @lovingchan @atinyniki @writingforstraykids @lilmisssona @astraysimp @lixie-phoria @theo4eve @linoalwaysknows @royal-shinigami @jolly04 @turtledove824 @yangbbokari @thisrandomgoofy15 @lieslab @hannamoon143 @arumlilyeclipse

[crazywolf828]

Hey there friends

I wanted to hold off making any donation posts until I knew how much it would cost but the situation got a lot more dire.

Mom's had a heart attack, my grandpa died, and my uncles are coming after our house.

My grandfather died just before Christmas, it was a shock to all of us as he seemed to be doing fine. His final wishes were to be cremated and spread over the beaches with my grandma, everyone has known this, but because he didn't write a will before getting sick with Alzheimer's and dementia all of his children have to agree on what to do with his body. If they don't he gets turned over to the state and disposed of, and we never get him back.

Yesterday my mom had a mild heart attack, she's still in the hospital now (though she seems to be doing better) because we found out my uncles are refusing to cooperate. I'll explain the full story under the cut but they haven't been around for over twelve years and are now coming after our house.

The funeral is at minimum going to be 4k not including any lawyers we need to get to get control of his body and fight my uncles. If you can spare anything at all, please I'm begging more now than ever before, donate if you can or just reblog.

Thank you all, so much, for everything you do and have done.

My uncles have never been around, the last time was after a settlement from my grandmothers wrongful death where they took almost all the money. We got enough to buy our current house and that was it. My mom and grandpa specifically put on the deed that they both owned it so my uncles couldn't steal it once my grandpa passed away.

Well, we found out it is considered an asset, until we are able to get a death certificate to get his name off the house and give my mom full ownership, my uncles can technically try and get a part of his assets (even though we have no other money).

We haven't seen them in 15 years. They weren't around when we had to take care of my grandpa after his surgery in 2016 and his decline in mental health after. We couldn't afford to put him in a home so we did what we could.

They weren't there during the outbursts and anger of my grandpa not knowing who we were, having to give him baths, change his diapers, taking him to the hospital, making sure his food was soft enough he could eat it. But now they think there's money on the line and they want to bleed us dry when all we have is our house.

We were told all of this yesterday at the funeral home, told that if we don't go to court or they don't all agree on what to do with his body then he gets turned over to the state and disposed of. We would never get him back.

The stress caused my mom to have a minor heart attack, she was transferred to a bigger hospital and is currently having a cath test done because she already has an autoimmune disease.

I can't do much else to help other than come on here and ask for help, I have so many of my own illnesses that prevent me from working and the government is giving me a tough time trying to get on disability.

It's a lot and I'm just so lost and I'm sorry to ask again, I'm sorry to make another donation post, but please, we need this so much, every bit helps.

[falling-star-cygnus]

things i've noticed about HSR characters bc character design is my obsession

part two: 🎼Save a horse🎵 Ride a Cowboy🎶 ✨Boothill✨

who should i do next :D

his bullet earring and cartilage piercings [the bullet as a red chain link coming down from the hoop, kinda like when it first gets shot] -> also- if you zoom on his face too long he glares at you

it doesn't matter what direction you tilt his head, you cannot see his right eye clearly, this is the closest i got -> obviously this line was him joking about the cause of him being a cyborg, but i think he genuinely lost his right eye too. also- he's an optimist??

he's got air vents on his neck!!

Boothill's medals glow when you get victory stacks :D -> also they jingle every time you use his attack!! and look at his spurs!!

he's got a port on his left hand, to match the one on his back, but not his right. [are they connected? what does the one on his hand connect to?] -> i wonder if he can put bullets through the one on his hand and store them for later

his original name meant loaded gun, so that's pretty cool -> and pretty dark considering he was literally turned into a living weapon ['as always, he and his partners turned to guerrilla warfare 😃' has the same energy as 'so anyway, then i cursed her 😊.']

man's hips are OUT

anyway-

his hair is interesting to me. is it natural? his sixth eidolon has the interesting mix of black and white that it does currently, even though that's him as a human

wouldn't be cool if it was Marie Antoinette Syndrome? -> it can be caused by extreme stress and trauma to the body//mind, which you can't deny Boothill went through -> but it can also be caused by Alopecia Areata, which is a rare autoimmune disease that causes your cells to attack each other and target the pigment and structure of hair follicles [altho alopecia usually results in hair loss]

could the loss of his body, paired with how he was found as a baby, cause the discoloration of his hair?

also the leaves in his eidolon are most likely that of a tulip trees, which are symbols of freedom, liberty, and free speech [which he unfortunately does not have] -> Native Americans would often use the inner bark of these trees for medicinal purposes too!

they can also just be decaying leaves, representing the deteriorating state of his body

HC for the road: Argenti is the only one he’s let see his missing eye. He fully intended to try and scare the Knight of Beauty off, try to force him to admit that his body wasn’t all he praised it to be, but instead Argenti just cupped his face and repeated his praises

[taeaura]

Thomas Hewitt Medical Analysis / Headcanons?? Because I love him

TW: Self-mutilation, Hoyt mention {very very brief}, typical canon activities, self-harm?, skin conditions,

Very poor editing, my apologies -

Speech:

I’ve seen many people assume that Thomas either A.) Doesn’t speak by choice; B.) Can’t speak from vocal {cord} issues; Or C.) A combination of the two / his facial deformity. I agree with everyone else but I’d also like to add a potential reason: I’m pretty sure Thomas was diagnosed with ‘metal deterioration’ of some sort in the introduction scene {2006/The Beginning}, and considering this was the mid-late 1900’s, knowledge on mental health was very little compared to now, especially in such a small town. Thomas could possibly be neurodivergent, maybe high-function autism but even then, Thomas could simply have a condition called Speech Apraxia/Apraxia of Speech/AOS/CAS. “In CAS, the brain has trouble planning for speech movement. The brain isn't able to properly direct the movements needed for speech. The speech muscles aren't weak, but the muscles don't form words the right way.” - Mayo Clinic. This could’ve been amplified by his facial deformity. I don’t think it’s irrational to think Thomas can speak, or speaks scarcely, but it’s also not irrational to think Thomas just doesn’t speak. I don’t think it’s a vocal cord issue as Thomas can make sounds pretty well {Considering he screams/yells/yelps at times in the 2003 remake, and even ‘howls’ in the 2006 version after he gets stabbed by Chrissie.} This is just a thought though, I could be wrong.

Skin Condition:

In a behind-the-scenes video {which can be found on youtube}, one of the crew members said Thomas had an extreme form of skin cancer. Now, this could very well be true, but if it was a real-world condition, Thomas would either be bed-ridden, hooked to a machine constantly, or dead. This condition could be made up, but I’ve found two possible real-world conditions which Thomas may have. 

Cutaneous Lupus {CLE}. “Cutaneous lupus is one type of lupus — an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in different body tissues. “Cutaneous lupus,” which means skin lupus, affects your skin. Inflammation in your skin causes a variety of symptoms — most often a red, scaly rash. These symptoms are triggered by sunlight exposure.” - Cleveland Clinic. This, as most skin conditions, can be localized, meaning they’re only in one area. In Thomas’ case, this is his face. This could also occur in his scalp, neck, and ears for all we know. CLE is also not contagious.

___

What is CLE? 

“Cutaneous lupus, or skin lupus, is an autoimmune disease that affects your skin, causing skin rashes. Autoimmune diseases happen when your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body tissues. In cutaneous lupus, your immune system attacks your skin cells, causing chronic inflammation in your skin. This manifests as a recognizable rash, often with related symptoms like itching, irritation or swelling.” - Cleveland Clinic

2. Pustular Psoriasis. Now, this diagnosis doesn’t make the most sense until you see the actual ‘photo’ of Thomas’ face. A photo {Which is shown below} is from the 2006/The Beginning behind-the-scenes’ on youtube. This looks A LOT like Pustular Psoriasis to me; Though I could be very wrong. “Symptoms of pustular psoriasis include pustules (white or yellow, pus-filled, painful bumps) that may be surrounded by inflamed or reddened/discolored skin. The pus in pustules is caused by inflammation and is not contagious. People with plaque psoriasis or other types of psoriasis may also develop pustular psoriasis” - The National Psoriasis Foundation. Common placement of Pustular Psoriasis includes the hands, feet, scalp, and face. It usually affects the hands and feet {Palmoplantar pustulosis}, but not in all patients.

___

What’s the Difference?

“Pustular psoriasis is a type of psoriasis that causes skin plaques with pustules or blisters anywhere on your body. Palmoplantar pustulosis, which is also known as palmoplantar pustular psoriasis, is pustular psoriasis that affects only your hands and feet.” - Cleveland Clinic

___

What is Pustular Psoriasis?

Psoriasis is an auto-immune disease, as is CLE: “Your immune system keeps your body healthy by defending itself against foreign invaders like bacteria. These invaders can make you sick. If you have psoriasis, your skin immune system becomes overactive and releases inflammatory molecules that cause healthy skin cells to divide and replicate too quickly, which causes dead skin cells to form on the surface of your skin as scales or flakes. This state of immunologic over-activity also causes certain cells from the immune system called neutrophils to collect in the most superficial layers of the skin, which causes pustules.” - Cleveland Clinic

Photo for Reference:

I’m not joking, this is an actual screenshot from the Behind-The-Scenes at around 32:17. Now, I don’t think Thomas’ condition AS SEEN IN THE FILMS is as extreme, but this might be what a flare-up looks like for him. That being said, there’s a significant feature Thomas has that we haven’t addressed yet,

How Did Thomas Lose His Nose?

In The Beginning {2006}, we can see Thomas’ nose cartilage rotting off from multiple open wounds. Just based on this information, it’s safe to assume it just rotten off, right? Not necessarily. Looking at Thomas’ face reveal in the 2003 remake, we notice the nose is cleanly cut off right where the ‘rot’/wound was in the 2006 version. Combine this with his tendency of self-mutilation, this leads me to assume he {or someone in the family} cut it off. Now, I’ve researched this a bit {hyperfixation running rampant rn} and cutting off your nose doesn’t hit any major arteries and isn’t life-threatening on its own. However, your nose is part of what’s called the ‘Triangle of Death.’ The Triangle of Death is a part of the face featuring the nose all the way down to the corners of the mouth. Because this area is so close to your brain as well as openings in your face, infections can be deadly. So cutting off your own nose could kill you from infection, not the act itself. Obviously, Thomas didn’t die from this as he’s in the damn movies with a fully-healed 'nose'. Anyway, going back to observing his face, we can also see the nasal bone. Finally answering the question: It’s safe to assume Thomas picks at his skin alot. Combine this with poor hygiene and wearing his {very dirty} mask all the time, his wounds most likely got infected. This caused him to literally rot from the inside out, which caused necrosis. Thomas most likely cut his nose off because of an infection that had the potential to be fatal. Lord knows Luda Mae was probably horrified and I’m sure Hoyt wasn’t too thrilled either..{Monty’s snoozin’ 100%}

Anyway, apologies for the poorly-edited and non-coherent rant. I see so many theories and get a bit intimidated to comment under most of them so I decided to post this instead. :)

[bambisworlds]

chronically ill in the midst of calamity

living during the apocalypse is hard to begin with, it's even worse when you have an autoimmune disease like bambi. rick and bambi have been a couple since before the world fell apart, and they've found themselves in the worst conditions they've had to withstand so far. the longer she goes without proper hydration and nourishment the worse her symptoms are becoming. he's not sure how much longer he can take seeing her so weak (3,783 word count).

content warnings, but there's not much to warn about lol

f!reader, chronic illness!reader, established relationship, attentive!rick, caretaker!rick, season5!rick, bearded!rick, use of good girl, fainting/syncope spells, sister figure!michonne, mentions of death/violence, mentions of starvation/dehydration, this will follow the majority of the canon plot and include spoilers (but judith doesn't exist), let me know if i forgot anything x

my masterlist

i have POTS and i've daydreamed a lot about what rick would be like with a chronically ill gf. this is what i think he'd be like. also i basically just use the name bambi instead of y/n cause it gets annoying typing y/n over and over, so imagine her however you'd like :)

Rick was on edge. Not only were his insides gnawing at him for food, but the whole center of his universe, Bambi, was sick. Rick’s fingers absentmindedly combed through Bambi’s hair as he stared blankly at the ground. Her head was resting on his lap as she slept. His mind was trying to conjure solutions to get more supplies, or more importantly more food and water. Before the world went to shit the best way to help Bambi’s symptoms was for her to drink as much water as possible. She’d only had a few measly sips today and it was paying the price.

They didn’t have the medications she used to take for her condition anymore either, they had run out after a few months, and their only options to make her feel better were hydration and nourishment. She didn’t have either right now and hasn’t for a long time. Rick could handle the hunger and thirst, he would suffer through it if it meant Bambi had more food and water for herself. He had been lying to her and telling her he already had his portions when he was actually mixing his in with hers and only eating and drinking enough so his organs wouldn’t fail. Rick could handle starvation and dehydration. But he couldn't handle seeing Bambi so sick and weak.

Her face was now constantly pale and green with an unrelenting tremble in her limbs. Her body pains were nearly unbearable and she was having presyncope spells (the sensation of fainting or very nearly losing consciousness) multiple times a day. Rick was so worried he could hardly keep his cool, wanting to smash someone's skull in as if that would do anything, but he knew he had to keep calm for her sake. Rick wasn't the only one who was worried. Everyone in the group loved Bambi like family, and seeing her so vulnerable made everyone's already protective natures grow tenfold.

Bambi's head stirred on Rick's lap as the barn doors creaked open and Maggie called to the group. Rick rubbed his thumb gently on her head, encouraging her to keep resting.

"Everyone… this is Aaron," Maggie announces. At the sound of a stranger's name, Rick's head flew in the direction of the door. He quickly, but gently, lifted Bambi's head off his lap and rose to his feet while drawing his gun, "We met him outside, he's by himself. We took his weapons and we took his gear," Maggie reassures everyone as Daryl patted the man down. Bambi sat up curiously. Rick stood right in front of her, blocking her partially from view while Michonne stood on Rick's left. They made a collective barrier between the stranger and Bambi who was peeking around Rick's legs at the newcomer. Aaron looked around wearily as everyone in the group stared him down, making it clear if he even moved too quickly he'd be on the ground with a bullet in his head.

"Hi," Aaron said, his tone unsure and weary, "It's nice to meet you," he continued as he took a step in the direction of Rick, Bambi, and Michonne to shake their hands. Everyone flanked around him, clearly not wanting him any closer to Bambi. Rick lifted his gun with a threatening tilt of his head as if he was challenging him to move any closer.

"You said he had a weapon?" Rick asks Maggie, disregarding Aaron's greeting. As Maggie walked over to Rick to hand it to him, he holstered his gun, still standing protectively in front of Bambi. Rick inspected the gun before making a show of counting the number of bullets in the gun before tucking the weapon into the waistband of his jeans, "There somethin' you need?" Rick questions Aaron, his voice husky and intimidating.

"He has a camp nearby," Sasha speaks up, "He wants us to audition for membership," she says with a disbelieving glance towards Aaron.

"I wish there was another word. Audition makes it sound like we're some kind of dance troupe. That's only on Friday nights," Aaron jokes, trying to ease the crushing tension in the barn. Yet nobody so much as smiled. Realizing nobody was interested in small talk or jokes he shook his head slightly, "And it's not a camp. It's a community. I think you all would make valuable additions, but it's not my call. My job is to convince you all to follow me back home." he explains but nobody says a word. Rick was still staring at Aaron with an unruly gaze, "I know. If I were you I wouldn't go either. Not until I knew exactly what I was getting into," Aaron swallows nervously and looks over at Sasha, "Sasha can you hand Rick my pack?"

Bambi bristles slightly as Aaron uses their names, meaning he has been watching them for a long time, "Front pocket, there's an envelope." Aaron instructs as Rick kneels beside Bambi to look inside the backpack. Bambi leans closer to try to look inside the pack as well, "There's no way I could convince you to come with me just by talking about our community" Aaron acknowledged before motioning to the pack, "That's why I brought those." he says as Rick pulled out a yellow envelope. Bambi rested her cheek against his shoulder as he listened to Aaron explain things further, "I apologize in advance for the picture quality. We just found an old camera store last--"

Daryl cuts him off, "Nobody gives a shit." he says gruffly.

"You're absolutely 100% right," he says to Daryl before turning back towards Rick who had started to pull pictures out of the envelope, the images all fuzzy and low quality. The top one was a picture of tall, braced walls, "That's the first picture I wanted to show you because nothing I say about our community will matter unless you know you'll be safe."

Bambi glanced up at Rick, trying to decipher what he thought. Rick looked at her briefly before looking back down at the pictures, "If you join us you will be. Each panel in that wall is a 15-foot high, 12-foot wide slab of solid steel framed by cold-rolled steel beams and square tubing," Aaron continues to explain as Rick rises to his feet, resting a hand on Bambi's back so she wouldn't bump her chin on his knee or something as he stood up, "Nothing alive or dead gets through that without our say-so."

Michonne looks over Rick's shoulder at the pictures as Aaron continues to make his pitch. Everyone was glancing around each other as if trying to communicate telepathically, trying to tell if the others believed his story or not, "Like I said, security is obviously important. In fact, there's only one resource more critical to our community's survival. The people. Together we're strong. You can make us even stronger."

Rick glanced down at Bambi, then over at Michonne, before he started walking briskly towards Aaron who was still babbling on about the pictures. Bambi's eyebrows furrowed as Rick advanced towards Aaron, not entirely sure what he was doing, and then Rick swung hard, connecting his fist with Aaron's jaw. Bambi's eyes widened slightly as Aaron fell to the ground, knocked out cold.

"Why'd you do that?" Becca asks incredulously. He didn't even give Aaron a chance to finish explaining.

"We gotta secure him, dump his pack," Rick instructs Carl, "Let's see what this guy really is. Everybody else we need eyes in every direction. They're coming for us. We might not know how or when, but they are." Rick barks at the group. Bambi begins to rise to her feet and Rick immediately walks back over to her in two quick strides, "Sit back down, you don't need to be on your feet," he said firmly, gripping her arm to encourage her to sit back down. Bambi exchanged a glance with Michonne, who had sent her a meaningful 'talk to him' look.

"What if he's telling the truth?" Bambi asks Rick, staying on her feet even as he tries to force her to sit back down, "We gotta at least hear him out."

"Me and Sasha, we didn't see him. If he had wanted to hurt us, he could've," Maggie pipes up as well. Rick disregarded Maggie's words, snaking his arms beneath Bambi's thighs to lift her and walk her over to a nearby crate before setting her down on it and sending her a firm 'stay put' look.

"Anybody see anything?" Rick asks the group. Bambi glared up at him, even as he planted a kiss on the top of her head, seemingly not caring she was irritated with him.

"Just a lot of places to hide," Glenn says as he looks out one of the peepholes in the barn walls. Rick yanked over another small crate and lifted Bambi's feet to set them on it.

"Keep 'em elevated," he murmured to Bambi before turning back to Glenn, "All right, keep looking," Rick commanded before turning towards Carl who had been stifling through Aaron's backpack, "What'd you find?"

Carl hands him a flare gun, "Never seen a gun like that before," Carl mutters as Rick pops open the gun to see what type of ammo it holds. When he realized it was a flare gun his eyes darkened. Was this bastard waiting for the chance to signal his group so they could ambush them? That wasn't an option for Rick, not with Bambi so sick and weak. On good days she could hold her own just fine, but good days were few and far between for her now. Rick stalked over to Aaron. Maggie was holding a wet cloth against his head as he slowly came to.

"That's a hell of a right cross there, Rick," Aaron chuckles dryly, barely able to lift his head off the dirty floor of the barn.

"Sit him up," Rick says lowly, clutching the flare gun tightly in his hand.

"I think it's better if--" Maggie began to argue when Aaron cut her off.

"It's okay," Aaron mutters with a groan.

"He's fine, sit him up," Rick says again, not caring if Aaron is fine or not.

"You're being cautious, I completely understand," Aaron says after he sits up with another pained groan.

"How many of your people are out there? You have a flare gun," Rick says, holding the gun up so Aaron and everyone else can see it. Bambi shifts nervously on the crate, maybe Rick was right and this guy was trying to double cross them, "You have it to signal your people. How many of them are there?"

Aaron sighs, "Does it matter?"

"Yes. Yes, it does," Rick says, making it clear he wasn't asking. He needed to know how many people were out there.

"I mean, of course, it matters how many people are actually out there, but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there? Because I'm pretty sure no matter what number I say… 8, 32, 444, zero… no matter what I say you're not going to trust me." Aaron says decisively.

"Well, it's hard to trust anyone who smiles after getting punched in the face," Rick quips.

"How about a guy who leaves bottles of water for you in the road?" Aaron argued. Daryl looked back at the couple of water bottles they had found in his pack.

"How long you people been following us?" Daryl demands gruffly. It had been days since they found the container of water bottles in the road. Rick glanced back at Bambi briefly, mad at himself for not noticing they had been followed and possibly putting her at risk.

"Long enough to see that you practically ignore a pack of roamers on your trail. Long enough to see that despite a lack of food and water, you never turned on each other. You're survivors and you're people. Like I said, and I hope you won't punch me for saying it again, that is the most important resource in the world," Aaron emphasized and Rick stepped closer to him.

"How many others are out there?" he demands calmly.

"One," Aaron answers and Rick shakes his head with a slight smile, "I knew you wouldn't believe me. If it's not words, if it's not pictures, what would it take to convince you that this is for real? What if I drove you to the community, all of you? We leave now, we'll get there by lunch."

"I'm not sure how all of us are going to fit in the car you and your one friend drove down here in," Rick says, trying to poke holes in Aaron's story. Bambi nibbled on her bottom lip, feeling conflicted. This man seemed sincere, but after so long of watching your back it's hard to take what people say at face value. If they're lying it could end with someone, or everyone, getting killed. Not to mention Bambi could barely see or think straight, she could feel another fainting spell coming on.

"We drove separately. If we found a group, we wanted to be able to bring them all home. There's enough room for all of us," Aaron insists.

"And you're parked just a couple miles away, right?" Carol asks.

"East on Ridge Road, just after you hit Route 16. We wanted to get them closer, but then the storm came and blocked the road. We couldn't clear it," Aaron explains.

"Yeah, you've really thought this through," Rick mutters, still not buying it.

"Rick, if I wanted to ambush you, I'd do it here. You know, light the barn on fire while you slept, pick you off as you ran out the only exit. You can trust me," Aaron promises.

Bambi could feel her limbs starting to tremble more than they already were, her vision going black around the edges as her throat began to tighten. She shakily got off of the crate she was sitting on, not wanting to fall backward and bang her head when she fainted. Carl instinctively reached to help her sit on the ground.

"Dad it's happening again," Carl says urgently as Bambi begins to struggle to keep her eyes open and slouched against him. Rick's gaze snapped in Bambi's direction and hastily walked over to her.

He dropped to the ground beside her, instantly cradling her against his chest, "You're alright baby, I'm right here," he tried to soothe her as she began to hyperventilate. Her breathing often picked up before she passed out like her throat was tightening and limiting her airflow. She couldn't slow it if she tried, "Try to relax, I'm right here. I'll be right here holdin' you the whole time until you wake back up," Rick insists as Bambi's eyes involuntarily drift shut and her breaths puffed out in short staccatos. Rick's hand cradled the base of her skull while the other curled around her to keep her from falling off his lap.

"I'm trying," she gasps out, her voice strained, "Can't open my eyes."

"I know, it's okay. Just let it happen," Rick coos, his grip tightening as her body began to tremble more, another common occurrence before she passed out. Aaron watched the scene curiously, asking what was wrong with her but Michonne quickly shushed him. Maggie had already gotten up to grab one of the few bottles of water, knowing Bambi would need it when the spell passed. Bambi's body finally went limp in Rick's grip and he sighed shakily, readjusting his hold on her to feel the pulse on her neck. Feeling her heartbeat gave him comfort when this happened, a reminder that even though she was unconscious she was alive.

Aaron glanced around the room, looking for any understanding as to what was happening, but nobody seemed overly alarmed, as if this was a common occurrence. Maggie crouched down beside Rick, holding the bottle of water in her hands. "She's startin' to come back," Maggie mutters, noticing the change in her breathing. Rick glanced over at Aaron, making sure he hadn't moved, even though everyone else was still circled around the room watching him. Rick began to rub her back as she came to, her eyes opening slightly.

"Hey baby, everything's alright," Rick soothes her, kissing her forehead, "It's all done," he coos, "My brave girl," he whispered against her forehead for only Bambi to hear. When her eyes began to look a bit more focused Rick nodded at Maggie, who then held the water bottle up to Bambi's lips so she could take a few sips. Rick continued to mutter encouragements and soothing words into Bambi's ear, rubbing her back and gently massaging her scalp.

"I'll check out the cars," Michonne says now that Bambi seems more stable.

"There aren't any cars," Rick grumbled, sending Michonne a disapproving look despite his gentleness towards Bambi who was still leaning against him, taking a few more sips of water that Maggie offered.

"There's only one way to find out," Michonne argues with a determined glint in her eye.

"We don't need to find out," Rick snaps.

"We do," Michonne insists, "You know what you know and you're sure of it, but I'm not."

"Me neither," Maggie agrees from her spot beside Bambi and Rick.

"Your way is dangerous, mine isn't," Rick shakes his head, readjusting his hold on Bambi to keep her firmly against him.

"Passing up someplace where we can live? Where Carl can live? Or where Bambi can live without having to make herself sick? That's pretty dangerous," Michonne protested before standing straighter to show how serious she was, "We need to find out what this is. We can handle ourselves. So that's what we're gonna do." she said firmly, leaving no room for argument. Michonne glanced down at Bambi who was cradled against Rick, limp in his lap like she was too weak to move, before looking back up at Rick meaningfully. A silent reminder of her own concern for Bambi's health.

"Then I will too. I'll go," Glenn says. Rick shook his head for a moment, as if he was going to protest, then looked over his shoulder at Abraham.

"I'll walk with them," Abraham says, pushing off the wall of the barn to go over to Michonne and Glenn. Rick then turned to Rosita and she agreed to go as well.

"If there's trouble, you got enough firepower?" Rick asks them.

"We got what we got," Glenn sighs and Rick reaches behind him to grab Aaron's gun out of the waistband of his pants and handed it to Glenn without jostling Bambi too much, "The walkies are out of juice. If you're not back in 60 minutes we'll come. Which might be just what they want." Rick says as the group begins to leave the barn to keep watch outside for any signs of trouble. Rick carefully lifted Bambi into his arms and walked over to a measly pile of straw they had used for a bed the night before. He gently set her down, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Try to get some shut eye okay? I'll be right here if it happens again," Rick murmurs soothingly, resting his hand on the side of her face. Bambi nods, lying down on the straw. She always felt exhausted after these spells. Rick made sure her shirt covered the expanse of her torso so the straw wouldn't itch her, making sure she was covered and as comfortable as possible before walking over to the door of the barn to peer out for any sign of danger.

"When the world was still the world, I worked for an NGO. Our mission was to deliver medicine and food to the Niger River Delta. Bad people pointed guns in my face every other week. You're not bad people. You're not going to kill us. And we are definitely not going to kill you," Aaron says.

"Just because we're good people doesn't mean we won't kill you," Rick mutters, still looking out the crack in the barn door, "If the five of them aren't back in an hour… I'll put a knife in the base of your skull," Rick said with an eerily calm tone of voice before shutting the barn door and walking over to his backpack. He had found some electrolyte packets a few weeks ago and had been rationing them for Bambi. As he dug through the bag only to find empty packets he sighed shakily, running his hand over his face. Taking them after these spells helped her bounce back quicker.

"I don't know if asking will earn me another punch in the face but… clearly your girlfriend isn't well," Aaron said hesitantly and Rick looked up at him, his eyes turning into a deadly glint, "I don't know what's wrong with her but from all the electrolyte packet wrappers in your bag I take it Gatorade might help her?" Aaron swallowed nervously, afraid he would somehow set Rick off, "There's a half-drunk bottle in my pack. I'm sure you saw it in there." Rick only looked at him, before grabbing Bambi's backpack to see if she had any packets left. Knowing Aaron had been following them, Rick was worried he knew that Bambi was sick and the Gatorade was a trick, "This isn't a trick. This isn't about trying to make you like me. I just want to help." Aaron insists. Rick sighs again and glances over at Bambi who is watching them with droopy eyes.

Rick rose to his feet and grabbed the half-drunk bottle of Gatorade off the crate they had used to put Aaron's stuff on before walking back over to Aaron and holding out the bottle in front of him with a raised eyebrow, "She's not drinkin' this until I know it's not poisoned or some shit. Take a sip," Rick says firmly. Aaron sighs and leans forward to take a swig of Gatorade. Satisfied Aaron didn't immediately die or spit it out after, he walked back over to Bambi and helped her sit up, "Drink this baby, it'll help you feel better," Rick encouraged, holding the bottle to her lips. As Bambi takes a few sips Rick kisses the top of her head, "Good girl."

"We have a big community. Medical supplies, medicine… we have the means to help her if you'd let us. You'd have your own place to live where she can be safe and regain her strength," Aaron tries to reason and Rick glances down at his watch.

"You got 43 minutes," he mutters before focusing back on Bambi who was sipping on the Gatorade.

if you have any requests including the people on my masterlist please comment them below any of my posts or in my submissions!! (check here: about my blog  to see what things i'm not comfortable with in regards to requests <3)

[prettypinkporkchop]

EMBRY CALL X FEM READER

Warnings: mentions of body issues. Health issues. Hospital visit.

Autoimmune diseases plague your life. You are the only plus sized girl on the rez. You feel so down about yourself. Embry makes life worth living.

The beeping of the heart monitor next to you is starting to piss you off. You sigh and move the arm without the IV over your forehead. You feel Embry next to you grab your hand. "Just waiting for the results, baby." His voice is soft.

You started taking new medicines for the inflammation in your body. You haven't had any difference. In fact, it's worse. They had to do x-rays on your back, knees, and hands. They had you twisting in all angles! Your heart is palpitating, which because of your health problems, it scared them. They put you on an IV for a bit.

"Do you need anything? I can go to the vending machine." Embry offers. You move your arm and look at him. You smile and squeeze his hand. "No, baby. I'm sure once we get home, Emily will have food made." You giggle. You glance down at your stomach and think about how skinny Kim, Rachel, and Emily are. It hasn't bothered you too bad since being with Embry, but occasionally, it hits you. Especially when you are told you are going to be around them. You love them, and they love you, absolutely! It's just hard being the only plus sized girl.

The door opens, and the rheumatologist steps in with a clipboard. She pulls the small rolling chair toward you. She keeps her mask lifted up, but her eyes are telling. "Alright, y/n. The medicine was only making your heart race. It was causing some arithmetic issues. Your joints are about the same as last time. You are just in a flareup." She looks at you and then Embry. A flareup sucks but that means there's nothing WORSE and nothing new to worry about.

"I'm going to give you a list of treatments. You can choose one that you'd like to try. I will up your plaquinil, though. This go around, no prednisone." She starts writing stuff down.

The visit took a lot longer. Emily had called Embry to let him know that there's a dinner over there tomorrow with your favorite food. You feel bad when she does this every time you end up going to the hospital for something. She does this for everyone on their birthdays, but that's once a year. For you, it's a few times a year.

You walk inside your and Embrys house, your phone and charger in your hand. You yawn, tossing it on the couch. Embry reaches for your waist from behind. He pulls you into him and presses kisses on your shoulder. "Baby, you tired?" He asks. "Mhm." You nod. At the moment, your fingers are hurting, and you just want to sleep it off.

You guys wake up. Pick an outfit for the get-together!

Even though it's a dinner, you all usually spend the day there. You grab your purse and have painkillers and nausea pills on hand. "Embry! Come on!" You call out.

No answer.

You cock your head to the side and drop your purse on the couch. You walk back into the bedroom and see Embry dressed, but he is leaning over the bed with his face covered.

"Honey, no." You coo and sit next to him on the bed. You pull an arm away from his face to see he's teary-eyed. You pull him into your chest. He loves it when you do this. He calls them his pillows. "I just feel so.. useless? I feel so out of control of your situation. I want you to feel better. I don't want to make you feel bad. I just hope you know I'll always be here. I love you." He plants a loving kiss to the middle of your neck before moving up. You smile at him and caress his cheek. "I feel better today. Having you next to me makes the pain feel more tolerable. I feel like I can keep going. You do control the situation more than you think. I love you." You kiss his lips softly. He holds onto your wrist, rubbing his thumb over your hand. He kisses back so softly and slowly. You pull away and stand up. "Let's go eat and hang out with friends!" You pipe up.

You guys make it there and step inside. Emily and Sam are sharing a few kisses. Quil, Leah, and Seth are on the floor playing twister. "Damn it!" Leah hisses as Quil's arm makes her fall, causing everyone to fall. "Dude, that was nearly impossible! I'm a wolf, not a contortionist!" Quil yells out. Seth rubs the back of his neck because two strong bodies landed on him. "What does that even mean?" He side eyes Quil with a look of hurt.

Quil jumps up and hugs you and then Embry. "It's so good to see you y/n! I would say Embry, but he's up my ass." He laughs. Embry rolls his eyes. "Wolf duties, Quil. Don't make things awkward." You burst into laughter. Leah steps up to you with a huge smile. "I'm so glad you are okay! You feel okay today? No pain?" She wraps her arms around your neck, pulling you in. You giggle and pat her waist. "No pain today." You reply. She pulls back to hug Embry. You turn to Seth, who looks worried and has his hands in his pockets. "Seth Clearwater, what is wrong?" You ask amusingly and then give him a hug. "I'm scared for you and Embry." He sniffles and wraps his arms around you. "Hey, kid. We're okay. You guys will always kick vamp ass and I'll kick the disease ass too." You giggle.

"Surprise!!!!" Kim pops up and engulfs you in a hug. You hug her back and laugh. "Kim!" You call out. She pulls back and checks out your fit. "Goddamn! Beautiful!" She gushes. "Hey, you're the pretty one." You argue, internally feeling self-conscious and envy. She looks at you, her face contorted with 'come on, now'. "Seriously, Kim! I'd love to be skinny." She backs away and points at her body. "Y/n, JARED HAS NOTHING TO SQUEEZE!" She laughs. "I am beautiful, but you are too." She sits back down next to you. "Plus, everyone talks about how Embry calls your boobs his pillows." You both laugh.

The group of your friends in the kitchen pull up in the living room with you two. Embry stands behind the couch behind you and rubs your shoulders. You look up at his pretty face and pucker your lips. He leans down and pecks you. Quil puts Embry in a chokehold and pulls him away from you. You roll your eyes, and all the imprints sigh. "Here we go.." Emily giggles.

After your whole get-together, you and Embry get back home. You lay on the bed with your shoes still on. Your back is hurting so bad. You are trying not to cry. You roll onto your side. Embry comes up and takes off your shoes, kissing your ankles. "Baby, you need anything?" You shrug, unable to speak at the moment.

"I'm gonna get you comfortable." He unbuttons your pants and pulls them off effortlessly, as he knows all your curves perfectly and has done this many times. He kisses your lower back. "I'll get you some heat." He leaves. You roll onto your back and sigh. He comes back in with the heating pad. He plugs it into the wall and turns it on. "Lift up, baby." He says. You lift as high as you can, and he places it down. You flop down, and the heat instantly feels good. Embry kisses your forehead. "I love you." He smiles. You smile back at him and pat the bed next to you. "I got you." He walks over to his side and lays next to you. "Together." He says, grabbing a hold of your hand.

[fletchingbrilliant]

🌙some wildly cheap commissions!🌙

🙃 for some even wilder reasons 🙃

hey y'all. long post thingie but it's got cute pictures so please check it out

TRANSCRIPT OF POST

hey frens got something kinda somber to talk about. most of you are very aware of the existence of my beautiful fiance and co-creator of basically everything i do. zae and i are getting handfasted (marriage for pagans) in october, and have been living together for about 10 years. in 2021, zae got really fucking sick, and after a few false starts, was diagnosed with a rare for of vasculitis called granulomatosis with polyangiitis, GPA for short. it’s an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in blood vessels and other tissues, ultimately stopping blood from getting to the parts of the body that need it, affecting many areas, but primarily the respiratory system. while the cause isn’t known, it usually presents in people in their 50’s or 60’s, but complications from a third bout of covid-19 appears to have made it emerge way earlier for our boy. at least, that’s what we think. his case is extremely aggressive, advancing faster than anyone could have expected. in zae’s case, it actually attacked his kidneys first, and then went after his lungs, causing both to threaten shutting down for good. he was extremely anemic and needed a ton of transfusions, narrowly avoiding dialysis, and we spent weeks in the hospital keeping him alive. he was placed on two different kinds of chemotherapy to combat the disorder. he lost his hair, went through even more fatigue and pain on top of what the disease had already put him through, and had to accept a plethora of changes to his life that will last forever. a lot of you out there have harrowing experiences of your own when it comes to chronic and potentially terminal conditions, too, I’m certain. “it’s not fun” is an understatement. though there were a couple of really fucking close calls, zae’s GPA went into remission. his hair grew back fuller and more luscious than it had ever been before. (i later learned these are affectionately referred to as “chemo curls.”) remission for gpa is usually expected to last at least 5 years, potentially up to 20, before any symptoms resurface. but zae’s case was particularly aggressive, so of course he’s not so lucky. he’s relapsing now. his symptoms have been slowly returning, and it’s been decided that he’s going back on chemo. it’s no surprise that this shit is expensive, even with insurance. we’re still paying off the care he received last time because ‘murca. being disabled myself, work has been… let’s call it inconsistent, yeah? yeah, that’s a nice and comfortable thing to call it. no one’s doing well financially these days, so we of course have to get creative. long story short(er), i’m doing a commission special! for the next MONTH, i am offering fast commissions at crazy-low prices to try and help us create a cushion to keep us afloat and relatively comfortable while we begin the chemo process again. there’s several options for a variety of budgets, because i really hate the idea of seeking something for nothing, and i absolutely abhor having to reach out in this way. it makes me feel vulnerable and icky and… i’m sure you all understand that, too. i can’t thank you all enough just for following me, and engaging with mine and zae’s work. it may sound trite, but that really makes a difference to us, especially when we’re dealing with something so painful. so if you can’t or don’t want to partake of the sale, please know that you are still a huge help to us, and we seriously appreciate each and every one of you. like, so fucking much. thanks y’all love, fletch

END TRANSCRIPT

Commission Options:

Flash Sketches: $5USD/character

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all of this is posted with @zaebeecee's knowledge and blessing

please DM me if you're interested in something, and thank you again

more Hungry Games, fic fanart, and Persona stuff coming soon too

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for setting the thermostat to 70° and telling my roommate to stop changing it?

Emojis to find my ask: 🥶🌡️

I (he/him) have been living with 5 roommates including J (they/he) and my best friend M (he/him). the entire time we've lived together there has been no problem with the thermostat until J blew up at my best friend, M, over something small and unrelated. this made me, M, and M's boyfriend strongly dislike them. I didn't get involved and haven't said anything to them since this happened.

In the house we live in the downstairs gets incredibly cold (my room is sometimes 64° even with the thermostat set to 70°) while the upstairs gets really hot. I'm one of 2 people who lives downstairs and I'm the only one who's currently here (the person I share a room with is away for winter break). I have a chronic fever caused by my autoimmune disease that makes me very cold. I have to live downstairs because I use a wheelchair so swapping rooms is not an option. In the past, the people who lived upstairs would open the window to let the heat out of their rooms. There was never a problem with the thermostat.

Here's where the problem starts: yesterday I found myself shivering in my room despite being under 10 blankets in bed. I went to check the thermostat and saw it was at 66° which is usually the nighttime temperature. I assumed it was a mistake or just hadn't been turned up in the morning so I turned it back to 70°. When I walked by the thermostat again it was now set to 65°. I turned it back up to 70° because I was freezing cold. Then I walked by again and it was 64°. I turned it back to 70°. The next time I walked by it was 63°. I turned it back to 70°. This was clearly J being petty because they were progressively making it colder and colder every time I changed it.

For the entire following night and morning we went back and forth changing the thermostat.

I eventually got sick of it and decided to message them "Please stop changing the thermostat it is cold down here." They didn't respond and continued changing the thermostat. I told them they were being petty and asked them to please stop. This resulted in them blowing up at me and essentially accusing me of only thinking about myself. They also said they "refuse to pay for my excessive gas usage." I told them that they can open a window to cool their room and that they're welcome to come downstairs but there's no equivalent for me and my room. I also said that I didn't think this was about temperature I thought it was about punishing me for disliking them since this problem only started after they blew up at M and they were progressively dropping the thermostat colder and colder every time I changed it back. They told me that it was about temperature. I said that if that's the case they can open a window or come downstairs. That was the end of the conversation.

My other roommates still don't have a problem with the thermostat being set to 70° it's just them. They're also frustrated with J turning down the thermostat so low because they want to spend time downstairs and it's too cold.

so am I the asshole here?

What are these acronyms?

[cannabiscomrade]

Comorbidities are like cracks in a foundation. One crack (the root condition/first diagnosis) causes more stress to be placed upon the other parts of the structure (the body). Over time, this pressure causes more cracks to form. These are the comorbidities.

Disabled people often have more than one condition contributing to our overall health. In a lot of cases, these conditions play off one another and create a feedback loop within the body.

My gastroparesis makes me really susceptible to malnutrition and dehydration, and my autoimmune diseases make me temperature sensitive. These are triggers for my dysautonomia, which in turn ends up dropping my blood sugar via reactive hypoglycemia, which is then made worse by the medication I take for my PCOS.

Able-bodied people may see someone like me and think there's just "too much going on" to be sustainable, or they don't believe me at all. Disabled/chronically ill people hear that symptom progression and they Get it.

[darkverrmin]

You know how people tell you: "It's just a cat"?

"At least it's not a person, that would be a lot harder"?

Here's a story, then.

I lost my dad two years ago. It was sudden, scary, painful. My mom tried to commit suicide after that. I thought I was immune to grief after that, especially when it comes to pets.

I mean, I lost one of the closest people to me and I didn't even get to sat goodbye to him. Try to top that, yeah?

And now my three year old cat is suddenly sick. We went to the vet hospital, I spent 3k$. They said they cannot help him. He has a rare autoimmune disease which caused kidney failure. They let us go home, so I could say goodbye to him. He looked pretty ok when we got back yesterday.

Since this morning he isn't eating. He came to me and lay down beside me, breathing heavily. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

I don't know what to do. I don't want him to suffer. I keep thinking that maybe he will survive. He doesn't look in pain. But he isn't eating. Wtf do I do?

"Oh don't worry, it's just a cat."

I lost my father and grandmother in less than a year. I almost had a miscarriage during labour, my son barely made it out alive.

And still, here I am, crying over "just some cat".

Grief doesn't make you immune. And losing a person doesn't make it less painful in the future when losing a pet.

Trust me, I know.

[johnlennonirl]

hey!!! Sorry to bother you, but I just saw your post about fibromyalgia and I wanted to ask - how did you get diagnosed? As someone who is suffering from chronic pain and nearly all symptoms match with fibro, I have had an unsuccessful journey to getting diagnosed. Anything your doctors/yourself found that pointed it out?

thank you so much!!!

(btw - your art is AMAZING!)

Hiii AND THANK YEEWW ^_^

I've answered this a few times already but I think it always depends on the doctors you're seeing and what not.. sadly, doctors being knowledged or who know about fibromyalgia is also hard to find; My doctor was a rheumatologist and also knows that Fibro is a psychosomatic disorder. Meaning, if you're under chronic stress or emotional distress, symptoms r far more likely to flair up. Or cause a flair up-

I've been to lots of doctors, lots of neurologist and went to MRI's and got tests done but none of them found anything since my inflammation marks were always never there so they didn't indicate anything autoimmune or arthritis. The doctor I then visited actually had Fibromyalgia as a specialized thing he treats and diagnosis- but I myself sort of like.. "self diagnosed" while finding help as the symptoms seemed to match with my issues. And I went to that doctor who knew about it, explained my symptoms (without mentioning I suspected fibro) and he did tests w me and then diagnosed me at my first appointment since I already had done so many prior tests for other diseases.

I just would recommend trying to find a doctor who already takes fibro "seriously" and who has a field in that disorder, maybe ask diagnosed fibro members in your country/state who have gotten diagnosed at specific doctors and who possibly even treat it since you can in fact take meds for your fibro. Maybe ask doctors or clinics if they know a doctor. My doctor was luckily within reach, but sometimes you might have to travel a bit to get somewhere. Doing that rn with my chronic fatigue/possible narcolepsy...

Good luck! :3