#and can cause long-term damage if you aren't careful

[anyroads]

Reblogging again with some useful sources (I was on my phone before) and also just want to say that while historically 25% of covid patients experience lingering symptoms for several weeks or even months, fewer experience full-blown long covid and it's unlikely that you will, so none of this is meant to cause anxiety or assume you'll need it. OP has a popular blog, however, and I feel it's important to spread correct information about disabilities. I've come across a lot of people who had Long Covid and didn't know it, or that they could get help for their symptoms. So this info is to spread knowledge and awareness, and to prevent people like Anon from giving well-meaning incorrect advice that could hurt people.

Firstly, this article from January on the Netherlands study that first showed evidence of what had been theorized for years and expressed by LC patients, which is that exercising is directly and significantly detrimental to them.

"New research from the Netherlands is important because it shows clear evidence of a biological basis for their symptoms. Scientists there compared 25 people with long COVID to those who'd had COVID and fully recovered. Both groups did an exercise test on a stationary bike that lasted about 10 to 15 minutes. The research team drew blood and took muscle biopsies from their legs before and after the exercise. Braeden Charlton is at Vrije University in Amsterdam and one of the study's authors. ... After exercising, the consequences to the muscle were dramatic. Charlton says multiple tests revealed the mitochondria, the body's cellular power plants, are compromised, meaning their capacity to take up oxygen and produce energy is impaired. ... they also found atrophy and immense amounts of cell death in the muscle tissue."

In short, due to Long Covid compromising mitochondrial functions, muscles don't repair the way they normally would. When you exercise and end up feeling sore, it's because your muscle tissue is damaged, which is normal - you get stronger because muscle tissue repairs stronger than it was. In LC patients this doesn't happen, because of the compromised mitochondrial function. Their muscles just remain damaged. Although this study is new and the sample pool for it was small, Long Covid doctors have been telling patients very strictly to avoid exertion and exercise that raises their heart rate for years. This very much includes "light jogging" and for some people it even includes going for walks. A year ago I was told that the most I'm allowed to do was go for a walk around the block, and that I had to rest for ten minutes on a bench before walking up the stairs to my flat (since then, with a lot of work and just healing over time, I've expanded this to longer walks and even using the rowing machine we have at home for up to 4 minutes with rests every minute, just to give you an idea of what can fall on the spectrum of exercise limitations during recovery).

Again, it varies on a case by case basis, so talk to a doctor if you think you need to, and keep an eye on your heart rate. The full article is linked below:

A few more useful resources:

Generally now, there's a differentiation between post-viral disorder following a covid infection and Long Covid. Many people experience several weeks of fatigue after covid, as well as other Long Covid symptoms, but this is considered post-viral malaise. Symptoms are not considered Long Covid until you continue to experience symptoms for over 3 months.

You're not at that point yet but I regretfully have to inform you that if the symptoms persist (long covid) light sport activities like taking brisk walks or jogging are the way to get rid of them. Don't overexert youself while you're sick but also don't remain in a sort of 'relieving poisture' forever. I hope you'll feel better soon and that some of the tips helped! Thank you for still organizing polls for us, you're a champ <3

I’m probably not doing Covid recovery right but since I have to work, I have been moving around and lifting stuff and carrying things, probably more than I should be. So hopefully that counts toward light exercise? (I’m still trying to rest whenever possible but unfortunately, as of right now this is not me.)

[howtofightwrite]

Is it possible to punch someone in the face in a way that causes visible damage, but doesn't impair them much in the long term?

It's extremely possible.

Your face is, mostly, a lot of soft tissue positioned directly over bone. This means that blows to the face, even relatively minor ones, are likely to produce disproportionately nasty looking injuries, without inflicting any meaningful impairment.

The first two are bleeding. Either from splitting the skin open, or via bruising. When there is bruising, there's also going to be some swelling (because there's relatively few places for the blood to go), so the victim has extremely visible injuries, which will be painful, but are otherwise mostly cosmetic.

Of course, bleeding from the face will look incredibly bad, whether that's from the nose, a split lip, or from simply from the skin tearing during the punch, but, again, that's going to be mostly cosmetic.

Cuts in the mouth can be a bit worse, but again, this can result in symptoms that look much worse than they are. Normally, if you're coughing up blood, that's an extremely bad situation, however, if someone has punched you in the nose and started a bleed running back down your throat, or if you've bitten your tongue or cheek, you may be literally spitting up blood, without being in serious peril.

Cuts to the cheeks and lips can also be caused by your foe driving the soft tissue into your teeth. This can also result in injuries that have difficulty clotting. The actual blood loss isn't serious, but it can be annoying if you've gotten a gashed lip that refuses to stop leaking blood for hours. (I'm speaking from personal experience here.)

A broken nose is a bit more serious. Not because they're particularly dangerous, but because it's likely to permanently alter the angle of your nose. This will also result in a lot of blood making the injury look worse than it actually is. Again, you're not going to lose a meaningful amount of blood, but it'll look exceptionally bad.

While it's less likely to occur with a punch, cuts to the forehead, even relatively solid gashes, are another cases where it will look far worse than the injury is. Your forehead is one of the most heavily armored portions of your body, and cuts there are likely to cause a lot of visible bleeding, without resulting in a meaningful loss of blood. If your body works the way it's supposed to, bleeding from the forehead should get into your eyebrows and flow around your eye, without obscuring your vision. In practice, you absolutely can get blood in your eyes, depending on your facial structure. I can't really speak to that experience, though I'd be inclined to say it's probably not especially pleasant.

Now, a lot of facial injuries hurt. Your face has a lot of nerve endings, and those are quite happy to report to your brain, when something's just caused it harm. This is especially true of your lips and tongue, as you use those organs extensively to evaluate the safety of the food you consume (even if you don't think about it.) (Chewing off a portion of my own lip to get the bleeding to stop still ranks as one of the most unpleasant bits of field care I've every experienced, and I strongly recommend not seeking out that experience.) So, this isn't without any impairment whatsoever, but in general, these aren't going to be life altering injuries, or even wounds that require weeks to fully recover from. Facial injuries are singularly unpleasant, but they are rarely serious. (Unless we're talking about damage to the eyes, or broken bones. Both of which are unlikely outcomes from punches.)

In a somewhat perverse way, blows to the face is ideal for inflicting injuries that look far worse than they actually are.

-Starke

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[thewitchblue]

You're a deity who is placed in a random universe on a random planet. Bored, you began to meddle in the lives of the heroes. You gave them their sidekicks, which your brother didn't like and killed one of them as a warning to stop. You didn't, in fact, stop, and your brother was punished to be thrown in another world as a human. You were allowed to resurrect little Jason despite the devastation you knew it would cause.

After a long time of boredom, you've joined the Justice League as a tagalong with your true identity hidden. The Justice League considers you a grenade amongst loaded guns, but you were just on the planet as divine punishment for winning a godly game of Uno against your family. You were simply having your fun until the losers cool down and bring you back.

They have not cooled down in over sixty years. You knew they were petty, but damn. Nobody has calmed down? Not even your sweet little sister? Sure, you crushed them at Uno, but why do they still care? Is something wrong in the celestial realm?

You sighed as you tapped your comms to answer the ringing. Superman needs help, and you were the only one stronger than him in terms of powers. You agreed to come help and flew out your door towards the threat.

"You'll have to stay out of my way and do damage control while I take out Darkseid. Get everyone to safety before helping."

Clark was on it while you arrived. You looked at Darkseid with a frown,

"You should really leave this world alone. You're never going to conquer it as long as the Justice League is here."

Darkseid sneered back,

"Well they aren't here. You are. Superman left you all by yourself."

You gave a displeased hum before flying to face him,

"I told him to leave. This is a fight between gods, don't you think?"

That seemed to unsettle Darkseid. He's heard about your hero name, but he hasn't faced another god.

"I'm the creator of magic and one of the protectors of humanity."

You looked almost bored. Nobody is getting to the humanity you helped create. You'd give your eternal life protecting the earth. Darkseid looked uncertain in continuing this battle now. Someone without fear is someone unconquerable.

"As I am the creator of magic, I am also the taker of magic. You are now as useful as a mortal. Can you fight as a mortal?"

Your smile was intimidating and your expression dark. Darkseid expected his usual fight with Superman, and he was close to winning, only to find out he had a grenade hidden in his suit.

You tend to keep to yourself the best you can, often staying to the side and helping Batman with cases or aiding in combat without your magic.

Darkseid was beginning to feel weak now. His strength and magic were being taken from him, sapped away like it never existed. He fell to his knees with a gasp.

You tilted your head as you approached his collapsed body. Well, that was underwhelming.

"Look at you. You're a joke without your magic. I'm unravelling you like a ball of yarn."

Superman floated above you both. He watched with wary eyes, as he lands at your side. Just like that? You have him on his knees without a single fight?

"You fight like a coward."

Darkseid said, but you only gave him a hum of acknowledgement. Clark didn't know how to feel about this uncomfortable knowledge.

"I'm just gloating before I remove you from existence. Any last words?"

Clark looked at you with wide eyes and horror on his face. He said,

"You can't kill him! He's a god!"

You grimaced. You didn't like removing a divine being, but this being will not be missed. You already had a being of evil in your family, so he won't be missed in the scheme of the universe. You flatly replied,

"Call me a god-killer then."

You hated the taste of his magic. You love chaos, but this is just vile. You'd be embarrassed to call him a being of divine magic. Nonetheless, you executed your justice happily.

"You were an embarrassment to the divine realm."

Clark looked nervous about letting you kill Darkseid, but he allowed it. He watched with morbid curiosity as Darkseid withered into nothingness and the very last atom was removed from existence. Clark asked,

"Will he come back?"

You shook your head. Never again will he return.

"My powers hold all things involving magic. Darkseid is a divine magical being that I could unravel without consequences. My brother could easily replace him, minus the conquests. He's content to be the king of Apokolips and I won a game of Sorry (the board game) so he won't extend farther."

Clark frowned. You did not leave your spot on earth, but yet you won a board game? What happened? As if you understood his questions, you explained,

"I can be at multiple places at the same time. I'm here, but I'm also helping with a monsoon in India and having a discussion with the government in Poland."

Clark understood and said,

"Thanks for the help. I didn't know you were a goddess."

You sighed softly. This was your most dreaded conversation. You wielded your intelligence more than your magic, which Batman respects deeply. You were the one helping him on tough cases and helping with his children, who are also the brains of their groups.

"I didn't want anyone to know. It would make you think about me differently."

Clark chuckled and shook his head. He had a knowing gleam in his eyes as he asked,

"Me or Batman?"

He had a teasing smile on his face. He knew you had a crush on Batman. You blushed and looked away. Batman was your guilty crush. Someone you found unobtainable but couldn't help but love. He was so charming when you got close to him, and it left you dizzy every time he gave you a smile. He was so private that even a small smile was worth gold, but he gave you a genuine smile, carefree and charming.

"Oh, hush. I can't let him think I'm omnipotent when I'm not. I aid him with my brain alone, not cheating by splitting myself."

Clark smiles fondly at you. He's going to make you both a couple. The whole League sees it but for some reason, you two can't see it.

"Make sure to invite me to the wedding."

He said with a wink before flying off the help with reconstructing the damage Darkseid did before you handled it.

"We're not going to get married!"

You screamed after him. However, now you were anxious about what Clark will do. You bit your lip nervously.

You found out the hard way that Clark is a romantic and he kept pushing Batman with everything he could think of. He even roped in his children to push him towards starting a relationship.

You were rolling with it, not necessarily reaching out, but also not pulling away. All of the children (except Jason) were pushing and pushing, even Wonder Woman, and both of the Green heroes (Green Arrow and Green Lantern) were in on it.

You were too shy to ask Bruce out, and Bruce was scared of inviting someone into his life. He was afraid to show his dark side and reveal himself. Sure, you are the best coworker he's even had, and you do make him feel human while he's Batman, but what if it fails? Relationships are always rocky with him; granted, you are a saint and the most understanding person on the planet. Part of him wanted to selfishly keep you to himself, but he needed a push to give in. He'll need you to ask him first.

You sighed as Nightwing physically pushed you into Batman with a thumbs up. He quickly scrambled away before you could hit him.

You looked at Bruce for a long moment. He was frozen with his arms wrapped loosely around your waist. He was still steadying you when you gave him a thoughtful expression.

"What's wrong?"

He asked nervously. He was about to let you go, but you stopped him. You eyed him a moment longer before kissing him. You didn't want to think about this any longer. You couldn't stand the constant pestering when you had feelings for him. You took the risk for them both.

He stiffened in your arms but eventually relaxed into the kiss and tentatively pulled you closer. He was overthinking everything the entire time, but this is him as Batman, not playboy Bruce Wayne. He feels vulnerable in a way he hadn't expected. Even with Selina Kyle, he never felt so raw and vulnerable.

You wrapped your arms around his neck loosely while his arms wrapped around your waist much more confidently now. Your embrace made him relax fully.

Your kiss was gentle and sweet. It felt like you were waiting for him to run away. To hide like a scared child.

He did not run. He pulled away from the kisses, but not the embrace. He kept you in his arms, even when you both rolled your eyes when everybody cheered. Clark said,

"I better be at your wedding, Bruce."

You laughed, and Bruce tried not to. You buried your face in his chest with a smile.

"Let's date before getting married."

He said calmly. You gave him another quick kiss. You told him sternly,

"We're dating now. I don't care if it's our hero selves or our civilian selves or even both."

He gave you a smile and it was the most beautiful smile you've seen.

You love Bruce with your entire immortal heart.

[bindibites]

Its done!!! Bunch of rambles and stuff under the cut :) (its long, but I hope you guys enjoy!!!)

-> General Stuff Petra is built like a rectangle with enough muscle to make you experience regret swifter than you may have ever thought you could.

Rips in her clothes aren't super uncommon and she isn't usually super quick to mend them unless its basically ruining the garments. Carabiner. This woman is GAY. If you don't know the full meaning go look for it :) Easy attachment to weapons and tools, Miss Butter is probably akin to a prized possession everything considered; With as much as she's used having mending was a must, but truth be told she's probably about as kitted out as you'd expect end-game diamond gear to be. That sword is never going anywhere if Petra can help it. Especially after the stint with Stella basically stealing her. She has a lot of scars, from a lot of different sources between smaller bumps and scrapes, explosions, enemies... the Wither Storm. Petra's wither sickness in particular was almost deadly, and the damage it'd done to her body never fully went away. The veins in her arm remained discolored around the scar, and the arm is mildly weaker than it would've been pre-withered though through steady use is basically back to being good as new. Petra's lungs also never fully recovered, a mild chronic cough left in its wake, though gets worse whenever Petra is sick and her body is weak again. Speaking of... -> Wither (Sickness) Wither typically enters the body through a physical wound and spreads through the circulatory system. Affecting the blood, it attacks and weakens the inflicteds organs and continues to be spread further by the heart simply doing its job. Variant Two is caused by contact to the Wither Storm (See: What happened to Gabriel.) The wither storm is not the only way to get sick with wither, but is the worst and long lasting. From weakest to strongest: Wither roses - Wither Skeletons - The Wither - Wither Storm. Injuries from all but the Wither Storm will eventually run their course as it doesn't have a consistent source to keep pulling from; thanks to its use of the command block, this does not apply to the Wither Storm. Wither acts similarly to being poisoned, though it acts slower, its side effects and danger are far worse, and dying cannot be ruled out of possibilities even for the weakest source of it. Untreated wither will kill the inflicted if they become too weak before the body can get it out of its system. -> Relationships Generally Petra is very much a provider, she cares intensely for people she's close to and enjoys doing acts of service for them. Her relationships mean a lot to her, and it tends to lead to her putting all of herself into the people she cares about; sometimes for better or for worse. Lukas and Petra have been friends for awhile, well before either of them knew about Jesse and his friends. While not exactly childhood friends, they've known each other long enough to know each other and certainly act the part.

Petra and Stella didn't always have a strained relationship, in fact when they'd first gotten to know each other things were great. Stella respected Petra's capabilities, found her affinity for exploration and her skill in combat to be amazing. Though over time, it became less admiration and more of manipulation, Petra was an easy source of loot Stella both couldn't and didn't want to get on her own... and who better to turn to than the explorer who loved her. Things did not end on good terms between the two, and ended very bitterly given even after Petra gave her another chance she was subjected to getting tricked into doing work all over again. (S2) Petra has a fond admiration towards Olivia, though believing at most that the girl could use a bit more guts and trust in her own abilities; after all she's done things most of the rest of the group couldn't even with all the time in the world! Really a brains and brawn type situation, and the two often bounce off of each other a bit. Olivia appreciates having the company, and someone who even if she doesn't fully understand whats going on is intent to help get the materials to make it possible if need-be, in return Petra has been able to pick up bits of knowledge, the way redstone works at least in its bare minimum and some of the internals of more machinery in Redstonia. ...While the she might never fully utilize that knowledge, it makes Olivia happy to have someone else in the group be attentive and care about what makes her happy. Petra and Jesse have also been very close, though it did take some time for her to warm up to the way Jesse was so... enthusiastic to even be recognized by her sometimes. Though, through everything the two know they can rely on one another to have each others back. Though neither of them could ever see each other romantically, it's still an undeniable how fundamentally close they'd become. It's definitely more than just a friendship, but neither of them could probably concisely tell you anything about their relationship on a level past "Well, we aren't dating..." Even in light of the others having different responsibilities to tend to, Jesse was still there; The adventures didn't have to end, and they didn't, and Petra wasn't alone because of Jesse's willingness to go with her on whatever excursion she needed to, or wanted to. - If you read all of this ur a real one... three thousand wither storms upon you as thanks 💜

[bubblergoespop]

new porter audio rambles <3 (i don't think any of this makes sense it's 6/7am)

okay so, to begin and get this out of the way, i believe neither side of this argument is the right side. and neither side is entirely wrong. the common obsession with one person needing to be entirely right and the other entirely wrong irks me so much.

porter is clearly not innocent here. he speaks to treasure in such a condescending way despite the fact that their main goal is just to HELP. they care for him and, though they're going about it in the wrong way, they're truly trying to help him work through his problems in a healthy way. and the way porter shuts treasure down isn't just mean, it could be damaging. for all we know, porter could create a repeat of early freelancer in treasure with his "your problems aren't as big as mine" mindset that he holds throughout this argument. i can imagine how torturous it is to be in treasure's shoes when all they want to do is help. every attempt they make to help porter in the long term is shut down and i know how draining that can be. i can't stop thinking back to porter's sleep aid audio where the same topic was covered but on a much calmer level. how many times has treasure tried to help porter and how many times has he refused to let them?

that said, treasure is also not free of the blame in this. porter has been repeatedly setting a clear boundary with treasure on topics to do with his house's drama and yet they continue to cross this line and try to get him to talk about it. they start taking offense when he says no and begin lashing out at him, even going so far as to call porter a coward. now, i know it was a heated moment and they didn't originally say it with their full chest but that's so wrong of treasure to say when porter was just establishing that he wasn't ready to talk about his feelings on an apparently life threatening matter. in my opinion, porter had every right to snap back at that. not to mention the hypocritical nature of treasure's side of the argument. saying porter's running from his problems, as if that isn't exactly what treasure did back during the audio in which the pair met.

porter tells treasure "i don't owe you more of me" and that's so interesting to me. because he's right. if he doesn't want to share more, that's his prerogative. and treasure shouldn't be pushing too hard on that when it's clearly upsetting for porter. however, just two audios ago, both porter and treasure agreed that they wanted to expand on their relationship and get to know each other better. i think that's one of the reasons why treasure continues to press so hard in this audio (plus a hc of them being the therapy friend but who doesn't hc that at this point?). treasure tries so hard to get porter to talk because they're under the impression that that's the direction porter wanted their relationship to go. to treasure, porter made it clear that he'd like for their relationship to go further and yet he seems to be making no effort in actually letting down his walls for them. they try and bridge the gap, and porter snaps. god forbid someone wants to help their partner feel better.

oh and the fact that this was the same night as porter's talk with sam is obviously not coincidental. that talk with sam already had emotions bubbling close to the surface in porter and having this discussion with treasure resurface again during that short time window is just another factor that caused this to turn into such a big thing. porter himself was aware of this and even tried to prevent it by telling treasure he wouldn't be good company for the night. this was one of the few times porter tried NOT to cause a fight and it led to one anyway - "every association i have ever cultivated i have turned into ash" :(((

this argument not being resolved is killing me already i don't know if i'll make it to the next treasure and porter audio, i really don't. erik clearly wants me to WITHER AWAYYYYYY AAAARGHHHH!!! whether this is next followed up with more angst or an immediate resolution, i don't care, i just need more asap.

i do wonder if this will be the end of porter's spiral or if he'll continue clashing with his other associations. he's clashed with sam, now treasure. who's next? vincent again? it's possible, considering he's been trying to contact porter. maybe it'll be even william himself next? porter's been expressing doubt when it comes to his servitude of his king - "the person i've used as my compass in this second life has always held the needle pointed firmly back into his own pocket and i've allowed my own fear and desire for any kind of meaning to blind me to even imagining any other alternative."

repeatedly, porter seems to be dramatizing the current situation. from what we know for a fact so far, only three vampires are leaving the solaire house and despite one of them being the prince, the house should still be strong. they've still got their king, his first-born progeny and his right hand man, surely the house would still survive, albeit weakened? regardless, porter says he needs to "save a few dozen lives, if not multiple houses," as well as "i don't need to talk about it, i need to solve it. before people end up dead," and this could either just be porter being dramatic, as he tends to be, or he could be being genuine and there's more to this situation than we know so far.

anyways, hearing a speaker have a talk with his listener and speak with such vitriol in his voice? oh how i've needed this drama and of course it's from these two silly billies.

[cripplecharacters]

hey there! i'm having trouble finding information on laceration scars and what the care routine for them looks like (except for scar removal stuff, eugh). do you know of any good websites with it or tips on how to phrase google searches to get less disfiguremisic results? if it helps, the character i'm trying to figure out got hers while defending herself from a lion.

Hello,

Laceration scars don't usually require long-term care after healing is complete, unlike burn scars. Even when a scar is severe enough to get into muscle and bone, pretty much all of the care required takes place before it completely scars over. Laceration scars aren't usually as complicated as a burn scar or another scar causing a large area of skin to be damaged. It's rare enough that there aren't really internet sources on how to treat it unless you're looking to lighten it, and cases of a laceration scar needing long-term care are usually very wide laceration scars, at least an inch wide, usually wider. Most of the time, a laceration scar won't require care once the scar is fully formed.

The few exceptions are a contracture scar, a scar that tightened, usually at an area like a joint, hand, foot, or face, and a hypertrophic scar, a scar where the healing process went a bit overboard and created a thicker scar. Even with these, treatment is mostly prevention as the wound is healing. Pretty much all treatment that takes place after the scar is formed is a surgical option, like removing the scar and using a skin graft on the wound, specialized ways of reopening the wound, such as a Z-shaped incision that loosens the skin and makes contractures easier to move with, and removal and grafting with a hypertrophic scar. Something you'll see with hypertrophic and keloid scars (keloid is another type of thickened scar) is use of a steroid solution, either injected or applied topically in what's basically a medicated ointment to reduce discomfort and, when paired with surgery, promote correct healing and keep the dysfunctional scar from returning. Steroid treatment can continue for up to two years after it's prescribed depending on the severity of the wound and how it's healing, and then, assuming the dysfunctional scar doesn't return, you're good. After that, you just keep an eye on it to make sure the scar stays normal, but you really don't have to do anything.

This page by Stanford Medicine discusses treatment for contractures, keloids, and hypertrophic scars.

And this page by the American Academy of Dermatology Association discussed treatment for keloid scars a bit more in depth

Keep in mind that both of these sources are for scar removal, because contractures, keloids, and hypertrophic scars are dysfunctional and can cause issues. Sometimes they don't even require treatment. Some of these scars are either not a bother or a minor enough bother that the person who has one doesn't see any need to have surgery over it. But if your character's scar heals right, they won't really need any treatments for the skin.

Mod Aaron

[schizowitchic]

Hey, could you explain the whole NPD devaluing to me? What causes it and what does it look like? (What thoughts do you have etc.)

I’m trying to figure out if that’s what’s going on with me.

finally answering this!! putting it under the cut because it got kind of long

(sidenote before we begin - I don't know if devaluing is the most commonly used term for this experience in the npd community, i know there have been some debates over which terms to use as some originated with people who believe in narc abuse, and I don't know if devaluing is one of them, I know discarding has been renamed but unsure if devaluing also has) (Other sidenote - when I say "you" in this post I mean it in the general sense)

So as I understand it, devaluing in NPD is similar to the concept of splitting in BPD. It comes from that sort of black-and-white thinking common in Cluster B personality disorders, and since a lot of NPD symptoms are based around "worth", such as self-worth, quite a common example of black-and-white thinking towards people in NPD could be something like:

"You are worth everything to me" vs. "You are worth nothing to me",

"You are above me" vs. "You are equal to me" vs. "You are beneath me".

Then the process of devaluing would be something like having Person Y be a close friend, valuing Person Y pretty highly in your eyes - and then Person Y does something you don't like (Most likely something that damages the ego in some way - as NPD is an ego-related disorder) and suddenly Person Y is not equal to you, why would you ever like Person Y, Person Y is worth nothing, etc. etc.

Many things could cause a person to become devalued, it really depends on the presentation of NPD/the relationship itself - for me I often find expressing an opinion I really don't agree with, doing something that affects me negatively, or annoying me often in general will probably trigger thoughts associated with devaluing.

I wouldn't say that devaluing is necessarily permanent - people can go up and down in the sort of hierarchy that I have of them, which would obviously be dependent on what they have done/why I started to devalue them.

Devaluing is sort of a defense mechanism - if someone has been devalued then their opinion is less likely to matter to you (Thoughts such as "why would I care about the opinion of a person so obviously beneath me") and then your ego can't get hurt by that person.

What devaluing looks like would probably be highly dependent on the specific presentation of NPD - whether the thoughts stay internalised, or become externalised through self-destructive behaviour, or are externalised through hostility towards whoever is being devalued.

Devaluing can also lead to what is called "discarding" or "Relationship burn-out", where perhaps the thoughts surrounding a person primarily become negative/you no longer see the person as worth your time/you find you aren't getting enough supply from a person, and you let the relationship go or distance yourself.

To finish up, I would say that obviously, viewing people in a hierarchy based on their worth, and having black-and-white thinking surrounding relationships with people is clearly not healthy, but I tend to focus more on controlling my reaction to those thoughts rather than controlling the thoughts themselves. (e.g. instead of straight away dropping contact with the person, taking some time to reflect on what happened - why did I devalue them, is it salvageable, am I overreacting etc.)

Anyway, I hope this helps you anon, and if anyone has anything else to say please do!! I am not an expert and any input/clarifications are welcome in replies or reblogs!!

[voltaspistol]

Heads up folks, we might be in for Covid 2.0, in a manner of speaking. H5N1 is no joke. It's decimating entire herds of cows, killing tons of cats, and we're seeing mutations similar to what happened with the Spanish Flu. All on the heels of Covid, which has quietly ravaged a lot of our immune systems, not to mention a lot of our mental faculties. The following was copypasta'd from Facebook, from a tipoff from a biologist friend.

>

Sharon Astyk

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The media has finally picked up the fact that we face an near-term bird flu pandemic, and is getting worried. And overwhelmingly, the narrative from popular medical folk on tv (most of whom are long term covid minimizers and got their roles for taking the Biden administration's "covid is nbd" position) and media outlets is "This pandemic will be much worse, it will make covid look like nothing."

And I understand why they are saying this, and I don't want to pick too hard on these folks, even though a lot them deserve it for their enthusiastic encouragement of mass infection and mass disability from a severe vascular pathogen. But they aren't wrong that H5N1 will almost certainly cause a much higher mortality, and that its larger range of animal transmission routes and fomites will create some challenges. But they are fundamentally and deeply wrong that this is really a fully separate, second pandemic. Pandemic two is actually part two or maybe five (depending on how you think about it) of the covid pandemic. And it is yet again covid running the show.

What do I mean? I mean H5N1 has been around for 30+ years, and has been a major concern on the global pandemic landscape forever, right? How could this be a continuation of covid. Well, let me count the ways. There are a lot of them - covid and H5N1 are working together in really important ways.

1. The first one, and one of the most important is something I warned you all about this summer - covid is providing enormous cover for cases of H5N1 to pass undetected in the general population.

This summer I was very (rightly, I fear) worried about the ways in which a massive summer wave, combined with emergent bird flu in farmworkers, and potential community spread might conceal H5N1 and allow it to mutate. When everyone has covid, respiratory and eye symptoms (which covid also causes) can pass undetected.

Moreover, when excess deaths are high, well above the expected rate, small clusters of even deaths are likely to pass undetected, attributed to covid, or other causes exacerbated by the pandemic. The rise in excess deaths from covid related causes, including strokes, heart attacks, brain bleeds, etc... and the chronic over extension of health care systems that often don't test means that we are missing a lot more Flu A cases that might have been bird flu.

How many did we miss? No clue. Remember, we cancelled all the covid reporting, and only have wastewater data right now, so there isn't even a good way to estimate what would be expected FROM COVID in the absence of public health interventions, and establish was was excess. I expect some good data on this in 2026 or 2027, but for now, we are flying blind.

This is really important because the CDC explicitly says that what they are looking for is unusual ER use and clusters of respiratory illness - but in an unchecked respiratory pandemic, that's very hard to identify. Remember, most cases of H5N1 are almost certainly going undetected both among farmworkers (we know there were clusters of farmworker and farmworker family illness that were never tested) and in the community.

2. Covid is an immune damaging illness. Almost everyone in the world has now had covid at least once, and a majority of people in most of the world have had it multiple times (we know this from immune assays, and most people who think they've never had covid are wrong - remember, 40% of infections are asymptomatic, and that's not a good thing, because often asymptomatic infections are a sign your immune system isn't responding appropriately and will not clear the virus.)

We have known since 2020 when China reported immune damaging properties from covid that covid damages Tcell response, and lowers CD8 counts. Eventually, your immune system does seem to recover in many people (not all) after 6-8 months without reinfection. However, most people who are not masking will not have six to eight months without reinfection, and we know that some of the damage is cumulative from multiple infections. Most people who get long covid don't seem to have the same recovery of immune properties.

So yes, covid is why you get sick all the time now. It makes you more vulnerable to other pathogens. And we also have evidence from animal studies that it does cause immune damage in some other species. Do you see where I'm heading with this?

One of the things that immunologists and virologists keep saying is that historically speaking, H5N1 is behaving in ways it has not in the past. For example, the virus has mutated in both wild and domestic cats and several other mammal species to infect mostly the brain, not the respiratory tract - it is now a neurotropic virus. Cats are having seizures, difficulty walking, blindness and death.

Remember, this is a virus that has been around for 30+ years and has infected a number of species before, but has mostly been a problem in industrial agriculture. It has now entered more than 50 mammal species populations, and a much wider range of birds than ever before (small songbirds for example, were previously rarely infected, as were corvids.)

There are birds falling out of the sky dead, seal populations losing more than 90% of their offspring, and we are vaccinating endangered birds so we don't lose them entirely (one of the things that I don't understand is how relaxed everyone was about mass extinction from bird flu - even if it never affected humans.)

Now I am not a virologist or an immunologist, and this is speculation on my part, but the timing matches, and my suspicion is that I'll be shown to be right later, sadly. It was in the autumn of 2021 that we really began to see H5N1 moving into animal populations it had not been in, and showing major changes in its effects in seals, mink, additional speciese of wild birds, and mammals.

What happened in 2020 and 2021 - well, we know that in 2020 and 2021, besides mass infection of HUMANS with the SARS2 virus, we also had widespread infection of wild animal populations. We know it was found in deer, in big cats in zoos, and in many species. And we know that it has immune suppressing and damaging qualities.

So when we ask, "Why is this virus behaving differently, particularly in mammals" we need to recognize that covid, unchecked, spreading through animal reservoirs, may well have affected its impact on those populations, and enabled the virus to spread into mammalian hosts and pick up some of the adaptations needed to infect mammals (btw, we are mammals) widely.

3. Another way this is an extension of our covid pandemic is our social response. The general public believes that we OVER-REACTED to covid. And they don't believe that by accident. That was a concrete, clear and intended message from a wide range of political actors from both parties.

The Republicans pretty consistently believe that we over-reacted to covid PERIOD - that it was an unserious disease that mostly infected people they thought deserved it, and that vaccination, social distancing, masking, etc... was always used for political power grabs.

But the Democrats believe similarly ridiculous things - despite the fact that we've known that long covid is a possible outcome from the very beginning, and that covid is vascular, neurotropic, raises your risk of cardiac and neurological problems, diabetes, autoimmune disease, cancer, cognitive decline, alzheimers, parkinsons, brain damage, kidney failure, hearing loss, eye problems, bone and hip joint problems and is immune damaging like HIV etc... etc... with each infection, they endorsed a "let it rip" position and removed masking in health care, on public transport, while telling people the disease was mild (coined for the omicron variant which was the MOST deadly one we had, look it up.)

By implying that school children were invulnerable because they were short (I'm not kidding) and that kids wouldn't transmit, rather than make schools safer by cleaning air and reducing class sizes, they engaged in a mass infection policy that is deeply damaging to the health of billions. Particularly horrific was the claim that the disease was inevitably mild in children, just because the acute phase was - leading to gaslighting families who couldn't understand why their children weren't the same, and also to reduced vaccination rates in kids, because why vaccinate for a mild illness?

Hospital acquired covid infections have a very high mortality rate, and yet, we removed masking in health care. Imagine saying "everyone should get the HIV virus, to build up immunity to HIV" - and that's pretty much what happened.

In order to explain why people were dying of heart attacks and strokes at younger ages, why cancer was striking younger and more severely, why diabetes rates were spiking, both parties came up with several implausible answers. The first was to leverage anti-vaccine sentiment and blame the vaccine. In order to do so, they had to create some really interesting new ideas, including the idea that you could "shed" the spike protein on to others.

The Democrats ALSO leaned heavily on anti-vaccine sentiment as I've written before - yes, they promoted the covid vaccine, and made ridiculous claims for it, calling those who died a "pandemic of the unvaccinated" even though vaccinated patients made up a majority of all deaths as early as 2021 (and yes, I know more people were vaccinated, but that doesn't change the claim.)

They allowed the anti-vax movement to carry a lot of water in explaining the even though we knew perfectly well that the things they were noticing were caused mostly by covid, they never acknowledged that, implicitly giving credence to the anti-vax movement.

They also came up with immunity debt, whereupon people who stayed home for six months in 2020 had to get really, really sick a lot, even though that doesn't happen to astronauts on space stations or Antarctic researchers because reasons. Immunity debt has been debunked many times, it is not a real concept, and did not exist before we needed an explanation for why covid was not the thing making you sick. I won't bother with it here.

They also claimed educational debt from the period where schools were online (not closed) was the cause of an increasing level of behavioral, health and intellectual problems CAUSED by a neurotropic, brain damaging virus.

Moreover, because they did not want to continue pandemic economic supports (which were good for people - half of American kids came out of poverty, premature births plummeted, an entire variety of flu went extinct, suicides among kids and teens dropped dramatically, wages rose, discretionary income rose, housing access was vastly improved, etc....) we were told over and over that covid was the worst time in our lives until we believed it, and that staying home had been a horror show. Now that does not make 2020 fun, and the casting of social supports back on families was a high cost, but this lie didn't serve families, it served people who wanted to make money.

The problem is that the general public who didn't have time for deep dives because life, BELIEVES all these things, because propaganda works. Which is why vaccination rates overall have tanked, because the anti-vaccine movement is still carrying a ton of the weight of explanation for covid (even though we long since disproved any additional risk), and immunity debt. Which is why people are still blaming the "lockdowns" for the fact their kids are struggling in school, and for food price inflation linked to bird flu and global warming.

SO YOU NOW HAVE A GENERAL AMERICAN PUBLIC WHO BELIEVES THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH ILLNESS IS TO GET SICK AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AND THAT VACCINES ARE DEADLY. They also believe that masks are unnecessary, that public health measures do more harm than good, and were an over reaction. They believe that patriotism and good citizenship consists of going out to brunch and concerts and sporting events unmasked. They believe that teenagers were killing themselves because they couldn't go to school (I truly cannot believe anyone believes that last sentence who has met a teenager.) They believe controlling infection is not only unnecessary but harmful, and that social controls of disease are evil and bad.

So what do you think is going to happen when a high mortality flu pandemic hits the US, and public officials try and tell people that they need to isolate, stay home, reduce exposure, wear masks, take a vaccine and close schools and public venues?

The Democrats and Republicans who promulgated all these insane lies for their own and their rich benefactor's benefit are going to try and overturn them, but the problem is that it isn't as easy to UNTEACH things as it is to teach them. And since they STILL have a huge investment in denying that those things were necessary for covid, they are going to be selling a dual message - covid is cool, but bird flu is bad so mask and vaccinate and stay home for one but not the other - and most people can't tell them apart, because one of the central messages was covid is the same as flu.

Folks, flus, like covid, mutate far too fast to provide a sterilizing vaccine. A sterilizing vaccine is one like measles where you can basically stop the disease entirely by vaccinating enough people (no vaccine is 100% sterilizing so this is a functional category, rather than a precise one.) BTW, we ALWAYS knew that coronaviruses and flus don't provide sterilizing immunity, which is why you sometimes get flu even if you get the flu vaccine. That will not change with an H5N1 vaccine.

Even ignoring the fact that flu vaccines are mostly made in eggs, and that's going to be an issue too - so even if we have a vaccine made rapidly that applies to the strain that is circulating, it will do what the covid vaccine does - reduce severe illness and death in many people. It will NOT prevent you from being infected, and its protection will gradually wane as the virus mutates and changes its structure. And some people will still get severe illness and still die.

Antivirals, too, have limited use and at least one of the mutations that is already showing up in H5N1 reduces its sensitivity to some of the most common ones. So while anti-virals will help, they will not solve the problem or save everyone - even if they are available, and we are likely to have a severe shortage.

Which means that what will be needed are NPIs - Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions like handwashing, surface cleaning, masking, air cleaning, closing crowded venues like schools and theaters, reduced exposure. And those are things we just spent four years demonizing as unnecessary.

4. At the beginning of 2024, H5N1 still needed three mutations in order to be fully human to human transmissible. Two of them showed up during the cow flu segment in both birds and mammals. A third one, one of the things that made the 1918 "Spanish" flu so deadly, E190D, has shown up twice in humans - in both the teen in British Columbia who had severe illness lasting months, and the LA patient who had severe illness as well.

In both cases, the birds they likely contracted it from (in the BC teen, possibly through a pet mammal intermediary) the birds didn't have this mutation, suggesting it emerged in situ in the patients. That's a really concerning thing - twice now, H5N1 has developed the main mutation needed to make it transmissible to humans in a human patient, both with severe illness.

This is a HUGE jump. And an important one. Which makes my point #1 really critical - because we have no idea how many human cases of bird flu there have been/are currently. We know it is extremely hard to get your flu typed, that local labs still can't do it, although Labcorp is reportedly working on it, and that there are certainly undetected cases. IT ONLY TAKES ONE PERSON OR ONE ANIMAL MIXING VESSEL and flus are extremely good at mixing (which is why it is also a concern that several nations seem to be having an extremely severe and atypical flu season, because the severe elements of H5N1 or other potential pandemic flus including H3N3 and various H9s can also recombine with a seasonal flu already adapted to humans and make it more severe and dangerous.)

But what does that have to do with covid? Well, if I'm right about point #2, that the immune damaging factors of covid spreading through wild animal populations may have encouraged H5N1's mutations and mammal host adaptation (and again, I'm only speculating), it is also the case that a huge population of immune damaged HUMANS is now being regularly exposed (we know from wastewater that bird flu is showing up in urban populations with no farms) and that immune damaged people have a hard time fighting off viruses (that's why you get sick all the time again.)

And if your body is slow at clearing a virus, because your immune system isn't working particularly well, you are very likely to find yourself in a situation where you might have more than one virus at the same time (one of the characteristics of the covid era is coinfection with multiple viruses, much more than previously seen), including multiple flu viruses. And your body might allow mutations to occur more easily, because you can't fight it off.

We only know about 60-odd human infections this year, the majority of them in the US among farmworkers. The fact that TWO of them had the E190D mutation, out of 60something is really pretty stunning, since both patients formed it spontaneously. That suggests that something really is going on with human immune systems, and as happens, we know what that is.

The logical conclusion, which I cannot prove, but feel comfortable speculating about here - is that both mammalian mutations and human mutations are made more likely by covid infection related immune damage. That is, the likely reason we are about to have an H5N1 pandemic, and the reason it is going to be really unpleasant, much more than if we hadn't already convinced ourselves that the normal things humans do to stop diseases are all bad, is that we had a covid pandemic - or rather we HAVE a covid pandemic.

That is, we have a single pandemic with multiple sources, about to hit us with its second, much more severe wave. And it is going to be a doozy. If we had chosen to control covid, we might be in a very different place.

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

How does Gallifreyan skin react to burns? I know you answered questions about scars, but burn marks are usually a little bit different. Is it still less prone to scars or are burn marks more severe?

Does Gallifreyan skin react to burns?

Gallifreyan skin is definitely able to burn, and results will vary depending on how long they plan on standing in a fire.

First, it's important to note that if your Gallifreyan has a visible injury, you probably need to err on the side of caution. Like a fortress, their defences are great against minor threats, but firing a cannonball at it might break the wall down and compromise the entire system. This means that minor injuries are likely rare; if a Gallifreyan is injured, they're more likely than not to need urgent care, no matter how much they might protest 'tis but a scratch'.

🔥 Classifications of Burns

Burns are classified into three main categories: first-degree, second-degree, and third-degree burns. Each type affects the skin differently and needs varying levels of care.

😟 First-Degree Burns

These burns affect only the outermost layer of the skin, (the epidermis). Symptoms include redness, mild swelling, and pain.

Gallifreyan skin is more resistant than human skin, so it can withstand higher heat for longer before enduring a visible injury, making first-degree burns a bit rare (but possible). If they do get them, they heal faster than humans and with no long-term effects. The immune system's efficiency will ensure that these burns heal without leaving anything visible behind.

😲 Second-Degree Burns

These burns penetrate the dermis, causing blisters, severe pain, and swelling.

If the dermis is breached, Gallifreyans are definitely at risk of infection. However, their upgraded immune system usually manages these infections without any problems, of course (though not always). The healing process will be faster than in humans, though scarring is possible, especially if the burn is particularly extensive.

🤬 Third-Degree Burns

These are the most gnarly, penetrating through the dermis to affect deeper tissues. The skin may appear white, blackened, or charred, and the nerve damage can result in numbness.

For Gallifreyans, third-degree burns are as serious as they are in humans. Their natural advanced healing might allow for some regeneration of damaged tissue, but without treatment, there will be permanent damage to that body, or it could even be fatal.

🩹 Healing Process

First and Second-Degree Burns: The healing process in Gallifreyans involves rapid cell regeneration and immune response to prevent infections. Their skin's resilience really reduces the likelihood of first-degree burns from occurring at all, and second-degree burns will mostly clear up without much hassle, with maybe a telltale scar if the dermis is significantly damaged.

Third-Degree Burns: These burns are pretty gnarly and may overwhelm the body's natural healing processes and defences. In these cases, medical intervention using advanced Gallifreyan technology would be essential. Full regeneration is a last resort, used only when the burns are extensive enough to endanger their life.

🏫 So ...

Gallifreyan skin reacts to burns similarly to human skin but with a greater capacity for healing and resistance. First-degree burns aren't so much a thing, and second-degree burns probably heal well with minimal scarring. Third-degree burns, however, are severe and may prompt a regeneration if they threaten the Gallifreyan's life.

Related:

Do Time Lords get scars?: If and how Gallifreyans scar from trauma, and their skin’s healing mechanisms.

How can Gallifreyans manage pain/chronic pain?: Overview of natural and medicinal aids to pain.

Do Time Lords have the same skin and hair cycles as humans?: How skin and hair growth occur in Gallifreyans.

Hope that helped! 😃

More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[grimrester]

i lied! i did big fibs, i have more to say about the watcher situation after all. some assorted thoughts:

1. i'm a little surprised at just how big the rift is in the fandom post-apology. if i go into the tag, it literally alternates between "you guys are twisted sickos for bullying them into walking back the new platform" and "you guys are major chumps for accepting the apology and my trust is permanently damaged." this is a fandom that previously seemed pretty monolithic to me as an outsider, so i wonder if this will have long term implications for the sustainability of their fandom.

2. they said there'd be a "free subscription" to the platform for patreon supporters. makes sense, since their patreon tiers are mostly more expensive than the watchertv sub. this was presented as an indefinite sub dependent on continuing to pay their patreon, but patrons are receiving emails saying the sub is actually only for 3 free months. i'm like 90% sure this is the same kind of situation where they encouraged password sharing even though the platform doesn't enable it. they once again just seem to not fucking know what the vimeo ott platform they're using is capable of doing. they have to stop making statements like this until they get a better understanding of it because it's continuing to make them look bad.

3. there are multiple reports on reddit that at least ryan and sara (shane's spouse) are deleting comments on their instagram. look, i get it, some of the things people are saying are downright vile. the pointed targeting of steven and the borderline fanfic-writing quality of some of the theories about what went down interpersonally on the team during this decision is fucking weird at best and racist/invasive at worst. furthermore, i dont think making comments on personal instagrams is a good way to be heard. but on the other hand, controlling what people say on your platform right after you made a "we hear you" statement is really bad optics. obviously i think they have a right to delete anything that's outright bigoted, but it seems like they're deleting anything decidedly negative.

4. some of the comments getting deleted are about potential "fake" or "plant" patrons trying to skew the narrative positively on the watcher patreon. i frankly think this is unfounded conspiracy shit until i see substantial proof, but deleting these comments in particular without responding can cause some straight up streisand effect. this can really quickly start snowballing if they make it look like they don't want anyone talking about it. overall i just don't know if they understand just how much they're under the microscope right now. i didn't have to search very much to dig this stuff up - people are watching and documenting them. i think the variety article revealing they did initially intend to remove their backlog and them trying to pretend they didn't walk that back has caused a lot of people to hyper-inspect their every move. they're already in the youtube drama content cycle, and they risk someone making a blowout exposé if they aren't careful.

[missvelvetsstuff]

With Friends Like You, Who Needs Enemies?

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Reader is a mutant with the ability to turn sound into light who was 'adopted' aka stolen as a child by Baron Von Strucker to use for experimentation. She was given a form of the Super soldier serum so in addition to her mutant abilities she also has super strength, enhanced senses and healing. When he starts experimenting on his volunteers, the Maximoff twins, she tries to convince them to escape with her but they tell the Baron that she's planning to escape so he doubles her cell security. Steve and reader met when the team recovered Loki's scepter from Strucker.

She falls in love with Steve and becomes good friends with Nat but they aren't the friends she thinks they are.

This story is canon adjacent except that Thanos never happened.

Chapter 11

Warnings: swearing, angst, injuries

Notes: I'm totally obsessed with another story and have had a rough time writing because I'm too distracted. Sorry it took so long and I hope it's not terrible.

****READ 'Unwanted' by @scoonsalicious So good, seriously****

As Rainbow was wheeled away Bucky followed until Wanda stopped him. He flashed her a dirty look and tried to keep going.

Wanda stood her ground "I know you're worried Bucky, we all are but she will be in surgery for a bit so you need to shower and eat." She gently pulled him towards the residential wing "I'll whip up something for us to eat while you clean up. Then we'll go wait together." She looked at him with a soft smile and nodded.

Bucky sighed and nodded before going to his room, rushing through a shower and throwing on some sweats and a t-shirt. When he entered the kitchen, Wanda was already filling a bowl with stew and setting two warm biscuits on the side. He sat at the table with Sam and Tony, all eating without a word or even looking at each other as they tried to process what happened. Clint had gone home to Laura and his family, to mourn his friend and the woman he thought she was.

Helen Cho and Bruce were racing to repair the damage from the knife that Nat shoved into Rainbows gut. The knife was long, wide and serrated on one side so did more damage coming out than going in. Rainbow died again on the operating table and needed 2 pints of blood.

Once she wasn't bleeding out anymore Helen worked on the multiple cuts all over her face and body. Then she transferred Rainbow to the cradle to help her body heal itself.

It had been a few hours since they landed, everyone had eaten and most of the team was in the waiting area outside of the med bay when Helen came out with an update. All eyes turned to her.

Helen tried to smile reassuringly "Y/N is stable and has been moved to the cradle to help accelerate her healing. We had to remove her appendix and some of her large intestine but not enough to cause any long term problems. One of her ovaries was nicked and I tried but couldn't save it. That will affect her future fertility. We will have to see how she heals since she was given a version of super soldier serum. She will be unable to do any strenuous activity for at least a month. The first week or two will be on bed rest and a soft diet so someone will have to play nursemaid."

Everyone, including Helen, looked at Bucky who blushed and shrugged "Obviously I'm gonna take care of her, no question." He looked up at Helen "Can I see her?"

Helen nodded "Just for a few minutes until she is out of the cradle."

Bucky went to see her and he was glad to see that her color was improving. "I can't stay for long doll but I'll come see you when you can leave the cradle. I'll be in the waiting room, if you need anything."

He stared at her for a few minutes, his heart aching at the thought of how close he came to losing her.

Bucky went back to sit in the waiting room, just staring at the wall until Friday spoke up "Mr Stark? Captain Rogers is asking for you and threatening to tear his door off. Shall I tell him you're unavailable?"

Tony sighed and shook his head "No, I'll go talk to him. This oughta be fun."

Sam quickly stood, "I'll go with you." He patted Bucky's shoulder on their way out reassuring him "We got this."

When they arrived at Steve's room he could be heard yelling but they couldn't understand what he was saying.

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose "Alright Friday, open up."

As soon as the door opened Steve tried to push his way past Tony and Sam who pushed him back into the room.

Steve was obviously pissed "What the fuck Tony? You hit me with a tranq dart and lock me in here for 2 days? What's going on? Did you find them? Is Natasha alright? I mean did she hurt Y/N?"

Tony scoffed "Don't be such a drama queen Capsicle, first it's barely been 24 hours. Second, it's telling that you asked about Nat first. We found them, Y/N is alive and out of surgery but will take awhile to heal. Nat is gone."

Steve tried to rein his temper in "What do you mean Nat's gone? Did she get away from you?" He almost sounded hopeful.

"Gone as in never coming back. She's dead and I can't bring myself to feel sad about it."

Steves eyes narrowed and "You killed her? What the fuck happened, Tony? How could you do that to her?"

Tony sighed "I didn't personally kill her but after what she did to Y/N and the absolute lack of remorse for the damage she caused the team, there wasn't much choice. Having her in the wind and able to come back and cause more trouble didn't seem like a great option."

Steve laughed sadly "Of course it wasn't you, you don't have the nerve to do something like that. Bucky did it, didn't he?" He clenched his fists.

Tony shrugged "Doesn't really matter at this point. She's gone and won't be back. Now we need to focus on Rainbow, she has a lot of healing to do."

Steve nodded "I'll go down to see her and-"

Sam shook his head "No, man, that's not happening. You need to leave her alone, you've already caused her enough trauma."

Tony nodded "Friday, please allow Rogers access to his room, the gym and the common area but absolutely not the med bay or Rainbows room."

"Of course Mr Stark."

Steve glared at both of them "You can't keep me away from her forever."

Tony smirked "Not forever, just until she's healed enough to join the discussion about your status in the team. Hopefully in a week or two."

"My status with the team? You gonna try to boot me too? I'll talk to Fury. I'm not going anywhere."

"Sure Cap. We'll see what the team decides."

Steve grumbled and went back into his room to sulk and plot. He spent the next few days stewing and working out, trying to find the angle to keep his place on the Avengers.

Rainbow was transferred from the cradle to a regular bed later that day and Bucky didn't leave her side, anxiously waiting for her to wake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N felt herself being dragged awake, like being pulled out of molasses, heard a beeping sound and smelled bleach. She felt lingering pain in her stomach and groaned before realizing that someone was holding her hand. She squeezed the hand and tried to speak which made her cough. She tried to open her eyes but it was too bright.

Then she heard him "Rainbow? Doll? Are you awake honey?"

She nodded and opened her eyes, squinting immediately "mmhhmm."

Everything was still fuzzy when she saw a blur with brown hair in front of her. She blinked a few times until she could see his ocean blue eyes looking her over.

Trying to ask for a drink made her cough again.

Bucky sat up and offered a straw for her to drink from. "Easy sweetheart, just sip so you don't shock your system."

Rainbow drank most of the water before trying to speak again, she looked him over carefully, noticing the tears in his eyes "Are you ok, Jamie?"

She closed her eyes as her head throbbed "I don't, I can't I....what happened?? I remember dancing and then. I was floating? Then pain."

Bucky squeezed her hands and chuckled softly "You've been out for almost a week and are worried about me? I'm just happy you're ok, you scared the Hell outta me doll. We almost lost you."

His voice choked.

Rainbow reached out to caress his cheek, feeling butterflies from how his eyes closed and he leaned into her touch.

"I'm ok I think. Still hurt in my belly. And my face feels tight." She paused to touch her face gently, there were multiple healing cuts "What happened? I really don't remember."

Bucky sighed "Dr Cho will be here in a minute. She can tell you the details but the short story is Nat kidnapped and tortured you, we saved you."

"What about Nat?" She asked quietly.

Bucky rubbed her hand "You don't have to worry about her any more."

Rainbows brow furrowed "What do you mean by that? Buck-"

Helen Cho entered the room "Hello Y/N, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

Y/N shrugged "Apparently like I was tortured by a crazy Russian assassin."

Helen chuckled "That's a fair assessment. What do you remember?"

"Nothing really. Dancing, floating, pain."

Helen nodded "Yes. You were drugged at the gala and she took you away to torture you. I've been told there were no demands made, she just wanted to hurt you. She pulled all your nails, made a number of incisions and impaled a large hunting knife into your torso."

Rainbow paled a little as a hazy image of Nat standing over her wondering if Bucky would still like her damaged, flashed behind her eyes. She felt her mind and her heart speed up, she started hyperventilating until Bucky soothed her "Rainbow, hey it's your Jamie. doll you're ok. It's all over and your safe back at the compound. I've got you. Just breathe with me."

Rainbow latched onto his voice and let it flow thru and calm her.

Helen made a note in her chart "I'm going to refer you for counseling, going through something like this can cause PTSD. We need to be sure you're ok before returning to active duty.

As far as the physical damage, your nails will grow back fine, the cuts on your face should heal without scarring. Your abdomen was a little more difficult but you're healing very well. The only really long term damage was the ovary that was nicked. I couldn't repair it and had to remove it. Now, you still have one left so should still be able to have kids if you want but it will be a little more difficult."

Rainbow sat quietly and took it all in, feeling overwhelmed.

Helen tried to reassure her "I know it seems like a lot but we'll take one step at a time and you'll be out chasing bad guys before you know it." She smiled at Bucky "You're lucky to have a very attentive and dedicated nurse."

Bucky blushed "Only right for a man to take care of his best girl."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few weeks had passed since Rainbow woke up and she was back in her own room one morning when Tony came in to talk to her. "Looking good kid, I hear you're healing faster than expected.

Rainbow smiled "Well I have a top notch doctor, a very attentive nurse and the best health coverage in town."

Tony chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck "I hate to interrupt all the laying around and being waited on hand and foot but we need to have a team meeting to discuss Rogers. You're part of the team and the one most affected by his actions so we'd really like your input."

He looked at her hopefully.

She smiled "I knew we would need to deal with that whole thing eventually and it's not like I'm busy so just say when."

Tony smiled "Atta girl. Is lunch today ok? He won't be joining us until a decision is made."

She sighed "Sure, I just need to get cleaned up. What's for lunch?"

"Anything you want, doll." Bucky tossed out as he walked into her room, really it was their room but he still had his room even though he never slept there.

Tony glared at Bucky but it was a softer glare than he used to give the super soldier "No tinman, we're having a lunch/team meeting to discuss the status of your buddy as an Avenger. So let your girl take a shower and we'll see you in the dining room." Tony quickly left, calling Pepper to have her order lunch.

Bucky went to help Rainbow stand up, she took the hand offered with soft protests "Bucky, I'm almost better you don't need to wait on me hand and foot any more."

He pulled her up and close to him, kissing her softly before responding "Yeah but what if I want to wait on you hand and foot? What if I want my hands on you all the time? What if I want my hands, and my mouth, on every part of you all the time? Then what do we do doll?"

His eyes turned stormy.

Rainbow felt her face heat up and hoped Bucky didn't notice. "I seem to recall promises of a proper date and romancing." She flirted "We will have to find a way to accommodate you but let's get this meeting over with."

Bucky smiled "As you wish, muya lobov."

@vicmc624

Chapter 12

[darklovecat]

My Pouty Sans-Juvederm Routine

I am fond of pouty lips and I personally prefer mine to be juicy, lips are a symbol of femininity and beauty and allure, and I love nothing more than covering my lips in heavy coats of plumping lip gloss before stepping out and there's no way I could leave the house without applying a very light layer of of capsaicin ointment (common vasodilator used in lip plumpers) or my trusted and all-time favorite Lip Plumper.

I have created a routine for myself to for enhancing the shape and color of my lips and I use this routine pre-makeup or on its own for an extra boost of volume while maintaining a natural and subtle look. The results are natural and I'd recommend them for obvious short term and subtle long term results, I use this routine weekly and it works for me.

As always, this is what worked for me and it's what I do, I would recommend you do your own research and make sure you know what you are doing and it's appropriate for your individual needs before following these steps, it's one of my ways for when I need to enhance my lips and accentuate their shape and color.

I prep my lips with a focus on hydration.

For starters, you need a very smooth and moisturized surface, this won't work with chapped or dry lips. You want to prevent any damage, the skin of our lips are very delicate and the thinnest part of our bodies so make sure your lips are properly hydrated. To physically exfoliate your lips, you can easily make your own peeling at home with honey and sugar to slough off all of the dead skin, and I also use a toothbrush to gently remove dead skin cells. My lips are always soft because I have incorporated more hydrating products into my daily regimen and before I go to bed I make sure that my lips are properly moisturized for an extra boost of hydration and improved texture so that I can wake up in the morning and do my makeup on smooth canvas. I always keep a spray bottle with water handy and use it before I apply any hydrating products on my skin or lips, it has worked wonders for me as I feel it activates and helps my lips better absorb the products and pull the moisture from the water. I spritz my lips with water and hydrate them by applying a very generous amount of hyaluronic acid and/or glycerin serum and really massaging them all over my lips to provide deep hydration.

I dermaroll my lips.

I have been using dermarollers for several years now for various purposes, and I have noticed excellent results. I know that dermarollers have sparked some controversy and people have raised concerns about their safety, fretting about how they could cause infections or permanent damage to the skin. I would never use one on my facial skin and would strongly advise leaving that to a professional, but I particularly enjoy using them on my lips and or for doing my microneedling treatments. Prior to use, I ensure that my dermaroller is free of bacteria by disinfecting it. Never skip this step as you want to keep it free from germs so sterilize before each use to prevent infections. I always use the smallest needle size possible, which in this case is 0.25, and I think it is way more gentle on the lips and less irritating compared to bigger sizes. The principle behind dermarolling your lips is that micro-tears are created on the lips or skin during the process, which triggers the body's natural healing response and produces more collagen. I roll my dermaroller over my lips both horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. My lips are not that sensitive to the dermaroller since the needles are tiny and I try to be as gentle as I can.

I slather some more hydrating serums and lock it all in.

My lips become slightly red after I am done with the dermarolling, I'm used to this whole process and the needle size is rather small so my lips aren't that sensitive anymore. I want to encourage and speed up the growth and healing response, the post-care routine is equally important as the actual steps so in order to promote faster healing and encourage growth, I generously apply hyaluronic acid serum once again. Then, I use an occlusive like La Neige Lip Sleeping Mask or good old Vaseline to seal in the serum in order to speed up and facilitate the healing response.

I Follow My Lip Care Regimen.

Dermarolling my lips has worked wonders in making my lips appear fuller and I increase blood flow to my lips with my lipcare regimen that consists of regular massages, exercises, special ointments, physical exfoliation, SPF lip balms, diluted essential oils and icing just to increase circulation, stimulate the blood flow to my lips and protect them from environmental factors. This routine in combination with a separate lip makeup routine makes my lips get that red plump bee stung look that I so love.

Cat.

[unnervinglyferal]

Re: your question about things being split, the first child will still suffer because she’s been used to having the undivided attention of both parents at will up until this point, and will not be able to understand why one parent is suddenly constantly occupied despite her requesting their attention. That undivided attention from both parents is incredibly important for a child at that age in order to ensure healthy development, and having a sibling even in the most ideal of contexts results in some degree of abandonment trauma for the first-born (this is where sibling rivalry comes from, even in the most well-adjusted children).

The younger that happens the more damaging it is, since an infant can’t process it well; if a sibling arrives when the child is older than 5 and able to understand that yes, there is a new child in the house, but they’re still loved immensely and not being replaced, and can find a new role in being the eldest sibling and helping care for the baby instead of being sidelined, that trauma can at least be mitigated. It’s hardwired biology at the end of the day; more kids for a couple means less resources for their existing children, which means a decreased chance of survival for each child, which then produces some degree of trauma and attachment anxiety.

I know it’s none of my business, but I really would implore you and your gf to reconsider this. From a child development standpoint it isn’t the correct thing to do to give a kid a sibling this early, and I worry for the long-term negative effects it could have on Stinkbug going forward, as well as upon her sibling. Again, not my business, but as someone who counsels severely disturbed children for a living, I have seen *so* much lifelong, preventable pain caused to people through their parents not making decisions with the child’s best interests in mind.

And Stinkbug probably already having separation anxiety and abandonment issues from spending her first night in the hospital for being a bit premature. Me and my sister had the same age difference as the babies would have now, and she fucking hated me her entire life and probably still wishes I was dead.

Sometimes the hard choices aren't about not knowing what the right choice is. Nobody warned me about the choices where you know what the right choice is, but you just really, really, really don't fucking want to.

[sadlittleratboy]

People don't like hearing this but as much as "mental health is not your fault, but it is your responsibility" is true and should be considered, it's also a way of thinking that can cause a lot of damage.

I'm a qualified mental health professional, and I'm also mentally ill myself. Sometimes, I would even say most often, people expect a level of responsibility that just isn't feasible. When you're manic you are out of control. People with DID can't control their switching or alters. People with psychosis cannot control hallucinations and delusions.

We'll get on meds, you say. You aren't exactly wrong, but do you realize how easy it is for people to fall through the cracks? Mental illness can look like drug use (and can come along with drug use and be dismissed for that reason). Healthcare can be expensive and not available to everyone, but most importantly, many people in deep mental illness believe they're fine. They think they don't need meds, or aren't mentally ill. The whole thing about delusions is that YOU BELIEVE THEM.

Imagine this. Someone tells you that an inherent part of your reality is not the same as 99% of the population's reality. This is just as real and inherent to you as the color of the sky or the way gravity works. A client once explained to me the first time they saw the angels they believed sent them radio signals. This was my client's baseline, but we'll get to that idea later. The details were vivid, like they were describing a nature walk. It was so real, because to them it was. It happened. They saw it. They felt it. If I were in that position, I would have believed it too. How do you challenge that? It's hard. People don't understand and they give up.

Now, back to baseline. A person's baseline is how they function when they are "well". Baseline is your peak performance. For most people, the baseline is to not be mentally ill, and this is the baseline a lot of people strive to achieve. What people don't get is that sometimes your baseline is not the average, your most well is considered faulty. My mania makes me out of control, but medicated my baseline is asymptomatic. I have a coworker whose baseline still involves symptoms, but they're manageable! Often times when treating a mental health condition the doctor's goal is as close to the average baseline as one can get, and for some people as close as they can get is still pretty fucking far. My client changed meds several times, but they never stopped believing in the angels or getting the transmissions. There was symptom improvement on some meds, their baseline was not the same as being unmedicated, but delusions and hallucinations were their normal. I had a client that believed they were the queen of Scotland. Fully medicated, happy as a clam, they would tell me every week that their rich uncle was coming to pick them up this week and take them back to Scotland. We live in bumfuck West Texas US of A. Those clients never stopped being delusional, we just found long term safe and happy solutions for them.

So yes. Mental illness is often your responsibility, but responsibility does not always look like the perfect conflict free ideal. It was my responsibility to apologize for my manic behavior, but I couldn't do that while manic. I couldn't control my rage or my impulses. I was being responsible and seeking help, but that takes time. The only way I could be responsible was to apologize a full month later when I was depressed. Luckily the people in my life were understanding. I put them through hell for sure, but the occasional hell I put them through was nothing like the hell I lived in. Many people take responsibility through apology and explanation because that's all they have.

And for when someone is genuinely incapable of changing, when they cannot comprehend that there is responsibility to take, their mental illness becomes OUR responsibility. We cannot function as a society if we don't take care of each other. You cannot ask somebody permanently wheelchair bound to stand up. You can't ask somebody whose blind to describe the scenery. You can't expect someone with a severe mental illness to not affect the world around them with their symptoms. It's not easy and it's not fair, and the burden should be on the system much more than us as individuals (and yes, the system is broken, some people cannot and will not get the help and care necessary), but empathy and understanding go a long way in this world.

Mental illness is never their fault, and empathy is our responsibility, and before you start in about the parent or friend or ex that used their depression or whatever to manipulate and abuse you, refusing meds or help and the like, this is not about that. You need to be open to the nuance of the world. People need to take responsibility for their actions to the best of their abilities, but sometimes there is no ability to get the best of. These two things can exist at the same time, and they MUST exist at the same time for society to function.

[corinne-eaglebridge-sso]

Some ghost AU stuff - Athena

Now that "there's blood on the side of the mountain" is released, here are some things I couldn't fit in in a natural way.

Athena does not know the identity of her killer. Both in that she did not see them, but also in that she did not truly know anyone on the trail that day.

The motive behind her death can be found in the text of "There's blood on the side of the mountain", but it is not explicitly stated, and might require some theorizing and extrapolation.

In true crime circles, Athena is known as Red String Jane Doe/Red Ribbon Jane Doe. Her cause of death is clear - having fallen off the cliff. Officially, it was registered as an accidental death, but there is heavy discussion in true crime circles about whether this was something more sinister, especially since one of the few things known about her is that she was seemingly an experienced rider. Her case is old and there is a very low chance of her ever being identified.

The following features were able to be identified: female, dark red or brown hair in twin braids, lightskinned (presumed white), slender (all these were corroborated by witnesses, though most only saw her in the light of a campfire). No jewelry, what clothes were found were torn and likely cotton, but most is suspected to have decomposed before she was found. Helmet, boots and tack were all from manufacturers who sold widely across south-west Jorvik, but were seemingly well cared for and from a really good brand. Due to damage to the body, no distinctive facial- or bodily features could be identified. The contents of her saddlebag were likely raided by animals before her body was found.

Athena herself was reported missing, but this was a time where procedures around such things were pretty worthless - not that they aren't still pretty worthless today. The Red String Jane Doe case and the Athena missing person case (or runaway case, as the cops insisted it was) were never connected, especially since Athena lived in the Silverglade region, not in the Firgrove region.

Paladin also died alongside Athena, as they both fell. He was never identified either - he died long before microchips became a common thing.

The tradition of embroidering your red ribbon with your name started the year after Athena's death as a way to identify people in case something happened to them, though this origin is not as well known in the modern day. Trail leaders/organizers will actively check everyone's ribbon before the start the Trail, and if your ribbon does not have your name, you will be turned back. Many people now register for the Trail in advance, and also receive their ribbon beforehand, then embroider it themselves or pay for someone to do it for them. Some people like getting creative with it, but the name always has to be readable. It is also recommended to not participate in the Trail alone, and to let outside people know that you are going to participate and when.

There have been no deaths on the Trail outside of Athena.

The cliff she fell down was the one facing Valedale Lake.

In terms of the timeline/death order of the currently released origins, Athena died after Feya.

[destinyc1020]

What saddens me the most on this topic, is why are we putting everything constantly on Tom's shoulders?? So what he didn't repost. That young man is being pulled constantly in a thousand directions. His dog just died, he's trying to support Zendaya's movie, he's working, he's expected to help his family and friends with there dreams, he's not been allowed to grieve properly. He's even helping his moms charity by using his name solely to get donations. This is nuts.

Why are we expecting celebrities to say something regardless on there platform?. I just told someone earlier this is a test against not only him, but his relationship, a little bit. He and Zendaya may be deeply in love, but people will turn this around and come after her for being with him if this continues. People don't believe me, but it is true. Because it can affect her career and zendaya overthinks, and possible choices may need to be made. I can tell you right now, that young man would rather break off the relationship than to see her career suffer damage because he knows how hard she has worked for this that he would let it go. I see absolutely nothing wrong with being apolitical. I don't want celebrities speaking for me. I couldn't care less about what they have to say if we are dealing with real world issues. People have been hating on him since he was in school. Enough is enough. And Francesca is not a kid, speak the hell up and tell people that she is being supported as well. If she is. I mean what is he personally supposed to do. Get her a mental health counselor. People aren't going to listen to him. They hate him for being with Zendaya and just being alive, basically.

If I were him, leave the damn play, put a black Romeo in there and let them do it without him. Support everyone from the audience. Give the money back, and just finish off Spiderman with a huge contract. Yes, people want to see him but, no. Get the attention completely off him and put in Daniel Kaaluya and keep.it moving. People have been consistently cruel to this young man for zero good reasons for YEARS NOW since 2016 and before. NOT MONTHS, YEARS. Who cares if he supports zendaya by likes. He liked Francescas stuff as well.

People are going to cause him to remove himself sooner than later from public life. Anything that is positive in the world doesn't have a chance. Look how they jumped on Zendaya over a damn seat at a fashion show regarding Law and were just cruel as ever. She gets it in doses, he gets in every time. From his looks, height, hair, etc.

Fuck racist. But, people should be calling on Elon Musk more so than anything to make this shit stop.

I think I'm going the same way as the other anon. It's not fun anymore. Tooo much negativity towards one person. ALL THE TIME IS INSANE. No racists can remove me,but I will support Tom and Zendaya by going to the movies and watching my TV.

I realized recently...I can imagine Tom and Zendaya hate that their relationship is public. The constant beat downs take there toll. People will lift her on a pedestal and slam him daily or vice versa depending on the topic. They don't care about him. Only if he's a good boyfriend or not.

I always wonder where are his publicist, and why don't they get ahead of shit before it gets to this??? What is he paying for? They sure don't do much to keep him in a positive light I know that much, EVER.

Thanks for letting me rant.

Okay Girl.... I need you to take some deeeeep breaths in and out for me....

Maybe you're just ranting and letting off some steam, but nothing you mentioned is going to happen. This isn't going to affect Tom and Zendaya's relationship, they're not going to quit the play, and I don't think TZ regret anything about their relationship....not even being public. (If you ask me, hiding profusely was stifling and not conducive for a long-term relationship of two massive celebrities in the public eye imo)

I personally don't need for celebrities to speak out on political issues on social media either (especially if they haven't done their research and don't know what they're talking about), but to try and pretend that people aren't going to have ANY reactions/thoughts/feelings about what's going on in the world when they live in the same country, or earth that we live on is just naive imo.

Also, not ALL celebrities were born rich. In fact, MANY were just regular degular working-class citizens like you and me. So to say that some are "out of touch".... Like, how do you know that? How do you know what types of lives some people have had before they became famous? Just saying.... Some have had worse lives than I have even had before they got famous lol. Just saying lol.

Anyway.... I think it's good for you all to take a long break from Twitter (or maybe even all of social media) for a while. Either that, or just limit what you choose to look at. If you see that there's something negative on there, immediately click OUT of tweet, quickly scroll away, or go search something else.