#and specifically for people with lower immune systems

[petite-anni]

How can I loose weight?

I got you.

💗weightloss, diets and healthy habits💗

1. healthy habits

before we start, you want longterm process. So form habits. Become disciplined.

No crash-diet means no jojo-effect. No crash-diet means actual progress that doesnt go to waste.

2. diet

No matter how much you move, if your diet is not sitting right, you wont slim down. Over time you have to include healthy and nutritious options into your diet.

~small bowl of veggies, before breakfast

(such as cucumber, bell pepper, carotts, tomatos. That way your bloodsugar levels wont come crushing down midday)

~breakfast should include something that keeps you full. Dont skip it. People who eat breakfast tend to loose more weight and be slimmer.

(Porride, Eggs, Avocado, etc)

I usually include: Oatmeal, Chia sees, Berries and one Banana

~try not to snack, keep going for three meals a day

~eat whole foods, eat clean and make sure to dont neglect your protein-intake

(protein keeps us full and satisfied. Also, you want to loose fat, not muscle)

~cut out sodas and liquid calories!!!

such a waste. go for the light options with 0-2kcal. They taste the same, if not better.

Also, drink enough water.

3. workout

Normally, I work out every day in some way.

Cardio, strenght, pilates or just a walk outside.

Moving your body, keeping it toned and flexible, helps your mood, your health and your overall life.

On top, it burns calories.

Build some muscle and loose some fat. Thats how you get your dream body.

Here are my favorite channels, that I workout to daily:

MIZI (cardio mainly, full body workouts and burning calories)

Lidia Mera (pilates full body, toning and strenghtenig, legs, arms, abs)

Shirlyn Kim (specific parts, weightloss, strenghtening/toning,thigh gap)

Yuuka Sagawa (posture, arms and upper body)

Nina Dapper (arms, legs and abs)

4. Beauty Secrets

~ginger/curcuma shots

I tend to have ginger shots to boost my immune system and overall health. They are also very good for your skin and can give you a natural glow.

~probiotics

Your gut health is a game changer. You get less break outs and you can loose weight faster.

You can heal your gut through your diet and order some probiotics.

~castor oil

I live and breath castor oil.

Usually I apply it before bed on my lashes, hair and skin. It helps with hair growth, skin protection and hydration. Its also very good for debloating and detox, if you put it into your belly button.

~green tea

This magic tea can help you loose weigtt, reduce the risk of several diseases, such as diabetes or heart disease,

It reduces anxiety and lowers your cholesterol level.

[wheelie-sick]

What is immunocompromisation?

Being immunocompromised means you have a weaker immune system than most people. There are two main ways people become immunocompromised

1. Medical Conditions

Certain medical conditions cause your immune system to be weaker. Some examples include:

Immunodeficiencies- A category of conditions causing a lower number of or lower efficacy of immune cells. This category is divided into two subcategories: primary immunodeficiency and secondary immunodeficiency. Primary immunodeficiency is a subcategory consisting of hundreds of different conditions all causing a lower number of immune cells. Secondary immunodeficiency is a smaller category consisting of conditions where a person lacks immune cells due to other causes such as malnutrition.

HIV/AIDS

Some cancers

2. Medications

There are two main types of medications that result in being immunocompromised: Immunosuppressants and chemotherapy

Immunosuppressive medications- Immunosuppressive medications are medications designed to suppress your immune response. These can work in many different ways with some targeting a broad range of immune cells and others being highly specific. These medications are often used for organ transplant recipients and people with moderate-severe autoimmune diseases. Some medications in this category include: organ transplant medications, biologics, and high dose corticosteroids

Chemotherapy- Chemotherapy often comes with the effect of preventing new fast-dividing cells from being produced. This is why hair loss is such a common side effect of chemotherapy. Immune cells are fast dividing and therefore frequently are unable to be produced while on chemotherapy

The effects of immunocompromisation

Immunocompromisation has a large range of effects depending on the reason someone is immunocompromised. The most common effects are an increased susceptibility to illness and cancers. Increased susceptibility to illness can look like:

Frequent illnesses

Illnesses that are more severe than they would be for other people

Recurrent infections

Infections that don't respond to medication

Delayed response to infection

Infections that last longer than usual

Some people are more susceptible to certain types of infections. For example anifrolumab, a biologic used for lupus, makes people more susceptible to herpes zoster and respiratory tract infections while prednisone, a corticosteroid, increases risk of infection across the board. This occurs due to different causes of immunocompromisation affecting different immune cells with different roles in preventing and responding to infection.

Grades of severity

Recently the term "moderately and severely immunocompromised" has been used in covid-19 resources. Certain factors are considered to make someone moderately or severely immunocompromised, these include:

Advanced or untreated HIV infection

Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiencies

Hematologic malignancies

Active treatment for solid tumors or hematologic malignancies

Immunosuppressant medications used for solid organ or islet transplants

CAR-T cell therapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Treatment with alkylating agents, antimetabolites, high-dose corticosteroids, chemotherapeutic agents, TNF blockers, and other biologic agents that are immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory

What immunocompromisation is not

It's worth noting that getting sick frequently or getting seriously sick from illnesses that are usually mild is a warning sign for being immunocompromised but does not inherently make you immunocompromised. Some people are just more susceptible to illness without being immunocompromised.

Having minimal response to an infection that is usually more serious is a sign of a strong immune system, not a weak one.

Being immunocompromised is also not the same as being high risk for serious infection. All immunocompromised people are high risk but not all high risk people are immunocompromised. Immunocompromisation is specifically when someone is high risk because their immune system is weak. Particularly in regards to covid, there are many conditions that make you higher risk that do not involve a weak immune system.

Autoimmune diseases do not automatically make you immunocompromised. Something being a disorder of the immune system does not mean that you are immunocompromised because immunocompromised means a weaker immune system not a malfunctioning immune system.

[nenelonomh]

the importance of mindfulness

mindfulness is a practice that involves being fully in the moment and paying attention to your thoughts, feelings and sensations without judgment. it has gained recognition for its positive impact on both mental and physical well-being.

here are some reasons why practising mindfulness is important:

mindfulness helps manage stress by allowing us to respond to our environment differently. our minds are not well-suited for the modern world, but mindfulness techniques let us navigate challenges more effectively.

studies show that mindfulness-based therapies can reduce anxiety and depression. by focusing on the present moment, individuals can better cope with life’s difficulties and protect their mental well-being. since mindfulness teaches us to be fully in the present, mental noise (which is often a large contributor to anxiety and depression) can be reduced. additionally, mindfulness practices, such as meditation, activate the parasympathetic nervous system. this leads to a sense of calm and relaxation, reducing reactivity to stressors.

mindfulness isn’t just about mental health; it also positively impacts our physical health. evidence suggests that it can lower blood pressure, improve sleep quality, and enhance overall well-being. by managing stress and promoting relaxation, mindfulness contributes to cardiovascular well-being. it can also lead to better sleep quality. when we're mindful, we let go of racing thoughts and create a calm mental space conducive to restful sleep. while more research is needed, preliminary evidence suggests that mindfulness might enhance immune function. it may help people recover more quickly from illnesses like colds or flu. for further reading about this, see this article from the american psychological association.

practising mindfulness often leads to increased relaxation, enthusiasm for life, and improved self-esteem. it helps us to see the world differently and live a more compassionate, fulfilled life.

mindfulness techniques can help people cope with physical pain. by being fully present and accepting the sensations, individuals may experience relief and improved pain management.

but nene, how can i be mindful?

first, dedicate a specific time each day for mindfulness practice. something i have made a routine of is stretching when i first wake up ~ allowing myself time to wake up slowly and move my body. your dedicated time could be as short as five minutes, or longer, depending on your practice.

find a quiet and comfortable spot where you won't be disturbed. sit or lie down in a relaxed position.

close your eyes and pay attention to your breath. feel the air entering and leaving your nostrils or the rise and fall of your chest. if your mind wanders, gently bring it back to your breath.

some specific mindfulness practices include:

three-step breathing kettering general health - youtube video

five senses check-in the partnership in education - youtube video with love, esta - youtube video

body scan policy research associates - youtube video mariellen brown - youtube video

further reading: positivepsychology.com NIH news in health psychcentral american psychological association

remember - mindfulness is a skill that improves with practice. regular mindfulness, whether through formal meditation or everyday activities, can have great positive effects.

i hope you enjoyed today's post! ❤️ nene

image source: pinterest

[ghiradellidarkchocolatebrownies]

STORYTIME: DO NOT FEED YOUR CLOWNS THIS!!

I volunteer a few days a week at a clown shelter. Earlier this month, a Teacup-Birthday mix named Kiki was adopted by a (seemingly) very nice middle aged couple, and we were very happy to send yet another clown to a good home. But disaster struck this afternoon when the couple returned to the shelter, wanting to surrender Kiki back to us. Their reason? She was not performing any tricks and had been biting them nonstop for weeks now. I was of course very shocked and confused by this. Kiki was one of the most playful and least temperamental clowns I had ever cared for.

I asked them if she had the proper environment, if they had changed her costume or markings in any way, if they were feeding her the proper diet. They said that they were doing everything right, and were following the care instructions we had given them. I usually give people the benefit of the doubt, but their story just wasn't adding up. And they were shifting nervously, and talking quietly to each other when they thought I wasn't looking. I told them to wait while I took Kiki for a checkup. As I took her to the vet's office, I couldn't help but notice that she seemed to lack any energy at all. When I tried to tickle her stomach (something that she normally loves), she snapped at me (Luckily, I jerked my hand away before she could bite).

When the vet examined Kiki, it was revealed that she was suffering from malnourishment and a button infection. I went back out to talk to the owners, and they continued to deny any mistreatment. After some more questioning and prying, they finally broke down and admitted what they had been doing.

They had been feeding Kiki a mix of mice and small bones (no problem there). But for her candy intake, they had been feeding her SUGAR-FREE candy. My heart sank as soon as I heard those words. No wonder Kiki had been so sick.

Every clown owner should know that (in general) Clowns need a healthy mixture of raw meat and sugar in their diets. Feeding them sugar-free stuff can be very bad for them and cause a LOT of problems.

For one, they will not be getting their much needed sugar intake. A sugar deficiency will lower their mood, make them more easily agitated, make them sick, and can even be deadly for some clown breeds (such as Birthday and Circus). As Kiki is a Birthday clown, she might not have survived another week without sugar.

Another thing to keep in mind about sugar-free products is that they often have artificial sweeteners in them. These sweeteners are not ideal for clowns, as most clown breeds have sensitivities or allergies to them. Simply put, most clowns' digestive systems are not properly built to process sugar-free foods. Feeding your clown artificial sweeteners over time can even weaken their immune system (This is likely what contributed to Kiki's infection).

The owners claimed that they had no idea that sugar-free candy was bad for clowns (very unlikely since the care instructions specifically list sugar-free foods under the "DO NOT" section). My boss suggested to them that we take care of Kiki for a few days, but they told us they weren't coming back. As soon as they left, we informed other local shelters about them and even posted on internet forums about it, as they may go somewhere else and find a different clown to mistreat. They clearly only see clowns as entertainment and nothing else.

We gave Kiki some cotton candy, and she's already starting to return to her old self. Unfortunately, though, this means that she's back in the system. There's no telling how long until she's adopted again.

Before anyone asks, we make sure to look into anyone who's interested in adopting one of our clowns. We run background checks, call character witnesses, make sure they have the proper environment for a clown and have the money to support one, etc. Overall, the process takes about a month or so. Sometimes it can take even longer if we have a waiting list. It is extremely rare that a clown adoption goes wrong. In fact, this is the first time it's happened in the year I've been volunteering here.

TL;DR

Don't feed clowns sugar-free foods! It can make them very sick and cause a lot of complications.

[anasanthology]

Link In Bio

WARNINGS: NSFW 18+ MDNI (I don’t care who reads just if your account age is set to under 18 don’t interact please) oral fixation, solo male masturbation, soft dom!Ethan Winters, porn with little plot, pretty tame, fem-specific gendered terms and anatomy. Not proofread.

Notes: I haven’t been here in forever… 🫣 sorry guys! Didn’t mean to abandon this account I just had a lot that’s been going on since I started it! I hope you guys like this fic 😁 enjoy lovelies!!! 💕

2.1k words | Ethan Winters x AFAB!reader

‘Yes!’

He grinned when he saw the notification on his phone and went to sit at his desk. He turned his computer on and looked up the account.

Ethan was never the kind of guy that was too into porn. That was until one day he came across a girl online, CameraShy070408. There was just something about her that left him wanting like he had never wanted before. (He also enjoyed how ironic her name was). She didn’t really have many followers, but he kinda liked that in a weird parasocial way. It was like she was his. He often tried to block out the fact that other men could see her like he did… Maybe he was weirdly parasocial with this girl.

After a while he started checking her account every night, which left him feeling a little desperate and pervy, especially when she hadn’t posted. He ended up just biting the bullet and turning notifications on. I mean, it wasn’t like he followed a million porn accounts. Really, hers was the only one he followed and the rest was engineering and game stuff. So he decided to take the plunge and prayed that no one would be looking at his phone when he got a notification. Ethan felt a lot better about himself now that he wasn’t actively checking this account every night. (Even though he’d still scroll through his notification board once or twice just to be sure he didn’t miss it, but that he was able to rationalize).

Luckily, tonight she had posted. The video preview was her holding a pink dildo in front of her palm. The caption read, “Feeling really sick ;( but I heard orgasms improve the immune system :).” Ethan moved his hand to sit on his upper thigh in anticipation. It wasn’t until he clicked on it that he realized there was a problem.

His mouth fell open and he just blinked at the screen, hitting the spacebar to pause the video.

No way.

No fucking way.

He sat completely rigid just staring at his computer, his hand sitting tensed up on his thigh. No way it was you. His face was lit up from his computer. A slight pounding in the back of his head from sitting in front of a computer screen all day at work, something he was used to now. It couldn’t be. The image of a woman’s hips displayed on his screen, paused mid-turn to show her right side. A long fine line tattoo stretching from her lower waist down to her mid thigh. The same tattoo he saw peeking out of the top of your skirt when you stretched earlier. He just couldn’t believe it was you. His sweet, quiet, friendly coworker…

You were the girl he had been watching?

Ethan bit his lip and just blinked up at the screen. His dick was already hardening from just seeing your handle pop up on his phone like some kind of deviant Pavlovian response. His hand started slowly moving up to his crotch. ‘This is wrong.’ His hand got closer… ‘I should click off.’ And closer… ‘She wouldn’t want me to see this.’ His mind was screaming at him to close out of the page but every cell in his body just wanted him to keep going. He wouldn’t admit it—not even to himself—but knowing that this girl he watched was you… it made it even better. Of course he was attracted to you, but that wasn’t completely it. Ethan got to see a part of you that no one else knew about. Whether it was the people at work or the people on twitter, he knew something they didn’t and it was exhilarating. Now it was really like you were his. He started to undo his buckle causing his face to heat up at the predicament he was leaving himself in. He knew how guilty he would feel after, how guilty he would feel going into work, how guilty he would feel every time you smiled at him, but he couldn’t stop. No. He could, he just didn’t want to. The aroused part of his brain just wanted to get off, and get off to you. At this point, even if it mattered to him how wrong it was it didn't matter as much as fisting his cock to a video of you. ‘It was your choice. You made the video for people to see. It’s not like he’s watching something you didn’t want anyone to look at.’ He tried to rationalize it but it didn’t make it feel any less wrong… and a part of him liked that. There was something so taboo about this situation that he couldn’t help but love.

‘I won’t treat her any different. As long as it stays in my head, who cares?.’ 

Now that made sense to him. It’s okay as long as he doesn’t let it affect his or your work relationship. That thought gave him the go ahead he needed to let himself fall completely into pleasure seeking. He slipped his underwear down just enough to pull himself out. A soft hiss could be heard as he grabbed his cock and looked back up to the computer screen. Your pretty curves still illuminated his face and reflected on his eyes. He unpaused the video and slumped back in his chair. He let it all but consume him.

Now he was committed.

You finished turning and leaned forward to display your wet pussy to the camera. He started pumping himself and swiping his thumb over his rosy leaking tip as he watched you. The image of your finger gliding over your hole would be something he could never forget. He closed his eyes and groaned as he forced himself to just rub at his tip like your fingers swiped up and down your cunt. If there was any doubt in his mind that this was you, it was completely gone now. He recognized your red and black nails—which he complimented—that you came into work with the other day. The nail polish was patchy from how you’d bite it off as you worked at your desk. He could still remember seeing you try to shake off a wet plastic rhinestone that had gotten stuck on your finger after you had accidentally bit it off. God… you had this horrible habit of putting everything in your mouth. You would be listening to him speak about something and be sucking and licking on your favorite pen cap. Looking right at him as your cute pink tongue slipped between your lips, it always drove him insane. He opened his eyes back up only to see your fingers rubbing your clit and covered in slick.

“Oh fuck.” A soft whine fell from his lips. He felt overstimulated from the way he was touching himself, but he always preferred doing it like he was touching the girls he would watch. His eyes scanned over your body and he couldn’t help but want more from you. He wished you’d show your face on camera so that he could see you put your wet fingers in your mouth. The thought made his eyes roll back for a second because he knew that that was something you would most certainly do. All the times you’d bite and chew on your fingers mindlessly as you worked, reading reports and documentation on your screen… Why would he think you’d do anything different? Shit. Now he was imagining you at work. All he could think of was you touching yourself at your desk. He knew he should stop now but the floodgates have opened and he just can’t go back. His cock ached at the thought of seeing you bent over your desk with your skirt hiked up to your waist. Fingers fucking your pussy as you sucked and licked on that click pen you have while you just stare at him. On his computer screen you grabbed your pink dildo and started running it along your slick to cover it in wetness. He brought his hand up to spit on it before rubbing it along the underside of his cock. After a second you started slipping it in slowly, pulling it back and re-angling it to try and get it inside you easier. It was hot seeing you struggle to stuff your tight little cunt. The video didn’t have sound but he imagined your sweet desperate whines. He thought about your pretty voice just begging to have something inside you, begging him. 

‘Ethan, please. Please just need your cock inside me. Wan’ it so bad.’

 You finally slipped it inside and started pumping it in and out while you used your other hand to rub your clit. 

‘Thank you, Ethan. Thank you, thank you thankyou…’

He started fisting his cock in rhythm with the dildo you were using. He pretended the ‘shlick schlick’ noises coming from his hand were coming from you touching yourself. His mind went back to you bent over your desk as he watched your video. Thinking about you fingering yourself and begging for his cock while he refused to give it to you. In his mind, you could be a whiny needy girl who loved it when he told you no and teased you. His spit bubbled and mixed with the pre-cum streaming from his tip as he sped up his pace when he saw that’s what you did. He just threw his head back and closed his eyes. 

“Good girl… yeah, take it.” He whispered into the near silent room. His thoughts were everywhere, putting you in different positions, different situations. The only common denominator was you, he wanted you. “Cum on my cock, pretty girl. Mhm, do it. Fuck yourself on it.” He gritted his teeth and winced as he felt the cum inside his cock. He wanted to finish inside you. He thought about holding you down on your desk as he pushed roughly into you while you just laid there crying and begging for him.

‘Mmph, Ethan, ‘s too much. Please-‘

That pushed him over the edge. The thought of your needy body trying to fuck back on him while you begged him to stop. The thought of you not knowing what you really wanted cause you were so far gone. He kept pumping himself and soon white stripes painted his fingers. “Oh, oh f-fuck. Mmph!” His other hand instinctively went to cover his face and he just kept stroking till his cock was spent. He just sat in his chair for a bit breathing heavily. He opened his eyes and paused your video. The room was completely silent. ‘What did I just do?’ He bit his lip and sighed. ‘What is wrong with me?’

Bzzt bzzt

He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and pulled it out (with his non-cum covered hand). He read the name and took a deep breath. This had to be some kind of cruel joke. He accepted the call.

“Hey, it’s late… is something wrong?” You could hear how tired his voice sounded on the call.

“Oh, did I wake you up? I’m sorry, Ethan.” Your voice was quiet and it sounded like you were struggling to talk a little.

“Um… yes, but I’m glad you did. I came home and took a nap on the couch and if I would’ve stayed like that all night my whole body would be aching tomorrow.” Liar. He laughed softly as he spoke, trying to ease his slight paranoia at you knowing what he was doing.

“Well, I’m still sorry. Uh-I was just calling to tell you I won’t be at work tomorrow. I’m sick. Now that I think about it this probably could’ve just been said in an email or text… I’m not thinking very straight right now, I apologize.” He couldn’t keep his mind off how whiny you sounded and he could feel himself getting hard again. ‘Stop, stop, stop!’ He felt like he was gonna cry.

“It’s okay, I hope you feel better. Stay home as long as you have to and don’t worry about work, I’ll take care of it.” His voice was soft and understanding.

“Oh thank you, Ethan. You’re the best.” You smiled a little. He really was always so caring whenever you got sick or something came up. “Well I’m gonna get off here and sleep off my fever. Goodnight, Ethan.”

“Goodnight.” He gave you a faint smile even though you couldn’t see it. He set his phone face down once you hung up and sighed. He looked down at his hardened cock and he just closed his eyes and shook his head. ‘Why?’ He stood up and walked to the bathroom to clean up as he cursed himself.

How would he face you at work?

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

By Andrew Joseph Pegoda, Ph.D.

Unlike its SARS-CoV-1 predecessor a decade prior, SARS-CoV-2—frequently called COVID-19 to lessen alarm—has been an on-going, global crisis starting soon after its emergence in December 2019. The tenth wave of this Level 3 biohazard is starting and the injustices continue.

Official global deaths reported by governments total 7 million. Data scientists, demographers, and economists closely eyeing excess deaths have staggering estimates of actual COVID-19 loses: 20 million by the end of 2021, 30 million by the end of 2023, and currently almost 40 million.

Deaths from this novel, highly contagious virus are sometimes unavoidable. Yet, the vast majority of these seldom-acknowledged deaths are stupid deaths, stupid deaths because they were preventable deaths.

Death tolls from COVID-19 in the United States specifically would be lower had the CDC not given into pressure from Delta Air Lines in 2021 to decrease isolation periods. Death tolls would be lower if states en masse had not rushed to abandon mask requirements in 2021 and 2022. Death tolls would be lower if Hollywood’s stories meaningfully acknowledged COVID-19. Death tolls would be lower if the public narrative had been other than “vax and relax.” Death tolls would be lower if schools and businesses devoted meaningful efforts to improving and monitoring air filtration, especially in elevators. And the recent “back to the office” push will only increase deaths.

Beyond death tolls, I am concerned about what I am naming “stupid (re)infections.”

The typical person in the United States is being reinfected yearly, and the average person has now been infected with COVID-19 more than 3.5 times. And between 20% and 50% of infections are asymptomatic (during the acute phase!).

Repeated infections are unnecessary and avoidable, if mandatory masking in public places had remained and been completely normalized (of course, with appropriate exceptions for those with disabilities that prevent wearing a mask). Hospitals should have never dropped masking requirements, certainly not cancer centers. KN95 and N95 masks are highly effective and easy to wear—a practice that could only increase utility with the corresponding decreased sickness and death. People learned to wash their hands with soap; they can learn to wear a mask.

And this leads me to what I am naming “stupid suffering.”

COVID-19 is not the flu or a cold. Every infection substantially affects the body—including possible cognitive decline and impacts on the heart, T cells, the intestines, and the overall immune system—prompting a growing number of researchers to assert that COVID-19 triggers a new illness that parallels AIDS. Impacts further down the road remain unknown. Still, many people antidotally report having at least some lingering symptoms after their initial symptomatic infection. Specifically, Long COVID, which can be debilitating, impacts tens of millions in the United States, including 6 million children, and currently has no cure. Every infection substantially increases the risk of developing Long COVID. And this stupid suffering disproportionally impacts and further weathering minoritized individuals.

Stupid (re)infections. Stupid suffering. Stupid deaths. We must do better and not allow brute luck to dominate while awaiting treatments and better vaccines.

If missions to save lives and protect best interests are sincere, bioethicists have a profound opportunity, even a categorical imperative, to help lead the way toward a COVID-19 safer future and opportunities for reenvisioned justice, for Aristotle’s the good life.

COVID-19 uniquely shows the heteronomous nature of twenty-first-century life and what little weight negative rights hold as people—especially those already disabled like me—are forced into spaces that ignore the threats.

Andrew Joseph Pegoda, Ph.D., M.A., M.A. (@ajp_PhD), is a Lecturer of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Houston and a Bioethics and Health Policy graduate student at Loyola University Chicago.

[starlostlix]

MTP - Sherlock and William as foils (similarities and differences)

Aka Something interesting I found on a reread of volume 5 (at least that's what it was originally it's developed a little)

So I was drawn to these pages in Volume 5 in particular because they're surprisingly key to Sherlock's character, and a key reason why that he doesn't necessarily completely disagree with William's points (mostly disagreeing with his methods).

So the reason Sherlock's methods are based on scientific observation is because science is fair to everyone and doesn't need any social context of class or gender or anything like that. And this is because of his own experiences - going to a university 'beyond his status' and seeing many criminal cases where the lower class individual is immediately blamed with inadequate proof. Much as William has also seen such injustice in his life at the orphanage/on the streets, and continues to see from the surrounding noblemen.

He values tradition but still sees it as partially hampering growth and change in the investigative profession. The fact that his brother, Mycroft, is a representative of the monarchy (and so is a representative of tradition) probably only adds to this concept (but what he doesn't know until later is that his brother isn't as against change as he might seem, due to his general 'blind eye' towards and sometimes clear support of the Moriarty plan). Brotherly disagreement on a cultural level and an interesting part of their dynamic, but that's for another post (if i ever finish it).

Sherlock has a motivation (as much as it isn't the main focus of his desire to solve mysteries) to change detective work to be fairer using science. As much as it's on a much smaller scale, he's generally trying to bring change to a system that is unfair and classist. Sound familiar? This sounds similar to William's idea of changing society to make it fairer and less classist.

The fact that Sherlock and Liam, both of whom come from a lower class status/background, strive to make a change and remove class-based prejudices is no accident - it's just more proof that they were never actually enemies. In fact, their motivations only differ by scale, forcefulness and the lengths they are willing to go to achieve them.

The main way that they disagree is the methods of trying to change their target population is the lengths they go. Sherlock, for the most part, doesn't enforce much change - he just proves that his way of solving mysteries is more effecient and more accurate than Scotland Yard and other detectives. Funnily enough, in that field, the only one who can match (or sometimes outdo him) is William, but only because William is willing to go further. In the Two Detectives arc, William strategically places samples of blood on all of the train staff in order to act as more objective proof of the murder accusations. In doing this, he's not fully truthful, but it ensures a fast solution to the case that saves Watson and captures the culprit in time. In essence, William is more calculated and willing to manipulate variables to make the outcome more accurate, whilst Sherlock trusts all the available evidence and utilises that to achieve an accurate outcome.

They both are also not immune to k!lling on behalf of the safety of others. Sherlock murdering Milverton to save Watson's marriage and to get rid of a guy of 'evil incarnate' like Milverton (who has investigated numerous cases relating to) is proof that Sherlock can be pushed into crime to protect others. William takes up crime as a 'means to an end' - partly revenge for the mistreated working class, partly to dismantle the unfair class system. William makes the choice to act as an executioner, but also is willing to suffer to achieve his goal. Sherlock is also willing to suffer misjudgement in using scientific deduction, but he's mainly willing to suffer for the people he cares about most - specifically Watson and William (the man was willing to literally jump off a bridge for William).

Anyways, the point being is that William and Sherlock were never supposed to be opposites or enemies, rather they are more like foils - differing in some key traits to better highlight those parts of their respective characters. And the conversation I pulled from volume 6 helps in directly presenting the similarities between their characters, which also draws further attention to their differing traits and is key for establishing them as foils of each other. I honestly think this is partly what makes their dynamic so interesting - they are similar in enough ways to relate to each other and become friends, but their differences add ways for their characters to clash in the story to make the plot more interesting.

[Anyways I just love how the characters are written in MTP especially Sherlock and William. I've currently got only 2 alevel exams left to do before I've finished college though, and my last exams are on tuesday! I haven't had much time to be online or write about stuff that I want to post so hopefully in about a week or so I can write more/post more. This post was mostly drafted last week when I had a bit of time off, so I might have missed some stuff in rereading before I post lol.]

[no-tenderness]

as the non-white daughter of white parents I can confirm that no matter how close you are to individual people of color, no matter how much you love them, most white people simply do not view racism as a systemic issue, but rather as Individual Instances Which Must Be Condemned. Unless white people actively educate themselves on the material consequences of racism, most of them don’t really understand it for what it is. In the case of Kendall and Sophie, he is already at a severe disadvantage due to him being A Literal Billionaire and whatever, where his primary goal as A Billionaire (and of all billionaires) is the deification of capitalism and all the exploitation that comes with it. Kendall certainly doesn’t see himself that way because capitalism overwhelmingly benefits him and those like him, so he thinks the system works and it works because he’s Figured It Out. And, of course, capitalism goes hand-in-hand with racism because the two will be forever inextricably linked unless they — and the systems that support them — are dismantled. Kendall is also so far removed from actual people’s actual lives that he really can’t fathom what Real People (who just so happen to look like Sophie) experience day to day. Instead, he views racism kind of as a nebulous concept, one that only affects those unfortunate enough to not be in a position to shield themselves from it. Because Kendall has the resources and infinite money to throw at problems, his “protection” of Sophie is Fixing the Problem. Sophie is physically protected and that’s all that matters, regardless of the fact that she even needs this protection scares her. Granted, as the child of a billionaire, Sophie herself very much does not have to encounter the same kind of conflicts that those lower down the socioeconomic ladder do — but she is not at all immune to it, either. Similarly, I know that as much as my white family loves me, most of my family members see only me as an individual, i.e., a cousin, niece, etc., but don’t necessarily extend that viewpoint to others who, again, Happen To Look Like Me. Roman, Shiv, and Connor all truly don’t make this connection either, as Sophie’s uncles and aunt, despite all of Shiv’s posturing. When Kendall tells Roman “some guy pushed Sophie,” Roman’s only response is “but she’s okay, right?” As if that’s the end of it. As if she wasn’t actually damaged, it wasn’t all that serious. As if that will be the only fallout. Any time that I’ve brought up racism that I’ve directly experienced to my white father, he’s taken it as a personal failing. Has he failed as a father? Has he failed to raise me, his child, to not be hardy and resilient enough to simply ignore These Things? How come his whiteness and all the protections that come with it didn’t extend to his daughter? How come his experience as a parent involves considering different things than if he had raised white children? Whose fault is it? Who or what can be blamed for inflicting that particular kind of pain on his child? Because racism is systemic, there is no bogeyman to point to, no Guy Who Pushed You On the Street who you can send your bodyguard after, or hire a van to tail your kid for her “protection.” She will continue to experience this specific kind of harm, especially under a nakedly fascist president, regardless of your wealth and status and power, and you were the one to sign off on it.

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - May 1-7

Like these weekly compilations? Support me on Ko-fi! Also, if you tip me on Ko-fi, at the end of the month I'll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn't use each week - almost double the content!

1. New study says conservation works, providing hope for biodiversity efforts

“A new study published in Science reveals that conservation works, with conservation actions improving or slowing the decline of biodiversity in two-thirds of the cases analyzed.”

2. Monk Seal Pup Debuts in Waikīkī on Lei Day

“Endangered Hawaiian monk seal RK96 (Kaiwi) gave birth to her sixth pup on popular Kaimana Beach in Waikīkī, Oʻahu! […] Hawaiian monk seals are one of the most endangered seal species in the world, so each pup represents hope for the species’ recovery.”

3. West Coast Indigenous-led marine conservation area gets global spotlight

“A coastal First Nation is celebrating global recognition of its marine protected area after recently snagging a “blue park” designation that highlights exemplary ocean conservation efforts around the world. […] Kitasu Bay supports one of the last abundant herring spawns along the central coast, vital to the nation’s communal herring roe on kelp (ROK) fishery - which harvests the protein-rich eggs but leaves the fish alive to flourish and spawn again.”

4. The number of fish on US overfishing list reaches an all-time low. Mackerel and snapper recover

“The report states that 94% of fish stocks are not subject to overfishing, which is slightly better than a year ago. The U.S. was able to remove several important fish stocks from the overfishing list, NOAA said in a statement. […] The removal of species from the overfishing list shows the U.S. is making progress, said Rick Spinrad, NOAA’s administrator.”

5. Researchers Collaborate with the Shipping Industry to Cut Costs, Fuel Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Shipping

“Through coordinated ship scheduling and an optimisation of ship operations and port services, the objective is to achieve a substantial increase in energy efficiency and a 10-20% reduction in fuel consumption, consequently resulting in lowered greenhouse gas emissions [and] leading to substantial economic benefits for shipping and environmental advantages for society[….]”

6. The city flower farm that is changing lives

“Heart of BS13 Flowers in Hartcliffe is part of the wider Heart of BS13 charity which tackles food insecurity in south Bristol. Profits from the flower sales to run workshops, offer volunteer and trainee placements, and create education opportunities for people from Hartcliffe.”

7. Four falcon chicks hatch in Glasgow university tower

“Members of the [Glasgow Peregrine] project hope to […] fit [the chicks] with electronic tags that will enable monitoring of their movements. Mr Simpson added: "With the identification tags we can see where they have gone, how high they fly and other information that would be really useful." In recent years the group have held peregrine watches at the university, allowing people to see the birds in their nest.”

8. 'Banana pingers' are saving whales and dolphins around the world

“[T]he Kibel brothers, Pete (a fisheries biologist) and Ben (an engineer) […] have been utilising light to protect turtles, sound to protect porpoises and electro pulses to protect sharks. [… Trials] showed reduced average catch rates of blue shark by 91%, and catch rates of pelagic stingray by 71% […as well as] a fall in the number of sea turtles being trapped by 42%.”

9. New vaccine effective against coronaviruses that haven't even emerged yet

“Researchers have developed a new vaccine technology that has been shown in mice to provide protection against a broad range of coronaviruses with potential for future disease outbreaks -- including ones we don't even know about. […] The new vaccine works by training the body's immune system to recognise specific regions of eight different coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2, and several that are currently circulating in bats and have potential to jump to humans and cause a pandemic.”

10. Grassland birds, Forest birds and Other Migratory Birds to Benefit from More Than $22 Million in Funding Throughout the Americas

“This year, more than $4.87 million in federal funds will be matched by more than $17 million in partner contributions going to 30 collaborative conservation projects in 19 countries across the Americas. “These investments will [… protect] millions of acres of diverse habitats needed by grassland birds, forest birds and shorebirds for wintering, breeding and migration,” said Service Director Martha Williams.”

April 22-28 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[mixelation]

One of the most annoying types of covid posting (which I wouldn't necessarily call misinfo, but which is a common tool of misinfo) for me is the overwhelming number of posts that go like this: OP says they got covid, despite being "good" and masking. OP then points at a specific event or person, who were NOT being "good" in OP's opinion because they have behaviors OP doesn't approve of, such as not masking or going to crowded places, and OP says, "They gave me covid."

This annoys me because unless you were actively isolating for weeks ASIDE FROM THIS ONE person/event, you don't know what gave you covid. A scientist that took a sample from you, sequenced the virus that was infecting you, and then compared it to samples from everyone you were in contact with would most likely not be able to tell who, exactly, you got it from.

This annoys me because "I would be safe, if only other people..." is, ultimately, a false narrative, and one which leads to wild finger pointing and blame-assignment in ways which are both unnecessarily accusatory and moralizing, and which are largely anti-science.

When scientists talk about behaviors reducing risk, that's what they mean. They do not eliminate risk, and there are a lot of factors affecting transmission of covid besides masking or not. It is possible to ride an uncrowded bus where everyone is masking properly to a crowded event where no one is masking, and you get covid from someone on the bus because the airflow is worse, or because someone on the bus just had a lower viral load or a variant your immune system is less strong against than people at the event, or you just played a probability game and lost.

But in the end, you don't know. It is false to say you do know. And this becomes a tool for misinfo when you then use an unverifiable anecdote as evidence.

[wazzappp]

Retroviruses got me fucked up

@moosemonstrous are u ready for a dissertation? I hope so.

people who followed me for art I'm so sorry

ALRIGHT so we're gonna cover a couple areas.

General information about retroviruses.

Details about The Corruption and theories about how it works inside the body.

SPECIFICALLY ROBBIES viral weird shit. Cause what he has going on is even more fucked up than normal fucked up. Fucked up squared.

Me ranting about skin necrosis and why I shouldn't have just. Thown it in there because I thought it would look fucky wucky.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT RETROVIRUSES:

As most people know, a virus is a cell that enters the body of a host and alters its DNA to turn that hosts cells into virus making factories. This is what allows viruses to duplicate and spread through the body so quickly. But whats that? 'What makes retroviruses different from other viruses?' I hear you asking? WELL EXCELLENT QUESTION THATS A PERFECT PLACE TO START. A retrovirus is different because its method of self duplication involves an enzyme called reverse transcriptase. This makes retroviral infection PERMANENT. Even if the virus is defeated by the immune system, those changes stick around. The phrasing used was 'ipso facto mutagenic' meaning 'by the fact itself/inevitable'.

...Which is kinda metal honestly I want it on a tee shirt (definetly not thinking of Amadeus saying that to Robbie as he tries his best to explain theres no way to undo whats going on with him. nahhhh angst don't got a hold on me like that [<- vibrating])

'Ohhh but if those genetic changes never go away, doesn't that mean that those viruses will get passed on through peoples children?' ASKING SUCH GOOD QUESTIONS TODAY MY MUTUAL BECAUSE THE ANSWER IS YES. Once a retrovirus codes itself into a hosts gnome, its called a provirus (pro gamer move right there) Fun (not fun) fact around 8% of the human gnome is made of proviruses. These are called endogenous viruses, and for the most part they just kinda sit there and stay dormant. TERRIFYINGLY, other viral infections can trigger these endogenous viruses out of dormancy. As for what actually causes a provirus to go dormant uhhhhhhhh I dunno. Couldn't find an answer in my research someone make me look stupid with an answer please because I wanna know.

Ok now lets talk about the immune system a little bit. There are a few different kind of cells at work (hehehehehe) that help to fight viruses and other infections in the body. The first are Cytotoxic T cells or Killer T Cells. These are the cells that directly destroy cells displaying genetic patterns they recognize as bad. Next we have CD+4 Cells (Helper T Cells) which act as a library that stores information about how to identify an infected cell, and shares that information with other Killer T cells once one figures it out. Then there are the Regulatory T cells which suppress your immune responses to maintain homeostasis. They're what (USUALLY) stops your immune system from killing you while trying to clear a virus. Last there are Macrophage. CELLS AT WORK MAID MILFS- I mean cells that clear the debris that remain after the Killer T Cells are done destroying them.

Retroviruses have two primary ways of either side-stepping the immune system or just. Overwhelming it completely. Acutely transforming retroviruses do just that. They reproduce too quickly for Killer T cells to destroy them all and exhaust the system. The second type are called Non Acute Retroviruses. They camouflage viral particles as immune cells to suppress the immune system. For example, HLTV-1 is a retrovirus that disguises itself as a Regulatory T cell to artificially suppress the immune response thats trying to kill it.

HTLV-1 is really interesting because most of the time patients are asymptomatic, but 5% can graduate to HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis, which affects the spinal cord and white matter of the central nervous system. This usually results in the weakening of lower extremities and sometimes total bowl/bladder control loss. It suckkssssss (but is also a retrovirus that affects the central nervous system so were circling back to it later 👀).

SPECULATION ABOUT THE CORRUPTION:

I've said previously that The Corruption has potential for a retrovirus that affects the central nervous system by degrading the brains ability to regulate muscular contraction, while also pumping out a ton of cortisol and adrenaline to encourage 'hysterical strength'.

Now I did a little more research about Hypoglycemia and combined with the nerve damage people would likely die from cardiac arrhythmia, which is a life threatening kind of ventricular fibrillation. Long and short, it means their hearts don't have the proper energy and stimulation to keep beating properly, so they stop beating in sync. This results in insufficient blood flow to vital areas like the brain, and combined with the inadequate blood sugar, this would result in very fast brain death.

Let's talk about the immune systems response to this Corruption retrovirus. We would most likely see lots of inflammation, and with the main focus being on nerve cell this would probably result in meningitis, which is inflammation of the tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord. If left untreated this could result in a coma and then death. So we're seeing a SHIT ton of pressure on the brain and central nervous system. Which is like. VERY BAD for a person. We're talking brain death very very fast.

As for how the virus would target the nervous system directly we could look to real world examples like rabies (ahhhh rabies. can never get away from you). The virus would attach to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, which are what turns chemical signals into electrical signals in your nerves. It would then spread through the axons of the central nervous system and eventually reach the brain. We could also pull a rabies with 'once you see symptoms it's too late' which I, personally, find fucking terrifying.

In terms of the virus losing its effectiveness once outside the body of a Demon/Kaiju we would likely need to look at the anatomy of a retrovirus itself. The outermost area is composed of envelope spikes, which tell the cell to let it in. After that is an envelope protein which plays an important role in complete virus particle (virion) assembly. Theres then a protein shell that contains reverse transcriptase and the RNA gnome that it will use to recode a host cell. If this virus evolved to survive in an environment that is always warm (hell. lol. lmao.) it might not be prepared to deal with these colder temperatures in our world. This could result in damage to the protective protein barriers and cause damage to the real important parts, the RNA and reverse transcriptase. This would mean that the virus would not be near as effective as a fully intact retrovirus cell.

The Corruption could be an endogenous virus thats embedded into the Demon/Kaiju gnome that wouldn't affect them, but would absolutely affect us because we haven't seen them before.

ROBBIES WEIRD FUCKSHIT:

alright guys this is where we put the FI into SCIFI cause your about to read a whole lot of nonsense sentences.

Robbie. Robbie is fucking WEIRD in EVERY universe and this shit is absolutely not different. Him being exposed to that previously mentioned damaged version of the virus from a young age might not give him true immunity but it would give him SOMETHING to work with. His immune system is at least slightly familiar with it and at this point whatever damaged version he came into contact with has already established itself as a provirus in him.

The Corruption thats established itself in The Charger is different.

Like I mentioned in my first diagram, I think there was a chemical reaction that stabilized the corrosive aspect of The Corruption, but this reaction would also have had an effect on the retroviral properties of the Demon/Kaiju material. ESPECIALLY when we add Eli into the mix.

Now, I think generally the amount of radiation that these viruses would be exposed to would kill them (if you believe viruses are alive. there is some MEGA debate going on about that). But if the corruption was just stabilized/hardened on the outside and left squishy and organic on the inside, that would successfully protect everything. And whats that organic squishyness on the inside? EXCELLENT QUESTION AGAIN. If Eli died while inside The Charger then it's not a stretch to think his DNA would have been incorporated and stored via through the natural processes of the retrovirus as a provirus. And so you end up with the genetic mixture of a horrifying creature capable of heinous acts, and a Demon/Kaiju. WITH retroviral properties. Dear god.

Robbie would get exposed to this the very first time he enters the Charger. Because of his semi-immunity + genetic relation to Eli he would likely be able to overcome the more meatsuit damaging aspects of this mixture and just get right through the genome editing without much fuss from his immune system. We would still have a certain degree of damage to his nervous system which allows for that change in strength that would occur in usual examples of the virus (maybe some added aggression from mild influence in his amygdala), but not to a deadly degree. Honestly this shit would barely classify as a virus its just. A nightmare mutagen at this point. So while some of his gnome would remain fairly the same, a good 30% to 50% is megafucked.

Changing Robbies genotype to this degree will naturally result in a change to his phenotype! For the sake of fun were gonna ignore stem cells and their weirdness (for now. I just need to stew on it a little longer and I can make up some bullshit I'm sure). The damage his muscles would experience from less regulated signals would mean they experience muscle tears and subsequent muscle growth. For usual muscle damage from exercise this takes a few days, so if we wanted to keep with that timeline it could be interesting to introduce some minorly sped up healing. That would also be fun for reactivating the growth plates in his bones to allow him to become bigger and taller overall (boring body horror my beloved @cicada-candy that term is never leaving).

THEN you can get into some of the fucky wuckier traits like tapetum lucidum and TEEF. TEEEEEEFFFF. The teeth in particular could go a few different ways. You could just have growth and development of the canines resume until they become elongated and more prominant. OR. You could replace the teeth with bony protrusions from the skull that would push out the original canines and grow in their place. Because of the time it takes for bones to heal your looking at this happening around 20 weeks out. Literally any fun trait you want to take from Demon/Kaiju could apply here.

The most important part would be the nerve bundles on his spine that would be used to bluetooth to The Charger (<- this is a nonsense sentence. I am aware of this). These would provide faster communication with the charger and (theoretically) more intuitive movement, while also allowing him to eventually controlling the charger from the outside. Please note that this would cause EXTREME STRESS to his nervous system. It would be like a person trying to flex a muscle the size of another person for the first time. LEARNING PROCESS. TAKE IT SLOW OR HAVE AN ANEURYSM.

Which leads me to the youtuber apology part of this.

WHY I SHOULDNT HAVE JUMPED TO SKIN NECROSIS:

Skin necrosis is a result of the mass death of skin cells that is furthered by the damage to blood cells. This usually results in a blackened, leathery texture to the necrosed skin. I SHOULD HAVE NEVER EVEN MENTIONED THIS.

What I SHOULD have done is said 'hmm ah yes it would make more sense for some protective covering over these nerve concentrations to either come from materials in Robbies body or to mutate into the skin of the Demon/Kaiju'. This is why we do sufficient research before getting back on our bullshit, wazz (mental note mental note mental note mental note).

I am quite partial to the idea of that stronger/thicker Demon skin/armor growing under Robbies skin and it just itches and burns until he cant ignore it anymore. And then he can pull off. Whatever skin is on the top of it. HEHHEHEHOHOHOHO DELICOUS MENTAL IMAGE of him panicking because he just wanted to scratch his back but now theres blood on his hands and skin sloughing off and dear fucking lord how did he get to this point in his life (<- I daydream about normal things guys don't worry. very average things).

ANYWAY uhhhh if you made it this far I love you. Legit. Have a cookie. Take a nap. Have a happy holidaze <3.

[butchsky]

>:).. elaborations below.. /paws

starborne jason firstly (also feel free to steal it i love spreading my silly autism propoganda):

he is, by FAR, the oldest of the tc group. chronologically, anyways. yellow supergiants range from a few thousand to *millions* of years old, and jason is on the lower end of that spectrum (so, think, like, 200,000). starborne age *much* slower than humans / earth hybrids do, though, so he looks and acts much closer to, like.. seventeen or eighteen. (he's also the shortest of the group.)

being a star, and a yellow supergiant specifically, he runs *hot.* like, badly so. like, people can't touch him for more than a few seconds without it hurting. they joke that you could probably fry an egg on him.

he also has, like, ZERO immune system, being from space and all. he gets sick really often, and while it doesn't always stick due to his body heat, sometimes it leads to some STRONG ass bacteria. fucker's like a petri dish. also, he uses a nasal cannula and an air filtration thing! tying into his health issues, he canNOT breath straight overworld air. (interestingly, though, he seems to have much less trouble breathing in the end.) it looks pretty normal, and he keeps the tank / filter in a portable bag.

seto:

this is also a lot of cultural infodump because ive spent years working on end hybrid lore. seto was a studying / practicing mage, working under royal alchemists. he wasn't a full-fledged mage *quite* yet, but he was well on his way.

he also has a natural penchant for being curious, and it gets him into a lot of trouble sometimes. this is how he ended up living in the overworld; he was sent off to gather materials for a spell, and got distracted and wandered off. he ended up getting caught in a rainstorm and losing the end portal, so he kind of just got stranded. he didn't speak ANY english at first, it took him a while to actually learn.

enderian and english are very, VERY different languages, and the overworld / english has a lot of things that seto had never even seen, much less enderian having words for them. there's a page in an old journal of his where he wrote down learning about the concept of the sun and the word for it, for example. his journals slowly transitioned from being in enderian to being in english, now he mostly just writes in enderian if its something personal or private.

he still busies himself as a mage now, but still not official and largely just doing whatever the hell he wants. very interested in culture, hybrids, etc, and has absolutely zero tact asking questions about it. (he had a field day with mitch.)

also, seto originally faced a *lot* of issues being in the overworld, due to many humans / overworlders (or "brightlanders") being suspicious or distrustful of enderians. he still kind of does sometimes, although being close with tc (and sky especially) has made people, uh. much less likely to voice those kinds of things. his name also isn't technically SETO. his name is ⏁☍⊬, pronounced like "(t)ss-ah-yo" (the s is a hissing sound), but people kept switching the sounds around and caling him seto so he just kinda went with it. (he doesn't mind it now, he's come to like it.)

also, enderian has three different words for animals of varying classifications; one for beasts, which are wild animals, and then ones for domesticated animals (i.e livestock) and pets. when seto first met jerome, he accidentally called jerome all three of these on varying occasions because enderian didn't have words / concepts for the kind of hybrid jerome is, so he just kind of saw him and went "oh! animal". jerome will not let him live it down now.

lavender axolotl mudkip is brought to you by the fact that blue axolotls don't actually exist irl, and one of the closest you can get is lavender. >:3

also wrt tags, bjd mitch is one of my favourite things ever. EVER. at first glance, he looks human! he does! until you look closer and you realize his skin looks like plastic and his eyes move oddly, and he doesn't make facial expressions, and his mouth doesn't *move* when he speaks-- yeah, he scared the FUCK out of the tc crew when they met. he knows he's a doll, but he doesn't know *why.* he doesn't have memories of "his" childhod, but his creator (dad) explained it away as amnesia from head trauma. (in actuality, the head trauma is what killed his real son, and it was just something he said to continue the fantasy.)

mitch, by creation, is meant to be around 21 years old. if we're going off the time he was *created,* so chronologically, then he would be five. (this makes him the "youngest" member, in the same way that starborne shit makes jason the oldest.) he lived in a cabin out in the woods with his 'dad', going on with life "as usual" after what he believed to be amnesia. there were no mirrors in the house, so mitch couldn't see himself, and see the things that made him, clearly, not human (and not the "real" one).

things got on great for that time, it only got "bad" after his 'dad' passed away. mitch himself was fine, physically; he didn't need to eat, or sleep, or anything of the sort. mentally, not so much, and the house itself fell into *horrible* disrepair. he knew *how* to fix things, but he just physically can't move his hands to have actually *fixed* them without his dad. at this time, he also fully believed that his dad was just.. out. jerome comes across the cabin about a year afterwards. he thinks its abandoned, so he goes to check it out and potentially loot it, but he runs into mitch while he's searching one of the bedrooms. (of course jerome gets the shit scared out of him, but they get past it.)

they end up becoming friends, and jerome visits him almost every day. he tries to broach the idea of mitch leaving, but he's insistent that he's "waiting for dad". it's not until jerome finds his dad's journal in a drawer that he figures out what's going on, and that mitch's 'dad' absolutely is *not* coming back.

(jerome convinces him eventually, saying that his dad wouldn't want him to be all alone with the house like this and no help, so "come with me, and we'll leave a note and i'll bring you back once he's home!")

of course, mitch knows by now that his dad's dead. he knows he's a doll, but he still doesn't know what happened to the "real" mitch. jerome refuses to *ever* tell him; he doesn't see a reason to do something like that to him. if mitch finds out on his own, sure, but jerome refuses to say it himself or let anyone else say it.

this got long as fuck so i can send solace lore in another ask if u want :heart:

i wanted to wait to reply to this when i wasnt so exhausted (ive been soo busy and low energy recently) but WOW. i am invested in all of this!! the planning and writing and world building- oh i am in love with it.

i have no other notes, honestly. (in my honest opinion, mitch and seto really are my favorites out of everything you've told me so far. wow! little doll mitch, im imagining it and am just.. obsessed. so so obsessed)

the world building for the end- ohh i love that. curious little seto. oughhh. ougghhh. puts my head in my hands. hunches over. grunts and groans.

but please feel free to share more, whenever you are willing! my ask box is always, always open. you do not need to ask to share anything with me, hehe

[energyhealing101]

Achieve Deep Relaxation and Harmony with Sound Healing Chi Coils

Introduction to Sound Healing and Chi Coils

Sound healing is an ancient practice that has gained popularity in recent years as people seek natural and non-invasive methods to enhance their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. This holistic approach to wellness utilizes sound waves to penetrate deeply into the body, impacting cells and organs at a cellular level. By harnessing the power of sound, individuals can unlock a profound state of relaxation and harmony.

Chi coils, also known as Biofield Tuning Devices, are unique sound healing tools that combine the principles of electromagnetic fields and energy vibrations. These coils are designed to emit specific frequencies that interact with the body's natural biofield, promoting a state of harmony and balance. The science behind chi coils is rooted in the understanding that the human body is a complex system of energy fields, and disruptions in these fields can lead to physical, emotional, and mental imbalances.

The Science Behind Chi Coils and Sound Healing

The effectiveness of chi coils in sound healing is based on the concept of the body's biofield, which is the electromagnetic field that surrounds and permeates the human body. This biofield is believed to be a crucial component of overall health and well-being, and disruptions in this field can lead to various imbalances and health issues.

By introducing targeted sound vibrations through chi coils, practitioners of sound healing can help restore the body's natural harmony, promoting a state of deep relaxation and balance. The gentle, pulsing vibrations emitted by the coils can have a profoundly calming effect on the mind and body, helping to alleviate anxiety, tension, and other stress-related symptoms.

The Calming Effects of Sound Vibrations

The soothing and calming effects of sound vibrations have been well-documented in various studies. When exposed to specific frequencies, the body triggers a relaxation response, slowing down heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and reducing stress levels. The use of chi coils in sound healing sessions creates an immersive meditative experience that allows individuals to enter a state of profound relaxation.

As individuals are exposed to these soothing vibrations, they may enter into a theta brainwave state, which is associated with deep meditation, creativity, and emotional healing. This deep state of relaxation can have transformative effects, allowing for the release of physical and emotional tension.

Therapeutic Benefits of Sound Healing with Chi Coils

The healing benefits of sound therapy with chi coils extend beyond physical and emotional relaxation. Research has shown that this practice can have a positive impact on a wide range of health conditions, including:

Chronic pain

Sleep problems

Depression

Certain neurological disorders

By targeting specific areas of the body and addressing underlying imbalances, sound therapy with chi coils can help alleviate symptoms, promote healing, and enhance overall well-being.

One of the primary therapeutic benefits of sound therapy with chi coils is its ability to reduce stress and anxiety. Chronic stress can have a negative impact on the body, leading to various health issues, from heart problems to weakened immune function. By inducing a state of deep relaxation, the calming vibrations of the chi coils can help lower stress hormones and promote a sense of calm and well-being.

Additionally, sound therapy with chi coils has shown promise in pain management. The vibrations emitted by the coils can help reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and alleviate muscle tension, all of which can contribute to a reduction in chronic pain. This non-invasive and natural approach to pain management can be a valuable complement to traditional medical treatments, offering a holistic and integrative path to optimal health.

Exploring Different Types of Chi Coils

Chi coils come in various shapes, sizes, and designs, each with its own unique properties and applications. Understanding the different types of chi coils and their characteristics can help individuals make an informed decision when selecting the right sound healing tool for their wellness journey.

Handheld coils: These smaller, portable devices are designed for targeted treatment, focusing on specific areas of the body that require attention. They can be used to address specific concerns such as joint pain or muscle tension by directing sound vibrations to the affected areas.

Floor-based models: Larger chi coils provide a more immersive and full-body experience. These models allow individuals to lie down and be surrounded by soothing vibrations, creating a more comprehensive sound healing session.

Specialized coils: Some chi coils are designed to work with specific energy centers or for general relaxation and balance. These may have unique features or frequencies tailored to particular wellness goals.

When choosing a chi coil, it's essential to consider individual needs, preferences, and wellness objectives. Exploring the various options available can help find the chi coil that best suits personal wellness goals and complements existing self-care routines.

Incorporating Chi Coils into Your Wellness Routine

Integrating sound therapy with chi coils into your wellness routine can have a profound impact on overall well-being. By engaging in this holistic practice regularly, individuals can experience a deeper sense of relaxation, balance, and inner peace that positively affects all aspects of life.

As you continue to explore the transformative power of sound therapy, you may find that it becomes an essential part of your self-care routine, providing a sanctuary of calm amidst daily life's demands. The experience of deep relaxation and restoration of balance can have a significant impact on physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being as you journey towards optimal health.

Enhancing Overall Well-being with Sound Therapy

The practice of sound therapy with chi coils can help cultivate greater self-awareness, emotional resilience, and spiritual connection, empowering individuals to navigate life's challenges with greater ease and clarity. As you continue to integrate this holistic approach into your wellness routine, it may become an indispensable part of your path towards optimal health and well-being.

Some potential benefits of regular sound therapy sessions with chi coils include:

Improved sleep quality

Enhanced emotional regulation

Increased focus and mental clarity

Better stress management

Greater overall sense of harmony and balance

By embracing the healing potential of chi coils, individuals can embark on a journey of personal growth, self-discovery, and enhanced overall well-being. The practice of sound therapy can become a valuable tool in the pursuit of holistic health, complementing other wellness practices and supporting a balanced, harmonious lifestyle.

Conclusion

Sound healing with chi coils offers a unique and powerful approach to achieving deep relaxation and harmony. By understanding the science behind these devices and exploring their various applications, individuals can tap into the transformative power of sound vibrations to enhance their overall well-being.

As more people seek natural and holistic solutions to their health challenges, the practice of sound healing with chi coils continues to gain recognition as a valuable complement to traditional medical treatments. Whether you're looking to reduce stress and anxiety, improve your sleep, manage chronic pain, or simply promote a greater sense of balance and relaxation, chi coils can be a valuable tool in your journey towards holistic wellness.

By incorporating sound therapy into your self-care routine and exploring the different types of chi coils available, you can discover a path to deep relaxation, balance, and improved holistic health. Embrace the healing potential of sound vibrations and unlock a new level of harmony in your life with the power of chi coils.

[malwarechips]

ok hot take: arti is NOT balanced. specifically her combat. not in an overpowered way, but the opposite. she's not strong enough for combat against scavengers. arti has ZERO abilities to resist spears outside of the parry, which requires timing and honestly quite impressive reaction speed. ("just turn the game speed down!" some people cant play with the speed lowered! (me) ive been playing since before downpour and ive NEVER used the mushrooms so im USED to this speed. turning it down throws me off so much that id die MORE) sure, she can resist explosives somewhat, she wont die to them, but she still gets stunned anyways. so who cares if shes immune to death from explosives when she cant do anything PASSIVELY about spears, the thing that matters. you survive a grenade, but then you get stabbed in the head a second later and die anyways. scavengers weren't designed to be fought. they have a reputation system for a reason. they're the sort of creature you dont fuck with because they WILL fuck your shit up beyond belief. arti goes against all of that. and shes not strong enough to. she doesn't have resistences to what MATTERS. fighting large groups can be near impossible sometimes. and sure, you can avoid those most times, but you physically cannot in metro. you HAVE to fight them at least SOMEWHAT to even get through.

i understand how people can like arti. but the problem is she's simply not strong enough. i understand that rain world is MEANT to be difficult, but arti takes it too far imo. she's difficult into unfairness. sure, losing karma doesn't matter. but doing the same thing again and again and again just... is terrible. even if you take a different route. i took different routes almost every other time i died while playing arti. i still got sick of dying. i was so relieved when i beat it. i never plan on playing her again. she brought me genuine, terrible stress. she killed my drive to want to play rain world for a while; the thought of just opening it stressed me out. games are meant to be fun. i can understand how arti could be, but she just isnt to me. she's not fun. she will never be fun for me without significant altering. and even then, i highly doubt i could ever bring myself to play her again. just looking at her select screen art makes me anxious.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive (Check in for daily updates!)

By Blake Murdoch

Since the COVID pandemic began, claims that the disease poses only minimal risk to children have spread widely, on the presumption that the lower rate of severe acute illness in kids tells the whole story. Notions that children are nearly immune to COVID and don’t need to be vaccinated have pervaded.

These ideas are wrong. People making such claims ignore the accumulating risk of long COVID, the constellation of long-term health effects caused by infection, in children who may get infected once or twice a year. The condition may already have affected nearly six million kids in the U.S. Children need us to wake up to this serious threat. If we do, we can help our kids with a few straightforward and effective measures.

The spread of the mistaken idea that children have nothing to worry about has had some help from scientists. In 2023 the American Medical Association’s pediatrics journal published a study–which has since been retracted—reporting the rate of long COVID symptoms in kids was “strikingly low” at only 0.4 percent. The results were widely publicized as feel-good news, and helped rationalize the status quo, where kids are repeatedly exposed to SARS-COV-2 in underventilated schools and parents believe they will suffer no serious harm.

In January 2024, however, two scientists published a letter with me explaining why that study was invalid. Some of the errors made it hard to understand how the study survived peer review. For example, the authors claimed to report on long COVID using the 2021 World Health Organization definition, but didn’t properly account for the possibility of new onset and fluctuating or relapsing symptoms, even though that definition and the subsequently released 2023 pediatric one emphasize those attributes. Any child with four symptom-free weeks—even nonconsecutive ones—following confirmed infection was categorized by the study authors as not having long COVID.

In August, the authors of the study retracted it. They did not admit to the errors we raised. But they did admit to new errors, and said these mistakes meant they understated the rate of affected children.

And that rate, according to other research, is quite high. The American Medical Association’s top journal, JAMA, in August published a key new study and editorial about pediatric long COVID. The editorial cites several robust analyses and concludes that, while uncertainty remains, long COVID symptoms appear to occur after about 10 percent to 20 percent of pediatric infections.

If you’re keeping score, that’s as many as 5.8 million affected children in the U.S.—so far. And we know studies and surveys of adults have found that repeat infections heighten the risk of long-term consequences.

The JAMA study comparing infected and uninfected children found that trouble with memory or focusing is the most common long COVID symptom in kids aged six to 11. Back, neck, stomach and head pain were the next most common symptoms. Other behavioral impacts included “fear about specific things” and refusal to go to school.

Adolescents aged 12 to 17 reported different leading symptoms. Change or loss in smell or taste was most common, followed by body pains, daytime tiredness, low energy, tiredness after walking and cognitive deficits. The study noted that symptoms “affected almost every organ system.” In other words, these symptoms reflect real physiological trauma. For example, SARS-COV-2 can cause or mediate cardiovascular, neurological and immunological harm, even increasing the relative risk of new onset pediatric diabetes when compared with other lesser infections.

Children in schools today are often described as struggling with emotional regulation, attention deficits and developmental problems. Adolescents have some of the worst standardized test scores in decades. Pandemic measures such as school closures—most of which were short-lived and occurred several years ago—have been blamed almost entirely for children’s present-day behavioral and learning problems.

While it is clear these early pandemic disruptions negatively impacted many children, the unproven notion that “the cure was worse than the disease” has become dogma and sometimes involves reimagining history. For example, the Canadian Pediatric Society’s most recent COVID vaccination guidance fails to even acknowledge the existence of pediatric long COVID, while stating without evidence in its preamble that children were more affected by pandemic disruptions in activities than direct viral effects. It’s hard to imagine how this wording could encourage pediatricians and parents to vaccinate children against a disabling virus.

Consider also a small but widely publicized Bezos Family Foundation–funded study which unscientifically claimed accelerated cortical thinning, a type of brain restructuring that occurs over time, is caused by “lockdowns.” The study design could not demonstrate cause and effect, however, but only correlation. Pediatric brain experts have critiqued the research, pointing out that “no supporting evidence” was provided for the claim cortical thinning is from social isolation, and that it isn’t necessarily pathological. “Lockdowns” were neither defined nor controlled for in the study, which relied on 54 pandemic-era brains scans from different children than the prepandemic scans they were compared to—meaning there was no measurement of brain changes in specific individuals. The pandemic-era scans came from months when relevant CDC seroprevalence data estimate that the number of children with one or more infections rose from about one in five to around three in five. We might reasonably predict that many of the studied brain scans were therefore from children who recently had COVID.

It is understandably disturbing to entertain the idea that we might currently be recklessly allowing millions of children to be harmed by preventable disease. That may be part of why problematic studies such as these have gotten headlines. It is more disturbing, however, that almost no public attention has been given to infection itself as a potential cause of children’s behavioural and learning problems.

This makes no sense. We know that COVID harms the brain. Neuroinflammation, brain shrinkage, disruption of the blood-brain barrier and more have been documented in adults, as have cognitive deficits. These deficits have been measured as equivalent to persistent decreased IQ scores, even for mild and resolved infections. Millions of people have, or have experienced, “brain fog.” What, then, do we guess a child’s COVID-induced “trouble with focusing or memory” might be?

When you put together the estimate that 10 to 20 percent of infected kids may experience long-term symptoms, that many of the most common symptoms affect cognition, energy levels and behavior, and that children are being periodically reinfected, you have a scientific rationale to partly explain children’s widely reported behavioural and learning challenges.

We can do something to protect our kids. We can vaccinate them every season, which somewhat reduces the risk of long COVID. We can keep sick children home by passing laws that create paid sick leave and end attendance-based school funding. We can normalize rather than vilify the use of respirator masks that help prevent the spread of airborne diseases.

Finally, we can implement fantastic new engineered indoor air quality standards designed to greatly reduce the spread of germs. Clean indoor air should be expected as a right, like clean water. The cost of providing cleaner indoor air is low relative to the economic benefits, which even when conservatively modeled are in the tens of billions annually in the U.S. and more than ten times the costs. These costs are also small compared to the price children and their families would pay in suffering as a result of preventable long-term impairment.

By regulating, publicly reporting and periodically inspecting building air quality, similarly to how we oversee food safety in commercial kitchens, we can greatly reduce the spread of disease and reap huge benefits for everyone—especially children.

[minecraft-cake]

Since a few people seemed interested and the first chapter won't be out for awhile longer as I make some transitions irl, here's some extra detail I can reveal on Scar and Grian's characterization in WWGH! Specifically some detail on Scar's background and one of his aids in this fic, along with some minor things about G.

So! I'll get on with it :). Before the apocalyptic outbreak:

After suffering a severe sickness—having already been immunocompromised—Scar was rushed to hospital urgent care. Unfortunately on the rush through an infected person that was being subdued made contact with him. Medical professionals feared the worst of his condition. While the original virus did take multiple weeks of hospitalization to recover from, doctors were baffled to see the skulk virus took no affect at all. Scar is asked to engage in a government medical program to see if they can find a cure to the alarmingly fast spreading skulk virus, since he is one of the few cases of being completely immune to it that theyve discovered. He accepts under the terms that there will be no physical harm to his condition.

This is where Scar meets Cub. Cub is a professional mad scientist, if you will. He works on finding antibodies and developing vaccines for the skulk virus, but specifically in Scar's case it comes with trying to find ways to recode and strengthen the DNA samples he's taking. He's asked to research whether or not his prior illness is part of the cure, the consequences of making it part of a vaccine, etc. Cub also runs experimental devices with the energy and experience produced by Skulk. Effectively: he's able to make advanced leg bracers and a spinal sensor that runs on the stuff. Very little of it is redstone, and because it's an organic material, he was able to fashion it like muscle. It reads the electromagnetic signals and various ""sound"" produced by the nervous system through a surgically implanted catalyst device in his lower spine, and once attached the bracers are able to guide his legs and desired movement. The main issues as that while it does not infect it still does feed— Scar needs a large supply of regeneration elixirs and experience gain for the skulk to not emaciate him. This also does not make it easy for him to re-adapt to walking, physical therapy was and still is necessary to continue to use the advanced prosthetic.

This is all quick pulled from my notes, so if they're messy or a bit unclear I do apologize, lol. But onto some minor analysis and summarization of both Scar and Grian's main trauma points in this plot! Besides, well, getting stuck in the zombie apocalypse.

Note: The following paragraphs have the characters' self-talk embedded in them, I don't think illy of any sort of mental or physical conditions and personally struggle with my own every day :) lol.

Scar:

Scar was incredibly self confident in himself and was never ashamed of his disability until the world ended. After being forced to use an untested prosthetic with little to no experience, and survive the apocalypse with very little help or compassion from others, his disability becomes a largely insecure part of him. The high tech prosthetic he has is the only thing that allows him to function semi-normally, and without it he would be dead. He would be useless. It devolves his sense of self and his own humanity; he gradually believes himself to be subhuman, unimportant without the prosthetic enabling him to walk. It also becomes a large anxiety point when trying to do any form of self-care. Bathing requires a lockdown to remove the braces, and he keeps the tech on while sleeping. It exhausts his body to have it continuously feed, but the idea of an emergency compromising his base while he is vulnerable is too encompassing for him to consider ever removing the bracers.

He refuses to let others know about the braces, and keeps an uplifting attituide to avoid confrontation about any personal issues or his life before the apocalypse.

Grian:

The biggest factor in Grian’s decision making is the fact he is near-constantly in a state of fight or flight. With an avoidant attachment style and a lot of PTSD from the relationships in his teen years, it’s difficult to become deeply connected to another person. It feels inherently traumatic to commit to any sort of relationship, no matter how much he wants to pursue friendships and otherwise intimate situations. All of his close friends either disappearing, dying, or ostracizing him after the end of the world does not help this. Despite all of this however, he is increasingly blind of how close he becomes to others (from their perspective) due to constantly masking and appearing friendly and approachable. He lets people near, but not inside, and fails to communicate wholly even if it would be to his own benefit. He doesn't believe he deserves second chances, but his desire to live allows him to take them as offered without thinking against it. He doesn't thank people for them, and guilts over that, failing to see the common sense as to why others (excluding Martin, naturally, that man really should kill him some day,) give him one in the first place.

There are secondary paragraphs I'll reveal later on, but keeping to myself for now since they have heavy spoilers as to how these two are characterized and their foils.

Hope this was an interesting little insight, feel free to ask questions! When I know the first chapter will be out, I'll give an update <3.