#and they're not looking good

[eljeebee]

Winter Postlude: Pity

“I’ll be out for a bit, Father.”

Shit. Bloody shit. I can’t keep him inside that makeshift casket for long. I need to find her.

Amelia noticed her hand. They were shaking. Surprised, she let out a breathy laugh and a “shit”.

She’s nervous? A vampire like her? Preposterous.

Amelia takes a deep breath. She can’t find Teresa Williams because she’s been dead for centuries. How is she going to proceed with her plans without her?

I know those Watcher imposters chose another person to be a Pupil. The question is who?

Amelia wandered around, from Newcrest, to the Promenade, to San Myshuno, deep in thought. She needs to find Teresa’s successor to find the woman. The High Priestess. But she’s having difficulties looking for the new Pupil. On top of that, her father’s whining like a little runt.

Just then…

“What are you looking at?” She can see me. That shouldn’t be. My spell is strong…

A woman whose neck was covered (Amelia almost clicked her tongue with this) with thick colorful scarf was walking and was looking straight to her.

She opened her mouth as if she was gasping, as if she was surprised that she saw Amelia, shocked, at the sight of her, but she sneezed and turned away. The woman entered the apartment beside them, presumably her home. Her actions were a little…odd…though. It seemed like her sneeze was forced.

Strange.

I thought she could see me…her eyes looked straight at me. I might need to see her again…just in case.

Amelia finds herself sitting on a picnic table in the middle of who-knows-where in San Myshuno. The sun had already set, and the streetlights illuminated the city. If this was under normal circumstances, she would have enjoyed exploring what the modern world could offer, but she’s stuck with her father, and they must stick together, because they’re the “only ones who have each other”.

Or whatever her father said. He has plans.

Amelia knows he’s not going to accept unfulfilled plans. She knows her father – as spoiled as his sons. Whatever he wants, he gets. Whatever his plans are, it happens. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get the Overlord’s friendship when another vampire maiden was chosen to be his bride.

I just know if I was the Overlord’s wife, I wouldn’t be stuck with him…

I don’t want to be his wife though.

Amelia let out a loud exhale.

When she got back to their refuge, she saw her father sitting on her stool. The candle was lit.

Is his dark vision waning?

“You left the candle lit, Amelia. What if I was burned?”

“I didn’t,” she restrained clicking her tongue, or even sighing. “You won’t burn, Father. That’s an ordinary fire.”

“Why do you keep this thing?”

“I like it. Why did you light it?”

He didn’t answer. Of course he won’t. Since when has he admitted things? Is he getting weak? Should I be worried?

“Did you find her?”

“No.”

“Amelia, you useless child! How long are we going to be like this? I need to find the Pupil now; I want to get my hands on Straud right fucking now!”

She tries her best not to snarl. With practiced patience, she replied, “It’s not easy looking for mortals in this cold, Father. They want to keep warm. Once the ice melts and the flowers bloom, it will be easy.”

And she wants to investigate this girl she saw earlier. But of course, she’s not going to tell him. If she did, he’d do everything himself, and her plans might fail.

He huffed. “A lord like me shouldn’t be stuck in this dump, feeding on rats.”

Her fangs gritted together, her head pounding. With a hiss, she angrily said, “That’s all I could give you without people suspecting us! Do you want to alert the Overlord? While you’re at this state?” She knows he might hit her for this, but it would be like an ant’s bite. He’s weak. He’s no longer as powerful as before. She doesn’t fear him anymore.

“It’s not enough, Amelia.” It was almost a whisper. But her sharp hearing picked it up.

His shoulders slumped. He mumbled, “Just this once, dear. Let Father have one mortal blood. My body just needs one more push…”

Amelia took a moment to let her golden eyes wander around her father’s body. She could feel his dark energy pulsating weakly, its tendrils barely enveloping his body. It no longer reaches her. He’s no longer frightening. It’s like it’s fading. Waning. The Overlord struck him well.

“I…”

She sighed.

“I’ll go look for a poor urchin. You’ll have to help me get rid of the body though.”

“I will…thank you, my dear.”

She turned on her heel and left.

A glance, before she went down the stairs, and she saw him returning to the makeshift casket.

Amelia sometimes pities her father.

[hattersarts]

im already at the south downs cottage guys, catch up

[merrigel]

Ludovica and Sausage I mean Luck (gif version:)

[reasonsforhope]

A new treatment combining ReCET and semaglutide could eliminate the need for insulin in type 2 diabetes, with 86% of participants in a study no longer requiring insulin therapy. The treatment was safe and well-tolerated, and further trials are planned to confirm these results.

Groundbreaking research presented at UEG Week 2024 introduces a promising new treatment approach for type 2 diabetes (T2D) that has the potential to greatly reduce or even eliminate the need for insulin therapy.

This innovative approach, which combines a novel procedure known as ReCET (Re-Cellularization via Electroporation Therapy) with semaglutide, resulted in the elimination of insulin therapy for 86% of patients.

Globally, T2D affects 422 million people... While insulin therapy is commonly used to manage blood sugar levels in T2D patients, it can result in side effects... and further complicate diabetes management. [Note: Also very importantly it's fucking bankrupting people who need it!!] A need therefore exists for alternative treatment strategies.

Study Design and Outcomes

The first-in-human study included 14 participants aged 28 to 75 years, with body mass indices ranging from 24 to 40 kg/m². Each participant underwent the ReCET procedure under deep sedation, a treatment intended to improve the body’s sensitivity to its own insulin. Following the procedure, participants adhered to a two-week isocaloric liquid diet, after which semaglutide was gradually titrated up to 1mg/week.

Remarkably, at the 6- and 12-month follow-up, 86% of participants (12 out of 14) no longer required insulin therapy, and this success continued through the 24-month follow-up. In these cases, all patients maintained glycaemic control, with HbA1c levels remaining below 7.5%.

Tolerability and Safety

The maximum dose of semaglutide was well-tolerated by 93% of participants, one individual could not increase to the maximum dose due to nausea. All patients successfully completed the ReCET procedure, and no serious adverse effects were reported.

Dr Celine Busch, lead author of the study, commented, “These findings are very encouraging, suggesting that ReCET is a safe and feasible procedure that, when combined with semaglutide, can effectively eliminate the need for insulin therapy.”

“Unlike drug therapy, which requires daily medication adherence, ReCET is compliance-free [meaning: you don't have to take it every day], addressing the critical issue of ongoing patient adherence in the management of T2D. In addition, the treatment is disease-modifying: it improves the patient’s sensitivity to their own (endogenous) insulin, tackling the root cause of the disease, as opposed to currently available drug therapies, that are at best disease-controlling.”

Looking ahead, the researchers plan to conduct larger randomized controlled trials to further validate these findings. Dr. Busch added, “We are currently conducting the EMINENT-2 trial with the same inclusion and exclusion criteria and administration of semaglutide, but with either a sham procedure or ReCET. This study will also include mechanistic assessments to evaluate the underlying mechanism of ReCET.”

-via SciTechDaily, October 17, 2024

--

Note: If it works even half as well as suggested, this could free so many people from the burden of the ongoing ridiculous cost of insulin. Pharma companies that make insulin can go choke (hopefully).

[ssalballoon]

rot and ruin

this was heavily inspired by thatkorka's lovely fic! please check it out, it's such a good take on Gale's arc :')

[writeouswriter]

People sorting ao3 solely by stats and only clicking on fics with a certain amount of kudos or comments, you will not survive the winter, nor the summer, nor at all, *brings out knife,* run

[ghosted-jazz]

Species Swap AU! Retired couple gets a fairy godchild to help repair their relationship

[heyitsspaceace]

don't let their seemingly straight-passing tension fool you, they are still very gay and dysfunctional

[bixels]

this is coming from the position of a student, so don't take my word as gospel, but i want to strongly encourage people to prepare for the coming years and look outward to find communities in real life. this can be big like getting involved in fundraisers or organizations or small like going to poc/queer/art social spaces and talking to people. making friends and connections will help you and others build support networks, something you will need as we enter the new term. i know talking to strangers in real life can be scary, unfamiliar, or difficult (depending on where you live especially) and it may take a lot of compromising and work –– and i don't want to condescend –– but we have to try starting now. this is about your safety and welfare, as well as the most vulnerable people's.

if leftists/progressives/minorities want to survive and beat back what's coming, we need to do our work offline too and take up space. an example of getting involved would be (if you're an artist) reaching out to fundraising organizers and making prints of your artwork to donate for raising funds.

[tawnysoup]

the fritter (frin critter)

[noornight]

Long distance besties. This definitely happened after the third movie (source: trust me bro)

Based on this

[yardsards]

say what you will about steven universe but it's objectively hilarious that arguably one of the most toxic ships in the series is just. two coworkers at the same shitty minimum wage food service job

[demonicsuffrage]

Do you think they're Tumblr mutuals

[mintaikk]

"Well he's certainly not naked anymore!"

The glance at Crowley in this scene though LMAO

[petricorah]

....right??? [id in alt]

[hajihiko]

more kofi stuff while I also work on the donation ones

CelestiaxKyoko and CelestiaxKirumi for Sam

Taka and Kimbolton in a field (not quite frolicking sorry) for Churro

Hajime giving Fuyuhiko a "little" kiss on the nape for Whiteheart7 (messed up the little part oops)

TsumugixMiu for Kro