#did more research on eggs themselves and now I'm coming to believe that anything from the store will NOT have afd1

[roundaboutnow]

found the study from Purina and it seems promising so far but im lmao at this one cat. WHAT DID HE DO???

a couple people have been telling me about eggs with fel d 1 antibodies that might be able too reduce cat allergens and even though theres not a lot of research into it, im interested in trying it out. (honestly, even if it doesnt work as well as i want it to, anything to reduce their allergens would be a godsend)

the problem is that the only cat food that uses it is hella expensive, and it's not even guaranteed to work (everytime someone tells me about it, i think, yeah thats a great idea i'll look into it! and then i see the price tag and my heart stops. i dont have that kind of money even if it did work)

so my next thought is, skip the middle man and just start boiling eggs for the little dudes.

but that leads me to my next problem- how do i know which eggs have this antibody?

it seems like free-range and cage-free are my best bet but i cant find any information about it from any of these brands (and i guess, if they did raise their chickens near cats, why would they advertise it? maybe i should be looking more locally than at these big brands.)

anyway, all of the information i can find about this antibody seems to be coming from Purina, hence my doubts about it. i'll have to do more in depth research but if it was so groundbreaking, wouldn't more researchers and brands be jumping on it?

so... what're yalls thoughts?

[wann-der-lusst]

00:00 (Zero O'clock)

by Audrey S. Bill

It was late in the evening, and she knew he'd be there because he'd dropped his cigarette in the sink... and just knowing he was there made her entire body shiver.

"Why were you late, Athena?"

As she was about to turn the doorknob, she felt his heavy hand on her shoulder. Her hands trembled and her heart pounded as if it were the first time something like this had happened.

"When will I ever get used to this?" That was her thought as she let him lead the way to his room.

She was putting on her clothes while staring at the man fast asleep next to her. Tears stream down her cheeks as she walks out of the room quietly.

After several days, she is still sore. No matter what she does, she can feel it all over her body. She couldn't eat anything and couldn't go about normal routine... And there she lay on a cold floor, helpless and alone, wishing to be seen, heard, and saved.

Two years later, she attempted to live and interact with others again. She joined a school organization and spent most of her days at school, where she met Eros. He is a year older than she is. Everything about him is beautiful, from the depths of his eyes to the gentle expressions on his face. Eros had the kind of face that makes you want to stop in your tracks. While Athena appeared to be an ordinary girl in the corridor, she wore a downcast expression on her face and eyes, as if she were trying not to draw attention to herself. Eros walks her home, buys her dinner, and speaks words that make her want to sweep on her knees. Athena was surprised because it was the first time she had felt so cared for; this is the joy and comfort she has been looking for. It is the same feeling she had as a child. She wiped away the sticky stream of tears that streamed down her face as she recalled her father's days. All of the walls she had built up over the years crumbled. She appears to be willing to let people in... yet again.

Months have passed, and she still can't believe someone has stuck by her side. She now has family-like friends, a boyfriend who adores her, and a mother who looks out for her and has promised never to abandon her again. She couldn't have asked for more. She remembers how sweetly he confessed to her, how he strummed the guitar for her while singing in front of the crowd. She had no idea what she deserved at this point.

Eros flicked her forehead when she was zoning out.

"Are you okay, Athena?" He gently touched her cheek to see if she was okay.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for walking me home again!" She exclaimed joyfully.

"I'll never get tired of you, Athena." He gave her a warm smile.

"Indeed, it's the little things that matter the most." She reflected on herself before going to bed.

It was the fourth of the month, their special day, and they had decided to go to the mall. On the other side of the road, Athena was waving to Eros.

“Wait up,” he said with a smile and a wave. They waited for the stop sign to turn red before continuing their walk.

3... 2... 1...

As they walk towards each other, he suddenly pushes Athena, and all she sees is him... lying on the floor... covered in blood. Athena was stunned, and her entire body went numb. Her only sensation is the flow of hot tears from her eyes down her cheeks. This was far from what she had hoped for. Many people have gathered around him, calling an ambulance, and photographing him. People have also gathered around her, asking about her health. But all she can think about is how she can't move at all.

“I should be there instead of him. What exactly am I doing here? Why did he bother saving me?” So many thoughts had built up in her head. And when she heard the ambulance, she completely lost it. She has a lot to say but can't seem to find the words. It's just her eyes... closing.

“All I can see is white. Am I dead? Was it all a dream?” She thought to herself.

"Athena," she then noticed her mother's concerned expression.

"What am I doing here? Where’s Eros?" She asked.

"Don't worry, you're fine now. You're here at the hospital."

"Where's Eros?" She asked again.

She simply looked at Athena with a worried expression on her face. “What the hell is going on?” She reflected on herself once more, trying to remember everything that had happened before she passed out. Her head ached at the thought of Eros lying on the floor full of blood... She screamed and cried hysterically as her mother and nurses tried to calm her down, and she gradually weakened as sedatives were injected into her body and her eyes closed.

Five hours later, she woke up and just stared at the ceiling, tears streaming down her cheeks as she remembered the incident. Now that she thinks about it, she realizes how perfect that day was. She awoke the next morning, to find her man sleeping soundly because she forgot to turn off the Skype App on her laptop while speaking with him. She made perfect eggs; she didn't burn the hotdogs. Her Research Paper also received an A+. Everything worked out perfectly for her to get to this point. Her mother just hugged her, but she couldn’t feel her. She can't feel the warmth of this embrace. She was... lonely.

The man she adored was inside the coffin. She can't look at him because the mere fact that he's there breaks her heart into a million pieces. Athena believes that everyone in the room despises her; she feels responsible for everything because she is the one beside Eros as he breathes his last.

“No one expected this to happen... but life is truly cruel to me. How did we get to this point? Why did he fall in love with someone like me? I should be the one inside that coffin, not him. He does not deserve any of this. God, why now?” She sobbed quietly as she stared at Eros’ face.

After Eros died, Athena began cutting again. She couldn't get his smiles out of her head while trying to save her. When Athena sees blood from her wrist, thighs, and other areas that aren't visible to the naked eye, her heart calms. For her, physical pain was easier to bear than the emotional pain she was going through. She couldn't fathom how people went on after Eros died. All of the memories she had buried in the past resurfaced. And as she browsed through her gallery, she noticed that it was filled with photos of Eros and her.

“You know that I rarely pray at night. But I'll do it for Eros' sake. Please make him come back to me. Just this once please...” She cried and prayed until she fell asleep.

After a few months, at her mother's request, she began seeing a psychiatrist. “It's all for the best.” That is what they continue to tell her. Athena, on the other hand, felt she was labeled as "crazy" as a result of this.

"I completely understand what you're going through right now."

"Everything is going to be fine."

"You can count on me."

These are the words she keeps hearing from the Doctor. Athena believed the doctor was simply doing her job, as she had told all of her patients the same things. She still has a sense of emptiness. The words, however, lingered in her mind, and she felt as if her heart was gradually giving in.

“Is this okay, Eros? This doesn't mean I'll forget about you...” Athena contemplated herself.

It's been a year, but it only seems like yesterday. Athena had given up hope, but she is now smiling. She attends church every Sunday, she has grown closer to her family, her friends have consoled her, and they have all contributed to Athena becoming the person she is today. She was overjoyed that God had restored her life. When Eros died, Athena's world collapsed around her, but she soon realized she wasn't to blame; his death was an accident. Her nightmares keep her awake at night, but she is relieved that the man who abused her weaknesses as a child is now in prison.

***

Am I seeing things? Or is this really Eros? He is dressed in a white coat and is smiling and waving at me. I felt him as I held his face to see if he was real. He doesn't say anything, all he does is stare at me with his piercing eyes. Finally, he spoke...

"Athena," he begins.

The air became cold as he said my name... it's different.

"Why didn't you help me? Why... why did I even save you in the first place?!"

For a brief moment, I was stunned. This is not what I am expecting. I can feel all of his anger, despair, and betrayal from the way he said those words and the way he looks at me now.

I was about to approach him when he took a step back, his eyes welling up.

"...Eros..."

He shook his head and moved his gaze away. Is he going to leave me again? He's becoming blurry now. No way... We should be together… Eros. No, please...

***

"EROS!"

Athena screamed as she struggled to breathe. Her vision became blurry because of the tears. She had been fine for months, but it suddenly reappeared. Eros was blaming her in the dream… A single dream that has now destroyed everything she has worked for. She's blaming herself once more.

"It's entirely my fault..."

As she stood next to the bridge, she reflected on her day, which she described as "beautiful." She went to see Eros in the cemetery. Everyone was smiling and doing their best to make her feel "loved." She smiled heartily at the thought of people going to such lengths to make her happy. Her heart skipped a beat as she considered all of her loved ones, and the thought of leaving them. Athena gave everything she had, but she was also a master of disguise. Her mind is already made up that all of her misery and the monsters within her will not stop unless she makes a move, and she believes that people who get too close to her, such as Eros, will only hurt themselves.

The cool breeze caressed her skin, as if it wanted to embrace and feel her.

“Is that you, Eros? Dad?" Her eyes welled up with tears as she remembered them. She simply hopes that no one will blame themselves for having to die because it was her choice. She is certain that she will be happier. She sincerely wishes for the pain to end. She's desperate to put an end to it.

She took a deep breath and looked out at the water, which was plain blue but beautiful. She looked down at her phone and smiled one last time.

“Happy Birthday, self.”

At exactly 00:00, she jumped off the bridge, allowing her body to be thrown into the deep blue sea.

[forgxtmxnot]

@littlesilverplatinum has sent: -Bc I'm a slut for this theme: Write meta regarding religion/religous beliefs - all muses-

send me a topic to write a meta about my muse on       [Always accepting, specify muse] 

// Guess I’ll have to answer to this across all of my other blogs as well JHBSDJHBSD

// Agatha was born in a traditional family for her time- meaning religion was a big thing during her childhood, however she never truly developped any resemblance of faith. She was the odd one out of her siblings (she used to have other 5), instead of dedicating her time to the church/her faith- she actually dedicated it on her studies

Interestingly- it may have been this lack of faith in her life, that allowed her to study ghost types in a critical- analytical manner.

I like to imagine that a reason, for ghost types not being as well- researched as the other ones could have something to do with their existance likely clashing with religious beliefs. Making them into some kind of taboo in most regions, so there is a certain resistance to seeking them out as research subjects.

TLDNTR: Agatha’s contact with religion is pretty limited to her childhood- her time living in her parents’ household, once she left it- she abandoned it completely. Even to this day, she has never opted out of this decision.

Read more bc of the length.

// Much like Agatha, he too was raised by religious parents. That as expected- didn’t take Blaine’s carreer interest too well, in his case- there was a huge intereference from his parents in an attempt to hold him back from it.

From trying to talk him out of it, to dragging him into religious cults- to try and convert him. Despite all of their attempts, Blaine succeeded in getting into college- and away from their grasp. Needless to say how becoming a scientist- was pretty much the death of his bond with his parents. There were attempts to try and amend things later on, but- they all flew past Blaine- who was way too keen on his studies/researches/trainning.

“As a scientist, I am not trying to find- nor explain God. I’m here to deny his existance.”

It’s safe to say how after his experience with his parents, he has become spiteful- of just about anyone who holds a religious belief (regardless of what it could be). In his eyes, they look ignorants- making fools of themselves- sheep in a herd. He looks down upon them all. Interestingly, the only ones who seem to be the exception to this are Pryce and mr.Fuji.

ALSO when the case of the Mewtwo project, was brought into the public’s knowledge- the religious crowd in Kanto were amongst the first ones to condemn the experiment solely off their beliefs.

Pryce alongside his wife and children hold religious beliefs, they have faith. They were introduced since very early on their lives- and did the same thing to their kids.

Contrary to what people expect- his faith NEVER got in the way of his studies when he was going through the process of applying to the professor position. If anything, he cherished the fact he could comprehend/study their God’s creations.

Pryce’s faith serves AS A MAJOR inspiration for his artistic work, a few of his ice sculptures carry a heavy religious subject/them to them or depict a scene from their myths/religion’s story.

Don’t assume that his passion for his faith, makes him into some kind of radical religious man- he is incredibly level-headed. And isn’t shy to show how his faith, has influenced him in certain aspects.

Team magma was some kind of cult- Tabitha’s faith was entirely poured onto Maxie, he acted and behaved just like a fanatic. Seeing their Leader fail miserably, was his wake up call.

Tabitha before joining the organization, he had a pretty empty head- his parents didn’t even bother to introduce him to a religion.

He was very easily PERSUADED BY TEAM MAGMA’S PROMISES.

Even after this whole fiasco- Tabitha has never joined any cult/religion. He really doesn’t wish to return, to what he used to be.

// Being part of a kalosian family, but born into Hoenn- a far away land from his parents’ homeland meant that there weren’t much- if any at all places where they could follow their faith.

Juan is the middle sibling- meaning that he and his younger sister, had literal no contact with religion. The same can’t be said for the older brother- who had some of it, very early on his life.

To an extent this was benefential for Juan- he never struggled with coming into terms with his own sexuality, and he could have a neutral look into art and performances when he was studying it.

Truly the only time in his life he had the most contact with it, was during his time in Kalos- when he was in college. Since then, his contact with it, has been kept to a minimun.

 Palmer isn’t all that different from Pryce- as in he was introduced since very early on his life, he and his wife follow their religion- as much as they can. But he opted, to keep his son out of it- keeping his contact with it minimun.

He decided to leave it up for his son- if he is interested in it, then they will give him their teachings. But so far, it is pretty evident how Barry isn’t showing any interest to it anytime soon.

Currently he isn’t as religious as he used to be, which isn’t a good thing in his eyes- he really wished he had the time to dedicate some time to his faith.

Religion for Riley, is an interesting case. In both households he was raised in- arceusism has ALWAYS been present- especially in his mother’s. Who would “use” it, as some kind of shield from what Riley was.

She really was affected, after his father left her before their child was even born. She saw Riley, as some form of God’s punishment for her sins. After he was taken away from her, she went on to try and become a nun at a church- in an attempt to redeem herself.

At his adoptive family- things were a whole lot tamer, they weren’t as driven by their faith as his mother was. For the most part he ignored religion, for the exception of the subject of rebirth- something that compliments his belief of being related to Sir. Aaron.

The belief of being the legendary knight’s rebirth, is definetely fed by all the stories within the arceusism. He uses them in some distorted way, to support his idea.

His interpretation is the only correct one, he won’t even give a care about others. Try to deny it, and you’re bound to find yourself trapped in a nonsensical argument- clearly nothing more than just RIley’s projections of what he deems to be right/the truth.

Brendan has never followed any religion- but travelling the world, has given him the chance to get a taste of what is out there! He is most definetely intrigued by it, and finds them to be fascinating.

His mother wanted him to be introduced to it, when they still were living in Johto- however her plans didn’t come into fruition due to them moving into Hoenn sometime later. It frustrated her, but at the same time, never mopped about it.

If anything, now that her son is exploring the world- she can’t help but be thrilled by his fascination to the religions found throughout the regions.

When Rowan set out to go through his evolutions research, he NEVER had any goal to go against the arceusism’s views of the world and creation. Because for the longest time, he used to be a believer/follower of it- however it was his interaction with people that drove him out of his faith.

But look and behold- he managed to put out something, that basically goes against the principle of the World’s creation. Because of it, he was shunned out of the cult- and to this day there is a huge resistance to accepting his thesis/work.

A newly wed couple, is gifted a pokemon egg- as a sign of their union by the church. This is how Rowan came to obtain a Togepi, who later evolved into his Togekiss- which was gifted to them by his parents.

Thankfully- not having his religious belief around, it meant less one thing he had to be concerned/stressed about when he came to have his affair with Richard.

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

@trans4transbian I don't know it will help you to hear how some folks are wrestling with these thoughts/questions themselves, but figured I'd offer mine in case.

For a variety of reasons, I will be Literally Unable to vote this year. I've been trying really hard to get that addressed, but the amount of money I'd have to spend just to get my documentation up to snuff, let alone the time to submit and follow up on those applications has been proving not just difficult but impossible for me to overcome. I still have October to figure something out because I live in a same-day registration state, but I'm not really optimistic.

So! What's a "literally been campaigning for democrats longer than I could walk and has never not voted in their adult life" non-voter to do?

I started by calling my local Democratic Party chapter and asking them who was coordinating in-person canvassing shifts. When the answer was.....less than acceptable ["oh the national level is handling that." Me: are you sure about that because when I called THEM, they told me YOU were handling it. ".....well we don't have anyone trained on votebuilder yet...." me: it's AUGUST why the FUCK no....never mind I'm doing this now.] I started talking to other coordinators and volunteers about getting a boogie on that.

I've also been emailing my representatives to the point that I stopped getting replies from staffers and now they talk to me directly [I like to believe this is because they fear my detailed source citations].

Outside of the election itself though, there's still a lot that needs doing. My wife and I have been noting and sharing sightings of white supremacist gatherings [both formal and spontaneous] in the region for both the sake of other marginalized people trying to avoid runins, and the sake of local activists arranging counter meetups as needed.

I've also been restoring the land I live on to reduce the impact of climate-change related weather disasters on residents. Managing floodwater pathways, cultivating rain gardens, restoring local wetland and riparian zones to reduce the scale of regional flooding, etc. I do this at my own expense (tho now that they know me the local nurseries will sometimes give me their less sellable plantings for free when I come in to make purchases and I love them for that, they gave me a weeping willow 3 feet taller than I am for $20 because I came in asking about creek-side trees and they got SO excited for my project that they weren't willing to let me leave without it even tho I didn't have the money for it's pricetag). I really expected it to be more expensive than it has been tho. Plants come cheap and seeds come cheaper when people realize what you're doing and you start making connections. Hell, even the local agricultural research center sends me 3 packets of free native edible plant seeds every spring and fall! It makes a much bigger difference than you'd think, and despite how violently the hurricane winds touched down for us this past month (and boy howdy did they) we only lost one tree, and nothing flooded, not even the *literal* floodplane we live on.

My plan, once the land starts to stabilize and produce crop, is to build a little farm stand at the entry to the neighborhood. It's right off the freeway, which means tons of people will pass it every day on their commute and be able to stop if they want. And the neighborhood is a web of interconnected dead ends and loops, so that means all of us residents will also be driving by it on our way home. I can stock it with eggs, squash, cardoons, edible wild flower bundles, dried herbs, stone fruit, etc, and install on of those little "take what you need leave what you can" drop boxes for anyone who wants to leave money in exchange for what they take. The more my restoration progresses, the better I can stock the stand.

More than anything else though, I've started meeting my neighbors and talking to them about what we think of our home, the things we need that get overlooked, and the ways our represemtatives have been selling us out to land developers, corporations, and hedge funds. I sympathize, I share my own concerns, and I agitate for us to DO something about it all. Sometimes I bring little baskets of goodies from the garden or my craft bin. Sometimes I make my way to houses I know have children, elderly folks, people living alone, disabled folks, etc during utikity outages to see if they need anything (batteries, torches/candles, food that doesn't need cooking or refridgerating, medicine storage, all that jazz). Once I had just finished running up and down the street hollering for the dogs who I thought had accidentally been let out of the yard, so after I found them sitting happily on the deck like they hadn't just scared me half to death, I took another walk through the neighborhood to thank everyone who stopped and helped or asked if I was okay or whatever.

The problem, I find, with asking "but then what do I do???" Is that it assumes there's a specific answer that's a universal fit for "meeting my moral expectations of self under concerning socio-political circumstances" when there just isn't.

I won't be able to vote this year. And given the reasons for that and the political context of those reasons, there is a solid chance that 2022 was my last chance to vote ever. But that really doesn't matter. I mean in the grand scheme of things of course it matters that I and so many others functionally cannot vote, but for the purposes of how I decide my actions? Literally couldn't matter less. To know what needs doing, you need to be in complex and consistent conversation with the communities you are attempting to work within. You need to actually know (not just assume or decide on others' behalves) what their concerns actually are, and what kinds of barriers are going to show up as you explore solutions. You need to be willing and able to focus on empowerment, autonomy, and interdependence, even when people do things with that you wish they wouldn't. And you need to be willing to stop looking at political actions through the lens of "which person who is not me can I trust to act on my behalf without sacrificing more than I can afford" but rather through the lens of "what do I want done in my name, and what pieces of that process am I willing and able to commit my time/energy/resources to?"

I think it's important when people vote. I think voting serves specific and valuable functions that are not always served by other methods. I also think that voting is not actually DOING anything. We treat it like it is, because we feel like we NEED to be DOING something and we know good and goddamned well that for most of us the things that need doing (giving money, protesting, weapons supply chain disruption, community organization, etc) are INTENSELY costly to us. We may not actually be able to do much of it if any and that often leaves us feeling helpless and trapped. But voting is explicitly not DOING anything yourself. It is simply the naming of a person to Do In Your Name. And like. There are a lot of needs that simply can never be met by delegating it to a public servant.

So. Vote. Don't vote. Vote for Harris. Vote third party. Do whatever you need to do to put your conscience on paper at the ballot box.

But stop treating your vote like an action and start thinking of it as buying a service that will perform an action on your behalf. That's the first step to even being able to see the asks your community might already be making of you.

I'm to the point where if I hear you're endorsing/voting for Kamala Harris and you're publicly getting mad at people for not voting for her, I'm not even going to listen what you have to say, you've made it clear you have to strong principles to guide your decisions beyond "what's worse for me personally?" I think Harris voters have no actual ideologies to live by, despite claiming they do, and I fundamentally don't respect them for it. It's one thing to be angry at people who won't vote for Harris, but it's another thing to pretend you're doing it because you have some sort of moral authority and not basing it off pure selfishness. You think that solidarity is posting about things and that's it. You refuse to make yourself uncomfortable, even momentarily. And you get mad at people who are willing to go through discomfort for the sake of others. You call them names, ans claim that THEY are the selfish ones in this scenario. You've given up on making a change in the world for the better, or maybe you were never interested in it. All of your arguments pale in comparison to reality, because Harris is actively funding a genocide. She has even refused to acknowledge a reality in which she does not fund that genocide. Has made such a thing clearer and clearer. All my problems here in the imperial core are secondary to that. I'm about to go through multiple personal issues that are made increasingly hard by political factors and I still think that's nothing in comparison to what Palestinians and Lebanese are going through overseas. You've placed yourselves as the ultimate victims in the world and to me it's laughable and completely out of touch with just how fucked everyone else is because of the imperial beast that is Amerikkka. And speak nothing of the way the victims of Amerikkkan imperialism on Turtle Island bear the brunt of societies' woes for your personal comfort and refusal to make any meaningful change. Not ev baby steps! You think trump is an accidental anomaly and not a product of a larger issue within white amerikkkan politics. Is it not shocking to you that so many people here are voting for trump so enthusiastically?

Seeing things like the weaponization of personal identity, like "Muslims for Harris," used so plainly is an insult to the ideas of internationalism that you all claim to follow. What use is solidarity with the victims of imperialism if you refuse to acknowledge the entirety of the imperial complex? That includes the democrats you hold so dear as well as the Republicans? What use is any of this if you only think for yourself?

You claim to be thinking of others, and that's why you vote for Harris... but what is so incomprehensible to me is the comfort in which you accept the inevitability of Palestinian deaths. Why are you so willing to accept that reality? Why are you comfortable with that reality? It shocks me and disgusts me in a way that I can not really describe. You lot argue and argue and argue, but in the end, the difference between you and me is that I refuse to engage in a reality where Palestinians must die in any case. You have yet to refuse that. In actuality, you all refuse the baby steps, the bare minimum, of refusal to engage in continuation of that reality. And because of that, I do not take you seriously, nor do I view you as being moral in your decision to sacrifice Palestinians.