#great for the gp masses

[btsbs]

.

[thebirdandhersong]

I remember talking to a friend last week and saying that if I'm reading obsessively it either means I'm extremely happy or extremely in need of help. alas goodreads my good pal you have GOT to be kidding me

[scientia-rex]

Hi, your blog is a LIFESAVER.

I recently heard someone say their GP told them the best way to prevent cancer in their case was to lose weight - because if your body has less mass and therefore fewer cells, there are less of them there that can develop/turn into cancer.

It sounds like nonsense to me and to be clear I am NOT asking for your ruling on their case in particular, but you are infinitely smarter than I am and I wondered if perhaps this DOES make sense and I am just not able to see it. The advice is flawed for all the usual reasons that "lose weight" is garbage medical advice anyway to be clear, but does it actually logically track?

Thank you again for your blog, I have shared it with so many people and you have changed so many lives here and irl ❤️

Fat causes cancer is bullshit, you gotta read "Food Is Not Medicine," great book by a doctor-former fitness junky-former fat guy who started getting into the actual data and was like "wait. what the fuck. Everything I've been taught about this is contradicted by the actual data." and like a BOSS actually changed his opinions. He has a section on that.

Also I would just like to note that that explanation is particularly insane bullshit.

[imaginesig]

Documenting A Propsal

Paul Aron x Leclerc!Reader

Your engagement as documented by your brothers girlfriend.

I’m editing this while watching the Hungarian GP— Paul what are we doing?? This isn’t how we win championships?? Let’s come back better please

imessages

to Alex Saint Mleux

from Yn Leclerc

hey i was on instagram and im not able to see your account

Hey thats so weird

i just saw some stuff that insta is glitching

oh ok

it messes up all the time so im assuming this is one of those mass breaks

i guess your right

in that case can you let me know where you got that dress from your last post

the link is coming your way!!

alexandrasaintmleux (private)

liked by mama_leclerc, paularon_, charles_leclerc, and 123 others

alexandrasaintmleux: best part about dating someone with a little sister? She doesn't know she's getting proposed to in a week but I do!!!

tagged no one

mama_leclerc the sweetest!!! Just who my girl needs ❤️❤️

charles_leclerc she doesn’t know and I don’t know how to feel

Paularon_ thank you so much for agreeing to help!!

Alexandrasaintmleux planning on documenting the whole thing!! I hope she believes our lie and doesn’t find out she’s blocked 🤞🤞🤞

annaron_ I'm so unbelievably excited

alexandrasaintmleux same!! messaging you right now about a engament dinner theme

Load more

alexandrasaintmleux (private)

liked by maxverstappen1, charles_leclerc, annaron_, and 184 others

alexandrasaintmleux: just some fine tuning!! Thank you @/maxverstappen1 for distracting her while we walked through the plan

tagged no one

maxverstappen I’m never taking her to play paddle again

Charles_leclerc she’s a bit competitive

arthur_leclerc and mean

lorenzotl and intense

paularon_ and scary

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alexandrasaintmleux (private)

liked by charles_leclerc, mama_leclerc, paularon_, and 142 others

alexandrasaintmleux: since Paul can't post it, "last race as bf-gf"

tagged: no one

paularon_ ❤️❤️

mama_leclerc beautiful pictures ❤️❤️

arthur_leclerc I don’t like how this makes me feel 😭

annaron_ crying

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alexandrasaintmleux (private)

liked by nailartist, charles_leclerc, Francisca.cgomez, and 281 others

alexandrasaintmleux: wonderful job by @/nailartist!! Our girl is all photo ready 💅

tagged: no one

nailartist it was a honor to do these special nails!! They’re gonna be gorgeous with the bling 💍💍

alexandrasaintmleux thank you!!!

mama_leclerc I love the matching nails!!

Charles_leclerc beautiful

Alexandrasaintmleux ❤️❤️

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Alexandrasaintmleux (private)

liked by charles_leclerc, arthur_leclerc, lorenzotl, and 182 others

alexandrasaintmleux: first, a sister date (plus Leo) and now off to her special night!!

tagged: no one

fransica.cgomez so so excited!!

charles_leclerc im not ready

arthur_leclerc me either

Lorenzotl we can still stop them, steal the boat

alexandrasaintmleux who are you acting so big and bad for?? All of you cried when Paul told you he was proposing

charles_leclerc I was exposed by my own girlfriend 😭😭

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alexandrasaintmleux (private)

liked by charles_leclerc, mama_leclerc, lorenzotl, and 173 others

alexandrasaintmleux: floral dinner party to celebrate 🩵

tagged: no one

charles_leclerc you’ve done a wonderful job planning and setting this up!!

mama_leclerc thank you sweet girl for all the work and time you’ve put into making this so special for Y/n!! Not only have you helped guide Paul and make his plans come to life, you planned a wonderful event to celebrate in a way Y/n will love!!!

alexandrasaintmleux 😭❤️❤️

Lorenzotl the floral theme came to life

annaaron_ we plan a great celebration!!

alexandrasaintmleux i say we start a bussiness

Load more

Alexandrasaintmleux posted a story

Caption: she said yes!!! My beautiful bride to be 🫶💍✨

Replies

ynleclerc

I’m crying I love you!!!!

Omg I just stalked your account, that’s so sweet😭😭

It was Paul’s idea to document everything but he couldn’t post it

You’re the best 🥹🥹

I love you baby sis

I love you too Alex

ynleclerc

Liked by charlie_leclerc, alexandrasaintmleux, paularon_, and 837, 948 others

ynleclerc: good time to say I have a crush on him??

Tagged: paularon_

Paularon_ 🩵🩵

arthur_leclerc can't you be normal

ynleclerc Paul wants me despite my quirks

Arthur_leclerc quirks?? girl thats mental illness

alexandreasaintmleux my gorgeous gorgeous bride to be!!

ynleclerc you are the best🫶💋

Charles_leclerc I cried the whole time you guys were gone

ynleclerc awww char 🫶

lorenzotl I love you baby sis

ynleclerc i love you too

comments have been limited

paularon_

Liked by aronralf, annaaron_, ynleclerc, and 823,928 others

Paularon_: my forever date 🩵

Tagged: ynleclerc

ynleclerc forever and always

annaaron_ i cant wait for a sister in law

paularon_ im scared for what you two can will get into

aronralf so proud! Congrats!!

paularon_ thank you!!

charles_leclerc the plan was perfect

arthur_leclerc you really know our sister

paularon_ i'd like to think so

comments have been limited

[eddiediazangst]

There's one thing I want from the Vegas Grand Prix and that's chaos.

I want drivers rocking up to the paddock in sunglasses because they're hungover.

I want mass pictures from the jpg accounts.

I want Daniel and Charles Vegas trip content since we've been robbed every other time.

I want to see silly rich men waste their money on stupid novelty tourist trap things.

Fucking drag along ex drivers if you need more chaos because they know how to party.

Honestly I just want the drivers to be out having fun and being young adults because most of them are prime age for a big night out of just letting loose (not too loose though I'm looking at you cheating men, keep your dick inside your clothes and your lips away from other lips)

This would also be a great opportunity for pure fan service based photoshoots that are cringe but embody the Vegas spirit, have the drivers do a casino and poker based photoshoot (a proper promotional one not the cheap looking one they've already done), a trashy fake Elvis wedding photoshoot, drape a half naked Charles over a car if you have to (this might be more for my own benefit but Ferrari have no issue with ice baths so I'm still not ruling it out)

I just want them to fully embrace the Vegas chaos. They tried in Miami but it also wasn't really Miami but them mashing a completely different sport (American Football) with the Monaco GP scenery with the yachts on water lining the track.

Vegas is known for a lot of things and if they don't exploit that it'll be a huge waste of everything. Vegas is the one race where you can go all out and it won't be seen as a pure fan service money grab but just Vegascore.

[bisupergirl]

oh sorry, also are there any comics i should avoid completely because the gp recognises them as being completely ooc or just not a sensical comic for supergirl?

and i was thinking of collecting the series of graphic novels that start with supergirl vol 1 - reign of the cyborg supermen. is that a good comic run? i have no clue when it comes to kara haha.

also, one last thing i promise! what is kara's true personality? like as kara danvers but also as supergirl. do they contrast each other? is she a geek or is she still just as powerful but in different ways when she's kara not sg? if that makes sense

again im so sorry for all the questions, kara is a character that really intruiges me and i really want to know the canon version of her. (unfortunately i loved the cw version of her, no matter what any one says) but i know that's nkt exactly correct.

im so sorry if ive bothered you, and i will be eternally greatful if you manage to answer my questions. thank you so much!

YES THERE ARE. Anything you see written by either Jeph Loeb or Joe Kelly should be avoided at all costs. This includes Superman/Batman (2003) #8-13 and Supergirl (2005) #0-19. Basically anything written between the years 2004 through 2007 should be avoided like the plague. The early 2000s was truly an evil era for Kara... she was oversexualized to hell and back and really didn't have any sort of characterization beyond "sexy teenager". The only thing that I think is somewhat worth reading from those years is Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes (2004) #16-36, but even that isn't super necessary if you don't want to slog through it just for her.

Aside from that.... this is just my controversial opinion, but I REALLY dislike everything Mariko Tamaki has written for Kara. This includes Supergirl: Being Super (2017) and the Supergirl Special (2023). I've just found that she has a very boring and uninspired take on Kara... Nothing she's written gives off the vibe that she's actually read any of Kara's comics. Being Super specifically irks me because it's literally just "what if Kara... was Clark!", and that's just not remotely interesting to me... Obviously nothing she's written is on par with the truly heinous shit that Loeb and Kelly were doing with Kara, so I don't want it to seem like I'm putting them on the same level! A lot of people DO like her Supergirl comics, I'm just not one of them.

Steve Orlando's run of Supergirl (2016)—which includes Reign of the Cyborg Supermen—was written specifically to appeal to fans of the CW show, so I imagine that if you like CW Supergirl, you'll also probably like that comic. I don't necessarily want to say that you shouldn't read it (since you like CWSG), but it's not something I recommend since the way that Kara's characterized there is quite different than any other comic version of her—past or present. If you do want to read something from Supergirl (2016) I recommend Marc Andreyko's run! It's spans from #21 to #36 (although I don't suggest reading past #33) and is collected in Supergirl vol. 1: Killers of Krypton and Supergirl vol. 2: Sins of the Circle.

As for her personality:

Kara is very headstrong and stubborn—she doesn't back down from her beliefs even if it means coming into conflict with her authority figures (like Clark, her mother, her employers, etc.).

She's also incredibly compassionate and protective—even in her early days as Supergirl when humans would reject her, she wasn't directly scornful of them and she'd still go out of her way to use her powers to keep them safe.

Relating to that, she's also very empathetic—there's been multiple storylines where Kara sees herself and her experience in the person she's helping, and it inspires her to do whatever she can to help them.

She's often driven by her anger and devastation of what happened to Krypton. The fury and nearly inconsolable despair that she feels for the mass death that was caused by Krypton's destruction is such a huge driving force for everything she does.

In regards to her interests: they change pretty frequently between continuities, but Pre and Post Crisis Kara was depicted as being very artistic in a lot of different areas! Kara used to have a passion for acting: she went to drama school, starred in two films, and went on to star in a soap opera. She was also very into fashion and used to wear so many cute outfits :'). Additionally, in Post Crisis continuity, she was a painter and even contemplated joining the Art Guild on New Krypton just like her father did. Recently she hasn't been shown to be that artistic and instead has an interest in history (Kryptonian history, that is). Before Krypton's destruction she was invited to study at the Society of Historical Science, and she actually preferred history to applied science. She does have a lot of scientific understanding (both because she's apart of the House of El and because Krypton is so scientifically advanced), but I've always loved that she's shown a consistent interest in the humanities rather than science!

As a quick aside, Kara has had a couple different human identities over the years: she was Linda Lee Danvers (sometimes just referred to as Linda Danvers) during Pre Crisis continuity, and that was her most fleshed out and meaningful identity imo since it lasted for around 26 years. During Post Crisis she briefly went by Linda Lang, and then in the Rebirth continuity she'd go by Kara Danvers to match the CW show. All that to say, she really doesn't differ that much in personality when she's in her human identity than when she's Supergirl! Aside from pretending that she doesn't have powers, she's still just as incredibly headstrong and compassionate and protective when she's [insert human ID here] as she is when she's Supergirl.

Okay now I'm just going to drop a few reading guides / comic recommendations that I've made here if you're interested!

Ultimate Supergirl Reading Guide Supergirl Storyline Recommendations Pre Crisis Supergirl Recommendations

[unhonestlymirror]

It's KAB time.

I will tell you about one more thing that we encounter here every day. These are KABs (guided aerial bomb), or FABs. Aviation bombs of great power. This is one of the most terrible things that I encountered in the war. Very destructive and the occupiers use these bombs en masse.

You can suddenly come under fire and not even have time to get scared. Hitting a bullet or bursting a mine is a moment but you hear the bomb before it explodes. You hear it approaching with a characteristic sound. And you understand that if it flies at you, there are few chances.

Roughly speaking, there are two types of gliding bombs. Those that were created as controlled (UPAB-500B and 1500B) from the very beginning and modified FABs (high-explosive aviation bombs of general purpose), to which correction and flight control modules are attached These are FAB-250, FAB-500, FAB-1500.

They are not done very well, but the russians have a lot of them, and they can quickly equip the required number of bombs. Enemy planes fly up 40-50 km to the battle line, launch these bombs. They fly to their target and hit it. If they hit, of course.

Something about the quality and design of processing. We often find remnants of control modules as in the photo.

It is obvious that the design provides for quick manufacturing, and the charter is minus the quality. Sometimes bombs fall, but do not explode.

This "specimen" actually lay under our feet for some time. Over time, it was taken away from here and, I think, blown up somewhere away from where it could do harm. They aimed at the road, or at something that was travelling by it.

I can assume that the russians, as often happens, saw ideas about such "recycling" of old bombs in the West. They liked JDAM's technical solution. Their propaganda likes to mention it in the context of the aerial bombardment campaign of Yugoslavia.

One of the russian weapons experts referred to this system (which includes a GPS-based guidance system and wings). He called it the "bra bomb." The russians have always had problems with naming.

The very range of dropping guided air bombs depends on the flight parameters of the carrier - speed and altitude. Accordingly, the higher and faster the aircraft drops, the farther such bombs will fly. KABs are considered a difficult target to shoot down since the bomb carrier does not enter the area of ​​​​air defence.

In addition, we can not afford to keep stationary air defence systems near the front because there are not enough of them to cover objects in the rear. Moreover, as soon as the air defence systems are brought closer to the front, the resistance to their destruction also increases. In a word, it is impossible to reliably protect yourself from KABs here at the front. There is no suitable resource. And even if there was, it would not always be possible anyway.

The russians use these bombs every day and in large numbers. The targets are different. The positions of our units are in the immediate vicinity of the contact line. Logistics routes. Places of possible location of equipment, headquarters, warehouses, etc. They do not hesitate to shoot on the roads and in their own trenches, which were occupied by the Armed Forces. There is a defined list of roads and logistics routes. From time to time, bombs fall either next to these roads or even on them. However, in this case, the effect is questionable.

Daily is that the russians conduct thorough aerial reconnaissance of various depths. Near the contact line, in our rear. These are the same commercial drones as ours, as well as their regular "wings" - Orlans, Zaly, Superkams. Based on the results of the intelligence, they are trying to launch airstrikes at the corresponding points. I don't know what the accuracy statistics of these strikes are, but from what I could assess with my own eyes, I would say that it is not high.

There are objects that the russians have been shooting at for several months in a row and can not hit. Fields, towns, and villages are strewn with debris from these bombs. The worst thing is that they often purposefully launch anti-aircraft missiles at residential buildings, trying to reach infrastructure facilities. Many settlements were destroyed or hopelessly damaged by these bombs. They simply turn walnuts and neighbouring villages into crushed stone and clay.

They use them both during the day and at night. The graphs look variable. In a certain period, concentrated and massive airstrikes took place at night. For example, during the day, they reconnoitred something, and with the onset of darkness, begin shelling the specified coordinates. During the day, the strikes were carried out as a result of more operational reconnaissance or a reaction to some events. For example, the occupiers could receive information that equipment had passed in a certain place. Then they raise the plane and launch a bomb there. Even if belatedly.

Another example. When another KA-52 government helicopter was shot down, they launched 4 bombs on the square, where they thought the MANPADS missile might have come from. With the corresponding accuracy that I have already spoken about. We have repeatedly seen bomb explosions during operation. This solves the problem of high losses of battleboards. Aircraft become unreachable for MANPADS. On the other hand, the bomb's flight time increases, and we have more time to hide if there is such an opportunity.

This story is primarily about how we move forward in a situation where the enemy has air superiority. Under constant airstrikes. When the targets are located in the steppe, like in the palm of your hand, the surrounding fields are mined, and the narrow corridors for movement are restricted and shot at. I can't imagine anyone considering launching a ground offensive without the necessary air assets. But the Armed Forces do it and have success.

[gigantic-spider]

Itchmas 2024 Days 2-4

Thus far I have managed 1 consecutive day of Itchmas 2024, so let's make up for that!

Day 2. I've added 25 community copies for my game The River Spirit. It was my ZiMo 2023 project, a solo journaling game about creating your hometown and then venturing into the forest to save it from a drought. It uses a standard deck of 52 cards to create your memories of the place, give you encounters in the forest, and then have the river spirit demand sacrifice from you in the form of dripping water onto your journal and tearing out the sodden pages. Easily the best (and most complete) thing I've made so far

Day 3 - The Technicolor Forest by Mynar Lenahan

The Technicolor Forest is an adventure for RAD, the post-Soviet nuclear wasteland hack of Mausritter, by Hipolita. This adventure has everything that's great about RAD: archival Soviet art/ads, clean two-column layout, bizarre mutations you can acquire, etc. What does it add? A monster called That Fucking Frog. Need I say more?

Turns out, yes, I do need. Because I love me some mushrooms, and this adventure is chock full of them. The titular technicolor forest is something straight out of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, a forest of giant fungus that sits smack-dab in the middle of a nuclear wasteland. On the one hand, its constant expansion poses a threat to human life around it. On the other hand, isn't it nice that something is actually growing and thriving in the nuclear winter?

Throw in three factions that all have direct connections to the Forest, several settlements at various levels of wealth, and a small dungeon at the Heart of the Forest, and you've got a compelling adventure location that will ask some big questions of your wasteland adventurers.

Day 4 - The Rumbling Forest by goobernuts

I'm only now realizing that there's a real silvestral theme in these Itchmas posts. Well I'm a biologist at heart, so that makes sense.

I've had my eye on this adventure for over a year, ever since Idle Cartulary reviewed it in September 2023. While obviously inspired by Princess Mononoke (namechecked on the first page of the adventure), the adventure is much more than just that story translated into an RPG. Perhaps the best intervention it makes is trapping the locals in between the colonizing Conquistadors and the enraged mass of boars. Unlike the citizens of Iron Town, who are actively participating in the destruction of the forest in Princess Mononoke, the people of Barangay Tindigan are faced with a fundamental lifestyle change due to the arrival of colonizers. They're not the ones who shot the Ancient Boar, but it's their village and not the Conquistadors' stone fort that will get trampled in retaliation. This change makes for a very different dilemma at play: how can you protect the innocent townsfolk without also protecting the Conquistadors who are clearly at fault for everything that happened?

This is a question with no easy answer, if your group is even interested in answering that specific question (maybe they'll work for the Conquistadors; they are offering 1000 gp as a reward after all). Still, whatever they want to do they had better act fast because as the Ancient Boar lays dying, its death throes are causing literal earthquakes. The mechanic that underlies this clock is pretty ingenious actually: an earthquake triggers every time you roll doubles on the 2d6 Wilderness Encounters table, and the Ancient Boar dies after the fifth earthquake. This means there's a 1-in-6 chance of an earthquake, so you're looking at an average of 30 wilderness encounters before everything comes down around your players' ears. That's theoretically more than enough time to explore the 20 hexes on the given hexmaps if they're really booking it through the forest.

The Wilderness Encounters is perhaps a little lacking, and for me the least inspiring part of the adventure. I particularly like the giant hermit crab using an overturned boat as its shell, but many of the other encounters don't feel like they add all that much context to the world. In particular, I would love to have some interesting people to happen upon in the forest, because the people in the keyed hexes are by and large pretty compelling.

All in all, the adventure is deceptively simple and really gives players the space they need to mull over how to resolve the presented dilemma. There are no easy answers presented in the text (because god knows that killing the Ancient Boar isn't going to be easy even though it's technically the most obvious 'solution') and that's just the way I like it. Newer GMs might find that aspect of the game a bit frustrating or confusing on first glance, but if you just venture into the Rumbling Forest I think that an answer will present itself to you one way or another if you just let it happen.

[authors-antithesis]

( An internal recording of Denko's machine. His perspective inside it, actually. )

( He appeared to be playing some game. The game itself was unimportant, as he sets it aside to bring his focus to the notification for a new email. It's from… the boss??? )

This message has been sent to those who have been deemed fit to take on this long-term task. Please verify your ability to participate ASAP.

( Oh, it was a mass message. Still, this was uncommon. Denko reads further. )

An alternative method of reliably creating shadow pokemon has finalized development. This process will require the effort of one or more members with great individual strength and mental aptitude.

( This requires one's individual strength? Typically, a long-term mission such as this would be exclusive to those that do battle with pokemon. What entailed the new method of shadow creation? )

( After a few more paragraphs, there's a checkbox with two options. )

🔲 - Yes, I feel capable and am willing to participate. 🔲 - No, I do not feel capable and/or I do not wish to participate.

( Denko takes some time to consider his options. While he disagreed with the artificial creation of shadow pokemon, he also knew that his services would be necessary for something like this. )

( Besides, he still owes them a personal debt for rescuing him. )

⬛ - Yes, I feel capable and am willing to participate.

( One more paragraph appears when Denko makes the decision. )

Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. You will be personally contacted with more details. If you wish to rescind your participation, plea

( He just skims the rest of the message. This was something he was going to commit to. )

Sent by: Giovanni (GP-865773) Rainbow Rocket executive

( The video ends. )

[theskee]

i had an alarmingly unpleasant doctor's visit yesterday. and i need to rant about it. but first... a little backstory here:

so a couple years ago my PCP retired. she was amazing and I loved her and I wished her all the best. she was the best PCP i'd ever had and the first one to ever listen to me, take my chronic pain seriously. in our first appointments together she asked a lot of general questions and i flippantly said "well i have a lot of joint pain but i used to be an athlete and my old GP told me it was probably just wear and tear" and she looked at me, a 28 year old, and said "No that's weird you shouldn't have that much pain in all those joints at your age. i want to run some tests." lo and behold, i have an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation that's been running rampant for years. something that was ignored by all my prior doctors as me needing to lose weight or maybe it's fibro, here's some anti-depressants, but no one ever ran tests. because i was young, fat, and "female".

this doctor changed my life. the damage of prior doctors was already done. I have crooked pinkies, no cushion left between the joints in my fingers, i have lost bone mass in my wrists from the inflammation, but now, i have it under control. my RA diagnosis changed my life. and it broke my heart to see this doctor who actually listened to me and care about me retire.

and so came the horrible task of trying to find a new PCP. my neurologist recommended me to someone. now. my neurologist is great. she's a very no-nonsense woman with terrible bedside manner but god is she good at her job and she cares. it's so clear that she cares so i don't mind that she's not the most congenial of doctors. because if i say "so i have this thing going on" she immediately jumps on it and tries to find out why. she's insanely efficient, too. i trust her.

so when she said "This doctor is extremely talented and knowledgeable. You might try and see her." i went for it.

and... i had a not that great first experience with her. i went to, we'll call her Dr. V, for my first appointment and annual physical where my bloodwork was excellent, i'm in great health overall despite my chronic illness. but i am overweight. and despite my cholesterol and blood sugar and all that good stuff being excellent, she probed me about my diet and my weight and my exercise habits and I was like??? "Honestly I put on this weight pretty rapidly and I'm not really sure why as I do eat a balanced diet, I tend to be a light eater in general, I'm relatively active. I didn't change anything major but I shot up a little over 20 pounds in the past three months."

To which she looked at me like i was lying to her. like. full on side-eye. but we didn't linger on the topic. she didn't have *anything* to say about this, and launched into trying to get me to let her give me a pap smear that I was not emotionally prepared for because I've never had a PCP try and offer gyno services and also, if anything ever so much as briefly touches my cervix and I'm in pain. It's always been a problem. And she was visibly irritated that I told her 'No'. So all of this was a bit wild to me because i have an autoimmune disease already like. should the unexplained weight gain not cause a little bit of concern? (I wound up talking to my Rheumatologist about this, who is like the mother I never had and took it extremely seriously and helped me out since Dr. V sort of no-sold me on this.)

Should the sensitivity of my cervix not make you raise an eyebrow??? But. It wasn't all bad. This was our first appointment and sometimes doctors come across weird or just have bad bedside manner. So the good-- Now, full disclosure, I had a cancer scare last year. A sort of delayed one, as we found the mass in my chest that could possibly be cancerous in 2018 while I was pregnant and unable to do much about it. I put it off because it scared me until last year and Dr. V, I brought this up to her, and she was *excellent* about this. She was very calm and able to help me get everything handled, scheduled all my tests and gave me feedback within hours of all my testing so as to not leave me wondering and sitting in my anxiety. So I was like... Okay. Maybe I just... Misread that weird thing about my weight. I'll give her another chance. So yesterday I had my annual physical with her. A lot has changed in the past year. I had an hysterectomy on October 22nd, where everything except my ovaries was removed. No tubes, no uterus, no more painful cervix. I started a new migraine medication (one I've mentioned on here before) that has been great but gives me weird appetite side effects (as in a don't have one and when I eat I get full basically immediately.) These are the major things that have changed. Now, mind you, I'm walking into this appointment after getting misgendered by the nurse even though my gender and pronouns are in my fucking chart and I don't get misgendered at my specialist's offices-- So I'm already annoyed. Dr. V sits down and looks at my chart and makes what I can only describe as a Stink Face and asks me, incredulously: "Did you just have a hysterectomy?" To which I said, in a very forced, chipper tone: "Yes!" And her response is not to ask after my health, but to very sharply, with so much judgment, ask me: "Why?"

Insert Red Flag Emoji Here. I was very taken aback by this and then explained to her all my various reasons which are all valid but honestly my answer could have been "because I fucking felt like it" like what the fuck do you mean *why*? It's my fucking body, doc. We go through the motions of some of the exam and she asks me how my migraine meds are working out and I say to her: "They're great. Life-changing. I have maybe one or two migraines a month at most now. The only real drawback is it gives me this side effect that makes it really really hard to eat and make sure I get proper nutrition and calories in so I can function. I'm never really hungry and when I do eat I get full immediately. So it's been hard." AND HER RESPONSE.... "Well don't you want to lose weight?" I cannot believe I had to look this woman, a medical professional, in the eye and say: "Sure but not by starving myself." Which she fucking ignored and went on to tell me how I'd needed to lose weight and I shouldn't be concerned because I'm losing it at a steady rate, if I've lost a little under 20lbs since I started these meds in July. The fact that I have had to *fight* the side effects to *MAKE SURE I DON'T RAPIDLY LOSE WEIGHT WHICH IS NOT GOOD FOR YOUR BODY* did not seem to register to her even though I straight up told her this. I have never felt more disrespected. I cannot even begin to explain to you how mad this whole experience made me. I got in my car after the appointment and screamed. The fact that she's treated me this way knowing: - I was a high risk pregnancy on medications that i have to take for the rest of my life that you absolutely should not get pregnant on (also i should mention she seemed offended I want to see an actual Gynecologist and not her for my gyno needs... Girl. Fuck your ego and your paycheck.) - That I have struggled with eating disorders in the past and had previously asked her to be gentle about that subject (I'm not a total pushover) - That I am a chronic pain sufferer who has to work twice as hard to maintain what would be considered a "normal" level of activity - That I'm a former athlete that does actually know how to take care of my fucking body I used to see a goddamn dietician I was a fucking *boxer* with a *license*. We discussed this extensively in our first appointment. - That my bloodwork shows I'm in great health. (A fact which seems to fucking annoy her btw.) - That I do not struggle with any kind of symptoms that could even be remotely related to my weight such as pain or breathing issues or heart health issues. All I felt, was a woman judging me for being small fat and doing what I want with my own fucking body. So anyway, I'm never seeing this cunt ever again and I will be giving that feedback to my neurologist because she gives a fuck.

[alex51324]

Some fairly serious news

Okay, so, I've been hesitating over whether/how/when to mention this "in public" but there are a bunch of people on here that I've known for ages, and most of y'all I don't have another contact method for, so...anyway.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned having a trans-abdominal pelvic ultrasound, which found some masses on my ovaries. These masses are fairly large--one's 18 cm and the other is 7.5--and based on that and some other findings from the ultrasound, my GP has referred me to a gynecologic oncologist. The oncologist (who I haven't seen yet) ordered some bloodwork, which is showing elevated levels of the tumor marker for ovarian cancer. None of these things necessarily always indicate cancer--in fact, what I'm learning is that they often don't know for sure whether a person's got ovarian cancer until after surgery when they get the tumor in the lab--but they aren't great signs.

I'm basically at the point where it's starting to look vanishingly unlikely that this story arc is going to end up as "those couple of weeks where I thought I might be dying but then when I finally had the appointment the Dr. was like LOL you're fine." Like, it could still turn out fine, but not that quickly.

I'm getting a CT scan on this coming Thursday, and then seeing the oncologist next Thursday. I'm pretty much expecting to be referred for surgery--probably the absolute best-case scenario here is something like, "Holy cow, these things could turn malignant any second, let's get them out of there ASAP."

So that's what's going on with me.

I don't particularly need anything now--I've got a family member to go to the appointment with me, and decent insurance, and another family member who can help out with my expenses if I have to take some time off work. If the money situation becomes more complicated and I need to fundraise, I'll let you guys know.

I'm planning to mostly use Tumblr as a place to distract myself from this stuff, so let's try to keep questions and suggestions to a minimum--if you have relevant, direct experience that is somewhat positive/optimistic in nature, that would be good to hear about, but I am a librarian, I don't need help Googling my symptoms.

Once I know what the treatment plan is, I'll probably post again to ask for practical suggestions (I've never had surgery or been overnight in a hospital before, so if that's part of the plan, I'll want some tips about what to pack and so on, and ideas for suitable entertainment while on post-op pain meds, stuff like that). But I'll ask when I'm ready for those tips.

What you can do:

If you have a relevant spiritual practice--prayer, holding in the light, sending positive energy, etc.--please go ahead and do some of that. The oncology appt. is the 21st; as far as I'm concerned, until then I have Schrodinger's cancer, so if there's a time when it's at all possible to shift the probabilities using intangible means, this is probably it. You can tell me about it or not, either way is fine.

Like I said, I'll be on Tumblr for distraction purposes, so feel free to @ me on anything you come across that might amuse me.

Also, on the distraction front, comments on my fics give me a notification on my phone that isn't a family member asking for details about my medical situation, so that's helpful. I like ones that mention a specific detail that you liked--that way, if I feel like talking, there's something there that I can reply to.

[eldritchmochi]

since shit continues to be wild, as evidenced by the oingo boingo voice WEIRD CANCER posts, heres.....

mochi, what the fuck is up with that?? (guts edition) 3.0

1.0 ; 2.0

i apparently have not seen enough specialists so i have an oncologist now. gotta catch 'em all and shit

tl;dr mystery mass did turn out to be technically cancerous. i do not remember the specific type off the top of my head yet but its a weird rare one, because of course it is. luckily its a kind that stays very localized, so it's not gonna pop up anywhere else in my body, and my surgeons did manage to remove all of it with good margins. i am now down the 3rd and 4th part of my duodenum and my gallbladder (which, fun fact, did have signs of chronic gallbladder disease, so i guess i didn't escape that family trend lmao). like all cancers, theres a chance it'll grow back, but if it does, it should be in roughly the same place and is unlikely to be fatal, just annoying

i've got a fuck off big scar building down the centerline of my abdomen, from sternum to groin. it is gnarly as fuck and i am excited to see how it heals. i already have some ideas on how to incorporate it into my tattoos. you can see pictures of it here if you're a morbid freak like me. be sure to look at my reblogs for updates, there will probably be several contained there down the line, for posterity :>

the first like 18hrs post surgery were uh. not fun since it took A WHILE to find some sort of non oral pain management that would actually work for me, so thats great, but sans ng tube, i'm getting by pretty okay with ibuprofen and tylenol with the occasional non-standard opioid. i've been home since tuesday, oct 10th; had a check in with a gp yesterday, oct 13th, and i'm healing well. staples will be removed on the 18th and theoretically i'll be able to keep them >:3c

i'm back to eating semi-normally. still on bowel rest, but it's not as strict as it was before and it's mostly because i am paranoid vs anything required by my doctors. i haven't been nauseous since i went under on oct 4th which is absolutely wild, and i've been experiencing hunger at normal, regular intervals including being able to eat breakfast shortly after i wake up, which i haven't been able to do without a high chance of barfing it back up immediately since i was a teenager

first oncology appt is on oct 23rd. sounds like itll be mostly setting up a plan and schedule for things like regular scans to watch for regrowth and possibly referrals for genetic testing

my pfml back pay came innnnn god only last week holy shit, and my wife got their big chunk of school loans for living expenses so we are mostly fine there. i am arranging with a local queer to come a couple times a week to help with regular chores and stuff at 40 bucks a pop. if anyone would like to sponsor one of those visits or some take out for us, i'm @/sumomomochi on both pp and vnm0

at this point the sort of stuff that would serve us best is GEEFTS. not like, physical things you pay money for necessarily, though if you're a custom dice maker and wanna send us clacky math rocks, i would not say no. things like comments on our fics (mochi's ao3 ; cherry's ao3) or fanart for em, should you be so inclined, would be incredible. cherry is very low key on the internet but i'm chronically online, so other stuff like asks about worldbuilding or fic process or fashion opinions or whatever would be fantastic for me. i am...... incredibly bored after sitting in the same spot for four months now, and i've got another 4-5 weeks of it (:

but! i have a good support system, personally, professionally, and medically, so i'll be alright in the end, just hmm. sure has been a fucking year jesus christ

[script-a-world]

Submitted via Google Form:

So I have an idea planning for world is that they just chuck rubbish they can't recycle or break down quickly enough out into the vast space so they don't have to deal with landfills? Space is practically endless - things drift forever. It doesn't interfere with any ecosystem because there's nothing known out there. Like real life, just one known inhabited planet in the solar system. Also, like real life, space exploration advances would be similar, but maybe on the more advance side - like try to realistically picture 2050.

Addy: Conceptually, great idea. When we try to put it into practice, though, it all falls apart. How does it get into orbit, how many trips to orbit would it require, and what overall is the scale we're talking about here? 

Putting stuff into orbit (or, rather, out of our gravity well) takes a fair amount of fuel

Trash is heavy. If you somehow had the ability to railgun packages out of the atmosphere, that could work, but again: trash is heavy

If you can send it to space, go ahead and either

3a. Chuck it into the sun (good for toxic waste)

3b. Chuck it on the moon or something, if you think it's recyclable/useful at a later date. Maybe wait until certain times of the month, so you can yeet it onto the dark side of the moon.

But 2050... I don't see us having cheap space deliveries by then, and it'd need to be cheap for it to be worth it. Because again, trash is heavy. What's affordable on a small scale (ISS, astronauts, etc) can be very unaffordable on a mass scale (heaps and heaps and heaps of trash).

The complete ISS apparently weighs around 925,000 lbs / 425,000 kg. A cubic yard of compacted waste (non-stone) apparently weighs around 400-800 pcy (lb/yd^3), so let's call that 600 lbs.

An average landfill is apparently around 500-600 acres in the US, so let's call that 500 acres, 4 yards deep. It'd probably be more accurate to model it as groupings of cones, but whatever.

500 acres is 2,420,000 square yards. 4 yards deep gives us a total volume of 9,860,000 yd^3 for this one landfill.

If we multiply that by our 600 lb/yd^3, we get a total weight of 5,808,000,000 lbs for one landfill.

This is, of course, a *very* rough estimate, with some numbers (like 4 yds deep) pulled out of thin air. All the same, though, I think it gets across some of the scale that we're talking about here. A single landfill holds a weight ~roughly equal to 6,279 ISSs. 

Consider that, for any given rocket, around 90% of the weight is fuel. You would need a *lot* of fuel to get all of our trash into the atmosphere…. And the numbers above are just a rough estimate for a single landfill. There are many, many more landfills around the world. 

(Also, putting stuff *out* of orbit takes more fuel than just throwing stuff into orbit… and leaving stuff in orbit means that it's eventually going to fall out of orbit and crash into the atmosphere. There's also the risk of crashing into the garbage, like if there was stuff littered all over the highway. Imagine your GPS goes out because the satellites crashed into somebody's old TV set)

[hrodvitnon]

Hullo hullo, back again with more random “how would x kaiju fit into the Abraxasverse” shit. Today it’ll be the last four trading battle kaiju because they’re cool and dammit toho use em in something.

Razin: since the world at large became aware of the Titans in May of 2014, many have raised concerns about whether they could be a threat to humanity, even more so after the mass awakening of 2019 and the Many Crisis of 2019-2020. But still many believed titans could help. However, not everyone thought of “help” in the same way. Enter GenPlanners, a genetics company dedicated to “helping humans stay on top of the food chain”. To do this, they proposed using Titan biology to solve many problems humanity had long faced, such as airborne pollutants and more pressingly, world hunger. Despite experiments with Titan DNA being heavily regulated to the point of being effectively outlawed, that didn’t stop GenPlanners. Using genetic samples taken from several megafauna and Titans, it engineered a creature intended to solve world hunger by effectively being an ever regenerating food source. As with most things however, this did not go as planned. After several months of testing, their subject known as GP-547 broke loose and escaped into the wild. A coverup was quickly done, but it would only shield them for so long. Several months later, a massive bug creature resembling aspects of titans such as Biollante, Ramarak, and Legion made landfall, consuming as much as it could. It was driven off by Godzilla and the newly reawakened Anguirus, but not before causing major damage to the Philippines. Analysis of the dna left by behind from the creature showed it to have similarities with GenPlanners other products and soon led to an investigation shuttering the whole enterprise. The new beast, named Razin by Monarch, has been spotted many times since, attempting to consume genetic material to increase its size and output. Driven only by hunger and an intense pain, the nearly mindless kaiju communicates only through a rapid chirping and has particularly become an enemy of Battra since his return to his sisters side.

Barugaron: as with many facets of life, Titans too tend to have similar dynamics across multiple species. Even still, no one ever thought this would apply to Titans who fell from the stars. Having encountered Xenilla many moons ago, a vampiric parasite came to earth soon after the defeat of Gigan’s fleet. Formerly an amorphous serpent like creature, this monster had taken DNA from Xenilla and used it to stabilize its body into a more humanoid form. Now seeking more genetic material, it attacked Godzilla in an attempt to consume his radioactive blood, intending to grow its strength. While it was driven off, there are whispers that it lurks in the shadows within the hollow earth. Polite yet savage, as well as presenting a seemingly debonair deameanor, Monster X has compared him to an “alien Dracula in Orlok’s body”.

Vagnosaurus: many ancient titans served functions in the old world, such as Shimo’s efforts to ensure the planet’s ecosystem remained stable with ice ages and Behemoth’s care of plant life. Among these jobs which needed to be done was taking care of poisonous gases and liquids which often crept to the Earth’s surface. Enter Vagnosaurus, or Vagno for short, a Titan who specialized in neutralizing and absorbing toxic gases. Never the most pleasant of sorts, she did end up becoming friends with the likes of Scylla and Tiamat, who had similarly peppery temperaments. Eventually as surface radiation subsided and the last great Titan war commenced, Vagno retreated into the depths of the ocean, sustaining herself on toxic gases and radiation from underwater vents in the ocean’s depths. Sometime following the defeat of the Many and Keizer Ghidorah, Vagnosaurus would awaken from a long hibernation and make her way to Earth’s surface once again. In an attempt to get a “midnight snack” as described by one monarch biologist, she attacked Lahore, consuming many of the pollutants in the area. Her destructive feast was eventually stopped by Monster X and Rodan, who drove her into the path of Godzilla for a “chat”. She has since acquiesced to the demands of her King and Queen, but not without heavy conflict and sour moods. Her territory is well guarded, with the poisonous mist she projects and her penchant for assimilating smaller lifeforms into her for sustenance making her a Titan few ever dare encounter, aside from her two old friends of course.

Shiigan: sometime after Monarch and the Titans became aware of Gigan and his fleet, they would discover something they had long thought unthinkable. Frozen in Siberia was the mummified corpse of creature resembling the mad master of the reaper fleet. How it arrived on Earth remains as of now unexplained, but the reason for its mummified state soon became apparent after a nearby underwater iceberg was broken open, releasing a mad protector with biometric abilities. The Titan initially appeared friendly, albeit territorial, but upon making its way into waters which had been contaminated by heavy metals from APEX and other companies misdeeds, it went into a violent rage. With the help of Na Kika, Monster X, and Tiamat, Godzilla was able to subdue the creature during its mad rampage and delivered it to Monarch, who kept it sedated and locked within Outpost 98 off the coast of Mombosa. Ancient writings recovered near Mu gave its name as Shiigan, mad god of the seas, and testing of its genetic material shared heavy similarities to zooplankton and dna recovered from the Gigan-esque corpse in Siberia. Dr Rick Stanton proposed that the Titan was once a colony of zooplankton who mutated into their current form after consuming the flesh of the space monster, mummifying it in the process. Unpredictable, ruthless, and utterly deranged, it was eventually able to escape containment during an attack on Mombasa by Oodako. Reports have placed it viciously attacking Hedorah examples seen in various oceans.

Well there’s some more obscure Godzilla kaiju to look over. Went a lil out there with these, hope it wasn’t too much 😅

Oh, cool! Obscure kaiju are a treat.

[grayrazor]

Harun Takamoto. Born in the McMurdo Arcology, Antarctica. Inducted in the Order of Federation Knights at a young age, and a true believer that their mission to protect the Terran Sphere is valid. His current mission shakes that conviction: pursue the renegade veteran knight Praetor Thing, allegedly engaged in piracy in the Gamma Pavonis system at the edge of the Terran Sphere. For his mission he uses his authority as a knight to commandeer the light cruiser Swiftsure, captained by Miriam Chakravarty. Born in the Zimbabwe Metrodome, Africa, Captain Chakravarty is a veteran of the recent General War, making her unpopular in the core planets of the Sphere.

Among the peoples of the Terran Sphere, a notable religion rising in popularity is the Roman Catholic Christian offshoot The Church of Death, which venerates the angel of death Azrael as a premier figure, also equated with the Mexican folk religious figure Santa Muerte. Swiftsure's only chaplain on this voyage is of this religion, and there are rumors that he is no mere priest, but an agent of a new Inquisition.

Swiftsure Communications Officer Rachel Chang, born in the Pacific Center Colony, was one of the victims of the mutated flesh-eating bacteria disaster there as a young child. As the disease ravaged her body, it was replaced piece by piece with machinery, until eventually she gave up on maintaining a human appearance and began replacing her medical prosthetics with robotic spare parts from the Machine Republic.

A century earlier, the Synthetic Independence movement triumphed over the human supremacists and the Machine Republic was born, settling on the planets of the Epsilon Eridani system as the first extrasolar member of the TerraSphere Federation. Their internal culture is hidden from outsiders, but they regularly send "mass-produced" robots to human-controlled worlds, purpose-built to apply for specific jobs. One of these is Swiftsure's Chief Medical Officer,  GP-63M (Type-63 General Purpose Utility Automaton, Medical Variant) “Tacitus.” Tacitus speaks very formally, but many of the crew believe his "misunderstandings" of the nuances of human language disguise a biting wit.

Also on Swiftsure's medical staff is their only extraterrestrial crew member, the dental surgeon Dr. Zaggoth. A colony creature, that refers to themselves in plural terms, and has a difficult time with the concept of individuality.

Swiftsure's Chief Engineer is an uplifted squirrel monkey named Ikkiki Akkikki. Her kind were engineered to be more efficient space workers than humans, but in her lifetime was the Great Simian General Strike, which earned them full equal rights to humans.

[dearweirdme]

They’re going all out for JK’s single, and I’m so happy for him, but I can’t help buy worry for Tae. I feel like hybe wont give him the support that jimin and jk got. For JK’s marketing, it’s understandable coz his type of music is really the marketable type. They even sent it to radio stations and will impact stations on the release time itself, but for Tae, his music is unconventional. I’m worried that it may not be gp-friendly. Jimin got all hybe producers’ support while JK got Scooter’s company support, but with Tae, though he has a huge fanbase, his fans can only do so much.

However, Tae said he’s not really after any chart placements or anything and just wants his fans to enjoy his music, but I want Tae to have that kind of success, too. 🫤

HYBE doesn’t support his projects much, so I’m really worried for him. I feel like HYBE just relies on his fans for support. HYBE producers are not even helping him with his music.

Hi anon!

I’m not worried too much, but I know many are of the same thoughts as you. I think you are right in thinking they will handle Tae’s release different than Jk’s, but they’ve handled every member’s release differently. It does depend on how marketable something is. They’ll have made estimates about which audiences to target (which is part of the reason why I think Tae went on Jinny’s Kitchen, older audience) and they will target those audiences specifically. Tae knows this as well. He knows his music is possibly not for the gp. I also think it doesn’t matter to him. He has already had that great succes. What he wants now is to be understood I think. For people to know him. He cares about his music reaching the right people and not the masses.

I do however think the Taennie situation has been set up to broaden his audience a bit. And think it’s possibly something he had to settle for to be able to do what he wants musically. I think Tae chose the producers he works with, and I don’t think it’s that Hybe doesn’t want their producers to work with him. They have no interest in making him fail, it will cost them money.

Overall, I don’t feel like Tae has been given a bad deal. He’s been doing great projects that have been keeping him in the eye of the public. Jinny’s Kitchen (which many see as a separate project, but I see as a sort of promo) has made him available to a broader public, who also got to know him a bit through it.. that is great promo! Same goes for his brand deals. I know fandom expects Hybe to shine light at these things, but the thing is that it’s the other way around… these things shine light on Tae, and that is promo. Tae is doing fine, great even.