#necrotic works in progress

[necrotic-nephilim]

i recently remembered DickTim Week 2024 is happening very soon and i looked at the prompts again to see if i could get anything out for it and. the Hades & Persephone AU prompt for day 1 has got me really thinking so here's a vague concept i plan to write.

i've been pretty burnt out on modern Hades & Persephone retellings because of how they always seem to fall into the same generic "innocent wide-eyed girl runs from her evil mean mother into the arms of a dark mysterious man because actually she went willingly and chose to marry him" which has gotten repetitive for my tastes. (for clarity i don't care if this retelling is your cup of tea personally, so long as you're not actively trying to rewrite the original myth and claim untrue things about it, if this is your favorite flavor i sincerely hope you enjoy the buffet i just have little interest in it since it feels overdone for me and exhausted of it's supposed commentary atp)

but? but. biblically accurate Hades & Persephone AU has me all kinds of interested. because wait listen so hear me out right. Hades!Dick and Persephone!Tim, obviously. i feel it'd be more loosely inspired by with themes and imagery (though playing with death and nature powers could be interesting, i haven't decided) rather than explicitly making them gods and all. but. something dark and fucked up where Dick and Bruce are especially estranged. maybe to do with Jason's return, maybe to do with them just clashing and having their usual explosive arguments. and Bruce knows the peace needs to be kept, if he and Dick are at odds then everyone starts to pick sides and things just fracture so he needs a peace offering.

and the peace offering is Tim.

Bruce (the stand-in for Zeus) offers up Tim. agrees to have Tim move to Bludhaven and be Dick's... whatever Dick wants him to be. knowing that with the implication comes the likelihood of Dick grooming Tim. and Tim has no real say and is hesitant to put up a real fight. he doesn't want this, he knows what this is going to imply Dick will do to him, but he also knows if he says no things have the possibility to just... fall apart. so he's the unwilling bride, dragged off to the metaphorical underworld (Bludhaven) with Dick, away from his family, his friends, the life he built.

and on the flip side, i think weirdly enough, your best pick for the Demeter stand-in is *Jason*. just, hear me out on that. not necessarily on the side of it being motherly, but on Jason being just estranged enough from the Batfamily to be the one willing to call it out for being bad and wrong and raising bloody hell to get Tim back. maybe it's because Jason wants Tim for himself, maybe it's truly out of a concern for Tim to have autonomy, i'm toying with the idea of it primarily being Tim's POV and him genuinely not knowing which of these is true. (and the truth possibly ends up being a complicated middle ground) and because i like Helena, i think you can use her as the Hekate stand in, the one who strikes a tentative alliance with Jason and tries to go find Tim and bring him back. Tim stuck with Dick, getting groomed and hyperaware of it, possibly even getting fucked the whole time as well, knowing he can't go back without causing massive issues for Dick and Bruce because well, Bruce did promise him to Dick. so he has to adjust his whole life, try to figure out being a vigilante in this new city with Dick breathing down his neck the whole time.

and then much like the ending of the myth, a sort of compromise is struck that's a shaky deal for everyone involved. Tim is put on an essential timeshare, going back and forth between Gotham, where he has friends and family and a support system, then getting dragged right back to Bludhaven with Dick in this brutal cycle that he slowly gets used to and stockholm'd into even liking it. Dick isn't so bad, once he gets used to the quirks of their unbalanced 'relationship'. the sex is even something he can adjust to as well. not quite a happy ending but one that sits in this realistic grey area that becomes Tim's life.

i will write this, eventually, but i don't know if i'll get to it before DickTim Week ends so by posting the idea i'm essentially putting it out into the world so the peer pressure holds me accountable. i just. really like the potential of making Hades/Persephone AUs as fucked up as they can be simply by adhering to the source material and making it a raw story of being stolen away and forced to like this new home you didn't ask for.

also a less fleshed-out aspect of this idea i have ties into Persephone becoming the Queen of the Underworld when she's taken and how the transition from Kore to Persephone could be reflected in Tim. how he makes the best of the worst situation and becomes something far more dangerous and dark when he's in Bludhaven, possibly takes on a new vigilante name/identity and leans into the worst quirks of his personality he tries to tamper because there's no point in not going full tilt Obsessively Weird if he has no choice anyway and it being one small way he takes back his autonomy, and that inevitably making Dick *more* into him, because he gets to see Tim finally just. let loose.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Hello! By any chance, do you have synonyms or related words to "decompose"?

Thank you in anticipation!

Hi! Here are some words related to decompose:

Decompose—to break up into constituent parts by or as if by a chemical process

Addle - to become rotten; spoil

Atrophy - to waste away (as from disease or disuse)

Corrode - to wear away gradually usually by chemical action

Corrupt - rot, spoil; to cause disintegration

Crumble - to fall into small pieces; disintegrate

Curdle - to go bad or wrong; spoil, sour

Decay - to undergo decomposition

Decline - a gradual physical or mental sinking and wasting away

Deteriorate - to become impaired in quality, functioning, or condition; degenerate

Devolve - to degenerate through a gradual change or evolution

Dilapidate - to bring into a condition of decay or partial ruin

Disintegrate - to break or decompose into constituent elements, parts, or small particles

Dissolve - to separate into component parts; disintegrate

Fester - to undergo or exist in a state of progressive deterioration

Mildew - to become affected with mildew (i.e., a superficial usually whitish growth produced especially on organic matter or living plants by fungi)

Mold - to become moldy (i.e., covered with a superficial often woolly growth produced especially on damp or decaying organic matter or on living organisms by a fungus, as of the order Mucorales)

Mortify - to become necrotic (usually localized death of living tissue) or gangrenous (local death of soft tissues due to loss of blood supply)

Necrotize - to undergo necrosis (i.e., usually localized death of living tissue)

Perish - deteriorate, spoil

Putrefy - to undergo putrefaction (i.e., the decomposition of organic matter)

Putresce - to become putrescent or putrid; putrefy

Putrid - being in a state of putrefaction; rotten

Rot - to undergo decomposition from the action of bacteria or fungi

Rust - to be affected with a rust fungus

Sour - smelling or tasting of decay; rancid, rotten

Sphacelate - to become gangrenous (local death of soft tissues due to loss of blood supply)

Spoil - to lose valuable or useful qualities usually as a result of decay

Taint - to affect with putrefaction; spoil

Tarnish - to dull or destroy the luster of by or as if by air, dust, or dirt; soil, stain

Wither - to shrivel from or as if from loss of bodily moisture; to lose vitality, force, or freshness

Hope this helps with your writing. Do tag me, or send me a link. I'd love to read your work!

More: Word Lists

[thequeenofthewinter]

Work-in-Progress Wednesday

...and I have a treat for you. New AU is dropping soon. I am about halfway through the first chapter.

The Mourn Watch, a name whispered by many voices, yet never is it anywhere to be found save for etched initials on weathered gravestones. People go missing in the night? The Mourn Watch. A mysterious new advisor is appointed to King Markus? The Mourn Watch. Strange lights, noises, skeletal figures raised from the gravedirt in the moonlight? The Mourn Watch. When Iris' powers presented themselves to her, she knew she had to run. Where to? She had not the faintest idea. All she could do for years was follow the whispers, follow the wind. ...until one day 17 years later she found them. Or rather stuck her hand into the pockets of some strangely dressed gentleman leaving the alchemist on a Tuesday afternoon.

Nevarra City is a brutal monster of a place with more questions than there are answers. The sooner one learns that, the better off they will be. Every inch is teeming with subterfuge and cruel ambition. It oozes out its very pores, rot teeming and swelling as it infests the city streets down to the last untainted soul. 

Why did Myrna not trust her? Complacency is a slow and boring death. 

If you do not aspire to anything else, never search for answers, there is no way out. Just as easily there is someone who will come along to take your place, pushing you deeper into the mud for the chance to climb even just a little higher. But, it is as the old fables have always told—the higher the ascension, the greater the potential to fall. Even the pristinely manicured streets of the city façade has cracks in them—if you only know the right angle to look. Most just decide not to. They are happy with their place, cutting their loses and sated with the lot the Maker has dealt them. Questions stir the pot. Questions cause problems. It is high risk and high reward, and if there is one thing Nevarrans love more than prestige, it is comfort. Most did not have true ambition to cut their teeth on if it meant spilling blood they’d have to wash their hands clean of. 

And now, Iris knows exactly where to look.

“I don’t like that look.” Myrna sighs.

“You worry too much.” Iris looks to her friend, hazel eyes illuminated dully by the candles she lit. Tendrils of green-tinged necrotic magic curl around her fingers innocently before fading in an instant. To her there has always been a spark about the city, a brightness even against the odds of living here as one picks their way across the cool cobblestones of society just as she intends to. One way or another she will find the answers she seeks.

“This is madness, Iris, and I don’t condone it. Someone will find out what you can do and—”

“And what?” Her eyes flash with frustration. Even if she knows Myrna means well, they have had this conversation together almost weekly, and it always ends up in the same cyclical arguments. 

Iris shakes her head as she holds out a scrap of parchment, smudged charcoal scrawled in a hasty hand across the surface.

Tuesday at high moon behind the Petaghast crypts. MW. 

MW, meaning the Mourn Watch, that much she already knows, and the message is accompanied by the small image of a stylized beetle. She has seen the symbol in many places of ill-repute and as well as those of high-esteem, all tucked into the corners of shop displays and even spotted on some of the tombs in the grand cemetery. It means something. She would bet her life on it. Perhaps it will lead her to the answers she seeks. 

“No way, Iris. There is no way you are going to—”

“I didn’t ask, Myrna.” Her voices tenses and snaps, leaving no room for argument. “You can come or don’t. I will be going.”

“Where did you even get this, Iris?”

For a moment she doesn’t answer, opting to scan the cracks in the walls as she avoids the inevitable. She already knows how her friend will react when she tells her.

“Iris…”

“I may or may not have stolen it out of the pocket of some gentleman as he was leaving the alchemist.”

Tagging: @holdingontojupiter @redheadsramblings @caughtnyact @the-bear-and-his-sunbird @starfleetteddybear @thepalehorsevictoria @sofiemystique @guacamolleee @draco-illius-noctis @aldisobey @crimsen-khalessi @theyearningghoul @paramortality @skyrim-forever @avantegarda

[undeadcourier]

This is the second in a series of posts meant to explore both real-life cases of radiation sickness and the sci-fi concept of ghoulification in some depth. Graphic descriptions of the physical deterioration of the body are included for informative purposes; reader discretion is advised.

For this second case study, I examine the effects on the human body of exposure to moderate levels of radiation over a long period of time, with a focus on the real case of the Radium Girls, in particular Mollie Maggia. 

Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium in 1898, launching the Radium Craze. Radium was believed to have numerous health benefits and restorative properties and was used to treat arthritis, hypertension, schizophrenia, and even stomach cancer. It was also used in tonic water, toothpaste, and cosmetics, among many other products. 

After William J. Hammer created a glowing green paint made from radium and zinc sulfide, radioluminescent paint became popular in use on watches and clock dials. Three factories that used radioluminescent paint on watches and clock dials saw incidents of severe radium poisoning in workers, in Orange, New Jersey, Ottawa, Illinois, and Waterbury, Connecticut. 

Dial painters working for the U.S. Radium Corporation, most of whom were between ages 14 and 20, were assured they were safe and were not given appropriate personal protective equipment while exposed to the radium dust they used to mix the paint for the dials. Managers encouraged them to use their lips to create a fine point on their paintbrushes, necessary in the precision work they did, which caused them to ingest small amounts of radium during their shifts. In addition, the radium dust coated their hair and dresses, and some women, believing the radium to be harmless, even deliberately painted their teeth and nails to make them glow. Dial painters ingested about 76 microcuries of radium per year.

In addition to consuming radium in the paint, the dial painters were exposed to the radon gas that resulted from the decaying radium, increasing their exposure to around 13000% more than the maximum annual dose. For comparison, standing next to the Chernobyl meltdown would result in about 30 rem of radiation exposure. 10 rem is the lowest annual dose linked to an increased risk of developing cancer. 200 rem is enough to cause severe radiation sickness and death, and between 300-400 rem is regarded as a lethal dose.

When ingested along with food or water, roughly 80% of radium is excreted, but the remaining 20% travels throughout the body where it is deposited in the bones, emitting alpha particles as it decays and irradiating the cells on the surface of the bones. New bone growth results in radium being deposited deep into the bone where it remains.

The typical period of exposure among the dial painters was two years. Some developed mouth sores after only a month of working at the factories, but for others, symptoms took longer to appear.  First, the women would have felt fatigued and anemic as their damaged bones could no longer replace their red blood cells. 

Because they were primarily ingesting the radium, their mouths were often the most affected. By October of 1921, Mollie Maggia—who'd already had to have a tooth removed—returned to the dentist's chair to have even more of her teeth extracted. The radiation damage to her bones inhibited blood cell production, which in turn prevented the wounds from healing. The ulcers became necrotic and constantly oozed blood and pus. 

Throughout that November, Mollie's condition grew steadily worse, and in addition to the pain in her teeth and jaw, her hips and feet became sore.

As the painters' radiation sickness progressed, their joints would become stiff and severe pain in their limbs limited their mobility. The radium ate through their bones, leaving them perforated in a honeycomb pattern and prone to spontaneous fractures. The women's spines and long bones fractured and shortened.

Some of the women’s skin became so thin that even a fingernail scratch could cause it to split open.

Tumors the size of grapefruits or footballs developed on their bodies, and they suffered from blood disorders, menstruation issues, and sterility.

By January of 1922, Mollie was in constant, unbearable agony. Her teeth were rotting in her mouth and falling out before they could be extracted. In May, Mollie’s dentist was horrified when her jaw crumbled at a gentle touch. He proceeded to remove her jaw, not by an operation, but simply by pulling the disintegrating pieces out by hand. That summer, Mollie’s throat became painfully sore, and she experienced spontaneous bleeding from the jaw. By September, the radiation had eaten through the tissue of her jugular vein to the point of hemorrhage. Mollie's mouth and throat flooded with blood, and she died.

Mollie Maggia was the first from the U.S. Radium Corporation to die, just short of her 25th birthday, in 1922. 12 more women died the following year and another 50 fell severely ill.

[littjara-mirrorlake]

D&D 5e Homebrew Lineage: Core-Born Phyrexian

This lineage is part of my in-progress homebrew supplement Plane Shift: Mirrodin/New Phyrexia for D&D 5e.

The core-born Phyrexian is the build-it-yourself choice out of the supplement's options, similarly to its fellow MtG crossover, the Simic hybrid. Included with this version are a short list of sample modifications, which will be expanded as time and playtesting go on. Many are duplicates of existing racials in 5e, but others will be original, such as PS:MNP's weirdest modification so far: Metamorph. Something to look forward to!

Though the stat block here states a set ASI (+2 Con/+1 any), I'm actually a strong proponent of rearranging ability scores as in Tasha's, and the pre-set ASI is really more flavor text than anything.

The text here alludes to the phyresis mechanic, which will be posted in the future. In short, taking necrotic damage from Phyrexians will cause a Con save with DC equal to the damage taken, and on a failed save, you will gain one phyresis level. Phyresis advances in ten stages, with compleation being the end result. The minimum DC of this save is 5. Uniquely, a natural 1 always fails, and a natural 20 always succeeds.

Text from the images under the cut. (It's quite a lot.)

Core-Born Phyrexian

Though Phyrexians’ most well-known method of reproduction is through the compleation of other creatures, fully Phyrexian offspring can also be grown in glistening oil, tended by vat-priests. Germs are most often born from the oil of a single Phyrexian parent and take after that parent’s morphological features, including the type and color of their metal plates. Such Phyrexians are known as “core-born”, even though the laboratories that create them have expanded all over the surface and interior of Mirrodin.

Type. You are a Humanoid. You are also considered a Phyrexian for any prerequisite or effect that requires you to be a Phyrexian.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age. Owing to your combined construction of flesh and metal, the Phyrexian definition of life is porous at best. Phyrexian beings have the potential to live indefinitely. You are immune to magical aging effects.

Size. As a player character, your size can be either Small or Medium. Either way, Phyrexians tend to be heavier than organic creatures of equivalent size.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Your constructed senses grant you superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Necrotic Resistance. The glistening oil flowing through your body protects you from the tainted attacks of your kind. You have resistance to necrotic damage.

Tainted Strike. Your claws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal 1d4 + your Strength modifier of slashing damage, plus 1 additional necrotic damage, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Phyrexian Modification. You begin with one modification (presented later in this document) as a result of the Phyrexian work done on your body, and you gain an additional one at 5th level.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Phyrexian and one other language of your choice.

Phyrexian Modifications

These modifications are presented in alphabetical order along with their prerequisites and associated factions. They are intended for use both as-is and as inspiration for individually customized features. Modifications are gained at 1st and 5th level by the core-born race, but are also obtainable by any character who has Phyrexian work done on their body or gains 8 or more levels of phyresis.

Unless stated otherwise in its description, each modification can only be taken once and has no prerequisites.

At the DM’s discretion, a character may exchange one of their modifications for another by undergoing a surgical procedure. A character must still meet any prerequisites for a new modification they take this way.

Constructed Resilience Faction: Any Prerequisite: does not already have the Constructed Resilience feature

Even among Phyrexians, you are unusually mechanized, forfeiting the majority of your organic components for the resilience of a true machine. You have resistance to poison damage and immunity to disease, and you have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned. You don’t need to eat, drink, or breathe. You also don’t need to sleep, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

To gain the benefits of a long rest, you must spend all 8 hours staying still or doing light activity, such as keeping watch.

Extra Arms Faction: Any Prerequisite: does not already have the Extra Arms feature

You gain an extra pair of arms that function normally, with the following exceptions:

You can use a secondary arm to wield a weapon that has the light property, but you can’t use a secondary arm to wield other kinds of weapons.

You can’t wield a shield with a secondary arm.

Incendiary Breath Faction: Quiet Furnace

When you take the Attack action on your turn, you can replace one of your attacks with an exhalation of fire in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw (DC = 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus). On a failed save, the creature takes 1d10 fire damage. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage. This damage increases by 1d10 when you reach 5th level (2d10), 11th level (3d10), and 17th level (4d10).

You can use this ability a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Necrogen Vents Faction: Steel Thanes Prerequisite: 5th level

As an action, you can release a poisonous aura of necrogen in a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on yourself. It lasts for 1 minute, moves with you, and ends early if you are incapacitated or die. Each other creature of your choice that starts its turn in the necrogen or enters it for the first time on its turn must succeed on a Constitution saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier) or be poisoned until the beginning of its next turn. Creatures that don’t need to breathe automatically succeed on this saving throw.

Once you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Reactive Spines Faction: Any

As a reaction when a creature you can see within 5 feet of you hits you with a melee attack, you can make metallic spines erupt from your body in retaliation, causing the attacker to take 1d6 piercing damage. This damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).

You can use this reaction a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Reinforced Carapace Faction: Any Prerequisite: does not already have a racial bonus to AC, such as Iron Skin or Natural Armor

The metal of your body grows tougher, deflecting mortal blows. You gain a +1 bonus to your AC when you aren’t wearing heavy armor.

Resistance Faction: Any

You gain resistance to one of the following damage types of your choice: acid, fire, poison, psychic, or radiant.

Though any Phyrexian may receive this modification, each damage resistance is most commonly associated with a specific faction (see “Phyrexian Factions” earlier in this document).

Spider Climb Faction: Any Prerequisite: does not already have the Spider Climb feature

You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed, and you can climb walls and other difficult surfaces without needing to make an ability check. In addition, at 3rd level, you can move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving your hands free.

[thisapplepielife]

Written for the @steddieholidaydrabbles December challenge.

That First Terrible Step

Prompt Day 18: Free Space (Hurt/Comfort) | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Injury | Tags: Post-S4, Eddie Munson Lives, Physical Therapy, Recovery, Pre-Steddie, Building Friendship, Caring Steve, Eddie POV

Eddie is too tired to deal with any of this today. Physical therapy takes too much out of him and he doesn't feel like he's making any goddamn progress, anyway. 

He flops his head back against the pillow and closes his eyes. His leg hurts, and it doesn't want to cooperate, not with that much muscle loss. The bats took a big enough chunk, that he's having to learn to walk again with this new body.

Losing that much thigh muscle isn't exactly ideal, he quickly learned. It had gotten infected with what they called Necrotizing Fasciitis, and it was a particularly stubborn strain they'd never seen before, so they didn't know how to treat it effectively. So they kept cutting, whittling away, trying to save him.

Trying to save his leg. 

They succeeded, but now he needs to learn to walk all over again, missing part of what made it easy, before.

Steve had it, too. On both his sides, and the hospital was baffled at what they had been exposed to, together. 

Despite Robin's fretting, it wasn't rabies. The hospital decided it was from bacteria growing in Lover's Lake, and they went with it. They didn't really have any other choice, they couldn't exactly tell the truth about the fucking bats.

The kids visit. Robin, Nancy. His bandmates. They all come in shifts, and switch out with Uncle Wayne and sit with Eddie, to keep him sane. Motivated.

Steve. 

Steve's here more hours a day than he's gone. 

He recovered, his sides eventually healed, and he was released. 

But he hasn't gone far. Steve pulled him out of the Upside Down, and now he's determined to pull him out of this rehab center.

"I'm too cold to walk," Eddie says, stalling.

Steve takes off his yellow sweater, and pulls it over Eddie's head.

"Arms," Steve demands, and Eddie raises them. "There, now you can walk."

Steve never lets him get out of it, no matter what he tries.

He doesn't want to take steps that are excruciating. Trying to use muscles that just aren't there, not anymore. His therapist stands beside him, as Steve stands in front. 

Steve's walking backwards through the parallel bars with ease, as Eddie hangs onto them for dear life, each step a fight.

"That's good, that's really good," Steve says, and Eddie knows it's not. It's not good at all, but he's trying.

Steve counts him down. 

"Four more steps," Steve says, and it helps. 

"Three," Steve updates him, as he forces his leg to move.

Step two isn't as bad, that leg still works.

"One more," Steve says, and Eddie gathers up his strength, and takes it. Foot coming down through the pain.

"That's good, you did it faster today," Steve says, helping Eddie back into his wheelchair.

The therapist is there, leading the whole process, but they learned weeks ago that Steve was better at getting Eddie to work than they were, so they've utilized Steve, liberally. Day after day, Steve has helped him take that first terrible step, and all the painful ones that have followed.

That he's even in this facility is thanks to Steve. They released Eddie from the hospital once his wounds had healed, but he was unable to walk. 

He couldn't afford this kind of therapy, no way, but Steve made it happen. Eddie doesn't know how much it's costing, Steve won't tell him. Just that he needs to do it so he'll get back on his feet.

And Eddie wants that. 

All his wounds healed, in various levels of terrible. His face, his neck, his nipple. The defensive wounds on his hands had gotten infected, thankfully less so than his leg, but it had scared him so fucking bad that he wouldn't be able to play the guitar again. But he can, and expects it'll get better with time.

Steve brought in Dragon Slayer, Eddie's acoustic guitar. And Eddie sits and plays him for hours, rebuilding that strength.

The rest of the time, Steve is here, forcing him to use his damaged leg, as often as the therapist will allow, for as long as Eddie can stand it. 

Steve says they're getting him home next month. 

Eddie sees no proof of that, but if Steve says it, it's probably true. 

That's something Eddie's learned over these past few months. Steve has a gift to fix problems, to dig in and make change. 

He'd had no idea.

He's a good dude, that Steve Harrington.

And now he's arriving with food, a pizza box balanced on one hand and a brown bag in the other.

"Dinner is served," Steve says, sliding the little wheeled table over Eddie's lap, putting the box down. 

"Smells good, man, thanks," Eddie says, and he opens the box to see what they have. Supreme, his favorite. 

Steve pulls up a chair, and unloads the sack, bringing out cans of pop, and a stack of napkins. 

Eddie's already eating, but Steve is picking the black olives off his piece, first. Eddie's told him a dozen times to just order it without, but Eddie likes them, so they keep getting it the same way. 

Every Friday night is pizza night.

Mondays they get takeout from Enzo's. Big containers of pasta and breadsticks.

Tuesday is burger night. 

On Wednesdays, Steve drives twenty minutes to the Mexican joint Eddie loves, and brings back big platters of food, and sacks of greasy chips and homemade salsa.

Thursdays are a wildcard, and Eddie is always curious what he'll turn up with next. Soup. Sandwiches. Fish. It could be anything, and it gives Eddie something to think about besides his pain.

Steve spends every night hanging out in his room, keeping him company. He's dragged in a VCR, and they are quickly burning through the entire stock of tapes at Family Video. Debating what makes a good movie. Why sometimes bad ones are the best.

And Eddie feels normal for a few hours, because Steve makes sure of it.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @steddieholidaydrabbles and follow along with the fun!

If you want to see more of my entries into this month-long challenge, you can check them out in my Steddie Holiday Drabbles tag, right here!

[relleytrots]

On Understanding and Enabling the Hecata

How To Enable A Hecata In Play

You won't believe how easy it is to solve a murder when you can just ask the victim.

OK, you know how the victim died. Now get someone else to believe it. Now get someone else to accept what a Giovanni told them, and not ask "are you being played by those sultry Italians?" Now realise that there is no due process among the Damned, and the Prince doesn't give a shit who really killed Mrs. Mosschild - they will decide who killed Mrs. Mosschild, and their decision is law, and what are you going to do about it, neonate?

In a detective story, "solve the murder" is the ending. In a Vampire chronicle, it's the beginning.

You handle necromancy by not making it the clan's entire hat. The Hecata is a family cult that worships death, and money, and blood - not even necessarily in that order. Your Hecata characters don't have to sully their hands with necromancy at all. I've run a Dunsirn baron with two dots: Ashes to Ashes so the bodies go away, and Fatal Precognition so he knows where the next one's coming from.

You have the option of not taking any Ceremonies at all. Just keep Oblivion as the discipline of weaponised entropy, sickness inflicted, rot unleashed. Ashes to Ashes, Fatal Prediction, Aura of Decay or Touch of Oblivion, Necrotic Plague, Skuld Fulfilled or Withering Spirit. A 1-5 progression, with options, and you can splash in some shadow flavour if you don't like the effect at a given tier. Think chill of the grave rather than spoopy darkness.

But let's say you're gonna go there anyway. Let's talk zombies, first. The zombie horde of pop culture necromancy is trouble waiting to happen - it doesn't technically breach the Masquerade, but it makes a lot of noise and gets people investigating. One zombie, around the house, perhaps ridden by its original spirit, as a weird-ass Retainer who can't get out much? That's workable. Scale it down. Softly, softly.

Now ghosts, the thing that seems to cause most practical problems for Storytellers. Ghosts are, in mechanical terms, a supernatural Retainer (three dots, or even four if you're picking up that one Giovanni Loresheet ability that gives you a bound spectre). They're very hard to detect, they can usually affect the physical world in at least one way, and there's a constant dramatic tension depending on how hard your necromancer is treating them.

Are they Summoning an irregular ally and negotiating with them? Are they Compelling a slave on pain of fetter destruction? Are they Hosting for a power up, or Binding a prisoner? Are they Passion Feasting on a ghostly Herd so they don't have to hurt the living with those wicked chompers? The further you go into Necromantic Ceremonies, the worse a person you have to be. That's the dramatic hook, that's the personal horror that's on the tin.

For mechanics, hit up Cults of the Blood Gods. There are four statblocks and power spreads for ghosts in that book (well, three statblocks: annoyingly, one of them's duplicated). Those are the numbers your Hecata's ghost Retainer has. Finding a use for that Retainer is now on them. Players can lift the burden of narrative too!

You could also hack the Allies background, if you wanted. The two part structure of effectiveness and availability actually works really well for an entity which has to be summoned into the world with a spell and might have its own ghost shit going on. But the Retainer option is the most straightforward, and it shuts down ghostly diversions when you're trying to tell a vampire story.

If It's That Easy, Why Do Folks Hate Them?

Giovanni were, for the longest time, a collection of stereotypes and accusations: mobster incest necrophile lol. There was always more there, but - perhaps that's me seeing what I wanted to see, projecting eighteenth century literature and twelfth century war profiteering in to polish a turd. Doesn't help that the game was often in on the joke (see also, how the Giovanni are framed in Bloodlines, which has been the gateway drug for quite a few players over the years).

Aspects of their setup are a bit silly (there is. no skyscraper. in Venice. fuck sake.) or difficult to Storytell (people always think they have to run a Wraith crossover, and the Revised Clanbook didn't help by leaning into that so heavily).

The Independent clans as a collective tend to be pushed off and forgotten about as either antagonists or service providers, when the "main story" is about Camarilla, Sabbat, maybe Anarchs if you're lucky, and who gets to run the clubhouse and whose club gets to run the city.

People are really squicked out by the necrophilia and incest, and it doesn't help that the rules have leant into it (gangraping a corpse for +1 to necromancy rolls. fuck sake.). Or they're really into it in a way that becomes everyone else's problem, which gives Giovanni players and fans a bad name.

As for the others: Cappadocians are, with the greatest of respect, even worse off than the Giovanni. They're here to go, created so they can be destroyed, everything about their setup feeds into or draws out of grand-scale loopy-loo metaplot ideas, and it's a constant struggle to drag them back down to where your average player character is at. Nagaraja have always been weirdly popular and possibly one of the less stupid bits of the Black Hand. Samedi are definitely also there, one of those concepts that's cool on paper and just... lazy racial profiling in practice?

The Hecata represent an opportunity to cinch all that off and say "hey, this is the Clan of Death now - a sprawling family cult that worships blood, money and death, not even in that order, and is basically the Swiss Bank to the rest of Kindred society. Neutral third party, go-between, handshake across the battlelines." Except it was overseen by a developer who, god love him, is a professional lore spod and can't bear to let anything go, so all that old baggage was dragged forward too and presented as part of the whole rather than what Loresheets should be, strictly optional opt-in references to stuff that doesn't really matter unless you want it to.

[ghost-bxrd]

So I was rereading your Owl Song series for the like. 5th time and when I saw this line, “"NO!“ It almost shouts, taking the owlet by his shoulders to stare intently into his eyes, “Nev-er. Jason is you. Ne-ver talon. Never."" I was hit by an idea.

Can u imagine an au where instead of Jason coming back to life by Superboy Primes punch it's by the Court? Batman didn't get all of them and they've been rebuilding, they had been looking to get Dick back and hey! What better way than turning Jason into a Talon as well.

Oooo yes! I think this has been brought up before!

@cyrwrites also did an awesome drabble about Dick thinking Red Hood is a talon (but before finding out that Hood is Jason), so definitely give that a read! I totally come back to it every other day because it’s that good.

But if we go down the route of Jason becoming a genuine talon? Oh boy, ooooooooh boy. So there’s possibility 1, where Jason keeps his memories and fights the court every step of the way until he manages to escape. Or 2, Jason forgets everything and the court turns him into their weapon.

Maybe option 2 would be more likely, with Jason and Dick clashing on accident and Dick managing to subdue Jay and then teaching HIM how to be human again and the two of them just chirping and hooting at each other—- BUT, honestly I think option 1 would be much more interesting.

Jason wakes up and he remembers. And everything still hurts and the people surrounding him are sticking needles in him and his vision shifts until the colors bleed away and back in wrong and he’s both cold and hot at the same time and he wants to call for Bruce, for Alfred, for Dick, but his screams are slowly morphing into bird like shrieks and oh, oh, Jason— Jason knows what’s happening. Knows for sure when he manages to free one arm and sees the veins on his skin shot through with black, necrotic electrum.

But Jason’s smart. He’s smart, and he endures, and if this is the Court then at least he’s still in Gotham. So Jason plays along. He’s good. He remembers how Dick used to act at the very beginning and Jason’s always been good at acting, and gods he’s going to get out of here and go home but first he’s got to sell this act and sell it good.

And it works. It works. The Court is ecstatic about his “fast progress” and before long he’s sent out on his first solo mission (with a couple of ‘babysitters’) but Jason grew up in the Alley, and he was Robin, escape artist is practically in the job description, and all hopped up on electrum? Yeah, it’s easy to ditch his babysitters (Maybe slit their throats if we wanna go bloody) and book it for Batman’s closest patrol route.

But for whoever’s patrolling that night? There’s suddenly a strange talon dropping down in front of them, cooing and trilling and struggling to form words but— but it doesn’t matter. The talon is clearly asking for help, is still clearly a child, and no Bat would ever turn down a child in need.

(Dick breaks down completely when they pull the hood off Jason’s head and his little owlet stares back at him with eyes that should be blue but are now a glowing gold.)

[marythegizka]

WIP Wednesday!

Tagged by @illusivesoul (thank you :) )

Tagging (if you want to do this, of course): @deedeemactir, @mxanigel, @slothquisitor... and any mutuals who would like to share their writing!

Now, I know a WIP is technically "in progress", and things being what they are, there has been no progress on almost any front for over two months now. That, said, here, have a two-month-old snippet:

---

If he can get the skinny one before it manages to cast again then -

"Scratch, no!"

Too late. The dog's jaws snap shut onto the creature's neck. The beast screeches, flailing wildly. It isn't long before it tears itself free, but freedom isn't much use without a throat. Scratch spits the meat out and coughs.

"Damn it..."

"Astarion! Loghain! Back!"

Astarion barely has time to grab the dog before an invisible hand yanks him out of the fray and straight into Tavalyn's arms. Mad. That Erin woman is mad. Judging by the grin on his face, so is the husband. As it turns out, 'mad' got the job done... and that smell of burnt flesh is never washing out.

Scratch begins coughing again. Astarion shakes his head, but scratches the dog's ears nonetheless.

"That's what you get for being greedy."

"You'll have to watch him closely," Erin says darkly. "If the Blight-sickness catches, you will have little time to act."

Tavalyn's eyes go wide.

"If the... oh. Do you mean necrotic damage?"

The man, Loghain, scoffs.

"Were you not in Ferelden ten years ago? Or did the Templars keep such a tight leash on you that you managed to miss the Maker-forsaken Blight?"

"Loghain! Please forgive him, the past few months have been... difficult. For all Wardens."

Tavalyn takes a deep breath.

"No, it's alright. We've been... away. For a long time."

Loghain scrunches his nose. He knows it's a lie. Erin does, too. Still, the hand she lays on his arm is an easy message to read: drop it. The man sighs.

"Check him for fever daily. If he develops one before we part, we'll have no choice but to put him through the Joining. Erin?"

"It... could work, but I don't have all the supplies with me. I doubt Montsimmard could assist us now, and I've lost contact with Vigil's Keep. We were headed to Weisshaupt to begin with, but that's weeks away from here and-"

"Gale, can you portal us there?"

Astarion cannot believe he is the one asking this. Not after the disaster that was Gale's last attempt. But needs must.

"I believe you mean 'teleport' - assuming this Weisshaupt is in the same dimension we're currently in?"

"What in the Maker's name are you talking about?"

"Ah. I see. Would you happen to carry a map, Miss?"

The woman bites her cheek and looks at Loghain, who merely groans and unslings his pack, pulling out a bloodied scroll.

"I thought your last attempt had misfired, mage."

"Loghain..."

"Not to worry, Miss. It did. I, ummm... well, simply put, the more familiar a caster is with their intended destination, the more likely they are to successfully reach it in one go. Now, I might have been a tad overconfident, seeing as I had never been to Thay - though I had long been hoping to justify a field trip there, if you must know - meaning I was relying on -"

"Maps," the man cuts him off.

"Well, yes. And books. A painting as well - visualisation is a tremendous help."

"And how are you going to fare any better this time?"

"Ah... I can see why this would be a concern, but even if we do not reach the intended destination, there's in fact very little chance-"

The man snatches his map back.

"Well, then, I suppose that... settles it, for now."

"Indeed."

Loghain leans down to pat the dog's head.

"You'll hold on, won't you, boy?"

[necrotic-nephilim]

Please infodump about the JayTimSteph Grotesquerie AU WIP if possible.

OF COURSE i've been thinking about it since i saw the trailer and now it's a little brainworm. (disclaimer i've not watched the first two episodes yet, this is like. solely on the vibes of the trailer. some details might change once i. watch the show depending on if i follow it or just go with the vibes the trailer gave me. which also means there will be no spoilers for the show if you care about that.)

the current idea involves Detective!Tim, Nun!Steph, and Priest!Jason. the vague idea for the plot so far is that a serial killer leaves a *very* artful display of a crime scene inside of the church that Jason and Steph operate out of. Tim is assigned as the leading detective on the case and ends up in a relationship with the both of them as he spirals in madness trying to catch the killer.

for Steph, i want to explore the idea of her father, Cluemaster, being a *very* prolific and artful serial killer who's whole gimmick was sending clues to the police until he was caught when Steph was still a child, and her and her mother were forced to go into witness protection for their own safety, which led her down the path of becoming a nun. it was a defining childhood moment for her to walk in on one of her father's crimes, so when she's the one who finds the crime scene in the church, it *immediately* sends her back to her childhood and she's caught between PTSD-fueled horror and a sick, enticing fascination. she wanted to become a journalist before going into WITSEC but that career was basically all but ruined for her. now she runs the small newspaper for the church and is desperate to write on the first "real" story she's ever had, dragging her into an intense obsession over the crime and trying to prove she can solve it.

for Jason, i want to deal with his history as Bruce. the current idea is that Bruce is Tim's police chief who adopted Jason and Dick from a young-ish age and raised them to be detectives, taking them to crime scenes as teenagers and teaching them the ins and outs of how criminals think. it leads to Dick becoming a detective, but when taking them to crime scenes led to Jason being kidnapped and brutally tortured by "Jack Napier", almost dying. Dick kills Napier to save Jason and it fractures their little family so badly that Dick switches departments to another city and Jason runs away at 17, eventually happening upon joining the clergy. he's the new, young priest in the church who's known for being very pretty but very emotionally distant even if he's nice enough. and he's *pissed* that Bruce is in his church investigating a murder and that no matter where Jason goes, he can't seem to get away from the horrors.

and for Tim, he's the young new detective in his department who is *entirely* unaware that he's been taken under Bruce's wing bc Bruce is treating him as a surrogate replacement for Dick and Jason. haven't fully decided his backstory yet, but it'll likely be similar to canon with losing his mother and father. i kind of want him to be lost and lacking a sense of direction. very gifted in noticing patterns and detective work, but it's clear he doesn't *really* want this job. and when he's assigned as the lead on a case that feels *way* too big for his experience bc Bruce is showing clear favoritism, he's forced to go to Steph for help, which leads to Jason ending up wrapped up with them too.

despite how heavy the plot *sounds*, i honestly want this fic to be like. 40% porn. like the show i want to explore a lot of fucked up sexual interests in Jason who's punishing himself for it, Steph being too interested in things for her own good and desperate for a taste of what "real life" feels like, and Tim just being incredibly repressed. like i want the line between horror and erotic to feel like a jumprope. lots of fucked up sex balanced with like. them actually trying to catch the killer. and then of course the emotional aspect of how Jason's baggage with Bruce works into all of it. also want Tim to have a mild hero worship for "the great Detective Dick Grayson" while being clueless that he's Bruce's son and Jason's brother. i sort of want it to be Steph-centric, but still have POVs from Tim and Jason just to round out their emotional arcs. i haven't fully decided everyone else who'll be in the fic but i know i want Cass to be a fellow nun and friend of Steph's, Babs to also work at the church, Helena to be Tim's favorite coworker, and possibly for Damian to be around somehow. those roles will probably get more fleshed out when i. watch the damn show tho.

anyway TLDR: religious imagery, body horror, kinky sex, and a mystery that might break everyone psychologically once they get to the bottom of it. i have some very specific scenes and dialogue planned out. probably cannibalism as a metaphor for love thrown in there too. idk i just want these three to be as fucked up as possible and unhinged about each other but fighting their repressed side with their unhinged feral side. and since it doesn't exist by god I'll create it.

[eldritch-spouse]

Okay, so while this isn’t Zombie Apocalypse AU related, it does involve a zombie

He didn’t want this. He didn’t want to go back. How is he meant to look his family and friends in the eyes after he became.. this?

An experiment, he was. To see if zombies could be rehabilitated. The surgeries to get him fixed up? Successful, got stitched up, a prosthetic for his leg, all that. Therapy to work on his urges and mental health?.. work in progress!

He’s trying, he really is. But there’s always this nagging at the back of his mind, telling him to rip, tear, maul. It scares him. He can’t even stomach anything that isn’t flesh anymore! Between that, the later extents of therapy, and the whole “people being scared to hire a rotting flesh eating monster” And he can’t even blame them! Sometimes he, he spaces out! Been told he has a staring problem.

It’s hard. Okay? Money is tight, and he’s getting desperate.

(I did not mean to ramble this much- not necessarily a request for expansion on the idea just me talking about an idea I had)

What really stuck out to me here is the idea of "zombie rehabilitation", which can be brought out of the zombie context entirely.

The idea of rehabilitating undead in general is actually very interesting to me! I have yet to make a proper "standard" zombie, but they definitely exist. Souls sometimes just refuse to leave their husk, or can't, because of some ritual performed to keep them caged to either their own rotting vessel or another organism/husk entirely. Undeads usually always have some sort of damage imprinted on their souls from the failed transition into the Limbo annex, where Dorem is supposed to treat them, so it's safe to say that they are only partially the same person they once were when alive.

Patches and Nebul have memory problems, Patches' soul actually splintered into two beings, Xiko can't ignore the need to follow anyone who steals from him until he recovers his goods, even if it means wearing himself out for years. A zombie certainly wouldn't escape this.

And out of possibly hundreds of undead types, zombie-like ones would likely face the most amount of stigma due to disfigurements they absolutely have no control over. While wraiths, for example, tend to have their own vastly unique looks, a zombie is a twisted and necrotic mirror of pre-existing species, causing great repulsion when seen by the living counterpart of said species.

The urges a zombie could have are something I could ramble about forever, but sure the craving for flesh would always be one, as they have to replenish their decomposing mass some way or another, and the flesh of other people is a viable way to put it. It's their diet. But you could also find them instinctually confused. The reflex of moving out of harm's way might not be there, or the pain receptors that once worked perfectly may be numbed to most stimulus only to then flare up completely randomly. They could even try to bury themselves underground, some bizarre urge from their soul, which recognizes they're supposed to be dead.

[fio-renze]

August 15 - Day 5 Mistake / Wild

Fiorenze landed hard enough on her back that it knocked the wind out of her and popped a couple vertebrae. She heard the rush of magic from Yserina’s shifting more than she saw it with her own eyes — it was easier to stare at the spiraling branches of Amirdrassil above and let the world stop spinning a bit first.

“Your form is off today. What could you have done better there?” The kaldorei’s tone was a little harsh, and in an instant the much taller woman was looming over her, blotting out the moonlight. 

Fiorenze wheezed out a pained, “Bear.”   

A clawed finger crooked slowly upwards, growing roots and leaves rapidly enough to push the sin’dorei trainee back to her feet before they wilted away and turned to mulch equally as fast. As effective as it was, it always made Fiorenze’s skin crawl a little to feel the plants grow and creak beneath her. Yserina’s ancient features gleamed in the White Lady’s light as she gave a short, affirming chuckle, “Yes, you could have become a bear. Or summoned a typhoon to knock me back. Called down a sunbeam, even, to sear me out of my casting—” 

“Yes, I know, I need to think faster on my feet,” it was hard not to be sharp with how her head throbbed, causing her long ears to slant back. 

Her teacher hummed a slightly displeased note, “No need to be short with me, girl. That’s enough for today. Come, make me some tea, we’ll talk.” 

There was an undeniable comfort in the hollowed out tree that Yserina had made her home. A small fire bloomed in the hearth, heating up the well worn teapot that had become a fast friend. Yserina had pulled out an ornate, slender pipe with some immediacy and packed a mix of peacebloom and dreamfoil down into the bowl, “Have you made progress on your staff, yet?” 

Fiorenze slumped down into a chair that had become overgrown with moss since the last time she’d visited, “Yes, some. There’s a tree I grew up with that I think will grant me permission, it’s on the edge of the necrotic scar that cuts through Quel’thalas. Some of it has corrupted, but the heartwood still seems hale.” 

“A guardian tree!” Yserina’s eyes lit up with approval as she waved a hand over her pipe to help the embers inside catch a little faster, “Wonderful choice. You will be stronger for it. That’s not enough to distract you so terribly, though, hm?” 

She dropped her head to rest against the top of the chair’s back, staring up to count the rings that wound from the center of the ceiling out toward the tree’s outer walls, “No, it’s not.” Fiorenze laced her fingers together to prevent herself from fidgeting too much; Yserina wasn’t one who liked to guess and it was best to simply be out with it. She chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment before finishing her thought, “My late husband’s sister, the one who requested the estate back from me and the titles that went with it — Lady Tel’vaiel, now. My old name — wants me to run it for her so she can … effectively be Lady in name only. It’s too much, apparently. The tenants miss my governance and the Town Council is wildly in favor. She’s too flighty to work with, apparently. None of the other nobles really want to deal with her because acknowledging her right means they’d have to acknowledge their own bastards…” 

“Ah, she looked the gift nightsaber in the mouth, did she?” Yserina’s quiet, amused laugh rumbled like slow thunder, “How tempting to be offered something you’ve excelled at your entire life. Born and raised for.” 

“I don’t want it,” her own voice carried a vehemence that surprised her, “that’s what’s bothering me. I should, shouldn’t I? It was my home for nearly 70 years. This last year without it has been so… free. The time has been mine, and mine alone. Giving that up is impossible.”

Yserina clucked her tongue, “You tasted what it’s like outside of captivity. No more gilded cages for you, my dear. What will you do about it, then?” 

The answer had always been there, the same one she had been taught to direct toward the service of her long family line. Now it was hers to do with as she saw fit.  “Take what I want.”

@daily-writing-challenge

[snaillamp]

I liked thattt hehehe cutest nickname I've ever got

How much gore can you stand in writing? I know you're studying to be paramedic, but with time, I noticed it's just different as text and looking at it through screen. I can barely stand to see dissection in person, but reading it (often through medical mysteries involving ER and detailed autopsies or operations) is another matter. I can just read it through pages or watch a very visual show. Just not that smell, lol (see? Squishy is just as crazy as you. And i warn you, i will bite. Love bites with my two vampire teeth.) Anyway, and will we ever get those kinds of food writing?

Oooo ok so. Real life, love gore. I freak people out when I say this but the property my family owned for a long time used to be a goat farm. I’d play with goat skulls for ages as a kid. My uncle is also a very Austrian farmer and would literally butcher anything he could eat for dinner. My dad was a biology teacher in a high school for years and as a kid I’d dissect any dead things I found for fun. I actually found two dead fliddler rays at the beach yesterday and had an awesome time looking at them.

I also lovvvve dissecting stuff at uni (you’re right about it the smell tho that shit stinks) it’s so fun I have so many pictures of my dissections on my phone. I also had leg surgery as a kid and one of my scars went necrotic, that was fun. I got to stick my fingers in rotting, black flesh to apply silver nitrate cream :,) ahhh memories

In whump, I don’t really write as much gore, cause I don’t really write stories like that much. However, for a few months now I’ve been working on the origin of Enjar, and telling the story of how he got his scars. I wouldn’t say it’s massively gorey, but hoooooo boy it gets gross. Also the medical malpractice is soooo bad in that story poor En is gonna go through it.

I do have multiple stories in progress and a ton of backlog I just haven’t had the time or energy to edit, but some of it is gorey. I do wanna write some really gorey stuff, which I’ll do when I get around to writing Cameron and Keh-yah again. Keh-yah is tortured terribly it’s gonna get gorey.

The only thing I will never write is a plane crash. My aunt was killed in one, and there was one that impacted my community pretty badly this year, and really put me off writing whump for a while hence the lack of updates (I am writing again I just haven’t edited shit lmao). It just doesn’t feel right to do plane crashes. I might write one eventually, maybe as a tribute to her or The Long Dark (fucken great video game btw) but it’ll be a while, idk. Also I’ve said before I’d never base a story off my patients that I end up having cause that’s super fucked up to do. Ethically that’s so gross

But I’m super into gore otherwise, and would love to write more :)))

[thetoothtime]

What Symptoms Mean You Need a Root Canal? Early Warning Signs

A toothache isn’t just an inconvenience—it can be a warning signal from your body that infection or damage within a tooth is progressing. Root canal therapy is designed to save teeth threatened by deep decay, infection, or injury, and without prompt care, you might risk tooth loss or more complicated procedures. Here’s how to identify the early signs that may indicate you need a root canal, why timing matters, and when to contact your dentist.

What Is a Root Canal?

A root canal is a procedure that treats infection or inflammation inside the tooth’s pulp (the soft tissue containing nerves and blood vessels). By removing infected tissue, disinfecting the canals, and sealing the tooth, root canal therapy relieves pain and saves your natural tooth from extraction.

Early Warning Signs You May Need a Root Canal

1. Persistent Toothache

What to Notice: Constant, throbbing, or stabbing pain that doesn’t go away.

Typical Experience: Pain may radiate to the jaw or ear, intensify with chewing, or linger after eating hot/cold foods.

Why It Matters: Lingering pain suggests inflammation or infection deep inside the tooth that is unlikely to resolve without dental intervention.

2. Sensitivity to Hot or Cold

What to Notice: Sharp or aching pain when consuming hot drinks or ice cream.

Typical Experience: Sensitivity lasts for seconds or minutes after the trigger is gone, sometimes worsening over days.

Why It Matters: Ongoing or worsening sensitivity is a sign the pulp is damaged or infected beyond the surface enamel.

3. Swollen or Tender Gums

What to Notice: Swelling, redness, or tenderness localized to one specific tooth.

Other Signs: A small bump, pimple, or blister on the gum (dental abscess or fistula), possibly accompanied by a bad taste or odor.

Why It Matters: Gum swelling may indicate an abscess, a sign infection is spreading from within the tooth to nearby tissues.

4. Tooth Discoloration

What to Notice: A tooth turning gray, brown, or darker than adjacent teeth.

Why It Matters: A dying or dead nerve (necrotic pulp) often leads to changes in tooth color, even if pain is mild or absent.

5. Pain When Chewing or Touching the Tooth

What to Notice: Discomfort or pain when you bite down, chew, or touch the affected tooth.

Possible Causes: Infection may be making its way past the root tip, irritating the tissues that anchor the tooth.

6. Chipped, Cracked, or Broken Tooth

What to Notice: Recent trauma, cracks, or chips in the tooth, especially when pain or sensitivity follows.

Why It Matters: Exposed pulp tissue becomes easily infected, rapidly necessitating root canal treatment if the nerve is involved.

7. Prolonged Sensitivity or Pain After Dental Work

What to Notice: Sensitivity, throbbing, or pain that doesn’t subside after fillings, crowns, or other dental treatments.

Why It Matters: This may indicate lingering or new infection inside the tooth.

When to See a Dentist

Recognizing and acting on these warning signs early can provide lasting relief, preserve your natural teeth, and help avoid more complex and costly procedures. Do not ignore:

Severe, persistent, or radiating toothache

Swelling or tenderness near a tooth

Darkening of a tooth

Tooth sensitivity not relieved with store-bought remedies

Signs of infection: gum bump, bad taste, pus, fever

Prompt evaluation by a dentist or endodontist ensures you receive the right diagnosis and treatment before the problem worsens.

Why Early Treatment Is Critical

Saves Your Tooth: Early root canal therapy can restore function and prevent extraction.

Prevents Complications: Stops infection from spreading to other teeth, jawbone, or beyond.

Faster Recovery: Less invasive, less pain, and better long-term results.

Don’t Delay—Restore Your Smile

If you recognize any of these symptoms, contact your dentist right away for a professional evaluation. Timely root canal therapy can relieve pain, save your tooth, and keep your smile healthy and strong for years to come.

Book your root canal consultation in Spanish Trl, Rd., Houston, TX if you’re experiencing persistent tooth pain, swelling, or any of the above warning signs. Early detection is the key to comfortable, effective treatment and long-lasting dental health.

[opercursocomplexodeumamulhe-blog]

Sepsis, A Life-Threatening Condition

A group I worked with wasn’t just angry that I took time off after a long and dangerous covert operation — they were also upset that I needed time to recover from septic shock caused by a ruptured appendix, as if surviving a near-death medical crisis was somehow an inconvenience to them.

As always, I kept one contact informed and told him exactly what was happening with my health. I told him the tissue went necrotic. Goes to show how much he actually paid attention to me. As always, it never seemed to matter to that group how close to death I was or what I was enduring. But for those with a conscience, here’s what sepsis actually means.

Sepsis caused by appendicitis is a life-threatening emergency that escalates fast if not treated in time. Appendicitis starts with inflammation of the appendix, usually due to a blockage. If left untreated (which mine did), the appendix can rupture — typically within 24 to 72 hours — spilling infection into the abdominal cavity. This leads to peritonitis, a severe and dangerous infection of the peritoneum, which can rapidly progress to sepsis. Once bacteria enter the bloodstream, the body’s immune system spirals out of control, triggering widespread inflammation that can shut down organs and lead to septic shock. Blood pressure crashes, organs begin to fail, and without immediate treatment, death can occur in as little as 12 to 24 hours.

In my case, emergency treatment included surgery to remove the appendix, drainage of infected fluids, intravenous antibiotics, IV fluids to stabilize my blood pressure, and intensive care monitoring. Even with fast intervention, recovery was slow and brutal. Survivors often face weeks of lingering pain, exhaustion, brain fog, and emotional trauma. For me, doctors recommended a minimum of 3 to 6 weeks of recovery.

Obviously, that was too much of an inconvenience for that group. They were pissed that I needed time off — not just after a long and dangerous covert operation, but also while recovering from septic shock and still being stalked in my area, which was another reason I had to take time off. They gossiped behind my back, and when I finally asked for a contract (something I never had in all the years I worked with them), they weaponized that leave against me. How “revolutionary.”

Surviving sepsis from a ruptured appendix is a near-death experience. Recovery doesn’t end when you leave the hospital — it lingers in your body and your mind. In my case, I survived the covert operation, the sepsis, and, fortunately, their bullshit.

And to be honest, I was lucky. I didn’t suffer the way others have. I came out of it with my life — barely — and that experience shook me awake. It was a turning point, a brutal but necessary reminder that I need to be around people who prioritize me the way I’ve always prioritized them. I learned the hard way that the people I was protecting wouldn’t do the same for me.

I often think about Whitney Mitchell — a Black woman and activist who became a quadruple amputee after developing sepsis at age 19. Despite the trauma and the lifelong impact of that illness, she still showed up to protest against police violence with her fiancé, Garrett Foster, who was shot and killed at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Austin. Whitney endured unimaginable pain and loss, and yet parts of the movement community still failed her. Her story stayed with me. It’s a reminder that not even the most extreme forms of suffering will exempt you from being discarded — especially in spaces where image matters more than care.

This definitely reminds me of two other women, both fighting for their lives in hospital beds, only to be targeted by the very community members who claimed to stand for social change. And this wasn’t new to me — there were times I was suffering from a full-blown eating disorder, only to be mocked and targeted by so-called social justice advocates. How disgusting and despicable.

The irony of all this is that two founding members from that group enabled a co-director to receive a significantly higher salary despite doing no work. We even fundraised for her when she claimed to be sick, only to find out she had been scamming us the entire time. I spent eight months arguing with one about her lack of contribution, and he still did nothing. The other didn’t do anything about it either, using me as a liability shield because she “was not comfortable talking” to the other founder. They made it clear several times that they didn’t care if I lived or died.

The biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my adult life was working with them. Their behavior when I attempted to come back after everything told me everything I needed to know.

[thereseduane]

Early Detection in Complicated Skin and Soft Tissue Infections

Complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTIs) are a leading cause of hospitalization, particularly among individuals with underlying health conditions. These infections, ranging from abscesses to severe forms like necrotizing fasciitis, pose serious risks when not promptly managed. Early detection is crucial to preventing complications such as sepsis, tissue necrosis, organ failure, and even amputations. Timely diagnosis and intervention improve patient outcomes and reduce strain on healthcare systems.

cSSTIs encompass cellulitis, diabetic foot infections, infected surgical wounds, and necrotizing fasciitis. They often begin as localized infections but can rapidly progress into deep tissue involvement, making early identification essential. The primary distinction between uncomplicated and complicated infections lies in the depth of tissue involvement, comorbidities, and overall severity.

While uncomplicated infections may resolve with basic treatment, cSSTIs demand aggressive and targeted care. Vulnerable populations, including individuals with diabetes, compromised immune systems, or advanced age, face increased risk. For example, poorly controlled blood sugar in diabetic patients impairs wound healing and increases the likelihood of infection progression. The first 48 hours after infection often dictate the disease's progression, making rapid intervention essential.

Detecting cSSTIs early allows for less invasive treatments, such as targeted antibiotics and minor surgical procedures. Clinicians rely on physical signs like redness, swelling, and warmth alongside imaging tools such as ultrasonography, CT scans, or MRIs to assess infection depth. Microbiological tests, including wound cultures and PCR assays, guide antibiotic selection and reduce the risk of resistance. Increasing awareness of subtle clinical indicators, particularly in non-traditional settings like urgent care centers, can improve early recognition.

Despite these benefits, diagnosing cSSTIs presents challenges. Symptoms may mimic those of inflammatory or non-infectious conditions, complicating clinical judgment. In some cases, patients may not show typical signs of infection, especially when immunocompromised or affected by chronic illnesses like obesity or diabetes. Conditions like venous stasis dermatitis or autoimmune skin disorders can present similarly, leading to delayed or misdirected treatment.

Limited access to advanced diagnostics in certain healthcare settings can hinder timely identification. Addressing these barriers through expanded diagnostic access and stronger interprofessional collaboration is essential for early and accurate diagnosis.

Once the infection is identified, prompt intervention becomes the cornerstone of care. Antibiotic therapy, tailored through microbial analysis, helps control infection spread and mitigate resistance. Studies consistently show that early treatment reduces complications, shortens hospital stays, and lowers mortality rates.

In addition to medication and surgical intervention, advanced wound care techniques, such as vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy or specialized dressings, can accelerate healing and prevent reinfection. VAC therapy works by applying negative pressure to the wound, promoting granulation tissue formation, improving blood flow, and reducing edema. It is beneficial for deep or chronic wounds where standard dressings may be insufficient.

Ongoing monitoring following treatment initiation is vital to ensure recovery and detect any setbacks. Regular follow-up in hospital and outpatient settings enables timely adjustments to care plans. Patient education on recognizing warning signs, such as fever, increased pain, or swelling, empowers individuals to seek help before complications arise.

Educating patients on proper wound hygiene, medication adherence, and when to escalate care improves engagement and long-term outcomes. Misconceptions about infection severity or reluctance to report symptoms can delay follow-up, underscoring the need for clear communication between care teams and patients.

By strengthening diagnostic capabilities, initiating antimicrobial treatment swiftly, and applying appropriate surgical and wound care strategies, healthcare providers can significantly reduce the burden of cSSTIs. Continued monitoring and patient engagement support long-term recovery, lowering the likelihood of recurrence or life-threatening complications.