#sign and symptoms of animal poisoning

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Wounds

Wound

Occurs when the integrity of any tissue is compromised (e.g. skin breaks, muscle tears, burns, or bone fractures).

May be caused by an act, such as a gunshot, fall, or surgical procedure; by an infectious disease; or by an underlying condition.

8 Categories of Acute Wounds

Generally used by emergency personnel & first aid workers.

Abrasions. Also called scrapes, they occur when the skin is rubbed away by friction against another rough surface (e.g. rope burns and skinned knees).

Avulsions. These occur when an entire structure or part of it is forcibly pulled away, such as the loss of a permanent tooth or an ear lobe. Explosions, gunshots, and animal bites may cause avulsions.

Contusions. Also called bruises, these are the result of a forceful trauma that injures an internal structure without breaking the skin. Blows to the chest, abdomen, or head with a blunt instrument (e.g., a football or a fist) can cause contusions.

Crush wounds. Occur when a heavy object falls onto a person, splitting the skin and shattering or tearing underlying structures.

Cuts. Slicing wounds made with a sharp instrument, leaving even edges. They may be as minimal as a paper cut or as significant as a surgical incision.

Lacerations. Also called tears, these are separating wounds that produce ragged edges. They are produced by a tremendous force against the body, either from an internal source as in childbirth, or from an external source like a punch.

Missile wounds. Also called velocity wounds, they are caused by an object entering the body at a high speed, typically a bullet.

Punctures. These are deep, narrow wounds produced by sharp objects such as nails, knives, and broken glass.

Symptoms of a Wound

Include localized pain and bleeding.

Specific symptoms:

 An abrasion usually appears as lines of scraped skin with tiny spots of bleeding.

 An avulsion has heavy, rapid bleeding and a noticeable absence of tissue.

 A contusion may appear as a bruise beneath the skin or may appear only on imaging tests. An internal wound may also generate symptoms such as weakness, perspiration, and pain.

A crush wound may have irregular margins like a laceration; however, the wound will be deeper and trauma to muscle and bone may be apparent.

A cut may have little or profuse bleeding depending on its depth and length; its even edges readily line up.

A laceration may have little or profuse bleeding. The tissue damage is generally greater and the wound’s ragged edges do not readily line up.

A missile entry wound may be accompanied by an exit wound, and bleeding may be profuse, depending on the nature of the injury.

A puncture wound will be greater in depth than in its length, therefore there is usually little bleeding around the outside of the wound and more bleeding inside, causing discoloration.

Some Terminology

Butterfly bandage—Narrow strip of adhesive with wider flaring ends (shaped like butterfly wings) used to hold the edges of a wound together as it heals.

Plasma—The straw-colored fluid component of blood, without blood cells.

Tourniquet—A device used to control bleeding, consisting of a constricting band applied tightly around a limb above the wound. It should only be used if the bleeding in life-threatening and cannot be controlled by other means.

Traumatic shock—A condition of depressed body functions as a reaction to injury with loss of body fluids or lack of oxygen. Signs of traumatic shock include weak and rapid pulse; shallow and rapid breathing; and pale, cool, clammy skin.

Whole blood—Blood that contains red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in plasma.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs More: Writing Realistic Injuries ⚜ On Anatomy ⚜ Poison ⚜ Fight Scenes Part 1 2

[schmergo]

Today I learned a fact that kinda blew my mind, and I'm almost astonished I didn't know this before as someone whose chief interests include zoo animals, the U.S. Presidency, true crime, and D.C. history. What an opener, right? How could those topics possibly combine?

Well, buckle up and get ready to hear how negligent National Zoo leadership potentially could have killed a US President or started a local epidemic. Spoiler alert: They didn't. But only because luck was in their favor.

First, the part that I DID already know. In 2004, Lucy Spelman stepped down as the director of the National Zoo after a spate of controversial zoo incidents, including a string of unfortunate (and often preventable) animal deaths, misleading and missing zoo records, and other signs of negligence. The AZA even "tabled" renewing the National Zoo's accreditation for a year until they made some significant improvements. Spelman was also a vet and some of the cases she was accused of bungling happened at her own hands, not just under her supervision. It was a major disgrace for a zoo that was meant to represent the nation's capital.

I was in elementary school during these fraught years and I remember devouring articles about this in the newspaper, riveted with shock and dismay. Some of the deaths were just bad luck, but others were obviously negligent. The most infamous case was two red pandas killed by rat poison shallowly buried in their enclosures as a slapdash solution to the zoo's pest problem. A young zebra died of starvation and hypothermia after Spelman ordered the zebras' feed be cut in half, an orangutan was euthanized due to a recurrence of cancer that didn't exist (she actually had salmonella), a lion died after being administered over twice the usual amount of anesthetic, and more. I remember the names and details of these animals from when I first read these cases 20 years ago. But the one I'm talking about today is that of Nancy the elephant.

Nancy was a 46-year-old African elephant whose health had been steadily declining for several years. She suffered from a bone infection in her foot that seriously affected her mobility and quality of life. She had lost a lot of weight, she was fatigued, she even lay down at times. Nobody could be blamed for deciding to euthanize the obviously ill animal.

But they could be blamed for what was discovered in the necropsy after she was euthanized. While she did indeed have a diseased foot, the bone infection was only "moderate." Why, then, was she so obviously unwell? Her lungs had been destroyed by the effects of untreated tuberculosis. It was the tuberculosis, not the sore foot, that most contributed to her decline in health.

Here’s the scary part: nobody knows how long she'd had it because she hadn't been tested for tuberculosis, a known concern for zoo elephants, in TWO YEARS. All this despite the fact that it's MANDATORY for all zoo elephants to receive a tuberculosis test once per year-- and in fact, it was a National Zoo staff member who pushed for that reform in the first place. And the elephant was on Prednisone for her foot issues, which zoo staff noted in her records made her more vulnerable to illnesses like TB. In fact, none of the zoo's elephants had been tested recently, which meant any of them, including one who was pregnant, may have had tuberculosis, too.

There are documented cases of humans catching tuberculosis from elephants. Now, Nancy the elephant had bovine tuberculosis, which seems to be less contagious to humans and which elephants haven't so far spread to humans... BUT it has spread to humans from black rhinos, a fairly close relative, so it seems likely that elephants COULD spread it. It can also take a while for TB for incubate (and can also be latent without symptoms), especially for elephants, so the elephants OR keepers who were around Nancy were at serious risk for TB.

NOW HERE IS THE PART THAT I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT UNTIL TODAY:

Spelman actively tried to COVER UP the situation, potentially putting many more people at risk. The elephant house was closed to zoo guests, but they were only told it was for "renovations." (The actual renovations, incidentally, were to improve ventilation so that illness would be less likely to spread.)

A BBC news crew that came to film the elephants was asked to keep a healthy distance from the elephants for their emotional health and the crew's safety-- the explanation given was that the elephants' group dynamics had been thrown off by Nancy's death. Spelman instructed zoo staff not to mention the TB situation to the BBC crew and, if asked why Nancy died, they were to respond that it was for multiple reasons and that the official test results weren't all back yet.

And here's the most shocking part of all, the part that made me GASP out loud. Spelman still personally gave some special VIP behind-the-scenes tours of the elephant house during the months that the elephant house was closed, a time when the remaining elephant inhabitants could potentially still develop active TB.

One VIP who received an elephant house tour was PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON and five family members!!!!

BILL. CLINTON. THE GOSHDARN PRESIDENT.

While zoo staff says that the tour was deliberately distanced and nobody got close to an elephant, there are photos of Bill Clinton's nephew about a foot away from an elephant's trunk. You know, their nose. The part they can spread disease with. So, uh, definitely in the danger zone there.

Hillary Clinton's brother, Tony Rodham, was on the tour and he said that nobody in the party was warned about TB risk or asked if they had any medical conditions that might (a. make them susceptible to communicable disease, or (b. be contagious to the elephants. This is especially egregious because according to zoo guidelines, all behind-the-scenes tour participants MUST be asked these questions-- not just when there's a very real possibility of a TB outbreak at the zoo.

Fortunately, none of the zoo's other elephants OR keepers ever tested positive for tuberculosis. But it was certainly a close call! And imagine what would have happened if a US President caught TB from a close encounter with an elephant thanks to poorly managed zoo staff.

Presidents meet a lot of people. In fact, this zoo visit happened only 2 weeks before the inauguration of President George W. Bush, which Clinton attended. He very well could have started a TB outbreak there. Heck, TWO US Presidents could have been infected!

Now THAT is something I will be thinking about for a long time!

[thenightfolknetwork]

My boyfriend is a weredog

I should be feeding him chocolate? He gets so stressed out during the transition and it soothes him. He said it's "probably fine" but I'm not really sure because he didn't sound really sure either

There are a number of factors that will effect the answer, including the size of your boyfriend in his transformed state, the quantity of chocolate he's eating, and the type of chocolate.

Chocolate is toxic for dogs and other animals due to a compound called theobromine. Most genuses with a roughly sapio digestive system are able to process theobromine perfectly well, however.

I assume he's eating the chocolate fairly early after his transformation, given that it's the transformation itself that is causing him stress. If he were able to hold off on his treat until later in the process, he might be able to time things so that the chocolate he consumes as a dog is digested in his other form.

Otherwise, the danger really depends on how much he's eating, what size he is when he transforms, and how high the coco content is in the chocolate itself. The situation is altogether more urgent if, for example, he transforms into a pomeranian and gets through six slabs of cooking chocolate than if he turns into a St Bernard and eats a Crunchie.

Unlike an ordinary dog, your boyfriend is able to understand the risks involved in consuming potentially toxic substances and decide for himself whether they outweigh the benefits.

It's the same decision we make when we choose to have a glass of wine, or a cigarette. We each of us have the right to managing our own health and our own bodies, and sometimes that involves taking an informed risk for the sake of pleasure.

The key word there being "informed". Read up on the signs and symptoms of chocolate poisoning in dogs, and have a plan in place lest your boyfriend should react poorly while in his less communicative state.

From there, you can work together to decide whether you want to switch to an alternative treat for transformations, pick a type of chocolate that has a low coco content, or simply continue as you are with a better understanding of the risks involved.

[For more creaturely advice, check out Monstrous Agonies on your podcast platform of choice, or visit monstrousproductions.org for more info]

[nic-writes-sometimes]

Cherry Wine

(Alcina Dimitrescu/Reader)

Chapter: 7/?

Total Word Count: 33,585

CW: canon typical violence, suicidal ideation

A/N: Hi, sorry for the wait. life has been busy, hence the short chapter. mainly just wanted to get something out before the year ended. i have some free time coming up, so hopefully i'll be able to put out another chapter or two to wrap up this fic.

thank you to those who are still here, reading and commenting. i truly appreciate it :)

(full chapter linked here)

[You]

As promised, Miranda gave you the antidote to her poison. However in doing so, she also hooked you up to an I.V. to keep you lethargic and weak. You quickly lost track of the days and struggled to keep your eyes open. Every time you slept more memories of your past filtered into your mind. 

~~~~~

The sickness claimed your father first. His heart had always been fragile, and the strain of the illness was too much for him to bear. You can still see the way his chest heaved, the labored breaths that grew weaker until they finally stopped.

Then it was your youngest sister, Dahlia. You were outside tending to the animals when you heard her cough—a violent, gut-wrenching sound that sent you running. By the time you reached her, she was hunched over, her tiny body shaking as she hacked up a thick, black sludge. You held her, rubbing her back, trying to comfort her, but the sight of it filled you with dread.

She died eleven days later. 

Next was your brother, Beaux—the second-born and the only boy. He did everything he could to hide his symptoms, always putting on a brave face. He hid it so well that when your mother went to wake him for breakfast one morning, she found her son already gone, lying peacefully in his bed. Though the grief crushed you, there was a small comfort in knowing that his death had been quiet, perhaps painless.

Your mother died next. Though you suspect she died from grief rather than the illness. By the time the sickness took hold, she had already surrendered to it. She barely fought—just faded away, like a candle burning itself out.

You wish you could say you were surprised when your second-youngest sister, Clara came up to you with blackened handkerchief. The sight of it twisted your gut, but deep down, you'd been expecting it—dreading it. The look in her eyes, a mix of fear and resignation, mirrored your own.

“Not you, too,” you whispered, voice cracking as you knelt beside her, brushing the hair from her clammy forehead. She didn’t answer, just leaned into your touch, her small body trembling with the weight of her sickness.

Clara held on longer than Dahlia, longer than any of them. You think she was trying to hang on for your sake, but eventually, the outcome was the same. When she finally slipped away, it was as though the last thread tethering you to any sense of normalcy had snapped. The house became a hollow shell, filled with silence and loss.

You were almost relieved when the coughing started. The thick, black sludge came up with every breath, greeting you like an old friend—a grim sign that your time was finally coming. The burning in your throat, the weight in your chest, all of it felt like a promise. Soon, you thought. Soon, you’d see them again. Your father, your mother, Dahlia, Beaux, and Clara—all of them waiting for you, and for the first time in weeks, the gnawing emptiness inside you began to ease.

You welcomed the sickness, didn’t fight it like the others had. In some twisted way, it felt like the answer to your grief. The world had become a colder, emptier place without them, and this disease—the thing that had stolen everything from you—was now offering to take you, too. Maybe it was a mercy. Maybe it was fate.

Surely fate wouldn’t be so cruel?

[sorcerous-caress]

Miss may I ask for a drabble about a sick tav. I wonder hoe the bg3 companions would take care of a tav who is feverish and unwell.

Shadowheart, as a cleric, knows how to cure and keep your sickness at bay while you recover. While she is more of a battle medic, her spells still help a lot in giving you temporary relief and strength. She is clearly worried about you but isn't sure how to approach the subject, she didn't have people caring for her when she was sick and even if she did, she doesn't really remember it.

Halsin is a healer and the closest thing to a doctor between all of the companions. He has seen your symptoms before and knows the remedy for it like the back of his hand. He is also used to dealing with sick people no matter how whiny they get, he remains ever gentle and patient as he coax you into drinking the sour potion, promising something better tasting for lunch.

He tries his best to reassure the others that while your symptoms are severe, your sickness isn't and it will go away in a week or two of rest, alas it's not very effective and they still freak out as if you're on your deathbed.

Gale knows what he's supposed to do, he has read about it, but isn't the best at action. Maybe he even ends up reading one or two pages that mention a deadly sickness that overlaps with your symptoms and he lowkey freaks out what if this isn't just a fever? He does pull some strings to see if he can get one of his wizard friends to lend you their personal doctor for the day.

Don't get him wrong, he trusts Halsin...it's just that he would rather an actual certified doctor sees you. You're not a plant or an animal, a druid can't do much for you no matter how talented they are, he claims.

Wyll and Lae'zel aren't the best bedside nurses really. Wyll is used to taking care of himself and pushing through sickness whilst he was a travelling hero. Meanwhile Lae'zel is used to the drastic githyanki medicine that while takes a toll on the body, is very effective but only on githyanki.

Although Lae'zel would be the only one to not underestimate you, she has seen people in much worse states before completely win battles on their own. If you say you can do something, she won't argue and will trust your decision. Unless youre decision turns out to he idiotic and you fall on your ass then she will carry back to camp while scolding you for being overconfident.

Wyll has better bedside matters, he and Karlach definitely know how to take your mind off of the sickness. Hanging out with them is still as fun as ever. He's definitely kept the most leveled head during this whole ordeal of chaos and knows you're strong and will get through it.

Astarion also falls into the camp of not knowing what to do. Vampires don't exactly get sick. Well, he knows that he can't drink your blood because it smells awful when you're sick and you're already in a weak state, and he doesn't want to kill you.

If you have a cold and you need heat then he will definitely make sure to keep you warm though, steal the blankets of everyone else and pile them on you, saying you clearly need them more so your companions should stop being whiny children. He doesn't need to sleep so he checks up on the campfire all night and makes sure the heat warms up your tent.

If you're feverish he will begrudgingly let you use him as a body cooler. He can't contract your sickness so it's fine and his hands can get as cold as ice during the night. So he'll keep it on your forehead and attempt to soothe away your pain.

Minthara is surprisingly knowledgeable in medicine to a certain degree, nobles, especially drow nobles, have to go through certain training in medicine to recognise poison attempts and how to quickly recover.

And that's the first thing she checks for when you show signs of sickness, were you poisoned? And no one is off the suspect list, even Scratch gets a long stare from her as she determines his fate before he licks her face making her admit he is innocent.

She takes your state the most serious of all, treating your refusal to take your medicine as a personal offence against her. She isn't above death threats even if they are less effective considering the fact that she is doing her best to keep you alive right now.

For once, Minthara and Gale agree on something as they both are sceptical of Halsin's healer title and would rather get an actual doctor in here. Halsin isn't offended but Jaheira definitely is and starts an argument with them about how druids are just as experienced as doctors and who are you even to assume nature doesn't have the cure to everything?

Karlach brought cards and board games to spend time together with you. She is by far the most pleasant company of all of them. Hell she is even down for tolerating reading a book or two with you if it would cheer you up, would lend you her teddy bear if she notices you were getting lonely.

[projectbluearcadia]

Top Ten Anime Betrayals I Guess

[ Trigger Warning -  Intentional Poisoning via food/drink. Reader Discretion Advised. ]

Lucifer: Mmm... Where are you going?

Annelie flinches as Lucifer rolls over in bed to catch her with half her body out of bed.

Annelie: ...water?

Lucifer: You're not a good liar, Annelie. Why are you being so sneaky?

Annelie: Well... it's just, I think you'll follow me if you know where I'm going, so...

Lucifer: Is there a reason I can't follow you?

Lucifer is wide-awake now, sitting up and rubbing his face.

Annelie: Because Barbatos said---

Lucifer: Barbatos?

Lucifer swings his legs out of bed to sit next to Annelie.

Lucifer: Why would he tell you to go anywhere without me? Annelie, that's not a good sign. He knows you get anxious when I'm not somewhere I can readily get to you.

Annelie: ...you're right, but... I don't know, I just thought he had a good reason. Like maybe he'd say something private about you or he'd confide in me about Diavolo...

Lucifer: Look. I know you're not on his hitlist anymore, but that doesn't mean you can let your guard down. He's a man, Annelie, and he's a very closed-off man at that. I don't care whether he wants to hit on you or tell you his darkest secret. You're not going by yourself. End of discussion.

If you were anyone else...

Annelie lets out a defeated sigh, smiling a little to herself.

Annelie: Okay, fine. But you stay concealed and quiet. Only pop your head out if I call for you.

Lucifer: Fine. I don't like it, but fine.

[ timeskip ]

Annelie walks into the darkened halls of the castle with ease, searching for Barbatos. She passes Diavolo's room, and she chuckles a little as she sees the prince sleeping soundly. Eventually, she catches the sight of Barbatos carrying a lit candelabra, making his face look gaunt.

Barbatos: There you are.

Barbatos smiles softly.

Barbatos: Follow me; I'd prefer to speak over tea.

Annelie: Yeah, sure...

Annelie starts walking behind the butler.

Annelie: Can you give me a hint about what you want to talk about with me exactly? You have to know that you're making me pretty anxious right now. You don't have a very good track record.

Barbatos: Haha. No, I don't.

Annelie: ...

Barbatos: ...

Annelie: ........

Barbatos: ...........

Annelie: Barb? Isn't this your room? You're really scaring me now.

Barbatos: I apologize for my reticence. I did not desire to make you anxious, although what I have to tell you may be anxiety-inducing.

Barbatos pours a cup of tea for Annelie and himself, and the sweet aroma of chamomile reaches Annelie's nose. He gestures for her to sit, taking a sip of tea.

Annelie: ...okay...?

Barbatos: It has become clear to me that you are widely loved by everyone in your circle. Unfortunately, that love is of the romantic variety which cannot be satiated when you have become so tightly bonded to Lucifer.

Annelie: Is... Is this a lecture?

Barbatos: No, not at all. It's... more of a personal musing, I'm afraid. Rather, it is a lament on my part. I have come to realize that I am just as fond of you as the young master or the other members of the student council.

Annelie: I guess... yeah, that's pretty surprising.

Annelie takes a sip of her tea.

Annelie: But... why did you need to call me all the way to the castle for that?

Hm? Do I... hear Lucifer shouting?

Barbatos: That has to do with the other thing I needed to inform you of.

Although there was no change in Barbatos' expression, a tear slipped free of one eye.

Huh? Why does he... look... blurry...?

Barbatos: Annelie, your curse has spread and permanently taken root. Solomon's vaccine is effective only at treating surface-level symptoms. Of the sparing records I was able to find on Queen Succubi... we are in a critical state.

Annelie collapses to the floor, and Barbatos catches her, laying her down gently.

Barbatos: ...so... for the sake of the prince's life, I can't let you live.

I am sorry, Annelie.... truly.

[gaystims]

How to make headcanon GIF's

What you will need

VLC media player

A video/edpisode/series/ect of the character you're making headcanons for

EzGif

Photopea

What you should probably have (not required)

A VPN

The whole series of whatever you want to GIF

An Adobe account so you can use Abobe express

A hard drive (this shit takes up a LOT of space, especially if you're batch downloading a series)

Now that you have all the basics let's get started!

Step one: Choosing a character

Obviously this process will vary from person to person, sometimes a headcanon is hard to prove with canon, sometimes it's easy.

For this we're going to go easy so we will be making GIF's of Maomao from the Apothecary Diaries displaying autistic symptoms.

She's basically a cat so this won't be too hard (does anyone else remember the autism cat or am I just old?)

Step two: Downloading the source

This can be a difficult process and (while I'm more than happy to help) I won't be sharing where I download anime from (Loose lips sink ships) although a quick google search into how to torrent anime will work.

Anyway I have the whole series downloaded for this, it's much easier to do the whole series.

Step three: Cutting the video/finding a scene to GIF

Best way to do this? Get your autism glasses on and pick up on all the details that make you think this character is autistic.

For me, one of the 'signs' is the way Maomao is obsessed with poisons and herbalism, so a good scene for me to GIF is when she's allowed into the doctors medicine draws.

But how do you clip a scene from a whole vedio?

Simple, you record the scene you want to GIF with VLC! Just hit the red dot (circled in red here) and let the scene play out!

I would personally allow a few seconds before the specific scene and a few seconds after to play, because sometimes the video can glitch.

Step four: Making the GIF

Next you'll need to go to EzGif and upload the clip you made, if the clip you made is too long you can use Adobe Express to trim it.

When your video is uploaded (it can take a while sometimes) you need to trim the length to the closest second that shows what you want to GIF, then you need to edit the GIF size so it's not too big for tumblr.

Here are the measurements we use!

Hit confirm and now you have a GIF!

Step five: Cropping and trimming

At the bottom of your GIF you should see a row of options of what to do with it.

Personally I would crop the GIF first and then do frames because frames takes longer to load larger GIF's.

To crop I hit the square option and drag out the edges, then process the GIF. Then I hit frames and press skip for any frames I don't want in the end GIF.

Then save it.

Step six: Adding Text

Now you will need Photopea where you will need to open the GIF.

I have a file saved for the text so I can copy and paste what I want it to say so it looks the same, for you though you need to type the text out.

Hit the text button (red) and then type out what you want it to say, change the font with the blur circled and the outline/font color with green.

I personally use a rainbow overlay for the text because I'm ~fancy~ and the autism symbol is mostly represnted as a rainbow.

Step seven: Exporting as a GIF

After typing out what the scene represents, you need to save the GIF.

Go to File > Export as > GIF

Step eight: Repeat eight times

And then you stick them all together and make a board

This is the finished GIF set for this tutorial!

[sugar-phoenix]

vampire x poisoned werewolf

wrote a short one-shot about a male vampire who has to deal with his nemesis, a female werewolf who is poisoned, just to get myself out of a rut. enjoy!

tags: werewolf x vampire, fxm, extreme slow burn, literally nothing remotely romantic really happens, poison, bites, enemies to lovers, archenemies to lovers, unspoken truces, forced proximity to save the other

support me at my kofi here!

dividers by cafekitsune

The vampire heard a knock at his door.

“Coming, coming,” he called. “I thought most humans weren't awake at this hour,” he muttered to himself.

He unlatched the door, and it flew open, the full weight of a werewolf behind it. She collapsed onto the ground. 

“Wh-What? What are you doing here?” he hissed. The vampire, although filled with a mixture of shock and hatred at the sight of his nemesis, sensed something was wrong. He closed the door shut behind her.

“I’d like to know what possessed you at this hour of the night to come crashing on my door.”

The werewolf made a guttural growl. Or was that a groan? She raised her face at him, and he could see that she was foaming at the mouth.

“Oh great, you’ve brought your filthy canine diseases in with you. This had better be good.”

Slowly, pained, the werewolf morphed from her animal form to her human form. The mass of her wolfishness returned to her hair, and in the end she laid on his stone floor, a naked woman, almost entirely covered in strands of long black hair. He started, averting his eyes.

“Good God, woman, what has gotten into you? I sincerely hope this is not some sort of inane confession or attempt to seduce me.” 

Something inside the vampire felt as though he wouldn’t entirely hate the werewolf if this were to be true. He quashed that part of him away and hoped it never reared its ugly head again. 

“Poison,” she grunted. 

He whirled back towards her, then turned his head again when he realized she was in a state of undress. “Poison? What kind?” 

“Drink,” she managed to cough out. “Need. Medicine.”

“I can’t help you if you don’t know what kind of poison it is,” he said. 

The werewolf-woman growled. “I don’t know.”

The vampire sighed. “Well, then I’ll have to try and deduce what kind of poison you have from your symptoms. Which would require me to inspect you, as improper as you are at the moment.”

“Don’t care.”

Well all right then, he thought, turning towards the werewolf. He never thought in his wildest dreams that there would come a night like this. Although he supposed his notorious expertise at poisons and such was necessary in this situation. 

To describe the two as ones who didn’t get along would be an understatement. In fact, they had often dealt each other severe wounds in fights over clan disputes. Vampires versus werewolves, it was only as natural as cats versus dogs.

Then again, the vampire had often seen cats and dogs managing to get along well with each other and even become friends. Another thought to quash.

“Alright, foaming at the mouth,” he started crouching down towards the werewolf. She growled at him, and he hissed back.

“If you want me to help, I’ll have to get close to you. Close enough to make the both of us extremely uncomfortable, but I was of the impression you wanted to live.” At his words, the woman rolled her eyes, turning her head away. The vampire took that as a sign that she was willing to comply. 

He touched the skin at her neck. She jolted and became tense, but otherwise let him continue.

“Hot at the neck, excessive sweating,” he continued, counting the symptoms to himself.

Crap, he thought to himself. These symptoms are all generic. The options of poisons are too varied for me to narrow down what she has.

I wish I was poisoned. With my expertise in recognizing poisons, I’d know what this was. 

It was then that an idea struck the vampire. A terrible, but necessary idea.

“I just want to let you know that what I’m about to do is entirely necessary for the sake of your survival. Also that I’m not trying to kill you,” the vampire said. The werewolf turned towards him, giving him a skeptical look. 

“Do you want me to try and save you or not?” The vampire asked. The werewolf glared at him.

“Just do it,” she muttered.

The vampire took in a deep breath. “Alright then.”

He sat down next to her, leaning over her. She looked at him, confused.

Her eyes widened when she realized what he was about to do, but by then it was too late. He had sunk his teeth into her neck. She tried to thrash around, but the poison had weakened her significantly, and the most she could do was wiggle around.

It wasn’t long before he pulled himself away from her neck, and got up, rushing to his cabinet of herbs. She laid there on the floor, feeling a thin stream of blood slowly dribble down her neck from his bite. Werewolves were immune to vampiric bites and the curse that followed them, as they had a curse themselves, which meant the two canceled each other out.

Now that he felt the poison coursing through his own, the vampire quickly identified, it, coming up with a simple yet effective antidote comprised of a few ingredients. He rushed back to the werewolf with a mixture, tipping down her throat.

She gagged, but swallowed it down.

Within minutes, she felt significantly better, her strength and health regaining. The werewolf sat up, her hair cascading down the front of her body, and looked at the vampire. He was leaning against a nearby table, setting down a small cup, no doubt filled with his own antidote.

“Thank you,” she said.

“No problem. Now, please, leave before anyone finds out about this.”

She got up, transforming back into her animal form, and left through the door. 

He sighed a breath of relief, and batted away the unbidden thoughts in his mind.

support me at my kofi here!

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from the Associated Press (AP):

Sea lions are stranding themselves on a long stretch of the California coast and showing signs that they may have been poisoned by a bloom of harmful algae, experts said Thursday.

The Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute said that since July 26, it has been inundated by daily reports of sick sea lions along 155 miles (249 kilometers) of shoreline in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, northwest of Los Angeles.

The marine mammals are suffering from domoic acid, a neurotoxin that affects the brain and heart, the institute said in a statement. The poisoning event is largely affecting adult female California sea lions, it said.

The nonprofit said it had rescued 23 animals so far. Coastal Vandenberg Space Force Base released photos of sea lions being rescued from one of its beaches on July 29.

The California coast commonly sees outbreaks of domoic acid poisoning, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s NOAA Fisheries.

An outbreak last year was particularly severe, with hundreds sea lions and dozens of dolphins dying in the first weeks of June.

The poison is produced by microscopic algae that are consumed by shellfish and small fish that are then eaten by sea lions, dolphins and birds. Symptoms in affected sea lions may include disorientation, head weaving, foaming at the mouth and seizures.

People can also get sickened.

[scleroticstatue]

FAQ: Diet

What the actual hell?

I was desperate. I was frequently experiencing gastrointestinal distress, ulcers, and food-poisoning-like symptoms. While I did experience horrible ulcers for the majority of my life, the last few years had significantly progressed to the point where I couldn't eat any food that I didn't make without feeling some stomach problem — no restaurants, no fast food, no church potlucks, no dinner dates.

Do you know the cause?

Some of it was a food allergy to meat and meat byproducts, some genetic predisposition, and some was an h. pylori bacterial infection. There were other factors, but those are the three big ones.

What did the doctors say?

Unfortunately, the only thing the doctors could help with was the h. pylori, and the only way they could do that was antibiotics. Since I am allergic to amoxicillin-based antibiotics and since my family has historically very bad reactions to antibiotics, that was not an option, nor would it solve my meat allergies or genetics.

So what did you do?

I spent six months off of sugar and another three free of yeast (which inhibits bacterial growth) with a limited selection of food intended to grow my microbiome, then spent a week and a half on only probiotic food — yogurt, flax, kombucha, and kefir, as well as grapefruit peel powder for the last few days. After that, I did a total fast (no food or water) for two days, no food for three more days, and then slowly started adding juice and flax and then other foods back in over the month or so (to avoid shocking my system). During the fasting period, I also was doing manual lymph drainage, taking karanja seeds, and I routinely used a sauna throughout this whole experience that made it easier and faster.

You went for two days without drinking and five days without eating anything???

Yes. And I kept working my manual labor job. However, I am experienced at fasting; I do a total fast for 24 hours once a month and fast sunrise to sunset once a week. And because of my gastrointestinal distress, not eating for a day or two had become pretty routine for me.

Okay, what about the karanja seeds? Google says they're toxic to humans!

Did everything go like you expected?

Google AI is wrong. They are toxic to fish and a few other animals. However, in a study done with rats, researchers found they showed no signs of liver damage but what they did find is the oil in them could heal ulcers caused by stress and chemical damage at extraordinarily high rates.

More or less. Some things were better — I honestly expected to hate yogurt by the end of that phase — some were worse — I am now, for unknowable reasons, significantly worse at drinking water. I also became kinda manic bipolar while I was fasting and my nerves were so much more sensitive. 10/10 did not like it. Never want to do it again.

Did it turn out like you were hoping?

Will you do it again?

Wellllll....... Yes. And no. I feel much better and I can eat out without worrying and I'm not allergic to meat anymore. Buuuuut most meat still tastes nasty as all get out and I won't be eating it much.

Pictured for reference: goat biryani which I will never be eating again.

No. I will probably do a probiotic cleanse with yogurt and kombucha every year or two, just to keep my microbiome well-fed, but I will never do the total fasting ever again. Probably.

Do you recommend that anyone else do it?

How desperate are you? "I can't eat a lettuce and tomato salad" kind of desperate? "I ate tater tots and threw up" kind of desperate? "I'm surviving off pancakes and dollar store cheese dip because that's the only thing that doesn't make me bleed internally but oops I just found out the cheese dip is making me depressed" kind of desperate? You must be desperate to do what I did. And you are probably not.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Poison Ivy & Poison Oak

Poison ivy and poison oak - plants that cause an allergic skin reaction in most people who are exposed to them.

Poison Ivy - generally thought of as a climbing vine, can also grow as a shrub or bush.

It has leaves that are elliptical in shape and grow in groups of 3 on a stem.

Common in the US, except in the southwest, Alaska, and Hawaii.

Poison Oak - grows as a shrub

Has leaves that are shaped like oak leaves and grow in groups of 3 to a stem.

Common in the US, especially on the west coast from Mexico to Canada.

Symptoms

The symptoms for poison ivy and poison oak are the same.

Usually the first symptoms to appear are: itchiness and

swelling in the areas of contact.

The itchy rash that follows is made up of small pimple-like bumps (sometimes referred to as papules), as well as

blisters that later break open, ooze, and crust over.

In most cases, the condition goes away in 2 weeks.

Not everyone is sensitive to poison ivy and poison oak.

However, 9 out of 10 people who come in contact with either of the plants will have an allergic reaction to some degree.

All parts of the plants are poisonous and the amount of time it takes for an allergic reaction to develop varies from person to person.

The extent and severity of the reaction depends on the length of exposure, type of contact, and how sensitive the person is to the plants.

If a person is going to have an allergic reaction, it will usually occur within one or two days of exposure. However, some people have a reaction within an hour, whereas others don’t experience a reaction until 5 days after the exposure.

Causes

The substance that causes the allergic reaction is the same for both plants. It is an oily resin called urushiol.

It only takes a small amount of the resin to cause a reaction.

The resin can be transferred to the skin by directly touching the plant or indirectly by coming in contact with something that has touched the plant, such as tools, animals, or clothing. Although animals are rarely affected, they can carry the resin on their fur and transfer it to humans.

According to the experts at the University of Maryland Medical Center, the ‘‘chemical [resin] can remain active for more than a year.’’

Treatment

Anyone who comes in contact with either plant should wash the exposed area with soap and water immediately.

Taking a bath immediately after contact is not recommended, because that could spread the resin to other areas of the body.

All clothing, including shoes and shoelaces, should be removed carefully and either washed separately or discarded.

For minor cases, hydrocortisone cream and Calamine lotion can provide relief until the symptoms disappear.

Over-the-counter Benadryl capsules help with the itching.

Some people find oatmeal or baking soda baths to be soothing as well.

Oral steroids, such as prednisone, are available for more serious cases, especially those affecting the face, eyes, mouth, or genitals.

If signs of infection develop, such as pus and a fever, patients should contact their doctors.

Patients should consult their physicians before they use any ointments that contain benzocaine or zirconium, because they can cause an allergic reaction that worsens the condition.

Antihistamine ointments are not recommended for the same reason. The experts at the Alabama Cooperative Extension System caution that ‘‘some people have severe allergic reactions to these plants and can have swelling in the throat, breathing problems, weakness, dizziness, and bluish lips.’’

Emergency medical care should be sought if any serious reactions occur.

Prevention

The best prevention is know what the plants look like and to avoid them.

A common saying should be kept in mind: Leaves of three, let them be.

People who plan to be in an area where poison ivy and poison oak might be found should wear protective clothing, such as long-sleeved shirts and long pants.

Eradication of the plants should be handled with care.

As stated by the experts at the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, ‘‘burning can be dangerous and is not recommended for disposal or as a control measure, because the toxic oil from the plant can be carried in the smoke.’’

Instead they recommend spraying the plants with glyphosate, which is commonly known as the brands Roundup or Kleenup.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References ⚜ Allergy Poison ⚜ Fictional Poisons ⚜ Fictional Plant Worksheet

[flyonthewallmedstudent]

Listeria

For whatever reason it reminds me of Desperate Housewives and Wisteria lane. Or just Wisteria in general.

It's unfortunately it's anything but wistful or romantic.

This is inspired by the netflix series Poisoned. I hate that title but it's a great watch. I learned a lot from it. I highly recommend it particularly for medical students and residents etc.

So, listeria are gram positive rods (most bacilli are negative) making this relatively easier to remember (purple rods). Also catalase positive. IT's also a facultative anaerobe - so both cultures may be positive (aerobic and anaerobic bottles).

the species that is the culprit for major human pathogens is Listeria monocytogenes.

At increased risk groups (more likely to die of Listeriosis) - the immunocompromised and extremes of life, including the elderly, pregnant women and neonates. Immunocompromised: HIV, anyone on long term highish doses of steroids, leukaemia/oncology patients etc. Worryingly, incubation time is 3-90 days in these groups, so it's difficult to really trace or keep track of. Pregnant women are at 20x higher risk of acquiring the severe form.

Source: CDC

Hence why during pregnancy you're advised not to consume raw salads, fruits, cold cuts, soft cheeses, sprouts and smoked salmon or sushi, no mayo and no raw egg (definitely no raw milk) etc. Similarly, common recommendation is you serve none of these to children under the age of 1. It naturally lives in soil (hence avoidance of raw sprouts) and can live in animals. So it can frequently contaminate food.

Image Source: SA Health

As with COVID (I can't believe I'm using COVID as a measure of things), it can cause mild food borne illness (nausea, vomiting diarrhoea, myalgias, even fevers) to invasive disease causing sepsis and even meningitis or encephalitis. Incubation time is a few days in the mild form.

IMage source:

Death by Listeria when you have the severe form (Listeriosis) is 20%, astonishingly high given you have a 1% chance of dying from Salmonella.

It's a small risk but the issue is that complications and fatality if you do acquire is high. It's also highly preventable, but the challenge is food safety and avoiding certain foods as a consumer.

i.e. in pregnancy, most will have diarrhoeal illness that's mild. But in the subset that get invasive disease and really unwell, there's a 20% risk of miscarriage, risk of premature labour and risk of still birth at 3% in the US. In the states, pregnant women are also 10x more likely to get Listeria infection. That is, illness after exposure.

On the final note of prevention, also always properly refridgerate food to 4 degrees celsius and cook meat to 165 fahrenheit or 73 degrees celsius. As I've learned from the Poisoned documentary, you can ask restaurants to do this, ask them to use an internal thermometer to measure - as rare/medium rare etc have no meaning as it pertains to food safety. If they can't, order something else.

With meningoencephalitis, we just presume that Listeria is a possibility and treat empirically while awaiting investigations.

Investigations: - CSF (lumbar puncture) in event of signs of meningism or encephalitis (classic headache/fever/stiff neck/rash and/or acute confusion or seizure AND fevers) --> expect the classic features of bacterial meningiits and gram stain positive for purple rods - PCR - stool cultures have no value - blood cultures--> look for gram positive rods in the preliminary findings, expect a call from the lab Empirical therapy: - none in asymptomatic or mild disease. just monitoring until symptoms resolve and supportive care (fluids etc.) - Listeria is a notifiable disease to the health department in most Western countries that keep track of outbreaks. - in the US, standard treatment is ampicillin. - in Australia at least, standard therapy is IV benzylpenicillin, 2.4 g 4 hrly in meningitis or encephalitis and everyone is just started on this until bug identification/gram staining and sensitivities return. - in hypersensitivity, bactrim is used. - cephalosporins have no activity against them (or "inherently resistant), hence you can see IV ceftriaxone and benzylpen in the drug regimen for empirical therapy of meningitis - cef covers gram negatives, strep pneumo (most common cause of meningitis) and neisseria meningitidis - duration of therapy in severe disease: 3 weeks, 6 weeks if immunosuppressed

Really great summary here.

Random historical trivia

listeria is named for Dr. Joseph Lister, a British surgeon who introduced sterilisation of equipment and antiseptics to surgery, improve post op care and observed that microbes are the cause of cases of poor wound healing or post op infections. he also began to look at them under the microscope as an early pioneer of bacteriology.

Lister's father by the way, made compound microscopes for a living, so lister became proficient at using this and started publishing articles during medical school

this also led to a lot more research on inflammation and coagulation

weirder trivia: in his med school days, surgeons commonly did not wash hands between patients and some didn't even change gowns, glorifying how busy they where by how many stains were on it by the end of the day

so unsurprisingly his early battles to pioneer antiseptics and aseptic techqniues to prevent the transmission of infection in surgical patients were pretty uphill

Resources CDC guidelines WHO guidelines FDA Statpearls --> great at covering basic physiology and pathology etc. in a short form. Australian therapeutic guidelines - unfortunately not free.. so won't bother to link. If you work at any large-ish Australian hospital you'll have 'free' access. Wikipaedia US list of outbreaks CDC recommendations on foods to avoid vs okay to eat to avoid Listeria

[medicatrix-naturae]

Menstruation - is it really necessary?

Why do women menstruate - and what's "normal" about it? During the days before a woman ovulates, the lining of the womb - the endometrium - thickens in preparation for a possible conception. If the egg released at ovulation passes through the womb unfertilized, the thickened endometrial tissues are not needed - and in a truly healthy woman, as in animals in their wild state, those tissues are mostly reabsorbed. What remains is expelled over a short period of time as a slight mucus discharge.

The majority of women in modern cultures however, experience instead a copious disabling monthly bleeding - that neither their wild primate cousins nor humans living close to nature do. Nature did not intend the ovulation cycle to be accompanied by cramping, nervous tension, or any of the long list of symptoms we've come to associate with "having a period" - let alone by the days of bloody flow we now accept as "normal", but which they rightly call a hemorrhage.

Bleeding, or perhaps we should refer to it as haemorrhaging, only appears to occur in the toxic body, such as a nose bleed. It is the body’s way of eliminating excess toxic waste.

Women who eat a vegan/vegetarian diet containing mostly raw food experience only brief periods, scarcely noticeable, with hardly any loss of blood. Women experience troublesome periods only because of the toxic condition of their blood brought about by the high fat and protein Western diet.

What is this connection between diet and menstruation? What is actually happening in the womb to make it hemorrhage? A poor diet, residues from improper digestion contribute to a state of body-wide poisoning, or toxemia.

Structurally the human body is designed for the same kind of diet that other primates eat. Our teeth, intestinal tract, digestive organs and their secretions are not those of a carnivore like the wolf, nor a herbivore like the cow - but of a frugivore, or fruit-eater, like the apes and most monkeys - whose natural foods are mostly fruits and vegetable matter.

Modern man's diet however includes large amounts of protein foods from animal products and dried legumes and grains - none of which he can easily digest, and all of which leave his normally alkaline body in an acid condition. The body's attempt to neutralize this condition by keeping the blood-calcium high results in badly disrupted mineral levels, with both calcium depletion from the bones and deposition of excess calcium in joints, blood vessels and organs.

Animal products, along with salt, sugar, alcohol, refined fats and oils, most condiments, artificial additives and stimulating beverages… lead to increasingly poorer health, through menstruation and menopausal "symptoms", ultimately ending with heart disease and cancer. Worn out by decades of "the Curse", drained of health, vitality and enthusiasm, often after years of miserably irregular menstruation and the related signs of ill health soon become so dramatic they can't be ignored: osteoporosis, cysts and tumors, and rapid ageing among them.

In domesticated animals and animals kept in zoos who have constant access to unnatural and often concentrated food supplies - these animals experience a periodic bloody discharge the equivalent of human menstruation. This is especially noticeable in normally plant-eating animals made to eat dry high-protein feed. When these captive animals are instead fed on the fresh natural plant foods they'd normally eat, the menstruation ceases.

Summary: Menstruation is a harmful hemorrhage involving the loss of vital fluid. Hemorrhage is Not a condition of health, it is a pathological state and is always harmful and sometimes dangerous. Hemorrhage in the uterus is no more normal than is hemorrhage in the brain or lungs. It is less dangerous only because the uterus is less vital to the immediate welfare of the body. No authority on earth can successfully maintain that a hemorrhage is natural and normal, no matter in what part of the body it occurs.

Not only do some apparently healthy women, even in our culture, never menstruate, but non-menstruating women can be fertile and have healthy children. That is, ovulation does not require menstruation. Menstruation is neither natural nor healthy. And it can be changed very much for the better - even to the extent of not experiencing it at all yet remaining healthy and fertile.

Source: Mixed/Unknown & my own.

[peragonsaysthings]

Okay so, Hemlock, big bad evil man that yoinked our Crosshair.

What I'm intrested in about him, is the Gas that he used in Ep.14, Tipping point. Crosshairs already weak, we can see that, and Resonably so. Before he even gets in the room he's stumbling around, missing shots, he wouldn't have had a chance to handle any sort of Toxin.

Let alone hemlock, a deadly plant that can result in death. And I think that's what the gas is, hemlock.

So hemlock has alot of affects, ingesting it can leave someone experiencing central nervous system depression, respiratory failure, acute rhabdomyolysis, acute renal failure and death. And even when it's just inhaled through a smoke form it can still give someone Central nervous system depression, and respiratory failure.

The symtoms of Hemlock poisoning? From the ones I could see in that animation, Which cannot display alot of the symptoms (High blood pressure, restlessness or confusion, dry mouth etc.) There were still some that Crosshair displayed.

-Mussel weakness, Barley moments into the toxins release Crosshair collapses, yes this could be a symptom of his previous weakness. But prior to the gases release nothing major happened that would have decreased his motor function so quickly, other than the toxins effects. Crosshair is also depicted not long after falling over, trying to push himself up but not having the core strength to do so, this could be argued as respiratory failure. Which he starts to experience, but it's to soon in the prosses to have that much of a hold on him.

-Dilated pupils, From the scene when the gas first entered the room, to the scene where Crosshair had collapsed his pupils had Dilated. (Dialate, for something to expand.)

-Rapid heartrate, even though we couldn't get a visual of this, before the Guard takes him away we can here his hearybeat, and we can here it start to pick up before he fall unconscious (Although the heartrate does slow down right before he loses consciousness, this can be explained by anouther symtom).

-Restlessness and Confusion, I put this down as one of the thing that couldn't be depicted in the visuals, because we can't know if Crosshair feels Confusion in the moment. But I believe a depiction of this, is the way he hears Hemlocks voice while he speaks, the effects on it could be the visual representation of Crosshairs Confusion.

Another thing I want to touch on, is the respiratory failure and central nervous system depression. Although they can't be shown to their full extent in the short time frame, they play a part in the scene.

-Respiratory failure, Very quickly it shows Crosshair struggling to breath, the coughing and short breaths is true to that. The coughing? Not so much, but how short, cut off and quick his breaths become shows a struggle. You can see this in his movements, how after he falls his chest will rapidly rise and fall through the majority the continuing scene, but slow down right before he loses consciousness.

-Central Nervous system depression, The central nervous system depression (CNSD) is a less likely part in how the scene plays out. CNSD is "a physiological state that can result in a decreased rate of breathing, decreased heart rate, and loss of consciousness, possibly leading to coma or death." We see this clearly in afew ways, the loss of consciousness happens quickly, both by his weakened state and by a decreased rate of breathing (Which was touched on in Respiratory failure). However it could also be cause by a decreased heartrate, yes, I had mentioned Crosshairs heartrate picking up during the scene, but I also mentioned how it slowed just before he lost consciousness. This skipping heatbeat could be a symptom of his heartrate decreasing, conflicting with the rapid heart rate symptom. While it could also just be a sign of his lose of consciousness, which is why I don't think the decreased heartrate plays a big role in the bigger picture.

If I could, I'd line up the treatments for Hemlock posioning with what we see of Crosshair in the final episode of S2, But I have no understanding on Starwars medical procedures and wouldn't have a hope of lining that up with the real world methods.

Uh, how do you even end this? It's like school speeches, just copy the introduction and change up the words- But that Dosn't really work when your Intro's 'Big bad evil man'.

Anyway I think that Toxin shown in Ep.14 is some modification of the alkaloid toxins found in actual hemlock plants.

[chellerbelles]

Still working on the Murder Mystery stuff, so decided to go with a scene where they discuss poison.

Rogue & Gambit Week 2023: Murder Mystery

The poison garden was hidden amongst the larger gardens of the property. It was small, but beautiful and elegant.

“Hmm, not as big as the Assassin’s poison garden, but a lot more refined,” Gambit said as he and Rogue walked around. “The huge signs spoil things a bit though.”

Rogue grinned. “Well, some of these are poison to the touch. They have to be careful.”

“I’m surprised it’s legal.”

“It’s Heritage listed or something.”

“Ah. Explains it.”

“Oooh Foxglove,” Gambit said. “I haven’t seen this one before.”

“The Assassins don’t have it?” Rogue asked as they wander over to the pink and purple flowered plants.

“No. They used it, but since Digitalis isn’t used in heart medication as much anymore they stopped using it.” Gambit gave her a grin. “If you gave Foxglove to someone on Digitalis-based heart meds, you could get away with murder, because there would already be Digitalis in their system. There’d be no way to tell if it was murder or accidental overdose.”

“I know,” Rogue said. “It got used in an Agatha Christie novel that way.” She didn’t add that Mystique had used that technique once herself.

“I really need to read me some Agatha Christie one of these days.” He frowned as his eyes shifted to another set of plants. “Well, I know Belladonna when I see it.”

“What are you more afraid of, the plant or the ex?” Rogue asked with a smirk.

“Jury’s still out,” he replied with a wink. “Have you heard of Aqua Tofana?”

Rogue nodded. “Invented by Giulia Tofana in the 1600s, which she and her daughter and staff used to sell to women wanting to kill off their husbands. And they did so successfully for decades. It was disguised as a beauty treatment or religious item. And they taught the prospective widow how to behave and say to the police.”

Gambit smirked. “Yeah. I thought you might have. They think Belladonna was one of the ingredients.”

“And arsenic and lead, if I recall correctly. Took a few drops to kill, but it looked like it was the flu or whatever. So they’d get sick and have time to settle their affairs before the poison finally killed them.” Rogue gave him a grin. “Couldn’t work these days. They can test for all that stuff.”

“It’s just getting harder and harder to pull off the perfect murder.”

“Well, aren’t you glad that’s not your line of work?”

“More than I can possible say.” Another group of plants caught his eye, once that looked like wild carrots or parsley. “Ah, Hemlock. Well, if they were growing this, I don’t wonder Marian was called a witch.”

An unexpected voice cut in: “Hemlock is a weed and grows itself just fine.”

Gambit and Rogue looked over to see a skinny, middle aged woman with black hair. She was tanned up to the middle of her forehead where her floppy hat sat. She wore thick leather gardening gloves, a long-sleeved shirt, and overalls.

“Good thing you can’t get poisoned just by touching it, then,” Gambit said cheerfully. “Hi, I’m Remy. And you are?”

“Angela. Nice to meet you,” she replied pleasantly.

“I’m Rogue,” Rogue said. “Have you been working here long? You seem familiar?”

A little too familiar, actually. Rogue couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew this woman.

“Oh, no, I’ve only been here a few months,” Angela replied, and looked back at Gambit. “Most animals are smart enough not to each hemlock, but there are some birds who can eat it, and do if they’re hungry enough. Only probably is, is that even though they survive eating it, anyone who eats the bird after gets poisoned.”

“Ooh nasty,” Gambit said, and his eyes shifted over to the Hemlock sign.

“And there’s no antidote. All they can do if you have Hemlock poisoning is treat the symptoms and hope,” Angela went on.

“Symptoms include vomiting - well, what poison doesn’t? - How do you have excess saliva and dry mouth at the same time?” Gambit said musingly. “Rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure,  muscle weakness, tremors…”

“I thought Hemlock caused paralysis?” Rogue asked with a frown.

“It does, that’s in the delayed complications section, along with slow heartbeat, low blood pressure, kidney failure, and muscle breakdown and death,” Gambit said. “Doesn’t say how long the delay is.”

“I believe they can start within 15 minutes,” Rogue said. “If I’m remembering correctly.”

The amount of information she’d picked up from Mystique on how to kill people was staggering.

“Not a lot of time, huh?” Gambit mused. “You’d be screwed if you were alone.”

[hesmiledlikeaweatherman]

The High School AU Part 2

More profiles to go along with Sorry, I Didn't Know I Had To Stay The Same using makowka's oc maker

The Inuzuka and Aburame Families

Tsume Age: 39 Occupation: Dog walker and trainer

Tsume had always wanted to be a vet -- unfortunately, her undiagnosed ADHD and eventual teen pregnancy got in the way of that. But she loves animals, she relates the best to dogs, and she was firm in her want to work with them for the rest of her life.

So at nineteen, with a fresh baby in a sling around her back, she started up a dog-walking business. Now she employs people under her (and still walks dogs of her own accord)

She's a rough soul, blunt and to the point, but loves her kids with her whole heart.

Hana Age: 20 Occupation: Student (veterinary science) and dog trainer

Hana often feels like the only person in her family who takes life seriously. Her mother is full of life, living impulsively and on the edge. And her little brother refuses to take his epilepsy seriously, instead choosing to ignore signs of it in favour of roughhousing with his friends.

She balances working as a dog trainer, after years of experience with her mother's business, and studying to become a vet, hoping to one day open a clinic that treats and trains medical assistant dogs, like Akamaru.

Having grown up close to (and eventually crushing on) Itachi, Hana still doesn't know whether to believe that he did what they say he did or not.

Kiba Age: 15 (birthday July 7th, turned 15 before the school year started) Occupation: Student, occasionally helps with Tsume's dog-walking business

Kiba was only five when he had his first tonic-clonic seizure, and it rapidly became something he had frequently. With medication it came mostly under control, but in his early teens it started to get harder and harder to keep on top of, and now he has a medical alert dog, Akamaru, who can tell when he starts having pre-symptoms and has him lie down.

Unfortunately for Akamaru, Kiba has other priorities. He takes after his mother in not taking life too seriously, and often favours just getting on with his day, rather than pause to rest when needed.

Shibi Age: 42 Occupation: Entomology professor (specialising in beetles)

Shibi, contrary to popular belief, has always been a very family-oriented man. When his sister died, he and his wife took in her son Torune without question -- and when his wife died shortly after his son Shino was born, he wasted no time in ensuring he could work from home and balance being a sole parent along with his career.

He, along with the rest of his family, has fairly poor vision along with light sensitivity, and so he wears prescription sunglasses most of the time. This also helps him avoid eye contact.

Shibi would stop at nothing to help his sons succeed in a world that isn't made for them.

Torune: Age: 20 Occupation: Student (entomology and medicine, focusing on venomous insects and treatments for their stings)

Torune has no memories of his biological parents, but he doesn't mind that so much. Shibi stood in for them and cared for him when nobody else could, and he got a little brother out of the deal, too.

Following in Shibi's footsteps in a lot of ways, Torune found a love for insects at a young age, and found himself drawn to the macabre side of poisons and venom that came along with them. Being autistic, along with the rest of his little family, he found it easy to lose himself in his study.

Torune was in the same year and classes as Hana, Fu, and Itachi growing up, and was shocked along with the rest of his classmates when Itachi did what he did.

Shino Age: 14 (birthday January 21st) Occupation: Student

Shino was lucky enough to make friends with Kiba at a fairly young age, and Hinata joined their little neurospicy crew a year or so later. Having someone by his side that was brave and headstrong made it a lot easier for Shino to exist in his quiet little shell, and while he frequently did have big emotions, they were mostly contained to whatever he could express using his AAC.

He's definitely gotten better at it though, and as his circle of friends has grown, so has his ability to communicate -- and his ability to recognise and act on his feelings.

Now, with a crush having entered the picture, Shino is going to do his best to make himself understood. Without Kiba's help.