#today was another level though

[randomfoggytiger]

Just added vanilla extract (been a couple years) into my homemade cookie recipe, and... man.

Nearly teared up it was that good.

[doveshovel]

ough.. These were going to be warmup doodles like the last one but i got carried away :') Hope you guys don't mind.

@yasminewestbank @coyote-catcher @cmentary-drive

[koetjingwarrd]

You're my baby, say it to me...

[coriander-candlesticks]

I was pouring a promised libation out to Hermes, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Dionysus this afternoon (I'd asked them for help with a personal matter involving a sibling) and as I was looking up at the sky talking about the situation I saw three hawks start to circle something a little ways in the distance. Hawks aren't exactly uncommon here but it had been a while since I'd seen any, let alone three at once, so it caught my attention.

And while I was trying to figure out what type of bird they were (not an eagle, too short a neck to be a vulture, etc) one of them swooped down into a neighbor's backyard and back up along the tree in my backyard, close enough that, if a branch weren't in the way, I would have been able to see its feather markings. While hawks were somewhat usual, experiencing that certainly was not. So, of course, when I got inside I looked up if any Greek gods are associated with hawks.

And, of course, Apollo is.

I've been thinking a lot about the difference between "this is just a Thing That Happens" and a sign so it was nice to see a direct example of how something differs when it's coming from a god.

[icewindandboringhorror]

... why he sit like this

[vinnyandthephenomena]

outside enjoying nature off the internet but i’m just thinking about marble hornets the entire time

[neathbound-fiends]

not fl related but lol + also lmao. Almost forgot I have an appointment w the audiologist again tomorrow after work

[baejax-the-great]

I've read a few papers regarding this art of Achilles and Ajax playing a board game during the Trojan war, and though there aren't any existing texts from back in the day describing this particular myth, here is my favorite interpretation of this popular motif.

Achilles and Ajax sit with their shields behind them and a board game between them (in this version, they are calling out numbers and Achilles is winning). Achilles' helm sitting on top of his head suggests he is slightly readier to return to the fight if needed. In other versions, Athena stands behind Achilles and is urging him (possibly even scolding him) to get back to the war. There are references to the two of them being so caught up in this game, they are taken unaware by Trojan troops. Being Ajax and Achilles, however, they manage to survive.

My favorite interpretation is that this event is a non-Homeric myth of Achilles refusing to fight-- this time with Ajax joining him in that refusal-- over the death of Palamedes, who argued they should all go home from this pointless war, and whom Odysseus and Diomedes subsequently murdered, framing it to look like an accident. Achilles, who is generally depicted as very morally uptight regarding things like murder, opposed this action, and in this story was incensed enough to quit the fight over it. It is possible he was also influence by Palamedes being a close friend.

What is known from extant myths is that 1. Palamedes invented a board game while at Troy and 2. The soldiers became obsessed with this game to the point that 3. Odysseus was very ticked off at how much everyone was playing it rather than killing Trojans.

Thus, Ajax and Achilles sitting not only with their helmets off and shields on the ground, but specifically playing Palamedes' board game while Athena scolds them to get back to the war could be a nod to more quarreling amongst the Achaean leaders after the murder of Palamedes.

Soldiers quitting a fight over a moral disagreement (and eventually coming back to it) was a popular trope in stories of this time, and Achilles became the sort of catchall stand-in for this kind of myth. I think it's fun that in this version, he gives the other leaders a sort of "fuck you" by playing a friendly game with his good bro Ajax.

[callixton]

sorry why did i say some of that stuff to him in that letter. i mean i know why i was practicing this thing called vulnerability. but oh my god i really said that out loud (wrote it down)

[bluupxels]

havent really been in a sims mood but looking at everyone’s pictures with the pack im foaming at the mouth a little

[ilikedetectives]

.

[nerdie-faerie]

Can't wait to make flatbreads after this

[david-watts]

usually whenever I stop taking my medication it's because I'm miserable and/or suicidal but this time it's the opposite because I was both of those and it was the medication's fault. like the side effects became so bad that I'd rather risk what happens when I'm unmedicated than continue dealing with them

[jasontoddiefor]

Yeah sure we’ve all binged a long fic, but have you ever read a WIP and followed someone’s life?

Tidbits of information - (“I graduated today!”) - and small joys (“It’s my birthday!”) and you get to be there to say “This chapter made me cry, happy birthday, thank you for gifting us this”.

I remember reading this fic of someone at the end of high school, older than me then. They seemed infinitely wise, spoke of their future career and getting into the college they wanted. I remember them posting on days they felt like nothing could bring them down - and on days the whole world did and it’s the aftermath of a hospital visit. Cancer, I think it was, their father. I got to the end of the story, I know their father was fine, but also they got to finish their WIP. I graduated three years later than them, still dutifully wrote thank you notes in every comment. I wonder if they remember me, or just the collective of people reading the story as it updates.

Four years ago I was into my first year of university, my first year of figuring out being out in public spaces. I made excuses as to why my name didn’t match my paperwork and read a fic on the train, the same five chapters over and over again for the next years as I thought the story abandoned. It updated this week after such a long hiatus, I left another thank you comment.

There’s an author I love, they update their stories like a clockwork. When they don’t, I check their blog, just to see if their doing alright, not because I feel like they owe me, just to ensure whether I better get out my laptop to write that really detailed university level essay chapter analysis to get them smiling when their day sucked.

And then, once, when I was 17, I read a fic that hadn’t updated in over a decade. I wasn’t even in primary school when it started posting. On the last chapter, I left a comment that, in retrospect, was horribly rambly and most likely full of grammar mistakes. The author replied and though I couldn’t see their face, I thought of them crying. They were married now, had children, and hadn’t thought about this fic in years. They went through their files again, found another half written chapter and an outline. I got two new chapters to read that year.

And then, recently, someone told me they got back into writing original fiction because of my comments. I get to read nearly weekly chapters.

I love binge reading a finished fic, but nothing is ever going to top the feeling of anticipation of waiting for a chapter, the pure joy when someone tells you I was done with this, but you made me think of it again, so this is for you.

Anyway, I think we should romanticize reading WIPs more, growing up alongside the authors writing the stories we love.

[the2amrevolution]

Chronic diarrhea can fuck up your pancreas too. You body wants to get energy from you food. If you don't give it time to absorb all the nutrients, all it gets is the easiest to digest stuff - sugar.

Your blood sugar will lower short term because your pancreas is still sending out a normal amount of insulin while you aren't getting much of the more complex sugars, proteins, and fats. You'll lose weight short term from dehydration, but also from malnutrition as you body starts to burn off fat stores and muscle to get the missing nutrients.

However, your body 1) wants to live and 2) doesn't want to eat itself if it doesn't have to. So what will happen is your pancreas will start sending out higher amounts of insulin so that it can get more sugar broken down before the food passes through your system. This causes blood sugar spikes, extra sugar being stored as fat when you body can make it, and still loss of muscle because you still need proteins to make energy. You will also be constantly hungry because you aren't getting enough nutrients per stomach emptying. You may even develop what appears to be pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes, and your doctor will tell you to reduce your sugar and overall carb intake, but doing that won't help you if you are still having chronic diarrhea.

It absolutely boggles my mind that the standard first medication given to people who have an A1C above normal range is metformin aka the "you're going to shit yourself" drug. It allegedly is supposed to decrease your insulin levels and thus your blood sugar. What happens to a very large amount of people is anything they eat runs right through them. It may work short term just like "diet cleanses" do, but then you'll just have a compounding problem if your high A1C wasn't caused by high motility to begin with because now your pancreas is going to try to send out even more insulin to get sugar faster so you can actually produce energy. If you already had high motility, metformin will just make you more miserable.

If you are having diarrhea with or without cramping, nausea, hot flushing, etc. frequently - during menses is fairly normal, but outside of that, it shouldn't be more than maybe once or twice a month if you ate something weird or had a high stress situation/adrenaline rush - then something abnormal is going on. It could be a food sensitivity/intolerance (a shortage or lack of a specific digestive enzyme), a mast cell reaction (an immune system reaction without the presence of antibodies), a medication/supplement side effect, or a neurological motility problem (to many contraction signals or overly sensitive to them).

If you can do it, a food and symptom diary and/or an elimination diet can help you ID if there is a specific food that is causing you problems. Don't do these things without professional guidance and supervision if you have a history of eating disorders, and don't forget that the goal of an elimination diet is to add back any food that doesn't cause you symptoms. No foods are good or bad across the board. You just want to figure out if there's something that doesn't agree with your body personally and stop eating that while still eating everything else you want.

If you have chronic migraines with nausea/diarrhea, make note of what you ate not just directly before but for several meals leading up to the symptoms. A digestive enzyme problem is typically fairly quickly after eating the problem food (your classic lactose intolerance reaction). Mast cell reactions can be smaller and cause a build up of histamine until a threshold is crossed and symptoms are triggered, so you have to consider all histamine sources including muscular exertion.

For example, pork is one of my mast cell triggers. I also have true allergies. If I eat something containing pork, I may not have a negative effect right away. If I then have turmeric or rub my face against one of my cats or if ragweed levels are high or if I do something that requires physical exertion or if it's too hot out or go get my allergy immunotherapy shots or a combination of any of those or a myriad of other things, I may have a migraine with diarrhea 16-24 hours after I ate the small amount of pork. If I have something entirely pork based or cooked in bacon grease, I will have severe reflux, a migraine, etc. much sooner, but it's possible to have reactions from things that you would never consume in a high enough amount on it's own, like food dyes and additives, to make a connection without keeping close track of all histamine sources.

If nothing changes with an elimination diet, then the problem is more likely from a medication/supplement, which you can research yourself or talk to a doctor or pharmacist about to see if any stand out as a possible cause, or a more complex issue that requires medical testing.

i hate the diet industry as a whole, but there’s something so DEEPLY insidious about how “cleanses” and the marketing thereof is pathologizing… digestion.  like, basic concept of it – the process of eating food, extracting nutrients over time, and removing anything indigestible by pooping at the end.

your digestive system should not ever be “clean”.  it is full of bacteria.  it contains bile and shit and mucus.  this is normal and healthy.  you do not have “pounds of toxic sludge” in your body, that is partially digested food and unless you are constipated, it is supposed to be there.  your organs are still extracting nutrients from it.  

your intestines are not meant to be 100% empty.  you should have food moving through your system– you deserve to eat, and you deserve to digest that food as best you can (digestive problems gang, how’s it going?).

you are not losing fat tissue when you take laxative teas, you are losing water, nutrients, electrolytes, healthy bacteria.  and even if you were?  fuck that.  fat people shouldn’t be bullied into taking laxatives.  constant diarrhea is not pleasant or healthy or better than being fat.  let us fucking eat and digest our fucking food.