#unfortunately covid can get at that

[distractionactivated]

I've come across someone who says they gained a sense of smell after lifelong anosmia after their mother cleaned the bathroom with bleach. And not only did they gain it, they got the memories of smells they hadn't perceived at the time, but suddenly now recognised. Bizarre stuff.

I've been anosmic my whole life, or rather, I think I was very, very hyposmic to start with because if I set up the conditions just right I could smell curry, coffee, and a couple of other things. Sometimes. Sometimes. But trying that hasn't worked for a few years so I think the COVID cleared out the little I had of that smell.

air hug in relation to the anosmia. I was born with no sense of smell, but sometimes I can tell something is a strong "scent" Hand sanitizer/the testoerone gel - Strong Bitter Burnt food - Rough Hospitals, specifically on days requiring fasting and the sleep gas - Almost too sterile. The human body is weird. Other than the loss of smell I hope you're able to enjoy food and other stuff.

My sense of smell is coming back online after about six months of being hot garbage (literally, that was one of the only things I could reliably smell). As someone who was extremely smell-oriented previously, it's been weird. I've heard of some folks with anosmia acquiring a sense of smell for the first time after a severe covid infection. So that's wild. Anosmia is a disability for sure.

[willowcrowned]

frankly I’m still furious that in western countries wearing a mask in public whenever you’re ill—regardless of the illness—didn’t come out of the pandemic

[californiaquail]

anyone else feeling fundamentally incapable of adjusting to society. also just discovered there's a 30 tag limit which i can't believe i've never hit before

[uchiha-gaeshi]

Does anyone else automatically size themselves up with people their age and look for ways that you’re inferior to them? Just me? Ok….

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

If you've never heard an LRAD go off in person, I *genuinely* do not want to hear your opinion about methods of resistance in the US.

[thursdayinspace]

I was complaining about allergies last night because I couldn't stop sneezing, and then today it's joined by a sore throat and a headache lol. So not allergies then. Ffs I'm gonna be away all weekend for a thing I absolutely cannot cancel, this is great timing.

[innocence-wont-save-you]

Scene 11

You eventually gave up and turned off your visual faculties anyway. Turning them back on now, you wince at the sudden influx of light, shielding your face from the glare. Ugh. This is why you don't like doing this.

It's bright out today, the sun shining cheerfully through a thin cloud layer. You carefully climb down to the ground level again, brushing at yourself to rid your cloak of the dust it accumulated overnight. You really need to find someplace to wash your belongings, but it's less of a priority than continuing onwards.

Exiting the growing tower, you pause near the entrance of the burrow the scavengers went into last cycle, dialing up your auditory sensitivity momentarily. You don't hear anything inside; they must have already left. Or maybe they haven't woken up yet. Scavengers tend to be quiet in unfamiliar territory, you know that much, so it's hard to tell if they're still here or not. You'll need to investigate more closely to figure it out.

[camellia-thea]

.

[griddlegold]

oh god. it's almost november. which means it's almost time for every single public space to be completely insufferable

[teenagefeeling]

you should never ever do what i just did but i got morbidly curious and looked up that person from those twitter sceenshots and holy shit, god damn. so they're like really, really obsessed with covid (and just physical health in general. there's a lot to unpack there but they don't believe mental illnesses exist they just think they're all physical, they also seem to have a fixation on veganism and its potential health impacts) and im ngl it did kinda get me thinking about people who are just like, not recovering from the health paranoia of peak covid.

obviously the illness itself is still going around and people are still getting very sick from it, and to be frank i wish there was still a little more of a strict protocol around sick leave and mask usage when you do have an illness (whether that be covid or anything else, having a guaranteed period of time where your employer or school or whoever had to accomodate you legally was objectively good and im mad that it seems to have gone away) but the idea of still being so fucking paranoid about it that your social media feed is 80% covid-related is wild to me. it was that scary at first but at a certain point you unfortunately kind of have to accept that certain things are out of your control and no matter how many precautions you take, at the end of the day it's literally an airborne disease. being safe is commendable, but fixating on the mere possibility of getting sick to the point where you're not able to live a normal life or talk about other things is so concerning

[halalgirlmeg]

'If you wear a mask all the time you aren't exposed to much and it weakens your immune system'

So you agree, wearing a mask reduces the risk of contracting airborne illnesses

[dandyshucks]

I WANNA BE A JANITORRRR

[moldwood]

its all done but family is here to open presents (which is good because it means i have to step back from the work to see adjustments that need to be made because i never give that enough time) so. tonight or tomorrow morning gestalt will update with three pages👍

[butchvamp]

every job i actually want either requires 3 degrees and 5 billion years of experience or is unpaid volunteer work this shit fucking sucks. trapped in hell oscillating between retail and food service until i kill myself i guess

[stupidnaturals]

.

[uchiha-gaeshi]

Issues with Writing a Self-Insert #1

In case y'all didn't know, I've been going through a reflective period recently, and I've noticed that fear of what others think has held me back in almost every single aspect of my life, and unfortunately fandom is no exception.

I remember when I was like 14 and I tried to write fanfiction for the first time (I don't remember even what fandom I was writing for). Unfortunately, I could barely type a single paragraph without immediately deleting all that I wrote and being overly critical of my lack of writing ability. Even at that age, in the privacy of my dorm room, I couldn't shake off the fear of failure (and I mean howw?? I wasn't the only 14 year old trying to write Wattpad fanfiction). I remember comparing myself to some of my peers who had an amazing talent for writing. For me, I didn't get jealous, but rather I got intimidated, so intimidated that instead of continuing on with something and being imperfect at it, I'd just drop the entire activity altogether.

Because of this habit, I missed out on a lot of potential opportunities for growth during this time. I guess I saw people who were amazing, assumed that they popped out of the womb like that or something, and just....gave up. If I could go back in time, I would tell young me to embrace the cringe, embrace the mess. So what if people laugh or look at you funny or immediately stop whispering to each other once they see you? It sucks, but you will find your people, and you will survive. Trying to be palatable to everyone just means that you stifle yourself.

Years later, I wanted to get back into fanfiction, but this time with very little creative writing experience. What held me back was the fear that someone would read something that I wrote and ridicule it for being something that only an angsty teen would write, except that I am no longer an angsty teen but an unfortunately angsty adult riddled with insecurity, and that reality would just make that hypothetical comment sting even more (that's another thing about me. I create hypothetical ways for people to roast me in order to talk myself out of doing stuff).