#anti bloat food

[wellnessjoy]

(via 5 Signs of Bloating: Eliminate the Cause with Simple Cures)  Understanding the 5 Signs of Bloating and eliminating the underlying cause with simple home remedies to relieve the bloated feeling.

[surinderbhalla]

Beat Bloating Fast- Top Tips

Bloating is a common gastrointestinal issue that many individuals experience at some point in their lives. It occurs when the abdomen feels full, tight, and swollen, often accompanied by discomfort or pain. While occasional bloating is usually benign and may result from overeating or consuming certain foods, persistent or severe bloating may indicate an underlying health condition. This article:…

[livelihooddiet]

[phattiepheeder]

I posted on Reddit but I’m curious about a Mukbang aftermath shit

I’ve been thinking about these creators that stuff for the camera, or do mukbangs and eat an astonishing amount of food. Or feedees who are constantly being fed and you see their swollen tight bellies after. These girls with huge bellies and probably an insane capacity to fill themselves eating 15 burgers or 20 burritos or 10lbs of spicy noodles.

But I never see any videos of the aftermath after taking in thousands of calories of dense and fattening and greasy food. Their bloated overpacked bowels struggling to empty in time so that they can continue to eat and digest the neverending onslaught of food. I just know they’re shitting a mountain, clogging toilets. Those that have gainer shake after gainer shake (read about a gainer who had 12 in a row through a funnel) must have the most explosive, sloppy , muddy shits. I can just imagine how their relief is short lived as they quickly refill their bellies. And their feeders must be hearing their loud frequent bathroom trips, already preparing their feeder’s next fattening gut wrecking meal.

I’m saying this because my ex-bf was a feeder and also into scat. Though I’ve lost all the weight for my health, during our relationship he helped me pack on 55lbs in 6months by stuffing me. I loved eating for him and he loved watching me take enormous shits after our feeding sessions, multiple times a day due to all the stuffing.

For those 6 months, my guts were being assaulted daily with thousands of calories. Some days he’s feed me so much, 10k calories. I’d shit 4-5x and still feel like I had more to unload, each time with a huge pile. Our plunger was working overtime so we ended up designating a bucket for me to empty into after feedings.

Sometimes after a heavy day of eating particularly greasy food, I’d empty a huge load of greasy sludge two or three times, and still my guts would be such a mess that I couldn’t leave our place without fear of having an accident. And they were the greasy kind of shits where they’d leave skid marks even after the powerful flush of a public toilet. My farts were often wet and we always needed to be close to a bathroom or have extra panties in the car. I’d just always feel like I had a stomach ache and either needed to fart or destroy a toilet.

The gainer shakes were the worst on my system. They were so yummy and made my ass get so plump and juicy , and my belly so doughy. Plus they’d go down easy when I was already stuffed. But they gave me such bad diarrhea I needed to bare down on my slop bucket with all my weight , hole spraying against the sides of the bucket. The pressure behind it was so intense that I’d get up with a circle of liquid in my ass..

For my gainer shake days, I’d sit my bare ass in the bucket while my ex fed me , knowing that shortly after I’d have to empty myself again anyways. Gainer shake in via funnel, and emptied half an hour later desperately in the same spot. I’d already have another wave of slop screaming at me for release, so as soon as I’d wipe, I’d already need to slap my fat ass back on the bucket and unleash.

Another thing we’d do is stuff me for a few days with the help of anti diarrhea meds until I was absolutely packed solid with shit. Then I’d take a stool softener to ease the turd out without ripping me in two and I’d relieve my hugely swollen gut. When my poor hole couldn’t stop desperately trying to get rid of all that waste, He’d have me on all fours with a trough in front of me and the bucket behind me so that I could refill myself as my puffy sore asshole kept sputtering wet farts and emptying. Then when my trough was empty and the bucket was full he’d refill my trough and empty the bucket and put them back in place. And it was always filled again.

Anyways, the relationship ended but it made me think of all of these feedees and if they shit as much as I used to. Or more.

[ashswordsman859]

the effects of the gases used by the bigger bodied smiling critters

Bobby bear hug: rose helps with stress, seizers, aging, and diabetes. (Nurse?)

Hoppy hopscotch: peppermint helps with pain management, digestive issues, common cold, sinus infection, and headaches. (Child care?)

Kicken chicken: ylang ylang is good for anxiety, depression,mood enhancement, and cognitive function. (Councilor?)

Craftycorn: jasmine is useful for immune support, blood circulation, optimizing hormone levels and relieving stress. (Nurse?)

Picky piggy: citrus is useful for heart health, help maintain cell health in brain tissue, prevents heart disease, kidney stones, brain dysfunction, and emotional regulation. (Food?)

Bubba bubbaphant: lemon grass helps with menstrual issues, improve digestion, nausea, headaches, muscle cramps, spasms, rheumatism (joint pain), high cholesterol, anti-inflammatory, bloating, and boosting red blood cell counts. (Child care for kids with chronic issues?)

Dogday: vanilla as said before helps relax and calm people by reducing anxiety and calms the nerves but also helps with fevers, spasms,blood clotting, although from what I found large amounts can lead to sleep issues but I don't know how accurate that is so take that with a grain of salt. (Kid care?)

Catnap: poppy flower as known does cause a fatigue affect but also has traces of opioids, along with that it also analgesia (inability to feel pain.), euphoria (the laughter), respiratory depression (breath shallow leading to build up of carbon dioxide in the blood.), decreased gastrointestinal mobility (digestive problems resulted when nerves or muscles in the gut do not work in a coordinated way.), and physical & psychological dependency.

eat your heart out au makers!

[rosedere]

Murder Mountain

(Yandere Azul ashengrotto x Afab reader x Jade leech)

Modern Au

TW: Dark Content, Attempted Murder, Harassment, Non Con/Rape.

Cross Posted on AO3.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 (you are here) END

Want more?- - -> Our spring secret (sequel)

I thought I had a happy life

And the city lights

Didn't bother me

Before I met you

You're always on the go

Don't you love me anymore

Please stay

-

When you arrived to work that next day the usual busy, chattering, environment was missing. No one would look at each other in the elevators nor in the breakroom, some just dilligently typing on their computers or carrying on with their job.

All of a sudden Floyd burst in the cubicle row you were working in informing you to all meet downstairs for a emergency meeting.

Everyone at work was informed via Floyd and Jade in the office courtyard about Azul’s Absence.

Finally someone asked if Azul was still alive.

It was definitely their attempt at damage control, dispelling the rumors the media had spread about Azul being hunted by a bear on the trail or that he had been attacked because of his status as CEO being the few you had seen on TV.

Your ears perked up as you looked at Jade who hesitated before explaining he was in a comatose state and at present, was unsure when he'd awaken, but he was mostly out of any life-threatening harm.

After the slew of questions about the future of the company Jade declared Floyd and him would be temporary acting in Azul’s absence along with rescheduling the retreat indefinitely until Azul came back.

Floyd would be the temporary assistant of finance and assistant director of the company; Jade, however, was to become the acting CEO of Mostro Inc.

You were relieved. Learning you would never see Azul again as long as you got your transfer started before Azul woke up from his coma, you could finally leave. You knew Jade would certainly help transfer knowing he most likely already had certain people he wanted lined up to take up positions in the company. Plus, your lover had already offered you an open position as finance director of Sugar Horned Devil.

Why wouldn't you accept freedom? You would be a higher position than you had in your whole career in Monstro inc.

After the meeting was dismissed, you eagerly went home to submit your notice for transfer as soon as possible, quickly typing the form you got the bright confirmation page. In 3-2 business days, it would take for you to be freed from this corporate hell.

Just a little longer..

As the days went on peacefully, you felt yourself being able to be happy, even engaging more often with your co-workers in the break room and chatting with your desk neighbors at your computers.

You guessed it was because, without Azul's overwhelming influence in the office, people were able to relax.

Especially with Floyd being in charge of the floor, everyone enjoyed his impulsive mood swings and chill demeanor. It felt like you fit in for once, having people ask for your opinions on how to do certain tasks or just to talk as friends.

You were becoming yourself again.

-

It's been 10 days.

You took the week off from work after an on-and-off stomach bug you got one morning a while back, your stomach becoming bloated and a bit, irregular feeling.

Assuming it was bad food the first few times you tried to power through work only for you to have only taken three steps into the lobby before you ran to the restroom to vomit for half of the morning in the lobby restroom.

Nothing was really helping with your stomach so you went to the doctor to get blood work and figure out what was causing your flu-like symptoms after numerous failed flu tests and anti nausea medicine you recieved.

The fear of this being the way you found out you had something dire like Cancer or a Gastrointestinal disease was all you could think as you checked your phone every other hour for any news about it.

Currently, you were lying in bed with the worst cramps and nausea youd had from all the days you had been sick; it was so bad you couldn't even brush your teeth without feeling like you were going to throw up.

Rolling to your side, hoping it would relieve you of vomiting, you heard the familiar ring of your phone, immediately making you perk up out of your stupor.

Your lover had texted you: They had asked you why you declined the position.

“What happened (Name)?”

Frowning, assuming you read it wrong and fighting the urge to spit the rising stomach acid and the overwhelming sense of wanting to vomit that had begun right away during the usual evening hours.

In confusion, you checked if your request was approved.

Previously, when you checked at the beginning of the day it showed pending…

“Declined by manual review??” You whispered to yourself reading the automated letter.

Maybe it was a mistake… you could have gotten lazy and left something crucial out of your application.

Dragging yourself to your computer, ignoring the onslaught of your usual symptoms of overwhelming fatigue. You sent the best short professional email to your higher-ups about your request to transfer.

Sending the email with the small chirp you were about to roll back to your blanket cocoon you were forming ontop your mattress.

Chirp!

Not even 15 minutes later, you received an email saying they had no control over it and instead told you to talk to Jade.

The acting CEO.

-

Jade

Knowing Jade had everything Azul didn't was an indescribable joy. Sure, he was the former Director of Finance in the company, but that didnt come with the ultimate rewards he wanted…

Azul’s company, his friends, his status…

And the biggest treasure…

(Name)

He had to admit the former things were not as important as the latter, but nonetheless, he was waiting for you to look for him.

Just like old times…

Despite the rift in Azul and Jade's current relationship recently, Jade still dearly cared for Azul, just as he did back when he was in high school.

—

It was one Spring luncheon; it was unusual for Azul to invite Jade and pay for his lunch.

He should have known something bad was going to happen as he ordered his lunch that day…

“You might know her, Jade, She's a part of the company." Azul dreamily sighed as he began swirling the fruit infused sweet tea he had ordered with his straw.

Raising a brow Jade only smiled, Azul confiding in him was rare these days.

“Oh? Is she an employee? Or is she a client?” Jade mischievously added, sipping his lemonade.

Watching Azul’s lips twitch into a confident grin he uttered the worst response to the question he could think of.

It being two years ago, but he could still remember his response clear as a bell.

“Oh no, she's actually working in our finance department,” Azul’s face began to blush.

“She transferred from the lower floors a while ago, but she's the one; I just can't get a chance to talk to her,” Azul muttered raising his glass of tea taking a sip.

“I wonder who she might be.” Jade trailed off.

Jade felt the dread in his stomach.

Everyone knew that Jade had fallen for (Name), The office couple, ever since the moment she joined their company.

A small, quiet type, basically lost in the sea of many young professionals at the company, diligently working hard and taking only a few days off.

Jade met (Name) because he had to train them since Azul thought he was too good to talk to (Name) at the time.

Reminiscing to that moment when he helped you take your things to the 86th floor of the Finance department It would be the beginning of a friendship.

But that's all it was; mostly for a little while, Jade didn't know how to progress the relationship since he got promoted to work closer to Azul. Having to follow his tailcoats as he conducted buisness he only would see you maybe once or twice a month.

He couldnt figure out why he wanted to seize any opportunity that would arise to be with you, the one most would look over in favor of anyone else.

“If I tell you Jade you must not tell anyone” Azul looked around under the private dining veranda they were seated at.

“I'd rather not have PR about this— it could ruin the company if everyone knew I was going to pursue a date with someone” Azul’s voice dripping with a haughty tone, setting his glass down before flicking his gaze towards Jade, staring at him with excitement in his hues.

“Her name is (Name)” Azul’s grin never slipping off his face.

Jade only scowled in response, clearing his throat to mask his true emotions.

“Not to come off as rude, but why her?” Jade interjected.

“I mean let’s be honest here, the city’s most eligible bachelor wants to date a regular office worker? Not a super model or a celebrity...”

“She’s a super model to me Jade” Azul sighed, “besides I’d rather have someone Independent and a hard worker like them” he drank some more of his tea for a moment.

“I think she's dating someone anyway, and she’s like a little mouse— it’s hard to even get a hello out of her…” Jade quickly responded, “plus she’s a bit boring once you get to know her” Jade chuckled to himself.

Lies.

She's very much single and has so much personality to her.

“Ah well, I love that in a woman—She does not stir drama, diligently works, and asks question's when she needs help”

“I can just see her by my side,” Azul rambled on.

Jade was in his office, unboxing all of the items from his previous office. The large vast space that was once a reflection of Azul was looming over him as he began to silently place the ugly decor he had decorated his desk with into the same box he used to bring his items upstairs.

Diligently humming he unpacked his replica mushroom statue placing it besides his laptop. Reaching once more into the box however he reached something he had thought was his stapler.

But when he pulled it out of his desk items was when he saw what it truly was.

Smiling down at the crudely made picture frame, the hot glue beads and small candy canes decorating the boarder of the frame. Jade could already picture how adorable you looked assembling the gift you gave him last Christmas; the wobbly Polarbear with a scarf holding a mushroom in the bottom corner on your side of the picture.

Dressed in a long Santa clause themed dress, you had your hand placed on Jade’s much taller shoulder, A nice memory he had on his desk for the longest while he would fondly look at everytime he’s come to work.

And now he could finally place it overlooking his new desk.

With silent admiration he placed it at the center of his desk, hopefully camouflaged enough anyone that walks in wouldnt comment on it.

Especially his brother…

With a sigh he turned to look towards the bright tall windows in front of him.

He hoped today would be the day you would return from your sick leave.

-

Name

After another week off from work, you reached a breaking point.

You felt terribly tired, not as sick as you normally were in the morning, despite being warned to stay at home until your results came in you decided to return to the office.

In your casual clothes since your abdomen was uncomfortable in anything that wasnt stretchy or loose, you approached the door you had been eager to see the whole time of your absence.

Raising your fist to the hard oak doors, you made a small curteous knock against the door.

As you waited for a response, you casually glanced at the title placard on the door.

“Jade Leech, Acting CEO”

I guess he didn't waste any time taking over Azul's office.

Not that it was any of your business anyway.

“Come in,” you heard faintly on the otherside of the door.

Opening the door, you were shellshocked with the new scenery in Azul’s office.

The various glass knickknacks, photos from Azul's high school days, and his coin collection were gone from the tall walls of the office, now replaced with various terrariums filled with mushrooms, different pictures of Jade on top of mountains, and just pictures of mountains were also around the vast walls of Azul's walls.

“Did you redecorate in here, Jade?” You were looking in awe at the change of office space approaching where his desk was, the temptation to sit on it like you use to when Jade had his office downstairs.

“It looks wonderful; it reminds me of your old cubicle,” you laughed to yourself.

You glanced over to see Jade half turned towards the tall windows beside the desk in front of you.

"Well, it might be a while before Azul comes back to work, or even at all,” Jade wryly smiled with his signature hand over his heart gesture as he took his seat in Azul's huge dark leather swivel chair.

It felt unusual to see the normally passive man in a position of power Normally demure and quiet, but when he spoke up, he was actually an intelligent and sometimes silly man. Although, once he became Azul's assistant, you rarely if ever saw him, and when you did, he never talked to you, making you a bit sad at how he made it obvious he had chose Azul over your friendship.

“How so? I heard he might be able to go back to work in a few months," you watched Jade for a reaction.

Jade tight lipped as always eyed you from where you stood.

With a sigh you decided to listen to your intrusive thought to sit on his desk, covering your legs with your dress.

Jade smiled up at you, his sharp, needle-point teeth glinting dangerously at you.

“so why did you request to meet me today, (Name)?”

His hand creeped towards the front of the desk near his laptop, sitting close to where you were currently sitting.

“If I recall correctly, you aren't supposed to be out of bed and yet here you are," Jade spoke, eyeing you with his mismatched gaze.

His fingers tapping at the wood on the desk, anxiously.

Blinking, you remembered why you were here.

"Oh, yeah—sorry," you cleared your throat crossing your legs across the table.

“I submitted a request to transfer a while ago, but it got denied... I'm just curious if this is a mistake or not, '' you informed.

Jade narrowed his eyes, the screech of the chair moving back as the tall man began to stand up from his desk, walking over to, what you thought, him standing in front of your spot perched in front of his desk.

Only, he sat besides you on his desk. His expensive cologne extremely strong in your nostrils as he leaned into your person bubble.

Moving back a little bit only encouraged him to inch closer as he began to rest his hand on your shoulder.

"Well, you see, dear (Name) I can't let that happen." Jade whispered giving your shoulder a light squeeze, his one mismatched eye on you.

Like you were possesed you pushed his hand off of your shoulder, annoyance written all over your face as you felt your chest flutter once more.

"What? Why not?” you almost growled.

Jade only gave a chuckle, suddenly he grabbed you with a strong force watching you struggle as he held onto your bare shoulders with his mismatched eyes, Staring dead into your colored hues.

“Because I finally won, why would I give away the prize I earned, fair and square?” Jade sighed to himself.

He decided to take the opportunity to grab the loose strands of hair that was stubbornly not falling into place with the rest of the hair that was framing your scared face.

You felt yourself flinch away from him, but his grip was almost stronger than Azul’s grip he had on you.

“I dont get it, Jade?” you stuttered trying to hop off of his desk, only for his long leg to pin you into place ontop of the oak desk.

“You see, Azul has been acting as a roadblock for me as well name” Jade lowered his voice a few octaves, “He was catching onto my feelings for the one he also sought after," he clicked his tongue. “So I had to distract him with a rumor about this rival that was talking to the woman he was attracted to,” Jade said, looking deeply at your face.

He then shrugged, “I however didnt anticipate this woman was actually speaking to the Rival I lied about”

Realizing the weight of his words, you got up from your spot and backed away from him towards the skyline window.

“It was you? But why? Azul almost killed me for that incident” you were feeling tears blurring your lash line as you gasped your words out.

So many different emotions; you wanted to scream.

As suddenly as you backed away, Jade came to your side, swiftly holding your face into his chest, his head leaning over yours as he kept you stuck there.

Normally, you wouldn't have minded for Jade to give you a hug, but this wasnt a normal hug, his hands beginning to dip behind your back towards your dress.

“What the hell is wrong with you? I thought you were my friend Jade” You shoved him in a rage you hadnt realized was festering inside you, pushing into his chest with the heel of your Palm as hard as you could.

As you pushed him, Jade grabbed your wrists with a bone-crushing grip, stopping you altogether, your face turning red from the exhaustion and anger.

"Please, (Name) don't make a scene—if anyone you should hate is Azul”

“Regardless of whether I told him or not, he was going to know when he’d see you two kissing each other at the company retreat,” Jade calmy explained.

“You dont know what I had to deal with that asshole” you angrily spat shoving him once more to make a point.

“Just stop talking to me; I don't want to hear this anymore”

Fixing your dress you began to walk around his desk past the gaudy decorations before stopping in front of the door.

“And If you don't approve my transfer request— I'll just leave this company with no pay. I don't care anymore." You screeched back at him.

Unfortunately, Jade followed close behind his hands reaching for your own, his mouth about to open and tell you something before you swatted at him, freeing your hands and dusting your dress almost about to open the door.

Jade didnt follow you, only staring calmly at your disgruntled figure.

Eventually, he closed his eyes, exhaling as he did so, placing his hand over his heart.

“(Name) I wouldn't try that if I were you,” he sternly warned with a cold smile.

You turned to look back at his eerie gaze.

“Why are you going to fire me or something? You and Azul already have tortured me enough,” you scrunched your eyebrows at him before scoffing.

Jade hesitated before he laughed.

You only stood watching him laugh and point at you.

"Well, (Name)”

He once again stood close to you grazing the back of your dress with his hands.

“I never told you to go get Azul Friday morning,” he gingerly whispered with a smile.

Eyes widen at the mention you felt your blood go cold.

“Now why would you quietly go behind me and Floyd's back and reach out to meet the man that’s been actively lusting after you?” Jade annunciated with his open needle like teeth.

“It seems like you wanted to meet him alone at the retreat and when he rejected you that morning you snapped and tried to kill him”

“What are you insinuating?” You shouted with venom over your shoulder.

“Just letting you know, I will find out the truth. And you better hope I don't figure it out soon,” Jade leaned his head down on your shoulder, letting his breath graze your neck.

A kiss was all he had time to plant on your bare neck before you shoved him off without another word: You paused for a brief moment turning to look at the still smiling tall man before abruptly leaving Jade's office.

Harshly you pressed the button to call the elevator impatiently waiting to be let down to the parking lot.

After getting out of the towering office you had grown familiar with, reaching the familiar employee car park, you briskly walked to the familiar baby blue color of your sedan.

Clicking open the door, you harshly threw the door open before slamming it hard against the frame.

Throwing your purse and things a into the passenger seat you threw your head ontop of your steering wheel.

The urge to cry overwhelming as you felt your composure fall.

A shaky exhale before you felt the tears began to fall down your cheeks in rivets.

but right before your pity party began it ended.

The little constant melody coming from your phone that was now thrown under the passenger seat.

Angrily, you shifted over to look under the seat, finally grabbing your phone. Normally when you were in a pitiful mood you’d just decline and forget about it, but the caller was someone you’d been waiting desperately for.

"Oh, thank God, it's the clinic; hopefully it's good news,” you muttered to yourself, grabbing a tissue from your middle console you wiped your face before clicking the green icon.

“Hello, this is (Name)”

“So… What's wrong with me? Is it bad or...”

“Oh yes, (name) we just got your blood results back since as we know we tested you for everything after your flu test came back negative..”

You kind of dreaded the answer, especially with the hesitation from the nurse who was calling you.

Well (name) at least you have a perfect mountain to end it all on if the worst news comes out of this sweet nurse’s mouth…

“Well, first off, congratulations (name)…”

“Congratulations for…” You winced.

“Congratulations on the little troublesome bloom causing all that ruckus in your body” the nurse chuckled.

Cancer…

“Your four weeks along, according to the bloodwork it's causing you to have a storm of hormones right now”

What.

“Since we found out the true reason for your vomiting and nausea, we'd like to see you come in around the 15th of January so you can have your specialist visit and get you prescribed some medicine so you can go to work soon”

"Alright”

“Works for me”

The tears were falling like a waterfall now.

“Thank you have a nice day (Name)”

The line cut off. You dropped your phone under the pedal this time barely registering it.

What.

But..

4 weeks pregnant.

You laughed— a loud maniac Laugh from you belly until it started to melt into a heartbroken wail eventually dying down in a messy sob.

Any people walking by would have probably thought you were insane. Your disheveled dress and running mascara as you wailed into the leather steering wheel.

You thought you'd puke.

What horrible irony was this?

The only person you've ever had sex with…

Was the man laying in a coma in the hospital right now, unknown to the true consequences of that morning four weeks ago.

He might not even make it, and this baby would be the cruel reminder that…

That.

Azul had gotten you pregnant with his child.

You felt like you wanted to die.

What were you going to say? How do you tell anyone about this?

Your lover would leave you.

And…

Worse, what would Azul think?

Would he even want to keep the baby? Or hell even you?

Would you have to marry Azul? He wouldn't want you at all as a wife.

You felt a headache coming on as you started to feel your tears building up again. As you were spiraling from your driver's seat, you heard your phone's delightful ping noise alerting you of its location below.

Azul woke up yesterday.

Your face flushed as hot as ever.

You knew what you had to do.

Or at least what you should do.

But why say anything? You calmly thought to yourself.

It's only been 4 weeks, and you're not even showing… apparently Most of the time, people don't tell anyone until about 5 months, so... at most there was 4 months to go to do the deed.

So Why don't you keep this as your little spring secret?

[delreysblogs]

Does anybody know any effective anti bloating foods that are low cal? I look like a f4t whale 24/7.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

A "secure" system can be the most dangerous of all

Two decades ago, my life changed forever: hearing Bruce Schneier explain that “security” doesn’t exist in the abstract. You can only be secure from some threat. A fire alarm won’t protect you from burglaries. A condom won’t protect you from mass shootings. It seems obvious, but how often do we hear about “security” without any mention of who is being made secure, and from which threat?

Take the US welfare system. It is very “secure” in that it is hedged in by a thicket of red-tape, audits, inspections and onerous procedures. To get food stamps, housing vouchers, or cash aid, you must navigate a Soviet-grade bureaucratic system of Kafkaesque proportions. Indeed, one of the great ironies of the post-Cold War world is that the USA has become a “Utopia Of Rules” (as David Graeber put it), subjecting everyday people to the state-run bureacracies that the USAUSAUSA set endlessly ridiculed the USSR for:

https://memex.craphound.com/2015/02/02/david-graebers-the-utopia-of-rules-on-technology-stupidity-and-the-secret-joys-of-bureaucracy/

(The right says it wants to “shrink the US government until fits in a bathtub — and then drown it” — but not the whole government. They want unlimited government bloat for that part of the state that is dedicated to tormenting benefits claimants, especially if its functions are managed by a Beltway Bandit profiteer who bills Uncle Sucker up the wazoo for rubber-stamping “DENIED” on every claim.)

The US benefits system has a sophisticated, expensive, fully staffed anti-fraud system — but it’s a highly selective form of anti-fraud. The system is oriented solely to prevent fraud against itself, with no thought to protecting benefits recipients themselves from fraud.

And those recipients — by definition the poorest and most vulnerable among us — are easy pickings for continuous, ghastly, eye-watering acts of fraud. These benefits are distributed via prepaid debit cards — EBT Cards — that lack the basic security measures that every other kind of card has had for years. These are simple magstripe cards, lacking basic chip-and-pin defenses, to say nothing of contactless countermeasures.

That means that fraudsters can — and do — install skimmers in the point-of-sale terminals used by benefits recipients to withdraw their cash benefits, pay for food using SNAP (AKA Food Stamps), and receive other benefits.

It’s impossible to overstate how widespread these skimmers are, and how much money criminals make by stealing from poor people. Writing for Businessweek, Jessica Fu describes the mad scramble benefits recipients go through every month, standing by ATMs at midnight on the night of the first of every month in hopes of withdrawing the cash they use to pay for their rent and utility bills before it is stolen by a crook who captured their card number with a skimmer:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-06-28/ebt-theft-takes-millions-of-dollars-from-the-neediest-americans

One of Fu’s sources, Lexisnexis Risk Solutions’s Haywood Talcove, describes these EBT cards as having the security of a “glorified hotel room key.” He recounts how US police departments saw a massive explosion in EBT skimming: from 300 complaints in January 2022 to 18,000 in January 2023.

The skimmer rings are extremely well organized. The people who install the skimmers — working in pairs, with one person to distract the cashier while the other quickly installs the skimmer — don’t know who they work for. Neither do the people who use cards cloned from skimmer data to cash out benefits recipients’ accounts. When they are arrested, they refuse to turn on their immediate recruiters, fearing reprisals against their families.

These low-level crooks stroll up to ATMs and feed a succession of cloned cards into them, emptying account after account. Or they swipe cards at grocery checkouts, buying cases of Red Bull and other easily sold grocery products with some victim’s entire SNAP balance.

Some police agencies are pursuing these criminal gangs and trying figure out who’s running them, but the authorities who issue SNAP cards are doing little to nothing to stop the pipeline at their end. Simply upgrading SNAP terminals to chip-and-pin would exponentially raise the cost and complexity that thieves incur.

Indeed, that’s why every other kind of payment card uses these systems. How is it that these systems were upgraded, while SNAP cards remain in mired in 20th century “glorified hotel room key” territory? Well, as our friends on the right never cease to remind us: “incentives matter.”

When your credit card gets cloned, it’s your banks and credit card company that pays for the losses, not you. So the banks demanded (and funded) the upgrade to new anti-fraud measures. By contrast, most states have no system for refunding stolen benefits to skimmers’ victims.

In other words, all of the anti-fraud in the benefits system is devoted to catching benefits cheating — a phenomenon that is so rare as to be almost nonexistent (1.54%), notwithstanding right wingers’ fevered, Reagan-era folktales about “welfare queens”:

https://blog.gitnux.com/food-stamp-fraud-statistics/

Meanwhile, the most widespread and costly form of fraud in the benefits system — fraud perpetrated against benefits recipients — is blithely ignored.

Really, it’s worse than that. In deciding to protect the welfare system rather than welfare recipients, we’ve made it vastly harder for benefits claimants who’ve been victimized by fraudsters to remain fed and sheltered. After all, if we made it simple and straightforward for benefits recipients to re-claim money that was stolen from them, we’d make it that much easier to defraud the system.

“Security” is always and forever a matter of securing some specific thing, against some specific risk. In other words, security reflects values — it reveals whose risk matters, and whose doesn’t. For the American benefits system, risks to the system matter. Risks to people don’t.

It’s not just the welfare system that prioritizes its own risks against the people it exists to serve. Think of the systems used to fight drug abuse in clinical settings.

Medical facilities that use or dispense powerful pain-killers have exquisitely tuned, sophisticated, frequently audited security systems to prevent patients from tricking their doctors or pharmacists into administering extra drugs (especially opioids). “Extra” in this case means “more drugs than are strictly necessary to manage pain.”

The rationale for this is only incidentally medical. Someone who gets a little too much painkiller during a medical procedure or an acute pain episode is not at any particular risk of enduring harm — the risks are minor and easily managed (say, by keeping a patient in bed a little longer while they recover from sedation).

The real agenda here is preventing addiction and abuse by addicted people. There’s a genuine problem with opioid abuse, and that problem does have its origins in overprescription. But — crucially — that overprescription wasn’t the result of wimpy patients insisting on endless painkillers until they enslaved themselves to their pills.

Rather, the opioid epidemic has its origins in the billionaire Sackler crime family, whose Purdue Pharma used scientific fraud, cash incentives, and other deceptive practices to trick, coerce, or bribe doctors into systematically overprescribing their Oxycontin cash cow, even as they laundered their reputation with showy charitable donations:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/12/monopolist-solidarity/#sacklers-billions

The Sacklers got to keep their billions — and people undergoing painful medical procedures or living with chronic pain are left holding the bag, subject to tight pain-med controls that forces them to prove — through increasingly stringent systems — that they truly deserve their medicine.

In other words, the beneficiary of the opioid control system is the system itself — not the patients who need opioids.

There’s an extremely disturbing — even nightmarish — example of this in the news: the Yale Fertility Clinic, where hundreds of women endured unimaginably painful egg harvesting procedures with no anaesthesia at all.

These women had complained for years about the pain they suffered, and many had ended up needing emergency care after the fact because of traumatic injuries caused by undergoing the procedure without pain control. But the doctors and nurses at the Yale clinic ignored their screams of pain and their post-operative complaints.

It turned out that an opioid-addicted nurse had been swapping the fentanyl in the drug cabinet for saline, and taking the fentanyl home for her own use.

This made national headlines at the time, and it is the subject of “The Retrievals,” a new New York Times documentary series podcast:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/podcasts/serial-the-retrievals-yale-fertility-clinic.html

If the pain medication management system was designed to manage pain, then these thefts would have been discovered early on. If the system was designed so that anyone who experienced pain was treated until the pain was under control, the deception would have been uncovered almost immediately.

As Stafford Beer said, “the purpose of any system is what it does.” The pain medication management system was designed to manage pain medication, not pain itself.

The system was designed to be secure from opioid-seeking addicted patients. It was not designed to make patients secure from pain. Its values — our values, as a society — were revealed through its workings.

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/13/whose-security/#for-me-not-thee

[Image ID: A down-the-barrel view of a massive, battleship-gray artillery piece protruding from the brick battlement of a fortress. From the black depths of the barrel shines a red neon 'EBT' sign.]

Image: Bjarne Henning Kvaale (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oscarsborg_28cm_Krupp_cannon_4_-_panoramio.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

another anti-psych post from your neighborhood patient-therapist

In my last post I talked about the kinds of basic needs people and communities have, and asked what it might look like in your community to meet those needs as a baseline. This time we're going to talk more about what happens when communities and individuals are chronically un-/under-served.

Okay so let's break it down this way. We're gonna try looking at just one medical symptom of chronic stress: autonomic dysregulation. It's not going to feel like we are, but I promise that's all we're doing. This is a *serious* symptom and it often comes clustered with others due to the way it functions within the body, which is why I think it is a useful case study here. Autonomic dysfunction, especially chronic dysfunction, can temporarily (though for long spans of time if the dysfunction remains chronic rather than acute) alter the functioning of other systems within the body such as the endocrine system, the reproductive system, cognitive functioning through the hippocampus and amygdala, and muscle functioning, nerve functioning, and others. It is no joke to suggest that long term autonomic dysfunction can often lead to major long term health consequences that are life altering for the person experiencing them. While some can be treated, managed, or even cured, not all can be and this is something I want us all to keep in mind as we consider the need for building communities that do not cause this kind of harm to their people.

Let's look at some potential medical outcomes of autonomic dysfunction, per the Mayo Clinic:

Dizziness and fainting when standing, caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure.

Urinary problems, such as difficulty starting urination, loss of bladder control, difficulty sensing a full bladder and inability to completely empty the bladder. Not being able to completely empty the bladder can lead to urinary tract infections.

Sexual difficulties, including problems achieving or maintaining an erection (erectile dysfunction) or ejaculation problems. In women, problems include vaginal dryness, low libido and difficulty reaching orgasm.

Difficulty digesting food, such as feeling full after a few bites of food, loss of appetite, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal bloating, nausea, vomiting, difficulty swallowing and heartburn. These problems are all due to changes in digestive function.

Inability to recognize low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), because the warning signals, such as getting shaky, aren't there.

Sweating problems, such as sweating too much or too little. These problems affect the ability to regulate body temperature.

Sluggish pupil reaction, making it difficult to adjust from light to dark and seeing well when driving at night.

Exercise intolerance, which can occur if your heart rate stays the same instead of adjusting to your activity level.

Some common comorbid conditions may include Diabetes, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Parkinson's, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or an autoimmune disorder. In each of these cases I want you to remember the lens of an individual body being denied, in some way, its base needs (an edocrine hormone, a nutritional component, the internal security of homeostasis, etc), to such an extent that it begins to experience an internal catastrophic failure, as this lens may often be supportive of accommodating your disabled comrades, or yourself, in the future.

I also want us to consider some common social statistics relevant to these conditions. Nearly 4% of the world experiences and autoimmune disorder. Most are women, and Indigenous, Black, and Latina women are at risk than most for several of these. In the United States, there are suspected to be 37.3 million people with diabetes. Diabetes is also considered an autoimmune disorder by researchers, and is one that the Indigenous, Filipino, Indian, Latine, and Black communities are all at higher risk for than white people are, however, risk is also heavily influenced by poverty, and by a family's location with respect to food deserts which grow more and more common. In a truly wild statistic, 80% of lesbians versus 32% of heterosexual women had polycystic ovaries in one study, and 33% of lesbians versus 14% of heterosexual women had progressed to PCOS. Some studies find that transmasculine folks are more likely to PCOS as well.

When we consider the marginalization these groups experience, and the way that marginalization plays out in the social forum, the political forum, in the financial forum, and in the emotional forum, are we really surprised to learn that it plays out in the embodied forum too?

This is what people mean when they talk about social murder. These are health conditions that don't just change lives, they end them. A system that churns out people so chronically sick that their bodies are desperately killing themselves trying to stay alive is a society that has become desperately sick. Diabetes is something we have attributed to individuals, to families, and even every once in a while to corporations, but at what point have we sat down and looked at a society that produces this murderous autoimmune disorder at such high rates and asked the real question: how are we making so many people sick?

The answers are many, and that can feel overwhelming, but I encourage you to start in one place and learn your way around it as well as you can before you even consider moving on. Maybe start with food deserts. They're probably familiar to you, you've heard about them in passing before I imagine, even if you're not really too into this stuff. But ask yourself WHY food deserts are able to exist? What are the mechanics of one being born? How does one stay free from the stain of a grocery store or food market? Are there any places like that near you? If so, what points of leverage might there be in that location for you to break the homeostasis of the food desert? How can you add your weight to efforts already occurring, or stir up sentiment around the idea of a new homeostasis where a grocery store exists? Can you put up flyers or attend town hall meetings? Can you knock doors or phone bank? Can you bring some sugar by your neighbors and comment how frustrating it is you all have to go so far to get your groceries and wonder what's up with that and maybe start scheming together? What kind of store should it be? Bring in a local market? A chain? Build a co-op or merchant's stalls for a four season farmer's market?

Get really into one idea, and get others in on it with you. I bet you aren't the only one who'd like a better status quo.

[beautyandlifestyleblog86]

Spices not only add flavor to food, but they also have numerous health benefits for the body. Some of the benefits of consuming spices include:

- Anti-inflammatory properties: Many spices, such as turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon, have anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce inflammation in the body and lower the risk of chronic diseases.

- Antioxidant effects: Spices are rich in antioxidants, which help protect the body from damage caused by free radicals and oxidative stress.

- Improved digestion: Certain spices, like ginger, cumin, and fennel, can aid in digestion by stimulating the production of digestive enzymes and reducing bloating and gas.

- Blood sugar regulation: Some spices, such as cinnamon and fenugreek, have been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity.

- Immune system support: Spices like garlic, oregano, and turmeric have antimicrobial properties that can help boost the immune system and protect against infections.

Overall, incorporating a variety of spices into your diet can not only enhance the flavor of your meals but also provide numerous health benefits for your body.

[breezingby]

Potential Health Benefits

Honey has many potential health benefits, including: (here's just a Few)…

Anti-inflammatory

Honey contains an enzyme called catalase that can help relieve minor inflammation. It can be used topically to treat burns and wounds, and orally to treat coughs and sore throats.

Antibacterial and antiviral

Honey can help fight infections caused by bacteria, viruses, and fungi. It can also be used to treat acne by dabbing a small amount onto pimples to reduce swelling and fight bacteria.

Antioxidant

Honey contains antioxidants like phenolic acids and flavonoids, which may help improve cholesterol levels and decrease the risk of heart disease. Honey can also help prevent and treat degenerative diseases.

Studies suggest that honey might offer antidepressant, anticonvulsant and anti-anxiety benefits. In some studies, honey has been shown to help prevent memory disorders. Wound care. Topical use of medical-grade honey has been shown to promote wound healing, particularly in burns.

-------

Cinnamon has many potential health benefits, including:

Blood sugar

Cinnamon may help lower blood sugar levels, which can be beneficial for people with type 2 diabetes. It may also improve insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance factor (GTf), which can help with weight loss.

In addition to being an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anticancer, lipid-lowering, and cardiovascular-disease-lowering compound, cinnamon has also been reported to have activities against neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

-------

Ginger has many health benefits, including:

Digestion: Gingerol, a natural compound in ginger, can help with digestion, nausea, and vomiting from motion sickness, pregnancy, and cancer chemotherapy. It can also help with mild stomach upset.

Anti-inflammatory: Ginger contains over 400 natural compounds, some of which are anti-inflammatory. It can help with bloating, gas, and reducing inflammation.

Pain relief: Ginger can help with osteoarthritis pain, menstrual cramps, and sore muscles.

Blood sugar: Ginger can help improve blood sugar regulation and lower blood sugar.

Heart health: Ginger can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, which can help prevent heart disease. It can also improve circulation and promote the breakdown of fats in the bloodstream.

Immune system: Ginger can help strengthen the immune system and fight germs.

-------

Turmeric ~ In addition to these conditions, research studies have shown some possible benefits of turmeric for:

Inflammation

Degenerative eye conditions

Metabolic syndrome

Arthritis

Hyperlipidemia (cholesterol in the blood)

Anxiety

Muscle soreness after exercise

Kidney health

In India, it was traditionally used for disorders of the skin, upper respiratory tract, joints, and digestive system. Today, turmeric is promoted as a dietary supplement for a variety of conditions, including arthritis, digestive disorders, respiratory infections, allergies, liver disease, depression, and many others.

.......

Chili peppers contain many compounds that may have health benefits, including:

Capsaicin The chemical that gives chili peppers their heat, capsaicin may help with:

Pain relief: Chili peppers can help with headaches, migraines, and joint pain. You can apply chili peppers directly to the skin to reduce the amount of a chemical that sends pain signals to the brain.

Metabolism: Capsaicin can increase your metabolic rate, which can help you burn more calories and eat fewer unhealthy foods. Some studies have also shown that capsaicin can reduce appetite and increase fat burning, which may help with weight loss.

Inflammation: Capsaicin is one of the most studied natural ingredients for its anti-inflammatory properties.

Digestion: Capsaicin can help clear phlegm and congestion, and may promote a healthy gut microbiome, which is important for a healthy immune system.

Vitamin A and vitamin C: Chili peppers are a great source of both vitamins, which can help boost your immune system and support eye health. Vitamin C can also help your body absorb iron and promote healthy skin.

Carotenoids: Chili peppers contain carotenoids, which may help protect against cancer. Some research suggests that capsaicin may also contribute to cancer cell death.

Keep in Mind

Take charge of your health—talk with your health care providers about any complementary health approaches you use. Together, you can make shared, well-informed decisions.

Using Dietary Supplements Wisely

Know the Science: How Medications and Supplements Can Interact

Know the Science: How To Make Sense of a Scientific Journal Article

[feelingpoorly]

Life lesson: avoid expired egg noodles

So I usually post whiny attention seeking shit like this on my insta bc even tho my kink does not apply to me at all, in some weird way complaining about how ill and knowing people would see it still kinda turns me on a little

But I figured what better place to whine about it here instead since, idk this is kinda what this blog is for

-

So we went to the shop last night and got a bunch of food from the reduced section. We do this fairly regularly cuz the expired food is so cheap and it’s usually fine if you eat it same day

Well I learnt my lesson lol. Amongst one of the things we got a couple packs of fresh egg noodles in some sauce. I didn’t really like them, but store bought is never gonna be as good as the real thing anyway right?

I was snacking on some cereal at like midnight, having eaten these noodles at like 7. I noticed that I was getting pretty severe stomach pain in the top of my stomach. It was weird and I didn’t really understand why. However I had taken some prescription painkillers earlier that day and although I take a different medication with them to try and stop this happening, they can have a habit of wrecking my stomach and giving me a tummy ache. I thought it was weird, since I definitely HAD remembered to take them with the other med this time, but whatever

Anyway I woke up this morning, we were going out to meet up with some of my partners friends for coffee. I immediately realised I felt bloated as hell, like painfully so. I figured it would pass once I was up and moving around.

It did not.

It pretty quickly progressed into pretty severe stomach cramps, to the point where every time I stood up, it would cramp so hard I couldn’t stop myself from kinda curling over and wincing. At that point I was starting to worry something was actually wrong and I wasn’t just a bit bloated.

I quite quickly started feeling pretty sick, and that’s panic territory for me, being emetophobic. I took a dissolvable anti sickness tablet, but the nausea combined with the horrible cramping made me feel very unwell. I really felt awful and sick and at that point I had to say to my partner, if I say I don’t feel well please can you just take me home. I didn’t know how I was gonna cope sitting in a coffee shop feeling like this. When the cramps hit I was in a lot of pain. Bearing in mind I live with chronic pain, I’m not a baby about pain, but this was the kind of pain that you just wince voluntarily and I couldn’t hide it.

Thankfully the anti sickness meds kicked in, and after sitting down for a while the nausea and the cramps settled down a bit to the point where I was no longer freaking out about being ill in public. I should probably add here that on the way there in the car, my stomach was making some really upset sounding deep rumbling gurgles. Like it didn’t sound good. The kinda gurgles that only come with being sick. I didn’t feel well enough to have a drink or anything to eat which probably looked a little suss. Later on a got just a bottle of lemonade hoping it would settle my stomach but when I sipped it, it just make it worse and my stomach started cramping again.

Skip to being home this evening, I’d thought the worse was over and I’d been feeling kinda ok. I had some light dinner, and what a fucking bad idea that was lol.

Im not having the intermittent intense cramps anymore but like, now my whole stomach feels bloated af again and I have like this sharp cramping pain kinda all over, both upper and lower stomach with just no relief. I’m so bloated my stomach is sticking out but there’s no relief from it at all. Holding my stomach helps but I feel so embarrassed so I’ve tried to hide it and only rub my tummy when my partner went to sleep.

What makes it worse, is that up until this point I had no idea what caused any of this. But when we got home, there was an absolutely rancid smell in the kitchen that smelt like off, rotting food. It was absolutely foul. It almost even smelt like vomit, and just smelling it made my nausea kick off all over again.

It was the leftover noodles. And let me tell you, they smelt pungent as FUCK. I literally ate those last night, and they smell that bad today? No wonder I’ve felt ill. I have that shit in my stomach. Even after my partner bagged up the leftovers, sealed it and put it in the bin, just the PLATE they were on is still emitting this foul smell, it’s just awful

Eating dinner was a bad choice, because now I just feel worse again. I don’t feel that sick anymore, probably because of the meds, but my stomach feels horrible again. I’m in so much pain, I can’t suck my tummy in at all with how sore and bloated and painful it is. I feel like an absolutely pathetic self indulgent lil bitch but I literally just went to make myself a hot water bottle to hold to my tummy as I try and sleep, because it hurts and this is not fun. I just want some relief, and currently nothing else is helping. As I’m lying here holding my tummy with one hand and holding the hot water bottle on it with the other, it’s gurgling and glugging really loudly sickly again and it just feels awful. I can literally feel it in my insides, and with the way it feels I just really hope it doesn’t all come back up again, probably still along with the undigested noodles from last night if the way I’m feeling is anything to go by 🥺

-

Anyway, I just came here to complain about it in way too much detail lmao. Hopefully someone enjoys my misery. As I said, although it’s embarrassing as hell, somehow the thought of other people knowing or being sympathetic etc is also kinda hot

If anyone wants to use my sorry ass as fic inspo then ofc you have my blessing lmao. In fact, if you do, PLEASE let me know as I’d love to read it haha

Anyway, off to moan quietly to myself and hold the hot water bottle on my aching tummy now x

[mlmvoreconfessionals]

I've seen some of your deadpool pred stuffs and was hoping I could get some more from ya as it's really good

Yeah, definitely! I haven't done nearly enough with this guy anyway.

"Seriously, is that all you have to say?" D.eadpool complains, looking down at his bloated stomach. "'Let me out!' 'Help me!' 'I'm melting!' 'Blorp!' Get some new material, seriously! You sound the same as the last twenty guys I ate!" He pokes his gut, his finger sinking into the soft sphere. It wobbles a bit, but his prey has long since digested down into slop. "Great, this guy's a terrible conversationalist, too. When am I going to find the right man for me?" D.eadpool pouts, crossing his arms while his stomach churns wetly. D.eadpool grabs the next guy that he'd knocked out. A rancid belch to the fact wakes the man up, though. "Oh well, plenty of fish in the sea. Maybe you know something." He starts cramming the man down, devouring him just as greedily as he had the first several. He's gotten a hit for a rather elusive man, one that even he's struggling to find. Thankfully, D.eadpool got a lead and is now casually plowing through some crime gang he can't recall the name of, one member at a time. One of them is bound to have some information he can use, and there's no better method of getting it than taunting them with the slow and inevitable demise of boiling alive in his stomach! At least, that's what he thinks, and that's why yet another dazed man ends up splashing down into the thick sludge in his belly. There were a few more guys lying around, all knocked out thanks to him. if none of them have any info, then he'll just have to move higher up on the food chain around here. He'll figure out what he needs to know, one digested soul at a time. D.eadpool presses down on his stomach, shoving the struggling man back into place in the boiling bit. "No need to get feisty. Just tell me what I need to know..." However long it takes, D.eadpool is going to walk out of here very full, so it's a win for him either way. It's just a matter of how many thugs he's going to digest before he's done.

"W.ade, I swear to god, let me g--" S.pider-man is cut off by a wet gulp from D.eadpool, sending him down the hatch and sloshing into the anti-hero's gut. D.eadpool belches wetly and pats his stomach a few times as he feels his treat start to thrash around inside. "C'mon, S.pidey, we both know you like it~" D.eadpool teases, pushing down on whatever bulges try to shove outward. "Just relax and enjoy yourself. Someone was bound to eat you. I mean, this is a vore story, so it was going to happen." S.pider-man pushes outward again and D.eadpool lets loose another crass belch. Some muffled words don't get past the thick gurgling and fat of his gut. D.eadpool pats his stomach a few times and leans back on the couch he's on. "I know, I know, you're melting alive but think of it this way--out of everyone who ate you, it was me! Your favorite guy! And I know how to treat my prey right." A few more shoves get all those bulges back into place and D.eadpool starts to knead over his gut, groaning happily. "There you go...just settle down, S.pidery. Let ol' D.eadpool take over...I've gotcha now..." His guts churn heavily and S.pider-man tries to struggle more, but the best he can manage is shifting around and making the gut sway. He's already being worn down by D.eadpool's stomach and the kneading isn't helping. He'd never admit it...but it all feels kind of nice. D.eadpool belches harshly again, pushing his fingers a bit deeper into his gut. "Woof, starting to stink up a storm out here. Guess it can't smell too pretty in there, though." He pats the side of his gut a few times, making it slosh wetly. S.pider-man isn't struggling anymore, just curled up tight in the gurgling tank. "See, I told you you'd enjoy yourself once you relaxed. I'm gonna melt you down good, better than anyone else could. Just try to go to my ass, alright? I could use a bit more weight back there." He presses down on his stomach again, his hand sinking in a bit. S.pider-man will be gone in the next couple hours, and by the follownig day, he'll just be a bit more heft on D.eadpool's body and a belched-up suit, if it survives. But he'll always belong to D.eadpool, and that's all the anti-hero really cares about.

Hands rub over D.eadpool's engorged gut, making him groan with pleasure. "You know, this is kind of fucked up," he says, lifting his head a bit to look at the guy rubbing his gut, "so it's a good thing I like fucked up." He can see that his little belly rubber blushes at that. D.eadpool leans in closer to let out a rank belch right into his place, the stink of old meat thick on his breath while his guts churned. His latest 'hit' was put in by some random college student who was a bit sick of his douchey roommate and his douchey friends. D.eadpool has killed for less, so he was more than happy to take on a good four-course meal. Of course, he didn't think he'd be getting some free belly rubs from the guy who gave him the job in the first place. Not that he's complaining, of course. The four guys had been beefy frat boys, and while they went down easy, they felt like cement in his guts. So the nimble hands working their magic over his stomach is more than welcome for D.eadpool. He hits the belly rubber with another crass belch, making him blush bright red that time. "Hey, you don't need to be so embarrassed. I know a guy who gets off to this stuff, too. I don't judge." He lays his head back against the couch again with a pleased sigh and simply lets the college guy do his job. D.eadpool's guts groan and churn wetly, steadily working down all that college meat with ease. His guts round out and get softer, the rubbing hands sinking deeper into his belly as time goes on. D.eadpool makes sure to belch good for his helper since he seems to like it so much. He hacks up a few things in the process--some mismatched shoes, a baseball cap, someone's underwear, and a few bones. They end up splattered around the apartment's living room, all dripping in drool. Not his problem, though. After a couple of hours, D.eadpool has a taut, gurgling pot belly chugging along the last bits of college boy. He gets up and pins the rubber down, pressing his gurgling stomach against him and belching into his face one last time. "Thanks for buying me dinner, kid. If you have anyone else you want to see gone, you know who to call." He gets off the couch, leaving the dazed student behind as he saunters out of the dorm room. He hopes he gets more jobs like these. It's cute when he gets some flustered guys to watch him eat.

[xantissa]

I was talking to some new friends recently and realized a lot of them were never taught how to manage painful/extremely painful periods.

The fact you should see a doctor if you routinely have super painful periods is a given, but in all my years of having periods so painful I would pass out multiple times a day from pain, no doctor ever told me any useful tips on how to live through them so here are the tidbits I have learned through experience and research:

1) pain management - if you know your periods are freaking painful do not wait for the pain to start. That's too late! Start the painkiller routine a day before if you can manage or at the very first sign of it. Start it and keep it! Check how long your preferred painkiller works and set a strict schedule of taking it. If you do it you will not let the pain get into the horrid stage. Basically do the same thing people with chronic pain do for pain management only your will last probably a week or so.

2) anti histamines- if you feel super bloated, sometimes to the point that it feels like your insides can't fit in your belly anymore? That's not an illusion. It's ACTUALLY what's happening. For some reason during periods our bodies start a fierce histamine reaction- histamine causes swelling of internal tissues and then yes, they kinda don't fit anymore. Act like you are having an allergic reaction and do an anti histamine routine for 2-3 days. Again, the meds have to be taken regularly to keep a proper level of meds in the system. Just taking one when you feel the worst won't really do anything.

3) electrolytes- if your periods are painful you are probably bleeding like a stuck pig. That's a hell of a lot of electrolytes just going down the drain. Literally even. Buy some of those dissolvable electrolytes and always have them at home. Drink some when bleeding, they will help with the dizziness, nausea and feeling of weakness.

Remember we drink electrolytes to avoid a risk of Heart Attack! It's not a new fanged health tip. The less electrolytes we have in the bloodstream the more risk of our heart going high wire especially when our bodies are under such tremendous stress.

4) no heat! - it may feel good for some, but heat will increase your bleeding and make the internal swelling worse. The heavier the bleed the less heat. Worst case scenarios I have known people who landed themselves in hospital by using heat packs when having a super heavy bleeding.

5) muscle relaxants - best effect for period pain are combo meds that contain muscle relaxants and painkillers. However what you might not know is that muscle relaxants lower your blood pressure, which already might be low because of the period. Try to keep an eye out on them and if it starts falling beyond your usual values beware. Look into changing your meds too, because you are probably reacting too strongly to the relaxant.

6) food - try to eat, even though you probably don't want to even think about it due to pain. Something easily digestible and caloric so that you can eat very little. You are bleeding like a victim of attempted murder. It's a huge strain on your body, give it some fuel in small dozes. Even a piece of chocolate is better than nothing.

7) rest as much as you can, don't try to force yourself to do everything as usual. There's no shame in it and your body really needs it.

I know finding a good doctor is pretty much as easy as finding a unicorn but never stop trying and by god, if it's at all possible, get the transvaginal ultrasound once a year. It may save your life.

[sicknessbysalem]

can you do the character stomach ache asks for saylor, calypso, meadow, and emiliene? if that’s too much, no worries but i’d be curious! :)

you've got it nonny!

pepto-bismol: does your character take anything when the’ve got a stomachache? if so, what?

Saylor tries to, but given her situation she doesn't have a prescription for it, os its usually over the counter stuff that barely works if ever.

Calypso doesn’t. Not usually. She will go without medicine as much as possible and unfortunately theres no potions or spells that will fully cure an ailment so she often raw dogs her upset (and subsequently extremely bloated) stomach.

Meadow will take over the counter medicine if she absolutely needs to, like if she’s going to work. Most days though, if she’s not feeling so hot in her stomach (whether her stomach is very… runny, or she’s nauseous or both) and she doesn’t have much happening, she relies on herbal remedies as her first line of treatment.

Emiliene does if she remembers. Emi has a diagnosed vomiting disorder so she had prescribed anti-emetics. However, between the cost and her busy schedule (she works three jobs and she’s the sole guardian of her 17 year old brother), she often saves it for ‘absolutely necessary’ or ‘when she needs it more’ so she won’t take it much. Even if she’s working.

hot water bottle: what makes them more comfortable when they aren’t feeling well?

Saylor’s stomach isn’t one to let her be comfortable when she’s acting up. But, its less of a what and more of a who. Usually if she’s feeling bad in her gut, spending time with Julian even if they’re both doing their own thing in one of their rooms, helps her feel loads better.

Calypso, honestly, only feels better after she throws up. No laying down, no sleeping, no comfort objects. The only thing that makes her comfortable is when her stomach is finally empty.

Meadow usually goes over to Houston’s house and cuddles his cat to feel better when she isn’t feeling well. Or goes to her partner’s (River’s) place and cuddles with them.

Emiliene is a lot like Calypso. Nothing really makes her comfortable until her stomach is empty. However, she also has a blanket Camille got her for her birthday which has sunflowers all over it that’s a comforting object she usually has close to her (if not wrapped in it) whenever she isn’t feeling so great.

ice cream: are there any foods your character cant eat?

Saylor can pretty much not eat anything. Anything and everything she eats leaves her with indigestion/acid reflux no matter how bland. She will not eat rice in any form though because it's so small that it comes up with her acid reflux and she hates how it tastes and feels. So while she can eat rice, she doesn’t.

Calypso is lactose intolerant. She has the variation of lactose intolerance where if she eats something without taking something to help it digest, she gets really bloated and nauseous until her stomach bloats up so much it hurts until she vomits.

Meadow doesn’t have anything she can’t eat, but she can’t eat a lot at once. She usually eats half portions or smaller and just has several snacks/mini meals throughout the day. It overwhelms her digestive system and when she overeats by her body’s standards she has really bad issues in her digestive system (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea)

Emiliene is lactose intolerant and sensitive to acidic and spicy foods, which sucks because she’s a chef. She still does what she needs to with her job though. Anyway, acidic foods and spicy foods in particular make her have such bad acid reflux she has to throw up (or spit up? like throw up but not much at once) until it dies down. Her lactose intolerance makes her very nauseous and very pukey.

hold my hair back: do they like to be alone or have company when they feel ill?

Saylor is selective with her company. The only people she wants near her when she feels sick is Julian and that's pretty much it. Mercury gets a pass too since he’s Julian’s roommate.

Calypso is also super selective with her company when she feels ill. But her list is Cassius. Full stop. Cassius is the only one allowed near her when she doesn't feel good because she is expected to be all perfect all the time and Cassius is the only one who sees through that.

Meadow is less selective but still doesn’t like just anyone around her when she’s not feeling good. She only wants her friends/found family around her, plus her brother, Landon.

Emiliene prefers to be alone. She doesn’t like people seeing cracks in her facade of being strong and independent and able to do things (such as take care of Camille, working, etc.), so she doesn’t even like Camille around her when she’s sick. Camille is the only person who gets a pass for forcing his way around her but he's usually pretty good with caretaking from afar (like getting her water, briefly checking on her, and just leaving her be).

thermometer: how do fevers affect your character’s stomach?

All four of the girls definitely get nauseous with fevers.

Honorable individual mention of Calypso because when she gets sick with anything it goes straight to her stomach and makes it sour.

carsick: does your character get motion sickness?

Saylor does not.

Calypso does but only on long drives (3+ hours)

Meadow doesn’t

Emiliene thinks she does, but it’s been so long since she’s been a passenger she doesn’t want to test that theory. Any time she has been a passenger, it’s Camille taking her home if she's too pukey to drive so she’s already sick by the time she gets in.

greasy spoon: how does your character’s stomach react to junk food?

Saylor’s stomach reacts to all food the same. It makes her have bad acid reflux/indigestion.

Calypso doesn’t eat junk food much anymore given she needs to keep up her appearances, so usually if she eats junk food her stomach doesn’t know how to cope.

Meadow’s stomach reacts fine to junk food, though it can struggle sometimes if she eats a lot.

Emiliene’s stomach does not like most junk food one bit. It makes her stomach all kinds of sick.

thanksgiving: how much can they eat without feeling sick? how much can they eat without GETTING sick?

None of them can actually eat much at once without it messing up their stomach. In order of who gets the sickest the fastest (the least amount of overeating), it’s Emiliene, Saylor, Meadow, and Calypso.

hiccups: does your character get burpy/gassy/hiccupy when they eat too much?

None of them do when it’s specifically eating too much. Saylor gets slightly burpy after she eats, because her stomach doesnt know what to do with food.

A little added crumb: Emiliene gets bad hiccups when shes nauseous, and Calypso tends to hiccup before she retches/vomits.

belly rub: how does your character react when their significant other is sick?

Since nobody has direct significant others yet except for Meadow, I’m going to answer this from their platonic/familial ‘significant other’ (as in who i usually write with then) + Meadow’s significant other

Saylor’s is Julian. When Julian gets sick, she does take care of him, or at least care adjacent. She will get him water and stay with him, but tries to keep things normal between them like affectionately bullying him.

Meadow has a partner. Meadow’s partner’s name is River (fun fact: river is a nonbinary lesbian). Meadow is used to River getting sick because much like Emiliene, they have a vomiting disorder but they don’t have a diagnosis yet. Meadow, when it comes to River, is very caring but only as much as River wants. River is by no means someone who wants to be doted on, so Meadow will just sit with them/lay with them or lightly rub their back or small gestures like that.

More Meadow caretaking: For everyone she’s with, Meadow is very good at reading who shes caring for and following accordingly. She’ll care for River the best way she feels River will feel supported, and she does the same with Houston.

Calypso has no significant other. But she does have her brother, Cassius. Given Cassius is chronically ill as is, Calypso tends to be a little overbearing. She’s somewhat good though at backing off when Cassius tells her to, but she’s still internally very stressed and does everything she can to care for Cassius whether its explicitly caring over him or just doing things while he’s not feeling good like reading in the same room as him or cleaning up his room while resting or getting him water, things like that.

Emiliene doesn’t have a partner either, but she assumes a motherly caretaking role whenever her younger brother gets sick.

vertigo: how does nausea effect your character? do they get dizzy?

Saylor doesn’t get particularly affected by nausea outside of having a desperate need to vomit.

Meadow gets dizzy and her stomach usually always gets very runny. If she’s nauseous, yes she’s going to throw up, but throwing up completely sets off her stomach and gives her the runs too (she often ends up sick from both ends when her stomach gets sick)

Calypso gets very bloated and unsteady. Not exactly dizzy, but a similar sensation to like… when you get off a boat and still feel like you're rocking. Also, when Calypso’s stomach gets upset, she gets bloated. Her stomach gets more and more distended the longer she holds it in, which gets painful, almost like filling a balloon or something with water. The more bloated her stomach, the more violently and abundantly she’s going to throw up. And, similar to Meadow, if she fights it long enough, she will definitely need a bathroom.

Emiliene gets dizzy and cold. She will start shivering the longer she’s fighting nausea, and it makes her feel dizzy on top of that.

stoic: is your character needy when they dont feel well? or do they prefer to suffer in silence?

None of them are. They all really fight to handle their stuff on their own. In order of most to least resistance of being cared for its Saylor, Calypso (who is practically tied for first), Emiliene, and Meadow.

bad memory: is there a food your character refuses to eat due to a bad experience with it?

Saylor won’t eat rice. Since most food makes Saylor very acid refluxy, the few times she had rice she’s felt it come up and feeling the rice with the acid has made her vomit. Usually she can get through her acid reflux, if only ever having to ‘spit up’, without full on vomiting. But that will do her in.

Meadow and Calypso don’t have specific foods they won’t eat.

Emiline won’t eat pork. She teaches part time at a culinary school and naturally had to taste test her students’ food, which since she can’t eat much meant she really only ate her students' food on taste/prep day. The class section was focused on pork/using pork and Emiliene did what she had to, and then promptly spent the rest of the night in the bathroom vomiting or having the runs or for a while being sick from both ends at once. Now she refuses to eat any pork at all.

eyes on you: has your character ever been ill in public?

They all have.

Saylor has been sick in public or public adjacent the most. She has stomach issues and she’s in college. She’s thrown up in class, she’s spend a lot of time puking in the communal bathrooms of the dorms, she’s thrown up in the outdoor quad area for students, but her worst was throwing up in the middle of the dining hall. She had no warning, no time to move, and pretty violently puked in the dining hall during one of the meals.

Meadow’s been sick quite a lot in public, or at least public adjacent. She’s gotten sick a lot at the tavern but only once threw up directly in front of people. Most of the time she goes to the bathroom but those are public adjacent.

Calypso tries not to be visibly sick in public. It's part of her whole facade of being perfect. But, that doesn’t mean she’s 100%. She’s been sick in public twice. The slightly less mortifying of the two was she had been in the car in the back with her aunt, uncle, and brother for close to six hours while they were traveling for a tour type situation (performing their shows in different cities upon request). Right before they got where they needed to be, Calypso threw up all over her lap (accidentally) and then as soon as they stopped at where they were supposed to be, she opened the door and threw up again. In a parking lot, in a public mall type area. The other time which was more mortifying for her was on the same tour she got food poisoning in another town and had a sick bucket off the side of the stage for emergencies, except the need to vomit hit so suddenly she started going to step offstage to be sick and ended up having to turn her back to the audience and just get slightly sick on the stage before she could get to the sick bucket.

Emiliene hasn’t gotten sick in direct public much. The most objectively public place she’s gotten sick is in a store bathroom or a parking lot while her and Camille were running errands. But she’s also been sick in break rooms or dish rooms while working before.

tw alcohol

bartender: has your character ever had a bad experience with over drinking?

Saylor has. She’s in college, so naturally she’s gone to a few parties (mostly because of Julian). But only once it was really bad. She was social drinking and ended up feeling so bad afterwards (in terms of drunk), that she went to Julian’s dorm where she accidentally threw up in his sink… and then several times in his trash can. It wasn’t alcohol poisoning though, because usually once Saylor starts puking she won’t stop until she’s empty. But it was a scary night for both of them.

Calypso and Meadow don’t drink enough to get sick off it. Calypso does drink occasionally after shows but not after every show. Depending on what she drinks, she might throw up not from being drunk but it just upsetting her stomach (the harder the alcohol the worse she feels).

Emiliene had a few times she drank too much but it was when she first moved out of her family’s home. Never getting herself sick from drinking but getting bad hangovers the next day. She quit drinking though when she realized she needed to get Camille out of their parents home and since their parents were bad alcoholics, she figures drinking even every so often might scare Camille or get him taken.

[slatesoft]

I think what consistently frustrates me regarding anti-vegan rhetoric is the persecution complex–the notion that vegans are primarily interested in putting you down and making themselves feel self-righteous. Because veganism isn't about making you feel bad or putting the blame of mass animal consumption on people who cannot adopt a full plant-based lifestyle due to unfortunate life circumstances. In fact, it's not at all about you (or me!) individually. It's about how other living beings are being systematically abused and how much damage such systems are doing to our planet and everything that lives here–including humans!

And I understand the position of being against veganism because humans are also animals of this world subsisting on other animals and partaking in the cycle of life and death as all other animals do. But the thing is, that's not the case for modern humanity, nor would it excuse the harm it brings as a whole.

For example, people like milk and beef, so companies streamline the process of milking, feeding, forcefully inseminating (aka raping. Look it up if you think I'm exaggerating), and killing cows at a fraction of their lifespan to harvest milk and beef. Now companies need land and food to maintain and expand their cow populations. To make way for more farmland to house cows and grow their food, diverse ecosystems are burned or otherwise destroyed. In destroying the natural ecosystem, CO2 is released into the atmosphere, climate change continues to spiral, entire species are endangered, and we all suffer long-term. Additionally, the artificially bloated population of cows adds a ton of methane into the atmosphere. But now there are more cows for more milk and beef, which people like. So companies continue to streamline and expand, and the spiral continues.

Ultimately, there is no other species on the planet that has conquered, exploited, and industrialized as humans have. Yes, we are living beings who deserve to live as much as any other animal. But that doesn't make industrialized farming morally just or environmentally sustainable. And while some people may not have any choice, I would argue that a significant number of people do!

The cool thing is, you, personally, have the power to affect some positive change in the world. I'm not interested in shaming individual people who purchase animal products, be it wool, eggs, meat, honey, whatever. I'm interested in raising awareness of an extremely harmful system in the hopes that people will use their own power and–even if it's just by a little bit–reduce their participation in that system. The truth is, if environmentalism, climate change, species extinction, animal rights, or capitalist greed are topics that concern you, and if you look into it beyond bad-faith interpretations and easily disproved misconceptions, you might find that veganism aligns with your beliefs far more than you previously thought.