#i may have a mild form of POTS?

[scrawlingwithstyle]

I'm weird. I used to have intense salt cravings as a kid, so now when I crave salt I will just eat a bit of plain salt.

So when I find a 5-pack of interesting salts, I buy it.

I'm a little disappointed in the black sea salt. I was not expecting sulfur to be a component, and it tastes eggy & weird.

The flavor ones (black truffle, garlic & rosemary, & black sea salt) will be good in food. I'll stick to pink Himalayan & plain white salt to satisfy my cravings.

[alarici]

semi informed thoughts about deux face

(Got long ueueueue)

(what’s circling my mind about killing young things with bright eyes, in words the poets might understand)

it’s pretty universally agreed that it’s the right choice to euthanize an old animal for which the rest of its life would otherwise be spent in pain. humane euthanasia prevents suffering. I think as a culture we should have a better relationship with this form of animal death. in my opinion, a painless death is a kindness.

in the case of a young animal, I think this case is also becoming clearer. in videos she has bright eyes and doesn’t appear in pain. cows are prey animals and good at hiding these things. I’m really not a cow expert, but there is no long life for a cow that can’t stand. even if she’s taking the bottle and growing, if she doesn’t stand she can’t perform species-specific hallmarks of well-being or basic bodily functions. cows are massive ruminants.

she will live a short life in pain, is my opinion.

the way farmers talk about their animals is sometimes quite grotesque and disturbing to outsiders. I think it’s a natural emotional reaction to phrases like “put it out of its misery”. and as an outsider with very little knowledge, some of that domain-specific rhetoric does make me pause in a bad way.

however, I still think that a humane euthanasia in this case would be in deux face’s best interest. no evidence points to cows being able to understand a concept of self or a future. all she will/is experiencing is a now that is uncomfortable at best (isolated, unable to stand) and at worst in some form of severe pain in the here and now. the discussion isn’t “that freak should die” it’s that “a young animal is suffering and it’s owners are enabling this and many people just think of a poem about twice as many stars…”

at its core, I really think the difference between humane killing of animals like this and eugenics is—that’s an animal. we breed specific traits into domestic animals for our desires. and become completely responsible for that life. animals cannot advocate for themselves. but we have chosen to make these decisions for them based on the knowledge we have. and the knowledge I understand here is 1) she doesn’t know the sacredness of life. she’s a cow, probably in discomfort, who has a time limit much shorter than the average cow and those final days/weeks will guaranteed be painful 2) people aren’t animals

disabled people are able to advocate for themselves. and even if they can’t, they’re human fucking beings not livestock. I am not equipped to wax philosophical of the meaning of a human life, but it is more complex then that or cattle in my opinion. eugenics as dog breeding applied to people completely falls the fuck apart because you’re fundamentally violating the autonomy of other people and committing evil crimes and genocide at the logical conclusion of such an ideology. that’s not what this is. it’s a gut reaction to extrapolate to people, but I really think it helps animals and people to understand the difference.

[heaven-s-black-box]

Home- Zhongli x wife!Reader

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Recovery date: January 17th, 2024

Description: May I request smut with Zhongli and his wife having reunion sex after not seeing each other for a long time?

Includes- plot, half dragon form Zhongli, slight angst(?), oral (f receiving)

Notes: This entry was recovered in collaboration with an anonymous researcher, we thank them for their contribution. Thank you to my friend who beta read this.

Word count: 2 763

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Zhongli’s retirement was supposed to mean more time for his wife. 

Married for centuries, and yet he felt they only saw each other as frequently as a mortal couple did in their entire lifetime. He’d promised her his undivided love and protection, and back in the Guili plains that had been possible– when it hadn’t just been him watching over the mortals– but here in Liyue it was… difficult. He was loath to admit it, but he was not holding up his end of the contract.

Even after the amendment they’d made following the archon war, that Liyue would come before her, it seemed to take up all his time. Yet she never complained, treating the bustling harbor like it was their child.

His retirement was as if their child had grown, leaving the house to find its place in the world. So how had spending time together gotten harder?

“I’m home, my dearest,” he called into the quiet house, taking care to keep his voice down.

One week, three days, eight hours, forty-two minutes and three seconds.

He’d been gone for a full week, nearly week and a half, and not even on official business, but rather as a favor to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor’s director because she was too busy to go to Inazuma.Y/n hadn’t been able to join him due to a mild illness at the time of his departure that would have made the boat ride miserable, and so had begun their longest separation since the cataclysm.

A warm scent reached his nose, and he looked up from taking his shoes off to find his wife standing before the entrance in an apron. There was a bandage tied around one of her fingers, and rice flour dusted across the apron.

“I made bamboo shoot soup.”

Her smile was contagious, and he quickly found himself donning a similar expression as she took his hand and led him to the table. A bottle of dandelion wine was set in the center next to a vase of glaze lilies and qingxins. The smell he’d noticed earlier was clearly coming from the pot on the stove that Y/n quickly returned to, serving up two bowls and setting them on the table.

“This is… an interesting array of decor,” Zhongli hummed once they finally sat down.

“Venti came by,” Y/n laughed, “just after you left, actually, he helped me around the house so that I could rest.” Zhongli nodded, begrudgingly thinking up a way to thank the drunken archon. “The flowers were a gift from Ganyu, I think she meant for me to put them in separate vases but…” She shrugged.

Zhongli finished his bite of bamboo, and looked up to find his wife awkwardly pushing her food around her bowl. She raised a piece of meat to her lips, but before she could take a bite, Zhongli urged her to finish her sentence.

“But?”

Y/n rarely clammed up like this, tensing up over something so suddenly. She ignored him for a moment, chewing slowly to buy herself more time. Zhongli set his chopsticks down and laced his hands in front of himself, indicating he had no intent of returning to dinner until she answered him.

“But, they kept me company.”

Y/n rolled her shoulders out and reached for her glass of wine. She frowned upon taking a sip, deciding that maybe dandelion wine and bamboo shoot soup weren’t the best pair, but continued on in order to avoid looking at her husband. There was no doubt in her mind that he was carefully considering her words, and she was not looking forward to-

“I’m sorry.”

She sighed. “No, no, don’t apologize.”

“Why?” Zhongli reached across the table and took her hands in his, running his thumb over her wedding ring. “It’s the very least I should do. I promised you my undivided love and protection, and I failed. I amended my promise, the vow I made to you centuries ago, and I have still– somehow– made you feel so alone that you would find comfort in the memories of our friends.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

A long moment of silence cut through the house as Y/n lowered her gaze to their hands– hers cradled gently in his. Slowly, she removed Zhongli’s wedding ring, then his gloves, and replaced the ring before bringing his hands to her lips. She placed a kiss on either knuckle and then sighed, resting her forehead against them.

“Your retirement was supposed to be for us,” she whispered, “and I understand that this consultancy with Wangsheng funeral parlor is your way of living a mortal life, but even mortals make better time for their loved ones than you. We have forever, but forever will find its end before you know it.”

Zhongli couldn’t see her face, it was buried in his hands, but he could feel her heavy breathing as she stifled growing sobs.

“Look at me,” he whispered, removing his hands from her grasp to cup her face. Y/n’s eyes were glassy with unshed tears that stabbed at his heart. “I will speak with director Hu Tao and take some time off, and I’ll work on finding a balance. I promise.”

“Thank you.”

Y/n turned her face in his hands and kissed his palms.

“Don’t thank me, it’s what I should have done in the first place.”

Hesitantly, Y/n pulled Zhongli’s hands from her face and clasped them in front of her chest– pressing them over her heart.

“Dinner’s gone cold.”

“It has.”

“Why don’t we move on to the rest of the evening's plans?”

Zhongli chuckles, “You had more planned?”

“But of course, you must have been so lonely without me, I need to make up for that.”

Y/n stood up, pulling her husband with her. Before she could pull him any further though, he pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked up at him with furrowed brows and a small pout.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

Her pout dissipated into a small smile as she ran her hands up his chest and played with the collar of his jacket.

“I would tell you if I wasn’t. That was a term in our contract,” she whispered, barely a breath away from his lips before she pulled him in for a kiss.

It was gentle as Y/n ran her hands up around Zhongli’s neck, tugging on his ponytail and earning a short laugh before their lips connected again. Zhongli meanwhile slid his hands just barely under the slit in her qipao, earning a shudder as his claws gently raked over the thin under dress. He moved his hands lower, squeezing at the backs of her thighs.

“Up.”

Y/n jumped up, her skirt bunching up under Zhongli’s hands, wrapping her legs around his waist and giggling– face buried in his neck– as he finally carried her to their bedroom. She loosened his tie, undoing the top few buttons of his shirt and littering his neck with butterfly kisses. The door to their room opened, and she took the moment of brief distraction to bite down on the nape of his neck. Zhongli’s grip on her thighs tightened, and he let out a low groan while Y/n snickered softly.

“My bad.”

Zhongli nudged her head up and buried his face in her neck before biting her nape in return, earning a squeal and the squeeze of her thighs. In squeezing her thighs together around his waist, Y/n accidentally pulled herself closer and ground against Zhongli.

Zhongli groaned at the friction and whispered, “My bad,” in return, before dropping her onto the bed.

Without prompting, Y/n unfastened the buttons of her qipao while Zhongli shrugged off his jacket and vest, and finished unbuttoning his shirt. He looked up just in time to find his wife kneeling in front of him. She wrapped her arms back around his neck, burring one hand in his hair, and pulled him in for another kiss.

This one was hungrier. It wasn’t meant to reassure either of them, but rather make up for lost time. Both the time lost during his trip, and the time lost as the mortal life had consumed him.

Zhongli gently pushed Y/n back by the hips, forcing her to awkwardly shuffle around to untuck her dress from beneath her. As soon as it was released from beneath her legs, Zhongli grabbed the hem and pulled it off– leaving her in only her underwear. He gently ran his fingers along the deep mark he’d left on her nape earlier, a fond smile forming on his lips.

Rolling her eyes, Y/n grabbed the open sides of Zhongli’s shirt to pull him down with her when she fell backwards. The sudden shift in perspective startled him, and he was barely able to brace himself on his forearms to avoid crushing his wife.

“Hi, handsome.”

“Hello, my dearest.”

This time Zhongli was the first to lean in, placing a quick peck on her nose and then capturing her lips. Y/n wrapped her legs around his waist and slid her hand up to cup his face, while he moved one hand up to cup hers.

It honestly felt like they could stay like that forever, just holding one another, but Zhongli suddenly pulled away and trailed kisses down Y/n chest. He left gentle nips at random intervals, earning content sighs from his wife. She gently scratched at his scalp, tugging on occasion to make him groan.

There was something humorous in the way they’d both assumed they would jump each other's bones as soon as Zhongli had stepped in the door, and yet as time went on neither of them was sure they’d even get around to having sex tonight.

When Zhongli finally reached the hem of Y/n’s underwear and took a deep inhale, making her whine in embarrassment. Even after being married for centuries some of his more draconic habits, like his obsession with her scent, were embarrassing.

“My favorite scent,” he said, voice a low rumble as he teased her.

“Zhongli,” Y/n whined.

He slowly pulled her underwear down, letting his claws scrap against her skin. She kicked them off and then put her legs up on his shoulders before tapping the top of his head.

“Where’s my lovely husband?” She cooed, shuddering when he laughed– his breath hitting her clit.

“Really?”

“Really.”

He ducked down, kissing at her inner thighs as his horns and tail slowly took form. Y/n whined as he avoided giving her any stimulation, gripping at his horns and tugging only to earn herself a gentle smack from his tail.

“Ah!”

“Be patient,” Zhongli sighed.

“I have been plenty patient, love.”

His forked tongue flicked out against her clit, making her yelp and squeeze her thighs against his head. Her grip on his horns tightened and she used them to try and pull him closer to her cunt. This time he ran his tongue up to her clit and then back down and into her. Y/n moaned, rocking her hips into his face. Zhongli laughed, digging his claws into her hips, uncaring if he broke skin.

“More,” Y/n moaned, wiggling her hips uselessly.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get there.”

“But-ah!” 

Zhongli sucked gently at her clit, then gently raked his claws against her thigh to rub quick circles against her clit. The sudden change in stimulation caught her off guard and her thighs began to crush his head as she clawed helplessly. 

The knot in her stomach tightened quickly, making her hips jerk erratically against his face and hand. Her breathing was heavy as choked sounds escaped her lips.

“Cumming, cumming,” she began to mumble, legs twitching. “Fuck!” She yelped as it finally snapped.

Zhongli lapped up her release– his tail flicking about happily behind him– gripping her tightly as she squirmed against him from over stimulation. 

“I thought you’d been patient?”

“I was,” Y/n panted, sitting up and starting to undo Zhongli’s pants, “until this morning.”

“I was looking forward to letting you fall apart on my fingers,” he pouted playfully.

“And I, want to be fucked.”

Laughing, Zhongli got off the bed to kick his pants off while Y/n moved further up onto the bed. Zhongli rejoined, settling between her legs and pulling her towards him. His tail looped around her waist, tightening slightly so she couldn’t escape.

“No, no,” Y/n laughed, finally catching her breath. She placed a hand on his chest and the other urging his tail to loosen its hold, guiding him to lay back. “My turn.”

She settled herself above him, resting her weight forward on his chest, and slowly sunk down onto his second dick. His primary dick brushed against her clit as she lowered herself, earning a quiet gasp and making her clench around him. It stung slightly, but she took her time until he was buried inside her completely. With a shaky breath she gave a slow roll of her hips, earning a groan from her husband.

Zhongli placed his hands on her hips, rubbing gentle arcs against her skin with his thumbs, then he ran his hands up and down her sides in a soothing motion as she adjusted to his size. His primary dick rested against his abdomen, and Y/n wrapped her hand around it making him hiss. She ran her hand along it teasingly a few times, laughing at the glare he leveled her with and the way his tail tightened around her waist, before moving her hand back to his chest for support.

Y/n rolled her hips again, taking a deep breath as her clit once again brushed his primary dick, before slowly lifting herself up and sinking back down with a moan. She leaned down to kiss her husband, making him groan as his primary dick was pressed between them. Slowly, she found a rhythm to bounce on, moaning as her clit rubbed against his primary dick that was pressed between them. Zhongli’s claws dug into her hips as he moaned, matching her movements with his thrusts. 

The pleasure quickly began to tire Y/n out, leaving her panting and slowing down as her legs began to shake from the building tension in her gut.

“Come now, is that all you’ve got?” Zhongli teased as she began slowing down, breath heavy from exertion.

“If you weren’t so insistent on topping, maybe I’d-ah! Have better stamina.”

Tightening his grip on her hips and his tail back around her waist, he flipped her around and slammed back into her. She yelped at the sudden movement, and he moaned as his primary dick rubbed against Y/n’s abdomen with every thrust. In this position, his dick didn’t rub against her clit as regularly leaving her on edge.

“You make an excellent point, however…” he gave another hard thrust, his sharp teeth being revealed as he grinned down at her, “actually I don’t have a point to make.”

Y/n’s hands twisted the sheets as she bounced almost violently with every thrust, crying out in pleasure.

“So-mean.” She whined, and shakily slid one of her hands between them to rub at her clit. “Cumming.”

“Go ahead,” he whispered, leaning down beside her ear. “My dearest wife.”

At the term of endearment, Y/n’s breath hitched.

“Morax, Morax, Morax,” she gasped out as her legs tightened around his waist and her hips jerked against him.

He replaced her hand with his, rubbing her clit to help her ride out her orgasm as she twitched and panted. Meanwhile he pulled out, wrapping his other hand around both his cocks and jacking them off. White painted Y/n abdomen as he finally stopped rubbing her clit.

They stayed there for a moment, panting. Y/n twitched slightly everytime Zhongli accidentally brushed up against her.

“That was… long overdue,” She sighed, groaning as she carefully unhooked her legs from Zhongli’s waist.

Zhongli, in turn, laughed, and grabbed a towel from their bedside drawer to clean her off.

“No, what’s long overdue is the bath we’re about to take.”

“Ah, that is true,” Y/n laughed, taking Zhongli’s right hand and raising it to her lips so that she could kiss his wedding ring.

As she looked up at him through her lashes, placing gentle kisses along his knuckles and ring, Zhongli had a feeling he knew how his vacation was going to go.

[ironwoman359]

Sonata in Morning

Summary: it’s been weeks since Gotham City flooded, and Alfred has returned to Wayne Tower to continue recovering from his injuries. One morning over breakfast, Bruce opens up to Alfred about his feelings after nearly losing the man who raised him for 20 years.

Content: emotional hurt/comfort through the roof, with some mild suicide ideation. This is Battinson canon-compliant, taking place only a few weeks after the end of the movie.

Word count: 1,487

Check the reblogs for a link to read on AO3!

Authors notes at the end.

——————

“Alfred.”

Alfred looked up at the sound of Bruce’s voice. His young charge stood in the doorframe, his oversized t-shirt dwarfing his frame and bringing to mind the days when a child had refused to sleep in anything other than his father’s old clothes.

“Yes, Master Bruce?”

Bruce hesitated for a moment, then slowly came to join Alfred where he sat at the kitchen table. Alfred wordlessly poured Bruce a cup of coffee from the pot that sat waiting, and Bruce took it, his knuckles white as he gripped the mug.

“I…” he began, then paused, a slight crease forming on his forehead.

His shoulders were hunched, and he didn’t quite meet Alfred’s eyes as he spoke. Alfred was used to seeing Bruce clam up in this way, though it had been some time since he had been on the direct receiving end. Something was clearly bothering him; the question was what could it be?

It had been a stressful few weeks following the attack on the sea walls, but Gotham had reached a tentative equilibrium. Bruce still went on patrol most nights, though he also wore the cowl during the day now, helping civilians with transport, first aid, and evacuation.

Alfred himself had been one of the first evacuated from the city, along with the other patients at the hospital, but had come right back home to Wayne tower where he belonged as soon as he was discharged. He’d had to switch from using a cane to using a wheelchair, but his physical therapist said that it may only be a temporary measure. His daily exercises were already having a positive effect, though who knew if he’d ever be able to spar with Bruce again.

Alfred didn’t speak as all this ran through his mind, he merely gave Bruce the space to gather his thoughts. He’d learned a long time ago that there was no forcing anything out of the boy before he was ready, as much as he still found himself trying on hard days.

“I’m sorry, Alfred,” Bruce finally said, and Alfred blinked.

Of all the potential things that could have come out of Bruce’s mouth, that was one he’d not expected.

“Whatever for, Master Bruce?” he asked, and Bruce grimaced, cringing further in on himself.

“These past few years, I’ve been so…focused. Devoted entirely to this cause, this idea that if I just fight hard enough…” he shook his head. “I let vengeance become the only thing that mattered to me. And I didn’t think…I wasn’t allowing myself to think of anything else.”

His grip tightened on the mug of coffee, and Alfred could hear the lump in his throat when he spoke.

“Or anyone else.”

He looked up then, and as their eyes met, Alfred was shocked to see that Bruce’s were glassy with unshed tears.

“I almost lost you, and I couldn’t…I couldn’t bear that,” he whispered.

The words were like a lance through Alfred’s heart, but he forced himself to smile encouragingly.

“You can’t lose me that easily, Master Bruce,” he said, but Bruce shook his head.

“I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you,” he reiterated. “But I wasn’t thinking about how…how every night, for the past two years, I was forcing you to go through the same thing.”

Alfred had taken more than his fair share of punches over his lifetime. In recent years many of them had been from Bruce himself, as the two trained and sparred together. But if you asked him in that exact moment, he’d be hard pressed to recall a time when the wind had been so completely knocked out of him.

“I didn’t care about what happened to me,” Bruce continued, looking down again. His words came out in a rush, as though now that he’d started speaking, he wasn’t able to stop himself. “Not just my name, or my money, or the company, me. And if I’m honest…I think a part of me still doesn’t. I…I’m not sure I know any other way to be.”

“Bruce…” Alfred said, tears of his own welling in his eyes.

“But that kind of thinking wasn’t fair to you,” Bruce continued. “It shouldn’t have taken…all of this, for me to see just how much I must have worried you. And I’m sorry that I let you down.”

“Oh, Bruce,” Alfred said, leaning forward. “I won’t lie and say I haven’t worried…that I haven’t been scared to death some nights that you wouldn’t come home, that they’d find you bleeding in some alley in the morning. But you haven’t let me down. You’ve stood up every single night and fought for what you believe is right, and so many people owe you their lives. How could I be anything but proud of you?”

Bruce didn’t answer, and Alfred knew from experience that meant that he didn’t quite believe him.

“I am proud of you,” he insisted. Then, pretending he hadn’t noticed Bruce’s hitch of breath, added, “And I know your parents would be too.”

Bruce nodded stiffly, wiping surreptitiously at his eyes, which Alfred also pretended not to notice.

“You were right,” Bruce said softly, once he’d composed himself. “About their legacy. I still believe…” he paused, swallowing. “I have to believe that the Batman can work. But it needs to evolve. It has to stand for something other than vengeance. It has to be capable of bringing hope to people, or all I’ve done is become another monster in the dark. If I really want to save Gotham…if I want to change it, I have to be more than the Batman.”

His voice was hesitant, uncertain, something that Alfred hadn’t seen in the boy in a long time. For years, Bruce had been driven by his single-minded determination that he would personally save the city from itself. He’d been pushing so hard for so long, and never once in all that time had he shown any doubt about the fact that he was doing what needed to be done.

Seeing him now, adrift and unmoored from his sense of purpose, it reminded Alfred of that child from so long ago who had looked up at him with wide, tearful eyes and asked “what do I do now?”

Alfred had done his best, provided what little guidance he could while struggling through his own grief, and not a day went by where he didn’t wonder whether he’d done it right, whether he’d made some horrible mistake. “Don’t be sorry, Alfred,” Bruce had told him back at the hospital. Such easy words to say, yet so hard to really, truly hear.

“I have to be more than the Batman,” Bruce repeated. “But I don’t think I can be. Not alone.”

He finally looked up again, and Alfred found himself looking into those familiar eyes, eyes that held both the past and the future in equal measure. Eyes that looked so much like his father’s.

Alfred wordlessly wheeled his chair around the table and took Bruce’s hands in his. Bruce startled at the touch, but Alfred just tightened his grip.

“One thing you never have to worry about, Master Bruce,” he said firmly, “is being alone.”

Bruce’s tears spilled over his cheeks, and Alfred pulled him forward into a tight embrace. Bruce moved hesitantly at first, placing feather-light arms around him, and Alfred snorted quietly.

“I’m not going to shatter, Bruce. I’m well on my way to recovery.”

Finally, Bruce sank fully into the hug, burying his face in Alfred’s shoulder like he’d done when he was a child. He let out a shuddering breath and Alfred squeezed even tighter, trying to convey everything that they’d failed to say with words over the years through the simple touch.

Later, they would clumsily disentangle from the hug, and Bruce would fret over him as they dried their tears. They would discuss the company, the money, the ways that Bruce Wayne could work alongside the Batman to bring change to the city.

Alfred would eventually help him write and practice a speech that announced the new Wayne Foundation, a charitable organization that Bruce would establish to address the misuse of the Renewal Fund and provide real aid to Gotham and its citizens.

And every night, the Batman would return to the streets, and Alfred would have an emergency comms channel on standby that Bruce could use if he found himself in a situation that he wasn’t able to get out of on his own. It would never completely erase Alfred’s worry, nothing could ever do that. But it gave him one more opportunity to protect the boy who had become a man who fought with his every breath to save the city, just as his father had.

All of that would come later.

For now, as the morning light streamed through the arched windows and signaled a new day, Alfred simply held his child, and hoped that would be enough.

————————

Authors Notes: yeah so I rewatched this movie with @mug-of-beans this weekend and have a lot of feelings about this version of Bruce and Alfred’s relationship. I decided to look for fic that featured their dynamic, but then surprise! AO3 was down, so like a normal person, I coped by just writing my own. Honestly, I had a lot of fun, so if you have any other Battinson stuff you’d like my take on, let me know. Thanks for reading!

[sickmachete]

HEY !! HERE ARE SOME RANDOM FIRE SAFETY TIPS !!

AVOID HILLS. seriously. the radiant heat coming off the flames pre-heats nearby grasses/fuels located above (heat rises!) which is what cause fires to "run" up hills lighting up long strips in the blink of an eye. you cannot outrun a fire that's chasing you up hill.

EVEN IF you are standing below the fire all it takes is one stray ember blown in the wind to start a fire below YOU and then you're really screwed. if you're caught on a hill, run to the side and (if possible) try to get to any charred/burnt zones behind the fire.

charred/already burnt black areas are safe zones. they will not easily re-burn and can become refuges to retreat to (but still be mindful of smoke inhalation).

healthy green grass lawns can also be temporary safe zones. the moisture held in lush grass makes it a lot more difficult to catch fire and can work as a temporary refuge in the case of a house fire. however, TO BE CLEAR: this does NOT apply to tall forest meadow-type grasses. when i say healthy grass im talkin like suburban manicured lawns okay? if your lawn is looking crusty dry brown then thats not gonna be a good place to run to.

most mild carbon monoxide poisoning (aka smoke inhalation) can be cured by simply taking in fresh air. severe smoke inhalation may require further medical treatment though.

fire needs FUEL + OXYGEN + HEAT in order to burn. if you removed ANY of these 3 things, the fire will go out. this is known as the fire triangle. the reason why water works against fire is mainly because it's cold, however it also helps by "drowning" the fire, depriving it of oxygen.

on this note!! if you're cooking and your food catches on fire inside the pan, DO NOT! pour water onto it!!!! that will only make it splash. what you're gonna wanna do is grab a pot/pan lid and gently slide it onto the pan. this will cut off its oxygen and put the fire out. DO NOT! slam the lid onto the pan!! this rush of wind/air could blow the fire right out of the pan and directly onto you/nearby furniture!

CHECK YOUR FIRE EXTINGUISHERS!!! please!! not all fire extinguishers are meant to be used on the same fire!!! while it can vary (and you should definitely look up the ratings for your own location/extinguishers) many of them will have specific class ratings written along the label. here in the USA, those ratings are in letter form (ie: Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, and Class K). sometimes these ratings are combined (ie: Class ABC), meaning that a Class ABC fire extinguisher can be used on a Class A, B, or C fire.

FIRE EXTINGUISHERS AND THEIR ASSIGNED FIRES

CLASS A: these extinguishers should be used on wood/paper/plastic (ie: your basic trash fire).

CLASS B: these extinguishers should be used on flammable liquids (ie: alcohol, gas, petroleum, greasing oils <- not food oils though!!).

CLASS C: these extinguishers should be used on electrical fires (ie: sparking cables, your computer spontaneously combusted and is on fire, etc).

CLASS D: these extinguishers should be used on combustible metals (ie: magnesium, titanium, potassium, sodium, etc. if that metal shit in your garage is burning, use Class D).

CLASS K: these extinguishers should be used on flammable cooking oils/greases (ie: your stove is on fire, your barbecue's on fire, etc).

CLASS ABC: these extinguishers can be used on any of the Class A, B, or C material fires.

DO NOT USE THE WRONG EXTINGUISHER. they are labeled differently for a reason!!! a Class ABC extinguisher (for example) will make a Class K fire splash! you will cause that big old greasy fire to splash right back onto you!! Class K extinguishers are specifically designed to safely put out fires without disturbing the liquids/oils so please please please check the labels of your extinguishers.

AND REMEMBER TO "PASS" !!!

HOW TO USE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER — P.A.S.S.

PULL the pin in the handle.

AIM the nozzle at the base of the fire.

SQUEEZE the lever slowly.

SWEEP (across the base of the fire) from side to side.

[najia-cooks]

[ID: A fried 'chicken' cutlet topped with tartar sauce and served with rice and a green salad; bowls of tartar sauce and miso soup are in the background. End ID]

チキン南蛮 / Chicken nanban (Japanese fried chicken with sweet-savory sauce)

Chicken “nanban” (南蛮; "barbarian" or "foreign") is a classic example of 洋食 (yoshoku)—Western-style food adapted to a Japanese palette. Chicken breast is breaded, deep-fried, and coated in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar to create a crispy, tangy, savoury-sweet dish.

The method of breading and deep-frying used in making chicken nanban, tempura, and other Japanese dishes was introduced by the Portuguese during the Muromachi period (16th century). Chicken nanban itself, however, is far more recent: Nao-chan diner in the Miyazaki Prefecture of Kyushu is credited with having invented it in the 1950s. Nao-chan's version of the dish does not include tartar sauce, but it is often added to provide a sharp, creamy complement to the savoury chicken.

Chicken nanban works well as a main dish served with sides of rice, soup, or salad. If you're using pre-made chicken breasts, it comes together in around half an hour.

Recipe under the cut!

Patreon | Tip jar

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

4 Gardein chicken breasts, or other chicken breast substitute, thawed

1/4 cup (30g) all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp potato starch or cornstarch (optional)

2 Tbsp egg replacer (I used Bob's Red Mill)

Water

Pinch kosher salt

A few cracks of black pepper

Oil to deep fry

For the nanbanzu / 南蛮酢 (nanban sauce):

3 Tbsp Japanese soy sauce, such as Kikkoman's

3 Tbsp rice vinegar

3 Tbsp granulated vegetarian sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp mirin (for a low-alcohol version, use aji-mirin; for an alcohol-free version, replace with 1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar and 1 Tbsp sugar)

For the tartar sauce:

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise

1/2 tsp mild Dijon mustard

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 tsp dried ground shiitake mushroom, or kombu dashi powder

1 tsp vegetarian sugar

A few small sweet pickles or 1 Japanese or Persian cucumber, diced

1/2 small yellow onion, minced

Pinch kosher salt

Pinch of MSG

Minced dill or parsley (optional)

If you eat eggs, you can replace the first five ingredients with 1/2 cup Kewpie mayo (キューピーマヨ).

Instructions:

For the nanbanzu / 南蛮酢 (nanban sauce):

1. Heat sugar and soy sauce in a small pot over medium-low heat until simmering, stirring to dissolve.

2. Add vinegar and mirin and heat for another 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

For the tartar sauce:

1. Mince the onion. If you prefer, you can submerge the minced onion in cool water for 10 minutes or so and then drain to remove some of its sharpness. Seed and mince the cucumber.

2. Whisk mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, salt, black pepper, MSG, rice vinegar, and mushroom powder together to combine. Add onion and cucumber and stir. Top with herbs. Refrigerate while preparing the chicken.

For the chicken:

1. Mix flour, starch, salt, and black pepper together on a plate or cutting board. In a small bowl, combine egg replacer with water according to package directions and allow to thicken.

2. Fill a deep fryer or medium-sized pot with several inches of a neutral oil and heat it to 340 °F (171 °C). A chopstick placed in the oil should slowly form small bubbles around its tip.

3. Coat chicken breasts with egg replacer; if it is too thick, you may need to whisk in an additional 1-2 Tbsp water.

4. First deep fry. Carefully lower one chicken breast into the oil and fry without disturbing for about 2 minutes, until the egg coating on the bottom side is cooked through and lightly golden brown. Flip over and continue to fry for another 2 minutes. Use chopsticks or a slotted spatula to remove the chicken breast onto a wire cooling rack or paper-towel-lined plate.

5. Use a slotted spoon to remove any bits of batter from the oil and re-check the temperature. Repeat with each chicken breast.

6. Second deep fry. Increase the heat slightly to raise the temperature of the oil to 355 °F (179 °C). Re-fry each chicken breast for about a minute, flipping once halfway through. Set aside.

7. Coat with nanban sauce. Place the fried chicken breasts in a shallow rimmed baking dish or tray and spoon most of the nanban sauce over them, turning over several times to coat. Reserve the rest of the sauce for serving.

8. Slice each chicken breast widthwise and transfer to an individual serving plate. Serve with additional nanban sauce, tartar sauce, rice, a green salad, or soup.

[unreadpoppy]

down by the river - Chapter 8

Raphael x Warlock!Tav

Read on AO3

Chapter 7

Raphael led her through his house, keeping a tight grip on the girl. He noticed how her eyes wandered around, seeing the multiple paintings that adorned his walls. She didn’t say a word as they arrived in his boudoir. 

He brought her to the balcony, where there was a small table with two chairs. Raphael sat, telling her to do the same. 

“You are welcome to eat the food.” The devil said, motioning to the plates in front of them. She hesitated before taking a small bite of the bread. 

Noticing her shivering, Raphael snapped his fingers and a warm blanket fell on her shoulders, making her sigh. 

A moment passed. 

“What year is it?” Was the first thing she said since they left the wizard’s tower. 

“It is currently 1090 DR.” Raphael replied. Her eyes flickered. He saw her mouth open, her brows furrowed. She let her head drop, silent tears falling down her eyes. 

“A hundred years…He took a hundred years from me.” She sobbed. After minutes passed, she took a deep breath and looked up at him. “I don’t understand. If I was taken so long ago, then how did I not age?” 

“That pathetic excuse of a wizard must have had some aging spell at work.” Raphael’s face monetarily twisted in mild anger, when thinking of that man. “The time in the tower passed differently then in the rest of the world.” 

She sniffled again. Raphael reached into his doublet and offered her a handkerchief, lest she clean her nose on the blanket. 

“Thank you.” She said. The girl closed her eyes as more tears fell. “I meant what I said. Back there.” 

Raphael raised a brow. “I reiterate my question: do you understand what that means?” 

She raised one of her hands, the fingers were twisted and frail. “Before he took me, I used to play music. I’d spent hours playing my lute, gaining coin. Music was my whole life.” She paused, looking at the limb. “On my first day, he broke my hand. All five fingers, crushed by a hammer. Sometimes I still hear that sound when I sleep.” 

She paused and took a breath, bringing her broken hand to her chest. “I have nothing left. A hundred years have passed. My family and friends are all most likely dead, or have forgotten about me. I can’t play anymore.” The girl leaned forwards on the table. “So, to answer your question: yes. I meant it. I will do anything you ask if it means I can have some semblance of a life back.” She looked him in the eyes. “I’ll kiss your boots, kill a child, rob a bank, I’ll do anything you ask if it means I’ll be able to play again. By the gods, I’ll fucking do it.” 

Ah, that sweet taste of desperation. How Raphael had missed that. How he loved when mortals begged for his help.

In truth, looking at her, the girl didn’t have much to bring to him. But there was more than what meets the eye: potential. 

If she truly has nothing left to lose, she could be solely dedicated to him and his cause. Having a committed and devoted warlock at his beck and call would be necessary in the long run, especially if his plans were to come to fruition. Besides, the more souls he kept, the more power he would get.

Yes…this could work wonders for him. 

He snapped fingers, a blank piece of paper and a pot of ink with a quill appearing. Without a word, Raphael began writing on it until he was done. He handed her the scribbled paper. At her face of confusion, he began explaining it. 

“This is a contract, changes can still be made but overall, the terms are simple: I will bestow powers upon you, you’ll get your hand back and in exchange, you will work for me. You won’t be allowed to refuse me, unless you wish to lose your very own soul.” Raphael finished it, the start of a smirk forming on his face. 

She thought for a moment. Raphael noticed her looking at her reflection in the silver plate. Her eyes furrowed and she said “May I ask to add one more thing?” 

He raised a brow. “What is it?”

“Change my appearance.” She sighed. “I want to start over. Adopt a new name, leave everything behind, including my face.” 

“Hum…that can be arranged.” He snapped his fingers and the words appeared on the contract. “There. Now, if you have nothing to add-”

Before Raphael could finish his sentence, she had already signed her name on the paper. 

A wide, cat-like smile graced his face as he looked at the poorly scribbled name she had written. 

“Welcome to your new life.”

[maddisandy]

September is Chiari Malformation Awareness Month!

Hi yes hello! Since many people probably aren't aware of it, I wanted to bring attention to something we ourselves have called chairi malformation at the start of its awareness month! Its recognized with a purple ribbon usually with a zipper on it (for the zipper scars of those who've had Chiari surgery)

What is Chiari Malformation?

Chiari (key-arr-ee) Malformation is a brain malformation in which the brain is too large, skull is too small, or some combination on the both, causing the cerebellar tonsils (and in some instances the brain stem) to slip through the skull and into the spinal chord.

Chiari is most typically a congenital effect. There are two main types (though they aren't the only ones). The most common of the two us Chiari 1, in which only the cerebellar tonsils are descended through the skull. The second most common, Chiari 2 (also known as Arnold-Chiari malformation) has more tissue herniation in the cerebellar tonsils and even the cerebellum, as well as brain stem herniation as well.

(See Below, the Cerebellar tonsils are marked in red while the brainstem is marked in green and yellow. This is considered a normal MRI)

Chiari malformation is likely to occur in 1 in 1,000 people, making it uncommon but not rare. The statistics are likely to be slightly higher than that for Chiari 1, as many people don't present symptomatically (and many incidents are only found in cases where the person was receiving radiological imaging for other instances such as head injury, so many people are unaware they had Chiari to begin with).

The only way to diagnose Chiari is through radiological imaging (many arguing upright MRI specifically is the only proper way to view the real level pf herniation). Herniation is measured down from the McRae line to the lowest point on the cerebellar tonsils. Depending on the accuracy of the machine (and which imaging tool is used) herniation can appear at different levels at different times. (See below, my first MRI looks markedly less in comparison to my second MRI, which features a roughly drawn on McRae line. In the second image I was noted to have a 7-8mm herniation.)

Symptoms

Chiari is marked by a number of symptoms and commorbidities, even moreso depending on the type you have. Symptoms can occur at any level of herniation. Some people with Chiari can have a 3mm descent and have debilitating symptoms, while some may have a 15 mm descent and be completely asymptomatic. The most common of these is occipital headaches & migraines, ranging from mild to severe, but many more are possible. These range from...

Balance Issues

Dizziness & Vertigo

Neck & Shoulder Pain

Difficulty Swallowing

Sore Throat

Sleep Apnea

Nausea & Vomitting

Tinnitus & Hearing Loss

Blurred Vision, Visual Snow, & Vision Loss

Muscle Weakness

Numbness or Pins & Needles (Caused by Nerve Damage)

Poor Motor Skills

Fatigue

Cognitive Difficulties (including but not limited to Brain Fog, Memory Problems, Confusion, & Difficulty Speaking)

Insomnia

Photophobia/Light Sensitivity

Syncope, Fainting, & Drop Attacks

Seizures

Dysautonomia

Since the cerebellar tonsils block the opening to the base of the skull, Chiari can halt the proper flow of CSF (Cerebral Spinal Fluid) between the brain and the spinal chord. Because of this, Syringomylia (cysts filled with CSF formed on the spine called Syrinxs) is considered common with Chiari. Other common disorders with Chiari are Scoliosis, EDS & Cervicocranial Instability, POTS, Tethered Spinal Chord Syndrome, Spina bifida, & Hydrocephalus.

So What's the Solution?

Well, the only known solution for Chiari as of right now is surgery. This surgery is called posterior fossa decompression-- in which a small portion of the base of the skull is removed from the Chiari patient to relieve pressure and give more room for the brain. The surgeon can then do for sone patients a duraplasty, in which the dura (or opening of the brain) is cut open and a patch of tissue is sewed into the incision to make the dura bigger and give even more room for the brain. Surgery can also be done as a preventative measure against syrinxes for those without them. In the case the patient also has a syrinx, more surgical procedure can be done to drain the cyst. In patients with EDS, special procedures must be made to avoid surgical complications and making things worse.

Surgery is not guaranteed to completely alleviate symptoms, but typically helps with some. However, due to large misunderstanding and disagreement on proper diagnostic traits of Chiari from doctors (most typically neurologists and neurosurgeons) many may be denied surgery for a number of years, and Chiari Diagnosis can take on an average of 4 years to officially receive.

Some go years experiencing symptoms and having "low lying cerebellar tonsils" (or similar language, such as incidental tonsillar ectopia) noted on their radiology reports without doctors officially recognizing it as Chiari. In this time many are misdiagnosed with other disorders such as chronic headaches, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and more before finally finding a doctor who will listen. Many will brush off the radiological findings as just a difference in your brain being formed at birth before admitting the symptoms can be due to Chiari. It can take years of your own patient advocacy before someone finally listens.

This is why awareness to it is so important, in hopes of reaching other people and doctors and forming a stronger understanding of the condition from information found by experts on it and those with Chiari themselves. With more awareness comes more accessibility to treatment and surgery so those who are symptomatic can hopefully find some relief. So this month send a little love & luck to those with Chiari!

[phillippadgettwrites]

Partager 5

Rated X / 3533 words / Posted on AO3 / Tagging @today-in-fic

See AO3 for tags regarding content

“Where are you off to next?”

Bradley reaches across Scully and takes the joint from Mulder.

“Just north of Seattle, a city called Everett,” he replies, then takes a hit and holds it.

“Sounds wet,” Mulder remarks, and Bradley smirks.

“It’s actually pretty nice this time of year,” he says, wisps of smoke escaping from his mouth and nose. “But I don’t mind wet.”

Scully smiles to herself, seated between the two men on the couch in their living room. It’s surprisingly comfortable, though the pot probably has something to do with that. Bradley and Mulder seem to get along quite well, which only reinforces his insistence that there is no underlying feeling of jealousy on his part. They’re even dressed similarly in jeans and T-shirts that are complementary shades of green. Scully herself opted for a stretchy, black, form-fitting dress that she’s never felt comfortable wearing outside the house. The evening is mild and pleasantly warm given the season, and alternative 90’s music plays at a nearly inaudible volume, noticeable only during intermittent lulls in their conversation.

After their first experience, a haze of euphoria seemed to envelope her and Mulder twenty four hours a day. Never in their entire relationship have they been so physically affectionate, so emotionally intimate, so completely enamored with one another as they were in the days following. At work, she and Bradley were completely cordial and professional, as was her requirement. No sidelong glances, no covert ass-grabbing, no trysts in the parking garage. At home, Mulder met her at the door each day already half hard, doting on her all evening and making her come as many times as she could stand.

It was a full week before he worked up the courage to ask her if she wanted to do it again. She had from the moment it was over, but was afraid that if she asked, it might give the impression that she had interest in Bradley beyond the role he played in their fantasy. Once they established their shared desire for a second act, his next question was whether he could watch.

The lift of her eyebrows provided the answer before she had a chance to open her mouth.

“It’s okay to say no,” he’d quickly added.

“I’m not sure how I feel about that,” she told him, trying to picture it in her head.

Mulder in the corner with his dick in his hand while Bradley fucked her. Could she enjoy herself with his eyes on her? Would he become jealous if he had to see it happening live? Not to mention the fact that Bradley may not be open to it.

“That’s totally fine. Forget I asked,” he insisted, and she knew he meant it.

An invitation was extended to Bradley, and enthusiastically accepted. She asked him how he felt about Mulder’s presence in the house while they were together. Bradley had shrugged, alluded to the fact that he’d partaken in group sex in the past, and told her was fine with whatever she and Mulder were comfortable with. Leading up to tonight, she’s been toying with the idea of leaving the guest room door open so that there will be no sound barrier between them.

Mulder smacks his lips, frowning.

“That shit gives me horrific dry mouth,” he says, standing. “You want a glass of water, Scully?”

She nods dreamily, and Bradley scoots closer to her on the couch.

“I’m gonna miss Our Lady of Sorrows,” he says with a sigh, draping his arm across her shoulders. The lit joint dangles from between his fingers, sending a tendril of smoke through her periphery.

“I bet,” she replies, throwing him a coy smile.

He pivots his body towards hers slightly, his hand coming to rest on her thigh. She feels a little spark of danger, knowing that Mulder is just a stone’s throw away in the kitchen.

“That was a lie,” he says in a stage whisper, his thumb brushing back and forth across her bare skin. “I’m actually only going to miss you.”

She bites her lip at the teenage thrill of a cute boy making a move on her. Teenage Dana never indulged them in more than a chaste kiss. Grown up Dana has decidedly more erotic plans.

Bradley bends the arm that is draped over her shoulders, leaning forward to bring the joint to his lips. His face hovers inches from hers as he takes a hit, holding the smoke in his mouth. Moving his hand away, he brushes his lips over hers until she opens them, and then exhales directly into her mouth. She sucks in a breath, surprised, and with it pulls the smoke into her lungs. She feels the heat of his tongue on hers and she responds, leaning into him as his hand sails higher up her thigh.

She forgets, for just a moment, that Mulder is also there, until she feels the dip of the cushion beside her and the brush of his hand against her upper arm as he takes the joint from Bradley. She startles, whipping her head over to look at him with a mildly shocked expression. He furrows his eyebrows, concerned not by what she’s doing, but by the look on her face.

“Do you want me to leave?” he asks, no trace of hurt in his voice. He just wants her to be comfortable.

She considers him for a moment, then shakes her head slowly as the pot seeps into her bloodstream. Bradley’s hand on her jaw turns her face back toward him, and it’s abundantly clear that Mulder’s presence will in no way deter him from doing exactly as he likes.

The haze of her high lets her focus on sensation, and not on her partner of over a decade sitting less than a foot away. Bradley’s kiss, his touch, is different than Mulder’s. Both men are self-assured, possessive, dominant. But Mulder is, by his very nature, a giving man. When he kisses her, his lips are charged with his emotions, pouring his desire and his love straight down her throat. When he fucks her, his own pleasure is an afterthought until she comes. Bradley kisses her hungrily, urgently, his fingers digging into the flesh of her thigh. He grabs her hand and presses it against his groin, humming and arching into her palm. Not to say that he’s selfish —he’s demonstrated his willingness and desire to get her off—but it’s clear that it’s just the price of entry. For Mulder, her orgasm is more important to him than his own.

She fumbles with Bradley’s belt buckle, breaking the kiss to look over at Mulder. She needs to see his face, to know whether he’s having second thoughts before she does something that he’ll never be able to erase from his memory.

He’s reclined against the armrest, one leg folded up against the back of the couch. His vacant, transfixed stare lifts into a soft smile as he meets her eye, his head bobbing in indication that all is well. She flashes her eyes down to his lap and sees the thick ridge of his erection strapped to his thigh by his jeans, and feels a hot throb between her legs.

Turning back to Bradley, she kisses him as she unbuckles his belt and pops the button on his jeans. She draws the zipper down and slips her hand beneath the rough denim, immediately frustrated by the lack of space to move. Sliding off the couch and onto her knees on the floor, she tugs on his jeans at his hips, and he lifts them off the couch so she can pull his pants and boxers down past his knees.

She flashes her eyes again to Mulder, finding his lips parted and his eyes pinned to her mouth. She runs her tongue across her bottom lip and he pulls in a shuddering sigh.

Bradley has worked one leg out of his jeans, creating space for her between his open thighs. She takes a good look at his cock, which she’d been too nervous and sober to do before, and smirks to herself. Uncut, thick, and on the average end for length, he’s almost the antithesis of Mulder’s long, curved cock. One dirty blond and curly, the other sable and straight, they’re really incomparable, which makes her feel like she’s got the best of both worlds. She takes him in her hand, sliding his foreskin down to reveal the shiny pink glans. Leaning forward, she darts her tongue out and flicks at his frenulum, making his hips jump.

Mulder chuckles, and she turns to look at him. He’s smiling, his hand rubbing at the bulge in his jeans. He shakes his head at her, and she gives him a questioning look.

“You’re such a tease,” he chides playfully.

She narrows her eyes at him with a haughty smirk. I’m no tease, she thinks to herself, turning back to Bradley and taking every inch of him into her mouth.

“Oh, fuck,” Bradley says tightly, his hands going to her head.

She hears the rustle of fabric and the murmur of a zipper, then a little satisfied grunt that tells her that Mulder has his cock in his hand. She tilts her head slightly, peering at him from the corner of her eye as she draws her mouth tightly up and down over Bradley’s shaft.

Mulder’s eyes are on her. On her face, on her mouth, flashing down to her body. It’s like Bradley doesn’t even exist. Mulder sees her looking and holds her eye, his hand gliding smoothly from head to base. They stay that way for moments, eyes locked with his hand mirroring her pace, up and down, up and down. It’s so insanely erotic she feels feral and overwhelmed.

She reaches for him, touching his knee, and he stands up and pushes his jeans and boxers down before moving to sit on the cushion beside Bradley. She moves on him immediately, Bradley’s spit-slick cock wrapped up in one of her hands while she sinks down on Mulder, making her own eyes water as she takes him into her throat. He hums, pushing her hair out of her face so he can see, and after a couple minutes she switches back, Mulder now in hand and Bradley in mouth.

She can’t help but notice the different way they feel against her tongue, the distinct taste of their respective skin. A drop of precum beads on the head of Bradley’s cock and she licks it away, finding it slightly metallic and bitter. When she turns to Mulder, his familiar bright, bleachy flavor is intimate in a new and indescribable way. There are so many ways she knows him that she’s not even aware of.

She slips Mulder out of her mouth and he moves off the couch as she resumes sucking Bradley. She feels him behind her, tugging her dress up over her hips and slipping his hand between her legs. She startles, then sinks down as his finger pushes into her cunt. He pumps slowly in and out, then drags his finger over her vulva from her clit to her asshole.

“You’re soaked,” he says, and she feels herself clutch at nothing, wanting him back inside her.

She hums around Bradley’s cock, pushing her ass out invitingly, hoping he’ll fuck her. But he doesn’t, he just plays with her pussy lackadaisically, running his fingers through her folds and spreading her wetness all over. She’s starting to feel frustrated, and she might call him a hypocrite for declaring her a tease if her mouth weren’t full at the moment. He tugs her dress up higher, and she sits back so he can pull it off over her head, leaving her nude.

“Commando,” Bradley says, pleasantly surprised, his eyes red and sagging.

Mulder grabs her by the hips and pushes her up off the floor and into Bradley’s lap. She complies, planting her knees on either side of his hips on the couch cushion and sliding her slippery cunt across his shaft as he devours her mouth. Bradley slips off his shirt, tossing it behind him and pulling her chest flush against his.

Mulder kneels on the floor beside them, stroking himself idly as he watches. When she lifts her hips and pushes Bradley’s cock back to position him at her opening, she steals a glance at Mulder and watches his face as she sinks down. He is completely enamored, craning his neck to watch Bradley disappear inside of her. All of her worries regarding jealousy evaporate, and she loops her arms around Bradley’s neck, sucking his bottom lip into her mouth as she begins to grind in his lap.

It’s slow and deep, different than before. Stoned and secure in this not being a relationship-ending endeavor, she lets herself relish the hot press of his bare chest and the grip of his hands on her hips. She feels a hand on her lower back and realizes it’s Mulder, once again behind her on the floor. He runs his palm over her skin from her shoulders to her sacrum, touching the outsides of her thighs and the souls of her feet. It’s a loving, tender touch, until his finger dips into her ass crack and slides down toward her cunt.

She feels the firm press of the pad of his finger against her asshole, and she leans forward slightly. She feels him touching her lower, right around where Bradley is slipping in and out of her, and then his moistened finger is back on her asshole, sinking in slowly.

“Oh, god,” she whimpers against Bradley’s mouth. Is he even aware of what Mulder is doing?

Maybe not, but he feels the effects of it around his cock. He grunts as she tightens around him, his hips pushing up off the couch in an attempt to get more of her, to go faster. The flex of her hips and his counter one another, her clit brushing against the base of his cock and Mulder’s finger slowly pushing in deeper. Overwhelmed, she stills as Bradley fucks her from beneath and Mulder fingers her from behind, an orgasm rapidly taking shape as they hit every single pleasure point in her pelvis.

“Goddamn, are you gonna come?” Bradley asks, breathless. “Can I come inside you?”

She gasps, his words and the sensations she’s experiencing making her muscles seize and rendering her vocal cords inoperable.

“Yes, come inside her,” Mulder growls from behind her, and she peaks, hovering at the precipice before she tumbles down and down and down.

“Holy shit,” Bradley hisses, tightening his grip on her hips as he fucks her nosily.

His head drops against the back of the couch, his eyes slamming shut as he finds his own release, groaning and writhing beneath her.

She feels Mulder gently extract his finger, and she slumps against Bradley as they both pant, their hammering hearts beating against each other through their chests.

Minutes pass, and Bradley pats her hip softly. She lifts off of him, and immediately Mulder’s hands are on her waist, guiding her to lie down on the couch. Floating, hazy, she follows his direction as he sits back against the arm rest, his clothes discarded, and settles her between his thighs. The warmth of his naked body against her back and the wash of post-orgasmic hormones coursing through her body make her feel light and happy, and that’s before he re-lights the joint and offers it to her.

“Feeling good?” he asks, his fingers trailing down her arms and across her chest, cupping her breasts and then coming to rest on her belly.

“Mmhmm,” she hums, letting her head drop to the side as she blows a stream of smoke towards the fireplace.

“You looked incredible,” he says quietly, then drops a kiss to the crown of her head. “You’re so sexy, Scully.”

She smiles and closes her eyes, thinking about what it must have looked like from his point of view. What could he see, stationed on the floor between her legs? Most likely everything. The idea makes her hips wiggle.

Mulder strokes the skin of her lower belly, combing his fingers through her pubic hair. He touches the inside of her thigh and she moves it aside, tucking it up against the back of the couch. He continues to play, running his fingers along the seams of her legs and teasing her with a brush of his knuckle just above her clit. She sighs and bends her other knee, draping her leg over his.

His finger trails slowly over her lips, inching down until he touches the slick pool at her opening. She feels his erection against her back, and it swells when he sinks a finger inside her. She can hear the wet slick of Bradley’s cum as Mulder slowly pumps in and out, and it’s arousing enough to reignite her, sparking new desire where it was so recently sated.

She hears the thunk of the door and she startles, her eyes snapping open as she attempts to sit up.

“It’s okay,” Mulder reassures her, touching her shoulder to encourage her back down. “Bradley just left.”

“Oh,” she says, moderately confused by his lack of farewell, but distracted enough to quickly move on from it.

Mulder resumes slowly finger-fucking her, slipping a second finger inside and increasing the wet, sloppy sounds of Bradley’s cum and her own lubrication.

“Watching you with him was—fuck, Scully. I’ve never been so hard in my life.”

She whimpers, canting her hips up and bumping her clit against his wrist.

Mulder withdraws his fingers and brings them to her mouth, brushing against her bottom lip. Craning her neck forward, she sucks them into her mouth and tastes her own earthiness against Bradley’s bitter metal.

Mulder grunts, flexing his hips up to push his erection into her back. She rotates her body so that they are belly to belly and reaches between her legs to guide him in, wriggling down until he’s fully inside her. Looking up, she finds his waiting mouth and kisses him as he slowly shifts his hips up and down.

“I love you,” she mumbles against his mouth, and he grabs two handfuls of her ass, squeezing as his fingers creep down between her legs.

“Scully,” he says tightly, his cock brushing against her clit and his fingers swiping around her opening, feeling himself move in and out of her. “You’re—fuck, I love you so much. So fucking much.”

They undulate synchronously, slipping him in and out in a liquid rhythm as he pushes two fingers into her cunt right alongside his cock. They nip at one another’s lips, her hands on the arm of the couch above his head for leverage, his hands on her, in her, everywhere. It builds slowly, just as they did, gathering speed and volume, growing into something more profound than they may have expected at the start.

She begins to quiver around him, her trembling cunt making him groan and whine with restraint.

“I’m gonna come,” he says with disappointment, knowing that he won’t be able to hold back.

She answers him with a sharp gasp and a low moan, her walls clamping down around him as stars explode behind her eyes and between her legs.

“Oh, fuck,” he hisses, increasing the frantic snap of his hips as they both unravel.

He seems to come forever, and his orgasm draws hers out with it, the continued slide of his head over her g-spot setting off little aftershocks as she slowly comes down. Finally, he exhales forcefully and relaxes beneath her, his cock slipping out with a wet rush. He holds his fingers there inside her, moving in gentle, wet circles, and she listens to the beat of his heart as it slows from a gallop to a trot, and finally a steady stroll. He lightly scratches her back, and she feels herself drifting.

“We can’t fall asleep down here,” he says drowsily, and she hums. A few minutes go by. “Come on, honey. You don’t want to wake up naked and cold and covered in spunk at 2am.”

She grimaces and rolls off him, feeling a warm trickle run down the inside of her thigh when she stands.

“Shower?” she asks hopefully, and he nods.

Though only their second such ritual, there’s a familiar comfort in him cleaning her up, running his soapy hands between her legs and rinsing away their fun. They stand beneath the hot spray, back to chest, and sway gently side to side with eyes closed and hearts full. He towels her off, picks out her pajamas, and tucks her into bed.

“You’re my girl,” he tells her, kissing her nose. There is no longer a question in his voice.

“Always,” she says on a yawn, nuzzling against his chest.

In the morning, they find a note on the kitchen counter.

You two were in your own little world. Thanks for the invitation. I’ll be in Seattle for 26 weeks. If you have an urge to go somewhere where you might get wet, email me. -Bradley

[catcake24]

I have the dumbest idea for a scene for Minimus Ambus (I’m only halfway through the comics but I’ve been spoiled on everything by fandom osmosis so may not be canon compliant).

Basically in Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts these three sisters help Kipo control her animal half by putting her through a perilous cheese making session which causes her animal attributes to come out.

In my scene, Minimus’ problem is that it’s been so long since he transformed that doesn’t know how to transform into his turbofox form anymore - he can’t even unsubspace his kibble for his turbofox alt mode. So, one day he finds a group of really old Cybertronians (like ratchet old) who decide to help him out in exchange for him helping them make energon treats.

But surprise! They’re the same thing, where Minimus is put into extreme discomfort and mild danger and made to panic while he tries to complete this task, believing this to be a test. He’s so focused he doesn’t notice his kibble is coming back out in response to his distress: his claws some out as he is trying to tend to the pot, his tail comes out when he slips and overcorrects, and his extra fluffy armour for his alt mode helps protect him from the searing hot energon from the pot.

At the end the Cybertronians say that his alt mode was suppressed and never got a chance to come out when in distress since he’s been in the magnus armour, and reveal that they made sure he wasn’t in real danger by keeping an eye on him the whole time. Minimus realizes he can now transform, and proceeds to use it for whatever purpose he needs to.

[inkwell-intermission]

Could you analyze the canon charm pairs we see on page 6007 of homestuck?— itchy (pot o gold, horseshoes, balloons)/doze (rainbow, moon, hearts) and trace(diamonds, star, horseshoe)/clover(pot o gold, hearts, clover)?

AHAHAAAA YES OK

I will go at these through the idea of these as examples of troves rather than feelings they have for a particular other and discuss what each trove bracelet would consist of in their entirety, because each charm in a bracelet effects how the others are expressed. I also got your other ask and i will also cover the charms mentioned in TIDOMS.

Itchy and Pot o' Gold/Horseshoes/Balloons: I noted in my charm post initially that Gold/Balloons may be similar to "work-wives", the idea of having someone at work separate from your romantic partner at home whom you are emotionally close to and find mutual support and companionship in without the romantic angle. Adding Horseshoes to this may result in the type of bracelet that would form between coworkers who act as confidantes, commiserate on similar feelings, and may lack an angle of physical intimacy. I actually think this fits very well for Itchy, and this may be the kind of dynamic he has with Trace and Fin, although without the charm labels, where they bitch about Crowbar and having to do their jobs. A Horseshoes/Balloons combination de-fangs Balloons somewhat- It lessens the typical intensity of emotional connection and comfort by nature of its casualness, so it's good for that kind of mild emotional constipation I imagine most of the Felt have. Doze and Rainbows/Moons/Hearts: This is a fun one- Rainbows contributes to this relationship being very circumstantial and impermanent, but Moons is about distance and charm-mates coming back together and parting reliably. Hearts of course is conventional romance and mutual feelings. This creates what I would call a summer love trove- charm-mates in a bracelet like this would likely see each other very rarely, possibly only in a specific place: ex. where they vacation, or a certain annual event, or something along those lines, but when they do, its impassioned and deeply romantic, before parting with little to no communication until the next time that event happens- This is a very fun little crush-feelings setup, very "worlds apart" trysts energy. I don't know if this would come up for Doze personally, and if so, with whom- but its definitely fun.

Trace and Diamonds/Stars/Horseshoes: This one's a bit complicated. Diamonds invokes calignous-adjacent feelings, stars invokes respect/adoration, and Horseshoes invokes a casual friendliness and comraderie. The resultant feelings for this trove might create a relationship, for example, between two competitive athletes of similar skills, who admire one another's abilities, and face off actively- as if on opposite teams who clash regularly in a team sport. This could also be replicated in competing employees who are still coworkers and maintain a friendly veneer while spitting insults and snarling behind closed doors. I can see this kind of relationship being similar to what Trace and Fin had when they first met, actually. Their abilities put them in a unique position with one another, and they've mellowed into Diamonds/Hearts/Clovers since (with a light unhealthiness in Clovers, derived from their mild dissatisfaction and upsets that they refuse to communicate with each other about to risk breaking the Clovers, but readily discuss with their Balloons).

Clover and Pot o' Gold/Hearts/Clovers: this trove implies businesslike transaction, romantic love and mutual reciprocation, and a relationship that highlights the best of both charm-mates effortlessly. Cans and Crowbar have a steady Clovers/Pot o' Gold relationship, which is a good example to look at- Cans' is his own asset, his size and strength make him particularly useful to Crowbar, and Crowbar's direction and tactical instructions make Cans more effective as a fighter, and employee under Lord English. Very transactional in nature. Their Clovers' rides off of the Gold, as their relationship brings out the best in each other, primarily on a business level. Crowbar feels like an effective leader when commanding Cans properly, and when the two work together, and Cans feels most useful and respected when he does a good job, and Crowbar is both proud of him, and making best use of his skills. Cans carries a Star for Crowbar as well, in relation to this dynamic. Adding a Hearts charm to their bracelet would simply invoke a more romantic intimacy, and likely break their Clovers charm which is already strained slightly by the communication necessary in their working relationship. In terms of Clover, he could likely a relationship of this type easiest with Deuce. Clover carries pitch for Deuce and Deuce does reciprocate, but he isn't a very hateful person to begin with, and if he could wrap his head around charms (which few non-leprechauns can), this may be one form their relationship could take if they were to work together.

FINALLY: TIDOMS

Balloons is a charm that has a lot of emotional vulnerability, goodwill and patience involved, and as Crowbar manages the Felt he often sees just how uncooperative, unkind, and stubborn they can get, I'm not surprised he would believe they're all unfit for Balloons. Crowbar doesn't know how they were interacting or what in particular Clover had been propositioning Itchy with, but does suggest Horseshoes as another possibility, and I agree that this is a good guess. Itchy and Clover would probably make for decent Balloons though, if a big part of their repartee is teasing one another and physical pranks. As Clovers/Horseshoes, they also don't communicate extensively, and Balloons is importantly about emotions and vulnerability- which neither of them are super willing to go into detail with one another, in case it ruins the magic.

I hope you enjoyed this little too-long tangent!

[genshinimpactlife]

Could I be so rude as to please request a matchup? It's fine if you do not get to it or you simply can't think of something. Either just SFW or some mild NSFW headcanons if you have the time.

I am a 23 y/o (ftm) gay man (Scorpio, INTP if that helps?) Whose main interests lean towards creative artworks (music, painting, drawing, acting, composing, script/fiction writing) and hyperfixating on marine biology (my favourite animal is the nudibranch!). I can be rather shy at first, I tend to be quite distrustful with people I do not know. However, once I know someone is safe, I will entrust my life to them. I am ... 5'4" or so, and only slightly insecure about my height. I also have a limp, and due to that a cane I must use to walk long distances without hurting myself.

I enjoy discussing any kind of topic, if that may be listening to someone about new information or in offering my own. That being said, after several hours I tend to run out of social battery and need to spend a bit of time somewhere quiet and/or not talking, so someone I find it hard to talk constantly over a full day.

My interests outside of art include tea collecting (I have 2 intricately made and lovely tea pots, and I recently got a proper Yixing tea set for Xmas, and I frequently buy a variety of different flavours), flower pressing (and subsequently making soaps and oils that develop from the process), and journalling information (whether that be well known by anyone who finds it or not.) I am currently trying to use a moleskin journal to write about different forms of edible mushrooms, and their distinctions, with watercolour illustrations.

I tend to flit between interests rather quickly, from one current idea to the next, but I do what I feel is best for me to do in that moment, what I need to express through the methods I enjoy.

[As for nsfw things ... I tend to be rather playful, but I consider myself adaptive. I can work rather well to match a partner's energy, depending on what they are feeling ... but as a general rule I will probably bottom, just due to the nature of my size and disability]

Hopefully that could be enough information? I hope so. If not I apologise, and thank you kindly for taking your time to read this. I hope your day is well. Thank you.

I would match you with...

Ayato understands your distrust when the two of you first met. He was interested in you from the beginning and willing to do the work for you two to get close.

The two of you bonded over your love of tea, and he's always looking for new flavors you have yet to try.

He does the same thing with flowers. If he comes across an exotic one, he will make sure to take it with him so you can press it later.

Ayato understands that your social battery runs out and has no problem working or being in silence while sharing the same space with you. If anything, after working all day, it's soothing for him too.

He loves watching you work on any of your art, but his favorite thing is your paintings. He loves hanging them up in his office. NSFW Below

Seeing your playful personality helps him relax while the two of you are intimate.

He loves to draw things out. He isn't one to have a quicky and be done.

He loves how adaptive you are and how you go with the flow in the bedroom.

Ayato is a top through and through, so it wouldn't be an issue.

That was plenty of information! I hope you are having a good day as well! I hope you enjoy <3

[chibi-sunrise]

Everything I could find on Hugo Simon

Friends with Leo and Celia since childhood. Although earnest and deeply caring for his friends, he has an awkward tendency to keep his worries to himself. During his activities as a member of Blaze with Leo and the others, an incident caused him to become increasingly distrustful of the federation until a meeting with August lured him over to the imperial side. Now he fights for the empire alongside his contemporaries, Amelie and Falk.

Profile

Birthday - May 7, 982 Y.C.

Age - 16 (998 Y.C.) 17 (999 Y.C.)

Embleo Location - On the back of his left shoulder

Long Sword wielder

Height - 178cm

Left-handed

Theme Color - #37761d

Here’s the post on where you can watch the story. Here’s the post on where you can watch the anime.

Episodes he appears in

Leo ep. 1 Budding Heroes

Leo ep. 2 The Noble One

Celia ep. 1 The Selection Exam

Celia ep. 2 Mercy and Resolve

Michelle ep. 2 Compromise

Lisette ep. 1 Remedial Training

Lucien ep. 1 The Secret Blade of Wisdom

Alexandra ep. 2 A Pardon for Justice

Hugo ep. 1 The Traitor

Hugo ep. 2 Battlefield of Farewells

Falk ep. 1 The Lone Falcon

Falk ep. 2 The Ghost-Devouring Falcon

Crossroads ep. 1 The Habakiri Incident

ep. Final Blossoming Heroes

Event stories he appears in

White Day

Anime episodes he appears in

Tales of Luminaria the Fateful Crossroad ep. 1

Tales of Luminaria the Fateful Crossroad ep. 2

Event stories he’s mentioned in

April Fools Day

References and Miscellany

Video of his outfits/Mystic Artes (EN audio and text)

Some references for Hugo’s outfits. Here’s a back shot for his academy uniform

Video of Hugo’s outfits, weapons, all while wearing the ears and tail attachment

Some screenshots of Hugo’s ears and tail attachment for reference

Thread of Hugo wearing both glasses and the spiral glasses in various outfits. Here’s some more.

Video of Hugo’s Mystic Artes (JP audio and text) Scroll down for some screenshots of descriptions of his Mystic Artes

Hugo’s various egg forms

If you wanted to know what the back of Hugo’s ep 2 outfit looks like without the jacket on. Bonus, you also get to see what the back of Lisette’s outfit looks like without the bottom half of her jacket on.

If you wanted a better look at the thigh harness belt Hugo wears in his Aedis Academy uniform

If you wanted a better look at how Hugo’s shoulder armor is assembled in his Imperial Combat wear

If you wanted a better look at Huggy Hugo in addition to having his textures

A tweet trying to figure out the pattern on Hugo’s coat. The user cropped it out and mirrored it

A tweet trying to figure out how many reactors Hugo has on him and where

A tweet of various Hugo dialogue (JP text)

A tweet that compares Hugo’s reaction to Leo failing a counter with Hugo’s reaction to Falk failing a counter. The user notes that even Lisette’s reaction is respectful during this situation, so Hugo’s agitated response is unique to Leo

A tweet that recorded all the dialogue of Leo and Hugo’s final battle and kept it under two minutes. What I like about this video is that it also shows Hugo parrying the final hit of Leo’s 2nd Mystic Arte. I heard and knew it was possible because a lot of JP Hugo mains remarked on it, but I hadn’t seen it recorded for myself till this point

JP Voice Collection

His archive section

Favorite Dishes (excluding Noble dishes and Elixir)

Beginner’s Pot-Au-Feu

Bitter Ratatouille

Colten Fresh Salad

Colten’s Stuffed Cabbage Roll

Creamy Egg & Vegetable Galette

Green Veggie Drink

Healthy Archonis Quinoa Cake

Healthy Glass Noodle Salad

Jantbelle’s Silky Smooth Tofu

Meat Stew *secret recipe

Michelle’s Special Pot-Au-Feu

Mild Seafood Bouillabaisse

Simmered White Radishes

Ultra Smoothie

Veggie Bagna Càuda

Hated Dishes (excluding expired event dishes and Ana-Maria’s cooking)

Amelie’s Stamina Bowl

Crispy Rice Croquettes

Egg Cutlet Sandwich

Herb-Roasted Reintz Catfish

High Protein Fried Bugs

Level-10 Spicy Mabo Curry

Nutritional Non-Perishable

Nutritional Non-Perishable B

Schnitzel & Tartar Sauce

Special Nutritional Drink

[foodreceipe]

How to Prepare and Brew Chamomile Tea

Lee Tea Dec 11, 2019

Investigative journalist digging into the science and marketing of folk remedies, struggling with opposition to whistleblowers since 2015.

Steeping Instructions for Pre-Bagged or Loose Leaf Chamomile Tea

The blossoms of the chamomile plant (Matricaria recutita) have been used by ancient Egyptians for over 3,000 years for their pleasantly calming, comforting, and anti-inflammatory properties. Chamomile has a sweet, mild taste with hints of apple and is caffeine free. With the wide variety of exotic tea blends on supermarket shelves today, let's get back to basics on how to easily prepare a cup of chamomile tea.

What You'll Need

kettle, stainless steel or ceramic (what you'll boil your water in)

teapot or mug with a lid (what you'll steep your tea in, which is not your kettle)

1 teaspoon of dried chamomile flowers (about 1 gram)

Infusion device (like a tea ball, heat seal tea bag, piece of cheesecloth and string, or steep loose and use a strainer after steeping)

8 ounces of filtered water and hot water from the tap

Instructions

Fill the teapot or mug you'll be steeping in with hot tap water to warm the container.

Fill your infusion device with the chamomile. If steeping without a device (called "loose leaf"), wait until Step 4 to add your chamomile.

Heat 6–8 ounces of filtered water in your kettle on your stove to first boil (when the water just begins to form small bubbles). Remove from heat.

Empty your teapot or mug of the tap water and add the chamomile to this container. Pour water from the kettle over the chamomile and cover. This helps to fully release the oils and matricin from the flower, enhancing the taste and medicinal components of your cup of tea.

Steep (let sit) for about 5 minutes. In the future, you can adjust the amount of chamomile you use and steep time to taste, but steeping too long may result in a more bitter flavor.

Uncover and remove your infusion device from your tea pot or mug. If you steeped loose leaf, pour the steeped tea through a strainer into a second mug.

Your chamomile tea is ready to enjoy. You may add milk, honey, or sweetener to taste, though doing so may alter the natural taste and medicinal benefits of your chamomile tea. I prefer this tea with nothing added.

https://delishably.com/beverages/How-to-Prepare-Chamomile-Tea

[thebibliosphere]

I'm starting to wonder if I have some degree of mild to moderate MCAS to go with the POTS and maybe-HSD. (I want to get another tattoo but since my last one I've developed severe dermatographia, so I researched mast cell dysfunction and was like ...okay a LOT of these symptoms sound familiar. Thankfully not anaphylaxis, though.) Unfortunately due to medical trauma & ignorant doctors, will probably end up self-managing. Do you or any of your followers know why first-generation antihistamines (ex: benadryl) seem to be the drug of choice for MCADs rather than second-generation (loratidine, cetirizine, etc)? To my knowledge they both target H1 receptors with a similar mechanism of action, but second-generation have fewer side effects because of greater selectivity. Benadryl makes me very drowsy and I already have enough problems with fatigue so I'd like to avoid it if possible. And if so, is there research on dosing for MCAS? I've searched Pubmed but no luck so far.

Hey friend, sorry to hear you're dealing with that.

And first-generation antihistamines are not the drug of choice for MCAS/D! I don't know where you read that, but it's wrong.

Benadryl is for emergency use only and is good to have on hand for severe reactions but should not be the primary form of symptom management. The first line of treatment for MCAS are type 1 and type 2 histamine blockers, such as cetirizine and famotidine, or Zyrtec and Pepcid if you want to use their otc brand names.

Patients usually find a combination of these two things helpful as it targets both the respiratory system and the esophagus/gut, which has a high concentration level of histamine receptors.

We also often take anywhere from 2-4x the daily recommended dose. However, I will stress that you really need to talk to a doctor before doing so, as it is possible to overdose on antihistamines, and you need to figure out the lowest dose that will provide symptom relief. I started out taking 4x the daily recommended amount and am now down to the daily recommended dose for "normal" people as I've gone into a sort of mini-remission that I'm able to manage with diet and lifestyle, though I always have my meds on hand if necessary.

After that, other drugs can be prescribed, ranging from steroids to prescription-strength supplements.

For example, Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to worsening allergies (link) and will actually make mast cells prone to destabilizing, so it is vital if you have any sort of Vitamin D deficiency to get on top of it and get your numbers to the top of the healthy range if possible.

In fact, any sort of deficiency that puts strain on your body can potentially lead to mast cells going a bit wonky (link-- a study done on rats, but it also seems to be backed up anecdotally in humans as well), so it's v. essential to make sure you're getting enough micronutrients, which a lot of people with conditions like MCAS/connective tissue disorders like HSD/EDS tend to be low on because our bodies don't quite work right. We also tend to have dietary restrictions, which doesn't help.

Another supplement that some people have found helpful is quercetin, which has been shown to help suppress allergic response (link). Some folks find Vitamin C useful, while others find it triggering as citrus can be a histamine liberator.

This brings us to lifestyle and dietary changes.

Many people with MCAS struggle with high histamine foods and find a low histamine diet helpful. The Swiss Interest Group for Histamine Intolerance provides the most comprehensive breakdown of high and low histamine foods to date. Going through all their links and downloads is well worth reading. They provide info on the histamine elimination diet (link), what foods are and are not histamine safe (link), and a helpful rundown of what medications may cause issues, though you need a login to view it.

They also have a new website for people with MCAS/D (link), which provides more helpful information beyond basic histamine intolerance.

Other factors you may need to look at include hormonal shifts (estrogen liberates histamine, so if you're someone who menstruates, you may find yourself more reactive before or during your menstrual cycle), reducing stress, and working through any trauma.

My MCAS is severe enough that a prolonged stress response or a traumatic event can send me into anaphylaxis. When you have any form of MCAD, stress is basically the hormonal equivalent of dumping a Molotov cocktail onto a housefire. Getting treatment for my c-PTSD is an ongoing process, but one I've found helpful in calming down my body's flight/fight/freeze response, which in turn helps my body relearn when and when is not an appropriate time to liberate certain chemicals that can lead to a mast cell degranulation event. I've found EMDR more helpful than CBT, as CBT left me triggered and often in a heightened state of panic afterward, but your mileage may vary.

Anyway, that is a very basic 101 introduction. I know you didn't ask for all this, but I figure it might be helpful! Good luck, and please do consider trying to find a doctor able to prescribe certain things if you need them. I know the medical trauma is hard, it's a huge root cause of my own c-PTSD, but if you're able to find a health care provider to help you with this, it'll be much, much more manageable.

Best of luck.

[najia-cooks]

Sườn non chay (Vietnamese vegan meat slices) with lemongrass and black peppercorns

Sườn non chay (roughly, "vegetarian ribs") are meat replacements made of textured soy protein. They readily soak up the flavor of whatever they are cooked in, and have a chicken-like stringy texture when torn. This recipe is for a typical Vietnamese preparation, where the slices are soaked, torn, fried, and then simmered in a flavorful sauce. Lemongrass and fresh herbs provide some brightness and lift to the umami flavor profile created by vegan beef pho broth, vegetarian oyster sauce, and soy sauce; whole black peppercorns and minced red chili give the dish an earthy, mild heat. This recipe may be used in place of cooked chicken in any Vietnamese recipe; it is here pictured on bún gà nướng, a cold rice noodle salad.

Recipe under the cut!

Patreon | Tip jar

INGREDIENTS:

100g sườn non chay (vegan meat slice)

2 stalks lemongrass or slices galangal

1 fresh chili

2 cloves garlic

2 green onions, sliced and divided

1 tsp whole black peppercorns

vegetable oil, to fry

1 cup beef broth from concentrate (gia vị phở chay)

1 Tbsp light soy sauce

1 Tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce

2 tsp chili sauce

1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in a little cool water

3 leaves culantro (sawtooth herb, ngò gai) to garnish, or substitute cilantro

Sườn non chay may be found in bags online or at your local Asian grocery--the bags will be labelled "sườn non chay" as well as "vegan meat slice," "textured soy bean protein," "vegetarian food," or "vegan food."

Vegan beef-style broth concentrate may be found in jars in many Western grocery stores. I used a Vietnamese brand of pho stock concentrate ("gia vị nau phở") with vegetarian ("chay") beef flavor, which I also purchased at an Asian grocery. Ông Chà Và is a brand that makes vegetarian pho broth in block form. If you can't find a premade vegetarian beef broth, use vegetable broth with an extra splash of soy sauce.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Soak meat slices in cool water for 10-15 minutes until rehydrated. Squeeze out excess water and cut or tear into pieces as desired.

2. Heat a few inches of vegetable oil in a small pot on medium. Deep fry the torn meat slices until they are golden brown. Remove onto a paper-towel-lined plate or wire cooling rack.

3. In a large pan, heat another 2 Tbsp of a neutral oil. Fry the whites of the green onions and garlic until they have softened.

4. Add chili and lemongrass or galangal and allow to cook for another 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant.

5. Add meat and allow to fry for a few minutes. Add black peppercorns and allow them to briefly fry in the oil.

6. Add beef broth, soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, and chili sauce. Simmer until mostly reduced. Add cornstarch and water mixture and cook until the sauce clings to the meat slices.

7. Garnish with sliced green onion and culantro and serve.