#kidney health secrets

[mghospital]

Take charge of your kidney health and prioritize kidney care | Mahatma Gandhi Hospital

Kidney disease is a condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It is a silent killer, as it often shows no symptoms until it has progressed to an advanced stage. Kidneys are essential organs that help remove waste and excess fluids from the body. When they don't function correctly, waste and fluids can build up, causing damage to other organs and leading to potentially life-threatening complications.

There are two types of kidney disease: acute and chronic. Acute kidney disease is a sudden and often temporary condition that occurs when the kidneys can't filter waste from the blood as they should. This can be caused by dehydration, infection, medication, or other factors. In most cases, the kidneys can recover from acute kidney disease with proper treatment.

Chronic kidney disease, on the other hand, is a long-term condition that develops over time. It can be caused by a range of factors, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and autoimmune diseases. Chronic kidney disease can lead to kidney failure, which means that the kidneys are no longer able to function properly, and waste and fluids build up in the body. When this happens, dialysis or a kidney transplant may be required to sustain life.

Kidney disease can be challenging to detect early, as symptoms often don't appear until the disease has progressed to an advanced stage. Common symptoms include fatigue, swelling in the legs and ankles, changes in urine output, and difficulty sleeping. However, many of these symptoms can also be caused by other health conditions, making it difficult to diagnose kidney disease until it has reached an advanced stage.

Prevention is the best approach to managing kidney disease. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise and a balanced diet, can help reduce the risk of developing kidney disease. Additionally, managing conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure can help prevent kidney damage.

For those with kidney disease, early detection and treatment are crucial. Treatment options may include medication, changes to diet and lifestyle, and, in some cases, dialysis or a kidney transplant. Regular check-ups with a doctor can help monitor kidney function and detect any changes early, improving the chances of successful treatment.

Kidney disease is a serious health condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It is a silent killer that often shows no symptoms until it has progressed to an advanced stage. Prevention and early detection are key to managing kidney disease and reducing the risk of complications. By maintaining a healthy lifestyle and seeking medical attention if symptoms arise, individuals can help protect their kidney function and lead healthier lives. 

Book Appointment:

Call: +91 8647230007

Visit: https://mahathmagandhihospitals.com/service/nephrology/

[scientia-rex]

Because my most popular post is about weight loss and how it's a crock, I get a lot of questions about various things, including bariatric surgery--just posted the link to the post I did about that--but also Ozempic/Wegovy, the once-weekly injectable semaglutide medication that was developed for diabetes but was found to have independent benefits on weight loss.

I always said that weight loss was like Viagra: when a medication came along that actually worked, it would explode. We'd all hear about it. Fen-phen in the 90s worked, but it was bad for your heart. Stimulants, like meth, may cause weight loss, but they do it at the cost of heart health, and raise your likelihood of dying young. Over the counter weight loss supplements often contain illegal and unlisted thyroid hormone, which is also dangerous for the heart if taken in the absence of a real deficiency. Orlistat, or "Alli," works the same way as the Olestra chips Lays made in the 1990s--it shuts off your ability to digest fats, and the problem with that is that fats irritate the gut, so then you end up with fatty diarrhea and probably sharts. Plus Alli only leads to 8-10lbs of weight loss in the best case scenario, and most people are not willing to endure sharts for the sake of 8lbs.

And then came the GLP-1 agonists. GLP stands for glucagon-like peptide. Your body uses insulin to make cells uptake sugar. You can't just have free-floating sugar and use it, it has to go into the cells to be used. So if your body sucks at moving sugar into the cells, you end up with a bunch of glucose hanging out in places where it shouldn't be, depositing on small vessels, damaging nerves and your retinas and kidneys and everywhere else that has a whole lot of sensitive small blood vessels, like your brain.

Glucagon makes your liver break down stored sugars and release them. You can think of it as part of insulin's supporting cast. If your body needs sugar and you aren't eating it, you aren't going to die of hypoglycemia, unless you've got some rare genetic conditions--your liver is going to go, whoops, here you go! and cough it up.

But glucagon-like peptide doesn't act quite the same way. What glucagon-like peptide does is actually stimulating your body to release insulin. It inhibits glucagon secretion. It says, we're okay, we're full, we just ate, we don't need more glucagon right now.

This has been enough for many people to both improve blood sugar and cause weight loss. Some patients find they think about food less, which can be a blessing if you have an abnormally active hunger drive, or if you have or had an eating disorder.

However, every patient I've started on semaglutide in any form (Ozempic, Wegovy, or Rybelsus) has had nausea to start with, probably because it slows the rate of stomach emptying. And that nausea sometimes improves, and sometimes it doesn't. There's some reports out now of possible gastroparesis associated with it, which is where the stomach just stops contracting in a way that lets it empty normally into the small intestine. That may not sound like a big deal, but it's a lifelong ticket to abdominal pain and nausea and vomiting, and we are not good at treating it. We're talking Reglan, a sedating anti-nausea but pro-motility agent, which makes many of my patients too sleepy to function, or a gastric pacemaker, which is a relatively new surgery. You can also try a macrolide antibiotic, like erythromycin, but I have had almost no success in getting insurance to cover those and also they have their own significant side effects.

Rapid weight loss from any cause, whether illness, medication, or surgery, comes with problems. Your skin is not able to contract quickly. It probably will, over long periods of time, but "Ozempic face" and "Ozempic butt" are not what people who want to lose weight are looking for. Your vision of your ideal body does not include loose, excess skin.

The data are also pretty clear that you can't "kick start" weight loss with Ozempic and then maintain it with behavioral mechanisms. If you want to maintain the weight loss, you need to stay on the medication. A dose that is high enough to cause weight loss is significantly higher than the minimum dose where we see improvements in blood sugar, and with a higher dose comes higher risk of side effects.

I would wait on semaglutide. I would wait because it's been out for a couple of years now but with the current explosion in popularity we're going to see more nuanced data on side effects emerging. When you go from Phase III human trials to actual use in the world, you get thousands or millions more data points, and rare side effects that weren't seen in the small human trials become apparent. It's why I always say my favorite things for a drug to be are old, safe, and cheap.

I also suspect the oral form, Rybelsus, is going to get more popular and be refined in some way. It's currently prohibitively expensive--all of these are; we're talking 1200 or so bucks a month before insurance, and insurance coverage varies widely. I have patients who pay anything from zero to thirty to three hundred bucks a month for injectable semaglutide. I don't think I currently have anyone whose insurance covers Rybelsus who could also tolerate the nausea. My panel right now is about a thousand patients.

There are also other GLP-1 agonists. Victoza, a twice-daily injection, and Trulicity, and anything else that ends in "-aglutide". But those aren't as popular, despite being cheaper, and they aren't specifically approved for weight loss.

Mounjaro is a newer one, tirzepatide, that acts on two receptors rather than one. In addition to stimulating GLP-1 receptors, it also stimulates glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors. It may work better; I'm not sure whether that's going to come with a concomitantly increased risk of side effects. It's still only approved for diabetes treatment, but I suspect that will change soon and I suspect we'll see a lot of cross-over in terms of using it to treat obesity.

I don't think these medications are going away. I also don't think they're right for everyone. They can reactivate medullary thyroid carcinoma; they can fuck up digestion; they may lead to decreased quality of life. So while there may be people who do well with them, it is okay if those people are not you. You do not owe being thin to anyone. You most certainly do not owe being thin to the extent that you should risk your health for it. Being thin makes navigating a deeply fat-hating world easier, in many ways, so I never blame anyone for wanting to be thin; I just want to emphasize that it is okay if you stay fat forever.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

A Roundup of the Kate Conspiracy Theories from Twitter

So you don't have to go down the rabbit hole. Some of them are dark; I'll put those at the end below the cut so anyone who wants to scroll away can scroll away.

(My favorites in bold)

She had a BBL (Brazilian Butt Lift).

She's Banksy.

Botched cosmetic procedure, needed urgent fixing.

William cheated with Rose again and she left him, taking the kids with her.

Hysterectomy + tummy tuck = botched.

Bad haircut/dye job.

Kept a pregnancy secret, delivered by c-section.

Diana's revenge

William lost his temper and beat her so badly that they're keeping her hidden till the bruises/broken bones are healed.

William kicked her out because he doesn't want her to be Queen.

Divorce of the Wales Part Two because William cheated

Bottom surgery

Kate grew a conscience so they had to kill her and are now replacing her brain with AI.

Shelly Miscavige'd

She abandoned and fled to a tropical beach.

She quit the royal family and is touring Britain in a converted transit van, selling dreamcatchers made from her own hair on Etsy to make ends meet.

Kate donated a kidney to Charles in return for becoming Queen soon.

Boob job

She went through a cosmic wormhole and left the Milky Way Galaxy.

Female 007

She's the one with cancer, Charles is faking it so everyone leaves her alone.

Took the kids and moved to Scotland

Growing out bad bangs

Meghan's karmic revenge

They're building a robot clone of her so she doesn't have to work anymore.

Trying to reach the end of YouTube shorts

Coma from botched surgery

The press knows but are under a gag order/injunction and can't report

She was never in the hospital.

William threw something at her, it hit her in the face, needs corrective surgery

Complications from pregnancy and on bed rest

Cholecystectomy/gall bladder surgery

Spontaneously combusted

Tragic accident a la Diana, better cover-up this time.

Charles actually died, it's just an actor walking around until the Waleses are ready to take the throne officially.

Botched BBL using her own stomach fat.

Rehab for alcoholism

Being reprogrammed to accept mistresses

She's playing Celebrity Big Brother

IVF transfer and first trimester HG recovery

Banished/handled by Camilla

Facelift

Bad botox/filler, waiting for it to dissolve

Put out to pasture by the royal family because she's finished having children.

Abducted by aliens

William didn't want to start his reign married to someone he hated, so he left her and is forcing a divorce.

She ran away to Italy

Argument over where George would go to school, William made it physical, she tried to leave

She's in the Princess Protection Program

At Chili's chugging margaritas

Binged too much at Christmas, now trying to lose weight

She wandered off during the Glasgow Willy Wonka Experience and is stuck to the ceiling after drinking the fizzy lifting drink and they can't get her down.

Smuggled to America

Mental breakdown from William's cheating

Inpatient treatment for eating disorder

Complicated miscarriage

CPTSD breakdown (complex post-traumatic stress)

All the people that Twitter suggested we need to call to investigate Kate's whereabouts:

Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch edition)

Scully and Mulder (X Files)

Captain Olivia Benson (L&O:SVU)

Charlie from It's Always Sunny

Nanny Jo Frost

Steve and Blue (Blue's Clues)

Sergent Catherine Cawood (Happy Valley)

Rustin Chole (Matthew McConaughey from True Detective)

Harriet the Spy

Luther (Idris Elba edition)

Trevor Rainbolt

Jaz Singh (British Traitors edition)

One final reminder: The really dark theories about Kate are below the cut here.

William went into a drunk alcoholic rage and killed her.

Staph infection/sepsis from the trampoline injury that caused paralysis/amputation

Family annihilation by William

Severely injured in shooting accident at Sandringham shortly after Christmas when an ambulance was rushed to hospital from the royal estate.

Suicide attempt and mental health treatment

William beat her into a coma

[cosmicpuzzle]

Ketu in Houses- ☋ South Node in Houses

Ketu or South node is signifcator of spirituality, wisdom, worldly detachment, disappointment, wisdom, release from cycle of birth and death, black magic, occult, astrology, enlightenment.

1st House - Detached, reserved, observer, childhood difficulties, bodily issues, education troubles, introspective, less talkative, thinker, wise, headaches, researcher, acne or spots in face.

2nd House- Money issues, family issues, dissatisfied family life, arguments, domestic quarrels, eye troubles, troubles in earning, troubles till middle life, stammering, harsh speech.

3rd House- Patient, fearful, intellectual, problems with younger siblings, famous, good listening ability, better place for Ketu, shoulder pains, ear pain.

4th House- Problems with mother, health of mother affected, problems with inheritances, troubles in early education, problems with comforts, travel issues, discomfort at home, problems with vehicles, no affection from mother, settles abroad.

5th House- Troubles having children, could adopt, disappointment with children, troubled love affairs, affairs outside marriage, interested in spirituality, mantras, failure in love, trouble getting inheritances, stomach issues, past life sins.

6th House- Defeats enemies, victory and success, success with loans, minor health issues, diet issues, food poisonings, stomach issues, kidney issues, digestion issues, life gets better with age, court cases, criminal connections.

7th House- Trouble satisfying spouse, disappointment with spouse and business partners, troubles in married life, urinary infections, business breaks down.

8th House- Afraid of longevity, good researcher, brings secrets of others, finds treasures, interest in occult, tantra, health issues during Ketu period, more interest in isolation and psychic matters, problems with private parts, genitals

9th House- Trouble with father, no luck, interest in pilgrimages, world travel for religious purposes ,less opportunities, wanderer, joins ashrams, finds good mentors, teachers, spiritual trips, sciatic pain, thigh pain

10th House- Finds good jobs and opportunities, good worker, medical career, good for profession, knee issues, ortho troubles, Government fines, managerial success.

11th House- Good place for Ketu, but no success in early years, influential contacts, success post 35, success in actions, good wealth, disappointing friends, leg and calf pains, varicose veins, hearing issues, strained relations with elder siblings and father's relatives

12th House- Less practical, dreamy, more expenses, interest in liberation, sleep issues, foreign travels, searches for enlightenment, may be end of soul journey, sacrifices worldly things, feet issues.

Book your Ketu Reading- DM Here

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A ballooning E.coli outbreak connected to Calgary-area daycares is sending dozens of children to hospital, some with serious complications, and sparking concern among parents and doctors alike.

According to Alberta Health Services (AHS), 128 cases of an E. coli strain that can be particularly dangerous for young kids have been identified so far and 25 children are in hospital.

In addition, three patients have already been released and three more are being treated in other provinces.

What is most worrisome, doctors say, is that nine children have been diagnosed with a severe complication that can force kids into dialysis treatment.

"This is not the typical type of E. coli that causes maybe a day or two of watery diarrhea, or 'traveller's diarrhea,' that some people talk about," said Dr. Stephen Freedman, an ER physician at Alberta Children's Hospital and professor in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary.

This particular strain is a type of E. coli 0157. It is known as shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) because it secretes a toxin that can lead to serious organ damage, often targeting the kidneys. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @politicsofcanada, @abpoli

[yurimage]

National Eating Disorder Awareness Week - Diabulimia

CW // Disordered eating

(click for better quality)

Transcript Below

Diabulimia- Diabulimia is the informal term for an eating disorder specific to type 1 diabetics in which someone with the disorder intentionally restricts their insulin in order to lose weight. Although not listed as an official diagnosis in the DSM-V, it is an incredibly prevalent and dangerous eating disorder.

Type 1 Diabetes- Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disorder of the pancreas. Typically, the pancreas secretes insulin, a hormone that takes glucose from the blood and moves it into cells in order to be used as energy. However, in T1D, the body attacks itself and destroys the cells that secrete insulin. Without insulin, glucose from food sits around in the blood and builds up– causing a condition called hyperglycemia.¹ There’s currently no cure for T1D, so patients with the condition need to take insulin as injections or delivered through an insulin pump. T1D is irreversible, and life long, so patients need to take insulin for the rest of their lives.¹ T1D and type 2 diabetes (T2D) are not the same. In T2D, the pancreas still has insulin secreting cells; however, the body can’t properly use the insulin due to a high level of insulin resistance.² Because of the differences between T1D and T2D, diabulimia can only occur in those with T1D.

Insulin Restriction- In the absence of insulin, glucose can’t enter cells and instead stays in the bloodstream. Eventually, the body attempts to flush out excess glucose through urine– leading to severe dehydration. Since cells can’t get energy from glucose in this scenario, they instead try to get it from other sources– the body’s muscles and fat stores begin to be broken down for energy. This state is biologically the same as starvation as calories from food in the form of glucose are leaving the body before being used. The loss of calories and breakdown of fat and muscle, coupled with the loss of water weight from dehydration, lead to rapid weight loss.³ In diabulimia, insulin is restricted intentionally with the goal to lose weight.

DKA- In the short term, diabulimia leads to frequent urination and severe dehydration, immense fatigue and nausea and vomiting.³ If left untreated, these high blood sugars will eventually lead to a condition called Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA). DKA occurs when fat is broken down in the body. The breakdown of fat releases acidic compounds called ketones. Eventually, with enough build up of ketones, the blood itself becomes acidic and may eventually lead to coma or death.⁴ DKA must be treated in a hospital setting; and as such, is often the way that diabulimics are first treated for their eating disorders.

Health Consequences- Consistently high blood sugars will eventually lead to severe diabetic complications such as neuropathy (nerve damage), retinopathy (damage to the retinas in the eyes) or kidney disease.³ While long term health effects like eye damage and kidney disease are already common complications for those with T1D, diabulimia significantly increases the risk for these complications. A Japanese study found that insulin restriction was the most significant factor in developing retinopathy and kidney disease; meaning that these complications were more strongly correlated with insulin restriction than other factors such as how long someone had been diagnosed with T1D.⁵

Prevalence and Risk- When compared to girls without T1D, those in the same age range that were diagnosed with T1D were around 2.4 times more likely to have an eating disorder ⁶ One study that surveyed 112 teens with T1D found that around 27% restricted insulin dosages ⁷ An 11-year study found that those with T1D who restricted insulin had a risk of death 3.2 times higher than diabetics who did not ⁸

Why I'm Making This- Accessing treatment for diabulimia is incredibly difficult. When I first began to look for inpatient eating disorder treatment, I was turned down from every residential and inpatient facility in my state. The only reason I got into a residential that time was because my mom is a very determined and very convincing woman (she threatened to sue them). And that isn’t even accounting for the lack of diabulimia specific treatment. My last time in treatment, the hospital I was at recommended I enter inpatient; however, there ended up being only a few inpatient centers with diabulimia experience in my country-- the closest one rejected me because they couldn’t find an endocrinologist to oversee my diabetes care. This lack of treatment is especially dangerous with how severe the health consequences of diabulimia are. In fact, since beginning work on this infographic, I found out I may have kidney damage. Yes, as a result of diabulimia. I also have permanent eye damage, neuropathy, and I’m finally (3 months after leaving the hospital) recovering from the short term health consequences of my disorder. And even I am luckier than a lot of other diabulimics. With a disease so prevalent, and so, so dangerous, you’d think there would be enough support in treating it. But there isn’t. Largely I think, because most people simply don’t know that it exists. My only hope with making this infographic is that we can change that.

Sources:

1- “What is Type 1 Diabetes?” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed January 31, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/what-is-type-1-diabetes.html.

2- “Type 2 Diabetes.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed January 31, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/type2.html.

3- “Diabulimia.” Cleveland Clinic. Accessed January 31, 2024. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22658-diabulimia.

4- “Diabetic Ketoacidosis.” Mayo Clinic. Accessed February 11, 2024. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetic-ketoacidosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20371551

5- Takii, Masato, et. al.. “The Duration of Severe Insulin Omission Is the Factor Most Closely Associated with the Microvascular Complications of Type 1 Diabetic Females with Clinical Eating Disorders.” International Journal of Eating Disorders 41, no. 3 (April 2008): 259–64. doi:10.1002/eat.20498.

6- Jones, Jennifer M. “Eating Disorders in Adolescent Females with and without Type 1 Diabetes: Cross Sectional Study.” BMJ: British Medical Journal (International Edition) 320, no. 7249 (June 10, 2000): 1563. doi:10.1136/bmj.320.7249.1563.

7- Markowitz JT, et. al.. “Brief Screening Tool for Disordered Eating in Diabetes: Internal Consistency and External Validity in a Contemporary Sample of Pediatric Patients with Type 1 Diabetes.” Diabetes Care 33, no. 3 (March 2010): 495–500. doi:10.2337/dc09-1890.

8- Goebel-Fabbri, Ann E., et. al.. “Insulin Restriction and Associated Morbidity and Mortality in Women with Type 1 Diabetes.” Diabetes Care 31, no. 3 (March 2008): 415–19. doi:10.2337/dc07-2026.

[waywardxrhea]

Chapter 2 - Vigilante Shit

What happens when you lie to the Devil? How long can one woman keep a lifetime of secrets from the Devil of Hell's Kitchen? The answer may surprise you...

installment list

pairing: Matt Murdock x enhanced!fem!OC

series content: coffee shop AU, fluff, humor, friends to lovers, pining, language, canon typical violence, use of guns, angst, drinking, implied smut, medical emergencies, mental health disorders (PTSD, panic disorder).

"i'm on my vigilante shit again..." - vigilante shit, taylor swift

word count: 2k

Crystal finds herself in the middle of an incident and decides to step in, using her powers to help an innocent woman on the streets of Hell’s Kitchen.

For the next few nights, Crystal laid low in a run down hotel in the neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen just to ensure that she was not followed to the States by any of her father’s men. One evening while she was going back to the hotel with takeout Chinese food in hand, she heard a scream behind her. Not wanting any attention brought to herself, Crystal quickened her pace, getting back to her hotel and locking herself in her room for the night. 

As she ate her dinner though, she couldn’t help but hear a nagging little voice in the back of her head telling her that she should have turned around and helped whoever screamed. “You have the ability to save people with your gift, but now for all you know, they’re dead on the street,” the voice told her, making a hard knot form in the back of her throat. She forced down the rest of the food and tried to ignore the little voice which she had begun to attribute to an angel that was sent by God to torment her.    

The next few nights passed, and the same thing happened: she would be out and some bad thing or another would be happening to an unseen stranger and instead of helping she ran to shelter, hoping that the proper authorities would deal with the perpetrator. The pattern continued until one night she was walking back to her hotel and a woman walking in front of her was being catcalled by a group of drunk men ambling down the sidewalk. 

Crystal was about to cross the street and avoid the men until one of them began to grope the poor woman who began sobbing as they started ganging up on her. “Do something! Use your gift for good!” said the voice. 

With a slight bit of hesitation, Crystal sighed, pulling her scarf over the bottom half of her face and her hood over her head. She made her way into the nearby alleyway before stomping the ground, causing a few good-sized pieces of pavement to become free from the sidewalk. She made punching motions which made the stones fly toward the woman’s attackers, heading straight for their stomachs, kidneys, and groin areas. “What the hell man, who’s throwing rocks at us?!” one of the men shouted as he uncoordinatedly swung his arms around trying to fend off the projectiles. 

At this comment and upon seeing that the men were not necessarily deterred, Crystal took it up a notch, crouching down and punching the ground, causing a large crack to form in the pavement. This made the inebriated men trip and their victim used this opportunity to slip away from the group, sprinting in the opposite direction. As she ran, she looked around into the alleyway Crystal had hidden in, but by then she had already used her powers to form a wall so the woman wouldn’t see her. 

After a few minutes when the drunk men began stumbling off once more, Crystal continued the trek to her hotel for the night with a warm feeling radiating in her chest. She smiled to herself at the feeling, knowing that if she was still here, her mother would be proud of her for using her gift for good, not just to intimidate high-rolling drug dealers.

Rounding the corner, Crystal brushed past a young blonde woman about to get into her car. She kept her head down and hood up as she passed the woman, unsure if she had witnessed the encounter. She ducked into another alleyway and watched as the woman fished for her keys in her pockets, ensuring that she got into her car safely. Once she was inside and began to drive away, Crystal walked off in the opposite direction of her hotel, suddenly feeling a desire to aid someone else before she turned in for the night. 

It didn’t take too long to find some teenage thug sprinting away from a bodega with an armful of presumably stolen goods. The owner wasn’t too far behind, but seemed to be running out of steam as he ran after the young man. Crystal gently stomped her foot on the ground and gestured up with her palm, causing a portion of the sidewalk to shift upward, tripping the young man. As he fell to the ground, the bodega owner caught up to him and took back his goods, shouting at him to get lost, citing that this time he was letting him off easy. 

That warm feeling filled Crystal’s chest once more as she went deeper into the alleyway to hide from the bodega owner. Once he was gone, before she could head back out into the open, she was suddenly pinned to the brick wall from behind. Acting on instinct alone, she warped the wall, causing her attacker to lose their grip on her. She used this moment to slip out of their grasp and stomped the ground, making a punching motion and causing two large pieces of pavement to fly into the air at her attacker who dodged them gracefully, almost like an acrobat.

When she finally got a good look at the man, she saw that he wore all black and had a black piece of fabric covering the upper half of his face. She didn’t get much time to take in anymore details before he was attacking again, throwing quick punches that took her off her feet. “Who are you and what are you doing in my city?” the man’s deep voice asked as he stood above her. 

Gesturing upward once more from her place on the ground, the two pieces of stone from before were hovering on either side of the man’s head again. Crystal quickly drummed up a generic American accent and said to the man, “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t smash your head in right now for attacking me.” 

“I’m not the one on the ground here. Answer the question,” he demanded. “Who are you and what are you doing in my city?”

Crystal scoffed. “Your city?”

“You’re not from around here are you?” the man asked. 

“And what makes you think that?” Crystal returned. 

“Because everyone from around here knows who the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen is.”

“Oh, so you’re not just some acrobat running around cosplaying as Westley from The Princess Bride?” Crystal smarted off. 

The man opened and closed his mouth before sighing and shaking his head. “Look, clearly you don’t know how things work around here, but I can also tell by the fact that you haven’t smashed my head in that you aren’t one of the bad guys. The police have come to trust me to bring in criminals around here, but if they see someone tearing up their roads and assaulting people with rocks, they’re going to take you in and this whole vigilante thing will be over before you even get started. Stay out of things you have no business sticking your nose in.” 

Crystal slowly stood up and lowered the stones to the ground, telling him, “All I did was make sure a woman didn’t get assaulted and that a man didn’t get robbed.” 

“And I’m sure they appreciate that, but just trust me when I say to stay out of it before you’re in way over your head. If I could take you down that easily you don’t stand a chance against the real criminals around here,” he said before jumping up onto a fire escape above him. 

“You’re wrong,” Crystal called back to him as he jumped onto the roof of the building. When he turned back toward her, she elaborated, “All I want is to help people and to do good with the gift I’ve been given. I’ve taken down dozens of men bigger and stronger than you, believe me. You’re just going to have to deal with the fact that I’m here to stay, Mr. Devil.” 

Without saying anything in response, the man turned away and sprinted off along the rooftops. Crystal shook her head as she placed her hand on the ground and returned the wall and pavement to their original state. With this newfound desire to help people, no one was going to stop Crystal, not even the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. 

The next morning at the new law office of Nelson, Murdock, and Page, the young blonde woman entered the office, sending her friends a greeting before asking, “Hey Matt can I talk with you real quick?”

“Of course,” Matt Murdock said as he gestured for her to enter his small office space. When she sat down, he asked, “Everything okay, Karen?”

“Yeah, fine, I just saw something weird last night…” she replied, playing the scene over again in her head for the dozenth time. 

“Weird as in…?” Matt prompted. 

“As in like…someone with abilities stopping some drunks from assaulting someone,” she said, unsure of how to word the phenomenon without sounding like she was the drunk one. “It’s like they were… I don’t even know, they seemed to have a range of abilities I can’t put a single word to it,” Karen said, frustration seeping into her voice at her lack of words. Usually, Karen was well-spoken and eloquent, it’s one reason she used to be such a good journalist, but this was not one of those moments. 

“Well what did this person do?” Matt asked, curiosity in his voice. 

“Well they seemed to use their mind to… I dunno…”

“Manipulate concrete,” Matt finished.

“Yes!” Karen said, snapping her fingers and pointing toward Matt. “They launched rocks at some drunk guys trying to assault this poor woman, seemed to know exactly where to aim them for damage that wasn’t lethal. They also caused a rift in the sidewalk which was the distraction the woman needed to get away.” She paused for a moment before asking, “Wait, how did you…?”

“I ran into her too,” Matt replied, drumming his fingers lightly on his desk. 

“As Matt or…?” 

“No, as Daredevil. I told her to not stick her nose into things before she gets in over her head,” he said with a shake of his head. 

“Before who gets in over their head?” came Foggy Nelson’s voice as he popped his head into the office space. “God, please don’t tell me we’re getting roped into another one of your self-sacrificing vigilante things, because after Fisk last year I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime. At least wait a couple years before we do that again.”

“It’s just some woman with powers we both ran across last night,” Matt told his best friend and law partner. 

“Why’d you tell her to stop?” Karen asked curiously. 

“Because when people around here try to play vigilante, people end up hurt, that’s all,” Matt said. 

“Yeah, including you, buddy,” Foggy replied. “Why not let whoever this is do what they do and give yourself a break for once in your life?”

There was a long pause before Matt said, “Because I’m not sure if she’s got the right intentions yet.” 

“It just sounds like you’re jealous of someone else with powers helping out around here,” Karen said teasingly with a quiet laugh. 

“Jealous? I’m not jealous. I just don’t know if we can trust her to do the job right is all,” Matt defended. 

“She stopped two crimes in the span of, what? Half an hour last night? It sounds to me like she can handle it,” Karen told him as she stood up from the chair across from his desk and walked to their old beat up coffee machine to get some caffeine for the day. 

“Just let it play out a little while longer, bud,” Foggy told Matt with a light pat on the shoulder. “If things start going to shit then you can intervene, but to me it sounds like if she can take care of the smaller petty crime, that opens up more time for you to concentrate on the bigger things that will potentially get us more clients around here.”

“But Fog-” Matt tried. 

“Just think about it,” he said. “Not now though because we have an appointment with a client here in a couple minutes.”

next chapter

a/n: okay the reason i slipped in the joke about cosplaying as Westley from The Princess Bride is because last year before i watched Daredevil i went to a comic con (charlie, vincent, rosario, and jon were there im SO sad i wasnt into the show at that point 😭) and i saw someone who i now know was dressed as Matt in the black suit but i thought it was a Princess Bride cosplay whoops lmao

[bloodyknucklesforme]

Sauvignon Blanc | Guest Check

Tags: Nina first person POV train of consciousness, suicidal thoughts, self harm, substance abuse, it's a heavy one, sorry

The year I was born was the year that the government made it so that paracetamol had to be sold in blister packs rather than bottles. It was meant to prevent suicides as opening up individual packs was harder and gave a person more time to think. I want nothing more than to kill myself every time I have to dig my nail in to pop the foil but whatever. It worked, at least from what I've been told, never bothered to actually look it up.

Paracetamol poisoning is lousy fucking way to go anyways. Very English to choose a slow and miserable death. On par with the other preferred, yet slow, method of alcoholism. Nothing beats a destroyed liver and kidneys, I suppose.

I decided years ago how I'd kill myself. I won't mention it here in case someone gets nosy and gets me sectioned. It's not something I dwell on, but it feels like a back up plan, I guess. Like how some women have a secret cash fund in case their boyfriend beats them, I have my suicide plan.

I don't want to kill myself. More out of not wanting to hurt Kyle than anything else. It also seems like too much work most days. Why kill myself when I can drink a bottle of wine and curl up in bed?

There are rough days.

Like a spring is being compressed inside me and one day it'll release in some violent display against myself. I have to gently release the pressure. Always quietly. Always invisibly. Fear of my father trumped all other emotions growing up.

Plucking body hair (avoid the face!) and skin picking and scratching (avoid face and hands!) being two particular favorites of mine. One pair of tweezers can reliably do both. Sit in the tub to clean away any hair, skin or blood. Come out and present myself like the glossy, red eyed girl I am.

It's my biggest secret, strangely proud of that. Kyle doesn't know, despite once walking in on me aggressively plucking arm pit hair out (Do you not own a razor, you weirdo?). Growing up in the early era of "mental health awareness" that hammered in this behavior was not done for attention. That only made me feel worse as a teen, who fantasied whole heartedly about her father walking in on her, razor in hand, who would then fall to his knees and sob out apologies for not paying enough attention to her to notice. I never good at getting his attention in the first place so feeling like it was faux pas only increased my covert skills.

None of that helps with the post pain shame. The patheticness of it all. If I was a man I could simply punch a whole in the wall and break my fist. I don't want any more pity. My family is already dead.

Everyone looks at me different now. i try to act like it doesn't bother me and most of the time it doesn't. I'm not really friends with the rest of the staff at work.

It's Kyle though. Twenty odd years of friendship and he looks at me differently. I don't know if its pity or something else but I hate it. It's like he gets sad looking at me. I don't want to be that. Sex was never rough rough but now its like he doesn't want to break me, like he's afraid to touch me.

We broke up. I couldn't fucking do it. It was like chewing glass.

The only person who doesn't look at me differently, abiet he rarely looks at me at all, is Simon. Maybe it's why I let him take me home and basically give him free reign.

I don't have to think about it. I don't have to worry about him telling me he loves me. I don't have to worry about disappointing him. It might be because he doesn't actually like me so nothing I do will make him think less of me. I can just lay there. He does the work to make me cum and that's it. Wears a condom without complaint too.

It's easy.

He doesn't stay the night, which is fine, I can just enjoy myself with a bottle of wine in bed.

Tag List: @queen-ilmaree@macravishedbymactavish@gogh-with-the-flow@water-bearz @pvssytrux

[booksbeansandcandles]

Fire Cider Recipe 1:

Fire Cider Ingredients

2 cups apple cider vinegar

1/2 to 1 cup honey

1/2 cup horseradish

8 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 onion

1/2 cup ginger

1 sliced jalapeño

1/2 cup fresh turmeric OR 1 tbsp dried turmeric (optional)

1/2 lemon (optional)

1/2 orange (optional)

1 tsp peppercorns (optional)

2 whole cinnamon sticks (optional)

2 rosemary sprigs (optional)

4 thyme sprigs (optional)

Directions

Prepare ingredients and place them in a sterilized quart-sized glass jar.

Pour the apple cider vinegar and honey in the jar until all of the ingredients are covered and the vinegar reaches 1/2 inch from the jar’s top. You can use a glass fermentation weight on top to keep the ingredients submerged, but that is just a preference. Shake well. Store in a dark, cool place for a month, shaking daily. It’s in vinegar, so it won’t go bad! Once done, strain, bottle, and label.

Storage: It’s vinegar, so it keeps all winter and early spring (6 months) if left in a cool dark place. Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 10 months. You can take a dropperful every few hours, or I put 2 -3 droppers full into a big mug of hot water and drink that.

Benefits of ingredients

Ginger root – Ginger contains gingerol, an antibacterial compound that promotes body warmth, helping to fight off cold symptoms.

Horseradish root – Horseradish strongly stimulates the digestion, increasing gastric secretions and appetite. It can be of use in both respiratory and urinary tract infections. Horseradish is a natural expectorant with natural antibacterial properties. It helps in easing throat and upper respiratory tract infections. Has been used to fight cancer naturally.

Jalapeño peppers – Useful for increasing circulation and to get mucus flowing. Anti-inflammatory, pain reliever, and anti-irritant. It is used as a digestive aid to stimulates gastric juices.

Garlic – Boosts the immune function and opens pores of the skin to lower a fever. This herb’s antibacterial and antimicrobial properties make it useful in treating bladder and kidney infections, yeast infections, strep throats and ear infections.

Onion – Another cancer fighter, onion’s compound quercetin is a natural disease fighter.

Lemon – The levels of vitamin C found in the juice and peel are extremely effective against bacterial infections! Lemons act as a great potentiator in this cider recipe.

Rosemary Sprigs – This piney plant alleviates muscle pain, boosts the immune system, and relieves cough while you’re sick.

Turmeric – Turmeric increases the antioxidant capacity in your body. This means that all of the new antioxidants in this cider will have a home to live and work in!

Black peppercorns – Greatly boosts absorption of turmeric.

Apple Cider Vinegar – (Use organic) ACV kills multiple types of bacteria. When used in conjunction with the other herbs of this recipe, it becomes a powerhouse of health.

Local Raw Honey – Before becoming sick, local, raw honey helps your body fight off local infections and allergens. After becoming ill, it suppresses coughs and continues fighting off bacteria

[tiredwitchplant]

Everything You Need to Know About Herbs: Pennyroyal

Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium)

*Poisonous *Medical *Masculine

Folk Names: European Pennyroyal, Lurk-In-The-Ditch, Mosquito Plant, Organ Broth, Organs, Organ Tea, Piliolerian, Pudding Grass, Run-By-The-Ground, Squaw Mint, Tickweed

Planet: Mars, Venus

Element: Fire

Deity: Demeter

Abilities: Protection, Amplification, Revealing Secrets, Peace and Strength

Why Poisonous?: The oil from pennyroyals contains pulegone, a colorless oily liquid that as a pleasant odor that is found in pennyroyals, peppermint and camphor. It causes failure to the kidneys and liver, which results in bleeding, seizures, multiple organ failure and death. Many women have died trying to use pennyroyal oil in order to induce an abortion.

Do not consume the oil.

Characteristics: It has a powerful aromatic scent and is a perennial plant, growing to 16 inches. It has oval, toothed leaves with spirals of lilac flowers. It thrives in damp areas and blooms its flowers in the summer.

History: Native to Europe and western Asia. In 23-79 CE Roman natural historian, Pliny, wrote that the pennyroyal was a better medicinal herb than roses and purified bad water. It is called pennyroyal because it was good for the extermination of puliol royals, a type of flea. It was said it was used in witchcraft in order to cause people to see double and a protection plant in Sicily to protect from the evil eye. In Wales, it was gathered on St. John’s Eve for the benefit of “a person who has lost consciousness in the consequence of an illness.” (In other words patients in comas).

Growing Pennyroyals:

Are they easy to grow? Yes

Rating: Beginner Friendly

Seeds Accessible: No

How to Grow

Video Reference

Where to Buy Seeds

Magical Usage:

Can be used to boost magical energy for spell work

When placed on a picture of yourself or another person, can repel evil or bring good health

Placed in one’s shoes can prevent weariness during travel and strength your body

Kept in the home will prevent lover’s quarrels

Can be carried when you travel abroad boats to prevent sea sickness

Medical Usage

Is a good digestive tonic for intestinal worms, relieve gas and stomach aches

In tea form, it can help with chills, colds, bronchitis and asthma. Can also help with blood sugar and inducing menstruation

Can be used externally to treat itchiness and formication, the feeling of ants crawling on your body, and rheumatic conditions such as gout.

Sources

[mghospital]

Best Chronic Kidney Disease Treatment in Narasaraopet | Mahathma Gandhi Hospitals

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It is a serious medical condition that can lead to a number of complications, including heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. Treatment for CKD can be complex and requires a multidisciplinary approach. In this blog, we will discuss chronic kidney disease treatment at Mahathma Gandhi Hospital in Narasaraopet.

Mahathma Gandhi Hospital is a well-known hospital in Narasaraopet, Andhra Pradesh, which is equipped with modern facilities and infrastructure to provide comprehensive treatment to patients with various ailments. The hospital has a dedicated team of doctors and staff who specialize in treating patients with kidney-related problems, including CKD.

The treatment of CKD at Mahathma Gandhi Hospital is based on the stage of the disease and the individual needs of the patient. The treatment typically involves a combination of medication, lifestyle changes, and in some cases, dialysis or kidney transplant.

Medication: The hospital has a team of experienced nephrologists who prescribe medication to slow down the progression of CKD and manage the associated complications. The medication may include drugs to control blood pressure, reduce cholesterol levels, and treat anemia.

Lifestyle changes: The hospital has a dedicated team of dieticians who provide customized diet plans to patients with CKD. The diet plan aims to reduce the workload on the kidneys by limiting the intake of certain foods and fluids. The hospital also provides counseling services to help patients quit smoking, reduce alcohol consumption, and manage stress.

Dialysis: In some cases, when the kidneys are no longer able to function properly, dialysis may be required. Mahathma Gandhi Hospital has a state-of-the-art dialysis unit that provides high-quality dialysis services to patients with CKD. The hospital has experienced dialysis technicians and nurses who ensure that the dialysis procedure is safe and effective.

Kidney transplant: For patients with end-stage renal disease, kidney transplant is the only viable option. Mahathma Gandhi Hospital has a well-established kidney transplant program that provides comprehensive care to patients before, during, and after the transplant procedure. The hospital has a team of experienced transplant surgeons, nephrologists, and transplant coordinators who work together to ensure a successful transplant procedure.

Mahathma Gandhi Hospital in Narasaraopet is a reliable and trusted hospital for the treatment of CKD. The hospital provides comprehensive care to patients with CKD, including medication, lifestyle changes, dialysis, and kidney transplant. The hospital has a team of experienced doctors and staff who are committed to providing high-quality care to patients with CKD. If you or a loved one is suffering from CKD, consider seeking treatment at Mahathma Gandhi Hospital. 

Get Appointment:

Call: +91 8647230007

Visit: https://mahathmagandhihospitals.com/service/nephrology/

[lgbtlunaverse]

hi! I'm here from your (very hot btw) 'NMJ has to bottom for medical reasons' fic, thank you for writing it! In addition to the stellar characterization and prose, I love how you've delved more into how the Nie sect and the saber curse works! I also really liked the mention of the Nie sect encouraging men from minor sects to marry into the clan instead of the women marrying out, because it helps make sense of why the Nie sect was able to stay as powerful as it does while its best practitioners are fated to die relatively young from qi deviation.

Now, I know the "saber cultivation has the side effect of amplifying yin-essence" effect in your fic is set up to explain why NMJ needs to get dicked down for his health, but... do you have any ideas about what it might be like for female Nie cultivators in canon? like, would it have been equal opportunity qi deviation, or would women be discouraged from training too much/attaining too high of a cultivation level bc sexism (the duty to rear children), or some secret third thing? iirc there's no canon info on female Nie cultivators anyway, so I'm curious about what you would find plausible given the constraints of canon, since your approach to this aspect of worldbuilding is so thoughtful in your fic

again, thank you for sharing this story with us! hope you have fun writing the next part :3

Thank you for the praise, this is so nice!! Anyway sure i love talking baout my overly convoluted and silly worldbuilding.

So in the fic, the yin-excession caused by saber cultivation is generally minor, and only becomes a real problem for Nie Mingjue once xiyao start playing clarity for him. (And even then only because it was enhanced by liu-leaf. It's not relevant but I wanted to say it: Liu here is the character 流 which means "to flow." It's not a real plant. I made it up. But becuase it's my plant I get to say that it's actually a blood thinner, which is where it gets its name from. It was discovered by Wen doctors, who also figured out it made cores flow more easily too, but they kept that part a secret. Until now.)

Essentially: Yin is characteristic of darkness, and of destruction, and therefore is acquired disproportionally via saber cultivation which gains its power from death, as well as blood. (The blood's also relevant because multiple of the "zang" organs (heart, liver, spleen, kidney, and lung.) Either store, contain, or govern blood, and these are the organs which are considerd to be yin in nature, contrasted by the "fu" yang-natured organs: the small and large lintestine, gall bladder, urinary bladder, stomach and the san jiao. So absorbing blood, like he sabers do, is yin-natured)

(please remember this is not accurate chinese philosophy, it's fanfiction sex magic. I'm referencing real concepts but I'm not intepreting them properly!)

Contrastingly, despite countering the buildup of resentful energy that saber cultivation also causes, Clarity doesn't fix the yin-exessive nature. It makes it worse. Because Yin is also passivity, while Yang is activity. Clarity's soothing and claming nature means that it favours Yin over Yang (again i'm just making shit up here.) Essentially: it solves the main problem while accidentally making a secondary problem worse.

For most cultivators, Yin imbalance won't get you before the resentful energy does. But, as per the fic, the imbalance can actually make your core more vulnerable to said qi deviation.

Because dual cultivation helps, female Nie cultivators actually notice less of this problem... as long as they marry a man that doesn't practice Nie cultivation. Marrying within the clan, or not getting married at all, would shave a few years of your lifespan. And would leave you more vulnerable to yin-excessive imbalance than an unmarried man since your core is already naturally more yin oriented.

Now, whether this means that they'd be encouraged to train less? No, not really. In fact, it doesn't seem that "you're gonna die young" is a deterrent to any Nie training less! (of course we hear rather little of uh... any Nies that are not nmj or nhs. But the version of them I've made up is like that)

They hold martial strength in such a high regard that they're willing to take the inherent risk of saber cultivation, and so this risk being slightly higher for unmarried women makes no difference in this ideal.

Of course there is an added pressure for any women who might not want to marry outside the sect, or marry at all, but that's just a stronger version of the pressure that exists for any woman in a patriarchal society that practices arranged marriages like the one in mdzs. It's technically allowed, (Du Kangli, Nie Fengyong's husband, is actually from a family that has been with the Nie for generations, and practices saber cultivation himself) but discouraged, especially if the women in question are strong cultivators who have reached the stage where qi deviation starts to become a real problem.

One thing that does cause a bit of a problem is that, as I mentioned, once sabers get strong enough they also get pissy when they're not fed with beast blood on a regular basis. Baxia only getting fed shitty human blood for 3 years straight is one of the reasons NMJ's qi deviation is coming abnormally early even for a Nie sect leader.

That causes a bit of an issue when pregnant or recovering from pregnancy. Instead of one whiny baby asking to be fed all the time, you now have two! So the Nie basically have "maintenance" hunts, where pregnant women, or those recovering from birth or injuries, are accompanied by other cultivators whose job it is to trap the beast and set her up for an easy kill to satiate the saber with minimal danger.

[rainbowolfe]

Kalamar’s Gamer Pad

[Modern AU]

[The bishops are influencers. Shamura makes video essays and documentaries but is currently taking a break for their mental health. Kallamar and Narinder are Twitch streamers, Kallamar w/ a focus on horror games, and Narinder w/ a focus on FPSs and anything Nintendo-related. You’ll find Heket and Leshy on Youtube and Tiktok; Heket as a fitness and food influencer, while Leshy does vlogs, comedy skits, commentary, and reactions (and really whatever else he wants). Lamb/Lambert is a rising Youtuber who was initially hired to be Narinder’s editor and mod but got dragged into a feud Narinder was having with his siblings. They were to dig up dirt to use as blackmail, but wound up exposing all five of them in an eight-part series with a mix of embarrassing secrets and mild-to-moderate problematic (but mostly forgivable) actions.]

[Ages: Shamura(32), Kallamar(30), Narinder(29), Heket(26), Leshy(24), Lamb(22), Palaal(22), Lulu(31), Hatty(25)]

Heket let out a long, dramatic sigh, leaning back as she did so.

“Do I have to?” She corrected her posture with a lurch forward.

“It’s important to him.” Shamura hummed in reply before taking a sip of their tea.

 “I’m supposed to hang out with Eligos this afternoon! The new Marvel movie comes out today, you know?”

“I’ve heard.”

“It’s bad enough we couldn’t get tickets to the premiere; You want me to get an even later showing? There’s going to be spoilers all over social media! You know how people are nowadays.”

Shamura was not surprised that Heket had thoughtlessly made plans for today. She had once again responded to their survey as “fully available” for the month, not because she actually was, but because she left the default response in every slot.

“You could simply stay off of social media for the day.”

“Yeah?” Heket did a mix of a scoff and a laugh. “And Narinder could simply stop smoking.”

“Hey.”

“What? I’m kidding!”

“It’s not a matter to joke about.”

Heket crossed her arms, attempting to be stubborn, but she knew she had two strikes already. Shamura was looking away from her. They didn’t want to show they were upset, but it was their go-to move, so she knew.

“Fine, whatever. I’ll tell Eligos to reschedule.”

“Thank you,” Shamura mumbled.

What would usually be a natural end to the conversation felt strained and awkward to Heket. She hoped Leshy would pop in, as he always had good timing—it felt almost supernatural sometimes—but the silence continued.

“It wasn’t a jab, you know?” She added.

“Mmhm.”

‘Gods, where’s Leshy?’

Heket scraped her brain for why Kallamar needed an audience. She was sure that if she asked, that would be strike three, and she’d be rewarded with one of Shamura’s scathing lectures. She was going to have to figure it out as the day went on.

She tapped away at her phone, partially pretending to look busy by refreshing the app for tickets.

Leshy finally joined the two down in Shamura’s living room.

“Finally! Were you passing a kidney stone up there?” Heket exclaimed.

“Fuck off, I was taking a shit.” Leshy shot back lightheartedly.

They piled into Leshy’s little car—Shamura in the passenger seat, Heket in the back—and went on their way. She was surprised when Leshy pulled onto the freeway, she assumed they would be picking up Kallamar next. Now she really didn’t know what they were doing today.

-/-/-/-

“Who doesn’t own a hair dryer?”

“Narinder… I don’t have hair.”

“How do I smell?”

Kallamar raised one of his tentacles and placed it near Narinder’s general vicinity. The smell he picked up was faint, but he made a face regardless.

“Better than you did.” He responded as the tentacle slithered back where it belonged. 

Narinder groaned. “Seriously?”

Narinder had arrived early to shower off the evidence that he’d been smoking before Shamura got a whiff of him. He knew they’d hold their tongue—today was Kallamar’s day—but they’d have something to say afterwards if they figured out he wasn’t as clean as he said he was. He was willing to try and hide it, but he felt that blatantly lying to them was crossing a line.

“Why don’t you just switch to vaping? It’s the same garbage without the stench.” Kallamar rolled his eyes.

“Because I’m not a loser. Vapes are lame,” Narinder rolled his eyes right back. “No one looks cool taking a rip off their bright green, raspberry-pussy flavored USB-drives.”

“Oh, is that why you smoke? To look cool?”

Narinder had to admit, that actually was the reason why he started.

“You’re a few decades too late.” Kallamar added. He checked his phone. “Ah, they’re almost here. Come on.”

Narinder got a different, dry towel and threw it over his head to obscure his vision. Kallamar then took him by the hand and led him back through the house to the front door. Normally he wouldn’t indulge such silliness, but Kallamar was doing him a favor by allowing him to come early like this.

And it was impressive that he had bought his own house for him and his partners. Narinder had to give credit where credit was due, even Shamura still lived with roommates. Heket and Leshy lived together in a one-bedroom apartment, and though Narinder was currently playing an extended game of chicken with Lambert over moving in together, they would still be renting. 

Kallamar diminished this achievement (according to some, anyways) by referring to it as a tour of his “gamer pad”, but it was important nonetheless. Narinder would make a conscious effort to reel back his usual teasing and mocking of Kallamar, and he advised Leshy to do the same. He would’ve said something to Heket, but he didn’t want to give her any reason to block his number this week.

He had a friend that managed to get into an early screening of the new Marvel movie coming out, and they slipped him a few recordings of “big” moments sloppily done with their phone. He hid a clip of a major character’s death in the middle of a short, unrelated video, so that once the recipient saw it, it’d be too late to look away. Then she could (and most definitely would) block him.

He didn’t expect Heket to show up. He knew the stupid movie came out today (and knew what time her tickets were for), so he’d be ruining it for her. Her absence would surely dampen Kallamar’s mood, so Narinder felt it was only fair to dampen hers as well. For Kallamar’s sake, he hoped she would prove him wrong today, but he wouldn’t hold his breath.

“Here are the stairs. Be caref—Be careful!”

Kallamar nearly had a heart attack as Narinder sped down the stairs with confidence, somehow making it down without missing a step. He huffed, then began hid descent down at a pace that worked for him.

“I trust that your house is built to-code.” Narinder turned to face Kallamar with a shrug, but instead faced the nearest wall.

“What does that have to do with running down the stairs blind?”

“A good set of stairs are all the same height and length. Once you take the first step, your brain knows where the rest are.”

“…I don’t think that’s true.”

“I made it down the stairs, didn’t I?”

“By sheer luck, maybe.”

Narinder laughed shortly, then paused as Kallamar began to guide him again. He hadn’t thought much about it when he arrived since his mind was preoccupied with other things, but…

“Why did you buy a house with stairs?”

Narinder’s tone wasn’t accusatory, he was genuinely confused. If there was one thing Kallamar complained the most about, it was stairs. Rightfully so. But while he would have trouble finding a house in the area with squid-accessible stairs, there are certainly plenty of one-story homes available. Maybe that’s why he sounded so defensive in his response.

“I just loved this place the most! It’s perfect! Er, aside from the stairs. But that’s it’s only flaw!” He explained. “A flaw that can be corrected with some modifications. Is that not the point of homeownership? To make it your own?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, front entrance! You can take the towel off now.”

Kallamar opened the door. His face lit up with glee when he saw his three other siblings. He called out each of their names as a greeting and proclaimed how happy he was to see them. He really was, he was afraid only Shamura would show up. Narinder gave a single greeting to address all three of them.

“Come in, come in! Welcome to my gamer pad!” Kallamar held the door open.

“How’s the Triforce?” Leshy asked as he passed through the doorway, referring to Kallamar’s three partners.

“Oh, they’re just lovely. Hatty and Lulu are out together, and Palaal’s around, but he’s working. Supposed to be working, anyways.”

The foyer was illuminated with natural light from the tall windows on the front and side walls. On the walls without windows and the hallway leading into the rest of the house were framed posters from various games and movies, some of which were even signed by the voice actors and actors.

The group exchanged hugs and handshakes—Leshy and Narinder’s “secret” handshake seemed to increase in complexity every time they saw each other—and made the usual small talk as they took off their shoes and coats. There were questions about when Narinder arrived and why he was damp, but he gave no solid answers. Though he hated their nosiness regarding his personal relationships, he namedropped Lambert as bait to change the subject, and they took it.

“I didn’t know you were doing another content house.” Heket suddenly commented, causing even the conversations she wasn’t apart of to grind to a halt. “Who else is staying here? Anyone I know?”

“…what?” Kallamar stared in confusion. “I’m… not? This is my house.”

“My gods, are you crazy? Renting a place this huge? You might as well buy the damn place.”

“I did?”

“What?”

“What?” He parroted back with a different intonation.

“…you bought a house!?”

Shamura and Leshy sighed.

“Yeah, that’s why I—”

“That’s amazing! Congratulations!” Heket clapped her hands together. She was sincerely excited now that she knew, but also didn’t want to leave any space for the others to question how she didn’t know already. “I can’t believe it! Well, I can, your RSS feed’s always got something new in it. You’re a hit!”

Kallamar could’ve harped on her not knowing. Tt did somewhat hurt his feelings. He opted not to, however. He thanked her warmly and moved forward.

He turned with a flourish and began to lead the way down the main hallway.

“I’ll make this very quick! Let us commence the tour,” He announced. “I know you all have busy lives, and I really appreciate you all coming! Don’t worry, this wasn’t just for the sake of attention. There’s something in it for you,”

The left wall in the spacious hallway was different. It had been painted matte black from floor to ceiling. Kallamar picked up a plastic bag that had been sitting up against the wall. He reached into it and pulled out a handful of white Sharpies of varying thickness.

“I wanted you all to be the first names on my guest wall!”

Kallamar frequently hosted parties and other gatherings, and the day he saw a similar concept, he dreamed of having one of his own. When people visited for the first time, they could sign their name on the wall like a guestbook. His siblings eagerly did so.

Leshy wrote his name with a standard-sized sharpie, and then his simple logo under it. Heket signed hers in big, blocky letters that she then filled in with stripes and dots. Narinder used the thickest sharpie available to sign his, placing a pair of cat ears above the “e” as he often did. Finally, Shamura signed their name in cursive, not nearly as large as everyone else. They had to go over it again to make up for their normally light handwriting.

Seeing all their names together filled Kallamar with unimaginable joy. He continued the tour passed the stairway (which he promptly justified again) and into the living-dining room, which certainly screamed “gamer pad”. The curtains were closed so that the LED lighting slowly shifting through the rainbow could properly set the vibe. There was additional lighting that provided actual visibility without overpowering the colored lights.

The blocky, red and black couch, the massive TV mounted on the wall, the side tables being held up by out-stretched hands, the tablecloth with a pattern of blood splatters, and the handful of beanbag chairs splayed out somehow worked in cohesion despite no obvious common thread. Maybe it was the Dead by Daylight themed rug in the center of the room. The posters in this room weren’t framed, but they were plentiful, alternating spaces on the walls with decals depicting some of Kallamar’s preferred perk-loadouts. Shelves on either side of the TV held minor collectibles Kallamar didn’t mind losing if a guest got a little handsy.

“This is the living-dining room! The place where everyone’s kind of free to gather. It’s equipped with surround sound!” Kallamar gestured. “It’s not setup yet, but there’s a working photo booth! Isn’t that so vintage?”

“Aaah… you’ve already painted?” Shamura observed. “It’s very… bold.”

Kallamar had indeed painted the walls a royal purple with the help of Lulu and Palaal. The ceiling was also purple, albeit a less saturated shade.

“The red and purple work, surprisingly.” Leshy hummed as he took it all in. It wasn’t how he’d decorate, but he thought it looked well-enough.

“Yes, yes. I wanted to color code the house. Purple means anyone can be in here.” Kallamar explained. “Though, we have a lot more painting to do, this room was the most important to finish first.”

“Huh. Not bad, brother.” Narinder said. “Gaudy, just like you.”

“I won’t dignify that with a response.”

“You just did.”

Kallamar made a noise of defeat. He ushered them deeper into the house, showing off the spacious kitchen equipped with a pantry (painted blue to mean “you can come in here if you need to”), and then the second living room (painted maroon to mean “invite only”). This second living room was sectioned off with a sliding glass door. Though it had a similar vibe and setup to the first living room with its massive TV and variety of consoles, instead of merchandise and quirky décor, it contained photos of Kallamar, his partners, and his family on the walls and atop of every surface. There was a box containing more photos already in frames, waiting for more shelving and wall mounts to be installed.

“This is our personal living room.” He said as he slid the door open.

The group went quiet for a moment as they entered and looked around.

“Awww, when was this taken?” Heket cooed, moving closer to a particular photo.

“No clue. Hatty found it hidden on the bookshelf while we were packing.” Kallamar shrugged.

The picture depicted the five siblings as teenagers, dressed in formalwear. Despite their fancy clothing, the photo was taken in the midst of chaos, everyone slightly blurry as they reacted to something out of frame. Narinder began to laugh.

“Look at your face!” He pointed out Heket’s goofy, shocked expression.

“My face? Look at yours! And your fluffed up tail too,”

While Kallamar was initially in a rush to do the tour, he relaxed as he realized everyone was enjoying themselves. No one seemed disinterested or anxious to leave for once.

“Ah, ah. I remember.” Shamura suddenly interjected amidst the younger trio’s teasing of each other. “This is from Kallamar and Narinder’s prom. On the boat? We were boarded and hijacked by terrorists.”

A long ‘ohhh’ came from all four of them in unison. No wonder the photo had been hidden away. That year prom was held on a yacht. Shamura came as a chaperone, Heket tagged along as Narinder’s “plus one”, and Leshy snuck aboard with the aid of Shamura.

“Terrorists” may have been a strong word for what those hijackers were, but they did ruin prom. Kallamar was by-far the most upset by what happened, even years later when what was a fairly terrifying situation became a funny story shared as an icebreaker. It was really Kallamar’s prom after all, Narinder was just a junior. He got to go to a prom the next year that was very fun and wasn’t invaded by pirates.

Once everyone got their fix of looking at old photos and reminiscing, the house tour continued. The rest of it was less of a “gamer pad” and more of a normal house, for now at least.

“The recreation room is through those doors, but right now it’s just the room we’re keeping all the boxes.” Kallamar gave a short chuckle. “But through this door,” He pushed it open and stepped outside. “Is the natural swimming pool!”

He paused for the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’, which he received. Along with a comment from Narinder paired with agreement from Heket.

“You mean, a pond?”

“NO. It’s different!” Kallamar insisted.

“How?”

“Er… Ponds… are for nature. They’re decorative.”

“Ponds are living ecosystems that maintain themselves. Interference from people can make one clean enough to swim in.” Shamura chimed in. “A natural swimming pool, on the other hand, is just a regular pool kept clean without chemicals.”

The pool was on the smaller end, nothing fit for a large group. But Kallamar didn’t intend to use it for events, this door was slated to be painted red. The walls and ceiling tapered off and blended seamlessly into the path leading into what would be the garden, but was currently just a large patch of grass and dirt.

“Okay, back inside. There’s really only two other rooms I wish to show off.” Kallamar said.

He led the group back the way they came to the main hallway, this time taking them up the stairs. All the while pointing out various features of the house that didn’t need a dedicated stop, like the closets and bathrooms:

“There’s a half-bath halfway up the stairs here, isn’t that queer?”

“I’m thinking of commissioning a mural to put on that wall, so that’s why it’s so bare.”

“I forget which ones which, but this series of doors are Hatty’s, Lulu’s, and Palaal’s rooms.”

“There’s three bathrooms up here, plus the master one. Can you believe that?”

He finally came to the next stop on the tour, situated next to a large, bay window that looked out into the backyard.

“And heeere’s… my office!” He flung the door open with a flourish.

The gamer pad was in full swing in here. Though the LEDs were off in favor of letting in natural light, the vibes didn’t need their assistance. The door would be painted red with the rest, but the walls in this room were painted a bright shade of green. All but one wall had a black, checkboard pattern layer on top of the green, each square a little over a foot long and wide.

There was, of course, his ocean-themed gaming computer that made it look like there were fish swimming through the parts. Lots of recording equipment (cameras, lights, etc) was both setup and placed aside for later use. The floor was carpeted, but was almost completely covered with a massive, light blue rug. On the opposite side of the room was a second computer, one intended for editing. And between them, there was just enough space for a Nugget couch in a pale shade of green.  

“This looks exactly the same as your old office.” Heket said, feigning to be unimpressed, but mostly just messing with him.

“No! It’s totally different! Look, I painted!” Kallamar gestured wildly. “And it’s less cramped,”

“Ah. I’m sorry. This looks like a slightly more spacious version of your old office.”

As Heket and Kallamar went back and forth about the differences in décor and styles of the old and new office, Shamura went to sit down. They had a sense for how long those two would go on after all these years, and it was long enough that they’d take the chance to rest their legs.

“Don’t sit on that.” Narinder said when he noticed.

Shamura paused mid-squat. “Why not?”

“You don’t know about Nugget couches?”

They straightened up, unsure if they were now being messed with. “I can’t say I do. What’s wrong with them, pray tell?”

“They absolutely have sex on that thing.”

Shamura and Leshy both snickered at the same time, Shamura more out of surprise than anything.

Kallamar sputtered mid-sentence, akin to a verbal keyboard smash, before he could respond. “What!? We do not!”

“You. Are a liar.” Narinder then looked at Shamura. “They’re modular couches for children, but they happen to be great for sex,” He looked back at Kallamar. “And unless there’s a secret child you’ve been hiding from us…”

“I got it from a sponsorship! It’s a cute couch, is it not? A cute, free couch!”

“I’d be more inclined to believe you if it wasn’t in your office.” Heket joined the conversation after processing what had been said.

“It’s too small to go in the living rooms and it doesn’t fit the theme. I stuck it in here because there was space.”

“Sooo, you don’t use it, then? It’s just a space filler?” Leshy asked.

“Yes, exactly.”

“Can I have it?”

Well, now Kallamar was cornered. He wanted to say ‘no’, but it would confirm their accusation. His silence goes unnoticed as the banter continues.

“Why do you want a used sex couch?” Heket laughed.

“Well, it’s not used according to him. Those things are great to sleep on, there’s one at the library.”

“Wasn’t there another stop on the tour?” Shamura chimed in, coming to Kallamar’s rescue as they often did.

“OH! Yes, yes, the most important stop, I almost forgot!” Kallamar jumped at the chance to change the subject. “Lets go everyone, don’t get comfortable.”

Leshy and Heket tittered to each other about the couch as they all were shooed out the room. Kallamar took them further down the hall where they seemed to be storing more boxes waiting to be unpacked. He turned and waited for them to stop chattering amongst themselves, which they do surprisingly quickly.

“Right about here I’d like to get a partition installed, somewhere down the road. It’d give the guest rooms… your rooms… a bit more privacy.”

There was a moment of silence. It’s broken by Shamura’s uncharacteristic squeal of excitement.

“Aww, Kally!” They surged forward and trapped Kallamar in a tight hug. “Did you really…?”

His other siblings had similar things to say about this pleasant surprise. Excited chatter filled the hall.

“Is this your way of inviting us to move in?” Narinder asked, eyebrow raised.

“No.” Kallamar replied, maybe a bit too quickly. “They’re just if… if you guys wanted to visit…! Stay for a few days, or a few weeks. Or if you end up needing somewhere to go, I guess you could move in. And during the holidays too!”

“Look at you, trying to act stand-offish.” Heket grinned. “Get over here!”

Now it was her turn to smother the little squid in a hug(one that was bordering on a headlock). Maybe it was worth missing her movie to see Kallamar’s “gamer pad”.

“This is perfect. You can just move that Nugget couch into my room here!” Leshy chortled.

“Oh my god.” Was all Kallamar had to say to him.

When they went back downstairs, the group noticed the smell of meat wafting through the hallways.

“Would any of you care for a snack before you left?” Kallamar asked.

“Who else is here?” Heket mumbled mostly to herself.

Leshy reminded her that Palaal was said to be around, though none of them had seen him. Narinder was already walking back towards the kitchen.

“Aaah, do we have time to spare?” Shamura directed their question mainly to Heket. “I’m rather peckish, but I wouldn’t want to keep you…”

“We can stay longer.”

And off Shamura went before she could finish her sentence. In the kitchen, Narinder and Palaal were having their usual level of exchange.

“It’s strange of you to sneak around your own house.” Narinder said.

“Maaaybe,”

“Maybe?”

“But I like people’s reaction when they discover—Surprise! I’ve been here the whole time,”

He grabbed a taquito off the tray Palaal held. “Well, Kallamar told us you were here.”

“Awww, really? Shame.” Palaal gave a mock pout. “Well, thanks for the pity-reaction.”

The pout became a barely-contained smile as the two of them held extended eye contact. Narinder’s ear twitched. Palaal broke the eye contact to greet the others.

“Hey Darling! Shamura! I made taquitos!”

“May I?” Shamura was more hungry than they previously admitted.

“Of course!”

[kakiastro]

Houses

The houses is the next important part of astrology. The houses represents the area of life the planets and signs affect.

1 house - Aries house

Self

You are the main character of your life

How you look

First impressions that people make lf you when the first meet you

Head/ skin complexion

Incarnation

Worldly outlook

Public conscious

Manners

Habits

Early Childhood

One indication of life purpose

2 house -Taurus house

Your finances and wealth

Your family values/ your values

Banks

Investments

Comfort foods/foods

Chef

Farmers/farming

Food resources

Your voice

Throat

Taxes/ revenue

Friends of partners

Economy

Secrets pleasures and desires

Pleasures

Skills and resources

Possessions

Fashion aesthetics

Music taste

3 house- Gemini house

Communication

Radio

Information

Tv

Writings

Journals/ books about specific topics

Siblings

Transportation (cars, trucks, trains and boats)

Lungs

Fingers/finger nails

Aunts/uncles

Short trips

Education (k-12)

Teachers

Critics/ criticism

Video games / board games/arena games

4 house- Cancer house

Women/feminine

Mothers

Parents in general

Babies

Breast/chest

Milk

Showers/ baths/ ponds/rain

Home life

Family life/ ancestors

Hidden thoughts and feelings

Digestive system

Private life

Realtors/real estate/ renters/ home owners

Father in law

Old people

Nursing/nurses/nursery

Hotels/ motels

5 house- Leo house

How we have fun

Actors/actresses

Directors/filmmakers/ motion pictures/

Entertainment/amusement

Movie theaters

Concerts

Games/Arcade games/arena games

Theater/ dance/ acting

Music/musicals/musicians

Drama

Pride

Ego

Romance

Lovers

Dates/date night

Creativity

Child(ren)

Youth

First born child

2nd sibling

Gambling/gamblers

Royals

King/ Prince/ Queen/ Princess/ other novels

Your Heart organ

Lottery

6 house- Virgo house

Health

Health professionals (doctors, nurses)

Healers/ outer healing

Animals(small and domestic)

Artistic abilities

Birds

Body health

Hygiene

Physical examination

Bowels

Medical drugs

Caretakers

Brother/sister in law’s reputation

Critic/criticism

Judgement

Organizations/organized

Notes

Writing in details

Cooking

Employees

Co workers

Intelligence

First responders

Butler, maids, busboys

Cleaners

Grandchildren reputation

Offices

Companies

7 house- Libra house

Relationships (platonic & romantic )

Business/ business partners

First Marriage

Divorce

Alliances

Grandparents in general

Grandma

Husband & Wife

2nd Child

3rd sibling

Lawyers/law suites/laws

Court of law

Agents

Agreements/disagreements

Liver

Kidneys

Bladder

Butt

Lower back

Controversial

Dealings with the public

Open public enemies

Art, artist

Actors/actresses

Bars

Contest

Serious lovers

Close fan base

Affection

8 house- Scorpio house

Death/rebirth

Giving birth

Joint finances with partner

Wealth through marriage

Other people finances

Deepest fears

Obsessions

Genitals

Sex/sex work

Heirs

Heirlooms

Occult/occult studies

Debt

Underground crime

Surgery

Inner power

Psychic abilities

Psychology/ psychology therapy

Therapist

9 house- Sagittarius house

Spirituality/ religion (church, clergy, prophet, spiritual gifts)

Philosophy and ideals on life

Long range travel

Long range communication

Dreams and faith

Higher learning(college, grad school)

Teachers

Astral travel

Books/journals about broad topics

3rd child

Logic

Intellect

Metaphysics

Airports

Ships/shipping/shipping docks

Horses

Pets end of life

Hips and thighs

Liver

Upper legs

Supreme Court

10 house-Capricorn house

Career

Public status in society

Public image

Publicity

Success

Ambition

Knee/kneecaps

Skeletal system

Teeth

Famous family/family name

Fame

Popularity

Infamous

Scandals

CEO/ supervisor/managers

Father/fatherhood

Authority figure in your life

Government(president, senates, house, prime minister) all officials

Vocation

11 house- Aquarius house

Humanity

Humanitarian

Community

Friend groups

Social groups

Acquaintances

Friendship

Friends appearance

Science

Technology

Stans (loyal fans)

Support system

Aspiration and dreams

4th child

Step children

Daughter/ Son in laws

Community projects

Wealth within social groups

City

Lower calves/ankles

Flattery

Social media

Memberships and clubs

V

12 house- Pisces house

Deep dreams

Mythical/mystical/ ethereal

Asylums

Bondage

Blackmail

Fraud

Bootleggers

Spiritual

Burglary/burgalers

Cheating/cheaters

The unknown

Conspiracies

Hidden talents

True talents

Clinics

Prisons

Pass life

Karma/karmic

Monks

Intrigue

Hidden society

Hidden cults

Misinformation meditation

Inner Healing

Spiritual gifts

Drugs

Addictions

Orphanage

Partners career

Veterinarian

Voting/voters

Inner pain

Nurses

Big cats

Bigger animals such as elephants ect

Thank you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed this post

[meret118]

Tainted CPAP machines and ventilators went to children, the elderly and at least 700,000 veterans despite internal warnings. Company insiders said the devices posed an “unacceptable” risk.

The first complaints landed at the offices of Philips Respironics in 2010, soon after the company made a fateful decision to redesign its bestselling breathing machines used in homes and hospitals around the world.To silence the irritating rattle that kept users awake at night, Philips packed the devices with an industrial foam — the same kind used in sofas and mattresses. It quickly became clear that something had gone terribly wrong.

The reports coming into Philips described “black particles” or “dirt and dust” inside machines that pump air to those who struggle to breathe. One noted an “oily-like” substance. Others simply warned of “contamination.”

Yet Philips withheld the vast majority of the warnings from the Food and Drug Administration, even as their numbers grew from dozens to hundreds to thousands and became more alarming each year.

. . .

Instead, as the complaints continued to pile up in company files, Philips waged aggressive global marketing campaigns to sell more machines, including new models fitted with the hazardous foam.The sales pitch worked: The devices went to infants, the elderly and at least 700,000 veterans. The company also promoted machines meant for some of the sickest people in the country, rolling out a new ventilator filled with the foam in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

. . .

All the while, people using Philips machines were suffering from illnesses that no one could explain: vomiting, dizziness and headaches, along with newly diagnosed cancers of the lungs, throat, sinuses and esophagus. One man in Philadelphia coughed so hard that he broke his ribs, and a Florida woman with a hacking cough was hospitalized for days and placed on oxygen.

. . .

Studies published in scholarly journals showed the foam broke apart in heat and moisture. The company used it anyway, even though the machines send air for hours at a time into the lungs of users.

. . .

As news of the problem spread, customers and others stepped forward by the thousands, describing emergency room visits and sudden illnesses in reports submitted to Philips and the government. The reports detailed nearly 2,000 cases of cancer, 600 liver and kidney illnesses and 17,000 respiratory ailments.

. . .

The company acknowledges that the foam tested positive for genotoxicity — its own experts described “uncontrolled cellular replication” — but said that a third-party assessment still concluded the machines are unlikely to cause harm.

The three experts consulted by the news organizations said that’s not possible. While safety thresholds for chemical emissions vary and findings can be open to interpretation, genotoxicity means that one or more chemicals are changing cells, the building blocks of the human body.

“You can’t make the argument that it’s safe. That’s bad science,” said the engineer familiar with the Philips testing. “It’s a real-life failure that shows you have a problem. There’s no ambiguity. There is unacceptable risk. Full stop.”

The company’s ventilators also tested positive for genotoxicity; Philips said the devices are still being assessed.

. . .

More details about the health risks are expected to emerge through the ongoing federal lawsuits in Pittsburgh. Earlier this month, the company reached a settlement in one of the cases, agreeing to pay at least $479 million to reimburse customers and others for the costs of the defective machines.

Other legal challenges are still ongoing, including more than 600 personal injury claims and a class-action suit seeking ongoing medical monitoring and research on the dangers posed by the devices.

------

They knew the foam would break down when they decided to use it. Tests within the company after complaints came in showed how dangerous the devices were, but they refused to even change the design for new sales, much less recall the old ones. For every official complaint, how many more people were harmed that weren't reported?

They didn't recall them until 3,700 official complaints had been made. Until after they sold over 5 million life-threatening machines. There's no way to know how many people they killed.

If they think the products are so great, then they won't mind being forced to use them.

Companies will keep doing this until the financial cost of hurting people is greater than the profits from doing so.

Trigger warning for disturbing medical details, descriptions of suffering, and an image of a permanent feeding tube, in the article.

[yugiohprince]

Yo! Real random thing, but your siren Sanji post caught my attention when you mentioned that you've become interested in the thought of Sanji eating people. I have a weird au and Sanji does cook people for the crew, depending on the person. Don krieg was his first test in my au. Kinda curious in your siren au? (love the art by the way!)

hello! my ideas re: sanji eating people weren’t really specific to my siren drawing so much as just an idea for an au where sanji eats people (i haven’t really thought of a specific reason/backstory) and is kinda just a manifestation of my hannibal brain worms & some recent dungeon meshi fanart ive been seeing.

i’m putting most of this under read more, warnings for cannibalism, mild gore, etc

but the idea is pretty much that zoro finds out that sanji’s a cannibal and starts to bring him some organs/limbs from people who he kills for their bounties before he hands them over to the world gov for payment. and eventually, the curiosity gets to him, not re: eating people, but what it’d be like to get eaten, exacerbated by his growing obsession/interest in sanji. and it eventually comes to a point where zoro starts to cut out some of his own organs that aren’t as important (a kidney, part of his liver, etc) to give to sanji and watches him eat (its a whole entire fucked up becoming one type of thing, like they could just explore eachother’s bodies but i guess this works too). and the codependency/obsession gets worse to the point that zoro doesn’t have much more to give without severely affecting his health, but driven by his love (whether its real or he just thinks its love) he cuts open his chest to let sanji eat straight from the source (id like to think that sanji goes straight for his heart for symbolic purposes).

I also have a version of this in my mind where luffy is the cannibal and sanji is his friend/chef who knows his secret and is trying to keep him well fed so that he doesn’t go terrorizing the general public. and one day zoro gets lost in the back alleys of the town that they’re in and comes across sanji expertly carving a dead body to eventually cook up for luffy. sanji threatens to kill him, but zoro offers to help, since he’s already a bounty hunter and the world government probably won’t notice if he turns in some dead pirates w a few pieces missing. so zoro catches pirates w bounties, brings them to sanji to remove some meat, and then sanji cooks them for luffy. i haven’t really thought about if sanji also eats people in this particular au, but i think that if there were a shortage of meat for luffy, sanji would be the one to sacrifice parts of himself and maybe there’s a scene where he guides zoro on how to carve out parts of him.

i’ve just been thinking a lot about how there’s some jokes made in one piece about luffy eating his crewmates (i think there’s a joke early on when they don’t have food, and i think there’s a few jokes made at chopper’s expense) and i don’t think that oda will ever explore this, but again, w hannibal and dungeon meshi on my mind, my thoughts on it have been kinda manifesting in weird ways.

i also think that it’s more in character for sanji to be sacrificing himself (in general) than for zoro to be sacrificing himself in my cannibal!sanji au, but guess that’s just how it shakes out (cannibalism as a metaphor for love etc etc).

but also speaking specifically about siren!sanji, when i was drawing it, i did imagine that the heart that he’s eating is zoro’s (re: cannibal!sanji au). i also initially had his eyebrow curl the other way (re: germa genes activating) but changed it last min cause it would’ve been covered by his hair and thus he wouldn’t really b recognizable as sanji. maybe germa & family are sirens in the classic maneater sense and sanji was always moreso just fascinated w humans (like disney’s little mermaid) and he befriends zoro, who’s a lonely sailer who got lost at sea. but one day his germa genes activate and ends up eating zoro (who doesn’t see it coming cause he got used to seeing sanji as a friend/docile).

sorry none of this is super fleshed out, but all of these diff aus have been kinda floating around in my head recently. i’ve also been wanting to draw the scene where sanji is eating zoros heart straight from his chest, but idk if my drawing skills are good enough rn to really portray it with the same feeling/vibes that are in my head.

thank you for liking my siren drawing!!