#pre vet struggles

[thatsleepymermaid]

Any vets out there that took a non-traditional path? I'm thinking of taking a few years in-between to finish a few classes and gain experience.

Any advice is welcome as all the veterinarians I know went directly after undergrad and have been no help.

[thelegendofstudy]

New school year and new classes! Once I passed organic chemistry I was finally allowed to take Animal Behavior and get into some more interesting things. I am already a little behind on school due to some personal reasons but it shouldn't be too hard to catch up since it's the first week!

Today I:

Finished my hypothesis about the campus squirrels

Worked on the diamondback terrapin project

Emailed every professor about accomodations

[margaretthatchersdead]

Reasons to end the monarchy: Charles Edition

Well it's the coronation so you know what it's time for.

The entire concept of a monarchy is actively undemocratic. The head of state should not be someone who is only in that position because they were born into a certain family.

Having a monarchy upholds classism as a specific family of great wealth and power are viewed as superior to others.

They stand for a history of racism and imperialism. This country has done some truly terrible things in its history and the monarchy are a symbol of that. In order to attempt to begin to undo the harm that we have done, we need to remove this symbol of oppression.

The royal family have previously lobbied the government to hide their own personal wealth. Despite this, we are obviously aware that they have a large amount of wealth.

Prince Charles has himself lobbied the government on a number of occasions. His 'black spider memos' show that he has repeatedly pressured ministers on a wide range of topics from the Iraq war to badger culling to alternative therapies. He has used his power to lobby the government on subjects that would affect him.

The monarch does not occupy a ceremonial role as is frequently claimed. Ministers and civil servants have to consult the monarch. Civil servants have to get the consent of the royals on pieces of legislation, which can cause delays on implementation.

Even if the monarch did occupy a purely ceremonial role, as a literal billionaire he wields a ridiculously high amount of power over people.

Windsor Castle brings in less money than Windsor Legoland does. The many castles that are owned by the royal family could be used to create spaces for the public to enjoy or to be used as a shelter for the homeless. The Louvre in Paris used to be house of the French monarchy and gets over twenty times the tourists. Edinburgh castle hasn't had the monarchy live in it for centuries and yet still brings in tourism.

Prince Andrew is widely known to be connected to Jeffrey Epstein; yet he has not had to face any repercussions for his actions despite blatantly lying when being asked about his actions. The royal family have defended him and prevented him from facing the consequences of his actions.

They cost around £334 million per year. This money could be used to help the poor, given to the NHS, to repair and build infrastructure, to support small businesses that are struggling, pretty much anything.

The royal household publishes a much lower figure about the cost of the royal family, so they are actively trying to cover up their cost.

Charles has had access to confidential Cabinet papers, undermining our democracy.

He has publicly championed alternative medicine and has repeatedly promoted it. He sent at least seven letters to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, that then shortly relaxed the rules governing the labeling of herbal products, ones he as part of Charles's Duchy Originals produces.

He lobbied the health secretary regarding greater provision of alternative treatments on the NHS.

In 2018, 46% of Britons wanted him to abdicate immediately after Elizabeth died. He’s barely wanted by the country even with the sheer amount of pro-monarchy propaganda going around. Charles specifically is very unpopular.

In order to speak to him, broadcasters had to sign a 15-page contract, which includes Clarence house attending the rough and fine cut edits of films and if unhappy can remove that contribution, as well as stipulating that all questions directed at him must be pre-approved and vetted by his representative.

His personal wealth is £1.8 billion. He inherited a large amount of this from Elizabeth, with it being exempt from inheritance tax. Having an immunity from this tax when others don’t is ridiculous.

The Duchy of Cornwall was named in the Paradise papers.

The coronation is going to cost £100 million during a cost of living crisis.

People have been banned from protesting Charles with official warning letters were sent to anti-monarchists.

Protestors who block roads, airports and railways could face an entire year behind bars. Locking yourself to others, objects or buildings could go to prison for six months and face an unlimited fine. Police are allowed to head off disruption by stopping and searching protestors that they suspect.

The public were encouraged to swear allegiance to the new King when he gets sworn in, this is a deeply disturbing suggestion.

He's a billionaire who's going to use the public's money to celebrate himself.

The monarch has sweeping immunity from many laws

He owns business parks and small rented cottages, six of the ten top residential homes, 285,000 acres of mineral rich land. He’s ridiculously rich in a country where so many people are facing extreme poverty.

[hadeantaiga]

We were talking about "kids these days", but not in a "fuck them" kind of way, in a "jfc they desperately need help and I guess that's gotta be me" kind of way.

This fall was the first group of incoming college freshman who'd spent most of their highschool years in COVID lockdown, and y'all. You struggled. And I'm sad you struggled. I didn't have a lot of control over the class I taught this semester, it was all online and the content was pre-made.

But I'm getting hired (I hope) as a full professor next fall, and I have many ideas.

Week 1, we're going to learn how to use the online learning tools, even if it's an in-person class. A lot of students this semester missed 10% of their grade because they couldn't find some of the content. So you guys need help learning how to use these systems, and that's definitely my job.

Also Week 1, I'm going to introduce note-taking tools, methods, and techniques. A lot of kids have no idea how to take notes. It's a skill you have to be taught.

Week 2, I'm going to start them on how to find real sources online, and how to vet the sources they're reading. Someone I talked to today said "the problem isn't that they can't find information, it's that there's too much information, and most of it isn't true". So that's going to be a theme for the whole semester.

Some time before the first test I'm going to teach studying techniques. Again - a lot of kids just don't know how to study. How can I expect them to do well on a test if they can't study for it??

And then, throughout the semester, I'm going to teach a mix of computer skills, including file structure and navigating the system, saving files as PDFs, using Acrobat, Word, Excel, PPT, and programs like that. I'm going to introduce them to Zotero and how to integrate it into Word because the sooner you learn how to do that the happier you will be when you're writing big term papers in your 400 level courses.

Anyway. Those are my starting ideas.

Did anyone else struggle this semester? What do you wish someone had taught you how to do?

[nothorses]

What is your opinion on terf blocklists, where every one on there at the time had clear and intentional radfem beliefs pushing shitty ideas about trans people and easily identifiable as to what exactly they believe via what they say and circulate and who they constantly reblog shitty things about trans people from?

I promise this is a genuine good faith question; I want to understand if the thing I've been taught be others to do with the purported intention of eliminating platforms for terfs to protect ourselves and others is actually helpful or if that also has far reaching consequences I hadn't considered before. I'm trying to think about it but struggling with the idea I got taught to do them/follow them (blocklists) for being to identify correctly and block, not harass. But do the harms of encouraging that approach actually outweigh the benefits and that doesn't change even if the blocklist is for actual bigots?

Again, genuine question. Trying to learn.

I think the problem here is less in how a blocklist is constructed; it's not hard to imagine that a list can be made under strict enough criteria, with enough careful vetting, to contain only Genuinely Bad People- or at least people who would not object to being placed in the category of that list. It's also not hard to come up with categories of people that feel morally reprehensible enough, and unattached from any marginalized identity enough, to be "safe" to target: it would be absurd to argue against a "Nazi blocklist" that contains only self-proclaimed Nazis.

The problem also isn't really in how blocklists are intended to be used; it's pretty fair that someone might want a list of people to block pre-emptively in order to avoid harassment, particularly when that harassment is bigoted. It's not hard to imagine that someone making such a list is doing so with the intent that it only be used for blocking, and that they might even make an effort to say as much in the post. And at that point, is it really their fault if someone goes against their clearly-stated wishes?

The problem is that a blocklist is, by fundamental design, "free research". It's put forth entirely so other people do not have to do their own research, which means the entire premise discourages people from doing that research.

You aren't offering up a list of people that others should go look into and form their own opinion about, you're offering up a list of people you already did the research on so people can copy/paste and be done with it. It would be counterproductive- and frankly silly- to post a blocklist with some "but make sure to double check these yourself!" disclaimer, because like, that's not the point of the list. Nobody is going to do that. Even if they did, they're looking into these people under the assumption that there is something to find; everything is going to look suspicious in a way it never would have without that framing.

The question isn't whether a blocklist can be made with good intentions and due diligence; the question is whether it can be made with ill intent or sloppy execution, whether anyone can tell the difference, how likely they are to actually check, what you're doing with that list, and what impact your choices have.

If I make a list, the message I send is, "you can trust me. I did the research, I did it right, and this is a Good Blocklist. If you trust me, you should trust this list."

If I reblog a blocklist, the message I send is, "I trust this list. I may have even checked it myself. This is a Good Blocklist. If you trust me, you should trust this list."

The majority of the people who follow me probably believe they can trust me to some extent; oftentimes, people just trust that whatever is on their dashboard is trustworthy, because someone they follow put it there. Those are their friends, and their friends are trustworthy!

This should make you nervous. You should not be comfortable with this. People make mistakes all the time, and even if they did do the research (it's so much more likely that they did not, especially if they're not the original creator), someone else's standards of what kind of person "deserves" to be on a list like that are very likely different from your's. Are you going to double check every single name on that list yourself?

Well, if the accusation is bad enough, probably not. Especially if the accusation is something like "Nazi" or "TERF". And if you do start checking, how likely are you to check every single name? If the first 3 or 5 seem to check out, will you bother with the other 50 on the list?

What if OP hid someone in that list who doesn't belong there; someone they just have a personal grudge against? What if OP defines "TERF" to mean "anyone I assume doesn't think trans women are the most oppressed", and after the first 15 actual TERFs, the list is just a bunch of transmascs- many of whom don't even disagree with OP in the first place? What if they define "TERF" to include anyone who has ever been a TERF, and one of the people on that list is a trans person that has been rumored- without any foundation or grain of truth whatsoever- to have once been a TERF?

Will you know? Will you check? Even if someone you trust reblogs it? Even if someone you trust made it?

A blocklist may not have the same kind of obviously punitive intent as a callout post does, but it's a tool from the same toolbox. People think callout posts are about "safety", too. Lots of people also think that about the criminal justice system, about prisons, about the death penalty.

The question is not whether that could be true, or whether there could be a world in which justice is administered correctly with these tools. The question is whether it could fail, and who it hurts when it does.

Who can abuse this system? How easy is it to do so? Who is most likely to be hurt; is it the intended target, or people who are already disempowered by our systems and society?

What is the best way to go about this?

Even done correctly, a blocklist is not the most effective tool here: people can remake their blogs, change urls, and often have sockpuppets ready to go anyway. The list is rendered useless and inert as soon as enough people change their strategies to evade it. A more effective tool is education; teaching people how to recognize a TERF, or TERF ideology, on their own. Teaching them why those ideas are problematic. Encouraging them to block and disengage, and teaching them why engaging is harmful and counterproductive. Talking about de-radicalization, cult recruitment and radicalization tactics, and how to fight this epidemic.

Telling people what to think does not solve the problem, but teaching them how to be critical might.

[m3hgumi]

— jjk characters and their college majors

a/n: this is highly unedited! literally just a bunch of brain dump (i will MAYBE write a more fleshed out version of their college lives in the future). for now, this is just for shits and giggles

itadori yuji

mmm i’m thinking kinesiology on the pre physical therapy track

or he’s a student athlete majoring in sports management or business

fushiguro megumi

a struggling pre-vet biochem major. that’s it that’s the fucking tweet.

nobara kugisaki

FASHION SCHOOL BAYBEE !!!

that or marketing

ok but fashion designer nobara … i live for it

zenin maki

this could take so many different directions tbh

engineering bc we love women in stem 💯 but also pre law

OK WHY NOT BOTH

civil/mech engineering on the pre law track. boom.

yuta okkotsu

elementary education! he just has the vibes 😭

inumaki toge

hmmm digital arts or cs bc zero human interaction (this is a lie) and he also canonically hates showering! (anyone remember that one juju sanpo ep)

gojo satoru

ASTROPHYSICS or math education

geto suguru

our little philosophy + literature double major on the pre law track (save him)

nanami kento

finance snake ?!?!? tbh probably accounting tho (the least frat boy snake vibes type of major ever)

panda (really now?)

zoology. (i wonder why 🤭)

© m3hgumi 2023. all rights reserved. do not copy, modify, or repost my works anywhere

[strwberri-milk]

Masterlist - Diluc

Lost in the Sauce - Domestic Fluff, Modern Era - AO3 >>> Diluc's always going to try his best to support you whether it be through helping you through tough times, or besting the wrath of culinary escapades.

When Flames Die Down - Hurt/Comf - AO3 >>> No matter how many times he comes home the fear that he won't one day will never leave you.

Passing Hands - Bridgerton AU - AO3 >>> Kaeya Alberich, the ever-doting younger brother of Duke Diluc Ragnvindr, decides to take matters into his own hands during the upcoming debutante season.

The Same Vision - Fluff, Requested >>> Witnessing you get the same vision as them.

Tearful Embrace - (Slight) Hurt/Comf >>> Hugs make everything better, don't they?

Reader Flusters Diluc - Fluff, Requested

Reuniting and Falling In Love W/ Childhood Friend - Fluff, Requested

Pre-Date Anxieties - Fluff, Requested

Farm Hand Reader - Fluff, Requested

Motherly Reader - Fluff, Requested

Objecting at Your Wedding for Diluc - Fluff, Requested

Gold Rush Coded S/O - Requested

Pup!Hybrid With Nightmares - Fluff, Requested

Protective Older Sibling - Fluff, Requested

Bringing Diluc Lunch - Fluff, Requested

Roommates - Fluff, Requested

Sick Reader - Fluff, Requested

S.O Simps for his Admirers - Fluff, Requested

Mercenary Reader - Fluff, Requested

S/O W/ Cute Aggression - Fluff, Requested

S/O Gushes When Drunk - Fluff, Requested

Dancing in the Rain - Fluff, Requested

Pressing Him Into Your Chest - Fluff, Requested

On Wednesdays We Wear Pink - Fluff, Requested

ARFID Reader - Fluff, Requested

Baker S/O Makes Cake - Fluff, Requested

Ignoring Him for Plush - Fluff, Requested

Reader w/ Lots of Siblings - Fluff, Requested

Revealing Engagement - Fluff, Requested

When We Were Young - Yearning, Requested

S/O w/ Complicated Family - Fluff, Requested

Vet Reader - Fluff, Requested

First Time - Smut, Requested

Dad!Luc - Fluff, Requested

Trying to Break Up W/ Him - Comf, Requested

Vamp!Luc - Stalkerish, Requested

Fainting in Front of Him - Comf, Requested

Affectionate Biting - Fluff, Requested

Single Parent Reader's Son Hates Him - Fluff, Requested

High Strung Daughter - Fluff, Requested

Ordering Juice W/ Wine - Fluff, Requested

Suffering W/ Medical Issues - Comf, Requested

Crying in Sleep - Comf, Requested

Deathly Ill Reader - Comf, Requested

Celebrating Los Muertos - Comf, Requested

Cuddly S/O - Fluff, Requested

Rapunzel Like S/O - Fluff, Requested

Sunshine Reader - Fluff, Requested

Hearing Bad Things - Reverse Comf, Requested

Klutzy Sunshine Reader - Fluff, Requested

Surprise Hug - Fluff, Requested

Cold Reader - Fluff, Requested

Receiving Christmas Cookies - Fluff, Requested

Jealous Diluc w/ Puppy Reader - NFSW, Requested

Your Vision Comes Back to Life, Pt. 2 - Requested

Ball of Sunshine Reader - Fluff, Requested

Jacked/Giant Reader - Fluff, Requested

Meeting his Secret Child All Grown Up - Requested

Failing To Notice His Attempts to Date You - Fluff, Requested

S/O Struggles W/ Self-Harm - Comf, Requested

Being Your First Kiss - Fluff, Requested

Calling Him Master [Respectfully] - Fluff, Requested

Kid Making Friends in New Dimension - Requested

Getting a Papercut - Fluff, Requested

S/O Dislikes Knights/Cat's Tail - Requested

Crush Dismissive Towards Him - Requested

Favourite Place to Kiss - Fluff, Requested

S/O Practices Capoeira - Requested

Single Parent Son Struggles W Him - Requested

Larger S/O More Submissive - Requested

S/O Was Dottore's Captive - Comf, Requested

S/O w/ Talking Dog - Requested

Railing Diluc - Smut, Requested

Sensitive Hearing Reader - Fluff, Requested

Unapproachable But Sweet Reader - Requested

Candace - Requested

Lipstick Smudges - Fluff, Requested

[mana-jjk]

thinking really hard about a college au because i enjoy them a lot more than high school aus.

yuuta - pre-med, in school to become a doctor

toge - divided between computer science and dropping out of college to pursue opening his own café with a garden.

maki - pre-law, in school to become a lawyer

panda - zoology

yuuji - business degree that he’s just doing for his grandfather, will graduate but goes on to be a firefighter.

megumi - animal sciences, going on to enter veterinarian school to become a vet.

nobara - fashion design/marketing degree

gojo - a sadistic physics professor with multiple degrees, both through education and honorary, because he got bored. sometimes he picks students out to give full-ride scholarships, because he self-proclaims having too much money.

getou - philosophy professor that enjoys playing the devils advocate and watching his students squirm.

shoko - oversees the university hospital and occasionally recruits for the pre-med program

nanami - graduated with a business degree, agreed to give yuuji an internship

ijichi - gojo’s overworked TA

i just think maki and yuuta would struggle through graduate school together. their cabinets would be full of instant ramen, cabbage, junk food, and ungodly amounts of coffee. the only real food they get is because toge cooks for them and gives them the stink eye every time he opens their cabinet.

toge doesn’t really have room to talk though, he overworks himself and ends up going far too long without sleep. hours on assignments that make him miserable, burned out from the moment every semester starts. too often does yuuta find him dissociating, something he’s all too familiar with. yuuta himself suffers from insomnia, so it’s not uncommon for him to settle on the couch and run his fingers through toge’s hair until his eyes close.

toge probably had a really difficult time getting the courage to either drop out or just really not use his degree as intended. i can’t picture him genuinely enjoying higher education. even in this happy, no one dies world, his family is with the second years for a reason. computer science was appeasing enough, but the unhappiness is so draining that everyday getting up and going to class feels so impossible. he feels his happiest at the gardening club, cooking for his friends, not sitting in a lecture hall with a preview to what awaits him. but ultimately, i think the independence and knowledge that he wasn’t alone or abandoned was enough to push him into the decision. luckily enough he was a scholarship winner (gojo lol) so he wasn’t in debt, and gojo even offered to fund him through culinary school with the promise of free sweets forever.

with yuuta, i think his history of being hospitalized and the accident with rika (who is not dead here !! but she was paralyzed and had to move with a different family member who was able to support her) definitely pushed him to medical degrees. he was probably stuck between being a physical therapist, nurse, and full-fledged doctor. he still keeps in contact with rika, who is one of his biggest supporters when it comes to his goal, but he has a mental breakdown every week thinking about getting a medical degree. shoko definitely takes notice of his talent, and has extended opportunities to intern with her. gojo also found that they were distantly related, and not only paid for his entire education, but also the apartment he rents with maki and toge. he tried refuting, but gojo kept insisting that he was tapping into the family inheritance that technically belonged to both of them.

toge is more than a little devastated when yuuta decides to study abroad in their undergraduate, i actually think that’s when the fully misery of college hits him. not having an unhealthy classmate and friend to look after forced him to focus on himself, his least favorite pastime. having the first years helped, but it also forces him to reflect how much he cared about yuuta past being a friend too.

anyway, i have so many ideas for this au so um please ask me so i can word vomit everywhere. also normalize more college aus so people like me can still relate lol <3

[sir-subpar]

Update on Buddy.

Hello everyone, I want to thank you all for your support.

My family and I are grateful for all of you who donated and spread the word about our beloved Buddy. You all really blew me away with the sheer amount of care and support (both financial and emotional) you gave us and Buddy.

However, I have an unfortunate update to share.

We had another appointment for Buddy, and the cancer has accelerated even more. And the treatment is going to cost far more than previously estimated.

On top of that, I mentioned before that we'd have to go to another state to get the radiation therapy for our dog, turns out, we'd have to live there for the treatment to be available for us.

So, we can't afford the treatment. Even if we could, the vets have said that his cancer has gotten so aggressive, that the radiation might not keep it from coming back again. His quality of life would worsen severely.

Despite everything we have tried, and thr help you all have offered, Buddy is beyond saving.

I really can't thank you all enough for trying so hard to help us save our dog, I can't express how much I appreciate it. I am struggling to describe how saddened I am by the fact that it ended up not being able to do more for our Bud Dog.

We will have to put him down.

I don't know when, but likely soon.

(I am sharing some photos of him pre-cancer here. I want him to be remembered for the dog he was on the inside, not the diagnosis that is taking him.)

Thank you all, for your kindness and care.

[nightwingbb]

What do you think Jon and Damian would pick for their college majors? Who’s more stressed out at the end of the semester?

thank you for this question, anon, because i have strong opinions on this!! strong to the point that in all of the college au's that i've written (or am writing 👀) damian and jon's majors are always the same, even if it's not mentioned and it just lives rent free in my head

damian is an animal science major with a pre-vet concentration. does it make more sense canonically that damian would probably work for and/or take over wayne enterprises and should therefore be majoring in business? yes. but he will forever be an animal science major (and eventually a veterinarian) in my head. "oh, but nightwingbb, he never shows any interest in being a vet, he just likes animals!" and to that i say one of my best friends from college hated science but loved animals, so she majored in animal science and now she loves her job as a vet tech so HA

jon is an education major. i know that in and out of canon, he's usually written as a journalism major, but i didn't want to make him a copy/paste of clark. plus, i was a journalism major in college, and i honestly couldn't see jon enjoying the major. since news is all digitized now, half of the required major courses aren't even on journalism anymore. i learned video editing, social media management, photoshop, basic web coding, etc. and i just couldn't imagine jon getting as into that as i am. after deciding he would Not be a journalism major, i actually struggled with what jon's major would be for a while when i first started writing navigating life back in 2020. i even posed the question here on tumblr asking for ideas because i was simply at a loss. then @liameowlia pointed out that jon is good with people, has a strong will to help, and radiates empathy and suggested i go from there. that, plus a fanfiction that i cannot remember ANYTHING about aside from the fact that it depicted jon as a teacher (literally don't even remember what the story was), led me to education major jon <3

apologies for the rant, anon, i know you probably didn't want a whole dissertation on WHY i chose these majors for the boys, but to answer your next question:

jon is definitely waaayy more stressed than damian come end of semester finals seasons. damian is haughty and overly confident and probably feels like if he studies for even just a few minutes, there's literally no way in hell that he won't pass his finals. not to mention that he's a classic rich kid who doesn't have that "if i have to retake this class, it'll cost me $3,000" stress hanging over his head lol

[thatsleepymermaid]

Oh to be an iguana in a zoo. Getting free vet care, nutritionist approved meals every day, and jumping on the unsuspecting intern's head when they give me my daily worms.

[thelegendofstudy]

I just learned I can't get into vet school with multiple C-'s? I thought a D disqualified you and you were fine with anything above that!

I'm afraid I may never make it now.

[reconstructionlegacy]

SWTOR Character Ask Meme

There are a few of these around, and they're wonderful, but they also seem to be specific to either game mechanics or non-setting-specific things, so I thought I'd throw in a bit of both-and-bonus!

What is [character]'s favourite event, & what do they like about it?

What companions from other class stories do they know or have connections to, pre-Zakuul/Alliance?

What Forbidden Romance — i.e., one not permitted by the game — would or do they embark on? (If they're a romance sort of person, of course.)

Do they have nicknames for other characters (NPC or OC), & if so, what are they?

Do they have nicknames from other characters, & if so, what are they?

Are there any biological quirks they have that aren't shown in-game (e.g. tails on Cathar, cybernetics in non-Human species), & if so, what are they?

What else about their appearance (e.g. hairstyle, body shape) isn't shown in-game?

Is their voice different to the voice of the character in-game, and if so, how?

What do they regard as their culture, & do they distinguish between their culture and heritage?

Are they left-handed, right-handed, or something else? What foot do they lead with when they take off at a run (if applicable)?

What's something they'd really like as a companion gift that isn't available as one in-game?

If they had something named after them, what would they like it to be, and what would it really be?

If there were a Commemorative Statue released of them, what pose would they be in?

What's their dream mount, & have they ever ridden it?

If they had a career that wasn't one of the class options, what would it be (e.g. vet or nerf-herder)?

Who are their Forbidden Companions — i.e., characters who aren't companions in-game — if they have any?

Are they a willing participant in their narrative?

If they could have saved anyone the game didn't give them a chance to, who would it have been?

If they could have killed anyone the game didn't give them a chance to, who would it have been?

What's happening in their Heroic Moments?

What ability or abilities in their spec do they struggle with?

What abilities do they use that aren't in their in-game spec?

What's their opinion on taxi droids, & how do they treat them?

If they could have a stronghold on any world, where would it be, how large would it be, & what would the architecture be like?

What title do they use, & why?

What about their ship is different to the ship they're given in-game (e.g. different paint job, mods, different ship altogether)?

They need to choose two of their companions to work together on a mission. Who, & with what reasoning?

What kind of ambient sound would appear around them?

What kind of music would appear around them?

As a boss, what special mechanics or attacks would they have, & would certain strategies be needed to defeat them?

[theoddvet]

What 950 dollars at the human dentist will cover for an impacted tooth removal:

One dose of oral benzodiazepines and local anaesthetic blocks - 150 dollars.

The removal and spinning down of my own blood serum to put back into the cavity the tooth was removed from - 150 dollars.

The time it takes to surgically remove one partially erupted tooth - 650 dollars.

What 950 dollars at the vets can cover for a (complex!) dog or cat dental:

A full physical exam and discussion with the owner - normally a 70 dollar appointment time slot.

A blood test to check for illness that may influence the anaesthetic quality, done immediately prior to the procedure in clinic - 150 dollars.

Pre-anaesthetic sedation including pain relief - 90 dollars.

Full general anaesthetic (GA) including monitoring - 450 dollars.

Full dental assessment for decay, pocketing, bone loss, and gingivitis - included in GA fees.

Full dental clean and polish to remove plaque and tartar - included in GA fees.

The removal of up to 16 teeth - around 8-10 dollars a tooth.

Post operative pain relief and rechecks - 30 dollars, free rechecks.

Just a bit of perspective. Vets aren’t money hungry, many of us are struggling to get paid enough to get by. We’re just trying to cover costs and keep the business open and fully functional for the best chance to give animals the medical and preventative care they need.

[somecunttookmyurl]

Hi, do you have a sec to talk having a cat for a pet? I've been wanting to hit up the shelter and see if I can't take one (or maybe a pair) home for a good while now and while I have a smidge more money than even a few months ago, I'm still arguably Poor Enough that I've also been checking and rechecking to make sure I've thought about all/most the costs that are connected to cats.

Is there anything that you think people often forget about when they try to do the budget maths that's a bit more past the regular upkeep and standard stuff like surprise vet bills, insurance, 'fuck you I'm not eating this brand of food anymore', and periodically replacing stuff that either breaks or wears down?

I would hate to commit only to realise I don't have the funds after all, y'know?

ummm not really? remember to budget for regular yearly vaccinations. even if cats are 100% indoor you can still bring stuff in from outside so they could still get those illnesses and a lot of insurance doesn't cover routine care

honestly i don't have pet insurance at all because most of them cover fuck all for the first like... year (and 2 years in the case of dental which like. what) and the list of things they don't cover is ridiculous. if you're in the UK and financially struggling (you do not have to be unemployed or on benefits) you can register with the PDSA for reduced cost vet treatments. otherwise just hit up the least extortionate one and keep a separate savings account for potential vet bills.

(insurance won't even insure 2 of my cats because bean is FIV positive and siouxsie has a slightly dodgy kidney. i mean slightly. she doesn't even have to take meds for it that's how slightly. but these are "pre existing conditions" that invalidate them like again. what. is the point. of you)

but no you've not forgotten anything. outside the initial "buying everything" expense cats really aren't that spendy as far as pets go. if you can afford it i'd recommend buying food in bulk and larger bags of litter. it normally works out quite a bit cheaper to get like... 120 pouches of food once every 4 months than getting a small box every 12 days yanno (by the time the next shipment rolls around you'll definitely have enough if you just keep x aside a week for it it's just that first one that gets you) oh. boyfriend pointed out having a little treats budget too. sweeties.

good luck also please show me the baby i need to see the baby

[invisible-storyteller]

Part 1: Lydia is not Stiles's anchor (pre-6A)

First of all, let's discuss why Lydia is NOT Stiles's anchor.

(And here, let me take a moment to say that I'm not trying to bash Stydia. I do think, however, that just because you're romantically interested in someone - I use the word "interested" here because I'm gonna mainly talk about Seasons 3-5 when they weren't officially together yet - that doesn't mean that the person of your romantic affection will be your anchor.)

The idea of Lydia being Stiles' anchor was introduced in Season 3, and consequently, that was the season when TW writers tried on multiple occasions to use this new-found prospect of their relationship as a plot device.

The first time Lydia was implied to be an anchor to Stiles was in Episode 11 when Stiles, Scott and Allison sacrificed themselves to the Nemeton to save their parents' lives. Seemingly, Lydia worked as an anchor here but I also have to point out the (imperfect?) execution of this idea. The purpose of the pairings in this scene, according to Deaton, was to pull the person back from (what I assume was) bardo but we also saw that when the three of them reemerged from the water, none of the others was standing beside them. (In which case, I don't understand the importance of such "emotional tethers". Was just the thought of Lydia supposed to bring Stiles back? Because Stiles was clearly not thinking of Lydia, the three of them got basically thrown back as soon as they found the location of the Nemeton.)

Additionally, the person serving as an emotional bond to the one being sacrificed wasn't necessarily an anchor in this situation. Despite their close relationship, I doubt that Scott had Deaton as his anchor, even though the vet was the one holding him down. Therefore, Lydia might not have been an anchor in this episode, only an emotional connection to Stiles - someone who could have been easily replaced by Scott himself if he had been available at the time.

The second instance suggesting Lydia's role as an anchor was within a series of nightmares Stiles experienced at the very beginning of Season 3B - courtesy of the Nogitsune trying to crawl into his head. Stiles had this dream with Lydia being in his bed when he suddenly noticed that the door to his room was ajar and he got up to close it. My question is: Why did dream!Lydia tell him to leave the door open? If she was supposed to be an anchor and Stiles was supposed to use her to keep - and in a way, guard - his sanity (like Derek did with dream!Stiles when Kate broke into his loft), shouldn't Lydia have encouraged him in closing the door to his mind?

Deaton made it clear that the problem after the ritual sacrifice was the metaphorical doors remaining ajar inside their minds which the Nogitsune was using as a rift to take control of Stiles. So why wasn't Lydia protecting him like an anchor? Maybe I'm just misinterpreting this scene. But if the writers decided to use Lydia as an anchor, then at least she should have succeeded in doing that, right? (Unless she's not an anchor here, which I'm gonna come back to in a bit.)

Another scene where Lydia could possibly be viewed as Stiles's anchor was the time when she entered a possessed!Stiles's mind alongside Scott to banish the Nogitsune. Lydia did make an attempt to get through to Stiles but her struggle to get his attention came to no result.

If she was his anchor in this scene, shouldn't she have been able to get Stiles to hear her? Scott reached him, though, and I know it was because of the Power of the Pack (which is nice, I actually liked that) but that only proves that Stiles here had to rely on something else to reclaim control over his mind.

But is Lydia really an anchor? And more importantly: Did Stiles actually choose her to be?

The first time around it was Deaton making that important decision, pairing them up because of the obvious romantic interest (and because there was no one else there to help Stiles, but that is beside the point). The second time, it might have been Stiles's brain conjuring up Lydia after being basically told that she should be his anchor. Alternatively, it might have been that Lydia was just a small part of the Nogitsune-induced nightmare - something created and used by the fox spirit to keep the door open inside Stiles's mind. On the third time, Stiles didn't even have a say in it. Lydia just got sent into Stiles's head by Peter and that was pretty much it. Stiles never actively chose to rely on Lydia as an anchor.

The only time Lydia could be considered a successful anchor to him was during Season 6A when she managed to bring Stiles back from the wild hunt. (I strongly believe that the anchor aspect of their relationship was the key distinction and explanation for why Lydia was the only person who could ultimately bring him back when even Scott - Stiles's best friend - and the sheriff - his literal father - couldn't succeed in doing so.) Consequently, this might mean that Stiles, along the way, changed his anchor as Derek had been long gone from his life by that point.

Still, before the events of Season 6A, Lydia doesn't function as an anchor. Which leads us to...

Part 2