The Road Goes Ever On And On

How to make a tincture

Making a tincture involves steeping the herb or root in alcohol, extracting its oils, minerals, alkaloids, and glycosides so that it is in its purest form. You can use vegetable glycerin or apple cider vinegar instead, particularly in tinctures intended for children, but they aren’t quite as effective at pulling out the good stuff. You’ll need strong alcohol, at least 80 proof. Everclear works well, as does vodka or brandy. You’ll also need a pint jar to fill with the herb or plant you want—any of the herbs listed above will work here. 

Chop the herb up a bit or bash it around with a mortar and pestle to help it break down. You’ll want the jar to be full, but not pack your herbs in too tightly. Then fill the jar completely with the alcohol. (If you’re using dried herbs or roots, you need only put in enough to reach halfway, and then add the alcohol up to the top.)

Seal the jar tightly. Label and date it, and let it rest in a cool, dark place.

For the first week, shake it once a day, then let it rest for five more weeks. At the end of the resting period, use a layer of muslin or cheesecloth held tightly over the jar to strain out the liquid. Decant the tincture into one of those small, dark glass bottles, preferably one with a dropper, and keep it stored away from direct sunlight. It should last for five to ten years.

How to make herbal oil

It’s more trouble than it’s worth to make your own essential oils. A true essential oil is extracted by boiling the herb in question and skimming the oil off the top—that’s a task best left to the professionals. But you can make your own herbal oil. It may not be quite as distilled, but it can still be effective, and it’s a great way to preserve herbs for use long into the winter. The nice thing about creating your own oils is that you can use any combination of herbs that you desire. You might mix calendula, catnip, lemon balm, marshmallow, mullein, plantain leaf, and yarrow for an oil that is particularly effective for skin care, or lavender, vervain, lemon balm, and yarrow for a soothing oil to rub on the temples. Chop or bruise your chosen herbs and place them in a jar. Fill the jar with the carrier oil of your choice (olive or almond oil works well), covering the herbs by one inch, and leaving one inch of space at the top. Close the jar tightly, and allow it to sit in as much sunshine as possible for a month. Strain the oil through a cheesecloth on an as-needed basis, leaving the rest to continue steeping.

How to make a poultice

A poultice is a soft, moist mass of herbs, cloth, and other ingredients, and it’s an excellent tool for treating topical infirmities. A hot poultice is excellent for drawing out infection, as with bee stings or draining abscesses, while a cold poultice will help reduce inflammation. Gather the herbs you want to use, either fresh or dried. If they’re fresh, you may want to mash the herbs up in a mortar and pestle (the traditional way) or blitz them through a food processor (the modern way). Even if you’re planning on making a cold poultice, add a couple of tablespoons of hot water to your herbs to awaken them, before letting them cool. You can add medicinal clay powder, Epsom salts, or baking soda and combine with water until the mixture becomes a thick paste. For ailments like congestion or insect bites, you can place the poultice directly on the skin, making sure, of course, that it isn’t too hot. To treat a burn or something that could easily become infected, place a clean cotton cloth between the skin and the poultice.

Common herbs and their uses

Ashwagandha: The name translates to “smell of horse.” This herb is hard to find fresh, but powders, pills, teas, and extracts are available. Benefits: Increases energy, boosts the immune system, antiinflammatory, reduces anxiety. Suggested use: Stir ¼-½ tsp. powder into warm milk and honey before bed. Concerns: May increase thyroid hormone levels and lower blood sugar.

Black cohosh: This member of the buttercup family could be grown in a garden. Dried roots, capsules, teas, and extracts are also available. Benefits: Relieves menstrual cramps and arthritic pain. Eases symptoms of menopause. Suggested use: Drink as a tea or mix with honey as a syrup. Concerns: May cause upset stomach, so consider taking with food.

Calendula: Also known as marigold, this herb could be grown in a garden, but is also available as teas, oils, and creams. Useful for dyeing and food coloring as well. Benefits: Helps heal cuts. Good for diaper rash or other skin irritations. Calms an upset stomach. Suggested use: Steep petals in just below boiling water for ten minutes, then drink as a tea. Add dried flowers to coconut, almond, or olive oil as a salve. Concerns: None known.

Catnip: It’s not just for cats! Catnip is easily grown and also available as a capsule, tea, extract, and essential oil. It is also handy as an insect repellent. Benefits: Anti-inflammatory. Good for insomnia, upset stomach, menstrual cramps, headache, and treating the common cold. Suggested uses: Steep for tea, sprinkle essential oil into the bath or rub it on the temples, use in cooking (it’s a member of the mint family, so its flavor is better than some). Concerns: None known.

Cranberry: Easily obtained fresh or frozen and also available in pill form, this herb is a great source of vitamin C, fiber, and vitamin E. Benefits: Most frequently used to treat and prevent urinary tract infections. Also shown to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, slow tumor progression in cancer, and help prevent gum disease. Suggested uses: Because they’re so tart, cranberries often come with a lot of sugar. Try to buy reduced-sugar dried cranberries and stay away from most cranberry juices. If you can manage it, drink the unsweetened juice to relieve a UTI, and certainly try making your own cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. Concerns: None known.

Dittany: This is one of those herbs with a long history. It is also known as “burning bush.” Easily grown, it is hard to find in dried or tea form. Benefits: Antibacterial, antifungal, and antimicrobial. Good for the skin and the intestines, and is thought to be an aphrodisiac. Suggested uses: Steep in hot water for tea, but use sparingly. Use as an antibacterial balm or poultice. Concerns: If you’ve put some on your skin, stay out of the sun, as it can increase the risk of sunburn.

Elderberry: This herb has been used to battle a flu epidemic in Panama as recently as 1995. It can be grown, but is also available as a pill or an extract. For your personal garden, look specifically for Sambucus nigra, as other elderberry varieties can be toxic. Benefits: Boosts the immune system, treats sinus infections, lowers blood sugar, acts as a diuretic and a laxative, good for skin health and allergies. Suggested uses: They’re delicious! Can be made into a syrup, jams, or jellies—even wine. Concerns: Don’t pick and use wild elderberry unless you’re absolutely certain the plant is Sambucus nigra. Always cook the berries to remove any toxicity.

Feverfew: This is another herb with a long history. Easily grown and available dried, it is most frequently found in capsule form. Benefits: For centuries, it was used to relieve fever, to assist with childbirth, and for fertility. Now it is most frequently used to prevent migraines. It can also help with tinnitus, nausea, dizziness, asthma, and allergies. Suggested uses: It doesn’t taste good, so not recommended even as a tea. Instead, make a tincture or purchase capsules. Concerns: If you do drink it, feverfew can cause irritation in the mouth. If taken in large quantities on a regular basis, stopping can cause withdrawal symptoms, so use only as needed. May cause the uterus to contract, so don’t take while pregnant.

Horse chestnut: This is not the kind of chestnut you’d want to roast on a fire, but it is still useful. It is not recommended for personal processing, as the seed contains esculin, a poisonous substance. Purchase an extract or pill instead. Benefits: Shown to be extremely effective against varicose veins. Also good for hemorrhoids and frostbite. Suggested uses: 300 milligrams of horse chestnut seed extract twice daily. Concerns: Don’t consume raw horse chestnut seeds, bark, or leaves.

Lemon Balm: This member of the mint family has a distinct lemony scent. It is also known as “melissa.” It is easily grown, but also available in tea, extract, and essential oil forms. Benefits: Calms anxiety, encourages restful sleep. Good for the skin, improves mood and mental clarity. Suggested uses: Steep fresh or dried to make tea, use in cooking, use to flavor honey or vinegar, use in a hot bath. Concerns: None known.

Marshmallow: Sadly, these are not the things we put in hot chocolate. The root is available dried, as well as in powder, extract, capsule, and tea form. Benefits: Aids with dry cough, represses inflammation in the lining of the stomach, good for chilblains and sunburn. Suggested uses: Drink as a tea, add to a base oil for a salve. Concerns: May cause low blood sugar.

Milk thistle: This herb is easily grown, as it’s pretty much a weed. It’s available as an extract, pill, or tea. Benefits: Milk thistle can protect your liver from toxins—say, for instance, alcohol. It can even be used to treat cirrhosis and jaundice and helps with environmental toxin damage. Suggested uses: Steep in hot water or make a tincture. Not recommended for use in cooking. Concerns: May cause diarrhea.

Mullein: This is the clear quartz of herbal healing. It is easily found and grown and available both dried and in capsule form. Benefits: Known particularly for respiratory relief, including cough, bronchitis, asthma, and pneumonia, it’s also good for earache, fever, sore throat, migraine, and to heal the skin. Suggested uses: Apply a tincture to relieve ear infection, drink as a tea, use as a salve to heal wounds and bruises. Concerns: None known.

Plantain leaf: Pretty hip these days, as herbal remedies go, plantain leaf is easily grown and available dried or in capsule form. Benefits: Great for the skin, particularly in relieving insect bites, poison ivy, and sunburn. Lowers cholesterol, helps clear up bladder infections, relieves constipation or diarrhea. Suggested uses: Make poultice with clay and water or make a salve with a base oil. Infuse vinegar to spray on the skin to provide pain relief. Drink as a tea. Concerns: None known.

Rue: This herb is also known as “herb of grace.” Easily grown, it is also available dried, in capsule form, or as an essential oil. Benefits: Used to promote menstruation, it provides a sense of calm and well-being and is good for relieving gas, mucus, and arthritis. Suggested uses: As an oil or poultice it can relieve croup or chest congestion. Drink as a tea to ease anxiety. Concerns: This one is serious—it can cause a miscarriage. Use in small amounts, regardless of whether or not you’re pregnant.

Valerian: This is an attractive addition to any garden, with a pleasing scent, but it is the root which holds the good stuff and that does not smell good. Easily grown, this herb is also available in tea, capsule, and extract forms. Benefits: Valerian is very effective against insomnia. It also calms anxiety and depression, and helps with ADHD and headache. Suggested uses: Drink a tea made from the leaves for a mild sedative, or steep the roots for something stronger. Add a tincture to a bath for a gentler, child-friendly alternative. Concerns: None known, but obviously don’t operate heavy machinery.

Vervain: Usually blue vervain is used, but other types seem to work just as well. Easily grown, vervain is also available dried or as an extract. Benefits: Helps with anxiety and sleeplessness. Also provides pain relief, eases tense muscles, and promotes an overall sense of wellbeing. Suggested uses: Steep in hot water as a tea. Not recommended in cooking, though it smells nice, so add a little to a bath. Concerns: May cause nausea.

Yarrow: This member of the sunflower family is easily grown—and quite lovely— and available dried or as an essential oil. Benefits: Relieves fever, as well as cold and flu symptoms. Relieves cramps, provides a sense of calm and relaxation, and aids in restful sleep. Suppresses the urge to urinate (say, during a UTI). Use topically for a rash or small cuts. Suggested uses: Drink as a tea in the evening to induce sleepiness or relieve cold and flu symptoms, or make into a salve for external use. Concerns: None known.

Someone please, feel free to add to this, I love to see what else people come up with!

Proximity alarms start going off. A vessel is approaching.

Camilian: <looks at viewscreen> “Oh zark it, it’s the Parg.”

Egrat: <Dashes over> “Oh erting fraknabs, we’re dead.”

Human Crewmember:“The who?”

Camilian: <shudders>: “The Parg. Remember the civilisations living on those five planets Lei-ward of Helios 6?”

Human: “No? I thought that system was empty of sentient life.”

Camilian: “Exactly.”

 Human: “…ah.” <looks at flashing lights on console> “They appear to be hailing us.”

<Camilian and Egrat scuttle backwards away from console.>

Human: “…thanks a bunch, guys.” <presses hail pick-up button> “This is Communications Officer Haley Makini of the Starboat Fribling, how may I help you?”

Parg ship: “This is Zek of Parg.”

Human: “Hello Zek! How are you feeling this day-cycle?”

Parg Ship: “…”

Human: “I for one have been missing my family lately, I got a vidcall from my little sister and my cousins - same-generation kin-people - and they told me that cousin Wendy is getting married to her girlfriend Mila, isn’t that nice? So I’m really hoping I can make it to the wedding - that’s romantic lifebond ceremony - because otherwise they’d all be sad, they told me so. Do you have any family - lifemates or brood or other kin-people back in your home-system Zek?”

Parg Ship: “…Zek of Parg has brood of five. All Smallings, but soon Biglings. Soon.”

Human: “Oh! You must be so proud of them!”

Parg Ship: “… Yah. Good future replacements for Parent-bodies for Glory of Parg.”

Human: “And that’s all any of us could want! Imagine how sad our kin would be if either of us were to fail to make it back home! That’s why I want to help your ship Zek, in any way we can. The Fribling is only a small ship, but we have some surplus goods and skills to offer if you need anything from us.”

<long pause>

<No one on board the Fribling speaks, but Egrat has anxiously chewed their claws to the quick>

Parg Ship: “Have Lucrum cable? Parg Ship underengine in poor condition, jury-rig not hold, need hitch-tow to Dellar System.”

Human: “Oh, that’s only 8 parsecs away. Sure, hah, we can manage that. No problem.”

<78 minutes later, after the two ships have been attached via Lucrum cable>

Parg Ship: “…What kind you?”

Human: “Huh? ….oh, I’m a human. I’m from Sol 3, Earth.”

Parg Ship: “… Parg remember this. Parg remember Haley Makini. Parg remember Human.”

Human: <blinks> “…thank you!”

<communication connection closes from Parg end>

<Human sinks to ground, hand on chest, hyperventilating slightly>

Human: “HolyfuckhowdidIpullthatoffohholyfuck!”

Camilian: “Wait, you were scared too?”

Human: <glaring> “Cam, we’ve worked together how long? I’d have thought that by now you’d trust my threat assessment abilities. Phew! That one was so close I felt the breeze going past.”

Egrat: “…how. How did you just do that?”

Human: “It’s not hard.  Stay calm, just keep smiling, and build rapport by pretending to care about their problems, and meanwhile showing that you’re a real thinking being. Tends to defuse situations rather than escalate them.”

Egrat: “…I think I saw what you did, but where did you learn how to do that?”

When your crewmates ask how the hell you knew you could pull that off, grin and wink and say something like ‘trade secret’ or ‘part of the Code’.

Alright, i said i would give this rant because its been b o t h e r i n g me

So hello, my name is jeff and i am a fictive of jeff the killer. I am SICK of people telling my host he’s a fake system because of what i’m from. I have been in this system for 7 damn years now.

Im sick of therapists saying i’m bad because of who i am, i am the main protector of this system, the main fronter, i keep my host running. What i’m from and who i am in what im from has little to no relation to who i am in this system. When my host was younger, he clinged on to my character and viewed me as someone who defeated people who hurt him. someone who took the hurt and didn’t let it destory him. Someone who was stronger than what was tearing him down. Then i kinda appeared and have been protecting him ever since. i would never do anything to hurt my host, or get my host in trouble. Yes ive had slip ups before but doesn’t everyone???

Just because a fictive is from something “bad” or something “edgy” or something you couldn’t see anyone taking comfort in, doesn’t mean nobody does. Any character can mean anything to anyone, just because they are one way in what they are from. Doesn’t mean they are the same when in their system. I’m similar in my personality and sense of humor and looks, but i have some damn emotions and self control in this life. We have other fictives some may view as bad, but are actually very diffrent from their source selves, because they are in a system setting.

So for people shitting on system fictives for what they are from, before judging the persons system or the validity of their system because of their fictives. Why dont you ask about the damn connection to the characters before calling someones trauma fake.

All fictives are valid, no matter what the source

Thank you

And you see fireworks, wild orange and yellow and pink flares combusting within that fiery mass, filling the tendril with white hot light. And an explosion tears through the room, climbing that tendril up, and up, and up into the heavens, but you feel the heat and power of that explosion weave masterfully around you, leaving your party, and not the remaining enemies in the room, completely unharmed. And when the light fades, the column and the shadowy beings who climbed out of it are gone, and hovering where it once stood is Lup, phantasmal and resplendent, her outstretched palms still coated in flame.

2. Please enjoy the offical powerpoint presentation of this paper at an academic conference by the original author, complete with Q&A:

The last question

The woman howling in laughter 90% of the time

It’s all beautiful

It’s all

girl and guy were sitting on the same chair with the guy behind her only he was hugging her waist and fast asleep on her shoulder while she was working on her computer

saw this couple across the street from me waiting for the bus. the guy did the thing where he pretends to look for something in his bag and pulls out a finger heart instead

in the hallway i watched this girl run up to her bf and he gives her the biggest hug and goes “see told you you’d kill your presentation” then kisses her forehead

girl sitting next to me in the library has been grinding on an assignment all day (like i’d have been in the library from 10-3 with breaks in between for classes but she’d been sitting there the whole time) and her boyfriend would come in every few hours, put down food or coffee on her table, kiss the top of her head, and walk away without a word

in one of my smaller classes (probably around 30 people) this guy’s phone rang and he sprung up and left the class to answer it. usually profs don’t care if you leave class but this one is really small and he knows all of our names/faces, so when the guy comes back in the prof asks if everything was ok. he has the biggest grin on his face and says “yeah, sorry that was my girlfriend. her flight took off right before it started snowing so i was worried. she’s okay tho.”

Somehow when I think of them, I’m reminded of high school sweethearts. I made this comic with that thought in my mind. So it’s an AU where they are childhood friends, high school sweethearts, and now college students who are living together.

1. Does anyone in the headspace feel content with how to body looks?

2. Does everyone in your system have different fashion sense or is everyone’s style rather consistent?

3. How many fictives do you have?

4. Anyone have a playlist for themselves of their own favourite music?

5. how do you personally cope with memory loss?

6. who’s personality differs the most from the body’s?

7. What was your first solid memory of an alter fronting?

8. Anyone in your system who loves dancing?

9. What’s your system littles favourite treat(s)?

10. Is there an interest that the entire system shares?

11. Does your ability to do art improve based on alters fronting? If so, who affects it?

12. Does anyone speak a different language than the body’s?

13. Have any non-human alters?

14. Is there anyone who’s better with coping with the stresses of life better than other alters?

I befriended a feral cat once who had spent her life in the forest without human interaction. I was worried about her because she had a paw damaged from an old injury and was emaciated but obviously nursing kittens that were hidden away somewhere. It took me weeks of putting out food and sitting across the yard every evening for her to trust me even a little and when she decided we were friends and she expected dinner every night she started coming to my door and trying to call for me in the evening, but she didn’t meow. Why would she? Cats only meow naturally as kittens when their vocal chords/ears aren’t fully developed, adult cats communicate with vocalizations that aren’t audible to humans. She probably tried making noises I couldn’t hear to call me but ended up sticking to the one I always responded to- a horrible yowling growl that she had made at me when we first encountered each other in the forest. Except once we were friends she would make this noise while purring and rubbing affectionately against a nearby tree or the porch railing (because she didn’t want to touch me yet). This understandably freaked my family members out but I was touched that she had taken the time to find a way to basically yell FUCK OFF in an affectionate way.

Fast forward to when she finally trusts me enough to bring her hidden kittens out of the forest to me, long story short I gained their trust and put them in this big pen, that I had previously used to keep chickens in, so they’d be safe and to keep her from having another litter. Except she was already secretly pregnant again! (Fix your pets, guys, they make SO many babies) and ended up having her new babies in this pen. I kept my distance, sitting on the outside once they were born until she seemed comfortable enough to let me come inside. The kittens were a bit wild, hissing viscously at me as soon as they opened their eyes, but they warmed up to me. There were four of them and soon they all wanted to be the center of attention during the twice daily play sessions. I’d be playing with one and another would meow insistently behind me and I’d immediately answer them and give them love, teaching them that humans could be friends that answer their needs- making them adoptable once they were weaned. Mama cat (Artie) would just watch me play with them, and I guess she was doing some thinking because one day when they were about a month old I was playing with them and one meowed behind me. I was confused because I hadn’t realized there was a kitten behind me and when I turned, there wasn’t. The only cat there was Artie looking at me really intensely. I turned back around to the kittens and I heard the meow again, I turned back to Artie and responded in the way I always did with the kittens “yes baby?” And she meowed again in an exact imitation of her kittens! After that she would.not.shut.up. It was like she had cracked some kind of code, meowing for attention and snacks and just to say hi. Her two older kittens, the ones she’d had in the forest, had never meowed at me either but started to once they saw how I responded to their mom. and I find it endlessly fascinating because before that it had never occurred to me that cats only meow at humans because they were taught by other cats to keep meowing past kittenhood because that’s the best way to get a human’s attention.

The amazing concept art of Kiki’s Delivery Service by Studio Ghibli

Dealing with executive dysfunction and ADHD becomes so much easier when you stop trying to do things the way you feel like you should be able to do them (like everyone else) and start finding ways that actually work for you, no matter how “silly” or “unnecessary” they seem.

For years my floor was constantly covered in laundry. Clean laundry got mixed in with dirty and I had to wash things twice, just making more work for myself. Now I just have 3 laundry bins: dirty (wash it later), clean (put it away later), and mystery (figure it out later). Sure, theoretically I could sort my clothes into dirty or clean as soon as I take them off and put them away straight out of the dryer, but realistically that’s never going to be a sustainable strategy for me.

How many garbage bins do you need in a bedroom? One? WRONG! The correct answer is one within arms reach at all times. Which for me is three. Because am I really going to get up to blow my nose when I’m hyperfocusing? NO. In allergy season I even have an empty kleenex box for “used tissues I can use again.” Kinda gross? Yeah. But less gross than a snowy winter landscape of dusty germs on my desk.

I used to be late all the time because I couldn’t find my house key. But it costs $2.50 and 3 minutes to copy a key, so now there’s one in my backpack, my purse, my gym bag, my wallet, my desk, and hanging on my door. Problem solved.

I’m like a ninja for getting pout the door past reminder notes without noticing. If I really don’t want to forget something, I make a physical barrier in front of my door. A sticky note is a lot easier to walk past than a two foot high cardboard box with my wallet on top of it.

showers are hard for me because they involve a lot of steps to get in and out. buying cleaning hand wipes helps me stay a lot cleaner and happier when i’m too tired or distracted to make myself be a normal person– they’re faster and involve way less prep time, decision making, and unpleasant physical sensations. 

i have disordered eating because, again, getting food is complicated, much less cooking anything. buying 10-12$ of cliff bars at a go and keeping them in my room by my bed gives me a headstart on breakfast and lets me take my meds on time. otherwise i would lie in bed, not taking my meds because i had to eat, and not eating because i was too tired and nauseous from being hungry to get out of bed.  

‘just try harder’ is not a solution. figuring out the actual problem and addressing it is the solution.

My keys hang on the door so I literally can’t leave my apartment without touching them. My socks kept getting everywhere when I kept them with my other clothes, so instead I now keep them in a little hutch in the kitchen, where I keep all my shoes. All my silverware is in jars on my kitchen island so I can see clearly when I am out of forks. When I didn’t want to put on my socks to go running, I bought running shoes that didn’t require socks. There are people who would find all of the above unworkable and/or appalling but they don’t have to live my life and I do. 

Therapist: let’s get you functional, and we’ll talk.