Not a bot, despite the picture

In one of my pre-op hysterectomy exams I’d told the nurse that I was in a lot of pain due to the period cramp-inducing meds they gave me and can I please please PLEASE have pain medication and the doc’s response was to laugh and joke about it when I’d walked in with a visible limp from the cramps (yes this is possible)

The doc greeted me by saying “So, I heard that someone is a little mad at me today” in a playful tone, like I was a kid unhappy that my chicken nuggets weren’t dinosaur shaped and not a grown ass man enduring the worst pain of my life for the sake of a procedure, and I couldn’t help but think “I’m so fucking glad I won’t have to see any vagina doctor ever again after this surgery”

Because if there’s a running theme for me with OB/GYNs it is them not taking my pain seriously, and this compounds when you’re a trans man as “women are emotional and overdramatic” and “men don’t feel pain” combine in the worst possible way inside the doctor’s office because even if they’re gender affirming they do, in fact, see you as both when they’re rooting around inside your reproductive organs

20 minutes later I was crying on the table with both the doctor and nurse looking very guilty after lightly collecting a tissue sample turned into a cramp that seized the right side of my body starting from the inflamed lame hip, traveling down to my knee, and up my back to just below the shoulder blade. It outweighed the pain of completely pulling a muscle in my right hip/thigh in high school, and that injury had rendered me literally physically incapable of running even if I grinned through the pain and tried anyways.

They had to leave me alone for 30 minutes to collect myself and try my best to soothe the pain through stretching and breathing exercises

Tissue samples would later reveal I had an undetectable form of endometriosis—undetectable meaning they’d never know unless they took my uterus outside of my body—where my uterus had grown into the muscles in my abs and lower back. So any time my uterus cramped, it tugged on nearly every muscle in my core, which in turned tugged on my entire body in painful 9/10 scale cramps and spasms. A level of pain that I had, in fact, reported to them like I do to every doctor who asks about menstrual history. It was easily worse than healing from the top surgery I had 6 months prior.

I later learned that the medication wasn’t entirely necessary like the doctor said, it was just easier for her to do the exam with it since it dilated the cervix, thus causing severe cramps

@endigolikesarson In the original, for the running joke regarding Valant and doors, Apollo calls Valant a muggle

While in the remaster, he says this which is way funnier even without the baggage

Allow me to introduce the new characters:

This piece of lint precious child is Rhombophryne maraorao, a little burrowing species from the northeast of Madagascar. It is very similar ecologically to R. coudreaui, a long-known species from further south. The name maraorao means ‘rough to the touch’ in Malagasy, referring to the rough skin of this species. They do a weird thing where they straighten all of their limbs and go stiff in self defence. Think pumpkin toadlet post-launch mid-air stiffness, but… in the hand?

This beautiful creature is Rhombophryne mavokely, a little leaflitter-dwelling species from the northeast of Madagascar. The name mavokely is the Malagasy word for ‘pink’ but literally translates as ‘small yellow’ (mavo = yellow, kely = small). I LOVE this bizarre etymology, and also this species is small and sometimes pink and sometimes yellowish, so the name seemed extremely apt. This species was the first Rhombophryne I ever saw alive—I caught the first ever specimen immediately underneath my hammock on Marojejy in 2016!

This shiny boy is Rhombophryne sonaliae, a rather well known species from eastern Madagascar that has previously been called R. alluaudi—until we showed in 2019 that the correct use of that name was for a Plethodontohyla alluaudi from southern Madagascar! We dedicated this species to Sonali Garg, in recognition of her fantastic work especially on Asian frogs.

This forbidden truffle is Rhombophryne anatiala, a very poorly known species very closely related to R. sonaliae but found further north and differing subtly. The name anatiala means ‘in the forest’ in Malagasy, referring to the forest habitat of these frogs.

This bumpy beanbag with his go-faster chevron is Rhombophryne kotrobaratra, an interesting species from northeastern Madagascar with rather unusual anatomy, especially its quite long and strong hindlimbs. The name kotrobaratra means ‘thunder and lightning’ in Malagasy, and refers to the inclement weather that seems to bring these frogs out (true for all Rhombophryne, really) .

This coffee bean is Rhombophryne quentini, an orange-thighed species from high-elevation forests in northern Madagascar that resembles R. ellae. Back in 2020 I named R. ellae after my partner, Ella, and I thus took particularly great pleasure in naming this new, closely related species after our four-and-a-half year-old son, Quentin. A little family of frogs. :3

This little pebble is Rhombophryne kilonjy, a small, poorly known and obscure species related to R. ellae and R. quentini but found in lowland forest close to the coast in northwestern Madagascar. The name kilonjy means ‘pebble’ in Malagasy because, well, just look at it.

Even way back in my tumblr posts from 2013 and 2014 I think you would find mentions of the work I had begun on this monograph. I had no notion that it would take more than twelve years to complete. But I cannot express my joy at finally being able to share these charming, round frogs with the world. I hope you approve of the names!

If you see a fawn laying down on the ground all alone, leave it alone. It is not lost, it does not need your help, do not pick it up, do not move it.

This behavior evolved to keep deer young safe. The baby is very small, very quiet, and hard for most predators to see. A young fawn cannot keep up with a fleeing mother deer, which is their primary problem-solving strategy. So while the mother goes elsewhere to graze, the fawn stays safe and hidden. The mom will be back.

tech news today is that Mullvad VPN has gone mask-off about being the major funding source for the Swedish Orebro party, who are racist nationalists. unfortunately all discussion of this is occurring on fucking Mastodon instances i can barely load

if you are a mullvad customer (as i am) and want to get out, here is guidance from this guy

I'm sure it's totally fine and normal and great that the taxi spies on you and will just deliver you directly to the police :)

This definitely can't be something that would be used in an abusive or arbitrary way :)

Remember children—this tactic is really annoying to the police, so YOU SHOULD NOT become floppy—it’s frustrating to them and makes them look bad and is a waste of resources and no one wants that…

The moon’s not white! It’s concrete-gray! It only looks so shiny when compared to the void of space!