Alys

ep 2: alicent committing treason left and right to prepare the city for rhaenyra. daemon and mysaria gossiping about whether rhaenyra and alicent still hold affection for each other

ep 3: rhaenyra blatantly favoring alicent seeking advice from her

ep 4: reunion in the godswood. rhaenicent proposal

ep 5: alicent admitting to being jealous of rhaenyra choosing daemon over her and trying to steal rhaenyras gf

"amab" and "afab" are not euphemisms for "male" and "female." not even a doctor should be using "afab" as shorthand for "has a vulva, uterus, high estrogen levels, low testosterone levels, etc," because HRT EXISTS! gender affirming surgeries exist! intersex people exist! you can be afab and change, remove, or not even have been born with any of the above features!!

you cannot use "amab" and "afab" as a shorthand for "has this or that set of features!"

it's not about using progressive language, it's about accurately accounting for people who exist outside the sex binary. those of us who do are under-studied, and the medical system is poorly equipped to handle us, often lumping us in with our agabs and failing to account for how our bodies actually work. this is a PROBLEM that cannot be papered over by finding new euphemisms for "male" and "female"

We had a web system where people were basically automatically triaged for certain conditions and when I was hired there was a question for UTI symptoms that asked are you a man or a woman, routing women to same-day nurse practitioner appointments (because they usually had uncomplicated UTIs) and men to physicians (because they usually had STIs, and if they DID have UTIs they were more medically complex) but this meant that trans people were getting sorted wrong. A committee of me, a doctor, one or two nurses, and another administrator sat down and talked through what that sorting logic actually needed to do, what the risks were of sorting wrong, and what language would be acceptable.

We did not need to know their gender, their sex assigned at birth, their transition history, any of that. What we needed to know is how long their urethra is, because a short urethra means the likeliest situation is an uncomplicated UTI where the top priority is getting antibiotics into them as fast as possible to prevent kidney involvement, and a long urethra means the likeliest situation (in our clinical population) is an STI, but if it IS a UTI kidney involvement may already be a factor, so either way they need a doctor. The language we came up with was "do you have a penis?"

"Friend kea!"

Meanwhile, a conservation sign tells tourists the real story:

I particularly love the part that emphasises that if they nick your stuff that's squarely your fault for letting them. Wikipedia (where I found these pictures) draws a clear line between human and kea behaviour:

"Kea parrots have strong cognitive abilities. According to recent studies, kea have a sense of impulse control and forward planning. Kea can wait up to 160 seconds for a more preferred reward. In addition, kea also use trial-and-error tactics and use observational learning to solve difficult problems and when faced with puzzles and locks. These decision-making abilities are similar to primates and other intelligent bird species such as the African grey parrot."

Anyways, Celine makes up with Rumi and misses her little girl one night over a bottle of wine. Out of nowhere Rumi has all these pictures of herself in her phone, and they’re kinda blurry (bc it’s been 15 years or so) but the sheer AMOUNT of little Taekwondo Rumi in little uniforms (that Rumi still has tucked away in her closet even though they haven’t fit since she was 12), oversized sparring gear, doing her forms, breaking boards, etc. is overwhelming. There’s SO MANY.

When she zones out and stares at all the pics Celine is texting her, Zoey and Mira notice and they start cooing over her shoulder at all the adorable little Rumi pictures. But Rumi is like no. I was a badass at age 9. I had a black belt when I was ten. She’s a killer, Zoey.

Mira is like uh huh. Sure. Then what’s this. And it’s Rumi in a sparring ring, fully geared up and glaring at whatever kid she’s sparring. She was nine years old. It’s adorable, even if the Rumi in the pic is being ferocious.

(via bsky)

In case anyone hasn't heard, the cyclospora outbreak affecting tons of people in the US right now is coming from Taylor Farms produce. Best to stay away from bagged lettuce and prepared salads completely right now, but especially the ones mentioned in the screenshot:

Taylor Farms Earthbound Farms Little Salad Bar (Aldi) Marketside (Walmart) Kroger House Brand Target private label greens Costco salads and greens etc Trader Joe's chopped salad kits and fresh produce Fast food: McDonalds, Taco Bell, (Yum! Brands), Chipotle, Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC, Olive Garden, Top Golf, Red Lobster, Burger King, etc.

This is not the first time I've heard about a Taylor Farms foodborne illness outbreak. I stopped eating their salads after reading a description of the conditions in their facilities. Doesn't sound like they've improved anything.