Home Is Where The Ethereal Tether Leads

after 24 hours of diligently staring at two very large very stylish serial killers who may or may not be bats, you've come to the conclusion that......!

...you have no idea where to even begin.

fortunately, the results of your decision have (much to your surprise, and admittedly temporary relief) NOT actually resulted in your immediate expulsion from the world of the living!

because your subjects are mad for a very different, very specific, very slightly unrelated reason.

as it turns out, this was NEVER a poll about discovering who's infiltrating the bazaar- mr veils, whichever figure it may be, couldn't care less even if it wanted to try. no. it was instead far more occupied with one very important, very simple question;

who can pull off the outfit better?

its impersonator- whether by nature, or by sheer commitment to the bit- was similarly enthralled by this truly unparalleled conundrum. they were both eagerly anticipating a landslide victory in the bat authenticity elections. your indecisiveness has made both of them very very inconvenienced, and very very angry.

there is only one way to defuse the anger of the vake (and the vake's extremely committed doppelganger);

deciding which bat (or homunculus pretending to be a bat) is a huge cutie pie!!!!!!!

you have been generously donated (or punished with, some might say) another 24 hours to compliment your figure of choice and decide, once and for all, who's the real fake bat here.

but your subjects- dastardly as they are- won't make things easy for you in this surprise final round. they've shuffled themselves, locked hands, and tampered with their labels*, making it impossible to tell which bat used to be which! you'll have to rely solely on your eyes to solve this new dilemma. and figure out which bat is objectively more cute. that's still an important factor, don't forget.

*oh, and they obviously killed someone to get the "paint" for said tampering, but that's fineeee. everything is fineeeeeeee. what's a little murder between hunter and hunted??

now, pick your final vote carefully...

As someone who has epilepsy and used to have several grand mal seizures a day, I’d also like to add that “offer help” can range anywhere from keeping the person calm to explaining to them where they are and what they were doing to even just telling them they should sit and rest for a while longer (lack or coordination is common, and it can be hard to walk straight or see clearly).

It’s okay for them to take up to a half hour to fully regain their bearings and sort out what they were doing prior to the seizure. Just answer any questions calmly and be there for support.

If they come around and you start to panic or shake them or ask them what the heck is wrong with them they are going to freak out and panic too.

I cannot stress it enough that this is bad.

DO NOT CALL THE POLICE. I’m dead fucking serious. I had a grand mal in public once and the POLICE were called and imagine coming out of the seizure, feeling like you got smacked in the head with a sack full of bricks, confused, dazed, in desperate need of some sugar to boost low blood pressure and some DIPSHIT has called the police and I was being threatened with being ‘drunk and disorderly’. It took a phone call to my doctors office to get them to back off. The police cannot properly deal with sick people. 

Offer help can be:

assuring person where they are/what time it is

getting them something to drink if they can; seizure burns so much energy and does cause a blood pressure drop

getting them safely to transport or a carer

getting them some dignity like a blanket/towel [loosing control of your bladder and bowels is fucking horrifying]

ensuring they have a way to get home. Someone who has just had a seizure should NEVER DRIVE straight after

calling emergency services if you notice any of these symptoms because they may have stroked out.

Why you shouldn’t put anything in someone’s mouth: they will choke. Yes, they may bite their tongue but I can assure you it’s less traumatic than cracking your jaw on someone’s greasy wallet or choking on a spoon.

Because PNES seizures aren’t caused by the same thing as epileptic seizures, they can look similar but people can be semi-conscious during them, generally do not lose full control of their bodies (bladder/bowels and other reflexes remain), and importantly, they can last longer than 5 minutes (even hours) without causing long-term damage.

The “do not call the police” point was especially vital for them, because people with PNES are more vulnerable to medical abuse by professionals who think they are “faking” because the seizure isn’t epileptic, and a person with PNES may have medical trauma from being treated cruelly by doctors, family members, etc. while seizing in the past. This study looked at stigma around PNES (also called functional seizures; I’m using PNES because its what my coworker called it):

Literature suggests that it can take years for patients to finally get a diagnosis of FS, but once they receive the diagnosis, it is often met with negative stereotypes and perceptions that lead to stigmatisation and treatment resistance. […] Moreover, with 34 of the 70 included data sources reflecting HCP [healthcare professional] stigma, one of the main themes that arose from this review illustrated the importance of HCPs’ acknowledgement and acceptance of their role in both perpetuating and reducing FS stigma. From our review it became apparent that HCPs’ negative attitudes towards patients with FS persist in the health community, often because of a lack of knowledge, general awareness, understanding and medical training with regards to this disorder

For my coworker, they expressed that one of the most important things for them was to just not be alone, to have someone verbally saying they were with them and it would be alright, and then to be supported according to their needs once the seizure ended. Their seizures were often triggered by stress, or from trauma triggers, so being treated with compassion, having their body respected, and having a calm environment during and after the seizure were very important.

Lost Kitchen Scrolls

It has a huge variety of historical recipes from different regions, taken from manuscripts, transcribed and translated, and a whole section of notes about the context for the recipe. It's really fun and I AM going to try a couple of these recipes.

Look at how this lamb recipe is presented:

This is just such a fun way to learn more about historical foodways and discover traditional cuisine.

Look at all the filters you can use:

Maybe if I can forage some good blackberries this year, I can make a 300 year old recipe for blackberry wine!

This should work on any web browser.

Use your mouse to control the head angle. Press M to toggle mouth open/close.

Don't forget to press I in order to hide your cursor and the surrounding UI elements.

It may or may not work on all sites, but worth a try.

It tastes like a pumpkin gingerbread cake! Great treat for fall and winter!

Tim Cain's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins -- They're the shadow king's favorite!

1 and 2/3 cup flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup sugar

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup pumpkin (half of a 16 oz can)

1/2 cup (one stick) butter, melted

Tim Cain is one of the creators of Fallout

and he is an overall delight

Flamingos can survive in low oxygen, high altitude, high temperatures, low temperatures, high alkaline, they can and will drink boiling water and they can be completely frozen at night and still get up the next morning

(animal death) this is a real undoctored photograph (*though the body was stood up for the shot) of a dead flamingo on the surface of lake natron, a lake so salty and so alkaline that it’s naturally carbonated like soda and would eat through your stomach lining if you drank from it.

When this photo went viral years ago, most people assumed this poor flamingo must have been killed by the lake.

It is actually the lake where 75% of its global population are hatched. This is a photo from the same lake:

I have told you of the deadly fursonas which may be cultivated through martial arts and sorcerer’s ways, but among my readers there are gentle souls whose conscience would not allow them to seek fursona through violence. It is to them that I address this depiction of the NINETY-NINE EFFICACIOUS FURSONAS.

While a DEADLY BATTLE FURSONA’s sole aim is violence, each of the NINETY-NINE EFFICACIOUS FURSONAS accomplishes a useful end of its own. Those who undertake self-discipline through employment in bureaucracy may attain the CONSTELLATION-STRIPED OKAPI, an ephemeral manifestation of alien beauty that befuddles its viewers most severely. The DOLEFUL GENTLEMAN BLOBFISH enables survival at any extreme of environment, but can only be mastered through rigorous suffering. Each fursona has its purpose, written in the genderless imperator’s register of the ninety-nine, and each their own unique path of discipline and self-mastery to achieve. Some of their number are useful for everyday tasks, like the mighty deadlift weight of JUGGERNAUT BABOON or SINUOUS RATTLESNAKE COQUETTE’s self-brushing teeth.

Boiled grain

Flatbread with various toppings

Flatbread wrapped around filling

Fried lean meat

Stew of fatty meat and starch

Fermented vegetable

Oily sauce

Aromatic herbs

Stimulant alkaloids