Misguided Ghost

holy shit

Z.A.T.O. // I Love the World and Everything In It is now available for Windows, Mac and Linux!

It's a free visual novel in the mystery genre. Please give it a shot:)

I know that it was a bit of a convoluted start but it might just be one of my favorite things about this story.

I gave this series a chance when I tend to instinctively avoid historical settings, especially ones with women being subjected to being something like concubines. I do not regret it at all.

The apothecary diaries is able to show us the flaws in patriarchy and the suffering caused by it without turning into trauma porn.

It also manages to show us male characters who are part of this system and aren't evil and are working to change it or at the very least ignore some of the ridiculous rules placed on women.

Every single tad character has their own background, personality, and a way of dealing what life throws at them. From non confrontational Lishu who needs to learn to disobey more, to cunning Lady Gyokuyou who becomes the favored concubine through her own efforts and with her own reasons (while not being evil hallelujah).

The apothecary diaries just feels real to me. Like yes, that's how the world and life is. None or nearly none of the characters in tad make you think "I'd rather die than be in their place" because it's not about that. It's not meant to make you think "women had it so bad I wonder why they didn't all k!ll themselves" like I think many historical shows want.

This story shows a perfect combination of societal influences and peoples own decisions. How they work together, how people can find joy in the most hopeless situations and how they can always fight and get a bit control over their own lifes.

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

I've been resource gathering for YEARS so now I am going to share my dragons hoard

Floorplanner. Design and furnish a house for you to use for having a consistent background in your comic or anything! Free, you need an account, easy to use, and you can save multiple houses.

Comparing Heights. Input the heights of characters to see what the different is between them. Great for keeping consistency. Free.

Magma. Draw online with friends in real time. Great for practice or hanging out. Free, paid plan available, account preferred.

Smithsonian Open Access. Loads of free images. Free.

SketchDaily. Lots of pose references, massive library, is set on a timer so you can practice quick figure drawing. Free.

SculptGL. A sculpting tool which I am yet to master, but you should be able to make whatever 3d object you like with it. free.

Pexels. Free stock images. And the search engine is actually pretty good at pulling up what you want.

Figurosity. Great pose references, diverse body types, lots of "how to draw" videos directly on the site, the models are 3d and you can rotate the angle, but you can't make custom poses or edit body proportions. Free, account option, paid plans available.

Line of Action. More drawing references, this one also has a focus on expressions, hands/feet, animals, landscapes. Free.

Animal Photo. You pose a 3d skull model and select an animal species, and they give you a bunch of photo references for that animal at that angle. Super handy. Free.

The first is the sternocleidomastoid muscle, or the SCM muscle.

This big red section is responsible for pain around the eye, cheekbone, and jaw, as well as some temple pain. Literally all you have to do is angle your head down a little, angle it away from the side that hurts, and then you can gently pinch and rub that muscle. I find it best to start at the bottom and travel upwards. The relief is so immediate! You can increase pressure as you feel comfortable doing so.

Here is a short and easy video showing this in action

The second is a fast and easy stretch that soothes your vagus nerve, which is the nerve responsible for calming you down. The vagus nerve, for those unfamiliar, is stimulated by deep breathing such as yawning, sighing, singing, or taking a deep breath to calm your anger in a tense situation.

You can stretch this out by sitting up as straight as possible (this does not have to be perfect to work) and interlacing your fingers. Put your hands on the back of your head with your thumbs going down the sides of your neck and, while keeping your face forward, look all the way to one side with just your eyes. Hold that until you feel the urge to breathe deeply or yawn, or until you can tell there’s a change. Then do the same thing on the other side. When you put your arms down, you should clearly be able to turn your head farther in both directions. If the first session doesn’t get rid of your migraine, rest and repeat as many times as necessary. I even get a little fancy with it and roll my eyes up and down along the outer edge sometimes to stretch as much as I can.

If you need a visual here’s a good video on it. I know some of the language they use seems questionable but this is real and simple science and should not be discarded because it’s been adopted by the trendy wellness crowd!

I seriously cannot believe I didn’t hear a word of this from any doctor in my life. Additionally, if you get frequent recurring migraines, you may want to see a dietician. Migraines can be caused by foods containing histamines, lectin, etc. and can also be caused by high blood pressure in specific situations such as exercise, stress, and even sex.

Cervicogenic headaches are a thing and are just as debilitating and are not just simple tension headaches and are often sometimes lumped under the umbrella of migraine disorder.

They are caused by muscle dysfunction and damage to the nerves in the neck/base of the skull and they often represent as typical migraines in terms of pain intensity, pain pathways and also the longevity of the attacks. They can also cause nausea, vomiting and a whole host of other symptoms that are typically treated with migraines targeted drugs.

They can also become chronic or episodic depending on the cause and also result in the development of other chronic pain and neurological disorders such as occipital neuralgia which can also feel like a migraine and often trigger the brain into experiencing the exact same symptoms due to following the occipital pathway which is the most common representation and cause of migraine pain and other symptoms.

You’re migraines might not be caused by muscle dysfunction, but for a lot of people it is a contributing factor or even a symptom of migraine itself as migraines can cause the muscles in the neck to tense up in response to the misfires going on in the brain during an attack, leading to other problems like the above mentioned.

My occipital neuralgia was likely caused by many facets of my neck injury, but my neurologist and pain specialist both agree my migraines going from episodic to chronic was also a part in it because of how my body tenses up during migraines. The migraine aggravates my neck injury, which then causes the muscles around my skull to crunch the occipital nerve, leading to occipital neuralgia which now causes me to have daily migraines if I can’t get my neck to give up the death grip it has on my skull.

Sometimes I can do this with stretches and massage which can lessen the pain. Other times I’m in the ER getting shot full of IV anti-seizure meds because it’s the only thing that calms down the migraine which in turn stops the muscle spasms.

Migraines are a complex neurological disorder that represents differently across the spectrum of sufferers. Hell, some people don’t experience pain at all with their migraines. It’s a weird fucking disease.

I understand the desire to emphasize how much worse migraines are than normal headaches that respond to hydration and pain killers. Believe me. I’m one more “have you tried drinking water?” away from going on a justified murder spree. But we also don’t get to look at stuff like the above and say “well that’s not a migraine” when yeah, actually, it can be.

There’s a reason neurologists will often try sending patients to physical therapy for severe migraines. And it’s because the sternocleidomastoid is a cunt and that cunt being fucked up can make migraines worse.