#urushiol

Homeopathy scammers and LUSH.

The "None Of Your Beeswax Lip Balm" did test positive for urushiol via GC/MS, so they are definitely using actual Toxicodendron plant materials in their products.

CosDNA results for products containing "Rhus succedanea" and "Hydrogenated Japan wax" are nearly all LUSH... Did they make a deal with some lacquer company to buy up their byproducts for cheap? Their website has a page for "Japan wax" that carefully avoids mentioning how toxic the plant is:

i thought it was urushiol because i have literally the same skin lesions but i was like 85% sure i wasn’t near any poison ivy, oak, or sumac

apparently contact dermatitis is common among gardeners, farmers and people who package okra! one of the farmers gets it and she just… doesn’t go near the okra

poison ivy is a common, weedy ground cover plant that I'm including in my default plants for the game project. I thought people might like to see it because not everyone knows how to identify it; it has three leaves and typically a reddish stem (exaggerated here), the leaves are roughly oval and tend to have a slight point to the tip, and there are usually some lobes/serrations around the margin, although they can be smooth. they have 3 leaves coming from roughly the same point, and can grow into large, hairy vines. depending on time of year and growing location though, leaves can range from small and red when young, and grow to be a range of greens, with size varying based on light.

the "poison" in poison ivy is actually an oily substance inside the plant. This substance (urushiol) is, not poisonous to most animals which means deer and other animals will eat it and spread the oils, even to neighboring plants. so you can get poison ivy rash from walking into plants nearby. the rash is an allergic reaction as opposed to an infection, and will go away without treatment in most cases. if exposed to poison ivy multiple times, people who have previously never had an allergic reaction risk gaining it, and the reaction can also worsen with exposure.

       to say she trusted poison ivy  would be a lie.  her only encounters with her up until her disappearance had been less than amicable,  the most notable of which involved mind control and fire.  so to say that after a few years she suddenly was back and reformed into an ordinary civilian?  all because she was dating wonder woman?  cassandra found that hard to believe.  the only thing keeping her around was her girlfriend's undying trust in her loved ones.

       still,  it wasn't like she hated her entirely.  cass read  /  listened to enough of her closed cases to see that her intentions were not bad.  batman himself didn't incriminate the woman as much as he perhaps should.  it wasn't  ...  impossible for her to finally be on the right path.  ugh,  it was too much to think about at the moment.  all she knew is that she wasn't a fan of being left alone with her when cassie and diana wrestled their way into another room.  a floral smell came from the tea that pamela poured for her.

        HER MOTHER TOLD HER  how she prayed for days to the gods for their aid,  kneeled at demeter’s shrine for she was the goddess of the harvest.  she thought she would surely be able to help in their time of need  —  when their crops began wilting and their animals grew thinner.  the longer their petitions remained unanswered, the worse it spread.  it began with their food,  then to their flowers and trees. in return, their wildlife suffered. the goddess’ most devout worked tirelessly to stop the spread of this oncoming pestilence for the sake of their island. nothing would be enough. it was only when hippolyta turned to pray to gaia herself when she received some sort of correspondence.  ‘  diana.  ‘  she admitted that she wasn’t sure if that was gaia herself, or a trick of the mind.

        and so diana was here with an unlikely companion. poison ivy, renowned gotham supervillain.  it was difficult getting her to agree to this journey considering their less than amicable past, but promises of unique nature and the hurting of the green would bring her to the island of the amazons. on their landing, diana truthfully expected ivy to take advantage of the plentiful foliage and detain the whole island. she was surprised to see how she kneeled before the island and placed her hands so gingerly upon the dirt. the look of horror that dawned upon her freckled face spoke more than words ever could.

“ @urushiol​​  “ ASKED,  MAKING AN ENTRANCE  ...

"i often wonder in these later days if anything about him was as it seemed."

        IT WAS LIKE THE LONGER  she was stuck in this place, the more she seemed to relate to these people. ah. people. being considered a person was rare in arkham. the other psychiatrists, the guards, the staff as a whole seemed to have long given up hope for the lot that found themselves here time and time again. truth be told? sometimes harleen could see where they were coming from. not that she would ever admit that out loud, but some of them weren’t ready to be helped. there was only so much you could do for somebody when they thought there was nothing wrong with them, and that was the case for the bulk of the inmates  —  patients  —  whatever the hell the staff decided to call them that day. all she could do was try to convince them that she really could do something for them that nobody else had.

        that wasn’t to say that she couldn’t get through to all of them. she had a few patients that were promising and those were the ones that kept her coming back. they made her job worth it. dr. quinzel didn’t mind a slow process, not by any means. that slow, painful buildup each and every day until they reach an explosive breakthrough? oh, it was one of her favorite things in the world. the trigger could be anything; the color red, a fairy tale, a monday. a mother… a father. 

        family was a touchy subject in general. this wasn’t exclusive to the criminal populace, no. harleen herself had a tumultuous childhood largely thanks to her family. whether you like it or not, family was what made you who you are. when she looked at her patients, tied up and staring back twice as hard, sometimes all she saw was who raised them. psychology would never be an exact art, but she did pride herself on having a knack for figuring out the gist of somebody’s childhood just by talking to them. that was the case for one pamela lilian isley. 

        MISANTHROPE,  MISANDRIST,  mother earth nutjob. that was how the newspapers described poison ivy. files from her old psychiatrists told similar stories, claiming she had a lack of empathy for humanity entirely. she would have bet money on those issues starting with a poor father figure. when they first began their sessions with one another, harleen would have agreed with the empathy theory. pamela was less than friendly towards her with her complaints being of the most miniscule details;  ‘ you’re using paper? the corpses of dead trees? are you trying to die!? ‘  it was later that week when harleen came in with a recorder instead of pen and ink when she admitted,  ‘ no, uh  —  i didn’t really care about the paper. i was just  —  i didn’t expect you to actually… accommodate me. thanks, i guess. ‘  the rest was history. minus a couple of small details that may or may not include a flower somehow finding its way to the ecoterrorist. 

        months after their first meeting, dr. quinzel sat across from her with her recorder and a stack of files she never bothered with anymore. her leg bounced as they spoke to one another, vibrating the table between them every so often. pamela didn’t need to be restrained anymore with her, despite the guards’ protests. it began with the usual small talk; the how are you’s, the rambling of some plant she was reminded of for one reason or another, the segue into something more serious. sometimes it would lead them into new understandings. a lot of the time they would hit a wall. it was productive to harleen either way. this time, she asked about her mother’s lilies.

        “ everytime you talk about that garden it makes me wish i could’ve seen it for myself. “  harleen smiled.  “ you mentioned lilies. wanna tell me some more ‘bout them? “

        “ there were a few kinds. there was lilium auratum, of course. you can find those white ones at any supermarket. lilium canadense. and… lilium bulbiferum.” a pause. she stared at the dirt caked in the tiles. “ i really loved those. ”

        “ lilium bulb… bulby ferum? agh, i can’t ever say those scientific names right. “ a fly landed on pamela’s files. harleen closed her eyes. “ that last one. gimme a visual on them. i wanna imagine it with you. “

        IT WAS SILENT.  harleen cracked an eye open to see her patient with her eyes shut. she looked peaceful. beautiful, even, but sad. she quickly closed her eyes again when she heard her begin speaking.

        “ they were orange, with the tips of each petal deepening to red. the other lilies were pretty, but these ones had these bumpy freckles. i once asked my mother if they were sick because of those bumps, but she told me they were fine as long as they pointed to the sky. they were the only ones that bloomed upwards.” a full pause. “ my father only ever gave her orange lilies once. on valentine’s day. it wasn’t an apology plant, surprisingly enough. just… a present. “

        harleen heard the chair screech against the floor, then a set of steps drawing closer. she didn’t open her eyes. she felt a hand dig into her labcoat. she stiffened, but didn’t open her eyes. she heard a piece of paper rip. she would have opened her eyes if she hadn’t started speaking again. trust the process, harls.

        “ do you know what orange lilies symbolize? “ a rhetorical question, but she still shook her head. she focused in on the sound of a pen scratching on paper. “ lilies are considered the flower of sadness. orange lilies specifically can symbolize pride. contempt. hatred. i doubt he knew the meaning. all he knew about plants is that my mother loved them and thought he did too. i often wonder in these later days if anything about him was as it seemed. “ 

        THIS TIME,  the silence between them was solemn. harleen opened her eyes to see the paper pushed towards her. she picked it up to see a drawing of the flower exactly as she had imagined it. soft, curved petals pointed upwards with freckles at the base. she looked to her with a soft smile.

        “ what? you seemed interested in them. “ pamela subtly smiled back, avoiding her gaze. “ now you know what they look like if you spot them out in the wild. “

        “ thank you, ms. isley. now, do you want to unpack that last part? “

        “ no, i’d rather talk about plants. “ she said in a deadpan.