Staking out a little space for Hope @sadbookworm - Tumblr Blog

Circling a point today

I think possibly the most fun thing about Shane's side of Hollanov is how he deals with a teenage sexuality crisis by going thank fucking god the man I had sex with is in the exact same position as me and we can both agree that nothing good will ever come of introspection or god forbid addressing things. And then he constructs his life so his most significant relationship for years and years is hooking up 4-6 times a year with a man he never sees outside of those meetings, who is openly having loads of casual sex with women, who lives in a different country and literally physically cannot decide they should see each other more, who will never ever come out as gay or expect Shane to, and who shuts down attempts at emotional intimacy with really fantastic sex

Literally the ideal fucking solution. He can do whatever mental gymnastics or closeted hot stove touching he wants inside his own head, and his feelings about Ilya will quite literally never ever be any of Ilya's business! Or anyone's business! Not even Shane's business if he doesn't want them to be!

Surely nothing could ever go wrong with this plan

becherdireinen

sorry to interrupt your scrolling but, i hope life gets better for you.

creekfiend

CSF leak week info from the Ehler-Danlos Society FB page ✨

rana-capito

Transcription of slides from the Ehler-Danlos Society:

Slide 1: What is cerebrospinal fluid?

The central nervous system includes the brain and spinal cord, which act as the body's control center.

These structures are surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which cushions and protects the brain and spinal cord from injury.

[diagram of the central nervous system with brain, ventricles, cerebrospinal fluid and spinal cord labeled]

Slide 2: What are CSF leaks?

A CSF leak happens when CSF leaks out through a tear in the dura, the outer lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.

There are two main types of CSF leaks:

Spinal CSF leaks

Occur anywhere along the spine

Cranial CSF leaks

Occur in the skull

CSF leaks may happen after medical procedures, injury, or without an identifiable cause.

Slide 3: CSF leaks in EDS

The Ehlers-Danlos syndromes affect connective tissue, which provides structure and support throughout the body.

In some people, this can make the dura more fragile and more prone to CSF leaks.

Chiari malformation type I may also occur in people with hypermobile EDS and may be associated with CSF leaks in some cases.

[diagram of Chiari malformation type I]

Slide 4: Symptoms of cranial CSF leaks

Cranial CSF leak symptoms may include:

Clear, watery drainage from one side of the nose or ear

A salty or metallic taste in the mouth

Loss of sense of smell

Changes in hearing

Changes in behavior or ability to think clearly

[image of a head in profile with red dots on nose, mouth, ear, and brain]

Slide 5: Symptoms of spinal CSF leaks

The most common symptom of a spinal CSF leak is an orthostatic headache.

Orthostatic headaches are headaches that worsen when standing or sitting up and improve when lying down. They typically affect the back of the head and may also be triggered or worsened by coughing or straining.

Other symptoms of spinal CSF leaks may include:

Neck or shoulder pain

Changes in hearing

Dizziness, nausea, or vomiting

Changes in vision

Sensitivity to light or sound

Changes in behavior or ability to think clearly

Slide 6: Intracranial hypotension

CSF leaks can lead to low pressure inside the skull, known as intracranial hypotension.

This change in pressure is one of the reasons people experience orthostatic headaches and other symptoms.

[image of brain with a deflated shape labeled: Cerebrospinal fluid

Low pressure can cause the brain to sag]

[image of deflated balloon labeled: Deflated Balloon

Lost 'cushion' due to CSF leak]

Slide 7: Diagnosing a CSF leak

Healthcare professionals may use a range of tests to help diagnose a CSF leak, depending on the symptoms and suspected location.

These tests may include:

Beta-2-transferrin testing of fluid leaking from the ear or nose

Spinal tap, also known as lumbar puncture

Computed tomographic (CT) myelography

Intrathecal fluorescein

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

In some cases, additional imaging techniques may be used to find the source of the leak.

Slide 8: Managing a CSF leak

Management depends on the type and location of the leak, as well as the underlying cause.

Conservative approaches may include bed rest, increased fluid intake, and caffeine, which may help relieve symptoms in some cases.

If these approaches are not effective, other options may be considered, such as:

Epidural blood patch

Fibrin sealant

Surgical repair

creekfiend

ty for the transcription!!

bethanydelleman

Becoming a gentlewoman, Kitty soon began to appreciate, was to contain one's self so tightly that one could not breathe- your whole body had to become a corset, with indelicacies, gracelessness, and character kept strictly within.

A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin

A review, spoilers

This quote on Page 19 was probably the indication that this novel wasn't for me (she would be wearing stays, also you can totally breath in a corset), but as I was reading it for a book club I finished the whole thing. It was fine. Kitty was occasionally weirdly modern. We were told she was very smart and the best at flirting, but never really shown as most of her flirting was described not quoted. Almost all her "success" was actually accomplished by her younger sister Cecily or because Radcliffe liked her, even if he wouldn't admit it.

Both Kitty and Radcliffe saving each other's siblings was a good way to bring them together, though where did Kitty get a pistol? (this was never explained) and I still don't believe there is anything wrong with Cecily eloping with her Lord Boy. I have a hard time believing that Kitty would find a man willing to pay off her debts instead of just helping her sell her house and then moving all the sisters in with them. I checked, once the house is sold any further debt would be erased because the debt is on the estate and does not pass to children past selling assets in the estate. Her wanting to retain her house just felt anachronistic to me so I didn't find it romantic that Radcliffe paid for her house. Now you have two houses. Cool?

I don't know, 6/10? Probably more fun if you didn't spend years researching and reading academic books about the Regency era to write your own romance novels set in that time period and make them as accurate as humanly (and self-publishing-ly) possible.

botanyshitposts

a really funny thing about working with seeds in a day to day capacity is that you really need the seeds to stay in one place at any given moment, and the seeds disagree. so it’s just like, seeds end up on the floor. seeds end up on the desk. seeds appear in the crack between the glass plate of the microscope stage and its surrounding metal casing. seeds are around the dumpster outside. sweeping up seeds, patching up bags of seeds, picking seeds off your clothes and from between keyboard keys, very carefully transferring seeds into containers less likely to cause catastrophe should the seeds breach containment, like it’s just an uphill battle built into the work. almost as if the seeds are hyperevolved to disperse themselves or something

nuclearbummer

wiigiwaamcore

David Cusick was a Tuscarora (Haudenosaunee) artist who self-published the first known English-language record of Indigenous stories told BY an Indigenous writer-illustrator. His book is called David Cusick’s Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations and you can read it for free online.

hellenhighwater

Does anyone else get a little excited when you're reading and come across a word you don't know and you get to look it up and add it to your vocabulary pile? weehoo! a little treat for me, a little exotic snack

lastoneout

Fun how the bystander effect was coined to cover up how cops are bigoted cowards who let a queer person die and Stockholm syndrome was also coined to cover that the cops handled a hostage situation so badly the hostages trusted their captors more than the cops.

lastoneout

Next you're gonna tell me 40% of all people beat their partners.

megpricephotography

I've written before about Flynn's habit of showing/herding me to sit on benches when we're out. For some reason, if he sees an empty bench, Flynn wants me to sit down on it. Not for long but I should sit, because that's The Rule. He's done this as long as I can remember - despite him not otherwise wanting to stop on walks. Before I had Flynn's prompting, I didn't even use benches very often but my health isn't great, so I don't complain about having a rest & do - usually - sit when he asks me to!

Now, normally Flynn "finds" benches when we're in the woods & there are only a few seats total. However, a few days ago we went for a short walk round the old churchyard & along the length of one side of the church is a whole long row of benches. I DID sit down on the 1st bench Flynn "showed" me, which he was pleased about. Here he is monitoring my sitting:

After a cpl of minutes, Flynn decided a) he was bored &/or b) I'd had enough rest, so he encouraged me back up. We continued on our way... well, sort of. Flynn passed one bench, but we had a standoff beside the one after that, because he wanted me to sit & I did not want to sit. In the pic below, it looks like he was merely sniffing the seat. No. Flynn was alternately poking at the bench with his nose & then staring me dead in the eye, to make sure I was getting the message...

Despite my attempts to jolly him along, our progress down that row of benches was s l o o o o w... Flynn would sulkily go past one or 2, but then decide I should definitely sit on the next bench & we'd have another standoff. This last pic was at the last but one bench. Flynn was now quite annoyed with my wilfulness. For a few seconds he just looked at me & then he suddenly slapped his paw on the bench & then he did it again & just waited. The message was clear: "See where my paw is? You sit right there! Sit!!".

He makes me laugh. I've never thought I'd see the day when my own dog resorted to smacking a bench, in an effort to order me to sit down & follow The Rules (which HE made up)!

hellenhighwater

My chives have bloomed, so I made a batch of chive blossom butter to keep for later. This will store in the freezer for future use!

justsomeguycore

lesbian scifi is so easy. here’s a woman in cargo pants and a tank top on a spaceship. are you with me

justsomeguycore

maybe it’s not even cargo pants. maybe it’s coveralls rolled to + tied around the waist. maybe she even has fuckoff boots

animentality

literary-sparks

“Why don’t you use ai” idk man beyond the obvious environmental and “this machine causes psychosis and encourages people to kill themselves” thing I think asking the equivalent of a solid D student who is also a pathological liar if they can answer my question/do the work for me seems pretty fucking stupid

slothful-rabbit

I laughed so fucking hard at this

paint-lady

depsidase

mangled-by-disuse

in happier pride news i actually found this deeply heartwarming

that's solidarity baybeeee

lgbtlaughs

Further context: Durham city council (Reform UK) cut funding and support for Pride. The Durham Miner's Association and other trade unions raised enough money for Durham Pride 2026 to go ahead - a direct call back to when Lesbian and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) raised money for mining communities when Margaret Thatcher seized union funding during the miner strikes of 1984-85.

At the 1985 Labour party meet, the motion to support LGBT rights as a party was passed due to a block vote from mining unions.

Stephen Guy, the chair of the Durham Miners’ Association, said that when it became apparent Durham Pride was under threat, he took it upon himself to “encourage the trade union movement to step up and do the right thing, and stand shoulder to shoulder with the LGBT+ community […] They not only raised funds for us, but came to our communities, uplifted our spirits when they were down, and showed their solidarity.”

genderkoolaid

if you've never seen the film Pride (2014), which tells the story of LGSM, you really really need to. Set aside time to watch it this month. Extremely important part of leftist and queer history, and a lesson on what "solidarity forever" means in practice that everyone desperately needs to learn right now.

Here's the r/piracy megathread if you need it. & you can pair that viewing with this article on the real-life history of Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners; they don't make it explicit in the film, but every founding member was a socialist / communist, and that article goes more in depth about the movement.

Notably: LGSM did not wait for the mining communities to be openly supportive of queers and anti-homophobia before showing solidarity. They saw the connection between oppression of Welsh miners and the oppression of queers, and chose solidarity first. It was this choice to materially support other oppressed people, and see the queer community and mining communities are inherently connected through their experiences of oppression and resistance, that allowed the relationship seen above to exist at all.

None of this could have happened if LGSM's solidarity was dependent on the mining communities being queer allies at the time of Thatcher's attacks on them. This solidarity was born out of queer communists seeing things from a broader perspective than just "getting gay rights." They saw how the labor struggle and the queer struggle are connected, and organized to provide material assistance through food and funding. We should all internalize this and seek to apply these lessons to our own communities.

ivycryptid

hope you don't mind me adding an extra little resource onto things- this video goes over some of the history in the movie directly! (and the couple inaccuracies too). Also: I just like it.

copperbadge

I know myself well enough to know I would not be very good at fanbiding and that would mainly frustrate me, so while I love fan binding and admire those who do it, I've never dabbled.

I have never regretted that decision more than I did waking up from the dream I recently had, where I excitedly bought a rare copy of the novel that Goncharov (1973) was based on, opened it up, and found that it was a hollowed out "book safe" for keeping valuables in.

greaseonmymouth

@copperbadge were you looking for the Goncharov novel ?

I tracked down a copy of this invaluable classic and somehow got my hands on a near pristine copy secondhand from the 4th printing. It’s lost the dustjacket, alas, but that means I got it for like £5 and not the £4200 a first edition printing in fine condition goes for.

(Who’s the author? *looks at smudge on spine* uhhhh Mkkhill Montanann)

It looks right at home in my bookcase 🥰

Under the cut: a look inside at what the book holds:

copperbadge

OMG HAHAHA AMAZING! What a find! Truly a vintage treasure. I am dying, it looks fantastic.

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Staking out a little space for Hope