The night full
of black teeth.
Ocean Vuong, from “A Little Closer to the Edge,” Night Sky with Exit Wounds
(via lifeinpoetry)
Reblog if you’re a roleplayer with social anxiety!
This could mean you struggle with interacting with other roleplayers in the community, or get anxiety over simple interactions with others.
Preservation Week: Day 5 (part 1 of 2)
It’s the American Library Association’s Preservation Week, and we’ve been sharing some glimpses into The Huntington’s preservation department.
Today, we’re taking a peek at a couple of stages in the process of repairing an 18th-century book with broken joints and detached spine leather. When we joined book conservator Kristi Westberg in the conservation lab, the process was underway and she was getting ready to remove the old brittle adhesive and degraded leather from the spine. The book was sitting in a wooden finishing press, and the already-detached spine was bring held out of the way with a piece of thick polyester (looks like stiff clear plastic, not like a suit from the 1970s). Kristi had also already applied a layer of a clear gel called methyl cellulose to the spine, which was helping to soften the old adhesive and leather. By the time we arrived, everything was good and softened and ready for scraping. And for shooting footage for gunk-scraping gifs, of course. (The photo at the end shows the gorgeous gunk she’s scraping off in the gifs.)
Took the final day before maintenance for Stormblood to visit all the zones and reminisce over the past two years. It’s strange to think how much has happened. Some good things; some bad things. Some friendships gained; some friendships lost. Some things I wish I could repair; some things that I know are not meant to be fixed. It’s been a big learning experience, and I feel I’ve grown in a lot of ways, although I still have a long way to go.
I am so grateful for everyone who has stuck by me. I’ve met some amazing, creative people, and it’s been an honor to share this silly, fantastic, collaborative hobby with all of you.
I’m looking forward to what’s next.
Our future is bright.
((getting real emotional for the end of Heavensward because I’ve met so many great people along the way, had so many good times, and made so many wonderful friends
so much love and thanks to all of you, and here’s to many more adventures together
reblogging this here on my main IC/general purpose blog because it’s still true
mom Naih here telling everyone to go to the grocery store this week and get yourselves plenty of water and juice and snacks and things to throw in the oven for expansion
dayweekmonth.* takes mom hat off *
love you guys, can’t wait to do all the things with y’all! imma be with the turtle crew (im hoping to be able to afford a boost for balmung!naih at some point) but if there is anything anyone wants to do before that, and for my peeps on other servers, there is always cross server party finder! ♥♥♥
*takes Naih’s mom hat*
Take some of your Thursday time to clean up your apt/house/room some too. Do some laundry. Get those cans/water bottles/cups out of your room! (DO THAT WALK OF SHAME!)
i…really need to clean up all the empty beer bottles and tea/coffee mugs around my desk. it looks like a depressed PhD student lives here
thx mom
Writing Traumatic Injuries References
So, pretty frequently writers screw up when they write about injuries. People are clonked over the head, pass out for hours, and wake up with just a headache… Eragon breaks his wrist and it’s just fine within days… Wounds heal with nary a scar, ever…
I’m aiming to fix that.
Here are over 100 links covering just about every facet of traumatic injuries (physical, psychological, long-term), focusing mainly on burns, concussions, fractures, and lacerations. Now you can beat up your characters properly!
General resources
PubMed: The source for biomedical literature
Diagrams: Veins (towards heart), arteries (away from heart) bones, nervous system, brain
Burns
General overview: Includes degrees
Burn severity: Including how to estimate body area affected
Burn treatment: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degrees
Incisions and Lacerations
Essentials of skin laceration repair (including stitching techniques)
When to stitch (Journal article–Doctors apparently usually go by experience on this)
More about when to stitch (Simple guide for moms)
Incision vs. laceration: Most of the time (including in medical literature) they’re used synonymously, but eh.
Types of lacerations: Page has links to some particularly graphic images–beware!
Puncture wounds: Including a bit about what sort of wounds are most likely to become infected
Wound assessment: A huge amount of information, including what the color of the flesh indicates, different kinds of things that ooze from a wound, and so much more.
Home treatment of gunshot wound, also basics
More about gunshot wounds, including medical proceduresTourniquet use: Controversy around it, latest research
Location pain chart: Originally intended for tattoo pain, but pretty accurate for cuts
General note: Deeper=more serious. Elevate wounded limb so that gravity draws blood towards heart. Scalp wounds also bleed a lot but tend to be superficial. If it’s dirty, risk infection. If it hits the digestive system and you don’t die immediately, infection’ll probably kill you. Don’t forget the possibility of tetanus! If a wound is positioned such that movement would cause the wound to gape open (i.e. horizontally across the knee) it’s harder to keep it closed and may take longer for it to heal.
Broken bones
Setting a broken bone when no doctor is available
Healing time of common fractures
Fractured vertebrae: Neck (1, 2), back
Broken digits: Fingers and toes
General notes: If it’s a compound fracture (bone poking through) good luck fixing it on your own. If the bone is in multiple pieces, surgery is necessary to fix it–probably can’t reduce (“set”) it from the outside. Older people heal more slowly. It’s possible for bones to “heal” crooked and cause long-term problems and joint pain. Consider damage to nearby nerves, muscle, and blood vessels.
Concussions
Mild Brain Injuries: The next step up from most severe type of concussion, Grade 3
Second impact syndrome: When a second blow delivered before recovering from the initial concussion has catastrophic effects. Apparently rare.
Symptoms: Scroll about halfway down the page for the most severe symptoms
General notes: If you pass out, even for a few seconds, it’s serious. If you have multiple concussions over a lifetime, they will be progressively more serious. Symptoms can linger for a long time.
Character reaction:
Shock (general)
Fight-or-flight response: 1, 2
Long-term emotional trauma: 1 (Includes symptoms), 2
First aid for emotional trauma
Treatment (drugs)
Treatment (herbs)
Miscellany
Snake bites: No, you don’t suck the venom out or apply tourniquettes
When frostbite sets in: A handy chart for how long your characters have outside at various temperatures and wind speeds before they get frostbitten
First aid myths: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Includes the ones about buttering burns and putting snow on frostbite.
Poisons: Why inducing vomiting is a bad idea
Dislocations: Symptoms 1, 2; treatment. General notes: Repeated dislocations of same joint may lead to permanent tissue damage and may cause or be symptomatic of weakened ligaments. Docs recommend against trying to reduce (put back) dislocated joint on your own, though information about how to do it is easily found online.
Resuscitation after near-drowning: 1, 2
Current CPR practices: We don’t do mouth-to-mouth anymore.
The DSM IV, for all your mental illness needs.
Electrical shock
Human response to electrical shock: Includes handy-dandy voltage chart
Length of contact needed at different voltages to cause injury
Evaluation protocol for electric shock injury
Electrical and lightning injury
Delayed effects and a good general summary
Acquired savant syndrome: Brain injuries (including a lightning strike) triggering development of amazing artistic and other abilities
Please don’t repost! You can find the original document (also created by me) here.
black-omen-born 
