Reminder that gray-a-spec people are the only people who get to judge if the way they feel attraction or how little they feel attraction is enough to fall under the a-spec umbrella or not.
things linguistics has taught me: do not fuck with the welsh
Seriously though do not. This is welsh nationalism in a nutshell.
So like, 150 or so years ago, nobody cared about Welsh. Not even the welsh. But then, one day, some folks got sick of paying the tolls at toll gates. Citing bizarre biblical precedent, they dressed up as women and started seizing toll gates, at which point the (also welsh) gate owners went “WTF?” and called in (english) magistrates to resolve the dispute.
The English Magistrates looked at the situation and went “WTF?” and commissioned an inquiry loosely titled “WTF is wrong with Wales??”
Well this commission did a ton of work and looked at schools and politics and people on hillsides raising sheep and all that jazz and came to the thrilling conclusion: What’s Wrong with Wales is that Ridiculous Backwards Language they all speak there.
There was a moment of dead silence, broken only by the loud scrape as Wales, collectively, as a nation, in a fit of unity not seen since the castles came to subjugate the native tribes, pushed back its chair, stood up slowly, and said “what you just say bout me?”
And folks who’d never heard it spoken started teaching their children Welsh, and the old sheep herder on the hill became a cultural icon, and the rioters and the gate owners high fived each other and said “suck it, England!” (only in Welsh this time).
And now Welsh is a protected language, there’s a strong Welsh nationalist movement, with its own flag and spelling conventions, and there’s a Welsh channel on television (which is doubly impressive when you remember that Britain only has like three channels).
And that is how the Welsh saved their language from extinction by sheer force of spite
Just gotta add those toll booth riots were called the Rebecca Riots, the rioters were known as Rebeccas and I am named after them. It’s the one consolation to an otherwise boring name.
Also my great grandad lived to the age of 101 and never spoke a word of English that wasn’t forced out of him through threat of unemployment. Despite being fluent and having 5 great grandchildren who have the Welsh vocabulary of toddlers.
Relationships are just as unique as the people involved, and I for one absolutely love it! Backgrounds from @gradientoftheday.
[Image description: Colorful gradients with white text saying “not all relationships include (sexual attraction) / (romantic attraction) / (exclusivity) and that’s awesome”]
1. I have a character who’s caught meningitis but thinks it’s the flu (/sinus issues) for a couple days until he collapses on the third. Is this realistic? Also, when his colleague calls 911 on him, what sort of questions are the EMTs likely to ask him and what sort of immediate treatment would he receive in the ambulance on the way to the hospital? (It’s the 80s, if that makes a difference.)
2. Another character is in severe pain from a cracked shoulder blade, but also has a concussion (from the same accident). What kind of pain meds would they be able to receive, and would those meds actually help with the pain at all? Should I just get them lots of ice and call it (kinda) sorted? Also, how would their doctor differentiate their being semiconscious from the pain vs. being semiconscious from TBI complications?
Hey there! Thanks for your question!
So let’s tackle these in order.
1) Meningitis vs Flu
Meningitis can indeed feel like flu symptoms, with a few significant differences.
First, neck stiffness. Your character won’t be able to bring their chin to their chest; it will be very stiff and painful to do so. This is called nucchal rigidity by those “in the biz.” They’ll also have a fever, vomiting, often a headache, body aches, chills, tiredness, possibly confusion, and sensitivity to light.
It’s kind of like if a flu and a hangover trashed your head’s living room and you found them asleep on the couch and in the bathtub respectively.
The other thing is that meningitis typically(not always) hits like a goddamn freight train. Your character may have had the flu before, but this will be The Worst Flu. I’ve had patients who’ve gone from “I feel fine” to fucking dying in less than six hours. This depends on the type and aggressiveness of the meningitis; bacterial meningitis, particularly meningiococcal meningitis, is a fucking bastard of a disease and is extremely aggressive. VIral meningitis, such as from an Epstein-Barr infection, varicella zoster (our friend chicken pox), mumps, or herpes.
Viral meningitis is more common in little kids, but not unreasonable in an adult.
As for EMS questions, this question is predicated on something I don’t know much about, which is “EMS Before I Was Born for 800, Alex.” They would likely isolate him by wrapping him in sheets even though he has a fever and take him to the hospital, where doctors would give antifever medications like acetaminophen and perform a lumbar punctue, or spinal tap. This is the process of having the character curl up into a ball and sticking a needle into the small of the back to draw out a small vial of cerebrospinal fluid. This hurts and causes massiveheadaches, which, your character is already having a No Fun Day.
They’ll be looking for blood and bacteria in the CSF. If you opted for viral meningitis, they won’t find bacteria in there, or blood. They’ll likely be placed in isolation while they’re sick, meaning all hospital staff will wear gowns and gloves and paper masks to care for them (same for visiting friends/family). If it’s viral, there isn’t a whole lot to do, and I get sketchy about 80s meningitis meds and don’t want to send you down the wrong path. Odds are they could simply rest for a week in the hospital and get better and go home.
2) Car Go Crash
“Crash-o-smash!”
“That’s all I need to know!”
Hey there! There are a few things we need to talk about with this crash.
First, how did they crack their shoulderblade? That’s an unusual injury, to my knowledge. They would have to be thrown back into something, but car seats are padded. What did they hit?
Second, about concussion vs TBI vs pain:
There are a number of clinical assesments that can be used to help determine if the head injury is a concussion or something worse. The most definitive is a CT scan, but they may not actually need one! According to the Canada Head Trauma CT Guidelines, your character only needs a head CT if:
They can’t remember more than 30 minutes before the accident
They have mental status changes (unable to follow commands, don’t open eyes on their own, or are confused about who/where they are)
They’ve vomited more than once
The mechanism was super dangerous (thrown or ejected from the vehicle)
They have a depressed skull fracture. (Simple linear fractures don’t require head CTs.)
They have signs of a basilar skull fracture; search this blog for LeFort fractures.
Shout-out to @cranquis for teaching me about those guidelines, I wasn’t familiar with them before his tender ministrations to my upcoming book :)
They will likely be seen in the ER, have their arm put in a sling to protect the shoulder, and sent home with an appointment to follow up with orthopedics. Someone should be with them and will be asked to wake them up once about 4 hours after they go to sleep to make sure they canwake up, but otherwise, let them rest as long as they need to.
In terms of pain meds, I would expect a three-day course of oral pain meds such as oxycodone/acetaminophen (Oxycontin) or hydrocodone/acetaminophen (Vicodin), in addition to getting similar pain pills while they’re in the ER.
If they need surgery for their shoulder, it will be scheduled with ortho on an outpatient basis unless the scapula is literally poking through the skin.
“I know it’s pretty wild for an asexual to get married, but…” “Not really, John and I are aces and we’re married.” “Our wedding was nautical-themed.” “Why nautical? Is that, like, an asexual thing?” “No man, We just really like boats.” “Some asexuals are also a-romantic, but others have relationships like anyone else.” “But involving boats?” “I feel like you’re getting really hung up on the boats thing.” “So, it’s not weird for an ace to get married?” “No, if you found someone who really accepts you for who you are, go for it.”
I have never seen asexuality and aromanticism discussed so casually on TV before and it’s honestly making me emotional. Thank you to the writers of Bojack Horseman for this.
The voice actor of Todd (Aaron Paul I believe his name is) is actually the one who pushed for the word “asexual” to be said on the show! Gotta give him huge props.
