1) garrett’s staff fires donuts, apparently 2) varric is returning to the stone 3) goodnight anders 4) “fuck” 5) this npc was very disapproving of our late-night lowtown brawl 6) i love this guy 7) ferelden.png 8) elevate mage 9) anders has entered the wall 10) its ok aveline the healer’s right here
Here is part 2 of 3 treatises on lyrium so far! It’s nearly 2000 words. Why am I doing this? Because science, and I think this is a plausible explanation of how some of Thedas works. And because my nerdy brain won’t let me rest until I get these headcanons down.
Part 3, Pathophysiology of the Blight Disease and the Origin and Rise of Red Lyrium, has been split off because this is getting really, really long; I’ll post it tomorrow.
ALSO if you actually read this all the way through THERE MAY BE ANATOMIC ILLUSTRATIONS I DOODLED as a bonus!
In Dragon Age: Inquisition, Bianca Davri tells Varric that lyrium is alive, and the cause of red lyrium is the Blight, which only affects living things.
But what is naturally occurring lyrium, anyway?
Lyrium’s most likely analogue in our world is a fungus. Lyrium does not appear to grow in sunlight, making photosynthesis impossible, and is found deep within the earth, as are many molds, deep mushrooms, and lichens. Lyrium also shares characteristics with fungi like mycelia, AKA a fungus’ branching, thread-like vegetative form. There are reports of fungi that may cover over a mile (there is a fungus in Oregon that is believed to be 2.4 miles in diameter and is still only one organism) by way of these projections… which could also be referred to as veins. Lyrium veins are present in both Dragon Age: Origins and DA2, and it is constantly mentioned that lyrium must be mined, despite the fact that you can walk into pieces of it in the Deep Roads – clearly there must be more, much more, beneath the surface.
If lyrium is a living fungus, that allows it to be infected by the Blight.
Why hasn’t lyrium been known to be alive before? There may be several answers for that. Its fruiting bodies or rhizomorphs (the bits of lyrium that Hawke or a Warden stumbles upon in the deep roads) may be so hardened that it seems like to a soft type of mineral, like talc. Given that a rhizomorph is made up of millions of tiny threads of hyphae, you could take a rhizomorph and crumble it, and if the fungus is rather hard, it would not seem unlike a mineral. Keep in mind that no one has developed the microscope in Thedas.
Ok so I rly fucking need to clean my house. Do any other People With Depression™ have any tips or ways you motivate urself to clean? Because this feels like the hardest goddamn thing in the world even tho I know it’s not and I’m just continually frustrated with myself and have been for the past two weeks.
HOO BOY DO I HAVE DEPRESSION/EXECUTIVE DYSFUNCTION CLEANING TIPS
in no particular order (because I have depression and executive dysfunction):
1. If something sensory about cleaning bothers you, eliminate that before you start. For example, I wear gloves to do the dishes. If the sound of the vacuum bothers you, wear headphones and turn up the music. etc.
2. If you can, make a list of everything that needs to be done. Then acknowledge that you probably can’t do it all, and circle all the things that absolutely, no matter what, have to be done. Pick one (ONE! ONLY ONE! START WITH ONE!) of those things and break it down into smaller steps. Then even smaller steps. Seriously, if step one is “stand up” and step two is “walk to closet” and step 3 is “get mop”, that’s fine. It can be that small.
3. Take a break. “But I literally only started five minutes ago!” Don’t care. If you want a break, take a break. “At this point I’ve spent more time on breaks than I’ve spent on cleaning.” Ok, but you’ve spent more than zero time on cleaning, so you’ve accomplished more than you had at the beginning. “If I take a break it won’t get done!” If you burn out it won’t get done either. Take a break.
4. If nothing is working, try what I call bin cleaning/box cleaning. Take a big trash bag and a box. Pick up the first object you see. Step 1: Is it trash? Put it in the trash bag. Step 2: Will you use it in the next 2 days? No? Put it in the box. It’s a problem for Future You. If you’ll use it in the next 2 days, take time to put it away. Rinse and repeat.
5. Did you get distracted and forget what you were doing? Don’t worry about it. Just clean a thing. It doesn’t matter if it’s the thing you were cleaning before. You have to clean lots of things, so just pick a thing and clean it. Eventually you’ll get around to the thing you forgot.
6. If you have to do a thing you really hate, do a thing you like afterwards. I hate doing dishes, but folding laundry soothes me, so that’s a nice one to do afterwards. YMMV. If there are no cleaning things you like that you can do afterwards, see number 3.
7. Make it fun. Play loud music and dance while you’re cleaning. Wear something that makes you feel cute, or if you prefer, something comfy. Light your favorite candle. Whatever.
8. If it’s nice out, open a window. Seriously, it helps.
Just so you guys know, mucinex interacts INCREDIBLY poorly with most antidepressants, especially Zoloft. It not only almost completely negates the effects of your antidepressant, it also has terrible effects on your body. (Frank wouldn’t even let me read all of them because he thought it would just scare me more, but he said do not take them together again)
I found a website where you can check for possible interactions with any medicine:
Sudafed seems to have fewer negative interactions with physiatrics, but it’s still a good idea to check.
Be safe this cold/flu season, my friends.
Thanks for posting this. I’ve always avoided mucinex b/c their commercials creep me out, so I’ve just been lucky to avoid it. Good to know I should actively avoid it for reasons beyond their commercials.
Always, always check your medication. Please stay safe everyone.
It’s not just Mucinex. It is ANY cold, flu, or cough medication with dextromethorphan in it. That’s pretty much any of those medications that have the DM abbreviation after it. It also doesn’t negate the effects of your antidepressant, it causes Dextromethorphan-induced serotonin syndrome. This causes anything from feeling like shit like you have the flu, with cold sweats and vomiting, to just being super anxious or foggy, all the way up to making you feel crazy fucking high and not in a good way. In a possibly hallucinate and feel suicidal kinda way.
But it depends entirely on what your antidepressant dose is and how much dextromethorphan you’re getting with the cold medicine. When you are on an antidepressant or something for ADHD or anything that’s altering your serotonin levels, you really have to ask a doctor before you take other drugs.
(Source: I’ve taken anxiety and antidepressants before and my dad has been a pharmacist for 40+ years.)
Also, a lot of SSRIS say no NSAIDS! So, no motrin, aspirin, etc. If you have a question, call your pharmacist! Or google it and look for the interactions! Or ask me and I’ll do it for you! Be safe pllllease
Signal boost!
Made the mistake of taking decongestants when I was rocking super high venlafaxine (SNRI) dose. Was awful. Do not recommend!
Delicious Fish 