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#adhd information
my-autism-adhd-blog · 8 months
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Inattentive ADHD
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Future ADHD
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Okay, so a "little" infodump on ADHD and a rant about the treatment of people with ADHD in the media
This post focuses on ADHD and media representation of ADHD.
Introduction
I know this isn't my usual type of content, but I need to rant to an audience. I will get back to my usual type of content after this. I got diagnosed with ADHD over two months ago, and I've started following a few ADHD accounts on YT and Instagram to find social support, but what I've seen is tons of comments filled with misinformation under every single video/post about ADHD. I also saw this type of behavior from news outlets and the comments under every single ADHD news story I found. I decided to make this post to make it clear what ADHD really is and what it is not. I attempt to be as truthful and unbiased as possible, but I am only a human being so if you notice something wrong, please let me know in the comments.
What is ADHD? (And what it isn't)
ADHD is a condition that affects a person's attention, impulsivity and activity. Some have difficulty with only their attention, some have with only their hyperactivity, some have difficulty with both. It can affect both girls and boys, both women and men. You are born with it and it doesn't disappear as you age. You can't get it from using the internet too much. It is a real condition and not manufactured by "big pharma" or whatever some say. It isn't a fake condition that drug addicts use to get meth. It's not easy to get a diagnosis and you need to pass a drug test. It has been around for a long time before internet and western medicine. It is genetic. Symptoms can be managed through therapy, medicine and the help of loved ones. What doesn't help is grit, daily grind and prayers, neither does blaming and yelling.
What are the symptoms? (Inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, emotional dysregulation)
People with inattentive ADHD have difficulty initiating and focusing on certain tasks (such as cooking, paying bills, learning) especially those that require effort and are uninteresting or unpleasant. People with inanttentive ADHD might seem quiet, lazy or like they never listen, but really they just can't control their attention as well as many others.
Impulsivity is the tendency to act without thinking. It shows up especially in relationships and personal finance. People with this symptom might spend a lot of money on things they don't need (duplicates of a item they already have, books that they feel like they will someday read but never do, buying random stuff online) and ruin their financial situation for a while (because you need money to live, eat, pay the bills.) In relationships they might act without thinking of others, for example they may offend others without meaning to. Overall, their behavior could be characterized as risky and impatient by others. Still, they can be an empathetic person, even though their actions at times might seem insensitive.
Hyperactivity symptoms are both external (you can see it) and internal (you can't see it.) External symptoms include difficulty staying still (pacing, doodling, talking excessively.) Internal hyperactivity symptoms include having a racing mind, taking unnecessary risks, getting anxious over "nothing" and being impatient. People with hyperactive symptoms might seem to be always busy, overwhelmed or seem immature. Try to be understanding: inside they may feel very restless or extremely bored.
One symptom that I've seen discussed on various YouTube channels is emotional dysregulation. People with emotional dysregulation have difficulty with controlling their emotional response and dealing with strong emotions. They might seem dramatic or they seem to overreact, but just remember that they may feel guilt or embarrassment for acting out the way they do. But emotional dysregulation is not just an excuse to avoid responsibility, but instead it's an explanation to why they've acted the way they did.
Brain chemistry of ADHD (and are people with ADHD just lazy)
ADHD brains don't have as much dopamine as neurotypical ("normal people") brains. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that creates motivation to do stuff. Without it you wouldn't do stuff. You wouldn't play games, eat, walk or even blink.
So how can people with ADHD play games then? Are they just lazy? No, playing games doesn't make you lazy, neither does not doing laundry. Think of it as all people having a certain threshold that needs to be exceeded for a task to be doable. For neurotypicals the threshold is easier to exceed, because they have more dopamine. So for them doing laundry is easier to start, but for people with ADHD the threshold may be too high, unless they get help. The threshold for playing games is lower, because it's much more enjoyable than doing laundry (at least for the majority.) So playing games is easier to start doing and focus on, doing laundry involves discomfort, so it requires an extra push.
How ADHD is portrayed in the media
I've seen many news outlets, tv-shows and other forms of media treat ADHD as a boys' condition that disappears in adulthood. Also, in recent years ADHD has been portrayed as a "trendy diagnosis" teens and young adults "want" to have along with autism spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and many others in order to gain "respect" or "status" or just to get a free pass on being "lazy". More often than not the medicine used to treat ADHD is presented in a negative light and it is claimed that children shouldn't be given ADHD medication because it is "literal meth" and it's a study drug that makes students geniuses without any effort. These are all misleading claims and I'll try my best to debunk these below.
Can girls have ADHD?
It is true that boys are more likely to get a diagnosis for ADHD, but it's because ADHD presents differently in boys and girls. Girls can also have ADHD. Girls typically have more inattentive symptoms and they are more likely to mask (or hide) their struggles from others in fear of judgement from parents, teachers or peers.
Can adults have ADHD?
ADHD symptoms do sometimes lessen with age, but ADHD doesn't disappear when you reach adulthood. Sometimes symptoms may even worsen in adulthood because of increased responsibility. People with ADHD may forget to pay their bills and may have difficulty forming and maintaining relationships. In childhood parents are usually the ones to take care of these kinds of things, so when a person with an undiagnosed ADHD moves out and tries to live independently it's very difficult. They find out they've had severe problems with self-regulation their whole life without even knowing.
Is ADHD just a trend?
Is ADHD actually a trend among teens and young adults? I'd say that's irrelevant, because it isn't harming anyone. People with ADHD face a lot of hate and judgement. ADHD is a very stigmatizing disorder and many have to hide their condition from others. Some have to get a diagnosis later in life because they fear their family might disown them after seeking help. So, for some it is comforting to be part of a group that understands their problems and doesn't judge them. People should have the opportunity to feel included and supported even if they didn't have ADHD but showed symptoms.
There has been growth in ADHD diagnoses in recent years, in part because of increased awareness, in part because of a change in people's lifestyles. By "change in lifestyle" I am referencing people using internet more and people having busier schedules. Both of these may make ADHD symptoms worse, so people are more likely to seek help. Remember that the number of people with ADHD hasn't changed, only the number of diagnoses. Could this be explained by by a rise in false diagnoses? Probably not, because the same trend is seen in multiple countries. There may be misdiagnoses for sure, like with every medical condition, but it's highly unlikely to explain everything. In fact, ADHD is often falsely diagnosed as depression, bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder, especially in women.
Is ADHD medication dangerous?
ADHD medication has often been vilified, even to the point that medication is seen as a last resort. It has been painted as a dangerous drug that leads to people becoming addicts. So, is it justified to say that ADHD medication is "meth"? I don't think so. Even though it's true that some countries allow the use of methamphetamine in treating ADHD in both children and adults, it's not justified to label it as meth because of the negative connotations it has (and also because not every ADHD medication use methamphetamine; there is also methylphenidate, atomoxetine and more.) In controlled doses ADHD medications are safe and the risk of addiction is low. Often medication even lowers the risk of future addictions as people stop self-medicating with illegal substances. Serious side effects do exist, so the symptoms of ADHD medication (and any medication) should always be reported, monitored and taken seriously.
Are ADHD meds good study drugs?
Are ADHD meds a good study drug then? No, not if you are a neurotypical ("normal brained") person. They won't make you smarter, but they may give you a false sense of confidence and insomnia. If you have ADHD, the medication may let you finally concentrate, which possibly will help you get better grades.
How the media has affected people with ADHD
Journalists have failed in debunking these false claims and instead push these talking points even further, making it more difficult for people to seek help. People who suspect having ADHD but don't yet have a diagnosis may feel unsafe telling others they need help because society treats them as potential drug addicts, lazy students and attention seeking phone addicted teenagers.
The thank you's and all that (The end)
Thank you for reading this post. This took me a few hours to write and I'm sure it took you multiple minutes to get here (or you just skipped right to the end.) In any case, I hope you either learned something new or found a new way to debunk misinformation.
To all of you with ADHD I just want to say that you're not lazy, you're not weak, you're not annoying and you're not dramatic. You're not a burden. You deserve help and a loving, nurturing environment and you deserve to be taken seriously. If you're not diagnosed, but relate to ADHD symptoms, you should consider talking with a mental health professional. It is also okay to not want a diagnosis, and in that case it's best to find safe support groups, either online or offline.
Stay safe.
Edits
Edit 1: I want to add that some adhd medications can cause side effects such as insomnia. ADHD already by itself can affect sleep quality, so sometimes it's recommended to take melatonin or something else that helps you sleep. It's also important to practice sleep hygiene (calming down before sleep, eating something before bed, etc). I also want to add that "feeling like a zombie" while taking ADHD medication is not normal. It can be caused by the dose being too high or the medication being unsuitable, so it can be solved by lowering the dose or switching to another medication.
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usernamesarehard1 · 1 year
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I just need to ask someone because I am so confused. Does anyone know if there is any weight to this "Tylenol and metals in baby food can cause autism/adhd" thing I keep hearing about?
It doesn't seem like it makes sense since both autism and adhd are supposed to be something you're born with, and the whole "vaccines cause autism" thing was debunked.
But I keep hearing about this and seeing psa's all over television and YouTube about it so i am very confused. And it's kinda hard to research on Google because I'm not sure if the sources that come up are trustworthy.
Like I said, I don't think it's true, but it's become such a big deal that I feel like I need clarification.
Also, does anyone know why people believe metals and Tylenol are somehow linked to autism/adhd?
Thanks.
*I have autism and adhd myself, btw
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veryobsessivefan · 2 years
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I would say the "opposite of overload" is feeling understimulated, and as an ADHDer can confirm that's super common! Has to do with how the brain works, wanting a lot of stimulants to run is a big part of ADHD if I remember correctly.
thanks!!
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inkskinned · 8 months
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because sometimes there are invisible tests and invisible rules and you're just supposed to ... know the rule. someone you thought of as a friend asks you for book recommendations, so you give her a list of like 30 books, each with a brief blurb and why you like it. later, you find out she screenshotted the list and send it out to a group chat with the note: what an absolute freak can you believe this. you saw the responses: emojis where people are rolling over laughing. too much and obsessive and actually kind of creepy in the comments. you thought you'd been doing the right thing. she'd asked, right? an invisible rule: this is what happens when you get too excited.
you aren't supposed to laugh at your own jokes, so you don't, but then you're too serious. you're not supposed to be too loud, but then people say you're too quiet. you aren't supposed to get passionate about things, but then you're shy, boring. you aren't supposed to talk too much, but then people are mad when you're not good at replying.
you fold yourself into a prettier paper crane. since you never know what is "selfish" and what is "charity," you give yourself over, fully. you'd rather be empty and over-generous - you'd rather eat your own boundaries than have even one person believe that you're mean. since you don't know what the thing is that will make them hate you, you simply scrub yourself clean of any form of roughness. if you are perfect and smiling and funny, they can love you. if you are always there for them and never admit what's happening and never mention your past and never make them uncomfortable - you can make up for it. you can earn it.
don't fuck up. they're all testing you, always. they're tolerating you. whatever secret club happened, over a summer somewhere - during some activity you didn't get to attend - everyone else just... figured it out. like they got some kind of award or examination that allowed them to know how-to-be-normal. how to fit. and for the rest of your life, you've been playing catch-up. you've been trying to prove that - haha! you get it! that the joke they're telling, the people they are, the manual they got- yeah, you've totally read it.
if you can just divide yourself in two - the lovable one, and the one that is you - you can do this. you can walk the line. they can laugh and accept you. if you are always-balanced, never burdensome, a delight to have in class, champagne and glittering and never gawky or florescent or god-forbid cringe: you can get away with it.
you stare at your therapist, whom you can make jokes with, and who laughs at your jokes, because you are so fucking good at people-pleasing. you smile at her, and she asks you how you're doing, and you automatically say i'm good, thanks, how are you? while the answer swims somewhere in your little lizard brain:
how long have you been doing this now? mastering the art of your body and mind like you're piloting a puppet. has it worked? what do you mean that all you feel is... just exhausted. pick yourself up, the tightrope has no net. after all, you're cheating, somehow, but nobody seems to know you actually flunked the test. it's working!
aren't you happy yet?
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mischiefmanifold · 1 year
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autism is not just social anxiety and being awkward and having an interest
ADHD is not just being fidgety or loud
some of you need to do some serious research on these conditions before claiming that you have them, because it’s getting exhausting correcting people’s misinformation
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aroaceleovaldez · 7 months
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I think one of the best examples of what went wrong with TSATS is from the book tour I attended -
At one point during the event, Mark Oshiro made a comment about Nico's card collection. Specifically, they joked that Nico collecting cards was a sign that he was gay, because clearly he was only collecting the cards to look at the men on the art (which ends up being a note made in the actual book itself).
I've said a lot that you cannot divorce PJO from neurodivergence and disability. You just can't. And I stand by that. If you remove the neurodivergence and disability aspects from PJO it is no longer PJO because that's the foundation the entire series is built upon - representing neurodiverse and disabled students and kids. If you do not understand that or try to ignore it you have missed the most fundamental aspect of PJO as a series and everything else falls apart. (This is actually a trend that begins occurring mid/late-HoO and throughout TOA and that's where I say the main series begins to feel like it's no longer itself, but that's a rant for another day.)
You cannot divorce any of the demigod PJO characters from being ADHD/dyslexic. It is a core part of their characters. You cannot separate Nico di Angelo from the fact that he is ADHD/dyslexic. If you agree with Nico being autistic-coded or not, he is explicitly ADHD, and MythoMagic as we're introduced to it with him is clearly his hyperfixation if not his special interest. It just is. MythoMagic with Nico is the main ADHD/autistic trait we see presented with him. You cannot erase that. You cannot say "Nico only collected cards because he's gay" because then you are removing the fact that Nico is ADHD and you have missed the entire point of the series. Failed step 1.
TSATS does things like this so often throughout the book. (Ex: None of the characters stim, ever. The closest we get is Will bouncing his leg in one scene, but that's heavily implied to purely be him feeling anxious in that moment and nothing else. Nico even gives up his most iconic stim object and it's replaced with a coin he explicitly never stims with. He only ever touches it, never stims with it.) The book refuses to acknowledge that Nico and Will (and Annabeth and Percy and Piper and etc etc etc) are ADHD and dyslexic (and autistic-coded, in Nico's case). And if it does even remotely acknowledge those themes, it does so in the most ableist ways possible (infantilizing Nico, blaming Nico for his own ostracization, magically healing all of Nico's problems, implying Percy is only bad at school because he's disinterested and lazy, etc). And that happens because they started on the wrong foundation. They treated the characters' neurodivergence and disabilities as secondary and optional rather than the literal foundations the entire series was built upon and it shows.
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solidwater05 · 6 months
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It's ADHD awareness month so l thought it'd be nice to explain why someone with ADHD might consciously make horrible decisions despite being aware of the consequences
So, let's image a situation. A person with ADHD is doing a mildly entertaining activity, let's say doomscrolling. This person also has a task to do. I made a graph where the brighter the color, the higher the satisfaction that the person gets from an activity
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[ID: A graph showing a line that divides into two separate lines. The main line, and the bottom line, are a dull yellow. The top line starts off black, and turns bright green as it gets further away from the bifurcation. /End ID]
So here, doomscrolling isn't super gratifying but hey, it's better than nothing. The person has the choice to keep doomscrolling, even though it's honestly pretty boring, or they could do the task they need to do. When they're done with that task, they'll feel a lot better, so they should do that, right? Just do the task because there's literally no cons? Well. Look at this other graph:
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[ID: The same graph as before, but cropped to only show the bifurcation itself. This way, the top line seems to be completely black. /End ID]
This is how a person with ADHD perceives the choice. They can logically know that they'll feel better if they do the task, but executive dysfunction makes it literally impossible to get any sort of motivation or satisfaction for gratification that doesn't currently exist. So the choice goes from 'feel meh or feel good later' to 'feel great in comparison or never feel good again'. And what's the obvious choice here?
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PJO TV show episode 6 spoilers:
The scene where Grover is upset because he forgot something important, and then he learns that they are late and he really worriedly asks if it's his fault and then Percy turns to him and pauses for a second and then tells him that it's not his fault, and that it's OK, and that everything will be OK is SO IMPORTANT and made me literally audibly cheer. If you know you know, and if you don't know you probably don't have ADHD.
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dsudis · 4 months
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Hey the ADHD meds + vitamin C post is misinformation, that’s not true across the board and some adhd meds are fine even mixed into orange juice or yogurt
Ther Drug Monit. 2016 Dec; 38(6): 769–776. Published online 2016 Nov 16. doi: 10.1097/FTD.0000000000000343
PMCID: PMC5158093PMID: 27661399
Whoops! Good to know!
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marvelgaynesstothemax · 7 months
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Just realized that Charles Xavier could 100% look at a person and be like: “bro you have autism”
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my-autism-adhd-blog · 8 months
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ADHD Myths vs. Reality
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Future ADHD
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so like. im not gonna beat around the bush- ARE WE NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS. ARE WE??
*SLAMS THIS ON THE TABLE*
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I AM CONVINCED THIS MAN DOES NOT KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING! THINK ABOUT IT:
The hover discs Aunt Arctic mentions automatically despawn after you use them to place the detectors/transmitters in both episodes they appear in. With the knowledge that Gary does not test his inventions often, to the point where Aunt Arctic feels the need to warn you...is that intentional feature(keep in mind you use them to access higher up areas like the ceiling of the Sea Caves)...or a bug because he did not test them? Keep in mind the discs disappear near-immediately once you're done placing objects, so you CAN end up free-falling to the ground afterwards from several feet above in the air.
Knowing this, what else is this man hiding? Sure, we know that the Auto-Warbler 3000 works...but is that because this is an invention he personally tested, or in spite of being untested? Did the Jet Tube's avoidance systems have glitches because of an unforeseen bug Gary happened to run into...or is this something he made, gave to Rookie and didn't test for whatever reason?
Keeping this tidbit in mind, is Gary knocking down Herbert's defenses because he is SO smart, or did he just get lucky? Is he better at programming than making inventions? Or does he actually test his coding skills more than his inventions? If so, why?
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IF this 'brilliant penguin' was intended to be Gary (which I'm fairly certain it is but hey, CPI closed down before it's time so who knows for sure?)
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Is the reason the Party Sub ended up sitting in the Sea Caves related to his tendency to not regularly test his inventions? Or was it simply because it broke while he was testing it?
Because he does not test things as rigorously as his Club Penguin counterpart (who, as we know makes up to 3000 versions of his inventions before they are considered done, and asides from some examples like Mascbot's being used at their 'near-perfect' 2999th iteration or prototypes like the Electromagnet 1000 are rarely used until then)... does Club Penguin Island Gary name his inventions with the '3000' at the end because they have been tested, or for aesthetic reasons?
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nico-di-genova · 7 months
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I love Blue Beetle movie fandom. Most of us took one look at Jaime and said, "Ah yes. There he is. A neurodivergent bitch". I have yet to see anyone think he is anything remotely close to neurotypical, and it's beautiful to see :).
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Hi. I exist.
Ello. I'm a Pinterest convert who happened to join at the same time as the great Reddit migration, so that's fun. Anyways, figured I'd make a post to give people some info about me.
I'm in a large number of fandoms, including (DEEP INHALE), SCP Foundation, Wanderer's Library, The Owl House, Gravity Falls, Amphibia, Generation Loss, Murder Drones, Marvel, Star Wars (Somewhat), FNAF, DnD, Wings of Fire, Percy Jackson universe, Grishaverse, The Dragon Prince, Nimona, The Hunger Games, and probably some other I forgot to mention.
I'm also a bit of a nerd and hyperfixiate on both fictional and nonfictional things, I know wayyyyy too much about things like Chernobyl and Plague Doctors. I also sometimes write as a hobby and am learning how to art, still kinda figuring it out though. Due to the writing thing, I know a lot of incredibly random facts that I shouldn't, as well as just random science stuff.
I like helping people, so don't be afraid to reach out with questions or concerns if you need help with something. If you want info on things, I'm more than happy to help. Here's some things I know a lot about:
The Black Death, Plague Doctors, Chernobyl, oddly specific horrific events in history, the fandoms I've listed above, the lowcountry region of USA (Southeastern coast, I live in South Carolina about 15 minutes from the beach) and the ecosystem of said area (Marshes, swamps, beaches, and our temperate forests), mythology (Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and some Norse), SCIENCE, and other things I'm probably forgetting.
Seriously gimme asks I wanna be a living encyclopedia.
For writing, I mainly like to do fantasy, some sci-fi, and a bit of horror. I'm far from consistent with when I write, you know how it is with motivation.
This IS a safe space blog for LGBTQIA+ people. I don't care if you're straight, gay, lesbian, bi, pan, omni, somewhere else on the spectrum, like asexuals, aromantics, and aroaces, or maybe you're enby, or maybe you're trans or genderfluid, or something else I forgot to mention. I do not care. You are all welcome here, my only DNIs are if you're going to be rude. One of my mottos is "I'll respect your opinion as long as your opinion doesn't disrespect anyone else's existence or rights."
I sorta use a persona for some areas of Tumblr, such as Wizardblr, so here's a reference for that:
Name: Dr. Corvius (Will respond to Doc, Doctor, and Crow), Official Title is "Corvius The Plagued."
Appearance: Dr. Corvius appears human at first glance when wearing full attire, but this is not the case. They are actually an avian, with feathers covering most of their body and rough, scaled skin similar to that of bird feet covering their hands, forearms, lower legs, and their feet. Their fingers have short claws on the ends, and their feet are structured like that of a crow. They don't wear shoes, as their feet are not well shaped to even wear them, and they frequently perch on branches and the like, which is far easier with their talons exposed. They do have wings, and usually will tuck these in under their mantle, giving the appearance of a feathered cape. They wear the outfit of a plague doctor, with a long black robe, mask, and other accessories, including a pouch of supplies. They also carry around a plague doctor stick, which doubles as an arcane focus. Under their plague doctor mask, they have an actual beak. (Essentially just take a Kenku from DnD and give it wings, and a plague doctor outfit.)
Abilities: They are a magic practitioner, specializing in necromancy, alchemy, chaos magic, and experimentation. She is also good with medicine, and despite not being licensed in any way, is incredibly good at healing people. Birds, specifically corvids, seem to follow them around, and will obey their commands. Their "flock" consists mostly of crows and ravens, but has a few magpies and rooks as well. This Flock is actually tied to her, so protection spells and immunities that she has extend to them. They can make noises like that of corvids, allowing for communication with their flock, and can also mimic sounds.
Behavior: They are generally a wise and intelligent person, taking the logical approach to things. They are kind, and are always willing to lend a helping hand.
Background: [ERROR: DATA LOST]
(The persona reference is a WIP im writing this late at night and I gotta go to sleep, I'll finish it later.)
(Contact me if you want an autopsy or reanimation done)
Ok byeeeeeeeee
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Stealing these crows from this post
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Books of 2024: ADHD FOR SMART ASS WOMEN: HOW TO FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR NEURODIVERGENT BRAIN by Tracy Otsuka.
I saw this on a new release promotional email and thought "well shit, that looks like my life, I should Investigate That™," only to realize it was a brand new hardback and I didn't want to pay $29 for 200 pages of information. Since I found out about it on release day, my next thought was, "Oh, I can check and see if my library has any copies!! We love supporting our libraries in this house!!"
Reader: They did Not.
But! I did find the "request a book" option on their website, and I entered this book, and I got a robocall within a week saying my hold was ready to be picked up! Y'all!! The library literally ordered this book for me (it was stamped into circulation one (1) day before they called me!), and now I have it to read! I love libraries!!
(book pic featuring the super cute coaster set @asexualbookbird made me that I love with my entire heart!!)
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