had a conversation the other day that’s still weirding me out a little. i was walking back from the shop when this random woman called out to me, “why have you got the side of your head shaved?” i responded, “because i like it that way.” and she was like, “well i don’t like it.”

i’m sorry for not asking you?? next time i change up my hair i’ll be sure to consult some random woman on a bench

four today!!

What fictional character made you go “oh hmm hang on I’m not cis maybe”? For me it was Kris Deltarune. I saw them eating moss and being nonbinary and I was like. Hmm. Yes. I can get behind that

Some random 8 year old girl was just hard staring at me while I ordered my coffee. My usual experience is that I pass very well, but now I’m starting to doubt, was I just clocked by a literal child??

I finally did some reading on grapefruit medication interactions as it pertains to estrogen! the primary mechanism of interaction is at the “gut wall” (I was surprised to see scientific papers use this term), where the grapefruit can inhibit an enzyme that works to break down and metabolize many oral medications including estrogen. So with oral estrogen grapefruit will definitely screw with your levels and cause them to spike.

My main curiosity was injectable estrogen though. Many drugs taken by injection are unaffected by grapefruit, so I thought estrogen might be fine! As ever with biology though, apparently it’s not that simple. Even with purely endogenous (body-produced) estrogen, grapefruit consumption increases levels (though more modestly than the extreme/dangerous effects seen with oral medications, the study I saw cited a peak 26% increase in cis women 8hrs after consuming grapefruit). I didn’t see a ton of specific research on the mechanism of action here, but I expect it’s related to the fact that the exact same enzyme responsible for breaking down medications in the gut is also present in the liver and helps break down and eliminate various substances from the bloodstream there. The study noted that average levels remained the same with whole grapefruit consumption, it was just a temporary fluctuations.

So my conclusion for my own personal consumption (please don’t take this as gospel/medical advice, I’m pretty dumb) is that grapefruit intake doesn’t appear to be much more dangerous than it is for cis women if you’re doing injections (the reason for the study was elevated cancer risk associated with high estrogen levels so there may be some long term risks there).

It does affect levels, which is good to be aware of, and is a valid reason to be cautious, and there may be nuances I’m missing here (please tell me if you see any), but much like how preferred HRT dosage and levels vary widely by person, and even in cis women, vary drastically throughout hormonal cycles, the variance caused by grapefruit interaction is probably not harmful in any immediate way.

I guess if I was using a shorter lived ester with sharper peaks in levels and I was really worried about levels, I might be more concerned about not having grapefruit around those peak times? still probably not acutely dangerous though, IMO

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Foreshadowing is a literary device

I’m currently looking for more nail stamping plates and came across this:

Am I imagining things, or is this actually Lenin’s face on the right side?

I don’t think I like the shampoo/conditioner they use at the hair cutter.

I played a one shot of thirsty sword lesbians, set in a steampunk setting, and really liked it. I love the “string” system, where you can have something on another player character or npc (knowledge/shared past/ etc.) and use it to “pull their strings”. It can be used in a friendly, supportive way too.

Its been about a month since I got my haircut, and now that its grown a little I’ve realised that rn my hair is exactly what I wanted when I was a little kid. Only took like 20 years but I got it, eventually. Nowadays I like it longer, but it’s still nice to be at this length from time to time, and I love my current style regardless. It’s cute and a little boyish but in a femme way and I love it.

down with cis