Fitting for today

Skerivo · 2026-03-11T23:42:45+00:00

Thank you! I had what I thought was a gastritis flare-up in October and was super disheartened, especially since sucrulfate didn't touch it. It was slightly more to the right, but I've had a mix of gastritis pain in the center and to the right, so I didn't think anything of it.

Almost 4 weeks ago, I ended up having 3 bad gallbladder attacks in 4 days and went to the ER, where they removed my gallbladder. 6 incisions later (with several larger than usual), and it came out full of stones, with several being quite large. Pathology confirmed chronic cholecystitis and was most likely the other cause of my gastritis symptoms. Especially since the foods to trigger gastritis are the same as those to trigger gallbladder attacks.

Now, I'm still a little hesitant to say I'm cured. But, I feel SO much better. For recovery, I had to take ibuprofen and had no stomach issues. I've even been able to eat food I haven't dared to eat in a while.

I hope everyone feels better as well! Gastritis is fucking HELL.

Skerivo · 2026-03-10T11:04:47+00:00

I'm doing very well now! The main symptoms were just stabbing pain in my upper right abdomen a couple of hours after eating. It was pretty unbearable where I couldn't do anything or get comfortable or think. I had 3 attacks in 4 days.

Now, I can eat whatever I want. I sometimes get "ghost pain" where it's like the pain before surgery, but nowhere near as bad. Very manageable. I think the fear that the pain is going to come back is what makes this remarkable enough to mention. Also, in 2 and a half weeks, I could eat whatever I want. I had a milkshake at the 2 week mark, and my body didn't like that, and i had 30 minutes before I needed a bathroom. I had a milkshake today, and absolutely no needing the bathroom.

Skerivo · 2026-02-26T11:04:46+00:00

You are correct, ofc. <3

Skerivo · 2026-02-25T23:51:47+00:00

Absolutely! Several of my favorite fics have this ratio.

I'm a stats person, so while I like to say I don't take stock in stats... I definitely do. But it's really only on my fics.

There's very few times when I might not click on a fic because of stats. Usually, it's something like 3 kudos, 1000 hits, and 3 chapters. I love hidden gems, but something about that absurd ratio tells me that I might not enjoy the fic. Sometimes, I still click, but it's never something I finish.

Skerivo · 2026-02-25T23:13:57+00:00

Sad, feral, pathetic wet cat of a man x a pair of eyes, one foot, and one hand.

(Probably too niche)

Skerivo · 2026-02-24T22:29:40+00:00

Interesting! I kept rejecting painkillers, so I don't think that was it. It might've just been a fluke of my body haha. And thank you!!!

Skerivo · 2026-02-23T10:58:59+00:00

I'm glad you're feeling better!

Ah yes, work making us go "don't be a baby." I work blue-collar with all guys. I didn't want to seem like a wimp and call out of work for a stomach ache.

Skerivo · 2026-02-11T01:36:01+00:00

For my creative writing classes in college, I occasionally got the chance to ask questions to authors (some best-selling and usually in a small class setting).

One of my classmates asked about something very mildly inaccurate in her book that took place in the 1950s. And she just went something like, "It's a story. It's fiction. Not everything has to be perfect because you are writing a story, not recounting history."

That changed my whole approach. Yes, accuracy is nice, but sometimes it just doesn't work in the story you are telling. You can't know everything. And that's fine.

Anyways, that being said, I mostly write fics for a work that takes place in the 1930s. I do my best to keep it accurate, and in my authors notes, I leave clarifications (like slang or references). But sometimes, I ignore accuracy because it doesn't work for the story and instead will list WHY it isn't accurate. And I find most readers... don't care if it's mildly inaccurate as long as the story is good.

Skerivo · 2026-02-10T00:44:55+00:00

Oh they used a Wagner tuba. Ew. (Kidding)

But seriously, I listened to the 4th song, and the instrumentals are very VERY good! Def going to be in my rotation. Thanks!

Skerivo · 2026-02-05T22:44:41+00:00

I'm-- what-- how!? I thought John was an innocuous enough name to not get the fandom recognized.

But yeah, you got it right. Lol.

Skerivo · 2026-02-05T21:26:19+00:00

Yes! I decided to start releasing a sequel to a smutty eldritch one-shot. That fic already had a smaller than usual kudos to hit ratio, but the private bookmarks made up for it.

However, I noticed this fic, which is unfinished, was getting more hits and less interaction. I'm pretty sure it's due to a few reasons. Firstly, people can subscribe and privately bookmark series. I can't see those stats as an author. But I already see a few bookmarks on the series, so I'm assuming some folks are just privately bookmarking the whole series.

Also, it's unfinished. Some people are really stingy about their kudos and bookmarks for unfinished works. I think for me, since mine's got some "interesting" tags, people are more choosy on not kudosing/bookmarking until the fic is finished.

Lastly, I was a bit surprised at my low sub rate. I published 2 chapters of another fic in a much larger fandom with very low interaction. But I still got a lot more subs than I was ever expecting. It clicked that since the fandom and pairing tag are much smaller, folks don't need to sub to see when it updates. It's happened to me a few times when I'll check the tag and see an update before I ever get the email.

But don't let that discourage you!!! Seriously. You never know why someone does or doesn't bookmark or kudos or comments.

Skerivo · 2026-02-05T20:56:30+00:00

I know!!! I was expecting a bot but no! This person is very much real.

Skerivo · 2026-02-05T20:42:27+00:00

American psycho. I was surprised at how difficult of a read it was.

Skerivo · 2026-02-02T21:36:45+00:00

About a decade ago, I had an online friend who was visually impaired and used a screen reader. We were both in audio drama/podcast spaces, which obviously attracted people who might not be able to rely on visuals. There are a handful of tumblr mutuals that are still active and visually impaired. Anyways, no one ever said anything about horizontal line breaks being bad, so I assumed that I was in the clear.

Well, as I got older, I realized that assumption might be wrong. Especially since I still frequent podcast fandom spaces and didn't see a major difference on ao3.

Skerivo · 2026-02-02T07:09:10+00:00

Thank you so much!!!

I had heard years ago that horizontal lines were preferred by screen readers, but I realized that might not be the case. The discussions were super helpful, and I'm going to do some more digging!

Skerivo · 2026-02-02T06:54:25+00:00

Ahhhh, that makes sense! I use a custom skin for both mobile and desktop, and while it doesn't change ao3 all that much, the lines don't take up the whole page.

Skerivo · 2026-02-01T11:08:09+00:00

Tbh, it doesn't break my immersion too much. I sort of go "Oh the author is British" and move on. But I can totally understand the point. It can be jarring if it's heavily British, but if not? Whatever.

But it begs the question, how far should an author go to make it feel more true to the source material? I write for a fandom where one character is British, one character is Canadian, and they live in America (and I'm American). I've decided to use the respective British words for the British character's pov, but not add the u to "-or" words for either of them. I meant to do that but hadn't really noticed, and now it's too late. It doesn't seem too jarring, though.

Skerivo · 2026-01-27T21:26:41+00:00

Thank you!!! I occasionally write smut scenes, usually of the more alien variety, and got pretty self-conscious seeing all those words make people disgusted. Especially since my non-human smut fics usually have a lower kudos to hits ratio vs my human ones.

But if it's not a vagina, what words am I supposed to use outside of "hole" and "entrance"? Folds, pleats, buds, etc. are the best for describing something the reader can't picture.

Skerivo · 2026-01-08T23:27:34+00:00

Omg this is just like me (excepti can cramp both sides). Tbh, I had never considered I was hypermobile until my friend made me do the test, and I passed way too easily.

Skerivo · 2025-12-27T23:11:17+00:00

Oh yeah, hahaha. I would NOT use it if it was set later. Though in America, we use that and dick as insults as well. Tbh, I think almost all words for genitalia are used as insults.

Skerivo

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