podsandpuppies

[podsandpuppies]

I really hate those stupids posts that are like:

“What about REAL monster girls??? Not just weird humans?? like real huge MONSTERS?? With giant sharp claws and big sharp teeth?? Where are those???”

You’re thinking of bestiality. You want to fuck a T-Rex.

[podsandpuppies]

I don't have aphantasia but my visualization isn't very strong. The way it works for me is that I can vaguely imagine the shape/color/location of something, but I can hold at most 1 detail in my mind. This means I really struggle to visualize people, especially faces, because they are so detailed. Hair is pretty easy because that's more about the overall shape of the person, but if you tell me someone has full lips or a large nose, that detail just ends up getting lost for me. This is actually a bit of a challenge in my own writing because I just don't describe characters visually very much, if at all. This past nanowrimo, I had literally no idea what my protagonist looked like, other than that her style was Not Femme. The most that I got out of the love interest was curly brown hair, and that she was probably white. For me, what characters look like is such a small part of the story that it's almost irrelevant

Moving to a different post—I had no idea that aphantasia was so common?

I can easily visualize things “in my mind’s eye”. I don’t see it with my actual eyeballs, but I can clearly picture what things look like, either from memory or from a description of them. I can imagine vivid colors and shapes and scenery, and when I read or listen to an audiobook, it’s like a film reel is playing inside my head. If the description is confusing, sparse, or poorly written, the imagined images just aren’t as detailed.

If you have aphantasia, how does non-visual fiction compel you? If there is a description of how something looks, do you get anything out of that at all or is it just irritating word clutter?

[podsandpuppies]

umm you should probably delete that post you reblogged :/ op is clearly count olaf

[podsandpuppies]

what if i made a ‘pick a hot person and i’ll tell you how valid you are’ quiz but made it ‘choose some paintings and i’ll tell you how much art thief energy you have’ ... i just might

[podsandpuppies]

Okay but does he realize that for a bit he imitated a new york accent which is...non-rhotic? Of all the regional accents to dip into, he picked one of the two main ones that doesn’t do Rs

Mahtin fans, I offer you all some extremely cursed audio from Jonny’s game stream today, I’m sorry in advance

[podsandpuppies]

it literally sucks to be an animal ruled by hormones. im not talking about being horny im talking about everything. like all we do is respond to stimuli and im sick of it

[podsandpuppies]

Since their bodies disappeared, I'm inclined to think even in the likely scenario where Jon and Martin died in the tower, they were still yeeted through the dimensional rift with the fears.

So in my head there's a distinct possibility that in some other reality, two corpses have suddenly appeared in the middle of a street, still mid-embrace. Possibly surrounded by half-unraveled cassette tapes telling a fragmented story of how they got there.

Which is a decent way for them to be mysterious harbingers of the doom that's coming there, I guess.

[podsandpuppies]

I got bored waiting for my work meeting to start so I thought I’d make some post apocalypse memes to add to the pile 

[podsandpuppies]

I FOUND IT GUYS I SPENT HALF AN HOUR LOOKING FOR THIS VIDEO AND ITS HERE

[podsandpuppies]

Carmilla was also made into a web series several years back! That channel also appears to have a series of videos where they read the actual story, too if you’d like an audio version of the book instead of or in addition to an adaptation

this is a long shot but do you know of any 1800s novels with lesbians in it?

not a long shot, actually! perhaps the most well-known and also the most explicit, at least of what i’ve read, is sheridan le fanu’s carmilla, which is 19th century lesbian vampire fiction.

other novels are charlotte bronte’s shirley and villette (charlotte herself was not straight and it Shows), henry james’ the bostonians (there’s a boston marriage between two ladies, and henry wasn’t straight either), elizabeth gaskell’s the grey woman (less pronounced but it’s got two women living alone together and one of the women poses as the other’s husband), and george moore’s drama in muslin (i haven’t read it yet but it got banned from circulation in libraries right after it was published for being too lesbian).

and if you’re interested at all in short stories at all, you might want to check out the anthology two friends and other nineteenth century american lesbian stories.

happy reading!

[podsandpuppies]

finally living up to my URL

[podsandpuppies]

I mean, some of the child safety stuff that we have isn’t actually necessary. A lot of it is helpful and important (wear your bike helmet folks!!) but allowing kids to enter risky situations can actually reduce their likelihood of getting hurt because they learn to measure risks! In particular, I’m thinking of adventure playgrounds, which are basically DIY playgrounds that kids make themselves. Of course, you’re not comparing play structures now to play structures in the past with that, and today’s play structures are held to strict standards after lots of lawsuits from kids getting hurt on pre-regulation ones.

As for allergies, it’s not that they didn’t exist at all in the past, but way more people do have food allergies now, and the rate is still rising. Nobody is 100% sure why, but it’s being actively researched by lots of folks.

Mental illness is hard to measure because of historical and ongoing stigma, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a combination of it being more in the open and there being more of it. There is an epidemic of loneliness, especially among older adults, which is demonstrably as bad for physical health as being a heavy smoker. And I’m sure it’s not great for mental health either! So on the one hand, people aren’t shoved into mental institutions or just quietly supported by their neighbors and faith communities without a diagnosis, but on the other people are less connected to each other and have more opportunities to compare themselves to an idealized vision other people.

And there are more people who identify as gay or trans because they see that it’s a thing and that it resonates with them and also that it’s safe to come out!  As opposed to people who hid their true selves their entire lives or just had a vague sense that they felt out of place or yes, were ostracized and excluded from the family. It can be easy to forget, but it’s only in the past decade that having a safe and supportive environment to come out in has become anything close to a norm.

The point is that things are different now than they used to be. Some things have gotten more prevalent, some things have gotten less so. Some things have just become a hell of a lot more visible to the point where your average person knows about it. Ignorance is sometimes a front for malice, but it’s worth giving people the benefit of the doubt because genuine ignorance means they can learn. Change is not bad just because it’s different and you’re not used to it, even if it feels that way. Some change is bad, yes, but a lot of change is neutral and some of it is even good because it reduces suffering in the world.

You ever think about how old people have no idea what “survivor bias” is, and take full credit for being excellent out of things where they lucked out?

“Back in my day we didn’t have any of these childhood protective things, we were smart enough not to do stupid shit on our own!” Except your little neighbour, who got the funniest idea at the age of seven, and got his skull pierced when he slipped?

“Back in my day nobody got divorced, we stuck together and fixed our problems!” What about your cousin, who was slowly killed by her husband because she had nowhere to escape him?

“Back in my day nobody had ‘mental problems’, we didn’t whine, we just toughed it out and endured life!” Hey remember that guy you used to work with, who seemed really friendly and normal, and then suddenly hanged himself ‘for no reason’?

“Back in my day we didn’t have any of this ‘gay’ or ‘transgender’ thing.” You did, but your family cut all ties with her before you were born.

 You kinda start seeing it in everything they think, if you start looking for it.

[podsandpuppies]

Meow

[podsandpuppies]

i was genuinely surprised to find out that people thought that Zuko refusing to give his seat to Aang in Ember Island Players so aang and katara could sit together was Zuko having romantic feelings for Katara

because it really read to me more like ‘ex-Prince Zuko, who couldn’t see a hint if it tried to eat his head, fails to see the complexities of a romance going literally right outside his door 24/7 now’

he sat down and he’s being obstinate and refusing to move, its not PERSONAL for him, he’s just an oblivious dork

[podsandpuppies]

Another couple things:

If you have single-paned or old windows, especially if they’re drafty, curtains will create a little extra barrier against cold air seeping in. Close them if a room is too cold, especially on north facing windows

With the roads being dangerous, reconsider not just going out but having things delivered to you. If you do get something delivered, please tip the driver extra! Their job is more dangerous and they deserve to be compensated for that

I discovered this year that wearing a face mask not only helps prevent the spread of disease, but is also great at keeping my face warm and preventing my lips from getting chapped! A scarf over your mouth and nose also helps with the cold if a face mask isn’t an option for you.

Wear. Layers. If you have thermals/long underwear, great. If not you can still layer up. Wear leggings under your jeans. Wear a tank top or long sleeve shirt under a sweater. Wear two pairs of socks if one isn’t doing it for you. Wear gloves when you go out, even thin ones, and keep your hands in your pockets.  If you are doing anything that could cause you to sweat, make sure that

Like OP said, snow is wet. Don’t wear your tennis shoes because they will get wet and take absolutely forever to dry out and in the mean time you could literally lose a toe

So Your Temperate Home is Suddenly an Arctic Hellscape

As -10F hits area’s of the US who’ve never seen such temperatures in living memory, I wanted to give some tips from a Minnesotan who’s lived with these temps as a part of my life for 37 years.

1) Don’t Get Cocky. People used to these temps may laugh at our southern neighbors freaking out about the cold because yes, some parts of the US get such temps regularly every year. These people are being ignorant assholes. Our houses are mandated to have insulation that few of your homes will have. We pretty much all have huge puffy coats, and have well established winter weather gear drives for homeless and poor folks every year. We have expensive, well equipped infrastructure for cope with these temps and with large amounts of snow. You don’t. When it comes down to it, Minnesotans know to respect the cold temps- it’s just that a lot of the ways that do it are so commonplace as to be invisible to those who already have these habits.

2) Don’t go out wet. Dry your hair or stay inside. You will loose a lot of heat if you’re wet. Same for sweat, and wet diapers. And clothes with snow on them are now WET CLOTHES. Change into dry clothes as soon as possible.

3) If you have a shitty car battery or a car that sometimes struggles to start, then try not to use it. You’re unlikely to get the kind of temps where it’s impossible to start an engine (I’ve only experienced those temps a few times. Once my eyelashes froze shut and I almost froze to death in my own back yard. Don’t be like young me. Respect the cold.) If your car doesn’t start, you could be stranded somewhere, and realistically your area’s emergency services may be pretty overrun. 

4) Very cold air doesn’t hold moisture well. Plan for extra hydration for people, pets, and plants. Even if your staying in- most home heaters pull cold air from outside, then dry it out even MORE in the process of heating it. Dehydration is a thing. Even if your home’s heater has a humidifier attached to it (if you’re not sure, then it probably doesn’t.) it’s a good idea to drink extra water. Right now I have a few pots of water just left out by heaters to evaporate as much as possible. My mom used to just heat huge camping pots on the stove all day in cold temps. Remember, dry nasal passages really muck up your bodies ability to fight airborne illness. This is not a great time for that.

5) Help out homeless folks in your area in any way you can. These temps can and do kill. And since we have more evictions than any society can conscionably defend this year, we have high numbers of homeless people. Which means area supports for unhoused folks are often underfunded and over-taxed. 

6) Let your faucets drip. I know nobody likes to waste water but if your pipes freeze they will literally explode. Your home will flood. My mother’s kitchen got completely destroyed and it traumatized my childhood dog. Justa  bit of moving warm water will safeguard you from that.

7) Do. Not. Burn. Propane. Indoors. 

8) Plan for potential power outages. Ice on the lines can cause this and again, your infrastructure isn’t prepped for this. Unplug anything in your home you’re not using to do your part to help prevent rolling blackouts.

9) Driving on ice is a SKILL. Your roads may be filled with people who do not have that skill. Please please, stay off the roads if you can- even if you have this skill these roads will not be prepped and will, again, be full of people who don’t know how to do this because it just hasn’t come up that much in their life.

Stay safe and stay kind, folks! 

[podsandpuppies]

Can’t put into words how hot this is to me

[podsandpuppies]

As someone who does not pay attention to lyrics in songs, I am always afraid someone who does pay attention is going to come along and see my music and be like “why are you listening to songs about kicking orphans and diverting funds from public libraries?” Like, I dunno! That’s news to me! The beat was fresh and the vibes were funky! I lose all knowledge of human language when the drum goes bop bop. I am as surprised and alarmed as you are.