#and get to them when i've done 4-5 drafts which shouldn't be too bad

[felteverywhere]

okay i'm gonna put headphones on and get stuck into drafts but consider this a one liner starter call!

[generalchelseamayhem]

1-40... 7 On detransitioning :-)

I got distracted and lost this in my drafts for a while, so please forgive my lateness.

1. Who is my celebrity crush?

Way back when I used to have a list, then I rapidly became disillusioned with the whole culture of celebrity worship, so now I don't have any. And a lot of the ones I did have turned out to be bad people.

2. Am I single or taken?

Single but, due to psychological issues, largely unavailable.

3. Rant.

I won't say that I've been abused but I really resent the way that my parents, particularly my mother, have controlled me for my entire life and well beyond what my generation reasonably expects of a parent. This whole goddamn house transaction is finally over and all it's done so far is land me in crippling debt, to my OWN PARENTS. Contrary to popular belief, being in debt to your parents is worse than being in debt to the bank, because the bank doesn't care what you do as long as you make repayments on time, but parents will phone you up every day and offhandedly mention that your eating habits are too expensive with the obvious implication that anyone who can't get their weekly meals from grocery shopping should just starve instead. This will happen whether you can afford the repayments or NOT. Right now they're overseas for several months and I am in the process of cutting them out of my life in every way except, for legal reasons, treating them as a bank. One day I will make regular contact with them again, but only when I am finally me.

4. What do I think of separating art from artist?

I think that great art and great scientific innovation often happen at the hands of people who are a little bit messed up. It is the nature of the beast. To innovate, you generally have to do something or in some way that nobody has ever thought of before. Often in art this is a result of trauma, and sometimes it seems like it's just the result of being a pretentious narcissist. Great art doesn't excuse terrible artists, but the trick is to know when to separate them. For example, it is possible to separate JK Rowling from Harry Potter insofar as her slide into TERFdom appears recent, and doesn't necessarily inform any of the book's contents other than that she remains ignorant of them, and we shouldn't judge the books on that basis. However, it is definitely relevant to consider her perspective on education in British boarding schools, because that does have a direct effect on the characters, attitudes, setting, and what minorities DO appear in which contexts.

5. How many accounts do I have?

Two, this one and @duran-duran-less-official .

6. How many pairs of shoes do I have?

Two, these ones and a pair for more formal occasions which, to be honest, I never use.

7. Opinion on detransitioning?

I don't have a well-formed opinion, but I think we're at the point where we're dealing with a very small subset of an already pretty small subset of the total human population. If nothing else, at least their desire to detransition validates the existence of dysphoria and its damaging psychological effects? But personally I'd just rather let them get on with it. Ideally we'll reach a point where detransitioning and transitioning alike are considered unexceptional but necessary procedures.

8. How many accounts do I follow?

112. It seems like a lot less than that.

9. Favourite brand of clothing?

Gazman, for no other reason than that their stuff is comfy to wear and relatively good value, and for that reason somehow half of my wardrobe has ended up as them.

10. Name a dog.

Laura.

11. What unusual talent do I have?

I have perfect pitch. I can't do complicated chords very well (if you ask me to decipher the chord at the beginning of A Hard Day's Night I will explode) but I can for sure pick an individual note or an overall key signature.

12. Most interesting school gossip I ever heard.

I went to an all-boys school, so the gossip I remember is characteristic of that. We all resented mandatory sports, which we had to do for 4 1/2 out of our 6 years of high school, so one day after cricket practice a boy snuck up behind the head Sports Coordinator and pulled down his pants (in Australia we call this "dacking"). I wasn't there to see it but it became legend in the school for the weeks afterwards. He got very expelled, by the way.

13. Ever prank called a store?

Nope.

14. What's my coffee order?

I don't drink coffee, so in its place I would likely order a milkshake or a smoothie.

15. What's a question I constantly get asked?

"Did you break your leg/sprain your ankle?" No, it's the cerebral palsy.

16. If I had to get a tattoo right now, what and where?

I am not a huge fan of body art and even less a fan of needles. I was once forcibly assigned a tramp stamp of an Australian flag in celebration of Australia Day, and I think that's about where it peaked for me.

17. Top song from the year I was born.

I'll Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) by Meat Loaf. I am not proud.

18. Rant about my favourite musician

I'm not really feeling it right now, sorry.

19. My favourite teacher

Would have to be the one I had in Year 4. He didn't just understand how to relate to students, he understood how to gamify the learning process better than any other teacher I've ever seen.

20. Describe my blog in 3-5 words

Kindhearted MRA, conflicted but learning

21. What's a conspiracy I believe in?

I need to go over my notes again about what's a conspiracy theory and what is a confirmed activity of the CIA that nobody cares about enough to protest. I believe at the very least that there are a lot more paedophiles and child sex traffickers in the upper echelons of society than have been and maybe ever will be uncovered. We haven't even scratched the surface on Epstein and Maxwell, and I for SURE don't believe theirs was the ONLY major trafficking operation of its kind.

22. If I could see a concert tonight what would it be?

Duran Duran in support of their 15th album. I don't think they've been to Australia in about a decade.

23. If I could break a bad habit, what would I choose?

[ANSWER REDACTED]

24. Can I dance and sing?

I need that picture of Tuvok and Kim saying Yes and No at the same time.

Everyone can dance. I cannot dance a formally recognized dance with steps and patterns. I also need considerable warming up to be able to sing, which is a shame because I used to be a lot better at it.

25. What's something I can't stop buying?

Delivery food, especially food that is too spicy for me.

26. Crowds or small groups?

Small groups hands down. Otherwise I can't hear you.

27. How long before a trip do I start packing?

About 2 days, honestly.

28. Which celebrity is a 10?

Hey. Look at me. No celebrity is a 10. It's all fake. There is nothing beneath the glamour. Trust me on this.

29. What quote or inspirational setting do I think is bs?

"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."

Rubbish. It's the people who stand for something too hard who get radicalised. It's the people who stand for something too hard who end up believing the absolute stupidest things you can imagine. The people decried as centrists who stand for nothing are the ones who stood back and said "Hey that might be a little bit stupid."

30. If I had to dye my hair an unnatural colour, what would I choose?

I look pretty good in purple, or blue and silver.

31. What one thing am I changing about my life right now?

More social life, no question.

32. How old do I get mistaken for?

Right now, much younger than I am. This has to do with shaving my beard.

33. What do I think about a lot?

I don't often buy Magic the Gathering cards anymore because all two of my commander decks, Kresh the Bloodbraided (Jund) and Reaper King (Scarecrow tribal) have reached approximately peak What I Want Them To Do-ness (at least until power creep kicks in again). That said, I do check the spoilers pages every so often just in case they're releasing a new, better scarecrow card. Good Jund creatures are abundant and it's a matter of arranging them in the optimal combination, but a good scarecrow is very hard to come by.

34. Do I like my Hogwar-

No. Skip.

35. What does home mean to me?

Home is where the bed is.

36. What do I think I'd be arrested for?

I'm a law abiding citizen whose limits have never been tested. I don't have a 3rd Amendment in my country but I would absolutely refuse to suffer one of the Axis of Evil style billionaires in my house (Bezos, Zuckerberg, Chapek and so on). I like to imagine that if they pressed the issue on whether they deserved to be in my presence, hands and maybe knives would be thrown.

But that's not likely to happen is it? So as far as I can tell where my limits are, I'd probably be arrested for conscientious objection. If World War 3 is coming then I refuse all participation in it.

37. Have I ever been called to the principal's office?

I don't remember specifically, but if I have it was probably for the crime of not doing homework on time.

38. Post a picture of the outfit I would have chosen if I could choose anything.

I'm on mobile, someone add a picture of just like, the most hideously mismatched set of clothing you've ever seen. I'm talking oversized bunny slippers or ugg boots with a tuxedo jacket. I'm talking pirate hat and steampunk-looking monocle with track-pants.

39. Describe my aesthetic.

Boring.

40. Respond with a meme from the schoolyard.

Welp, I'm too old for this ask meme.

I don't want to dox myself, but a famous entertainer who shall remain nameless once went to my high school and founded a comedy newsletter. After he attained popularity in the wider world, the next generation of students decided to revive it. The cover of the first issue I remember proudly advertised itself as the "Man of the Year Edition", but the face of the Man was covered by a Windows notification we were all familiar with from the classroom presentations we had to sit through: "Have you cleaned the projector filter recently?"