#and tumblr chooses to just... not include it.
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petite-ursus · 10 months ago
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Last night all four of my animals were in bed with me. It used to be more common for all four of them to come in, and every night I sleep with some of my animals., but there was a period of time where they weren't allowed to sleep with me, and they're still adjusting back to normal. The further we get from the Age of Horror the more often it is that it's all four of them again, crammed in with me. Those are my favorites.
For the year my ex lived with me she switched her schedule so she was up all night. She would shut the bedroom door whenever she was done trying to keep me awake, and before she'd do that she'd take all of the animals out. She said it was because they would paw at the door to come in and out and it annoyed her.
I explained many times that I get Really Gnarly Nightmares and I hate sleeping alone. It was also something she knew before she moved in and being there for me during those times was a point she sold herself on...
I said we could just leave the door open, (I can sleep through video game noises like you wouldn't believe.) She refused to do that.
It was just one of those awful things that I never "won" on, and it was just... lonely... Shut in my room, in the dark, alone. Like, setting aside that my partner didn't sleep with me, and that was lonely, before she was a factor I hadn't been that alone in my bed in almost a decade. So... even when she wasn't actively trying to keep me awake, my sleep wasn't restful.
I'm always grateful she's gone, and that's one of those things that I'm especially grateful for now, every time all five of us are snuggled in bed together. Like I think about how achingly lonely I was. Waking up sweating from nightmares. All the creatures in my house that I loved just on the other side of the door but unable to be with me because it would mildly inconvenience the woman who said she loved me, and it makes me really really sad.
I can't get that time back, and maybe it's silly, but I hope my animals know how much I appreciate them. I hope I can show it to them better all the time, because I don't think I realized how much they helped before she kept them from me.
Also. My dad replaced the stupid fan she installed that wouldn't stop making screaming noises. So I have a light and a fan in my room again. Which is a whole other victory.
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smallboyonherbike · 2 months ago
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i'm curious what is the fan fave without the heavy hitters of defying gravity and popular, which ofc are excellent and correctly rated
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trickerycleric · 5 months ago
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i'm curious, so trans people/people who have changed your name
+ in the tags specify if you purposefully chose a name shorter/longer than your birthname
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cabinyote · 19 days ago
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Been a while since I've done a self-portrait
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underthebluerain · 2 years ago
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kakusu-shipping · 24 days ago
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As 2025 gets ever closer, how about a quick 2024 F/O Round Up!
Honestly, only like 5 of the characters this year are Full Romantics, 2 are Queerplatonics, and the rest are Crushes I felt very strongly about even if they didn't make the main list this year, which is fine just. Very different from last years round up.
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ars-ceratinus · 1 year ago
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Some thoughts about Friede while I try to get back on my feet. The younger, politically intelligent, favoured sister. Her and Belladonna never... truly reconcile. Not until it's too late at least.
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musical-chick-13 · 5 months ago
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*screaming at myself in the mirror after re-reading this godforsaken scene* YOU'RE ALLOWED TO BE BAD AT THINGS, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO BE BAD AT THINGS, THIS IS FUN AND NO ONE IS PERFECT, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO BE BAD AT THINGS, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO BE--
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jumpyrope · 6 months ago
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🇵🇸 🛑pleas don't scroll ‼️Hi, I hope you are well. My name is Mohammed Atallah, I live with my parents, six sisters, a little girl named Malak and a little boy named Ameer in North Gaza. I created this link to fund a bone graft in my left hand which was shot by an explosive bullet, to rebuild our destroyed home and to evacuate my family from Gaza to a safe place.And donate any amount to safe life .. I will appreciate your help❤️ Can you please help as much as you can . Press all buttons on my wall , I beg you to visit my page, view it, and donate via the link in the bio💔Donate and share widely 🆘🆘 Every euros will make a difference 🙏I urge you to donate. Even the smallest amount can make the biggest difference. Not only he needs to evacuate with his family, but he is in dire need for surgery! The IDF has shot his arm with an explosive bullet. Not a regular one. AN EXPLOSIVE ONE. So he needs to get it treated right away! Otherwise, he will get an infection and it may lead to amputation. WE DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN, DO WE DO?So contribute! Make sure to reblog and share his story if you are unable to do so.Help my family. War is devastating. There is nothing left to live. No schools, no universities, no home, and no dreams. All dreams have been shattered. I hope for help before it is too late Please share on Twitter and tumbler and Instagram The campaign has been documented @90-ghost 🍉
Looks legit to me, and I'd much rather support a scammer than shun a genuine person in need of help anyway. It hurts seeing how many posts like these there are, knowing that i can't help everyone.
But it's like the crabs on the beach story about the man tossing hundreds of crabs back into the water so they wouldn't die on land. There's too many crabs to save all of them, and someone asks him why he bothers when it doesn't make a difference. He tosses a crab into the water and replies, "it made a difference to that one."
I think we could all be a little more like that man in the story. Even a small difference is a difference.
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interstellarflowers · 8 months ago
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FREE PALESTINE from a small fanfic writer and uni. activist returning to tumblr.
i just wanted to hop on to say that as someone who writes for things such as stranger things (or rather has written) that i encourage you to consume other peoples work ethically and to boycott the show or at least do what you can to not allow profit, block accounts, do not stream it via netflix or otherwise. i call out specifically stranger things just because i have written for it in the past, and some of their cast members have displayed some of the most heinous acts of racism, colorism, and colonialist support that i have seen. i will never accept this as something i can look past, and neither should you. genocide is never excusable, and apathy and support of it should never be tolerated. i am strongly anti-zionist, and if you're someone who believes in humanitarianism, or someone who identifies as a leftist, or someone who is also BIPOC or LGBTQ*, then i implore you to educate yourself further on the liberation and history of Palestine, and to get involved in whatever way you can whether this be through donating, supporting Palestinian creators, sharing content and information, protesting, or otherwise. also before someone even TRIES it with me, my family is jewish, i went to hebrew school growing up, i was adopted from the system into a judaism practicing household, and what israel is doing right now, is not jewish, even insinuating that this killing spree, hatred, genocide, and racism is jewish absolutely twists my stomach into knots. genocide is not a jewish value, the israeli government is incredibly incorrect, they have no right to do what they're doing now, they had no right to displace people, they are not indigenous to Palestine. despite common american and eurocentric historical events, no, you can't just show up somewhere decide its yours, give it a new name, and get offended when people say that its colonization and stealing. it is. you have colonized, you have stolen land, you have become the oppressor, you are the oppressor, and now youre committing a mass genocide. never again means never again. they must be held accountable, this is evil. i consistently come back and leave writing fanfic i battle a number of health issues which end up impacting my mental state and i was working on graduating university (graduated this semester btw, heading to johns hopkins now for grad school) but another reason why ive found myself less active is because of the ignorance i see on this platform sometimes. its extra difficult to want to return to a platform and community when i come back from witnessing and experiencing police brutality and force on my campus in response to our encampment, witnessing my friends, peers, and professors be arrested and physically harmed, be verbally assaulted, assaulted, abused by admin, etc. and then come on here and see people refusing to partake in even the bare minimum. its is crucial to the survival of the remaining Palestinian people that we give this cause our all, and fight for their lives, they have been failed and abandoned time and time again, do not turn your backs to them, do not ignore this.
the Palestinian struggle intersects with issues of race, colonialism, state violence, and human rights, in supporting Palestine it means that we are advocating for human rights overall and challenging the overarching system of oppression. recognizing the ongoing systemic oppression, genocide, and attack on Palestinian people and working towards resolution means working towards a movement of ending colonialism and other systems of oppression. as someone who is in both communities, BIPOC and Queer people are familiar with systemic racism and colonialism, the fight for Palestinian liberation against the Israeli government is also a fight against settler colonialism and racialized violence. by supporting Palestine, Queer and BIPOC individuals affirm their opposition to all forms of systemic racism and colonialism.
justice is not a zero-sum game. justice is a shared goal where freedom for one group contributes to freedom for all. in supporting Palestine we foster global solidarity, demonstrating that collective liberation is intertwined and it has been proven to be in multiple BIPOC and Queer liberation movements throughout history. find resources below, and if youre in the nyc area, feel free to reach out to me if you want to coordinate or need someone to attend protests with:
https://linktr.ee/columbiasjp
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dravidious · 9 months ago
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I rest my case.
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Fuckin BULLSHIT the one on the right is way better you only need 1 stroke to draw it!
Speaking of some things being objectively better than others for very important reasons, I booted up my brother’s old copy of Hyrule Warriors yesterday and tried to get A-ranks in the adventure mode, only to gradually realize just how important the level-up system is, meaning that no matter how good you are, the only way to have a chance of getting A-ranks on the later stages is to grind until the enemies don’t take 5 whole minutes each to kill.
Then I ranted to myself in my room about how Ultrakill’s P-ranks are way better
#asks#what kind of legend of zelda game has a fucking level up system?#the game already has 3 other progression systems to make you more powerful#why include a level up system? in a zelda game?#have i ranted about my hatred of number inflation/number-go-up progression on tumblr before?#because i REALLY hate when a perfectly good game has a level up system slapped onto it for no reason#especially this one!#why am i being punished for using a character that i don't play very often?!#absolute nonsense#and when i was playing and trying to a-rank a level i kept getting closer and closer to doing it#and i was like 'yes i'm doing it i'm learning the level and mastering my character!'#'now that i know my character better i'm killing the enemies so much faster! :D'#no. it was just because my numbers were going up :(#'We added a progression system.'#ruined a perfectly good game is what you did. look at it it's got a treadmill attached#some games actually USE their level up systems#pokemon uses it for evolution and to teach new moves#i still don't like the number inflation aspect but at least it's SOMETHING#and Tunic has you finding offerings in hidden treasure chests and choosing how you spend your currency#but hyrule warriors? nothing. it just boosts your health and damage#which i repeat: THERE ARE OTHER PROGRESSION SYSTEMS IN THE GAME THAT ALREADY DO THAT#except you actually have some control over those ones#you get heart containers by finding treasure and getting a-ranks#and you get better weapons by getting loot from enemies and getting a-ranks#and there's ALSO the badge system which does a whole bunch of Stuff#i swear the only reason to have the level up system is to artificially extend the playtime#i guess there might be a skill barrier because the other progression methods require a-ranks#but forcing less-skilled players to spend hours grinding to get up to the level of better players is NOT the solution
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ragsy · 2 years ago
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MOTW NPC Rach Lombardi, Mark's toxic ex who got ripped to shreds by dogman and then whose revenant ghost latched onto someone else who was on their own dogman revenge quest (player character Tatara)
she's fun.
#ragsycon exclusive#ragsymakes#artists on tumblr#oc art#monster of the week#oc rach#she's conniving and self-serving and manipulative#which means she's very fun to play in game. love to rp an absolute garbage person#she and mark dated for awhile in their early to mid twenties#it was all around a really terrible relationship but he didn't really know it until well afterwards.#the entire time what he thought was positive attention was really just her using him to get what she wanted#up to and including using him as leverage to get to his brother stuart who she was seeing behind mark's back for a while#and he found out by complete chance. walked in on them after getting home from work early#and to mark's shock and disgust at this betrayal she just said 'eh that's fine. i was done with you anyway' and kicked him out right there#mark had a fairly significant breakdown over it and just. left town. ghosted everybody and got a job at a watchtower deep in the woods#didnt talk to anyone for years. became an unwitting forest cryptid (different can of worms). let all of his baggage fester for way too long#until stuart managed to get a hold of him and invited him on a Brotherly Reconciliation Camping Trip And Rach Is There Too#and rach did what she's good at which was needling mark's insecurities and insisting he's overreacting when he got upset#but at this point mark was possessed by an evil spirit that turned him into a feral dogman when angry (again. different can of worms)#and the dogman came out and attacked and killed her. total carnage. stuart was away getting firewood when it happened.#mark at this point had no memory of any of this dogman transformations so he woke up covered in blood next to rach's corpse and freaked out#as did stuart#so this Brotherly Reconciliation Camping Trip was kinda the last time they've seen each other since#and later on rach's earthbound ghost finds someone who is on a revenge quest for several other deaths at the hands (paws?) of the dogman#and this other person is already being guided by the spirits of her deceased loved ones#and rach. ever the opportunist. latches onto the other person to maybe get vengeance for her own death#sapping away the strength from the other spirits to make herself strong enough to DO anything#to say 'how fucking dare you' when the other person chooses to offer mark mercy instead of outright killing him#to decide she can finally take matters into her own hands and take over the other person's body and do the dirty work herself
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levil0vesyou · 1 year ago
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Having a post get popular enough to be independently reblogged by someone you follow but aren't mutuals with is. Wild
#yes it was the sex poll obvs#given the person is a minor i'm very glad they picked answer one lmao#like i do think minors in general are allowed to want and even have sex (with each other obvs) but when it's a minor i personally follow it#would just make me feel pretty weird lmao. like on a personal level ya feel? i mean when u reach an even closer level it becomes not weird#again like my dear friend ness (17yo) who afaik doesn't actually HAVE any sex but occasionally wants to and i support her hot girl summer.#but as stated this person barely knows i exist i just follow his blog (i used they earlier but this was incorrect but tumblr won't let me e#edit the tag 😔) and he's 16yo so seeing him talk about wanting and/or having sex would have been. uncomfortable. like obvs he'd be allowed#to because my personal discomfort is no indication of morality but you get it. like if my big little cousin (she's 15 now by god the years#don't stop coming) were to talk about sex and stuff to me or within earshot i would ummm. throw myself out the window? but like i'd still t#try to be supportive and if push comes to shove then yes i would give her condoms 😔 cuz like if a minor wants sex i will not be able to sto#stop them lmao but i can at least try and make it somewhat safe y'know#actually i remembered i have literally given a 15yo a condom before lmao she's prolly over 20 now but like as the adult dormmate it was alm#almost like a responsibility y'know like what do you want me to DO?? let her get pregnant?? anyway enough tangent lmao#btw all this is also why in the poll i included 'too young' but didn't specify an age cuz that's individual y'know. some people are p late#bloomers (i was one) while others choose to have consensual sex by 14 y'know. not something i like to think about but that doesn't mean it#won't happen ya feel. i mean what am i the american education system? lmao. so some ppl have interpreted being 17 as too young but there's#also folks like this who clearly consider 16 old enough and that's defo ppl's good right. and again i usually don't mind just the fact that#he in particular is someone i already knew made it uncomfy. but anyway yea back on topic it's very interesting in general when your post#gets big enough to independently make it to ur dash thru a non mutual lmao. love the hellsite honestly where else amirite#personal#mine#ok to rb ig#like the actual body of the post anyway. i'd be pretty uncomfy if said person saw my tags on this cuz y'know it's kind vagueing even if it'#not negative but anyway. anyway#*kinda
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welcometoqueer · 3 months ago
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I haven’t really seen any of the more recent U.S. election news hitting tumblr yet so here’s some updates (now edited with sources added):
There’s evidence of Trump cheating and interfering with the election.
Possible Russian interference.
Mail-in ballots are not being counted or “recognized” in multiple (notably swing) states.
30+ bomb threats were called in and shut down polling stations on Election Day.
20+ million votes are still unaccounted for, and that’s just to have the same voter turnout as 2020.
There was record voter turnout and new/first-time voter registration this year. We definitely should be well over the turnout in 2020.
U.S. citizens are using this site to demand, not only a recount, but a complete investigation into election fraud and interference for the reasons stated above:
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Here is what I submitted as an example:
An investigation for election interference and fraud is required. We desperately need a recount or even a revote. The American people deserve the right to a free and fair election. There has been evidence unveiled of Trump cheating and committing election fraud which is illegal. There is some evidence of possible Russian interference. At least 30+ bomb threats were called in to polling places. Multiple, notably swing states, have ballots unaccounted for and voting machines not registering votes. Ballots and ballot boxes were tampered with and burned. Over 20 million votes that we know of are unaccounted for. With record turnout and new voter registration this year, there should be no possibility that there are less votes than even in the 2020 election.
Sources (working on finding more links but if anyone wants to add info, it’s appreciated):
FBI addressing Russian interference and bomb threats:
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Emails released by Rachael Bellis (private account, can’t share original tweet) confirming Trump committing election fraud:
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Pennsylvania's Centre County officials say they are working with their ballot scanner vendor to figure out why the county's mail-in ballot data is "not being recognized when uploaded to the elections software:”
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Wisconsin recount:
[ID:
Multiple screenshots and images.
The first is a screenshot with a link and information for contacting the White House directly regarding election fraud. The instructions include choosing to leave a comment to President Joe Biden directly and to select election security as the reason.
The screenshot then instructs people to include any or all of the following information in a paragraph as a comment to the president:
32 fake bomb threats were called into Democratic leaning poll places, rendering polling places closed for at least an hour.
A lot of people reporting their ballots were not counted for various reasons.
This all occurred in swing states.
This is too coincidental that these things happen and swing in his favor after months of hinting at foul play.
Directly state that an investigation for tampering, interference, fraud is required, not just a recount.
The second image is from the FBI Twitter account that reads:
The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains. None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far. https://t.co/j3YfajVK1m — FBI (@FBI) November 5, 2024
The next four Gmail screenshots of an email sent to Rachael Bellis from Chris T. Spackman that read together as follows:
Dear BELLIS, RACHAEL E., The Dauphin County Board of Elections received a challenge to your absentee ballot you applied for in the November 5, 2024 General Election. The challenge argues that a provision of the Pennsylvania Election Code takes precedence over the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), which requires states and counties to permit U.S. citizens who move overseas to vote by absentee ballot for federal offices based on their last U.S. residential address.
The full text of the challenge that was filed appears below this email.
You may respond to the challenge in any of the following ways:
1. Call the Bureau of Registration and Election at (717) 780-6360;
2. Email a statement to the Bureau at Election [email protected]. Any statement you submit regarding the period during which you lived in Dauphin County, any family or connections that you still have here, and why you are now residing abroad would be read into the record.
3. Appear in person at a Board of Elections hearing scheduled for Friday, November 8 at a time to be determined in the Commissioners Public Hearing Room, 4th floor of Dauphin County Administration Building, 2 S 20d St, Harrisburg, PA 17111. The meeting is also likely to be livestreamed on Facebook on the Dauphin County channel.
Sincerely,
Christopher T Spackman
TEXT OF CHALLENGE BEGINS
Dear Dauphin County Board of Elections,
I am submitting this challenge to an absentee ballot application pursuant to 25 Pa. Stat.
3146.8(f).
25 Pa. Stat. 3146.8(f) Any person challenging an application for an absentee ballot, an absentee ballot, an application for a mail-in ballot or a mail-in ballot for any of the reasons provided in this act shall deposit the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) in cash with the county board, which sum shall only be refunded if the challenge is sustained or if the challenge is withdrawn within five (5) days after the primary or election. If the challenge is dismissed by any lawful order then the deposit shall be forfeited. The county board shall deposit all deposit money in the general fund of the…
The rest of the forwarded email is cut off.
The last image is a screenshot of the official statement from the Centre County, Pennsylvania Board of Commissioners released on November 6, 2024 that states:
Centre County Working with Ballot Scanner Vendor to Export Election Results.
(Bellefonte, PA) -Centre County Elections Office is working continuously to provide mail-in ballot data in order to post unofficial results.
To this point, all ballots have been scanned, including all mail-in ballots.
Centre County's Election team and IT team have identified that the data are successfully being exported from the mail-in ballot scanners, but that the data is not being recognized when uploaded to the elections software.
Centre County's Administrator, John Franek, Jr. stated, "We have not stopped working, and we will continue to work until unofficial results are posted and reported to the Pennsylvania Department of State."
As a next step, Centre County has begun working with the equipment vendor to adjust configurations to make the two systems-the mail-in ballot scanner and the elections software where data are uploaded -compatible with one another.
We will provide updates as we make progress.
/end ID]
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zoologica42 · 7 months ago
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Temperate Lake Dashboard Simulator
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🐦‍⬛2xcrested_cormorant Follow Going to try and eat this weird fish
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♻️🐦‍⬛2xcrested_cormorant Follow wilmdlife hopital
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🐸rana-bufo Follow No one can ever truly understand what BULL4rog's music means to me 😭 this song in particular argrgrgrgrgrg the way he puffs out his vocal sack asdfghjk
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BULL4rog: listen here on spotify ♻️🐸rana-bufo Follow I think I huave chytrid
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🐟ilikeeatingminnowsFollow I just migrated here from finstagram please be nice
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🐠powerbottomfeeder Follow
I have HAD IT with this lake, it’s the third day in a row we’ve had nitrates above 8 ppm and uug the algae, my allergies I can’t do this
♻️🐟carpy-diem Follow
Lol we regularly get nitrates up to 20 ppm in my lake ♻️🦞crawdaddy Follow uhhh you shouldn't be bragging about that, it's really unsafe ♻️🐟carpy-diem Follow suck it you little oligotrophic bitch
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🐢snappturt Follow Dear Tumblr, am I the Basshole for the way I catch minnows? I was chatting with some of the guys I bask with and they said the way I catch minnows is problematic; What I do is I sit on the bottom of the lake, I hide myself in the mud and I open my mouth. My tongue looks a lot like a little worm so I wiggle it around- and because of that, minnows swim over and check it out. Once they get close enough, then I bite down and eat them. Some of my rockmates have told me that this is manipulative and toxic behavior- but they also eat minnows...I don't know guys...
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🦆tree hole-nester-acorn-eater Follow
is it just me, or is this super homoerotic???
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🐟bigpikexxl Follow liveblogging diving down to the bottom
♻️🐟bigpikexxl Follow dark
♻️🐟bigpikexxl Follow big log
♻️🐟bigpikexxl Follow rock
♻️🐟bigpikexxl Follow kinda cold
♻️🐟bigpikexxl Follow oh hi @deepwatersculpin!!!
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♻️🐠deepwatersculpin Follow oh hey @bigpikexxl!!!
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never thought i'd seen one of my mutuals irl!!! I didn't even know we lived in the same lake!!!
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🐠Shadlad Follow I'm not sorry, and I'm not afraid to say it, if you're an introduced species, go dry yourself out. You're not welcome to eat up all of our resources and live in my ancestral longs and rock crags. These things are for us to relate to and not for you to squander.
♻️🦞crevice-steve Follow
Can't believe this type of fishcourse is still popular on this site, introduced species didn't choose to be introduced and have as much of a right to live as anyone else. Bigotry against introduced species is still bigotry and that's a hill I will dry on. ♻️🐠Shadlad Follow Go ahead, dry yourself out then ;) ♻️🪷nootnootnewt Follow Hey man, I hate invasive species as much as anyone else but please stop telling people to beach themselves for political reasons- yeah that includes inavsives too ♻️🦐typical_scud Follow Did you legit just use the word Invas*ve to describe introduced species? ♻️🦢flatfootswimmer Follow anyone in this thread eat pondweed?
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♻️🐟largemouthbASS Follow A colab with my mutual @2xcrested_cormorant after they got released from the wildlife hospital. They haven't been on much since the Fish and Wildlife Service released them in the wrong lake and it took them a while to get back to their colony. We hope this guide will help you avoid accidentally eating/engaging with bait!
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scientia-rex · 11 months ago
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When I was in ninth grade I wanted to challenge what I saw as a very stupid dress code policy (not being allowed to wear spikes regardless of the size or sharpness of the spikes). My dad said to me, “What is your objective?”
He said it over and over. I contemplated that. I wanted to change an unfair dress code. What did I stand to gain? What did I stand to lose? If what I really wanted was to change the dress code, what would be my most effective potential approach? (He also gave me Discourses on the Fall of Rome by Titus Livius, Machiavelli’s magnum opus. Of course he’d already given me The Prince, Five Rings, and The Art of War.)
I ultimately printed out that phrase, coated it in Mod Podge, and clipped it to my bathroom mirror so I would look at it and think about it every day.
What is your objective?
Forget about how you feel. Ask yourself, what do you want to see happen? And then ask, how can you make it happen? Who needs to agree with you? Who has the power to implement this change? What are the points where you have leverage over them? If you use that leverage now, will you impair your ability to use it in the future? Getting what you want is about effectiveness. It is not about being an alpha or a sigma or whatever other bullshit the men’s right whiners are on about now. You won’t find any MRA talking points in Musashi, because they are not relevant.
I had no clear leverage on the dress code issue. My parents were not on the PTA; neither were any of my friend’s parents who liked me. The teachers did not care about this. Ultimately I just wore what I wanted, my patent leather collar from Hot Topic with large but flattened spikes, and I had guessed correctly—the teachers also did not care enough to discipline me.
I often see people on tumblr, mostly the very young, flail around in discourse. They don’t have an objective. They don’t know what they want to achieve, and they have never thought about strategizing and interpersonal effectiveness. No one can get everything they want by being an asshole. You must be able to work with other people, and that includes smiling when you hate them.
Read Machiavelli. Start with The Prince, but then move on to Discourses. Read Musashi’s Five Rings. Read The Art of War. They’re classics for a reason. They can’t cover all situations, but they can do more for how you think about strategizing than anything you’re getting in middle school and high school curricula.
Don’t vote third party unless you can tell me not only what your objective is but also why this action stands a meaningful chance of accomplishing it. Otherwise, back up and approach your strategy from a new angle. I don’t care how angry you are with Biden right now. He knows about it, and he is both trying to do something and not doing enough. I care about what will happen to millions of people if we have another Trump presidency. Look up Ross Perot, and learn from our past. Find your objective. If it is to stop the genocide in Palestine now, call your elected representatives now. They don’t care about emails; they care about phone calls, because they live in the past. I know this because I shadowed a lobbyist, because knowing how power works is critical to using it.
How do you think I have gotten two clinics to start including gender care in their planning?
Start small. Chip away. Keep working. Find your leverage; figure out how and when to effectively use it. Choose your battles, so that you can concentrate on the battle at hand instead of wasting your resources in many directions. Learn from the accumulated wisdom of people who spent their lives learning by doing, by making mistakes, by watching the mistakes of their enemies.
Don’t be a dickhead. Be smarter than I was at 14. Ask yourself: what is your objective?
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