#how to I even tag this

[sunshine-zenith]

Yo does Saw like. Have a back up plan for if someone goes into shock or tetany or something mid-game? Or if they haven’t had much to eat that day before he grabbed them or didn’t get much sleep? Because sometimes people just pass out, ya know. “Oh he makes people cut off their hands and stuff to quote-unquote learn lessons” if you’ve got food poisoning and vomits mid-chop that feels unrelated enough that it might interfere with the “”””””lesson”””””

“You have to chose to live” okay sure but I’m blood donation phlebotomist and the people I work with chose to have a needle in their arm to save lives and I can guarantee that all the ones I’ve seen pass out did not have an active choice in that bit either way

[caramelteaa]

We should all just start trading genders we don't need like a cluster of hermit crabs exchanging shells

[stemmmm]

bad youtube clickbait thumbnail that reads "I think I just had a therapy session with a DEMON???"

[pumpkinhrat]

[zytes]

this manatee looks like it’s in a skyrim loading screen

[fox-bright]

I am never going to be able to leave Reddit.

[noelledeltarune]

EVERY SINGLE DAY there are MILLIONS of characters in their late 20s who get falsely accused of being father figures to teenagers when in reality the description of "weird older cousin" or "step-sibling that moved out before you were born" is 1000000x more apt

[luckyladylily]

So a few months ago there was the discourse about would you rather meet a man or a bear in the woods. I didn't want to touch it while the discourse was hot and everyone dug in hard because those are not good conditions for nuance, but I waited until today, June 1st, for a specific reason.

I'm not going to take a position in the bear vs man debate because I don't think it matters. What is really being asked here is how afraid are you of men? Specifically, unexpected men who are, perhaps, strange.

People have a lot of very real fear of men that comes from a lot of very real places. Back when I was first transitioning in 2015 and 2016, I decided to start presenting as a woman in public even though I did not pass in the slightest.

I live in a red state. I knew other trans women who had been attacked by men, raped by men. I knew I was taking a risk by putting myself out there. I was the only visibly trans person in the area of campus I frequented, and people made sure I never forgot that. Most were harmless enough and the worst I got from them was curious stares. Others were more aggressive, even the occasional threat. I had to avoid public bathrooms, of course, and always be aware of my surroundings.

I know how frightening it is to be alone at night while a pair of men are following behind you and not knowing if they are just going in the same direction or if they want to start something - made all the worse for the constant low level threat I had been living under for over a year by just being visibly trans in a place where many are openly hostile to queer people. You have to remember, this was at the height of the first wave of bathroom law discussions, a lot of people were very angry about trans women in particular. My daily life was terrifying at times. I was never the subject of direct violence, but I knew trans women who had been.

I want you to keep all that in mind.

So man or bear is really the question "how afraid of men are you?", and the question that logically follows is "What if there was a strange man at night in a deserted parking lot?" or "What if you were alone in an elevator with a man?" or "What if you met a strange man in the woman's bathroom?"

My state recently passed an anti trans bathroom bill. The rhetoric they used was about protecting women and children from "strange men", aka trans women.

Conservatives hijack fear for their bigoted agenda.

When I first started presenting as a woman the campus apartment complex was designed for young families. The buildings were in a large square with playgrounds in the center, and there were often children playing. I quickly noticed that when I took my daughter out to play, often several children would immediately stop what they were doing and run back inside. It didn't take me long to confirm that the parents were so afraid of "the strange man who wears skirts" that their children were under strict instructions to literally run away as soon as they saw me.

"How afraid are you of a strange man being near your children?"

I mentioned above that I had to avoid public bathrooms. This was not because of men. It was because of women who were so afraid of random men that they might get violent or call someone like the police to be violent for them if I ever accidentally presented myself in a way that could be interpreted as threatening, when my mere presence could be seen as a threat. If I was in the library studying and I realized that it was just me and one other woman I would get up and leave because she might decide that stranger danger was happening.

Your fear is real. Your fear might even come from lived experiences. None of that prevents the fact that your fear can be violent. Women's fear of men is one of the driving forces of transmisogyny because it is so easy to hijack. And it isn't just trans women. Other trans people experience this, and other queer people too. Racial minorities, homeless people, neurodivergent people, disabled people.

When you uncritically engage with questions like man or bear, when you uncritically validate a culture of reactive fear, you are paving the way for conservatives and bigots to push their agenda. And that is why I waited until pride month. You cannot engage and contribute to the culture of reactive fear without contributing to queerphobia of all varieties. The sensationalist culture of reactive fear is a serious queer issue, and everyone just forgot that for a week as they argued over man or bear. I'm not saying that "man" is the right answer. I am saying that uncritically engaging with such obvious click bait trading on reactive fear is a problem. Everyone fucked up.

It is not a moral failing to experience fear, but it is a moral responsibility to keep a handle on that fear and know how it might harm others.

[bacchuschucklefuck]

couldnt draw my thang for mid-autumn so treated myself to a calne redesign instead

[whatsorryiwasntlistening]

being a writer is so wild. Like I could make Shrek and Captain America kiss if I wanted

[mrsoftthoughts]

Odysseus at the end of the vengeance saga with no context:

[hoofpeet]

Doing a full pivot in 2025 into dedicating this blog to Between the Lions fanart

[pandoraspearls]

So yesterday was my last day as an highschooler and here are some of the craziest things I’ve heard my teachers and classmates say :

• student : Dude you’re a social experiment

• student 1 : *hands his friends a paper cup*

student 2 : Is that coffee ?

student 1 : Of course not it’s vodka

• teacher : I’m worried about you. Write that down (We were correcting an exam. The grades were bad)

• teacher : I’m glad to see you today even though it hurts my soul a bit since there is a strike today

• student : Oh no, I can’t get pregnant AND get someone pregnant … I can breastfeed though (he was playing Sims)

• teacher : Your poem is looking at you and saying “why did you make me so ugly,I’m going to die”

• student : *turning off a computer*

teacher : Wonderful,I could cry

• student : Why is that slur a slur ? If it didn’t have that meaning I would have named my cat like that. I like the way it sounds

• student : The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, which led to the use of atomic bombs against them. It’s like when you draw a d!ck on your friend’s notebook and he gets revenge by scribbling all over yours.

[littlemizzlinguistics]

Studying linguistics is actually so wonderful because when you explain youth slang to older professors, instead of complaining about how "your generation can't speak right/ you're butchering the language" they light up and go “really? That’s so wonderful! What an innovative construction! Isn't language wonderful?"

[rufwooff]

I’ll say right away that I’m not an animator, so I don’t really know how to make storyboards yet

BUT I REALLY WANTED TO DO THIS.

[areyouscaredyet]

im not particularly religious but i think it’s very cute that Trans Day of Visibility and Easter are on the same day this year :)

its no question that something like this could be triggering or upsetting to a number of queer ppl given the current sociopolitical climate, so i want everyone to remember that u are loved! Regardless of what u or others believe, there are ppl who will love and support you always. Give yourself patience and treat yourself with care!!!

happy and peaceful TDOV everyone!! And Easter to those who celebrate :D