#is not an experience i recommend to anyone

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

I got a Nobara install recently that's been serving me really well! The UI feels very intuitive to me as someone who learned computers on Windows 97 and who has increasingly struggled with UI changes since about 2015. Additionally, it came pre-installed with the kinds of compatibility layers that mean all my video games ran on it immediately upon initial power up, no extra steps or installs required!

I've not got much experience on Linux (briefly used a Mint install in 2019) but I was able to do some exploring and learn/customize configs in the span of about an afternoon. I honestly really recommend it to anyone considering making their first forays into Linux systems!

What the shit????

Microsoft truly wants a dumbed down populace that cannot control the products they buy

If they do this then my dumb ass will find a way to install Linux or something

[certifiedsexed]

I'm not sure where else to ask this but it seemed like an alright place. I believe something is wrong with me as I don't want to have sex. Or do anything even remotely sexual. I see posts and comments all the time of people talking about people and sometimes characters and how attractive and hot they are, but I just don't get it. I want to fall in love, and date and do all those romantic things. But I do not want to have sex, ever, and I feel like maybe I'm broken? Sex is always talked about around me as something everyone wants and will do one day, but it simply makes me feel sick and grossed out. Even the idea of masturbating grosses me out, it's sexual and I don't seem to like anything sexual at all. Although I live in a very small town, is it different in other places?

I've tried reading and watching, I've even watched stuff with just women in it! I tried masturbating but didn't get very far before feeling nauseous, I simply don't want to do anything sexual. It's very confusing and scary for me, I mentioned it to my mother and she said "You'll want it eventually, you just need to find what you like" but I never have and don't think I ever will. I've explored many different things but I always feel bored and put off at best, disgusted at worse. I don't care if others have sex, I'm not negative like that, I just don't want to ever be involved in it. Do you know what might be wrong with me? I don't want to bring it up to anyone again because they always look at me like something is wrong with me

- Rose

Hi, Rose! This is definitely a fine place to ask. (I love your name, btw.)

Let me start with saying there is absolutely nothing wrong with you for not wanting to have sex or do anything sexual. You don't have to have sex or be sexually attracted to other people. There's a name for that: it's called asexuality and its actually pretty common.

Not everyone has sex or "eventually wants sex". That's a very out-dated myth that has never been true.

I'd recommend looking for groups or even just researching asexuality online, Rose. There are so many other asexual people throughout the world and I think it'd be good for you to read/look into information on other people like you!

You don't have to force yourself to like sexual things. You can't force your sexuality to change. Especially if it's making you feel ill and you don't want to do it, that's not something you should be forcing yourself into just because others have told you that you should. There is no should with your sexuality.

Your mother is actually wrong. Not everyone likes sex! There's literally a sexuality for people who lack or experience varied sexual attraction [which is what you're talking about]: asexuality. There's also a word for the nausea and dislike you're talking about surrounding sexual things: sex repulsion.

You don't have to keep exploring things that make you feel ill. It's okay just to search out the things you actually enjoy or look forward to, like a romantic partner or even just focus less on sexuality itself and enjoy your life without trying to fix yourself.

There's nothing wrong with you, Rose. I'm sorry no one has been kind and taken you seriously but you're not broken or needing to wait for your sexuality to "kick in", your sexuality is fine as is.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions, Rose. <33

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

hi sex witch,

This may be out of your wheelhouse, and I understand if it is, but I’m tryin anything. I’m getting an iud on Friday (woohoo we love birth control) and I’m TERRIFIED. I’ve had an iud before that ended up being a really rough experience, and I remember the insertion vividly. My doctor already gave me something for my anxiety, and I’ll be taking as much NSAIDs as a person my size can have, but what tips would you recommend for helping with the soul crushing fear. I’m autistic and trans, so I’m also dealing with the general fear many of us have of doctors. Tbh even if it’s shit like “here is exactly what to visualize while someone is elbow deep in your gulleyworks” would be great. Thank you sm

hi anon,

if you have someone who'd be willing to go with you, straight up call the facility where you'll be getting your IUD and ask if you can bring an emotional support person with you during the insertion.

if that's not allowed, or you don't have someone available to tag along on short notice, it's also worth asking if you could have an emotional support nurse or other employee who's there specifically to be your buddy during the procedure. not as comforting as a friend, maybe, but it's nice to have someone whose full focus is on offering you reassurance instead of trying to divide their attention between you and your IUD.

other things I've heard of people doing to up their own comfort levels: bring a stuffed animal or fidget toys, ask if you can play your own music during the procedure (and if headphones are appropriate, if you'd feel better with them, but that's a solid Maybe since your doctor will likely need to make sure you can hear them), wearing a little scent that helps you feel calm, staying very focused on something on your phone during the procedure, making aggressive smalltalk with anyone else in the room while it's happening. me personally, I have a bitch of a time with pap smears, so I always have my examiner verbally walk me through everything they're doing, completely with counting down how much time it will take so I know exactly how long I'm bracing for.

informing the person doing the implant that you're feeling Fucking Scared will also be helpful right out of the gate and help them know what to expect as well; get everybody on the same page and work together to make the procedure as quick and relatively painless as possible.

[discoursedamaged]

i've been through 4 binder companies and 7 binders, not counting the ones i've had to return for being completely the wrong size. i wouldn't recommend trans tape to my worst enemy - when they say "it works for large chests" what they mean is "up to C cup provided your waist size is under the voting age". only good for nipple pasties otherwise. gc2b was already dogshit before quality went downhill. spectrum outfitters is good if your only prior binder experience is gc2b. shapeshifters actually works as a binder provided you customise it in such a way that it's unwearable below freezing temperatures. there's exactly one motherfucker i can recommend in good conscience and that's the untag extra strong gym binder. it doesnt get me flat but nothing short of a fatal steamroller accident ever will. it does what i want, which is support and minimize my chest while being fairly comfortable to wear. it's 50 usd and goes up to 8xl. i cannot vouch for other products on the site except the basic swim binder, which is also okay and has the benefit of drying faster. and i can't know this will work for anyone else, because it took me years and research and so much money just to find what worked for me.

I don’t like how people advertise those free binder things as something helpful but in reality when you go to a free binder event they are all small or extra small really cheap binders that are unsafe to wear. So those free binder events either have trans men leaving empty handed because nothing fits them or permanently damaging their ribs because the people running the event did not care enough to actually do research.

[smitethestate]

Sorry if it's weird to ask you this but you're one of the only people I know to ask.

I'm very afraid of project 2025 and a national abortion ban. What do I do?

It's not weird to ask, I know some things on these topics.

One thing to remember is that those absurd Senate filibuster rules are still in place. Even with a red House and Senate, it will be very difficult for Republicans to pass any major national legislation because the Democrats in the Senate will filibuster. A national abortion ban will be virtually impossible.

Project 2025 is a different beast. But there are a lot of actions you can take to fight or protect yourself. I recommend trans folks who want to or are currently transitioning to look into DIY hormones as soon as possible, and stockpile anything you can get.

First and foremost, learn about Project 2025. There are already a lot of analyses out there, including what to expect to go into effect first and what are the biggest threats.

Figure out what you need to do to protect yourself before you look to help others. If you can help others, figure out how you're best suited to help. Who are the most vulnerable in your area? What are your skill sets?

Then look to community wherever you can, online and/or off. Mutual aid groups are everywhere. There are already organizations dedicated to helping undocumented migrants and stopping deportations. If you can't handle joining up with something, do what you can online. If you can't handle that either, you need to take care of yourself more.

Remember that you can't fill other people's cups if your own is empty.

For now, allow yourself to be scared and know you won't always feel that way. Hold on to the people in your life. Take deep breaths. Remember how many good people are in the world. Let yourself feel anger, despair, and whatever comes up, and let it wash through you and then out.

Anyone with additional tips and resources, feel free to add to this.

Things are bad and will get worse, but nothing is over as long as any of us remain alive. You can't help everyone, but helping one single person means everything to that person. Focus on what you can do and don't fall into the fantasy that you can or ever could save the world yourself. This is advice based on my own experience. If you have more specific questions, you can ask or message me.

[cosmic-vanity]

What a lot of people don't get is that "transmisandry" is actually also the intersection of transphobia and misogyny but in the specific way that it affects trans men. Because it's not the same way that it affects trans women.

I don't think anyone actually believes systemic misandry in modern human society is a real thing. And if they do, I'm certainly not one of them.

A lot of trans women experience misogyny, usually but not always in the way that every other woman does, in the form of Gender Essentialism. Of course, there are way more intricate ways that transmisogyny exists within, but as a person who isn't a trans woman I am not qualified to even try to explain them. I recommend you look up posts by transfems on the topic :) AND, t-women also suffer from radical feminist's extreme Bio-Essentialism, because despite the fact that they are not cisgendered men, the victimising narrative of every RadFem on the planet tells them that "every person who was assigned male at birth is evil and out to get me and my sisters, then kill us or worse."

Trans men experience misogyny in that the patriarchy views us as women regardless no matter what we identify as or how much we alter our bodies to look just like them, and therefore, they view us as weak due to their Bio-Essentialism. Because we are not cisgendered men. They're the ones on the top. Again, our intersection of identifying as male and being transgender is really really complicated but I am sure there are more people out there who are better qualified to explain it than I am. AND, along with the aforementioned Gender Essentialism that RadFems also love to perpetuate (get this, most TERFs just use repackaged misogyny with a "trans" label slapped on it so they can pretend to be woke about their hatred) and their and self-victimisation, makes them view t-men as "evil gender-traitor monsters who hate us and are secretly out to get us".

Trans women and trans men both experience G.E and B.E on a regular basis.

Trans women usually get misogyny, USUALLY BUT NOT ALWAYS in the form of G.E, from patriarchy and B.E from TERFs; while trans men get misogyny, USUALLY BUT NOT ALWAYS in the form of B.E, from the patriarchy and G.E from TERFs. Both suck ass. Both forms of essentialism and both forms of oppression are equally bad, and both need to go.

But we will never get to that point if transfems and transmascs on Tumblr keep targeting eachother with transmascs going "Wellllll ermmmmmm I experience more oppression than you because society views you as male" or transfems going "Ermmmm ackshually your label for your experiences is invalid because-"

Quit the infighting. We have to stand together if we ever want this to end.

[ace-of-bass]

I had a very different experience with getting an IUD but I also recommend Planned Parenthood. I got one there earlier this year because I was tired of having to refill my pill prescription all the time. I do not get my period at all anymore. I don't remember what I had to pay for it but it was less than $1200 and I didn't use insurance. When I walked in the receptionist asked if I had insurance and I said I wasn't sure if it was in network and when she saw I was just there for birth control she told me, "we'll just use our birth control grant."

The main reason I recommend Planned Parenthood though is that the providers there are very, very willing to talk through all the pros and cons of each method and any questions you may have. They are also, in my experience, really unlikely to push any one method of birth control onto anyone. This is in contrast to the only non-PP gynecolegist I went to who put me on birth control when I was missing periods due to an eating disorder and told me that it might jumpstart my period. It did not and gave me mood swings.

Anyway yeah Planned Parenthood is great, you should go there if there's one in your area.

Advice from a cis female friend of mine: if you've been considering an IUD, get it now

[motorsportbarbie13]

Last night I was sitting there doom scrolling the f1 subreddit (10/10 DO NOT recommend btw) and I just got so anxious about all the comments. I was a victim of SEVERE bullying several times in my life, a lot of it online so this was particularly triggering for me.

And then I noticed how my mood changes while I scroll through social media on race weekends but really sucks the joy out of the entire fan experience so here’s what I’m going to do: with the exception of tumblr, I’m going to 100% stop consuming any sort of f1 social media. No more Reddit, no more Threads (during race weekends and immediately after, I like the community over there too much) and will just simply WATCH. THE. RACE. No reading commentary, no making comments, no engaging with anyone or ready any analysis beyond what’s on f1tv. I feel incredibly silly for needing to put these rules in place for myself but it’s REALLY sucking my enjoyment for the sport out of everything.

I really hate what fans have done to this sport. I’ve had enough.

[averbaldumpingground]

I don't usually post personal things on here, but tonight, for the first time in almost 3 years, I called a hotline.

To anyone who has ever volunteered for one, a real one I mean, not the dismissive religious ones that try to proselytize or make the callers feel bad, thank you.

To anyone who needs it right now, who feels alone and scared and doesn't have anyone to call, I recommend Samaritans. They have branches in several major cities. I've been calling them, off and on, since sometime circa 2009 or 2010ish and they are, on the whole, marvelous people.

(I very strongly recommend calling specific trusted hotlines directly. 988 tends to route you to the geographically nearest available option in my experience, which can sometimes include religious-affiliated programs that are unsupportive at best and downright hostile at worst. If you are located somewhere that might be a problem, feel free to call a place in Boston or New York or anywhere that might be safer. If they're not slammed, they will pick up. You'll feel a little better afterward. I promise.)

And if anyone sees this, and you have somebody to hug, hug them for me. Hold on to them tight.

[mercless]

i would like to know more about hn talon's feathery ailment ... is it their demonic nature clashing with the angelic blood that is resulting in their worsening condition ? is there a reason why it is specifically feathers / bird-likeness as opposed to anything else ( i.e. would other demons undergo similar transformations if they also got contaminated with angel blood ) ? can you share more about how you envision the progression and prognosis ? will it kill them or will there be some sort of final stage of their transformation ( whether that's a bad thing because it only gets worse and worse , or a good thing because maybe now that it is complete , they won't be in as much pain and discomfort 🥺 ) ? is it at all affected by whatever they're doing / thinking / feeling / experiencing ( tamagotchi talon ... ) ? what do they do to manage their condition ? does it make them self-conscious or feel badly about their physical appearance ?

"-But it looks like the angels ain't done with you."

I don't recommend that anyone ingests angel blood (good thing that's a difficult thing to do these days) but I wouldn't want to definitively say how it works for anyone else either. and I think it makes sense if talon isn't too sure either, with not meeting anyone else in a similar predicament as they (yet... will get to this later) but say if it were another angel Talon had attacked and drank the blood of, I believe they would still be having similar symptoms, as angels are quite feathery beings (varus with his arm of feathers, irelia with her wings and other choicely placed feathers.) But the particular angel they stole from has had a specific impact on just how the blood has changed them.

The reason for their worsening condition is because the blood has a powerful influence, like an undiluted acid. And it is so dramatic of an change because this influence is the polar opposite to their demonic existence. The more that Talon fights against the changes, the less symbiotic the blood and their demonic nature melds, the more violent and painful the experience is for them. And without any interference either with understanding or other experiences, I see it as a bitter, drawn-out struggle. Just wallowing in fatalism until Talon is nothing more than an unrecognisable pile of bile, blood, and feathers that tore itself apart...

Fortunately for them, the more Talon interacts with their rotting world and the people (and creatures) also struggling in it, the more they will come to terms with their own potential, and reflect on how they can be something more than what they once were. Learning that they don't have to let their worst action define their existence. More than just accepting what they did, and putting in the effort to understand emotions and how to be an active part of life, will mean they are not stubbornly fighting against their affliction. This will increase the speed of it's progression, but also be far less painful of an experience since they won't be actively fighting against it. When Talon is unable to call upon any of their demonic abilities anymore, the physical changes of the affliction will be complete, but they will continue to learn and better themself in an attempt to make up for all the wrong and pain they have caused in their existence. I can picture this happening in two or three decades time, in which there is no longer any hellfire, brimstone or summoned weapons. Talon is no longer a demon, but maybe by then they'll also know if the powers that be would accept a malformed, inexperienced, makeshift samaritan as a stand-in. But that's a hopeful thought, thinking they'll live that long.

Going back to the symptoms of the affliction. Previously, Talon's form was one of shadow and brimstone, and they were able to phase in and out of being corporeal at will. Over time, this ability has been weakened - only able to vanish as a shadow for a moment at a time. Brimstone skin was made brittle until it fell away to soft flesh, hollow bone, and hair. Feathers have begun sprouting through this softer skin too, mostly across their left shoulder, arm and chest, but are beginning to sprout along their throat too. Talon used to pull them out by hand, but has forfeited the fight. Back to the left arm, a sort of carapace has begun to form over their left hand, along the thumb's metacarpal and back of the hand in layers of grey ash and weathered gold. This and the growth of the feathers is very similar to Varus' - the angel in which Talon killed and drunk the blood of - own feathers and angelic arm. But without any of the matching powers, it is a far less grand sight.

Although still considerably hot to the touch, Talon's core temperature has drastically lowered compared to the past. Whatever organs of malice and bile a demon has have made way for a growth in their chest, helping pump the foul angelic blood and pesky emotions around their body routinely, and push out more of their demonic essence every day, little by little. With this, it has already made their demonic powers incredibly weakened. Previously Talon also used to be able to disintegrate bodies with a slice of their hellish blades, but they just do not run hot enough anymore. The final physical symptom are their eyes. Once filled with hellfire, it is far more likely nowadays to see their extinguished, golden-brown irises instead. It is slightly controllable with their emotional state, or when using their powers though.

In other ways, the blood has made Talon far more empathetic, given them a conscience. Troubled with how their actions will effect others now, the suffering and cruelty of the world has become a pain all it's own. Dulling the delight in spreading fear and even disturbing the once simple exchange of souls, Talon is often contemplating their next course of action instead of only giving thought to their best interests. And how their previous, often violent actions, have caused so much.

The agony and illness of coughing up feathers and demonic bile leaves talon haggard and frail. Getting sleep and relaxation would help the most, but with their paranoia it is difficult for them to find places to fully lower their guard and properly rest. Talon's tried to get a room in the crossroad saloon before, but it's... never really worked out (Gragas doesn't let them). Hating and damning the ailment only makes it worse, since it's basically like trying to separate themself from something that has already been mixed in. Feathers get stuck in their many teeth, skin itches from keratin growing in. Fatigue and sensitivity to their own heartbeat. Talon tries their best to hide the majority of their symptoms. Their coughs and exhaustion are the most obvious.

For how the changed made by the affliction is making talon feel... I'm going to paraphrase from a previous message;

I say its dysmorphic but the more I think about it, it's also… having your health decline and your body changing along with it, at least with talons perspective right now since they're losing their demonic powers. dysphoric in the way that they're still holding on to the thought that this isn't what they're supposed to be, they're Supposed to be a being of shadow and hellfire not flesh and bone, let alone feathers and sympathy. so I want it to be much more about accepting that this is their body now moreso than finding a way to reverse the changes. That it's okay to change with age and wisdom as you open yourself up more to the world.

At this time, Talon misses being completely monstrous, of being frightening and having that implicit respect. They feel weaker than they really are because they continue to compare themself to the long-gone height of their power, and because their new physical changes make them feel vulnerable. Being constantly exhausted also doesn't help with any of this. Beyond this though, the only other thing they don't like about these changes is just that; it's different. The uncanny features still don't feel like that that's who they are, and there is this disconnect when others react to them, or comment on their looks.

poses I don't know, maybe Talon just needs some sort of big motivation to no longer see this affliction as a curse, but as an opportunity to be more than a demon that skulks in the shadows. And some encouragement that yes, that is in fact a good thing. Maybe like an ultimatum of some sorts.

[s0up1ta]

my contribution to all three mexican gothic enjoyers on this website

[plorpl]

Today I offer Tumblr real, undoctored screenshots from the House MD DS game, free of context:

Special awards go to:

"Would you still love me if I was a worm" core:

And my personal favorite, for all the omegaverse girlies out there:

EDIT: adding a link to my other post with more info on the game

[derpiedoxie]

Tw: eye contact

I paint what I see

[sea-of-eden]

IANTJE!!!!!!!!! GRGBWHBBBDGAHHAHH

[justatree75]

i saw the crane wives live the other day and here are some life series/crane wives thoughts

-take me to war is absolutely a pearl song. double life pearl owns my soul and i need to see her. it could also be gem, specifically with the boogeypocalypse

-allies or enemies with last life bigb and cleo???? i can SEE the animatic in my head, if only i had art skills to do it. specifically from bigb's pov. i could also see ethubs or box boys

-the hand that feeds for martyn???? i haven't watched his povs but based on what i've heard it seems correct up to his win

[angleofmusings]

HELLO JEWISH PEOPLE. what shoes do you wear on yom kippur. pick the option that’s closest and feel free to elaborate in the tags!

also feel free to share if you go to shul on yom kippur and what your observance looks like!