#not a testimony

[the-life-of-a-herm]

Watch a YouTube video called self aware agp by Phil illy and see two trans women invalidate trans men and trans masculinity while also talking about being excited to study them and diagnose them and pick their brains, but not interview them or treat them like people. They also cite violently misogynistic cis male therapist ideas on sex the whole time. I'm sickened by the trans men in the comments patting them on their backs for this. Trans men need to start defining themselves and making their own terms and speaking about their experiences more often because I'm sick of us being defined by and studied by people who AREN'T US. Trans women don't have that right. No one but US have that right. One of those transandrophobes we're talking about "studying" and dating ftms and AFAB enbies in this and it's so disgusting, anyone who dates a dehumanizing person should be ashamed. At this point everyone who displays the slightest transandrophobe tendency needs to be FTM4B'd because we have a big prolific wonderful community and we can sustain ourselves. Likewise those losers can sustain their own selves too! It's not our job to take care of them and satisfy their infantilizing curiosities and fetishization kinks.

While i agree those two sound disgusting I will not support what the latter bit of your message seemingly implies. Just because people use their identity as an excuse to act the way they do, doesn't mean that's the actual reason. Bad people are bad because they choose to be and nothing else. Generalizing every trans woman as The Enemy because others do it to you does nothing. We need unity now more than ever.

No, we DON'T have to put up with bullshittery, especially in our own community. But trans women are not that bullshittery. They have fallen down a gross pipeline and I agree they should not be catered to, but I really dislike this dividing inflammatory language. Especially since people need room to grow and learn from their mistakes, otherwise us talking about the issues in the trans community is for nothing.

Hope this made sense. If I misunderstood you I'm so sorry. But you have every right to rant about the disgusting rot you see online! Your feelings aren't unjust! I just do not believe extremes will help us in this case. Much well wishes to you anon, sory this took so long.. The hospital was really stressful and so I decided to wait till I was out of it!

[couch-house]

little comic for disability pride month! HoH rouge is a headcanon i've had for a while but I never do anything with it... tragic... well now I've changed that :)

[heritageposts]

The new fabricated piece of Israeli atrocity propaganda, that Hamas baked a baby in an oven, is lifted directly from Palestinian survivor testimonies about what Zionist militants did during the Deir Yassin massacre of 1948.

[Warning, explicit descriptions of torture and violence.]

“I saw the Zionist terrorist soldiers ordering the bakery man of the village to throw his son in the oven and burn him alive. The son is holding the clothes of his father tightly and crying from fear and pleading to his father not to do it. The father refuses and then the soldiers hit him in his gut so hard it caused him to fall on the floor. Other soldiers held his son, Abdel Rauf, and threw him in the oven and told his father to toast him well-done meat. Other soldiers took the baker himself , Hussain al-Shareef, and threw him, too, in the oven, telling him, “follow your son, he needs you there”. - Testimonial from Othman Akel, recorded in Palestine Rising: How I survived the 1948 Deir Yasin Massacre (2010).

Like the saying goes, "every Zionist accusation is a confession."

It almost makes me wonder if it's part of a deliberate tactic to obfuscate search engine results. Because if you now search for something like say, 'Israeli solider put child in oven,' all the top results will be about Hamas, not Deir Yassin.

[transfemme-shelterdog]

Any other transmascs also struggle very hard with accepting your transness because you were constantly told "you'll regret it because you'll become unattractive and aggressive, they'll cut your boobs off and you'll go bald"? As in, adults you thought you could trust and even actual medical professionals refusing to help you access gender-affirming care, because you were "such a pretty, bright young girl"?

And then coming to online queer spaces for support, only to see constant "men are so ugly, masculinity is hideous, men are all inherently violent and evil" sentiment anywhere you went? Next to "trans men become evil on T, FtM surgery results are gross and unrealistic with a 99% regret rate, trans men ruin their female bodies by transitioning"? Anyone else constantly terrified that they will become their abusive alcoholic father because, apparently, that's just what testosterone does?

Anyone else develop an eating disorder to "pass better" because you weren't offered any other option, even though they existed? Anyone else told they were just a confused tomboy who would grow into her femininity, that "every girl hates being a girl sometimes"? Anyone else try detransitioning multiple times in hopes that everyone was right, only to end up attempting suicide each time? Only to be told I am privileged and an oppressor any time I try to discuss the struggles I've faced? Told trans men actually have it EASIER accessing medical care, have ALMOST NONEXISTENT abuse and assault rates, suicide rates, self-injury rates (all statistics pulled from thin air)?

I feel like I'm not really allowed to say "I am impacted by the misogynistic idea that Females™ are only worthy if they're conventionally attractive, typically in ways unique to my trans experience" without people accusing me of being a liar or a derailer or a misogynist or a transphobe or a meninist. Or, you know, being accused of being HYSTERICAL and DELUSIONAL... by self-declared feminists...

.

[yeoldenews]

While we’re on the subject of names, is there an explanation for how traditional nicknames came about that are seemingly unrelated to, or have little in common with, the original name?

ie- John/Jack, Richard/Dick, Henry/Harry/Hank, Charles/Chuck, Margaret/Peggy/Daisy, Sarah/Sally, Mary/Molly, Anne/Nan, etc

I am actually over a week into researching a huge follow-up post (probably more than one if I’m being honest) about the history of nickname usage, so I will be going into this in much, much more detail at a hopefully not-so-later date - if I have not lost my mind. (Two days ago I spent three hours chasing down a source lead that turned out to be a typographical error from 1727 that was then quoted in source after source for the next 150 years.)

As a preview though, here’s some info about the names you mentioned:

The origins of a good portion of common English nicknames come down to the simple fact that people really, really like rhyming things. Will 🠞Bill, Rob🠞Bob, Rick🠞Dick, Meg🠞Peg.

It may seem like a weird reason, but how many of you have known an Anna/Hannah-Banana? I exclusively refer to my Mom’s cat as Toes even though her name is Moe (Moesie-Toesies 🠞 Toesies 🠞 Toes).

Jack likely evolved from the use of the Middle English diminutive suffix “-chen” - pronounced (and often spelled) “-kyn” or “kin”. The use of -chen as a diminutive suffix still endures in modern German - as in “liebchen” = sweetheart (lieb “love” + -chen).

John (Jan) 🠞 Jankin 🠞 Jackin 🠞 Jack.

Hank was also originally a nickname for John from the same source. I and J were not distinct letters in English until the 17th Century. “Iankin” would have been nearly indistinguishable in pronunciation from “Hankin” due to H-dropping. It’s believed to have switched over to being a nickname for Henry in early Colonial America due to the English being exposed to the Dutch nickname for Henrik - “Henk”.

Harry is thought to be a remnant of how Henry was pronounced up until the early modern era. The name was introduced to England during the Norman conquest as the French Henri (On-REE). The already muted nasal n was dropped in the English pronunciation. With a lack of standardized spelling, the two names were used interchangeably in records throughout the middle ages. So all the early English King Henrys would have written their name Henry and pronounced it Harry.

Sally and Molly likely developed simply because little kids can’t say R’s or L’s. Mary 🠞 Mawy 🠞 Molly. Sary 🠞 Sawy 🠞 Sally.

Daisy became a nickname for Margaret because in French garden daisies are called marguerites.

Nan for Anne is an example of a very cool linguistic process called rebracketing, where two words that are often said/written together transfer letters/morphemes over time. The English use of “an” instead of “a” before words beginning with vowels is a common cause of rebracketing. For example: the Middle English “an eute” became “a newt”, and “a napron” became “an apron”. In the case of nicknames the use of the archaic possessive “mine” is often the culprit. “Mine Anne” over time became “My Nan” as “mine” fell out of use. Ned and Nell have the same origin.

Oddly enough the word “nickname” is itself a result of rebracketing, from the Middle English “an eke (meaning additional) name”.

I realized earlier this week that my cat (Toe’s sister) also has a rebracketing nickname. Her name is Mina, but I call her Nom Nom - formed by me being very annoying and saying her name a bunch of time in a row - miNAMiNAMiNAM.

Chuck is a very modern (20th century) nickname which I’ll have to get back to you on as I started my research in the 16th century and am only up to the 1810s so far lol.

[garden-of-thoughts-fruit-of-lips]

" Out of Line"

It's the person who's "out of line" who is always told to, "Get back in line!"

I'm "out of line," and the students tell me to, "Get back in line!" But I say, "No, " and I saw a smaller line, and they all seemed happy and stood out as different. They were dressed in school uniform. So I started making my way over there. And the teacher of the line I left came and asked me to, "Get back in line" and when I replied, "No", immediately that teacher took it to the principal and now the principal and teachers from my original class started threatening me in front of the students. Who were trying to scare me to get back in place. When I started to break down and cry, my original classmates and other students of that class said, "If you would have stayed in line, this wouldn't have happened to you!" Even with that being done, I kept making my way to the other line. Now, the teachers became furious, and bullies from that school approach me, telling me to turn around. Once again, I refused, so the principal gave a "signal" to the bullies, and they said, "Fine, you could go." As I turned and walked a couple steps further, they added by yelling, "This school dressed you! So we're taking your clothes from off your back!" They started ripping the clothes off of me in front of my classmates and other students. "Hahahaha," they would all laugh as I became naked. Once, I was stripped, and the students of that class noticed the scars and bruises on my naked body. The bullies moved aside so all could see, and I saw pointing, I heard whispering and laughing, and from the laughing crowd, words came out, "How long you had that there!" followed by more laughter. I even heard the ones that had pitty for me say, "If he would have only stayed." At that exact time, I got up from off the ground and turned my back against them

[irhabiya]

anyone remember when a zionist on twitter recounted an incident that they claimed had happened on october 7th but turned out they were lying through their teeth, and even worse, the reported incident was actually from the sabra and shatila massacre? anyone keeping count of how many times zionist pigs rehash the vile, cruel things they've done to palestinians only substituting themselves in as the victims of the story? isn't it remarkable that any evidence of examples of the incomprehensible evil and violence that they swear by to justify everything they've done since october always turns out to be distinctly absent from reports of october 7th, and always present in reports of daily palestinian life for decades now?

[tsuchinokoroyale]

The reviews are in!!!

“Hedonistic beefcake. Fattest ass with the most eager tight hole. Will make you cum 10/10” - a white guy

[opencommunion]

Amin Khazem speaks about the conditions of the prisons following his release, 7 April 24, via RNN Prisoners

Audio in Arabic; subtitles in English transcribed: "I've been imprisoned by the occupation for the last 11 months. Things changed dramatically after October 7th. I don't want to say they changed 90 degrees, but 3,800 degrees! The minimum I can describe of life inside occupation prisons is that it is living hell. Unfortunately, a lot of our youth are experiencing torture and pain, that some of them wish martyrdom so that their torture and suffering can end in the occupation prisons. The occupation limits their clothing and bed covers during bitter cold weather. For each hour of sleep, we're awake for two hours due to the coldness. For six months, the occupation has kept us hungry. How do they keep us hungry for this long? The amount of food they would give us would not satisfy a 7 year old. A lot of our martyrs in prisons were martyred due to excruciating beatings. Many of them would end up with internal bleeding and would not receive medical treatment. Instead they would be left to bleed in their prison cell until they're martyred."

[dunmesh]

i was genuinely killed by the fact kabru's real name being "unknown" is due to him not being able to remember how his mother used to call him. and now i can't stop thinking about this child trying so hard to remember his loved ones only to have the most grotesque images come to mind. as we read the manga the only glimpses of his life in utaya we get to see are those tragic moments when he lost everything, and i find it interesting that the first time us readers get to know of his past at all is through him being triggered by food.

but then we get to chapters 61-62 and for the first time during the story, he mentions the memory of something other than the horrors- and in direct parallel to earlier in the manga, it's a dish his mother used to cook. the guy who is shown to have a hard time taking care of himself in his pursuit of his goals is forced to focus on someone else's wellbeing which also results in him making more effort for his own sake as well, and so in an attempt to care for and comfort someone else he ends up trying to recreate one of the few fond memories he has left. and it's so simple; the memory of a child and mother sharing a meal together. it's so incredibly sad but also comforting, hopeful in a way- her voice, her touch, her face, they're all out of reach now. he may never remember his mother lovingly calling his name. but there is one thing he can surely still feel even all these years later: the taste of the food she worked so hard to make and put on the table. and it's not just him. through senshi and marcille as well as other characters, we see it time and time again. how among many other things, food is also a way to preserve your home. to preserve your love.

[hemolacrya]

unfortunately if there was a marauders modern au set in university james and sirius would absolutely be engineering majors. it’s perfect for them actually. the course material is hard but they’ve both got a wicked combination of smarts and dedication. it’s the perfect major for them to flex their creativity by building something real. they’re the two guys in the back of the class who never look like they’re paying attention to the lecture but they ace the labs with flying colours. they’re each other’s first picks for lab partners or group projects and are always trying to one up the other. they push each other to see who can get the higher exam score, or make the more complicated project but they hang on to each other to suffer through those multi day study sessions. sirius is running off of a robust caffeine addiction and james is running off of pure adrenaline but the two of them always manage to make the coolest projects in their department. (better yet one of them is electrical and the other is computer engineering—never one without the other or something like that)

[the-life-of-a-herm]

Remenber folks, human trafficking isn't always sex slavery. Labor trafficking is a huge majority of it too.

It isn't always 'kidnapped off the street and forced to be a hooker'. Sometimes it's lured into a job then being forced to stay, because you genuinely have no other viable means of living. Sometimes it's done by people you know.

There's a lot of different ways to be trafficked, and it is a disservice to people in these situations and those who want to be safe from them to spread misinformation and misconceptions on what trafficking can look like. Knowledge is power. If you want to help traffivking victims, start with first educating yourself.

[allfor-thegames]

andrew becomes increasingly tense during aaron's trial. neil expected it to be the anticipation of andrew's testimony and cross examination. that day comes and it's horrific, but it ends. andrew remains tense. he exerts more than neil and kevin at night practices, he doesn't sleep, he joins neil on runs.

sentencing comes and andrew is so wound up that neil thinks he could tip andrew over and he'd fracture into thousands of pieces. they stand as the judge enters. andrew grabs neil's wrist hard enough to break the bone. he stops breathing. his eyes are closed.

it's self-defense. aaron is acquitted of all charges.

that night, andrew invites neil upstairs to share the bed, and to neil's surprise, he leans into neil's space and rests his head on neil's shoulder. he is relaxed.

"trial had you nervous?" neil whispers.

"it was enough," is all andrew says back as if every burden he's carried since the start of the trial has been lifted off his shoulders.

[plaidos]

hey! you should read Scraps for Laika!

my original webserial, Scraps for Laika, recently hit 300 kudos on AO3 (which i think is quite impressive for original fiction) and i feel like that's a good a time as any to shill my work, so here's a selection of some of my favourite reviews from the comments:

and of course the crown jewel:

if you're one of the unlucky few who hasn't had the pleasure of checking out Scraps, it's my completely original non-linear webserial about a werewolf who just wants to go home -- and it is absolutely begging to be read by somebody just like you. so go check it out. updates are on the full moon 🌕🐕

[transfemme-shelterdog]

TA testimony I think

I'm a trans man who passes very well, has had all my documents updated, and who isn't gnc at all. By all means, I'm the kind of guy people assume faces no misogyny/ has all the privileges of a cis guy. But that just absolutely isn't true.

Even if you're a guy like me, if you have to interact with the medical system at all (which. You're trans. How do you avoid the medical system?) you will be outed by your documents/precious medical history / body and you will face transphobia and misogyny. I've been misgendered a lot, sometimes it's "they" sometimes its "she" or "it". I've been called a freak, I've had nurses chat shit about me and tell each other about the "thing" they saw in the halls. I've been denied medication for my face not matching the name on the medication, including my heart medication and pysch meds. Much more dangerously, I've been told I was being hysterical when I was actually very ill. I'm a lifelong heart patient, and I ended up with a massive blood clot in my heart (life threatening) because a procedure I was supposed to have got delayed. I cried when I was told and the doctor who told me cringed and stopped referring to me with he/him and switched to she/her. I was given very specific instructions on what to look out for in case the blood clot moved to my brain and I had a stroke. Then, one day, it happened. I went to the ER immediately, and got admitted. The doctor at first treated me with respect, then he looked at my medication list and precious health conditions and found out I was trans and decided I was hysterical. After several HOURS of fighting with him/ convincing him I'm capable of understanding my own body, they did and MRI and wow, holy shit, I had a stroke. I survived, luckily, and I get to live the rest of my life with neurological problems because a doctor found out I was a trans man and decided I was being dramatic and over emotional. He even asked me if I was on my period. Which I hadn't had in over 2 years at that point. This was in a blue state too. When I lived in a red state they wouldn't do anything at all.

This sort of shit doesn't happen to cis men. This did not happen to me because the doctor mistook me for a trans woman (though I don't at all doubt doctors are similarly biased against trans women). They knew, 100% I was a trans man, and because of that, they assumed I was incompetent and over emotional and probably just on my period. Trans men, even the big burly passing ones, face misogyny.

.

[forklesbian]

I just know there is some poor conspiracy theorist trying to figure out what was going on with the Mechs. They know know there has be some reason why every planets history has some insane immortals. There must be some connection between all the British wooden men popping up in both 'The History of the Galaxies Best Tea' and 'Generals to Monsters.' Surely the man with odd eye makeup who ran around terrorizing cities but stopped to read to children has to be related to a man in the same makeup who shows up constantly on both the side of rebellion and the side of the oppressor. Why was no one else questioning how planets keep getting completely burned down? How come some many prolific psychiatrists all look the exact same? What is up with all the men made completely out of brass spouting accurate prophecy?

But the guy is just getting everything so wrong, they think The Toy Soldier is behind Milone and blame The Bifrost Incident completely on Ivy.

Also they don't know anybodies name, they give them all cryptic names like 'The Ruler,' or 'Winged Death'