The Caffeinated Counselor

He/him / likes include Star Wars, Studio Ghibli, & French lit / Catholic / therapist, generally friendly+down to talk/ Profile pic is my cat Sophie! she a v good potato.

[darnitjack]

Hey- it's June 1.

Going to pre-emptively say that if I see anyone claiming queer folks are uniquely evil, demonic or somehow irredeemable bc they experience attraction a certain way then you will be blocked.

God damns people for how they choose to act, not what sins they are inclined towards.

When people are in sin we have been told to judge their actions, not the state of their souls, remembering that we are also sinners bound for hell without God's help.

Assuming that we agree on Church teaching here, it is important to remember Thomas Aquinas recommendation on fraternal correction (2nd part of the 2nd part of the Summa Theologica, question 33):

On the contrary, It is written (Proverbs 9:8): "Rebuke not a scorner lest he hate thee," where a gloss remarks: "You must not fear lest the scorner insult you when you rebuke him: rather should you bear in mind that by making him hate you, you may make him worse." Therefore one ought to forego fraternal correction, when we fear lest we may make a man worse.

Additional rent lowering gunshots will be fired if needed.

[digitalkiddo]

If you're writing anything involving cons, scams, heists, or morally questionable characters who are very good at lying, here are some free resources I've been using for research. Saving you the "why is this in my search history" anxiety.

1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.

2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.

3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.

4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.

5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.

Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.

Reblog to save for later. Your WIP will thank you.

[batsandboba]

learning that 5 minute crafts is a russian mafia operation wasn't on my 2026 bingo card but also doesn't really surprise me

[nuclearspaceheater]

My job on the solarpunk commune will be making artisanal polyethylene.

[haventacluewhatimdoing]

Love that this alien arm is clearly just green bubblewrap. 70s prosthetics I love you

[circular-time]

Classic SF once again betrayed by a clear, static-free signal and a flat digital screen

This is how I remember classic Who and Star Trek, folks, with signal ghosts and scanning lines (but usually with more static/snow)

[sepdet]

Sharing this on my main because it appears from the notes that it's useful for some modern viewers.

You KNOW classic SF used the limited displays of CRT television and the static of transmitted signals the way theaters use stage makeup and lighting to make inexpensive props look great fine— take advantage of the medium! But it's hard to imagine how it looked if you've only seen Blu-ray HD restorations.

I swear to you, despite classic Who using bubble wrap for years as one of its go-to materials that reflected light in interesting ways, we never realized that's what it was.

[sailorbrazil]

thursday..... and i bet you wish you were her

[flowerbleedme]

My incredibly bleak philosophy of compassion is that we should all pity each other horribly and practice an according amount of kindness.

[flowerbleedme]

I asked for a pastry at the coffee shop. When I raised my card up to pay, he simply said "you're good." and waved it away. I wondered why. I wondered what made him think I deserved to have my order be free. Sparing me those two dollars.

Sitting down at the table, I remembered the scars on my arm. The universal signifier of "This Kid Needs Help." Maybe his kindness was only out of pity. He saw those and assumed there was some great misery and wanted to offer me some relief. It's generally good to be kind to people who are hurting. But I wasn't hurting that bad.

The thing is, there is some great misery. People generally aren't doing that great. There is a great misery within me and within him and within everyone, and some people notice the pain, some people express it, others don't. But we all suffer from something.

It doesn't matter if someone seems to deserve some relief. Everyone needs it. Everyone is suffering constantly. Some more than others, but still. This Kid Needs Help applies to everyone.

Thirty minutes later, I went to get a second pastry, intending to pay and leave a tip this time. It was the same cashier. As he reached to grab it for me, I saw scars on his arm.

But it doesn't really matter. He'd deserve a tip anyway. Because it's never just us hurting.

[jpiilotrwho]

[austerity-audacity-asceticism]

we love truth and beauty, but when was the last time you hyped up goodness? when was the last time you rejoiced over something good? when was the last time you were the good thing that happened to another person? what if you were the good thing that happened to another person? what then?

[nemfrog]

M. ABC book. 1923. Illustrated by C.B. Falls.

Internet Archive

[sisterdragonwithfeathers]

Saw a billboard on my way home from work that said “THOU SHALT NOT STEAI” with a website underneath it that I didn’t catch

Nature is healing

[yesterdaysprint]

Hartford Courant, Connecticut, March 9, 1906

[ave-immaculata]

baby girl slept through the night for the first night post (mid?) 4 month regression!!

[ave-immaculata]

everyone!!! let's hear it for night 2!!!

[darnitjack]

Yay! Congrats for your girl!

We're still in the middle of it, so prayers would be appreciated

[pharahsgf]

[rigantonas-deactivated20240327]

[theriu]

"Demoncrat" and "Magat" are the exact same level of immature middle-school name-calling. This is the kind of tactic people pull out to dehumanize and stereotype an entire group so you can justify ignoring everything they say instead of actually talking out why you disagree on an issue. Can we please discuss the highly complex spectrum of politics like adults or not at all. Please. I'm so tired.

[chaotic-theatrical-weaver]

@o-lei-o-lai-o-lord Thank you for your service:

[darnitjack]

Hey- it's June 1.

Going to pre-emptively say that if I see anyone claiming queer folks are uniquely evil, demonic or somehow irredeemable bc they experience attraction a certain way then you will be blocked.

God damns people for how they choose to act, not what sins they are inclined towards.

When people are in sin we have been told to judge their actions, not the state of their souls, remembering that we are also sinners bound for hell without God's help.

Assuming that we agree on Church teaching here, it is important to remember Thomas Aquinas recommendation on fraternal correction (2nd part of the 2nd part of the Summa Theologica, question 33):

On the contrary, It is written (Proverbs 9:8): "Rebuke not a scorner lest he hate thee," where a gloss remarks: "You must not fear lest the scorner insult you when you rebuke him: rather should you bear in mind that by making him hate you, you may make him worse." Therefore one ought to forego fraternal correction, when we fear lest we may make a man worse.

Additional rent lowering gunshots will be fired if needed.

[darnitjack]

Re-pinning this

[eternal-echoes]

"The individualism of our postmodern and globalized era favours a lifestyle which weakens the development and stability of personal relationships and distorts family bonds. Pastoral activity needs to bring out more clearly the fact that our relationship with the Father demands and encourages a communion which heals, promotes and reinforces interpersonal bonds. In our world, especially in some countries, different forms of war and conflict are re-emerging, yet we Christians remain steadfast in our intention to respect others, to heal wounds, to build bridges, to strengthen relationships and to “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal 6:2)."

-Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium

[magdaleneanthony]