Dracula's Straw Hat

Geeky, gothy transmasc. He/him they/them. Dirtbag. Bisexual. Brat. Incorrigible to the point of obnoxious. Mostly harmless.

[voidcreations]

Look at my birthday cake...

[draculasstrawhat]

GOD I LOVE SKINNY DIPPING

[gondorrevealparty]

Polycules should be able to trade people like sports teams do

[gondorrevealparty]

Listen -- you're a good defender and your pussy is fantastic, but that's not what our team needs right now. We're trading you to Greater Boston in exchange for someone who has a car.

[romanceyourdemons]

a little obsessed with the story of how giacomo casanova was sharing a gondola with this random guy who suddenly started having a seizure, and casanova had some medical training so he stabilized the guy until the guy’s physician could be called. and then the physician bled the guy and put mercury ointment on him, which caused everything to get worse to the point that a priest was called to administer the guy’s last rites, but then casanova stepped in and washed off the mercury ointment despite the doctor yelling at him not to. and the guy recovered and turned out to be super rich and powerful and in gratitude bankrolled casanova’s debauchery for years until casanova got himself sentenced to five years in jail for blasphemy. also at one point he got shot through the hand in a duel and doctors wanted to amputate it but he said no it’ll be fine and it Was

[romanceyourdemons]

so what i’m saying is a medical procedural show where the main character is giacomo casanova and he doesn’t want to be solving these medical mysteries but goddamn if he isn’t the only fucker in this room who knows how to not kill the patient. so i guess my date with this prussian chick will just have to wait

[romanceyourdemons]

this pitch would have absolutely killed at the bbc between 1991 and 2005 btw

[footlongdingledong]

dont say this in the rbs dont doxx yourself but whats your timezone

GMT-12:00-9:30

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Remaining time: 3 days 9 hours

[yeyinde]

Collins is gone.

Namaygoosisagagun First Nation/Collins has burned to the ground. The entire community is nothing but ashes after being quickly consumed by wildfires. They did not have any support from emergency services, and no one offered aid. The community saved themselves by escaping into boats because no one came.

Mishkeegogamang and Cat Lake have lost power. Families are ending up in shelters with nothing. Armstrong, Lac La Croix, Whitesand, Gull Bay, Lac des Mille Lacs are currently in the fires path and all members are being evacuated.

All this loss, all this devastation, and it was entirely preventable.

After steadily underfunding wildland firefighting and purposefully excluding Indigenous wildland firefighters and Indigenous wildfire organizations from wildfire operations, firefighter training, decisionmaking, and resource exchanges, in 2025, Doug Ford slashed the forest firefighting budget.

It's hard to ignore his decision to cut funding and leave us out of adequate fire training (even though we've lived with forest fires for thousands of years—far longer than settlers have been in Canada—and made sure fires like the ones we're all seeing today were prevented through kinisitotēn) when, despite making up less than 5% of the population, we account for 42% percent of all wildfire evacuations in Canada.

And when we are successfully evacuated, we face discrimination and racism—like Kashechewan—because it's always been easier to blame us than it is to blame the true culprit: denialism, corportate greed, and colonization.

The people of Collins and every other impacted community deserve better.

Right now, the AFN is currently accepting donations to help Collins First Nation. If you're able to, please consider donating.

ONWA (Ontario Native Women's Association) is another great place to donate to. They have outreach vans going to motels and inns and offering food, water, resources, and cultural support to those impacted by the wildfires.

Other places to consider donating to are Mikinakoos Emergency Fund, Red Cross, True North Aid, Indigenous Climate Action. You can also send donations directly to Whitesand First Nation via e-transfer ([email protected]) and they request that you add your full name in the e-transfer comment section to receive a tax receipt.

*Before sending money, verify that the appeal appears on an official First Nation, Tribal Council or registered charity channel.

If you can't offer financial support, please consider donating items of need. Moontime Connections is currently accepting drop-off donations. If you live in the Thunder Bay area, Namaygoosisagagun Health Office is also taking in donations! They can also bemailed to Superior Inn Hotel & Conference Centre at 555 West Arthur Street, Thunder Bay, ON, P7E 5P8.

items needed are: food, diapers, medical masks, men’s and women’s joggers (all sizes), children’s clothing (newborn to size 14), children’s shoes, summer clothing, men’s clothing, toiletries (lotion, Vaseline, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, conditioner, soap, deodorant, etc.), strollers, adult depends-all sizes, dog & cat food

wīya ispīh iyiniw-kiskīyihtamowin pasikōpayiki kāwi askiy ta-iyihyīmakan

[assaultmystic]

a quirk of sexting while british is switching from arse to ass. i would never fuck someone in the arse. its impolite.

[evilneo]

[earhartsease]

generational thing, the slow inevitable americanisation of anal

[windsweptinred]

For those who've always wanted to delve into the works of Tanith Lee but have found them hard to get hold of, Humble Bundle is currently offering 26 of her novels for £13.59!

[earhartsease]

hi german friends, wie schmeckt Waldmeister? we only just learned that Sweet Woodruff (Waldmeister) is a common plant flavour in germany - in sweets, and in alcohol, and we're really curious

we can't try the sweets because we're off sugar for the moment, is it in anything else? what are alcohol names with it in?

[taavicleric]

I have *heard* (but this about Sweet Woodruff, so the German flavour may be different), that it's sorta like bitter vanilla? It was also used as a bed filling and the scent and flavour are meant to be similar.

[earhartsease]

yes, it was one of the bedstraws of old, also used as a "strewing herb" for the dirt floors of old buildings to keep the place smelling good

we do want to taste it - we really dislike vanilla unless it's the really posh kind, but will reserve judgement until we can find some non-sugary Waldmeister to schmeck

[draculasstrawhat]

So, I have some in my garden. I’ve never had it in food, but I chewed a leaf of it and…

It is sweet, as the name suggests, though not very, and it tastes like a slightly herbal (bitter) hay, heavy with pollen. Like a meadow at the end of a summer day when the earth starts giving back the heat? I didn’t taste vanilla, especially. Basically how it smells, with a slightly astringent edge.

It might taste different when prepared, though.

[killerfuzzel]

I've always liked Waldmeister flavour. Growing up, I think, I saw it most often in drinks or jellies. I have a hard time describing the taste, though bitter vanilla doesn't sound right to me.

Granted, they probably put more sugar in when they make lemonade from it.

It's been a while for me, so I might try some to better attempt a description

[draculasstrawhat]

It’s also worth bearing in mind that apparently commercial Waldmeister flavour is artificial (except a few alcoholic drinks), so there might be some difference to the homemade/natural flavour.

[earhartsease]

hi german friends, wie schmeckt Waldmeister? we only just learned that Sweet Woodruff (Waldmeister) is a common plant flavour in germany - in sweets, and in alcohol, and we're really curious

we can't try the sweets because we're off sugar for the moment, is it in anything else? what are alcohol names with it in?

[taavicleric]

I have *heard* (but this about Sweet Woodruff, so the German flavour may be different), that it's sorta like bitter vanilla? It was also used as a bed filling and the scent and flavour are meant to be similar.

[earhartsease]

yes, it was one of the bedstraws of old, also used as a "strewing herb" for the dirt floors of old buildings to keep the place smelling good

we do want to taste it - we really dislike vanilla unless it's the really posh kind, but will reserve judgement until we can find some non-sugary Waldmeister to schmeck

[draculasstrawhat]

So, I have some in my garden. I’ve never had it in food, but I chewed a leaf of it and…

It is sweet, as the name suggests, though not very, and it tastes like a slightly herbal (bitter) hay, heavy with pollen. Like a meadow at the end of a summer day when the earth starts giving back the heat? I didn’t taste vanilla, especially. Basically how it smells, with a slightly astringent edge.

It might taste different when prepared, though.

[neat-deadandlive-things]

What is "walking distance" to you? (provided that the weather is okay)

Less than 5 minutes.

Less than 15 minutes.

Less than 30 minutes.

Less than 1 hour.

Depends on... add a tag.

other/I'm not canadian and don't measure distance in time.

Voting ended onJul 15

[trickstarbrave]

I have been enjoying seeing people experience food this World Cup

[redflagshipwriter]

The person who wrote this has almost certainly never been to Japan- if they had, they would know that Japanese restaurants also offer table appetizers in many contexts. Some of them? Mexican restaurants. You can get free tortilla chips when you eat Mexican food in Tokyo Osaka Kobe Kyoto and rural HIMEJI for fuck’s sake. Those are just places where I’ve personally had free tortilla chips in Japan.

This is chat gpt trash prompted to “sound Japanese” and it’s based off of racist old movie dialogue. There’s zero correlation here to Japanese grammar and how Japanese translates into English or how a native speaker of Japan uses English. It’s slop. It’s racist ai slop rehashing Western exceptionalism, fantasizing about a Japanese person being in awe of how great the USA is. It’s depressing that people fell for this. I know it feels good to think that other people like us, and sometimes they do, but this only works if you assume Japanese people have extremely limited experience and worldview. It’s mortifying.

If someone other than me would push back against this propaganda, it would be nice.

[mashedirises]

OP deleted the post, but OOP is a prime example of an alt-right grifter using “positive” stereotypes to stir up hatred against immigrants and other marginalized groups.

[cazort]

what's disturbing is that real right-wing US media outlets, including the NY Post, have made stories about this AI-generated fake account as if it were a real Japanese tourist

right-wing media in the US has distorted truth and presented it selectively for decades now

but this is a whole other level of sloppiness

it's sad we have sunk this low

I hope everyone who shares this item gets kickback and this and other fake accounts get exposed

[viralfrog]

[good-4-her]

[good-4-her]

simply dont monday

[stjohnstarling]

The reason most indie novels are written like the author is terrified of doing something wrong is because the overwhelming majority of indie novelists get their start by networking in the violent panopticon of the social media indie publishing community, which favours the people who are able to win at the social policing game.

[3s-are-green]

Okay so this comment got me googling because I hadn't heard of Isabel Fall

And if you also hadn't heard of her go read this because uhh... Holy Shit

[headspace-hotel]

I had heard of the whole messed up situation with this story, but I hadn't ever read the synopsis of the story before, and WOW

This story sounds like it could have been a brilliant exploration of gender and warfare and violence but instead it was attacked by people who didn't know how to confront a story that made them uncomfortable, and the author faced horrible consequences.

It's so important to be able to deal with stories that give you uncomfortable feelings in other ways than just attacking it. Being shown new perspectives sometimes has feelings of discomfort because it's an unfamiliar way of seeing the world.

[mickpin]

You can read it Here

[headspace-hotel]

...

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

For the love of God, please read this story. It is so fucking good in ways that I can't even begin to articulate.

[goingrampant]

Isabel Fall alluded to Nazi concepts in an edgy ambiguous Nazisploitation aesthetic that, if you read it in good faith, you could tell was ultimately in subversion of those concepts. However, the general sentiment of edgy South Parkian ambiguity caused the hypersensitive leftist critics to read her as a Nazi as a baseline assumption. It's the same phenomenon as The Boys viewers reading the (very Jewish) show as Nazi because of the presence of a likable Nazi character. Any attempt to put the brakes on it has everyone scrutinizing you as a Nazi, so the most extreme voices intimidate the rest into staying quiet.

When the detail that the writer was a trans woman (and a specific one people knew) had filtered into common knowledge, the consensus of the vocal detractors was that she had done Nazi actions equivalent to being a Nazi that hurt every trans woman, and it was their responsibility to terrorize her. When she ended up suicidal and swore off writing, that was viewed as a great victory against an enemy of trans women. (Not dissimilar from people harassing Jewish actress Aya Cash for portraying a Nazi on The Boys.)

Also, people like to single out N.K. Jemisin for participating, but she was pretty much doing what people expect of an ally: following the leading voices of the relevant minority, repeating their messages, and using her social capital to boost theirs. The problem was the trans women leading the mob. I find the presence of trans woman author Alexandra Erin more objectionable because she was run off Tumblr for being into vore and bondage and because she liked a post from a black submissive woman showing off a collar, which was framed as her wanting to enslave black people, so you would think she'd be sympathetic to a trans woman author stigmatized for being into edgy humor. Instead, she likened the story to firing randomly in the air and hoping only bad people would be hurt, when it should be clear innocents would likely be hurt, making the whole endeavor harmful. (Like being open about liking controversial fetishes on Tumblr?)

Edgy humor sets off mainstream leftists like Daleks sighting an enemy.

[baelpenrose]

And there is some reason to say NK Jemisin was doing what people expect from an ally, but if this was the result, maybe it’s time we actually think about that a little.

Like, how many times can we see a marginalized creator get torn to bloody shreds by other marginalized people and well intended “Allies” who never actually looked at the evidence themselves and just went off what “the affected group” was saying? The queer experience is subjective as hell, and I can’t imagine any other marginalized experience is different. Maybe we should stop mob harassing people for making something without looking at the thing ourselves.

And it’s fine if you don’t want to look at a thing, but at this point I think we need to bring back the old rule that if you haven’t seen/read something, you ought to just not talk about it at all and admit you don’t know anything about the subject. Because here's the other thing? The people who did this to Ms. Fall? Entirely other progs/lefties/libs. Not a single conservative was involved. It was all lefties attacking our own. You will never see this happen to a more 'conservative' or even 'apolitical' (read: written by a white man from a white man's perspective) indie novel, because those perspectives aren't hounded like a transfem's are. They aren't expected to be perfect the way a transfem's are. By engaging in harassment campaigns like this, you are purely and totally making it harder for marginalized people to publish, because at the end of the day, they are the ones who lose their social support networks to harassment campaigns by the terminally online, while the mediocre white dude can just fucking ignore anything the twitter mob says.

[vaspider]

I think it's important to point out that, if I am reading the interview she gave not long after it all went down correctly, not only did she get harassed until she gave up writing, she fucking went back in the closet.

Because there was little biographical information available about its author, the debate hinged on one question: Who was Isabel Fall? And that question ate her alive. When she emerged from the hospital a few weeks later, the world had moved on, but she was still scarred by what had happened. She decided on something drastic: She would no longer be Isabel Fall. As a trans woman early in transition, Fall had the option of retreating to the relative safety of her legal, masculine identity. That’s what she did, staying out of the limelight and growing ever more frustrated by what had happened to her. She bristles when I ask her in an email if she’s stopped transitioning, but it’s the only phrase I can think of to describe how the situation appears. Isabel Fall was on a path to becoming herself, and then she wasn’t — and all because she published a short story. And then her life fell apart.

...

After she checked out of the hospital, Isabel Fall ceased to be Isabel Fall. “I had a few other stories in the works on similar themes, and I withdrew them; that is the most concrete thing I can say that I stopped doing,” Fall says. “More abstractly, more emotionally, I have stopped trying to believe I am a woman or to work towards womanness. If other people want to put markings on my gender-sphere and decide what I am, fine, let them. It’s not worth fighting.”

That makes me so fucking angry every time I think about it that I want to spit or cry.

I have not been the subject of the level of intense, sudden, overwhelming attention that she has; I have been the target of a lower-volume, sustained campaign, and there is a reason that I call it "the acid fire hose." That shit will strip the fucking flesh from your bones.

So yeah. Of course indie authors flinch.

Honestly, there are plenty of books by indie authors, especially trans authors, that I've wanted to say, "I liked this mostly, but I really didn't care for [aspect]," but I was so concerned that I would cause problems that I fully just... didn't talk about the book at all bc I couldn't honestly just be like YUP I LIKED IT ALL.

[transhuman-priestess]

the thing about "people have talked about it you're just 21" is that it's not really "young people are stupid" it's more "if you come into an academic discussion you should know what people have said on the matter lest you talk out your ass"

[softest-punk]

I would like to say as an editor that when I edit someone's work I am not thinking, "WOW what an idiot this person is, can't construct a sentence to save their life!!"

What I am thinking is, "does this mean what the author intends it to mean, and if not, how can we adjust it so it does?" and also usually, "wow I'm so glad I get to read this, what a privilege it is to help people say exactly what they mean to say."

I think a lot of people get frightened by the prospect of editing and I won't pretend there aren't some editors who come at the task with a suboptimal attitude but a good editor just wants to help. They want the piece to mean exactly what you intended it to mean when they're done. They do not, if they are worth their asking rate, want to scold you for being a bad writer. They do want to make you a better one. It is a helping profession.

[draculasstrawhat]

If my editor doesn’t think, “Jesus fucking Christ, Strawhat,” at least once in the editing process then neither of us are doing our jobs properly.

Conversely, however, if they spend the whole time thinking, “Who let this halfwit near a keyboard?” then neither of us are doing our jobs properly.