We only do it for the scars & stories;

Alexa. Canada. She/her. Bi. RD, NotADoctor (yet). See below for feminism and study motivation and cool stuff and stuff I find funny. And cats. Lots of cats.

[teaboot]

Thinking back to the good early days before my skin grew back when people could shake their heads at me and say "masks are a government conspiracy" and instead of navigating the bullshit like a normal person I could pull mine down and say "I have chemical burns on my face"

[teaboot]

things people expect in a political confrontation:

Facts

Logic

Emotional outbursts

Things they are never prepared for:

Open sores

[headspace-hotel]

This post: "Thinking back to the good early days before my skin grew back"

Me: off to a compelling start

[cursed-and-haunted]

I know this is going to make me sound pretensions but I have to get it off my chest. I feel an unimaginable rage when someone posts a photo and is like “this picture looks like a renaissance painting lol” when the photo clearly has the lighting, colors and composition of a baroque or romantic painting. There are differences in these styles and those differences are important and labeling every “classical” looking painting as renaissance is annoying and upsetting to me. And anytime I come across one of those posts I have to put down my phone and go take a walk because they make me so mad

[cursed-and-haunted]

In case you’re curious here’s what I mean.

Renaissance(distinct lines, stability and the individual man):

Baroque (bold, chaotic, dramatic):

Romantic(romanticize the simple hard working life):

Do you see the difference?

[genderfluid-and-confuzled]

op is a vampire who painted works in all of these times

[cursed-and-haunted]

[deergirlhooves]

baroque gif

[radicarian]

it is past time we jettisoned the useless false dichotomy of introversion vs. extroversion and just accepted that everybody has a minimum amount of social interaction, failing which, they get really weird. and everybody has a maximum amount of social interaction, exceeding which, they get really weird. these levels are different for everyone, for a variety of reasons, and have no moral dimension. and that is all.

[mjalti]

why would you come to this club and just shoot Myers & Briggs like this

[caffeinewitchcraft]

IMO, it’s healthier to conceptualize it this way. So instead of being like “why am I being so weird? I’m an introvert, I like being alone!” you say, “Ah, I must be supergluing googly eyes to my bathroom faucet because I haven’t met my minimum threshold of social interaction and I’m trying to fill that void with these tiny pieces of plastic. Maybe I should invite someone over for dinner. They sure will be surprised by all these eyes watching them while they poop.”

[r0achinyourc0mputer]

i think any conversation regarding banning tiktok that insists tiktok is actually a force for good misses the point

it doesn't matter if tiktok is the next library of alexandria or if it sucks shit, the problem is that the US government shouldn't have the authority to limit americans' access to the internet so dramatically. the problem is other social media corporations lobbying to ban their opponents. the problem is pretending data harvesting is just fine as long as we're the ones doing it, diverting attention away from how companies like facebook have already harvest and sold way more data than tiktok could ever dream of collecting for the chinese government.

[fearsomeandwretched]

Republicans are now crying on Twitter bc second trimester abortions have almost doubled in the last year bc of abortion bans. Ppl in states that have outlawed it have to travel to liberal states that allow it which is creating long waiting lists and pushing the abortions till later in the pregnancy

[fearsomeandwretched]

[aurpiment]

[priceforrottenjudgement]

Ppl dont seem to realise that "only perceivably queer people should have access to queer spaces and support" and "nobody is obligated to out themselves to you and nobody needs to provide proof of their sexuality/identity" CANNOT coexist.

People are very quick to say "nobody should ever be forced out of the closet, there is no one way to be queer" but then throw a fit when someone who isnt visibly gay plays a gay character or when someone who isnt officially out acts in a ~queer way~.

[romantorchdick]

Also, sometimes the person you think is the poster child for cisheterosexuality is in fact incredibly queer because that's the way they feel happiest presenting. And sometimes the person you're dead certain is queer is cishet and just really cool about it. And you will never be able to tell the difference on sight and that is a good thing.

[weaver-z]

Starting to dislike/realize the flaws in Harry Potter feels like waking up from the trance of a fairy king.

The smile slowly fades from your face as you step out of the circle of mushrooms, asking yourself “Did Joanne really win awards for this level of writing?” The glassy look begins to vanish from your eyes as you think, “Why did Cho Chang get constantly berated by the narration for grieving her graphically murdered dead boyfriend?” You remove your flower crown and hold it in shaking hands as you ask yourself “Were we all just fine and dandy when Jay Kay Ar decided that one of the four houses at her wizarding school was founded by a faux white supremacist and was also FULL of eleven-year-olds who were forcibly designated as white supremacists?” The sky grows darker. You remember the Tolkien plagiarism. You remember the house elves. You remember the banker goblins. You begin to run—

[kittykatninja321]

My hypothesis is that in like 10 years gen z is gonna have a big cult boom the way the boomers did in the 70s

[chazymandias]

It’s already happening on tik tok. There’s a fun new thing going round that’s citing common symptoms of depression and anxiety as signs you’re about to have your awakening and that you are actually an alien and the reason you don’t feel right is because you’re home sick for your own galaxy. So that’s fun.

[aleatoryw]

agreed, and i don’t mean this in a “haha gen z is so dumb they’re gonna join a tiktok cult lmao” i mean that conditions are perfect for the formation of cults right now.

high unemployment and a lot of underpaying, pointless jobs = people are looking for things to do with their life, a purpose

skyrocketing cost of living = most young people will not be able to live on their own, meaning some will end up in a group living situation with people interested in recruiting them

it’s a time of great cultural and political upheaval, nothing feels real, people are desperate for meaning and human connection. cults promise that

there is a new wave of acceptance and understanding for ways of life outside the norm, which is great! …except for when cult leaders tell you abusive and controlling practices are just their culture, their religion, their lifestyle, their beliefs, their tradition, and if you disrespect it you are the problem

social media influencers have already shown us how easy it is to build a cult of personality and attract people from anywhere in the world who are interested in the exact brand you are selling

spirtuality is having a boom, as are things like astrology, crystals, tarot, meditation, energy… those things aren’t bad on their own but they are often used as tools of cult spaces

wellness. i think a lot of people are already in wellness cults. you can make people do a lot of things in the name of “wellness” and a big factor of maintaining a cult is keeping members in a state of decreased cognition….. like say, with regular fasting

i think people are just unaware in general of how cults function, especially because the satanic panic was a big stupid false alarm that convinced the youths that dungeons and dragons or doom were gateways to cults, which are scary evil child murdering, satan-worshipping gangs. people don’t know how to spot them in real life.

[apple-dandy]

So if that’s the case everyone remember with me the cardinal rules of not getting cult’d

SOCIAL BUFFER: Learn what healthy social boundaries are and develop relationships which are within those boundaries.

Be wary of those who step on your or others’ boundaries. Be there for your friends, but don’t be their therapists or parents. Go get coffee or juice or snacks & chat casually with a friendly crew on a regular basis.

ESTEEM BUFFER. Recognize that you and every other person on this planet are owed a baseline of respect.

Respect means that what you wear, what/who you take interest in, and who/what you are are things which you decide on based on your own reasoning. If anyone is trying to change your mind, make sure to think critically about their side and decide for yourself whether you want to change. Ask: Why do they want you to change? Is that valid to your situation? Who / what would benefit from this change? Do you want them / it to benefit? Then decide for yourself.

RELAXATION BUFFER. Take time exclusively for yourself.

Take care of your body and mind when it needs to be fed, watered, washed, or nurtured. Have a couple hobbies that are just for you. Have more than one interest. Think about more than just one topic. Cults keep you focused on them to the exclusion of all else, so don’t allow yourself to be blocked in.

BUBBLE POP BUFFER: Learn from multiple sources, even ones you don’t like or respect.

Read multiple sources’ versions of events before you decide what you feel about something. Recognize that not all sources are valid, but understand what those invalid sources are trying to do. Are they misguided or malicious? Who are THEIR sources? What is the agenda? Who benefits? Why would they want to say what they’re saying? Do they have a point? Who pays them? What do they care about? Then make your decision.

BEWARE THE B.I.T.E.: Cults control people via Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotion control. BITE

Look up the BITE model and consider it against groups you wish to join / have joined.

Remember. You are the arbiter of your mind.

You have the blessing and burden of making your own decisions. Other people who will love and care about you throughout your life will want you to think for yourself and will think for themselves.

You are not alone. You are worthwhile. Your thoughts are your own and you have every right to control them yourself.

[nothorses]

Just a quick addition: look for BITE stuff in regular individuals and friend groups, not just groups you’re formally joining. Look for it in roommates. Look for it in anyone you start getting close to. Look for it in groups that people you care about are getting into, and people they’re getting close to.

Sometimes people are just flawed, sometimes they’re well-intentioned but still growing, but that’s the point of red flags: they aren’t a sure sign of trouble, but they’re still worth taking note of & keep an eye on in case patterns emerge.

The reason I say this is worth learning and looking out for in more casual relationships is that these are mostly just abuse tactics carried out in a large-scale, more organized way. And because if someone is interested in recruiting you, they may employ these tactics on an individual, casual-seeming level as well.

(Information on BITE methods)

As someone who’s really interested in cults and cult tactics, I really recommend “The Vow”, too! NXIVM is a cult that essentially set itself up as a self-improvement business tool for white collar folks, and it used “wellness” culture as a major recruitment tool. There was nothing remotely religious or spiritual about it, which is part of why so many people fell into it. “Seduced” is good as well, and shorter.

[shithowdy]

just saw a post complaining about how hard it is to find adhd resources for adults and one of the comments said “tiktok has a lot of adhd tips” as if telling someone with adhd to enter the algorithmic quicksand of perpetual dopamine hits isn’t the most insane thing you could suggest for someone with adhd

[hippity-hoppity-brigade]

btw a 2022 study on TikToks about ADHD [link] found that out of 100 videos, 52 were misleading. 27 were only based on personal experience and weren’t applicable to others. 21 were classified as useful.

if you are going to TikTok for information on ADHD, a video you watch has a 79% chance of being completely useless and/or incorrect.

[amelielb]

Ok, I've seen this sentiment before, but the amount of Kindle Unlimited ads I've been seeing is forcing me to repeat it-

Kindle Unlimited is offering two free months of unlimited ebooks. As a trial. Which will then become a paid subscription.

Your local library is offering unlimited ebooks all the time. Forever. No contracts, no predatory practices, no tracking of how long you spend on each particular page in the hopes that information about your habits can be sold for a profit.

Use your library. They want so badly to give you all of the things for free.

[bitchesgetriches]

The Library Is a Magical Place and You Should Fucking Go There

[the-haiku-bot]

The Library Is

a Magical Place and You

Should Fucking Go There

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

[afloweroutofstone]

Doing some deep reading into Cherokee history for the project that I'm working on and I am continually amazed how fucking funny old Cherokee leaders were

[slowlikehoney1996]

grounding techniques, ok 5 things i can see. ugly man. shitty palm tree. clear evidence of air pollution. conservative bumper stickers. roadkill. why do i feel worse

[kittwalker]

I used to do the 5 things you see, 4 things you hear etc with my daughter when she was spiralling, but it had a low success rate. Just didn't engage her brain, was too easy to just list shit things that made her feel shit.

I had to get creative.

Now we do shit like:

5 things you can see that you could easily steal without being noticed

4 things you think might be sticky if you licked them

3 things that you could fit in your mouth at once

2 inanimate objects that in another dimension, might fall in love

1 thing you can see that isn't made of cheese, but would be better if was

Obviously not those ones every time, I gotta keep mixing things up, else she doesn't have to really focus. Your mileage may vary, but it mostly works for us.

[amelielb]

Ok, I've seen this sentiment before, but the amount of Kindle Unlimited ads I've been seeing is forcing me to repeat it-

Kindle Unlimited is offering two free months of unlimited ebooks. As a trial. Which will then become a paid subscription.

Your local library is offering unlimited ebooks all the time. Forever. No contracts, no predatory practices, no tracking of how long you spend on each particular page in the hopes that information about your habits can be sold for a profit.

Use your library. They want so badly to give you all of the things for free.

[bitchesgetriches]

The Library Is a Magical Place and You Should Fucking Go There

[the-haiku-bot]

The Library Is

a Magical Place and You

Should Fucking Go There

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

[redstonedust]

always blows my mind as a european when people talk about states like “yeah theres nothing in ohio/montana/wyoming/etc” because i look at a map like but. but theyre so big. every state could qualify as its own country what do you mean theres nothing there. and then i ask people from those states and theyre like “yeah theres nothing here” what do you mean theres nothing there!!!

[yokelfelonking]

What’s in the steppes of Russia, or the northern forests of Scandinavia? What’s in the Sahara desert?

[redstonedust]

id like us to sit here and identify some key differences between the sahara desert and ohio for a moment

[yokelfelonking]

as a former Ohio resident I think that the key difference is that the sahara probably has more jobs unrelated to meth

[redstonedust]

untapped meth market in the depths of the sahara desert

[katelyn-danger]

[sffan]

Meanwhile in Canada - about 80% of our landmass is wilderness. I don’t want to say uninhabited because it is possible that there are indigenous peoples there, but to the best of my knowledge, it’s nothing but trees, wildlife, ice, and more trees, and if you’re in New Brunswick, blueberry fields.

Quebec is our largest province and it’s bigger than Texas. The only European country bigger than Quebec is Russia.

[butchfagminotaur]

just saw a post where someone put “detrans dni” and like… hey we should be supporting detransitioned people bc if we don’t terfs will

[butchfagminotaur]

sometimes you’re wrong about your identity and that’s ok like i used to think i was bi but it turns out i was wrong and i know ppl who thought they were trans but it turns out they were wrong and it should be ok and accepted that sometimes people don’t get it right on the first try

[femininechrist]

Making this an all or nothing thing is scary and will make people not wanna explore bc listen, everyone in their life might be ready to jump and say “I knew it! It was all for attention!” Literally don’t do that, oh my god we are a community be kind and compassionate to one another.

[fremulon]

when someone asks my political views

[brightlotusmoon]