Icarus (Female Variant)

flying too close to the sun since a couple millennia ago… but as long as I’m learning, these wax wings will keep working just fine. happily partnered 🪽☀️

[pastperfectcontinuous]

bell hooks mentioned going through a time in her life where she was severely depressed and suicidal and how the only way she got through it was through changing her environment: She surrounded her home with buddhas of all colors, Audre Lorde’s A Litany for Survival facing her as she wakes up, and filling the space she saw everyday with reinforcing objects and meaningful books. She asks herself each day, “What are you going to do today to resist domination?” I also really liked it when she said that in order to move from pain to power, it is crucial to engage in “an active rewriting of our lives.”

[ritavonbees]

I have come to think of the suicidal impulse as the brain waving a flag to say three things:

something needs to change here

this is urgent

I don’t know how to do it

death is the ultimate metaphor for drastic change. it’s a general specific. whatever your problems are, it is very likely that dead people don’t have to deal with them. a real solution to your problems may demand a very narrow range of action that’s likely to be out of reach at this moment, but death is sold on every street corner, so it feels like a more realistic fantasy than happiness.

you don’t really want to die per se but it’s also not completely random chemicals swamping your brain for no reason. you want the pain to stop, you want to be somewhere else, you want to be someone else. it’s urgent. you don’t know how to do it. the end is not the end but a means that feels within your reach right now.

this is the wisdom of bell hooks: daily rituals of meaning and resistance and solidarity are part of slowly building a future where you can make the change you really need. and only alive people can do that. every step you take towards change and power is another step away from death.

[icarus-daughter]

Just adding this to my wall of text so I have a higher chance of remembering what other things people might be telling me when they are in crisis:

1. Something needs to change here

2. This is urgent

3. I don’t know how to do it

(Look, even semi-immortals forget this stuff)

[icarus-daughter]

Say it with me, children… Learn from my latest act of folly. Chorizo is not a main course. Chorizo is not a main course. Chorizo is not a main course. Chorizo is not a main course. Chorizo is not a main course. Do not cook Chorizo for half an hour. Chorizo is not a

Reblog to let prev know their presence is wanted

[icarus-daughter]

@maple-the-nerd this is for you!! I do not know if the Reblogging Thing will work without tagging you. I am actually 1,803 years old and I forget how technology works (this will make sense after I change my username)

[notbecauseofvictories]

One of the ignominious bits of media that has unfortunately stuck with me is How I Met Your Mother. Specifically, the episode which makes numerous jokes about "revertigo"---a combination of "revert" and "vertigo", the idea you might be a mature and capable adult in your day-to-day life, but go home for Christmas and suddenly you're 16 again, leaving dishes in the sink and picking fights with your little brother. The idea that specific people or places can (unwittingly) shove you into a headspace you'd otherwise left behind is a valuable one, even if it did get handed to me by a decade-old solidly mid sitcom.

I was thinking about this because I grabbed drinks with a colleague and acquitted myself quite well---asked fun questions, make jokes, talked about books and our educations and mutual colleagues. (Maybe she had a terrible time, but I tried to be my best self so I'm grading for effort...) Only then I went and got dinner with my best friend and college roommate, and suddenly I was not that person. Suddenly I was snarky and a little condescending, I picked fights (cordial fights! but still disagreements) that I didn't need to fight. And heading home afterwards, I realized the shape I'd slipped into: the pricklier, more unsure and therefore more defensive persona that was my armor in college.

It's been over a decade---yet I somehow twisted myself into that shape like no time had gone by at all. Perfect muscle memory of a person I no longer am.

Revertigo, like I said.

And I don't want to be that person! I don't particularly like that person, and my friend doesn't deserve to deal with her so many years later. I don't think there's a solution to this other than my being more mindful when we get together, deliberately rejecting the old shape, but---well, how disappointing to find it still waiting for me.

[icarus-daughter]

Reblogging because OP gets it. I knew there was a reason I was absolutely loving walking to the grocery store on my own time & schedule & using public transit lately. I am actively revertigo-proofing my mind, the bus ride really is that deep 🚎 🧠

[icarus-daughter]

having the ‘tism *and* the urge to please sorta kinda everyone I meet is like existing as the living embodiment of a Coke and Mentos science project. I was kinda mortified that I crossed a street 3 seconds late yesterday, but, ya know, I think I deserve a virtual trophy from myself for not instantly turning into a simulation of a volcano 🌋 🏆 🫶

[illustrate-her]

Thank you BBC, for airing a new Titanic documentary which has rekindled my hyper fixation and lead to me spouting random Titanic facts at my husband at dinner until he had to turn to me and say “You know, this isn’t making me feel super relaxed right now.”

Fine. Miss out on all my morbidly fascinating facts and stories. Your loss.

[icarus-daughter]

This is me, but I’m morbidly fascinated by my own nightmares. Apparently, Christmas Tree slander causes vehicular homicide in the dream world? And millionaires fight each other with guns and truckloads of bees? How bizarre!

[icarus-daughter]

I was inspired by how @inbabylontheywept turns bad days into stories filled with laughter and whimsy (the first post I saw of his was the herring/ 8 am Smeagol one). With that, friends, I warn you of this: no amount of saved time or money is worth the stench of this many damp, half-washed socks. Please, please do not try and become the Icarus of Laundry at home.

[inbabylontheywept]

i am banned from eating my herring inside. they make me eat it on the smoking area by the loading dock, under the theory that it already smells bad there. but it was raining today which was preventing my breakfast, so i was feeling sad and hungry and then i realized that there was a large cardboard box in the dumpster from a previous delivery. like a fridge sized box. so i fished it out of the dumpster, then tipped it on its side and had a nice little cardboard cave to watch the rain and eat my fish in. which was a great experience. very soothing. very zen. at least until the security guard from the day before stepped outside to smoke. then i tried hiding from him by crawling deeper in the box, which unfortunately did not work. instead he saw a sort of damp sniveling pale hairless creature eating fish in a box, and delivered the verbal killshot of "good morning, mr. smeagol." which is how my day was ruined before 8 am.

[icarus-daughter]

reblogging so I can ask my people if they could see something like this happening to me (I am not hairless but I do like canned fish, and I also have occasional stray cat vibes)

[havingapoemwithyou]

love for other things by Tom Hennen

[mollyjames]

I think it's important to remember, as a rule of thumb, if you take advantage of a social service, it actually makes it easier for other people who need that service to access it. Most of the time, when these services get cut, it's because politicians will look at usage and say "see, no one is really using this thing, we can afford to trim the budget for food stamps by at least half". Whereas if you decide to step up and use these programs, even if you feel like you "don't really need it", at bare minimum it's another data point advocates can use to say "hey, look, people are using this thing, this is an important service we are providing, do not cut our funding".

[serenityvalleyradio]

I work at a nonprofit, and it is absolutely wild explaining to folks that being part of a program that reduces their energy bill actually helps us get funding to help even more people get energy bill savings.

You aren’t taking resources from anyone by using programs you qualify for. You are making a case for those programs being important enough to continue to exist and (in many cases) grow.

[headspace-hotel]

We live in a world so controlled by the idea of resource scarcity that we reason "If I get help, that must be taking help away from someone else!"

[icarus-daughter]

Yeah, the amount of times that we forget that we can help others by seeking help for ourselves is really something… and it all comes back to that controlled resource scarcity. Social services (trauma-informed and disability-informed vocational counseling) are kinda saving my mental health from getting lost in the void rn, but I put getting help off for so long because I thought I’d be “stealing” time and attention from people on the brink of homelessness. I also thought I wouldn’t qualify for services - chances are, dear person reading this, that you legally qualify for more help than you think 🩷

[deceasedcardinal]

[blupeeblep]

Like to charge, reblog to cast

[icarus-daughter]

please? please can this get cast? i will type lots of words to add lots of spell power because i want clean water to be like… a constant thing in my life, rather than a childhood memory. grown adults have told me that using generative AI is a “skill”…

adults who make art! adults who care about conservation! adults who care about their children! adults who taught me to care about all creatures, from the earthworms in the dirt to that mouse that got into our kitchen once.

does generative AI belong to a level of systemic horror that is beyond their comprehension?

[homunculus-argument]

me: Heehoo birthday tomorrow! I'm turning 32! my shitass brain: Congratulations! How about a night of shitty sleep and also I throw in a dream where you're staying in some shitty hostel and a group of teenage boys decide to bully/sexually harrass you because they mistook you for someone their own age. me: Can we not my shitass brain: One of them took a picture of your leg and is now showing you an edit of what it would look like with the skin peeled off, heavily implying with plausible deniability that given the opportunity he'd skin you alive as a sex thing. His buddies think he's fucking hilarious for this. me: What the fuck are you even trying to tell me with this. Like what the fuck can any of this stand for. my shitass brain: Tell you? Nah man this is just one of those "anyway I'm Rod Sterling and wouldn't that be fucked up" sort of dreams.

[icarus-daughter]

me when i have to dream about the skin clinic, where the Dream Police take your skin away from you (in a disrespectful manner)

[welcomedhappiness]

Farewell online privacy

[tikalgirl]

What happened?

[welcomedhappiness]

Trump happened.

[pizzaalle]

just get a VPN?

[earth-ruins]

You can’t just tell people to ‘get a VPN (Virtual Private Network)’. Buying a VPN is like buying a house. It’s very very important. Having no VPN or having a ‘wrong’ one can seriously damage your life. Especially for Americans because their privacy laws are garbage. I am going to try explain why you should get a VPN but bare with me, I am from Germany and my English is far from perfect. 

Let’s start with a simple test. Click this link here: https://whatismyipaddress.com/ It will tell your IP adres, your ISP (internet service provider), and your location. The location might not be very accurate, but then again, it’s just a simple website. Imagine what the government can do!

So basically, everyone can find out where you live. But there is more danger. Your ISP. Your ISP logs your every move online and they are required to keep it in case the government wants access to it (or if a 3rd party wants to buy your data (yikes). They have everything. What websites you visit. How long you stay on a website. What you download. Your search terms. European laws are more subtle on this but if you are from the US you are #@*#&, especially because Trump doesn’t support the open internet. It’s scary but maybe in the future you can’t get a job because the recruiter knows your searched on ‘how to deal with depression’ or anythings else that’s supposed to be private because it’s your f*cking right. Or you get a $100k fine because you pirated a movie 15 years ago. You need a VPN. You’re dumb for not using one. but what does a VPN do?

A VPN encrypts all your data so if it were be intercepted no one can ‘crack the code’ and damage your privacy. 

Usually being online goes like this (simplified): Your computer —-> ISP (—–> keeps data —–> sells it)

But with a VPN it goes like: Your computer —–> VPN (encrypts data)—–> ISP (ISP can’t see shit)

Furthermore, a VPN hides your IP address and location by giving you another IP address located in Spain for example (you can often choose from a list and change as many times as you want).  

Now that you know why you should get a VPN and what is does it is important to educate yourself because people often choose the wrong VPN. VPN providers are also businesses and have to obey the law. If you choose a VPN provider located in the US then you are throwing your money away because the laws in the US shits on your privacy. If the US gov wants the provider to give all their logs they have to obey.  The ISP  still can’t see what you are doing online and sell your data but the US gov can interfere with your VPN provider so NEVER CHOOSE A PROVIDER LOCATED IN THE US. 

I just wanted to make that very clear so my followers don’t buy false security.

There is still more danger!  Who says your VPN provider isn’t selling your data? You need to check their logging policy. Do they keep logs? If yes, what for? For how long do they keep them? Tip: Choose a provider who doesn’t keep logs

More about law  The US is part of the Five Eyes program (the worst):  

The Five Eyes, often abbreviated as FVEY, is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries are bound by the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence (source)

There is also a Nine Eyes (bit better) and Fourteen Eyes Program (better).  You don’t want a VPN provider who is located in one the Five Eyes countries.  If you had to choose go for a provider located in a country that’s part of the Fourteen Eyes Program or even better, go for a country that isn’t part of any program! 

I know this is a shitty explanation and please pardon my english but now it’s time to do your own research. Take your privacy seriously. Maybe WWIII breaks out and you get killed for liking the ‘wrong’ FB-page.  

Go to this website: https://thatoneprivacysite.net/simple-vpn-comparison-chart/

Make sure that your future VPN provider both has green boxes for Privacy Jurisdiction and Privacy Logging. 

I recommend ovpn.se and trust.zone. ovpn is located in Sweden so they are part of the 14 Eyes Program and they keep minimal logs. Their business ethics, however, are alright. 

Trustzone is located in the Seychelles. No country can interfere and their privacy jurisdiction is the best you can get. The US want your data but needs to get it from Trustzone? The Seychelles will simply give them the finger and wave them goodbye. However, this makes this provider very appealing for people who torrent and criminals because they keep no logs (and that is how it shoud be) Also,  there are almost no marketing efforts so this provider is one the cheapest)

Also, often providers such as ExpressVPN are being called ‘The Best’ on websites about VPNs but know that this is just marketing which also makes those provider more expensive (and they too shit on your privacy)

This must be the worst article you have ever read but please, please take your privacy very seriously.

EDIT: I got many people asking me which provider I use. For those who want to know, I use Trust Zone. They offer a free 3-day trial with no strings attached. But still do your own research! 

[writing-prompt-s]

I am also with Trustzone but I think you forgot to explain one of it’s most important features. It protects you when you are using someone else’s Wi-Fi. If you are at Starbucks and you use their Wi-Fi your privacy is at risk. Anyone with ill intentions could steal your information. Especially if you are using an unsecured Wi-Fi hotspot. With a VPN your data gets encrypted so no one can steal it. 

[rabbittiddy]

Wait, what’s going, on? Did trump destroy internet privacy with a bill or something? Where’s the news? Oh wait, why am I getting visions of Alex Jones and selling water purifiers?

[thecrystalfems]

He hasn’t yet but he says he wants to. And if he is serious about it it would be really easy to do. Since all our data is already recorded, as the person above explained.

[coltrer]

Trump wants more surveillance of Muslim Americans. This in a country where internet privacy is already close to non-existent. 

Trust.Zone has a free trial. Use it. 

btw this post only has 11k notes? That’s quite disappointing for something this important. 

Don’t reblog this post to save a life. Reblog this to protect an entire family!

[imthedoctor12]

@earth-ruins @writing-prompt-s Should I get trustzone for my mobile device?

[writing-prompt-s]

If you use public Wi-Fi, then yes. Which VPN you use is up to you, amigo. Take @earth-ruins advice. Do your own research first. 

[writing-prompt-s]

@elvesfromthedeep​ just brought the current situation in the US to my attention (March 30, 2017). 

Sources

Anger as US internet privacy law scrapped 

Congress just voted to let internet providers sell your browsing history 

To all my friends in the US, please read this entire post. Making everyone aware of VPNs is going to be my mission. Your privacy matters. Please reblog this post.

[greeneyespurpleheart]

Don’t tell me you just wanted to scroll past this. Stop looking at pictures of cats for a moment, okay? Don’t you realize how important this is? This is dangerous! ‘America, the best FREE country in the world’ my ass.

With this new law your ISP can sell your Internet history which could include passwords, usernames, religion, credit card numbers, race and much more to the highest bidder. So here is what I want you to do. You are going to read the whole thing and before you think ’this is so important. Let me reblog this real quick and go back to admiring cats again-’ NO! Don’t reblog this. Take action first. Then reblog. Sign up for a free trial! Trust.Zone offers one (here). Yes. It might be difficult to set up a VPN for some people. But is that going to stop you from protecting yourself and your family? 30 minutes. 30 minutes is all that it takes. 5 if you know how to install software. The problem with some of you is that you see ‘difficult’ as something negative. I want you to see difficult differently. I need you to push through this stuff. You are going to protect yourself. There is nothing negative about that. VPNs are fun and costsaving too! A VPN bypasses geographical restrictions so you can access websites you normally can’t or you could start Netflix’s one month free trial over and over again- forever. And it’s legal! (unless you use it to buy weapons etc.,) Don’t tell yourself that you are too tired and that you will do this tomorrow. Because that isn’t going to happen and you know it. You have to do this right now. You only have to click on it. Don’t let this/shit/life just happen to you. Take yourself seriously. Get a VPN.

Privacy is not a privilege, it’s a fundamental human right

[warmhappycat]

Hey is thatoneprivacysite still good? The link works and it does take me to an article about vpns, but it just looks like an ad for expressvpn with extra steps.

[skeleskeeller]

No they switched to https://thatoneprivacysite.xyz/#simple-vpn-comparison a couple years ago

Welcome to the VPN Comparison!  This section is meant to be a resource to those who value their privacy, specifical...

[skeleskeeller]

I had Trust.Zone when this post first started making the rounds on Tumblr and I forgot about it after Biden took office. I recently sent them an email asking why my subscription wasn’t automatically renewed and why their website hasn’t changed since 2017(?). Their answer:

Shady people, good people, this company only cares about privacy and doesn’t care who it serves. But now with Trump and Musk this is the only VPN I’ll use.

[firerockt]

I understand some people might not want to use this VPN on moral grounds, but it’s genuinely one of the very few VPNs set up in a way that no authority can touch you. ExpressVPN and other ‘popular’ options operate in jurisdictions favorable for profits but their privacy is just a band-aid our government can easily rip off if it demands information. I’m a trans man, I’m afraid of our government, and at this point, I simply don’t care anymore.

[moonxchaos]

For a second I was like noooooo, not this long post again! Haven’t seen it in years and I always thought it was a bit extreme and exaggerated. Now that we are in 2025, I am like, nahh, these people knew what they were talking about all along. First time I am reblogging this.

[moonxchaos]

Also I don’t think anyone has said this yet but the free trial only requires an email address. No credit card details or anything. Refreshing.

[foxbridgeni]

Could someone please put the link to the free trial here? I don’t want to scroll back up 10 miles. Thank you.

[skeleskeeller]

here you go @foxbridgeni

Trust.Zone Free Trial

[moonfireroulette]

The argument against VPNs has always been, “but I have nothing to hide.” Now that an unpredictable lunatic is in charge, purging based on whatever whim strikes him, that sentiment is quickly fading. VPNs aren’t just about hiding personal secrets; they’re about protecting freedom, autonomy, and your basic right to live without unjust scrutiny or arbitrary persecution.

[bearcubsandicecreammachines]

Reblogging again bc this is important

[icarus-daughter]

Reblogging bc i like food and I don’t want the government to steal my food money