We are the Starfalls

Welcome to our little corner! We are a trauma/para/neurogenic plural/DID system trying to live in this world. Body is adult, 23 and middle-eastern. We support all good-faith identities. Yes, that includes plurals of all origins! https://starfallsystemmm.carrd.co/#

[valtsv]

demonic possession is a decent trope but you know what's even better? demonic cohabitation. just 2 people sharing the same body and both being the world's worst roommate about it.

[valtsv]

the demon sharing a body with me: *looking at my depression meal in horror* we... are NOT eating that

me: oh so you can eat the souls of the innocent but you're too good for leftover spaghetti huh

[valtsv]

*fights the demon living in my body over whose turn it is to answer the phone*

[dailycatsblog]

[the-composite-doll]

Wait is that THIS cat?

IT IS

[allsadnshit]

Woke up from a weird nap and saw this reel and it's making me feel like I need to get up and walk for like an hour

[status-quo-hater]

"Why can't I transition to be intersex?"

This is a sentiment I see a lot in the trans community, and I believe it is because of the fundamental misunderstanding of how the term intersex is seen. Most people, even those in the queer community, see intersex as a rare third sex where you are born with both genitalia. This is inaccurate, and perpetuates a harmful stereotype!

If you want to transition to be 'a rare third sex with both genitalia', by all means, go ahead! But do not call this transitioning to intersex, do not say you want an intersex body, do not involve intersex people in it!

There are plenty of words for this, bigenital, transneutral, altersex, salmacian, etc! These words actually portray YOUR EXPERIENCE transitioning to this state, unlike co-opting the term intersex.

Intersex is defined as being born with and/or naturally developing anatomy, sex characteristics, hormones, or chromosomes that do not fit the typical definitions of male or female - in short, there are a LOT of ways one can be intersex, not all of these ways are obvious. We are not a third sex but rather an in-between state that cannot be neatly categorized into either of the two modes (male or female) of the bimodal sex distribution.

The operative word here in defining intersex is that you are born with these traits, or they naturally develop later in life, such as during natal puberty, with no medical interventions to cause them. This is what intersex refers to. You cannot transition (medically alter the body), to be intersex (a non-medically-achieved state). It doesn't work like that.

On the flip side of this, an intersex person cannot transition to be perisex, as perisex is a non-medically achieved state referring to the state of your body in the absence of medical intervention. This means that nothing the medical industry can do to us will ever make us perisex, no matter how badly they want to. If you can transition to be intersex, does that mean those of us who have experienced medical violence to "fix" our bodies have been successfully made perisex? Because that is what you are insisting when you insist you can transition into being intersex or perisex via medical intervention.

Intersex people are a violently erased group with very few people who are open and advocating for our visibility and right to bodily autonomy, compared to the trans community. By using this label when you do not have this lived experience with an intersex body, you are playing a part in our further erasure.

[thefairytaler]

So I don't know if I've pulled this post together entirely as I would like to, it's not perfect, but I don't want to linger on it all day so just getting it down was more important to me.

Something I think about often, as an Indigenous person, is the contrast between how people online, especially settlers, or folks with distant Indigenous ancestry but no real connection to their nation, talk about things like the Wendigo, versus how our actual cultures relate to sacred stories, taboos, and the act of carrying those teachings forward.

There’s a modern trend where people treat words like “Wendigo” as inherently cursed or dangerous, almost in a superstitious, horror movie way. You’ll see posts that say “don’t say the word,” “don’t include it in media,” “white people shouldn’t touch this,” "Make sure you censor it," and so on. And while I get that it’s often coming from a place of wanting to protect something, it’s also deeply disconnected from any living cultural framework.

It becomes performance. The loudest voices are usually not people grounded in community teachings, but people trying to wield indigenous people as a kind of online moral weapon.

In many Indigenous cultures, there are story taboos. There are stories that are only told in winter, or only told to certain people, or in certain contexts.

There are stories that are sacred, and not meant for entertainment or casual consumption.

But those taboos are not about silence for silence’s sake, they’re about context, relationship, reciprocity, and responsibility. And crucially: they are ours. They are not content warnings for the internet to enforce. They are part of a living culture that knows when and how to speak its truths.

One example I always return to is the historical taboo against painting sacred stories and beings, a taboo that was challenged by Norval Morrisseau (Copper Thunderbird), an Indigenous artist whose work was, at least to me, absolutely revolutionary. He painted sacred forms to reclaim story and identity for people who had been cut off by colonialism, residential schools, and systemic erasure.

His work wasn’t sacrilege. It was art. And he was criticized, extremely so, by the Elders, but in the end he changed the way we hold those taboos. He made it possible to talk again, to see again. He is one of my heroes.

So when I see people online say things like “don’t even say Wendigo,” it doesn’t feel like protection, it feels like fear. Not fear rooted in spiritual protocol, but fear rooted in settler guilt and internet moralism.

If you're not part of a nation, or you’re not grounded in those teachings, it's not your job to police sacred boundaries based on someone else’s cosmology. Your job is to listen. To understand why a taboo exists, who it protects, and how it lives. Because not everything sacred is forbidden, and not everything forbidden is yours to defend, and not everything you think is forbidden is actually forbidden, and not everything actually forbidden should stay forbidden.

We preserve culture by carrying it, not by locking it away, not by mimicking silence, but by understanding the weight of what we choose to speak.

And part of why this matters so deeply to me, why I feel so strongly about the difference between performance and lived tradition, is because art is not just a hobby or a pastime for me. It is sacred. It is divine.

Art is not just what I do; it is who I am. It is how I connect with the world, with spirit, with others, with grief and joy alike. I create because it is a form of prayer. Because it is a way to breathe. Because when I write, draw, create, speak, I am reaching through time, not just as myself, but as part of something old, wounded, and despite that, still alive.

I believe deeply in artistic freedom, not just in principle, but in practice. I do not believe art should be censored to appease the comfort of those who do not share in its context. I believe in the right to speak, even when the subject is painful. Especially when the subject is painful. Because if we cannot speak pain, we cannot heal it.

And that’s why, when it comes to the Wendigo, I will not take part in the moral panic around its name or its depiction.

I carry the teachings and fears of my people in my body. I know the stories, not because I read them in a horror anthology or watched them on TV, but because they are part of the world I come from.

And I carry that weight into the choices I make as an artist.

I do not treat it as a cursed word that must never be uttered, never depicted, never grappled with. I treat it as a truth, ugly, dangerous, hungry, starving even, that deserves to be met with eyes open.

The art taboos of my ancestors were real. There was a time when sacred stories were not to be painted, not to be shared in certain ways. And yet that taboo was not the end of the story.

I believe I and others too, have that right, just as Copper Thunderbird did.

Yes, some people, many of them strangers to the culture they claim to protect, may find my stance uncomfortable. But I can live with that. I have to. Because I live with far worse. I live with the ghosts and absences colonialism has left behind. And frankly, the living memory of that spirit what it means, and what it consumes is far more real to me than online discourse.

I am more concerned with preserving the power of art than I am with preserving a silence that was already fraying under the weight of history. I honor my elders, and I honor the stories. But I do not mistake the past for a cage. I will carry what I have inherited into the future, with care, but not with absolutist reverence.

Let me create. Let me speak. Let me offer the truth of what lives in me, even if it is hard to look at. Especially then.

That is what I believe art is for.

And as long as I'm being honest;

I’m not particularly concerned with whether white people use the Wendigo in horror movies.

I understand why some folks feel protective, especially in diaspora or reconnecting contexts, when so much has been taken, the scraps feel like they matter. But I don't think this is the battleground we should die on. The Wendigo is not some uniquely special, sacred figure immune to horror depiction. It’s not a god, not a story reserved only for ceremony. It’s a warning. A lesson. A spirit of consumption and decay and hunger and greed and myriad other things, and those are things everyone relates to I'm sure, so I can see why it happened, also they're fucking scary so yeah no shit it happened.

I’m not saying “anyone SHOULD do anything they want forever.” I think Native people should be involved in these stories. Should be paid, should be credited, should be listened to. I think if you want to write a Wendigo story, you should at the very least try to understand what it meant to the people who believed in it first. Because that's just respect.

But I’m also saying that I have watched my people die from real hunger. From real poverty, overdose, housing loss, despair. I have seen firsthand, just what it means to be devoured by something much larger than yourself.

And that, not some dumb horror movie monster is where my fear and my grief lies.

If a white person misuses a story, I might sigh, I might roll my eyes. But if someone uses a story well, if someone takes the myth and reshapes it with care, with horror, with beauty, and with craft, I’m not going to chase them down screaming about "misuse." Because frankly, we have bigger problems.

And we have bigger, scarier monsters.

I don’t want “representation” that amounts to gatekeeping scraps.

I want sovereignty.

I want land back.

I want our languages and waters and children safe.

I want Native artists to be funded, housed, heard.

We are not fragile. Our stories are not fragile.

Let them be shared.

I’m sure there are fellow Native people, from my nation and from adjacent ones, who disagree with me on all this. That’s okay. We are not a monolith. We were never meant to be. Our cultures are living, breathing, and full of contradictions, just like any other people.

But I also know that my opinion is not unique, and it is certainly not unpopular within our circles. I support my fellow Indigenous people, always. I want safety and sovereignty and self-expression for us all. But on this? On this one? We’ll just have to disagree.

And I can live with that.

[aloeveracious]

The art taboos of my ancestors were real. There was a time when sacred stories were not to be painted, not to be shared in certain ways. And yet that taboo was not the end of the story.

Been thinking about this bit for a while. So much of discourse around folklore and traditions seems to assume that Indigenous cultures are frozen in time at the moment of colonization, and that just isn't true.

[syllvarin]

I want to talk about something that I think about a lot lately.

Earth is getting ruined. Oceans are turning into waste. Climate change is causing heatwaves that hasn't ever been recorded before. I know a lot of people can say countless things about how many things there are that harms this planet.

So I don't understand why some people are against recycled products, reusable grocery bags, paper pipettes and things alike.

Yes I know some of them are harder to use and somewhat annoying. Yes I know it is not always easy to get those.

But if you can use them instead of plastic ones and don't use them simply because "it won't make a difference when billionaires waste the world way more than anyone so it doesn't matter"

It does. It actually does. Earth has a population of approximately 8.2 billion. Millionaires make up %1.5 percent of it while there is around 2700 billionaires in the world. (numbers may change more or less, please correct me if they are wrong)

Rest of the world is us.

Even if you and me using a recycled bag isn't going to do much, its not you and me. It's us. We can change a lot, because we are billions of people against 2700 billionaires (i am aware the insane amount of damage they do despite their small numbers but please listen) It is way bigger than you and me. Us can change something. But it can't be us without you and me. You aren't avoiding plastics because it will suddenly change everything for the better. You are doing it because even though you are but one person, there are billions of us that are but one person on their own too. If everyone had one single plastic straw thrown into the sea right now- it would be appeox 8 billions of plastic straws thrown into the sea. Can you try to imagine that please? When you look at it from this perspective, you can see that our numbers have power. Yes I won't be able to change anything on my own, but we can. Us can. Only if we work together.

And to be honest even if it did not ever make a difference... I just want to be better than that. I want to rest easy knowing I did what I could to protect the world we live in. I want to look into a mirror and be able to tell myself "Whatever happens, happens. You did your best, did all you could. Do not feel ashamed. Be proud."

I also want to say not everyone can use reusable things and they shouldn't be shamed for it. Some people has to use single use things, they don't have an alternative- and that's okay. Some disabled people need disposable plates because they can't do dishes. Research centers need disposable pipettes because some things cannot be conclaved and has to be one-use. Some don't have access to reusable things and has to go for plastic/single use alternatives. Those are some that just comes on top off my mind. And those are okay. They are necessary, whatever their reasons may be.

Anyways i talked too much >-<

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

it does still make me insane specifically how many queer people lovingly embrace astrology. I went to a poetry workshop yesterday that was genuinely quite good but also included an option to disclose astrology designations during introductions and so many people broke out some variation of "I'm a [x] sum but I have a [y] placement and it SHOWS" girl no it doesn't. that's meaningless correlation you completely invented the causation

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

I'd say that rejecting biological determinism in favor of space gas determinism isn't the slay the astrology queers think it is but if I'm being completely honest I fear that many members of our community haven't even really rejected biological determinism so much as sprinkled a layer of glitter on it

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

yes that's how confirmation bias works

[grimoirenby]

or we could just let people (especially a group of people prone to complex relationships with faith) have whatever spiritual beliefs they want and mind our own damn business 🙄

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

okay. genuine question. assuming that by "people prone to complex relationships with faith" we mean "queer people," I'm also part of that group. why is other queer people's uncritical engagement with astrology okay but my criticism is not? for what reason is my mode of engagement with this particular spiritual belief not okay?

[beemovieerotica]

i've shared this story before but a few years back i attended a very large scientific conference (SFN) and went to a panel focused on advocating for LGBTQ+ people in the sciences. the panel was aimed at lab directors / mentors in how to support their students & promote equity but of course the room ended up being mostly the people who were supposed to be protected, but whatever.

the panelists were great except there was one person (a mentor who had several students working under her) on the panel who, in the course of giving advice to a room of about a hundred people, said that she has her students fill out astrology charts...and she uses this information to decide which students would work best together on which projects.

she couched all of this in "but of course they consented to this, they didn't have to do their charts!" but she didn't explore at all how her power as a mentor could have been a coercive factor. there was no comparison about how if you had, for instance, had your subordinates take an online test for "which prophet from the bible are you" and used this to decide which people get grouped together for the privilege to work on particular projects...your university would absolutely get sued.

the mood in the room noticeably shifted when this person explained her methods, and the few lab directors that were in the room to learn (older, traditional, white cis men who we really fucking need on our side!!!) were incredulous. and i think a lot about how that was a huge "what the fuck?" moment for them!! in the middle of what was supposed to be a panel on supporting LGBTQ+ people.

like what are we doing here. why have we swapped astrology into queer culture in the place of fully unquestioned religious dogma instead of, i don't know, treating it like "whatever spiritual beliefs they want" --- to be set aside in professional circumstances and not used to determine employment or housing.

if people want astrology to be really, truly treated like any other protected religious belief, then BE CONSISTENT.

you 100% cannot fucking ask for that shit in housing groups or in workspaces. if someone would be rightly kicked out of a queer space for saying "we're pagan, so we don't really want to live with a muslim" then don't just do the same thing but with a different set of spiritual terms. ok rant over lol.

[fenmere]

You don't really understand astrology until you've had someone say, "Oh, of course you're like that. You're a Virgo." And then turn away and ignore you from then on.

[vulturesawake]

Just wanted you to know that you forgot to center women in your post about trans men's experiences.....yeah....women are the authority on that actually....yeah....especially cis women, who trans men oppress somehow,,

[the-most-humble-blog]

<div style="white-space:pre-wrap">

🧠 THE MANNEQUIN WITH POWERS — Why Character Comes Before Plot or Die in the Void A Blacksite Literature™ Transmission (If your protagonist couldn’t grip a reader’s soul in a blank room, you already failed.)

I. THE VOID YOU'RE WRITING INTO

Let’s get this out of the way first:

If your character can’t speak — not literally, but viscerally — to the reader’s insides without the crutch of explosions, lore dumps, or a “cool” outfit…

You are not writing a character. You’re dressing a mannequin. And no one gives a fuck what a mannequin does.

II. IF THEY FEEL NOTHING, YOU BUILT NOTHING

Who cares what city’s under attack? Who cares if they’re the Chosen One? Who cares about your twist, your map, your seven-act structure?

If the protagonist you’ve built:

Has no secret

Carries no weight

Evokes no response from a quiet, tired reader on a Tuesday night—

Then you wrote into the void.

Your reader wasn’t “dumb” or “impatient.” They felt nothing. And they left.

III. THE LIE OF “PLOT FIRST”

You’ve been sold a lie:

“Just make the story exciting and the characters will follow.”

No. Never. Backwards.

Character always precedes plot. Character is the plot.

Because if I don’t care who it’s happening to — Then nothing happening will ever matter.

A reader can forgive:

A slow start

A clunky scene

A cliché trope

But they will never forgive the crime of hollow company.

You gave them someone to follow —

And that someone had no soul.

IV. THE MANNEQUIN WITH POWERS

Let’s define the threat.

The Mannequin:

Has abilities

Has trauma

Has a goal

Has quips

Has a backstory

But no voice.

No contradiction. No shame. No private thing they would die to protect, not because it’s powerful — but because it’s theirs.

This mannequin does things. Big things. High stakes.

And no one cares. Because nothing human is bleeding through the plastic.

V. ESCAPISM ISN’T A LICENSE TO LIE

Yes, readers want to escape. But not from humanity.

They want to escape into:

A place where flawed people matter.

A place where pain has context, not just screen time.

A place where characters don’t just “get better” — they get known.

Escape into fantasy all you want. But if you’re escaping the imperfections of the human condition, then you’re not writing fantasy. You’re writing propaganda for emotional disconnection.

And your reader knows it. Even if they don’t say it. Even if they reblog it. Even if they finish it.

They know.

VI. THE SECRET THEY DON’T BRAG ABOUT

Let me give you the fix.

Give your character one thing:

A secret they don’t brag about.

Something they hide not because it’s cool — but because it’s raw, vulnerable, humiliating, or sacred.

Examples:

She used to believe in God, and now she can’t even say “grace” over her food.

He kept a voicemail from his brother the day before he overdosed.

She has two daughters, and hasn’t seen them since the custody ruling.

He talks shit to villains but goes home and reads old love letters he never responded to.

Do not announce it. Do not reward it. Do not let them monologue it.

Let it live. Quietly. And watch your readers form emotional attachments like animals recognizing kin.

VII. PLOT WILL NEVER SAVE YOU

You can worldbuild forever. You can twist the timelines, deepen the lore, expand the pantheon.

But if your central figure could be replaced by anyone and the story still works?

You didn’t build a character. You built scenery in a cape.

Plot is what happens.

Character is who we blame, who we mourn, who we root for in spite of ourselves.

And if you skip that? You skip the anchor. You leave your reader floating — no matter how pretty the setting is.

VIII. THE READER DOESN’T OWE YOU A DAMN THING

Let’s be brutally honest:

Your reader doesn’t care how much time you spent.

They don’t care how much of your soul you “poured in.” They don’t care how important your themes are.

If they can’t connect to a being — not a puppet — then they leave.

Because they’re not in your head. They’re alone. Reading. Tired. Wanting to feel something.

And if your protagonist doesn’t show up with emotional currency in hand?

They’re gone.

IX. THE ONLY TEST THAT MATTERS

Write this down:

If your main character was in a blank white room for five pages — with no plot, no action, no powers — would I want to hear what they think?

If the answer is no?

Start over.

Not from page one. From soul one. You didn’t give them a person. You gave them a vessel to carry your story — and no one wants to be ferried by a stranger.

X. THE REALITY YOU’RE TOO SCARED TO ADMIT

You’re not scared of writing bad plots.

You’re scared of putting real, flawed, mirrored, shameful, holy you into your character — because if it fails, it’ll feel like you failed.

So you keep them clean. You keep them plastic. You keep them “relatable” in all the ways that mean nothing.

But the only thing that ever makes a reader stay?

Is the feeling that this character was carved from a place they weren’t supposed to see.

That’s what creates emotional loyalty. That’s what earns tears. That’s what builds cult followings, not just fandoms.

XI. SO FIX IT.

Kill the mannequin.

Bury the empty badass. Silence the sarcastic automaton. Throw the trauma plot in the fire.

Build a person. A person with shame. A person with weight. A person who reminds the reader of a truth they’ve never told anyone.

Then throw that person into your plot.

And watch the story ignite.

XII. CONCLUSION: YOU'RE NOT WRITING STORIES. YOU'RE WRITING PEOPLE.

You think you’re writing entertainment. You think you’re building scenes. You think you’re plotting arcs.

But you’re not.

You’re introducing human souls to strangers. And the ones who do it well? They become immortal.

Every good story is just a person you didn’t want to say goodbye to.

If you don’t have that?

Then what the fuck are we doing here. </div>

📌 If this made your spine straighten mid-sentence — reblog it. 🧠 If it exposed a hollow character you once thought was “done” — save it. ✍️ If it reminded you why we write at all — read it again.

And if it hurt? That means it’s time to start over.

Bonus:

🧠 FREE WRITING LESSON — THE MOST POWERFUL CHARACTER DEPTH TRICK YOU’LL EVER READ.

[writingmaz]

Writing Tips

Punctuating Dialogue

✧

➸ “This is a sentence.”

➸ “This is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,” she said.

➸ “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a dialogue tag.”

➸ “This is a sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.”

➸ “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He stood. “They are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.”

➸ She said, “Use a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.”

➸ “Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,” he said.

“Unless there is a question mark?” she asked.

“Or an exclamation point!” he answered. “The dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because it’s not truly the end of the sentence.”

➸ “Periods and commas should be inside closing quotations.”

➸ “Hey!” she shouted, “Sometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.”

However, if it’s not dialogue exclamation points can also be “outside”!

➸ “Does this apply to question marks too?” he asked.

If it’s not dialogue, can question marks be “outside”? (Yes, they can.)

➸ “This applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically express—“

“Interruption” — but there are situations dashes may be outside.

➸ “You’ll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses don’t have a comma after them either…” she said.

➸ “My teacher said, ‘Use single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.’”

➸ “Use paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,” he said.

“The readers will know it’s someone else speaking.”

➸ “If it’s the same speaker but different paragraph, keep the closing quotation off.

“This shows it’s the same character continuing to speak.”

[herstories]

omg this is so helpful

[writing-prompt-s]

!!!!!!!

[howstrangethemusicsoundstome]

People are trying to bring back 1880s-era anti-ASL sentiment. Worst timeline.

[tuttle-did-it]

You'd be surprised how often I'm told there is no interpreter at an event, there are no captions at an event, and they act like I'm asking for something absurd.

This isn't a performative dance routine interpreting what is going on.

But hey, deafies, we're woke now because we require interpreters.

[tuttle-did-it]

This is all absolutely true. Also, to add, many deaf people receive a much worse education because the schools are unwilling/unable to invest in proper education for deaf people. So there are deaf people out there who struggle to read English because the structure of English is completely different than the structure of Sign Languages.

Also, Sign Language is NOT international. Signing in London is different that Ireland, or Paris, Toronto, Mexico, New Zealand, India-- some of the signing may be similar or even related but they are all different languages. So if you see several interpreters at an event or a news broadcast or en EU summit, and they are doing different signs, this is why.

And for the idiots who still don't comprehend that for many people English is a second language, even signers who were born in an English speaking country-- and still argue 'you get captions what's the problem' - Have you ever watched the auto-craptions on the news or a live event, or even a film on Amazon that they couldn't bother to get a human to properly provide subs? Yeah. A good percentage of the time, it's just word salad that means absolutely nothing. You're likely to just get a pile of words that may or may not have to do with anything going on in what you are trying to watch.

Some time, put on the news with no captions or sound. Put on a film or show you have never seen before, and try to lipread what is being said. Try to figure out what the plot or context is from just the actor's faces. Just try to engage when the only queues you have are facial expressions and movement on the screen-- if you can even see them talk at all, a lot of films and shows are shot over a shoulder with the back of someone's head.

Wear ear-plugs when you are out having a coffee with a friend and try to figure out what your friend is even saying. No music, no nothing-- just earplugs and trying to figure it out.

Do all of this for a week and then tell me that craptions are enough. Then tell me we don't need interpreters. After two days, you're going to be angry and frustrated because you don't know what the fuck is going on.

Interpreters do more than just tell you the exact words. They INTERPRET English language and put it into sign. They aren't just randomly throwing around their hands and looking silly. And they do it on the fly, live, as something is going. A good majority of the times, Interpreters have no idea what is going to be said. In those moments they are hearing something in English (or French, Spanish, what have you), figuring out what the best way to sign these words back to a sign-user base, and they have to do it all in seconds. It's a LOT of work.

So if you are at an event or you see two or even more signers who keep switching off after half an hour or an hour, know that the money is NOT being wasted having multiple interpreters there. They are not being lazy. They are doing a whole helluva lot, and their brains and hands and faces occasionally need a break.

So if you are hiring interpreters for an event, don't be surprised if they say you'll need to pay more to have several interpreters there. The interpreters are incredibly skilled, and they work bloody hard. If they tell you they need more than one, don't have a fit at them and try to talk them into just having one interpreter, thinking you can pay less. Understand that they work their arses off, and it's a very intense job that requires a lot of brain power and body power. So please, PLEASE be kind to interpreters.

And for chrissake, STOP DOING THIS. STOP DOING THIS. STOP FUCKING DOING THIS.

[once-a-polecat]

Seconding all of this, but also to get more specific on the first point:

ASL (American Sign Language) is not only different from BSL (British Sign Language), they're not even in the same language family. Similarly, LSM (Mexican Sign Language) is different from LSE (Spanish Sign Language), and there are other regional sign languages in Spanish speaking South America.

My (hearing) kid is studying ASL and when there was a Deaf contestant on British Bake Off he said that he really didn't recognize the BSL signing. But we traveled to Peru last summer and saw some people signing at a restaurant, and he said he recognized a few signs of LSP, even as he could tell it was a different language.

When you start to understand how much signed languages are full and complete languages with specific grammar and structure, you realize why captioning is not an equivalent to interpretation.

[leebrontide]

"Why would deaf people need interpretation in a language that's their first language? Can't they just read a faux-phonetic transcript of a speech made in their second language."

Clown-ass behavior.

[orcboxer]

Should go without saying but never date a cop and christ never marry one. Rule of thumb if he's legally untouchable he's ethically unfuckable. You don't like that cop, you like buff men in tight clothing. I can show you more of those, better ones. Take my hand.

[orcboxer]

Hi guys. This post ain't about stereotyping random professions (farriers????), it's about how cops are effectively legally untouchable and if they hurt you, you have virtually no recourse. A quality that none of those other professions have. It's the inherent power imbalance of being bound to someone who can't be prosecuted.

The "firemen cheat" thing is actually a myth, union workers are both hot and professionally stable, paramedics are stressed out but otherwise fine, physical workers are not inferior to "thinkers" don't be fuckin classist, and "watch out for Farriers" is maybe the funniest thing anyone's ever said on this post.

[orcboxer]

like the fuck are they gonna do lmao

[marlinspirkhall]

Having beef with the horse cobbler is objectively hilarious

[syllvarin]

Hygiene Tips and Information Post

Hello! We are the Starfall System. We wanted to make a big post about hygiene tips and information for anyone who may find it useful. If you wonder why we use plural pronouns it is because we are a system, AKA multiple people sharing one mind. We use "we" to refer to ourselves throughout this post. If you want to learn more about it, you can read about it here: More Than One

In this post we are going to talk about things you can do to keep your body clean and healthy. Not everyone have access to same resources and information, hence why we decided to write this post. It will include information regarding how many times you should wash certain areas, how often you should change your sheets/underwear, Tips and tricks for disabled/spoonie folk, Health information for Trans Folk and many more. First of all, we would like to remind everyone that not everyone has the same ability to access certain hygienic products or perform tasks to keep themselves clean, and they shouldn't be ashamed because of it. This post is simply for information and should not be used to invalidate anyone's lived experiences.

Second of all, please do not start any unrelated conversation and/or debate, including syscourse. Thank you. We aren't doctors and this post will not be exhaustive list of everything, we can get things wrong or missing. If you have anything to add/fix, we would love to talk about it and add to this post ^^ Soo.. Let's begin! BODILY HYGIENE Showering should be done at least once a week, or every few days, depending on weather. You can shower everyday too, but it may cause your skin to dry if you don't moisturize your body. A general rule for cleaning anything is its cleaned from top to bottom. Hair/Face should be washed first, then the rest part of the body.

Do not use plastic shower sponges/loofah for showering. They trap moisture inside and become a growing ground for bacteria. Use natural fiber loofah's; they are environment friendly and exfoliate very well. Change your loofah every 3-4 weeks.

Scrub in circular motions. Wash every curve of your body. Feet and armpits may need more work to clean and get rid of smell. After shower moisturize your skin.

If you use deodorant make sure it doesn't contain heavy metals.

Choosing right shampoo is important to avoid hair damage. Please try to go for shampoo without silicone, parabens and sulfates as ingredients. You can find more detailed information regarding what to avoid in shampoos here . Also learn about your hair type here so you can pick a shampoo according to your hair type. If you struggle with keeping your hair healthy, consider seeing a dermatologist.

Clean your beard every 2-3 times a week at least, use a shampoo and if possible, a conditioner. Brush your bread.

Clean your genital area gently with unscented soap and water ONLY. Do not use any sort of "special product for genitalia" they are a scam. You only need unscented soap and water, gently wash it with your hand and if you have a vagina make sure you aren't washing inside of it- vaginal canal can self-cleanse and you shouldn't disturb the natural vaginal flora or you can get infections. Lips of a vulva needs thorough cleaning to avoid buildup along with under clitoris's hood to avoid buildup of smegma. Learn more about cleaning your clitoris here

Don't forget underneath foreskin of your penis. Gently clean the testicles with unscented soap and lukewarm water.

Wash your anus and general back area with water and tissue after every poop. If you don't have a bidet, you can also wash with wet wipes. But only use baby wet wipes without alcohol and fragrance, others can irritate the skin there.

Wash inside of your belly button when you shower. Use a mild soap and water only, rinse the insides of belly button and dry it including the inside of it to prevent moisture. Cut your nails every week if you intend to keep them short. If you want to get them longer, make sure to clean under the nail to prevent any buildup.

Your toenails needs cutting once a month, do not cut them curvically, cut them with a straight line to avoid infections/ingrown nails. You also need to clean under your toenails, especially corners.

Clean your ears every few days, including the curves and back of the ear. Do not use q tips for cleaning ear wax, it will cause damage to the ear and only push wax more to the inside. Learn more about how to clean and prevent earwax here

Wash your teeth correctly at least twice a day after meals and don't forget to wash back of your teeth and your tongue. (watch this video to learn how) Use a floss. If you have braces you can also use a small braces tootbrush to access inaccessible areas. Change your tootbrush every 3 months or so. Go for gentle bristles if you have sensitive gums. If you have consistent sensitivity with gums, contact a dentist.

Wash your feet every time you come back from outside. It doesn't matter if you wore shoes or flip flops, with shoes you have pretty much no airflow so bacteria can grow and cause smell. If you wear sandls or flip flops the general dirt that elevates from the ground will get on your feet. It is best to use a soap for washing your feet to avoid odor and ensure that its clean. Dry your feet to avoid fungal infections.

Wash your hands when you come home, before and after using bathroom (washing your hands before is good for avoiding harm your genitalia) Wash your hands before and after food. If you cannot wash at least use a wet wipe or hand sanitizer, and then wash as soon as you can with soap and water.

When using razors or shaving use a shaving cream/gel, shave to the direction of where hair grows, not against it. When shaving your pubic area try to go slow and pull your skin taut. Moisturize afterwards.

If you want to wax, check this tutorial

Do not use hair removal chemicals/products that arent genitalia safe on your pubic area.

CLOTHING HYGIENE

Change your underwear every day. No ifs or buts.

If you have vagina and you detect any different/intense odor or different textured/colored discharge, keep an eye on it for a few days. If it does not change or get worse with other symptoms such as pain, contact a gynecologist immediately. It may be an infection. Information regarding discharge can be found here

For trans folk who use a binder, wash your binder at least once per week (or more if needed) Do not put it in washing machine, hand wash only.

For people who wear bra's, try to wash them after every 2-3 uses. During summer you may sweat more due to bra and may need to wash it/change it more regularly.

Wash your bedsheets every week. Your pillowcase being dirty may be the cause of your pimples.

Change your socks after every use. If you think it is not "dirty enough" or you just briefly wore them, don't put it in the same place as your clean socks. Keep them seperate.

Plastic clothing such as polyester and naylon can and will absorb sweat and stink more than natural fibers such as cotton or viscose. Try to avoid that type of clothes for daily usage.

Clean your eyeglasses, especially parts near your ear and nose. They get buildup in tiny spaces.

Use a shoe deodorant if you want to avoid shoes smelling. Try to change the shoe you wear often. Do not get cheap shoes if you can and do not wear tight shoes often, they can mess your feet's shape and health.

MAKEUP HYGIENE

Clean your brushes every few days or after every use. Use a shampoo instead of a soap so it won't hurt the bristles. Use lukewarm water and try to get into the bristles. Don't let them stay with moisture to avoid bacteria from forming and put them somewhere warm to dry quickly.

A general rule that can be applied to products: if you can use it on eyes, you can use it on other parts of your body.

If you can use it on your lips, you can use it on other parts of the body but not on the eyes.

If you can use it on your face, you can use it on your face and other skin areas but not your lips or eyes. There are some skin products such as foundations you can also use on your lips.

If you can use it on your body, you shouldn't use it on your face.

This rule is not always true but it usually applies to a lot of cosmetics.

Use 50 SPF Sunscreen, especially for your face. If you can't get a high quality one still get the best one you can because an average sunscreen is better than no sunscreen.

Don't sleep with makeup, clean your makeup before going to sleep. It can clog your pores, cause eye infections, and more. For cleaning your makeup, you can use makeup cleansers, makeup cleaning oils, or makeup cleaning wipes. Pick those that don't irritate eyes or harm skin in long run.

Try to not get any makeup product in your eye, if you do get any, wash it with water for a while. Don't rub your eyes.

If you use lipstick, use a lipbalm or lip moisturizer before the lipstick to avoid chapping.

For piercings, talk to your piercer about how to keep it clean. It depends on the piercing regarding how often you need to clean it.

There is probably a lot i don't recall to write it here at the moment since i don't do makeup often, so any and every kind of suggestion is appreciated.

DISABILITY HYGIENE TIPS

For lovely disabled folk, your best is enough. Doing whatever you can is always better than doing nothing, do not worry about it being perfect or not.

For those who cannot stand upright for long period of time in shower, a stool or chair is very useful. You can also get long showering brushes or hand shower cloths/mitts for accessing unaccessible or hard to access parts of your body. Picking a scent-free and sensitive bodywash/shampoo may benefit you a lot (personally we can only use sensitive bodywash because our body gets red and swells with any other bodywash)

If you find it hard to wash your teeth, you can use mouthwash, it is better than nothing. If that is too much, you can chew a minty gum for a while to get rid of mouth smell.

Foam grip tubes can be used to grab things more easily.

If you can, use smaller bottles for your shower to minimize energy usage to handle bottles.

If you cannot shower/wash your face/use deodorant, you can always go for wetwipes. There is zero shame in that. You can also wear clean clothes after wet wipes to avoid getting dirty for a while longer.

You can also use dry shampoo for your hair to go longer without showers.

If you find it hard to wash your hair along with your body, you can try to wash body and hair seperately.

Try to be careful washing around your ports or any other health related objects on your body. Ask your doctor about how to keep it clean. Better be safe than sorry.

If you can't use nailcutters you can use emery boards to trim your nails.

It may be hard to change sheets every week, you can put sheets on top of each other when you have energy so you can just strip off old sheets on top and have clean sheets. This way you can get time from once a week to once two weeks. We sometimes use this when we are low spoon.

If you have ADHD, trying to start tasks may be difficult. Try to do smaller tasks before big tasks to gain inertia. We sometimes pour shampoo on our dry hair if we cannot shower, so we eventually want that shampoo out of our hair and get into shower. Or sometimes we simply put our clothes away and try to get cold, so a warm shower gets easier and more pleasant to have.

If your mental health takes a dive and you find yourself unable to perform tasks, reaching people and asking for help is always and always okay. Don't be ashamed of needing help, it is a normal part of life everyone eounters.

I found this website that goes in detail regarding different tools for using during showering.

Any and every tip from disabled people to add to this list is very appreciated <3

TRANS HYGIENE

Already talked about binders there in clothing section ^ just a reminder :)

To trans folk who start HRT and have a second puberty; it is incredibly normal to have body odor changes, especially on your private area. I know quite a few ftm folk advise to shower frequently once people start T due to excessive sweating. A deodorant change may be needed. Your hair type may also change, so maybe changing your shampoo can be a good idea as well. Don't shame yourself and try your best to keep yourself clean, moreso than anything, enjoy your transition !

For checking ingredients of any product, you can use these websites:

Cosmily

INCIDecoder

CosDNA

They may not be totally accurate, but it is best to have an idea about than none.

Aside from all those, for every and any product you put on your body, best advice comes from your doctor/dermatologist.

Any and every kind of correction/suggestion is appreciated! This post is far from finished and we would love to add more.

If in doubt/pain, contact a health professional immediately!

Lastly, fuck Trump. ^^

-Starfalls System!

[syllvarin]

If there is a god why did it create plurals without giving them shapeshifting abilities smh

[arielsojourner]

USA people! Buy NOTHING Feb 28 2025. Not anything. 24 hours. No spending. Buy the day before or after but nothing. NOTHING. February 28 2025. Not gas. Not milk. Not something on a gaming app. Not a penny spent. (Only option in a crisis is local small mom and pop. Nothing. Else.) Promise me. Commit. 1 day. 1 day to scare the shit out of them that they don't get to follow the bullshit executive orders. They don't get to be cowards. If they do, it costs. It costs.

Then, if you can join me for Phase 2. March 7 2025 thtough March 14 2025? No Amazon. None. 1 week. No orders. Not a single item. Not one ebook. Nothing. 1 week. Just 1.

If you live outside the USA boycott US products on February 28 2025 and stand in solidarity with us and also join us for the week of no Amazon.

Are you with me?

Spread the word.

[kasplode]

Organised by People’s Union, read more here:

Nationwide economic blackout on February 28: What to know about boycott

When Donald Trump reentered office, one of his first calls to action was to end several DEI initiatives in the federal government.

[dvasva]

'This won't work, this isn't widespread, nobody knows, we're in a bubble, blah blah blah' my mom, a 64 year old lady with no social media whose first language is spanish, told me about this before tumblr did, and said we are going to participate.

[librarychair]

I've seen flyers for this in real life. Do it.

[atinybeanchild]

"What makes this protest unique is its laser focus on companies that have rolled back DEI initiatives. Target, Walmart and McDonald's are particularly vulnerable given their recent policy changes. While a single day of reduced revenue won't devastate these giants, it sends a powerful message about consumer expectations in today's market."

The People's Union is targeting Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy, but the group is also asking boycotters to refrain from spending money on fast food or gas, as well.

If consumers must make purchases, they are asked to buy only from small, local businesses

[massachusetts-official]

Official Post of Massachusetts

[syllvarin]

Not from states but hey, to those who are- please read

[thrud-deactivated20210605]

this honestly just came out of left fucking field i would have never expected to hear anything like this in this show. consider me Pleasantly Surprised tbh

[princessofclubs-blog]

This was the autism episode

[bpdpapi-deactivated20150616]

people seem to forget that house was a multiply disabled man, so it should be a given that he’d be against eugenics and eugenicist doctors

[ecrivainsolitaire]

I pointed this out the last time this post started circulating, but House is explicitly disabled because Cuddy didn’t take him seriously about his pain until it was too late to save his leg muscle, and then she tried to convince him to cut it off so he could have a “normal” life with a prosthesis. He’s quite literally a walking display of what happens when doctors refuse to listen to patients who don’t communicate in a socially acceptable manner, and the reason he gets away with so much stuff is because Cuddy knows he doesn’t share her blind spot when it comes to putting the wellbeing of the patient above everything else, fuck protocol, fuck insurance, fuck liability, fuck the Hippocratic Oath, this person is in pain right now, everything else can go to hell until their pain stops.

[grimbuswimbus]

peembo hangin' out