#ask hollow

[hollowedskin]

hey this is kinda silly, but i saw one of your posts and read through some of your other ones about him, and im really glad about the way you're caring for your foster kid :') im also a trans teen (albeit 17) who's almost had to leave his home and has had multiple friends leave theirs, so im just happy to hear there are still kind people out there who will treat us trans kids well.

Hey kiddo, Thank you for your lovely messages <3

I'm so sorry that you've almost had to leave your home. Thats really not fair. I hope you get some stability soon. I'm so releived that we have our boy home now, where I can make sure hes ok.

But also don't get stuck thinking that its rare for people to be kind to trans kids, I'll be taking my kiddo down to a little rural town to see my family for Christmas and everyone in my enormous extended family is going to be chill with him being trans, they're excited to meet him, and any one of them would take him in if anything happened to us. Same as all my friends.

There is more kindness in the world than makes the news, because people being good to each other isn't news. People making space for a new family member or practicing the correct pronouns is just normal everyday stuff that isn't shocking enough to get clicks.

TERFs and other hateful sorts will try and convince you that they're the majority but when you actually look at them, theyre weird isolationists that spend all their time trying to be the loudest person in the room, while everyone else awkwardly shuffles away.

Your family of origin may suck, and it happens a fair bit, but you will be legally adult soon and your life is going to open up in ways you cant even imagine. You don't have to stick around with people who don't love all of you. You can make new family, you can choose who gets to be a part of your life.

Being a kid really sucks, being a teenager really sucks and I don't think people really understand how much it does, and how absolutely beautiful life is once you can be free.

Also bugs are super cool! I'm a huge fan of unloved creatures like bats and snakes and spiders, so its fun to share.

Stay safe and stay kicking ok?

[asktheoger]

Our next Fanart Friday piece is Hollow from @askhollow, nominated by Aro-pokeverse!

[frogsuggest]

Hi there! I'm kinda new in the world of owning herps. I just got a starry night reed frog today—but instead of bright flashy colours, he's brown with some darker spots. I was wondering if he'll colour up with some TLC involving a healthy, varied diet, higher humidity, and a bigger enclosure. Even if he doesn't, I still am in love with him. I was just curious because I don't think the pet store paid him much attention so I'm wondering if that's why he's not as bright?

Starry night is such a beautiful child, congratulations on your friend!I don’t know how to look after the starboi, because in Australia no frog from other countries allowed in.So I ask the Frogs who follow us, how do you think to make this boy happy?? Maybe do a special research on how to make him happiest.

What Cecil do know is that frog often become dull when stressed. Pet store not a good place for delicate frog.  Pet store not a good place for many animal because is loud, many strangers, many smells. Maybe not get good care from people who are not given enough time to do everything. (cecil know retail is very hard, and pet store is stressful for human workers too)Perhaps moving to a new home is bother a boy and he just need to get used to being safe and not in loud bright pet store. But other thing is that maybe this frog family have variation in colours, Most frog do, and he just not particularly bright, and that it normal for him.Look for other indicators that he happy, such as enthusiastic eating and bright attention to food, not listless.

Take good care of this starchild and feed him many many tasty eats!

[hollowedskin]

This feels a little weird to say and I hope I don't come off as overbearing (and it definitely wasn't me who spamliked earlier) but as a trans teen I just wanted to say my own mother would have a lot to learn from you. Yet again I'm sorry if this is too much or whatever, uhhh you can ignore this if it's too much or something

Kiddo, you aren't too much.

You're allowed to take up space and send messages and ask questions and like posts and do whatever the hell you want forever. You deserve to do all that. You do not have to apologise for being here.

I'm sorry your own mum isn't supporting you in the way that you need, and I hope you're doing ok.

Big hugs <3

[hollowedskin]

Heyo, just wanted the let you know that the scientist (Jiankui He) in the post you reblogged that was "just trying to cure disease" does unethical and unnecessary human experimentation and has been in jail for that. Sorry for the bummer, but he's really not a cool dude and he's recently been trying to rebrand himself.

Interesting.

He Jiankui - Wikipedia

That's his wiki. And this is the wiki for the specific incident he was charged with

He Jiankui affair - Wikipedia

the case is very interesting. He performed gene editing on human embryos that were then implanted, and three babies were born with those changes.

It was against Chinese law to do it, and has been condemned by some scientists and supported by others. But I think it's important to mention two things that stood out to me.

The first was that the father of the twins born was HIV+ and the mother was not, and that Chinese law prohibits IVF for HIV+ fathers. So regardless of whether the gene editing was done, this couple were banned from accessing fertility treatments legally, even though there are established protocols that successfully protect the children and mother from being infected with HIV. There was no way that they could have their children that did not involve an illegal (in that country) medical procedure.

And the second is that the gene edits to the embryos were to make them immune to HIV.

How he went about funding and reporting on the experiment is dodgy. And the ethics surrounding embryonic experimentation has always been extremely messy, cloudy, and controversial because it's "babies". But I personally don't think that at the heart of it, it was a monsterous thing to do.

The main argument against the gene editing itself is that we don't know what will happen with those girls who were born with the changes, the long term effects of having those genes edited.

But speaking as someone who was both born from an experimental medically assisted fertility treatment* and as someone with a genetic disease** I think that the argument that it could cause problems for them in the future isn't as strong as the argument for the problems it solved.

*(it is now a normalised procedure but at the time there were protests against the experiments, people considered it unethical and unnatural, and the doctors performing the procedures were threatened.)

**(unrelated to my conception, it's just bad luck, and given the choice of being alive with it or dead without it, I prefer being alive)

Also (not directed at you, asker) I can't talk about kids born from experimental procedures, infertility, and kids born with genetic diseases without someone in the notes putting their nasty little fingers to the keyboard and announcing proudly that they're a eugenicist who thinks I shouldn't be alive, so let's just pretend that it's already been said and not do that this time ok?

[hollowedskin]

«No more boy cats». Why are you discriminating against male cats? Kill yourself if you're stupid enough to believe that there is a difference. Dumb bitch.

Do you genuinely believe that I'm doing gender essentialism to cats??????? Hello?????

[hollowedskin]

Couple means two and only two you ignorant slut. Can you even read? Open a fucking dictionary. People like you who can't even speak properly are why that fat orange retard is president.

Extremely normal thing to send someone.