I got soul but I'm not a soldier

Going to hospital to visit someone where you aren't the primary visitor? "I can just sit in a corridor whilst you and your son talk in private... I brought a book!"

Going to have to wait with someone while they do an important task? "Don't worry about it, just get on with the Task, I'll have a book in my bag so I'll be happy as a pig in shit."

Arrived somewhere before your companions so unavoidably need to sit at a station? "I didn't even realise you were late, I was just in my book." Etc.

And when that happens, whether it's garbage takes about trans people, or ace people, or nonbinary people, or neopronouns, or he/him lesbians, or bi women with boyfriends, or furries, or *what the fuck ever*- remember-

You do not need to quibble over the details. You do not need verbally spar on every hill that dipshits want to die on.

Just stop and ask- hey, does this fucking matter?

Does it matter if some queer people do _____? Does it cause any actual, measurable, material harm? Is this *actually* a problem? Be specific. Beyond just 'it makes me uncomfortable' and 'but that doesn't make sense' - does it actually *matter*?

Because if the answer is no, then who the fuck cares?

I don't care if something is confusing, or illogical, or weird, or makes you uncomfortable. Does it actually harm anyone? No? Then mind your fucking business.

Its not your responsibility to Lincoln-Douglass debate every overzealous puritan and under-informed tween on the complex nuance and inherent political context of the queer experience. Focus on what matters . Ask them what, if any, harm does ____ actually do, and THAT is all you need to address. (Oh you wanna defend ___ spaces? Which spaces specifically? What are you worried about happening? Oh is ____ normalizing ____? Does it? Does that...matter?)

Because even if other people dont like it, Queer People will continue to be weird, messy, confusing, contradictory, illogical, and strange as we all do our fucking best to be ourselves as best we can be. The way we survive and grow and thrive is by giving each other the grace and space to do so, whether or not we deeply, logically resonate with whatever others have going on.

And we don't talk shit about each other. We don't take pot shots at the queers who are queerer than we are. Throwing other queer people under the bus has never made things better.

So. Circle the wagons, close the ranks, and get comfortable rubbing elbows with people who are, you know, freaks and weirdos.

Dithered collage of photography from the Roman Forum and the Louvre, plus hand drawn elements. The Hermes statue is an 18th century bronze and I tell you, I really saw the god in the metal that day. Wow.

"blithe traveler"

The Mauritius “underwater waterfall” is not a true waterfall but an naturally occurring optical! In the sense that that’s not water falling, it’s sand and silt shifting! Shifting down a 4000-meter-deep abyssal drop. It is in fact exactly as deep as it looks, sorry :)

Other fun facts about Mauritius include:

that’s where Dodo birds were from!

the entire island has an abnormally strong gravitational pull

In light of some of the many things happening across the world this year, I thought this Pride Month needed a special illustration.

I've made a self-hosting guide. I wanted it to be easy to use, but setup is always technical due to needing to use the terminal in the beginning, but I tried very hard and will edit if I get feedback! ᓚᘏᗢ guide → https://ophanimkei.com/you/selfhosting ᓚᘏᗢ askbox → https://ophanimkei.com/personal/askbox