BEHOLD MY SQUEES

The cup fell, blew, or rolled into a sideways position on the rocks where it could hold some water and rain could still splash into it, but it wasn't immediately cooked by direct sunlight. There hasn't been enough rain to fill the surface of that ditch itself for years, but evidently at least one shrimp egg from the soil from a past year must have rolled into the cup or been pushed there by a bug or animal, plus some dried bits of algae and microbes, and enough dead leaf bits and soil to feed them. Then, for at least a week (based on shrimp's size), enough rain fell to keep the cup full enough to grow not only the shrimp, but enough things for it to feed on. So, now it's just in there, quietly eating microbes and filtering water in a single cup on the ground, laying clone eggs into the tiny bit of dirt at the bottom and doing whatever. It's good sized and healthy, too. This isn't even that unusual of a container; I've found them in old tires before.

Tumblr post: xyz is proof you're irredeemable

Me to my therapist in college way back when: It's awful to admit this but I... I experience xyz. It feels horrific and shameful and I don't know what to do

Said therapist: xyz is extremely common, and it means nothing about you as a person. But since it's making you miserable, here's how you can work on experiencing it less

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Every. Single. Article. just talked about how narcissists are evil and their traits are a red flag and all of society should avoid them. We don't KNOW what causes narcissistic personality disorder, so prevention is nearly impossible and treatment is nebulous (no offense to the common treatment of talk therapy, but it has varying results for people suffering from narcissistic personality disorder).

And yet narcissistic personality disorder is on the list of disorders, illnesses, and conditions that I often see blamed entirely on those living with them. There's a stigma to being diagnosed, which is one of the many reasons narcissistic personality disorder sufferers don't seek treatment. Instead, they just have a high likelihood of alocholism and suicide because the way they relate to other people is "wrong" and they usually end up very isolated and lonely.

A lot of people assume that, because my blog is themed around hope, that my posts don't apply to things that are typically considered (or that actually are) severe or upsetting or etc.

But that's very much not the case.

So, I'd like to clarify that this post specifically applies to and includes all of the following!

Sources include: I edit psychology and mental health books for a living; I have both a therapist and a social worker in my immediate family; I've worked with multiple comprehensive sex ed programs and organizations. I like verywellmind, Healthline, and Google Scholar as starting points if you would like to do your own further research and/or verification

The following are all things that have no moral weight or moral valence:

Having low empathy

Having no empathy

Having a mental illness

Having a stigmatized mental illness, including personality disorders

Having intrusive thoughts, regardless of type (relatedly: thought crimes are still not real! what matters is your actions.)

Experiencing psychosis or having a psychotic disorder (note: contrary to popular belief, "psychosis" simply means experiencing hallucinations or delusions, or otherwise having trouble telling what's real and what's not)

Having a chronic illness or disability, including stigmatized ones, such as an intellectual disability, facial differences and limb differences, conditions with a lot of support needs, conditions that require a caretaker and/or full-time care, and conditions that affect sleep, hygiene, or bodily fluids/waste

Having an addiction or substance use disorder

For that matter, using substances without an addiction or substance use disorder

Drinking alcohol, caffeine (yes some people absolutely believe this has a moral valence), etc.

Horoscope or birth sign (yes this has been completely proven; astrology can be fun but it is not real)

Physical appearance

Weight

Eating lots of sugar / fats / whatever

Not eating lots of sugar / fats / whatever

Eating lots of healthy food

Eating lots of "unhealthy" food

Having sex

Having lots of sex

Having no sex

Having sexual trauma

Wanting sex

Not wanting sex

Being LGBTQ, queer, trans, nonbinary, intersex, asexual, aromantic, genderqueer, genderfluid, multigender, etc.

Being straight; being cis; being perisex (that is, not intersex); being allo

Being a man; being a woman; being nonbinary; having no gender; etc.

Genders, sexualities, pronouns, etc. that other people think are unusual or "cringe"

Being into kink

Not being into kink

Having kinky sex

Not having kinky sex

Experiencing sexual attraction (or not)

Experiencing romantic love (or not)

Wanting either of those things

Liking and reading/watching horror or dark content

Liking and reading/watching porn or mature/sexual content

Enjoying reading, not enjoying reading, and being bad at reading

Enjoying shit that's cringe

Being cringe

Much more

Don't let tumblr, social media in general, stigma, fears based on myths and stereotypes, or Moral OCD or Responsibility OCD (whether your own or someone else's) scare you out of living life, or into treating other people as dangerous. Or into being a massive jerk.

I apparently gained a bit of control of the canon because said writer really loved the art and decided what I drew/draw is canon.

2. Writer put said artwork into the document of his story right below the scene, so now it's IN the story where people who read the story will see it (with a link to me)

3. He sent the artwork to all his friends and people he knows because he was so excited

Wholesome interaction and I watched him do all that in real time, good stuff. However...there are two more consequences I was notified of today...nearly a full week after I gave the artwork.

Seeing the artwork caused his friends to become interested in reading and hearing about his story, which means more people are reading what he's writing and giving him critique on the story (which he actively asks for).

Apparently, upon seeing the art, his writer friends got a sudden second wind to pick back up writing they'd abandoned for a few months. Because, I quote, "seeing that someone enjoyed {his} writing enough to take the time to make art of it gave them the motivation that maybe THEY can write something that will inspire someone to also create something." I have accidentally caused a writing frenzy among his writer friends and my silly idea to make art for someone has had a butterfly effect for people who I don't even know.

If something inspires you, let the op know!

If you drew or wrote something for them, let them know!

If you like something you see, let them, and everyone else know!

That’s me in the spotlight

And I am continuing my journey to document British words, phrases, and pronunciations that are better or worse than in the US.

So far...

Like

Skittles = bowling pins. This is much more fun to say.

Squirty cream = whipped cream in a can. I am angry that I have not been calling it this my entire life.

Wotsits = cheese puffs This is fun because it forces you to say it with a British accent and now your puff experience is classier by default.

Innit? = isn't it? Just for the efficiency. I don't know if there are two syllables you can say faster than this. Plus, it seems you can end any sentence with this, even when it doesn't really apply. So if you only express half a thought and don't know how to finish a sentence (common issue with brain fog folks), you can just say "innit?" and people will know you are done speaking.

Dislike

Anesthetist = anesthesiologist. I like fewer syllables but anesthetist is literally unpronounceable on the first two attempts. Both words are unwieldy; I propose we all switch to "night-night doctor."

Jelly = Jell-O Jell-O is more fun to say and I worry if I visit the UK and order peanut butter and jelly, I'm going to have an interesting eating experience. Plus, without jam and jelly, there is no distinction between fruit spread with and without bits.

aubergine = eggplant That's just pretentious, innit? And if I heard "aubergine" in my head when I saw the emoji, it would ruin so many dick joke texts.

Can't decide

satsuma = tangerine I think satsuma is more fun to say, but it would ruin a song I like a lot.

In fact, this entire song would be a mess with UK vernacular.

She don't use jam. She uses petroleum jelly. She uses satsumas.