A Shadow's Tracks

if you're having trouble sleeping the best you can do is put a bright object close to your face and look at it for at least 30 minutes. if that doesn't work you can close your eyes but make sure to think really hard about a bunch of bullshit

It's incredibly sad people have to resort to this, but it's a damn good resource. Use it. Spread awareness. Maybe one day people with physical disabilities won't need DIYs like this. But until then, reblog and share.

happy fourth of july to the philippines ONLY

happy june 12 to you

Whenever I see the phrase "foul magic" in fantasy media I have to try very hard not to think about how one definition of "foul" is "having an unpleasant smell", because it's challenging to take a character seriously when their title is Master of the Stinky Arts.

Alternatively: birds

Yeah, it's time to get this post out again

you don’t need to reinvent yourself this summer; you simply need to return to the things that make you feel most like you

i like it when people compliment me. i like it... when people like me. (looks around to make sure nobody is about to shoot me)

if I see one more "why age verification is bad" post that doesn't even bother to mention that locking young people out of huge sections of the public sphere - literally the stated goal and primary impact of this shit - is wrong in and of itself I will simply start hitting people with bricks

yes yes biometric data privacy blah blah adults can hypothetically by harmed by this too. what about the immediate and deliberate and not at all hypothetical harm to youth. why are you acting like a potential data leak about what your face looks like, which if it ever happened would at least be generally recognised as a problem, is a more serious issue than cutting millions of people off from information and community and public expression which is happening right now in the open with large scale support

it's got the stench of fucking "banned books week" on it. thousands of adults congratulating themselves for reading books literally no one is trying to stop them from reading while doing nothing to improve access for the young people who are the ones actually having those books made off-limits to them.

babe are you okay you reblogged got that fog in me 11 times

wait, i did? i don't remember doing that...

and honestly it's just fucking insane that every time we try to talk about harm to children in particular we have to talk circles around the fact that these things are very, very overwhelmingly done by parents/family members/teachers/religious leaders/known and trusted adults in a position of power over a child, to the extent that many people's suggested solution to child abuse is "give the people most likely to abuse a child EVEN MORE strangling legal and material power over the kid"

you're not supposed to actually address who is abusing children and what can be done to give those children recourse and the ability to leave abusive situations because nobody actually gives a shit about child abuse beyond the familial property rights violation it represents to them and the cudgel against minorities which it can be turned into

You see something broadly similar in nursing where you have to tip toe round the fact that nurses can directly and intentionally harm patients; one of the most common phrases you'll hear when trying to address an issue is something like "well no nurse is coming to work deliberately wanting to hurt their patients". I don't say this to derail from the issue of protecting children from their parents/guardians, i say it because i think it highlights the consistent problems that not offending the sensibilities of people in positions of power over vulnerable people is seen as more important then actually protecting those vulnerable people. "How dare you suggest I'm a bad parent, I'm not going to listen to anything you say because clearly you just hate me, and my feelings are clearly the real issue now" type mindset that means you end you talking circles around issues trying not offend anyone instead of directly addressing what is wrong

the secret is that saying “hopecore” or “hopepunk” will make people mad at you online but saying “stories about people overcoming corrupt and adversarial systems” is just Normal

this is part of an interesting phenomenon i've noticed where the shorthands people come up with for things wind up being far more annoying than the thing they're actually describing. like if i see a game calling itself a "cozy game" i'm rolling my eyes like good lord we need to put this cozy game shit on the shelf already. but if the same game instead calls itself a "farming sim" i'm just like yup, that's what that is. and then i move on because it's not really my cup of tea. i don't know what to make of this