I guess we're doing text content now

I was told that when I came out everyone would reject me. That I would find myself isolated from the world, and from other women especially, who would react to me with horror and revulsion.

In reality, within the first months of coming out, in no particular order:

My sister's reaction on my coming out was, "Right, so I have a sister instead of a brother. Cool. I'm taking you clothes shopping tomorrow."

A friend, when she learned I am a woman, immediately invited me to her women-only, girls-night-out birthday party the following week.

Another friend, when a friend of hers expressed doubts about my gender, immediately shut them down and reaffirmed I am a woman.

I went camping with a group of friends, and we had two tents, one for the boys and one for the girls; I was unsure as to which I should enter, to which a girl friend responded by grabbing me and physically dragging me inside the women's tent.

In the women's bathroom at a movie theatre a random woman, whom I'd never seen before and haven't seen since, stopped me as I was going into a stall, to warn me there was no toilet paper in there, because she'd just used the last of it.

All of these, and more, some from friends, some from complete strangers. All within a few months, as a trans woman who hadn't started medical transition yet, and was very visible as being a trans woman.

I've had some people reject me, true, but the vast majority, including almost all cis women, accepted me as a sister with open arms.

I've never really been much of a MCU fan, or a fan of superhero movies in general, but I've been wanting to cosplay as Bucky for a long time, since I'm also missing my left arm, and I've been on T for going on 4 years and actually look a lot like him now (increased muscle mass ftw!), especially now that I'm a year post top surgery.

Until literally two days ago, I'd never watched any of the Captain America movies, but all the in-depth posts about the Buckyfic made me curious enough to binge-watch all 3 and then immediately read your entire fic in one day.

Lemme tell ya, I am SHOOK. Not only are Bucky and I armless buddies, but we have the same types of trauma, and even the same responses to said trauma.

Growing up, I spent more time in children's psychiatric hospitals than in my own home, and people treated me like I was a dangerous monster in both settings. When I'd get dysregulated or upset, I would black out and "wake up" later to discover that I'd attacked someone again, but I'd have no memory of it (turns out it was DID, which I was professionally diagnosed with at around age 8-9).

On top of that, I was found to have a rare disorder that ended up nearly killing me, so I also spent my childhood as a medical lab rat. I've had every test and procedure under the sun performed on me, all when I was under 10 years old (hence the emergence of DID).

My body is covered in dozens upon dozens of scars from being cut open and sewn back up over the course of my life, and I still have to endure it nowadays, thanks to my skin's uncanny ability to make severely atypical moles that need to be excised to prevent skin cancer from developing.

As I read through the fic, I started to write down the similarities I noticed between me and Bucky in regards to behaviors and trauma responses:

Self-harming as a way to self-regulate or as punishment for perceived mistakes.

Intense flashbacks, dissociation, and shutdown triggered by seemingly minor things.

Expecting punishment and being confused/angry when it doesn't happen, then acting out to try to get the punishment you think you deserve.

Believing that nobody could possibly love you for who you are (because you are a horrible, dangerous, disgusting creature that doesn't deserve to have good things happen to them), and thinking they'll only keep you around as long as you remain useful to them.

Struggling to see your body as YOUR body rather than a thing for others to use, or a machine that needs constant maintenance (surgery, medications) to remain adequately functional.

Similarly, offering "services" to anyone who wants it because you've been conditioned to believe that it's all you're good for, and that your body only exists to please others.

Having no bodily autonomy in general because no one ever gave you that option, and now that you're free, you have no idea how to use your newfound agency.

I dunno where I was going with this, but I guess I just wanted to say that the Buckyfic was surprisingly cathartic for me to read, and it really helped me to see that other people feel like this too, and that I'm not crazy (debatable) for having these reactions as I slowly recover from decades of life-changing trauma. It was honestly super strange seeing my recovery journey mirrored back at me like that, but I think it helped put things in perspective in a way I'd never experienced before, and despite the shitass nightmares that plagued me the night after I finished the fic, it's been weirdly healing to have read it. So thank you, and how dare you.

Dude you should totally do the cosplay!!! that would be so cool

Also, ONE DAY??? That's wild!! I would not have thought it was physically possible lol but several people have told me they binge-read the whole thing in one day and i take it as a huge compliment

it's amazing to hear that the fic was so healing for you and it helped you to make sense of your own life in some ways...wow!

thanks so much for writing this, it is lovely to hear how my fic touched someone's life in a positive way. <3

Yesterday I had a call where at the start of the call the doctor told the patient "I know you speak some English but I have an interpreter on the line just in case". So they asked me to stay on the line and they'd tell me when they needed me to translate something. The call lasted for like 40 minutes and most of the time they were just talking to each other normally, and there were only like two or thee times when I was directly asked to traslate.

And then my supervisor started to message me through slack all pissed off telling me that he had been listening in on that call for like 10 minutes and he never once heard me say something, and that what I was doing could be considered time theft because I wasn't doing my job.

Let’s start looking at solutions for both vegans and non-vegans.

This goes beyond veganism. It relates to environmental racism, environmental degradation, and workers’ rights.

If you’re a non-vegan and are able to do so, you can try buying from/supporting local farms with more ethical practices (of course, this still depends on the farm, so make sure you can verify), buying from rifle hunters who kill their animals painlessly and quickly, or learn to rifle hunt yourself.

But there unequivocally has to be something done, we have to start somewhere. There have been little to no significant political figures who have called for safer agriculture practices.

In fact, in America, the Trump Administration has INCREASED limits on slaughters per minute, leading to an increased risk of improper slaughters and worker injury.

Factory farming is a complete violation of BOTH human rights and animal rights.

Not only for the sake of livestock animals subjected to cruel practices (tail cutting, beak clipping, overcrowding, gestation pens, AI, separation, beatings for muscle retention, branding, improper bolt gun usage, drowning, suffocation, and a plethora of others including those that have not been recorded), but ALSO for workers who are exploited and not remotely given proper safety or dignity in their field, communities surrounding factory farms devastated by miles long cess pools (communities that are largely marginalized and predominated by people of color), and the effect on the environment through fossil fuel emissions and deforestation.

Many of these issues carry over to other productions, including vegetable farming and non-agricultural industries, but that is NOT an excuse to not talk about it at all.

Factory farming is a trillion dollar industry and you can make a difference just by spreading awareness.

ID: A youtube comment with 11 likes by Niceone, it says "I've lived 46 years without knowing this. How nice of life to save some of the best bites for later." End ID.

Equiping an armor tutorial