The world is quiet here.

Yeah, because bigotry can only be perpetrated by people who are actively, consciously hateful, sitting in their villainous lairs and dreaming up new innovative ways to be evil. (Obvious sarcasm.)

Transphobia is not just “when you actively and knowingly hate trans people”. Transphobia is also

A paternalistic attitude that says that trans people can't really be trusted to know themselves or what they want and so need to be gatekept from healthcare by cis “experts”

A refusal to listen to and take into account trans expertise; hell, a denial that trans expertise even exists

The idea that while some trans people existing in society is fine, ideally we should be limiting that number as much as we can

The idea that transition - social or physical or both - should only ever be a last resort after all other “possible avenues” have been explored, because being trans is fundamentally an undesirable inferior state and ideally we should be protecting people from transition for their own good

An attempt to clamp down on the use of “dangerous unregulated private healthcare” and an insistence on “safety” and on “doing things the right way” that manifests in reality as a denial of care because no viable alternatives to such “dangerous” options are actually provided

A carving out of exceptions to the basic principle of bodily autonomy whenever a body happens to belong to a trans person

A total dismissal of the concept of harm reduction when it comes to trans people; the only harm reduction that really matters is making sure no cis person accidentally does anything trans, and that end should be doggedly pursued no matter how many trans people it will harm along the way

An expectation of ludicrously unattainable standards of evidence and success for any healthcare involving trans people, that you would never demand of “normal” healthcare - a >15% regret rate for some common surgery is fine; a <1% regret rate for something trans-related is a national scandal that calls for an immediate inquiry into care standards

The refusal to change policies and approaches that have been demonstrated time and time again to harm trans people, because you view the status quo of cis authority over trans bodies as more important than the survival of the people those bodies belong to

The demand that cis people as individuals, and cis society at large, deserve to have their opinions taken into account regarding how a trans person chooses to live and what they choose to do to their body, and that trans freedom should hinge on cis approval

An assumption that segregation between “normal healthcare” and “trans healthcare” is just natural and necessary, even when it is literally the same procedure or treatment

The welcoming of openly trans-hostile voices into conversations about trans issues to the exclusion of actual trans people, because “it's really important that all views are aired” (apart from the views of trans people, obviously)

The attitude that, no matter how ignorant of, detached from, irrelevant to, and unwilling to learn of trans people's lives you are, your personal consent and satisfaction must be obtained before any progress around trans equality can be made, and trans people must only move at the pace of your willingness to understand and get on board

An insistence on endlessly rehashing the same basic points again and again and preventing any forward movement by repeatedly dragging the conversation back to square one, forcing trans people and their allies to debunk the same nonsense again and again and defend the same well-proven, well-established truths again and again

The denial that transphobia even exists or is a significant problem that needs to be addressed - it's not bigotry, it's just conflicting views! After all, gender identity is a polarising issue!

and so much more besides. Transphobia is a social system, a way of thinking, a set of baked-in assumptions, an institutionalised bias. Conscious, active “hatred” is not a prerequisite for anything listed above, but they are all transphobia, and at the root of all of them is a casual indifference to trans survival, a prioritisation of cis comfort and cis interests over trans lives, and an instinctive valuing of cis existence over trans existence. A lot of cis people don't even recognise these things as transphobia because they themselves hold those casual prejudices and therefore see the extensions of them as natural.

And at this point, I don't care about “good intentions”. These things are all manifestations of the insidious and deeply evil web of transphobia that prevents trans people from living full lives as equal participants in society. People who keep holding these attitudes and doing these things aren't “basically well-intentioned”; they're just bigots who don't know or care that they're bigots.

Generally you unbutton and re-button a suit coat when you sit down and stand up.

You’re supposed to hold wine or champagne glasses by the stem to avoid warming up the liquid inside. A character out of their depth might hold the glass around the sides instead.

When rich/important people forget your name and they’re drunk, they usually just tell you that they don’t remember or completely skip over any opportunity to use your name so they don’t look silly.

A good way to indicate you don’t want to shake someone’s hand at an event is to hold a drink in your right hand (and if you’re a woman, a purse in the other so you definitely can’t shift the glass to another hand and then shake)

Americans who still kiss cheeks as a welcome generally don’t press lips to cheeks, it’s more of a touch of cheek to cheek or even a hover (these days, mostly to avoid smudging a woman’s makeup)

The distinctions between dress codes (black tie, cocktail, etc) are very intricate but obvious to those who know how to look. If you wear a short skirt to a black tie event for example, people would clock that instantly even if the dress itself was very formal. Same thing goes for certain articles of men’s clothing.

Open bars / cash bars at events usually carry limited options. They’re meant to serve lots of people very quickly, so nobody is getting a cosmo or a Manhattan etc.

These events are almost always open bar. They're not trying to make their money back on alcohol. They want you to drink and eat and donate generously.

If there are cocktails, there will be at most two on offer, pre-made in large tubs. You cannot order a different version, it is what it is.

There are two types of events: cocktail style or seated. The first includes roaming hors d'oeuvres or a fancy buffet with tiny plates called a grazing station. For a long night, the roaming food will get a little bigger throughout the evening and have a 'main' at some point based around a protein.

A seated event will usually be more structured and may include multiple courses. Silver service is not in vogue anymore. You are likely to get either alternating meals brought to you like at a wedding, or served banquet style. A good caterer can get a plate to everyone in a 300 person event in about three minutes.

Drunk people are the same no matter how expensive their suits. They still laugh too loud, spill their drinks and slip on the dance floor. They are usually less embarrassed about doing coke in the bathrooms.

A full scale event that starts at 6pm will have staff arriving at noon to begin setup. Earlier if there's a light show or pyrotechnics. Typically venues don't just have 30 tables and three hundred chairs lying around, let alone table cloths, chair covers, etc. It's all rented and brought in on the day. Bands and DJs will be running audio tests in the background throughout.

Most heritage buildings that host these things, like museums and manor houses, aren't really designed for them. They might put down mats so you're not walking in stilettos over two hundred year old wooden floors, the kitchens are weirdly far away, and there are not enough taps. There is never anywhere for staff to sit, so if you open the wrong door you might find half a dozen waiters sitting on upturned milk crates in a room full of million dollar paintings, eating the left over bread.

Really old buildings don't have enough bathrooms, which means the staff will be sharing with the guests.

Clean up starts the second the event ends, if not sooner. Unattended glasses will start to disappear first, then table decorations. When the timer ticks over, the lights come back on and exhausted staff strip the tables, pack up dirty glasses and unopened wine bottles and have to Tetris it all into the back of a van. The venue is booked for that day only, so everything has to be gone before anyone can go home. A large event that finishes at midnight might take until 3am to be cleared away.

The mirror replied "To whom?"

"The miller who made the flour for my bread," the queen would say, or "Whoever spun the thread my shawl was made of".

The second time, she says "To the King," and she is pleased to see herself once more.

The third time, she says "To the Royal Advisor," and is once more satisfied to see herself.

The fourth time, she says "To the scribe who takes the King's letters." She is shown the man's wife. And she seethes, but quiets herself, for it is only right that a man loves his wife.

The fifth time, she says "To the Court Wizard," and is shown the man's departed mother as he remembers her from his youth, radiant and smiling and warm and larger than life.

The tenth time, she says "To the Stable Master," and is shown the fastest horse in the stable, majestic and free as the wind even in captivity

"To the baker," she is shown the man's daughter, young and adorable and full of joy and laughter.

"To the artist who did my portrait," she is shown a painting of a woman done by the man's teacher, who he still looks up to now that he is well established himself.

"To the Royal Knight," she is surprised but not displeased to see the castle's entire guard force in the middle of doing drills.

The one hundredth time she asks the mirror, and it asks her "to whom?" she once again says, "To me." And she does the same the one hundred and second, and again and again and again.

(Adapted from this writer meme by @ahdriking)

Do you consider podficcing to be your primary fandom activity?

Briefly describe your podficcing process

What got you started podficcing?

What's your recording setup?

Do you prefer making one-shots or multi-chaptered podfics?

Do you prefer podficcing fic you already know, or cold-reading?

Do you do any prep before you start recording?

Has another podfic ever inspired you to try something new?

Do you like constructive criticism?

Do you have your work beta'd? How important is this to your process?

How do you decide on what voices to give the character(s)?

Do you prefer recording the beginning, middle, or end of a story?

Rec three of your current favorite podfics

What's your relationship with podfic feedback?

What’s a podficcing tip you got that you almost always follow?

How do you approach recording emotional scenes?

How do you approach recording smut scenes?

How many podfic WIPs do you have right now? Talk about one of them

Have you ever hit a podfic roadblock or dry spell? How did you deal with it?

How do you start/end your podfics? (Do you include the full header? Do you do notes? Bloopers?)

Have you done/Do you like doing free talk at the end of a podfic?

Except for "podfic" and format tags, what is the most-used podfic tag on your ao3?

Have you noticed any patterns in your podfics?

Have you been part of multivoice podfics?

Are there certain types of stories you like reading but avoid podficcing? (Fandoms, style, pov, genre, tropes, etc.)

Do you have any advice for other podficcers?

Have you come across podficcing tips and tricks that don't work for you/your process?

What podfic do you wish you got more of a response on?

Which of your podfics would you call your wildest ride?

What is your most and least favorite part of podficcing?

On average, how much podfic do you make in a week/month/year?

How much time do you spend on editing? Have you/would you ever post something unedited?

How do you pick a story to podfic?

Rec some of your favourite podficcers

Have you ever drawn inspiration from another podficcer?

Did you ever think of turning your podficcing skills into a job?

Do you use music in your podfics?

Do you use sound sound effects? What's your favourite?

Do you take podfic commissions?

Have your podfics ever been remixed or further transformed?

Do you listen to your own podfics?

What’s the last podfic you listened to?

Do you enjoy performing angsty scenes, or do you avoid them?

Are there any words you keep mispronouncing no matter how many times you've looked them up?

What is your goal when making a podfic?

How would you describe your podficcing style?

Do you listen to your finished podfics before posting them?

If you've used a podfic beta, what did you look for in them?

How long is your longest podfic?

Which podfic took you the longest/hardest to make, and why?

Which podfic was the fastest/easiest to make, and why?

What’s your total podficcing wordcount?

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

How is your fandom time allocated? Do you spend more time reading, podficcing, something else?

What’s your favorite part of the podficcing process?

Which has been your favourite character to voice?

What’s something about your podficcing that you pride yourself on?

Does anyone in your personal life know you podfic? Have they heard your podfics? What did they think?

Do you seek out, or avoid, explicit fic?

Tell us about a podfic-related thing you look forward to

How do you deal with podficcing under pressure (deadlines, participating in events, WIPs...)?

Have you taken part in a podficcing event/challenge? Did you like it?

Are there any of your previous podfics you wish you could remake?

When it comes to long projects or stories with large casts, how do you keep track of character voices?

Do you always record in chronological order? Have you ever recorded scenes out of order?

What's something you're particularly good at in podficcing?

Apart from your voice, do you have a "signature move" or is there tell-tale sign that a podfic is your work?

Do you remember making [Podfic title]? Can you share something from that process? (Favourite or most challenging scene, etc.)

Do you have projects you've had to abandon? Why? Would you like to take them up again?

that's really exactly it.

as someone who could very easily qualify for a diagnosis of bpd or cptsd, and even very often resonates with both, everything described in bpd is just a demonization of the same patterns of behaviour described by cptsd. it is just describing you as evil for struggling with being hurt so much, and in doing so, takes the focus away from the person hurting and puts it onto how it inconveniences everyone else.

we really need to be critical of how these labels come to be, because they are deliberately created, and they are created by people with biases. they are so often just a tool of oppression, another extension of a discriminatory machine.

I hope it isn't derailing, but I think this is also really illustrated with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. "narcissist" was a word for an asshole before it was a word for a disorder. rather than describing how someone might struggle to relate to others or be open to true connection, and centering the person who needs to heal, they instead called everyone who struggles with that an irredeemable dick and dressed it up in medical expertise so you wouldn't think to question it. frankly I think it's silly to call for treating "narcissist" like some sacred medical term instead of looking at how fucked up it is that they called a disorder that???

But I know how to apply the gel because I saw posts from trans women how to apply it and I feel that even though are reasons for using it are different that we are not so different

SOMETIMES

Going to the library can activate A Little Treat pleasure centers

Coming home with music and books and some movies, and paying zero dollars for it all

You are transported back in time and into the body of a young noblewoman in the 1400s. Your parents have married you off to an awful, abusive, rapist husband whom literally no one else would marry despite him being very high nobility because he's that terrible. You successfully produce a baby boy and then plan to murder this man for the good of everyone and yourself. Here is the question: do you think you could murder him in a way that is undetectable to the historical people around you? Note: they aren't stupid, you are the prime suspect as the battered wife AND you can't just say poison. Where are you going to buy poison? Do you know anything about poison actually? NO GOOGLING! You were sent back without a plan!

THEN construct a plan. Ideally, I'll be a day or so travel away when shit goes down. Can I incite a duel with some well placed words to an enemy? Does he have a drinking buddy who might recklessly induce him to fence or ride after too much liquor? I didn't do anything, I wasn't even there when he got that wound.

When I come back to nurse him (if I do) it's with all the modern day knowledge that I won't apply. Not that anyone would listen to me, of course, but I can ask questions, after all I'm just a female? What is happening? Isn't bleeding the patient good? This water from the stagnant pond was blessed by the priest, surely God will favor him if we anoint his wound with it?

I get nowhere near my husband, especially without witnesses. The sick room is no place for a delicate lady, and besides, on no accounts can we risk his heir. I should probably be sent away - for my health, you understand.

Sometimes people die young. Women are widowed early.

To clarify about the poison, you can use poison if you actually know how to identify it, I'm saying you can't just go "Poison!" with no knowledge about poison. Buying it probably means they know that poison and you're caught. Your personal knowledge when you read this post is all you have.

but you are still a woman in the 1400s with a great house and likely an excellent fortune. how are you going to keep opportunists from blaming you as an excuse to get their hands on your property, especially in the face of rumours that your husband's death wasn't natural? it wouldn't even be that hard to make what is essentially theft look legitimate, it could still pass to the son, and he will need a trustee or guardian of some sort until he comes of age, and who better than the local lord justice, who also happens to be a greedy shit but basically is the law, so who's going to stop him?

who's going to stop anyone with better claim to their accusations (because again, you are a woman, and possibly not even a noblewoman yourself but by marriage) from depriving you of your property? what's going to stop your son from doing so once he comes of age, in the event that you can't legally inherit?

i think the question is not 'can you make it look good enough to get away with it,' but 'is anyone going to let you get away with it no matter how good you make it look'? i mean, it wouldn't take much, an accusation of witchcraft—sensationalised, of course, but it is hard to refute—and whipping up a very public campaign ending in a death sentence, and...that's it. game over.

In this particular work, the husband is the heir apparent, his father is still alive and holding the title. Grandpa loves the little baby grandson and will definitely make him the new heir if his son dies. The husband has such a bad reputation that I really think if the wife kills him with plausible deniability, the gossip will be, "god has struck him down and he deserved it." Then she gets to bask in being in control of the household until her son grows up and then she retires as a dowager when he marries.

if granddad is alive (and i'm assuming fairly robust), especially if he's titled, there would have to be some pretty good legal reasons why he's unable to help, or i'd have to come to the unfortunate conclusion that he's just as bad as his son. and he could be! he could be just as bad as his son and still love his grandson, that's not necessarily a conflict, but i am a little confused about the setup.

noblewoman daughter-in-law doesn't need to get away with it if granddad is willing to help make it go away—especially if he brings his purse as a bludgeoning tool—and would likewise, as you pointed out, be in the way of some unscrupulous person getting their hands on the estate. i know it will depend on their relative position in the society you're writing, but i'm also fully aware that you definitely have an understanding that a low-ranking nobleman doesn't have the kind of pull that someone higher up in the nobility would.

As for why grandpa is alive and son is still awful? It's like a Tom Bertram situation if you've read Mansfield Park, Tom just runs off and does stuff and his dad can't figure out how to stop him (also, it's not like they are breaking into their kid's bedroom when he's alone with his wife). This character is the only son, so he's basically guaranteed to inherit and they keep covering up his actual crimes in some sort of vain hope that he'll stop. Also, if you live in a patriarchal society, there is this fun thing you can do called "blame the wife for making him angry/not fixing him," it works every time!

The feeling I got from the original story is that the grandparents are in this like, cognitive dissonance where they do know their son is The Worst, but they only have one option, and they do love their kid as parents, so they kind of both try to protect the wife but also excuse their son and pretend he isn't as bad as he is. And they probably don't want to admit to themselves that they raised such a terrible person and are enabling his future behaviour by never letting him face consequences.

As for money, I'd bet he's just charging things to his family account and then they don't want to look bad as a family by not paying or telling places that he's grounded. What thin veneer of dignity they still have as a noble house and whatnot.

not sure if this was mentioned in the notes, i didn't consult before i started this, but any thoughts on pennyroyal? could legitimately be medically administered for mundane reasons, by a medical professional, and it's notoriously difficult to dose correctly, as in, a few grains too much and someone is dead rather than cured. not sure if this would apply in china, but sometimes pennyroyal was also used to create a minty flavour in dishes. even if (when?) the wife is suspected, medical guy can back her up or servants can be like, we use this all the time, i don't know why this one was different, and maybe grandparents are like, welp, that seems reasonable to us, because it lifts a huge burden off their shoulders and their son dies in a way that doesn't reflect poorly on them.

texas tech's quartback, brendan sorsby, was investigated for sports gambling. i know sports betting is all the rage right now, but athletes themselves are not allowed to do it. it is Rule Number 1 and it is the highest priority rule for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), who governs all athletic programs at about 1,100 colleges in the US.

the invesitagetion of sorsby revealed that, not only did he place more than 9,000 sports bets when he himself was a collegiate athlete, but 40 of those bets were AGAINST HIS OWN TEAM when he was playing at indiana university. immediately, this threatens the integrity of the sport, and especially because indiana is the hottest team right now as the defending national champion.

the NCAA, which is largely a sham organization these days (they've truly lost their grasp and college athletics are the wild west now) actually enforced their Number 1 Rule and told sorsby his career is over, that he would never play college football again (and, subsequently, that he would never get drafted into the NFL because his college career was cut short).

well, because the NCAA is a husk of its former self, sorsby and texad tech immediately took this to court. MANY athletes have learned these past few seasons that if you can find a judge who's a fan of your team, you can get any NCAA ruling overturned. that's exactly what texas tech did. they filed a suit in Lubbock, where the university is located and where every judge is an alum of texas tech. so sorsby was granted an injunction and will now only be suspended for the first 2 games od the 2026 season (which are alwayd against no-name teams that will be destroyed regardless of who's suspended).

every other school in the country immediately went on the defensive because this is a very clear integretiy issue. so nebraska and georgia (sic em dawgs) released statements saying that all currently-scheduled competitions witb Texas Tech in ANY sport will be canceled and there will be no future schedulings. at least 3 of the major conferences (SEC, Big 10, Big 12) , who account for almost all division 1 sports teams in the country, are also in discussions about cancelling comtests. Texas Tech is part of the Big 12, and there is serious talk of all other teams in the conference shutting texas tech out.

now would probably be time where i say that texas tech is one of the wealthiest programs in college football becaise there is a single billionaire alumnus pouring money into the program with hopes of essentially buying a championship. so texas techs integrity has always been questionable. anyway, the university president put oit a statement that he doesnt care that sorseby violated regulation and that texas tech will sue any school that refuses to play them because it jeopardizes their championship prospects if they're umable to play any games.

The Tube Post has been updated for 2026! Endless thanks to @andstuffsketches for the amazing art (!!!), @rowenabean for checking this over for me (all remaining mistakes are my own), @kelpforestdwellers for extra tips, and @appleyblam for an editing pass. Thank you all!

SO YOU WRITE DOWN A WORD

BUT ITS NOT THE RIGHT WORD

SO YOU TRY A NEW WORD

BUT YOU HATE THE NEW WORD

AND YOU NEED A GOOD WORD

BUT YOU CANT FIND THE WORD

OH WHERE IS IT

WHAT IS IT

WHAT IS IT

WHERE IS IT-

Wakes up from hypnosis where he was about to marry a woman he’s never seen before with his mystery girl’s voice, the instant he wakes up then the cute girl he’s actually fallen in love with now has that voice. Then she drops to the floor and has a fish tail, and then the first girl is suddenly cackling “too late!” and bursting out of her skin. So it turns out she’s actually an octopus woman who drags herself over to the real mystery girl - who’s a mermaid?! They’re real?! - and taking her back into the ocean. And Eric has no idea what’s going on here but okay, one of these women is clearly evil and he needs to go after his mystery girl.

And all of this happens/he realizes what he has to do within like, a single minute.

Prior to this he was just living out a sweet romance after having a Meet Cute with a shipwrecked girl, but okay, guess he’s involved in whatever the fuck this is. Acting first, questioning later.