Paladin of Cats

and I don't know exactly what to do with this yet but I'm fascinated, in a really upsetting way, by the way some of these people seem to conceptualize romantic and/or sexual attraction as an act of violation that no one should do to people they like and care about. if nothing else it raises some really compelling questions about what they think actually goes on between people who have sex and/or romantic bonds with each other if that's not supposed to be something that happens between friends.

Saying this as gently as possible: if you have any of the above reactions to finding out that someone has romantic feelings for you, that's on you, not on them, and your reactions are both evidence of trauma and not something you should encourage in yourself. Please seek help and healing.

As Mark Watney would say, he's sciencing the shit out of this. But Grace wouldn't say that because he has like the polar opposite of Watney's swear word vocabulary.

Yes!!! I've never even read The Martian but every time I saw stuff about it I was like "wow that is EXACTLY what my best friend (aerospace engineering degree) thinks like"

the other has you pacing your bedroom at one in the morning going "why. why would you ever in a million years do it like that. genuinely what possible thought process was involved. was the writer possessed by a fucking ghost or something."

mimicry

"Modern America is the WORST country to live in, every other country on earth has it better than us, we are the poorest and most oppressed populace to ever exist up to and including slaves and victims of genocide" - I think the websites you're getting this language from are harming you

and no, actually, this is not USA specific and no, actually, people from other countries should not ignore this post. police violence and sanism weren't invented in the US and they are certainly not unique to here. if you (or anyone) thinks that this bullshit doesn't happen elsewhere then you are not listening.

do we want Some Guy with a Gun in this situation? answer is usually "NO"

It makes it very clear what you're saying. I can call a man with a gun to threaten or hurt someone mildly inconveniencing me. You're not calling the cops, you're calling A MAN WITH A GUN into a situation that does not warrant a firearm handled by a volatile lunatic who will not be held accountable for his actions.

the brothers Area

It was not until well into my adulthood that I realized most people do not have complicated feelings about movies where people have to kill a scary alien monster, nor is that necessarily meant to be part of the narrative (unless it very obviously is). They just want the scary thing to die because it’s scary. I don’t have a real conclusion to this I just started thinking about it for some reason.

"hey there, I understand that you're very passionate about this, but the most recent studies out there show that x isn't y. I just wanted to let you know, because you clearly care a lot about the subject!" <- I have seen this change minds firsthand, it's easier for the person to agree with you because they're not feeling defensive over an insult, and total happiness for everyone involved either stays the same or goes UP. everyone wins. if they're still being silly about it, at least you can walk away knowing that you tried. and often times, even if they show no change in the moment, that kind of interaction stays with people. they'll ruminate on it. you might have helped incite a later change of heart.

tfw you imagine a glimpse of someone familiar in your peripheral vision

Gifset source