crystal-rebellion

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me at 9:00pm: ah. plenty of time to write, this is nice me at 10:00pm: hm, I know WHAT I want to write, but not quite how to write it, did get some editing done though me at 10:30pm: okay, kinda stalling out, the muse is not in the house tonight, and that is okay. lets go to bed early, have a good sleep for once! 2:00am: *waking up with the perfect scene idea, quippy one liner and plot explanation detailed enough i need to get out my phone, blind myself and either make a note of voice memo it* well that do be how it goes, I noted it down, time to go back to sleep now

3:20am: *wakes back up with a DIFFERENT plot point, more good dialog and a cute end scene idea; flips on phone to make notes* siiigh i mean at least I've written it down, but uhg, okay, bedtime for real 5:00am: *awakens once more with MORE plot ideas* COME ON WHAT THE HELL-

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I love this! Screenshot sketches are such a good idea!

Because I learn a lot from copying, a sketch based on the screenshot below.

Tagged as Plance because my head canon is that Pidge, much to her chagrin, is already crushing on a certain goofball.

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The other night husband and I were watching a documentary about the yeti where they were doing DNA analysis of samples of supposed yeti fur, and every one of them came back as bears.

Anyway, the next night we watched a thing about some pig man who is supposed to live in Vermont. People said it had claws and a pig nose but walked upright like a man. Now, I happen to know that sideshows used to shave bears and present them as pig men. So every piece of evidence they gave of this monster sounds to me like a bear with mange.

So now the running joke in our house is that everything is bears. Aliens? Bears. Loch Ness monster? Bear. Every cryptozoological mystery is just a very crafty bear.

Bears. They’re everywhere. Be wary. Anyone or anything could be a bear.

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While I think people can identify however they like, whatever makes them feel most comfortable, etc, I want to circle back to the original line in question: "Also don't assume they'll use cutesy baby words like "neurospicy." Queers living out in the real world tend to call things what they are."

Copy and pasted directly from the post for accuracy. Nothing about this says you cannot personally identify however you like, but it is a caution that stepping out into more real-world spaces might confuse older queers with that terminology. That's it. Just... be aware of that. You might need to use more clinical words, especially to people who are... well, as the folks say, 'neurospicy.'

Maybe the folks being talked to will get it and click, especially if the meetup is with younger people, but if there's older, or even elderly folks there... ...they may not have any idea what you mean - or worse, may think you're looking for something else entirely and tell you you're in the wrong place, when in fact you do belong.

[This can also come up with queer-specific language, too; generational differences and all.]

How to find the local queer people when there don't appear to be any queer events nearby

are you sure there are no events?

Because they're a lot more common than you think, but you have to look in the right place! The social media algorithm sadly will not feed them to you. You will generally have to go through at least one layer of introduction before you meet folks directly.

Yes, this is a bit of a secret social club. Because many of these people lived through being too public might get you raided by cops or get you dead. They're rightfully cautious. They want to make sure people showing up aren't there to do harm. And the more rural the area, the tougher it will be to find people, but they're definitely THERE and likely having the same thoughts that nobody else is there.

Queer social activities are overwhelmingly run by middle aged folks (who have time, money, skills, and energy to do so) and they tend to use different social media because that's where they originally built communities!

The advice here for hunting down groups assumes you are an adult who can figure out logistics and safety of contacting other adults and getting yourself somewhere safely.

For social media, check Facebook and Meetup. These are most likely to have large local-ish groups putting on events. Join some groups. Many may be private and require approval before you see content. Even if there's not one immediately nearby, join the closest one, whatever "close" is. Even if it's not a perfect fit, they generally know the other even smaller groups nearby and may give you an invite to closer group or even direct contact info for The Local Guy where you text him.

Next up, Instagram. You'll pick up some folks a little younger and more business and pop up events this way. Sometimes you may not see an event until after it happened! Message the person and ask when next one is. Good odds there's a repeat.

Still no luck? Check out specific types of businesses/orgs in your area that tend to have an overlap. Maybe the local bar or coffee shop has a gay night once a month. Check their posts for last month, or if you can filter by date, look specifically in June. If they had one, message and ask about if they have an upcoming one. Even if they don't, they may put you in contact with organizer from past one.

For organizations, check for groups serving HIV+ populations and the neurospicy. Even if you fall into neither category, because of the overlap, there's good odds they offer specific services FOR queer folk. Contact them and they'll know who in the area is putting on events.

Check furry groups. Generally they do most organization via Telegram, which will require an invite. Find the nearest furry convention, check to see if they have a message board. Search for telegram. there's likely one attached to the convention and asking there of "hey, is there a furry telegram group that covers X area?" there will be one. I hope you like bowling, because this is by far the most common non-convention furry event.

(and if your reaction is EW Furries, you need to kill the little Puritan living in your head that hates people having fun doing stuff in a way you think is Cringe. Bowling is not that uncool.)

Still no luck? Now you're going to have to go search for individual queers in the wild! Your best luck is going to be with three other types of groups: 1. SOME Church activities 2. activities that attract the neurospicy (train groups, collecting groups, etc)

3. Tiny specialty groups where everyone is old and its in danger of dying out

If you're really rural sometimes the ONLY group doing any activities is the local church. If they're listed as "open and affirming" that's what you want. Unitarians and Congregationalists are most likely to fit that definition. But you should be able to run web search for that exact phase of "open and affirming church" + "your town" and it'll show you SOMETHING nearby. You may still come up with nothing, but the ones that are doing that tend to be really dedicated, so they will have info about what local groups are friendly to queers, if not open about that. They will also have non-religious activities like knitting or potluck even if you don't want to go to a service.

Neurospicy activities- check your surrounding libraries for activities as well. Even if you're not that brand of spicy, the overlap is high. Find an activity you are reasonably interested in and go meet locals. You'll find out which ones are queer after a few meetings. Often it will turn out everyone is and nobody said anything until one person does. (like our local hackerspace. secret trans hangout)

Endangered skills- do you really want to learn some weird, specialty skill that's dying out? Ask around. call the senior center and have them post a note. Post at the library. stick a thing on a bulletin board at the grocery store. Pick something you are GENUINELY interested in learning like flint knapping, or how to cook a regional dish, local history, how to spin llama wool. Weirder and more endangered the better. Post several! Give them a way to contact you by phone. Unless they are horrendously bigoted up front, you are about to learn a skill and once you disclose "hey I'm gay", you are about to be introduced to every solitary queer in the area that is a friend of a friends' granddaughter's classmate. Often your mentor won't quite GET it, but you're their favorite person now so they're trying. And as you get introduced, suddenly the local flint knapping group is also the queer flint knapping group! and you should post on social media about your cool new activity and SURPRISE, you found them all! Also they now all have cool knives. win-win!

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A gift for a friend who wanted a non-zoomed-in version of the kissing scene. (Honestly, same.)

Clean version

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It’s my favorite day.

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I...

I can actually picture that B-plot in my head why... I can see Disney thinking it's a good idea to "explain his hatred" I...

I really wish that sounded outlandish, but it really does feel like something they might try and do.

That moment you're singing Hunchback of Notre Dame songs and realize thirty years later that, uh. Clopin the happy go lucky jester guy is canonically a serial killer 😬😬😬😬

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Lotor thinks his DOTU self’s harem is tacky and Allura decides to tease him a bit.

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Idk I got bored and traced a meme

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part of the reason I think it’s so sad that we collectively write so few stories about unrequited love is bc I feel like there’s very little public acknowledgment of how much it sucks to be the one somebody is in unrequited love with??? and not in a way of like, oh they’re crossing boundaries or putting expectations on me or whatever. becoming close friends with someone and then finding out they’re in love with you and you don’t love them back the same way is heartbreaking, bc a) someone you love is in pain and there is literally nothing you can do about it, and b) it usually means that whether you like it or not there’s going to be distance in your friendship that wasn’t there before as they try to get over you. idk man I just feel like we’ve all discussed the tragedy of loving someone who doesn’t love you back quite a lot and very rarely discuss the tragedy of finding out the way that you love someone just isn’t enough.

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"I need privacy, not because my actions are questionable, but because your judgement and intentions are."

Farewell online privacy

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I tried my hand at FancyCake from scratch for the first time.

(I've only ever put box cake mixes into rectangle pans before.)

Quite pleased, all in all.

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I haven't! I'm not even sure I know what that is - but now I'm curious and looking it up!

Gonna go full white girl here for a moment

If I ask if a food is spicy at all, and you reply “No, not at all! You can barely feel it!” then that is a contradiction. It is spicy. It may not be very spicy, or even moderately spicy, but it’s still spicy. Please just tell me that straight-out.

I know there’s a good chance you’re mocking me in your head when I say that I cannot handle spices at all, and that even the mildest of sauces, that you insist are barely there, are going to hurt, because I’m mocking me too. I know I’ve got a child’s palate when it comes to spicy food. I know it’s almost laughable, how badly I react to even table pepper in more than the most minuscule of doses.

But if I ask “is this spicy,” and you answer “not at all,” and then proceed to tell me that it’s mild, then I will still consider it too spicy.

If I ask “is this spicy at all” and you say “no” while knowing that it is, just a tiny bit, because you can’t imagine anyone reacting, then please don’t be offended when I take one bite and then throw it out, because I asked for a reason.

It’s a dumb thing to talk about, but… yeah. Just do your cannot-handle-spices friends a favor and be honest when they ask. Mild is still a level of spice.

(This goes doubly for strangers, because if they have a digestive problem like, IDK, ulcers or something, then spicy food can irritate the stomach lining further and cause extreme pain. Some people claim that capsaicin can be used to treat ulcers, but you know… just play it safe, yeah?)

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@prismatic-bell You know - I've never thought too much about it! I'll admit, I feel like saying I don't like Brussels spouts is a little unfair because I only vaguely remember disliking them as a kid and have stayed clear ever since; and I know tastes can change as an adult, but I do remember distinctly disliking them. Arugula I have tried more recently and it definitely tastes peppery or spicy; which I hadn't really realized before until you just asked.

Spinach is probably the most palatable to me and I will eat it with other things, usually creamy/dairy things- pasta sauces, soups, or in a salad with a creamy dressing, but I find the taste too sharp just on its own, or if it's the only green in a salad (as opposed to a mix).

I have no idea if that answered your question in the way you expected - is there some connection do you think?

Gonna go full white girl here for a moment

If I ask if a food is spicy at all, and you reply “No, not at all! You can barely feel it!” then that is a contradiction. It is spicy. It may not be very spicy, or even moderately spicy, but it’s still spicy. Please just tell me that straight-out.

I know there’s a good chance you’re mocking me in your head when I say that I cannot handle spices at all, and that even the mildest of sauces, that you insist are barely there, are going to hurt, because I’m mocking me too. I know I’ve got a child’s palate when it comes to spicy food. I know it’s almost laughable, how badly I react to even table pepper in more than the most minuscule of doses.

But if I ask “is this spicy,” and you answer “not at all,” and then proceed to tell me that it’s mild, then I will still consider it too spicy.

If I ask “is this spicy at all” and you say “no” while knowing that it is, just a tiny bit, because you can’t imagine anyone reacting, then please don’t be offended when I take one bite and then throw it out, because I asked for a reason.

It’s a dumb thing to talk about, but… yeah. Just do your cannot-handle-spices friends a favor and be honest when they ask. Mild is still a level of spice.

(This goes doubly for strangers, because if they have a digestive problem like, IDK, ulcers or something, then spicy food can irritate the stomach lining further and cause extreme pain. Some people claim that capsaicin can be used to treat ulcers, but you know… just play it safe, yeah?)

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I don't think I've ever felt so seen or heard than reading through this post and some of the notes. I am one of the folks sensitive to spice, and for a long while just assumed I was a "pansy" about it - which is really embarrassing living in the Southwest near the southern border of the US.

Weirdly, I think my threshold is just wildly skewed - I find pepperoni pizza (mainstream USA; think like, Dominoes) to be uncomfortably spicy, and I have been informed by most friends that they are baffled because they don't taste any spice at all - I might as well have said milk was spicy.

That all being said, I can taste different flavors in stuff others have called bland; unseasoned rice and pasta, unseasoned potatoes, stuff like that - very tasty, and not just because its not spicy, but just on its own.

Its really affirming to read from others how its not about being a wimp or whatever - food's made to be enjoyed at the end of the day after all, however that may be.

Gonna go full white girl here for a moment

If I ask if a food is spicy at all, and you reply “No, not at all! You can barely feel it!” then that is a contradiction. It is spicy. It may not be very spicy, or even moderately spicy, but it’s still spicy. Please just tell me that straight-out.

I know there’s a good chance you’re mocking me in your head when I say that I cannot handle spices at all, and that even the mildest of sauces, that you insist are barely there, are going to hurt, because I’m mocking me too. I know I’ve got a child’s palate when it comes to spicy food. I know it’s almost laughable, how badly I react to even table pepper in more than the most minuscule of doses.

But if I ask “is this spicy,” and you answer “not at all,” and then proceed to tell me that it’s mild, then I will still consider it too spicy.

If I ask “is this spicy at all” and you say “no” while knowing that it is, just a tiny bit, because you can’t imagine anyone reacting, then please don’t be offended when I take one bite and then throw it out, because I asked for a reason.

It’s a dumb thing to talk about, but… yeah. Just do your cannot-handle-spices friends a favor and be honest when they ask. Mild is still a level of spice.

(This goes doubly for strangers, because if they have a digestive problem like, IDK, ulcers or something, then spicy food can irritate the stomach lining further and cause extreme pain. Some people claim that capsaicin can be used to treat ulcers, but you know… just play it safe, yeah?)

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using "what were YOU doing at the devils sacrament" to mean "yeah i made an embarrassing reference but you understood it which is also embarrassing" is very funny to me