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you tried everything. you tried relationship check-ins and using positive thinking. you tried modelling healthy coping strategies and printing out pages of cognitive behavioral therapy tricks. you tried relationship podcasts and audiobooks and posts on instagram. you tried steamrolling your own emotions and making yourself into a fractal of a person. you tried ripping out your own hair and you tried to feed from your own stomach. you tried setting boundaries - and when that failed, you tried to be okay with broken boundaries.

you tried explaining, over and over and over. you tried long-winded texts that delicately apologized and took accountability; you tried short and earnest apologies that directly confronted the issue. you tried letting them apologize first - and when that didn't work at all, you tried to delicately explain you needed their apology.

you tried, because you really thought they could change. sometimes, if you caught them in the right moment - they even seemed willing. they would nod and agree to try therapy (eventually) or try calming techniques (eventually) or try safe communication practices (eventually) or try -

and you feel like a fool, because you gave them so much grace about it, and that's how things got so bad for so long. you were being patient and kind and willing. you gave them time. you promised yourself that next week, they'd be better. next week, they'd be the partner you needed. next week, they'd be there for you. they'd finally see all the effort and love and trying! and as some kind of divine reward, why, they'd finally -

the whole time your boundaries shifted and swam. since you were being patient with them, you started taking barely-there token actions as being "enough." okay, they didn't really apologize, but even the use of the words "i'm sorry" was enough! okay, they didn't support you through grief, but afterwards they seemed guilty about that and offered to buy you sushi. wasn't that all good enough? isn't love about growth and bringing the other person up with you?

so when you finally broke about this and finally decided to run: well, you had expected to be ruined. you had cried in the shower picturing it. and instead. instead. you were suddenly, coldly, wildly - done.

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At least I didn't need to go work today. Slept off yesterday's heat exhaustion instead. Will probably get it again tomorrow.

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A big part of what makes sxf ludicrous is that the three lead characters are from three different, albeit overlapping, genres. The hero, and nominally the setting, is from espionage drama. The heroine is blatantly a meta from superhero adventure. The kid is from paranormal mystery.

So the spy is running around grimdark, woe is me, every man is an island because I've been systematically conditioned into subsuming any independent, and therefore obstructive to my superiors, sense of self, This is nonsense, of course.

The hit woman is clark kenting around her coworkers while trying to gauge the likelihood of her spouse getting fridged by a villain, or fellow antihero. Sadly, consumer level microwaves won't be available until the late 1970's so RIP her kitchen.

The little girl, who pretends to be older than she is, has telepathy influenced by tidal forces. Her arc puts her in contact with a family almost certainly run by at least one alien pod person. Very popular 1960's scifi theme! She finds a clairvoyant dog but doesn't name it lassie.

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i cannot do another round of "is shaving feminist?" discourse again, i simply cannot do it. is shaving feminist? no! do feminists shave their bodies? yes! is this a deep betrayal of principles? not really! do some women actually shave for the mythical "sensory reasons"? well, considering that my number one reason for shaving my legs in the summer is because my ceiling fan blows on the hair and i'm constantly having mini freakouts that i've got a bug crawling on me, i'd imagine some do! is it okay for a woman to say to herself "i realize i'm mostly doing this because i don't want to be treated worse by people in the world who find my unshaven legs disgusting, but i'm still going to do it because i don't think suffering for no reason is virtuous" and shave? yes! will yelling at her to "think critically about her choices" until she agrees with you actually work? no! does any of this make it any easier to get an abortion in this country? nope! have we replaced the "is this pop star a feminist?" discourse of the 2010s with "are your personal choices antithetical to the tenets of feminism?" discourse in the 2020s, none of which is conveniently focused on the actual loci of power?? hahahahahahaaaaa

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I continue to run into people that are confused as to why Americans have screens on our windows and it’s really quite simple.

Bugs

Diseases carried by bugs

Other assorted wildlife such as dogs and teenagers

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I found a loom at goodwill and I'm making it everyone else's problem

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WHY WE MASK: IT'S NOT 'JUST A COLD' 2025 ED

My COVID-19 comic is BACK, babeee, because all these respiratory viruses sure didn't go anywhere! I took all your generous feedback from WHY WE MASK 2024 to make the free printable zine the best version of itself. Mainly, I edited all the dang text to be as simple and clear as possible! Which is harder than it sounds, but worth it to reach more readers. Also I did a million tiny visual fixes that no one will notice but me :P

Thank you to everyone who's read and shared the zine, and THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone masking out there! It's never too late to start taking care of each other.

website version - featuring: clickable endnotes! working URLs!

free downloadable version - print & distribute your own copies! (donations to our print fund welcome but not required)

our patreon - help me & my partner @earnestattempts keep making comics like this one!

send us questions, comments, etc at laurellynnleake@gmail.com (we love seeing pics of the zine out in the wild)!

Extra pages under the cut, including sources for all the endnotes

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I've been told that it's #InsectWeek and that I should plug my work.

I'm so bad at marketing... Uhhhhh... Buy my books...!

https://www.owlflyllc.com/publishing

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i kind of feel like if you take "don't bomb iran" as an endorsement of the iranian government, you're not intellectually ready to engage in conversations about real-world politics. Go talk about steven's universe instead

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lake wants to kill and gnash and gnash my bones I think

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Someone was asking in a thread what kind of people could work for ICE right now.

I think it's a good time to remember that the image above are the people who put children into gas chambers.

When I was little, I asked what kind of person could work at a concentration camp.

The answer to both questions I think is "normal people who have accepted the dehumanization of another group of people."

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someone got really mad at me for being pro-pornography so i'd like to be annoying for a little longer:

-there are enormous problems with exploitation in the porn industry that harm and endanger the people within it, and that harm is carried out mostly against women and minorities

-this is Bad

-however the last century of passing laws against pornography hasn't actually helped any of those problems, and what sex workers tend to advocate for is the legitimization of their labor, so that they can then access the same protections and regulations that people in other industries can access

-for instance football players, miners, roofers, and warehouse workers are also exploited and endangered by their professions, have to work long hours, and can end up traumatized and disabled by unregulated and unsafe working conditions. these people are used up and thrown away by powerful bosses they can't individually challenge.

-however because these industries are not de facto illegal to participate in, when these people form unions and demand better working conditions, they can at least fight for their rights.

-sex workers, who engage in heavily stigmatized work that's also often illegal, have little recourse to demand better treatment.

-even if you don't like porn, and especially if you don't like porn, if you care about the women who are exploited in pornography, you need to advocate for the legality of pornography.

-the more illegal the porn industry is, the less safe and fair it is, and people will still be working in it, no matter how illegal it is.

-again: the porn industry should be regulated like any other industry and subject to laws guaranteeing fair compensation for labor, safe working conditions, and legal resources for workers suffering exploitation and abuse.

-once it is legal to do sex work, then women can bring charges against the men who have broken their contracts and abused them.

-and that is why i push back against posts saying that pornography is evil. it is an entertainment product, made by people, to meet an ongoing demand. criminalizing the consumption and production of it may slightly lessen the demand at the incredible cost of endangering everyone involved. and i think that is what's evil.