startleddust

[startleddust]

looks inside procrastination -> it's anxiety -> looks inside anxiety -> it's fear -> looks inside fear -> it's shame

[startleddust]

Had a coworker tell me they hadn’t texted once because of the time. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

I stared at them through the dawning realization that they lived in a world where that was remotely possible. “My phone is on do not disturb if I’m sleeping. Why would I let random texts wake me up? My sleep is important.”

Equally baffled they replied, “What if someone at work needs you?”

“I am not a manager. No one at work will ever need me badly enough to interrupt my sleep. If I’m not working then there’s no reason to be calling me.”

“Not even if you need to cover?”

I laughed, “I don’t need to cover. They could ask me to cover but good luck getting ahold of me if I’m sleeping.”

They looked distressed at this idea.

To console them I added, “I have important people like my mom and my wife set to override. If they call they get through no matter what.”

There was a small pause before they asked, “You can do that…?”

So friendly reminder. Become unreachable. Work does not need you that badly. Sleep.

[startleddust]

I love that topless protesting is becoming something of a trans tradition in the UK. If the protesters are arrested, the state must admit they're women. If they aren't, it shows the glaring contradictions of labeling trans women as "male." It helps their cause either way. We don't see this nearly enough of this in the US (photo by Rusty Elias, St. Peter's Square, Manchester, May 31st, 2025)

[startleddust]

Today, the Federal Trade Commission launched a public inquiry to better understand how consumers may have been exposed to false or unsupported claims about “gender-affirming care”, especially as it relates to minors, and to gauge the harms consumers may be experiencing. In a Request for Information, the FTC encourages members of the public to comment on any issues or concerns that are relevant to the FTC’s consideration of this topic, including by submitting any written data, advertisements, social media posts, disclosures, or empirical research.

The public will have 60 days to submit comments at Regulations.gov, no later than September 26, 2025. Once submitted, comments will be posted to Regulations.gov. Individuals wishing to submit confidential, non-public comments should reference the alternative submission guidelines in the RFI. 

[startleddust]

i've always been dogshit at pottery on a wheel because i have weak noodle arms and can't hold my hands firmly in place to center the clay but i finally realized the root issue was that my legs are SHORT since i have the limb/torso proportions of a dachshund and i couldn't brace my elbows on my legs, so i put bricks under my feet and now i can sort of do it!! i've tried to learn twice in the past from TALL people but had a revelation when i watched a medium size guy throwing.

The moral of the story is: don't give up, maybe you just need bricks

[startleddust]

Hey, man, c'mere. Listen. Get in real close, this is important.

You're gonna make stuff again. You're gonna make stuff you're proud of. You're gonna make stuff you're excited to share. You're going to feel that overwhelming drive to create, not just the frantic I want to want to you're stuck in now. You're going to have awesome ideas, and you're going to make them into reality. You're going to create again. You're still an artist. You're still a writer. You're still home to the same passion you had before. You'll find it again. It's not gone. It's just resting. Let it rest. You're going to make stuff again. I promise.

[startleddust]

i am some sort of fey creature and my cat is the human who i have arbitrarily decided is my favorite human.

[startleddust]

[startleddust]

I'm a fandom oldie and a strong proponent of "ship and let ship", and I defend everyone else's right to ship what they love... But I think that gives people the idea that I like, automatically love every single ship??? Or every single trope?

I don't though!

There are a lot of fandom tropes that are on my "absolutely fuck no" list. There are a lot of irk kinks that are also on my "nope absolutely not" list, too. Personally, this is healthy. I'm able to look at something and go "Yep, I hate it, but it's not harming anyone, so continue to do as you please."

[startleddust]

Dahlia

[startleddust]

eevee is like a prey animal to me

[startleddust]

Again, it's not about what this country can or cannot afford. It's about what we choose to do. It's about priorities.

[startleddust]

OP made a mooncake sofa for the Mid-Autumn Festival (cr 闲人祝幸福)

[startleddust]

Saw an old lady today that looked like an old lady and was dressed like an old lady except she was wearing big goth stomping boots like this

[startleddust]

i wish there was an easier way to tell the difference between an "if it sucks hit da bricks" situation and a "sometimes being an adult means doing things that you dont wanna" situation

[startleddust]

I wish people would understand that not everything is for everyone to get. you will be left out of some conversations, a lot of art will not apply to you, you will not like things that people you like enjoy, and just because you cannot add to the topic of discussion or relate does not mean that it is not valued or worthwhile. the internet has coddled people to such a concerning extent that everyone feels like they need to vocally disagree with something just because they don’t get it. Knowing something, and genuinely getting it are not the same. NOT EVERYTHING IS FOR YOUUUUU

[startleddust]

I feel like one of the reasons why the US is Like That is the difference between countries and states. Because apparently when you're nominally still the same country, different states can pull absolute bullshit on each other that would not fly in relations between two countries.

Like if idk Belgium decided "hey we have this huge homelesness problem that we've been neglecting for decades while allowing it to get progressively worse, but we figured out how to fix it: we're loading all the homeless people onto buses and moving them across the border to France", the french response wouldn't just be "aw naw ugh I wish they couldn't do that :/"

It'd be "hey buddy that's really funny, do you want to see how fast we can get tanks on the streets of your capital?"