#transition resources

[answersfromzestual]

Weird question sorry. But idk where to ask. Isn't it awkward to have to stop in the middle of foreplay for like idk 20 seconds to pump up the internal device? I really enjoy instinctual spontaneous type stuff so :// idk if phallo would go w that

So actually my partner and I use it kinda of as foreplay. So my partner likes to pump me up, during our intimacy sessions. For example she likes to pump me as she goes down on me, it makes her feel like shes getting me hard, its fun for her. I like when she plays with my testicles, it feels good too, thats a new part of foreplay to experience. The pumping can also be done while you two are making out. It takes 15 seconds at the longest. Or you can go to the bathroom and pump half way and let your partner finish you. Honestly it makes your partner feel (imo) more involved and it makes them more into it. I don't think it will take away or make a bad sexual experience.

So I also do it gradually during foreplay sometimes, a couple pumps while making out, a couple before dry humping, finish your pumps for penetration. You can pump if you like to perform oral you can pump as you please your partner.

In my experience with spontaneous sessions even I haven't had an issue. Many people actually enjoy watching their partner, they want to see your arousal, and if they can be involved it could be even more of a turn on.

I believe that it can be enjoyable even spontaneously.

Cis men take time too, they don't have to pump but they still usually need some time to get fully erect as well.

Precaution: if you are being pumped by a partner don't let them suck during the pumping, meaning as the solution fills the tubes. My partner said to tell any of your partners that just suck, hold phallis in mouth, pump, after pumping suck again, repeat. You don't want affect the flow of the solution. And also gentle hand jobs during the pumping process. Do not penetrate until you are fully erect as per your device.

if any of this is confusing or doesn't make sense please let me know.

This question was actually really great, and I feel you brought up something important that not many people think about. Thank you for asking Anon

Stay Golden ✌️💙🩷

[ashers-transition]

3 Months T Update (March 13, 2023)

Here's my three month update for being on testosterone!

Just like before, I will be skipping over anything that hasn't changed and only discussing the changes that I have noticed (and I haven't noticed many this time around, so this is going to be a short update).

My other transition logs can be found here:

Pre T 1 Month 2 Months

Please check my pinned post for more info about me and why I started this blog!

CWs: eye contact (in video), discussion of menstruation.

(If I've missed any content warning that I should include, please let me know and I will add them in).

Body Hair

I've gotten slightly more, slightly darker hairs around my ankles, as well as starting to get a little bit of hair on my stomach (not photographed cause I don't know how to make that not look weird, lol).

Menstrual Cycle

In my last update, I talked about how my period came slightly early, was very very light, and lasted for three weeks. I got my period again only a week later, and this time it was just a normal period for me.

Voice

I've noticed a slight lowering of my voice since the 2 month mark, but it isn't that big of a difference. I can definitely tell a difference when comparing it to my pre-t voice though, which is super exciting for me. I actually went shopping just the other day and was gendered correctly by a stranger even after I had spoken!

I know that I haven't been on T for very long, but I'm already very happy with how my voice is turning out. I would still like it to be lower, and it's definitely still got time to lower itself, but this is the most comfortable I've felt with my voice in years and it's been a very validating experience for me.

[Video description: A waist high video of Asher talking to the camera. End video description.]

[Video transcript: "Hi, my name is Asher, and this is my voice three months on T."]

Other

I have successfully switched from testosterone gel to injections!

[deception-united]

Let's talk about transitions.

Transitioning between fast-paced and slow-paced scenes is essential for maintaining the flow of your narrative and keeping readers engaged throughout your story, allowing for moments of reflection, introspection, and character development.

Here are some strategies to smoothly transition between different pacing levels:

Use scene endings and beginnings: End a fast-paced scene with a cliffhanger or revelation that propels the story forward, then transition to a slower-paced scene that allows characters (and readers) to process the events. On the flip side, begin a slow-paced scene with a hook or question that intrigues readers and draws them deeper into the story.

Bridge paragraphs: Include bridge paragraphs between scenes to provide a smooth transition. These paragraphs can briefly summarize the previous scene's events, set the scene for the upcoming events, or transition between different settings, characters, or points of view.

Change in tone or focus: Shift the tone or focus of the narrative to signal a change in pacing. For example, transition from a tense action scene to a quieter moment of reflection by shifting the narrative focus from external events to internal thoughts and emotions.

Utilise pacing within scenes: Even within a single scene, you can vary the pacing to create transitions. Start with a fast-paced opening to grab the reader's attention, then gradually slow down the pacing as you delve deeper into character interactions, dialogue, or introspection. Conversely, speed up the pacing to inject energy and excitement into slower scenes.

Symbolic transitions: Use symbolic elements within the narrative to signal transitions between pacing levels. For example, transition from a fast-paced scene set during a stormy night to a slow-paced scene set in the calm aftermath of the storm, mirroring the shift in pacing.

Foreshadowing: Use subtle foreshadowing in fast-paced scenes to hint at upcoming events or conflicts that will be explored in slower-paced scenes. This creates anticipation and helps to smoothly transition between different pacing levels by maintaining continuity in the narrative arc.

Character reactions: Show how characters react to the events of fast-paced scenes in the subsequent slower-paced scenes. Use their thoughts, emotions, and actions to provide insight into the impact of these events on the story and its characters, helping to bridge the transition between pacing levels.

See my post on pacing for more! ❤

Previous | Next

[hellyeahscarleteen]

Maybe you’ve noticed: there’s been a shift in how people and movements that are anti-trans present themselves, and it feels designed to make them more palatable to people who would otherwise recoil at arguments that position trans people as threats. They don’t hate trans people! They’re very concerned about them! Think of the risks! Think of the children!! If that language sounds familiar, it’s because the anti-abortion movement uses this same playbook. Just like a crisis pregnancy center might advertise itself as offering pre-natal care, counseling or free pregnancy tests, an anti-trans provider might offer “gender exploratory” therapy or claim to offer valuable information on the “harms” of transition. Just like reporters being too willing to parrot unsubstantiated, anti-choice claims to the greater public, anti-trans groups are using places like the New York Times—and the fact that many people within those spaces were already held anti-trans beliefs-- to spread misinformation and position their “experts” as the reliable voices on trans care. Quite contrary to articles that claim people are being rushed through transition, accessing gender affirming care remains difficult for most people, especially young people. There are a limited number of places that provide it (and, due to transphobic violence both digital and physical, some of the places that used to aren’t able to anymore), waiting lists, and a dozen other barriers to access. Not to mention that plenty of elements of transition, especially physical transition, require at least a letter from a therapist. And now, on top of that, you have healthcare providers and resources who seek only to discourage or pressure all trans and nonbinary folks into not transitioning. This is a recipe for trans folks, or the people helping them access care, to walk right into a trap, and enables ongoing, anti-trans bias more broadly. Here's a guide from Scarleteen co-director Sam Wall to help trans people, and especially, adults in the lives of trans young people, to identify legitimate — and illegitimate — sources of trans care.

[ladytitanium]

do any of my followers have experience with low dose testosterone? I feel like I’ve read all the articles I can find on the subject so the last step would be finding personal accounts

[em-dash-press]

Ways to Skip Time In Your Stories

Finding ways to skip time in stories can feel challenging. Writers often worry it’ll make their work feel too amateur or negatively affect their pacing. 

The truth is that every author includes ways they skip time to maintain their pacing and plot. Check out a few ways to do it with confidence. 

1. Start a New Chapter

Yes, it’s really that simple. Go back to your favorite books and note how each chapter ends. You’ll likely find a few of these tricks that transition the story in ways that match the story’s flow.

Ideas to End a Chapter

The protagonist goes to sleep (likely overused, but practical)

The characters end a conversation

One character informs another of a plot twist

Unexpected action occurs, like a car crash

2. Emphasize the Season

You don’t need to tell the reader exact dates or hours to pass the time. You could mention the season instead.

If a scene or chapter ends in the summer and you need your plot to start in winter, make your protagonist mention something about the leaves changing color and giving way to snow before your action picks up again. It will only take a sentence or two, so it’s also an effective method for short stories.

3. Visualize a Movie Montage

Imagine watching a movie about a character who goes on a summer adventure. They backpack through Europe, but they have to take a flight to get there. 

You likely wouldn’t see them standing in airport security lines, napping in a terminal or watching a full movie on their flight to their destination. Instead, you’d get a montage of them driving to the airport with a shot of their plane cruising over the open ocean.

Writers can do the same thing, minus the soundtrack in the background. Describe how your character got to their destination when a new chapter or scene starts. Your readers will get the general idea and appreciate getting straight to the plot that made them pick up your story in the first place.

Here are a few ideas to do this in just a few sentences:

One delayed flight and a bad airplane dinner later, I was walking out of the Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport with an aching back and excited heart.

My trip began with the perfect flight. I got an entire row of seats to myself, which made napping through the trip much easier. A flight attendant roused me awake when it was time to land. I couldn’t believe how fast I’d arrived in Athens that quickly.

My flight was just long enough to catch up on the movies I’d been missing over the last year. The landing gear bounced along the runway in Rome just as the Barbie credits started flashing across my iPad.

4. Showcase Some Confusion

Sometimes we aren’t aware of what time it is. We only know time has passed. That might be the best way to make time pass in your story if your protagonist gets confused, caught by surprise, or otherwise discombobulated.

These are some examples:

I woke up with a bad taste in my mouth. The sun was already peaking in the clear blue sky. How long had it been since my explosive video call with my ex the night before?

The time machine landed with a thud that knocked me to the ground. The control panel exploded in shimmering sparks. What year was it?

Working a double shift always left my brain spinning. I left work, walking across the parking lot with only the stars watching my back. I could feel the hours aching in my feet, but didn’t care what time it really was. I just needed to sleep.

5. Employ a Phrase

There are many quick phrases you can use to make your time jumps immediately clear. Consider using a few of these when you feel creatively stuck:

Later that morning

A few weeks later

After months of trying

Six hours later

The following week

As the store closed for the night

-----

There are many other ways to make time pass in a story. Starting with these could help you figure out the best way to move your story forward without disrupting its pacing. 

Remember, you’re in control of your story at all times. There’s always a way through creative challenges if you take a deep breath and try something new.

[beybuniki]

transfem dbhx yuri yyeeesssss

[kissycore]

^^resource for any trans people in LA looking to get their name/gender marker changed. i highly recommend taking advantage of free legal clinics like the one above. paralegals helped me fill out the forms, sent me detailed instructions on how to file my paperwork, and they helped me apply for a california court legal fee waiver so that i didnt have to pay a cent when filing my petition of name/gender change OR for certified copies of the completed court order after it went thru.

[ventresses]

Star Wars + Moodboards

Clone Trooper: Sister

"What's your name, trooper?" “Sister. It's how my brothers tell everyone I belong."

[answersfromzestual]

Thank You:

I am but a humble man, and seeing the recent amount of interactions with my blog, the amount of questions coming in, the fact big blogs are reblogging my directory.

I can not begin to thank everyone who has supported me, sent me postive messages that kept me going, helped me build a helpful blog.

I am at a point where I can help a huge mass of people, while that is intimidating, I will take the challenge.

Send me your asks, your questions, concerns.

I will find you the correct answers, even if I need to ask a clinic or sleuth the web.

Thank you to everyone who's here supporting this blog and actually reading and enjoying the information I provide.

I am so happy I can gather this information for you.

I am happy you are here, alive, and fighting the world to be yourself. It's hard but you're doing it and look at all you've done! You deserve love. You deserve happiness.

-Zestual ✌️ 💙🩷

[ashers-transition]

2 Months T Update (February 13, 2023)

If you're wondering if I'm ever going to post one of these on time, the answer is no. Anyway, here's my two months update!

Just like before, I will be skipping over anything that hasn't changed and only discussing the changes that I have noticed.

My other transition logs can be found here:

Pre T 1 Month

Please check my pinned post for more info about me and why I started this blog!

CWs: eye contact (in video), discussion of menstruation, discussion of appetite and disordered eating.

(If I’ve missed any content warnings that I should include, please let me know and I will add them in).

Facial Hair

Prior to starting T, I already some darker hairs around my upper lip. It's hard to tell for sure, but I believe I not have slightly more in that area. It's still not very noticeable, especially at a distance. Here are some comparisons, with the first image in the set being pre T and the second being now (2 months on T).

Menstrual Cycle

In my pre T post, I mention that I struggle with chronic pain, and that I get a flare whenever I get my period, with the first day being the worst. I started a new pain medication around three months ago that has lessened those flares enough for me to be functional during them.

For my second period on T, things started to change. This time around, I did not have any extra pain while on my period (at least, not enough for me to be able to tell in addition to my usual pain). That being said, I did have a much longer period than usual, with a much much lighter flow. It was light enough that I could go through a whole day without bleeding through a liner, but my period itself did last for three weeks. I talked to my doctor about this and she did say that this is something that can happen, so there isn't any need for concern.

I know having a month long period sucks, but considering my usual pain when I'm on my period, I honestly would rather have longer, lighter periods with no pain than more "normal" ones with pain.

Acne

I have once again noticed a slight increase in acne. It still is within the realm of a normal breakout for me, but I might try switching up my skin care routine if it gets much worse*. If anyone has any tips let me know, lol.

(*note: I fully believe that acne is a neutral feature and is not inherently bad. It only becomes an issue if it starts negatively affecting you; for example, if it becomes painful. I personally struggle with BFRBs, and acne can be a trigger for me).

Energy Levels, Pain, and POTS

I already struggle with fatigue quite a bit, but honestly this past month was more rough than usual. I think it might be related to being on my period for a full three weeks, but I ended up taking multiple naps most days and sleeping odd hours in general. This isn't completely unusual for me, but I haven't had it to that extent in a while.

As for pain and POTS symptoms, I haven't noticed a difference. I did faint once, which is not common for me, but it was in a controlled environment (medical testing).

Appetite

I have noticed a bit more of an increase in my appetite. It isn't that big of a difference, but I am more consistently eating 3 meals a day, sometimes with snacking in between.

Voice

I'm starting to notice more of a difference in my voice. While still not too bad, my voice has been cracking more than usual lately. I'm unable to pretend-scream as easily as I was before (I get dramatic when playing video games), and I also am struggling more when singing in the car lol. That being said, no one has mentioned noticing a difference in my voice other than one of my partners, who I showed a direct comparison to my pre T voice.

[Video description: A waist high video of Asher talking to the camera. End video description.]

[Video transcript: "Hi, my name is Asher, and this is my voice 2 months on T."]

Other

In my last update I mentioned that I'm planning on switching to taking injections due to a reaction I had to the gel. I have not switched yet (gotta wait for insurance stuff), but I have started rotating the application area more than I had been previously and it has helped a bit. By my next update, I will be on injections.

[isa-ah]

i think we also need to address the elephant in the room that yes, there are people who seek gender affirming care who later realize they are cis- but that a vast majority of people who are detransitioning do so out of social pressure. whether its familial, spousal, work, school, sports, politics, resources, etc; any trans person you ask can probably explain to you in detail what exact precipice would make them detransition, or at least understand someone else doing so. its fucking hard and its fucking scary being trans in this country- not just recently, but continually. it really can be beaten out of you. not being trans, but any ability you have to pursue recognition for being trans. how many of that 1% of people decided they were cis, and how many of them decided they just werent strong enough to be out?

[genderkoolaid]

i think "nonbinary" can be useful but a lot of times the way it is being used isn't helpful to actually discussing nonbinary people, especially since it is a HUGE umbrella term with very few boundaries. like there are nonbinary men & women, so positioning "nonbinary" as something intrinsically separate from man/woman isn't accurate. or there are times where it would be more useful to name the specific group (like multigender people, androgynes, abinary/aphorians) rather than a much vaguer term

in general the problem is that our language to describe nonbinary existence is basically some scraps held together with duct tape. there's sooo many ways in which nonbinary people are erased or binaried through language. not just through the lack of gender neutral options but the la of blatantly genderqueer ones.

i kinda feel like as of right now, nonbinary-ness is pretty slapdash & all over the place and it would be helpful to have a large-scale discussion on what terminology would be best for discussing things like exorsexism and it's various aspects, and how to talk about nonbinary people without homogenizing us, while ALSO acknowledging the need for umbrella terms that can cover a range of individual identities, even if people don't personally identify with the umbrella term itself. & on that note we should also probably discuss the issue of. like. perfectionism wrt nonbinary language & the way that potentially useful terms get lost bc of it. I don't think nonbinary people can really achieve meaningful equality and inclusion on the same level until we are able to have equally diverse and useful ways of describing ourselves, and a stronger understanding of how we relate to each other as a community.

[glittergroovy]

was gonna make a little "if you enjoy my glitter & blinkies, send me a tip for my bday" post ...

but also the relative who'd agreed to help me with rent & college costs backed out because she doesn't want me to transition. AND my delivery of groceries & cleaning supplies was just stolen 😮‍💨 so help is super extra appreciated rn. I'm having dismally bad luck job hunting.

kofi or throne (you can send stuff directly to me through this + it has a wishlist. Brita filter & food are most important!)

venmo is Grubcore

[thebigendercosmonaut]

Transmasculine Resources (Incomplete)

Transmasculine, sometimes abbreviated to transmasc, is an umbrella term that describes a transgender person... whose gender is masculine and/or who express themselves in a masculine way. Transmasculine people feel a connection with masculinity, but do not always identify as male.

► Transmasc 101:

What is Transmasculine? (from health.com)

Transmasculine, Everything You Need to Know (from cosmopolitan.com)

Butch (Nonbinary Wiki)

► Transitioning and Healthcare:

How to bind safely (Trans Lifeline)

Spectrum Binders

Free chest binders

FTM Voice Training 1

FTM Voice Training 2

What to expect when taking testosterone

Masculinizing hormones (from TransHub)

Gynecologic care

How to get on testosterone (video)

Gender-affirming healthcare information (Planned Parenthood)

► Transmasculinity in Other Cultures:

Decolonising Transmasculinity - The Visibility of Brotherboys

A Transmasculine Account of Reimagining Masculinity Without ‘Maleness’ And Aggression (Feminism in India)

Gender-Variant Identities Worldwide (Nonbinary Wiki)

► Further Reading:

Is Healthy Masculinity a Lost Cause?: A Non-binary Person’s Thoughts on New Masculinity

Navigating Toxic Masculinity as a Demiguy

What’s in a Word?: Crafting Transmasculine (Note: This blog post loosely defines transmasculinity as an AFAB experience.)

Testosterone Does Not "Work Better" than Estrogen

Please note that many definitions of 'transmasculine' tend to include being assigned female at birth (AFAB) but this is not a requirement in many spaces. Also keep in mind that the person posting this is technically transmasculine and has taken steps to physically transition in a masculine way, though ey does not consider emself to be transmasc. ⚡

[draper-claire]

Are you running for office in a city like NYC? Do I have practical fixes for you, that I personally would like to see implemented!

Requisite needle and med drop off at every pharmacy and hospital

Covered benches at every bus stop

Compost drop off at every subway

Free public transit

Painted curb no parking at bus stops

Painted curb no parking fire hydrant

Libraries open 24/7

More public restroom (business incentives for public restrooms)

More public transit stops and shorter time between pick ups

Free healthcare

Free college courses, only pay for use of credit towards degree

Required narcan and cpr training for all able tax payers

Landlord penalization for extended vacancies on residential and business properties

Extended park hours

Better street lighting

Better park lighting

All public resources in multiple languages available digitally and physically

365 KN95 masks and 52 covid tests to each resident of the city delivered annually for free. Additional available upon request.

Free handbook on waste disposal and recycling updated yearly and mailed to all addresses, additional available upon request

Green energy is standard for all electric and gas companies, with no up-charge for converting from traditional energy offering