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Hard to Be the Bard

@buttercup-bard

Kim • They/Them • 27 • German • ISFJ-T • 6w5 • Libra • Bi

Therapist: The Liniennetzplan of the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft isn't real, it can't hurt you

The Liniennetzplan of the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft:

As someone who lives in that region, let me explain to you why this is so weird:

Usually, when you want to go to a bigger city from a smaller town you'd usually take a train to the central station and then get onto the bigger city's public transport, right?

Well, you can do that here. But you know what else you can do? Get on a train in a smaller town and take it right into the city center of Karlsruhe without ever having to change trains because those trains can drive on both tram and railway tracks. It's called the Karlsruher Modell. Fancy a weekend trip to the black forest? No problem. Want to go to the neighboring state Rhineland-Palatinate? We got you! Wanna go to Swabia? Just take the tram!

As you can probably imagine, that's a lot of lines.

  • Five Straßenbahn tram lines that only operate within city limits (single numbers without the S). Not including the three lines exclusively for students of the European School
  • 17 Stadtbahn tram lines that go outside of Karlsruhe (S[number])
  • Your regular regional trains (RB, MEX17a and IRE)

So they had to make it look like a biblically accurate angel to fit all of them on one Liniennetzplatz. And it doesn't even include the bus lines. Or the ever-present diversions because there's yet another construction site. I don't think I've ever seen a day where every tram line took exactly the route it was supposed to take.

I think we should dismantle the cis-het-allo-normative Categories and especially the "hierarchies" of relationships that are fucking everywhere. I hate them. Fuck defining the relationship. Fuck prioritizing romance over friendship. Fuck the lines between platonic and romantic and sexual and sensual. Kiss your friends. Fuck your friends. Date your friends. Date your partner. Date multiple people. Date nobody. Kiss and fuck nobody or somebody or lots of somebodies. Why do we have to box everything in. Just do what feels good with the people ot feels good to do it with just love people (or dont).

Disclaimer that yes, obviously having defined relationships that fall strictly in one category or another is important to some people, and that's cool for them. Let them do that. The whole point here is that there should be less pressure and more options. Those include the option to have strictly platonic/romantic/sexual relationships. The point is that there is a choice.

listen if the little mermaid 2023 did anything right it was ariel and eric... they were already a good couple in the original but fleshing him out and making him drawn to the ocean in a parallel to ariel being drawn to land is so good. and kind of increasing that human vs merfolk tension to make it this romeo & juliet love story. like sorry they kind of slayed there. eric sees ariel turn back into a mermaid in front of him and all he does is hold her tighter. they're both gigantic nerds. he's a foot taller than her. it's incredible.

kneeling down beside my bed and folding my hands and closing my eyes: dear god please let me have some gay sex soon and also maybe let me win the lottery so i never have to get a job again. okay goodbye i mean amen