my disabled ass, after (1)good day: "obviously I am cured. in fact it may have all been in my head. who can say? now to rejoin society!"

me, the next day: "it has come to my attention that i may be chronically ill."

i think one of the most important things you learn about making connections with others is that a significant portion of the time people just do not know theyre doing what theyre doing

sometimes someone is acting selfish because they just didnt think you had any interest in what theyre hogging. sometimes you dont get invited to the movies because your friend could have sworn that you said no. sometimes you think someone is mad at you because theyre bad at hiding how little sleep they got. we are all like little worlds that briefly crash into one another from time to time and we just arent physically capable of seeing the whole picture at once in those moments. and learning that really changed everything!

Lost followers after reblogging that whole thing about JKR being radicalized over the years, and that disturbs me.

Like if you think saying that people can be radicalized and manipulated into hate is somehow justifying it, yikes. And if you think that people are somehow just good or evil and that you are not at risk of buying into propaganda, have I got some very red flag news about that!

Idk if its because I am an older Millennial maybe (most who unfollowed were younger) but I watched a ton of that generation slide from one of the most progressive to the far right before my every eyes. Hell, my dad fought alongside his black friends in the Detroit race riots and now he watches Fox News 24/7 and talks about the border wall. Yet still claims he could never be racist because of how he used to be. He doesn’t even realize what he has become.

JKR isn’t a deluded old woman or innately evil, but in fact THE prime example of how well-meaning ignorance and privilege can be weaponized and encouraged down a pipeline, until it turns into a force of hate, and should be a cautionary tale about why educating and being open about these issues are necessary. Because there are those out there who will use those divisions and ignorance to their own ends. And just digging in our heels and saying “that could never be me!” is the very thing that puts you more at risk. I’ve lost so many loved ones down that pipeline and it is more slippery than most realize.

Stay alert, stay compassionate, stay humble, and make sure you move through life guided by reason rather than reaction. I love y’all and don’t want to see your passion twisted to get used against the world.

Thinking "I could never be a bigot" is the first prerequisite for becoming a bigot.

In the UK we've seen a few people ride this crazy train to the end of the line in the last few years. Perhaps because our political landscape is different from that of the US, it's easier to see it happening. There has never been an expectation here that being a conservative means you will hold insane views. It might mean you have some objectionable political ideologies, but you are still expected to be a somewhat normal human being who occupies the same planet as the rest of us.

So when we see somebody make the transition from being just a bit right-wing in their thinking, to being a full-on conspiracy lunatic, it really shows. We've seen it with a lot of our politicians and other public figures.

There's a guy called Neil Oliver who used to present historical TV. His views were always a bit weird and biased (historians and archaeologists did not like him at all), but he wasn't an actual crazy person. But he rode that crazy train to the end of the line and became a fully-fledged antivaxx COVID denier, who is now babbling about one world government and peddling antisemitic conspiracy theories. It happens.

JK Rowling's radicalisation has really disturbed people, because she was famous for books which championed ideas of equality and rights for marginalised groups. In retrospect, those books had some biases and prejudices in them as well, but they were ones that most white Britons carry without realising it. So the seemingly sudden change from that to being someone spreading hatred of trans people and seeming to consciously back antisemitic ideas was a massive whiplash. A real shock. Even more of a shock than the fact she seems to have forgotten how to write a readable book.

Now, I'm a pro-independence Scot who was active on Twitter in the years after 2014. So I already knew she was disingenuous, a bit of a troll, and had some fairly reactionary views. Perhaps her further radicalisation was less of a shock for me. But it still took me aback.

This happens. It happens to people who are too secure in their own self-concept as a Good And Progressive Person. They feel that because they are a Good And Progressive Person, all their thoughts and feelings and biases must also be Good And Progressive, because Good People don't have Bad Thoughts, and of course, Bad People never have Good Thoughts.

By painting JK Rowling as having always been a secretly Bad Person, and Harry Potter as having always been secretly propaganda for Bad Thoughts, we make ourselves vulnerable to the same kind of radicalisation. The truth is that she is just a person, a white cis woman with some unexamined biases, who wrote a series of books that were good-hearted and had good messages, and also reflected some of those biases. And now she has taken a ride on the crazy train, and it's scary to see.

Because it could happen to any of us.

Tbh I think that when an autistic person says something and you interpret it in a way you think is offensive and then the autistic person is like "no I didn't mean it that way" you should probably just consider the possibility that they actually didn't mean it that way instead of preparing the pyre

Some time ago, one of my best friends said that they found me abrasive until they learned to ask "what did you mean by that" when something came off wrong, and then my intended meaning would always be different than what they thought I meant.

We've gotten along great ever since.

Unpopular opinion: not everything that makes you uncomfortable is bad. Sometimes discomfort means your worldview is being challenged. It’s okay to sit with discomfort and think about where it’s coming from.

#Frankly some of you need to be uncomfortable more often#Me too probably idk

Btw I was talking to Kiddo about social rules because we're both autistic and it doesn't come naturally to either of us but I have 25 years experience on them so I have some useful tips

And as proof of that: in that conversation I realised what neurotypicals mean when they say we "make everything about us"

When they're talking and we interject "fun facts" or start talking about something related to what they're saying we mean:

"I am showing interest in you and your interests by engaging with them and showing I'm listening by adding information"

From their perspective we are stomping over their turn to talk and making it our turn and therefore making it about us

Conversation example:

NT: my favourite animal is sharks

Autistic person: with some sharks species the shark pup that hatches first hunts the others and eats them while being incubated inside the mother

Autistic person perspective: I have shown interest in you by giving you information about a topic you have shown interest in

NT person's perspective: wow they made my favourite animal a time for them to show off instead of letting me talk when it was my turn

It's doesn't matter if it's "on topic" or "relevant to the person" if it's when it's their turn to be the focus of the conversation

Like I know there is a bit more to it but this is the first time in 39 years I have understood the accusation "you're making this all about yourself"

OHHH. Ok? I think I get it?

NT important variables: When (whose turn is it), and How (intonation, etc) - Conversational metadata.

ND important variables: What (the literal text/information exchange), and Why (the purpose fulfilled) - The base conversation.

From one autistic to another: you can master this exchange with one easy tool.

Ask a follow-up question.

As stated, allistic conversations do put a lot of weight into whose turn it is to speak. So in the above example,

Person: my favorite animal is sharks

The best follow-up response is "what do you like about sharks?"

Your conversation partner will answer, and if they're not a dickbag, then they will turn the conversation back to you, likely with a relevant question - "what's your favorite animal?" At which point you are free to infodump just a little. Keep it within one or two sentences - unless of course the person finds the info interesting.

But then keep asking follow-up questions, or at least give your conversation partner a chance to follow-up on their statements. Don't worry too much about the timing of questions, and if you're even slightly anxious that you're asking something too personal/rude, then tack on a "sorry, you don't have to answer." Allistic people just like to know that you're listening to what they have to say about the topic.

This is good advice and largely what I told my kid to do

I'm still thrown though that even though I had picked up on the "you need to ask questions and limit your sharing" (even though I'm not great at it) but I was 39 before I realised why allistics went about things the way they did

i know this one, its not about the "turns"! Like this is a bit more of a "you used the wrong formula but got the correct answer situation" - the reason the NT in the original sharks example would assume the autistic person was showing off or making it abt themselves isnt because its not their turn to speak.

Its because the autistic person stating the information as a response directly after someone expresses a feeling like "i like sharks" reads to an allistic person like the autistic person assumed they dont know as much about sharks as them and is condescending to them. So it's more:

Autistic perspective: "I like sharks!" -> "Wow! That's so cool! In order to include your interest in this conversation, I will include fun facts related to your interests!"

Allistic perspective: "I like sharks!" -> "I am stating information about sharks without giving you an opportunity to say anything about your knowledge level or give your own shark fact(s) first, giving off the impression that I think I know more than you and am condescending to you by trying to educate you on a topic you enjoy."

The thing is, asking a follow-up question like "what's your favourite thing about sharks" DOES work in conversation, not because allistics run on dnd combat rules in conversation (they also ramble, and cut people off knowingly) but because it gives the allistic person a chance to demonstrate their familiarity w the subject first.

That way, they have an opportunity to show that they are also knowledgeable about the topic (sharks) and then the shark facts will be seen as an information exchange rather than condescension because both parties will be aware that the topic is "exchanging shark facts".

(If the allistic doesn't really know much about the topic, or says they only like sharks because they look cute etc. then it is ideal to say something like "thats cool! I did a bit of research into sharks a while back, do you want to hear some shark facts?" which serves the same kind of purpose in clarifying that u want to give shark facts for fun and not because you think they need to be educated.)

The question also gives the allistic the opportunity to say that they'd rather not discuss shark facts and instead move on to a different topic, which lets them feel like they have also retained a degree of control over the conversation rather than feeling like the autistic person is domineering or monologuing (it is a common misinterpretation of infodumping unfortunately).

Just generally its more about letting the allistic demonstrate both that they also want to hear facts and that they are also knowledgeable on a topic before infodumping so that they can understand that you view them as an equal and not an inferior on the topic, and so they will have a much harder time feeling slighted in response to an autistic person's infodump.

TLDR: it's not about conversation turns, it's about the fact that allistics often misinterpret the reason for infodumping being "this person thinks im stupid and need educating" rather than a desire to connect over information, but establishing a mutual knowledge base & asking if they want to hear facts mitigates this as it clarifies to an allistic that you're sharing information for fun rather than trying to educate them.

#it's both - via @lazy-duck

Agreed.

Basically, give the other person a prompt to see if THEY want to infodump before you infodump about their topic. They had a reason to bring it in. I've brought in topics before, had the other person respond by saying the thing I wanted to share, and felt crushed. The information was known by both parties, but my excitement had no way to be shared!

yeah and in addition: the 'turns' thing and the 'signalling you are not trying to assert yourself over them as an expert in Their topic' thing are both tied to social dominance subtext.

horribly, the ways you should and should not perform social dominance behaviors are in fact tied to your perceived social status in context, as well as to the specific manners of the culture group you're in at the moment. all the context. usually tracked subconsciously, with mental skillsets and mechanisms that are typically underdeveloped in autistic brains.

so not only does a 'normal' amount of dominance-assuming behavior not exist, despite claims to the contrary, people who think they're above you will do things like this to you and that they'll be offended by having you mirror, and then be even more offended by the idea that they aren't treating you like an equal.

which is why Pretty Autistic Dude with high verbal processing who has lucked into a high status role can go steamrolling over everybody and gain advantage from it, even if most people don't like him for it. but basically everyone else who behaves the same way is fucked.

yes and: the social dominance subtext thing is something that we, coming out of a culture that likes to think it is egalitarian, tend to try to shove out of conscious awareness. that's why people will sometimes be offended at the idea they're not treating you like an equal, particularly if you're interacting because you're in an organization where at least in theory you have the same "rank": they shouldn't be treating you like an inferior [in theory] and probably don't consciously realize that they're doing so, especially if they have internally labeled you with an inferior social role based on anything related to a marginalizing status (including: gender, age, race, ethnicity, orientation, etc). Consciously drawing attention to behaviors that indicate that they are treating you like a lower-ranked person, again especially if any marginalizing factor is involved, is likely to trigger a state called "moral dissonance" where you're effectively forcing them to notice that their actions are not in line with their consciously held values.

this is a thing that sucks hard ass to experience, and most people really hate it and will immediately cast around to find a reason that no actually they're not doing that thing at ALL. This is where the defensive offended behavior comes from: it's an activated attempt to justify to both you and, importantly, themself that they definitely haven't been acting outside their conscious moral values. Because most people's internal assessment of social hierarchies is internal and implicit, they might or might not be aware of how they're thinking about you, and they might exclaim in frustration that they're not treating you like an inferior at all.

and: here's the kicker--they might be right. Social hierarchical posturing in humans is extremely contextual and usually cloaked in enough plausible deniability to not read as a direct insult, especially in a social context that values egalitarianism. It is also pretty much always present, whether or not the people in the group want it to be. There is no such thing as a human culture devoid of social hierarchical maneuvering. Nor is there any such thing as a human person who does not sometimes participate in this kind of interaction. It's not always antagonistic or bad, either: sometimes people will do things like posture in order to be reassured that they are still valued and respected by the group, and it is very possible and common for humans to make ploys for high status using affiliative tactics like: complimenting others, facilitating connections between other people, offering to teach other people, doing favors, etc. Most of our language for talking about this stuff is couched in a really antagonistic context, where interactions and hierarchies are framed as zero-sum conflicts, but that's not necessarily true.

Basically, human social maneuvering is often unconscious and usually hidden, especially in groups that value egalitarian interactions. Because it's all stuff that is happening under the surface, and because people are also often distracted and not paying attention, it's also totally possible for people to perceive shit as social posturing that isn't intended that way at all. Happens all the time. Humans are messy! Perception is messy! People aren't straightforward to interpret and sometimes there are a lot of mistakes!

but this is why "mansplaining" is a thing: men are much more likely to internally assume that they are higher on a social hierarchy than women, which means that they get more talking time. Sometimes an excited autistic infodumping reads to other people as fitting this pattern, even if the behavior has a different root cause. Figuring out how to navigate this as a human being is always going to be hard, and you're never going to pull it off with success 100% of the time because, well, no one does that either.

Big "yeah that" to whetstonefires's and grison's additions. What's acceptable behavior and how behavior is read is contextual, and especially culturally contextual.

also pulling this out as a matter of interest to me: "most of our language for this stuff is couched in a really antagonistic context"- I think it's no coincidence that in English the phrases "lose face" and "save face" exist and are commonly used, but not the associated concepts of "face" borrowed from Chinese (and existing in other cultures): gain face, give face, lend face, and other more nuanced concepts that my diaspora ass is not equipped to explain. Doing favors for people, complimenting them, bringing gifts, engaging in the occasional complex dance of humility and self-effacement, all to affirm social standing and show that you're part of the group and not above or apart from it, that your goals and values align with the collective and that you can be a reliable and upstanding social being, these are things I was taught semi-explicitly to do in order to cultivate standing in a social hierarchy. And when it works well, when people are getting along and benefitting from their associations and benefitting others, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever had the pleasure of being able to grasp the structure of. And when it doesn't work well- knowing why it fell apart can help both group and individuals figure out how to move forward. (Sometimes it's not your fault that it's not working.) It's a thing I think we could all stand to study more, in kind of the same way that studying another language helps you understand your own better. It's all so contextual, in a way that I think white mono-cultural allistics don't realize they don't know, when they try to articulate what's "off" about a given autistic person.

You wouldn't download 16 basil plants

So, you know those spindly basil plants you can get in the supermarket that are all leggy and pale, and you put them on the window-ledge and pick a few leaves from them and then they die?

Here is the hack for

You will need

Method

Have a look at your parent plant. You'll see that each bundle of leaves comes out from a knobbly bit in the stem. That knobbly bit is called a leaf node.

Gently take hold of the very top set of leaves and count the leaf nodes on that particular stalk, counting down from the top.

If there are more than three nodes, cut the stalk just below the second leaf node.

The bit that you have just cut off is called a cutting, and it will become a new plant. To do this, we have to get it to grow roots.

Take your cutting and remove all the leaves except the four at the very top.

Fill your bottle with water and insert the cutting into the top of the bottle, with the stem completely submerged in water, and the leaves outside in the air.

Now repeat until you've taken about six cuttings, or you've taken all the cuttings available. Put them all in water-filled bottles. (I use milk bottles which hold about four stems at once with enough space for their leaves to get the sunlight, but if you're using wine bottles it might be fewer.)

Put the cuttings/bottles onto a sunny window-ledge and wait. Within about a week you should see roots beginning to grow. Keep the water topped up to the top, and let the roots grow until they are two or three inches long.

When the roots are 2-3 inches long, fill your pots with compost and water them well. Shove your fingers in the wet compost to make a space for the cutting's new roots and gently insert the cutting into the hole. Put a little bit more compost on top and firm it down, move on to plant the next one.

Providing all your cuttings get over the shock of transfer (and they probably will) you will then have 8 little basil plants like the smallest ones in my picture.

Put them back on the sunny window-ledge to let them get established and begin to grow. Congrats, you now have 8 basil plants plus the parent plant.

The parent plant

When you're taking the cuttings, you must leave at least one leaf node on every stalk. The plant can't create leaves without the nodes, and if it has no leaves it's basically going to die.

You want the plant to create new leaves and thicken up. If a stalk doesn't have more than two nodes, don't make cuttings from that stalk at all. Leave that stalk to grow.

Taking your cuttings will stimulate the plant to grow, and lower nodes which may not have had leaves on them when you got the plant, will now begin to produce them. This will make the plant bushier and stronger, but it will need a bit of extra food to help it put the extra effort in. So give it a new layer of compost on the top, water it, and put it back on the sunny window-ledge as well.

First batch cuttings

Let your first generation of cuttings grow undisturbed for a few weeks. (Water only when the soil feels dry.)

When they start looking long and thin, you want to encourage them to create side-shoots and begin bushing out. You don't want a long thin plant. It will fall over in the wind.

Look at the very top of the plant where you will see two tiny baby leaves developing. If you let them develop, the plant will continue to grow long and thin, but if you take them out it will encourage the side shoots to grow. Pinch out the tiny baby leaves right at the top of the cuttings, and very soon you'll see they start to grow outwards instead of upwards.

Second batch cuttings

After a few weeks your cuttings will look like the larger plants in my picture, and your parent plant will have grown enough to have added extra nodes. Which means that you can now take another batch of cuttings and start the process all over again.

You can pretty much keep this going all summer if you want.

Give plants away, eat fresh basil all summer and fill your freezer with bags of basil leaves for the winter :) Happy cloning!

I tribute to a fanfiction that helped me to learn a lot about myself and basically change my life. Literally. I tried to capture my favorite scenes and important events from the story and put them in one huge-ass picture. I am sure that I made a lot of mistakes, but I can say that this is one of the biggest illustrations that I ever made. Total hight: ~98 inches. All done in one piece. Started the day the last chapter of Into Shadows We Fall was posted. My computer hates me now. Thank you for a great adventure, Pia. It was a wild ride full of emotions and I can not really express how much Shadows and Light means to me. And thank you for the great support of my fellow  SaL- and Blackice Fans. This is for you. Gonna post some detailshots later, because IT’S TOO SMALL HERE AAAH. Read the Fanfiction: From the Darkness We Rise Into Shadows We Fall Meet the author: not-poignant Huff. Okay, I’m nervous now.

Oooo hey look what crossed my dash again? Only one of the best things in the whole entire world. :D

by Jonas Jaeken

I hate it when people defend fic by insisting that it is, or can be, better than published fiction. Fic can be very good, but it is a whole different genre, and really good fic never tries to be like published, or even publishable fiction.

Case in point, I recently read a story that absolutely floored me with the strength of its characterisation, dialogue, and sheer vision. It was a deliberate riff on the concept of Omelas, fitting a new narrative into the imagery of darkness and light, of solitary suffering under a joyful city. It engaged with the problem of evil and the difficulty of not only building a just society, but also ensuring it actually remained just in the face of serious pressure over time. It made me feel things I haven’t felt since I was eighteen and heavily overidentified with Alyosha Karamazov.

But I can’t share this brilliant gem of a story with anyone I know irl because it also has three scenes of Optimus Prime getting vigorously dicked in the dorsal access port, whatever that is.

And you’re a coward for not including a proper rec link to Victory Condition by astolat, even if you can’t share it with anyone IRL there’s the rest of us on this here site LMFAO.

i have never felt as mature as when i finally understood (through therapy) and internalized (through emotional work) that you cannot connect and communicate with some people no matter how kind, compassionate, understanding, articulate, eloquent, or smart you are, and that sometimes a person not listening to you does not reflect on your communication skills or ability to connect or straight up intelligence. in a way, it’s letting go of the belief that you have the power to make people understand you. communication is a two-way street, and needs two willing participants. some people are just walls, and it has been unbelievably helpful for my mental and emotional health to let it slide and know that it does not affect me or my self worth. 

*alexithymia : also referred to as emotional blindness, is a psychological phenomenon described as challenges in recognizing, expressing, & describing one's own or others' emotions. common in - but not exclusive to - those on the autism spectrum.

i for sure experience this !! i think it's quite common, but let's see. ^^

For the most part, I understand my emotions well.

Or at least I assume I do at the time.

And then I remember I have spent over 20 years reminding myself “You are experiencing this bodily symptom, that means [x]” until I understand this set of things, and then recalibrate the symptoms as my anxiety gets better managed and I can sometimes experience rage or frustration without a Meltdown being imminent.

As opposed to the first 20 years where I just blindly assumed I knew stuff I had to spend 20 years correcting.

I am - after many years of working on it, I should mention - reasonably in touch with my emotions... when I am otherwise in good shape mentally.

That is, when I'm well rested and not under stress.

As you can probably imagine, in practice this translates to "I have alexithymia".

I used to think it was just the chronic depression, but some deep digging the past couple years suggests that it's only about 40% responsible, the rest of it is just me being so clueless I think I'm only vaguely annoyed until I try to break my knuckles on the wall and have to stop and go 'ah. It seems I'm actually angry,' so.

Everyone in your world can teleport within 10 feet of the person they love the most. Your best friend wonders how you always seem to be there just when they need you.

State Farm puts out a series of joking commercials. The punch line being that of all the people in your insurance agent’s life, you’re the one they care about most- you’re the person they can teleport to.

It’s bold of them to joke about something so controversial. After all, who your ‘port is can make or break a relationship. Study after study has been done on the ‘port between parent and child and psychiatrists are always analyzing your ‘port history.

The commercials are tacky, too. They make fun of the power inherent in a person’s greatest love. That’s what a ‘port is, after all, your love for someone being strong enough to take you to wherever they are. All in all State Farm’s “good neighbor” commercials leave people shaking their heads and laughing uncomfortably.

Caitlyn’s not laughing when a man brings a gun to her school.

Her class is on the yard and there’s no warning- he’s just there, with a gun, and her kids are frozen.

Mickey’s too close too close and not moving and the man is turning the gun towards him. Mickey’s only 8 and he drives her nuts most days. He cries and screams and he runs away and he makes things up and he loves his mom and his sister and he cried when Caitlyn got stitches and she loves him she loves him she loves him.

She feels a moment of disorientation and suddenly she’s between the man and the boy.

She doesn’t hesitate, just wraps herself around Mickey. Then she closes her eyes and reaches inside herself for the first-easiest-always, thinks I love you I love you I love you and feels the shift of the ‘port.

And her eyes land on Zeke, who is jerking to his feet in shock, and she feels a huge wave of relief. Zeke’s been her ‘port since they were months old and her aunt got up one morning to find two babies in the crib instead of one. These days they usually plan their visits and Caitlyn’s never brought a kid before, so Zeke has questions in his eyes.

Before he can voice any, she’s pushing Mickey towards him and gasping out “I have to go back-”

And she’s thinking of the next closest kid, Jasper, one of her rough and tumble boys, he’s so big, 8 years old and almost as tall as her, Jazz is learning to control his temper and his energy but there’s a sweetness to him that comes out at the oddest moments. It’s easy to declare I love I love I love and then she’s grabbing Jazz and sending herself back to Zeke’s shelter.

He’s a little more prepared this time, reaching out to steady her and guide Jazz away while she turns her thoughts and heart to the next kid.

And she’s gone and grabbing Topher, her sweet boy who listens and cares and tries, and they’re back to Zeke.

And she’s gone and grabbing Zornitsa, her scampy little comedian, and back to Zeke.

And she’s gone and grabbing Ariel and Kaho and Clarissa, her gymnast trio with their fierceness and their determination, and back to Zeke.

This time she thinks to shrug her backpack off and gasp out “There’s a list- in the emergency folder-”

And then she’s gone again.

When she reaches for Heidi, her zippy little miss who won’t touch fruit and loves worms and has grown so much, that she lands inside. She pulls Heidi and Adela into her arms and shifts back to Zeke.

Her kids are away from the man with the gun and she feels shaky. She takes a couple breaths, bracing her hands on her thighs. Then she thinks of passion-dedication-exasperation, guide and guidee, and wraps that all around her I love I love I love.

The next moment she’s in a closet turned office made all the smaller by the crush of people in it. She looks up at her boss as several kids stifle startled yelps and Colin looks back with wide eyes under his tangled mop of curls.

“What-” he starts to ask.

“Third grade was on the yard, there wasn’t time to get indoors, but I think I got them all safe,” Caitlyn tells him.

“How?” he asks.

“Like this,” she says, voice tinged with hysterical laughter.

She wraps her arms around Carmela, Elizaveta, Winona, and Joanna and reaches for Zeke. She drops the girls off and goes back to Colin, who goggles.

“I know you need to stay on site, but I thought you should know that I’m evacuating our kids,” Caitlyn tells him.

Colin shakes off his astonishment and squares his lanky shoulders.

“Can you get to kinder?” he asks, eyes lighting up.

“Yes,” Caitlyn says, “with Nancy there that will be easy.”

“Get them all out,” Colin says, “and tell Nancy to start listing who is safe, have her message me.”

“Will do,” she says with a nod. She grabs the three remaining kids and takes them to Zeke.

She thinks of Nancy then, they have different classes this year but they’re still brain mates, still the team, and it’s easy to wrap finishing each others sentences and communicating without words around her I love I love I love.

Nancy startles when she appears, and several of the babies scream. Team Kinder moves into action, hushing and calming. Nancy just waits, meeting Caitlyn’s eyes.

“Colin sent me, I’m evacuating you guys,” Caitlyn explains. “I can take as many as I can hold at a time. How do you want to do this?”

Nancy nods once.

“Start with Mr. Mason and Bashir and Rafael,” Nancy says. “I’ll have the next group ready when you get back.

Caitlyn nods and grabs them.

Things go pretty smoothly after that. Nancy sends kinder off a group at a time and then quickly takes control of the chaotic crowd that Caitlyn has already saved.

Caitlyn moves on grade by grade, finding her way to the colleagues she is so so grateful to work with.

By the time the cops secure the man with the gun, the school is empty, everyone 150 miles away.

When they ask later how she did it she looks right at them.

“Love is love,” she says, “there’s no such thing as more or less,” she shakes her head slightly, “it’s not quantifiable, there’s no scale that can measure it, love is.”

Wow

It’s not nice to make me cry in the middle of a restaurant

same energy

there’s more

SIGH

here’s another one

IT GETS WORSE WITH EVERY ADDITION

how does this get even worse

I think about once in a while…

We have another one…

This is the internet now tho 😭💀

@lifeistooshorttowasteyourtime @marril96 @latent-thoughts @suometar

😂😂😂

Omg so many additions since I last saw this post! 😂😂😂

It’s funny but incredibly telling how entitled/ignorant/insensitive some of these people are… idk if it’s an education gap or purposeful ignorance.

The really bewildering thing to me is that I remember when you needed to get up and pull a dictionary off the shelf, or visit a library to look up the facts you needed. Now people have all kinds of information literally at their fingertips and they can’t be bothered to use it.

Oh dear gods, it’s gotten worse

When you know politics but no facts

don’t take people too seriously on the internet

This hits different when combined with that “Americans don’t learn other countries exist till they’re in 5th Grade” post from the other day.

Demily recently got another one lads

Also, I love that, in the sign language one, it seems like the last image might’ve been a gif of “fuck you,” screenshot at the perfect time to let you know they were about to sign “fuck you”

As a romanian person I gotta add this one too

This is my favourite post on this website

I have literally had people tell me that I’m a gross appropriator for learning sign language while not deaf.

I sometimes cannot speak, but leaving that aside, what the FUCK lol

I still remember the guy who got mad at me because I spoke about the cultural role of the Norse gods in my life and my culture and insisted that I should be “proud of my Christian heritage instead” and quite simply would not believe me when I told him I was from Scandinavia because “that doesn’t exist anymore.”

someone please edit that map of europe with the spain void to also have a void for the whole of scandinavia

Every now and then I just have to reblog this.

(while particularly loving: “Gender of the Day: Wales”)

(also “Port O’Rico”)

Go see the new Dungeons and Dragons movie. Just run. Don't finish reading this post.

That was SO REFRESHING. GOD.

Some minor spoilers ahead, but frankly nothing that would spoil your enjoyment of the plot:

A man and a woman who are friends and co-parents, who don't constantly belittle and snark at each other and who aren't falling in love? Mwah! Fucking finally. A genuine friendship where they BOTH respect each other! FUCKING WHEN IS THE LAST TIME

And the humor doesn't get in the way of the characters! It's funny, but in a funny-for-real way, not in a research-shows-1-joke-per-48-seconds-is-optimal way.

Like: the barbarian woman goes to visit her halfling ex. Oh boy, here we go, right? WRONG. They have a mature, respectful, heartfelt and open conversation about where their relationship went wrong, and wish each other well.

Afterwards, the barbarian walks out to the bard, who gives her a Look. Oh boy, THIS is it. This is where the dumb jokes happen. WRONG AGAIN. The bard sees that his friend is clearly hurting, and just starts singing Their Song until she joins in. Like. An actual friendship moment. No jokes. It's cheesy but in the way that actual people are cheesy.

It doesn't depend on you being some ultranerd for DnD, either: it's not like Marvel's obsession with pointing out that yes, Steve the Intern WAS forced at gunpoint to comb through the entire run of Waffle Ass Man from the 80s in order to find you a Reference. It's just place names and some tropes that all stand on their own while showing that yes, they are adapting DnD and they are earnest about it. (I've played like 3 times, I didn't know shit going in.)

Earnest is actually a great word. The whole movie feels so earnest.

Fucking finally, a fun adventure movie. I could watch like 20 of these. Just give me, in alternating years, one Benoit Blanc mystery and one DnD movie, and I'll be happy.

Mild spoilers ahead: I’m sure it’s been said in the notes somewhere, but on the flip side if you ARE an ultranerd for DnD, you will be DELIGHTED by the references and in jokes. Everything from stat jokes (intellect devourers ignoring the party because none of them have high enough int to attract them) to initiative rolls (”I’ll go last”) to real places and creatures and spells--it’s amazing. There are a FEW rules broken here and there, but for the most part, this actually feels like a real campaign (complete with the DM’s super OP character from a different campaign that they bring in as an NPC to tag along for a little while). Creatures, classes, in-world items and relics, it’s all there, and it’s fantastic. Mimics and Displacer Beasts and Owlbears, oh my! I cannot get over how good this movie is, seriously. I’m NOT an ultranerd, but I know some about the game, and I am friends with many ultranerds, and every single thing they tell me makes me happier about it. Even cameos from real in-world characters like Themberchaud the dragon. And what DnD movie is complete without a gelatinous cube?  Seriously this movie is incredible. I’m so so happy it exists. 

Get down, Mr. President!

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Just assuming old people will be a small percentage. I will redo if I am wrong.

Waiting to see the redo LMAO. Fascinated to know in what kind of context OP thinks 26+ is 'old'.