And to think, Greta inadvertently took him down. What a timeline we live in.

A thing I also don't understand is why they are scrubbing the service from some of the cancelled shows (you can't view the previous seasons either). Why?

A show I was going to watch, but now can't, was Queens of the Universe, a song/talent competition for/by queer people. We already don't have that many queer shows, let me at least watch the first season of it.

I mean, yes, that is true for your spare time. But with the way things are working now, everything has to happen immediately, you might feel you need to be available 24/7, even if you don't technically.

Work in general is more fast-paced because of it (emails and phone calls over snail mail), everything you do is attached to your phone making it difficult to turn it off (banking, cards, travel apps, dating apps etc).

In the purest sense, yes, you can take breaks from it all, but it's still there, and while I don't think it'll happen anytime soon, I do believe we'd benefit as a society from being less chronically online (I say writing this on an app for a federated social media site, but y'know, small steps).

A duel to the death, obviously

Thank you, that's really heartwarming. I will definitely join you over there. I struggle a lot with feeling valid, as even transgender friends have told me I don't sound transgender, which I don't know if I am, I just don't feel... Real. Just as gay/lesbian friends have told me there's no such thing as bisexuals (this was back in the 80s-90s though, some have changed their tune since), but I definitely know where I stand sexuality wise.

Anyway, blabla, thank you, I'll see you over there!

This is fucking amazing

🤠 🐝

My band is now officially a houseband for a local venue. Quite exciting!

I'm also writing a book, not necessarily to be published, but it's a fun thing to do :)

Isn't it just?

Eventually yes. My country of origin is generally more accepting, though not perfect. We're saving up for it :)

Yep, I'm using wefwef.app now, which is also very nice. Still have Jerboa installed for when it'll be compatible with beehaw again.

Yes, I watched it! It's a really good surface scratcher of the larger issue with cults and how they prey on vulnerable people, with the main route to it being a view into the Duggar family.

I liked that it focused on the political side of IBLP and that it let the victims of it be heard on their terms, they seemed very comfortable and only told what they could handle.

But it does feel a bit surface level and more like an introductory viewing for those completely unfamiliar with the above. But I think that's just because there's so much more ground to cover on this.

It also deals with quite heavy subject matter, so do be warned.

My leats favourite thing about it is the music they chose, but this is a general issue I have with most documentaries.

Anyway, definitely worth a look in my opinion! The epsiodes went by so fast.

I would be okay with it if the amount of ads and their length was reasonable, like one in the beginning and one at the end or something. For a longer video I wouldn't even mind one at the midway point.

I didn't start using adblockers until I was literally inundated and bombarded and sometimes with ads running the length of movie (no, literally).

It completely ruins the experience. I'm happy to support my creators directly though and I do.

Yeah, I agree with the headline OP wrote, but not so much the comic. I've been to therapy for different reasons over the years and I've found it especially helpful for processing traumatic events. Events that I would otherwise have no clue how to process and that people who aren't specialised in psychology wouldn't know how to deal with either.

However, I do agree that part of the issue with western society at large at the moment is that the focus on monetary growth, rather than healthy living for the individual, causes more psychological issues than it prevents.

I would chop off certain bits and add others, lol. I would wear wigs, or do different hairstyles often. I would expand my wardrobe so it could reflect how I feel more on a given day. I would be extravagant for no fucking reason other than... it's Thursday.

Like, it's destabilizing, it creates some unavoidable disassociation when your reality is out of sync with the people around you.

Nail on the head. I don't feel like I'm asking for anything ludicrous here, it's literally just clothing items that might go against the majority of people's ideas of my perceived gender. Gender fuckery, if you will.

It's odd when your entire existence is an event and a shock and a reset to others. I'm not out to provoke (though I'd be fine with people doing that, sometimes that's exactly what it takes), I just want to live life how I feel it best suits me.

And yeah, I'm similar to you. My spouse and I have created a safe little haven for ourselves and our general friend group are either similar to us or understanding at least.

Thank you, your words mattered a lot to me.

I'm very comfortable with my sexuality, it's my gender/gender roles/gender expression that I get stuck on - but there must be a counselor who deals with that as well. I just worry about any records of it as my country is very anti-transgender at the moment. Perhaps if it were a private one.

Thank you for your input, I definitely have something to ponder there.

Aw, man... Boo.

Exactly!

I sincerely hope you get to live life authentically, whatever that might mean to you.

Yeah, this exactly. Use it as an opportunity to realise you're not on the same page as this person and that's fine. Better to be picky, imo. Live your best single life, only choose a partner who chooses all of you too.

Kind shoutout to NFS: Hot Pursuit

Fuck yeah Autobahn!!!!

I'd love to, but I'm afraid it's not as easy as that. My partner got beat up for wearing nail polish. A friend of mine got egged for having short hair as a girl. There have been murders and assaults of my like-minded people in the area.

While I know it's important to have guts and to stand tall, I also want to make sure I stay alive so I can be there for my family.

But I hear you. I will be braver, if nothing else in little, safer ways for now. Maybe some wigs at home at least, lol.

That's very kind of you to say, thank you. I understand it in theory, I'm not sure if I am or not. Their experiences seem different to mine. I would love to make some physical changes to my body, but not enough that I want to deal with any side effects or upkeep, nor do I have the money tbh. I kind of just want to... not be bound by gender.

Genderqueer is currently the "label" that feels the most comfortable, as I struggle to specify it further. I'm not sure I want to label it either, I just want to be understood. Thank you again!

If you think about it, latitude wise they're closer to the Nordic countries. Estonia (and Latvia and Lithuania) have quite close ties to the Nordic countries both in terms of history and politics. Culturally, there's also some overlap in terms of food and way of life.

Thank you for mentioning Estonia though! Makes my heart happy.

I mean, I like doing both lol, but I actually think gaming is more productive as you're at least either engaging in something social, a good narrative, or just fucking having a good time, whereas watching things is more passive (and completely okay to do as well).

Ever since that one post that some might remember, I cheer myself up by going "nyyyyowwwn" like a race car when I pass corners (walking) if I'm having a bad day.

I fucking love those games to death, Thief was so fucking dark and gritty when it first came out and I was so scared when the guards walked past me as I was hiding in the shadows after water arrowing a torch, lol.

And Deus Ex I with it's multiple storylines, choice making and takes on philosophy was mind blowing.

However, they're easy to cheese by modern standards which might be to their detriment when it comes to new players. You can easily blackjack your way through Thief I.

Thief III: Deadly Shadows probably holds up the best gameplay wise, though Thief II has the best storyline imo.

Deus Ex I also has some very unfortunate voice acting choices (incl. white people putting on Asian sounding accents), which I, in the 90s, was ignorant about, but now as an adult it's a cringy struggle to listen to, tbh.

I don't post gaming memes myself so it won't directly affect me, but how do you count a "Monday" if taking other timezones/countries into consideration? Just curious.

Ok, worth thinking about, so thank you for doing that. I've just seen cases where Europeans miss out due to rules like this.

Brilliant, thank you x

Saaaame. I've made up so many lyrics for my cats and balut my spouse's butt, lol.

Very good point. Therapy is a process, not an immediate cure all.

I don't think they actually think they'll get backpaid, it's more the principle of the thing. You're saying Reddit isn't earning the money it should, how about all the free work mods have done over the years to make Reddit into anything worth monetising?

I'm with you on FF. I played VII, because at that point in time, especially where I'm from (small, inconsequential country with a low population and before the internet hit it big, we were always months behind on trends), you just played any title presented to you by others with a PS.

My siblings and I mostly played the demos that came with free PC magazines as we couldn't afford much else lol.

All of that rambling to say: Even then, when I didn't have much else, it bored me to tears. It was so wordy, but without the type of substance I enjoy, the battles were tedious (though I enjoy other types of turnbased combat - like xcom), the style was cute, but I did not enjoy the mishmash of characters (similar feelings on Kingdom Hearts which you also mentioned), it didn't feel irreverent, it felt inconsistent to me.

I can completely understand why others might enjoy it though. I tried playing other FF titles, because the games are quite different to each other, but unfortunately couldn't get into them. But hey ho, everything can't be for everyone.

Thank you very much, that is so kind of you ❤️

Remember when Big Sugar(TM) did that study on how sugar is beneficial? Is this that again?

I think you misunderstood me, I didn't talk about doing work in your spare time. I'm saying because of technology, when you're at work everything is more fast-paced, which I think contributes to feeling more stressed in your spare time.

Couple that with everything important being attached to your device, including addicting apps like TikTok (for some, not me personally), and it can become a difficult habit to break, because you're forced to still engage with your phone for various but important reasons.

Like I said to the other commenter, I think I must have been unclear, because I'm not even talking about working in your free time. I don't believe I stated that in my original comment at all.

I'm just saying everything is so much more fast-paced now due to technology which I think in turn makes it more difficult to relax, plus you have to engage with your phone for important matters as everything important happens online, like the examples I mentioned, so even if you want to turn it off, you might feel like you cannot.

Thank you!

Well, we play my own folkrock songs and then covers as well. We're trying to make a chill atmosphere. We mostly want people to leave with a: "oh, that was really pleasant!"-vibe, but also mix in some humourous bits here and there to keep people entertained.

I work with elderly people, so I'm trying to make a book that explores some of the lives left unheard thorughout the decades :)

Imposter syndrome gets us all at times. But hey, at least you're asking, you'll then know more and you'll improve! They need to be patient with a new hire too, which it sounds like they are. Good luck!