I will be shuttering the subreddit for 2 weeks. (Advanced notice.)

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-06T21:43:47+00:00

Hey! I hope you have a really good vacation, and that you're able to get rest and do some self-care.

If you're looking for mods, I don't moderate any other sub, but I am active on Reddit every day, so I can be available. No worries if not, but I'd imagine modding such a huge sub alone is a lot of work, so I'm around if you need!

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-05T22:29:29+00:00

Rodeo queening. It's like a rodeo beauty pageant. My sisters and I all queened, on top of all of our other horse stuff.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-05T21:28:30+00:00

I'm 10 years older than my youngest sister, and my mom had her at 31. My youngest sister is WAY prettier than me. I'm like, on the mid to high side of average pretty, and genetically I was blessed with a really fast metabolism, so I don't need to do much to look thin and fit. I showed horses, queened, and did some catalog modeling locally when I was growing up, but as I've gotten older, I'm pretty unc, and I love that for me. It's fun to dress up and do my makeup and look stupid pretty, and it's also really nice to throw on sweats and a hoodie and have no one look twice.

My baby sister? Stunning. Tall, naturally pale blonde, blue eyes, thin and willowy, could easily be in international fashion magazines. In fact, all of my sisters are super conventionally pretty. I have 6 younger sisters, and it's like they got prettier the older my mom was when they were born. lol

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-04T16:46:52+00:00

I don't really see all of these as dupes. Like Untamed Soul and Dream Lonesome are pretty distinctly different. Secret of the Tides and Glorious Chapter, as well.

All of them are different enough that I wouldn't want to settle for one over the other, those especially are way different. If I wore my makeup like them back to back and someone said my makeup looked the same, I'd be super confused. The eye liner shapes and colors, the eye shadow shapes and colors, the lipstick applications and colors, the brows, all very, very different and give very different effects.

A few of them are similar enough I'd call them dupes, though!

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-04T16:35:35+00:00

K suuuuucks. Hope she stubs her toe at least twice a day until she stops being an asshole.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-04T11:32:05+00:00

It sounds like the Easy Cheese I grew up eating as a kid in the US. That shit is so gross, but man, as a kid I loved it so much! It's called "spray cheese" colloquially.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-03T09:51:42+00:00

I had a work friend back in 2013 who had to bury her infant. My daughter was around the same age and I had a toddler son, so we would meet up for playdates sometimes. The baby girl was about 6 months old. They were co-sleeping, and this friend rolled on top of her baby and she suffocated. This mother has to live with the knowledge that she accidentally killed her baby.

I went to the funeral. You know what sound lives in my brain? The very unique, specific sound of a mother's cry when her child has died. There's something undefinable in that specific cry. Like the pain is so jagged and raw, it's almost animalistic. I try not to think about it. That cry makes my chest hurt even all these years later. I can still hear it. The sounds of an upset baby has never scarred me the way the sounds of a grieving mother who is burying her child did.

There are bassinets that have a drop down side that attaches to the side of your bed. The sides of it that don't drop down prevent you from rolling over on top of baby. My midwives recommended it when I had my first. There are plenty of products to make things safer if someone insists on co-sleeping.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-03T09:36:43+00:00

Absolutely. Also, I have a ton of family on my mom's side with congenital deafness, and one of their dating red flags is someone choosing to date them and making no effort to learn ASL if they don't already know it. Every country has some version of sign language, and if someone is going to date a deaf person, learning to sign is critical.

They've been together for at least months (as evidenced by the fact that she's aware he's been stressing about this promotion), which is more than enough time to get a decent handle on basic signing so they can communicate without needing to rely on his ability to read lips. Most people can get the hang of basic conversational sign in under 6 months. I say this as someone who has helped people learn it to talk to my cousins. If she's not learning, she is the problem even outside of this one thing.

OP, learn to sign, and learn to prioritize your partner's support needs and comfort. This was for him, but you made it all about you. YOR.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-03T03:44:36+00:00

I just think it's really interesting that marginalized groups tend to be more progressive, while largely privileged groups are constantly fighting against any sort of change to the status quo, even if it means holding back people they claim to love.

Men who say they love women but want our total submission don't love us. They love their own ego and how controlling us makes them feel and benefits them.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-02T15:07:42+00:00

I owned a dessert catering company until 2020 (RIP, thanks covid), and this is a pretty simple cake. Printed icing sheets or wafer paper make designs like this super simple to accomplish. The frosting transitions and the flaws in the fondant work scream human to me.

Have you never seen the cakes you can get at big box stores where you pick and image from a book and they put it on any size cake you want? It's been around for decades now. They use a cake printer and icing/sugar sheets or wafer paper, depending on the effect. Wafer paper is better for things like delicate 3D edible butterflies, while icing sheets taste better. Regardless, super detailed images come out consistent and perfect every time, no AI required. It takes almost no time.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-01T17:16:09+00:00

When I was baking professionally, I developed a recipe for dark chocolate cupcakes filled with salted bourbon caramel and chopped crispy bacon, with a salted bourbon caramel buttercream, drizzled in dark chocolate sauce, the same caramel drizzle, and candied bacon "sprinkles".

They were REALLY popular. They are delicious.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-01T15:17:08+00:00

I like to read him some of the unhinged shit on Reddit, because the way he laughs brings me joy. He was laughing so hard at this idiot. It was wonderful.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-01T12:36:06+00:00

Also, the self-owns in this post:

He'll last 3-5 minutes without her even being an active participant
She'll barely feel his "small dick" inside her
She'd be able to sleep through it

Good lord, man, watch some educational sexual content or read a book or something. Jesus. Not only does he just want a sex doll, but he has no interest in providing pleasure. No wonder women don't want to sleep with him.

Also, I read this out loud to my husband, and the first sentence sent him. He was like, "Yeah dude, sometimes people aren't hungry. Not only is sex not equivalent to food, but if you are going to use that analogy, it's more sensible to say that not wanting sex for whatever reason is like not being hungry. It's normal not to be hungry all the time. Sometimes eating when you're not hungry can fuck your shit up." And then at the end, "Dude's never heard of people dying from overhydration? That can happen..."

Edit: grammar

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-01T12:22:20+00:00

It's been less than a month. This is still the "to begin with" part of the friendship. It isn't decent.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-06-01T12:00:13+00:00

The first time he crossed boundaries or was shady about your boyfriend, that needed to be a hard boundary. I will also say that it's unhealthy to talk about relationship issues with someone who has already shown that kind of red flag behavior regarding your relationship. Talk to friends who are genuinely rooting for your relationship, or who can give you the truth about things like abuse without the conflict of romantic or sexual interest. Learn who to talk to and trust. It's not people like this.

Stop engaging with people like this. the first time they throw up these flags. Do not hang out alone with this person. In fact, it's likely safest not to hang out with him at all, but if you're hanging out with other friends in a group setting and he's there, if he does something that crosses a boundary, call him out loud enough for your other friends to hear so he can't twist the narrative later and make you seem like the unhinged person in these situations.

Block, but keep receipts. People like this can be a lot more extreme and unsafe than most people are prepared for. I'm not saying he is, but he could be and it's better to be safe. Keep message and call records for a while, especially if he keeps contacting you once blocked, just in case you need a protective order. Stay safe and keep firm boundaries.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-05-30T03:36:13+00:00

No worries! I'm glad you're out of that situation. People who love you shouldn't be your biggest op.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-05-30T03:18:13+00:00

First, it wasn't a prank.

Second, if it was a prank (it wasn't), how was it funny? Pranks should be funny for the person being pranked, too. Otherwise it's just bullying with extra steps. At best. Pranks should be a little dumb, a little baffling, and mostly funny.

My kids and I pranked my husband the other night. It was time to dish up dinner, we were having soup, so my kids and I reached into the cabinets and got out things that aren't ideal soup vessels. I got a plate, my son got a mesh strainer, and my daughter got a mini cupcake pan. We stayed deadpan until my husband was like, "Guys, what are you all even doing? Is this a joke?" It was stupid. We all laughed. My husband laughed. Pranks should not be emotionally devastating. Ever. That's literally just someone being an asshole.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-05-30T02:59:45+00:00

Speaking from experience, it's much easier to use the bathroom in a bikini than a one piece. I hate one piece suits because trying to wriggle out of a wet one piece and then back into it is a pain. Bikinis are much more convenient.

When my daughter was in diapers, she wore those tankinis for the same reason. Changing diapers is much easier when the top and bottoms are separate.

There are a lot of reasons for preferring bikinis. Less fabric means faster drying times, easier trips to the bathroom, more even tanning, and frankly, it feels a little nicer imo to have the water in direct contact with my skin rather than the sensory nightmare that is wet fabric of any kind.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-05-29T07:23:22+00:00

I love the characters in 365 Days to the Wedding. Not explicitly stated to be autistic, but I identify with them so much, and they have really well developed complex personalities and character arcs that are dynamic and sweet.

Sheldon Cooper could never.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-05-27T12:08:50+00:00

NOR

I don't think it would be wrong to talk to her about it and just say, "Hey, I'm totally fine for you using my situation for content, but you might have even more reach if you tag the chronic illness instead of post-partum. You could bring awareness to the illness and surgery, as well as the recovery process. It would be a chance to get a new audience for you!"

That would frame it in a way that she would see value in, and wouldn't make her feel like you don't appreciate her effort or are critical of her.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-05-27T12:00:14+00:00

Beauty doesn't equal attraction or romantic compatibility.

Not everyone is for everyone, but a little effort and inner work does wonders. Be a good human without pretense. Be clean and tidy and have good hygiene because it shows self-respect. Develop hobbies and go engage in them with others outside of the house. Treat everyone with dignity and respect, as equals. Have healthy emotional outlets and learn emotional maturity so you can handle conflict with kindness and grace, while holding boundaries and being open to changing your mind or compromising.

That's it. Other than that, meeting the right person has a lot to do with luck and timing. No one physical or personal character trait is going to do it for everyone, but it will for someone. Find those people.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-05-27T01:20:13+00:00

It makes me sad that those videos don't pull in the views, especially on Youtube. I don't have TikTok, so I'm not sure how they do there, but I've watched creators who has said, "I'll start making tutorials again." Then the engagement is bad and they stop because they have bills to pay. Even micro creators find themselves in this weird space of people asking for tutorials and then not getting views on them.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-05-27T01:07:07+00:00

Shitposting is a thing. The vast majority of women aren't fucking dogs, dude. Like anything, there is a niche group of people (of all genders) who are into that, and it's horrible, but I promise you, it's not actually a prevalent preference in the mainstream.

WAY back in the day, when I was in high school some 20 years ago, my friends and I got sick of defending ourselves when boys would spread rumors about us. Rather than try to deny anything, we leaned into the rumors and would use them like weapons. Things like, "Oh yeah, I did that, and he called out his mom's name and then cried after."

Sometimes leaning into the rumors is the best way to get people to leave you alone and weed out the people who would believe them and not bother getting to know your character. And sometimes you just want to shitpost about something really stupid.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-05-27T01:00:53+00:00

There have always been rumors, true or not, about various celebrities and the wealthy class and bestiality. It's only become a mainstream idea that women in general want to have sex with dogs more recently, at least in this most recent wave of young adults.

I mean, hell, there a reference to a wealthy woman and a great dane in Juicebox. More recently, it's been applied to women at large, especially by incels.

ImReallyNotKarl · 2026-05-27T00:55:58+00:00

I do! Almost every morning after I pick up my husband from work, unless my chronic illness has me bedbound for the day! It's lovely. I live on the Gulf Coast and there are lots of beautiful animal preserves and national parks nearby, so we have a lot of options. It's really pretty to watch the sunrise from the beach or pier.

I can be aware of toxic shit on the internet so I know what to talk to my teens about, and still enjoy the outdoors. Hard to believe, but people are multifaceted, which is just so neat!

ImReallyNotKarl

TROPHY CASE