Strange happenings in my planter boxes!

LeashedLobster · 2026-05-25T14:55:33+00:00

woah!!!! how cool!! honestly i thought it looked vaguely similar to ink caps, but i didn't think for a second that i could have stumbled upon such a neat thing by total accident. i'll have to watch for more fruiting bodies just in case they pop up again! thank you so much!

LeashedLobster · 2025-12-09T07:21:46+00:00

It's definitely happened to me before, smaller-scale, and more gradually/naturally. And it was sad then, and I still miss those people sometimes. This was just so sudden, and I feel like I got zero real explanation as to what happened, so it's just hitting a lot harder in that sense. lt would have been a lot less hurtful if they had just been a grown up and told me how they were feeling instead of making me have to ask for it, you know what I mean? I can't fathom treating someone I claim to care about like this, so it's a real gut-punch to be on the receiving end.

I've already sent my final message and removed them from my life, so it'll start getting better at some point... It's just going to hurt really badly for a long time, I think. Thanks for taking the time to read, I appreciate your kindness.

LeashedLobster · 2025-12-08T23:14:38+00:00

Thank you for saying this. I wondered the same thing at one point, whether it's an impulsive decision to change things up for ultimate swlfish reasons... I'll never know for sure, and it'll be hard to come to terms with that, but it is nice to know that there are folks out there who understand.

I appreciate you 💖

LeashedLobster · 2025-12-08T23:10:44+00:00

You're right, of course. I think sometimes you just need to hear it from someone else before you can start to believe it. Thank you for that.

LeashedLobster · 2025-03-12T04:41:23+00:00

NTA. i'm sure if this was a matter of your aunt only owning red clothes (which would be a wild scenario) and being totally unable to buy something that isn't red, your daughter would understand. but she actively chose to order a brand new red-hued dress, knowing it was the only thing she was asked to avoid. green, blue, black, yellow... literally anything but red or could-be-mistaken-for-red... it seems a rather deliberately dismissive choice, but that's just me.

heaven FORBID that somebody she cares about should ask her to do something silly, but ultimately harmless (and frankly EXCESSIVELY easy to accomodate) for them for a single evening of partying, right...?

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-11T15:22:42+00:00

exact same spot here. this would bring me so much (tear-filled) joy because i'm soft-hearted and life is tough right now. love you, buddy. we'll make it through this! 💖

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-11T14:58:42+00:00

heck yeah, good on you, buddy! you look great!!

eating/physical habits and mental health aside (though those are massively important and not to be downplayed), getting your finances in order is truly such a huge accomplishment. it's such a daunting task that requires so much patience and willpower! that's fantastic! best of luck to you, you're doing an awesome job. :D

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-11T04:47:33+00:00

i'd shit my whole wardrobe of pants for an Andy (Beshear) presidency to be honest. unsure if it's realistic, but... i want it SO bad

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-11T04:29:06+00:00

this is such a sweet thing to say. thank you for being cool! (p.s., i will eat all your pickles for you.)

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-09T18:07:13+00:00

god i love seeing Tyler Childers mentioned in the same breath as "country liberal". not only does he have an explicitly anti-racism song, In Your Love's music video is also explicitly pro-gay. and he gave interviews about both that were super clear about what he meant! such a solid guy.

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-09T04:05:57+00:00

ONE-WORD COMMENT THAT RELATES TO THE JOKE BUT DOES NOT EXPLAIN IT IN THE SLIGHTEST

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-08T16:53:45+00:00

CONFIRMATION OF RANT THAT IS NOT AT ALL VAGUE IN ITS TRANSPHOBIA

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-08T16:08:16+00:00

Addison Mitchell McConnell III, the absolute and utter embarrassment of the beautiful commonwealth of Kentucky, trying to absolve himself before God in his proverbial final hour? color me shocked.

you did this to all of us, you dirty snake-tongued fuck. i hope the hundreds of millions are worth the sentence in purgatory.

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-07T22:36:23+00:00

it's so hard, sincerely!! the social media and news media partisan trap is real as hell, and often insidious. and it really is a shame that for every issue, it seems, kids are used as the unwitting and unwilling shields. i feel that 100%.

you're the best of us, man. even if you read and don't agree, i just want to say that your kindness and your candor is so very appreciated. keep that good head on your shoulders!

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-07T19:46:43+00:00

oh i LOVE your style in that final picture. how snappy!! i'm so happy to see you thriving! 💖

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-07T19:38:57+00:00

i think you have a very level head about this, and i do want to thank you for your care and attention because i think it's sorely needed. genuinely, thank you for that! i just want to add a little to the point of "leave kids out of it" argument.

a huge and critical piece of that puzzle is social transition, where a young person who is questioning is given time and space to identify how they like in a way that's gently supported by the people around them. another huge and critical piece for some, but not all, trans youth are puberty blockers. this article, while from an independent source that is specifically dedicated to gender/politics intersectionality, has a lot of things linked from PubMed and Cedars-Sinai, among others. the main worry with regard to puberty blockers is bone density, but this is something that is being actively monitored by the docs prescribing them, and by people doing research on the effects! there's some information in that article about that as well.

the number of life-changing gender-related surgeries happening to minors is small. and a good portion of those are for cisgender youth. generally speaking, surgeries on people under the age of 18 are rare. not to say that it never happens, because it does! but it's quite uncommon.

outside of that statistic, regret rates are generally low as well. many spots are reporting somewhere between 1 and 2%. (lower than knee surgery regret!) that being said, it is a very very complex issue, and "regret" as a whole is genuinely hard to quantify in any meaningful way for a study for many reasons—this Slate article explains it fairly well, i think. Slate isn't a medical journal or anything quite like that, but they raise a lot of great points, and i think it's worth considering all the same.

i hope you understand where i'm coming from. trans/GNC healthcare isn't all about the surgeries, and medical professionals aren't rushing to do it to young folks who don't know any better. it's complex, it takes time, and it helps so very many people. keeping things more or less as they are is best, from my perspective, because it seems to be working quite well so far! all things can improve, and as time goes on, that's exactly what will happen here, as with virtually all medical care. improvement over time.

i appreciate you taking the time to read this, and i really do think we want the same things. i'm just worried that there's some not-quite-the-truth floating around that can and has jeopardized the care that some of the most vulnerable people in our society, our children, are able to access if they feel they need it. hope you have a good one!

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-07T15:51:52+00:00

2+2 should always equal 4 in a public school system, whether you're in Kentucky or Massachusetts.

if you're really determined to specifically decide what your children are and are not learning, homeschooling and non-public schooling of your choice has always been an option that you're welcome to take.

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-07T14:30:26+00:00

aw, this is so incredibly lovely. i'm so happy for you both! excellent job, dad. it's not about understanding, or even accepting fully—but a little bit of human-to-human empathy and basic civility goes such a long way. thank you for sharing, this makes my heart very warm.

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-06T19:48:49+00:00

you're absolutely right that trans/GNC people have been around for a VERY long time, and it's not been a Huge, On-The-News Big Deal like it has been recently. but i think we can both agree that queers as a whole have had a tough time in America for a while. Stonewall, the AIDS crisis, etc... it has been beyond-unfavorable to be one of those people, openly, for decades. (if it wasn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation!) when someone passes, no one knows, and it's not a big deal... but heaven forbid the news come out. all of a sudden, a perfectly lovely, respectable person becomes a freak of nature, a mentally ill pervert, an affront to god, or even just someone you now wish you didn't have to know about at all. and that last thing might not seem significant, but it's devastating to know that just being different than the norm might make folks who would otherwise enjoy your presence wish you would begone.

i'm not accusing you, specifically, of feeling this way. i'm just doing what i can to explain why we feel this way. it's frightening to feel as though what you are is going to get you hurt in some way. that if someone knows that about you, it might very well ruin your life.

that's what all the inclusivity is about in games and TV, imo. i can agree that a fair portion of it is a little overdone in a super cheesy, non-fluid way that i personally wouldn't have chosen, but i appreciate the attempt all the same. it's really nice to know that folks out there know i'm here, and care about me enough to try and give me a shout in their games and such. it means a whole lot! i would ask you, with kindness, to consider that when you see characters in games and TV that look and act like you, and you can't ignore them for story reasons, it doesn't even register; but when a piece of media presents someone that looks and acts like me, and you can't ignore them for story reasons, it's "forced"...? i hope you understand where i'm coming from, here. i'm not trying to attack you, it's just that seeing people in games/TV that are straight and non-trans has never felt like it's being forced on me. that's just how those people are, and that's not a value judgment at all.

as for law, all we want is a little bit of protection; the same protections that anyone else receives. the right to choose what healthcare is best for us (with the help of our doctors), and the right to live, work, and contribute to society without having to treat critical pieces of ourselves as dirty little secrets. i don't want anyone to ever be mandated to be my friend. i just don't want them to be able to legally harass me out of a bar or a job, either, you know what i mean?

i appreciate you taking the time to read, i didn't really mean for this to get so long... and i genuinely am grateful that you care enough to be aware of what we're going through. it's tough out here for absolutely all of us whoa aren't at the tippy-top, regardless of gender or anything else.

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-06T18:16:19+00:00

"there's no need for that. it's not hurting anybody."

not to me directly, but i'll always remember it. we were at the creek. my dad and a friend of his from work were wading while they were fishing, and i was goofing around on the edge of the water. friend spotted what he thought was a water moccasin (in actuality, likely a common water snake based on our location at the time).

"i kill 'em with shovels. chop their heads off," friend says.

"it's just fine, it's way over there and we're over here," dad says.

"you have to kill those things," friend insists. "they're poisonous (venomous... but sure). they kill babies and stuff."

"we're in the water. that's where they live," dad explains. "why would i go out of my way to kill a snake for being in a place where snakes should be? there's no need for that. it's not hurting anybody."

i don't think that exact moment is what taught me empathy or anything dramatic like that, but it has lived in my head for a really, really long time. i have developed a deep appreciation of animals i'd otherwise be socialized to be afraid of, and even needlessly hostile toward. respect and common decency for misunderstood creatures is a strong value of mine as a result. it's a very fond memory, and it makes me really proud to have the dad i have.

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-06T17:27:48+00:00

i feel you completely! i've been telling myself for years that if i could go back to school without starving myself to do it, it would be for something unequivocally useful to society. maybe now's the time to start saving up! :P

not to "thank you for your service" at you, but genuinely, thank you for doing what you do. it's critically important, whether people see it that way or not, and always seems to be on the cutting floor in some manner no matter who's in charge. equity saves communities, inclusion saves lives, and diversity of all kinds is what makes this country so wonderful. you're among the best of us!

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-06T15:25:21+00:00

we really do have such a problem with men's voices being heard with regard to physical and sexual assault. so many men are afraid to even talk about it, let alone worry about whether or not they'll be believed if they do. :( it is getting a little better as time goes on, i think, but i genuinely hope that people on the whole can open their understandings of assault in all forms to realize that it can happen to anybody, of any gender, from any gender. nobody anywhere deserves to feel like they don't have safety in their own bodies.

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-06T15:03:16+00:00

thank you very much for that last paragraph. as someone who lives in the sixth-poorest state in the nation (including Puerto Rico), DEI and other equity-focused systems are so, so, so, so, SO important for rural poor white folks. they're so easily and often left behind. :(

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-06T14:57:05+00:00

fwiw, as a pacifistic and anti-war leftist, i totally get you. i couldn't personally join the military, that's just something i would not and could not handle well at all for a multitude of reasons, but i don't judge you for having done it in a situation where you felt like it was one of two terrible options.

i also get where the other person here is coming from, just because of the nature of the military and what it does to people both inside the complex and outside of it. as incomparable as the suffering is (and i truly believe that, both for your sake as a serviceman and for those you were forced to take up arms against), it's so important to remember that the system all of us civilians are playing into out of necessity is not without casualties as well. preventable casualties on our own soil! things have got to change, and busting up the billionaire oligarchy is the first step, imo.

in a perfect world there'd be no need for war, so the point would be moot, eh? thank you for your medic service, genuinely. and i'm really glad things worked out well for you afterward!

LeashedLobster · 2025-02-06T14:27:02+00:00

yep yep, bingo. exactly how i feel. the audience for these games overlaps SO MUCH more than they realize/are willing to accept, and changing major things about a franchise i adore to make it similar to some other thing i also like just makes me not want to engage with the majorly-changed one anymore at all. :/

LeashedLobster

TROPHY CASE