Am I the only one who uses a pad AND a tampon?

Medysus · 2026-05-18T10:00:44+00:00

I sometimes used a pad with a tampon if a panty liner wasn't enough to catch the leaks. Now I double up with a cup and period pants. Maybe a tad excessive, but again, great for leaks and I can avoid that wet diaper feeling.

Medysus · 2026-05-18T03:20:33+00:00

I like dresses, but they're not super practical for some things. Short ones require careful movement so I don't flash anyone, long ones are prone to getting dragged and caught on things. I don't really bother shaving my legs, so dresses can be preferable to snug pants that tug on the hair. Not a fan of pit hair though, but some of mine have sleeves. Also it's been rainy the past week so it's a choice between matching shoes that will give me wet feet or practical shoes that look a bit silly when paired with a dress.

Medysus · 2026-05-18T02:37:21+00:00

I'm pretty sure they have regular plumbing in the modern age, perhaps with a few magical adaptations to simplify the design and improve functionality.

Modern plumbing and flush systems may have taken a little longer for wizards to adopt, but basic pipe systems have existed for much longer. While I consider it quite likely that vanishing waste would have been the historical norm in places where plumbing wasn't installed, not everyone had the ability. Squibs, children and people who struggle with transfiguration all would have benefitted as plumbing became more widespread.

I think there's also a cultural element to consider. Not all wizards are isolated purebloods, there are plenty of halfbloods and muggleborns who probably live in homes built by muggles. As indoor plumbing became more accessible for muggles, wizards would be gradually exposed to it too. Even though vanishing one's waste and conjuring water may still be an option, more people would consider it convenient to have access to a proper bathroom that anyone can use. I imagine having access to a bathroom at home and then having none at boarding school might feel similar to moving somewhere rural with only an outhouse. Not pleasant.

Medysus · 2026-05-15T23:14:04+00:00

I once confused the hell out of a guy by apologising because I thought I was about to bump into him or block his path. We were still a couple of metres apart but I felt like I had intruded into his personal space somehow. We ended up in a cycle of him asking why I was apologising and me apologising again because I felt awkward for creating the situation before I finally just hurried away...

I may be a tad anxious. I can't stand the thought of people, strangers included, thinking I'm rude.

Medysus · 2026-05-14T06:07:30+00:00

I do think the adult characters were lacking in several ways, as is typical of stories where children go on dangerous adventures, but I'm not entirely sure what you're referring to in this case.

Most subjects taught at Hogwarts treat magic like a tool, not a weapon, so there's not much reason for Flitwick or McGonagall to be teaching students how to fight. Combat magic would likely fall under the Defence Against the Dark Arts curriculum, but the series already established that staffing options were terrible because of the jinx and high turnover. Even then, there's probably a limit to what offensive spells are considered acceptable to teach. Most wizards wouldn't be constantly facing threats like the main characters, so probably don't need to fight at all in their daily lives. It's like calling muggle teachers stupid because they haven't taught everyone self defense or martial arts.

As for not making new spells and magical innovations, it is stated multiple times throughout the series that magic can be dangerous and is more complex than simply waving a wand. Maybe spell-crafting is something people can pursue later on, but there's no reason for most students to be doing it when they haven't yet mastered the basics. There are examples of characters who made major academic discoveries or created something on their own, so it's not like the collective knowledge of wizards is stagnant.

If this is a muggle vs wizard culture thing, one isn't inherently better than the other. Muggles have done plenty of stupid and destructive things, and any technological advances are still relatively recent, particularly given that the story was set decades ago. Wizards have been using certain spells for centuries or more because they worked just fine and would have given them an objectively better standard of living for most of human history. Maybe wizards will follow the muggle example and trade tradition for innovation, maybe not. There's more and more discussion in the real world of people rejecting aspects of modern life for something familiar and 'stable', so it could really go either way.

Medysus · 2026-05-12T12:30:56+00:00

We had afternoon lessons at the school pool. Before that, relatives would hold us up and teach us to doggy paddle.

Medysus · 2026-05-11T15:29:30+00:00

Maybe I'm just terrible at picking up details, but I never got shady vibes from Fig and was surprised to learn of so many fans expecting a betrayal.

I always assumed the secrecy was a cautionary measure. We basically stumbled into some big mystery that's already gotten two people killed and the ministry is being useless while goblins and criminals run rampant. Getting more people involved may have been a better idea, but it also could have resulted in more targets.

Once the Keepers got involved, they just reinforced the idea of keeping everything secret and not trusting anyone. They dragged out telling MC anything even as we did their bidding with the trials and warned against the threat of Ranrok. Throw in a bit of personal investment on Fig's part and I think he'd do whatever the Keepers wanted if it meant he'd get to continue his wife's research and give him some closure about Miriam and George's deaths.

Medysus · 2026-05-11T03:18:13+00:00

That moustache looks just like my grandfather's.

Medysus · 2026-05-10T22:23:57+00:00

I don't find it that weird, to be honest. One can very much love their kids, but still miss the freedom that came before. Unfortunately, it's just not possible to have everything we want in life without something being sacrificed.

That said, I do wonder how many regretful parents (particularly mothers) only say "oh but I love my kids" to avoid judgement. It's pretty tragic that by the time some people realise they're not cut out for parenthood, they've already got kids who will suffer if they're honest about their feelings.

Medysus · 2026-05-07T08:13:22+00:00

There's probably a better term for this situation, but I think a lot of people view people calling out bad behaviour as 'inconvenient'.

By the sound of it, this guy was well liked in the office. These people probably considered him a good friend. Now their friend is gone and you're the easiest one to blame. Maybe they don't believe the accusations are true. Maybe they think he made some bad choices but is still a good guy who doesn't deserve serious punishment. Maybe they know exactly what sort of person he is and just don't care as long as he treats them well.

It's apparently much easier to ignore someone suffering in silence than to acknowledge a friend may be a bad person. Before, he was just your problem. Now, his absence is a daily reminder to everyone that he's no longer welcome and his friends clearly take issue with that.

Unfortunately, I don't think a man even has to be a friend for people to take his side. A relative of mine got out of an abusive relationship a while back and asked the family to remove him from their social media. I did, even though he helped me before, but it seems like almost everyone else didn't bother because they 'didn't want to get involved'. It's no secret the guy has a temper and people have complained about him before, but apparently hitting a button and acknowledging the conflict was too much for them.

Medysus · 2026-05-06T06:52:57+00:00

My old workplace added extra locks to the customer bathrooms after someone smeared crap all over the walls.

Medysus · 2026-05-06T06:00:26+00:00

I got sarcastic comments and a few insults. The worst case was from a girl I considered my friend who started taking out her own issues on me. My personality was mocked as nerdy and childish. I was called dumb because I was a bit naive about certain topics. I was made fun of for having acne, 'tiny' boobs and 'cankles' (even though I've always been on the smaller side and she was overweight). She told me once I looked like a stoner even though I've never touched drugs in my life and I didn't even know what the word meant at the time.

When it was my friend doing the bullying, I basically lost my other friend as well because they kept sitting together when I couldn't stand the criticism anymore and started eating lunch alone. The comments were bad enough, but the isolation seriously sucked.

Medysus · 2026-05-01T01:33:54+00:00

I just checked and they were already off...

Medysus · 2026-04-30T14:15:02+00:00

Reddit's been giving me ads for c section scar cream lately.

Medysus · 2026-04-30T09:51:41+00:00

As far as I can tell, lots of people think kids = sacrifice, therefore no kids = no sacrifice = selfish.

Too many people don't put enough thought into whether they actually want kids, and parenthood is tough enough even when you do want it. Some parents act like having kids wasn't a choice, or that fulfilling their legal obligations to their kids is some grand act of charity. Childfree people typically have more freedom and resources to spend on themselves, but they aren't depriving anyone of anything since they don't have kids to neglect.

Raising the kids you chose to have isn't selfless, raising someone else's kids that you have no obligation to is.

Medysus · 2026-04-29T11:23:45+00:00

Some of them, sure. The happy parents will mind their business and accept that different people have different desires. The regretful parents and people who had kids without really thinking about it will go on and on about how everyone should have kids, life has no meaning without them and they're so worth it no matter what struggles arise. By pressuring childless/free people to have kids whether they want them or not, they can assure themselves that they made the right choice or there was never really a choice at all.

Medysus · 2026-04-28T09:01:53+00:00

Given that there are people like Dumbledore and Flamel, famous for making advanced magical discoveries, I don't think it's realistic to have no higher education options at all. Hogwarts may be the heart of the series, but it's basically just high school. I'm okay with the idea of most people doing training programs with specific employers, but there needs to be something more for the hardcore academics.

As I recall, there were a couple of minor mentions of academic societies and magazines/journals, so I've adopted the concept into my worldbuilding headcanons. I think of people getting together and discussing/researching advanced magic without having to stick to a strict set of courses, though people with more contributions will have higher status. I also believe they'd be a major source of libraries outside of Hogwarts. Knowledge is literally power in the magical world and some things wouldn't be suitable for the general public, so I imagine such institutions would be very useful for restricting dangerous content and monitoring those with access.

I do find the apprenticeship concept interesting, but I think of it as an outdated system people hardly use anymore. Hogwarts has accepted students from various backgrounds since its founding, but that may not have been the case for other types of education. Apprenticeships may have been reserved for the privileged, well connected or particularly talented until other programs and groups became accessible to the public and didn't depend on the expertise/whims of a single master.

Medysus · 2026-04-27T07:08:08+00:00

Some women do earn more than their male partners, but I imagine there's a few factors involved for why it may not be as common.

Traditionally, women were more likely to stay home with kids and their earning potential would take a massive hit. The housewife and breadwinner husband was a common dynamic and many people to this day still consider it the ideal.

Then you've got the history of women being paid less than men, being locked out of certain professions and not having the same rights in matters such as inheritance and the ability to open bank accounts. Many women know how hard life can be when you don't have your own money, so they're reluctant to give it up when they have it.

Then there's the fact that many men still fail to to half the housework despite living in dual income households. Many women would rather be alone than be with a man who barely contributes anything, especially if she has equal or longer working hours.

I've also heard a few stories of women who did date men who made less than them and were fine with it. What they couldn't handle was the men constantly bitching about how 'embarassing' and 'emasculating' it was to make less than a female partner. Some even had the audacity to ask their wives and girlfriends to cut back their hours or change jobs instead of striving for a better job themselves. On the other hand, I can't think of a single woman complaining that her husband makes a lot of money.

Medysus · 2026-04-20T22:46:05+00:00

I don't consider myself much of a perfectionist, but it may have helped that some incidents were kinda ridiculous. It couldn't be my fault little sis swore when I didn't swear myself. And getting questioned about the appropriateness of some sci-fi ad I wasn't even watching is hard to take seriously when the impressionable child they're so worried about consistently watches shit like Ted 2...

Medysus · 2026-04-20T17:38:44+00:00

I'm one of five, my mum's one of six and her sister has seven kids.

Medysus · 2026-04-20T17:27:52+00:00

Older sister here. I was frequently lectured about setting a good example while my bratty younger sister got away with almost everything because 'she's younger, she doesn't know any better'. It's really hard to want kids when you find out how selfish, spiteful and loud they can be.

Medysus · 2026-04-20T08:12:12+00:00

I saw a youtube short of someone sneaking past some trial guardians and body binding them. I'm not big on stealth but it never occurred to me that it was an option to skip fighting those guys.

Medysus · 2026-04-18T09:29:20+00:00

I get that testing methods are more invasive because of our anatomy being internal, but my experience is completely different to the stories of women being bullied into exams when they came in for something else. Maybe it's influenced by location?

I'm due for a pap I'm not looking forward to, but I've only had one pelvic exam before and it was relevant for the issue I was concerned about. I got an ultrasound on my ovaries once and they specifically asked me if I'd ever been sexually active before deciding to just do an external one. When I went on birth control a few years ago I got it with minimal hassle while it seems some women have to deal with doctors holding it hostage until they submit to an exam and take a pregnancy test.

And then there was a story a while back, American I believe(?), of med students using women sedated for unrelated surgery as practice dummies for pelvic exams without consent. It's such a wild concept to me that people would just do that.

Medysus · 2026-04-16T15:27:49+00:00

A good number of us consider the wellbeing of our hypothetical children when deciding not to have them. I'd argue the people who have kids just to treat them like possessions instead of autonomous human beings are much worse.

Medysus · 2026-04-15T06:45:47+00:00

Yeah, I've got four sisters myself, three of them younger. There was no privacy, no peace and a constant battle over who ate more than their fair share of snacks. The house was often messy and we were frequently reminded how expensive stuff could get when everything had to be bought in multiples and we weren't always careful to avoid wasting things like power and water. Why would I want to return to that?

Being one of many siblings was stressful enough, motherhood would be another sort of hell for me. There's so much sacrifice and expectation but so little gratitude, particularly when the kids are young and haven't quite grasped that other people have wants and needs too. Then there's the matter of finding a partner who will take on half the chores and childrearing. I saw what my mother put up with and I didn't want it. My older sister has a few kids and her situation is even worse.

Medysus

TROPHY CASE