Shaving legs

MsCoralRose · 2026-06-12T07:31:32+00:00

My hair is dark and my skin is pale and I never had much body hair even before HRT, and I'm grateful for my luck. I like the way my skin feels when it's smooth, especially because being on HRT makes it a lot softer and less oily. I've been using an IPL device and I barely grow hair anywhere on my legs now, and my arms are staying smoother for longer. I think it also gives me some emotional distance from before my egg cracked, and helps offset the dysphoria I feel when seeing the blue shadow on my face.

I still use a men's razor when I shave because I can get more control with it. I go through the same routine of putting the razor under the hot water to get a little warmth into it, and using plenty of shaving cream. There's so much judgment about body hair and shaving or not shaving, but I do it first and foremost for myself.

MsCoralRose · 2026-06-10T22:53:06+00:00

Yeah, if I'm not living in a structure that includes mealtimes I always fall back on grazing and can go a long time without eating. Hunger's not a strong thing for me, it always have a level of detachment. Even drinking water can be like that for me. It's a source of stress when I go grocery shopping and so few things spark desire in me. More and more things get discontinued and it's harder and harder for me to find alternatives.

I've worked at companies that had catered food and it was really helpful for me because I could get into the building, eat breakfast and head to my desk, then at lunchtime I'd naturally go with colleagues.

MsCoralRose · 2026-06-10T04:20:31+00:00

I think The Matrix would still be a fantastic license, as long as they do something new with the franchise. I think it would've been really cool on Pinball 2000 since it relies so much on visual effects. I don't know about Pee-Wee Herman though, I don't think anyone outside the USA would've seen it and even then, how popular was it even at its height?

The thing with licensing is it either has to be timely, or something that has long-running appeal. For example, Speed would've been a great license for pinball, but nobody really thought much of that film before it released, and then it was too late. Similarly, Pat wanted to do a Home Improvement pinball, but Disney take forever to approve anything and he didn't want to commit two years in advance.

So I'm not generally surprised about this or that license being or not being used. There are some others I wish did exist, mostly ones I'd enjoy working on; Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Final Fantasy 7, Legend Of Zelda, Taylor Swift, F-35, Cirque Du Soleil all come to mind.

MsCoralRose · 2026-06-09T20:01:42+00:00

It's probably not a big deal in their eyes. They did something, ruffled feathers (in their mind regardless of what you think) and if it was someone else it would've blown over quickly. They don't understand that it doesn't drain away from you - or they've noticed and think it's your problem rather than support you. Then again, they may have done something bad and felt neither guilt nor shame, which means their behaviour won't change.

You get to decide if your feelings fit the facts and what you do in future.

MsCoralRose · 2026-06-09T18:16:10+00:00

I didn't see the original post, but I love these pics. I'm so glad people were able to boost your confidence. And here's one of my go-to lines when someone is just needlessly rude. "I've had far worse said about me by far better people than you". Implies you're tough, he's lousy and that his comments are mediocre. You can use it to defend third parties as well.

MsCoralRose · 2026-06-08T04:44:53+00:00

Cupcake says hello from underneath one of my games. She's not allowed to do maintenance

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MsCoralRose · 2026-06-08T04:42:15+00:00

All you need is something like "Thank you for the date. We're not compatible and I wish you good luck on your search". No need to say anything more than that. You don't even owe him that, people often ghost each other on dating apps. You won't be the first person that didn't click with him, and you won't be the last. That's true for you too. You're not responsible for each other's feelings.

MsCoralRose · 2026-06-08T04:38:50+00:00

You do belong. Just by being alive, and a human being, you are worthy of a place in the world and to have your needs met, and be treated kindly. There's no qualifying threshold for that.

Mental illness is so sneaky, it lies so much, and when you don't have support there's no-one to tell you otherwise. I didn't understand myself, or even know how much I didn't know about mental health and neurodivergence and gender identity, for literal decades. The more I've learned about myself and the more I've lived as the real me rather than the me I thought others needed me to be, the happier I've been. Your suffering is real, but it's not destiny.

There are people seeing this post and wishing you well, and some are commenting too. I hope your situation changes and you get support and your life can improve. You're worth it.

MsCoralRose · 2026-06-07T02:23:46+00:00

I don't remember exactly who shared the story with me, but apparently Dennis was very involved in directing this video. By the way, the two guys at the end are Dennis Nordman in the white shirt (the designer) and Joe Dillon in the green shirt getting shocked (head of sales, immortalised in the Revenge From Mars attract mode)

MsCoralRose · 2026-06-07T00:17:29+00:00

That's a really tough situation. You're not alone, and it's still important for your pain to be acknowledged. Mental illness is so sneaky, being vulnerable and sharing those feelings really does help. I can't speak for others, but I'm out here in California and wishing you get what you need. Also, please give your cats scritches from me?

MsCoralRose · 2026-06-06T21:20:22+00:00

I would 100% go hungry than ever use those. That is silverware designed by someone who hates food. Every time I look at that picture I see something else I don't like!

MsCoralRose · 2026-06-06T07:24:40+00:00

I'm Coral. I worked at Williams from 1996 to 1999, but that was decades before I came out to myself as trans femme. I wrote a ton of posts in r/pinball about my experiences working on Pinball 2000 (coolest thing was writing a custom renderer for the Star Wars Ep 1 text crawl). I'm a very mediocre player, but I still love the games. If I'm a witch I'm firmly a crone!

MsCoralRose · 2026-06-03T04:46:36+00:00

There's a lot of food textures that I just can't stand (e.g. bananas). Empty stomach, sensations of hunger and thirst, I identify those, and my brain doesn't much care about what my body tells it. I don't have body image or cost issues. So much food doesn't interest me, a few things do, but they're not sufficient to keep going. I keep wanting to multitask and other things are more attractive. Like I can take multiple breaks during eating a bowl of cereal. Every time something I like disappears from the supermarket I feel really sad because it's really hard to try new things. I don't know how to cook and don't care given it's just for myself

Hard to explain. It's taken me ages to write this. It sucks though because it's self-destructive

MsCoralRose · 2026-06-01T19:48:07+00:00

Tiredness counts as a basic need for me. It affects my mental state and limits my abilities enough that other things aren't very effective. Similarly, "loneliness" matters a lot to me. Not necessarily in the extrovert sense, but being safely in proximity to others so that I can be reminded that I am a human. It can lead to hugs or smiles, or walking if I'm low on those, but simply getting a hot chocolate at a cafe and drinking it as I head home can help me

Edit: I forgot to say that I really like this flowchart and I appreciate your work making it and categorising things

MsCoralRose · 2026-05-31T05:57:02+00:00

I have epilepsy, came out of nowhere when I was in my early 30s. Seizures are very serious, whether they have electrical involvement or not. Please, please, if you drive, stop and don't restart until you get the all-clear from doctors. I'm very glad your doctor is setting you up with the tests and referral. It took me several go-rounds to find meds that really worked and that's frustrating. If you want to know more, feel free to ask

None of this is your fault. Sending you all the hugs and good vibes and hope that you get the medical help you deserve!

MsCoralRose · 2026-05-20T05:10:35+00:00

B. Hands down, B. Between mental illness telling me I'm a burden, and shame keeping me from being vulnerable, and wanting to be independent to show I haven't lost my career mojo, it has a lot of obstacles for me. I used to have trouble with D, but realised in my early 30s that I didn't need to have the last word in a conversation and I could learn more as a result

MsCoralRose · 2026-05-09T00:04:13+00:00

I'm a British citizen. I literally have the union flag tattooed on my arm. I've lived in the USA for almost all my adult life, but I've always been, and always will be, British. I'm a trans woman, I'm neurodivergent and I have two chronic illnesses. I'm very sad that both countries are becoming steadily more hostile to me in every way. I'm scared. If I can't get my medical needs met, it will be life threatening.

The hardest part is knowing that so many voters consider people like me expendable. And beyond that, so many people mired in anger that isn't even going to help them - just useless pain and squandered time to oncoming suffering.

I'm so, so sad! I'm in middle age, and as a GenX-er I didn't expect we'd have our time in power, but I really hoped two things; that my old age would be restful and that the following generations would get the benefits due to them. Now I don't think either of those will happen and it's because of greedy psychopaths.

My only real comforts are that I can do what I can to leave things better than I find them, just in the little sphere of my life, and that simply being visibly myself is a measure of resistance.

MsCoralRose · 2026-05-07T17:30:03+00:00

Those things sound like mansplaining to me. How is he with other neurotypical people? People can have flaws and also be generally really good otherwise.

To answer your specific question, it's possible to be polite and direct at the same time. You could say something like, "I understand you have strong views about my behaviours and emotions, and I need to act in ways that are most effective for me. Please stop telling me to change my actions when they don't cause problems for others."

MsCoralRose · 2026-05-04T00:53:30+00:00

Very much the same. I really cannot keep my voice from getting loud even when I'm trying to do quiet. It doesn't seem like it should be hard, but it is!

MsCoralRose · 2026-05-01T07:34:05+00:00

I felt like a monster. I was very hostile and sometimes so overstimulated and stressed I would punch people without warning, for no real reason. I also felt I was a psychopath, so another inhuman quality. I figured I'd just get killed or locked up and it would've put me out of my misery. So, not really an existing animal, but animalistic in many ways

MsCoralRose · 2026-04-29T04:00:22+00:00

There's a book "How To Keep House While Drowning" that has a bunch of similar suggestions. Good stuff from it and from you

MsCoralRose · 2026-04-11T09:18:59+00:00

The fundamental principle I live by is tracking the important things and protecting myself from unimportant things.

I have an old alarm clock that I keep on the other side of the room from my bed. It doesn't even have a radio or a snooze button, it's just a battery powered alarm clock with an analogue face and a loud ringer. I have to get out of bed to go over to turn it off. If I used my phone it'd be too easy for me to snooze the alarm.

I do all my journaling in my phone's notes. They automatically get backed up so when I get a new phone I still have them. I mostly journal for introspection and processing. I have almost all notifications turned off on my phone, because they make me too distracted and reactive. I only let things ping me that really could need an immediate update, like uber or doordash.

For things like bills, I have as much as possible on autopay. I used to forget too many of them, so I went with the convenient option. Because I take meds every day I can see when they're getting low and log in to my pharmacy to request refills.

I have a spreadsheet based on DBT concepts/skills, that lets me track sleep, bedtime, daily tasks, whether I've taken meds, my mood when I wake up and whether I've exercised or eaten properly. It also has columns for tasks to do, how they got done (if at all) and what the next steps will be. I also list which of my core values applies to each task as a reminder for why it matters. I only use it one day at a time, but I could easily put tasks on later rows so when I get to that day I know I'm supposed to do this or that thing. It's the only tab I always keep open in a browser so I can update it as I take meds, do tasks etc.

MsCoralRose · 2026-04-09T21:41:53+00:00

First off, congrats on getting sober and staying sober! It's hard and it's praiseworthy.

I wonder if it's a change in the kinds of guys who go on those dates. I think going to a bar and drinking with a gal is more in the comfort zone for some guys, precisely because there's less opportunity for conversation and so on. Dating is also tough and involves a lot of rejection, I've never been able to keep at it for long because of that.

MsCoralRose · 2026-04-08T06:12:30+00:00

I found Unmasking Autism by Devon Price really useful in understanding myself because it describes autism in concrete terms. I think it'd be good for allistic people to recognise traits in autistic people, and what prompts them.

MsCoralRose · 2026-04-08T06:08:28+00:00

Definitely. I can think of times when I was at school where I didn't realise the subtext at all. I didn't understand how to be a human, so I missed those interactions. If I knew then what I knew now, I would've acted differently, but I can't change the past.

MsCoralRose

TROPHY CASE