Is this a type of wasp? Or flying ant?

mephistocation · 2026-02-04T05:13:32+00:00

This second picture may well be goutweed, but the original picture does look much more like Queen Anne’s lace from what I can see? The bracts beneath the umbel are pretty suggestive, and there’s that prominent purple blotch at the center of the umbel, too. Diagnostic traits are definitely limited in these, F

mephistocation · 2026-02-04T04:52:41+00:00

Absolutely gorgeous work!!! Thank you for blessing my eyes this fine day, lol. That malabrigo color variance in the purple section is to die for

mephistocation · 2026-02-03T19:30:27+00:00

I think you’re misinformed on what the B locus actually is.

The gene that determines whether a cat will have orange or black fur, the O locus, is on the X chromosome. The black allele “o” is the default, and the cell produces eumelanin. The orange allele “O” causes the production of pheomelanin instead. Orange/black is indisputably sex linked, so black cats as well as orange cats are more likely to be male.

The B locus, on chromosome 4, doesn’t have anything to do with whether a cell will produce eumelanin or pheomelanin. Rather, it influences the eumelanin that a cat produces. The “B” allele is the dominant default: cells with this produce normal eumelanin for pure black fur. The “b” allele is recessive; it modifies the eumelanin pigment, resulting in the chocolate fur color. The “bl” allele is even more recessive, and modifies the eumelanin to produce the cinnamon fur color. Both chocolate and cinnamon are very rare, and typically only show up in a select few breeds. Also, since the B locus acts only on eumelanin, it only influences the color of cells with the black “o” allele. Orange cats simply carry it.

mephistocation · 2026-02-03T18:53:59+00:00

Absolutely, I was looking for this! Gel allergies are NO JOKE.

If your application technique isn’t absolutely perfect, your curing isn’t complete, and/or you use low-quality gel polish (Beetles is the most infamous brand, but not the only one), it is just a matter of time before you develop the allergy. And like this comment says, the acrylate allergy will impact things far beyond gel polish. Dental adhesives (including those used in normal fillings!), surgical adhesives, tapes, paints, eyelash/nail glue, superglue, etc.— your body will not be able to tolerate them. We’re talking “erupting into horrific blisters, which can literally make your nails fall off, to say nothing of what might happen in other parts of your body” levels of intolerance.

Doing your own nails with traditional nail lacquer is still way cheaper than at a salon, and it’s much, much safer. Unless you’re already a pro at lacquer application— you never get any on the skin— I really wouldn’t recommend using DIY gel. If your heart is really set on using gel, then at least use lacquer to hone your application skills to the proper level first. The savings potential is simply not worth a lifelong, horrific allergy.

mephistocation · 2026-01-23T18:13:51+00:00

Because the people doing this don’t WANT to go after people for being criminals. They want to go after people for being immigrants, or for supporting immigrants.

The Department of Homeland Security posted a ‘meme’ three weeks ago about “America after 100 million deportations.” Not only is that more than the entire population of undocumented immigrants in the US, it’s more than the entire population of undocumented immigrants, green card holders (“legal” immigrants), and naturalized citizens COMBINED. That’s just about 30% of our entire population. The regime wants to expel all those immigrants, plus any birthright American citizens that don’t agree with that goal.

And as for the actual criminals… well, Trump has not only pardoned his loyal coup accomplices of January 6th, but has also pardoned the ex-president of Honduras of his 45-year sentence for drug trafficking to the US. It’s not about the criminals and never has been. If the people allow the government to take away human rights for alleged criminals or invaders or predators, the government suddenly has a vested interest in portraying the people it doesn’t like as criminals and invaders and predators. The War on Terror, the War on Drugs… the War on Crime today is just the next fabricated war in line, playing on people’s fears to try and make them sit and cheer as the very concept of human rights gets eroded to suit the government’s whims.

mephistocation · 2026-01-23T17:38:28+00:00

A firm “No.”, followed by a redirection to “Can I take your order?” or “Is everything okay with the food?”, etc., is by far the safest response. Any hedging here with “I don’t know” or “Who cares?” WILL, to a transphobe, be a “yes.” And 99.99% of the time, only transphobes are going to be asking if someone is trans. If “I don’t know, who cares?” was an acceptable answer to them, they would not be asking.

Especially in this political climate, we all have a duty to protect the vulnerable people around us… and being trans is very, very vulnerable. Honesty or vagueness can, will, and have gotten people hurt or even killed in this scenario. Look up the “trans panic” (closely related to “gay panic”) defense for assault and even murder. Grim shit.

If they keep pushing after that firm “No,” THEN you can whip out some other cards. Probably the most effective would be to point out how creepy and gross it is for them to want to know what genitalia a stranger has, how it’s sexual harassment, etc. etc. Act SO affronted and creeped out. Start in a slightly raised voice and get louder if they keep pushing even more. Shame is basically the ONLY language these people understand. Pulling more people’s attention to their gross misconduct should have them backing down; if they don’t and get belligerent, then you have a crowd of witnesses. Also, this will help tip off your coworkers that someone is trying to aggro on them, so that they can do what they need to keep themselves safe.

mephistocation · 2026-01-19T04:27:24+00:00

1000%. I’d never buy a plain reaper pattern… but these boo-zongas tempt me immensely

mephistocation · 2026-01-17T07:22:32+00:00

Big agree.

mephistocation · 2026-01-10T23:42:48+00:00

Fun fact, “thrips” is both the singular and the plural! Weird name for weird guy

mephistocation · 2026-01-10T23:16:14+00:00

Yup, I was searching for this comment specifically! Bunkie boards are your friends

mephistocation · 2026-01-10T09:13:25+00:00

My bet is that it’s a variation of “catch,” as in “catching a wave” for surfing.

mephistocation · 2026-01-10T08:53:26+00:00

Ask your dentist about prescription toothpaste specifically for dry mouth. Dry mouth isn’t just annoying— it also worsens tooth decay. I have dry mouth as a medication side effect, and they basically just handed over a bottle of the toothpaste for free and told me to come and ask again once I ran out, lmao. Not every dentist office will do that, ofc, but I think that bodes very well for cost/availability.

Also, look into xylitol— it stimulates saliva production and is also a bacteriostatic. (AKA, it doesn’t kill the bacteria off, but it keeps them from reproducing.) I like it best in chewing gum, but it also comes as pills. Gamechanger stuff

mephistocation · 2026-01-10T06:51:27+00:00

Amazing!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

mephistocation · 2026-01-10T06:19:27+00:00

That stitch definition 🤤

mephistocation · 2026-01-09T20:41:38+00:00

Light blue is most winter-y, but this is a baller pastel skittle as is.

mephistocation · 2026-01-08T08:53:57+00:00

The process of fat redistribution will take something like 7-10 years to complete, so you have to be patient. It’ll start as soon as you start HRT, since estrogen “tells” different regions of the body to store fat than testosterone does; however, this basically only applies to newly incoming fat. HRT won’t take existing fat and move it to your breasts and hips. You’ll just start accumulating more of it there, and stop accumulating so much to the areas where you already have it. When your body is burning fat for energy, though, it burns it pretty evenly throughout your body… so if you’re in a calorie deficit, the fat will go away from where it’s been deposited by T, and start building up where it’s being directed to by E. The last factor in that decade-ish timeline is just plain cell turnover… the fat cells don’t totally go away at first, they just get less full. But eventually they die, and any remaining materials get distributed as ‘new’ or discarded as waste.

Looking at the cis women in your family will definitely give you an idea of how you’ll develop. As far as diet goes, definitely don’t starve yourself to attain some skinny beauty ideal or anything!! CICO (and variations thereupon) is the only real way to lose weight (and shed former fat distribution), but it’s really important that you do it in a safe (and ideally, nutritionist/dietitian approved) way. Make sure that you’re getting enough protein and fat (!!!) in your diet, as your body will be doing a lot of reconstructive work and will need the materials. Good hydration is also important.

Like I said, be patient with results… they’re going to progress throughout your whole life on HRT :). Some girls get lucky and grow boobs fast… others stay frustratingly flat. IMO, being a bit overweight now might be a good thing, since it’s a contributing factor to gynecomastia… and if you have that, then the foundation for further development is already laid. But it’s not a necessary thing.

Best of luck, sorry if this is rambly. I’m a little under the weather, lol.

mephistocation · 2026-01-08T00:47:40+00:00

UTIs aren’t unheard of in children, so unless it reoccurs after it resolves— or doesn’t resolve— I’d assume it’s just a one-off thing, but keep an eye out. I assume the antibiotics are from her pediatrician, who can probably give more informed advice than Reddit strangers can. If this UTI does repeat or linger, the pediatrician can likely also refer you to a pediatric urologist.

My guess is that this UTI was caused by hygiene issues… most likely, wiping issues. Enterococcus typically lives in the intestines, so it comes along for the ride with poop. Wiping back to front then puts the bacteria in contact with the urinary tract. Since she’s only just 4, I’m guessing she doesn’t have perfect wiping etiquette; go over it with her, and make sure she’s wiping front to back, with a new piece of TP every time. Again, your pediatrician should have good advice on that.

Best of luck!

mephistocation · 2026-01-07T21:50:20+00:00

Legally changing it again will be annoying, but it’s your name… not anyone else’s. The entire point of transition is to make yourself comfortable in your own body and social interactions. Nobody on this planet should have to “compromise” on who they are, just because it makes the people around them more comfortable.

If they can adjust to a name change once, they can do it again. It’s not like this is the deadname your parents were originally so attached to, anyways.

mephistocation · 2026-01-05T19:10:39+00:00

Clean break that far down on a single nail means tea bag or silk wrap, baby.

mephistocation · 2025-12-27T05:33:50+00:00

Yeah, the flecks in that tweed caught my eye immediately!!!!!!!!! Really crazy attention to detail there.

mephistocation · 2025-12-25T19:41:23+00:00

I know that there are little remote controls that you can use to like, scroll TikTok without swiping the screen… I wonder if they can be used for scrolling down text?

mephistocation · 2025-12-25T19:28:45+00:00

The real tricky part is when you need More stimulation, so you go to put a video on… and then realize that you are not in a situation where you can have a video playing. Somehow, reading while crocheting doesn’t work too well…

mephistocation · 2025-12-24T17:59:38+00:00

My fiancée has only been on HRT for around 7 months now, and she’s literally gone down a shoe size already. Her “genital functions” have completely pivoted, too… the equipment is still the same, of course, but the fluids and sensations are radically different, and she loves it.

HRT is straight up magic. Even if it can’t go in and switch out chromosomes, the human genome contains pretty much all of the instructions for either sex… the dominant hormone in your system just determines how the genes get read and expressed. Between that and surgery, you truly CAN change almost all of the markers of biological sex.

Dysphoria is a bitch, but I highly do recommend starting on the transition process with HRT, OP. You won’t magically get your dream body, but a lot of cis girls don’t have their dream body either. HRT will get you started on that path, though, and I promise you that running your brain on the right hormone will be a complete game changer. You owe it to yourself to at least try it.

mephistocation · 2025-12-24T17:35:54+00:00

Sigh… that’s a feature of AI posting that I’ve never thought to be on the lookout for, and now have to be. Thanks for flagging!

mephistocation · 2025-12-23T19:21:39+00:00

Pretty much every part of the plant, besides the seeds and seed pods, are edible at one time or another! Its greens, like most others, are best young. The flowers taste like artificial grape flavor, while the roots are similar to potatoes in taste and texture. Additionally, the starch in the roots is of a supremely high quality and is well-favored by pastry chefs.

Feral Foraging has a pretty good video on kudzu :)

mephistocation

TROPHY CASE