Here’s a transitioning starter pack for all my trans folk out there!
Your transition is up to you- we want to provide information on all your options so you can make an informed decision about what you want. If you find a resource useful, then use it! If you’re not interested in doing any of the things listed, then don’t!
hi everyone! it’s been a while since i made a huge playlist masterpost, but i thought that right now when we’re all stuck inside wondering what to do with our time i would make a list of all my playlists. listening to music is so calming and definitely helps me pass the time…so enjoy! – cam
As an adult, you have errands to do. And as great as online shopping is, sometimes we are forced to go into an actual store. Maybe you need it faster than it’ll ship, or maybe you need to see it in person to decide what size you want it, or maybe the shipping costs aren’t worth it. And sometimes, we have to go to big box stores. Small mom and pop shops are less overwhelming, but don’t have as wide a selection of items, and things tend to be more expensive. Walking through a Walmart every once in a while is as good as inevitable, so how do we do it without going into sensory overload seconds after crossing the threshold?
The best possible thing is of course to get a friend to go for you, or even to go with you. By going with you they can talk to you and distract you so you don’t get too stuck in your own head, and they can help you get the item and get out if you start getting overwhelmed. I do this all the time — I have a friend who I’ll ask if she wants to “go on an adventure” with me. Phrasing it like that makes it sound more interesting than running errands, but it’s also implying that you want to make this mundane activity more fun and having company would help. You don’t have to say “can you come help me buy apples so I don’t have a meltdown in stop n shop” unless you want to.
It’s also good to just try to view going to three different grocery stores to find cinnamon as a fun adventure instead of a chore — the more you dread it, the worse it’ll probably end up being. You can make shopping into something that’s actually enjoyable just by having someone to chat with and plans to get food afterwards. You can even make it into a bit of a game, racing your friend to find the item first or timing yourself to see how fast you can get through the store and try to beat your record the next time. Plus, if you’re buying something boring like baking soda, you can always get something fun too like some cookies or an interesting flavor of gum. Just because we’re adults doesn’t mean we can’t find ways to make our chores more fun. If you’re having fun, it’ll be a lot easier to get through the shopping trip than if you were just walking around thinking about how much you hate the flourecent lights in the store.
I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who has trouble remembering developmental milestones. I put these together, but can’t take credit for any of the photography. Hope someone finds them helpful!
This is very useful to me i have absolutely no gauge for how old children are and what they can typically do at what ages
Important to note is that these are all averages. All of this happens in a range. And more often than you’d expect kids are wildly outside the average.
Hey btw, another worldbuilding thing: You can, and actually should have weird and impractical cultural things. They’re not inherently unrealistic, for as long as you address the realistic consequences as well.
Let’s say you’ve got a city where there’s tame white doves everywhere. They’re not pests, they’re regarded as sacred, holy protectors of the city, and the whole city cares for them and feeds them like they’re pets. They’re so tame because it’s a social taboo to hurt or scare one. Nice pretty doves 🙂
Then someone points out that even if they’re not seen as pests, doesn’t having a completely unchecked feral pigeon population – that not only isn’t being culled, but actively fed and cared for – mean that there would be bird shit absolutely all over the place?
A part of you wants to say no, because these are your nice, pretty doves. To explain that there’s a reason why they’re not shitting all over the place, maybe they’re super-intelligent and specifically bred and trained to not shit all over the place. The logistics of how, exactly, could anyone breed and train a flock of feral birds go unaddressed.
An even worse solution would be to not have those birds, editing them out of the world. No, they spark joy, you can’t just toss them out!
Now, consider: Yes, yes they would, but the city also has an extensive public sanitation service that’s occupied 90% of the time by cleaning bird shit off of everything. One of the most common last names in the area actually translates to “one who scrapes off dove shit”, and it’s a highly respected occupation. And thanks to the sheer necessity of constantly regularly cleaning everything, the city enjoys a much higher standard of cleanliness, and less public health issues caused by poor public sanitation.
The doves do protect the city. By shitting fucking everywhere.
While I absolutely love your idea, I just want to say that you can easily reduce public bird shitting from Pigeons by offering them comfortable lodgings where they can sleep and feed. Sure, you need to clean THOSE, but the pigeons shit a lot less all over town.
The Augsburg concept has one big pigeon house every 500m in which wild pigeons are fed, protected from weather and have nesting opportunities. Cities doing that have WAY less uncontrolled populations (since they can take out eggs if they feel they need reduce the population), way less shit AND a healthy population since it’s easier for veterinarians to notice and get to sick animals.
So I’d say one can of course still keep your general idea……but there’s also those MASSIVE palace-like pidgeon houses and only the most worthy are allowed to enter and directly interact with the pigeons (feed them, heal them, clean their lodgings). One big entrance for the human servants (priests??) and millions of small holes for the pigeons.
In fact, one could potentially turn your idea around IN THE PIDGEONS FAVOR. So your world is like ours and most major cities have a big feral pigeon population. And most of those cities HATE the pigeons and try to fight them and stuff. And they think that pigeon worshipper town is frigging cuckoo. BUT when comparing, then pigeon worshipper town is ridiculously clean and beautiful. No bird shit everywhere, no ruined house facades and statues from erosion through bird poop. Pigeon haters go “how tf are you so clean, you have birds EVERYWHERE???” and the worshippers shrug and show their little bird temples spread around town that keep their precious birdies AND their town pretty.
I think this is a really good example of how research can greatly improve your worldbuilding! You don’t have to be perfectly accurate – it is fantasy after all – but the real world is so much more clever and beautiful than any of us know
ifesbob 