I’m going to try this when on trial for shoplifting. “No. I didn’t steal it. You see, I never actually claimed ownership over the item I took. I would have given it back if they asked. I was just using it illegally!”

Pass a new law. Make “it was an AI datacenter” an affirmative criminal defense against charges of arson. An affirmative defense is when you go to court and say, “yes, I did the act, but it was necessary because reason X.” “Yes, I shot and killed the guy, but I did so because he broke into my house and was trying to kill me.” That’s an affirmative defense.

Fuck it. Ultimately the law is subordinate to the will of the people. If they’re going to just ignore the voters, the voters should make it so people can’t be prosecuted for burning down AI data centers. It just won’t be illegal.

Holy shit. It’s a real life concrete puppy.

I always remember the classic Microsoft Flight Simulator. In the pre-9/11 days, the game had a helicopter that you could take off from the roof of the World Trade Center. You could only access that takeoff location via a helicopter. However, once the map was loaded, you could switch your aircraft. Our favorite thing to do was to start with a helicopter on top of the WTC, then swap it out for a jumbo jet. All of a sudden you’re piloting a 747 trying to take off from a dead stop off the roof of the WTC.

It’s got carbs, fat, a bit of protein in the cream, and some fiber in the strawberries. What more do you need?

Ugh. Tell me about it. My beau has been recovering from a weightlifting back injury for several weeks. Been unable to do anything beyond just hand work. I really want him to heal to feel better. But also… :3

You’re not going to get hantavirus from walking into a store.

Do you wear gloves every time you touch a door handle?

What exactly is your point?

Congrats! Heal and rest well.

Yeah it’s a blessing and a curse. It’s a curse in that there’s no easy fix. You can’t just sit back and let hormones change your voice, at least not for trans gals. And it is just so so much work. As a blessing though, it’s one of the few things that actually can be changed through sheer effort alone. There’s no willing away beard shadow, for instance. And if you are able to master a feminine voice, it does wonders for passing.

Your point three really hits hard. It’s amazing how often respect, even among allies, can be contingent. Among some folks, do something they don’t like? They’ll weaponize your birth sex against you. You can see this tendency in response to news stories. Trans people are just like any other group - there’s saints and sinners among us. Some of any group end up being sociopaths who do terrible things. When a trans woman does something legitimately horrible, you’ll see even allies aggressively misgendering them. When I see that, it’s a clear reminder that they don’t truly view trans identities as legitimate. They respect or humor your identity based on politeness, but they truly don’t view it as real. No one starts calling a cis woman a man when they commit some horrible crime. A cis woman could literally rape and murder children - she still wouldn’t be called a man. She would be called a monster, but her gender would not be stripped from her. The same is not true for trans women.

But yeah, in normal social interactions, I absolutely get the lack of aggression. I consistently feel the need to be less assertive and aggressive than cis women.

Google:

“No need to sue us. Mr Maclsaac was listed in Google search as a sex offender, but wasn’t actually on the sex offender registry. But no worry, we’ve fixed the problem! We have several government records contracts. Our LLM simply corrected the record and added Ashley to the sex offender registry. The error has been resolved.”

If you say something negative about the USSR, the tankies will flame you. But not too early in the day. They don’t tend to wake up until about noon or so. It’s pretty easy to end up living like a vampire when you’ve been unemployed for a decade.

A fool and his money are soon parted.

Fine. That’s it! We’re calling the Ghost Busters! Time to bring out the proton packs!

It’s not about significant progress. I’m talking about how long the process takes to actually get done. There’s a lot of bad info out there about HRT only producing effects for the first two years or so. This comes from the fact that most studies on HRT effects simply don’t last longer than two years.

But I’ve met many trans people who get distraught in the early part of HRT, concluding that “hormones do nothing” or that they’re having no effect. Hell, I was one of them. And I am talking specifically about HRT here. Emotional resources and time don’t really factor into what effects you get from HRT, unless you’re so incredibly stressed that it’s actually materially affecting your health.

What happens if I use a large fan and air pump to direct your mist form into a small propane cylinder and then seal it closed?

This is…umm…why my DM hates me. 😅

past that, shave your body and paint your nails. learn makeup if you like and just be ready for a long journey. transition is a marathon, not a sprint!

I would second the marathon part. Often the most distressing part of transition is from years 1-3 or so. At year one, the initial euphoria from coming out has worn off. But you’re only one year in to what is really an 8-10 year second puberty. One year in, you’re no more “done” with transition than an 11 year old is with normal puberty.

The best option I use is 2 pairs of elastic cotton panties that are a size or two small, and practice with those until you feel you have it down.

That’s what I did. I never even owned a gaff. I got by with just wearing two pairs of cotton panties a size or two too small. Did that right up until SRS eliminated the need to tuck forever. Seriously. Tucking SUCKS. Eliminating it was one of the best things about getting SRS.

Let’s see, generic trans and trans fem advice. Stream of consciousness, no particular order. A lot of these are assuming you’re a binary trans person aiming for a binary transition to female. If passing isn’t something you care about, then a lot of this won’t apply. A lot of this also discusses things that arise from medical transition such as HRT. If that’s not something you want, then some of these won’t apply.

1. If passing is your goal, start working on your voice today. Voice is one of the strongest tells there is. Medical transition is an agonizingly slow process, waiting for hormones to have their time to act, waiting for surgical wait times, etc. But voice is one of the few parts of transition that is effort-based and also costs nothing. Start working on it today; there’s simply no substitute for putting in the work.

2. EYEBROWS!!!

3. When picking out a wardrobe, be sure to dress your age. If you just want to say, “fuck the world, I don’t care what you think!”, fair enough. If you want to transition and assimilate into the world as a functioning adult woman, then you need to dress your age. Wearing skirts that are more appropriate on a 14 year old can be a fun exercise in wish fulfillment and making up for lost time, but dressing your age is essential if you actually want to assimilate in to the social role of a late 20s woman.

4. START PEOPLE WATCHING. Seriously. Go to a mall, a farmer’s market, or some other location large groups congregate. Look at people. Actually look at them. Observe the subtle differences in behavior between men and women. Body language. Posture. Speech patterns. This is also how you figure out how to dress your age. Don’t creep on people. But just subtly observe. Yes, some gender rebels will lament that you shouldn’t have to appeal to feminine standards of behavior, and that gender is a social construct. But “construct” does not mean “meaningless.” If your goal is to actually transition and live as a woman in this society, you’ll need to adopt most of the social norms of the female gender. This doesn’t mean that you need to appeal to every stereotype; you can be a tomboy. But if your behaviors fall entirely within society’s social construct of the male gender, you will be gendered male. Once you observe these behaviors, start practicing them and changing yours to match.

5. If you are seeking medical transition, you are responsible for your own transition. Not your doctor. You. Really internalize this. Trust but verify everything your doctor tells you. Good trans medicine is the exception, not the rule. If you transition and live for years as trans, you will experience mistreatment in healthcare. You will likely be underdosed. There’s a good chance your doctor will tell you your E levels are fine when you’re sitting there with levels of a post-menopausal woman. Trust but verify everything your doctor says. After bloodwork, NEVER simply listen to your doctor when they just say, “your levels are fine.” Insist on seeing the actual numbers yourself, and know what range you should be aiming for. People routinely lose years of progress because of doctors humoring trans people with criminal underdosing rather than actually prescribing effective doses. If you need to, DIY. It’s not as scary as you think it is, trans people DIYing is the rule, not the exception. Learn what trans broken arm syndrome is and be on the lookout for it.

6. If you’re looking for name ideas, again, it’s a personal approach thing. If you’re looking for ideas and just want something that won’t stand out, consult the census. At least in the US, the Census publishes a list of the most popular baby names by year, sorted by sex. Go and look up the most popular baby names FOR THE YEAR YOU WERE BORN. Often times trans people will chose a name that is popular today, as in a popular name for babies being born today. This is how you end up with someone in their twenties having a name that seems more appropriate for someone in kindergarten. Names vary in popularity with time. If you choose a name that doesn’t match you age, it will stick out. Same thing if you pick a name from anime or from a culture you’re not a member of. Again, if you don’t care about sticking out, fair enough. But imagine yourself at 60 with your name. That’s the kind of timeframe you need to be thinking about.

7. If doing medical transition and HRT, stockpile stockpile stockpile. Supply disruptions are common, and restarting care can be difficult each time you move.

8. Be prepared for your position in the world to change. Say goodbye to male privilege. (Though trans people rarely get the full privilege level of their birth sex.) Be prepared to change how you physically navigate the world. People will treat you differently. It will become much less safe to walk out alone at night. You may get catcalled. People will expect you to act in a feminine social role. And if you don’t, you will be judged for it. You will get talked over. Your ideas will go unheard. Sticking up for yourself will get you labeled as “difficult” or “aggressive.” Basically you get all the crap that gets piled on cis women, plus the crap that gets piled on trans people.

9. Really talk with your partner. Are they really up for this? Most cis people really don’t understand just how much transition can change. Cis people tend to think of transition as a very cosmetic thing; most don’t even know what hormones do. They think breast implants and genital surgery. That is what transition means to them. They really fail to understand that if you go on HRT, you are very literally altering your sex at a fundamental level. They’re not anticipating the entire smell and pheromone profile of their partner changing. They’re not anticipating the changes in body hair, muscle and fat distribution, genital changes, etc that come with hormones, or even just the change in behavior that often comes with transition. And it’s very common for partners to want to make the relationship work. They’ll say, “I’ll love you no matter what,” and they will actually mean it. But you can’t control what you’re attracted to. If someone is attracted to masculine bodies, they’re attracted to male secondary sex characteristics. They can’t help it. They can’t change it any more than a gay person can choose to be straight. But because cis people think transition is cosmetic, they often feel that as long as they’re not bigoted, they can still love their partner and be with them. Then their partner’s secondary sex characteristics completely flip, and they lose all sexual attraction to them. Personally, if I was in this situation, unless my partner had a clear history of bisexuality - having actually slept with both men and women prior to me transitioning - I would assume the relationship to be doomed. Sometimes people can make it work. But transition in many ways fundamentally changes your sex. You are becoming a woman. If your partner isn’t attracted to cis women, they probably won’t remain attracted to you. You can still remain close lifelong friends, but realistically, the vast majority of relationships that are “straight” at the time one partner comes out end up not working out long term.

10. Learn to dress to your strengths. If you’re like most trans women, you probably have wider shoulders than you would prefer. Certain clothes look good on different body types. Learn how to dress yours.

Sorry for the info dump. This wasn’t meant to be a coherent thing, just a collection of tips and things to think about. I may add others later as well. For background, I’m a trans gal myself. 15 years HRT and living out, 13 post FFS and SRS. I have extensive experience both with the transition process and navigating the world as a newly transitioned woman. Feel free to ask any questions you might have.