Best posts made by GreenFlashlight

@Aria said in RL things I love:

So some dumbfuck lawmakers in Tennessee are expressing concerns about classifying tampons as a necessity -- and thus removing the sales tax on them -- because they're concerned that women will just go crazy at such fabulous discount and buy 'too many', whatever that means.

Wait wait wait

So, like

These dudes think that jamming cotton rods into my bleeding, bloated, cramping body is such a pleasure I would do it willy-nilly but for the 7% tax rate making tampons so expensive it reminds me to treat them as the rare pleasure they are rather a wild indulgence????

I am falling out of my chair laughing here but men, seriously, I say you need to collect your brothers and sort them the fuck out, please. Stage an intervention.

@ThoughtBubble said in MUSH conflict... sad face?:

Except that this happens no where else in my life but within MUSH culture.

While standing far away from any rocks because my house is glassier than Willy Wonka's elevator, I would point out that this hobby is not known for attracting or retaining people who are skilled at social interaction. It could be you, but the community's part in it can't be discounted. These things are by definition a two-way street.

@l-b-heuschkel said in A healthy game culture:

Some then go on to think that having an idea and implementing it somehow makes them a superior segment of the population, and bloody hell, they will not let you forget it.

That does happen, but I'm not even talking about malice. I'm talking about perspective. Your perspective is shaped by your experiences; your experiences are shaped by your circumstances; the circumstances of making policy are very different from the circumstances of having to abide by policy. That is why I think transparency is a big deal.

@l-b-heuschkel said in Battling FOMO (any game):

This. And it's a problem we obviously cannot magically fix for everyone because ultimately, a lot of the time the problem is with the player, not the game. But we can still try to make it easier for the players with anxieties (hi, I'm one of us too), by creating an environment less optimised for hungry brain weasels.

I've been doing what I can to combat this on an interpersonal level (not in myself because I'll probably never get over it, but for others) by dropping occasional random reminders that I like the person I'm talking to and I enjoy their company. It comes off as awkward as it sounds, but I don't care, I'm tired of worrying more about sounding smooth than being genuine.

Oh hey, on that topic, whoever you are, reading this? I probably don't know who you are on any game we've ever played, but I was grateful for that one time we played together and would like to do it again if meatlife would quit being a butt about scheduling. You're cool.

@Rinel said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

Atheist internet leftists seem to think they're the majority of the movement, which is kind of adorable in that exasperating, "you've never actually done anything outside of Twitter, have you" sort of way.

It's a natural result of insular community, I think. Like, take Star Wars fans. Most people who say they're fans mean they like the bits with the laser swords and the acrobatics but they call the cloners Q-tip Aliens because they don't care to learn whatever made-up word the aliens are called; but True Fans(c) who read the EU stuff and who learn Max Rebo's backstory and shit get together in groups and reinforce their fandom to the point of obsession, until they forget that it is possible to like Star Wars without getting mad about whether we'll ever see Hugo Weaving play Talon Karrde.

@coin said in Battling FOMO (any game):

I'm big on reciprocity and even though I try to set that need aside a lot, it wears you down.

Same. I do my best to make peace with this hobby being full of people who are socially awkward, selfish, or both (it'd be pretty hypocritical not to do it for others since I'm both and would like them to do it for me), but the way you seem to be forgotten the moment you're not providing entertainment to others can make you wonder why you bother.

I just wanted a soda. Preferably, a grape Sunkist. Every gas station in town has grape Crush, but Crush is an inferior soda and I will fight you over this, so I went to the gas station nearest me. I noticed the lights were dim and no one was behind the counter, but if you knew this gas station, that wouldn't surprise you. The night staff is, uh, not excellent.

So I went in. I could hear a voice from too far away to make out the words, but prior experience led me to believe this was probably a cashier back in the back on their phone, whom I'd have to track down to actually pay for my shit. I got my grape Sunkist and picked up a bag of TGIF cheddar and bacon Tater Skins on a whim, then went up to the counter and waited patiently for a minute.

The longer I waited, the more I became suspicious that the words I was hearing were repeating. Frowning, I walked around the corner to the place where the gas station joins the attached oil change place, and I'm glad I was wearing a mask because I'd just as soon not have any video record of the look on my face when I figured out it was the security system chanting, "Motion trigger activated. Please enter code."

I returned to the counter, gathered my purchases, returned them to where I got them from, and called a helpful-sounding woman who asked me what the nature of my emergency was. "Uh, I think I accidentally just broke into a gas station," I told her.

"What's the address?" she asked.

"I don't know, but it's on ------ Street, the one right across the road from the barbecue joint," I said.

"Are the lights on?" she asked.

"Yeah, and the door was open. I just walked in. I didn't even know they were closed until I heard the alarm," I said. I'm like eighty-seven percent sure I was not whining.

"Alright, you just sit tight there and I'll send someone out," the dispatcher said. She was trying very politely not to laugh so let's say eighty-six percent.

I went outside and waited for fifteen minutes, passing the time watching She-Ra reaction videos on my phone. Eventually, two units showed up and two very wide men in bulletproof vests with Rob Liefeld H-shaped bandoliers got out. They were both shorter than me, which was scarier to me than that they were cops or all the gear they were carrying. Men who are shorter than me always seem to think they have to prove something. I felt my shoulders hunching to make myself smaller.

I don't want to drag it out after that paragraph, though, because nothing happened. They saw the lights were on, saw the door was open, and saw the door was open because whoever had locked it had locked it with it open so the bolt coming out of the top of the door would actually prevent the door from locking. They took my ID down and sent me on my way. So all's well that ends well. I'm just a little unsettled by how quickly it stopped being funny.

Presented without comment.

@somasatori said in Favorite Youtubers?:

The latter making me feel a little inspired to come out as bi to some friends, which is silly to say, but it is what it is.

That's normal. When someone says, "I'm out and I'm okay," it can make the audience think, "If I come out, I might be okay." I hope it was a supportive experience for you. You deserve it.

@chibichibi said in Idling all day on MU*s:

Is it just me or do more people spend all their time idling in the OOC room or quiet room than actually going out to RP?

Speaking only for myself, I want to talk to people before I jump into scenes with them. The odds are too good that random, spontaneous RP will be either two people meeting in a coffee shop making awkward small talk with one person doing all the heavy lifting of asking questions; or unpleasantly sexual. I know a lot of people resent someone talking to them OOCly, but these days I'm fine with that. If you don't want to talk, then I don't want to play with you.

@buttercup Sometimes writing things down cements them in the memory; other times it purges things you've been bottling up. I can never tell which it's going to be when I do it, but you sound like you got something off your chest.

Thanks for trusting us with this story.

@tnp said in Weird or unrealistic gaming... stuff:

Skipper? From Gilligan's Island?

I don't know if this is still true, but at least back in the eighties, Barbie's little sister was named Skipper.

You are an RN, god damn it. You have been one for thirty years. You know that you do not text me gossip about our patients with their names and conditions! Now I'm a fucking accessory to your HIPAA violations!

@jeshin said in Question: Code of Conduct:

If you believe the moderators would execute the spirit of the rule inappropriately then why would you stay?

If you hate America so much, why don't you just move?

@Arkandel said in Good or New Movies Review:

I don't think I'm spoiling anything since the movie isn't happening, but the information about the script is here: https://www.indiewire.com/2020/08/quentin-tarantino-star-trek-idea-1930s-gangster-movie-1234578751/

Basically it'd have been set in an Earth-in-the-1930s-like gangster setting, presumably while trying to not break the Prime Directive. I dunno, that's certainly different!

I'd give it a shot, but I dunno if I want to deal with the scene where the camera inevitably zooms in on Uhura's toes.

@jomomomo I get that you're mad at people, but I really do think there's an uncool amount of irony in accusing someone of being a toxic narcissist who needs to shut up and leave because they... said goodbye to their remaining friends?

***=gross***

@rightmeow First, I want clear communication. I want to know what my duties are, I want to know how I am expected to fulfill those duties, and I want to know what conditions exist that will affect my ability to fulfill those duties when those conditions arise.

Second, I don't want anyone to ever fucking call me a hero unless they give me a goddamn pay raise or some extra banked vacation time or something that isn't hollow, meaningless words. I already know my employers are exploiting me; at least don't insult my intelligence by pretending they're grateful for me.

Third, I'd like to feel as if my workplace is something better than a place where the vultures at the top of the ladder are just harvesting profit from my labor. Donate to a civil rights advocacy group or volunteer to clean a highway or something.

Fourth, recycling bins are nice to see around the office. They just make me feel good.

Fifth, and this one may be too specific to my line of work to be applicable to you, I like diversity in the workforce, not for ideological reasons but for practical ones. I would really like to have a male coworker somewhere in the building when I'm expected to provide care for a man who likes to lift his leg like a dog taking a piss so he can show me his boner and demand I take care of it for him.

Actually, related to points one and five, I'd like it if management was proactive about identifying and communicating issues in the workplace. Reporting the previous situation is bad enough; having your supervisor tell you, "Oh yeah, we knew about that" makes me want to kill myself.