Darkstarrydame - Reyla

Reyla's Metaphor

Imagine, if you will, that each of us lives inside our own house. Each of our houses are different. Some are small some are big. Some are plain and simple, while others are complicated and eclectic. Some are low maintenance or easy to fix. Some are constantly broken or need repairs often. While growing up in our houses we've seen them grow and change with us. We decorated them, replaced or re-arranged the furniture, painted, remodeled, added an extension, removed and extension, etc. Some of us are comfortable in our homes, and some of us aren't. Most of us like our homes but would change some things if we could.

For the most part, I didn't hate my house. It did what a house should do, and it did it reliably. I even had a lot of fun in it. But then one day, I found a door in my house that I hadn't ever noticed before. It had a window. When I looked through it, I saw that my home had a backyard. I opened the door and stared out in disbelief.

"Had this been here the whole time? I've been living in this house for 31 years and I'm only just now seeing this?!?"

I was cautious at first and it wasn't a good time to explore my new-found space, so I closed the door and went about my normal indoor business. Over the next several months and years I revisited this door and began to explore the backyard. It was bigger than the house. It amazed me with all sorts of gardenia and outdoor living space. And the more I explored, the less I wanted to go back inside the house. In the backyard I came alive. There, I could feel things I never felt before, and more vividly. The air was fresh and I could breath deeply and more easily. The sky dazzled magically out there.

Then one day, I discovered a gate.

"Another mysterious door? A second backyard perhaps?"

Delighted at the prospects of having even more space to explore, I let my curiosity put my hand on the latch. I was not prepared for what I opened into. For on the other side of that gate, was a vast and endless countryside. Mountains, hills, canyons, valleys, lakes, rivers, maybe someday I'll even find oceans!

The more I travel this countryside, the more I learn about myself. Having found and opened that gate changed everything. And now I want my house to emulate the beauty and grandeur of this countryside. This is where my very soul resides.

This is what it's like to realize that there is more to your soul and your identity than your body's genome. And it is certainly more magnanimous than 2 or 3 mortal chromosomal proteins can embody. Having found a greater version of myself, my true self which I'm still exploring, I want my house to be a better representation of who I am. Something much more genuine. I've redecorated and I'm remodeling. I'm rediscovering designs that I thought weren't for me because they were too 'Fem' or whatever.

Thinking back on it, I had looked out that window before on several occasions throughout my life. I just never realized it was actually a doorway.

I know some people don't like the way I'm decorating my house, even to the point they think it shouldn't be permitted in public (or even in private for some extremists). And there are people who think I should be locked inside the old version of my house never to see the mountains or stars again. But you can't undiscover yourself anymore than you can uncrack an egg. I can never go back, and I will stand up for everyone else who wishes to enter their own backyards.

Some people discover their backyard very early in life. Some people see the door, get scared, and never look at it again. For Cis people, their backyard is already congruent with their house. Well, mostly congruent anyway.

Can a robot, computer, or a machine have a soul? I certainly hope so.

posts that make me want to rip my heart out part 5

not romantic not platonic but a secret third thing [what would happen between earth and the moon if the earth stopped spinning as illustrated by xkcd randall munroe]

Your art is more important than ever!

Art is a destroyer of fascism! Art and music are the single most effective way to reach the hearts of people who don't understand what they're a part of. It's the most effective way to inspire and encourage.

It is the most effective way to call out the horror and atrocities for what they are. It is more effective than news reports, science articles, and even more effective than disinformation campaigns.

When the music stops and art disappears, that is when hope is lost. Until then, keep humming. Keep doodling. Keep us inspired. Keep us encouraged.

I know art usually goes uncommented and often feels unappreciated, but that is because art captures what our words cannot. We love you, and we need you now more than ever!

https://youtube.com/shorts/BVjui3TPF3U?si=bv1BfY1f0rPZs-Us

In regards of the Trump government scraping all trans inclusion in its queer information portion of its websites I have made this thing. Spread the word. Don't let them pretend we never existed.

P.S: Don't like! Reblog! <3

EDIT: Well this got a lot of attention! I got a few users asking to print or repost my art and I am unimaginably grateful to everyone's interest, especially since it's a really simple drawing I made on a whim haha! Anyone who is looking to print these out to hang or hand out or repost on another platform is free to do so, although I ask you to credit me and let people know it's from my Tumblr profile! If anyone wishes to do anything else with my art or post and wants to clarify what I consent to then they can message me privately and I'll explain! <333 all my love to my queer siblings

its true that complimenting strangers is fun and nice. people will go "awwww really" when you say their hair is cute. people will go "thanks" and straighten up a little when you compliment the colors they're wearing. people will say "oh yeah i got it at (place)" if you say a charm on their bag is cool. people really do appreciate it and its very whimsy and you can just do this for free

The SS Warrimoo, a passenger steamship traveling from Vancouver to Australia, was silently knifing its way across the mid-Pacific waters. The navigator had just finished calculating a star fix and handed the results to Captain John DS. Phillips.

The Warrimoo's coordinates were LAT 0º 31' N, LONG 179 30' W. The date was December 31, 1899. "Know what this means?" First Mate Payton announced, "We're only a few miles from the intersection of the Equator and the International Date Line."

Captain Phillips was prankish enough to seize the opportunity to do the nautical feat of a lifetime. He summoned his navigators to the bridge to double-check the ship's position. He altered his course slightly to focus directly on his target. He then altered the engine's speed.

The calm weather and clear night worked to his advantage. At midnight, the SS Warrimoo rested on the Equator, exactly where it had crossed the International Date Line. The ramifications of this odd arrangement were numerous.

The ship's bow was in the Southern Hemisphere, in the middle of summer. The stern was in the Northern Hemisphere, in the midst of winter. The date on the aft portion of the ship was December 31, 1899. The date on the forward half of the ship was January 1, 1900. The ship experienced multiple days, months, years, seasons, and centuries simultaneously.