Tej

@themightytej.bsky.social

1510 Followers 3233 Following

Self-pub author, charity streamer, ttrpg writer, and small-time farmer in rural New England. He/him is fine. https://rabidhaberdashery.wixsite.com/home rabidhaberdashery [at] gmail

A blank character sheet. The top row has fields for Name and Player. The second row has a field for Role. The third row has fields for Band and Genre. Under that are two boxes. The box on the left is labeled Traits and has three pairs of traits stacked above one another, with a white box under each trait. The pairs are Aura and Chill, Energy and Theory, and Delivery and Groove. Under this is an additional space with grayed out text that reads, "Role Bonus." The box to the right is labeled Biography, and is split into four uneven sections. The sections are labeled, top to bottom, as Physical Description, Fun Fact, What's Your Deal? and Band's Story. The bottom third of the page is one large box labeled Resources.

A pair of desks set at a 90 degree angle covered in papers, books, headphones, cameras, snacks, and computer elements.

Cover art for the Modest Mouse album, "Good News For People Who Love Bad News." Cover features seven white arrows shot into a green surface, with each shot trailing a line of white. One line is interrupted by the shadow of a hummingbird appearing to drink it.

A conversation over a texting app. Sender says, "Thanks man. How is your health?" Recipient says, "Well, the migraines have been improving lately. My appointment for lab results concerning a possible cause for them in July 1." Sender asks, "July 1 for a follow up? Can you see your test results in a portal?" Recipient answers, "I can see the actual scans, but Lord knows how to read them. It was an MRV." Sender replies, "AI, my good man." Recipient says, "I'd rather let the bees at my dick than feed my medical records to an AI. We have bees now, BTW." Sender says, "I’m not one to kink-shame…LOL take your identifying marks off of the test and just run it through." Recipient says, "The radiologist gave some initial impressions, but the guy who sent me for the scan is a specialist and the condition he's looking for is pretty niche and only recently discoverable and treatable. So I'm just waiting for the official word." The conversation ends with the Sender saying, "Oh OK. Glad it seems treatable. Sweet goodness."

A picture of Chief Miles O'Brien from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, looking side-eyed into the camera. The text on the top reads, "In loving memory of Freddy 'Freaky' Friday" and the bottom reads, "He was a union man."

A banner that is mostly black, with partial blindfolded faces visible. The words "Inner Light" are written in glowy, blocky script.

Tumblr post from user TheMightyTej that reads:

I famously don't usually recognize signs that someone is interested in me, to the point where I have been led to believe that at least one girl was convinced we were actively dating and moving too fast while I didn’t know she had even considered me as an option. This issue has been covered in myriad ways in previous posts.

But it's strange when this comes as criticism from my brothers. Because they exclusively talk about high school, the last time they really had day-to-day awareness of my life. So it ends up being about how bad I was at getting into relationships or recognizing when someone had a crush on me during a window of time when I'm pretty sure they weren’t any more aware? Like. Sure, yeah, I didn’t date anyone the summer before junior year. That's true. But also, neither did you. And unlike me, you two had girls coming over and being so obvious that *I* noticed.

Like. I don't know, guys. Maybe Autumn and Anne really liked Adam Sandler movies. I wouldn't put it past them, it was the late 90s. But did they "come over at 9 am to sit next to your scungy ass for four hours and watch Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore, literally exactly those two movies, every single day for an entire summer" like Adam Sandler movies? I gotta tell you. I have my doubts.

Text from user Tej | GM, with a nameplate that reads MFFO, and a timestamp of 7:12. The messages read:
The newest release of the Ravenloft setting is including Innsmouth as a Domain of Dread. Which means two very important things!
1. Lovecraftian horror!
2. Massachusetts is now a canonical D&D campaign setting
Odds of The Replacements stopping off for supplies at a Cumby's have increased marginally above zero.
[in italics] Walks into the fight three rounds late carrying a Potion of Haste [end italics] (Dunkin iced coffee)

A black cat with white paws and a white nose curled up on a black sheet.

A close shot of a man's face as he speaks. It zooms in on him further when he says the last two words.

A man sitting and speaking into a camera. The video itself has subtitles and a slow zoom during the end portion.

Get to know me
1 like = 1 answer

1. Do you have nicknames?
2. What is a compliment you've never forgotten?
3. Is there something you want to tell someone, but won't?
4. Do you believe in soulmates? Why or why not?
5. Biggest turn on?
6. What was your first job?
7. What was the last song you sang?
8. What is one of your most treasured memories?
9. What has overwhelmed you recently?
10. Someone gave you $100, what are you spending it on?
11. What makes you feel appreciated?
12. Do you have trust issues?
13. Best concert you've ever been to?
14. Do you care what other people think of you?
15. What are your main hobbies?
16. Describe your dream home.
17. What is your strongest held belief(s)?
18. If you could get on a plane tomorrow, where would you go?
19. What is your most attractive feature?
20. Do you believe in aliens?
21. Biggest turn off?
22. What has made you laugh the most lately?
23. Favorite animal?
24. What lyrics are currently stuck in your head?
25. Is there someone you wish you could forgive?
26. Name 3-5 ways to win your heart.
27. Favorite comfort show?
28. Name one thing that always makes you angry.
29. Favorite type of weather?
30. What are you currently looking forward to?

Spray paint on canvas board. It's got some blueish blackish vertical bits? And a more blue mass at the bottom. Look I'm gonna be honest with you folks, I know I made the thing and all, but right now it's mostly just vaguely-defined zones of color made by layering multiple different colors of spray paint and then left to sit in a freezing garage among cobwebs for months and I'm colorblind so I don't have any idea how to properly convey this to you. It's unfinished. Let's go with that, this is unfinished, and it damn well shows.

A stylized map of states in the United States in which Alabama, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Massachusetts are marked as "lived here;" New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, DC, Virginia, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Florida, California, and Washington are marked "stayed here;" Kansas, West Virginia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maine are marked "visited here;" Georgia and Minnesota are marked "stopped here;" Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, and Wisconsin are marked "passed here;" North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska are marked "want to be here;" and every other state is marked "never been here." Astute viewers will see my aversion to heat coming into play here.

A man in a car with sunglasses and a hat telling a story about lottery tickets.

A video of a man talking as he walks past a house toward a road.

A television showing Gonzo and Rizzo looking into the camera during A Muppet Christmas Carol, next to a Christmas tree with multicolored lights, an array of varied ornaments, and topped with a black top hat.

A picture of Oscar Wilde with the text, "every movie is a Christmas movie except Christmas movies / Christmas movies are about power" Astute readers may recall that what he actually said is "everything is about sex except for sex. Sex is about power." Which makes a lot more sense but doesn't work for this post.

A white man in his forties with dark eyes and brown hair and eyeborws, a short-cut gotee, bags under his eyes, shaved sides of his head, and some hair on the very top pulled back. He's wearing a hoodie.

A graphic titled "No Kings" with the info:
10.18.25
Fitchburg City Hall
11:00-1:00
Protest, pizza, music + more!
Speakers:
Lucy L: LUCE immigrant justice network
Tej McLaughlin: author, preacher, 50501 member
Congresswoman Lori Trahan: representing MA's 3rd CD
Let's have fun with this! Wear costumes, bring bubbles, we will bring the music and food!
We are committed to non-violent, peaceful protest. Join us for a joyful celebration of democracy!
On the side are signs that read "when cruelty becomes normal compassion looks radical," "we the people," and "empathy is not political"

A series of clips of people discussing their special interests.

An aisle in Walmart that has been staged for Christmas stock and already has Christmas inventory on the shelves. Admittedly, not much Christmas stock, but I mean, it's September.

Seven second video of a panel with multiple switches on it. On the panel is a button labeled "EMO." The camera zooms in on that button while the song "Fall For You" by Secondhand Serenade plays.

A digital painting split in half horizontally. On the top half is a night scene in a forest, with a mass of trees in the background and two large pine trees on either side of the foreground. Between the pine trees is a full moon hanging low in the sky. The bottom half is black with faint soil texture, with a gray church upside down. The church looks decayed, with broken stain glass and a glitchy aura around its outline. The roots from the pines stretch across the top of the bottom half, partly wrapping around or breaking into the church. There is an analog clock near the top, white numbers and white hands indicating the time as 11:43. Just above that is the date of Friday, July 25, with a crescent moon icon and the temperature of 72°. Near the bottom is white text indicating the battery level is at 40% and it will be full in 1 hour 38 minutes. The phone is connected to AT&T.

Poster art for the movie "Buffalo Soldiers," which has the title at the bottom third with a cast list embedded between the two words. That cast list is Joaquin Phoenix, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, and Anna Paquin. At the bottom is the tagline, "Steal all that you can steal." The poster has a dirty red background, with Joaquin Phoenix on the left in a white shirt and black jacket, holding a lit blunt with cash sticking out of his breast pocket. Anna Paquin, in a black leather jacket, is behind and partially leaning on him. On the right edge of the image, Ed Harris stands in a dark jacket. All three are looking at the viewer.

A meme composed of two images. The top half is a World War 1 commander yelling into a trench phone, with the caption, "Some kid at the library, angry that his download's estimated duration keeps wildly fluctuating." The bottom half is a scene that resembles the Vietnam war, with a tank, airplane, burning forest, and slain soldiers in the background. In the foreground, a soldier with his shirt open and helmet askew stares into the camera, as if reliving the horrors of war. The caption here reads, "Me, suddenly reliving the age of dial-up."

A 15-second-long video of the pallets being burned

A tall pile of pallets with an outhouse on the top of it.

A mostly grayscale digital painting scene split in half vertically by the ground level. Above the ground, a man walks away from the viewer into a forest, framed by two large pine trees, under a full moon. Underground, the roots of the trees are entangled with an upside-down church that shows signs of decay and has glitchy shapes around it. In the doorway of the church is a flying raven.

A screenshot of a video sidebar preview on YouTube. The video is titled, "I'm not back yet, but I'm looking for where to go next." It was uploaded by verified user Tom Scott and has 3.2 million views. The video is listed as 3:47 long. The thumbnail for the video shows Tom Scott waving behind the words, "This video will be deleted in 3 days." The video is listed as being uploaded 4 days ago.

A "My Buddy" doll, in its original packaging, which consisted of a high cardboard back, tapered sides, and low front that looks like the doll is sitting up in a wooden structure with "My Buddy: A Real Pal" written on the front and sides. The doll itself is a white boy with blue eyes, freckles, a blue baseball cap, red overalls, blue shoes, and a multicolored horizontal stripe long-sleeve shirt.

Meme picture of Mr. Bean copying answers on a test from a man in a blue suit sitting next to him. In this instance, Mr. Bean is labeled "Russell T. Davies 2024" and the other man is labeled "Russell T. Davies 2005."

A photograph of Fox Mulder, from The X-Files.

A photograph of a paved rural street lined with trees. The trees have no leaves. The trees and the ground and a small building just visible through the trees, but not the street, are covered in a layer of snow thick enough to lack any significant gaps. It is actively snowing, but I honestly can't tell if you can see that in the picture. Just know it, in your heart, that when I took this picture, there was snow actively falling on me, as this fact influences the reason this picture exists.

A tweet from Tim McLaughlin (TheMightyTej) dated October 26, 2021, that reads, "Good news: I figured out a rough sketch of my purpose in life!

Bad news: I kinda suck at it."

Two tweet thread by Tim McLaughlin Jr (themightytej) dated April 30, 2021. The first tweet reads, "Okay so yes, technically, my wife and I only agreed I would buy 1 board game for family game nights while I was at the mall for my second covid shot and I actually bought five, but don't worry! Only one of them is cursed." The second tweet reads, "It was the one and only copy of Jumanji in the store, which was clearly a *used* copy of Jumanji, and hidden behind the other games.

It'll be fine. We'll be fine."

White text on a dark background that reads:
Get to know me, #writesky
1 Like=1 Question

1. When did you started writing
2. what is your current WIP about
3. what stage of your WIP are you in
4. If there's magic in your WIP, how does it work
5. what inspired this WIP
6. what has surprised you about it
7. what perspectives do you write in
8. what types of writing do you do
9. what's your favorite scene you've written -- SHARE IT
10. what have been your biggest challenges is writing
11. What's remained consistent through all drafts
12. How many WIPs do you have
13. what do you do when you get stuck on a scene
14. Share an excerpt you're proud of

Close up of a pink menstrual pads box which says, "Ultra thin pads with up to 100% leak-proof wings"

A blank screen followed by a series of 11 pictures which grow gradually more detailed. The final image is split in half, with a forest at the top with a full moon sitting between two large pine trees. The bottom half is an inverted church buried in the ground. The second to last image has a man walking away from the viewer in the forest and an inverted raven in the church, but these characters are gone and replaced with the words "Tall Tales" in a smoky font in the final image.

Me, reading CAH cards: The Chevy Tahoe, with enough power and space to bring a live studio audience everywhere you go. I would kill for that, so it has to win.
Jose: You would kill for a live studio audience?
Carol: Oh, yes. Yes he would. He talks to his live studio audience.
Me: That is my future studio audience, thank you.
Katie: Wait what
Me: Okay, so, when I was a kid, we were told in church that at the Final Judgement everyone would watch your life, they would see everything. So I picked up a habit of making asides and addressing the audience that will watch my life.
Jose: You...break the fourth wall? In your real life?
Me: Yeah, I guess.
Jose: That's too much, man.

Blue background with white text. At the top it reads, "I'm on BlueSky! Get to know me better. 1 like = 1 answer" There are then 53 questions in two uneven and inconsistently numbered columns. The left column reads:
1. Why are you on BlueSky?
2. Any other social media?
3. Still posting on Twitter?
4. What do you post on Bluesky?
5. Nationality?
6. Gender/Pronouns?
7. One word to describe yourself?
8. Something you hate about yourself?
9. Something you love about yourself?
10. What's your perfect date?
11. Any hobbies?
12. Play any instruments?
13. Name a random fact.
14. Favorite food?
15. Favorite drink?
16. Favorite season?
17. Favorite sport?
18. Chinese zodiac sign?
19. Somewhere you want to visit?
20. Speak any other languages?
21. Favorite song?
22. Song you're listening to now?
23. Saddest song?
24. First game console?
25. Favorite video game?
26. Last concert you attended?
27. Last book you read?
28. Last movie you saw?
29. Cat or dog?

The right column reads:
26. Last concert you attended?
27. Last book you read?
28. Last movie you saw?
29. Cat or dog?
30. Day or night?
31. What's your lucky number?
32. Favorite quote?
33. Color of your toothbrush?
34. Favorite movie?
35. Coffee or tea?
36. Favorite character?

Artist Questions
38. What do you prefer to make?
39. What's your favorite OC?
40. Who'd you do fanart of?
41. Traditional or digital?
42. Weakness?
43. Strengths?
44. Anything you make but never post?
45. Weirdest thing you've ever made?
46. Any art goals?
47. Do you do NSFW?
48. FREE SPACE
49. FREE SPACE
50. FREE SPACE

A digital painting split in half horizontally. On the top half is a night scene in a forest, with a mass of trees in the background and two large pine trees on either side of the foreground. Between the pine trees is a full moon hanging low in the sky. The bottom half is black with faint soil texture, with a gray church upside down. The church looks decayed, with broken stain glass and a glitchy aura around its outline. The roots from the pines stretch across the top of the bottom half, partly wrapping around or breaking into the church.

A white man with a thick brown beard and long brown hair on the top of his head swept back. The sides of his head are shaved. He has studio-style headphones and dark red circular rimless glasses, and is wearing a light plaid button-down shirt, black slacks, and black tennis shoes. He is playing a bass that has stickers all over it while sitting on a stool and looking at a music stand with a blue folder on it.

A screenshot from my 2024 Spotify Wrapped. It has a red background and reads, "Your top artists" at the top. Below are numbered, in order 1 through 5 with pictures of each, The Mountain Goats, Jars of Clay, Death Cab for Cutie, The Protomen, and Taylor Swift.

A desk on a hardwood floor in front of a window. The desk has 6 drawers and two pull-out extensions, and everything, including the feet and most of the drawer pulls, is made of dark wood. The two drawer pulls on the center drawer and the lock are the only visible metal that are part of the desk. This desk is old, and the top shows significant wear and fading. On the desk in the picture is a pile of curtains, a board game, and a heavy piece of rusted scrap metal I found in my yard and turned into a lamp.

Photograph of Leesburg Falls in western PA, posted originally by PABucketList.com. The falls are surrounded by trees, rocks, and a few fallen logs, and land in a pretty calm creek. The falls are only about 15, maybe 20 feet tall, but pretty wide, and cascading over a lot of little rock outcroppings that give it texture. There is a spot near the left edge of the photo where you can stand in the midst of the falls on some mostly-exposed rock.

On the left is a plate with four pieces of country-fried steak, on the right is a pan of home fries.

A package of "invisible socks," named as such because they are completely hidden from view when you wear shoes over them; but admittedly are, in fact, entirely visible otherwise.

The cover for Tall Tales: Volume One. The image is an aerial view of a bridge over a river, which is split into two curving bridges that meet at a trestle halfway across rhe river. The top two thirds of the image has a green hue,while the bottom is in black and white. Between the parts is a solid green box that has the book title and Tim McLaughlin Jr as the author name.

Val Kilmer as Danny Parker in the 2002 movie, "The Salton Sea." Kilmer is in the foreground, on his knees and looking up above the camera, wearing a black sleeveless shirt and sporting a fauxhawk hairstyle. The room behind him is wood with various posters covering the wall, and other characters resting on the couch or the floor.

A tweet by Tim McLaughlin @TheMightyTej dated 9:20 am on 26 Dec 2022 that reads, "Every year with you people it's 'did any billionaires get harassed into generosity by three ghosts last night?' and never 'do any billionaires have dead friends who care enough about them to send three harassing ghosts?'"

Three white turkeys standing on the corner of a roof, under the branches of a tree.

A man in a blue and white plaid button-down shirt. He has a squared-off beard and his hair is swept back, and he is wearing rimless glasses with a thin black nose bridge and thin black arms, as well as large round lenses that are a deep red. Not shown: his wife telling him he looks like a German philosopher in this style of glasses.

Two posts in a row on BlueSky, in which the first has a picture and the second is a quote repost of a third. The first is by Angie Coiro @angiecoiro and reads, Mark O'Brien was a journalist and poet. He was a member of my internet home, The Well. He used a wand to type his work. Why not his hands? He was in an iron lung. From 1955 til he died in 1999. Attended UC Berkeley in it. Because: polio. Fuck you, RFK Jr. pic: Poetry Foundation" The post includes a picture of a man's head sticking out of an iron lung. He is white, with graying hair and square glasses, and looking into the camera.
The second is by Nicola Griffith @nicolaz and reads, "This is a thread you should all read. Just read it and reflect on your own feelings. As someone whose own internalised ableism got in my own way for *years* trust me, we’re all ableist. ♿️" This post has another post embedded in it, by Mar Hicks @histoftech, which reads, "There is a fine line between talking about the history of public health & displaying disabled people as monstrous others whose lives represent an outcome worse than death. I am seeing what seem like “shock value” posts with old photos of people in iron lungs that really uncomfortably walk that line."