Yeah, I was actually thinking about this the other day, it's so strange. There is no objectivity in physics and every perspective is equally true, so Betelgeuse is both alive to us on Earth, but also could be already dead to some other life closer to it. It's like trying to imagine a 4th (or 5th, depending on how you look at it) dimension, I just can't wrap my head around it

Betelgeuse my beloved <3 <3 i hope i live to see the day you explode

omg i remember this feeling, youve got this!! good luck!!! remember that for every possible negative outcome, there's a positive one too :)

I'm an American. There definitely are some people who call their parents by their first names, but I have never done so (in a serious manner). I used to have a friend who would call her adopted mother by her first name, but that's the only time I've ever witnessed it personally. If someone were to refer to their parents by first name, I would assume they're very distant.

Even though I've had complicated relationships with both my parents (as they were both abusive), I would never consider calling them by first name. I did so once in a joking manner with my dad many years ago, and his response scared me into never doing that again, lmao. It's strictly "Mom" and "Dad" for them, even if I were to go no-contact in the future

It's different with other family members, though. I similarly call my grandparents "Grandma" or "Grandpa," but I'll say "Grandma [First Name]" for example if I need to clarify whether it's my maternal or paternal grandparent. I've only ever called aunts and uncles by their first names, but I'll also clarify with "Aunt [First Name]" if the person I'm talking to isn't familiar with them by name.

There's definitely some level of respect expected to those of older generations, especially when blood-related, but I'm really against the whole idea. I despise the entire maternal side of my family; like, if I don't like them, then I don't like them. I'm not gonna put up with someone who's a dick just because we're "related."

omg my gf sent me this pic yesterday :D

As someone on the other side of the same situation, I would say... well, I'd say don't feel guilty, but I can't really control how you feel. For me, at least, switching between gendering and mis-gendering my partner is no big deal (in terms of difficulty, of course I don't enjoy mis-gendering her), and really it's all worth it to see my girlfriend's face light up when I call her my girlfriend in private. It's not your fault that you live in a world where you can't safely come out to everyone at the same time, so don't worry about it :) I'm sure your wife really doesn't mind the difficulty to keep you safe, and I'm glad you have that small bit of safety in her, if not elsewhere

I think its whole thing is that it doesn't really mean anything; it's literally just an empty trigger word