#if you don't want to educate someone more privileged than you if you're part of a marginalized group and not into doing that
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Mmm. I usually don't get into fandom drama because sometimes it's really just a waste of energy. But TikTok's got some... interesting people. I've noticed a pattern and I hope I have a place to speak on it.
I'm kind of sick of non-Americans/Southerners being blatantly and willingly uneducated towards, or even just entirely ignoring the political+societal themes of rdr2. It's literally the game man. I just think sometimes they really don't feel the weight of the topics they're throwing around.
Why are you calling Charles a "redneck" in a failed attempt to call him another slur, neither of which were you aware were derogatory, nor did you think to educate yourself on the significance of?? And then when people called you out and educated you, you throw out a meager apology with the words "I'm sorry if I offended anyone."
And then proceed to half-ass a google search, post it, and further prove your stupidity by saying "redneck isn't a slur, it's a derogatory term for Americans" which yes, it is— towards white, southern, lower-class Americans, with actual history tied to it. It's still derogatory, and Charles isn't white. And THEN when confronted about it even more, you throw your hands up and say "I just can't make jokes I guess." Like it was never a joke in the first place dude. You're just being racist (and accidentally classist?) on account of your illiteracy.
And this one was just a wild argument I had the other day— why are you calling Micah's racist remarks "not as black and white as that"??? He quite literally says a derogatory term within the first ten minutes of the game. There's a whole four minute youtube video of his racist actions. Joking or not, or whether you think his intentions were to 'rile people up', it's still discriminatory. Racism is often, if not always, as black and white as that. (no pun intended /srs)
Thinking otherwise, I'm tempted to believe, is your own projection. It shows a lot that you'd stretch so far to continuously deny and defend a continuously emphasized theme, that directly affects the characters as it has directly affected real people. Hell, even if it was vaguer than that. How much tolerance are you privileged with to brush off and prance around something that irrevocably damaged entire communities for centuries. Just because it's fiction? 'Cause it's not real? Because "it doesn't affect anyone"?
They also said "He can't be racist! He works with POC!"
???
I'm all for liking and appreciating whatever character you want— I'm not gonna spend my time leading all those horses to water— but snatching and running with the veil of fiction to dissolve the connotations and gravity of a very real thing, simply depicted within a story, just so you can slobber all over your favorite character, it's just undoubtedly shallow and disrespectful to the history and media that you claim to comprehend. You can't just create lines to read between and pull the "have some media literacy" card when someone calls out that you really never had such power in the first place. Like I said, do whatever you want with a character, but at the very least acknowledge every single part of them instead of brushing it off.
Ah anywho. I'm not a POC myself but I am Southern. Racism is still very present here and I felt it'd be important to me to speak up about it. If anyone's got perspective to offer, or they'd like to correct me on anything, I'm open. I think my prose may be a little too flowery to have gotten every point and logistic across, so there's always a chance of misinterpretation. Just let me know!
*** Hh and disclaimers because I'm afraid of misunderstandings. I know racism exists in places outside of the U.S., but the game is placed in America. It's in the context of discrimination against American POC, that some non-Americans tend to poorly gauge the difference and weight of. In neither of these instances were the people from the U.S. And as another thing, this isn't to ignore the treatment other characters receive regarding their culture or country (Sean, Javier, Charles, etc.) by folk who are not a part of it. It's just ignorance. The cycle sickens me. I just think in general if you're going to consume historical fiction and you're going to discuss it, at least understand the historical part. Don't be blissful x
#this isn't entirely exclusive to non-americans either but just uneducated people#but mostly a pattern i've noticedwithin that specific trait...#im so scared right now#rdrtok giving me white hairs#spawn point for braindead fans#rdr2#red dead redemption 2#red dead redemption community#red dead fandom#rdr2 community#charles smith#micah bell#pinethinks
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Helo miss yandere paramore
I just had a bad breakup after thinking I found a really great partner and I realized that even if I found the perfect person for me, like my soulmate, that person wouldn't want me.
I'm wondering, how would the yans react to a darling with DID? I've been told many times that I'm a demon or that I'm unlovable because of it and I'm beginning to believe it's true. I know you're a very smart person with lots of education so I think you'd be able to understand me.
Thank you for letting me trauma dump in your ask box. It's ok if you don't wanna answer. Also I think the author of this blog has such a nice smile and the prettiest bounciest braids
I have a little speech before this because the person who made this ask is extremely precious to me and I know they're going through a rough time and there is nothing I want more than for them to be safe and happy.
I believe you are worthy of love. Everyone is. No matter if you're mentally ill or some terrible shit happened in your childhood or your mind is telling you otherwise. You are so incredibly young and your romantic life has just begun. Whether you find them tomorrow or 20 years from now, I believe you will find someone who can love and accept you as you are and champion the amazing person you will grow into. I know this because I love you and I believe in you. You are an amazing, gorgeous, funny, smart, lovely person who will only grow outward and upward, and it is a privilege to be your friend and see you live a happy life.
I think of everyone, Noelle would understand DID the most. She also had an abusive childhood, and she understands how deep those early experiences can scar you. Anything you feel like sharing, she knows how to listen and she knows how to respond without the kind of sad pity that turns to acid in your mouth. But mostly, she just exists with you, exists the way you need her to. She holds you and rubs your back when you're triggered, softly murmuring reassuring things to help calm you down. She watches movies and plays with littles, planning fun little theme days around their special interests. She toes the line to appease persecutors and pours tea to care for caregivers. Whoever you need her to be in that moment, she will be, because she loves you just the way you are.
Vivien adapts the easiest to switches. Every new part he interacts with, he will be a partner toward. Whether it's a romantic/sexual partner or friend depends on the person, but he is committed to you and only you. It is irrelevant who the part is; he is still making you a lemon pineapple mocktail with agave nectar, setting up SpyxFamily, and cuddling you to death on the couch. You're his favorite person regardless, and he is endlessly interested in system drama and goings-on. Tell him about system beef, fights, and problems, he wants to help if he can. He wants you to feel normal when you're with him, like you can be yourself instead of having to hide because you know he will accept every part of you with joy because you are you. Vivien makes you feel normal, not like you're some kind of unlovable freak. He brings you flowers, packs your lunch in the morning, and bakes you your favorite cookies, the kind of gentle domesticity you've always craved. You can just be yourself, a person with a dark past but a blindingly bright future.
Atalanta understands DID in a factual sense, she did take AP Psychology in high school, but it being a fundamental part of her precious Darling is a different story. It is important now. It is important because you are important. Ata throws herself into DID education. She studies the latest theories, consults psychologists, and makes herself an almost amateur expert. In addition to looking outward at treatments which may help you/make your life easier, Ata also looks inward. She wants to know everything about every part. She wants to know who you were at every stage of life, and what she can do to make life better for that version of you. Your life, once difficult and torturous, is now calm and spoiled. Your inner children are thriving, your protectors can kick their feet up and relax because it's your turn to be taken care of now. You can buy whatever you want, eat whatever you want, rest whenever you want. You're free to live the way you need to because she will always be there to look after you. To protect you.
#Atalanta my oc#Vivien my oc#Noelle my oc#yandere blog#yandere#yandere imagine#soft yandere#yandere darling#yandere headcanons#yandere fluff#yandere x darling#yandere oc
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this may be just absolute word vomit but like. hugeeee agree w ur post abt how this fanbase tends to treat queer headcanons and even canon queer rep. i genuinely thought elena was 100% transfemme because people kept calling them peter's wife and calling them she/her only but as far as i'm aware they still use just they/them in general (have not finished apotheosis yet but i'm aware of elena and how they're treated by the fandom). transfemme headcanons are treated like the end-all-be-all of representation, even when (in this fanbase at least) they're typically only slapped onto guys that are vaguely gnc and then those characters are watered down to being "the girl" and being submissive and shy or peppy and bubbly all the time. huge reason why i'm not a fan of transfemme kian headcanons because i have not seen a single one that is given any thought outside of making kian the "woman" in any ships he's put into. i've seen a little bit of discussion and thought given to transfemme ashe, but outside of a small handful of posts, he's mostly just delegated to being "the girl" of the prime defenders. i've even seen transfemme troy in fics but even that only turns him into a silly peppy girl for some reason??
part of me wants to say that some of the mischaracterization comes from. i don't want to say a place of privilege where these (typically) kids are generally accepted or tolerated irl and generally don't understand the harm that can come from their views on these headcanons and canon queer characters in general, but . it kind of feels that way sometimes!! being trans isn't just about slapping on a new set of pronouns and immediately having people treat you how you want, it's about re-examining your entire life through a whole new lens, telling people who you are, facing rejection everywhere, people trying to coerce you out of being what makes you comfortable, etc. etc. there's so much more to it than just. saying you're [insert gender here] now and having everyone be okay with it. its!!! so frustrating!! i could talk about this for hours but i fear i would just get mad. sorry for the inbox rant i need to go to work now you don't have to answer this if you don't wanna but i just wanna say. huge agree on all of this and its nice to have someone else in this fanbase who like. generally seems to care about queer characters outside of slapping new pronouns on a character and calling it a day
a lot of young people joining this fandom space have spent their teenage years growing up terminally online, for part of it even locked away from outside influences because of covid. and this might be a little america centric but many of these kids have also never really known a world in which gay marriage wasn't legal, in which the internet wasn't lit up with rainbows during the month of june. theyve spent so much time in twitter echo chambers telling them what to think about right and wrong and they haven't really gotten the real life experience to know the significance of some of the things they're saying. i dont fully blame them for it; theyre young, theyre learning and experiencing things for the first time, and with big topics like this if you arent given the proper resources it can take a long time to finally figure it all out. god knows it took me forever to get to where i am now. its just frustrating as an adult in what Should be a primarily adult space being surrounded by kids with very loud voices and opinions about very sensitive topics misunderstanding their importance completely.
i worry sometimes tackling the topic of how this fanbase treats transfemme headcanons, cos I know there is a general lack of good women characters and especially transwomen in a lot of media, and jrwi is a podcast that up until recently consisted of only men. i feel massively under-educated to be the one talking about this issue. but i also feel strongly that pushing characteristics that are often downright misogynistic onto canonically male characters is absolutely not solving that problem. and turning gnc/nonbinary/genderless characters into women isnt solving it either.
#you can always rant to me my friend. my inbox and dms are always open to you#existing as an adult in a space dominated by younger people can be kind of exhausting and isolating#it was a relief finding you and your little mutual circle. its nice being able to have real discussions about things#toad rambles
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We lost a couple followers after the last post we reblogged, so I figured now is a good time to go over some of our stances so you can know if we're not your cup of tea.
We are profiction, proship, anti harassment ,and anti censorship. No exceptions.
Fiction is an endless playground with no rules, do literally whatever you want for whatever reason you want.
We are pro kink and anti kink shaming. Honestly this is pretty much the same as being profiction/proship. Kink is fantasy. So long as all parties are able to and do consent, kinks are morally neutral.
We are pro para, and to be precise, pro big 3 having the right to exist without being dehumanized/demonized. To be more precise, we wholeheartedly support non offending/anti contact pedophiles. There is nothing wrong with having an attraction. Thought crimes do not exist. We support paraphiles right to exist and find community, support, and healthy ways to embrace themselves without causing harm to themselves or others.
We do not believe there is ever a circumstance in which it becomes acceptable to strip someone of their human rights. We have had more than our fair share of violent fantasies towards people who have wronged us or those we love and people who have caused large scale harm. Believe me, we get the urge to say "but this type of person deserves to be systemically punished". It's pretty easy to buy into. It's never the right answer though. Allowing any one group or type of person or whatever to be dehumanized, means that anyone can be, which leads right back to the systems of oppression we live in now. No one deserves to be treated as less than human.
We are endo supportive and against fake claiming. We don't think it's right to assume that you know better than people what's going on in their own brains. Even if you did think someone is "faking", you don't know them well enough, nor are you educated enough, nor are you in the position (the position being "being their therapist") to tell them they're faking and risk being wrong and causing someone serious mental distress.
We are anti punitive justice and pro restorative justice. We are a prison abolitionist. Prison is never an acceptable answer for "what to do when harm is done?"
We are in favor of youthlib, and still learning about this topic. Children are people and are often treated as less than that. Children are fully autonomous beings and we are in favor of children's rights. Kids deserve to have a say in their lives and the issues that affect them.
We are against body shaming in all instances, including jokes about penis size and jokes about how people with bad opinions look.
We are pro all good faith identities. We really do not understand radqueer or transID things, but as long as you aren't causing harm, we support you.
We are pro self diagnoses. Diagnoses is a privilege that is unavailable to many and is a thing that is unsafe to some. I don't believe in armchair diagnosing others. Unless you're their doctor, you don't have the qualifications to diagnose them. However, I absolutely believe everyone is the expert on themselves, and with the information on whatever the condition on question is, most people can at least make a pretty good educated guess on what's going on with themselves.
We are against equating normal with good.
We are anti fascist and anti colonization.
We love and support Jewish people.
We believe in second chances. People can learn to do better and everyone deserves that chance. We believe in rehabilitation. To be human is to fuck up. It's a lot easier to admit your fuck ups and learn better when you see other people doing the same and being accepted.
We think violence is a key part of human nature and that it is something that needs to be fully embraced so that there are ample options to act out violent urges without causing harm that are easily accessible without fear of being shamed. There are already tons of options to for this in existence, but the stigma towards openly enjoying and wanting violence is huge barrier. Rather than meeting someone who says they're having violent urges with "count to ten, do deep breaths, GET HELP," we could meet them with "ok, that's totally human and normal. We've got video games, rage rooms, etc, where you can work through those violent urges in a healthy way." I don't know about everyone, but for us, learning that throwing soft things against the wall while rage screaming was an acceptable and safe way to manage anger and the urge to throw shit was a huge relief. Humanity is brutal, so in order to heal and build something better, I think safe ways to express that brutality and openness regarding it are vital.
Nothing really exists in terms of absolutes. This one is one that's hard for us due to being prone to black and white, all or nothing thinking. Everything falls in shades of grey. There is nuance in everything.
This one is basically a repeat, but it's important to us: every human life has intrinsic value that can not be taken away, no matter how "bad" they are or how much wrong they've done. Everyone deserves to be treated like a human, no matter what. If human rights don't apply to everyone, then they aren't human rights, they're "good people rights", and that should scare you.
That's all I can think of right now. Be aware that this is a vent blog. We might vent or rant about any of the above topics at length. If any of these things are not for you, we kindly invite you to leave.
#/#proship#ocd#pocd#osddid#profiction#human rights#youthlib#pro para#abolitionist#prison abolition#restorative justice#rehabilitation#far left#or whatever you want to call it#tw pedophila mention
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Genuinely don't mean this in a negative sense, I'm actually just curious. Stating this first as I have trouble with written tone and like making my intent clear-
Why do you acknowledge/have conversations with transandrophobic people who reply to your posts? From my understanding it seems to make you quite angry(?) and I don't understand the goal of doing so, especially when the difference between your irl and online community interactions seems to be so stark regarding the levels of bigotry you face (from what you've shared on your blog).
No worries if you don't want to respond for whatever reason either
Hello!
I don't understand what made you come to the conclusion that the levels of bigotry I face in real life are lesser than that of the ones I face online, it is the opposite - in real life I have to face the material consequences of transphobia, transandrophobia, bioessentialism, misogyny, racism, capitalism, and a wide variety of other intersecting issues.
Online I have to face mean words (which are sometimes death/rape threats, triggering content, and pedojacketing or other types of "callout posts" - but ultimately, they are just words).
What I do have Irl, is a healthy support group and community through found family and friends that make the levels of bigotry I face worth facing. Having the privilege of a strong community of trans friends in real life is also what allows for the online harassment to be "just words" - I have a community offline, which not everyone does (Which is why online harrasment can be deadly, I do not want to dismiss the amount of harm online harassment can cause).
I do however, talk more about the support and community I have in my personal life, then I do about how I'm personally facing a lot of discrimination and difficulties on a daily basis, because it's important to share with people that community, intersection, and love is always possible and worth living and fighting for. I'm a firm believer that love and community are among the most important parts of life.
(I do also talk about the material effects of transandrophobia pretty frequently, since it's a pretty important aspect of discussing it.)
As for why I interact with the people who say mean words online, there are a few reasons;
I think they might genuinely be confused or do not have malicious intent. (I am often incorrect.) Sometimes when people don't understand something, they lash out this is even easier to do online when you don't have another human being standing in front of you, but instead have a wall of text. Sometimes, I interact with people to try and explain my point of view and sometimes I'm an asshole when I do that, because it's easy to be an asshole when you're facing a wall of text and not another person. That being said, often I'm just trying to get a point across. I've have a lot of friends who've been assholes to me and then helped me learn and grow.
I am documenting arguments, fallacies, and harrasment directed at trans men. A very common argument against aknowledging transandrophobia and the harm it does is "I don't believe you, I've never seen someone do or say that about a trans man, you're lying for attention". I can direct those people to proof that says otherwise. I can also use this documentation when discussing transandrophobia and the shapes that it can take in activist and academic settings or when discussing with friends and found family or younger trans men who reach out to me online, I can use it to educate how these arguments form and how to cope with them, when they are directed at you. It's a "know your enemy" situation, and in this case it's "Know the arguments that will be used against you and prepare for them cause they won't always be online"
Some of them are really stupid, it's funny to point at them and go "wow, that's really stupid" and it gives other people the chance to go "God, that is really stupid, I am going to block this person before they can be really stupid in my notes or inbox".
I typically block people after one or two interactions if it's clear that they are being malicious on purpose, cause I'm not actually interested in wasting time, I just want to put their ass on blast first. They said something publicly, and I'm sharing what they said with the context they said it to me in, so other people can block them. This means I can avoid perpetuating the flaws in callout posts and block lists that are just a list of urls followed by "trust me bro, these are bad people!!!".
Thank you for the ask and I hope I was able to answer your question.
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here to report that much like wildflower, start a war also sent me straight to my study desk. I’ve always tried to not take my education for granted, but its pieces like these that make me realize my privilege. Thank you, for sharing y/n’s story with us.
I often feel unmotivated and like I wont amount to anything in my field, partially because of my personal life and in part because STEM degrees feel like such boy’s clubs. But at the end of the day, I get to be here, I get to experience the wonders of science and the test the limits of my perception through my education. And that is a blessing. I want to succeed not just for myself, but for all the y/n’s who couldn’t see their passions through.
-🕸️(having recently gotten all A+’s in her semester results teehee<3)
hello my dearest 🕸️ nonnie!!!
first and foremost, congratulations on your A+ results!!! truly, your hard work paid off and it makes me genuinely happy!!!
secondly, i was honored to know that this little things i write about inspire you to do what you can in order to get the results that you want.
but i am also in awe about how this is now becoming a way for others to realize that we do in quite a few ways have such privilege to be what we are right now.
in some ways, when i write - there's a lot of reflection about the life i live thus far and the life of everyone around me. there's a lot of people that don't get what we do and in some ways, we are the byproduct of some sort of miracle, luck, in our positions in our lives.
of course, we struggle. but there are people who have situations where they can never be free from. and they will never get the shot we do now. that's why i realize that reader is so important. s
she was so passionate about science, so passionate about what she could do and wanted to have more of that but never got the chance. so when there was someone who needed that shot, she gave it to someone else. because one way or another, she wanted someone to have the life she never got to live.
thirdly, i totally understand what you're going through. even now with my higher education degree, its sort of a mix of burn out that i had from my undergrad years, the pandemic burn out and trauma and a lot more other things.
and just as much, my field (both undergrad and higher ed) are both male dominated fields. even though there's many diverse folk getting into them today, especially women - i feel very out of place at times because i am non-binary and i still get viewed as a woman in a very patriarchal society.
but at times, i find that this doesn't matter. because as you said, we are here. we get to experience the wonder of the world we worked so hard to get into. we got into this position because it is fate, as much as it is the sheer determination to be part of that world. because us being here means the world gets bigger, the world becomes something better. there will be other people like reader who ends up becoming like us because they see us.
so i pray we both succeed, that we continue to be people who look towards the future and want to open the door and make the world something more than what it is today. it might be a big responsibility, but lets take it one step at a time. after all, this is what we do to make sure there will be more of us <3
thank you for sharing this 🕸️ nonnie and thank you for making my day a little bit brighter, knowing that my little contributions into the world with my silly things get to be bigger things <3
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I’m worried that me being a closeted trans guy will invalidate my patriarchal blessing… like with cis guys it’ll tell them about their wife and mission. But that’s not gonna happen for me, it’s gonna talk about this other person’s future, this other person’s husband and kids. I know that i can pass as a guy, i know the blessing is done privately and is allowed to be kept private. But im doubtful that my parents or bishop won’t spoil it. That the patriarch will find out. do you think there is hope for me?
I understand your concern.
From what you wrote, I think you're worried that if people find out you're trans then you won't be able to get the patriarchal blessing.
I have not seen anything that says a trans person cannot receive a patriarchal blessing, but I understand the worry because the interview questions for this blessing are similar to the questions to get a temple recommend.
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I have a few thoughts about patriarchal blessings. I've spoken with a few patriarchs and they have said they get an impression and then they put that into words. So for instance, he feels like he want to bless this person that they have the potential of getting married, and then he says something like, "I bless you that you'll take a young daughter of Zion to the temple."
For me, I think of it as he put his own spin on the idea because God knows I'm queer and wouldn't have made that specific promise to me.
Another thing, the promises in the blessing are 'potential' and not 'prophetic.' It's a guide, not a map. By which I mean, these are possibilities, not guarantees. Most patriarchal blessings include a path that says to go on a mission, get an education, get married and have children, serve in callings, and that fits the path that many lives take. I think the more interesting parts of a patriarchal blessing are those that aren't about this stereotypical path but are uniquely included for you.
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The stake presidency I work with have a saying, "information leads to inspiration," meaning if they're aware of someone's circumstances, those can be taken into consideration as they pray about callings.
I'm not sure if you'd be comfortable with this, but you could ask to speak with the patriarch privately before he gives the blessing. At that point you could say you're queer and you worry that if he didn't know that then he might use gendered language in a way that wouldn't work for you.
By saying "queer," you leave it vague and he can interpret that to mean 'gay' if he chooses. While unfair, being gay gives somebody more privilege and access than being trans.
There is no requirement to reveal this part of yourself to him. God knows you are trans, and that's enough if that's enough for you.
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Your question shows there are situations which queer people have to deal with at church that non-queer people don't even think about as church is designed for them.
I wish you well, and I'll pray for you to feel some peace about this.
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Sense8 : Season 1
What a disappointment.
The scenes were too long, for not enough story.
At the end of season 1, we still don't know who are the Whispers and BPO and what they want.
Some parts were also too boring.
Worse, the characters couldn't even speak in their own language. Apparently, in India, Kenya, Korea, Germany every people speak only english. Come on.
It would have been great if Lito, Hernando and Daniela could have been a throuple.
Also, so many sex scenes without any reason. They are in an extreme dangerous situation, but they find the time to fuck. Seriously.
Some quotes:
"- Anything I could to keep myself separate from the rest of the world." (Episode 1)
"- Music... books... booze. You know, you just look them right in the eye and you lie. It's what we do. It's called acting." (Episode 2)
"- We all know when people are lying to us, we just don't want to listen." (Episode 2)
"- Even now... you don't know how to act like a man." (Episode 4)
"- Visiting is not calling or texting someone. It's not something you make happen. It is something you let happen." (Episode 4)
"- If your enemy will not be humbled, destroy him." (Episode 5)
"- I was suddenly struck by her beauty and the knowledge that... all beauty is temporary." (Episode 5)
"- Decay and death haunt every breath we take." (Episode 5)
"- In Iceland, we have a saying that it's not the drugs that make a drug addict, it's the need to escape reality." (Riley - Episode 6)
"- Hey, you are so lucky. - No, I'm not lucky. - Privileged, not lucky." (Episode 7)
"- You make music, Riley, and for a moment, people forget the troubles in their lives." (Episode 7)
"- You think you're better than the rest of us. - Not better or worse, just different." (Episode 8)
"- Only if one assumes that a master's in economics constitutes a smart mouth, as opposed to educated. - Many educated people are quite stupid, and many stupid people like to start fight for no good reason." (Sun - Episode 8)
"- We make choices... and life has a way of making us pay for them." (Episode 8)
"- That's what men do, they make threats. And you, more than anyone, know they have the ability to carry those threats out. - And you, more than anyone... you know that their threats and even their violence.... cannot touch the things that matter." (Episode 8)
"- What the fuck you talking' about, Gorski? - Not fair? - This is the real fuckin' world. - Nothing's fair." (Episode 8)
"- You keep using "us" and "them". Who are we? - Who we are is less relevant than what we are, and what we are is different from them." (Episode 9)
"- I know how that feels." (Episode 9)
"- But at a certain point, I realized there's a huge difference between what we work for and what we live for." (Episode 9)
"- Can we just fast-forward to the end of this shit?" (Episode 10)
"- Killing is easy... when you can feel nothing." (Episode 10)
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This is not directed at people pointing out the ways their experiences differ or demanding respect for highly impacted disabled people, acknowledging the differences and the spectrum of needs is it's own discussion and is essential
But I think part of why the more recent trend of functioning labels or stand ins for them as being fine actually and "if you don't use this word as its exact clinical meaning you're appropriating it" is so off putting to me is because IRL it is absolutely a Fight against abled people for solidarity.
Online there's the expectation to organize everyone into neat little boxes and for discourse to be streamlined and focus on labels and words rather than intention or action and that's its own problem for another post
But IRL isn't like that.
If someone is going into a tangent about how their nonspeaking relatives are poor lost souls unable to think for themselves unworthy of legal and tangible autonomy you don't go "well I can't speak on this as a high functioning person but everyone deserves autonomy you should educate yourself"
They're going to call you stupid and they are absolutely fucking not going to educate themselves
What you do is you insist that the difference between their loved one and you is not so large as they think and to goddamn double down on it.
"You're different you can talk" No. I can talk sometimes. I can talk around you. I am not always around you.
"But you can still read and write and think clearly" sometimes. But there's a significant amount of times and situations that I can't.
Their ableism hinges on separating visibly disabled people from our own so they can dehumanize them and their experiences. We cannot let them do this. You have to break down the barriers they put up between themselves and the obvious truth (that their loved ones are being abused)
Yes if you have the ability to communicate much of the time that gives you undeniable privilege. But you need to be using that privilege to close the fucking chasm that ableds have created to justify their abuse. The difference between you and someone who has no accepted ways of communicating is not so big as you think it is this is why we share labels and share a community.
I cannot speak for anyone who isn't me but when I'm nonverbal I want to be treated with respect and when I'm overwhelmed and having humanity i fucking want and need patience and dignity and it you deprive others of that well you're being a fucking asshole and you'd do the same to me. Do not discount my experiences because you do not see them I am in the same community as your loved one for a fucking reason.
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scripting because I must not feed the egomaniac
ooh, we were mad in the shower
and yeah I'm talking about me and my ego
my heart can usually handle herself if she gets enough
but my healthy ego is still pretty fragile
my shadow is absolutely not
and she wants to do some talking
I've been pronouncing jung wrong this whole time
kind of embarrassing but whatever
so, yesterday I was suddenly so triggered
there was, of course, symptoms of drinking
a little more than my blood really needed to be buzzed
but not to the point of any sort of blackout
the whole drinking balance is not a perfect system yet
so, anyways, since I've been using my makeshift
karaoke and amateur self chemistry to help me
understand things about myself and my expression
of who I am as a soul once under thick ice
I've noticed my embarrassment and insecurity
has lessened around my authenticity and the people
I surround myself with who seem to value it
in fact I pretty much avoid anyone quickly
who has a few ideas of who I am supposed to be
if I'm going to play a role I'm going to be paid for it
I'm not going to step into someone else's plan
just because they think they're a public figure
my god that is actually what that bastard used to say
"I'm a public figure now so you must think of that."
bitch, you're a therapist who got his first taste
of people respect you because of the title on your W-2
and they think that because you have education
and objective view and so much fucking privilege
because of the way you look and how you were able
to live that they are somehow more fucked up
than you but I'll bet that's never the fucking case
I've never met anyone who can fake it like you
except for, of course, me
and I used to be scared when people saw through it
because I may have the skillsets to seem like some
sort of elegant creature but the right people
see the fire in my eyes and love to get burned
you never did, did you?
my raw brand of honesty tends to make fellas like you shrink
just like the parts of you that only worked for me
that's because of my unconditional brand of love
you stupid string bean motherfucker
I used to be better at this when you were pissing me off
every fucking day with your helpless man child bullshit
and I really did do everything I could to let it go
but you started it all up again, didn't you?
and I watched this mind I've been recalibrating
fall right back into those patterns
and I'm fucking pissed about it
which means I have to punish you
and if I'm going to get out the whip
I'm going to make sure it snaps something off
I'm not your spouse or you partner or even your friend
I don't have to pretend anything
and you want to accuse me of alienation
when my kids watched you treat their mother like shit
they just don't want anything to do with you
no one really does, do they?
people learn quick when you are what you are
once that mask is off you're just a limp dick
and you want to scold the world for your own blood pressure
I'd call you lily livered but I like the flower
and everything inside you is already rotten
I have so many fucking things to say
and this headspace is much better than yesterday
but I need to keep it simple and sweet
brevity is the soul of wit and you don't have
the attention span or maturity to take everything in
you accused me of a narrative that you know you play in
your projection was just looking for some pain
that's actually why you're sniffing around me
and I want to make sure you stop
if I make it hurt enough you will
which means I need to be strategic
I can't be clever and funny or blythe
I need to stick the dagger somewhere soft
like your sad little spoiled child-like ego
crack the shell on the pan and scramble it
you'll grow up to be a man around me
whether you want to or not now
and there is not one ounce of loyalty
between my spirit and yours
you want my narrative?
I'll fucking give it to you
you're the kind of person who steals
from someone who has no home, no job, no family
I used to joke about you being robin hood on stilts
mostly because you had that bumbling awkwardness
and those chicken legs your mother got offended by
when I described them at our wedding banquet
pouted and said "deer legs" which was cute in a way
but you are not some majestic wild creature
you're livestock that bows down to hierarchy
and that hierarchy is just other fucking chickens
and I admire chickens because they live by the sword
but you're like one of those nasty roosters
who are only good for food after awhile
because your idea of protection is to your own folly
I can't get as angry as I used to, which is actually nice
must mean you're not able to get through the atmsophere
just something that burns up once it hits my sky
I'll figure out what I'm going to say
and then my temper will get a hold of it
lightning will flash and I'll be satisfied
this will happen every single damn time
you want to try and include me on your bullshit
I am no longer a supply
but I will use the opportunity to offload
some of my own frustration
since you so kindly offered yourself
as a little whipping boy
I'll enjoy putting down the lashes
and you always squeal like something cowardly
you will be trained away from this habit
I already did it once and I'll do it again
except this time I'm lacking any sort of empathy
which means the art will be absolutely stunning
or absolute garbage and I can work with that too
I definitely used to be more acidic
improvement or something
enjoy your peace while it lasts
something is getting shredded
kind of excited to see what it is
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Tbh, everyone I see trying to come up with alternative words for Culturally Christian keeps reminding me of when white people got really upset about the term White Privilege. Maybe the term SHOULD make people uncomfortable. Maybe we shouldn't have to take the complaints of others about a term we created to describe our experiences as more important than our needs. As well-meaning as some folks have been, it's been so frustrating to feel like that aspect isn't being seen. We created this term to discuss our oppression and others keep coming to us about their feelings about it, their discomfort. We didn't get rid of the term White Privilege just because it upset a bunch of white people. Why do we have to get rid of the term Culturally Christian because it upsets people it describes?
I'm trying to be compassionate too but it's hard for me to be when it feels like most of the criticisms of the term have been in bad faith and that the criticism is centered around OTHER people's feelings rather than our need to describe our oppression. Idk it doesn't feel fair I guess.
I didn't really expect you of all people to react like this to me having a compassionate conversation with someone who isn't Christian, wasn't raised Christian, and was abused by Christians for not being a Christian, about that person not wanting to be labeled as being inextricably tainted by a religion that abused them for their whole life. That's not something I expected from you. Maybe you missed that part of the conversation, or maybe you read a good faith conversation as if it was in bad faith, idk, but this seems rather unkind for you.
I understand your frustration. I also think it that if I'm actually dedicated to tikkun olam, if someone also being hurt in this situation respectfully talks with me about how I'm hurting them with splash damage from these discussions, I really should hear them out. And if, in the course of that discussion, we talk through how to not only be more accurate with what we're talking about but how to be less hurtful to other victims of Evangelical Christianity, I think that's pretty good, actually.
The person you're talking about isn't Christian and never was, so your analogy doesn't really hold. That person didn't hold any particular privilege and was never part of the dominant group in the first place. Like... that's the whole point. They're also a survivor of religious violence. You assigning privilege to that person which they never received is part of the problem we were addressing in the first place.
Plus, like, isn't the desired outcome that people who are carrying ideas and mindsets which come from Christian hegemony work on shedding those ideas and mindsets? Labeling people - especially people who aren't Christian and doubly especially those who never were - rather than ideas means those people are labeled regardless of what ideas they hold. That seems counterproductive to me, and, again, hurtful to fellow victims to label them with an identity they don't hold. It's like someone calling a bi person a Spicy Straight because they don't look queer enough or whatever - they're assigning an identity that someone else doesn't have because it makes it easier for them to speak their pain, and ignoring the damage that does.
The best part of the conversation is that by the end of it, someone pointed out that there's already an academic term -- Christian hegemony -- which has been in use for a really long time, well before "cultural Xianity" came into use. It looks like it goes back at least 50 years. So because I was patient and compassionate with someone else who was victimized like I was victimized, I got to learn something which will make it easier to communicate in the future, since that term is widely established and it's easy to point to PDFs that define it, or articles with Jewish educators explaining it.*
Sounds like a win to me - I get to avoid accidentally hurting others who were hurt like I was hurt, I learned something, and now I have a better, clearer term and can speak more clearly.
I'm sorry it frustrates you. I don't think your analogy works, though, and I'm happy with using "Christian hegemony" to describe ideas and not labeling people. I certainly wouldn't like it if someone insisted on calling me Christian, because I'm not, so forcing that label on others who also are not Christian seems hypocritical and unkind. Someone can hold ideas they learned from Christian hegemony without being Christian, and saying it that way doesn't hurt me, so it's no great burden to me to use a more established, more accurate, less hurtful means of addressing my own hurt.
* I don't agree 100% with everything in these links, please don't send me asks or reblog this with nitpicks of the links, I'm not interested bc that's not the point of including them.
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"the neoliberal rhetoric of the pronoun (ESPECIALLY in english) as the ultimate form of advocacy" -- it's such a relief to hear your take on ava's thoughts on pronouns bc i've always been frustrated by how limiting they are? how much stress they cause? i know pronouns are important for some folks but also we're so much more than that...
whew like ok i work in dei, mostly for youth (sport, schools, etc) but also doing lgbtq 101 workshops for upper level execs who run big sports orgs, school districts, blah blah, & it's like... people really think that getting someone's pronouns right (or even trying to get someone's pronouns right) is like........ you have done it! u are not transphobic! u understand the nuances of everyone's gender if you use the right pronoun!
& like... i get paid a fair amount of money to lowkey sell out & explain what a pronoun is (lol) but at the same time it is the fucking bane of my existence. i personally hate pronouns. i think they are legitimately so stupid lol. like... to distill the vast nuanced experience of both having a gender identity AND being perceived at all times as a gendered being (which sometimes match & sometimes don't) into a PRONOUN is just baffling to me.
i think cis people (especially those who don't really want to do the work needed to understand what abolition means -- how queerness & especially gender expansive trans identities are a crucial part of the intersection of where that ethic is rooted) just see pronouns as a sort of easy way out. like you're cool with trans people if you can remember someone's they/them pronouns. it's so gross & so deeply tried up in representational politics (diverse oppressors are still oppressors, white supremacy can be present in ethic & politic even without a white person in the room, etc).
& of course like you said pronouns are definitely important to some people (it is always nice to feel seen & respected at the most basic level 🤪) & definitely not at all saying that anyone should like get people's pronouns wrong, obviously, but i just really hate the concept of how my entire experience as a dyke & a person in general has to be reflected to the world at all times in a silly word which is so vastly incomplete. & i genuinely (not anyone's fault!) hate how that can get tied up in my writing, especially my writing about queerness. when ppl rly care abt terms & IDs etc i can understand bc the common messaging is all rooted in neoliberalism & "representation" instead of anti-state resistance, etc, so it's like. okay lol. but i am intentional in the way i write queerness bc of my own ethic & politic, so you know
ANYWAY yes. queerness & transness is so deeply expansive, to make it only about (or mostly about) pronouns is, to me, ethically against what queerness & transness really is, especially if those pronouns are mostly talked about in the context of english. & i would be remiss in saying that using non-normative &/or neopronouns is a privilege rooted in safety. often i don't disclose they/them pronouns bc i just don't want to explain myself, & i deeply do not care, but i'm always protected in a lot of ways by my whiteness (& that i'm educated, able-bodied, cis-passing, employed, etc etc etc). for a lot of people, for a lot of reasons, pronouns aren't safe. being out as trans isn't safe. but that doesn't mean their gender identities are any different or less important or less vital.
so yah ur right sorry this is a rant lmfao & once & for all.... ava is the most anti-state anti-institution character lmao. she genuinely would not give a flying fuck about her own pronouns. god doesn't fit into a pronoun anyway :)
#this is so much sorry but there's been so many weird asks really wanting to like#define ava's gender so deeply ??#& i try to write queerness thoughtfully & precisely & with purpose so#it's like a part of what i believe as a person outside of / beyond fic blah blah#anon u are RIGHT i AGREE lol
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Why do you have tme in your bio?
Would you have racism exempt, antisemitism exempt, transandrophobis exempt or homophobia exempt?
Because I constantly refer to myself as trans on this blog, and I want there to be no ambiguity — I am not transfeminine, and I am not subject to the virulent and SPECIFIC kind of transphobia that transfeminine people are subject to. This is so I can be held accountable if I ever say or do something as a non-transfeminine person that I shouldn't.
I'm not exempt from homophobia, I say in my bio that I'm a lesbian. I don't need to say that I'm "racism exempt" because I already say in my bio that I'm white. I am not Jewish and have never claimed to be Jewish. When I say that I am trans, this could be misconstrued in such a way that I want to make it very clear that I do not experience transmisogyny.
I'm not doing this "transandrophobia" shit with you guys. We can argue that there are a handful of things that transmasculine people experience that transfeminine people generally do not (to argue that these things constitute their own, specific form of oppression would be much more difficult), but by the way you all have conducted yourselves in this discourse, I can't view the "transandrophobia"/"take tme out of your bio" movement as anything but a childish tit-for-tat temper tantrum over the fact that some of us are doing the bare minimum to hold ourselves accountable and acknowledge that one part of the community we belong to experiences a specific and particularly dangerous version of transphobia that we cannot and should not claim to experience. And I can't help but feel like this is upsetting to you because you do not care about the actual utility of declaring yourself tme. It feels like you guys can't stomach the thought of admitting that someone experiences more hate and violence than you do, because this would feel humiliating to you, so you have to go out of your way to align yourselves against trans women, as if they're privileged for having all this attention on them, until everyone admits that ~we have it hard TOO you know!!!¡!~ Yeah, we know, you're a trans person, it's called transphobia.
We do not need to further atomize the word transphobia, nor do we need to stop declaring our exemption from transmisogyny, just because you are feeling left out of the ongoing discussion about violence and hate speech directed at trans women specifically. This is not the issue you think it is. Look inward and ask yourself why admitting that someone in your community might experience more violence than you bothers you so much. If you want to be a member of a community, get used to the idea of prioritizing community members who are, in general, most in need of community support — WITHOUT the expectation that they should have to acknowledge your experiences as a condition of that support. Educate yourselves on transmisogyny. Sort yourselves out. Until then, block me. I don't want to discuss this with you and I don't want you here.
I'm not answering any further asks, replies, or DMs about this.
#asks#as a sidenote why do all the asks ive gotten from pro transandr/ophob/ia people read like this#like a teacher begging the question#like do you think I'm doing this because it's trendy and if you'd only help me see how illogical it is I'd stop?#I'm doing this because I thought about it and it made sense to me#lol?#also even if we all came to the conclusion that transandrophobia existed#i would still have tme in my bio lol???#and good luck convincing anyone in this parallel universe that transfeminine people need to put 'tae' in their bio LMFAO
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Hey Steph! This is kinda a weird ask but well, I don't really have a reason. Its just that I turned 20 yesterday and I feel so lost, so I was wondering if you had any advice on you know... navigating life in your twenties or something
Hey Nonny!
First off: Happy birthday! I hope it was a good one!
Secondly, Nonny, it's COMPLETELY NORMAL to feel lost at your age, honest to goodness. I certainly felt like my life was going nowhere at that age, being denied from college and stuck working a retail job with no benefits because they refused to give me the final 2 hours I needed to be full-time.
I actually answered a similar ask back in May 2022 from a Nonny who didn't know what they should do now that they were 19, and I think that the advice is fitting for someone in your place as well. The long-short (HAH, spoilers, it’s not short at all) of it is this, plus some extras I missed on that last post:
Get your finances sorted as soon as you're making some money.
You DON'T have to have everything figured out already. It's SO FUCKING ANNOYING that people y'all are supposed to look up to preach the whole grind-set mentality, which in turn makes people feel like utter failures before they're 25. It's SO gross and a horrific way of putting pressure on people that – let's be real – these people only see as chattel for babies or future mindless worker drones who won't question authority.
Take your time to figure out what you want to do. I took a two-year gap between high school and college, and I don't regret it. I didn't go back to school until I was 21. My gap years were used to work. I was also fortunate enough that my parents let me live at home rent-free during this time, so I KNOW that I am more privileged than most. If you can do it though, and it's safe for you to do it, I recommend it. It will give you time to REALLY consider your options and career choices, and not jump from course-to-course and accrue more and more debt.
University is NOT better than Community College. They drill the opposite in your brain when you're in high-school because – guess what – University costs more of YOUR time and money. Absolutely, there are things only Uni can do that you can't at college... think of it this way: if you want a more hands-on career that will give you beneficial skills all across the board, take college. If you want a career that requires a bunch of letters before or after your name, take university. It's literally that simple. I wish someone told me that in high school when I felt like utter garbage for getting denied from university. Now, nearly 2 decades later, I have a fulfilling career that I enjoy, for the most part.
Sometimes, University OR College isn't the answer. A lot of people just don't go on to post-secondary education, and THAT'S OKAY. North America (and probably other continents and countries) have made education a luxury product, something only those who get approved for loans or can afford to pay the admission fees can have. There's NOTHING wrong with being an apprentice for a skilled labour job, or wanting to work retail and want to move up in the company. Sometimes that's YOUR calling. Hoity-toity, entitled people will sneer at the same people who fix the electrical or plumbing work in their houses or make them their no-foam 7$ lattes in the morning, which I've always found rather hypocritical and hilarious. Do what's best for YOU, and not what's best for someone else. Heck, if YouTube is what you want to do, do that. Research. Go to Skillshare or Linda.com and self-teach yourself some useful skills. Do you like to write? Write that novel you wanted to, and fish it out for interest. Are you an artist? Make a serious go at selling your work.
Know your worth. I know it's hard, but please know that you are not any better or worse than someone else. Regardless of your path in life, know that people will pay you fairly for your skill if they're not a "choosing beggar" and know the value of it.
Learn about yourself. I had my journey of self-discovery in my mid 30's. I wish I had it sooner. Since you have the time, maybe start soul searching and asking yourself questions about yourself and what you want to do. It's a scary thing, but in the end, you will come out more at peace with yourself and the world around you.
It's okay to enjoy things, be it fandom, food, entertainment, a place, a hobby, or life itself. Don't let people tell you otherwise.
You're never too old to have fun.
Be your authentic self. Don't be shamed into thinking you're "cringy". And if you don't know who your authentic self is, I direct you to my "learn about yourself" point. I used to put too much value into what people thought about me, and to an extent, I still do care a bit since I sadly have divided myself up into 4 different people: Work Steph, Personal Life Steph, Fandom Steph, and Public Steph. It's a system that's worked for me, but it doesn't for everybody, and I wish now I could be Personal and Fandom Steph for my Public and Work Steph. BUT, again, I try my best to be my authentic self when I can these days... because honestly? Betty from Economics 1A won't even fucking remember your name in 2 years. Billy from Accounting will give no fucks about you after you leave your previous job. It's an unnecessary stress we hold ourselves to, thinking people care more than they actually do. And you know what? If they actually DO care in a way that negatively impacts you, that's THEIR fucking problem, not yours.
Parents and family aren't always right. Not gonna go into the full details here on my own personal story since it can be found across various other posts, but long-short is that sometimes, cutting certain people out of your life for your own sanity and mental health, despite your best efforts to try to keep some semblance of a relationship with them, is the only answer. You'll feel sad, but you won't regret the decision. Reading about psychology as a hobby in my spare time helped me see what was happening wasn't fair to myself, and looking at the situation from an outsider's perspective made me see that the person was doing more harm than good.
Therapy is GOOD, even if it's just a once-a-month thing. Now that I'm finally talking to someone about my own traumas, no matter how minute (and even some I wasn't aware even affected me), I'm finally understanding that what happened in the past wasn't my fault, and that my feelings of self-doubt are valid and we're working on learning self-love.
You don't have to have a significant other in your life to be happy. Another bullshit thing that going to religious schools fucking drilled into my head, was trying to convince me that I needed a man (HAH!) and a child (SNORTS NO THANKS) to feel fulfilled in my life. Well, joke's on them, I am 100% not straight, and 100% do not want kids NOR sex, so LOOOOOOOL (of course, I didn't know about the former until I did that soul-searching thing, heh. The latter was brought about mostly from retail work). Am I lonely? Of course I am, and yes, I DO want someone to spend my days with, but you know what I'm not? I'm never bored, and I make my own entertainment. I go to movies and on trips by myself. I'll eat at a restaurant by myself. It's honestly great. Downside is, though, now I'm FIERCELY independent, and I am REALLY frustrated if / when something disrupts my "normal" day. I need to plan a day with friends WAY in advance so that I can mentally prepare to be disrupted from my "timeline", that other people just don't follow schedules like I do. And that's okay.
Get hobbies outside of blogging. This is more self-advice to me than anything else. Don't let being perpetually online be the only thing you do. Enjoying the outdoors or knitting or going for a run are underrated. Being on Twitter or TikTok all day long is VERY BAD for your mental health. Learn to re-connect with people. I know this is hypocritical of me to be saying as the Tumblr addict that I am, but you're still young, save yourself, my god, lol. Seriously though, there's nothing wrong with spending a couple hours a day online, but unless it's your job, just... find something other than being glued to your phone or computer as a hobby. Playing a video game is just as productive.
Learn to cook and/or do basic home economics, like sewing and cleaning. Another thing they stopped teaching in school. I learned to cook in school. We had a home-ecs course in high-school. I learned basic sewing, and which chemicals should NOT be mixed together to clean. I learned I love LOVE baking. LOVE IT. And I'm an AMAZING baker. It's just TOO fucking hot in the summer to bake in my apt, lol.
It's okay to be stressed, and it's okay to cry as a release mechanism for that stress. I've been mocked in my younger years for crying when I'm frustrated, and in my older years I feel shame when I do. I'm not crying because I'm sad, I'm crying because I'm frustrated and stressed and a situation feels out of my control. My therapist told me it's a totally normal response, and I guess I just needed someone to tell me that, so I'm here to tell you that too. Regardless of your gender identity, IT'S OKAY TO CRY.
And branching off of that, you're not showing weakness when you show compassion and empathy for other people. Honestly, this world would be a better place if more people cared about other people in a genuine way.
Which segues nicely into: Never, EVER hesitate to show you care. Love comes in many forms, and saying "I love you" can mean the world to someone. I do it because I genuinely care about people, and because the one time I didn't say it, I couldn't ever say it to that person ever again. I wear my heart on my sleeve, and yes, I get hurt a lot, but for that one hurt I feel, I'm certain that 5 other people genuinely needed to hear SOMEONE, ANYONE tell them that they are loved or that someone is thinking of them. At least that's my hope, anyway.
There's a reason they're called "safe spaces" and even neurotypical people, and people who mock them need them, even if they don't realize it. My safe space is my bedroom wrapped in blankets and hugging exactly 2 pillows, with my phone and an old fave fic queued up in iBooks. Yours might be your car, or a place with lots of people, or an online forum, or heck, even your work's bathroom stall in a pinch. Sometimes we just need a place to go to to re-collect ourselves and mentally prep ourselves to deal with bullshit again. Find yourself a few comfort places, because believe me, as you get older and have to deal with more and more and MORE bullshit in today's economy and society, you will need a place to deescalate your mounting tension. I make sure I have one in every place I go to regularly.
So yeah, not much else I can think of at the moment, but I hope these will get you started. I hope you are alright, lovely, and I am sorry for the delay in a response... I just needed a block of time I could sit down and really give you a heart-felt response.
If I think of anything else, I'll tag them on here, but please know that, again, it's OKAY to feel lost. My lord, you're ONLY 20. You AREN'T supposed to have it all figured out yet!! Just... breathe, relax, and just let life play out the way it's supposed to for you. <3
Love you, Nonny!
And friends, if you have some life experience you would like to share with this smol bean, please do! <3
#steph replies#i am not a professional#life advice#my advice#it's not perfect#but my anecdotes seem to comfort people#long post
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Landing Page Copywriting
Introductions
Copywriting is the art of writing for conversion. Your goal is to get people to do what you want them to do, whether that's buying a product, signing up for an email list... or just reading more. But great copywriting isn't limited to ads and landing pages. Any time you're trying to get someone else to do something, it's copywriting! And if you're reading this blog post right now (hi!), then chances are good that you've got some kind of conversion goal in mind -- whether it's getting new customers or simply increasing traffic on your website.
copywriting
Copywriting is a specialized field of writing that focuses on marketing and promotion. Copywriters write the text for advertisements, brochures, websites, sales letters and other marketing materials.
It's important to understand that copywriting isn't just about writing—it involves understanding your audience and what they want from you. Copywriters need to know who they're talking to in order to write effectively. This means taking into account their age group, education level and interests when creating content for them. It also means using language that's appropriate for those demographics (e.g., teenagers don't like being patronized).
Copywriters use persuasive techniques such as storytelling or testimonials in order to convey their message effectively; however, these techniques can be used tastefully so as not to come across as too pushy or obvious (which could turn off potential customers).
Start with headline
The headline is the most important part of your landing page. It must be short, clear and attention-grabbing. The headline should include words that are relevant to the content on your landing page and should have persuasive power.
When writing a headline, ask yourself: "What do I want my audience to think when they read my headline?" As you write your copy, keep in mind that it should sound like something that would appeal directly to them based on their interests or problems (i.e., "I want people who struggle with X to know about my product."). Also remember that headlines are often used as search engine results; therefore, you'll want yours to be specific and somewhat unique so that it stands out from other pages targeting similar audiences.
Understand what your users want
You need to know your audience.
You need to know your business.
You need to know your product.
You need to know your competition, and how they're messaging their customers.
And finally, you need to know what it is that you want people who visit your website or landing page (and eventually, purchase) so badly that it's driving them crazy - enough so that they'll pay money just for the privilege of doing so!
Design for conversion
The first thing you should do when writing copy for your landing page is to follow these design guidelines:
Use white space. White space, or negative space, allows readers to focus on the most important parts of your landing page—the headline and sub-headline. If you fill every inch of a webpage with text and images, it can overwhelm people and make them feel like they don’t know where to look or what’s important.
Use color to guide attention. Color helps identify different sections of your landing page so that readers know how each section differs from another section (and why there are different sections). You want people reading through your copy in order from top to bottom and left to right; this way they will see all the features/benefits of whatever product or service you're selling before making a purchasing decision based on those features/benefits alone rather than relying solely on price comparisons found elsewhere online.
Make sure that each paragraph has its own topic sentence; otherwise, it will be hard for readers who skim instead of reading completely through any given piece without seeing any patterns emerge between topics being addressed.
Use bullet points sparingly (only if necessary) because they make content appear denser which may cause users not to want much detail at all when looking into something new such as this particular niche within such a broader category field where there's plenty available already - keep things simple!
Landing page copywriting
Landing page copywriting is a crucial part of any landing page. It's the first impression you give to your users, and it should be simple, direct and engaging. Landing pages should be written in a way that engages and converts users.
To start with, you'll need to come up with a headline that clearly communicates what your product or service does. Your headline should focus on selling the benefits of the product or service on offer rather than describing what it is. You can then expand on this by describing how it works in each paragraph below (if applicable), mentioning any key features such as price and availability at this point too. Finally, you can end by asking for their contact details if they're interested in learning more about your product or service - this allows you to build up trust by showing them how easy it will be for them to get started using whatever it is that you're offering!
The right words will start a conversation
You don’t have to be a professional copywriter to write effective landing page copy. All you need are the right words. And I mean that literally if your words aren’t right, they won’t make a difference in how well your landing page converts.
Think about what types of words work best for you and your audience. You can use action verbs like “download” or “learn more” to give visitors an idea of what they should do next on the site; these kinds of commands push people forward toward completing their goal for visiting in the first place (e.g., buying). If your product is educational or informational in nature, consider using words that relate directly back to it—for example, if you sell dog toys online then use “playful petting toy!” instead of just “fun toy!” which could apply more generally across many different categories within e-commerce stores but doesn't have any relation specifically back toward whatever product category this particular store falls under (and therefore doesn't provide any additional value beyond simply stating its function).
Start with the headline, understand what your users want, design for conversion and use the right words.
There are some important things to remember when it comes to landing page copywriting:
Start with the headline. A good headline will get people's attention and draw them in, but also make sure that you're targeting the right visitors. You should be able to see what kind of person would find your landing page interesting based on the information you provide in your headline, so make sure that you're directing it toward those people.
Understand what your users want. Your goal may be to get the visitor to click on a link or sign up for a service, but there are other ways that this can happen—for example, if they need help from a product or service and are trying to figure out how much time it'll take them and whether or not they can afford it first before making any decisions about purchasing anything from You as well as making sure that you're actually offering something worthwhile enough for them (a lot easier said than done).
Conclusion
I hope I’ve given you some useful tips to get started with landing page copywriting. Remember, the most important thing is to write for your users, not for search engines or other external factors. You need to know what they want and give it to them!
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I get frustrated with stuff like that too tbh
Like, I see people who can just book holidays out of nowhere and go and order loads of new clothes etc and I'm like????? A day trip on a local bus is a treat for me lmao
Or even at work and that, if I say I'm going somewhere like a day trip to a different part of the country (which is rare o havent been to many parts tbh) they're all like oh irs lively and start recommending all these expensive pubs and restaurants which are lovely but I'm like lol I cant afford that
But then I know people who have literally bought homes and I'm like lol I still live at home and in single haha, cant afford a car but there they go and in like??? How????
yeah and it's like their ignorance that really kills me. not to upset the leftist girlies, but like i don't have that much of a problem with the sole idea of some people having money. like your parents made money and now you're a nepo baby? okay whatever. but it's the ignorance of these nepo babies that gets to me.
like it really feels like we live in completely different worlds and they're never gonna understand us and grasp how privileged they are.
like i know that im already in a privileged position bc im a university student. but that's more or less reasonable bc, at least where i live, you need a diploma to basically do anything. it's a must. plus it's free so like might as well. but those people who go to elite british universities without thinking twice about it... like nothing wrong with that, good for you. but it just frustrates me how they go about their lives not being grateful for what they have.
but then again, how do i expect someone to be grateful when they have no point of comparison? and what does being grateful even mean really?
like when my manchester bestie was like "yeah i want my kids to do the IB and a bunch of extracurricular activities" i was like wow we really do live in different worlds. because on face value we have the same values, right? learning things as a child and keeping busy instead of playing on your ipad is objectively a good thing and i have nothing against it. but saying that you want your hypothetical future child to go to private school so easily is just like incomprehensible to me. and for her it's like a given. like of course she's gonna have the choice between a-levels and IB, it's only natural! so does everyone in her mind!
like when she was talking about how she got to uni and everyone who did a-levels were clueless about what was happening and she had an advantage bc she did the IB and learnt a lot more than those who went to regular state school. like yeah, that's life. that's how it is for regular people in england. you get a shitty public education, you take a loan if you want to go to uni, you have to work at the same time as studying if you have to move out of your parents'. like yeah. id want my kids to do the IB too. but it's a privilege, not a given.
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