#it was such a huge part of my life

[eddisfargo]

When you say mediator, do you mean the ghost series

If so that's rad

Also rad if not, and what is it if not

Omg YES! The Mediator, by Meg Cabot! It's what my profile picture is from. Have you read it??

Meg Cabot was like my WHOLE thing from like, middle school to college? I was full on obsessed.

Here's some fun facts about me!

I literally identified my religion, when asked, as Jewish-Cabotian.

In my senior picture in my high school year book, I am holding up my copy of Haunted (Mediator #5).

When it was time to paint our parking spaces at school, I painted mine with the words "If you can read this, you can read Meg Cabot."

When an honors college I was applying to asked for an essay on "an author who changed your life," I wrote mine on Meg Cabot, to my father's chagrin. I ended up attending that college.

In high school English, we had to write a senior thesis on an author. My teacher, who was awesome, expressed some doubts as to Meg's literary merit as the subject of a thesis, but I argued that people would've said the same about Shakespeare in his time--his stuff was viewed as entertainment for the masses, not highbrow art, by his contemporaries. So essentially, give Meg a couple centuries.

My first fanfiction I wrote when I was a tween was on The Mediator. It is still on ffnet somewhere. I do not recommend it.

Thank you for the opportunity to share this part of my life!

[inkskinned]

you know, you know. no gods, no masters, no kings on pedestals. everyone is fallible. death of the author. you know! you are balanced about your intake of media - you allow the wiggle room, the grace, the gratitude, the skepticism. nobody above criticism.

but still. a weird gut-punch feeling, something akin to betrayal. you read the article. surprise! an author you love is actually: a serial fucking predator.

well, shit. what now. no, you knew he was a person (all people are), but now you're wondering - what have i overlooked by accident? what messages have i internalized that are strange and cruel? and also, like, what the fuck?

his actions lay a thick glaze on top of everything. like each place is now ruined, opaque in a new way. but okay, fine, you've done this before. you knew better, right? you've been betrayed by many a cherished childhood author.

still, this stickiness. fuck. can you pick up that book again. will you read it to your children. you've recommended it to others - will you ever do that again? and of course, of course, no parasocial relationships. you were theoretically above this kind of sentiment. but the artist informs the art, right.

so it's not something as clear-cut as feeling he owed you, specifically (a stranger) better behavior - just that you kind of, in a distant and odd way... sort of trusted him to do better. it's not like a real trust or something speakable, just the faint hope that the product (good books) was a thin representation of the soul. now it feels like the product (good? books?) was a mask. in some small or insignificant way, your previous support of this person lent them power. your money and your time and your laughter.

and the thing is - you have this terrible, echoing sensation. how many times will this happen? over and over. you find out that the singer you love is actually a predator. you learn over drinks that your favorite high school english teacher is in jail for what he did to her. you listen to the news idly and suddenly discover that a woman you used to idolize has been abusing her kids for an actual eon.

what can you touch without the static melting off. you can't even really complain about it too much (you were supposed to know better, and besides, you don't want the same re-split "it's not your fault, love what you love" basic advice), but now it's here. somehow, it feels like - you let him into your life.

it's not that things need to be pure or an artist has to be like, endlessly perfect, mindful. demure. it's more just this terrible truth that has been replayed through your veins so often it feels criminally vain. power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. did you want any one person to be worth that power?

it's just that he wrote books where he seemed to understand that. he seemed to know about hierarchies and unfair systems and bigotry and privilege. you thought they were books about what it means to struggle. you thought they were about having power and still using it for good rather than for control. he spooned you a narrative of being a good guy, a kind soul. you fucking bought what that fucking monster sold.

maybe that's why they were fantasies, after all.

[rainbow-sunshine-unicorn]

Remember when Anthony Bridgerton said:

And then it turns out that this is him with his wife:

[knightforflowers]

a couple days late, but happy 10th anniversary to the adventure zone!! <3

[kkoct-ik]

i can finally post my silly little two-part wallpaper / blog banner merch pieces i made for the @hotguycomiczine !!

phone wallpaper ver. & some cursed hgc universe doodles under cut

[ START ]

[ MERCH | MISC ]

one discussion on offbrand hotguy & cuteguy merchandise really captured me.

i wish they were real ...

[keferon]

*clasps your shoulders gently and looks you straight in the eye*

Keferon. Please read Ninth by Kyn on AO3. I think you would love it very much. It has a large chapter count, but don't be intimidated, it's very easy to get into. It is currently unfinished, but is being updated regularly.

You are the seventh person that recommended this fic to me so ahahahaha yeah

I’m doing great Help I hate some parts of it but I love the other parts I’m spinning in the blender

…..I made the moodboard….

[rakiah]

I just watched Wicked in theater and it was mesmerizing. Thank you so much ✨

[marciaillust]

the patrician is just a guy to me

[dkettchen]

I'm just sAYING-

[metamatronic]

really bummed over matpat leaving (even if I mostly watched gtlive nowadays) but hope his other projects go well and he can focus more on his family!!!

[solaestial]

i made an end roll fan video 🙈 the song is tenohira wonderland by sasanomaly

watch on youtube!!

[inkskinned]

one of the things that's the most fucking frustrating for me about arguing with climate change deniers is the sheer fucking scope of how much it matters. sweating in my father's car, thinking about how it's the "hottest summer so far," every summer. and there's this deep, roiling rage that comes over me, every time.

the stakes are wrong, is the thing. that's part of what makes it not an actual debate: the other side isn't coming to the table with anything to fucking lose.

like okay. i am obviously pro gun control. but there is a basic human part of me that can understand and empathize with someone who says, "i'm worried that would lead to the law-abiding citizens being punished while criminals now essentially have a superpower." i don't agree, but i can tell the stakes for them are also very high.

but let's say the science is wrong and i'm wrong and the visible reality is wrong and every climate disaster refugee is wrong. let's say you're right, humans aren't causing it or it's not happening or whatever else. let's just say that, for fun.

so we spend hundreds of millions of dollars making the earth cleaner, and then it turns out we didn't need to do that. oops! we cleaned the earth. our children grow up with skies full of more butterflies and bees. lawns are taken over with rich local biodiversity. we don't cry over our electric bills anymore. and, if you're staunchly capitalist and i need to speak ROI with you - we've created so many jobs in developing sectors and we have exciting new investment opportunities.

i am reminded of kodak, and how they did not make "the switch" to digital photography; how within 20 years kodak was no longer a household brand. do we, as a nation, feel comfortable watching as the world makes "the switch" while we ride the laurels of oil? this boggles me. i have heard so much propaganda about how america cannot "fall behind" other countries, but in this crucial sector - the one that could actually influence our own monopolies - suddenly we turn the other cheek. but maybe you're right! maybe it will collapse like just another silicone valley dream. but isn't that the crux of capitalism? that some economies will peter out eventually?

but let's say you're right, and i'm wrong, and we stopped fracking for no good reason. that they re-seed quarries. that we tear down unused corporate-owned buildings or at least repurpose them for communities. that we make an effort, and that effort doesn't really help. what happens then? what are the stakes. what have we lost, and what have we gained?

sometimes we take our cars through a car wash and then later, it rains. "oh," we laugh to ourselves. we gripe about it over coffee with our coworkers. what a shame! but we are also aware: the car is cleaner. is that what you are worried about? that you'll make the effort but things will resolve naturally? that it will just be "a waste"?

and what i'm right. what if we're already seeing people lose their houses and their lives. what if it is happening everywhere, not just in coastal towns or equatorial countries you don't care about. what if i'm right and you're wrong but you're yelling and rich and powerful. so we ignore all of the bellwethers and all of the indicators and all of the sirens. what if we say - well, if it happens, it's fate.

nevermind. you wouldn't even wear a mask, anyway. i know what happens when you see disaster. you think the disaster will flinch if you just shout louder. that you can toss enough lives into the storm for the storm to recognize your sacrifice and balk. you argue because it feels good to stand up against "the liberals" even when the situation should not be political. you are busy crying for jesus with a bullhorn while i am trying to usher people into a shelter. you've already locked the doors, even on the church.

the stakes are skewed. you think this is some intellectual "debate" to win, some funny banter. you fuel up your huge unmuddied truck and say suck it to every citizen of that shitbird state california. serves them right for voting blue!

and the rest of us are terrified of the entire fucking environment collapsing.

[corviddrawsstuff]

actually heartbreaking to me that once Skizz fell off the edge of the platform, Grian knew he was gone. didn’t bother to move, or scream, or check. he couldn’t bring himself to look because he didn’t want to see what was left of his friend :(

[saved-room]

SPOILERS FOR BAD BATCH FINALE ‼️

and i guess i’ll just miss her even though she isn’t even really gone

[lunarharp]

played dragon age 2...just simple scribbles

[sickly-sapphic]

i think the able to work to unable to work spectrum is more of an actual spectrum than people like to realise. like, yeah, overall you do either fit into able to work and unable to work, and yes there's a privellege that comes with the former that definitely deserves acknowledgement, and there's unqiue ableism and discrimination faced by the latter.

however, ability to work itself is a spectrum. there's people who are completely able to work - there's no hinges or what ifs or anything like that. then there's people able to work, but it's environment-focused. they can only work from home, they can only work in quiet spaces, they can't work outside. then there's ability to work but it hinges on what the physical expectations are - they can work as long as there's no heavy lifting, they can only work sitting down, they can only work if there's no talking required.

and then there's also people able to work, yes, but it will completely change how their life and disabilities function. people who can work but if they do, they will need hours or days of rest between shifts, or they'll need a caretaker to see to every need due to exhaustion and flares from working.

i think while its important to talk about how disability affects those who cannot work, under any circumstance, i think the "able to work, technically" group also needs more advice-sharing, talking amongst the community and supports aimed towards them