#learn what fucking empathy is and maybe learn to listen to other people and be compassionate instead of being so insufferable and

[deityofhearts]

I genuinely hate half of the people on this website. y’all are so incapable of not making bad faith assumptions about everything or taking shit that isn’t even about you so fucking personally or getting mad because a post didn’t specify everything eloquently and in depth and in excruciating detail. Like explain to me how exactly leaving unnecessarily rude replies or sending nasty, hateful asks over stupid shit like this is something that a normal person does, it’s not! Being online so much has rotted y’all’s brain and empathy beyond repair I fear.

[five-flavor-soup]

Why the endgame couples in A:TLA weren’t necessary: a frustrated ramble

Listen I’m a Zutara shipper through and through (developed after my second rewatch in 2013) but by Tui Agni and La am I glad that it never happened in canon?? Like Kataang and Maiko themselves already felt so rushed and almost out-of-nowhere and their canonisation added like nothing to the plot. Aang’s crush on Katara is a plot device; Zuko’s relationship with Mai at the start of S3 is a plot device. I can barely fathom how Zutara would’ve turned out and I also kinda don’t want to. Imagine Zuko and Katara kissing at the end of the series: it feels completely out of left field, doesn’t it? Knowing that who-ends-up-with-who was an argument in the writer’s room for almost all three seasons means that it could’ve happened.

It shouldn’t have. I don’t think the Kataang kiss or the Maiko romance-reunion should’ve happened either. It’s unnecessary to add—there’s just no need for it, and my nagging here isn’t because I like Zutara and I don’t like how Maiko and Kataang turned out. It’s because the ships and couples and whatever the fuck else are NOT, and should not, be the point of A:TLA—and the ‘couple gets together in the very last scene and all is well :)’ shot suggests that it is.

A:TLA, to me, tried to show the horrifying nature of war and all its victims: the harrowing poverty, the deep-rooted trauma, the bloody violence. I interpreted the most prominent message of A:TLA to be that what was happening during those 100 years is wrong, that war is wrong—it affects the humanity within people, affects what point we offer empathy and kindness, because horrific trauma and needless violence muddies it all up. Why would you hold out a hand for someone who would’ve murdered you if they had the chance? Why would you physically support someone who hurt you and those you care about deeply? Those of the other nations can barely scrounge up empathy for someone from the Fire Nation, because those of the Fire Nation present themselves as inhuman. Those of the Fire Nation can barely scrounge up empathy for someone from any of the other nations, because the Fire Nation presents them as inhuman. And A:TLA shows that all these people are human, good and bad and all of that in between, because that’s just what humanity is. Varied and morally grey.

THAT’S what the GAang learns. That’s what the people around them learn. It’s what Iroh, a war criminal in his own right, tries to teach every child and teen who he interacts with: not in a preachy way, but in a vague way that implies he’d rather have them figure it out themselves lest they interpret his direct teachings wrong. He got indoctrinated into this terrorising, imperialist regime from the day he was born and onwards and it took a personal loss — the death of his son during a siege Iroh himself was leading, a siege in which Iroh and Lu Ten were the aggressors — for him to start thinking that maybe it’s all wrong. Maybe what he was taught is wrong. And he doesn’t want these children to take as long as he did.

The GAang and their (teenage) enemies and small antagonists have all been touched by war, almost to the point of no return. None of the need for violence, the calm in the face of battle and death, the willingness to sacrifice innocents for a sliver of retribution, the extensive knowledge of How To Fight A Battle And Win—none these qualities that these children (!!) may or may not portray are ‘normal’ teenage behaviours. They simply have to have them, or they die or freeze. Their childhoods were stopped in their tracks early because of experiences no child should ever experience. Such is the reality of war. And yet, in spite of the hurt and harm, the GAang is still capable of kindness and empathy. That’s what it’s about.

To end the series with explicit romance — Sokka/Suki doesn’t count, their relationship is not as in-your-face as The Scenes — just feels wrong. Maybe with another season of development it could’ve worked far better (and less unexpected, especially since the previous one-on-one Kataang interaction was Katara getting cross with Aang for kissing her when she was confused; and the previous one-on-one Maiko interaction was Zuko locking Mai in a cell/out of the way and then leaving without looking back). But with the three seasons that we got, it feels odd that the romance is highlighted at the end—especially when Zuko was miserable with Mai (with her being the human representation of ‘close your eyes and pretend everything’s fine’), and there ALSO was a perfectly good ending scene with the GAang bickering right there. Right before the ending kiss.

Why end it like that, when the series isn’t about romance, but about familial and platonic love and love for humanity instead? Why not just hint towards getting (back) together? What’s the point of these confirmations other than ‘the hero gets the girl’ in both instances?

[oxpogues4lifexo]

Keeping up with the Camerons

OBX_Updates

Liked by papaj, bobheys, rafe and others

Keeping up with the Camerons is now streaming its first episode!

Check it out now at https://TumblrTV.Com

Want the separate interviews and the BTS? Click Here!

Join the Camerons and find out more about them today!

@Wardcameron @Rosecameron @Rafe @Sarbear @Wheezieee

#keepingupwiththecamerons #obx #outerbanks #realitytv #hitshow #northcarolina #tumblrtv #cameron

joecollins the lack of empathy these people hold is truly mind blowing. Rose so out of touch with the real world and Ward not caring for his kids feelings, talking about one over the other is horrendous.

bobheys how they can sit there and say that they’re struggling when there’s people like us who don’t even have a dollar to our name is crazy

-> popeye just be happy for them dad

-> topperthornbush id listen to your son we didn’t ask for it

-> sarbear Top my dad told us to leave it remember?

-> kelcey us as in you lot. We can say what we want sarbear

-> sarbear oh shut up

jamieparkzz I don’t understand how they think they ‘deserve’ this life man. They seem so horrible, other than Wheezie everyone else needs to take the sticks out their asses.

papaj @johmbee we got a shoutout!!

-> johmbee from the only nice one!

-> papaj your welcome by the way she wouldnt have mentioned you if it weren’t for me

-> johmbee um im pretty sure she said it’s because i work for ward? Where are you in that?

-> papaj look. Just let me have it man

-> johmbee 🖕

amandastar this has really shown me a new light to them so thank you. This is awful. I hope that they can rectify our views on them over the next few episodes because I always looked up to them. This is truly disappointing

mike_carrera I dont understand everyone’s hate for the Cameron’s. They’re humans. They have money. It doesn’t make them evil. I really liked the show and I liked the different personalities from each of them.

-> papaj coming from someone with money

-> kieee Jayj??

-> papaj the truth hurts mama

juliannemarsh the ending when they were all just sat around talking was so wholesome. I’m really proud and happy for them. Keep it up!

papaj wow seeing Rafe be so normal and human around Bella and the others is unreal. Maybe he’s not as bad after all. Justice for Rafe! ✊

-> rafe fuck off your not even funny

-> papaj what can’t take a compliment? That cos your daddy was too busy with Sarah to give you any?

-> bella_bee jj I beg you stop!

-> papaj I’m being nice ma! He gotta learn it from somewhere why can’t i help

-> rafe meet me at Kildare park in ten then talk to my face prick

-> papaj already on my way princess 😘

-> bella_bee 🤦‍♀️

Episode 1 Here

Taglist: @viawritesstuff @b1mb0slvt @rafeinterlude @native2princess @cerya @aariahnaa @mymelodylvr

[bee-devilling]

Oooh, that's so cool! Been a while since I listened to Ride the Cyclone. What's the fic about? And how much angst are we talking about? I am a sucker for angsty fics sometimes, whether or not I'm in the fandom.

The fic is set in an Everyone Lives AU (well, except Karnak and Virgil I guess. They're still very dead) but it goes into some detail as to how everyone is left after the accident. It ranges from temporary disabilities like broken bones, permanent disabilities like amputated limbs, and also not accident-related permanent disabilities, because when your body is under immense stress sometimes you discover shit you didn't realise you struggled with before.

But most of what I've written has been little bits and pieces after these events, some of which include:

All of the choir members learning ASL to communicate better with Ricky (unbeknownst to him, at least for the first while). Some members were fluent already (Specifically Constance. Noel would also sort of be in this category, but the second anyone tries to fingerspell something longer than 3 letters, he gives up.), some knew bits of it, like "please", "thank you", "yes" and "no", etc. and some were complete beginners. But they realised after the accident that Ricky has a lot to say, even if it wasn't verbally, and they wanted to bridge that gap. The first thing Ocean's signs to Ricky is a genuine, heartfelt apology for the way she's treated him.

Everyone is just A Little Off after the accident. Nothing big, no major health risks or nothing, and also I haven't quite decided what's happening to who. But one of them is just incredibly twitchy, and it's entirely uncontrollable. Another has levels of brain fog that is really starting to affect their studies. Another has heart palpitations, which took several incidents for them to realise they're not dying, this is just a thing that happens to them now. Not entirely the "came back wrong" trope, they're all basically the same people, but their bodies just didn't quite catch up to being reanimated.

Talia passing away. I feel a little horrible writing it, but I wanted to give her character a bit more respect than what most of the fandom gives her (which is just removing her in the quickest way possible to make room for Nischa) and I feel like letting Mischa grieve is a kinder way to remove her from the story. Also I haven't written the actual chapter in which this occurs yet, but I've written the 3 page letter (could be more, it's not 100% done) Talia sends Mischa to apologise for not telling him about her illness sooner.

Ocean dealing with hEDS after the accident (cos we love giving characters similar disabilities to me), because why not have her learn to stop spreading herself too thin by making a physical barrier in her way to stop her from pushing herself.

Mother-son bonding between Noel and his mom. Because yes, this is the woman who told her son to "dial it back" on his queerness but at the end of the day, it's 2009 in the middle of Bumfuck Nowhere, and I just feel that she wants her son to be safe above all else. Parents go about things the wrong way, but it doesn't make them inherently evil or abusive. Give her some understanding, some empathy.

Some of them just being a little queer. Or a lot queer. Noel fucking around with his gender expression, wearing dresses and makeup (though maybe not as risqué as the Monique Gibeau outfit), Ricky and Penny using each other to test out new pronouns, also I read a fic (I'll tag the writer if I can find it again) where Penny/Jane uses the name PJ and I wanna steal that idea so bad, I love it. Ocean cutting her hair short and wearing the "boys'" St. Cassian uniform (Butch Ocean is not a want, it's a need)

Anyway this is all I can remember right now, I'm sure there's more I could add. Thanks for the ask :D

[whentherewerebicycles]

nothing gives you insight into what parenting styles produce what types of kids like college essay coaching!! I feel like within 30 min of talking to a kid you can tell exactly what their parents chose to value/center in raising them… and you can also tell whether they’re going to have a rocky or reasonably smooth transition to adulthood as a result. if you were wondering the kids who are happiest and most secure in themselves tend to have parents who:

are warmly interested in their kid’s interests and engaged in their lives but give them LOTS of space/autonomy to explore those interests on their own and are in no hurry to rush in to “fix” things for their kid

communicate respect for their child and trust in their child’s ability to make good decisions and handle their own shit responsibly. it’s kinda wild how much pride kids take in their parents trusting them!! maybe you the parent don’t always get to see that (I assume that even teenagers who have good relationships with their parents are still teenagers lol) but as an outside person working with your kid, it is so so obvious that kids know when their parents trust them and derive a lot of self-esteem from being worthy of that trust. it is also painfully obvious when the parent can’t let go or trust their kid, so the kid internalizes a strong sense of “they expect me to fail/fuck up and they are just waiting for it to happen.”

encourage kids to try lots of different things and to derive fulfillment from the experience of doing things instead of external awards

treat and speak about others with empathy and respect. the kindest kids are the most secure kids and the most secure kids are the kindest. let your kids see you consistently interact lovingly and generously with others!! if they hear you constantly critiquing, tearing down, nitpicking, complaining, etc they seem to internalize an uneasy, insecure sense that this is how others must perceive them and they become soooo much more closed-off, guarded, risk-averse, unsure of themselves, and vulnerable to shaming or being shamed

set high standards for their kids in terms of doing well in school and committing to their activities, but make it very clear that these things are not a “means to an end” (get good grades to get into a good college) but are about learning how to work hard, persevere through difficulties, honor the commitments you’ve made to others, and develop a strong, grounded sense of self-esteem. honestly the kindest thing you can do for your teenager is to make it super clear that it does not matter where they go to college because you are so warmly confident in their ability to thrive wherever they end up

model having warm, loving relationships as an adult with friends and extended family. just in general the happiest kids are the kids who are surrounded by people who love them, listen to them, and are invested in their well-being!! the kids who, when you ask them to tell you about their closest relationships, spontaneously talk about people who aren’t just their immediate family but also their aunts and uncles, grandparents, family friends, beloved teachers or coaches, etc

[ersetu-gazette]

Celestial Warlock Zorian

My mind keeps on wandering to an idea of an au I had, not sure if this would be during specifically the time loop in MoL, or other time loops, but I love the idea of Zorian being recruited (read: extorted) by the angels to forever be an assistant to the time loops. A template is permanently created for the Sovereign gate that is created at the beginning of each loop. This is to give the main controller a friend across all loops, an advisor, and a resource to do the ethically ambiguous things that they can't do due to the contract. I'm not exactly sure how it would out, but I just really like the idea of a Zorian after being a loop copy escaping to the real world instead of circumventing punishment is forced into service by the angels, and this cynical, curious, and otherwise normal boy is forced to be the angel's lapdog. Basically a dynamic not too dissimilar from Celestial warlocks in d&d but the patrons are much more involved and controlling. In each loop Zorian is created whole cloth, with the angels visiting the real world before hand to set up ways for him to integrate into society like they prepared the Sulrothum in the book. He primarily spends a few loops getting used to the cover story and the new culture & time period he finds himself in and then approaches the main controller once they've properly adjusted to the loop. he's been giving orders to help them with everything but he has his own spite, reservations, and rebellions to this, exercising his free will whenever possible.

Zorian and the new controller getting closer together is never a question of if but how long, since they're the only two that will never lose awareness of the loops. It also is a point of tension if the controller empathizes with Zorian's permanent servitude or not. No matter what the controller will hide some of the joy and gratitude they have they'll have a permanent friend (Zorian's empathy powers make the attempts to hide useless) A couple of thoughts on how this could work: 1) Zorian is recruited after the events of Mother of Learning and is forced to be the advisor/guide/confidant of the next controller, but somehow the time loop is fucked up even more and he and the new protagonist have to scramble to fix/ survive this mess. This is with a new cast of characters in the future focusing on how the world modernizes and changes to cultural norms. 2) Zorian actually was recruited and existed before the events of MoL and inverses the dynamic of Zach and Zorian, where Zorian is the more experience time traveler of the two. Zach almost definitely harbors a puppy crush at the cool nerdy archmage in his corner and Zorian appreciates a controller that is more on his side than others. Zorian is initially suspicious of Jornak and Zach dissmisses it as jealousy. When Zorian thwarts Jornak's scheme Zach embarrassingly sits through an "I told you so lecture" (and maybe the two talk about why Zach assumed jealousy was the key motivator from Zorian). 3) Zorian's service is timeless and he's forced to be there for all loops, even in the ancient past. He has to be the assistant to Shutur-Tanara as a young person, and deals with the crisis of being there for so much ancient history. (Also in this version Shutur-Tanara is a trans woman. No reason specifically why but I think it'd be great if Zorian's main concern is trying to stop imperialism and colonization and his modern cultural norms meanwhile Shutur-Tanara's main thought's are "man I wish I was born a woman." Eventually when Zorian is educating her on modern concepts he mentions trans people and that catches Shutur's attention. ST: "Wait, that's a thing? What magic is needed to change my body?" ZK: "I will cover that later once you agree that conquering continents and colonizing other cultures are bad." ST: ". . . make me a woman and I'll try to listen with a more open mind.") Zorian also meets some of the eleven immortals and a young Quatch-Ichl who he ends up taking a partially mentor/parental role within the time loop. Idk, there's a lot in this idea that I'm really interested in and would be curious to hear everyone else's thoughts.

[mytalemyworld]

A little ranting and some of my thoughts about Yabani Episode 31...

Since finally I have time, I'm going to get some things off my chest. It'll be a long post, so here we go.

After having seen the writing of episode 28, I said to myself I shouldn't expect anything from this show, especially with the rating pressure it wouldn't get any better. Because the writers show they aren't competent enough to deal with that. I also said as long as it didn't affect my couple, I could ignore the rest and skip the other parts.

However I learned my lesson, if the show is going downhill, probably your couple is not safe either.

In some parts of ep 31 I rolled my eyes, in some parts I didn't understand the motives of some characters. They were trying so hard but it was neither logical nor touching. Especially some lines and some scenes didn't make any sense.

A conflict was needed between Alaz and Yaman, I can see that and of course it would be delicious if it was written well. So no problem for me. But what's this nonsense, excuse me? Serhan may be cruel, evil and a bastard, (and that's why Alaz still doesn't talk to him or expect anything from him and he's okay with going like this) however wanting your father out of your life is one thing, being okay with him dying is another thing.

Alaz: He's my dad, unfortunately and I can't change that, Mom. But is this what he should get in return? Did he deserve this? What are we supposed to do? Should we be happy? What do you want to hear from us?

I mean, if we're talking about the worst traumas, then Elif should get her punishment too, because the girl literally tortured Yaman & Asi and Alaz even though it was for "the greater good".

And these people who went to the hospital to be by their side, to give them comfort and support acted like Soysalan siblings shouldn't get angry because their father was a bad person. Then Yaman got involed in their argument and asked Alaz what his problem was.

I mean, what? How did all of these make sense? This was just plain stupid.

Poor girl found herself in the middle of their conflict.

I knew he wouldn't listen to reason. Not even Asi could calm him down, I was expecting this and wrote it before. He already fought his mom and his brother so when he came to the worst conclusion I didn't think it was out of character.

Alaz: So you're on his (Yaman's) side.

I could have understood this as well. Because even back then, while they were waiting for any good news about Çağla, Asi's first instinct was to prevent him from blaming himself although he was a bad brother to his twin sister. So I guessed he waited to see an unconditional support again, like her getting angry like himself and stopping the other people, not the other way around.

She actually wasn't on Yaman's side but he misunderstood her words.

So, yeah, even though he was acting irrational, I could understand that.

However this…was truly unacceptable.

I think there's a line that shouldn't be crossed while trying to prove you're right about something, especially the other party is someone you deeply care about.

To me, no matter how much angry he was, he would never say that line. Especially after Zafer plot. This guy was ready to die and kill for her, cared about her traumas and pain. You may say he was also behaving like this towards his twin at the beginning of the series, so he can do anything but I beg to differ. First of all I hated him for that matter as well and that happened at the beginning, a very long time ago. He's been through a lot. If he continues acting like he has no empathy, why are we watching this show?

And I know Asi didn't have bad intentions but in order to make him to say those words, they wrote illogical lines for her too.

So why did they write it anyway? Maybe it was for this scene to happen:

To show that she is compassionate and loves him so much despite how much he's fucked up.

Was it worth it? No. Because we already know that.

I think the director couldn't get rid of that line because of the messaging scene, however he could have shown Alaz regretted it later. But he did not.

So some directing and writing choices were really unnecessesary and disappointing.

You can especially tell this is true because after the hospital scene, Yaman said to Alaz how he wished he could have changed everything. I mean, from the beginning he could have seen what Alaz needed but no, he waited for an hour because the show should last 120 minutes.

What did the show benefit from this? Nothing. I mean, if it happened after he had learnt the truth, we could have said he did it because he tried to make her break up with him. But they didn't choose that way.

There were many good scenes but the rooftop scene literally killed my desire to talk about them.

Like this is probably one of my favorite scenes in the whole series.

Alaz: I hate being your son. You're like a nightmare. One can't get rid of you. No matter what I do, you somehow ruin my life again. I'm tired of listening you, your making up excuses, blaming others. I went crazy thinking that something would happen to you today. I forgot all of your crap. I said he was my father no matter what. I forgot everything you did. Don't worry, I will keep silent, I will stomach it again, because I have to. I have to because of your health state, because of your daughter who is scared that something may happen to you, because of Ece. I have to because I have no choice. But you know what the most painful thing is? I will never be able to look at Yaman's face again. I know you won't like hearing this but I really loved being Yaman's brother. But as usual you forcefully took away another thing I love from me. How can I look at my mom's face now? How can I look at Asi's face now? Serhan: If you keep talking like this to me, it will be my face you can never look at. Son- Alaz: Son…Yes, I am your son. This is what's the worst. I am the devil's son. This is my curse. You took away my last hope that I could be a good person. Endless thanks to you.

And this was good too.

Because you can literally pinpoint the moment he started dying inside. For the first time he wanted her to let him go and she said she couldn't do that.

He was always the one who couldn't let her go but this time she said his trademark lines. *fml*

The whole scene was written just like how I imagined. This was not ooc either. But it could have been more impactful if the rooftop scene hadn't happened.

I don't have any expectations right now, if they give me more beautiful scenes that make it look like they were in a delirious state while writing that scene I can try to forget it. However the first 30 episodes will always have a different place in my heart.

[there-must-be-a-lock]

@stunudo sent me an ask a week or two ago challenging me to share my five favorite lines that I’ve ever written, so here goes!

To be fair, a lot of these are missing something without context; most of my favorite lines are the ones that call back to other moments in the fic and tie together imagery. BUT. Here.

From A Muscle the Size of Your Fist — this is a theme that runs through the whole story, and there are places where I think I captured parts of it more elegantly, but this is where it’s said most concisely:

“Punk has always been about the outcasts, the queer kids and the misfits and the marginalized, the black sheep… everybody who feels like they’re alone. Everybody who feels powerless.” Steve’s voice rings out, fills the space like a living presence, and Bucky gets chills when he continues: “But you’re not alone, and you never were. Look around you. Next time you feel like you’re alone, next time you feel like giving up, I want you to listen to this song and remember that there are people out there who are willing to fight for you. We’ll fight for you until you’re strong enough to stand up and join in. We’ll love you until you learn how to love yourself.”

From If It’s A Highway:

Jesus always seems so damn tired, up there on his cross, with his arms spread wide as if to welcome death, and maybe Bucky can relate. If he could just sleep for three days — doesn’t sound so bad, when he thinks about it like that. Three days isn’t that long.

He wonders whether Jesus knew what was coming. Whether he was surprised to find himself alive again. Whether he woke alone in the dark and screamed until his lungs gave out, or broke his knuckles beating his fists against the stone.

Also from Highway:

Bucky used to have an empty, sterile cage in his chest and an endless stygian labyrinth of caves in his skull, and as long as he didn’t look too close, he could ignore the buried remains of past lives under his skin. The darkness didn’t bother him until the walls started to crumble and let in the light.

Every tiny human act has been a hairline crack in his icy shell. Every moment of empathy and desire, gentle touch and sharp lust, coffee and cigarettes and food and sex; pebbles dropped in wells and flashlights shone down mineshafts, tremors that shook the foundations, coffin lids splintering. Miniscule fissures, microscopic landslides.

Just for the sake of switching up the vibe, here’s The One With The Pottery Barn Couch — probably the funniest fic I’ve ever written, and there were other lines I could’ve picked out, too, but I’m a big fan of this one:

When Dick wakes up, he’s being carried. He’s being cradled to a really absurdly muscled chest that’s covered in leather and smells like explosions, and carried in one goddamn arm, like Paris Hilton would carry her fucking chihuahua.

…

Maybe it’d be nice to be a rich lady’s spoiled chihuahua, Dick thinks, and then, holy painkillers, Batman, and then he is out for the count.

It was ridiculously difficult to choose this last one, not gonna lie. I re read this fic the other day and I really love this — it does tie into the rest (and, like, into canon) so YMMV, but. From Lost My Fear of Falling:

It took them both years to get here, to learn to let themselves be loved without doubting it, without looking down waiting for the self-fulfilling prophecy of an inevitable stumble. It was worth the work. There’s no doubt in his mind. But he misses the days when he never thought twice about all the open space under that tightrope.

Dick lets the tears come. Lets himself mourn the kid who thought love was as easy as gravity, and who’d never had any reason to be afraid of falling.

Tagging — @kangofu-cb @drgrlfriend @bittercape @sammialex @oliocelottafanfics you WILL compliment yourselves dammit! 🖤

[emeraldmew]

Hey, sis.

#also someone remind me to make my Cosmic Horror Toddler theory into something coherent

Whenever you have the time.

Okay. So bear in mind we're only like seven episodes in and I have no evidence and really no thought behind this beyond "would that be fucked up or what?" and "ooh I'd love to see what an eldritch abomination growing up is like."

There are also like, all of the spoilers for the original TMA below so like, if you're just listening to Protocol you might want to skip the rest of this post.

Tenuously connected point 1.

One of the things from what Jonny and Alex have said about Protocol is that it's supposed to involve exploring "what makes a person" right? And we also already know Jonny's answer to this question from his, uh, cannibalism discussion.

Short version: a "person" understands their actions as something that actually does things to the world around them beyond simply fulfilling a want like hunger/capable of choosing to do evil.

Tenuously connected point 2.

In the Archives universe, a point is made that the Fears "don't think. Not like we do." They work off instinct.

Tenuously connected point 3.

While I never looked into the ARG before Protocol's release I have since looked into the summaries of what it revealed. Among other things the ARG revealed Magnus Institute of Protocol was studying children via... psychological experiments of dubious morality. Aside from this being why Sam is snooping into the Magnus Institute (for those who haven't looked into the ARG yet, his name is among the children researched) the experiments are pretty much looking into how children at various stages of development display empathy and whether they conform to orders or choose not to and stuff like that (I'm sure I am not wording this part right someone with a better background in psychology can probably expand further).

Anyway, my point is the idea of choices and such is being studied in relation to psychological development in children.

Tenuously connected point 4.

The way the cases so far have played out in Protocol does seem to show a difference compared to Archives.

Smirke's original categories don't seem to fit quite right anymore as each of the cases seem to have stuff that doesn't cram into the original boxes. As the blurry categories were already a major point in TMA regarding creating the Eyepocalypse and even Sam calls out the categorization the OIAR use in the first episode this isn't surprising. But it does suggest that the Fears have changed from what they were before.

Quite a few people have also suggested that in the cases we've seen sometimes the incidents seem to fulfill a desire (in a monkey's paw way, of course) rather than simply finding a random victim. This might suggest the presence of intent rather than only instinct.

So what?

I'll admit it's just sort of my own "ooh wouldn't that be messed up? let's explore that further" thought process doing the talking here, but The Thing that was Fear has existed since things could feel afraid. It's ancient. But it's also a cosmic horror entity that has been shown to grow from it's initial state to what we saw in Archives (see ep 200).

It's something on a cosmic level. Maybe it wasn't done growing. The Fears don't think "like we do"...

but neither do babies.

What if by Protocol the Fears have developed more after leaving their cradle? To a point where they can at least begin to think or choose.

What if the Fears are eldritch toddlers and they're learning how to play?

[rebouks]

Having read/reread Somnium this past week/two-ish... I have some theories about Wyatt.

Every character we create has a bit of us, our experiences, and our biases. On that same note, I think every persona Wyatt has projected contained a bit of truth, but also a fair bit of fabrication. Of all the characters in Somnium, I think he had the worst childhood. It's really a miracle he's alive and not completely batshit crazy. And it's understandable why he learned to shut down emotions from a tiny age.

But Wyatt is AND isn't who we've seen. That nerdy, awkward doofus Courtney got to know, there a bit of truth there. But he exaggerated it for her. The absolute psycho that everyone shied away from... There's a bit of truth there, but I think also a fair amount of embellishment. If you're gonna be surrounded by homicidal thugs, then by all means, be the craziest one in the room. The one person that everyone is wary of. When he had his years alone in Mt. Komo (aka his purgatory), it was the first time his survival didn't depend on acting FOR someone else. He could just BE.

Wyatt says he isn't wired right and that he's emotionally faulty. But is he really as bad off as he thinks or is that what he's always been told? Obviously empathy is not his strong suit, but we've seen him: jealous/envious (others' relationships), selfless (letting Darien & Brynn go), appreciative (Oscar's help), petrified (to the point of throwing up), kind (to Ichiro, Mayo, and Brynn), and managed to (while sweating) mumble an ILY. All of which are normal emotions. He tried to make amends where he could. He adopted a cat ffs. A street cat that now has the poshest looking cat bed I've seen lol And the last time he choked someone was out of passion and (somewhat righteous) anger, not emotionless calculation.

I think who Wyatt was (and thought he was) is fading away, however damaged his past left him. I don't think he'll ever be a soft guy/touch to the world at large. Only a select few will be privy to that side if him. But I think his true nature is finally being revealed. Or am I reading him wrong? Enlighten me, Becca!

Ohhh you've read him remarkably well indeed! I truly love Wyatt's character, he's so complex and he really did have a nasty childhood.. on the surface I'm sure it looked like he had everything he ever wanted, but that's faaar from the truth.

I think he's only just realised that he's not actually a psychopath at all, he just kinda learnt how to be one as a coping mechanism when he was very young, so young that it almost seemed like reality in the end, even to other people! (There's a reason it seemed so genuine ⚆_⚆) I suppose in a way he lied to himself for so long it became reality. Ask Bruno.. he's still convinced he's a psycho! 😅

I rlly think smth shifted the moment he became suspicious of Oscar tho, and whilst at first he was intent on protecting the "family" and doing the "right" thing, the more he thought about it, the more he realised how done he was. No one listened to him, no one respected him, but he knew he was right! It was like he realised he'd never progressed from being a small child, pushed out of the way and ignored, even when they're begging to tell you something important! Arturo wasn't interested, so instead.. he had to pay. Wyatt didn't want to be loyal to him anymore! At the time, he didn't help Oscar n' co. just to do the right thing, he wanted to fuck his father over more than anything, so.. still pretty self-serving in a way but he's had a loooot of time to think since then and it's been so intriguing watching the slow shift in his mindset.

He's everything he's ever been, pretended to be and everything he never was, all bundled up into a ball that he buried deep inside; only when he was free did it all start to unravel.

I adore the examples of humanity you've picked up on tho, all those tiny hints we got that maybe he's not completely devoid of emotion after all... He's still Wyatt, but he's also Kaito too.. he's intelligent, he CAN be kind - to the right people, tho he definitely struggles with empathy - he's jealous, possessive, ambitious, confident, not confident at all 😆 he doesn't know, actually.. maybe we should check back in on him in a little while lmao

Hurray for the truly grey man!

Also.. I kinda started putting together a lil timeline of posts/moments that I thought were pivotal to his slow lil journey but this is long af as is so I'll work on that and post it separately 👀

[khihi]

In regards to the messiness of yesterday;

First and foremost, it's one thing to have a different perspective on an event, but it's another entirely to send hate messeges when you do not comprehend the other perspective. Anyone who did should be embarassed and ashamed of themselves. Also, anyone who directly messeged Bojan any vitirol should also be embarassed and ashamed of themselves too.

That being said, please realise that no one has been saying that Bojan wasn't right in what he was saying. It's so good of him to care and he is absolutely correct; queuing has gotten ridiculous during this tour and it needs to calm down. The issue was that his timing was poor and caused chaos in the morning that set the panicked tone for the rest of the day and made fun and friendly queue practices practically redundant. Please understand that you can critique how someone handled a situation clumsily - however kind-hearted their intentions were - and still love and respect them.

Again, this is not saying the issue of queuing getting out of hand shouldn't be brought up. It should. It's good it's now been brought up. It's just a shame it happened the way it did.

I only hope Bojan, unlike some fans, didn't recieve too many hateful messeges and that he's already moving on. He seemed in a good mood before, at, and after the gig (they all did), which was wonderful and a relief to see. The show was fantastic; everything going wrong was so funny and the boys took it in their stride beautifully.

I also haven't seen anyone mention the fact that the venue is absolutely to blame for aggravating the queuing chaos and I really think it needs to be said; handing out wristbands - especially a limited number of writstbands - as early as 9am pushes back regular queue arrival time by HOURS and clearly makes people panic. Wristbands have caused such a mess and I hope other venues don't start thinking this is in any way a good idea.

I just hope this gig can be a learning experience and everyone chills the fuck out from now on. Please no more queuing the day before. And endangering other people by pushing and shoving is fucked up to say the least. It's not the end of the world if you're not barricade.

If anyone wants to talk further about anything, maybe consider discussing it in DMs - politely, like adults - and not hatefully on anon. The whole two-queue problem was solved yesterday because people discussed it respectfully with each other and listened to each other's perspective with a little empathy. Maybe let's have a little of that energy here too.

Speaking of which, in spite of how messy it all was there were still so many lovely people that I'm glad I met - it was so nice meeting more mutuals at this gig too, I'm glad you guys got to enjoy yourselves at the show and I hope you're all able to relax and unwind today! Look after yourselves <3

[little-elf-wanders]

I'm also just going to preface that I rant about Solas a lot and I'm highly critical of him because he's apparently a character with a lot of power in how the rest of Thedas will survive or die. This doesn't mean I can't accept being wrong if I am, if he has a genuinely good plan he hasn't bothered to explain to anyone yet, I'll listen but so far... I'm not collecting breadcrumbs and calling it a cake.

I don't mean any of my posts to attack what you love, if you're a Solas lover/apologist, that's completely fine with me, I actually read and enjoy some of your takes about him. And you're all wildly talented. His character just rubs me the wrong way enough times that I just can't justify things away. That doesn't mean I entirely hate him. There are things I do enjoy about him, and that any character can illicit strong emotion in people isn't a bad thing to have. I'm truly hoping there's some secret I'm not in on, but I'm not hinging it all on being attracted to him, either. (I'm ace as fuck, which might be why I haven't been swept up in loving him. Because I know some - please read not all, majority of you have been very understanding -will defend him to the death simply because they love the romance. Or maybe they're hopeful and trying to find evidence to back it up. I just don't view him through rose tinted glasses and there's issues, he's a flawed character - none of this is a bad thing, it creates narrative, it's just the approach some fans take to it can be exhausting, on both sides.)

If it's been a big misunderstanding of Solas in general in Veilguard, I'll also be willing to accept that provided they give us more than 'trust me'. But as of now he's still a dick that isn't one all the time. And if he's an actual god, that explains why he's a dick. Though I believe it was said they weren't gods, their powers just came close. Which just means he's a very strong magister and thus, still a dick. A slightly less dicky version of the others but. STILL. There is substantial amounts to be critical about. And I will be.

This is just a PSA to say if you don't like me ranting about him, I'll make sure to have solas critical in the tags so you can blacklist it if seeing criticism of him upsets you, he's fictional at the end of the day so my rants don't mean I want to tear away your joy, just vent my own grievances in my own space. My intention isn't to upset anyone who loves his character. I have empathy for his character, it just... y'know. There's parts I wish could have been handled differently. Especially how we spoke to him because it was all, in my opinion, just ego stroking him. Which just isn't compelling to me nor what romance should be. (Though he was a late add to the romance roster so some things can't be helped.)

I know how serious people take this, which is the only reason I'm saying this now, and I'm only making this post just to make sure people understand criticism isn't hate or shitting on what you love - at least it's not intentional on my end. Because I have seen some feel like it's a personal attack. I'm saying it isn't for this blog. Love him to your hearts content, you could be right in the end. But you could also be wrong. My take is, regardless of what side you're on, you still cared enough to put in energy which isn't a wasted game or character, and it's enjoyable to see all the passion. But please also understand that being critical doesn't = scum of the earth wanting to kill your enthusiasm. And the fandom sometimes need to learn how to separate certain feelings when discussing subjects. I won't judge you for loving Solas or any other romance or character. But I will have my views of said fictional characters.

I'll make an active effort to be aware of how the criticism comes out. (This is just in case I have unintentionally upset anyone who's peeked in and thought I'm the worst because of it.) Fandom culture is just scary and my anxiety has been acting up because I know how loved of a character he is. Maybe this is a dumb post to make but. Can't be too careful. But also if you do want to discuss things, I'm always open to chat about it!

[tottis]

Blackbeard and The gentle(?) Beast.

One of my favorite disney princess movies is beauty and beast, only second to the princess and the frog (I ADORE princess and the frog you don't understand) and since we all collectively agree that Edward Teach has the most Disney Princess Doe Eyes in the media right now i just couldn't stop thinking about an ofmd disney princess AU and it happens that i was JUST listening to the abc b&tb musical thing SO. Yeah.

I like to think that Ed is Belle, I feel that some parallels just fit.

He's isolated from his peers, trapped in an image that isn't feeling like him anymore, probably never has. Daydreaming about something else, somewhere else, being someone else. Just. Living differently from this. From Blackbeard.

And he's hot as FUCK.

The major difference between Ed and Belle is that, in this really loose comparison, Belle craves adventure, she wants to see the world and experiment it but Ed already has. He has had all the adventures, all the treasures, seen so much of the world that the funny magic has already dissipated. I mean, of course he can still enjoy some of it, but he's not that young and naive to see the world with rose tinted glasses.

What Ed is craving is a life of softness, of leisure, of luxury and soft love and warmth and everything else that he has been deprived of because of his status, his skin, his gender and preferences.

I imagine that our Belle and our Beast get to understand each other in a more deep way with these roles. Both of them feel monsters, and both of them see the other as a Beauty.

Stede being The Beast is a little more combobulated, I'm afraid. I mean, yeah, he sees himself like a monster, or at least like something less than human. He has been abused because of his soft manners and soft preferences, soft self all his life. He has been too, like our Belle, depraved from being himself, but as the flower flowering from the asphalt, he has in some degrees, resisted. Learn to thrive in the harsh world of toxic masculinity, homophobia, i dare to say misogyny and from being fucking rich and white or whatever (check ur privileges stede ! lmao love u tho <3)

And he IS a flawed man, he has made mistakes, hurt people, being absent and negligent as some sort of copy mechanism from all of this. I feel empathy for him, of course i do, but we can't deny his damage. And he becomes The Beast because of that damage.

I like to think that he encounters The Witch while he is running away from his family. Seeking adventures like og Belle, and maybe because he wanted some pretty thing for himself in some Village, not thinking about the well-being of his crew first, The Witch sees that selfishness in him. He has to learn to really care about people. He cares on a superficial level, yes, but he can't really see beyond his privileges. He can't comprehend how a lot of his crew can't read. How important are the oranges for their health. He tries in his own way to care about them but, sadly, is not enough. Not for The Witch at least. Now, he's the reflection of what he sees in himself. He's a horrible beast that scares the humans away. He is trapped in a castle of pretty things he cannot enjoy. That hardly can be understood because of the grunts and the roars of his voice. He's too big for his pretty clothes and his hands too sharp to not shred everything in sad rags. To not defile beautiful things. He can't eat anything but raw meat. The Castle is maintaining all of them alive, especially Stede. He can't live, he can't die... He just... can't. He is trapped in his own guilt and trauma for eternity. That is his punishment. A one a little too harsh, imo but The Witch is probably the third badminton sister or something.

Ed being trapped (kidnapped) in the castle is not it, so we replaced it with Ed wanting time to himself away from Izzy (Gaston) and the other crew, maybe galloping with Fang (Maurice aka Belle's dad...?) and finding themselves in a fucking snowstorm. Looking for a place to survive the cold, they found a relatively small castle that seemed in good enough conditions. They enter, meet Lucius (Lumiere), Pete (some sort of Babette), Oluwande (Din Don / Mrs potts) and Jim (?) first. They got scared, obviously, so, they flee the fuck away, damn the storm. But oh, The Beast is slamming open the door. A Blood Covered Monster with fangs and claws, tall as 2.5 meters at least. It's grunting. "Don't. Run. Can't. Go. Out." that to Fang and Ed sounds like they're trapped and fucked, and to Beast Stede that the floor is covered in animal blood and melting snow and the climate is terrible so they're gonna get hurt. Fangs gets to escape thanks to Ed fighting with the Beast, Stede gets hurt because he isn't even defending himself, and because the curse is unpredictable, the crew lock Ed in a room and let Stede heal.

The curse being resolved with a Rose and True Love is cool and all but i prefer that the curse is influenced by Stede self image and relationships, and finished with Crew respect and Ed's love, the more he feels better with himself and the people around him, the more human he gets to be. At some point, he gets to fluidly talk, gets to walk in two legs permanently, gets to have less sharp claws, The Castle and the people cursed in it get to slowy get more human too until they really think that they're finally get free BUT. Fangs gets to izzy, he's so confused and can't remember too well why was escaping, where was Ed? Fuzzy memories, oh damn fuzzy memories... YES, The Castle affects the people out of its radio. If Ed gets to go... he forgets about Stede? Does Stede let Ed go knowing that he would not remember them? ... ohhhhh how is this gonna end??? Idk I'm just babbling out my ideas to everyone to take and properly write down. I'm not an English native speaker so, sorry for the grammatical horror that I just write lolz !

[ext1nctanimals]

(Hope this isn't annoying im running on 3h sleep) no but, i genuinely think one of white students' BIG issues today is the inability to NOT know things. I think it's a big reason for use of AI too- white students end up so petrified of not "getting it" that they close themselves off from any possible academic/literary/etc thing that could possibly challenge them.

And it's fucking disastrous! Bc the student who cannot dare to read a book with more than dialogue and platitudes, who cannot stomach being outside their Colleen Hoover wankfest for more than a second at a time- these people graduate into roles requiring empathy that they have CHOSEN not to learn.

And yes, I know that empathy is not the same as being a good or compassionate person. But the knowledge that the person going into politics/medicine could not manage reading about a perspective other than their own for a single week? It is literally dire.

(Sorry I hope this wasn't annoying. I have thoughts about cultural literacy)

NOOOOOO YOURE SO RIGHT i think that we have killed curiosity in many ways. it’s so important to be like well i don’t know shit about this but i want to. and i think a lot of it is being disrupted by this white fantasy of total innocence and cleanliness where they’re like i can’t get canceled for interacting with Black writers wrong if i never do it! and it’s like. oh my god. take an intellectual risk and try really hard not to hurt other people on purpose.

it particularlyyyyyy pisses me off with baldwin because yes he is Black yes he wrote largely about Blackness but he is so often writing to/for white people. he addresses them directly!!! he starts sentences like “white man, listen to me:” and some of my co-teachers will be like “my white students dont get it so i took it off the syllabus.” WELL TRY HARDER? you’re teaching it badly if your students cannot read an essay directly addressed to people like them and get anything out of it. but i think these teachers are also white and cannot figure out how to approach with curiosity and think they must know everything because they are teachers doling out knowledge to students.

i am here maybe having read more Baldwin than the average suburban 18 year old has (and i was once a suburban 18 year old encountering him for the first time!) but i don’t know everything; i haven’t thought of every way to read him; i haven’t even read everything he’s written. a student encountering him for the first time has something to say. you need to create a classroom where they know this

though there’s also a lot of stem students who believe that they don’t need to cultivate empathy in this way because it won’t make them more employable or help them get into med school. well yeah i guess. but maybe taking a humanities class will keep you from becoming a fucking weapons contractor. idk girl. what the hell

i saw this as a k-12 educator and i see it at the college level now but also the covid learning curve is having horrific consequences for students. and i know it’s not their fault but we are being told (by school districts and by university admin) to lower our expectations of these kids and expect no intellectual rigor and ask for nothing from them. i don’t believe in college being miserable for kicks or anything but i think that 18 year olds are capable of doing hard things, and college is the place to practice that and fall on your face and get up so that you aren’t figuring out how to do it at a job that can fire you. and also where your refusal to touch anything complicated means you will do actual harm. you don’t need to be an intellectual i guess but then don’t come to college if you think learning and being challenged to learn more is stupid lol

idk. i think in many ways i disagree with the tiktok crowd about what the point of reading is. i think you should read to learn Something. and sometimes you read to learn a story and that’s okay! sorry i wrote a five paragraph essay about this lol but the idea that reading should be all pleasure and never challenging kind of makes me wanna kms

[sanguinechaos]

cant believe i was so fucking delusional about Flamebringer and Enforcer interacting in some way that it came into existence

actually can we talk about that

listen i already Hortus de Escapismo would be a treat because its a Laterano related event and it involves my wife. actually he got an alter even i knew it i KNEW IT I WAS AN EXALTER TRUTHER AS SOON AS I SAW THAT BOUJEE WINCHESTER 1887 MY FUCKING WIFE IS HOME MY WIFE

and then they dropped the operator records for the Notarial Hall trio and for anyone who has not read those yet tl;dr from somewhat dubiously google translated chinese text:

in Insiders oprecs theres almost an all out brawl over a family heirloom donut recipe. its so funny to me that we all made fun of him cause his halo looked like a donut and he really is Donut Man™

actually his personal donut recipe is so sweet and greasy that the doctor nearly chokes to death on it. im pretty sure if you eat it you can physically feel your arteries popping shut

apparently he likes sweets so much because when they picked him off the streets in some small town bordering siracusa and brought him to laterano they gave him some candy and it just left such an impact on him

do all of you have dead parents is that like a requirement

he has donut pajamas

Executor oprec is kinda cute honestly. this guy is autistic. he has joined the war on autism on the side of the autism. anyway what we learned is that apparently his lack of empathy (as in the sanktas 6th sense) is something hes had from birth and not in fact due to his job as an executor

and also he has always had a black halo and wings. according to the manhua they also dropped his entire extended family has black halo/wings it has absolutely fuck all to do with him being willing to kill sankta if his job necessitates it its just genetic

he doesnt actually have that much of a problem recognizing what people are feeling, its more that he has trouble piecing together cause and effect or what those emotions mean to people. and his parents (before their tragic demise) taught him to like draw shapes on paper matching different emotions to parse it? cute

anyway the other executor that was on a mission with him when he was still a rookie bites the dust and Executor takes it so so so seriously and fucking tries to eat 100 scoops of ice cream because his senpai made a joke and he was just like "okay so that can count as a last will and testament i guess" like babe. babe. he applied for executive gelato funding

and they leave us hanging but i genuinely wonder how many he managed to eat before he probably vomited and couldnt see gelato for the next 3 months

Federico Giallo? no. Federico Gelato

also hes only around ~25 as of Exalter

Enforcer goes around asking various sarkaz about Kazdel cause obviously hes intending to go look for Cecelias dad with her

actual live reaction as soon as i saw 炎客 BEYONCE?! FLAMEBRINGER?!

Flamebringer is a wanted criminal the Notarial Hall has his mugshot on the office notice board (which tells me that there is NO WAY that Executor doesnt KNOW him or about him please i am so delulu rn Lowlight i fucking beg you let them interact kiss. violently suck face, even. "Dino wasnt this a 炎见 post?" if you were paying attention to my Twitter youd know i really like 葬炎见 in that exact order but ill take any combination of just two of them) and also he absolutely does not give a shit he just keeps watering the plants while Enfocer talks at him

Enforcer gets slammed against a wall and maybe choked a little unbelievable and Flamebringer is like "go bug someone else, blood is not for watering flowers" like oof ouch the edge on this guy

Mudmud helps Enfocer in the end tho :)

also he might be like 19 while my conservative estimate was at least 25 i THOUGHT the Notarial staff had law degrees now i get why everyone in Guide Ahead was like "waow, so young :o and already an executor!"

[paperstorm]

Hello! I love following your stories and your posts. You always have such an interesting take on things!

I have a question that maybe controversial (that's why I'm on anon), so feel free to ignore this if you don't feel upto it.

I'm a cis, straight woman of relative economic privilege in a very traditional, conservative country. Which is to say, all of my interactions with and information about the LGBTQ+ community are from the internet. This sometimes is an issue because I end up learning the wrong things, where I think I'm being an ally but I'm just thinking things that are problematic in different ways.

I write a bit of fanfiction for other fandoms and I really enjoy watching 9-1-1LS. I have story ideas for Tarlos, but I'm not sure about the ethics of someone like me writing about a queer couple. Is it okay for me to do that? Or is it more respectful to just read and listen and learn? In case it's fine to write it, never having actually witnessed a queer couple's relationship, how do I write realistically without perpetuating problematic tropes that I've seen in Hollywood/TV/other fics?

(This might get long, I’m sorry followers, one day I’ll learn to shut up but not today and not about this)

I want to start by saying that ‘own voices’ started out as a good thing. It started with the purpose of allowing marginalized communities the space to tell their own stories, rather than prioritizing a white man pretending he knows what racism feels like when he doesn’t. It had really good intentions, and it’s still important to amplify the voices of people who are speaking from direct experience.

But because social media spaces are literally never capable of nuance, it pretty quickly turned into ‘you aren’t allowed to write or talk about things that you don’t have direct experience with’ and this is where it became a really harmful mentality. It has led to things like celebrities being forcibly outed (off the top of my head – Lee Pace, Kit Connor, Casey McQuiston, and Jameela Jamil, but I’m positive there are others) because the internet mob said ‘you can’t portray/write about queer characters if you aren’t queer! Publicly perform your sexuality for us or ELSE!’. On a much smaller scale, it led to me not including characters of colour in my stories for years, because tumblr and twitter told me I wasn’t allowed to.

These are not positive things. I saw a post once, years ago, that said something like ‘yes it’s important for POC to get to see characters who look like them as the hero of the story, but it’s equally important for people to see characters who don’t look like them as the hero of the story, because that’s how you learn empathy for people who are different than you’ and that has really stuck with me. It was not good that a teenager was forced to come out before he was ready a few months ago because twitter told him he was queerbaiting by just existing and living his life. It was not good that I went years excluding characters of colour from my stories. It was not good that I never tried to get into the headspace of someone like Sam Wilson or Nile Freeman or Yusuf al-Kaysani or Carlos Reyes or Marjan Marwani. We develop intense empathy for people who have vastly different experiences than us when we care about their lives and their stories and their struggles.

I showed this ask to my best friend who is also queer and he made a lot of good points in a series of very passionate texts but among them are these:

I would rather someone be open and wanting to explore a new community, perhaps occasionally stumbling over the wrong thing, but learning rather then sitting on the sideline like some kid outside of a candy store window.

I’m not interested in allies who are silent. Who haven’t put themselves in my shoes. Who don’t adore the parts of our community the way I do. I don’t give a FUCK about people who are just going to sit there and say “it’s not my place to speak/participate.” I want my allies in the thick of it. I want them saying I stand with you, vocally and I’ll only sit when you sit.

Quit making people treat marginalized groups like exclusive clubs. Everyone is welcome in my gay house

I know my family loves me because they are my family and I am of them. I need to know the rest of the world is going to let me in, too. I need to know that some successful author who has absolutely no stake in the game ALSO sees value in a queer voice in their story. I need to know I have a place in the world BEYOND the people who are accepting of me because they are like me.

So. All of this is a very long-winded way of saying please please PLEASE write and love and care about queer characters even if you, yourself are not queer. If you’re worried about getting something wrong or unintentionally writing something that is offensive, ask a queer person if they would be a sensitivity reader for your story before you post it. And be willing to accept the criticism if a person comes to you after and says ‘hey this was offensive’ (while also understanding that one queer person or one POC does not speak for the entire community, and that the concept of offense gets incredibly complicated sometimes). But write it. It is a wonderful, necessary thing when people care about communities that they are not a part of. In the immortal words of Mr. Bernie Sanders, when then question “Are you willing to fight for someone you don’t know?” is asked, the world gets infinitely better when the answer is yes.