#opinion is real rage is not

[ineffablejaymee]

unpopular opinion i hate soulmate tropes they are almost always forced and make relationships shallow

[flexdealer]

I like the ec as much as the next person and I’m so grateful that Nora decided to share any part of her creative process with us but I need some of yall to remember that the extra content is not canon

Nora took it down because (and this is mostly conjecture tbf) as she started to develop the story for the new trilogy, it started to contradict things that were included in the ec (ie in the ec Kevin and Jean don’t speak a single word to each other until spring championships, in canon they have obviously spoken quite a bit). Which is a normal part of the creative process. Things change and grow and develop along the way. The ec is only snippets divorced from context because they don’t take place within the framework of any story. All canon content happens inside the book. No exceptions.

That’s true of any media, not just aftg. What actors or showrunners say at cons is not canon. What writers say in interviews is not canon. What directors say during commentary is not canon. Tweets are not canon. Canon is only the information confined to the original media because that is the only thing to which everyone has guaranteed access.

Saying something can’t be true based on evidence from the ec is misinformed at best and you’re doing yourself a disservice because you are failing to fully interact with the text in front of you. You’re bringing in preconceived notions that aren’t even true anymore, that were never true in the first place, because the extra content has never been, and will never be, canon.

[varpusvaras]

I just really started to think about the Royal throuples Sibling Experiences, and it's just

Breha, an only child, grew up in a free world with a matriarchal society where she was placed as the girl/woman of the place

Bail, has three sisters, also grew up in a free world with a matriarchal society

Fox, has 200k brothers with million more well on the way, grew up in an isolated world where him and everybody else were brought up to be essentially Gym Bros with Extra Baggage ™️

I don't know what this all means. But it means something.

[prince-of-calydon]

torn between wanting more people to know about the thebaid vs fearing how badly every single character would get fandomized. angry smol uwu bean tydeus. tragic rebellious sadgirl antigone. argia and deipyle would be DELETED so tydenices can kiss

[flowersfromunderground]

[blockednddeleted]

aw jeez, i really wanted to like nora but that's changed now

my feelings about her started to shift when i began to realize that she wasn't actually that punk and more using it for attention-seeking

which given what we know about her personal life, it makes sense that her teenage rebellion would take that shape, i can understand how she would have gone that direction. however it was a let down

i'm all about the punk philosophy man

oh, and then the comment about the larger sizes not being included in her fashion line and not something she's even willing to consider for a single second

-100000000000 hearts, i've never had a character flip from adored to dislike on the verge of despise so fast before. it would be kinda impressive if it weren't such a goddamn let down

I THOUGHT WE HAD SOMETHING NORA

[lavendersartistry]

Lore about the non-canon reality? Hell yeah-

Space Riders AU - @onyxonline

In Queen's Rage, Eve adopts a few kiddos. No one really knows how she got them or why but they know she's very protective of them.

Info on the kiddos:

Nikolai (16 y/o)

The first eldest, known to be a Doberman. He takes the role of leader of the child group and personally trains to become to serve for the Prototype. He's third to his mother's throne, Visha being the next heir.

Nikolai has seen the world and visited other planets. He enjoys seeing how the people of Eden still thrive despite all that happened. He pities Bolt for being late to confess to his mother, but knows he can't do much as Eve moved on.

Visha (16 y/o)

The second eldest, known to be a Raven Harpy. She's next in line for the throne and tends to copy her mother's mannerisms to be like her when she rules.

Visha very much hates the council, Space Riders, and Bolt for not trying to free her mother. She blames them for the downfall of Eve's natural benevolent stature and the rise of her might. She favors a few cultists and views them as family but doesn't get too close to them out of fear of being betrayed by them.

Lyra (13 y/o)

The first middle, known to be a Siren. She's one of the children that holds what was left of Eve's benevolence. She sings and dances, throws parties in the name of the Prototype. Although not in line to be queen, she enjoys the freedom of being a princess with no real duties to attend to.

Lyra has mixed feelings about the Space Riders. She knows a certain sunny captain misses their friend and sends her empathy but knows that if he tried harder, Lyra's mother wouldn't become what she is now. She knows that love is more difficult since she's part of the cult, yet it doesn't stop her from being a hopeless romantic.

Calia (11 y/o)

The second middle, known to be a Deer. She's the second child to hold Eve's benevolence. She loves crafting and sewing, making improvements for the cultists and assisting the Prototype when she can. She loves her family and the people close to them.

Calia doesn't interact with the Space Riders, staying away for her own comfort. She also doesn't like Bolt and distances herself from him. She cares a lot for her mother and hates seeing how no one truly stood up to her in the end.

Rodion (7 y/o)

The first youngest, known to be a Tiger. He's rambunctious and loud, having the biggest heart and sweetest blue eyes. He is always playing and amazed by what his older siblings do and tries to help them out but always seems to make a mess in the end.

Rodion isn't allowed in the presence of the Space Riders but he's rebellious and interacts with them anyways. He's always interested in their missions and stories, sometimes drawing to get better visuals. He finds the mystery Space Rider very cool and wants to be like him but his mother has mixed feelings about it.

Mia (6 y/o)

The second youngest, known to be a Angel. The baby of the group, Eve's special daughter. She is known to be mute and takes actions from others seriously, seeing whether she sees someone as a friend or not. She clings to her mother a lot and is very spoiled.

Mia doesn't have a particular opinion about the Space Riders and tends to follow a particular sunny captain wherever he goes, running into his crew a few times. She also likes the mystery Space Rider and plays with his tail at times (if he allows it). She's very observant and can be found anywhere because she follows people around so much.

If you guys are wondering if Eve gets a lover (not Bolt) in this reality, she does. But it's up to you on who it is or if she has two lovers.

[brain-rot-central]

not to be rude but like AI art literally steals from other artists and it's awful for the planet.. so maybe you should mind AI art? lol

Hey so I'm not really gonna answer this beyond 1) I don't really use Tumblr for debates/arguments about inflammatory topics and 2) I'm purposely ignorant to the entire outrage surrounding AI art because there are too many things demanding "action" and "engagement" from the general public on any given day at this point that I literally have zero left in the tank.

I'm not defending AI art but I'm literally just saying it's not one of the things that "enrage" me as of late. I'm more worried about things going on in my personal life and the current political climate of the US rn tbh and I come here to Tumblr to be horny about fictional characters because that's a better coping mechanism than drinking myself into a stupor or taking bong rip after bong rip to the face.

That being said I subscribe to artists on patreon that create their own art and will always 100% support artists who draw for a living.

[micamicster]

That can’t be real

[readyforsomeslapstick]

alright, taking bets on who is holding the flashlight at the end of Ep8

I've got my money on two candidates:

either the one person who was in the Biddle house that we haven't heard from, and who was sold as a villain from the start.

or the one person who willingly walked into the Biddle house but whose plans got massively derailed by Harold's sudden appearance.

it's either Allison, the ex-girlfriend, or Nathan Bratt himself.

If I'm wrong, then Disney needs new writers.

[teenagefeeling]

it's ancient at this point but i rly hate that one post that's like "womanhood isn't about suffering it's about my gf twirling in a skirt" like i agree it's not about suffering but i think it's a lot more complex than "women like fashion" and it kinda drives me crazy that that post gained so traction with such a stupid take like, even before all the stupid tiktok girl shit. people (especially men) have always been very comfortable just ignoring anything serious women have to say about our own oppression and telling us we're overreacting or making shit up and that our real purpose is to shut up and look pretty and wear dresses and make babies. putting it into progressive language and making sure ur including trans women doesn't make it not misogyny

[multifandom-damnation]

I feel like I should put this out here with everyone calling Taliesin selfish and saying that the other people at the table should be mad at him, but I am currently going through that with one of my newbie players right now. I'm a newbie DM, and none of my players watches any DnD-related shows and this is their first-ever game, and we are three games in. There was a very real discussion last week about wanting to kill off a player character and wanting to know what to do about it if he actively does things that go against what the party wants or does things that put them in danger. He wants his character to be 'unpredictable' and 'chaotic' but has been doing things that routinely get himself into trouble or put the party in jeopardy, like drinking the blood of a poison frog after killing it and getting poisoned, or trying to sneak up behind a band of bandits robbing town after being explicitly told to hide and rolling a nat1 and nearly getting the group caught.

As a new DM and a people pleaser at heart, I've really struggled to come up with fair but appropriate consequences for these actions, and the rest of the party (his fiance especially!) are super pissed off with him for being reckless to the point of asking me what they should do about it and how they can get rid of him and make him roll a new PC.

I felt really bad for him because its obvious that he wasn't doing any of this to be malicious but he was playing a pirate and he wanted to demonstrate him being unhinged and crazy and unstable, so it was a really hard discussion to have and I could tell that he was a little disappointed no matter how much I told him he was going a good job and the character is really fun even if he does have his moments, but everybody else was seemingly against him. If he was doing it on purpose, it would have been different, but he was very apologetic and listened to what was being said but didn't know what else to do because he likes his character but doesn't know how to portray what he wants to portray without putting the others in danger and sacrificing a core aspect of his character. I didn't have the answer either so it was really difficult. And I still don't think we've reached a solution.

I don't know where I was going with this, but I guess I just wanted to say that everybody is super mad at Taliesin (I'm not, the man has never done anything wrong in my eyes) but it's almost impossible to know what's going on in somebodies head or how they are interpreting certain things or the story they are trying to tell. So no matter what you're feeling about the choices that were made tonight and the outcome that occurred, can we all just be nice and not make such horrible comments? I've been seeing some really awful stuff and I know the gang has to develop some thick skin working in the career that they do, but I just know if it were me or my players experiencing such hate and backlash over a decision they made, like eating an obviously cursed cupcake or tearing a significant doll in half, I would be devastated.

[autumnrory]

every time i see someone getting insane anons i’m just like man i’m glad i turned that shit off

[queenerdloser]

"how to make your character more likable" "where do you rate likability when you think about characters" "top 20 likable characters" "likability is so important for books" "your characters absolutely must be likable or your book is a failure" "how to make unlikable characters in a likable way" i hate it here i hate it so much. i am going to rip out the throat of likability culture with my own teeth.

[caffeinewitchcraft]

AITA for divorcing my vampire husband because he lied to me about his human job?

I (542 vampire) and my husband (260 vampire) have been together for a little over two centuries. There’s a saying in the vampiric community that it takes a century for a tryst to become an enduring partnership and another century to become soulmates. I thought that was true and that Matthew (using his real name because fuck you, Matthew) and I would be together forever…until this week.

First, let me explain a few things to the mortals here. I don’t mean that negatively – I came here specifically to get the opinion of those with a finite lifespan. However, I want to be fair to Matthew as much as possible and some of his decisions are very immortal-minded.

Both Matthew and I are vampires who have chosen to forsake some of our powers in exchange for the ability to daywalk. We made the transition together on our 100th anniversary almost 115 years ago. It wasn’t an easy transition for me. I was very dependent on human blood and I spent the first twenty years in almost constant sleep as my body adjusted to running off of less lunar magic and more solar magic.

It really felt like I was losing everything. My body got physically weaker and my powers began to disappear one by one. It felt like every time I woke, another part of me was missing. One day I could turn into a wolf, the next I could barely turn into a vapor. I could command a legion of undying servants, and then I could barely convince the mailman he didn’t see me levitate down from the second floor.

Matthew, however, took to daywalking like a werewolf to a sheep farm. He barely seemed to feel the pain of losing his power, maybe because he was so much younger than me. Whatever the case, he was out all the time once he stabilized. He would be gone for days sometimes and when he came back it was with fantastic stories about the humans’ new inventions or the new structures being built in whatever town we were in.

I’m not saying I regret transitioning. Just that Matthew and I had very different experiences. It felt like he barely changed at all while my entire being got rewritten. Being immortal makes you comfortable in your own skin. I never doubted myself or my power after I turned 100. But becoming a daywalker made me feel like I was being born as a human again. It was humiliating and vulnerable. I have to admit there were times I resented how easily Matthew did it. I blamed him for not supporting me like I thought he should. I would daydream about draining a human in front of him, showing him what I thought of his fascination with them. I had all sorts of vile and vengeful thoughts. I’m not proud of the person I was and now I’m grateful Matthew wasn’t there to see the lows I sunk to.

Despite all my awful thoughts, I didn’t quit. I don’t know why, but I didn’t. I stuck with it and, day by day, things got easier.

After 26 years I began to stabilize. The benefits of being a daywalker slowly blossomed before me.  Now I can say that I am completely happy with my daywalker status and all the changes it’s brought.

I am the most mentally stable I have been since my Turning in 1482. It’s like I’m awake. The fits of rage that used to consume me for months at a time have completely disappeared. I don’t experience the same level of obsession I used to which has freed up a lot of my time that I used to spend stalking my victims.

However, that drastic of a change would be challenging in any relationship. Matthew and I ended up together because of my obsessive nature. Our relationship became strained when that part of me went dormant. He expected me to follow his immersion into the human world just as I had followed him in his revenge quest against his Master. He expected me to support him wholeheartedly and with everything I was. He wanted sacrifices from me that I used to not even flinch at before making. But something was just…different. We wanted different things. I wanted different things.

Matthew was obsessed with being the perfect human. He craved full immersion. He still makes it a point to get a human job every twenty years or so. Me? I’m happy to live off our investments and some mild mind control while enjoying the art and theater community the humans have evolved.

It got bad. Some years, we spent like ghosts in our own house, drifting by each other without a glance. Other years, it was like we were spies behind enemy lines. He would do whatever he could to thwart me and I would go out of my way to ridicule him. Our vitriol poisoned the earth. Matthew didn’t speak to me for a full decade when that poison killed off an entire town.

About twenty years ago, it all came to a head. We had a serious sit-down talk about our relationship. It wasn’t easy. What they say about teaching an old dog new tricks is sometimes true. Matthew wanted me to be as involved with the humans as he was. He wanted me to care about them like he did. I wanted him to travel with me like we used to and not just hop from town to neighboring town (which he did to maintain a human identity with references so he could keep working). When it became clear that we were at an impasse, I brought up the idea of separation.

Separating in the vampiric world isn’t easy. There are a lot of alliances and blood oaths to be considered. Over the two centuries we spent together, we became known as a unit to a number of supernatural entities that we maintain an uneasy truce with. Separating would mean creating new oaths and alliances with the same individuals. And there was no guarantee that those individuals would make new pacts with both of you. A LOT of vampire couples end up in blood feuds while separating. Neither of us wanted that.

There was also, of course, the emotional side of things. While a lot of immortals tend to only feel muted emotions (especially vampires as old as me), Daywalking had made both of us more sensitive than we’d been before. We were both attached to the memories we shared and neither of us could imagine life without the other. After 200 years together, it felt like Matthew was my right arm, and I his. When I brought up separation, we both felt it like we were discussing an amputation.

After about a year of talking, we finally reached an agreement. We didn’t want to separate, and so we would compromise. I wouldn’t interfere with any of Matthew’s human jobs for the 15-17 years if he could hold them without arousing suspicion. In exchange, he would take a year off to go traveling with me before finding another town for us to live in. In between my trips, he would go to plays and galas with me to enjoy human artistry at least once a month.

Maybe our deal was in his favor. At the time, it felt practical and fair. A year of traveling wouldn’t undo Matthew’s string of connections. We would still see each other frequently by going on dates that I liked. Matthew would get to stay immersed in the human world at the level he wanted, and I could stay within my comfort zone.

Which brings me to my current problem.

We are currently at the start of one of Matthew’s work cycles. He’s been everything from a fireman to a politician to a subway worker to a barista. He craves knowledge and connection to a terrifying degree. If it weren’t for how we move every 20 years and he goes without protest, I’d call it obsession.

This cycle, Matthew told me he was going to be a teacher. I was hesitant. While the humans have become more tolerant and less violent over the years, that doesn’t mean they will tolerate us near their young. Enough humans know about vampires that staking in the modern era is a real possibility. Matthew could incite an angry mob against us or, heaven forbid, get a vampire hunter on our tail. I have yet to be shot, but I hear that they have silver bullets that hurt like Hell.

When I voiced my protests, Matthew reminded me about our agreement. He said that I wouldn’t interfere with his jobs and he’d go to all the plays I liked. He even pointed out that, as a teacher, he could get us into high school plays and expositions. I was uneasy, but agreements are penultimate to immortals. I silenced my objections and let him get a job as a science teacher at a local high school.

When Michael has had jobs in the past, I’ve never really paid attention. One time he was a state senator for ten years and I never even heard him speak. I didn’t consider it worth my time to hear whatever his facsimile of a human would say. Real humanity is in the art they create, not in the parody Michael enacts.

But this one…I couldn’t ignore this one. Maybe it was because I was still uneasy about his proximity to human young or maybe I could sense his lies even at the beginning. Whatever the case, I watched him.

The first thing I noticed was the hours. He would go to work early and would often come home when it was time for us to sleep. When I asked him about it, he said that he wasn’t used to grading and that he had underestimated what it took to put a good lesson plan together. I visited some online forums and that’s apparently reasonable for first year teachers.

He would also sometimes go in on the weekends. He missed one of our dates because there was a “grading emergency” that needed his immediate attention. Something about a student’s test getting lost and then found and he needed to input their grade before the deadline which was on Saturday. Humans like silly rules like that so I didn’t even look that one up. I just reminded him that he couldn’t miss our dates again or else he was breaking our deal. He apologized and said it wouldn’t happen again.

Then about three months into his new job, the phone calls started. We have a private room in our house for when we need to talk without any visitors overhearing. Michael moved all his school supplies in there, saying that he needed a silent space to concentrate on his grading. Whenever he got a call, he would never answer it in front of me. Instead, he’d say “Sorry, work” and just go into his office.

I also noticed that he didn’t dress very professionally. Human fashion changes quickly so it didn’t register at first. A sweatshirt here and there slipped past me, and also the Gucci slides. When he started wearing baggy jeans and jerseys to work, I noticed. I may not be up to date on all the newest fashions, but I do go to classy events. I know what a slob looks like and it didn’t sit right with me that he was wearing that to school. When I asked him about it, he always had an excuse. “This is what everyone wears” and “It’s a theme day” or, bafflingly, “It’s spirit week!”

I tried to leave it alone. The reason we have stayed together for so long is because of our agreement to not interfere in each other’s lives. But between his hours, the phone calls, and his appearance, something didn’t add up.

Then, last Thursday, he missed another one of our dates. We were supposed to go to the Nutcracker together. Even though I prefer matinees (when the cast is fresh), I agreed to get us tickets for the evening show so that he wouldn’t have to leave work early. When he wasn’t there at 7pm, I called him and he didn’t answer. Then, when I called him again, his phone was switched off.

I was furious. I spend nearly two decades in these tiny towns so he can live his human fantasy and he can’t even show up for one two hour show? It was the first time since becoming a daywalker that I felt that angry. I was scared about what I might do, so I made myself go home to wait for him.

Only, he never came home that night. At 3am, he sent me a text apologizing and promising to make up our date on Saturday. But the Nutcracker was only playing until Friday and that would be too little, too late. To be honest, it already was. I texted him that and he never responded.

He never ended up coming home last weekend. I texted and called him probably a dozen times and he never responded. I got angrier and angrier as the days dragged by. Did he think I was someone to be taken lightly? Did he not realize that the fragile agreement between us was all that was keeping us from separation?

Yesterday (Monday), I couldn’t take it anymore. If he wasn’t going to come home or respond to my messages, then I would go to him. If he was so obsessed with this new job that he would ignore me for it, then I knew exactly where to find him.

I arrived at his school at 10am. I researched enough to know how to go to the office and sign myself in. I asked the office assistant which room Mr. Duetto was in.

The lovely young woman looked confused. “I’m sorry, but I can’t give that information out to anyone but family,” she said.

“I am his only family,” I said.

She clicked a few more keys and looked more confused. “His paperwork only shows his mother, Delilah Duetto.”

That’s right. His mother. But I still didn’t understand then.

“That’s me,” I said.

“You are not the mother of 17-year-old.”

“I’m his wife,” I said.

She was upset by that. I won’t bore you with every detail, but I had to alter her memories so she wouldn’t call the police. I may not look like someone who has a teenager, but I also don’t look like a teenager. I ended up having to alter her memories so she wouldn’t call human CPS on an apparent adult swearing she was married to a minor.

I went home and broke into his office. There weren’t any lesson plans. There were no graded papers. There were syllabus from different classes, homework with his name on it, and a few polaroids taped to the bottom of his desk of him at a party with children.

Human children. I don’t honestly know which is worse.

(EDIT: I know the child part is the worst part. I misspoke because of my anger. It’s not the humans’ fault that my husband is a pervert.)

I broke into his laptop and used that to check his text messages. He’s been texting like a high schooler. He’s been to parties with them, listened to their problems and even fabricated a few of his own. He’s caught in some sort of weird love triangle where a freshman girl likes him but his “best friend” likes her. He has texted both of them about it, promising his “bro” that nothing is happening and then turning around and leading this girl-child on.

Some choice quotes: I should know better than to get close with you. You and I come from very different worlds

To which she replied, lol maybe we should let our worlds collide

!!!!

I find the entire situation disgusting. Matthew is several centuries older than them and he definitely knows better. He’s literally wearing the sheep’s fleece amongst the flock. He has no business forming relationships with human children and even less pretending to be one of them. He’s not a baby. He is over two centuries old!

What is he doing flirting with a child? It’s vile and disgusting and I was set to kill him for it.

I confronted him about it when he came home last night. I told him that he was sick and dangerous and if he loved humans then he needed to stop immediately. I told him we either left town today or I would make sure he never set foot back in that school in a way he really wouldn’t like.

 He threw a huge tantrum over my invading his privacy. He shouted at me that I had broken my promise to never interfere in his job. He called me controlling and crazy.

I told him he was the crazy one for chatting up a child. He told me he wasn’t, she was just his friend. I asked him to read their texts out loud if he was being so friendly. I also pointed out that there was no way a 260-year-old vampire is a child’s friend.

He told me I was a hypocrite because I basically cradle robbed him (we’re almost 300 years apart.) He said if anyone was disgusting, it was me for taking advantage of him.

I pointed out that he wasn’t a child, he was over 60 and had already been a vampire for four decades. He argued that that was basically being a child in vampire terms.

I was so angry at that point that the house was shaking. I told him if he felt that way, then we could get divorced right then and there. That that was what I wanted to do anyway because I couldn’t be married to a pedophile.

He asked me if I was seriously going to start a blood feud over him immersing himself in human society. I said no, I’m starting a blood feud because he’s become every predatory stereotype humans have of vampires.

He called me a hypocrite again and told me he was leaving. He said not to call him unless I was ready to apologize. I told him that the next time he sees me, he’d better run before I showed him the real difference between us. And it wasn’t just 300 years.

When I calmed down, doubt started creeping in. From an immortal perspective, what he’s doing isn’t really wrong. I hate to say it, but most immortals don’t view human lives as significant. I know a few vampires who would say that divorcing because he’s playing with his food is idiotic.

Plus, there’s the agreement to consider. During our fight, Matthew pointed out that being a student is a job to humans. So therefore I didn’t have the right to interfere. A big part of me thinks that’s bullshit, but a small part of me wonders if he’s maybe right about that?

I also have to ask myself why this even bothers me. I’m the one in the relationship that is aloof from humans. I’m the one that’s always saying we are from different worlds (Yeah, he stole that from me) and for good reason. 

But over the years, I’ve become fond of humans. No immortal makes art like them. I may not remember my time as a mortal, but there are works that give me a sense of nostalgia. Sometimes I think I can remember being a child myself, standing in a field like in Monet painting, staring at the wheatstacks and waiting for the miller to come. 

The thought of Matthew playing with them makes me sick. It’s like even after all the years of him living amongst them, he thinks of them as props in his twisted play. It’s even worse that he’s doing this to children. 

I can’t help but think something went really wrong with my husband when I wasn’t looking. At the very least, I’m planning on divorcing him. But would I be the asshole if I killed him too?

 Separating from him will be violent and messy. There will likely be human casualties. But I don’t see any other way. So, I ask.

AITA for divorcing my husband for lying to me about his human job?

----

Thanks for reading! I loved answering some of the responses I got when I first posted this over on my Patreon (X)!

These collaborative story telling pieces are the highlight of my week. Next week's story is about a witch who wants to know if she should attend her high school reunion even though she's responsible for stripping two former classmates of their magic...

Please check that out here (X) if you''d like early access! Otherwise I'll see y'all next week :)

[mintedwitcher]

Clearly I forgot that I was speaking to a demographic who have lost - or never gained - the ability to think critically. Let me be clearer.

Americans on tiktok make hateful comments at a higher rate than any other demographic. When Americans went bye-bye, the hate comments virtually disappeared. We - the rest of the world, hi, we exist - were having fun. We made little jokes about how nice the comment sections were. We had people auditioning to replace big American creators and influencers, as a joke.

Americans came back, saw this, and promptly began to bully everyone again, because how dare we have fun without including you.

"It hurt to see yall celebrating," and it hurts us to see you constantly belittling and insulting our countries, because you don't think we matter. It hurts us to see you making endless, ceaseless, careless jokes and taunts about our countries and our cultures as if we don't exist, as if we don't see you, as if we don't hear you. You experienced ONE DAY of the world being fine without you, and you lost your minds, and immediately began threatening and bullying people again. We had fun without you. And you cannot tolerate that.

American exceptionalism at it's finest.

Now, let me add my exhaustive list of disclaimers, since again, critical thinking is a weak spot: this post is not about politics. This post is not about Trump, or Elon, or any of their toy soldiers. This post is not about the rampant fascism spreading through your country. This post is not about any one individual who has never been mean on tiktok. This post is not about any one individual who has never posted a hate comment. This post is not about any one individual who engages with and enjoys multicultural content. This post is not about any one individual who wants to see more multicultural content online. This post is not about any one individual who returned genuinely hurt and unhappy, but did not lash out.

This post is very specifically about the Americans who left the app in tears, then returned and decided to get angry because their FOMO took over their rational thought processes.

If it does not apply, it's not about you.

Just as the rest of the world having fun together was not about you.

You can call me unempathetic. You'd be right, I do actually have very low empathy. However, you stand there all righteous trying to defend your people sending death threats to the rest of the world for simply having a joke amongst ourselves. You are part of the problem.

Was that clear enough?

in all seriousness, the tiktok ban is something that people should be concerned about in the US. censorship at this level is a major red flag and a surefire sign that you are living in a fascist state. the fact that this ban was also an act of political theatre is also something to be genuinely concerned about.

however.

the very few hours on tiktok where the Americans didn't have access, were genuinely some of the most peaceful hours on that app since its creation. for hours, there was no political infighting, no bots, no ads, no hate comments. I saw content from creators in countries that I never usually see, because my feed is usually so flooded with American content. and yes there were a lot of jokes at the Americans' expense, jokes about the metric system and people "auditioning" to "replace" popular American accounts. but none of it was aggressive, none of it was cruel.

meanwhile, today, with the Americans back on tiktok, I have seen nothing but anger and rage and hate. not levelled at Trump or the government, but at other people on tiktok. hate comments are back in full force. I scrolled past eight ads in the span of ten minutes.

and it's not just me. other people (non-Americans) have been trying to talk about how their feeds instantly got flooded with American content as soon as the ban lifted. there are videos now talking about how their comment sections have become full of cruelty again as soon as the Americans returned to the app.

all this to say. Americans, you might just be the problem. I'm not saying the ban is good, or that it should be reinstated. what I am saying, is that Americans need to seriously contemplate how they engage with content online, and how they engage with other people online, especially people who are not from America. because we had fun while yall were gone, and now you're back and all you want to do is scream in every single one of your videos about how we're so mean and so heartless and so hateful, when literally the hate disappeared - and reappeared - with you.

log off. disengage. consider your behaviour. and please for the love of all things good in this world, stop fucking yelling all the time. lower your goddamn volume, please.