#tho many things in life would be easier if you had a bigger social circle and if you were good with dealing with other

[tofufei]

i ❤ my friends

[mcnuggyy]

last anon again, if you have the energy i was wondering how you think some of these issues could have been avoided? do you think just posting/asking questions on social media beforehand to get fan feedback could've solved it? i'd fear that white fans might drown out the conversation. i'd like to be a content creator and i'd like to avoid doing white lib shit.

Heya anon! Well there’s many ways that content creators can avoid problems like these, and of course it also depends on your platform, how big it is, your resources, media presence, etc etc. And you might find that some of these don’t work at all for you but work for others! But here’s some of the concepts me and my own friends have talked about on how to be good allies as content creators.

1) This one is the first and most important in my opinion but, have non-white friends!!!!! This shaped a big part of my life and the way I tell stories and design characters and overall how i interact with the world around me. It kind of helps that I grew up in a poor mexican household and the schools I went to weren’t “technically” the richest, but they were still fantastic schools with a wideee variety of students. I loved my high school for its diversity, and all the friends i made there still inspire some of my character designs today! Every chance I get I make a Filipino char design as a shoutout to my old best friend, all the sweet nerdy black friends I had, all my funny latino friends, my pakistani friend, etc. etc. ((but what’s also important is that you’re not just friends because of these factors, genuinely get to know them and love them, have non-white friends, and LOVE them!!!!)) You’ll be introduced to new culture, music, ideas, etc! AND you’ll have a new friend <3 so if you notice that all your current friends are really only white, think about who it is you’re talking to and WHY is it the case? Is it simply a coincidence, or is something holding you back? etc. etc.

2) This is a bit easier if you have a smaller following like I do, but engage with your supporters!! and not just your white supporters!! This is a good time to see okay, what does my fan base look like? Am I alienating certain people? How come? What are the people I attract like, and are they the kind of people I imagined as my audience? etc. etc.

3) Which brings me to 3. If you do have a bigger audience, It might not be easy to screen this but maybe it’s worth a try to do polling or surveys? Like “Hey, we would love to hear feedback on x,y,z, from our Filipino and Filipino-American supporters! etc. etc.” This could be complicating because ya know the internet, but I think it’s worth a shot! And if not well...

4) If you’re big enough, well now it’s time to start HIRING artists, writers, and creatives of color. In the industry this can change everything. And make sure you don’t just have a token employee, hire a variety of folks and let them take charge and offer up ideas etc! Like for the GN for example, (I think it’s called sensitivity testing or something like that??) why not hire a few POC to read ur comic, look at the art work,, even better if it’s people who have listened to the podcast, but certainly not required! And you can have different folks check in along the whole comic process!! It would be a lot of work and time but guess what, If you really believe in making work that is truly inclusive, well it’s time to start listening to what POC have to say!

5) Listen to feedback from fans of color!!!! I’ve heard some unfortunate things with Travis blocking people who bring up certain issues on his twitter and that is... not great. When this happens to me (tho again I am a much smaller creator) I take the time to dm these people, talk with them, discuss. And often we both come out of it with a new understanding and appreciation <3 Like if you take the time to seriously listen to fans of color and hear them out well? good things happen!!! Don’t let your fear of offending others, or “starting drama” keep you from taking the opportunity to learn and grow from your mistakes. Privileges exist, I certainly have them as a white passing mestizo, so it’s always important to acknowledge them and use them to help out others!! The McElroys have the opportunity to not only educate themselves but their white listeners, and for the most part they’ve done that okay!! (especially Sydnee with her BLM discussions on Sawbones) But they are in no way perfect. And I think they still have a lot of listening to do.

But yeah!! I hope this helps a bit!! I’m sure there’s more ways but again, I think the most important and impactful thing is having friends from a variety of cultures and backgrounds! If all your friends are like... super rich, 98% white, and famous people... well that’s going to affect the way you think about certain groups... You’ll get stuck in an unavoidable circle jerk and well... ya know what happens next...

[relaxedreptile]

A Phone Call (and 10,000 miles) Away

Pairing: Felix X Reader

A/N: So many of you had asked for a continuation of Lucid and while I don’t plan on writing that specifically, this is about two internet friends meeting in real life! I tried to pull from my own experiences for this one but, admittedly, it’s been a while since I used kik.

Happy May!

You owed a lot to the internet.

It had an endless bounty of information you needed to write papers, was your biggest source of things you didn’t really need to buy, and your go-to for pictures of cute dogs.

Most importantly, it’s the reason you met your best friend.

Barely anyone was a stranger to scrolling through their Instagram feed to waste time and you found yourself giving in to temptation one day during a lunch period that you didn’t really share with anybody that you knew. After seeing a post about some app called “kik” and a group chat that was being made on there, you did some investigating.

Intrigued, you made an account and commented your ID under the post (thank god you found it again) before the bell rang. Hoping you would make it into the chat and that you had made the right choice, you packed up your things and started on your way to class.

At the end of the day, you let out a silent squeal of happiness after seeing the extra notifications on your screen. You sat in your usual seat on the bus before scrolling through the messages in the group chat.

After the bar at the top let everyone know that you were active, you were sent sweet messages that welcomed you and introduced themselves.

Most of the users had profile pictures of anime characters, celebrities, or their pets, but there was one boy who had a head-on selfie.

The app told you his name was Felix and his picture told you he was insanely confident.

You didn’t really blame him all that much.

You sent an introduction of your own, still giddy because of the risk you knew you were taking by joining this group chat. You could hear your father telling you to never talk to strangers on the internet as if he was sharing the seat with you but shushed his voice out of your head after the flood of replies came in.

There were only ten people in the chat including you and it was named after the app you found this opportunity through.

Y/N: This is goodbye until I finish my homework :(

ethanlovesdogs: We love a studious queen

bridgetk123: noooo don’t leave!!

LeeFelix0915: Last minute much? Lol 

Your eyes flicked over the clock that sat on your nightstand and just like you thought it would, it told you that it was barely past 6 pm, what was Felix talking about?

Y/N: Dunno bout you but I think 6 is pretty damn early for homework

LeeFelix0915: Six??? It’s like eight 

bridgetk123: my clock says noon?

beyoncemarryme: Guys!! Timezones!!

girlslovegirlsboys: Time is a social construct

You mentally hit your forehead, remembering that your country wasn’t the only one in the world (because apparently that’s something one can just forget).

bridgetk123: omg!! where are u guys from??

ethanlovesdogs: The lesser known city of Los Angeles.

girlslovegirlsboys: Born in London. Raised in Belfast.

LeeFelix0915: Australia

superwholock24: Bro you 2??

LeeFelix0915: Yoooo whereabout??

While the two honorary neighbors obsessed over the revelation, you couldn’t help but feel jealous. None of the other members of the group chat really lived that close to you and this acted as a wake-up call.

Sure, you were having so much fun talking to this array of people, but was this all it would ever be? Would you ever get to meet these people?

LeeFelix0915: HBU Y/N?

bridgetk123: don’t tell me you left without telling us :(

ethanlovesdogs: maybe they’re just uncomfortable :/

You cleared it up in the chat quickly, sending the city you lived in and making a lighthearted joke about being so far away. It made you feel a little bit better, laughing about it. 

It made it seem like a smaller obstacle.

Before turning your phone on Do Not Disturb, you said goodbye and glanced over at your clock again. 

Fourteen hours, huh?

You managed to restrain yourself long enough to finish your math homework but couldn’t hold back after turning on your laptop to start the preparation for research project. 

“How many miles away is Australia?” Your searchbar read. 

10,000, apparently. Give or take. 

Doable. Totally doable. 

At first, you didn’t tell anyone around you about your new friends, afraid you would get shit for it. 

As time went on, it got too complicated trying to cover up stories like Ethan kissing Mark Wahlberg’s star on the Walk of Fame (and getting strep immediately after) when none of the people you knew in real life were close enough to Hollywood to do it themselves. 

It was honestly easier than you expected, eventually telling your friends at school or your family who you were actually texting. 

The worst conversation you had about it was with your dad. There wasn’t really any judgment on his part, maybe a little confusion but that was expected. 

“Doesn’t it suck, though? Not getting to see them everyday?”

It did suck. It sucked so bad, in fact, that the next thing you knew you were curled under your sheets in the safety of your bed with a lump in your chest and your fingers instinctively going to open up kik. 

Your brain let them open the app but stopped them before they could send any message and sent a signal through your body that made the lump grow bigger. 

Is it worth it? Will I just make this worse for myself if I pour my heart out and depend on people that I don’t get to see?

Before these thoughts had a chance to fester, your phone buzzed and you were met with a message from the chat. 

LeeFelix0915: Finally someone else is on

You hesitated.

LeeFelix0915: Hello? Earth to Y/N…

Making up your mind, you clicked out of the group chat and started a new one, a private one, with Felix.

Y/N: Hey mind if we talk over here instead?

LeeFelix0915: Should I be worried

You couldn’t help but laugh before trying your best to explain your feelings to Felix in the most concise way possible, fully aware that you were just babbling and most likely weren’t making much sense but you just needed someone else to know what was going on inside your head. These thoughts were suffocating and you needed someone to give you air.

LeeFelix0915: Oh honey don’t worry about any of that

LeeFelix0915: You guys are just as much of my friends as the people I see in school everyday

LeeFelix0915: I only talk to some of those people BECAUSE I seem them everyday!! But I deal with you guys voluntarily lol that’s love

How did Felix have such a talent for cheering people up? He was like a breath of fresh air that brought happiness wherever it blew, reflecting on his name. 

Y/N: Thanks Felix <3 sorry for bugging you I just really needed to get this shit off my chest

LeeFelix0915: No apologies necessary, that’s what friends are for babe

Babe. He called you babe. You held your phone to your chest and let out a little squeal, unable to help yourself.

Felix read into your silence and assumed you needed more encouragement, so he decided to send you a selfie of him in bed. 

He was on his stomach, propped up on his elbow with his hair in his eyes and you couldn’t remember the last time you saw something so attractive.

LeeFelix0915: I’m going to send a picture of myself everyday from now on

LeeFelix0915: This way you can say you see me everyday

LeeFelix0915: Technology’s pretty great right?

Y/N: A couple thousand miles has got nothing on you

Y/N: Felix Lee, why didn’t you tell me you had freckles?????

LeeFelix0915: They’re literally in my profile picture

Y/N: How am I supposed to tell from that tiny circle!!

LeeFelix0915: They have these cool things called eyes now

LeeFelix0915: And zooming in

Y/N: Your freckles are too cute for you to not include them in your intro

LeeFelix0915: You think I’m cute?

Y/N: I said your freckles were

Y/N: But yes

You could feel the fire beneath the skin on your cheeks after sending the risky message and you had never felt so much like a teenager.

LeeFelix0915: Good to know

LeeFelix0915: Because I have eyes I can see you’re really cute too, judging from your profile picture

LeeFelix0915: That is you, isn’t it?

Deciding to be bold, you lay down on your bed and mimic the pose from Felix’s photo before taking one of your own and sending it.

Y/N: C’est moi

LeeFelix0915: Damn I was right

Y/N: No secret freckles tho

LeeFelix0915: Mine weren’t a secret!!

The two of you bantered back and forth for a few more minutes until he said that it was time for him to go to class. You teased him a little, about how you were already done for the day (technically yesterday) before regretfully sending a goodbye back.

You opened the photo he sent you one more time before turning your phone off and squealing into your pillow.

From then on, you and Felix began to text each other privately more and more while maintaining your attendance on the group chat. Since the two of you were on kik the most frequently (ironic, considering the time difference), it just made a little more sense to use your own chat when the others weren’t on. If something started up in the group chat, you guys multitasked and continued on with both conversations.

bridgetk123: guys guys guys guys GUYS

Y/N: what what what what WHAT

LeeFelix0915: Someone’s excited

superwholock24: Oi what’s up

bridgetk123: we need ethan here or i can’t say anything

Y/N: Ugh

ethanlovesdogs: Oh god, should I be scared?

bridgetk123: wow

bridgetk123: i thought you would be a little more excited about MEETING ME IN JUNE

ethanlovesdogs: Excuse me

Y/N: OMG

superwholock24: Why choose California when you can come to Australia and get TWO for ONE

bridgetk123: as much as i love you and your country Jisoo, California is a lot closer and cheaper lol

ethanlovesdogs: Please tell me you’re not messing with me

bridgetk123: no way. my mom is going to Hollywood for a retreat and convinced her to let me come along so as long as you’re okay with it…

ethanlovesdogs: ASDFGHJKL BITCH OF COURSE I’M OKAY WITH IT WHAT DAY ILL TAKE YOU EVERYWHERE 

Before you could send your message of congratulations (you were so happy that your friends were getting to meet each other), your phone buzzed, alerting you of a new message from Felix.

LeeFelix0915: Hey can we talk?

Y/N: Is everything alright Lix?

LeeFelix0915: Yeah

LeeFelix0915: I’m just a little jealous 

You didn’t have to ask to know what he was talking about.

 Honestly, you were a little surprised that you weren’t jealous of Bridget and Ethan for getting this opportunity. You were just too happy for them.

LeeFelix0915: I don’t know we’ve all been talking on here for almost a year and I’ve only met up with Jisoo because he’s like an hour away from me

Y/N: It’s just a little harder for the rest of us :( believe me, I would do anything to meet all of you guys

LeeFelix0915: I know I know

LeeFelix0915: It just sucks being so cut off, you know? Even Bridget said it herself, I feel like I live in the middle of fucking nowhere

Y/N: You’re only a plane ride away Lix

LeeFelix0915: I love it when you call me that

LeeFelix0915: You have a point tho

Y/N: Think of it this way! You and I live on opposite sides of the world and we still managed to find a way to meet each other

Y/N: The universe is on our side!!

LeeFelix0915: I thank the universe for you everyday <3

Y/N: You’re so fcking cheesy Lix lmao <3

Decisions, decisions.

Your parents, impressed with your grades and achievements from your senior year, sat you down and told you they wanted to reward you.

They said they were so incredibly proud of your hardwork and told you that you could have anything you wanted as a parting gift before you were off to college, within reason.

Your eyes flickered over to your phone after hearing the familiar buzz of a notification. The screen was filled by Felix’s face (one of his daily selfies that he still sent) and you smiled to yourself, having made up your mind on what you were going to ask your parents for.

What if he doesn’t come?

You had sent the text to your parents immediately after letting them know you landed safely in Australia, desperately in need of some reassurance.

Honey. If this boy has managed to woo you like he has, it’s genuine. He’ll be there.

You smiled at your dad’s text.

And if he doesn’t, I’ll fly out and kick his ass.

You laughed at your mom’s.

Felix didn’t believe you when you told him at first and didn’t believe you until you sent him a picture of you holding the tickets (the group chat still makes fun of him for taking so long). He had immediately switched into travel agent mode, recommending hotels and restaurants and cities all over the country before Bridget knocked some sense into him.

bridgetk123: they’re going to see you dummy not the opera house

girlslovegirlsboys: How can you be sure they’re not going for Jisoo?

Once Felix got the hint, he started messaging you privately to work out everything instead.

You even fit some time in to visit Jisoo, too.

After almost two years of talking to Felix (you only had a general idea of when you joined the group chat and you kinda sorta wanted to know the exact day), you trusted him enough to know he would be waiting for you like he promised. If he wasn’t, it would be because something big came up like a giant scorpion roaming the streets or whatever other scary things lived in this country. 

As you wheeled your luggage through the airport, you allowed yourself a few seconds to look around and take in the surroundings. It really didn’t look any different from home and it’s not like you didn’t understand the language but there was something about Australia that made you want to explore, try new things, embody a whole new person. 

A part of you wondered if something venomous had already bitten you and that’s why you were acting this way, but the rest welcomed the new mindset. 

You studied the signs above you, following the arrows that promised to lead you out of your terminal and to the entrance of the airport where you would be meeting your best friend for the first time. 

Finding yourself in a densely packed crowd of people, you scanned every face looking for a familiar one before your eyes landed on a shock of blonde hair and a constellation of freckles. 

Your suitcase was left behind as you ran to meet Felix halfway, ignoring the way your backpack slammed against your body with each step. 

Strong arms wrapped around your waist as you buried your neck in their owner’s shoulder to pull them closer. 

Felix turned his head to the side to place a kiss on your cheek, making you squeeze him tighter.  

“Hey, babe.”

You giggled and pulled away slightly to get a good look at his face without leaving Felix’s embrace. 

“Your freckles are even prettier in person.”

Felix scoffed to try and distract you from the blush creeping onto his sun-kissed cheeks but it didn’t work. 

“I can’t believe you almost made me wait a whole two years before I got to see you.”

“I sent you photos everyday, we both did!” You retorted. 

“I can’t hug photos, I can’t watch movies with them, can’t squish their cheeks or-”

You put your hands on either side of his face and leaned in. Honestly, you only had innocent intentions to shut him up, but Felix did you both a favor and closed the distance between you two. 

The kiss was short, but his lips were warm and soft and Felix’s grip on your waist made your head spin. It somehow made up for two years in the span of a couple seconds. 

“Come on,” he said once you both pulled away, “let’s go grab your suitcase.”

You grabbed each other’s hands, reducing 10,000 miles to 0.