In general, if i don’t write posts about my problems in life (well, what else to do), then I wanted to discuss the recent situation. To be more precise, the question that caused the conflict between the people whose ideas about fandom I support.
And specifically the question of the nonbinary characters (yes, I understand, this is a slippery slope and someone will definitely be offended, but what can I do now).
The problem of assigning nonbinary and genderfluidity to characters is not the root of the problem, it lies much deeper (but I will not discuss this, I have enough shit from everyone in my life).
The main problem is that the fandom is ready to call them anyone and make anyone out of them, as long as they are not two men who love each other. And this is the very erasure of homosexual characters. It’s homophobia.
No one makes you hate nonbinary people. You are asked to leave alone a couple of gay men who are not allowed to be openly gay anyway, because Neil needs money and a fanbase (but this is the topic of another post).
You are free to become directors/writers, etc. and create your own nonbinary characters with their own representation. But don’t add fuel to the fire for a gay couple who also need a normal representation.
(And one more thing, if a man looks feminine, it doesn’t mean anything. Cis-people can look non-gender-stereotypical and remain cis-people)
“Love isn’t something natural. Rather it requires discipline, concentration, patience, faith, and the overcoming of narcissism. It isn’t a feeling, it is a practice.”
I’m genuinely concerned that I’ll have no real way to tell when it’s safe for me to start doing things again, because the CDC basically told everyone to get fucked and die, I’m surrounded by people taking the, “eh, if I get covid, I get covid” approach, and I can’t fucking tell what’s a reasonable safety precaution anymore.
I’m exhausted all the time, and I’m still scared of getting sick, but the world is moving on without me, and I’m just so disoriented, y'all.
Everyone I live with IS immunocompromised, and this comment comes off very “it’s fine, the only people who are still dying are disabled people,” which really just serves to cement my original point about the world moving on without me.
Just want to add that that person is so incredibly wrong! The current science (or in layman’s terms check here) says that about 50% of everyone who gets covid, vaxxed or not, immunocompromised or not, will end up with long lasting symptoms, ones that last beyond the four weeks of infection. Now this statistic includes symptoms that resolve on their own eventually as well as ones that are permanent. But one in every two people will have long lasting covid symptoms. Sure being vaxxed decreases your chances of catching covid in the first place and it decreases the chances of it being severe, but it won’t stop the long term symptoms. Even if you get a “mild” or asymptomatic infection, you still have a 50/50 shot of having long term symptoms. And this is just the most current science, for all we know the number could be higher! We don’t yet know the full extent to which covid fucks up the human body.
Oh and PLUS, omicron has an R0 value of somewhere between 8 and 15, making it the second most infectious disease in the whole world (second only to measles). The R0 number is a measure of how infectious a disease is. For comparison the R0 of the flu is generally 1.5.
And yet EVERYONE I talk to is completely ignoring this and calling omicron more mild than previous strains, that it’s comparable to the flu (never mind that the science says it’s about twice as likely that you’ll have long lasting symptoms from covid than the flu). It makes me feel like I’m losing my mind. But we’re not losing our minds. Especially if you’re disabled/chronically ill, getting covid could be devastating even with a “mild” infection. My brain doesn’t know how to process all of this. The wide spread scale at which people are saying “fuck you” to disabled lives makes me want to vomit.
But uh OP I hope this justifies your actions/thoughts. You’re not alone in this either!
I am triple vaxxed and caught Omicron while masked and outdoors, but working with the unmasked public.
Yes, technically I’m fine. But I spent a week basically unable to sleep or really rest because I had what I can only describe as restless legs syndrome. It hurt to lay down or sit down. I frequently had to move to keep from being in pain. While I’m grateful that this symptom eventually went away, it’s the kind of symptom - weird & neurological - that has become a permanent condition for others.
My breathing also remains permanently impacted. I am, was, in great shape - cardio and strength building exercises on the regular. I now frequently get winded walking up stairs. Exercise in general is much harder and I am fighting to maintain my current state, let alone get back into the kind of fit I used to be.
And there’s NO WAY OF KNOWING how long I will be impacted or if my symptoms will ever increase or resurface. We just don’t know.
I’m the best case scenario: a person in excellent health and triple vaxxed and I still suffered and continue to experience symptoms. There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about your own health, and plenty more to care about and be concerned for the health of others.
The immunocompromised are not disposable.
OP, I’m sorry we as a society failed so hard and you have to live with this fear and exhaustion.
Sometimes you experience bad days even though everything is working out just fine. Sometimes you wake up with a heavy heart even though your day is full of things you are actually excited about. Sometimes you feel utterly sad even though you are surrounded by people who love and care about you. I am here to tell you that it is absolutely okay to hit rock bottom even though there is no logical explanation for it. You do not need to justify your feelings and there is truly no need to feel guilty about feeling darkness inside of you though the sun is currently shining on your life. Feelings come and go, just like waves. So, go ahead and let yourself feel, my love, for you deserve to express your inner world in order to heal. Always remember that feeling bad does not need to be justified.
btw I’m sorry I haven’t been super on it with posting/redbubble/shop things I have my deadline for uni this Friday and am so stressed ily all thank u for being patient
sometimes my mind will drift to my favorite characters, and i’ll think, “i hope they’re okay today! i hope they’re safe and feeling loved somewhere,” or i’ll worry, “have they eaten? slept? are they remembering to take care of themselves?” and it’s silly, because of course they’re not really real, i don’t have to be concerned for them, and there’s an abstract level where i cognizantly am aware of this
but in a lot of those moments, because i know other people do this too, i think that love and concern and tenderness for these people who reside in our minds and hearts is a subtle expression of looking after ourselves, even if we don’t fully recognize it at first. we wish them things we may hesitate to allow ourselves to wish in reality, but it still is an expression of hope for our own lives
and who’s to say those feelings are ever wasted? who’s to say that in a vast, swirling, unknowable universe, a universe that may in fact be a tiny shimmering square on a tiny corner of a tapestry of infinite other universes - who’s to say that all the stories aren’t true? that we don’t somehow make things real simply by believing in them? who’s to say that somewhere, in that endless space, some version of that character we love isn’t out there, relying on and absorbing those caring thoughts?
even if they do only exist in us, the internal workings of our individual universes are so vast and unique that, indeed, simply being a part of us means they do live. those characters and stories exist in what we do, how we learn, the meaning we glean from carrying them along with us on our own journeys
that’s why i will never allow anyone to tell me that loving an unreal thing is not a real expression of love. if you think of them in the songs you hear, or when you see a certain painting or read a certain line of poetry, if you think of them when you’re feeling lost and scared and alone, or when you’re feeling comfortable and peaceful and happy, if they give you courage in the midst of frightening things or add joy to your day, if they teach you something meaningful or you can see an admirable aspiration in them or you can use them to better understand a reflection in yourself, that’s all real love, capable of transformation and transcendence and healing
so if we wake up and wonder if our favorites are doing well today, maybe in some other fold in the cosmos, they’re holding that same wonderment for us; or maybe, in hoping it for them, we eventually grow to be able to hope it for ourselves
I think people need to tell more kids that they’re proud of them for graduating high school. I’m absolutely dead serious, especially now. I can see the graduating high schoolers surrounding me right now are burned out and traumatized and depressed, and they’ve undoubtedly had a much, much harder time in high school than I ever had, and I had some pretty shitty high school experiences.
I graduated high school with no more acknowledgement than the standard “congrats on surviving another year of school!” And immediately followed by “have you finished all your scholarship applications?” That was fine for me. I knew i wanted to go to college, I was set and ready for it, eager to get out of high school into more challenging courses.
But if I just finished high school after two years of fighting through online courses and no one acknowledged the battles I went through? If I was as burnt out and traumatized as these kids are right now? I’d have never have gone to college.
So for everyone graduating high school, even if you barely scraped by passing: I see you. I’m proud of you. You did such a good job. I wish you success in what you try to do, fortune enough to keep you safe and happy, and health always.
It’s graduation night here in Arizona and I ran into a kid still wearing his gown.
When I said “congratulations” he lit the fuck UP.
Make sure you say it to every grad you see. Gen Z is working so much fucking harder than we ever had to for that piece of paper.
Bonus round: don’t ask for their major. Ask what their after-high school plans are. Normalize the idea that they might be going into the trades, or just don’t feel college is right for them (right now or ever, doesn’t matter). Let them be excited with you. Heaven knows after the upheaval of the last two years they deserve it.
@sendchinatownlove on insta has made a growing “BLM Dictionary for the Asian American Community,” with terms translated into Mandarin, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, etc. Talking to friends and family across language hurdles can be even more difficult, but it’s as necessary as ever with this kind of violence as a global issue
ally - 盟友 (méngyǒu)
Black Lives Matter - 黑命无价 (hēi mìng wú jià) [lit. Black lives have no price]
Aziraphale knew one thing for sure.It wasn’t the temperature that caused the sudden warmth in his body.
This will be a comic about these oblivious idiots seeing each other in new situations and falling in love more. If it’s even possible for Crowley… As you noticed Crowley’s hair is longer, and will be even longer later on.
There will be awkward, ridiculous and embarrassing moments, dancing, showing off, sexiness (a lot), fluff, kisses, cuddles, flying with wings, swimming, running, dressing for pride month, combing hair, so much angst, crying, heartbroken Crowley, Crowley with long hair, true angelic forms, memories with Crowley being an angel… and I dunno, as it goes I’ll come up with more.
If you have suggestions I’m open for them. :) If I like your idea I’ll draw it and mention you.
