#Fun4me

this is why demanding flawless representation from every piece of media, and trying to police who writes what based on identity is a huge fucking mess

Assuming that straight people’s writings about queer characters are bad representation by default, which has terrible implications for representational media 

Stalking this author’s social media to ascertain if she was queer or not 

Deciding that, despite being openly bi to the publisher and social media, she is “presenting as straight” by having a husband and so must be lying about being bi 

Rather than offering actual constructive criticism of her work, dismissing it outright based on representation alone (even later admitting that they had no issue with her work aside from her perceived sexuality)

When confronted, doubling down and putting the blame on the author for somehow being dishonest about her sexuality and for rightfully complaining about their unprofessional behavior, which is libel, apparently

Calling the author’s character “slutty” 

Trying to guilt-trip the author by presenting the situation as a personal insult rather than a professional complaint, including the “if you’re going to be that way I guess I’ll just never offer constructive criticism ever again” rebuttal even though 1. That is literally their job as a publisher and 2. Their criticism wasn’t constructive in the first place

Defending their actions as support of the LGBT+ community while refusing to acknowledge that this type of gatekeeping only hurts the community

Accusing the author of being petty in one of the most passive-aggressively petty letters I’ve ever read, which was also characterized by grammatical errors that don’t help their case as a reputable publisher

This seems like the kind of situation where, long ago, someone had good intentions that went downhill when they decided to only engage with only the most unproblematic representation available.

Such an attitude negates the work of anyone doing their best who is writing about an experience that is not their own, or even representing their own experience in a way that makes someone uncomfortable. This is further evidenced by the publisher’s about page, which states that they will not publish books that include “explicit/toxic romance” and “any works that depict rape or have extreme trigger warnings,” while not specifying what those triggers are. That is their prerogative as a publisher, of course, but purging anything problematic from your catalogue can often do more harm than good, as authors use these subjects to work through their own problems and help others do so as well. That’s why trigger warnings exist in the first place.

BIG OOF. This just in - explicit sex is toxic! I’m sure such an implication has no grounding whatsoever in decades of homophobia and the characterization of queer desire as inherently predatory! And won’t negatively affect anyone’s conception of their own sexual feelings, in ways that can be severely damaging to their sex lives and their sense of self-worth! asdfasfg

It’s perfectly fine, obviously, to want to run a publishing house (or a rec list, or a Big Bang) that focuses on fluffy, wholesome, feel-good romances, without explicit sex. That’s an excellent genre of story, and many people want to write and/or read them, especially with queer characters. But say it like that, don’t go “just leave out the Icky Stuff.” For god’s sake.

Meaning they were looking to publish queer stuff for woke points, observed she’d already gotten negativity for not doing rep Good Enough (probably including allegations she was An Outsider who Didn’t Understand), and determined she wouldn’t be useful to them in that way and could even hurt them with the benchmark crowd.

neteyam x omatikaya!reader

summary: eywa makes no mistakes... in the midst of his preparation to become the future olo'eyktan, neteyam is told to be with a chosen mate. guided by the signs of eywa, tsahik picks y/n, a woman orphaned by the war, whose heart already belongs to another. y/n's whole world begins to crumble, as she is forced into the loveless bond. will neteyam and y/n be able to overcome the odds and find their true happiness?

contains: arranged marriage, mentions of war and grief, angst, one-sided enemies to lovers

wc: tbd

a/n: i usually don't write for this trope but the idea had been inciting since rewatching the first avatar movie. this is going to be very angsty but very rewarding too and thank you to the anon who sent in the request ♡ so excited to start this journey with you!

general avatar masterlist

Chapter 1: The Dream Hunt

Chapter 2: The Betrayal

Chapter 3: Lessons to Learn

Chapter 4: Crossing the Bridge

Chapter 5 (in progress)

Chapter 6 (in progress)

@/joaojesus.m on instagram :>

dad fuckers come get your food

I went going exactly what car I wanted and I imagine that if you don’t know that much it’ll be easier for a dealership to screw you over when you get there by feeding you misinformation about a car, manipulating you into buying a more expensive model, and etc.

I had already done all my research online so I knew what I wanted. Down to the color. (Green is my favorite color!)

So boyfriend and I went (I followed Tumblr’s advice about bringing a man lol). And I test drove the car and loved it just like I knew I would. And THEN the real dealership experience began.

The bottomline is that I knew my credit score and so I knew what kind of interest rate (APR) I should expect. I also knew the manufacturer price of the car (MSRP) and I knew how much they were selling for on average in my area ($3k less than MSRP).

So I knew what I was going to pay and I had already decided on that in my head.

So dealer #1 (a white guy–this is relevant to mention lol) brings back the first set of numbers. He cushions it with making small talk and flattering me on starting my PhD in August. He also chats up boyfriend.

The numbers were bad. I could tell looking at it. Although they didn’t say the APR, I knew that my monthly rate shouldn’t be that high based on the number of months I’d be paying it. Also they only gave me $2k off MSRP.

I noted that the sticker price was too high because I can go to another dealer and get it cheaper and they knocked off another $1k.

And then I asked him what the APR was. He was very evasive and kept telling me to look at the monthly payments because that’s what “really matters.” No, what really matters is what I’m paying for the car overall which is the sticker price + state fees (unavoidable) + interest rate.

Dealer #1 finally told me the APR and it was 3x the rate I knew I was eligible for. I told him that’s not gonna work. He turned aggressive and said that I’m a first time buyer and I can’t expect better and that I’m being unrealistic to expect a lower rate and etc etc.

So I said that my bank quoted me a rate half that much and I’ll just go through them and buy later (at a different dealer). Because I want the car but there’s 2 other places I can go to get it in my area.

Then all of a sudden dealer #1 could get me a better APR. His next offer was 2x what I wanted to pay. I said nah that good enough.

Then they brought out dealer #2, who was a Black guy. He didn’t sit down and instantly start talking about the price. He said a bunch of small talk and said some stuff about being Black lol. Tryna be chummy chummy and connect with us on a racial level.

Then he tried to push the same numbers as dealer #1. I said I know I’m young and I don’t have a math background but you’re charging me way too much for this car and I’m not going to buy it at that price. Period. I said: get the APR down and I’ll buy the car. He kept telling me it wasn’t possible and I said okay…I won’t buy it.

But then he was like wait…lemme run the numbers. And ta da! He came back with the right APR. Also zero down. And payments lower than my target.

This whole process took 5 hours.

Moral of the story:

Zuko and Sokka are the same age.

I know. I know. STFU, Electrons, Zuko is 16. Sokka is 15. But, HERE'S THE THING. In many Asian cultures, especially the ones the Fire Nation is based on, your first birthday is 30 days after you are born. That's when you turn "one," and when you turn "two" you're actually a year and a month.

So, Zuko is actually FIFTEEN. And when his dad burned him, he was TWELVE. Which makes thematic sense, because SO IS AANG. They're both 12 when they face the Firelord for the first time. Which is a significant age in the Chinese Zodiac (an unlucky one, but that's a longer post).

This would also make Azula 13, which OW! My heart. Poor kid.

I don’t think the creators intended to have the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom characters’ ages be counted by the Zodiac/be a year younger than they say they are, but in reality the characters probably would count their ages differently than we do.

Same with the month numbers: the Day of Black Sun is the first day of the 8th month, and the creators probably meant that to be around August judging by the timing. Nope. In the lunar calendar, the eighth month starts in early to mid-September. Meaning the second half of season 3 would take place over the course of 2-3 weeks rather than the month or so the creators intended.