Graham

[ID: several photos of OP's black button-up shirt which has machine stitched outlines around the breast pocket and around the sleeves. the horizontal borders of the pocket and the left sleeve are filled in with embroidery stitches in a white-purple gradient, evoking the asexual pride flag. one corner of the pocker has a small design filled in with the aroace pride flag colors.]

[ID: OP's dark red hoodie, embroidered with a vibrant wing-like pattern on the shoulder and with gold buttons sewn on where the holes for a drawstring would be]

[6]

"Thous't an idiot on purpose? Course'm mist! Scant a single year t'have here- speech heard an' choices made- that I could show thee howst we annuals live, decade-stepper! That's t'make a kindness, a fairness... cost'm all I have LEFT-"

He breaks into coughing, splattering his ink all over the page.

"Fuck."

He puts down his ink pen, reaches over to the ashtray and relights a cigar about the same size as him, taking a long drag from it.

"Life none, family none, future none- thou offers none help and to it left'm! Thee think'st me HAPPY? Find'm peace wist no rest, no time away, in this shithole twixt predators n' prohibitors? Lest I die 'fore injustice righted? Hast'm NOTHING! Not even KINSHIP, that those'm fight for think of me insane! Thast even if complete, my burn-match life'll collapse'm legs from overwork, unable to enjoy fruits'm laboured of!"

His breathing is rattling. It's not a good sound.

"Miss out... miss out.... ha. Everything's miss'm. Cost've all the rest having a better life. Can't leave such a great injustice t'fester as if truth, knowing'm what made it so. Thast I turned over in sleep, let it be- nay, others could stomach living that selfishness, not I."

His voice lowers, and he mutters under his breath.

because those are still fundamentaly two different things. a marginalized character being harmed, being a shitty person, being a villain, or experiencing horrific things does not inherently mean the story is doing something bigoted to them. sometimes horrible things just happen to characters because they're in a story where horrible things happen to people.

some people may enjoy cutsey content where nothing bad happens, but thats not really what pushes most stories. you have to be able to let gay characters go through horrific things without it being bury your gays, you have to let women experience horror in horror media without it being targetted female violence, you have to let disabled people be villains without villainizing disability, etc. etc.

because these are things that make interesting and compelling characters and media. context matters so much.

Will he read the room? Never. I don't think he even knows what happened. His mom then proceeds to make them go grocery shopping for her after this and it's not like Jane can refuse so she can go take care of Pages raiding out her studio LOL