Haarlow

(TADC spoilers)

As I grow older I think that the lens of "representation" can be a very limiting way to view queer fiction, especially things drawing from a queer creator's own lived experiences, and Jax's story is a great example of why.

By some rubrics, Jax is "bad transfem representation." She's a fucked up, maladjusted person who never actually even transitions, who pushes away and hurts most of the people close to her, and whose story ends tragically with something that partially evokes suicide. (Though the abstractions are still, you know, alive, and they seem to still be in there somewhere, so I don't like reading it as a 1:1 metaphor. And also obviously Jax's real world counterpart is still alive and seems to be doing better lol.) Jax isn't an aspirational character for trans women watching the show or someone who makes trans women look good to cis audiences. She's unflattering and suffers a downfall of her own making and only realizes that she's still capable of being loved after it's too late. Thus, "bad representation."

The tragedy of Jax's story is something deeply personal, a cautionary tale about the ugly side of dysphoria and internalized misogyny and bad parent-child relationships and what happens when you repress yourself into a jaded, irony-poisoned mess rather than letting yourself be vulnerable in front of other people. It's a pain that a lot of us can relate to, because real people don't always mirror "good representation," and seeing that pain expressed in a work of art like this helps us process those feelings and know that we aren't alone. The ugliness isn't a mistake, it's the point.

Yes, I also love cute and fun and hopeful and sappy stories about queer characters that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, which is closer to how most of the other characters' stories end in TADC, living happily ever after in a version of the circus where they get to live life how they want to live. Neither is the singular "right" way to tell queer stories, because we need more of ALL kinds of queer stories, because art is subjective and different things will speak to different people. And it's beautiful that this is a story reached such a wide audience and was able to speak to so many people. I hope Jax put things in perspective for some folks.

He never answered I didn't grow up religious, but being in a religious town I had moments of praying to anyone who'd hear me. Never did I get a single response.

Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

Calcium carbonate (limestone, eggshells)

Zinc oxide

Magnesium sulphate (Epsom's salts)

Magnesium carbonate (gym chalk)

Kaolinite (the abrasive part of toothpaste)

Certain kinds of Zeolites

Potassium chloride (low-sodium table salt)

Ferrous sulphate

The small quantities and not immediate emergency parts are key though, as most of them are bioactive and will affect electrolyte levels in the body, eventually causing several different illnesses. But again, that's also true of table salt.

jasper or a nephrite or something

Introducing the newest design for DeadEyedFae! - im so happy with how she has some out and DAMN do people love her, ive had so much fan art and i had'nt even publicly unveiled her yet! oh yeah and im doing artfight this year!

Another story about two girls who get married and THEN fall in love haha.

Sera is such a cutie and the one who agreed to marry her now wife Ruriko who is deeply in love with her.

This Yrui is super cute and I'd love to continue it IF I COULD FIND THE SECOND VOLUME UGHHH