Still Figuring It All Out

Not every white person dating a POC is fetishizing. White people can be respectful and responsible when it comes to culture and relationships and not everyone has bad intentions.

Asian people can date Black people without you saying shit like “your kids will be so pretty” they’re not dating for pretty kids. They’re dating bc they like each other.

Someone can dress their partner in clothing from their culture if they want. Someone can take their partner to cultural events if they want.

People in relationships can share cultures, experiences and love without it being toxic or skin deep.

Their partner isn’t culturally appropriating. Their partner is being shown the ultimate form of love, bc their partner trusts them and loves them enough to share their history and heritage.

Yeah, dating someone from your culture is nice bc you automatically have similar experiences. But you’re not limited to dating people with the same experiences. Loving someone is sharing and growing and being together.

Linzolt Modern AU Headcanons

Inspired by @astrae03's suggestion earlier this week.

Lin, the daughter of former RCPD commissioner Toph Beifong and heiress to the Beifongs' banking fortune, enters Republic City University's school of law with hopes of upholding justice as a prosecutor.

Zoltan, who grew up bouncing between foster homes after his mother died, enrolls in the same law school with the sole objective of getting rich as quickly as possible.

From the start of their first year, Lin and Zolt are like oil and water. They constantly go back and forth in torts and criminal law, much to the annoyance of the other 1Ls in their cohort. Lin thinks Zolt is callous and cynical, while Zolt finds her sheltered and pedantic.

It all comes to a head during finals week in their first year, when Lin goes to her usual quiet table at the law library and finds that Zolt already claimed it. They tell each other off in hushed tones, as not to disturb the other students, and then ultimately end up fucking about it. Twice. In the end, they both end up acing their finals.

After the first year, hooking up during finals week becomes a bit of a ritual for them. They tell themselves it's just for good luck, or out of habit. Neither of them would even entertain the idea that they had feelings for each other. Still, he always picks her up a coffee when they have morning classes together and she lets him copy her notes if he misses a Monday class because he was out partying all weekend. A certain fondness grows, even if they still go back and forth through their law review articles.

When they graduate, Lin becomes a prosecutor like she'd always planned and Zolt takes a lucrative position at a prestigious firm, S. Kaen and Associates. They believe their paths will never cross again, but the universe (or I, the author) had other plans.

Oh, of course they'll get attacked during prom.

There was one episode with a trans woman getting different gender-affirming operations, including breast implants. It showed the procedure, and (what I found so fascinating that it's stuck with me for decades), as soon as the doctor put the implant in, a censor blur popped up on the nipple.

And you just know there was a meeting between the TLC lawyers and the editors and producers of the show to discuss what the difference was between a "man nipple" (can be shown) and a "woman nipple" (no no must obscure, 'tis naughty). And they decided that as soon as the implant goes in and the nipple has more mass behind it, that's the moment when it becomes a woman's nipple and must be hidden to comply with TV rules.

But it's the same nipple. On the same person. I know what it looks like; I just saw it. But TV and obscenity rules are rules, and the rules say woman nipple = sexual and therefore explicit, but man nipple = neutral, just fine.

hey so. don’t do this.

“coming from a place of respect” there is nothing respectful about a comment like this. this is exactly why I say witch hunt, speculations and accusations harm the writing community as much as ai does, if not more.

I am not saying “you’re an asshole if you think a fic is ai”. I have come across fics that I believe were ai-generated. but instead of asking (accusing) the authors, I make my own decisions whether I’ll continue reading for the benefit of the doubt or quietly exit the fics and look for something else to read.

because with every accusation like this, there’s always a chance of a genuine, innocent writer getting wrongly accused.

last but not least, fanfic writers do NOT owe you anything. they write for themselves and their own enjoyment. their ao3 accounts are their houses and they were kind enough to let you in their houses. for free. (you get to read things for free.) you don’t go into other people’s houses and tell them “actually I think the way you decorate your room is sus. did you actually do it yourself or did you ask a robot to do it for you?”. THEY 👏🏻 DON’T 👏🏻 OWE 👏🏻 YOU 👏🏻 ANYTHING. and I say this as someone who is not a fan of ai fics. if you don’t like what you’re seeing, quietly leave.

A Franciscan monk taking a break from tending to the fields to pet a cat (2004)

Point of order.

King of Horses ran 450 fucking miles at almost entirely a gallop, without more than a few minutes rest, in 4 nights and basically was like "wait why are we stopping?" when Gandalf took him into the city and he ended up in a stable.

This was not his top speed, nor did it push any limits on his endurance.