Just Chaos

I’m making a ToA-stuck-in-a-fairytale fic

I’m making a ToA-stuck-in-a-fairytale fic

“Shut up, Tarron.”

Why is it okay that Jabber, Corvus and Semiu were all played by people who aren't black at all? But god forbid when someone makes art and they make a character a little tanner it's the end of the world.

There’s a level of care that has to go into creating characters from racial or ethnic backgrounds different from your own, especially when you’re heavily drawing inspiration from those communities' aesthetics as well. I don’t think she intentionally does things to be racist, but people from the communities being referenced are still allowed to have concerns about how things are portrayed and what gets endorsed by the creator. A creator’s endorsement can make people feel like certain behavior or interpretations are acceptable, even if that wasn’t the intention.

To hit all my points, I’m just going to rapid-fire them:

I don’t think the apology was very good — not in a “it wasn’t good enough no matter what” kind of way, but because the phrasing felt more focused on the emotional response of the audience than directly addressing the main concern people had.

The main concern seemed to get the shortest acknowledgment, while a much larger portion focused on something that wasn’t the central issue for most people. I understand the defensiveness behind that, but it still felt misplaced.

People — especially Black fans — reevaluating past moments or interactions through a different lens after this situation is normal. Even if harmful intent was never there, people naturally become more guarded once trust is shaken. Those who no longer want to engage with the media aren’t automatically being dramatic.

Kei Urana’s response to criticism feels very human, but still worthy of critique. It comes across as protective and defensive, which is understandable emotionally, but if you treat every criticism like an attack, you can end up pushing away people who are genuinely trying to explain concerns in good faith.

In the end, do I think she’s a horrible person? No. Do I think ignorance around certain topics unintentionally offended people, and that the response has made the situation worse? Yes. Are there people taking things too far on both sides? It’s the internet, so obviously yes. Are there also fans who idolize her to the point where they think she can do no wrong and end up coddling her? Also yes.

One way this whole situation has felt to me is like pointing out a concern to a parental figure, only for them to respond in a way that doesn’t fully acknowledge the issue, and then having everyone around them comfort them while acting like you’re unreasonable for still feeling hurt or dissatisfied.

I also honestly think creators should keep a healthier distance from fandom spaces. Fandoms are naturally places where fans interpret media in their own ways, create headcanons, discuss criticism, and build their own perspectives. Constant creator involvement can make things messier, especially when creators start directly validating or shutting down interpretations in emotional situations like this.

And to the people — both Black, non-Black, and pretending to be Black — saying “I don’t see the problem,” okay, but some people do, and their feelings are still valid. Not everyone is going to react the same way.

past generations could just go outside on their bikes and stay out for hours, but parents have gotten used to a level of surveillance over their children that they are not willing to give up, and outside barely exists in some towns and states, it's all just drive throughs and parking. more recent generations had social media that actually connected people and malls, but the legislation we are trying to pass will limit kids' access to online, and even if they do have access social media it is just really used to ragebait and sell shit, and the malls are closing.

IF YOU ARE AN ADULT, please look into whatever state and federal "kids safety" legislation that is up for comment right now and continue to support your local community like community centers, libraries, and youth outreach programs, as well as reaching out to your government. be annoying, call them, email them, up to public meetings if you can, be a pain in their ass.

IF YOU ARE A KID, it's not over, you can still create a local group of people, even in shitty conditions like these. if your family has money, try a new skill like playing an instrument, dancing, martial arts, stuff like that, if your family doesn't have money, try activities that only require mostly only one initial cost, like skateboarding, chess, dnd, and please try not to feel shame about making stuff yourself. feel free to set aside birthday or holiday money for this. just come up with something you like, and find a way to do that with other people. puzzling, book clubs, tabletop games are also a great idea. once you have a group you can put your guys' resources together to expand. not everyone has a full library or multiple cool games and puzzles, but multiple people probably have one or two games or puzzles at home. i promise other kids your age act weird and cold and unsociable at first but a lot of times they actual feel the same as you about how hard it is to find and connect with people. people want stuff to do even though they don't always realize it. it doesn't always even matter what it is.

[Video Description: An Instagram video by user _glassmuseum, in which they are sitting in front of the camera and speaking. They say, "Everybody wants third spaces... Until a homeless guy shows up. Now, there's a lot of talk about third spaces for a reason." Examples of posts expressing a desire for third spaces show on the screen. "We need places to form community beyond just home and work. But that begs the question of, who gets to be a part of our communities? You want more parks, more libraries," Posts in which people praise parks and libraries show on the screen. "But then you complain when these public infrastructures are, well, public." Posts of people complaining about homeless people in public spaces are shown. "For the unhoused, the importance of public spaces isn't just a matter of wanting somewhere to chill with friends. It's a matter of existence and freedom. In his landmark essay, 'Homelessness And The Issue Of Freedom'," A screenshot of the first page of the essay appears on screen, then a picture of the author. "Jeremy Waldron argues that the freedoms of the poor are disproportionately restricted under the law, since their material conditions coerce them into a state in which they must choose between survival and the violation of the law. He writes that freedom exists for the homeless 'only to the extent that our society is communist'. Now before you're red scare ass starts to hemorrhage over the C word," Memes of people disregarding and making fun of communism are shown. "Let me explain. But first, let's define our terms. Specifically, let's distinguish between positive and negative freedoms. While positive freedom is the capacity to act according to one's free will," The Wikipedia page for Positive Liberty is shown. "Negative freedom is the capacity to act free from the coercion of others." The Wikipedia page for Negative Liberty is shown. "So, things like loitering laws, public indecency violations." Pictures of signs enforcing these laws are shown. "Though they apply to the rich and poor alike, they apply disproportionately to those who possess no private property of their own and thus who exist soley in the collective space. And so while a homeless person may posses the positive freedom to, say, physically lay down in a park," A picture of someone laying on a bench, using a backpack as a pillow. "They have their negative freedom restricted, since they'll be forcibly removed for doing so." A stock photo of police standing over someone sleeping on a bench. "Because of the regulations placed on public spaces that prohibit certain actions that are typically relegated to the private, like sleeping, pissing, showering. All these actions are natural and necessary, and yet they're prohibited in the public space. And this limitation is no problem for owners of private property, since the public is conceived of as being complementary to the private. However, as Waldron notes," An excerpt from the essay is shown on screen, along with the text "Waldron 32". "'This complementarity works only for those who have the benefit of both sorts of places.' So, if you're homeless, you're stuck in a situation where you're forced to violate the law in order to survive. Because in order to exist, one needs somewhere they can exist. There's oftentimes a contradiction with how people consider the homeless, if they even consider them at all. People don't want them pissing in the streets but they also don't want them pissing in the McDonald's bathroom. People don't want encampments," An article about an anti-encampment law in Ontario is shown. "But they also oppose the construction of affordable public hosing." The Wikipedia article for NIMBY, or Not In My Back Yard, is shown. "There seems to be a desire for increased public life, but only a certain kind of public. But if you want to advocate for community building, then we need to reconsider who gets to be a part of our community." /End I.D.]

Standing by the corner that lead to the hallway in Tarron residence, eyes fixated in a confused and almost irritated expression, on two of the three biggest nerds he knows. Eli taking third place, he’s gotten de-ranked after deciding to leave earth with Steve’s gorgeous and loving girlfriend to rule Akiridion-5– “human ambassador”, Steve wasn’t quite sure what that even meant.

His bestfriend’s got this dopey expression, almost droopy. This weird gentle smile on his face as he listens to Krel talk about science-y stuff Steve couldn’t care less about. They’re giggling with each other— and Steve had never in his twelve years of knowing Seamus heard him giggle, at least not this love-sick and hopeless.

it sure as hell looked like they were flirting, though Steve wasn’t sure if he should be happy about that possibility or not. If Krel were to break his best friend’s heart with his Krel-ness, the dork would have hell to pay, but then there was Aja, and that’s a whole other conversation about why Steve cannot lay a hand on Krel in any given situation if he’d like to keep his head on his head.

Then again, they were weird, they could just be…bros being bros, in their own weird, nerd way.

He’d been standing here for a while, all he knows is that in all that time, he’d witnessed Seamus brush Krel’s bangs out of his face thrice in the span of, what he assumed was, eight minutes.

Toby raised a brow as he approached the blond. “Is there a reason you’ve been spying on those two the past few minutes like a creep, or…?”

“Look,” Steve cut him off, pointing an accusing finger at his soon-to-be-brother-in-law and best friend. “There is something going on with them. I mean, look at them! All red faced and giggly. Seamus just brushed Krel’s hair out of his face for the fourth time in less than ten minutes. Am I crazy or are they flirting?”

Toby stared, deadpan as he spoke with a hand on his hip. “Wow, what gave it away? The flushed faces and giggles or the fact they’ve been dating for the past three months?”

“They what?!”

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@raccooneywk

@splatid

@ash-dispersal-pattern09

First ACTUAL post! Have some silly Kreamus art

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