#those things can and should coexist

[ladyelainehilfur]

y'know what. people are very predictable sometimes. everyone was complaining and promising to boycott the live action ATLA, especially after the original ATLA show runners left due to creative differences. but I knew the moment we got the actors in costume and trailers and decent-looking CGI, all the critics would fold just like that. And yeah, they all folded. You could bring up the same points you brought up 6 months ago and get booed for not suddenly liking the idea of a live action ATLA like everyone else. how about people not be predictable about popular IP and stick to their guns for once.

[smartzelda]

Sorry guys I gotta speak my truth on this one

I'm not kidding when I say that I think that blaming shit media literacy from fans on shipping/shippers avoids the actual root of the problem to throw people you can easily throw under the bus (simply because it's not unpopular to consider people who post about ships or ship characters in media as having lesser or derivative tastes by default)

And here's why.

I think when you blame people who are "shippers" or "consume media through shipping lenses", the true root of it all is a mindset problem.

In actually, putting on shipping lenses can be helpful when trying to analyze a piece of media. When analyzing media you're supposed to approach it through a number of mindsets and put on different lenses (both to deepen your personal understanding of the media, and to pick it apart and see what you can find there (whether intentional or not on the author's part)), and different ships can be some of those lenses

When it comes to ships between main characters (for those who are genuinely willing to see what the narrative is showing with their relationship and what it's doing), there are times when analyzing it from a shipping lens may be helpful. As someone from KH fandom, I have seen people come to deeper understandings and pick canon apart in the process of analyzing a relationship that is genuinely integral to the story (platonic or not). I've also seen people get into rarepairs of characters who barely interact or who just suffer little screen time, and I've seen them come to better understandings of those side characters and how they potentially fit into the world of the media simply because people are now focusing on these characters and how they fit into the narrative.

Frankly, I resent the idea that the only way to truly objectively analyze a piece of media is by turning off the part of your brain that gets excited over relationships and individual characters. Don't get me wrong, that is a way to approach a piece of media and a valid one at that, but the truth is that we cannot be free of bias.

For instance, I was watching House MD with my parents circa last year. At some point I started heavily tuning into what was going on with House and Wilson's relationship. My parents, on the other hand, were largely watching casually. They're not thinking of character relationships or getting heavily invested in most characters, they're watching because they like watching. One of them in particular did try to analyze things that were happening in the show as they happened. However, when it came to the scene late in the series where House threw out Dominika's letter approving her American citizenship, my parents could understand that he was doing that because he didn't want her to leave, but not much beyond that. I ended up explaining to them that House's fake marriage for Dominika was an explicit parallel to when Wilson was living with House in the early seasons. Both situations started with House being none too happy about it but ultimately letting them stay, spending a considerable amount of effort getting them to leave/getting this situation to be finally over so he didn't have to deal with it anymore, and then by the time a piece of news comes through that would mean the person in question actually leaves, House hides this news as long as he can. Because he doesn't actually want them to leave and has grown attached. And by doing this he became a self fulfilling prophecy. By reacting to the truth of Wilson and Dominika leaving him the way he does, he seals his fate and they ultimately leave anyways. Maybe I ship Hilson, but becoming open to how their relationship was handled allowed me to transition to doing character studies and recognizing patterns/parallels that I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't particularly care about the characters or their relationship.

Likewise, I've seen mutuals complain about how people who don't like or don't care about certain characters often overlook these characters (what they're actually like and their place in the narrative), while the mutuals in question (by default) are able to come to deeper understanding of what the writers/story is trying to do because they care about this funky guy

You can't eradicate bias when you're engaging in media analysis, but you can consciously put on a range of lenses and observe the media through different povs with the goal of understanding the media better or bolstering your reading of it. And those lenses/povs can include focusing on specific relationships or the perpective of certain characters

And this is why I say it's actually a mindset problem. Shippers and people who have this one blorbo they like a lot aren't inherently terrible "fandom brained individuals" who are the root of media analysis problems. The problem only arises when people's readings/analysis of a piece of media are inherently restrictive/narrow and self centered. Your problem is with people who view a piece of media through a ship they like but don't keep an open mind about it, and whose "media analysis"/views on canon cannot be split from fanon and their comfortability levels. These are the people whose "media analysis" starts and ends with justifying their fanon as canon, whose views on media revolve around sorting characters and relationships into categories they personally enjoy rather than trying to understand what's going on.

Here's another example.

Here we have a fictional ship we'll call uhhhh...Blanebin. this fictional ship I made up on the spot for characters that don't exist named Blane and Corbin

Person A is super into Blanebin. They're part of the main cast of characters and canonically childhood best friends, so person A (as much as they enjoy fanart and fic) is also enjoying analyzing how narratively important to each other they are. Recently, Corbin started dating another character in canon, but Person A is enjoying watching how Blane is reacting to this. "Is this potentially a tell that Blane is jealous or is having complicated feelings about this? What if he was, how would that contextualize his behavior this season? Here's what I think based on how Blane dealt with explicit jealousy last season in a different situation". It's not impossible that person A is still missing further understanding due to their obsession with Blanebin, but at the end of the day this obsession has allowed them to start picking through the characters both in and outside this relationship. It has allowed them to see potential subtext and theorize on what might happen next with these characters' relationship. Not to mention that with addition of Corbin dating someone else, instead of trying to erase this fact or state that Corbin canonically isn't into that person, Person A is trying to factor in how Corbin's current dating life affects his relationship with Blane (irregardless on personal views on the nature of Corbin's relationship with the person he's dating).

Person B is also super into Blanebin. They really enjoy fanart and fic of the characters, love obsessing over their moments together, and just feel like there's really something between the characters. To person B, every moment between them is just further proof that the writers are ship teasing them. But Corbin getting together with someone else this season? Oh that pissed person B off. They cannot believe that even though Corbin and Blane are CLEARLY gay for each other the writers had Corbin get with someone else this season. Perhaps, they think, it was even a decision specifically made to spite fans. How evil of the writers to tease a perfectly good ship and then have them not get together first? They must have been just doing those teases to get views from Blanebin shippers those scoundrels. To Person B, since Corbin started dating someone when he obviously has some chemistry with Blane (even though the series is far from over) means that Blanebin can never get together now and Corbin x person he's dating is ruining Blanebin by existing. In fact, they think, this is terrible writing for Corbin to be dating someone else because they don't like that relationship and don't see the point. Obviously if the writers were good then Corbin would have started dating Blane instead because this was supposed to be the Blanebin show.

Person C despises Blanebin. Don't get them wrong, they've always enjoyed the character's childhood friendship, but they actually have always thought Blane would have been better off with Victoria. They have a lot of moments too! But they're tired of seeing people ship Blanebin. Corbin just got together with someone else, so obviously that's not gonna work out. Plus Corbin and Blane totally has always given person C bro vibes. In fact, person C thinks, sure Corbin and Blane have a close friendship, but people shouldn't be shipping them. Person C likes Blanetoria and Blanetoria can't be canon if Corbin is in the way of it. So Person C likes to read Blanebin as siblings anyways. Sure they're canonically friends, but obviously their friendship turned into brotherhood. This means that nothing can be in the way of Blanetoria and Corbin can keep dating the person he's already canonically dating. Actually, now Blanebin just straight up makes Person C uncomfortable. Don't the pesky shippers understand that Blanebin are sibling coded because they're childhood best friends and that they're important to each other because they're brothers? It's obvious to anyone with eyes.

Sure, ships are involved here, but is the root of this problem shipping? Character A isn't as knowledgeable of other characters in the plot due to this lens they're using, but at the end of the day they're dedicated to analysis. Their love of the characters is pushing them beyond what they like or dislike to try to understand what might be happening through their lens. Not perfect, but they are slowly broadening their horizons. But Person B and C's problems here are their restrictiveness. What is or should be canon to them is tantamount to what they personally like or find comfortable. Is person C actually analyzing the this fake show when they decide to "read" Blanebin as basically canonically siblings (and this all of their moments are totally a bro thing) just because they don't like Blanebin and the idea of them getting together over Blanetoria makes them uncomfortable? Is person B actually analyzing this fake show when their "analysis" of Blanebin goes only as far as asserting it's being ship teased and deciding anything short of canonizing Blanebin is a targeted attack or "bad writing" because it's not what they wanted personally to happen?

This is what I'm talking about. This is the mindset. Shipping isn't the problem. The problem is when people marry fanon and canon to the point where they have a vested interest in superimposing their fanon over canon as "a reading" and trying to make "collective decisions" on what is canon (or what canon is trying to say) based on what does or doesn't make them uncomfortable. The problem is people being restrictive and centering their own likes and dislikes in the conversation, so they can only interact with canon "analysis" wise by deciding what is canon or should be canon "as obviously agreed on by everyone". You can't simply claim you like media analysis. To be able to analyze media and bolster your views on any given canon, you must be open to looking at it through multiple povs, to studying characters without trying to pretend things you don't like don't exist or do like do exist. There is a balance that must be kept between trying to keep objectivity and putting on specific focus/bias based upon the lenses you're putting on. You have to be willing to try to figure out what a media is doing or saying, not saying you're trying to figure out what it's saying while in actuality trying to define the narrative around what people believe it's saying in ways that suit you.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[knowlesian]

Serious Art and humor cannot coexist in fiction without the second cheapening the first is one of those takes that makes me want to put my head through a wall

[a-vibing-potato]

I would just like to take a moment to acknowledge how CRAZY it is that Cas broke Dean's trust in 6x20, "The Man Who Would Be King"

Dean "trust issues" Winchester.

Dean "literally had no friends or relationships that weren't his dad's first in the first three or four seasons besides one night stands because 'in this line of work, we can't have relationships hold us back'" Winchester.

Dean "This is your problem, Dean. You have no faith." Winchester.

Dean who has HORRIBLE, childhood trauma induced trust issues and one of his defining problems is that he has no faith. He GOT faith. He GOT trust. He MADE it. And he built that. Just to put it all into Cas and believing him.

And Cas is the one who broke it.

The teary-eyed looks in both of their eyes are gonna haunt me for days.

[f1owermoon]

sorry but i have a couple more things to say about the joost stuff and it might be an unpopular take here but i really don't like how some people are reducing the allegations to "grown man having sex" or saying stuff like "happy for whoever gets to bounce on it" like....that's not the point....no one gives a fuck about a 27 year old grown ass man having a sex life LMFAO the issue here are the alleged lies and manipulation, that's a WHOLE different story. we're talking about serious stuff here and it lowkey pisses me off how some people have completely missed the point.

and also, the way that some twt fans were ready to jump at other people's throats when some decided to leave the fandom is just...yikes. like yeah i'm sorry if someone i'm a fan of is being accused of being a disgusting person ofc i wouldn't wanna support them anymore??? again, these are really serious accusations and i think it's a perfectly normal reaction??

now, let me clarify that i don't wanna come across as overly critical or try to make it seem like i'm accusing joost or claiming that those allegations are true. i don't know shit and it seems like they've been cleared up for the most part?? i'm still confused, honestly. but yeah, that's all. just a couple more thoughts i had to get off my chest.

[logarithmicpanda]

People compare Fenris to Astarion and. Okay white hair and freedom arcs aside I strongly disagree. Fenris is only annoying with me when I help mages, on account of his pain and suffering being caused by a mage. Astarion is pissed at me if I help kids on account that I should not help the weak :) they are not the same.

[rawliverandgoronspice]

.

not sure it's my post to make particularly, but I do fucking hate how the concept of white guilt gets weaponized within white people ingroups to throw at each other in order to goad each other into emotional passivity, detachement and inaction, it's just so extremely not what the concept is about initially and is actually still an extension of white guilt it turns out!!! as it's still reacting to that idea and concerned by trying to sever oneself from its perceived effects, regardless of what those are and what they do and what bigger picture they exist in!!!! anyway.

[reflectionsofgalaxies]

how do y’all move past the impulsive desires that come with existential crises?

[nightlilly0110]

“Rooster Teeth had a lot of issues as evidenced by the allegations past employees have come forward with” and “Warner Bros is fucking evil for axing an entire company and letting some of its employees find out via tweet” are statements that can and should coexist.

Like. It’s not some gotcha that RT is shutting down. It’s not some vindictive justice that this Big Bad Company is gone now. Projects are now canceled. People will be fired from their jobs. And because it’s Warner Bros. it’s only a matter of time before all those animation projects (RvB, RWBY, Camp Camp, every single episode of anything they made) is scrubbed off of the internet.

It’s gonna be the same thing that happened with HBO Max. It’s gonna be the same thing with the Coyote vs. Acme movie and Batgirl.

RT going down is not the thing you should be lording over people. RT going down should not be some ammo for your “RWBY is mid” takes. RT going down is not some “I always knew it was cringe” meme. Real people are gonna be effected by this. People will lose this jobs and will lose all the passion projects they worked on.

This is horrifying for the people involved in these projects and the state of animation itself. Warner Bros. only owned Rooster Teeth for 2 years. They bought them in 2022. Not even 2 full years. They didn’t even get a chance and they axed THE ENTIRE COMPANY. NOT JUST ONE SHOW. THE ENTIRE FUCKING COMPANY AND ALL ITS IPS. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. THIS IS NOT THR TIME FOR A FAN WAR.

[frecklenog]

“self immolation as a form of extreme political protest has a long history all over the world, and aaron bushnell’s death should not be discussed solely as a suicide”

and

“people who are already hurting and vulnerable can do more to help while they are still alive than they could in death, and should not repeat aaron bushnell’s actions”

are statements that can and must coexist, actually.

he felt that he was complicit in genocide as an active duty us service member, and, to an extent, he was. but also as an active duty service member, he was legally not allowed to quit his job as a member of the military.

his final act was to take drastic measures to draw attention to a genocide that many people in this country are turning a blind eye towards, and i commend him for his sacrifice. it should be honored and remembered.

that doesn’t mean i want anyone to feel that they should follow in his footsteps.

he should not have been made, by nature of his employment, to feel that he was complicit in genocide, because those in power should not be funding and supporting it in the first place. but they are doing so, and he made it clear that did feel that way. we can’t change that. that doesn’t give us the right to dismiss and ignore his actions.

“this [genocide] is what our ruling class has decided is normal.” and it shouldn’t be.

keep bushnell’s message in mind as you organize. protest, fundraise, call your representatives. these are actions that have a tangible effect. and they do far more to help than dying.

but i’m not going to condemn him, just as i’m not going to condemn the likes of thích quảng đức. i’m not going to say that his death was worthless, because it brought undeniable attention to the matter at hand, despite attempts by american media to gloss over why he did what he did.

i understand where people are coming from — self immolation is a deeply disturbing thing to witness, even blurred. i was very deeply affected by the video. but that’s exactly why he did it; to get through to people that this matters.

i don’t want anyone else to die, either. but remembering aaron bushnell and what he died for is not synonymous with encouraging suicide.

his last words were “free palestine” and, as people living in countries that are funding extermination, it is our job to carry on that cry until palestine is free.

that means living to see it through. ensure that he did not die in vain.

[ashmacg]

This is the way.

Haters gonna hate

[ocean-breeze-pier]

Wow there’s so much wrong I don’t even know where to start so let’s just fire off a few

1) transandrophobia is not a reactionary term. It was created for us to talk about specific issues that trans men and transmascs face because our issues are often overlooked/dismissed. There are specific issues faced by us that aren’t covered by a general term of transphobia, the same way transmisogny is for trans women and transfems to talk about their specific issues. Transmisogny and transandrophobia as terms can (and should) coexist

2) I’m so sick of people acting like t4t was just transfem 4 transfems. The attempt at gatekeeping it is so fucking odd and weird. It’s always been about trans 4 trans not specifically transfems. Stop trying to divide us

3) forcemasc as we know it was absolutely created by transmascs be fucking fr right now. People like this are the same people who make those posts shitting on forcemasc and acting like forcefem is superior as if being forcibly feminized isn’t traumatic for trans men in a similar way that being forcibly masculinized is traumatic for transfems. I don’t know to explain to you that your experience of gender is not universal. Just bc you don’t think forcefem could be traumatic it’s like no shit you’re transfem and forcefem makes you feel good. So why wouldn’t it be the same way for transmascs? You need to stop acting like masculinity is inherently oppressive and no one could ever find joy in being masculinized

So much of this post is giving “theyfab was created to critique transmisogyny” when in reality it’s 4chan bullshit against anyone deemed too feminine compared to their agab. Y’all need to stop trying to rewrite history just so you can complain about the evil transmascs stealing things

Y’all just don’t want trans guys to have shit. That’s really what it is. At the end of the day, trans culture as a whole is often shared. Sometimes things like the Blahaj that may start being used by transfems may have some trans guys who are into it as well. It also goes the other way? Oh wait all trans guy culture is seen as is whiny dyed hair skinny twinks who wear flower crowns and listen to cave town and we’re all cringe!!! When trans guys try to have their own culture it’s made fun of truly there’s no winning

Also this might be mean idgaf at this point but in specific reference to blahaj good grief it’s a stuffed animal no specific group of trans people has a monopoly on it😭like we can’t be serious right now

Trying to spin every facet of transmasc culture as a transfem spinoff is once again erasing us and our history.

[schizopositivity]

"I hate these medication side effects" and "this medication overall improves my quality of life and health" are two ideas that can coexist.

You can let people complain about their side effects while not suggesting they simply stop taking the meds.

You can acknowledge how helpful the meds are without erasing the impact of the side effects.

For a lot of us who need to take meds for the rest of our lives to be able to function, be content, and/or stop the progression of symptoms, we have no choice but to deal with the side effects. And we should be allowed to talk about the negative side effects without people suggesting we stop. Quitting medication isn't always an option, or it can make things significantly worse. The side effects just become a part of our life, and we should be able to complain about them just like any other difficulties in life.

I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for my meds, they have been incredible. But also I will always have a set of problems caused by those same medications. I can't have the benefits of the meds without the side effects, this is just my reality.

[tsukii0002]

Imagine the contrast of the coexistence between Mc and Solomon, a human who did not know that magic was real until relatively recently and another human who has lived for centuries and who uses magic as if it were breathing.

Imagine that little things at home where Solomon is always willing to use magic to solve it, while Mc always beats him to it in the most common and least magical way possible.

But above all imagine, Solomon's frustration, how can his magic be rendered useless in such a way? And if he has no magic, what can he bring to that home?

Solomon: Remember that blanket I told you had a hole in it, I think it's time to mend it *opening one of his books*

Mc: I've already mended it, with a few stitches it's as good as new.

Solomon: Oh…

Solomon: Mc, what was the table that was broken?

Mc: Oh, don't worry, I fixed it.

Solomon: Really? What spell did you use?

Mc: Ha, ha, Solomon, you don't need magic to wedge a table.

Solomon: Mc!! With this spell we will solve our rat problem!

Mc: *smiling* I've already taken care of that, no for nothing Barbatos is so happy with me.

Solomon: That's how you earn your premium tea leaves?

Solomon: Please tell me you didn't fix the shelf that was sagging *with a book under his arm*

Mc: *eating a muffin* Oops.

Solomon: Mc, I told you I'd fix it *pointing at the. with the book*

Mc: Solomon, it was tightening two screws, it's going to take you longer to look up such a mundane spell than to fix it manually.

.

Solomon: Mc… you're a sorceress, you should use magic more!

Mc: *funny* And you should use magic less!!! You're still a human, old man. By the way, remember those yellow spots on the tablecloth that bothered you so much?

Solomon: Yeah?

Mc: Well, I've already made them disappear and without magic.

Solomon: How????

Solomon is sitting, somewhat annoyed, on one of the balconies

Mc: Hey…

Solomon: …

Mc: Are you upset?

Solomon: … No.

Mc: *sighing as they stands next to him* Let's talk, tell me, why does it bother you so much that I solve things without magic?

Solomon: I'm not upset, we don't need to talk at all.

Mc: You know that communication is part of living together right? We are two people with different ways of living, if we don't talk how are we going to have a good cohabitation?

Solomon: … With the brothers you never had that problem.

Mc: Sure I have, maybe not with these things because Lucifer encourages certain stuff to be done manually, but we had to set a lot of guidelines when I started living with them.

Solomon: ...

Solomon: *sighing* I'm not upset… it's just that I'm used to doing everything with magic, even the smallest things, it's easier, faster.

Mc: Well, sometimes yes, but sometimes it's easier to do it without magic, and in my case I'm used to not use magic.

Solomon: *looking at them* I know, but there are things I can't do without magic.

Mc: But that's what I'm for, isn't it?

Solomon: *doubting* Then' what do I bring to our cohabitation?

Mc: *realizing*

Solomon: You cook, you do a lot of chores because you are faster, and you take care of a lot of things that allow you to have a routine… I feel that instead of living together, I am a guest...

Mc: Solomon...

Solomon: And if I can't even use my magic, Am I useless? without my magic I…

The two are silent for a moment

Mc: I'm sorry, I've minimized how you feel… and I've done things my way without taking you into account.

Solomon: Ha, ha, don't worry, *now kind of sad* It's not that big of a deal.

Mc: No, I told you, communication is part of living together and you should tell me what bothers you.

Solomon: *looking at them*

Mc: We can try to find a middle ground.

Solomon: How?

Mc: *thoughtful* Well, the day to day things we can do manually and the things that are very difficult or tedious we can use magic?

Solomon: *considering it seriously'* You could also teach me how to do tasks without magic, like how to wedge a table… and I could teach you spells that I usually use, like the one that sweeps the house by itself.

Mc: *smiling* We can also make a schedule so we don't step on each other's to-dos.

Solomon: *smiling too* And create a chat room exclusively for house stuff where we can let each other know if we're going to do something.

Mc: That sounds like a great idea Solomon.

Solomon: *more lively* And I'd also like to do certain chores together, like laundry or cooking.

Mc: … *feeling bad at Solomon's happy face* Yes… we can do that too.

.

.

This turned out to be longer than I thought, and what started as something funny has turned into a drama😅. I'm not going to lie to you, I love domestic dramas, day to day problems… so this post has turned into that because Solomon is used to live in a very different way than Mc, and living together for the first time is always complicated and habits are hard to change, and co-living is not always so great. Give me domestic situations between Mc and the rest of the cast please!!!! 🥺🥺

Anyway, if you've made it this far, thank you very much for reading🩷

.

.

[cripplecharacters]

Disabilities that You Should Consider Representing in Your Writing More… part 1

[large text: Disabilities that You Should Consider Representing in Your Writing More… part 1]

While all disabilities are underrepresented in basically all sorts of media, it’s hard to not notice the trend in what disabilities make up the majority of representation. It’s especially visible when having a blog like this, where we can see what disabilities writers even consider including in their writing, and which ones never come up.

One in four people are disabled. With eight billion people alive it means there’s a lot of disabled people, and a lot of reasons why they are disabled in the first place - but this diversity is rarely represented, even on this blog, and anyone who has been following for a while has probably noticed that fact.

To be blunt: there are disabilities other than “amputee” and “invisibly disabled mobility aid user”. Does that mean that it’s wrong to write either of those? No, and we don’t want to imply that it is. Does it mean that either of these have a lot of good representation? Absolutely not, half of all the amputee characters out there are written by people who don't seem to be even aware they're writing a disabled character. Does it mean that when you are deciding on what to give your character, you should think beyond (or along! people can be, and often are, multiply disabled!) just those two? Absolutely. Disability is a spectrum with thousands of things in it.

This is, simply, a list of common disabilities. This is just a few of them, as this is part one of presumably many (or, at least three as of right now). By “common” we rather arbitrarily decided on “~1% or more” - so at least 1 in 100 people has the disabilities below, which is a lot. Featuring!: links that you should click, sources of the % that are mostly just medical reports and might be hard to read, and quick, very non-exhaustive explanations to give you a basic idea of what these are. 

Intellectual disability (about 1.5%) Intellectual disability is a condition we have written about at length before. It’s a developmental disability that affects things such as conceptualization, language, problem-solving, or social and self-care skills. ID can exist on its own or be a part of another condition, like Down Syndrome, Congenital Iodine Deficiency, or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. This post covers a lot of basic information that you might need. We have an intellectual disability tag that you can look through!

Cancer survivors (5.4% in the US, about 0.55% worldwide) A cancer survivor is a pretty self-explanatory term. There is a lot of types of cancer and some of them are very common while others are very rare, which makes this a very diverse category. Cancers also have different survival rates. While not every survivor will have disabling symptoms, they definitely happen. Most of the long-term side effects are related to chemotherapy, radiation, and other medication, especially if they happened in children. They can include all sorts of organ damage, osteoporosis, cognitive problems, sensory disabilities, infertility, and increased rate of other cancers. Other effects include removal of the affected area, such as an eye, a spleen, breasts, or the thyroid gland, each of which will have different outcomes. Cancer, and cancer treatments, can also result in PTSD.

Diabetes (about 8.5%, ~95% of that are type 2) Diabetes is a group of endocrine conditions that cause hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) for various reasons depending on the type. The vast majority of people have type 2 diabetes, which can cause fatigue, poor healing, or feeling thirsty or hungry. A diabetic person will use insulin when needed to help manage their blood sugar levels. There are many complications related to diabetes, from neuropathy, to retinopathy, and chronic kidney disease, and there's a lot of disabilities that coexist with diabetes in general! You might want to check out the #how to write type 1 diabetes tag by @type1diabetesinfandom!

Disabling vision loss (about 7.5%) Blindness and low vision are a spectrum, ranging from total blindness (around 10% of legally blind people) to mild visual impairment. Blindness can be caused by countless things, but cataracts, refractive errors, and glaucoma are the most common. While cataracts cause the person to have a clouded pupil (not the whole eye!) blind eyes usually look average, with strabismus or nystagmus being exceptions to that fairly often (but not always). Trauma isn't a common cause of blindness, and accidents are overrepresented in fiction. A blind person can use a white cane, a guide dog or horse, or both. Assistive solutions are important here, such as Braille, screenreaders, or magnifying glasses. We have a blindness tag that you can look through, and you might want to check out @blindbeta and @mimzy-writing-online.

Psoriasis (about 2-4%) Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition with multiple subtypes; it can cause intense itching, pain, and general discomfort, and often carries social stigma. It’s an autoimmune and non-contagious disability that affects the skin cells, resulting in raised patches of flaky skin covered with scales. It often (30%) leads to a related condition, psoriatic arthritis, which causes joint pain, tenderness, and fatigue, among other things.

Stroke survivors (0.5-1%) A stroke survivor is a person who has survived any kind of stroke (ischemic, hemorrhagic, etc.). While the specific symptoms often depend on the exact location on where the stroke happened, signs such as hemiplegia, slurred speech, vision problems, and cognitive changes are common in most survivors to some degree. When someone has a stroke as a baby, or before they are born, it can result in cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and other disabilities. We have a brain injury tag that you can look through!

Noonan Syndrome (about 0.1-1% - mild is 1%, severe 0.1%) Noonan Syndrome is a disability that is almost never mentioned in any context, but certainly not around the topic of writing disabled characters. It’s a congenital condition that can cause cardiomyopathy, chronic joint pain, hypermobility, short stature, facial differences such as ptosis, autism, and various lymphatic problems among other things. Some people with Noonan Syndrome might use mobility aids to help with their joint pain.

Hyperthyroidism (about 1.2%) Hyperthyroidism is a condition of the endocrine system caused by hormone overproduction that affects metabolism. It often results in irritability, weight loss, heat intolerance, tremors, mood swings, or insomnia. Undertreated hyperthyroidism has a rare, but extremely dangerous side effect associated with it called a thyroid storm, which can be fatal if untreated.

Hypothyroidism (>5%) Hypothyroidism is an endocrine condition just as hyperthyroidism is, and it causes somewhat opposite symptoms. Due to not producing enough thyroid hormones, it often causes fatigue, depression, hair loss, weight gain, and a frequent feeling of being cold. It’s often comorbid with other autoimmune disabilities, e.g. vitiligo, chronic autoimmune gastritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Extreme hypothyroidism can also be potentially fatal because of a condition known as Myxedema coma (or “crisis”), which is also rare.

Deafblindness (about 0.2-2%) Being DeafBlind is often considered to be an extremely rare disability, but that’s not really the case. DeafBlindness on its own isn’t a diagnosis - it can be caused by a wide range of things, with CHARGE syndrome (congenital), Usher syndrome (born deaf, becomes blind later in life), congenital rubella, and age-related deafness and blindness being some of the most common reasons. DeafBlindness is a wide spectrum, the vast majority of DeafBlind people aren’t fully blind and deaf, and they can use various ways of communication. Some of these could be sign language (tactile or not), protactile, the deafblind manual, oral speech (aided by hearing aids or not), the Lorm alphabet, and more. You can learn more about assistive devices here! Despite what various media like to tell you, being DeafBlind isn’t a death sentence, and the DeafBlind community and culture are alive and thriving - especially since the start of the protactile movement. We have a DeafBlindness tag that you can look through!

It’s probably worth mentioning that we have received little to no asks in general for almost all the disabilities above, and it’s certainly not due to what mods answer for. Our best guess is that writers don’t realize how many options they have and just end up going for the same things over and over.

Only representing “cool” disabilities that are “not too much while having a particular look/aura/drama associated” isn’t what you should aim for. Disabled people just exist, and all of us deserve to be represented, including those whose disabilities aren’t your typical “cool design” or “character inspo”, and literally all of us deserve to have good, informed representation. Sometimes we are just regular people, with disabilities that are “boring” or “too much”, and don’t make for useful plot points.

mod Sasza (with huge thank you to mod Sparrow, Rot, and Virus for their contributions with research)

[ktownshizzle]

Terms & Conditions | Chapter Eight

✎ ˎˊ˗ Pairing: Min Yoongi x female Reader

✎ ˎˊ˗ Summary: Managing Min Yoongi as one of your encoders during his alternative military service should’ve been simple. He is quiet, punctual—and can apparently type as fast as he can rap! Not to mention the fact that he is easy on the eyes and keeps wanting to help you. You’ve signed an iron-clad NDA, detailing the full terms and conditions of his temporary employment, so you’re supposed to keep things professional, but what happens if neither of you wants to?

✎ ˎˊ˗ Genre: Fluff, smut, co-workers to lovers, office romance, idol!au ✎ ˎˊ˗ Warnings: Purely speculative regarding Yoongi’s alternative military service and how this is really done in SK, some cursing, boss/employee relationship sorta but there's no power play involved, reader and Yoongi are within the same age range ✎ ˎˊ˗ Chapter Warnings: Suggestive, Angst, Y/N is not our girlypop in this chapter, invasion of privacy, timeskip kinda

✎ ˎˊ˗ Word count: 2k ✎ ˎˊ˗ Posting date: May 23, 2025

✎ ˎˊ˗ Notes: It’s short and it’s not sweet. Do not come for me. 🙁 But going into hiding just in case… Thank you my lovely @glossdebut for betareading.

Series Masterlist | K’s Masterlist

Yoongi appears in the doorway in nothing but checkered boxers and bed head, holding two mismatched mugs, white steam swirling above it. He doesn’t say anything, not verbally at least. Eyes warm, grin lazy–that’s his good morning.

You push yourself up against the pillows, taking your mug with a gentle smile. “Morning,” you say, voice still coated in sleep. 

You take a small sip, place the cup on the nightstand beside his.

He slides in beside you, looping an arm around your waist, and you tuck yourself under his arm, cheek against the pillows of his chest.

“Sleep okay?” he asks, lips brushing your hairline.

“Yeah. You?”

His chest rumbles with a satisfied hum. “Best sleep I’ve had in years. Might be your fault.”

You breathe out a smile. The man who loves you is right here, looking like an angel, smelling like your cinnamon body wash. Nothing else matters. Right?

“Yoongi?”

He hums, drawing lazy circles on your back with the tips of his fingers. The question stays stuck in your throat. Instead, you hug him tighter. He doesn’t press you further.

Not long after, his breathing has become longer, more even, deeper. He’s so peaceful, so content, lying in your too-small bed, on your old-ass duvet. Again, he’s fallen asleep. Must have been really tired from all the socialization yesterday.

You stay with him for a few moments before you wiggle out of his embrace and drink your cold coffee.

The next few days felt strange. You were feeling a tug of war in your heart and your brain. The bitter pang from the party is still a splinter in your heart, not necessarily painful, but still there, just waiting to be infected.

You’re afraid that you’ve become a little selfish. Sometimes you wish he wasn’t an idol. Actually, that’s a lie. You often wish that these days. Especially when you open your closet and see that dress you wore to attend that fuckin’ event.

Dangerous thoughts come and go like wind through windows left ajar. You want to push it all away, flush it down the drain. 

Because you should feel complete. But why do you feel so inadequate?

Still there are good days. Great days, even.

When you don’t have dread swirling in the pits of your stomach. When you’re not waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop.

Those are the days you want to remember forever. Yoongi hugging you from behind as you wash the dishes. Yoongi working on music with his headphones on and you’re across him reading a book and the peace of just coexisting in one place is just overwhelmingly comforting.

Since the whole audit thing, you try to be a bit more careful in your office. Hyun-woo has started his rounds more frequently, checking up on completion of tasks like a hawk. He said a certification is coming up so he just wants to make sure everything is running smoothly. Fair.

No more back office boinking then. But you still find ways to have fun. 

Yoongi likes to give you eyes. That’s always been his thing. Sometimes he glances too long like he’s daring you not to feel aroused even as his tongue skirts his pretty teeth. 

He does keep it PG more often than that. You sit across from each other pretending to work, but your foot nudges him under the table, and he hides a grin behind his monitor, raises his brow to get you to quit it.

At one point during a painfully dull Zoom call, you crumple a sticky note and lob it across the room. It hits his shoulder. He barely reacts.

“You missed,” he mouths.

You roll your eyes.

He picks it up, balls it tighter, and holds it up. “If I sink this,” he says, gesturing to the trash bin in the corner, “you owe me a prize.”

You shrug, cos ain’t no way…

He winks. Shoots.

Swish.

You look away, shaking your head. Just keep typing like nothing happened. But he sees the way your mouth twitches.

That night, when you slip into his car after hours, you ask him, “So what’s your prize?”

He smirks. “Lips on my tip, baby.” 

You roll your eyes, but you give him exactly what he won—and then some. He doesn’t stop smiling the entire drive.

Chae has not been around the house lately. She’s been overseeing the operations of another restaurant closer to Goyang and her company gave her lodging closer to the site. You’re so proud of her, gaining accolades after accolades. It was just like in college when she was that effortlessly cool chic that barely studied, did everything against the rulebook, but still graduated cum laude and scored her dream job even before she wore her toga.

Meanwhile, your by-the-book ways have earned you a spot in a dusty government building with no real prospects for further growth. Cool.

During your lunch break, you trade selfies. You with your clubhouse sandwich and her with her bowl of bibimbap. Hers look yummier by miles.

Chae: sandwich looks sad but ur glowing  You: lol idk about that. Been stressed. Chae: where’s loverboy?

You roll your eyes. She’s been teasing you about that like you were both still in high school. You fire off a picture of Yoongi across from you, a piece of lettuce hanging from the side of his mouth as he continues to chew like a goat.

Chae: tell yoongi I said hi Chae: actually don’t i’m shy You: tell jk i said hi Chae: k Chae: fuck You: knew it You: you better tell me everything

It hits you when you’re at your most defenseless.

You’ve just washed your face. Hair up, oversized shirt, no bra, no makeup. You’re in your kitchen with a tub of yogurt and a spoon in your mouth, scrolling TikTok mindlessly, when a Kakao notification comes through.

Unknown number. One attachment.

It’s a single still capture from a CCTV. Slightly blurry, but you recognize the scene instantly.

You and Yoongi, going inside the storage room at work last week. 

What happened was you’d gone in to grab extra supplies. He’d followed you just to sneak a kiss. The kiss isn’t in the shot, but your posture gives everything away when you emerge, his hand at your waist, your body curved toward him, before you both walk off to your separate chairs.

Fuck.

Shit.

FUCK.

You freeze. The yogurt slides off the counter and you don’t even notice.

You scroll up and down to see any other clues, but the screen is unmoving and there’s really nothing else there. 

Until a message comes in: 

How much is this worth to you?

No.

FUCK!

You try to calm down. Why would anyone send this? Who would send this? What does this fucking mean?

Your feet take you to your kitchen. Shaky fingers wrap around the neck of a wine bottle. You uncork it and pour it… straight down your esophagus.

Trembling, you put your phone down like it’s radioactive. You pace your kitchen, suddenly aware of how exposed your windows are. You check the locks. Double-check. Triple-check.

Your hands are shaking as you sit down, open the message again, and stare at it until your vision blurs.

You almost call him. Almost forward it with a panicked “what do we do?”

But then you imagine the look on his face. The worry. The disappointment. The quiet guilt you’d see in his eyes for dragging you into this. For making you a liability.

So instead, you delete it. You don’t know why, but you do.

You crawl into bed deep deep into your duvet like it didn’t happen. Maybe this is just a bad dream.

The sun rises and you have not caught a wink of sleep. You wake up to dried yogurt on the kitchen floor and a cockroach.

Since then, there are glances you can’t unsee.

You think Danbi lingers a beat too long by the copier when you think no one’s watching. You catch her whispering near the HR desk and the way her eyes flick to you makes your stomach twist. You hear laughter from down the hallway and can’t help but wonder if your name is being passed between mouths like a secret no one will say to your face.

You keep telling yourself it’s nothing.

A week passes, you’re at Yoongi’s apartment, helping him fold laundry because it turns out domesticity looks weirdly good on you both. You’re pairing his socks while he’s at the sink rinsing plates before they go into the dishwasher. He hums a little tune.

Your phone buzzes again.

Same unknown number.

Your hands go cold.

This time, it’s a shot of you leaving his car from one night, hoodie pulled over your head, but still clearly you. Taken from a distance, a little grainy, but unmistakable. The message underneath is short:

There’s a price for my silence.

You want to scream. You want to throw your phone into the sink and confess everything. But the words catch in your throat.

“Everything okay?” Yoongi asks, glancing over his shoulder, hands wet from the sink.

You smile too quickly. “Yeah. Just Chae. Meme dump.”

His eyes linger. You think about telling him. You even open your mouth to try, but then the doorbell rings.

Mina and Hoseok step into Yoongi’s apartment like it’s a feature spread in Vogue: long coats, perfect skin, inside jokes already mid-sentence. Mina’s makeup is flawless. Hoseok’s in LV like it’s his grocery run outfit. (It probably is.) They light up the room just by existing.

Yoongi grumbles at the noise but lets them in anyway, dishing out cups and pulling out extra snacks. He side-eyes Mina when she tries to “reorganize” his liquor shelf. He calls Hobi a piece of shit with zero heat when he pulls his vinyls a little carelessly. It’s all very “this is just how we are,” but you can feel the subtle shift.

You’re suddenly hyperaware of your socks not matching. The unfolded laundry still on the couch. The fact that you’re not part of this world—just someone orbiting around it.

Yoongi calls out your name casually, “You gonna join us?”

You shake your head, faking a yawn. “Think I’m coming down with something. I’ll just rest, if that’s okay.”

He eyes you, concerned, then eyes his guests, “Both of you—out.”

“No! Hoseok, Mina, please stay,” you insist.

Skeptical eyes are studying you. But then he nods. “Want me to check on you later?”

You shake your head again. “I’ll be fine.”

You slip into his room and close the door.The second it clicks shut, your lungs deflate.

You sit on the edge of his bed, still clutching your phone. The new message is still open. Your reflection stares back from the screen—dim, distorted, scared.

Your entire life is falling apart.

You lie back, eyes on the ceiling, and try to blink away the tears.

Yoongi used to call you trouble. And now you really are. You don’t want to burden him anymore. He doesn’t deserve this. 

You call him the following night.

It takes him a few rings to answer.

“Babe?” he says, soft and a little breathless. He probably left his phone in another room and ran to answer your call.

Your throat tightens.

“Yoongi,” you say. “We need to talk.”

The line goes quiet for half a second too long. “Okay,” he says slowly. “What’s up?”

You steel yourself.

“I think we should stop seeing each other.”

Silence. Then: “What?”

“It’s just,” you falter. “I don’t think it’s smart. With the NDA. It’s risky. It’s messy. And,your time’s almost up anyways. This was never going to last outside of, like everything, you know that.”

“Bullshit,” he says, instantly. His voice is low, clipped. “That’s not… Y/N, what the fuck?”

You squeeze your eyes shut. “I was wrong. I don’t want this.”

“Fuck,” he shouts. “What are you even saying right now?”

“Yoongi, please…”

There’s a pause. You hear something thrown in the background.

“Are you really breaking up with me over the phone?” he finally asks, almost laughing. “Is that really what this is?”

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s not a yes.”

“I’m sorry,” you repeat, softer this time. “It’s better this way.”

“No,” he says. “It’s not. You know it’s not.”

You don’t answer.

You hang up.

But still, you sit in the dark for a long time, holding your phone like it might ring again.

It doesn’t.

A/N: Okay shit. I guess I am ready for y’all to shout at me in the comments. 🙇🏼‍♀️ Thanks for reading you lovely beautiful human. xo

Permanent Taglist: (the rest to follow in a reblog)

@wonh0oe @woozuzu @glossdebut @kiki-zb @kookiewithluv

@agustblog @maryhopemei @perfectiondazesworld @kimsaerom @kam9404

@00-sleepdontweep-00 @tea4sykes @mggv97 @marnz1990

@whydoeyecare @pastelmin @tarahardcore @minjenna @chimmchimmm

@aaclariww @mar-lo-pap @tinytan-gerine @vesperbells @butterymin

@eve1633455 @baechugff @lilkittenjenjen @wobblewobble822 @coffeedepressionsoup

@futuristicenemychaos @jadestonedaeho7 @granataepfelchen @whoa-jo @annyeongbitch7

@chimmisbae @sexytholland @idkjustlovingbts @kpophosblog @tinyelfperson

@yoongicatagenda @codeinebelle @parapiop7 @diame93 @janeelizabeth1216

@withmuchluv-tannie @abadiimm-

@angellekookie