#im not gonna get into the debate about 'proshippers vs antis'

[radioiaci]

I legit think it's honestly a result of younger individuals on this website being so wrapped up in the black and white use of label to justify a narrowed world-view. Like I'm 32 years old and it's taken me a long time to unlearn a lot of biases and judgments I had about identity, sexuality, and everything else. So in that way, I understand why they're so adamant at policing something like a fictional character who they want to remain so one-noted that they don't feel strange for being the one who wants them to be that way. But at the same time, the presence of an identity/sexuality spectrum is something that one eventually comes to terms with as they grow older and realizes that people are very often shifting, growing, changing entities that can experience such a range of emotion, understanding, and sense of self that to slap a perma-label on someone and insist that they can never be anything else seems so restrictive and nonsensical. I am an aromantic/asexual individual who has come to that conclusion over several years of self discovery and investigation. I still have some modicum of attraction to all genders and I love to explore facets of myself through fictional characters that I connect with and can play with like little fantasy dolls in ways that I would absolutely never be interested in experiencing for myself as a real life human being. It just does not thrill me. But to be able to write and craft a character - whether or not it is my original character - that can traverse those obstacles, hurdles, and exploratory notions FOR me is TONS of fun and honestly a very healthy thing to do! I'm not interested in outright bullying children for being prickly and annoying - because they ARE children, for the most part, and I want to give them an opportunity to grow the hell up LOL. But I think that there is room to understand and learn that IT'S OKAY to write about silly little characters in ways that may not necessarily make sense to their original intent - but if they make sense to YOU and you are not producing real harm in that exploration of the character - then, like. Do whatever you want, man. That's not to say that there are not topics which I think very much toe the line as to what's acceptable to share publicly on something like a public website/forum as a silly ha-ha hobby, but there is always room for nuance and critical consumption of media; even unofficial media. ANYWAY. thank you for coming to my ted talk. <3