#that’s americas asd

[wanderingmind867]

My hatred of American Politics seems to have had the strangest effect on me reading Percy Jackson. I still love the books, but I also seem to just really hate the settings of NYC and America being seen as the heart of the west. Seriously, screw that. Oh what, Zeus? You think the Empire State building is better than the CN Tower? You think NYC is all that? It's not. Frankly, I never want to go there in my life. It's too big. Even Toronto is smaller, and it was too big for me! So yeah, I think I've ended up so biased against the US politically and historically that I've become very Pro Canada. Also, I've been reading so slowly that every line I even dislike a little bit ends up getting stuck in my head, but that's a seperate problem.

[kestrelcrow]

took me a while but: literally us!

me and my lovely partner and our dynamic. i listen (sometimes) and he talks and talks and talks! X3

can't help but zone out quite often though hehe...

[beau-rebloga-coisas]

Good morning i still think ODD is a shitty name and a poor excuse to cover up for ADHD/ASD/PTSD/poor parenting skills

[waterdragon1995]

Small towns are cool because you get to have vehicles everywhere, nothing to do, and you can't even go anywhere because of fencing.

[lamiaoflilith]

i’m so tired of fighting with my local social welfare office. fighting to prove that i am too autistic to work while my social worker is constantly gaslighting me. i told her an asd work program denied me cause i was to severe and she said “it’s because of what you tell them” LIKE DUH??? I TOLD THEM THE THINGS I HAVE ISSUES WITH AND THEY SAID IM TO SEVERE. i’m not gonna lie and put myself in the same position i’ve been in before where i work, get burnt out, and then attempt suicide. i hate the government so much. i’m so tired.

[energysoda]

It's almost the start of the school year which means thinking that every loud noise is a gunshot, thinking that everyone secretly hates me and is judging me for being weird, and also dealing with transphobia in various ways! Yay!

[ohyeahtism]

[brazilspill]

"It's not ableist because I'm also autistic" si sabés que se llama Trastorno del Espectro Autista por algo no? Es un Espectro? O sea que no todes les autistas tienen los mismos síntomas???

La verdad que parece que buscas roña. Viste un bache la ruta y trajiste una pala para hacer tremendo pozo al pedo. Sos brasileñe/canadiense, literalmente lo que dijo no tiene nada que ver con vos porque no sos parte de los 3 paises afectados que si son hispanohablantes de Latinoamérica.

Además de todo esto me sorprende que no vean nada de semiología en la lingüística, ni siquiera lo básico. Básicamente: el contexto en el que se formula una oración donde se enuncia una palabra influye en el significado específico asignado al significante, siendo que no solamente lo que diga la lengua, es decir las definiciones establecidas en un diccionario por ejemplo, son importantes para entender el lenguaje, sino que las vivencias personales de ambos individuos influyen el significado de una palabra. En este caso, se proporcionó el significado particular de las palabras usadas por delgado-master para aclarar lo que quería decir y por qué eligió esas palabras, y lo pasaste por alto porque no te incluyó en algo que ya de por sí no te afecta. Es decir, la elección de palabras no tendría que haber llevado la conversación tan lejos del tema a tratar, pero vos decidiste atarte a un árbol particular a prestarle atención al bosque. No tenés lugar para desmerecer las experiencias de alguien solamente porque no son como vos, a no ser que busques ridiculizar a alguien porque querés sentirte superior.

Y antes de decir cualquier boludez como "ay los gringos" te recomiendo que te saques la bandera canadiense de la foto de perfil

"It's not ableist because I'm also autistic" si sabés que se llama Trastorno del Espectro Autista por algo no? Es un Espectro? O sea que no todes les autistas tienen los mismos síntomas???

you know that it is called Autism Spectrum Disorder for a reason, right? It’s a spectrum? In other words, not all autistic people have the same symptoms???

Discutir con alguien que es autista no es capacitista a menos que mencione su autismo como una razón por la que no lo está escuchando o no lo está tomando en serio. ÉL mencionó ser autista de la nada como una excusa de por qué nunca debería decir que están equivocados en nada. Pero por esa lógica no deberían estar discutiendo conmigo porque yo también soy autista. SEGÚN SU LÓGICA, si es capacitista decir que un autista está equivocado, entonces es ableist decir que estoy equivocada.

Arguing with someone who is autistic isn’t ableist unless you’re bringing up their autism as a reason why you aren’t listening to them/taking them seriously. THEY brought up being autistic out of nowhere as an excuse for why I shouldn’t ever say they’re wrong about anything. But by that logic they shouldn’t be arguing with me because I’m autistic too. ACCORDING TO THEIR LOGIC if it’s ableist to say an autistic is wrong then it’s ableist for them to say I’m wrong. 

¿Estás realmente tratando de explicarme sobre mi propia condición médica? ¿De verdad crees que no sé que diferentes autistas tienen diferentes síntomas? ¿Y por qué importa eso en este caso? ¿Sabes cuáles son MIS síntomas para juzgar quién de nosotros es “más” autista? (Que, por cierto, es un concepto muy capacitista para empezar)?

Are you really trying to ablesplain to me about my own medical condition? Do you really think that I don’t know that different autistics have different symptoms? And why does that matter in this case? Do you know what MY symptoms are in order to pass judgement on which of us is “more” autistic? (Which, by the way, is a very ableist concept to begin with)? 

La verdad que parece que buscas roña. Viste un bache la ruta y trajiste una pala para hacer tremendo pozo al pedo. Sos brasileñe/canadiense, literalmente lo que dijo no tiene nada que ver con vos porque no sos parte de los 3 paises afectados que si son hispanohablantes de Latinoamérica.

The truth is that it seems that you are looking for a fight. You saw a pothole on the route and you brought a shovel to make a tremendous well. You are Brazilian/Canadian, literally what he said has nothing to do with you because you are not part of the 3 affected countries that are Spanish-speaking from Latin America.

Todo lo que hice fue señalar que hispano no es un término que abarque todo. Él fue el que buscó pelea. Ni siquiera los etiqueté en mi respuesta original.

All I did was point out that Hispanic is not an all-encompassing term. They were the ones who picked a fight. I didn’t even tag them in my original response.

Además de todo esto me sorprende que no vean nada de semiología en la lingüística, ni siquiera lo básico. Básicamente: el contexto en el que se formula una oración donde se enuncia una palabra influye en el significado específico asignado al significante, siendo que no solamente lo que diga la lengua, es decir las definiciones establecidas en un diccionario por ejemplo, son importantes para entender el lenguaje, sino que las vivencias personales de ambos individuos influyen el significado de una palabra. 

On top of all this, I'm surprised that they don't see any semiology in linguistics, not even the basics. Basically: the context in which a sentence is formulated where a word is enunciated influences the specific meaning assigned to the signifier, since not only what the language says, that is, the definitions established in a dictionary for example, are important to understand language, but the personal experiences of both individuals influence the meaning of a word.

Hice varios cursos de lingüística en la universidad, sé lo que es semiología, gracias.

I took several linguistics courses in university, I know what semiology is, thank you.

Es decir, la elección de palabras no tendría que haber llevado la conversación tan lejos del tema a tratar, pero vos decidiste atarte a un árbol particular a prestarle atención al bosque. 

I mean, the choice of words shouldn't have taken the conversation that far off topic, but you decided to tie yourself to a particular tree to pay attention to the forest.

No saqué la conversación fuera del tema, ello lo hecho. Hice un solo comentario de una oración en el que no traje a nadie a la conversación. ELEGIERON interactuar conmigo, yo no comencé la interacción.

I didn’t pull the conversation off-topic, they did. I made a single one-sentence comment in which I did not bring anyone into the conversation. They CHOSE to interact with me, I did not start the interaction.

No tenés lugar para desmerecer las experiencias de alguien solamente porque no son como vos, a no ser que busques ridiculizar a alguien porque querés sentirte superior.

You have no place to demean someone's experiences just because they're not like you, unless you're looking to ridicule someone because you want to feel superior.

Señalar que latino e hispano no es lo mismo no es degradar a nadie. El hecho de que se molestó con varias personas diciéndoles que estaba usando la terminología incorrecta no significa que estuvieran siendo degradados.

Pointing out that Latino and Hispanic aren’t the same is not demeaning someone. The fact that he got upset at various people telling them that he was using the wrong terminology does not mean they were being demeaned.

Y antes de decir cualquier boludez como "ay los gringos" te recomiendo que te saques la bandera canadiense de la foto de perfil

And before saying any nonsense like "oh the gringos" I recommend that you remove the Canadian flag from your profile picture

Soy una ciudadana dual. Los ciudadanos duales y los inmigrantes son una cosa que existe. Se puede ser latina sudamericana y canadiense al mismo tiempo. Crecí en Brasil, ergo no soy gringa por definición.

I am a dual citizen. Dual citizens and immigrants are a thing that exist. It is possible to be Latina sudamericana and Canadian at the same time. I grew up in Brazil, ergo I am not a gringa by definition.

[jackbrakkow]

life update; i got a diagnosis !! finally !! im officially diagnosed, by a professional, with asperger syndrome

[wanderingmind867]

I feel like I'm the only person who has actually thought of the Captain America and Eugenics connection. Because when I go to look, I find very few articles on it. But I'm not crazy, at least not here. There is definitely an undercurrent of eugenics to that origin. Maybe it was accidental, but it's still a problem. The concept of giving someone some kind of serum to make them a super soldier is bad enough of it's own. Some might argue that medicine is naturally designed to help you with your issues. But medicine doesn't cure all your issues, it helps you manage them. This serum made Captain America go from "frail youth" to "super soldier" in minutes. And I don't think that's how good medicine is supposed to work.

To me, it really does read of eugenics. Well, either that or steroids. You could probably make a case for comparing it to steroids too. And I don't want to seem hung up over a tiny thing, but this just bugs me. And besides, venting about it at least means that now I'm not going to be the only person who's though about all this. Now other people will have to see it, and they might be able to see what I mean.

[film-focus-mind]

I was trying so hard not to cry while watching the Extraordinary Attorney Woo with my mom because Woo makes me feel so seen as an autistic person!

[goodgriefnd]

How Common is Neurodivergence?

[image id: poster of "How Common is Neurodivergence?.” There are 12 circles and five small images: an image of a brain, speech bubbles, an infinity sign, a person reading, and a person surrounded by arrows and balls. Each of the 12 circles has a percentage representing how common a particular form of neurodivergence is written in Open Dyslexic font. Full transcript, more information, and references under the cut.]

More Information

Forms of neurodivergence represented here are focused on neurodevelopmental disorders.

These percentages are representative of percentage in general population and do not reflect percentages within neurotypes which are often higher due to co-occurrence being the norm, rather than the exception, within neurodevelopmental disorders; for example, 33-45% of people with ADHD will also have dyslexia (Butterworth & Kovas, 2013), whereas only 10% of the general population are dyslexic (British Dyslexia Association [BDA], 2023).

Certain neurodivergencies are often underrepresented and under-reported, so the percentages are likely to be higher; for example, one study suggests that rates for FASD in the UK may be as high as 17% (McQuire et al., 2019).

Some of the neurodivergencies represented here are umbrella terms and percentages given are representative of all forms of neurodiversity belonging to that term; for example, SpLds include dyslexia which is at a rate of 10% (BDA, 2023) and dyscalculia which is at 3-7% (Haberstroh & Schulte-Körne., 2019). Tic Disorders at 1% are another example here, as this is inclusive of Tourette Syndrome which is at 0.6%, and around 1 in 5 individuals exhibit tics at some point during childhood (Cavanna et al., 2017).

______________

Transcript in Full

1% Intellectual Disability

10% Language Disorder

4% Speech Sound Disorder

5% Stuttering

7.5% Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder

1.7% Autism

5% ADHD

10% Specific Learning Disorder (SpLD)

5% Developmental Co-Ordination Disorder (DCD)

3-4% Stereotypic Movement Disorder

1% Tic Disorders

3.6% Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)

______________

Sources

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th Ed., Text Rev.).

Arvidsson, O., Gillberg, C., Lichtenstein, P., & Lundström, S. (2018). Secular changes in the symptom level of clinically diagnosed autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59(7), 744–751.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). PsychDB. (2022, November 29).

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD). PsychDB. (2022, May 19).

Butterworth, B., & Kovas, Y. (2013). Understanding neurocognitive developmental disorders can improve education for all. Science, 340(6130), 300–305.

Cavanna, A. E., Coffman, K.A., Cowley, H., Fahn, S., Franklin, M. E., Gilbert, D.L., Hershey, T.G., Jankovic, J., Jones, M., Leckman, J.F., Lehman, R., Mathews, C.A., Malaty, I., McNaught, K., Mink, J.W., Okun, M.S., Rowe, J.A., Scahill, L.D., Scharf, J.M., Schlaggar, B.L., Stewart, E., Walkup, J.T., Woods, D.W.. (2017). The spectrum of Tourette Syndrome and TIC disorders: A consensus by Scientific Advisors of the Tourette Association of America. Tourette Association of America.

British Dyslexia Association. (2023). Dyslexia. British Dyslexia Association.

Dyspraxia at a glance. Dyspraxia Foundation. (2023).

Haberstroh, S., & Schulte-Körne, G. (2019). The Diagnosis and Treatment of Dyscalculia. Deutsches Arzteblatt International, 116(7), 107–114.

Ketelaars, M. P., Cuperus, J. M., van Daal, J., Jansonius, K., & Verhoeven, L. (2009). Screening for pragmatic language impairment: The potential of the Children’s Communication Checklist. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 30(5), 952–960.

May, P. A., Baete, A., Russo, J., Elliott, A. J., Blankenship, J., Kalberg, W. O., Buckley, D., Brooks, M., Hasken, J., Abdul-Rahman, O., Adam, M. P., Robinson, L. K., Manning, M., & Hoyme, H. E. (2014). Prevalence and characteristics of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Pediatrics, 134(5), 855–866.

McQuire, C., Mukherjee, R., Hurt, L., Higgins, A., Greene, G., Farewell, D., Kemp, A., & Paranjothy, S. (2019). Screening prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in a region of the United Kingdom: A population-based birth-cohort study. Preventive Medicine, 118, 344–351.

Norbury, C. F., Gooch, D., Wray, C., Baird, G., Charman, T., Simonoff, E., Vamvakas, G., & Pickles, A. (2016). The impact of nonverbal ability on prevalence and clinical presentation of language disorder: Evidence from a population study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57(11), 1247–1257.

Polanczyk, G. V., Willcutt, E. G., Salum, G. A., Kieling, C., & Rohde, L. A. (2014). ADHD prevalence estimates across three decades: an updated systematic review and meta-regression analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology, 43(2), 434–442.

Polanczyk, G., de Lima, M. S., Horta, B. L., Biederman, J., & Rohde, L. A. (2007). The worldwide prevalence of ADHD: A systematic review and metaregression analysis. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164(6), 942–948.

Prevalence and Therapy Rates for Stuttering, Cluttering, and Developmental Disorders of Speech and Language: Evaluation of German Health Insurance Data. (2021). Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 15(645292), 1–13.

Social (pragmatic) communication disorder. PsychDB. (2021, March 29).

Stereotypic movement disorder. United Brain Association. (2022, August 8).

Wren, Y., Miller, L. L., Peters, T. J., Emond, A., & Roulstone, S. (2016). Prevalence and predictors of persistent speech sound disorder at eight years old: Findings from a population cohort study. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 59(4), 647–673.

UCL. (2013, April 19). Learning disabilities affect up to 10 per cent of children. UCL News.

[lauramkaye]

ADHD is a learning disability. You might've been gifted but not all of us are or were. As a person with ADHD who isn't a genius or whatever exceptional stereotype you're happy to be I'm sorry if tou don't want to have solidarity with me but we do have the same diagnostic label as me and you don't get to make a new bullshit terms to escape the taint of being given the same diagnostic label for their problems as me.

....Wow, okay.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to answer this publicly, privately, address the point in a different post, or just ignore it. I'm choosing to engage in good faith with this because when I share ADHD information I do so out of a desire to help others who may be in the same boat I was in and I want to clarify if that information is misunderstood.

The post I suspect you are referring to was specifically about people who are both "gifted" (which as a label has plenty of issues but that is what's used in the field and how you will see it referred to in most literature/resources, so that's what I will use) and ADHD at the same time. ADHD and giftedness are two independent things, and a person can be one or the other, both, or neither. (A term you will often see used to refer to a person with giftedness and a disability that impacts learning is "twice exceptional," so using that as a search term may be useful if you want to read more on the topic.)

ADHD is a disability that can seriously impact learning, but it is not technically considered a learning disability. (source: Learning Disablities Association of America). It is considered a neurodevelopmental disorder, similar to the autism spectrum. ASD, ADHD, and learning disabilities such as dyslexia can coexist in the same people in different combinations and any or all can also coexist with giftedness.

This article is older but has a good rundown of some of the issues around gifted + ADHD. A particularly relevant quote: "While a misdiagnosis of ADHD is undesirable, diagnostic errors of omission are just as serious and may be even more prevalent among gifted students. This difficulty occurs when a student’s over-reliance on strengths inadvertently obscures the disability. While emphasizing strengths may highlight a student’s gifts and talents, it does not eliminate the reality of the condition and can, in fact, lead to a worse predicament in which the student distrusts his or her abilities because of the struggle to maintain them. On the other hand, if a student is allowed to acknowledge and experience the disability, he or she may learn appropriate compensatory or coping skills."

The reason I share information specifically about gifted + ADHD is that this is what I personally am, and therefore I have the most experience to share about it. The reason I want to share it is not because I think I'm a super special genius or because I don't want to be in solidarity with others who are ADHD but not gifted. The reason I want to share my experiences is that my ADHD was not diagnosed until I was in my late thirties and that late diagnosis caused me a LOT of avoidable suffering in my life. If I can spare someone else that kind of suffering by sharing the things I learned, I want to do that.

I was not diagnosed early specifically BECAUSE I was also gifted, so most of the indicators that usually lead to children getting tested/diagnosed for ADHD were either attributed to me being gifted (boredom, hyperfocusing on reading a book, one million hobbies I jumped between constantly) or masked by the giftedness (if I could do the assignment quickly in study hall right before class or retain enough from class discussion to pass the test, nobody realized/cared that I wasn't doing homework or studying.)

Which was fine, when I was a kid. But the older I got, the harder it was to keep up with things. By the time I got to undergrad I alternated between high and low GPA terms as I desperately tried to keep my scholarships and managed to keep EXACTLY the minimum GPA I had to. The level of stress and pressure got higher and higher.

I went to grad school. I made a 4.0 my first term.

The second term, I failed all my classes, was put on academic probation, had a meltdown on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere so that my mom had to drive out to get me.

I didn't go back, and I officially failed out of grad school. I had finally reached the point that I could no longer brute force past my lack of executive function with giftedness. And it was fucking devastating. That happened more than twenty years ago and it still hurts to remember even though I've had a lot of therapy since then. I had spent my life being praised for being smart and had built a lot of my identity around that; failing out of grad school felt like a blow to not just my career plans but my SELF.

The years after that got better, but I was still perpetually struggling. Everything just seemed so much HARDER than it should - I bounced in and out of debt, I constantly struggled with work deadlines, I couldn't be on time to ANYTHING, I was stressed out ALL THE TIME. I periodically just broke down and couldn't function for days. I kept making "careless errors" and "stupid mistakes" like forgetting to pay a $20 bill until it got sent to collections even though I had the money to pay it sitting in my checking account. I knew I knew HOW to do the things I didn't do and I knew I was smart enough to do them, so why couldn't I seem to manage it?

I must just... be a horrible person, I concluded. I didn't feel lazy or disrespectful or uncaring, but if I wasn't, surely I would remember birthdays and be on time for things and be able to keep my house clean and my checkbook balanced like normal people could, right?

I probably would have kept on this way indefinitely if a dear friend who was gifted + ADHD had not said "you know, the way you talk about your life sounds a lot like the way I was before I got diagnosed. Maybe you should see someone and check it out."

And I did. And I got diagnosed. And I started treatment. And it fucking CHANGED MY LIFE.

It didn't take away my struggles--far from it--but it helped me understand them, and gave me strategies to help address them, and gave me support to work around/through them. I still have to swim, but before I had weights tied to my feet and now I have a floatie to help keep my head above the water.

I want EVERYONE with ADHD to receive the supports and treatment they need to live their best lives. The information I share about the way ADHD intersects with my own personal brain configuration is meant to help anyone else out there who has a similar one. If it isn't helpful to you personally, I hope you find other sources that do and I wish you the best.

[roberts-island]

A list of tips for learning to drive with ADHD/ASD/driving anxiety:

1. My driving instructor talks about a “cushion” of space around your car, which essentially means you want to keep your speed so that you’re not close to the car in front of you and you’re not in anyone’s blind spot. If you’re nervous and new to driving, stay in the right hand lane (this is for North America obvi). That way you can go the speed limit and people are free to pass you on the left whenever they want.

2. SMOG (signal, mirror, over the shoulder, go): if you recite this every time you turn/change lanes, there should be no way that you end up in a dangerous situation while turning

3. You’re allowed to pull over if you’re feeling overwhelmed/unsafe to drive. If you’re panicking, pull into a parking lot, or the side of the street, or get off at the exit and find a place to pull over. You can stop driving if you’re panicking and take some breaths and come back to it when you feel calmer

4. Sometimes the people you’re learning to drive with are trying to be supportive but are actually making you more anxious . Try driving with different people in different cars, or try it alone if you can. Find the situation that makes you feel comfortable

5. Medication can make a huge difference. I thought I was just anxious but I started taking Intuniv for overstimulation/focus and it made a BIG difference. I also take benzos for panic attacks (they can make some people drowsy/cause dependency issues, YMMV). Sometimes medication is the difference between not being able to do something and being able to do it.

6. It might take longer to learn and it might be harder, but if it’s something you really want you can still try. I spent years driving around parking lots with my friends in order to feel like the motions were even vaguely automatic. Your practice might feel silly or like the steps are too small, but the most important thing is that you’re training your brain to feel comfortable while you do it

[elialys]

Channeling positive energy for 2024

I have been very listless for at least the last couple of years (if not since 2020 and the whole pandemic mess), resulting in a pretty rough depressive episode that peaked this last November. It's hard to feel motivated to do anything concrete to improve your own life when everything around you is just...bleak. And this world does suck so much, so often, in so many ways.

But then I remember how I innately believe that most people are good, and that I am good, too, and that the one thing that always makes me feel better when I'm low is to do something helpful for someone, or to just be kind if I don't have the spoons for more.

(Putting this big ramble under read more)

I think I've mentioned it here before but I've made the decision to try and get into a new field of work, which involves at least two if not three years of studying. Let me tell you, I'm about to turn 36 in a couple of weeks. It's scary as fuck to do something like this. But this job, if I get into the school I need to get into, will be perfect for me. I'll be helping people who need guidance and compassion basically every day.

The bond I got to build with my students was my absolutely favorite part of teaching, but I got overwhelmed by everything else. I burned myself out in less than four years because I became a workaholic who worked 70 hours a week, never took a breath, tried tried tried, yet never felt like I was doing enough. The pressure was incredible, the 'I have to be around hundreds of people every single day', performing in front of entire classrooms full of kids 6h a day'...it just wore me down. Loved my kiddos to death, loved my science team so much, but then the pandemic hit and I lost a few family members within a few months, and I realized it was time for me to go home after 12 years abroad.

The meanest part of my brain likes to tell me I've spent the last four years being basically a useless human blob, but realistically, I know I wasn't. I had been working my ass off since 2011, when I was in America nannying two young kids all day long then going to school full time at night/weekends, before being hired as a teacher in England for 4 years.

I needed the break, I needed time with my loved ones. I needed to help grieving family members, especially my little sister with ASD, who had to learn to navigate life without her mom, who also developed epilepsy on top of everything else while our father pretended nothing was happening. I needed to spend time with my grandmother, who did so much for me when I was young and who's all alone, now. I'll even go as far as saying I've been working on fixing things with my mother this past year living with her, which was not an easy thing. Still isn't, but it's so much better than it used to be, and she's trying, too.

But I'm ready to get my life "back on track", or at least, to get busier , more proactive, more helpful to others who aren't in my inner circle, because I know that's what I'm good at, and why I'm here.

So, yeah, channeling positive thoughts for 2024. I'm not only going to work on getting into that school in the next few weeks, I also just received an email a couple days ago from an editor I used to work with. She's a writing director somewhere else now, and they need writers for a new webcomic project; she told me she immediately thought of me because they'd always been happy with my work, so I'm going to test for that, too, because why the hell not. Actually getting paid for the stuff I was writing a couple of years ago was the most surreal, rewarding experience of my writer life, and I wouldn't mind that happening again.

I want to give the biggest shoutout to my best friend & other butt cheek, @melusine0811, for helping me navigate those last four years, for always believing in me, and for being so fucking courageous when life is just so damn hard. Lauren, you're the bravest person I know, and forever my Donna Noble.

And because I'm sappy this weekend, awards and all, I'm also sending my thanks to my Australian unicorn, just for existing somewhere out there, for being a role model to me from afar these last thirteen years, for being another perfect example of people persevering no matter what, doing the things they love, while always trying to be kind to others in the process. I don't believe in much, but I believe in karma. You do good deeds, good things will happen to you.

Be kind to each other, my lovelies. Always be kind.

[wolfpants]

look for me in the sun (a drarry fic)

An early birthday gift for @moony-saraneth! Thank you for being my number one cheerleader, commenter, and friend! I hope you know how much you're adored in this community! It's been amazing getting to know you over this past year, here's to many more! Thank you to my team of betas and cheerreaders, I could not have done this without you @academicdisasterfic @lqtraintracks @oknowkiss! And a very special thank you to @crazybutgood who did a sensitivity reading on this fic, which features POC Harry and an interaction where he experiences microaggressions from an OC.

Look For Me In The Sun | Drarry | Rated M 8.7k words

Summary: Harry and Draco are on the run in America after a mysterious string of werewolf-like attacks in the Muggle community causes the Ministry to impose new and harsh anti-werewolf legislation. Giant trees, crashing waves, seedy motel rooms, and the long and winding coastal road awaits them, but will they ever be able to go back home?

Tags and Warnings: EWE, road trips, America, forests and forestry, werewolf!Draco, animagus!Harry, on the run, sexual content, racism and microaggressions via an OC, motels, Americana, hurt/comfort, minor injuries, vomiting, secret codes, Hermione is a badass, Drarry vs. the world kind of vibes, ASD-coded Draco, Harry Potter POV, POC Harry Potter, Indian Harry Potter, beaches and seaside, isolation, San Francisco

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They crossed the state border an hour ago, and with it, they left the rain behind.

Draco’s window is open. Just a crack, just enough to let the air in; air that smells like the colour green, like ancient trees and grass trodden on by wild things. He’s dozing, his pale hair whipping around where it’s no longer sticking to his cheeks, his jaw. 

Harry glances at him every so often. It’s a pattern: road, tank, radio, Draco. Road again. It stretches out endlessly. America is impossibly, improbably large.

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