Internet, I am a queer researcher of queer health and I have something to say.
A few weeks back, a study went viral about the relationship between marriage equality policy and queer teen suicide rates, and a lot of people reacted thusly: “queer mental health is better when we’re not discriminated against! BREAKING: SKY IS BLUE, WATER IS WET”
This happens a lot. People see research about a thing ~Everyone Already Knows~ and they mock it. Now I want to make two things really clear:
1. Everyone does not already know.
2. This shit can lose these projects their funding.
Did you know that media coverage is a crucial factor in funding allocation? When we submit our application for grant renewal, we have to provide a list of news articles about our research so they can decide whether the public cares enough about us to let us keep doing our work. And most research doesn’t get all that much coverage, so individual reactions can really matter. If the primary reaction to our publications is eyerolling, we legitimately might not be able to continue.
I’ve seen some frustration from people who believe this research funding would be better put to use “actually helping” the affected populations instead of–I don’t know, pinning them under microscopes or whatever it is they think we do. But funding for policy initiatives is driven by research. I know you wish politicians would listen to individual voices telling them where the problems are, but that’s honestly not a smart way to direct limited resources. We need solid evidence. And a lot of the areas that need the most attention aren’t obvious–who knew bisexual people are at a much higher risk for physical and mental health disparities than gay and lesbian people? Who would have guessed that transgender folks are more likely than any other group (including straight people) to be military veterans, but overwhelmingly don’t claim their benefits? I’m sure some people noticed these patterns, but they definitely weren’t common knowledge within the queer communities I’ve grown up around, and those findings are leading to direct action as we speak.
I get that it can be frustrating to feel like your identity is being reduced to facts and figures for the benefit of red tape. But trust me, the researchers aren’t your enemy here. Most of us are queer too. All of us are just as frustrated by this crap as you are. We are doing our best, and I swear to you this work really is making a difference. Please don’t sabotage it.
I dont wanna get a job or have real life responsibilities I wanna be an overpowered gay x-men character
a student at the high school my sister attends threatened to shoot up the place yesterday
both the authorities and the school know who it is
do you know what precautions they took?
they don’t have him in custody, or even under any watch as far as i know
they banned him from attending school until their investigation is finished and made him (a minor) sign a letter promising not to go through with it
classes are being held like normal today
the only thing between him and that school is a flimsy piece of paper
my sister stayed home today
The Final Agni Kai is great for a lot of reasons but it’s also a great example of how to write a fight scene because it was about more than who “won” the fight.
Zuko lost that fight, technically speaking. He took a hit for Katara and wasn’t able to defeat Azula within the bounds of the Agni Kai. He got knocked out and would have died if not for Katara. You could make the argument that Azula defeated her brother here but
She didn’t win.
It’s tempting to write fight scenes as a contest of might where characters try and deplete each other’s imaginary health meters until one of them comes out on top but the most interesting fight scenes, to me, are ones where there is more at stake. Where fighting is a method to resolve a dispute of ideologies rather than a contest of physical brawn.
This was a fight for the soul of the Fire Nation and even though Zuko ended up flat on his ass, electrocuted, with a second scar from a family member for his troubles
This is where Zuko won.
This is where the Fire Lord sacrificed himself for a waterbender and member of an “enemy” nation. This is where he wrested the soul of his country away from a century of imperialist rule.
Yeah, Azula got him with her fifth level Lightning Bolt spell; big whoop. She won the Agni Kai but when has an Agni Kai ever meant anything?
From Season 1, the Agni Kai has been shown to be a futile dick-measuring contest between firebenders. Ozai “won” the Agni Kai with his son, but defeating a defenseless child is not a victory worth winning. Likewise, Azula’s defeat of Zuko here was the end of their Agni Kai but it doesn’t matter.
Zuko doesn’t need to beat Azula to win.
If this was a video game, this would have been the end of Zuko, but it’s not. It’s the moment where Zuko wrests control of the Fire Nation’s destiny away from his father and sister and reunites it with a whole and peaceful world by intentionally losing to protect a friend.
The Fire Nation fell when Azula knocked Zuko out. It rose again when Katara brought him back to life.
Azula won the final Agni Kai but in the end, Zuko won the Fire Nation’s future
It’s not on sale? Oh, that’s strange, my very ferocious bear could have sworn it was
(Companion piece to this)
Lesbians still making posts about how bad it is for bi women to use butch/femme: We know! We heard u! We’re trying to make our own terms and have them used widespread but we need to get the WORD out for them to be commonplace and that’s hard when literally nobody but bis reblog posts talking about bisexuals lol! It’s not like we all follow each other. At this point the only people trying to take ur terms from you are lesphobes or young bi girls who straight up don’t realize they aren’t generic wlw terms because they haven’t learned the history bc literally no one is out here trying to include and teach bisexual kids shit about their gay lineage, everyone’s too busy trying to push it under the rug.
bi equivalent of femme: doe bi equivalent of butch: stag
There are more for nb bis and such you can look into but there’s the basics! Look I’ve even designed flags you can find if you scroll through this tag! (i didnt come up with the terms)
Give us a lil A5, D4, E5, H3, R1?
A5. what is their most impressive talent?Illusions. Sure, he knows other spells, he’s a decent swordsman, and he’s got a good voice, but illusions are the only thing that he has which is consistently really impressive. He’s got the imagination for it, too.D4. what type of clothes and accessories do they wear?Ha ha. Well Paisley has a red paisley scarf; it’s old but it has held up well. I think the aesthetic is a lot of reds and browns. As for his normal ‘uniform’ I think it’s something along the lines of the clothes in the original moodboard. A nice old coat, sensible boots, nothing baggy enough to be dangerous, a belt with a few pouches full of components, the Chain insignia on a necklace or on a loop off his belt. As for when he’s off duty, he probably has a few nice, light, baggy shirts. He probably hasn’t gone too far from a Riojan style.E5. do they portray their personality intentionally or let people figure it out on their own?He’d make it clear to anyone that he’s friendly enough, but I think he’d let people figure him out beyond any surface level “Oh this guy’s alright.”H3. do they like the snow?Probably likes it for a couple days, or when it’s falling lightly. He probably hates it when it’s constant and he can’t avoid the cold.R1. do they follow rules?In the Chain? Yeah. I think a lot of his sensibility comes from not actively wanting to break the rules like some of the misfit Helltroopers. He’s pretty content being a soldier, so why fuck that up? If it’s harmless fun, or if he’s making sure some delinquent doesn’t die, he’s not axiomatically opposed to breaking rules, though, and he probably wouldn’t follow an objectively bad decision as an order.
tbh this is proof that social media has completely ruined my sense of humor like i could go see a stand up comedian live and not laugh as hard as i did from reading this one fucking tweet
Helltrooper Breeze
“I go where the wind takes me. And for now, she keeps me with you.”
Breeze is a CG half elf druid of the land (forest probably). She joined up with the Chain of Acheron when they were contracted in Farrow. She was grateful for their change of heart in attacking her people and joined after learning of their travels from some of the rank and file members. Breeze is guided by her wanderlust more than anything, as well as her need to explore and learn. She feels as though she has much to learn about life, so joining the Chain was a way of learning about how the world works outside of the small community she grew up in.
She actually planned to leave the Chain in Blackbottom, she had already said her goodbyes for the most part before they arrived there, but promised to stay for one more drink before she went on her way. And then Ajax happened and it all went to shit. I imagine she ran to find the Chain as soon as she saw the floating city, and would have helped in the evacuation of Blackbottom in any way she could. She’s also probably joining some other Chain soldiers on the journey to Capital.
I’m an absolute sucker for found family tropes and Breeze is absolutely the type to be ride or die for people who care about her. I imagine that people gave her the nickname Breeze once they saw how little she actually plans and just *does things*, as though going along with wherever the breeze takes her. No one really believes she’ll actually stay with the Chain for that long, but she’s here for now and she’s loyal enough. She’s young and easily excitable, and while she has little life experience, she’s fairly insightful and knows people. Also probably knows more things about berries than how cities work (we love a feral druid in this house okay). She’s a bit of a hoarder too, but of like, leaves, flowers and pinecones. Keeps all she can in a little notebook she has.
Tl:dr she’s an air sign for sure, would have a aesthetic blog if she could, tumblr witch vibes, has eaten leaves to make people think she’s feral so they leave her alone and would 1000% die for the Chain of Acheron because this is her family damn it! She belongs, for once in her life, in this rag tag mercenary company, and she’s not about to let that go anymore. Even if she has to fist fight Ajax, she will do it to protect her family.
Barbarian - *smashes a 40 on the ground and yells* SCATTER!
Bard - the entire salt and pepper diner story.
Cleric - You have the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair.
Druid - Aaah! One feels like a duck splashing around in all this wet! And when one feels like a duck, one is happy!
Monk - I’ll just keep all my emotions right here and then one day, i’ll die.
Paladin - for those of you who aren’t catholic, I don’t mean to exclude you (even though we looove to exclude you)…
Ranger - everybody get out of my way. I just wanna sit here and feed my birds.
Sorcerer - this might as well happen. adult life is already so goddamn weird.
Rogue - Stop snitchin’, motherfucker.
Fighter - sometimes babies will point at me, and I don’t care for that shit at all.
Warlock - FUCK DA POLICE!
Wizard - I’m either having a drink or I have to pee. You’re living the golden years kid, not me.
You have an atomic number of 83
You’re pentavalent
You crystallize into repeating cube shapes
When your surface is exposed to oxygen it oxidizes into a rainbow
You are mildly radioactive with a half life longer than the age of the universe