"He can get real grouchy when he doesn't get enough sleep. Not a mornin' person either. Just lettin' ya know for a heads up." chuckling to himself, Flint remembered all those mornings when he was younger, seeing Lucas all grumpy from Claus waking him up because Claus wanted to go outside with Lucas. That was when Lucas was having a good day, but when he was having a bad sickly day, Claus used to feel sad. Fuel was always there for the boys, who Flint never stopped thanking.
The sudden change of demeanour got the man concerned, offering Rayman a seat on the large, long comfortable sofa in the space which appeared as a living room. Rayman's been through it all today too, so it was understand why the limbless hero was an emotional mess. Silently, he gives Rayman all the time in the world to speak, to allow himself to off load, to find the words he wanted to say out loud.
An apology? Oh, goodness, there was no need for such a thing.
"Hey, you have nothin' to be sorry over, young man. I'm glad ya kicked my ass, I had been tryin' to find a way for the longest to speak to him. Yer words managed to get through, helped me find a way to communicate with my boy. Can't thank ya enough for it. As for ya lot stayin' away? Nah, not happenin'. Sorry young man, but Lucas would be devastated if I stopped ya. Besides, I wouldn't do it either, not after what ya lot did for us today."
There was a wide smile, showing genuine gratitude behind those words. Every word was truth.
"Ya don't need to do anythin', alright? I have nothin' 'gainst ya. Yer good."
the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i could Not speak, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again
we cry "the innocent women and children" to appeal to the masses, to try and force their sympathy, but the men and boys are innocent too.
I have seen sons crying out for their mothers, their fathers, their siblings. I have seen them break down at the loss of their families. I have seen them cling to their dead and grieve.
I have seen fathers cradle their dead children, seen them kiss their faces and hold their little hands. I have seen them faint with grief when asked to identify the dead. I have seen them carry their sons and daughters. I have seen them fasting to provide what little they can for their families.
I have seen men and boys digging through the rubble with just their bare hands, I have seen them comforting strangers, playing with children, rocking them, hushing them, even if the face of such imminent danger. I have seen them cry, seen them grieve, seen them break down into each other's arms, seen them be selfless, beyond selfless, becoming something I don't have a word for.
I have seen the men who are doctors refuse to leave their patients, even when they have no medicine or supplies to give them, even when they're threatened with bombings. I have seen fathers who have lost all their children pick orphans up into their arms and proclaim them their child so they are not alone. I have seen men and boys digging pets out of the rubble.
the men are innocent too. the men and boys are being hurt and killed too. the men and boys are grieving too. the men and boys are scared too. the men and boys are fighting to save their people too. the men and boys deserve to be fought for too.
favorite hobby when I'm driving is to catch someone trying to climb up my back bumper while I'm going a completely reasonable speed and just slowly take my foot off the gas. you seem upset, brother. why don't we slow down and enjoy the view awhile
the whole guilt-tripping language in posts about important topics paired with how I'm still getting bitches in my notes talking about why it's actually good to tell "bad" people to kill themselves continues to prove to me that a lot of people have absolutely no concept of social justice or activism outside of assuming the worst of and then viciously attacking strangers on the internet
You know those aesthetic image posts that float around tumblr? I'm . . . starting to see a lot on my dash that are obviously ai-generated. Are non-artists having trouble telling the difference between AI images and real photos, or are people starting to stop care about the stolen art that gets fed into those programs?
Some unposted Tolkien art I've been collecting over the years 💫
Huan and Lúthien | Yavanna and Aulë | Celeborn and Galadriel | Fingon | Galadriel but Art Nouveau | Vairë, the Weaver | Lórien and Mandos | Some Hobbiteses
“I hate the script, the vault dwellers sound so cheesy—“ my Brother in Steel you realize that’s the point, right? They were bred to act like the physical embodiment of an HR e-mail. Did you not catch the memo that Vault-Tec put out regarding their experiment facilities?
if you see a popular post where two people are jokingly giving each other shit, it is both possible and extremely likely that these two people are friends messing around. if you approach a stranger with this overly familiar hostile energy, you are not being funny. you are just being rude.
remember that it is both extremely possible and highly likely that op will see everything you add to their posts, including tags. don't say things you would not say to their face.
a post urging people to not be rude to strangers is not a wink-nudge suggestion that people should actually be rude, nor is it a sign that op just needs to toughen up. asking people to be kind is not an outlandish request. if you find yourself offended or see it as an opportunity to show how funny you can be by being mean to someone you don't know, you're just an asshole.
it is much easier to say nothing than to go out of your way to be rude. blocking people is good and healthy. block whoever you want!
posts were more often than not made to express one's thoughts, feelings, experiences, etc. they are not intended to be directed at you, nor should they be taken personally
every account has a person behind it who can see and respond to your actions
if someone stating these things makes you angry, think about why that is
Today my therapist introduced me to a concept surrounding disability that she called "hLep".
Which is when you - in this case, you are a disabled person - ask someone for help ("I can't drink almond milk so can you get me some whole milk?", or "Please call Donna and ask her to pick up the car for me."), and they say yes, and then they do something that is not what you asked for but is what they think you should have asked for ("I know you said you wanted whole, but I got you skim milk because it's better for you!", "I didn't want to ruin Donna's day by asking her that, so I spent your money on an expensive towing service!") And then if you get annoyed at them for ignoring what you actually asked for - and often it has already happened repeatedly - they get angry because they "were just helping you! You should be grateful!!"
And my therapist pointed out that this is not "help", it's "hLep".
Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hLep.
At its best, it is patronizing and makes a person feel unvalued and un-listened-to. Always, it reinforces the false idea that disabled people can't be trusted with our own care. And at its worst, it results in disabled people losing our freedom and control over our lives, and also being unable to actually access what we need to survive.
So please, when a disabled person asks you for help on something, don't be a hLeper, be a helper! In other words: they know better than you what they need, and the best way you can honor the trust they've put in you is to believe that!
Also, I want to be very clear that the "getting angry at a disabled person's attempts to point out harmful behavior" part of this makes the whole thing WAY worse. Like it'd be one thing if my roommate bought me some passive-aggressive skim milk, but then they heard what I had to say, and they apologized and did better in the future - our relationship could bounce back from that. But it is very much another thing to have a crying shouting match with someone who is furious at you for saying something they did was ableist. Like, Christ, Jessica, remind me to never ask for your support ever again! You make me feel like if I asked you to call 911, you'd order a pizza because you know I'll feel better once I eat something!!
Edit: crediting my therapist by name with her permission - this term was coined by Nahime Aguirre Mtanous!
Edit again: I made an optional follow-up to this post after seeing the responses. Might help somebody. CW for me frankly talking about how dangerous hLep really is.