I have not even finished reading this yet, and I’m calling fic of the year. I already grieve that my memory can’t be wiped so that I could read this for the first time twice.
I have never given a toss about surfing, but I love the ocean. I grew up by the sea and scuba diving is my seven percent solution. This fic made me dream about it for the first time in a long while.
I didn’t give a toss about baseball or many of the other things excellent fics have opened my eyes to while also entertaining and educating me about. I love seeing fics where people share their passion for something on the side of telling a good love story. I like to think I’ve done that myself.
And it’s not just the love story that makes this fic epic. It’s not _just_ one single thing. It’s the intensity of the whole package, the careful construction of the world, the exquisite pining and the cathartic romance, it’s also the way that particular era is depicted but most of all the way the author has managed to bring the settings alive. The reader is _there_: standing in the crowd watching Johnny and Scotty see each other for the first time, basking in the lazy golden Oahu morning sunlight watching them wake up, standing on the moonlit shore beside Sherlock as he wonders if he’ll ever see the love of his life again, standing in the shallows when John wades in from his run at the Pipeline, having a beer on Greg and Molly’s backyard fearing for John’s decision-making.
Not everyone is going to fall for this as hard as I did but clearly I’m not the only one. This sort of fic doesn’t come around often.
I keep trying to think of something eloquent or appropriately thankful to say to this, but when faced with the fact that THE ONE AND ONLY @jbaillier is enjoying my fic all I can do is scream incoherently.
‘Queer’ was reclaimed as an umbrella term for people identifying as not-heterosexual and/or not-cisgender in the early 1980s, but being queer is more than just being non-straight/non-cis; it’s a political and ideological statement, a label asserting an identity distinct from gay and/or traditional gender identities.
People identifying as queer are typically not cis gays or cis lesbians, but bi, pan, ace, trans, nonbinary, intersex, etc.: we’re the silent/ced letters. We’re the marginalised majority within the LGBTQIA+ community, and
‘queer’ is our rallying cry.
And that’s equally pissing off and terrifying terfs and cis LGs.
There’s absolutely no historical or sociolinguistic reason why ‘queer’ should be a worse slur than ‘gay.’ Remember how we had all those campaigns to make people stop using ‘gay’ as a synonym for ‘bad’?
Yet nobody is suggesting we should abolish ‘gay’ as a label. We accept that even though ‘gay’ sometimes is and historically frequently was used in a derogatory manner, mlm individuals have the right to use that word. We have ad campaigns, twitter hashtags, and viral Facebook posts defending ‘gay’ as an identity label and asking people to stop using it as a slur.
Whereas ‘queer’ is treated exactly opposite: a small but vocal group of people within feminist and LGBTQIA+ circles insists that it’s a slur and demands that others to stop using it as a personal, self-chosen identity label.
Why?
Because “queer is a slur” was invented by terfs specifically to exclude trans, nonbinary, and
intersex people from feminist and non-heterosexual discourse, and was
subsequently adopted by cis gays and cis lesbians to exclude bi/pan and ace
people.
It’s classic divide-and-conquer tactics: when our umbrella term is redefined as a slur and we’re harassed into silence for using it, we no longer have a word for what we are allowing us to organise for social/political/economic support; we are denied the opportunity to influence or shape the spaces we inhabit; we can’t challenge existing community power structures; we’re erased from our own history.
Pro tip: when you alter historical evidence to deny a marginalised group empowerment, you’re one of the bad guys.
“Queer is a slur” is used by terfs and cis gays/lesbians to silence the voices of trans/nonbinary/intersex/bi/pan/ace people in society and even within our own communities, to isolate us and shame us for existing.
“Queer is a slur” is saying “I am offended by people who do not conform to traditional gender or sexual identities because they are not sexually available to me or validate my personal identity.”
“Queer is a slur” is defending heteronormativity.
“Queer is a slur” is frankly embarrassing. It’s an admission of ignorance and prejudice. It’s an insidious discriminatory discourse parroted uncritically in support of a divisive us-vs-them mentality targeting the most vulnerable members of the LGBTQIA+ community for lack of courage to confront the white cis straight men who pose an actual danger to us as individuals and as a community.
Tl;dr:
I’m here, I’m queer, and I’m too old for this shit.
I know I keep reblogging posts like this, but it matters to me. “Queer is a slur” is a TERF dogwhistle, and a lot of the younger generation is falling for it. Please pay attention to history and ask questions about who’s behind social media campaigns that undermine the inclusivity of your community.
Queer is an excellent word, especially when your identity doesn’t fit neatly within one little label. Queer is also an explicit rejection of normative expectations sexuality and gender. It’s radical as fuck.
I have a fic that I want to write, but I feel like every chapter installment would be short. I have nothing against short fics myself, but I have this weird guilt complex about short fics being less good than long ones? I’d just like some advice/ reassurance. I just can’t really draw out these scenes, if that makes any sense?
Thanks!
It’s not the length that matters, it’s the impact.
Okay so I write short fics, mostly, and I too suffer sometimes from the “this is short so it’s not as valuable” demon.
I got told the BEST analogy at 221B con from @patternofdefiance and I really do need to print out and put it somewhere I can see it.
It’s like walking into a room and there’s a tray of these beautiful gourmet cupcakes. They’re still wonderful and delicious and sometimes all you want is a morsel.
They aren’t less good just because they’re cupcakes instead of three-tiered wedding cake or something. Sometimes you want a cupcake and not a whole cake.
Plus, like tiger said, it’s not the length, it’s the impact. I often joke that my fics are bigger on the inside.
Feel free to come talk to me, I’ll be happy to discuss if you’d like.
@fightfortheftr (April 19, 2018): There have been a lot of inaccurate reports that the FCC’s repeal of #NetNeutrality will officially go into effect next week on April 23rd. That’s not true. It’s a bit more complicated than that. Ready? Here we go:
Its understandable many journos are confused by this. It’s legitimately confusing. The FCC order said it would go into effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, which would have been April 23rd. But, it still has to be approved by the Office of Management & Budget.
There was another FCC filing in the Federal Register that would imply the earliest the OMB could approve this (and its worth noting that approval is basically just a technicality) is actually April 27th, but its likely to happen some time after that, possibly even weeks after.
The most important thing for EVERYONE to understand is that nothing catastrophic or dramatic is going to happen immediately when the FCC rules go into effect. Telecom shills will immediately start saying “See? The sky didn’t fall, we never needed #NetNeutrality.“
They’re lying.
The ISPs aren’t going to immediately start blocking content or rolling out paid prioritization scams. They know Congress and the public are watching them. Rather, the death of #NetNeutrality will be slow and insidious. You might not even notice it at first.
And that’s the worst part. What will happen is over time ISP scams and abuses will become more commonplace and more accepted. They’ll roll out new schemes that appear good on their face but undermine the free market of ideas by allowing ISPs to pick winners and losers.
Over time we’ll see less awesome startups. Less awesome videos. Less diverse online content. And we’ll see more content that our ISPs want us to see. The Internet will be watered down and manipulated. It will change forever in ways that harm our democracy.
But it will take time.
So: don’t fall for ISP lobbyists talking points. They’re ALREADY claiming that #NetNeutrality was never needed since the sky hasn’t fallen, and the rules haven’t even gone into effect. But also don’t panic. The Internet is not going to die next week. Keep calm and keep fighting.
The Senate will vote in a matter of weeks on a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to block the FCC’s repeal. Now is the moment to get engaged.
Beltainefaerie's Flights of Fancy 