Acbusca - Untitled

to be continued ...

the clone saga time-line

part 1/2

Yeah sure we’ve all binged a long fic, but have you ever read a WIP and followed someone’s life?

Tidbits of information - (“I graduated today!”) - and small joys (“It’s my birthday!”) and you get to be there to say “This chapter made me cry, happy birthday, thank you for gifting us this”.

I remember reading this fic of someone at the end of high school, older than me then. They seemed infinitely wise, spoke of their future career and getting into the college they wanted. I remember them posting on days they felt like nothing could bring them down - and on days the whole world did and it’s the aftermath of a hospital visit. Cancer, I think it was, their father. I got to the end of the story, I know their father was fine, but also they got to finish their WIP. I graduated three years later than them, still dutifully wrote thank you notes in every comment. I wonder if they remember me, or just the collective of people reading the story as it updates.

Four years ago I was into my first year of university, my first year of figuring out being out in public spaces. I made excuses as to why my name didn’t match my paperwork and read a fic on the train, the same five chapters over and over again for the next years as I thought the story abandoned. It updated this week after such a long hiatus, I left another thank you comment.

There’s an author I love, they update their stories like a clockwork. When they don’t, I check their blog, just to see if their doing alright, not because I feel like they owe me, just to ensure whether I better get out my laptop to write that really detailed university level essay chapter analysis to get them smiling when their day sucked.

And then, once, when I was 17, I read a fic that hadn’t updated in over a decade. I wasn’t even in primary school when it started posting. On the last chapter, I left a comment that, in retrospect, was horribly rambly and most likely full of grammar mistakes. The author replied and though I couldn’t see their face, I thought of them crying. They were married now, had children, and hadn’t thought about this fic in years. They went through their files again, found another half written chapter and an outline. I got two new chapters to read that year.

And then, recently, someone told me they got back into writing original fiction because of my comments. I get to read nearly weekly chapters.

I love binge reading a finished fic, but nothing is ever going to top the feeling of anticipation of waiting for a chapter, the pure joy when someone tells you I was done with this, but you made me think of it again, so this is for you.

Anyway, I think we should romanticize reading WIPs more, growing up alongside the authors writing the stories we love.

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i can't wait to be 30+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 40+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 50+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 60+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 70+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 80+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 90+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to look back on my life and know that i loved things deeply and passionately and was inspired to create and was part of communities with incredible people from all over the world brought together by the stories that touched us

why is trying to make a new friend so embarrassing. hi. me again. asking for your attention once more even though i am literally just some random person to you. it's because i want to be not just a random person to you. please understand

Advocate.com

Michigan adds sexual orientation and gender identity to hate crime law despite 'far-right fiction'

House Bills 5400 and 5401 amended the definition and sentencing guidelines of the state's 1988 “ethnic intimidation” statute for the first t

Ryan Adamczeski at The Advocate:

Michigan's hate crime law has been updated to include sexual orientation and gender identity after Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed several bills into law last week. House Bills 5400 and 5401 amend the definition and sentencing guidelines of the state's 1988 “ethnic intimidation” statute to include sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, and age, designating them as protected groups against hate crimes if they are found to be a motivating factor for violent behavior.

State Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is an out lesbian, said in a statement that “it’s incumbent upon those of us with the authority to unilaterally denounce such sentiments; otherwise, there’s no stopping this behavior." “Over the past decade, we have seen not just an uptick in hate crimes, but a normalization of racist, antisemitic and bigoted language, symbolism and actions – including a close adviser to the President giving the Nazi salute during an inaugural rally just this week,” Nessel said. "I applaud the Governor for signing these long overdue changes to the state’s statutes.” The bill amending the hate crime statute's definition was first introduced by Democratic state Rep. Noah Arbit in 2023, but failed to pass after conservatives falsely claimed that the law made it a felony to misgender someone. Arbit noted in a conversation with CBS at the time that the bill did not contain the word "misgender" in its entire text, calling the claims "far-right fiction."

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signs hate crime laws protecting sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or age status.

See Also:

LGBTQ Nation: Michigan expands hate crime law to protect LGBTQ+ identities

Yellow Leaf - Jeff Satur 「Full Gifset」 🪐✨

© gifs are mine! 「Yellow Leaf MV Link」

Looking more like a checklist these days. I want off this ride. 😭

I suspect somewhere along the line we collectively decided internet safety meant only avoiding sexual predators & that's one of the reasons cults and hate groups can thrive online

A holistic internet safety curriculum would be maybe 10% avoiding and dealing with sexually predatory behaviors, 40% mental health skill teaching focused on self-regulation and self-esteem, and 50% How To Spot And Avoid Manipulation (anti-scam, anti-cult, anti-misinfo, anti-advertising, etc). Hell, most of the skills you use to steer clear of harmful groups also help protect against sexual predators online!