#swapper screeches

[for-mer-ly-clanswapper]

fun fact: the first time i read avos i got really excited because i thought the authors were getting better at writing teenagers with the whole Needletail n Sleekwhisker shitting on clan customs n stuff but then it turned out they were just written that way to show how SCARY AND DANGEROUS allowing young people to have their own thoughts and opinions are hahahaha i love this book series (vengeful)

[for-mer-ly-clanswapper]

‘kill the part of you that cringes’ is a neat anthem for fighting back against cringe culture and accepting yourself no matter what, but in terms of actually overcoming internalized ableism/anti-queerness/the myriad of other factors that cause people to view their identity through a normative lens, it’s ineffective and harmful.

like for me, an autistic person who has faced bullying and scorn for being really really into ‘weird’ topics, the part of me that cringes isn’t some evil invader that needs to be defeated in order to feel true autistic joy.

it’s a learned trauma response caused by the allistic societal view of what is and is not considered normal. what interests are natural and good, and what interests are bad. scary. shameful. gross. it’s a deep-rooted belief that suppressing my true self is the only way to be worthy of love and companionship.

when i look below the surface-level feelings of disgust and self-loathing, what i find isn’t cruelty, but terror.

and that’s why i don’t think killing the part of me that cringes is the right thing to do, because it’s the part of myself that’s been so affected by cringe culture and anti-autistic ableism that it’s terrified of doing anything to provoke them.

it needs support and compassion, to be told that it will be loved regardless of how many ‘cringy’ things it gets excited over and draws fanart of and thinks about for weeks on end. only then will it be at peace.

i know this is pretty anecdotal, but i hope others affected by cringe culture can take something away from this post. for a while i’ve forced myself to ‘just get over’ my internalized ableism and normative thinking because Cringe Culture Is Dead Silly Goose, and it just caused me to be angry with myself for being insecure and anxious in the first place without addressing any of the underlying reasons for feeling that way.

so, uh. give the part of you that cringes a big hug today. or whatever’s equivalent if it doesn’t like hugs very much. thanks for reading :)

[for-mer-ly-clanswapper]

bluestar naming brightpaw lostface was extremely ableist but i feel like a lot of the fandom misconstrues malicious intent into it?

she wasn’t like rainflower evily rubbing her hands together and deliberately naming her kid something cruel, she was severely mentally ill and believed that the dog attack was a punishment from starclan.

at that point, there was a very real possibility that brightpaw wouldn’t survive, and bluestar took the opportunity to ‘get back’ at starclan by naming her lostface.

does that make it any better? not really. but i dont think that it shows that bluestar was bad and ableist as much as it shows that she should not have been in a position of power during her breakdown.

[for-mer-ly-clanswapper]

thunderclan is so americacore

[for-mer-ly-clanswapper]

i think an important part of coming into yourself is having an earnest love for bad media. no ‘i enjoy this but only ironically’, no ‘this is objectively bad but i like it’, just engaging with and treating it like any other work of fiction.

i just dont see why the questionable concepts of Good Taste and Art Objectivity should supercede your enjoyment for the things you like. just say that you like them!

[for-mer-ly-clanswapper]

why are you lying to me tumblr

[for-mer-ly-clanswapper]

i tried to save this ask as a draft and it disappeared. so

@colorfulcoffeetidalwave reached out to me for help being able to afford insulin after losing his job due to long covid.

upon looking up his url several people have stated that it’s a scam, with someone claiming that his initial post was stolen from someone on twitter. this checks out, considering the identical asks sent to unrelated blogs and the recent account age.

but also,,,, i just dont know??? i dont want to denounce someone that genuinely needs support, but i also dont want to accidentally lead people into a scam.

i guess i’d say check it out and form your own opinion- and tidal, if you have true intentions, then i wish you well. black lives matter and insulin should be free now and forever

EDIT: i did a bit more digging and now im like 99% sure this is a scam. God Dang It

[for-mer-ly-clanswapper]

my drafts are so so cluttered because i am physically incapable of reblogging anything without writing an essay in the tags so im gonna do some aggressive queueposting for the next few days. yippee!