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“I was under the impression that wyverns—though descended from dragons—were incapable of creating fire. Linus? Have you ever heard of a wyvern making fire?”
Do you know what generational trauma is?” “It’s when one group of people goes through something bad,” Sal said. “And then it affects the next generations too.”
“But I believe the greatest weapon we have at our disposal is our voices. And I am going to use my voice for you, and for me. Hate is loud. We are louder.”
I am color. I am fire. I am the sun, and I will burn away the shadows until only light remains.
He laughed, and it felt like the sun coming out after the rain.
A child—human or otherwise—should never be struck as a form of punishment. It’s understood that one should never strike a pet such as a dog because it’s cruel, but when it comes to children, we’re supposed to think that it’s for their own good and they’ll turn out just fine?” He shook his head. “I refuse to believe that.”
Even if your intentions are pure, does eradicating free will to get the end result you desire make your actions right?”
He said it’s okay to not be okay, so long as it doesn’t become all we know.”
“There will be discussions on what is and what is not proper for children to learn in their studies. By the end of the week, I’ll expect the lesson plans for each child, in addition to a list of all the books you allow them to read. It seems to me that list needs to be culled.” She tapped her pen against the clipboard. “For the children’s protection, of course.”
the idea of nature versus—” “Nurture,” she said. “I know. A false dichotomy. The reality is that nature and nurture do not exist as separate entities. They exist in reciprocity.”
According to her, a good dress always had pockets.
“Fun fact!” Talia said cheerfully. “You don’t get to tell other people how they should or shouldn’t look. It’s rude. Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean others won’t appreciate it. I like how I look. And honestly, you’d think with the mustache you have, you’d be a little more accepting of girls with body hair.”
I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but we might need to consider removing all Bibles from the island. Too many things in its pages children should not have access to.”
This is what you’ve been working towards. This is what you’ve been building. Can’t you see? You have changed minds.”
but, as he’d taught their children, even the smallest things can change the world, if only one is brave enough to try.
as Emma Lazarus wrote, ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’”
You are sunlight chasing away the clouds on a rainy day. You are the brightest flower in a garden where color fights to exist. I look upon you and see the man, but I also see life teeming just underneath the surface.
But in writing this sequel, I realized that’s not quite true. I do want to be remembered as something, and it’s very specific: not the Antichrist, but the Anti–J.K. Rowling. I want to be her antithesis, her opposite. I want my stories to fly in the face of everything she believes in. At the end of the day, she has no idea who I am, and that’s okay. I’ll still be here, chugging away, making sure queer stories are told.
To make it unequivocal: J.K. Rowling’s beliefs on trans people are abhorrent and have no place in a modern society. People like her—people who believe trans people are somehow lesser—deserve to be shunned until they disappear into the ether.
If it is that easy for a child, why is it so hard for adults? I don’t have an answer to that, aside from this: the younger generations are smart, worldly, and they pay attention. They know what’s going on, and they are furious. Between their trans classmates being attacked to books being banned from their libraries, the children know what is being done to them. And when they get old enough, they are going to make this world into what it should have been from the beginning: a place where everyone gets to be free without fear of repercussions because of who they are.
Anything good in this book is because of them. Something you didn’t like? Blame me. And then remember: it’s just a book.
