(I'm using ze, zim and zis instead of he, him and his.)
Each word hit like a wave. Each picture they've drawn has been criticized. At first it started with tips. Each person polite and kind. Soon enough they didn't care about the art. They wanted to know the person behind the hard work. They all wanted to see the mystery person. And most importantly, they wanted to know their gender and sexuality. It was strangely specific. This is the internet we're talking about, right?
The whole time said artist was under stress. They just wanted to draw. So they gave the people half of what they wanted. The artist told people that ze doesn't have a gender. Ze would much rather be neutral then be female or male. Not so surprisingly The artist was quickly accepted. They felt proud for having the courage to come out! It was such a relief!
However, not long after messages were sent. It had horrid grammer. Ze guessed the person was trying to start something. The artist pushed it to the side thinking that it didn't matter what they said. The artist continued to draw and do commitions. Ze happily finished up the last work for the day. Ze sent the picture to the person. They replied. It wasn't anything unusual. It was them thanking the artist. It brought a smile to zis face once they read it. Ze quickly replied and turned off the computer.
Ze ruffled zis hair and took a shower. The phone let out a tone a few minutes after ze got out of the shower. Ze immediately checked the phone after ze put on zis casual tank-top. Ze read through the messages. It was a new commition. Ze checked the e-mail. It read:
"I want you to kys"
The person had transferred twenty dollars to zis account. The artist could only stare in shock. Ze just stood there staring at zis screen. Another commition came through. It read:
"Homo-trash" That's all it said. The messages kept rolling in. The this was ze never said anything about zis sexuality. This, however, only brought zim down more.
This continued for weeks. It was slowly making the artist believe what they said about zim is true. Zis spark dying. Ze rarely posts zis art anymore. People started worrying. It wasn't like zim not to reply or even not be online at all! Ze would always make sure that zis followers were heard.
Some followers started to catch on while others had no clue what was going on. Unknown to the artist zis followers came together and started sending zim words of encouragement. When ze turned on zis phone millions of messages came through. Ze read each one. Every word sending zim to tears.
The artist slowly became more active. Ze steadily gained courage. Ze hit a few bumps but it didn't matter. What mattered was that ze is now proud of who ze is! So now whenever ze get's a comment like that ze throws it in the trash. Where.It.Belongs.
