HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSEPH QUINN!!!!
It's hard to believe no one knew the name "Eddie Munson" yet on Joe's last birthday, and a good amount of us (myself included) had never even laid eyes on the boy himself before. LOOK AT HIM NOW!!
A lot of people probably say this, but Eddie changed my life. He connected me to a number of wonderful people, several of which are now among my tightest inner circle. That community, and Joe-slash-Eddie, were my biggest support system during an intensely traumatic health scare my mom experienced back in September.
(She's okay now, but I will never forget my Hellfire fam pulling together and keeping my head above water during that ordeal. I am forever grateful to them for that.)
As for Eddie himself, and Joe's portrayal of him ... where do I even start?? I know a lot of people will be sharing their stories from the perspective of being LGBTQ+, and I'm just a cishet girl with a fuck-ton of insecurities, but he still means more to me than I can express. It was Eddie that gave me the courage to actually register for that acting class I'd been eyeballing since June - my first ever. I carried Eddie with me when I drove with an instructor for the first time, something I never thought I'd be able to do; the thought alone would send me into a panic. When I had to face my old doctor for the last time, bracing myself for another appointment filled with bullying, coercion, scare tactics, gaslighting, and condescension, it was Eddie that gave me strength.
He reminds me every day that, if you want to be dark and weird, be dark and weird. Don't tone yourself down for other people. Be aggressive, be loud. He reminds me that, when they call you a freak, be aggressively dark and weird even louder. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Enjoy your noisy music and your nerdy game and your niche interests. Be a theater kid and a metalhead and a horror buff and a dramatic nerd, all at once - you don't have to pick. Wear the studded belt and the chunky gothic rings and the leather jacket - you don't have to "earn" them. Grow your hair out, or chop it off. Feel your way towards who you really are, and when you find what that looks like for you, dive in headfirst. Whatever you become, you'll be great.
Here's to many, many more, Joseph. Thank you for everything. Your Hellfire family loves you so very much. 🖤🖤🖤🦇🦇🦇
