#(to clarify I didn't just like kids media before then. i just mean that it introduced me to some older stuff i didn't think I'd like)

[wasabikitcat]

community college is so funny because half of the teachers are like "For this class you need to use lockdown browser for all quizzes and tests. You need to buy this 70 dollar textbook, and all papers turned in must be in APA format with a title page even if they're only 500 words long. I will not accept late assignments. Also you have a minimum of 4 assignments a week." and the other half are like "you don't need proctoring for the final exam I trust you. here's a download link to a pirated copy of the textbook. as long as your writing is coherent and demonstrates an understanding of the material I literally could not care less what format you use. I can't figure out how canvas works so I'm not giving you due dates, just make sure it's turned in before the grading period ends. your only weekly assignment is a forum post with a minimum of 100 words."

[ak319]

Yan G!P Princess x fem reader

(Warnings: Possessive, stalker, betrayal, )

Your name in the story is Deniz

Part I

(Your POV)

"But Clara what we can do is ---with the help of the Mayor perhaps negotiate with them. I think they would agree, I mean that family loves doing charity don't they?"

"Yup, they do, Leo. But not behind the scenes. When the camera is off, they are just another ordinary, rich, money-hungry family." My boss Clara sighed for the umpteenth time and took her glasses off. I sat quietly on the sofa listening to their banter for the past ten minutes.

Our organisation, Redwood High Social Work was now facing what seemed like a dead end regarding the 1 acre of land that was designated to be made into a proper field for sports, not only for Redwood but for Knights High which was affiliated to Redwood and was a school for Special Ed. They really deserve that ground. Every kid deserves a good sport and imagine the numerous events we can have in the field. But somehow everything isn't so easy. We received an email last night which was apparently from the palace! Like THE PALACE! We thought that it was a prank but in the morning the Mayor's secretary sent us one clarifying that yes, it was from the palace. And what it stated was that and I quote

''....the field itself isn't the issue but the forest behind it is the property of the Royal family. God forbid none of us would want anyone harmed if there happens to be any hunting activity taking place. Keeping this in mind, it is therefore requested that your honourable organization reconsider its plans and if any compensation is desired, contact the number XXXX...."

"Just read this posh ass shit. I cannot believe the Mayor ditched us like that." Clara snarled flailing her arms once more making Leo rub his temples. I noticed a few gray hairs on the back of his head. Poor guy really be getting old early due to Clara.

"He didn't ditch us Clara. He did what any person would do, listen to the higher-ups. DUH?!"

"Higher ups?! Seriously Leo? Where were these higher-ups when we officially signed ownership documents and paid for the fucking land levelling equipment?! Do you think they gonna refund me? NO! Even if they do it will be half of the amount. Those were the school's funds LEO! The principal will get chewed on by the parents and in both schools! God....I don't---I can't just wrap my fucking mind around this whole scenario. That forest is literally at the edge of the field. The fences have been already built around 2 years ago. There are no reports of any animal attacks. And it's not like we are not going to monitor our children. Do we look stupid to them?! And I swear Leo and Deniz...they don't own that forest. I checked it a million times. Nobody goes there but oh now they do? Kiss my ass! "

I took a deep breath and put down my laptop down on the table before walking over to her desk.

"Maybe, Leo is right. We can only sort this out via a meeting."

"Meeting with who Deniz? I see only one solution. That is to sue them. Imma sue them, Imma sue the mayor too. Like where is he now? Huh? Did he just use us as some campaign pawns? Did you see his fucking website? WE ARE THERE! BUT NOW LOOK WE DON'T HAVE THE FUCKING GROUND. Imma sue his ass." She ran her hand through her curly black locks in anger. I definitely can understand what she is going through. Frustration. Anger. Sadness. But we all need to think instead of rant.

"I did see it, Clara. But you need to calm down. We need to come up with something solid. And suing the royal family? Can we even do that?" I looked at Leo who shrugged.

"See? We are not making any sense right now. What is done is done. So, I was thinking like---we can use the power of media as well. Why don't I call in Alfie and get your words on the front page tomorrow? He is looking for some hot tips as well these days." Alfie was Clara's cousin and a pretty seasoned journalist too.

"Get my words on what exactly?. We need to-" She breathed in for once before continuing "We need to have a chat with both of these parties first, Deniz. Go and keep reaching the Mayor's office. We will get rid of him first. Leo, go inform Knights about this fuckery but feed them some words of hope as well like 'we are working on it and it will be sorted', gotcha? Also, ask them to keep it to themselves. I don't want any parent drama."

"I already sent e-mails to the Mayor's office. Also what about Ma'am Layla?" I referred to our school's principal.

"I'll explain this to her myself." With that, everybody got to work. Honestly never thought that a degree in Science in Policy could lead to such a problematic job. I thought everything was going to be cookies and rainbows. But meh. People ruin everything. And I mean some assholes and I know exactly who this might be. But I need to be calm and focused right now.

Anyway, why is the Mayor even siding with the Royals --- since when are they interfering in the government?. Just as I was thinking this I got a notification on my phone. YES! An email from Emilia, Mayor Alex's secretary.

It said that Carla is invited to a meeting tomorrow. Mhm. This is good news then. Better go tell her.

════∘◦❁◦∘════

Fast forward to tomorrow, we were heading to the Mayor's abode. Not his office. His home. Which was odd. It was only me, as I was the assistant to the project manager, and Carla herself, the project manager/organization head, and the driver.

"So don't worry about the talking I'll-"

"You will handle it. I know. Just don't use the word sue ten times in a row and we will be good."

"Deniz, come on. Everybody loses their marbles sometimes. Didn't you once break everything in your room just because your food order was cancelled due to rain or something like that?" She whispered to me about my meltdown. My eyes widened in embarrassment, making her laugh.

"I assume you the most humble Carla, never experienced the emotion "hanger". And guess what--I had my movie ready to be played and my pad changed. " I whispered the last part to her as well. "So yeah, my cosy time was ruined. I would wage a war for that."

"Pft. Imagine you being a Queen. You would wage war everyday then."

"Damn right." Although her words brought an uncomfortable feeling and bitter thoughts in my mind making me shiver but I remained composed.

We bantered and went through some points before finally reaching our destination. I said some prayers as I got out of the car wishing that everything goes smoothly and this gets sorted out today. Glancing over at Carla's blank look as she scanned the front door, I could tell she was hoping the same.

Soon the Mayor greeted us in his formal attire and led us to his veranda where someone else was present too. An old man but his poise screamed of experience and wisdom. His eyes seemed to smile when we entered but the rest of his face was stoic. He was introduced to us as Richard, the queen's butler of some sorts. Just great.

The discussion started and it was revealed by "MR. RICHARD" that,

"As a matter of fact that forest is a part of royal treasury but since this---trifle has started, the King has with open heart decided to hand it to your organization, but..."

All of three of us leaned and waited for the next words out of his mouth. God , he spoke so slow.

"only when Princess Kade returns back from Harvard." My heart dropped.

"And why is that?" Carla's blurted out, in favor of mine and Alex's curiosity.

"Because it is accorded in her name. Her property , her signatures." He spoke looking directly at Carla.

Alex sighed, "Well, this is still a good start. When will she be back?"

"In a month or so, sir. But don't worry, the field will be handed to you as soon as she arrives. She doesn't hesitate when it comes to her duties," Richard eyed me and I held his gaze as fiercely as I could.

That was the moment when my doubts were confirmed and hardened. I know exactly who is behind this and why. But for now, I think Carla's smile means a call for celebration.

════∘◦❁◦∘════

(Your POV)

I stepped into my apartment and took a long shower which I had been desiring all day. But at the back of my mind I had a feeling that my feelings of anger and frustration instead of subsiding were about to explode more and that is what happened when I sat down on my sofa with my phone. A call from an unknown number. I picked it up but didn't say anything waiting for the other side to speak.

"Hello? Deniz?"

"Fuck you, Kade! FUCK YOU AND YOUR FAMILY! YOU RICH SNOBBY BASTARD! YOU CREEP! WHY CAN'T YOU LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE! You have dug your claws EVERYWHERE HAVEN'T YOU!? How low can you go? Huh?! PATHETIC!"

"Listen, please. I beg you to listen. If you are so keen to figure out that I did it, why don't you see WHY I did it?! Even these curses that you oh so charmingly bestowed upon me right now, you wouldn't do it Deniz if I hadn't done something, because you don't consider me even worthy of your hate Deniz. And here I am, begging for an ounce of affection-

"I didn't ask you to beg!" Her words don't ever miss a chance to rile me up. Why can't this delusional woman just leave me alone?

"You study at Harvard for God's sake yet you cannot--decipher the meaning of a simple word called NO. Why can't you accept-

"I WON'T ACCEPT IT! EVER!. BECAUSE IT'S BASELESS! Absolutely baseless! I refuse to accept it because I know deep down you don't mean-" She took a deep breath before continuing and I could also hear the sound of wind in the background. Almost as if something was hitting a hard surface and I instantly remembered. 'Yeah of course how did I forget she is using a fucking payphone ever since I blocked all her numbers.' How did I even manage to make her go to these lengths? Should I even blame myself? My therapist said no. Yeah. No Deniz, this isn't your fault. Don't you dare take it upon yourself for the crazy stunts of this bastard princess. Should I blame that whole match? That day, that event, that night?

It happened when I was in high school, part of the girl's cricket team in Southampton. After a match against another school and my striking performance as an outclass bowler, being responsible for taking out 3, star batswomen of the rival team, a girl from the audience approached me. Tall, reeking of elegance and mystery. My team captain, Reece whom I was standing beside at the time with some other teammates seemed to know the Princess as we would come to know later on. They both met through mutual acquaintances at a basketball match and were now very close friends. One thing to mention is that I had a thing for Reece due to her caring, charming and dominating presence on the field. I mean come on, she was quite a looker too with her sharp features and those green calculating eyes, her height, and golden brown hair which she kept mostly in a man bun. I always felt shy for no reason when we all would work out in the school gym and she would always come to scold my posture or cause my already pounding heart to nearly blast out of my chest helping me with her muscled arms and hands. LIKE WOMAN SORRY IF I AIN'T AS BUILT AS YOU! I wanted to scream "Hey! Stop treating me as a baby or if am weaker" But man come on, deep down I loved her care and touch. Can you blame my ass? Anyway, I digress. Back to that "After Match Moment".

Reece introduced her as a longtime childhood buddy and kept her background mostly vague and we were already exhausted after the match so didn't pay any heed anyway but mostly all of the team recognized her as the princess of the fucking land that we were standing on. Even though I was drenched in sweat and overwhelmed by the crowd — mostly parents and teachers and now a fucking princess standing in front, I still noticed Kade's lingering gaze on me. At the time, it was somewhat off-putting, but I decided to let it go. Little did I know how I would be drawn into such a heartless game, not only by Kade but also by Reece. I had trusted Reece as a mentor and a friend, and I even harboured a special affection for her that I never disclosed to anyone or dared to confess to her. Reece was the type of person who had many admirers, and my own insecurities made me feel like I could never compete. She could have anyone she wanted, so I focused on my studies and cricket instead.

After the meeting with Kade, Reece initiated plans for an outing which was very rare for her to do so. It was something Hana did, our wicketkeeper as she was the cheery one, the sunshine and the glue of the team. Others didn't seem to notice Reece's sudden change in demeanour, but I did as whenever we went to Reece's house or somewhere out, she seemed to avoid me in a way that is difficult to describe. Like she would be talking to me but not looking at me?. Also, Kade seemed to always show up and eventually became part of our friend group. Thank God she wouldn't stare at me as she did that night but still lingered around me. I always felt strange when we played cricket in front of her and even with her. She always was eager to ball herself when I used to bat and Reece let her do it first , every time. Kade once fixed my posture when I was batting. Like, excuse me?? I am a professional here. I know how to bat. Are you fucking kidding me?! I wanted to smash the bat on her head. Everyone except Reece thought that it was condescending for her to do that. And the fact that she touched me while doing it.

Bruh.

I too lost my shit at that time and did tell her politely that I know how to bat to which she apologised with a smile and backed off.

Reece straight up once "little sister zoned me" in front of everyone at her cabin during a BBQ and both she and Kade laughed as if it was the funniest shit they ever heard.

What shocked me most was Reece's behaviour few days after that. She really took the role of 'big sister' too seriously. She paid extra attention to me as if babying me and often I would find goodie bags in my locker or doorstep after practices and matches. I was...honestly just fed up. Like what fucking drugs are you on , Captain? First, you ignore me and then--this? Calling me and making me your sister? Giving me gifts? Like it took me so much to bury my feelings about her and she is "platonically love-bombing" me?

One day I had enough and texted her respectfully that I don't want all of this attention and I just wanted to be treated like a teammate as before. And asked her if she---likes me by any chance and she is doing all this to impress me. (Which is the one I hoped at that time of my youth and dumbassery that she would agree with and confess her feelings) Fate had other plans and hell broke loose when she rang me and informed me.

'Look, it's me giving you all that stuff but I ain't the one buying 'em', Dizzy. It's Kade, well she likes you and um--so ever since she told me about her crush on you, she sends me these to give em to you- and Dizzy---I can't say no to my friend ....who is also royalty. You should try to understand. She really really likes you. Trust me. She's a bit--aloof when it comes to expressing it. Especially since it's you." She chuckled lightly. "Honestly, you here made a princess scared of you, be proud of yourself...cuz Kade ain't easy to intimidate.."

That was when my whole world collapsed. So all of this ---bullshit--confusion--and- God...

After that, I confronted Kade face to face as Reece called her to school one day. She remained steadfast and pleaded to give her a chance but I was deep in anger and felt played. Not to forget the fact that dating a fucking royalty was not the thing I was even imagining at that point at 17 years old. Informing your parents you are dating a princess.....nah.

After that, I focused on my studies and game not talking to Reece other than when I had to about the match. I stopped hanging out with her. I hated her. She didn't care anyway as I would later find out from another teammate that Reece looked at me as not her sister but SISTER-IN-FUCKING-LAW! LIKE WOMAN?! During my absence and one of their "Chill Nights", Kade had made it clear to her in front of other teammates that Reece would be her best woman at OUR WEDDING!? Do you get the level of craziness?! THESE TWO WERE MANIACS! Thank God, I graduated somehow and Kade hadn't appeared in my life after the argument with her and neither did her gifts. I also broke off contact with Reece's ass and even rarely talked with other players but they were honestly more supportive and understood my side. However, Kade and Reece's sis-romance was off the charts. Just go marry each other, weirdos.

Fast forward to a few years and voila, Kade is back and more persistent than ever. Even Reece messaged me on instagram that I should get hitched with her as it's better for my future for which I retorted.

'Um, focus on your life, Reece. Heard you've got a league coming up' Yes, she is a national player now. FML. That was my dream too but I am grateful I ain't because she would be playing alongside me. Eugh!

'Also I can make decisions for myself and I don't appreciate people trying to coax me into anything I don't want to do, you know that very well. Match against the Kent Lionesses, 30 sept, 2013? Yes, didn't wanna do a spin, didn't do it and gave u a good 4 wickets. While Tanya was forcing me to do fast bowl. So please, get the fantasy of me being your BFF's wife out of your head.'

She indeed was unhappy but left me on seen after saying you are missing out on a great woman and a great life.

Right. Fuck you too.

Still fast forward to now and Kade is still looking for ways to connect with me and re-enter my life or trying to RUIN the one I have by creating such circumstances which all link back to her. I have blocked so many numbers of her that now she uses payphones.

I need a break.

Back to reality. Oh , she still is rambling.

"Kade?"

The line goes silent. Good, now is my time.

"Bye." And I cut the call and powered off my phone. I immediately sent a text via laptop to Carla that I needed a prolonged leave as I was leaving for my (homeland/town). The perks of having a nice boss is that she agreed and didn't even pry much and soon I booked a flight and got ready to pack.

My mind however kept swirling with other notions. For example, what will happen if I say yes to Kade? What If I just never come back and consult all of this bullshit from the start with my family and come up with a plan to start an undercover life.

My body is so exhausted by the memories and anxiety that i just collapse on the bed and make a mental note to think over this during the flight.

➺Part II

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Guys, I wanted to make it clear that I just don't like using (Y/N) in stories as I just hate typing it so I will be mostly naming you, the readers ♡. Yes you , my little family of 10 😭. I would like to know your opinion. Do hang around for further parts. Kade Emsworth's side coming up soon. )

[bellysoupset]

"Figured where do I know your face from," Vince said, sitting in front of Max in the teacher's lounge. Mr. Daniels was pushing the food around on his plate.

"Yeah?" he asked, uninterested, "where's that?"

"You broke my arm when I was 10," Vince glared at the other man, who let out a little snort, still staring at his plate. When Vince didn't chuckle too, he frowned and looked up.

"Wait, you're serious?"

"Yeah," Vince sat before him, eyebrows raised, "you're the big kid in the playground who bullied me when I moved here."

Max let out a groan, letting his fork fall back down on the plate, "aw man, I'm sorry. Middle schooler me was a shithead," he grimaced, "I don't remember breaking anyone's arm, though, I'm really really sorry."

Vince rolled his eyes, unimpressed, "well, but you did..." he frowned then, noticing Max waxy pallor, "what's wrong with you?"

"Generally? Right now?" the other man shrugged, quirking an eyebrow and causing Vince to let out an annoyed sigh.

"We've established you're a shithead generally, so I meant specifically at this moment," he clarified and Max let out a chuckle at that, scratching at his cheek.

"I think it's just a hangover," he shrugged.

Vince raised his eyebrows, on a Tuesday? Damn whoever said teachers didn't have fun.

"Shithead indeed," he sighed, getting up once more, "don't hold my kids back today."

"Sure, sure, I never do," Mr. Daniels waved him off and Vince wrinkled his nose with annoyance, before walking out of the teacher's lounge.

Most teachers ate in the lounge, but it wasn't a requirement, so Vince went to the parking lot and found a nice bench in the shadow, unwrapping his lunch and scrolling through his social media. It was a nice break after a morning packed with kids, to be reminded the adult world still existed out there.

Luke had already flooded his DMs with memes and there were two texts from Wendy, one being an outfit check of her in gym clothes that had his heart skipping a beat.

Vince typed a cheeky response to her texts, smiling at his phone, only to hear a snort.

"Well, hello, Mr. Monacelli," he would recognize his sister's voice anywhere. Sophia's hair was up in a ponytail and she sat next to him on the bench, "why are you smiling at your phone?"

"None of your business, now, is it?" Vince scoffed, "where's the rest of your mean girls pack?"

"Hurling up their lunches in the bathroom," Sophia said, jokingly putting her finger inside her mouth and Vince wrinkled his nose in distaste. He really couldn't understand how his middle sister had such an acid sense of humor, nothing like the rest of the family.

"That's horrible to say, Soph-"

"Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes, criss-crossing her legs, "you can't embarrass me in class."

Vince snorted, "embarrass you?"

"Yeah," Sophia glared at him, "none of your i'm-a-cool-teacher jokes, nu-uh. Don't even mention you're my brother, you're gonna ruin my reputation."

"I'll make sure to fail you, just so they know there's no special treatment," Vince turned back to his sandwich, "or maaaybe I'm gonna bring up your super embarrassing crush on my best friend."

"Are you never gonna let that go?" Sophia jumped up, glaring at him, her cheeks turning red, "I was a kid!"

"It was literally six months ago," Vince grinned, "get out of my sight, kid."

"You're so mean," she pouted, "I'm gonna leave you a terrible teacher review."

Vince rolled his eyes, chuckling as the girl stomped away. He loved her dearly and it was really nice to be back in her life, but Sophia was also the most annoying person he knew.

She was also a senior, which wasn't a good thing, because Vin was already struggling to make the older kids respect him and he knew it wouldn't be any easier if his influential little sister decided to make his life a living hell in the classroom.

Hopefully Sophia was just bark and no bite.

It was to no one's surprise when his last class rolled on and yet he met an empty classroom. Vince sighed, glancing at his watch. Fucking Daniels, again.

He was going to strangle that man.

Vince was already ready to stomp out of the room and forcefully retrieve his kids, when suddenly the door opened. He straightened up, ready to face the swarm of frustrated teenagers, as they always were after chemistry class, but instead it was just Sophia.

Alone, which was all the more worrying, her blue eyes were huge on her face.

"What's wrong?" Vince asked, talking over her as his sister said:

"Mr. Daniel's is really sick and we don't know what to do... Can you help?"

Oh great, Vince thought, stepping out of the classroom, "what happened exactly?"

"He was off all class, but we said nothing- And then like, just now he suddenly stopped talking and barfed everywhere and-" her voice dipped, switched to Italian as Sophia groaned, "it's so gross, Vin."

Vince sighed as he followed her down the hallways to the chemistry room, "why didn't you call up a nurse?"

"We didn't want to get him in trouble..." Sophia frowned, planting her hands on her hips, "you're not gonna get him in trouble, right? He's cool."

And hungover, Vince thought bitterly, but despite his feelings he nodded, "I'm not," he promised, "stay out here, I know vomit makes you sick."

She let out a grateful sigh, slumping against the hallway wall as Vince entered the room.

It was truly a sight to be seen, fucking spectacular. Vince had no idea how he was supposed to not report the fact that Mr. Daniels had somehow managed to puke on his own boots and in a large puddle in the middle of the room.

He was folded in half, bracing against one of the tables and most of the teenagers were pushed to the opposite side of the room, looking completely horrified.

"Alright everyone show's over," Vince said, gesturing to the kids, "you have history class now, go get some water and then to the classroom, shoo."

Despite his somewhat harsh words, most of them looked visibly relieved there was an adult in the room. Vince cringed as he saw some kids that were almost green with sympathy nausea, he just hoped he wouldn't have to deal with that as well.

Once the classroom cleared out, Vince approached the other teacher, who was still mute, save for a couple hiccups and little sniffles.

"Okay... So hangover, uh?" Vince couldn't help but say, touching the man's back and Max let out a loud groan.

"No," he rasped, "no way this is a hangover. I'd never- Not in front of them..." his voice trailed off and he shuddered violently, "my head is killing me."

That didn't really help his i'm-not-hungover case, Vince thought, forcing the shorter guy to straighten up. He immediately grimaced, realizing why Max had stayed in that position. There was vomit down his band t-shirt and clinging to his auburn beard.

Without thinking Vince touched his cheek, then forehead and let out a sigh. The guy was burning up.

"I have good news and bad news," Vince said, side stepping the beige mess on the floor and pulling Max to a clearer patch, before pushing him to sit down in one of the chairs.

The blonde fell like a ragdoll, spreading his legs and wrapping an arm around his stomach, "good news is that I didn't shit my pants?"

Vince scowled, "good news is that you're sick, so this means we can tell the nurse and you're not gonna get penalized for hurling in front of the kids."

Max let out a little huff at that, "terrible good news-" then he hiccupped and groaned, "get me the bin..."

Vince couldn't believe there was anything in the guy, after seeing such copious amount of vomit. He also couldn't help a wave of sympathy as he thought of how much Mr. Daniel's reputation was fucked after getting sick in front of the seniors.

He planted the bin in front of the guy and then crouched next to him, carefully pulling Max' curtain of blonde hair and tying it on the back of his neck, "you're gonna be fine for a minute? I'm gonna go get a janitor."

Max let out a sickly burp inside the bin, raising a thumb up.

Once Vince got back in the room, now followed by the janitor - Maurice, who was also a relic from his school years - Max had folded on himself all over again, both arms wrapped around his stomach, head resting on the school desk.

"Man, c'mon," Vince sighed, frustrated, "try and help yourself, the principal is gonna have your head..."

"Uhm," Max groaned, "I don't- I don't feel well..."

Maurice let out a snort, "you'd think he's feeling fine after throwing up everything he ever ate," the man teased and Vince couldn't help but chuckle at that, grabbing Max' arm.

"You'd think," he agreed, pulling the blonde up, "c'mon, nurse's office. You have someone who can pick you up?"

"What...?" Max's gaze was all dazed. At least he had managed to clear the vomit from his beard, probably with his hand and wiped on his jeans. Vince grimaced at the mental image.

"Someone to come get you?" Vince repeated, pulling the guy down the hallway, "you're out of it."

There were curious faces on the hallways, kids out for a bathroom break stopping to watch them and Vince sped up, causing Max to stumble and collapse against his side.

"I'm gonna hurl again," the man mumbled and Vince shook his head.

"C'mon, we're almost there-" he wrapped an arm around the other teacher's waist and pulled Max against him, making them walk even faster.

The minute they got inside the nurse's office, Max turned to the big flower pot and heaved, his whole back arching as he let out a deafening retch and brought up a mouthful of bile.

"Goodness heaven's, Mr. Daniels!?" the nurse exclaimed. Mrs. Doyle was elderly and never used to do anything back when Vince was a student but tell the kids to go back to class. At least now she couldn't tell them that.

"He's got a really high fever," Vince said, keeping a hand planted on Daniels' back, as the man braced against the wall and continued to heave, not a thought given to Mrs. Doyle's sad palm tree, "and he's been sick," a lot, Vin mentally completed.

"Uhm- Well, he can lie down in my office... I'll get him so gatorade, until he feels-"

"Just let me go home, for fuck's sake," Max groaned, his voice all raspy and Mrs. Doyle frowned at the swear word.

"I don't think I can release you when you're this sick, I need-"

"I'm not a fucking kid," Max turned to glare at her and Vince stepped between them, glaring at the man.

"Then don't behave like one. You can't drive like this, either let Mrs. Doyle call someone or sit in the office and wait until classes are over and I'll drive you," he said strongly, causing Max to raise his dazed eyes at him and scowl.

"There's no one to pick me up," he groaned and Vince sighed, dropping his shoulders.

"Then go lie down, I'm just gonna finish my class and I can drive you," he turned to Mrs. Doyle, who was stunned into silence, "he can stay, right?"

"Of course..." She frowned, "you're the Monacelli's kid? Little Vince?" she suddenly held her hand down to her hip and Vince blushed, while Max let out a raspy chortle.

Vince nodded, his whole face aflame, "I'm gonna go, I have a bunch of teenagers to calm down. Hopefully you're not contagious, otherwise our lives will be hell for the next weeks."

Max groaned, stumbling forward towards the nurse's office, "yeah, don't count on it."

[dingleberry-art]

Before I begin this I would like to clarify,

I am a minor (15) so please dont get too angry at me if this isnt correct or if i have a bad take

I have adhd and I am hyperfixated on good omens, have been for about 3? months, so i was (?) a Neil Gaiman fan.

Ok, now to actually start (sorry I haven't posted before I dont think? maybe once or twice). When I opened up tiktok earlier i thought I was getting pranked in a sick way, but nope, Neil Gaiman could possibly be a creep. Decided to hop on tumblr because a few people were saying it is going crazy, and they were right. The first thing I see when I look up his name is people shaming his fans.

I in NO WAY want to make this situation about the fans and "oh but only imagine how sad his fans feel", because if the allegations are true we would be glossing over the pain of his victims. But I do wish people would chill out on immediately dogging his fans.

First off, I had NO CLUE he was a zionist, and if I had i would have tried to separate art from artist as much as possible (i pirate GO tho so i think im good for now) But if a superfan like me didn't know this please be kinder to casual fans alike for just simply being uninformed.

Secondly, why are we hating on people for enjoying media? One of the top posts was about how "oh maybe dont make a whole piece of media ur entire personality", like ok sorry im neurodivergent😭

Basically what im trying to say: please be nicer to good omens fans rn, we DO CARE about the victims and a show that has saved some of our lives just happens to be connected to this situation. Obviously the focus should be on finding out the true story and supporting the victims, but please dont bully GO fans for being disappointed that their favorite show could possibly be canceled. I know it doesn't seem like the top priority to most people rn because it isnt, but it IS scary when you literally cried over a show taking 4 years to contine, then finding out it may not happen at all.

Lets focus on lifting up the victims vs bringing down the fans please

Im really sorry if any of this seems rude or mean im just a kid thats really passionate about a show and im sorry to the victims I hope things get sorted out.

thank you for reading!

[monobmp]

No I completely understand… there’s a lot that could be done with canon that could be really interesting… and I know exactly what ur talking about when it comes to the awkward social interaction margarita LIKE ITS SO PAINFUL IN A GOOD WAY sinks my teeth into them and shakes them around. I think why Bill is so out of pocket with the kids is that they don’t have as much uhh how do u say it.. like they’re kids and no one outside of the know would believe them.. but also like they don’t have the adult brains that go “I’m just gonna ditch this and run as far away as possible” if that makes sense??? Like an adult typically has much more resources. I think Bill was also just genuinely invested in keeping up appearances at first and see how far he could sink his claws into Ford… I always thought that Bill would have a very far removed POV on human socialization and use it like a reference guide on how and what buttons to push, which is really fun bc my major uses a similar perspective to examine human social behaviors

Also I understand the Ford dislike bc I’ve been down bad for him since middle school but dear god he’s an asshole basically for the entirety of the show. Legitimately the only person he’s consistently nice to is Mabel, which to me is interesting when you put that next to his interactions w/ Dipper before weirdmageddon. I suppose it clarifies that he doesn’t really have any disdain for people who aren’t like him, just some really outdated beliefs. But it’s ok I can fix him

There is!!! It's just I'm not really much of a writer though, unfortunately, I love consuming the content, but it's hard to think of suitable content yourself 😔 it's tough 😭😭😭

And YEAH that honestly makes sense. It's giving "I'm the creature your parents warn you about if you don't brush your teeth before going to bed" but no physical harm, maybe just trauma though.

And Bill keeping up the "muse" appearance 💕💕💕💕💕 I still find it crazy Ford calls him "My Muse" and had all that Bill memorabilia 😭 ALSO I really like the idea of him using memories as a reference guide for human socialization, even if he doesn't fully get it. I love it a lot actually, I love learning an outsiders perspective on understanding human mannerisms and dissecting the deeper meaning of it. Like sure he's a little freak in a human POV that aligns dead rats into Ford's name for his birthday, but that means a lot to Bill in his own way, right? Smiles

I DON'T HATE FORD ANYMORE, I'm no longer a young idiot that didn't have the concept of media literacy and can understand more on why Ford was so mean </3 but also he was like, gone from human civilization for 30+ years and was being chased by a triangle for that entire time. Just give grandpa some time to get adjusted again 😊

[generalluxun]

You know what’s extremely ironic about Astruc's comments about Miraculous Ladybug being for kids?

Let me tell you a story:

Once upon a time; a man was working on a project for which he was very passionate about, a project that involved a skill that had been perfected for many years by him, his team and many other teams of artists. But he was met with many problems.

This project had cost him a lot of money and unless it was a succes with the people, the man would lose everything he had worked for, as he had feared it would happen eventually if he didn't try to make his idea a reality.

Nobody really expected him to succeed and thought he was just drawing his end ever nearer. A "folly" is what they called it.

Eventually he ran out of money and the only way to get the money needed to even complete his folly was by asking a loan from the bank. Easier said than done, because as nobody believed in him, they would not expect him to pay the loan back.

Undeterred; and despite the fact that if he failed to be a success he would lose his home, he decided to bring some of the paintings, drawings and concepts his team had created, to show the bank's board of directors what they were hoping to do.

One of the directors proclaimed that in the future no one would remember the name of anyone in the room except for the name of the man who indeed got his loan and then completed his project.

The man was Walt Disney, and what he showed was a half-finished Snow White.

That's right, Walt Disney had to charm a group of adults with his first movie before he could charm anyone else with it. And if he hadn't succeeded, then animated movies would have probably not become a thing while animation itself faded into obscurity.

And that's not the end of it either, it's established in the movie that Snow White will be saved in the end like anyone who had heard the fairy tale knew already. And despite that, you know what the people at the premiere of Snow White did back in 1937?

They cried their hearts out during the funeral.

Fully grown adults who had heard of Walt's Folly as it was called and were skeptical of watching such a long "cartoon" were moved to the same tears as the seven dwarfs.

Say what you will about the man himself, but you gotta give Walt Disney this: he knew that if adults weren't moved by his work then entertaining kids would be the least of his worries.

I've head this tale before, and I get your point.

I think the 'It's for Kids' runs deeper than this for ML though, specifically. It's used disingenuously to shop for praise *and* deflect critique.

It's Schrodinger's show. If it gets criticized for bad messaging through oversimplification then 'It's a kids show! what do you expect!'

If it feels it's doing well then 'Look at what they're doing in a kids show!'

We've been told by the creator that kids 'get it' in places where adults have concerns. Conversely we've been told 'Kids won't understand' in other places.

Now, you can make a silly shallow kids show and *that's fine* we have silly shallow adult shows. Kids shouldn't be left out.

You can also make a kids show that punches above it's age range, pushing kids to think and learn. *I personally love these shows* they were doing (modified)Shakespeare on Sesame Street when I was growing up. Disney's Gargoyles is RIFE with all sorts of literary references.

What you can't do is swerve between lanes as suits your desires at any given moment. As a creator you need to establish a framework by which your media can be approached. As the creator you have a very wide latitude in how to build that framework, but it does need to remain consistent.

I should clarify- This doesn't mean the more serious kids shows can't be silly and funny, nor that the shallow shows can't dip their toes into more complex topics, but *how these things are approached* needs to remain consistant.

Example: Dearest Family: We're throwing in an addiction reference, that's pretty intense. We're going to give it to our magical fairy stand-in so it is one step removed, and we're mixing in the serious and laughs along the way. It's not until the end where it falls down. the addiction is solved with.... a pep talk. ML loves pep talks, it's 80's cartoon style to the core. Pep talks work for a *lot* of problems. Just stopping to think matters.

Pep talks don't work for addiction. However, you can imagine they don't want to keep this as a running theme with relapses and struggles. It's a one-off lesson. So what you need to do is make it clear that the one-off solution is *also* magical in nature. Have Plagg cataclysm one of those Galette's making it nasty and gross, so Tikki eats it and YUCK! now she doesn't want Galette ever again. Boom, you've 'solved' it through magic so the one-episode-solution for a complex problem flows more cleanly.

I think the inability to learn/accept critique is the biggest problem in the writing room. There are good things in ML, and *every* show makes mistakes of some kind or another. Someone in the writing room just seems completely unwilling to engage in reflection, or if they do they simply will not admit it.

It's weird.

I'm not someone who 'hates the show' I want it to succeed and prosper, and I want it to have good messaging. S5 Miraculous was paralleling Chloé's descent. you are just watching bad choice after bad choice, hoping there will be a course correction.

At least we still have the movie, and maybe S6 will be a new direction. S5 did feel like a glut of 'We need to finish tis before the end of this season' developments.

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

TW for mentioning sexual assault and stalking. Seeking advice and reassurance. You can tag me as Gen.

I used to participate in an expensive hobby that helped me meet lots of people at the time. I stopped in 2019 and don't stay in touch with anyone I used to know back then. I have some awesome memories related to the hobby but also some terrible ones and the main reason I stopped was because of stalking. The people who have sexually assaulted me were ones who I met through the hobby. And unfortunately, reporting the incidents didn't grant me any protection.

I have been thinking about it again and wondering if I should sell the things I have related to the hobby since like I said it was an expensive one. But sometimes I wonder if I'll get back into again and then feel sad about having sold my stuff. I've taken breaks from the hobby before back when I was still a student and was too busy with school sometimes but always got back into doing it. I also regret having participated in the hobby sometimes because of all the time and money I wasted, plus the stalkers and abusers I met. There are some things I can never get back. I had to stop using my old phone number, social media accounts, etc. and I don't have any friends irl anymore. Even if I sell my items that doesn't make up for money I wasted on other things related to the hobby like travel expenses and hotels. And I can't un-traumatize myself or un-meet the crappy people I met.

I also feel like maybe I'm getting too old for the hobby because it seems like it's mostly popular with younger people (I myself started at around 12) and I'm in my 30s now. It's not a matter of "Do what you love at whatever age you want and don't care about being judged" but more just the fact that a crowd where the majority of people are kids half my age and younger means it's extremely hard to find people my age to meet and become friends with. So I've been considering moving on but I have a lot of mixed feelings since like I said I've never quit before, just taken breaks, but since it's been 5 years maybe this time it can be permanent. What things should I consider and what advice do you have?

Hi Gen,

I won't tell you what to do but I can help describe your options and hopefully that can clarify the decision you want to make.

If you choose to stop participating in this hobby, you may get a decent amount of money in selling your hobby-related belongings. You might feel a sense of closure in no longer being exposed to triggers as often and might feel as though you've closed a difficult chapter. You won't have to deal with the awkwardness of the age differences in those who partake in this hobby. You might also be saving a decent amount of money that would've otherwise been spent on travel and lodging. However, you may feel a sense of longing for the positive aspects of this hobby, although this could be an urge you could substitute for a new hobby. You're right that you can't change the past, but you can write your future.

If you continue with this hobby, you might continue to have a complicated relationship with it, both in terms of the age differences of you versus the majority of those who engage in this hobby, and in terms of frequently encountering triggers. You may become compelled to spend more money traveling and staying in hotels, or perhaps even buy whatever newest equipment comes along with this hobby, which isn't financially wise. You may also have fear when interacting with others.

The choice is ultimately yours to make. I hope I could help and please let us know if you need anything.

-Bun

[silvmoonsky]

I hope it's okay if i ask what happened in miraculousfanworks? /gen /cur

hiiii <3 yeah, i've never expressed my thoughts on main before but it's been awhile so i don't really care anymore lol. i should clarify that there isn’t necessarily anything "new" that’s happened. i haven’t been on the server since last year (i left about a year ago). and i modded from september 2020 to september 2021 - so again, it’s been awhile. i just have a lot of pent up frustration from my own experiences, as well as frustration regarding other former mods that have also had bad experiences, and was reminded of all of it (which is why i made that post lmao).

my main issue with the server is the management - more specifically, most of the head admins. they were really toxic honestly. the server was a discord server for a kids show. the way they ran the server was as if it was a corporation making money for profits. they were way too obsessed with every single statistic regarding engagement, treated modding like it was a job rather than something we did in our spare time, etc. it was so dumb. and that tanked their engagement actually lol, so much so that they are bringing back events got rid of previously because the events had "too little" engagement, and therefore was deemed useless even when other moderators (me included) wanted to keep running said event. SO IT'S FUCKING BULLSHIT. the server was 10x more active when it had <500 members than it is now, with over 3k. they also were very corporate when it came to modding itself. meaning. there were pages and pages of documents that had sets of rules to follow, a three strike system for moderators (where if you got 3 strikes you were off the team), etc. again: it was a discord server FOR A KIDS SHOW. they were fucking insane lmao.

but that's not even the biggest problem. the main issue for me was the way they treated the minors who were on the mod team. and this is something i realized way after i stepped down as a mod. i really wish i realized it sooner, but it is what it is lol. but basically: i was 14 when i joined the team. i was 15 when i stepped down. i was really young. a lot of my friends who were on the team, either at the same time as me or after, were also pretty young - 14, 15, 16, 17. there were also people who were 18, 19, in their 20s, etc. but i have several issues with the way the admins, 30+ year old adults, treated the minors, actually. for one, they treated them like adults. as in - often they would give a minor a responsibility that was too much for them to handle, realize that "oh of course they can't handle this, it's because they're a minor and they can't be trusted" and then reprimand them or whatever and hand over the responsibility to adults. like. if you want to have minors act like adults, just add adults to the mod team. lmao. i will admit at times, i acted immature. but i was also FIFTEEN. idk what these adults expected from a 15 year old. but on the flip side, they also knew that minors were easily more dedicated to running discord servers. so they kept adding minors to the mod team, even when they were originally going to stop. they gave them huge "projects" such as running social medias, and then complained when things weren't being done a certain way, etc. they were very manipulative. the admins always claimed you could talk about any concerns you had, and that it was okay to disagree with them. once i brought up an issue i had to an admin. maybe i could've brought it up better, but i was very honest about exactly what i felt, and expressed that i didn't like the decisions the admins were making. and i was accused of gaslighting. again, i was FIFTEEN talking to an adult who was over twice my age. that was honestly extremely shitty.

there are also a lot of other specific instances of them accusing/hurting minors on the team. i don't really want to talk about those because they are personal and it's not my place to tell, but it's important to note that it was not just me who had issues. i can genuinely name over 10 former mods (minors and adults) who have had awful experiences/regret ever having modded for the server. the admins played favorites a lot. they swept issues under the rug and let people who shouldn't have stayed on the team, stay on the team; meanwhile, they demoted other people without even bothering to tell them because they decided they weren't contributing enough. it was a shitshow.

there is so much more i haven't talked about, but i'm just gonna stop here for now. i don't really know the current situation of the mod team. in 2022, i still had friends on the team, so i know there were still many issues then, but now idk anyone so i can't say for sure that things are as bad now as they were then (but also, the server may not just be active enough for there to be issues, lmao). but most of the admins i've referred to are still on the team. so that.... should be telling enough, tbh. they never change. they didn't learn from the mistakes they made in 2020, or 2021, and from what i've heard, certainly not in 2022, either. so i am pretty sure things are the same lol.

if you have any questions, lmk, but if they're extremely specific i probably won't answer them (publicly, at least. if you want to send me an ask/dm me off anon feel free).

[laurasauras]

(disclaimer, i'm not D/deaf)

also worth noting that even within one sign language there won't always be perfect communication

sign languages have dialects. AUSLAN used in the south of australia has a different sign for coffee than in the north. YES this is inconvenient, especially when you're trying to learn sign online, but so is the fact that pots, pints and schooners mean different things in each of our states as well

no one who signs knows All The Signs and in fact most people are going to run into scenarios where they look at a sign that Most People Know and they just blank, exactly as people do with spoken language

the take away from all of these is exactly that, they're languages, not anything more mystical

there actually common signs across ASL, BSL, AUSLAN, and i assume other languages (hence international sign developing pretty naturally) but there are also signs that look the same and mean completely different things

another thing is that (at least in AUSLAN) many of the signs look like mimes for what they represent. two people communicating with signs are not necessarily able to hide the meaning from others who don't know sign around them, though i will say that most people who don't know them won't even bother to try to interpret them because enough of them aren't representative. still, it's not encoded. "jacket" in AUSLAN looks like someone putting on a jacket. "book" looks like someone holding a book. you get me

also, i don't know AUSLAN, i know a decent amount of KWS (key word sign), which is an augmented language used in combination with speech based on AUSLAN signs. basically, you sign the key words of the sentence as you speak. i learnt it because i work with at a school with kids with diverse communication needs, where being able to sign to emphasise/clarify speech is handy, as well as giving preverbal kids an opportunity to sign things like "finished" or "want". AUSLAN wouldn't work in my setting, and i'd be bloody lost if i was to mute my tv and rely on an AUSLAN interpreter

i guess i'd probably be as good at understanding someone using sign language towards me as i would be someone speaking german, which i learned in high school and have forgotten a lot of, but i think if i was communicating with a D/deaf person, my using signs of the key words as i speak would probably be pretty handy

when i was 20, probably older tbh, i thought that all sign language was the same. i'd learned how to fingerspell and sign "thank you" at primary school, and that was as much exposure as i had. i still don't have a lot of exposure to it, but i've benefited from learning what i have and i really recommend learning some of those key words in your native sign language

the fact that my young niece knows how to sign "finished" when she doesn't want something to be happening anymore makes it a lot easier to stop the thing before she starts crying, and that's more comfortable for everyone. the fact that she uses the ASL sign rather than the AUSLAN one is pretty sad though. her daycare educator means well, but probably saw the advice to teach signs from an american social media and didn't realise we have different ones

so yeah, if you didn't know that there's a hell of a lot more sign languages than ASL, this is in no way a guilt trip! take it as inspiration to learn a couple of words in your native sign. "thank you" alone is genuinely so useful (e.g. loud bar! across the room!) and even being in the habit of using more gesture makes it easier to communicate 💛

this is a niche one but instead of "they would not fuckin say that" it's "they would not fucking use American sign language".

ASL is not the only sign language. two british characters in your fanfiction would not be using ASL. England in fact has its own kind of sign language, BSL, that forms a sign family with many other sign languages around the world.

ASL isn't even the original member of its sign family, it comes from french sign language. do you know sign languages aren't related to spoken languages? that's an important one! it's not a direct 1:1 with people speaking English around the world. people in other countries don't learn ASL just in case they run into an usamerican or Canadian (who do often use it)

i know the entire world is the USA or whatever and sign languages do sometimes borrow from ASL for signs they don't have, but please be aware that there are other sign languages and families in the world that are not in fact ASL.

[kh-oc-askblog]

Main Rules

Verses; I am mostly a KH centric askblog/ rp, but I am also okay with most things as long as I am at least already somewhat familiar with the universe/ fandom in question. This can be discussed further in a direct message if you'd like to check if your verse is included. And of course, OCs are always welcome! Though we may need to plot in case of conflicts in lore if they're KH OCs, or just generally it's good to know more about each other's characters before we throw them at each other.

18+ preferred but not strict; I won't reject anyone's willingness to rp, but please remember that I may sometimes ask for space or may gently ask you not to rp if I feel overwhelmed or overly relied upon as an adult, especially as I personally haven't had role models to learn from to know how to handle interacting with kids/ teens, or just how to not sound too harsh around younger people. Like nothing against you all at all and I hope this didn't come across as belittling. So yeah, I'm going to be distant and probably ask way too much "is this an okay topic?" because I genuinely don't know.

Mature content; I do explore the same type of content raised in Kingdom Hearts canon such as abuse, grooming, mental health issues, suicide, some mentions of alcohol, displacement, etc. found in Kingdom Hearts/ Disney movies in general, but these things will be tagged with double slashes and then TW + the content "// TW: [content]". I do inexplicitly touch on further themes like CSA, PTSD specifically and self harm, but I do try to be subtle in these expressions and they tend to be shown through symbolism that acts as an allegory to these concepts. Even so, I will also tag them and may add a "allegory" note in brackets; like // TW: CSA (allegory), for example.

Mun takes many breaks; please remember that I tend to have brief bouts of fast replies in between breaks, so just remember that I'm not ignoring replies and not to overly pester the mun. I kindly ask for small reminders if I've really taken too long, but please keep in mind that I tend to take regular mental health and physical breaks due to disabilities, irl obligations and ongoing struggles with mental health.

Basic DNI, but also; TERFS/ transphobes (including transmeds, mun is bigender soo), queer exclusionists (I respect mspec and aspec here), Zionists (again, I have many anti-zio Jewish friends and Palestinian friends, one of which is like basically family to me so please go away if you're pro Israel/ anti-Palestinian), and while I won't say DNI per se to antis, please know I am neutral and/or friends with many pro ship people. I am politically anti-censorship, so I don't want people being "oh you're okay with X being into Y content?" when I very much do not care for erasure of any media, yes even "bad" ones. Basically just DNI if you are right wing or use right wing rhetoric.

Other things to know; please don't make fun of how I write. Constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged, but don't just be like "ew your sentences are too long" or "haha OCs are cringe" or "your art sucks!" because I'll obviously just block if you start being mean about it or don't really give anything properly constructive. Of course, I am not my characters; they may be rude or say things I would not. As for art/ writing, I tend to have my own habits and some of them I can't really help, including long sentences since I have had a history of being talked over or misunderstood, so I tend to clarify when I'm anxious (which I'm always lol). In the end, it's all fun and games so it's best not to take things overly seriously. I also tend to scratch out acknowledgments to brands/ content that I am boycotting due to their unethical practices. This is just a personal way for me to give them the finger while also not claiming things that genuinely aren't mine.

Swearing; I try not to, though I can sometimes default to it when stressed, angry or tired, so I apologise if that happens in ooc and I will try to keep it contained, especially for those who may find swearing triggering. As for my characters, they don't use them since KH canon doesn't. They use the same type of dialogue as the English Dub of Kingdom Hearts, so no extreme examples of cussing, but some "playground rude words" like "hell" or "shut up".

AI policy; I prefer not to use it for writing or art and may be less inclined to rp if they are used by other muns. This isn't so much a judgemental thing per se, but I just have mixed feelings as an artists who has closed down a lot of previous places due to AI training. This place is an escape, so I would prefer not to really be confronted by AI content or talk of it, please.

So basically! Don't be a dickhead and chances are we can get along just fine, I'm generally really chill with whoever people are and what people believe. I am always up for talking out differences, but please just remember to be respectful and remember that this is a place for rp, fun asks and sometimes even just escapism for me ngl. If you wanna contest a point in the above, I'd prefer if you reached out on my main; @royalberryriku, and that I have limited spoons so I may be slow.

Disclaimer and acknowledgements; All art used for OC asks and in rps are my own. I may use filter layers to create atmosphere, but the art used will ultimately be my own works. Meanwhile any pictures of canon Kingdom Hearts characters I may rp as NPCS or include in answering asks, or any settings depicted that are within the Kingdom Hearts universe, are the property of Tetsuya Nomura and the development team of Kingdom Hearts; owned by Square Enix and Disney. Gifs used for displays are from Tumblr's selection and always have the creator underneath.

[mandy4ever69420]

4.12

debbie is still so my world. first of all im crazy about her little personality. second of all her decision to use a pizza delivery driver she knew as transportation when needed is very clever and funny. still sad though. matty death manifestation chant starts at 8:30 thirdly i really enjoyed how her worrying about visiting fiona and getting mad at lip for being hesitant ties into how mad she was at fiona in the start of the season for not looking for ian.

enjoyed hearing the exact moment the person im watching with realized ian was bipolar. oh fuck is right

debbie and carl played it so cool checking in on ian but later totally losing their minds when fiona gets home to ask her for help was very good. debbie especially did a very nice job holding it in "yeah, we know what this is"->oh my god fiona is here she needs to come. well placed so that you dont really think about how flatly scary it is to be 13 and realize your brothers all fucked up until she finally lets go

fiona's joy at coming home and being hugged was sweet. and then also the way she didn't lose that moment entirely but when she realized that debbie and carl were also so clingy because something was wrong

i liked that scene were lip gets briefly overcome at amanda's terrifying weird thing bc she's pretty and nice and she likes him and then he's moved by the kiss until all the other sorority girls start celebrating and he realizes (incorrectly) it was just to show off. amanda being normal amount of guarded about her feelings pre-sabotaging her later for when she tries to actually clarify because lip already felt a little spark of hope and then snuffed it before.

lip and fiona talking about ian being bipolar had another good foreshadowing. fiona to lip: is alcoholism genetic? VS lip ggiving fiona a hard time talking about AA.

it is with a heavy heart i must announce that sammi is still a likable person pre s5 when they decided she was going to be a villainous character. and then having having the tell me you fucking neeed me / snitch meltdown of s5.

anyone whos ever needed pain medication from a doctor recognizes the way that the surgeon talks to frank. i feel like this is a pretty good example case for 'the addicts that youre so scared of deserve to have their pain treated too'

joan cusack is still fantastic even if her character is evil. when she is denied adoption and not really offered an explanation her response made pretty clear the feeling that she really thought she'd have an "in" with a "community" if she just became a mother to their children and realizes that she's still an outsider when no one will translate for her. that's very sad. fuck you though. also interesting howwww obvious it is that sheila was the bad guy in arguments w sammi while frank was hospitalized here

much to consider about how arguably the most longterm harmful thing in terms of life impact that frank does to his kids (consistently encouraging them to drink) is also the thing he does when he's trying his hardest to be sweet and connect. like he's a terrible asshole but when he's having a gentle little moment of reflection with carl and offers carl a drink and carl says no and frank says no come on. that was an olive branch and also the worst way to behave

i reiterate how stupid it iswhen people complain about shameless side characters being 'forgotten' when they are written off in a clear and very very sad type of way that just means they left. i am referring to bonnie becoming terrified she's going to fuck carl up and taking her whole family and evacuating the area permanently. Side note also anne gonzalez.

mickey is so fucking awesome. but you knew this

it's nice svetlana has switched gears into being conciliatory but i still don't agree with "no more bullshit with baby" ideologically. like it's not like she has a better choice i don't take issue with her specifically but i've seen how peoples media comprehension is and i worry people think this is an "epic win" of some sort. it is not her fault but god help me. absolutely it was killing me to see mickey's distaste for a baby but we need to understand he doesn't actually have to be a parent. again svetlana did not have better options as far as she was concerned this was the horse she had had her cart hitched to

[flimsy-roost]

Reminiscing with my partner about high school, and we both have a lot of memories of a specific Spanish teacher we both had (she was the only Spanish teacher) who caused us to both stop taking high school Spanish as soon as we possibly could.

I want to clarify up top that this woman was not a bad teacher per se, we both learned Spanish effectively from her. She also wasn't a bad or mean person per se, I think if she was my aunt or a friend's mom I would like her just fine. Instead, she was extremely hit-or-miss with fostering good student-teacher relationships, and she whiffed hard with a lot of us.

She would often take weeks to grade exams and assignments, which isn't the end of the world, but she wasn't nice about it. Her most common refrain, to a classroom of overworked and overtired college prep students, was "sorry I didn't get to those yet, I was too busy having a life." The concept of giving us less gradable work, which could have made both her and our lives easier, did not seem to occur to her. She seemed almost kind of smug about the power imbalance, if that makes any sense.

My partner got to tap out when the classes were still large, lucky me got to advance to her much smaller Spanish 4 class in my Junior year, where things only got sillier.

Day 1, she tells us that she will not be handing out grades in class anymore. Instead, she wanted us to come to her office hours so we could learn how we did and discuss what we could do better next time. For every. single. assignment. I opted to just go the year never knowing how I was doing. I ended up with a B+.

We're doing an oral presentation on a movie of our choice in Spanish. Great! Fun! We need to show movie clips to support our analysis. In this awkward period during the decline of physical media support but before (legal) widespread online media availability, how are we supposed to get those clips? idk kids you figure it out. I got an uncloseable sex bot popup in the middle of my presentation while showing a grainy clip from Anastasia on a sketchy website.

Right before a mid-semester vacation (either thanksgiving or spring break, I can't remember), she assigned us a partner presentation on a topic I don't even remember. Neither me nor my project partner were keen on oral presentations, and were both too busy with our own shit to practice. We did do all the work and research, but made a half-assed written outline for the presentation itself. Presentations were divided across two days (which likely worked in our favor), with a volunteer order (ie, "who wants to go next?"). We both kept delaying and delaying because neither of us wanted to do it. At the end of the second day, she asked if anyone else needed to present. My partner and I make direct eye contact across the room. Neither of us say anything. We're dismissed, go on our merry vacationing way. My partner tells me we got a B+ for a project we never presented or turned in any evidence of. B+ seems to have been kind of her thing. Ted, you're a real one, excellent teamwork, I'd give us an A+ for cooperation.

Senior year I took two science classes so my parents wouldn't make me take Spanish 5, which I probably would have really loved taking from somebody not her.

[clinically-not-straight]

I talked to my mam about this in recent years, saying "yeah, kids are on videogames too much, tiktok, etc etc" and she said "well, didn't you used to do similar?"

Now, I know what she means by this. Unfortunately, for me at least, I had a shit time in school and basically everywhere else. I needed them so that I had my own place to do what I wanted, so I did minecraft, COD, assassin's creed, because they let me do what I wanted without having to wonder what others would think most the time.

Fast forward to now, with other people and other games. Games now, as oppose to the ones I played, will make you pay £5 for a new chracter to play with and the character just shows off to other players that you used real money, games will just be missing most of the content they advertise themselves having because of a battle pass which you require to access half the features, half the features that the battlepass will get you are just more character models therefore nullifying the character models you already have if you like this one more whilst also making those character models one of the primary features of the game. To clarify, that means that when these character models are the primary feature of your game, the mechanic by which you get them is spending real world money, it also doesn't help when people use those skins as a means of showing off their skill in the game.

In regards to social media, I never had them when I was under 13. And what was there, looking at my friends', was just a bunch of people saying "hey guys, look where I went!" And there was something nice about that. Now, although having a sinister underbelly before, it's been replaced by corporate greed, disguising itself as people. They'll say "guys, holy shit, guys - a bad thing happened, and I won't explain until the video is over."

On top of that though, the apps/websites themselves are built in such a way to keep you scrolling, keeping you engaged making you've not a moment to be bored. And the same applies to kids. Because a lot of young children wither have social media or use their parents' accounts, think YT kids, they're in the same position. And it doesn't help that we constantly get notifications about what's happening whilst we don't use the apps.

As, also purely anecdotal, evidence, I have a cousin. Now, to make it clear, he's autistic. His special interest is not lazy indir horror games, but the bootlegs of them, think names like Scary Nun and Escape Grandpa. And he talks about these with my Grandma all the time, she doesn't understand him at all, that part is ok. The issue is that it's all he talks about, and he doesn't start the conversation, someone else has to prompt him into speaking. So even when he's not playing them or watching someone play them he's only talking about them. You'll say, "hey, last video, we've gotta do something soon" and he'll say ok and then move onto the next one, because they're built in such a way that you're either moved onto the next one automatically or the shiny pictures will act like Macbeth's wife, taunting him to press another. And then he does.

Maybe its a case of learning restraint, learning to go outside, learning to do anything else. But how are they meant to learn that sort of thing when everywhere they go is just people doing the exact same shit, always reminding them of the thing they like doing?

not to be all “think of the children” but the fact that companies can openly admit to using methods to intentionally form addictions in children and we’re not killing their ceos in the streets yet is astounding

[lovelycleon]

So I decided to make an analysis about the last scene of Infinite Darkness

But before I start with the fun part, I just want to tell you that my history with “angst ships”

I had a bad experience with another ship, soul mates full of angst tropes and true love, beautiful... and a really bad ending because the showrunner fought with the actors (I wasted years watching and I regret it).

Anyway, after suffering that kind of pain, no other ships and angst scenes can hit me hard enough. I'm numb or just got used to it. You choose.

So maybe the scene of Leon and Claire's argument wasn't that impactful for me because of that. But for all the fans who felt hurt, I understand and it's okay to feel that way, because the scene was meant to hurt. The scene exists because of that. And your feelings are valid.

So let's get to the fun part.

spoiler alert, it's not that fun, it actually hurts 😅

The scene starts with Leon going to meet Claire at the gates of the White House.

I don't think anyone denies the fact that, whatever Leon is doing, he just wants to protect Claire. And he doesn't want her involved because of it.

But this dialogue makes this even more evident if we analyze how it begins.

Nothing in a show or movie is by accident. Everything is handpicked for one reason or another. The meaning is not always that deep, but there is still a meaning behind it all.

So when – of all the ways a conversation can be started – they decide to make Claire joke that she sneaked out of the hospital, Leon takes it seriously and she has to clarify that it's a joke, there's a reason:

Show that Leon is taking what happened to her too serious, and Claire not that much.

When Claire makes a comment about when he's going to stop treating her like a kid and he says probably never. There's a reason:

Show that Leon wants to protect her (or being overprotective) and Claire doesn't like it.

Of course, some might argue that this specific line is capcom trying to show that their feelings aren't romantic and sink the ship completely. And, ok, people are free to think that.

But if they really wanted to sink cleon forever, they shouldn't have done the scene of Leon saving Claire the way they did. They did it because they knew it would tease a certain part of the fans... They knew exactly what they were doing...

And there's simply no reason to tease a ship you want to sink.

So no, I don't think that's it...

For me the scene means the classic and simple: "stop being worried about me🙄" "noooo🗣️"

Another way to intensify Leon being overprotective is Claire's broken arm. A reminder that she was injured following his plan. Just as she was hurt the last time they saw each other in Harvardville.

And yes, I know Degeneration made Claire hurt to take her out of the action. It is undeniable. But somehow I don't think the same situation and reason applies to Infinite darkness.

Because Claire was already out of combat, following Leon's plan and showing no intention of doing anything different. It's not like she's going to attack the monster that is several platforms higher than where she is. She couldn't fly around and there were no guns where she was anyway.

So why hurt her to get her out of combat if the story itself has already done that?

Again, you are free to think differently. Capcom made Claire dirty, she was underestimated and they wasted her potential. I won't argue with that, I'm also on the team Claire deserves better.

I just don't think it fits this specific situation.

The injured arm is there and a awkward conversation about Leon being overprotective starts because of it. I think it makes sense.

So moving on.

Claire mentions the chip and Leon looks disappointed for a moment and says he thought they were going to dinner.

This is to indicate that he didn't come to see her with the intention of breaking their friendship. Leon just wanted to spend a good time with her and nothing more. Some place a little more normal, maybe?👀

But Claire wants the chip and tells Leon her plan. The same plan that Shen May was killed trying to convince her partner to follow. Is there a parallel here?

The only difference is that Jason broke her neck while Leon decided to break Claire's heart.

Okay now I could show more parallels between them, but I won't because this is already too long and I know maybe I'm reading too much into this. Resident Evil isn't that deep most of the time 😂

Anyway, Claire asked for the chip and Leon said no.

And that's the point, right.

The climax of the conversation and the turning point in their relationship.

Note that Leon took a few seconds to say he couldn't. That was the moment when he made his decision...

He went to meet her for dinner, remember? He didn't expect to have this conversation or make a decision like that. But he had to.

Now, I'm not from the US and I don't trust politicians in general, fiction or not. But I admit this sounds realistic.

Just imagine if the president makes a speech about peace and prosperity and whatever and the next day the media reveals that members of the government are involved in BOW and planning an attack on another country.

At the very least, it won't look good.

In the worst case, it will be a catastrophe 😂

So... I don't agree with Leon, but I understand why he chose this.

It's an important decision, however. And how long it takes him to say something and how he's quiet after saying it shows he knows what's on the line. Not just the security of the country and “peace”, but also his relationship with Claire.

And despite everything... He didn't lie to her.

It would be much easier for Leon to simply say "the chip was destroyed in the fight" when she asked. Claire would never know about it and probably never doubt him. And they would still be fine with each other and having dinner.

But he didn't lie. Why?

Because their relationship is not based on lies. And it's not based on betrayals.

And while it may be hard to believe right now and it hurts to think about it, this relationship is still based on truth and trust in each other. And now their relationship is being tested.

It's easy to trust someone you're on good terms. How hard it must be to trust someone who has let you down.

There is a lot of room for development here.

Obviously Claire felt hurt in this moment. Maybe even betrayed. Heartbroken. I think we all feel that same way.

But Leon played fair there. He said he had the chip, showed it to her, and then said he wouldn't give it to her.

He was honest with her. And this act also shows respect.

They are two people with different points of view and that truth hurts.

There is silence as they look at each other. She never asked his reasons and he obviously never told them. The exchange of glances is enough for them to understand what was happening.

When Claire says “you do things your way and I do mine” it's almost like “do you know what that means? ”

Then Leon nods and another moment of silence. The time they need to accept that the relationship is broken.

Now that's angst

Interesting choice of camera angle. Showing her broken arm as a visual reminder of why he was pushing her away like that.

Claire leaves, but looks back and says again that his outfit doesn't suit him.

What's interesting here is that the director has done a few interviews over the past few weeks and he always said that the suit is a representation of Leon's position in government.

Claire commenting that it doesn't suit him is basically the writers/producers/directors admitting that this position doesn't look good.

And while all the characters praising Leon for his success, Claire is the one who sees this reality and who he truly is out of the suit (position)

And that's good angst.

Claire walks away and Leon with a sad look watching her leave and he has to say to himself "I will stop this".

Could it be just one of his one-lines? Yes.

Could it be a way for him to remind himself why he's doing this, even if it means sacrificing his relationship with Claire?

It's already done, now he has to make it worth it.

Whatever happens after that is a mystery.

I don't think Claire believes that Leon is going to cover up the government's involvement in things (their discussion would be much more intense if that were the case), she probably thinks he's going to resolve it internally without taking anything public, which is precisely what she wants to do.

I also don't think Leon believes Claire is going to give up on the investigation, he probably thinks it's going to take some time to her to get real evidence and he has time to carry out his plans.

But this is capcom... They are masters of forgetting plot points. So who knows.

Angst is only good if it has a good closure. I hope they keep that in mind.

In any other tv show that used this kind of angst trope and drama I would be completely fine...

I would expect a sequel to this plot. The characters find each other unexpectedly, having to work together and acting awkwardly because they don't know how to stick around each other after the argument. Then the story would develop and they would gradually mend their relationship.

That's the trope.

So that's all I can hope for.

[crimeronan]

i mean yeah i said that in the post. i literally said that i only saw what was trending. and what was trending was endless posts just writing bullet-point checklists of how much representation there was. with no discussion of the actual show or the characterization. and therefore i believed that there was very little substance beyond the checklists, because surely if the show was good then there would also be trending posts with interesting things to say about the characters who were supposedly such good representation.

there was ABSOLUTELY bias against kids' cartoons and fandoms informed by past experiences, i won't discount that at all. that's on me. i'm not a big cartoons person. i usually like adult media. i didn't follow people who are into the owl house and therefore did not get the dashboard osmosis a lot of people did.

i didn't avoid watching it BECAUSE there was queer rep. i avoided watching it because i'm not interested in watching shows solely FOR the queer rep. because it feels bad and hurtful to me to be expected to consume queer content just because it's queer. i don't do that. it hurts me. it is painful to me. i don't like feeling like i'm expected to be grateful and prostrate myself before every creator who's benevolent enough to write stories about people like me. Because It Hurts. To Be Constantly Reminded. That People Fucking Hate Me And Therefore I Should Be Grateful For Scraps.

do you have any idea how fast i would've been on the toh train if i'd seen anyone expand from "toh has a nb character" to "raine's arc is so dynamic and heartbreaking and insane that it makes me feel like my heart's been carved out of my chest" . obviously i know NOW that people were talking about it within the fandom, but outside of that???? crickets. i saw crickets. and you're right, maybe i just wasn't following the right people. so this is in fact about the trending posts. and maybe there were trending posts that did get into this that i skipped bc of my biases! who knows!

so. idk. hopefully this clarifies. if you're still mad that's fine. you can be mad. but please for the love of GOD don't imply that i only felt this way because i'm.... homophobic.....? JESUS.

i'm still a little mad that the only way i ever saw anyone talk about the owl house on this site for like 2.5 straight years was just "it's soooo gay and cute and it's gay and there are girls and it's gay and they hold hands in a gay way and it's soooo sapphic and sweet and cute and it's GAY can you belieeeeve that the showrunners are so BRAVE to make a show GAY for KIDS and it's gay so it's soooooo good!!" because i honest to fucking god spent those 2.5 years increasingly resentfully being like RAISE YOUR FUCKING STANDARDS. NOT EVERY CUTE UWU GAY SAPPHIC THING IS THE NEXT COMING OF MEDIA JESUS. IF THIS IS ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT THEN IT MUST BE FUCKING AWFUL. and then only after a full year of pestering from my brother did i finally watch it, with an attitude mostly of "ugh FIIIINE let's get this tf over with for my sibling whom i love."

and it was good.

and it wasn't even good because of the gay shit. it was good because of 10,000 other things that No One Ever Fucking Talked About. that i had no fucking idea Existed. (the gay shit added to and reinforced the overall themes in pleasing narrative ways but was not REMOTELY the best part of the show for me. bc. it has that many storytelling high points.)

which. made me SO MUCH MADDER. i missed out on the entire fandom up thru the end of s2 because tumblr is BAD AT MEDIA PITCHES??????? LEARN TO SAY THINGS ABOUT THEMES AND EXECUTION OR FACE MY BLADE,

[boatemlag]

tiktok and healthy media consumption: a base analysis and guide

one time. a while ago. i made a quick tiktok complaining about library patrons who take out a book and just leave them in random places (i'm not digging it up but just trust me i was frustrated)

it was a stupid vent post for me but lucky me, tiktok decided to blow it up. fantastic... /s people crawled out of the woodwork to make stupid jokes about how they would put it on the floor or how they know where the books go so they just put it back. this was before video replies to comments so i was fighting for my life in there clarifying my point

it was exhausting. the most obtuse and hostile misinterpretation of my point on an innocuous post i made for myself talking about my job. i logged off tiktok for a while after that

i had a few more incidents like that on tiktok before i decided it wasn't worth it. so what's my point?

you know how on tumblr you post blows up by chance and you get stupid comments for a while maybe some anons and then you either delete the post or it just dies down eventually? that technique doesn't work on tiktok because that video will continue to circulate if you dont priv it, people will continue reposting you to make fun of you, maybe use the audio even to mock you. come to your profile and say shit on other videos. the library post was small enough and stupid enough that i didn't get targeted hate. but then what about the time i was facing targeted transphobic and ableist harassment? it was relentless. it forced me off of the app.

and because my face was attached to every statement i made, i was mocked for my appearance, my choice in clothes, background, my voice, my mannerisms, anything they could find. i was told that they hope i die of COVID and someone took the part-time wheelchair user from my bio and threatened to "make it full-time"

luckily i didnt have other social media linked. but if i had, i could have expected to be gawked and and potentially harassed there. i don't have thick skin. i'm not ashamed to say that i don't. but the point is is that your face being attached to your opinions and the tiktok algorithm spreading shit far and wide based on engagement and a roulette of random shit is genuinely harmful and dangerous, especially to kids and other people who may have even thinner skin than i do.

the problem with tiktok, besides some of the questionable and "cringe" shit i've seen on there from someone saying the r-slur is reclaimable by people with adhd and the numerous other insane takes on there, is something more sinister.

your face is attached to everything you say and do unless you're very careful about it. self explanatory.

whether or not you connect your contacts to tiktok is a courtesy. the algorithm is uncannily good at showing you family members, acquaintances, people who went to your high school. they will figure it out based on the people you interact with and the content you make, and they will show you that content. yes, this has resulted in people being outed to their parents and jobs. yes, this has resulted in serious consequences for children posting shit about abusive parents, or more broadly for abuse victims and survivors in general.

radicalization happens fast. like really fast. because tiktok is constantly monitoring what you interact with on and off the app, they're constantly refining what the algorithm shows you. this means if you interact with one seemingly harmless person's post, tiktok will show you some posts from their circle. and since there's endless content, endless scrolling, and people spend hours trapped in there, that circle can expand quickly from a meme to reactionary ideology very quickly.

the dangerous propagation of misinformation as fact. tiktok rewards interaction. the more someone interacts with a post, the more widespread it gets. the more its created for shock value or if its creator utilizes a part 2, that engagement goes up. you can just say shit with no sources whatsoever and it becomes "common knowledge". people who "look like experts" gather cult followings.

the wider capability for targeted harassment. this one is a trend that has been happening on the internet for a while. it's become easier and easier to find ways to harass and stalk someone you dislike. there are a multitude of problems with this. (i will mention that in a moment.) this combined with the trend towards "dark humor" and "being a hater" and "rude equals funny" has some pretty dire consequences. e.g. the girl who posted a video of herself cracked out and overdosing which went viral and people were mocking. the rapid cycling of meme content propagates this as well.

the development of an "in" culture as well as a further of "us vs. them" mentality. again, not unique to tiktok, but enabled by the algorithm and the attitude in gen pop that tiktok is mandatory. if you don't get the memes you're "out". i don't feel the need to expand on this because it's been covered extensively in other contexts.

the unexpected consequences of accesible targeted harassment. people are increasingly monitoring everything they do and say, and not in a "wah wah i can't be racist now" way, because no, racists and bigots are not punished on tiktok. (cancel culture is not real for the privileged!) rather in a superficial way, such as what do you like/wear/talk about/share/eat/do/talk like? this is bad with adults who have developed as a human, but for children it is incredibly damaging to be placed under constant scrutiny and surveillance by not only your peers but billions of strangers.

there's more to this. this is not a comprehensive list. but i've laid out the basics of virality, recognizability, and digital peer pressure in a way that can be used to examine the types of user made content we engage with. there are a few main things to think about:

who am i interacting with? is this person affiliated with any reactionary groups? is this person a literal child? is this person making an honest mistake or being willfully harmful? did this person make this post with the intention to be a comprehensive nuanced post or were they doing it for themself? was the intention personal or viral content? is this bait?

is how i'm engaging going to continue this cycle? is this productive? is commenting on this post rather than reporting or blocking the content going to spread it further? is interacting with this post going to tell the algorithm that i want to see more of this content, even if it is something i dislike? if i interact with this post am i spreading it unintentionally to my circle and exposing this rhetoric to others whom it may harm or radicalize?

do i want to put my face on this video? do i want to put my voice on this video? do i want to reveal personal information? would i be safer or happier if this post were friends only or my account were private? is temporary notoriety worth the price?

the answer to these questions are always case by case, and it's up to an individual to decide. but i think approaching internet and tiktok specifically with a do no harm, take no shit mentality while also protecting yourself and your friends, is the responsible way to engage with social media. and as always, try to engage with friends irl as much as possible and on apps other than tumblr/twitter/ig/tiktok. (texting is a good option, and calling is a great option. even being in the same digital space on a call is different than spending time alone consuming endless content thoughtlessly). i hope this helps someone, and i hope everyone enjoyed reading!