#Using sock puppets to cope

[thatninjacat27]

DAY 1: TOUCHSTARVED

-A part of my Au where the future is terrible, almost everyone is dead and Sonic lives in an underground bunker alone for years. -(I wrote this very late into the day, close to midnight so there might be some holes.)

(link above and same text below)

“Hey Sonic? Where are all pillows and blankets around here? I can’t seem to fi-“, Tails trailed off.

Before him was Sonic placing his sock puppets in a large circle on a sea of blankets and pillows on the mattress lying on the floor. It looked like a nest.

“Oh.”, Sonic paused. He took a good look at the fox and then looked away. “You’re still here.”, the blue hedgehog said definitely. He turn back to keep adjusting the placement of his Knuckles and Amy puppets. “Thought you would have disappeared by now.”

“Why won’t you just believe that I’m real?”, Tails asked. “That I’m actually here right now? I’m not imaginary or one of your hallucinations.”

“Well, that’s a bit of a long story. To make it short, you’re a trick that my mind constantly plays on me when it wants me to keep staying alive.”, Sonic explained. He finished ordering the representations of his dead friends the way he wanted and fell back on his little nest that he made.

The blue hedgehog stared back at Tails as if wondering the conversation was really happening. After a pause the fox knew his brother was not going to say anything else in regards to his questions.

“Scoot over.”, Tails commanded. 

“Why?”, Sonic asked while moving to give Tails some space.

”Because ít’s late, I’m tired, I need some sleep in order to properly fix that time vest, and you took all the blankets and pillows.

”You never-“, Sonic started to questioned but got interrupted.

”That’s because I’m not a figment of your goddamn imagination, Sonic. Stop telling me that.”, the fox said in a loud angrily frustrated voice. He felt so tired of trying to prove and explain to his brother that he wasn’t insane for seeing a past version of his little brother alive and that he was real and not an imaginary person his mind came up with to help cope with the loneliness of the underground bunker. 

The silence was deafening after that. Sonic stared more blankly at Tails as if he was steeling himself from feeling anything. 

“I’m sorry.” the fox apologized to the blue hedgehog. “It’s just that I don’t know what to do or say that will get you to understand that I’m here now.”

Sonic continued to be silent. Knowing that the blue hedgehog was not in the mood to conversate anymore, Tails jumped on the sea of pillows and blankets, and curled up next to him.

“I love you, you know that right?”, Tails said trying to get close enough to touch Sonic. “I am going to figure out a way to fix what happened so that you never end up in this situation again in the future.”

The feeling of another person physically being this closer felt so foreign to Sonic now. It wasn’t a bad feeling but such a good one if not a bit overwhelming. Typically he’d use one of his puppets to simulate a group hug or put on several blankets to make it feel like someone was there. It was the only thing to help him sleep at night.

The blue hedgehog felt something wet run across his cheek. And then his vision blurred and a hiccup almost escape his throat. Sonic felt tears come out of his eyes. It felt so embarrassing. At least Tails had his eyes closed already and was waiting on Sonic’s response out of habit.

Using one hand and carefully wiping away the tears as to not alert Tails, Sonic decided to say something for his sake and himself.

“Yeah, love you too, little buddy.”, Sonic did his best not to seem choked up about it.

Tails smiled. ”Night, bro.”, he yawned happily. The fox snuggled closer to the blue hedgehog.

Maybe this was a last ditch effort of his brain to keep the last remaining bits of his self preservation or it could be real. Well, whatever the case was, Sonic cuddled closer to the warm body to hold on to this feeling.

“Night.”, the blue hedgehog said as he fell into a deep sleep. 

His puppets and weighed blankets were all he needed and had for the past few years. But this was good alternative too.

[ckret2]

I love sparkly coin au, how would Mabel act differently after her memories as Bill return? Since she now has all her memories back? Would she gain back some or most of her old mannerisms as Bill? What else would change?

She actually wouldn't act much more Bill-ish than she already does.

Like there's two ways to look at a "Bill reincarnates as Mabel" AU:

Bill dies, and a totally new and different person is made from his soul; and then, thirteen years later, she starts reacquiring the memories of a different person that used to be made from her soul, and now that different person influences her mind.

And that's not the way I'm doing it.

The other way is:

Bill loses his memories and gets stuck in a new body, but he's still the same person he's always been, he just doesn't have specific memories. Over the course of thirteen years, he naturally learns and grows and changes as a person, as you would expect to happen over time; and then he gets his memories back.

Bill isn't a different separate person whose influence Mabel is only now being exposed to. She was Bill from the start. The point at which her mannerisms, behaviors, and actions were most Bill-ish was when she was a toddler; and all the ways she's different from him now isn't because she's missing 1,000,000,000,000 years of being Bill, but because she's gained 13 years of being Mabel.

We see, in the show, her learning to become less Bill-ish: to put her family's needs over her preoccupation of the week; to accept that things change and she shouldn't try to cope with it by retreating into a fantasy world over which she has full control; etc. That process has been going on since she was born.

So usually, getting her Bill memories back just lets her understand the mannerisms she already has. "So that's why I didn't even stop to think before dumping a whole packet of Smile Dip down my throat; I've been trying every new party drug that drops into the Nightmare Realm for forever and it's never caused me trouble before because I'm made out of energy, haha! ... Yikes." "Wait, so, I've been attracted to mysterious-y gory urbany-legend cryptidy things like Bloody Mary for like, a billion zillion years? ... Suddenly my thing for vampires makes a lot more sense." "Well, now I know why I avoid wearing shoes with laces as much as possible! Becaaause they're evil!"

(That's what most of the fun of this AU is for me: reframing Mabel traits as Bill-ish traits and reframing Bill traits as Mabel-ish traits. So it's not about GIVING Mabel Bill's traits; rather it's about saying Mabel ALREADY HAS Bill's traits and then trying to convince y'all that it makes perfect sense.)

Some superficial surface traits might drift toward being more Bill-ish; like, an increased appreciation for the color yellow. But most of the changes from her memories returning come from either, one, specifically the psychological effects that just knowing she's Bill Cipher would have (like, y'know, guilt over tormenting her grunkle and nearly murdering her brother); or two, things she's only capable of doing when she's got vast cosmic knowledge at her disposal.

For instance: she does arts & crafts, she's always loved arts & crafts. Sock puppets, macaroni art, crayon portraits, glue gun fashion, you name it, she's a master at it. But now she's remembered how to make one of her all time favorite crafts: bubbles of pure madness! This is gonna keep her occupied, like, all weekend.

[sokkastyles]

I have no problems with you whatsoever but I'm just wondering why you hate Azula, precisely Azula stans so much?

I...don't hate Azula?

I actually love Azula. I wish fandom could have conversations about Azula, the character that exists on the show, the abuse victim who became cruel as a defense because that was the only way she could make sense of her world, without some dumbass going "but actually it's all everyone else's fault bloo bloo."

Azula is a villain. It's not only okay to talk about her as a villain, it's a conversation I wish we could have. I wish we could talk about her the way we do male characters. She's self-deluded and awful and tragic and selfish and we should be allowed to talk about her that way because some women are that way, because women are people, and some people suck. Fandom seems to be able to accept that people like Ozai exist in the world (and they absolutely do), but for some reason they have a hard time accepting that women (and girls) like Azula exist in the real world, who are not nurturing or kind of selfless or secretly well-meaning.

I guess you're referring to the tag I use #azula stans are stupid, for when an azula stan comes into my inbox to act stupid using a sock puppet account? Act stupid and you will be called stupid. That's all there is to that. If I make a post about how Azula believing her mom hated her is a defense mechanism to cope with her father's abuse and her mother's disappearance, and the response I get is an Azula stan in my inbox going "so you're saying Azula was born evil? How dare you!" the only word I have for that is stupidity.

The problem is that there are so many Azula stans who act this way and believe they are entitled to act this way, and go on the attack towards the rest of the fandom, to the point where these conversations about Azula are not happening because people don't want to have to deal with the stupid responses.

A lot of Azula defenses like this use abuse apologist rhetoric, too, which is unsurprising because Azula herself is an abuse apologist, both in the sense that she was abused and doesn't realize it, and in the sense that she is complicit in how her father abuses her brother and perpetuates that cycle on others. It's very sadly meta that some of her fans act this way, too, but it's not something I'm willing to tolerate. Some Azula stans say this stuff out of ignorance, but some of them say stuff that is genuinely alarming and deserves to be called out. This is also unsurprising because girlboss feminism in fandom spaces often overlaps with radfem and other ideologies that are inherently abusive and not real feminism, and characters like Azula are unfortunately breeding grounds for this type of fan. I've seen it in many other fandoms, not just with Azula stans. But I'm too old not to see through it. If your feminism includes caping for abusive women, it's not real feminism.

[therewasatale]

put up with worse

On Ao3.

Summary: Gordon showed kindness to these puppets, it's time for them to do the same.

Based on prompt.

"How are you feeling?" Ricky slowly slid out from the pipe, it was one of a bluish one, that led to the park.

It was a quiet night, the full moon was hiding behind the buildings and skyscrapers, and the stars were barely visible from all the lights around them. The gentle silence was only disturbed by the soft snoring of the dogs, around the bench Gordon was sitting on.

He shrugged, his eyes fixated on the wound that ran down to the bottom of his palm starting just below his little finger.

He had a long day in the job and made a mistake when fixing a broken glass door in one of those hotels. His mind wandered off and he cut his hand on a shard. It haven’t needed any stitches, but it was deep enough, and painful, every time he moved it. All he could done is to patch it up with some gauze and finish the job as quickly as possible.

Of course, he couldn't tell anyone that he made that mistake because he was exhausted from his other, secret-job. The deadlines of the contracts, archiving the old episodes, possible new scripts coming in, all waited for him to do, to read or just to approve. And then send them to the right channels, the right people. Responsibility after responsibility piling on without much help.

He knew he wanted to help these puppets, but he also knew that he was by far the most mature out of all of them, and even has never had to deal with people who were out to make a bigger cut of money from the episodes. People with annoyingly insincere smiles, wearing fancy suits and using five-dollar words to try to finagle more money out of a deal.

"I've put up with worse," he mumbled slowly closing and opening his hand, wincing from the pain. Maybe he should have gone to the hospital, just to make sure, or at least to get some painkillers.

The sock-puppet watched him with his unsymmetrical eyes somehow able to see him clearer than most the humans. "Hey, just because you can cope doesn't mean you should have to." He turned his head, clearly looking at Gordon's hand. "Let me get you something for the pain." He slid back and vanished, leaving Gordon on the bench, sitting alone in the park.

The human only glanced after the puppet. Ricky was one of the oddest friends he has ever had, and yet he felt very grateful for it. With his witty personality and sarcastic comebacks, Gordon never had a boring night.

He closed his eyes and leaned against the back of the bench. With each breath, his thoughts calmed down, and he let the exhaustion flood his body. Rarely he left himself to have some rest, but for some reason he always felt like he could fall asleep everywhere when he was around these puppets.

Next to his leg, Scraps, Flooper and Mahoney snored, their body sometimes trembled in their dreams.

He didn't know how many minutes went by, but by the next time he opened his eyes, he was able to see the moon shining its silvery rays around in the park. And he also felt a slow rumble getting closer.

The dogs' ears winced and they lifted their heads at the same time.

"It's all right," said Gordon, "evening Goblette."

The giant puppet slowly nodded.

"Here we are," Ricky raised his head triumphantly from her shoulder. "We got you something. Right, Goblette?"

She sheepishly reached out and opened her enormous hand.

"Oh...Thanks." Gordon took the bottle of the painkiller from her. "Where did you find it?" He asked as he popped it open. It still had at least 8 pills inside.

"In the maintenance room at the hotel, Goblette remembered it, she wanted to give it to you herself. And it's not even expired, yet." Ricky let out a fake-cough.

"Yeah, thanks, Ricky, and Goblette." He swallowed two pills. "I really needed that, actually."

She slowly nodded, and once again reached out.

Gordon felt his instinct kicking in, the fight or flight reflex told him to do either of it, but he didn't move. His logical side knew he wasn't in danger, no matter what happened before, and how frightening Goblette could be.

The giant hand slowly lowered and patted his head, as gently as she was able to.

"Mh, thank you, Goblette," Gordon mumbled. "I'll be fine now, I'm sure of it. You helped a lot."

The puppet gave him a wholehearted and wide smile.

"I knew you can help out our grumpy saviour, Goblette," Ricky nodded, his eyes wobbling around and then fixed on the human.

Gordon rolled his eyes, and scratched the dogs' heads as they got closer to him. Their tails swiped the floor with enthusiasm.

"Do you two want to stay a bit? The moon is really pretty, and these three can be hard to handle alone when they all want head pats." Gordon glanced at the dog-puppets with smile, the smile remained when he saw from the corner of his eyes that Goblette sat down next to the bench.

"You two play with them, but I'd rather stay up here. They can be too playful, when they want to play fetch. I would rather not get turned into a chew toy."

"You could have been an excellent one though," Gordon answered with a half-grin, as he scratched Flopper's ears.

"Very funny, Gordy. I know you'd miss me." Ricky shook his head, but still there was a hiding smile in his voice.

Both of them fell silent as they watch Goblette carefully reaching out and petting Scraps' head. The dog-puppet sniffed her head and wagged his tail happily.

Gordon remembered the responsibilities, the contract, and the dead-lines that were still waiting for him. Despite all that, he knew that all of the headache, and the exhaustion was worth it for them, and for moments like this.

[contentment-of-cats]

F*ck anons

Hate, Harassment, and Threats: Coping and Handling

It happens and it's happened since the rise of LJ. I remember getting my first hatepost and how much it upset me, but I was never a target in the way that many were. LJ was truly the wild and wooly west - Dodge City or Deadwood, when people thought it would be a utopia. We had greyfaces, anons, sock puppets, and meat puppets. For people transitioning from controlled environments like e-Groups, Listserv, and forums it was not the mod-free utopia that they might have wished for. Real fandom scandals and legitimate harm to fans have been built on anons, sockpuppets, and greyfaces.

Terminology

Anon: Anonymous account either from outside the service or from an established account that has been anonymized.

Greyface: LJ term for an account with no identifiers, created explicitly to harass.

Sock Puppet: Account created by one person with the intent of being perceived as a separate individual.

Meat Puppet: Also used to be called a fanpoodle. A person whose actions are directed by another. Also called a muppet for having the controller's hand shoved so far up their ass that it can work their mouth.

Defining Hateposting/Cyberstalking/Harassment/Threats

First, there is a federal law -18 U.S. Code § 2261A Stalking - that defines stalking and harassment. Full text is here, with excerpt below:

(2) (Whoever) with the intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate, or place under surveillance with intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate another person, uses the mail, any interactive computer service or electronic communication service or electronic communication system of interstate commerce, or any other facility of interstate or foreign commerce to engage in a course of conduct that— (A)places that person in reasonable fear of the death of or serious bodily injury to a person, a pet, a service animal, an emotional support animal, or a horse described in clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of paragraph (1)(A); or (B)causes, attempts to cause, or would be reasonably expected to cause substantial emotional distress to a person described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of paragraph (1)(A),

Laws can vary from state to state. 48 states have some laws on the books, with 44 having criminal penalties. You'll need to contact local law enforcement or look them up on your state legislature's website.

All forms of online harassment can be grouped under the label of cyberbullying. How do you know what is or isn't cyberbullying? There is a comprehensive list. Even some things that you didn't think might be bullying are, in fact, bullying. Unfortunately, the FBI seems to focus on financial crimes and scams, and have changed their reporting pages to reflect that. In all cases using the internet to convey threats as defined under 18 U.S. Code § 2261A need to be documented and reported to the FBI.

Documenting: Keep the Reciepts

Documenting online abuse is key to stopping online abuse. To be Tumblr specific, screenshots of DMs, replies to your posts, posts harassing you, reblogs of your posts with abuse in the comments and tagjacking or abusive hashtags, screenshots of anons/sockpuppets and harassing asks need to be kept. You need your receipts.

Fuck Anons

Anons are not worth your mental health or the pleasure and community you derive from fandom.

"But some of my followers are shy!"

They can create an account that they can use just for doing asks. Exposing you to abuse and bullying should not be the price of someone being shy. I have also turned on anons when someone has asked me to via DM, in a post comment, or via an anon comment on my Ao3 so that they could send me an ask without unmasking themselves. This protects me and protects them.

Tumblr recently started requiring a valid email address to send an anon without being signed in. This could be seen a couple of different ways - Tumblr wants some sort tabs on people using their site anonymously, or that they want people sending anons to create an account. There is nothing to stop an anon from creating a burner email account in order to harass, so that only goes so far.

Block anons. I am serious. Just go into your account settings and do it. You can even turn off asks entirely.

Per Tumblr: "Anonymous asks are not associated with a specific account, and blocking those will block the IP address of the sender."

So, if you block an anon and someone suddenly disappears from your followers, or you get a follower asking why they can't see or interact with your blog, then you have your answer as to where your anon bullying might well be coming from.

However, isn't it easier to just turn off anons?

Yes. It is. My anons are kept off 99.9 percent of the time and I sleep just fine.

Other Tips and Tricks

You can control who reblogs your posts. The default is that anyone on Tumblr can reblog. You can also block anyone from reblogging. The new feature offers middle ground by allowing you to add users allowed to reblog by mentioning them. I don't know if this extends to other parties reblogging from the people you allowed to reblog, however. Click on the little gear to access the dropdown.

From the Settings Menu

In addition to the default, you have two other options under the dropdown.

Tumblrs you follow and that have been mutuals with you for a week can reply

Only Tumblrs you follow can reply.

Keep the people you follow private by toggling this off.

Toggle off to stop DMs from people you don't follow.

Hide your Tumblr from people without a Tumblr, or from people who are signed out. Remove your blog from Tumblr search results or from search engine crawlers.

Finally, you can block DMs on a case by case basis, too.

Finally, it can be hard to start over, but when the bullying is too much and too persistent, you can back up your blog or take it private and start a new Tumblr with people you trust.

Other Resources

Online Harassment Field Guide - a really comprehensive source

[human-monokuma]

Monokuma's Delirium

*Some time after the Hope's Peak killing game, Monokuma exits the school in secret, watching the survivors press on towards the unknown of their ruined world.*

Monokuma: "Pupupupupu. Look at them. Walking towards the blazing fires of hell. Holding their heads high? Have hope? The 'hope' they can expect is finding the Snickers bar from a destroyed vending machine! HAHAHAHAHAHAH! HAHAHAHA!...Hahahaha....Hahahaha......" *Monokuma looks around himself, confused by the silence before remembering something important.* "Oh yeah....Junko's dead....I...Heh...Must've forgotten that detail.....Weird......" *Monokuma shrugs the feeling off and goes about his business.*

*We jump ahead to a different part of the ruins of Tokyo, where Monokuma is watching the suffering of the poor elders being brutally murdered and cannibalize by a gang of deranged, starving maniacs.*

Monokuma: "HAHAHAHAHA!!! LOOK AT THEM GET TORE TO SHREDS! OLD HAGS DIDN'T EVEN STAND A CHANCE! AM I RIGHT, JU-!?" *He looks to his side, not seeing anyone.* "Oh....Right.....I forgot again.........Weird.....All hell is breaking loose. Screams, sounds of explosions, gunfire, roars, and the works are echoing throughout this entire city.....And yet......Everything feels so............quiet.........and lonely.......Why.....is it so quiet.....and lonely....?" *Monokuma hugs his knees, silent and slowly showing completely indifference to the carnage he found funny.* "Junko......" *he grips knees tightly.*

*We jump further ahead again to Monokuma watching the chaos erupting in Towa City. The adults were in a frenzy, the monobots continue attacking and killing them on sight, the brainwashed kids were still brainwashed, and the adults' hope in the form of Big Bang Monokuma was utterly crushed.*

Monokuma: "Hahahaha! Damn! Look at all this chaos! So much for being the hope of everyone in town, huh Junko?" *He holds up a sock puppet made to look like Junko.* "*Mimicking Junko's voice* How despairingly awful! I've never seen so many hopeless worms in my life! And the best part is that we got the best seats in the house!" *Monokuma holds up his other arm, which has a sock puppet of Mukuro on it.* "*Mimicking Mukuro's voice* Maybe we should join in? Cause more havoc for them or maybe- *Switches over to mimicking Junko's voice* Hey, who asked you for your input, Mukuro? Why join in when everything's already going to hell? *Uses his own voice* Yeah. Besides, we already got the best seats in town! A high building where we can watch the world burn, and have an amazing view! Why move from this spot? *Mimics Junko's voice* See? monokuma gets it. *Mimics Mukuro's voice* You're right. I'm sorry, you guys. *Speaks normally* It's ok, Mukuro. We still love you. *Mimics Junko's voice* Even though you're an ugly scank. Hehehehe. *Mimics Mukuro's voice* Gee. Thanks for the compliment, little sis. *Speaks normally* Aw. Look at you two, getting along soooo well...........Do you two think I'm losing my mind doing this? *Mimics Mukuro's voice* Oh absolutely. Only a crazy person would make sock puppets of his dead loved ones and speak to himself to cope with the crippling isolation of his loneliness. *Mimics Junko's voice* Oh who cares if that's the case? It's despair! Despair is amazing, right? Who would ever want to feel hope and have a stable grip on reality? *Speaks normally.* NOT ME! *Mimics Junko's voice* That's my boy~. Now let's continue to watch these idiots Pearl Harbor themselves! *Speaks Normally* HA! PEARL HARBOR! GOOD ONE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" *Monokuma laughs, but it doesn't sound genuine. it sounds forced and faked. It's like he's forcing himself to laugh in order to hide his sorrow and pain. You even see a tear fall from his eye as he continues to laugh, which slowly starts to sound like sobs he tries to hide as laughter. We jump further ahead, finding Monokuma in a room with Kodaka, the CEO of Danganronpa. They stood in front of a giant Monokuma head.*

Monokuma: "So this is the Motherkuma unit you were talking about?"

Kodaka: "Yes sir. With this baby, you won't have to worry about losing any more bodies. And she's fully capable of speech. Watch. Hello, Motherkuma."

Motherkuma: "What's up, boss man?"

Kodaka: "Just introducing you to the mascot of the company."

Monokuma: "S'up."

Motherkuma: "Well isn't he an adorable, little guy?"

Kodaka: "Hehehe. You two make such a cute couple. Anyway, Motherkuma here will be providing you with as many spare bodies as the mastermind says 'Give birth to Monokuma'. Or just birth in general. She'll eve be dispensing your children."

Monokuma: "Children?"

Motherkuma: "He hasn't told you? For this season, you'll be joined by 5 little cubs that goes by the name of the Monokubs. Monophanie, Monokid, Monotaro, Monosuke, and Monodam." *Motherkuma shows a holographic projection shows off each Monokub to Monokuma.*

Monokuma: "Daaaw~! They all look so cute! Hmmm." *He looks at Monodam.* "I think this one might be my favorite. Which one is this?"

Motherkuma: "Monodam."

Monokuma: "I like this one the best. I can't wait to raise him and his siblings."

Kodaka: "Don't get too attached. They won't last beyond this season."

Monokuma: "Huh? Wait. What do you mean by that?"

Kodaka: "They're just a one time thing. For the sake of merch and stuff. It's not like they have any real personalities or personal thoughts that we haven't programmed into them."

Monokuma: "But....I don't...I don't understand. Aren't these....my kids?"

Kodaka: "Monokuma, this is show business. You have an image to maintain. Everyone expects you to be the same condescending, chaotically evil despairing headmaster that we know you as. You can play up the role of the 'father', but we can't have you breaking character that much. Ok?"

Monokuma: "But...But I've...always wanted to be a father."

Kodaka: "You can still be a father. You can play the part after all. But you must never grow attached to them. They aren't really your kids. They're just a bunch of robots that serve no other purpose than to sell merch. It's been that way with all the other killing game mascots. This will be no different."

Monokuma: "But....But....."

Kodaka: "Monokuma." *He place his hand on Monokuma's shoulder.* "Are you sure you want to get attached to a bunch of brats that won't last longer than a single season only to see them get scrapped? Are you sure that you want to go through that pain again? The pain of loss? The same pain you felt when Junko left this world without you?"

Monokuma: "N....N-.....No.....You're right....."

Kodaka: "There we go. I'm glad that you understand the situation, my friend. Now I'm going to go talk to Tsumugi and Rantaro. I'll leave you to chat it up with Motherkuma. Bye." *Kodaka leaves the room while Monokuma just stands there. He sits down with his paws on his face.*

Motherkuma: ".......Not much of a chatterbox, aren't you? Such a shame. I expected so much better from you. Like, actually wanting to have kids to raise and love? Ha! What a joke. All that matters is the killing games and Danganronpa! Everything else is nothing more than a waist of time! I mean seriously...." *Motherkuma continues to ramble on and on and on about things Monokuma doesn't care about. He just sighs. He looks at the hallographic projects of his 'children'. Children. More like a marketing ploy by Kodaka and the company. What a joke. The scene changes to show Monokuma sitting in a small personal office space. He's sitting at a table with a glass of martini on the side and a bunch of scripts from past seasons stack together. He sighs and presses a button on a tape recorder.*

Monokuma: ".....Date [REDACTED]. Time [REDACTED]. I met with the new folks who would become our next batch of characters for season 53. Nothing more but a bunch of overly single minded fanboys and fangirls who fail to understand what they're getting themselves into. Even that moron Rantaro and that bitch Tsumugi don't understand what's happening. What a joke. I looked at all these dumbass hopefuls and not a single one of them understands the situation that they're getting themselves into. Far from it. That Shuichi boy is nothing but a lame fan boy who thinks all his dreams are coming true. Well in a way, I guess you can say they are......Just not in the way that he was hoping for. Soon, his biggest dream will become his biggest nightmare. What a waste of my time. Where did Kodaka even find these losers in the first place? And then you got those Monokubs.....Got into another spat again. Monokid was trying to start shit with Monodam, Monosuke was being loud as ever, I don't even want to touch whatever is going on with Monophanie, and for some reason, Monotaro's memory chip is on the fritz. Now he starts forgetting things at random and remembering things that haven't even happened....Those kids are a handful.....Sigh......53 seasons of killing games......How many people have died in these games?......i've lost track....I think I'm in the......60s.....70s......Could be in the hundreds for all I care.....I'm just tired. You know....I never thought that this would be my life.....Dancing around on a stage, making a fool out of myself for a bunch of hicks on the other side of the camera.....I was built by the Ultimate Despair......I was built for despair, not this repeated carnival act. I can't stand it...I can't take it anymore. how much longer do I keep going? Is this....what Junko had in store for me....? Was this truly my fate.....? Am I truly expected to just spin my wheels mindlessly forever....? I don't get it, Junko.....Why this...? You built this company for the sake of spreading despair.....And yet.....why can't I find enjoyment in this anymore...? Why does it still hurt? Why do I find myself wanting to die so badly!? Why do I hate despair so much!? Why did you love despair so much!? I don't understand! I can't take it anymore! I just can't! Ever since the day you died.....FUCK!" *He pushes everything off the table in frustration. He goes on a breakdown, trashing his entire room.* "I want to see you again....so badly......There's....so many things.....Too many things, I didn't get a chance to say to you.....I want you back.....Back in my life....I want to hug you....I want to feel your kisses......I want to hear your lovely voice just one more time.......I was an idiot....I should've have taken our bond for granted......Please! I WANT TO GO BACK! BACK TO THE DAYS WE SHARED! BACK TO THOSE FUN MOMENTS OF US BEING TOGETHER! Please come back to me, Junko! I'm begging yooooouuuuu!!!!!!!!" *Monokuma falls to his knees and starts crying his heart out.* "MAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WWAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" *While Monokuma cries his heart out to the heavens, begging them to at least allow him to hear his creator's voice on last time, he's failed to notice that someone was watching him through a crack in the door. A small green robot bear, silently watching his father cry out in destress.*

"........F-A-T-H-E-R.........."

[sockori]

shmupdate 🧦

very long, hastily written, but a look is appreciated

greetings- to those who are somehow still lingering around this account or came up upon it during my desolate time off. it is sock. or sockori.... or raven... my name is actually raven (they/it, 20 yo disabled autistic goth nerd whatever the fuck). howdy

im still on the 'undetermined hiatus' so to speak that i described in my leaving post, but i will say right now that i have no near future plans on returning. in the tags on my newest art, i mentioned my naruto hyperfixation (of like. 6 years i think) finally died out and other interests have long since captured my autism full force. for me personally, when i lose a special interest like this so drastically, i just full on abandon it for as long as it stands. however, this isn't the only thing that made me leave, and i think its time for me to be completely honest & get some weight off my chest.

i made this account around the cusp of turning 14, during a god awful pubescent era where i acted as any other edgy teen does and i'd much rather like to forget these days. what im saying is i was not in the right mindset at all when i exposed myself that much & got the attention that i did. a dismayingly giant coping mechanism i had in my youth was being online 24/7 because i had no one in reality to lean on let alone feel comfortable talking to about anything that was happening at that time. this of course leads to what the kids call these days being 'chronically online'- desperate for some sort of assurance or interaction, i crawled into internet spaces i shouldn't have been for an also incredibly unsupervised child using the dangerous worldwide web.

yes, naruto was apart of this, as well as other interests i had at the time. throughout my journey i met unsavory people, suffered abhorrent things like stalking & gr---ming, saw things i didn't deserve to see, did a bunch of stupid shit an angsty teen does, i believe you understand the rest. i am in no way proud or gleeful about any of these years and have some very sour memories tied to fandom as a whole, not just naruto, and i really don't like reflecting on them. so, unfortunately, this account sorta became a bitter reminder of what i went through as i grew up & finally matured and sought to recover. that's the first part of why my activity fizzled away & i began backing off from internet use entirely.

the second part is sasori. yes, the puppet man. sorta the sole reason i made sockori in the first place. as the sasori enjoyers following / who followed know, this puppeteer has an incredibly unhealthy philosophy and worldview (if the carefully preserved corpses turned puppets and complete lack of humanity didn't give that away), and is safe to say entirely detached from his reality to a nhilistic and suicidal extent. when you autistically fixate on a character like how i did, sometimes this character's rhetoric can seep into your own without you even realizing; Especially when you're a spot where you are incredibly vulnerable and psychologically unstable, as i was in my youth. now i didn't go around believing you should uhhh murder people and preserve them Obviously- actually i began to believe that perhaps there was some peace in obtaining a robotic existence. maybe emotions were useless, perhaps nothing truly mattered, my life didn't matter, art in eternal in the sense that death is scary and i should avoid it at all costs, why make connections with people when they just die or leave, cant trust people at all to help me, xyz. anything in these lines. without going too uncomfortably deep for everyone's sake and mine, it fucked me up severely. i suppose in a way it relates to how he uses poison. his toxins got right into my nervous system, but the pain i felt from those toxins was the only thing i could really rely on at the time, so i just let it happen. such is the depressing case of coping in the worst spot of your life.

cant help but feel incredibly strange telling the tale, as it sounds so obscure doesn't it, but media can truly get inside your psyche like this if a consumer isn't careful. not sure if anyone else out there fell into a similar headspace dealing with interests in this nature- but regardless. what i mean to say is, sasori is now a kind of content i cant consume anymore. i am in a way better place now, have grown wise and balanced with careful recovery and patience, and of course have grown out of whatever teenage nonsense i was on. sasori, who was once the only thing my autistic traumatized ass could lean on, is now an extremely dark shadow on my life. yes i see this homicidal anime puppet dude from a fantasy ninja anime and get psychological distress. he's somewhat of an aggressor or abuser to me now, which is tragic. ive been actively avoiding everything even vaguely relating to him, be it the art of puppetry, anime clips, robotic/sci-fi genre, whatnot cause i just. man. i dont wanna go back there. shouldn't have to explain why at this point. ptsd at its finest

feel like ive been honest enough. sasori enjoyers out there who were just around to enjoy what i made, anyone i happened to be good friends with during my time on this account, this doesn't have anything to do with you guys. i appreciate everyone dearly for supporting me and cheering me on in whatever i made despite all the hell & anguish that was taking place beyond the keyboard. im just glad that i managed to find some way out and get the help i need before i gave up & took my own life, which depressingly i almost did a handful of times. carrying the horrors is an exhausting burden to bare sometimes, but that does not mean i can't look back on the good parts of the era too. and seeing you all happy and sharing my memes or whatever made me ecstatic and at least a little bit hopeful for the future. fortunately that little spark of hope grew into something more. thanks for being a light in a very, very dark room.

that being said, i leave you all with this: i am not dead, just greatly changed, a new person at last freed from apathy & exhaustion, with now enough room to finally grow. the memories will never truly fade & my disabilities will be a part of me until i pass on, but at least now i can manage them a lot better than ever before, surrounded by way better people who love me for who i am. i will hang on the best i can. i wish for you to do the same. find freedom and happiness wherever you are. take care. happy trails

trans rights. i eat fascist souls. free palestine

[critter-screams-into-the-void]

Guhh!! Saw your recent post explaining the whole “the world is edd” being ableist, and sorry if this sounds rude btw!! But! It’s kind of a normal human reaction, he was alone and going literally insane takes less than a few days if you’re alone. Humans were never made to be completely alone. It’s a natural reaction to..like make stuff seem like people out of objects that resemble let’s say close friends. It’s a way for your mind to keep itself sane for just a bit longer, hence why the sock puppets. He could use those as a temporary solution to at least talk to someone, anyone, pretending they’re real to cope. Yet ofc that isn’t a permanent solution, hence why he went insane to the point ending it all./vlh

trying to make psychosis come off as scary for shock value humor is bad actually

[nhianh]

Week 10: Digital Citizenship and Conflict: Social Media Governance

The ubiquitous nature of social media platforms has defined and will continue to define the contemporary world. Upcoming projections indicate rapid expansion in emerging countries, bringing the total number of social media users to around 58.4% of the global population (Statista, 2022). According to the eSafety Commissioner of the New South Wales Department of Education, "a good digital citizen" is someone who is able to make beneficial use of digital technology for social participation, communication, content creation, and consumption.

There are a lot of worries about the future of social media regulation, despite the fact that these platforms have helped people interact and share material, such as the proliferation of fake news, hate speech, and internet monitoring. Violent online conflicts highlight the power dynamics at play in the concept of digital citizenship. A perceived chasm has opened up between academic study and real-world issues faced by people because non-experts' perspectives are sorely lacking in discussions of information systems in the literature. People should talk about cyberbullying and other forms of online abuse on platforms where they do not know the perpetrators well.

The formation of "bad habits" might occur, however, when users constantly check their social media alerts out of FOMO and participate in negative self-comparisons (Walther et al., 2011). The correlation between social media usage and mental health is complex. Not only was social media usage substantially related to depression, but those suffering from depression were also more likely to use social media (Lin et al., 2016). Lowry et al. (2016) and Ransbotham et al. (2016) found that new digital vulnerabilities, such as cyber mobs and "sock puppet" accounts, are a major contributor to this negativity. These accounts spread objectionable speech and engage in social shaming. Teens may develop PTSD symptoms after being exposed to risky information on social media, such as cyberbullying, sexual solicitations, and explicit material (McHugh et al., 2018). Furthermore, Johnson (2018) reveals that individuals may become unable to differentiate between fair and unfair online behaviour due to "mob rules'' established by online organisations.

By outlining standards for appropriate conduct and content, social media governance helps platforms encourage responsible participation from its users. The resolution of these disputes and the preservation of digital citizenship values need for robust frameworks for social media administration. Since these forms of government must address many, and at times competing, interests, they are inherently complex. Digital communities that promote healthy relationships based on mutual regard, understanding, and accountability may be created when all parties involved pull together. Furthermore, Johnson (2018) reveals that individuals may become unable to differentiate between fair and unfair online behaviour due to "mob rules" established by online organisations.

References

Johnson, B.G. 2018, Tolerating and managing extreme speech on social media, Internet Research, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 1275-1291.

Lowry, P. B., Zhang, J., Wang, C. and Siponen, M. 2016, Why do adults engage in cyberbullying on social media? An integration of online disinhibition and deindividuation effects with the social structure and social learning model, Information Systems Research, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 962–986

McHugh, B. C., Wisniewski, P., Rosson, M. B. and Carroll, J. M. 2018, When social media traumatizes teens: The roles of online risk exposure, coping, and post-traumatic stress, Internet Research, vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 1169-1188

Statista 2022, Social Media – Statistics and Facts, viewed 21 March 2023, <https://www.statista.com/topics/1164/social>

Walther, J. B., Liang, Y. J., De Andrea, D. C., Tong, S. T., Carr, C. T., Spottswood, E. L. and AmichaiHamburger, Y. 2011, The effect of feedback on identity shift in computer-mediated communication, Media Psychology, vol. 14, pp. 1–26.

[idiacide]

Hello! Could I request Idia, Leona, Ace, and Deuce with an easily attached or obsessed reader? If someone gives me more attention than I'm used to, I'll easily get attached to them. Though I'm ashamed to admit it, sometimes I do get a bit stalker-ish. If you are uncomfortable with this ask, just ignore it. Either way, thank you!

For the sake of this I’m going to write it as just, mildly obsessive as opposed to full tilt yandere. Like, maybe a little bad with boundaries, but not full tilt “keeping tabs on everyone you’ve ever spoken too in your life”. (If anyone would like more yandere. Just ask I guess)

Idia Shroud: In all honesty this might’ve actually been useful in the early days of nursing your crush. Idia’s not the easiest guy in the world to spend time with “naturally”, you’d almost have to stalk him if you wanted any one on one time with him. Breaking into his room seems like a little much, but slipping into the board game club is about as intimate a setting as one could hope for (once you get around the Azul shaped roadblock).

Its a little bit downhill from there, though. Idia’s paranoid. It honestly doesn’t take that many slips for him to realize you’ve been deepstalking his social media accounts. He immediately assumes hostile intent and starts avoiding you even more than he already was. It continues to eat at him though, as he finds he can’t even escape online without fearing that you’re watching. In the end, he conspires with Ortho to trap you in an empty classroom with a few menacing machines, his nervous hands fumbling with a tablet as he fires question after question at you.

What are you planning, to ruin him in front of the entire school? Expose the fact that he’s been playing both sides of a stantwt war through multiple sock puppet accounts? Report him to his gacha games for utilizing a fuckton of bots????? Its just for the ones he doesn’t take seriously, he swears!!! He’s a salt of the earth F2P on the ones he loves!!!

.....What do you MEAN you have a crush on him?!!

He kind of doesn’t know what to do with that information. Almost a letdown after weeks of agonizing. It catches him so off guard that he might even agree to a date before he knows what he’s doing.

The start leaves a lot to be desired. You get the sense that he’s still very jumpy around you, fully expecting the other shoe to drop at any moment. But...ultimately there’s something kind of convenient about having a partner that’s a little obsessive about him. He has to explain himself less, and you already have an exhaustive handle on his interests which makes conversation a little bit easier over all. Plus, if you’re already stalking him, that should mean a free pass for him too, right? Help take the edge off that insecure streak by following you around with cameras at every free moment.

Its not exactly...the HEALTHIEST dynamic in the world, but its one that’s surprisingly functional for the two of you. Both of you have a tendency to get overly focused on your area of interests, and both of you get insecure about your partner’s affections. Maybe some better coping mechanisms would benefit the two of you in the long run, but as it stands at the very least you understand each other and your weird idiosyncrasies.

Yeah...ok, maybe he could get used to this. Get used to you.

Leona Kingscholar: Well, at least Rook will have some company in the bushes.

Kidding, you’re not quite that far gone. But with that damn hunter hounding his every step Leona’s already on pretty high alert for people paying a little too much attention to him for his liking. It doesn’t take him long to notice you following him around, peeking around corners at him or sidling up to watch when he’s at Spelldrive practice.

He’s not shy about rebutting it either, immediately telling you off when he gets sick of being watched. Unlike Rook, though, you don’t just smile and slip away. You look legitimately hurt, and its starting to aggravate him more. Contrary to popular belief he’s not COMPLETELY heartless. Looking at him like a wounded animal makes his insides itch, like somehow he’s the jerk for telling you off.

Its not hard for him to pick up on the pretty likely culprit as to why you’re so clingy with him. Not exactly his first experience with this. A goodlooking prince, even a second born one, is gonna pick up his fair share of admirers. He’d normally just leave you hanging until you took the hint or got offended enough to drop it on your own, but....its different when he actually knows you. For once the onus is on him to have the emotional maturity to talk to you, walk you through the fact that he doesn’t appreciate being followed like this. He needs his space....but if you’re willing to meet him halfway then he’ll spot you a couple dinners, alright? Fair trade.

Getting into an actual relationship with him under these conditions is tricky, but not impossible. The more relationally involved you get the less the obsessiveness is gonna bother him. Leona expects a fair bit of free range to do what he pleases but as long as you don’t interfere with his sleep schedule, there’s something pretty gratifying about how into him you are. He’s absolutely merciless about holding it over your head too, how much of your world revolves around him and his habits.

Again, not necessarily the healthiest dynamic for either party involved. Ruggie may need to give you a few lessons in standing up to him. But after a lifetime of being overlooked...its kind of nice to have someone who’s beyond smitten.

Ace Trappola: There is a strong possibility Ace will never notice. Because entirely on accident, he’s exactly the type to encourage this behavior even if you AREN’T naturally the obsessive type. Follow him around to spend as much time as possible? He practically breaks down your door to hang out every free night he has anyways. Stalk his social media accounts? He was already badgering you to look at his posts anyways. Retain a lot of personal information about him? He’s a chronic oversharer and will barely notice that you remember a lot more of what he tells you than is usual.

Ace’s main character syndrome is kind of a godsend as far as you’re concerned. Of course so much of your time is spent focusing on him, what the hell else would you have to do with your time?? Study? Psh. At the same time, the fact that you remember so much of what he tells him and are so eager to spend time with him feeds his ego like nothing else. The two of you get romantically involved fairly quickly.

That’s not to suggest its all perfect. The only thing Ace loves as much as attention is acting like he’s too cool for attention. Being too fawning in front of his friends is likely to get you made fun of, and you may catch him making snide remarks about how you’d be hopeless without him. Don’t be shy about telling him off. For as much as his mouth gets ahead of him Ace doesn’t actually want to hurt your feelings, and deep down he knows he’s just as dependent on you as you are on him.

All told, probably one of the most painless targets you could pick for one of these crushes. Ace adores people who adore him back, and he’s ready and willing to meet you pound for pound on expressing that affection.

Deuce Spade: Much like Ace, Deuce is honestly more gratified by the attention than anything. Even if you are shy about things like compliments and praise, the simple gift of your time is already enough to completely overwhelm him. While he’s always been able to get friends, Deuce isn’t really used to being anybody’s first choice. At least not for reasons that are positive.

Showing up to his track meets in particular is a one way ticket direct to his heart. Deuce takes his sport very seriously, and showing up to offer your implicit support fills him up with pride and affection like nothing else. As for all the rest, he’s just oblivious enough to take it all as a lucky coincidence. Oh you like bikes too? Man, what are the odds! Come ride with him some time. Even if you don’t actually know that much he’ll just assume you must be new to the interest and happily explain everything about it.

Ultimately Deuce is too honest a guy to really expect much artifice out of other people. And considering that you’re not faking the affection, he’s perfectly ready to get just as attached to you as you are of him. Some things will occasionally give him pause. As he realizes how nervous you get when he’s gone he starts to get a little worried about you. But its never from a place of judgement. Deuce just wants you to recognize that you’re just as good on your own as you are with him. He doesn’t just care about you because you love him. He loves you, and he wants you to believe that too.

[pearl484-blog]

Oh! Yay! A new victim student I can infodump on educate! I will never be tired of you and your kind. (In all honesty, I too am hella autistic, and I appreciate your consideration and attempts to be kind while asking a question.)

Alright, so I do understand your confusion, because when it comes to direct evidence that Plagg is an abuse victim, there's shockingly very little. However, it does exist. Primarily in the Celestial Guardian: Su Han.

During his dressing down of Marinette Dupain-Cheng (with many legitimate points that will NEVER be brought up again) he describes Plagg as extremely dangerous and needing to be under strict control. He then forces all the kwamis back into the Miracle Box without listening to what anyone has to say about it.

On it's own, it's concerning. This is the leader of the main group whose been taking care of Plagg insisting that Plagg should never be too far from them and should not have a person to interact with away from them (as that's not within their control enough).

However, this isn't all my evidence. We are going to look at the totality of the circumstances, and for that, we look to Plagg's behavoir.

As Kwamibuster shows, Plagg is generally not afraid of anything, to the point of stupidity. Except for one thing.

Plagg seems to fear authority, or to be more specific, reprisals from authority. Not to the point where he's visibly quaking.

But its rather telling that if plagg ever has a conflict between what he wants to do and what anyone he deems as an authority figure wants to do, he will feign absolute loyalty and obedience to the authority figure, before lying and doing what he wants anyways, hoping to conceal this.

Plagg does this most notably in Sandboy, where he disguises himself as a sock puppet to escape, but here'sthe thing, when he's caught, he expects to be punished. When all Adrien does is tell him next time just give him a heads up, because he knows what its like to want freedom, Plagg's reaction is estatic. He immediately becomes very affectionate, and declares Adrien as his favorite holder. Notably, Plagg never tries this tactic on Adrien again, and even tries to reason with Marinette in Kuro Neko (only to default to his normal lie and then do what you want when she doesn't listen.

Considering how useful it is to an abuse victim -because sometimes, reasoning with your abuser will only get you in trouble or make them more vigilant to what you're about to do. Small moments of freedom can absolutely be a lifeline-'s no wonder that Plagg might use these tactics

Plagg shows too many signs and coping skills to dismiss him as an abuse survivor

Has Miraculous Lost its Innocence?

Just got an ask from @tallwriter asking if Miraculous has lost its innocence permenantly, but my inbox ate it. Sorry.

So, just to be clear, I'm not really sure I understand the question, so I'll answer it in a few different ways.

Will Miraculous Ladybug ever return to primarily catering towards its younger demograghic again? No, I don't think so. It seems pretty determined to interact with older fans and grow up with its audience. I doubt it's going to backtrack. Which is kinda a shame, because one of the things it seems determined to lose is its episodic nature in exchange for an arc. Unfortunately, the episodic nature is not the writer's strength, and arc plots are...difficult for these writers. Their inexperience in this type of writing shows. Their style of arc building how also lead to them not being able to contain their stories in small chunks anymore, which leads to me ...not enjoying them as much, along with them following this weird piece of writing advice to make whatever is the most painful thing to happen to the characters happen.

On a side note, for any writers out there, please do not follow this advice. For a stronger story with a more coherent theme, figure out what your theme is and try to come up with conflicts that might naturally arise from this, and would enhance your theme instead of distract from it. Think of it like cooking. No matter how tasty all the ingredients in your kitchen can be, you can't make them all, and some foods do not pair well. Figure out what you're working towards, warm and savory? Cool and refreshing? Healthy and lean? Then go towards that. A triple layer chocolate came next to grilled salmon and roasted mixed veggies is an ...odd choice that would raise some eye brows. Is Miraculous always going to have mature themes? Miraculous has always had themes of bullying and child abuse from the beginning. Part of why I liked this show was its realistic depiction of emotional abuse with Adrien, and its refusal to adhere to the trope that is the school bully somehow being the most popular girl at school. Considering how its aiming towards an older audience now, and it's never shied away from subverting comon trope expectations, I do not expect this to change.

However, that is not to say that I enjoy every trope subversion that MLB has done, nor do I think that it has always handled mature subjects very well, but I'll touch on that a bit more in my next section.

Have I Lost My Faith in Miraculous Ladybug Permenantly

Short answer: No. But it's going to need a lot of back bedaling and extremely good writing to make me invested in the series again.

Most of this is related to one unfortunate plot point, the mishandling of child abuse. Of course, that's not the only issue. I also do not like Lila. She is my least favorite character in the entire series. I do understand what the writing team is trying to do with her. They messed up with her character during the episode "Chameleon" and they are trying to fix that error. It is an admirable effort, but unfortunately their attempts to fix that issue have not rendered a villain that is likable or is clever and easy to hate. Unfortunately, each time I see her, I see the hand of the author every time she shows up. Everything about her is contrived, and I do not believe that she could have all these lies. Furthermore, the handling of Chloe in Seasons 4 and 5 also seemed unnaturally spiteful and petty. Perhaps, they were trying to backtrack and make the character someone fun to hate, but unfortunately, they could not. Each time she appeared, I could only sense ill intent from the author, and it was not a good look. The absolute final straw was when Chloe is revealed to have a learning disorder, and Marinette takes the time to say that it is unfair for Chloe to get accomodations for her disability because she's been taking steps to mask it by having Sabrina do her work for her. This does not make me dislike Chloe in the way the authors apparently thought I would.

However, the biggest flub of all is Adrien Agreste. He is abused. I could use an abuse checklist, and he'd hit most if not all the boxes. The show is still one of the most realistic decpictions of emotional abuse in the media and a good demonstration of abuse, why people might not recognize the abuse, why a victim might make excuses for their abuser, why a victim might not believe they are abused, and in season 5, there was an excellent depiction of the honeymoon/apology part of the cycle. I am honestly so shocked at how realistic and well portrayed Adrien's abuse is compared to the stereotypical abused woman who's got bruises and blaming it on walking into a door. BUT dear god. There is so much victim blaming towards Adrien. Adrien is too weak to stand up for himself. Adrien needs protecting from his own fragile emotions. Adrien can't know information. Adrien keeps fawning. He keeps making VERY concerning statements about himself, his feelings, his relationships to people, and no one realizes how fucked up it is. No one challenges him. The narrative, at several points, ends with his fucked up abuse logic being the end-point of the conflict. In order for Miraculous Ladybug to regain my faith in it, I need for people to challenge the fawning. I need for Adrien's unhealthy behavoirs and mindset to be challenged. I need for those behavoirs to be shown as wrong. And I need for the victim blaming to be shown as wrong. I need for people to understand what they did was wrong.

The senti-monster thing, by the way, DOES NOT HELP. It is not a good metaphor for abuse. Gabriel and Adrien was a good representation of a parent abusing their own child, now it's a representation of a creator abusing his creation. There is so little representation of a parent abusing their biological offspring. Why destroy it?

Did the authors not think the audience would be able to understand why Adrien obeys without magic? By making him controlled by an item, they undermined the whole abuse theme.

Adrien should be controlled by the man who raised him. The man he loved his whole life. The man who should've loved him. The man everyone told him loved him and knew what was best for him.

Adrien has been emotionally crushed his whole life. Told he's impulsive, too emotional, that he never makes good descisions, and the only way for him to be worthy of love is to be obedient, to be unresisting, to be perfect. He should think that molding himself to whatever people wants him to be is right, is expected, and his friends should challenge that. But they don't.

Each relationship Adrien has has been carved away besides Marinette and Plagg. Marinette will not help him. She cannot help him. Plagg is an abuse victim whose also internalized worldviews similiar to Adrien. He teaches him how to rebel. He understands these rules, but Plagg cannot acknowledge them as healthy.

Miraculous can restore my faith by re-aligning its abuse structure. Backpedaling and saying that abuse victims are not weak because they bend their knee. That sometimes they see obedience as the only option to survive, and that's okay. That victim blaming is not okay. That accomodation is good and necessary, and its wrong to be a jerk about it. That fawning is unhealthy. That molding yourself to what others want you to be is unhealthy. That judging your self-worth on how useful you are or how happy you make other people is not healthy.

I do not think it will do that. But it could. And the fandom has done that, so I will continue interacting with the fandom.

[contentment-of-cats]

Hate, Harassment, and Threats: Coping and Handling

It happens and it's happened since the rise of LJ. I remember getting my first hatepost and how much it upset me, but I was never a target in the way that many were. LJ was truly the wild and wooly west - Dodge City or Deadwood, when people thought it would be a utopia. We had greyfaces, anons, sock puppets, and meat puppets. For people transitioning from controlled environments like e-Groups, Listserv, and forums it was not the mod-free utopia that they might have wished for. Real fandom scandals and legitimate harm to fans have been built on anons, sockpuppets, and greyfaces.

Terminology

Anon: Anonymous account either from outside the service or from an established account that has been anonymized.

Greyface: LJ term for an account with no identifiers, created explicitly to harass.

Sock Puppet: Account created by one person with the intent of being perceived as a separate individual.

Meat Puppet: Also used to be called a fanpoodle. A person whose actions are directed by another. Also called a muppet for having the controller's hand shoved so far up their ass that it can work their mouth.

Defining Hateposting/Cyberstalking/Harassment/Threats

First, there is a federal law -18 U.S. Code § 2261A Stalking - that defines stalking and harassment. Full text is here, with excerpt below:

(2) (Whoever) with the intent to kill, injure, harass, intimidate, or place under surveillance with intent to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate another person, uses the mail, any interactive computer service or electronic communication service or electronic communication system of interstate commerce, or any other facility of interstate or foreign commerce to engage in a course of conduct that— (A)places that person in reasonable fear of the death of or serious bodily injury to a person, a pet, a service animal, an emotional support animal, or a horse described in clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of paragraph (1)(A); or (B)causes, attempts to cause, or would be reasonably expected to cause substantial emotional distress to a person described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of paragraph (1)(A),

Laws can vary from state to state. 48 states have some laws on the books, with 44 having criminal penalties. You'll need to contact local law enforcement or look them up on your state legislature's website.

All forms of online harassment can be grouped under the label of cyberbullying. How do you know what is or isn't cyberbullying? There is a comprehensive list. Even some things that you didn't think might be bullying are, in fact, bullying. Unfortunately, the FBI seems to focus on financial crimes and scams, and have changed their reporting pages to reflect that. In all cases using the internet to convey threats as defined under 18 U.S. Code § 2261A need to be documented and reported to the FBI.

Documenting: Keep the Reciepts

Documenting online abuse is key to stopping online abuse. To be Tumblr specific, screenshots of DMs, replies to your posts, posts harassing you, reblogs of your posts with abuse in the comments and tagjacking or abusive hashtags, screenshots of anons/sockpuppets and harassing asks need to be kept. You need your receipts.

Fuck Anons

Anons are not worth your mental health or the pleasure and community you derive from fandom.

"But some of my followers are shy!"

They can create an account that they can use just for doing asks. Exposing you to abuse and bullying should not be the price of someone being shy. I have also turned on anons when someone has asked me to via DM, in a post comment, or via an anon comment on my Ao3 so that they could send me an ask without unmasking themselves. This protects me and protects them.

Tumblr recently started requiring a valid email address to send an anon without being signed in. This could be seen a couple of different ways - Tumblr wants some sort tabs on people using their site anonymously, or that they want people sending anons to create an account. There is nothing to stop an anon from creating a burner email account in order to harass, so that only goes so far.

Block anons. I am serious. Just go into your account settings and do it. You can even turn off asks entirely.

Per Tumblr: "Anonymous asks are not associated with a specific account, and blocking those will block the IP address of the sender."

So, if you block an anon and someone suddenly disappears from your followers, or you get a follower asking why they can't see or interact with your blog, then you have your answer as to where your anon bullying might well be coming from.

However, isn't it easier to just turn off anons?

Yes. It is. My anons are kept off 99.9 percent of the time and I sleep just fine.

Other Tips and Tricks

You can control who reblogs your posts. The default is that anyone on Tumblr can reblog. You can also block anyone from reblogging. The new feature offers middle ground by allowing you to add users allowed to reblog by mentioning them. I don't know if this extends to other parties reblogging from the people you allowed to reblog, however. Click on the little gear to access the dropdown.

From the Settings Menu

In addition to the default, you have two other options under the dropdown.

Tumblrs you follow and that have been mutuals with you for a week can reply

Only Tumblrs you follow can reply.

Keep the people you follow private by toggling this off.

Toggle off to stop DMs from people you don't follow.

Hide your Tumblr from people without a Tumblr, or from people who are signed out. Remove your blog from Tumblr search results or from search engine crawlers.

Finally, you can block DMs on a case by case basis, too.

Finally, it can be hard to start over, but when the bullying is too much and too persistent, you can back up your blog or take it private and start a new Tumblr with people you trust.

Other Resources

Online Harassment Field Guide - a really comprehensive source

[sablegear0]

POV: You’re the new guy in Maintenance just realizing why nobody is ever scheduled in the GFS Xibalba’s AU chamber... and that the Xibalba doesn’t have an Aurora Unit...

IDK I just like inflicting existential angst on Adam and had some minor techno-gore stuff on the brain. I wanted to do more complex machinery in the background initially but didn’t have the patience. Rambly thoughts under the cut. (Also full-view for better quality obvs)

(colour set from @color-palettes - “Out there in the universe”)

I get a lot of these half-baked AU ideas (in the “alternate universe” sense) and never really know what to do with them. They’re rarely enough to write about and never usually worth even naming, so they just kind of make the rounds in my head for a while before fading back into the mists. So have some notes about this one!

This would be, oh, maybe 50-100 years post-canon? Adam is somehow still going, though his extended “lifespan” is taking a bit of a toll on him. He doesn’t emote much outwardly anymore (even less so than usual, anyway), not that he has many people to talk to directly at this point. He’s been shuffled around a lot to various ships, outposts, etc. since his expertise is still valuable even if he’s getting... weird... in his “old age.” His current position is replacing the Aurora Unit aboard the GFS Xibalba, the flagship of the supposedly “cursed” 13th Fleet.

The 13th is a GFMC Fleet that patrols the very furthest reaches of Federation territory. The fleet spends a very long time in standard flight between outposts, and sees a lot of strange phenomena in the wilder parts of space, and as such attracts a particular type of individual. Just about every crewman from the ensigns and mechanics up to the Admiral herself are some brand of eccentric. Due to their distance from major outposts, the 13th doesn’t have access to the supplies needed to support the nutritional demands of a proper Aurora Unit, but their friendly(?) neighbourhood computer-ghost Adam fits right in as a replacement. (There are some rumours among the Xibalba’s crew that the AI is either out here looking for something, or dead set on keeping something out of Federated space. Though nobody’s worked up the courage to ask him, and the Admiral certainly wouldn’t divulge that information...)

Over the years Adam has changed up his physical presentation a lot. He’s variously been totally digital, used a projected avatar, an actual android frame, and now this... construction. At some point just before or early on in his assignment to the 13th Fleet, his android frame took some pretty severe damage. He was resigned to being fully digital again until some slightly twisted individual was able to salvage most of the frame and rig it up to the machinery in the Xibalba’s AU chamber. Nobody’s sure exactly who (or how they got a hold of one of those ancient GF Police uniforms to slap onto it, those things are artifacts!) but Adam seemed thoroughly pleased with the solution, and uses the setup as his main method of physical interface with the crew.

Although “the crew” in this case is really just the 13th’s Admiral, as the rest of the crew (and especially the Maintenance team) find him extremely creepy to be around. Adam seems to cope with his situation by leaning into how uncanny he’s become, possibly for his own amusement but it’s extremely hard to tell. Only the Admiral finds his presence enjoyable let alone bearable. The Maintenance team especially dislike being around him as he’s become oddly territorial about the tangle of machinery that makes up the AU chamber and prefers to do his own repairs. 

A handful of the older Maintenance team refer to his attached partial android frame as the “sock puppet,” but only amongst themselves. If the Admiral overheard them, there would be hell to pay! There’s also a hazing ritual  custom on the Xibalba of scheduling new Maintenance workers a shift in the AU chamber, so they can get acquainted with the ship’s AI.

As to the art itself: I’m gradually learning Clip Studio as it has a lot of variety in tools and some very convenient features my ancient copy of PS lacked. I used a pre-made colour palette for this one, mentioned up top, because I’ve been hoarding them and need to use them for something. Took some inspiration from the Nightmare’s sprite and some of the concept art for the Aurora Units. Like I said up top, I wanted to do a more tangled, mechanical background originally but just... didn’t have the brain for it. Maybe I’ll add one in later when I figure out how not to ruin my attempt at composition with it.

[sockori]

So I’ve been debating a Sasori headcanon for a long time that he has a personal diary where he logs his processes, personal vents, disdain over his former village, complaints about co-workers, petty comments, among other things to sort out his hectic thoughts. Sasori really likes to hammer in “hmph it’s not a diary, alright, simply a journal to record my work” but everyone in the organization damn well knows it’s literally just a diary. Some may believe that it’s one of those cheesy nosy high school diaries full of drama, black mail and countless intel- quite the contrary. Sasori would much rather not have his most repressed memories and emotions become tangible, physical, within pages that anyone could get their hands on. However, sometimes, pen and paper is simply the only way to silence his maddened mind. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sasori would think about burning the entire book after its finished- I’m sure it’s not one of the many objects he’d like to preserve for all eternity.

[traumascumathena]

“Unless my coping mechanism is something that directly hurts other people, it’s not a moral augment.”

Coping mechanisms do not exist in a vacuum. Every coping mechanism you use and don’t use impacts not only yourself, but others. This is based in the philosophy of every action having an impact on the world and others. The Law of Cause and Effect. 

Let’s take the alcoholism you listed as an example, as we struggle with it personally. In theory, our drinking would only impact our health, and no one else’s. Yet, in practice, my alcoholism led me to physically and mentally hurt others. My family had to struggle with me coming home drunk night after night, caring for me as I’d puke in the bathroom at 2 AM. While drunk, I started fights with strangers at random. Sure, I did it to cope, and sure, the addiction sounds on a surface level, affecting only the self. But it was not the reality. 

Let’s use a positive example though. To deal with my anger, I talk it out with a sock puppet. It’s silly. I decorated and named the thing. And it helps me a lot. Putting my feelings to words, in conversation with a silly-voiced puppet, it’s strange yet it helps. And I see how it impacts my family and impacts others. I’ve started much less fights with people. I walk out of my bedroom to see my dad smiling and free of worry, because he knows I’m getting better and he knows I’m less of a danger to him and my mom. 

In a similar vein, Tulpamancy impacts the people around you. I wonder, how many people in your offline life are out there wishing that you’d speak to them in favor of your tulpas? How many potential connections are shrugged off in favor of tulpas that don’t have the possibility to be unpleasant with you down the line? Imagine how many people are out there who could have been a friend. 

Same for Trace things. Sure, perhaps you are not hurting yourself with it, but others are still hurt. I was adopted by someone of a different race and religion, and I have convoluted feelings when it comes to adopting cultural values and practices that come with that. I am, in terms of the word’s true definition, transracial, yet I feel terrible associating myself with that word because of how Trace people use it now. Indirectly, I am hurt by Trace. Not to mention how it’s constantly said by POC how their cultures are being appropriated; I would speak more about that, but my voice does not carry the same impact as Mod Phoenix’s does. 

But let’s speak about Trace in other terms. About losing cultural ties and such by desiring to change one’s race. I hear a lot about racial trauma being a motivator for identifying as a different race, so I pose this hypothetical. To cope with constant threats against them and their people, a Palestinian person identifies as transwhite. Perhaps it only does good to them, but what does it do to the Palestinian identity as a whole? Especially when Palestinian culture and history is actively being stamped out? To transition away from that only contributes to the oppressor’s goal of erasing that culture. To transition away from that only takes away from what exists of that culture and what is left to fight for. 

No coping mechanism exists in a vacuum. Everything one does to cope with their feelings impacts the world around them, for better or for worse. People need to pay attention to that, for worsening the world around them leads to increased needless suffering in others--and, potentially, a positive feedback loop of harmful coping mechanisms, leading to burned bridges and further conflict that are unnecessary in this already troubled world. 

I hate it when people say “that’s not a healthy coping mechanism” as a *moral* argument, unless my coping mechanism is something that directly hurts other people, it’s not a moral augment, and I don’t owe anyone “healthy”. Weather something is unhealthy for me is only my and my therapist’s business, not strangers on the internet.

It just reaks concern trolling.

(This is about the whole trace thing, but it goes for in general)

I actually want to pivot from the trace thing for a moment because this actually applies a lot to what I've heard directed at the tulpa community SO MANY TIMES.

Even while current studies have shown positive health improvements from tulpamancers, we still are constantly hit with accusations of being unhealthy. Acceptance in the general population is a struggle that often feels insurmountable.

So many people have created tulpas to help cope with depression or social anxiety, and so often, we're accused of being unhealthy. And I just don't believe that these people are legitimately concerned for our mental health in most cases. I think it makes people uncomfortable. It's the same reason you have the alt-right claiming that transitioning is unhealthy. A group of people makes them uncomfortable, but outright bullying them isn't morally acceptable in society, so they instead try to dictate what's healthy for them when their real issue is their own personal discomfort.

If there's one thing I want to drill into people's heads, it's that you don't get to be the one to decide if a coping mechanism is healthy for someone else.

And healthy and culturally acceptable aren't the same things.

We wouldn't get a fraction of the people telling us we're unhealthy if we were getting drunk, because drinking is culturally acceptable. Someone spends an hour in the Wonderland talking to headmates and it's seen as dysfunctional. Someone spends several hours diving into video games and it's completely fine.

I am so tired of people thinking they have a right to decide what's healthy for us and other systems.

[mantra4ia]

Favorite "The Amazing Devil" songs

I mean, apart from actually all of them

1. Drinking Song for the Socially Anxious:

Like a puppet with no strings, untangling my headphones, sometimes it's the only thing that keeps my head in place / my heart is tearing pages from the funny story I rehearsed because I know I don't belong / my kindness is my sword. I do my best to breathe but they're stealing all the air / I'll sing silence and ask my glass of wine for guidance... I'll speak with my eyes, you'll think I'm weird...I don't find this easy like you. / I'm lying on a bed of coats trying desperately to cope, it's just sometimes nice to feel what it's like in someone else's coat. / We're bursting at the seams because the noise is crushing us... In a moment of total rapture, with every strength I have, I ask if you play D&D and your face lights up like you've woken up from this endless f****** nightmare / if God made us in his image then God's a fucking nerd. / Going to go home and dress my cat up like Batman.

2. Wild Blue Yonder:

One last time, love, come and rip my clothes off / Let's wander 'til the fuckers demand an encore.

Flirting (not flirting) at the back of a bookshop - Come and rip off my socks like you're blasting the locks off of a bank vault. This time we're done for.

All the books we drowned, and the candle we lit, we'll use it to burn this whole place to the ground. I'm lost, I'm found in you

Every stone you threw, I stood on to better see the view

let's hide under the covers, we don't know what's out there, could be all our demons darlings (or a robot vampire)

I've got something in my (eye/I) surrender

3. Chords:

Remember today that you are loved...Paint your eyes with sunsets. / I need a drink or two / If your voice begins to crack and you ever feel alone, they might laugh...But know we'll sing your name when you come home. / Remember (please), today you're enough / Gift to us all your blame 'cause we'll be all that you hate about yourself, so you can grow.

4. Pray:

Sweet nothings are screamed, not spoken

God made all man in his image (God made all men) Honey, I'm, I'm no man. I'm what's left when children go to war.

I'll run until I begin to understand what holy men really mean, when they speak of sand and sons and seams, and symphonies and sweat and sex and sin.

5. Fair:

It's what my heart just yearns to say...It's what my rotting bones will sing...Today, I somehow understand the reason I was born. / It's not fair (how much I love you), 'cause you make me laugh when I'm actually really fucking cross at you for something / darling I was born to press my head between your shoulder blades / It's not fair, 'cause you make me weep when I'm just trying to watch The Office with my yogurt / how unreasonable / Christ, you'll be the death of me / And calm throughout his melodrama, she will turn and say... you don't need to pretend to be someone you're not 'cause it's not like I've never heard you fart and snore and for some godforsaken reason I'm still here, love. / Where have you been?" She'll whisper, "I've waited, so long for you to come" / And as the stars above them hum...He'll turn to her and say, "That's what she said."

6. Marbles:

She sang, "do you think I'm sexy?" - And oh God, I really did.

Sipping drinks till we cry - oh if one more guy calls me darling then I swear to you, and to God, I will murder them all. Will the bastards applaud when I show that I'm flawed? - You're not flawed darling, you're just a little underrehearsed.

I sink to the floor, "What's the point anymore?" - You reply with the glint in your eye, "I don't don't know, but I'm here."

I've loved you for a hundred years - certainly f****** feels like it.

7. That Old Witch Sleep...:

That old witch sleep wishes, she kisses my eyelids, "you don't have to be brilliant" / They're just shadows searching for light, they can't stay / you are in the earth of me / Oh, sleep now, she pleads - You're not a coward 'cause you cower. You're brave because they broke you yet broken still you breathe / let's bury this...'cause I'm not trapped with you, you see, you're the one who's trapped with me. / Where you see weakness I see wit, sometimes I fall to pieces to see what bits of me don't fit / Pour me another shard full of glass, I toast to their talents and I forgive them at last.

8. Battle Cries:

Thirty winters will pass, you'll look back at the woman 50-year-old-you will be proud to have known

After summers of fasting, I feel hunger for the person 15-year-old-me would be proud to have known...And we'd laugh at the ghosts of our fears. We were gods, we were kids.

That creaking you hear in my bones, it's not pain, it's applause.

"Come at me, your blaggards," you'd yell from the banks, wielding words against make-believe wizards and tanks.

And these lines aren't wrinkles, they're just dollops of paint on a new work of art.

All it took to unearth —in the dust and the dirt— some release or respite from the heat and the hurt, was taking the time now and then to ask how I am.

This isn't a breakup it's a season finale / And now at the end (At the end of all things) I'm not gonna scream, beat my chest at the wind. I'm doing fine.

9. Inkpot Gods:

I made a vow out to the dark, "Please, let her live..." 'Cause she is so much more than all her scars and if she doesn't have the will...I'll stay, because I will be the man my father never was.

What you hear is not silence, it's just the trees waiting to hear what next you'll hum.

What you see is not the dark, it's just the gods upturning ink pots 'cause they know what you'll become

To those Gods I'll say bluntly, "you ever touch or harm him" please rest assured that you might not fear a man. But to a woman, by the end, you'll kneel and plea 'cause I'm more than what my mum told me to be.

10. The Calling

Back then, I was dauntless / my weakness made me weep less than I would ever show to you / I'd burn so bright it blinded...that light guided me here / To wring those embers from my broken heart and broken liver / I'm between that 'just one more' and 'drank too much' again / I look into the waters and see a face I don't understand / We're both unwanted daughters / I don't recognize..."What changed?" I ask, "So strange, " she replies / Shoulder the sky (I can't wait to show you how much) / back then I wasn't hopeful...I promise you I'll write "I love you" your sleeping hand / and when that fox howls, I'll howl with it. In its cries, I'll find an end. / When I think I'm fine, you'll visit and happen to me all over again. In the waters, I see a face I don't want look back / the rocks beneath my feet begin to crack / long ago that current caught us and we tried, I tried, I really fucking tried...But the rain kept coming down, I watched that woman drown.

Honorary lyrics and imagery

The trees tell us their stories, we called them liars...We thought you were mental, you were talking to trees!

Autumn hands

Write me weird, write me willing, write me well.

Be good, be safe, be kind.

It's like all the wallpaper inside my heart is peeling off. I'm showing all the stains and things they wrote on the wall before...today we ripped it off, we showed the world that we exist. Never really liked the pattern that much on the wallpaper, so anyway.

Brick by brick you built us...our mortar was your laughter... I'll brick by brick rebuild us out of hows and whys not whens

Burn a hundred theaters to get the wall paper right

We made universes out of bitten lips and broken hands

‘Cos I will suffer silence for the strings you tune

I pack what is needed for the journey to come. All my books and bracken and booze.

Do you like my dress, it has pockets?

If I have to be who I was, do I have to be who I am?

Leaves like fallen shards of stained glass windows shinning

You asked me for my fire now watch me burn

Mop up what's left of my lungs

You do not get to hurt me just because I asked you once if you were alright

To the dark I said pour and forgot to say when...And for the first time in all my life I know I'm more than what I fear.

I make myself acquainted with the saint of never getting it right

My saint, she is dancing and every step I choose to take begins to set the world aflame.

That wine you were saving, it's saving me now, love...I whisper aloud to my saint "oh we're going to get on."