#and since i would like to not be accused of seriously abusing them again

[leo-regulus]

Man, knowing that I'm less than two weeks from my last final is really shaking me because I have so many things I said I'd do after I graduate and they're very close now!!!

One of them is going to be leaving all the discord servers I don't talk in and also pruning following / friends lists like hell and back. This will allow me to finally come off invisible on discord, and it'll be nice to have discord statuses available to me again ;~;

[gritandoengay]

I only come on this app like once every two or three months to reblog fan art of whatever wlw ship I'm currently hyper fixating on and then dip. I'm Old TM by fandom standards and have spent way too much time in the trenches of fandom discourse to have the energy for that again, I've done my time. I'm not here to write a lengthy essay defending Caitlyn and/or CaitVi - no, I'm here simply to share an observation:

Many of you Caitlyn and CaitVi haters are super predictable.

Y'all have been regurgitating the same talking points since fucking 2014. Might not be the same people (god I hope it's not), but it's the same. thing. every. time. Doesn't matter the genre of the show or what happens between the characters, y'all will trot out the same reheated arguments.

"Caitlyn is a fascist dictator and you are a N*zi if you support her"

Is just reheated "Lexa is a fascist dictator" and "Catra is a fascist dictator" and "Edelgard is a fascist dictator." I would argue that Caitlyn is actually the least morally grey of that group, but anyway, it's "curious" how all these properties have equally (or even more) morally grey male characters that get rehabed by the fandom while the wlw are irredeemable fascists that only N*zis would like.

"CaitVi is a toxic relationship, Caitlyn is a domestic abuser that physically beats up Vi all the time and/or manipulates her"

None of these points are supported at all by the text imo, but anyway, it's the same language used to describe Clexa and Catradora and god knows how many other wlw ships in shows with popular non-wlw ships that have very similar dynamics. Even compared to other popular Arcane ships, this accusation is super hypocritical given how TimeBomb beat the shit out of each other in season 1 and Jayce literally blasts a hole in Viktor's chest for plot reasons. I would also like to point out that the super harmful stereotype of lesbians being domestic abusers was born out of wildly misinterpreted statistics of domestic abuse in real life.

"JayVik and/or Timebomb is actually more queer than CaitVi"

Is just badly reheated pasta made from the same ingredients as "Makorra is actually more queer than Korrasami" and "Bellarke is actually more queer than Clexa" and "Hordtrapta is actually more queer than Catradora" and "Dimileth is actually more queer than Edeleth" and "Huntlow is actually more queer than Lumity" , the arguments are always just as nonsensical because there's just flat out no such thing as a same sex ship being "less queer" than any other ship.

CaitVi literally fuck, on screen, in a sex scene that has literally won a god damn award and went on to become the most captured moment in all of godman Netflix. Regardless of your opinion on the ship, that visibility is important. The fact that a whole theater full of people started screaming as loudly as a jet engine with executives from Riot to hear it all is important.

The final scene of the show is literally them snuggling in front of the fire place and promising to always be together. That's gay as fuck. So, stop embarrassing yourself with this regurgitated "X canon wlw ship isn't as queer as -" nonsense, which btw, is just an extension of real life same sex relationships between women not being taken seriously because society overall still centers men in romance and can't fathom a romantic relationship not involving a man. Y'all know you can't even debate me on this in fandom spaces because all I have to do is point at the number of mlm and f/m fics on ao3 vs the crumbs that big fandoms give wlw ships.

Now on to the excuses and disclaimers that are trotted out.

"I can't be misogynistic I'm a woman-" Yes, yes you can. If you think that only conservative women can suffer from internalized misogyny, boy do I have years of working in leftist organizing spaces to dispel that notion. If you think that fandom spaces are somehow immune to misogyny- lol. Lmao. See the above point about mlm and f/m fics on ao3.

"I can't be lesbophobic/biphobic I'm literally queer -" Yes, yes you can. Both intersect with misogyny, and see the above point about misogyny. You can be a biphobic lesbian, you can be a lesbophobic bisexual, you can even be a biphobic bisexual and a lesbophobic lesbian. Wild, I know, thank the cis- heteropatriarchy.

"I can't be racist because I'm a POC -" Yes, yes you absolutely fucking can. I also have other news for you - despite how much some of you fuckers want to pretend Caitlyn isn't East Asian because of racist assumptions of what East Asians should look like and/or be depicted like in media, she is, and she's important rep, especially in a time when anti-East Asian (and Asian in general) bigotry has been rising in Western countries. No amount of "ACAB BLM Free Palestine" tags in your profile will make you immune from being racist. This leads me to a related point -

Y'all love to scream about wanting more rep with sapphic woc, but then when that rep comes, you tear it down or center other ships. Korrasami is toxic, CaitVi is toxic, Tanthamore is boring, Lumity is fine but I prefer Huntlow, etc.

Furthermore, the only, and I mean only time that black sapphic characters will be mentioned will be to prop them up as good rep vs whatever wlw you hate, but then when I go to those black sapphic character's/ship's Tumblr and ao3 tags, nothing! It's a ghost town! Those characters get paid dust by both wlw fandoms and the people using them as props to hate on other wlw characters! This is definitely a call out to wlw fandoms too btw, I have yet to see a ship with a black sapphic character explode in popularity, and that's on us too.

So, what is the purpose of this rant? Well, I know that most people that read it will dig in and further entrench themselves in their hatred of Caitlyn and CaitVi, but I'm hoping that at least one person genuinely re-examines that hatred and where it might be coming from. You don't have to like Caitlyn or CaitVi, you can criticize the ship and the characters. But if your criticisms and hatred are almost beat for beat the same accusations that have been thrown at wlw ships in even wildly different shows and contexts, and/or you excuse male characters and non-wlw ships with similar dynamics, then it's time to do some soul searching.

Anyway, this has already been long enough. I'm doing policy advocacy with local LGBTQ organizations and will go back to working on that. Whatever your opinions of Caitlyn and CaitVi are, there are fascists out there in the real world to fight.

[princesssukunalover]

Partition

Nanami Kento realises his grave mistake of pushing his wife away. He'll do anything and everything to get her back.

Part 1

CW: Nanami lowkey being miserable, angst, mentions of divorce.

Part 2 of 5

wc: 1051

It starts off with remorseful gifts at your door and it's obvious who they are from. You refuse to even acknowledge your ex husband’s futile efforts to apologise. And after 2 weeks, when the entry to your apartment becomes cluttered with flowers in colours that you don’t even like, chocolates so full of sugar that you wouldn’t even lick them and cards that you don’t bother to open, you finally decide that you’ve had enough. You’ve had enough of Nanami’s weak attempts to win you back. Surely, 6 months ago you would have been gratified to even receive a single rose, picked from a bush on his way home from work, or any gesture that made you feel valued. But it took you less than a year until you asked yourself, ‘If he could not speak, would you still love him for his actions?’ And it took you less than a minute to realise that there were simply no actions that Nanami had done during your union that could prove that he truly loves his wife.

-

As Nanami is about to enter Jujutsu High for an important meeting, he is stopped by the abrupt buzzing of his phone. “I’ll be inside in 5 minutes.” He tells Gojo, who waves him off and goes inside the building, leaving the tall blonde alone. His heart stops for a moment, staring at his phone as your name appears on the screen. He answers it way too quickly. Nanami doesn’t speak. He waits to hear the sweet voice that he’s missed for these past few months. “Kento..” You start. He responds, calling your name. “I haven’t heard from you in a while.” He tells you. “And I wanted to keep it that way, Kento.” You sigh, causing his heart to drop in sorrow. He tries to talk but you cut him off. “Stop sending me these gifts. I want nothing to do with you.” You tell your ex husband. “I’m sorry.” Is all that Nanami can utter. “I mean seriously, did you think that some cheap chocolate, a waste of paper and roses that die in 3 days can undo the feeling of being neglected by the person you love most?” You question. “Is that all you think I am worth?!” You accuse him, starting to get angry and even a little embarrassed. Nanami answers quickly.

“No.. I know that wasn’t enough and I would never think that it’s all you were worth. You are worth everything to me. And I really never showed you how much I love you. I promise I won’t let it happen again-” You cut him off. “Kento, just stop. There’s no ‘again’. There’s no salvaging this. It’s over. You treated me like shit for most of our marriage, and now that you're gone, I’m doing better, Kento. I have a life now. I have a career.” You begin to explain how much your life has improved since the divorce, which he painfully listens to, the hole in his heart widening with each sentence. “It’s over.. Nanami.” You repeat before the call ends. Your ice cold tone haunts him; not because of the cruel manner that you’re speaking to him; not because you don’t bother address him by his first name; but it’s because in his soul, he knows that at some point in your marriage, he spoke to you in such a manner, and in his soul, there remains nothing but guilt and self hatred, for allowing him to lose the love of his life. 

-

Life for Nanami resumes after one or two months. His mansion that was once littered with empty takeout boxes is now looking cleaner these days. He’s built up a routine that distracts him from the sorrows of life. He spends his evenings alone, cooking meals that lack love and warmth, but it keeps him fed and alive, so he doesn’t give a damn. He spends his mornings working out on the floor of his cold living room, the same living room where you would make love together in the early start of your relationship. He ignores the pain in his muscles as he abuses them with every added kilogram of weight. It’s incomparable to the pain which he feels when he takes a glimpse of the wedding photos on his fridge that he refuses to get rid of. His friends wonder if he is some kind of masochist, who needs a constant reminder of the mistakes that he has made.

Every once in a while, Kento will go to a diner and treat himself to a warm and thoughtful meal. It’s one of the small ways that he can commit an act of self-love without feeling undeserving of it. Quickly, that self-love rots into self-hate as he looks up from his plate on a random Friday evening. His heart genuinely drops when he sees you walk through the door, all dolled up. Weeks of progress are undone in 10 short seconds as he scans your body from head to toe. It all comes flashing back. He remembers everything. He remembers the way he’d fuck you senselessly against the counter, against the dining table, on his bed, on his couch. He remembers the way he’d wake up next to you, watching how beautiful you looked in your sleep. And he remembers what he lost. And it is at that same moment that he remembers Gojo’s words, which echo in his mind. He needs to win you back. He’s going to win you back. 

Kento watches deliberately. It would seem that you’re on some kind of date. He wonders how many dates you’ve been on since the divorce. And although it’s not completely unexpected to him that you’re beginning to date again, he admits that it’s quicker than he would’ve wanted. You don’t notice your stoic ex-husband at first, as you greet the man that you’re meeting with, who kindly gives you a beautiful bouquet of flowers, which you are too sweet to admit, gives you some form of PTSD. After your first glass of wine, you finally notice that somebody is staring intently in your direction. As you squint your eyes to get a better look across the room, you’re met with a smirk, coming from your handsome ex-husband. Your chest feels hollow.

Comments, likes and reblogs appreciated <3 This chapter is just some plot..

[sundown-sunrise]

Ugh, sometimes I think any discussion with ultra-fans of anything is impossible, because as soon as you try to approach the topic from a different point of view (it's not even always a different point of view, but simply correcting misconceptions!), you immediately get blocked.

I've had this happen more than once with Ford ultra-fans in the Gravity Falls fandom (the ones who usually call themselves "Ford's Defenders" and I'm not saying that all "defenders" are the ultra-fans I mentioned, but unfortunately, I've only met such ones, if you one of those, sorry, it isn't about you) and these are always posts about sexual abuse. To be clear and not allow for confusion, I think that sexual violence in Billford is very clearly visible, it has been discussed more than once in the fandom and between fans, so I think most people know about it. My problem with these kinds of discussions from these kinds of ultra-fans is that they somehow think that they are the only ones who know about this and that it is "not talked about" (even though it has been talked about constantly since TBOB came out, especially in the summer 2024) and also that Billford fans "don't take it seriously" or "don't know about it/downplay it" and I kind of always come up with accusations like "what the hell are you talking about, this isn't even true???" not to mention the denial of a lot of canon or a very narrow view of Billford's relationship only in terms of sexual abuse and not in terms of the relationship itself, which was deeply abusive itself and rife with sexual abuse. You see the difference? It loses the characterization of both characters and what brought them together (if you can say so, it is obvious that it was Bill's accidental call by Ford + the recruitment of the new pawn on Bill's part, but I am talking specifically about how everything went far beyond the usual "master/student" (muse/scientist???) relationship) in the first place and the fact that the attraction was mutual (despite Bill's abusive relationship and his denial of that attraction).

It's just...as a fan of both of these characters and their relationships, it's deeply saddening to hear people like this say things like "if you ship them, you're minimizing the sexual abuse/failing to see that it's an abuser/victim relationship" and that's just a lie, everyone knows that, that's why so many people are into Billford in the first place, people love problematic relationships, that doesn't mean they don't understand the seriousness of sexual abuse or are in denial about it. Sure, it's likely that given how big this fandom is, there are people like that out there, I wouldn't be surprised, but it's definitely not the majority, since I haven't personally met any, and I've been in this fandom since 2016.

And literally today it happened to me again, I didn't even disagree with anything, I just corrected the misconceptions I mentioned above and said that I think Alex obviously understands that he wrote the SA hints into Billford on purpose, given how it was presented in TBOB and I also don't think that having a little humor somehow affects the seriousness of the perception, if you understand how the narrative of Gravity Falls works and... I was immediately blocked, who would have guessed...

I just want to have a normal discussion without insults and denial of reality, but right now it seems impossible :(

[sickness-stricken]

Analyzing Lily Orchard losing her fucking mind in real time

@lily-is-a-gooner has the post debunking the fact that this event was not staged, but I wanted to go over some of the noteworthy things I think are worth dissecting. Strap in, this one’s probably gonna be long.

Video link for anyone playing along at home:

[3:15] “You’ve got these things causing fucking car crashes, cuz they go off in people’s cars, startle them and cause them to veer into oncoming traffic!”

I’ll need to see a source on that before I believe it. Looking up “car crashes caused by amber alert” only brings up instances of kidnapped children that the amber alerts were for being involved in a car crash. Wouldn’t there be some study showing that reports for car crashes have an uptick within the hour of an EAS alarm being sent out?

[3:26] “AND THEY SEND THEM ALL THE GODDAMN TIME! […] You’re gonna get one of these things once a fucking week!”

No you won’t. Like. That is factually false. Excluding the test that just got sent out this month I get MAYBE one every three months. They are NOT common.

I thought maybe I was the outlier in that I live in Middle-of-nowhere, Alberta so I asked my Ontarian friend if they were more common there (you know, given the larger population) and what do ya know

[3:42] “We had one of these come out when Covid was happening! Like, Stephen, we all knew Covid was deadly, we didn’t need you to blow up everyone’s phones over it!”

I was ready to clown on this given I thought she was referring to Stephen Harper who hasn’t been PM since 2015 but I THINK she’s referring to Stephen McNeil who was the Premier of Nova Scotia in 2020. I don’t personally remember that alert going out (but I also have the memory of an anemic goldfish so that isn’t a high bar to clear) so maybe it was only a NS thing but I would assume for a national state of emergency that would be sent out by the NPAC? So, all parts of Canada? What would that have to do with Premier McNeil?

Don’t take this part super seriously I’m mostly just spitballing, this very well could just be an honest slip up on Lily’s part

[5:52] “I get amber alerts for shit that happens in Yarmouth! That’s a 3 hour drive away from me, the fuck you want me to do?!”

Hey, you know how earlier you said the amber alerts are usually about kids that wander off or are taken by a parent in a CUSTODY DISPUTE? Ya think that parent taking the kid is gonna STICK AROUND? They very well could be in Halifax by the time the alert actually goes out depending on how far the parent is willing to go. I myself jumped provinces to escape an abusive situation, that’s not exactly a long drive in comparison.

[6:36] (I’m gonna paraphrase this but essentially she’s talking about how 911 got swarmed with calls just bitching about the alarm going off in the first place and when they said not to abuse the line Lily calls this hypocrisy)

Lily the alerts are reporting imminent emergencies. If a kid (or really anyone) goes missing and they aren’t found in 48 hours it’s safe to assume they’re GONE. Calling 911 to complain about the alarm waking you up (despite them not being responsible for it) clogs up the lines when an ACTUAL report could be trying to get through. This is not comparable to a province using an emergency line for something that needs immediate attention just because it doesn’t affect you directly.

Feel like it’s also worth noting I’ve never seen anyone who wasn’t a conservative complain about the alerts at night. If it’s really that much of an issue you can turn your phone off at night (which you really should do anyway, it’s better for the battery) and get an alarm clock. If you know this to be an issue for you and the solution is completely within your control it is your responsibility to avoid this specific issue.

[7:46] (paraphrasing again: Lily is accusing people who are okay with the alerts going off at night of being hypocrites because they’ll just click their phones off and go back to sleep)

Again, this reeks of self-centrism and I’m once again unsure if Lily is aware that people who aren’t her exist. Yes, the person who acknowledges night alerts as a good thing may dismiss the notification. However, they acknowledge that people working night shift, such as hospital workers or those working at 24hr drive thrus/gas stations ARE awake and able to keep an eye out for certain descriptors, licence plates etc. This is not a hypocritical stance.

[9:10] “I can’t do anything while [the alarm] is playing. I just have to clap my hands over my ears and wait for it to end.”

…no??? You can literally swipe it away like any other notification and the noise stops. What are you talking about.

[9:30] (Not typing allat: Lily uses Japan as an example of how they use different alarms for different emergencies)

Oh hey look! Lily saying Japan did something good for once!

Gotta love how she picked the one country that doesn’t have an alarm that’s ominous as hell because literally almost every other country has an alarm that is just as if not more shit-in-pants worthy than Canada’s if it was played abruptly and at max volume

Maybe this is just personal opinion but I think it’s a good thing that all emergencies are regarded at the same level here. If we had a different, lessened alarm for when a child goes missing then people could immediately go “cool don’t care” instead of reading it at least once quickly to see what it says.

Alright that’s it for me I didn’t have a closing statement I’m gonna go take a nap… with my phone off

[jamiesfootball]

ooh I have not read the beautiful and the damned but I would love to hear your thoughts!!

Hello!

I have shared a longer essay of thoughts here though honestly my thoughts contain multitudes of thoughts like little thought hydras that grow and gnaw on the furniture

General impression of the book itself: I didn’t mind the book. It’s well written, if pretentious, and less boring than some other books from that era. It has a lot of period-typical sexism, racism, antisemitism, etc, although with regards to Gloria she’s given at moments a level of interiority that’s frankly rare for books from that time that were written by male authors (which potentially stems from Zelda’s influence, since a quick search shows that her diaries were used for inspiration. Although I’ve seen other claims that she actually wrote portions of it. I am neither a scholar or a researcher on that subject; do with that what you will)

Now

Thoughts on the Jamie of it all: this is an awful, brutal book to give someone with the implication that you think they could learn a lesson from it. Even if that was correct, the harshest of psychiatrists would probably recommend you pump the breaks and try to work your way up to that. Given that the other two books we see people receive are geared towards younger readers, the fact that Jamie got slapped with this book is frankly just… it’s such an out of proportion response to the behavior we do see him exhibiting. He’s a dickhead, he’s full of himself, and he laughs along with other people’s bullying, but he’s not a monster.

The receiving of that book as a cautionary tale basically equates Jamie’s current immaturity and assholery with the accusation that if he continues on that path, he will become a monster. Because that’s essentially what happens to Anthony Patch. He becomes an abusive alcoholic, warped by his own sense of entitlement — particularly when it comes to whether or not he should have to work for anything. By being born Better, he simply deserves what he is owed.

None of this sits well with me. Even in those early days, Jamie does have good qualities. He does work hard. He’s willing to do the work — hell, he’s proud of doing the work.

(And we’re told point-blank, and witness, how he responds well to positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement which he gets one time, responds to, and then he receives negative reinforcement from outside forces and he reverts back to his previous behavior. We never again see true positive reinforcement communicated to him.)

Which brings me to Gloria. If anything, I think Jamie would see more of himself in Gloria. Not just in her vanity-

although there is a hilarious scene where the concept of Beauty is whining about being reborn as Gloria that I think Jamie would point to like, “She’s just like me for real” <3

But also how in the book Gloria is the one who gradually learns and changes as her life is slowly torn down and made worse by the obsessive, selfish, controlling man who’s gradual descent into alcoholism slowly erodes her life. She’s the one who learns out to balance their budget, who starts taking their life seriously and fights for them to stay afloat. She’s loyal; she’s a battler. By the end of the book, she’d probably remind Jamie of his mum: just a woman stuck in a bad situation trying to make ends meet.

Not that I think at all that that’s what Ted had in mind. Ted, particularly after s1e2, really does seem to walk back on his ‘be curious, not judgmental’ stance.

Zooming out to the Doylist lens for a minute, I think Jamie really does fit into the writers preferring to punish some characters and forgive others based on how much they favor the audience’s sympathy for them. This is not a show where people’s actions are kept in the forefront — see for instance, how Rebecca’s actions in season one are never mentioned again. Meanwhile, Jamie cannot seem to outrun his prickish past, with characters in season three still holding that version of himself against him when we the audience have seen nothing but growth over three years.

I feel I’ve wandered away from your original ask, but yeah. I have. Lots of thoughts

For your troubles, there are also a few other related tangents

Here

Here

Here

Because this is a topic I simply can’t shut up about

[morimakesfanart]

Sindria's Prophet #42

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [Intermission] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41]

[AO3] [wattpad]

Sinbad x OC

*emotional and physical flashbacks described for Mori's 1st POV *Child abuse and domestic violence mentioned throughout Mori's POVs *Sinbad officially enters his yandere era at the end of the chapter. He'll be like this for several arcs before he recovers ~POV Sinbad~ The shock and fear on Mori's face was a clear answer. Somehow in the next 5 years, Sinbad would have originally become someone willing to destroy the world. He had always wondered how much he would change while pursuing his dream. Just what was the taboo information? What secrets did it hold that would make him willing to do such things? Sinbad smiled for their benefit. "Mori, it's okay." As his words sunk in, their fear started to release them enough that they were actually seeing him again. "Since I know now, there's no way I'll repeat the same mistak-" "Why would you think that you're the one??” The words burst out of them like an accusation and desperate plea.

---

~POV Mori~ I didn't mean to cut him off. The question was out of me before I realized I had found my voice -not that I kept it past that.

Why was Sinbad able to consider that he will start the 2nd Calamity??? I couldn't look at Ja'far for more information because I was barely comprehending Sinbad. I was definitely experiencing tunnel vision and not the fun type.

His smile was unchanging. "You said there are people that think they are chosen by Fate and would ignore the risk of the taboo." I was hearing Sinbad's words but why was he saying them?? "You also said the tragedies in my past were caused because I think that way, didn't you?"

'The taboo, hubris, the tragedies from Adventures... Oh.' He was answering my question.

"In your visions, my death occurs around the same time you said the 2nd Calamity will happen. It's just like how King Solomon died after using the taboo information, isn't it?" Sinbad had truly figured it out.

'If only I hadn't gotten drunk that night and spilled about his death. No, even if I had let some things slip, both of these two have been clinging to their denial for over a decade.' But they definitely believed what they were saying or they wouldn't have brought me this deep into the Purple Leo Tower. The jeweled mosaics on the walls and intricate patterns of the glasswork lanterns made it undeniable where we were. The fact that they were taking this so seriously had uncapped an old venom in my heart so I couldn't stop it from making my stomach turn no matter what they said.

Ja'far attempted to placate me. "There's no vision you could tell us that would be more shocking than this. I promise I will believe whatever you tell us from your visions."

'Does he actually mean that? Mr. Stabs as a warning?' I couldn't bring myself to check Ja'far's expression but I felt both of their eyes on me. All of my muscles tensed. I've dodged surprise attacks from closer in my own home and from point blank from a dog with separation anxiety. The faded scar from the dog on my upper lip was the only remaining proof and would have been much worse if I wasn't good enough at dodging and deflecting to normally not get hit. ((It's almost completely faded now btw :D))

Sinbad's voice was full of an emotion I couldn't comprehend properly. "I understand that you must be surprised that we figured it out, but know that we decided to tell you because we want you to trust us." His gentle smile only made the hole in my stomach greater. "Do you remember how you told me that there's more than one way to change? That I can choose a new path whenever I want?"

The person encouraging Sinbad to dirty his hands all these years was Ja'far. Sinbad would express the smallest amount of remorse or guilt and Ja'far would shoot down that line of thinking. What was stopping him from doing the same thing right now? I was too scared to look. He refused to accept the mere concept that Sinbad had the potential for the same evil as other Kings.

I know some ways to de-escalate a situation to prevent someone from having a violent reaction to a call out. And if that doesn't seem to work, I also know how to influence when they snap. An attack is an opening to escape and, depending on the person, an outlet for the emotion so they can actually have a civil conversation. But there wasn't a 100% guarantee that Sinbad could prevent Ja'far from hurting me if he snapped.

Sinbad leaned forward and picked up one of the Fate scrolls I'd made. My eyes followed his movement and the waves crashed into me when I looked at the table. The distance between the metal vessels and where those 2 were sitting was too great for them to reach without getting up. They made a point to sit away from their metal vessels, and made sure that they sat on the opposite side of the table from me so there was something separating us. Sinbad even said he knew their weapons made me nervous. They knew I would panic about this and wanted to put my mind at ease. 'I'm having a PTSD attack.' Them putting so many precautions in place was the first thing to start setting me off, but I couldn't deny that I would have panicked, regardless, the moment Sinbad explained they had figured it out.

Memories from the other me fluttered across my consciousness and I accepted their influence. They helped ground me faster than I would have with my own experience alone. Anger management issues and violent tendencies aside, Ja'far was not one of my past abusers. And no matter how manipulative Sinbad can be, he wasn't one either. Neither of these men were my enemy. Projecting doesn't help. My defensive anger was subsiding, but not my fear. I still knew what these men were capable of even if they weren't likely to direct it at me. But if I couldn't mask this feeling, I didn't want to be afraid. Being angry was so much easier.

--- ~POV Sinbad~ Mori sat there frozen. Anger, desperation and fear took turns on their face while they were unable to respond. Whatever plan they made to avoid the 2nd Calamity was completely destroyed. But lying to them, and hiding this would have been worse in the long run; Sinbad was sure of that now. How long were they testing and judging him for a sign of his future self? He'd never earn their trust that way. They were only panicking because he had moved things too quickly. It looked like they were barely breathing until they glanced at the metal vessels on the table. Even though he had prepared for this possibility it still hurt to see it happen. Mori really was this scared of both of them deep down. It's no wonder they were unable to see him as a real romantic option.

For now, the only option he had was words. Hopefully over time, Mori would come to understand that he truly meant them. He held up a scroll to emphasize his point. "I know now that you were also right about me ignoring my intuition. Even when I first arrived in Reim and got swindled I ignored the feeling that something was wrong because I was blinded by opportunity." He placed the scroll back on the table but didn't remove his hand from it. "After how things ended in Riem I started turning to others for help but I was hiding the truth of what I was asking because I didn't want to disappointment them again." He laughed at his past self and shook his head. For the first time in a while he was excited to be able to try something new in his pursuit towards his dream. "I'm human even if I can feel the waves. I'm not going to blame my mistakes on fate anymore."

--- ~POV Mori~ 'That isn't Sinbad. That isn't the Sinbad I read about!' The Sinbad I knew shouldn't have been able to accept he was a human person instead of chosen by fate -not while he could still feel the waves. (Although he was quick to accept it when that happened.) I was only in this world for two months. How had he made such a leap in such a short period of time? Sure, Sinbad is shown changing his stance quickly and without shame multiple times in the series, but-!

'No. There's still a chance this is all a show.' I knew this pattern. He could just be saying this to sedate me. Eventually he will grow tired of this and then he will stop pretending. When an opportunity to gain more power shows up, it won't matter what he's been saying, he'll dirty his hands like he did in the original. I won't believe him until he actually makes a different decision during a major event. Trusting him before that would just be setting myself up for failure.'

I subconsciously glanced at Ja'far for confirmation. 'Oh.' That was not an expression he used when he agreed with the situation. But it was one he wore when he had to accept it regardless. 'They really did talk about this before coming to me. Ja'far was forced to accept that Sinbad did those things, and is choosing a different path now because Sinbad said so.' That meant Sinbad really meant everything he was saying.

'Of course Ja'far would be uncomfortable. Whenever Sinbad said he wanted to change Ja'far was the one that talked him out of it. Even if you say that Sinbad's decisions are his own, Ja'far will still blame himself for not noticing the truth.' That scowl was because Ja'far sucks at coping with guilt. He grew up having to ignore and deny his own guilt to live as an assassin, so of course he couldn't understand Sinbad until now.

I knew something felt different about this Sinbad for a while. He trusted me. Really trusted me and the things I said about Fate. He would look for supporting evidence and cracks in my words to find what I wasn't saying, but he believed that I wasn't lying. And more than that, he had no problem making changes based on the new information I shared. Which was something he did in the original but not when it came to his self perception.

My eyes grew warm with the threat of tears and I held my breath on instinct. This didn't feel real. 'If this really is a fanfiction then this has to be a doomed draft or something, right?' This was more than just trusting my words; Sinbad read the scrolls and was able to accept and acknowledge his own flaws as a human person. He was already starting to make changes based on this information that was new to him.

"You're always like this." I sounded bitter. I was bitter but not at Sinbad or Ja'far. "Whenever you get new information and perspectives you have no problem changing your actions to accommodate them. I already knew that, but" being on the receiving end is...

He made it look easy. 'If it's so easy then why couldn't they do it?' Why did I have to grow up in a situation where I had to see words as more important than a person's willingness to follow through? I had forced myself to suffer through so much because of that conditioning.

My legs would not be able to support me if I stood -let alone carry me out of here. Since coming to this world I had managed to cry a few times. Back home I was so practiced in holding it in that I didn't know how to let myself cry anymore, but this place made me feel safer than I had been in ages. I could only hope I'd be able to hold out until I left.

--- ~POV Sinbad~ "Can I have a minute please?" Mori covered their face with their hands.

"Of course."

One minute easily turned into ten.

"You're correct." Their voice came muffled through their hands, so they dropped them. The eyes that peeked up at the King were very tired and glossy. "You will use the taboo because of the opportunity it poses in contrast to the recent losses." A deep breath. Mori glanced between the two men and their show of faith on the table. "They were so unexpected and great that you finally realized you're a flawed human like everyone else."

Mori had previously said he would repeat the mistakes of his past. Was it something like that that would originally lead him to realize he's human?

The Prophet held their hands together in their lap. The growing acceptance on their features was heartbreaking for multiple reasons. There was a pain in their eyes that he recognized from many people he had saved. He had the sinking feeling that Mori's ex wasn't the only person that had hurt them. Sinbad gripped both arms of his chair to stop himself from getting up. If he moved while they were this fragile he'd definitely startle them.

Mori took a slow breath to keep control of their tone. "I don't know what your specific thoughts were, but there was a point that you thought of your parents as you were processing it."

Of course he thought of his parents and childhood. When his father was alive was the last time he felt like a 'normal' person. After that he couldn't act like the other children in his village. His mother's health declined, so he had to start working much earlier than others. And then the war took all of the able-bodied men, so he had to help the whole village, not just his mother. Sinbad normally says that his citizens are his family -he knows most of them by name and walks amongst them regularly- but he hadn't felt that type of connection between a close group of people since his parents died. And after learning about Magi and being a Singularity it made sense to him that he couldn't find anyone he wanted to start a family with. Who could possibly stand next to a Singularity as an equal? Who could possibly be his family? Sinbad found himself answering these questions and remembering his parents since meeting someone else who could feel the waves of fate. So realizing he's human would definitely lead him down a similar line of thought. ---

~POV Ja'far~ King Sinbad had once explained that Mori was the type to turn away when admitting to a painful truth. So when they looked towards the windows and their arms wrapped around themself to grip their sides, Ja'far knew their words were going to carry more weight.

"Even though you knew no one else wanted you to do it, you kept finding yourself wanting to anyway. You couldn't understand why until you-" They cut themself off and after a moment found the will to finish. "...Until you went through with it. You realized it was because you wanted to see how far you could go with your own strength as a human. For the first time in your life you relished in your own power and coveted something just because you wanted it."

Sinbad was greedy. Everyone knew that. Even the Djinn had to cut him off from capturing more Dungeons. It was obvious that Sin found using his power thrilling. But it was also true that all of the power and wealth Sinbad was gathering and using was in the name of his dream. The only things Sin ever sought out for indulgence were travel, alcohol or sex. Even all of his personal possessions were easily replaceable things. Ja'far had to ask, "Wait. If the thing holding back Sin's greed all this time was him thinking he's some chosen one," he sent a glare at the King in question who flinched as if to confirm his words, "then why have you been trying to get him to accept that he's human? It doesn't make any sense."

Mori turned back to them. "He'll figure it out on his own no matter what happens," she glanced at the King in question but couldn't hold it, "so I just wanted him to get there when he hasn't experienced such a major loss." Ja'far turned to Sin as well to see his eyes widening and a hand raising to cover his face. "If he has the time to become self aware instead of his desperation making him impulsive, then he can find something to focus his greed on that won't hurt others or disappoint himself in the process."

It was a good thing Mori wasn't looking. The smile growing on Sinbad's face was one he rarely wore, but Ja'far knew it well. At least Sin had enough shame to cover his mouth even as he said, "Yes. I believe you might be right about that." He couldn't look away from 'his Beautiful Prophet' if he tried. The King had realized what he 'needed' to move forward and he wasn't going to accept 'no' for an answer. "But now I'm curious. What made you think you could convince me?"

Sinbad wasn't looking at Mori the way he looked at his possible one night stands. It was somehow worse. This was the very greed that was at the root of their problems. And yet Ja'far couldn't bring himself to truly consider reeling Sin back in. Mori had managed to break through the mask that they had all watched slowly form on their King with no way to stop it. Ja'far couldn't judge if any of this was right for Mori, but it was definitely good for Sinbad and Sindria, and by the sounds of it, better for the whole world. Was this why Hina and Drakon kept pushing for Sinbad to settle down? Mori's face reddened. His overly flirty tone was not lost on them. "Well, because you felt remorse. Both in the past and future." They twisted to try to turn more away while staying in their seat. If they weren't saying something important, Ja'far would be gathering his things to leave the two alone. "Even when you used the taboo, you left openings so someone could try to stop you. And when several came to talk you out of it, it took a while but you were relieved to find a new answer even though it was too late to stop everything completely." A pause. "And in the end, you used the last of your strength to make sure everyone else had a chance to survive. So I knew you would be at least willing to listen to me..." The smile on the King's face softened. He only waited one beat before standing and walking over to her. Mori flinched when he kneeled on the floor by her feet but relaxed when he took her hands. The General didn't need to see the rest. He silently grabbed his things and left. Ja'far sighed. This past month he had been hoping their theory was wrong, that -if nothing else- the pattern wouldn't repeat again. His chosen master both was and was not the person he thought. All of this turned his stomach into knots in a way he hadn't experienced in at least a decade. He believed Sinbad when he admitted to the past. He would always follow whatever choices Sinbad made. On occasions like this, the ex assassin couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. It's why he had always advised Sin to stick to his plans, his dreams, his methods, the thing that had worked all along. Change was here whether or not Ja'far was ready for it. And it was necessary. ((A combination of working on this chapter and other self help let me finally reach the point of being able to truly mourn the relationship with my ex. One night in the middle of summer I felt my brain rewiring when it finally all hit and I cried. Thank you all for sharing in this journey with me :3 I'm not done this story yet though! This is just the first of my bigger therapy goals being achieved :D The next is trying to feel comfortable being in a relationship again once I realize I can trust that person enough to try. This took a bit longer to get out than I thought, and not because of making the JJK fic. The antibiotic I had been on started causing too many problems, so I had to switch again. The good news though is that it's almost completely out of me :D I was told that by the rate I'm going I might actually be infection free by February!! I hope everyone had a good holiday, and will have happy New Year!))

[almacambiondaughterofsaleos]

Proto-Stella Was Chill And I Miss That

One thing I really liked about proto-Stella on the instagram accounts before the official series is that she didn't feel like a bland caricature even though she really didn't do anything except just seem disconnected with her husband's affair. In the first picture, I have seen stans say this is an indication that Stella was always meant to be abusive which is pushing it when it looks more like she's trying to keep up an image. And I think with proto-Stella she is someone who is more into keeping up an image even if there is no love between her and her husband. And I actually like that interpretation instead of the one dimensional make my husband miserable at all cost cliche we got.

I think they did this because they believed it would make Stolas too unsympathetic if they went the route of him having a chill wife and yet he still cheats on her. On the other hand, I actually think it would have serviced him if she was chill but still tried to keep an image up to high society because she still had to play a role because in the scene where she had her bathrobe up she didn't do anything violent except maybe just ponder why the heck her husband is wearing her wardrobe.

I could still see an arranged marriage being a thing here but instead of just making his life miserable she is just apathetic and shows it through just keeping up face and just not that interested in her husband's affairs. In fact, I think it would so be better for Octavia than a raving mother making an unsettling atmosphere. Proto-Stella probably would be classist but she wouldn't see the imp as a threat since again if this was actually an example of how hell treats marriage she would just see Stolas' thing for an imp as just him having a concubine which again is a thing that was common in earth royalty for centuries. I still think if the Goetia royalty was anything like real royalty marriage is more business like while affairs with lower concubines are more for pleasure and she could just treat Blitzo as just a lower raced boy toy her husband keeps to relieve himself.

Overall, the homelife is not forced volatile but just feels like it's apathetic and a wife who is just in her own world which I think would have felt more compelling but still have Stolas be questioned if that was the way to handle things. Maybe even have Stella just say she doesn't care about his affair but please at least keep it discreet so that he won't get in trouble or even say he can keep his secret by doing favors for her thus keep focusing on the og premise where the gang could go to different missions at her wishes. And seriously, make use of her friends by having her be in on her husband's business and say they want some requests as well for them to fulfill due to having certain humans they want targeted or have as personal slaves/servants.

However, when the series happened well let's just say we saw the demonization occur and the new design which set her as the one dimensional domestic abuser we see her in canon. And again gone is that chill and there is nothing but an annoying shrieking harpy made to make Stolas look like a uwu baby and not the fact he did something that caused the family structure he supposedly built for Octavia to be destroyed. All that potential that I mentioned thrown out the window so that we can have this false impression that Stolas is a saintly good dad and not a scummy pos. And again this is where the moon deal began and how his character deteriorated.

If I would give anything is to have that pro-Stella be there. Like I almost think you could change the whole story and it would be better than the canon project. You would have to change things like the assignation because she no longer wants Stolas dead but you could make her a red herring and would insulted that anyone would accuse her of killing the father of her child even if he cheats on her regularly. It would be fun if the twist that one of her circle friends was the one who wanted the hit because maybe they are in love with Stella and want to get with her since they think Stolas is too good for her. Also with the Andrealphus connection he could still be her brother but he could learn about Stolas' affair and the IMP business and Stella says he can arrange a request due to blackmailing her husband again tying back to the premise. And eventually due to how many people begin knowing about Stolas renting out his book it would get more harder to hide it until things unravel.

When you look at a proto example of a character and see how they ended up it can be very disheartening to see how so much potential was given up. Stella is not exception and I want that type of character we saw before her redesign because it looked like it would have been fun to just see someone who was this chill character who just vibed and tried to keep up a somewhat normal appearance as the wife of a high ranking goetia member. But we needed to have an excuse for why he was compelled to cheat, instead of actually have Stolas as a moral character. Even if Stella is apathetic, what would his daughter think. With an apathetic mother she probably wouldn't feel as unwelcomed in home because of her mother was more chill, but at the same time she feels not okay with her dad having basically a side piece. And again most of all it would make sense why Stolas could trust his daughter to be with her mother because she is a chill person and not someone you have to walk on eggshells. In other words, proto-Stella would fit better storylines for this family to navigate with having Blitzo introduced in their lives.

[pkmn-monochrome]

This is an OOC ask too to hopefully help the concern? I PROMISE IM NOT A MANIPULATIVE ASSHOLE ABUSER IM A WRITER PLEASE DEAR GOD!!!!!!!! Also! Somebody's gotta play mean here and there, its what keeps gears turning. Not everyone is going to directly side with Cody and understand them. Sometimes you need conflict, it can't be sunshine and roses and everyone Agrees with Cody every time. And hell, without conflict like that, how are we going to get the moments like Cody seeing the auroras? I really loved that moment, it was sweet, sometimes the bad moments can make the good moments all the more fonder. Also I wanted to state... not every interaction that's a fight like that between two people is inherently abusive, people are going to have arguments and harsh words will be thrown along with accusations, especially since both see the other as strangers, some people aren't going to trust Cody and are going to be harsh and rude about it the same way Cody has been. Some are going to mirror how Cody treats them. What I was going for was Directly Vindictive and Harsh, the fact that you are worried about that shows that I did my job right, and as they said, if Sparks couldn't handle I would hope they would just ignore the ask and hell maybe even say to tone it down. TDLR: Not everyone is going to be especially kind and endeared to Cody, some people are going to act out just the same as they do. AND I AM A WRITER NOT AN ABUSER. PLEASE. The point of this ask is uh: I like to think I know my limits, I stick to the rules and only do what is allowed. It doesn't feel too great being compared to an abuser when I am just trying to help move a story forward. I am not abusive for being mean to a fictional character, and I am in no way attempting to be mean to Sparks when I do so. Sorry about the Novel, I just wanted to help clear some things up, because this has happened before with one of my purposefully persecutory asks and hoo boy! it doesn't feel too great that it's happening again. I promise I am not trying to hurt Sparks. I just like conflict in stories and how the characters react to such conflicts. Okay, I'm done, Sorry again about the novel sparks just wanted to explain for the people that got worried about my asks.

[Agreed. Abusive asks are what keep this blog's ball rolling. Without them, we never would have met PIKACHU, BLASTOISE, or even found out about the hacker's death. While CODY's abuse was not necessary in-universe, it was necessary from a narrative standpoint.]

[I do not believe the words or fictional actions of an asker directly reflect them as a person. Even if an asker plays the fictional role of an abuser, like as ANONYMOUS did (e.g. threatening to kill CODY, then getting angry/offended at CODY for taking that death threat seriously), I do not believe that reflects upon their morals in real life scenarios. Threatening to kill a fictional character, in a fictional roleplay scenario, does not mean that asker would ever do or say something like that to a real person. And if this asker was actually holding CODY in their hands in real life, I do not believe they would be saying such intense or harsh things to them.]

[And the inverse is true as well. Just because I am the author of PKMN-MONOCHROME, that does not mean I morally approve of everything CODY says or does. Sometimes, CODY will say harsh and confrontational things out of paranoia or pride, but that does not mean that I as the author would personally lash out at and attack my audience in the same way. If any asker of mine feels personally attacked by the things that CODY says to you, please know and remember that CODY does not speak for me, and their thoughts are not always my own.]

[Please know that I as an author never intend to hurt my audience with CODY's words/actions, and that I trust my audience to do the same for me when sending CODY their questions. Thank you.]

[thegreymoon]

The Story of Minglan

Oh my god, that wine is 100% poisoned.

And they would poison her in front of all these people who are either in on it, or will go out of their way to cover it up 🤮

***

SMART GIRL, MINGLAN!

DRINK NOTHING SHE GIVES YOU!!

***

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

GU TINGYE ISN'T EVEN AT HOME!! HOW IS THIS HAPPENING FOR THE THIRD FUCKING TIME???

***

I am beyond pissed off here but honestly, I blame Minglan for this one. She set the precedent by taking in that last bottom feeder to appease these villains so why would they not try this bullshit again?

***

Smh.

Just as I thought.

Minglan really needs to stop with the people-pleasing shenanigans and start murdering the bitches shitting on her doorstep.

***

I started watching this episode last night and had to stop because my head was absolutely pounding, and then it continued to pound all day today. It is now 18:10 and the pain has been persisting for at least 24 hours at this point, but I am momentarily medicated and feel like I can hold my head up straight if I don't move around too much, so I want to see where this bullshit is going. The righteous fury on Minglan's behalf will either heal me or transform the headache into complete agony. There can be no middle ground.

***

"Best temperament" is code for "she lets us walk all over her and mistreat her in every way imaginable without fighting back and still begs for our approval" in this society from what I've seen.

Fuck that. Minglan, give them hell! Who needs a reputation for being a doormat? Your evil aunt is apparently out murdering people and no worse for wear, so you may as well tell them all to fuck off and live to see another day. Also, Gu Tingye will be proud!

***

OMG, Minglan, please start showing that shiny spine!

It is episode 59, it is time to put this shit-stirrer in her place.

***

LMAOOOO, GO OFF, MINGLAN!!

Nanny Chang wasn't enough for her, she had to come back for seconds, so let her have it!! 💪💪

***

I am fascinated that she keeps murdering people and just... getting away with it.

And apparently, everyone knows and nobody does anything about it.

***

LOL, Minglan has decided that today is the day to air ALL the dirty family laundry 🤣🤣

Take note, Madam Qin, if you don't get your act together, you're next!

***

LMAO, now they are accusing Minglan of lying.

Too bad for them that this time, they've bitten off more than they can chew. Minglan will end them all.

***

LMAO, where is this girl's father?

Concubine-born or not, how can she just kick her out of the house like that? Even if she were to marry Gu Tingye as a concubine, surely there must be some kind of process? At least have her pack her things and lend her a cart to carry them over? This just makes no sense, she went out for lunch at the neighbours' place with her stepdaughter in tow and just decided to dump her there. Who does that? Who allows it?

AND THE GROOM ISN'T EVEN AT HOME TO CONSENT TO ANY OF THIS BULLSHIT.

There is no chance any of this is above-board.

***

Bitch, shut up.

Minglan should let more of you die and maybe you'll learn.

***

MTE.

On the one hand, I feel sorry for the cousin, she is clearly being abused in her family home, but on the other looking to Minglan to fix it by SHARING HER HUSBAND WITH HER, OF ALL THINGS, AND ALLOWING HER TO SPY FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT TO LITERALLY KILL HER is just beyond.

***

Oh, shut up.

I see Nanny Chang is there. I trust Nanny Chang.

***

Seriously.

Whether or not Cousin dies is not Minglan's responsibility, especially since they are asking her to resolve it to great personal detriment. Again, I ask, where is this girl's father? Also, is there no law whatsoever here protecting this girl? That fisherwoman accusing Gu Tingye's buddy of rape got a whole trial so there are definitely laws in place here and places to appeal to.

Aunt Kang is getting away with all this bullshit because people are letting her.

***

Words to live by 💪💪

***

OMFG, THEN GO AHEAD AND DIE.

YOU AND EVERY SINGLE OTHER ONE OF YOU WHO HAS TRIED THIS SO FAR.

***

THIRD DAY, THIRD ATTEMPT TO FINISH THIS EPISODE 💪💪

I made it maybe 15 minutes last night before I had to turn everything off and rock back and forth in a dark room as I suffered. I eventually ended up vomiting, which was completely WTF. I've heard that this happens with migraines but this was my first time experiencing it and honestly? I don't think that this was a migraine either because the pain was not the stabbing agony with an aura they describe, but more like a constant throbbing pressure in my entire head. I get headaches often, and yes, they sometimes go on for two or three days, but I have never had one that was this intense, this long and so pain-killer resistant that I ended up vomiting because of it. It is now day three and I can still feel it throbbing in the background. My body is definitely trying to tell me something but I a not sure I am ready to listen 😔

***

Minlgan is too kind.

If it were me in her position, I would not feel one ounce of guilt.

[vintage-bentley]

so the fandom's defense of gaiman is that the claims can't be trusted since the site publishing them is "owned by a terf" and is therefore a conspiracy to destroy trans people? the fact they're not immediately disowning the guy who, in the best case scenario, initiated a sexual relationship with a 19 y/o employee, hours after meeting her, while being in his 60s and famous/wealthy says everything.

It’s actually insane. I’ve seen people go as far as claiming that the allegations are some sort of conspiracy to end trans rights because Neil defended David Tennant’s little misogyny fit.

Here’s some examples:

—

—

—

—

In my humble opinion, there’s a few things wrong with this line of logic.

I’m putting a cut here since this is a long post.

Regarding DT—that first screenshot seems to be implying that either the allegations were made up about Neil to slander David, or that because there was no “dirt” on David, real allegations were brought up about Neil.

In the first case, if the allegations are made up…wouldn’t they have just been made up about DT? What would be the point in going and making them about NG?

And in the second case, what the hell does DT have to do with that.

People seem to be forgetting that the general public does not associate DT with NG or vice versa. They did one show together, that doesn’t mean that their reputations are forever tied together. Nobody is going to slander NG to get at DT because there’s barely a connection between them.

And regarding the idea that this is some huge conspiracy to end trans rights or whatever…people are forgetting that it’s not like Neil is actually a huge trans rights advocate. It’s not like he’s constantly speaking to politicians and getting involved with trans organisations. It’s not like he’s on the front lines and is the first person the public thinks of when trying to think of a trans advocate.

He literally just said some stuff on social media. He went along with people’s trans headcanons for clout. He said the obligatory “oh yes JKR is a very bad woman”. That’s really it. Other than that, he’s just another straight male.

If the press really wanted to come out with a story that’s going to Destroy Trans Rights!!!!, they’d target a trans identifying person who’s a large face in the movement. They’d go after trans organisations. They wouldn’t find some author who sometimes says nice things about trans identifying people online and slander him in hopes of changing public opinion.

The entire conspiracy is just nonsensical, and to me it’s clearly an attempt to grab onto anything they can to prove that their special tumblr guy is innocent.

It’s also interesting that the one post I added mentions

“What I do believe is that it's awfully convenient that radfems and JK Rowling supporters (seriously, look at the tags of the people spreading the story) are stirring it up

Because yeah…radfems are kind of known for believing women who accuse men of rape and/or abuse. I’ll point to the Heard vs Depp thing again: when that was in full gear, I saw dozens of radfems posting in support of Heard, while everyone else was supporting Depp.

This isn’t an anti-trans thing—this is a feminists believe women thing.

But as we’ve seen repeatedly…the TQ+ crowd is incredibly self-centred. Everything must be about them at all times. I’m unfortunately not surprised that they’re trying to spin this into a “oh my god terfs are attacking trans people!!!!” Thing….even though radical feminists just do not have the social power to run a smear campaign against a powerful male celebrity in order to hurt the trans movement (just typing that out feels insane lol. How is this even a theory people are running with).

That said, when they say “terf” they don’t just mean radfems/radfem-aligned women. They mean literally anyone who disagrees with them.

Apparently the producer of the podcast that came out is Boris Johnson’s sister, who is also conservative. So, most likely not a radfem.

I agree that the source is kind of odd, because it’s such a niche site, and having a podcast about rape accusations reeks of true crime sensationalism. I’d like to see some more solid evidence coming out. Still, I’m believing the alleged victims and I hate watching people scramble to defend Gaiman.

[theroseses]

Hey! I just went through your Michael Pitt tag, and I have to say it just warms my heart to see that there are people who sees the truth of the situation (even though we'll never know the ins and outs of everything and that's ok).

I discovered him last week and fell in the rabbit hole and I was sad by all the "he's a shitty guy discourse", especially when I learnt about his 5150'd. Clearly, he needed help, and I hope he got that.

I'm also glad to not be alone in the fandom :)

Hello there! Always lovely to meet a fellow Michael fan x I feel as though we're unicorns these days.

Honestly, he was treated like shit. I remember that douche who went to the website that actually called him the biggest douche in Hollywood (the site, not the douche. I'll get to them in a moment). I'm sorry, did I imagine the rapist Harvey Weinstein? Or the many other rapists out there? Anyway, said asshole's story came down to "he wouldn't play with us." Well if you are an example of what this crew was like, I don't blame him for not wanting to hang with any of you and instead spend with girlfriend (who they referred to in a really gross way). I mean, 10 year olds whine about so-and-so not playing with them, for God's sake.

The way people acted after his 5150 was so gross and mean it honestly sent me into a horrible depression. I'll always remember people saying they hoped he was never let out it was just... I couldn't believe what i was seeing. When Jeremy Renner was crushed under a snow truck (a man accused of domestic violence. Not proven, but neither are all the accusations Michael) fans rallied around him. If anything like what happened to Michael had happened to any popular actor, their fans would hope they would recover, send positive to him or her etc. Then again, people were mocking Liam Payne right up until he either jumped or was so inebriated (who wouldn't feel like they wanted to die, the way he was treated. It was appalling. That "be nice" after Caroline Flack Killed herself when she was hounded by the press lasted all of ten minutes).

Michael just got abuse. Same as Liam snd Caroline. I was seriously frightened he would unalive himself. I'm relieved it did not happen.

Speaking of, after he was out of the hospital, a fan of his made a suicide attempt. A friend sent a message to him about this, what it would mean to her if he sent a message to her. He did not do just that, he visited her in hospital and chatted with her (before anyone makes the obvious comment, he wasn't flirting with her.) He did write a lovely note, and made a hoodie for her, painting it with wolves. It's really cool. He's kept up with her since. Of course, nobody reported on this. Wonder why.

He's definitely received help. At first he put on weight (which is typical with the kind of meds you are put on if you have psychiatric illness) which some dickhead remarked on and called him fat. Can't win with these people. When he did interviews for Day of the Fight he was very lucid and happy to chat - I remember how much he struggled in the past to know what to say in interviews. It was day and night. I was happy to see him lucid and talkative. I think his support dog Luci has been helpful. He takes her everywhere and it seem to help him make friends with none Hollywood (this leaf to a funny- if dumb- moment where he was talking to a fellow dog walker who had her daughter with her and this was caught by paparazzi. The Daily Mail published these and referred to the girl as Michael's daughter. LMAO).

Believe me, you are not alone. We care about him. I did notice he dumped a lot of enablers, which is part of what they tell you to do in rehab. He has a girlfriend now, Sam, who seems to be good for him and away from the trash heap folks he was around before (at least one of them was a drug dealer). Good for him.

[imbecominggayer]

Writing Advice On Self-Harm (tw obvi)

Hi, even though this post is going to be about serious issues such as self-harm and suicidal ideation and all of that fun jazz, I am going to speaking about this topic with the same tone I always do. If that is considered offensive, just remember I am a person who has been sent to the crisis center and does self-harm :)

Remember, these are just my personal experiences. Everything is diverse and it's okay to mention that these experiences are not universal. HOWEVER, don't accuse me of lying about any of this shit!

TW: Talks About Self-Harm, Mental Illness, And Everything Related

Actual Introduction:

Despite the fact that whump and angst tend to include mention of suicidal thinking and self-harm, they rarely feel realistic in my own point of view. Obviously, there are various different motivations and actions for self-harm but I just want to see some of my own representation.

So here are some myths about self-harm and myths about mental illness in general since they tend to overlap.

A) Everyone Who Self-Harms And Thinks Of Suicide Is Mentally Ill

Yeah, this is pretty big misconception in the community so I just wanted to establish this.

Outside influences like unhealthy friend circles, stressful situations, and abuse which are linked yet not conclusive for mental illness can influence someone's desire to do self-harm.

While mental illness is a big motivator for self-harm, self-harm is just a coping mechanism. And not everyone who uses coping mechanisms are mentally ill

B) Self-Harm Can Only Happen Like [EXAMPLE]

There are various different ways of self-harming.

Personally, I tend to scratch my arms and specifically my left hand since my dominate hand is my right. It's also just an easy place to reach.

So I get a tinsy bit upset when the only "serious" type of self-harm is shown by cutting. Especially since I felt that the only way someone would ever take me seriously is by using a knife.

Remember, readers are going to be reading your shit so please try and diversify your self-harming from the physical and the mental since every single self-harm habit outside of "ritualistic cutting" tends to be judged as "less serious" or "not real".

Mental self-harm is real and self-destructive.

C) Self-Harm Is Dramatic

This may just be a me-thing but my self-harming mental struggle definitely isn't like how other people write it.

Genuinely, I treat self-harm like it's just another thing I do.

"Oh yeah, sometimes I write, do a bit of scratching, read a book, and watch youtube"

I self-harmed exclusively in public spaces since my self-harm is mostly conflated with my anxiety. And these people do not notice a thing. Genuinely. LIke, I have literally turned my entire hand red and bloody and nobody noticed.

It's just that nobody ever suspects it since people don't think of scratching casually in class when they think of self-harm.

When I was forced to go the crisis center since I expressed planning of suicide, I was making jokes the entire time.

When I shared a room with this amazing person(they/them) who had bipolar disorder. We just talked about our sexualities, job dreams, and watched The Amazing World Of Gumball.

I miss them.

GRAND CONCLUSION:

The point of this last section is to illustrate the fact that those with mental illness aren't removed from society in the way authors tend to write them.

In the minds of authors, once you express possible symptoms of a mental illness you become this melodramatic inhuman spectacle of misery.

I'm pretty normal. I have hobbies that have no deep psychological justification. I have a family that isn't just pure trauma in a trench coat. I have thoughts of normal sadness, happiness, peace, and anger.

I just also happen to self-harm sometimes.

Again, this section might be problematic and bad but it's just how I feel. And there is no such thing as a "problematic feeling". All there exists are problematic actions.

TO REITERATE, IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH ME THAT IS FINE. I AM NOT THE GOD OF MENTAL STRUGGLE. I JUST WANTED TO THROW OUT MY OPINION.

sorry for offending anyone :(

[diamondcitydarlin]

Back on my DA bullshit and I found this amazing Inquisitor OC template from @mt07131!!! I've been wanting to put more info/links to my various OCs on the blog and thought this would be a fun one to start with.

Avecyn's my #1 all time favorite Inquisitor OC and I replay her story several times a year since the game came out (I'm down bad). She's, of course, from Ostwick, the youngest child of the Trevelyans and expected from birth to eventually join the Chantry in some way. However, being that she wasn't ever very pious or religious and wanted a say in her own destiny, she instead ran away when she came of age and trained to become a bard/assassin. For years she worked independently in Ferelden, Orlais and the Free Marches as an anonymous assassin for-hire, but often set her own targets on rich and corrupt people in positions of power that hurt those below them (in this vein she unknowingly worked with Sera through her Red Jenny friends for some time before they finally met face-to-face). Eventually though, sometime in her mid-30's, this life of independence came to an abrupt end when some of her rich and powerful enemies 'unmasked' her identity and had her captured and arrested for murder. This gave her father, the Bann Trevelyan, the chance to wield his influence and power to have her charges dropped in exchange for forcing her to join the Chantry and stop "smearing the Trevelyan name". This brought her to be present at the Conclave and receive the mark, etc. As one might imagine, this known background of hers did nothing to help with the early accusations that she, herself, killed Divine Justinia- and for some, that belief stuck regardless.

Despite her 'grim' line of work for 15+ years, she has a strong (albeit dry) sense of humor and likes having a good time with those she trusts, preferably with lots of drinks and a game of wicked grace. She also has a strong sense of justice and devotes herself to protecting and helping those in need however she can. She is especially passionate about mage freedom and the reformation (or total abolishment) of Circles as she had a twin brother that was sent to the Ostwick Circle at a young age and died under mysterious circumstances, which Avecyn believes was due to Templar abuse.

Her closest friends in the Inquisition are Sera, Leliana, Dorian and Varric, the last of whom she ended up falling in mutual love with quite unexpectedly (and yes, I'm well aware VarricxInquisitor is not a canon compliant event and not a choice in-game, but I headcanon it happened in my story anyway bc I can do whatever I want forever), though she is quite amicable with mostly everyone else, barring Cassandra and Vivienne whom SHE loves and respects very much but have more mixed feelings about her for valid reasons. She is also very, very, very close to Cole and probably loves him more than any of the rest, but in much more of a mother-son or older sister-younger brother kind of bond than casual friends.

Her relationship with Andrastianism/Andraste herself changes quite a bit over the course of her journey in the Inquisition, from ambivalence to a kind of reverence, but she maintains throughout her tenure as Inquisitor that she cannot speak for the Maker or Andraste and doesn't know if her position was divinely ordained or not. Regardless, she takes her responsibilities of reestablishing peace very seriously, and that coupled with her humility endears those of the faith to her over time.

Thanks again for this template mt07131!!! I had so much fun making it. You can find the template post here if you're interested in making one of your own!

[wenellyb]

This is mostly a vent, so feel free to ignore it, but you’re usually one of the more level-headed people in the fandom.

I find it disingenuous when people say it 100% wasn't abusive. I was triggered hard by that scene, because all of the shit Eddie did both in the kitchen scene and later on are things my mother did to me that I’m still working through.

Eddie walked into the kitchen and instantly threw digs at Buck, accused Buck of making everything about himself, cornered Buck against a wall, but his hand on him, and got all up in his face. The finger absolutely felt like he was about to hit him too to me. Buck was folding in on himself and repeatedly apologizing too.

Then Eddie runs off in the middle of the night, implies through the note that he went back to Texas and that it’s Buck’s fault, only to then say “Well I never actually said that!” and throw Chris and Pepa at the issue.

Eddie was absolutely displaying abusive tactics in this episode. People are valid to be triggered by it and call that out, and I’ve seen so many people dismiss all this because of grief and then pull out Buck tackling Eddie as a gotcha when it simply isn’t comparable.

Again, sorry for dumping this in your inbox, but I’ve seen some seriously upsetting shit being posted.

Hi Anon !!! First of all, rants and venting is always always welcome in my askbox.

I'm so so so sorry about what happened to you and I hope everything gets better.

I get it, and I get you, I get why you would be triggered by that scene, so no problem about byour ask. The finger pointed a Buck was certainly a choice.

I also agree that Buck tackling Eddie during the basketball game isn't comparable to the fight scene, because it isn't the same context but what Buck did was also unacceptable, especially since he admitted he might have done it on purpose. Still, it's not comparable to the kitchen scene.

I think the most important here is to have a nuanced discussion and shipping goggles when we're talking about serious topics like abuse.

I've seen too many people say: "Eddie was awful, Tommy never would have done that" or "Tommy needs to fight with Eddie" and it's why some people (including me) are very cautious about people painting Eddie as abusive because we felt they were only doing it to sh*t on the other ship and "promote" Bucktommy.

That being said, thank you for this ask and for explaining because it helped me get another perspective. I get why his behavior is interpreted that way.

Side eye to the writers btw because they would have been other ways to show them having an argument and Eddie leaving "without an explanation" was chaotic.

[dynafire]

I was mutuals and somewhat friends with chrzannekk before they nuked their account. We'd talked, mostly about Camp Camp, as it's been a lifelong fixation of mine. Things like m*xvid and proshipping came up. Nick expressed their disgust for it, which obviously I share as a survivor myself. I shared my feelings with Nick about these things very openly, albeit mostly in relation to CC's abuse narrative.

Beyond time Nick posted a drawing where an oc made an incest joke, an oc who was known to be a mentally unstable addict who was actively a terrible person, I can't recall Nick ever showing warning sighs for this behavior. Since I was in a few CC chats I'm having a hard time remembering who exactly said what, but I knew that overall we'd all agreed that any sort of proshipping or pro paraphilia behavior was disgusting in our words.

I feel fucking sick reading what I read about Nick. We'd talked about the topic of proshipping a lot, actually, we'd expressed a shared frustration at how writing seriously about abuse is often made out to be the sort of fetish content of abuse we both hated. I shared pieces of writing dealing with CSA. I can't help but wonder what Nick was thinking reading these. At the time they took it seriously and pretended to understand me and my motivations in exposing and fighting abuse. Now I don't know what to feel. Were the conversations we had just fetish material for them?

We hadn't spoken in months (and honestly I began to ignore the CC fandom as a whole due to a change in fixation and a general distaste for many of the popular accounts involved in it) so I only found out about this just a few hours ago tonight. Been mulling over some things in my head.

They'd once told me they'd been falsely accused of being a proshipper by an account that wasn't them, but after seeing the document that has come out in certain circles, it surely has to be them. I wish I'd been smarter. I wish I'd seen through their lies.

It takes a really sick person to like the vile, inhumane shit Nick liked, but an especially sick person to put on a face of innocence about it, and to lie to the faces of friends (many who are directly affected by these sort of sexual crimes) about your stance on it. Most of all I worry for anyone Nick could've had contact with online as I know there's a pretty wide age range in a lot of cartoon spaces. At this point I've heard nothing that would accuse Nick of acting of their vile fantasies, and I'm hoping it stays that way. Nick's accounts are (to my knowledge) gone now, except for their discord (kicialvr) which I only name here so people can know to avoid them, as they are clearly not the sort of person who should have contact with minors or anyone at all.

I'm not buddy-buddy with ANYONE whose down with this sort of shit that hurts real people, REAL CHILDREN. Let me make that clear. I'm not Nick's friend and I will never be again. I'm so sorry to everyone who had to be exposed to the awful things they posted and I hope more than anything it stayed within the screen for them. I'm at a loss for words beyond this: If you're reading this, Nick, fuck you. Never contact me again.