#not to mention the legal reasons why she may not be making public statements.

[please-picturemeintheweeds]

^article with sources about climate change and concerts! I’m feeling grumpy that this article doesn’t mention the way the stadium boarded up the air vents, and that a lot of the articles about this situation don’t mention that Taylor’s team was personally handing out water when the venue staff was telling them not to. Yes, Taylor’s a capitalist, and capitalism is to blame for this situation, but she isn’t all powerful and she isn’t actually responsible for Ana’s death- the venue is.

I hope that this causes international outrage at the way venues treat people during concerts because tragically, this is the reality we now live in where heat is one of THE LEADING causes of death world wide due to climate crisis, and companies are not morally or logistically equipped to care for human beings in extreme heat events. Let this be a warning to venues around the world that heat will kill, and that the venue is responsible for occupant safety. Shit.

[danielfuckingricciardo]

Why Anita Driver should be Stopped - An Essay(ish) Post

Hi. So I don’t often do long posts like this, you probably know me as a fic writer and shitposter, but this situation has been irking me since I first read about it and so I only felt it right to explain why.

First off, I wanna say that I understand what she’s doing (I’m going to refer to Anita as she/her throughout this though I have no clue on the author’s actual gender identity). I think she’s very intelligent, using pastiche and parody to create content tailored towards a certain specific audience.

But as someone who knows their fandom history, and has moved in fanfiction circles for over 10 years, the attention one specific book I’m not going to refer to by title because I may throw up in my mouth a little, has received has me very worried for F1 RPF writers as a whole.

RPF has always been a main stay of fanfiction culture. Though there are many ‘antis’ who think it’s wrong and inappropriate to write about real people, RPF fandoms, think One Direction, BTS etc have always been some of the biggest out there.

And I’m sure you’ve seen as popular fan works such as the ‘After’ series by Anna Todd and ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ by E.L. James have transitioned from fan work into published original novels.

Because of this, fan works are booming. Fanfiction is less of a dirty little secret now, confined to locked sites and email chains, but is something that many people know about even if they don’t consume it themselves.

And so, enter Anita Driver. Capitalising on the BookTok trend of ‘spicy’ fiction (what I would call erotica), the author has taken it upon herself to self publish a novel in that similar style but using Daniel Ricciardo not just as inspiration, but as the main protagonist.

I get what she’s trying to do, I really do. I can see that it’s parody, it’s not meant to be taken seriously, but firstly it’s illegal and secondly it really puts fanfiction communities at risk.

Part One: Defamation

Legally, you can’t take someone else’s identity and profit off of it without their explicit consent to do so. There’s a reason Harry Styles became Hardin Scott, and Edward Cullen became Christian Grey. That’s someone else’s intellectual property, or their identity. You cannot legally make a profit out of that. The subject could quite easily build a lawsuit against the author, and the author would have no grounds for defence. There’s a reason AO3 do not allow you to share fundraising links or anything else similar to that, and it’s to protect themselves and the authors against possible lawsuits.

I’d also just like to add that there’s plenty of erotic F1 inspired books out there. I haven’t read them myself but I know that the ‘Dirty Air’ series draws inspiration from current drivers on the grid, but doesn’t explicitly mention anyone real by name! Every character is the intellectual property of the author, it is original fiction that can safely make a profit.

By using Daniel Ricciardo’s image and personality, Anita Driver is putting herself at risk, in this case, not for theft of intellectual property, but of defamation. I haven’t read the book, of course I haven’t read the book, but I can easily believe that the content within could be considered to be defamatory as it may damage public perceptions of him. Now I’m no expert on law, I took a semester of media law and that’s it, but people have definitely sued for less.

In U.K. law (which I’m going off because I know the most about it) “A statement is not defamatory unless its publication has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of the claimant.” (x) It could easily be said that portraying Daniel in this way would cause damage to his reputation. We know his image isn’t squeaky clean, but having this book using his name could easily lead people to believe that he was in some way associated with its production. I don’t think anyone would like their public perception to be that they actively encourage and fund the production of erotica about them.

In a lawsuit, Amazon could also be held liable for this, as their website is the main distribution platform for the book, and Anita Driver is a pseudonym and and an unknown.

“It is a defence for the operator to show that it was not the operator who posted the statement on the website. The defence is defeated if the claimant shows that it was not possible for the claimant to identify the person who posted the statement.” (x) If Anita Driver remains anonymous, Amazon could easily be held liable in a court case. Because of this, it would be in their best interests to remove the book to avoid this. (I do not like Amazon, and while they would easily be able to fight the court case with their billions, it would be much easier for them to remove the book and avoid any possible cases.)

So honestly, it is easy to see why this book is a danger to the author. Now I’m not saying that Daniel would necessarily sue. I think he’d probably just laugh it off even if it does make him feel uncomfortable (which it probably does, it would me!) because he has more important things to do. But I honestly don’t know how F1 and Liberty Media might react to this, they would definitely be more likely considering Daniel’s Reputation in turn reflects their own.

Part Two: Danger to Fan Works

This leads me in nicely to part two, actually, because legal threats against fanfiction writers have been a real problem to various communities over the years. Anne Rice, creator of the ‘Interview with a Vampire’ series, had all works purged from the internet in the early 2000s, and threatened writers with legal action if they continued to post fanfiction.

Fanfiction has always been a niche. It’s a small part of the internet for those who want to put their blorbos in situations, or just to think about them fucking nasty. But fan works haven’t always been accepted. Many people still look down on fanfiction, particularly those feature OCs (original characters) or reader inserts.

Anita Driver’s book would be more at home on Wattpad than Kindle Unlimited. It is a fan work. It is written by fans, for fans, and should be kept to that specific audience (without paying for it of course, because as I said, it’s very illegal!)

A work of fanfiction being a book is nothing new, as I mentioned earlier, the ‘After’ series and ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ started out life as fanfiction. But when published, they were no longer fanfiction, they became original works of their own.

Putting fan works out in the open like that only threatens the F1 RPF community. It leaves us open, vulnerable, more so than normal. Sites like AO3 can only protect us to a certain extent, we can lock fics, sure, but that only stops those who don’t have an account from accessing our works.

If this one book is out there, who knows what may happen next. All it takes is for someone to say ‘I don’t want works featuring me published online and I will threaten a lawsuit’ and we’re back to email chains and password locked neocities webpages.

So it genuinely makes me worry.

And with the recent development of Dax Shepard sharing the book with Daniel himself, I feel that it’s all just too close. Fanfiction is never meant to be seen or read by its original subjects. Sure, they may actively seek it out if they want to, but unless they explicitly consent to it, they shouldn’t be seeing it. Daniel has had no say in the matter, it seems. It is being forced on him, which is going to look bad for the fanfiction community as a whole.

Part Three: Conclusion

Honestly, I don’t know whether I’m just being overly freaked out by this whole thing, I hope it just nicely blows over, the book disappears from people’s minds and we get to just keep our niche little side of the internet safe. But part of me is scared.

I’m scared for what may come, if the book is popular, will people try and emulate it? Will people start ripping fics from Tumblr/AO3/Wattpad to sell on Amazon to make a quick buck off the back of this? And will we have another Anne Rice type situation which kills the community completely?

I don’t know. And that’s what worries me. I hope that this whole thing blows over, that Daniel isn’t too freaked out, and that Anita Driver stops using ai image generators to make her book covers (Lance has waaay too many fingers on her most recent one. Caught you out babes x)

This is the end, for now. I suppose I’ll probably add to this if there are any more developments, and if anyone has anything to add (maybe some better law knowledge because mine is basic) please feel free!

Thanks for reading.

[houseofbrat]

They really need to find a set of old isolated caves somewhere and need to drop Andrew and Harry in them. For their own damn good. For our collective sanity at this point.

Harry will soon be reined in once he starts divorcing Meghan, which will be pretty soon. Harry was kept on a leash pretty well before Meghan, aka the Hero Harry days, so it stands to reason that his family can keep him under control once they get him back to the UK.

But Andrew? Christ Jesus. How dumb do you have to be to be doing the pr shenanigans he’s engaged in this weekend? Clearly the Newsnight interview was not a one-off. Not that I doubted his stupidity or arrogance, but he’s really taking the cake with these moves. 

He clearly does not understand that Giuffre didn’t “drop” her case because she of a “mistake.” Dershowitz got her to settle, probably by paying more money than Andrew shelled out, and Giuffre had to make some kind of public statement about why such a renown lawsuit is no longer proceeding to trial. Giuffre’s statement was written by her lawyers, which is why it reads as “may have made a mistake,” not “did make a mistake.” Huge difference legally. She did not affirm that she made a mistake. Only the possibility of making a mistake was mentioned. Yet, people allow themselves to be distracted by Dershowitz’s pr, and he’s not going to correct them about it either.

And yet Andrew isn’t dumb enough to realize that. Or probably is refusing to listen to his legal team’s advice to shut his mouth and be glad that the US DOJ doesn’t have him in custody. 

I reblogged a few days ago a post about a psychic discussing Harry & Meghan. I actually watched his video. At the 6:30 mark, he discusses Andrew, and Andrew likely having a psychological breakdown and possibly a suicide attempt. I believe it. Most people probably think that Andrew has finished going through the worst with what happened last year. Nope. It’s going to get worse for Andrew. 

And I do not feel sorry for him at all. 

[nctsjiho]

Shocking Truth Behind NCT JiHo’s Hiatus Revealed + SM Official Statement And Apology

July 24, 2021 By J. Mitchel (K!Today)

After an internal investigation of SM Entertainments financial reports, specifically those regarding NCT, the likely reason of JiHo’s hiatus from April to May of this year, has been revealed. The reason why this information, which I’ll be explaining in a bit, is only deemed “likely”, is because anonymous sources said this is only “part of a bigger problem”. However, what I’ll be diving into in a second is fully factual (unless stated otherwise), backed up by plenty of evidence, and I can conclude that this has been a driving factor of JiHo’s hiatus.

Visas, Working As A Minor And Bing A Foreigner Working In The Idol Industry

For those who aren’t aware, Geovanna Dubois, otherwise known as Lim Jiho, and debuted as JiHo, moved to Korea in late 2014. At that time she was only 13, turning 14 soon in international age, which made her a minor. Because her family stayed back in France, where she lived prior to becoming a trainee, she had to be assigned a guardian.

This guardian was an employee at SM Entertainment who was not particularly close to JiHo; it was stated that:

“(the guardian) was only in charge of legal affairs regarding JiHo and everything else: housing, medical needs, schooling, leisure and so on, was taken care of by other employees and managers - who kept in contact with JiHo’s family - until she was no longer a minor”.

However it was revealed that JiHo’s guardian had not taken care of their part of taking care of JiHo. For a total of 6 months, they did not provide JiHo with the right Visa (this does not include failing to renew her Visa when renewal was due). For a total of 4 months - beknown to managers and other employees - they violated the rules under the Child Labour Laws in Korea. And for her whole career up until April of 2021 they did not provide her with her fair earnings she deserved (more on this later).

Until 2020 all of this went unnoticed by the higher ups in SM Entertainment. An ex employee, who wanted to stay anonymous stated:

“There was always so much secrecy going on in the office. I felt insanely guilty towards JiHo because she wasn’t given fair treatment behind the scenes. Employees would fake reports about the state of JiHo’s legal documents. I thought it would all stop when she debuted, but things continued as they were.

… They withheld money from JiHo’s wage to pay off debt caused by the mistakes the employees made. One day the department got a 10,000,000.00 Korean won (around 8,500 USD) fine for violating Child Labour Laws. Instead of going to the boss, employees would take money from JiHo’s bank account - the guardian had full access to it - or would write it off on JiHo’s trainee debt. Something like this shouldn’t happen in such a big company as SM.”

If you thought this was bad, that was only just the tip of the iceberg.

Unfair Pay

As mentioned before, part of JiHo’s hard earned money would go to paying of debt and fines, but that’s not all.

JiHo is one of NCT’s rappers. But did you know she also participated in writing lyrics and sometimes help in arranging songs? Especially for Japanese releases. For most of her work she did not get credited, but apparently this was because of the percentage of her input being “too low”.

Whether this is a fair reason or not is not something I can comment on. In my small amount of research in this area I have found that not everyone gets paid the same just because they are credited in a song. And even if I find that logical, by that statement I would assume that JiHo should have been credited for every song she participated in.

However, that’s where I found out the reason as to why she might not have been credited for every song she worked on.

Comparing her with other members of NCT who have put in similar amounts of work into writing, producing, arranging music, as well as overall performing, making public appearances, modelling and other schedules, taking in account the money employees took away for debt, JiHo on average would receive only 80,6% of what her colleagues would earn.

Keeping that in mind, I suspect that if they would’ve credited her for every song, it would’ve been more obvious that she didn’t receive the payment she deserved whenever this news would come out. However if that was the reason behind this, they failed, because almost every source who is covering this news has at least mentioned this.

Today’s Reality

Before we go into SM Entertainment’s official statement and apology (yes I was also surprised by this), let’s talk about how these events have affected JiHo.

Of course we don’t know all the small details, and according to the previous anonymous ex employee there have been some problems with an ex manager, but in the big picture JiHo did not get affected by these past events on a day to day basis. Having said that, one thing does break my heart in this whole story. The same ex employee also stated that:

“While all this was going on, one of the managers - or maybe it was the guardian themselves - contacted JiHo’s family. They told them lies so that they would not ask JiHo to go visit them back home. Since her Visa wasn’t always okay, it might have caused problems once she left Korea. They also told her family it might be best for them not to visit JiHo because she was ‘doing fine’ and them visiting would ‘cause a distraction’. I once had JiHo’s mother on the phone, she seems like a sweet lady, who was heartbroken not being able to see her daughter for years, being under the impression that visiting her daughter would be a burden to her and her career.”

I hope that with everything that I’ve shared here, you can understand the severity of these events. Knowing that this is only a small percentage of the whole situation makes me scared to hear what else was going on. But let’s hope that things look better for JiHo’s future.

SM Entertainment’s statement

“This is SM Entertainment.

Earlier today, documents and numbers surfaced that we weren’t eager to show to the public. These documents revealed things that you weren’t meant to see either. For the longest time, we, the higher ups in SM Entertainment, were unaware of what was going on behind the scenes. That’s our mistake, and we want to own up to it now.

We should have been more thorough. We should have been more involved. But as we were tricked into thinking everything was fine, we decided to put faith in our employees and let them operate as they were.

Even though we felt cheated and tricked, we were not the real victims here. Lim Jiho, one of our idols, is the one who got tricked the most.

For the years we’ve known her she has grown incredibly much. She’s one of our most hardworking idols. She’s skilled in everything she does. She’s an inspiring and friendly soul and we, SM Entertainment, are extremely honoured to have her as one of our idols.

We are sorry to JiHo, to her family, her friends and her fans for all the discomfort, uncertainty and pain we have caused them. A simple sorry isn’t enough and that’s why we have decided to take some actions.

For JiHo: As you are aware, JiHo is now also under Esteem. The statement we have issued before still stands. We will work together with Esteem to provide JiHo with all the opportunities she deserves so she is able to grow in an even more talented and loved artist.

We will not only take accountability for the financial injury JiHo suffered, but also will try our best to put her emotional and mental health first. Many of these things we have and will continue to discuss with JiHo privately. She will, if desired, reach out to fans and friends on her own accord to talk about her side of things. So to respect her privacy we won’t go further into detail.

For family and friends: We are incredibly sorry towards JiHo’s personal and private relationships to which we caused damage. From the many foreign artist we have under our label, we know that homesickness and missing friends and family is natural. We did not mean to put even more of a strain on her relationships. Again we want to respect the privacy of everyone who is involved, so we will be reaching out to JiHo’s close family privately to issue a personal apology.

For the fans: We are again incredibly sorry towards all of JiHo’s fans who have been worried about her not only during her hiatus this year, but throughout her whole career. We know you want to see more of JiHo and we, along with Esteem and of course JiHo, will try and give back to you as much as possible by providing you with the content you deserve.

We know that the fans will be the happiest if JiHo is happy, so from now on we will make extra sure that JiHo’s happiness is our top priority.

Our apology doesn’t excuse our past actions and from now on we will try to be more transparent as that is something we heard many fans shared their concerns about. We want to let you know that most of the things we’ve discussed here are things we’ve been working on ever since JiHo’s hiatus started. But since the news is now public we want to assure the people that actions are indeed being taken.

We would also like to let everyone know that there have been actions taken in regards of the employees, managers and direct contacts who were at the base of all of this.

From now on we will be focusing on making things right and moving forward. Thank you for your patience.

Fans are happy to hear that SM is taking actions. Even if some things go unexplained and many fans don’t believe SM is being completely “transparent”, they are content things seem to start going into the right direction.

When more news surface (which I have a feeling it will) I’ll be updating you guys about this. For now I’ll leave you with some of the fans’ reactions to the situation.

What do you think about SM’s apology? And how do you feel about hearing the truth about JiHo’s hiatus? Let us now in the comments bellow or on our Twitter @KNewsToday

[tazwren]

My two cents on the devolution of fandom spaces...

As a former mod of a fandom space and a woman of colour, I do not feel safe.

Seeing what has been done to so many in this fandom, by a particular group of white American women, in the name of moral policing is both abhorrent and demoralising. As it also is to repeatedly see the same narrative being shoved at everyone as the gospel truth.

A narrative that very conveniently either becomes about fic or has nothing to do with fic, depending on how people want to swing things. A narrative that will accuse a person of Jewish heritage of anti-Semitism, a person of colour of racism, a practising Muslim of being an Islamaphobe. A narrative that will define for you and me and all of us comprising this myriad of multitudes in the world what generational or personal trauma includes and what induces the same.

Those of you who know me, know what I’ve been dealing with the past few days & why I haven’t spoken up before now. Before I logged out a couple days ago, I saw what looked like more of the usual nonsense by the same group of people I’ve kept my distance from once their true colours were revealed. What I didn’t expect is that they would think themselves so above the norms of human decency and accountability that they would go after not one but two women of colour this time around in their rabidity. And many others who spoke up, as it turns out.

It hurts to see what these women, that I know of, have had to endure and to see the passivity of the community, save for a few voices, in sitting back and letting the circus rampage through town. It hurt when I was at the receiving end of it and it hurts now.

Why? Because it shows me a microcosm of the world that I don’t really relate to, that makes no sense to me with the values I was brought up with, and which reduces basic human decency to a commodity to be trampled upon and for you to be seen as weak for having. Because people who willingly laud you for your art / writing / wit, meet you with effusive claims of love and affection and friendship, who have no qualms in taking your help when it suits them, will throw you under the bus and let the wolves ravage you when it doesn't.

Before I get into that, let me talk a little bit about what has transpired over the past few days to a week, and what has been systemically taking place over perhaps the past year in this fandom.

One thing is that everyone who makes a statement about anything suddenly has people in their mentions demanding they show what gives them the right to hold that particular opinion. A critical thing people forget about fandom is that it is a place where people hide their identity for a variety of reasons, all valid, and this approach to fiction and conversations where everyone has to reveal every part of their past and identity as a means of establishing their "credentials" in order to present their views comes in direct contradiction with how fandoms operate. It violates people's rights to privacy.

The other is that there has been an increase in the voices that purportedly stand up to “speak for” the marginalised, the abused, those discriminated against and those who belong to minorities who “need to be protected / kept safe”. An admirable sentiment, to be sure. If it weren’t for the fact that none of these groups of people needed saving, speaking for or the protection of this particular group of voices.

Voices who only want to define and use these people as "model victims" to hurt other white women and establish their supremacy over both them and other POC. Voices that will present their "truth" as they see fit and sans context or present you with screenshots of snippets of conversations held in supposedly secure spaces that they have no qualms in violating in the interest of the "greater good" and claim offense / silencing if the misdemeanour is pointed out or action is taken against them, Voices that will conveniently categorize you as a "token POC" or "white adjacent" when you do not support or align with their narrative. Voices that belong to a predominantly white American group of women, whose real agenda, as is evidenced by their modus operandi, has nothing to do with real altruism or a drive for justice or indeed to right wrongs.

No, their agenda is purely power.

To hold sway over groups of followers, to shepherd them as though they are sheep who cannot think for themselves, and to set themselves up as white saviours who call out those who step out of line, or are deemed to be problematic and toxic and unsafe. To be the owners of the only "safe spaces" in fandom and to drive other groups and spaces to be boycotted or worse.

Now, I've long wondered, who indeed are these women to decide that for anyone? In a world comprising multiple cultures, religions, groups, subgroups, genders and which contains multitudes, who are these women and what gives them the right to foist their puritanical standards on everyone, very conveniently disguised as concern for the moral well being of everyone and the consumption, of all things, of fiction?

Certainly, there are many things in this world that people regard with justifiably equal dislike / horror / sadness. At the same time, there is much that is not shared, that is particular to a culture and to a person’s background. There is a multitude of perspectives that make the whole. And the white women of the United States of America have not cornered the market on what those are, or indeed even own any curatorship or censorship of the same. They cannot, because each person’s culture and background and joy and trauma is their own, as are their ways of dealing with it all.

That being said, let’s talk about their pack behaviour and the devolution I’ve witnessed on social media as basic human decency is bartered for clout.

I’m all for standing up for someone who doesn’t have a voice or a platform, or maybe afraid of repercussions to voice dissent. I’m all for being there for our fellow human beings as they face struggles of often unconscionable and unfathomable proportions. I’m all for holding people accountable for their negative behaviours as they impact the larger community.

What I am unequivocally NOT for is treating such situations as an opportunity to preach, to virtue-signal, to shame and to put on blast the alleged wrong-doers. I say alleged because that’s what most accusations are on these platforms—allegations to do with things that disturb our sense of balance or make us wrinkle our noses or that we deem bad, and therefore make the accused deserving of the full force of the community’s misbehaviour and censure.

I ask you if you were found guilty of a crime in real life—you know, the one away from your phones and keyboards—would you not have an opportunity to retain a lawyer, to plead your case in a court of law, to acquit yourself? Or, if found guilty, would you not have the opportunity for correction and rehabilitation? Yes, you say? (If you say no, then that explains the spate of state-perpetuated injustices across the USA, but that is a different matter).

Why then are people treated so abhorrently in this court of public opinion? What gives you, me, any one of us the right to judge people so vilely and with a metaphorical gun to their heads? What gives anyone the right to say you better agree with everything I say, retract everything you said and grovel for it or we will eviscerate you in public, shame you, force you to change or delete the content that offends us and still ostracise you and in some cases even threaten you with bodily harm or death, or doxx you?

Why is there no grace in how people are approached or dealt with? Whatever happened to allowing people to learn from their mistakes, where applicable, or hearing them out and giving them a chance to explain their side of something we may not fully understand?

Why is there no accountability for such behaviour on the part of the accusers?

What makes the rest of you sit back and allow this to happen? What makes you think this is in any shape or form okay to watch? Today, it is a virtual stranger at the receiving end, one you can distance yourself from quite conveniently saying Oh, she just mods a group I am in, or I only read their fics a couple times or I only followed them for their art or jokes or whatever flavour of excuse you choose. Tomorrow, it will be one of your own - or it may very well be you. And you'd better hope there's someone left to speak up for you.

The irony is you will have allowed it to happen by letting the wolf in the fold. By letting these white women manipulate you, and the community you claim to be a part of, so unapologetically, so maliciously and so unashamedly that before you can do anything about it the cancer has taken hold.

If this was happening in the world outside of social media, they would have to follow due process, to present real evidence based on facts (not based on emotions, rumours or perceptions) and would have to allow the person they are accusing to present a counter-argument, to defend themselves or be defended. Failure to do so is a miscarriage of justice and, depending on whether this is a professional or legal proceeding, they would either seriously risk their jobs or have the case thrown out of court. If not face action themselves for attempting to derail the process of justice.

Why then are they permitted to range so freely through the landscape of fandom, snarling and biting at who they please, or who displeases them?

I have no shame in saying I was at the receiving end of their behaviour for defending a friend they put on blast and I will tell you right here and now, I am a woman of colour who feels unsafe and attacked by these so-called self-appointed white saviours of your social media experience, these so-called upholders of the common morality—whatever that means—who will fight for you the evils of problematic and toxic writers who dare to have an opinion not aligned with theirs and who do not bow to their clout. Not that they care, so long as they can ignore this fact since it doesn’t fit their narrative. So long as they can ignore what has just been done to so many people in the name of cleansing the fandom.

If any one of these women were truly interested in alleviating the troubles and pains of the discriminated, the marginalized, the trauma-affected, I invite them to please come roll their sleeves up and help in the multitudes of troubles that wrack this world, not just in the backyards of their minds. My country is amidst a struggle for the basics of human life in this horrific pandemic and, prior to that, for basic constitutional rights for religious minorities. Do not patronize me and lecture me on trauma and racism and discrimination. Do not marginalise me in your attempt to pontificate and set your pearl-clutching puritanical selves above the rest, or assuage your white guilt.

A largely American audience or fanbase in this fandom is purely a function of access and interest—other cultures have vast followings for things you couldn't begin to fathom—and it doesn't mean you are entitled in any shape or form to be spokespeople for the rest of the world. We have no interest in being colonized again by white oppressors.

If you disagree with what I have said, I congratulate you on being a part of their coterie and wish you much joy in being the sheep in their fold. Kindly unfollow or block me on the way off of this post.

[causeiwanttoandican]

It’s all coming out...

The Times

Royal aides reveal Meghan bullying claim before Oprah interview

Valentine Low

The sources approached The Times because they felt that only a partial version had emerged of Meghan’s two years as a working member of the royal family and they wished to tell their side, concerned about how such matters are handled by the palace. The complaint claimed that she drove two personal assistants out of the household and was undermining the confidence of a third staff member.

The Times was approached by sources who stated that they wanted to give their account of the turmoil within the royal household from Meghan’s arrival as Harry’s girlfriend in 2017 to the couple’s decision to stand down as working royals last year.

A spokesman for the Sussexes said they were the victims of a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation. They said the duchess was “saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma”.

Knauf sent an email to Simon Case, then the Duke of Cambridge’s private secretary and now the cabinet secretary, after conversations with Samantha Carruthers, the head of HR. Case then forwarded it to Carruthers, who was based at Clarence House.

In his email Knauf said Carruthers “agreed with me on all counts that the situation was very serious”. He added: “I remain concerned that nothing will be done.”

Sources say they were concerned that nothing was done at the time to investigate the situation, and nothing done since to protect staff against the possibility of bullying by a member of the royal family. Aides also insist that behind the scenes they did more to welcome Meghan and help her to find a role than has been publicly acknowledged.

They believe the public should have insight into their side of the story before watching the couple’s much-publicised interview with Winfrey, due to be televised in the United States on Sunday.

The couple’s lawyers told The Times that this newspaper is “being used by Buckingham Palace to peddle a wholly false narrative” before the interview.

However, The Times understands that the palace establishment is highly concerned that the allegations have emerged.

The sources have revealed a febrile atmosphere within Kensington Palace, where Meghan and Harry lived alongside the Cambridges after their wedding until the split between the two households at the beginning of 2019. Staff would on occasion be reduced to tears; one aide, anticipating a confrontation with Meghan, told a colleague: “I can’t stop shaking.”

Two senior members of staff have claimed that they were bullied by the duchess. Another former employee told The Times they had been personally “humiliated” by her and claimed that two members of staff had been bullied.

Another aide claimed it felt “more like emotional cruelty and manipulation, which I guess could also be called bullying”.

The duchess denies bullying and her lawyers stated that one individual left after findings of misconduct. The Times was not able to corroborate that claim.

The Times can also reveal that the duchess wore earrings to a formal dinner in Fiji in 2018 that were a wedding gift from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who is said by US intelligence agencies to have approved the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The dinner took place three weeks after the killing.

At the time it was reported that the earrings were borrowed. The duchess does not deny this was what she said, despite being aware of their provenance.

On the same tour sources said the main reason that the duchess cut short an engagement in Fiji was because of her reservations about the organisation UN Women. It is not clear why she is said to have felt so strongly about its presence. The duchess denies the sources’ claims about the event.

Knauf wrote in his email: “I am very concerned that the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year. The treatment of X* was totally unacceptable.”

He added: “The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behaviour towards Y.”

The email, which also expressed concern about the stress being experienced by Samantha Cohen, the couple’s private secretary, concluded: “I questioned if the Household policy on bullying and harassment applies to principals.”

The complaint was sent to the HR department. However, one source said: “I think the problem is, not much happened with it. It was, ‘How can we make this go away?’, rather than addressing it.”

After Harry was told about the complaint a source insists he had a meeting with Knauf in which he begged him not to pursue it. Lawyers for the duke and duchess deny that any meeting took place or that the duke would have interfered with any staff matter.

Another source claimed: “Senior people in the household, Buckingham Palace and Clarence House, knew that they had a situation where members of staff, particularly young women, were being bullied to the point of tears.

“The institution just protected Meghan constantly. All the men in grey suits who she hates have a lot to answer for, because they did absolutely nothing to protect people.”

Knauf‘s complaint never progressed. Two of the people named in his email are are said to feel that nothing has been done to investigate the bullying claim. The following month Knauf handed in his notice.

When the households split the following March he took up a job as an adviser to the Duke of Cambridge. He is now chief executive of the Cambridges’ Royal Foundation.

After a newspaper revealed that a PA had left after only six months, it is understood that the duchess became extremely concerned about the number of stories in the press about staff leaving. Her lawyers state that she did not read the press.

The tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga was a difficult one for staff, sources told The Times. When the duchess wore the earrings in Fiji given by the crown prince she told aides who were preparing to brief the media about her outfit for the state dinner that they had been “borrowed” from a jeweller, a source said, an explanation that was widely reported. This was three weeks after the murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Lawyers for the duchess said she may have stated they were borrowed but did not say they were borrowed from a jeweller and denied that she had misled anyone about their provenance.

Although Case had no managerial responsibility for the staff mentioned in Knauf’s complaint, he is understood to have taken it seriously. He made sure it was sent to HR, and took a close interest in the welfare of the staff member still employed there.

The issue of staff — their treatment, and the fact that they were shared between William and Harry — became so pressing that William and Case accelerated the process of splitting the two households. “What was a long-term plan became an immediate plan,” a source said.

The spokesman for the Sussexes said in a statement: “Let’s just call this what it is — a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation. We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of The Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet. It’s no coincidence that distorted several-year-old accusations aimed at undermining The Duchess are being briefed to the British media shortly before she and The Duke are due to speak openly and honestly about their experience of recent years.

“In a detailed legal letter of rebuttal to The Times, we have addressed these defamatory claims in full, including spurious allegations regarding the use of gifts loaned to The Duchess by The Crown.

“The Duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma. She is determined to continue her work building compassion around the world and will keep striving to set an example for doing what is right and doing what is good.”

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

*Names withheld by The Times

[wgblyash]

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[apex-academy]

Chapter 5: Caring Is a Hazard to Your Health (#24)

After an extended nap and some light reading, I head out to supper. 

Seems quiet in here.

Only natural at this point. Just 8 people—

Stop. It...

It’s just quiet because Aidan isn’t here at the moment. Yeah.

Still, silence beats fighting. I hop in the kitchen to make some vaguely lumpy onigiri and eat it in there. Not feeling sociable yet. I’ll probably head upstairs for the rest of the evening. Get a few games in. Or...

“I could go further upstairs than that...”

I still feel like I haven’t been that thorough looking through the new floor, and now...

Where did that key come from, anyway? To show up in the gym... It was right after we got our motive, so any of us could have dropped it then. Even Monochap.

There’s no telling. I’ll just investigate and hope this doesn’t turn out to be some kind of trap. If someone wanted this to be found, then... probably Kanagi? She started Horse. Not easy to believe she’d mastermind a trap like that, though, so I won’t point any fingers yet. It’s probably just what it looked like, anyway. Slipped out of a pocket somewhere.

Impatiently, I finish up my supper and head out. I cross Tsunyasha in the hall, but she doesn’t make any death threats, so not worth my attention. Maybe I ought to be hunting Mahavir down instead, but... I’ll just burn myself out if I’m not careful.

I check the Nurse’s Office anyway, but it’s empty.

Upstairs, then.

This many flights is a bit of a haul, but I’m not that tired. That, and I should probably double-check the shutters they’ve been using in here.

...Yup. There’s still a flight closed off. At least it keeps moving up.

“All right. Let’s see if I can get into anything.”

I dig around the Computer Room first, just in case I may somehow get access to a computer, but it’s not looking promising. If there are any secret compartments in here, they don’t have visible keyholes. Kind of a long shot, anyway. 

I go ahead and try the mysterious office at the far end of the east wing, but the key doesn’t even start to fit. Figures.

Finally I move to the Secretary’s Office. The door is unlocked, but...

“Probably my number-one suspect.”

I jiggle the key into the file cabinet’s key slot. It actually goes in, which is a good start, but it sure doesn’t want to turn. Maybe I’m wrong.

“Doubt I’m going to snap this thing in half, though.”

I give it another two rounds of heave-ho before it finally turns. I rub my fingers to try to get the key impression off of them before reaching for the topmost handle.

“Is there some way to make sure I’m not about to set off a bomb?”

Not that I know of, so I’ll just have to hope. Can’t see any wires running into the cabinet, so that’s a good sign.

The drawer offers some resistance, too, making a series of clangs as I pull and push on the handle. But then something manages to rattle loose, and the drawer comes on out. Not all the way, thankfully, since that probably would have knocked me over. But far enough to see the contents. Five files hang between the sides of the drawer, so widely spaced it still feels eerily empty. All but the first are labeled at the tab.

“Aidan, Aki, Arthur...”

These are files on us? In... first-name alphabetical order for some reason, but the secretary’s personal preferences probably aren’t worth worrying about. I reach for the unlabeled file. The thing is full up, but it looks like most of the papers are copies of blank forms. Mostly demographic-looking. Not terribly informative. But at the front...

“ ‘ Recruitment Guidelines’.”

If the files in this cabinet are on students, I doubt it’s guidelines for recruiting staff. As far as the student side goes, I honestly know precious little aside from the fact that they do recruit. I think there was something flowery about my qualifications on my acceptance letter, but I can’t remember the details now. So I can’t exactly verify this, but it looks authentic enough.

“ ‘Must be a legal resident of Japan or be or become fluent in Japanese within one year’...”

A lot of the qualifications are kind of arbitrary with a nice touch of legalese, so that’s not helping me any. The only thing that really strikes me is how vague the most significant qualifications are.

“ ‘Has performed a feat or collection of feats that could not be expected of any other student’.”

“...Have I done that?”

I guess tournaments must count. Otherwise, I’m not sure how I qualify. But it makes sense. It was probably similar for Kazusuke and Kanagi, and maybe some of the artistic talents. Seems boring, almost, but otherwise this school would just be a collection of obscure world record-holders, wouldn’t it?

At any rate, this isn’t helping my search for the young master. Or whatever I’m searching for right now. Honestly I feel like I just showed up over here without an actual goal in mind besides “try key.” But whatever. No one else should be coming in here, so I can take all the time I need. Might be nighttime soon, but that just means less chance of anyone being out to see me by the time I finish.

Anyone who follows the rules, at least. But no one would be looking for a victim so soon, right...? I won’t worry about it. Maybe bring some kind of blunt implement with me on the way back, but. Not worth any more thought than that.

I put the recruitment guidelines away semi-neatly and browse the rest of the cabinet. There are a few files in each drawer. At least, each drawer I can get too. Bottom one’s thoroughly jammed. I can deal with that later if I feel the need to. For now...

“...My file.”

This is the closest I could possibly get to verifying this cabinet’s info. I pull out the file with my name and stare at it.

“Why do I feel nervous about opening it?”

It’s not like it's a report card or anything. Probably? Would they have those mixed in here, too?

But there’s no reason for me to be nervous about that, anyway?? Just shut up and read it.

I start flipping through. Aside from a few oblique mentions, I don’t see any grades in here. Just the demographic-ish paperwork. That, and a few grainy copies of championship certificates. Guess I got accepted here for consistency, because no single one of these is that huge a deal. Unusual for someone my age, maybe, but... 

“Anyway, seems legitimate enough.”

Time to check out the rest. I put my file back and start at the top. Aidan’s first, then. I remove his file and gaze at it in my hands for a while. Seems kind of personal, now that I think about it. But most of this would be public information, anyway, right? That, or something that’s no big deal, like hometown.

Well, I won’t find anything either way if I don’t even look. Open sesame.

First few pages are the same forms, filled out differently. He is indeed from America, specifically Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

“Never heard of either of those, but sure, why not.”

Blah, blah, height, weight, medical conditions... Nothing earth-shattering. And then...

“What the heck? Everything on this page is redacted.” Aside from a few prepositions that don’t tell me anything, all the text has been reduced to a stuttering black line.

I try looking at the other side, then holding it up to the light, but it gets me nowhere. Nothing I can do with this besides think about it, and I can save that for later. There’s a newspaper clipping in here that looks a lot less difficult to read, so I’ll try that.

“ ‘Bioterrorist Attack Kills Three, Hospitalizes Eleven Others’.”

It goes on to summarize a recent anthrax-like attack on an air control tower that pretty much took out everyone there, lethally or otherwise, within a few minutes. One Abe Sorakubo managed to hang on long enough to redirect traffic despite technical difficulties and guide one plane safely to the ground when it was unable to change course. Abe remains in critical condition...

“...’but has received a better prognosis than the 12-year-old child caught up in the attack alongside him’.”

The child had already stopped breathing by the time EMS found them on the floor of the control tower wearing one of the controller headsets. Abe stated that the child was an aspiring air traffic controller, and he wanted them to be able to wear it before they died, even if they were already unconscious at the time.

“...........”

Yeah, three guesses who the 12-year-old child was. Is it really okay for me to be reading this? I mean, if it was in the news, a lot of people already have, right? And whoever was putting together the recruitment files read it, too. They even highlighted the bit just before Abe’s statement.

I quietly refile the papers and put the folder back. Next is Aki...

“...”

I don’t know if I can do this right now. Maybe I... I’ll come back to her later. 

Arthur, then.

Still hurts a little to thumb through his profile, but it’s a muted enough pain by now. At least we weren’t really friends. Classmates, for sure, but...

“...........”

Anyway.

Born on some kind of British military base in Germany, looks like. And lots of travel from there. Even his list of actual residences goes on for pages. Nothing in here seems suspect, though.

Instead of third-party material, his additional insert is more of a handwritten memo. Notes on his total distance travelled, the success of his blog, and an addendum that Super High School Level Hitchhiker may not be a very standard sort of talent but would nonetheless fit him and the standards of the school.

I flip through everything again just to be sure, but still, nothing of interest. “He’s been a lot of places” is about the whole gist of it.

“Ichiriki, then.”

I sort through his main file, which tells me a whole lot of nothing. Heir of the Tokino Hardware empire. No major moves.

No psychological profiles or anything, either. That would be too helpful, huh?

Instead of a single news article, his has several, though none of them actually have photos of his art. A few of them explain that he considers photography an abomination against everything chalk art represents. None of them specify what it’s supposed to represent, but I guess that’s to be expected.

At any rate, it really does look like he’s here as the Super High School Level Chalk Artist. As much as I’d like to say he has some fake talent to hide his involvement in this whole thing as some kind of warped observational psychologist, between this and his actual art skills, I really have no basis for saying anything like that.

Darn. He’d make an awfully convincing bad guy.

Maybe not so much at the moment, but. Overall. I can’t discount him entirely just because his talent is genuine, though, so there’s still that.

And that’s all the files for the top drawer.

“...........”

I’m weirdly tired already. Maybe I should take a break before I start overlooking any real clues. This cabinet won’t be going anywhere, right? And it probably is getting late by now.

“...”

I lock up the cabinet with much less struggle than it took to unlock it. I tug at each drawer afterwards, but they’re all sealed up pretty well.

All right, then. I can jump back in tomorrow morning.

Assuming nobody’s dead by then.

“...............”

Let’s just get moving.

[BACK] [NEXT]

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Do the autopsies of George Floyd agree, or not? News reports from last week suggest the report produced by the Hennepin County medical examiner and the one produced by an examiner hired by Floyd’s family disagreed on his cause of death. The county ruled the cause to be “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.” It also cited heart disease and drug use as factors that could have contributed to the death. The secondary autopsy, by contrast, specifically said Floyd died from asphyxia.

So who is right? Well, both of them, experts who weren’t affiliated with the case said. In fact, according to forensic pathologists and medical experts, the two autopsy reports aren’t actually all that different in their conclusions. “They are just different ways of describing the same thing,” said Dr. Joye Carter, forensic pathologist to the sheriff of San Luis Obispo County, California. What’s more, experts told me, the autopsies of George Floyd help show the complexity of medical examinations, how those examinations work and what they can and cannot tell us.

Some of the public confusion over Floyd’s autopsy reports can be blamed on misinterpretation by the media and the public, said Dr. Judy Melinek, a San Francisco-based forensic pathologist . “Anybody suggesting asphyxia was ruled out by the medical examiner is wrong,” she said. Indeed, lots of people suggested just that, with media describing the reports as “drastically different” and nearly describing the county report as absolving the white police officer who pressed his knee into Floyd’s back for 8 minutes.

The Hennepin County autopsy may have mentioned factors beyond police conduct, but it was really just saying Floyd’s heart stopped while police were restraining him and pressing on his neck, said Melinek, Carter and Dr. Michael Freeman, professor of forensic medicine and epidemiology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. It’s not a claim that he died of a heart attack, drugs, or pre-existing conditions, they told me. “The cause of death is police restraint,” Melinek said, just like in the autopsy Floyd’s family commissioned.

The reason it might seem like the exams disagree, they said, is because people expect a single cause of death in an autopsy report. But most people don’t die from just one thing. Instead, both death certificates and autopsy evaluations are set up to tell as detailed a story as possible — death happened, as a result of something, complicated by another thing, and maybe with other factors that were present. You’re supposed to compile the full chain of events and all the possible compounding factors. But documenting potential contributing factors isn’t the same as saying that’s what caused the death.

These reports — and the public confusion around them — also highlight how complex forensic pathology can really be. Take the confusion over asphyxiation. As he was dying, Floyd told the police officers that he couldn’t breathe, eventually stopped speaking and then went limp. So it surprised a lot of people when the autopsy reports came across as saying that they’d found no evidence of asphyxiation.

That is both a misunderstanding of the report and an example of the difficulty in identifying cause of death, experts said. It’s a misunderstanding because an earlier legal document, put out to explain the charges against the officer who kneeled on Floyd, said the county had found no injuries consistent with asphyxia caused by physical trauma. But the actual autopsy report doesn’t mention the word “asphyxia” at all. It does, however, describe “neck compression” as a direct cause of Floyd’s death — meaning the blood flow (and, thus, oxygen) to Floyd’s brain and heart were cut off. It doesn’t take physical trauma to asphyxiate someone.

And that’s where the difficulty of pinning down cause of death comes in, said Dr. Karl Williams, a forensic pathologist who is the chief medical examiner of Allegheny County (home to Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania. “After that video we know why he died,” Williams said. “But it doesn’t necessarily mean, OK, that there’s going to be any evidence of that.” You can make someone lose consciousness just by compressing the arteries and veins in their neck, cutting off blood flow to and from the brain, he told me. Williams said he has watched experts demonstrate this effect at conferences. People will lose consciousness after 7-to-10 seconds, he said. “It’s very reproducible. We vary on where the point of no return would be, but if you block those veins for three to four minutes, you’re dead.”

But there’s no medical literature of what happens to a person’s body when someone kneels on their neck for more than eight minutes, as Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer now charged with second-degree murder, did to Floyd. So no medical examiner can call up that data and compare it to what they found in Floyd’s body, Williams told me. The result, he said, has been whole listserves full of medical examiners going over the evidence in the Floyd case and arguing back and forth for the past week about how they would write the report. “There certainly is individual variety,” Carter said. “Medicine is a practice and everything isn’t rubber stamped the same way.”

Everybody agrees Floyd’s death was a homicide, Williams told me. But when you get to the specific cause of death, and the order of priority of multiple causes, subjectivity comes into play. “If you were to present that video to 100 different board certified forensic pathologists, you’d get 20, 30, 40 different ways of turning that into the statement of death,” he said. “This happens with about 5-to-10 percent of the cases we do.”

Another good example of an issue where forensic pathologists don’t agree: the existence of a controversial diagnosis — “excited delirium” — which was discussed by the officers at the scene of Floyd’s death. (Neither of Floyd’s autopsies mentioned the condition and none of the experts I spoke to believe it applies to him.) The basic idea behind excited delirium is that someone who is high on stimulants, such as cocaine or methamphetamines, can get into a place where their mind is no longer functioning normally. “They become agitated and violent and hyperthermic, so their body temperature goes up and they undress and act inappropriately. They might break glass and be unaware of their environment. They’re hallucinating,” Melinek said. That situation can often lead to someone being restrained by multiple police officers while they fight back violently. Sometimes the person dies — and the death ends up attributed to excited delirium, rather than to the restraint.

Melinek, Carter and Williams all believe this is a real diagnosis that really does cause death in some situations — though Carter added that restraint can contribute to those deaths. But Freeman isn’t so sure excited delirium is a legitimate cause of death. The dead people diagnosed with it tend to be young, black males who died in police custody, he said. “There’s been cases where the [medical examiner] has done an exam, found 12 broken ribs, a history of extreme restraint and all sorts of things going on,” he said. “But they find a relatively small amount, a recreational level of methamphetamine in the blood and they say, ‘Oh it’s excited delirium.’ Which completely exculpates the law enforcement from causing the death, which they clearly did.” Freeman’s research team currently has a paper in the process of being published that reviews scientific studies comparing excited delirium with cases of agitated delirium syndrome — a medical diagnosis that gets applied more by doctors treating a person who lived, while excited delirium is primarily used by forensic pathologists examining a person who died.

While both syndromes present with roughly the same symptoms, Freeman’s team found that restraint was used in 90 percent of the cases that turned out to be fatal. Only 2 percent of fatal cases involved no restraints. (The rest were unknown.) Forceful restraints such as manhandling or hog-tying were also significantly more likely in fatal cases. The point, Freeman said, is that there’s evidence it’s not the excited delirium that kills people. It’s the way they are restrained.

All the experts I spoke to see no evidence of excited delirium in Floyd’s case. In the video of his death, Melinek pointed out, you can clearly see that he is not sweating excessively, nor is he dressed inappropriately. He communicates clearly with officers and bystanders and is coherent even as he is pleading for his life. But the fact that one of the officers at the scene suggested this diagnosis, and that legal scholars believe it will come up in Chauvin’s defense, demonstrates how medical analysis can be used in cases like this. And how disagreement among forensic pathologists about how to describe the evidence in a case can muddy the legal waters.

“There are very few checks and balances, and that’s really the issue here,” Freeman said. “There’s nobody to second guess your work [as a medical examiner]. If there is somebody doing something in a biased fashion — systematically always doing it wrong … it’s disadvantaged populations who are getting these diagnoses.”

[jaredhollyheiditruth]

Lexi Camille

You may not know who Lexi Camille is. That’s not surprising. While she is a cosplayer and convention goer, she’s not one of the more well-known ones. Here’s her Twitter profile.

If she’s on this blog, you know there’s a reason, and you know who it’s related to. Lexi was a participant in Jared’s porn blog, SinJared, back while it ran, and even met him and Heidi at a convention. I’ll save you the trouble of doing the math: Lexi was over 18 when the blog started, so she was legal the entire time.

The reason she’s on the blog is because she’s been saying conflicting things about Jared ever since the drama started to unfold. I’m obviously not going to make an entry on every single person that has something negative to say about Jared, or even everyone that’s had interactions with him. Lexi is here for the same reason Heidi is here; she’s been caught contradicting herself.

Ever since the split between Jared and Heidi began, Lexi’s been very vocal about how terrible Jared is, and how he abused her interest in him, how he manipulated and controlled her. 

Lexi’s statements are crafted in such a way as to imply that she was led to believe that Jared’s blog, which was called Sinjared, I remind you, wasn’t supposed to be about sex, and was supposed to be about “body positivity.” She says this as if those two things are mutually exclusive.

She goes on to say that Jared would tell her that he masturbated to her pictures, and that “he would tell [her] when he was horny to get [her] to send him more.” The blog contained a lot of heavily sexual conversations between people, so this really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. The point of this blog was sexual, and that was never really a secret. Not even to Heidi.

So, just to sum that up, she was sending him nude pictures in direct response to him telling her he was horny. He would say he was horny, she would send pictures, so it’s very evident that she not only knew Jared was sexually aroused by her pictures, she was content enough with this fact to send him more.

The flaw in her logic in this statement is that it would only be fucked up if Jared knew she was “star struck and easily manipulated.” There are a lot of 18-19 year olds that are sexually confident, and unless you’re an expert at reading people, it’s difficult to know whether someone’s sexual confidence is genuine or an act. She believes that Jared was able to somehow sense that her apparent confidence was actually just an act, but there’s not really any evidence to support that claim.

Lexi has a tumblr, by the way.

It’s archived here: http://archive.is/MpqnA

Her Tumblr served as her primary method for contacting Jared, and in that Tumblr were many things that would make it very unlikely that Jared would somehow be able to sense how “easily manipulated” she was. While it’s clear she was very excited to meet Jared, there’s a very clear difference between being excited to meet someone and being easily manipulated. Such a difference that they’re not even remotely the same thing.

Back on June 20th, 2016, she had some positive things to say about getting to meet Jared. In her defense, she does sound a bit star struck.

She did, in fact, meet him at RTX in 2016, and meeting him must have definitely left an impression, because here she is on January 6th, 2017 (seven months later) telling him that despite being a lesbian, she would “so want to fuck [him]”.

Sexuality is fluid. The fact that she identifies as a lesbian shouldn’t impact her desire to occasionally have sex with men. One can identify with a certain spectrum of sexuality and still find attraction outside of that spectrum without having to change their “label.”

It’s hard to believe that this is the result of manipulation on Jared’s part. A woman tells him she wants to have sex with him, and his response is an animated GIF of NPH reacting with glee. There’s nothing in that interaction to imply anything other than Jared approving of the idea. She’s an adult being sexually aggressive towards him. There’s no way for him to know where her head is at, and it’s easy to see why he might assume she’s sexually confident.

However, it turns out that Jared wasn’t the only person Lexi had an interest in. Lexi was also a fan of Jared’s wife. A big fan.

They’re both cosplayers, and she does mention Heidi’s cosplays and tutorials. While this could be considered to be simply a professional interest, it turns out that further tweets from Lexi prove her interest in Heidi to be far more sexual.

Lexi admits in the tweet above that she was actually more interested in Heidi than she was in Jared. In fact, the below tweet goes so far as to imply that she was just using Jared to get to Heidi.

She states here that she was “always open” about the fact that she was attracted to Heidi while Jared was “just a cool bro.” It’s unclear just how obvious that was to him since she was telling him that she wanted to have sex with him. Telling someone that you’d be willing to step outside of your typical sexual preferences to have sex with them implies very strongly that you’re sexually attracted to them.

Using someone to get to someone else is very manipulative behavior, and the more she tweeted about the whole ordeal, the more evident it became that she was manipulating Jared because she wanted to find a way to score a three-way with him and Heidi.

Lexi constantly refers to Jared as manipulative, and herself as “easily manipulated.” In fact, she claims that Jared’s powers of manipulation are so strong that he was somehow able to convince her, a lesbian, that she wanted to have sex with a man.

Yes. People are going to come after you because that doesn’t make any sense! 

Not only does it not make any sense, but it’s insulting to many members of the LGBT+ community (especially lesbians) because it reinforces the old, bigoted idea that a man can “convert” a lesbian so she’ll sleep with him. As previously mentioned, sexuality is a spectrum. Implying that Jared manipulated her into wanting men is disingenuous

Lexi is essentially claiming that when she messaged Jared seven months after meeting him at RTX and told him “I’m a lesbian but I’d fuck you.” that’s because he somehow manipulated her into falsely believing it.

However, her other tweets make it clear that it wasn’t actually Jared she wanted to sleep with, it was Heidi. To her, Jared was a means to an end.

Let’s look at those words more closely...

“Jared manipulated me, manipulated what he knew I genuinely wanted and desired and used it for his own advantage.”

That quote is her admitting that she didn’t want Jared, she wanted Heidi. It gets worse, too. Read the next tweet.

“He would [use] Heidi as bait for mainly WLW and then convince them that sex with him is something they want.” 

I need to emphasize this because of how outrageous a claim it is:

Lexi is claiming that Jared would use his wife as bait to lure lesbians in, and then convince them that they wanted to have sex with him.

I don’t think Lexi truly realizes how incredibly offensive towards lesbians her implications are. Not only does it imply that lesbians exclusively only like women, it also implies that a lesbian-identifying individual that finds a man attractive either isn’t truly a lesbian (they are) or that they can be “tricked” into attraction towards men.

“You dangled Heidi in front of me like a piece of meat.”

Like a piece of meat...

In the event you’re wondering whether Lexi maybe only realized these facts shortly after the blog, here’s a tweet from her flirting with Heidi and clearly not on hostile terms with Jared on April 20th, 2018, well after her time on his porn blog.

Lexi never said a single negative thing about Jared until the trouble between him and Heidi became public and Jared was no longer a viable route to get to Heidi. It was only then that suddenly all of her attraction to Jared was caused by “manipulation” and “using his wife as bait” to lure lesbians into bed with him.

Update (8/30/19) - After carefully looking over the article, I realized that the original version was too aggressive. I’ve re-written its tone to be more professional. Apologies for anyone that felt the tone was too hostile.

[wgblyash]

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[wolfpawn]

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 14

Chapter Summary - Headlines break around the world about the end of Tom and Taylor's break up.

Emma is introduced to Paul, and of course, Tom comes up in conversation

.Tom meets with Luke regarding Taylor's accusations.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long.  This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

apologies for not putting chapter 11 in correctly, I have since rectified it. 

The headlines at the top of the chapter were all ones I copied from Google when Tom and Ms Swift parted ways. 

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog  @jessibelle-nerdy-mum@nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1

Tom Hiddleston 'grew tired of Taylor Swift' after 'three-month rule'

It's over: Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston 'split'

Taylor Swift, Tom Hiddleston Split: ‘Thor’ Actor Looking for New Relationship? ‘Bad Blood’ Singer Writes New Album?

Farewell, Hiddleswift: Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston Call It Quits

Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston Break Up

Taylor Swift Is Reportedly 'Uncomfortable' With Tom Hiddleston's Desire To Make Their Relationship So Public

*

“I’m so sorry I’m late.” Paul sat at the table next to Danielle, kissing her cheek as he joined her, Emma and her husband.

“You arrived, that is all that matters.” Emma smiled, looking at Paul in an assessing manner as he sat. “I’m Emma by the way.” She declared, holding her hand out to him.

“Paul Pennycooke.” He smiled, extending his own. Her husband Jack did similar when introducing himself. “So you guys know Danni a while so?”

Emma’s brow rose at Paul’s nickname for her friend. “Yes, I met Elle the weekend she moved in, I was the one to actually go over and say hello, then I forced Tom to help her move stuff out of the van.” she smiled.

“Can you call it helping? He was sweating like a pig after three boxes.” Danielle scoffed playfully.

“Well bless him; he is not the strongest guy.” Emma agreed. “We were both home that weekend, and well you met mum, she insisted on bringing Elle for a cup of tea, then from there she extracted poor Elle’s back story and has effectively adopted her.”

“Feels more like a kidnapping most days.” Danielle laughed, chucking some bread at Emma.

“Do you ever stop throwing food?” Paul laughed, looking at her. Her response was grabbing another tiny piece at him. “That is a no then.”

“You get used to her Paul.” Emma smiled fondly. “She did it at my wedding.”

“You joked about my boobs, in your bridal speech.”

“I just said I got self-conscious when we were checking bridesmaid dresses because everything you tried made you look big.”

“You did not say ‘big’, the words you used were ‘like Dolly Parton’. They aren’t even big.” Everyone at the table with the exception of the Irish woman burst out laughing. “See, which is why I threw food at her, and again, it was a bit of bread, nothing deadly.”

“It was stuck inside my dress for hours; it actually came out when I finally got out of it that night.”

“See, I was a great bridesmaid, I made sure you had a snack for bed.” She grinned smugly.

“Why are we friends?”

“I ask myself that some days.” Danielle joked; Emma stuck her tongue out at her, which Elle mirrored.

“So you decided to call Elle, Danni? Any reason for that?” Emma asked curiously when she decided to act like an adult once more.

Paul looked at Danielle for a moment. “Well, no one knows her as Elle outside of your family, I called her Danni at work, and when I heard her being called Elle by your mum, and I thought it would be intruding if I were to starting calling her that too.”

“I don’t look like an Elle.”

“I refute that.” Paul dismissed, “You sound like all of those names.”

“They do suit you actually.” Emma agreed, Jack nodded in agreement as his mouth was full.

“Well, I disagree.”

“Only to be awkward.” Jack teased, long used to Elle being around his wife and her family.

Danielle took her napkin off her lap. “That’s it, I have had my fill of posh people for today, I’m off to slum it by the seafront with the homeless people.”

“We are not posh,” Emma argued.

Danielle stared at her sceptically for a moment. “You mean are not ‘up your own ass’ posh, but you, my dear friend, are posh.”

“Well, it’s better than the other ‘p’ word that gets thrown around.” She shrugged. “By the way, did you actually call Tom that when he went off at you?” Emma asked her friend, somewhat scared of the answer she would receive.

“First of all, he came up and was rude to me just after that terrible car crash with that woman and her kids, so I was feeling really tired and shit, before we go any further, but I did say to him that I did not have the time or the energy, I can’t remember which exactly, for his ‘first world, privately educated, rich, privileged white boy problems’ or something to that effect.” Danielle defended.

“All things considered, I think that was alright.” Paul immediately sided with her. “I read about that crash and Kevin, a college friend of mine was the assistant pathologist for that, he wasn’t right for a week after.”

“And at the top of the list of jobs I would never wish to have, we have a new one.” Emma shuddered. “It was mean and very classist of you Elle, but you had justification.” She conceded.

“If it is any consolation, I was just trying to piss him off; you know I don’t give a rat’s ass what education you guys have.”

“I know.”

“I did almost identical to you all with my regular commoner one anyway.” She joked.

“You have more subjects too.” Emma agreed before she looked at her friend seriously again. “Have you heard from Tom?”

“You mean since every last magazine and gossip rag paper put his face on the front page last week, no, I haven’t. I mean, he called the day after the statement at whatever fashion show he was at, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk so Paul spoke to him.”

“Yeah, well, it finally happened, it only took three months of praying.”

“You prayed?”

“You met her; if I thought sacrificing a goat would have worked, I would have been scouring the countryside, trust me,” Emma stated. Danielle laughed and went to drink some of her water. “You know there is one magazine that stated online he was emotionally and verbally abusive.” There were tears in Emma’s eyes when she said that.

Danielle’s eyes went wide and she spilt her water on herself. “WHAT?” she squeaked loudly.

“Yes, they said, my brother verbally abused her, that he was controlling and ridiculing.”

“Tom? Tom, Tom? Your brother Tom? What did he do, ask her to put the milk into the tea before the hot water? He’s been an ass, but not abusive. I see abusive relationships every second night of the week at work, it is bread and butter basic for me to have to recognise, and Tom is not that. I mean, I spat those words I said a minute ago to him and his response was only that I was jealous; if he was abusive, I dare say I would have gotten a hell of a lot more than that.” Elle dismissed.

“You see, even you can say that after everything,” Emma argued.

“What did Diana say?”

“You think we told her? Luke had it pulled down within twenty-four hours, promising the lawsuit to end all lawsuits if they didn’t.”

“So it never happened, we don’t mention it past now,” Danielle stated clearly.

“Agreed.” Jack concurred. “Your mum doesn’t need that.”

“Definitely, it would kill her; and Tom doesn’t need that, I mean, she damaged his career enough, that could have put the final nail in the coffin, he can come back from a PR disaster relationship, but abuse; that is mud that sticks,” Danielle commented.

“Even after everything you still care.” Emma smiled.

“Of course, he’s an ass as I stated already, but he’s not that kind.”

*

“I…” Tom paced frantically.

“We knew something like this would happen.” Luke stay sitting at his desk, watching Tom, getting increasingly dizzy as he did so. “Just sit down.”

“Can we trace it back to her?”

“Of course not; she has the best PR and legal teams I have ever had the misfortune to be against.” Luke sighed. “Look, it’s retracted, we have our spin, she has hers, people are taking it as well as they can, deciding for themselves, there is no more we can do.”

“I should have gone for a low blow.” Tom groaned.

“She would have used that to her advantage.” Luke begrudgingly admitted. “I’m glad you sought to not do that.”

“There’s a clip of her in a studio, singing a few lines, whiney break-up ones.”

“I’m aware Tom; I keep a close eye on these things, even when you forgot to ask me to. That’s why you hired me. We knew this would happen, the songs are nigh on as certain as tax and death.”

“I’ve been a shit friend, thank you, Luke.”

“We’ve been together since you started Tom, I have your back.” Luke smiled.

“Even when I’m an egotistical ass?” Tom asked.

“I work with actors, by default you are all egotistical asses.” Luke scoffed. “Have you spoken to your family about the claims?”

“Emma found the article, she contacted me and Sarah about it, mum doesn’t know, and we want to keep it that way,” Tom explained.

“Good idea.” Luke nodded. “And anything from Ms Hughes?”

“No, I tried talking to her, but her boyfriend said she didn’t want to speak with me.” Tom’s tone was downtrodden.

“Her boyfriend?”

“Yeah, she’s seeing some doctor from work, according to mum he is brilliant and everything Elle needs.”

Luke eyed Tom carefully, noting his demeanour. “Right, well, she seems to not be the focus of anything so far, but the album may be where we will find her, I cannot believe I may be forced to buy that, you don’t pay me enough. I mean I rather a sex tape scandal to this.”

“Really?”

“Please don’t tell me she has that on you?” Luke asked fearfully.

“Thankfully not.”

“Don’t scare me like that Tom; I can only take so much. You’re going to give me heart failure.” Tom chuckled. “I’ll deal with anything that comes up and keep you posted.”

“Thank you, Luke, and I am so sorry for everything.”

“Yeah, well, when you get that Oscar, or Emmy, or whatever award, my name has to be front and centre after this.”

“Before mum even.”

“After your mum, I think she would castrate me if I tried to take credit for you.” Tom laughed and hugged his friend goodbye. “I’m glad your back Tom.” Luke smiled at him.

“I am glad to be back,” Tom admitted. “I just hadn’t it in me to continue.”

“You’re an English boy, you have what it takes to make it in Hollywood, but not the mindset to live there; behind it all, you are still a London boy, and that’s cool. I mean Fassbender, Cumberbatch, you, Redmayne, you are all over here from choice, and that’s a good thing.”

“How are you wiser than me and younger?”

“It’s a deadly combination, but you forgot better looking too.” Luke joked.

“I will see you soon.” Tom laughed as he left the office. When he got to his car he realised he had missed a call from Emma when he was talking to Luke, so pressing the callback option, he sat and waited, toying with the keys before placing them in the ignition, but not turning the car on.

“Hey, big brother.” Emma sang cheerfully down the phone.

“Really? Too much wine at dinner.”

“It was a special occasion, and it was only two glasses, well maybe three.” She countered.

“And what special occasion is this then?” Tom smiled before getting serious. “You’re not driving are you?”

“No, Elle is designated driver, and I got to meet Paul, we had a double dinner date, her and Paul, me and Jack. God, Tom, he’s really nice; Elle is after getting herself someone lovely. Wait til you meet him, I think you two will get on great.” She rambled.

The smile Tom had on his face at the thought of Elle and Emma having dinner fell as soon as Emma mentioned Paul, then he felt his throat tighten as she gushed about him. “I…That’s nice.” He forced out.

“Let me know when you’re home next, I am going to be there, I promise.” She swore. “I missed you for ages.”

“Well, I was home a couple of times recently,” Tom argued.

“Yeah, but either she was there, or there was a threat of her being there.” Emma countered.

“She’s a person, not a terrorist threat,” Tom stated in a deadpan tone.

“She’s a terrorist, did you see the shit she wrote about you. I mean, Elle poured water on herself in shock at what was written, she was sickened.”

“But she won’t talk to me.”

“Yeah well, Elle is not the 'forgive and forget' easily type, you know that. but she will Tom, I could see it on her face, she misses you, she’ll want to talk soon.”

“Even with a boyfriend?”

“Why would Paul matter? He was siding with you, telling her to talk to you.”

Tom’s gut clenched more at that. “He does seem like a nice guy.”

“He is; he’s the best.” Emma beamed. “Anyway, I better have a tea or two and get myself out of tipsy land; I don’t want to wake up at four in the morning dying of a headache. Bye, big brother.”

“Bye Emma.” Tom hung up the phone and stared at it for a few moments. He frowned at how the mention of Paul with Elle had caused him to feel odd but put it down to his now single status once more.

[aelaer]

Hey aelaer, I have a question and since you seem to have been writing fanfic forever, I think you're a good person to ask this. I have a crossover idea with Doctor Strange and another universe, but to my dismay someone has already written something similar (not the same universe). I did have my story plotted out already, but there's some key concepts that can't be avoided I don't know if I should give up. I don't want to be accused of plagiarism even if the story is completely different.

Hi, thanks for thinking of me for your question! I have a tendency to ramble (and I ended up writing an essay for this) so let me answer you immediately: yes, you should still write it.

Now the rest of the answer delves into the why, in entirely too much detail as I am wont to do.

According to plagiarism.org, Merriam Webster defines the following items as plagiarism:

to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own

to use (another’s production) without crediting the source

to commit literary theft

to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

For instance, if I were to state that the above was my own words, I would be plagiarizing both Merriam Webster and plagiarism.org (which is just irony at its finest).

Figuring out how to avoid plagiarizing words is easy: don’t copy-paste words that aren’t yours and declare them as yours. Slight rewording of the content doesn’t keep it from being plagiarism, either. The issue of ideas, however, is a good deal more difficult to quantify, especially in the creative space.

The Office of Research Integrity starts off by giving us a base point of idea plagiarism with the sciences in the following statement:

“In the sciences, as in most other scholarly endeavors, ethical writing demands that any ideas, data, and conclusions borrowed from others and used as the foundation of one’s own contributions to the literature, be properly acknowledged. The specific manner in which we make such acknowledgement may vary depending on the context and even on the discipline, but it often takes the form of either a footnote or a reference citation.”

This makes sense. In many educational systems kids are taught to properly site sources for information, which extends to ideas within the scientific community. If you are building your thesis on cancer research upon the discoveries of other researchers, they need to be referenced and cited properly (and it builds credibility for your own studies).

But how does this apply to creative writing, or indeed any creative medium? Obviously you don’t see footnotes for every source of inspiration in popular fiction across creative media, and it’s not like magical schools are banned from fiction because JK Rowling wrote a series about such a place. How do the rules of plagiarism of ideas that have a clear guideline in formal writing adapt to the creative arts?

To answer this question I am first going to turn to the modern legal system. Every country has its own set of laws regarding the protection of original works and ideas, but for the sake of ease the following is based on US laws and definitions. If you’re interested in your own country’s specific laws (and how they differ from what is stated here) I recommend a quick Google search.

Copyright is a concept that puts some (but not all) acts of plagiarism into a legal liability. It came into form as the printing press (and printed works) became more popular, but has grown significantly over the past 150 years as new technology and new ways to distribute media have come into play. As Wikipedia succinctly summarizes, “In law, copyright is the exclusive right, given to the creator of a work, to reproduce the work, usually for a limited time. Copyright protects the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself. A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fairuse doctrine in the United States.” This is how parody and criticism are protected, for instance.

It’s important to note that copyright protects the specifics, but not the actual idea. For instance, Marvel (and thus, Disney) have the copyright to the story of Stephen Strange, the arrogant surgeon that had a terrible car crash and went to Kamar-Taj and learned the ways of the Mystic Arts. However, if someone were to write about Trevor Baker, the arrogant baseball player that lost his arm in a car accident and went to a secret society in Japan to learn magic to become a sorcerer, there is no copyright protection. The idea is the same (and perhaps plagiarized), but there is enough difference to make it its own work.

You may note that, under that copyright definition and the current state of US law, all fanfiction are copyright infringements. Alongside that, all fanfiction can be considered a plagiarism of ideas in the eyes of some original creators. However, you’ll find that most authors, studios, and creative organizations are tolerant and sometimes encouraging of fanfiction and other fan-derived works so long as it’s not done for profit and clearly stated to be a fan-derived work (one time commissionsseem to be a grey area that most seem okay with, but something like art prints of copyrighted or trademarked characters is not something I’ve found definite rules for, and I imagine that it is also on a case by case basis; publishing written fanfiction works widely for profit is a big no for most creators). For more on this subject and how fan-derived works have fared legally, take a look at this wiki article, which mostly looks at cases within the United States but is still an interesting read. For more details about specific cases you can go to the sources linked.

You’ll note that, since copyright law does not protect ideas, that it doesn’t really fall into the scenario prompted in the original ask. The reason I bring up copyright is that it is important to recognize the differences between copyright and plagiarism.

I think Sara F Hawkins (an actual attorney, unlike me) states it best in her article about it. She has a whole list of the differences between copyright and plagiarism, but I think for the sake of this topic, this point is especially relevant to us: “Plagiarism is a violation of moral, ethical, or organization norms not laws.”

So let’s look at this case from those three viewpoints (for the sake of ease, I am using this definition to show the difference between ethics and morals. I don’t know if it’s right, but it’s useful).

Moral: The plagiarism of ideas and where it stands on a moral ground really varies from person to person. For instance, one may accuse me of plagiarizing @amethyst-noir​‘s ideas with the embellished or different spins on the prompts and asks received in her inbox. However, my moral stance would be that this falls into inspiration rather than plagiarism because there is enough of my own work within these prompts. This is a stronger argument as I also have her full support (as well as the support of a couple of the anons), but even if I didn’t, I think that if you put enough of your own spin onto the base of an idea, you craft it enough to make it your own. Many, many stories follow the same general plot lines and tropes; that does not mean they are all plagiarizing each other. Furthermore, the original ask makes it sound like you, anon, did not know this story existed after crafting the outline, making the argument null. How can you plagiarize something you did not know existed? You can’t, not from a moral standpoint.

Ethical: Unfortunately this one is a bit harder and the one you seem most concerned about. There is no one culture amongst the fan fiction community, and even every fandom has its own set of different communities with their own sets of norms, leaving this not entirely possible to predict. Instead I would rather critically examine the key plot points that are the same as this writer and figure out if they are relatively common tropes or entirely too specific to each other. For instance, if there’s a kidnapping, that’s in half the fiction out there. It’s way too broad a trope to be considered an idea one can really plagiarize. However, if both your story and theirs feature a kidnapping of the same character in the same spot with the same method after a very similar series of events, then there may be more people that see the similarities between them.If you want to take precaution against overzealous fans of the other work, upon publication of your own story, you can outright mention that you found a work similar to yours well after beginning your story and that any similarities are unintentional, with a link and a positive plug to the story in particular. You could even reach out to the author themselves before publishing, but I don’t think this is necessary, especially since you are crossing over a wholly different world (which already distinguishes itself as a different piece of work in regards to the base idea in most cases).

Organization: The authority on transformative works is usually considered to be AO3. AO3 would not pull a work for very similar ideas; if that were the case, the hurt/comfort, chatroom, and E-rating categories would be much, much smaller than they are now. So no worries on that end.

I cannot predict the behavior of your reviewers, anon, and without specifics I cannot say how similar your work is to this work already published, but I hope that everything I outlined above gives you an idea of where to go from here.

I am going to end this essay of an answer with something I found in my research on this subject. I came across this fantastic article by a Jonathan Bailey about the plagiarism of ideas and how they apply in US patent law (unlike copyright law, you can patent ideas), and what it would mean for the creative space if they were applied similarly. I recommend reading the whole article, but this passage especially stood out to me:

The best thing that we can do is realize that, in the eyes of the law, the value of a creative work is in its execution, not the idea behind it. As such, we have to take it upon ourselves not only to be original, but to carry out our visions the best possible way.

I think that should be a mantra everyone working with both original and derivative works should take to heart. Supposedly every story has already been told, so we may as well just tell the stories with our own spin, in our own words, and our own specific ideas that make them distinctly ours. That is how we make them unique and memorable.

[charmedtheselfproclaimedking]

Charmed Again (Charmed Fanfic): Season 1

Episode 1: Charmed Reborn: Part One

Warnings: I don’t own the rights to any of the characters from the hit TV show “Charmed” or the storylines related to the show those rights belong to original creator Constance M Burge.

15+ Moderate/Graphic Displays of Violence, Sexual Innuendos, Witchcraft and Potentially Triggering Scenes.

Drake Black lived a relatively normal life as a former stripper turned rookie detective believing his stripping past was the most exciting thing about him until he went from being a rookie cop within the San Francisco Police Department to discovering he was a half witch half demon hybrid in just one day.

“It’s times like these I really begin to wonder why the hell I became a detective.” Drake moaned to his best friend and fellow cop partner Lacey Morgan as they stepped out of Lacey’s car stopped in the streets of San Francisco before heading down a nearby alleyway.

“Even the more eccentric people of the world need protection Tristan and let’s face it San Francisco is the city of eccentrics.” Lacey replied as they continued to walk down the alleyway. “Who knows if you’re nice enough to the lady she may even give you a free reading.”

“Please,” Drake scoffed. “If she was a real psychic, she wouldn’t be needing our help, or she would’ve called in advance.”

“Who says she didn’t call us in before the mugging?” Lacey teased her friend as they continued to walk down the alleyway.

“Maybe you should take that free reading considering you’re the one crazy enough to believe in all that hocus pocus?” Drake suggested to her not realizing the irony in this conversation.

“You know I don’t believe in most psychic’s most of them are just legally mugging people, but I do believe in some of them.” Lacey admitted as the two of them stopped in front of the psychic readings shop which had a bright red door.

“Yeah well consider me a bit sucker punched that we’re pandering to more psychics in this just then actually doing proper police work.” Drake moaned before loudly banging on the red door and shouting. “Open up it’s the police.”

“Good job not frightening the victim of the crime.” Lacey said to him.

“Well we are the police, aren’t we?” Drake asked sarcastically.

“Welcome to my humble establishment,” The elderly female psychic greeted Drake and Lacey as they all sat down around her table in her shop, a table with a crystal ball placed in the middle of the table. “I’m afraid I never seen my mugger’s face but I’m sure my crystal ball will see all.”

“I’m sorry but are you for real?” Drake abruptly asked her before being nudged by Lacey for being rude to the woman.

“The irony of someone so charmed being a non-believer is rather hilarious.” Laughed the elderly woman.

“We don’t mean to be disrespectful to you whatsoever mam, but we can’t go on what your crystal ball saw we can only go on what you saw with your own actual eyes.” Lacey politely explained to the self-proclaimed psychic.

“Drake,” The psychic said as she grabbed a hold of his hand. “You shouldn’t blame yourself for what happened you were never to know.”

“I’m going to have to ask you politely not to touch me please.” Drake replied as he pushed the psychic’s hand away from his own. “What exactly do you mean it’s not my fault?”

“What happened to your adoptive parents your mother wants you to know she’s found peace and all she wants is for you to find the happiness you deserve.” The psychic revealed.

Drake stormed out of the psychic reading shop and into the alleyway as he struggled to deal with the psychic’s revelation about his adoptive mother not believing a word she said but struggling to control himself at the mere mention of his brother before charging towards a nearby bin and kicking hard so the bin launched itself down the alleyway the rubbish from it scattering everywhere.

“Calm down Drake last time you checked literally was still a crime and you’re meant to be solving them these days instead of creating them.” He mumbled to himself. “Old lady has no idea what she’s talking about.”

“Well actually that woman your referring to is actually wiser than her years.” Prue admitted to him appearing from as if out of nowhere to now be standing in front of a stunned Drake. “If you stayed in a little longer you might have learned some more things.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t see you there.” A confused Drake replied. “Where exactly did you come from?”

“That’s kind of a long story to be honest and not why I’m here,” Prue answered with a sly smile. “My name is Prue Halliwell I’m the original charmed one so it’s only fitting I’m here to rebirth the next generation of charmed ones.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Drake asked her, trying to make sense of this strange altercation.

“You’re a witch Drake a Halliwell witch to be precise and you need to meet your real family so the charmed ones can be reborn.” Prue revealed to him.

After finishing writing the psychic’s witness statement and spending some extra time talking away to the elderly woman Lacey walked out of the psychic’s shop alarmed to see Drake just stood there looking dazed and confused.

“Are you okay Drake?” She asked while walking over to him. “I may have noticed her touching a nerve in there hence your early exit.”

“It was just a shock to be honest.” Drake admitted. “I think I need to take the rest of the day off I’m not feeling right after that. Do you think you could cover for me?”

“Of course but you’re still going to try making it tonight for that club reopening I can’t show up to the place run by a woman I went on one date with solo I’d look like I was going there for her.” Lacey moaned to him.

“Don’t worry I’ll try to help you hide the fact your stalking the poor woman.” Drake responded with a laugh. “Just cover for me at work and I’ll see you tonight.”

“Well our boss is my dad and I am his number one child so I’m so I can swing it somehow.” Lacey replied with a smile. “Besides he loves you too.”

Pan Halliwell had a big day ahead of her as she stood outside in the parking lot of the family owned club P3 looking at a newly renovated P3 sign which still looked very much like the old one just with a fresher look and brighter neon lights as a banner just down from the sign read P3: The Grand Reopening.

“I’ve heard so many stories about this place it’s almost as iconic as the Halliwell Manor itself.” Quinn said with excitement as he orbed into the parking lot to stand beside Pan. “You must be beyond excited to reopen the family club.”

“Don’t tell me you just orbed into a public parking lot in the middle of the day?” Pan asked him while looking around to make sure nobody seen him.

“I checked before orbing just in case we can do that you know.” Quinn responded with an innocent smirk before going on to say. “The reason I’m here is because the elders have informed me about a powerful evil rising within the Underworld they’re all pretty worried up there I’m meant to inform all my charges about being on high alert for potential demon attacks because of it.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me you know it’d be perfectly acceptable for me to accept just one day without some demon bother I mean if I have to vanquish anything to day I may just go down there and one woman army the lot of them for ruining my grand reopening.” Pan moaned.

“There’s something I should probably tell you.” Quinn replied to her looking far from innocent now.

“I don’t mean to be a bitch today Quinn but just for once could you show up with some good news for me.” Pan said with an exhausted sigh.

“I was just going to tell you good luck for tonight and if you need me just holler.” Quinn told her as he forced a smile on his face.

“Thanks Quinn I really appreciate that,” Pan responded with a soft smile. “Just remember don’t orb out…”

Before Pan could finish her sentence Quinn already orbed away from the parking lot doing exactly what she was about to tell him not to do.

“Well here goes nothing,” Pan said while crossing her fingers. “Tonight’s for you grams!”

Paul Halliwell sat behind his desk within his office at Stevens and Summers Law Firm located within the city of San Francisco as he busily was typing up a contract agreement for one of his clients before he was shocked to see Quinn orbing into his office while the door to his office leading to a public reception was still open.

“Quinn what have I told about public exposure?” Paul moaned at him as Quinn closed Paul’s office door to give them both some privacy.

“I checked first I know I’m relatively new and I was a tad shaky at the start but I’m sensible to check before orbing into places.” Quinn explained to him with Paul not buying a word of it.

“You may be able to, but did you?” Paul asked as he laughed while standing up from his chair.

“Okay maybe I don’t check all the time.” Quinn admitted shyly.

“Is this about the premonition I had about demons plotting an attack outside of P3?” Paul wondered. “Because I’m just finishing up my workload and then I’ll be heading straight down there just in case Pan needs some back up.”

“Well that’s definitely something worth talking about but there’s actually something else we should talk about…” Quinn began to tell Paul before they were both distracted by Paul’s great aunt Prue appearing from out of nowhere into the office to be standing next to them.

“I already saw you chicken out of telling Pan, so I thought I’d come down here and force your hand just a little.” Prue told Quinn clearly talking about a certain third Halliwell.

“Aunt Prue it’s really good to see you as always but how come you’re here instead of well you know resting in peace?” Paul asked his great aunt as respectfully as possible.

“Please Paul you know as much as I do death never stops any Halliwell.” Prue smirks before going on to reveal. “I’m here to help the next generation of charmed ones be born.”

“How is that possible? I mean the charmed ones were you, grams and Aunt Phoebe before later Aunt Paige and the last time I checked use are all dead except Aunt Paige who’s now head elder and Pan and I are the last of the Halliwell’s.” Paul asked Prue as he struggled to understand what she was meaning.

“Last time I checked you and Pan make two and it just show happens that a certain long-lost son makes three.” Prue explained to him. “Not to boast or anything but he’s got the same power as me meaning the three of you together have the same powers as us original charmed ones.”

“Wait a second Drake Black’s his son not his brother?” Quinn asked clearly shocked by Prue’s reveal.

“Well here’s the thing only the family knows the truth so don’t be rushing to tell the elders or me may just have to vanquish you.” Prue replied with both sarcasm and sincerity.

“Of course not, my lips are sealed.” Quinn promised out of both loyalty and fear for the Halliwell family.

“His name is Drake?” Paul asked in shock as tears began forming in his eyes as he sat back down on his chair. “I’ve never actually heard his name before.”

“Can you give us a minute?” Prue asked Quinn who quickly orbed away out of sight without any hesitation before turning her attention to her great nephew. “Nobody is judging you for what went down Paul I mean all of my siblings have wound up with a demon or two myself included it just so happened that your liaison with a demon resulted in a witch/demon hybrid baby.”

“I don’t get how you would even want him to be a part of all this madness?” Paul wondered. “I mean the whole reason I gave him up in the first place was so that he could live a normal life far away from all of this.”

“Paul when your mother convinced you to give Drake up for adoption and I know she hand a heavy hand in the decision; you were very young and the whole half demon/witch thing was frowned upon. I’m sorry but this really is for the greater good and if it’s too hard to admit your parentage after all these years Melinda’s already spoken with the elders saying he’s her secret child hence Quinn’s shock.” Prue explained to him.

“And what if the elders are listening now?” Paul quizzed. “What if I don’t even get the chance to tell that lie?”

“Paul I’m hardly a rookie witch I know how to stop them eavesdropping.” Prue revealed as she placed her hand on her great nephew’s shoulder, trying to comfort him.

“I don’t want Drake involved in any of this Prue and I’m especially not having him back in my life just for some second generation’s charmed ones.” Paul said defiantly.

“Drake completing the power of three alongside you and Pan isn’t just about the greater good although that is very important it’s also giving you the chance to finally get to know your son and if you’re too scared to tell him who you really are we will just continue the lie.” Prue said, trying to convince him.

“It’s not happening I’m sorry, but I can’t let it happen.” Paul refused as he stood back up from his chair.

“I’m sorry Paul I really am but the elders know about him now and with his demonic side never being bound it was only a matter of time before somebody knew. Trust me when I say I know more than anyone the burden of being a charmed one and how it can be dangerous but the things the three of you will do together will be truly amazing.” Prue explained to him trying to make him realize that the charmed ones were his, his sister and his son’s destiny.

As the hours passed and it became night time the grand re-opening of P3 had already begun and it was very successful at least judging by the endless cue starting outside the door all the way into the alleyway next to it and amongst the waiting crowd was Drake Black and Lacey Morgan.

“I thought you said you went on a date with the owner why are we stood so far back?” Drake asked his friend.

“I’ve been on a date emphasis on a date I’m hardly going to start asking for favors before I even manage to get a second date.” Lacey replied.

“Okay well I guess this means I should be getting my flirt on,” Drake boasted as he grabbed a hold of Lacey and the two of them pushed their way through the line until they were at the front door.

“Get to the back of the cue please.” The female club bouncer told them both.

“Has anyone ever told you before that you have the most beautiful eyes,” Drake said flirting with the bouncer. “I mean I could stand right here and just get lost in them.”

“Back of the cue now!” The bouncer snapped causing Lacey to laugh at her friend’s flirting attempts.

“Do you know he used to be a stripper?” Lacey asked the bouncer standing guard of access into P3. “I’m sure he could come out of retirement for a private performance if you let us in.”

“Hey, don’t sell me out,” Drake moaned nudging her before looking at the bouncer. “It’s true though and I was one of the best.”

“Get to the back of the cue now before I stop you from getting in all together.” The female bouncer replied not amused with Drake or Lacey.

“Actually, these two are with me.” Quinn revealed as he appeared from out of the crowd playing hero to Lacey and Drake.

“Oh, I’m sorry Mr Quinn,” The bouncer blushed “Come on in.”

Drake and Lacey followed Quinn into P3 which structure had kept the same over the year minus a few minor updates. It didn’t take long for Lacey to notice Pan serving drinks behind the bar counter being kept quite busy, the club filled with customers and Bebe Rexha was playing I’m A Mess live on the stage.

“I sort of work here well sometimes anyway so if you need anything just give me a shout and I’ll try my best to get it for you.” Quinn said to Drake and Lacey as he found them a private booth within the club, the same booth reserved for family non-coincidentally.

“That’s awful good of you, thanks.” Lacey replied as her and Drake took their seats within the booth.

“Yeah thanks ever so much.” Drake responded while rolling his eyes as Quinn smiled at them before walking away into the crowd leaving the two friends to it.

“Are you seriously huffing at him because the woman outside didn’t fall for your not so subtle charms.” Lacey laughed at her friend.

“It’s my tantrum and I’ll huff if I want to,” Drake admitted before looking over at the bar counter and noticing Pan busy serving customer after customer. “You know I can’t actually be your back up if you don’t go over to the girl don’t worry about me I’ll be hitting the dance floor soon searching for a guy or girl maybe both.”

“Okay,” Lacey replied nervously while looking over at Pan. “I’ll be back with lots of drink.”

Pan was at her happiest behind the bar especially when it was at it’s peak level of busy like that night on the reopening she was serving drink after drink which she much preferred to vanquishing demon after demon enjoying the moment of normality but before long she would soon find herself seeing normality less and less.

“I saw you walk in with Lacey and some guy how do you know her?” Pan asked Quinn in-between serving customers.

“It’s my job to get to know everyone that’s around my charges.” Quinn replied as subtly as possible as he served another customer. “You should take a break soon and go see your brother he’s in the back room waiting for you.”

“Let me guess he’s waiting to help me with my other job I am yet to find a way of quitting.” Pan sighed while rolling her eyes as she finished serving a customer only to see Lacey walk over to her.

“Hey Pan.” Lacey said as she stood in front of the bar counter.

“Hey, I’ve got to go to the back the now, but I promise I’ll catch up with you in a bit.” Pan replied rushing off before Lacey had a chance to respond.

“Yeah sure no bother.” Lacey mumbled to herself while assuming she had just received the brush off.

“Trust me she’s busy with work the last thing she’d mean to do is ignore you.” Quinn reassured her while pouring two large vodkas and coke. “The grand reopening is stressful but the good kind this means a lot to her.”

“Cheers.” Lacey replied in shock as Quinn handed her two vodkas and coke. “I didn’t even tell you my order.”

“Just call me the perfect bartender my name’s Quinn by the way.” He said with a smile. “Consider all drinks tonight on the house.”

“Thanks, you seem like a really nice guy which means you’re of a rare breeding or your trying to get in my friend’s pants either way I’m cool with it.” Lacey admitted to him while grabbing the two glasses.

“I’m definitely a rare breed.” Quinn laughed as Lacey walked away before mumbling to himself. “Well done Quinn with that kind of quick thinking you’ll be an elder in no time.”

“I don’t get it Paul how are we supposed to be the charmed ones 2.0 last time I checked it was the power of three not the power of two?” Pan asked confused by Paul’s confession after meeting him in the backroom.

“That’s not strictly true there is technically another Halliwell out there.” Paul admitted.

“Your son but that doesn’t make any sense the charmed ones were sisters so 2.0 is brother sister and brother’s son?” Pan responded trying to make sense of the revelation. “This is a lot to take in I can’t imagine how you must be feeling right now.”

“Well hopefully the two of you are both feeling like reuniting the power of three.” Prue said with a smile as she appeared from out of nowhere once again.

“Really?” Pan asked her. “We haven’t even seen Paul’s son since he gave up him all those years ago and now, we’re supposed to do what exactly?”

“The elders want us to meet him, activate his powers and then become the power of three.” Paul explained clearly still reluctant to the plan.

“He’s here in this very club tonight and it’s not a coincidence you had a premonition about a demon attack happening here.” Prue confessed. “I would’ve told you sooner but figure it was better till you actually got here.”

“You mean my son is literally in this club right now?” Paul asked completely terrified by the notion of meeting his son for the first time. “I don’t know if I’m ready to meet him not, yet this is all way too much.”

“I can’t guarantee you’d ever be ready to meet your son or that this is going to end well for anyone, but I can guarantee I’ll be here by your side as always.” Pan promised her brother as she placed his hand on her shoulder.

“I know all this is incredibly hard and if I cold prevent it all for you I would.” Prue admitted as she too placed her hand on Paul’s shoulder. “Sadly, when it comes to life as a charmed one destiny doesn’t tend to ask.”

Drake and Lacey found themselves on their next round of drink sitting in the booth until the artist Bebe Rexha began playing her song I’m going to show you crazy which gets the two both of up off their feet immediately as they rush to the dance floor and begin dancing to the song with excitement while singing along to the song in the process before Drake noticed Quinn from the bar looking over at him so smiles his way and gets a smile back from him before he returned his attention back to Lacey.

“Okay I’m no longer huffy although I maybe ready to get a flirty soon.” Drake shouted over the song.

“You always wind up flirty after a few drinks.” Lacey joked as she too shouted over the song. “I need to make a call before I forget do you want to come outside with me?”

“No problem.” Drake replied as the two began walking through the crowd and towards the club’s back door at the same time Paul and Pan walked over to the bar counter to talk to Quinn.

“Why didn’t you tell me who he was when you walked in with him?” Pan asked Quinn as she and Paul stood at the counter.

“Here I wanted to, but Prue said not to tell anyone and considering I’m highly terrified of her I decided to shut up and listen.” Quinn replied.

“I suppose I get that.” Pan sighed before looking around the crowd for a sign of her nephew. “Where is he anyway?”

Drake and Lacey stood outside in an alleyway next to the closed back door to the P3 club, Lacey having had just come off the phone following a quick check in call to her father/boss Eric Morgan.

“You seriously need to get your own place,” Drake laughed. “Don’t get me wrong I love daddy Morgan, but he needs to stop worrying about you so much.”

“Yeah I know it’s just I’m the only kid he talks to these days since well you know.” Lacey reluctantly replied, the topic not being easy for either of them. “It’s hard bringing it up that I’m ready to get my own place plus I’d be really worried about him if I did get my own place.”

“I get it family means everything.” Drake said with a sense of sadness before noticing a man shimmer his way into the alleyway leaving him completely shocked while Lacey was blissfully unaware.

Drake noticed the stranger summon an energy ball above his hand just before throwing at his and Lacey’s directly and without a second’s though he pushed Lacey out of the way making her crash into the bins as the energy ball came flying in his direction just for him to blink away out of sight before the energy ball managed to hit him and reappearing in the same spot as the energy ball hit a large garbage bin placed behind Drake.

“I guess the rumors are true about a Halliwell witch whose half demon.” The man chuckled before summoning an energy ball above his hand. “I really don’t like half breeds.”

Pan and Paul rushed out of the back door instantly with Pan raises her hands towards the man’s direction causing him to explode into pieces within second shocking Drake even further.

“Drake, are you okay?” Paul asked a clearly confused and shell-shocked Drake.

[tanyuu]

end-eavor

Hi! This is my first article-style theory. It’s obviously not like an actual article, you can tell by the deteriorating quality and fact that I used my own headcanons in place of canon information, but I’d just really love to see an article written by a sleep-deprived reporter bashing Endeavor.

 That’s… all this is. It’s just a 7-page rant on why Endeavor is a terrible parent. And then it quickly dissolves into a theory on why Dabi is Todoroki Touya, so… good luck.

 The reporter who writes this (Ella) is me! I’m not actually a reporter or writer at all, but I work around books. So. I’m gonna call bullshit on myself and get INTO THIS!

  YEEHAW!

 Todoroki Enji, also known as Endeavor (#1 in PHR, but #-7,000,000 in our hearts), has at least three children. They are known as Todoroki Natsuo, Todoroki Fuyumi, and Todoroki Shouto. Shouto has been in the public eye for a while now, especially after he was accepted by recommendation into UA.

Shouto was confirmed to be previously the victim of an act of domestic violence. His well-known facial scar (over his left eye), covers a quarter of his face. The cause was confirmed to be his mother's unstable and rapidly declining mental health.

All three of the Todoroki children released statements in the following years to plead their mother as not guilty (and worthy of single custody.) Endeavor harshly refused these claims, and insisted that their mother had endangered his children. (though he did not call Shouto his child. the term used was 'masterpiece,' which implies... certain things.)

In all fairness, Endeavor's stance on the topic is expected. The safety of your children is important. It's a touchy subject though, so all you need to know is this:

 - Rei Todoroki (ice quirk), mother to the Todoroki children, poured boiling water onto her youngest child (Shouto)'s face.

- The cause was deteriorating mental health, but the cause of said mental state has not been released. Ever.

- Endeavor has potentially harmful opinions regarding his children, as well as near POSSESSIVE qualities with and to his youngest child.

Moving on.

Todoroki Natuso (quirkless), has cut ties with his father, for unknown reasons. Speculators and theorists claim that his father MADE him, as to not interfere with Shouto's "training."

He is now working as a doctor near Shizuoka Prefecture, and has saved many lives. His sister and brother are very proud of him. (and we bet his mother is, too)

Todoroki Fuyumi (sparking ice quirk) works as a preschool teacher. Though Natsuo moved out of Endeavor's "estate" (look up the square footage. we DARE you), Fuyumi has not. According to THIS (link) article, she will not until Shouto has graduated from UA. When prompted, she gave no answer.

Now, you're probably wondering: "Hey, Ella? If there's some kind of scandal, why don't you just go right out and say what you think is going on?"

That's the fun part! I legally CAN'T. Todoroki Enji (Endeavor, your #1 PUBLIC HERO) has ordered that no reporters are allowed to comment on 'how he runs his family.' And honestly, I value my job just a LITTLE too much to run the risk of the Hellflame's wrath.

Onwards, I suppose. And time for some (LEGAL) speculation.

If you recall, I mentioned how there are three confirmed children. That's because (and i did some actual digging here) there are FOUR legitimate Todoroki children.

Does anyone else remember the sports festival 6 years ago? The kid who had a CRAZY blue fire quirk? And then there's the fact that five-ish years ago, all of the footage from the semi-finals was deleted. Almost all of it.

Now, (I say with a grimace, here) I found one photo, and anyone with an eye on the news regarding high-profile villains would recognize THOSE piercings.

Why am I bringing up this blue fire quirk kid, anyway? Blue fire, blue fire, blue fire.

Todoroki Enji, ENDEAVOR. THE NUMBER ONE HERO. Lied about his kids. I'm definitely losing my job now, so... might as well just go with this, I guess. How do I know this?

 We're familiar with Endeavor's ultra-move, the jet-stream style fire blast. He used it in the Hosu attack earlier this year, just before he captured the villain 'Stain.'

 What color is the fire in that crazy powerful attack? B L U E.

Sports Festival mystery kid? Blue fire, spiky RED HAIR, turquoise eyes. It's like... younger, amped-up Endeavor.

 I brought up piercings already, right?

 The boy from the sports festival (let's nickname him v2 for now, short for Version Two of Endeavor. because I would pay SO MUCH to see this kid kick Endeavor's ass. i'll be linking a kickstarter for that later, too) has four piercings on his ears, and a triangle of nose piercings on both sides of his nose.

 Blue fire, spiky hair, turquoise eyes, a FUCK TON of piercings, and just LOOK at this smirk: <IMAGE ATTACHED>.

Now, who does this remind anyone of?

The leader of the Vanguard Action Squad of the infamous League of Villains (LoV). The villain's name is 'Dabi,' which means 'Cremation.' Coincidentally, I looked up what v2's quirk was named. After a HELL of a lot of digging, I found both v2's name AND the name of his quirk.

 Cremation.

And as for the name, well, I'd like Endeavor's official and public reason for keeping his FIRST and OLDEST child out of the public eye.

Todoroki Touya.

What am I implying, here? That one of Endeavor's children became a villain? A high-profile villain, involved with the kidnapping of a minor and attempted murder of at least 19? A villain with a criminal record longer than Shiozaki Ibara’s hair?

I'll provide a list of reasons why I (personally, and definitely not free of bias) think there's way more going on in this picture. Thank you for reading this far, by the way. It really does mean a lot, especially considering that this will likely be the last thing I'll... ever write, at least professionally.

To answer my own question, I'm telling you that Todoroki Touya became the villain 'Dabi.'

Now for the REALLY fun part. Why on Earth would Touya even become a villain? And especially as one of the children of such a well-known (but, frankly, not well-liked) hero?

 I have a short list of reasons why this may have happened.

- Todoroki Enji kicked Touya out (reasons unknown, date unknown, all unconfirmed)

- Touya ran away (reason unconfirmed)

- Pressured by villains (honestly? unlikely)

But, drawing attention to the scar patterns on Dabi (Touya?)'s arms and face. It's a fire burn, but not a REGULAR fire burn. From the looks of it, it wasn’t caused by an external force (you can tell b/c of his fingers). But this implies that Dabi did it HIMSELF, which... is a whole new can of worms.

(I swear all of this is relevant. I'm just... speculating. Diligently.)

In order to do so much self-inflicted damage, you would need a few key things.

1) High pain tolerance. (30% of Dabi's skin is scar tissue. That's... a lot. Have you ever accidentally touched a flame? It hurts, and keeping it there would hurt a lot more. Doing something like that and holding the flame there requires a lot of control.)

2) A high sensitivity to your OWN quirk. Now, quirk biologists have talked about how people usually have a natural immunity to their own quirks, especially emitter-types. But, if Touya THEORETICALLY had a body made for an ICE QUIRK (see where I'm headed?), it would explain why he was so easily burned.

But why would he have such a pain tolerance? And especially... towards burns...?

 Well, I'll let you decide that one for yourself, there. I'm not allowed to talk about that, remember?

GREAT! We've answered some questions! (some meaning, like, two)

Now onto a Fun Part™! (It's not fun. Honestly, writing this makes me feel horrible. The things pro heroes cover up, no kids should EVER go through ANY of what I'm writing about.)

So far, Enji's been in the wrong... probably 80% of the time? Some of it (20%) can be marked down as 'concerned parent,' but the rest... yeah.

Anyway! Let's address a concerning topic. There are a few things I'm going to be talking back and going back to QUITE a bit:

- Shouto's refusal to use his fire in the Sports Festival last year (earlier this year? time is a concept, and i'm not familiar with it)

- The difference in personality with the Todoroki trio. (i'd say quartet, but my boss says i'm not allowed to interview a villain, and also. all of these. are still speculation. please pay me)

- How Endeavor (#1 hero. i keep bringing that up just to reiterate who exactly is the current face of the hero world and WHY THE FUCK IS HE STILL TH-) addresses his children

Where were we again? Let me check.

Oh yeah, before I start yelling about Enji being a piece of shit, I'm going to say a few things about myself. This article is very unorthodox, and I shouldn't... technically do this? BUT I'm already gonna lose my job! So, onwards and upwards, y’all:

- My name is Ella.

- I work for a really well-known (and lovely) publishing company, as a writer and editor.

- I get paid XXXXX a year. Which is okay, and better than some other companies, but I'm still... not getting anything out of this, so you can't say I was paid to write this. If anything, I'm LOSING money by writing this. (but i'm in too deep to stop now, so...)

- My hands hurt a lot from writing this. I've written it all in about an hour, but the research has taken me WEEKS. W E E K S, I TELL YOU-

 Todoroki Shouto (15, Half-Cold Half-Hot emitter quirk, aptly named) is a student at UA. He is in class 1-A, the Hero Course. He's been involved with many mainstream villain attacks, such as the USJ invasion, the Stain + Hosu event, and All Might's last stand.

 Shouto's personality can be seen as cold and standoffish, and the media likes to depict him as an aloof pretty boy. Please keep in mind, he's... been through a lot. And I'm speculating that he's been through more than anyone's actually THOUGHT about before. Kudos to him.

 In the Sports Festival in Shouto's first year, his fight with Midoriya Izuku was ALL OVER THE NEWS. The green haired “no bones about it” kid had gotten Todoroki "I'm not using half of my power" Shouto to use his fire. Nobody knows the exact content of the fight, but it's worth mentioning that Shouto smiled during it. Full-on GRINNED.

(the more i think about that... the sadder it is? kid didn't look like he’d smiled very much. ever, actually. WHY COULD THAT BE-)

 Speculation as to why Shouto didn't actually use his fire during the first events (and according to his classmates Asui Tsuyu and Kirishima Eijirou, he hadn't used it all YEAR. not even during the USJ invasion) was rampant through hero forums. Popular theories included:

- Shouto didn't want to one-up his classmates, so he restricted his power to make it fair. (which is understandable, but.... hon.... how likely is that. the damn MOTTO is ‘plus ultra’)

- Shouto was told not to by his father, and didn't, as some kind of rite of passage. (which is a whole NEW kind of 'what the fuck, enji' and i'm just. not touching that theory)

- My personal and biased favorite: Shouto was rebelling against his father after being pressured to surpass him and be even greater. (which, fair. honestly, any kind of intense pressure ESPECIALLY from a high-profile parent is stressful. take music lessons, for example! kids are gonna give up if they're forced to do shit! come ON, endeavor)

Endeavor (in MULTIPLE) interviews, has referred to Shouto as 'his masterpiece,' or 'his greatest work,' or other terrifying names. Honestly. Children aren't property, and although quirks are tossed around like clothes in a washing machine, their uses don't justify the treatment of their people. Especially with all the stigma surrounding "villainous" quirks. (WHICH IS BULLSHIT, OKAY? quirks aren't inherently villainous. sure, some are a little less flashy and virtuous, but fear is irrelevant! it's what you choose to do with what you have that matters. choices affect content of character, not predetermined morality)

BACK ON TOPIC. I'm not sorry. I feel like I could write a whole separate article on why villainous quirks don't actually exist? Should I? Hell yeah. I will, eventually.

Endeavor's blatant favoritism of Shouto is highlighted by the way he talks about his other children. By that, I'm referring to the fact that he outright DOESN'T. Not one WORD on Natsuo's confirmed cure for quirk burns. Not ONE WORD on Fuyumi's (SIX) teaching awards.

 And, most concerningly?

Endeavor has refused to allow Todoroki Rei to leave the mental hospital she was put into (10 YEARS AGO) although she's passed EVERY SINGLE examination. (fuck, i'm not allowed to talk about that. OH WELL if i go i'm going OUT)

 Shouto has affirmed that he doesn't want to work under his father, and will likely be joining a separate agency in the event of immediate hero work after graduation. He sort of implied that his father didn't know when to stop, but then left the interview.

"Didn't know when to stop? Stop what, Ella?" Remember how I mentioned some kind of 'training' way early into this? Mmm-hmm.

 I'm going to do some extreme hand-waving here. This is ALL speculation, and as of now it's ILLEGAL speculation.  

Back to Touya for a second. The records I found said that he won his match, but lost the semi-final due to intense quirk backlash. The time of the first match was INCREDIBLE. 

 6.3 seconds. Holy... SHIT.

(great job, touya! we're all really proud of you!)

Honestly! That's crazy! Record-breaking, even. Second only to... Shouto.

Second to Shouto. Maybe that's... not the first time Touya's heard that phrase.

Anyway. Training plays a role in this, because the difference in control between Shouto and Touya with fire is barely noticable. They both copy a move (left hand swing and then a full-fire short range blast) from each other. Well, maybe not from each-other.

Let's look into the Hosu fight. Endeavor uses a blue-fire jet-flame attack (can't remember if it has a name, only that it's INTENSE and I would NOT like to be on the receiving end of it), but later with the LoV's monsters (they're called 'noumu'), he uses a very familiar move.

 Left hand swing. Full-fire short range blast.

Only this time, there's no eye flinch or subtle shoulder tense. Only cold, hard, fury.

  What am I implying?

Well, I can't legally talk about THAT, now can I?

Thank you very much for reading this! I picked up this style from a few meta posts in other fandoms; the writer has access to information the reader does NOT, in this case the lack of canon information regarding Dabi’s background and/or schooling. I added headcanons:

-Natuso being quirkless

-Touya going to UA

-Touya being a badass (that’s not really a headcanon, though. he’s related to fuyumi. of course he’s gonna be a badass)

[tifs-against-terfs]

I watched the 42 minute Projared video so you don’t have to (kinda)

Trigger warning for like. A lot of stuff. Very very long post so more under the cut

Alright. So basically, I’m not exactly well versed in the situation here. What I do know, is that famous gaming youtuber Projared allegedly cheated on his Wife Heidi with the ex-wife of Ross O’Donovan, Holly Conrad, as well as that he has been accused of being a pedophile, or at the very least, a person who took advantage of his power and fame and used to it get illicit pictures from people who were not his wife.

While I am not at ALL 100% versed in every little detail and nuance that this situation contains, I do know trademark manipulative behavior when I see it. So this is a post that will high light all that I could catch in my time watching his video.

This was gonna be a bulleted list but I feel it works better in a sort of essay format. Keep in mind, the majority of the times I quoted him were paraphrased or shortened to keep this already lengthy ass post shorter than it could be. Also, keep in mind that this is in no way an unbiased review. I didn’t like Jared before and I certainly don’t like him now, so if that’s what you’re looking for, you came to the wrong place. This took me over 4 hours. Enjoy.

Throughout the entirety of the video, Jared, like most manipulators, presents himself as both a victim and as the good guy of the story. Taking a sort of “misunderstood hero” approach to all of his arguments. This can be seen repeatedly. At one instance, near the beginning of the video he refers to the influx of call out posts and memes that were made about him as “harassment,” which is already an Olympic level stretch. He also refers to himself as “demonized and dehumanized.” This is a classic example of the self victimizing behavior and wording that Jared places oh so strategically throughout his video. There is a prime example of him painting himself as a hero when he mentions the statement that normal boots issued about his release. Jared claims that he was not fired, and that he in fact quit. He goes on to say that he did this because he saw his former coworkers losing followers and didn’t want them to be dragged down with him. I shouldn’t have to explain why this is a classic example of manipulating others in order to seem superior to your opposition. He ends the video with a short rant in which he, again, refers to people making memes, call out posts, and tweeting out clown emojis (I wish I was joking) as harassment.

Let’s move on to the way Jared presents his evidence. Jared consistently used ways of getting his point across that were either only vaguely related to the point he was attempting to make, or just simply sketchy, to say the least. Near the very beginning of the video, Jared attempts to claim that two different people tweeting out accusations, and later deleting them serves as legitimate evidence. While it is sketchy, and does make the two accusers look a bit unreliable (more on that in a moment) there are a multitude of other reasons they could’ve deleted the tweets, aside from them simply being liars, so this point is irrelevant. Not long after, Jared makes the claim, that “if both of us have a claim but no evidence, then it’s a simple case of my word against theirs.” And while that is correct, it doesn’t actually make his argument any better. He only did it to make himself look more reliable than the opposition, which was also the purpose of showing the deleted tweets. The reason these two things wouldn’t have mattered, is because he goes on to disprove both accusers claims anyway, so he had no point to mention the deleted tweets nor his “two unsupported claims against each other” argument besides to turn the audiences opinions of the situation in his favor. Touching more on the accusers, there were actually three of them. Only three that Jared mentions, at least, and shockingly, all three people can pretty easily be disproved with about an hour of research. Why would Jared choose these three people? Easy. He included their accusations and their accusations only because he wanted to paint the entire opposition as unreliable, untrustworthy, and frankly, as liars.

The way in which Jared paints his opposition as opposed to himself is his other main way of getting the viewer to sway to his side. One of the main things Jared does throughout the entire video, especially in the beginning, is he only refers to the opposition in ways that makes them seem untrustworthy. For example, only referring to things that people said about him as “accusations,” even after they are essentially proven as fact. Including still, after three months, claiming that he never actually cheated on Heidi, despite being disproved again and again and again. He also frequently brings up facts that are only vaguely relevant. About halfway through the video he states that one of his accuser’s evidence is invalid because she did not provide every single little screenshot of all the conversations that happened between them, which frankly, makes no sense. A person who is attempting to make a legitimate accusation against someone would not include every single little detail if they didn’t have to. Jared then quickly proves that this person left out evidence that Jared was unaware that this person was a minor. Again, this is a case of Jared including unnecessary details in order to make the opposition seem worse than he. Another example of this is when Jared mentions that The Game Grumps deleted every video that included him in it, and states that this is an example of the mob mentality of the opposition, which also only vaguely makes sense. There are, again, a multitude of other reasons why The Game Grumps could’ve deleted the videos, for example, to avoid any unnecessary attention that would come from being associated with a man who potentially cheated on his wife. Game grumps is a very large company and who knows how many people would have their careers ruined or heavily damaged if people found them guilty by association. Perhaps the biggest case of Jared misrepresenting his opposition is at the very end of the video, he mentions that, “of the countless drama channels that made videos about me, not one of them came to ask me about the situation or hear my side of the story.” While this may or may not be true, it’s not hard to see that Jared clearly presents everyone other than him as either unreliable, a harasser, or an attention seeking part of the “mob” which Jared frequently refers to it as. And while yes, technically, it WAS a mob of sorts, Jared was not treated any differently from any other celebrity or public figure that has had a scandal surrounding them revealed, and I don’t think Jared realizes that.

Aside from blatant lies, half-truths, and manipulation that is rampant throughout this video, there are countless other things that aren’t exactly morally correct, per se. I’m using near direct quotes in order to more accurately present the sheer moral, almost corruptness of Jared. The first two quotes in regards to him receiving sexually explicit pictures (despite having a wife) that caught my eye were as follows: “It doesn’t matter how neutral the intent was, being in this situation causes a power imbalance.” Shortly followed by “I feel like what I was doing was unhealthy, not predatory.” It doesn’t take much to see that these quotes show that A) he knows that what he was doing caused a very clear power imbalance between the two parties, and B) he doesn’t believe he’s necessarily a bad person for doing it. Whether Jared actually slept with Holly while still with his wife is up for debate, however, it is a fact that while married, he received sexually explicit pictures from women likely far younger than him and that he doesn’t believe that this is in any way predatory. As he mentions, being a public figure essentially gives you power over anyone you interact with online, especially in a sexual setting. Jared being a known influencer with lots of young fans who interacts with certain fans in a sexual manor and setting is morally gray enough. But to do that while in a legal committed relationship with someone else is beyond immoral. Another incredibly sketchy thing that Jared says is that in response to the argument “why don’t you ask for the women’s ID to see if they’re actually 18?” Jared replies, “It would be difficult and ineffective to do that. IDs can be easily faked and edited. It would also essentially doxx any woman that wants to send pictures.” Which yes. He is 100% correct in saying this. However, any moral person would, if unable to confirm if the pictures they’re receiving are from a minor or not, would simply not accept pictures. But we know that Jared isn’t a moral person. Any man that is remotely ok with even the possibility of the pictures he receives being from minors is not a morally conscious man.

In conclusion, Jared made his opposition out to be bullies, told lies and half truths to all his fans through this entire ordeal, manipulated his audience, was and CONTINUED to be at very best morally gray, and then STILL had the nerve to act like a victim when people tweeted clown emojis at him. I will never believe Jared in anything he says, and you shouldn’t either.