#those so-called child starts are all victim of child abuse in some way or another

[loser-female]

Oh no, a victim of constant child abuse and overexposure is being cringe on the internet while being a lesbian, let's go and harass her.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Villain: Dreava Bleek, Gallowood Sheriff

It's a gruesome business enforcing the law, especially when the laws are written by an aristocracy who wants their subjects submissive and terrified and it's your business to keep them that way.

There have always been people like Dreava Bleek, blunt instruments that enforce the social order so those at the top needn't bloody their hands. They do it for many reasons; coin, ambition, sadism, but in the case of this villain it's misplaced righteousness: Dreava has had a hatred burning in the pit where her heart should be since she was a child, a bone deep conviction that if people just knew their place and followed the rules that the world could be a place of pace. Nevermind the powerful that abuse the system for their own gain, nevermind the starving poor who break the law only to fill their bellies. In Dreava's word there are only good citizens and criminals, and criminals will hang.

Adventure Hooks:

Dreava earned both her reputation and her title in her campaign against the Gallerwood outlaws, a band of highwaymen who were famed for robbing everyone from wizards and duchesses and who Dreava left hanging from the trees along the edge of their forest. After her little stunt folks started calling the area "Gallowwood" and speaking of how her victims still haunt the roads looking for one last take. Some others mention a secret hideout that the sheriff never found, in which the thieves kept their most valued treasures.

The two easiest ways for the party to end up in Dreava's sights are to already be criminals, or to make themselves the enemy of some belligerent noble who can accuse them (accurately or not) of some transgression of the law

Backgorund: Dreava was young when darkness was wrought upon her soul, when a series of poor harvests and overstepping officials saw her little village rise with its neighbours in a revolt against their feudal overlord. She lost her home and her mother not in the uprising itself but in the violent pillage the lord's forces were allowed after its brutal suppression.

A flip of the coin and Dreava could have been a rebel fighting against authority, but in those grim days the alchemy of terror instilled in her an understanding of just what happens when the poor overstep the place allotted to them by their betters.

Since then her life has followed a pattern. Get hired on by some lord after having difficulty with bandits or other such rabblerousers. Make a show of brutal violence that seems to put an end to the problem for good. Continue to build her reputation until she either becomes her patron's bloody left hand, making their followers just as brutal and jackbooted as she is. End up entering into the service of another lord either on recommendation or after she's ousted for some violence that not even the benefice of the nobility can forgive.

Further Adventures:

Rather than a head on confrontation, Dreava will seek to bait the party into a trap, either by setting up an ambush or going after their known associates. Coerce, intimidate, brutalize, leashed in only by the very limit of what the law might allow. If she doesn't have proof of the party's guilt she'll drag them off to a dungeon to await a sham trial (from which they might be able to escape), but if she's been given the goahead by her superiors she'll gladly execute the heroes in the field, a grim situation which has it's own escape methods.

All her life the sheriff had sworn by the goddess Erathis, seeing herself as a champion of law and civilization. What a surprise for her then after the heroes sever her soul from her body to awake in the halls of the lord of all hells.  While the other gods turned their heads away in shame and disgust, Asmodeus watched with appreciation as Dreava bent her life to punishing sinners, and now offers her the chance to do so again, this time in his service. With a new master to serve and chip on her shoulder against the party Dreava will gladly agree, emerging from her damnation with a newly fiendish form. Consider having her emerge as a surprise villain several levels after the party thought her dead, and the head of a band of fiendish cultists.

Art

[warblogs17282]

So, I've been thinking about Stolas and the divorce proceedings again, and the more I think about it, the more that I come to the conclusion that Stolas is gonna lose hard if he ends up appearing in court in regards to the divorce proceedings.

Let's start with a quick refresher on things, the show has given us a few things that can point us to the conclusion that there's been divorce proceedings happening in the background.

'You leave with Via on weekends.'

and the fact that a lot of things in Stolas' palace now seems to be wrapped up in some sort of material.

(Just so we're clear Stolas is absolutely the victim here, I'm just speaking like how someone with no prior knowledge of the situation would look at it, and that Stolas did not 'cheat' on Stella, for reasons that Stolas himself said.)

Getting back to the subject, I mainly think that Stolas is gonna get an unfavorable outcome in the courts regarding the divorce proceedings for one main reason. It'll turn into a 'he said she said' situation real quickly.

Let's think this through, who do you think the people looking over the divorce proceedings are going to believe the most? The socially awkward person, who, to everyone on the outside, decided to cheat on her with a seemingly random imp? Or the one who Andrealphus described as quote 'attractive' and has to the people overlooking the divorce proceedings, done almost nothing wrong, making her the victim of Stolas cheating on her to them?

I know you're most likely thinking of a few points right now, so let's discuss those as well.

1: 'Stolas could just mention the abuse he's suffered.'

That's also gonna turn into a 'he said she said' situation real fast as well.

Cause to start, the overt abuse in front of Octavia in s1 e2 will most likely just end up getting overlooked for the most part, considering that this takes place after Stolas 'cheated' on Stella, meaning that the people in the courts will most likely offer Stella at minimum a bit of sympathy in regards to this specifically.

There's also this in s1 e2, where Stolas tries to explain to Octavia about the arranged marriage in a somewhat private area, but ultimately ends up not being able to get the points out, so there's always that chance that Stolas just ends up not being able to explain his side of the arranged marriage properly, including the abuse, which wouldn't help Stolas' case at all. Although considering that Stolas was able to stand up to Stella in s2 e1, I do imagine that Stolas would be able to explain his side of the story in court, especially considering everything that has happened since then.

There's also the fact that no one other than Stolas, the victim, actually knows about the abuse that took place before Stolas 'cheated' on her.

Plus, as far as we know, Stolas has zero evidence to prove that the abuse he suffered at the hands of Stella actually happened. The only possible way I think of Stolas having evidence of the abuse is via some sort of CCTV, or maybe a testimony from a butler that happened to overhear the abuse, but unless one of those two things happen, Stolas mentioning the abuse before he 'cheated' on Stella is gonna be yet another 'he said she said' situation.

The picture of Stella as a child may also be playing on your mind as well. This picture doesn't exactly prove anything, considering it only speaks to her character, not being able to prove that Stella actually abused Stolas before he 'cheated' on her to the people overlooking the case.

And then there's the matter of if this picture of Stella is even still around anywhere, considering how long it's been since that picture was taken it could very well just be lost to time.

Another angle you may be thinking of is 'Stella literally hired Striker to kill Stolas.'

That's also gonna turn into a 'he said she said' situation as well unless one of three things happens:

The butler holding the phone in the ending of s1 e5 gets called in as a witness and gives testimony saying that Stella did say "I want this cheating prick dead! I don't care who you have to go through, MAKE IT HAPPEN!"

Striker gets caught by authorities and confesses that Stella is one of his clients.

I don't think that kind of phone saves numbers, but maybe if it does keep a log, and there's logs of Stella's conversations with Striker on it.

All three of these things however I don't exactly see a high chance of occurring if the divorce proceedings do end up going to court however, meaning that unless one of those three things happen, there's zero evidence Stolas can use to prove Stella actually hired Striker, because with how serious a charge like that would be, there's gonna need to be much more than just testimony for a conviction.

So, in conclusion: I believe that if the divorce proceedings between Stella and Stolas ends up going to court, Stolas is gonna end up getting an unfavorable outcome from it, especially considering that, to what we know now, there's not really any/much evidence that Stolas can use to prove Stella was abusive to him before he 'cheated' on Stella, and there's also not much/any evidence that Stolas can use to prove that Stella hired Striker to kill Stolas.

[clangenrising]

Now I try and look for nuance in many writings I come by, trying to analyze the story and the characters... but there are times when I just feel some undying hatred for those in the city, despite knowing that there are a few—if not many—who do not approve of the society that they were born in.

It's harder to look past the characters who easily take the lives of others with such ease. But then again, they were probably fed the wrong information and told horrible falsehoods that make them believe that the murder of the "savage" clan cats is somehow justified, when in fact they just killed a child that had so much ahead of her and took the life of a mother that still had many more things to laugh about with her daughters and teach them.

There are (hopefully) more cats like Schmidt, Luna, and Jo that'll be able to help change a few of the perspectives within the city. I don't have any theories as to how the city dwellers would've known (?) to attack during the gathering, but I'm sure Sardine or another may have merely been speaking to Mystique, which ended up in her mentioning the gathering and perhaps in a fit of sorts, mentioned the fact that she had children back by the clans. I'd like to think that she didn't just willingly spew out all the information that Sardine needed for his barrage... she didn't want to be a mother in the first place, so why would she intentionally help bring them back?

Anyway! Just wanted to share my thought process/thoughts. Love you're writing!

(Formerly known as Vonmunin/Vonrozen, I just have a very indecisive mind when it comes to online aliases, but we change as we grow right?)

Thanks for making study breaks entertaining!

You're definitely not in the wrong to hate Sardine and his gang. As much as I think trying to empathize with fascists and see them as real people and understand why they are the way they are is important, it definitely never means that you have to like them or excuse the harm they do or not punch them in the face when necessary.

I think the important thing is to let yourself get angry but make sure you're never dehumanizing them into a totally evil Other. That's where we get into dangerous territory. Dehumanization always leads to bad things, no matter who is being dehumanized.

If you'd like to try empathizing with hateful, violent people who may have been taken advantage of or lied to by more powerful fascists, I recommend this video from The Alt Right Playbook called "How to Radicalize A Normie."

Or this one which is a bit more in depth, "Isolation, Engulfment, and Pain: Why the Alt Right is Like an Abusive Relationship"

These videos are some of my favorite things on the internet and they really helped me understand how most alt righters are (or at least start out as) victims of other fascists. Really, I strongly urge all of you to watch.

As for Mystique, I think the last piece we saw her in where Sardine reached out to her shows that she is in a very vulnerable place and he is willing and able to manipulate her while she's in that state. She says out loud "I'm not going to help you kill them all" or something like that, so it stands to reason, whatever information she gave she gave under false pretenses.

[ohtobeleah]

I just can’t believe Jaidyn is going to get away with beating Fe up. It’s so aggravating that he’s such a snake.

Yeah I know. But he’s gotta get away with it some more before he gets caught. And let’s be clear, he isn’t gonna get away with it. This is just my take on the systems that are out in place to protect domestic violence victims that don’t fuck for shit.

But as always, here the Terms of Endearment Masterlist

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

“I’m not sure we can hold him for much longer unless you’re looking to press charges.” Chief Holden sighed as he watched Jaidyn Dolan sit in the corner of the holding cell without any expression on his face. He looked stone cold, calculating, and read to seek revenge on those who conspired against him. “All we’ve got on the guy is a video of him instigating a fight before he gets his own head caved in.” 

“One of the daycare workers we spoke to said they received a distressing call from the child's mother a few hours before he showed up to collect–” Sergeant Briggs paused as he looked at his notes. “Odette, or Dot for short. She said that Y/n, the kids mother had only just updated her daughters drop off and pick up list to make sure that if his guy ever did try and collect her, that he wouldn't be allowed.” 

“But the mother called and confirmed he was picking the kid up that afternoon, right?” Chief Holden asked as he kept his gaze focused on a frozen Jaidyn sitting in his cell. He’d been held overnight. Reluctantly held overnight. 

“Yes Sir, but I think there's a lot more to this than meets the eye.” Chief Mark Holden was old school, he believed black coffee in the morning paired with a cigarette was the best way to start the day. His wife Linda worked a nine to five and still managed to uphold the household to a standard he could be proud of. Linda made his lunch and ironed his shirts, she did the cooking, the cleaning, raised the two kids they never saw these days and the thing that Mark really enjoyed, was that his wife never stepped a toe out of line. If she did? He’d beat her back into it. “I think we’re looking at a case of domestic–” Chief Holden just growled, he cleared his throat and fished his keys out from his pocket. The master key for the holding cell nestled amongst a million others as they rattled and clanged against one another. “Sir? What are you—?” 

“Times up boy, you can claim your stuff at the clerk's desk.” Chief Holden spoke with a proud chest and a baritone vice that could carry itself for miles. Jaidyn frowned, he thought for sure he was done for. But the one who had been most caught off guard was Sergeant Timothy Briggs. 

“Sir, I really do think we should look into this.” He questioned, Jaidyn eyed him down when he caught the kids expression. One of reluctance and doubt. “An Admiral Beau Simpson from the Naval Base called an hour ago requesting a few of our guys to head on over to assist in an internal investigation he’s opened up, what if the two are connected?” 

“This seems like an open and closed case of mum trying her best to shut out dear old dad here.” Mark chuckled to himself as Jaidyn stood, waiting for the bars that held him captive to be unlocked. “Isn't that right son?” 

“Just wanted to see my baby girl sir, that's all, I'll be sure once I get my phone back that I'll be contacting my lawyer.” Jaidyn rubbed at the back of his head, trying his best to pass himself off as a misunderstood soul. As it turned out, other Sailors tend to recognised other Sailors on the sea, and when Jaidyn looked at Chief Mark Bartholomule Holden, he knew that he knew. But from one abuser to another? they‘d rather work together to collectively sweep this under the rug, because Mark knew if he started messing around with Domestic Violence and family issue cases now? His own friends and colleagues wouldn't be too far off sniffing out the shit on his own shoes. 

“I think this is a bad idea chief,” Tim explained as he watched Jaidyn walk on by with a smirk on his tired and bruised face. “I think we should have at least charged him with aggravated circumstances—“ 

“Well it’s a good thing you aren’t in charge here kid.” Chief Holden chuckled. “If you were, I'd be worried about you forcing your own moral beliefs and good intentions onto others who may not be so inclined to believe the same thing.” Briggs frowned at his chief's words. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Timothy Briggs wasn’t dumb, he knew what his boss had meant, he just wanted to hear him say it out loud. “Sir—?” 

“It means that you don’t question what goes on behind closed doors, it ain’t our problem—“ Mark hissed. “Now go make sure that man is processed out and see to it he gets on his way.” Sergeant Tim Briggs just stood gobsmacked that there were still people alive today who believed that there was a stigma surrounding domestic issues. He couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that his chief was just so willing to let this guy go. “It’s our job to serve and protect, do you see the mother around here pressing charges?” Mark asked, looking around. “No, she isn’t, and until that happens we don’t follow this any further, there’s other things we can spend that valuable time on than chasing up a case of daddy done wrong.” 

It was a hard pill to swallow, but Tim followed his orders. He made sure that Jaidyn Dolan was processed out of the North Island police station with zero hiccups. He made sure all his belongings were handed back, and he made sure to send him off with a warning. 

“I don’t wanna see you back here in a few days, if I do I’ll make sure you won’t ever get out again.” Jaidyn just outstretched his hand. He smirked and waited for Sergeant Briggs to shake his hand. He never faltered for a second, but when Jaidyn reliaised Tim could see straight through his charade, he dropped the act. Dropping his hand when the Sergeant never met his grip. 

“I'm too good to get caught, kid.” Jaidyn winked. “But I’ll keep your intimidation tactic at the forefront of my mind.” 

***~***~****~****~****~***~***~

“God—“ It must have been awhile since you were sedated. You could tell some time had passed since the incident by the sun beaming through your eyelashes as your eyelids fluttered open. “Rooster?” You mumbled as you lulled your head to the side, expecting to see Bradley by your side. He’d promised to always be there, now more than ever. 

But when you opened your eyes to see he wasn’t beside you in that hospital chair that was surely the most uncomfortable thing ever? You felt your heart break into a thousand pieces. 

“Bob?” You questioned softly when you saw him sleeping in the corner of your hospital room. “Where’s Rooster?” You asked, watching as Bob crossed his arms across his chest a little tighter and stirred out a groan. When he didn’t answer you asked again, wondering why he had a stupid Stetson over his face. “Bob?” 

“Call me that again and you and I are gonna have problems—“ It’s the drawl in Bob's tone that throws you off more so than the whole get up. “And I’m not Rob.” You don’t answer, you simply raise a single brow and wait for the mystery man to remove the hat that’s shading his face. He brings a hand up to spider across the top. Long digit cup at the crown of the clearly loved Stetson and before you can stop yourself, you audibly gasp through your teeth. 

“I’m Rob's brother, he called me yesterday—asked if I’d come out for a few days to help out.” 

“I didn’t know Bob had a brother?” You saw the corner of the Bob imposter’s mouth curl up slightly into a small one sided smile. It vanished from his face seconds after as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his jean clad knees. 

“He wishes he didn’t, so he pretends that he doesn’t.” There was a reluctance in Rhett’s voice to continue, but Rhett thought if he showed a small amount of his own vulnerability, you’d be inclined to trust him. “He’s uh—he’s actually got two of us though, Perry, he’s back in Wyoming.” 

“Does Bob’s brother from Wyoming have a name?” You asked softly, still a little confused and taken aback as to why you suddenly thought a man who looked so familiar and similar to Robert Floyd could look so attractive sitting there in his black sweatshirt and jeans. 

Rhett smirked as he contemplated his next move, he knew he probably shouldn’t given the circumstances—but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity. You just looked at him, waiting for a name to slip past Rhett’s lips. He spun his Stetson between his fingers as he let out a small chuckle to himself. 

Rhett simply pressed his lips together, sighed out a small huff of air as he settled back into his chair, placed his hat back onto his head and crossed his arms over his chest. All the while you watched on confused and convinced this was some sort of fever dream. 

“You can call me anything and anytime you like gorgeous—“ 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

“Dot, do you want scrambled eggs or gooey eggs darlin?” With work being called off till further notice, Jake thought it might be best to keep himself busy around the house. The fight you’d had kept Jake Seresin up all throughout the nap he’d tried to take with Odette. She, surprisingly—went down easily. 

Poor Dot had been so emotionally exhausted that the second she was up and out of the bath, dried and wrapped in a warm fuzzy towel while Jake searched her drawer for a set of pajamas—she was out like a light. 

Jake had laid in his bed for the better half of two and a half hours trying to get some rest while Dot snoozed away on his chest. Hopefully dreaming of better days. She looked so angelic while she slept, until she snorded just like you, only cuter and softer and a hell of a lot more forgiving since Jake was nowhere near the brink of sleep. 

But now, he stood in his kitchen with a tea towel hung over his shoulder and music playing softly through the speakers. Sex On The Radio by Good Charlotte. Something you’d approve of nevertheless. Cooking some much needed lunch/dinner for himself and your daughter who was playing with her dolls in the living room watching Bluey. A new favourite. 

“Scwambled pwease.” Do beamed as loud as she could, she was only just in sight of Jake who just chuckled at the way she barely turned her head to look back at him. Not caring enough to draw her attention away from the make believe fantasies she’d concocted in front of her. 

“Yes, your highness.” Jake smirked to himself as he cracked six eggs into a bowl, whisking up a storm before there was a brisk knock on the door. “It’s open!” Jake had received a text only five minutes before he decided enough was enough with his fight for some extra shut eye that Phoenix would be stopping by. She’d heard from Pete what had happened and couldn’t believe it. None of them could, but the Daggers kicked into action immediately—all doing what they knew what to do. Be there where troubled waters loomed. 

Phoenix opened the front door slowly, sticking her head in to see the average run of the mil scene in the living room off to the right. There she was, safe and sound in Jake Seresins living room, watching some cartoon dogs on TV all the while she made up some fantasy storyline between the dolls Dot was playing with. 

Phoenix could breathe again. 

“Hi there beautiful girl!” Phoenix beamed as she greeted Dot from behind, crouching down behind your daughter to kiss her cheek as she laughed at the sensation of Natasha fingers tickling her side. “Are your Dollie’s playing house are they?” 

“It’s Mama and Tooster—“ Dot explained as she showed Phoenix the Ken doll she had in a flight suit you’d found on Amazon. Did it look anything like Bradley Bradshaw? No—but to Odette he was her version of a superhero. “See?” 

“Woah, have you got a dollie with brown hair somewhere? Because I dibs that one when I come back, I’m just gonna go see Jake real quick and then we can play, okay?” 

“Otay—“ For a little girl who’d been through an awful lot in the last twenty four hours, she seemed rather content in her own space. Sitting pretty in her plaid flannel pajamas with her hair an unruly mess because Jake just couldn’t find it in him to brush it. Nat made herself a mental note that she’d put it up in two pigtails before she left. Padding her way into the kitchen where she saw Jake—shoulder deep in his domestic crisis. 

“Far out Hangman, this is nuts, I’ve been texting Bob all morning, she’s still not awake?” Jake didn’t know how to respond, Rooster had been keeping him in the loop, he’d been sending messages every hour on the hour since he left around six. But it was nearing noon and you were still out cold. “They must have jabbed her with some pretty strong stuff?” 

“She was pretty hysterical.” Was all Jake managed before he felt himself getting worked up again as Phoenix entered the kitchen, the place was a mess. There were lots and pans and dirty dishes everywhere. Jake was a mess. He looked disheveled and disheartened and disoriented. “But if someone tried to keep her from me, I’d hate them too, I’d hate me too for what I’m doing.” Phoenix’s heart broke for the man she’d watched become somewhat of a father in his own right over the past few months. He’s become a father and a brother and a friend to many in the blink of an eye. 

The Jake Seresin who stood in his messy kitchen whisking eggs in a mixing bowl for his niece wasn’t the same Jake Seresin who’d first come back to TopGun for that life changing detachment. 

“She’ll come around, you can’t blame her for being in fight or flight mode straight off the cuff.” Phoenix watched as Jake over scrambled the eggs he’d cracked into the mixing bowl—deciding to take over when she realised he wasn’t all that in control. “Sit down, breathe, Coyote said Fanboy and him are gonna swing by Roosters place and tidy up before you and Bradshaw start moving shit around.” Phoenix looked around as Jake just towered over her with his hands on his hips in full dad mode as she zipped around his kitchen. “Where the fuck do you keep your frying pans?” 

“Nat, I’m fine—I can look after myself.” That wasn’t the answer Phoenix was looking for. She didn’t give Jake the time of day as she continued her search, ultimately ending in her finding the pots and pans drawer. “Phoenix—“ 

“You need to rest.” She explained with a solemn expression. “You want my opinion?”

“I know that you’re gonna give it to me regardless of what I say so—“ Jake challenged as he watched Phoenix grab some milk from the fridge, adding the non-dairy substitute to the scrambled mixture. “Let’s hear it.” 

“I think you should eat, go take a shower, and try to get some rest because Rooster will need a respite sooner or later and you’re gonna be the one he calls.” Jake knew Natasha was right, she always was. He just stared down at her as she held firm on her stance, watching as she poured the scrambled egg mixture into the warm pan. 

“I don’t like being bossed around in my own home.” Jake just sighed but ultimately agreed, he wrapped his arm around Phoenix’s shoulders from behind and fluffed up her hair a little before making his way into the living room. “Are you gonna boss me around too?” Jake asked as he dropped to the floor beside Dot, watching as she played happily in her own little world. “Dot honey, your scrambled eggs are gonna be ready soon, can you start packing up your toys for me?” Jake asked softly, brushing the curls from Dot's forehead behind her ear. “You can play with Tash after you’ve eaten.” 

“Can mamma hewp me?” Oh, okay here we go. Jake braced himself for what he thought was going to be world war three. “Mama always hwlps me cwean up.” 

“We talked about this Dotty, mamas in the hospital.” Jake was as honest as he could be with Odette. “Remember? She’s gonna be away for a few days to rest up,” Jake tried his best to explain to Odette in an age appropriate way why you weren’t around. “But you get to hang out with me and Rooster for a few days.” He was ready for the war, the rage that this soon to be three year old was about to kickstart on the floor of the living room. But that’s not what happened, instead—Dot's bottom lip quivered as she burst into tears. “Oh sweetheart, it’s okay—“ 

Dot buried her head in Jake's chest as she splayed her arms out across Jake's torso. Kissing the top of her small head as she cried and cried and cried. 

“Tooster and mamma weft me.” Dot sobbed to herself as her little body tried to process all her big emotions. This had been the longest she’s ever gone without seeing you, or Bradley for that matter. Ever since he’d stepped up and become a more permanent fixture in your life. “I wove them doe—“ It broke Jake's heart, he hated this, the sound of Odette's cries knowing he could only do so much to soothe her worries. “I miss mamma, I just want my mommy.” 

Phoenix stood at the threshold of the living room just watching as Jake laid on the floor on his back with his niece crying on his chest. He had his own tears streaming down his cheeks. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take.

“I know, baby.” Jake cooed. “I know you do, I do too, I really miss her too.” 

“Jake, Bob just called.” Phoenix didn’t want to interrupt. “She’s awake if you wanna give Rooster a call back when you’re ready.” 

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready—“ Jake groaned, pulling Dot closer to him. He felt like he was falling through the floor, unstoppable in his descent into the depths of hell. How could he do this to the two most important people in his life? How could he keep them apart and cause so much pain when all he was trying to do was shelter a little girl who didn’t deserve any of this. “I don't know if she’ll ever want to see me again Nix—“ Jake tried to hide the fact he was crying from Dot, but she knew. She bawled her fists into the fabric of his shirt and cried with him. “Because if I was her I wouldn’t.” 

“Hangman.” Phoenix tried to be the voice of reason. “You’re doing all you can to help her, we all know Dot can’t see her mum like this, you’re doing the right thing.” Jake needed to hear it for his own sanity. Natasha had never seen Jake Seresin like this before. A broken shell of a strong man who oozed overconfidence like it was going out of fashion. He looked so different she hardly recognized him. “Felix will come around once she gets a chance to wrap her head around things.” 

“I hope so.” Was all Jake mumbled as he kissed Dots temple. “Because I love your mamma too much to ever lose her.” 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

“I’m calling the nurses—“ Rhett shot up out of his chair and made strides over to where you laid in your hospital bed. “For all I know you could be some sort of serial killer Bob Floyd look alike and after the last few days I’ve had I’m not taking any fucking chances.” 

“I’m sorry,” Rhett smiled, reaching out to grab your hand as you wrapped it around the remote that called for nurses. You retracted yours at his touch, it truly shocked Rhett to see how utterly fearful you were. 

“Don’t touch me.” Rhett knew he’d messed up. It was his own fault for being too lighthearted about things. He should’ve taken this more seriously from the get go—but he thought if he could make you smile, make you feel normal, then you’d find it easier to trust him. “Don’t touch me again.” 

As Rhett stepped back in a show of good faith, he looked at you with worried eyes that looked far too much like Bobs. 

“I’m sorry, we got off on the wrong foot here, I’m Rhett, Rhett Abbott—“ You frowned, working to slowly push yourself up the bed to sit up a little more. When you let out a whimper Rhett stepped forward, offering you his forearms to grip onto so he could in turn aid you up. “May I?” You hesitated for a moment, but ultimately accepted the gesture, knowing you couldn’t do it on your own. “Looks like whoever this guy is, he did a pretty good job, but from what I’ve been told you put on one hell of a fight, lady.” You smiled softly, feeling the wires in your mouth against your gums. 

“I thought you said you were Bob's brother? Different last names.” It was a touchy subject, you could tell by the way Rhett took a reluctant pause and tried to navigate an answer that wasn’t nasty. 

“And I thought I said Bob likes to pretend he's an only child.” Rhett held your gaze as he helped you up before he reached out to prop a few extra pillows behind your back. He adjusted the bed to match the angle you wanted to sit up at. “Listen, I’m gonna be honest with you.” He spoke softly, like he was walking on thin ice. “Bob asked me to keep an eye on you over the next few weeks, just until things settle.” 

“What makes you think I’d be inclined to trust a complete stranger?” It was at that very moment that Bradley and Bob were making their way into your room, they’d gone to grab some coffee that had enough Caramel syrup in it the send Gwyneth Paltrow to the fucking stratosphere. But it was a much needed sugar hit. 

“Because there’s a chance that if you don’t you could end up in a worse state than you already are.” It was a hard pill to swallow and one you weren’t ready to accept. 

“I’ll take my chances—get the fuck out of my room.” 

“Okay—“ Rooster sighed dramatically as he stepped in before Rhett could respond with something out of pocket. Giving him a look of ‘what the fuck dude?’ As he walked past. “You’re awake?” 

“You’re still here?” It was the shock on your face that had Rooster questioning what you meant. 

“Where else would I go baby?” He replied softly, leaning in to place a gentle kiss upon your forehead as his hand held the back of your head. “I just needed a coffee, been up watching you sleep for what feels like an eternity.” 

“I thought maybe you’d left—“ You felt your heart warming inside your chest as your stomach filled with butterflies. “You know, after—“ 

“Don’t apologise.” Was all Bradley whispered as he kissed your cheek. “It’s a lot to deal with, I understand that.” You simply nodded softly in response as Rooster sat beside you, in the same chair he’d been in since you were brought back from surgery. 

“Where’s Jake?” Now that? That was a hard topic to answer, but Bradley gave you the decency of honesty. He owed you at least that much. 

“He’s with Dot, at his.” He paused to take a sip of his coffee, sweet with artificial sugar with enough caffeine to kill a horse. “She’s fine, hon, but Jake I’m not so sure about, he took it pretty personally.” That broke your heart, but you couldn’t say you didn’t expect it. You remembered what you’d said, the abuse you’d hurled his way. “But he’ll be back a little later today, I’ll go stay with Dot tonight and he’ll come here.” 

“He hates me doesn’t he?” You’d said some nasty things, but all you wanted was to see your little girl. Tears welled in your eyes as you reached for the lip balm on the side table. Rooster strung into action, taking it from you to apply some on your chapped lips. “He hates me doesn’t he Roo—“

“No Fe he doesn’t hate you, he just knows what he’s doing, although the right thing because we all know that little girl does not deserve to see her strong and beautiful mama like this, is killing you.” Bradley paused, glossing your lips up. “He hates himself more than anything because he thinks you hate him.” 

“I could never hate Jake.” You sighed softly, exhausted from everything you’d been through. “But I really am sorry, for what I said to you Roo, it wasn’t fair.” Bradley accepted your apology without hesitation, bringing his hand up to rest in yours. “I don’t deserve you.” 

“You deserve the world and then some.” Bradley smiled, taking a sip of his coffee. We’re gonna get you through this, just gotta take it one day at a time.” You’d never thought about it before, but as Braldey Bradshaw sat by your side with his hand in yours still looking at you like you hung all the stars in the night sky just for him, you thought for the first time—damn, you’d really say yes if he asked you to marry him tomorrow.

“You know I love you right?” 

“I know—“ Bradley smiled, his heart was just so full. He still had both his girls, although things were a little messy, he still had both his beautiful girls. “But just so you know?” Bradley leaned in closer, holding your hand up to his lips. “I love you so much more.” Bob cleared his throat at that. He saw an opening in the silence as you smiled a cheeky bruised grin. 

“I really hate to be the one to interrupt—“ Bob spoke up as he stepped to the side of your bed. “But I’m sorry about Rhett, he can be a little unforgiving in his approach.” 

“Listen, I came here because you asked me to, I’ll leave quicker than you can say the word go if that’s what you want.” Rhett stood with his legs slightly spread, arms crossed as he sent his brother a brooding look. “You asked me to come here, I dropped everything to come here, for you because you asked—“ It was clear to both you and Bradley that there was something deeper than surface level sibling rivalry that strained the relationship between Bob and Rhett, but as Bob's face softened, accepting his brothers response—you knew there was something worth fixing there. 

“You’re right, I’m sorry—“ Bob apologised. “I’m glad you're here man, really, and I’m sure Felix is gonna enjoy every waking moment she gets to spend in the presents of your company.” That’s when you jumped back into the conversation. 

“I’m not all that keen on spending any time with your clone Robert—“ 

“Uh, as a matter of fact lady, he’s the clone.” Rhett retaliated. “And I’m not so sure if I’m too keen on spending any time with you either.” 

“Well that’s too bad because you’re literally here to make sure that whenever Jake and I can’t be here, that Fe stays safe.” Bradley thought it was as good a time as any to jump into the conversation again. “Which brings me to now, I should really be heading off to see Odette.” 

“Will you tell her I miss her, oh so much.” You cooed, trying your hardest not to get so worked up. Rooster nodded as he kissed your forehead. “Don’t let her stay up too late and make sure she—“ 

“Fe, darlin—I’ve got it covered.” Bradley just beamed at you. “I need you to just focus on you, yeah?” 

“Yeah—I know I know.” You just pressed your lips together in a soft smile. “Leave the lip balm please?” 

“Of course.” Rooster felt his phone ringing in his back pocket before he fished it out. “Wouldn’t dream of leaving you here defenseless against chapped lips.” He beamed, looking down at the caller ID before he flashed you the idiotic photo of Jake that appeared on his screen. “It’s Jacob.” 

“He hates that you call him that—“

“Which brings me an immense amount of joy.” Braldey replied before he swiped the pad of his thumb across his screen, answering the call as he held his phone up to his ear. He waved you off as he left your hospital room, leaving you with Rhett Abbott and Bob Floyd until Jake was meant to join you later in the afternoon. “Hold on man.” Rooster remarked as he paused and turned back to eye off you and Rhett. “Play nice, get to know each other.” 

“I’ll stay for a while if you want Fe?” Bob added. Resting a soft hand on your shoulder as you brought yours up to cover his. 

“As long as you promise he’s not some sort of serial killer I’m sure I’ll be fine.” 

“I never should have left Wyoming—“ Rhett just groaned. “This is gonna be great.” 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

When Rooster pulled up at the Seresin x Y/l/n household, his heart swelled to a new size he thought was impossible to live with. There, in the front yard was Jake and Dot, waiting for Bradley to pull up in the drive. The minute Jake had told your little girl that he was coming to spend the night with her, she wouldn't leave the window. Wouldn't stop asking where here Tooster was. So Jake thought he’d do Bradshaw a favour and try to tucker the little tornado out. Chasing her around and around and around in circles and figure eights as she squealed and ran away and tried to dodge the six foot something giant chasing after her. 

“Tooster!” Odette beamed as she broke out into tears. Everything was still so hard to navigate and her little emotions were all kinds of unregulated. “Tooster!” Dot cried out as she ran across the gated yard, making a direct B-line for Bradley as he worked fast to rid himself of his seatbelt and jump out of the Bronco. 

“Hi!” He cooed, crouching down as Dot ran full speed into his chest and open awaiting arms. “It's okay baby, I'm here, don't cry darlin I've got you.” Bradley mumbled into the crook of Dot's neck as he scooped her up. Holding her to his chest with strong arms as she cried her little heart out, so overwhelmed. “I've missed you so much, have you been good for Jakey huh?” 

“So good Tooster.” Dot mumbled as she clung to him for dear life. Bradley smiled against her cheek, drying the tear that spilled from her waterline with the tip of his nose as he took gradual and careful steps towards Jake. greeting him with a soft all knowing smile. His brother in arms. 

“Fe thinks you hate her–” Bradley started, admiring what he could only assume was Phoenix’s handiwork for the pigtails in Dot’s hair. “When you go over, you gotta squash that shit.” Bradley could see what Jake was about to say, he cut him off before he even had a chance to speak it into the world. “And before you ask, no she doesn't hate you–if anything she knows why you did what you did man.” 

“I'm not sure if I have enough energy in the tank to head on over yet.” Jake rubbed the back of his head nervously, walking back to the house at Roosters side. “Phoenix took Dot for a little while there and I tried to get a twenty minute nap in, but I just couldn't–” Bradley understood, he held Dot on his hip and nodded softly. “Every time I close my eyes all I see is her in that bed and she looks unrecognisable.” 

“I feel like you'd be able to sleep a hell of a lot easier if you went and saw her, she's a lot calmer now–takes all her frustration out on Bob's brother, guys kinda like the designated punching bag.” Bradley chuckled to himself as he followed Jake inside. “He’s something else, don't stare at him for too long either, I was afraid that if I did a third one would pop out of the woodwork.” 

“Are you sure that guys gonna be able to handle Fe?” Jake asked, watching as Bradley threw Dot over his shoulder as she giggled and climbed across his broad shoulders like he was a tree. Settling either one of her little legs on either side of his neck as he held her ankles. 

“Probably not but he's the best we’ve got?” Rooster replied, noticing how clean the kitchen was, he knew that was Phoenix, he made himself a mental note to send her a thank you text. “Someones gotta be there.” 

“Am I gonna like him?” Rhett had gotten in about an hour after Jake left, so he hadnt actually met him.

“Eventually, he's no Bob that's for sure, but he's here and that's all I care about.” Bradley thought it was best to leave it at that as he bounced Dot up and down. She gripped her little fingers into his blonde locks and squealed out a laugh. “Now, as for you miss Dot, I think we should draw some pictures for you mum hey? Make sure she's got some art to look at while she's stuck in that bland room.” 

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

Rhett sat in the corner of your hospital room, eyeing you off as you returned the same glare. You'd been frozen like this for the past ten minutes or so. Sitting in complete silence as neither one of you refused to back down from the staring contest you’d unintentionally entered. 

“Give up–” Rhett mumbled out of the corner of his mouth. 

“Give in–” You replied through gritted teeth. 

“Never lady.” Rhett smirked, widening his eyes a little more dramatically before there was a knock on the door. It immediately broke Rhett out of the trance he’d entered. Standing as he took in the man standing at the threshold of your hospital room. 

“Uh, that's–” Admiral Simpson tried his best to keep his thoughts to himself. “I'm going to go ahead and assume that you aren't Floyd.” Rhett didn't respond, he simply stood there stoic as all hell just wasting for you to tell him what to do. 

“Cyclone? What are you doing here?” You asked from your bed as two police officers followed him in. Their presence instantly made Rhett nervous, having not been on the right side of the law all his life. “I wasn't expecting any visitors I didn't already know about?” 

“I came to see how you’re holding up.” Beau explained. “And to talk to you about the possibility of pressing charges against Lieutenant Dolan.” You couldn't wrap your head around why Cyclone was in your hospital room asking you if you wanted to press charges. Why on god's green earth would you ever press charges? You knew enough to know that the system was flawed enough. “We discovered some video footage of the incident that occurred, so the Navy can press its own charges, but I just wanted to talk to you and see if you were thinking about possible domestic charges?” 

“If the Navy can press their own charges, why are you asking her? Rhett snarled, immediately jumping to your defence. 

“Become it would bode well in our favour to have her as a testimony—“ You couldn’t believe what you were hearing, Rhett couldn’t either but he was less shocked. He’d never been a big fan of the government. 

“No–” You stood your ground, looking at Rhett who moved quickly to stand between your hospital bed and your Admiral. “No, I don't wanna press charges.” Jaidyn had conditioned you to believe that going to the police would do nothing but aggravate him. “All due respect sir, I’m not ready to talk about anything and I don't know if I ever will be.” You were spiralling, Rhett could see it, he saw the panic rising in your eyes. “I'd really like it if you left, sir, i'm just not ready to talk about it, especially to the police.” 

“Ma’am.” Sergeant Briggs stepped in. “I just want you to know that we had to let Lieutenant Dolan go this morning, we couldn't hold him, we didn't have anything to charge him with at the time so if there's any hope of getting him back behind bars it will be with your cooperation.” The penny finally dropped, Jaidyn was still out there somewhere. You forgot how to breathe at the relisation, it made you want to throw up. But you could barely speak as Rhett stepped a little closer to the officer who’d just thrown your entire world out of sync. 

“That kinda sounds like a threat to me?” Rhett growled, crossing his arms over his chest. Tim just sighed. “Where exactly do you get off? She's just been beaten half to death and you want her to speak out against her attacker knowing that he’s unhinged and could retaliate before you guys even lift a finger?” Rhett asked. “That sounds like she’d be sending out a beckon.” Sergeant Briggs wasn’t the bad guy here, if anything he was just trying to help and do his job. He’d been right about the fact the internal investigation was linked to Mr. Dolan. 

“Not a threat sir, just the truth, unless Miss Y/l/n here–” You didn't want to hear it, didn't want to hear that it was up to you to do something, you'd dealt with enough. You were in the hospital for crying out loud. You just wanted other people to do their job, for once. 

“I need the nurses.” You started as you looked around for your buzzer. “Rhett, I need these guys out of here before I lose my shit.” The corner of Rhett's mouth curled up as he cracked his knuckles, enjoying the role he played here for the first time since he stepped foot in California. “I need Jake and Braldey and I need my little girl—“ As of right on cue, Jake was round the corner into your room, shocked to see two officers and Admrial Simpson standing there. They shouldn’t have been here. Who the fuck let them in here? 

“Y/n?” Jake questioned and as if just hearing his voice made you shatter into a million trillion pieces. “Hey, s’going on?” He asked as he stepped past the three men who had bombarded your hospital room on their own accord, moving to their own agenda. “Hey, I’m here, yeah? I’ve got you, I'm here—“ Jake was at your side in seconds, holding you close as you broke. Just like Odette had done when she saw Rooster. “I'm here.” 

“You heard the lady gentleman,” Rhett smirked, cracking his knuckles to match the threat Sergeant Briggs had first given you. He knew by the painful sound of your cries into Jake's chest just how broken you really were. And that he was going to thoroughly enjoy stepping in front of you and whoever threatened you. “Now get the fuck out.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

Tags: @a-serene-place-to-be @lilyevanswhore @thescarletknight2014 @blindedbythelightt @averyhotchner @emma8895eb @blairfox04 @caitsymichelle13 @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo @teacupsandtopgun @aemondssiut @feltonswifesworld87 @akalei349 @notjustsomeblonde @americaarse @avaleineandafryingpan @phoenix1388 @xoxabs88xox @je-suis-prest-rachel @pono-pura-vida @rosiahills22 @starset21 @anarchyrising @caidi-paris @starkleila @criticalroleobssedperson @enchantingdreamergothprune @flrboyd @emma8895eb @endofdays56

[theuntamedangel]

The longer BNHA goes on, the more I start to ask this question.

Is this a story worth telling?

It brought up some interesting things to think about like what it really means to be a hero and if villains really are evil or people that society failed.

But then comes the muddled messages, characters that barely do anything significant other than to be plot devices, the overhyping of one character that ruins the purpose and development of the main character, and the inconsistencies and conclusions that characters come to that makes little to no sense.

Then you just have a story that just goes NOWHERE!

Because let's be honest, how much will society actually change by the end of it all? How will it treat quirkless and those with less than stellar quirks? And will they actually allow people like Bakugou to become heroes all because they "try really hard"?

Hi there, @theloganator101 First off, thank you for the question.

Also, TLDR.

Long before, I had made a somewhat similar post, talking about the same points. What makes a hero a hero? Because it's more than wearing a cape and punching issues and problems into submission. Bad guys simply go to jail and rot till their dying breath. And why is the world of BNHA so black and white? So 'this is good and this is bad'? We have a very compartmentalized version of human society. But you and I both know very well that human nature, human social interactions are the most complex and difficult things to understand. And even though I had seen these flaws in the series much earlier, I was still forgiving of the author because I genuinely thought he would eventually come around and explain why things are they way in the BNHA verse. But that NEVER happened at any point in the series so forget about Hori addressing these issues now because BNHA as a whole doesn't matter.

It's a no brainer to say that the job of a 'hero' is to save the day. But what about those who are the victims of school bullying? (cough cough BkDk is a totally normal and a healthy relationship, you're just a homophobe if you dont ship them) or those who had to keep their voice and entire existence heavily suppressed because your marriage was just a means to an end? (Endeavour is a loving husband, a doting father and a hard working hero) What about those kids who are victims of child abuse, child neglect and discrimination? (the Todoroki kids, Shigaraki, Toga and heck, even low key Spinner grew up in loving and healthy households). The Creature Rejection Clan was created to combat racism and All Might, someone who's name itself reduced crime in Japan by a half simply by existing, did NOTHING against the CRC. I thought 'heroes' were meant to protect the weak and deliver justice to the evil doers irrespective of who or what they are. I thought that's what's really meant to be a hero, to be defenders of mankind. Because lets face it, what's the difference between a villain who kills and a hero who abuses his family members on a physical, mental and an emotional level? What are the required criteria to judge these very two damnable actions with a bias attitude?

Which brings me to another question: Why are the students at UA high only taught martial or physical training? Don't they have special classes where they have to moral education classes or something along those line? Besides the rigorous physical training they need to fight against heroes, they have normal, regular-degular academic curriculum. These so called heroes-in-training are well educated in the art of understanding the topography of a battle field but the system has FAILED to educate the kids to understand why villains are the way they are. The entire system, the root itself, the very foundation of the hero society, FAILED to protect what they claimed to be. People like Toga, Dabi, Overhaul, Spinner, Shigaraki, Twice, Stain, Magne, are all nothing but the products of the hero society, the actual end result of this superficial, celebrity-like lifestyle of hero worship. But many fail to see beyond the stars and shimmers of this artificially constructed world.

The above points are heavily tied to Stain's ideologies. He didn't put up arms and struggles against the hero society for nothing. He knew what he was doing.

This may not be the answer that you're looking for but the way I see it, the MHA story shows us a horrifying representation of our already dark and twisted world but that's where it stops. It wants to do nothing with it because the story doesn't know where to go with it and how to go about doing it. It started something it couldn't finish. It created issues it couldn't solve. So the plot choose a different path to tread upon: focus on the popular people from the hero society who are highly questionable and romanticize their words and actions. It doesn't matter if you faced quirk discrimination or worse, became a butt of ridicule for not having any quirk at all. So long as a bully has given a half baked ''apology'' and works hard to be a hero to satisfy their own ego, it's all good at the end of the day. Self worth issues, self inflicted bodily harm, lack of self worth received by the victim (definitely NOT Izu because Bk treats him with utmost respect and comradery), all melt away due to the power of 'apology' and friendship. It teaches us that celebrity worship, fake sense of heroism, the desire to be the top at the expanse of others are to be treated with normalcy because the show must go on no matter what. The other message is that it's ok be a wife beater and a bully so long as you're doing it for heroism, name, fame, recognition.

Our priorities in the MHA universe are all messed up. We don't even have an inkling of a thought about how Izu feels about quirkless discrimination and the manga is wrapping itself up. So all the answers we can provide ourselves with regarding the matter will be head canon.That's why the main message of the story is that it fails on so many levels in terms of writing a morally upright story. The main hero of our story is nothing to offer, no words of hope and encouragement. That's the other message it has conveyed to us. I'm not saying this, the manga has proven to us time and again what i just said. The other thing it hammers home is the fact that, so long as you're a hero, your unjust behavior will be swept under the rug by your school and higher authorities. The message that MHA time and again conveys is that it loves hypocrisy and double standards. These are the solid reasons as to why the plot cannot logically and cohesively march forward.

"With great power comes with great responsibility" and the MHA verse failed to understand this concept by becoming the very thing the villains are condemned for in this series. That, my friend, is the general message of the story. That, my friend, is the moral lesson of the MHA verse.

#MHA critical thinking #bk is a bully #Izu deserved better #Izu is the protagonist not Bk #Izu matters Bk doesnt #Hori cant write shit

[laufire]

☕️ related to our discussion before... why is Elena Like That.

Born this way?

LOL. I do think that's part of it, but I will elaborate (quite a lot).

To put this ask in context: we've pointed out that Elena's extreme awareness of social hierarchies and other people's emotions (with some blindspots) is similar to those of characters like Cammie's Laila in The Essence of the Equinox or Dean Winchester (Elena's soul twin as far as I'm concerned!): characters who suffered abusive upbringings. Even Stefan is shown to behave the way he does in part due to growing up with an abusive father he had to manage and fawn at. It's remarkable that Elena resembles this type, given that until her parents' deaths, she lived as charmed and cushy a life as a young girl possibly could in this world.

First thing first: I see no reason to question this assumption. Cushy doesn't mean perfect and I don't think the Gilberts were so. I mean, Grayson did unethical experiments on sapient beings LOL, that's not a good sign. IIRC Elena as a child saw Something of that, but wasn't equipped to understand it at the time and seems to have shaken it off, as she often does. And there is room to argue that Miranda's encouragement of Elena could've taken the form of high expectations of her; Elena, however, seems to want to honour and meets those expectations in a pretty level-headed way that doesn't interfere with her life and ultimate goals, which is a good sign. In summary, there's absolutely nothing in the show's writing that could be interpreted as "Elena is a victim of parental abuse" without making the reach of the century.

With that out of the way, in my opinion, there are some important factors that contribute to Elena's... let's call it mimicry? of this attitude. I think, to begin with, she has an intrinsic intuition she was born with; a capacity to understand and navigate social hierarchies with ease and with no need to reflection, practice, or focused study. Some people are like this, period.

Another factor I'd consider important is her natural amorality. I know, I know, this is not how most people see Elena, to say the least. But c'mon. That girl does NOT have a code, she does NOT have principles, she does NOT have an ideology. Nothing as solid as that could survive her fluidity of character. She constantly moves the goalpost and reacts accordingly when other people move it for her. This is very different from say, Laila: someone with a sturdy moral core, with principles that, if not completely solidified (she starts out in her twenties!), develop and gain strength through the story and through the challenges she goes through. Laila's moral quandaries and outrages, in summary, are genuine.

Meanwhile, Elena is good at mimicking morals, because of another factor: she's subconsciously tuned to the image others have of her, and she knows how singularly important it is. Specifically, she knows how singularly important it is for her to retain exactly the image she wants to cultivate.

Because the thing is, and this is something that ended up working against her: Elena's learned to glorify soft power, at the expense of hard (real, personal, nontransferable) power. Personally, I've always had the headcanon that Miranda was a soft power MARVEL. Loved and idealised and perfect in that just-slightly-imperfect way that makes it all the more loveable, always at ease, admired for it. Elena looked up to her and wanted to live to her image. She might've seen the social power Miranda wielded and wanted to imitate her. And because of how charmed and privileged their lives were, and probably because Miranda was taken from her when Elena was young enough that she had yet to forcibly become aware of the limitations of this method, Elena sticks to it, sometimes stubbornly so. She's seen how well it works when it's meant to work, and for a long time it worked perfectly for her.

This leads me to how I think Elena's privilege is an important factor in how this socially-aware nature happens to work for her. The fact that she instinctively understands how structures and hierarchies work, and how to use other's feelings for her benefit, combines with how she's perfectly at ease with the status quo because so far, it's done nothing but aid her. She doesn't chafe against perceived or real limitations* because she has a (partially earned!) overconfidence in her capacity to thrive in her environment.

*I do think her gender can't be ignored: she's still a girl in a world where that can be dangerous (where that does become dangerous once the Salvatores enter the picture, but although I'm not there yet in my rewatch, IIRC her flashbacks at the end of season 3 regarding her relationship with Matt definitely painted a picture). This quote I reblogged recently really stood out to me:

But this can't be separated from how well she otherwise navigates and adapts to the status quo and from how ultimately she thinks it's better to maintain it and work within it than to challenge it. She's profoundly misogynistic, she has no use for feminist praxis, and she subtly (and later not-so-subtly) works to separate from and elevate herself above other girls, often seeking reassurance of her superiority (see: making sure Matt dating Caroline didn't actually mean he was over her). Instead of thinking "hey, men have one over me no matter what and this is unfair", her goal is to be the One Special Woman they'll be willing to compromise for (without acknowledging this won't necessarily last forever*). This works wonderfully... until the show no longer centres the perspective of a man that considers her special.

*sometimes I wonder. what if some of the information we got about Grayson had involved being a less-than-stellar husband? I think THAT would've wrecked Elena far, far more than to learn he was a torturer lol.

Another way in which her privilege both comes at hand AND gets in her way is that she will always dismiss people she sees as "below" her. People like Vicki, like human!Caroline, etc. She's aware of social hierarchies but she doesn't question them, and she sees them as far more immovable than they truly are.

This is when Dean Winchester becomes a good point of comparison. As I've said before, I think they're cut from the same cloth. But one key difference IS their wild disparity in upbringing.

Dean got four good years in (although we're eventually told they are less idyllic than they might seem, because surprise surprise, it turns out John was always a lousy husband and parent. Or, paraphrasing Dean, "the marriage wasn't perfect until she died"). Then his mother died, and everything went to shit in a SPECTACULAR way. The audience is told that there might've been periods of straight-up food scarcity, because John would leave the brothers alone in motels for longer periods than the money he left covered, and at one point Dean was even caught stealing food. He's such an obvious case of parentification that it hurts. He's a drifter, he doesn't have a safety net, the money he uses comes from schemes and hustling people at pool and poker and the like, something he obviously wasn't born learning, etc. etc.

Dean has his own blindspots but in general I think he's a better judge of character than Elena because of this. He navigates reality and hierarchies and structures, he adapts, but he's not built in to discard people at the bottom because he's been at the bottom (or as close as a white guy will get in this world!). There are several times where Sam expresses a Blissfully Liberal Opinion (sometimes college un-educates you, ime xD), like implying that doing a job at a prison is a waste of time because who tf cares if convicts get hurt, and Dean immediately shoots that down. Another time Sam makes a disapproving comment about the guy in charge of the group home Dean stayed in as a teen being an ex-con and Dean replies "what, and we're such saints?".

He has principles, is what I'm getting at. He has a morality; one he might not have in another, cushier life (he seems far chillier and breezier in "alternate timelines" episodes where his backstory has been altered in that direction). To be clear, these principles aren't fool-proof or completely consistent. He believes "every person deserves our help", but that belief holds maaaaany caveats. For one, his definition of person is limited, to the point of abject cruelty to those that fall outside it (and sometimes even more damning, towards those that once deserved the consideration until they failed to meet his standards). He has genuine, sincere sympathy for victims, AND this sympathy will translate into actual help for them!! amazing!!!... unless the way you are a victim is perceived by him as faulty on some level (see: Max, a boy with psychic powers that used them to kill his abusive family in season 1, while Dean was still at Peak Daddy Knows Best mode. And of course, Bela, who he can't process as a victim at all, even when he should see that the facts don't add up).

My point is that, despite all that, imperfect morals are still morals. There's a struggle there. They might not come natural to him and be a product of his experiences, but they're there. With Elena................. I don't see them LOL.

But another useful point of comparison is grief. It caught Elena older, on more solid ground, but I think in both cases it contributed to a need for a sense of control (of themselves and their projected images AND of those around them, more evidently manifested in their younger brothers). I think losing her parents enhanced Elena's tendency to hyper-awareness, basically.

Another thing that enhanced it? VAMPIRES VAMPIRES VAMPIRES. See, I think before the show, Elena was understimulated lol. I mean, she was dating Matt, who is ALSO very in tune with social hierarchies (but who chooses hard-power female role models like Liz and Carol. I cannot tell you how funny I find this on its own. But I mean, he clearly saw first hand how soft power was shit with Kelly's parade of lousy boyfriends). But, well, for her, Matt wasn't exactly a strong proposition. There was no challenge there. She was BORED. Caroline's insecurities and her ambition were probably the most difficult thing she had to deal with, and at that point Caroline had yet to be a real challenge herself.

But then Stefan came, and all the dangers to her life, and even Damon to a certain extent (at least, when he was something to retain and be managed without giving him too much). Elena is easily bored and THRIVES on high-stakes situations. In regards to her actual life, of course, but more in terms of high-stakes social situations, where it's only her charisma that might prevent her downfall. They make her more creative, more efficient. She pays more attention as well, which obviously makes her act more hyper-aware.

Her relationship status cannot be ignored here. Elena is extremely dependent on romantic relationships/bonds for her modus operandi, and even outside that, she's an extraordinarily social animal (that also works best with as much forced closeness as possible). It's a good thing she was a doctor during the pandemic* because if you'd make her remove herself from the world at large (worse, alone with only Damon...) she would've died of sheer boredom.

(*......... writing this down for my horror delena wip brb).

This is why she was at her best, in terms of social capital, with Stefan. HE was a strong proposition. HE was a challenge. A worthy partner and worthier opponent. And this is why she slowly loses her magic touch when she dates Damon, who has the social finesse of a baby elephant in a glassware shop. Elena responds to and raises to a challenge. If she's put on the spot, she'll surpass expectations.

This speaks to why becoming a vampire was... not that great for her social capital. Suddenly her soft power strategies didn't work as well, because nobody could forget she now had superpowers. Maybe if the show hadn't combined the double punch of hard-power-thrust-at-her with now-she-dates-Damon things would be different, she could've adapted to a new MO, but alas. This is why she's one of the only two vampires volunteering for the cure (along with Rebekah), and why she actually follows through. On some level, she's trying to return to a better time for her. She almost... fetishizes that human vulnerability of hers, and how she could get others to fight for her with it. But season 6 is a different world, with different rules and very different players, and it proves to be a huge miscalculation on her part.

Oof. This got long xD. Tl;dr: I attribute Elena being Like That to a variety of factors: her intrinsic nature: great instincts wrt social hierarchies, easy charm; a combination of lack of morals and excess of privilege both aiding her and getting in her way depending on the context; a personality that responds to challenges and gets bored and more passive without them; and a learned glorification of soft-power manipulation.

[genericpuff]

remember how I said yesterday Rachel constantly sneaks into ULO/anti groups just to ruin her own day and then proceed to vague post/sub tweet/respond to the things people say to her?

I give to you, a baby putting herself in the corner.

Never mind the fact that the ULO subreddit just put up a mod post yesterday telling people not to discuss Rachel's personal life.

Never mind the fact that the ULO Discord server just hosted a meeting LITERALLY TODAY reminding people of the rules and that speculating/assuming things about Rachel's personal life isn't allowed.

Never mind the fact that the ULO/anti communities typically keep to themselves and don't promote hate/criticism directly at Rachel outside of the circles they've made for themselves because it's, y'know, trashy and not a good thing to do.

Never mind the fact that Rachel literally writes her personal life INTO HER OWN GODDAMN COMIC.

Never mind the fact that people are tearing Rachel a new asshole and dropping her comic like a hot potato right now because she triggered a shitload of her own readers after not putting a VERY necessary trigger warning into an episode featuring EXTREME emotional abuse and that this is the SECOND TIME SHE'S FORGOTTEN A NECESSARY TRIGGER WARNING (she didn't include one back when the SA was first depicted, yes, you heard me right, she literally didn't put a TW for the assault episode and had to be educated on the fact that what she had just shown was, indeed, an assault and extremely triggering) and even after finally putting in a trigger warning hasn't addressed her mistake at ALL.

And finally, never mind the fact that all of these things she's getting into a tizzy over are things that are being discussed in criticism spaces that she knows aren't meant for her, but still she'll selectively sneak into time and time again to ruin her own damn day; she's been outright banned from communities in the past for her behavior and her attempts to wrestle control away from crit community admins so they can't say anything that isn't positive.

Rachel Smythe has been banned, from her own fan communities.

But she'll still try and sneak into them anyways. She'll still make her day worse by willingly sneaking into groups that weren't made for her and reading takes on her comic that she knows she won't like instead of minding her own business and working on her fucking comic. And then she'll take whatever she sees in those groups and take it as an opportunity to paint herself as a victim - literally within the same week of legitimately victimizing her own readers after not including a proper TW.

It gives crazy Creepshow/Norman Boutin vibes but at the end of the day, there's nothing any of us can do about it besides point this shit out so others are aware. Keep calling it out, keep reminding people of her history of acting like a petulant child and attempting to hide it. It's her party, after all. She can go ahead and keep giving herself the ick.

Getting back to drawing now. I know I said I wasn't gonna make any more LO rants but this one thing in particular really 𝓫𝓸𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓭 𝓶𝔂 𝓹𝓲𝓼𝓼 because it's just yet another thing in a very looooong history of behavior from Rachel that screams "YIKES" through hundreds of megaphones taped together.

But honestly, this is almost definitely giving her the attention she wants and the "proof" she wants that we're all just a bunch of toxic assholes (/s), so I should stop even giving it any mind, it's just hard not to call it out when she's literally talking at the communities that she has no business being in. I can't let her bullshit live rent-free in my head, I have way more productive shit I could and should be doing.

So I guess, in closing, here's some helpful advice that you should really quit dishing and really start taking, Rachel - if you don't like it, don't read it.

[fizzigigsimmer]

The power of narrative empathy.

This is kind of a strange post about Billy, but I’m just gonna let it flow. I’m gonna start with this, I am a Billy Hargrove fan. I am a black, queer, female abuse survivor and I make no apologies about loving this character. Also, none of what I just said matters, I just think it’s important to note that we are out here. Even if I wasn’t those things I would still have the liberty and hopefuly the empathy to feel for his character. Today I want to talk about how Billy was written, why I think that’s dead wrong and damaging to those of us who survive abuse without a halo, and I am going to use another beloved fictional victim to do it. He also happens to be one of the world’s most iconic and well known villains. Yes I am going to talk about Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, and how his story is real. How it happened to me and it’s happening to someone else right now, and how I see evidence of the same societal failure shown in the films playing out in real time every damn day in the Stranger Things Fandom when it comes to Billy Hargrove. So here we go.

For a highly condensed slightly satirical recap: The genocidal tyrant formerly known as Darth Vader started out as Anakin Skywalker. A gifted child slave whose only living family was his mother. If the words child slave didn’t clue you in, let me just tell you that my ravenous consuming of any and all Star Wars companion novels confirmed that Anakin regularly suffered abuse and was put into life threatening danger by a greedy master because he was a protege pilot. As a result, Anakin learned from a pretty early age that how he used his gifts might literally be the difference between whether he and his mom survived. Fun shit like that.

Despite all, Anakin was a good person. Yeah he was a little rash and a little angry sometimes, but he was also kind, brave, and loyal and had all the makings of a great person - in other words he was an ordinary child who just happened to have a special power that gave his FEELINGS agency in the world.

Enter the Jedi Knights, literal space Knights, and fellow feelings practitioners. They’ve developed a truly insane way of dealing with the fact that their feelings are a literal force in the world, by forming a kind of religion around not allowing themselves to feel very much at all and keeping the peace. They’re the ultimate good guys whose reputation proceeds them and our enslaved child instantly looks up to and idolizes them as heroes. He’s willing to put his life in danger to help them even when there’s literally no gain in it for him and then they happily use him in order to get some parts they need to get off the planet. He’s 9 by the way.

But Anakin isn’t risking his life for nothing nothing. Jedi master Qui-Gon Jin has seen Anakin is a fellow feelings user and immediately thinks he’s the prophesied “Chosen One”, who is supposed to bring BALANCE TO THE FORCE THAT GUIDES THE UNIVERSE. Based on literally nothing nothing and possibly an immaculate conception. Anyway, he’s convinced. Even though he already has an apprentice/surrogate son, he immediately starts love bombing this slave child and filling his head with promises that he’s gonna be freed from his horrible life and trained to be this great Jedi - promises he has no idea whether he’ll be able to keep by the way. So Qui-Gon buys a child and calls it a rescue, and tells him he’s going to have to leave his mother in bondage and cut off all emotional ties to her. Like he can never see her again or even feel too strongly about never seeing her again because Jedi’s aren’t supposed to love. Love is too strong a feeling and it leads to all the other BAD FEELINGS. So the nine year old child slave is told to be brave and start acting like a Jedi already and stop with the whole being scared/guilty about leaving his mother thing.

The nine year-old child slave who has just been separated from his mother for life, does not do that. In a turn of events that should really shock no one, instead he immediately trauma imprints on the first girl who shows him empathy after he opens up about his EMOTIONAL PAIN. He then spends the next decade fixated on this girl and crying out for help because he can not just turn off his emotions. He is constantly criticized, demeaned, and treated like a pariah for not just being able to magically rise above his trauma or control his trauma responses, in order to become the white knight he’s supposed to be for the republic. Side note, when I say dude was erratic AF and crying out for help AF, I mean that. There are several Youtube Psychologists who have done reactions to this character and an interesting theme  throughout all of them is how Anakin displays all of the typical indicators for Bipolar Disorder and Reactive Attachment Disorder. It’s interesting, and I’ve linked a favorite.

So back to this child slave who is either the victim of a three movie long mental health crisis or the Worst Writing Syndrome (I’ll take both for 300 Alex). Obi-Wan, Anakin’s big brother/father figure has no idea what the hell he is doing or how to help him, because he hasn’t processed his own trauma. Time for a side note about Obi-Wan’s former master Qui-Gon. He was an overly critical and emotionally unavailable teacher/father whose teaching style was essentially to give out tiny scraps of approval every now and again just so Obi-wan didn’t decide to swallow his light saber.

So there was Obi-wan, 25 years old, still out here trying to get daddy’s stamp of approval so that he can be a real man who has MASTERED HIS FEELINGS, but he’s being told he’s not ready and reminded of all of his short comings on the regular. It’s Tuesday in other words. But then dad finds this new kid and literally just stops caring about training Obi-wan. He tells Obi-wan it’s time he moved out and got a job with zero notice.

Qui-Gon announces to the Jedi Council that he wants Anakin as his apprentice. Which is super awkward because his actual apprentice is standing right there. When they point out that he’s already got one, he’s suddenly all ‘oh Obi-wan is ready to be a big boy now’. Obi-wan was rightly jealous, hurt, and low-key pissed off, but Jedi’s aren’t supposed to let FEELINGS get the better of them so he swallows sadness.

Qui-Gon might be a bit of a dick but he is still dad, so when he tragically dies right in Obi-wan’s arms and uses his very last breathes to beg him to train Anakin, this fresh as fuck Jedi-Knight suddenly becomes a father figure to a traumatized slave child. And the saddest thing is Obi-wan is a better man than Qui-Gon. He has every reason in the world to hate this little twerp, but he tries so hard to break the cycle and he be the father figure Anakin needs.

But the thing about breaking cycles is someone has to teach you how to do it. The Jedi Council is not out here encouraging Obi-Wan to be emotionally present and empathetic to Anakin’s unique struggles and challenges. And LOLS do he have them. In fact Obi-Wan is constantly in the council room defending Anakin against their prejudice for shit Anakin can’t control, and is often being criticized himself for being too soft with his apprentice. Like they would literally sit him down and essentially tell him to stop being an Anakin defender and apologist 😂.

So the end result was Obi-wan landed somewhere in the messy middle between the dad he promised himself he wouldn’t be and the one he wanted to be, and the child slave’s mental health continued to decline (surprise surprise) until he finally met a creepy groomer who manipulated him by VALIDATING HIS EMOTIONAL PAIN. Nobody intervened, although there was ample opportunities to do so. Anakin was literally as well as figuratively crying out for help the whole time. He didn’t get it. He was told to just stop being afraid. Just stop being angry. Just stop loving your mother and don’t think about what may or may have happened to her. Just stop and do the savior thing okay? JUST GET OVER YOUR FEELINGS ANAKIN.

And the rest is just tragic history.

I took the time to write all that because I have been in Anakin’s and Billy’s figurative shoes. I was abused more ways than I want to recount here, and I’ll just say it. It messed me the fuck up. I know what it’s like to cry for help, over and over again and never get it. I know what it’s like to be blamed for blowing the whistle the same day you’re blamed for behavior that stems from the rage of utter helplessness. I know what it’s like to break shit and hurt people who don’t deserve it because that’s what you know. And I know what it’s like to be told I have to break the cycle somehow, even though you wouldn’t know the first place to begin even if you were in a place safe enough to start.

I aged out of my abuse. Nobody rescued me. The systems failed me. I simply got old enough to move away from my abusers and then after considerable self harming behavior I got lucky and broke good. I reached my lowest low and realized I did want to live and that I had to fix my shit in order to do that. I started going to therapy and working to build the life I wanted. And in case this isn’t clear enough I will spell it out. The world did not look at me, an abuse survivor and empathize. There was not a reliable support system, no heroes in capes. I’m here, stable, loved and in a good place because I survived long enough to buy the help I needed. That’s it. It’s fucking tragic and as a society we have a lot to be ashamed for. We fail.

I empathize with Billy Hargrove because his story is my story. Right down to societies response, and the way his writers decided to condemn him from conception.

As terrible a writer as George Lucas may be that is the one thing he did not do. He could have condemned the character of Darth Vader with his narrative, but instead he wrote what is essentially a redemptive six part epic about an abuse survivor that the ENTIRE GALAXY FAILED. Anakin’s story is a text book case for why it is fucking awful to look at an abuse survivor and put the burden of healing on them. Like they’re just supposed to be organically “resilient” to the shit that you claim you wouldn’t even know how to survive, in order to be some virtuous example to others about how to “stay good”. 

People expect that of characters like Billy Hargrove because that’s what people expect of real victims too. You’re only worthy of empathy if you somehow survive the unsurvivable mentally and emotionally intact. That’s how the Duffer brothers related to Billy’s trauma. In their own words, he’s not written as what he is (an abused child) he’s a villain whom they wanted to look like a real boy so they gave him trauma. He’s written to be judged, hated for his inability to just magically STOP, and then die so that the story can plod forward.

And just in case you don’t yet see why that matters, just stop and think about how people are more accepting of the character who literally decimated planets and slaughtered children, than the teen who was abused and then possessed. Anakin is allowed to have fans who empathize with his struggles, who dream of the better life he might have had. Anakin’s sacrificial death is allowed to be the redemptive moment that it was, and he’s literally allowed to shed the name of Darth Vader and be remembered as the friend and brother that Obi-wan loved within his own narrative. Because he’s written with empathy.

And society responds to that empathy. I have never, not once, been shamed, ridiculed, or called a child murder apologists (or what the fuck ever) for loving his character.

Billy isn’t real, but the people who empathize with and see themselves in his character are real. Nobody’s required to like him, love him, or even want to think about him for that matter but this drive some people have to blanket judge other fans and start calling people weirdos and monsters for feeling anything for him that isn’t disgust - that’s what can stop. You can literally just stop. Back away from the keyboard and take a deep breath. Agree to disagree. Feel how you feel. But don’t go fucking far out of your way to tear strangers down over the internet.There’s no justification in the world for it. I promise.

[httyddragonfox]

Saeran's abuse in the Ray Route.

There are several kinds of abuse, and for the Ray Route I believe Cheritz pulled out all the stops. What's worse is this is reflecting the kind of abuse Saeran himself went through.

Yeah, and we're supposed to forgive him for a good ending. Well, we are the ones who wanted a Unknown route, and Unknown is already dangerous, so what were we really expecting? We were getting what we asked for.

Let's break down all the different kinds of abuse explored in the Ray Route. WARNING: This may be triggering for some people, (especially those who have encountered similar abuse in the past) that is why I'm only including this section for those who believe they can handle it.

Physical: the most well known kind of abuse. Leaving marks on another person's body, due to rage or a form of control. Saeran inflicts this by biting us, pinning us against hard surfaces, and later squeezing our arms roughly with an intention of killing us. Saeran's mother apparently did every form of physical abuse under the sun. She pulled his hair, his arms roughly, strangled him, and hit him. He went through every day believing she was going to hurt him.

Neglect: Mainly seen in the form of child abuse, but can be used on older people as well. For starters, we are locked in our room, similarly to how he was tied up in his mom's kitchen. This denies someone freedom of movement. Also, seeing as we are denied freedom of movement, we cannot feed ourselves. Denying food for someone is a good way to make someone weak enough so you can control them, also there is a constant threat of starvation, this way you feel more grateful when they feed you and this can induce Stockholm syndrome. Saeran's mother denied him food and water plenty of times, so much so Rika and V were shocked at the state they found him in. In Ray's route we're denied food enough that we get a little skinnier, enough for Ray to notice (Only a couple days worth, but okay).

Emotional: Very subtle form of abuse, it's where your emotions are not treated with validation. What we do see from Saeran, he treats our emotions as forms of entertainment. Asking to show us different emotions, unsympathetic to how we are actually feeling. If we cry, he laughs; he taunts us into getting mad so he could "mess" with us more. Moreover, he plays with our feelings of love we have for Ray, saying we're idiots for doing so, and saying it's not real when we don't act accordingly. Saeran's mother told him to not be happy just because he was alive, and it made him feel like there was no reason to be happy. His brother wasn't around to make him feel happy otherwise, so he ended up feeling miserable.

Verbal: This one can be overlooked as just spats, but if unchecked can lead to trauma. Verbal abuse is the form of constant yelling, threats and insults directed towards a person in order to make them feel lesser and keep them in line. Saeran started insulting us the first moment he got, saying our smell is terrible, we're terrible, we're an idiot, we're an airhead, we're living in a fantasy, we're useless. He constantly threatens us with cleansing, being to moved to the basement and tortured worse, being killed. In the Bad Ending, he threatens us more by saying he'll get a girlfriend who's better than us. Saeran was also insulted by his mother tons, who called him a waste of space, an airhead, useless, and so on. She also threatened him a lot, mainly under threat of death. She kept telling him that she was going to "throw him away."

Psychological: this one is quite terrifying and dangerous. This is where the abuser makes the victim think they are the problem, where they try to control every aspect of their life (What they eat, what they do, what they think, what they wear, etc), and where they isolate them so the victim can only depend on the abuser. This abuse is usually employed so that the abuser can get away with the other forms of abuse. With Saeran, he immediately let's us know he's watching all of our social activity, hacking in to both a call from V and a chat room with Jaehee to remind us not to say anything. Later he has a camera installed in our room so he can watch everything we do. He makes sure that no other believer can enter our room, just him and the savior. In a later call he tells us he's all we've got, so we have to do everything he says if we want to survive. When he cuts off contact from the RFA, he tells us that the RFA didn't even need us and they don't even miss us. Whenever he's about to hurt us, he reminds us of our "faults:" choosing to go there in the first place, encouraging ray, talking back to him, backing away from him, etc. He tries to control us by telling us to be silent, only saying "Yes" to whatever he says. In the Bad Ending he gives us gifts and then cruelly takes them away saying we don't deserve them. Saeran's mother was similar, in the Christmas DLC he was told he didn't deserve presents because he was a naughty kid. He was constantly reminded of the threat of his father so that he'd stay inside with his mother. Even when his mother died, he was sad because she never left him. His mother constantly demanded his obedience and his silence, wanting him to be silent if not saying "yes" to whatever she said.

Sexual: This involves touching those inappropriately or doing sexual or romantic acts towards them without their consent, or otherwise coercing the victim to take part in said acts, removing their bodily autonomy. This is normally between couples or potential couples, but can be between generational gaps such as parent and child (Those people deserve to burn). This is actually something that never happened to Saeran (thank god), but Saeran likes us. With everything else applied, he's going to be forceful with this one. He bites us on the neck, pins us against hard surfaces, gets in our personal space and tries to get us to kiss him, with threats of torture if we don't. In the 2nd Bad Ending, it's implied this is more recurring.

There is also another one, that is sometimes used, but not often.

Substance: This is where someone drugs the victim without their consent. This is usually done to make them infantile, weak (poisoned) make them vulnerable to sexual abuse, or to make them a doll (for any reason). Saeran endured this with Rika as a form of brainwashing, and wants us to endure it in other routes. Of course in his route, he says we don't deserve it. The irony there, we trade out being drugged for being insulted and threatened.

[misslavenderlady]

A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock ‘N Roll - Chapter 4

Summary: David wants to take his time getting to know Michael, but Max isn't happy with the lack of progress in his plan.

Music from chapter HERE

TW: Chapter contains threats of violence/physical abuse and intimidation from Max

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Any fun that David had been having with Michael was cut short the moment he saw Star and Laddie run up to them on the boardwalk. No doubt they'd be a distraction while he and the others tried to enjoy the human's company.

Goddamnit, Star, not now.

“Guys! What happened? What’s going on?” the Lost Girl asked them, her eyes widening and her expression quite worried. David wanted to tell her it was nothing so she wouldn’t be butting in on their time with Michael, but Paul beat him to it, albeit in a sweeter manner.

“You shoulda seen it, Starlight!” the blond grinned, reaching out excitedly to hold her hands in his own. “Those surfer jerks were trying to start some shit, and Michael punched the leader in the face! He was fuckin’ out in one hit!”

Dwayne nodded and held out his arms for Laddie to go in for a hug. He added to the story while ruffling the kid’s hair.

“Any hit like that would have broken a hand, but Michael did it without even breaking a sweat”

The more Michael got praised for his act of bravery against the Surf Nazis, the more bashfully he smiled. His face was looking pinker and pinker by the second, and he was trying to subtly pull the brim of his hat down to cover it. A slight tug pulled at David’s lips, encouraging an amused smile from such a display.

“It was certainly impressive,” was all he could say. He wouldn’t give away the thoughts he had about Michael as a newborn vampire, beating their enemies and hunting down their victims. It pleased him immensely. 

And yet, it wasn’t the main reason why he enjoyed it so much.

Michael really was sweet. The whole reason why he punched Greg in the first place was that he insulted David and the boys. He was willing to get into a fight not for his ego, but for his friends. It was….surprisingly nice.

"If those guys eva' give y'all any more trouble, I'll be more than happy to teach them some manners again!" 

David didn't doubt that for a second. 

Even with their night facing some issues, it was still going very well. Perhaps they could give the Ferris wheel a ride. Or maybe show Michael some of the best snack stands. Or-

"David"

Or maybe the fun would be cut off by Max. The master of being a buzzkill. 

David scowled at the sound of Max calling to him in his mind. He and the other boys could talk to each other telepathically so long as they were within a certain distance of one another. Being the head vampire allowed Max to talk to them no matter how far apart they were. It was such a pain knowing their sire could get in their heads whenever it pleased him. 

"I'm closing up the shop. Come by in 10 minutes so we can talk"

Of course, that's what he wanted. Another round of orders and scolding like David was a child. He hated the way his sire infantilized him, forcing him to act as an obedient errand boy stuck on a short leash. 

But better to sit through a boring lecture than face the wrath of Max's nastier side. 

"I'll be there soon. I'll send the others to hunt in the meantime" 

David passed along the message to the others, silently informing them that the party was just about over. They all looked equally bummed out.

But the fun didn't necessarily have to end there. Michael was one of them now, and they could easily have some fun again another night. 

"Listen, Michael," the blond leader spoke. "We gotta go, but you up for hanging out again tomorrow?" 

Now it was Michael's turn to look disappointed. The frown on his face looked quite similar to the pout of a puppy. It would be adorable if it wasn't so sad. 

"Aww gee, I'm real sorry, but I gotta help my Grandpa build a new fence for the horse pasture. It's probably gonna take until supper time and I'll be plum-tuckered out by then"

As annoying as it was that Michael had to constantly get work done, David definitely sympathized. He went through the same problem with Max. With a soft smile and a hand on Michael's shoulder, he made it clear there were no hard feelings. 

Something about David showing off that small hint of affection must have affected Michael too because he was quick to offer a new solution to the problem.

"But maybe if ya want to y'all can join us for supper! Sammy was talkin' to our mama 'bout havin' some friends over. We have plenty o' room for you too!"

The boys traded looks with one another, all equally surprised by such an offer. It had been quite a few years since David and his boys had actually enjoyed dinner in the company of others at a table rather than lounging in the ruins of the hotel. Not even Max let them into his house for meals. The curiosity was just too strong. 

"We'll be there…at sundown" the vampire agreed, adding a hint of persuasive energy at the end with the help of his powers. Better to let Michael believe that was a perfectly reasonable time to come over than to question anything. 

Being the one that liked to collect random objects, Marko dug through pockets full of change, knickknacks, and various patches before finally locating a pen that Michael could use to write down his address. A normal person would have asked for some paper too, but Michael seemed too impatient and excited to do such a thing. He held out his hand to David, silently asking for his own in order to write down his address on his palm.

Never before had David let someone still so unfamiliar to him the permission to touch his hands like this. He was always confident in himself, yet as he reached out for Michael, a million little insecurities rushed through his head. If he shook hands with the guy, why was it such an issue now? He kept his guard up as best as he could while Michael carefully held his hand in place and scribbled out his address on the palm of his hand. 

Glancing up for just a moment to see a smile on Michael’s face didn’t exactly help. Not when it was such an excited expression. 

Keep it together, David.

The grin never faded, even when Michael let go so that David could get a better look at the words. Everything was set for tomorrow. Another tilt of Michael’s hat was given to his companions.

“Thanks again! See ya tomorrow night!” he said as a farewell. All the others gave some kind of wave or ‘goodbye’ while the human took off to find his ride. In turn, everyone left the spot as well, with Star taking Laddie to play some games while Dwayne, Marko, and Paul snuck off to the beach for their nightly hunt.

That left David, alone and stuck with a meeting with Daddy Dearest himself. It wasn’t easy to be alone. It made him feel vulnerable. Weak. 

And yet, the way he could still feel the ghost of Michael’s fingers on his hand didn’t make it seem so bad. As he walked down the path of the boardwalk towards his parked bike, David felt a little less lonely. Even when they were apart, it still felt like he was in the company of the human boy. 

He couldn’t wait for tomorrow night.

Max had been a businessman his entire life; both living and undead. He had developed quite the skill for recognizing patterns of what goods and services would be most profitable for the upcoming decades, and knew how to adapt in order to sell such things to the human population.

It kept him quite comfortable in terms of wealth. Even in poor economic years, he was settled until the next major money maker came along. In the current year, he was thriving with his video store, even to a point of branching out as a chain. He didn’t blame the humans for finding such joy in tapes. He still recalled the shock and awe that came with the silent, black-and-white films of yesteryear. 

But just because Max was doing so well for himself didn’t mean he was always generous with such a fortune. Sure he gave back to the community with friendly gestures and acts of charity, but it was all for appearances. He secretly found the poor and strange residents of Santa Carla to be uncouth. Rowdy distractions meddled with his affairs. 

That also included his boys.

He had tried for so many years now to get the boys to become proper gentlemen. They did his bidding, but they only seemed to get more obnoxious with every passing decade. That’s why he was so focused on getting Lucy to be their mother. She was a true lady. A soft, southern belle with manners and charm aplenty. She’d be both a lovely wife to have on his arm and a doting caretaker for his boys. It would be perfect.

But David knew better. Any woman stuck with Max for eternity would be miserable. He and his friends were far more progressive and accepting than Max. Enthusiastic about change while their sire still held onto archaic beliefs like “children should be seen, not heard”. It certainly explained why he was so quick to shoo them away.

Even in the moments when they did interact with him, it was far from enjoyable. David was stuck in pure, mental exhaustion while he sat across from Max in his office of the video store. For a man that liked to surround himself with extravagant displays, Max was an absolute bore to listen to.

“Tell me something, David,” the elder vampire said, coming off of yet another long-winded lecture about David’s vampire powers. “Why haven’t the two boys gotten their drink yet? I’m certain I made myself clear when I told you they had to become half before I went to Lucy”

“What? Am I not allowed to get to know my new friend before he joins the family?” David asked, voice dripping with snark. It put a sour look on Max’s face.

The older man slipped off his glasses, pinching two fingers against the bridge of his nose in frustration. It seemed like he wasn’t ever capable of expressing positive emotions around his eldest “son”.

“You’ll get your new brothers soon enough, David. But my orders should be followed in a timely manner. I can’t afford you getting soft on them and not following the plan”

David felt a twist of nausea rolling around in his stomach. Max would swear up and down that the boys were all like siblings to one another, but they were all clearly on a more intimate level. 

They never went by labels, but Dwayne, Marko, and Paul didn’t hide the romantic relationship they shared with one another. They constantly flirted, kissed, and shared intimate gestures only reserved for lovers. Paul in particular was beginning to branch out that affection to Star more and more these days.

Laddie and Sam would certainly be little brothers to them, but the idea of using such a term for Michael didn’t feel…right. It only made David feel even sicker.

“I know that. I promise I’ll get them the wine. I just want to find the right time to do it,” David explained, behaving more seriously this time. Even so, that answer didn’t satisfy Max at all. He only looked more frustrated.

“You don’t get to decide when is the right time, I do, young man”

“I said it’s gonna happen! What’s the big de-”

“DAVID!”

The blond vampire flinched, holding his tongue so he wouldn’t say anything else that would upset his sire. Max’s face was morphing into his vampiric form, with sharp, inhuman facial patterns, and demonic eyes that could burn one’s soul. Even if David had his own vampire face, it wasn’t nearly as intimidating as Max’s. 

“Must I remind you of your place in this family?” he asked, voice heavily distorted. David awkwardly stood from his seat, feeling the need to prepare if he had to get away. It had been so long since the last time Max blew up on him, and he feared what would happen if he made things worse.

Max only stepped closer, his taller figure looming over David.

"I gifted you my blood and took you in as my own. That means you do as I say when I say it, and without any attitude. There are consequences if you do not listen"

David opened his mouth, attempting to find the right thing to say. But any words he could have said were instantly silenced by the icy touch of Max’s hand wrapping around his wrist. His fingers were closing in tight like an owl trapping a helpless mouse in its talons. David hate how weak his sire made him feel when he was angry. 

It reminded him how he was smaller, younger, and far less powerful.

“L-Look, I’m sorry…I r-really will turn him…” David swore to Max. Panic was rising as his sire pushed his thumb into his palm, painfully jabbing at the skin with the claw getting closer to his flesh.

“You better. I gave you my blood and I can take it away just as easily,” Max growled. His claw pierced David’s skin, a shimmering bead of blood peeking through the pale flesh. Bright red contrasted with the soft, blue ink that Michael had written on his palm. 

When the point was made, Max released his childe’s wrist, face morphing back into his human disguise. He once again held an appearance of dignity and politeness, as if he hadn’t just threatened David’s very life. The smile on his face was truly ugly. 

“You may go home now. I’m glad we had this talk, son,” Max said.

David loathed that word. It held no meaning to him when the head vampire spoke it. Yet he knew the proper way to address him in return.

“Thank you….father…”

With his head down and his body racked with nerves, David quickly exited the building, not wanting to be in there a second longer. The air outside was a much-needed refresher for his skin, washing away the sensations of being suffocated under Max’s eye. 

He glanced down at his bare hand, seeing how the drop of blood had already dried, staining the center of his hand. Michael’s address was still clear, but it felt tainted now. Any warmth the human gave when their hands touched was overpowered by the bitter-cold grasp Max held over him. Disgusted with himself, David frantically pulled his leather gloves out of his pocket, slipping them over his skin.

Now he remembered why he hated not wearing them. 

Thoughts of worry and stress shot through David’s brain as he carefully got back on his motorcycle. He didn’t know what to do in a situation like this.

Should he go on a feeding frenzy and kill scumbags until he calmed down? Should he just go to the cave and risk his friends seeing him in such disarray? He even considered hitting the highway and just driving until the last hour before sunrise so he could clear his head.

Each decision had its pros and cons, and that only frustrated David more. Max had shaken him up and taken away any confidence or sense of power he had. If there was anything he truly loathed, it was feeling like he wasn’t in control. It was like being a vulnerable human again, and that only made him feel worse.

However, there was one option he hadn’t considered. 

Glancing and the hand he had covered just moments ago, David thought about where Michael said his grandfather’s house was. It was in a more rural area up in mountains, not too far with the use of a motorcycle. Even less distance if David went there by flight.

Michael and his family wouldn’t be expecting him until tomorrow night, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t stop by for a moment and check the place out. 

He could certainly use the distraction.

A normal person would understand the concept of privacy and not creeping around someone’s home when they weren’t invited. 

But that usually was something humans cared about. And David certainly wasn't human. 

The drive on his bike up into the wooded area of Santa Carla wasn't much. The paths were clear and he passed a few animals on the way up. He stopped just before the driveway of Michael's house so he could stealthily fly the rest of the way. He was so skilled at slipping through the shadows quietly that it was second nature to him. 

The outside of the house was a cluttered mess, all full of taxidermy and antiques. If it was this wild on the outside, he couldn't imagine what it would be like on the inside. Tomorrow he'd find out. For now, he was content with casing the outside. 

David moved through the lot, eyeing everything carefully and searching for a sign of life. It was pretty late and most of the lights were off. He'd just have to take in the space for what it was now. 

As crickets and cicadas chirped loudly in the night, David still couldn't help but wonder what would happen once Max's mission was complete. Would he take over this house and do a total remodel? It certainly wasn't his style in its current state. But given the size, he'd probably insist the boys move out of their cave and into this place. 

What Max lacked in actual parental habits he certainly made up for in appearances. 

Ugh, he's still fucking with my head even when he's not here, David thought to himself. He would have shouted in frustration if he didn't face the risk of waking up the Emerson family. 

To his surprise, an entirely different sound filled the air instead. 

The strumming of steel strings and the notes of a song from a familiar voice. David looked in that direction, finding the sound coming from one of the only lit rooms in the house. 

That has to be Michael's room.

Still skillfully hidden under the cover of night, David made his way up a nearby tree. It was old and beginning to decay, but he was lighter than air, his power of flight keeping him weightless while hiding in the branches. His position allowed a clear line of sight into the open window, yet he himself was perfectly hidden. 

Sure enough, Michael was on the other side, dressed in comfy clothes for a night in. His flannel had been traded for a white and blue football jersey. Dallas Cowboys, of course. 

The human boy seemed quite relaxed, lounging over his bed with a guitar on his knee. He was strumming softly, a hazy look in his eyes while he sang to himself. 

"Like a rhyme with no reason In an unfinished song There was no harmony, life meant nothin' to me until you came along"

David raised his eyebrows, a sensation of surprise overcoming him. The last song Michael played had also been a love song, but it was more playful and fun. This one was more sincere. If that wasn't made perfectly clear, then the dopey smile on Michael's face certainly did. 

"And you brought out the colors What a gentle surprise Now I'm able to see all the things life can be, shinin' soft in your eyes"

The sappy stuff wasn't at all the style of The Lost Boys. They liked pure, wild rock and roll that boasted a love for joyrides, parties, and beautiful women to fuck all night long. They always changed the station on Paul's boombox if a lovey-dovey song played. 

But this? It was beautiful. Sincere. Michael's voice made it so. 

"And you decorated my life Created a world Where dreams are a part"

Warm. That's how Michael's voice made David feel. The smirk that often found its way to his face was slowly melting into a genuine smile. His stomach no longer twisted in knots but rather fluttered with the sensation of butterflies. 

"By paintin' your love All over my heart You decorated my life"

And just like that, the song was over. 

David had been so wrapped up in the music that he was caught off guard when it stopped. He shook his head, forcing himself to snap out of his trance. Never had something so human made him feel so bewildered. While Michael put his guitar away, the vampire snuck back down the tree. It was time to go home for the night. 

However, before David could get himself to leave, he paused to look up at the window one last time. A moment or two passed before the light was shut off, leaving the house to be totally shrouded in darkness. 

Another smile found its way onto David's face before he took off.

Goodnight, Michael. Sweet dreams. 

[annashadowstar]

Name: Lay Copperbottom

Age: 9

Sexual: Non-binary

Height: 115cm

Pronoun: They/them.

From: Mix of China and American.

Birthday: May 21

Family: Chris Galeforce(Big brother), Reginald Copperbottom(Dad) RHM(Father)

Background:

Lay goes by a different name, Lily Dreamer, which they despise. Therefore, they prefer to be addressed as Lay Dreamer. Lay's parents had been treating them very badly since they only want a boy so he can run the company. Lay has a big brother, Daniel Dreamer, aka Chris. Chris also didn't like his name and is called Chris. Chris's parents also hate him since he acts nothing like his parents and keeps being nice to Lay, even though they tell him to abuse Chris. On Lay's 4th Birthday, Chris gives Lay a scarf as a present. before kicking Chris out of the house. Chris exited the house, while Lay begs their brother not to leave them. Lay had been living with their 'parents' for 4 years, suffering. When Lay had enough, they use their magic for the first time, killing their parents from rage, and burn the house down. Lay then run into the streets and live there for a few days until they steal from the Toppat Clan. The Toppat leader, Reginald Copperbottom, notices the chaos Lay had done and decides to adopt Lay as his own child. Lay's last name was now changed to Copperbottom. Their job was to show the new Toppat member around the ship so they have a lot of free time.

Magic/Power

Lay possesses three distinct types of magic: string manipulation, time travel (like Henry), and the ability to communicate with ghosts, curses, and spirits. Whenever Lay utilizes their magic, the right side of their eyes will turn blue, except when communicating with ghosts.

Strings

Lay's strings could be as hard as a diamond or as soft as cotton. Usually, when someone was tied up by Lay's strings, they will need to cut it, untangle it, or wait for Lay to get them down. Untangling the strings will be very confusing since it's all around the victim's body. If you want to cut the string, you might need to start from the top of the string, it will help to untangle much more easily.

Time-travel

Lay has a similar magical quality to that of Henry Stickmin. When faced with a decision, Lay must choose a path and move forward. If their choice leads to failure, they will return to a void and have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and retry. Lay will remember both their own ending and Henry's, as this magic requires no further explanation.

Communicating with ghosts(I don't think I need to explain this, right?)

Lay possessed the unique ability to communicate with ghosts, spirits, and even curses. They had the gift of sight, sound, and touch, but only if the spirits permitted. Due to the fact that most people are unable to see ghosts, Lay's actions of embracing thin air may have been misunderstood by some.

Bonus magic

In times of crisis, Lay can rely on their brother's magical powers. However, this ability comes with a cost - Lay's energy will be drained completely after borrowing their brother's magic. To activate this power, Lay's left eye turns yellow while their right eye turns blue. This also serves as a means to determine if their brother is still alive. If he has passed away, the power will not be accessible. Following the use of Chris's magic, Lay will inevitably lose consciousness and sleep to recharge their energy, causing concern among those close to them. Another way to gain energy is by eating some food. Lay could also borrow Kai’s power. But since they have no idea they have a big sister, they didn’t borrow her magic. Yeah f they did borrow Kai’s magic, both of their eyes will turn teal green.

Personality

Lay is usually very kind, helpful, and curious. If you got their bad side, they will hurt you. They are still a Toppat member after all. Lay is good at everything that has to do with crimes. Like snicking, shooting, parkour, and a lot more. They have a lot of scars due to the abuse from their 'parents.' Another reason why they are wearing a scarf is to hide the scarf on their neck. The pink rose circle on their cheeks is also a scar.

Lay has a penchant for pranks, but they limit themselves to once a week. During April Fool's Day, one must exercise caution around them. Lay shows remarkable intelligence for their age, understanding how most things operate without formal education.

Like: Helping other people and pranks.

Dislike: People hurting their families.

Hair color: Brown

Go Back to the introduction

I use Grammarly so don't judge me!

[cyarskj1899]

ENTERTAINMENT

The GMA3 Hosts Affair, Downfall of Kanye West Top Our List of the Biggest Pop Culture Scandals of 2022 [UPDATED]

A recap of the messiest stories that kept us talking all year long.

By

Stephanie Holland

PublishedThursday 6:00AM

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Updated 12/29/22 6:00 a.m. ET

This year has been so wild, we’ve got a few more scandals to dive into before we turn the page on 2022. With Tory Lanez being convicted of shooting Megan Thee Stallion and Elon Musk saying he wants to step down from Twitter, it feels like this year is going to be crazy right up until the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31.

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Tiffany Haddish

The Girls Trip star was the subject of a lawsuit alongside comedian Aries Spears, when a deeply inappropriate sketches featuring two child actors performing sexually suggestive acts resurfaced. The mother of the female victim filed a lawsuit accusing the two comics of child sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual battery. The two sketches were made for the Funny or Die website, with one of them titled “Through a Pedophile’s Eyes.” There is no world in which any of the adults involved should have thought this was ok.

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As the story broke and Haddish was criticized for putting these kids in such a dangerous situation, she commented on Instagram about the matter, writing, “I know people have a bunch of questions. I get it. I’m right there with you. Unfortunately, because there is an ongoing legal case, there’s very little I can say right now. But, clearly, while this sketch was intended to be comedic, it wasn’t funny at all—and I deeply regret having agreed to act in it. I really look forward to being able to share a lot more about this situation as soon as I can.” In September, the lawsuit was dropped, but that didn’t stop Haddish from becoming persona non grata in Hollywood. She confirmed to TMZthat she “lost everything” and all her jobs are gone.

Tory Lanez Convicted of Shooting Megan Thee Stallion

The December trial of Tory Lanez ended the year as one of 2022’s most talked about topics. The rapper was convicted on all charges for shooting Megan Thee Stallion back in 2020. But as women everywhere know, just because there’s proof that a man victimized you, it doesn’t mean the world will back you up. In the months leading up to the trial, Megan was inundated with online abuse as her story was repeatedly questioned and became an easy punching bag for certain hip-hop artists.

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In response to Tory’s conviction, his family has started a petition, while some of his fans are trying to paint him as a martyr. No, he’s just another small, pathetic man who assaulted a Black woman and doesn’t want to suffer the consequences of those actions, because he thinks he’s entitled to treat her some kind of way. 

Elon Musk buys Twitter

You know how you sometimes make an impulsive purchase, but then can’t find a way to return the item. That’s the situation the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, found himself in after he bought Twitter for $44 billion in October. It very quickly became clear that the old rules and protections wouldn’t be honored as the so-called “free speech absolutist” took power. In fact, white supremacists and conspiracy theorists who had previously had their accounts suspended, celebrated because they thought Musk’s Twitterwould be more accepting of their hate speech.

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The Tesla and SpaceX CEO then proceeded to layoff thousands of employees, and asked those that remained to work unreasonable overtime or also be cut. And of course, he has no respect for how Black Twitter has helped grow the platform. Everyday, more celebrities and public figures announce their exit from the social media site, leaving us to wonder if Twitter will survive through 2023, and what could take its place if it does die.

See original story below:

From Will Smith’s Oscars slap to the affair that rocked Good Morning America, 2022 was full of crazy, unforgettable moments. I thought I’d save you some time and recap them all in one handy place. Plus, some of these happened so long ago that we needed to check back in on where things stand now.

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GMA3 Hosts Affair

All you had to do was host your peppy morning talk show and not get in trouble. But apparently that was asking too much of T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach. In early December, the GMA3 co-hosts found themselves in one of the biggest scandals of the year when their affair was discovered by the press. This led to speculation about their marriages, paparazzi blowback on their families and serious repercussions to their careers.

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Both have been “benched” by ABC while the network continues to conduct an investigation into the situation, which is corporate speak for “we’re going to quietly fire them when you’re not paying attention.” Robach will find a way to bounce back because there’s always room for a blonde white woman with personality in the TV business, but Holmes’ reputation has been ruined, as this controversy has opened the door for other illicit rumors to pop up. It will be interesting to see the different paths they take as they try to salvage their careers in 2023.

The Slap

Remember way back in March when Will Smith was on his way to finally winning an Oscar for Best Actor and all he had to do to receive his flowers was make it through one commercial break? Yeah, that seems like an eternity ago to me, too. We all audibly gasped when, after Chris Rock made a callous joke about his wife Jada’s bald head, Will marched onstage, slapped the comedian in the face and yelled at him “keep my wife’s name out your fucking mouth.” At first, everyone questioned whether this was some kind of sketch, but it quickly became clear that this was no joke. Will went on to win, but the achievement was overshadowed by his actions. The decades he spent building himself up as one of the most respected and popular actors in the world evaporated in an instant. He’s since apologized, but that may not be enough for him to make a real comeback.

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As the year comes to an end, he’s receiving praise for his work in Emancipation and some fans seem ready to forgive him. But the Fresh Prince still has a long road ahead before he can possibly get back to where he was. This may have started the year as the moment everyone was talking about, but now that we’ve seen how wild 2022 turned out to be, it’s actually like the fifth or sixth most scandalous thing to happen this year.

The Downfall of Kanye West

Kanye West can yell and scream about being the victim of a conspiracy all he wants, but the hard truth is the only person to blame for the collapse of his career is himself. Turns out that when you spew anti-Black BS and disgusting antisemitic speech, no one wants to sell your music or clothes anymore. It started with a hateful, and clearly ignorant, social media post, which led several companies to distance themselves from the rapper. He then embarked on a hate-filled tour with the absolute worst elements of the far-right, including an appearance on InfoWars with Alex Jones, where he actually said, “I see good things about Hitler.”

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So the man who was once one of the most influential voices in the Black community, and who famously said “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” on a Hurricane Katrina telethon, is now hanging out with white supremacists and praising Hitler. Yeah, that’s a thing that actually happened in 2022.

Nia Long and Ime Udoka

Ime Udoka started the year on a high note. He led the Boston Celtics to the NBA Finals and was the envy of everyone as he celebrated with his partner, actress Nia Long. Unfortunately, all that changed when the team held a surprising press conference in September announcing that he was being suspended by the team for having a consensual, yet improper relationship with a female Celtics employee. With the whole world watching her private trouble play out across sports media, Long took care of her children, making sure they were protected from the storm.

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In the end the couple, who had been together for 13 years, decided to split up. They plan to focus on co-parenting their son, while Long is looking to start fresh in 2023 with The Best Man: The Final Chapters and her new movie You People.

The Wendy Williams Show Ends Without Wendy

After 13 seasons of Hot Topics and “How you doin,’” The Wendy Williams Show came to an all-too-quiet and somewhat sad end in June. As Wendy addressed multiple medical issues, Season 13 of her show was helmed by a series of guest hosts. Once it became clear that Williams wouldn’t be able to return, producers decided to hand off the show to the most popular and experienced of those hosts, Sherri Shepherd.

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As the end date approached for The Wendy Williams Show, fans began to wonder if the titular star would make one final appearance on the program. She didn’t show up for the finale, and the series just sort of ended as its social media accounts began to randomly disappear. And just like that, The Wendy Williams Show went out with a whimper, not with the bang we always assumed it would.

Honestly, so much happened this year, I’ve only scratched the surface of the biggest scandals of the year. I need a whole other article to cover whatever is going on at Twitter, assuming it’s still around after the holidays. 

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[sansaorgana]

hy do you think Aegon is the way he is? Do you think Alicent was a bad mother to him, only being dissatisfied with him and slapping him often? Because many say she is a terrible mother, I truly don't think it is all her fault, Viserys also is to blame, but why she isn't to Aegon like she is to Aemond and Helaena and in future most probably Daeron? Do you think she is a bad parent? Because she is not much better than Viserys, favouring Aemond, in future Daeron and sometimes Helaena and casting Aegon aside. Aegon is a piece of work, but her constant yelling or disappointment isn't helping. Even Otto didn't treat Alicent like that, in fact he was concerned when he saw her nails and asked why are you hurting yourself. He was strict, yes, but he never raised his voice on Alicent or slapped her.

Oh man, that's quite an emotional topic for me because I get very defensive when someone calls Alicent a bad mother. She reminds me too much of my own mum, of course with some differences but overall she does a lot.

Before we start analyzing Alicent's motherhood itself we have to remember two things, though: 1) it takes place in a world based on the middle ages and 2) she was a teenage mom forced to marry an old king (she was in no position to say no to him nor her father). She was mentally unprepared to become a mother, even the fact that teenage motherhood was more common (or rather: more acceptable) in middle ages doesn't change the fact a child shouldn't be responsible for another child. Now we can also add her own traumas to that picture and of course Alicent will act in a certain way, however I think she's a good mum at the end of the day.

I would never say she's abusing Aegon, especially in medieval standards. She's not locking him up in a dungeon to torture him. Whenever she slapped him, it didn't happen out of the blue, it was her way of disciplining him. She reprimands him when it's needed but only once we actually saw her telling him she's disappointed him in overall and that was after him mistreating the maid in a horrible way. Alicent was justified to feel this emotion at that time. They are both vicitms of Viserys being a bad father and a husband and they both kinda take it out on each other but they would also die for each other and it's visible how Aegon leans on her – he moves close to her when she's being accused at Driftmark and then he asks for his mother before his coronation. She literally stands between him and the dragon.

Maybe it's because of the fact it's my own experience and I can see my own relationship in theirs, but just because their relationship is a bit messed up, doesn't mean they don't care about each other. Alicent is patient with Helaena, she asks her questions about the bugs to create some sort of bond, she's protective over all her children equally. She is sweet to Aemond since day one, too. Aegon is just quite difficult to handle and I believe it's kind of beyond her but she's trying her best and it's visible she loves him. I wouldn't call her guilty for the way Aegon is by the way, as I said before they're both the victims of the situation.

Now, about Otto. I also don't think he's a terrible father. The only thing I strongly disagree with was pushing teenage Alicent into Viserys' bed but that was like... The reason why this whole book and TV show exists so otherwise we wouldn't even be discussing those matters. He had to do it in order for the story to exist and apart from that yes, he is strict but he is always taking care of Alicent and protecting her.

[theuniverseawakens347]

Chrisean rock vs bluefase… bluefase vs chrisean rock … DONT MIND TYPOS

bluefase in the same boat as me ( and Tristan right now) adds and nipsey … for those in the industry and that think blot map I just spewed out with the “enter.all.ment.” Ya know what’s going on… but the public gets a different view.. and those who aren’t in the MESH ALL THEN SEGRATE sexxtours … trying to be proper sectors.. sectours… WE GOT INFORMANTS …. Bluefase. JONATHAN… he got niggas posing as him DDG I love you babe dashea Nicole tv… TO DO “the right thing” in the right crowd BUT THE WRONG THING WHERE SIN IS ALLOWED …

Johnathan and rock had they issues … still do… he doing time for the shit HE WILLINGLY DID TO GET BACK AT SOMEONES WHO HURT EM…. CHRISREAN HOWEVER … IS A SPECIAL CASE… SHE IS SOMEONE WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS THAT GOT TOLD SHES IN A GODS HOUSE TO EXERCISE HER SINS AND LET HER DEMONDS PLAY… TESTING HER SOUL AND JUDGMENT HER TRUEST CHARACTER…. JR.

NOAH DECORSI NO SPIRITUAL GIFTS… FROM MY EXPERIENCES WITH HIM IN 5th grade and on.. HES ALWAYS BEEN AN ASSHOLE… HE A LEE GARLINGTON YA TOOK UR VICTIM HURT N TURNED IT INTO AN ABUSER.. THEN DO THE CHILD WHO DONT WANA GET THE PUNISHMENT BUT ENJOYS THE CRIME… MALCOM OF ASKARI..ASKARI HOWARD TO AN EXTENT .. LIKE ADDICTS … YA LET SELF WILL RUN RIOT TO WHERE ITS OBVIOUS … YOU NEEDED A PARENT AT ALL TIMES… YA TESTED WATERS… I DONT LIKE THIS POOL BC I CANT PISS WITHOUT ANNOYING OTHERS… IMA GO TO THE JACCUZI… OH I GOT AWAY WITH PEEING THERE… LETS SEE WHAT THIS MUD BATH DO…

YA COVERING SIN SWEEPING THINGS UNDER THE RUG. N LETTING THE MESS GET MESSIER WHICH IS BIGGER N BIGGER …

then those tryna clean it n find the starting point ya got looking crazy..

BOTH ROCK N BLUE ASKED FOR HELP… BUT ONE WAS LEGITIMATELY LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT… BLUE.. BUT TO THE PUBLIC IT LOOKS LIKE ROCK… AND THIS GOES INTO BROKEN HOMES MOM AND DAD DIVORCE… WHY DO ONE PARENT HATE THE OTHER SO MUCH MORE… WELL EVERYTHING IVE BEEN LISTING UP TO HEAR …

I’m not saying it’s exactly like my HOLY 3 original tree.. BUT THERE WAS SOMEONE WHO GOT SOOOO FAR TEMPED BY THE DEVIL THEY NEVER GOT THEIR SOUL BACK … THATS ROCK… SHE A NOAH… BOTH PRIVATE THE OTHER MANIPULATION OF FAN BASE FOR MONEY TO COME IN AND PLAYS THIS “ I’m broken home child raising my baby as best I can Jas of Lily mom sip ya tea … but IM NOT GON SHOW MY FANS WHAT REALLY WENT ON… ROCK BEING THE ISSUE….” … she went home to show her broken home and it back fires in her face BEHIND THE CAMERA AND SOME OF THE FANS BEEN CALLED SHE THE ISSUE.. SHE IS.. AND THAT HOUSE GETS MESSY ON IT OWN… CAUSE THERES ANOTHER ROCK THERE… TEMPTED LOST SOUL … TRYING TO BRING MORE INTO THE CIRCLE… PETER PIPER TAKING YA KIDS… BUT TESEHIKI WANA PUT YOU IN UR PLACE.. U SNEAK DISSED HER CAREER AND LITTLE MAN THEM… DARNIECE LEFT EYE.. BUT SHE ACTUALLY GET A PLATE OF DDG SCALE TO HALLE CAREER IN MUSIC … HE UP IN YOUTUBE BUT SHE TAKING AND MAKING ALL THE MONEY … N FANS LOVE HER MORE … BEYONCÉ JAYZ .. BUT YA DONT KNOW .., TIL NOW THE STORY TOLD FROM BEHIND THE SCENES.. YA DOING DEFORMATION ON MY MANS TRISTAN.. YA GOT HIS JEALOUS “ friends” TRYING TO KILL EM OFF LIKE PPL DID NIPSEY LAUREN LONDON BLACCSAM.. SAMATHA BABAYHAIRR FED 17 DIFFERENT BS STORIES N SHE NOT FOLLOWING HER INUTION… KINDA LIKE ROCK … BUT ROCK MENTAL ILLNESS TAKEN ADVATAGE OF LIKE ICE SPICE … BEING PIMPED TO AN ABUSER WHO DO THAT “ come here I got the “necessities” you need in material gain but ima treat you like shit still”

LIKE I SAID ROXK NEED MENTAL HELP… SPLIT PERSONALITY TURNING INTO COWS BRAIN… BLUE DID SPITE GET EVEN SHIT.. HE DEPRESSED AND ANXIOUS HIS ENVIRONMENT TOOK EM TO SURVIVAL MODE BUT THATS NOT HIM.. ONLY WHEN HE NEED TO FIGHT.

[annabell505]

The Monster: Jeffrey Dahmer

Part 4.

To summarize

As research shows there are no definitive definitions of how people become killers/serial killers.

 

There has been talk of the "Serial Killer Gene" but if you dig deeper, you can conclude that it affects temper and aggression, and as we know - not every temper is a killer. Many of us still have restraining factors, which appeared in our consciousness at the moment of personality formation (in the process of upbringing) such as: morality, realization of the value of any life, or, for example, religion.

No matter how you spin this medal (I mean the so-called killer gene) man is a reasonable being and can fight aggression and work on it. 

Of course, it's also important how serial killers grew up, how they were brought up :

whether they were given enough attention, whether they were not abused by parents/relatives/peers, etc.

whether some event happened to them that dramatically changed their perception of the world.

It often happens that if a child has a lack of love from parents (especially mother) in the future it is difficult for him to start romantic relationships, long and reliable.

And if this indifference causes hatred in him, it is not excluded that the hatred will spread to other women, in one way or another "similar" to the mother's behavior or external features.

In Dahmer's case, he undoubtedly bore the divorce badly, bore the heated family atmosphere badly, and it caused him to want to keep people around him "any way he could." 

Jeffrey never felt truly needed. Valued and loved.

Now, I'm going to give you an example of the "traits" that serial killers/murderers have. Or what to look out for if you're a parent:

- a child's interest in the world of the dead.

-Violence towards animals (not only killing them, of course, but also simple abuse like sewing them up, cutting off limbs, etc.) Violence towards other children, especially physical violence.

-excessive temper tantrums, mood swings.

-depressed mood, apathy.

-lack of social connections, no friends.

Some of the items on the list seem "harmless" and it is true! But what you need to consider is that they will only become harmless when they are worked through.

No, you don't need to scold the child, to rape his brain.

It is worth seeking help from a specialist and many of these problems will be solved.

The main thing is to notice the problem in time! And do not miss the moment when the growing up personality will no longer listen to someone "from the outside", and will act from their own wrong. and will act out of their own wrong and perverted beliefs.

How to know you're looking at a possible killer:

* Broken eyebrows can signal a lust for power;

* An almost straight lower eyelid line can signal suspicion, distrust of people;

* An unsightly lip shape is a sign of a complex character;

* A chin with a dimple or bifurcation - about difficulties in controlling the will;

* A flattening of the bridge of the nose - anger outbursts;

* General facial asymmetry - lack of integrity in the personality.

All these factors have been revealed by experts physiognomists, criminalists and are NOT ABSOLUTELY true, but rather presumptive.

Of course, if there's one thing, it doesn't tell you "Run, it's the killer!" But if you see many of the above in your interlocutor, be careful.

The first impression is often deceptive, happen your instinct, if you feel danger, it is better to listen.

Often a maniac seems charming, yes, he may have a family, he strives to put on a "mask of normality" until he meets his potential victim and loses control of himself.

In Dahmer's case, everything was exactly the same: he seemed nice, calm, easy to trust and could "bribe" his victim.

But it should not be forgotten that despite all those "positive" qualities he was sick and his disease, like drug addiction, made him do terrible things.

Alcohol only contributed to this: at first maniacs drink to forget their first crime, to distract themselves, but then everything goes further, when after drinking they feel more confident.

  

Then alcohol becomes one of the tools of murder, giving the maniac inhuman strength and confidence in what he is doing.

The more we drink, the more our brain dissolves - it turns into mush, unable to think.

Yes, this is why many maniacs lose their grip - they simply stop thinking critically, and they spend most of their time in alcoholic oblivion.

TIPS ON HOW NOT TO BECOME A VICTIM OF A MANIAC/RAPIST :

It's simple, you have to remember - we can't see them, they are transparent, they blend into the crowd easily, but they see us perfectly well.

How not to become a potential victim for a maniac?

- Avoid walking at night.

-Avoid places where there are almost no people: back alleys, yards, bushes and parks (especially at night!). 

-Do not drink alone/alone and do not drink what a new "companion" offers you.

-Do not go to the house of strangers/significant others, do not agree to "warm up" in the car. 

NOW WHAT WILL HELP YOU IN CASE OF AN EXTREME SITUATION

-Always carry pepper spray.

-Carry a burglar alarm, it can scare off an attacker.

-Don't be afraid to hit, do everything to keep yourself alive: use all methods: bites, scratch the attacker's face, aim for the eyes.

-Try to move with someone, less often alone.

-Shout.

If you live in a private home and are afraid of a thief/killer breaking in:

-Always draw the curtains, don't give them a chance to peek in on you.

-Hang bars on your windows, especially if it's the first floor.

-Put an alarm system in your home.

-Install a panic button.

-Put something fragile on the windowsill that will break and wake you up in case of a home invasion.

-Have a gun, maybe under the bed.

-Put a camera, let them see you have one - good deterrent.