#as if when we asked THEM for proof it wasn’t about the fact that police STILL HAVE NO NAMES OR STATEMENTS BY VICTIM OR EYEWITNESS | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

damiansgoodgirll · 1 month

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Hiii I love Ur judgment day x readers they are so adorable

Could you please write a JD (Platonic) x Reader where Y/n gets in a bad fight with their partner and they comfort them

the judgment day x reader (platonic)

‼️cheating and gaslighting, your bf name in this is alexander bc my ex name is alexander and now i hate alexanders

(i love this pic btw)

i don’t wanna love

“you’re overacting!” your boyfriend alexander kept screaming at you.

overreacting?

“so you’re telling me there’s nothing between the two of you? that i’ve been hallucinating for the past month?” you screamed back, tired of trying talking with him.

“there’s nothing between me and her” he said, lying. because of course you had the proofs that he was cheating, that he was seeing someone else while you were out touring.

“how can i fucking believe you when i have proofs!”

“what proofs?” he asked, not caring about the whole cheating part.

“the pictures of you two together? the messages? the-…”

“you went over my phone without even asking me?” he was angrier that before.

“i did! because you wouldn’t tell me the truth! you can’t deny what i just found!”

“okay, fine! i cheated, is that what you wanted me to say? i did it, and i wasn’t proud of it but you were always gone and i was here alone waiting for you every week to come home, i got tired and i wanted to have some fun and one night i went to this club where i met her, and she was always there for me, it wasn’t just sex, there was a connection…she understood me, she was there when you were out wrestling with your friends!” he said, not feeling guilty at all.

you couldn’t believe he was blaming him cheating on you on the fact that you were away from home because of your job.

“i can’t believe it that you are blaming your fucking childish behaviour on me being away because of my job!”

“i needed you and you weren’t there!” he kept screaming.

“so the best solution was fucking some bitch you met at the bar uh?” you were done with it “you have ten minutes to pack your things and get out of my house!”

“what are you talking about? where am i supposed to go?” he asked you.

“i don’t know, ask my replacement if you can stay at her’s, i don’t care, now, move before i call the police. this is my house, do you remember?” you said locking yourself in the guest bedroom and waiting for him to be over with packing.

you were sure you heard him closing the door once he was done packing and leaving your house. you were too tired to even go back into the master bedroom that you cried yourself to sleep right where you were.

the morning after you were supposed to go at rhea’s as you guys needed to prepare your upcoming match but you were drained and had no energy. you felt like shit and all you wanted to do was staying in bed and cry.

the team immediately knew something was up when you didn’t show up at her place. so instead of calling your or texting, you found them in front of your door.

“what are you doing here?” you asked them.

“we were worried. you didn’t show up, you didn’t call or text, we thought you were sick or that something happened…wait, were you crying?” rhea stopped when she saw your red eyes.

“no” you lied.

“whats going on love?” finn soft voice almost made you want to cry again. he always had a soft spot for you, treating you like a daughter.

“i just…i wanna be alone today…now, can you please go?” you almost begged them but they got it as an invitation to come inside so now you found yourself with your friends sitting on your couch, waiting for an explanation from you.

“what is going on uh?” damian asked you again.

“alexander and i broke up…” you whispered and waited for them to talk but they let you continue “he was cheating on me and i found out…instead of apologising he blamed it on me, saying that it was my fault because i was away touring and he needed me here…i just…what did i do wrong?” you cried again and now rhea was sitting next to you, holding you in her arms.

“you didn’t do anything wrong y/n…” she whispered.

“he was saying how much he wanted to marry me, to have a family with me just to find out that he was fucking someone else behind my back…it fucking hurts because i was ready to be with him for the rest of my life…i really loved him” you cried harder and rhea swore that alexander was a dead man.

“hey…” finn, the parental figure inside the whole group sweet talked to you “it’s not worth it…crying for him? it’s not worth it, he’s not worth it…i know you’re hurting right now and it will hurt for a while but eventually it’ll pass…it’ll get better, trust me…”

“thank you…” you whispered.

still crying in rhea’s arms as she let you. you never experienced such heartbreak and the pain you were feeling was too much.

“i just don’t understand how it went so downhill…everything was going perfectly…i would have noticed if something was wrong but i swear, everything looked normal” you cried.

“it’s not your fault love” finn said.

“finn’s right, you couldn’t have noticed…if he was acting normal, you couldn’t have noticed the sudden changes in his persona…i’m so sorry it happened to you, you don’t deserve it…” dominik said while sitting on the carpet, in front of you.

“i swear… i don’t wanna fall in love anymore” hearing such words coming from you hurt the group. you’ve always been the sweet and romantic one, you’ve always dreamed of a fairytale life and now you believed everything was a lie.

rhea looked sad “don’t say that love, it’s just a phase but you will feel better, i promise you”

of course. you were complaining about your disastrous love life with dom, who just got married, rhea, who’s gonna get married soon, finn, who’s been married for years and damian, someone that wasn’t looking for love and couldn’t understand anything about love.

“it’s easy coming from you…you’re all happy and in a healthy relationship, you all trust each other and i’m pretty sure you’ve never been cheated on” you regretted immediately saying that but you were hurting.

“we had our painful break ups too honey…” rhea said. she knew you were hurting so she didn’t mind it.

“did they cheat on you?” you asked them.

“no but…”

“exactly” you said, drowning your head in your pillows.

“what rhea was trying to say is that break ups are always hurtful, whether you get cheat on or not…and this pain you’re feeling, will get better, in a month or two you’ll be feeling better…” damian spoke softly to you. knowing that you were already in pain and that he didn’t want to upset you more.

“we will leave you alone if you want to…” rhea said, not wanting to leave you alone but she knew you probably needed time for yourself.

“no please…” you said shocking everyone.

“okay…then we’ll stay here…we can watch a movie if you want to” finn suggested and you all agreed.

“no rom com please” you said making them laugh.

rhea’s idea was to watch a horror movie but while they were all watching the movie you ended up falling asleep, too tired for all the tears you’ve been crying.

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jqhotchner · 4 months

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quest

five

it hasn’t been easy finding any information on your fathers past. he had people everywhere. penelope even found out he had cops working for him.

the team realized they couldn’t trust anyone. they kept their mouths shut about the things they’ve found out. they needed to get to the bottom of everything.

reid suggested that they get in contact with your siblings. they obviously knew something about your dad. you were against the idea at first. but if this was the way to get back to your kids, so be it.

speaking of you had no idea where they were. you knew if your parents had them your dad would have found out you were arrested and come to the police station immediately.

aaron let you know they’re in great hands. jj was taking really good care of them. you sighed in relief. but a thought came to you.

“did you—did you see them?” you whispered to aaron.

aaron shook his head. “no.”

“oh.”

“i didn’t want to overstep i guess. i would rather we discuss everything once this is all over. then we can talk about what to do next.”

“aaron, i—”

“not now yn!” he glares. you gulped.

you knew he was upset. he had every right to be. you thought you were doing the right thing two years ago. you thought he’d be happy.

but he wasn’t. finding out tonight just what aaron had been through the last two years. finding out he never physically cheated, finding out he emotionally cheated on you, finding out jack and haley had to hide away for awhile, finding out haley was killed, finding out aaron had lost two wives in only the span of six months apart.

that—that broke you more than anything. and knowing the real reason why he didn’t come looking for you was to protect you. but he tried after the reaper died.

you were so broken by this. and even more broken when you realized jack had been asking about you. learning that the little boy lost two moms. you felt shame. but you thought you were doing the right thing. letting aaron be free of you and happy.

turns out he was miserable and lonely.

“yn! what the hell is going on?!”

“yeah! we got a call from a reid. he told us you’re back in texas and you’ve been charged with murder?!”

“why is our sister locked up?! you’ve got the wrong person! let her out now.”

“ain’t happening, im afraid.”

your oldest brother tim glares at the officer.

“and why the hell not?! do you have any evidence against her?”

tim was an attorney. he was damn good at his job. and he’d be damned if they kept his sister in a cell.

“as a matter of fact we do. she was at the crime scene, near the body, with the knife in her hand, and she’s in the victims will. everything points to her.”

“she didn’t do this!” abigale, your sister states.

“and what proof do you have?!” one of the officers asked.

aaron finally steps in. “alright, enough! right now this is about proving your sisters innocence. if she didn’t do this we will find the guy who did. come with me.”

your siblings look at you before following aaron. you haven’t really seen them in a while. haven’t even talk to them.

you blamed yourself. when they distanced themselves from your father you distanced yourself from them. to be fair you distanced yourself from your mom and dad too.

when you met aaron you met his team. they became your family over time. you didn’t even tell your parents you were married. they had no idea who aaron was. they just knew the very few details you told them over the last two years.

your siblings had no idea you married aaron, had four kids, divorced, and moved back home. but they were gonna find out everything today.

“it’s best that you three calm down. we had room to believe someone hear is working with your father.”

“which means he’s most likely gonna be here to try and bail your sister out.”

“and that works in our favor. we need her out and safe from him.”

abigale, tim, and john all look at the five people standing before them.

“im sorry? but who the hell are you guys?!”

“we’re the behavior analysis unit. we’re here helping them with the case.” reid states.

“so helping them prove our sisters guilty?!”

“the opposite actually. look, they don’t know that we know yn.”

the three of them frowned.

“you know our sister?”

“quite well actually. she’s like family. she is family.” rossi states.

“yn tells us that you don’t get along with your father. is there a reason why?”

the three siblings look at one another. tim is the first one to shake his head. he refuses to tell them anything unless it was on paper that they get full immunity. he knew the kind of trouble they could get to if they found out there involvement in everything.

“we’re not in jeopardy to say unless it’s in writing we won’t get in trouble for anything darius made us do in the past.”

“you won’t. especially if you were kids.”

“i appreciate that! but we need it in writing. we’re not risking being put in prison. we all have children. we’ll tell you everything you need to know to save our sister. but we need immunity.”

aaron nods understandably. he knew that without having it in writing they could get in trouble. even if they were just kids. he assures them he will talk to a judge and get it all in writing.

for the time being he tells them they could visit yn and have her explain what happened.

when aaron finally got the paperwork he had abigale, tim, and john sign them. once everything was finished he sat them down.

they made sure to meet in a closed location. aaron, reid, and emily decided to be the ones to speak with them.

rossi and derek stayed behind for when your father came and jj was still watching your children.

“where do you want us to start?”

“is darius your biological father?”

“yes! we got dna samples to prove that. we were skeptical when sarah came along already pregnant.”

“do you know who your mother is? or do you know where your mother is?”

tim, john, and abigale look at one another. they frown before john speaks first.

“buried in our childhood home.”

meanwhile, rossi and derek hear yelling. they knew it had to be your father.

they got up and headed to the front to spot darius with your mom right behind him. she was definitely shy around people. they knew it was another sign of stockholm syndrome

“where the hell is our daughter?! we want her out now!”

“sir, we’re not done questioning her.”

“to hell you aren’t! you’ve held her for forty eight hours! you got nothing but a hunch! you let my daughter out this instant or else—”

“or else what, sir?!” one of the police officers steps close to him.

derek and rossi had been watching. they had their own hunch who was helping darius.

“officer wilson! step back.”

“sir—”

“i said, step back. now he’s right. we don’t have enough evidence to hold her any longer. we held her for forty eight hours and that’s all the time we have to keep her. now go release miss y/l/n.”

everyone stands there. they didn’t want you released. they thought you were guilty and they just needed a little more time to prove it.”

“now!”

rossi and derek give each other a knowing look. in that moment they knew the chief of police was the one helping darius.

another cliff hanger?! NOOOO but seriously this is almost over.

then it’s angst with lots of yelling and cursing lots of tears lots and cuteness until we get to good and happy moments between you and hotch

lmk if you wanna be on the taglist and if you want to be removed

taglist:

@ivebeenthearchersstuff @slut4ethan @shergoretzxx @rosiehale23

#aaron hotch fic #hotch #hotch x you #aaron hotch fanfiction #aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotchner x reader #hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner imagine #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x fem!reader #aaron hotchner x black!reader #aaron hotchner x female reader #aaron hotch imagine #Spotify

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blablaganov · 2 months

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Non is the one behind the mask and Jin is our living for now proof of that

So our homeboy just found out that no, Non didn’t ride off into the sunset with teacher Keng, but based on what we learned in episode 10 was handed over to Uncle Joe and vanished. And Jin’s initial reaction to this reveal isn’t horror at the thought that Non might already be dead, but anger at how the story of Non’s supposed escape with a teacher has affected his family?? Which is sweet, to care about them, but you just learned that your friend has really disappeared, so maybe focus on that first? But at least this reaction is consistent with what we’ve seen from him so far: Jin's response is emotional and explosive. It checks.

And then Tee drops the bomb - Non is dead. This should have been a huge shock for Jin, who was the only one to still hold on to the belief that Non was still out there, alive. Reactions of Tan and Phee is understandable; they have had years to accept that Non is most likely no longer alive, but Jin BELIEVED. So, I fully expected him to lash out, to start yelling at Tee, to start a fight. And what Jin gives me? Nothing.

Except for a murderous look, he does not react at all to the news about the death of someone he claims to care about and feel guilty towards. The character who shown to be impulsive, to react without thinking, whose emotions can be explosive DOESN’T SHOW US ANY REACTION. Which, of cource, is a reaction on itself, so my question is: Jin, sweetie, do you maybe have something to share with class?

Speaking of murderous looks. We’ve already seen them twice:

in the first episode, when Phee puts the tape on

And everyone from the original group looks various degrees of uncomfortable, especially after asked about Non, but not Jin. He is too busy trying to murder everyone with the glare until the mention of the camera snaps him out of it.

in the second episode, when the gang discusses what to do next

And again, while everyone’s anxiety is almost palpable, Jin is just standing there, looking disgusted by everyone but not in the slightest bothered by the fact that someone got Por impaled?? Someone left marks on his arms! The conversation isn’t merely about the possibility of Non’s ghost; it’s about the real, tangible danger lurking in the woods. And yet, Jin doesn’t look scared or concerned in any way, too busy trying to once again commit murder with the glare.

Knife

The marks on Por’s arms are the main reason I’m convinced that Non is the one hiding behind the mask. It's possible that Tan somehow slipped out of the living room and lured Por into the trap, but what about the marks? We’ve seen several times that Tan is one to outsource his murder, not too eager to harm with his own hands. Even after Tee’s confession about Non’s death, Tan doesn’t attempt to snatch the gun and kill Tee himself. So why get personal with Por? To convince everyone that it wasn’t an accident? But cuts don’t look ghosty; if anything, it’s a proof that a real, leaving person is behind it. And who has all the reasons to get personal with Por? NON And it with the same knife he used three years ago – a knife that someone present at the scene after Non got dragged away had to pick up and keep until now.

I am also mildly convinced that the knife attack is the main reason why Jin lied to the police in the first place. If he had admitted that Non was with them that day, everyone else would have probably said, 'Oh yes, he was with us, and he attacked us with the knife. He was screaming about killing us all, poor Top even got a scar. Here are the security camera recordings as proof.' We've already established that Jin is not the best decision-maker, so I can see how, from his perspective, lying to the police seemed like a better option.

And isn’t it interesting how Jin was the one who first noticed the cuts and also the one who took the knife in his hand to compare it with the cuts?

Jin, dear, no one said anything about someone hiding in the house...

Uncle Dang

I'm unsure which one of the brothers is responsible for this death, but it is interesting how closely it mirrors one of the scenes in episode 7.

In the past, Por sends Non to get food on Uncle Dang's bike, while he himself starts shooting. In the present, Uncle Dang dies delivering food for the boys on the same bike, simultaneously extinguishing their last chance of escape.

In the past, everyone was so eager to exclude Non and shoot the movie he wrote without him. In the present, they are willing to do anything just to get out of this place, and Por, bleeding out on the couch, needs it more than anyone. Sorry, but it's too late; this time around, you'll have to play your part the way Non wants you to.

Episode 7 is also where this dialogue between Jin and Por happens.

I know that logically Phee and Tan were the ones who slipped in the cassette, but were they also the ones who created it? Or did they just find it when they came to the house for the first time to scout it out? Because the last scene with Jin running out of the house was shot after Non's disappearance. It wasn't merely an old version; Someone intentionally added Non's scene post-credits. And who was the one doing all the cutting? Right.

Hallucinations

Jin’s hallucinations were what sold me on the "Non is alive" theory. Everyone who thinks Non is already dead also sees some version of Non/masked murderer. Not Jin, of course; he convinced Non to be alive and well, somewhere far away with teacher Keng. Oh wait… How is it possible that he believes something terrible happened to teacher Keng, but not to Non? That the video he took is the cause of teacher Keng’s death, but not Non’s? Haven’t they supposedly run off together? Unless Jin knows that Non is alive. Unless Non told Jin that Mr. Keng was killed by the mafia.

It also would explain Jin’s reaction after Phee confession.

The person you have a lot of complicated feelings about

so many that you decide the best time to bring up your past situationship is while you both are trapped in a creepy temple. One also doesn’t try to bite off the dick of someone they are indifferent towards

just confessed to being Non's ex-boyfriend and getting close to you to get information about him, and your first reaction is not a "Was Everything Between Us a Lie?" rage but a sad puppy "So You Never Saw Us As Friends?" Once again, Jin, sweetie, we need to talk about your priorities; also about the fact that you not once looked surprised about the whole thing.

Fun fact: One of Jin's listed hobbies is camping, so hypothetically he should know his way around the woods, yet he doesn’t even attempt to help Phee while they are looking for the way out of the forest. The only thing he does is complain and cling to Phee in a very damsel-in-distress fashion. And still manages to be the one who points in the right direction in the end. I'm not even sure if Jin’s shoulder dislocation is genuine because if horror movies have taught me anything, it's to never trust a character who injures themselves while escaping a murderer, especially when they then very conveniently trip over the air at just the right moment for another character to drop their weapon.

To sum it up:

Did he now?

#begging on my knees for DFF to stick with a horror ending #all i want is for Jin to find out he wasn't the one who published the video #for him to look around in horror #and have a nice little What Have I Done moment #dead friend forever #dff the series #DFF

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morlock-holmes · 2 months

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I've been chewing on this story from New York Magazine, whose financial advice columnist just got scammed out of $50 large by a group of scumbags.

The reactions have been sort of divided between vicious mockery and "Anybody can fall victim to scams on a bad day" and I find myself somewhere ambivalently in the middle.

How can I say this... I think I would need to be having a much worse day than this woman was in order to fall for a scam like this. In particular, it really seems like a financial advice columnist ought to have a much more solid confidence about the fact that enormous personal financial transactions like this don't ever need to happen in the span of a single phone call over a few hours.

But I don't agree with the attitude of "Come on, this is what happens when you're gullible" because, honestly I think that when people start believing that on a big scale that scams like this become easier to pull, rather than harder.

This particular scam is, I think, much easier to pull on people who are paranoid about the trustworthiness of institutions and feel that we live in a world where gullible people are rapidly and harshly punished.

One thing you'll see throughout the article is that the scammers will say something authoritative, and Cowles won't really know if it's true or not:

“I completely understand,” he said calmly. He told me to go to the FTC home page and look up the main phone number. “Now hang up the phone, and I will call you from that number right now.” I did as he said. The FTC number flashed on my screen, and I picked up. “How do I know you’re not just spoofing this?” I asked. “It’s a government number,” he said, almost indignant. “It cannot be spoofed.” I wasn’t sure if this was true and tried Googling it, but Michael was already onto his next point.

My head swam. I Googled my name along with “warrant” and “money laundering,” but nothing came up. Were arrest warrants public? I wasn’t sure.

I was embarrassed, like I’d left my fly unzipped. How could I have been so thoughtless? But also — didn’t everyone use the airport Wi-Fi?

I knew I should probably talk to a lawyer or maybe call the police, though I was doubtful that they would help. What was I going to say — “My identity was stolen, and I think I’m somehow in danger”? I had no proof.

Here's the core of the scam, where you're hooked or not:

“If you talk to an attorney, I cannot help you anymore,” Michael said sternly. “You will be considered noncooperative. Your home will be raided, and your assets will be seized. You may be arrested. It’s your choice.” This seemed ludicrous. I pictured officers tramping in, taking my laptop, going through our bookshelves, questioning our neighbors, scaring my son. It was a nonstarter. “Can I just come to your office and sort this out in person?” I said. “It’s getting late, and I need to take my son trick-or-treating soon.” “My office is in Langley,” he said. “We don’t have enough time. We need to act immediately. I’m going to talk you through the process. It’s going to sound crazy, but we must follow protocol if we’re going to catch the people behind this.”

The scammer in this script is trying to get you to have two feelings, the first is "I don't understand what's going on" and the second is, "If I act without understanding what's going on something really terrible will happen to me."

The person who thinks, "Gullible and ignorant people get in lots of trouble because of their own ignorance, I can't let that happen, even though I'm confused" is far more likely to buy into the scammer's threats of dire consequences and actually get scammed.

This scam script actually relies on the mark believing that it's very dangerous to be gullible or ignorant, that doing so will get them into trouble. But since they are also convinced that they don't have the information that would allow them to make a good decision, they cede decision-making power to the scammer.

Instead, it's the person who thinks, "This feels like a scam. I could be totally wrong about that, but that's okay, being wrong this way and acting on it can't do me any harm" who hangs up on the scammer, calls an official government number, and finds out that they're being scammed.

When people live in a state where they reflexively mistrust institutions, and feel that acting from a place of ignorance or confusion is likely to get them into really big trouble that they can't get out of, I really think it becomes easier to scam people this way, not harder.

#scams

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specialagentlokitty · 5 months

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Beckett x reader - things of the past

Part three:

Standing in the middle of your apartment, you looked around at everything, and you walked into your bedroom.

Changing into some more comfortable clothes, a pair of sweatpants, a tank top and your cloak, you sighed, pulling the hood up.

You slowly tied the necklace around your own neck, grabbing a few other things.

Once you were ready you grabbed a pen and some paper, scribbling a quick note, leaving it on your coffee table before leaving the apartment.

You couldn’t sit back and watch what was happening, you had to act, and you had to act now.

So you slipped into the streets and made your way to the only place you knew that would be able to give you any leads.

And back at the precinct they had leads of their own.

“This has to be fake somehow…” Gates whispered.

The tech shook his head a little.

“I’m sorry, I’ve scrubbed every inch of this video and there’s no proof that it’s fake or been tampered with in any way. In fact, it’s from a live stream, somebody what someone else to see this.” He said.

“So you’re telling me, this is real? Lightening? Fire? Our suspect being knocked over by invisible forces?” Esposito scoffed.

“By the looks of it, yes.”

“Oh that’s so cool!” Castle gushed.

“Not cool, it means we have absolutely nothing to go on.” Ryan sighed.

“Not nothing, (Y/N) grew up there so maybe they know what this is about, they know how it’s done.” Beckett mumbled.

Beckett went to leave.

“Wait! There’s something else!”

Beckett turned back around.

“The video was peculiar to say the least, so I decided to see what else I could find, and it pulled up another video. It’s old, I can’t clear it up, but it’s the same thing. Watch.”

They watched the fight, and the same thing, a flash of blue, and the figured went spiralling into the ground, throwing up dirt.

“Police turned up, they found blood but no bodies.”

“There’s no way someone could have made it out of there alive.” Gates said.

“Here’s the case file.”

The tech pulled it up along with all the photos.

“That’s a blood trail.”

“Not made by somebody being dragged or carried.” Esposito said.

“Whoever that was walked out out of there, a gaping hole in them, and they walked?” Beckett whispered.

“No body, no hospital visits, nothing. Like a ghost.” The tech said.

Beckett stared at the videos.

“Can you clear that video up as best as possible, send them both to me.”

The tech nodded and she left, heading back to her desk, looking at your desk.

“What’s on your mind?” Castle asked.

“(Y/N) knew who that man was, they knew where we were, and when they saw the place it destroyed them. That’s not somebody who was still in contact with everyone.”

Beckett walked over to your desk, picking up the paper you translated.

“Guys what if he was looking for (Y/N)?” Beckett asked.

“As far as we know they’ve been in the city for maybe five years.”

“Get their file, there’s more to this story.”

Beckett began diving deeper into the case, everything that she possibly could find about all three cases to see where everything connected.

A few hours later Ryan and Esposito came back.

“Well, (Y/N) wasn’t new to the city. From what we can gather, they’d been living here for about 20 years Beckett, moved here when they were 15, a teenager at the time.” Esposito said.

“They’ve been living in the same apartment since then, attended school, learned to read and writer, worked numerous jobs.” Ryan said.

“Why would they lie?” Beckett asked.

Ryan shook his head with a small shrug.

“No idea, but rent has been getting paid by them at that building for years. They don’t do much, and there isn’t anything to suggest they know about this.”

“Let’s go speak to them.”

Beckett didn’t want to interrogate you, but she didn’t have much of a choice now.

There wasn’t much adding up, and she had answers she needed that only you could give.

So they all went to your apartment and knocked on the door.

“(Y/N)?” Castle called.

They all shared a look and Beckett reached for the handle, slowly pushing it open.

“Castle wait here.”

The three detectives drew their guns and walked in, and castle followed, looking around.

“It’s empty!” Ryan called.

“Why would they run?” Castle asked.

Beckett walked over to your coffee table, picking up the note.

“I think this explains why. Listen to this, it says ‘please don’t investigate this, I need to handle this alone. I’m sorry.’ Along with their badge and gun.”

“So they know more than they let on…” castle whispered.

“I’ll put out an APB, and get CCTV for the building see when and where they left.” Esposito said.

“Guys, some of their clothes are missing and a few other things.” Ryan said.

“That makes (Y/N) either our number one suspect or a victim on the run, either way we need to find them and fast.” Beckett said.

They began to work overtime, doing anything to find you, and while they were doing that, Beckett was reviewing the two videos she had just been sent.

They still didn’t make much sense, she still couldn’t get any information out of either of them, but she could see the older video more clearly.

Whoever it was that was hit was young, really young.

Frowning, she put her phone away, looking around your apartment for anything to help her.

There were a few paintings of a tree, the same tree over and over, some basic things, a tea set, some furniture, basic things you needed to live.

That was it, but what caught her attention was the huge map on your wall.

On it, the same symbol from that necklace she let you have, the bracelet from their victim.

One was over the temple they had just been too, the others were scattered around all over the world.

You could be at any one of those.

Taking a picture of it, she left your apartment, heading back to the office to follow some more leads.

“Beckett check the news now.” Castle called.

She turned to the tv, and froze in her spot.

“That’s.. that’s (Y/N)…” gates whispered.

You were stood in front of a man, hand balled in a fist in front of him while he chocked for air.

Clenching your jaw, you felt tears burning your eyes again.

“They did nothing to you…”

“Maybe if you stayed we wouldn’t have killed them.” The man chocked out.

You let out a shaky breath.

“You’re live.. all over the city.. they’ll know… they’ll know you’re alive…” he smirked.

You lowered your hand, turning your back on him.

Spinning around, you waved your staff in front of you, rejecting the fire into a tree knocking it over.

Swinging it back around, you sent him flying backwards, knocking the wind from under him.

You walked forward, eyes glowing as you crouched down, placing the palm of your hand on his forehead.

“I hope the knowledge that you are worthless to them without your bending destroys you…”

He screamed, and you stood up, slowly turning away from now the now unconscious man.

The wind raged around nearby, and the ground shook a little bit.

You took a step, and the ground cracked under your foot, and you looked at it.

Take a breath, you calmed yourself down, walking away from the scene and melting into the crowd once more.

“What the hell was that?” Beckett asked.

“We need that man, now.” Gates said.

“Already got uniforms picking him up.” Esposito said.

“Maybe he can shed some light on what the hell this is.” Gates said.

“Have techs trace that video, I want to know who was recording that for the news.” Beckett snapped.

She needed to figure out what was going on, what was with the videos and what you were really involved in, and the man that was dragged in not long later and thrown into an interrogation room.

Beckett marched in, throwing a file against the table.

“You think that’s supposed to scare me?” The man smirked.

“What the hell happened at that park?” Beckett snapped.

“I just revealed that the world’s greatest hero didn’t die, and just ran them out of hiding.”

“And all the special effects?”

He smirked a little.

“Special effects? No wonder we’re more superior than you pathetic people.” He sneered.

“Tell me what the hell happened.”

He leant back in his chair, and Beckett narrowed her eyes.

“I won’t be arrested by you, in fact, I’ll be transferred in a few hours, so have fun trying to crack me in that time.”

Beckett left the room and Ryan walked over to her.

“He’s a wanted man, but not by us.”

“By who?”

“The United republic of nations, a small country based on an island outside of the US.” Gates said.

She gestured to the door.

“That man escaped their top security prison with others, they’re coming to collect him.”

“Then they can tell us about (Y/N), right?” Castle asked.

“I tried to ask, they refuse to speak.”

“Great, so another dead end.”

“Can we get a map of that country?” Beckett asked.

“I think so.”

They followed Ryan to his desk, and after a minute he showed them the screen.

Beckett pulled up her phone, comparing the photo she took to that one.

“The same map, different symbols.”

“I think that’s where your detective is going, here’s what I found.”

They followed the tech, and it was a trial of you heading to that country.

As well as other things, more videos of that fight, some CCTV footage from around your apartment as well as still images of you in that fight.

“Sir we need to go there.”

“I can’t, they won’t allow you to investigate there.”

Beckett furrowed her brows.

“Maybe not, but I think we may have something they would want, that bracelet from our victim, if I can go and explain this to them maybe they’ll let us.”

“Talk to the guards, if they agree you and only you go with them.” Gates said.

“Yes sir.”

Beckett went to grab the bracelet and get everything ready for when the guards came, she had one shot, and she needed this to work out.

Getting to the country for you was easy enough, you managed to enter undetected, and you stood in the large city.

The main city.

But it wasn’t where you wanted to be, there was somewhere else that you had to go first, and you slowly and quietly made your way through the city.

You had to be quick, because who knows how long it would take the news to reach the nations, and who knows how long it would be until you weren’t safe anymore

#castle #castle x reader #castle x you #castle imagine #Kate Beckett #Kate Beckett x reader #Kate Beckett x you #Kate Beckett imagine

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cynicalone94 · 3 months

Text

Obedience

Read on AO3 here.

He has no idea how it had come to this.

Except that he does.

A violent drug dealer that he has history with had been found dead a few hours after a confrontation with the man that if he’s being honest had gotten a little out of hand.

And now he’s on modified duty until his team can prove that he didn’t do it.

Which means they have to figure out who did kill the scumbag from his long list of other enemies and provide enough proof.

All while a notable alderman screams up the city with complaints that even drug dealers don’t deserve to be gutted in their homes by the police.

Honestly, at this point the only reason that Voight hasn’t sent him home is the fact that they aren’t really sure it’s safe to do so.

He’s trying to stay off the news sites and social media but its hard. There’s only so much he can do since he isn’t allowed to touch anything to do with the case.

He’s about ready to make his way down the stairs and ask Trudy if he can help with something at the desk when the gate buzzes open, revealing Commander Jenkins, Deputy Superintendent Austin and a very uncomfortable looking pair of patrol officers.

Jay’s stomach immediately twists.

Voight steps out of his office.

“It’s been six hours.” he says, arms folded across his chest.

“You know how it goes with public opinion cases like this.” Austin says, his tone sympathetic but his face anything but. “And in this climate we can’t be seen going easy on a suspect because he’s a fellow cop.”

“So be seen hauling him in for questioning.” Voight snarls. “Oh wait, he’s right fucking here. You want me to go make him camp out in interrogation in case we have any more questions that he hasn’t already answered?”

“Not enough anymore.” Austin says. “It’s time to make an arrest. Show the public that we won’t just close ranks and protect a brother in blue.”

An arrest?

“On what grounds?” Voight demands. “There is no evidence aside from the incredibly tenuous circumstantial evidence that he argued with the victim the day of the murder. A victim who, might I add, probably argued with a lot of people that day.”

“Nobody else was witnessed shoving him.” Austin says. “And Halstead doesn’t have an alibi.”

“You’re just pandering to the public to further your own career.” Voight hisses. “And all the better if it gives you the chance to take a dig at me in the process. But you’re hurting a damn good cop to do it.”

“We have a duty to uphold and honor the law.” Austin says aloofly. “And he had a duty to obey it.”

“Detective Halstead.” Commander Jenkins says, looking uneasy. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to hand over your badge to your sergeant.”

His weapon had been surrendered six hours ago, when it had first been discovered that Jennings was dead. Now his badge too.

He unclips it from his belt, avoiding eye contact with the rest of his team as he reaches toward Voight. His boss locks his jaw, glaring fiercely at Austin but eventually reaches out and takes it from him.

“Officer Tanika.” Austin says, no longer making any attempt to hide the glee in his voice. “Search and cuff him.”

This brings a round of protests from his team. Typically when a cop is arrested, being handcuffed in the station is avoided to allow them to maintain some level of dignity.

Jay isn’t surprised though. Austin wants this to be some big public show.

Wants to prove to the pubic that he, and by extension Superintendent Greenway, won’t stand by and allow police corruption to run rampant in the department.

He steps out into the open, placing his hands on the back of his head while the young officer steps forward, searching him with shaking hands.

He doesn’t know Tanika well but he’s worked with him a few times in the past. Knows enough to know that he isn’t any more okay with this than Jay is.

But none of them have any choice but to obey Austin’s orders and go along with it until his team can prove that it wasn’t him.

Voight doesn’t speak again until he’s been cuffed.

“We’re going to find out who really did this.” he says, his words for Jay as much as for Austin. “And I hope you’ll be prepared to make as a big of a display of admitting that you were wrong when we do.”

“We’ll worry about that step when you do.” Austin says, but any idiot could see the heavy implication of if they do painted over his words.

“How long do you think you can stall before taking this to trial?” Hailey demands and Jay can’t help but look over at her, pained to see the glassy look in her eyes.

Hailey is the toughest person he knows but she can sometimes be an angry crier, especially when helplessness is added to the mix. And he knows she hates that her body reacts to the emotion that way.

“You have to know that this won’t hold up in court.” Adam adds. “Voight’s right, you’ve got nothing.”

“I’m sure homicide will find the evidence that I need while you all scramble for nonexistence evidence trying to prove that your boy is innocent.” Austin says. “In the meantime, get him booked Officer.”

There’s less of a media presence outside the station than Jay had expected but the dozens of civilian protestors that have been there all day kick up plenty of fuss.

Cellphone cameras still capture plenty of footage of him being shoved into the back of the patrol car and he hates that Austin is getting exactly what he wants.

Public outcry hasn’t even been that high the few times that he’d been unable to resist the pull of the internet.

Trent Jennings was a young black man supposedly murdered in cold blood by a white cop. That had given some rise to the level of protests that the alderman had been able to stir up.

But no spin artist in the world could even try to paint the man as innocent which has made a lot of the protests lackluster at best.

What it boils down to is that in no way does Austin ‘have’ to do this. He sees a chance to curry public favor and like a lot of the brass, wants to knock Voight down a peg.

Jay just hopes the man has a plan to walk this back when his team is able to prove his innocence.

Because they will. It’s only a matter of time.

He’s jolted out of his thoughts by the squealing of brakes and crunching of metal as the car is t-boned, sending them careening off path and into a ravine.

He immediately fumbles for the spare handcuff key that he conceals at his waistline.

He’s not surprised Tanika had missed it, had planned on letting him know it was there before he was taken into the prison to avoid embarrassing the kid but hadn’t wanted to do so in front of Austin.

He’s glad he hadn’t now as he quickly unlocks the cuffs, calling out for the young officer as he does.

“Tanika? Hey, come on, talk to me. Are you okay up there?”

He sets the cuffs aside and presses up against the mesh security wall. The car is twisted and damaged but not so much as to provide him a way out of this backseat to check on him.

Tanika is slumped against the steering wheel, blood running down his forehead and unresponsive to Jay’s calls.

And then the screech of metal on metal gets his attention and he looks over to see a man in a black ski mask prying the door across from him open.

“Who are you?” he demands. “What do you want?”

“You’re coming with us.” the man says and Jay looks down at the crowbar.

It’s a decent weapon but its not a gun and he could probably take the guy.

“I’m not here alone.” the man says. “You might be able to fight me off but you won’t get past the others.”

Jay sees the others but they’re far enough away that he’s pretty sure if he dropped this guy now he could get away, get to help before they got to him.

But that would leave Officer Tanika alone with these people and he won’t do that.

“If you let me radio for an ambulance for him I won’t fight you.” Jay says. “I’ll come quietly.”

The man glances up at the front.

“He just arrested you. You’d do that for him?”

“He was just doing his job.” Jay says. “He’s hurt and he doesn’t deserve to die. Please.”

The man tilts his head but nods, opening the front door and grabbing the kid’s radio to hand to Jay.

“5021 George. 10-1 at 2650 W Fulton Street. Officer down, need an ambulance and CFD.”

The radio is ripped from his hands as soon as he’s done and then he’s being pulled out of the car.

His arms are jerked behind his back and secured with a zip tie. True to his word he doesn’t fight the man, allowing himself to be restrained and then pulled up the ravine.

Now in addition to solving a murder and proving his innocence, his team will have to discover who’s behind his abduction, where he’s been taken and come rescue him.

Hopefully they can multi-task.

#febuwhump 2024 #febuwhumpday4 #obedience #jay halstead #chicago pd #whump fic

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anthroxlove · 1 year

Text

REACTIVE “ABUSE”: WHAT IT IS AND WHY ABUSERS RELY ON IT

One of the most common tactics abusers use is to shift blame for the abuse onto the victim. The abuser will claim the victim is the abuser because of the reaction the victim has. The abuser may even attempt to convince the victim that there is nothing worth reacting over and that the victim is overreacting to the abuse. What the victim is actually experiencing is called reactive abuse.

Definition

Reactive abuse occurs when the victim reacts to the abuse they are experiencing. The victim may scream, toss out insults, or even lash out physically at the abuser. The abuser then retaliates by telling the victim that they are, in fact, the abuser.

Why abusers rely on it

Abusers rely on this “reactive abuse” because it is their “proof” that the victim is unstable and mentally ill. The abuser will hold these reactions against the victims indefinitely. It could be years later and the abuser will say, “Well, back in (whatever year), you had this reaction and acted all crazy. You’re the crazy one! You need help.”

Sometimes abusers use this reaction as an excuse to go to police or even file for protective orders of their own.

A method of manipulation

To manipulate is to unfairly influence a situation. When an abuser claims they are the ones being abused, they are manipulating us into believing we are at fault for the abuse. The abusers are conditioning and manipulating us to accept the blame. The longer this blame shifting goes on, the longer we will believe we are to blame for the reactive outbursts and abuse that the abuser is dishing out. We will begin to believe we are the violent and unstable ones.

This manipulation can even go so far as to cause us to feel shame. When we react, it causes the abuser to claim we are the abusive ones. But these reactions also add a second element to the mix – they cause us to feel bad about ourselves to the point of guilt and shame. We act against what we know to be true about ourselves – that we are good, kind, capable, loving people. But that goes out the window when we experience the guilt and shame more and more. The guilt and shame that the abusers continue to condition us to feel.

Reactive abuse vs. mutual abuse

According to domesticshelters.org, mutual abuse is when both partners are equally abusive to one another. Many survivors often ask themselves if they are abusive too because of how they react, but the truth is that mutual abuse is very rare and many experts don’t believe it exists. The power and control dynamics involved in domestic violence would make it nearly impossible for both partners to be abusive.

The key word here is “react.” That’s the difference between reactive abuse and mutual abuse. Victims and survivors react to the abuse doled out by the abuser.

What we can do instead

When you see yourself reacting in this manner, many times you begin to say to yourself, “Whoa, this isn’t me. This isn’t how I am normally.” When you begin to ask yourself those questions, you know something is not right with the relationship. I know I thought those things before – that I knew how I was reacting wasn’t me. It wasn’t who I was. That’s what the abuser wants – to make you question yourself, your character, and your integrity. But many times, by the time we get to the point of asking ourselves those questions, we are either too scared to leave the abuser or we just don’t have the means to do so.

So what can we do instead? The abusers bank on us reacting negatively to their tactics. When we begin to truly think about how we respond to them, we are taking back our power. We begin to respond and not react. To react is almost like an automatic thing – it’s the fight or flight response. But responding involves a thought process that requires us to really consider our thoughts and actions.

Within the realm of domestic violence, there is always one who initiates or instigates the problems in the relationship. It comes back to that one person needing power and control over their victim. That’s what abuse is – the imbalance of power. The abuser, however, would like us to believe otherwise and say, “Well, we were abusive to each other. It’s mutual abuse.” It’s because the abusers will never accept responsibility for their actions and instead shift blame for the abuse onto us.

If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, there is help. You can visit the Break the Silence website at www.breakthesilencedv.org or chat with one of our helpline advocates at 855-287-1777.

#self defense #reactive abuse #abuse #domestic abuse #domestic violence awareness #abusers #abuse awareness #victimization

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dumdumsun · 2 years

Text

Lost and Found

A/N: Diving just a bit more into Doc's roots

Warnings: none that I'm aware of

Word Count: 2386

—————————————

Chapter Ten: The Compasses

“How much longer?” Lucas sighed as the Party walked the leaf-covered train tracks. On his left was Dustin and Doc, Mike and El walking a few feet behind them. Both Doc and Dustin had grown tired of the boy’s whining and sighed.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s not like they can tell us when we’ll get there, Lucas.”

“You really need to learn more about compasses.”

Lucas sighed once again. “I’m just saying. How will we know when we get to the gate?”

“Uh, I think a portal to another dimension is gonna be pretty obvious.”

Doc chuckled. “Yeah, so keep your eyes peeled.” She smiled, staring down at her compass. As they walked, she had been trying to ignore the throbbing pain in her head, but in her defense, it came and went in waves. Doc figured that she felt this way because they were nearing the gate, since her coming in contact with anything that had to do with Will’s disappearance resulted in her feeling some sort of discomfort. She couldn’t help but wonder, though… She only got headaches when El was around, and they worsened when she used her powers. When they reached Will’s house, his location within the Upside Down, she felt nauseous. She was going to hurl her guts up had they not been distracted by the police. So, if they were nearing the gate, the bridge between their world and the Upside Down, why had she not been feeling nauseous? Why did this only feel as if El was using her powers?

As if he read her mind, Lucas glanced over his shoulder at the two behind them before returning forward. “Do you think she’s acting weird?”

The two looked back at El. “You’re asking if the weirdo is acting weird?”

“Can you guys stop calling her that?” Doc snapped. “Seriously, guys, she isn’t that much different than me. I was a missing kid, running from what probably was a dangerous past. I couldn’t speak proper English until the sixth grade. It stings a bit to hear you call her that. And she may have powers, but at least they’re helping us find Will.”

The two boys blinked before quietly apologizing and staring down at their shoes. “Okay, well… Don’t you think she’s acting different?”

“Yeah,” Doc sighed. “I think so… Maybe she’s scared of the gate. Who knows?”

“Who cares?” Dustin irritably sighed before glancing down at his compass again. Doc gently grabbed him by the arm as another wave of pain rushed through her head, causing her to stumble. He quickly caught her with a worried look. “Doc? You okay?”

“I-I just tripped. I-I’m fine.” She whispered. “Thanks…”

-------------------------------------------------

It had been a rough day for Doc. She had nearly broken her foot on her skates, gotten a scolding from her mother, and worse, Mike had really hurt her feelings just hours before. It was no doubt the reason she hadn’t been focused while skating around the neighborhood. All she wanted was to sleep the night away and awake to a brand new day. It didn’t take long for her to drift asleep. When she opened her eyes again, she was in what seemed to be a black void. Below her, she laid in a wet substance, but she was sure it was water. What perplexed her was that she didn’t have her blankets on her, or her pillow under her head. In fact, she wasn’t even in her bed. The only thing reassuring her was her own existence, proof enough that she was simply dreaming.

Rolling onto her back, Doc slowly sat up and pulled her knees up as close to her chest as she could, the ominous feeling of the void sending a chill down her spine. “Hello?” She called out. “Is anyone here?! Or… is this just a really boring dream…?”

The response she got was the rushing of water up ahead. The rush grew louder, but she couldn’t see a thing other than tiny splashes of water up ahead. As if someone had been running towards her.

Splish. Splash. Splish. Splash.

“Help!”

Doc flinched at the scream right in front of her face.

“Help!”

It moved next to her ear. She jumped back and scooted away from the screaming, covering her ears with her hands. “Stop it!” Doc cried. Even with her hands muffling sound around her, she still could hear venomous growling ahead. Chest heaving, Doc fearfully kicked her feet out to scoot her even farther away. “Stop it! Go away!”

She blinked and was back in her bedroom. She could tell because when she tried standing, the blanket between her legs prevented her from stably doing so. Falling off her bed, she cried out and crawled all around, trying to navigate around her pitch-black room. Her door was closed. She never closed the door. “Mom?! Nancy?! Mike?! Mike! Mike!”

Receiving no answer, Doc laid down and covered her head, shaking uncontrollably on the ground. She was sure she was going to die here. Something was going to come and steal her away, just as she always feared. Until then, she would sob on the ground and try her best to calm her breathing.

The creaking of door hinges and the light pouring into the room had her uncurling from the ball her body molded into. Tilting her head up, she was met with a very disheveled Mike. “Doc? Why’s your door closed?” He rasped, falling to his knees beside his sister. Without a word, she crawled over and fell against him, crying into his shoulder. Mike gently kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her. “No one’s supposed to close your door. Everyone knows that…”

-------------------------------------------------

The compasses’ north eventually guided the five to a junkyard, scrapped cars littering the area around them. The longer they walked, the more Doc’s headaches subsided, until they were no more. She thought this to be a relief, only to realize that they were no longer in the direction of the gate. “Oh, no.” Dustin mumbled, having come to the same thought.

“‘Oh, no’?” Lucas frowned. “What’s ‘Oh, no’?”

“We’re headed back home.”

“What?” Mike blinked.

“Are you sure?”

Doc pointed past their heads at the setting sun. “The sun’s setting right there. We just got turned right back around…”

Lucas stared up at the sky behind him before turning back to his friends. “And you guys are just realizing this now?!”

“Why is this all on us?” Dustin defended.

“Because you’re the compass geniuses!”

“What do yours say?”

“North.” Lucas, Mike and Doc answered in unison.

Doc groaned and twisted her body around. “This doesn’t make sense… Something’s screwing with the compasses…”

“Maybe it’s something here.” Mike suggested, but Dustin shook his head.

“No, it has to be like a super magnet.”

Lucas quietly spoke up from where he had been glaring daggers at El. “It’s not a magnet. She’s been acting weirder than normal. If she can slam doors with her mind, she can definitely screw up a compass.”

“Why would she do that?” Mike looked to El as well.

“Because she’s trying to sabotage our mission. Because she’s a traitor!” Lucas hissed and threw his compass to the ground in anger. As he stalked closer to El, Doc quickly followed behind.

“Lucas, stop. We don’t know if she-”

“Doc, stop it! I get it, okay? She went missing just like you, she reminds you of yourself. But we don’t know this girl. And unlike her, you actually want to find Will! So, stop defending her!” Turning back to El, he got close to her face. “You did it, didn’t you? You don’t want us to reach the gate. You don’t want us to find Will.”

El didn’t respond, her jaw clenched tight. Mike tried reasoning with Lucas, but the Sinclair boy wasn’t hearing it.

“Admit it.”

“No.”

“Admit it!” He grabbed her arm, instantly smacking it away at the sight of red smeared on the jacket sleeves. “Fresh blood. I knew it.”

“Lucas, come on!” Mike yelled.

“I saw her wiping her nose on the tracks! She was using her powers!”

Doc’s heart sank. How could she have been so dense to dismiss something like that? She knew to trust her gut rather than her heart. She just didn’t want to admit that her new friend, someone so much like her, was deceiving her.

“Bull! That’s old blood. Right, El?” Mike asked the girl, whose lip trembled. “Right, El?”

Shakily inhaling, silver lined her dark eyes. “It’s… not…” She swallowed. “It’s not safe.”

Lucas looked away and shook his head as Mike and Dustin stared at her in shock. Sharply exhaling, Doc grabbed El by the arm and pulled her away. She stopped at an abandoned bus and stared at the girl with teary eyes. “El… you didn’t…”

“Doc…”

“Why…? You know how important finding Will is. You think we care about safety right now? If getting to the gate was safe, Will wouldn’t be in trouble! Why did you lie?!”

When she didn’t respond, Lucas humorlessly chuckled and turned to Mike. “What did I tell you? She’s been playing us from the beginning!”

Mike hopefully looked to El and then to Lucas. “That’s not true. She helped us find Will!”

“Find Will? Find Will?! Where is he, then?” Lucas turned around, sarcastically looking around for their lost friend. “Huh? I don’t see him!”

“Yeah, you know what I mean.”

“No, I actually don’t. Just think about it, Mike. She could’ve just told us where the Upside Down was right away, but she didn’t. She just made us run around like headless chickens!”

Having enough, Dustin went to break up the fight. “Alright, calm down-”

“No! She used us, all of us! She helped just enough so she could get what she wants. Food and a bed! She’s like a stray dog!”

At this, both El and Doc grabbed hands. While Doc knew Lucas had absolutely no intention of hurting her, the comment struck her just as much as it did El. After all, that was her only hope before meeting the Wheelers. Food and shelter. She may have been upset with El, but she also knew what it was like to feel like a charity.

“Screw you, Lucas!” Mike screamed, defending both El and his sister.

“No! Screw you, Mike. You’re blind… Blind because you like a girl that’s not grossed out by you! But wake up, man! Wake the hell up! She knows where Will is, and now she’s just letting him die in the Upside Down.”

“Shut up!”

“For all we know, it’s her fault.”

“Shut up!”

“We’re looking for some stupid monster,” Doc’s eye twitched when Lucas shoved Mike back. “But did you ever stop to think that maybe she’s the monster?”

El’s hold on Doc tightened significantly as high pitched ringing sang in their ears. Doc knew that El’s powers were activated, but she didn’t think to calm her down. Not when her own hand was balling into a fist, the backs of her eyes burning within their sockets.

“I said shut up!” Mike screamed and lunged forward, the two grunting as they fell to the ground.

“Stop it!”

“Guys, lay off!”

“Knock it off, you idiots!”

From behind the two girls, the bumper and windshields of the bus fell off, Doc’s black veins pulsing through her skin as she tried to keep herself from dismantling the entire thing. But it was hard when her brother and friend were currently harming each other.

“Stop it!”

“Mike, get off!”

“Get off of him!”

Just as Lucas had gained dominance to hit Mike, El’s high-pitched screaming broke through everyone’s yelling. Lucas was flown back across the entire junkyard. He hit the ground and skid back until he hit a large scrap of a car, the boy going unconscious.

The world seemed to stop as Doc let go of El’s hand, rushing towards Lucas with the other two boys right behind her. “Lucas!” She slid to her knees in front of him.

“Lucas! Lucas, are you alright?”

“Lucas, come on!”

Doc felt tears prick her eyes as she tried to check the back of his head. Dustin and Mike desperately shook his body and called out to him. When she felt a bump on the back of his head, she pulled him up the best she could and pressed his forehead to her shoulder. Whipping her blood-shot eyes to El, she hissed, “What the hell was that for?! You see any of us knocking him unconscious?!”

Mike snapped at her as well. “Why would you do that? What’s wrong with you?! What is wrong with you?!”

The Wheelers gave up on the crying girl and turned back to their friend, who Dustin was still shaking in Doc’s arms. “Come on, man!”

“Lucas, you gotta wake up. Come on.” Doc whispered and gently patted his face. After a few more seconds of this, his eyes fluttered open. “Lucas!”

“You okay?” Mike gently asked as the boy pulled away from Doc, in a daze. When he wasn’t giving a response or focusing his vision, Dustin held up three fingers in front of his face.

“Lucas… Lucas, how many fingers am I holding up? Lucas, how many fingers?!”

Doc slowly reached behind his head. “You’ve got a knot back there. I’m sure I’ve got some cream for-”

“Get off of me!” He swiped her hand away.

“Lucas… Lucas, she’s trying to help. We need to see.” Mike tried, but he only stood to his feet and shoved him away.

“Get off of me!” He repeated, a fearful tremor in his voice this time. Slowly, Doc rose to her feet and watched him go. Mike went to follow, but Dustin held him back.

“Let him go. Man, let him go…”

Doc heavily exhaled and crossed her arms, turning her head in the direction of El, stuttering in her steps when no one was to be found. “Guys? Where’s…” She walked a few steps forward. “Where’s El?”

Realizing she was gone as well, Mike’s breathing quickened. “El!”

“Eleven!” Dustin called, the three splitting up to look for her.

Doc ran towards the bus, circling the entire thing in search of her. “I shouldn’t have yelled… I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I’m sorry… El! Eleven, where are you?!”

—————————————

Taglist: @yurtletheturtlehenderson @crybabyalex @sapphicsyn @shydestinymoonalexa @nailbatbitch @that-one-multifandom-chick @ariyabella @uncompletemasterpiece @bilesxbilinskixlahey @onlyveryslightlysane @mymomsdisappointment @hewwofriends @billieissad @get0ut0fmyr00m @softasha

#stranger things #stranger things fic #stranger things x reader #st #st fic #st x reader #mike hanlon #dustin henderson #lucas sinclair #will byers #eleven #will byers x reader #lost and found

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livinginhisgratefulness · 10 months

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After a search that was ruled illegal charges were dismissed in a fatal north Minneapolis crash

A woman has been cleared of felony charges after a judge decided this week that the police had used evidence from a search conducted in violation of constitutional rights to get her to confess to being involved in a fatal accident in north Minneapolis. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges of criminal vehicular murder and criminal vehicular operations against Khyan Whitley, 35 of Minneapolis. She was charged in relation to the wreck on Nov. 13, 2021 that resulted in the death of Jonneekwa S. Donald (30) of Minneapolis. The charges stated that Whitley’s vehicle “may have run a traffic sign and then T-boned (the victims’] car” in the 1400 Block of N. Morgan Avenue. The license plate was written down by a passerby who saw the car driving away. The criminal complaint stated that Whitley confessed to the police on Dec. 8 and said she had fled the scene and covered her car because she did not have a license or insurance. Whitley had not held a valid license since 2008 when it was suspended. In her filing for dismissal, Assistant County Attorney Kali Gardner stated that “the state is no longer capable of meeting its burden with suppressed proof… involving a improper search and the fruits that followed.” The defense first raised the issue in October, and District Judge Paul Scoggin threw out the confession because the police “pulled the vehicle cover up enough to see the license plate,” leading them to Whitley’s confession. The prosecution lost in May when it went to the Court of Appeals for the revival of the confession as evidence. Scoggin denied this week the latest attempt by the prosecution to have the confession readmitted. The County Attorney’s Office then conceded and dropped the case. Sarah Shah, spokeswoman of the County Attorney’s Office said on Friday that “the charges cannot be refiled.” Michael Donald, Jonneekwa Donald’s brother, stated that he was “in disbelief and mad at the courts” when he heard of the dismissal. He and his wife, who raise their four children in Minneapolis, have added two of the three boys, aged 9 and 13, from his sister. Michael Donald said, “We’ve been through a lot.” It’s crazy at times. We must go after [Whitley] in a civil manner. “Sometimes it’s crazy.” Scoggin’s final ruling cited the exact police conduct he said violated Whitley’s constitutional protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. Two police sergeants visited Whitley’s house about 3 1/2 weeks after her crash. They saw that a cover was draped over the car but that “extensive damages” were still visible. One sergeant lifted the cover to reveal the license plate. It matched that of the plate seen by a witness as the car fled the scene. The plate identified Whitley as Whitley. The sergeants seized the car, knocked at the door, and spoke with Whitley’s child, who stated that his mother wasn’t home. Whitley was able to meet with the sergeants after they left their contact details. When she was asked about the damage on her car, Whitley admitted that she had been involved in the accident. Scoggin wrote that “[Whitley] would have given a different answer if she had not been faced with the illegally seized evidence, front-end damage on her car and the fact it was seized by police.” The sergeants’ illegal searches also eliminated any possibility for [her] of providing an innocent explanation. The court found that this factor favored [Whitley]’s statement, a fruit from the poisonous tree. Source

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deprived-gay · 10 months

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After a search that was ruled illegal charges were dismissed in a fatal north Minneapolis crash

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xtodorcki · 3 years

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“Betrayal,” Levi x Reader

Summary: The 3 Titan shifters (aka Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt) had stolen the last Titan serum and you end up getting framed. While you get tortured by the military police to reveal the truth, Levi tries his best to prove your innocence.

Idk if this would end up being a series, it just might bc even tho this was requested, I’m thinking about having a spin where after the reader gets tortured, they have like a life changing moment (kinda like Tokyo ghoul where after Kaneki gets tortured, he turns into an actual ghoul) kinda like that so bear with me🤧

Warnings!: abuse and torture!!!!

It was a normal day, the only day off the scouts had and they all spent it relaxing and talking with each other. You had sat next to your boyfriend, Levi, while having a few drinks when the military police had stormed inside the place.

The sudden harsh grabs of their hands on your body, slamming you down on the hard table was enough to cause pain through your body and you had let out a wince from the impact.

Their actions had made Levi jump up and try to shove them off your body, his anger boiling at the sight of you being put into handcuffs without them barely saying a word.

“Back up, Captain and let us do our job.” The guy ended up punching Levi clean in his jaw and made him stumble back.

“What the hell are you doing?” Armin had shouted, all the scouts ready to fight with the guards as they yanked your small body off the table.

“Y/N is under arrest for stealing the Titan serum and helping the traitors get away.” They spoke coldly, making your eyes widen at their words and Levi had looked surprised.

“That’s not true! I didn’t touch it!” You shouted, trying to resist their attempts of shoving you out the door and you had looked back at Levi.

“It’s not true, you have to believe me!” The last look he had given you was disappointment and that had made your heart shattered as they put you on the carriage.

The ride back to their station was quiet, except their disgusting words that they shot at you to make you feel guilty and even a guard mentioned how beaten you were going to be after they were done with you.

Your heart ached and your body shook from the amount of rage you felt running through your veins. You were sure you already had bruises forming on your skin from the rough pushing and shoving against the table.

Levi had stood in the middle of the room, watching you get taken out the door with the small of blood running down his nose and everyone stayed quiet, looking at the Captain.

He didn’t want to believe it but why would they suspect you? Out of all people? It had made him overthink about it but the look of terror on your face as you looked at him one last time had made him feel deep down in his gut that you were telling the truth.

He was your boyfriend afterall, he knew you pretty well and have been for over a year so he was positive he would know if you were a traitor and if you stole something as big as the Titan serum.

As you were shoved inside the cell, being locked away, you were left to your thoughts and the tears threatened to stream down your face as you tried to think of everything- how did you even end up here? What led you here?

It was a painful topic to think about, to even think about being a suspect, to think about being a traitor. There was no room for you to be a traitor even if you tried.

It had taken hours before the guards came back to bring you into a empty room, tying you to a chair to ‘ask you questions’ but in reality, they put you here to enjoy the torture they’re going to do to you.

“Where is the Titan serum?” One asked, making your sad tear filled eyes to look up at them and before you could even open your mouth, he had swung his fist to strike you across the face.

The rough impact caused blood to spit out of your mouth and onto the wooden floors, coughing it up as you tried to take steady breaths but it was far too difficult.

Levi had finally went up to the station with everyone, trying to reason with the military police and talk to them about the fact that their thoughts on you were completely false.

They had surprisingly let Levi through considering he is a scout but when he got through the area he wasn’t supposed to be in and had seen you in the room, the way you were breathing heavy and the way you face was already beaten to the point where he could barely recognize your face because it was covered it blood- it made him angry.

“Have you even done your actual fucking jobs or have you been beating her this entire fucking time?!” He shouted at them, making you raise your head at the sound of his voice and your heart began to break more if that was even possible.

“We are doing our job, you’re not even supposed to be this far back here. Get his ass out of here.” The mp ordered the guards to drag Levi out and he had looked at you with a pained look, shoving the guards off of him and walking out of the room by himself.

He didn’t want to leave you there but there wasn’t a whole lot he could do except talk to the higher ups and try to prove your innocence to them but that’s a lot harder than it sounds

Throughout the night, the guards didn’t let you sleep one bit. The long hours of them beating you whether it was with a stick, a whip- it didn’t matter. They had even used knives to cut up your skin, they didn’t care- for all they know you were a traitor to them.

The amount of blood that had covered your entire uniform was sick, you could barely even keep your eyes open and handle everything. You stopped crying, you stopped screaming, you were just emotionless.

And inside your head, you had zoned out enough to not think about the pain and think about the harsh beatings they were giving you. It felt like you had changed into a whole completely different person and gave yourself a new mindset from all this torture.

And it took two days.

Two days for Levi to find proof, two days for Levi to run up to the station and slam the proof on their desks along with bringing the scouts for evidence to show them that the people who had stole the Titan serum was no one else but the two Titan shifters, Reiner and Bertholdt.

The way Levi had rushed up to the chair you were still tied in, the rope digging in your skin from how tight it was- leaving dry blood stains from head to toe.

The guards still didn’t feel bad, shit, they still thought you did it but by their boss’ commands- they had to let you go.

Your eyes barely opened when Levi stepped in the room, all you could hear was muffling of voices and a blur of his face come into view.

He wanted to kill them desperately. The way he would enjoy watching his blade slice through their skins like butter but he kept his cool, he kept it together but deep down he wanted to scream at the sight of you. You were awful.

He had scooped you up in his arms, you could barely see his face from the blood but you ended up passing out eventually.

When you had regain consciousness, Levi had barely made it back to the base. All the scouts had looked at you in complete shock and even Armin had shed a few tears while Eren threatened to kill all the MPs.

“Just leave her be for a couple of days guys, she’s in bad shape.” Levi mumbled, he didn’t want to think about it too much- he didn’t want to stare at your bloody state or else it’ll send him off the deep end.

He didn’t know what to do but simply clean you in the bath tub. He had undressed you and sat you in there, making sure to sit you up so you wouldn’t fall. You held onto the edges of the bath, your eyes staring down at the clear water that soon was dark red from your blood.

You remained quiet which worried him, he knew it must’ve been traumatizing but he thought you would at least speak up by now.

“Y/N?” He whispered, running the cloth over your body ever so gently and this is when he got full looks of your wounds.

Deep cuts and slashes on your skin, from your back to your arms and legs. It was painful for him to look at it, he knew you would need stitches for them.

“Will you be okay for a few minutes? I need to go get the first aid.” He stared at you but your eyes stayed on the water, your head tilted down and your eyes barely even blinking.

Levi had sighed, standing up from his spot and left the room to hurry to the infirmary and come back so he can stitch you up himself. While he was gone, your eyes had moved around the bathroom and the bloody cloth he was using to wash you.

Once you had catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror, you stared at it for what seemed like forever- looking at the cuts that covered your pale body. Soon you started to laugh while tears filled up in your very eyes and even a few slipped down your cheeks as your laugh grew louder.

He had finally walked in the room, looking down at you and had felt a huge weight pin down on his heart. The mixed bloody tears on your cheeks and the laughter coming out of your mouth had him frozen in time until you finally caught his gaze, your laughing coming to a stop and your sobs started leaving your lips.

Levi rushed over, dropping the box and leaned over the tub to hug onto you but not so tight, making sure to watch your wounds. Your sobs had grown so loud that the scouts down the hall heard your crying, the pain escaping your throat was painful to their ears.

“Hey, shhh.” He had tried to comfort you, the guilt he felt had made him want to punch himself for not helping you sooner, it was his fault you were like this.

He stroked your hair back, tilting your head up to look at him fully and he couldn’t help but cry with you. The whimpers that escaped your busted lips had made him want to break down here and now.

“It’s okay, you’re safe.. you’re safe.” He repeated until your breathing had gone back to normal, placing a gentle kiss to your forehead.

He had resumed what he was doing. He grabbed the needle and thread, slowly starting to stitch you up while you silently cried in the tub, the water growing cold as your body ached. He had stitched you up in so many places that he could barely count, they completely went overboard with torturing you and he felt like it was on purpose.

When he finished cleaning off the dry blood off your naked body, he lifted you up and wrapped a towel around you. He watched the dark red water go down the drain and he cursed under his breath at the mess around the bathroom, blood everywhere.

You were silent again, numb to everything you had felt throughout the last few days, emotionless but felt the need to scream again but your throat was dry and empty and sore.

He was careful to dress you in comfortable clothes, mostly his t-shirt and some sweatpants after he made sure to put bandages over your stitches and cuts. He tugged his blankets back, laying you down and tucking you in.

Once your head had hit the pillow, your eyes shut and he sat at the edge brushing his fingers through your hair, watching you for a while.

“I’ll make sure they pay for this, I promise..” He mumbled, more to himself than to you before he pressed a kiss to your bruised cheek.

“I love you.”

Throughout the night he had slept beside you but made sure to keep his distance, he didn’t want to hurt you in any way and he knew you haven’t slept the whole time you’ve kept by the military police.

As you slept, all you dreamt of was nightmares and to you they felt so real. The way they would hit you, it felt like they actually did and when they had walked up to your bloody corpse, leaning down and even threatening to cut off your fingers.

The way their plyers had gripped onto your fingernails as they ripped it out with no remorse- it all felt too real. Your body would shake, jolt and even whimpers would fall from your lips as you slept. It had taken a while for Levi to even wake up from your movements.

“Y/N.” He tried to be as gentle as possible, placing his hand on your arm and that’s when you jolted awake, sitting up and panting.

He had removed his hand when you shot up, hesitating before he reached out for you again and when you felt his fingertips- you flinched hard, looking over at him like he was a stranger.

“It’s me.” He mumbled, your eyes adjusting to the dark and you looked at his pained expression and that made your breathing start to calm down.

“Sorry.” You whispered, wiping the sweat off your forehead and you looked down at your arms wrapped in bandages, seeing the blood start to leak through.

“Don’t be.. do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” You said coldly, moving to lay back down in bed and had your back facing him as you stared at the wall.

Levi wanted to desperately take your pain away, he wish he could trade spots and take all the damage instead. But as he sat there staring down at you for what seemed like an hour, he was afraid of losing you and afraid that you were slowly slipping away from his grasp.

He thought about comforting you, would that even be a safe option? He thought. You flinched at his slight touches and he didn’t want you to become afraid of him, he loved you more than anything.

He decided to scoot closer to you, carefully kissing the back of your head and rested his hand on a safe part of your upper arm, making you tense underneath his touch.

“Look, I know what you went through was traumatic.. believe me but please don’t push me away, I can’t lose you.” He said softly, making your eyes water instantly from the flashbacks that flooded your head, every slap, kick, punch, everything.

“Levi,”

“I just want you to be able to talk to me, you’re not alone, at all.”

“I know.” You simply said, not knowing what else to really say about the situation. You were beaten senseless, out of pure hatred, it changed you.

You decided to gently turn over to face him, scrunching up your nose at the pain that followed as you moved. Your eyes looked at his, your bruised face had made his heart hurt more than he could explain.

As you two sat there staring at one another, you carefully brought your weak hand up to caress his cheek and rubbed your thumb over his skin slowly.

He leaned his face more into your hand, the most affection he has gotten out of you and even then, you hesitated, you wanted to pull away. You didn’t want to be touched, talked to, you wanted to be left alone but you had to think about Levi’s feelings too and what he did for you.

“Thank you, for everything.” You mumbled, making his eyes instantly move to look at yours with a hint of hope in them.

“No need to thank me.”

“But I want to, for cleaning me up and trying to support me.. can I be honest with you?”

“Of course.”

You sat there for a moment, trying to think of a better way to put everything and you sighed, your lips pressing into a thin line and even that had made the pain shoot through your busted lips.

“I just- I’m not comfortable speaking about the details but what I will say is, I’m not the same.”

“Ive noticed.” He whispered, moving his hand to brush the strands of your hair back from your face and he gave you a weak smile.

“No matter what, Y/N, I’m here.. to love you, to take care of you, all of it. You’re not getting rid of me so easily.” This time you cracked a smile, squishing his cheeks playfully as you leaned over to press a quick kiss to his lips but even that caused you pain in your body.

“I love you, Lev.”

Soooo idk whether to make a part 2

But if I was, I was thinking of the reader going crazy from the traumatic experiences and even going as far as to killing the guards in cold blood— no one knowing who did it except Levi. Blah blah.

Tell me what you think

Also this one is longer and I’m actually glad and proud how it turned out. So this is why I wanna start pacing myself, it turns out better that way❤️ but my requests are ALWAYSSSSS open, just be patient with me. Mwah. Ps, if you read all that, I love you.

• Main Masterlist •

• AOT Masterlist •

( tag list: @levis-odm-gear )

#levi ackerman fanfic #levi ackerman imagine #levi ackerman imagines #levi ackerman x reader #levi Ackerman #levi ackerman headcanons #levi x reader #levi headcanons #levi angst #levi imagines #levi imagine #levi fanfic #aot fanfic #aot imagines #aot headcanons

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metvmorqhoses · 3 years

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I understand you like villains, but the Darkling is a manipulative and abusive person who doesn't care about Alina. He only wants to use and enslave her. Even the small nice things he does are manipulation. Their ship isn't healthy. Alina belongs with Mal.

look, the darkling is a thousands of years old ethereal being who almost completely lost any form of attachment to his humanity, being completely lost in the rivers of time and of his own devouring power, with the sole exception of a loosely defined sense of patriotism (which is filtered by altered, almost god-like morals that cannot be understood nor can apply to normal human beings), and his recognition in alina of his only equal mate, his only place of belonging in endless oceans of solitude, recognition that deeply unsettles and enrages him at first (after all she is an oblivious child and he an ancient superhuman), but that he’s too mature and intelligent not to accept and respect in earnest in his own way.

so, saying that he doesn’t care about alina and that he’s only there to play with a naive girl’s head to obtain her power, is nothing but sheer oversimplification and lack of understanding of his character.

of course he constantly manipulates her, he’d manipulate reality itself given the chance, that’s the way he navigates the world, through power, coldness and charisma. i think it’s quite obvious he thinks best being in control of everything important, he is the one having the bigger picture after all, he’s everything he has ever had since remote times, he’s been alone in his godly point of view for thousands of years, it’s only natural he thinks his agenda and opinions superior to those of a bunch of children (the king himself to him is but a child). in his eyes, he is the centuries-old man and she is but a precious little girl in whose hands the very reason of his every battle and hope is being placed by fate. his succeeding in having her power by his side is capital for him, after all his ambition and distance from humanity is endless, and so is his desperation. that’s why he opts for the most effective way to ensure having it (putting the collar on her, being sure to be in control and not subjected to the whims of a teenager). honestly, from his point of view, this is simply mere logic and effectiveness, nothing particularly evil or personal. let’s not forget he was hoping all along she would join him willingly.

yet, leaving aside the political agenda, the very fact that he does take the time to “manipulate” alina, that he cares enough to spend himself, the detached uncaring god, to try his best to be liked by her, to be admired and somehow understood by her, even to confess himself in his own subtle way full of half-truths, is the proof that he does care for the person behind the power he so much craves. there’s literally no pragmatic reason to charm someone you already have de facto captive in your own guarded palace and that you plan to enslave, if you don’t somehow crave her attachment. she fashinates him, she unsettles him. she reminds him of who he used to be. what we perceive as manipulation is his immoral and very wrong way of caring. he probably believes she would never love the real him, he probably thinks she would flee screaming. and, honestly, he wasn’t that wrong after all.

yet he craves and he tries to touch this light from his abyss of darkness, he’s anything but cold indifference. his manipulation probably wants to have many different effects on alina, that don’t necessarily exclude one another. one simple act of manipulation can have the aim to secure her trust in order to claim her power more easily and can at the same time aim to make her simply smile. these two facts can peacefully coexist in such a man’s mind. the first doesn’t make the second less real or important.

asking mal for her favorite flowers and then giving them to her himself can be a way of charming her and can be a way to literally give her her favorite flowers. It’s undoubtedly a petty move, yet very effective and even somehow funny if we shed the very popular woke indignation. it’s something very childish and very human to do. this is not so much political scheming as it is kindergarten rivalry, if we are honest with ourselves. in the darkling’s mind, the end always justifies the means and the evil plan behind giving alina her favorite flowers stealing the information from her sweetheart or reading their letters, is being able to get to her heart in the easiest way possible, disregarding every rule because he thinks himself above them all.

i’m honestly astonished adults don’t seem able to understand that the darkling wanting alina’s power and aiming to be in control of it, having his way in everything, and the darkling loving her are not only compatible truths but also in many ways codependent ones.

and how lame constantly labeling every unusual relationship “unhealthy” as if that would immediately rule out their right to beauty or complexity. especially in fiction, adults should have the right, the agency, to have their disgustingly unhealthy relationships in peace, without moralists constantly trying to diminish what they share because of it. the majority of fascinating things in art and in life are unhealthy. grow up. the women in these relationships are not fragile little flowers, they can deal with abysmality, they can even enjoy it. you are taking their choice and their own complexities away from them.

and really, in this very case don’t even have me started with mal. his love confession at the end of shadow and bone was cringe-worthy. “now i see you, alina”. like literally this boy fucked everyone that moved but alina, who lived for him and who clearly needed help because she was literally rotting away, and yet he didn’t even know she existed until she became important and famous, then proceeding to shame her for it in the little palace, only in the end to confirm his shallowness by saying “now that you are basically a goddess personified i see you”, and she is even supposed to deeply appreciate that? seriously? is this the healthy love you want women to lower their heads to? not to mention the only thing that keeps that love barely lukewarm is alina’s childhood trauma and obsessive attachment to the only person who was with her during those hard times. what a fairy tale.

in short, nothing wrong in having banal points of view, to each their own i suppose, but i’d appreciate if you’d avoid coming in other people’s inboxes acting like the moral artistic police when you clearly even lack the means to do it. thank you.

#shadow and bone #the grisha trilogy #the darkling #darklina #books #anon #one and one thousands stories lis told #villains

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youkaiyume · 3 years

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WHY HELLO it’s been a while since I gave you a thrilling TOXIC NEIGHBOR UPDATE!!!

Asshat has been relatively quiet since he apologized to me a couple of months ago and we’ve even said friendly greetings once in a while but he has banged on the walls sometimes when I scrape a chair on the kitchen or something in the past month so I was sensing a bit of a backslide.

But!!! LAST NIGHT! Totally unprovoked, Asshat once again started to throw a huge tantrum, slamming doors screaming. I was working so I wasn’t really paying attention but Yuki and Tim texted me and asked if I was okay cuz he’s acting crazy. Both of us have been quiet all day and we haven’t interacted with him lately so we couldn’t figure out what’s got him all in a tizzy NOW.

Much more under the cut...

We thought he was yelling at his wife cuz he was talking to SOMEONE. And then he kept loudly exiting and entering the house to go to his van and then angrily left. I thought that was the end of that weird episode... UNTIL he came back five minutes later and immediately a car alarm was heard. I park right next to asshat for assigned parking so the first thing I thought was oh no, he vandalized my car. But I was too scared to go outside and check!! I told Tim and Yuki to check their front door camera that they had installed since their last incident and to their surprise he was cussing and trying to call them outside, flipping off their camera.

He was ranting and raving, telling them that they can’t put cameras in his house HE CHECKED THE WHOLE HOUSE HAHA nice try also that’s illegal--just being paranoid that they were SPYING on him and telling them to call the cops on him all they want they can’t do anything about him.

Yuki and Tim suspect it might also be their car that he vandalized cuz Yuki revealed that every time she parks in the visitor parking in the front that’s close to their unit Asshat will touch her car and fold in her side mirrors in a petty move cuz he usually parks in those spaces (he acts like he owns those parking spaces. anyone can park there) to try to get them to come outside but they also wouldn’t leave their house and their children are now scared. Yuki then proceeded to call the cops.

When I saw the police parked outside, I quickly ran to check on my car cuz I didn’t think he’d try anything while they were there talking to him. Luckily there was no damage to my own car but I still moved it to the visitor parking in the back cuz no way I was going to be parked next to the crazy guy for the rest of the night. I couldn’t see anything on Yuki’s car tho, it was too dark. I told them they should have also checked because if there was damage the cops are already there and they could officially document vandalism and proof of violence towards their persons but they didn’t think to cuz they were too scared to check and also didn’t really care about their beat up car.

While I was walking back to my unit I could see that Asshat had ALL the lights turned on in his house--super unusual, his house is always dark as hell except for the single glow of a TV. And there was a loud humming noise like he was running some kind of fan or a vacuum. Super weird.

But Yuki and Tim called me for an update once the Cops left and told me that when they had knocked on his door and asked to come inside he had made up some lie that he was cleaning up after his Dogs who pooped in the house and that’s why they can’t come inside. The police kept telling him that he can’t harass the neighbors which he denied but... you know, there’s security camera recordings proof. Unfortunately the most they could do was warn him cuz unless he physically did something illegal or harmed them they couldn’t do anything. (which is why it’s so frustrating that they didn’t think to have the police also check on their car!!!)

The police DID tell Yuki and Tim that Asshat has had prior arrests and been in Jail before (also for domestic abuse so he IS in fact abusing his wife haha), and that there’s been multiple reports from other neighbors long before they had moved in. They said to just keep collecting evidence now that they have the front door cam so it will make it easier to catch him and to just call them again if anything happened.

I really think they should consider getting a car camera especially if they KNOW that he messes with their car a lot. But anyway, I thought that was the end of it. But!! He kept on banging and shouting, STILL cussing and doing obscene gestures to their camera. LONG after the police left. Like, you’d think he’d calm the fuck down after getting in trouble but nope. I could just hear and feel all the rumblings beneath my feet and I wasn’t doing anything to provoke it, I was just lying in bed. Trying to fucking sleep. If he had kept it up past 11 pm I was going to call the cops again. Fortunately (or not) he stopped RIGHT before 11 as if he knew we would complain again.

But now!! I am back to not knowing if he’s back to just being hateful towards everyone including me or not. And really it was completely unprovoked, it was a very peaceful and quiet couple of months until BAM out of nowhere. I’m so tired.

#toxic neighbor #toxic neighbor feud #text post #personal #he's a ticking time bomb

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honeypiehotchner · 3 years

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Looking Too Closely (Bucky x Stark!Fem!Reader) — part two

I’m backkk so sorry this took forever, my idiot/goblin brain wanted to hold onto this part for longer?? Anywho

Summary: The one in which you meet Bucky Barnes for the first time. Also the one in which you want to ram Tony Stark’s skull into the wall.

Warnings: angst, mentions of past violence, mentions of death, Tony is still pretty douchey (I know y’all don’t wanna hear this but he is a giant asshole 99% of the time)

Series Masterlist

You can’t sleep.

It doesn’t help that you haven’t had a real bed to sleep in — let alone one that has memory foam or whatever the hell that is on this mattress — for some time now. But the Tower is too quiet.

You can’t open your window and Tony must have the place basically sound-proofed because you can’t hear any of the city sounds that you’re used to. The late night traffic, the sirens, the footsteps, the voices, the fights, the snoring. You’re alone in here and it’s eating you alive.

You’re still wearing Wanda’s clothes. Pepper said she’d let you pick out some clothes today and they could be delivered. She offered to go shopping somewhere with you, but you don’t want anything fancy. You’ve never even been to a mall, not to shop, so that idea alone felt too much.

Grabbing a pillow from the bed, you move to the floor in front of the window. Laying on your stomach, you rest your elbows on the pillow, staring out at the city lights.

After some time, you give in and lay your head down, hoping it’ll bring sleep around. Luckily for you, it does.

Unluckily for you, sleeping on your stomach on the hard floor has your ribs feeling properly bruised by the time the sun rises. You roll over onto your back, letting your shoulder blades take the weight for the next couple hours.

By the time late morning rolls around, you open your eyes, feeling exhausted. Restless sleep is the only kind of sleep you know.

Dragging yourself off the floor, you head to the bathroom to brush your teeth. You’re not used to having one, but you’ll gladly use the toothbrush here. That’s one thing you missed more than the others while you were homeless.

You exit the bathroom and head out into the hall, down to the living area and kitchen. It’s quiet, so you figure everyone is gone or out.

You’re busy climbing on the counter to look in the top cabinet when you hear footsteps on the hall, but they’re sort of far away, or they sound muffled like they’re a distance away. You halt your movements for good measure of listening, and you definitely feel like someone is down the hall.

But, your stomach growls, so you go back to rummaging through the cabinet.

The person you sensed steps around the corner into the kitchen and freezes. He has no idea who you are, but you’re standing on top of the counter, and that’s when he realizes you’re standing on top of the counter.

This is around the same moment that you vaguely sense the same presence from the hall behind you, and you jump when you see someone is actually standing there.

He is next to the counter in a split second, holding his Vibranium arm out in case you fall. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Trying to get cereal, what the fuck does it look like?”

“It looked like you were about to fall on your ass.”

“Lucky me, I didn’t,” you snort, resisting the urge to kick his face. He’s at the perfect height for you to do it, too. “Who the hell are you?”

“Bucky,” he answers. “Who the hell are you?” He fires back.

“Y/N,” you reply, turning to go back to looking in the cabinet. It’s mostly random things, nothing you particularly care to eat. “Do you know where everyone is?”

Bucky leans back against the opposite counter, arms crossed over his chest. “Probably asleep. We just got back an hour ago.”

You hum. Right, Tony said a few of them were out. “Then why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Don’t want to mess up my schedule.”

“Hm.” You smell bullshit.

“What?”

“Nothing,” you huff, closing the cabinet and hopping down. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

As you’re making your way toward the hall, you’re stopped by Tony’s voice.

“Munchkin. Get back here. You and I have some things to discuss.”

You spin around. “What now?”

“What now is right,” Tony deadpans. “Come on. My office. And Barnes, go the fuck to sleep for once.”

Bucky snorts, flipping Tony off, but only you saw it. You grinned, mouthing thank you.

Bucky smiled boyishly in return.

+++

Tony conveniently waits until his office door has shut before he starts in on the questions.

“When did your mother pass away?”

“A month ago,” you reply slowly, really too exhausted to deal with this or Tony right now. “Why are you asking that?”

“Because I wanted to see if you’d continue to lie to me, and you have.”

“What are you talking about?” You gathered that he was a pain in the ass, but delusional, too? Jesus.

“She didn’t pass away a month ago. Her funeral was a month ago.”

“Okay? And? What the hell does it matter?”

“The funeral was delayed because the police think you killed her.”

Fuck. He found out. “Well I didn’t.”

Tony looks ready to scream at you. “So you knew there was a warrant out for your arrest?”

“Well, yes, but—” This time Tony does cut you off by a million cuss words, but you continue over top of him. “I thought they gave up!”

“You knew they were looking for you and you walked in here instead. I should turn you in right now. In fact, I don’t know why I haven’t called the police yet.” He’s waving his arms wildly, no doubt trying to control his anger at the absurdity of this situation.

You cross your arms over your chest. “They have no proof.”

“Clearly they have something or there wouldn’t be a warrant.”

“They don’t have shit, Tony. I wasn’t even near my house when it went up in flames, alright? I was a mile away.”

“Where? Where were you?”

“At a gas station.”

“What were you doing there?”

“Are you interrogating me?” Is he recording this? Your eyes search briefly for cameras before you remember he’s a tech genius, so his cameras are probably hidden.

“I’m just trying to get to the bottom of why you have a warrant and why you decided to waltz in here. Do you know how much trouble this could get me in?”

“I’m sure you could pay your way out of it.”

“Hey,” he snaps his fingers at you, “I’m being serious.”

“Me too,” you snap your fingers back at him, too fed up with him to care, “Mr. Billionaire.”

The two of you stare at one another, unblinking, unflinching, anger seeping through your skin. Tony has realized quickly that no matter how hard he pushes your buttons, you’ll push his right back, just as much if not more.

Maybe you are his.

“I’ll ask one more time,” Tony starts. “Did you start that fire?”

“I was too busy getting stabbed to start a fucking fire, okay?”

This has Tony reeling in shock instead of anger. “Stabbed? Are you fucking nuts? What do you mean you were getting stabbed?”

“I mean I was getting stabbed. What else do you think that means?”

Tony sighs tiredly, frustration making him clench his jaw. “Where?”

You gesture to your abdomen. “Just in a couple places.”

Tony’s eyes widen. “A couple— Alright, you know what, we can finish this later, because right now,” he points his index finger at you, “you need to get to MedBay.”

“What?”

“Yeah, that’s the thing about getting stabbed, munchkin. It can cause internal damage. And if you never went to the hospital—”

“I stitched myself up, it was fine—”

“Uh-uh, shut it,” he snaps. “Come on. Come with me.”

+++

You run into Bucky once again when you get off the elevator at MedBay. He’s talking with Steve who is checking on Natasha who is a little bruised, and all three of their heads turn when they see you dragging your feet behind Tony.

Bucky gives you a questioning look while Steve and Natasha look plain confused, both having not met you until now.

“FRIDAY,” Tony calls out. “I need a full body scan on Y/N.”

“Yes, Mr. Stark.”

You roll your eyes as Tony gestures you into a room. You can still see everyone through the glass walls as you step on a small circle in the floor, presuming it’s where you need to stand for the scan.

Steve asks the million dollar question. “What’s going on?”

“Got stabbed,” you reply with a shrug, making Tony’s blood boil even faster.

Natasha snorts at your nonchalance, Steve gives Tony a baffled look, but Bucky seems weirdly concerned. “You what?”

“It was a long time ago,” you tell Bucky.

“No, it was a few months ago. And she never went to a hospital,” Tony adds, right as FRIDAY finishes the scan. “What have we got FRIDAY?”

“Evidence of internal bleeding that has since stopped, but nothing else. Everything has healed properly.”

“Well thank god for that,” Tony deadpans.

You nearly flip him off right there, but you settle on a glare. “Are you done?”

“Yes,” Tony says. “But we’re not done.”

“For fuck’s sake, I did not start the fire!”

“Oh no, I believe you there,” Tony says. “I wanna know who stabbed you.”

“Some random idiots,” you shrug, walking out of the room and past Tony, back toward Steve, Natasha, and Bucky. “Leave me the hell alone about it. Goddamn.”

Tony lets you walk this time, watching you storm off toward the elevator. Meanwhile, he has two super soldiers and a spy staring at him like they just found out his darkest secret.

“So...that’s Y/N,” Natasha comments. “She’s got fire.”

“She’s also got an attitude,” Tony retorts.

“It’s just like yours,” Steve fires back, raising an eyebrow.

Tony ignores him.

“Here’s my question,” Natasha says. “If she was stabbed that many times in that many places— How did it heal? That’s not normal.” And when Tony gives her a confused look, she adds, “You know what I mean.”

“Wait,” Steve catches on. “You don’t think she’s…” He looks over at Bucky.

“She knew I was standing behind the wall earlier,” Bucky says, a realization crossing his face. “She could sense me. I heard her, but I was too far away for any normal person to hear me.”

“Okay, let’s not jump to these conclusions right now,” Tony interjects. “It’s bad enough she has an arrest warrant and a habit of getting stabbed. I don’t need to worry about her being like you two knuckleheads.”

“It’s still worth looking into,” Natasha comments.

“Yeah,” Steve agrees. “We need to know if she is, Tony.”

“Well right now, she’s being a hormonal teenager, so I don’t think I’ll be able to ask her about it,” Tony deadpans.

“She just lost her mom,” Bucky says, remembering when Steve told him, and his heart broke for you. “Give her a break.”

“If you want to talk to her Barnes, go right ahead.”

“I might,” Bucky retorts, already heading toward the exit so he can find where you went. “Just to apologize for your attitude.”

+++

It takes Bucky a full ten minutes of searching for you before he remembers he can just ask FRIDAY.

“She’s currently in her room, James, but it is on Do Not Disturb.”

“Can you override that for me?” Bucky asks the AI.

“One moment.”

Bucky has no idea why FRIDAY needs a moment, but he waits. He’s in the living area so your room is just down the hall, but knocking does no good when Do Not Disturb is live. He knows because he uses it every night. No sound gets in or out.

“Do Not Disturb overridden by Tony Stark.”

Bucky rolls his eyes. Of course.

He heads down the hall to knock on your door, but you don’t respond. Because of the circumstances, Bucky goes against his better judgement and opens your door.

He’s met with a pillow hitting his chest.

“Oh,” you say immediately after. Bucky is surprised to find you sitting on the floor in front of the window, facing the city skies with a blanket over your shoulders. “Sorry. FRIDAY said Tony overrode it so I thought it was him.”

“Nope, just me,” Bucky replies, holding out his hands. He reaches down and grabs the pillow, tossing it back on your bed. “What are you doing down there?”

“Looking,” you shrug, turning back around to face the city.

“Can I join you?”

“Sure.”

Bucky shuts the door. “FRIDAY, put Do Not Disturb back up please.”

“Of course, James. Do Not Disturb is now active.”

“It’s really weird,” you say. “Having an AI in this place. Doesn’t it creep you out?”

Bucky lets out a laugh when he kneels to the floor to sit a little distance away from you, putting his back to the window. “There’s a lot of tech I don’t understand. I kinda had to get used to it quick when I was in Wakanda, though, so nothing phases me anymore.”

“Right, you were...gone for a while,” you pause, not knowing how to approach the subject. “You and Steve both were, right?”

He nods. “Steve was frozen, I was brainwashed.”

He says it so bluntly that you don’t know how to respond at all.

“I’m not anymore,” Bucky continues. “But I did a lot that I’m not proud of. And I was framed for something I didn’t do.”

You half-hum, half-scoff at that. “So you know what it’s like.”

Bucky nods, leaning his head back against the window. “I do.”

“Who were you brainwashed by again?”

“HYDRA,” Bucky replies, tensing a little. “Why?”

“Just curious,” you shrug. “The name sounds familiar, though.”

Bucky lifts his head from the window. “How familiar?”

You shake your head, unsure. “I dunno. It was all over the news, though, right? That’s probably why.”

“Yeah, probably,” Bucky replies slowly. “Can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.” You bring your knees up to your chest, hugging them.

“Do you know why you were stabbed?”

You don’t move a single muscle. You don’t even blink.

“Tony was an asshole,” Bucky says. “He shouldn’t force you to talk about something that recent.”

“Yeah.”

“But if you do ever wanna talk about it,” Bucky pauses, “I’m here. No pressure, though. I get it.”

You nod slowly, watching him from your peripheral vision. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Just not right now,” you continue, surprising yourself and Bucky. “Maybe later.”

“Whenever you want,” he shrugs. “I’ll give you some space, though. Do you uh...want your pillow back?”

You perk up a little. “Yeah, thanks. If you don’t mind.”

Bucky pushes himself to his feet, walking over to the bed to grab your pillow. He tosses it back to you gently.

You smile softly and hug it to your chest, but Bucky knows that once he leaves, you’ll lay down and sleep, right there in front of the window. Because your bed must be too soft.

He gets it. His is, too.

#looking too closely #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x fem!reader #bucky barnes x stark!reader #bucky barnes x stark!fem!reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky #tony stark #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #angst #bucky barnes angst #oooooo what are you???#and do you know what you are???#ooooooooo #the suspense

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bookofmirth · 3 years

Note

I saw your recent response to an anon where you mentioned the drama that occurred the other day based around bookprofessor’s post. Obviously you don’t have to respond to this or publish it if you do not wish but I just wanted to bring up that while it is important to focus on the real life issues at hand, the OP was hypocritical in her post which is why people were getting upset. She was preaching against ableism while simultaneously flaunting her IQ and degree which is a form of ableism. She was speaking out against racism while ending her post using the racial slur “cracker” when talking about the possibly Caucasian Twitter elriels.

Obviously she had some important points but it was completely overshadowed by her participation in the hate speech and prejudice that she was speaking out against.

This does not in any way justify the nasty messages she received but on the same hand, I do not blame anyone that called her out for her hypocrisy. I hope you can understand why her post was so negatively received and how flawed it was. My hope is that one day everyone can just ignore the negativity, report those who are being racist/prejudiced in any way, and block those who are just being loud and who you don’t wish to see content from. But unfortunately I do not see that happening any time soon.

There are a few things I want to address in this because I think it's a good moment for the fandom to step back and reflect on how we treat one another, how we react to such issues, and how we behave moving forward.

First off, thanks for explaining your point of view without being antagonistic. I do think that everyone's emotional reactions to the post were valid. I do NOT think their responses, in terms of words and actions, were valid. Now before I move forward, I want to clarify that when I use the word "you", I am referring to anyone who may have had the response I am describing - not you personally, anon. Also please don’t freak out about how long this is, as a majority of it is a response to the fandom in general, not you in particular.

What was - and wasn’t - said in the original post

In this post, there were completely valid criticisms of the way that people in this fandom behave, and it wasn’t “generalizing” a certain group, it was literal, actual proof of things that had been said, by multiple people. I’m not going to get too into what Alyssa argued because her critiques of those tweets was flawless. The original post had very valid criticisms of what was happening on Twitter. Alyssa exposed the actually racist, homophobic, and imperialistic underpinnings of those tweets.

However, a lot of people are stuck on the bits before and after those critiques. @bookprofessor apologized for different aspects of her post in a few different asks. There were perhaps better ways that some of those things could have been phrased, some things that could have been left out. And she apologized. People can accept that apology or not but we can’t act like it didn’t happen. Like she didn’t reflect and learn to do better.

However, the people she was calling out have not done the same thing, and if anything, comments that focus more on Alyssa’s tone than why she wrote the post in the first place lets those people off the hook.

On cracker - Using the word "cracker" is not racist in the same way that using racial slurs against POC is. Is it prejudiced? Yes. But you cannot say that it is the same thing when that is demonstrably untrue, given centuries of oppressive history. No one has been oppressed for being white. Those are not the same. Reverse racism is not a thing because a white person punching down on POC is NOT AT ALL the same thing as a POC punching up at white people. The actions look the same, but the impact is so unequal it’s not even funny.

Racism is a systemic, institutionalized problem. It is not defined by individual actions, though those actions can either support or challenge racism. When someone calls a white person a cracker, there isn’t centuries of oppression giving power to and reinforcing that statement. That is not a “gotcha” moment.

Saying “I have x IQ” or “I have X degrees” is not ableist. I’m sorry to whoever told you it was ableist (again, not you specifically anon but people who had read the “aw shucks guys” vagueblogs about it), but it’s not. Those are facts. I have no idea what my IQ is, but I have five degrees from institutions of higher education. Me saying that is in no way ableist.

Often, people mention those things to be elitist, yes. Sometimes, they can be used to say “hey I know more about this than you”. They can be used in a way that tries to make themselves feel superior. I suspect that this is the impression that a lot of people got of the post. However, there is a fine line between saying “hey that’s elitist” and professing anti intellectualism. Which is perhaps a side issue so I’ll let that go for now.

Another reason that people mention their degrees or qualifications is to establish their background knowledge and credibility. If I were to say “hey y’all I have two MA degrees” (which is true) I am not being ableist! It is a fact! It is factual! And I worked my ass off for those, I will be in student loan debt until I die for those, I have every right to mention them if I want to, and often I do so in order to establish my credibility, to explain the position I am coming from. And my prior knowledge of these topics is relevant when we are talking about literature since that’s what my degrees were on - literature and linguistics. That is why Alyssa mentioned her background, though she did pair it with comments about other people, for which she has apologized.

My final point about this is that I 1000% understand feeling insecure or less than because of educational attainment. I dropped out of high school. I had a complex about that for a long, long time. But I also know that if I took offense at someone else saying they had a PhD, then that offense is about me, not them. Someone else’s inferiority complex is not reason for people to pretend to be less than they are.

If those two comments are what overshadowed the bigger, more important issue for a lot of the readers of that post, then y’all allowed them to overshadow those more important issues. I am 99% sure that someone right now is reading this and thinking “but Leslie, it was the way that she said it!” Boy have I got some news for you!

How we react

This next section is not specific to this ask; instead, it is a discussion of how the fandom responded. If it were only one person who had said “but her tone” then I wouldn’t need to make this point. The fact that multiple people are exhibiting the behavior explained below is what makes this a cultural problem within the acotar fandom.

The main argument I saw on the post itself, and indeed any time I see people bring up how nasty Twitter can be, is that “it was a joke” and “that’s how stan Twitter works”.

No.

Those responses were quite useful for this post, though! So buckle up everyone, because I am going to talk about gaslighting, racism, respectability politics, and tone policing. While I understand that some people might have taken personal offense to what was said, there is a much bigger issue at stake that has nothing to do with individual feelings, and everything to do with ensuring that POC stay silenced and white supremacy is upheld.

Back to the “but it’s a joke” thing. Thanks for gaslighting! Great example of that, person I’m not going to tag! Gaslighting is when you make someone question their experiences, when you try to make them think “wait, did I really feel that way? Is my feeling about that valid? Do I need to re-evaluate my response to this?? Am I blowing this out of proportion???” And saying “it’s just a joke” is a perfect way to do that. Did I say something accidentally sexist? It’s just a joke, nbd! Now you’re the problem, because you didn’t understand my joke and laugh!!!

Saying “it’s a joke” or “oh they are old/young/ignorant, they will learn” is not a good response to... anything. It takes the responsibility off the people who are doing the harm, and putting it onto the people who were hurt. And in this case, anyone who read those tweets and found them harmful (which should be everyone?) is completely valid. You aren’t lesser for being angry or emotional or for seeing a problem where other people saw a joke. The people who see those things as acceptable jokes are the ones in the wrong.

This is a tactic that is used against women all the time. Any time a woman is sexually harassed at work or online, for example, and she gets upset about it, and someone chimes in with “oh they weren’t serious, can’t you take a joke?” So you can imagine what this is like for women of color.

It is a very, very common tactic for people of color to be silenced via tone policing and respectability politics. Tone policing and respectability politics are very closely related, especially in this context. The idea is that if Alyssa had just written that post in just the right way, it would have been more palatable to white people, and therefore okay to write. The idea that if she had tried to be “understanding” or “see it from their perspective” or understand that it’s “just a joke” are all ways to silence and de-legitimize any accurate, valid criticisms that were made of those tweets. It effectively re-routes the conversation away from the real issues, and to the person trying to bring them up. It’s essentially an ad hominem attack in disguise.

We see respectability politics in media when people of color who act or dress or speak like white people are afforded more respect. Or any time that a person of color is pulled over and people say, “well if they had just done what the police officer asked...” There is a pervasive idea that if people just “act” properly, aka if you act white, then the police won’t feel antagonized and try to kill arrest you. If we are nice enough, meek enough, smile enough, etc. then we will be accepted.

When we tone police, we refuse to allow marginalized people the right to be angry. We say that "hey, we can only have this discussion if you leave emotion, which you rightfully feel, at the door, and we can only continue this discussion if you behave in a way that makes me feel comfortable." But guess what? It isn’t about you! These discussions are often highly uncomfortable. There is no nice way to tell someone they are being racist. And yet somehow, that is the ever-moving goalpost. It seems reasonable, right? “Just be civil, be nice, don’t insult each other!” And there is that. But those criteria change constantly, to the point where anyone (white) at any time can say “WHOA WHOA THIS IS MAKE ME UNCOMFORTABLE???” Then we find ourselves at zero, and suddenly the focus of attention has shifted away from the actual problem.

Before we go further, I want to say this: people have a right to be angry. They do not need to make their anger palatable or tasteful for the consumption of others (read: white people).

We saw this last summer, and I’m not sure how the message didn’t get across. But people are rightfully angry about racism. They are angry about the murder of people of color by police, they are angry about lack of quality education, or clean water, of centuries of oppression that have led to this very moment when all of that ceases to matter because a white woman’s feelings got hurt one time.

And that is what pisses me off so much. There is no way in this world that we could criticize tweets like those that everyone would agree with, and that everyone would “approve” of, that would be “nice” enough and yet still be impactful and make the authors of those tweets understand the gravity of what they have done.

The least we can do is allow one another to express our anger, our outrage, because it’s highly likely that those people know exactly what the fuck they are doing, and they do not fucking care. By criticizing a woman of color for the way in which she chose to engage with this topic, we are avoiding the issue and letting the people in those tweets off the hook.

There were many responses to that post that were positive, that agreed with Alyssa. There are a ton of people who disagree with those tweets, who find them disgusting, who understand exactly how and why they are problematic. That should be what we are talking about. Getting to the core of the argument, on that post or any about racism or other problematic behavior in fandom, requires getting past our own egos. It requires us to be able to step back, say “hm this thing is frustrating but there is a bigger picture here”. It’s not easy, and I recognize that.

The fact that it is a common tactic though? To say “hey this hurt me personally and so I’m going to ignore any valid points you made?” That feeds directly into centuries of white supremacy because it, once again, silences POC and makes them try to play a losing game. And they will always lose, because no matter how hard they try to play the white game, the goalposts are constantly shifting. So you know what? Fuck the game, and fuck respectability politics, and fuck tone policing and “uwu be nice guys” because when it comes to things like racism and sexism, I don’t expect the people who deserve to be criticized to be nice. In fact, trying to be nice only serves to fuck POC over in the end.

Indeed, in response to that post, certain blogs have taken the opportunity to position themselves as “the nice ones” or “the ones who would never” or “uwu let’s be nice guys” while completely ignoring the fact that a woman of color was attacked for calling out racism. And yes - that was the point of her post. People getting hung up on mentions of her degree are (intentionally or not, it doesn’t matter) completely obfuscating the fact that that is not what her post was about, which was to call out disgusting behavior. idk how many words the post actually was, but essentially, people are focusing on 5% of it to the detriment of the 95% that was actually really important shit. These types of vagueblog posts about the issue fall into exactly what I am talking about - these are people who have decided to look at this issue, see how Alyssa (and anyone else who dares speak up) has approached it, and intentionally try to act like they are “better” because they can be “rational” and “kind”. Newsflash, if you don’t have something to be angry about, then being “nice” about racism isn’t that much of a flex. If it didn’t bother you, then congratulations. That doesn’t make you better than people it did bother. You just got lucky this time, and decided to use that to your advantage to look like the good guy.

I am not saying that all calls for peace are doing this. Obviously it’s what we all want. This is the worst I have seen this fandom in the 4+ years I’ve been here. But we cannot have that by ignoring the real problems and pretending that if we are all just nice to each other, then we will solve racism and sexism and all bullying in the fandom will stop.

So combining all of this - the gaslighting, the tone policing, and what do you get? You get a fandom that refuses to actually engage critically with its own problems and take accountability for them. You get a fandom that decides that it’s easier to be distracted by this one mean comment over here than it is to engage in the fact that you know what, the culture in this fandom has actually turned incredibly disgusting and a lot of people are just okay with it. You’ve got a fandom that is using the tools of white supremacy to avoid the discussions that should actually be taking place. Maybe people don’t realize that that’s what they are doing. But if someone still thinks that after reading this post, then godspeed my friend, I hope you enjoy Twitter.

Okay so my last thing I want to say is that I didn’t come to all of this knowledge fresh from the womb. I do a lot of work, in my personal life and my professional life, to be better. So here is a list of books that I have found particularly helpful:

How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America also by Ibram X. Kendi

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo (side note, I was kinda meh about this one but the chapter “White Women’s Tears” is particularly helpful)

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment by Patricia Hill Collins

I’m not going to talk specifically about Alyssa’s post anymore, but if anyone wants to continue talking about these broader issues going on in the fandom, I am game. (I really should be grading papers though, so it might take a bit.)

#cw racism #acotar #acosf #acotar fandom #fandom wank #fandom things #this is the long post i mentioned earlier #i will link it in my meta post

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