#Freedom of speech doesn’t protect you from saying stupid shit or people calling you out because of it lmao

[moononastring]

You know...sometimes your take is better kept to yourself because uh, it doesn’t make sense and you sound very uh, unintelligent.

#gpost #fandom wank #Freedom of speech doesn’t protect you from saying stupid shit or people calling you out because of it lmao #some of these ‘takes’ are sooo harmful and problematic it’s better you kept it up yourself #no one wants to see it lol #I’m still laughing tbh #I love the block button #I’m just being annoying and talking in GENERAL

[evienyx]

DSMP Citizens POV- Part 1

I've seen a lot of the memes going around, but I'm not funny enough to write that, so here's my addition to the trend :p

This is part one, because I had a lot of fun with this and want to do it more.

- - -

DSMP Citizen POV Masterlist

- - -

Sometimes, it was odd for the residents of the Dream SMP to be reminded of the fact that the constant state of chaos that their server was in was not, in fact, reflective of every server.

"Why did we move here?" One woman in Snowchester whispers to another as the sirens go off for yet another nuke test and they duck down into their bunker.

The other shrugs. She doesn't have an answer. No one does.

Things started out all right, the people supposed. There weren't any wars, at least. Some of those who lived on the server before the Revolution could remember back far enough to tell you about the first true conflict, between Dream, the creator of their home, and TommyInnit, a sixteen-year-old who could yell shockingly loud, even for a teenager. Dream fought against Tommy and Tubbo (yet another teenager), and it seemed to all be in good fun.

Some will tell you now, though, that the signs of tension were already there, and when Wilbur Soot joined, those tensions only escalated.

One moment, things on the server were normal, the next, there was a Revolution.

"Did anyone else hear Dream shouting about 'white flags' this morning?" One person would ask their friends, and receive nods in return. "Anyone know what it's about?"

"A Revolution," one would respond. "Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are starting a new country."

"Oh," the first would hum. "How long until they get completely crushed?"

"Eh, I give 'em a week."

It was only a week, but it did not end the way anyone thought it would. Instead, L'Manburg gained its independence after TommyInnit gave up his discs once he lost a duel with Dream.

"Is the L'Manburg cabinet missing someone?"

"No, I don't think so. Anyway, did you hear that Dream just declared that Eret is to be crowned king?"

"...Can he do that?"

"He's Dream. He can do whatever he wants."

After the Revolution, when the server finally had more than one ruling faction, more than one place to live, things seemed to pick up a bit. President Soot, with Vice President Innit (VP Tommy, the people called him), ruled over L'Manburg, and called it a place of freedom. When word spread to other servers, people came to see for themselves.

And often, they stayed.

It was peaceful, for a while.

"President Soot announced he's holding an election," one man said to his wife one day.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Said it was for democracy." The man snorted. "He and Innit are the only party running, though. Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me."

"Darling, I know you're still salty about losing the war, but there's no reason to talk bad about a child," his wife said.

The man wrinkled his nose. "Still."

It was peaceful during the campaign.

For a while.

Then, though, Quackity announced that he was running for president, with GeorgeNotFound, best friend of Dream himself, as his running mate.

"This feels like a sitcom," one girl says as she watches the debate reruns with her friends.

"At least it's entertaining," her friend replies, shoving popcorn into his mouth.

And, for the people of the Dream SMP, from both L'Manburg and the Greater SMP, it was entertaining.

Until the election results came in, Schlatt was declared the winner, and President Soot and VP Tommy were banished.

"Dude, dude!" One teen says to their friends, running up to meet them on the Prime Path.

"What is it?"

"I just saw Technoblade join the server!"

The arrival of the Blood God shifted something in the people of the Dream SMP. When he joined Pogtopia, the rebellion being led by the two ex-leaders of the country, the people felt something settle within themselves.

All of a sudden, choosing sides wasn't as simple as where you live.

It was what you care about.

As the son of the ex-president burned down the old flag, the people of the Dream SMP, of (L')Manburg and of the Greater SMP, realized suddenly that they had to make a choice.

Without even wanting to, without doing anything to deserve it, they would have to fight.

Some people went to Pogtopia, some stayed in Manburg, some in the Greater SMP. Those in the latter two stayed where they were because they wanted to stay out of it.

It didn't change anything, in the end.

In Manburg, they watched their president (Emperor) fall further and further into alcohol, yelling at his cabinet and talking of expanding into territory that they had no right to.

In the Greater SMP, murmurs of King Eret's attempts to assist the Pogtopia rebels filled the alleyways.

In Pogtopia, people sat and watched the decline of the man that they had all once believed in. As Wilbur Soot slowly devolved until he was no longer recognizable as the man who had once led people to freedom, the residents of Pogtopia ate potatoes farmed by a man famous for his bloodlust and pretended that they were sleeping somewhere warm.

The day of the Manburg Festival, though, things felt better. Other than ex-president Soot and ex-VP Tommy (Wilbur and Tommy, the two insisted. No one listened), everyone, even the rebels in Pogtopia, were invited to attend. The people wandered through the stalls playing games, watching as Soot's son attempted (in vain) to drown Technoblade, buying food, and chatting with people from other factions, friends and family that they hadn't spoken to in weeks.

When the time came for the speeches, before the true festivities were set to begin, everyone was feeling good about the day. People congratulated Secretary Tubbo for a successful event, and offered him small words of encouragement for his speech coming up. The teenager would grin at all who spoke to him, and looked (rightfully) proud of how well he organized and decorated the festival.

Secretary Tubbo gave his speech, and people clapped, and then fell silent as President (Emperor) Schlatt laughed, asked for his Vice-President's assistance, and encased the teenager in a cage of concrete.

And then he called Technoblade to the stage.

And then, in front of the people of the Dream SMP, a teenager was executed in a spray of color that shot toward the sky.

Fireworks rained down on the people in the stands, then, and, regardless of where they were from, the people of the Dream SMP ran.

The Pogtopia ranks grew that day, and a nineteen-year-old who claimed to be a doctor without showing any credentials forced four other people to help her heal VP Tommy after he fought Technoblade in a pit, egged on by a man who once might have called himself his brother.

"How is this kid not dead yet?" One of the helpers asked, looking at the unconscious teenager's face.

"Pure spite?"

The first hummed. "Sounds about right."

One day, a bit after the festival, the people of Pogtopia woke to find Vice President Quackity walking through the ravine as if he owned the place.

One resident was noted to rub his eyes, blink three times, and then say, "It's too early for this shit," before heading back to bed.

A surprising number of people followed his lead.

Finally, the day of November 16th came, when Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit vowed to take their country back.

"I heard President Soot is planning to blow up L'Manburg," one Pogtopian woman mentioned to her friend as they suited up and prepared to fight, as they had signed up to be part of the forces.

"That's stupid," her friend replied.

"Bet you ten diamonds he blows something up."

"Fine."

As the country of L'Manburg blew sky-high, one woman was seen following another, screaming that she wanted her diamonds.

When Pogtopia won the war, the forces from both sides sat outside of the remains of the van as President Soot, VP Tommy, Secretary Tubbo, Dream, Technoblade, and many more, all piled inside to confront Emperor Schlatt.

They emerged fifteen minutes later, and Dream announced to the crowd that Schlatt was dead.

There was no time for the news to sink in, as they played hot potato with the presidency, going from VP Tommy to Wilbur Soot to Secretary Tubbo.

"President Soot is leaving, do you see that?"

"Probably going to the river to celebrate the win, if you know what I mean."

"Literally shut up. Never speak again. I hate you."

As the newly-inaugurated President Tubbo finished his speech, the people felt a wave of relief wash over them. Maybe the server could finally be peaceful once more.

Then, there was the tell-tale hiss of explosives under their feet, and the people ran as the ground beneath them fell away.

Stories of what happened next are conflicting, to say the least.

Words of President Soot dying in the explosion, of him turning the blade on himself, of another man killing him.

"He had wings," people who saw the man said. "Blonde hair, a green hat and robes. He stabbed Soot with the guy's own sword."

Technoblade apparently gave an incredible speech, and anyone who was there to witness it lamented that they hadn't recorded it.

Then, two Withers flew through the sky, and blood ran down the newly-exposed stones, and people who had never experienced death on the server before finally knew what it was like to die.

Afterward, though, when the anarchist had fled and the ex-President lay dead, President Tubbo, with VP Tommy by his side, stood and addressed the people, and made promises of a brighter future, and the hope and determination in his eyes was enough for the people to hope that maybe he was right.

("Whoa, cool wings, dude," a resident of L'Manburg said to their newest neighbor, a man in green with wings, burned across all the feathers, sprouting from his back. "Wait, what happened to them?"

"Oh, I was protecting my son from the explosion," the new resident replied.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Is your son all right at least?"

"No, he died just a few minutes afterward. His last life, too." The man sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, he probably deserved it."

A beat. "What did he do?"

"Well, you may have heard of him. Wilbur Soot? He was the president here before Schlatt, I believe."

"...Holy shit, you're the bird man that killed President Soot!"

"Yeah, mate, that's me."

"...He was your son?"

"...Yeah."

"...What the fuck is wrong with your family?")

#dsmp citizen pov #dream smp #dsmp #dsmp citizen memes #these memes have been the funniest thing stg #theyre bringing some good laughs to me at the least #anyway this one was a little angsty and a little long-winded #i wanna do one soon that is more direct #like from the pov of one particular person #when i have time i will bc this was really fun #mcyt #tommyinnit #wilbur soot #dsmp citizens #tubbo #dream

[bagog]

What On Earth Has Happened

Hey, no story here, no experiments. Just a play by play of an awful year in my life. Please don't reblog. Trying to just get it down in one place for people who care about me. Long, sob-story beneath the cut.

Air - 'Things are looking up!' I had started to drift a bit from tumblr. The porno purge came and a lot of my friends trickled off the platform after that. I went back to school, attempting to score myself a Masters degree in something that would pay enough to get me out of Student Debt. I was doing great, picking things up fast. I got a new job at a company doing pretty menial work, but the people I worked with were great conversationalists. The work didn't involve dealing with customers at all, paid well, and was small and accomplishable tasks. Essentially I was being prepped to take a better position at the place once I had my Masters. Covid happened, then. Earth - 'The Whole World Sucks Right Now' My company was "essential," so I continued going to work, now on weird schedules. The company I worked for was profiting off Covid, all the while making fun of it as an overblown conspiracy, even as their own epidemiologist urged them to take better precautions. Work became hard to swallow. Water - 'When your lowest place could be lower' The apartment I shared with my boyfriend flooded. The lowest place in any sewage system is typically the bathtub, such that if it backs up, it does so into that tub. Our lowest point is the toilet. So the apartment flooded. Three times. Roots growing through the sewage outflow meant that, often, you needed to wait a solid hour between toilet flushes, or else the toilet would back up with such gusto the sewage would slosh down the hallway and into the living room. We mopped many times. The problem was finally fixed 8 months later, necessitating our having to camp because our house had no water. Fire - 'To destroy all you've done' One afternoon, I smelled burning. Going to our bedroom, I found our shelf a column of flame. I could barely breathe for all the smoke, but I managed to grab a blanket and beat the fire out. On the other side of the room, the pages of the books upon another shelf had begun to crisp from the heat, the blinds on all the windows were warped. The whole apartment had been about to go up. I'm kinda scared of fire now. Heart - 'When moving is too much to ask' Personal health sorta hit a new low. Migraines kept me out of work for two full weeks. I have seasonal foot pain, I always assumed from hiking for a living in my 20s. Turns out it was gout, all the while. Gout is exceptionally painful: it's like a messy pile of razor blades in the ball of your foot every time you step down. At work, I could barely stand. Walking from my car to the door became something I needed to psyche myself up for. Not a lot can stop a gout flare-up once it's in full swing, so I just had to wait it out. For a month. Two. Some of the worst sustained pain I've been in. Little did I know that, in January, come the kidney stones. Kidney stones feel awful. Feel like total shit. Gout and kidney stones are comorbid--brought about as a result of the meds I take to help me focus. So any day I don't drink enough water is a day when my kidneys or my foot just starts aching. But going back to September of 2020... Homophobia - 'goddammit' Finally things are looking better. I'm limping quickly again. Then I am called into the HR office. I am told that two sexual harassment charges have been brought against me. I'm told that one individual has alleged that I, while in the restroom, used a reflective toilet brush to attempt to peep him under a stall wall. I did not do this. I do not understand--reflective toilet brush?? wtf. The second allegation: I just straight up looked over a stall at a guy. I didn't do this either. I'm asked to defend myself, I ask who or date or time of day. I am given nothing. I remark that I don't think I'm tall enough to see over the stall, and I do not understand about the toilet brush. Of the ten minutes of the meeting, I spend 8 of them trying to get my head around how a claim about a reflective toilet brush has me here. "Would you like us to go now to see if you're tall enough to see over the stall? If that would help your defense?" says the HR head. "Yes, I

would," says I. We did not go. I am told that the accusers have no reason to be collaborating, or to even know each other made a claim. This is bullshit, because it was a company of 80 people, and only a quarter of those employees used the restroom where my alleged harassment was to have taken place. Before I am dismissed from work for the day to go home and wait to find out if I'll be fired or not, I march into the HR office once more and say "I hope none of this is happening because I'm gay." The HR head looks positively offended. I got fired cuz I'm gay. Next day I got a call. They'd come to the "objective truth" (that phrase is burned in my mind), and were terminating me. Apparently they discounted the toilet brush rumor, after all. But they really honestly believed I looked over the stall at a dude. Nightmare - 'No Fear One Fear' Let me tell you something: this is a nightmare. This is my honest-to-god nightmare. I've been terrified of getting accused of something in a bathroom since I was 11 years old. I am incredibly self-conscious and careful in public restrooms. To be fired? From a place full of people I like? And all of them will think I'm a pervert. My boyfriend worked at the same place. He would now have to work there every day dealing with people looking at him and wondering what he must think of his boyfriend. That sent me on a spiral. I'm still out of work, almost a year later. It would have been the worst mental health crisis of my life if it wasn't for my boyfriend, my support network, and the meds I've finally been able to get ahold of. Oh, also. My two accusers? Were roommates. HR knew they were roommates. They basically collaborated on a story to get me fired. The story circulating around the place (I still have acquaintances I talk to working there) has dropped the reflective toilet brush entirely. I guess they thought it was too unbelievable. So anyway, the people who accused me are now telling a different set of events than what I was told. Absolute horse shit. Tried to go to my city's human right's council to see if my situation warranted further attention. I gave my side of the story--including tales of the straight manager who had had enough harassment charges brought against him that he was no longer allowed to meet female staff--which indicated I'd been treated differently and wrongly. My old job made an impassioned argument that the committee violated their First Amendment rights(?) ('Freedom of speech' is the biggie with the First Amendment, for people who cba re:USA). I won the vote!! But one member of the committee was missing. So there weren't enough people for the vote to pass. Dismissed. We took it to the EEOC to make an official federal complaint. Just a week ago, an agent of the US Government patiently explained to us that these laws are literally designed to fuck over the worker and protect the employer unless they are epically stupid, and unfortunately, mine had not been epically stupid. So there's nowhere to go, no recourse to be had. It's over, I guess. Family - 'How to sum it up quickly...' My family hit me with the old soft-disown. No more calls, no more communication. They think they are loving me by not having contact with me. By depriving me of my family, they hope it will make me realize that the path I'm on is destructive, and I'll return to them living an upright life. No. I'm living an upright life, now. And if my family can choose to throw me away, then they are not a family I choose. Then my dad hit me back two months later, absolutely gaslighting me and pretending we never had the disown conversation at all. Reality - 'I don't know who I am anymore' I have trouble knowing what's real, anymore. Every message my dad sends on the surface seems loving and supportive and plaintive. I feel I must be the one in the wrong. I got fired for bullshit reasons. It doesn't feel real. "My family can't possibly have ceased contact with me: that's one of those things I know can never happen!!" But that did happen. So what else that feels real, actually isn't? I do

mean to be so dramatic, and I won't apologize for it. But I truly do feel like my mind has been pretty thoroughly unseated by the last year. Whoever I am, I'm becoming someone different. More distilled, at very least. I've discovered a lot of things about myself: trauma that has likely led to a lot of my mental health problems. Discovered I actually have RAGING ADHD, and it has robber me of a lot of things I wanted to do, and now is sort of consuming me completely. I'm looking for help. Trying to get better. Here's hoping. Every bold point above could be its own book, for all my thoughts about them. But enough of that for now. Love you. Thanks for reading.

#personal #depressed writing #life update #2020 sucked

[aesthbaby]

Her Secret

Summary: We’re all aware of Emily’s untold secrets that she took to the grave with her but what about Lauren? The one thing both woman have in common is you, and the memories they took with them in both of their deaths

Pairings: Emily Prentiss x Reader

Prompt/request: None, just an idea I’ve had in my head for a while.

Warnings: Cursing | Death

Wordcount: Almost 4k

Master List

AN: Time line might be a little spotty because the show did not give many details but I promise its still comprehensible.

Its beautiful for a sad event. The white flowers are such a stark contrast to her personality. The color reminds you of a time before, before they knew her and before all of this happened. One of your eyes feels kind of funny so you reach for it, pulling back to examine the small drop of water on your finger. You compose yourself and push the large, black, sunglasses up your nose. Maybe you shouldn’t be here. You were dressed in all black with a black umbrella. Despite it being a sad day, it was unnecessarily sunny.

You spot her team making their way down the walk way. Three men carrying the dark coffin with one Caned man in the front and the women in tow. You take a step back into the shadows as they near the podium. As the service progresses the amount of speeches and tears are--overwhelming. Images of Emily, once known to you as Lauren, flash across your mind as you hold back any and all emotions associated with this event. 

You knew she wasn't really "dead," she couldn’t be. Emily Prentiss is invincible and would never go like that. You saw the woman known as "JJ" glances your way but she says nothing about it. Probably assuming you were another one of Emily's secrets taken to the grave.

Emily’s not dead. Emily wouldn’t die like that. 

You kept repeating it in your head.

Italy - 2004

The violets surround the mansion like a protective field. Their peaceful existence mocking your volunteer imprisonment. You only took this job because you and this other agent were the only ones who spoke fluent Italian. She was supposed to take it and you were the understudy or whatever but then she got knocked up so here you are. Being mocked by fucking flowers. Your thoughts are interrupted by Doyle approaching you with his brunette arm dealer on his arm. You turn away from the balcony upon his approach.

“Lauren deve restare qui mentre scappo. Per favore, tienila d'occhio.” Lauren has to stay here while I run out. Please keep an eye on her.  He’s always been so bossy, and for what? To make himself seem more powerful than he actually is? We’re all aware of the danger working for him provides.

“Si signore.” Yes sir. You turn to acknowledge the woman in front of you but she speaks first.

“Perché? Non posso venire con te?” Why is that? Can't I come with you? She whines.

He gives her a look and she backs down. The Captain heads out with his guards behind him, leaving you alone with his lover.

You’re not sure what to do with her. Is this a form of  babysitting?

She clears her throat. “I know.”

Hearing her speak English was a surprise but it makes sense, there was always something different about her. You arch an eyebrow and reply, “Sai...che cosa?” You know....what?

She holds up a finger for you to give her a moment. She turns around and sticks her head out the door; then closes and locks it. “You’re not really from Tirana, are you?” Who is this woman? You maintain a neutral face while she continues. “The fact that you never eat with us was a dead give away. You’re always held up in this room.” She gestures to the large room filled with files, records, and books. “Like you’re trying to avoid something. I’d also like to point out how you rarely present any Albanian customs.” Where are you going with this Reynolds... “At first I thought, ‘Maybe they’re one of Doyle’s assassins that I’m not supposed to know about.’ But then I started paying attention and realized you’re nothing like that.” You let out a sharp breath. “Its okay.” She takes one of your hands. “I won’t tell Ian. There’s already enough death in his life and I wouldn’t want to see you be one of his next victims.”

You’re stuck in the moment and words are hard to form. All of your training is slipping through your fingers. For all you know she could be bluffing, trying to get you killed. You go with your safest option because you don’t know this woman at all. You pull your hand from her and take a step closer. Peering into her eyes for any sign of fear and when you find none, you proceed. Leaning in as close as possible to her. “Non farei acquisizioni così pericolose se fossi in te.” I wouldn't make such dangerous acquisitions if I were you. You whisper. You could never be sure if your suspicions were correct but this, this was all the confirmation you needed. What’s that old saying? Takes one to know one. “Agente.” Finishing off that last word you brush past her.

Virginia - present

 Being back in The States with Doyle still running around is unnecessarily risking. Emily’s defeat is the only reason you’ve come back. To watch her team grieve over the coffin is saddening but having to hide is the shadows is unfair. Am I not allowed to publicly grieve? Are my tears not worthy? The grip on your umbrella tightens. She’s not dead. Emily doesn’t loose. Emotions are running high and the speeches are getting long. Last time you talked, she claimed to be alone. No family and no fiends but clearly she was wrong. What you’d give to be laying under a plum tree on a wool woven blanket with her head in your lap. Eating pastries you raided from the kitchen and telling the Captain that you needed her to help analyze costs. What a fool.

You were so entranced with the memory that you didn’t notice when the pale, dark haired agent approached you. Aaron Hotchner, the unit chief if I’m not mistaken. “Agent.” He acknowledges.

“Sir?” You mumble.

“Your profession was easy enough to guess, though I’m not sure of your name.” Those knitted brown sweaters and golden, dainty necklaces. The short chestnut hair with soft curls that smelled of honey shampoo. The way she’d nudge your foot during dinner while casting discreet glances. Its all gone. “Agent?” He calls again. “Are you alright?”

Before you say anything you make sure your voice is clear. “Tell me Agent Hotchner, did she suffer?” That question didn’t need to be answered but you just had to know. A favor was called in on your behalf by Lieutenant Parks, he gave very few details about her death but you’ll take that over nothing at all. This was the one question you didn’t have an answer for. With nothing but silence from the man, you have your answer.

Reaching for your pocket there’s a small clear box; inside of the plastic is a handful of pressed violets. Without looking you hold the slim box out to him. “Please, make sure she gets them.” After he takes them you make one last note of the sight in front of you. All of her friends, family, and coworkers gathered in one place with Emily’s grave as the centerpiece. You turn to finally face the man, tilting your shades so he can see a bit of your eyes. “Dead or alive.” And then disappearing in to the back of the cemetary.

Italy - Spring of 04′

Two months ago you were staring off of Doyle’s Spanish-styled balcony thinking, “What would happen if I called it quits?” You had enough evidence and entail for him to never see freedom again. So what was stopping you?

Her. She was making you second guess.

After having her call you out for being a spy, you were very careful about what you did and said around her. Its not like she had any definitive proof but at the same time neither did you. What you said that day was a total bluff. Its a miracle you’re still alive. You were left with only two conclusions: one was that she herself is a spy, or two, she’s one of the smartest people Ian has ever brought home.

Then came a day where the boys went out to wherever and it was just you, her, and the maids. Most of them are Russian and speak poor Italian so they usually keep to themselves. You’re at the dining room table pretending to run numbers since that’s literally your job- well that and vetting backgrounds of sellers and buyers. Essentially a secretary with dangerous patrons. The position is mind numbingly boring but it does allow you to remain invisible while observing the operation. Think about it, who’s going to notice the secretary while discussing millions? They’re idiots. They allow you to sit in on every single meeting because you’re just the person who runs numbers. A debatable perk to this job is the amount of free time you posses. Usually its spent digging around the operation, sending information back to HQ, or actually enjoying small aspects of the city. That brings you to right now where you’re doodling random shapes on the bottom corner of the paper.

Lauren is on the couch wearing a button up satin dress, quite short for Ian’s taste so you’re surprised to see her wearing it. She’s read something you’ve never heard of, not that it matters. With no idea why she’s in here with you, you retreat back into your own mind.

“The maids have left.” You suddenly hear beside you, nearly jumping out of your skin.

“You scared me!” At the realization of your chosen language you gasp and watch as Lauren smiles widely. You shoot to your feet repeating no over and over. Actively trying to take back your words while she looks rather amused.

“I knew it!” She points at you all accusingly and shit. You keep shaking your head no and trying to get her to be quiet. “I was right about you!” And here’s the perfect time to have a maid to walk in. Lauren says something to her but you’re too wrapped up in your head to translate. All your years of training, expierence, undercover work has just been thrown away over your stupid mistake.

They’re going to kill me. They’re going to have my head on a stake in the middle of the garden for the world to see- or worse! I’ll be tortured for my crimes by one of Doyle’s men.

You’re pulled out of your thoughts by the brunette waving her hand in front of your face. “Don’t worry,” She say softly as you notice the house keeper is no longer with you. “I told her they could take a break...” At your confused face she continues. “So now we can talk.”

Virginia - present

To say you had no idea where you were going, was an understatement.

You hadn’t been to Virginia in years so everything felt unfamiliar. You took quick peaks at your surroundings as the rented porshe pushed through the traffic. Everything hurt, not the traditional pain you experience over a broken toe but the emotional kind that coursed through your entire body.

Is this what a broken heart feels like?

You kept telling yourself she wasn’t dead; couldn’t be. Not your Emily, the woman you know is a fighter. She’s fucking invincible and would never let herself die at the hand of that monster. If she was really dead, wouldn’t you feel it? Wouldn’t you feel your connection to her sever?

At the reorganization of the build ahead of you, you pull the car into the left lane.

Italy - Spring of 04′

She is so fucking clingy. Always starring at me when no one is watching and going on less missions with Doyle. Speaking of him, the man likes to take her everywhere; calls her “Ho il mio portafortuna” his good luck charm. She usual goes out with him whenever he’s traveling but lately she’s been making little excuses on why she wants to stay for the day. Instead of spending the day recuperating from a headache (like she’s told him) she’ll bother you.

That accent and the way she pronounces her R’s makes you wanna melt, but then she starts asking you a million and one questions. What’s your favorite food? When’s your birthday? Have you ever broken a bone? Do you enjoy reading? Its always something with her. I think she’s trying to annoy me. So far you’ve been answering her questions in Italian to insure that you don’t fuck up again.

Doyle is none the wiser, he still sees you as a secretary and her as arm candy.

But you must admit that Lauren is growing on you. She hasn’t said anything in English to you lately or exposed you to Doyle. You’re rarely ever alone but when you are, she gives you one of her finished books and sits in the room quietly. Its comforting. Today she’s given you Niccolo Ammaniti with a note scribbled in pencil on the 5th page, “Hang in there.” Smart woman, writing it in light pencil so I can easily erase it without leaving a trace...also paranoid woman but rightfully so.

Virginia - present

You adjust your shoe so as not to slip before going into the building and suck the shades into your pocket. The giant letters, I. O. D. S. stare back at you in Ariel font.

Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this. Just accept her death and move on.

Inside of Investigations of Death Services you nod to the secretary, an ex of yours, and continue on to your destination. While in the elevatored your vision feels blurry but now isn’t the time for tears. Arriving at your floor, you spot his office and walk in without so much as a knock or invitation.

“One second,” he speaks into the phone. “Can I help you?” His dark eyes look angry, like he doesn’t recognize you. You take a step forward, offering your closed palm to him. “What? What is this? A fucking magic trick?” You slowly open your palm towards him, revealing the silver clover pin. The suited man looks like he’s just seen a ghost. “Shane, I’ll have to call you back.” He hangs up the phone, then reaches from you hand. “Where did you get this?”

Snatching you hand back and putting the silver back in your pocket. “You really don’t remember me, do you?”

He narrows his eyes on you before answering. “Can’t say I do.”

“Back in 03′ you knocked up Carin and proposed I go on assignment. Granted I was the only person who was fluent in Italian--or so I thought. Come to find out there were five other agents who could’ve been assigned there. You chose me because I was up for your job.” Your anger is boiling over quickly. “You were a shitty employee and they were ready to fire you.” You take a daring step forward. “Until you proposed infiltrating Valhalla with one of the foreign operative agents. You told them there were only two fluent agents. Back then we had never met but I knew who you were, Hell, we all knew how much of a screw up you were. Guess you don’t recognize me anymore? I mean in your defense its been years and I’ve lost a few pounds due to the stress you caused me but that’s for another day. How about we go back to 2003.” For a man with toxic masculinity issues, he looks pretty scared. “You couldn’t just out right suggest me so you have to offer up someone else. Coincidently Carin got pregnant right around the time she was starting her training, by you I might add, and could no longer go.” A wide smile starts to grow on your face. “Bet you were counting on my death, huh?” Awe poor baby seems to be shaking. “No...you’re too much of a pussy for that. I bet you were hoping I’d go to Italy and screw things up for the whole operation.” Now you’re toe-to-toe with him. “Mess up so bad that they’d have pull me out and demote me. Or! Reveal myself and hope Doyle’s men killed me or I’d go sprinting home with my tail between my legs.” His silence is starting to irritate you. “So which is it, Mark? Hmm? Cat got your tongue?”

“I’m sorry!” He yells with a reddened face. Out of the corner of your eye you see his co-works looking through his glass walls but you couldn’t care less. “I’m sorry, y/n. What do you want from me? I’ll do anything!” Now we’re getting somewhere.

You push the pin into his face “Where is she, Mark?”

“Where is who?” He’s still fucking shaking.

“Asking me another stupid question and there will be hell to pay.” You’re not really going to hurt him but considering the circumstances, this is justified. The man put your life on the line over some stupid position, a bit of threatening wouldn’t hurt.

“Okay okay. All I know is that after you left she was taken by ALPHA and later faked her death. When Lauren Reynolds died, Emily Prentiss got to go home and Ian Doyle went to a North Korean prison.”

“And now...”

“Last I heard she was working for the Behavioral Analysis Unit at the FBI but was recently killed under suspicious circumstances.” At your expression, he continues. “We know she died during a scuffle with Doyle and there was a funeral but we are yet to have a death certificate on record. Sometimes it take anywhere from a week to a month for us to receive proper records on agent deaths. I thought that-”

“Stop, talking.” You cut him off through gritted teath.

Italy - Autumn 04′

“What is your problem, Lauren?” You’re out on the patio in front of the pool on a warm day. Lauren has a four course meal on the table, courtesy of the chefs.

“Nothing...” She shrugs with a mouthful of strawberry.

“You want me to leave.”

Another fucking shrug.  

“Be serious.” You’re trying to stop yourself from stomping your foot.

She puts down her food and clasps her hands together. “Yes I want you to leave.” You watch as she gets up and smooths her skirt; taking your hands in hers. “Your time is thinning and you’ve been her a lot longer than me.”

“And leave you here alone? No way, I know you’re invincible but even Superman had his down fall.”

“Superman?” She loops you in closer. “Why not superwoman? Awfully sexist of you.”

“Oh, shut up.” You nudge her back a bit. “But wouldn’t you miss me?”

She gives you one of her wide smiles. “Let me show how much I’d miss you.” She leans in for a light kiss against your lips.  You pull away quickly so as not to be seen. El, like the letter, picked out a blind spot that’s covered partially in shadows. “I have to leave in 15 minutes but until then...” She trails with a very telling expression.

“Where?” You laugh. “Not in the second floor bathroom again because that was...tight.”

Her perfectly plucked eyebrow arches upward,  “And you were loud!”

You hop past her to sneak a grape. “Hey! You do know that was mine, right?”

“What are you going to do about it, Superwoman?” You turn to grab another grape, while doing so you feel her presence behind you. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, L.”

“Oh why not?” She lightly trails down your backside. “It’ll be so much fun.”

You turn back to her. “Ten minutes?”

“In the library?” She smirks and you nod along.

Virginia - present

This four hundred dollar airplane ticket is going to serve its purpose but paying it back is going to suck. Your government salary was nice and all but $400 is still a lot.

Just two days before, you rushed around you place to pack all of the essentials for a quick flight to Paris; charger, hygiene, two outfits, and the pin all tucked into a stylish backpack.

That brings us here, standing in the streets of downtown Paris alongside the buzzing mopeds weaving through the streets. In front of you is the little café Elle would go on and on about, naturally this is the first place you could think to look.

You didn’t even know what you were looking for. The woman you fell for was a brunette with light curls and bangs.

You were looking for Emily. The woman Lauren introduced you to. The woman you grew to love in the same way you love Lauren, but Lauren is dead. Has been for awhile, now its time to find Emily. Your Emily.

You find nothing, no one who even slightly revels Emily on your first day there. So you find a hostel to lay your head in and continue on the next day. Again and again with the same routine for five days straight.

You wasted all of your time here for what? A memory? A dream? Two woman who no longer exist on the same astral plane as you?

That’s when you see it, a head of dark brown hair a few tables ahead of where you’re standing. With all hope lost you almost think its a mirage. 

You sit a few tables ahead of her, careful to keep your face hidden. When the waiter comes around to take your order you give him very specific instructions.

Emily’s POV

Being a dead woman is lonely and isolating...at least the coffee is good. The waiter who dropped off the hot beverage not too long ago has circled back with a cheese croissant in hand. That’s odd, I hate cheese croissants. “Cette personne là-bas m'a demandé de te livrer ça.” That person over there has asked me to deliver this to you. He points over his shoulder to a person who’s face I can’t quite make out. “Ils m'ont également demandé de vous donner ceci.” They also asked me to give this to you. He reaches from his front pocket and softly places a silver clover pin that I haven’t seen in years, and a pressed Violet. I can feel the air drain out of my lungs at the objects in front of me. “Merci beaucoup.” The only person who knows what these objects mean are Doyle and-

At the sense of being watched my head shoots up at the source. At first there’s nothing there but then I spot the familiar figure. Its been weeks since I’ve actually seen them, it can’t be. I must be seeing things. Closing my eyes and taking in a deep breathe, I open them to see that they’re gone.

“Boo.” I hear in my right ear; looking up to see y/n standing beside me with a bright smile.

“You scared me!” Realizing how loud I am, I take a breath.

“Miss me Elle?” I left you behind, twice. I died twice without letting you know. You’ve had to start over too many times and its not far.

“Y/n, how did you find me?”

“Really, Elle. Did you really think I’d fall for that party trick you pulled at the BAU? I’m not dull, and besides,” Y/n/n gently puts their hand over mine on the coffee mug. “You’re my Superwoman, you’ll never die.”

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･**･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*˚✧₊⁎ ⁎⁺˳✧༚ ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･ﾟ･*:.

@beyondprincess @confused-and-really-hungry @millipop18 @supercorp8388 @groovygoob  @emilyprentisswife@covetedcoven @justaghostmonument @rabid-wild-misfits @nomit16 @afuckingshituniverse @mys2425  @fanfictionfangirl04  @aaron-hotchner187 @lisztomaniacalice @thestrawberrygirl  @miidguardian-exe @criminalmindsmoodrn @ssacandice-ray @davidrossiismydad @garcias-batcave @ssaemxlyprentxss @andreaxxg13 @emilyprentissistoocute @mortallythoughtfulgurl @iamyouknow-yours @aesthbaby​

#emily prentiss x reader #emily prentiss #reader x emily prentiss #agent emily prentiss #prentiss x reader #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #fbi fanfic #fbi x reader #fbi cbs #fbi #cbs #x reader #emily prentiss x you #emily prentiss x y/n #x y/n #you x emily prentiss #lesbian #emily prentiss fanfic #hurt/comfort #secret #female reader #bau #emily prentiss x fem!reader #reader interactive #reader insert

[harryhooksgazebos267]

Broken Trust~ Part 15

Paring: Bang Chan x reader; Mark Tuan x reader(arranged marriage)

Genre: Mafia au, angst, little bit of everything honestly

Warnings: Cursing, mafia life shizzle

MASTERLIST

It had been about a month since you decided to go with Mark. Ever since then, he had been attached to your hip, barely giving you time to breathe on your own. Was it annoying? Hell yes but you had no choice but to just suck it up and deal with it. JYP and Mark started to plan your wedding more seriously and they were constantly asking you questions about shit you didn’t care about. If you weren’t marrying the person you wanted, why did it matter what the wedding looked like. There was one thing you were looking forward to though.

Wedding dress shopping.

Even if you didn’t care what everything else looked like, you could still look rocking in your outfit. Plus, it would be one rare occasion where you could be away from Mark. Even though he was hesitant to let you go without him. But in the end, you were able to convince him to let you just go with some of the girls.

Best and worst idea ever.

You see the thing is, the people who came with you were Irene, Joy, Seulgi, Jihyo, Sana, Yeji, and Lia. So half of them were with JYP and half on Stray Kids side.

Yikes.

You were kind of glad that you didn’t blow twice’s and itzy’s cover to red velvet or else that would have been real awkward. 

AnYwAyS, you currently were trying on some dresses, in fact you were on your 5th one but none of them hit in the way that you wanted them to. Sighing, Sana suggest trying on the big ball gown dress that she had picked out, which you agree to cause why not. Might as well, right? As you turn around to go back to the dressing room, Jihyo’s voice stops you.

“Hey y/n, do you want me to help you try it on? I bet that ones gonna be a little hard to get on,” Jihyo said with a wide smile.

You give her a confused look considering you had just been having the bridal stylist help you the entire time.

“Uh yeah sure.”

Once you make it to your dressing room, Jihyo asks the stylist to go pick out a couple more dresses while she helps you. Once you’re alone, her happy demeanor turns into a serious one.

“I’m sorry to have to do this here but there’s literally no time where you aren’t by Mark or his yes men.”

“What’s up?” You question her as you step out of the dress you had on and stepped into the big one.

“Listen y/n, I know that you wouldn’t have just chosen to marry Mark willingly so I just want to know what’s up. If you’re scared that he’ll harm you or something you shouldn’t be! You’re under Stray Kids, Blackpink, Twice, and ITZY’s protection. We aren’t going to let you get hurt.”

“It’s not me that I’m worried about,” You confess after a few moments.

“What do you mean?” She questions as she zips up the dress.

“Listen, is there anyway that we could meet to talk later on tonight? Like at 10? And if you’re able to can you ask Blackpink to come too? Even if it’s just one of them that’s fine. We could meet in the training room and then go somewhere secluded to sneak bp in or something I don’t know,” You ask her once she’s done zipping you.

“Of course, are you going to be able to sneak out without Mark noticing though?” She questions while fluffing up the dress a little.

“If I say I’m going to train with you I think he’ll let me. I still don’t understand why he’s making me share a room with him though,” You state with an eye roll.

“I can’t even take a shit without him freaking out,” You joke causing Jihyo to snort a little.

“I bet.”

“Jihyo one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“Stray Kids can’t know that this is happening though. Just because I’m willing to explain what happened to you guys doesn’t mean I want them to know.”

“Y/n,” She sighs.

“Please, I don’t want to make a bigger mess then I already have,” you plead.

“Fine but if they find out I putting the blame on you.”

Nodding your head, the two of you exit the room to show off the dress, which honestly wasn’t too bad but it still wasn’t what you wanted.

“Oh that dress is horrible,” Irene said absolutely disgusted.

“What? She looks stunning in it! Y/n, if you weren’t marrying Mark I totally would marry you,” Sana said with a wink.

Ah yes, your gay supportive queen.

Anyways, after about an hour more of dress shopping you finally were able to “say yes to the dress” which was nice. By the time everything was done, you were pretty exhausted and hungry.

“I’m starving,” Sana complained as you all pilled into the car.

“Sucks to suck I guess,” Joy said giving her a little shrug.

“Don’t be shy, stop and get us food,” You said causing Lia and Yeji to hum in agreement. 

“Starve,” Irene said as she whipped out of the parking lot.

“Calm down speed demon,” Jihyo muttered.

The rest of the day went by as a blur. You didn’t really do much, you kind of just followed Mark around like a little puppy since, again, he very rarely let you leave his side. You were sitting in Marks office as he was looking over some documents. You were extremely bored so you kind of were just doodling on a piece of paper. Glancing up at the clock, you saw that it was 9:45.

“Hey Mark,” You call out softly.

“Yeah?” He responded, not looking up from the document he was reading.

“Is it okay if I go train with Jihyo for a little?”

This peaked his interest a little.

“Why?”

“Because if I have to sit in this stupid office one more second I think I’m going to die of boredom,” You whine.

“How long do you plan on training for?”

“I don’t know, probably a couple of hours.”

“Sure, go ahead, just be back by 12,” Mark sighs.

“Wait really?” You say with a wide smile.

“Yeah why not,” He answers matching your smile.

“Thanks Mark! I’ll see you later,” You say as you quickly stand up so you can change your clothes. Gotta make it more believable.

“Y/n wait,” Mark calls out, causing you to stop.

“I’m...I’m sorry for the lack of freedom you’ve had. I promise you that once we’re married things can go back to how they were before everything happened with him. I just want to make sure that nothing happens to you before then.”

You don’t really know what to say so you just nod your head slightly. Making sure he had nothing else to say, you exit his office making your way up to your room. You rip your clothes off quickly and throw on the first workout outfit you saw. You honestly hopped that all of Blackpink could come, it had only been a month yet you missed them so much. The thought of being able to see them again made you so excited. After looking at yourself in the mirror, you exited your room and made your way down to the training room. Entering, you were pleasantly surprised to find that the only person in the room was Jihyo. Usually the room was filled with people, usually young rookies, training.

“I just kicked everyone out,” Jihyo said nonchalantly, “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve done it.”

“Smart move, smart move. So, are they coming?” You question, eager to know if she was able to message them.

“Yes ma’am, just waiting for the call letting me know that they’re here.”

“Gosh I’m so excited to see them, I’ve missed them so much.”

“They’ve missed you too. Everyday they ask about you, so does Stray Kids,” She informs you.

A bitter sweet smile forms on your face.

“It’s good to know they don’t hate me.”

“They’re more worried and confused honestly.”

You open your mouth to respond but are cut off by Jihyo’s phone going off. After a quick exchange, Jihyo opens the back door of the training room and glances both ways to make sure no one was outside, after a couple of seconds, you see Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa enter the room, all dressed in black.

“Y/n, make sure the front door is locked,” Jihyo calls out.

You jog over to the front door, lock it, and make sure the windows are covered, Jihyo doing the same for the back door.

“Y/n!” Lisa squeals as she rushes over to you and brings you into a hug, Rosé following after her lead.

“Gosh I’ve missed you guys,” You sigh as you pull away from Lisa and go to hug Rosé, a large smile planted on your face.

“We’ve missed you too! We’ve been worried sick about you,” Rosé says with a sad look on her face.

“It looks like you’ve lost weight, have you been eating?” Rosé asks as she takes in your appearance. 

“Yes I’ve been eating mom,” You laugh off.

“Well, you know why we’re here so you might as well tell us everything,” Jennie comments coldly, Jisoo not saying anything.

Big yikes.

You nod your head while you signal for them all to take a seat on the floor.

“Before I start, I want to make it very clear that Chan and the rest of the boys are not allowed to know any of what I’m going to say. It’s just going to make things worse and I’m not changing my mind about the decision I made, am I clear?”

The girls all glance at each other before turning back to you and nodding. 

With a satisfied head nod, you go into detail about what Mark had said and how if you chose to be with Stray Kids that he wouldn’t stop until he had killed everyone of them. You then explained how that he promised that if you were to marry him and pick him over Chan then he wouldn’t kill any of them.

“I know it sounds stupid but Mark is a man of his word. If he says he’s going to do something, he means it and I just, I couldn’t take the risk. I know I probably hurt you guys and I’m sorry but you have to understand that I’m doing this for your own safety,” you say, ending your long speech.

“That’s bullshit,” Jennie states while shaking her head.

“What?”

“I said that’s bullshit! You’re coming back with us now y/n. I don’t care what fake promises he has made you, it isn’t a good enough reason,” She fumes while standing up and grabbing your arm.

“Jennie you don’t understand! I want to go with you, I really do but I just...I can’t risk it.”

“Jihyo has been telling us how miserable you look and how controlling Mark has been, we’ll be damned if we let you stay here another minute,” Jisoo finally speaks up.

“But it’s not your decision to make,” You argue back.

“Y/n, listen to me. I know, you’re scared about what Mark can do but we aren’t little powerless kids. We can fight back against him but you have to trust in our abilities. Please, just come back home with us, don’t throw your life away for our sake” Jennie pleads. 

You look over to Jihyo, hoping to get some type of support from her.

“Don’t look at me, I’m with them on this one. You marrying Mark isn’t going to solve anything. It’s just going to anger Chan more and it’s just going to add more fuel to his fire. It’s going to add fuel to all the boys fire. What do you expect is going happen once they get angry? They’re just going to attack JYP and that’s going to give a reason for Mark to kill them. His promise is one that I know he can’t keep and even if he does, he never promised you that he won’t hurt or lock them up. I feel like no matter what you do, you can’t stop Mark or the boys from trying to kill each other.”

Jihyo did have a good point....

“But if you guys could just convince them not to, then we could avoid all of that,” you suggest even though you know it was a dumb hope to have.

“And you think that’s going to work? Chan loves you y/n and as far as he knows, you still love him so he isn’t going to stop until he gets you back,” Rosé comments.

“Well maybe I could convince him that I don’t love him.”

“As if he would ever believe you,” Lisa said with a little eye roll.

“I just...I would rather him hate me and believe a lie then know the real reason. I know you guys think it’s a bad idea and that I should just leave but I, I can’t. If I marry Mark, I feel like it gives me more time to figure everything out. He isn’t going to do anything that could possibly mess up my image of him anymore then it already has been and if I do I might be able to gain his trust back. So I know for a fact he won’t kill any of you guys, not before our wedding at least. I just need you all to keep the boys under control in the mean time.”

“I understand what you’re saying Y/n but I just...if you go through with marrying Mark, I’m worried that you’ll be stuck with him forever and we won’t be able to figure a way to solve anything,” Jihyo says, voicing her concerns.

“Maybe, but I think right now that’s our best bet.”

You all sit in silence, the weight of the situation falling upon everyone’s shoulders. 

“So, what do you want us to tell the boys when we get home? I’m sure they’re going to be asking questions,” Lisa spoke up, breaking the silence.

“Mix a lie with the truth. Tell them that you met with Jihyo and I and tell them that I explained that I wasn’t changing my mind and that I don’t regret my choice. Just say that I confessed to knowing about plan awaken and that I’m in love with Mark. I don’t know, just say something like that.”

“And if Chan or any of them want to come and talk to you?”

“Have them go through Jihyo, and maybe I could meet up with them in secret. It might hit them a little harder if I say it to them in person. I think having Chan come would be the best bet because if he thinks I’m telling the truth then so will the rest of Stray Kids.”

“And what about us? Are we allowed to come visit you?” Jennie asked.

“I don’t know...Jihyo, if I said I was training with you once a week, do you think Mark would get suspicious? He did apologize to me today about the lack of space he’s been giving me so maybe he’ll be more willing to let me come here, no questions asked.”

“I think if you catch him on a good day and ask him the right way he wouldn’t mind.”

“Then I guess we can meet once a week maybe...but what about Stray Kids? Wouldn’t they catch on?” You question.

“Well to be fair, we still are under YG so they don’t know all of our business. For all they know we could just be going on a mission,” Jisoo comments.

“That’s true...well I’m down for that. This way you’ll be able to update me on things and vise versa.”

You glance over to the clock on the wall and nearly shit bricks when you see it 12:30.

“Oh shit he’s gonna kill me! How in the fuck did it even get so late so quickly? I don’t even have time to get sweaty to make it seem like I was training,” You rant as you begin to freak out.

“Just tell him that originally we were going to train but then we ended up just catching up on life or something, I don’t know but you better get a move on it before he comes down here,” Jihyo comments as she rushes to open the back door and let the other girls out.

After saying a quick goodbye, you sprint back up to your room. Once you make it to your bedroom door, you slowly open it, praying that Mark was asleep.

“You’re late.”

“I know, I’m sor-”

You stopped mid sentence as you taken in Mark’s appearance. It seemed like he just got out of the shower as his hair was wet and he only had black sweatpants on and a black silk robe that was left untied and opened, leaving his chest exposed. You still were getting used to see Mark like this, so whenever you did see him with his chest out in the open it always threw you off.

“Close your mouth before flies go in it,” He mumbles while taking a seat at the edge of the bed and crossing his arms.

“Fuck off,” you say as you feel your cheeks getting hot.

“You know, you’re going to have to get used to me walking around like this. We are getting married in case you forgot.”

“How could I forget,” You answer bitterly as you go to grab your pajamas to change.

“Don’t sound so excited.”

“Mark, I don’t feel like getting into this now. I’m tired and I just want to jump in the shower and go to bed.”

Not hearing him say anything else, you take a quick shower before going through your nightly routine and laying down on your side of the bed. 

“Y/n?”

“What?”

“Are you cold?”

“I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“....”

“....”

“You know you might not be happy right now and you might feel like I’m ruining your life but I can promise you that one way or another I’m going to make you love me and I’m going to make you happy.”

“....”

“....”

“Goodnight Mark.”

“Goodnight.”

TAG LIST (feel free to send me an ask if you would like to be added to the tag list or if you would like me to send a private message every time I update <3): @elenaramos1 @yup-indecisive-girl-cece @ewok7attack @0leelina0 @letterstoskz @lilacyeonjun @leesalts @craftymoonchaos @pajerita19 @basebalgirl70 @imagining-constantly @exfolitae @sangiejoong​

Part 16

MASTERLIST

#bang chan x reader #mark tuan x reader #bang Chan mafia au #Mark Tuan mafia au #stray kids #got7 #stray kids mafia au #got7 mafia au #bang chan #mark tuan #skz #skz mafia au #blackpink #twice #itzy #red velvet #jihyo #sana #lia #yeji #irene #joy

[onisiondrama]

PART 7 - video #13

(Click here for mirrors)

what’s up

(Sorry for the offensive language in this one. He’s pretty pissed.) - He wants to discuss the legal case. He filed an anti harassment protection order against two individuals. One of them has been harassing him for the last 8-10 years. This person deleted earlier videos, but Greg’s life is this guys’s obsession. It’s crazy how obsessed he is. Greg is no doubt on this guy’s mind 24/7. It’s creepy and weird. Lately he’s been documenting ever aspect of every interaction he has in Greg’s world. The dude just make $20,000 on attorney’s fees on a case Greg had dismissed. You guys payed some dude to show up to court and hear the case was dismissed. Numbskulls. If you’re a Youtuber and someone tells you to stop talking about them, why would you hire an attorney to go into court and speak for you? Dude couldn’t even speak for himself. He was just sat there smirking like a jackass while he’s losing his hair and gets fatter. Total idiot, punk ass bitch. Greg was overwhelmed be how much of a bitch he was. - Greg was standing there with his bulletproof vest and people wonder why he was wearing that. “Christina Grimmie anyone?” He knows she wasn’t shot in the bulletproof vest area, but life is a danger when you show up to a court room where a bunch of people thinks you prey on children. Where are the children by the way? Who even made this up? Because he was blackmailed into sleeping with an 18 year old, now he’s into kids? He doesn’t understand the leap in logic. - The other person the case was against was someone who used to specialize in going after people who go after children. He’s trying to make it look like Greg would want to go after a child like that. It’s pathetic and one of the dumbest thing he’s ever seen. When he dated Shiloh when she was 17 1/2. They spoke to the police and they cleared him of any inappropriate images on his computer and everything. He was 100% cleared with Shiloh. Another relationship where he’s still married to the person, so that worked out. Another relationship where someone was 19. Another who was 18 1/2. Someone we don’t know about was 26. Someone we don’t talk about was 24. The wife before was 24 when they separated. People obsess over these relationships and try to relate it to children. They don’t want to go after people who go after 12 year old, they go after people who date adults. - Says this is the funniest thing: “Well they’re still mentally a child,” There are 50 year olds who are mentally a child and there are 18 year olds that are mentally 90. That’s a fact. When he was 17 he had the maturity of a 40 year old male. He was a little dark and goth, but very capable.  - At the court case Greg is sitting across from this pasty, greasier than him, looks like he never saw the sun in his life, beta male, pathetic, he’s definitely getting a double chin soon.[Greg is laughing] He’s smirking at the judge and Greg thought he was an idiot because he’s smirking in court like an ass hat. Judges likes to see people taking it seriously. - Greg went to court and asked for it to get dismissed because anti harassment protection orders are more open and close when the person isn’t a public figure. The problem is you have an ex who hates your guts and now he wants to stalk you, that’s illegal. Now he started a tumblr about you so now in court he just has to say he’s protected by the Constitution, freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Your lawyer can argue that they’re a stalker, but that’s stressful. Now you have to argue the constitution. He avoided going in there and arguing the constitution against people who are Youtubers, not journalists. Journalism used to mean you work for someone, now it means you have a blog. - [This section is sarcasm btw.] Chris is still a journalist even though he was released from his contract after someone killed themselves. He’s a journalist because he livestreams, which is what a 13 year old could do. Congratulations. - Being a youtuber isn’t a prideful thing. If you think you’re a big deal because you have a few million subscribers, you’re a joke, Youtube is a joke. Youtubers who take themselves seriously and think they have an impact on the world are jokes. They’re all pathetic because there are real hardworking people out there like soldiers, construction workers, and scholars. Youtubers are morons. - Real journalists go to Iraq or go in a storm and talk about the weather. A journalist isn’t a dude who works with a dude who is perused in court for sexual assault while dating a much younger women while going after people online who date younger women and act like they’re predators. That’s “retard paradox.” - A journalist from Newsweek approached him in the courthouse and it was one of the most bleh experiences he had in his life. “Pathetic” is too much of a dignified word for this person. He walked up to Greg and said, “yo Onision. I really want to hear your side of the story. I’m not anti-o. I really just care about the truth, you know?” Greg ignored him and kept looking at his phone. The guy said, “Ok I get it, I get it. You don’t trust me but you gotta know you can trust me.” Greg wanted him to fuck off. He doesn’t trust a single reporter on this earth because they are looking for headlines, just like Youtubers. Especially Newsweek. The articles they write about him are totally baseless. They don’t care. He sees no credentials. He sees someone who flunked out of high school or didn’t go to any journalism school working for Newsweek. This guy followed Greg into the bathroom even though he knew Greg didn’t want to talk to him. “Just say one word Greg.” His name is JAMES. [He lists his old names.] They’re too stupid to get his name right. “I’m Greg James bitch!” [I have no idea what he’s quoting but he’s been saying that for a while now.] - He gets in the court room and there are emo girls with dyed hair everywhere. Fucking morons. “When did this court room become a clown show?” He mimics them giggling and saying “that’s onision.” He says he should have just brought mace. [He pretends to spray mace onto the people in the court room and laughs.] These chicks are taking pictures and saying look at his snow boots. He says he doesn’t have dress shoes so he wore snow boots. Those are his ass kicking boots. One stomp and you’re done. He came prepared for war. - Hansen’s lawyer comes up and says he was never served so they want it dismissed even though he’s well aware he’s supposed to be here cuz he sent me. Legally, Greg guesses, you have to get served in order to show up, but Chris publicly acknowledged he was supposed to be there. He could fly across the country to have the cops called on him but he can’t fly across the country to show up in court. Pussy, moron, douche bag. Where is the money going? What is he spending it on? His debts? You guys don't realize you're getting played because you paid someone $20,000 for $2,500 in fees, which he says probably wasn’t even that much because the case was open and close. The attorney wasn’t even there for an hour. You have pussy boy who has an attorney speaking for him and Greg speaks for himself. He tells the judge he got legal advise and is taking a different legal avenue. He is literally doing it right now. - Some dumb ass hoes, dumb ass bitches follow him into the elevator. This girl was sitting next to her sugar daddy who had a beard and was a blimp. She’s holding up her camera and she was a midget and she asks him if he’s having a good day. He’s standing there thinking, “all these stupid ass whooohhmmms”. [seems like he was going to say whores but stopped himself] He’s silent because if he says anything it would wind up being te-he-he bullshit. He had sunglasses on so he didn’t have to look at the dumb bitch in the eyes. - 2nd floor happens, elevator opens. No one got out. Bitches are going to follow him all the way to the first floor. They’re there because they want to see the circus, they’re the clowns in the circus. He was surrounded by fucking idiots. They show up because they want him to do what? Like when Hansen showed up at his house he was surprised Greg’s obviously fake videos weren’t real because he’s a boomer. He asks if people could start saying “ok boomer” because this is an actual boomer. He does math and says not exactly, but pretty much. - Court was stupid. He didn’t have a good time. He treated himself to taco bell and treated people to dinner because he saved money by not hiring an attorney. He knows the other guys spent a shit load of money. It’s amazing they could have done it for free. They hired an attorney so they could continue to harass someone. How low life is that? If someone took him to court for harassment he would just stop talking about them. He could move on. - When you file an anti-harassment protection order you can’t talk about that person either so it’s like a mutual contract to F off. He says that last thing was just speculation. He doesn’t know what the actual rules are.  - He thinks it’s creepy and says a lot about a person when they fight an anti-harassment protection order. Why is it so hard to leave people alone? They’re harassers, it fits the definition. Not everyone is sane or reasonable. Just gotta keep going at it. People will keep cashing in on Greg. Greg owns all the channels. They get the revenue, but Greg gets the face time because they always think about him. Their whole job is him. “Fuck you.” He doesn’t know how you could waste the most precious thing you were given, life, on someone you hate. - He tells the emo girls that showed up to court to get a fucking haircut and to dye their hair a normal color.

[keeponsmilingbee]

Letter from 2016 Me.

In 2016, I wrote this letter. I did not post it. I could not share it. I was not ready. 

I am now.

---

A letter to people angry at me for telling everyone how much I hate Trump. 

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I offended you. I'm sorry I questioned you. I'm sorry if you felt threatened by me. I'm sorry if you feel like I was impending on your freedom of speech. I'm sorry I cursed at you or even called you names. I'm sorry I disagreed with you publicly, in front or your friends and family. I'm sorry I embarrassed you. I'm sorry I made you question yourself. I'm sorry I outsmarted you. I'm even sorry I sassed back at your mothers, who came to protect you from my awful behavior these past few months. I'm sorry. 

But I'm also completely kidding. 

I'm actually not sorry at all. I apologize a lot, along with a lot of women in this world. I apologize for things I have nothing to do with sometimes. But I am fully aware of the attitude, aggressiveness, and annoyance I have put on a lot of people during this political campaign... and I am NOT sorry.   

Let me tell you a story. Of a girl who didn't make a big deal out of the "little things" guys say, the jokes made, and the moves pulled. I was the girl that was just one of the guys. I was the girl who laughed at the jokes. Even egged them on at times. 

Until it wasn't funny anymore. 

It's not funny once you've been raped in the back room at a party by someone you know. It's not funny once you realize how many friends knew you were in that room, with him, and didn't stop it. It's not funny when you feel it was your fault for years because you were drunk and weren't able to say no. It's not funny that you don't take your own pain seriously until ANOTHER women comes to you for help because she experienced something similar and is in the same pain you've felt for years but couldn't understand. It's not funny when you never actually realize it was sexual assault until you finally crash and burn in a bon fire of anger that you've never felt before. And even when you finally realize your pain, and the pain of others around you... it will still never be funny. Because healing from a mental wound doesn't happen, you just learn to coup with it. 

Donald Trump is the poster child for rape culture. And I can not express in words the helplessness I feel knowing he is a possibility for this country. My heart can no longer handle the jokes, language, and actions from this man. And I've been silent for a very long time about my anger, and helplessness, and sadness, and everything else for so damn long. So now. I'm not being silent. 

We are told not to make it a big deal. We are told it is our fault. We are told that the jokes are funny and to just laugh. We are told and told and told and told by society what the rules are and I'm done being told what to do. 

SO NOW I AM TELLING YOU.

Rape culture is real. Rape is not the victims fault. And Donald Trump is a fucking piece of shit. 

And I will tell everyone. I will tell everyone that posts a stupid meme. I will tell everyone that shares a stupid article. I will tell every trump supporter from now until November fucking 8th just how much of a piece of shit they are.  

I will condemn every Christian that praises a loving God and preaches about the good but is voting for a man like Trump. 

I will condemn every republican for sticking by him because your damn gun views are more important than his repulsiveness. 

I will condemn every moron redneck that swears by being a southern gentlemen and then makes memes about a man getting away with sexual assault because he is a star. 

I will condemn every Trump supporter for not condemning Trump. 

I hate you all. I hate you, and I will not be silent about it. I hate you and your wrong and I will tell you that you're wrong. I will correct your ignorance and lies. I will continue to spread and promote the truth. 

When you fight back about Her emails, I will continue to send you links to the case in which she was found not guilty AND articles of past men deleting thousands of emails as well. I will link you the proof of other political figures using private servers and doing a lot worse at that. Including trump. 

When you fight back saying she killed military in the Benghazi case I will continue to send you links to actual evidence that made her not guilty to the case. I will link you to other cases in which OTHER MEN (again) had the SAME occurrences under their watch and no one was brought upon charges. Because when soldiers die under a man, they were the cost of war. But when under a woman, she just must have failed. 

When you fight back because she doesn't support the coal industry, I will tell you the coal industry is dying anyway because our earth is dying and we need to find other sources of energy. 

When you fight back saying climate change is not real... first I will personally find your location and slap you in the fucking face... then I will continue to make you look horribly stupid as I give evidence after evidence proving you wrong. 

When you fight back about your guns, I will continue to tell you that NO ONE is trying to take them away. I will copy links to Clintons website on her gun law REFORM. Because then 2nd amendement was written when one shot was fired every 8 seconds and now 8 people can be killed in eight seconds. I will share the video of the 8 year old boy who was shot on the playground by a 14 year old boy. That 8 year old boy had a super hero funeral. I'll show you the funeral link too, where his mother had to be carried to her son because she was so distraught. 

And if you fight back about other things,  will look them up and I will EDUCATE MYSELF on the manner. I will look into every detail of your rebuttal and I will form a dramatic argument against you. Because in the end, there is NO WAY that Trump will ever come out on top. 

So be angry at me for being outspoken. I don't care. Because at this point, I don't care if I change your mind or win your vote away from Trump, because I know that is helpless. My only goal is to prove you wrong. 

All my anger has been locked inside for so long and trump has released it. I can't explain  the way my heart hurts; I cry at the thought of someone like him representing me. And I know that's a personal problem because in my mind, Trump symbolizes my assaulter. Trump is him. Trump is every cruel man. And in my logical mind I know that's not true. I know he is not the boy who raped me. But in my hurt, spinning brain... Trump is my nightmares. Trump is the reason I have to take sleeping medication. Trump is the reason I doodle in class when the topic of male superiority or any kind of power struggle comes up, because I've felt powerless for years and I can't take it anymore. 

If that makes me a bitch, so be it. 

#fuck trump #feminist #supportwomen #support women #survivor #rape culture #biden2020 #bidenharris2020

[letsbitchyfestcollection]

You were a sixteen year-old high school student in Oklahoma when you wrote The Outsiders. Where did you get the idea for the story? I was actually fifteen when I first began it. It was the year I was sixteen and a junior in high school that I did the majority of the work (that year I made a D in creative writing). One day a friend of mine was walking home from school and these "nice" kids jumped out of a car and beat him up because they didn't like his being a greaser. This made me mad and I just went home and started pounding out a story about this boy who was beaten up while he was walking home from the movies--the beginning of The Outsiders. I was just something to let off steam. I didn't have any grand design. I just sat down and started writing it. I look back and I think it was totally written in my subconscious or something. S.E Hinton considering that nice kids usually not go around beating people up in real life so either your so called freind must of done samething that pissed of these so called nice kids and they attcaked your freind usually nice decent children don't just go around beating strangers up there must be more to this story about your freind being attcaked. Did you even witness this attcak or did you hear it as gossip around high school so without you being a witness to the events you don't know if your freind hasn't embellished facts maybe do same research before you strat writing a novel instead of just running of with your emotions. So was there a real-life Ponyboy? A real Johnny? Ponyboy's gang was inspired by a true-life gang, the members of which were very dear to me. Later, all the gang members I hung out with were sure they were in the book--but they aren't. I guess it's because these characters are really kind of universal without losing their individuality. Firstly a real greaser gangs wouldn't allow a girl to hang with them unless they were part of the gang themselves but maybe you got inspired by real greaser gangs just by observing them around the community so you base your charcters on real gresers but no of these real greasers are in the book so basically you as a writer could have made shit up and do you really thing real greasers would have been impressed with the way you were writing about them being cry babies and hugging one another and being melodramatic they properly laughed at you for writing them like this did you show your so called greasers freinds your writing i bet you didn't. How did you turn that inspiration for a story into such memorable characters? When I write, an interesting transformation takes place. I go from thinking about my narrator to being him. A lot of Ponyboy's thoughts are my thoughts. He's probably the closest I've come to putting myself into a character. He has a lot of freedom, true-blue friends, people he loves and who love him; the things that are important to him are the things that are important to me. I think Ponyboy and Soda and Darry come out better than the rest of them because they have their love for one another. So basically what your saying is that ponyboy is a self insert of yourself so you basically created a mary sue with your lead character well tell us samething we don't know boys are usually will have farmore freedom becouse it socially expectable unlike us girls who have to be protected from the world and we don't have as much freedom I should now I have an older brother who had way more free then me becouse he's 16 years old them myself and i was so caged in most of the time the backyard was my playground becouse it was safer then the park so you basically self inserted what you value instead of inserting samething diffrent in ponyboy like valuesin justice/freedom/honesty/intrgrity/ freedom of speech etc these far better values for teens to work towrads then I have amazing freinds sametimes your so called frinds are that amazing and can be increibly toxic. What were you like as a teenager? Were you a Greaser; a Soc? I was a tomboy--I played football, my close friends were guys. Fortunately, I was born without the need-to-belong gene, the gene that says you have to be in a little group to feel secure. I never wanted to be classified as anything, nor did I ever join anything for fear of losing my individuality. I didn't even realize that these guys, who were my good friends, were greasers until one day we were walking down the street and some guys came and yelled, "Greaser!" It's funny to look back at people you've know your whole life, to suddenly see them as everyone else sees them, with their slicked-back hair and cigarettes hanging out of their mouths and their black leather jackets, and respond, "My God, they're hoods." You knew them and they're not hoods, but they just look like hoods. I had friends on the rich side of town, too, and saw that they had their share of problems, also. so basically you were a loner and anti social and didn't want to get invloved in after school activities maybe becouse you didn't have any freinds. Nobody is born with a gene for belonging it the way your socalized within society/family/school etc didn't your mum drag you out of the bedroom and tell you you were going to be part of the family and you even said in an interview that your mother was abusive towards you maybe becouse you were anti social. And bullcrap you didn't know they were greasers. Did you really have freinds on the rich side of town even though you were a loner. I can tell you being at school with children who are assholes and i had toput up with there shit 5 days a week was enough i didn't want to hang out with these children after school as well or on the weekend or during school break either which was rather peaceful. How did you pursue getting The Outsiders published? When I wrote it I hadn't thought of getting it published. But at school one day I mentioned to a friend that I wrote, and her mother happened to write children's books. I gave her a copy of The Outsiders, and this woman showed it to a friend who had a New York agent. The agent liked it and sold it to the second publisher who read it. She has been my agent ever since. I received the contract from the publisher on graduation day! Well it seems like the novel didn't see an editor that why same of it doesn't sound beliverable and not providing any consequnces with your charcters it doesn't work like this in the real world. Firstly Ponyboy spiting at another person in same states it considered assult on a person then david drowning ponyboy he wouldn't have been charged under the law this is how stupid johnny is instead off holding bob off with the swith he had and try and get david to let pony go johnny had enough criminal motive enough to go after bob after bob attcaked him 4 months earlier if he had lived that would have been enough to convict the kid on murder instead of manslaughter becouse there is enough intent to cause injury or death. dally harbouring futatives running away from the law hrassing girls he would have been charged along with them and ponyboy wouldn't have gone to a boys home he would have been charged and been put in prison instead teenagers who have wagged school have been placed in jail man i wish authors who want to write about real life issues would go watch reasl documetries about teens in prison and see what they did to land up in there it doesn't take a lot to get into trouble and fuck your life up. What made you want to become a writer? The major influence on my writing has been my reading. When I was young, I read everything, including cereal boxes and coffee labels. Reading taught me sentence structure, paragraphing, how to build a chapter. Strangely enough, it never taught me spelling. I have always loved to write, almost as much as I love to read. I began goofing around with a typewriter when I was about twelve. I've always written about things that interest me, so my first years of writing (grades three through ten), I wrote about cowboys and horses. I wanted to be a cowboy and have a horse. Writing is easy for me because I never begain to write unless I have something to say. I'm a character writer. Some writers are plot writers...I have to begin with people. I always knew my characters, exactly what they look like, their birthdays, what they like for breakfast. It doesn't matter if these things appear in the book. I still have to know. I get ideas for characters from real people, but overall they are fictional; my characters exist only in my head. What books and authors inspire and influence you? Well, as an adult, I can pick out a lot of authors who have influenced me. My favorite authors are Jane Austen, Mary Renault, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Shirley Jackson. My favorite books are The Haunting of Hill House, Fire from Heaven, Emma, and Tender Is the Night. I like Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s novels, but not his short stories, and the other way around for J.D. Salinger. But people want to know your childhood influences, and I'll have to say just books in general. I loved to read, and as soon as I learned how I was reading everything I could get my hands on. I was a horse nut, and Peanuts the Pony was the first book I ever checked out of the library. I still remember that book. The act of reading was so pleasurable for me. For an introverted kid, it's a means of communication, because you interact with the author even if you aren't sitting there conversing with her. Why do you use your initials instead of your full name? My publisher was afraid that the reviewers would assume a girl couldn't write a book like The Outsiders. Later, when my books became popular, I found I liked the privacy of having a "public" name and a private one, so it has worked out fine. Why didn;t you just go with your name becouse people are assumping a male wrote this but they read the novel and they can tell that a chick wrote it instead I was reading sweet valley high and baby sitters club way before the outsiders and these novels were flying of the selve with teens becouse they could relate to them. When it was first published, the realism of The Outsiders shocked a lot of reviewers, but readers embraced the book. Did that surprise you? No, I was pleased that people were shocked when The Outsiders came out. One of my reasons for writing it was that I wanted something realistic to be written about teenagers. At that time realistic teenage fiction didn't exist. If you didn't want to read Mary Jane Goes to the Prom and you were through with horse books, there was nothing to read. I just wanted to write something that dealt with what I saw kids really doing. Why do you think the book has remained so popular through the years? Every teenager feels that adults have no idea what's going on. That's exactly the way I felt when I wrote The Outsiders. Even today, the concept of the in-group and the out-group remains the same. The kids say, "Okay, this is like the Preppies and the Punks," or whatever they call themselves. The uniforms change, and the names of the groups change, but kids really grasp how similar their situations are to Ponyboy's. Some portions were quoted from "The Outsiders Conference & Readers Meet Author" from University of Utah's Top of the News, November 1968; "S.E. Hinton:On Writing and Tex" in Notes from Delacorte Press, Winter 1979/Spring 1980; "S.E. Hinton on Becoming a Writer" from teachers@random; "The Insider Outsider" in Interview, July 1999; and "Autobiographical Sketch" from the Educational Paperback Association. Powered by

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

A lot of people don’t give Spider-Man’s role in Civil War much shit whilst I have seen people criticize his inaction in the original Renew Your Vows book.

  Here’s the thing with both, they’ve got it the other way around.

  In the times we live in there is a lot of talk about direct political action, whether it should be used at all and if so when it is appropriate and when it isn’t and the extent of how far it should go.

 And I’m not really starting a debate about that, I just want to speak to Spider-Man’s actions in these 2 specific stories.

 The idea that Spider-Man was ‘in the right’ to go on the run and directly oppose the registration act the way he did because of what the act was analogous for bypasses the character’s history when you put it into context of the specifics of the Super Human Registration Act.

 One of the big problem with Civil War 2006 as a political story is that it’s mixing up a lot of political analogues and being disingenuous over the stuff we should suspend our disbelief over.

 Because in the REAL WORLD, sure super powered people should be registered as opposed to being allowed to run around unchecked.

 In this sense the SHRA could be seen as an analogy to registering gun owners or even a gun control law with super powers as a substitute for weapons.

 However the story especially in so far as Captain America’s objections to the act was NOT framing it a right to bear arms but...I guess something along the lines of the civil rights movement or something?

  This mixing of your metaphors and the wishey washey way in which Civil War wanted you to treat super heroes MORE realistically than before but still not go all the way is why a lot of character’s actions can kind of be justified or not justified depending upon how you look at it. because Civil War itself was so poorly written and defined (even the specifics of the SHRA itself was never set in stone) that it was very fluid.

  If you run with the idea that the SHRA is equivalent to something along the lines of the Patriot Act and infringes upon freedom for the sake of security then Captain America point of view is right and proper but you can very seriously debate as to whether going on the run and recruiting an underground army was the best way to combat that.

 The problem being that, as the story ITSELF points out, because of the specific realities of Civil War (the general public’s fear of unchecked super powered beings) Cap doing that is mind bogglingly stupid and had real plan or direction. He wasn’t protesting, he wasn’t rioting he wasn’t doing anything beyond beating up the pro-registration side and declaring it to be bad whilst flaunting the law that the majority of the public were in favour of for frankly realistically believable reasons.

 So in that sense Cap’s plan was fucking stupid as was Peter Parker opting to join his team upon learning about Negative Zone Guantanamo Bay.

 If written honestly Peter WOULD have been in the pro-registration side but out of necessity not out of genuine loyalty or belief in their principles. Regardless of how realistically registering super powered people does make sense, Peter Parker has seen the cost of his identity being exposed and also experienced persecution by authority figures too many times for him personally to side with that. But if he goes on the run he will be a criminal and thus endanger his family, friends and students. Tony Stark revealed his own identity to the President of the United States and other Avengers (many of whom are pro-registration) had even LESS personal friendship with him. Thus going on the run as Cap did would’ve led to the exposure of his identity, the ruination of his personal life and a very serious endangerment of his family and friends from his enemies and from a government he has some trust in but is aware is scared, unscrupulous and in many/most respects corrupt. Not to mention generally angry or unhinged members of the public who have beef with him personally or heroes in general. This isn’t even taking account of how some of his enemies were WORKING for the government.

 Peter might see the act as wrong but it’d equally be making HUGE targets out of a lot of innocent people and those closest to him if he openly opposed it as a criminal and make criminals of anyone who’d try and help him, even those he’d never ask to help him tell not help him.

After all he knows his friends and family well enough and knows a fair few of them will back him regardless, Betty Brant certainly did and he’d barely spoken to her all year. Technically she was a criminal for aiding Peter but she did it willingly anyway with no prompting.

 So no, Peter wasn’t reasonably going to go on the run let alone do so and leave his family in the clutches of a government he had a fair idea were unscrupulous.

  His situation became even more untenable after he (foolishly) unmasked publically. Again, Peter would never be on Stark’s side of the issue and would certainly never unmask like that because of the targets it places on the people in his life as I’ve already stated.

 However him deciding to pull MJ and Aunt May out of the safety of the Avengers Tower because he wants to switch sides was fucking stupid.

 By that point he knew how bad the government had become so to go on the run alone would’ve meant leaving his wife and mother incredibly exposed and alone to defend themselves against a manipulative and exploitative government (which Norman Osborn was working for and would soon take over effectively, with Venom as his attack dog). So going on the run would’ve been even LESS of an option by that  point, though once he crossed the threshold and became a criminal himself and made them criminals too even cutting a deal with the government was comparatively LESS of a safe bet for him. He’d seen how far they were willing to go and knew they had villains on their payroll. Having destroyed any semblance of trust between himself and the government as much danger as MJ and May were in as fugitives for Peter (and it wasn’t an unreasonable belief) life underground on the outside had become safer than life on the inside where there was much easier access for people to hurt his family.

 We then come to Renew Your Vows, which for the sake of argument we’re going to presume has a Peter with a similar history to his 616 counterpart.

 In this story Peter effectively quits being a hero and never participates in any resistance as the Regent takes over and begins hunting down and killing all remaining super powered individuals, along with whomever resists him.

 This is obviously far WORSE than what has happening in Civil War but again I don’t think Peter could be called out as outright immoral for what he did, or rather for his inactions.

 I’ve seen people compare the Regent’s world to Nazi Germany or even modern day America but that’s not entirely a fair comparison.

 To begin with the Regent himself is African America so the idea that he’s strictly speaking a fascist is at best incredibly questionable. He’s a dicator and a tyrant for sure though the world he rules isn’t (mostly) something out of 1984.

 It is mostly like (then) 2015 New York city with higher levels of technology but where metahumans have to fear capture and death, though not out of bigotry. The Regent wants to steal their powers and in fact wants to do so to destroy Doctor Doom and free Battleworld from his rule which isn’t an immoral cause necessarily but also doesn’t justify his immoral actions in pursuing it.

 Peter’s lack of actions do however means he’s allowing innocent people to be hunted and harmed so in that sense criticisms of his lack of actions are incredibly valid as are the comprimizes to some of  the basic freedoms people should be entitled to, like freedom of criticisms and freedom of speech. The latter isn’t wholesale removed but it’s obvious you can’t say anything against the Regent himself lest you want to face reprimands.

  However Peter’s inaction isn’t that unjustified when we consider his primary reason for not acting against the Regent’s regime was protecting his own children. In a very real sense had Peter fought back against the Regent he’d have been exposing his family and his CHILD to almost certain death in a way that (to my understanding which I reserve the right of being corrected on) few Western political activists risk.

 If Peter fought back against the Regent he was GUARANTEED to lose. The Regent was just too powerful and this is where trying to speak purely in symbolism and analogy breaks down. In much the same way that mutants as an allegory for minorities kind of hits a wall because in the real world LGBTQ people can’t punch holes in mountains, the Regent isn’t merely empowered through military might or state power or any of the things that empower real world political leaders or dictators.

 The Regent is one man army. Hell if he has the power of the X-Men, Avengers and virtually every other superhero COMBINED he’s got the power of MULTPLE armies all at once. He has flunkies with lower level but still significant abilities AS WELL as super villain henchmen and regular soldiers armed with advanced weaponry.

 We’re talking about a guy who is more powerful than he was 8 years before when he soloed the Avengers, which when he was more powerful than when he soloed the X-Men. This dude dismembered and murdered the goddam HULK...whilst killing the OTHER Avengers.

 Spider-Man stood no hope if he took direct action against him and if he had it would’ve meant the exposure of his identity (thus opening up his friends and family to his old enemies) and more seriously the endangerment of his family, especially his CHILD who also had super powers

 Now he could’ve worked with the resistance but (unless I am forgetting something) he honestly didn’t know they even existed and they had exactly no hope until they discovered Peter’s inhibitor technology.

 In fact their efforts were shown to be pretty toothless until Spider-Man himself got involved. Without his intervention, Power Pack would’ve died. Without Annie’s presence the Sinister Six would’ve killed the resistance AND dismantled them.

 In fact if not for Annie AND MJ’s intervention alongside Peter the Regent would’ve lost period. The fact is the resistance might’ve been HELPED by Spider-Man in whatever meagre efforts they were putting in but when push came to shove it took the combined efforts of THREE super powered people (one of whom obtained her powers through the Regent’s technology) to bring down the bad guy.

 The resistance even helped by Spider-Man therefore stood little chance and in fact needed Annie and MJ to be around to succeed.

 Which wasn’t going to happen if Peter had joined their group. Peter would NEVER have allowed Annie and MJ to enter into battle (it was even bullshit that MJ allowed Annie to go into battle) so the resistance were screwed. Worse Peter’s chief contributions to the resistance would’ve been his powers, the mere use of which pretty much would’ve exposed the resistance because the Regent could pick up the use of super powers.

 Essentially the resistance needed three super powered people to defeat the Regent and Annie was both too young and simply not going to be allowed to enter the fray at an earlier point in time than when the story actually happened. And half of that occurred by coincidence.

 More poignantly...I have to ask...how immoral is it to not resist evil when the act of resisting will all but certainly wind up killing your family, including your child?

 Frankly, at best this is one of those things that has no clear cut answer. People in the real world do run that risk but at the same time is it really right to reprimand a parent for not taking action that will likely cause the death of their child?

#Spider-Man #Peter Parker #Civil War #captain america #Steve Rogers #mjwatsonedit #mary jane watson #Mary Jane Watson Parker #regent #dan slott #ry #asm ryv #Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #spider-man renew your vows

[chronicbatfictioner]

Theater of the Soul - Chapter 10

It all sounded wrong. The red in the box. Yet it sounded right, too. He felt that he was moved, somewhere, out of his safety-- the blanket. His fort that is his safety. Somewhere else cramped and smelled like fruit and chemicals.

A hand was extended toward him, followed with dark blue eyes that felt... safe. Safer than none. He took the hand, but didn't lower his legs from the cushions until the little girl came in and spoke to him. The scenery outside changed rapidly, but the little girl chirped along with everybody else and assured him that he would be okay.

Everything else was a big blur until he found himself on a couch. A comfortable couch, unlike the ones he would find on the streets - obviously. But there were no stars in the sky - not that there ever was in the skies of Los Angeles. The air felt chilled, but stale-- bottled. And he mourned a little, for the freedom he must have lost again, this time; for his little bird, gone with whatever meager possession they must have taken away from him, again; for the boy and the little girl, still with him from the sounds of her voice nearby, just probably not for long.

He sighed, a little dejectedly as he watched the activity and people talking around him without understanding. It was odd, that his brain could not understand. He was good with languages. Once upon a time. Before hell rained down on him. Before the wrath of... whoever or whatever deity that hated him befell him. But it was all his fault, anyway.

What else is new?

It seemed that seeing Barbara's quite an emotional response, and Jason's likewise response to Barbara finally convinced Danny that they were all somewhat related.

"How do I know you're not a pedo, dude?" He demanded once they managed to get Jason in to Helena's car, along with some meager possessions that... well, that Helena deemed worthy to be put in her car; which do not 'smell or looked like it hasn't seen a detergent or soap in twenty years.'

Tim gave him a withering glare. "I'm fifteen. You're sixteen. I believe 'pedo' requires the monster to be an older person." he deadpanned.

"She's an older lady." he pointed out.

"And I can assure you, young man, that I have no interest in men whose age start with the number one, or are yet to be able to legally buy liquor." Helena retorted.

"She's actually a school teacher, you know." Tim said. "Maybe..."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Drake." Helena warned.

"Not making any, just a suggestion." Tim shrugged, taking the front passenger seat and partially turned around to look at Jason. The latter was huddled in the backseat, hugging his knees and looked...

Tim blinked in confusion.

...scared. That's what Jason looked like.

On a whim, he extended his hand toward Jason. After staring at Tim's hand for a long moment, Jason tentatively took it and held on.

"You'll be okay," Tim told him. "Whatever happened, you'll be okay. I promise..."

"What did I say about promises you can't keep?" Helena scoffed.

"I don't care, Helena. He will be okay. Whatever and however." Tim said, solemnly promising himself that.

"Well... I'm going in to get my sis... Won't be five minutes. But if he freaked out..." Danny warned them as the car pulled over in front of the Hope Center.

"We'll holler." Helena assured him. As Danny slipped out of the car, Tim started to feel the tremble.

"Hey, hey... you're alright... Jason, you'll be okay, I promise..." Tim soothed him, rubbing his thumb to the back of Jason's hand - still lightly clutching his. "I know... I know you're scared. Whatever happened to you..." he continued, keeping his voice soothing and low. "it's not your fault, okay? I'm here to help. We're here to help you go home."

Tim kept talking softly, with Helena watching, until Danny came back with a 4-year old girl in tow. She glowered at Tim and Helena before her eyes landed on Jason and she bounded into the car. "Hi, Red!" she cooed.

Jason didn't reply. But he didn't object either when the little girl firmly took a seat on his lap. He had released Tim's hand to hold her with both arms.

"This is Ellie, my sis." Danny explained. "I told her we're going to a hotel with some really nice folks." he glared, as if expecting Helena or Tim to challenge him.

"Babs and Dinah would've gotten some food," Tim said. "...I hope." he added.

"Dinah has... handled homeless issues before." Helena replied, a little grim. "Just... food for thought here, Timothy, we're not in Gotham. Nobody here cares enough like Bruce Wayne to start something to help everybody."

Tim nodded. "I know." he acknowledged. "Just... I'm not stupid, okay? I'd love to help whenever I can. But I know where I'm standing."

"We don't really need your help, you know." Danny said, a little huffily. "I toldja my mom would be outta jail next week."

"And then you think she'll go back to prostitution, or can find a job on her own thereafter?" Tim asked softly. "It's just... Gotham, where I'm from, has this kind of problem, too. Back there, we have someone who's willing to help those who need it - like your mom or you. Here, honestly, I don't know if anybody will. And if what Helena said is right, nobody would. You'll need all the help you can get, Danny." he added.

Danny was quiet for a long moment, and then said, "I can get a job. I just haven't found any so far."

Tim nodded, but said nothing. "Yeah, we'll figure it out, man. Just... give us a week, alright?"

It was only once they got to the penthouse, and met Barbara's glare, that Tim started to wonder if his plans would backfire at some point.

"Bruce is flying here right after curtain down tonight," Barbara told him. "I've told him that Jason might need a physician, so he's bringing along Dr Leslie Thompkins. Whatever you have in mind for those two - and probably their mother, next, I hope you have or will think it through, Tim."

"Yeah, well. No I haven't. But I've checked with the Teachers' Registry and their mother is registered there. She was laid off from a private school due to downsizing - not because of any complaints. Babs..." Tim pressed his lips, "do you ever think of how hard of a decision it would be for a teacher to go down the road of solicitation to feed her children?"

Barbara's sigh was soft, but right there. "I am a woman, Tim." she reminded, and Tim could feel the flush rising up in his cheeks.

"Yeah, just... you know, even those of the same gender can sometimes be insensitive of their own's plight. ...Not saying you do, that is. Just..." he backtracked quickly.

"Timmy, baby, your compassion is stellar. But..."

"...if Bruce had thought of having 'saved' only one person, Dick wouldn't be there. Jason wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be here. And that's not putting names or numbers to the Narrows and Park Row kids at the community theater of each area." Tim snapped. "I don't understand people's obsession with numbers. Yeah, it might take me a shit load of cost to try and help one person. Yeah, I'm a kid, and maybe I don't have that kind of money. But at least I can present to those who can help - can set aside some of their resources to help. Like Bruce, maybe. Or Kate. Or anyone.

"Even if it doesn't work in the long run, Babs, at least I've tried. It's better than doing nothing, right? If everyone who 'wants' to help eventually do nothing, where do those who have less get their second chances? I know I'm not a god who can just will everyone to prosper or suffer less. I know I didn't waste my vote on the stupid idiot we have to refer to as 'the President' who'd made people suffer indirectly and directly. But at least I don't sit around and do nothing other than clucking my tongue and twiddle my thumbs!" Even as he wrapped up his speech, he quickly became aware of Helena and Dinah's glare from behind him. He screwed his eyes shut, feeling foolish.

He understood that his wishes were wishful thinking. Tim was smart enough to understand that it would take more than a few weeks at the Penthouse or a few jobs offered to make sure Danny, his sister, and mom wouldn't need to suffer and/or live on the streets. He just... didn't see why he shouldn't try.

"I've called my boyfriend, Ollie," Dinah suddenly said. "He told me that his friend, Michael Holt, has just opened a business here in LA that's looking for new employees. I'll see if he can save up a few slots." Dinah's boyfriend Ollie - Oliver Queen - was a businessman whose businesses tend to lean on the sustainable green businesses. Michael Holt, Tim knew from the plethora of articles of him in various magazines, has a technology-based company that has since blown up bigger than Apple and its contemporaries.

"They... and their mom - can stay over at our place while they look for another." Helena said. "No need for Wayne to keep this penthouse open while our place can handle them."

"We don't need charity!" Danny suddenly burst in .

"Danny..." Tim started, but Dinah cut him off.

"Oh no, buddy, this ain't charity. I'll bill you and your mom once she got out." Dinah told him. "You should consider this as being put on credit."

Danny seemed to contemplate the thought for one long moment, and Tim could feel Barbara tugging the back of his shirt, likely warning Tim to not interfere.

"Okay, fine. Just... just because you'll be taking Jason and..." Danny turned to look at Jason, all the way across the other side of the living room. "...maybe taking him home. I mean... he's pretty strong and all. But..." he gulped.

And Tim understood. Jason has been protecting the two kids for the past few months. In Danny's mind, Jason had probably done a better job than his mother.

"He has a home, too, Danny. And people who love him dearly." Barbara said softly. "He... had gotten hurt coming out here. It's our duty to get him back to health and take care of him. I'm... the Jason I know won't abandon you, and once he's back to health, I know he'll look for you again."

Danny's chin jutted defiantly, and Tim pretended not to see the swift dip or the tremble of his lower lip. "Yeah, I know. Besides, I figured if I keep in touch with y'all, I'll know where and how he is, eventually. Maybe you can help him find his beloved little Red bird."

Tim's vision suddenly tunneled onto Danny.

"--What??"

"Little Red Bird. He has this photo of a bird with red chest like, mid-flight. A polaroid photo. He had it for-- I dunno how long. Since I've met him, I think. I don't know where he'd found it or what it meant. I thought it was his pet or something." Danny explained. "He lost the photo a few days ago and... well... he's been like that since." he thumbed toward Jason. Still inert, not even responding to the little girl chatting and crooning. "Not like he was chatty from the start. But when he lost the pic, it's like he'd lost his will to live or something." he shrugged.

"Oh." Tim replied numbly. He caught Barbara's questioning glare. "I..." he gulped, torn between wanting to search through his archives in his laptop, and giving an explanation to Barbara. "It's... oh... I gotta show you." the former won, and he dashed to his bedroom, to his laptop. After what felt like forever (and after sending a print command to a printer), he finally found it.

He marched triumphantly with his laptop to Barbara, and pointed at the screen. "This," he said. "is a robin."

"Cheeky," Barbara smiled as the photo was printed out in A4-size letter - and a few others in smaller size because there is no photo paper available in the penthouse, and Tim wasn't planning on getting it - at least not now. "Robin, huh?"

"Yes, Puck." Tim said, smiling smugly. "He'd accompanied me on the shoots for this one. We were..." he gulped around the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat. "...I was making his portfolio. And then we saw the robins. This... mama robin was landing to feel her fledglings." he explained. "It was more of a lucky catch than anything... Jason loved it and asked for a copy in polaroid shape."

"Shit, boy, you took this photo?" Danny gave a low whistle.

"Language!" Helena hissed.

"Sorry, but,.. yeah, seriously. You printin' this out? He could be... I mean, maybe he'll be less sad..." he said.

"Yeah, I'm printing it out." Tim said, going to the printer and retrieved the bigger picture. "I'm not sure this will work, though... But..." he handed the picture to Danny.

"Oh no, buddy. If you're... if I'm right, then you should give him the photo." Danny said.

"Boys, I strongly advise we wait until Doc Leslie got here. If anything... if he lashed out or anything, the doc can sedate him." Dinah suggested. "That's... an amazing photo, Tim." she added, looking at the photo. "But yes, I think he has been in some sort of trauma-based catatonia, and thus the strong emotional ties to the photo. I would prefer to give him a little time..." she paused at Tim's glare. "Okay, I would like to observe him without uncommon stimuli for as long as possible, at least until Bruce gets here. Or at the oh-so-very-most until morning, since Bruce will get here by the crack of dawn and I expect most of us to be asleep." her tone of voice did not leave room for argument, and Tim shrank away a little. "Right now, I would like you - all of you - to wash up. Use the pool or something. Just wash up real good. And then we can get some lunch. Wait-- no, supper. It's almost 5 p.m."

"Can we get Thai?" Danny asked, almost innocently. Dinah glared at him. "I haven't had Thai in like, forever!"

Dinah huffed. "Fine. Just... all of you scrub up. Now!" she glared at Tim. "You too, Timothy. Or else I'm gonna throw you to the pool."

Tim almost laughed. Almost. Then his eyes landed on Jason, still huddled quietly at the corner of the couch in the living room with Ellie, Danny's sister, leaning on him comfortably.

"I'll get you home, Jason, I promise." he muttered under his breath, even if his mind is telling him that Jason's blank stare equals to a very tall, very sturdy brick wall around Jason's mind that might just be very, very hard to break through.

#Jason Todd #Tim Drake #helena bertinelli #barbara gordon #dinah lance #JayTim #BatFam #birds of prey #SoulTheater!AU

[slowlyandrogynousmiracle]

Black Sails 4×9 Thoughts

God Bless Hands for reading this shit correctly. You gotta love that he calls Flint out on all his bullshit. He knows Flint has been playing Silver like a fiddle and that the man is persuasive. It’s a talent, I will give him that. But guys seriously can you not see the way he fucks over Silver. It’s horrible. He immediately gives him this hurt look to disarm him when they meet and I'm like....oh no no no. He cant kill Silver obviously because how the hell will he cover his own story, particularly at the Maroon Camp where Silver’s army awaits. Explain stealing the cache and killing the King. Hmmm. And then he used Madi’s name to bring him to heel. He literally used the thought of losing her against him!!! How awful and "if" I help save Madi??? Omg Flint really.

What was the problem with letting Rodgers have the cache THEN attacking him if you were just going to take Nassau? Silver promised to make it right. FLINT made this shit worst because you KNOW deep down Silver has surpassed him on that boat and the cache is the only card he has left to play

Because CLEARY whatever he’s preaching, no one gives a fuck about other than the plunder. The pirates are thinking of sacking as spoils...not freedom. He knows that. And these are the men he wants to lead a revolution….people who want a revolution just to loot?

Am I the ONLY sane one!!!! Silver knew exactly what and why Flint did what he did. He knows that despite their “friendship” he’ll still never let Silver do anything that isn’t supported by him and straight up, that’s not healthy. It’s not nearly as true a friendship as Silver has been to it. Fuck all the selfish motivation noise, everyone is selfish! Silver broke it to him last episode that despite him not agreeing or understanding or supporting he did it and Flint cannot return the favor? Just this once even if he don't agree? And now he’s clearly using Johns insecurity about Madi believing he’s enough to play on him because he thinks he’s that good and because he really can’t do this without Silver. That’s not a sentiment. It’s a fact.

If anything this episode truly exposed the unequal balance between these two and how dare ANYONE say Silver is acting crazy. No, he’s realizing some truths and even then he paused at the thought of killing him. HE didn’t want this to happen. Flint made this happen. I’m sorry but I would not find giving up my most cherished loved one via a battle for something you don’t believe in even if they do. And all that Madi talk was supposition on Flint's part. Yeah we know what she said but Flint and Silver have no idea. And who's to say she can't after hearing everything understand Silvers stance?

And I get Silvers desperation because he led her to him. Imagine the guilt if she’s slain while Flint used her story to continue his own destructive path for again no altruistic reasons. And no, I think Silver telling Madi about Flint's past wasn’t inappropriate. It’s his lover and wife in his eyes. Honesty is something that exists between them and they trust each other enough with the secrets. She shares his burden with him as a tether. She's never told so this anger Silver trusted her with this is just stupid. Flint didn't make him pinky swear. And he obviously told her to get her to understand his loyalty to Flint when SHE was the one completely distrustful of him. She was right to be worried and he convinced her otherwise. Her dying because of that...yeah I'd be feeling some kind of way too.

I wonder if he told her his backstory. The flashbacks looked incomplete. And what the hell happened Silver? Seems like a loss he never got over. A mother or family attacked…omg what if it’s by pirates lol no seriously though something BAD happened and him not telling Flint was that part of Silver that has always remembered who Flint is. I feel like Flint would have had a huge weapon against him and if you feel the need,again, to protect yourself from someone it is not a good sign of friendship.

I have a feeling his backstory is obviously connected to why he will burn it all for Madi though I felt cock teased we didn’t get it. WTF Starz.

Billy was Billy. He better not hurt my Madi!!!!was that his arm in the preview with the knife ?

Lastly to Madi. I loved her dragging Woodes for filth and speaking her truth. What she said was absolutely correct and valid…..buttttt….some observations.

A. She looked terrified. She has resigned that she will die and she’s clearly out of her depth with the real world.

B. Everything Woodes said to her was true. Hate Woodes all you want. She was right in placing Eleanor’s death on the correct door but she is lucky! That he is choosing to have her brought to his cabin and talk to her is more than anyone else would do personal feelings aside. Everyone on that Island was raped or killed. She is in the eyed of the law property but speaks to her like person. He could have had her tortured for info. He could have given her to the Spanish in angerm Yeah she truly is lucky and she DOESN'T know it. >Yes as a black woman I was totally clapping when she told him about her people’s suffering. But again this is where her sheltered life becomes apparent as she says she is doing it for her people when she hasn’t spoken with her people. Things have happened that she remains unaware of.

Does she even know Flint stole the cache? She is speaking on half info so her remaining her stance does not equate her siding against Silver or means she may side with Flint against Silver. Oh no. If anything the speech gave us clues to her own wavering as well as the obvious emotional state she is in. She’s resigned that she’ll die. She will accept the martyr role if it sparks the cause. But she said, “Flint’s war” and “my war” They are as aligned as their shared purpose which we all know looking in is not exactly the same.

I mentioned it in another post but how can one person choose for a group of people? You know I love her but I feel like in fairness to her people they should get to decide what they can and cannot live with it it willing to sacrifice for. Julius understands this because he’s been in those chains longer than Madi and as smart as she is she isn’t street smart as they say. I hope this is brought up. Because imagine it like this. What if Germany offered a peace treaty days before D-Day and the president never told the American people? Wouldn't you have at least considered or even after all the horrible things done if it avoided bloodshed? Even if it didn't comes with everything to avoid that many men? Dictatorship on any level even for the better of her people is still not ok and that's not just in the show but I'm life as someone issuing out ultimatums recently learned.

Both she and Flint are dictators and Id be remiss in pointing out that both are wrong in believing they alone can dictate the course of this "war" but Zethu was right. Silver has to reign wifey in.

I wanted more of her of course.

And I can almost pinpoint where Flint fucked up in his speech. “ you cannot tell a story that will make her forgive that ” Did you just tell the master storyteller who even fooled you he was an orphan for the past however long? to come up with a tale Ha. That’s LJS speciality right there and he learned from the master! He may think Madi is dead right now or worse since Woodes has no use for her now, at least that’s what Silver is thinking and where does that leave you Flint?!.

Look at Jack lol He’s going to be the rescue plan but so many things will go wrong for him. The stroke guy should have been the sign to turn back

Ben Gunn’ s tragic marooning.

Who has a knife to Madi? Really, Flint is going to keep with the Koolaid. Dude. Dude. Duuuuuddddeeee. DeGroot is dead. Have you no soul man! He thinks making it mean something gives him a pass on all the death he’s caused. Poor thing. I almost want to hug him and then snuff him out for his own good.

Woodes wants Flint alive? Why? Why do I suspect Flint ends up with WR as Billy has to get the map? Omg I hope Billy and Flint don’t collaborate to use Madi to get Silver to back down though why Idk…

Great episode overall. I don’t get the complaints. The story was consistent with everything and its playing out beautifully. The sword teaching was awesome. R.I.P. Walrus.

#silver x madi #silvermadi #joadi

[chuckdraug]

“Don’t complain, it’s just a game”

This is a translation - and at some extent rewording - of a post on my Spanish blog that I finally decided to post here as well.

WARNING: Before you start reading the actual post, please follow the links down here since these posts where the ones that made me write mine, and because context is important:

«What We Talk About, When We Don't Talk About Natives», by Dia Lacina (English)

«Resulta que Horizon Zero Dawn también es ofensivo», by Juan Tejerina (Spanish), though Google-translated here

Hope you are ready now.

--- 

Yes, this very post here comes from an opinion article published on the Games Tribune Magazine web (I'll just name GTM as the platform where it was posted in due respect to their ethical code, despite this being their vicedirector's opinion) as a reply to an article regarding cultural appropriation and native Americans on fiction due to the PS4's latest hit, "Horizon Zero Dawn".

I didn't want to talk about this. In fact, for some days... well, no, hours I didn't say a thing on Twitter aside from replying to some people. But everyone has a limit to their patience, and so I hit mines and wanted to come to my egocentric Internet corner and say what I want to say.

I'm not going to talk about cultural appropriation nor about colonialism nor about how "HZD" borrows from native Amercians, celtics, vikings, ainus or whatever. I haven't played the game and I'm an ignorant on those topics, so I better not say a thing about it. I want to talk of what I know, of something I could be blamed for in the past - and maybe at times in the present day -, and that is clear on the GTM post: whenever someone complains, critics or just expresses themselves regarding a social topic on fiction and/or real life we just say they overreact.

There's one big trouble when we just tell people they overreact whenever they have something to say in those matters, or if their opinion just differs from ours. We say they get offended so easily.

So in this particular case, Dia Lacina points out her problems about topics she knows about on a game that's actually getting a pretty good reception and its protagonist, Aloy, is seen as a good example of female protagonist. A huge step, specially when you see a lot of women talking about their experience with Aloy, what they feel with her. Representation matters, as they always say.

But... No work is perfect, and the fact we advance in some social topics doesn't mean everything is done, as there's a lot to do yet. Lacina's post not only talks about the problems she sees on "HZD" when it comes to racial and cultural matters, but on how native Americans are often portrayed on fictional works. This doesn't mean Aloy being an empowered female protagonist is of no avail, it only points out that even if we get things right in some parts, others still need more work, there's a big picture and we have only retouched a speck on it.

What happens then? Tejerina's reply is nothing but a new evidence of what we usually do: we label these critics, complains and even just opinions and points of view as suspicious, as exaggerated, as weird and out of place. The general feeling I get from his words is the classic white cishet male speech of everyone else is overreacting, that they whine with no reason and are complaining and taking the fun away. You know, their usual speech of deeming others as haters, as Social Justice Warriors (SJWs) or as supporters of a politically correct dictatorship.

But am I going to sum his text up as just "you complain about everything"? Sure not, but that point is still there and I'm not going to ignore it. Though truly, it goes beyond that.

It goes beyond when he compares Lacina's post with the reaction of the Spanish media with the "katana murderer" case many years ago, and how they related the murderer to "Final Fantasy VIII" and its main character, Squall Lionheart, to the point of claiming that such murderer got his looks from Squall - he was just a regular Spanish guy, not some Squall impersonator.

To make it clear, Tejerina is comparing Lacina's point of view to that of media wanting first pages and their minutes of fame around a murder. Yes, he's doing that: he's comparing the vultures of the Spanish media to a native American's point of view regarding a videogame.

Yes, we can go this low.

So Lacina posted her criticism on the Internet. She made it public, she wanted to show it. Oh geez! She's expressing herself and you come here and accuse her of looking for her five minutes of fame.

Oh, but it doesn't end here. But first, some context.

Recently in Spain, the Catholic organization "Hazte Oír" sponsored a bus where you could clearly read "Boys have penises, girls have vulvas" in a "deal with it" tone, claiming it was biological evidence even though biologists everywhere called that bullshit. "Hazte Oír" is a bunch of people who repeatedly show how sexist, homophobic, transphobic and many-other-things they are.

Well, what does it have to with these posts? At the end of his, Tejerina pointed out that what Lacina wrote isn't important, and so isn't any social opinion on matters like sexism or transphobia.

He considers this kind of opinions responsible for dividing the gaming community to the point we look at each other as enemies - say what?! really?! That and the fact those opinions don’t focus on “the real enemy” he points out: the right-wing bastards who are ruining our lives, and the religious indoctrination many of us have gone through since we were toddlers.

So in Tejerina's opinion, you talking about sexism or cultural appropriation isn't that important compared to ditching Trump, Rajoy and the Catholic Church. Because you can't talk about both things, you either complain on one or another. So yes, the feeling you get with the final paragraphs of his text is that you wanting to be treated as the human being you are isn’t as valuable as talking about other problems.

It's clear, right? We, the white cishet males - though some would argue about me being white because I'm a Spaniard - have no problems at all, and every time a woman, a PoC or LGBT person gives their point of view, we feel uneasy, to say the least. We, the privileged ones, look down at them and ditch them for making us feel uncomfortable, how dare they do that?!

And when we feel uncomfortable, uneasy, instead of listening to them, on analyzing ourselves and the world we live in, we say that they are whiners and haters complaining on everything. We call them SJWs, we call them feminazis, we call them lots of names. We say they only want some Internet fame. We tell them to shut up.

And if you had a bad experience with a feminist or PoC or whatever, you quickly label all of them as people you cannot reason with, but the very moment we are called for something due to the injustice in the current status quo, we are eager to yell NOT ALL MEN. 

Don't you see it? We say they whine, when we are the ones actually whining. And why? Because for us, it's easier and makes us comfortable.

It's easier if we claim we live in a politically correct dictatorship instead of looking at yourself and seeing what's wrong with you. Why? We are Always Right™, how can we be wrong?! 

 It's easier when you say "it's only a game" without thinking on why someone else feels uneasy. We can separate facts from fiction, but those works of fiction can be analyzed, specially when looking at real life. They have their context.

(I'd like to point out here that Tejerina himself told me that with that paragraph I was actually supporting his views because "if we kept thinking of what might upset someone, if we over-analyzed everything, we wouldn't create anything"... it's true that we won't please everyone, it's impossible, but it is his - and many others’ - way to get the focus on something else so he - and anyone else - won’t feel guilty. If we show our works, people can give their opinions on them, and that includes any social views. And that kind of feedback is actually important, not just for our works, but for us as social people.)

It's easier if we think that these people want to take the fun away from us, even though they claim that you can enjoy something despite its problems - it's OK while you acknowledge those problems. We say that they hate our hobbies instead of listening to them and looking at these problems and thinking why they are... well, problems.

It's easier if we say "I'm not like that, don't you dare blame me for that" because the fact that our society isn’t fair is proof enough of how right they are. We might think we are the "nice guys", but no one is a saint, you know the current situation benefits you and you only, and you don't want to share it. Also, these changes won't be immediate, they need a lot of time, yet we complain at the slightest evidence.

I'm sure you've heard and read this from people who are way smarter than I am. Still, I wanted to say it as well.

Because I'm tired of this shit.

Because minorities and the oppressed express themselves - freedom of speech, remember? -, yet instead of listening to them we try to shut them up, we want to turn their opinions and criticism into babycries. We tell them they criticize everything - "you see sexism everywhere!" is the first claim that comes to my mind.

We, the privileged, don't wanna accept their points of view, because by doing so we will see how wrong we are, how society made us this way, how it has spoiled us in believing we are special snowflakes that should step on those who are different from us, calling them weak and despicable and not fit to live like us.

This is hatred mixed with fear to them. We fear that we are wrong, that we aren't the kings of the hill anymore, that we aren't those nice guys and snowflakes society told us we were. There is no perfect being since we ALL are humans.

We are scared of reality and of being stupid, so instead of listening and reviewing our very acts and behavior... we protect our egos, our pride, and we ditch those who are different, we blame them for our insecurity, we hate them. And in the process, we demonstrate that we are stupid. And full of hate.

It's frightening. It's embarrassing. It's horrible.

It isn't just about fiction. It is about the reality we live in. It is about us hating on those who aren't like us, on stripping them of their humanity, because it is easier if you treat a woman/PoC/LGBT as less than human beings. Who cares how others feel if I can feel OK with myself? Who cares if the only way to be in harmony is by making other people feel miserable and inferior to me?

No one wants to be told that they're doing wrong. But surprise! We will fail a lot of times - and I'm pretty sure this post of mine is full of mistakes. Even if it upsets us, wake up and smell the ashes: perfection does not exist. No one says this is easy.

We, the privileged, instead of whining, should sit down, listen to other people and learn from them. And even shut up, because we think we are the protagonists, but no, at best we are support characters in this fight.

But what if you don't wanna do it? You're free to choose your destiny. Just deal with the consequences of your choice, no option is free of them. I can go and support these people and I know there will be other people out there saying that I've been brainwashed or that I'm a white knight or whatever. I know and I have to deal with that.

And I’m glad of my choice.

Truly, if it weren't for the whole Gamergate shitstorm, I'd be one of those people who would never, ever, get to think of what they are doing and how it affects others. I would be one of those saying that "it's just a game". I'm happy I'm not one of them. At least, most of the time.

#videogames #opinion #works of fiction #social #snowflakes #white cishet males ruin everything

[coffee-n-some-cream]

The Space I Filled - Chapter 2: The Art of Superhero Stalking

The similarities between himself and her were not lost on him, that was for sure. But he was more concerned about how she had heard of him in the first place. He followed her for a few minutes, silently observing her as she searched for him. Her hair was cropped boyishly short, and her all-black wardrobe blended nicely into the night. She was practical, and athletically inclined, apparently. She was good at navigating rooftops, at least. Good for a civilian.

After getting tired of just watching her get more and more frustrated at his lack of appearance, he stood in a particularly shadowy area of the roof so as to minimize what she could see of him, and cleared his throat.

She whipped around, eyes blown wide, and stared at him with a mixture of fear and awe.

"It's... it's you! It's actually you! Holy shit, I-"

"You," he interrupted in his best Batman voice, causing her to squeak a bit, "were following me."

She didn't take her eyes off of him, but she did shuffle her feet a bit and nod.

"And you were taking pictures."

Another nod.

"Why?"

She looked a bit confused, and said, "Well, because you're amazing. We've never had a vigilante in this city. Most of them are in, ya know, America. And I've always wished someone would show up here and save us, like Superman or Wonderwoman or Batman, or someone. I... I even considered doing it myself, but," she paused to clear her throat, "I'm just a kid, ya know?"

"So you think that running around on rooftops and taking pictures of me is a smart thing to do?"

The look of alarm on her face was a little funny, but this was too serious a situation to be light-hearted.

"I was always careful, and don't worry, I would never get in your way. I just wanted to, I don't know, know more about you? I-" she finally looked away from him, bowing her head, "I'm sorry."

Tim sighed and said, "Don't you think stalking a vigilante is a bit strange? Dangerous? ...Stupid?" Yeah, he felt like a real hypocrite right then.

"Yeah, but I felt like I had to. You probably don't remember, but you saved me and my sister a bit ago," she answered, "We were walking home from her school a few weeks ago and these guys tried to get us into their car. And when we didn't, they got out and started trying to force us. And then you just swooped in and took them out!" Her voice started to gain volume and excitement, and she was bouncing up and down. "And you took the one guy out with a kick, and the other guy drew a gun but you knocked it out of his hand! Then you threw the third guy against the car! It was awesome!"

She took a deep breath and Tim remained silent. He did remember them. He remembered the look of gratitude and awe this girl had shot him and how her little sister had been crying.

"And then you asked us if we were okay," she continued when he didn't say anything, "and I said yes and thanked you, and you nodded and grappled away. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. I just had to find out more about you!"

Tim didn't say anything for a while, just watched as she got more and more uncomfortable in the silence. Finally he said, "How old are you. Twelve?"

She bristled a bit. "Thirteen."

"Still young. You shouldn't be out here. Go home."

The crestfallen look on her face was enough to melt a bit of the Batman persona he was putting on, and he sighed a bit. "Look, I'll escort you there. I'm not mad at you, I just don't want to have to worry about you, okay? I'm flattered, but this is really dangerous. You're just a kid."

She nodded a bit, then said, "I'll go home. Can I just ask a favor?"

"...What?"

"Can you... Do you think your grappling hook could carry both of us?"

After a bit of staring, he mentally shrugged and walked out of the shadows, watching as her breath caught a bit at seeing all of him in the pale moonlight. Her fingers twitched toward the phone in her pocket but she didn't pull it out, so he didn't have to tell her to knock it off.

"Where do you live?" he asked, taking out his grappling hook and readying it, mentally performing all the calculations that had to do with the wind speed and which way it was going.

"Avenue Beira Mar, an apartment on the east side."

"Hold on," Tim said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and shot the grapple into a nearby building. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a deathgrip, and he stepped off the building.

Her yelp sounded in his ear on the first swing as the lurch of gravity and the lack of a support under her feet hit her, but by the second swing she was laughing and giggling. Her yells of joy floated and cut through the city air, and her amazement at the ride had Tim re-experiencing his first time grappling. The feeling of flying, the wind in his hair, the complete and total freedom.

He looked at her face, which was crinkled with excitement, and felt a chuckle bubble up from within to join her peals of laughter. He realized that this was all new to her, that she had never experienced this. That she had been tied to the ground her whole life. He grinned and took a particularly sharp turn around a building and she screamed and hid her face in his shoulder, but her histarical giggling only increased.

They soared through the air, and Tim thought that this was the most fun he'd had in years, maybe since he'd left Gotham. Maybe since he'd been Robin. When they finally reached her apartment, he set her down on her balcony.

She stumbled onto it, breathless and still laughing."That was..." she shook her head, seemingly unable to find the words to express it, "that was one of the most amazing things that has ever happened to me. Holy shit!"

Tim smiled under the mask, chuckling to let her know he was happy for her.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" She paused and smiled a bit ruefully. "And, uh, sorry for stalking you and all that."

"No problem. Just stay safe, okay?"

"Sure," she answered, then turned her back to him to continue ranting about the flight. He took that opportunity to take off, knowing she would turn around and he would be gone.

*

Apparently he hadn't gotten through to her with his whole, "What you're doing is really dangerous" speech, because a few days later she was following him around again, snapping photos.

He tied up the rapist he was wailing on and grappled to the roof she was sitting on.

"What are you doing?" he asked in his best "disapproving Bruce" voice.

"I was just taking some pictures. Don't worry, I'm being really careful, I'm not following you on your whole route anymore. Which you changed, I noticed," she said with a nervous smile.

Tim really wished the helmet didn't prevent him from pinching the bridge of his nose and considered changing his look simply for that purpose.

"Look, when I said this was dangerous, I meant don't do it again. Ever. Don't you have enough pictures?"

"No... I know it's dangerous but as long as I stay around you I'll be okay. Besides, I can take care of myself well enough. I've lived here my whole life, you know."

"You're twelve."

"Thirteen!" came her indignant cry.

"Thirteen, right, sorry." He sighed. "Being around me is actually really dangerous because I literally go around looking for bad people to beat up, okay? I can't guarantee your protection. I can try, but it's not airtight."

"I know that! I just need to do this, okay? I need to observe you and see what you do so that..." she trailed off, going silent and looking down at the alley below them instead of at him.

"So that what? So that you can... be like me?"

"Well... yeah." She looked up at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Oh, no. No, no, no. You are not getting into the vigilante business. I do not recommend, condone, or allow that, okay? That is not a good idea at all." Holy hell, did this girl make him feel like the biggest hypocrite in the world.

"Why not? How old are you even?" she asked, getting a bit upset now.

He scoffed. "I am twenty-four, thank you very much. That's a lot older than you. And I have a lot more experience. So get that thought out of your head, okay?"

"Really? You look younger," she said musingly. Tim supressed a groan. "Sound like it too..."

"It doesn't matter what I sound like!" He snapped, then put a hand on his forehead. "You're not going to be a vigilante. You are not going to observe me anymore. You are going to go home, or I will carry you there. And it won't be fun like last time."

Her mouth set into a firm line, but she nodded stiffly and got up to climb down the fire escape. He watched her go, arms crossed.

She paused on the fire escape, then looked up at him and asked, "What's your name?"

"My name?" he answered dumbly.

"Yeah. You know, most superheroes have a name. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said, waving his hand. He had been calling himself Red X in his head, but hadn't actually said it to anyone. He wanted the criminals to come up with their own names for him to make him seem more like a legend, but the helmet had a red X on it, so it was kind of obvious anyway. He shrugged and answered, "Red X."

A grin split her face. "Oh man, that's so cool."

"Heh. Yeah, cool... What's your name?"

She looked surprised that he asked, but said, "Adriana. Adriana Marsh."

Tim nodded, then said, "Bye Adriana. I better not see you up here again."

She sighed and continued to climb down the fire escape.

AO3

#my writing #fandom writings #ao3 #dc #tim drake #batfam #the space i filled