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alaskatalks · 3 years

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Abuse in the Youtube Vlogging Community — My Experiences

Note 07/07/2021: My original posting was removed by unknown so this will now live here. Please be aware of the content warnings.

Apr 26·14 min read

2012–2018

CW Mention of; Suicide, Assault, Blood, Rape, Deceased Person(s)/‘Suicide Forest Video’

I’m writing this statement to not only provide background on the toxic and abusive culture of the community at the time but to support the multiple other people who have recently come forward detailing abuse from within the UK vlogging Youtube community, and to finally talk about these incidents publicly after carrying them for so long alone.

As I am writing this, one of those mentioned has contacted several mutual acquaintances to stop me from sharing my own story to those people privately,then when they and I didn’t, this person quickly began to smear my name. Because of this I want to begin with some basic background and thoughts which will be most likely be used/twisted in the coming days/weeks by those I mention.

I will only be discussing physically abusive events I was personally privy to but to keep this specific I will be omitting the many micro and macro-aggressions I experienced as usually the only black mixed/non-white and working-class individual in the room/group. It was clear to me quickly that if you were an “other” in certain ways, you’d be open to mockery, namely also if you were working class or lacking financially, I’d heard Chris repeatedly make remarks and mean comments behind the backs of his own guests/friends at various events and parties in his own home in addition to others making similar comments. Because I appeared white passing that time especially; I made my heritage/ethnicity explicitly clear when it first began as a failed attempt to minimize racial remarks around me and then from then on, kept my private life private from many in the group. I learned quickly to ignore a lot directed at me — as I was younger and possessed no media industry contacts or clout/followers at the time, I had to accept my place in this kind of mostly elitist clique/working environment as the only way to continue working with the people I looked up to.

I met everyone personally and got into the community when I was 16/17 after being a fan for many years, contacting CB via post and then emailing him, I wanted to get into television eventually and thought working with YouTube vloggers I looked up to would be a great first step in that direction. Everything detailed below I had previously tried to discuss with those involved privately, but was unsupported and thrown away both professionally and personally.

Rachel

I want to talk briefly about Rachel as I was around just before she joined the general group so was witness to a lot of things. I have spoken to Rachel privately but want to share the frustration and bitterness I feel and felt publicly. Please read her statement via twitter for their story. (In addition to addressing the dangerously hypercritical individuals I have seen crawling out of the woodwork to send her empty public displays of ‘support’ whilst in the past they contributed heavily to the environment which fostered abuse or carried it out themselves.)

The first few times I met Rachel it was at different pubs, and so I had always assumed that she was at least 18 on joining the general group, I was also told (unprompted) about her familial connections within the media/television industry — something that I now believe contributed to many of the youtubers mentioned overlooking basic welfare issues and red flags, and instead thinking of furthering their careers. I spent close to a year trying to help as I could see certain red flags in her ‘relationship’ with JSL, him struggling very heavily and publicly with alcoholism at the time, and Rachel seemingly struggling also. I made my concerns known repeatedly because I was worried, having myself suffered from various abuse from a young age I instinctively wanted to help.

However, close friends of Rachel herself and others, namely Bown, sent me the repeated and clear message that I was “in the way”, this was a message Bown kept telling me once he was living with JSL, who I had begun seeing months prior to Rachel meeting him. I was told by them that my concern was only jealousy and experienced an abundance of side eyes, verbal abuse, bad mouthing, and gossip — I was just a ‘jealous bitch’ in many eyes. (This all despite me being polyamorous with my primary partner from before dating JSL to this current day) I continued to help Rachel whenever I saw her in person before ending things with JSL and distancing myself because not only was I incredibly uncomfortable dating someone who was in a unhealthy situation, but I was very selfishly fed up receiving so much hate when I did speak my mind on the subject. In hindsight, especially after finding out recently that Bown was aware of Rachel’s age, I wish I’d have stuck around.

Rachel is incredible and I hope the following can contribute in some way to validating all those who were victimized by these same people in addition to others with similar stories. For Rachel’s full statement please read it on her Twitter in its entirety @rachelkiki_

Beginning with MT, I had been a huge fan of The Man Time Podcast and The Fratocrats for years before so on meeting him at a party for the first time at C.B’s place, I was excited to talk to him, however, as soon as he found out I had a partner (literally the first thing he asked/said to me after hello) he walked away from me and didn’t interact with me in any way for the rest of the party. A few months later when I was single we slept together for the first time, halfway through he held my wrists down suddenly and just as I thought he was going to kiss me he instead spat in my mouth. I did not ask for, nor want this and reacted as negatively as you’d expect, then feeling incredibly uncomfortable made some excuses and tried to stop things physically.

It was a little while later I found out that he had spoken to a group of very popular youtubers, one of whom was Tom. I found out that not only did MT “report back” to these youtubers detailing a story about how we had had sex and I was in fact, horrendous at it, but hearing about it from C.B. in the form of the question whilst he smiled jokingly “Is this true?” was not only super inappropriate but humiliating.

These were people I had looked up to for years and really wanted to work within the future, but now that seemed like it wouldn’t happen, especially if I ‘made a fuss’. MT wanted to meet up with me at a later point (once I’d confronted him repeatedly afterwards) though when we met it was clear he just wanted to have more sex and the half assed ‘apology’ was more tokenistic. He was sorry “If” anything he did upset me. Because of my own previous trauma (and low self-esteem admittedly) I thought the only way to redeem my reputation would be to continue to see him — I thought if others knew or saw us flirting casually even, it would negate his rumors. This obviously didn’t help and the damage had been done.

Tom*

Shortly after that, whilst on a work trip with CB and others, Tom approached me at a bar and asked me for a photo, I thought it was odd but perhaps he was just being friendly. I was a big fan of Eddsworld so I was okay with it, he took a photo of us both, making sure I smiled and then sent it to MT who was sitting a few tables away in our group as a further way to humiliate me. I spoke about it with some of the others privately after being laughed at, who seemed used to that kind of behavior. I just needed to get used to it and/or “lighten up” so I tried to remain professional and focused, though it seemed more and more like certain people viewed me as disposable entertainment almost, rather than a person.

*I do want to note, as of writing this today, Tom is the only person to reach out to genuinely apologise, which I highly appreciate.

Bown

I could fill multiple pages with the amount of racial charged, sexist and abusive things Bown has done and/or said to me, for example, he berated me the day I got my first big television job, calling me stupid, useless and implying I was only hired because of my ethnicity. He almost always sent his hate via text or instant messaging, I mention that because he commonly expressed all his negativity behind a screen, then in person, he would do a lot of gaslighting. When drunk at his worst, his understanding of the word no became non-existent when I would repeatedly ask not to be touched or requested space.

On one occasion when I had made clear it was a platonic hang, we were watching a film when he suddenly reached over and pressed his fingers into my breasts. I felt instantly violated, I froze for a few seconds and then pulled my shirt up to cover more of my chest/create a visual barrier. I said don’t/stop and continued watching the film. In shock — we weren’t even touching or hugging before- that but he nonetheless did it again and laughed as if it was some kind of game. I made it very clear I was not interested and did not like what he had done. This repeated when he was drunk and said he wanted to apologise, it was at a party which wasn’t the time nor place for that kind of conversation, then, with me saying so then no multiple times, he kept grabbing my waist, then arms and shoulders, refusing to give me the space I was requesting.

There was a lot of disrespect and ugliness I experienced from my first experience ‘working’ (unpaid at first and then at or under minimum wage afterwards) to present but again, I’m only discussing the physical stuff. The first physical time he hurt me was when on tour sharing a room (due to a lack of space as we were out of London) I was sharing with JSL on the floor and Bing had the bed alone. I was awoken in the early hours of the morning to a small piece of metal (which turned out to be a zip as I recall) from a pillow, hitting me hard. I was confused and so thought it was an accident — I assumed the pillow had fallen off the bed by mistake so reached over and put it back on Bing’s bed before going back to sleep. I was then awoken repeatedly by Bing’s hand hitting me in my face hard and repeatedly, though I tried to turn around with my back to him, I then experienced the same but on the back of my head, and my hair being pulled. He had thought the very loud snoring which was waking him up was me, but it was in fact JSL (most who have lived with him or slept in close corners knows he can be a snorer) the next morning I woke having a panic attack which I dealt with before asking him why he did that as it really hurt, he replied that I was snoring but when I told him of the mistake he just looked at me funnily and that was that. No apology ever appeared.

The worst experience I had with him was at his house during a party; it was winding down and I could sense him rushing people out the room in a hushed tone; I was looking at his bookcase, filled with cd’s at the time. On hearing the hushed tones I could sense something was wrong/odd and looked around to find myself suddenly alone in his room. I said a quick sorry, that I didn’t realise and will go join everyone else upstairs if he wants to sleep, he said it was no problem and I should have a drink before bed with him. I was content looking at the cds and before I could answer he brought me a cup and poured out a drink for me (clearly over pouring). I had just eyed a specific CD from my all-time favourite band (they were very niche at the time) and exclaimed in joy before showing it to him, he responded that a fan had sent it to him, I laughed because I was that fan, I had included the CD in a fan letter I sent to him years back. He was giving me a really odd look and then as I said ‘anyway,’ laughing in that british ‘I should get going’ kind of way.

He grabbed the CD before putting it on and pulling me towards the bed. We were sitting side by side and as soon as he grabbed me towards the bed I gave a nervous laugh saying something along the lines of ‘no, I don’t’ when he interrupted me to say it’s all fine, just one song and I need to drink, pushing my cup up which I’d been holding with both hands motionlessly since he gave it to me. As soon as I took a sip, he put his hand on my waist, I kept protesting as he pushed more towards then against me and repeated things like “It’s no big deal” and “It will be fast” ignoring my physical resistance and me audibly saying I did not want to. He placed his hand on mine and pulled it towards his groin area — this was when I finally stopped freezing and pulled away forcibly, I then sat up off the bed and made a beeline for the door — apologizing as I went. As soon as I was on the other side of the door I burst out crying and having a severe panic attack, I muffled the noise and went upstairs where I knew others were sleeping before I couldn’t keep quiet. I cannot remember who else was upstairs but there were multiple people (at least 5) sleeping in various places, I woke up quite a few before being calmed down and going to sleep. He hired me one last time after that as a producer.

H H S

H.H.S is the long time editor of the Paul brothers, he’s worked with many large youtubers and was one of (if not the main) editor of now notorious Logan Paul’s “Suicide Forest Video”,– the following happened around that time for context and is one of the biggest catalysts in my completely giving up on working within the YouTube vlogging sphere. H.H.S had been lightly dragged on his Facebook by friends on a post where he apologized for the Logan Paul video he responded with a fundraiser event post (both this, and the fundraiser have since been deleted) the fundraiser itself was to a suicide prevention charity, although he created it, he hadn’t and didn’t invite anyone directly to it — in hindsight, it’s clear it was just lazy personal pr. I had my own mental health and neurological episode and had attempted to take my own life a little before, so I had created an event with friends to celebrate being alive and beginning new/better things. Not many could come on short notice, though H.H.S was the first (and only) person to click ‘attending’ on the event page, which he did very quickly once I sent out invites.

He never was overly kind or supportive emotionally, so I thought that because of the amount of mutual colleagues, close friends and vloggers invited he would look very crass not to come. I was upset that many couldn’t make it and drank far too much, though I could Just about walk by the time we left the bar — the last 4 of us decided to head back to H.H.S to drink and hang out more as a group. I was meant to text my friend and her partner the address whilst they went home quickly to grab a coat as they lived nearish. H.H.S helped me into the cab and we made our way to his place, it’s then he put his hand behind the seat and began touching my leg. I thought he had a partner at the time and so was confused as he mentioned her earlier in the night, I asked him about this roughly over drinks at his house (which he poured himself) and he said it was fine, I accepted this as I was very drunk by this time and being ethically non-monogamous at the time; I assumed naively that they talked before this. I don’t remember what happened after this until later, I know that I was so drunk I completely forgot to ask H.H.S again for the address, let alone that I had to contact my friend at all.

I remember roughly that things seemed to me above board, but then I experienced a huge amount of pain as he had pushed me onto my front and put his entire weight onto me, I started to say stop, and no as he put more weight onto me and was trying to enter me anally. I told him to stop and that it hurt (he had done this before to me but stopped after a few seconds of me saying no and we discussed how it wasn’t okay with me especially without prior consent so I didn’t expect this). He then put his weight further on me so I was prone and continued for several minutes, I managed to move my body so it wouldn’t hurt as much, though by this point I was stuck under his weight and could barely breathe. Once he had “finished” he got off of me and said something about how this was a good “purge” for him but he loves his girlfriend and so should sleep in the living room. I was in total shock as he just exited the room.

I had no way of getting home by myself and triggered , drunk and confused I went to sleep. I woke up to H.H.S typing away on his computer next to my bed and I shouted “bucket” multiple times so he ran and got me one which I then projectile vomited into. I apologized and went to the bathroom to continue throwing up before heading back to his bedroom to find my things and get home. As I was doing this I asked about the video, he wasn’t talking otherwise and I was extremely uncomfortable trying to hold back a panic attack and further barfing. I waited for my taxi to come as he confirmed everything about the video that I had expected, he boasted about being the main editor of that video, how it was his idea to blur the body, how they wanted more views and they (him and Logan Paul) obviously didn’t care genuinely for anything to do with suicide prevention — this was after excusing various racist acts and remarks made by Logan.

H.H.S didn’t contact me for a full week after this incident, when I got home I discovered I was bleeding from his forced entry, and went into another panic attack. I tried to contact Bing, who had introduced me to him in the first place, when I was met with a barrage of blame. He told me a lot of things like ‘What did you expect?’, ‘That’s on you’ and on me beginning to cry and get emotional, he quickly started to distance himself saying that we aren’t “really friends” anymore, and further slut shaming. I wanted help and was rejected, not only by him but the few others also who I contacted. I figured if my friends would not help me, why would the Police believe me?

I reached out to H.H.S privately but was ignored, he read my messages but did not respond, though remained friends with me on facebook. He now has his own channel with 134k subscribers and won a Streamy Award for his editing work with Logan Paul. If you’ve read all of this, thank you sincerely. I’ve carried this for far too long alone, every time I heard of the people involved and even the Paul brothers names, things just came rushing back violently. After being rejected by so many I believed to be my friends, I decided I shouldn’t come out publicly at the time as I thought no one would believe me, that in addition to the fact that I valued the content they created to such a vast degree that I thought it more important to keep quiet.

Thanks to a sadly long list of brave people, I now know that I matter and so does my voice. I hope that with this, I can finally begin to let all these incidents go and know I appreciate every single person who has been an ally and/or spoke their own truths.

#MeToo #BlackLivesMatter #StopAisanHate

Alaska Harrison

#metoo #blacklivesmatter #youtube #abuse

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chill-course-criticism · 4 years

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The Cult Indoctrination Tactics of Chillcourse

I feel the need to start this post off by stating that I do not think Chillcourse/Chillmeds is a cult. There is no evidence of it being an actual cult, nor would it be productive to do so. However, the server moderators do show some cult-like behaviors and do so enough that it is somewhat concerning.

Again, I am not trying to say that anyone is part of or have created a cult, more so just pointing out that the server as a whole does show many behaviors associated with cults.

Everything behavior called cult-ish in any way is comparable to accounts from former cult members or psychologists. I am also only pointing out tactics that I have personally seen or ones that are proven.

This post focusses on the cult indoctrination steps that the Chillcourse moderators exhibit. More cult-like behaviors will be discussed in (a) later post(s).

I would also like to add that the server and its mods do not use or explicitly show all of the cult indoctrination steps. However, all of the commonly known steps will be listed to make it more clear how many tactics are used by server moderators.

All of the tactics listed below the cut are said to be used by cults by psychologists, as well as former cult members.

Step 1: Invitation to a Non-Threatening Event

Inviting someone to a non-threatening event is one of the behaviors that, on their own, do not mean anything sinister. It can be a friendly or professional gesture without other indoctrination tactics coming into play afterward. However, since there are a few more indoctrination tactics used alongside this one with the server mods, there is a reason to bring this up.

The invitation is often something like being invited to coffee or possibly dinner. It is seemingly the best way to get the possible recruit comfortable with the recruiter. Something this safe also makes it more likely that they will join the cult, seeing as they are not being shown the more concerning behavior off the bat, such as cutting off loved ones or cult rituals.

In regards to Chillcourse, this means the server link that was formerly in Dirk’s bio. Because everyone seems to be so friendly, someone who does not know the things that have happened in the server will likely see this as non-threatening and something fun and inviting. The link becomes even more inviting when you consider the number of anons that Dirk has gotten saying that they were anxious to join the server, where he replied that the server was friendly and that they have no reason to worry.

You could also somewhat consider the number of times that Dirk said that his followers could always reach out to him as another invitation. With the number of anons that he received that stated that they wanted to talk to him but were anxious about it, Dirk got to make that point a lot.

However, there is currently no proof that anyone who reaches out to Dirk via DMs is invited to the server in their conversation, meaning that it is likely less functional as a way to get people to join the server. While that does not mean that people who talk to him are not more likely to join the server, just that there is no proof, which means that this cannot fully be considered the invitation.

Whichever one of these you consider to be the main invitation, though it is primarily the former, this is very clearly similar to what many cults do to begin enticing new members- a simple invitation to something that, without context, is not harmful or scary.

Step 2: Love-Bombing

Love-Bombing is a tactic used by both cults and abusers as a way to get either recruits or targets of abuse to either join the cult or not leave the abuser or make the victim feel as though they owe. Like the first point, this is also another tactic that, on its own, can be completely innocent, as showing excessive amounts of affection can be how one displays emotion. However, when mixed with other cult-like or abusive tactics, love-bombing can be a red flag.

Love-Bombing, in regards to cults, is the tactic or showing a prospective recruit with love, gifts, and other forms of affection. The love-bombing often starts at the event from the first point. In regards to the server, this can often mean anons who express anxiety about joining the server.

Love-Bombing is often one of the longest-running tactics and may only end when one starts showing a lack of faith, belief, loyalty, or whatever the cult wants. It may also end when the cult leader or leaders feels the need to maintain a higher level of control over a said member or members. There are also situations where love-bombing ends when one seems loyal to the cult and unlikely to leave.

In regards to the Chillcourse server, love-bombing comes in multiple forms. It often comes in regards to compliments on discourse posts, selfies, and artwork. However, it rarely seems to go far over the line of an acceptable amount of compliments or affection. The fact that most of the excessive praise, which can often be for minor things, mostly comes from moderators, rather than other members, seems to indicate at least some level of love-bombing within the server.

Despite the more normal amount of compliments and the lack of gifts, this seems to be love-bombing rather than ordinary kindness. I say this because the compliments often stop when a member falls out of favor with the moderators.

Compliments immediately drop of fand often turn into insults, even if said member is still in the server.

The sudden shift in treatment shows up in situations where Chillcourse critical blogs pop up and, even if the mods know that the blog runner is still in the server, said person ends up being insulted somewhat regularly. These insults can range from attacks on intelligence to challenging what people believe because of their stances on the server members to attacking the character of the blog runner. There are a few other types of insults that do come up, but these three are seemingly the most common.

The sudden switch in treatment for someone based on how the moderators feel about them makes it seem like all of the kindness and compliments are love-bombing and not wholly innocent.

Step 3: Dangling a Prize in Front of You

Dangling some form of a prize in front of a possible recruit is one of the big tactics that start to get people to begin to join the cult, rather than interact with members. It is at this point when the recruiter or other members bring up a prize or positive thing for the possible recruit to gain, so long as they join the cult. This prize can be something like enlightenment, getting rid of a decidedly negative (not always truly negative) trait, or even just a community.

Because I have not seen any proof of mods or server members directly holding a prize in front of people, this is going to be one of the somewhat more speculative sections. However, there have been a few things that I have seen that seem similar enough to justify it existing as more than just a listed step.

To an extent, the server is the prize. More specifically than that, the community that the server offers is the prize. Chillcourse is one of or the biggest transmed specific (and possibly even transmed safe) servers from Tumblr. Because of this, Chillcourse is the only way to find that kind of community. That community is the prize in this situation.

The reason I specified that the prize is the community gained through the server rather than the server as a whole is because the server could be seen more as the non-threatening event, with the link being the invitation.

To get into a little more detail on how the community can be the prize. Along with my other point, the server is also one of the most well-known servers that do not allow tucutes, inclusionists, or the like. Because of that, it is one of the only places where transmed and exclusionist views are accepted, especially one that is accessible from Tumblr.

Because of this, it seems very enticing to transmeds and exclusionists on Tumblr, especially considering the number of blogs on Tumblr and servers advertised on Tumblr that are not safe for them at all. All of this makes it easy to get in new transmeds and exclusionists who are looking for a community where they will not be judged or harassed.

Step 4: Extracting an Agreement That You Want the Prize

Extracting an agreement that one wants the prize is another one of the first steps that are hard to come back from and plunge a recruit deeper into the cult. The tactic is traditionally the recruiter asking if the prospective member wants the prize. Because the said prize is enticing, this is often the easiest step.

This tactic is one of the ones that are not used by the server moderators. It is only included in this list to show the number of tactics they use in comparison to the ones that they do not.

Step 5: Shutting Down Dissent by Threatening to Withhold the Prize

Shutting down dissent by threatening to withhold the prize is a tactic used to keep cult members within the cult. This tactic comes into play when the cult leaders start to ask new members to begin going through with somewhat extreme tasks. These tasks may include rituals or cutting off family members. If one expresses concern about these tasks, leaders often say that failing to go through with them will keep the member from achieving the prize.

Considering that the server does not seem to be a legitimate cult, this segment is going to be another one of the less concrete ones. However, there are enough accounts from members, be they current or former, that show them feeling as though something similar to this was happening that this tactic does seem to be in use somewhat.

Many members have stated that they felt as they might have their community taken away from them if they did the wrong thing. In this situation, the wrong thing could be something as simple as disagreeing with the mods on a non-server regulated issue or calling out ignorance.

There were also situations where members ended up getting kicked out of the server or treated poorly by the mods for disagreeing with them on something or even bringing up concerns.

Step 6: Establishment of Guilt

Establishing guilt among members is a crucial tactic to keep cult members under control. The tactic usually entails the leader saying that they have done a lot for the members and that the members will only be happy if they admit that they will always be in debt to the leader. Of course, this is not the only way that the tactic comes into play; it is just one of the most common.

Though the Chillcourse moderators have not said that the members are indebted to them, some of them, especially Dirk, do establish guilt in server members in a few other ways.

One of the primary ways this happened was in regards to Dirk's OCD and how the server organization was. There were times that the organization of channels was said to be something that triggered the OCD or anxiety of some members.

Every time this would happen, Dirk would say that the channels were that way because of his OCD. Whether he meant for it to every time or not, this did spark guilt in at least a few server members. The guilting became worse when the complaint started to come from criticism blogs, which caused the following argument to end up being a blanket argument against everyone, rather than just criticism blogs.

Instead of just saying that the channels are the way that they are because of Dirk's OCD, he started to call anyone who brought up the channel organization ableist for not knowing or remembering that he has OCD.

There was also another way that Dirk specifically would establish guilt among server members. There were times when different people would criticize Dirk for many reasons. Whenever this happened, he would often go to the server and talk about everyone hating him, sometimes including former friends of him.

On its own, this would cause some server members to feel guilty for making Dirk feel bad about himself, even if they had done nothing wrong or he had done something that deserved some form of criticism.

There were also instances where this would also involve Dirk saying things that implied that he felt as though anyone who had even slight problems with him or actions that he did were awful people or responsible for his poor mental state in some way. This was accompanied by him saying that he was constantly being backstabbed by close friends, disregarding how close any of these people actually were to him and what they had done.

Step 7: Carrot and Stick

The carrot and stick tactic used by cults is one of the more simple ones and yet another tactic that might seem somewhat harmless when used on its own. Simply put, this tactic is the use of rewarding or praising what the cult sees as positive behavior and punishing what it sees as negative behavior.

In regards to Chillcourse, this comes in a few forms. One of the most common examples of this is mods and members showering other server members with praise when they make what the server as the whole finds to be a good discourse post or argument.

There are also times when members would disagree with the majority on an opinion that was not an opinion regulated by the server, which would cause many other members to dogpile them for it, during which none of the moderators would stop it and would even sometimes join in.

Combined with how quickly the moderators and some members will turn on the runners of criticism blogs, including ones whom they know have remained in the server.

Step 8: Control of Identity, Information, and Environment

The tactic of controlling the environment and identities of members, as well as restricting the flow of information is one of the main ways cults keep their members under their control.

In the case of Chillcourse, this tactic is a little harder to call out. The reason for this being that some of the control of information and environment could be a way to keep the server safe for transmeds, rather than to restrict members' knowledge of other points of view. However, there is still some evidence of moderators, primarily Dirk, using this tactic within the server.

One of the biggest instances of information and the environment being controlled is in the server rules, specifically the second rule. The rule in question used to read, "No tucutes, MOGAI, mspec(not including bi), neopronouns, inclusionists, so on. No conflicting identities like 'nb boy' 'he/him lesbian', etc. The full acronym is LGBT. Q word is a slur."

This means that any stances that are against the ones that the mod hold are not allowed. That rule causes the restriction of the flow of information, as well as the environment within the server.

Recently, the rule has changed, though not to something that does not restrict information somewhat. Since the change in rules, the new version reads, "We do not allow tucutes, pro-mogai, pro-mspec, inclusionists, or pro-neopronoun. People neutral on the topics are allowed as long as they are respectful."

The new version of the rule, though slightly looser when it comes to people who are not set on the same stances as the mods, it still does not allow anyone who does not have the same opinions as the mods.

There are more, often more minor, instances of the mods controlling the information within the server. However, the rule above is the most prominent example and the text that caused every other instance of this.

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iwritethat · 4 years

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Tim Drake: Sister, Sister

Tim Drake x Sister!reader

A/N: This beautiful idea was all down to @comicsgirlimagines who is truly wonderful and an incredible writer also (check them out), credit goes to them for their support and talks when writing this.

Thank you @comicsgirlimagines ♥️

>>>>——————————>

It was ironic, everything around was designed to perfection, to be exactly what you wanted and needed to maintain a positive existence as a reward for your past choices on Earth.

Yes, Heaven may've been perfect and brought you endless happiness but you were conscious enough to find the faults, for a start your brother was absent - which of course was a blessing, you didn't want him to join you for as long as possible, he had his whole life to live after all. It was entrancing, tuning in to the life events of Tim Drake on occasion, your little brother had certainly taken an interesting path - currently he fought with his new brothers, the League of Assassins were after Damian again and it automatically became a family emergency.

They hopped from rooftop to rooftop, battling various members with each vigilante fighting their own battles yet managing to lend assistance when able. However as you watched on, Red Robin seemed to be doubled down - more assassins were upcoming and he was the first standing in their way. You began to panic, was there even a way to get down there?! You'd looked into such things before as soon as you learned of his hobby, sure you were dead but people constantly connected with the spirit world - such a phenomena should work both ways. Or at least it was a theory under construction at the moment.

———

Another down, then another, and another. It became routine, but with repetitive strain came exhaustion and before Tim could react he'd made what was soon to be a fatal mistake, he should’ve ducked the blade gunning for his throat but instead was a millisecond too late to react. His body falling short of available counters and it was then he realised, this was it - after everything, this was finally how he’d go out. Maybe it wasn’t so bad, he’d aided more people than he ever thought possible but surely there were things he’d miss out on like having the opportunity to become a father, get married or even see Gotham make progress as a city. Regardless, he had made his peace with that and he’d closed his eyes in acceptance ready for whatever awaited him in the afterlife.

It was a split second - he never thought the white light actually existed but it flashed behind his eyelids rather sporadically and suddenly the breath was knocked out of lungs and it felt as though his head collided with concrete.

"Jeez I'll be back soon, don't worry." His sister gave an exasperated sigh, hands on her hips as her little brother tugged at her backpack.

"But (Y/n)! Please let me come with you!" Tim pleaded, successfully halting her in her tracks.

"No way kiddo, you'll probably fall off of the mountain. But hey, no matter how far apart we are, I'll always look out for you. Okay?" She smiled, tousling his hair as he accepted her justification.

"You promise?"

"I pinky promise."

"Hmm, see you when you get back loser." Tim mischievously commented, his sister rolled her eyes with a sarcastic "Oh haha." before heading off on her rock climbing trip.

That was the last time he'd laid eyes on her, unbeknownst to him at the time. And yet, this light, this warm familiar presence brought back such memories - of that day, of the news, of the funeral...

So then, how is it that he could hear her voice so clearly?

"Get up Tim! C'mon loser, I don't know how long I've got!" It was dangerously loud, demanding almost and it made him consider how things hadn’t changed much.

Tim was coming to, clenching his eyes shut in order to adjust to the bright glow that shrouded the area as he sat up with a squint.

"Argh, (Y/n) what the-?"

The figure kneeling down beside him was easily recognisable, having not aged in the years that had passed without her but the concerned expression she wore was contagious.

"No time to explain, magic spiritual existence or whatever but please get up. Here's your staff." You pulled him to his feet, albeit Tim remained dazed with these developments and stumbled against your figure with a groan. His staff was pushed into his chest and it was only now - dream or not - he spoke his true feelings.

"I missed you, so much..."

“I know...” The sincerity in his voice only made you feel guilty, the accident wasn’t your fault but you still left him and that was a weight you’d carried since you’d died.

Tim was slowly adjusting, finding what seemed to be a brief flash of wings behind you but that must’ve been from hitting his head so hard considering he now stood on the opposing rooftop to previously. Recalling the last moments his hand shot to his throat, more than shocked when his fingers remained absent of blood and his breathing was perfectly normal ignoring the quickness of it, next he looked back to where he was standing beforehand only to find bodies of assassins littering the roof and battles continuing over the street.

“Am I dead?”

“What? No. I’m dead, you’re alive.” You quickly corrected with furrowed brows and a sigh, flicking his forehead as he pushed your hand away in retaliation.

Although he paused, the familiarity of sibling like antics hitting him with an unwanted wave of nostalgia and he looked at you again - really looked. Saw past the golden glow, saw past the perfect skin and any evidence of scathes or aging. It was you but ethereal, you weren’t alive, you weren’t staying and you definitely weren’t coming back to life. That was what made him embrace you, arms wrapping around your torso so tightly that if alive then breathing would be a problem but you didn’t care, his face buried in your hair whilst you held back emotional whimpers. For however long you had been gifted, you’d say goodbye properly this time.

“I’m sorry for breaking my promise, so sorry, please please forgive me Tim -“

“Yo-you didn’t break it idiot.” It was such a soft whisper, an attempt to comfort you even if he didn’t understand your reasoning for profuse apologies.

“I didn’t come home, I left you alone and that’s the worst thing I could’ve done as your sister!” You defended, justifying your beliefs and pulling away from Tim who offered a soft smile amidst his watery eyes.

“You promised that no matter how far apart we are, you’d always look out for me and you have. (Y/n) you saved my life just now - how many people have the willpower to come back from the grave to do that? But you did that for me, you kept your promise.” Tim assured, wiping your tears away before hugging you once more.

“I’m proud of you y’know, kicking names and taking ass.” You weakly laughed, parting to punch his shoulder once regaining your composure.

“So you keep up with the times in the afterlife huh?”

“It gets boring up there okay? Speaking of, you should get back to fighting beside your family - who I love by the way.” You happily informed, gesturing over time the members of the Batfamily fighting various battles with a sad knowing smile.

Tim noticed the sorrow in your irises, the way you turned back to him like it was the last time you’d be with each other and it probably was but he simply sighed and placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder.

“You’re still my favourite sibling and as such I guess I should take your advice.” Tim softly commented and with an understanding nod a bright light engulfed his form once more.

This time he’d landed in the most heated area of the fight, landing executed perfectly with an immense rupture of light knocking out every enemy on impact. Tim stood, his family turning to him awestruck at the amount of unfathomable controlled power that originated from his form and how exactly he’d seemingly beamed over out of thin air.

“Later Timbers, and by the way I think you should stop crushing on Steph and ask her out already.” Your voice remained, albeit fleeting, as was your figure standing beside him overlooking your handiwork.

“Wha- you can’t know all of my business zombie!” He went to knock your upper arm, fingers phasing straight through your body and you both mirrored sympathetic expressions, a knowing and meaningful exchange enough to say what words couldn’t.

“I’m so happy for you Tim, stay alive okay?” And with that your figure faded into blissful golden stardust that spiralled into wind up toward the matte sky until they’d disappeared from Tim’s line of sight.

“Goodbye (Y/n)...”

——

“What was that out there Tim? A new gadget?” Bruce questioned his former partner once they returned to the Batcave whilst Tim got out his phone with an absentminded smile.

“My sister.”

“You have a sister, why didn’t you ever mention it?” Dick now inquired, walking in step beside him.

“Because you’d want to meet her and that’s, that’s impossible but her name was (Y/n). Here, this was us a few years ago.” Tim answered honestly, the implications easily read by his family who remained respectfully quiet until Tim handed Dick his phone which displayed a picture of the two of you. The others gathering around out of curiosity.

“Damn she’s hot.” Jason casually commented, reviving a facepalm from Cass and chiding from an irritated Damian.

“Todd, that’s completely irrelevent!”

“She has standards Jay sorry, but, she really likes you guys.” Tim smugly replied, his last words laced with underlying gratitude whilst Jason received over dramatic ‘ooohs’ from the rest of the family after that smart burn. Although Tim saw the contentment on each of them, that despite not knowing you, they had your blessing as his new family which was a very sacred thing in their opinion.

Once he’d regained his own space, he began typing a message he never thought he’d write until after your encounter.

Tim: [Hey Steph, I’ve been told I need to act on things so I was wondering if you wanted to go out this weekend? Not in costume, just as you and I.]

Stephanie: [About time Tim, who do I have to thank for your sudden confidence haha?]

Tim gave a relieved smile at the positive reply, looking up to the sky before asking with a proud yet considerate tone.

“You happy now?”

He would’ve said the sun broke through the cloudy sky of Gotham for a few seconds, golden rays bathing the Manor grounds and his skin - but that was probably unrelated coincidence...

#tim drake imagine #tim drake #tim drake x reader #dc #dc imagine #red robin #red robin imagine #red robin x reader

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zachnovak · 3 years

Text

So I don’t normally log onto this account much so I haven’t seen any of the many messages and such I’ve been getting on recent posts concern some dumb drama. In a nut shell, some adults who act more like immature children from the Mean Girls universe love to make crap up and I was the current target as I.... was breathing? I dunno. Apparently I’m the anti christ or something and they haven’t gotten over that their attempts to cancel me and even cause me to commit acts of self harm with continued targeted harassment and involving me in drama I know nothing about have all failed. Frankly, it’s because I literally don’t give a shit. I come to tumblr to RP, make my posts, and then hop on my PS4, switch, class work, gym time whatever. I don’t care about drama or what’s going on in the RPC as I know it’s a shot show filled with drama and people trying gossip girl type ‘takedowns’ of others just for breathing in when they were suppose to breathe out.

Because of that crap I literally just sign on to in the RPs I’m in then close the tumble tab. I do not have a personal, I do not check out any tags other than for the face claims I use to get pics or gifs, and I go out of my way NOT to know anyone’s personal blogs or their aliases. If we talk on discord great, if not, great as well. I do occasionally make my own group and put my current one on hiatus as the recent drama turned me off but going to reopen it soon. I’ve just been part of a couple of groups since and currently. However, since some people are interested in my past here because of the nonsense, here we go.

I was on an RP called alegendreborn which was one of my first RPs on tumblr. It seemed great and welcoming. I picked one of their skeleton canons and was happy to be there. I got along with people but didn’t know how to reblog properly as I was new to tumblr and three way posts were extreme confusing. Apparently my inability to properly reblog them pissed off some of the members. Because of that I only really talked to one person in the RP who helped me learn how to reblog correctly. Also, my character had a pre-established connection to another as a ‘best friend’ so we had a couple of threads. However, I quickly noticed the min of that character could go 3 weeks to months without posting but pass all activity checks and would focus on bubble RPing with the same three muns. When this person ignored our thread for weeks I sent them three messages four days apart each that reminded them of the thread which I was told they’d post. On the last message I told this person I was ending our thread and requesting that staff change my characters group in an event they were running as they put our characters in the same group and I no longer trusted this person to post in a timely manner to me. I was quickly ‘invited to leave’ and had multiple members message me on Skype to basically tell me I was shit and an awful person for trying to get a reply I’d been waiting 2 months to get. So I left and never looked back.

I later joined an RP called warofthenewage-rpg which again seemed friendly but much more basic lore wise than the previous RP. I quickly noticed a character who was almost EXACTLY like a skeleton canon I had on an RP I made on a jcink forums RP two years before. I messaged the player of that character asking if he knew of my RP he said he did but before I could presue anything he instantly wanted to plot my character with his. I did message the main about it but was later told they ‘never got it’. We plotted our character as a couple as the chemistry they were displaying in our first few threads was very apparent and we loved posting together and could pop out paragraphs of posts minutes after the other just posted. Eventually, that min begun to became very controlling of how and what I was posting. If my character had a thought of his that wasn’t postive or lovey, he’d berate the hell out of me on Skype and threaten to end our plot. Apparently he had also been complaining the his friends in the RP and told them I posted ‘too many actions’ and that it made him feel forced to react in specific ways. That telephoned to other members and morphed into I was forcing him to do exactly what I told him to post and poweplaying/god modding him. Now I come from forum RPs and there to post A LOT and you progress the thread with each post. This is done so you’re not 30 posts in and you’re characters are still at the door that one of them knocked on in the very first post.

Eventually, most members begun to refuse to speak to me because of the complaining he did which they’d snowball into some out of this world epic drama. The staff even begun to be hostile, use the gossip blog to belittle my character, and would pretend not to receive my applications when I tried for additional characters or my wanted ads but use the info to create a very similar character or ‘update’ an existing one. Well, about 2 months of members ignoring me or belittling me followed, staff made it worse and the mun I had a plot with decided to when not telling me I suck and no one liked me, he’d say we still had our plot but then took my character out of the equation and made another character take his place. Naturally I was upset as I had been through months of harassment, belittling, and treated like crap by everyone in the RP because of this guy only to in the end be thrown away. I resolved to move my character on. I only spoke to him and two other people in the RP and one of them had a character that was insanely into my character. However, the guy I had the plot with was insanely sexually attracted to the face claim so when my character and this new one had threads, he tried to tell the RP and even the other mun that I was forcing them into posting and into smutting which was engaged by the other person in one of our threads. I was harassed by that guy for days until I dropped that plot and basically used a ‘reset’ option for my character. However, that pissed off the guy and I again was relentlessly attacked by him on Skype. After months of the members ignoring me for (to my knowledge, no reason as I never spoke with 98% of the RP) or insulting me and out right telling me to kill myself, an attempt was made and I was effectively gone for almost two months for recovery.

Almost a year later I came back and begun to remake my old jcink RP here on tumblr. It took me about 5 months to do and I dug up codes from codepen and codrops to use in the theme. I also copied the aesthetic from the jcink RP’s theme and brought it over. The RP was very popular and seen as one of the best designed and story driven ‘mutant’ type RPs around. However, an admin from another RP became very bitter at it and me. This admin ran an RPH and had their own RP in the same genre in the past. They were revamping it and noticed our RPs had a similar aesthetic, apparently monchromatic themes AKA a them that uses shades of white, grey, and black for most of its coloring was only allowed to be used by that admin. The admin attacked my RP and claimed I had stolen their theme and coding and even went so far as going into my coding and pasting selective bits of it. I was asleep when she made the original post and woke up to dozens of anon messages ranging from calling me a thief to demanding I kill myself. All my members were harassed in the same way and she had contacted all the RPHs I had asked for a shoutout or was on their spotlights of to ‘inform them’ and then openly attack them if they didn’t remove any mention of my RP and signal boost her post. She even went so far as to harass and threaten RPs I was on, that I was one, or that had a character that sounded anything like any of mine. I even had an affiliation thing started but many of those I had been added to messaged me that they were being harassed and I told them to pretend they didn’t know what was going on. I’d take the hit for them and spare them farther harassment and leave their RPs if they wanted as I was on most of them.

During this time I was recovering from everything I was being slammed with be anons and the RPs previously mentioned going off as well in some pity attempt to get revenge for... not being liked on their RPs three and two years previously? I also was collecting evidence that many of the codes this RPH claimed she made and in stole were in fact on codrops and codepen. A good amount I made myself but a large chunk were from these resource sites with some heavy edits so they’d work better on tumblr. I even had evidence that many of her own coding templates had codes directly from these sites and others with no credit given to them and her claiming she created all the coding on her own. I submitted it to many RPHs and many of them saw the error and how this person was very toxic in the community and was making more drama than helping it. Some ignored it outright as she was popular and I was just a nobody. It took 3 years to recover from it in terms of my reputation and I again shut down my RP for a bit as I had made another attempt on my own life as that person and her friends continued to harass me and attack me on their personal or RPH accounts.

The last bit of drama came when I joined an RP called Corinth Bay. At first there wasn’t any and I had long since adopted my, sign on just to post and then bounce method of being on an RP. I eventually got to know one member named Shane. @inthenamexofthemoon I think we became pretty good friends as we talked everyday for basically the whole day. We had plots, enjoyed posting, and just chatting. I noticed that RP was heavily cliquey and wasn’t aware that Shane was a part of the admin’s clique. This group had multiple issues with member complaining their characters were being ignored and people were bubble RPing with the same people over and over. I myself had to constantly ask people if they wanted to plot or just post and even the main had to post up announcement about ignoring starters to make closed ones and expanding who they post with. I also had questions on much of the lore of the RP as other than the origins of each supernatural species, the lore was very generic and vague. I asked around and got a lot of different opinions on what could or couldn’t be done by each species and just went with what was common among them all. Shane himself helped me a bit and I went with his suggestions which apparently were completely wrong as the staff had to talk to me on ‘breaking lore’.

After that, I expressed openly how I felt the staff didn’t like me and my concern that given how cliquey the place was, if the staff didn’t like me I’d probably be ‘exiled’ from the group as a whole AKA no one would post or talk to me. Which did happen with the exception of Shane. Others I had spoken to had long left and told me stories of the awfulness of some of the members and staff. So I begun working on an RP of the same genre that I had half finished years before. Shane was kept in the loop every step of the way and pinned and loved all the lore I showed him which I did to ensure it was both in-depth and easy to follow but also wasn’t ‘bad’ IE, offensive if certain things are mentioned. He loved it and ensured me it was great and pinned everything I showed him so he’d reference it when making his characters. Eventually I worked on it so much that I kept only the bare minimum activity requirements for Corinth Bay but obeyed the rules of activity to the letter. However, the staff ultimately removed me despite even admitting that they knew I still had a couple of days before failing the activity check and had actually ‘not counted’ a couple of posts I made for an event going on as I should have replied to starters for it first but it wasn’t a requirement. Also they used a blog to post up starters as many RPs like to do now only they were also slow to reblog them and never used the starter tags so they’d get buried quickly on the dash with everyone posting picture posts and what not.

Ultimately I gave up on that RP, didn’t need the toxic environment and finished mine. Shane got very quiet though and didn’t reply to my discord messages for a couple of days. When he did he suddenly got a bit hostile and everything in my RP WAS ‘problematic’ and because of that he wouldn’t be joining. I had no idea what he meant as before he said it was perfect and awesome so I asked what he meant specifically. Eveutally he told me a little of what he meant. Apparently there was racism as In the witch’s page mentioning that voodoo and other cultural magical/practices was a form of magic some witches practiced was both racist and cultural appropriation. Although voodoo was indeed a magical/belief practice used as a magical practice I decided to just remove its mention in the end. He also didn’t like that in the lore, there were female characters that were ‘bad’ and that was sexist. This I choose not to change as it’s sexist to say women can’t be villains and felt as just an excuse. Especially since my lore included many powerful women, men, and gender less entities that were villains, heroes, and neutral parties.

Eventually after opening, I decided to message the people I had previous posted with telling them the RP was ready and I’d love for them to check it out. Those from Corinth Bay I messaged were either aware I was making one and wanted to see it or were people Shane and I hinted to it being made and they had at least a slight interest in it. Admittedly, I also messaged blogs that came on the ‘recommended blogs’ part of the dash. Only those that were inactive according to the last few IC posts that were showing in their blogs. I know this gets a mixed reaction from some as some view it as a horrible thing even if the blogs are inactive but many MANY people also appriecate it and the fact that someone read their blog and was very impressed with their writing ability and character. I myself receive many of these messages on my retired blogs and don’t see an issue with it myself. Even if I did I’d just block the blog that sent it and never think of them again like a normal person.

One of the members I DIDN’T even know who they were apparently didn’t like this and decided to make drama over it. To this day I don’t know who this person even is or was when I was on that RP and still don’t as everyone drops and makes new characters when bored on there. Shane went fully 180 on me and turned vile and petty which is clearly to save face with the people on that RP. He knows me from all our talks and that the bullshit he spreads is itself false but still was a bit of a pity bitch for a while. Apparently the friend @stephwuzhere @loganlcrmans of the admin that tried to cancel me also wanted to rehash that old drama but was quickly shut down. I had no idea who this person even was at first as again, I don’t follow any tags and go out of my way to avoid personal blogs and ones like RPH, RPT, and whatever unless just asking for a quick shoutout to my RP. I had no idea that this person was also very toxic and involved in targeted harassment, grooming, and identity theft of various people in the RPC just because she didn’t like them at the moment.

I have decided to stay away from this shit storm despite some of these people still trying to drag me into it even though I literally haven’t thought about them for months and barely even remember they exist. I’ll be reopening my RP soon and hope that these people who live their privlenged lives will eventually get over themselves and do some growing up. I say their are privileged because you must be if you can harp on drama for months and keep dragging someone you have no connection or knowledge of. The rest of us, adults, have things like work, bills, school, friends, and trying to destress from watching our bank account get more and more empty to care about pity immature online drama. Especially when it’s bullshit like ‘he dared to remind me he exists’. Please, grow up and do better people. There is life outside of the internet and when you get too old to be in the RPC which is apparently a thing now, you’ll see just how stupid you were to make so much drama for no reason other than being pity, stupid, immature, brats.

#inthenamexofthemoon #stephwuzhere #loganlcrmans #psa #usersteph

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sightlessdarkcorner7 · 5 years

Text

The Case of the Southend Werewolf

What would go on to be called the Southend Werewolf begins in the Essex seaside town of Southend, England, on a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon in 1952. On this day, 9-year-old William Ramsey was out in the garden of his family home playing by himself as he tended to do. He was an imaginative boy, who would often spend hours out there in his own little world, lost in his imagination. There was nothing particularly odd about him being out there lost to his imagination on this day either, and having just returned from a day out at the movies watching films about World War II pilots he was out acting like he was a fighter pilot, much to his mother’s amusement. But then something decidedly odd occurred. After about an hour of playing out in the grassy backyard as usual, young Bill Ramsey suddenly felt a strange wave of cold wash over him, like some icy winter chill, even though it was a warm, pleasant afternoon. After this initial chill, he started shaking uncontrollably and he could detect an unpleasant odor permeating the air around him. He would later recount about the feeling: “Have you ever walked into a meat locker right after you’ve been outside on a hot day? That’s what this was like. I was playing and my body temperature was normal and then, well, I’d say it felt as if my body temperature dropped a good twenty degrees. Sweat froze on me and my whole body started shaking. It was as if I’d opened this door and stepped inside to another dimension or something. And there was this odor. Very foul. A few years earlier, a sewer on our street had backed up. I’d never smelled anything as bad as the gasses that escaped. And that’s what this smell was like that day, I was afraid I was going to vomit.” As young William stood there bewildered and trying to make sense of the strange sensations and smells assaulting his senses, they suddenly subsided, yet he felt that something within him had changed. He was no longer interested in pursuing his imaginative play, thinking it rather childish and petty, but was rather extremely tense, coiled, and on edge, his senses keenly attuned to his surroundings. He glanced around him and up at the darkening sky but everything seemed somewhat off to him, and images of wolves began to inexplicably dance through his head, as well as the irrational sudden urge to run off down the road on all fours towards the sea. At some point, his concerned mother came over and called out to her son, trying to snap him out of his daze. It was at this point that Bill was suddenly overcome by a blinding, inexplicably burning rage that coursed through his entire body like an electrical current, and a deep growl lurched forth from his mouth. Before he even knew what he was doing, he allegedly tore a nearby fencepost completely out of the ground, along with its concrete mooring and wire fencing, displaying a vicious strength far beyond what such a young boy should have been capable of, and proceeded to swing it around like a baseball bat in some sort of adrenaline fueled rage. The out of character outburst was enough to frighten his parents into fleeing hastily into their home, where they waited for their son to calm down and gain some semblance of sanity. As they watched, their normally mild mannered son began to tear apart the wire fencing with his bare hands and even gnaw at it with his teeth like some sort of wild beast. Bill’s father decided to go try to subdue his son, but was met with a strength far beyond what he was expecting, and he was unable to pry the fencepost from the boy’s iron grip. With his own son snarling at him and lashing out at him like a beast, Bill’s father retreated back to the relative safety of the house.

After several minutes of his epic tantrum, little Bill Ramsey began to calm down and finally dropped the fencepost as he stood there panting like a dog, blood dribbling down his chin from the cuts he has sustained from biting the sharp fencing wire. After feeling the coldness and rage seep and leech away from his body, Bill trudged over to the house and calmly asked to be let inside. His parents obliged, but they did so cautiously, not sure if their son would revert to the animalistic fury he had displayed just moments before. As they awkwardly ate dinner that night in near silence, their thoughts going over the strange events of the day, they mentioned that whatever it was that occurred was not to be talked about again, and that they should try to forget it ever happened. It was at this time that Bill’s mother would later claim that she had noticed that her son had subtly changed somehow, although she could not quite put her finger on what it was. The family went on to live a peaceful life without further such incidents. Bill Ramsey would go on to have a normal life, get married, and have three children. He became a respectable family man long past that fateful sunny day. However, shortly after his marriage he began to be plagued by vivid nightmares in which he would sometimes wake up panting or growling like an animal, much to the concern of his family. The bizarre dreams and episodes would eventually stop in 1967, after which the family seemed to be free of whatever issues were haunting Bill. They would have a happy life for years and Bill started to think his life was getting back to normal, but then in the 1980s a series of bizarre incidents would prove to him that there was still something very much wrong with him indeed.

In early 1983, Bill was out drinking with a group of friends when he claims he felt a sudden rush of icy cold and sweat, very similar to what he had experienced as a child. Feeling ill, he went to the restroom and says that when he looked into the mirror he could see the frightening visage of a wolf staring back at him. Steadily unsettled by the whole incident, he asked to be taken home, and as he was riding in the car with his friends he was reportedly overcome with an irresistible rage that took over his body and stole its control from him. He began to snarl wildly, turning to the friend next to him and attempting to bite his leg. The driver of the car was able to pull over, after which they all struggled to restrain Bill and get him under control, a feat that took all of them since he seemed to be displaying a freakish amount of strength. Bill would eventually come back to his senses, marking the end of a very strange, very awkward evening out. He would later say that he could remember nothing of the odd incident.

Later that year, things would only get stranger still. At around Christmas of 1983, Bill began to suffer from nearly incapacitating sharp chest pains, something which he had never really experienced before. He also was overwhelmed by a cold sweat that poured from his upper body. His immediate concern was that this was the onset of a major heart attack, and Bill found his way to the nearest hospital emergency room. Once there, he was urgently put on a gurney and prepared for examination, but as he waited he could feel the familiar odd chill from his boyhood episode spread out and overcome him once again. At one point, as a nurse bent over to examine him, Bill purportedly let out a guttural roar and lashed out at her with teeth bared, biting into her arm, after which he threw around furniture and scurried into a corner of the room to growl, roar, and pace like an animal. Police arrived, and together with hospital staff they were able to restrain the immensely strong, rampaging man onto a gurney and sedate him with tranquilizers, all the while as he ferociously snapped his teeth at them and roared like a wild beast. Witnesses would later say that Bill had seemed completely, utterly animalistic at the time, with his hands curved into claws, teeth bared, lashing out at those around him, and snarling and growling unintelligibly. One of the policemen who had helped to restrain Bill would later claim that the man’s eyes had looked feral and wolf-like. The sedated man was brought to Runwell Mental Hospital, and when the drugs wore off Bill claimed that he had no recollection of what had happened and had no idea why he was at a mental hospital. Although doctors there suggested that Bill stay and undergo further evaluation and testing he declined, and since he had voluntarily checked himself in at the hospital he was allowed to leave. It was the attending psychiatrist’s opinion that he was likely to have another such episode in the future unless they figured out what was wrong with him but at the time Bill ignored him and went home, thoroughly exhausted from the whole ordeal and hoping that no further such mysterious attacks would emerge. The doctor would turn out to be right.

In January of 1984, Bill went to visit his mother and as he was driving home he felt another episode coming on. Realizing the now familiar tell tale signs of an impending episode, he rushed as fast as he could to the hospital and ended up in the same emergency room as he had been in before. However, by the time he arrived, the wolf-like ferocity had already utterly consumed him. When a lone nurse told him to wait a moment for a doctor, Bill allegedly lashed out at her and threw her roughly to the floor, before pouncing upon a startled orderly in a frenzy, choking him and trying to bite him. Police arrived shortly after and four officers warily circled Bill, who was by this time once again a savage, snarling beast. The beastly, fierce display was so frightening that none of the officers wanted to approach him, and when one did Bill’s response was to set upon him as a predator might do to prey, apparently injuring the officer so badly that he would remain at the hospital for 4 days afterward. The police would later claim that it took all four of them and all of their strength to get Bill into handcuffs, and that he had been much stronger than his appearance would suggest, to the point that they wondered if the handcuffs would even hold.

After he had been put into the handcuffs and thrown into the back of a patrol car, Bill reportedly came back to his senses and as before could not recall anything that had happened from the time that he had been approaching the hospital. After being interrogated and rationally attempting to tell his bizarre story to the no doubt skeptical authorities, it was recommended that he check himself into a mental hospital. Bill refused and was later released. Unfortunately, it would come to be clear that checking into a mental hospital might not have been such a bad idea at all. On the evening of July 22, 1987, Bill stopped by a bar called the White Horse Inn to have a drink after a hard day at work. There he met some friends and they ended up having a good time chatting and drinking, although by the time Bill left the bar he was fairly drunk. Worried that he was too drunk to drive and that a policeman might pull him over, he nevertheless got into his car to drive home, deciding to take a quiet route home where he hoped he could avoid other people and the cops. At some point he came across a lone prostitute walking along the street and got the bizarre plan into his head to make a citizen’s arrest. He pulled the van over and invited the prostitute in, who obliged as she thought she was dealing with a customer. However, as they drove, she began to get a very strange and ominous feeling from Bill, as if he meant to do her harm. She soon asked to be let out and that was when Bill started to let out a rumbling growl under his breath.

When the car slowed down enough, the prostitute then allegedly made a panicked run for the nearest police station and Bill stepped out of the car to follow her. A police officer emerged from the station as Bill approached, and when he drew closer, the beastly force overcame him and he threw the policeman to the ground to begin choking him. Allegedly, the officer was much bigger than Ramsey, yet the smaller man exhibited almost supernatural strength and was easily able to overwhelm him. More police officers then came running to their fallen comrade’s aid, yet Ramsey proved to be a force to be reckoned with, easily tossing the men aside as he roared like an animal and allegedly spat out: “The devil is in me…I am going to kill you.” It would purportedly take 6 strong police officers and several injections of tranquilizer to bring the wild rampage to a stop. Again, Bill would later claim that he had no recollection at all of what had actually transpired. The prostitute, only known as “Lauren,” would later doubt that Ramsey had ever had any intention of arresting her, instead preferring to believe that he had picked her up with the expressed interest in attacking her.

In the aftermath of this vicious assault, Bill finally checked himself into a mental hospital for evaluation, fearing for his own safety and the safety of those around him. A slew of tests were run on him, including X-rays, MRIs, and various psychiatric tests, yet no discernible cause fro the outbursts could be found. There seemed to be nothing wrong with him, neither physically nor mentally. He was kept for observation for 10 days, during which time he remained his normal, rational and mild mannered self, leaving the hospital no choice but to release him. The police station attack propelled Bill Ramsey’s case into international headlines, and soon everyone was talking about what was coming to be known as the “Southend Werewolf.” In the meantime, Ramsey had several more violent, animalistic episodes, which on several occasions prompted him to go to police and plead to be locked up to prevent him from harming anyone. Bill Ramsey’s plight would capture the attention of famed demonologists and supernatural investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren as they were on a trip to London. After contacting local law enforcement officials, the Warrens were able to get in touch with the Ramseys and arrange to meet with them.

While the Warrens at first were suspicious that the whole thing had been a hoax, after several talks with the police and Bill’s family, it soon became apparent that the strange events that had transpired were very real, although no one had any idea of what had caused them. The Warrens became convinced after several talks with Ramsey himself and his wife, Nina, that he was in fact possessed by a form of demon animal spirit. After much cajoling, Bill was convinced by the Warrens that he should come to their church in in Connecticut in order to undergo an exorcism with a Bishop Robert McKenna, who had many exorcisms under his belt. In 1989, Bill Ramsey and his wife made the trip to the States, hoping that perhaps an answer and cure could be found to his escalating condition. In the days before the exorcism, there was a bizarre incident in which Bill attempted to choke his wife in her sleep, which he would not remember in the morning. When the time for the exorcism actually arrived, there were present Bishop McKenna, the Warrens, Bill Ramsey, his wife, paranormal investigator John Zaffis, staff from the tabloid magazine, The People, who had funded the trip, and several off duty policemen who were to serve as bodyguards if things should spiral out of control. When the exorcism began, Bill was reportedly skeptical and unimpressed, and as the Bishop rambled on in Latin he felt nothing whatsoever. He began to think the whole trip had been a waste of time, and later claimed that he had felt it was all “mumbo jumbo” at the time. Yet as McKenna began to press his stole against Bill’s head and demand that the demon identify itself, things would take a sudden turn for the weird.

Bill’s demeanor abruptly changed, he began to snarl viciously and his face contorted into a beastly visage, teeth bared and eyes wild. His hands also curled up into talons, and he began to thrash about in a rage. Lorraine Warren would later claim that even his physical characteristics changed, with his ears appearing more pointed, his face more feral, and his hands more claw-like. Bishop McKenna also said that Bill’s appearance had changed, and at that moment the frenzied demon possessed man lunged towards him trying to maul him. McKenna stumbled back away from him and produced a crucifix, which he held high while commanding in Latin that the demon leave at once. This seemed to only further infuriate the demon, and Bill lunged and swiped at the Bishop, who ordered the nearby policemen to stand down while things played out. Just as the frenzied, out of control Ramsey seemed to close in for the kill and was about to seriously hurt the Bishop, something odd happened. The man who had moments before been a whirlwind of snarling, spitting aggression suddenly fell to the floor in a heap, with one last roar rattling through him before he fell still. Bill would later say of what happened: “The poison that had been in my body drained from me completely. I was left without any strength at all, and when I turned to look at Nina, that small movement caused me to black out. I gripped the chair as tightly as I could and let the demon continue to be pushed away by Bishop McKenna’s Latin words.” The entire exorcism was allegedly caught on film, and all who were present remain adamant that it all really happened. Bill Ramsey, for his part, would go on to claim that he never experienced any more such incidents and was able to return to a normal, peaceful life. Ed and Lorraine Warren would go on to write a whole book on the case, entitled Werewolf: A True Story of Demonic Possession. As to what had actually been wrong with him, that depends on who you ask. According to the Warrens, Bill Ramsey was possessed by some form of demon. Another possibility is that he suffered from a mental condition known as “clinical lycanthropy,” in which the victim truly believes they are shapeshifting into an animal, which can range from wolf, to bear, to pretty much any other animal, including even frogs, rabbits, and bees. He could have also been exhibiting any number of psychotic disorders or mental issues. Some psychotic outbursts can produce exactly the kind of behavior seen in the Ramsey case, and could also possibly account for the displays of seemingly superhuman strength during his rages.

Could this have been an actual demonic possession by some form of animal spirit invading his body and our realm? All we know for sure is that those who witnessed the events claim it is all true, and the victims of Bill’s attacks, including law enforcement officials remain rather baffled about the whole thing. Considering that Bill Ramsey has had no further episodes and has since 1992 sort of dropped off the map, this is just about all we may ever know. You guys can see the video of his interview for “Sightings” a show he appeared on if I’m not mistaken (video).

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trainingfordogs · 4 years

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Brain Training 4 Dogs Online Training Course Review

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Link product:Brain Training 4 Dogs

Is Brain Training 4 Dogs the best Online dog Training course?

Brain Training for dogs by certified trainer, Adrienne Farricelli is a unique science-based dog online dog training course. The training methods, content quality and support offer fantastic value for money.

GET YOUR COPY OF BRAIN TRAINING 4 DOGS HERE

User Experience

GET YOUR COPY OF BRAIN TRAINING 4 DOGS

As soon as you get a dog, your thoughts turn to training them. Of course, it’s only natural to want an obedient dog whom obeys your commands and doesn’t pee all over the place.

Unfortunately, training a dog can be hard work. Especially, if you don’t have much experience with it. People usually turn to the internet for dog training advice and resources like Smiling Staffy. Obviously, I love the amount of information that’s available online (we have an entire site dedicated to helping staffy owners solve problems and look after their dogs).

However, searching online is generally better for times where you have a specific issue or question concerning your dog. When it comes to general training, it’s difficult to find a solid set of organised steps that you can take to turn your dog into a well-mannered intelligent member of the family.

This is where dedicated online training courses come in and my current favourite is Brain Training 4 Dogs by Adrienne Farricelli. This course is designed to take your dog from the very beginning and basics of training all the way to super-advanced techniques like playing the piano (yes! This is really part of the course).

Whether you’re just hearing of Adrienne’s course for the first time or you came here to find out more about it, this article is for you. It will give you an in-depth look at the course from somebody who actually paid for it and owns it. You’ll then be able to decide if it is the right kind of course for you before parting with your hard-earned.

What is Brain Training for Dogs?

Brain training for dogs by Adrienne Farricelli is a unique online dog training course aimed at improving your dog’s intelligence in order to transform them into an obedient and clever dog by engaging their mind.

The main philosophy for the program is the use of force-free training methods, which is something I love and I’m sure you will too. These methods mainly come in the form of games that you play with your dog to reinforce certain training principles and goals.

An example of one of these games is Adrienne’s “Airplane Game”, which is used to control your dog’s attention. Check out the video below to see how this game works:

The brain training for dogs course is filled with games like this and is ordered in terms of difficulty and progression. This makes it easy to follow and gives you a simple path to track your dog’s progress.

About the Instructor

Adrienne Farricelli is a professionally certified dog trainer and behaviour specialist who has been working with dogs since 2006.

From working in an animal hospital to the local shelter, today, Adrienne holds dual qualifications in dog training.

She became certified by the Italian association for Dog Trainers and Canine Consultants after completing an apprenticeship under a master trainer.

I think it’s fair to say that Adrienne knows how to train dogs and her methods of zero-force and positive reinforcement are certainly preferred to out-dated techniques of dominance and punishment.

Following this she gained CPDT-KA certification in the United States. This stands for “certified pet dog trainer – knowledge assessed”, which is a highly-valued qualification that requires some strict terms to be met to achieve it. To maintain her CPDT-KA status, Adrienne also needs to continue her learning by attending various other courses so you can be sure her knowledge is up to date and it shows during her brain training for dogs course.

Her efforts and endeavours have also been voiced in many international newspapers and events like “USA Today”, “Daily Puppy,” and “Nest Pets.”

Also, Adrienne is an amazing writer. Her writings have been published in “Every Dog Magazine” and “The APDT Chronicle of the Dog.”

What's Included in the Brain Training 4 Dogs Program?

youtube

Once you’ve purchased the course, you’ll gain instant access to the Brain Training 4 dogs member’s area, which acts like a dashboard where you can access all of the materials included in your purchase.

When I first opened the member’s area, I was very pleasantly surprised to see the amount of content that was on offer. There are a number of bonuses included on top of the standard brain training course.

Here’s exactly what you get as a course member:

Brain Training 4 Dogs

This one will be no surprise to you; it is the main course and is probably where you’ll start your journey.

Behaviour Training for Dogs Online

As part of your course membership, you also receive exclusive access to a second, bonus course. This was a nice little surprise for me since I didn’t know this was part of the deal.

The behaviour training for dogs course is a 3-module course that focuses on solving 5 very specific and common dog behaviour problems:

Whining

Digging

Barking

Chewing

Jumping

Although the main course will reinforce good behaviours to help these issues, this little course is great for targeting these specific problems directly if your dog displays any of them.

Resources Section

This area includes all of the necessary items you’ll need to complete the courses. Any downloadable resources and product recommendations that are needed for both courses can be found here. It is helpful to have this stuff in one place.

Adrienne’s Archive

Here, you’ll find over 100 dog training articles that have been written by Adrienne. These can serve as extra learning materials for you as you learn how to become a better owner and trainer to your dog.

There’s also another surprise bonus here (although, it won’t be after I ruin it for you, sorry!). You get access to a video archive that includes a couple of extra behaviour videos as well as some cool trick training videos.

Over-the-Shoulder Case Studies

I thought this was a really nice addition to the course and something I haven’t seen online dog trainers do before. Here, Adrienne has included some over-the-shoulder videos of dogs that she has personally trained. You get to see each step as she trains these dogs on their individual behaviour problems.

Private Member’s Forum

The forum is the place to go to ask any questions or queries you might have relating to your dog’s behaviour. Generally, you’ll get answers to your question from the community and even Adrienne herself will contribute. In fact, Adrienne is very active on the forum and does respond to many questions.

I will say some of the videos could do with being updated and re-edited since some are looking a bit old now. However, the information is top-notch, and they all get the job done.

Inside the exclusive Brain Training for dogs private forum

As you can see, you really do get quite a lot included within this course. There is more than enough material to help you transform your dog into an obedient angel as long as you’re consistent with it.

Brain Training 4 Dogs Course Structure

The course recently had a revamp and now features a much easier to follow layout as well as video modules. In the past, some of the lessons were mainly written so the addition of video is extremely welcome.

The course is very straightforward to navigate since it is laid out in a step-by-step order, which means you can pickup where you left off at any time with ease.

In total, there are 5 course modules to follow:

Module 1: Getting Started

Module 2: Obedience Training 101

Module 3: Polishing Up Training

Module 4: Brain Training (the main course)

Module 5: Closing Words

A Closer Look Inside Brain Training 4 Dogs

As I mentioned above, the main part of the course is the brain training in module 4. This is where you’ll discover the majority of the dog training lessons and content.

To make it easy to see your progress, the main course is divided into a school style layout that indicates the difficulty level of each section. At the end of each section, there is a graded challenge where you’ll be able to assess how well your dog performs in the tasks you have been learning together.

Grading Table

There is a grading structure so you can see very clearly when your pup is ready to move on to the next level or if they may need a bit more nurturing and practice.

The best way to take this course is to follow the step by step pattern and complete all of the modules and sections in order. This makes it so simple to follow. After all, the course was designed by a pro so it would be wise to follow along in the designed order.

Inside the Brain training 4 Dogs Course Dashboard

Level I - PreSchool

As the name suggest, this section is all about the basics. You and you dog will learn about brain power and how to quickly respond to your command. We all know the frustration of a pup ignoring us so this level is a valuable one.

The pre-school level target’s your dog’s attention, which is crucial if you are to progress on to the later, more advanced lessons. Here are a few of the lessons and games that are taught at this stage.

“Target Train” the lazy monster to get his eyes on you. Start by teaching your pooch to focus on your hand, stick or a ball. Afterwards, you can extend the target by making him open the door or ringing bells.

The necessary “Eye Contact” with your dog to make the communication strong and improve interaction. This will help him to behave properly all the time and become a good boy/girl.

The simple and interesting “Airplane Game” to make your pooch pay attention to you and look into your eyes

Level II - Elementary

Here's a peak inside the module pages. This is where you'll find your lesson videos.

After cracking the first level, now, it’s important for your dog to learn to fulfil your demands and enhance his/her skills.

The elementary level introduces few games that your dog will love and find very interesting to play all the time. Of course, they’ll be learning as to listen to demands as they play these mini-games.

Teaching a rewarding game like “Treasure Hunt” will rejuvenate your lazy dog and will make his/her routines interesting.

The simple and inexpensive “Muffin Game” will challenge his brain and will also help encourage him to win.

The mood-lifter “Ball Pit Game” that will make him put energy into a task by triggering his mental power.

Level III - High School

Congratulations, at this level, your dog will be all set to learn about endurance and self-control. This will control his excitement and encourage him to be calm in some of the more stimulating day to day situations.

Here are a few examples of some calming behaviour games included in the level of the course.

Control the behaviour of your dog with the “Jazz Up & Settle Down” game that will teach him/her manners and build a relationship. So, no more jumping like crazy when you come through the door.

The interactive “Bottle Game” will let your dog exercise a bit and will keep him busy and entertained for a long period of time.

“Bobbing for treats” will help your dog to behave well as he/she will get the reward for following the commands.

Level IV - College

By this point, your pup will be getting rather advanced and is ready to move on to some more demanding lessons where his/her motor skills will be developed so they can react intelligently to commands.

The college module includes games that will boost the mental capacity of your dog and will let him/her remain calm in exciting situations.

The “Shell Game” will enhance their mind by playing on the dog’s superior sense of smell. This fun little game is excellent for engaging your pups’ mind and keeping them from getting bored.

The “Open Sesame Game” will let your dog remain cool and calm when somebody comes through a door in your home.

The “Magic Carpet Game” will again help in better understanding and tranquillity during times of potential excitement.

Level V - University

Now, your dog enters the senior level of the training programme. He/she will already be super calm and obedient by this point so now it is time to move on to teaching them all about emotional and impulse control.

This level will help in making your dog a better-behaved dog by using the following games to teach him or her how to be more confident and resist temptation:

The “Hide & Seek” game is a fun game for both yourself and you dog. It helps to create a stronger bond between you and is great for helping dogs with issues when being left alone.

“The Look” game is designed to eliminate unwanted barking at others, especially when your dog is looking out of the window.

The fun and trouble-free “Hot & Cold Game” will boost up your dog’s spirit and will help to boost their learning ability as well.

Level VI - Graduation

A you’ve probably gathered by now, this is one of the most advance section of this training programme. The graduation level is all about developing advanced level motor skills and the intelligence to effortlessly obey your commands.

Here’s an example of the kind of learning games included at this level:

“Leg Weaving Skills”. An excellent skill to teach your dog to obey more complex commands and to impress your pals at the same time!

The game, “Serpentines and Spiral” will train your pup to stay by your side at all times, even as you make erratic and unpredictable movements.

“Name Recognition” is an extremely cool technique that teaches your dog to recognise items by name. He/she will learn how to pick out toys by name and bring them to you.

Level VII - Einstein

Finally, your pooch is a genius now, and, by reaching this level he/she can easily impress any human they want with their skills and talent.

Teach your dog to keep his area clean even after hours of playing with the “Tidy up Game”. An invaluable lesson to learn.

The “Ring Stacker” game will again test your dog’s patience and encourage them to develop extra self-control.

“Play the Piano”. This one sounds a bit unbelievable but apparently, it’s doable. I have not reached this level with my dog yet but there are many who have, and they tell me it is certainly possible.

There really is so much content inside the brain training for dogs course. And that is without all the other bonuses I mentioned above.

My recommendation is to simply run through the brain training course as it is laid out then use the bonus behaviour training course to cover any more specific problems that your dog might run into.

Verdict - Is Brain Training 4 Dogs Worth it?

Pros

A Huge Amount of Content for the price your pay

Affordable, one-off payment

Highly qualified and experienced instructor

Safe, non-forceful approach

Simple to follow with videos and clear descriptions of the lessons/games

It's a fun way to train and bond with your dog!

Cons

Some of the videos seem to be old and do look a little dated

I felt a few of the games were a little unnecessary as they didn't seem to have a clear teaching purpose

Some of the lessons required equipment I didn't have around the house. A kids' pool, for example.

Final Verdict:

All in all, I really like this approach to training a dog; it is based around playing and rewards, which is great fun. The games are unique and some are pretty clever, which is perfect for keeping both you and your dog interested in the program.

I've already mentioned it a few times now but the course includes a large amount of helpful content and it is all simple to follow. As long as you're willing to put the time and consistent effort into it, it will help you to train your dog.

So, with all that being said, I would certainly recommend giving it a try. It is very affordable, a one-off payment of under £50 and comes with a 60-day unconditional money-back guarantee so you really can't lose.

link product: Training 4 Dogs

#mydogismy #todayfanphoto #pet #dog #cute dog

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tvehyungs-gf · 6 years

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BTS Reaction to a s/o who usually tells them everything that happens in their day, suddenly stops doing that one day because her family says she "talks too much” and that “it's annoying"

Link to this request: here. Thank you love for requesting! Also, I didn’t proofread this so please ignore any mistakes D; | bts masterlist

JIN

“Yeah! And then after that, I went to get ice cream with Lisa at this new place that opened up by her job. The ice cream was really good! I should take you there someday!” You rambled happily to Jin. A smile displayed on his lips as he nodded along to your ramble. “I think you’d like their strawberry cheesecake flavored ice cream the most. It had caramel drizzle on top and there was little chunks of strawberry pieces in it as well.”

You licked your links in remembrance of the sweet taste of the ice cream. “It was so yummy, I promise you babe, you’ll like it a lot!” Jin chuckled in agreement as you carried on your thoughts. “Maybe we should go there tomorrow? We can also try their other fla-“

Jin looked at you confused, “What’s wrong? Why’d you stop talking?”

With a frown, you sighed. “I’m doing it again. I’m talking too much and I barely even let you have a say. Gosh,” You whines closing your eyes. “I’m so annoying!”

“Hey!” Jin shook his head, disagreeing with you. “What are you talking about? You’re not annoying at all babe. You have a nice voice and I love hearing you talk. Don’t let others tell you other wise.” Jin pecked your cheeks in hopes it’ll make you feel better, and it honestly did.

You gave him a small smile, “I won’t!”

“Now what time should we go tomorrow?”

SUGA

Yoongi was confused. The usually loud house was suddenly quiet and uncomfortable. Typically, Yoongi loves going to a place where it was quiet and peaceful, but the one place he actually wishes it wasn’t dead silent was home. And ever since you had gotten back from your trip from visiting family, the house was oddly quiet. And so were you.

Traditionally, when Yoongi would get off of work, you and the lad would sit down in the living room and catch each other up on each others days. But as of recently, Yoongi would either come home to you sitting on the couch with head buds plugged into yours or with you being weirdly quiet.

And today was like no other. Yoongi was tired of playing this guessing game of whats wrong with you, and so, he decided that today he was going to confront you. Something must’ve happened at your family’s house that made you so quiet and weird. “Y/N, something happened at your family’s didn’t it? Ever since you got back, we haven’t talked about our days or anything. You’re usually talkative but now, you’re quiet as a library.”

“See, Yoongs, that’s the thing! I’m too talkative. Gosh,” You sighed. “Why didn’t you say anything? It must’ve been so annoying of me to talk your ear off.”

The elder raised a brow. “Who says you’re too talkative? And yeah, you’re annoying as hell, but that’s because you’re my girlfriend whose the spawn of satan.” Yoongi shrugged before adding: “But I love you and your talking. You talk just the right amount. And the only opinion that you should care for is mine. And in my opinion, I think you’re a great talker.” He winked. ”Plus, when we end up in a conversation with other people, you do most of the talking for the both of us. It helps me save a few breaths.”

J-HOPE

“Okay, you’re way too quiet today.” Hobi told you concerned. Normally, the two of you would catch up on each others days when you both met up. But today, you were barely saying anything. And that’s extremely concerning because you usually have a lot to talk about. “Is something wrong honey? Do I have to have Jungkook beat someone up for you?”

You snorted, “Wow. My own boyfriend can’t even beat someone up for me but he can have his friend do it.”

“Hey! I have a pretty face to take care of. I can’t let a broken nose bring me down.” Hobi laughed while sending you a wink, but you only shook your head.

“So you’re calling Jungkook ugly?”

“You said it, not me.” Hoseok placed a head on your shoulder, “But no, seriously, babe. What’s wrong?”

Looking down, you sighed before looking back at your worried boyfriend. “I was told recently that I talk so much that it was annoying.”

Hobi gave you a confused look. “You? Talk too much?” He laughed out loud. “Babe, between the two of us, I’m the one who talks a hell lot. Now, who told you this?

“My family?”

Hobi frowned, “Oh no honey. Let me meet them so they can see who the real talkative person is.”

“Okay, baby should I wear this one,” Joon asked as he lifted up his right hand that had a black low-cut v-neck. “Or the this one?” Namjoon then lifted up his plain white button up with his left hand.

You looked at the two for a brief second before picking the silky white button up on his left hand. “Alright. Now, should I wear it with these black pants or these black pants that stop at the ankles?”

“The ankles.” Namjoon nodded with a smile as he walked off to change. Once he came back, he noticed that you were still sitting on your shared bed on your phone. With concern, Namjoon frowned to himself before walking over to you.

“Are you okay?”

You nodded giving him a one word answer, “Yeah.”

“No you’re not.” Joon sat down besides you and took your phone out of your hands. “What’s up? You’re barely talking to me.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

Confused, Namjoon raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so. Communication is very important between a relationship. Whether it’s between a man and a women, or a man and a man, or a women and a women, or between any other genders, communication is a key to a successful relationship. And recently, you have’t been communicating much with me.”

“Don’t you think I talk too much? I was told by my family that I talk too much.”

Namjoon shook his head. “You can never talk too much. Talking is something inevitable. It’s a part of life. Just like how you’re apart of my life.” Joon kissed your cheek before smiling. “And who cares if they think you talk too much? Let them think what they want too because their opinion shouldn’t be an obstacle in your life.”

JIMIN

“So, how was your day yesterday?” Jimin asked you as he took a sip of his iced coffee. Currently the two of you were on a date in a cafe that recently opened up in town. “Mine was boring. All we did was film a dance practice video and then attended a meeting about our upcoming events.”

You gave Jimin a smile, “That sounds like a blast. But I didn’t do anything special.”

Jimin looked at you confused. “I thought you went to visit your family and then hung out with your friends at a bar.” Jimin placed his cup down onto the table, “Wait. You told me that you had a lot of stuff to do. C’mon tell me about your day like you usually do babe.”

You shook your head trying to wave him off. “No seriously, it wasn’t anything special.”

“Oh my god.” Jimin’s eyes grew wide. “Did something happen? Oh my god, babe, spill the tea! Who did what and with who!”

You slapped your boyfriends shoulder, “Shh. You’re so nosey. And nothing interesting happened, I promise. I just learned about a few things that I need to work on.”

“And what do those things that you so called need to work on?”

“I talk too much.” You shrugged, “And it’s true. I’m annoying when I overly blab about too much.”

Jimin dramatically gasped, “Shut up, you do not. Babe, that’s what made me fall for you. Well, besides your beautiful face, that is. I love it when you talk, okay? Talk all day and night, I’ll love it. I’ll even pay you to talk to me nonstop 24/7, like seriously. And whoever told you that you’re annoying when you talk or whatever can go drink poison.”

“It was my family.”

“Oh-”

“Jagi, so I got you this jacket today from the Gucci store and I think you’re going to love it!” Taehyung enthusiastically told you as he held you from behind in excitement. His arms wrapping around you tightly. “And I may and may have not got myself the same one so we can match... And I also may and may have not ordered a custom made one for Yeontan...”

Taehyung giggled excitedly into your ear as you laughed back at his cuteness. “You’re ridiculous Tae. How much was everything?”

“Babe, the prices are just useless numbers that don’t matter.”

You shook your head. “Well that’s sweet of you babe.”

Tae smiled, “Anything for my princess.” As Tae leaned down, he kissed your cheek. “How was your morning babe?”

“Oh, it was nothing. I just talked to my family.”

Tae’s eyebrow rose up, “Yeah? What’d they say? Any news?”

Quickly, you turned around and looked up at your tall boyfriend. “Do you think it’s annoying when I talk? Like, do I talk too much?”

Taehyung laughed shaking his head, “Babe, I assure you. You’re not annoying and you don’t talk too much. Okay?” He gave you a nod and a smile, “Trust me.” Quickly, he lifted you off of your feet and carried you to the sofa so the two of you could cuddle.

JUNGKOOK

“Oh no babe, oh my god, duck duck duck duck!” Jungkook shouted into his mic as he moved around effortlessly in the video game the two of you were playing together online. “He almost killed you, that jerk!” The boy spoke.

Your laughter flowed out of his headset and into his ears easily, “But you saved me, so thank you babe.”

Jungkook smiled, “Of course, I’m your anpanman.”

“You’re so gross.” You cringed jokingly even though he couldn’t see you.

“Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyways, hows your day babe? I was waiting all day to get home so I could play you on xbox.” Jungkook told you honestly. “I couldn’t wait to see you lose.”

You scoffed, “Lose? I’m the one whose winning in this game right now.”

“Because I saved you from getting killed.”

“Whatever. But my day was fine.”

Jungkook shot at an enemy before the foe could shoot at him back. “That’s it?”

You hmm’d, “Yep.”

“Really? Are you sure?” Jungkook asked confused. Usually, you’d elaborate more on about your day and such to your boyfriend. “Nothing happened? You did nothing? You didn’t go anywhere? You didn’t go get coffee? Nada? Nothing?”

“Yeah I guess. I don’t know, I don’t want to be annoying and tell you too much about my day.”

Jungkook laughed, “Annoying? Did someone tell you that or something? Babe, you telling me about your day and such is the highlight of my day. You’re not annoying, trust me. Hyungs are the ones who are annoying baby, not you.”

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sailor-cresselia · 5 years

Text

Zi-o 15: Raw: -concern intensifies-

AH. WELL THEN. THIS SURE IS AN EPISODE THAT I CAN’T UNDERSTAND YET. OH MY. A LOT OF STUFF TO UNPACK AND I CAN’T GET IT OPEN.

Woz is getting increasingly more casual in his recap room.

*frustrated sounds* I don’t know what Geiz is saying here, and I really really want to. But he’s clearly not okay with Tsukasa’s whole deal.

I’m getting the vibe of “I hate you. I hate you, but this other guy might actually be a bigger threat. We might actually have to... UGH. Work together to stop him.”

Also, like, absolutely none of these people – not Tsukiyomi and Geiz, and not the Time Jackers – have the right to get on Sougo’s case about altering the timeline during the past few arcs. That is literally what all of them except maybe Woz are doing. Constantly. It is their entire goal.

Ooh, so Sougo is about to explain that ‘I’ve always dreamed of being a king’ thing he’s got going on?

Or, no, no he’s not, because Woz is stepping in to deflect the topic.

Woz is as aware as the audience that the single most efficient way to clear Sougo’s uncle from the area for an extended period of time is to give him a clock to fix. It’s a little sad, actually.

Not sad enough to make me trust either of them, though.

Sougo: So, are you going to explain why you joined the Time Jackers?

Woz: Eh, maybe. But I thought you’d like to know about the trouble going on outside right now. ;)

WHAT THE FLYING F ARE THOSE.

It makes complete sense that they’re sent by Oma Zi-o. They look like fancier, more ‘modern’ versions of the Time Mazines.

And also seem to be triggering a fair amount of PTSD for Geiz.

(The ~magenta~ lines give them a very Cyber-Decade aesthetic.)

Oh. Oh dear.

SOUGO HAS SEEN THEM IN HIS DREAMS.

...the un-burning page is back at the end of the OP. It was definitely the front-on explosions in 14. Huh.

… I’m gonna be doing an OP comparison soon, aren’t I?

(That’s actually really good english on the feed Tsukuyomi’s watching. A-, Toei. I also noticed that she’s using a regular smartphone like Sougo is.)

(and that it’s pink)

“You said you dreamed about them. What do you mean?” (Concerned Geiz is concerned.)

o.o

O.O

Those things are why Sougo’s wanted to become a king. Because he kept dreaming about them destroying everything, over and over, and always with a seriously sketchy (my term, not his) man telling him… I think it’s basically “If you want to avoid this, if you want to save everyone, become a king.”

This is absolutely terrifying. No wonder the noodle is so dead-set on becoming a beloved king.

Yup, time to panic. That thing is terrifying, too. That’s… what, a robotic enforcer?

“Oma Zi-o Sama.” I don’t think that even Woz uses ‘sama’ for Sougo, for either his present or future versions. He constantly uses ‘waga maou’ and ‘oma zi-o’, but I don’t recall him using -sama. huh.

Aaaaaaaa! That’s some serious ‘identify and eliminate’ going on there.

(with some pretty decent english in the enforcers Heads Up Display, too. That A- from earlier is upgraded to a solid A, Toei. Good going.)

Okay, since I have no idea what is going on with either of the two Time Jacker scenes, I’m going to have to skip them for now. All I can say is that Tsukasa’s not pleased with the current turn of events. And I’m still not pleased with that flashing light in his apartment.

Okay, okay. so.

I think what I’m hearing is...

“We’re going to have to be prepared to take him out. I’m a soldier, remember? I was starting to believe maybe your way would work. That maybe he wouldn’t become Oma Zi-o after all. Maybe he could pull off that ‘most beloved overlord’ idea. But it’s not working. I have to be a soldier.”

(oh, god, earlier in the episode, at breakfast… was he trying to convince Sougo to give up the belt? Was that a last-ditch effort? Geiz… did you think something was about to happen?)

You know, I don’t think we’ve ever seen either Sougo or Geiz’s transformations from behind before now. In motion, yeah, in terrible green-screen sometimes, like last episode… but never completely from behind.

And I’m starting to really think that the visuals of Geiz’s transformation reflect on his current emotional state or something. Because sometimes the display is a lot darker than other times. When he transformed in Helheim, it was almost completely black, but it was back to it’s usual medium-grey both during the Ghost arc and right here, in the warehouse, with him and Tsukuyomi turning away from each other.

Where’d Tsukuyomi get knocked to? Is she okay? I know that the Enforcer attacking Geiz takes priority, and that the Enforcer acknowledging that Sougo is his boss and ignoring him anyway takes just as much priority, but I’m not liking Tsukuyomi’s odds right now.

...Sougo’s transformation dial is a lot more transparent than usual, isn’t it?

Get out of here, Tsukasa, let Sougo help Geiz!

This fight is really interesting, though. This is the first time that either of the current kids have seen Decade as Decade. He’s… what, he’s asking why Sougo would help Geiz?

(cue Zero’s “What am I fighting for?!” scream here)

Sougo is in obvious, actual pain. None of the fights have really had him deal with that – my earlier comments about ‘this kid is tougher than he looks’ still stand. The only hits that have done enough damage to knock him down long-term are the ones from Decade. The ones that are from an actual Rider.

And Sougo’s reaction to Decade swapping into Build… hm.

“You’re using Build? In that case...” He activates the watch, blocks Decade’s sword one-armed, and spins his belt with the other hand. And he doesn’t waste any time inserting the Build watch – Decade immediately asks “Oh, so you’re using my watch?” “Not just that.”

When Sougo lands a solid punch, it has the same effects that the real Rabbit-Tank Sparkling would have. And manages to knock Decade back.

… both of those finishers were right. Decade’s and Sougo’s. I mean, the sparkling finisher was smaller than the regular one, but they’re inside, and it was executed correctly.

What was it I said last episode? That when he stops being a bootleg, we’re in trouble?

I think we’re in trouble.

Both Woz and Tsukasa are saying “See? You can’t fight fate, you and Geiz will always be enemies. This enforcer that is trying to hurt him leapt to your defense.”

Sougo is incredibly not okay with this. He really doesn’t want to be evil, you guys.

“Oh, you think you can be a good demon king? Here. Take a look at your future.” Tsukasa opens one of his weird portals (I have not seen decade) and straight up shoots Sougo in the back to knock him through it.

And that’s interesting, but so is the next part. He knocks the enforcer away from Geiz, and drags Geiz off. “Come on!”

What’s your game, Tsukasa?

(Sure, now Woz is okay with Sougo meeting with a version of himself from elsewhen.)

No comments on the Tsukasa, Geiz and Woz scene from me; I can’t tell enough of what’s being said to say anything aside from Geiz is not okay with any of this.

Sougo’s not okay with 2068, either.

(How long has Oma Zi-O been in power, anyway?)

And what the heck was that that just teleported Sougo and Tsukuyomi to Oma Zi-o?!

(Is that from Ryuki or something? It looks like a dragon of some sort, and I think it’s the right color scheme, but I know absolutely jack all about early Heisei. It sounded like a train, though.)

I don’t feel confident commenting on the Sougo and Oma Zi-O conversation, either. Not outside of the next few lines.

Sougo is absolutely not okay with anything happening today.

I think... did Oma Zi-O send the dreams to young!Sougo? It sure sounds like it. Seeing the trauma he’s clearly inflicting on himself by doing that, I can safely say that that is not okay.

(I’m having King Endymion from Sailor Moon R flashbacks, guys.)

Sougo. Honey. You aren’t going to win this fight. He’s clearly older and more experienced. He has all of the same powers, but in the more concentrated watch form - you can only get to the ones you’re using with the HeiSaber. He doesn’t even have to use the watches in a normal fashion to beat you – he’s just activating the watch and redirecting your attacks. You can’t win here.

(And seeing the dragon return confirms for me, the person who hasn’t seen anything pre-W, that it is, in fact, from Ryuki.)

Oma Zi-O’s belt still reads 2018. That’s not a good sign for our Sougo not being him someday.

What is he saying about our Sougo’s belt, though? Is he saying that “you can’t win with that version”?

Is he saying “That’s the wrong belt”?

History is written by the winners, and nobody else has read Woz’s book. And Woz is the one who gave that belt to Sougo, and on a freaking velvet pillow at that.

Geiz was saying something about the belt earlier, and Oma Zi-o’s belt is gold and black, like the rest of his armor.

(Oh dear.)

That preview isn’t doing any favors to the outlook of Sougo’s emotional state.

(Oh dear.)

#kamen rider zi o #sailorcressy says #in which i overthink everything yet again #except without being able to actually understand any of it #kamen rider decade

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rifleshotsandflowerpots-blog · 5 years

Text

Leads and Tears

In which PI visits Jade’s flower shop and helps her grieve a little while getting some useful information on a murder. @dilldaydreamer

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

> You've not been yourself for [insert how long it's been]. Going out on a murder spree with Eridan, trying to find the bastard didn't help, especially when you didn't find him. Now you're moving about in your daily routine with silence autonomy. Your mind is just... blank as you work in your flower shop.

>You're not going to be much help if someone asks you more in depth questions today. @Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

>You've not been yourself much either. (I'm going to set this before the meeting PI has with Droog since I expect after that meeting things are gonna pick up) Right now you just...are putting the motions in. Time to make busy, gather clues, wait for the ball to drop not even a couple days after the New Years Ball had dropped. And this currently means checking flowershops. A minor detail, but who knows maybe someone buying a couple dozen roses will give you a name to lead on...if anything it is what keeps you going right now amidst the turmoil in your head.

>It's only once you reach the shop you realize that oh, this one is a bit more known. It's Jade's, the last time you were here you were dropping off a bushel of succulents.

>The small bell jingles as you step in and look around, obviously dressed for work than pleasure, though the expression on your face seems more sad than somber.

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

> You hear the bell and the opening of your door, and you look up from your sweeping, mustering up the energy for a small smile. "Hello! Can I help--?" > Oh. It's an Officer. You blink and then you realize that it's not just any officer; it's Pembrooke.

> "....hello Officer Ingleton." You say softly, holding the broom close to yourself as you give him as much attention as you're able to with this haze in your mind.

> "Are you here for more flowers today?"

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

>You give her your best smile, but there's an obvious fatigue and it doesn't quite reach the eyes. "Sadly I'm here on official business. Though...now that I'm here and thinking about it, I should get some flowers as well."

>A pause "Nothing you are in trouble for mind you. I'm on an investigation and was hoping I could get your assistance with something..."

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

"Well I suppose I'll do my best to be helpful then."

> You notice the tiredness in his eyes and hope he's doing alright; maybe a long night again? "What might I be able to help you with?"

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

>You move up to the counter and look around, noting the displays of flowers and particularly eyeing fresh cut roses. "I was hoping if possible to get a list of sales and names in regards to anyone who had bought a dozen or more roses. Timespan from about December 29th till New Years Eve. I assure you I have no plans to harrass your clients, this is more for cross-referencing purposes."

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

"Roses?"

> You frown a little, trying to think if you did. You... can't remember much. You might've sold a good amount though. "Um, I don't really have names but I think I might have sales records. Though I think most people pay with cash so I'm not too sure how helpful that will be." You admit softly, reaching for a drawer. "Can I ask what you're investigating that requires flowers??"

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

>There is a tiny twinge in your stomach. From the friendliness to Crew members, there has always been the slight inclination she had soft ties to the organization. But hmm... "A murder unfortunately." you say solemnly, taking a gamble. If she did have crew connections you expect she'll put two and two together. If not, not necessarily news that would betray too much information. "I have reason to believe the perpetrator had bought a fair amount of roses for the...eghn....event. Sadly though a fire has destroyed most of the evidence so I'm trying to claw for what leads I can."

>You tilt your head and give a tired sigh. "It's incredibly frustrating. And a small shot, but I feel set to trying to take it."

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

> Oh. Oh. Of course. He's looking into Aradia's death. Of course he would be; the fire itself would have caused suspicion, and who knows what kind of evidence the police found at the scene of the crime. It would be very poor form if the police did not look into it.

> You should ignore saying anything to him. You don't want to say something you shouldn't. That doesn't stop your hands from shaking as you pull out your sales record, nor the tears threatening to spill from your eyes.

> It doesn't stop that hurt in your chest spreading again.

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

>The body language is noted...and you somewhat regret mentioning it now. That fine line of investigation and human condition...as human as you can muster.

>You drop what professional demeanor you have as you give her a look that is just sadly sympathetic. "....I'm sorry. She was your friend, wasn't she."

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

".... yes."

> That soft admission is enough to make the dam break, and you can feel the tears spilling. All the emotion you tried to bury, to forget for the while, comes back in full force, and it's a miracle that you're still standing on your two legs right now. "S-She was my friend; I loved her. A-And I never g-got to tell her--!"

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

>You feel your heart break, as you pull out a handkerchief. Part of you wants to go around and offer a hug...but it also feels like it would be unprofessional? Or perhaps that is just the excuse for you not being sure how much physical boundaries Jade prefers.

>You opt for the compromise of holding it out as you gently pat her on the shoulder, leaving room in case she wants to go for the hug. "I'm so sorry. I.." what do you really say to someone in mourning. It'll be alright? That never sounds right. She didn't deserve this? No duh. You momentarily wish you had an Elliot to summon and speak on your behalf. He likely would know what to say.

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

>You're shaking a lot. You haven't let yourself cry for Aradia, not really. So to feel all these emotions immediately; it's almost too much to bear. You don't want Aradia to be gone! You want her back you'd do anything to bring her back!

> You ignore the handkerchief and latch yourself onto PI, hugging him tightly as you sob. You will be scolding yourself for your lack of control, but you just want to be hugged right now. You just want to grieve.

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

>You hug her and help keep her balanced, not saying much as you let her cry into you. There is a bit of effort on your part to not end up sympathy crying...eyes slightly misting. These were often the worst parts of your job. Not the scene themselves but seeing the aftermath, the people hurt from what occurred. Being witness to the ripples that one's horrific actions cause.

>There is nothing for you to say, so you simply hold her, rocking slightly as you gently pat her back.

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

> It's probably at least ten minutes or so before your sobs are reduced to sniffles, and you reluctantly let go of the taller man. "I'm... I'm s-sorry for crying on you sir..."

> You mumble, feeling a bit embarrassed as you wipe at your eyes.

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

>You offer the handkerchief again with a soft smile. "I don't feel there is a need to apologize. I have no doubt this situation has been well, awful in many ways for you. Difficult doesn't begin to describe it. If anything I'm more concerned for you, is there anything I can get you? Some water or tea?"

>You recall there being a cafe some parts away. You can't have a flowershop without some little barista sprouting up a block or two later.

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

> This time you take the handkerchief with a soft thanks, wiping the tears away. "Oh, no I'm alright... I-I think I just needed a good cry."

> You attempt a small but meaningful smile. It's a habit to bury these sorts of emotions down, but at least this time it was kinda nice to have someone to comfort you, even for a little bit.

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

>You nod "I know it likely doesn't offer much comfort right now, but I do promise I am going to do what I can within my power to make sure whoever did it doesn't go unpunished."

>You opt to leave out the part where you suspect it's more a case of it being a race of who gets to them first, your men or Droog's.

"I'm so incredibly sorry though, for your loss. For everyone's loss. There's no words that can really make it better, but my heart does truly go out for those affected."

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

"Thank you." It's hard to say much more than that, but the fact that someone outside the crew, outside the family, acknowledging helps you, even just for a little bit.

> You reach back to grab your sales record, ready to give him what you can, but a thought crosses your mind. You... you shouldn't say anything. It's not really your place, but you have no doubt that Droog already knows about who she was seeing and since you and Eridan couldn't find the bastard....

"Officer... I-I don't want to get in trouble for saying this... but Aradia was supposed to see someone t-that night..."

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

>You pause, and an understanding nod follows. "I can say with confidence that I will not allow anything said to come back to trouble you. This has been a tragedy as is..."

>The details of someone meeting is new to you and you give a concerned expression. "...I am going to take a wild guess this person has not been seen since?"

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

> You trust Pembrooke to keep his promise so you force yourself to relax your shoulders. "Yeah... she was seeing a troll; Carcha Cautus; I never actually met him, but Aradia spoke about how a-adorably anxious her was. She had met up with the guy a few times before. New Years Eve she was supposed to see him when....."

"....I've tried looking for him, but I haven't found him anywhere. I don't know if... if that meant he was involved or not, but maybe you will have an easier time finding him?"

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

"Carcha Cautus...."

>You repeat the name. Something about it sounds incredibly familiar but you can't quite put your finger on....

>You tense up a moment, then pull out your phone to look something up. Something to do with browsing gifts for a certain number and trying to find cute shark themed objects and getting lost on wikepedia for another 3 hours when it hits you and your stomach tightens as another puzzle piece clicks towards that foreboding dread.

"....I...may actually have something to go off with that. If anything it's a name to ask the other shops as well...hnn."

>You exhale "I appreciate this Jade. And I promise I'll be doing what I can to get to the bottom of this."

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

> He figured something out; you can see it across his face. It's not your place to question, but maybe you'll keep an ear out on the police chatter, just to be on the safe side.

> Instead you give a small smile before pulling out the sales records for him. "I appreciate that Sir. If.... If you do find him, will you let me know? I just... Aradia seemed to really like him. I'd hate for him to really be involved but... I think it would give me piece of mind if you learned what happened to him."(edited)

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

"I'd hate for that too..."

>You expect he was never a real person to begin with, but if he was you would put your money more into him being dead and buried in the desert or river somewhere as an add-on.

"It's at least a name to check the databases in...see if anything turns up there. It's certainly something. Thank you. If I find him, I'll let you know. But that said, please take care of yourself as well. And ah. Oh. I was going to buy. A thing wasn't I. Ah ta ta ta...my apologies."

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

> He seems a little rattled; well, more than usual. Maybe whatever he knows is too close to home? "Oh! Hey it's alright." You assure him with a little smile. "You don't have to buy.... whatever it was you wanted to buy today! I'm not planning on going anywhere so you can always come back."

"But thank you again." You say before remembering the handkerchief. "Um... you want this back sir...?"

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

>You pause, and focus yourself. No sense going into a tizzy just yet. You still have more to this investigation. Though...you can already feel your unease being replaced by something else. Disappointment? Anger? Just....you exhale. "It's alright. Ah...yes please. Sorry."

>You take back the handkerchief and fold it away as you look around the shop. "I did want to pick up a bouquet for Elliot, something cat safe because Anubis is a terror like that. And maybe just something small and cheery for my office. Ah heh...I get a feeling I'm going to be in there a while..."

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

> You too, focus yourself as you don't allow your mind to haze over again. Be present Jade; you know flowers! Besides, it's the least you can do if you were really going to listen to the police chatter later.

"Well, daises and carnations are pretty cat friendly." So were roses but... let's not go there. "And a small pot of violets could help to brighten your office if you'd like? I could always make the bouquet and bring it by the station later?"(edited)

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

>A soft smile

"That sounds wonderful."

>You start to pull money out to pay, more doing the motions than anything as your mind whirls with new information. There is a pause as you look up at her. "I really do hope...you're alright. If there is ever a time you just want to talk, as friends. No officialness to it. If you just need some company, please never hesitate. You're a wonderful lady Jade."

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

> Oh. You weren't expecting that; not one bit. You blush a pretty pink and duck your head shyly. You still don't take compliments too well it seems. Still, how very kind of him.

"...I think I will be, in time. I will take your words to heart though Sir."

> Sometimes it's just not fair how sweet PI can be!

Mabs (PI/02/gT Jake)01/06/2019

>There is another nod as you finish your purchases "Please take care of yourself, as much as you can. I'm going to do what I can to get to the bottom of all of this I promise. And I will let you know if I figure anything out about this one gent. It's going to get solved."

>You give her a tired but hopeful smile as you pick up your purchases "Thank you again so much for your time, and your assistance. I won't let it go in vain."

🌺 Shadow 🌺 (Jade/Skylla)01/06/2019

"I really, really, appreciate that Officer Ingleton."

> You return the smile, feeling.... lighter. A little more yourself than you've have been the past week. It's certainly only a start, but a start nonetheless. "Be careful, when you investigate this Sir. Be safe as well."

#logs #backlog #some time after aradia's death #dilldaydreamer

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nikanndros · 6 years

Text

The ‘we met on craigslist’ AU. Part 1.

It starts, embarrassingly enough, with an ad from Craigslist:

> personals > strictly platonic > Dramatic fake date for function

I’m a 21 y.o theatre student (male), writing a thesis on the relationship between performance and the awareness of the audience. You don’t care about that. I’m an actor offering to give you the most dramatic night of your life. I’ll be your date to any event/function/family gathering, and convince your friends/family members that I’m either: the biggest mistake of your life or the best thing that ever happened to you. Up to you. I’m very good at what I do.

Damen is one bottle of wine and three shots of griva (a terrible mix, do not recommend) deep, when he decides to message the guy.

Hi. My family is hosting a valentine’s day event. In attendance will be my ex-girlfriend of the past three years who is also my brother’s current girlfriend of the past two. Do you want to come?

The reply the next morning, when Damen is nursing a very regrettable hangover, is a simple: Yes.

Craiglist Guy turns out to be named Laurent. He gives Damen a very complicated explanation of his thesis, but it pretty much boils down to whether a performance is still a performance if the audience doesn’t know it’s happening. Laurent is happy to make Damen’s family event his performance. He requests to see all of Damen’s social media for research and then also apparently has a long stalk of Jokaste’s instagram.

On the night of the party, Laurent arranges to meet Damen at his place, so that they can arrive together. Despite Damen giving Laurent access to his entire online life, all Laurent has given in return is his name. Damen’s not really concerned about what Laurent looks like - despite his apparent preference for blondes, Damen has dated all sorts of people. Just about anyone would be believable. Still, when there’s a knock at his door, and he comes face to face with Laurent for the first time…

“Damen,” Laurent says, after Damen has been standing silently in his doorway for an awkward amount of time.

“Uh,” Damen says. “Hi.”

Yeah, this will work. Laurent is beautiful. He’s six foot of golden glory. He looks like he was born from the ocean, fully formed and then pushed onto a catwalk. There should be a choir of angels that follow him around to really complete the look. Damen is in trouble.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” Laurent asks.

Damen looks down out himself. “...Yes?” The black suit pants, white shirt, black tie combo is a classic. Laurent does not look like he agrees.

He pushes past Damen into the apartment, and Damen would probably think that was rude but he’s also very distracted by the confidence in Laurent. Laurent takes control like it’s natural to him; he walks straight into Damen’s bedroom.

By the time Damen follows him, Laurent has opened up Damen’s closet. “Ditch the tie,” Laurent says, “and roll up your sleeves.”

Damen’s not going to pretend it isn’t kind of hot that Laurent doesn’t even turn around while Damen complies, he just expects his orders to be followed. “Why?” Damen asks.

“You look too put together in all your pictures with your ex,” Laurent says. “We’re going to present you as a happier, more relaxed version of yourself. Trust me, she’s going to hate it.”

“I’m not really…” Damen trails off.

“What.”

“I don’t want to make her unhappy,” Damen says. “I mostly just… didn’t want to go to this thing alone.”

“Do you forgive her for fucking your brother?”

“I don’t hate her.”

“You don’t forgive her though.”

Damen doesn’t reply to that. He doesn’t like to think about himself as someone who holds grudges, but he also wouldn’t be adverse to some minor misfortune befalling Jokaste. Nothing too serious. Just like, she always just misses the bus for the rest of her life or something.

Laurent tears through Damen’s wardrobe, talking as he goes. “You went to France last year with her?” The photos are on instagram still.

“It was a surprise trip,” Damen says. He doesn’t like to think of the romance, the sweet gestures that Jokaste would make that made her seem like someone he could-- He brought it up to Nikandros once, and he’d told Damen it was Jokaste being manipulative. Doing kind things to overshadow all the fights they’d had and the way she’d sometimes ignore his messages for hours on end. “French was my second major. I was going to finish my business degree over there, but…”

“But?” Laurent prompts. He considers a red shirt and then discards it.

“We had a pregnancy scare right before the cut off date, so I decided to stay.”

At that, Laurent stops and turns around to give Damen an incredulous look. “So your girlfriend faked pregnant so you wouldn’t move away to France.”

“No,” Damen says, and then he sits down on the bed. “Shit.”

“Your heart was in the right place,” Laurent says, in a very awkward tone.

Damen raises an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t know,” he says. “I’m not great at sympathy.”

“You’re an actor.”

Laurent sighs. “Alright,” he says. He faces Damen properly and walks to him slowly. “Damen,” Laurent continues, with a new kind of intensity. He rests his palm against Damen’s neck, gently prompts him to look up. “I’m sorry she did that to you. I can’t imagine how you feel but, I’ve come to know you and I know that you’ll get past this. You’re going to be amazing.”

His eyes are very blue. Damen swallows. “That was…”

Laurent drops his hand and his expression goes back to apathy. “Insincere,” he finishes for him. He goes back to the closet and pulls out a knit blue sweater. “Where’d you get this?”

It’s well worn, the collar loose from time and the sleeves hanging long. “My mother gave it to me years ago,” Damen says. He frowns. “It’s not suitable for the event.”

Laurent shrugs. Then he starts unbuttoning his own shirt.

“Oh,” Damen says, and then he, absurdly, turns away like he’s a shy thirteen year old again. “What are you doing?”

“I need a costume,” Laurent says.

“As a vagabond?”

“No,” Laurent replies, and Damen turns around because suddenly he’s speaking in a thick, French accent. “I am your young and passionate french lover and you’re the happiest you’ve ever been.”

Laurent is in tight black skinny jeans and Damen’s oversized sweater. It’s large enough on him to bare the sharp lines of his collarbones and make it obvious that he’s not wearing a shirt underneath. He looks like he belongs on the cover of a fashion magazine. Damen’s pretty sure he’s forgotten how to breathe.

“Is it okay if I kiss you?” Laurent asks.

“Yes,” Damen says.

“Oh,” Laurent looks surprised. “I assumed you weren’t a fan of public displays of affection. You and your ex look more like friends in all your pictures.”

“What?” Damen says. Then, oh. Laurent was asking if he could kiss Damen in front of his family. For the act. The acting thing. Not real kissing, in Damen’s bedroom, with Laurent wearing Damen’s clothes. “No, I mean, it’s okay. I’m meant to be cool and relaxed now right?”

Damen’s a firm believer of keeping behaviour like that in the bedroom. It’s not that he’s a prude, he just likes to think of his love as something intimate, something to be kept away from prying eyes.

Laurent gives Damen a look that lets him know that he did not pull off that excuse at all. “Do you have netflix?” Laurent asks, heading back out into the lounge room. “Let’s watch something.”

“We should leave soon,” Damen replies. As much as he’d like to Netflix and chill with Laurent, they do have a plan.

“We’re going to be late,” Laurent tells him. “We were so busy fucking all afternoon that we lost track of time. I didn’t even have a chance to go home and put on something appropriate.”

If only, Damen thinks. He sits down on the couch with Laurent and they put something mindless on while Damen pretends he’s not ridiculously attracted to the unpaid actor sitting next to him.

“Your French accent is good,” Damen says, when he finally thinks of something neutral to say.

“My mother is from Grenoble,” Laurent tells him. He hasn’t dropped out of the accent at all since he started speaking with it. “It’s convenient that you’re into France and not somewhere else. My Russian accent is a little heavy-handed.”

“How many people have you done this with?”

Laurent smiles. “Only one. Last week it was this guy who knew his family was going to be judgemental about the whole gay thing. He introduced me as his boyfriend and I took the brunt of it. I was the most awful date anyone could ask for.”

“Doesn’t being awful kind of make it worse for the guy?”

“No,” Laurent says. “Because when he introduces them to his actual boyfriend, everyone is going to be relieved that at least I’m gone.”

“Ah,” Damen nods.

“Am I going to have to deal with another coming out tonight?”

Damen can’t help it, he laughs at that. “No,” he says. “I have two mothers and a father. They were very accepting of the bisexual thing.”

“Hmm.” Laurent gives him a considering look.

“What?”

He shakes his head. “We might as well go soon.”

#captive prince #the craigslist au #HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY LOVERS #writing

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backpackingfemale-blog · 5 years

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Backpacker Advice - Safety and also Security

female safety items during travel

My goal is to start by simply saying, that I privately have never had any kind of basic safety or security difficulties even though travelling - different than using a bottle connected with half clear shower serum going absent after My partner and i left it inside the bathtub (I was gutted! ). If you follow simple advice and use your personal sound judgment then neither must you.

female safety items during travel

Desired destination Safety

A person should always check your own state's foreign office regarding information how safe your current destination is definitely. This will probably provide the official placement of your government upon in which destination's safety.

Nonetheless any travel warning coming from your unusual office will not necessarily mean you may not head out. Often there might end up being a small part associated with this country that basically safe, nevertheless the foreign business office will announce the complete nation unstable. So it will be some sort of good idea to combination check with some other unknown offices and reporting agencies.

Precisely what To Do If Your own personal Destination Will become Unsafe When There

You're not likely to be able to experience political alter, specifically outside of cities, nonetheless it can happen - navy effet in Bangkok seem to be to take place every several or 4 years.

Normally tourists are not a new focus on and your vacation will be not affected, however you should always stay away from virtually any mass protest as well as display.

If you locate yourself in the very less likely situation of sense hazardous or a concentrate on, you have a couple of alternatives. The first is for you to go to your own personal charge. Be aware that embassies will often become targets by themselves rapid if your charge is a targeted, subsequently neighbouring embassies will most likely present refugee - We. at the. a British Citizen, must be fine to go to help the Australian, Us or even Canadian embassies along with perversité versa.

Note down charge includes before you proceed.

The second option is to buy out as quickly since possible. This may always be as easy as getting the bus away, but while complex as contacting the particular foreign office back residence intended for specialist advice. I actually must state that that is extremely rare, and possesses not happened to myself or perhaps anyone I get met.

Safety measures For Ladies

You should outfit correctly when travelling to particular destinations. Respect religious persuits in regards to attire code and get away from sexual being a nuisance by dressing up conservatively. Take into account wearing shoes or boots you usually are capable of running inside, while visiting high risk regions.

Avoid getting alone following dark. If it is actually inescapable stick to properly lit in addition to crowded parts.

Keep any rape burglar alarm with you when you attend areas where you may possibly be vulnerable. Be sure it will be easy to access instructions with your pocket or linked to (not in) your personal bag.

American women can easily often appear promiscuous in order to some cultures, so in case stressed either ignore this or maybe tell them a person don't like it and they also should back off. When adopted walk into some sort of store or motel as well as tell the owner. If possible ask them to call up the police.

In the event that snapped up or attacked, yell seeing that loud as you could as well as activate your rapadura alert, don't try to be able to plead or even bargain. Combat back, use just about any things around you and shoot for the head, knees or perhaps privates.

If you tend to be sharing a dormitory using another traveller that may be producing you feel uncomfortable, you ought to let them and typically the hostel supervision know -- ask to go rooms when necessary. Most hostels give female only dorms, and so if you are apprehensive concerning sharing with guys this is the best solution.

How To Stay away from Getting Broken into

A related principle to not acquiring robbed anywhere - occurs common sense.

Don't demonstrate off your own valuables, specially not in the risky location or in a region where valuables are rare or hard to are available by.

Never have an excessive amount of on your person and also ensure important items are usually secure and invisible, both in a zipped bank account or locked bag. Retain other valuables safe within your hostel.

Blend in. What exactly I mean by means of which is don't act similar to a new tourist. Don't look through that will big wad of notes inside your finances, looking for the proper foreign money.

Seek safety suggestions out of your hostel. Don't move to a location that an individual have been advised never to or an area just where you will stick out along with become a target.

Keep Alert. Especially when with CREDIT machines and whenever handing above currency. Primary locations to get pickpockets are generally markets in addition to transport dernier.

If you are proceeding to become drinking, may take almost any valuables out there with you and stay added cautious.

Don't drift off in public transport or maybe retail outlet items you don't would like to lose in the cost to do business pockets. From what My spouse and i have heard via many other travellers this is often the most frequent scenario where persons have goods stolen.

Have a tendency keep gear together. Specifically cash : always include an emergency stash, My partner and i. e. in a match of clothes. Documents furthermore, you should have photocopies of your passport retained independently from the authentic.

I am not just a huge fan of safety pouches/ wallets/ belts, I think that they act like magnets for you to thieves - alerting those to the fact you possess something precious on anyone. If you insist about getting one, never receive it in public, constantly move to the very discreet place.

If you sense beneath threat, look with regard to exit items and take into account leaving as well as running.

Exactly how To Protect Your personal Things In Hostels

All people have these kinds of false misconceptions it is the actual locals who are in order to get their belongings, yet the unhappy reality is usually the biggest threat is definitely from your fellow individuals.

Fairly obvious really, contemplating you happen to be sharing a area with an regular regarding 6 strangers for every night time. However it is crucial to consider only a little minority of men and women resort to help theft.

Most hikers usually are wealthy and it can certainly end up being very tempting regarding some people to aid their selves - even in order to items you wouldn't expect. Avoid put anything past individuals - from chapsticks to be able to chargers; tuna to tooth paste - I've heard the particular lot.

The problem is actually most people are also trusting; the golden principle in hostels though is just not to trust anyone having your current belongings, particularly certainly not full strangers.

The bulk of crime will be opportunistic, not planned.

Departing your own personal iPhone on demand untreated is just giving somebody a opportunity to rob it rapid don't offer people options.

If you actually are leaving something alone ensure it is based away instructions that should go for when you usually are sleep too. Always retain valuables in a very locker as well as hostel risk-free.

Scams

Despite the fact that I stated earlier I have got never been any casualty of crime though treking, I have certainly find scam or two -- and you should too.

They goal travelers, so you tend to be likely to find all of them for most tourist destinations a person visit, in particular in establishing countries.

Several scammers get very good strategies to receiving your money. Go with belly feeling, you may usually impression when a thing is awry of course, if that sounds too good to get true, it probably is usually. Never hand over funds, property or details right up until you know everything is definitely legitimate.

Simply use registered taxis, avoid the use of cards throughout non reliable stores or even hostels. Once more common good sense is key, use the idea and also you won't fall target.

Privately, the hotbed intended for hoaxes is Hanoi, Vietnam : every hour We was right now there I ended up being targeted by scammers usually.

In this article is a list involving some cons you may possibly encounter, some more significant than others:

Scams

The particular Over Friendly And Good Salesman. Someone starts some sort of conversation with you upon the neighborhood, usually quite friendly; "where are an individual from?... Oh I enjoy the item there... Do you recognize these kinds of and such? inches. After a while they might offer you a "mates rate" package deal for a new massage for example, that they can will arrange for anyone within the phone. However while you get at this time there, you actually find the owner connected with the massage therapy parlour had not been aware of this particular package, or the parlour isn't going to even exist.

How To be able to Avoid: After having a few associated with these you just learn, and ignore the dialogue to start with. Never pay to get something before you can observe it.

The English language Pupil. Again someone should come upwards to you being incredibly helpful, they will consult if they can easily discuss with you in Uk because they are understanding. They then parents along with student fees or perhaps ebooks, etc.

This may appear to be it could be legitimate, but it took place for you to me 3 times with three or more days in Hanoi. There are numerous scams like this specific - in which play to help your emotions rapid nevertheless most of these sob reports are scams.

Just how To Avoid: Merely point out sorry, I can't aid or I have simply no money in me. In the event you feel bad in that case donate to a signed up charitable organization.

The Scooter Sales person. Some guy on a moped will pull right up subsequent to you and offer you to promote you something. Commonly in order to just take your personal money and journey off of without giving you the product or service.

How To Avoid: Basic, don't acquire anything by someone sitting down on the getaway vehicle.

Typically the Distracter. Extremely common. Any thoughts will be put within place including children approaching up to you, folks wanting a photo together with you, a person spilling one thing on you, and so forth Just about all the while someone more will be choosing your own pocket.

How To Steer clear of: May carry too several valuables in your person. Make certain your case is straightened and wallets are compressed. Be sound the alarm and guard your purchases when fumes screens similar to this are set in place.

The Fixer. You will be taking walks along the lane minding your own business any time an individual will start aiming at your shoes and boots (or bag, or whatever) expressing it is broken and requirements fixing. Then one or maybe two a lot more people will certainly start saying the same. They will will try to correct your current shoe whilst a person are still jogging as well as charge you for typically the services.

How To Keep away from: This happened in my opinion about more than one situation. I actually started by merely saying "no", if this didn't perform I surpassed the street and after that ultimately would start jogging.

Often the Drug Seller. Simple, anyone will offer you drug treatments. If you buy these, they will tip away from any police officer with regard to a reward.

Keep away from: Clearly don't buy prescription drugs. In case you absolutely have in order to, obtain other travellers, as well as through someone a passenger has stated they have delivered from just before.

The Phony Police Officer. An individual proclaiming to be a law enforcement officials officer may ask to be able to see your passport and also claim it is cast, or claim money you merely gave to a seller seemed to be counterfeit, and request you to pay out some sort of fine.

How To Prevent: A difficult a single, although extremely rare because the fees and penalties for the scammers are incredibly high. Tell them an individual have been suggested for you to always pay fees on a local police place to avoid con-artists. When they are reputable police force officers they should include no issue with this. Never ever get into a unmarked police car, look for these people to take you to help often the station in a new marked just one. If many people have a problem using this these are most most likely a scammer, consequently get in touch with the police or your own personal charge.

The Fake Solution. Anyone will sell anyone a bus or even additional ticket, that is in fact just a piece regarding paper with creating with it.

How To Stay away from: Buy primary, from the accredited travel agent, or perhaps from somewhere a revisionist has successfully bought coming from.

The actual Credit Card. An individual card will probably be scanned 2 times or amounts copied.

Precisely how To Avoid: Never allow your card out of your personal sight. Ensure that merchants swipping your credit card in entrance of you - in the event that they "need to consider it out the backside to the actual machine", inquire to follow these individuals. Inquire for, and keep invoices.

The particular Border Crossing. Anyone will be questioned in order to take something across the particular edge, for someone holding out on the other aspect. This specific almost certainly implies you are being utilized because a drug mule instructions and if you find caught carrying out that inside some places it is actually good bye for you.

The way To Avoid: Never, ever before take anything across the border that isn't your own own. Assure your tote hasn't been meddled having as well.

If You actually Be a Victim Of Criminal offenses

To begin with, if you are usually ever threaten using a system always give up your current belongings, it really just isn't worth the cost, especially as you actually should be totally covered by insurance. Also these days it doesn't take long to be able to cancel and get substitutions regarding passports, cards, and so forth.

You need to act immediately in the event you are a sufferer of crime. The 1st step will be filing any police review (this can be vital if professing your insurance). You could nonetheless need/ want to go to your embassy first according to the nature of the criminal offenses.

You will additionally need to stop any objects stolen since soon possible.

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