#Defensive Mindset

[defensive-tactics]

You can't fight fair and win. If you're being attacked, attack back and do whatever it takes to win.

[historyofguns]

The article "Dead Giveaways You're About to Be Attacked" by Steve Tarani, published on The Armory Life, emphasizes the importance of mental awareness and preparedness in identifying potential threats. The author points out that society is divided between the unaware and the prepared, and he stresses that situational awareness is a vital tool in recognizing potential dangers, which can ultimately prevent harm. Key indicators of imminent threats include body posture, eye contact, and intercept courses, which should be monitored closely. Tarani advises that recognizing and acting upon subtle threat indicators can help individuals protect themselves and others, highlighting the significance of environmental awareness in maintaining personal safety. The article underlines that being alert and aware can deter potential attackers by eliminating the element of surprise.

[maxdibert]

Imagine criticizing someone who spent nearly a decade busting his ass to protect a kid he couldn’t even stand just because you don’t like his reasons. Like, his reasons don’t even matter. The guy put himself on the line, risked everything to protect a kid he actively disliked, a kid who was the son of someone who abused him to the point it basically qualifies as sexual harassment. And every time he looked at that boy, he saw his abuser’s face because they looked exactly alike and still, he kept protecting him.

People forget that it doesn’t matter why you do the right thing, what matters is that you do it. Especially when it’s something good. Like… come on.

[etoilesombre]

You know what? People shouldn't feel bad about liking things in fandom, or creating things that make them happy. I'm absolutely vagueposting, but this really isn't about one post, it's about a tone I've noticed popping up again lately from multiple people (including people I follow and generally respect!)

-"They absolutely cannot fuck! So crazy people would think about that and be into it, it would break canon! "

-"Mod AU doesn't work, they're Serious Characters they aren't gonna run a coffee shop its OOC! "

-"Actually, fun fluffy fic about them at all during a certain era doesn't work!"

I get it. I agree with a fair part of it. People post all kinds of asinine shit that I hate actually. But you know where I bitch about it? Privately in group chat.

Let people fucking have fun. I get the sense that many people come to this fandom specifically because it's Serious and Challenging and you want to Do Serious Analysis. I think a lot of folks around these parts either are in school and not having a good time about it, or wish that they had gone into better academia that doesn't really exist, and they're getting that need met here. And that's great! For real!

But you know what else is fine? People who either don't have that need, or are getting it met in other parts of their lives, and come here for stress relief and a fun free hobby.

Of course they can't fuck for real! It's not in the text, they simply don't. But the tension is obviously written in, and playing with possibilities can be fun! Also if you can't see how it could happen and still not fix shit, that's a skill issue. Fic authors aren't stupid, we don't fail to understand canon, but not everything has to be everything all the time. Sometimes you want to do all the work and try to match the level of writing in the show, and sometimes you want to have something nice and easy. The show is REALLY well written and what it needs to be, the point of transformative works is playing with what it's NOT. Some people cope with fluff, or good ending everybody lives AUs, and it might be so totally valid to look down on that, but maybe being publicly correct might be less important than being kind?

Actually, the main thing I want to say is that if YOU reading this are a person who wants to write a cute coffeeshop AU, or be horny on main about your boys kissing, it's actually fine!! At least, it historically has been fine. This is a really small fandom now and not that many people are actively creating, please don't be discouraged by this stuff, because the people who criticize on tumblr are actually not the majority. The REASON they criticize is that, if you go to AO3 and sort by kudos, much of it is this super sweet OOC stuff! It looks like that's most of what there is, because a lot of readers in the wild who watch the show and look up fic like it!

Anyway. Let people have fun, it doesn't cost you anything, and not every thought needs to be public. It actually does discourage people.

[theglowsociety]

[shadowfromthestarlight]

me: whoo hoo, i accomplished all my early morning tasks!

the tasks: inquire at bakery about sheet cake for a family party, send two emails

[defensive-tactics]

Learn Several Defensive Techniques.

[cnl0400]

"How are they going to make Thirteen/Mephistopheles/Raphael dateable If they aren't interesing in the MC"?

>A take made by someone who hasn't played S4 or any of the Memory cards/events that feature these three, or have gotten the Birthday calls...

It's even funnier with Raphael, because he's probably the one who states the most that he wants to get closer to MC, where do the "no interest" thing even comes from??

Even If you read all this cues as platonic, It doesn't mean that they can't become romantic later. That's what development Is for?????

[rivalsforlife]

losing "the sight of that man" line was a tragic loss for the narumitsuers but off the top of my head the most visceral line losses I felt were "you literally jumped into my life" and "you should be grateful! I gave you the chance to play the ace attorney!" because the official translations were kinda giving me nothing. the monologue around "sight of that man" is still very impactful when referring only to gregory, but the other two did not hit nearly as hard and were some of my favorite lines in the fan translation.

[fictionadventurer]

Me: Everything I've been reading lately is really meta--books about writers and books and genre conventions--and it's interfering with my writing process. I need to read stories that are just stories and not books about other books.

Me, ten seconds later: Rereads 84, Charing Cross Road and watches a Youtube series about Wishbone.

[cementcornfield]

Oh??

[bleue-flora]

"While tbh i do think there's a bit of true in what cdream Said in those, it does get one to think, what we know of this guy that isn't a lie to make everyone think he's a crazy enough to be locked up?"

other anon come back and explain yourself here. why do you think severe enough mental illness can be treated with prison?

To be fair, I think anon is referring to - what lies does Dream tell to make the rest of the dsmp members afraid of him to the point of locking him up. In which case, it was never about treatment or necessarily mental health, but what lies did he tell to seem unhinged, evil, crazy to exasperate their fear and existing misconceptions about him. Wilbur and Tommy labeled him the crazy lunatic monster, but is that true? Or further, how much of Dream is actually purposely playing into that versus genuine. Regardless, I think anon is relating it to the dsmp characters not their own beliefs (I hope). And I think we can all agree that they are morons, their view of justice is massively scuffed and that they never intended to do anything but kill Dream. There was no thought process of treating his crazy, they were trying to end the threat until Dream made himself too valuable to kill. Pandora’s Vault was an added convenience because without it and the book they were perfectly fine with watching a “child” take his revenge by brutally murdering Dream in cold blood until he’s fully dead. There were no protests. The characters can hide behind some conceived notion of mercy and rehabilitation but that was never the actual purpose of the prison nor a possible outcome nor one they cared about anyways. It was about not killing him because of the book - which implies in some manner that they intended to get the book from him since they certainly didn’t seem willing to release him or give him anything to persuade him to use it for them (like for instance asking him to bring Wilbur back). So really as I’ve said before they kinda always intended to torture him. Maybe not realizing it as a direct thought, but at the end of the day that was what they deemed… they were never trying to treat his mental health, because they couldn’t see Dream as a person needing help. Prison is revenge, it is insurance and safety, it is a means to an end…

[chipjrwibignaturals]

i spent multiple years of my life w my fave ship being an ot6 and i do think that explains a lot about me. you can decide if that statement is intended as derogatory or not in your own heart

[nouraraelyn]

Focus on yourself and appreciate the wonderful person you already are. Take steps to improve yourself, but do it for your own growth and happiness, not to match someone else's standards. That's where real fulfillment lies.

[defensive-tactics]

Do you have a harmful mindset? Defending yourself is not a social event.

[historyofguns]

In the article "Lessons Learned: Facing Down a Carjacking," author Andy Grossman recounts his frightening experience of nearly being carjacked in broad daylight at a busy urban intersection. Despite his years of training as a firearms instructor and advocate of personal protection, Andy was caught off guard when he found himself boxed in and facing a masked assailant. Thankfully, his situational awareness and preparedness skills kicked in, allowing him to deter the attacker by displaying his Springfield Echelon pistol. The encounter left Andy with critical insights on the importance of ongoing self-defense training, particularly for scenarios inside a vehicle, highlighting the value of mental and physical readiness. It also emphasized the significance of situational awareness, effective escape planning, and having tools like dash cameras to overcome the challenges posed by adrenaline and ensure legal protection. Andy's experience serves as a powerful reminder for others to continually assess and adapt their personal safety strategies.